The trouble with New Year’s resolutions was demonstrated years ago by “Calvin and Hobbes,” the much-missed comic strip about a cute/nasty little kid and his fleabag live/stuffed tiger. Calvin decided not to make a resolution because he was already perfect, and Hobbes replied that he had vowed not to be so offended by human nature, but might already have blown it.
To avoid such transcendental tangles, I make the same resolution every year and always keep it. The trick is not to vow something hard, like losing weight or being nicer to people. Instead, I always resolve to try at least one new wine a month — something I’ve never tried before, maybe never even heard of.
It’s very rewarding. If you’d like to join me, here’s a list of some of the lesser-known wines I’ve come across this way:
* Malbec: In France, where it originated, this wine is inky-black, hard as nails, used as a minor blending wine to add color to Bordeaux red wines. But in Argentina, where the sun gets the malbec grapes toasty ripe, the wine is generous and plump and soft, tasting like chocolate/cherry candies. Even better, since it hasn’t really been discovered yet, it’s usually under $10 a bottle.
* Gewurztraminer: Seldom ordered because few can pronounce it (it’s guh-VERTS-tra-MEEN-er), this full-bodied wine tastes like white grapefruit, litchis and mint. When it’s made in France’s Alsace region, it’s full-bodied, powerful and bone-dry. When it’s made in California, it’s more often lighter, more delicate and lightly sweet. Either way, it’s great with spicy, white-wine foods like Cajun fish or barbecue pork.
* Retsina: This is not a single wine but a group of white wines made in Greece of various grapes and flavored with pine resin — a throwback to when ancient Greeks sealed their ceramic wine containers with it. Today’s retsina is much milder than the old ones. To me, they still taste like Pine-Sol, but you might like them; as always, it’s a matter of personal taste.
* Pinotage: Grown almost exclusively in South Africa, this is not a wine blend but a crossing of two grape varieties — pinot noir and cinsaut. For decades, naturally occurring acetones sometimes made it smell like paint, but thanks to new growing and fermenting methods it’s deep, tarry and opulent, rich in flavors of raspberries and plums.
* Torrontes: Another hard-to-pronounce wine (torre-own-TAYSS), also from Argentina, it is feather-light, bone-dry, crisp, with citrus flavors. It’s great as an aperitif or with simple fish dishes. It’s cheap, too.
* Madeira: This is a fortified wine from the Portuguese island of the same name off the African coast. It’s creamy, rich, smoky, slightly sweet, with flavors of toffee, nuts and tropical fruit. Great as an aperitif or with the richest, sweetest desserts.
* Prosecco: This pale, straw-colored grape makes a positively vivacious wine — light, soft, dry, fruity and lightly sparkling. It comes from Italy’s Veneto region, near Venice, where it’s served as an aperitif and with the region’s trademark shrimp scampi.
* Bull’s Blood: This hearty, red Hungarian wine got its name centuries ago when local warriors, under siege by invading Turks, ran out of water and had to drink wine. The Turks, seeing the defenders’ red-stained beards and renewed vigor, concluded that they were fortifying themselves with bull’s blood and fled. Traditionally a blend of four Hungarian grapes (kadarka, kekoporto, kekfrankos and medoc noir), it’s often given an infusion of cabernet sauvignon today.
* Tannat: Originally grown in southwest France’s Gascony area, where it made a tough, ink-black wine, the grape ripens in Uruguay to a softer, richer style.