Need a wine for the end of summer? These Burgundy options will keep it classy.
It has been an interesting summer, weather-wise — no rain, hot, humid. Nevertheless, time marches on and despite the fact that rain seems to be avoiding us, the heat is finally somewhat normal. So before the chill of autumn arrives, we are all still seeking refreshing wines to drink, which clearly means, for the most part, chilled wines, be they white, rosé or sparkling.
Of course, a slightly chilled pinot noir or a Gamay works as well, at least for me, but I digress. I am a big fan of Burgundy; just the name, to me, evokes great wines. There are six sub-regions in Burgundy — Chablis, Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonaise, Beaujolais and finally Mâconnais. Now the first four make all the headlines for very famous wines at high prices. Yes, there are reasonably priced wines in those regions but those regions are known more for their high-end wines, designated Grand Cru and Premier Cru, and along with that reputation comes the price tag. The last two regions may not be as famous, but many of you have been consuming their wines for years, not really fully understanding where they come from. These wines are true value wines, of great quality and readily available.
For this article, I want to focus on the Mâconnais (pronounced mah-kawn-NEH). The wine you all have been drinking is Pouilly-Fuissé (pronounced poo-yee fwee-SAY). To a lesser extent, many have been drinking Mâcon-Lugny ( pronounced mah-kawn lyni) and Mâcon-Villages (pronounced mah-kawn vil-lahj). Pouilly-Fuissé is one of the first white French wines I met in my server career many years ago, at The Pier restaurant while in college. Many people were at that time aware of the wine and ordered it. I had no clue that it was a chardonnay, heck, I didn’t know what chardonnay was. Over the years, however, I came to embrace this wine for many reasons. One, it is from Burgundy, two, it is lightly oaked which today, more and more Americans are coming to understand what oak does to a wine and to food and frankly are shying away from the big, heavy chardonnays out of California and Australia. Thirdly, it is priced for everyday consumption. As a person that wrote many wine lists, there should in my opinion always be a Pouilly-Fuissé on the list and preferably by the glass. It works for many reasons on a list, as I have noted previously. Mâcon-Lugny is another wine becoming more and more popular, again for the same reasons as Pouilly-Fuissé. And finally, Mâcon-Villages, another great choice following in the footsteps of the aforementioned wines.
These wines are ubiquitous both in restaurants and liquor stores. The price-to-quality ratio is more than favorable. They exhibit aromas of citrus, green apple, pear, peach, pineapple and mineral notes amongst many other less obvious ones. On the palate they are dry, medium acidity, medium body and fruity. So, foods: once again, perfect for our seafood simply prepared. Fresh, local vegetables are coming out in abundance now, so throw some on the grill! Salads, again, lightly dressed are perfect and like I said, local produce is abundant now. They work well with white meat such as veal, poultry or pork. Because of their fruitiness, they will pair nicely with spicy or exotic foods. And, as I have said before, I see restaurants and grocery stores offering sushi and sashimi and again another nice pairing. As for cheese, mild cheeses, like goat. No problem with creamy or buttery risotto dishes which are also increasingly popular.
As for producers of which there are many, to me there a few standouts, most notably Maison Louis Jadot, which is a very large producer of French wines from Burgundy and they offer these wines from the Mâconnais. As I said, they won’t break the bank. Another go-to producer is Maison Louis Latour which again is a very large producer of wines from all of Burgundy, prices are equally as competitive. Another favorite is Maison Joseph Drouhin, same story, large well-known producer of Burgundian wines. I can offer many more but those were just for starters. I urge you to enjoy these wines as summer fades away and we move into red wines. By the way, these wineries also make incredible pinot noirs and Gamay aka Beaujolais wines.
This month’s PSA: It is so difficult for me to see our hospitality community continue struggling with labor. So many are being forced to take deeper cuts in the times they can be open and the number of tables they can serve. I went to a private house party a few weeks ago that had hired a caterer — no bartender, no servers, basically two setup staff. Needless to say, the host was not happy, but fully understood, unlike so many that for whatever reason have not been made aware of staffing issues. With the exodus of college kids beginning in the midst of the tail end of a busy summer, management has to be cautious of scheduling for fear of burnout. On top of this problem, shortages continue to plague the industry. In some cases, like Champagne for instance, all the major producers are out of stock so we won’t see them until next year. Bourbon, single malts-the list goes on. And, slowly menu pricing is climbing, as predicted. So, as a reminder, support our great restaurants and caterers as best you can as they are doing their best to service all their clients! As for me, can’t wait for fall!
Len Panaggio is a wine consultant and former corporate beverage director for Newport Harbor Corp. Send feedback and suggestions to lcp23223@gmail.com. The Wine Press runs each month in The Daily News and online at newportri.com.
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Burgundy wine choices: best value, food pairings, producers
