Seventh Washington International Wine and Food Festival

This year’s Washington International Wine & Food Festival, held June 24-25 in three cavernous ballrooms of the Omni Shoreham Hotel just off upper Connecticut Avenue, N.W., was crowded, fast paced, well organized, and fun. Seminars on Food and Wine Tastings, Celebrity Chef presentations, and Wine Seminars completed the bill. It was not an inexpensive event. The event was pricey ($61-$71 for one day, another $10-20 for the second day), with the costs of seminars in addition. The morning hours were open to the trade (press and other wine and food professionals), and the public was admitted in the afternoon.

The scale of the show was enormous. It was not possible to taste more than a good sampling of what one preferred or wanted to try. That left perhaps a thousand other wines untouched, from many countries! The organization of this year’s show was superior to that of last year, and there was something of a comeback by French wines, which had not figured appreciably in last year’s Convention Center show. My only disappointment was in the pricey seminars offered, not one of which featured French wines. Last year’s seminar on the 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape vintage had been an outstanding feature of the show. This year, if you were interested in red Portuguese table wines or the Tannat wines of Uruguay and wanted to pay extra for the privilege, you could do so.  And so I prowled the aisles and tasted wines from many countries, including France, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Croatia, which were there in quantity, and of course, American wine production was well represented.   

There were many old friends, some in new guises. Here are some tasting results. Perhaps you might enjoy trying some yourself!    The Robert Mondavi selections recalled our visit to his winery some years ago. Their Private Selection Pinot Grigio (retail $11) was a good dry wine, with nice fruit but not too much of it, a clear step up from basic Pinot Grigios. The Private Selection Fume Blanc (actually, 100% Sauvignon Blanc) is barrel fermented, rather creamy. I would not have placed it as a Sauvignon Blanc. It tasted more like a Semillon blend, and at 13.5% alcohol, is rather a large wine.   

Mouton Cadet ($8-$10) Blanc has recently changed its blend to more closely suit American tastes, with 50% Semillon, 40% Sauvignon Blanc, and 10% Muscadelle. It is a rounder, softer and more fruit forward blend, less austere. I was sorry to hear that Mouton Cadet Rose is still not exported to the USA. That is a fine wine, and as Bordeaux produces more and more rose wines, Moton Cadet may be losing American market share by this strategy. The Mouton Cadet Rouge had been predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, but it is now 65% Merlot (largely from the Entre deux Mers region), 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Malbec.   

Wines from Monkey Bay, New Zealand, were a delight. This is a coastal region, and their wines ($10-$12) were refreshing and delightful. I was told that Sauvignon Blanc, first grown there in the eighteenth century, is particularly well suited to the cool climate. This wine had a flavorful touch of grapefruit and lemon, very refreshing. I also liked their Chardonnay, vinified in steel, also 12.5% alcohol. It had good fruit, but was in a lighter style. I was reminded that French varietals had circled the globe, and that French winemakers had left their mark in many places. In South Africa, it was said that the basis for the wine industry was begun centuries ago by Huguenots who were forced to leave France. Some found refuge in Holland, and jobs aboard Dutch ships. Those who brought grape plants with them were said to have started the wine industry in South Africa.   

Since we will be in Dubrovnik later this month, I was delighted to taste some Croatian wines, from BIBICh in Zadar, Croatia. The Export Manager explained to me that wines had been grown along the Dalmatian Coast for many centuries. The Riserva 2005 ($15), a blend of three varietal grapes “grown here for 2,000 years” was pleasant, as was the Grenache Riserva ($20), which reminded me of a flavorful Merlot. However, the star performer was the DeBit03 ($12), a white wine rather like a young Sauvignon Blanc, and at just 11.7% alcohol, a refreshing wine that won’t put you to sleep after luncheon. I enjoyed it very much. A good market should await this fine wine, said to be made from “traditional antique grape varieties” whose names I couldn’t pronounce, so the “DeBit” abbreviation is used for identification.   

Old friends from Quebec were there, with a delicious Apple Ice Wine (“La Face Cachee – Neige”). This is taking the problem of cold temperatures, and turning it into a virtue. Apples remain frozen on the trees, and the juice then extracted and fermented. This Apple Ice Wine was delicious, just sweet enough, and not overly alcoholic. Have it with dessert, chilled with hot apple pie and a slice of cheese. Argentina was next. Familia Zuccardi’s Santa Julia Tardio 2004 ($16 for a 500 ml bottle) was a pleasant discovery. This is a late harvested wine like a Sauternes, very nice, sweet  but not cloying, with good balance.

Some French wines were tasted next. I am glad that the poor 2003 Alsatian vintage is now history, and vey much prefer to taste the fine 2004 wines. Hugel of Riquewihr is a favorite producer, and his 2004 Cuvee les Amours is a treat, with wonderful aromas and good body. I tasted the Olivier and Pat Leflaive Deux Rives Chablis 2004, which was flinty and good, as quality Chablis should be. The nice lady pouring this wine promised, however, that the 2005 vintage for Chablis will be “even better.” Will it be as good as the legendary 2002?
   

Then came a medley of French wines. Chateau Le Bosque 2003 ($29), a St. Estephe cru bourgeois superieur, was a big wine, largely Merlot, which would go well with red meats with assertive flavors. The Chateau Belgrave 2003, a fifth growth St. Julien, had been opened 90 minutes earlier, and that was a good thing. This wine had opened well and was flavorful. It was a reminder that wines that should be decanted are usually the young ones that have not aged sufficiently, not the older ones that have already matured in the bottle. The Chateau Mont Redon Cotes du Rhone Rouge 2003 ($13), a blend of 70% Grenache, 20% Cinsault and 10% Syrah (the grape variety that is called Shiraz in Australia) which was vinified in oak barrels, was stated to be “ready to drink.” However I found it still a bit acerbic, and believe the wine would have benefitted either from further aging, or it should have been decanted.

 
It was a great and unexpected treat to have tasted Charles Hiedsieck and Piper-Heidsieck champagnes. Great because they tasted so good, and unexpected because the company tends to sell out its production. But some of these champagnes were new to me, and I am now a new fan. All of them have high point scores, if you care for that sort of thing. Just take it from me, they are delicious wines, in the medium to full range.

I liked the Champagne Piper-Heidsieck Rose Sauvage, a pleasantly berry flavored champagne. They use wild yeasts with the fermentation, hence the term sauvage! The Champagne Piper-Heidsieck Cuvee Brut ($40) was very nice, a creamy champagne that was a treat. Conversation would surely stop with the Champagne Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve, a medium weight very well flavored and elegant, bubbly champagne. And the Cuvee Sublime was a great surprise. Demi-sec, which is usually far too sweet for my taste, this champagne was very good, sweet but not cloying in the least. Try it with a bland dessert, or with strawberries when you have romance in mind.

As we left, the cavernous Omni Shoreham ballrooms were opening up to thousands of visitors, all anxious to have a good time, learn something about wines, and possibly even meet someone special. I hope theywere successful on all three counts!