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Providence in L.A. features a number of our wines

Just a few quick words about goings on in the blog world. The rather exotically-titled blog, Exile Kiss has a comprehensive nice article with even nicer photographs extolling the virtues of an IRON CHEF tasting menu at Providence restaurant in L.A. They paired our Peljesac from the Dalmatian coast with "Assorted Shellfish" of squid and mussels. Earlier this summer we were lucky enough to be invited by sommelier Drew Langley to pair our wines with the exquisite cuisine of chef Michael Cimarusti at a private cooking class. We were blown away how good the food was but equally how well the Weinrieder Kugler Riesling, the Crnko Yellow Muskat and the JURIS Pinot Noir Selection paired with it, a real pleasure for our taste buds.     Also from a culinary perspective a little further south, Food GPS writes about a recent dinner at Mesa in Orange County, CA. The photos can be a bit tricky at points because they were taken with a flash, but it looks like it was a tasty meal. It appears that the meal was made even tastier by the addition of the Croatian Bibich Riserva and the Slovenian Tilia Sauvignon Blanc. Word is apparently getting out about how well these wines pair with foods.     Another blog mentions the history of viticulture on the island of Hvar in Dalmatia. For more information you can read the always informative Lifejacket Adventures who are a group of Australians living in coastal Croatia. It's a few months old now, but they wrote a lengthy article on the wines and spirits of Hvar as well. Of course, we have also written about Hvar's wines in the past too. They wines are quite, quite good, so the press isn't surprising.     Lastly, in a complete instance of navel gazing and back patting, we have to say that we were happy to be mentioned in EnoBytes compilation of Google's Top 100 Wine Blogs. Thanks for that! We'll do our best to keep it coming.

Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV tasting Zlatan Plavac.

...says Gary Vaynerchuk of the Wine Library TV after tasting his first Zlatan Plavac Barrique. Gary continued all excited about this find: "This wine is sensational, downright great sensational." Thanks for your kind words, Gary, you confirm what we and many of our customers already knew: There are excellent wines produced in Croatia today and Zlatan Plenkovic is one of the top producers in the country.     For details on Gary's excitement tune into the third part of the recent edition of the Wine Library TV, episode 553:     Wine Library TV, episode 553.     And if you like to encounter some really good Croatian Malvasia and Grasevina we recommend the wines made by Kozlovic and Enginji. They rock just like the Zlatan Plavac rocks. Cheers!

After a comprehensive tasting at the Krauthaker estate.

Too early in the morning, we’re plucked from our hotel in Dubrovnik and deposited at the small airport for our flight north to Zagreb. Just two hours later, we’re on our way by car to Slavonia, in the northeastern leg of Croatia bounded on three sides by Hungary, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. We’re chauffered by the cheerful 23-year-old son of the label designer for Vlado Krauthaker in the town of Kutjevo, considered the center of Slavonian winemaking. The scenery here is very different from the coast, where precipitous, rocky slopes slant down to water’s edge and even inland valleys are ringed by craggy mountain ranges. Here there are vast fields of wheat and what looks like rye, and we’re told that much tobacco, too, is grown along this 55km valley with rounded ranges in the distance, which has been called the golden valley (Vallis Aurea) since Roman times. The vineyards are planted on the south slopes of the Krndija and Papuk mountains at 200 to 400 meters elevation. The region produces 80 to 90% white wine, and is known for elegant wines from the grasevina grape, a.k.a. welschriesling. We visit only two producers here, Krauthaker and Enjingi, but if one thing stands out to us in this region, it is the commitment to experimentation and development.     Our first visit is with Vlado Krauthaker, a serious gentleman highly regarded for his leadership in regional winemaking. As we take a bumpy tour of the vineyards by car, we look to the top of the slopes to a Slavonian oak forest, part of a national park and the source of high-quality Slavonian oak barrels. Vlado Krauthaker has 24 hectares of his own, plus 42 within a sort of labor-sharing partnership that doesn’t quite come clear in translation. Seventy percent of his production is grasevina, which likes the hard clay soil. Only 7% of his production is red, but he’s planting more black grapes to achieve 30 to 40%, and is running experiments in conjunction with the university in Zagreb with 26 black grape varieties to determine what works: merlot, syrah, and cab are performing well so far. Many of the vines we see on the hillside are planted at high density in the French style, and we’re told the land is worked by horses. Everything is hand harvested.     We descend to Krauthaker’s airy new tasting rooms, where we’re treated to dozens of wines. Some of them have recently been imported to the US for the first time and are now available in New York. First is grasevina three ways:     GRASEVINA 2006 This spent 4 months on its lees with 50% ML. It has a very citrusy lemon-lime and slightly mineral nose; dry, with high acidity and light to medium body. Creamy citrus and herbs dominate the flavor. This is well done, with a nice mouth-feel.     GRASEVINA 2006, half-dry (5.5 g/l RS). This has a less citrusy nose than the dry version, with mineral; it’s off-dry with high acidity and medium body. Medium-intensity pear, lime, and slight melon on the palate. Nice, but I prefer the dry one.     GRASEVINA 2006, a special selection of old vines. This is a slightly darker lemon hue than the two wines above, with a medium-intensity citrus and mineral nose. A slight spritz leads on the palate of this off-dry wine with medium-high acidity to balance the sweetness, and medium-full body. Herbal, lemony, and nicely made.     MANZONI 2005 (riesling x pinot blanc cross, 1964) Vlado Krauthaker is involved in many experiments, including this stainless-steel fermented batch of 2000 to 3000 bottles. The wine is medium gold with medium-intensity honey and creamy lees aromas (it underwent full ML); dry with medium-high acidity and a fairly full body, slight oxidation, honey, and mineral on the palate with a long honey finish. Very interesting.     ZELENAC 2005 Zelenac is rotgipfler, grown only in Slavonia and the Thermen region in Austria and made only by Krauthaker in Croatia. This example is slightly off-dry (5 g/l RS) with high acidity, full body, and well balanced alcohol. The palate is very mineral, with white fruit and slight honey. Short to med length; well made and interesting.     CHARDONNAY “Rosenberg” 2005 This spent 8-1/2 months on the lees in oak and was bottled unfiltered. It has oak on the nose, with a slight chemical undernote; dry with medium acidity and body, creamy oak and white fruit on the palate. The length is medium and the wine will develop nicely in the bottle judging from the 2004, which now has hazelnut aromas. This is probably the best chardonnay effort we’ve seen in Croatia.     SAUVIGNON BLANC 2005 Lufthansa selected this wine to serve on their international flights. It’s made with 60% stainless-steel and 40% old-barrique fermentation. A medium lemon-gold in color, this has the intense tropical guava and lemongrass aromas of New World sauvignon blanc, with a short to medium length.     At the end of our tasting—all before lunch—we open a dozen experimental bottles of young pinot noir, which are being monitored for their progress. On our way to the restaurant in town, Vlado points out the cooperative winery where he worked for fourteen years during the Communist period before starting his own operation in 1992. After our enjoyable, light meal we make our way to Ivan Enjingi, whose winery building sits just outside the tiny town of Venje (see part 2).     Text and photos by Katherine Camargo, DWS / kcamargo@verizon.net

Gently sloped vineyards in Venje near Kutjevo.

(continued from part 1)     We have been told that Ivan Enjingi is a mercurial soul, but perhaps we’ve been immunized by our native habitat of New York — we find a generous, even gregarious man with twinkling eyes and a smooth cap of silvery hair waiting in his private cellar with a feast of cheeses and meats arranged on a barrel top. We sip Enjingi Zweigelt, a red with lovely aromatic herb, bayleaf, and red currant aromas until half of his pair of young enologists, Josipa Andrijanic, arrives. The other, Milan Budinski joins us as we wander through the fermentation rooms taking samples from the taps. It’s difficult to take notes on the hoof like this, but we taste Enjingi’s dry, late-harvest grasevina, a beautiful late-harvest Rhine riesling, about a dozen experiments and wines in development, and two real stand-outs:     VENJE 2002 Named after the town where Enjingi is based, this is a blend of riesling, pinot gris, welschriesling, sauvignon blanc, and traminac that is made only in favorable years and is matured in barrique. It has medium body and an Old World flavor: slightly oxidized from barrique maturation, very subtle oak, minerals, plus dried pear and white peach. A red version of Venje is in the making, too, a blend of zweigelt, pinot noir, cabernet, merlot, and frankovka.     PINOT CRNI 2000 This curious pinot noir has a heavy spritz in the bottle, and uncharacteristically high alcohol at over 15%, but it is an impressive wine. It is barrique matured and bottled unfiltered, with beetroot, violets, and sweet oak on the nose, plus vanilla, ripe black plums, and blackberries on the palate—medium-bodied with medium length. It’s been seven years since harvest, but I’d be interested to see this in another eight.     After tasting, we drive up the hillside to see the new event space and guest house Ivan has built, which has a lovely view of the town of Venje, the Enjingi vineyards, and the Golden Valley beyond. The building next door is where Enjingi’s barrels are made—he has a team who craft his Slavonian oak barrels in the workshop here. We also examine a machine harvester that Ivan has adapted to suit his particular requirements. Here is a man who makes no apology for doing things his own way, and the results are a startling success. We linger, talking and sipping Enjingi grappa, into the early evening, when we are forced to sadly begin our two-and-a-half-hour drive back to Zagreb and, early tomorrow, our flight to New York.     (We are happy to announce that we now carry our first wines made by Ivan Enjingi, see our wine shop.)     Text and photos by Katherine Camargo, DWS / kcamargo@verizon.net

Plavac Mali grapes ripening towards the end of summer on the island of Hvar.

So, what is Plavac Mali? Where is Plavac Mali? How do you even say, Plavac Mali? Let's take a look at all of these items as we delve in detail into this particular grape.     Plavac Mali (pronounced Plahvahts Mahlee) is a red grape varietal that is native to Croatia and more specifically, native to Southern Dalmatia. This is a strip of land that has Bosnia Herzegovina to the east and the Adriatic Sea to the west. It gets an obscene amount of sun throughout the year, so Plavac Mali is a happy grape to have Dalmatia as it's home.     By far and away, Plavac Mali is the dominant red grape in Dalmatia. Others like Merlot, Shiraz, and a number of minor native grapes pop up here and there, but inevitably, if you see a field of red wine grapes, they will be Plavac Mali. It wasn't always this way though. Many, many years ago, there was another grape that enjoyed the Dalmatia summers which was called, Crljenak Kaštelanski. It has since been discovered that this wine is one and the same with Zinfandel in California and Primitivo in Italy. It just happened that as history went, Crljenak Kaštelanski didn't have the staying power of Plavac Mali and it's actually the case that while the Croatians loved the taste of Crljenak Kaštelanski, it can be a tricky grape to grow in the area. Thusly, they crossbred it with Dobričić and Plavac Mali was the outcome, which has grown far and wide over the rugged karst that forms the Croatian Adriatic Coast.     As to how Plavac Mali tastes, there isn't any one way to describe it. It varies whether it was grown in the north, the south, the mainland, the islands, or even by different neighbors. When grown in more of a New World, California style, it can pick up Zinfandel qualities, being a very deep, intensely flavorful wine full of fruit in the front of it. When grown in the traditional manners, the wine is a good deal lighter. The body isn't as thick and the finish can be very smooth. This allows it to be paired very well with meals.     My personal preference for the wine are the years where the vines get a great deal of sun with little to no rain. 2007 was a year such and the wines that I tasted in Dalmatia last year as they were aging showed all the signs of being strong, flavorful, and extremely welcoming to those of us accustomed to New World characteristics. Even still, the winemakers of Croatia tend to hold back a bit and at around 14% alcohol at most, the Plavac Malis we'll be seeing will pair better with most any meal than the California Zinfandels that can sometimes hit 19%.     If you're curious to taste this for yourself, check out Plavac Mali today.

A plate of jamón in a restaurant in northern Catalonia, Spain.

When it comes to a meat that is enjoyed across the Mediterranean, forms of cured pork have spread far and wide. Jamón, prosciutto, and pršut from Spain, Italy, and Croatia, respectively are all similar to some degree, yet share some differences from one another. As to which is the best, that's not a question to get in to with anyone from one of these three countries as they will always believe that theirs is the best. The most democratic approach is to say that they are all really good and they are best enjoyed within the countries where they are made.     Jamón is stunningly delicious and is pretty much only available in Spain. Export out of Spain is nearly non-existent because the Spanish wisely keep their prized meat safely at home. But when in Spain, it can readily be found and should be had in great quantities once found. When it comes to wines, many people fall prey to the old rule of white with pork and while a white such as Verdejo tastes wonderful with some nice slices of jamón, reds pair with it equally as well due to its heavier qualities. If one is looking for a good red, give Garnatxa (Grenache) a try. Its light qualities go quite well with the jamón and make for a delicious meal with some Manchego thrown in to balance out the palate.     Prosciutto is nothing new to those outside Italy. The Italians export it in great amounts and when paired with a Chardonnay, Pinela, Pošip, or a Zinfandel (or perhaps Primitivo in Italy), the imbiber will be in heaven. Despite the many similarities to jamón prosciutto is indeed different though and in my opinion leans more towards being enjoyed with a white. The buttery tones are so soft that a heavy red easily trounces them and defeats the purpose of having the prosciutto in the first place.     Then there's the pršut. This cured meat found in Croatia and other regions of the Balkans is very, very similar to prosciutto, thus the nearly similar name. Pršut is often smoked, giving a much more distinct flavor than the generally unsmoked variants. Croats will tell you that there are a great many differences from the Italian types, but at their core, they really are the same meat and both delicious. True to its origins though, pršut pairs very well with the wines in Croatia. Whether it's a Pošip, Malvazija, or even a Plavac Mali, wine and pršut are great friends. Pošip and Malvazija are always a winning combination for a few slices of pršut and some Paški Sir (cheese from the island of Pag), but the Plavac is just as good when the mood strikes. It's one of the beauties of Plavac in that is pairs well with foods, especially new arrivals like the Lirica that we've started carrying.     So, which combination is best? I'm just not going to touch that subject and risk a lynching. They are all good and it's up to people to find which they like best. For those in the US, this is probably going to mean pairing something with a prosciutto because it's just so much easier to find, although Jamón Iberico can be found in very limited amounts these days from a few importers. Unfortunately genuine Croatian pršut hasn't reached the US yet and the Croats, much like the Spaniards are probably happy to keep as much of it as possible at home.

Del Monte Restaurant is in Sunnyvale, CA

Since coming back from our trip to Southeastern Europe last summer, we haven't had the chance to eat any dishes from the region as San Francisco is lacking in restaurants specializing in Balkan cuisine. Fortunately, for all of us Ćevapčići lovers in the Bay Area there is Del Monte Restaurant in downtown Sunnyvale, on Murphy Avenue.     Del Monte, in spite of the name, is a 100% Croatian family business: Mate Slade, the head of the family, usually can be found in the kitchen doing what he loves best, while his wife Dragica can be found in the restaurant greeting the guests who all seem to know her, alongside her son who serves the tables. Originally from Dubrovnik, they came to California some 25 years ago by way of Louisiana, New Orleans and Washington D.C.     We recently had dinner for the first time at Delmonte with some relatives, and so we got to try almost everything in their menu. Although the decor is lacking in sophistication, it has a Croatian feel to it as well as a family atmosphere that we enjoyed together with the big plates of food.     Since the Slades are from Dubrovnik on the Dalmatian coast, we started with a Dalmatian platter of pršut (cured ham similar to Italian prosciutto), olives, Dalmatian cheese and anchovies in olive oil. Since they have a number of seafood and fish dishes, we decided to try some of them: fried calamari, mussels marinara, sole Dalmatian style and chicken with prawns. They even have linguine with different shellfish and calamari on a tomato sauce, which was very tasty.     They also offer meat dishes more typical of continental Croatia, such as different types of steak, a plate of mixed meats, or a delicious Goulash Croatian style which is one of their most popular dishes. However, our favorite dish was, of course, the Ćevapčići plate: pieces of minced meat made of a mix of different types of beef and pork, hand mixed and then grilled with a side of ajvar (red bell pepper spread). Heavenly meat.     To accompany this Croatian feast we needed to have Croatian wine, so we ordered a red and a white from their wine list: a Debit from Bibich that paired really well with the sole, and a Plavac from the Dingač Winery that we enjoyed as always with all sorts of meat. And, although we were too full to have a dessert, we couldn't resist finishing this perfect Croatian meal with a small glass of delicious Prošek, the nectar of the Gods!

Yes, it is indeed hidden, but you can find it.

The Hidden Vine is a perfectly-named wine bar in San Francisco. Sitting on the edges of Nob Hill, The Tenderloin, and Union Square, owners and master hosts, Angela and David Cahill pour wines for the masses with, what cannot be stated in any better terms than "down home" hospitality. Amazingly, no matter how busy it is on any given night, you will always feel like you are their only guest and they are very excited to show you what new wines they have that month. Ah yes, that's an important element to their wine bar that's always fun in that they feature a different region each month to taste, so in addition to their wine list always being updated and tweaked, returning guests can enjoy something brand new, 12 times a year. But more on this in a little bit.     The history of their wine bar starts back on the East Coast. David and Angela bopped around New Jersey, Maryland, and North Carolina for awhile. It was in Chapel Hill that they encountered the West End Wine Bar. They had great times there and liked the whole setup of the place. They had had the idea to work in wine for some time and so they came out to the West Coast with this idea in mind.     In February, 2005, they officially opened up their doors as, The Hidden Vine. With all of the wine bars sprouting up in San Francisco that seem to be some play on 'vine', 'wine', 'uva', or the like, the name may seem too clever for its own good to those who haven't visited the bar. But, it is true that they are rather hidden, basically in the basement of the The Fitzgerald Hotel, their main entrance being on Cosmo Alley (pictured above) right across from Le Colonial. It's definitely a cozy space, where groups over five are tricky to fit in, but they make it work exceptionally well, bedecking it in big overstuffed chairs and nice, warm colors that ask you to sit, be mellow and have a glass with friends. And as they say on their website, their focus is to have it be low-key. You never have to shout over your glass of wine to your companions sitting next to you.     But cozy, "speakeasy-esque" setting aside, it is really the choice of wines that make this bar, and it is where the real enjoyment begins with The Hidden Vine. Their regular menu always has stellar choices in both glasses and bottles, covering an array of prices, regions, and varietals, both in the old and the new world. However, it is their featured regions of the month where the fun is for anyone who visits their wine bar regularly (such as the author of this article...), which gives them an opportunity to try wines and varietals from regions that they might have never tried before. For instance, I was in no hurry to try the wines of Washington State only to be pleasantly surprised at the selection of whites and reds that the duo of Cahill and Cahill chose for that month.     Some of the regions that have been featured in over their nearly three years in the business include: Germany, New Zealand, North Eastern Spain, Portugal, Southern Italy, South Australia, West Australia, Oregon, Argentina, Bordeaux, and Austria to name just a few. The last of which, Blue Danube supplied a number of tasty vintages for. Currently, they are featuring wines from Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, and Montenegro, which Blue Danube has been happily supplying. People have been enjoying the likes of the Törley as well as Batić, Dingač, Kozlović, and Plantaže. They tell me that people have been very interested in the wines overall and greatly enjoying the Kozlović Malvazija and Törley Fortuna while excitedly learning about the link of Californian Zinfandel to the Dingač Plavac Mali that they're pouring. For those interested to partake, they will continue to pour through all of December and possibly in to January when they do a recap of their favorite wines for the year.     These wines they have selected are not the standard fare found in other wine bars and when asked why they decided to choose these wines now, Angela said that they like to balance out traditional regions with those that are new for most people or being discovered. This set of wines from Eastern Europe are giving them a jumping off point for possibly more in the future. Speaking of the future, some of the regions regulars have to look forward to in 2008 might include a return to Austria, another part of Spain, and maybe some other US States.     So, at their essence, The Hidden Vine is a wine bar that continues to have great service, great wines, great cheese/meat plates, and blindingly good olives (which seem to be impossible to find in other places). When asked if they had any far-ranging plans for the future other than these consistently great goals, David simply said, "Nope." which is the best thing any of us could ever hope for.

    Wine expert and co-owner George Cossette of Silverlake Wine in Hollywood decants Croatian and Slovenian wines from the Adriatic region for L.A. radio station KCRW. The station aired an interview with him in the show "Good Food" hosted by Evan Kleiman. You can listen to the entire show at the KCRW web site or download the interview only (5MB) as an mp3 file here.     During a recent Sunday wine tasting, George featured these unique wines in his store and sold almost every bottle in stock.     Here is the good news: Silverlake Wine has all these nice wines back in stock. So come on down...

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          This is a continuation from Part 1 where we discussed the history and thinking behind the wines. Now, let's get in to the wines properly.     We started with the 2006 Malvazija which is the core wine the Kozlović production. The nose has this nice, soft, lilting grapey set of aromas to it. The body is bright and tones of grapefruit come through on top of everything else. The finish is nice and smooth. There is dryness, but it works wonderfully to refresh you. As described elsewhere the color is really lovely on this wine. It's a nice, pale, beckoning yellow that sits well in your glass on a hot day.     We then moved in to the 2004 Santa Lucia. This is a Malvazija that has a great meaty nose that speaks of pršut, the ham that they eat with great abundance in Croatia. There is light fruit throughout it and a touch of sweet melon aromas as well. It is an incredibly fresh wine, bright and like a meal for the nose. The wine is mixed with 10% of it aged in local oak barrels and the other 90% not aged, so a light balance is achieved with the wine not getting overly woody, but still having a bit of oak spice to it. As you get more air in to it, some honey tones come about in both the nose and the body, which all get stitched together in a nice clean finish.     Gianfranco next poured us the 2006 Muškat. The nose is sweet, but not unduly so and is fitting given that the wine is classified as a half sweet wine. It has a nice leafiness to it and is crisp on the tongue and finishes up well. There is a light sweetness to it that falls down the back of the mouth. We were told the thinking behind the wine was to have a Muškat that could be drank with the meal instead of just once finished as it is usually had.     Next was the Ruža Rosé which is classified only a 'stolno' or table wine. It goes to show that you can't pick what you want to drink based solely on a classification for the wine is really very good. You almost can't detect the nose, it's so soft and subtle. There are very delicate peach tones throughout the entire wine. A tad bit of almond comes across the top with more air. The body is very dry, but has a pleasant hint of sourness to it that works very well. In the finish, it slides back very easily. It's a very refreshing wine that is a quintessentially perfect end to a meal.     We closed with the Dolcinea. Like the Ruža Rosé, it is also a 'stolno' level of wine. It also happens to be a late harvest wine, which means that there is a good deal more sugar in it. Despite this, you are not punched by a glass of sweetness. It is conscientiously delicate and delicious straight out of the bottle without getting a breath of air in it. The nose is this soft, blushing bouquet of aromas with hints of sweetness that all come in the body. It is a very clean wine and refreshing. Again, another perfect wine to finish a meal with.     It was quite a line up of wines that made us thankful we were very close to home after drinking. Gianfranco and his family are making some excellent varietals up in the north and their plans for expansion are both well-balanced and also very fortunate for us as we will hopefully get more of their wines here in the future. For now, try the 2006 Malvazija if you haven't already. It's a wonderful example of how well a white wine can be made.     

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