Dr Vino's wine blog

SIPPED: Sauternes
Chicago’s foie gras ban has been repealed in a 37 – 6 vote by the City Council, overturning the 48 – 1 vote that put the ban into effect two years ago. The prices of Sauternes, the unctuous sweet wine often served as an accompaniment, just went up an additional ten percent. [Sun Times, thanks Stephen!]

SIPPED: Cork back for an encork
When a member of the Culinary Institute of American saw my cork iPhone case in February, she exclaimed that it would be the perfect product for recycling their corks! But apparently someone had other plans as the 900 corks pulled there a day will now be recycled in a new program called ReCORK America, sponsored by a cork producer to underscore the “natural” qualities of cork. But what is the carbon footprint of sending all that cork into be recycled into floor tile (and sidebars for wine blogs). Wouldn’t the CIA be better reusing them as festive holiday wreaths–or those iPhone covers?!?

SPIT: Critter labels
On the heels of our worst wine label contest comes more advice, this time from Wines & Vines. One item: a label designer Down Under has a “no critters” policy after seeing the kangaroo reinvented some “50,000 times.” [Wines & Vines] Related: ”

SPIT: Brunello di Montalcino
Not content with the FAA’s Global War On Toiletries, US federal authorities are now turning their eyes on another liquid: Brunello di Montalcino! A recent scandal has revealed blending of grapes other than sangiovese, the only one permissible under the local DOC rules in the wine. Now, as a result, the feds are threatening to block US imports of the pricey Italian wine as of June 9. “Part of our mandate is to make sure all labels are truthful, accurate and not misleading to the American consumer,’’ Mr. Resnick of the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau told Eric Asimov. Um, OK, how about starting with Korbel “California Champagne”? [NYT]

SPIT: asparagus in December
In a piece that, oddly, has not received much attention here in the US of A, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay–known for his high-end restaurants in several countries as well as cursing like, well, a chef–lays into out-of season like nobody’s bidness calling for it to be outlawed in the UK. While absolutely laudable in principal, the legislative angle may be the wrong way to achieve this policy goal. And let’s hope eating local in his case doesn’t mean eating any more horse! [BBC]

SIPPED: Wine into water
Wine & Spirits magazine will be holding two public tastings in Los Angeles and Seattle that sound like fun with good people and good wines. Since I gave up bottled water for thirty days and lived to tell the tale, I like the secondary cause too: $5 of each ticket will go to local water conservation organizations. [Wine & Spirits Hotpicks]
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The Trimbach Cuvee Frederic Emile is one of the world’s great white wines. And at $35, it’s also one of the world’s great white wine bargains.

I had the 2001 recently with a friend and loved it. I tried the 2002 at a tasting last week and found it higher in acidity and not quite as subtle as the 01, so I went out and bought some more of the 01. I’ve never had the top wine from the Alsatian producer, the $120 Clos Ste. Hune (find this wine), but one of my friends who has had it describes the “Freddy” as “more than half the wine at a quarter the price.”

Although I prefer German Riesling on the whole to the Alsatian versions, this Freddy has a German-like precision, alluring aromas of lime zest, lemon grass, wet rocks and a touch of honey, while the palate has excellent richness while remaining dry and a long finish. I’d like to try a version of this wine with some age on it so I’ve stashed away a few bottles for just that purpose. Next time I’ll try it with pan-seared scallops.

The wine is from grand cru vineyards but still seems to have a production size that means that it actually can be found. Search for it now before it is all gone.

Why write about this wine today? Why, it is for Wine Blogging Wednesday #45, with a theme of Old World Riesling that Tim Elliott selected. Surf on over to Tim’s site to see a roundup of which other Rieslings people chose to explore. And thanks for the one day grace period, Tim!

Eric Asimov has a great piece in today’s Times about all the sensory inputs of wine–and he’s not talking about blackberries, leather, and tar but rather what makes us buy and ultimately enjoy a given wine.

The piece summarizes recent research into wine purchasing decisions, particularly two studies that have made consumers appear to be easily influenced by price. Obviously many other factors go into what makes you buy a wine including what you’ve read about it, the place of origin, the grape, the producer, the importer, and perhaps the bottle design and label (if you’re new to this site, have your say in our worst wine label contest while submissions are still open!).

I’m a huge fan of context for wine enjoyment and thanks to Eric for quoting me in the story with this perspective. Sometimes context can even elevate a humble bottle of wine to make it an all-time favorite. I remember Frank Prial, previously wine critic for the Times, saying that the best bottle of wine he ever had was some crappy wine he drank enthusiastically right after returning from a tour in the Korean War. It wasn’t the wine so much as it was the fact that he was home.

It’s amazing how often learned wine folk cite humble bottles as their faves when the experience was really so much about the mood and the moment. How has context influenced a great wine experience of yours?

Maybe there should be 100 point moments rather than 100 point wines. There’s no price tag on that, after all.

Related: “Wine’s Pleasures: Are They All in Your Head? [NYT]
A reduced-sized crop of the image attributed to Lars Klove that accompanies that piece is reproduced here.

THE tulips on Park Avenue are blooming in gorgeous yellows, pinks and reds, confirmation that spring has finally arrived in New York City. My own seasonal signpost is an annual thirst for German rieslings.

Usually in spring I find myself drawn to the filigreed, finely etched rieslings of the Mosel, as delicate as the petals of those Park Avenue tulips.

So wrote Eric Asimov in the New York Times yesterday. Do your preferences change with the season? What kind of wine are you craving or drinking right now?

I agree with the dry riesling selection since I just ordered a bunch of them earlier this week. Gruner Veltliner from Austria is also fun this time of year, as is the Basque Txakoli and some whites from the Loire. And with this warm weather we’ve been having recently, can rosé be far behind?

Related: “Impossible food wine pairings: artichokes!”

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Last week was the final session of my six-week NYU wine class. The grouping of people was very fun and hopefully everyone is a little more wine savvy.

One of the things that I do in the class is poll people on whether they like each wine. They’re free to love them or hate them and we generally have some fence-sitters too. Some people love certain wines (“smell the terroir!”) that are hated by others (“smells like terroir!”). Oddly enough, the expensive wines are not always the most popular since they have either too much individuality or too much conformity to please everyone.

But some wines are unanimously enjoyed. Below is a list of those wines. Incidentally, I poured about 35 wines (blind) spanning many places and styles. One week I was away on parental leave and recruited Mollie Battenhouse to help me out. Mollie, the former sommelier at Tribeca Grill and a candidate for the Master of Wine (all she has left is her dissertation), is starting her own wine business in NYC that is a first of its kind. More on that on a future date…To the wines! Read more…

Sorry, but I can’t get this visual tasting note thing out of my head. This is the last one–for now.

Lewis, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2004, $125 (find this wine)

About a year ago, a friend of mine asked me for advice on starting a blog. My first thought was, “why not? Who DOESN’T have a blog these days?” But this friend is an avid wine collector (and a consultant to other collectors) and wanted to blog about his fine wine experiences. The more I thought about it, fine wine and blogging seemed an odd mix.

Mike Steinberger explores this disjuncture and much more in a rich and very worthwhile essay entitled “Everyone a Critic: The Future of Wine Writing.” It graces the current cover of the English magazine, The World of Fine Wine (available free this week only here as pdf).

The most interesting thread to me is the economic angle. It should come as a surprise to nobody that there’s little money in writing (but the glory! Yes, the glory!). Further, as prices have risen on the top wines, indicating demand outstripping supply, those wines have become increasingly out of reach for wine writers. What incentive do producers have to give wine writers a sample? And in the absence of that sample, how many writers can afford to buy them on their own?

It got me thinking: are fine (expensive) wines relevant to wine blogs? I think so. But a steady diet of them would likely run the blogger to ruin or bore the audience to tears. The economics of blogs is based either on a labor of love or on eyeballs for ads–and there just aren’t a lot of eyeballs that are seriously interested in $1,000 bottles of Burgundy. A previous poll here showed that blog readers prefer free content. So my friend might be better off contributing to the Parker bulletin board where the audience delights in bling bottles or starting an online newsletter with his notes and charging $100 a year.

Do you think expensive wine and blogs are a good blend? Do you drink a lot of wines north of $100?

I was pleased that Mike included me along with Jamie Goode, Alice Feiring, and Tom Wark as some “fresh voices taking wine journalism in new and important directions.” I’d like to return the compliment since I have always been a fan of his writing–whether in Slate, the Financial Times, Saveur or wherever–finding it to be polished, provocative, entertaining, and informative. Too bad he doesn’t have a blog.

Chateau Petrogasm (such an unfortunate name–wine? oil? sex?) is a blog that does visual tasting notes, using a single picture. Sometimes their reviews make me say “huh?” But more often than not, it’s good for a laugh, taking wine reviews in a new, word-free, points-free direction.

In this vein, I offer you my visual tasting note for the Colome Malbec 2005 from Salta, Argentina (find this wine).