Dr Vino's wine blog

Remember, wine stores in New York can’t charge for tastings on premises. So take advantage of these free tastings!

March 12: I’ll be signing my book, A Year of Wine, at Pasanella & Son near the South Street Seaport, 7 – 9 PM. Four free wines! Hope to see you there.

March 21: Several producers from one of my favorite importers, Louis/Dressner, will be heading to Chambers Street Wines. Includes: Jean-Paul Brun, Domaine des Terres Dorées;Marc Ollivier, Domaine de la Pépière; Pierre Breton; Matthieu Baudry, Domaine Bernard Baudry; Evelyne de Jessey, Domaine du Closel; Catherine & Claude Maréchal; Jean Manciat; Alain Coudert, Clos de la Roilette; François Pinon; Eric and Christine Nicolas, Domaine Bellivier. There are also a couple of interesting winemaker dinners around that time arranged through the store, although they’re not free.

March 24: Several producers from another of my favorite importers, Kermit Lynch, will be heading to Thirst Wine Merchants in Fort Greene, 6 8 PM. Includes: Reynald Delille from Domaine Terrebrune (Bandol) in Provence, Laurent Barrera from Dupéré Barrera and Domaine de la Procure (Côtes de Provence) in Provence, Isabelle Champart from Domaine Champart (Saint-Chinian) in Langedoc-Roussillon, Cinzia Sommariva from Sommariva (Conegliano) in Veneto, Guido Porro from Azienda Agricola Guido Porro (Serralunga d’Alba) in Piedmont, and Jean-Yves Bizot (Vosne-Romanée) from Domaine Bizot in Burgundy.

Christy Frank of Frankly Wines–last seen in front of her cork wall–returns with some answers to a few of my questions about the possible changes NY wine retail.

Size of store: 320 sq feet, possibly the smallest in Manhattan [66 West Broadway; Tribeca]

Style of selections: well-edited! My version of the well-stocked wine closet: including daily essentials, quirky finds, and higher end treasures. Selection skews toward the Southern Hemisphere.
price average: 50% of stock is $20 or less

A cool bottle: “Syrocco” Syrah 2006 (Zenata, Morocco) – eye-rolling aside at the clever, rhyming name, the wine is a great value at $16.99. Alain Graillot of Northern Rhone fame is the man behind this project.

Date store opened: December 14th, 2007

Position on proposed reform to allow food stores to sell wine: There’s a Whole Foods around the corner, so the possibility that this will pass, combined with the current economic environment does worry me. Prior to opening my wine store, I ran the national business for several wine brands, so I understand that independent wine/liquor stores can co-exist with large, corporate grocery chains that also sell wine. However, given the current economic environment, this is probably not the best time to test the entrepreneurial spirit of the existing independent retail base to adjust to a drastically changed regulatory landscape. What I find interesting about this proposal is that the benefit (or possible lack of benefit) to the consumer barely enters into the discussion. The proposal was issued as a way to raise state funding, and as such, I think the financials need to be given real, detailed scrutiny.

I’ve seen top-line numbers from both sides, but the devil is in the details – and the only detail I have seen is the written testimony submitted by Whole Foods on 11/30/07 in preparation for last year’s budget (found herein pdf). I hope that unlike the scenario in that document, the State’s calculations take the negative consequences of existing store closures into account. I hope that “700 full-time-equivalent jobs” are enough to off-set the jobs lost due to those closings. And I hope that if passed, the actual franchise fee per location isn’t actually 10% – 0.2% of location sales for small stores ($500K or less per year) and only 0.05% – 0.06% of sales for the largest stores.

My suspicion, although I welcome hard numbers that firmly indicate otherwise, is that this plan will transfer wine sales from small, local retailers to large, corporate chain grocery stores at the time when these retailers have the least chance of success to successfully adjust their business models.

What you might do differently if passed : I already focus on smaller, boutique brands and offer a very high level of service. Ideally, the legislation would allow me to sell high-end beer and a small selection of gourmet goods – without turning myself into a full-on grocery If a grocery store gets to tag wine onto their existing business model, I should think I should have the opportunity to tag beer and cheese onto mine.

And if grocery stores are now allowed to sell wine in multiple locations under the same corporate license, shouldn’t wine stores be given the same ability to gain scale and compete? I’d love to see Frankly Wines logos in locations across the city….I bet I can pick up some old Starbucks leases on the cheap…if only I could find the funding.

Reading about wine may be fun but there’s a lot to be said for tasting it. Many wine stores offer tastings, which are always free in New York and may be the best priced tastings for our times. But if you can rub two shekels together, there are some other paid events that offer some good opportunities in the near future.

February 21 & 23: natural wine Nirvana. Hirsute and Birkenstock-clad natural wine wine producers, vignerons, and “nature’s assistants” will descend on NYC next weekend. The first, smaller (and cheaper) event will be at Astor Center, which will feature seven natural wine producers. (Feb 21, 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM; $15)

The main event is the Return to Terroir tasting of 76 biodynamic wine makers from thirteen countries. They will be pouring what are some of the most exciting wines made today. It’s principally a trade event but it does open to the public from 4:00 – 6:00 PM on Feb 23 for $100 admission. If you’re curious about the slow-motion collapse of the French appellation system that I discuss in my book, Wine Politics, the iconoclast Nicolas Joly of Coulée de Serrant will be giving a talk mostly about biodynamics and perhaps a bit of appellation politics at 4 PM. I will also be signing copies of my books there from 4:00 – 5:00 PM and earlier in the day (if you’re in the trade). Stop by and say hi! Registration (For DC readers, the event will be held there the following day.)

March 7: At $1,400, my initial reaction to the La Paulée Burgundy bacchanlia is, “Holy crud! People still have that kind of scratch to blow on one evening?!” But fortunately the festivities also include a tasting of top Burgundies Saturday afternoon from 12 – 3. Even though it is still pricey at $300, Daniel Johnnes, the force behind the event, has lured Jean-Francois Coche to these shores for the first time ever, which means the big three of Meursault will be pouring that afternoon–Coche, Lafon, and Roulot–along with many others (see the complete list). Given what just one of those wines would cost, it actually might just be a bargain–and a must for Burgundy buffs. (reservations and details)

March 12: I’ll be signing copies of my practical guide, A Year of Wine, at Pasanella & Son, a wine shop at 115 South Street. Drop by, sample some of the free springtime wines and see if the 1967 Ferrari is still in the store! Map it

For more NYC wine events, be sure to check out localwineevents.com.

Buying crudité and rosé at the same time might help New York solve its budgetary woes. Or so Governor Paterson thinks.

That’s why he has proposed to allow food stores to sell wine, a subject we discussed the day the idea was floated. To recap the budgetary logic, he proposed to more than double the excise tax on wine and increase the points of sale beyond the 2,400 wine and liquor stores in the state and allow the 19,000 grocery stores to sell wine. The Governor’s office estimates that it will bring in an additional $150 million over three years, presumably from new store license fees and excise taxes rather than an increase in overall purchases. The deficit for next year alone is forecast to be $15 billion.

Shortly after I moved to New York State from Chicago four years ago, I was looking for a supermarket wine for a story and wondered where you found “supermarket wine” in New York. The answer is epitomized in this store I saw the other day, which we can call “Wines & Liqu” since that’s the only part of the neon sign that was illuminated. It’s these stores, uninspiring package stores, that don’t much invest in human capital and stock high-volume brands that will be most threatened by the impending change.

But alongside the Wines & Liqu stores are thriving boutiques that is probably the best concentration of wine stores in the universe. Read more…

“I used to say that the shop was 400 square feet,” Christy Frank told me when I visited her in her downtown wine shop, Frankly Wines, last week. “But it’s actually closer to 350.”

The diminutive shop at 66 West Broadway has a selection that skews toward wines from the Southern Hemisphere and wines under $20. But perhaps the most distinctive feature of the shop is what might well be the world’s largest cork board made entirely from corks pulled from wine bottles.

Christy says that the covered portion of the wall, approximately six feet by eight feet, has about 15,000 corks affixed with wood glue. It took a total of 30 hours of labor to adhere them all. The original inspiration was to tastefully cover a fusebox but it grew to cover the whole wall.

The amount of corks that she actually pulled herself is a relatively small, she told me gesticulating at a small corner of the space. Instead the bulk of the corks came from purchases on eBay where she said there is a thriving market for corks.

Christy says that kids love the tactile nature of the wall and some have written their initials on the corks. Take that Facebook: people can write on Christy’s real wall.

Related: “I just saved you $40 at Pottery Barn”
13,500 bottles of wine are the wall
Map of the best wine shops in New York City

The economy’s downturn has left many a gap in the New York State budget. Governor Paterson has proposed some new ways to plug those gaps, such as difficult spending cuts as well as new taxes on private jets, furs and soda. It looks likely that wine will not escape unchanged.

The governor proposes raising the state taxes on wine. Given that the state tax is currently $0.19 per gallon, below the national median of $0.69, we could have seen that one coming.

But he proposes a more far-reaching change: selling wine at grocery stores. Yes, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and others might soon be able to sell Sancerre right next to the Camembert without the need for special, at-grade entrances to separate facilities. This could really shake up New York wine retail by offering more convenience to consumers and increase wine sales overall; indeed, the governor estimates that it will bring in $150 million in revenues to the state.

Given that the number of licensees would jump from 2,400 to 19,000, the plan would presumably, remove the limit to one location per licensee. This would allow stores such as Zachys, which has only one location in suburban Scarsdale, to open stores in Manhattan or other successful Manhattan stores to open in other neighborhoods. Presumably, they would also be allowed to sell cheese and bread if they wanted to. Many details clearly need to be worked out and we’ll see how it unfolds between now and March.

In the meantime, have your say in the latest poll!

A couple of weekends ago, I attended the grand re-opening of Wine Connection in Pound Ridge, NY. Max Marinucci moved his store to a handsome, custom-built facility and it was an amazing tasting by any measure. There were about six Barolos available from producers that ran the modern-traditional axis, E. Pira, G. Mascarello, G. Conterno, and Sandrone among others. They also poured the 2004 Hudelot Noellat Richebourg (about $259; find this wine), and several current release Bordeaux. Then there was the amazing 1985 Leoville Las Cases (about $379; find this wine), whose aroma was so enticing with tannins were smooth as silk.

And the price for this tasting? Free.

In this tough economy, even seeking solace in a wine glass can still cost a lot. But there is one place where you can still taste fine wine for free: New York wine stores. Granted, you’re standing up and the pours are sometimes barely enough to cover the bottom of the glass, but they are a great opportunity for broadening your tasting experience–as well as talking with some interesting people who are usually doing the pouring.

While there are many silly (separate entrances for separate licenses) and annoying (not being able to to sell cheese in a wine shop nor wine in a food shop) aspects of New York wine retail laws, the free tasting is a definite boon for consumers. Stores can’t charge for tasting since that would be profiting from the sale of liquor on-premises, which requires a different license. Other states have different rules about in-store pourings and they are not always free, but are often a good value. (Sadly, one place where free tastings may someday be illegal is the little-known wine country called France.)

And the downturn in the economy means that some shops are eagerly pouring wines (or, technically, having the distributor reps pour the wines) to attract foot traffic. So check out your local retailers and see what’s on the calendar. Here’s my map of my favorite NYC wine shops.

Come spend a night at the museum! I can’t promise that Ben Stiller will be there or that the dinosaurs will come alive but hopefully it will still be a good show.

As a part of the launch to their new exhibit “Climate Change: The Threat To Life and A New Energy Future,” I’ll participate on a panel at the American Museum of Natural History about wine and climate change on October 28. Gregory Jones, a leading researcher on how climate change affects wine growing regions, will be flying in from Southern Oregon University. I’ll be talking my own research findings about the carbon footprint of wine. And Evan Springarn of David Bowler Wines, an importer and distributor, will talk about the various shades of eco-wines. Best of all, he’ll be bringing four such wines for us to taste!

Head on over to the AMNH web site to book your tickets ($20) now and prepare to stimulate the mind and the palate.

Strolling between the burnished steel Enomatic machines, with their bottles behind (plexi)glass and only dispensing nozzles poking through I thought the high-tech Clo wine bar seemed like a reasonable place. Selections included Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Rkatsiteli ($5), Domaine Tempier rose ($9), Nicolas Potel Savigny-les-Beaune ($11), Chateau Musar 1990 white and red ($33 and $30 respectively), and Leoville-Las Cases 1989 ($47).

But then I realized those were for two ounce pours, not full glasses. And with machines doing the pouring, there would be no overfilling.

Located in the Time Warner Center on the fourth floor landing between Masa and Per Se, the space has walls with no ceiling. One long table runs down the middle and you can rub Brioni-clad elbows with the person sitting on the stool next to you.

The menu appears projected down from the ceiling onto the tabletop. Oddly, the focus is not sharp and I felt as if I’d had a few before I’d even ordered anything. A fancy camera sensor detects your finger tip and you can flick through the projection, sometimes flicking farther than you intended. (If you’re into party tricks, spread all ten fingers over the menu and the sensor doesn’t know which one to read.) The menu has a few descriptions including the some bars next to words “earth,” “zip,” and “sweet.” One guy in my party remarked that this nomenclature was one of those things that is supposed to make it easier for you but in the end made him feel dumber since his wine was dry but the graphic was telling him it was medium sweet.

Fork over your credit card to start a tab and the server gives you debit cards and some tiny tumblers–perhaps they are a new line of Riedel, the “O” Thimble? They are so small that they make a two ounce pour look like a normal fill all while looking oddly like a wine shot glass. Anyhoo, to fetch your wine, take your tumbler to the Enomatic of your choice, insert card, punch number, receive wine. The pours are fresh and slightly chilled. Walk around with your friends but don’t share samples with them since you risk not having anything left by the time you return to your stool.

Even though we didn’t have any, apparently small bites are also available (no word on whether these pop out of the wall). And so is some extravagant merchandise such as the “dollypop bottle cooler” ($226), the handblown-to-order Mickey decanter ($495), or a “tripod” wine glass ($70 each).

Speaking of tripod, there was one area where I didn’t have a firm footing: when the wine is self-service, do you tip? More photos after the jump! Read more…