White Wines for those Winter Blues

Let’s just start by saying: Not that I have a whole lot to complain about this week, with my PACKERS GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL, and all. 

But…I have to tell you, sometimes these frigid Midwestern temps get the best of me.  The only words I seem to hear on Kare11 these days are ‘Arctic Blast’ and ‘More Snow!’  Does it ever stop?  Not when you’re a Minnesotan and it’s almost February.  This is the time of year where most of us jump to get on an airplane, pack our bags for someplace warm and get the heck out of Dodge.  But, not me.  At least, not yet!
Instead of reaching for those thick nasty reds that bring my blood sugar up within a matter of seconds (Cough…CALI ZIN!) – I decide instead to pull for those whites that keep me thinkin’ of fun, sunny temps.  Maybe a delicious New Zealand Savi, that reminds me of cut grass and white puffy clouds, or even those ‘unoaked’ Chards that have a fresh citrus-y side to them that allow me to think of a clear blue sky in the middle of May.  Anything! to get my mind out of the gloomy gutter that winter sometimes becomes us here in MN. 
Last nite after leaving the gym, I was reminded of those yukky frigid temps.  My hair wet and already frozen by the time I’d hit the car, crunching through the thick grey ice that clogs up underneathe everyone’s cars and having to sit in the car for at least five minutes before it would warm up enough for me to take off – those are the things that bum me out about these winters.  With not an ounce of energy left, we decided to stop by one of our favorite joints on our way home in hopes of breaking our winter gloom. 
Cafe Maude, a sweet south Minneapolis neighborhood joint with a great cocktail list, a superb bar-tending staff and a yummy little food menu.  Instead of perusing the Red Wine List, I went straight for the Whites.  Looking for a way to transform my frowny mid-winter attitude, I went right for a wine that I knew would remind me of the better, and sunnier days to come. 

Hugel & Fils ‘Gentil’ ~ a wine that revives an ancient Alsatian tradition.  Wines assembled from noble grape varieties in Alsace were called “Gentil”.  Gentil “Hugel” allies the suave, spicy flavour of Gewurztraminer, the body of Pinot Gris, the finesse of Riesling, the grapiness of Muscat and the refreshing character of Sylvaner.  So sunny, happy and down right ‘transforming’. 

And after thinking about my ‘attitude adjustment’ all day – I decided to stay on the white trail today by opening a bottle of The Gaucho Club Torrontes. Another wine, incidentally under $15 on the shelf!, is another that brings out the smile in days like today.  Happy, green, a bit spicy and a whole lot of delicious white peach and crisp green apple.  Reminds me of sitting outside in the spring time.  Just sunny enough to warm my face, yet cool enough to keep the flavors subtle.  A fun, inexpensive, Argentine white with attitude.  Yum!
Tonite, I’m on a roll with the Kistler ‘Les Noisetiers’ Russian River Chardonnay.  Even though this one will not have those crisp, clean, minerally flavors like the ones above – it is guaranteed to bring me some happiness.  Kistler, a winery known in CALI, for its big over the top heavy styled fruit.  Drippy with oak in some vintages, yet perfect enough for the heavy grilled Porterhouse steak I’m about to grill up.  Yep, I said it!  A white wine with steak!

I’m completely over those individuals that ALWAYS reach for Red when eating meat and ALWAYS put their hand up when I offer a glass of white when they walk into any one of my events or classes saying ‘Oh no, I don’t drink White!’  Those are the peeps that I put into my ‘Need a little Love’ file  – a little white wine love. 

The only thing that both of the two ‘types of drinkers’ above tell me is ~ “I don’t know enough about wine, help me!”

I’m here to tell ya – it’s not about the color of your meat but the preparation of your dish.  Is a Porterhouse fatty?  Does it have some char and dark heavy drippy notes to it?  Oh yeah, baby!  Reason #987 why that heavy drippy Kistler Chard will pair perfectly to my steak tonite!
And, if you don’t normally drink ‘White Wine’, then start by having it from a New World climate – one that has some body, some fat and an unctuous palate so that you can relate it to your Napa Red Wine fetish.  A New World climate will give you the ‘body’ you’re looking for, just in a different color!

Red Wines, White Wines, drink what you want?  I’m just here to tell you that there’s more to the world of Winter Drinking than Red Wine.  So, turn up the lights in your apartment, turn on some Don Ho hula music, pop a cork to a delicious white wine, and sit back and relax – you can pretend you’re sitting on the beach in Maui (well, sort of!). 

Happy Drinking!