by Patrick Ogle

Groundwork Central Coast counoise 2015 is a light red wine from Sans Liege. The grape is usually found in Rhone blends and also in blends from California, the home of this wine. It is one of those grapes that I am sure many wine experts disdain as unworthy. It isn't.

I sniffed a couple of times before realizing it smells like a Beaujolais--not one of the bigger bodied Cru Beaujolais but the lighter, Beaujolais Village or even noveaus. This isn't terribly shocking because the wine is made, partly, using carbonic maceration, often used in Beaujolais. This is a method where they do not crush the grapes before fermentation. It is a longer story than that but suffice it to say the process can create a lighter, fruitier wine.

It doesn't really taste like a nouveau or any Beaujolais and it is really a bit lighter. This is a red wine you want to serve with a chill on it. It almost functions as a rose. The wine has some of the same fruit flavors you find in a rose: the strawberry, candied cherry but it also has some darker berries. There are sneaky, subtle tannins and a slightly bitter finish--which you detect if you serve the wine chilled but not TOO chilled. It has some complexity; it isn't just kool aid.

This should be your red wine of the summer and keep an eye on Sans Liege too. They create interesting wines.

by Patrick Ogle

Arnaldo-Caprai Grecante Grechetto 2015 is a wine with a healthy acidity, not a great deal of fruit but what there is citrus-zesty with maybe a hint of spiciness.  It has a bitter finish that made me think it might be a nice wine for some cheeses--nothing too rich, nothing hard but maybe something creamy.

This is one of those wines with a "weird" name that is nothing that will freak out the average American wine drinker. It is, as most grapes are, its own thing but it does not fall so far outside the taste profile the average wine drinker finds in their favorite wines. This is nothing a Chablis (a cold weather French chardonnay) drinker would find unappealing. I am not saying this is LIKE those wines? But that there is enough crossover where there might be some appeal. It also has some qualities in common with Muscadet (melon de bourgone).

This grape is used more in blends than as a varietal wine (a wine made of a single grape...at least mostly). You will find it in wines such as Orvieto blended with the ubiquitous Italian white, trebbiano (known as ugni blanc in France and used in cognac). It is found in central Italy, specifically Umbria. This wine comes from Colli Martani in that region. It is also blended with chardonnay (not shocking), verdello and malvasia. There is even a sweet wine that uses the grape in a blend. The name of the wine and its

This is a wine that costs around $17 a bottle but it should last for some time given its acidity. Feel free to grab a few and keep them around.

by Patrick Ogle

Domaine Zafeirakis limniona rose is a minerally Greek rose from a little grown grape which is also an ancient variety (you may also see it called limnio).

The color is somewhere between salmon and peach, that reddish part of the peach. There is something "stone-fruity" about this as well as a slightly bitter finish which separates it from many roses.  It is more minerally and has some "vegetal" tastes going on; these become more apparent as the wine warms.

When I first sipped this it was extremely cold). If you are looking for a Provence rose this isn't what you are looking for but if you are looking for something with a little more complexity, given it still costs about $12? You may like this one. It has more of a cranberry taste than the candy apple/strawberry you find in the Provence roses. But you can certainly sense some of that strawberry flavor in this wine.

Limniona is a varietal that was apparently grown widely in Greece before phylloxera wiped out grapes on the mainland (again no solid confirmation of this). Regardless, the grape's origins are in the Greek Islands, specifically the island of Lemnos. The grape may also be an ancient variety mentioned by various writers of antiquity. There is heft to these writings because there are multiple sources and all of them mention the same island. So, when you drink this wine you may well be drinking something akin to what Aristotle tasted. Back in those days red wines may well have been closer to roses.

by Patrick Ogle

Marestagno comes from the home island of Napoleon, Corsica and is made of a little-known grape, Sciaccarellu. It also has a price tag of about $9. Because this is a strange grape you might thing that means it is a strange wine--but the funny thing is about "strange" grapes; the wines they produce are not, by definition, outside the "normal" smells and tastes you find in "normal" wines. Sometimes they are but not always.
 
This wine, on first sniff, seems to have some herbal qualities. These are less apparent in the taste but they are lurking there. The fruit reminds of many warm-weather French roses. It has a red-fruit strawberry/rasberry taste but with a crisp acidity. There is nothing odd or objectionable in Marestagno. In fact, it calls to mind a slightly less fruity Provence wine but it might be a bit more food friendly. It has something of a bitter, brambly finish but this only becomes really apparent as it warms quite a bit (what can I say, I was drinking on a hot day). There is a little bit of pepperiness here too.

By several accounts Sciaccarellu is a tough skinned grape that can be difficult to grow. Mildew attacks it. It is particular about the soils it will grow in. It appears to be Italian in origin (but I couldn't find conclusive evidence from anywhere I consider 100 percent reliable). It is usually a blending grape for red wines. If it is grown outside of Corsica I couldn't find where.

Corsica has a large number of "surprising" grapes that are well worth a look and a taste. The grapes are often only found on the island, even when there origin may be elsewhere. Some are among the rarest grapes grown commercially anywhere. More on these soon.

by Patrick Ogle

Kir-Yianni's Ramnista is a big, tannic red with the potential to age for quite some time. A co-worker came up with an apt description of this wine; it tastes like a  syrah had a baby with a nebbiolo. I wish I could take credit for that statement!

Of course this faux coupling of syrah and nebbiolo takes place in Greece so there is a mineral quality in the wine (please note xinomavro has no relation to syrah or nebbiolo in reality). Xinomavro is its OWN thing, with its own character and comparisons to other grapes do not do it justice. We could just as easily compare the more well-known grapes to xinomavro. Greek varietals are well-worth exploring.

There is a tannic bite that mellows with air but this is a wine you likely want to keep around for a few years before opening. It could last quite a long time. If you do open it let it get some air before drinking.

A bright cherry taste emerges from beneath the tannins. In some wines strong in tannin all you get is that sensation but here you get this bright fruit as well. Do not confuse "bright" with "light" here; this is not a light wine, it is complex and heavy. There is depth here and a sharp, prolonged acidity. While it might be something to save it will also be a wine that is hard to NOT drink. Buy two and save one! This wine particular wine is from the 2011 vintage. This wine ages for 18 months in 225 and 500 liter French and American oak, then ages another 6 months in the bottle before release.

We've written before about xinomavro but that was a rosé from this same producer. This red is different creature. The company also makes a rosé sparkler from the grape.