Untangled Vine

Toledo Free Press Article-January 24th, 2010-Wines and Dining

2010-01-25T12:10:00.001-05:00

This is an article I wrote that appeared in The Toledo Free Press of over the weekend, enjoy!

Wine can be such an integral part of our dining experience, but so often, we rely on a few rules to guide us through the complicated wine selections available. How does a novice or a veteran in a comfort zone of mid-priced cabernets widen their repertoire without sounding like a novice? Believe it or not, the answer is: “ask for help”.

Navigating a wine list? Here are a few handy rules to consider:

· Are you a scotch or a Martini drinker? Too bad, they don’t do anything for food but numb your palate, switch to wine; it will make all the difference. Good beer, that’s another story.

· See names you recognize on the wine list? Skip ‘em. Those are there to make you feel comfortable. If you want great experience, ask for help, and make sure whatever you order, it’s something the wine buyer recommends and something you’ve never heard of before. This is a sure way to elevate the experience. The wine buyer is a professional and you should trust them.

· Want the most bang for your buck? Again, the wine you’ve never heard of is the winner with the smallest markup. This pricing strategy exists to help depletions on all items on a wine list. The wines you know gets the biggest markup and the ones the buyers love the most but are obscure get the smallest. Whenever possible, order wine by the bottle instead of by the glass, this will also make you dollar stretch further as glass pours are marked up higher to accommodate the potential loss of product as it fades away. Bonus, the State of Ohio now allows you to take home opened, unfinished bottles of wine, ask your server for more details.

· Stay away from wines that have a big oak presence, this also deadens your palate, instead look for wines that are higher in acidity; this will help with any protein on your plate.

Ok, but what if you’re hosting a dinner party? What to serve? How do you make your party memorable? As always, expand horizons, here are some knock category suggestions that should be available at your local retailer, and as always ask you friendly neighborhood wine merchant for suggestions within the categories.

· Albarino-Spanish white that has awesome minerality and acidity. The best have a great “orange peel” quality. ($20 retail)

· Torrontes-Increasingly popular white from Argentina, that can range from just off-dry to steely, great inexpensive choice ($11-$14 retail)

· Pinot Gris from Oregon-This is the same grape as Pinot Grigio, but stylistically, couldn’t be more different. If Pinot Grigio tastes like Lemonade, this tastes like Lemon Custard ($20 retail)

· Cotes du Rhone-One of the most diverse and assertive red wine for pairings, Based around Grenache and Syrah, can run the gamut from red to black fruit and from soft to rich. Should be around $15

· Cabernet Franc from Loire Valley-This would be Chinon or Anjou-great spicy red that works well with fish, about ½ the price of an equal quality Pinot Noir. ($15-20 retail)

· Rosso di Montalcino-This is Sangiovese from Tuscany, but unlike Chianti, this is a much more powerful version that suits steak and all sort of rich hearty dishes. This is a steal as it is declassified Brunello di Montalcino, which are some of Italy’s most sought-after and collectible wines. ($20-$25 retail)

How to sell wine and sleep at night...

2009-04-06T09:11:00.001-04:00

6 years ago, I was a Sommelier at a really good Restaurant in Santa Barbara. My view every day was of the beach, I watched the sunset over the Santa Barbara bay every night. I had autonomy of a 500 bottle list, and loved my job. I never really liked salespeople, even though I dealt with them on a daily basis. I always felt that a necessary evil of the wine business was that occasionally, people needed to sell wine that they didn't like. If my opinion and knowledge were my source of credibility, how could I ever maintain that being obliged to sell wine insincerely. This was easy to say as a Sommelier, and easier to do. I was approached many times to try my hand at selling, and I always said "no thank you".
One day, The Henry Wine Group came a knockin. I quickly said no, but for some reason, I tossed and turned over my decision. I came back and accepted this time. I decided that if I were to ever make the leap, this is the situation for me. I was very comfortable with my job, and didn't feel like I was challenged anymore. This decision changed my life.
Henry was the perfect company for me because for 2 reasons: a) Best Portfolio in California, huge with great imports b) very professional organization. They taught me how to sell and be honest and upfront. No dealing, everything above the table. They taught me about the value of being knowledgeable about wine. It is these lessons that have a will carry me through my entire career.
Once you decide what type of salesperson to be, the rest is easy. I decided to be myself, with opinion (but not opinionated, you don't need to be an expert at everything), and curious (always learning). This gives me consistency. It also serves me well as the choices I've made and opinions I've given were always for the noble pursuits of servicing or educating my customers. If my restaurants can't use the information I give them to sell more wine and improve their wine program (both are equally important), then I have failed.
I could easily sell wine with animals on the label all day long, but then, who have I benefited? In this business, you always have 3 customers in each transaction: Your account, Your supplier, and the company that signs your check. If you don't represent the right wineries, someone else may suffer, usually, this is your customer as you shill mediocre crap with your supplier or employers best interest. I had to find a way to appease all 3. The only real way to appease all 3 was to only represent producers I believe in. So now I have assembled a portfolio. It's not finished yet, but it's starting to look like something. And this is exciting. It's all producers I believe in. There are commonalities to all of them, but that probably just reflects my personal opinions. Now I can walk into any restaurant or Retail store, represent these 13+ producers and hold my head high because I'm proud of these wines. That's how I sleep at night.

Another BIrth

2009-03-22T23:51:00.003-04:00

Looking forward to the next great project in my world, I have launched another blog in anticipation of starting a new company. You can find my new blog here. And you can find the new company website here. Both are in their infancy. I hope to get the new company, Ampelography, fully launched in the next couple of months. You can also find Ampelography on Facebook, Twitter & Tumblr. There will be lots of great content on both sites. This is a company that works inside the wine industry. We will have little consumer contact, but don't let the industry jargon take away any interest. The site and blog both promise to be something special. My brother, Brad, has put many hours into the awesome video on the company page Make sure you watch it. For those of you that aren't wine geeks, ampelography refers to the botanical study of the grapevine. I picked this name because it implies a science and a study to growing grapes, which in my opinion is the most important factor in the quality of the wine. I am very proud of many of the ideas involved in the birth of ampelography, and it has truly been an inspiring collaborative process so far. For you UntagledVine Fans, I will continue to write wine knowledge articles and post them here. The Ampelography Blog will be wine business and entrepeneur specific. Hope you enjoy both, or at least 1!

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Vineyards vs Offices fighting for your wine dollar

2009-02-27T11:24:00.002-05:00

Coca-Cola, Budweiser, Wheaties, Oreos. These are all brands that evoke a response, and each and every American knows what they taste like. The powers that be at each of these companies have gone to great pains to ensure homogeneity for each of these products. Consistency is so important that “new” Coke is a cautionary tale about how if “it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. There are executives in the wine industry that believe that Americans also want homogeneity in wine. A few weeks ago, I was sitting in one of my accounts, chatting with a manager for a competitor that represents large brands (notice the term brands instead of winery, I’ll get into that in a second), and he boldly proclaimed that in these difficult times, Americans will stop buying interesting boutique wines, and go back to the brands they know and trust. This prognostication has been rattling around in my head ever since. I was so taken aback at his ignorant assertion that I didn’t immediately know how to respond, but here is my retort (I hope he’s reading this).
Brands are marketing. Wine brands are created in marketing offices in concrete jungles, created by middle management in cubicles. They are never created in a vineyard or in a winery. The name is created, the label is designed and then the wine is ordered to fit a price point, and a style. Trucks drive up to a facility looking eerily like the human farms in the matrix. The same spigot unfurls maybe a dozen different wines, all to fill different holes in the demographics. They do not represent free standing, brick and mortar wineries, but vast, non-descript vineyards in the central valley of California that no one ever visits for pleasure. They purchase juice on an open market for the best price. They strive for that homogeneity of the aforementioned brands. This was all brought to the forefront with the Blackstone label. Consistent, inoffensive merlot that hits the right price point but looks like it could be a more expensive wine symbolizing a bargain. Blackstone isn’t bad, but it, and hundreds of labels just like it, represents a miscalculation of stuffed shirts everywhere.
Yes, they sell tons of wine. They sell it by opposing what makes people progress from drinking wine to loving wine. The simple profound rule that applies to all great wine and that makes the quest for the next bottle a romantic and undying quest. Every bottle, should be, and is, a different wine every day of it’s existence. Every bottle within a case is different from each other. Wine is by design, surprising. In the hands of the great vineyards and great winemakers, the resulting product is dependable only in it’s quality, never the same wine twice. I’m being a little overly dramatic. The differences in each bottles may be so slight, it is imperceptible. Nonetheless, this is one of the qualities of wine that is unique. No recipes followed. The vineyard gives you what it gives you. To deny that variation is like making every musician play the same instrument and the same song.
These middle management types have tried very hard to make each of us believe that soylent green is good. Even the great historic names have in the last 20 years sold much more wine in the name of cheap consistent wine that betrays what they used to be about. In the coming years, you will see more cute labels with critters, double entendres and racy graphics. You will see ads in all of the publications. Never trust a winery that advertises. Take a second to look at the back label to see where the wine was produced and bottled. Look for wines from a place, a winery, made by hand by people. Ask your retailer or restaurant about the winery. In these tough economic times, can you really afford to give 20% of your wine dollar to middle management that doesn’t have your best wine drinking experience and evolution in mind?

Try the good acid.

2009-01-23T12:03:00.002-05:00

Have you ever tasted a white wine that made your mouth water and your lips pucker, maybe even making your eyes water? Surprise you? Did that seem wrong? What about a red wine that did the same? If so, it’s time to stop being freaked out by it and start embracing it! Every wine geek goes ga-ga for just these types of wine. Surprisingly, it’s not just to have wine street cred, like say, being a fan of David Lynch (I can’t seem to find any redeeming qualities in his freak-show films). These wines have a very important place in the world, particularly when it comes to food and wine pairings.

Acidity, for our purposes, exists in 3 forms in wine. Citric acid, you should know, oranges, grapefruits, lemons, all have citric acid. The second, we don’t think of as acidity, Tannins, which are the grip you get from big red wines like Cabernet. It can come from the fruit, where it gives a sensation of velvet, or oak where it is bitter like a Popsicle stick, or a combination of the 2. Tannins or Tannic acid exist mostly in red wines and are technically an acid, but when experts refer to acids, this is not usually included. The third acid is Tartaric, which is like irony in that it is difficult to describe, but I know it when I see it. It is prevalent in most white wines that have a mineral quality, and is best described as having a certain spiciness or liveliness. It may even seem spritzy without actually have any effervescence. You will find this in wines form the Loire Valley, France or most significantly from good German Rieslings. In fact, they are so abundant in German Rieslings that they often crystallize either in the bottom of the bottle or on the bottom of the cork. They will look like salt crystals and many people mistake these for a flaw in the wine, when in fact it’s just the opposite, it’s a sign of high quality and a well structured and developed wine.

Wines with high acidity are a function of 3 factors. First, is the variety of grape. Sauvignon Blanc & Riesling are inherently more acidic than Chardonnay. Second is climate. Generally speaking the cooler the climate is, the higher the acidity is. Third, is the mineral content of the soil. The 2nd and 3rd rules can trump the first. I have often had California (or Ohio) Rieslings with no acidity and I’ve also had Chablis (Chardonnay from Burgundy) that would clean dentures. Whenever a rare and difficult to duplicate set of factors contribute to a wine’s character, the result is usually something very special. Rarity aside, what place do these wines have? Americans are not accustomed to anything with acidity aside from Tomato Sauce and Lemonheads. As one of my favorite German producers likes to say, “Americans are weaned on Coca Cola and Ketchup, it takes practice to appreciate acidity in wines”. This is true, we don’t usually expect that rush of acidity, which surprises our palates, and our palates don’t like surprises. But these wines wake up our appetites, they make us salivate, which prepares us to eat. It will also pair beautifully with many foods. High Acid goes great with high fat. Want to make a butter or cream sauce less rich? High acid white is the way to go. They are also great for pairing with soft young cheeses, especially goat cheese. Great Whites with High Acid to look for include Sancerre (Sauvignon Blanc form Loire, and one of my all time favs), Rueda (Spain), Pouilly Fume, Loire Chenin Blancs, Mosel and Rheingau Rieslings (The acids act as a counterpunch to the sweetness of these wines), Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc from Alsace, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (a little too stylized for me but a crowd pleaser), and of course Chablis.

Acid driven reds are a whole different ballgame. Most reds with acidity (think of the sour of cherries, or berries), can be manipulated to be less acidic and more fruity. The more acid, typically, the longer you can age these wines. Reds with acidity of note? How about Red Burgundy (which is Pinot Noir), Riojas, Barolos and Barabarescos, Beaujolais, and many of the best Syrahs, Grenaches, Tempranillos, Sangioveses and Pinot Noirs around the world. Whereas acidity in white wine often tastes like citrus. The acidity in reds can run the gamut with a huge diversity of fruit flavors. Most of the truly collectible reds are acid driven, but very few are viewed as everyday wines by Americans. We tend to like our reds fruity and straightforward. As we develop our palates, we begin to appreciate acidity even more, and in fact tend to gravitate towards wines with these characteristics.

Wine Critics: Friends or deceptive, evil greedy manipulators riding a currency of insecurity?

2009-01-09T11:27:00.001-05:00

Since wine is such a complicated concept for most, and consumers have a difficult time deciding what they like (as strange as that may sound), wine publications have gotten fat and rich off the insecurities of many. Now, many elitists will tell you that all wine critics are bad for the industry. While many consumers only feel fulfilled once they find as many top 100 Wine Spectator wines as possible. I’m here to consider both sides, and tell you who you can believe and trust, and what you should do with most wine publications.

The first and last caveat for anyone that reads wine reviews is to understand your own palate, and understand that what you like will always be in a state of flux. This applies for you and for the critics. There are a multitude of foods that it took me a while to acquire a taste for. I never used to like pickles, blue cheese, mussels, beer (mmm… beer), coffee, good olives, diet soda, but I love them now. I also remember thinking that I could exist solely on Hershey’s bars, fun dip and grape soda. Now that make’s me cringe. See, my palate has changed, and so has yours. I also remember my first encounter with “rated” wines and thinking it should speak to me, but it didn’t. Did this mean my palate doesn’t get it? I felt like those “magic eye” posters you saw in the malls 10 or 15 years ago, never got those either. In hindsight, I now realize that I just wasn’t into wine when I first tried to equate ratings to my personal enjoyment. A novice drinking a $100 bottle of wine won’t instantly see the light. These wines don’t exist to impress people that don’t regularly drink wine. This amplifies a problem with assigning a numeric score to something that is so arbitrary that it depends on yours and the critic’s palate, style preference, etc. I may feel a wine is worth 90 points, but that doesn’t mean anyone I know that will agree. There is no absolute litmus test of quality. It is advisable to try to expand your palate as often as possible. You will acquire a taste for better and better wines, and will ultimately draw more satisfaction from wines. That said, if you like it, it is good. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.

So what is the point of all of these wine magazines and the ratings? The 2 most popular publications Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast are largely lifestyle publications. They do include Wine Ratings each issue, and they each have dedicated teams devoted to rating wine. The other big publication is The Wine Advocate (also known as Robert M. Parker). Parker is probably the most powerful man in the wine industry. Parker’s publication is subscription only, expensive, and features no ads or pictures. Because of this, it is considered the most credible of the 3. In my (perhaps naïve & optimistic) heart, I believe all of these publications to be honest and open about their ratings. Some Conspiracy Theorists believe that Wine Spectator gives preferred ratings to wineries that buy ad space. This is a common sentiment, but one that I have no reason to believe nor evidence to support. All of these publications rate on a 100 point scale. Anything over 90 points is deemed an exceptional wine. In most cases, the same people review all wines from a given region for strong points of reference. I believe that every single person that reviews wine for a living for these 3 publications has a better palate and more experience than I do. That still doesn’t mean that I always agree with what they say. The ratings surely exist to sell magazines, but they also exist for a purer purpose, to guide consumers through an unrealistic amount of choices. No matter how sophisticated your palate becomes, there will never be a critic or publication you agree with 100%. If you are into wine, read these magazines, enjoy them and listen to what they say because they are the experts, but don’t be afraid to disagree. It’s important to stay true to what you like while developing your palate.

Chardonnay-The Little White Lie

2008-09-04T15:25:00.001-04:00

Chardonnay, everyone knows it, everyone has an opinion of it. In fact, it’s the most divisive of all wines. It is so ubiquitous that hordes of people have decided they don’t like white wine after only being exposed to Chardonnay. Yet, it is without question, the world’s greatest white wine, or at least, it can be.

To understand Chardonnay, you first need to consider its roots (no pun intended). Chardonnay is White Burgundy, and White Burgundy is Chardonnay. With a few exceptions, this was the only place in the world Chardonnay was found until the last half of the 20th century. Burgundy, as it turns out is ideal for Chardonnay and its sister red grape, Pinot Noir. These 2 varieties like it very cold with a very long growing season. Burgundy is at 47°, the same as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The winters in Europe aren’t as harsh as they are here, but this should give you some idea of how long and cool the days are during growing season. As a result, chardonnay in Burgundy ripens with tons of acidity. As is commonplace, the acids in the wines are usually tamed by the introduction of oak and a secondary fermentation process called Malo-lactic Fermentation (or ml). M.L. turns malic acid (tastes like green apples) into lactic acid (main flavor in movie theater popcorn butter), this helps to develop the flavors and add complexity to these wines. The oak helps to round out the often harsh texture and further develop the wines. The result is a white wine with incredible balance, mouth cleansing acidity, a sensation of weightiness and a rich, luxurious texture. You say that doesn’t sound like the Chardonnay you’ve come to loathe (or love, depending on your tastes)? Well, that’s probably true, because the California version rarely resembles this.

The reason anyone knows the grape Chardonnay is because of 2 very different California Producers. Chardonnay wasn’t grown with any prominence outside of Burgundy (up until that point, only farmers referred to the grape name) until the famous Paris tasting of 1976, when Chateau Montelena of Napa Valley, bested all of the white burgundy producers one afternoon in Paris. The winemaker at the time, Mike Grgich, made a very small amount of Chardonnay with an extremely long and slow fermentation (developed the acids) and used only French oak. With this method he was able to emulate the Burgundian model, and fooled the judges into picking his wine as superior. In hindsight, many experts believe that this wouldn’t happen if repeated, but nonetheless, California Chardonnay was now on the map. The second contributor to today’s chardonnay was a little winery called Kendall Jackson. What winemaker Jed Steele did in “KJ’s” first vintage in 1982 revolutionized the world of wine. The first wine was to have been a blend of cool climate chardonnay from 6 different vineyards aged in small American oak barrels (American oak delivers flavors like vanilla and butterscotch, but can be overwhelming). Only one problem, during fermentation one of the batches stuck, which is to say that not all of the sugars were converted into alcohol. This is a winemaking mistake, and is now correctable, but for some reason, they decided to blend the unnaturally sweet batch in with the other batches to create what has now become the house style, and barely perceptibly sweet chardonnay with little resemblance to its French counterpart. The entire production sold out in 2 weeks. As it turns out, American consumers love chardonnay with a little sugar. This was a little known secret until 1991 when Steele wrote a tell-all book about his years at KJ, and his happy mistake. KJ sued him, but now, California wineries had the recipe to KJ’s early success and many followed suit, and follow suit today. In addition to the highly unorthodox winemaking style, wineries in California planted the grape everywhere. The predominant California style has turned into a wine that is oaky and buttery, with sweet fruit flavors. Now, it can handle most climates, and this is one of the attractions for producing Chardonnay. Some wineries are making chardonnay the way they do in burgundy, and are using Burgundy as the guide. And others are using no oak and no ML to result in a completely different style altogether.

Today you can find Chardonnay in every wine growing country in the world, in every climate. If you don’t think you like Chardonnay (or white wine for that matter), you may be leaving opportunity on the table, and there are many different styles out there that hardly resemble one another. Keep trying new styles, one day you will find one you like. And if you’re lucky, like me, the greatest wine you will ever taste will be a Chardonnay, for me it was a 1991 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne.

Pacific Northwest Wines

2008-08-29T14:18:00.000-04:00

On a nearly daily basis, I am asked, what my favorite wine is. This is an impossible question to answer. Without being condescending, I am always grasping for the most diplomatic way to explain that there’s no real answer. My tastes changes every day, it really depends on what my mood, the weather, or my current interest. All of that said, I am finding myself smitten by a particular region at this moment. The Pacific Northwest.

Why is The Pacific Northwest so great? It’s not just Sasquatch and Redwoods. There’s something exciting about the wines they are producing, and the spirit in which they are producing them. I’ve fallen in love with not just the quality and style, but also the ethos.

But what makes the wine so uniquely great? It’s a combination of many things, but 2 factors are critical, Culture and Geography. First let’s examine The Pacific Northwest as a Wine Growing Region. The area I am really referring to begins about 60 miles south of Portland (Willamette Valley), and extends north along the Cascades through the Columbia Valley which ends right between Spokane and Seattle. Geographically, it lies to the East of the “Cascade Rain Shadow” which makes the region much warmer and drier than the rain soaked Puget Sound region. Situated as far north as it is, means longer days, and more hours of sunlight during growing season. Low humidity also contributes to dramatic differences between day and night temperatures. All of this means that the grapes grow very well in this area. The cooler Willamette Valley in Oregon is phenomenal for Burgundian Varieties such as Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, and especially Pinot Noir. The Columbia Valley, which follows the course of the Columbia river (begins in the cascades and hits the Pacific near the Oregon/Washington Border) is a gigantic Appellation made up of Yakima Valley on the western edge, Walla Walla Valley on the western Edge, and hosts Rattlesnake Hill and Horse Heaven Hills as microclimates in the middle of the area. Since this part of Washington lies behind the highest peaks of the Cascades, the climate is more like high dessert, and the average temperature is higher, the rainfall is lower, ideal for Bordeaux and Rhone Varietals. Cabernet is King in Washington, but the best Merlots in the new world are found here, and the insiders know that Syrah is very exciting is this neighborhood.

The Wine Culture of The Pacific Northwest benefits from something called the “Algonquin Round Table Effect”. Which is to say that the people that are making the wine are comprised of a) Locals, outsiders and disaffected wine insiders from around the globe (often dissenters from California) b) People of disparate backgrounds in different industries all inspiring each other. The original Algonquin Round table was comprised of writers, actors, and critics. The new version is comprised of brewers, farmers, chefs & vintners. The outsider approach and the relative newness of the region have allowed this group to reinvent the entire “foodie” culture from the ground up. Cute animal labels don’t fly here. Most wines have a true sense of place. Many are organically grown, and most are sustainably farmed. There is a true frontier spirit in this region, a neighbor helping neighbor approach. While their viticultural history only dates back 30 years, its relative youth give the producers perspective. You won’t find castle replicas or sprawling Italian villas with $20 tasting fees. The Pacific Northwest isn’t about tourism or what plays in Peoria, it’s about making great wines.

The style of the region is it’s own, while very reminiscent of a diversity of great regions. If California, and most of the new world, are about sweet fruit and oak flavors with varying degrees of tannins, and France, and most of the old world, are about earth flavors, and high acidity, Pacific Northwest is about a balance. The balance between fruit and earth, between tannins and velvet is rare. The wines have the ability to lean either way very naturally. The amazing thing, that I keep coming back to, is the tendency for each wine to accurately show it’s varietal character. Something that is often rare in the new world. This surely comes from the soul of the region, to be able to craft something special because the circumstances leading up to this wine are so special. One of the extraordinary abilities of wine is it’s ability to reflect the place from where it came and the people that made it. Wines from the Pacific Northwest are my favorite at this moment, but I suspect that based on their recent greatness, they aren’t done reaching new heights.

Holiday Wines

2007-12-29T00:33:00.000-05:00

No excuses, no comments, just an article that the Toledo Free Press ran last week...

Holidays: that 6 week stretch of consumerism and indulging. Wine plays such a natural part of that celebrating, gathering and feasting, that it’s probably wise to have some perspective on how to spend your already stretched dollar.

Hosting a party? Great move! Pigs in the blanket? Check. Crudite? Check Turducken? Check. The baseline festive beverage of choice should be wine. This way everyone can have a great time in moderation. How do you shop for your party? How many wines do you offer? Unless you are a real wine geek, I suggest you keep it simple, Go with a dry white, a couple of dry Reds, and maybe an off-dry wine (please no White Zinfandel). You can get some great party wines for around $10-$12/ bottle, and most local wine shops offer case discounts that will save you 10%. Don’t attempt this on your own; seek professional experience assembling the lineup. The best advice I can give is to place trust your wine merchant. Their career is built upon trying to find you the best wine for the money. They carry brand names because they have to, but if you want to see their face light up, utter the following phrase “I trust you”, and you will be rewarded. Don’t be afraid to discuss your budget. Some general guidelines though, should you decide to go it alone: When choosing a white, keep the acid in moderation. I love a great Sauvignon Blanc, but high acid whites need food, and sometimes these gatherings are more about conversation than sitting down and eating. Chardonnay is always safe (avoid oaky- California versions), but you can wow your guests with a nice Oregon Pinot Gris, White Rhone Blend, or South African Chenin Blanc. For reds, think 2 different style choices. First, something with deep rich fruit and a nice spiciness, like Zinfandel, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Shiraz all of which are great crowd pleasers. Then choose something that has a little more structure like Cabernet and Merlot. Pinot Noir may not be your best choice here simply because it’s nearly impossible to find a decent bottle under $20. You can widen the net to include something imported, because the less you’ve heard of a region, the better the bargain.

Ok. Your party is over and now you want to buy something special for your friends and associates. How do you select something that will be appreciated, remembered and ultimately consumed? Set your budget; know something about their wine preferences, then try to find them something that is a discovery. Often a gifted wine that is gifted is the “gifters” favorite wine, because they want everyone to love it as much as they do.But remember, just because you like it doesn’t mean everyone else will like it, everyone has different palates. Let’s say your friend loves Napa Cabs. Well, you could try to find a Napa Cab they haven’t had, but if they’re astute, they may have beaten you to the punch. The best strategy is to take a style or region, and find a twist. Syrah is a great alternative to Cabernet, and very few people have explored this varietal as deeply as Cabernet, and they have great versions in Napa. Plus, with Syrah, you can get twice as much wine for the money. Or you can take that Cabernet and look for bottlings form other countries; Australia has some great examples of this grape. If you get them something new to them, that will make it memorable. This is a great example of how to use your local wine merchant, with their vast knowledge of all things wine, they will help guide you to find the perfect gift bottle.

Finally, you’ve taken care of wine for others and now it’s time to personally enjoy the holidays with wine for you and yours. What goes with holiday fare? Everything. This isn’t really true, at least not from a culinary standpoint, but at some point, it’s important to just drink great wine without putting any importance on it. Great wine goes best with great times, friends and family. Open something old or new, just make sure you have a great time and happy holidays!

a few things happening...

2007-06-16T09:58:00.000-04:00

It seems like I am always writing about how busy I just finished being, and then I fail to post for a few months. In new hopes that this cycle has ended, here is what has been up…

a) First order of business let me introduce Abigail Jane to the wine blogosphere. May 29^th, 5lbs 11oz. She’s awesome! She’s been a very big part of my preoccupation. I think I have pictures of everyone I know holding her…

b) Our pacific Northwest Event in Cleveland. We hosted Michael Adelsheim, Adelsheim Vineyard, Peter Rosback, Sineann, Poppie Mantone, Syncline, Susan Neel, McCrea, Craig Camp, Anne Amie. It was a huge success, and as great of an event as we could have envisioned. It made a bold qualitative statement to host such a great event. Very well attended by both the trade and consumers

c) We now have 2 salespeople in Toledo. That means that I now have some help, it also means I needed to spend a lot of time training our new guy. His name is Evan, and he is local musician who know as much about beer as I think I know about wine, but he has a great wine palate and endless enthusiasm. The only thing that makes me nervous is he is very forgiving of late 1970’s Rolling Stones. We are both big fans of both Queen & The Replacements, so I’m not that worried.

d) Maumee Valley Food and Wine Festival-I haven’t been spending as much time on this as I’d like, but it’s starting to take on a life of it’s own. My brother and his team designed that very cool logo. October 6^th, 2007, should be an incredible event. C’mo Toledo, don’t disappoint me, you haven’t yet. I’m staking everything on my theory that you all want something better…

With Springtime, comes the rebirth of Untagled Vine.

2007-04-08T15:34:00.000-04:00

OK, that was a ridiculously long time between posts. Where do I begin? Is anyone still reading this? I originally started this blog as a way to post my articles that were published in one of our local papers. As it turns out, said paper wasn’t so interested in wine articles anymore, maybe they’ll change their mind one day. At any rate, that was my original inspiration for posting. I then became enthralled by many of my fellow bloggers, and I read everyone’s blogs on a nearly daily basis. So, blogging was always on my mind. Then, last year, our company went through a major transformation, and I found myself devoting all of my time and creative energy towards getting this thing off the ground. Business has been growing exponentially, and my involvement in the day to day operations and planning has grown as well. So here I sit 6 months later trying to figure out why I should blog, and of course realize that this is another creative outlet for me. It’s a place to flesh out my opinions, experiences and theories. So this blog exists for my own catharsis, once in a while I get an email, or a friend or family member tell me they read it, but for me, it has to be about an outlet. That’s why I try to avoid the “Today I had a cheese sandwich” syndrome. Today marks the beginning of untangled vine 2.0, or v.2, or the next generation, or electric boogaloo, or the reckoning, whatever.

So what’s really been happening? Well, we are expecting a new addition to our family within the next 2 months. That’s really exciting for us, obviously. But this isn’t my personal journal, so except for the biggest of news, I will skip over these details, this is after all about food and wine, and the cultural battles that we fight for the sake of food and wine as culture. A little too self-important? Yeah, that’s me, and that is my advice on how to enjoy your livelihood, by assigning an Us vs. Them relationship, and treat it like you are personally trying to save the entire civilization.

On that note, I am in the middle of another cultural struggle. I have been asked to head up a Toledo Food & Wine Festival. It’s my own fault, and it was my idea about a year ago to mention this to a friend of mine that sits on the board at Citifest Toledo (that’s the Non-profit organization that puts together many of the well-attended riverfront events including Rally by the River, etc…). They wanted to use me to put together this event, but I didn’t like the amount of time until event (< st="on">Toledo a better place, with a better self image, with what could possibly be the best food and wine event in Ohio ever! The general apathy has been taxing the hell out of me, but I will persevere, and just as I sell wine everyday, I just now need to sell this event to the good people of Toledo if I have to beat them over the head with it. So as it stands, The Maumee Valley Food & Wine Festival will happen on October 6th, 2007.

Also exciting for me, bringing my career full circle. I have always been of French Wine, and lately, we have scored some great French wines for our portfolio (a friend of mine recently compared building your portfolio of producers to building a baseball card collection- this is a perfect comparison) and since we have grown and improved so much, we are now in a position for me to go after some of my favorite producers that no one else can quite do justice to. It’s a small and very good industry, and the constant change and challenge down the next road make everything in the wine industry more and more interesting every day.

2006-11-05T17:43:00.000-05:00

Stop number 2, after getting lost, was Duxoup in Dry Creek. With what will always be one of the most memorable winery visits I will ever have, we were introduced to Andy & Deborah Cutter. Want to hear unique? Duxoup leads with Charbono. I can say, especially after tasting Coturri’s practically rancid version yesterday (Not to rant, but with anywhere from 2-10% Residual Sugar, the whole “naturalistic approach to winemaking is lost on me when wine itself is just a pit stop on the way to the natural progression towards vinegar.), that this is the best Charbono I’ve ever tasted. Ok, it’s a bit of a geek thing, but this wine is fantastic. One of the latest ripening varietals in Napa, they usually harvest around Thanksgiving, and end up with 12% alcohol. Great balance and fresh fruit elevate this from a curiosity to a world class wine. We also tasted an excellent Sangiovese & Syrah. The highlight was the handmade home they live in as well as the hand made gravity flow winery. Did I mention they have a thing for Sumo Wrestlers, seriously. The name Duxoup, comes for the French phonetic spelling of the word Duck Soup, which is what they named their home as they were building it by hand over the course of several years.

Napa Sonoma Trip Day 3 Part 1

2006-11-05T17:35:00.001-05:00

So if I took this trip 3 months ago, why am I still writing about it, and just now getting to it? Well, I’ve been really busy, but this blog is the telltale heart of personal journals, so without waxing poetic about my exploits, I feel like it didn’t really happen. Wow, blogs have really improved the quality of my life. But here it is, the dramatic conclusion to my 3 days in Napa and Sonoma, the third day-Sonoma.

We had many stops during this beautiful day in Sonoma, the first was Eris Ross in Glen Ellen. Eric Ross is dedicated to making amazing Zins and Pinot from mostly the Russian River. Their Pinots have an incredible Old-World quality that is most certainly age-worthy, and their Zins are likewise age-worthy, with great vibrant acidity. They source from some incredible vineyards such as Saralee’s and Occidental. These are cerebral wines that have a unique feel. The story behind this winery is interesting as well. 2 old friends, Eric Luse and John Ross Storey, former acclaimed photographers from San Francisco daily newspapers, and longtime epicureans, decided to get into the wine business.

Napa Valley Day 2, part 2

2006-09-28T09:25:00.000-04:00

Peter Thompson led us up a long and twisty road, it reminded me of the time, 2 years ago, that I rode up Spring Mountain with the Henry Wine Group SoCal divison, and got so carsick that I booted right next to the VP of the company. Damn You Ford Windstar! Your bad shocks, and top heaviness, caused me to miss the afternoon at Cain (along with being overserved the previous evening) but that’s a different story. Today we were riding to the top of Diamond Mountain, to one of the highest elevation vineyards in the whole region. We already knew Peter Thompson from Andrew Geoffrey was putting out some world class Cabs, but we of course had to take a look at this remote vineyard ourselves. Armed with some beautiful steaks, cheeses breads, etc, Peter hooked it up! With what had to be the most breathtaking view of the visit., 1800ft elevation on a clear day, pretty much gives you the lay of the land. We could see just about every vineyard in the Northern Half of the Valley from one vantage point. A truly spectacular day! But let me mention the wines. Andrew Geoffrey makes one wine, Cabernet. It is blended with all of the usual suspects, and they do receive some
press, but I would just like to say this: press can’t do these wines justice. Their deep, rich tannins, and unending complexity make me think of only one other producer from this region, and at a lower elevation, only Diamond Creek has made wines of
this style. The only difference is the fact that Andrew Geoffrey wines show better young. The vines were planted around 1997, so within a few vintages, they should really start showing their stuff. It seems that 10 years is what Cab needs to peak, which is an almost unimaginable statement having tasted 3rd-5th leaf of these wines.

The rest of the day was spent visiting some potential new producers, and the competition being what it is, they shall remain secret for the time being.

Napa Valley Day 2, part 1

2006-09-28T09:09:00.000-04:00

Ballentine has a storied and rich history in the Napa Valley. In fact, they are celebrating 100th anniversary this year. Originating as the Pocai Family, the winery has fluctuated back and forth between Pocai and Ballentine for the better part of the last 80 years, and Pocai Vineyard is still providing some of the best zin grapes around. Van (Ballentine) and Betty (Pocai) have been the embodiment of these 2 families coming together. Van has worked over 60 harvests in Napa Valley, and certainly knows where all the bodies are buried. As we tasted through just about everything you can imagine, we were amazed at the breadth of the wines. My 2 favs were undoubtedly the 05 Chenin Blanc, which has got to be the best example of this grape I’ve ever seen in the US (they used to supply most of Chappelet’s production, so don’t poo poo me), and the as yet unreleased, 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon. Ballentine has always been known for their Zins, and the multiple examples were all impressive in a very noble and structured way. The inclusion of the best oak barrels (Gamba, among others) today, is helping to elevate this historic producer to newfound heights.

Napa Trip Part 2- still day one

2006-08-21T09:21:00.000-04:00

One of the main reasons for our Napa/Sonoma trip was for the world premiere of Matt (henceforth known as Mat’tulio) Bonanno’s custom crush Napa Cab. This is a wine made at Steltzner Vineyards according to Matt’s specific instructions and ideal style. Matt and his family are very involved in our company, and this is an exciting time. So we were taken in by the extraordinarily hospitable Steltzner family, and treated to a Michael-Chiarello-eat-your-heart-out-Napa-Valley-get-together.
I can’t begin to describe the generosity and love that is Dick Steltzner and his clan. Every member of the family is the ideal host, buzzing around, connecting people, and most importantly, serving kick ass food. Their’s is not a typical Napa the rich get richer story either. This is a story that dates back 40 years, when buying a swath of land in The Stag’s Leap District seemed like a questionable business move at best. But Dick grew up not too far from the bay area, and had a bit of faith in the potential. You can tell from his demeanor and large, tough hands that this winery was built on sweat equity, and perseverance. This winery was also built on humility and respect for the product and consumer. This is why their wines are priced the way they are, fairly. Stag Leap District Cabs typically retail for double the price of a Steltzner bottling, which is usually better than the competitors version. The Winery isn’t some sort of monument, or Chateau, but rather, a building offset, with a non-descript cavern.

The wines themselves display a consistent style. Since they are mostly Bordeaux Varietals, all of the reds share a common thread of a fine-grained, fruit driven tannin, which can only come from the vineyard. The wines are all balanced, with delicious dense fruit, and incredible complexity. The star for me is the Merlot, which I personally rank in the top 5 Merlots I’ve ever had from the US (along with Pepper Bridge, Larkmead, Medlock Ames and Del Dotto). The Cab is the calling card, and is not to be missed, but one of the outright best values in the whole world of wine is the Claret, which unlike other California Appellation Claret’s at the same price, is 70% Stag’s Leap District, 30% Oak Knoll District.

Napa Trip Part 1

2006-08-15T17:51:00.000-04:00

Last week, the whole team from 55 degrees went on a pilgrimage back to the Motherland (at least of wine in this country). We visited, well, too many Wineries to recount, and a few that I can’t discuss. But we drank some amazing juice, and chatted with some very cool folk, and a few that weren’t all that cool. This is my little chronicle of what went down.

Part 1- L’Uvaggio di Giacomo & Renard at Zuzu

We met with 2 of our geekiest (endearment) suppliers immediately after traveling (and fasting) for 11 hours. Jim Moore of L’Uvaggio di Giacomo must reaaly like to make things difficult. He is one of the best producers of Cal-Itals, well, in California. A tough marketing niche is an understatement. Problem is, everything he makes is excellent. He has opted for an esoteric label, and a very esoteric name. Both of which are probably changing in the not too distant future. He makes Barbera, Rosato, Arneis, Vermentino, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, and Vin Santo. We tasted all that day except the Vermentino, he’s sold out of that little gem. Moore has worked in Napa for about 40 years, and was pretty important with Mondavi (remember the La Famiglia & Luce projects? That’s him.). He is, as we like to say, Salty. That means he’s like Quint’s (from Jaws) occasionally charming, brilliant, and slightly disaffected offspring. But we love him nonetheless.

Bayard Fox of Renard hits us in our sweet spot. He makes incredible Terroir driven Rhone Varietals mostly from the North Coast. His wines showed great, and we fell in love with a few rarer selections, especially the Truchard Vineyard Syrah, The Santa Rita Syrah (Cote Rotie Anyone?) and the consensus fav. The Cappelli Vineyard Syrah, which was so old world, with it’s nose of raw meat, that we just wanted to cry. Bayard is a Barrel Salesmen by day, and not just any salesmen, he sells some of the best French Oak to guys like Jean Louis Chave. Renard is , French for Fox, which obviously explains the name of the winery. Bayard is also a tremendously cool guy with hilarious opinions and gossip about all sorts of things you don’t read about in the average lifestyle magazine.

If you don’t know either of these guys wine, well, get with it…

adieu.

2006-07-31T21:05:00.000-04:00

Earlier this month, Michel Richard CITRONELLE in Santa Barbara closed their doors in favor of a new concept called Fresco's. For me, this is a very sad turn of events. I relate it to finding out your childhood home has been leveled. I spent 3 years as Sommelier at CITRONELLE, and for me, it was the most intensive and fascinating span of my wine career. It's not that the restaurant was the best restaurant (it was quite good to be sure) it just provided me with a forum to learn a great deal about wine. We had a 500 bottle California/ French list, so, I was well versed in the old school vs. new school dichotomy. It also taught me just about everything I would ever need to know about how buyers feel about distributors and salespeople, and provided me with cue on how not to be that guy. I dealt with an ass of a French chef that makes Gordon Ramsey look like royalty (Felicien Cueff, I curse you wherever you are, enjoying your strange fetish), and a prince of a celebrity chef, who was mostly occupied by his top notch D.C. venture by the same name. I served wine to many celebs, including Julia Child, and I had to throw coked-up dotcom-ers out of a winemaker dinner. Let’s face it, restaurant life generally sucks, long hours for no pay, but, It was where my Career found it’s voice. It was the springboard for everything that would happen professionally from that point forward.

I still stay in touch with some of the good people that I worked with there, and have likely forever lost touch with many others. I have had meaningful wine jobs before this experience, and certainly since, but this span was an epiphany. The first moment I began to succeed and excel. It was the time I built relationships in this business that continue on to this day. It was the time that I fell in love with Santa Barbara wine country. Although I am sad that the Restaurant no longer exists, I know that I will always think back to those days and situations, and continue to learn from the past.

Nah, I'm just gonna watch...

2006-07-12T20:21:00.000-04:00

I have become focused lately on a pet peeve of mine that seems to be growing in the wine world. Men (not to be sexist, but it’s always men so far) attending tastings, and not interacting, just scribbling notes. And sometimes, they run home to post their findings on Squires bulletin Board. Now I don’t really care that these people feel like their opinions need to be heard for no especially good reason (Hey, I have a blog, who am I?). My problem lies with fact that by painstakingly scribbling down each note, the mini-Robert Parker in them is missing something altogether. Wine is a participatory activity.
The term social drinker exists for a reason. There is a whole swath of wine drinkers that exist solely to put a number on something. I am one of the worst wine note takers in this business. But, I don’t need to access my notes like retailers or restaurateurs. I sell, I don’t buy (except for personal consumption) I have noticed that when I do take notes, I remember the wine a little better, so that may be an area I work on. But I digress, the point of all of this is the dichotomy between the observer and the participant. By choosing to observe wines from afar in as sterile and pure a circumstance as possible, these people are choosing analysis over enjoyment. If they are enjoying the experience, beyond just the wine, they are not following scientific observation guidelines, and should be immediately discredited. The flip side, is, if you just embrace it, who cares if you can reference your 20 year old Lafite notes, it’s always been good, it will always be good. By trying to analyze and describe every nuance these people are completely missing the boat. The best wines I’ve had in my life have been in the company of others, and I am sure this amplified them. That scene in Sideways where he drinks Cheval Blanc from a cup just kills me. Not because of the setting, but because he’s alone. Here’s another movie reference, In Groundhog Day, Bill Murray’s character is sitting in a coffee shop reading and listening to classical music. At one point, his character is so into the music that he looks around for someone to share the moment with, but finds no one. Incidentally, I once came up with a theory that said the most telling quality about a person was whether or not they loved Groundhog Day.
Sometimes the wine helps to create the moment, others, the moment creates the wine. If you don’t set out to enjoy both the moment and the wines, you should probably take up a more solitary activity.

No Wimpy Wines?

2006-06-28T10:24:00.000-04:00

Wine, it has been said, can be the most confusing of all indulgences. Why we like a certain wine is sometimes not understood. It stands to reason that in a sea of confusion, one might reach out for stability and predictability and call it “brand loyalty”, therefore bringing familiarity to an otherwise confusing and daunting prospect, choosing a wine. I bring this up, because a few days ago, a friend of mine asked me what I though of Ravenswood. Not that he cared, but because he knows I’m a wine guy, and he wanted to show me that he’s attached himself to a brand that I would think would make him a credible wine drinker. The problem lies in the very suggestion that Wine Brand Loyalty is good. I am glad that he thought enough to try to start a conversation about something he knows I’m interested in, but it really got me thinking about Loyalty, and I thought that Ravensood would be good case study. It could have just as easily been Yellow Tail, or Blackstone, or Beringer, but today, it’s Ravenswood.

Now, Ravenswood has a long and illustrious history, but they have since sold out in favor of commerciality. And it is everyone’s prerogative to make money, and sell what they will, and approach it however they deem best. But as an advocate for consumers, I disagree with the direction they’ve turned over the last 5-10 years. If they didn’t have a history, they wouldn’t even be a blip on my radar screen, but because of their history, and their new commercial viability, they will be our example today.

Ravenswood started as a winery focused on the top Zinfandels. This was an especially noble pursuit in the 1980’s. Their wines were so good, that they were deemed to be in the “holy trinity” of Zinfandels. But a few years ago, they were gobbled up by one of the biggest wine companies in the world, Constellation Brands. Constellation, with over $4 Billion/ year in annual sales, has so many wineries under their control that they had to create a boutique portfolio to include their small producers, including, Robert Mondavi, Estancia, Franciscan, Columbia Winery, and several other “small” wineries. I would go so far as to say that from the mid-90’s on, Ravenswood was posturing to be purchased from just such a conglomerate for an obscene profit, all the while selling out. Some may argue that the winemaker is the same guy that founded the winery all those years ago, and Constellation has allowed him to stay true to his vision. Yeah, right. Constellation didn’t get to be the size they are today by allowing winemakers creative control. Wine is a tough business, and Constellation is a huge evil giant, existing only in this business to make money.

From a marketer’s perspective, this was a prefect situation: Once prominent cultish winery with great name and logo (edgy looking animals on the label), decided to take mass market approach, and starts making gobs of Merlot and other lowest-common-denominator wines. The name is the same, the product is totally different. What does this mean to the consumer? That these wines, since they have a following, are widely available. Ravenswood has a reputation, albeit newly tainted, for making good wines. The consumer tries it, doesn’t have a problem with it, can easily remember the label, and brand loyalty is born. The problem is that Ravenswood makes 42 different wines, and every vintage the wine should change. So with so much variety under one “predictable” label, why not branch out? Most of the time, predictability is an illusion created by ubiquitous producers in the marketplace. How else can they rise above the artisan producers creating truly special wines? If you are loyalty to a wine brand, dump it for 6 months. Try not to drink the same wine twice. Ask for advice in your local wine store (not grocery store), and be slightly adventurous. I promise, you will never again fall victim to the conglomerate brainwashing, because you have embraced the adventure that is the world of wine.

We've been busy birthin' a distributor...

2006-06-11T11:25:00.000-04:00

Ok, I've been busy, really busy. We, as in Langdon Shiverick in Ohio, have been bought. This is a very exciting and positive time for us.We have a cool new name (see above logo, my brother Brad and his cohorts designed this graphic). If you could build the perfect wine distributor, how would you do it? What sort of standards would the distributor be built upon? We had an existing portfolio, but what needed to change, what needed to stay the same? We felt there was a gaping hole in the Ohio wine market, and we had some strategies on how to fill it. We came up with 5 ideals. These ideals we felt could only work with a small, quality-driven distributor, and we are that company. we hope to get bigger, that is , sell more wine. We want to be the biggest advocates for our artisinal producers. Not a new company for big commercial brands to use and abuse. We belive in dancing with the person that you brought to the dance, or however that phrase goes...

The following is an excerpt from our launch party's program last week. I thought I'd copy and paste, and launch it into the blogoshere.

A birth, or maybe a rebirth. We are pleased to announce the beginning of our new company, of sorts. We are, and have been a Fine Wine Distributor, servicing Northern Ohio. Today began as a dream 9 years ago as Walt Wirth came to be hired by David Shiverick of Langdon Shiverick Imports. David, a Cleveland native, wanted Walt to build to new heights an existing distributor as a conduit for his acclaimed Import portfolio. Walt grew the company under the promise that one day, David would sell the company to him. As Langdon Shiverick grew, so did the sophistication of the market. Walt looked increasingly to new world producers to supplement the already strong French, Italian, Spanish and German portfolio. Not to mention adding a sales and warehouse team.

So today, we celebrate anew Walt’s dream coming to fruition. With the help and support of the Bananno Family, we will look forward to the future. Walt has created such an impression upon many of our producers, that we had no difficulty filling the restaurant with some our favorite Wineries from California. We set forth to become a new Fine Wine Wholesaler. We will build ourselves on Five Attributes, characteristics we all hope to portray and strive towards.

o Integrity- We promise to be forthright, honest and dependable. We will also display unrelenting loyalty to both our clients and our suppliers.

o Enthusiasm- We will make our enthusiasm about wine infectious.

o Education-As we are constantly educating ourselves, we will be a resource for those striving to learn about wine

o Ambassadorship-Translates to a twofold approach to care of product. First is the careful custody of all wine so that it travels from Cellar to glass in optimal condition, the second is the inexorable pursuit of the perfect portfolio, continually searching for the most exciting producers.

o Participation-Continuing support of the local food and wine community. We will offer conributions at every level and for all purposes. With with singular goal to better our partners and thereby the community.

...tan and rested

2006-05-10T10:30:00.000-04:00

My brain has been taking an extended vacation from creativity. Since I haven’t, in some time at least, devoted myself fully to creative expression on a semi-regular basis, I’ve been waiting for the tank to run dry this year, and it seems as if it briefly had. With a backlog of zealously written articles at my writing home, I’ve been at the mercy of inspiration for this blog, and that inspiration has been a cruel, cruel mistress.

You know what they say, when it rains it pours, and having just returned from a brief jaunt to California, I have many items on my mind, and a few articles that will materialize in the coming days. First, let me weigh in on some issues at hand…

a) wine bloggers being ripped. Craig Camp gave me a heads up on this little ditty about us all being self-absorbed and prosaic. Umbrage I take! Wine Blogs have given me 2 things that are irreplaceable and invaluable- An open dialogue with wine intellegistas, and a creative outlet. If no one read this, I’d write it anyway. This is a good place for me to crystallize my thoughts and opinions, and it gives my out of town friends and family a chance to read what get’s published only locally. There is an enjoyable camaraderie that comes from this sort of subculture, and it translates to many different topics and demographics. It’s always easier to tear down something we don’t understand, than support something we don’t have the capacity to fully envision.

b) Southern Wines is just evil. This has come up often in the blogo-world recently, and I weigh in with a word-evil, like the fruits of the devil, evil. I would divulge more, but I watch Sopranos, and somewhere in Florida, there’s a giant Bada-bing, and in the back room, they may be already discussing my demise. O.K., One quick believe-it-or not story (This is how I heard it, I make no claims to the accuracy, other than the person that told me this story is a highly sincere and respected winemaker in Santa Barbara). My winemaker friend, let’s call him Mr. X had just returned from a Vegas trip, frustrated. Southern had just bought his old distributor, and not only did they not seem to care about his artisinal, hand crafted wines, they billed him back for escorts for one of their most important buyers. I’ve already said too much…

c) Wine Lists. They seem to have a life of their own. They are all at once a display of ego, buying power, bravado, etc… Rarely are the strategic for the cuisine. Even less frequently do they educate. This last weekend, we went to The Ranch House in Ojai. WS Awards all over the place. Recently they downsized from Grand to best of. I love this list. Instead of just rattling off wines, and assuming everyone instantly understands the wine’s significance, they actually will write several paragraphs above a single selection of Hermitage, just so the consumer can understand what makes this wine special. And those comments are lovingly written for many categories regardless of how many wines are available, or how much that may increase their sales.

More to come, I will actually finish writing my opus about the Farmer’s Market Bill, and rant about many more fun topics.

The Willy Wonka of Wine

2006-04-03T21:31:00.000-04:00

Several Years ago, I lived in Ventura, CA. While living there, I knew about Sine Qua Non by reputation and difficulty to get ones hands on. I was hard-pressed to find anyone that had even tried these wines. I knew this winery was close to my house (try less than 2 miles away)but I could never find it (the winery or the wines). Once in a while, I would run across a bottle, but the cost was always prohibitive (hard to justify almost $300 for a Central Coast Roussanne). All the while, no one in the wine biz seemed to know the proprietor Manfred Krankl, but a visit to erobertparker would make your head spin. 99, 100, 98 points consistently? I wouldn't go as far as to call this my white whale, but there was something about it that I never was at peace about. All of the connections and relationships I had built couldn't bring me any closer to meeting Manfred or trying his wines, outside of shelling out too many Benny Franks.

Fast forward to 2004, I move back to my hometown in Toledo, Ohio and land a job with Langdon Shiverick Imports, and guess what's in the portfolio. I had to relocate over 2000 miles away to find the one wine that was made geographically closer to me than any in my life. Walt Wirth, who runs Ohio, landed SQN a few years back after trying for years to get Manfred's wines- actually, a fantastic story in itself. So, I have now tasted these wines 3 times in the last 6 months. Each release is affectionately, individually named. Krankl prefers Syrah, Grenache and Pinot. He often sources Central Coast Fruit. So how does he do it? Well, apparently they are proprietary winemaker secrets, although, I know for a fact, it's all natural with no additives of any kind. I have some theories, but I'm not about to divulge them either. Walt tells me Manfred is like a mad scientist and Willy Wonka rolled into one. Walt also says that Manfred is intensely loyal and hard-working, and he's one of Walt's favorite people, period.

Last week, We had a chance to check out the newest release, the 2003 "Papa" Syrah. The label is enough to bring a tear to your eye. When describing this wine, I sort of realize why this wine lives up to the hype as few wines ever do. First, the aromatics are profound- I got Milk Chocolate, with a cacophony of fresh berry fruit aromas. A little pipe tobacco, baking spice, and lavender. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. there is so much depth and complexity on the nose that I feel like I could keep going, but I don't want to continue using that part of my brain anymore. I just want to take it in. The nose sings and never relents, and then you taste it. I expected a monster, and overextracted fruit bomb, but instead, I was greeted with an elegance of texture and integration of a million flavors, all in harmony with chocolate leading the rhythm section.

I concede that given the specialness (is that a word?) of this bottle, I may have paid more attention than I would ordinarily, but the quality and originality of this wine is undeniable. Next, I need to try to sneak in to his factory, hope he doesn't have any oompa loompas.

"There's always someone cooler than you"

2006-03-25T10:48:00.000-05:00

I confess. As much as I am an elitist about media, and the utter disdain I hold for reality TV, I can not steer away from reality TV involving any sort of Food Premise. “Iron Chef America”, “Hell’s Kitchen”, “Cooking Under Fire”, I devour them all. On a personal note, I was edited the fool on “Faking It” several years ago as they took a beer champion and trained him to be a Sommelier- real heady stuff. Maybe that’s the bitter bile I taste. My latest interest is the Bravo series “Top Chef”. The show consists of a group of chefs of underwhelming talent, inspiration and tact. Hey everyone has a guilty pleasure.

The reason I bring this up, is one of the contestants, Stephen, is a sommelier from Nob Hill in Las Vegas. If I ever catch this SOB in a dark alley, it will be, to quote the great Ben Folds, “Stephen’s last night in town”. I’m not a violent person, but I can give a tongue lashing that can send a recipient into years of therapy. This guy represents everything that Americans hate about wine, and wine snobs. He is pretentious to the nth degree. His double wide double windsor, and his cockiness are as wrong as his attempt at working a Brut Champagne into a dessert. I lost count, but in the first episode alone, he identified himself as sommelier at least a half-dozen times. I will not criticize his, or anyone’s attempt at cooking, as creativity is a highly personal thing. This guy also has a very impressive resume. I can, however, address what this clown represents. Being a sommelier is not about being the most sophisticated person at a party, nor is it about being the most suave and snooty. It’s about being an educator, and a conduit by which to turn people on to wine, and as an extension, wine and food. The late, great Michael Bonaccorsi, M.S., one of my heroes, used to downplay his fame and education. It was clearly passion and love that drove him, not lifestyle. It's jerks like Stephen that make Americans afraid to ask a “stupid question”. This is the type of guy that would corner you until you rattled off the Grand Crus of Burgundy.

I also identify myself as a sommelier, and I feel like I’ve earned it as well. But I often struggle within myself about what this title means. I don’t ever want to give the impression that I know everything about wine, but I am proud of what I’ve learned. I always try to remember the etymology of the word sommelier, which is French for “Wine Mule”. When a sommelier makes themselves the most important part of the equation, the other parts: The Restaurant, The Wine, and especially The Guest are immediately marginalized. The great sommeliers watch each customer intently, and thrive upon the moment when know that they’ve guided them towards inexplicably beautiful and memorable evening. Stephen, go sell pretentious somewhere else, we’re all full here.

Letter to The Toledo Blade

2006-03-18T10:04:00.000-05:00

Your March 18th Headline “Trio of closings indicate area diners losing appetite for finer restaurants” was appalling and irresponsible. The restaurant business is one of the most difficult to succeed in. We all know that the failure rates are very high, even for established places. But to declare that Toledoans don’t enjoy Fine Dining may be a self-fulfilling prophecy. I know I can always trust Chicken Little, er, The Blade, to make a snap judgment over something slightly more nuanced than they care to report. The fact is, Fine Dining in America today looks different than it did 10-20 years ago. Restaurants can fail for a multitude of reasons, including: failure to update menus or décor for a long period of time, mediocrity at any level, better competition taking their business away, as well as the laundry list of operational headaches. Fine Dining is not limited to tuxedoed waiters anymore, and those type of establishments are going out of business is every city. What you failed to mention is the thriving successes of places such as Cohen & Cooke all the way down in Bowling Green, the re-emergence of Diva, and the explosive opening of Mancy’s Blue Water. All of whom have eclectic food beyond steaks (please take note Mr. Favorite). Toledoans spend too much money and time at generic chain restaurants. It’s actually criminal how much they support the rampant mediocrity of chains, but the smoking ban is an excuse. If your business is down, it’s because you are relying on your bar crowd too heavily, it’s time to adapt and utilize the skills that made you want to open a fine dining restaurant in the first place. Most cities are judged by their restaurant scene, why does the Blade feel the need to be the first to dismantle ours?

The indefensible corporate wines

2006-03-15T10:55:00.000-05:00

Jennifer Rosen has defended corporate wines with a tirade about how we need to make wine more inviting. I agree wholeheartedly, although, she oversimplifies the argument. I am afraid that the evil nameless, faceless lifestyle sellers have failed to ensure that the wine that they have produced will result in turning consumers onto wine. If the welcome gates of the wine world have Blackstone Merlot waiting for me, I’d probably go to the next house, where the bad cold beer goes pretty well with wings and mowing the lawn. I appreciate her idealism, but I feel as if the “corporate” wineries are selling out their own quality in favor of profit, not being inoffensive. As witnessed by a recent blind tasting of more than a dozen inexpensive California Cabernets, I was shocked at the median quality level of these wines. You could almost draw a perfect corollary between marketing dollars spent and size of the winery in direct contrast with quality. My complaint is not only the quality of the wine, but also they way they are marketed and sold. Everyone in this business, is well, in business, but these corporate producers have been undermined by p&l statements and marketing people (no offense marketing people). As a salesman, I know that these wines don’t compete favorably against their less famous rivals, but the corporate producers get the wine list placements and floor stacks, and the small, family-owned producers get the shaft in favor of recognition over quality. This of course, in endemic of the entire world of wine, where we get so burned out by consumer’s buying habits and tendency to recede into a safe place, that we cease to be educators, and we let the novice tell us what we will serve, and quality and expertise be damned. Until corporate wineries actually produce great cheap table wine, I will always consider them lifestyle brokers, and they will always be the Cosmopolitans in the World of Gin Martinis, they just share the same stemware. Oh and by the way, the wine Rosen lists as recommended do not fall in the category of Corporate Wines.

Thansk to Tam Wark for turning me on to this article, read his post and threads here.

Cohen & Cooke

2006-03-10T17:15:00.000-05:00

All great chefs are artists in their own right. I am not speaking as to what the food looks like, although that too is important. I am referring to how a great chef can take ingredients of differing origins, textures, and flavors, and know how to assemble these in such a way that the experience is original, interesting and delicious all at once. Add to that the knack for finding the highest quality ingredients and freshest meats and produce, and you are beginning to scrape the surface of the genius behind Cohen & Cooke.

Located at 109 S. Main St in Bowling Green, Cohen & Cooke has quickly earned a reputation for its high-flying cuisine, but how many of you have actually tried it for yourself? Cohen & Cooke offers a highly personal and personalized dining experience for each patron. It is a place where a novice can all at once feel adventurous and safe. Culling from the best products available, the chefs at Cohen & Cooke understand the specific wishes of diners, and are happy to customize each experience.

Mike Sader & Jeremy Skiles are the accomplished team behind Cohen and Cooke. With resumes to make some of the most experienced chefs weep, Sader & Skiles could have opened a restaurant in any town, but chose Northwest Ohio for their dream. Both hail from this area, but are humble about their impressive pedigrees. Instead they focus not on past accomplishments, but on how they are finding new inspiration each day.

Cohen & Cooke specializes in locally grown produce, and are proud of their selection organic fruits and vegetables. New York Strip steak is always available, and they dry age each cut in-house from 14-40 days. Skiles is a master baker, and produces fresh sourdough daily that you have to taste to believe. And then there’s the seafood. Sader & Skiles have gone to such extreme lengths to ensure the freshest seafood that in many cases the fish you eat today was just being caught half a world away less than 24 hours ago. Sader understands the hesitation of Northwest Ohio residents towards seafood, particularly from the ocean. “Historically, this area has not been privy to the best or freshest seafood available, and unfortunately, this has affected their overall attitudes towards seafood. I’m so confident in both the quality and preparation of my seafood, I can (and have) convert just about anybody.”

The menu changes every evening as ingredients come in and out of season. Each night, the chefs put pen to paper, and draw from their inspiration. Friday and Saturdays they offer 3 dining options: 5 course Prix Fixe ($50-$60) , 7 course Prix Fixe ($60-$70), or a la carte (entrees range from $15-$23). Sader believes that their 3 menu options give the diner a chance to go as casual or as extravagant as they please, and the menus are designed to offer something for everyone. Thursdays are more of a Bistro atmosphere, and everything is offered a la Carte. Coming soon will be true bistro fare on Tuesday and Wednesday early evenings, with entrée prices in the $10-$15 range.
In addition to their dinners, Cohen & Cooke is open for lunch from Tuesday-Friday. They offer sandwiches, salads, and pastas to order.

A unique approach to wine rounds out the dining experience. “You won’t find any grocery-store wine here!” Sader, having spent a fair amount of time cooking in Napa, has a unique understanding and appreciation for the intermingling qualities of great wine and great food. As a result, his wine prices are just a few dollars above retail to encourage exploration. This restaurant at it’s best when it pairs food and wine. A recent visit from world renowned winemaker, Craig Jaffurs from Jaffurs Wine Cellars yielded this comment “I have been to 50 winemaker dinners a year for the last 10 years, in all of my travels, I can honestly say that my Winemaker dinner at Cohen and Cooke ranks among the best I have ever been involved with, I was blown away!”

Cohen & Cooke is not meant to be grouped with other restaurants; they strive to be one of the leaders of the industry. To one day be mentioned in the same breath as a Charlie Trotter, or a French Laundry is the ultimate goal. We are blessed to have such a jewel here in Northwest Ohio, and we can be proud our Culinary Direction.

Follow-Up H.R. 710

2006-03-05T14:08:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of speaking with Rep. Kaptur about The Farmer's Market Infrastructure act. She was gracious and candid. I was impressed by her passion and patience to grant me this interview considering the multitude of big issues she is dealing with right now, including: Our communities largest employer declaring bankruptcy 24 hours earlier, the temporary shutdown and reorganization of our own Erie Street Market, her re-election, and her first meeting with our newly elected mayor since he took office last month. That was all on Saturday!. We began the interview at 9am, and she had to cut it short due to scheduling constraints, she offered to call me back after 6pm. Sure, I thought, assuming that she wouldn't have time, but at 8pm last night, my phone rang, and she answered every question I asked. For me, that was a breath of fresh air from an elected official. By contrast, I asked Mayor-Elect Finkbeiner's (Photo-right) office if I could be of any assistance in regards to creating food or wine events downtown, or advising on any food community changes, and here is the form letter I received 6 weeks later:

Dear Adam:

Thanks for communicating.

Believe in Toledo. And stay in touch!

Yours from Toledo – an All-America City!

Carleton S. Finkbeiner
Mayor

Yeah, I know! You are welcome! Glad I could help, kay, bu-bye...

I am writing an article for The Toledo Free Press, after I finish some more research on locally grown food throughout the country. I am most interested in whether or not large national grocery chains tend to at least offer local food products. Rep. Kaptur indicated that large contarcters, growers and distributors dominate selection in practically every mid-size city and smaller in this country.

To be continued...

Ode to Syrah-Toledo Free Press Article

2006-03-01T11:46:00.000-05:00

I know, generally speaking, people that are into wine tend to be masochistic, always championing the unlovable wines (see Gruner-Veltliner). This not only occurs in the world of wine, but other artistic expressions such as: Film (i.e. David Lynch) and Rock Music (Sonic Youth). I suspect that for 7% of you reading this, your blood is boiling, but you what they say about opinions. Anyhoo, I tend to drift more towards rampant enthusiasm when it comes to great wines, and my definition of great wines is probably broader than most. My enthusiasm about wine is akin to a 13-year old girl who “dots her eyes with a smiley face”. I love many wines, but perhaps my favorite grape is Syrah.

Syrah may be thought of as a novelty amongst the average wine drinkers. It’s historical significance is great, as is it’s sphere of influence. Bordeaux and Burgundy steal the spotlight in France. Bordeaux has it’s power and extremely long life, and Burgundy is an enigma, mysterious and magical all at once. Nothing captivates my attention and my muse more than the wines from The Northern Rhone Valley. The reds, being primarily, if not exclusively Syrah, show tremendous extraction and power, while constantly maintaining a beauty and otherworldly floral bouquet. The mouthfeel can be velvety and silky, or it can posses powerful tannins. The very best of Northen Rhône are from 2 Appellations: Hermitage and Côte Rôtie. While debate may rage about which is better, both are at the very top of quality for this fantastic grape. With a strong showing as well in Southern Rhône as well as Provence and Languedoc, this grape is one of the faces of the Southern third of France.

Syrah has also found a home in Australia under the label of Shiraz. The linguistic origin of the name change is unclear, but I write it off to Aussies being Aussies. Stylistically, Shiraz in Australia is nothing if not concentrated. Ranging in character from a fresh baked blueberry pie to a fresh baked raspberry pie, to well, a fresh baked blackberry pie. Shiraz is usually hedonistic and delicious. Elegance is not what one thinks of when describing the Aussie version of Syrah. The alcohol of these wines can be significant, as can their staining ability. While it’s trendy to bash these stylized wines as overly zealous and monochrome, I think that there is a place in the world for these types of wines, and I just like the way they taste.

There have been many interesting versions of Syrah in both Italy and Spain, not to mention the birthplace of the term Shiraz, South Africa. Although, no region has me quite as excited about the possibilities of this grape as the U.S.. I’m sure my love of this grape can be traced back to my time in Santa Barbara County, where Syrah is perhaps at it’s domestic best. It has strong palate memories for me just like your Mother’s Comfort food has for you. But with 3 distinct AVAs in Santa Barbara County, Syrah thrives in all of them. Then there’s Paso Robles, with near Aussie-style bombastic baddies. The real coup as of late has been Syrah’s success in the cool microclimates of both Napa and Sonoma. Cool Climate tends to make Syrah taste like their Northern Rhone brethren. And finally Washington State, which also shows extraordinary promise.

Look for wines that have lavender and violet on the nose, with an almost sweet black/ blue fruit quality to them with moderate to big tannins. These wines are the perfect foil to Lamb in most incarnations. But it will pair nicely with practically any meat, especially anything slow cooked or braised. Spend a little money (over $20) and you will be rewarded handily. The top Syrahs tend to cost just a fraction of the similar quality level of Napa Cab. Happy Hunting!

A Nationwide Network of Farmer's Markets?

2006-02-26T10:53:00.000-05:00

As the subculture of would-be gourmands try to get their hands on the best produce, we all agree that locally grown fruits, vegetables, dairy products etc... are really something that we can all strive for. In some cities, these are more readliy available than others. With the advent of the one-stop shopping experience, convenience has trumped quality, and small farmers. My congressperson, Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) has again proposed this bill (h.r. 710) before congress. Kaptur is asking for federal funding for local farmer's market in everyone's community. The proposed bill stipulates that these farmer's Markets are to include a majority of locally and family owned farms. Not only has Slow Food U.S.A championed this measure, countless other growers have gottne behind this bill as well. Unfortunately, this bill is in it's (at least)third incarnation. The previous votes have gone along party lines (shocker!). Now political idealism aside (and that means you alleged libertarians!) this is a pimple on the budget, but it is the sort of legislation that can inspire (food) cultural change. Please take some time to research this measure, and barrage your congressperson (especially those represented by Republicans), and ask them to ignore party lines, and vote for a change for both consumers and farmers.

Clarification: This is a bill that only loans out money for Farmer's Markets, and only helps to capitalize money "not exceed 25% of the cost of the individual Markets". You can find the language of the actual bill here

I have been preliminarily given permission to interview Rep. Kaptur next week, and I'll be anxious to hear some of the particular challenges she is facing with this bill. Stay Tuned...

Critics' Arrested Development

2006-02-12T12:02:00.000-05:00

Tom Wark (does this guy sleep?), over at Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog, has again, stumbled on an interesting trueism, something that really hit home for me. And he used Arrested Development as his example (which gives him unlimited credibilty in my book...).

Read his post at above link. Here are my comments:

Arrested Development's imminent departure has been the saddest news in my home in the last several months. I've never quite been able to fathom that this comedy couldn't find an audience as big as some other death rattle celebrity reality show. I believe it is the perfect comedy. I know that the final 2 hours is sitting downastairs on my TiVO, but I haven't been able to bring myself to watch it, I must be in some strange denial. It's strange, I listen to certain Film & Television critics, but I have a tough time listening to any Wine critics. Through trial and error, I have found that certain critics of film and television are the appropriate personal filters for all of the crap that is out there (how the hell is that Jim Belushi show still on the air!?!?!?!?!). While wine critics seem to filter out all of the interesing wine, and leave us with the wine versions of, well, jim belushi (sorry Jim, it's been downhill all the way since your pissing scene in the Man with One Red Shoe...). It's a very interesting question... I just need to learn to not fall in love with brilliant television anymore, I guess I'll see if the Apprentice is on.

Uh oh, Adam's on his high horse again...

2006-02-08T13:02:00.000-05:00

A year ago, I spent the better part of the afternoon writing a very angry and venomous rant about how Toledo can improve the diversity of its cultural landscape. I have reconsidered said article, and I can’t help but feel like it’s time to reiterate, restate, and reassure upon what I said in 2005.

Dear Toledo,
You have done me proud, you have embraced the concept of a food and wine community. Restaurants that take wine seriously like Mancy’s Blue Water Grille Cohen & Cooke and Diva are busier than ever, and have garnered much deserved buzz around town for both their food, but also their wine program and well-trained staff. And this sort of adaptation has been sorely needed in this community for some time. The tide is turning because of establishments that offer a true voice by their cuisine, ambiance and dedication to individuality. All of these qualities will be the defining traits of this community. As much as we may embrace them, we also fall very short on the promise offered. Independent restaurants in Toledo continue to be outpaced by newly opened chain restaurants throughout this city. Every anchor restaurant at Westfield Shopping center is a chain, as well many of the restaurants in Levis Commons. Every dollar spent at one of these chains filters money out of Toledo at an alarming pace. This is money that will never be used to contribute to our community. Chain Restaurants continue to be the bane of our existence, and by their very nature, they are a catalyst for homogenization.

I recently participated in, what I consider to be, the best food and wine event I have seen in Toledo. During this event, I was speaking to a group of about 65 or so diners, and I made the off-handed comment that it almost didn’t feel like Toledo. To which I was greeted with boos and murmurs. Well, I apologize if I offended anyone, but Toledo needs to start recognizing it’s own problem. We may talk about locally owned-businesses, and how we really want downtown to improve, and we want to be like other great cities that have rebounded, but sometimes it seems like we are using Fort Wayne as our template rather than Chicago. In great cities like Austin, Texas, Louisville, Kentucky, and Portland Oregon, movements have begun to “Keep Austin (or said City Name) Weird!” These movements are the last battlefronts for individuality of these communities. They haven’t yet been overrun by homogenization. And although, the battle front has advanced quite far into our corner of Ohio, it’s not too late to fight back. And the best way to do that is with your wallets and your feet.

Here is my recipe for Toledo Food & Wine Success:
1. Spend some time trying restaurants that are not a chain. It’s too easy to be lazy when deciding where to eat out, but it takes someone that truly cares to break the routine.
2. Explore parts of the city where you don’t live, see what else is going on outside of your corner.
3. Ask about restaurants that are using locally grown produce.

4. Find out the name of the chef at your favorite restaurant, time willing, they will come out and chat with you about inspiration and ingredients.
5. Get yourself on mailing lists, find out when special events are happening, these can be the best experiences.
6. Tell your friends. If you have a great meal at one of our locally owned restaurants, tell a friend, send out an email, and give details.
7. Order adventurously. Because of our lack of variety, we order predictably, next time you’re out, order something other that Steak, Chicken or Salmon, it will give the chef hope that they can try dishes that inspire them

Check out my Links

2006-02-07T19:08:00.000-05:00

I know that when I look at other blogs, I rarely look at the links listed. At this time, I'd like to call your attention to MY links. I have assembled a list of all of my favorite wine blogs, plus some other fun stuff. Please take a moment or two to patronize some of the other bloggers. I know that you'll find some cool stuff...

...yeah! What he said!

2006-01-20T10:14:00.000-05:00

Jon Bonné over at MSNBC has just posted a brilliant article exploring the difficulties of recommending wines. This is a topic I broached none too eloquently a few months back. I did such a lousy job that when the said article ran in the local paper, my Dad called me to give me writing advice, and he's an accountant. The truth is, it's difficult to not be cynical with the "McDonaldization" of the top 90% of wine sold in this country. Oh well, we can just continue to fight the good fight!

Terroir (hu, good god!), what is it good for?

2006-01-18T14:52:00.000-05:00

Throughout the world, people of purported wine knowledge drop the “terroir”, assuming that a) they can identify it from a hole in the ground b) it has some sort of importance c) it makes a wine better. As with all good things in life, moderation is the best use of this term, and with understanding and respect, if not full-on appreciation.

The French at their Frenchiest, devised a term many years ago that still has no direct translation into English. That word: Terroir (tare-wahr). It sort of means that a wine smells, looks and tastes like it has a sense of place, or something in that wine indicates where the wine came from. It also refers to everything that affects the way a wine smells and tastes that is environmental, including climate, geographical situation and aspect, soil types, elevation, other species of influencing fauna surrounding the vines, etc… So what does terroir taste like, um, well, I know it when I see it. Actually, terroir, to me tastes like anything that seems unnatural for either fruit, or wood to smell or taste like. So, if it smells like eucalyptus its certainly terroir, strawberries are not. Not all wine has terroir, and some wine gets by just fine without it.

We have seen a global shift in recent years towards “new world style” of wines, which is essentially high alcohol, highly structured big juicy fruity reds that fall into the flavor profiles of Aussie Shiraz, California Zinfandel and wines of that style. Terroirists (yes that is a word) believe that this shift toward theses wines is the first sign of the cultural apocalypse. These wines have garnered big scores in the publications, so the mouth-breathing masses have gravitated towards wines of that style because The Wine Prognosticator has deemed them worthy of 90 points. This, much to the dismay of the purists.

The question that everyone forgets to ask is why is terroir a good thing? Something I never stopped to consider myself until fairly recently. After all, with the absence of terroir, many wines end up tasting sweet or fruity or just delicious. It occupies the same part of our heart that we devote to chocolate and coffee drinks and the ilk, sophistication be damned. And to be truthful, wines like that are great. There is no guilt that anyone should ever put on you for loving wines that are like that. It speaks to the visceral need for yummy things. Most people begin drinking wines that taste like this, and some may graduate to terroir driven wines. But wine can be about more than what tastes great, it is also about all of the feelings and emotions it can impart, and that is where the importance of terroir comes through. Terroir inspires the heart and the mind. It brings back old palate and olfactory memories long thought forgotten. It transports us back to specific instance and moments. It makes you think and want to talk about your wine experience. Terroir inspires the imagination and transports you to a place you’ve never been. All at once you smell the ocean breeze, or the lilac fields. Oh, and the wine can taste pretty good too.

The new world style of wines speaks directly to our inner Homer Simpson, while Terroir speaks to our inner Walt Whitman. The choice is up to you, but I think that you should take some time to try both styles of wine, and keep trying both and see where it takes you.

Don't Curb Your Enthusiasm

2006-01-03T17:23:00.000-05:00

My youngest brother occassionally pulls out the quote from Almost Famous about being uncool. Well, I'd like to appropriate that and make a modification. "The only currency left in this bankrupt world (of wine) is what 2 people share when they are geeks, and Chris Watson and I are geeks" Furthermore, my other brother has given me a pretty good working definition of the difference between a geek and a nerd. A geek gets excited about details that no one else cares about, while a nerd is so obsessed with the mundane details that it overwhelms their social abilities. I know that it's a fine line, but when you live as close to that line as I do, I think it's important to draw it.

Anyhoo, I have been meaning to post about the great evening we had with two of our favorite people, Chris Watson (photo, center)and his lovely fiancee Erin (photo,left), a few weeks back. Heather (photo, right) and I were invited over for a little lasagna and wine (note the little is on the lasagna, not the wine). After a few bottles, It occurred to me that one of the reasons that Chris and I get along so well is that we share the exact same level of enthusiasm for Food & Wine. And I know as much about wine as he knows about food, and my food knowledge is on par with his wine knowledge. So we could ask each other questions all night long, but the other halves would get tired of rolling thier eyes. But it brings me to a point, enthusiasm is a quality that is overlooked in almost every industry. Rarely is enthusiasm listed among the qualifications for a resume, and if anything, it can be a complement when nothing else comes to mind durinag a review. But the quality that may be overlooked is often the most important ingredient for success. Naysayers never change the world, it's impossible to to start a half-hearted revolution. And Chris has enthusiasm, his biggest hurdle has been getting the rest of the world to buy into it.
As one of the most talented chefs I know, Chris has had no trouble plating it up, it's when someone finds him that thinks they want to hitch their wagon to him, until he he presents the unexpected ,and try to limit what he does. So his latest and greatest gig is a little restaurant in Ojai called Bodee's. And the acclaim is huge, but I suspect that he will continue to be a rising star in the world of wine and food, and one day, someone will close their eyes and take a ride on the What can Chris really do if left unencumbered Express!

"A Good Year" Comments

2005-12-30T06:44:00.000-05:00

Ever since I decided to immerse myself in the world of wine, my already lackadaisacal reading habits took a serious hit. The quadrant of my brain ordinarily set aside for literacy for leisure has been overwhelmed by Rioja Vintage reports, and keeping track of how Constellation brands plans to further gentrify all that is good in the world of wine. I think the last book I read was "The DaVinci Code" at seemingly everyone's insistance. Upon finishing, it was deemed an utter waste of my time and the most overrated piece of medium I ever devoted any amount of time to. That said, I have been itching to get back into reading for enjoyments sake, and what did the Chrismukkah Fairy deliver to me this year? That's right, a fictional wine book: Peter Mayle's "A Good Year".

Now, I'd heard of this book, but I never seem to remember to write down what is on my reading list, but my wife Heather, has proven useful yet again, and now it is the function of some sort of dictation machine. I apparently expressed my intrest in this thome out loud, although, I don't recall actually uddering the words. Somehow, she knew, and I spent a very lazy Xmas day devouring this book.

This is a thouroghly enjoyable book that doesn't worry about getting too geeky in it's wine references, but it paints a warm and romantic version of what life as a Provencal Vintner must surely be like. It always keeps it's sense of humor, and with a few fun twists and turns, it is enjoyable enough for the layperson, but perhaps a little more interesting for the oenophiles. This is no "Catcher in the Rye" but it is serviceable escapism, and that is really why we read these things anyways. Certainly recommendable reading...
More exciting is the fact that I've dusted off my old brain, and now plan to get back into the reading swing of things. Next up, the book of "Sideways" by Rex Pickett.

Rare gems from a personal favorite-mobile blogging

2005-12-22T19:07:00.000-05:00

I have a long history with Jaffurs Winery- , dating back to the 1996 vintage. For those of you unfamiliar, Craig Jaffurs & Dave Yates produce some of the best examples of Rhone Varietals I've ever seen in this country. They produce wines that have structure balance and terroir. Sadly, the ratings haven't shined on these wines nearly brightly enough. I have either bought or sold Jaffurs for a large chunk of my professional career. That said, I had a rare chance last night to imbibe some rarities from the bellows of the Jaffurs Cellar. I was visiting with my good friend Dave (the aforementioned Yates), and as our kids rode the merry go round, he asked where I was going for dinner that evening, I replied "Westside Cellars", he said, "Do you want some wine?". Duh! So Dave gave me 2 bottles, pictured here. So off we went for dinner with Mark & Sue Storer , winedude, and proprietor of markstorer.com. It was great to spend an all too brief evening with The Storers, and Mark has really been too kind in how he writes of me. As I explained to him last night, he has been the one person (along with my wife Heather, but she has to live with me) to support and encourage me to pursue wine writing. He had a great Steinbeck quote last night that I can't seem to summon...

But I digress- The Upslope Syrah, which is a blend of Thompson, Melville & Bien Nacido Syrah, only available at The Wine Cask and in NY State. And the Cane Felice Sangiovese form Paso Robles. The Sangio. was delicious for our first wine with beautiful and delicious sweet red fruit. Highly chuggable. The Upslope was a revelation. It is without a doubt, the most age-worthy rhone red I've had from the new world. This was actually reminiscent of an Hermitage with it's tight, but perfumed black fruit. Dinner was amazing as chef Kelly Briglio is a tremendous talent and displays a heavy hand with the Madeira marinated filet. Every year, Jaffurs blows me away, but they rarely surprise me. You can color me impressed and syrah-stained!

So in conclusion, I am thankful for Syrah, specifically those from Jaffurs, friends, particularly Mark & Sue, and great food, especially the kind you get at Westside Cellars

Regarding Violet Beauregarde

2005-12-08T15:55:00.000-05:00

After being inundated by ads for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, (by the way, my second all time least favorite Tim Burton film, and I am or was, a big fan of Burton. Even my 4 year old preferred Gene Wilder's version, which I can't stand either. Neither film did the book justice, but I digress...) I had a thought about the oft forgotten Violet Beauregarde in reqards to wine. In the scene where she tastes the magical gum, she tastes an array of different foods in succession. This is an excellent visualization for the reality of what the best wines will offer from a flavor perspective. It's not uncommon to stumble across fully realized flavors that go beyond hints,rather offer a detailed account of a food memory. Now, how to make a Meursault flavored gum?

Keepin' "the man" in check!

2005-12-03T09:31:00.000-05:00

Mark over at Uncorked at The Dayton Daily News has really touched on an interesting story about Trader Joes, and the evil monolith that is corporate wine programs. Ok, good and evil, who can tell, but the consumer would never deal with this experience from a local wine shop. The dirty little secret is that Trader JOes wine program isn't all that different that Big Lots. It's often liquidated wines that may be perfectly fine, or terribly flawed. Wineries know that if a wine is ruined, they can just slap an anonymous label on it and sell it for a depply discounted price at TJ's. Please check out the link above.

If you want to know I think- in year-end countdown style.

2005-11-30T10:57:00.000-05:00

Making a list, checking it twice…

I couldn’t possibly be asked to compile a complete list of the top wines of 2005 without bias. I represent many brands, and that tends to dominate my tastes, as well as with what I have the most familiarity. I have instead compiled 3 separate lists, each representing the 3 most common intentions of anyone buying wine. Unfortunately, for every wine included, there were 3 excluded that could have made the list. So with all due respect to High Fidelity:

Top 7 “best wines at this moment” from 2005
7. 2001 Casa de la Ermita Crianza- A perfect blend of old world and new world. Dark fruit dominates, but so well structured, it gets better the second day of being opened
6. 1999 Novy Page-Nord Syrah-just enough age on this wine right now to show the beauty and elegance of a well-made syrah
5. 2002 Billaud Simon AC Chablis- This wine shows what a little purity of fruit can do for Chardonnay. No oak (of course) this wine has almost a salinity and savory quality to it.
4. 2004 Siduri Cargasacchi Vineyard Pinot Noir- This is the best wine I’ve had from this promising vineyard in Santa Rita Hills. It has layers of dried and fresh red fruits, almost indescribably complex!
3. 2003 Jaffurs Thompson Vineyard Syrah- Power and perfume. Exotic aromas and a length of fruit that is fantastic
2. 2002 Renard Peay Vineyard Syrah- This wine is remarkable. It shows elegance and power. It is almost driven by a touch of acidity, you’d swear it was old-world with Grenache.
1. 2003 C.G. di Arie Southern Exposure Zinfandel- One of the best Zinfandels I’ve ever had! This is a wine that has elegance and relatively low alcohol for a Zin. Almost drinks like a dense Pinot Noir. This is from the old Grandpere Vineyard fruit that put Renwood on the map.

Top 5 “wines to cellar” from 2005
5. 2003 Gypsy Dancer A & G Estate Pinot Noir- 10 years later, somebody in Oregon actually channeled the spirit of Burgundy
4. 2001 Andrew Geoffrey Cabernet Sauvignon, Diamond Mountain- Dense, chewy, fine grained tannins. Will age with structure and grace.
3. 2003 Richter Veldenzer Elisenberg Auslese Riesling- I could have put together a list of my top 20 favorite Richter wines, I chose this wine because of it’s obvious sweetness, yet searing acidity. This wine showed beautiful apple, pear, citrus and baking spices. A life-changing wine
2. 2002 Cayuse Cailloux Vineyard Syrah- Hands down-the best Domestic Syrah I’ve ever tasted, and for a Syrah freak, that is heady praise. And yet…
1. 2002 Chave Hermitage Blanc-o.k., someone forgot to tell Jean Louis that 2002 was a rotten vintage! This is a wine that I couldn’t possibly put into words. If you haven’t tasted a Chave Hermitage Blanc, you are missing an important part of your wine education. A blend of Marsanne and Rousanne with a little (or a lot) of age will completely change your expectations. The alcohol that drives the structure seems to prop this wine up year in and year out. A waxiness that coats, soothes and conveys indescribable flavors is the only quality I feel like I can put into words.

Top 5 “everyday wines” from 2005
5. 2003 Henry Poiron Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie- I’m a sucker for a great Loire white, or 2.
4. 2003 Henry Pelle Sancerre- In my humble opinion, everyone else in the world that is making Sauvignon Blanc should just pull up their roots and bow to the king of this now marginalized wine! Whew, Flowers, limes, custard, all good.
3. 2003 Pablo Padin Albarino- Wine geek wine, almost like drinking orange-glazed honey cake, but with no sweetness.
2. 2001 Chateau Perray Jouannet Anjou- Cab Franc at it’s most quaffable. You’d swear it was a great Cru Beaujolais!
1. 2002 Eric Ross Struttin Red Zinfandel Blend- Zinfandel that is dominated by Fruit and Acidity, not alcohol. A novel concept in and of itself, this wine is buoyed by long hangtime and 20% merlot. I swear I could drink this wine everyday and be happy.

Toledo, bad place to be into wine? …not so much!

2005-11-29T17:16:00.000-05:00

I moved back to my hometown of Toledo about a year ago. Before that, I spent a lifetime (seemingly) in California in the wine biz. I bought and sold for many years, and when time came to return home to roost, a sudden terror came over me. Is there a place for me, and/ or wine in Toledo, Ohio, or do I need to finally finish school, or learn a trade? The answer then was, um, wait and see. But after a year, I can honestly say, Toledo is not a wine purgatory as is purported. Toledo will always live in the shadows of Detroit and Cleveland, so it is assumed that culture cannot survive in the shadows of these great, ahem, cultural hubs. Not only do I believe that this is inaccurate, I believe the opposite is true. I believe that the wine culture can thrive in Toledo where it may fail in other places. Here is my optimists top 10 list of why Toledo can be (and is) a thriving wine culture.

10. Freedom of Choice is on the March- with 20 some-odd distributors now servicing the Northwest Ohio market; we have choices beyond the giant conglomerate distributors and wines. Furthermore, Ohio has actually set some laws of distribution to place small companies and large companies on a level playing field.

9. We drink a lot!- Toledoans drink their share of alcohol, so puritanical efforts to limit availability usually falls on deaf ears. We also have more disposable income than any major market in Ohio.

8. Food TV Rules! – Nationally, we are becoming a culture of foodies. Emeril, Rachel Ray, and the like have found huge ratings, especially in the Midwest where all we have to do all winter is eat and watch T.V. Wine and Food go hand in hand.

7. I remain employed!- My day job is selling wine, and to be able to continue said career in Northwest Ohio had many naysayers saying, well, nay. But I, or rather, you, have proved them wrong. You love wine, you really love wine.

6. Wine is the new black!- For whatever reason, wine has overtaken beer nationally as the #1 preferred beverage of choice. Blame the film, Sideways; blame our following the Europeans in food and wine, no matter. Wine is surging in popularity, growing about 7% in increased bottle sales year in and year out for the last 10 years. That’s pretty healthy growth.

5. Cheap wine has gotten better, good wine has gotten cheaper- With competition from every wine growing country, global wine quality has improved dramatically and prices have stabilized. Good news for a working-class economy.

4. Personalities- In my brief but glorious year, I have met some amazing, exhausting, exhilarating, inspiring, bitter and brilliant personalities in the wine business. People that are true pillars to what is happening in the wine community, and people that, years ago began to steer this ship in the right direction. Every one of these people has put a premium on customer service, and understands the power of a great wine recommendation. You can find these people in the wine shops, and restaurants around Toledo, you will find them at charity events and tastings. And you will find them leading Toledo towards an improved wine culture.

3. A chance to taste the wine- With wine tasting events in every nook and cranny of Toledo, practically every night. Toledoans are afforded every opportunity to kick the proverbial tires before purchasing their wine. This is also a great chance to ask questions and learn about wine.

2. Restaurants that get it!- In the last year, we have seen the rise of the wine list. Restaurateurs that provide not only wine, but wines that are well-thought out, and appropriate for pairing with an exceptional menu.

1. Retail, Retail, Retail- with The Anderson’s (3 locations), Walt Churchill’s Market, Churchill’s, The Vineyard, Joseph’s Beverage Center, Maumee Wines, Aficionado’s, Sautter’s and many more independently owned and run wine stores in the Toledo area, Toledoans have a staggering selection of wines to choose from. All wines are chosen by the area’s most educated and most talented wine people, all in hopes of bringing you and your friends a special bottle of wine at every price.

Organic and biodynamic wines in a great big, confusing and convoluted nutshell…

2005-11-21T18:18:00.000-05:00

Consumers today, are less and less trusting of the big evil corporate food and beverage producers, and rightfully so. We have seen an increase of interest in businesses such as Whole Foods, appealing to the consumers that demand accountability of their food producers. But where does that leave the wine consumer that is looking for an environmentally friendly and relatively healthful product with minimal chemicals? Confused!

So what is really happening with organics, and what is biodynamics? Wineries are largely going towards organics with 2 notions assumed a) Sustainable Agriculture is healthier for the Earth and the grapes b) this all results in higher quality of wine in the end. This shatters many previous notions about winegrowing that states that the more difficult a time the vine has growing, the better the wine in the end. Vintners have recently discovered that with limiting the use of pesticides and herbicides, they have become a more creative group of growers. Imagination and creativity are nothing new to the organic movement, particularly when we throw biodynamics into the mix.

Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), an Austrian Philosopher who wrote controversial opinions on practically everything from religion to education, is the father of biodynamics. Essentially, bidynamics offers specific protocols for tending to the Earth. Making use of natural enemies to the pests of your vegetation, providing cover crops and species diversity in any farmed piece of land, and the use of composting all play a central role in any biodynamically farmed piece of land. The recognition that phases of the moon affect not only tides, but the way water behaves within the very roots of grapevines helps to dictate when vines are planted, grafted, pruned, and when grapes are picked. The resulting soil is so healthy and rich, that the quality of grapes seems to really jump. These practices have been in place in many parts of Europe, in some form, for decades. We are just now seeing the trend continue into the New World.

If so many wineries are moving in this direction, why don’t we hear about it more often? Two reasons, confidence, or lack thereof, and labeling. Growers are not yet confident enough that organics will get them through the tough times that they are slow to make the commitment of a proclamation of organics. If a winery goes down the path of marketing the fact that they are organic, it is a path they can’t go back on. Once it’s out there, you can’t justify the need to save your crops with chemicals should the need arise, so a leap of faith is needed. And being so young in the process here in the states, it will simply take some time; it is someone’s livelihood we’re discussing. Also, the public lack confidence in organic wines. This is mostly due to the complicated nature of defining organics on a wine label.

Unfortunately, in the U.S., there are multiple agencies that have their say about how something may be labeled “organic”. In a nutshell, a winery must adhere to multiple requirements by multiple agencies that all have differing opinions on the use of sulfites. The USDA requires the use of sulfites to be written on all labels of wine in which more than 10 parts per million of sulfites occurs. Additionally, a winery must pay all sorts of fees for organic certification, something required to be labeled as organic. And then there’s Europe, where labeling laws vary in all countries, so what is organic in Spain, may not be organic in the U.S.

At the crux of the complication is a little detail called sulfites. Sulfites is a naturally-occurring preservative found on the skins of grapes. It has been part of the winemaking process since long before the Period of Scientific Enlightenment, albeit, mostly unknowingly. There is a miniscule segment of the population that is truly allergic to sulfites, an unfortunate condition in which a person that comes in contact with sulfites can go into anaphylactic shock. In my many years of meeting and speaking with the wine drinking population, I have only met 1 person truly allergic to sulfites. Everyone else assumes that sulfites are affecting them, but in reality, it is probably one of the wines more than 500 different chemical compounds that is bothering them.Organic and biodynamic producers should not be at the mercy of sulfites in order to become recognized.

Organic Wine has long been the domain of the quality-unconscious. They have sacrificed their palates for the noble exercise of eco-friendly beverages. But this notion of organic wine is pretty complicated, and to simply call a wine organic, does a disservice to the both the public and the nuanced art of growing and making wine. The important fact is that organics and biodynamics are both very positive to both the consumer and the Earth. In time, we won’t consider organics to be a novelty anymore, and as commonplace as any winegrowing practice.

Estrogen-fueled Epicurean Excellence (in Toledo)

2005-10-31T08:34:00.000-05:00

Tucked away in the corners of Downtown Toledo and Levi’s Commons, a mini revolution is under way. Kitchens headed up by creative, passionate chefs is nothing new in Toledo. But to have two of the most interesting and dynamic menus crafted and executed by young women is a fresh approach. Erika Rapp of Diva, and Maggie Chipman of Red River have taken separate paths, but have converged at a time when Toledo seems to be at the brink of a restaurant renaissance. They help to lead the charge to give Toledo an epicurean facelift, and to take advantage of a nationwide shift towards locally owned and operated restaurants. I sat down with both Erika and Maggie separately, but the commonality of their hopes and goals is striking.

What is your Training?

Erika Rapp: Maumee Bay State Park, Culinary Institute of America in New York. Interned at The 4 Season’s in Chicago, Sous Chef-Iris Restaurant, Dallas, TX a 4-star Contemporary American Restaurant

Maggie Chipman: Villa Roma- 4 star Italian in Upstate New York, Abruzzio’s, upscale intimate Italian in Seattle. Self educated- Chef/Owner of Alex Hamilton’s in Downtown Toledo.

Describe your cuisines…
ER- Eclectic Regional. Each dish tends to have a different international influence.
MC-A combination of eclectic French sauces, Southwest Spices with a little Chinese thrown in. A fusion of all regions, emphasis on experimenting with sauces. Proud of our beautiful cuts of Prime Beef, and the menu really highlights the steaks.

Who or what have been your biggest influences professionally?
ER-Thomas Keller of The French Laundry Cookbook. He taught me to show respect for theingredients, to show the respect for the life that the meat used to have.
MC-Craig Commons Common Grill It taught me to maximize flavors in simple dishes. ¬

What separates you and your restaurant from the competition?
ER- I want my cuisine to always be based on classic techniques and styles while bringing an edge and spirit of adventure to the menu. I am excited about being the ability to change the menu seasonally along with fresh and seasonal produce.
MC-Flavor, flavor, flavor. Everything is fresh, no reheating of any ingredients. We have some unique and interesting flavor touches, very different. In the future, we want to become known for our wine program, and as the restaurant wine authority.

What have you noticed as unique challenges in Toledo?
ER-It has been challenging finding the very best ingredients. Although, now I feel like I found the right sources for the best produce. The other challenge has been the chain restaurant mentality.
MC- (laughing) Customers can’t seem to get past the idea of not serving bread immediately. Getting customers to find us back in the corner. We’re the only non-chain in Levi’s Commons.

Why Toledo?
ER-It’s my hometown, I love the seasons, my family, and the people of Toledo. In a word, it’s cozy.
MC-Hometown, feels right, family is very important.

Downtown Toledo is…
ER- …challenging…(pauses) but on the verge of something great!

Perrysburg is…
MC- …Growing quickly, it symbolizes new growth, new opportunities, a chance to be extraordinary.

Diva
329 N Huron St,
Toledo, OH
(419) 324-0000

Red River Restaurant
Town Center at Levis Commons
Perrysburg, OH
(419) 874-8711

Winemythsbusted

2005-10-28T10:55:00.000-04:00

Wine seems to have unfairly surrounded itself with pomp & circumstance, not to mention mystery and lore. Since we tend to put wine on a pedestal, symbolic of a high society that only a fraction of us have ever experienced, we accept these bizarre practices without question. We don’t question which fork to use, and we are always musing about the strange things a visitor can do in far off lands to offend the residents. Given our unfamiliarity with these topics, we buy into everything we’ve been told, and this has been a detriment to wine. This is an attempt to clear up some confusion, although, this, I suspect is only the tip of the iceberg, we will most likely revisit this topic in future issues.

Winemyth #1- “Legs mean the wine is good”- I can’t tell you how often I hear “oh, look at the legs on this wine!” For those of you that don’t run in those circles, legs are the streams of wine that trickle down the glass after you swirl the wine around a bit. “Legs” come from wine sticking to the glass, which can be caused by any of the following: high alcohol, a dirty glass, or a more viscous wine. While many professional sommeliers use this technique to analyze and identify wines in a blind tasting, this never, ever speaks to a wine’s quality.

Winemyth #2-“All wine improves with age”- While many of the wine produced today are meant to settle down a bit, and a few rare wines are meant to lay down for years, 98% of the wines available in the store right now are current vintage wines meant to be consumed within the next 1-2 years. After which point, all of the flavors will diminish until the wine turns brown, and stops resembling wine at all. As a very general rule, the more you pay for a bottle, the better chance you have of aging it. The fact is that most producers are creating wines that show well upon release, this helps their scores in the wine rags (magazines that put a score on wine), but all but stops their aging potential. The wines that will age well and improve over time are usually from a few select regions, made from specific grapes. If you are ever curious about the age worthiness of a wine, ask your local fine wine shop. One of my favorite wine stats is the average amount of time an American ages a bottle of wine- 42 minutes.

Winemyth #3-Any use of the word dry”-Speaking eloquently about wine is a challenge even for professionals, but this is just frustrating. Almost every casual consumer of wine misuses this term, and overuses this term. Every person has a different perception of what dry is. Here is what I have seen dry refer to, and each term means something completely different: tannins, acidity, alcohol, big fruit, short finishes plus many more. What it really means is: an unsweet style, as in, no sugar. While there is room for dry as an adjective when describing some wines, please refrain from the use of the word dry. It is without exception, the most confusing paradigm in the wine lexicon. And don’t feel stupid, everyone gets frustrated by the challenge of describing something so special as a glass of a really good wine. It takes some practice. Next time you try a wine you love, find out what it is, and write down some flavors (real terms that make sense, cherry, strawberry, peaches, honey, leather, etc…) then go to your local fine wine shop and ask the person there to help you to figure out what you liked about that wine. You’ll be surprised how much better this works than trying to use dry.

Just remember one thing: wine is an everyday beverage that we have complicated far too much over the years. In Europe, they drink fresh young inexpensive wine out of carafes and tumblers every day. The more time you spend focusing on enjoying what’s in your glass, the less time you’ll spend straining yourself trying to come up with the right thing to say in an uncomfortable situation. Don’t try to be a wine expert, I have enough competition.

It's Live!

2005-10-20T09:40:00.000-04:00

www.markstorer.com

For those of you that don't know or read Mark, he's one of my biggest cheerleaders. And he is the English Teacher I never had. Although, I suspect he saves his wide-eyed enthusiasm for all things wine and food. Check him out at the above link, and try to start tuning in semi-regularly. He also hosts a wine and food show on KCLU- Thousand Oaks on Saturday afternoons.

Graperadio

2005-10-14T14:23:00.000-04:00

Graperadio-Podcasts about wine

Ok, I've now broken the seal. Please check out this Podcast site, there are some fascinating podcasts. Leigh Older & Brian Clark seem to score some cool and interesting interviews. Currently up, a 2-parter with Steven Tannzer.

Enjoy!

For those of you that bought the Lion King Soundtrack... (Janeane Garofalo reference alert)

2005-10-11T09:31:00.000-04:00

Australian News.com Story-Oct 11, 2005l

Ok, I have shied away from entering a daily log in favor of simply publishing when I devote a considerable amount of time to a specific topic, but this one got me. I am beyond skeptical about this new device. My biggest concern is that it works, and people will buy these out of Wine Enthusiast, stock their cellars with them, and then buy up all the Blackstone they can find in hopes of improving this wine via electrolysis. Um, this is sort of like Frankenstein. Rule #1 when deciding which wine will improve by aging (and now in this case, by electrocution) is: If it never had it, it never will. In other words, if a wine wasn’t age-worthy in the first place, you can’t just electrocute it into being great. My second problem with this is associated with Rule #2 of aging wine: be gentle. Vibration, sudden temperature change, too much or too little humidity and light all have a dramatic influence in maturing wine, what havoc could this device possibly wreak? So until someone I respect as a wine professional shows me otherwise, this has got to be a fraud. Until then, buy a decanter.

“The Riesling Why…”

2005-10-03T10:16:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time, Riesling was viewed far and wide as the undisputed king of wine. Then Americans ruined everything! More precisely, Americans decided they liked sweet wines, witness White Zinfandel. And Germans, being the largest producers of Riesling, made many wines tailor made for America’s collective sweet tooth. As far back as most can remember, German wine meant Piesporter, Blue Nun, Liebfraumilch and the like. These aforementioned, would never be touched by any self-respecting Germans. So forget all of your previous Riesling programming. Now, buy into this next mantra, and wine salvation will be yours: German Riesling is the greatest White Wine in the World!

Controversial? Perhaps, but let me make my argument. German Riesling at it’s best, has Bright Acidty, purity of fruit, a thread of minerality, perfect balance and viscosity, oh, and a touch of sweetness. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “I don’t like sweet wine”, well, neither do I. If the wine tastes overtly sweet, feed it to granny. The best Rielsings have sweetness as a characteristic, not a defining trait. It should be used, as anything in food and wine, with restraint. But the sugar naturally present in these wines makes for a texture that few grapes can provide. The naturally high acids play well with an amazing variety of dishes. The minerailty gives it assertiveness, and the fresh fruit just tastes so good. These wines are also very long lived. German Rieslings last seemingly forever, but drink great young.

When it comes to food & wine pairings, the question isn’t what will Riesling go with, the question is, What won’t it go with? Next time you eat any Asian, Pan Asian or Indian cuisines, try them with a nice Riesling, you will be blown away. Riesling will lift up subtle flavors in these cuisines like nothing else. Find me another wine that brings ginger, lemongrass, sweet basil, coconut to the forefront and show off these flavors. Then turn around and give me some really spicy pork carnitas, and Riesling comes through again. The slight sweetness cools off any sort of spiciness, and bring balance to an otherwise hot dish. Of course, you then have the classic pairing of Riesling with any Roasted white meats like chicken, pork, turkey, etc.

The biggest challenge with German Rieslings is without question, the labels. So here is a very simple guide to reading German wine labels and terms to use. We are simply talking about Riesling from Germany. After you find the Riesling there are a few things that will always be on the label:
When-Vintage-obviously the year the grapes were grown
Who-Name of the winery- Obviously important
Where-Geography is very important; the best Regions for German Rieslings are Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Rheingau, Rheinhessen. This will be either on the bottom, or the top of the label. You will also perhaps see the name of a village and vineyard. The Village will end in the letters -er (means from that village), potentially followed by another name, usually this is the vineyard.

And Finally, the quality assessed to the wine. In Germany, they actually have a panel that approves wines. And this is where it gets a little confusing. Quality is directly correlated to the amount of sugar in the grapes at harvest. Which usually, but not absolutely determines alcohol and sugar present in the wine. So we classify German Rieslings according to a scale. The assumption is the higher you go on the scale, the longer the grapes stayed on the vine, thus, the sweeter the wine will be, but the acidity and concentration will also rise. We will number these with 1 being driest, 7 being sweetest.
1. QbA- This is the first level of quality wines, they may range from relatively dry to off-dry. You can get the best of these for under $15 retail.
2. Kabinett-Slightly sweet, but balanced. A great way to offer great wines for a good price, in fact prior to 1971, this was a designate of wines that the winery would keep for their own consumption. These will cost $15-$25 retail
3. Spatlese- Literally means late harvest, perceptively sweet, but the acidity will still keep this in balance. These will cost $20-$30
4. Auslese- This is the first Dessert Wine, Latest harvested traditional wines, each bunch is individually selected.
5. Beerenauslese- Pretty sweet, grapes picked individually, and left to, at least partially go through Edelfaule (aka Noble Rot). Only made in select years.
6. Trockenbeerenausle- Or TBA. Complete edelfaule, only made in the best years
7. Eiswein- Or as we say Ice Wine. Literally grapes picked on the second day that the temperature drops below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the sweetest and rarest of all.

Teach a man to fish...

2005-09-21T14:23:00.000-04:00

I am constantly asked to tell people what my favorite wine is, or more to the point, what do I know as a wine insider that they need to know to best spend their money. They think that the wine-educated are part of a secret “in the know” club where we know which wines to buy and they don’t. While there is a thread of truth to that, I am always uncomfortable recommending wines to the novice drinkers for a number of reasons, and because I believe that this simply makes me an enabler to the wine-dysfunctional.
First, I loathe recommending specific wines to the neophytes because I never feel like I have a firm grasp of where their tastes lie. The uninitiated seem to have a real problem articulating what they like without using the ultimate enigma of wine descriptors: dry. I’ll write a much more tangential rant about dry somewhere down the line, but for the sake of brevity, please refrain from using this term unless you are 100% sure of what it means (i.e. The opposite of sweet, ergo, almost all wine). I only blame people like me for rating wine, and making wine declarations. Second, I always feel like I need to give them a list of detailed instructions about what to look for, and the historical significance of the vineyard, etc… for a specific wine. Third, there are certain sophistication signposts along the road of wine education that are like tax brackets. The wine drinker doesn’t know they’ve passed them until they are told they’ve passed them. For example, Americans don’t immediately understand Red wines with acidity. When a consumer understands, say, a good Cotes du Rhone, or any myriad of central and northern Italian reds, that is step one. I don’t know how many steps there are, but I would be hesitant to offer a Gruner Veltliner to just anyone on the street, even though the wines are fabulous, 98% of the people that drink wine wouldn’t appreciate it.
I know that I could solve all of the above issues by recommending a nice, well made, middle of the road $15 Aussie Shiraz, but that’s not what I want to do. Instead, I recommend wine books, wine tasting events, tasting groups. There is a reason why people become obsessed with wine, and it’s impossible to show someone without experience, the next great wine. It’s sort of like the difference in looking at the vast countryside from a hill or from space. The only way to truly take it all in is to start experiencing as much as possible.
For me, the most amazing thing is palate memory. You can just immerse yourself in all of the wine available, and one day it will all just click, you aren’t required to study, or take notes, just simply pay attention to places, vintages and names, and it will all begin to make sense without any effort. Our palates will do all of the work for you. Of course, it’s always better to explore in a tasting group, and spend some time working on your vocabulary.
So ask me what wine I recommend, I’ll simply reply “give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime.”

Talking about wine killed the radio star...

2005-09-16T17:28:00.000-04:00

My good friend Mark Storer ( http://www.winedude.blogspot.com/ ) is the new host of a wine and food show on NPR in SoCal. I will be one of his first guests Saturday the 17th at 1:30 ish Pacific Time (4:30 for you right-coasters, does anyone live in between?) If you aren't within range of SoCal, you can listen to it on the web if you're around. Hopefully this will be less traumatic than my little bout with Reality TV...

Please copy and paste the following link into your web browser:

www.kclu.org/audio.html

Silver Joke

2005-08-24T14:11:00.000-04:00

Dear readers, I have some unfortunate news, we, as a wine consuming society, have been duped, hornswaggled, scammed! You see, we have been led to believe that Cabernet, in any form, but particularly from Bordeaux or Napa, is the best wine in the world. Attorneys everywhere beat their chests after numbing their palates with Ketel-One Martinis and proclaim Silver Oak to be “the best”. For a sense of irony, please refer to American Psycho,
Americans, true to the stereotype, continue to consume without knowledge, and then make bold proclamations of what is the best that money can buy. Meanwhile, $100+ bottles of Napa Cabs perch precariously atop this teetering house of cards. Banking on a 30 year old assumption that Napa Cab is the best, it will always be worth the money. The truth is out there, but the reality is not the perception.
Great Wine is Great Wine, just like “a pint is a pound the world around” or something like that. All things being equal, the best Napa Cabs are amazing. They really know how to get the best out of this grape up there. Unfortunately, they aren’t worth my hard-earned money. I love to drink OPC (other people’s Cabs), but I can’t bring myself to plop down a fat C-note to pay for, not only the wine, but the inequities of man. If you’ve been to Napa, it will astound you the size of the tasting rooms. Every time I go to Vegas, I invariably utter the phrase “these casinos weren’t built by the money of all of the winners”. The same principle applies to the tasting rooms. There is a direct parallel between mid-life crises sports cars, boats and producing $100 Cabs, just different levels, same neuroses.
How did the situation escalate itself? Well, California began to gain credibility in the 1970’s thank, in large part, to pioneers like Robert Mondavi, Joe Heitz, and a few other notables. Just like their predecessors Inglenook, they made Cabernet Sauvignon, along with just about everything else. But the Cabernet was great, and it continues to be great. And there is probably no better place in the US to grow Cab than in Napa. So the prices began to escalate, so did the value of property in Napa. Suddenly, probably thanks to Opus One, everyone wanted to produce a $100 bottle of Cab.
At one time, the hands down best wines from this country were Napa Cabs. That has all changed, now, there are many regions in this country that are producing equally amazing wines, and most aren’t even Cabernets. That is not even to mention the amazing wines from all around the globe that are made in an “International Style”, which means low acidity, and robust fruit for the American Palate.
The greatest Irony of all is the fact that most people that plonk down the money never appreciate the wine. They are not wine devotees; they are just as likely to enjoy a bottle of Yellow-Tail if their minions thought that it made them cool. In the restaurant biz, we call it “table-dressing’ wine bottles that sit at the edge of a table so all of the other diners can see how cool they are, just as they probably parked their car taking up 2 spaces in the back of the lot.
So, does that mean that you can’t buy Cabs from Napa? Absolutely not! Please choose producers who are charging what is reasonable for these wines, I draw the line around $60 retail, but I might go as high as $75 for a really special wine. There are hundreds of producers in Napa making cabs that are every bit as good as Opus One or Silver Oak for half the price. Furthermore, you will find top quality wines from everywhere in California and The Pacific Northwest, from grapes other than, gasp!, Cabernet. Just remember, the wine road less traveled bears the most fruit!

Sí España!

2005-08-18T21:57:00.000-04:00

10 years ago, the mere mention of Spanish wine, invariably received a mixed bag of emotions. This enigmatic wine region had been overlooked for far too long, and today, The United States wine market is beginning to reflect that sea of change. But what has brought about the (seemingly) sudden transformation, and is this a passing trend, or are we staring at the next bona fide wine region superstar?

History has a funny way of shedding light on a current situation, and with the Spanish Wine market, this couldn’t be truer. 140 years ago, phylloxera hit France thanks to an Ohio wine grape farmer. As this disease infested every winemaking region of France, the people in the French wine industry followed the jobs right to Spain. Spain didn’t get hit as hard by phylloxera because of the Pyrenees Mountains. This range proved to be the only thing to slow down this incessant pest. With them, the French brought some of their favorite varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay and Mourvedre. After 40 or so years, the French went home after the phylloxera issue was resolved (perhaps a discussion for a future article). Their influence remains today, nowhere more than the “international” grape varieties commonly used there. Fast forward to 1975- Franco dies, and tyranny ends, opening up wine trade in Spain for essentially the first time. At this point, there were a few regions exporting (Rioja, Ribera del Duero), but many were of questionable quality. The wine revolution in Spain had begun.

Over the next 30 years, a few important events occurred, most notably irrigation. Irrigation became legal in 1996, opening up a new world for winemakers in La Meseta (the center of Spain defined by arid climate and high elevations). Winemaking prowess has continued to improve, as has viticulture. A seemingly collective conscious towards high quality, and exporting have made Spain the #1 nation in the world under vine. With 5500 wineries (and growing) and 2.64 million acres planted to the wine grape, the Spanish wine revolution is upon us.

In order to truly understand the diversity of Spanish wines, one must first explore the grapes employed throughout this vast winemaking region. We previously discussed the “International” varietals, but that’s only part of the story. Spain is proud of its many noble varietals, and some are among the best in the world.
Reds…
Tempranillo- Without question, the most important Spanish varietal, this grape can be very tannic and long lived. The best examples are in Rioja and Ribera del Duero, although, it’s dependable in most regions. Also known as Tinta de Toro and Tinto Fino.

Garnacha/ Grenache- This is probably a noble grape, dating back to the days of Aragon, although the French may disagree. It is arguably better here than anywhere. A hundred years of neglect has been good for these grapes, the older the vine the better. Deep and dark to bright and red, this is certainly Spain’s most versatile red, finding it’s way into Rioja, Ribera del Duero, Navarra and to new heights in Priorat. Also labeled as Garnaxta Negre.
Monastrell/Mourvèdre-Another assumed French varietal, probably originated in Spain. This grapes shows some serious Terroir, and can be almost gamey. Grown extensively throughout Alicante, Almansa, Jumila and Yecla.

Mazuelo/Cariñena/Carignan- ¬Used to add structure and color to blends in need, this is most common in Rioja, and the regions surrounding Tarragona.

Whites…
Maccabéo/ Viura- One third of the famed trio of grapes in Cava (Spain’s amazing and inexpensive Sparkling Wines), this lovely white does well in warmer regions, particularly where oxidization can be an issue. It has elegant low acidity, and a nice floral character.

Albariño- One of the few Spanish wines that is consistently labeled as the varietal. It can have high acidity and alcohol. Aromatic and peachy, it’s reminiscent of Viognier. Found most commonly in the Galicia Region, specifically in Rias Baixas.

Verdejo- The grape of the famous Rueda. It is often blended with Sauvignon Blanc. This grape is aromatic with an herbaceous quality reminiscent of Laurel.

Xarel-lo/ Pansa Blanca- Another important component of Cava, this grape is most notably grown in Penedès. Early ripening, this can be an intensely distinctive grape.

And here are a few key terms you will eventually come across on Spanish Wine Labels:

¬Cosecha: year or vintage
Joven: 12 months or less in oak.
Crianza: six months in oak casks, and at least a year and a half in tank, cask, or bottle. Requirements many vary slightly from region to region.
Reserva: Minimum of three years in both cask and bottle, with at least one of those in cask.
Gran Reserva: Wines that may not leave the winery until at least 6 years of ageing ahs elapsed, of which 2-3 years are in Cask and 2-3years are spent in the Bottle.

One of the best things about Spanish wines is the fact they seem to have one foot firmly entrenched in the old world, and the other firmly in the new world. Straddling styles seems to wear well on them. They are at once accessible and cerebral, both cathartic and delicious. They are certainly something for everyone to enjoy. Now armed with inspiration and a wealth of info, you can continue on the wine route unsupervised. Please take some time to enjoy Spanish wines of all colors and prices; you will be impressed time and time again.

Cult Wines?!?

2005-08-11T10:17:00.000-04:00

I spent the last 7 years of my wine career in Southern California. I worked as a Sommelier in a very notable restaurant in Santa Barbara for a chunk of that time. I was always a very conscientious customer for all distributors, and I bought a ton of wine. That said, there were several wines that were next to impossible to acquire. The harder it was, the more I wanted them. Very little of the competition got them either. You see, in California, most of the Cult Wines are mailing list only.

So, Cult Wines are defined by the extremely limited amount of wine made, what else makes these wines the stuff of legends? Well, it’s the quality choice. Winemakers of these wines make choices that would ordinarily be bad business decisions with one thought: make the best wine possible. Excruciatingly low yields, high vine density, hand picking berry by berry, Intense canopy management, dry farming, organic measures, native yeast fermentations, extended macerations and expensive oak regimes all contribute to these highly stylized wines. And of course, these wines come from only the very best vineyard sites on the West Coast.

So how do the wines taste? Unforgettable. These are the wines that we sit around after a great meal telling our friends about. They are the stuff of Braggadocios. They inspire jealousy, and owning these bottles crystallizes what we think of our friends by determining who is a good enough friend to drink these wines with. Oh, and by the way, the press on these wines is amazing. Parker, Spectator, Tanzer, etc… all bastions of obtuseness, the type of publications that make you cringe during renewal time because they provide you with so little joy, and feel like they are constantly filling you with bile, they actually get it right (Maybe it’s the infinite monkeys theory). The fact is, these wines are undeniably good.

Let’s review, they are next to impossible to own, you may lose friends over them, the press drives the prices (and demand) of these wines through the roof. And if you’ve had them, you really need them (almost sounds like they should be illegal). So do we really want to mess around with such controversial wines? That all depends on your financial situation. Screaming Eagle, Harlan, etc, will likely cost you upwards of $500/ bottle, but you can get a relative deal on Non-Cabernet producers. There are a multitude of Pinot Noirs and Syrahs for under $100/ bottle. This is where you should spend your money. They age well, but you don't need 30 years for them to peak, usually under 10 will do just fine. And plenty of people in the world of wine believe that Syrah at it's best will beat Cabernet at it's best. So the choice is yours, but don't shut yourself out of the rare opportunity to try one of these legendary wines...

Big Box Wine

2005-07-28T19:46:00.000-04:00

This is a golden age for the wine consumer. There have never been so many high quality selections from every corner of the globe. Wine is getting better and more consistent. But, just like the rest of the world, the wine market is wrought with over-consolidation. The big guys keep getting bigger, and the small guys keep losing distribution. The question that everyone keeps forgetting to ask is: Is this ultimately good for the consumer?
Let’s explore the way a grocery chain or retail chain makes wine purchase decisions. Most wine that is purchased in this country is purchased in either a grocery store or drug store. Often, a central buyer who is experienced and educated is at the helm (so far, so good), he or she decides what prices are in demand, what the shelf space is, and what the demographic studies tell him or her. Then, he or she inquires about availability of product. In order for a wine to make it into every store in a chain, it must be mass-produced, and this is the exact moment where things get sticky. If a wine is not made in a large enough quantity, it is rarely considered, because there are too many wineries that can ensure nationwide stock and availability.
Now let’s look at the winery’s side of the equation. The winery can decide to make the best wine possible, but production goes down, as does cases available for sale. Lower yields translate to higher quality wine grapes. Or they can decide to make more wine, and see if it competes favorably with other wines at a certain price point. The big companies run on such small margins, that the second scenario doesn’t favor the small or medium sized guy. If none of these options seem like the way to go, they can sell their fruit or juice, or even wine, on the open market to big companies, unfortunately, it is reduced to a liquidated asset.
The big producers constantly sacrifice quality for quantity. This is not because they are evil, or malicious. They are doing the best they can, but at the prices that consumers are paying for grocery store wines, consumers are demanding this quality, or lack thereof. These wines tend to be mediocre for the same reasons everyone wants school class sizes to remain small (trust me). When the teacher(grower)/ Student (grape) ratio is too high, the teacher has a difficult time controlling what is absorbed. Rather than teaching (growing high quality grapes) the teacher is too focused on damage control, you don’t want the students to rot, er grapes, er, you get the idea. The wine produced is always the result of the average quality of grapes. The larger the crop, the more difficult it is to keep the quality high.
Finally, the big producers have marketing and advertising dollars to further entrench themselves in the marketplace. Small guys can’t do this.
OK, so what do you do? Well, first, the only time you should ever, and I mean ever buy wine in a grocery store, is if the person who makes the wine buying decisions for that store is employed at that store. In Toledo, that means, oh, about a half dozen stores (you should be able to figure out who this is). Or, you can buy your wines in a wine shop. These aforementioned stores offer something that the big chains can’t- high quality small producers. They are able to stock whatever they like, with quality always being the most important factor. These stores rely on consumers that put quality ahead of convenience. Just remember, if a store doesn’t have someone available to answer your wine questions, you need to go somewhere that does. There’s too much great wine out there to settle for mediocrity!

Tasting Panel 2- Oregon Pinot Noir

2005-07-28T19:35:00.000-04:00

In an ongoing effort to broaden the palates and minds of our readers, The Toledo Free Press has invited pillars of our wine community to sit in on a tasting panel. The panel is held blind, with brown-bagged wines. Each participant was asked to bring a bottle of wine from their establishment, and we all made comments before the wines were unveiled. This is a decidedly un-scientific approach, although, the comments elicited are all accurate. We tasted these wines in a controlled setting at The Toledo Free Press Offices on July 13th.

The Panel:
Adam Mahler-Food & Wine Editor-Toledo Free Press
Zack Kinker- Wine Associate-The Vineyard Westgate
Cissie Schnoering-Wine Manager-Walt Churchill’s Market
Nick Kubiak-Wine Associate-The Anderson’s Maumee
Jim Heltebrake-Wine Manager-The Anderson’s Talmadge
Mike Sader-Partner- Cohen & Cooke Restaurant
Dave Duling-Fine Wine Specialist Heidelberg Distributors

All of these wines adhered to one theme: Oregon Pinot Noir

…A brief word about Oregon Pinot Noir. Oregon may seem like a strange place to for the world’s most challenging grape. It has become, without question, one of the best places in the world for this fickle wine. The climate is correct, the soil is correct, and the experience is there. The most notable region in Oregon is certainly Willamette Valley (about 45mile South-Southeast of Portland), but Yamhill County, and Umpqua Valley also offer some interesting, high quality selections. The beginning of the wine industry in this area can be traced back just one generation to the 1960’s. The industry continued to grow slowly and surely until 1998 when 2 crucial events took place: a) The first, in an (as of yet) uninterrupted string of stellar vintages, 7 straight years and counting b) the realization that lower yields, minimal intervention, and trending towards organic and sustainable farming all contribute to a marked increase in quality. The growth and talent in this region is so rich now, that I refer to this region as the Algonquin Round Table of Wine. An artists commune where inspiration is always right next door, and creativity and quality begats creativity and quality. The 7 wines that we blind tasted were most impressive, and we all advocate the further exploration of selections at your local wine merchant.

Wine #1-2003 Patricia Green Cellars-Four Winds, Yamhill County
$27.99 at Anderson’s Talmadge
Comments:
Mike Sader-Jam, Jelly, Licorice, Super Fruit! Great with Duck Carpaccio with Blueberries
Dave Duling-Spice on the nose, good structure, mulberries and black cherries
Jim Heltebrake-Smokey, Complex nose, round and viscous. Long and complex, very pleasing.

Wine #2-2002 Oak Knoll, Willamette Valley
$14.99 Anderson’s Talmadge
Comments:
Zack Kinker- Light Acidity, tastes like Nerds Candy (Editor’s Note- this may seem silly, but it is quite accurate)
Cissie Schnoering-Ripe blueberries. Elegant and light.
DD- Grapey, decent acidity, quaffable and light.

Wine #3-2001 Domaine Drouhin-Cuvée Lauréne, Willamette Valley
$53.29 The Vineyard
Comments:
CS-Barnyard Aromas, in a good way, long and interesting finish
ZK-Smokey Cigar box, hickory , dried cherries
Adam Mahler-Elegant and savory. Interesting texture, a real purity of earth and fruit. Highly adaptable for food.

Wine #4 2002 River’s Edge, Umpqua Valley
$19.99 Walt Churchill’s Market
Comments:
Nick Kubiak – Great acidity with an extended finish.
DD-Black Cherries, cola, very balanced and perfumed.
JH-Nice unctuous cherry

Wine # 5-2002 Stone Wolf Barrel Select, Willamette Valley
$19.99 Walt Churchill’s Market
MS- Nice mixed berries, would go great with Rabbit
NK- Good Earthiness, light cinnamon and baking spices with a touch of oak
CS-Lighter style pinot, double star, nice elegance

Wine #6 2002 Archery Summit Premier Cuvée, Willamette Valley
$80 Real Seafood Co.
Comments:
AM-Powerful with nice tannins. Dark fruits with a touch of tar.
ZK-Dried Cherries, mouth drying tannins, a touch of barnyard, and some lovely creaminess.
MS-Super deep, dark barnyard, great tannins. Good with Grilled Lamb and Lamb Shank

Wine # 7-2002 Chehelam Reserve, Oregon
$27.99 375ml (1/2 bottle) Various Locations
JH-Most interesting nose, unripened fruit, firm acidity, great vigor, and terrific food wine
NK-Cherries, Raspberries, and a nice spice on the finish
AM-Great acidity, under-ripe strawberries, with a touch of mint. Bright fresh and showy.

How I spent my wine vacation...

2005-07-02T18:37:00.000-04:00

How I spent my Wine Vacation…

Napa Valley
Summertime is upon us. Time to load up the family truckster and head off to Wallyworld! May I suggest a slightly more civilized vacation? How about a wine tour? You can spend the afternoon in gorgeous, lush hillsides, sipping some of the most interesting hand-crafted wines. At night, you can dine on Wine Country Cuisine, an experience worthy of the trip itself. Before I tell you where to go, let me impose some advice upon you. If heeded, these pointers should elevate the experience of your next wine trip.
A) Tasting small amounts doesn’t mean you can retain your sobriety; in fact, tasting many small portions of wine over a short period of time will intoxicate you faster than sipping poolside all day long. Plan accordingly. This includes transportation. An alternative is to do as the pros do, and spit. Every winery has spittoons in their tasting rooms, and this will help you to keep your head about you. It’s not as gross as you think, and it’s a very common sight at most tasting rooms.
B) Don’t overextend yourself. 3 wineries a day is probably enough. You will wear out your palate if nothing else.
C) Stay hydrated, keep bottles of water on you at all times, and this will help you to avoid the “4:00 sober hangover”, an ugly side effect of staying dehydrated and slightly buzzed all day.
D) Take time to discover wineries you’ve never heard of before. The wine will be better, the tasting room staff will be friendlier, and you will avoid large corporate wineries (again, everything that is wrong in the world of wine).
E) Take a notebook, and write down the wines you taste, and which ones you like. After returning home, you will be amazed how much you remember from referencing your notes.
F) Buy a wine map- Location is the most important factor to the quality of wine, and many people will develop an affinity for a particular sub-region. This can often be a reliable indicator of your personal wine preference.

We are blessed in this country to have the ability to grow wine grapes in all 50 U.S. States. However, like cloning, the capacity to do it does not mean that we should do it! Avoid your local wineries; mediocrity in close proximity is still mediocrity. Selecting a destination can be a little overwhelming. A good rule of thumb, is usually, go to the West Coast (although, The Finger Lakes is respectable as well).
Napa Valley always has been, and always will be the King of U.S wine vacations. The amount and quality of wineries is unparalleled in this country. For the uninitiated wine drinker this trip can often be the epiphany of wine tours. That singular moment when you feel that all at once “you get it”. Napa is also a very tourist oriented region, with plenty of lodging, transportation, and amazing restaurants. If you’ve been there, done that, Sonoma is a little more Rustic and diverse. Napa and Sonoma are next door neighbors, so there’s no reason to not combine both regions on your plans. Sonoma is slightly more sprawled, and has a real diversity of wines, as well as geography.
Heading down the California Coast are 3 equally fantastic wine regions that can each involve a daily visit to the beach. Monterey, San Luis Obispo County (including Paso Robles & Edna Valley) and finally, closest to my heart, Santa Barbara. All 3 are populated by artisan winemakers and growers. This is truly some of the most breathtaking land in this country. The climate is often cooler in these coastal regions, and Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah are often the varietals of choice. The wines are all stellar, and worth the trip. Washington State, similarly, has much to offer with some first-rate producers, and gorgeous scenery. The great gem, however, is Willamette Valley in Oregon. 60 miles South of Portland lines Pinot Noir Heaven. Spend some time in Portland as well; it’s a very progressive city with a vibrant downtown foodie scene.
No matter where you go, plan some visits, and leave partial days for spontaneous happenings, you never know where the wine route will take you.

Toledo Tasting Panel 1- Interesting Whites

2005-07-02T18:35:00.000-04:00

In an ongoing effort to broaden the palates and minds of our readers, The Toledo Free Press has invited pillars of our wine community to sit in on a tasting panel. The panel is held blind, with brown-bagged wines. Each participant was asked to bring a bottle of wine from their establishment, and we all made comments before the wines were unveiled. This is a decidedly un-scientific approach, although, the comments elicited are all accurate. We tasted these wines in a controlled setting at The Toledo Free Press Offices on June 8th.

The Panel:
Adam Mahler-Food & Wine Editor-Toledo Free Press
Jerry Johnson- Owner-The Vineyard Westgate
Cissie Schnoering-Wine Manager-Walt Churchill’s Market
Nick Kubiak-Wine Associate-The Anderson’s Maumee
Jim Heltebrake-Wine Manager-The Anderson’s Talmadge
Gus Mancy-Partner-Mancy’s Steakhouse, Mancy’s Italian Restaurant, Shorty’s BBQ

All of these wines adhered to one theme: Interesting Whites

Wine #1-2004 Rodolfo Torrontes-Argentina
$10.99 at Walt Churchill’s Market
Torrontes is a varietal that is relatively rare in the American market, but is very common in Argentina, where it flourishes. It was originally grown in the Galicia region of Spain, but has grown to greater prominence in S. America. The grape is often Light and fruity with generous acidity.
Comments:
Adam Mahler-Soft Fruit and Honeydew flavors, with intense citrus
Cissie Schnoering-Peaches and Apricots- perfect with Asian flavors.
Nick Kubiak- Fresh White Flowers, solid acidity
Gus Mancy-Incredibly Versatile for any number of cuisines, a perfect starter wine.

Wine #2-2003 Noble House Riesling Qba-Germany
By the Glass at Mancy’s Steakhouse and Shorty’s BBQ
Riesling is the true Noble varietal of Germany. Rieslings can run the gamut from dry to sweet, as with most Qba’s (the entry level of quality wines) this is on the drier end of the spectrum. The best Rieslings will show impressive minerailty, and a slight Petrol quality on the nose.
Comments:
AM-Stone Fruit and decent minerality. Slightly effervescent with a nice lime creaminess
Jerry Johnson-Delicious Patio Sipper
CS- Lively & Spritzy. A clean fresh summer wine.

Wine #3-2004 A to Z Pinot Gris-Oregon
$14.99 The Anderson’s Talmadge
Pinot Gris is the same grape as Pinot Grigio, made famous in Italy. This version is from Oregon, where labeling laws require it to be called Pinot Gris. These wines are typically reminiscent of the Pinot Gris of Alsace in France. Oregon is home to some of the best examples of this style of this wine.
Comments:
CS-Good finish with great grip, would go great with a nice cream sauce.
NK-Sweet honeysuckle, good citrus
Jim Heltebrake-A sweet, even-tempered mouthfeel.

Wine #4 2002 Spann Chardonnay/ Viognier-California
$14.99 The Vineyard
There is a growing movement afoot in California to blend varietals that have no affiliation whatsoever. This is a great example of what 2 distinct varieties that are rarely blended, let alone with each other, can achieve.
Comments:
NK- Hints of Banana and Pear.
JH-Very pleasant, the perfect wine for Betty’s Salad
GM- Interesting flavor combinations, you can really see the Viognier come through.

Wine # 5-2003 Monchiero Arneis-Italy
$10.99 The Anderson’s Maumee
Arneis was once on the verge of extinction in it’s native Italy. Were it not for the Ceretto family in Piedmont, it would be gone forever. Today, it’s best examples are throughout Italy, as is this representative from Langhe in Southern Italy.The grape has a firmness and viscosity that stands up to a variety of cuisines.
Comments:
AM-Lemon Oil, with a nice weight on the palate. Soft white peach flavors
NK-Baked apricots with hints of Almond. Nice Earthiness
GM-Light toast and oak, solid fruit, and a very long, lingering finish

Good Eats

2005-05-31T21:47:00.000-04:00

I can’t stand Bobby Flay (I’ve always wanted to say that, I mean really, how many variations of Mango, Papaya, Jalapeno, Pork Loin Teriyaki Skewers can you really make?). And like most “Celebrity Chefs” Flay never explains “Why”. Like many of his brethren, Flay spews out recipes that don’t allow for deviation, or explanation of techniques, or tools. The “Why” is the most important question that never gets answered. It is assumed that if we understand the “Why”, the rest of the cooking puzzle instantly becomes less mysterious. I have never had any formal training, but I have sat through an inordinate amount of cooking classes, I have asked annoyed chefs of every nationality a thousand questions, but nothing, and I mean nothing, has satiated my cooking curiosity like Alton Brown and Good Eats.
The show: Good Eats. Sure, you’ve probably seen it on the channel guide, maybe you even watched it for a few moments, only to wonder what this guy is doing in a grocery store riding in a shopping cart. It’s a very goofy show. Maybe I should start from the beginning. Alton Brown is a Film Guy. He spent many years in Hollywood, directing all sorts of stuff. Eventually, he became disenfranchised with a) Hollywood, b) cooking shows. He and his wife up and moved to Vermont to go to Culinary School to do something about it. After graduating, he started his show, Good Eats. With a serious goal: To teach people how to cook without relying on recipes.
Each episode of Good Eats is wrought with cultural references the likes of which haven’t been seen since Dennis Miller went to the Dark Side. So it is entertaining, for people with a certain sense of humor. But the format is so insanely common-sensical, it’s a wonder Food TV survived as long as they did before Brown came around. The premise is very simple; Alton tackles a specific topic. Then he guides you through the “Great American Mega-Mart” to show how to shop for the topic. Then he talks about different preparations, and invariably ends up at a “Bed, Bath and Beyond” or similar store, talking about equipment. The right knife, toaster, blender, egg-slicer, spatula, etc is of paramount importance, with absolutely no deference to brand or aesthetic. Functionality, ease of use, and value are the prerequisites for any item. To reinforce his opinions, he often brings in a wide array of experts from his local neighborhood Fish-Monger, to Nutritional Anthropologists, to Food Scientists, For visual aids, he uses a standard mix of styrofoam balls, garden hoses and finger puppets, which further help to explain the science behind the way we cook. All to answer that allusive question, “Why?”. And yet, each episode is just 30 minutes long.
Check your listings for Good Eats, times may change, but it usually air Monday-Friday at 7pm, 10pm, and 10:30pm. I just TiVo it, and watch it whenever I am in the mood. I even watch episodes that I’ve already seen repeatedly. Aside from The Simpsons and Seinfeld, nothing holds up to repeated viewings better than Good Eats. It simply re-affirms, and re-ingrains what you have already learned.
His, is the most noble of pursuits, to teach. And while entertaining and silly, Alton Brown has greatly improved my quality of life. He has taught me how to do something that I thought I already knew how to do, cook. And now, I’m a pretty good cook. I still make plenty of mistakes, and I need to practice some techniques, but, if I fail, I always know why. Cooking should be like playing music or painting, not like assembling a swing set. Alton Brown gives you the tools to make cooking a form of art.

BBQ Wines?!?

2005-05-31T14:59:00.000-04:00

BBQ season is upon us. Now, to many Midwesterners, including myself, traditionally this meant one of a few types of cuisine: Either the Sausage subset (a gourmet approach would be to marinade in beer for several hours beforehand), or the burger subset. Deviation of either of these two disciplines usually resulted in charred, relatively expensive cuts of meat that I felt best served in a restaurant on someone else’s tab. And next to the grill would be copious amounts of beer, preferably canned, perhaps eventually instrumental in the demise of aforementioned expensive cuts of meat. This scenario really refers to my college years and early 20’s. Since I have been involved in the Wine & Food industry, I have found the necessity to feign some level of sophistication, along the way, I discovered that a good bottle, or more, of the right wine, can elevate the event of grilling to levels never seen during the reign of the mind numbing, canned Old Milwaukee’s Best Ice Light.
Last week I was visiting with Jim Heltebrake of Anderson’s on Talmadge. He asked about what my next article topic would be, and I told him that I was working on an article about wine and grilling. His eyes lit up, and he spoke in an inspired tone about how grilling and wine can be ritualistic, and how opening a bottle when you first light the grill can, and should be a symbiotic experience. As you pour your first glass, the wine helps to get your juices flowing, both creatively, and digestively. So, with source of inspiration in hand, how do you select the perfect grilling wine?
Anyone that knows me will roll their eyes when they read this next line: Dry Rosés are summertime in a glass! I beat this drum incessantly, and every time the weather warms up, I tell myself that this will be the summer that America finally gets it! Dry Rosés are perfect for a warm summer day, lighting the grill, and noshing on any number of classic BBQ (The noun, not the verb) starters. Rosés are, essentially red wines, with less concentration (yes, they are pink, but that doesn’t make them any less manly). They generally have less structure and extraction than their red brethren, but are made from red grapes such as Pinot Noir, Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Franc or a host of other red varietals. They are best served with a slight chill, and they are never, ever sweet unlike White Zinfandel.
Speaking of Zinfandel, the red version, or as most people like to call it, just Zinfandel, is perfect for many types of grilling as well. For under $20, you can usually score with a Spicy, ripe, juicy Zin from Sonoma. I have been fortunate enough to sample Wine & Cuisine from some of the best chefs and winemakers in the world, but the single greatest wine and food pairing moment for me came unexpectedly last year. My Chef Friend Chris, made his signature Chipotle Ribs for an event, and I non-chalantly paired it with a $13 bottle of Zinfandel. It was the most perfect pairing I have ever seen, and it was so, American.
As I began experimenting with the grill, and bringing in new proteins, and sauces, I found that if it’s grilled, it’s easy to match wine with. I always recommend a Spanish Grenache, a Cru Beaujolais, or the right Aussie Shiraz with the grill. Don’t take my word for it, try it yourself, and send me your results. And as always, shop for wine only in an establishment where the staff is based in the wine department, and are knowledgeable, otherwise you are just giving your money to people in a marketing department somewhere.

Toledo Restaurant Rant

2005-05-31T14:58:00.000-04:00

An open letter to Toledo,

Toledoans,

You can affect change in this city. The food and wine culture can be improved. The resources are available, and it won’t cost you a thing. When we speak of Great Cities throughout the world, one of the first things we mention is Restaurants. Museums and Architecture are important too, but, that’s not the focus today (although, Toledo pretty much has the whole Museum and Zoo thing covered).We need to collectively change the way we think about food and wine in this city.

I know that Toledo is referred to as a restaurant capital. There is some sort of stat. out there that says that we have more restaurants per capita than any other city. So Toledoans are accustomed to going out to eat. Also, Toledoans have as much if not more discretionary income than most Midwest cities, and believe it or not, they spend as much per capita as most cities in Ohio. So, a conclusion can be drawn that Toledoans, relatively speaking, have cash to burn, and they spend it, and they go to restaurants at a record setting rate. Only one problem, Toledoans love Chain Restaurants.

Now I worked in Chain Restaurants. They can be well-run organizations that treat their employees and customers quite well. They can be also be quite involved in community events, and they can be very charitable. But in a city like Toledo, they suck the personality and culture out of the restaurant scene. Take anybody on the street, blindfold them, and stick the back of a van (just an example, please don’t do this), drive around for 3 hours, and drop them on Dussel Drive. Then, ask them what city they’re in. It would be impossible to determine, because every city in the U.S. with a population between 100,000 and 600,000 has countless streets with Freeway access that look exactly the same. Sure, you’d recognize the Maumee Water Tower, but that’s about it. Homogenization is the arch-enemy of a distinct wine and food culture.

Toledo has ethnicity, and historic restaurants. We need to stop flocking to these chain restaurants in such droves, as long as alternatives exist. We need to make a statement to the corporations that we prefer interesting food, with interesting (not always convenient) locations. And we appreciate individuality in dining. A single restaurant is the only way to convey the true vision of a great chef, artists in their own right. Ask yourselves this, If you are entertaining guests from out of town, where do you take them to impress them? Applebees? Olive Garden? Mancy’s? The Docks? Duh! It is your responsibility to make sure that these restaurants exist in between your guest’s visits. It is also your fault we have so many chains. But it’s not too late. Again, we have a burgeoning downtown restaurant scene, downtown is 15 minutes from anywhere. Ironically, people will wait 90 minutes for generic Italian food, but ask them to drive 8 more miles, and they say it’s too far. The Drive-thru from lunch must be making them logy.

Next time you go out to eat, try someplace new. Try something you’ve never had before. There is a difference between eating and dining. Dining doesn’t usually involve toys, lunchboxes, nostalgia or any other crap on the walls. Sometimes you may even find art when you dine, again promoting that whole culture thing. Plus the independently owned restaurants don’t cost any more than the chains, and you’ll get more bang for your buck. Hey, you might even be supporting your neighbor’s business. Food and Wine is all about Discovery.

Why Pinot? Why Now?

2005-05-31T14:57:00.000-04:00

Why Pinot, Why Now?

O.K., it's because of "Sideways." But this question runs quite a bit deeper. The wine industry has seen a large increase in the amount of interest in this great varietal. Trends come and go, but it seems Americans are truly beginning to discover and fall in love with this wine for the first time.

"Because it's no f-in Merlot!"
Not eloquent, but true (at the moment). In "Sideways," Miles loathes Merlot, which isn't to say that all Merlot is bad; he just hates everything it stands for. Merlot was a varietal that saw a huge jump in popularity in the last 2 decades for 2 reasons: a) easy/ fun to say (no one knows how to say Gamay, Sangiovese, Mourvedre, or a smattering of other foreign names) b) The resulting wine was often non-offensive, non-challenging, and fruity, sort of a "hey ma, look at me, I'm drinking wine" but leaving a lot to be desired in the way of inspiration. This is all because giant conglomerate factory wineries overgrow, overfarm and under deliver a very easy grape to grow. With the exception of some vineyards in Napa, Bordeaux and a handful of other spots, Merlot is best used as a blending grape, sort of a backup singer providing harmony for the lead singer, Cabernet Sauvignon.
Pinot Noir is an ironic challenger to Merlot's throne. Pinot Noir is a grape that can't be grown just anywhere. You'd be hard pressed to find a grape that cares about its real estate more than Pinot. The soil, sun, temperature, humidity, etc, all need to be just right in order to grow this grape with any degree of success. Pinot Noir is a diva, but when it's great, it can be a religious experience. Some of the most prized and valuable wines in the world are Pinot Noir; Red Burgundy (not to be confused with hearty Burgundy) is 100 percent Pinot Noir. Echezeaux, Pommard, Gevrey-Chambertin and Domaine Romanee-Conti are all made from Pinot Noir.
In a manner of speaking, Pinot Noir has some serious wine street-cred, but why is it beginning to take hold among the masses? Well, it's good wine, and unlike some other wines, it doesn't always require that you acquire a taste for some of the flavor profiles. It is abundant in red-fruit flavors (think of fruits that are red: cherries, raspberries and strawberries), and readily pairs with just about any type of cuisine. It is arguably the most versatile wine for food pairings. It will go with anything from a spring salad to sushi to grilled lamb to heavy, hearty dishes like beef stew, and practically everything in between.
Here are a few things to remember when buying Pinot Noir:
1. Location, location, location! Burgundy is great from Oregon, specifically, Willamette Valley and Yamhill County. Carneros is great; Russian River is great; Sonoma Coast is good to great; Monterey, Santa Lucia Highlands, Edna Valley, Arroyo Grande, Santa Rita Hills and Santa Maria Valley are all good to great.
Be wary of "California" bottlings. Without specific appellations, it may be difficult to determine the origin of this wine.
2. Be prepared to spend a little bit more on Pinot than you would on Merlot, but you can't compare apples and oranges. A $15 Pinot will blow the doors off of any Merlot in the same ballpark; there just aren't too many Pinots at the $8-$12 price range.
3. Say this as your daily mantra: "I will not shop for wines in a chain grocery store." The only exception in Toledo would be any of The Anderson's Stores. The reason is very simple. Grocery stores have hundreds of locations. To have consistent product selection from one store to the next, you need mass quantities of a particular wine. This is never a good thing, especially when it comes to Pinot Noir. Remember: small lots, small production. Walk into any of the following stores - Any Anderson's, The Vineyard, Joseph's Beverage Center, Maumee Wines, Churchill's Monclova - walk up to a person in the wine department, and trust them to put a great bottle of pinot in your hands. You can trust them, they've already tried everything on the shelves!

The Once & Future King

2005-05-31T14:56:00.000-04:00

The once and future King…

Are you finished with your Freedom Fries yet? Good, because it’s time to revisit French Wines. Regardless of your politics, it is absolutely essential to understand and appreciate French Wines.

Now I know that the French can be infuriating. I worked for French Chefs for nearly 7 years. Some I hated (I mean, curl up in a fetal position sobbing myself to sleep, hated), and some were inspiring (Michel Richard, not to name drop, but I have to give credit to where credit is due). The French culture has such an acute understanding of wine and food. It is in their blood. The French can be an easy target. Nobody said they were tactful, that’s why we have Switzerland. But, the French are not just historically significant; they make the absolute best examples of most of your favorite varietals.

California stands on the shoulders of wine giants in most cases. Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and many more grapes that we think of as inherently California, are actually French. I love California, I lived there very happily for many years and most of my friends are in the industry, but it’s not quite the same as in France.

So the birthplace of all of the aforementioned grapes has learned where to grow these grapes through hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of years of successes and failures. What that means is that most vineyards in France have the perfect varietal for that location. In the U.S. we only have the benefit of the 20th century. In California, vintners are constantly pulling up vines, and replanting, in hopes of finding the right grapes for the right place. Furthermore, these are varietals that have great names in France, but, in theory, may not be best the best grapes for the job in California. But because of varietal name recognition, we continue to buy subpar versions of many of these grapes.

The best example of the difference between French and American winegrowing (it’s really about the growing, not the winemaking) is in Chardonnay. Chardonnay is a very divisive varietal, most people love it, or hate it. But, many people are only familiar with California versions. The best Chardonnay in the world (this is a widely held belief), is from Burgundy. Yes, white Burgundy is not a Crayola Contradiction. The reason Chardonnay is so great in Burgundy is 2 reasons, long, cool growing season, a long growing season does the same thing for grapes that slow cooking does for meat, it brings out subtle characteristics, and generally makes flavors more unified. As well as helping the grapes to attain natural acidity, which is a vital structural component. And second, the soil composition. The soils in Burgundy are wrought with fossilized sea shells. This affects the drainage of the soil, as well as contributing to the ph of the wine. Again, acidity. Generalization Alert! Drink a California Chardonnay side by side with an equally priced French Wine. You will find that the California Chardonnay tastes like tropical fruit, with accents of vanilla, oak and butter (depending on the winemaking style). Can be very tasty, but is sometimes difficult to pair with food because it is missing structural components. That French Chardonnay from Burgundy will show more subtle fruit, most likely, sweet melon, maybe peaces, ripe citrus fruits, a real sense of minerality, and a mouth watering acidity, that makes it perfect for food pairing. The winemaking can often be similar, the difference is soil and climate. Technology will never replace this.

I do drink California wines, and I truly enjoy them, and sometimes it is a question of which wine I am in the mood for. I am simply trying to illustrate a sense of diversity. Wine should not be a political football. It should be something for the people from all winegrowing regions of the world to share. Boycotting French wines didn’t affect governments, but it put many Family Owned Wineries and Vineyards out of business. Not rich multinational companies, but working class farmers that only knew winegrowing for many generations back. But the real tragedy (maybe Instant Karma) is that Americans stopped experiencing many great wines from the greatest winegrowing country in the world.