It’s not easy being green: Talking about Cab Franc, Part 2

How would you feel about a slice of pizza right now, topped with roasted peppers, piping hot from the oven? Or maybe your taste runs to rib eye with salsa verde? Or France’s classic roast chicken, poulet aux fines herbes? If dishes with herbs or vegetables are regulars on your menu, chances are you’ll also enjoy Cabernet Franc.

Wine geek alert

The common denominator of flavor is methoxypyrazine (MP), an aromatic compound found in a few grapes, including Cabernet Franc, and in green vegetables, green peppers, green herbs and green olives. But when you talk to a winegrower about their Cabernet Franc (in winespeak Cab Franc), make sure you don’t describe it as green.

You can use words like herbal, peppery, green tobacco, or chaparral (a new descriptor for my files, referring to shrubland along our West Coast). But say “green” and a winegrower hears “underripe,” especially underripe grape skin, seeds and stems. To understand their dismay, try chewing a handful of seeds from grocery store grapes, then imagine those bitter, astringent flavors in your wine.

But in a cool climate’s long, thorough ripening, and with careful trimming of the vines to allow just enough sunshine to reach grapes, Cab Franc offers unique flavors that appeal to winegrowers and, increasingly, wine drinkers.

The Cabernets

For centuries in its French homeland, Cab Franc’s herbal notes and fine tannin made it a perfect blending grape to its genetic offspring, the more illustrious Cabernet Sauvignon. Says David Stannard of Bordeaux’s Paradise Rescued vineyards, “Even in the world’s second largest Cab Franc growing region, visitors have no idea what it is.”

But during a Dec. 4 Cab Franc Day panel, organized by California’s Draceana Wines, producers agreed, “We don’t want to blend it away anymore. There’s a definite growth in excitement for 100% Cab Franc wines, if not yet demand.”

“The current trend in Cabernet Sauvignon is jammy richness,” says Alex Kemp, of Brecon Estate in California’s Paso Robles. “Our customers are excited to taste the more elegant flavors of Cab Franc, even if they don’t know what it is.”

The demand is evident in vineyards, however, including Napa Valley, where Cab Franc grape prices have outpaced Cabernet Sauvignon, $9,300 per ton to $8,000 per ton.

Going, going, gone!

In our May 8, 2024, “Good Wine” column, we recommended several international Cab Francs, lamenting their short Chicago area supply. I can report that a few cases remain of my favorite: 2022 Cabernet Franc, Wyncroft “Marland,” Michigan, distributed by Cream Wine Co.

Here are others worth asking your wine merchant about, while supplies last. (Distributors are listed to aid their search.)

Cabernet Franc, Ehlers Estate, 2021 (St. Helena, Napa Valley, California): Bracing minty-ness in flavor and texture, accented by dark fruit and bittersweet chocolate, with Napa Valley’s pedigreed complexity. Serve with red meat, especially lamb with fresh mint. About $80. Order this Cab Franc and Ehlers’ Cabernet Sauvignon for a comparative tasting. (Distributed by Southern/ Glazers, Bolingbrook.)

Cabernet Franc “Organic,” Gaia, 2021 (Argentina): Allow this densely woven wine to open in your glass or decanter. Your patience will be rewarded with blackberry and herbal flavors, aged meat accents and plush, firm tannin. Produced by Domaine Bousquet, pioneer of organic agriculture, esteemed for top quality paired with remarkable value. About $20. (Distributed by Burke Beverage, McCook.)

Cabernet Franc Icewine, Inniskillin, 2022 (Niagra Peninsula, Canada): I haven’t tasted this wine, but inclusion in Wine Enthusiast’s “Best Wines of 2024” is a top endorsement. Descriptors include “Honey, molasses, caramel … a dizzying mix of flavors,” along with 265 grams of sugar. (Americans taste sugar at about 6 grams.) The 2019 vintage is available at Binny’s Beverage Depot, $99 per 375ml bottle. (Distributed by Southern/ Glazers, Bolingbrook.)

Learn more about Cab Franc

On Friday, Jan. 17, join me for “The World’s Top Grapes Uncorked” to compare and contrast Cab Francs from France and the U.S., along with two prominent styles of Chardonnay (the Empress of Grapes), Pinot Noir (the only grape with its own Oscar-winning movie) and Malbec (wine’s Comeback Kid). Held at The Chopping Block, 4747 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., registration required. For more information, visit The World's Top Wine Grapes Uncorked: Next Level Wine Course.

• Mary Ross is an Advanced Sommelier (Court of Master Sommeliers), a Certified Wine Educator (Society of Wine Educators) and a recipient of Wine Spectator’s “Grand Award of Excellence.” Write to her at food@dailyherald.com.