While I’m writing this, the Flyers are in the playoffs (and probably won’t advance) and the Sixers are in the playoffs (probably will advance), and Scott Kingery is hitting homers.  It’s a great time to be Philly fan, even if Spring can’t get its act together.

I had a nice two nice wine surprises in April.  The first was at Cadence, a new farm-to-table BYOB in Fishtown.  My friend bought a bottle of 2014 CVNE Monopole Clásico Bianco Seco, which paired perfectly with the fish.  From 1914 to the 1970s, Monopole could be found in every Spanish household and café.  Its bone-dry style, with some sherry (Manzilla) added to the white Rioja (Viura) in the barrel, fell out of style, as the fruit-forward wines became popular. 

After an older gentleman came into the winery and said he missed the old style of Monopole, the winemaker at CVNE tracked down a bottle from 1979, tasted it, and decided to start producing it again.  They called Ezequiel Garcia, the CVNE winemaker from the 1940s until the 1970s, and invited him back to help CVNE produce it.  Ezequiel (“the Wizard”), now in his 80s, said yes.  CVNE is producing Monopole in small batches, and hopefully will continued to do so from now on. 

The wine has high acidity (pairs well with food) together with pear, apple, and dried fruit characteristics and salinity from the added sherry.  Surprisingly delicious, even if you are not a sherry fan (and you should be; stay tuned for a future column on that).  I found a bottle at State Line Liquors in Elkton, MD for $15; Super Buy Rite in Deptford also has it.

My second wine surprise of April occurred at a Merlot and Merlot-blend wine tasting.  If you are still in  the Miles camp from Sideways, and “not drinking any F&*#! Merlot,” please set aside your prejudices, and try it again.  Merlot is a necessary ingredient in Bordeaux, Super Tuscans, and Californian Meritages, and a strong contender in its own right from Washington state and Long Island.  It’s very easy to grow and to drink, which caused Miles’ disdain. 

I bought a bottle of 2013 Arise, a Meritage from Blackbird Vineyards in the Oak Knoll district of Napa Valley.  (“Merlot” is French patois for “little Blackbird.”)  It’s comprised of 55% Merlot; 30% Cabernet Sauvignon; 15% Cabernet Franc.  With flavors of dried herb, cedar, currant, and chocolate and fig on the finish, I was pleasantly surprised with this Californian, which, despite its 14.5% abv, was not the alcohol fruit bomb one might expect.  It was well-balanced, not drinking too hot (ie, no burn from the alcohol), and the tannins were silky smooth.  Being from Napa Valley, it’s not cheap:  $46 (on sale) at Wineworks. 

I guess the lesson learned from the surprises this month is to set aside preconceived notions!  Cheers.