Weekend Wine: Chapoutier's Belleruche

Searching for the right wine can mean either a leisurely grab of something familiar at the local grocery store, or, for the wine lovers in the crowd, it can turn into a time consuming crawl through literally hundreds of new-to-you wines.

As I have frequently said, nothing beats having a knowledgeable person at a good wine shop who knows you well enough to have an idea about your tastes. Unfortunately, not all of us have the time to develop those relationships. With the last picnic holiday rapidly approaching, the nicest gift I could give you is time. So, here is a brand that comes in red, pink, and white, all of them uniformly delicious and line priced at about $11 a bottle. Even better, just about any good wine department or store, everything from Twin Liquors to Central Market, should carry at least one (if not all three) of the wines.

The wine is Chapoutier’s Belleruche. M. Chapoutier is a superb winemaker from Tain l’Hermitage in France’s Rhône Valley, and the winery is a mere 213 years old. Wine geeks will appreciate the fact that their winery is right by the vineyards which keeps the grapes in good shape, and they have stopped both fining and filtration. This leads to powerful wines with big flavors.

The red version is primarily Grenache with some Syrah. The rosé adds some Cinsaut to the blend. And the white is Grenache Blanc with a touch of Bourboulenc. These are all classic Rhône wines whose only sacrifice to price is a younger, brighter flavor profile than its breathtakingly expensive neighboring wines. For instance, Chapoutier’s Ermitage L’Ermite Blanc runs about $750 a bottle!

In terms of picnic foods, both the red and rosé are brilliant matches with grilled burgers or steaks, while the blanc matches up nicely with all sorts of Gulf fish, from redfish to snapper to flounder. Vegetarians should try the red and rosé with grilled portobellas or cauliflower. The white makes magic with a big salad of fresh-from-the-garden greens and a vinaigrette that is just a tad over-oiled. Enjoy your holiday!