Spirited Discussions: A Podcast by Montgomery County Alcohol Beverage Services

Selecting French Wines

• Jocelyn Rawat • Season 1 • Episode 6

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Discover the distinctive winemaking regions in France, how to pair French wines with food, and the ways ABS helps its customers find the right wine for their needs.

ABS Retail Store Manager Abdul Jones and Adventure Wine founder Robert Cavanaugh join host Jocelyn Rawat to explore the ways different climates create unique flavors, how food and wine complement each other, and what customers can do to discover French wines in ABS retail stores. Guests recommend specific French wines to pair with seasonal dishes, local seafood, and dessert. They also highlight bottles that make great gifts. 

Announcer:

Welcome to Spirited Discussions, a podcast by Alcohol Beverage Services, exploring alcohol products, trends, and policies in Montgomery County.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Thanks for joining us. I'm your host, Jocelyn Rawat, and today we're going to learn about how to choose a French wine. To help with that, we have the manager at ABS's Goshen Crossing retail store, Abdul Jones. Abdul has been with ABS for 20 years, working in six of our retail stores. and he's a certified sommelier. Hi, Abdul.

Abdul Jones:

Hi, good morning. 20 years, that hurts to hear out loud.

Jocelyn Rawat:

That's great. We're really happy to have that level of experience. And we're also joined by Robert Cavanaugh, who's the founder of Adventure Wine. He's an award-winning wine educator who has hosted seminars all over the world. And I know from personal experience that Robert's down-to-earth approach makes wine education fun for all levels of knowledge. Hi, Robert.

Robert Cavanaugh:

Hi Jocelyn. I'm very happy to be here today.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Okay, Robert, let's start with you. What's your company, Adventure Wine?

Robert Cavanaugh:

Well, Adventure Wine is a staff training and live event company. We train professional waitstaff in restaurants, retailers, chain, and independent location wine buyers. We host hundreds of events for both on and off-premise accounts. These services are provided completely free to various restaurants and retailers, both corporate as well as smaller independent shops.

Jocelyn Rawat:

So what's your relationship with ABS?

Robert Cavanaugh:

Well, they card me every time I walk into the stores. I actually have the pleasure of working with all the different ABS retail locations for 15 years, doing staff trainings and customer service programs, occasionally wine dinners around Montgomery County. I would love to visit more of the wine bars, restaurants, and retail shops because there are so many free programs and assets with our clients, such as Bordeaux, Rhone Valley, Sicily, Spain, and others. Our goal is to make everyone more comfortable with wine.

Jocelyn Rawat:

So many people consider French wine to be the highest quality in the world, particularly because of the country's rich heritage and its centuries-old traditions. But that's a lot to take in. So where do you recommend that I start if I want to understand French wine better?

Robert Cavanaugh:

Well, the best way is to begin by understanding the basics of where wine grows in France and why they're planted there. France is the world's number two producer of wine globally, and there are a lot of different wine regions. So we try to keep it really simple. The northern half of France, above the 45th parallel, is home to Alsace, Loire Valley, Champagne, and other regions. If you move your finger west from these regions across the map to North America, you're deep into Canada. And that gives you an idea of how cold it can get in northern France. And that means white wines are going to be the predominant styles. White wines like cooler weather. The cooler the weather, the more acidity you'll see in the wines. Even Burgundy, which many people assume is famous for its red wines, it actually produces far more white wines, primarily Chardonnay and Aligoté than red, roughly a 70-30 split with Pinot Noir being the 30%.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Oh, I didn't know that. So that's interesting about the whites. So what about the reds? And mostly what I hear about is the very popular rosés.

Robert Cavanaugh:

In the southern part of France, such as Rhone Valley, Bordeaux, Languedoc, and Provence, you see just the opposite. Red and rosé wines are the primary styles here, roughly about 80%, with the other 20% being white or dessert wines. A good rule of thumb is the warmer the area anywhere in the world, the heavier, more tannic, and fruit-bursting styles of reds you'll find, along with heavier whites, such as Viognier in the Rhone Valley or Semillon in Bordeaux. Yeah, they ripen a little bit faster.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Okay, so the warmer climate, I think that's going to be a topic for another episode. So, Abdul, how many types of French wines do the ABS retail stores carry?

Abdul Jones:

Oh, we've got a good amount. I'm pretty sure at this point it's well over 100, and we've got pretty good representation from all the regions, like Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne. But obviously, as Robert just spoke on, rosé is king or queen, if you will. But yeah, rosé is like... A couple years back, rosé was more like a seasonal wine, but now you see rosé sales year-round. So people are buying rosé in wintertime. People are buying rosé in the summertime. So rosé is definitely what's driving the French wine right now.

Jocelyn Rawat:

So I heard you say... that the ABS stores carry more than 100 French wines. That seems like too many for every store to carry every bottle. So how do I find what I'm looking for?

Abdul Jones:

There's a few ways you can go about it. There's a search portal you can use. If you go to the ABS website and you just type in whatever item you're looking for, it'll tell you what store has what you want. But the best way, in my opinion... Just stop by one of the stores. We have like 26, I believe, no, more now. We're almost at 30 stores throughout the county. So no, just stop in, you know, any of the stores. Like the staff is very knowledgeable, mostly in parts of Robert and his classes. So just, you know, stop by, ask questions. Like we'd love to just, you know, help you out, you know, try something new, something you're not used to. I think that's the best approach is, It's just like jump out there and try something you never had before. That's the best way to learn. Either you like it or you don't.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Okay, so is there an opportunity to taste the wines in the stores?

Abdul Jones:

So yeah, actually just about all the stores do tastings every Friday, Saturday. You can go to the county website and if you do a search for ABS tastings, it'll give you what stores have what on what day. So that's... another good approach to take. Just stop on by on a Friday or Saturday.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Okay. So talking about the more than 100 different stock items, so that means that different stores are carrying different things, right? So are there some stores that carry more wines than others?

Abdul Jones:

Right. So for certain, like Potomac is going to have the largest variety. So that would be a good place to start if you're just going to randomly pop into a store. Potomac by far Some other stores, Westwood is a good one when they open. Muddy Branch also has a pretty good selection, but definitely like Potomac would be a good place to start. They're going to have like all of the five grills that you want if you're looking for like really nice Bordeaux's. If you're going to do Burgundy's also, that's a good place to go to. So definitely Potomac, I would start there.

Jocelyn Rawat:

So, Robert, I want to get back to you. I'm never quite sure if wine makes my food taste better or if food makes my wine taste better. Can you tell us about the relationship between food and wine?

Robert Cavanaugh:

Well, you're 100% right in both statements. Wine and food work together in a very nice combination. This is how we train restaurants. Lighter bodied wines from cooler areas have higher acidity, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer. Higher acidity is great early on in the meal. It sparks up the appetite and gets you ready for food.

Abdul Jones:

Yeah, it definitely helps refresh the palate.

Robert Cavanaugh:

Yeah, I agree. The crisp lemon and pineapple flavors literally make you salivate. So if you're starting a multi-course meal with a light-bodied, dry, crisp white, you're in for a real treat. Gentle acidity is your friend in the kitchen. Then you can move on to heavier whites, such as a Chardonnay or Rhone Valley whites, such as Marsan or Viognier. then move on to lighter reds, such as Pinot Noir and heavier reds, like ABS has some wonderful Northern Rhone Cote Rotties, 100% Syrah, or the wines of Bordeaux, which are usually a blend of Merlot, Cabernet, and Petit Verdot.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Okay, so if I'm just getting started thinking about putting my food and wine together, what's the best way for me to start to feel comfortable with food pairings?

Robert Cavanaugh:

Well, the key is to experiment and have some fun with these different pairings. Lighter-bodied reds tend towards softer tannins and more red fruit flavors. They're usually slightly more acidic than dark fruits. Use these softer reds for pizza, pasta, lasagna, calzone, anything with a tomato-based sauce, since the natural flavors and acidity of tomatoes match the gentle fruits and soft acidity of the wine.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Yeah, definitely. So what about some heavier foods, something that might be considered maybe a winter food or a comfort food?

Robert Cavanaugh:

Well, heavier bodied dishes such as steak, burger, lamb, or duck match with bolder, dark fruit wines, such as the wines of Bordeaux or Rhone Valley. Higher tannins work in perfect harmony with the marbling of the foods. The higher the tannin of the wine you're serving, the more protein and density of the food you want to match it with. Spicier red wines such as Rhone Valley Grenache or Morved are great for anything off the barbecue or grill, but you can also play around with the flavors and try a lighter bodied, slightly sweet wine. such as Loire Valley Muscadet or Riesling from Alsace, which can be dry, medium sweet, or very sweet, depending on the style.

Jocelyn Rawat:

So in Montgomery County, being so close to the Chesapeake Bay, we really love our seafood. Can you make some recommendations on pairing French wine with popular seafood dishes?

Robert Cavanaugh:

Oh, Montgomery County has a beautiful green bottle called Pic Poul de Panay, stacked in all their stores. This is from the Languedoc area. It's a perfect example of how French wines don't have to be expensive to be great. They're usually... Under $10, they're just perfect with Maryland crab, shrimp, lobsters, scallop. It's the saltiness and the brine of the seafood that works really well with the crisp, citrusy Pic-Po de Pinay. I also love Gewurztraminer wines from Alsace. Little hints of spice, flower, and tree fruit combining for a really different experience. Yeah, I think rosés also work well.

Abdul Jones:

Absolutely.

Jocelyn Rawat:

So Abdul, what's it like working in a retail store? What types of questions do you get from customers?

Abdul Jones:

Oh, wow. Have you seen an episode of The Bear? It's a lot like that. It's fast-paced, exciting. Goodness, you get all types of questions. Food pairings definitely are one of the questions you get. But a lot of times you get people that are coming in and they want to buy a bottle for a gift or they're taking something to dinner. So then you'll ask them, okay, well, what's being served at dinner? Or what is your friend like to drink? And they'll usually respond with, I have no idea. And there's like, okay, so I got nothing to work with. So usually, you know, you keep it safe. Like, you know, you can recommend like Bordeaux's and stuff like that. Red blends are popular, but as Robert touched on earlier, Bordeaux's are mostly blends of Cab, Merlot, Petit Verdot. So like usually that's a good suggestion, safe pick.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Okay, so you said you've been in the retail stores for 20 years. So I'm guessing that you've gotten some unusual questions or people wanting to know how to pair wines with unusual foods.

Abdul Jones:

Yes. By far, a customer asked me, what would they pair with Sloppy Joe's? And my first thought was like, probably a Coors Light. But no, yeah. So like, it took me back for a second. Then I was like, okay, well, we got, we got, we got a ground meat. We've got kind of like a tomato based sauce. So I was like, okay, let's do like a Montepulciano di Bruzzo. Not overly expensive, you know, easy drinking wine. And ultimately it worked out because a lot of times when you give these recommendations, the customers will come back weeks later and they'll tell you, oh, this was a great pairing. Thank you so much. You know, I love the wine. My guests loved it. So it was a shot in the dark, but ultimately it worked out.

Jocelyn Rawat:

That's great. So, Robert, I really love French wine, but sometimes I feel a little unsophisticated when I'm trying to order in a restaurant. Do you have any advice for how to pronounce the names?

Robert Cavanaugh:

Yeah, in a restaurant, we start with the very helpful bin numbers to the left of the selections. No, actually, never be embarrassed trying to pronounce names. Sometimes the waitstaff can help you. Sometimes we all stumble through the names, but the key is repetition.

Abdul Jones:

Or Rosetta Stone.

Robert Cavanaugh:

We usually publish the phonetics in all of our classes since we want everyone to learn in a real comfortable environment and when they leave confident in their tasting ability to trust their own palate.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Abdul, I understand that Montgomery County carries some French wines that are exclusive to us and that you can't get anywhere else. Is that right?

Abdul Jones:

Yes, we are the exclusive seller of Domaine de Galluval. They make some really nice roms, red and white. And I believe since the summer of 2023, we are the exclusive seller of.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Okay, so I think I was in the store the other day and I heard you recommend it as a gift. Is that right?

Abdul Jones:

Correct. Correct. Like if you, if you have a chance to look at the bottle, it's a very, very beautiful bottle. So it definitely makes an excellent gift idea. It's not overly expensive, so it's not going to break the bank, but you know, and it's actually really, really nice Rhone Valley wines.

Jocelyn Rawat:

And I, I took your advice and I, I do like to bring it to dinner parties because I feel like I look like I spent more than I really did.

Abdul Jones:

Oh no, you should have fun with it. Tell them you spent a couple hundred bucks. They'll love it.

Jocelyn Rawat:

It's a lovely line, and I've tasted several of them out of that line. But Montgomery County is going to be expanding its direct import program, too. Is that right?

Abdul Jones:

Correct, yes. We're going to try and get a lot more that are directly imported so we can offer them at the best price possible.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Okay, and that just makes it cool to be here in Montgomery County. Okay, so we're coming to the end of our discussion, and that makes me think about dessert. So what are we having for dessert, Abdul?

Abdul Jones:

What are we doing today? We're probably going to do a nice Starbucks lemon loaf with probably a nice inexpensive Demi Sec.

Jocelyn Rawat:

All right. How about you, Robert? What are you recommending for dessert?

Robert Cavanaugh:

I'm very partial to the Sauternes that Montgomery County carries in their stores. Sauternes region of Bordeaux. Semillon-based wines with a beautiful thick color, rich, dense flavors of fig, honey, and lychee. Serve it cool, but not too cold. So you can really taste and savor the flavors. You can try this with desserts such as creme brulee or pineapple upside down cake. Personally, I love it with smoked Marcona almonds, hearty cheeses, dried fruits, such as apricots and pears. It's just a real special treat. Very easy to make. And you don't want to miss out on trying this.

Jocelyn Rawat:

Well, then I will not miss out on trying it. Thank you, Abdul Jones and Robert Kavanaugh for participating in today's Spirited Discussion.

Robert Cavanaugh:

Thank you for having us. Thank you for having us.

Jocelyn Rawat:

If there's a topic you'd like us to cover on the podcast, email us at abs.spiriteddiscussions@ montgomerycountymd.gov. And thanks for listening.

Announcer:

Alcohol beverage services is the alcohol wholesaler of beer, wine, and spirits for Montgomery County, and it operates neighborhood retail stores. ABS also manages alcohol licensing, enforcement, and education for more than 1,000 businesses. Its profits are used to pay for resident services that otherwise would be funded by county tax dollars. This podcast is brought to you by County Cable Montgomery, your source for news and Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.