Wines for the People

Feeling the love!

2012-01-24T19:30:00.000-08:00

Our dear friend, Elsbeth, has blogged about us. Thank you, Elsbeth! While she awaits the release of our rose (coming soon!), she--and you, dear reader--should take comfort in the fact that we still have plenty of 2010 Bea's Knees Grenache available.

Hey, Maury! VdN, flor and more

2011-12-18T14:10:00.000-08:00

We like to believe that winemakers are a naturally curious, inquisitive bunch. To that end, we have an experiment going that delights and amazes us. We are working on an admittedly bizarre dessert wine, inspired by the wines of Maury, in Southwest France. These wines are made from Grenache (mostly), but the fermentation is stopped by the addition of brandy (as is the case with Port) to leave some unfermented sugar in the wine. Then they are left outside in small glass containers, experiencing wild swings in temperature, and a great deal of ultraviolet exposure, along with some oxygen.

We decided to try this a bit late, when all of our Grenache had long since finished fermentation. So we combined fermented Grenache, unfermented Syrah juice, and grape alcohol to achieve about 20% alcohol (as in Maury). Two minuscule gallon jugs now sit exposed to the elements, as they will for at least a couple of years.

The odd thing is that one of the jugs has developed a flor, or yeast film (most commonly seen in Sherry). How are these yeasts able to survive such high alcohol, not to mention near-freezing temperatures? We'd like to know. Perhaps we'll manage to take a sample for analysis, to see what's in there.

Sadly, this is not a commercial-scale project, though of course we'll be "analyzing" the wine when it is finished. Inform of us of your analytical bona fides if you would like to help, when the time comes.

Pictures will follow.

Bottling the 2010 wines

2011-09-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

We bottled our 2010 wines yesterday. What a joy to see them in bottle at last. We have 43 cases of the 2010 Moon & Sun Syrah, from Yountville's organically farmed Massa Ranch (Napa Valley), and 69 cases of the 2010 Bea's Knees Grenache, from the sustainably farmed Hunters Oaks vineyard in the Clements Hills AVA of Lodi. We also have a bit of a surprise and a new project we'll describe below.

Emptying the bottles onto the line

Applying the label to the first box off the line

The pallet begins to fill.

Ever more full

Still they come....

The wine in all its glory. 112 full cases, with some empty boxes on top.

No time to describe the exciting new project now. Stay tuned....

2010 Wines Release Announcement

2011-09-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce the release of our second vintage of wines, from 2010.

All wines are $10/bottle, and we have a Syrah and a Grenache for you this year. Here are the new wines:

PWR 2010 Bea's Knees – Grenache from Hunters Oaks vineyard in the Clements Hills region of Lodi. This vineyard is farmed sustainably in accordance with the Lodi Rules, “California’s first 3rd party-certified sustainable winegrowing program.” This Grenache is a bright, cherry red, beautifully floral, and tastes of strawberries with a hint of spice. It would be as delightful slightly chilled on a hot summer day as it would be alongside a rich meal. Thanksgiving, for instance, would be the perfect time to enjoy this wine, but so would any other Thursday.

Inspecting the Grenache on the vine

The Grenache at the winery

PWR 2010 Moon & Sun – Our second Syrah from the CCOF Organic Massa Ranch in Yountville, Napa Valley. We adore this vineyard, and the Vineyard manager, Patrick Ridder, is a great farmer, a joy to work with and a great supporter of the Revolution. This is a rich and bold wine, and very recognizably Syrah with its signature blueberry, bacon fat and pepper notes. If you enjoyed the 2009, don't let this vintage passed you by. If you are new to this wine, get it while you can!

Syrah at Massa Ranch

Send us an email to order your wine: pwr [at] att [dot] net. Wine will be available to pick up as early as late September. We will ship beginning in October as soon as the weather cooperates, unless you prefer us to wait. Shipping costs vary from day to day but we can provide an estimate if you wish.

ONE MORE THING!

Who wants a t-shirt? You? Wonderful! Let us know your size and how many you would like. We will charge what the manufacturer charges us. That will vary based on the quantity ordered, but will be less than $20.

We would love to hear from you—questions, comments, criticisms or praise. Drop us a line!

With Revolutionary Fervor,

Your Fearless Leader, Matt, and Truth Commissioner, Marcy

www.facebook.com/PWRWines

pwr [at] att [dot] net

Forlorn Hope Wines

2011-07-14T14:52:00.000-07:00

What were we thinking? We weren't. Should've brought the camera. Should've taken notes. Shoulda shoulda shoulda.

Matthew Rorick of Forlorn Hope Wines just hosted us and allowed us to taste the wines he will soon bottle. Readers, they are astonishing.

Matthew's wines are Rare Creatures. That is, he produces wines from varieties not seen everyday. When was the last time you had a Verdelho? Okay, how about Alvarelhao? Really? Then what about St-Laurent? We thought so.

Matthew's not using these grapes because they are obscure but because he believes they can make wonderful wines. And in his hands, they certainly do.

Matthew is passionate about his winemaking, and we really mean it. His eyes are bright and he is lively and animated as he talks about his wines. He is full of ideas for the next vintage and always trying to learn more from past vintages with each taste. He follows some admirable rules--no added water or acid, for instance (not to mention insisting upon printing the true alcohol level on his labels*)--but is always willing to experiment. We got to taste a 2010 Gewurztraminer fermented to dryness on its skins (this is extremely unusual). It was proudly, truly and beautifully Gewurz, but it had extra layers of complexity and interest thanks to the maceration on the skins.

We also got to try a Charbono that was done 100% whole cluster. It had the pure, rich dark fruit of Charbono supported by a firm foundation of tannin from the stems.

Prices for his wines are beyond reasonable. Please seek them out and support Matthew's project. And next time I'll bring a camera.

*TTB rules allow as much as 1.5% error in either direction. And that's just what's allowed.

Another video!

2011-05-27T15:51:00.000-07:00

The last movie was such a hit (see post below) that we could not help ourselves. Here's our latest video post:

We hope you like it. Comments and suggestions are most certainly welcome!

PWR's first movie

2011-05-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

This was fun to do. We hope it's fun to watch. Your feedback is most humbly solicited and most greatly appreciated. Thanks!

facebook.com/PWRWines

Update

2011-05-11T15:54:00.000-07:00

Your Fearless Leader and the Minister of Truth met yesterday to review the 2010 PWR Wines in barrel. We are pleased to report that they are delicious!

This September we will bottle 2 barrels, or about 50 cases, of 2010 PWR Syrah, from the CCOF Organic Massa Ranch in Yountville (Napa Valley), and 3 barrels, or about 75 cases, of 2010 PWR Bea's Knees, a Grenache from the Lodi Rules Sustainably farmed Hallecky Vineyard in the Clements Hills region of Lodi. The wines will be released shortly thereafter. We can't wait to get them to you.

Meanwhile, we would like to remind you that you'll find much more activity on our Facebook-hosted website. Check in early and often! Please let us know what you think. We welcome your comments and questions.

Karma--more innovative packaging

2011-04-13T10:33:00.000-07:00

The latest in our ongoing series on innovative wine packaging is Karma California Brut. We discovered it on a Virgin America flight and given the cool bottle and our naive belief that Virgin would have wine worth drinking we ordered it up.

Well, at least the bottle was cool. Not much really innovative--it's still glass, and it has a screwcap--but it sure is not traditional sparkling wine packaging. We appreciate that much, at least. Read on if you care to learn more about the wine.

The wine was close to bland, and that is probably good. It does have a slight sweetness (so why call it Brut?) that builds over time, annoyingly. Our overall rating: better than Sofia. Which is not saying much.

The website is surprisingly cool, aside from the autoplay, horrible music. What is up with that?

Odds and Ends

2011-03-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

Item: Organic? Biodynamic? Sustainable? What do these terms mean and what's the best way to farm? The answer, of course, is outrageously complex. Slate did a fine job tackling the question, given the size of the piece. They gave sustainable farming short shrift, however, as we point out in the comments. The big knock on "sustainable" is that it is ill-defined. True, but that's not as big a problem as it seems. Bigger, we feel, is that the threshold for calling yourself sustainable under the certification systems is pretty low. If you'd like to learn more about sustainable grape growing, take a look at the Lodi Rules program, and the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance.

For the record, PWR Syrah comes from the CCOF Organic Massa Ranch, in Yountville, Napa Valley, while our 2010 Grenache comes from the Hunters Oak Vineyard, farmed sustainably in accordance with the Lodi Rules.

Item: Our quest to discover new ways to package wine continues. Today we learned about Indulge Wine in pouches, which is basically bag-in-box without the box. 2 wines are available in 1.5L pouches (equivalent to 2 standard wine bottles). Retail price is $20 each for 2009 Sauvignon Blanc (North Coast) and 2009 Pinot Noir (Central Coast). Available only in California at present. We hope to find the wines soon to report on their quality.

We also learned about Boisset's new twist on bag-in-box....bag-in-barrel. We're not sure we see the point, as the barrel will take up more space than a box and counteract some of the environmental benefits of BiB (less packaging, lighter weight), but as this article states, it would make a good conversation piece. And Boisset points out that the barrel is re-fillable, so it would only be transported once.

Item: We can't resist sharing this picture with you. We are so proud. We held back a tiny amount of the 2009 Bea's Knees and bottled it in January in magnums. Here they are.

Free Tickets--Dark & Delicious--Petite Sirah tasting Februrary 18

2011-01-25T09:22:00.000-08:00

We have a pair of tickets to give away to the Dark & Delicious tasting in Alameda on Friday, February 18, 2011, from 6-9pm at the Rock Wall Wine Company.

Dark & Delicious is sponsored by PS I Love You, the Petite Sirah advocacy group. We are huge fans of Petite Sirah--we even make it for a living. If you don't know the delicious, rich, full-throttle wines redolent of chocolate and blackberry, or would like to get to know them better, this is the event for you. 48 wineries are slated to pour, representing the regions where PS does best--Napa Valley, Mendocino, Sonoma's Dry Creek Valley, Paso Robles, and the Sierra Foothills to name a few--and including some of our favorite producers, such as Robert Biale Vineyard, Foppiano, Artezin, Ballentine, and Bogle.

There will also be a ton of food. The full list is here, and includes Napa's Fume Bistro.

So how do you get free tickets? First step, ask. And why don't you also tell us a little about why you would like to attend the event. Promises to report back on the event will be viewed favorably.

You may enter in a publicly-viewable comment here on the blog, or privately via email: pwr [at] att [dot] net. Please do so by this Friday, January 28. We'll sift through the mountains of entries and choose a winner subjectively but fairly, to be announced no later than Monday, January 31.

Many thanks to PS I Love You for the tickets. We look forward to hearing from you.

FLASQ Wines in Aluminum Bottles

2011-01-12T13:47:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to take a break from reporting on PWR's Progress to tell you about a new discovery, FLASQ wines in aluminum ~~cans~~ bottles. We love alternatives to glass bottles for ever-so-many reasons, and we thrill to learn of any new wines so packaged. Some such products reviewed in the past have disappointed, while we have raved about others.

To repeat ourselves, the glass bottle with cork stopper was a great idea 400 years ago, but we can surely do better. There is nothing inherently wrong with any of the alternatives we know of--aluminum cans/bottles, bag-in-box, tetrapak, screwcaps--except that none of these technologies so far seems up to long term wine storage. But most wine is consumed within hours of purchase, and most wine intended for aging will be put in a glass bottle, anyway.

Quality is the key. Sadly, most wine buyers are afraid. Afraid of buying the "wrong" wine, or of buying a wine that will make them look foolish. If such a consumer musters up the courage to buy a wine that is not even in a glass bottle, that courage must be rewarded with good tasting wine. So how about the FLASQ wines?

FLASQ's inaugural release consists of a 2009 Chardonnay (Monterey County) and a 2009 Merlot (San Luis Obispo County). FLASQ kindly provided a sample of each, and we are happy to report that we like both wines. The Merlot has a great, fruity nose and is quite pretty to behold. It is a light wine, showing little tannin or oak. This easy-drinking character allows the wine to go well with many foods, and it will not be too heavy to consume on its own. We enjoyed the wine at home with homemade chicken shawarma, a dish that would have clashed with a heavier wine.

The Chardonnay, too, is in a lighter style, with intense and compelling tropical fruit aromas. The wine suggests pineapple and pears and has a subtle creaminess that keeps it from being too tart. This wine, too, will work with a wide range of food. We happily paired it with a dish of soba noodles with asparagus and pine nuts topped with a fried egg. Yum! Our brave consumer will not be disappointed in either wine.

The package is great, too. The image above shows the Merlot bottle sandwiched between a 375mL wine bottle (same volume as the FLASQ) and a 12-ounce beer bottle (just a little less volume). The FLASQ is easy to grip, very lightweight (not to mention shatterproof), and that wide mouth is terrific. This product is all about portability, right? And surely there are places you will end up where a glass is either unwelcome or forgotten. Yep, we tried the wine straight from the FLASQ and it was just fine. We were tickled to see that the FLASQ fact sheet boasts about this trait.

The manufacturers also claim that the bottle chills much more rapidly than glass. We did not test this but it is quite easy to believe given the thinness and conductivity of aluminum versus glass.

FLASQ warns that the wines should be consumed within 6 months of purchase. That's not a problem for these wines, which were not meant for aging, but we would love to see a new wine container that will allow the wine to age.

At present, the FLASQ wines are available in only 20 states, although they hope to find distribution in all 50. If you live in AL, AR, AZ, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, LA, MA, MI, MS, NC, RI, SC, TN, TX or VA, take a look here to find your distributor if you don't yet see the wine in stores.

The wines will be available for $5.99-$7.99 per 375mL bottle (the pricing is ultimately up to the distributor and retailer; hence the range). That is the equivalent of $12-$16 per bottle (750mL). Given that a 1L TetraPak of Bandit wine, holding more than 2.5 times as much wine as the FLASQ bottle, is on sale at our local grocery store for $6, this might be a problem for FLASQ, despite the fact that, based on our tastings, FLASQ wines are far more enjoyable than Bandit's.

We wish FLASQ success and recommend the wines, especially for taking places where a glass bottle would be awkward. We look forward to more offerings and to California distribution.

2010 PWR Grenache

2010-10-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

The 2010 harvest for the People's Wine Revolution commenced today with 1 ton of beautiful Grenache from Bokisch Vineyards in Lodi. Here's a video showing PWR's Truth Commissioner and Unindicted Co-Conspirator, Marcy Webb, at the destemmer. There are pictures of today's activity, including work by our expert Quality Control Technician, Beatrix, on our Facebook page.

We are very excited about the quality of the fruit, and can't wait to present the wine next year.

PWR Wines Ordering Information

2010-08-18T11:11:00.001-07:00

Ruling class wines at working class prices!

PWR Wines inaugural release ordering information.
To order wines, please send the following information via email or regular mail:

Your shipping address* and phone number
How many bottles of the 2009 PWR Syrah you would like, at $10 each
~~How many bottles of the 2009 PWR Bea's Knees blend you would like, at $10 each~~ Sorry! The 2009 PWR Bea's Knees is SOLD OUT!

We will calculate sales tax (8.75% in Napa) and any shipping charges, and reply with your total, at which point you can send us a check to complete your order.

Our email address is pwr [at] att [dot] net, and our mailing address is

PWR Wines
1311 Pine Street
Calistoga, CA 94515

*Please note that due to outmoded laws and restrictions we can ship only to the following states, and then only if you have visited the winery! If your state is not on this list, please contact us to see if we can find a way to get wine to you.

The "good" states are

Alaska

Arizona

California

Washington, DC

Delaware

Georgia

Kansas

Minnesota

Oklahoma

Rhode Island

South Dakota

There are a number of other states to which we can legally ship after jumping through hoops, filling out massive paperwork, and paying licensing and other fees. So do contact us if your state is not listed above. Perhaps we can work it out.

Hyping another winery--Bokisch Vineyards

2010-08-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

Of course we are here to promote PWR Wines, but it is in keeping with our purpose to let you know about great wine buys out there.

We have long been fans of Bokisch Vineyards. Markus Bokisch has planted a number of spanish varieties in the Lodi area, where they thrive in the heat. We are glad that he champions these varieties, and we also think he does a great job farming and making wine from them. Bokisch adheres to the Lodi Rules for sustainable winegrowing, which have become the template for the rest of the state.

Two of our favorites, the 2007 Garnacha and 2006 Graciano, are now on sale for $100/mixed case (6 of each). Shipping is free in California.

The Garnacha will be a bit of a sneak preview for PWR Wines fans. PWR Wines is buying 1 ton of Bokisch Vineyards garnacha this year. We will make the wine this fall and expect to release it next summer.

So check it out, enjoy, and let us know what you think!

2010-07-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

Ruling class wines at working class prices!

In 1999 husband and wife team Matt Reid and Marcy Webb conceived The People's Wine Revolution as a way to bring great wines to all at reasonable prices. 10 years on the dream has become reality, and PWR Wines is an actual bonded winery. Since turning pro in 2003, Matt has made the wine at Seavey Vineyard, and produced the custom crushed wines at Failla. He is now the winemaker at Quixote Winery in Napa's Stags Leap District. Marcy's experience includes Napa Wine Company, Franciscan, and Chalk Hill.

Making the PWR wines is a labor of love. In 2009 Matt traded his hard work in the vineyard for old vine Zinfandel and Petite Sirah grapes from St. Helena. The struggling vines offered a meager crop, so Marcy scrambled to secure Syrah from the CCOF organic Massa Ranch in Yountville.

PWR's inaugural release consists of two wines:

The 2009 PWR “Bea's Knees” Napa Valley Red Wine is a blend of 40% Massa Ranch Syrah with 40% Zinfandel and 20% Petite Sirah from La Buona Stella Vineyard in St. Helena. 1 barrel (22 cases) was produced.

The 2009 PWR Syrah Massa Ranch Yountville Napa Valley is 100% Syrah (Estrella clone) from the CCOF Organic Massa Ranch. The Syrah was fermented with a good proportion of whole, undestemmed clusters for added spice, texture and complexity. The wine was pressed at dryness and aged in neutral barrels. 2 barrels (46 cases) were produced.

The PWR wines retail for $10. Please see ordering information below.

The wines were bottled in July 2010, and are now ready for your enjoyment. We hope you love drinking them as much as we loved making them. Please let us know what you think! You can reach us at pwr [at] att [dot] net, or visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/PWRWines. You can also follow us on Twitter @pwrwines.

Thank you for taking part in the Revolution!

PWR Wines inaugural release ordering information.
To order wines, please send the following information via email or regular mail:

Your shipping address* and phone number
How many bottles of the 2009 PWR Syrah you would like, at $10 each
How many bottles of the 2009 PWR Bea's Knees blend you would like, at $10 each

We will calculate sales tax (8.75% in Napa) and any shipping charges, and reply with your total, at which point you can send us a check to complete your order.

Our email address is pwr [at] att [dot] net, and our mailing address is

The "good" states are

Alaska

Arizona

California

Washington, DC

Delaware

Georgia

Kansas

Minnesota

Oklahoma

Rhode Island

South Dakota

Bottled at last!

2010-07-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

As many of you have already heard, the 2009 PWR wines are now safely in the bottle and ready to enjoy.

Here's Marcy, holding a bottle of each of the wines: our 2009 Syrah, Massa Ranch, Yountville, Napa Valley; and our 2009 Bea's Knees, a blend consisting of 40% Massa Ranch Syrah along with 40% Zinfandel and 20% Petite Sirah, both from La Buona Stella Vineyard in St Helena (Napa Valley).

Over the weekend we threw the Syrah into a tasting of some heavy hitters over the weekend, with Guigal Hermitage, Jamet Cote-Rotie, Acacia Kick Ranch and Pax Alder Springs Vyd, among others. The PWR proudly held its own, and its evolution throughout the tasting promised a long and interesting life ahead for it. We'll report on the Bea's Knees soon.

Stay tuned for information on the release!

PWR Hits the Big Time!

2010-04-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

The lovely Quixote Winery, which pays most of our bills, was featured in Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle. We were happily surprised to see that PWR Wines got a mention in the piece. Surely the first of many!

Why good California wine is so darn expensive

2010-04-12T11:13:00.000-07:00

We read a piece on the Tablas Creek blog* today that is too good not to share. The piece explains in thorough detail why Tablas Creek elected not to buy a potential vineyard site to expand production of their $25/bottle Cotes de Tablas line. The short answer is that the land was too expensive. In getting to that conclusion Jason Haas delineates financing costs, farming costs, winemaking costs, and the cost of just about everything that goes into that bottle of wine. It's difficult to see how anyone could produce a good wine from a coastal vineyard for less than $25.

Haas allows "that as long as winemakers can find older vineyards of less-fashionable varietals, we'll see growth" in the $10-$20 range, but scavenging thus is hardly sustainable. Such scavenging is pretty much PWR's business plan, and given our size and the economic malaise in the wine industry, we expect to have no trouble sourcing good grapes over the next few years, but we certainly won't be planting a vineyard any time soon.

What's the solution? We are not sure there is one. As Haas eloquently states, there are too many demands on land suitable for planting coastal vineyards to expect land prices to fall significantly. The California coast simply is not suited to produce great wines at low prices, at least not on a large scale.

The solution may lie inward, however. California's Great Central Valley, which runs from Redding in the north to Bakersfield in the south, produces much of the nation's produce and is no stranger to the grapevine. Most of the viticulture is focused in the Souther San Joaquin Valley--roughly from Fresno to the South--where the winegrapes planted among the Thompson seedless raisin grapes are hardly renowned for their quality.

The Southern San Joaquin (SSJ) is hot and nearly water-less, with sandy and somewhat saline soils. This is no region for Chardonnay or Cabernet, let alone Pinot Noir (although acres of each variety are planted there, with disastrous results). But we believe the region could be just fine for varieties suited to such a climate. Varieties from regions such as Greece (Xinomavro, anyone?), Sicily (Nero D'Avola) or Spain (Garnacha/Grenache), for instance.

Housing pressures are great even in the SSJ, but land is still much cheaper than in coastal regions. It's also less expensive to farm. Now we just need to find a grower willing to take the plunge!**

* The Tablas Creek blog is well worth reading for many reasons. Today's piece illustrates the best of them--Jason Haas is open and honest in his discussions. The blog does not read like PR fluff. We love Tablas Creek wines. While not exactly inexpensive, they represent excellent quality at their prices, and are easily the match of wines costing many times as much.

** One reason growers are reluctant to plant varieties that may be better suited to their climate is the perception that consumers won't buy a wine that does not bear a familiar varietal name on it. Given the difficulties *everyone* is facing selling Syrah these days, the growers are probably correct. But would you rather have an eye-poppingly good Mavrodaphne or a dreary, flabby raisin-y Cabernet? Good. Now go tell 100 of your friends.

We have a Winner!

2010-03-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

In a recent post, we asked for help naming the 2009 PWR blend of Syrah (40%), Zinfandel (40%) and Petite Sirah (20%), that we will bottle in July.

We got a lot of great suggestions, and we thank everyone who shared with us. After careful consideration, we have decided to go with the name Bea's Knees, in honor of our daughter, who it just so happens turns one on Saturday.

Mike Trotta, who makes the delicious wines at Elyse Winery, made the winning suggestion. Lucky for him, we can legally give him a bottle of the wine he named. Lucky for us, too, because if we had to go with the "legal alternative" we promised to any winner from a state closed to wine shipping, we would have been stumped. What's the equivalent of a bottle of delicious, lovingly made wine?

Again, the wine will be bottled in July, along with our 2009 Syrah from Massa Ranch in Napa Valley's Yountville AVA. We'll make the wines available to you shortly thereafter. We cannot wait to share what we have made.

Wine and Food pairing -- what's the big deal?

2010-03-12T15:47:00.000-08:00

Ask anyone in the wine industry, whatever their role, what question they are most often asked and the answer will be some variation of "What food goes with this wine?"

If a wine's back label says anything at all (beyond some gibberish about the glorious winery owner or the wonderful vineyard site) it will recommend food pairings.

Look at any winery's twitter stream and every other tweet will mention food and wine pairing.

We have two questions:

1. Are you, dear reader, interested in this sort of knowledge?
2. Why?

We don't mean to be snide. Rather, we feel that food and wine pairing is both incredibly subjective and relatively unimportant. There are a few no-brainers: most any steak will go well with most any red wine; most any crisp white will go well with shellfish, and some rich and fat whites will go well with some shellfish, Chardonnay and oysters, for instance.

But even those basics are disputed by some, and rightly so. What works for us may not work for you.

Or at least not as well. Because there are very few combinations that are disastrous to either wine or food. Artichokes are famous for making wine taste metallic, and peanut butter can make wine taste funny, too.

On the other hand there are very few combinations that make wine and food transcend themselves to become some magically wonderful taste sensation unlike any you have ever before experienced.

Which, come to think of it, is probably what people are asking for when they ask the question. But don't you think we'd tell you if we knew? And the answer probably isn't, "This wine pairs well with chicken, fish, roast meats, game and pizza," as you'll likely see on that back label.

In fact, the answer probably is not a particular pairing in the first place. Probably what makes some combinations so heavenly--and it does happen, dear reader. If not for you yet, we hope very much that it does soon--what makes some combinations so heavenly, we repeat, is the company.

The Jura (not where we were, though). Thanks, Modzzak.

Our most cherished wine memory involves a bottle of 1985 Burgundy (the cheap low-end stuff; we probably paid about $8) drunk in 1998 at a campsite in the Jura. We ate it with roast chicken and french fries we got from the servants' entrance of the nearby restaurant (for which we were impossibly underdressed), which was the only restaurant or grocery open on that lovely Sunday afternoon.

Chicken, but you knew that: http://www.flickr.com/photos/galant/ / CC BY 2.0

We were in the middle of a wonderful journey together and were entranced by the high mountain meadows and the Jura's stunning peaks. By our humble tent amidst all the splendor, the wine, chicken and fries were transporting--not that we wanted to go anywhere. It seemed all was abloom and a radiant glow suffused everything--the food, the wine, us.

Nope, that wasn't the bottle. Thanks, Wine Label Readers.

Does that mean that chicken and fries is the perfect combination for cheap burgundy? Maybe.... But it's at least as likely that the best way to enjoy a cheap burgundy is to walk around a mountain lake before enjoying dinner in the late summer light with your beloved. Yeah, that seems the more likely pairing.

What do you think? We'd love to hear your tales of food/wine bliss. We'd also love to know why you ask that question, if you do, and what sort of answer satisfies.

Results are in-- the 2009 PWR lineup will be a Syrah and a Red Blend THAT NEEDS A NAME!

2010-03-05T15:59:00.000-08:00

If only we had our camera, you'd see a picture of endless half-filled, deeply stained glasses, graduated cylinders, and sample bottles.

Yes, we have done our due dilligence, testing, tasting, and retasting every combination of the three barrels of PWR wines to make sure we bring you only the best. In the end, we carted off the 3 final blend candidates to the Rutherford Grill, where we met friends with wonderful palates for lunch. They confirmed our decisions.

The 2009 PWR Wines lineup will consist of a Syrah from Yountville's Massa Ranch and a red blend that is 40% Syrah (Massa Ranch) with 40% Zinfandel and 20% Petite Sirah from La Buona Stella Vineyard in St Helena.

In an effort to keep our production costs low, so we could keep our wine prices low, we traded labor for the grapes from the St Helena vineyard. The vineyard work was strenuous but fun. Alas, the vineyard did not yield enough grapes to fill a single barrel. Fortunately, we were able to find the wonderful Massa Ranch Syrah at the last minute and at a very reasonable price.

We will be bottling these wines in July, and they'll be available for sale shortly thereafter. Only 50 cases of the Syrah, and 25 of the blend.

But, hey! We need a name for the blend! Do you have any ideas? Send them our way, through a comment or via pwr [at] att [dot] net . If we choose your name, we'll send you a bottle (where legal. If not legal where you are, we'll do our best to send you something as exciting).

Not our lab. This picture comes from Vince Huang's photostream. But you get the idea.

The PWR plan to take over the world

2010-01-17T17:29:00.000-08:00

In the January 18, 2010 issue of The New Yorker, Malcom Gladwell writes about the character traits that make enrepreneurs succecssful. We admit to being momentarily taken aback, as we fit almost none of the criteria.

Successful entrepreneurs

write a business plan. We have not written a formal business plan, though we do have a mission statement. Does that count?
take over an existing business, rather than starting from scratch. Last time we checked, no revolutionary wineries were for sale. Or were we supposed to swashbuckle our way in? Oh, wait. There aren't any (other) revolutionary wineries.
sell to other businesses, rather than consumers. But we want you, the PEOPLE, to have our wine, not other businesses.

Gladwell goes on to say that failed entrepreneurs

underemphasize marketing. Well, we have TOP people working on our labels, and we've chatted up marketers at parties in an effort to get free marketing advice.
don't understand the importance of financial controls. Guilty as charged. What is a financial control, anyway?
Try to compete on price. Well, yes! That's what we're all about. Bringing to market great wine at a great price.

Gladwell concludes that taking these risks "reflect[s] a lack of preparation or foresight." As you can see, neither is lacking on our count. We are surely making mistakes, but not for lack of trying.

But perhaps we are on the wrong track entirely. Because Gladwell is talking about successful, or not, entrepreneurs. And we are not trying to become wine moguls or anything of the sort. Our mission is clear and succinct and does not include our personal enrichment.

Doubtless we have fretted in vain.

Nor should you fret. The wine is resting happily in barrel. We shall see whether it will be ready for bottling in late spring, in which case it should be available by mid-summer. If not, it will be available when it is ready. And we'll be sure to let you know.

Until then, we thank you for your patience, and wish you happy, and not ruinously expensive, drinking.

[Signed]
The People's Wine Revolution

Wines for the People is Dead! Long Live Wines for the People!

2009-12-17T13:42:00.000-08:00

We have enjoyed ourselves immensely, but it is time to end the Wines for the People blog as we know it. We set out to share our love of wine with our readers, as well as some of our knowledge to help you enjoy wine more, and have fewer disappointing glasses, without having to spend a lot of money. We hope we have succeeded.

When this blog returns--and it will--its new focus will be the wines we are producing as The People's Wine Revolution. PWR Wines is all about delivering top-quality wine at reasonable prices. No surprise there. We do hope you will return to see the new incarnation.

In the meantime, the older posts will remain, and we do hope you'll explore and catch up on any that you may have missed. All the posts are indexed by category here. With New Year's Eve fast approaching you may want to review the video lesson on opening sparkling wines with a sword (or butter knife), found here.

We remain at your service to answer any wine-related (or not) questions you have. Please comment on the site or contact us directly via email: pwr [at] att [dot] net

Cheers,
The People's Wine Revolution

Ritual Pinot Noir

2009-12-14T10:38:00.000-08:00

The 2008 Ritual Pinot Noir from Chile's Casablanca Valley is delicious and represents a great value at $18 (or less).

We have been greatly impressed by the outstanding wines coming out of Chile of late. The success of the Chono Riesling (discussed here), for example, shows that Chile can excel with cool-climate varieties. This wine, our first Chilean Pinot, is confirmation. The wine is definitely new world in style, but it is distinct from any Pinot Noir from California or Oregon. It is medium-bodied, with an elegant tannic structure. The fruit is pretty, with notes of Bing cherries, but what stands out is the attractive peppery, spicy note on the finish.

The wine is produced by Veramonte, who were also involved with the excellent Argentine Cruz Andina Malbec we discussed earlier. Veramonte is a solid Chilean producer and we have long enjoyed their Sauvignon Blanc in particular.

We loved the Ritual Pinot Noir and will be back for more. We shall also continue to seek out Chilean Pinot Noir.

Wine Guerilla Zinfandels

2009-12-10T09:32:00.000-08:00

Here at Wines for the People we view wine and the wine industry with the eyes of revolutionaries. Imagine our delight to discover the Wine Guerrilla and the wonderful Zinfandels produced under that label.

What motivates the Wine Guerrilla?

"Wine Guerrilla is a hero to those who seek wines of unabashed uniqueness and character. Wherever proud zinfandel grapes are oppressed and the taste buds of consumers are in peril, Wine Guerrilla is there."

We could not have said it better ourselves.

At our request, Wine Guerrilla provided two of their 2007 Zins, and a yet-to-be-released 2008 Zinfandel. We loved them all.

We never seem to get enough Zinfandel, let alone the good stuff from Dry Creek. When we do get it, it disappears quickly. Why? Because it is so delicious. Zinfandel is an amazing grape that can appear in any number of styles while still retaining its "Zin-ness". Zin can be restrained, believe it or not, and it can be overblown, super- to overripe, and even sweet. Zinfandel can also reflect its origins as well as any other variety, including Pinot noir. We find it does so best when it is somewhat less than overripe.

The 2007 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel, $22, was everything we look for in Dry Creek Zin. It is delicious and well balanced, and it tastes like it comes from Dry Creek, with wonderful red berry flavors and sufficient acidity to match the alcohol and tannin. If you are not familiar with Zinfandel from Sonoma's Dry Creek Valley, this wine is a great introduction.

We also enjoyed the 2007 Goat Trek Vineyard Block 6 Zinfandel, $25, which is also from Dry Creek Valley, though not the valley floor. As the back label explains:
"It would take you a 45 minute drive up a dirt road to a 1250-foot elevation to reach the grapes of Goat Trek Vineyard. So we decided to bring them to you instead. You can thank us after your first glass"

This wine is incredible. The same flavor profile as the Dry Creek Valley Zin described above, but turned up a notch. Brilliant, zingy raspberry fruit that tasted almost candied (though not sweet). And still perfectly balanced. Some of this wine survived to day 2, when we found it deliciously savoury and sapid. It made us want to close our eyes and meditate on deliciousness.

The third wine may have been our favorite. This was a 2008 Zinfandel from the Russian River Valley. Wine Guerrilla will release it in January in a lineup of eight 2008 Zins at ZAP, an annual Zinfandel showcase/tasting event in San Francisco.

The Russian River Valley abuts Dry Creek Valley, but it is generally cooler than its neighbor. There is plenty of Zinfandel planted in the RRV, but it is perhaps better known as Pinot Noir country. We typically find that Zinfandels from Dry Creek are more to our liking than those from Russian River, but this wine confounded our expectations. As a 2008 wine, it is still very young, but it did not take long for it to loosen up and begin revealing its layers of flavors. It continued to grow more beautiful with each glass. With a little more time in the bottle and perhaps a good decanting, this wine will sing.

The wine does represent its origins. We find that Russian River Valley Pinots often have a cola/sassafrass character. In Pinot we find that somewhat off-putting, but this Zinfandel has it as well, and it works.

We look forward to returning to these wines and to further exploration of the Wine Guerrilla's creations.

Two More Treats from Bonny Doon

2009-12-06T02:37:00.000-08:00

When you see a great painting or play, or read a great book, the images and ideas can swirl around in your head for weeks. How much you talk about a movie after seeing it is a good gauge of how good the movie was.

About a week ago we finished reading Been Doon So Long, a new book ($35) by Bonny Doon's founder and President-for-Life Randall Grahm. Later we enjoyed the Bonny Doon 2005 Le Cigare Volant ($30). Both book and wine have been very much in mind ever since.

Autumn tableau of Tri-Pour beaker used as decanter and sadly empty bottle of Le Cigare Volant

The wine was amazing. We heeded Mr. Grahm's strongly emphasized advice to decant the wine, and we reiterate that advice to you if you try this wine. In fact we recommend either a double or triple decanting (i.e., bottle to decanter, decanter back to bottle, bottle back to decanter), or letting the wine sit for at least an hour after decanting before taking a sip. As a friendly reminder, your decanter need be nothing fancy--an empty wine bottle will do if you have one on hand. We used a plastic tri-pour beaker, which cost about $1.

A fancy decanter, for contrast. Image by Geoff Parsons used under the Creative Commons 2.0 license.

Here's why you should decant and wait. Our first sips revealed the wine to be pleasant, with silky tannins--a simple if tasty wine. About an hour after decanting, however, the wine was something else entirely. The wine was still "quiet," in the sense of not being overly extracted or tasting like a fruit compote, but it was also intense and lively on the palate, with multitudinous delicate flavors dancing on the palate. This is the sort of complexity we love in wine, really what wine is all about. Alas, by the time we reached this stage, most of the bottle was gone. Decant and wait, and you can start at the exciting part.

As you will see below, Grahm is redefining the mission of Bonny Doon. In an Apologia accompanying the wine, Grahm writes, "[Le Cigare Volant] has become the truest lens of my current winemaking ideas, aspirations and obsessions, a reflection, of where I am going as a winemaker and where the company itself is headed." In that light, this wine promises a very bright future for Bonny Doon Vineyard.

At $30 the 2005 Le Cigare Volant is at the high end of wines we recommend on this site, but this wine is worthy of a splurge, and would make a great present for any wine lover you know. Just remember to decant!

Been Doon So Long would also make a great gift for anyone who enjoys wine and has at least some appreciation of word play. Puns and such are not our favorite amusements, but Grahm is extremely gifted with his word play and never once did we groan. His writing is also full of allusions and references, some to the wine industry and its players but most to literary works.

The book is called a "Vinthology," so we assumed that it would be a collection of pieces from the always amusing Bonny Doon newsletter. It is that, but it is also much more. How many collections of newsletter pieces can be said to have a narrative arc? This book, despite being divided into sections by type of writing (in "Ficciones," for example, we find "Don Quijones, the Man for Garnacha or A Confederacy of Doonces," while "Poesy Galore" features "The Love Song of J. Alfred Rootstock" and "Da Vino Commedia: The Vinferno"), decidedly has a narrative arc.

The plot begins with Grahm at the helm of a large wine corporation that seems to have little in common with his original and still held winemaking ideals. He lampoons the wine industry, which can always use a good poke (if not kick) in the ribs, but he also probes his conscience. Throughout the book and especially toward the end, Grahm grows ever more philosophical as he tries both to understand and to explain his enological yearnings. A couple of these entries are appropriately called "meditations." These resonated with us, who also consider ourselves to be philosophical winemakers, and we will return to them whenever we begin to doubt or need inspiration.

As the book ends--and this is really no spoiler--Grahm has dramatically altered the course of Bonny Doon in the hope of returning to his original vision. The wines Grahm sent with the book, the Cigare Volante (supra) and the Albariño reviewed earlier, show us that Grahm is very much on track. Mr. Grahm may protest that he still has far to go to produce the wines he has always wanted to produce. We will eagerly watch and taste his progress.

Holiday samplers

2009-12-03T04:05:00.000-08:00

Both North Berkeley Wines and Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant are offering heavily discounted sampler packs for the holidays. The North Berkeley samplers are priced at $99, $199, $299--each for a 12-bottle case--and, yipes, $599 for a six-bottle pack. The prices reflect a discount approaching 50%. The Kermit Lynch samplers range from $72 to $228 for 6 bottles, as well as a $144 full case offering.

For your convenience, we'll list the included wines below. Many have been discussed elsewhere on this blog. Full details are of course available from the respective vendors. Happy hunting.

North Berkeley Sampler Packs
Celebration Sampler--12 bottles, $99

2006 Chono Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Maipo Valley
2006 Alto Sol Syrah / Carménère Elqui Valley
2006 Roaring Rock Springs “Big Rock Red”
2007 Alto Sol Chardonnay Elqui Valley
2007 Perticaia Umbria Rosso
2007 Mattes Sabran Corbières “Dionysos” Rouge
2007 Domaine Sauvète Touraine “Oneiros” (Organic) Blanc
2004 Villa Carafa Aglianico “Sannio”
2006 Villa Ritina Sangiovese de Toscana
2006 Domaine Dragon Côtes de Provence “Cuvée St. Michel” Rouge
2006 Domaine Michel Magnien Pinot Noir
2005 Domaine Philippe Livera Côtes de Nuits-Villages Vieilles Vignes

Grand Tour Sampler--12 bottles, $199

2007 Domaine Roger Lassarat Mâcon-Vergisson “La Roche”
2008 Quintale Falanghina Campi Flegrei
2007 Domaine Barraud Pouilly-Fuissé “Alliance V.”
2008 Clava Chardonnay Casablanca Valley
2006 Domaine Oratoire St. Martin Côtes du Rhone-Villages Cairanne “Haut Coustias”
2004 Vestini Campagnano Pallagrello Nero
2005 Georges Viornery Côte de Brouilly Vieilles Vignes Cuvée Unique
2006 Ronchi Dolcetto d’Alba “Rosario”
2006 Chateau Haut-Maurac Medoc Cru Bourgeois
2007 Gérard Raphet Chambolle-Musigny “Les Bussières”
2007 Quintay Pinot Noir Casablanca Valley
2007 Frédéric Magnien Fixin “Crais de Chêne”

Connoisseur Sampler--12 bottles, $299

2007 Domaine Bouard-Bonnefoy Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru “Dent de Chien”
2007 Domaine Barraud Pouilly-Fuissé “La Verchère” Vieilles Vignes
2006 Guffens Vin de Pays du Vaucluse Blanc “Bien Entendu”
2007 Domaine Philippe Delarche Le Corton Grand Cru Vieilles Vignes Reserve
2007 Frédéric Magnien Gevrey-Chambertin “Echezeaux”
2006 Domaine Dubois Beaune 1er Cru “Bressandes” Cuvée Unique
2004 Domaine Saffirio Barolo
2004 Novaia Valpolicella Classico Superiore “I Cantoni”
2004 Perticaia Sagrantino di Montefalco
2006 Le Clos du Caillou Côtes du Rhône “Quartz”
2006 Domaine la Bouïssiere Gigondas
2005 Ronchi Barbaresco

Jacques Six-Pack Sampler--6 bottles, $599

1996 Domaine André Beaufort Ambonnay Brut Grand Cru
2007 Domaine Boyer-Martenot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru “Cailleret”
2007 Domaine Pierre Gaillard Côte Rôtie “La Brosse”
2005 Podere Forte “Guardiavigna” IGT
2007 Gérard Raphet Clos de la Roche Grand Cru Cuvée Unique
2007 Frédéric Magnien Bonnes Mares Grand Cru

Kermit Lynch Sampler Packs
Holiday Sampler--12 bottles, $144

2007 Alsace Blanc • Kuentz-Bas
2008 Bordeaux Blanc • Château Ducasse
2007 Bourgogne Blanc “Chardonnay” • La Soeur Cadette
2007 Vin de Pays d’Oc Rouge • Château Fontanès
2007 Corbières Rouge • Domaine de Fontsainte
2008 Coteaux du Languedoc “Lou Maset” Domaine d’Aupilhac
2007 Vouvray Sec • Didier Champalou
2007Coteaux du Languedoc “Mourvèdre” Château La Roque
2007 Chinon “Beaumont” • Catherine & Pierre Breton
2006 Bandinello • Villa di Geggiano
2008 Tavel Rosé • Château de Trinquevedel
2006 Montagne-Saint-Émilion • Château Tour Bayard

Italian Gift Box--6 bottles, $72

2007 Dolcetto “I’Pari” • Guido Porro
2006 Chianti Classico • Villa di Geggiano
2008 Pinot Grigio • La Viarte
NV Prosecco di Conegliano Brut • Sommariva
2008 Bianco di Custoza • Corte Gardoni
2006 Barbera del Monferrato “Rosso Pietro” Cantine Valpane

Domaine Joguet Sampler--6 bottles, $190

2005 Chinon “Clos du Chêne Vert”
2005 Chinon “Clos de la Dioterie”
2005 Chinon “Les Varennes du Grand Clos” Franc de Pied
2006 Chinon “Clos du Chêne Vert”
2006 Chinon “Clos de la Dioterie”
2006 Chinon “Les Varennes du Grand Clos” Franc de Pied

Collector's Sampler--6 bottles, $228

2006 Savigny-Les-Beaune “Serpentières” 1er Cru Pierre Guillemot
2006 Saint-Véran “Les Pommards” • Robert-Denogent
2005 Vin de Pays de l’Hérault Rouge • Grange des Pères
2006 Condrieu • Domaine Faury
2006 Côte Rôtie • Patrick Jasmin
2003 Barolo “Vigna Santa Caterina” • Guido Porro

Please let us know if you hear of other retailers with similar holiday offerings.

Falling Star Boxed Wines

2009-11-30T04:56:00.000-08:00

Image from Stardusts and Sequins used under the Creative Commons license.

In our on-going quest to discover good wine in a box (see here, here and here), we were excited to hear about Falling Star boxed wines from Argentina. As we remember the press release, the producers claimed that Falling Star would rapidly become the biggest-selling wine in a box because the quality of the wine was so high.

In time samples came our way, and.... well, we can say that we finished the 2009 Cuyo Chardonnay ($20/3L). We found nothing remarkable about the wine, but it did not take up much space in the fridge, and it was often handy to have a drinkable white at the ready with no deliberation about what bottle to open, let alone chill. So high marks for convenience, at least.

We were disappointed by the 2008 Cuyo Malbec ($20/3L). Malbec is Argentina's signature grape, so we expected much more from this wine, and the box remains nearly untouched.

Our hopes remain for the 3L bag-in-box category. As soon as someone actually does package a high-quality wine this way, the market will be theirs. But so far the promises to do so have gone unfulfilled.

Rosa D'Oro Vineyards

2009-11-27T03:40:00.000-08:00

Rosa D'Oro Vineyards specializes in Italian varieties in Lake County, California. Their unusual lineup of wines and their reasonable prices made us curious to try the wines. The winery was kind enough to send us some, and we were quite pleased.

A Lake County Vineyard in the Spring. Courtesy of an anonymous Wikipedia contributor who has donated the image to the public domain.

The Muscat Canelli (dry!), $16, is as dry as advertised. This is an unusual sort of wine to find from California. Most California Muscats that are not overtly styled as dessert wines are at least off-dry. That is a real shame as the grape can really shine when made into a dry wine. The aromatics entice--and lead the taster to expect a sweet, floral and fruity wine--and the dryness on the palate is a refreshing surprise. Our archetype for this style is Alsatian Muscats, which are usually made from a different though related grape, Muscat Ottonel. Mendocino County's Navarro Vineyards produces a dry Muscat that is a dead ringer for the Alsatian style.

The Rosa D'Oro dry Muscat is something else again. The aromatics are relatively tame for a Muscat, but the wine is explosively delicious on the palate, with an almost honey-like texture. We enjoyed this before, during and after a dinner of Ma Po Tofu, a spicy dish typically served with beer. The wine worked as aperitif, accompaniment and digestif, and maintained its delicious character throughout.

We also enjoyed the Rosa D'Oro Dolcetto, $18. This is another variety not widely grown in the US. This wine is a true Dolcetto but we found it more approachable than many Italian versions, which can be hard--overly tannic and acidic. But the wine was not overripe, which would make it too fat or soft. The tannins are just right, giving the wine a grippy mouthfeel, and are sufficient to see the wine through several years' aging. The wine tastes almost sweet at first, with notes of blueberry and blackberry, and the finish is quite pleasant.

We are eager to try the winery's other offerings, especially the Aglianico and the Refosco. These varieties are even less widely grown in the US than Dolcetto, and we look forward to seeing what Rosa D'Oro can do with them.

Lake County itself is something of an enigma viticulturally. These wines demonstrate its great potential, and we may just have to take an investigative field trip to learn more.

The Man that Waters the Workers' Beer

2009-11-24T05:29:00.000-08:00

Here's another song from Rise Up Singing that we thought you would enjoy. Sure, it's about beer, not wine, but if you replace "strychnine" with microoxygenation, or oak chips, or Mega Purple (all legal additives in winemaking), could the song be about cynically made, overly manipulated wines and their producers? Perhaps that's too much of a stretch. A better analogy may be the illegal and sometimes dangerous additions made to wines, such as diethylene glycol in some Austrian wines.

Many thanks to the Workers Music Association, UK, for permission to reprint these lyrics.

The Man That Waters the Workers' Beer
I'm the man, the very fat man who waters the workers' beer (2x)
And what do I care if it makes them ill,
or if it makes them terribly queer?
I've a car and a yacht and an aeroplane and I waters the workers' beer

Now when I makes the workers' beer I put in strych-i-nine
Some methylated spirits and a drop of paraffin
But since a brew so terribly strong
might make them terribly queer
I reaches my hand for the water tap and I waters the workers' beer...

Now a drop of beer is good for a man who's thirsty and tired and hot
And I sometimes has a drop for myself from a very special lot
But a fat and healthy working class is the thing that I most fear
So I reaches my hand for the water tap and I waters the ...

Now ladies fair beyond compare and be ye maid or wife
O sometimes lend a thought for one who leads a sorry life
The water rates are shockingly high and malt is shockingly dear
And there isn't the profit there used to be in wat'ring...

--Paddy Ryan
©Workers Music Assoc, UK

Wyndham Estate Bin 555 Sparkling Shiraz

2009-11-21T05:38:00.000-08:00

We have a great recommendation if you are looking for something different to bring out at Thanksgiving: sparkling Shiraz. Who doesn't like sparkling wine? But when it's red, not white or pink, it's a completely different experience.

We have always been drawn to sparkling Shiraz wines, though in the past they have never quite met our expectations. However, the Wyndham Estate Bin 555 Sparkling Shiraz, $18, is a winner. The tricky part with bubbly red wine is balancing the tannins with the carbonation and the acid. The three together can be very hard on the palate because the carbonation enhances the astringency and bitterness of the wine phenolics. Other sparkling Shiraz we have tried have had an overly bitter finish. The Wyndham Estate, in contrast, is very nicely balanced, with typical Shiraz fruitiness and some orange rind flavors (but not too bitter). The bubbles themselves might be ever so slightly out of whack--the wine goes into the glass with froth more than effervescence, and the sparkle faded more quickly than we would have liked, but this is a minor complaint.

We enjoyed the wine with an Indian-inspired dinner of spicy chickpeas, sauteed broccoli, and coconut rice. The wine worked beautifully with this meal, which would have proved challenging to most wine pairings. This is a great wine for holiday gatherings, and its weight, balance, and flavors allow it to work as an aperitif, with hors d'ouevres, with a meal, or even with dessert.

Please note that we very happily received this wine as a sample.

Bonny Doon 2008 Ca' del Solo Albariño

2009-11-18T04:58:00.000-08:00

We'll get straight to the point--the 2008 Bonny Doon Ca' del Solo Albariño, $20, is a triumph. This is a dead ringer for a Spanish Albariño. We even find it more enjoyable than the Spanish Albariños you are most likely to encounter, such as Burgans. The delicacy of Bonny Doon's version is enhanced by the wine's low alcohol, for California--it weighs in at 12.8%.

For those unfamiliar with the variety, Albariño tastes something like a muted Riesling. The flavors are of stone fruit and a hint of citrus, but those flavors, and the wine's acidity, are less intense than is typical for Riesling. It hails from the northwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula, where it is a major grape in Galicia's Rias Baixas region, and, as Alvarinho, in Portugal, where it is a principal component of Vinhos Verdes.

We are delighted that the wine is so good. We have long been fans of Bonny Doon and its founder, Randall Grahm. His sense of humor and his eagerness to laugh at the overinflated egos of so many involved in wine have provided wonderful respite from an industry that often takes itself far too seriously. But we have not had much of their wine lately.

The Bonny Doon empire is under reconstruction at the moment. A few years back Grahm decided that the company had grown too large for him to pursue his vision. He sold off large chunks of it and is now focused on his goal of producing wines that truly express their origins. This Albariño is evidence that he is on the right track.

Bonny Doon sent us this wine along with Grahm's new book, Been Doon So Long, and a bottle of the 2005 Le Cigare Volant, Bonny Doon's flagship, Chateauneuf-du-Pape-inspired red wine. We will consume both in due time and report on our findings.

Grande Maison Monbazillac “Cuvée du Chateau”

2009-11-15T03:05:00.000-08:00

Yum! But we do love sweet wines. This 2003 Grande Maison Monbazillac, "Cuvee du Chateau" was sent to us by the good folks at North Berkeley Wines. The Botrytis influence in the wine is deliciously prounounced, making the wine not merely sweet but compelling, capturing the imagination with aromas of candied fruits, honey, beeswax... well, it's delicious. It paired wonderfully with homemade ginger cookies.

The wine sells for $24/half-bottle. If that sounds steep bear in mind that a little of the wine goes far, and that the opened bottle will keep in the refrigerator for a week, easily.

There are many kinds of sweet wines and the basic differences lie in how the sugar is left behind. The Botrytis fungus infects grapes and dehydrates them, concentrating the sugars and acids. The fermentation stops long before all the sugar is converted to alcohol. But what makes Botrytis-influenced wines so special is the other flavors the fungus develops in the berries. Unlike simply sweet grape juice, a good wine affefcted by Botrytis is wonderfully complex.

We'll feature affordable examples of other styles of dessert wines in future posts. If you are curious to try a Botrytis wine, we recommend the Grande Maison Monbazillac.

A grape cluster partially infected by Botrytis. The "noble rot" looks horrible but can produce delicious flavors in the wine.

This image by Kassander der Minoer is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License. In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license identical to this one. Official license.

The Gallo Song

2009-11-12T04:44:00.000-08:00

We found this in Rise Up Singing, edited by Peter Blood & Annie Patterson. Songwriter Peter Jones graciously allowed us to share the lyrics with you. You can hear the song performed here.

The Gallo Song

I was having dinner the other night
With the Bishop of Idaho
He served roast beef and mashed potatoes
And a bottle of Paisano

And I said Paisano* is a Gallo wine
You got to take that bottle back
And you cannot drink it until Gallo signs
You got to take that bottle back

I was walking thru this alley the other night
And these were the words I heard
“Give me all your money 'cause I got to go
Buy a bottle of Thunderbird”

I was at a concert the other night
When I felt the tap on my arm
I took the joint, but I refused
The bottle of Boone's Farm

I was lying in bed the other night
Talking with my friend named Jane
I brought out the baby oil
She brought out Andre Champagne

So when friends and family and relatives too
Take Gallo off the rack
Don't be afraid to step right up
And tell them to take it back

(last chorus) Just say “Didn't you see that's a Gallo wine?”

*Thunderbird etc.

© 1981 Steve & Peter Jones, used by permission. From "Steve and Peter Jones” (CloudsRec) and NSLT.

With the list of Gallo-owned wines here, how many more verses can you come up with?

The UFW's struggles with Gallo continue. Recently Gallo ousted the UFW from its Sonoma County operations, but the vote has just been overturned. Read more here. The article has a great list of related articles detailing recent UFW-related events.

Do you know any other good songs about Wines for the People?

Bargain hunting with the San Francisco Chronicle

2009-11-09T03:39:00.000-08:00

The front page of Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle's Food & Wine section features an article by Jon Bonné on bargain wines.

Bonné taps BevMo's WiIlfred Wong, Julie Joy from Cost Plus World Market, and Daniel Kahn from San Francisco's Spencer & Daniel's wine shop to select 20 wines under $15 that represent outstanding bargains. In doing so, Bonné identifies three "rules" to help you in seeking out such deals.

Before we get into those rules, we must shout, Segura Viudas Brut Cava is $10 for a magnum, at Cost Plus! Or so we gather from the article. The Cost Plus website is vague on the subject, and indicates that prices vary by region. But this is a solid sparkling wine, and would be a great deal at $10 for 1.5 liters if indeed such is the deal.

Also on the list is the 2008 Larry Cherubino The Yard Whispering Hill Vineyard Mount Barker Riesling, at $6. This one is supposedly available at Spencer & Daniel's, for San Francisco readers, although we do not find it on their website. We feel it is worth a shot if you can find it there. The S&D website does feature an Australian Riesling from the Clare Valley for $5, The Rail Tail, but it is from the 2005 vintage and may be past its prime.

On to Bonné's rules:
1. The less obvious, the better the wines.
2. Instead of paying for a familiar name, pay for the region and the wine.
3. Find a winner and stick with it--at least for a month or so.

The point of rule no. 1 is that values are more likely to be found away from tried and true varieties--Cabernet and Chardonnay--and regions--Napa Valley, Bordeaux. Hunting off the beaten path has its rewards. All very true, although bargains can be found in every region and from every variety with a little guidance. Still, $10 spent on a Monastrell from Yecla will probably get you a better wine than $10 spent on a Bordeaux or a Napa Cabernet.

If you like Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, for example, rule no. 2 suggests you try another Pinot Grigio from the Alto Adige. You are sure to spend less, and the wine will likely be as good. Good advice as far as it goes.

Rule 3 has to do with the transient nature of bargains. If you find a bargain wine you like, buy up as much as you can before it's all gone.

These are fine suggestions and will help you in your hunt, but we stand by the advice we have doled out so often--cultivate a relationship with a wine retailer. When a retailer knows your tastes they will steer you towards wines you will enjoy at the price you want to spend. When the retailer scores bargains, they will let you know. You are sure to make discoveries as you would following rules 1 and 2, and have the opportunity to stock up as with rule 3, but with more hits and less misses.

We welcome your thoughts on the Chronicle article and the suggested wines.

Moving on up--2005 La Vieille Cure, Bordeaux

2009-11-06T05:34:00.000-08:00

We are enjoying this wine so much we have to tell you about it--a a red Bordeaux from Chateau La Vieille Cure, Fronsac. It is a 2005, which was called the vintage of the century until 2007 came along, and now 2009 may have supplanted 2007. Never fear! Plenty more vintages of the century are sure to come.

This wine justifies the hype over the 2005 vintage. It is deeply flavored and intense, with sufficient tannin to see it through many years' aging. We have a second bottle that we intend to set aside for five years or more.

We are happy to have picked it up for $20, and recommend it without reservation at that price. However, we may have been lucky to find such a deal. Wine-Searcher shows the Chateau's second label wine as widely available at $20, but this, the Grand Vin, starts at $30 and goes up from there.

Good luck in your search!

Campo Viejo Tempranillo

2009-11-03T07:33:00.000-08:00

Spain is hot right now. It's wines are, anyway. Best known for Tempranillo-based wines from the Rioja region, and for Sherry, Spain produces wines throughout the country. Wines from Ribera del Duero, Penedes and Priorat have been critically acclaimed, with prices to match, but bargains abound in Jumilla, Navarra, Rias Baixas, Bierzo, and... even Rioja.

We recently enjoyed a 2006 Campo Viejo Crianza from the Rioja, which we received as an unsolicited sample. The wine was closed up at first. The Mollydooker shake helped with that, as did time. On the second day the wine was very expressive. This is a tasty and typical example of the Rioja style, and it is a great value at $10 suggeted retail. We recommend decanting the wine to let it reveal all it has to offer.

The wine was sent with suggested recipes, including pumpkin empanadas, caramelized figs with Mahon cheese, and a basil-beet spread. We'll happily pass these recipes along. The wine should work well with these as well as any fall-inspired cuisine.

Disappointment in a can

2009-10-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

We could not be more excited about wine in cans. Putting wine in cans is great for convenience, for the environment, and for quality. We've talked about wine in cans before, but to briefly re-cap, cans come in more appropriate sizes, and are lighter and easier to carry than glass bottles. They do not require a cork screw, and there is no cork to possibly affect the wine's taste. And they are easy to smuggle into movie theaters.

Consumers tend to view new packaging types with suspicion, assuming that only inferior wine would be placed in a bag-in-box, TetraPak, or can. It is important to prove such customers wrong by having very good wine in these new packages. If a skeptical consumer musters up the courage to try a canned wine, and the product disappoints, they are unlikely to try wine in a can again.

When we learned of Barokes' Australian wines in cans, we eagerly requested samples. We received four wines: a Chardonnay, a Shiraz, and two sparklers. Unfortunately, we did not like any of the wines. Both whites, the Chardonnay and the blanc de blanc sparkler, tasted flat and oxidized. The Shiraz was simple and sweet, and the residual sugar in the wine grew so cloying that we were unable to finish the 250-mL can. The red sparkler, mysteriously called blanc de noirs, was particularly disappointing because we have very much enjoyed sparkling Shiraz in the past. This wine (a blend of Shiraz, Cabernet and Merlot) had good bubbles and ample tannin but lacked the fruit to match.

We hope Barokes reconsiders their strategy and improves the quality of the wines in their lineup. Meanwhile, keep a lookout for Wild Pelican canned wines, and please let us know if you see or hear of any others.

Beverage Testing Institute Top 100 Values

2009-10-27T02:34:00.000-07:00

The Beverage Testing Institute has issued a decree listing the top 100 values in wine. Well, we wish they had. Instead they posted a link with further links to values in each of several categories, presumably adding up to 100 wines.

We have certainly disagreed with the BTI in the past, but this is nevertheless a good resource for anyone looking for recommendations for inexpensive wines. We appreciate that they note producers that use organic grapes or practice sustainable methods.

Are you familiar with any of the wines on the BTI list(s)? Do you agree with their assessments? Your comments are welcome as always.

Catching up--3 winners

2009-10-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

Harvest continues despite early rains. We have had a few days without grapes, but dealing with all the young wines in tanks has kept us as busy as ever. And more grapes are on the horizon.

But we never forget our duty to you, our dear readers, and we have three wines to recommend. No prizes for guessing that two of them are from Chile.

First off is the non-Chilean. We wrote about the 2005 Pedroncelli Dry Creek Valley Merlot Bench Vineyards earlier. We loved this wine even if we were somewhat surprised. Dry Creek Valley is one of our favorite wine-growing regions, but we associate it with Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Rhone varieties more than with Bordeaux varieties such as Merlot. But we loved this wine both for being a great Merlot and a great Dry Creek Valley wine. We really thought it embodied the spiciness, black olive and almost dusty character of our favorite Dry Creek wines. We recently tasted the 2006, thanks to Pedroncelli, and it is every bit as good as the 2005. We look forward to trying more of the Pedroncelli line-up.

Next up, a usual suspect, the 2007 Chono Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva, from Chile's Maipo Valley. We have enjoyed this wine before, but it was one of the many we scooped up on a recent visit to Santa Rosa's Bottle Barn. This wine is fabulous. It may not blow a $100 Napa Cabernet out of the water, but it is made in a different and very delicious style. And as producers of such expensive wines, we have some serious questions for the winemakers about how they were able to make this wine so tasty and so inexpensive. We hope they visit the US soon and that we can garner an audience. The wine retails for $12, but we picked it up at Bottle Barn for $9 (and it was the most expensive wine we bought there). It is a steal at either price.

Finally, the Cucao Pedro Ximenez, from Chile's Elqui Valley. Yowza! Okay, this blew us away, but it may be something of a Jaded Palate selection. In other words, if you are looking to taste a white beyond Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, etc., this is the wine for you. Pedro Ximenez is best known (and perhaps only known) for producing the black, syrupy-sweet wines from Sherry that have probably been sitting in a decanter at your grandparents' house for years. This wine is as far from that model as can be conceived. It is a crisp and dry, and refreshing on the palate. It is very aromatic--not so much as a Muscat but about as much as an intense Sauvignon Blanc without being so, ahem, assertive. A whole lot of fun for the $7 we paid at Bottle Barn (the wine retails for just over $9, and is still worth it).

Chile has arrived

2009-10-20T01:28:00.000-07:00

We have repeatedly touted the lineup of Chilean wines from North Berkeley Imports, and here we go again. These wines are delicious at any price, and most of them are under $10. This is a Wines for the People dream come true.

But it’s not only North Berkeley bringing in the good stuff from down south. We recently enjoyed a Cono Sur Viognier (2008, Colchagua Valley, Chile) that blew us away after setting us back a mere $6.99. The wine is a hallmark Viognier, exuding floral and honeysuckle aromas. It is a crisp, delicious quaffer that might be even a little too expressive, but you certainly know you are drinking Viognier. We look forward to trying the rest of the Cono Sur lineup and will share our thoughts with you.

Chile has been sending us good wine at very good prices for a long time, from producers such as Santa Rita, Concha y Toro, and Cousino-Macul (this latter has a remarkably different style). These wines offer good value and they have competed well in the marketplace. But this new wave of Chilean wines is much more exciting, bringing higher quality at prices so low they are hard to believe.

It is also hard to believe that anyone is still buying Napa Valley wines when these alternatives are available. Napa produces spectacular wines, but at prices that make them no bargains. Sauvignon Blanc is among the less expensive wines from Napa, and we love many of them, including Mason (about $15), Gamble Family ($28), Cliff Lede ($22) and Honig ($16). But none of these wines are better or more exciting than the Quintay Clava Sauvignon Blanc, for example, which retails for a mere $9.

Wines Til Sold Out just offered a Hartwell Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa’s Stag’s Leap District at 70% off, which brought the price down from $136 to $43. We have not had that particular wine, but really? $136 is laughable and even $43 ridiculous given the quality of Chilean wines at less than one-quarter of the discounted price.

Napa may well have higher farming and labor costs than Chile, but for the most part the higher price of Napa wines simply reflects Napa’s cachet. The new wave of Chilean wines shows that Chile is just as deserving of the same cachet. And Napa? Speaking as producers of Napa wine, we as a group must find a way to deliver the quality we are famous for at much more reasonable prices.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thejourney1972/ / CC BY 2.0

Northern California 2009 Vintage and Harvest

2009-10-17T07:42:00.000-07:00

The 2009 harvest is near enough to completion that we can give a preliminary report on the quality of the wines that will hit the shelves over the next few years.

The key factor for 2009 is the big rainstorm that hit California around October 13. Until then, the growing season had been nearly perfect, and much like 2002, with no sustained spells of unseasonable weather from April through September. As in 2008, we had a few days over 100F in mid-May. This year, that interfered with the set in many varieties, principally Cabernet Sauvignon, reducing yield, but otherwise had no impact. More on yield later.

Grapes brought in before the storm--and that is close to all of them--benefited from all that great weather and will provide winemakers with the quality they need to make great wines. The storm has passed now and the ground is beginning to dry out. Mountaintop vineyards that remain unpicked may be done for this year, as they got hammered by the rain. But most vineyards are likely to recover, and mildew pressure is low despite the humidity.

Chances are good, therefore, that wines made from the later-ripening Cabernet-family of grapes will be fine despite the storm, but we will have to wait to know for sure. In the meantime, you can look forward to delicious 2009 whites and non-Cabernet reds such as Pinot noir, Zinfandel, Syrah, and so many others.

Washington State
We are big fans of the wines from eastern Washington, so we were sad to learn that the area was hit by a hard frost on October 10. As with our storm, winemakers claim (and hope!) that the grapes still on the vine will not be affected, but we find it hard to believe. It is mostly Cabernet that is still out there. Yet another reason to try Washington Syrah!

Smoke Taint
Hundreds of wildfires raged across California in summer 2008. Where fires burned near vineyards, the fruit often took up compounds that led to unpleasant flavors in the wines. These flavors, referred to generally as "smoke taint," range from a pleasant smokiness that might have come from a toasted barrel to the not unpleasant but overpowering smell of a campfire, to the downright nasty smell of a stale ashtray. Not every wine was affected, and even wines made from different parcels of an affected vineyard could have very different levels of taint. Still, we advise readers to buy 2008 Pinot noir from Sonoma and Mendocino counties only after tasting the wines for themselves.

Image from www.nerve.com No attribution information provided. Please contact us to add, change or remove this image and information.

Australian experience with wildfires and smoke taint indicates that vines may store the compounds for release into the grapes in the following season. That is, grapes could have smoke taint even though there were no fires nearby this year. Fortunately that did not happen. The Pinots from areas affected last year are free of smoke taint this year.

Yield and the Economy
We mentioned above that hot weather in May reduced yield in Cabernet Sauvignon. This seemed terrible at first, given that the 2008 Cabernet crop was also light (in 2008 due to late frosts). However, it may have been for the best. The economic meltdown has put many wineries out of business and made it difficult for other wineries to access cash. In what looks to be a great year for quality, many grapes are going unpicked for want of buyers. Napa Cabernet, which has averaged more than $4,500/ton for the last several years, is now offered for barely $1,000 with no takers. Very sad for the growers, and for consumers, who will face consecutive years of little Cabernet, albeit of high quality.

Another harvest update and a tasty Sangiovese

2009-10-13T07:07:00.000-07:00

We have been picking and processing madly trying to beat the rains that began falling yesterday. This morning it is pouring, and the storm could spell the end of harvest even though many grapes remain unpicked.

Here's a short note on another tasty North Berkeley selection to tide you over.

We recommend the 2006 Villa Ritina Sangiovese di Toscana ($15.75) for its complexity. This wine never stops changing in the glass, and it is pleasantly different with each sip. It first came across as an ultra-modern, super-ripe wine with a sweet fruit streak resembling cassis or blackberry syrup. Gradually the Sangiovese character began to emerge, with hints of cherries and leather.

Happy sipping!

A Palate Cleanser

2009-10-10T01:14:00.000-07:00

As winemakers, we face a problem that you may not share: carryover effects when tasting a lot of wines. In blending trials this can be particularly acute, as the wines we try to choose among differ very slightly from one another. Tannins accumulate with each wine, making the actual tannin impact of the following wine that much harder to judge. Something to cleanse the palate that does not also affect it would be a huge boon for us.

And it might be for you, as well. This may be a bit of a stretch, but if you are planning a tasting of numerous wines, or if you want to be able to enjoy a Pinot Noir after having coconut creme pie, a good palate cleanser would be just the thing. And you might find it useful beyond wine, as well.

Winemakers do use palate cleansers, of course. Plain water is the most common. Sometimes a dilute solution of pectin is used (pectin can help sweep up tannins). Bland crackers are, alas, also common. Until recently, our favorite palate cleanser has been sparkling water. We love it, first of all, but we also believe that the carbonation helps purge tannins and other sensory-impacting compounds.

Photo by SanTásti

Recently we learned about SanTásti, a beverage formulated by winemakers to use as a palate cleanser. We requested and were graciously sent samples. We devised a fiendishly devilish series of tests for the drink, and we are now ready to report on Round 1.

We feasted on delicious homemade char siu bao (pork buns), not the most wine-friendly fare. We sipped a Barokes Chardonnay, IN A CAN! (But that's another story.) Notes will follow. We also had a Napa Cabernet.

We tried each wine to get a baseline, and we also tried the SanTásti, which tasted remarkably like sparkling water. It differs mostly in having a slightly more viscous mouthfeel. There is a tiny amount of sugar in SanTásti (a whole bottle has a mere 10 calories), but we did not detect any sweetness.

In our trial, we started with pork bun->SanTásti->Cabernet. The Cabernet tasted as it did before the meal, and was unaffected by the sweetness of the pork bun. Next we tried pork bun->SanTásti->Chardonnay, again finding the wine unaffected by the intense flavoring of the pork bun. We ended the trial with pork bun->Chardonnay (with no SanTásti in between) ->SanTásti->Cabernet->SanTásti->Chardonnay. No surprises though we did think the Cabernet tasted a little bit dilute after the SanTásti. We speculate that the viscosity had a mouth-coating effect that kept us from tasting the tannin in the wine. In other words, the SanTásti seemed to work too well.

We are intrigued by this product and we look forward to testing it further. We have every intention of using SanTásti in our professional capacities. Stay tuned for further reports and for our thoughts on the Barokes wines in cans.

Even more North Berkeley delights

2009-10-07T06:32:00.000-07:00

Herewith thoughts on four more offerings available through North Berkeley Wines/North Berkeley Imports. We absolutely loved two of the wines. We cannot say we loved the other two, but we were very happy to try the wines. These are all honestly--sincerely, even--made wines of distinctive character not necessarily intended to appeal to everyone. But enough rambling, onto the wines.

First up, the 2008 Quintay Clava Sauvignon Blanc, which retails for $8.95. Wow. This wine is absolutely unbelievable. Priced as a quaffer, the wine is almost too complex for so humble a role. The wine commands attention as it reveals layers of flavor from the classic lime to intense raspberry and strawberry on the finish. If this sounds atypical for a Sauvignon blanc, that should not deter you from trying the wine, which we found utterly fascinating.

After the Quintay Clava, we were disappointed by the 2008 Viña Litoral “Ventolera” Sauvignon Blanc Leyda Valley ($14.25). This wine was almost too extreme an example of cool-climate Sauvignon Blanc. This was for us the first miss in North Berkeley's stunning Chilean portfolio. It's a question of style. This wine is austere and lean. It is pleasant enough to sip, but we prefer the more fruity and generous style of, for instance, the Quintay Clava, which has the further advantage of selling for a mere $8.95.

Quai de la ville de Mâcon (France) (photo from this page. License information below.)

Another white, the 2007 Domaine Perraud Mâcon-Villages ($15.25) is a showstopper. This offers the complexity and interest of $50+ California Chardonnay. We finished this bottle much earlier than we expected to (did it have a leak?). We simply could not resist another taste. A delicious wine at any price, and an absolute steal at the price. Our recommendation to a friend read thus: "Had this the other night. Unbelievable. If you need a good burg around, check this out. We were about to call it a good 'house Burgundy', but we really think it stands up to the big boys, and it's only the low price that makes us think of it in the 'house' category".

Finally, the 2006 Domaine de Moulin Gaillac Vieilles Vignes Rouge ($18.50). If you are looking for something unusual, this wine will fit the bill. It is a world away from any super-ripe New World wine. Made from the Fer Servadou grape indigenous to Gaillac, we found this wine to be hard and closed up. The Mollydooker Shake opened it up a little bit, but it was only after sitting half-full for a day that the wine started to reveal some of its fruit. North Berkeley recommends pairing this wine with rustic fair such as cassoulet, and we think that suggestion is spot on. A richly flavored dish is just the thing to match the earthy, intense and, well rustic character of this wine. Even still, this is not for the faint of heart.

Photo license information: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License. In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license identical to this one. Official license

Cruz Andina Malbec 2006

2009-10-04T03:43:00.000-07:00

We have just enjoyed an incredible wine.

We have been fans of Argentine Malbec since the 80s, when we enjoyed Trapiche by the caseload for less than $60 (for the whole case). Malbec is a Bordeaux variety but it is a minor blending component in Bordeaux itself and among copycats in California. Argentina has justly claimed Malbec as its own, much as Australia has with Shiraz and Chile with Carmenere (and, once upon a time, California with Zinfandel).

This particular Malbec, the Cruz Andina 2006 Lujan de Cuyo Mendoza, is unlike any other Malbec we have had. The wine commands attention with intense aromas of black fruit and judicious oak. It is rich and savory on the palate and has a long, spicy finish. We know expensive Napa Cabernet, and this wine could easily pass for one costing well north of $50. It retails for a mere $20.

Part of the mystery of this wine is explained by the fact that Alvaro Espinoza is the winemaker. Espinoza also has a hand in many of the wines from Chile we have enjoyed so much of late, such as Chono and Alto Sol. Cruz Andina is a project of Augustin Huneeus, who produces the high-QPR Veramonte wines from Chile as well as the much more expensive Quintessa, in Napa Valley.

We are very happy to see this new venture offer so much at so reasonable a price, and we look forward to future vintages.

Zaca Mesa Roussanne 2006

2009-10-01T03:58:00.000-07:00

Many years ago, in the predawn before we entered the wine industry, we visited the Santa Barbara area for the first time. A good friend and loyal reader of this blog had been invited by the Frass Canyon Winery--oops, we mean, Fess Parker--on a special trip to learn more about that winery's use of IBM for their Information Systems needs, and he was kind enough to invite us along. It was a very interesting journey to say the least.

Image from John Dickson's Santa Barbara Wine Guide

But now is not the time for tales of Fess Parker and his attendant Charlie's Angels. On that trip we visited a few wineries, and Zaca Mesa stands out as the most memorable. We were traveling with two dogs, and Zaca Mesa, who at the time had their own dogs, Zach and Macy, warmly welcomed our own beasts. We should say coolly welcomed, since it was about a billion degrees at the time of our visit, and the winery had a lovely stream for us to enjoy. (At another, less dog-friendly winery, our dogs took shelter in the shade underneath our car, and it took all our cajoling and pleading to get them out when it was time to leave.) Kudos to Zaca Mesa.

We have not kept up with their wines, but that fond memory was sufficient for us to recommend a visit to Zaca Mesa, when friends also traveling with a dog asked for recommendations in the area. They enjoyed their visit and brought us a bottle of the 2006 Roussanne to thank us.

A lovely gesture, if completely unnecessary. But, wow, the wine is fabulous. It has the classic Roussanne elements of beeswax, citrus rind, and herbs, and it is full-bodied enough, if not very oaky, to satisfy any Chardonnay enthusiast. This is very pleasant to sip, but it is close to being a vin de meditation, by which we mean a wine so complex and interesting that it commands all attention. Not quite, but there is a great deal going on here.

The retail price is $25, putting it at the high end of what we like to recommend here. Wine-Searcher shows it widely available for a more palatable $20. If you don't know Roussanne, this will be an exciting new white wine for you. If you do, it is a very good example of what the grape is capable of.

PWR's First Pick!

2009-09-28T02:49:00.000-07:00

We have started our own small wine company, PWR Wines. The PWR stands for the People's Wine Revolution. The purpose of this blog is not to promote PWR Wines, although we strive to produce wines that would fit right in here. That is, wines that deliver high quality at low prices.

But today was our first ever pick, and we wanted to share the news. We found an old, head-trained vineyard in St. Helena planted to a mix of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah, with a little bit of Viognier. We only managed to bring in 0.37 tons, barely enough to fill a single barrel, but the fruit looked beautiful on the sorting table. Here are a few pictures of our triumph!

One of two half-full bins ready to go.

Sorting the grapes: removing leaves, etc.

The "full" bin, ready to begin fermentation.

We are now in the thick of harvest and there simply are not enough hours in the day to do everything we want to do. We have a long list of wines and other discoveries to tell you about, and we will in good time. Hang in there, dear readers.

2008 Farro Depié Rosé Campania (Piedirosso)

2009-09-25T02:41:00.000-07:00

We pride ourselves on our lack of snobbishness, however oxymoronic that may be, but we never would have picked up this bottle on our own. North Berkeley Wines kindly sent it to us for our consideration.

The wine itself is lovely--round and refreshing, redolent of strawberries and cream, with just a hint of citrus. We like it, but we think it a little overpriced at $17.95. That is just to say that there are other pink wines, not least of which the Chilean pinks offered by the very same North Berkeley, that are at least as exciting and cost less.

We were intrigued to learn that this wine is made from Piedirosso grapes. We first heard about Piedirosso in this thread from the eRobertParker bulletin board. Red wines made from Piedirosso are therein alleged to evoke "lacy femininity" and to have the weight of "paint that found its way onto the canvas without a brush." Both of these descriptors elicited raised eyebrows from faithful reader Lisa.

We have found a few examples of (red) Piedirosso wines, and we enjoyed them very much, even if they didn't provoke as poetic a response. This pink version is also very pleasant, and well worth trying for a taste of something different.

Click on the link below for Foodista's take on Piedirosso.

Napa Wineries Worth a Visit

2009-09-22T02:53:00.000-07:00

Napa is home to a number of wineries we love to visit, and visitors frequently ask us for recommendations. Of course we try to tailor our suggestions to each person's interests, but there are a few wineries we feel confident proposing to the readers of this blog.

(photo by Aaron Logan and used under the Creative Commons 1.0 license)

Wineries such as Jericho Canyon, Seavey Vineyard, Schramsberg and Quixote all offer terrific tours/tastings, but their wine prices (and in some cases tasting fees) are too high for us to recommend them here. Okay, the Schramsberg tour is pretty amazing, so we take that back.

Since most visitors to Napa arrive from the South, we'll start with Artesa, in the Carneros region in the southern part of Napa Valley (see (here, here and here for more on Artesa). We generally like their wines but think they could be much better. Still, they are a good first stop on a Napa visit because they offer a wide variety of wines and prices are reasonable (by Napa standards). But perhaps the best reason of all is that the property and views are stunning.

The Hess Collection Winery is in the hills north of Artesa on the southern slopes of Mt. Veeder. It, too, is a beautiful property, although it lacks views. We like HCW wines, but we have not kept up with them. We love visiting the winrey, though, to see Donald Hess's art collection, displayed in a museum spanning 3 stories. This is extremely modern art, and much of it will not be to everyone's liking, but it is sure to provoke thoughtful conversation. There is a tasting fee but no charge for viewing the art.

Between Napa and Yountville you will find Elyse Winery. Elyse produces a wide range of wines, including Cabernet, Zinfandel, and Rhone-inspired blends. The wines are delicious but not cheap. Still, the rosé can be had for only $15.

The next stop working Upvalley would be Mumm Napa, on the east side of the Valley just south of Rutherford. On the spectacular porch overlooking vineyards you can enjoy the bubbles that we think offer the best value in Napa. When you need to cool off, you can pop into Mumm's art gallery to see two exhibits. One exhibit changes every couple of months, and we tend to love or love-to-hate whatever is on display. There is also a permanent collection of Ansel Adams photographs that are simply exquisite. No charge to visit the galleries.

Leaving the valley floor and heading east on Highway 128 past Lake Hennessey will take you to Neyers Vineyards. Neyers offers a wide variety of wines made by the talented Tadeo Borchardt. These are all exciting, distinctive wines that reflect their origins. Not cheap, but inexpensive for Napa, with most in the $20-$35 range (and several at $48). All are delicious, and tasting with hostess Phoebe Ullberg is a delight.

Keep heading east on Hwy 128 and you will soon be at Nichelini. This is a charming place abounding with cats and bocce courts, and the owners have great tales about how they continued to produce wine through Prohibition. They have some unusual offerings such as Sauvignon Vert, and prices are reasonable (again, for Napa). Still, we think the experience of the visit itself is the best reason to go.

Burgess Cellars lies in the hills above the Valley--spectacular views once again--near the town of Angwin. Burgess offers terrific value, at prices that are reasonable for wine this good: the excellent Cabernet retails for $36, and the Merlot and Syrah are $25. Sadly they have stopped producing their Grenache. We shall miss it. Well worth a visit.

Last on our list is Casa Nuestra, on the Silverado Trail between St. Helena and Calistoga. These guys are old school and produce their wine without the modern accoutrements so common throughout Napa Valley. They produce a number of wines, and while prices have crept up of late most are still under $30. Nubian goats welcome visitors, and stepping into the tasting room is like traveling backwards in time. Good times.

Do you have a favorite that's not on this list? Please let us know. Stay tuned for lists for Sonoma and Mendocino before long. Any other requests?

Some North Berkeley selections

2009-09-19T01:53:00.000-07:00

Harvest is well under way. A cool summer lulled us into the belief that we would see no grapes until mid-September, and enjoy our first Labor Day off in years, but it was not to be. The grapes are pouring in and we are doing our best to turn them into delicious wine.

Exhausting work, but what better way to relax at day's end than with a lovely glass of a previous vintage's results.

We very much enjoyed the NV Terres Secretes Crémant de Bourgogne Blanc de Noirs ($18.50). At first sip this was pleasant as (most) sparkling wines are. Unlike most bubblies, this wine got better and better until it was gone, at which point it was delicious. Sigh.

We also enjoyed the 2007 Sorbaiano Montescudaio Rosso ($14.95). This blend of Sangiovese and Montepulciano is pretty, but distinctively Italian, with notes of saddle leather (probably low-level Brettanomyces, but in this case appealing). We enjoyed this wine with pasta and prosciutto and bitter greens, with pine nuts and parmesan, judging it an excellent table wine.

The 2008 Nicodemi Trebbiano d’Abruzzo ($12.95) is lovely. Although we frowned at the plastic cork, which we find lead to premature oxidation and are difficult to re-insert, we loved the wine's aromatics, reminiscent of citrus and an herbal bouquet such as garrigue or maquis. In other words, rosemary and lavender, with bits of thyme and more. This was a delightful poolside quaffer. It is the consummate refresher, but it is also interesting in a way that the typical pinot grigio can never be.

Pedroncelli Bargains

2009-09-16T01:07:00.000-07:00

As summer winds down and harvest grinds on, we've found time to relax with wines Pedroncelli was kind enough to send our way.

We shared the Pedroncelli Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley Mother Clone 2007, $15, with friends. All enjoyed it. The wine exhibited the classic Dry Creek Valley aromas of cherries and spice, and it was nicely balanced, but it did not wow us the way Dry Creek Zin can do. Still a fine wine for the price.

Next up was the Dry Rosé of Zinfandel; Sonoma County 2008, $10. That's right, $10! This is a new name for the wine--we suppose buyers had been expecting something in the White Zinfandel vein, and this certainly is not. We have long been a fan of pink wine made from Zinfandel, and this offering reminded us that we have not had one in a while. Where have they all gone?

This wine is truly dry, truly Zinfandel, and a great refresher for the price. We would be remiss, however, if we did not mention the North Berkeley summer rosé sampler at $99/case, which includes favorites such as Alto Sol Carmenere/Syrah and Nicodemi Montepulciano D'Abruzzo Cerasuolo. But that is a limited offer, while the Pedroncelli will remain $10 (we hope!), and we recommend giving it a shot.

The Chardonnay Dry Creek Valley 2008, $12, was very exciting, and represents a spectacular bargain for California Chardonnay. It is crisp and lively with brilliant fruit and a lingering, complex finish. Its subtle oak is a lovely complement. Delicious and truly in a different class than any other domestic Chardonnay at this price.

Stay tuned for more on Pedroncelli, and enjoy the last days of summer.

Allegrini Valpolicella

2009-09-13T02:11:00.000-07:00

A dear friend visited recently and brought some lovely wines. We enjoyed grilled pizzas on our back porch, comparing the heat of Davis summer evenings to those of Calistoga. A Ridge Three Valleys ($22) helped us through the evening. The wine worked very well, but was not particularly remarkable. Perhaps it was overshadowed by the quality of our conversation.

We might have done better with the other bottle our friend brought. We enjoyed it recently while reminiscing over the visit. The wine was Allegrini 2007 Valpolicella, which as near as we can tell retails for about $17 and is widely available for about $12. This is a wonderful wine. Beautiful and voluptuous, it is ripe without being over the top or overly alcoholic. Tannins are present but well-balanced, and the acidity is refreshing and not out of line.

In fact, our only complaint is that the wine is bottled under a synthetic stopper. We are all for alternatives to cork, but in our experience wines with synthetic closures age too rapidly, and despite notable progress they remain difficult to open, and even more difficult to re-close. This certainly did not detract from our enjoyment. However, should you decide to give this wine a try, we recommend that you not cellar it. Drink up!

Food & Wine's cheap wine picks

2009-09-10T03:37:00.000-07:00

Food & Wine magazine just published its list of best American wines under $20. We have not tried all of them--have you? We would love to hear your thoughts.

We are very pleased to see that Siduri and Copain made the list, for Pinot Noir and Syrah, respectively. Both producers do a terrific job, with solid quality throughout their production. Both offer value at all price points, but most of the wines are not inexpensive. They are to be applauded for ensuring the same high quality goes into their more affordable wines.

Kudos to Food & Wine for making such interesting selections. We look forward to trying the other producers on the list.

Keuka Lake Vineyards

2009-09-07T03:32:00.000-07:00

Our friend, Staci Nugent, paid us a visit a while back. It's a long way from Ithaca, NY to the Napa Valley, and we were very happy to see her.

Staci is the winemaker at Keuka Lake Vineyards in Hammondsport, NY. She is also an up-and-coming cheesemaker. On the evidence of the gouda-style cheese she brought, she is already quite accomplished. She is in Switzerland at the time of this writing, learning from master cheesemakers.

Wine she has down. Staci very generously brought us her 2007 Goldman Reserve Dry Riesling and her 2008 Vignoles. Folks, these wines are fabulous. The Riesling is classic in every sense. Textbook mineral and stone-fruit nose, with hints of citrus. Great acid and just delicious. The wine shows what Riesling in the Finger Lakes can achieve with a talented winemaker. Well worth the $18 retail price.

The Vignoles was astonishing. The vignoles grape is a cross of American and French grape variteies. The goal with such crosses is to combine the attractive flavors of the French species with the ability to withstand the temperatures and disease pressures of the US. We cannot attest to its vineyard performance but the flavors in this wine show that the goal was achieved. Certainly Riesling-like, but with a very attractive herbal streak. The wine is labeled "gently dry," and we were concerned that it would be overly sweet. Instead, the sweetness is perfectly balanced with the acidity, and therefore barely noticeable, as in a successful trocken wine from Germany. This wine is a steal at $13.

The only bad news is that the wines have limited distribution (NY, CT, DC) and the winery can ship to only a few states (NY, CA, AK, AZ, FL, MN, DC). Good cheer to readers in those states. The rest of you should keep KLV in mind when you visit the east coast.

Interview with David Hinkle of North Berkeley Wines

2009-09-04T04:53:00.000-07:00

As devoted followers of this blog know, many of the wines we recommend are available through North Berkeley Wines and its importing arm, North Berkeley Imports. We have been customers of NBW for years because they epitomize the ideal wine store. The staff are enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and the shelves are stocked with a surprisingly vast array for so tiny a store, with wines from all over the world that they truly believe in. This last point is key—you might not enjoy every wine on offer, but each one is there because at least someone in the store thinks it worthy, not because a distributor strong-armed or sweet-talked their way into a placement.

We have talked up NBW so often in this blog that we thought it would be fun to take a look behind the scenes. We interviewed COO, wine buyer, and the “mastermind behind North Berkeley Imports,” David Hinkle, to learn what makes the store so great. He graciously chatted with us for almost an hour on a wide range of topics.

David Hinkle's career began at a small wine shop that also had a restaurant, wine bar and wine school in Harvard Square. He has 25 years’ experience working with producers in France, mostly in Burgundy.

He learned quickly to relentlessly explore each cellar he visited. Tasting a wine from a barrel, he would ask if there were other wines of the same appellation or quality level. Often, David would discover that a group of barrels of a given wine was in fact several similar but different wines lumped together by the winemaker for convenience. One lot might have been picked slightly later and riper, another might have gone into only old barrels and another only new. Or a winemaker might already have a blend of various wine lots in mind, and that blend might for convenience include lots considered too small to bottle separately, even if they did not fit well in the blend. David would identify the special barrels in these lots and persuade the producer to bottle that wine separately. Quality, not convenience, is the key.
A case in point is the Bourgogne Rouge “Roncevie” from Domaine Arlaud, a wine we have long appreciated because it overdelivers on quality for the price. The 2007 retails for $22.95. When North Berkeley started working with the Arlauds, four wines were made from the Roncevie parcel, which lies just outside of (and is rumored to have been unjustly excluded from) the Gevrey appellation. The four wines differed in vine age and harvest date, were aged entirely in tanks rather than barrels, and were sold off in bulk. One year NBI arrived just after the harvest and persuaded the Arlauds to fill four barrels with wine from the oldest vines. Everyone was happy with the quality. Since then the focus on the vineyard and identifying exactly which part of the vineyard produces the best wine allows the blend to be as much as 200 barrels (about 5,000 cases). It stays in barrel longer than even the Arlauds’ Premier and Grand Cru wines.

We asked David how NBI discovers new producers. He explained that while it is always great to get a producer with a reputation for good quality, it is difficult. NBI cultivates younger, lesser-known producers, and supports them so they can achieve high quality. Finding these growers often involves going from village to village knocking on doors and asking to taste wine. They taste bottled wine and compare it to the newly made wine in barrel to see if raw potential was being lost through poor management decisions that could easily be changed, for example, by using different barrel producers, or changing the bottling date.

Everywhere that NBI works, including California, the goal is to find special appellations or regions with great potential that have not yet been discovered. An example from France is Chorey-les-Beaune, in Burgundy. There NBI found growers with great vineyard sites and shared the enological wisdom they had accrued over the years of working with producers in more renowned regions of Burgundy. This was not always appreciated by the more established producers.

NBI visits all their producers as soon as possible after each harvest to taste the raw material and listen to the growers. This is the chance to select lots for special treatment, such as leaving a wine in tank or putting it in barrel, removing a lot from a blend or keeping it from being sold off in bulk, or bottling at a different date to capture the wine at its peak.
We have long been impressed with NBI’s selections of wines from Chile. David says that Chile lacks a homegrown wine industry and is instead geared toward producing industrial quantities of wine. However, with its raw materials of special sites Chile has the long-term potential to produce world class wines. Consumers have the advantage now because the best wines are tremendously undervalued. The best wines are still getting better every year, thanks to improved clonal selection and the maturing of vines on great sites. (Most vines in the top vineyards are still very young.) Widespread irrigation allows the growers to create balanced wines that lack the high alcohol so prevalent in California wines.

In Chile David was introduced to the trio of Alvaro Espinoza, Sergio Reyes and Juan-Carlos Faundez, who are responsible for the GEO Wines portfolio. Espinoza and Faundez are winemakers with broad international experience eager to show Chile’s potential. Chono and Alto Sol are two of the brands in the GEO Wines portfolio that we have raved about previously. David believes that the country’s best wines will ultimately be Carménère-based blends, and that despite today’s great opportunities for bargains worldwide, no one will best Chile on quality-price ratio.

Finally, we asked David to share some advice for consumers. Rather than suggesting a few brands or wine styles, he recommends getting to know a particular merchant. Start by giving the merchant one or more examples of wines you have enjoyed. The more information you can provide about why you liked the wine the better. Allow the merchant to suggest six to twelve, or even one, bottles based on your example. Taste through those wines and, most importantly, return to the merchant with specific feedback. What did you like or not like about each wine? As the merchant comes to better understand your preferences and the relationship develops, you will discover new and exciting wines. Not only will you do better than you would grabbing bottles on your own, but you will develop a relationship with the wine shop staff, which is all part of the fun.

We thank David for taking the time to talk with us, and we hope that you find our conversation enlightening. We are sure that David would be happy to answer any questions you have. Do visit North Berkeley Wines if you can, and remember that the NBI selections are widely available in other stores and states, too.

Wine in CANS!

2009-09-01T05:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, we love alternative packaging. The bottle was an amazing invention 400 years ago, but it's time to move on. Cork has made tremendous progress in recent years, but a corked bottle this weekend reminded us that cork's time has come and gone as well. If any of you buy the argument that cork stoppers are ecologically important, we ask why you don't demand them in all of your beverage containers. Why should wine alone bear the burden of maintaining an artificial, if rich, ecosystem? Yes, we can continue this rant with anyone interested. But on to the real point...

We have had wine in cans, and it is good. Wine in cans is hardly new, as this article from the San Francisco Chronicle demonstrates. But the article hardly gives the impression that earlier canned wines were associated with quality.

The wines from Wild Pelican should turn that around. These wines are simply fabulous. Not "fabulous for wine in a can," but fabulous. And it comes in cans.

We read about the Wild Pelican wines in Mutineer magazine, and requested samples that were very generously provided by Tim Jacobi, of Gima International, the US distributor for the wines. Mr. Jacobi provided a great deal of information along with the wine, most of which is also on the Wild Pelican website.

But we get ahead of ourselves. How about the wine? Mr. Jacobi sent samples of two of the three Wild Pelican products (and we will be eagerly seeking out the third). The red is a Tempranillo from the D.O. Cariňena region of Spain. It is redolent of bing cherries and cherry pie, with hints of baking spices. Smooth and silky, this is very pleasant even if it does not scream "Tempranillo."

The white blew us away. It is a Chenin Blanc from South Africa's Western Cape. Chenin Blanc's home may be France's Loire Valley, but the South Africans have grown it for hundreds of years and made it their own. This instance is absolutely classic, and very aromatic with scents of green apple and gooseberry. There is some slight carbonation (it's not fizzy) that lifts the fruitiness, and mouth-watering acidity. This wine demands food, and would be perfect for a picnic.

The third wine, which we have yet to try, is a Grenache-Shiraz rosé from the Languedoc-Rousillon (France). We love rosé, as well as Grenache and Shiraz, so we have high hopes for this wine.

Mr. Jacobi advises that the roll-out of the product will be measured. The plan is to build a loyal following in key areas in the eastern and central US before releasing the wines in California. You readers on the eastern seaboard are lucky.

Prices will vary based on state taxes etc., but Mr. Jacobi expects individual cans to sell for $2.09-$2.49, with 3-packs and 6-packs costing slightly less per can. Note that the cans are 187-mL (1/4 of standard wine bottle), so at these prices a bottle equivalent would cost up to $10. It makes sense to have a small package given that there is no way to re-close the can once opened, though it might be nice to have some larger options available, too. The wines are well worth $10/bottle--the convenience, weight and environmental benefits are all bonus.

Okay, so the wine is good, now what about the packaging? The can weighs a mere 8 grams, compared to almost 200 grams for a glass bottle of the same volume. The wine is not exposed to light, which can be quite damaging, even through green glass bottles. Cans are allowed where glass containers are forbidden, and while Wild Pelican won't say it, the cans are easy to smuggle into places where wine might not be allowed at all. Finally, while we are not overly concerned with packaging aesthetics, this package looks and even feels good. No one, we hope, will feel sheepish bringing this wine to a party or opening it for friends.

Keep your eyes open for Wild Pelican, and let us know what you think when you find it.

Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant Retailer Profile

2009-08-29T01:38:00.000-07:00

In our second retailer profile we shine the spotlight Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant. Kermit Lynch has been fighting the good fight since the 70s, seeking out hidden gems of producers and bringing in their wines himself to ensure the quality is not impaired in transit.

Lynch has written two books, Adventures on the Wine Route, and Inspiring Thirst (available here). We recommend both very highly, but Adventures is probably the better book to begin with. In it, Lynch describes his own journey into wine and brilliantly conveys the joy of his discoveries. Thirst is a compendium of entries from the very entertaining KLWM Newsletter, to which you can subscribe here.

We asked KLWM to discuss their importing and retailing business for our readers. Clark Terry, who writes the KLWM blog, also called "Inspiring Thirst," graciously agreed to play along. The transcript of our e-conversation is below. As usual, fire away with questions, comments, and random asides. And remember, KLWM may be in Oakland, but the wines they import are available nationwide, and the store itself can ship. So take a look at the website, visit the store, and enjoy the newlsetter and blog.

Wines for the People: KLWM has a number of wines for less than $20, and you highlight a few bargains in each newsletter. How do you select producers who can deliver quality wines at lower prices?

Clark Terry: When selecting a new wine or new producer to import, we are always looking for a great price/quality ratio. Kermit has a problem with hugely expensive wines because to him, they don’t seem worth it. He’s spent 37 years searching France and Italy for the best deals and he is still doing this. We are routinely offered the “high end” bottlings from producers (they usually have higher extraction, some oak, and a high price-tag) but turn it down because we prefer their better priced, village level wines that we feel are more indicative of the wines provenance. Price is not a score and clearly the quality of a bottle of wine isn’t always determined by the price tag.

WftP: Are there particular regions in Europe that offer better value than others? Why or why not?

CT: I personally drink wines from all over France and Italy because that’s what we sell. Surprisingly enough, I don’t do a whole lot of purchasing of wine elsewhere. I do enjoy exploring new things at wine bars where I can get a glass of something I might not have had before. For every day drinkers, I drink a lot of Rhone reds, Loire reds and whites, Alsatian whites, and Chablis. I think there’s a lot of value in aging many Rhones and Provencal wines. I’m lucky, I like aged Bandol. Bandol costs a lot less and ages just as well as Bordeaux or Burgundy. If I found that I really liked Bordeaux from the 80s, I’d be in a little trouble. I would hesitate to say certain regions offer better value than another. It’s more complex than that and I wouldn’t tell someone that their preferred region doesn’t provide any value, because it clearly does for them.

Vineyard in Provençe

WftP: How do you define quality in wine? What makes a wine "good"?

CT: When drinking or tasting wine, I first try to figure out if I like the wine. Does it bring me any pleasure? Then I’ll move on to trying to identify what it is about that wine that attracts me to it. Because I sell and write about wine, I do consider domaine history, previous vintages, regional characteristics, food pairings etc.

WftP: What should someone who routinely spends less than $15 on a bottle look for in a wine costing more than $30?

CT: They should be looking for a something that they would enjoy more than the $15 bottle. A $30 Gigondas costs more than a $15 Côtes-du-Rhône for a reason. There’s more complexity, deeper structure, more potential for longevity…more potential for enjoyment. If you’re paying twice as much for a bottle than you usually pay, you should be getting more out of it. That being said, I’ve routinely had customers tell me that they spend max $25 a bottle for wine because above that, they say they can’t tell the difference. How much value one places on a particular wine clearly varies from person to person.

WftP: What is so special about a more expensive wine?

CT: You like a particular wine to the point that you will pay more for it than another bottle.

WftP: Despite the selection of lower-priced wines, most KLWM selections are $25 and above. Does that mean that the wines selling for less than $20 are inherently less "good"?

CT: Some people might make this argument, but I wouldn’t. This is question that would be addressed in a business school class on pricing. Here is my lay-person answer. The diversity of wine buyers and diversity of types of wines allows for price disparities. But wait, what about beer? Isn’t the beer drinking public just as diverse and types of beer just as varied as that of wine? Price disparities between 6-packs are nowhere close to that of bottles of wine. The bottom line is if people weren’t willing to pay $500 for a bottle of Napa Cab (or pick any other high end wine from France, Italy, Australia etc…), it wouldn’t carry that price tag. Pricing for any product (cars, wine, ipods, clothes) is more based on what people will pay (the value an individual places on a product) than the actual cost of that product. This is really just a discussion of supply and demand.

WftP: You don't sell any wine from the United States. Do you think there is any value to be found in US wine? If not, could there be?

CT: I grew up in Napa and while visiting my parents, usually we drink domestic. I also worked at Trefethen and Monticello as a cellar intern before coming to KLWM. I personally work hard to keep a thumb on the pulse of domestic wine and enjoy seeing what’s out there. There is a lot of value out there in domestic wines but a lot of it is terribly over-priced – this is no secret. In my cellar, I have some Trefethen Cabs, Sky Zins, Navarro, and some Arnot-Roberts.

WftP: What advice would you give to someone new to buying wine coming to your store? How can the buyer help you guide them to wines they will enjoy?

CT: Come in with an open mind and an idea of what you like to drink. Some of my favorite interactions that I have with customers is when they say, “I don’t know much about wine, but I like it, let’s explore something new.” I approach this as a personal consultation and I really enjoy doing this for our customers.

Also, KLWM is a very unique retail store. We sell exclusively what we import. Kermit finds the wine in France and he thinks it is so good that it is worth it to send it half way around the world. We stand by our wines in a very serious way and we’ve done our due diligence on the producer and the wine. We have producers that we’ve imported for three decades. Just like with our customers, we look for long term relationships with our producers.

WftP: Do you have any general advice for a person just beginning to discover the joys of wine?

CT: Drink it! Don’t take it too seriously at first and don’t put any pressure on yourself. Find some friends who like to drink wine too and start exploring. I definitely encourage people to develop a relationship with a wine shop and have them guide you through different wines to check out. Here at KLWM, it doesn’t matter if you buy Grand Cru Burgs or a Vin de Pays, we’ll develop a relationship and help you out.
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Thanks again to Clark Terry for taking the time to illuminate the inner workings of Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant. Keep up the good work, Clark.

Harvest 2009

2009-08-26T01:10:00.000-07:00

Yes, folks, the 2009 harvest has begun in California. So far in Napa, it's mostly been Sauvignon Blanc and grapes for sparkling wine coming in. In general, 2009 is relatively late, probably a week or two behind normal, if normal means anything in this era of weird weather.

The Napa Valley Grape Growers Association recently filmed several winemakers and grape growers discussing the 2009 growing season and harvest. We thought you would enjoy these talks, so we present them here. The talks are more technical than anything you would hear in a tasting room, but we think the speakers are clear and you should have no trouble following. Of course, if you have any questions about the discussions or want to know more about any particular issue, ask away.

First off, Jon Ruel of Trefethen Vineyards talks about Trefethen's sustainability efforts, including creekside habitat restoration.

Next, we have Matt Taylor, from Araujo Estate, talking on the first day of their harvest about the joy--and mania--of the harvest season.

Michael Beaulac, from Pine Ridge, is up next, speaking candidly about the influence economics has on farming decisions.

Merryvale's Remi Cohen follows, talking about how she adjusted the vineyard management techniques based on the season's weather.

Thanks to the Napa Valley Grapegrowers for sharing these videos with us.

Of course, the harvest season also means that we are about to become quite busy, of course. We shall do our best to keep the posts coming. We are excited about what we have already in the works but if we go silent for a spell, please know that we are doing our best to make some great wine for you to enjoy.

San Francisco Wine Trading Company Retailer Profile

2009-08-23T02:08:00.000-07:00

Astute followers of Wines for the People know that San Francisco Wine Trading Company is one of our favorite retailers. They have a terrific selection and they stand behind every wine they sell. By that we mean that at least someone on the staff genuinely enjoys each wine on their shelves. A customer will never be talked into buying something that the sales staff does not genuinely expect that customer to enjoy.

We asked SFWTC's Michelle Pepitone to talk about the SFWTC philosophy and to share advice for customers there or at any retailer. The transcript of our conversation is below. We are sure that Michelle would be happy to answer any questions you have after reading the interview.

For those readers who reside outside of the Bay Area, we encourage you to read on regardless. SFWTC can ship to most locations, but more importantly Michelle's comments will help you find a similar store in your area.

WftP: SFWTC features a broad assortment of wines at just about every price point. How do you select producers who can deliver quality wines, especially at lower prices?

MP: Lots and lots of tastings with sales reps. And let me tell you, these marathon tastings are no picnic. There is a lot of really bad wine on the market and we act as a filter for our customer base, trying hundreds of wines in various categories in order to come up with that very special undiscovered hidden gem.

WftP: There is no shortage of wines on offer elsewhere for less than $15, but many of those wines seem simple and uninspired. How do you discover your lower-priced producers, and how are they able to make wines of such inherent quality at such a reasonable price?

MP: It is not enough to simply bring in wines because you are looking for a specific price point or space to fill on the shelf within a certain category. Well-priced wines of good to excellent quality will always sell whether it is a rich and jammy Zin from Lodi that retails for $15 or a highly complex Bordeaux Blend from Napa that retails for $50. Consumers are smarter than most retailers give them credit for and ours are trained to expect great wines at low to medium or even high price points because at each level, the wines are appropriately priced.

But I digress...To answer your question, we are always looking for deals, special promotions, close outs, etc,. and our reps know that. We work them hard and we reward them when they present us with wines of exceptional character and humble price points. Most of the really good values that we work with come from outside of the states, from wine-growing regions where either the land is cheap as is the case with Argentina's Mendoza or from Old World countries like France or Spain where vineyards have been in families for many generations and operating costs are very low compared with producers starting from scratch.

WftP: What regions worldwide are producing wines of extreme value?

MP: Values can easily be found throughout Spain, France, Italy and Portugal. In New Zealand and Australia and throughout South America. Values can be found in California, but you have to dig deep to find them and they are more hard to come by.

WftP: How would you define quality in wine? What makes a wine "good"?

MP: If a wine tastes like it should and is appropriately priced then it is a good wine. If it tastes typical of the region, is balanced, and doesn't taste overly manipulated then it is a good wine, whether five dollars or five hundred. Why buy a Sonoma Coast Pinot that tastes like a Russian River Valley Zin? Just buy the Zin or seek out a Sonoma Coast Pinot that tastes like it should-–elegant, balanced, bright with acidity and reflecting its Burgundian roots.

WftP: What should someone who routinely spends less than $15 on a bottle look for in a wine costing more than $30? What is so special about a more expensive wine?

MP: Many people tell me that they can't tell the difference between a $15 bottle and $50+ bottle and frankly I think that they are the lucky ones. If they can derive as much pleasure from a $15 bottle than I am green with envy. There are many factors that contribute to the overall cost of a bottle of wine and many of them have nothing whatsoever to do with making the wine taste better. Marketing, advertising, expensive labels, decadent guesthouses and customized bottles all greatly influence the cost of a bottle of wine and don't have anything to do with the quality level of a particular wine. That being said, if a wine is true to its price point and good inside and out, it will wow the consumer, meaning it will impress in ways that a $10 or $15 bottle won't or can't. Wine appreciation is very subjective and individualized so whatever it is that a particular consumer enjoys and looks for in a lower price point bottle will be found with greater intensity, complexity and overall volume in a higher price point. The quality will be unmistakable and the wine will impress–unless of course, you can't (or are reluctant to) tell the difference!

WftP: SFWTC sells wines for well over $60. Does that mean that the wines selling for less than $20 are inherently less "good"?

MP: Of course not. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and so is the case with wine. Like I previously mentioned, some people can't even tell the difference between a twenty dollar bottle and a sixty dollar one. In addition, there will always be wines that are grossly under or over-valued; that is unavoidable. A twenty dollar bottle is not half as good as its forty dollar counterpart just like a wine rated 100 points by Robert Parker isn't ten percent better than a wine
awarded 90 points. Plus you always have to consider what went into that wine in order to justify its higher price point and, if it had more to do with marketing than actual winemaking, well, then the twenty dollar bottle may actually be on par quality and taste wise as the sixty dollar bottle.

WftP: What advice would you give to someone new to buying wine coming to a store like yours? How can the buyer help you guide them to wines they will enjoy? Do you have any general advice for a person just beginning to discover the joys of wine?

MP: Drink often and take notes. Be mindful of what you are tasting but don't turn it into homework; have fun with it. Talk about your thoughts with whomever you are dining with and write down quick notes. Even if you never refer to them again, the mere act of committing your ideas to paper will reinforce things in your mind.

Find out what you like in a wine before adopting someone else's perspective. Most importantly, learn how to effectively communicate your preferences to others so that your retail and restaurant experiences are sure to be rewarding.
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Thank you, Michelle, for your participation and your thought-provoking responses to our questions. Readers, please visit San Francisco Wine Trading Company (in real life or on the web), and let us know what you find. If you have any questions or comments for Michelle or for us, ask away.

Good Boxed Wine! From the Tank

2009-08-20T05:29:00.000-07:00

We have been enjoying a new boxed wine find--From the Tank, Jenny & François Selections. These are 2007 Rhône wines, a white that is 100% Grenache Blanc and a red that is 40% Grenache, 35% Syrah and 15% Carignan (and 10% ???). Both wines are produced by Les Vignerons d’Estezargues, a cooperative that produces other wines imported by Jenny & Francois as well. They both come in extremely compact boxes containing 3-L bags, equivalent to 4 normal bottles of wine. Each package weighs barely more than a single bottle of wine.

So how are they? Good. Not mind-blowing, not something to set the house on fire about, but good. The red has the edge for us. It has an intense fruitiness while also showing some complexity. The wine tastes different with different foods and in different settings. This is a very good quality in a low-cost wine, especially one that may stay in the kitchen for a week or two.

The white is also interesting. It does taste of Grenache blanc, a variety that is as often amazing as it is bland. This example is somewhere between the two, but like the red it shows a different side of itself in different settings. The wine is a little hazy, probably owing to the "natural" philosophy of the importers. Nothing wrong with some cloudiness, though some consumers may be put off by it. Henceforth the white wine will be a Chardonnay.

The wine is only recently available in California, but the website indicates it is easy to find in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Astor Wines in New York has it, and they have an on-line store.

Chris Terrell, of Terrell Wines, is the California distributor. He is still developing the roll-out, which will focus on the Bay Area and greater Los Angeles. At present you can try the wine at Oakland's Cafe Noir.

Chris provided these samples to us after we contacted Jenny & Francois. He says each box will retail for $42, which is $10.50 per bottle equivalent. We would say is about right. The great thing about boxed wine, after all, is that it stays fresh for several weeks after opening. These wines are perfect to have around for those times when you want a glass of wine but don't necessarily want to open a bottle, or simply haven't yet decided what bottle you want to enjoy with dinner.

Thanks, Jenny & Francois and Chris, for letting us try these wines, and good luck with the roll-out. It's about time the People got to enjoy some good wine in a box!

Welcome, New Readers

2009-08-17T04:16:00.000-07:00

Wines for the People is now a little more than a year old, and readership is really starting to grow. We welcome readers old and new, and hope you enjoy what you find here. We've got a ton of great posts in the works, so please check back often to see what's new here.

To ease your exploration of the site, here is a category index of the posts thus far. We welcome questions, suggestions, and requests. Do let us know what you would like to see here. Thanks! –WftP

General Information
Wine Flavors--where do they come from?
Corked Wine—what to do about it?
Choosing wine by the importer
Who owns what--a guide to wine brands
Boring wine and what to do about it
Wine Review Weekly
Gundlach-Bundschu Wine Poetry Contest
Wine and social media
Sabering!
Wine Bloggers' Conference 2009
Harvest 2009
2009 Vintage Report, Northern California
The Gallo Song
The Man that Waters the Workers' Beer

Wine reviews
2005 Burgundy
2005 Burgundy Redux
Bubbles
2007 White Bordeaux
Rosenblum Mourvedre
Cremant D’Alsace Rosé
Cline Syrah
Alto Sol Syrah/Carmenere
Montes Alpha Syrah
Chono Carmenere
Sforzato di Valtellina
Wine Recommendations Cristalino, Crios, Yalumba, Veramonte, Alamos, Borsao, Finca Luzon, Cline, Guigal
A few notes Bodhichitta, Renwood
A few more notes Rosenblum, Chapoutier
A few quickies Testarossa Syrah, Mary Elke Chardonnay, Valpine Barbera
Wines for summer heat Chono, Chapoutier, Alto Sol, Shane
Wines from the Safeway Sale Peachy Canyon, Drouhin, Oyster Bay, Wolf Blass, Rosenblum, Seghesio
Second Safeway Sale Report Artesa, Two Hands
Pedroncelli Shines
From the Tank boxed wine
Wild Pelican wine in cans
Keuka Lake Vineyards
Food & Wine Magazine's cheap picks
Allegrini Valpolicella
Pedroncelli Zinfandel, Rose and Chardonnay
Terres Secretes, Sorbaiano, Nicodemi
Farro Depie Rose
Zaca Mesa Rousanne
Cruz Andina Malbec
Quintay, Vina Litoral, Domaine Perraud, Domaine de Moulin
SanTasti palate-cleansing beverage
Villa Ritina Sangiovese
Chile, Cono Sur
Pedroncelli Merlot, Chono Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva, Cucao Pedro Ximenez
Beverage Testing Institute Wine Recommendations
Barokes wines in cans
Campo Viejo Tempranillo
La Vieille Cure Bordeaux
Bargain Hunting with the San Francisco Chronicle
Grande Maison Monbazillac
Bonny Doon Albarino
Wyndham Estate Sparkling Shiraz
Rosa D'Oro Dolcetto, Dry Muscat
Falling Star Boxed Chardonnay, Malbec
Bonny Doon Le Cigare Volant
Wine Guerrilla Zinfandels
Ritual Pinot Noir

Winery Write-Ups and Visiting Recommendations

Shane Cellars
Cline Cellars
Napa Wineries worth a visit

Wine Retailers
How to find good QPR
Other ways to save on wine
Well-aged Bargains
San Francisco Wine Trading Company
Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant
North Berkeley Wine's David Hinkle

Wine Sales Announcements
Safeway Sale
Report from Safeway sale
Draeger’s Sale
Kermit Lynch Spring sampler
Cheap wine on-line
BevMo 5-cent sale
Holiday Samplers

Alternative Packaging
Box wines
Boxed wine update
From the Tank Boxed Wine
Wild Pelican wine in cans
Barokes wines in cans
Falling Star Boxed Wines

Home Winemaking
Do it Yourself!

Blogging, ethics and the usefulness of reviews
Bloggergate

Wineries as non-profits
Ehlers Estate
New Clairvaux
Bodhichitta Winery

Book Reviews
Wine Brats (Intro)
Wine Brats part 1
Wine Brats part 2
Been Doon So Long

PWR--The People's Wine Revolution
PWR's First Pick

So please browse away, share your thoughts, and check back for more posts.

Pedroncelli Shines

2009-08-14T04:17:00.000-07:00

Our welcome kit at the 2009 Wine Bloggers' Conference (here and here) included all sorts of goodies, from chocolates to thumb drives, and one half-bottle of wine, a Pedroncelli 2005 Dry Creek Valley Merlot Bench Vineyards.

The conference was a few weeks ago now, but we only just opened the bottle. We honestly did not know what to expect, but we were quite pleased with what we tasted. We were still more pleased when we learned the price. The 2005 we enjoyed is no longer available, but the 2006 retails for $14 (for a full bottle). We would not have been surprised to learn that it retailed for twice as much, or even more.

Two things set this wine apart. First, it tasted like a Dry Creek Valley wine. We have long enjoyed the wines from Dry Creek, although we associate it more with Zinfandel and Rhone varieties. We are now extremely curious to try Pedroncelli's versions of those wines, but this Merlot holds it own. What comes through as Dry Creek is a sort of dustiness, and perhaps some black olive.

The second thing that sets this wine apart is the spiciness. Not long ago we did an experiment with some bland wine. We took 10-oz. apple juice jars (empty), and filled them with the bland wine and a pinch of different spices from our cabinet, from ginger powder to Chinese 5-spice. We waited a couple of months to let the spices integrate into the wine, and then tasted them. Do try this at home--it's a great way to learn how to identify spice notes in wines.

Extremely large fennel bulbs

This Merlot had pronounced notes of clove and allspice, with a touch of nutmeg and even coriander, which we found delicious. Whether or not those spices appeal to you, they were fascinating in this context. And context is everything. For example, fennel is not our favorite spice in the world, and we are not huge fans of anise liqueurs, but we love an anise note in our wines, at least on occasion.

We look forward to trying more Pedroncelli wines, and encourage you to do the same.
(Reminder: as stated at the head of this post, the reviewed wine was a free, if unsolicited, sample.)

Wine Brats Book Review--Part 2 (end)

2009-08-12T04:56:00.000-07:00

Good readers that we are, we have finished The Wine Brats' Guide to Living, with Wine. (See here and here if you missed our earlier posts on the book.)

Our overall take remains the same: Bravo to the Wine Brats for their efforts to demystify wine and make it more accessible. If the book is overlong and strays a bit off-topic, it nevertheless has some strong pieces that are well worth reading. Here's what Parts 3 and 4 of the book have to offer.

Part 3 is entitled, "Gettin' Dirty with the Winemakers," and the first piece finds Gina Gallo describing her history and how she came to be a winemaker (it was more than family ties). It's a sweet and well-written entry.

Next up is Stewart Dorman's "diary" (in quotes because we are pretty sure it's not really taken from his diary) chronicling the genesis of his successful wine brand, Adrian Fog. We found the piece a bit contrived, and it contains too many winemaking canards, such as that rain dilutes wine flavors and "ripeness." Dorman may well have so believed at that stage of his career, but we hope he does not now. Nevertheless, it's a pretty interesting account of starting up a winery and all the work that is involved.

Joe Naujokas follows with a description of a huge home winemaking co-operative in Modesto, the Woof Woof Winery, which appears to still exist (they have a Yahoo group although there is little activity since 2006). The group sounds like it would be a lot of fun to belong to, and Naujokas makes the whole process of en masse home winemaking sound interesting enough that it might inspire readers to follow suit.

The last part of the book is called "The Eternal Search for Knowledge," and is in essence a reference section. We are afraid this is the weakest portion of the book. Its information was outdated soon after publication. There is a guide to wine-friendly restaurants and wine bars, for instance, few of which were likely to exist more than a year or two past publication. The section on using the Internet to find wine is now of interest only to Internet historians. Of course, these are tough criticisms to level at a book that was published ten years ago and meant for immediate consumption.

While the guide to wine books and periodicals is still mostly relevant and of some use, the list of winegrape varieties contains surprising errors. Viognier, for instance, is often blended into red Rhône wines from Côte-Rôtie, not Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Although some 13 varieties are allowed into red Châtueaneuf wines, Viognier is not among them.

All in all this was a fun read. We wish the Wine Brats were still around to update the book, and to make more mischief while spreading the gospel of wine.

Boxed Wines, once again

2009-08-10T10:49:00.000-07:00

Wyoming hills from train window

We recently traveled by train. One of the many advantages of rail travel compared to air is that riders can bring drinks along with them. With the train selling Cavit Pinot Grigio for $13/half-bottle, bringing your own wine is the way to go.

The bottles we brought for the trip out contained good enough wine, but they were heavy and took up a lot of space. For the return trip, we decided to try wine packaged in TetraPaks. We found French Rabbit wines on offer for $6.40/500 mLs or $9.50/1 L. Naturally, we went for the larger option, grabbing a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2007 Pinot Noir, both from France's Languedoc region.

We were a little leery of the Cabernet because of the vintage date. 2005 and 2007 were both fine years in Southern France, but we understand that the TetraPak may not offer the ideal aging environment. The age did not seem to matter, however. Both the Cabernet and the Pinot were disappointing: overly simple, and almost a little tinny.

In every other way the TetraPak packaging was a hit. If only someone could put some better wine inside!

Wine Brats Book Review--Part 1

2009-08-05T13:14:00.000-07:00

We are traveling at present, and internet access is spotty. Thank goodness for books. We have been enjoying the Wine Brats' Guide to Living, With Wine mentioned in an earlier post. Herewith our thoughts on the first half of the book.

The Wine Brats divided their book into four sections covering education, parties, winemaking, and knowledge (reference). Below, our thoughts on the first two parts of the book. Naturally, this post will be followed by a post on the latter half. Here goes:

* We love the Wine Brats. Their mission, clearly stated, is just about exactly what we have set out to do ourselves: Break down any barrier standing between anyone and their enjoyment of wine. Bravo to the Wine Brats for stepping up to the plate ten years ago with this book.

* The book is a glimpse into the early history of today's wine “elite.” Okay, they probably would not call themselves that, but most of the current generation of wine writers and educators had a chapter in this book. As Joel Quigley told us, the Wine Brats were thrilled to get bylines to talented writers such as Leslie Sbrocco, whose careers blossomed thereafter.

* Demystifying wine through writing about it is hard. As if we did not already know this ourselves! The biggest problem is the paradox—how many people intimidated by some aspect of the wine book are going to read a book (or a blog) to learn to get over it? And here's the big secret: all we and our compatriots are saying is, Don't be afraid. A good message, but a pretty short book. Heck, it's a pretty short blog post, even.

* The revolution(tm) should be inspired by ideas, not facts. Yes, it's hard to fill up a chapter, but is advice on proper serving temperature germane to a book dedicated to bringing wine to the people? We agree that too much red wine is served too warm and too much white wine too cold, but we'd much rather have people grabbing a glass of wine at any temperature than not grabbing the glass for fear that it might not be at the proper temperature, or worse, that they might not know what the proper temperature is.

* Tim Hanni, MW, might just be a genius. Hanni's chapter on pairing food and wine does what we hope the rest of the book does. It makes the reader thirsty, while telling them why all the received wisdom on food and wine pairing is bunkum (so you don't need to learn it), and gives a lot of ideas for how to pursue your own taste into happy food and wine pairing.

* Bob Blumer, aka The Surreal Gourmet, is another genius, and funny to boot! How did we miss this guy 10 years ago. We will certainly be investigating his current activities. His chapter on how to throw a dinner party should certainly help anyone doing so, whether it is their first or their thousandth party. Blumer's advice on keeping the party out of the kitchen is practical, e.g. keep wine bottles and snacks where you want the guests to be, and, well, practical, i.e., section off the kitchen with POLICE LINE tape.

* Tina Caputo's chapter on wine theme parties is brilliant, and we would happily run it verbatim on Wines for the People. We'll get on calling her agent for the reproduction rights. The parties she describes would be a great way to tackle a particular subject in depth, whether it is a particular variety or region, or a comparison of styles, while having a great time. Not every learning experience has to involve taking notes. Who said you can't have a party while broadening your wine horizons?

* Winemakers ourselves, we love S. Duda's description (p. 103): “You'll be amazed at how eccentric [winemakers] are (way more spaced-out than musicians; think inferior genetic bonding between a painter and a sugar-beet farmer).”

* Joe Naujokas has an interesting chapter about using wine in mixed drinks. Some simple substitutions, such as Pinot grigio in lieu of gin in a Martini, and other more ambitious drinks such as the Port Milkshake. Great ideas in their own right, these are still more uses for wine that might have disappointed (see earlier blog post).

* Despite these great contributions, the Party section still has a bit too much instruction. Tina Caputo's piece was great for the basic idea of a wine theme party and for her theme suggestions to get your imagination going. She did not condescend to tell you how to throw a party in the first place. We suppose that some readers might want the guidance found in chapters on delegating responsibilities for fundraisers, hosting large (100s+) events, or even conducting a blind tasting. Nevertheless the book might have been snappier and even less intimidating without these chapters.

We'll report on Parts 3 and 4 of this delightful book shortly. Stay tuned!

Wine Brats' 1999 Top Ten Wine Predictions

2009-07-30T04:02:00.000-07:00

At WBC 09 we met Joel Quigley, one of the original Wine Brats (now defunct). Joel turned us on to the 1999 publication, The Wine Brats’ Guide to Living, with Wine, and told us we’d be amazed at how many of their top ten predictions for the future of wine had come true. Here they are, with our comments.

Top Ten Predictions for the Future of Wine (published in 1999), by Tina Caputo.

10. Wine advertisements during the Super Bowl (oops, already happened).
'Nuff said. Though we missed the advertisement(s) referred to.

9. Screw caps will make a comeback—even on wines you’d actually want to drink!
Nailed that one.

8. Genetically altered hybrid grapevines will be able to grow Cabernet, Chardonnay, and Riesling grapes all on the same plant.
Hmmmm…this is and has always been possible through simple grafting. No need to go all GMO on us. But why would anyone want to do this?

7. Prohibition-era shipping laws will finally be updated, making it possible to send a bottle of California red to your Aunt Tillie in New York without fear of being thrown into the big house.
Progress has been made, but there remains a long way to go. In fact, many of the updates have stepped backwards, making wine harder to ship. As for sending a bottle to Aunt Tillie, you still can’t do it. Wine shipments anywhere are illegal through USPS, and just you try to convince a FedEx or UPS driver to take a bottle of wine from you. California wineries can and do ship to New York, but the regulatory compliance is daunting, requiring frequent reporting to each of New York's 62 counties. This law may be changing to allow annual reporting, but you get the idea.

6. Decent wine will be available in bars.
Thank goodness, this has been true for a long time in California, at least in the bars we frequent. What’s the report from where you live?

5. Restaurants will only charge $30 for a $20 bottle of wine, rather than $60.
Still waiting.

4. Wine marketers in the United States will realize that it’s okay to translate French wine varietals into English, i.e., Sauvignon blanc = Savage White.
Ha! Love it. But, alas, no. In fact, our federal regulators would not allow this as “Sauvignon blanc” is a recognized varietal name and Savage White is not on the official list. Sigh.

3. Beer drinkers will finally realize there’s no such thing as a wine gut, and switch!
Could be… could be.

2. Future astronauts will demand hydroponic vineyards on Mars!
We’ll have to withhold judgment on this one. But we will remind viewers of Mondovino that Michael Mondavi predicted that Martian wine would be forthcoming from his descendants.

1. Wine-flavored Powerbars!
Not quite, but keep an eye out for Clif Bar Family Winery. Really. Okay, they did just drop the "Bar" from their name, but it's them all right.

Not bad at all, Tina and the Brats. We have barely cracked the book but it looks great, and we will post a review here when we have finished. Thanks, Joel!

WBC '09

2009-07-26T15:32:00.000-07:00

We have spent the weekend at the 2009 Wine Bloggers' Conference. We do not wish you bore you with the nitty gritty, behind the scenes workings of this blog, but we thought you would like to know what we have been up to. This conference far exceeded our hopes, let alone our expectations.

Armed with what we have learned, we hope to write stronger, more detailed and concise posts. We also may revisit some past posts to strengthen and elaborate upon them.

In the meantime, we would like to thank the organizers and sponsors of the conference, including the Open Wine Consortium, Allan Wright and Zephyr Adventures, and the Napa Valley Vintners, among many many others (see the Sponsors page for a complete list).

We had a great time sampling the dry wines of Portugal, and we were reunited with the wines of Rueda and Sherry, from whom we have been parted for far too long. Expect to see posts on all three topics soon, with any samples (none, actually, but we did get to taste) or other influences duly noted, of course.

On Saturday the Napa Vintners generously hosted a great day. Unfortunately, most of the wines we tasted are too expensive to merit attention on this blog. All the more reason to thank Stags' Leap Wine Cellars, Palmaz, Quintessa, Newton, Parry Cellars ("Hi, Sue!"), O'Brien Estate ("Hi, David!") and Domaine Chandon for their time and wines. If you, dear reader, would like to learn more about any of these wineries or their wines, please do ask.

We would also like to thank Jim Gordon for his excellent keynote address, which focused on quality writing as the basis for any decent blog. We aspire to rise to the challenge.

David Yorgensen, O'Brien Estate Winemaker

Boxed Wine Update—A New Hope

2009-07-19T01:45:00.000-07:00

A new post on the Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant blog suggests that KLWM may soon import a Corsican white in a 5-liter box.

KLWM already sells “E Provi Blanc,” a Vermentino from Corsica’s Domaine Maestracci. The 2008 retails for $16.95.

The blog post explains that Kermit has the opportunity to import a "similar" wine from the Domaine in the 5L bag-in-box format. They do not know what the pricing would be, but it would be cheaper than the bottle price. We assume they mean the per bottle equivalent, not that the whole box would cost less than $17. If the new wine costs $12/bottle-equivalent, the box itself would go for $80, which seems a bit steep even if the wine is worth it. We must note that there is some confusion on this point. Many people have told me that the 5L box would cost less than a single bottle of E Prove, i.e.,less than $17. That would be very exciting if true, although we would wonder how it would be possible to have a wine comparable in quality to E Prove cost about 15% as much just because of a packaging change.

KLWM is soliciting comments on whether people would buy the box. We are very excited about the possibilities ourselves, though we think we’d be more excited if Kermit had started with his own Cotes-du-Rhone selection, for example. Feel free to weigh in at the Kermit Lynch site, but we’d love to hear your thoughts as well.

Wines for summer HEAT

2009-07-16T15:55:00.001-07:00

Our most memorable heat wave this year brought us 90 degree weather in January! But “winter” was followed by a long, lazy and relatively cool spring.

Summer has arrived and is making up for lost time with brutal heat. Our collection of crisp refreshing whites is dwindling swiftly. A few standouts bear mention.

North Berkeley Wine has a great lineup of whites for summer. We picked up two wines from Domaine Portaz, in the Savoie region, on a recent sale for a mere $7 a piece. The regular price is $14, but the website claims that special pricing is available. We have enjoyed both the 2005 Apremont and the 2005 Abymes. Very crisp--bracing even. These low-alcohol wines should be served well chilled. One caveat is that 2005 is already pretty old for this style of wine. It's not over the hill yet, but drink anything you have this summer. The plastic cork doesn't help on that regard, either.

Probably the best white we've had this summer has been the Riesling from Chono, also sold by NBW for a mere $9/bottle. We got it for even less as part of a Chilean sampler, but unfortunately we consumed ours during cool weather. Fortunately a friend opened up a bottle for us recently. Positively stunning, it just explodes with fruit. It is bracing like the Savoie wines, but each sip is like eating a juicy ice-cold peach. Yum.

The 2007 Chapoutier Cotes-du-Rhone blanc already mentioned in a couple of posts is quite good, as is the red counterpart we had recently. Both are a steal in the ongoing BevMo 5-cent sale, at $7/bottle. Definitely heavier than the previous wines, this one would be best once the heat starts to abate.

We look forward to our last remaining bottle of rosé from Chile's Alto Sol, another North Berkeley wine ($11). This is a blend of Syrah and Carménère, an unusual but very tasty combination.

We also have a single remaining bottle of the 2008 Shane Rosé "Ma Fille." A beautiful wine in every way. Shane still has some left, we believe at $15/bottle, and well worth it.

One more summer tip: use any disappointing wine you have on hand as a base for sangria. Good wine will work, too, but this is a good way to get rid of disappointments. Of course you should experiment, but here's a basic recipe for white, pink and red sangria:

1. Thoroughly chill the wine, no matter the color.
2. Slice and dice fruit. Berries and citrus work with anything. Stone fruit tends to go better with white/pink, and apples are also worth trying.
3. Make a trial glass, about 50/50 wine and sparkling water, with some of the fruit.
4. Put the base together based on your trial. Combine the fruit and the wine (but not the bubbly water) and return to the fridge. Add sugar if the trial was too tart for your taste.
5. Serve, over ice if necessary, by mixing in bubbly water with the fruit/wine mixture.

Note that brandy is a traditional addition, though we find it tends to make summer days very short.

Enjoy!

A few quickies

2009-07-10T06:15:00.000-07:00

The Testarossa Subasio Syrah we bought as part of the BevMo sale is well worth picking up. We enjoyed the wine with many friends at camp, so detailed notes will have to wait until we open the second bottle. But at $15/btl when buying two, you will do much much better than with any, say, Rosemount Shiraz.

Napa area readers should know about the Manager's Specials shelf at Vallergas, hidden away in the back left corner of the store. Many gems here, including a Monastrell, aka Mourvedre, from La Mancha at a mere $4. Also available for $4 is a 2005 Chardonnay from Mary Elke. We learned from the winemaker that Mary Elke was unhappy with the wine but we found it to be complex and delightful, with plenty of fruit to balance the oak. An absolute steal for the money. There must be many other gems on the shelves as well.

Kermit Lynch is now offering the 2001 Barbera del Moferrato Superiore "Valpane", from Cantine Valpane, for $20. To our taste, Barbera makes a pleasant wine, but rarely one to get excited about, especially for $20. But when we tasted the 1999 version in 2007 we were blown away. The wine spends 5 years aging before going into bottle to age a little longer. That makes it a little different than your everyday Barbera. This is a terrific opportunity to taste a beautifully aged wine for a mere $20. Now do you see why we are excited?

Sabering!

2009-07-08T07:14:00.000-07:00

Sparkling wine is always a pleasure to drink, but did you know it can be a pleasure to open, as well? Oh, sure, everyone loves the "Pop" as the cork is shot across the room (mind the eyes, now). Wouldn't it be more fun to open the bottle with a slash of a big knife?

In this video, devoted friend of the site Lisa Scheff demonstrates a bottle-opening technique called sabering. Get a few practice bottles and you'll be wowing your friends in no time.

By the way, Lisa describes the Chouinard bubbles seen in the video thus:
It was light and simple--just the thing to go with burgers and potato salad." The wine retails for $16.50.

Cheers!

Boring wine and what to do about it

2009-07-05T10:01:00.000-07:00

Have a boring wine (see the Rosenblum Syrah in the previous post)? Don’t just sit there, do something!

What can you do? Your imagination is your only limit. If the wine seems muted and inexpressive, decanting is worth a try. Don't have a decanter? Dig through your recycling to find an empty bottle. Rinse it out and then give it a tiny rinse of the wine in question before pouring back and forth. Aeration is key, so splashing is good, and a funnel can really help.

Nothing in your recycling bin? Try the Mollydooker Shake (tm, probably). Nevermind their explanation for it, just pour out a glass worth, and recork or put the screw back on. Shake vigorously. There will be bubbles. Open to release, and repeat 2-3 times (or as long as you want). Then pour out another glass and compare it to the one you poured out at the beginning. Better?

Or you can work on your blending skills. Have an unfinished bottle lying around? See what a combination of the two wines can do. If someone gave you a bottle you just aren’t that excited about, see if you can make both wines more exciting through blending in various proportions.

You needn't limit yourself to combining wines. You could make a mulled wine with spices and fruit you have on hand. Or add brandy, sparkling water, fruit juice, lavender.... The Ancient Greeks added all sorts of stuff to their wine, which they cut heavily with water (probably salt water).

Don't glumly drink your disappointing wine; take the opportunity to play and use your imagination to come up with something delightful. Please don't forget to share your discoveries!

A few more notes (BevMo sale)

2009-07-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

We are working hard to get you our thoughts on the wines we purchased from BevMo while the sale is still on. Please see the post below for details on the sale, which is essentially a 2-for-1 deal on many wines.

Rosenblum 2005 Syrah England-Shaw Vineyard, Solano County. This was a disappointment. Nothing in particular wrong with it, but it seriously lacked anything of interest, either. No distinctive aromas or textures. Just nothing to get excited about. Even at about $13/bottle, there are many better Syrahs out there.

M. Chapoutier 2007 Cotes-du-Rhone Blanc "Belleruche". Folks, we have a winner! If you have never tried a white from the Cotes-du-Rhone before, this is a classic introduction. It has the weight of an oaky Chardonnay, but with no perceptible oak whatsoever. Instead it offers aromas of flowers and spice, with an almost waxy mouthfeel. Pleasant to sip on a hot summer day, it may not offer quite the thirst-quenching freshness of a Sauvignon blanc, for example, but it has the heft and complexity to be enjoyed in cooler weather as well. This worked out to about $7/bottle on sale, and we cannot recommend it enough. We look forward to trying the red version we got, too.

Enjoy!

A few notes

2009-06-28T10:58:00.001-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

We have ordered way too much wine of late, but how could we resist? Here are some impressions of wines mentioned in recent posts.

A four-pack of wines from Bodhichitta arrived (we paid for them), and we popped the Radiant Rhubarb straight into the fridge. Hands up all of you who have had a rhubarb wine before. We thought not. This was really wild. Radiant, indeed, it positively glowed with a color comparable to pink lemonade. The winemaker followed a 50-year-old recipe he got from his grandmother, and we were pleasantly surprised that the wine was truly dry. We shared the wine with friends, who liked the wine more or less based on how much they like rhubarb. So the wine truly captured the essence of the source material. We think this bodes well for the rest of the wines we ordered, which we will report on in due time.

We ordered a full case of wines from BevMo, taking advantage of the 5-cent sale mentioned a few posts back. Our first wine disappointed. Renwood is a well-respected Amador Foothills winery famous for Zinfandel and perhaps best known for its Grandpere and Grandmere vineyards. We snapped up two bottles of the 2005 Grandmere Vineyard Zinfandel, but found it cloying, with a pronounced buttery note that we do not appreciate in our red wines (or whites, for the most part). Beyond that, there was little varietal Zinfandel character, and not much else to get us excited. We paired the wine with lamb gyros made by a friend. The combination should have been stellar, but instead only the gyros were. Oh, well.

Wine, Freedom and Justice Part 3—Bodhichitta Winery

2009-06-26T08:13:00.001-07:00

Here at last is the final installment in our series on world-changing through wine profiling three non- (or not for-)profit wineries. Ehlers Estate, profiled in the first post, donates its proceeds to the LeDucq Foundation, which conducts research on heart disease. The New Clairvaux Vineyard's wine profits fund the owning monastery's activities, as well as a number of charitable organizations and caretaking of their neighbors.

We managed to find one other non-profit winery. The Bodhichitta Winery is located in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Profits from the winery go principally to the Central Asia Institute, which promotes “community-based education, especially for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.” Bodhichitta also supports Alzheimer's Foundation of America, Autism Society of America, the Humane Society, The Nature Conservancy and Oregon Trout.

Bodhichitta’s lineup of wines is intriguing. In addition to Pinot noir (de rigeur in the Wilammette Valley, they produce a Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Chenin blanc, and a Pinot gris they call “Giggling Gris” for some reason. More interesting still, they produce a mulled wine, and a wide range of fruit and honey wines. They even have a wine blended from Cabernet and blackberries. We are very intrigued by the latter and by the straight blackberry wine, which they claim is dry. Prices range from $20-38, about average for the Willamette Valley.

Bodhichitta’s owner and winemaker, identified on the site only as Mark, says "Bodhichitta Winery was founded to do my part to ease the suffering in this world while fueling two of my passions--wine and service to others. It answers the two questions I ask myself everyday: 'What can I do to help?' and 'What can I do to serve?'"

We have purchased a sampler of the Bodhichitta wines and will report in here once we have tasted them.

What are your thoughts on the winery as non-profit? What do you think of joining winemaking and service?

We interrupt this PSA...

2009-06-23T11:12:00.000-07:00

Beverages & More is running its 5 cent sale again. Buy a bottle at the regular price, get a second of the same for 5 cents more. So, essentially, a 2-for-1 deal. Here are a few sale bottles that piqued our interest:

Fort Ross Pinot Noir Sea Slopes 2006: $28.04 for two. We have not had this wine but have heard great things about it. The 2006 vintage on the Sonoma Coast was tricky, but we have enjoyed the vintage very much.

Rosenblum England-Shaw Syrah 2005: $25.04 for two. Rosenblum does a great job with Syrah, and this is from an interesting spot in Solano County, of all places.

Chapoutier Belleruche Cotes-du-Rhone 2007 white or red: $14.04 for two. Chapoutier is a big producer but these should be great bottles for the price. 2007 is a knockout vintage in the Rhone.

Testarossa Syrah Subasio 2007: $30.04 for two. Another one we have not tried but have heard great things about.

As usual, we would love to hear what you find and how you like it.

And don't worry, we will be posting our write up of the third and perhaps most interesting non-profit winery shortly.

Wine, Freedom and Justice Part 2—New Clairvaux Vineyard

2009-06-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

As the situation in Iran begins to look less hopeful, we continue our musings on wine making as a tool for world betterment (see below for the first entry on the subject).

We imagine that the New Clairvaux Vineyard, owned by a Cistercian Abbey, is non-profit. The "Our Vision" page of the website states that their goal is to "create a memorable wine experience" and to "produce extraordinary wine." Laudable, and please see the Monastery's Abbot's comments, below, for a description of their mission and the many projects the income from the wine supports.

The winery is in Vina, California, not far from Chico. Reds range from $13-$36, and whites from $15-16. Aimee Sunseri, a former classmate of ours from the UC-Davis Viticulture & Enology program, is the winemaker.

The lineup of wines is quite interesting, and their prices attractive. Whites include Albariño, Vigonier and Trebbiano, and the reds are Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Tempranillo, Syrah, and a blend that includes some Cabernet from Napa Valley. The principal vineyard is located on the site of Leland Stanford’s ambitious but failed effort, which was the largest vineyard in the world in 1890.

We have not tried the wines but look forward to doing so. We welcome your thoughts on winemaking and world changing.

Wine, Freedom and Justice Part 1—Ehlers Estate

2009-06-17T10:56:00.001-07:00

Our minds have been focused on Iran of late. Despite our theme of revolution and our fervent belief that wine can bring happiness (and no one should have to pay too much for that), inexpensive wine seems to have little to do with promoting freedom. Watching developments in Iran, we wonder how wine can have a broader positive impact.

A Google search for non-profit wine turns up mostly links to wine being poured or auctioned for non-profit events. Not a bad way to turn fermented juice into cash, but can wine do more?

The profits from Ehlers Estate, which the Napa Valley Wine Blog calls the only non-profit winery in California, go entirely to the LeDucq Foundation, which funds cardiovascular research (a very popular cause among older, wealthier wine consumers, and seemingly a long way from freedom struggles in Iran and eleswhere). Ehlers wines come from the heart of Napa Valley, so it is no surprise that they are not cheap. The Sauvignon Blanc is $25 and the reds range from $45-$90.

Descriptions of two more non-profit wineries will follow. In the meantime, please share your thoughts on wine, freedoms and justice. Is non-profit status a sensible way for a winery to achieve humanitarian goals, or is it better to simply donate wines to non-profits for their events? Is there another way wine producers can work toward humanitarian ideals?

Wine Recommendations

2009-06-10T06:59:00.001-07:00

Here are some wine recommendations to get you through the weekend. These wines are widely distributed so you should be able to find most of them wherever you shop. These may not lead to jaw-dropping epiphanies, but we think you won't be disappointed. All prices approximate.

Sparkling
Cristalino Brut Cava, $8

White
Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc, $9
Yalumba Y Series Vigonier, $10

Pink
Crios Rose of Malbec, $9

Red
Alamos Malbec, $9
Borsao Campo de Borja, $8
Finca Luzon, Jumilla $6
Cline Ancient Vines Mourvedre, $13
Guigal Cotes-du-Rhone, $13

Have you tried any of these? We would love to hear your thoughts.

Cheap wine on-line: Wine.Woot and Wines 'Til Sold Out

2009-05-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of websites worth checking out for occasional wine deals.

Wines 'Til Sold Out offers a single wine at a deep discount until, well, until it is sold out. Prices vary widely, although I have yet to see an offer under $10 or over $50/bottle. The discounts are pretty steep, generally more than 50% off full retail.

The website provides pretty thorough information, though naturally they claim that all the wines they offer are fabulous. One very nice feature is that shipping is free with a minimum purchase that seems to range from 2 to 4 bottles. Our only complaint is that there is no way to see previous offers. Sure, the wines are gone, but it would be nice to see what sorts of wines they get and at what prices they are offered. If any of you know how to find previous offers, please let us know.

As of this typing, WTSO is offering Artesa's 2006 Carneros Estate Reserve Pinot Noir, which retails for $40, for $26. A pretty good discount, indeed. We have not had the wine and would guess it is pretty good, but that you could find a comparable Pinot at that price. So hang on for future offers.

Woot Wine is a version of the Woot shopping page that specializes in, duh, wine. As with WTSO, they have a single offer at a time, and it, too, seems to stay up until the wine is gone. Unlike WTSO, it is possible to see prior offerings. Woot Wine offers a much more content-rich page, and the writing is quite humorous. In the short time that we have followed Woot Wine, we have yet to see a wine with which we are familiar, although we often have some knowledge of the winemakers involved. Prices seem quite reasonable. Shipping is low, and as with WTSO purchasing a certain amount usually gets the shipping fees waived.

Another neato Woot Wine feature is the discussion board. You can ask a question about the wine directly to the winemaker, or just read what other folks have to say about it.

Have any questions about the wines you see on either site? Have you bought any wines from them, and what did you think of those wines? Please share!

2d poll results--how much is too much to spend on a wine?

2009-05-21T11:06:00.001-07:00

The second poll generated less interest than the first, with only 5 people weighing in on the topic. One person selected two answers, indicating a too-high price at a restaurant as well as a too-high retail price. Unfortunately, the poll widget will not show us which the two answers were ($10 and $20? $20 and $100? we cannot know). We have not had luck finding a better poll tool, and we continue to welcome suggestions for readers.

So here are the results as we have them. How much is too much to spend? 2 votes for $20, 1 vote each for $35 and $50, and 2 votes for $100. We are encouraged by the results. We aim to feature wines that cost less than $20 here, but as you are doubtless aware it can be difficult to find genuinely exciting wines at this price. We now feel that we can discuss the occasional exciting find at more than $20 without alienating our readers!

We have some more poll ideas, so we'll put up a new poll soon. If you have any suggestions, please do send them our way.

Wine and Social Media

2009-05-14T16:33:00.001-07:00

This is a bit beyond the purview of our blog, but anyone interested in how social media (facebook, linkedin, and, ahem, blogs) will shape the future of wine and wine marketing should take a look at a new paper from VinTank available here.

This is a long document, but the table of contents should help you find content of interest. Wineries and wine bloggers should take note of the whole thing. Consumers will find the sections on various online wine communities, such as CellarTracker, Adegga, and Snooth of interest, and you may even find new ways to spend time on-line.

As always, comments are welcome. And yes, we will work on incorporating the ideas in the paper to improve this very blog, even if we feel decidedly stone-age after reading the paper.

New poll

2009-05-14T09:46:00.001-07:00

The first poll is closed. Thank you for your participation. 100% of the respondents said they typically choose something new when buying a bottle of wine. Very nice, and we will continue to highlight bottles we think are worthy of your selection.

We have posted a new poll today on how much you are willing to spend on wine. The poll gadget is clunkier than we would like, so feel free to post a comment regarding your answer. If you choose two price levels we will assume that the higher price applies to restaurant purchases.

Poll results thus far

2009-05-08T16:36:00.001-07:00

My, but you are an adventurous bunch. The first round of votes are in and 100% of the respondents say that they typically buy a new bottle.

Which immediately brings to mind all sorts of follow up questions. Do you buy wines that are new to you because:
- you are seeking out new experiences?
- you have not been happy with the wines you have bought?
- the wines you have bought are not available when you go back?

Doubtless you have other reasons. Please do share.

Thank you for the poll responses, and keep 'em coming. We'll post a new poll shortly.

Choosing wine by the importer

2009-05-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

Wednesday on Slate, Mike Steinberger published a guide to help readers “Never Buy a Bad Bottle of Wine Again.” Although we have a few quibbles with the piece, we are mainly upset that we did not write it ourselves.

Steinberger’s point is that certain importers are so reliable that seeing their name on the back of a bottle of wine suffices to guarantee the wine’s quality. Steinberger even offers a tri-fold wallet card listing “Wine Importers You can Trust.” We strongly recommend reading the piece or at least scrolling to the bottom for the wallet card.

We are not familiar with all the importers on Steinberger’s list, although we are now intrigued to sample their offerings. The importers we do know, such as Robert Kacher, Eric Solomon, and the herein much mentioned Kermit Lynch, are indeed reliable importers. Which is to say that they stand behind any wine they bring in. These importers believe in the quality of their selections.

That is not quite the same as saying that you will not be disappointed. No one’s taste overlaps entirely with another’s. We have certainly tried wines from each of these importers that were not to our taste. But we have no doubt that these wines were selected sincerely rather than cynically. And while a disappointment is always a disappointment, we can learn about our own taste preferences from a “good” bottle that we do not enjoy, while a “bad” bottle is nothing but a bad bottle.

We would love to know your thoughts on Steinberger’s piece, and on choosing wines based on who imported them.

And by the way, much the same argument could be made for distributors of domestic wines. Unfortunately, the distributor is rarely as identifiable as an importer is, and a list like Steinberger's would be difficult to devise since distributors often work only within one or a few states. We shall work on it.

Polls

2009-05-07T07:39:00.001-07:00

We are trying a little experiment here. You doubtless noticed the poll above. We plan to ask a few more questions, too, both to learn more about you and to determine new directions for the blog.

As always, please let us know what you think. Thank you for your responses.

Intermezzo!

2009-04-28T19:21:00.000-07:00

Although we will continue to report on outstanding wines at reasonable prices, and on new sales (Safeway has renewed its 30% off wines over $20 offer, by the way), we are looking for new directions for this blog. We have a few ideas in play, but please tell us what you would like to see here.

Have a question about a particular bottle/variety/producer/region? Do you know of any bargains or particular values you would like to share? Do you have any questions about winemaking, and what makes one bottle of wine cost more than another? Any experiences you would like to relate regarding alternatives to the glass bottle/bark stopper paradigm?

We are all ears. And, once again, we are pwr at att dot net

Corked wine--what to do about it?

2009-04-09T11:46:00.000-07:00

In his blog today, the San Francisco Chronicle's Wine Editor, Jon Bonné, investigates a way to remedy corked wine at home. Before we explain cork taint, the remedy, and how it works, we must stress this:

If you have a corked wine, take it back where you bought it! You will get the wine replaced or your purchase price refunded.

If you bought the wine at a winery, they will be very happy to take it back. They do not want any consumers to think their wines are bad because of a corked bottle.

If you bought the wine at a wine store, they too will take it back. It will not cost them anything, as they will in turn give it back to the distributor for a credit, and the distributor will return it to the winery (or at least report the incident to the winery).

If you bought the wine at a supermarket, returning it might be a little harder. You may need to ask around to find a manager or whomever is in charge of the wine section, but once you have done so you should have no trouble making the return.

Inconvenient, perhaps, but not as bad as dumping a ruined wine down the drain or, worse yet, drinking it.

So, we do recommend attempting to resurrect a corked wine, but only if you are unable to return the wine.

What is a corked wine? There are many ways a wine can be off. Cork taint is among the most insidious. The taint is caused by a compound called trichloroanisole, or TCA. (Geek aside: Less frequently, the chlorine can be replaced by other halides, so trihaloanisole is a generic term for all the compounds that affect the wine in a similar way.) TCA is produced by molds as a defense against toxic (to them) chlorophenols.

The human nose is incredibly sensitive to TCA. Most people can identify TCA in concentrations as low as 4 parts per billion (4 nanograms per liter). TCA smells, by the way, like an extremely unpleasant musty attic.

What's more scary for wine producers is that below the recognition level, TCA still has effects: it reduces all the aromas in the wine, making it seem bland and uninteresting. Believe us, winemakers would much rather have a consumer recognize a wine as corked than have them think that the wine is flawless but boring.

TCA also has lingering effects. It is persistent. So if you smell a corked wine, and then smell another wine to compare, you will likely think that both wines are affected. Give your nose a good break (20 seconds or so) before making the comparison.

Bonné describes the home remedy well, but here is a summary. Crumple up a bunch of plastic wrap (to maximize surface area), and place it in a vessel, such as a decanter or even a bowl that is large enough to hold what remains of your wine. Pour the wine over it and let it sit for ~20 minutes. If you have two decanters or bowls, you can go back and forth a few times.

Discard the plastic wrap and drink the wine, which will be much better. Bonné recommends keeping a sample of the untreated wine as a comparison, but remember the warning about the persistence of TCA.

Why does it work? TCA has a greater affinity for the plastic than it does for the wine. The geeky explanation is that TCA is non-polar, as is plastic. Wine is mostly water, which is about as polar as you can get, with alcohol, which is only weakly non-polar. So TCA is attracted to the alcohol in the wine, but nowhere near as much as it is attracted to the plastic.

Do note that many aroma compounds are non-polar and will also leave the wine in favor of the plastic. This treatment will improve a corked wine a great deal, but will not make it the same as an uncorked, untreated bottle of the same wine.

Good luck, and remember--take those corked wines back where they came from!

Other ways to save on wine

2009-04-02T09:33:00.000-07:00

We are still in Laurel Village in San Francisco. Last night, we took advantage of a deal that Wine Impressions has made with two nearby restaurants, Cafe Rigolo and Asqew, whereby any wine purchased at WI may be consumed at either restaurant without a corkage charge.

We perused the very good selection of inexpensive offerings (see previous posts) before opting for the 2007 Copain Tous Ensembles Syrah from Mendocino. At $24, this wine is out of the range of our normal recommendations in this forum. However, if we found this wine on a restaurant list at $24, we would be alerting the world!

So it helps to have an open mind when considering what constitutes a bargain. It also helps to read or ask about deals and arrangements a store might have with nearby restaurants.

Kermit Lynch Spring Sampler

2009-04-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

We assure you that we are neither pawns nor shills. We are not on the payroll of Kermit Lynch nor that of any other wine merchant.

As much as we care about the quality and affordability of your wines, dear readers, we hesitate to harp, pester or nag. So this is the last you will hear from us on the subject of samplers from various wine merchants that offer both great value and the means to try unusual wines for little money. Yes, we have mentioned it before.

Those who have not (yet?) signed up for the Kermit Lynch newsletter, now available via email, may see the current edition here.

On page 8 you will find "Seasonal Sampler II: Spring," in which is described a 12-bottle sampler offered for $155, or about $13/bottle. We cannot vouch for all of the included wines other than to say that it is difficult to go wrong with Mr. Lynch's selections. Those that we do know, such as the Kuentz-Bas Pinot blanc from Alsace, the Domaine de Fontsainte Corbieres Rose, and the amazing Pic Saint Loup Rouge form Chateau La Roque, are well worth the money.

If you do opt for the sampler, please share your thoughts on the wines.