But one commenter who wasn’t laughing was Paul Gregutt, wine columnist for the Seattle Times. He had this to say:

there’s little doubt that the most difficult cork pulling experiences in my life come when someone has slathered their weapon-grade wine bottle with a pound or two of faux wax. You need a chainsaw to drill through some of these things. It is not helpful to embark on what is supposed to be a thoughtful review of someone’s wine with blood all over the corkscrew, the bottle, the glass and the writer. Perhaps you will join me in an effort to dissuade wineries from using this stuff?

I’ve enjoyed quite a few wines–from Lapierre, Foillard, Vatan, and Lopez de Heredia to name a few–sealed with a wax layer on top of the cork. While they are annoying since they require an additional sweep of the counter, I’ve never shed blood as Paul apparently has. And I think they do add a nice aesthetic touch.

But what say you? Should wineries no longer use them as Paul suggests?

I recently had the $19 Nicolas Potel 2006 Bourgogne rouge and found it a great value, lean, old world pinot. In previous vintages, I’ve enjoyed value Pinots from Austria (e.g. Stadlmann) and Italy’s alto Alto Adige region (e.g. Hofstatter) as well. And I’ve had some good new world Pinot under $20, such as the “H” Pinot Noir from Hamacher in Oregon. (search for these wines)

What about you? Have your say in our latest poll!

But have Americans gotten so into wine that even a recession can’t take wine off the table? It appears that wine sales sales for 2008 may be up fractionally by volume but the value is likely to be down since many consumers are “trading down,” or reaching for less expensive wines.

We last checked in with you about your buying habits on September 29. Lots has happened in the economy since then. Tell us how your wine buying and consumption is now! And with the new polling software, you can now select two answers!

What do you say? Even if you like screwcaps for your own wine, have screwcaps gone mainstream enough that they’re not a stigma for gift wine? Let us know using the snazzy new poll software!

Ray Isle, Deputy Wine Editor at Food & Wine magazine, the frequent face of wine on the Today Show, a wine blogger in his own right and all around good guy joined me in narrowing the field of suggestions. So here they are, the finalists, for your voting. Decide America’s new wine motto here and now!

The one with the most votes as of Friday will be crowned the winner and will receive a signed copy of Wine Politics: How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters, and Critics Influence the Wines We Drink. That’s right, the book that tells the story of wine in France and America through the lens of industry politics will be on of theirs in time for the Fourth of July. Congratulations to site readers Mark Ashley, Patrick Henry (who knew?), and Katie for making it into the finals!

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Here are the four “groan cru” (sorry, had to do it) wine names. Vote now for the worst offender! And remember, this isn’t for the worst label design, just the name, hence no finalist labels are shown to distract us.

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* A commentator on the Today show declared the wines of Napa “out” and those of North Carolina in. “This is what’s going to be hot this year.”

* Michael Scott on “The Office” had wine at a dinner party and described it as having “an oaky afterbirth.”

* An anonymous Chinese collector purchased 27 bottles of Domaine Romanee Conti at auction for record-breaking $5 million.

* Restaurateur Joe Bastianich picks the wines to serve Pope Benedict XVI at two dinners in NYC and has the moxie to pour four of his own wines.

* Slate.com opines “kosher wines don’t suck anymore.”

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UPDATE: poll closed: The wine with the most votes as of Monday April 7, 11:59 PM will be declared the winner!

See previous rounds

Food & Wine dishes up a particularly meaty issue for wine lovers this month. One feature that caught my eye is a wine cellar design guru who says he likes to divide wine cellars by region, sometimes even one room for each region (wowza).

Is that how you organize your surplus wine inventory? Have your say in the latest poll!

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image by Eole

But it turns out that “big glasses” are being blamed on binge drinking! Roll the tape:

“The glasses are larger and the wines are a lot stronger. It’s a minefield for anyone trying to keep tabs on what they’ve had,” said Srabani Sen, head of Alcohol Concern, a charity.

While binge drinking is no doubt unfortunate and apparently has risen to worrying levels in Britain, are big glasses to blame? Have your say in the latest poll!

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UPDATE: now with intel from London in the comments – Golly and StuckatLGW
Image: John Joh, with permission

“World Markets Plunge on Fears of U.S. Slowdown” was the headline from the NYT site yesterday. Lovely! Time to buy gold, everybody! (Oh wait, it’s already at new highs.)

The good thing about wine is that you always need it. As Napoleon is reputed to have said about champagne, “in victory you deserve it; in defeat you need it.”

So how will a declining economy and stock market affect your wine purchases? Have your say in the latest poll! Feel free to hit the comments if you have more to say than the choices shown here.

On a related note, how are those importers feeling about raising prices thanks to the falling dollar? Ouch. Stuck between a rock and a hard place.

UPDATE: a Reuters story on the weak economy and the fine wine market quotes several prognosticators–including Dr. Vino!

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The wine of the moment, everyone agrees, is 1982 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild. Jamie Ritchie, Sotheby’s North American wine department head, observes that “it now regularly brings $25,000 to $30,000 a case. The rise shows the strength of Asian buyers.” Last year you could have purchased a case for only $11,000. [Bloomberg]

Will 2008 be kind to the wine auction market? Have your say in the latest poll! (Check prices for a bottle of Lafite 1982 at retailers)

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The hipsters at NY mag asked for help. Their reporter, Emma Rosenblum, went to eight different wine shops and asked the clerks for their wine pick under $25 for a steak dinner. (Steak? Come on, in this day and age of extracted fruit bombs, that’s no impossible food-wine pairing!) Then she poured the eight wines for three of NYC’s top sommeliers who gave them raspberries–and were not just talking “hints” of raspberry, these were full-on, nasty and slobbery. It’s a fascinating story that raises lots of issues. Among them:

1. Lame clerks. The clerks in the story were lame. That can happen, particularly this time of year as stores add temporary help. If you’re not convinced you’re getting great service, talk to another clerk, possibly the wine buyer for that department since you’re sure that he or she will be there to throttle come January, if necessary.

2. Shelf-talkers. Could the reporter have gotten better wines by keeping mum and letting those flaps of paper do the talking? I have an ongoing discussion with a cranky friend who says that store clerks are more reliable than wine magazines because: (a) magazines have compromised their ethics and (b) wine stores have their skin in the game because they want you to come back. Judging by this line-up though, not many stores in NYC are likely to have repeat business!

3. Sommeliers. It was an interesting idea to have restaurant wine sales people (sommeliers) judging the picks of store wine sales people. Is the sommelier more likely to steer you right be cause he or she is around to fear your immediate wrath or bask in your lavish praise after you drink the wine? (Btw, I hope NY mag does an encore edition, pouring sommelier selections back for wine buyers at stores. And with seasonal food this time!)

4. Friends. NY mag didn’t talk about them. But let’s add them to our poll for laffs.

So have your say in the latest poll!

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Many wine lovers around the world have cabinets stuffed with complete sets by each varietal. But Riedel continues unabated, subdividing grapes with his just released Oregon pinot noir glass–mere grape no longer suffices as now terroir is overlaid on grape. The logically possible amount of stemware just increased exponentially.

Daniel Zwerdling burst into the wine world like a bull in a decanter shop. His story, “Shattered Myths,” in Gourmet (August 2004 and very, very unfortunately not available online), asserted that Georg was pulling the wool over discerning drinkers eyes: the reason wine in Riedel stems tastes better is not because of a tongue map–it simply tastes better because we believe it should.

So, as we contemplate adding more crystal to our collections and to give as gifts this holiday season, have your say in the latest poll!

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Martha Stewart is the latest big name to appear behind bars–wine bars, that is as the Independent (UK) put it. America’s queen of homemaking maven has just launched a new line of wines made by E & J Gallo that might actually do well based on her large following in the related area of entertaining. Even corporations are getting into the act: Microsoft has a wine called the Blue Monster with wine from Stormhoek winery in South Africa and a label by cartoonist Hugh McLoed. It’s currently only available for staff and affiliates.

A celebrity hardly even seems like a celebrity these days without cashing in on wine. Lorraine Bracco, Barry Manilow, Jay-Z (more or less), Mike Ditka, various Boston Red Sox players, Greg Norman and many more.

So who’s next celeb-u-tainer–or corporation!–to bravely lend their name to a new wine? Have your say in the latest poll–or add your own choices in the comments below.

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(Photo credit: Fair use is made here of a reduced-size crop from an image in MSNBC attributed to Scott Duncan)