Cuddling Up With Some Cold Weather Reds

Unless you lived in Burns and never ventured outside, you would have noticed that it's freezing outside.

Cold weather doesn't exactly make a tall frosty beer seem appealing, nor does it make me want to sip on a chilled glass of sauvignon blanc. I tend to drink much more red wine when the thermometer starts plunging. Cold weather calls for what I have dubbed "cold weather reds" - sturdy wines that fortify the spirit, warm the body, and go well with winter fare.

Looking on the web, there are many people who love to drink cabernet sauvignon in the winter months. This makes sense because cabernets are usually fuller-bodied wines, with loads of tannins (the bitter compounds found in grape skins that make your mouth feel dry). It does not make so much sense to me, personally, because (1) cabernets from my home state of California are pretty expensive, and (2) most cabernets, I would argue, need some cellaring to mellow out the harshness of the tannins.

If you want a good, young, and inexpensive cabernet, you would be well-advised to seek out cabernets outside of California and France. Chile offers some great cabernets, as does South Africa (look for those from the Stellenbosch region). Domestically, I would recommend Washington State's Chateau Ste. Michelle's cabernet sauvignon, which you can get at Trader Joe's for about $15.00. It's medium-bodied, plummy, and delicious.

If you want hearty, and if you had a few extra bucks to spare, I would jump to the Ribera del Duero region of Spain. Their wines are made from tinto fino (tempranillo). The wines of this appellation evoke dry, dusty riverbeds: they are dark and powerful, tragic and beautiful, dusky and dry. One of my favorite wines is the Tinto Pesquera crianza, which you can find at any wine store in the area for about $32.00-$38.00. Can you say "steak"?

If you want equal power but want to spend about half as much, stay in Spain with the 2005 Juan Gil monastrell ($16.00) from the Jumilla appellation. I found this one to be big, tannic, and expressive, but with as much fruit and spice as the Tinto Pesquera had earth and leather.

We shouldn't be overlooking France. France has many smaller or less-prestigious appellations that offer great deals. The Côtes du Rhône, in particular, is an excellent source of low-cost, high-value cold weather reds. Their red wines are almost always blends made of grenache, syrah, mourvedre, cinsaut, carignan-up to 23 different types of grapes. Two great examples are the 2005 Domaine de Piaugier "La Grange de Piaugier" ($9.00-$12.00) and the 2006 Domaine Clavel "Les Garrigues" ($12.00 - $15.00). Both are light- to medium-bodied, have a good balance between tannins and acid, and possess a nice herbaceous quality. Wines from the Côtes du Rhône are often described as "rustic," and I like to drink them with anything seasoned with thyme or rosemary and garlic.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a famous appellation in the Southern Rhône. In the words of wine expert Karen MacNeil, "these are penetrating, dense, sassy wines that can come at you with a dagger of earthy, gamy flavors. They have a wildness to them, a fascinating edge of tar, leather, and rough stone." I recently lucked out and discovered that Trader Joe's was liquidating (pun intended) bottles of the 2003 Domaine La Roquète Châteauneuf-du-Pape for $13.99 each (normal retail: around $30.00). My roommate and I bought ten bottles. It is everything Ms. MacNeil has attributed to Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines, absolutely delicious with lamb and rabbit and a steal even at a higher price.

If you absolutely have to drink a white wine, I would recommend a German Riesling. Rieslings are typically off-dry (slightly sweet) or sweet, and have great minerality and acidity. They pair quite well with Thai or Chinese food, and the dry varieties pair well with sushi and sashimi. One of my favorites-if you can find it-is the 2005 Ch. W. Bernhard Hackenheimer Kirchberg Scheurebe Spätlese (whew!), which retails for about $25.00. I consider this more of an autumnal wine because it has a beautifully silky, honeyed texture, evocative of the first falling golden leaves and cold breezes of the season. A more common and less expensive Riesling is the basic screw top bottle from Dr. Loosen ($18.00): good, off-dry, and easygoing.

Next time you decide it's too cold to go outside, grab your beau, a book, or the remote and cuddle up with a nice glass of wine instead!