Tara Q. Thomas

Digestivi!

There are things not to like about the modern cocktail revolution. The seemingly requisite facial hair, for instance, and the suspenders that go along with it. The endless prattling on about ice, perhaps, or the idea that bacon makes a nice Martini garnish.

But the revival of digestive liqueurs is not one of them.

Digestives, or digestivi in Italian, have been used for centuries to help settle the stomach after a large meal — or any other time one feels off-kilter (as a student in Italy, my sister was regularly given doses of Fernet Branca, a powerfully bitter digestive, to ward off winter colds.)

They are probably as old as the distilled alcohol on which they are based — which, being strong and rather raw-tasting, was originally considered more pharmaceutical than enjoyable. Pharmacists (and monks, who were big on elixirs) would distill alcohol that had been infused with herbs, spices, roots and/or barks thought to have health-giving properties, and recommend the results for various ailments; Fernet Branca, for instance, was originally marketed to women to relieve cramps.

Nobody is making any health claims for digestives today (the FDA would frown on that) but many people still swear by their power to soothe digestive complaints. They've just had a harder time catching on here in the US, where bitter — a primary flavor in many digestives — doesn't rank highly. Italian restaurants may be the exception, long stocking grappas and Sambuca, but even that's nothing compared with the array of digestivi you'll find offered today at places like Frasca in Boulder, Lupa in NYC, and Osteria Mozza in Los Angeles.

But the movement goes beyond ethnicity: At Rye in Williamsburg, N.Y., the drinks list actually includes a short list of digestives, served straight up; in San Francisco, any respectable bar includes at least one kind of Fernet, the spirit having attained such a cult following that the city now consumes well over a quarter of the Fernet Branca imported to the U.S.

Bartenders all over the U.S. have been rediscovering the power of bitter through old cocktail recipes calling for a shot of Chartreuse or a dash of bitters, helping to move our collective tastes from the unchallenging sweetness of the Fuzzy Navel toward the bittersweet joys of the Negroni, a combination of gin, vermouth and herbal Campari.

In the process, the cocktail movement has put these bottles of weird, wild, bittersweet bliss back on the shelf, where we test them out mixed into a drink or can ask for them straight up when the digestive system needs some encouragement. If you're not big on bitter, bars may be the best places to try digestives out, as you don't have to commit to an entire bottle. But a bottle lasts a long time, and is a lovely thing to have around the house for the holidays, when overindulging is easy, and they tend to grow on you, once you recalibrate your tastes.

Here's an array of suggestions to get you started, from mellow to most intense.

Marolo Chamomile Grappa: Combining the best elements of a strong drink and a soothing cup of tea, this deserves a place on the essential digestivi list for its incredibly restorative qualities, even if it is technically not a digestive. (It's an infusion.)

Averna: Gentle enough to double as an aperitif, this Sicilian digestive uses local blood oranges and lemons to craft a refreshing after-dinner pour.

Amaro Nonino Quintessentia: The beautiful bottle looks like it belongs on the shelf of a 19th century pharmacy; inside is a mahogany- hued liquid that's bittersweet with woody spices and a gingery warmth.

Chartreuse: The yellow version is sweeter (and less interesting, in my view) than the green; if you can find a bottle of V.E.P., an extra-aged version, it's worth the extra money. Made from 130 alpine herbs by French monks, it tastes a little like a hillside in full blossom: faintly grassy, a touch mentholated, floral and gently spicy. According to Madeleine Scherb, author of "A Taste of Heaven: A Guide to Food and Drink Made by Monks and Nuns," Chartreuse is also "an occasional farmer's aid for flatulent cows."

Barolo Chinato (kee-NA-to): The word Chinato derives from quinine, which is infused, long with a slew of other botanicals, in Barolo wine, to make this Piemontese digestive. It's dark and spicy, a terrific winter warmer, and lower in alcohol than most.

Fernet (ferNET): Not for the faint of heart, this gets its dark color from beet molasses and its bracingly bitter flavor from myrrh, cardamom, saffron, rhubarb and about 36 other aromatics. Fernet Branca is one brand; Luxardo and others make Fernet, too. Approach cautiously: It can feel like a slap in the face and can also be surprisingly addictive once you get used to it.

This article first appeared in the Denver Post.

Jean-Marc Lafarge 2008 Catalan Blanc Côte Est, about $11

As bright and clean as its spare, modern label—a simple, spring-y green vine curling around the lettering—this is super summer drinking. Made of a blend of grenache blanc and gris (lighter colored siblings of the dark red grenache), chardonnay and marsanne, it's light and succulent with lemon and green apple flavor. Coming from a winery in Perpignan, about halfway between Barcelona and Montpellier, it's the sort of wine you might imagine Catalan locals sipping while gazing out over the Côte Sud, some fresh fish or a large green salad à table. Or, at $11, drinking every Tuesday night in your backyard.

This review first appeared in the Denver Post.

Tio Pepe Palomino Fino Muy Seco Sherry, about $15

Summertime lifesaver tip: Always keep a bottle of dry sherry in the fridge. That way, when you suddenly find that it's 9 p.m. and you're dirty, sunburned, blistered and incredibly hungry from toiling in your garden all day, you can simply open the fridge, take out some sliced ham, a wedge of cheese or two, some olives, and the sherry. While you slice up some bread, the bottle will begin to sweat, as if in sympathy for your hard work. Take it all to your back stoop, where you can admire your hard work, and set about eating supper. The sherry will slake the incredible thirst you worked up like nothing else, salty, a little earthy, and as refreshing as a cold shower in its bracing dryness. It will also make the ham extra-addictive, cutting through its fat like a knife. The cheese will provide balance, something rich to counter the wine's leanness. And when you're done, just recap the bottle and put it back into the fridge, where it will last well for another week at least. Any Fino will do, but the Tio Pepe from Gonzalez-Byass is the standard, particularly light, crisp and easy to find in whole or half bottles.

Imported by San Francisco Wine Exchange, CA

This review first appeared in the Denver Post.

Bieler Père et Fils 2008 Côteaux d'Aix-en-Provence Sabine Rosé, $11

No wine says spring as clearly as new-vintage rose. Charles Bieler's 2008 is one of the best I've found of the new crop for the price: For just $11, you get a pretty pink full of crisp, dry red-raspberry flavor and a hint of herbs that brings the wooded hills around Aix to mind. It's savory and lasting, able to move from aperetif to dinner on the patio effortlessly.

Imported by USA Wine West, Sausalito, Calif.

This review first appeared in the

Ransom Wine Co., McMinnville, Ore.

This review first appeared in the Denver Post.

Mirth 2007 Oregon 58 percent, Washington 42 percent Chardonnay, about $13

This actually tastes like chardonnay — good, crisp, lemon-bright chardonnay with ripe, sweet apple flavors and vibrant, citric acidity. It's from David O'Reilly, the vintner behind Owen Roe as well as the value-priced O'Reilly brand, master of sourcing great fruit at affordable prices and passing the savings on to the consumer. Taste it alone, and the flavor of the fruit fills the mouth, ripe and sweet; later, with clams, potatoes and chorizo, it feels crisp and lively, cutting through the richness and matching the bracing, sea-salt tang of the shellfish. Fermented almost wholly in stainless steel, there's no oak to get in the way of the grape's true character — and it proves that good chardonnay does indeed have character. Amazing at the price.

Distributed by CS Wine Imports, Denver, CO; www.cswineimports.com

This first appeared in the Denver Post.

Flechas de Los Andes 2007 Mendoza Gran Malbec about $30

If you're looking for a special bottle for your Passover brisket, you've found your wine. Flechas de Los Andes Malbec is lush and luxurious, the grape's smooth, round tannins holding the plummy fruit firm without any aggression, oak adding a light vanilla sheen. If it comes across as having an international flair, it comes by it honestly: Bordelais vintners Baron Benjamin de Rothschild and Laurent Dassault of Château Dassault in Bordeaux, France, founded the winery in 1999, as part of Clos de los Siete, a collective of high-end wineries gathered by the famed French wine consultant Michel Rolland. That the wine is kosher is just a happy bonus for those concerned; since it's not mevushal, it's just as delicious as any nonkosher wine, and will fit in just as well on Passover tables as it would with an Easter leg of lamb.

Imported by Royal Wine Corp., New York

This first appeared in the Denver Post.

Tortoise Creek 2007 Vin de Pays d'Oc Viognier, $11

Spring is here, so bring on the floral whites, bright with acidity and sunny fruit flavors. Winemaker Mel Master, a Denver restaurant legend, is a connoisseur of viognier, the grape that perfumes the peach-scented, satin-textured whites of Condrieu in France's Rhône Valley. But those wines are pricey, and Master understands value, so he looks to the vineyards of southern France for a more affordable version. His Tortoise Creek viognier is just the right weight for a glass before dinner, with a whiff of spring flowers and delicate stone-fruit flavors.

Imported by Winesellers, Skokie, IL

This first appeared in the Denver Post.

Sitios de Bodega 2006 Rueda Conclass Verdejo, about $14

Verdejo used to be one of those grapes that grew abundantly but no one ever talked about; the wines that were made in its home of Rueda, northwest of Madrid, didn't warrant it. That's changed over the past two decades, especially as winemakers blended in more aromatic grapes like sauvignon blanc and viura. Sometimes, in fact, Rueda's wines taste more like sauvignon than anything else. Not so Conclass: sixth-generation vintner Ricardo Sanz adds just enough to heighten the grape's herbal tang, but not so much that it looses its lemony, mineral brightness. It's delicious with flounder and citrus-avocado salsa. Eric Solomon Selections/European Cellars, Charlotte, N.C.; europeancellars.com

This first appeared in the Denver Post.

Innocent Bystander 2007 Victoria Pinot Noir, $20

Two weeks ago, large swaths of Australia’s Victoria region were destroyed by the worst wildfires the country has ever seen. Entire towns have been wiped off the map. Wine may seem like a petty concern in the face of such a tragedy, but it’s a livelihood for many, from pedigreed winemakers to cellar rats just out of school to vineyard workers who’ve spent their working lives in the vines. Being half a world away, there’s only so much we can do, but one of those things is to buy their wines. Innocent Bystander’s Pinot Noir is a good introduction to the region, which tends to put out wines that are leaner and more elegant than those from neighboring South Australia. Bystander’s pinot is rich with raspberry fruit and earthy underpinnings, and comes in at $20—a bargain in the world of pinot.

Imported by Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA.

This review first appeared in the Denver Post.

Tighten That Belt and Try Some Great Bargain Wines

The other day, Highland resident Dave Perry was bemoaning the effect of the economy on his wine-drinking habits.

"Up until last summer, I would look for bargains, but I always treated myself to a couple of bottles of something special too. Boy, are those days gone," he said. "We drink wine with just about every dinner, so between price hikes and the worry about the economy, we're reaching for magnums of Australian wines and more of what's on sale instead of what I really want."

But there turns out to be a silver lining to this belt-tightening: While he might not be able to get what he had his heart set on, he's finding some great, low-priced wines from places he may not have looked before. "There was the Bodegas Solar de Urbezo Dance del Mar 2007 — lots of juicy tempranillo in a wine that drinks much older than it is," he says of a Spanish red from the obscure Cariñena appellation, and then mentions a terrific red and rose from France's Luberon that retail for about $8.

This sort of open-minded experimentation gladdens the hearts of sommeliers and retailers everywhere. At Barolo Grill, Blair Taylor is now seeing people try wines they wouldn't have paid any attention to a year ago. "People who would have ordered a Barolo might say now, you know, I really like Barolo but I'm not really up for spending that much — what can you recommend?" he says. "So we're selling more Langhe nebbiolos — wines made from the same grape grown in the same region, but just not aged as long." At a fraction of the cost of their more prestigious counterparts, they are great values.

Isn't he upset about the lost revenue? No, he says. "I love this approach. People have always gotten too hung up on a name." Besides, he's happy that people are still dining out. "The other night, one of our regulars said to me, 'You know, Blair, in our version of cutting down, we're not going to be taking any large trips or buying new cars, but we're not going to give up our Friday night at the Grill.' "

Not everyone is. The latest Niel- sen report revealed that 50 percent of consumers are dining out less often and are instead stocking up on ramen noodles (up 30 percent) and Spam (14 percent). But they still aren't giving up wine: Sales are up 7.9 percent.

To encourage this trend Pete Marczyk at Marczyk Fine Wines set a goal for the New Year: To have 200 wines under $20, and 150 of those under $15. That's a major move for a store with room for only 250 selections, but he's not finding it a drag. "It's hard to find wines that are real wines under $7," he says, "but a $15 bottle of wine here should rock your world. Maybe you won't find a pinot noir, but there are incredible wines coming out of the Rhône, Provence, Spain. ..."

And people are up for checking out these wines. "People are looking to have sommelier-level service without paying the markups and cost of having someone else pull the corks and wash the glasses," he says. That's what's allowed him to sell cases of ruche, an obscure northern Italian grape variety. "It's kinda rustic but full of Piemontese soul, a real sense of place — it's delicious," he enthuses, and it sells for $12.99.

There's another silver lining to the new wine economy: At Argonaut, Sheila Carey says she's now able to buy high-end wines that once were sold almost exclusively to restaurants. So the person who used to spend $100 on a bottle of Merry Edwards pinot noir at a nice restaurant can now pick it up for half that at Argonaut and take it home for dinner.

Now that's a way to brighten up Spam and ramen noodles.

What they're drinking now

DAVE PERRY:

Bodegas Solar de Urbezo Cariñena Dance del Mar (Spain, $12) "Lots of juicy tempranillo in a wine that drinks much older than it is."

La Vieille Ferme Côtes du Luberon Rouge (France, $8) "A blast of tannin with no jutting edges."

BLAIR TAYLOR:

Cantine Barbera Sicily Nero d'Avola (Italy, $15 retail) "It has a big, rich, spicy character but it's also elegant."

Guerrieri Rizzardi Valpolicella Ripasso Pojega (Italy, $23 retail) "Can you say baby Amarone? Bang, bang, bang for the buck."

PETE MARCZYK:

Château de Pellehaut Côtes de Gascogne Blanc (France, $10) "Ugni blanc, gros manseng, colombard, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc . . . crisp citrus, pear."

Funky Llama Mendoza Shiraz (Argentina, $9) "Blackberries, cassis and mild peppery spice . . . a good pairing with almost anything from ratatouille to braised short ribs."

SHEILA CAREY:

Cupcake Central Coast Cabernet Sauvignon (California, $11) "Full-bodied yet smooth, with soft tannins."

Lindauer Brut Sparkling (New Zealand, $11) "A blend of chardonnay, chenin blanc and pinot noir . . . crisp, complex and well-balanced."

This article first appeared in the Denver Post.

Yellow+Blue 2008 Cafayate Torrontes $12/liter

Torrontes is one of the most delicious grapes you'll ever taste — should you be in northern Argentina when it ripens. The deep yellow grape is redolent of honeysuckle, with a pineapple sweetness curbed by a pleasant touch of bitter-edged spice.

But if you can't make it to Cafayate, the high, sunny valley in Salta where the grape reaches its apex, you can taste it in a wine like Yellow+Blue. Matthew Cain sources the wine from organically farmed vineyards and vinifies it with natural yeasts; in keeping with its "green" pedigree, it's packaged in Tetra Pak cartons, which are far lighter than glass bottles and take up less room.

And since you're going to drink it tonight, the lack of cork and glass doesn't matter a fig. Speaking of figs, they would be good wrapped with prosciutto and roasted until crisp, with a cool glass of torrontes nearby.

Ybwines.com; or call Baroness Wines, 303-934-1300, to find Yellow+Blue in Colorado

This review first appeared in the Denver Post.

Scott Paul Wines 2006 Willamette Valley La Paulée Pinot Noir, about $40

Pinot heads take note: John Winthrop Haeger, author of the new Pacific Pinot Noir: A Comprehensive Winery Guide, will be signing books and pouring wines tomorrow at Z Cuisine from 6 to 8 pm, and at Mondo Vino on Friday from 4 to 7 pm. Haeger’s book focuses exclusively on what he calls the “pinot zone” that runs from Oregon down to Santa Barbara—an area that put out gems like Scott Paul’s La Paulée, a cashmere-textures, elegant, organically-grown pinot from a tiny winery that set up shop in Oregon in 2006. He’ll be pouring it at Z tomorrow; stop in to see what else he can turn you on to.

www.scottpaul.com

Boom Boom! 2007 Columbia Valley Syrah, about $15

Charles Smith used to manage rock bands before he made his way to Washington’s Walla Walla Valley and started making wine. Now he’s working on what he calls his Modernist Project—a line of wines that “focuses on the way people generally consume wine today: immediately!” Boom Boom fits that bill exactly: it’s a mouthful of fresh, lively syrah fruit flavor, a jam pot of juicy plum fruit with a whiff of violets. And, despite its name, it’s not a fruit bomb. At 13.5% alcohol, you can taste your food through it, and walk a straight line after dinner.

www.Charlessmithwines.com

Gruet Sparkling Blanc de Noirs about $15

Just outside Truth or Consequences, N.M., the Gruet family is growing grapes for some of the best-value bubbly on the market. Gilbert Gruet had been making wines in Champagne, France, for many years before he visited New Mexico; then, touring through the Southwest on vacation, he ran into some fellow Europeans who'd planted vineyards in the higher elevations, where the altitude tempers the warm, sunny days and the limestone subsoil is similar to that of France's Champagne region. Gruet planted an experimental plot of chardonnay and pinot noir—the two traditional Champagne grapes — in 1984; in 1987, he decided to make wine, following the traditional, painstaking method required for true Champagne. That method — the methode traditionelle or methode Champenoise — gives wines small, gentle bubbles that last. The Blanc de Noirs, made mostly from pinot noir (75%), is the richest of the basic blends, an elegant amalgam of cream, toast and red berry notes that's as good on its own as it is with Hoppin' John on New Year's Day.

Gruet Winery, 888-857-WINE; www.gruetwinery.com

This first appeared in the Denver Post.