Reader question: Why is a flight of wines called a “flight”?

It’s tempting to say that the other names really didn’t take off.

But, in reality, a flight is a grouping of similar objects, like a flight of stairs or a flight of geese. Thus the same term applies to cabernets, pinots, or other small pours of wine, grouped together.

Are you happy with the term?

Would love to start a conversation on Thanksgiving wine etiquette. What do you do when a guest brings a wine to dinner telling you it is special large format bottle, given by friends, saved for the occassion? Although I didn’t mind pouring the wine (quite different from what I would usually pair with the meal), the wine was corked and my husband and I seemed to be the only ones who noticed. Can I point out that it is corked and suggest that we open my wine, or do I have to grin and bear it?

This could easily descend into a lose-lose situation, as Laurie depicts: either the hosts stoically endure bad wine or the guest is possibly offended that the special wine somehow doesn’t pass muster.

However, I see two ways out. You could seize the opportunity as a “teachable moment” to talk about cork, the bark of quercus suber, and 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA), the cause of cork taint. Or, more discretely, bring out another set of glasses and pour another wine for whoever was interested in making a side-by-side comparison of two wines. Then you could enjoy the untainted wine while not overtly dumping out the corked wine. This seems especially acceptable at Thanksgiving when there are presumably multiple bottles open for the big feast (but certainly can be done at other times too since few guests would object to trying more wines).

What do others think?

Dear Dr. Vino,

I just discovered that champagne grapes are really tasty. I bet they would pair well with champagne…

Do they make Champagne or is that a marketing thing?

Paul

It’s a marketing thing. Those sweet, pea-sized grapes that usually appear as a garnish (or in soft focus on greeting cards next to cheese and a glass of wine) are actually black Corinth grapes. When dried, they produce something confusingly called Zante currants.

Champagne almost always comes from Chardonnay and/or Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Meunier grapes. And it comes from the Champagne region, which, as far as Dr. Vino operatives have ascertained, has zero acres of black Corinth grapes.

Floaters in wine.

How do you get them out? A finger? A spoon? Spit out the first sip? You’ve had that experience, haven’t you, of seeing a host of small floating objects on the surface of a glass of wine, usually just bits of cork, but sometimes strange looking pieces of “dust”… Anyway, I thought it could be kind of a funny little thing. And I am frankly curious as to the best approach!

I just swallow them for extra fiber! Okay, not really. I usually either try to drink around any floaties or swirl/tip the glass to get the bit of cork onto the side of the glass and out of play. What do you do?

Dear Dr. Vino,

If you had to take a bottle of American wine to Bulgaria that reflects the most recent trend in American winemaking, what would that bottle be? I want to take a bottle to my key participant in my academic study (who is one of the best winemakers in Bulgaria) when I head out next month to the wild Balkans. If this is an impossible question to answer, forgive my boldness (& ignorance) and please ignore it!

Impossible–never! It’s a great question, actually. I thought about American wines recently for a piece that I contributed to on Forbes.com about ten independent wines from the good ole US of A. I’d probably take one of those. Many of them actually run counter to the trend in higher alcohol levels so I’d point out that they are, in fact, anti-trendy, or the beginning of a new trend, perhaps. And then maybe bring a Turley that I’m trying to get rid of just for laffs.

What about you? Which wine would you bring if you were in this reader’s shoes?

So we went nuts and had breakfast for dinner. Poached eggs for the wife, fried eggs for me. Hash browns, turkey bacon. A little tomatillo salsa for me, on the eggs.

Let’s rule out champagne or mimosas. What wine do you have with breakfast, when you’re not eating it in the a.m.?

It’s an interesting question. But I find this pairing to be driven more by what’s on the plate than by the time of day. So why rule out Champagne? It might just make this…possible! Hit the comments with your thoughts!

Image: istockphoto with permission

Hi,
I’m interested in attending Dr. Vino’s holiday wine picks at the new Astor Center, this Friday, Dec. 14th. Can you tell me how many men usually attend? And are there mostly singles there? If so, what’s the age range?
Thank you,
Jane

Two tickets left for purchase. See many of you there!

Friday, Dec 14, 6:30 – 8:00 PM, 23 E. 4th Street (at Lafayette, above Astor Wine & Spirits)

Dear DR. Vino:
I’m a korean girl, and I have a boyfriend from france. Everything was fine until recently,we fought several times–upon my favorite
sneak — laver (dried & seasoned seaweed). Each time i eat it,he thinks i’m eating a piece of paper. And when i asked him to try some,he just stuck his nose up in the air and replied,” French people never eat anything that couldn’t pair with wine!”So i tried and tried,but no matter it’s a red or a white,it seems to just bring the “fishiness” or “sea stink”out of laver instead of its deliciousness. Is it really an impossible food to pair with wine? Or is our relationship unable to overcome our cultural differences?
-A frustrated girl that desperately needs your help

Help out this reader with your comments below!

(image)

That sent me on a quest to find a wine from my birth year. I wrote up the experience for the July issue of Food & Wine magazine.

In case the story piqued your interest in finding a wine for your birth year, check out the fabulous infographic that is the Robert Parker vintage chart. It only goes back to 1970 though so for older vintages, you might consider checking out Michael Broadbent’s Vintage Wine.

And if you’re stopping by the blog for the first time because of the story, then consider subscribing to the site’s feed or monthly email updates on the right. And feel free to poke around and see some wine picks or explore any of the categories on the first sidebar!

If you haven’t seen the story in print (p. 156), or you’re curious to see which wine I drank and how much it cost, check out the magazine, which is hitting bookstores and mailboxes now. Or I suppose you could cheap out and see it online.

“Finding Wine of a Certain Age,” Food & Wine

Great question! And thoughtful gesture! Some retailers put together pre-fab cases but I have generally approached them with skepticism. Why? I probably don’t want one or two or three of the wines in the set case. And I suspect there’s something in there that the store might be trying to move for reasons other than necessarily serving the consumer.

But I put my skepticism aside and decided to put my money where my mouth is. I recommended Jeff check out Chambers Street Wines, which has a selection of pre-fab cases at $100 and $200 both red and mixed. I also recommended the mixed “Memorial Day” case at Le Du’s Wines in the West Village. Maybe it was the thought of grilling this weekend but for some reason I found myself clicking “buy now.”

Tuesday I clicked and Wednesday my doorbell rang. I have to confess a certain amount of excitement pulling out bottles I’ve never tried before. Even if I don’t know the producers’ names, the back labels sport the names of some very solid importers–Neal Rosenthal, Jon David Headrick, Classical Wines among others. And they were selected by the knowledgeable staff, headed by Jean-Luc Le Du, formerly the sommelier at the restaurant Daniel.

But the best part? $145.99! Free delivery in New York State. I’ll keep you posted on how the one-click convenience works out in the glass. The list follows below for your perusal. But if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go put a bottle in the fridge since it is heading to 84 degrees today…

Sparkler
Giovinale Moscato d’Asti 2005 (find this wine at retail)
Moscato – Piedmont, Italy

Rosés
Docetanidos Rosado 2005 (find this wine at retail)
Tempranillo/Albillo/Sauvignon Blanc – Cigales, Spain

Commanderie de Peyrassol 2006 (find this wine at retail)
Cinsault/Mourvedre/Grenache/Syrah – Provence, France

Whites
Ermita Veracruz 2005 (find this wine at retail)
Verdejo – Rueda, Spain

Domaine Ogereau 2005 (find this wine at retail)
Chenin Blanc – Anjou, France

Desierto 2006 (find this wine at retail)
Sauvignon Blanc – Argentina

Chateau Virgile 2005 (find this wine at retail)
Marsanne/Rousanne – Costières de Nimes, France

Reds
San Romano 2004 (find this wine at retail)
Dolcetto – Piedmont, Italy

Burch Hall Winery 2003 (find this wine at retail)
Cabernet Sauvignon – Lodi, California

Camp Galhan “Les Perassières” 2005 (find this wine at retail)
Syrah/Grenache – Languedoc, France

Fonseca Periquita 2004 (find this wine at retail)
Castelhão Frances – Terras do Sado, Portugal

Vina Gormaz 2005 (find this wine at retail)
Tempranillo – Ribera del Duero, Spain

I’m finishing my Ph.D. and my committee advisor has just been appointed the new Dean of Liberal Arts at [name withheld]. I’d like to get him a nice bottle of wine (he loves Spanish wines normally, he travels to Latin America frequently, and is an American history buff) that can be afforded on a grad student budget (~$30). What would you recommend?

Thanks!!!
Amy

Hi Amy,

Well, it is tough without knowing his specific wine preferences so I’m glad he’s open minded! It’s also hard without knowing the shops in your local market. But if you head to a good one, I’m sure the staff can steer you right since $30 is plenty to find a great bottle of wine.

Generally, I found the 2001 Rioja vintage to be very good though they may be all gone by now from store shelves. The 05 Burgundies are great but harder to find something phenomenal under $30. I’d recommend Argentina but something to watch out for as you approach $30 is that the oak treatments can get ridiculously lavish…2002 was a solid vintage in Bordeaux and quite overlooked, keeping the prices down and should still be available…

Specifically, if somebody gave me a Domaine Baumard Clos de Papillon from the Savienneres in the Loire (find this wine), I’d be very happy. It can be found for under $30. Or any Ridge (Lytton Springs?). But, then again, if anyone gave me wine, I’d be happy!

Maybe in the end, congratulations is best said with Champagne. I’d opt for a “grower champagne” (ask at the store) esp the Pierre Peters. It’s a great pop and ready to drink, to savor the promotion now. If you’re looking for dry value bubbly from Spain, I tried the Juve y Camps pinot noir cava last week and for $13.49 (find this wine), it delivered good bang for the buck.

In the end though, it’s the thought that counts. Good luck and let me know what you get him!

I’ll post this exchange in case any site readers have other suggestions.

Send in your questions via the Dr. Vino hotline.

-Wino on the move

Glad to see that you have your priorities straight–and you are in luck!

It turns out that North Carolina does have direct shipping. Since October 1, 2003 residents have had the right to order wine directly from wineries at the rate of two cases a month–almost a bottle a day! Those wineries can be either in-state or out-of-state, laws that conformed with the current legal environment two years before the Supreme Court decision in the case Granholm v. Heald was handed down. The only catch is that the winery has to have a license to ship on file with NC so check first and encourage them to apply for one if they don’t have one already.

I called Sam’s for you and they do ship to North Carolina. By the way, consider yourself lucky in this regard. Even though NC allows direct shipping by wineries, even in the post-Granholm era, you can’t take it for granted that shops will ship too (see my previous frustration with this here). Indeed, Sam’s doesn’t ship to me in New York, also a reciprocal state. When I asked why, one of the owners emailed me that the decision is based on the advice of their attorneys. Those darned attorneys…grrr

And don’t forget the local options you have in North Carolina. NCwine.org boasts that the state is 10th in grape production and 12th in wine production!

Rock on!

tags: wine | guitars

Auction houses may be fine with you buying only a case at an auction. But it is often hard to sell small amounts of wine through houses that run live auctions. Some have started brokering small amounts or odd lots directly, without bringing them to auction. I would suggest calling John Kapon at Acker, Merrall in New York or Paul Hart at Hart Davis Hart in Chicago and asking them what they suggest. I suspect the questionable storage conditions will make them hesitant but it’s worth a call nonetheless.

Another option is trying to sell the bottles through WineCommune.com. They are an online person-to-person auction so the auctioneer in this instance cannot vouch for the quality of the wine being sold. Even with the questionable storage declared in the listing, I’m sure there would be some buyers who would be willing to take a chance since it is Petrus.

The advantages of this method are that you could even sell just one bottle at a time and the transaction costs are lower (two to five percent). The disadvantages are that the price may not be has high. One tip: your friend might want to sell a few, lower priced bottles first to garner a feedback rating on the site before selling the Petrus.

He could also call some good shops near him to see if they can recommend any local wine brokers. In many places shops aren’t legally allowed to buy from individuals since they must buy only from wholesalers.

Does anyone else have further suggestions? Or experience in selling odd bottles?

tags: wine | selling wine

Actually, no. “Extra dry” is not all that dry when it comes to champagne. Brut is the magic word. But even “brut” can go as high as 15 grams per liter of residual sugar. With 5 grams about the threshold for human perception, some brut champagnes may still taste sweet.

You might even want extra brut or a champagne with no dosage, the little shot of wine and sugar that gets added right before bottling.

Amazingly, the sweet “demi-sec” category is starting to make a comeback. Get this one for your sweet tooth, not necessarily your sweetheart.

Residual sugar, grams per liter
< 3g: brut nature
< 6g: extra brut
< 15g: brut
12-20g: extra dry
17-30g: sec/dry
33-50g: demi-sec/medium dry
> 50g: doux/sweet

Source: Oxford Companion to Wine

tags: wine | Champagne