Columns

Sticky whites: The Omniboire (thinking about drinking)

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 1/27/2010

Types: Cover Story, Section Cover

Newcomers often prefer wines (mostly whites) with a touch of sweetness; vino veterans tend to move through tough, tannic reds and bone-dry whites … and out the other side to seriously sweet wines. The natural sugar in wine can be concentrated in several ways, including leaving grapes on the vine to ...[MORE]

Affordable New Year fizz: prosecco: The Omniboire (thinking about drinking)

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 12/30/2009

Types: Cover Story, Section Cover

Fun, fresh, and food-friendly, prosecco, a product of northeastern Italy’s Veneto region, gets grudging respect at best from many wine wonks. As recently as 1988, Sotheby’s World Wine Encyclopedia called these seductive sparklers, made in the pressurized bulk (Charmat) method from the prosecco grape...[MORE]

The Omniboire (thinking about drinking): Absinthe

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 11/25/2009

Types: Cover Story, Section Cover

The early story of absinthe, affectionately also known as la fée verte, or the green fairy, is as cloudy as the louche that is produced when water is slowly added to a glass of the potent elixir. Potions made from Artemisia absinthium, or grande wormwood, the herb that is responsible both for the dr...[MORE]

War of the Rosés: (thinking about drinking)

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 7/29/2009

Types: Food & Drink

It’s summertime, y’all, and that means, in addition to 100-degree days, crisp rosés. Texans, bucking the national trend, seem reluctant to drink them at any time, but Omniboire will persevere until pink wine has a positive reputation. The Fig Tree’s Moe Lazri needs no encouragement. “I grew up ...[MORE]

The Omniboire: (thinking about drinking)

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 6/24/2009

Types: Food & Drink

Pool juice and patio pounders “Quaffable” was the buzzword of the afternoon at the last Omniboire panel tasting. So much more appealing than any of the other faintly derisive descriptions applied to simple wines made to be enjoyed in hot weather — preferably alongside a body of water. A wading ...[MORE]

The Omniboire: Tempranillo: (thinking about drinking)

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 5/27/2009

Types: Food & Drink

Let’s start with the name. Tempranillo has more aliases than a fugitive in a witness-protection program: Cencibel, ojo de liebre, tinto del pais, tinta de Toro, tinto fino … and that’s just within Spain, its historic homeland. This mysterious grape may produce light-bodied, lively wines in Rioja but...[MORE]

Italian whites

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 4/29/2009

Types: Food & Drink

Had any good Roero Arneis lately? Omniboire hasn’t, either. Or we hadn’t, rather, until last week. And now we’ve got that new-puppy enthusiasm — except we’re not talking about woolly Portuguese water dogs, but Italian white wines, many of which are also unknown breeds around here. So in the spirit o...[MORE]

Pinot Gris: Oregon vs. Alsace

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 3/25/2009

Types: Food & Drink

The back labels of Alsatian pinot gris wines tend to mention foie gras. In today’s economy, this is not likely to win converts to a wine we know little about. The grape’s counterpart (and historically upstart) Oregon producers make no such luxury claims — in fact, the wines sampled for this edition ...[MORE]

Portuguese reds

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 2/25/2009

Types: Food & Drink

Tinta roriz, aragonez, trincadeira, periquita … the names fall trippingly off the tongue, but their meaning is altogether obscure to even some of the most sophisticated wine drinkers. Port aficionados who have been paying attention, however, will have a leg up on the competition, for many of these g...[MORE]

Cabernet franc

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 1/28/2009

Types: Food & Drink

Without cabernet franc, Bordeaux blends on both banks would lose much of their complexity. Both cabernet sauvignon and merlot benefit from the grape’s emphatic aromas, which range from pretty violets to burly tobacco and leather. Flavor components can include cassis and raspberry, often with a peppe...[MORE]

La vie en rosé

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 12/31/2008

Types: Food & Drink

Champagne and celebration are as linked as Texas and 10-gallon hats in the minds of most of us — so much so that the festive bubbly is all but ignored in ordinary times. Not so with Sir Winston Churchill. “I drink Champagne to celebrate a victory, and I console myself with Champagne in times of defe...[MORE]

Carmenére

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 12/3/2008

Types: Food & Drink

As recently as 1986, wine writer and critic Jancis Robinson devoted little more than a paragraph to carmenére in Vines, Grapes and Wines, her seminal guide to grape varieties. Noting that it had been important in the Médoc and Graves before phylloxera, she holds out the hope that plantings might aga...[MORE]

Washington merlots

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 10/29/2008

Types: Food & Drink

“The No. 1 source right now for good American merlot is Washington State.” — Eric Asimov, New York Times “There is no argument that Washington state wines have become world-class in a relatively short period of time. Merlot was its first major success … rich, ripe, seductive merlot remai...[MORE]

Wines of the Southern Côtes du Rhône

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 9/24/2008

Types: Food & Drink

Red wines of the Côtes du Rhône, especially those from the southern end of the valley, have long been personal favorites, but I didn’t know why until I read the following recently: Wines of the Rhône “offer an animalistic sort of pleasure”… and “put us in touch with our primitive selves.” (Mary Ewin...[MORE]

In the pink

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 8/27/2008

Types: Cover Story, Section Cover

San Antonio is ripe for rosés. At least that was the conclusion after Omniboire’s examination of these visually arresting and (OK, now I’m in trouble) gustatorially (see: I’m really stretching it) winning wines. “We should be drinking rosés [several] months out of the year in San Antonio,” opi...[MORE]

2005 Bordeaux

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 7/30/2008

Types: Cover Story, Section Cover

Critical response to the 2005 wines of Bordeaux has been nothing short of orgasmic on the part of normally restrained critics. Said the Wine Spectator’s James Suckling, “These young wines seduce already with their complex aromas of ripe fruit, minerals and light earth. These enticing aromas constant...[MORE]

Burger wines

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 6/25/2008

Types: Cover Story, Section Cover

It’s summer. Has been for what seems like months now. But if you can bear the heat it is also time to get out into the backyard and do some grilling. Burgers, maybe. At the very least, burgers — homemade or from your favorite patty purveyor — should be more on your mind than they might be at, say, T...[MORE]

Around the world in 8 pinots

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 5/28/2008

Types: Food & Drink

It’s true that Sideways did push pinot noir into the spotlight, sparking a rise in sales and, most likely, an increase in acreage planted with the “heartbreak” grape. But let’s get real; it takes four or five years for vines to start producing in sufficient quantity to justify a viable harvest. The ...[MORE]

Aussie Shiraz

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 4/30/2008

Types: Food & Drink

Here’s what we expected: big, gutsy, meaty, peppery wines that were almost meals in themselves. Here’s what we got: restrained aromas, modest fruit, more cherry than blackberry. The Omniboire panel had anticipated emerging from this tasting of Australian Shiraz — the “Rock of Gibraltar” of...[MORE]

Oyster whites

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 3/26/2008

Types: Food & Drink

It was really unfair, all of it. With the only criterion being to present wines that should be oyster-friendly, flavors and aromas were all over the map, making evaluation an exercise in focus and filtering. But why stop there? Omniboire also introduced actual oysters — eight varieties, each with it...[MORE]

Napa Valley cabs

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 2/27/2008

Types: Food & Drink

Few places in the New World rival California for cabernet sauvignon. Yes, Washington State is coming on strong, and, once you get past the phalanx of malbecs, Argentina has much to offer. But Napa Valley is still the gold standard, especially to the fervent followers of Robert Parker and The Wine Sp...[MORE]

The Omniboire: Texas Cabs

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 1/30/2008

Types: Cover Story, Section Cover

The question on everybody’s lips — at least those with fairly loose lips — is this: Should Texas winemakers bother trying to produce cabernet sauvignon, or should they throw in the towel and go for grapes that have a better hot-weather track record? Say tempranillo or granache...[MORE]

LBV Ports: (thinking about drinking)

By Ron Bechtol

Published: 12/26/2007

Types: Food & Drink

I smell a mini-series. The history of Port provides enough juicy fodder — wars, treaties, and foreign intrigue — to make for some fascinating viewing. We wouldn’t have to go back as far as the first cultivation of grapes in Portugal in the 3rd or 4th century AD; the 17th century will do, for that’s...[MORE]