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THE FLIPSIDE
11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time Transcript # 121103cb.l32 Holiday Wine
Buying Tips, CNNfn GUESTS: Leslie Sbrocco
Leslie Sbrocco is the author of "Wine for Women, the Guide to Buying, Pairing and Sharing Wine," and she is here with us with some suggestions for holiday wine planning, drinking, et cetera. Welcome to THE FLIPSIDE. LESLIE SBROCCO, AUTHOR, "WINE FOR WOMEN": Well, thank you. Welcome to you and happy holidays. HAYS: And, you know, we can all agree that we three totally look forward to segments like this. VALERIE MORRIS, CNNfn ANCHOR, THE FLIPSIDE: We do. HAYS: This is one of our favorite things. GERRI WILLIS, CNNfn ANCHOR, THE FLIPSIDE: This has been on our calendar for weeks now, actually. SBROCCO: Yes, well, you are women of wine, I can tell. WILLIS: Yes, women of wine. MORRIS: There you go. HAYS: So we all have lots of questions. I guess my first question is, are wine tastes changing? Is our wine vision changing? I guess I can remember years ago drinking white Chablis. You go into a bar, everybody had Chablis. Now I'm very boring. I'm stuck on California "oakie" Chardonnays. I love all the reds, but are we evolving, as wine drinkers? SBROCCO: We are. I think we're getting more savvy about what we like and what we don't like, and that's really the key. And the reason I wrote the book is to figure out what do you like, so that you spend your money on wines that you enjoy. It doesn't matter if you're spending $10 or $100, if you don't like it, you feel like it's money down the drain. MORRIS: But, Leslie, your book is "Wine for Women, a Guide to Buying, Pairing and Sharing." What's the difference? SBROCCO: You know, I don't recommend different wins for men or for women. The reason I focused it for women was that we're the majority of wine consumers in this country. WILLIS: We are. SBROCCO: We are. We buy the most wine, and we drink the most wine. No surprise, right? MORRIS: I'm doing my part. SBROCCO: Good. So I really - it's the first book in this country geared towards females, and what I found over years of writing about wine and speaking about wine was that women tended to ask me different questions than men. HAYS: Huh, interesting. SBROCCO: Much more lifestyle experiential questions, both very intelligent questions. Men would tend to ask me what the score was in a wine publication. Who won the game, right? HAYS: Yes. SBROCCO: And women would ask me - I like the taste of that. I like the style of that wine. Can you recommend others? I'm having a dinner party, what do you recommend? Again, it was much more of the experiential lifestyle. So that's the focus of the book, which I call, buying, pairing and sharing. WILLIS: You know, I used to live in California, like Val. We've all been on the West Coast at some level, and I've got to say - I know you're from there - there's a wine snobbery out there, and it's all about scoring, right? It's all about the points and finding just that perfect thing. I want you to tell us a little bit about wines that we can look for on the holidays that aren't that expensive, but fabulous nonetheless. SBROCCO: That's right. And I brought a few for you. HAYS: You sure did. SBROCCO: I brought a whole table full for you. MORRIS: Yes! SBROCCO: And the first I'm going to kick off with what I call my wine makeovers. I've chosen three different producers, and I've picked their more expensive wine and then offered an alternative, one of their less expensive wines, so you capture the essence of it, but you can have any price point you like. In my book, I call them bargain sips or luxury sips. HAYS: Let me start by reminding our viewers, as we go along, if you have questions or comments, please call 1-800-304-3638. This is a great chance to get some real expertise, again, as you're getting ready to maybe get a bottle of wine for someone as a gift or plan a party. There's the number, 1-800-304-3638. MORRIS: Now, you were getting ready to tell us what's expensive and what is less expensive. SBROCCO: Right. MORRIS: . again, a gender question. Are women more concerned about the price or are men? SBROCCO: I think women are more concerned about value is what I've found. It's less about price. And people say, oh, they're the majority of wine consumers with cheap wine. Well, you know, not true. We're the majority of wine buyers for high-end wines as well, so it's value that people are interested in. MORRIS: OK. Let's see what you've got. HAYS: This is lovely thing that I. (CROSSTALK) SBROCCO: Isn't that beautiful? Well, you have an Amarone della Valpolicella. HAYS: Oh, Amarone is a beautiful line. SBROCCO: It's beautiful, northern Italian, wonderful, wonderful, deep, hearty red wine. MORRIS: Yes. HAYS: Yes. SBROCCO: And what you do when you taste wine is - I'm going to have you look at the color. HAYS: OK. SBROCCO: All right. A little, mini wine tasting course here. HAYS: All right. SBROCCO: And you're looking for clarity and brilliance, and that's just a pretty wine. Isn't it? MORRIS: It is. SBROCCO: And then you're swirling the wine, so put it down on - I don't want to get anybody's shirts messed up over there. WILLIS: I'm wearing white. HAYS: Yes, Valerie is. MORRIS: I'm wearing the right color, so if I dribble or something, nobody can see it. SBROCCO: Yes, you're wearing the right color. Now, you're swirling the wine - you're swirling the wine, and that's really to release the aromas, and I liken it to taking off your pantyhose at the end of the day, which you're getting comfortable, right? We can relate it that. (LAUGHTER) MORRIS: Freedom. WILLIS: Oh, I heard you say aroma, and I thought, oh, my god. (LAUGHTER) MORRIS: You I did hear correctly, but we're just going to go right by that. SBROCCO: OK. No, no, taking off your hose because you are getting comfortable. HAYS: It's like taking off your shoes, taking off those. WILLIS: Oh, OK. SBROCCO: Off you tie, off your hat. HAYS: That tie, there you go. Anyway. SBROCCO: To allow the wine to get comfortable. I've lost you now. WILLIS: I'm back. MORRIS: We flipped out on THE FLIPSIDE. HAYS: Sampling the wine once at a time. MORRIS: OK. SBROCCO: So you are smelling it and swirling it , allowing it to release and get comfortable. WILLIS: Comfortable, it's comfort, OK. SBROCCO: And then you are smelling the wine, which is really the most important, describing the wine, smelling it. And then you're going to sip it and taste it and enjoy it. And do you like it or not? That's the most important part. HAYS: Oh, the smell is fabulous. SBROCCO: Smell is fabulous. And so, this Amarone della Valpolicella by Bolla is about $40 a bottle. HAYS: Wow. SBROCCO: But guess what. They make a lovely Valpolicella - not an Amarone, but, again, capturing kind of the same essence, for $8 a bottle, terrific party option if you have a lot of people. WILLIS: Wow. MORRIS: So people have to read your book or listen to your show to know how. When you go into a store, is there a way that you can kind of do that same makeover yourself? SBROCCO: Well, it's a little tricky, again, in the sense that you are just bombarded by the wall of wine. HAYS: Oh, gosh, yes. WILLIS: Right. SBROCCO: And, yes, it's hard. And sometimes we just pick by label or by price. Again, it's finding a wine you like and trying to explore from there, to branch out from there, and that's really what I address in the book is talking about that. HAYS: Let's look at this white you have, because. SBROCCO: And I brought a lovely white, a makeover here from Australia, Australian Chardonnay. . HAYS: I love Australian Chardonnay. SBROCCO: Do you? HAYS: I mean I just - I love "oakie" Chardonnays, but Australian ones remind me most of the California ones. I'm very boring when it comes to white. I love lots of reds, but I'm really stuck on white. SBROCCO: Well, I call Chardonnay my basic black of white wines. HAYS: Yes, yes. SBROCCO: . because it's - you know, it can be so flexible and make very elegant wines in Chablis or in burgundy and really full-flavored "oakie" massive wines from California and Australia. HAYS: Yes, yes. SBROCCO: And these are two wonderful ones by Penfolds. The Thomas Hyland is $12 a bottle, great wine for a party, again. But the Yattarna, which is their high-end version, is around $60, and it's fantastic, just fantastic. MORRIS: OK, before you go. WILLIS: I'm not really an "oakie" Chardonnay drinker. SBROCCO: That's OK. WILLIS: I like something a little drier, a little more straight-forward. SBROCCO: Right. WILLIS: What should I get? SBROCCO: But do you like Chardonnay? WILLIS: Yes. SBROCCO: OK. Try white burgundies, from the Chablis region of France. They're made from Chardonnay, and they have that elegance and leanness to them that are just beautiful with food. WILLIS: Great. SBROCCO: Or try Sauvignon Blanc, which is clean and fresh. Or, actually, we can move over - I'll get to the last makeover, but you brought it up. Food friendly wines and wines with that clean freshness, I think Pinot Gri, or otherwise known as Pinot Grigio, which. (CROSSTALK) WILLIS: Right. SBROCCO: . is familiar with, is a terrific option for any dinner party. And I brought two with me from California. One is a Pinot Gri by Gallo of Sonoma, and we were just talking about what a terrific brand that is, for about $10, $12, great Pinot Gri. And again, Pinot Grigio, same exact grape variety, just called different things, I brought the Monte Vigna, and around $10 a bottle for that. HAYS: Great, OK. SBROCCO: Goes great with shell fish, any sort of food. MORRIS: We have a caller. Hold on Sheila in Kansas for just a moment. But there is this old thing about wine being very complicated and you're only supposed to have white wine if you're eating this and red wine if - that has gone away, right? SBROCCO: Yes, absolutely. MORRIS: I prefer reds. I don't many white wines. SBROCCO: Absolutely. The best food and wine match is the one that you like. HAYS: Right. MORRIS: What your pallet likes. WILLIS: You know what I love? Red wine and chocolates is one of my favorite things. SBROCCO: Women love chocolate, period. MORRIS: Our caller, Sheila from Kansas, thanks for joining us. CALLER: Hi. I just have a question. I'd like to know, could you recommend some nice organic wines? SBROCCO: Yes, organic wines, that's a question I get quite often, and I'm going to define it. I just tasted the Frey Brothers, which is terrific wine, and there are some lovely wines coming from France. It's a little difficult, in the sense that many grapes are grown organically, like the Bonterra line, from Fetzer, which is grown organically, or Robert Sinskey wines or Frog's Leap from Napa Valley. But they have a little bit of sulfides in them when they're making the wine, which doesn't mean they're fully organic, but I would recommend that you would try those ones as well. WILLIS: What do you mean by organic? (CROSSTALK) HAYS: . was organic. SBROCCO: Pardon? HAYS: First of all, I didn't know Frog's Leap was organic. MORRIS: I didn't either. HAYS: What is the definition? SBROCCO: Well, again, you can grow grapes - it's kind of murky waters. You can grow grapes organically, which many, many people are doing. Sofoblocher (ph) is a wonderful example of that. Growing biodynamically and organically, meaning they don't have any chemicals when they are growing, you know, they use crop cover and bugs to eat things and very healthy. And then they use minimal processing. HAYS: Real quickly, champagne. I love the San Michel from Washington State, the champagne. I think it's a great buy for the taste. What did you bring today that we can quickly show our viewers? SBROCCO: Well, I brought, again, a terrific makeover option here. It's one of the best California sparkling wines, and unless it is from the Champagne region in France, we should really call it sparkling wine. This is the by Schramsberg. HAYS: Mmm, I love Schramsberg. SBROCCO: . which is a classic producer. This is the J. Schram, $80 a bottle, really a special New Year's Eve bottle, but this is their Mirabelle, and not too many people know that they make Mirabelle, which is around $15 to $17, a terrific party option. I also brought the Roederer Estate from California, $15, $17 a bottle. It's fantastic. And the Pommery Pops, which is champagne, and they come in a little single serving. Have you seen those? It's about $10 a bottle. WILLIS: Sounds dangerous to me. (CROSSTALK) SBROCCO: . drink it with a straw. MORRIS: We talk about stocking stuffers on this show all the time, remembering as kids, parents putting things in the stocking. The little bottle would work just swell. HAYS: I think so. Gosh. More ideas than we know what to do with. Leslie Sbrocco, thanks for joining us. SBROCCO: Thank you. It was my pleasure. HAYS: "Wine for Women, a Guide to Buying, Pairing and Sharing." TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 888-CNNFN-01 OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT WWW.FDCH.COM |
