Cheers: It’s That Gift-Giving Time of Year
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

In her book “Hello He Lied: And Other Truths from the Hollywood Trenches” (1996), movie producer Lynda Obst – a former journalist – tells a story about a studio mogul who once tried, uncharacteristically, to help someone.
The object of his concern was a screenwriter who, astoundingly for Hollywood, was unwilling to write what was asked of her. Frustrated, the mogul pleaded, “Sweetheart, would you just ride the horse in the direction it’s going?”
So it is with the holiday season. It’s foolish – futile even – to imagine that we have our minds on anything other than gift-giving (and getting) at this moment. So the smart wine writer saddles up and heads off in the season-dictated direction, with pleasure.
HERE’S THE ( GIFT – GIVING ) DEAL
THE SEASON’S BEST SPARKLING WINE: ARGYLE BRUT 1999 The usual blather about bubbly during the holidays is that you should pony up – to continue the horsey metaphor -for so-called luxury cuvees such as Moet’s Dom Perignon ($120), Taittinger’s Comte de Champagne ($120), Perrier-Jouet’s Fleur de Champagne ($100), or Roederer Cristal ($190). Are they better? Sure they are. Are they worth their asking prices? Hardly.
So if you need to make a big show of spending, then by all means buy any of these big-name French luxury Champagnes. If, however, you’d like to drink an exceptional sparkling wine with significant flavor and genuine finesse that is also a bargain for its asking price, then what you want is Argyle Brut 1999.
Granted, the gotta-have-Prada set will not be impressed. After all, Argyle is a modest winery tucked away in Oregon’s cool, verdant Willamette Valley. But what relatively few folks know, even the wine savvy, is that Oregon chardonnay (and to a lesser degree, pinot noir) is ideal for sparkling wine. It has the delicacy and high acidity essential for bubbly.
So why don’t we hear more about Oregon-grown bubbly? The answer is money. It takes a lot of money to make sparkling wine, as the aging process is longer than for still wine. (Most wineries are now issuing their 2003 chardonnays and pinot noirs, for example.) And it takes even more money for marketing. Champagne, after all, is mostly about image. Few people even think of it as wine. After all, would you break a bottle of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild over the prow of a ship? Not a chance.
Composed of 85% chardonnay and 15% pinot noir, Argyle Brut 1999 delivers real depth and dimension, as well as the requisite subtlety that separates fine sparkling wine from mere fizz. Here you’ll find the expected apple and pear notes, as well as unexpected hints of hazelnuts, lemon zest, and dried peach. It’s the best sparkling wine for the money this season, never mind whether from France, California, or anywhere else. $19.95.
BURGHOUND.COM: BEST WINE READING FOR BURGUNDY CRAZIES There’s wine, and then there’s Burgundy. To a world-spanning tribe of pinot noir and chardonnay lovers, France’s Burgundy region is their Valhalla – and also their purgatory. You see, the best Burgundies are made by small growers who issue single vineyard bottlings, typically in quantities of only a few hundred cases, if that. Prices, natch, are high – although often no higher than many mediocre, overhyped Napa Valley wineries.
Buying Burgundy is an insider’s game. Every Burgundy buyer has bitter tales of spending real dough on a big name vineyard or producer – usually up front, as many of the best wines are sold pre-arrival – only to be disappointed when it arrives. So they foreswear Burgundy and head for the security of a can’t-miss California cabernet or chardonnay that at least offers some fruit, if not necessarily profound character.
Help is at hand. Allen Meadows, aka Burghound, is the world’s most obsessed Burgundy taster. Nobody – and I mean nobody – tastes as many Burgundies as Mr. Burghound, er, Meadows.
A former Fortune 500 chief financial officer in Los Angeles, Meadows, 50, started his quarterly, Web based newsletter called Burghound.com in 2001 after realizing that his interest in Burgundy was all-consuming. “I just had to do this newsletter,” he said. “I had no idea if I could make it pay, but I didn’t want to die without trying.” He now has subscribers in 38 countries.
Although other publications pay attention to Burgundy, none are remotely as devoted as Burghound.com. If you print out each quarterly issue (or pay extra for the print version) each typically runs to 125 single-spaced pages when printed on both sides of the page. Effectively, he writes four books a year on Burgundy.
Mr. Meadows spends at least 18 weeks a year in Burgundy, methodically visiting each estate, tasting from barrel and bottle. His detailed tasting notes cover the gamut, from modestly priced Bourgogne rouge and blanc (he’s assiduous in finding good bargain Burgundies) to the most expensive grands crus.
And how is Mr. Meadows’ palate? “Superb” is the succinct answer. (This really means, of course, that his judgments agree with mine.) Mr. Meadows is a great respecter of, and elucidator about, Burgundy’s terroirs, judging the wines for what they’re supposed to be, i.e., a Vosne-Romanee should not taste like a Gevrey-Chambertin.
Such intensive detail and advice doesn’t come cheap. But then neither does Burgundy. A one-year Web-based subscription for four issues costs $110. Mr. Meadows is offering New York Sun readers a discounted rate of $95 (offer expires December 31). To subscribe for yourself or someone else, send an e-mail to Burghound@aol.com and mention The New York Sun for the deal.