Dr Vino's wine blog

John Gilman, author of the newsletter A View from the Cellar, weighs in today with his thoughts on Mayacamas Vineyards. There is some duplication with Evan Dawson’s travel post from yesterday but there is also much new, including John’s tasting notes from Mayacamas Cabernet 2003, 1991, 1985, 1974, & 1968. Let’s turn the floor over to John for his views from the cellar…

Mayacamas Vineyards is one of the greatest cabernet sauvignon producers in the history of California. Read more…

Evan Dawson, who writes about Finger Lakes wines for the New York Cork Report (and who we last saw here), recently tweeted that he was in Napa. I asked him if he wanted to contribute a post from his travels and he suggested his stop at Mayacamas Vineyards. Today we have his thoughts. Tomorrow, John Gilman offers his tasting notes on several decades’ of Mayacamas wines.

By Evan Dawson

Whither Napa Cabernet? The economy dealt a blow to the iconic American wine as consumers started reaching for less expensive bottles. Now, a growing number of critics and consumers, including those in California, are openly wondering if the Napa Cabernet train has come off the rails: commentator Dan Berger, for one, last week dismissed California Cabernet as “little more than a parody of itself.”

High up the side of Mount Veeder one sunny but cool, midwinter morning a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t help wondering if the way back might offer ideas for Napa’s way forward. After all, the Cabernets of the 1970s helped put Napa on the world wine map, so it seemed reasonable to wonder if in wine, as in fashion, the past could provide inspiration.

To find one answer to this question, I had ventured to the Maycamas Vineyards. Celebrated in the 1970s as a leading producer of Cabernet, I was curious if the once-hot style would seem as out of place as bell bottoms or as appealing as Mad Men. After all, not much had changed there. Read more…

This postcard from India is by Dini Rao, formerly in the wine department at Christie’s, and currently finishing her MBA at Harvard Business School.

My wine experience during my stay in India was eye-opening. If you told me five years ago that Indians would put down their bottles of Johnny Walker Black Label for a glass of Shiraz, I would laugh. After spending the first portion of my trip in the southern city of Chennai (formerly Madras), my concept of an Indian wine shop was bleak: a wine stand (see the first photo above) with men standing around in lungis all day, taking shots of “wine” i.e. liquor or port.

Then I arrived in Mumbai where swank hotels and restaurants serve Veuve yellow label for Rs. 2000 or $50 a glass. Top wineries attract Indians eager for tours with beautiful tasting rooms (see the second photo). As if welcoming me to the city, the current issue of Time Out Mumbai featured “Wine: Why we’re all drinking it,” a 12 page spread about wine bars, producers and sommeliers around town. According to a Newsweek International online article, Bollywood, which just graduated to showing its first scandalous on screen kiss on the lips, features stars sipping wine in recent movies.

Wine, while trendy, also seems to have serious takers. A friend publishes the wine magazine Sommelier India that circulates to India’s growing wine enthusiasts. When invited to witness a Wine Society of India tasting, I quickly dropped my previous plans to see Stephen Spurrier speak to 500 assembled Indian guests (see photo).

India’s wine future seems bright. Euromonitor predicts 100% growth from the 9 million bottles currently consumed in India over the next five years. Consumption per capita is low in the billion-person country, but concentrated, as Mumbai drinks 40% of wine by value and will continue as one of the highest growing markets. No wonder the WTO, led by the EU and US, pressures India to change the import duties on foreign wines which currently reach up to 550%.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of India’s wine culture is its own wine production. More on this in Wine in India, Part 2.

Are Gen Y wine shops all they’re cracked up to be? Since I’m Gen X (and a wine geek) I had to find a Gen Y person, relatively new to wine to tell me. I posted about this mission and from the replies, I selected Grace Nguyen (whom I have never met) to take the challenge and report back to us.

Our agent: Grace Nguyen, 27….Studied Environmental Economics and Policy at Berkeley….Then became a line cook and pastry cook for five years…Now studying for a Master’s in NYU’s Food Studies program…She wants to learn more about wine…And now, over to Grace, with notes from the field.

They’re calling them Gen Y wine shops because they have one thing in common; they cater to the neophytes of wine drinkers. Customers will no longer have to suffer wine-shop inferiority. A smaller wine selection, wine descriptors by flavor, and printable tasting notes, are some of the recent trends. These shops have taken a new angle and have figured out the reasons why the average person drinks wine: for taste and for dinner.

So let’s see what these shops have to offer. My wine price range: $10-$15. My dinner: chicken with mustard. The recommendation: a 2005 Verdicchio and a 1990 Vouvray from Moore Brothers Wine Company (map it). And a 2004 Corbieres from Bottlerocket Wine and Spirits. Although both shops were eager to help me find that perfect wine to complement my dinner, they offered conflicting recommendations.

“You’ll want something earthy with a little acidity. You don’t want too much fruit, especially with mustard.” The clerk at Moore Brothers suggested the Vouvray Aigle Blanc 1990 at $25, and although apologetic for suggesting a more expensive bottle, he couldn’t stop praising it (find this wine). “It’s earthy, with hints of mushrooms, slight fruit, and just enough acidity. It’ll go very nicely with chicken and mustard.” It sounded sincere enough.
Read more…

On an October trip to Germany, I visited a number of supermarkets, and inevitably I found myself browsing the wine department. Out of chauvinist curiosity — or perhaps Schadenfreude — I always made sure to look for the wine offerings from the United States.

In nearly every supermarket I visited, including some smaller shops outside of city centers, there were two predominant Californian wine brands available. Gallo and, secondarily, Fetzer. (Interestingly, Chilean and South African brands are more prominent and varied on store shelves.)

But one wine in particular caught my eye. I noticed a Gallo wine that was called “Gallo Sierra Valley Merlot.” I thought, “Sierra Valley? Where the heck is that?!”

Visitors to California looking for Sierra Valley will be disappointed. I looked closer at the bottle, to find a tiny “(tm)” after the name. Indeed, there is no Sierra Valley — it’s an “appellation” invented by Gallo’s marketing department for sending bulk-produced wines to Europe with fancier labels.

The company’s website for the Sierra Valley brand offers this description:

Let us introduce you to California. The grapes for our Ernest & Julio Gallo Sierra Valley are sourced from our sun-drenched vineyards throughout California. By balancing Old World heritage with New World innovation, we harness the potential of the California terroir and bring it to you in the bottle.

“Vineyards throughout California” allow them to “harness the potential of the California terroir“??! One terroir for an entire state? Obtained by blending wines from the Central Valley? Who wrote this?

Sadly, it turns out that “Sierra Valley” and its broad notion of terroir are not limited to Germany, or even Europe. The brand is sold to Canada and Japan as well. For many people, sadly, this bulk wine with the phony-baloney appellation is the only exposure to Californian wine they can readily receive.

– Mark Ashley, Upgrade: Travel Better

tags: wine | Gallo Sierra Valley | Germany

By Judith Hausman

After a blind tasting or a big party, every host has wondered what to do with those bottle ends. If you are as frugal as I am, you just can’t bring yourself pour out that last glass of Laughing Magpie or Macon Lugny especially when it’s so easy to put it to good use. Got leftovers? Think opportunity.

Obviously you can cook with it. Add that gulp of red to a barbecue marinade, a stew or spaghetti sauce. Or salt it and refrigerate it until that cooking opportunity presents itself, reducing the salt in your recipe. Deglaze a pan with it, along with a little grainy Dijon mustard and a splash of cream, to make a classic sauce for sauteed boneless chicken, salmon filets or veal medallions.

Or combine red or white wine with orange slices, strawberries, grapes and some seltzer for an impromptu sangria. Stir even Champagne into a Scandinavian-style, cold berry soup. Whir a mix of berries, the wine and additional water or fruit juice in a blender, sweeten (or not) to taste and serve with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.

To transform the wine further and keep it longer, bring the leftovers to mother…a vinegar mother, as the starter is called. The word “vinegar” comes from the French “vin aigre,” or “sour wine.” Formulas vary but essentially, you will mix roughly 2/3 the quantity of any wine with 1/3 the quantity of white or cider vinegar in a clean jar, bottle or crock… and wait.

Depending on temperatures, alcohol content and acidity, you will have wine vinegar in about two to four weeks. Once a filmy substance forms at the bottom of your container, you have a mother. Some recipes suggest putting the container in the dark and covering it lightly. Some suggest keeping it in a warm spot to speed the process.You can then carefully decant it into another bottle. Or use the vinegar above the mother and then continue to add a new supply of wine to it, waiting after each addition for the vinegar to develop.

Once you have transferred the vinegar to another container, you can spike it with herbs, spices, citrus peel, berries or garlic. Steep sprigs of classic tarragon with lemon peel, a combination of basil leaves, garlic cloves and a few peppercorns or slender chili peppers, dried or fresh. In a decorative bottle, these vinegars are beautifully sparkly gifts too. Attach a tag with a reliable vinaigrette recipe.

Here’s a last and favorite way to use up that red. You may have seen artfully wrapped Italian wine biscuits in specialty stores but they are not difficult to make at home. Elegant and not too sweet, the plump, crunchy biscuits pair well with a dry, assertive cheese, such as Parmegiano Reggiano or Asiago, before a meal or with coffee afterwards.

Wine biscuits
Adapted from They Called it Macaroni, Nancy Verde Barr (Knopf, 1990)

4/12 c. white flour
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. baking powder
3/4 to 1 c. vegetable oil, a combination of sunflower, olive oil or other
1 c. red wine

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Put racks on the upper third of the oven.
Sift the dry ingredients and then mix in oil and wine, kneading well to make a soft dough that does not stick, or using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment. If the dough is dry, the biscuits will crack.

Divide dough into 40 pieces and roll each gently into a 5” “snake,” which you can then shape into rings or figure 8’s.

Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet 2’ apart and bake for 20 min. at 350 in the top third of the oven. Then lower the temperature to 300 and bake for 15-20 min. more or until golden.

Cool on a rack and store in a closed tin. Serve with aperitives and cheese or as dessert with coffee.

Image credit: Ha-Vi

tags: wine | vinegar | food & drink

Mark Ashley, who has served as our Senior Free Wine Correspondent, will be guest blogging for a few days while I am offline. Mark is a consumer advocate, lover of value vino, and travel hound who will elucidate us with a few posts.

Over to Mark, reporting live from the Chicago bureau….

Long Island wines may be America’s best kept wine secret. Or they might be America’s most overrated and overpriced regional wine east of the Rockies. This fall, you can decide for yourself either by visiting in person this scenic countryside or by having the wines shipped to you out of state for the first time thanks to recent legal changes in direct wine shipping. By special arrangement, Lenn Thompson, an expert on Long Island wines, compiles three itineraries and notes on the best wineries and their wines. –Dr. Vino

Great Route 48 — Exploring the Northern Route in Long Island Wine Country

By Lenn Thompson

Wineries in New York State crank out about 200 million bottles of wine every year, making it the nation’s third-largest wine producer behind California and Washington. And while producers in the Finger Lakes and Hudson Valley regions have longer histories of making wine, it’s the wines of Long Island that many feel hold the most promise.

Long Island is relative newcomer as a wine region with the first commercial vines planted in 1973 (see a map of LI wineries). New winemakers are popping up almost every year and the few long-standing wineries are starting to hit their strides. The region’s well-drained soil and climate tempered by Long Island Sound, Peconic Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, it is ideal for growing vinifera grapes and making refined, balanced wine.

Bordeaux serves as a reference point for the grape varietals, particularly for the reds with cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and particularly merlot in abundance. There is a movement afoot to really focus on merlot and position Long Island as “merlot country” much the same way that Oregon used to push pinot noir. Many wineries have already invested heavily in the vines, which may explain why they’re keen on it – or maybe it is just an act of defiance against the popular movie “Sideways” (where the lead character humorously trashed merlot).

On the white side of wine, chardonnay is the most planted variety and it’s made in a variety of styles, as well as used for blending. But, there’s also some increasingly good sauvignon blanc being made too. The style is less fruity/tropical than California versions, but less aggressively herbal and grassy than New Zealand bottling. They can be thought of as the best of CA and NZ together with hints of Graves minerality and definitely thirst-quenchingly drinkable. There’s also riesling, pinot noir, some syrah, malbec, petit verdot and (on the South Fork) some other diverse varieties that we’ll explore in a future story.

Post-Labor Day is a great time to visit. Not only have the summer crowds subsided but the harvest enters full swing grapes as well as pumpkins. The scene is very picturesque and winery tasting rooms are filled with the enticing aroma of just-picked grapes as they are pressed and then fermented.

Long Island wine country is divided into three unofficial wine trails. The Hamptons on the South Fork and Route 25 and Route 48 on the North Fork. To help you get the most out of your foray into Long Island wine country, I’m writing a three-part series, which each focusing on one of Long Island’s wine trails. We begin with the northernmost trail, Route 48.

Route 48, which is also known locally as North Road, is sometimes a forgotten wine trail. While Route 25 (just a block south) runs right through the North Fork’s many quaint villages, and right by some of Long Island’s most revered, not to mention well-marketed, producers, Route 48 a decidedly different flavor than the other two trails, with its bucolic, rural feel.

There are nine tasting rooms sprinkled along 13 miles of Route 48, with the must-stops being (from west to east):

Roanoke Vineyards. Owned by Richard and Soraya Pisacano, Roanoke Vineyards is one of the Island’s newest producers. Rich is the vineyard manager at Wolffer Estate Vineyards (on the South Fork) and has been working with vines since high school. The wines are made at Wolffer by winemaker Roman Roth and you can also sample the wines of Atwater Estate in the Finger Lakes, which are made by former Roth assistant Vincent Aliperti. Wolffer Estate wines are also available.

Must-taste Wines: Roanoke Vineyards 2000 Merlot, Roanoke Vineyards 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon, Atwater Estate Vineyards 2004 Dry Riesling

Macari Vineyards & Winery. Stop at Macari to enjoy your picnic lunch on their beautiful deck, which offers some of the East Coast’s best vineyard views. The wines are made by Austrian Helmut Gangl and Paola Valverde a native of Chile. It’s also a favorite spot for wedding receptions or other affairs.

Must-taste Wines: Macari Vineyards Block E 2003 Ice Wine, Macari Vineyards 2005 Early Wine (late fall release), Macari Vineyards 2001 Bergen Road (a merlot-heavy blend)

Lieb Family Cellars. Russell Hearn produces Lieb Family Cellars’ wines at The Premium Wine Group, a custom-crush facility located in Mattituck, NY, that he is part owner of. Their small tasting room is located in a building adjoining the winemaking facility. Lieb is well-known for making some of the best pinot blanc this side of Alsace.

Must-taste Wines: Lieb Cellars 2001 Blanc de Blanc (sparkling pinot blanc), Lieb Cellars 2003 Pinot Blanc, Bridge Lane Chardonnay (their 2nd-label), Lieb Cellars 2002 Merlot Reserve

Shinn Estate Vineyards. Shinn Estate Vineyards is owned by David Page and Barabara Shinn, who also own the cozy Home restaurant in Manhattan’s West Village, where David is executive chef. Technically it’s on Oregon Road a block north of Route 48, but go on a weekend take you on a tour of their vines and learn about sustainable grape farming and the organic and biodynamic techniques they employ in the vineyard. The wines are made by Roman Roth.

Must-taste Wines: Shinn Estate Merlot Vineyards 2003, Shinn Estate Vineyards 2002 Six Barrel Merlot

Castello di Borghese. Formerly Hargrave Vineyards (Long Island’s first), Castello di Borghese was purchased by Marco and Ann Marie Borghese in 1999. Since then, they’ve expanded the vineyard and hired Stan Schumacher as winemaker. With vines that date back over thirty years, CdB offers wines that are as close to “old vines” as one can find on Long Island. This is truly the birthplace of the Long Island wine industry.

Must-taste Wines: Castello di Borghese 2004 Founder’s Field Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Castello di Borghese 2002 Reserve Pinot Noir, Castello di Borghese Novello (a Beaujolais noveau-style red released in the spring)

Waters Crest Winery. One of the area’s smallest producers, home winemaker turned professional winemaker and winery owner Jim Waters’ wines are far from minuscule. Charming and engaging, you’re virtually guaranteed to meet Jim and his wife Linda in the tasting room where they pour wines and share their story. They’ll even take you in the back and show you their whole operation, from crusher to stacks of French oak barrels.

Must-taste Wines: Waters Crest Winery 2003 Cabernet Franc, Waters Crest Winery 2004 Private Reserve Chardonnay, Waters Crest Winery 2004 Gewurztraminer

If this sounds like plenty for this leg of your trip, then here are a few B&Bs to rest until we hit Route 25 together. Stay tuned!

- Ellis House
- Harvest Inn
- Homeport

Although the wines are good, Seattle is not the next Napa Valley.

By Mark Ashley

With the increasing popularity and quality of wines from Washington, interest in wine tourism in the region has been growing rapidly. Travelers to Seattle will find brochures touting wineries at their concierge’s desk, and with well-known names like Chateau Ste. Michelle in the area, wine tourists might assume that Seattle is the next San Francisco – a big city with a beautiful wine country a short drive away.

They’d be wrong.

While there are indeed wineries near Seattle, travelers hoping for a miniature Napa Valley will be sorely disappointed. The real Washington wine country is far to the east, separated from the nearest major city by hundreds of miles. (The closest airport is the Tri-City Airport in Pasco, WA.)

However, if you’re less interested in “Napa style” and more interested in wine itself, with some great natural vistas thrown in, then greater Seattle does indeed offer some worthwhile tastings.

The Woodinville area, a half hour’s drive north of Seattle, offers the best wines in the region. The irony is that none of the grapes that are crushed in Woodinville wineries’ presses are actually grown here. Rather, they are picked in eastern Washington, loaded onto trucks, and driven 3 to 4 hours west to be vinted in Seattle’s suburbia.

Why go through this trouble? Why have the winery so far removed from the vineyards? In a word: Marketing. Tourists have not discovered eastern Washington yet, so the wineries have come to where the tourists already are many in town before or after their cruise to Alaska. For the larger wineries, having the facilities closer to the masses is an exercise in brand building, while the smaller players who sell all of their wine directly to the consumer are simply maximizing their odds of a sale.

Some wineries, such as Chateau Ste. Michelle and Columbia, inhabit grand structures that create the illusion of a long, cherished history of winemaking at this location. Some have planted a few token vines out front to signify that this is indeed a winery. There is even a dinner train, much like in Napa, which winds along Lake Washington to its final stop adjacent to Columbia’s facility.

Chateau Ste. Michelle has the most elaborate grounds, which are often rented out for weddings, corporate functions and even the odd concert including Natalie Merchant and Kenny G at the 4,000 seat (!) amphitheater. You are encouraged to picnic here, weather permitting, of course. To taste their wines, you must take their 45-minute tour of the facilities, where most of their wines (but not their sparklers) are produced.

Though our tour guide was informative, I thought he got on a bit of a high horse during the guide-managed tasting he insisted on teaching everyone about how to taste wine, from how to hold the glass, to how to swirl, to the search for particular flavors in the wine. Well-meant, perhaps, but tedious, frustratingly slow, and not optional. In the end, the visit wasn’t worth it, from a tasting perspective. Four of their large-production wines were served as part of the complimentary tour, with the cabernet sauvignon being the best, but none were particularly interesting, unusual, or difficult to find in the local Safeway. The reserve tastings, for a charge, offer a better option, and allow you to skip the tour.

Just across the street, and a stone’s throw from the vaunted (and pricey) Herbfarm restaurant, Columbia Winery offers tours as well, but doesn’t require them for entry to their tasting room. Try to avoid the tasting bar when the wine train arrives with its passengers: Not only will you get space at the bar, but you’ll actually have a longer (and better!) list of wines to choose from. I found the German-varietal whites to be particularly good here.

Forgoing a neo-chateau for their facilities, other producers have taken a less ostentatious approach, choosing to make their wines in the backs of corrugated-walled warehouses, with a purely functional tasting area that consists of a bar and a cash register. Still others have simply built full-service tasting rooms behind the drab exteriors, with all the knick-knacks for sale as in the most commercialized Napa winery.

Perhaps the best of the “warehouse wines” is Facelli Winery, a small family operation where owner and chief winemaker Louis Facelli pours his handicraft from behind a spartan bar on weekends. His reds are especially worthwhile, and include some quirky wines. While I didn’t care particularly for the Lemberger, a fairly uncommon varietal that originated in Austria, I really enjoyed the late harvest syrah. This was far and away the most memorable wine that any Woodinville winery poured, and it is a wine that Louis is particularly (and justifiably!) proud of. This inky dessert wine was a real surprise, a complex, fruit-forward concentrate, without being syrupy-sweet. (My wife still grumbles that we left without buying a bottle.)

Besides Woodinville, there are wineries to the west of the city, on the Olympic Peninsula in Port Angeles, Sequim, and Port Townsend, as well as on Whidbey and Bainbridge Islands. As in Woodinville, most of the wine is produced from grapes trucked in from the east. However, some do grow their own grapes on tiny plots nearby, from relatively unknown varietals better suited to the difficult climate, such as Madeleine Angevine, and many make wines from honey, berries or other fruit. Production is tiny, usually with less than 2000 cases per producer per year.

For the most part, these wines are unfortunately not very good. For example, Greenbank Cellars on Whidbey Island touts their wines as “Alsatian style,” but their whites were high in acid without a balance of minerality. The nearby Whidbey Island Winery’s wines were far superior overall, though generally unremarkable. Whidbey’s rhubarb wine (!!) was an odd surprise. I would love to see this wine in a blind tasting competition, just to see what contestants would guess it to be. Produced by first freezing the rhubarb, which causes the cell structure to break down, the resulting wine is a light, fairly dry rose with an unexpected but not entirely unpleasant finish. Stump your friends! Alas, Whidbey asks $2 tasting fee for its wines.

I cannot wholeheartedly recommend a trip to these western maritime areas just for the wine. (These producers have combined to form the North Olympic Peninsula and Islands Winery Loop Association, www.wineryloop.org, which offers details on each of its members on the website.) But the small wineries are indeed charming, and a brief visit is a nice way to break up a day of hiking in the beautiful surroundings.

On the other hand, the Woodinville area is indeed worth a short drive. I would certainly go back on my next trip to Seattle, to sample some of the smaller family-owned wineries’ offerings. To visit these tasting rooms is truly to come for the wine. You’ll find natural beauty–including vineyard charm–elsewhere in the state.

***

Here’s a link to Seattle area wineries. Yowza. I wish I had that list before going…

http://www.weekendwinery.com/Wineries/Wineries_WA_Seattle.htm