Dr Vino's wine blog

With the Super Bowl looming on February 5, some wine geeks may be wondering what to drink during the event — while others may be wondering how they can win some wine.

Betting and sports have a long (March Madness) but limited (Nevada) tradition in the US but it is only thanks to Las Vegas we have an indication of what the odds are of one team winning over another. The most common indicator is the “spread” or number of point margin of victory of one team over another. In this year’s Super Bowl XL (those are Roman numerals, not a jersey size), the Pittsburgh Steelers are the favorite by 3.5 points over the Seattle Seahawks.

Thus a fan of the Seahawks could take 3.5 points, see their team lose 20-17 but still win on the bet. You win while the team loses. This suboptimal outcome means that your bet is not aligned with your enthusiasm for the team.

I put this puzzle to my friend who writes about sports on Gothamist and he advised me of the “moneyline,” which awards different values to bets while not offering any point spread. Thus if your team wins, you win the wager. The moneyline for the Superbowl is Seattle +160 and Pittsburgh -180. That means to place a $100 on the Seahawks in Las Vegas would win back your original wager plus $160. A $180 bet on Pittsburgh would yield the original wager plus $100.

Thus wine geeks who are fans of the Seahawks could bet a $10 wine with a friend and Pittsburgh supporter who would put up a $16 bottle of wine. Say, a Tres Picos for a Muga Reserva? It’s not exactly paralleling the moneyline but it roughly corresponds–and what a better way to celebrate friendship than if you had to drink the bottle together?

Assuming, of course, that you both are over 21 and live in Nevada.

tags: wine | SuperBowl

Domaine Lafond, Roc-Epine, AOC Lirac, 2003. $12 Find this wine
Located where the southern Rhone drifts into Provence, Lirac proves to be good ground for this wine that resembles a Chateauneuf-du-Pape but at a fraction of the price. (yes, it is over $10 but hey, it’s only about 5 US Postal stamps more.) This wine has a terrific complexity for the price with balanced notes of dark fruit and tannin and a long pleasant finish. An excellent mushroom-swiss chard pasta was a great food match. Jean Pierre and Pascal Lafond of Lirac, you rock! Importer: Wines of France: Mountainside NJ.

tags: wine | wine tasting | Domaine Lafond

Would you be against chopping down a redwood forest to make room for a strip mall? Of course you would. But how about a vineyard?

Such is the dilemma some residents in Northern California are facing. Demand for Pinot Noir, apparently, is pushing vineyard owners further up the coast to Sonoma County’s cooler–and more heavily forested–climates reports the AP.

However, California’s environmental regulations (through CEQA) have been tough enough to halt or delay vineyard expansion before. But environmental activists say the current regulations are not tough enough.

It’s the latest chapter in an interesting California conflict. For background, see James Conaway’s Napa. What are some stories of environmentalists and wineries from your part of the world?

tags: wine | California | environmentalism

Kristy, who has been reading her Dr Vino for years now (hard to believe its been that long!) is now a graduate student at the UC Davis Department of Enology and Viticulture. The student group there with the light-hearted name of DEVO is planning a trip to Spain and Portugal to meet with producers and learn about wine making in a different part of the world.

We can encourage and support this sort of valuable hands-on, comparative education by buying tickets to their raffle and possibly line our own cellars with some rare bottles. Tickets are $1 each and the drawing will occur on March 15. Full details are here but Kristy did provide me with the list of wines being raffled:

Grand Prize: Mixed Case (12 Bottles) of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Spain, and
Ultra Premium California Wines:
1970 Chateau LaTour Bicheau; Grand Cru De Graves
1974 Ridge Zinfandel; Geyserville- Trentadue Ranch
1978 Mirassou Petite Sirah (unfiltered); Harvest Selection, Monterey County
1991 Eberle Cabernet Sauvignon; Paso Robles, Reserve
1970 Chateau Croix de Bertinat; Grand Cru Saint-Emilion
1989 Dickerson Vineyard Ruby Cabernet; Napa Valley, Limited Reserve
1970 Clos De Vougeot; Grand Vin de Bourgogne
1957 Chateau Cheval Blanc; 1er Grand Cru Classe Saint-Emilion
(pre-1960 Sherry) Agustin Blazquez, Vinos Criados Natural
2000 Sanford Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County
1998 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvigno, Napa Valley
1998 Marques de Grinon; Emeritus, Dominia de Valdeposa

First Prize: Mixed Half Case (6 bottles) Bordeaux, Burgundy, Spain, and
Ultra Premium California Wines:
Chateau Montrose; L. Charmolue, Saint-Estephe
1964 Richeboug; Joseph Drouhin, Grand Vins
(pre-1960 Sherry) H. Misa, Jerez
2001 Saintsbury Pinot Noir; Rancho Carneros
2000 Ostatu, Rioja Alavesa, Reserva

Second Prize: (two bottles)
1971 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon
1971 Charles Krug Cabernet Sauvignon

Third Prizes: (Single Bottles) Multiple prizes awarded including:
(pre-1960 sherry) San Pantaleon, Gran Vino Tonico
(pre-1960 sherry) Valdespino, Cosecheros De Vinos Jerez
(pre-1960 Sherry) Jose Pemartin, Jerez de La Frontera
(pre-1960 Sherry) Bodegas Sancho, Vinos Finos, Jerez
(pre-1960 Sherry) Jandilla, Amontillado Macharnudo

tags: wine | wine raffle | UC Davis Viticulture and Enology

I’m back from a break in an undisclosed location. I have read Mark’s posts and your comments from the past week and am thrilled that he accepted my invitation to waste his time post informed commentary about wine. I hope he’ll continue periodic postings here especially on wine and travel and wine in Chicago.

Dr. Vino in a hotspot with no wi-fi

tags: wine blog

Jack’s comment on the earlier airline wine post raises an interesting question.

My understanding is that airlines like American aren’t paying at all for the wine on their flights, including in first class. It’s all free/promo stuff to them, so they couldn’t care how bad the wine is.

It turns out this isn’t the case — at least not for wine. Some products onboard might be provided gratis to the airlines, but major carriers are actually major wine buyers. Large buyers can lead to significant discounts, of course: American Airlines’ (aptly-named) wine buyer, Richard Vine

…doesn’t just pick the wines featured in flight. He bargains for price and quantity. And unlike some airlines, he also negotiates on how a wine will be promoted during a flight.

For some wineries, “we’ve become part of their business plan,” he said. “That gives me one more bargaining chip, because they don’t have to spend as much on marketing.”

Other airlines go even further and contract out their wine buys for what amounts to private-labeling. Some even have “creative input” when it comes to winemaking:

In tourist class, US Airways serves Casa Mayor cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay from Chile, which don’t have a retail price because they’re made specifically for US Airways and not sold in U.S. stores.
The advantage of buying as many as 650,000 little bottles a year, Stubbins says, is that when US Airways tasters decided they would like Casa Mayor’s chardonnay a little sweeter, the winery was glad to add a few sugar-rich semillon grapes to the blend.

Don’t like the Casa Mayor? Blame US Airways! But if you do or don’t like the wine on your flight, don’t just brush it off. Provide feedback. Consider it a public service.

tags: wine | food and drink | wine and travel | wine and airlines

Hiroshi Tanaka wants to turn young, freshly-bottled wine into a well-cellared library wine in minutes. Correction: seconds.

Tanaka claims to have perfected a machine that can transform a bottle of just-fermented Beaujolais Nouveau into a fine, mellow wine in seconds, all by zapping it with a few volts of electricity.

How does it work?

Though the exact mechanism of water molecule clusters remain a matter of scientific debate, Tanaka claims the electrolysis treatment instantaneously breaks up water clusters in the wine, allowing the water to more thoroughly blend with the alcohol. His company’s machine is a two-chambered device roughly the size of a stereo. Wine passes through one and tap water passes through the other; a membrane the company has patented separates the two. Platinum electrodes provide the juice, driving negative ions — the cause of acidity — from the wine into the water.

Perhaps ironically, you’ll have to be patient if you want your flash-aged wine:

The company is in talks with wineries in California and Washington state to start providing its U.S. affiliate, BW2 Holdings, with young wine to treat and sell, Tanaka said. BW2 hopes to sell the bottles on the Internet later this year for an affordable US$5 (euro4.14).

Now if only they’ll come up with a way to turn back time on wine that’s past its prime…

tags: wine | food and drink | wine and technology

If you like wine, a new study says you are more likely to care about healthy eating. Big surprise?

Wine drinkers have healthier diets than people who prefer beer, according to research reported by Danish scientists on Friday.

They tend to buy more fruits, vegetables, olives, low fat cheese and cooking oil than beer drinkers who are more likely to consume ready meals, soft drinks, sugar, sausages, lamb and butter or margarine.

First off: Lamb??! Who knew that lamb was such a touchstone for healthy eating. (Note to self: cut down on the haggis.)

Second: The sample for this study is entirely based in Denmark, but the results are pretty intuitive. (Well, maybe not the finding re: lamb…) Wine is still perceived as upmarket, compared to beer (microbrews excepted). Socioeconomic status and healthy eating, or at least a consciousness about healthy eating, tend to go hand in hand. So big whoop.

Now, if someone would fund research to replicate the 2003 Duke University study that wine drinkers make better lovers…

tags: wine | wine and health