By CHRIS SHERMAN and JANET K. KEELER
Published May 26, 2004
[Times photo: Scott Keeler 2002]
Bob and Sheri Heilman
Heilman's Foxy rocks early
Clearwater restaurateurs Bob and Sheri Heilman's dream to own Oregon pinot noir came true sooner than expected.
Vines they planted two years ago will bear their first vintage this fall, but they have now made a pinot using grapes from nearby vineyards under their Foxy Rock label.
A first taste of the 2001 seconds their confidence in the Willamette Valley region: It's a smooth, elegant young pinot, bright with strawberries and red fruits, a touch of pepper and an easy finish.
It's on the wine list at Heilman's Beachcomber and Bobby's Bistro, of course, by the glass ($8.95) and by the bottle, and at other local restaurants. Look for it in finer wine shops around the Tampa Bay area for about $30.
2003 port looks good
Most years the grape harvest along Portugal's Douro River Valley is blended with grapes from other years into rubys, tawnys and other sweet, heady ports. Only once every few years is the harvest so good that a port vintner will "declare" a vintage, and bottle the wine separately with the year proudly specified on the bottle, the most expensive of all ports.
Hasn't been one since 2000 but 2003 could be next. That's what Rupert Symington, whose family owns the port houses of Dow's, Warre's and Graham's, predicted in Sarasota earlier this month. No official declaration yet, just a heady apertif. Makes sense. High temperatures across Europe last summer already made the 2003 Beaujolais a winner. Late summer rain cut the heat in Douro and produced rich, ripe grapes there, too.
Wine term, explained
Varietal. Just as an apple can be a winesap or a McIntosh, each variety of grape has its own flavor, farming needs and wine use. When 75 percent of the grapes in a wine are of the same variety, the wine is called a varietal and can be named for that grape. Merlot, chardonnay, cabernet, pinot noir, riesling, syrah are the most popular.
Most Europeans, however, name wines for the places where grapes grew, such as the Rhine or St. Emilion.
Jacob "Yak" Shaya is an Israeli software designer who loves burgundy. But it's hard to believe he has time to do anything but drink burgundy and blog about it. Actually, his wine and food adventures cover the globe.
His archives rank 1,000 high-end wines on a scale of 1 to 20, on which 15 is "fair" and anything below 10 undrinkable. He also answers the question "Buy More?" Of the 1991 Opus One that Yak tasted last year: "Maybe."
Wine appreciation workshop
How healthy is that daily glass of wine? The Center for Viticulture and Small Fruit Research of Florida A&M University will attempt to answer that question at a workshop June 5 at Rosa Fiorelli Winery & Vineyard, 4250 County Road 675 in Bradenton.
The workshop will also include information on how to read labels, how to evaluate wine and how to store and serve it. The free program is from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Registration is required, call (941) 322-0976. For other tastings and wine events, see Food File, Page XE.
Better beer
To preserve a beer's flavor, keep it away from direct light and heat. A beer can get "light struck" when exposed to sunlight or even the bright fluorescents of a supermarket. This results in strong off-aromas, vividly known in the trade as "skunked." Beer in clear or green bottles is particularly susceptible to skunking, as are lighter-style lagers. Pass up that six-pack that's been displayed exposed to light, and buy beer either in sealed boxes or from inside a case to avoid a stinky brew.
