Katy Lifestyles and Homes magazine Feb 2010: Denman’s Moody’s Wine Review

By Denman Moody

www.CorporateEventWines.com

Sixty years ago, there were few people in the United States who regularly drank wine with their meals. Conversely, in Italy and France wine was considered an uncomplicated, civilized and simple pleasure that accompanied every meal.

Changes began to occur in this country when soldiers returned from World War II with some newly acquired knowledge of dining with wine. But it was just a start. Even by the early ’70s, I remember that most customers at a good steakhouse preceded dinner with a mixed drink and did not order wine.

Contrast that to today. Oftentimes there is a bottle or a glass of wine on virtually every table. A large part of the catalyst for this change was the effort of French and Italian restaurants all over the country.

It was not obvious that things had changed dramatically until the early to mid-’80s. By then, Robert Finigan, Robert Parker and Denman Moody, the three favorite wine writers of Food and Wine magazine at that time, had been publishing their newsletters for five years or more. And wine columns began appearing in newspapers around the country —not just in the major metropolitan areas.

At about the same time, a small undertaking called The Wine Spectator was purchased by Marvin Shanken, and has now become a remarkably successful endeavor. In fact, the behemoth now publishes more than 300,000 copies each issue.

Along the way there have been several well-meaning writers who may have hampered the progress of wine enjoyment rather than enhancing it. For example, one writer insisted on publishing misinformation such as the following (these are not quotes, but you ’ll get the general idea):

“X” wine – Open 25 minutes prior to drinking and then re-cork between servings so as not to overaerate.

“Y” wine – Refrigerate for one hour and 40 minutes and then open 12 minutes before serving.

“Z” wine – Open one hour and 15 minutes prior to drinking to let breathe properly, and do not re-cork between servings, as it needs to continue to aerate.

I’m sure that many readers bought into this

I sincerely believe that with the proliferation of top-notch journalists, the vast increase in the quality of wines, and the enthusiasm of the public for wine knowledge and enjoyment, we ’re on the right path to being able to, as a nation, enjoy a bottle of wine with a meal as an uncomplicated, civilized and simple pleasure.

A new brand from Chile, PKNT (pronounced Picante) has taken the market by storm. There are two lines of wines: the Silver Tier at $6.99 and the Gold Tier at $9.99. One of Chile ’s top winemakers, Adriana Ceron, heads up the winemaking team.

Red grapes for PKNT come primarily from the Rapel Valley with its warm days, cool nights and long growing season. White grapes come from the cooler Maule Valley and other maritime regions between the Andes and the coastal mountains (just writing about this makes me want to be there). All fruit is hand-harvested.

This once small family winery has advanced to more than 200,000 cases in just a few short years, and is already challenging some of the big guys like Concha y Toro in some markets. I tasted some of the Gold Tier wines and recommend the following as excellent values:

PKNT Gold Chardonnay 2008 – Blended with 10 percent Viognier and aged for 10 months in American and French oak. Lively and lovely bouquet with tropical fruit. Persistent with full body and harmony of flavors. $9.99

PKNT Gold Shiraz 2008 – Blended with 5 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and fermented in stainless steel. Aged in 30 percent new French oak. Purple-black color with excellent fruit flavors, rich texture and hints of black pepper and oak. $9.99

PKNT Gold Carmenère 2008 – To those used to Cabernet and Merlot, Carmènere sometimes tastes a little odd. Not this one. Tasting like a $20 wine, this is rich and red with ripe red cherries, chocolate and plums. $9.99 l

malarkey, thinking that there must be an exact amount of time for “aerating” and chilling that each wine needed prior to being served. Believing that wine was some esoteric substance only understood by the cognoscenti, some readers probably just gave up, or worse, pawned off this spurious information to others as if it were wine gospel.

There are, of course, some general rules concerning wine temperature, and there is room enough for an elephant to wander through on the subject of whether “breathing” is necessary or mostly bunk.

Finally, the first screw caps that appeared on premium wines were greeted with derision; however, studies in the last year show that a substantial percentage of wine consumers have accepted them, and for good reason. This simple change and the growing acceptance thereof is another step in the education process.