While at dining at the Main Kitchen in the downtown JW Marriott for what turned out to be very good meal, even if we most of the dining are to ourselves on a Friday night, the rest of my dinner group looked at me to order the wine for the table; I seem to drink a lot more wine than everyone else. I did as I often do in similar situations with people ordering a range of different entrées and be mindful of the table’s budget, especially my own, I looked for the phrase “Cotes du Rhone.” We were very aptly rewarded with the wine list’s sole selection from the affordable part of the southern Rhone valley, Domaine La Vitalis Cotes du Rhone Villages, priced at a cheap-for-a-nice-restaurant-price of $36.
Featuring 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Carignan, 5% Mourvedre, and 5% Cinsault that was fermented with wild yeasts in concrete vats, this medium-bodied, balanced and fairly vibrant red wine with enough fruit to enjoy to after the food was finished, these bottles proved to be a worthy match to the range of the main plates: salmon, pork tenderloin and even steak. And at the price, this somewhat surprisingly delicious wine was easy to order a second then a third for a table of nearly ten.
Cotes du Rhone and its slightly more prestigious and smaller neighbor bearing the “Villages” extension are from the southern Rhone area, south central France, a much more affordable sibling to the exalted, and usually much more serious Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Featuring primarily Grenache, along with a variety of grapes including Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Carignan, with their unmistakable earthy European provenance, acidity and subtle tannins, these wines seem to demand food, and complement a wide array of preparations. These are much better consumed with a meal, as was reinforced to me some years ago when a favorite Cotes du Rhone of mine tasted flat against in a meal-free tasting along with several broadly similar New World bottles. Along with dinner, it would have certainly been the best.
With that food compatibility and wallet-friendly prices, I’ve heard that these should be everyone’s house wine. I don’t disagree. Look for it when dining out, it will usually be one of the most reasonably priced bottles, or at Spec’s, the Houston Wine Merchant or another local retailer, where it can often find a suitable bottle for between $10 and $15.
Featuring 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Carignan, 5% Mourvedre, and 5% Cinsault that was fermented with wild yeasts in concrete vats, this medium-bodied, balanced and fairly vibrant red wine with enough fruit to enjoy to after the food was finished, these bottles proved to be a worthy match to the range of the main plates: salmon, pork tenderloin and even steak. And at the price, this somewhat surprisingly delicious wine was easy to order a second then a third for a table of nearly ten.
Cotes du Rhone and its slightly more prestigious and smaller neighbor bearing the “Villages” extension are from the southern Rhone area, south central France, a much more affordable sibling to the exalted, and usually much more serious Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Featuring primarily Grenache, along with a variety of grapes including Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Carignan, with their unmistakable earthy European provenance, acidity and subtle tannins, these wines seem to demand food, and complement a wide array of preparations. These are much better consumed with a meal, as was reinforced to me some years ago when a favorite Cotes du Rhone of mine tasted flat against in a meal-free tasting along with several broadly similar New World bottles. Along with dinner, it would have certainly been the best.
With that food compatibility and wallet-friendly prices, I’ve heard that these should be everyone’s house wine. I don’t disagree. Look for it when dining out, it will usually be one of the most reasonably priced bottles, or at Spec’s, the Houston Wine Merchant or another local retailer, where it can often find a suitable bottle for between $10 and $15.
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