:: The Thirsty Redhead :: Master of Wine wannabe

Tasting for Style and Quality

2011-12-18T12:35:00.006-05:00

Identifying wine aromatics are important for tasting, as is honing in on its structure. Tasting for the MW, however, I’ve noticed I’ve had to add ‘tasting for style’ to my repertoire. The quality assessment is a key component of the Practical exams, usually worth even more points than absolute identification of the wine, so I pulled three styles of dry wine this morning in order to reflect on styles and quality of wine.

Frascati and Muscadet
Frascati is made in central Italy from Malvasia and Trebbiano, two of the most neutral grapes I know. Malvasia generally has higher ripeness and a fuller body, so blending with the higher acid Trebbiano makes for a pleasant wine. I thought this Frascati had an awful lot of aromatics (I probably shouldn’t have picked a Frascati ‘Superiore’, which I am guessing is a Frascati higher in alcohol, so will have higher aromatics). Starting with the Frascati, like I said there were more aromatics than I thought there would be. It was nearly tropical, indicating a warmer climate. The acid seemed to be high until I tasted the Muscadet. While still writing down components to a traditional tasting note, I concluded that the Frascati was a soft and refreshing wine and its relative neutrality on the palate would make it an excellent aperitif.

Muscadet always smells musty – nearly corked - to me. I believe that to be the lees talking. Aromatically, this wine was even more neutral, though I did get that pure lemon aroma and flavor. There was a bit of CO2 prickle on the tongue and really mouthwatering acid. My personal preference says this is not a very pleasant drink, but I could imagine it being a lovely mignonette for oysters.

Gewürztraminer
Here was the step up in style and quality (by design). A darker color suggesting more ripeness and/or extract, and textbook Gewürztraminer aromatics easily jumping from the glass: perfume, perfume, perfume, plus a little tropical note. The palate was softer and much fuller in body, which allowed for a longer finished compared to the two above. It also seemed slightly off-dry, a little more red apple (so again, ripe), and even had a little spiciness/bitterness on the finish.

Going from the Gewürztraminer back to the Frascati and Muscadet not only highlighted the more ‘noble’ nature of the Gewürztraminer grape, but also the higher quality: Gewürztraminer had a longer length that was layers and layers of tropical fruits and spices. It probably helped somewhat that, by design, the Francasti and Muscadet retail for around $13 and the Gewürztraminer was $22.

Maybe Too Easy
The tasting was designed to focus on different style and quality levels and that was definitely achieved. It was helpful to go about this tasting with the intention of quieting my analytical mind and focusing on the quality and the setting that such a wine of this style would be served. Next up will be a look at terroir and quality.

The wines:

* Borgo del Cedro Frascati Superiore 2010 $13.50, 13.5% abv

* Hautes Noelles (Serge Batard) Muscadet Sur Lie 2010 $13, 12% abv

* Paul Blanck Gewurztraminer 'Classique' 2010 $22.50 (for 750ml), 14% abv

Wine Basic Tastes and Structure

2011-12-04T13:35:00.005-05:00

I’m terrified by the Practical in the Master of Wine exams, which is another way of saying I suck at blind tasting. I did about average (for me) in my tasting group this week, but I was disappointed and how little structural components I could get out of each glass. So I've prepared several mixtures to look at some of the basic structures that make up wines: sugar, acid, and alcohol.

I had three empty and cleaned wine bottles. For sugar I dissolved 3T in water then diluted it up to a 750ml. I used the juice of two lemons for acid and diluted it up to 750ml. And alcohol was represented by a half of a small bottle of vodka diluted to 750ml (so about an 11-12% abv solution).

Components

Sweetness: I was surprised to learn that sweetness, something I always looked for on the tip of my tongue as that’s what everyone says, wasn’t found there for me. Turns out I register sweetness on the back of my palate by my molars, though really the sensation washes over everything.

Acid: This is a very localized sensation on the sides of the tongue extending into the cheeks. And there’s also that unmistakable mouthwatering sensation that hits with acid. I heart acid.

Alcohol: This one is complicated. I definitely taste a bitterness (like almond skins?) towards the back of my palate, but I don’t get the ‘sweetness’ that many folks talk about with alcohol. I added another splash of vodka directly to my glass and that just made me gag. Texture-wise, alcohol certainly has ‘weight’, especially if you swish with water first to immediately compare. And it spreads around, i.e., it is not super-concentrated on any part of the tongue. But at the moment, I think I need to look for that bitterness to indicate higher alcohol levels.

Balance of Components

Acid/Alcohol (50/50): I suppose this showcased that elusive sweetness in alcohol. The mouthwatering nature of the acid was blunted by the alcohol mix, though possibly also by sheer dilution.

Sugar/Alcohol (50/50): Ok, unlike the last blend, this one showed no dilution of sugar, therefore the alcohol base does exhibit sweetness. Just not overtly. To me. The blend allowed the sweetness to wash over my palate (courtesy of alcohol) and when I immediately compared it to the sugar base, I was back to localized sweetness. Interesting.

Sugar/Acid (50/50): This is why good wine is so cool. Both the sugar and the acid were present and you could shift your attention back and forth between them. Balance defined.

Sugar/Acid/Alcohol (one third each): A crude version of wine. The acid made my mouth water and was tempered by the sugar, which was spread around by the alcohol. Otherwise, the flavor was disgusting.

More Practice is Needed

My solutions were pretty primitive for this exercise. I’ve dusted off my old copy of Baldy’s The University Wine Course, and in addition to my regular tastings, will try to get through the tastings presented in Schuster’s Essential Winetasting (which has been the inspiration of today’s exercise). At a minimum, I'm ready to pay a lot more attention to structures.

Master of Wine MYC Course Day

2011-11-01T18:21:00.006-04:00

Wow.

I have a lot of work to do.

I’m grateful to have the opportunity to attend the NYC course day as it re-motivated me in my studies. While collaboration with other students and mentors are essential to getting through the program, the Master of Wine journey is largely a solo effort. And a chance for feedback while I’m still in the beginning stages of my journey has been really eye-opening.

The morning was spent tasting and really understanding how to make sure every observation you make about a wine actually concludes something that adds to your argument. Benjamin Lewin and Christy Canterbury totally made sense as the words came out, but my immediate execution was terrible.

We did a mock exam of nine wines. I added “hang myself” to my growing to do list. In fact, my tasting skills are so poor that instead of the dreaded running out of time, I finished early since I had nothing else to say. My book wine knowledge (especially when you leave France) is really weak (for example…ok, this Pinot Noir is probably from New Zealand...but not ripe enough for Central Otago…so…shoot, remind me where else they make Pinot down there?) Seriously.

The good news is I largely already have this information from my Diploma Unit 3 days. I just have to actually...ya know...learn it.

And practice. Writing for any length of time over three minutes hurts. And the tasting portion is writing for over two hours. And focus. Feeding the jukebox at Coyote Ugly until 2am the night before is probably not something I would do on exam day. That didn't help my focus.

Anyway, we then spent the afternoon on theory, and I felt better about that. We individually made outlines on a few questions and then discussed. Benjamin and Christy also pulled out a few past exam questions to illustrate how many questions appear again and again, and asked us to think about how we might change our outline in each scenario. Brilliant.

Overall, amazingly helpful, and I’m glad I can focus my studies with a little more precision and a lot more motivation before attending the residency in Napa. And harakiri thoughts aside, I really am excited to be in the program.

Playing for keeps

2011-10-26T17:54:00.006-04:00

So it's official. While they haven't run my credit card for the full $3,550 in first year fees (and yes, I'm checking my Visa balance several times a day), I received an email that says I have been accepted as a first year candidate for the Master of Wine program (programme, if you’re British).

As promised, you can read my application essay below. I hope these will get easier in the future.

I have been trying to 'study' a little since I sent in my application in August, though without a mentor (should be assigned this week) or any other solid direction, I have just been taking terms from the syllabus, defining them, and writing down some relevant points including positives, negatives, and any controversies. Since you could be revising a topic like "oxygen" for months, at this point I have limited my sources to:

* The Oxford Companion to Wine edited by Jancis Robinson
* Understanding Wine Technology by David Bird
* Viticulture - An Introduction to Commercial Grape Growing for Wine Production by Stephen Skelton
* My old WSET Diploma study guides (great summary tables!)

So I have a solid start to papers 1 and 2 (viti/vini). I still don't have many real-world examples to support arguments or whatnot, but now that a skeleton is in place, I will be talking and researching to fill in those examples while I really understand the wine world and actually start revising old exam essays.

In order to dig into the controversies a little more, I'm reading Malcolm Gluck's "The Great Wine Swindle" and Michael Veseth's "Wine Wars: The Curse of the Blue Nun, The Miracle of Two Buck Chuck, and the Revenge of the Terroirists" and incorporating those into notes as they fit. I've got a few other books to reference for general myth-busting or just to generally make sure I understand all the issues going on in the wine business that I just may take for granted as 'that's just the way it is'.

The good news is that there is a Fall Course Day in New York next Monday, so I should have a better sense of how to spend my study time after that.

Yes, I have gotten lazy/broke and have not been doing much in the way of focused tastings as of late. I expect to get more guidance on this front at the Course Day as well.

In the meantime, I'm going to break into some vintage bubbly and you can ready what I had to say about "Examine the principal factors within the direct control of the vineyard manager which affect the quality of the grapes". Enjoy!

**********************************************************

Quality grapes are the starting point for quality wine, and the cliché that wine is made in the vineyard is true. There are several factors that a vineyard manager can control directly to impact the quality of the grapes produced -- including soil preparations, treatments to the vine and canopy throughout the growing season, and, most importantly, measures relating to the harvest. To achieve quality fruit, the vineyard manager will be looking to make decisions (in a given existing vineyard) that will produce grapes that will reach their full phenolic maturity (for the style of wine they wish to make) and are free from rot and disease.

:: Soils ::
Starting at the ground level, the proper amount of moisture in the soil is an essential input photosynthesis and helping the grapes reach maturity. In areas where it is legal to do so, a drip irrigation system will help when Mother Nature is not. Once an irrigation system is established, several programs to give the grapes the minimal amount of moisture to survive should be employed, including reduced deficit irrigation (where water is only applied when needed, as measured by the moisture content in the leaves of the vine), and partial rootzone drying (where only one side of the vine (and thus roots)) are watered. Etude winery in California employs the former irrigation strategy, which they believe contributes significantly to the quality of grapes that they produce.

Management of weeds is important to grape quality, particularly in younger vines whose more shallow root systems would have to compete with the weeds. While helpful to protect against erosion, younger vines might benefit from not having to compete with weeds for water and nutrients while producing grapes.

:: Vine ::
The manipulations to a vine are key to producing quality grapes. Pruning not only helps to maintain the size and shape of a vine, but pruning back unnecessary vegetative growth will have a positive impact on energy that the plant puts into growing the grapes. Related to pruning, the management of the overall canopy is also key to allow proper air circulation and sunshine (or not) to reach the grapes during the growing season. For example, the vines at Chateau Beausejour in Montagne-St-Emilion are regularly trimmed throughout the season to keep vine vigour in check, and once verasion is taking place in the vineyard, they employ ‘leaf pulling’, where leaves are pulled away from the shading the fruit zone, allowing as much sunshine as possible to reach the grapes and help them reach maturity. Having a trained and available workforce to carry out these individual tasks throughout the growing season is a consideration that will have an impact on your budget for the type of wine you are making.

Along with pruning and canopy management, the training of the vine that is appropriate for the varietal is important. Many training systems (particular those that are spur-trained) include permanent wood that would not be easy for a vineyard manager to change season-to-season, but whatever the existing shape of permanent wood, training the vine to open up the canopy (i.e., maximize the air circulation and sunshine or shade) will help to allow work to be done more easily in the vineyard and reduce rot in more humid areas.

Winter pruning will also directly impact the yield of the vine during the following growing seasons and should be employed with care. Winter pruning entails not only cutting away the prior year’s growth, but also selecting how many buds will remain for the following years’ growth. This has a direct impact on yield and thus, a direct impact on quality.

Finally, in relation to the vine, it bears to mention where time and finances allow, grafting an appropriate clone for the given climate (and macro-climate) in a vineyard would also enhance the quality of the grapes.

:: Harvesting Options ::
The most important decision a vineyard manager (and winemaker) makes all year is when to harvest the grapes and is everything to achieving the quality level in grapes that is needed. Finding the right moment when sugars, acid, and tannins are in balance is important, as well as how the fruit is harvested. Where it is practical, machine harvesting would increase quality to the extent that a large vineyard area can be picked in a relative short period of time. This would be especially important where coming rains threaten the crop. Note, however, that the vineyard needs to be specially spaced and on a relative flat land in order to use machine harvesting. On the other hand, hand-harvesting would be ideal for helping to separate the best fruit from damaged or less ripe fruit. This is clearly a more expensive option for harvesting, but if the budget will allow for it, you can train workers to help bring in the fruit as unblemished as possible. Sometimes, as in the steep terraces of the Mosel that Weingut Leitz works, hand-harvesting is the only option.

Employing a sorting table at the winery would also help to choose the best grapes to increase quality of your wine, though the vineyard manager would be more responsible for harvesting the fruit out of the vineyard.

:: Conclusion ::
There are many decisions a vineyard manager must make in order to grow grapes at a specified level of quality. From the soils, to vine and canopy management, and especially harvesting timing and options, a vineyard manager has to think through and choose each method according to the budget and style (and quality) of the wine that they are going to make.

The waiting begins...

2011-08-11T12:06:00.003-04:00

I hope I’m not jinxing myself, but I send the application and Fedex said it was delivered in time last week. My essay was: "Examine the principal factors within the direct control of the vineyard manager which affect the quality of the grapes produced." In classic MW style, the question seems quite simple, but it really taxed my knowledge-retrieval and imagination to put something logical on paper. And at that, a week later I’m still remembering relevant things I could have included. Frustrating.

I’ll post my essay after I find out whether they will let me in or not (judging from prior years, I should know by early October. They implemented a rolling-application essay topic schedule, but I don’t know if that will impact when decisions go out).

In the meantime, back to revisions. Wish me luck!

Varietal(-ish) focus: Châteauneuf-du-Pape blends

2011-07-30T11:01:00.006-04:00

Question: can a group of $30-ish Châteauneuf-du-Pape-inspired blends from around the world distinguish themselves?

Massena ‘Moonlight Run’ 2006 (Barossa Valley) $27, 14.5% abv

Composed of 54% Grenache, 24% Shiraz, 16% Mataro (Mourvèdre), and 6% Cinsault all from vineyards that range in age from 85-150 years old. Each parcel is fermented and aged separately before final blend is made, then it is aged for 18 months in seasoned French oak (old hogsheads).

Deep ruby with a bit of an alcohol white rim. The whiff of sweet perfume is what stood out on the nose. At first I guessed sweet oak, but as they age in old French hogshead, I’m now guessing the perfume of Mourvèdre was showing itself. Very curious. Alcohol was more apparent on the palate, and it clashed with the acid right away before the acid disappeared and I could get to the fruit bits (which were ripe dark fruits). Tannins were well-integrated in the mix and velvety. The finish was on the long side and was a thick, lovely layer of juicy dark fruits. And I swear vanilla!

Bonny Doon Vineyards ‘Le Cigare Volant’ 2006 (California) $33, 13.3% abv

Always amusing to read the ingredient labels of Bonny Doon wines. This is made from 43.6% Syrah, 43.5% Grenache, 11.7% Cinsault, 1.1% Mourvèdre, and 0.1% Carnignane. Also used in the winemaking process was untoasted oak chips and French oak barrels.

This was the most saturated in color, nearly to the rim. The Bonny Doon exhibited the same dark fruit aromas, but this one had a slight more ‘funk’ to it and a touch of floral. I’m guessing that’s because this wine had the highest concentration of syrah, a rather unstable fellow, and one that shows off something like Brett more readily. It added to the complexity of the nose. There was a faint trace of vanilla oak.

Body, acid and alcohol were all balanced together at about a medium intensity. The tannins were medium+ and suede-like. The dark fruit on the palate was softer (less sour). The finish was medium and made of tannins and a bit of fruit.

Domaine St. Gayan 2006 (Gigondas) $28, 14.5% abv

I chose the Gigondas as my French ‘Châteauneuf-du-Pape’ so the price point would be in line with the others. I guess I should have kept looking since this is more of a traditional Côtes du Rhône blend, but whatever. It’s made from 75% Grenache, 15% Syrah, and 5% Mourvèdre from vines with an average age of 55 years (some of the Grenache vines are over 100 years old). It goes through a typical long fermentation in neutral tanks and then spends a year in old foudres.

Lightest in color of this group (medium- ruby with alcohol rim). Also the most subdued in aromas and much more earthiness (dry dirt) and dark fruits (plums and black cherries). It was dark. I could also smell alcohol. The palate had medium+ acid and medium+ alcohol which eventually gave way to sour dark fruits. The last observation points me directly to the old world. Tannins were fine-grained (but ‘square’…rocky soils?) and medium+ intensity. Finish was all sour dark fruits lifted along with the tannins.

PS – I visited this estate in early July. The picture on the label is what it actually looks like there. No kidding. Well, except when you’re actually there it’s in color.

Observations

The old world version stood out immediate with its sour dark fruit profile. In a blind situation, I would have probably questioned the alcohol as a marker, but we’re talking about the Southern Rhône here. It was also the least extracted of the bunch.

Then again, going back to my first point above, perhaps if I actually found a Châteauneuf-du-Pape instead of the Gigondas, would my results have been different? Châteauneuf-du-Pape can be pretty ripe too.

The riper fruit profiles of the last two clearly landed me in the new world. I’m not entirely sure that the luxuriously velvet tannins of the Massena would have helped me to get to Australia (note to self: time to do a Grenache varietal focus). Nor did the lower alcohol in the Bonny Doon tell me that it was from California. The Bonny Doon spoke mostly about its cepage (being higher in Syrah…and I believe that Grenache is generally higher in alcohol than Syrah, so being higher in Syrah helped to lead to lower alcohol).

Another damn tasting where I’m not sure I gained much. It might be the design. And it might be the end user. Hhhmmm…

Winery Profile: Channing Daughters

2011-06-28T10:24:00.006-04:00

Ta da!

Channing Daughters is probably my favorite winery on the east end of Long Island and not just because winemaker Christopher Tracy is an MW candidate. The range of styles the winery offers is exciting and delicious. The east end of Long Island has producing wine for over 35 years now, and while some styles of wine are starting to establish themselves (I love the local Sauvignon Blancs and Cabernet Francs), I appreciate that the team at Channing Daughters is really pushing the envelope. They’ve planted a number of atypical varietals and make wines ranging from the typical fruit-driven & refreshing to single-varietal rosés (including one from Refosco), skin-fermented whites, ripasso reds, orange wines, and even a Madeira-style Merlot dessert wine!

I was captivated while interviewing winemaker Christopher Tracy and soil scientist Larry Perrine, and I highly recommend a visit to Channing Daughters if you ever find yourself in the Hamptons.

This article was published in the January 2011 issue of Sommelier Journal. Better late than never.

Bordeaux Master-Level Exam

2011-06-20T14:10:00.007-04:00

The online programs of the French Wine Society are a model for truly interactive wine education. I passed the French Wine Scholar exam last year and signed up in March for the Bordeaux Master Program as Bordeaux is just an area I don’t know much about, and looking at past MW exams, it seems pretty important. The program was led by the Dewey Markham Jr., author of 1855: A History of the Bordeaux Classification and ran for about three months with 20 live, interactive webinars and weekly reading assignments.

First off, Mr. Markham has that rare ability to take utterly confusing topics like the Côtes of Bordeaux or the classification systems and break them down to their historical origins and then lead the student to put these pieces back together again to understand what’s going on today. His core curriculum was supplemented by webinars from guest lecturers including Roger Bohmrich, MW (covering Garagistes and the economics of Bordeaux), Charles Curtis, MW (two centuries of vintages, and collecting & investing in Bordeaux), and Joel Butler, MW (Bordeaux terroir and the meaning in appellation). The quality of the lectures as well as the reading assignments (over 125 pages) were excellent. I also opted to attend an all-day review that included some well-organized tastings of Bordeaux wines (by soil type and by AOC).

Secondly, the technology was amazing. I hate to date myself, but I didn’t realize online education went beyond passively watching a presentation recording. The webinars were live and the technology such that if you had a question during the presentation, you could ‘wave your hand’ and the presenter would answer your question live. Sure, it could make the presentation go longer than an hour (and it often did), but all presentations were available online afterwards as well. And anything not answered could be posted to the bulletin board which all instructors were active on.

Finally, I just took the final exam this past weekend, opting to take it in person in Washington DC (there was no NYC provider, and there’s an upcharge to take the exam online). The exam consisted of a map identification exercise (10 points), 50 multiple-choice questions (50 points), and five short essay questions (40 points). I don’t think all of the exams have been turned in yet, so I’ll just say that the questions were fair and presented clearly. And I should have studied more.

It looks like the next Bordeaux Master Class will run in May of next year and I obviously recommend it. They also hinted that there is a Burgundy Master Class in the works for 2012 as well. Rhône and Provence also have Master Level programs, but these are limited to a detailed study manual and online exam.

So I’ll find out in a few weeks if I passed.

If you’re an essay grader reading this blog post, may I say WOW! Have you lost weight? You look fabulous!! And that color is absolutely charming on you!

Varietal focus: Riesling

2011-05-15T11:04:00.008-04:00

Set up
Hooray for Riesling! And looking at past examination, there’s an extremely good chance that it will show up again soon! I’ve tried to pull dry examples today – two from the old world and two from the new world.

The Wines
* Leitz ‘Eins Zwei Dry’ Riesling Trocken 2008 (Rheingau) $15, 12% abv
* Domaine Mittnacht ‘Les Fossiles’ Riesling 2009 (Alsace) $20, 13.5% abv
* A to Z Riesling 2007 (Oregon) $15, 12.5% abv
* Hay Maker Riesling 2009 (Waipara) $10, 12.5% abv

The Leitz had a noticeable CO2 prickle on the palate, which led me to think it was a new world wine using CO2 to heighten acidity. This was also the most dry of the bunch. The CO2 and dryness were my clues to support that it was new world, Oregon. Wrong! The flavors were some of the least intense in the bunch, which should have been my clue to this wine coming from the coolest climate. There was also a yeasty creaminess about the wine… I wasn’t quite sure what to make of that.

Mittnacht was easier to pick to me. Its appearance was a touch more intense than the other three, something I have seen before in Alsatian wines. It was off-dry, but barely so. Smoky on the nose, and then the palate was focused and medium intensity of lime, sour apples, and sour pears. The more extracted appearance, the sour nature of the flavors, the intensity and focus of those flavors lead me straight to old world, Alsace.

The A to Z was strongly petrol on the nose (and turned out to be the oldest wine in the flight at four years). This wine had the highest perceived RS in the flight, and was also the lightest in body. I focused on those two bits of data to conclude old world, Germany. What I chose to ignore was the fruit basket that appeared on the palate. My notes said lime, apple, pear, strawberry, tropical (?). Cool climates don’t usually do that, duh.

Finally, the Hay Maker was petrol and pears and spicy on the nose. Just having a basket of aromas on the nose got me thinking new world. The palate again, lots of juicy fruits to choose from propped up with a backbone of acidity. The fruits were not precise, but lovely, and that also led me to new world, New Zealand. Tech sheet: 24g/l RS.

Observations
Colors, with the exception of the Mittnacht were similar, and that turned into a valuable clue. Aromatics overall were not as important clues as were the palates: dry, off-dry, and by how much? Intensity of flavors. Muddled or precise. Those were the most helpful to get me to new world or old world. All of the wines had similar medium- to high-acidity and medium alcohol. The wines were similar in body as well, but I misread the CO2 in the German wine.

I also learned I should really look for the teach sheets before I conduct the tasting. It’s annoying not having the information right here to help guide what I’m trying to learn.

So overall, two right, two wrong. I’ll take it.

Latterals: Sangiovese versus Tempranillo

2011-05-14T10:31:00.004-04:00

Set Up
Don’t laugh. I get Sangiovese and Tempranillo mixed up in blind tastings. A lot. If I were being really honest? I would throw Grenache in this party as well. And I’ve confused an extracted Pinot Noir for Chianti more than once. But I’m gonna try to tackle this one at a time.

The wines
Bibi Graetz ‘Casamatta’ 2009 (Toscana IGT) 12.5%, $11
Viña Herminia 2009 (Rioja) 14%, $12

The Casamatta has medium intensity of bright dark fruits and some florals. The palate was dry with alcohol in check and a medium+ acid with medium+ rustic tannins. The flavors were dark fruits, medium ripeness, and a sour savory tomato character.

This wine is 100% Sangiovese from young vineyards in different zones around Tuscany (including Sieci, Siena and Maremma) and is fermented (including MLF) in steel tanks before being transferred to barriques where it remains until bottling (I haven’t found an indication of how long that is).

Viña Herminia was much more muted on the nose with a real dry earthiness along with dark fruits. And again, the palate was more earthy and plumy than the Sangiovese. Tannins were higher here but were finer and sour notes carrier through the medium+ finish.

I had more trouble finding information on this wine, despite the winery’s slick website. It seems like there could be some Garnacha in this wine (up to 15%), but it could also be 100% Tempranillo. The winery also employs both American and French oak, but I don’t have the specifics on this wine.

Observations
Both wines displayed plums and a spiciness, but the Tempranillo was more muted and earthy. Both had a similar medium intensity of ruby color, but the Tempranillo was slightly more concentrated. Both were bone dry on the palate with similar medium+ acidity.

There were differences in their aromatic profile was stronger as flavor profiles: more savory/sour for the Sangiovese and more dried/earthy for the Tempranillo.

Both had almost the same amount of tannins, but the nature of those tannins were different: I felt the Sangiovese tannins were much more rustic over the finer (but still rather burly compared to say, a Pinot Noir) tannins of the Sangiovese.

Overall, I’m sad to report that I’m not sure this tasting help cement anything about these two varietals to me. I wonder if it’s a price point issue. Maybe I won’t be so cheap next time...

Quality flight: Mendoza Malbecs

2011-05-08T12:09:00.003-04:00

This beat-up palate is brought to you by allergy season.

Set-up
While Malbecs from Argentina don’t show up often on the actual Master of Wine exams, I thought this would be a good place to practice quality levels within the same region. Malbec is not native to Argentina, but the area is more well-known for the grape than in France, where the grape has historically had to make up at least 70% of the wines of Cahors. Before the winter freeze 1956, Malbec used to play a more significant part in the blends of Bordeaux and some research suggests that the clones used in Argentina are decedents from the Bordelais vines rather than from Cahors or the Loire.

Located in the fat west of the country, Mendoza is the largest and most-important wine-growing region in Argentina (about 70% of its annual production). Luján de Cuyo is a subregion within Mendoza that features higher altitudes and more temperate weather.

Without tasting, I would expect the wines to display ripe plums, dark fruits, perhaps some floral, but above all, ripe (not cooked) fruits clearly indicating New World. I would think the palate would show medium acid, but higher tannins. Basically, I think of Malbec as a Merlot with more going on with the palate – acid and grip. I would suspect that the Altos would be more about upfront fruit and a quick finish, the Felino to show more interesting things on the nose, and a more defined palate, and the Bramare to build upon that, perhaps displaying some minerality? Plus oak.

The wines
Altos Las Hormigas Malbec 2009 (Mendoza) $13, 14.2%
Felino ‘Viña Cobos’ Malbec 2009 (Mendoza) $20, 14.9%
Bramare ‘Viña Cobos’ Malbec 2008 (Luján de Cuyo) $39, 14.9%

(Note the Bramare is a shiner – the front label says Cabernet Sauvignon and the back label says Malbec. It is indeed a Malbec.)

The Altos showed pepper and plums and a smokiness at a medium intensity. The palate had firm tannins, medium(-) acid and a medium(-) finish, with the simple taste of sour dark fruits. Both the medium(-) finish and linear flavor profile indicates that this is a high-volume production wine, and the lowest in quality in the flight.

This Malbec is the “main production” wine according to the Altos Las Hormigas website. The grapes are from different sites, vinified separately before the final blend. Stainless steel fermentation and aged for three months in the vats with French and American oak insertstaves. Annual production: 700,000 bottles.

The Felino displayed more dark plums, a slight bit of vanilla (oak?) and dry earthiness and a slight burn from alcohol. The vanilla softened the impact of sour dark fruits on the palate, and firm tannins were still on display. The length was a bit longer here (medium) and were carried by the tannins and fruit, indicating a better quality wine.

American winemaker Paul Hobbs is a partner in the Viña Cobos Winery which produced both the Felino and Bramare.The wine is 100% Malbec. The vineyards are from the smaller appellations of Luán de Cuyo, Maipú, and Valle de Uco at an elevation of 2,300 to 3,770 feet, yielding 4.3 to 4.6 tons per acre. Fermented in stainless steel with a native MLF in barrel that took four months to complete. It was then aged eight months in American and French oak, 21% new. Annual production: 262,320 bottles.

The Bramare had an overt use of sweet vanilla oak with plums and a slight floral perfume. The use of oak could indicate a more expensive wine. The oak made the attack smooth and sweet but the palate of this wine had the highest impact of acids, tannins, and flavors of vanilla and plums. Despite intensity, there was nothing angular so the wine was in balance. The use of oak and the balanced and clear flavors on the palate shows that this is the highest quality wine in the flight.

Bramare’s fruit was from the prime subregion of Luán de Cuyo with an elevation of 3,000 to 3500 feet. Yields here are 2.0 to 3.1 tons per acre. Stainless steel fermentation with MLF in barrels with native yeasts completed in three months. Eighteen months in 22% new American and 15% new French oak, the balance in used oak. Unfined and unfiltered. I couldn't find production numbers.

Observations
On the second round, when I tasted them blind, there was a distinct yeasty character on the Felino that I didn’t pick up before. Lees stirring on a red wine in Mendoza? Maybe a result of the MLF? That was the factor that helped me decide between the Felino and the Altos (the sweet oak on Bramare gave it away quickly).

What surprised me from this tasting was that despite high alcohol, I didn’t perceive it as much on the palate. I’m not sure if that was due to the fact that they were all in the same zip code, the fact that I’m in the middle of allergy season and everything hurts anyway, or that it was all in balance. I wonder if there was more RS leftover to soften the blow and my damaged palate didn’t pick up on it this time around. May have to try a few of these again…

Duck confit at Flea Market Café

2011-05-06T15:14:00.004-04:00

Ya know that restaurant you pass by in your neighborhood all the time and keep saying “it’s so cute – we should go there”? Flea Market Café is that place to me. I finally went in and not only is the space absolutely adorable, and it’s staffed with servers who care, but it has duck confit on the menu (what did you think this post was going to be about?) And not a crazy preparation, this little café serves simple classic French dishes, so the set is simply French fries and a green salad. Did I mention this place is about a two minute walk from my apartment?

All of my requirements have been met in order for this café to become “my” local restaurant.

Ok. Well.

The French fries were great – with just a few overcooked (which I dig) and seasoned perfectly. The food runner even asked me as my plate landed whether I prefer mayonnaise instead of ketchup (duh). The salad was well dressed, not over doused, not naked, with a simple vinaigrette.

Aaaaaaaand I should end my post there. The duck confit was meh. The saltiness was in check, and that’s about the best thing I can say. The skin was rendered completely out so no pockets of fat at the corners like I enjoy. The meat itself was dried out, and whatever caused it to toughen out so much also subtracted the slightly gamey ducky favor in the meat.

The wine list was brief and listed by varietal and wines were from France and the US. In addition, they had a bottle of Guigal Côtes du Rhône open when I was there that they offered by the glass.

I will return someday, because it is a charming space, prices were reasonable, and there were enough people in the restaurant on a quiet Monday night to suggest that they do serve good food (mussels seemed to be the popular dish that night). I just can’t recommend the duck confit.

Flea Market Café
131 Avenue A between St Marks Place and 9th St.

Duck confit at Casimir

2011-04-20T16:39:00.005-04:00

First off, this is the first French café I’ve been to in New York City where I really felt I was back in Paris: beat-up furniture, traditional menu (including an affordable wine list that only included the color of the wine and its AOC), and marginal service delivered by a French-speaking staff. Only the three top of dudes next to me in oversize Ranger jerseys bring me back to my Avenue B east village reality.

I started with a special that day: Cesear salad made with kale. The bitter, tough greens against creamy dressing worked really well. In fact, I much prefer it to romaine in the Cesear. But let’s talk about duck:

First off, the entrées come in two sizes: small and large. My server couldn’t explain to me how one divides a single duck leg in half (I actually don’t think she really understood my question), so I went for the full sized. I’ll just have to go back, in the name of science, to report on how a half of duck leg is delivered.

This is among the very good duck confit I’ve had starting with the seasoning. This one was not super-salty so the gaminess of the duck came through. And everything else hit just the right note: tender meat – check; well-rendered crispy skin – check; traditional set (in this case, garlic-roasted potatoes and frisée salad) – check. The sweet element I insist on came from balsamic-caramelized onions scattered throughout the potatoes. There was diced bacon on the frisée salad that I thought was a bit of overkill next to duck, but hey, it’s bacon.

The wines by the glass were rattled off by the server by AOC so I went with a glass of Bergerac Rouge, which I later discovered was from Chateau Laulerie (a wine carried by my employer). I was craving a Chinon or the like, so this was as close as I got. The other red wines by the glass were all from southern portions of France (Côtes du Rhône, Minervois, and a Vin de Pays which the server didn’t know the grapes nor the greater region it came from).

Overall, it’s a solid duck confit in a très Français setting (did I mention a garden out back?) at an affordable price. All that plus it’s only a five minute walk from my apartment means that you’ll be able to find me there several nights per week. Who knows. I might even try something other than the duck confit (they also had duck breast on the menu…)

Casimir
103 Avenue B (between 6th and 7th Streets)

Latterals: The Spicy Reds

2011-03-03T21:28:00.004-05:00

Sight
All three wines exhibit a medium to medium+ intensity of ruby possibly suggesting intense wines of higher extractions. Wine #2 has a more pronounced watery rim, which could indicate a higher level of alcohol.

Aromatics
On the nose, all three wines have medium to medium+ intensity of aromas, with many notes of baked and jammed fruits, which indicated these wines came from a warmer climate. Aromatics on wine #1 include dark cooked berries, spice, and some smokiness. Wine #2 has more aromatics of red jams. Wine #3 smells of figs and port. Wines #1 and #2 have light aromatics of vanilla, suggesting oak influence.

Palate
On the palate, all wines show higher levels of alcohol and all lack high acidity, supporting the view that these wines come from a warm to hot climate.

Wine #1 has spicy fruit on the palate with medium- acidity, medium+ alcohol, and medium- burlap tannins. This wine is probably most prized for its structure.

Wine #2 is dry, though seems sweet on the attack suggesting very ripe fruit. The wine has medium acid, high alcohol, and a medium+ finish of fruit and vanilla, and heat from alcohol. This wine is definitely from a hot climate.

Wine #3 is also dry but seems sweet on the attack, suggesting very ripe fruit. The wine has medium acid, medium+ cottony tannins, and a medium- finish of cooked figs and dark fruits.

Conclusions
Wine #1 is a Malbec from a warm climate (Mendoza, Argentina) because of its firm structure and spicy fruit. The firm structure would also suggest Cabernet Sauvignon or Nebbiolo, but neither would would not exhibit such spicy fruit, and Nebbiolo would not have such a saturated color. The Malbec also distinguishes itself from the Shiraz and Zinfandel because it is lack of overly ripe fruit.

Wine #2 is a Shiraz from a warm climate (Australia) due to its high alcohol, soft texture, and very ripe fruit. This description could also fit a warm climate Grenache or Merlot, but Grenache is typically not as saturated in color. I rule out Merlot because I would expect more cocoa and espresso characteristics to accompany the ripe fruit aromas.

Wine #3 is a Zinfandel from a warm climate (California). The tell-tale aromatics of figs and port lead me here and the medium+ amount of tannins is likely from oak influence, a common technique used for Zinfandel. The firm structure could also suggest Malbec, but I would expect spicier fruit from Malbec.

The wines
Wine #1: Altos Las Hormigas Malbec 2009 (Mendoza, Argentina), $13, 14.2% abv
Wine #2: Woop Woop Shiraz 2009 (Australia), $13, 14.5% abv
Wine #3: Joel Gott Zinfandel 2008 (California), $18, 14.4% abv

How’d I do?

Channing Daughters, Pinot Grigio 2009 (Long Island) $20, 12.5% abv

2011-02-22T20:46:00.004-05:00

::: peeking out :::

Hi.

Remember me?

You probably thought this blog was dead.

Well, it was mostly dead. See, there's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is still alive.

And as such, I still have things -- well, wine mostly -- that I want to talk about. For instance, this 2009 Channing Daughters Pinot Grigio.

This wine is 100% Pinot Grigio made from grapes coming from both Channing Daughters' Bridgehampton estate on the South Fork of Long Island (aka The Hamptons) and Mudd's vineyard on the North Fork. Aromatics are heavily weighted towards orchard fruits (especially golden delicious apples and pears) and pretty white flowers.

I found the palate to be medium weight with juicy acidity -- not too searing, not too soft. The wine was aged in a mix of stainless steel and various-sized oaks that helped elevate this to a classy sort of Pinot Grigio (not to be confused with the water-like cheap & cheerful versions all to prevalent in the marketplace). There was also a gentle wash of Lemonheads outside shell (ya know? The sweet outside part? Not the sour middle?) and bitter zest on the finish that I really enjoyed.

I opened this wine at home with a pu-pu platter from the local ghetto Chinese takeaway joint. The caramelized plummy spare ribs were a bit too intense (but I was dreaming of a Loire Valley gamay for that) but the Channing Daughters wine stepped up as a refreshing counterpoint to the fried chicken wings.

That's right. BBQ spare ribs and fried chicken wings. Only authentic Chinese takeaway for me.

Leftovers from a cocktail party

2010-05-24T10:51:00.006-04:00

After volunteering with the Manhattan Cocktail Classic last weekend, I missed the boat on taking leftover booze home, but I did raid the walk-in for leftover ingredients.

That’s how I ended up with cocktail-leftover salad. There’s something satisfying about clearing out the refrigerator and making something new. In this case, I simply chopped up the veggies (I already had the carrots) and blanched the carrots and baby zucchini. The veggies were tossed in a dressing made of the lemon juice and olive oil. The egg whites were baked with chopped herbs (thyme & sage), and all of the above were mixed with cooked bamboo rice and chilled. An orange for dessert. The English cucumber was used for…a simple lunch tomorrow of cucumbers and cheese (what were you thinking?)

Ok, maybe not the most delicious thing I’ve ever created (technically, this is a wine blog, so don’t come here for recipes and inspiration) but it was fun and filling.

Seeing as I only used about a tablespoon of a ½ gallon jug of lemon juice, I used more lemon juice (plus simple syrup) to make a saké lemonade.

Yum.

Oak in drinks

2010-05-23T12:04:00.002-04:00

At The Standard Grill in the Meatpacking District for a bite.

Interesting cocktials. I ordered their version of a mint julep, which is made of bourbon, mint and oak-infused simple syrup.

The cork dork is literally drinking oak juice!

Altos Las Hormigas, Vineyard Selection Reserva Malbec 2007 (Mendoza, Argentina) $19, 14.6% abv

2010-05-09T20:45:00.005-04:00

Tips for pairing wine with procrastination:

1. Do choose a wine that is widely available, either via your own cellar or at the wine shop. Since you really should be writing the chapter that’s due this evening (I’d like to point out that there is technically still three hours of “Sunday” left), you shouldn’t be opening something you’d linger over. Plus if it turns out you open a bottle you dig, you can always go back for another when you don’t have a deadline looming.

2. Do choose something on cheap & cheerful side. Again, since you really need to churn out four more pages (single spaced), don’t be getting into a wine so profound that it distracts you from your storyline.

3. Do choose something that might turn you on. Some writers talk about making a soundtrack to get them into the mood to write. Like that background music, you need to pick a wine that balances your need for it to fade into the background (so you can concentrate on nailing dialogue) with keeping your mojo flowing.

4. Do choose a wine that is versatile enough to pair with anything lurking in the deep recesses of your refrigerator. Staring at a blank Word document long enough will cause you to wonder if the caramelized onions you made this morning will taste good wrapped around pickled okra. Or is that just me?

5. Don’t choose a wine high in alcohol. For obvious concentration reasons.

So the Altos Las Hormigas wins on all points but the last one. It’s absolutely saturated in a purple-y ruby all the way to the rim with lots of staining tears. Yet the nose is not super-explosive, and it’s dominated by blackberries and dried black cherries with granite and a hint of florals. It’s medium (+) in body with velvety tannins, medium amount of acid, and flavors of bright blackberry and more granite on the palate.

As for the alcohol, I didn’t really smell it or taste it harshly on the palate. Just to be safe (as the book is not just going to write itself), I recommend pairing this wine with Procrastination Pizza. Tonight I’ve chosen Mystic Pizza, but you may feel free to substitute your favorite frozen pizza here.

Transparency: this wine is imported by my employer.

Pannonhalmi Apatsagi, Pinot Noir 2007 (Pannonhalma, Hungary) $25, 12.5%

2010-04-23T10:13:00.005-04:00

Wow. I really like this wine.

Blinded this on the train with the boys, and it was guessed right away as a Pinot Noir due to its pure, fresh red fruits and some wet-stone minerality. The word 'elegant' was used a number of times.

So varietal established, where is it from? Given the elegance, the debate started in Burgundy...a few decent producers were thrown out there, but when pressed for a commune, the gang settled on Bourgogne Rouge from a pretty good producer. New Zealand and Oregon were briefly considered and discarded because one would expect a little more extraction and concentration from these places (the wine was a pale ruby red).

Ha! A Hungarian Pinot Noir! Swing out with your bad self!

Pannonhalma lies about half way between Budapest and Vienna and is one of the smallest of Hungary’s 22 wine regions. This estate is an old monastery that grows plenty of traditional Hungarian grapes (Welchriesling, Ezerjó and Sárfehér) as well as international varieties like this Pinot Noir.

To me the Apatsagi would be appealing to Burgundy drinkers, though I didn't get any forest-floor-mushroom-whatnot earthiness that I typically get from that part of France. The acid was rather soft compared to a Burgundy as well. Still, the pure, bright red fruits (nothing green) were nicely framed by some sweet oak notes. That pretty fruit base was enhanced by a streak of minerality, juicy acid, and a fine texture, making the Apatsagi a delicious, unusual find.

(The wine is almost as pretty as these flowers.)

Transparency: this wine is imported by my employer.

Faiveley, ‘Les Lavières’ 2004 (Nuits-Saint-Georges), $50, 13% abv

2010-04-17T21:34:00.003-04:00

Stood up on a Saturday night.

If a guy says ‘don’t worry, I’m not a player’, that means he’s totally a player, right?

Could someone remind me why I should be all enthusiastic about being single?

*sigh*

Oh wait! Ha! I just remembered: being alone means I can order up whatever wine I want without having to consider stylistic or budget preferences of my significant other!

Burgundy it is. (Nah nah.)

The evening is starting to look up.

The 2004 vintage was not a ripe year for Burgundy and some wines I’ve tasted are downright mean & green. I bought some anyway because it’s the clichéd wine to drink while you’re waiting for your 2005s to mature. Still, I have some friends who gag at the vintage the same way they would gag if presented with pureed White Castles at a dinner party (ha! You thought it was paté!!) But I’m not a hater on the 2004 Burgs because a) I’m not overly sensitive to green notes, and b) it’s nice to know that the wines of this under-ripe vintage were not Tammy Faye’d out to be something bizarre.

Faiveley is a fairly large (for Burgundy) vineyard owner and winemaker based in Nuits-Saint Georges. ‘Les Lavières’ is not a 1er Cru (as it is in Savigny-les-Beaune) , but a lieu-dit, or named vineyard without being all special enough to be classified. A few other producers (including Daniel Rion and Domaine Leroy) make wine from the same vineyard.

This Burgundy was not showing that green note typical of the 2004 vintage, though rather stemmy on the palate. Overall, I find wines from Nuits-Saint-Georges to be more towards the masculine side, but this wine was bursting with full-on strawberries, like the first strawberries of the season that are stronger in florals than ripe aromatics. And there was a really strange floral thing going on. Strange because it wasn’t white blossoms or red roses but it was so familiar. It was…fabric softener scent: fresh and borderline soapy.

Huh.

So not quite the happy ending I was looking for on this solo Saturday night either, but the wine paired just fine with last week’s episode of The Biggest Loser (courtesy of hulu.com).

Duck confit at Noah’s in Greenport

2010-04-05T11:39:00.001-04:00

A new addition to the restaurant scene in Greenport, Noah’s, specializes in delicious small-plate seafood and a raw bar, but it was the duck confit that caught my eye. I’m predictable like that. And maybe ordering duck confit at a seafood-centric restaurant is not the best idea. Still, Long Island duck is as much of a local item as the seafood, so it’s not all that much of a stretch…

At first I was surprised that a duck confit dish would cost $23, but it turns out this is because two duck legs are served. I love duck confit of course, but maybe there’s a way to get a half portion next time?

The dish was served over a bed of lentils (with lardons of bacon) and bitter frisée. The duck meat was tender though not too ‘ducky’ or gamey in flavor. The dominant note of the dish was the earthiness imparted by the lentils with some relief via the frisée. I heart bacon, but it was lost as there is plenty of lovely fattiness in the skin of the duck, and the volume of lardons was not enough to season the dish. The skin itself was rendered and crispy.

So I do love my duck confit, but this is a fine example of why, in my opinion, a bright fruit acid counterpoint is important for a balanced dish.

PS – if you go there, have the gorgonzola rosemary French fries. Crazy cool little dish.

Dr. Loosen, Erdener Treppchen Kabinett Riesling 2005 (Mosel), $25, 8% abv

2010-04-04T10:53:00.002-04:00

I drank this casualty first from the wet cellar because it has a twist cap, and my arms were exhausted from my first attempt of bucketing out water from the basement.

One thing I was really surprised by was the quality of inks and glues used for nearly all of the wet bottles on the bottom shelf of the cellar. That label barely shows any damage. If anything, importer labels that were later added were the only label that were sliding off as I moved them to drier grounds.

Back to the wine: fortunately, the Dr. Loosen showed no signs of damage. As I would have expected, it had a medium (+) intensity of dried tropical aromatics and was already developing a petrol note. A classic mineral aroma was also present. On the palate the wine is off-dry and has a slight spritz that augments the medium (+) acidity that cleans away the residual sugar and leaves behind a beautiful kaleidoscope of pineapple, ripe lemon, and wet stone flavors.

Easy to drink all night long at 8% while checking the progress of the water pump downstairs…

Are wine bottles waterproof?

2010-04-03T17:48:00.006-04:00

I guess I'll find out shortly.

I store most of my bottles in a pre-fab cellar room in the basement of my house in Greenport, NY. The house is about a block or so from the harbor. We've had a number of nor'easters visit us over the past two weeks. And I just learned what a "water table" is and how it works.

Six inches of water in the basement. It's presumably been there since Tuesday. I just found out on Saturday.

My cellar is slightly off the ground, so there's only about two inches in the cellar. Still, the bottom row was soaked, so I've pulled those bottles out to dry. Actually, I'm impressed at how well the labels have stood up. But the real test will be pulling the cork. And for even more fun, there were two German rieslings with twist caps.

So I'll let you know how it goes over the next few days.

Back to water pumping.

Lapierre, 'Cuvee Marcel Lapierre' 2007 (Beaujolais), $39, 13%

2010-04-02T17:02:00.004-04:00

“Just looking.”

I was wandering the aisles of Astor Wine and Spirits (has anyone who reads this website ever been able to leave that store empty handed?) and I thought: I haven’t had much New World wine lately.

I’ll pick up something from the New World for dinner tonight.

Ok, New World section, here I come.

I can do this.

New World.

New.

New, new, new.

Nuevo.

Nuovo.

Neu.

Nouveau.

As in Beaujolais Nouveau.

Est arrive!

Ok, focus. New World.

What is Astor’s Beaujolais selection anyway? Oh look! Lapierre!

Oh! Lapierre was the wine of summer 2008! That was the summer I lived in Paris and the Morgon AC was easily available throughout the city and I could afford it. And the half bottles were novel: instead of the traditional sloping shoulders, they were bottled in tall thin bottles, like the way Canadian ice wine is usually bottled.

Anywhootle, that’s how I went from looking for a New World wine to Beaujolais.

Lapierre is a wonderful producer in Morgon who practices a minimalist intervention style of winemaking in both the vineyard and the winery. Most of their fruit is from Morgon, and the Cuvée Marcel Lapierre is one of their top bottlings. Indeed, my friend Nick Gorevic (the genius behind HomeWineSchool.com) worked the 2009 harvest at Lapierre and said the Cuvée Marcel Lapierre is not made in every vintage, includes a selection of the best grapes, and is released later than the regular AC bottlings.

I had it on a slight chill and gave it a quick splash decant. The underlying fruit profile of sour strawberries and black cherries was similar to my memory of the Morgon AC bottling though this was more advanced in tertiary development with respect to a dry earthy note and had was more round on the palate.

A really beautiful Beaujolais with my duck confit (what were you expecting I would have for dinner?) and though I would wait a few years before opening the next one…

Duck confit at Alias

2010-03-26T09:52:00.002-04:00

I was put on this earth to do two things: drink lots of delicious wine and enjoy many legs of duck confit.

I spent an entire summer in Paris and instead of visiting the museums I spent four months searching out the best duck confit I could find. And there were so many excellent examples.

First and foremost, to qualify as excellent duck confit, the duck must posses a slightly gamy, ducky aroma and flavor. The meat must be tender of course, and the props go to a well-rendered and crispy skin to contrast with the meat. I also like the meat to be well-seasoned (I think there should be a little bit of a salty flavor permeating the meat). Away from the duck, I personally like there to be a sweet fruit element for contrast. But I know a lot of people don’t like fruit with savory.

About Alias: they have a $30 three-course supper on Sunday nights that is a good value. They also have a duck confit I love. On a recent visit, the duck confit was served on toasted cornbread with a smear of crème fraiche and jam.

Corn bread was an unusual choice to pair with duck, but sweet is a very important counterpoint to ducky. Cornbread might be a bit too dense and the creme fraiche was kinda lost in both flavor and aroma. Requisite fruit was present, this time in the form of brandied cherries. Yum.

As for the duck confit itself: perfectly ducky. Ducky aroma came up to meet me. Skin was perfectly rendered. Perfectly seasoned.

This is the benchmark for duck confit.

Gypsy Dancer Estates, ‘A&G Estate Vineyard’ Pinot Noir 2006 (Dundee Hills) $53, 13.9% abv

2010-03-17T09:39:00.004-04:00

“Wines that dance in your mouth” promised the cork.

A slight exaggeration, but a delicious wine nonetheless. I made some venison potstickers, so my thoughts went to an Oregon Pinot Noir to pair it.

The Gypsy Dancer was grown biodynamically on the famous volcanic Jory soils of Oregon, and had all the earthy dark fruit of a higher-priced California Pinot Noir but without the accompanying alcohol burn I sometimes get in those.

The color was ruby (just shy of a medium intensity…you could certainly read through it) with a very thin rim. I don’t think I would mistake it for a Burgundy on sight or aroma profile, which was not too intense, and included damp moss, dark raspberry, blackberry, cocoa, baking spices, and a small truckload of vanilla (is it just me? I love cocoa in a wine, but cocoa and vanilla? Not my favorite). On the palate, the Gypsy Dancer was a good balance of medium body, alcohol, and dusty tannins. Classic medium (+) acidity for Pinot Noir was intact. The blackberry finish pleasantly went on for a bit. I’m not sure I’d hold on to this wine for a long time as the vanilla is liable to take over after the fruit fades.

Markham, Petit Sirah 2003 (Napa), $25, 14.8% abv

2010-03-16T09:41:00.002-04:00

In my quest to continue to understand the new-new grape, petit sirah, I had a glass of Markham Petit Sirah recently.

I would have mistaken this wine for a Zinfandel (though ultimately, I think Zinfandel shows more figs and raisins). Aromas were only medium-intensity (I thought it would be louder) and included jammy blackberry, loads of granite, blueberries, cinnamon, slight vanilla, and maybe some violet. The tannins were ripe and a long finish was carried by juicy blackberry and smoke.

Not quite my cup of tea (wine?) but this Petit Sirah seriously rocked out with a bowl of buffalo chili with cilantro sour cream. In fact, with the tannins tamed, the juicy fruit came gushing out. In the right setting, this could be a real crowd pleaser.

Wine in a keg

2010-03-12T10:12:00.005-05:00

Each keg holds 2.25 cases of wine.

How cool is that?

Hope Estate, Verdelho 2007 (Hunter Valley, Australia) $NA, 12.5% abv

2010-03-03T10:23:00.004-05:00

Jet Blue. Center seat. Next to a fussy seven-month old. Entertainment system broken.

Alcohol needed.

I find ‘meh’ white wine easier to swallow than ‘meh’ red wine, so I ordered a mini bottle of white and, well, color me surprised when I was presented with a Verdelho! From the Hunter Valley! That seems so random to me that I fully expect their red selection is a Blaufränkish from Lodi.

Swirling from my small plastic cup, I found the wine had medium intensity aromas of lemon peel, grapefruit, orange, lychee, wet stone, and a hint of green herbs. The body was a little fuller than medium, oily in texture, and seemed slightly off-dry on the palate (mind you, I have a blind spot on residual sugar). Acid was soft and flavors agreed with the palate and further included menthol, which I interpreted as higher alcohol (though the bottle said 12.5%).

Alternative package alert – this was bottled in a seriously solid plastic bottle (like, I couldn’t dent it or destroy it with my hands. Hey, the famous Jet Blue entertainment system was down).

This unexpected little wine option made me think what a great time in history it is to enjoy wine.

5ive Steak, Jet Blue Terminal 5 at JFK Airport

2010-02-28T19:48:00.013-05:00

Once upon a time, I was a ‘professional’ career woman (as opposed to my ‘professional’ lush status now) and spent lots of time going to and fro in airports around America. Much unstructured time in these airports was spent studying dining options on the directory board trying to judge which spot may might pour a decent glass of wine (i.e., something beyond Sutter Home White Zinfandel or Robert Mondavi Coastal Selection anything). On one particular bad day I remember whining to a bartender that all I wanted was a friggin’ glass of Champagne! Geeze, I’ll take a Prosecco!! Is that so much to ask??

He offered to shoot some club soda into a glass of Chardonnay for me.

Anyhootle, imagine how disoriented I was this week to stumble into the sidewalk café-esque scene that is the new Jet Blue terminal 5 at JFK airport. I had less than an hour to grab a glass and a bite, so in lieu of investigating my options (which all looked so grown up anyway), I settled into 5ive Steak because they had a huge artistic display of wine bottles on the wall.

The wine list, while overpriced (eh, it’s an airport) was actually interesting with many solid selections from the old world and a slight emphasis on France and Spain. d’Yquem pre-flight? Perhaps you’re more in a Chateau Trotanoy mood. Maybe a Domaine l’Arlot ‘Clos des Forets’ St. Georges? ’99 Petrus? For real?

There was even a notable selection of half bottles, and the bartender said he’d be happy to sell me a bottle and a go-cup for the flight. I hate to sound so gee-whiz, but how cool is that? I was seriously debating a half bottle of Dönnhoff Schlossbockelheimer Felsenberg Riesling Auslese 2006 for the flight.

Despite about 25 by the glass selections, I settled for a glass of Gruet Brut NV (a nice, simple bubbly, yes, but the CO2 allows alcohol to enter your bloodstream faster, so it was consumed for medicinal purposes).

Away from wine, they provided a good cocktail list with both the recognizable (margaritas) and the less-familiar (that cursed cocktail called Blood & Sand). They also featured four American whiskeys and a domestic rye. All bottle beers offered were well-known.

I didn’t have enough time to check out the other restaurants, but Jet Blue said they the new Terminal 5 has 400 wines available by the bottle, 150 by the half bottle, and 200 by the glass.

We’ve come a long way, baby.

Seven Spice Sour

2010-02-19T19:25:00.005-05:00

Togarashi-infused sake (Momofuku private label honjozo), yuzu/lime juice, and simple syrup. Created by the amazing Don Lee for Ma Peche.

While you're there, dig into the Cotes de Porc - pork ribs from Newmans Farms in Missouri with a lemongrass caramel glaze that plays well against the spicy cocktail. Or vice versa.

Cork USB Drive

2010-02-15T20:54:00.002-05:00

Ahem, my birthday is next month.

You could also show off your mad skillz and DIY with a cork from the Pol Roger rosé you’re going to open with me.

The Crusher, ‘Grower’s Selection’ Petite Sirah 2008 (Clarksburg) $13, 13.5%abv

2010-02-14T21:55:00.004-05:00

Happy Singles Awareness Day.

I was looking through my cellar for something to pair with my special Valentine’s Day chili (it has lots of beans), and I found this guy, brought to you by the same negotiants who bottle Pepperwood Grove and Smoking Loon. Nielsen reported that Petite Sirah is among the four most discussed grapes on the internet, so let’s see what the fuss is all about.

The wine is a saturated inky purple. Aromas and flavors were predominantly dark jammy plums and red liquorice but there was also an intriguing white pepper note. The intensity of aromas was a little shy of medium, even after letting the wine warm up some from cellar temperature. The texture on the palate was medium-bodied and soft finished by a small amount of drying tannins.

So far from being The Crusher I was thinking of (i.e., my last trainer at Equinox), this was a good everyday wine for its interesting aroma profile. I think I might seek out another Petite Sirah in the near future.

The Long Thirst: Prohibition in America 1920-1933 by Thomas M. Coffey

2010-02-12T21:59:00.007-05:00

I'm a sucker for used book stores, and I picked up this one on my most recent visit to Paris. Published in 1975, it's the story about prohibition woven from the point of view of a whole (real) cast of characters from both sides of the Volstead Act during it's 13-year validity.

It's written like a novel, the author not getting too deep, so it's a pleasant little read. On the back cover, the Chicago Tribune says "It is a story told in terms of colorful individuals who move in and out of an elaborate gallimaufry of rascality and foolishness."

Yea.

What he said.

What I'm most amused with right now is that I'm drinking a domestic Pinot Noir while reading a book about prohibition!! That almost qualifies as ironic!

Or maybe it's just the 14.5% abv talking...

Meet my latest crush, Tong Magazine

2010-02-10T19:51:00.008-05:00

As if I don’t have enough unread wine magazine subscriptions stacked up on the floor (effectively acting as fortresses for my dust bunny army), I gave in to the WSET discount and signed up for this quarterly publication that is Flemish for “tongue”.

I love this magazine.

First off, there is no advertising. There are no wine reviews. There are no lifestyle articles. There is no discussion of hot new chefs. There is no editor telling me what they drank last week. There is no industry news. There are hardly any pictures.

The magazine is a themed journal with well-chosen topics that get back to the basics written by specialists in the field.

The Winter 2009 issue is dedicated to Champagne. The magazine is brief (48 pages), and contributors include two MWs, Champagne-expert Tom Stevenson, and several scientists. My favorite articles were focused on Champagne’s expansion progress, a look at the he trend of single-vineyard Champagne, the mechanics of autolysis, and the science behind CO2 formation (by a cross-disciplinary team of scientists). With no advertising, it’s not cheap (€100 for four issues annually), but there’s a discount if you’re a member of the WSET’s global campus.

This is only their fourth issue, and I’m tempted to buy the back issue on Terroir. Adding to anticipation, I don’t see anything telling me what the upcoming issues will cover, but there’s a free newsletter to sign up for (here) to hold me over in the mean time…

Gristina Vineyards, Merlot 1995 (North Fork), $NA, 12% abv

2010-02-06T18:45:00.000-05:00

My friend insists the best burger on the North Fork of Long Island is at Jamesport Country Kitchen. A charming little café on the Main Road, their wine list emphasizes local wines, including the largest collection of library Long Island wine I’ve ever seen. Two local red wines from the mid-90s were even offered by the glass.

I ordered a glass of the 1995 Merlot from Gristina out of morbid curiosity: Gristina Vineyards have had two more owners since this wine was made. I don’t have a lot of experience with older Long Island wine but I’m happy to commit to a glass.

While it was open, Gristina’s wines garnered attention from Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, and Robert Parker. Gallucio Family Wineries bought Gristina in the summer of 2000 and continued to co-opt the Gristina name for a short time. Gallucio planned to expand production but was advised against it by his Bordeaux consultant Michael Rolland right before September 11th happened.

The property was on the market for a few years before Macari Vineyards bought half of it in late 2007 (the other half was sold to the Peconic Land Trust earlier in the year.)

This 15-year old wine was medium (-) intensity of garnet with a little bricking showing on a thin rim. The aromas were medium intensity and included dried plums, raisins, green herbs like parsley, and then a slight dank earth & cinnamon. The aromas didn’t evolve after the first five minutes, though that was partly because the day’s special was a fried flounder sandwich so when that arrived to the table next to me, all I could smell was Long John Silvers.

The flavors were dominated by sour dried plums, cocoa, and bitter espresso beans, with a somewhat short finish. There was a low amount of stalky tannins still in the wine that were a bit distracting. Acid was a little less than a medium amount, so I suspect the tannins from the stalks (or maybe there was some barrel age?) was what was helping to hold this wine together through the years.

The burger was interesting. I had the ‘Jamesport Burger’ which comes topped with Boursin Herb Cheese (the Velveeta of France, no?), a vaguely Dijon-mustard flavored sauce, and served on a pizza-slice wedge of Focaccia Bread. The fries were crisp, hot, and perfect.

A Night of 1988 Burgundies

2010-02-03T21:27:00.000-05:00

And so it was, that on a Tuesday a few weeks ago, that yours truly plus eight others descended upon Apiary to help relieve a friend of several 22-year old Burgundies.

1988 was the year that construction on the pyramid at the Louvre began, and also considered an excellent year for Burgundy. Many critics said the weather that year produced healthy grapes overall, though structures were firm and would need time to soften. Perfect! Overall, I think these wines are enjoyable now, and in some cases (choose your producer carefully), have some more time to go.

I’d be negligent to not mention that Apiary runs a free-corkcage on Monday night. The restaurant has a very wine-friendly menu (the chef was brought over from Veritas) and includes a $35, three-course pre-fixe menu too. I think it’s an excellent place to take a first date. Especially if she’s a redhead.

After we dispensed with a bottle of Champagne, here’s what we drank:

Prince de Florent Merode, ‘Le Marechaudes’ (Corton)
Started off slow with a wine that was pleasant enough, but started to shut-down after 15 minutes. It was of medium intensity showing all the characteristics of a red Burgundy (dried cherry, forest floor, some white pepper) before it closed up, never to recover. It was past its prime.

Turns out this house is known for making wines that are meant to be consumed immediately (a restaurant wine). They don’t macerate on the skins and only press gently so that the emphasis is on fresh fruit and no bitter tannins.

About Corton: like Chablis, it’s a Grand Cru divided into a collection of climates (including Marechaudes). When Chardonnay is planted here it’s called Corton-Charlemagne.

Don’t you love Burgundy?

Prince de Florent Merode, ‘Clos du Roi’ (Corton)
This wine displayed much more brooding earthiness, structure, and the fruit was holding up much better than in the Marechaudes. Clos du Roi has a better sun exposure and more lava in the soils.

Comte Armand (Domaine du Clos des Epeneaux), ‘Clos des Epeneaux’ 1er Cru (Pommard)

Medium-intensity with relatively youthful red and blue fruits and a slight amount of wet earthiness. The structure was very well resolved. This wine was a favorite by most of the crowd.

In the 1980s when this wine was made, the domaine only made this one 1er cru (since the 1850s really) and that’s why it adopted the name (kinda like Clos de Tart in the Cotes de Nuits). As they don’t have much to work with, the grapes are harvested by the age of the vine (so, 5-10 years old, 10-20 years old) and vinified separately like that. Later the lots are blended to make their one bottling. Today they own many more properties.

‘Clos des Epeneaux’ is not on many maps because it straddles ‘Les Grand Epenots’ and ‘Les Petits Epenots’.

Marquis d’Angerville, ‘Clos des Ducs’ 1er Cru (Volnay)
Marquis has always sounded more regal to me than king or emperor, and it’s fitting that this is one of the most respected domaines in Burgundy. Most of the domaine’s holdings are in Volnay with this and ‘Champans’ 1er Cru the largest parcels. I see these wines on many restaurant’s lists.

The wine was a little more shy than the last few but had a strong forest floor component that I love, and a gorgeous velvet texture on the palate.

Joseph Drouhin (Latrecieres-Chambertin)
A little dank but otherwise dark fruits, sweet red fruits, and a slight minerality. A touch on the too-advanced side, but not a total waste of time.

Drouhin owns many vineyards throughout Burgundy (and Oregon) and is also a negotiant. I find the wines to be honest and reliable, maybe occasionally exciting, but I think it’s an easy house to buy. Latrecieres-Chambertin is a negotiant bottling.

Domaine Louis Trapet (Latrecieres-Chambertin)
Compared to the Drouhin, this was a more youthful and expressive Latrecieres. Red cherry, earthiness, and even gaminess made this wine complex.

Trapet has been around for many generations, and I find the wines to be a consistently good.

Domaine Dujac (Echezeaux)
Ah, Dujac. I can count on the wines from this house to be rather powerful (for Burgundy). I believe this is due to a combination of waiting for ripe grapes and use of 100% new French oak on all 1er Crus and Grand Crus. At 22 years old, this wine was still singing.

Aromas included strawberries, blackberries, red flowers, wet earth, and baking spices. The length held on to fruit and acid, and went on forever and ever.

Domaine Dujac (Clos de la Roche)
I adore Morey-Saint-Denis, but have been only lukewarm on Clos de la Roche Grand Cru. Despite this, this was one of my favorite wines of the night. This vineyard catches a lot of sun, and, as the name suggests, is on very poor, rocky soils, so we might see more concentrated grapes. Maybe I just drink Clos de la Roche too young?

This wine displayed wonderful red and dark fruits, with baking spices, stones, damp earth, and a savory aspect. Palate is velvetly and still showing bright acidity.

Domaine de la Romanee-Conti (Richebourg)
DRC, the holy grail of Burgundy, did not fail me. Do you know the feeling I’m talking about? If this wine was not spectacular, I probably would have sold my whole cellar for charity and become a bingo-announcer for a retirement community in south Florida.

This wine was just gorgeous. Cherries and figs, exotic spice box, forest floor, roses, soy sauce, a length that went for a long time displaying all those elements again. The structure was a whisper on the firm side, just enough to suggest that this wine still has a long, healthy life ahead of it.

A moment to reflect on happiness please.

OK, last wine of the night:

Mongeard-Mugneret (Richebourg)
Tough coming on the heels of DRC but still a beautifully expressive wine. The difference here was that fruit was more cherry and cranberry, plenty of dank earthiness, and baking spices didn’t seduce the way the DRC did. This wine was still plenty ripe and drinking beautifully, and is worth searching out.

This domaine owns a lot of parcels throughout Burgundy with Richebourg being one of the smallest holdings. We were blinded on the Echezeaux later but I failed to write down any notes. Sorry.

Domaine Leroy (Richebourg)
I lied. We had one more wine. But it was off. Doesn't count, though I have hit-or-miss with Leroy, so I was really looking forward to this one.

2010-02-01T09:11:00.000-05:00

Grand Sichuan is one of the finest BYOs in the city, if only because German Rieslings are my favorite wine. The residual sugar and intensity of flavors on German wine are a perfect match to the spicy cuisine (and you can eat a feast without spending more than $40 per person). Only downside: you should bring your own stems. Their glasses are pretty small.

A small gathering of friends descended on the Grand Sichuan in Chelsea last night for pork soup dumplings, smoked tea duck (multiple orders), cucumber with garlic, spicy beef, chicken with pumpkin, beef with spicy green pepper, and a bunch more. Here’s what we drank:

Pierre Peters, ‘Cuvée Spéciale’ Blanc de Blancs Brut 1998 (Champagne), $NA, 12% abv
Just as you start your day with coffee, I support starting your evening with bubbles. This wine was showing loads of yeasty brioche notes with some bruised apple in the background. Very creamy on the palate.

F.X. Pichler, Dürnsteiner Hollerin Riesling Smaragd 2007 (Wachau), $60, 13% abv

I had a sip of this after the bubbly and tried it again later, but, as to be expected, it didn’t show well after the German wines. On first sip this was classic Austrian Riesling: medium (+) intensity lean citrus and a truck-full of minerals. Dry on the palate with juicy acidity and a long finish.

Dr. R. Weil, Kiedricher Wasseros Riesling Auslese 1976 (Rheingau), $NA, 10% abv?

Oh, how I love old German Rieslings! And this was a special treat. There was seepage from the cork, but I find this usually means nothing for a German wine. Intense aromas of tropical and exotic fruits meet wet stones and honey and stone fruits and a touch of petrol. The acidity still keeps this wine very fresh and it still has a long life ahead of it.

Wegeler, Bernkasteler Doctor Riesling Spätlese 2001 (Mosel), $30, 10% abv

This one displayed more primary citrus aromas, florally apricot, peaches and minerals with a lot of zing (maybe a CO2 prickle?) on the palate.

Mönchhof, Erdener Prälat Riesling Auslese 2007 (Mosel), $40, 10% abv?

Youngest German wine in the set still displayed an impressive amount of pretty aromatics: peaches, pears, honeysuckle, and minerals. Off-dry on the palate and a long finish. Really drinking well right now.

Somebody’s Niersteiner Pettental Riesling Beerenauslese 1976 (Rheinhessen), $NA, 8% abv

Oy. You can imagine by the end of the night, note-taking gets a little fuzzy. I failed to write down this name of the producers, thinking I had it captured on the pic (sorry, lesson learned). My friend had purchased a bunch of 1976 German Rieslings at auction from producers neither of us had ever heard of. On to the wine: popped & poured, the wine was showing nothing but botrytis (i.e., new plastic shower curtain) at first but within 10 minutes the mangoes, honey, and pineapple came out to play. Beautiful, silky texture on the palate and a medium-long finish. Not the richest or the most intense BA I’ve ever encountered, but it was a wonderful dessert to go with our lame-advice fortune cookies.

English sparkler beats Champagne???

2010-01-29T18:41:00.000-05:00

Of course I adore Champagne, but I love lots of different bubblies.

Decanter reported that Nyetimber from the UK beat out Champagnes like Bollinger and Louis Roederer in a competition in Italy. The contest was organized by an Italian wine magazine, so I'm not sure Nyetimber's potential ad revenue to the publication would be influencing their choice of winner. Not that a magazine would ever consider ad dollars when granting ratings.

Anyway, the winemaker for Nyetimber said that "'We don't pretend we taste the same as Champagne".

I happen to be out on the North Fork today, and I had a chance to taste Lenz's 2000 RD Brut and 2003 RD Brut. (Disclosure: I worked a harvest at Lenz.) Given the vagaries of the weather on the east end, I think sparkling wines are one of the best products of the region. The early harvest time (before the autumn rains) is ideal for sparkling wine, and the winemakers out there have all the same tools (barrel-fermentation during first fermentation, sur lie aging) everyone else in the world has, so with proper care (and storage space), wineries have a chance to make a very delicious, special product.

Did the Lenz bubblies taste like Champagne? No. They were a little more aggressive compared to an elegant Champagne. Were they interesting? Yes. Nine years sur lie (for the 2000 Brut) displayed layers of smokiness and including 30% barrel-fermented Chardonnay in the cuvee gave the wines a pretty apricot aroma.The 2003 Brut was lean & focused, with more traditional tree fruit aromas and yeast. The 2003 is 100% Pinot Noir.

I'm not saying that every cold, wet, marginal wine growing region should switch all production to sparkling wines. But I'm certainly willing to taste it.

Lighter wine bottles being introduced in the UK

2010-01-27T22:05:00.000-05:00

Decanter reports that Tesco is using 300g screwcap bottles on its own-label Australian NV red wine. The standard glass bottle is 420g.

A step in the right direction for saving on carbon emissions, but I wonder if it's a solid enough bottle to become a real alternative packaging option. The article says the lighter bottle has the same resistance as a regular bottle, but Tesco is only risking its finest Australian NV red for now. So if it break they lose, what, $0.15 of product?

Lenz Winery, Gewürztraminer 2003 (North Fork of Long Island), $18 (for most recent release, 2006), 12% abv

2010-01-27T21:25:00.000-05:00

Full disclosure: I worked the wet 2005 vintage at Lenz on the North Fork. More disclosure: I love Gewürztraminer.

Granted, I didn’t mean to hold on to this one for over six years. Gewürztraminer reaches high levels of sugar naturally, so they are characteristically high in alcohol and low in acid. Not a winning combination for aging a wine. Still, I find that wines from the North Fork are picked on the early side (especially when compared to a place with fabulous weather like California), and the fact that this wine is clocking in at 12% abv suggests that it’s part of that pick-early trend, so this wine is moderate on both alcohol and acid.

The Lenz Gewürztraminer is a medium gold, indicating its high levels of extract. Medium-intensity aromas of tropical fruit, spices, and the signature lycee turn into an oily mouthfeel with more tropical fruits on the palette. The acid is soft, as would be expected, and here the finish is somewhat clipped.

Overall it’s an unusual Gewürztraminer for its low alcohol and intensity if we’re going to compare it to Alsace and Germany. But that’s not at all a fair comparison.

So I say bravo for not being Chardonnay!

But back to aging Gewürztraminer: have you had any success? For how long would you hold one of these?

Wine Entrepreneurs Conference Day 2

2010-01-26T22:06:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posting about the second day. Despite the fact that one is away from work for two days, I’m always sad to see that the workload doesn’t take a vacation at the same time too.

The second day of the conference covered recent trends in the wine industry, and new opportunities. I’ve gathered the highlights from the second day of the conference below.

About the conference overall: as I’m stuck in one sector of the wine industry (hospitality), and have only worked in one other segment (retail), I was happy with the panels selected and the organization of the sequence of presenters (industry one day, ideas the next day). Being the first conference of its kind, however, turnout was not high, so networking was somewhat limited. You could also argue that the limited bunch made for more intimate connections, but there’s only so many times you can say “hi” to the few people there. There was a question of price too. I seemed to be one of the few paying guests there, and the price was higher than what I make in a week, and this is before travel & hotel. For that reason alone I will likely not participate next year. Which is a shame. But my company is not going to pay my way to let me network to my next job, ya know?

On to the panels:

“Wine & Social Media”
The highlight of the conference, really. Sure, I have a Facebook account. I view Twitter with a bored distaste that I used to reserve for Facebook. And that’s as far as I ever thought about social media.

This panel covered the basics of what social media is and how to use it for your company. Alyssa Rapp from Bottlenotes.com, Hardy Wallace of Murphy Goode Winery, and Stephen Gilberg from Winetwits.com were also on hand to talk about their own success using social media.

And here I thought I was on the cutting edge with my little blog.

“Franchising Opportunities in the Wine Industry”
Imagine Applebee’s but it’s a wine bar instead. That’s my interpretation of course, but it’s a brilliant concept. Wine service has a much lower labor costs than, say, a bartender (who has to be skilled and you might need to have a few on hand to match volumes). Wine is pop & pour. Add small plates that don’t require a kitchen, and you have a recipe for reasonable-margin business. The Wine Loft is a franchise of wine bars. Crazy-brilliant, right?

The founder of GiraMondo also showcased their wine game franchise ideas, that would be interesting in the right setting.

“Opportunities in Wine Tourism”
One presenter had a great business model where he imported Virginia wines to London (his homeland), but also conducted tours of the Virginia wineries aimed at British tourists. Scott Wayne has been organizing wine tourism in emerging markets like Albania, Kosovo, and Macedonia. That sounds kinda promising for all parties involved.

Keynote Speaker: Michael Evans, co-founder and CEO of Vines of Mendoza
This man taught us to use our frustrations in the wine industry to create a business opportunity. Such simple but powerful advice. I love that.

“Wine and Technology”
This was a cool panel if only because the founder of wine-searcher.com and LocalWineEvents.com were both participating. I use both of those websites nearly daily.

More recently, Eric Orange of localwineevents.com has launched WineLabelWorld.com, a community repository of wine labels. So let’s say you had a wine you liked but forgot the name. You can go to this website and describe the label (say it had a horse on it). This search engine would then pull up all the labels it had that were tagged ‘horse’ and maybe you’ll recognize the wine you had. Of course, this would be difficult to describe a German wine label, or maybe one of those pretty script labels from Burgundy… The model is built on the hopes that user will upload pics of wine labels.

“Innovation in the Wine Packaging Industry”
I think Mr. Boisset’s keynote speech on the first day got me pumped about new wine packaging, but this panel did not much follow-through. We did get to see some samples of the 750ml aluminum wine bottles. And ReCork America is collecting corks for the purpose of…making flip flops? I guess it’s better than letting cork breakdown naturally in the landfills? I think I’m missing something here…

“Angels and Venture Capital in the Wine Industry”
And here’s where I was to meet my financier to take my business plan to the next level. Except I’m missing an actual business plan. And assets. And I really don’t have positive cash flow either. As you can imagine, the venture capitalists are still very gun-shy, especially as most wine businesses don’t have assets (land & machines) that are worth much as security. The panelists here advocated building contacts who can be your angels years before you actually need them.

Brother, can you spare a dime?

Black Ridge, Pinot Noir 2006 (Central Otago, New Zealand), $29, 13.5%

2010-01-24T22:58:00.000-05:00

A few years back I was a Garagiste Wine junkie. It was a painful day I had to unsubscribe to their tempting emails, but I had a mortgage to pay, so no more impulse buys (damn you, internet). It was that bad.

I’ve had a 90% success rate with Garagiste’s selections, meaning I never tasted a thing they offered before I bought it, and I loved 90% of that. To me, that’s an awesome hit rate. And their draw is very affordable wines too. See why I was heading down a path to poverty?

On to the wine.

It’s actually really yummy. Burgundy it is not, but the wine is going down the path of ripe California fruit + minerality like you’d find in Burgundy + New Zealand funk I get on a lot of Central Otago wines. All three components in equal amounts. That green rot ‘funky’ has always turned me off on New Zealand Pinot Noirs, and here it’s subtle enough to add complexity. Medium intensity of classic red-fruit Pinot Noir aromas jump out at you and the sour fruit finish goes on for about 30 seconds. Really yummy. Sad I only picked up four bottles.

1997 Chateau Carras (Cotes de Meliton), $26 (retail), 13% abv

2010-01-23T23:09:00.000-05:00

Where??!

Do you know?

Don't scroll down yet!

I’ll give you a hint – this wine was a Bordeaux blend plus a little Limnio.

Give up?

It's from Greece.

Cotes de Meliton is on the Khalkhidhikhi peninsula in northeastern Greece. (Yea, I can’t believe you didn’t get that either.)

Yep, at CityZen last night in Washington DC, I had a 12-year-old Greek wine to go with my venison. Ok little wine. $80 was price of admission for the novelty (way overpriced list overall, but it's located in a hotel).

‘Twas an elegant, rather than brawny, Bordeaux blend. Didn't draw much out of the additional Limnio.

In other words, the wine was meh.

Building a great wine list. Part 3: Nuts & Bolts

2010-01-23T22:33:00.000-05:00

In the first two posts I looked at the Wine Spectator awards and the choices of wine list formats. Now on to the meat of the matter.

Food
It’s obvious, but I’m going to say it: you need to populate your list with wines that go well with food. A steakhouse decked out with amazing verticals of German Rieslings, as much as I love them, doesn’t work. Nor do cult California Cabernet Sauvignons at a sushi joint. I’m the first to admit that it’s difficult to resist the urge to stock up on amazing wines, but if your kitchen is not turning out anything with an earthiness that could play well with a Vin Jaune, you should really pass.

Breadth
That said, you should also make sure there is something on your list for everyone. I’m not saying you need every wine or every region, but major styles that are in harmony with the menu should be represented (even if the sommelier doesn’t particularly like those styles, ahem, herself). It helps to ask some of your regular customers what they think is missing from the list.

Pricing
What about pricing? I’ve heard lots of formulas over the years and the most popular seems is to have the average bottle price equal the price of two entrees. Fair enough. I’d say that 60% of the list should hover around this price point based on absolutely no research except my gut instinct.

Length
Finally, how many wines does a list need? Obviously, we’ve established that the length of the list does not automatically make it a great list. How long the wine list should be is difficult to determine, but I suspect this is usually dictated by the amount of proper store space more than anything. If we assume you’ve got as much space as you want, then the list is really a function of the food and the customers.

Physical Presentation
Ok, this has been the biggest sticking point with my latest project. The wine geeks favor some sort of book, a small book, but something with pages. The non-wine geeks favor a one-single-page format. Clearly this was more of a problem of length.

Still, this subheading gives me a fabulous excuse to mention the Aureole’s eWineBooks, they claim to be the world’s first wireless wine books (good luck getting one that works). Then there’s Clo Wine Bar’s iTune-esque wine menus beamed from overhead to the table, which becomes something of a touch screen. These e-novelties allow you to find wines and drill down on more information including tasting notes, varietals, and appellations.

Both of these last two innovations are way cool but with so much information at your fingertips, I’d miss the human interaction with a sommelier. I doubt either technology is going mainstream anytime soon.

PS – we’re still undecided.

Staff
All of the above said, my favorite wine lists are always the ones where the staff can talk you through it. You can have all the most gorgeous wines in the world on your list, but if a guest asks for help deciding between a Sancerre and a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and the server shrugs his shoulders, I’m sure you've just lost a wine sale when that table finally decides to just have a beer.

Conclusion
So what makes a wine list great? I think a great wine list is one that is connected to the food served at the restaurant, one that reflects what your guests are looking for, and that can be delivered by a trained staff.

So simple. Not so easy.

Pic: Rubber Slippers in Italy via flickr

Nikolaihof ‘Von Stein zu Mautern’ Riesling Smaragd 2002 (Wachau), $50, 12.5% abv

2010-01-23T00:40:00.001-05:00

I’m a sucker for locally-driven and organic cuisine, so should you ever find yourself with a free night in Washington DC, I recommend heading over to Nora in the Dupont Circle area. Nora is America’s first Certified Organic Restaurant meaning 95% of the ingredients are organic. But don’t go thinking this is a ‘health food’ restaurant. Instead, take comfort knowing that the quart of heavy cream used in your risotto is organic heavy cream.

In addition to a lovely seasonal menu, Nora presents an interesting wine list. The list is sprinkled with top organic and biodynamic producers including Chave, Meo Camuzet, Tablas Creek, and even Nicholas Joly’s Coulee de Serrant (my favorite wine in the world, ahem, in case you’re looking for a birthday gift idea).

However, I skipped the 2004 Coulee de Serrant on the list last night (I prefer them closer to ten years old) in favor of a 1990 Nikolaihof ‘Vinothek’. The damn thing was corked and they couldn’t sell me another. (By the way, I have a theory about the high rate of corked wines from Austria in the early 90s but will save it for another post.) I ended up enjoying a 2002 Nikolaihof ‘Von Stein zu Mautern’ Riesling.

Side note, the Wachau area in Austria has its own quality designations for wines based on grape ripeness (three special levels in the Wachau). Smaragd (smah-RAHG) is the highest level of ripeness, with an alcohol level of more than 12%.

On to the wine: I love Rieslings with age on them for the petrol notes they develop. In this case, I found intense aromas of stones and minerals jumping out of the glass where I thought petrol would have developed. (These were my immediate scribbling before I found out that ‘Von Stein’ means ‘from stones’.) Otherwise, I got loads of lemon zest, ripe yellow apples and pears. The palette is well-balanced between its medium body, acid, and finish. This is a dry Riesling, though not painfully so. I find Nikolaihof wines to be less austere than other producers in Austria.

One last note, see that ‘Demeter’ logo on the back label? Nikolaihof is a biodynamic producer. Biodymanic goes a step beyond organic farming by incorporating lunar rhythms into decisions in the vineyard and winery. Seriously. More for another post…

Wine Entrepreneur Conference 2010

2010-01-22T19:49:00.000-05:00

I’ve studied wine as an academic subject, but I’m kinda lost when it comes to understanding all the different players in the wine industry and what they’re up against. So I was naturally interested in the Wine Entrepreneur Conference 2010 held this week in Washington DC (ok, fine, and I'm a conference junkie).

The conference advertised itself as “the only professional wine conference focusing on wine entrepreneurship” and panels were arranged so that the first day covered the wine supply chain and the second day looked at trends (i.e., social networking) and opportunities (i.e., franchising, packaging). Many of the speakers were harvested from the east coast, which was refreshing to see. Here are my key takeaways from each of the panels:

“Wine Making and Winery Development”
The mid-Atlantic growers (two from Virginia and one from Maryland) all envied where Oregon’s wine industry is now. Despite this, there seems to be no momentum behind a regional growers’ association to collectively promote the wines outside their area. I got the impression that each winery is fighting its own fight for shelf space instead of joining forces to present to the quality wines of the mid-Atlantic to consumers and trade. A promotion similar to Uncork New York! does in Manhattan would go a long way to elevating the relevancy of this region to the public.

“Wine Importing and Distributing”
Oh, the damn three-tier system of booze distribution in this country is so simple on paper, but not easy in execution. The number of government agencies involved in importing a single alcohol-related product is amazing, and this is before considering the paperwork for bank financing. Mr. Earle, formerly of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, used his part of the panel to discuss the key factors for success for New World entrants to the USA.

“Managing Wine and Liquor Stores”
Retail has its challenges, but is not dead. Certainly cost cutting and inventory management has been important over the last year, but the key to success in any type of retail is engaging your customer, whether through free tasting at your store or keeping track of customer’s past purchases to help them find something new they might like.

Keynote Speaker: Jean-Charles Boisset, Boisset Family Estate
Mr. Boisset made a strong case for thinking creatively around wine packaging in the future. I had no idea they packaged some of their AOC Beaujolais wine in 750ml aluminum bottles. Is that even legal?

“Managing a Wine Bar/Hospitality Business”
The tighter economy has lead to creative solutions for smaller restaurants. The consultants who presented here shared that, in certain markets where is it allowed, they have collectively leveraged pricing power and purchased for several restaurants.

“Opportunities in Wine Journalism/Wine Blogging”
It’s a great time for wine freelance writing as newspapers are cutting full time staff so there’s more opportunity to contribute. It’s a terrible time for wine freelance writing as it’s ultracompetitive given so many unemployed professional writers. Mr. Meddis shared his ‘Top 10 Tips & Tricks’ for effective blogging.

I have a lot to learn.

“Wine and Charity: How to Use Wine in Charitable Ways”
Both Vintner’s Charitable Cooperative and Charity Wine have original ways of channeling our love of wine into significant cash for charity.

Day two highlights to follow...

(Picture L-R: James Roth of Red, White, and Bleu, Rodolphe Boulanger of The Wine Messenger, and Laurent Guinand of GiraMondo Wine Adventures.)

Chateau d’Auvernier, Chasselas 2008 (Neuchâtel, Switzerland), $25, 11.5% abv

2010-01-20T11:55:00.001-05:00

Finding unusual wines that are affordably priced on a wine list is one of life’s joys. On a recent weeknight visit to Artisanal, I tried a white wine from Switzerland made from the Chasselas grape. Made by Chateau d'Auvenier in the Neuchâtel region of Switzerland (Neuchâtel is in Western Switzerland just over the border from France's (and Switzerland's) Jura region).

Let me just stop and say that I love that they offer about 100 wines by the glass at the restaurant, both as a taste or a glass. France dominates the by-the-glass wine list followed by the United States, but Italy and Spain gets their own section too. There are also southern hemisphere wines so you can get your Australia/Chile/Argentina fix as well. There’s a bottle list beyond that including a good selection of half bottles, but with so many by-the-glass options (and I find turnover to be fast enough that I’ve not had a dead wine yet), I haven’t had a reason to commit to a full bottle.

Back to the wine. Chasselas (aka Fendant in the Valais region of Switzerland) is grown in France and Germany with some distaste, but the grape has found a home in Switzerland where it is the most planted grape variety.

This wine showed medium intensity aromas of ripe lemons, grapefruit peel, stones, and something of a Alpine mountain floral-ness. It seemed to have a little more weight in the mouth than the alcohol would suggest, and the medium amount of juicy acidity mingled with lemon and a slight amount of pine flavors. It was a little too light to be a perfect match for the Duck Bourguignon I ordered, but this was a case of matching a unique wine to the person, not the dish. I’d like to serve this as an aperitif or a picnic wine on a hot summer day.

Building a great wine list. Part 2: Wine List Formats

2010-01-20T11:42:00.000-05:00

So with my thoughts on Wine Spectator’s awards out of the way, how does one build a great wine list? In this post, I’m going to consider some of the more popular ways of formatting a wine menu.

With so many ways of arranging the actual list, where do you start? Some wine lists are arranged by varietal, like Xai Xai’s South African Wine Bar in New York does. I think this model works best for a list that’s trying to appeal to a wide audience (think airport lounge) where “Sauvignon Blanc” and “Pinot Noir” are well-known ‘brands’, or it works for a list where the regional emphasis has already been determined like Xai Xai’s. The downside is that your unique Ploussard from the Jura may get lost in the “Interesting Reds” catch-all category.

Next up is the arrangement by style or flavor profile, including some annoyingly cutesy category names (“Flower Power”). The theory is if a guest knows they like Wine X, they can pick Wine Y right below it on the list and have confidence that they will enjoy it. This seems like a good idea, but I find it rather confusing.

For argument’s sake, let’s say a Nuits-Saint- Georges is generally a spicier version of a red Burgundy than Chambolle-Musigny. Ok, so we’d see the Chambolle-Musigny on the “Light & Fruity” section of the list and the Nuits-Saint- Georges on the “Spicy & Robust” section. But then, how does the Nuits-Saint- Georges compare to a Washington state Syrah, which is also “Spicy & Robust”? That spicy red Burgundy would then seem “Light & Fruity”. I’ve written lists like this before and even I can’t find the wine I’m trying to recommend.

If your wine list is brief, I do support arranging wine progressively by weight, or the body of the wine. This is especially helpful when your staff is not well-trained on giving wine advice.

You could also arrange by price. It only hurts my brain a little to bounce around unrelated wines on a brief list (let’s say under 30 selections). My only fear (and the customer’s benefit) is that by arranging by price, it makes it too easy for a guest to pick a price and that’s what they are drinking. The guest might miss an opportunity to try something interesting if they’re mainly focused on price.

No secret, my favorite presentation style is by appellation, meaning arranged by where the grapes were grown (Gotham’s bottle list is arranged this way). Admittedly this puts a greater burden on the guest to know something about styles of wines from different parts of the world. From a wine geek’s perspective, the more one drinks wine, the more one narrows in on favorite regions. Even folks who admit they don’t know anything about wine will generally add that they love Italian wines or are crazy about Argentinean wine. I think presentation by appellation is the easiest common language we can all use (you might not immediately have a frame of reference for Sangiovese, but you know where Italy is, and that gives you confidence).

The flaw here is that typicity by appellation is not always reliable (Sancerre, I’m looking at you). And some regions like the Vin de Pays around the Languedoc-Roussillon area can produce such a wide range of varietals, that you might not know if you’re getting a Pinot Noir or a Mourvedre. This latter point is easily remedied by including the varietal somewhere in the name of the wine when it is not straightforward.

Building a great wine list. Part 1: Size Matters?

2010-01-17T22:15:00.000-05:00

I’m in the midst of writing a wine list for a new project and our team keeps going back and forth over all the details: how big the list should be, how it should be formatted, and what should we use to present it to the guest. All this leaves me wondering what makes a wine list a great wine list?

At its core, a wine list is a menu of wines on offer. It’s something of a marketing document, really a sales tool to help restaurant staff connect diners with a wine. I want to look at some of the key considerations over the next few days, but for today, I want focus on the Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards.

I’m always surprised by how many people assume a wine list that has received some recognition from the Wine Spectator makes it something to get excited about. The Wine Spectator has three awards with the most prestigious being the Grand Award, awarded to 72 restaurants in 2009. What bugs me about their awards is that they specify how many wine selections the list needs to have:

*Award of Excellence (2,957 winners in 2009)
- "Typically, these lists offer at least 100 selections."

**Best of Award of Excellence (816 winners in 2009)
- "These lists typically offer 400 or more selections…"

***Grand Award (72 winners in 2009)
- "These restaurants typically offer 1,500 selections or more…"

Source: http://www.winespectator.com/group/show/id/about_the_awards
Clearly the Wine Spectator is capitalizing on the fact that some folks wants to have guidance and reassurance that they are dining at a restaurant with a ‘good’ wine list (even if the awards are not difficult to get – more on that below). Restaurant wine lists weigh heavily on my own dining out decisions, and I wish more places would post their lists online. Other publications also rate wine lists (like Wine Enthusiast), but as far as I can tell, Wine Spectator Awards are the closest thing the wine community has to a Michelin star system.

As I said earlier, my main problem with the Wine Spectator’s awards is that they focus on the number of selections a list must have to even be considered. Now I’ve seen horrible 2,000 selection lists with expensive verticals and too many commonly available wines, and I’ve seen awesome 50 selection wine lists of interesting stuff I'm excited about.

I’m only discussing the number of selections as a flaw in the awarding process. It’s seems that the quality, even by Wine Spectator’s own standards, is not an input to the awarding process as exposed by a fake restaurant’s wine list that won a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in August 2008. You can read the embarrassing story here.

Wine Spectator suggests that this hoax on them would tighten their standards on quality, a daunting undertaking. Thus far, the number of awarded restaurants dropped to 3,845 in 2009 (from 4,118 in 2008), though this could be a reflection of the restaurant that closed during the recession.

Channing Daughters “Sylvanus” 2008 (The Hamtons, Long Island) $24, 12% abv

2010-01-16T21:38:00.000-05:00

I spend a lot of time on the east end of Long Island and the wines from Channing Daughters have always charmed me because they bottle grapes outside the popular international varieties. Tocai Friulano, Gewurztraminer, Aligote, Blaufrankisch, and Dornfelder are not typical grapes that come to mind when thinking about Long Island wine. Vinification techniques are not so straight forward either, with winemaker Christopher Tracy co-fermenting field blends, allowing wild yeast fermentations, and good ol’ foot-stomping of the grapes. For the really esoterically-inclined, he even uses a ripasso and solera process on a single red wine bottling (“Over & Over” series), and has an ‘orange wine’ made from pinot grigio fermented on its skins (“Ramato”).

Generally speaking, when a wine is made, the grapes, say Muscat, are picked & fermented on their own schedule depending on their ripeness, and then another, say Pinot Grigio grapes, would proceed the same on their own time, maybe a few weeks before or after the Muscat. The two separate wines would then be tasted, measured out, and blended together to make the final product.

Not this guy.

The Sylvanus is described as a ‘vin de terroir’ as it is a field blend of grapes that are randomly grown together, harvested at the same time, and then fermented together. This allows the wine to express the terroir of a single vineyard in a snapshot of time. Sounds romantic and all, and lucky for us, the final wine here is a gorgeous expression of the Sylvanus vineyard on the South Fork.

Sylvanus is a field blend of 43% Msucat Ottonel, 44% Pinot Grigio, and 13% Pinot Bianco. The wine is very pale straw color, and not completely starbright, reflecting its minimal handling in the winery. Medium-intensity aromas of lemon, stones, green apples, and pears develop into flavors of more meyer lemons, honeysuckle flowers, melon, and crisp green apples in the mouth. The wine is on the light side of medium bodied, with medium tingly acidity, and a minerally finish.

I had this with an easy weeknight dinner of breaded pork cutlet with lemon pan sauce over spinach, but this would be a great aperitif or as a fabulous match for ocean’s candystore of oysters and scallops.

(Sorry for the shiny pic. Silver label was giving me some trouble…)

Too much wine education

2010-01-15T01:11:00.000-05:00

If I had a dollar for every person who’s ever said to me “Wow! You know so much about wine, and you’re obviously so passionate about it! You should write a book/own a wine store/ be on TV/buy a vineyard/maybe find another hobby not based on a controlled substance”, I’m afraid I wouldn't be a millionaire. But I would definitely have enough money to buy a village level Burgundy. From a decent producer.

My first “ah ha” wine moment was back in 2003 over a bunch of cult California Cabernet Sauvignons: Opus One, Heitz, Cain Five, Caymus, Silver Oak. It was a work event, but these wines caused me to lose interest in schmoozing with my clients, and more interested figuring out why these wines were so special. Why did I notice them when, up until now, the only thing I’ve ever noticed about a wine is whether is it white or red? Was it the smell? Should I be paying more attention to legs? How can I get more?

That little episode pushed me down the educational trail when I went to my corner liquor store that weekend and found out I couldn’t just buy the wines off the shelf. Allocations? Well, why don’t they just make more? How tough can it be to replicate that wine, right?

There was a lot to learn.

My first formal class was with Kevin Zaly’s Windows on the World Wine School. Being the masochist that I am (it’s like, I love having tests), that was shortly followed by a tour through the successive levels of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, Society of Wine Educators, and Court of Master Sommeliers, with side trips to University of California Davis Extension and Culinary Institute of America.

All this while keeping my ‘normal’ day job.

In 2008 I left my lucrative career and embarked in wine. Tentatively at first, but after a brief stint in retail and working a harvest, I’m now a sommelier & wine educator in New York City.

And I moved on from California Cabernets to German Rieslings.

I want to use this blog to record the wines I encounter, build confidence in my tasting notes, explore my own voice within the vinous news, selfishly exercise my writing muscles, and contribute to the never-ending wine education for all of us.

Thanks for stopping by. Let me know when you’re ready for another glass.