I was driving through Clayton on a Saturday earlier this month when I realized I had forgotten about the St. Louis Art Fair. Streets were blocked off, it was raining, and people kept walking in front of my car. I needed to get out of that mess, so I sought refuge at Straub's, 8282 Forsyth Boulevard. I wanted comfort food, so I headed toward the soups.
Rusty Van Hecke, who's in charge of the store's liquor department, spotted me (the soup is conveniently located next to the wine department) and offered a suggestion.
"Try the lobster bisque," he advised, adding that it was particularly good served as a sauce over pasta.
And since we happened to be next to the wine, Van Hecke picked up a bottle of the 2005 Savanha Steen from South Africa and asked whether I had ever tasted it. I admitted that I hadn't; he said it was worth a try because it was on sale for $6.99 until the end of the month.
Steen is how the Chenin Blanc grape is known in South Africa.
The most famous wines made from the Chenin Blanc varietal come from the Loire Valley of France. Among familiar appelations in which it is grown are Vouvray and Anjou.
But it's also a major white grape grown in South Africa. Steens can be sweet or dry, and the Savanha falls somewhere in between. It's an off-dry, medium-bodied white with tropical flavors and a long, crisp finish. It would pair well with chicken, fish and spicy Asian cuisine.
Van Hecke also suggested I try the 2005 2 Brothers Big Tattoo Red, selling for $8.99. Not only is this a fun, juicy, inexpensive red, but a percentage of the proceeds go to charity. The bottles at Straub's had pink ribbons attached, and a sign said that 50 cents would be donated to the St. Louis University Breast Cancer Foundation for every bottle sold.
The wine comes from two brothers, Alex Bartholomaus, a wine importer, and Erik Bartholomaus, a tattoo artist. They wanted to honor their late mother, who suffered from cancer. They donate a percentage of sales to charities. As of July 1, they had raised almost $1 million since the project began in 2002.
The Big Tattoo Red is a medium-bodied Chilean wine that is half Syrah and half Cabernet Sauvignon. It cried out to me for pizza, but it would also pair well with pasta and burgers.
