Disappointment in a can

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

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.

Northern California 2009 Vintage and Harvest

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.

A Palate Cleanser

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.

Cruz Andina Malbec 2006

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

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!

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.

Napa Wineries Worth a Visit

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?

Allegrini Valpolicella

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

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

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.

Wine in CANS!

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.

Harvest 2009

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.

Pedroncelli Shines

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)

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

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

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

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

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

Sabering!

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

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!

Wine, Freedom and Justice Part 3—Bodhichitta Winery

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?

Wine, Freedom and Justice Part 2—New Clairvaux Vineyard

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

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

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.

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

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.

New poll

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

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.

Polls

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.

Corked wine--what to do about it?

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!

Wine flavors--where do they come from?

"Strawberries, cherries, and an angel's kiss in spring/ My summer wine is really made from all these things."--"Summer Wine," by Lee Hazlewood

Gentle readers, have you ever read a description of a wine and wondered at what stage in the winemaking the blackberries, or lemon rinds, or chocolate are added? Or whether the winemakers don't bother with such messy additions and just go for the vats of "natural" flavorings from New Jersey chemical suppliers?

Well, many people have. A few years ago we were asked the blackberry question by a visitor to the winery we then worked for. And just today we were asked a similar question, more focused on the vats from New Jersey. Both times it took us several moments to grasp the question, because the reality is so very different such scenarios do not readily occur to us.

But they should. Our mission is to help people enjoy wine as much as we can. If anyone is reluctant to take a sip based on what they think might have been added to their wine, then we have a job to do.

What follows is a version of the reply we sent to today's inquirer.

We assure you that no wines you are drinking have any artificial or "natural" flavors added. There is little natural about natural flavorings (see, for instance, Michael Pollan's work), but don't worry--they aren't added to your wine. (There are some exceptions we will mention below.)

The hints of chocolate, boysenberry, citrus, etc., are just that. The grapes contain flavors that are reminiscent of some of these things (and not just reminiscent; they are the same compounds that make a cherry smell like a cherry, for instance). The oak barrels some wines are aged in impart more flavors (that are naturally present in the wood or are created by the "toasting" of the oak wood over fire). Perhaps most importantly, the yeast that ferment the wine, whether added by the winemaker or "naturally" present on the grapes (more likely simply resident in the winery), add still more flavors by producing esters that can smell of apples, bananas, and other fruit.

It gets even more complicated when these flavors are found together, as they always are in wine. For instance, there is no compound on earth that smells like strawberries. Rather, there is a combination of chemicals (mostly esters) naturally present in strawberries that together and in the right proportions impart that distinctive smell. (Vanilla, in contrast, owes to a single, rather simple compound.) Some wines nevertheless smell of strawberries, which means that they too have the same mix of aroma compounds in the same proportions, which is pretty amazing.

Some companies sell kits of essences to wineries, but not to add to the wine. Rather, the idea is to train the staff to identify components in wine. Spiking a wine glass with a chocolate aroma, for instance, helps tasters recognize the smell of chocolate that is possibly in the wine anyway.

If you are curious about that, there is no reason to buy a kit. Just buy some inexpensive wine (we recommend the 5-L Peter Vella, which should be well less than $10), and fill several glasses with about 2 ounces. Then drop in whatever you are curious about. For instance, if you use a white wine you might add a wedge of orange to one glass, one of lemon to another, etc. And if you have access to flowers those would be great, too. Jams are also good. For red wine you might try chocolate (a small chunk of a chocolate bar), boysenberries or boysenberry jam, cherries, even savory elements like coffee, rosemary, or dill. Ideally you would cover each glass and let the mixture sit for a few hours before sniffing each, but you can do it right away. It helps to have one unadulterated glass you can compare to.

Here are some exceptions.

In premium wine, there have been a few scandals. The most recent that we are aware of occurred in South Africa, where some wineries were apparently spiking their sauvignon blancs with the compound that imparts the aroma so charmingly described as cat urine. Many people do find that desirable in Sauvignon Blanc, and it does occur in SB naturally. Really. To the extent that the guilty were caught, the wines were recalled and destroyed.

In sub-premium wine, there was a mini-scandal a few years ago that requires some legalese to explain properly. Ask for details if you want them, but the point is that "natural" and possibly artificial flavors (we don't recall) were added to boxed wines.

And there are wines you'll find on the shelf today, especially if you go looking for the Peter Vella, that state that they contain natural flavorings. Make sure you avoid those if you try the experiments above.

Gundlach-Bundschu Wine Poetry Contest--Hurry!

Here's the scoop: Gundlach-Bundschu Winery is celebrating 151 years in the biz with a poetry contest. 151-word limit, no other restrictions. You can enter as many times as you wish.

Please share your submission with us, and be sure to let us know if you win anything. But hurry! The deadline is midnight PST on Thursday, March 12.

Details and entry form are here.

"In honor of our 151st anniversary, we invite everyone who is passionate about wine to tell us, in 151 words or less, what is it about wine that stirs your soul?"

Good luck!

Confusion--Wine Review Weekly

This story just gets weirder. This is part 3. Immediately below, you'll find part 2, which is a follow up to the original post beneath it. We endeavored to spread the news about a useful, moderately useful, email service. We then discovered that the service is available only to members of the wine industry. Our promised investigation was extremely brief. Within seconds of posting part 2, we discovered that, while this service is free to those in the industry, it is available to the general public for....$349. I mean to say, "just $6.72 per week"!

Depressing and distressing. Who outside of the industry would be willing to pay for such a service? We are mystified. At any rate, the emails all include a link for forwarding to a friend. So, if any of you, after reading below, decide you would like to know what might be worth so much money, let us know and we will gladly forward the email to you. Part 2 follows....

We are perplexed. We began writing a post about an email service we thought might interest our readers. Clicking on the link to sign up, we discovered that this service is only offered to people in the wine industry. We promise to investigate. In the meanwhile, if any of you would like us to forward our weekly email, let us know via pwr at att net Below is the post that would have been:

If you like reading about wine, or if you would like more recommendations about wines to try, you might want to sign up for Wine Review Weekly, from Wine Opinions. This is a free service. Subscribers get an email each Monday morning describing all the wines reviewed in major newspapers, magazines and blogs. Each entry gives a brief description, such as

"The Oregonian: Wine columnist Matt Kramer on finding real value in wine. Cases in point are Cantele Primitivo 'Salento' 2006, and Vina Gormaz Ribera del Duero Tempranillo 2007."

Links are included so you can click your way to any article of interest.

Since signing up we have received the weekly email, and nothing else--no ads or spam. (Yes there is something about surveys with potential prize money, but we have no recollection of doing a survey, or even being offered the chance to do one. Nor have we won any prizes.)

Box wines--what's the deal?

A dear reader recently asked us about wine in boxes. Before diving into a reply, click here to take a look at the Santa Rosa's Press-Democrat thoughts on the very subject.
(Short version, they like the Black Box brand, which you will recall is produced by Constellation, as well as jugs that consumers can take to stores and wineries to fill up.)

Wine in boxes is a wonderful idea. The wine is actually inside a plastic bag inside the box. The bag collapses as the wine is dispensed, so the wine remains free of oxygen. An opened box wine can stay fresh for weeks, and is a convenient thing to have on the counter, especially when you would like a glass of wine but do not want to commit to opening a bottle.

Boxed wine is also great from an environmental perspective. A box, barely the size of two bottles, typically holds the equivalent of 4 bottles of wine, so more can be packed into each shipment, reducing the carbon cost of moving the wine around. That cost is further reduced by the very much lower weight of the package. And the package is almost entirely recyclable, although whether the plastic parts actually get recycled is an open question.

The one thing boxes are not (yet) good for, is long term storage of wine. If you buy a box, plan to drink it within the year. This has to do with the nature of the plastic, gas permeability, and details beyond the scope of this blog.

For all of these reasons box, or "cask" wine is very popular in Australia and, we are told, Europe. The box has had trouble catching on here, and producers blame the generally dreadful quality of the "wine" sold in 5-liter boxes, such as Franzia, Peter Vella, etc. We use the quotation marks advisedly. These producers may have cleaned up their act, but at least a few years ago many of the 5-liter beverages were in essence wine-flavored, alcoholic sugar-water. Yum!

In our experiments with boxed wine, we have found that the 5-liter-related stigma may not be the only thing holding them back. We have found that the first releases of the wines is generally pretty good, but subsequent releases show a marked drop in quality. We have all but given up on boxed wine, as a result.

So we turn to you, dear readers. Have you found a boxed wine you enjoy? Or dislike? Do tell which, and why? We eagerly await your reply.

Cline visit

Don't say we never did you nothing: we braved the 3-day weekend/valentine's day traffic to bring you the promised report from Cline Cellars.

As members of the wine industry, we rarely visit the "front of the house" tasting rooms. We usually skip the front entrance and head to the back, where we get royal treatment tasting with our fellow winemakers. We cry for you, but only so much. You are always welcome to come taste with us, after all. So, bellying up to the tasting bar..., well, actually, it was so crowded that it was more like we were circling vultures until a thin slice of bar opened up. Any way you look at it, it was jarring to our delicate systems. Remember, we did it for you.

Cline has a nice enough tasting room. We ignored the usual tchotchkes and were greeted by the very helpful Connie. She explained that we could choose any 5 wines among the 3 whites and 8 reds listed on the front side of the tasting sheet, and that the 4 wines on the back could be tasted at $1/per. Pretty reasonable, by tasting room standards, we think. Of course, we pulled rank and got to taste anything we wanted with no charge. Eat your hearts out.

Overall, we liked the wines. Nothing blew us away, even though we were tasting wines that were supposed to be much better than the California Syrah referenced a couple of posts back that inspired us to visit the tasting room in the first place. Why? This is a tough one. We have often experienced what we call the Tasting Room Effect, where wines that we know and love just don't taste as good at the winery as they do at home. Perhaps this is because the wines have been opened too long, the glasses are subpar (as much as we hate to admit it, glasses do make a difference), or we are just put off by the thcotchkes and crowds.

Anyway, we bought a case of wine, following our own advice (see earlier posts) to buy two of everything. So we'll see if the wines show better chez nous than they did at Cline. Yes, you will get reports.

Here's the list: what we did not taste, what we tasted, and what we bought.
2007 Pinot Gris Sonoma Coast, $12

2007 Oakley four Whites (Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Palomino, Malvasia Bianca. Hm, wondering now why we did not taste this. Palomino is the main grape in Sherry. $11

2007 Los Carneros Viognier, $16. We tasted this one, and liked it very much. Classic viognier (floral, pretty, with enough weight to keep drinking it). At this point we have a backlog of whites, so we are only buying whites that blow us away. This was good, but did not make the cut.

2006 Oakley five reds (Merlot, Barbera, Cab Franc, Syrah, Mourvedre), $11.

2007 Cashmere, California, $21. We tasted this blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre (GSM, or as Cline says, "Gimme Some More!"). The G and M come from Oakley, and the S from Sonoma. It was plenty tasty, but not enough to justify the price. Mind you, this is a bargain compared to many similar blends from Napa and Sonoma, but we think most of those pale compared to the typical $10-15 Cotes-du-Rhone, as did this.

2007 Ancient Vines Carignane, Contra Costa County, $16. We tasted this. Carignane is a notoriously tough grape. Tough flavors, tough to make interesting, tough from just about any perspective. This wine was quaffable enough, but not special.

2007 Ancient Vines Mourvedre, Contra Costa County, $18. This was much more generous than the Carignane, but still did not deliver enough to get us excited. Cline makes a reserve Mourvedre, but they were sold out so we could not taste it.

2007 Syrah Sonoma County, $12. This is the current release of the Syrah we tasted earlier, then called California. We did not taste it, but bought two bottles on faith.

2006 Cool Climate Syrah, Sonoma Coast, $16, and
2005 Los Carneros Syrah, $28. We tasted these two side-by-side, and neither had the spark that so enticed us in the California Syrah we tasted a few weeks ago. The Los Carneros was more interesting, and quite good nonetheless, so we decided to chalk it up to the aforementioned Tasting Room Effect and bought two bottles.

We then tasted 4 Zinfandels side-by-side (Cline makes single vineyard designate Zinfandels from Contra Costa County, but these were sold out at the time of our visit):
2007 Zinfandel, California, $12
2007 Ancient Vines Zinfandel, California, $18
2006 Sonoma Zinfandel, $26
2007 Heritage Zinfandel, Contra Costa County, $34

The entry-level Zin is Cline's best-selling wine. It had a pleasant, classic Zinfandel nose. Nice but unremarkable. The Ancient Vines was a decided step up, and we bought two bottles. The Sonoma Zin, made from fruit purchased from Sonoma Valley, really highlighted the difference between Sonoma and Contra Costa Zinfandel. Our favorite of the four (we bought two bottles), this wine was richer and more complex than the others. The Heritage Zin, essentially a blend of the 4 Contra Costa single vineyard Zins, had real potential, and may be too young to be showing it now. We bought two bottles to find out.

On our way out Connie insisted we try their late-harvest Mourvedre, and advised that we visit Cline's sister winery, Jacuzzi, across the street. Partly good advice. The late harvest Mourvedre would please any lover of ruby port, and would go wonderfully with any rich, chocolatey dessert. Jacuzzi was a major disappointment. The wines are mostly made from relatively obscure Italian varieties, such as Arneis, Lagrein, Nero D'Avola, Barbera, Nebbiolo, Dolcetto..., but all were disappointing, and about 50% more expensive than their supposed counterparts at Cline.

Cline is very close to San Francisco, and not so much farther from the East Bay. If you can brave a tasting room scene there are worse places to go, and other good visits nearby, such as Gloria Ferrer. But Cline wines are widely available so there is no reason to go out of your way to visit. We enjoyed everything we tasted at Cline and the prices are hard to beat in California. We were hoping for a bit more out of the wines, and once we open at home what we bought today, we'll let you know whether we find it.