Age matters

The microbrew generation wants its wine

Uncorked by David Marglin

Well, the wisdom is in from on high: according to Frank J. Prial's recent wine column in the New York Times, titled "Microbrew Generation Just Won't Pop the Cork," "21- to 29-year-olds are turning away from wine." Why? Because "wine is encumbered by pretense and affectation" and the industry "has done little to counter it." (Prial does hold out one ray of hope, however sarcastically: wine-in-a-box, allegedly the fastest-growing segment of the wine industry.)

Whether or not Prial's statistics hold up nationally, it's hard to believe they apply in Boston. In the past few years we've seen a surge in tasting-friendly restaurants (Uva, Les Zygomates, and the Vault, to name but three) that attests to the growing market for wine, especially among recent college graduates who covet some modicum of chic.

"Nowadays people around here are willing to get out there and ask questions," says Susan Fortuna, owner of Bauer Wines and co-owner of the Vault. "There are so many more options where people can feel comfortable if they ask questions -- they don't get all that attitude." That kind of openness is why the Boston wine scene is booming.

You could see the signs at the 1998 Boston Wine Expo a few weekends ago. On Saturday at 1 p.m. sharp, when the doors opened, the World Trade Center was a mob scene that made a Patriots playoff game look civilized. Thousands lined up to storm the gates, plenty of them young. Clearly, the microbrew generation wants its wines (although I saw plenty of thirtyish and forty-plus folk trying to fight their way in as well).

The Expo is one of the three largest wine events in the country, and the largest that focuses on consumers rather than on the industry. To me, what makes the Expo rewarding is that it brings wine drinkers face to face with the gods of wine -- the producers and winemakers, those who create the magic. It is a place for people to learn from the source, and to try a whole helluva a lot of wine.

Over the weekend, I met some fascinating people. The Saltonstalls, owners of King Ferry Winery in upstate New York, turned me on to their exceptional Treleaven gewürztraminer and chardonnay. Fiona Barnett of Barnett Vineyards, in Napa Valley, was tremendously engaging -- a connoisseur of California wines and a prime example of how everyone plays a part in a wine family (Fiona's husband got trapped by the ravages of El Niño and was unable to make it out of California, leaving her to handle the masses by herself).

I also met Chris Tietje, the winemaker for Scaramouche and Four Vines, who got his start right here in Boston, at Bauer Wines. Scaramouche is a wine from France's revitalized Languedoc-Roussillon region, and Chris epitomizes the arrival of New World winemaking techniques in the Old World. Chris told me how he fights the vineyard managers to keep their yields low -- resulting in brighter fruit, and creating wines that have more fruit-forward attack. Scaramouche is not yet available in Massachusetts, but it has the excellent structure, bold fruit, and low price (not to mention the exquisite and colorful jester label) to be an absolute smash with the microbrew crowd.

Admittedly, some of that crowd still has a ways to go. Along with the budding enthusiasts were plenty of people not even sure what chardonnay was, or why spitting is essential. (I'm here to tell you, no matter how you feel about the etiquette of the matter, that if you don't spit out your wine at a big tasting, you are going to be a) smashed; b) ineffective, since all that alcohol deadens your taste buds; and c) at high risk of breaking something or somebody.)

So the Expo was a win for those in the industry, for us consumers, and ultimately for Boston. From Friday on, the town was swinging, showing the wine world that this city can do a major wine event. Maybe young folks are sticking to beer in the rest of the country, but here, the wine is flowing and the market keeps on growing. The Expo was money, baby. I'll be seeing you there next January.

Some of the best wines I've tasted recently, both inside the Expo and out:

*** 1994 Bouchaine Vineyards (Carneros) Pinot Noir (Marty's, Wine Press)

A tremendously flavorful and well-balanced single-vineyard wine, with concentrated notes of gooseberry, boysenberry, and laurelwood. Hints of Queen Anne cherry (the yellow ones) in the nose. The reserve (about $29) is hard to find, but look for the non-reserve ($16.99), which even the winemaker agrees is just as good -- maybe even better.

*** 1996 Barnett Vineyards (Napa) Chardonnay ($20, Lower Falls Wine Company, Newton)

A pineapple and oak extravaganza. I loved the full fruit, the lush butterscotch on the nose, and the hints of pear on the way down. Cries for scallops and mussels.

*** 1996 Willakenzie Estate (Oregon) Pinot Gris ($17, Marty's, Bauer)

A smashing floral, slightly sweet white wine, delicious with spicy foods, and pregnant with apricot and almost watermelony flavors. Just try this and see.

*** Gruet Brut (New Mexico!!) ($14.99, all over)

Surprise your friends with this full, less-dry New Mexican sparkler. A superb party wine, it goes down smooth and has a lot more fruit going on than many of the garden-variety California and New York bubblies that you see so often.

**** Yalumba Antique Tawny Museum Release (Barossa) ($16.99/375 ml, Bauer)

The oldest family-owned winemaker in Australia produces this special after-dinner treat, a tawny port-style sweet wine. For the price, it's unbeatable -- and with the rising price of port, I'm serving this at my place for the rest of this millennium. Not too sweet, it has a wonderfully round flavor, sort of like caramel apples or poached pear, and a hint of toasted hazelnuts. Liquid candy. Yum!

David Marglin can be reached at wine[a]phx.com.

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