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spice

Spirited savants

The year’s hottest drink trends just might be
the most surprising.

By idy fernandez

Winning Wines

Ask Jorge Luis Mendoza, master sommelier at Cioppino at the Ritz-Carlton in Key Biscayne, Florida, who the major contenders were in the world of wine for 2007 and you’ll hear some familiar favorites along with some surprises.
“Chile, Argentina, Peru, Brazil and Spain were the big players,” says Mendoza. “I just tasted the whites from Chile, some sauvignon blancs that had great character and good minerality because the soil has less erosion on the north side because it rains less there.”
In addition to whites, Chile delivered an outstanding riesling, Mendoza says, thanks to cold weather where the grapes are harvested. This past year the industry saw the return of what was once considered the lost grape—the carmener, which looks very similar to the merlot grape, says Mendoza, but matures later and is vegetable green.
Argentina delivered excellent summer whites that had mellow pear and chamomile notes, Mendoza says, while Spain continued with its high production of quality reds.
Meanwhile, Peru dabbled more in the cocktail area with their pisco, a blend of more than one grape. Its end product is similar to a brandy and is often mixed with juices. Brazil continued to hone its skills in sparkling wine, which was a big hit in England despite the fact that Spain borders it, Mendoza says.
“The consumption of wine has steadily increased in the last 15 years,” Mendoza says. “Wineries are moving from older oaky and dry wines to wines that are expressing the fruit in a glass.”

Wines of
Our Times

Viña Chocalan
Planted on steep slopes in the Maipo Valley, the vineyards in which this Chilean wine is born have turned out some delightful merlot, malbec, pinot noir, cabernet savignon, carménere (shown here), syrah, cabernet franc and petit verdot.

Rívola
Produced in Spain by wine-makers Abadia Retuerta, the Rívola is made of a combination of tempranillo and cabernet savignon grapes. The aging process, lasting for 12 months in casks, brings out its complexities.

Bodega Arzuaga Navarro
This Spanish winery’s grapes flourish in the Castilian climate and produce the lush Crianza, which is aged for one year in new oak. With notes of plum and blackberry jam, it is popular and distinctive.

Spicy Spirits

You've heard about adding a kick to a sauce or cut of meat by hitting it with fresh or dried peppers like the smoky chipotle and habanero—but adding jalapeño to your tequila or vodka?
Those are the kind of concoctions found at some of the hippest bars this year, says Junior Merino, a certified master sommelier and master mixologist who is known as The Liquid Chef in New York.
“The peppers give the spirits a nice balance. You mix the dried pepper with simple syrup [sugar and water] and you get the subtle flavor of the pepper as well as the color,” says Merino, who favors the dried peppers with tequila from his native Mexico. “With a jalapeño the taste is very clean and bright, and I mash it like a mojito. The dried peppers give it a hint of savory spice. Chipotle pairs well with aged rum, whiskey or aged tequila.”
Merino says bar-goers should expect to see more pepper cocktails in 2008, as well as organic alcohols and mixed drinks with South American fruits like the mamey and nance rojo, a Brazilian cherry that has three seeds inside instead of one.

South of the Rio

3/6 of a lime
2 slices of English cucumber 1/4 inch thick
3/4 ounces Partida Agave nectar
1/4 of a de-veined jalapeño
2 ounces Partida Tequila blanco

Muddle the first four ingredients, add the tequila, shake and strain through a fine mesh strainer and enjoy.

Piña Partida
2 slices of English cucumber 1/4-inch thick
2 chunks of pineapple
3/8 of a lemon
1/2 Partida Agave nectar
1/2 ounces club soda or sprite
1 1/2 ounces Partida Tequila blanco or reposado

Muddle the first four ingredients, add the tequila, club soda and ice. Shake and serve in a tall glass and garnish with a thin
slice of cucumber.