If it’s February, then it’s time again to make space in the fridge for this luscious brew from Downingtown’s Victory Brewing Company. St. Victorious Doppelbock honors the true Bavarian style, but with a sly twist — a subtle touch of beech-smoked malt that adds depth and character.

Bock beers are strong beers, which in Germany usually means strong lagers. Doppelbocks, or double bocks, are strongest of all. Rich chocolate brown with ruby highlights, these beers defy any assumption that lagers are all weak yellow beers. Originally brewed to sustain monks during Lent, Doppelbocks are made with far more malt and far less water than your average pilsner. Packed with toffee-like flavors and aromas of gingersnaps fresh from the oven, these beers are unctuous on the palate. They slip down the throat like melted butter, their silky richness disguising their hefty alcoholic kick.

Victory is one of the country’s leaders in brewing German-inspired styles. St. Victorious may well be the finest Doppelbock produced in the USA. So, grab a case while it’s fresh. It’ll be a terrific partner for hearty meals, from pierogies with fried onions to bacon cheeseburgers.

Over 95 percent of Australian wine hails from the country’s southeastern reaches, but a growing number of top wines are emerging from another zone entirely. Over 1,000 miles from the nearest vineyard region lies the cool Margaret River peninsula, the westernmost point of Australia’s temperate southern coastline. Dominated by small estate producers, rather than large-scale corporate wineries, this tiny corner of the huge and sparsely populated state of Western Australia is making news with outstanding wines.

The style of wine made here is decidedly different from the stewed fruit and jam qualities more commonly associated with Australian wine. And the Leeuwin Estate Prelude Vineyards Cabernet Merlot 2003 combines cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and merlot, in the image of classic Bordeaux wines. Sharp and herbal, this wine is more earthy and food-oriented than many would expect. Mid-weight and snappy, packed with tart wild berry flavors and graced with notes of tobacco and cedar, this wine, currently $16.99 at state stores, is a perfect partner for a sizzling steak and mushrooms or an herb-crusted loin of lamb.

Image, oldbridgecellars.com

In the long and strong tradition of wheat beers in places like Germany and Belgium, the style has always been only modestly hoppy — until now. Brooklyner-Schneider Hopfen-Weisse is the result of the long transatlantic friendship of Brooklyn Brewery’s famous brewmaster Garrett Oliver and Hans-Peter Drexler, brewmaster of Bavaria’s legendary brewery G. Schneider & Son. Oliver had always admired the delicate balance of flavors in Schneider Weisse, a benchmark of banana-bready richness among German Hefeweizen beers. Meanwhile, Hans-Peter had long enjoyed the effusive citrusy hop character of Brooklyn’s East India Pale Ale. The two decided to collaborate, and a new style was born — the hopfen-weisse, a pale, hoppy wheat bock beer.

There are two beers in this series. The Brooklyner-Schneider hopfen-weisse is widely available in the Philadelphia area. It is made in the USA, at the Brooklyn facility, by the German brewer Drexler using American amarillo and pallisade hops. Oliver brewed another version, dubbed Schneider-Brooklyner, in Germany, with hallertau saphir hops, but it is more difficult to locate in the Philly area.

Both beers are absolutely delicious, a riot of fruity and yeasty flavor reminiscent of apple cake and banana muffins, livened up with a tangerine twist of herbal hop aromatics and a quenching bitter bite. Try them with sausages or smoked salmon.

Thanks to the smashing success of a few huge Australian wineries, American wine drinkers have acquired a taste for the juice from down under. But in recent years, we have seen a growing number of wines arrive from small-scale estate producers. Philip Shaw has one foot on either side of this divide, as the legendary winemaker behind the remarkable Rosemount Estate line and the owner of his small high-altitude vineyard in New South Wales.

From these small vineyards comes Philip Shaw’s Chardonnay “No. 11,” made in a decidedly European style, an Aussie riff on the Puligny-Montrachet theme. Taut with high-wire citrus tang, its fruit qualities veer toward apple and peach on the palate filigreed with a classy French oak veneer. Drier than most cheap and cheerful Australian chardonnays, its firm mineral backbone provides that degree of food orientation so often lacking. Try this supple beauty as a partner for mild cheeses or sautéed shrimp, sesame chicken or grilled salmon.

Image, courtesy of Philip Shaw

Marchesi de Frescobaldi “Nipozzano” Chianti Rufina Riserva 2004

Within the Chianti zone, wines from Classico have an international reputation for superior quality. But further north, outside Florence, tiny Chianti Rufina is giving mighty Chianti Classico a run for the money. Leading the charge is the region’s highest-profile vintner, the Marchesi de Frescobaldi, whose flagship Nipozzano ranks among the finest Chianti riservas and is extraordinarily fairly priced.

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Believe it or not, snappy and refreshing Mount Nelson Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand is made by Italy’s most recognized winemaking family, Antinori of chianti classico and super-Tuscan fame. Owned by their Tuscan joint venture, Tenuta Campo di Sasso, the Mount Nelson wine estate sits on some of the most coveted vineyard land in the Marlborough region. Devoted solely to making world-class sauvignon blanc, this marks the family’s first and only foray into New World winemaking.

As one might expect from such a cross-cultural wine, Mount Nelson displays both classic and modern qualities. As with most New Zealand sauvignon blancs, the wine’s aroma is pungently citrusy, as mouthwatering as peeling the season’s first ruby grapefruit. Flavors like passion fruit and guava show distinctively tropical qualities. Yet, there is a touch of restraint here more typical of European whites, allowing herbal notes like lemongrass and a delicate minerality to provide balance. Its seamlessness of texture and resonance on the palate show the hallmark of quality fruit and careful winemaking.

Try this wine with light-weight foods, everything from goat cheese terrine to scallop ceviche, from falafel to veal Milanese.

Image, biserno.com

We’ve come to expect wine to be intimidating. Traditional label terminology is bewildering, and when every bottle is branded with a tasteful engraving, it’s difficult to distinguish one wine from another, let alone determine which would best suit a meal. There’s a simple marketing solution to this confusion, of course — but is the wine world ready for Pizza Red?

This latest wine-packaging trend — labels that let you play sommelier in the state store — is particularly suited to this city’s BYOB scene. Stumped as to what to bring to Japanese BYOBs like Sagami in Collingswood or Kisso in Old City? Try Oroya wine, which spells out “sushi” in Kanji lettering on the label.

Read the full article here.

Photo: Jason Varney

Malty Anchor’s 2007 Christmas Ale is the 33rd in a series of annual Christmas gifts to beer lovers everywhere from San Francisco’s legendary Anchor Brewing Company. Each is made from a new secret recipe and features a different tree label sharing holiday wishes, Anchor’s Christmas card to the world.

In the glass, this year’s offering glows reddish-brown and sports a head as thick and fluffy as Santa’s beard. A liberal helping of caramelly malt makes this full-bodied ale as sweet and strong as a Christmas fruitcake, laden with flavors of rum-soaked raisins and figs, while malt aromas of hard toffee and gingerbread compete with a piney edge of herbal hops.

Good boys and girls may find some Anchor Christmas Ale in their stockings this year, but needn’t rush to drink it up. This is one of the first American beers to be designed to cellar as well as a fine wine. While it’s a tasty treat now, a year or two of aging (in a cool, dark place) will do this beer a world of good.

Image, anchorbrewing.com

Just when you’re starting to think we have too many vodka flavors, something comes along to convince you otherwise. Finlandia’s new Grapefruit Fusion is a mouth-watering spin on the citrus craze that offers picture-perfect ruby grapefruit flavor. While many fruit vodkas have that fake Jolly Rancher quality, this one is more tailored to the adult palate, its flavor more like the addictive ruby-red grapefruit cocktails that are all the rage.