Dr Vino's wine blog

Dear Dr. Vino,

-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!

Goat cheese is a sign of spring in France. When we had a few people over this past weekend, I was sure to have a nice chevre–even if there is still snow on the ground. Grrr…

One of our friends stated his dislike for goat cheese. Then when I brought out a Sancerre, two guys raised their eyebrows, “WHITE wine?!?” Skeptics all around!

We poured a Sancerre and the raised eyebrows lowered, intensely studying the aromas and color. Not half bad was the sentiment conveyed with a nod.

Then the goat cheese skeptic tried the cheese and washed it down with the Sancerre. And again. And again. He proclaimed it a great match!

So check out the 2005 Chavignol from Thomas-Labaille’s vineyard “les Monts Damnés” or “damned mountains” (about $20, find this wine. The name reminds me of the red “Hell’s mountain“). This name derives from the steepness of the vineyard’s slope of which compels the growers to hand harvest whether they want to or not. Since this is not the norm in Sancerre, the resulting wine has a beautiful blend of richness and crispness that can convince non-chevre eaters and even non-white wine drinkers of its virtues.

Got any favorite pairings with goat cheese? Hit the comments!

Related:
“Spring for Savennieres” [Dr. V]
“BREAKING: Sarkozy tastes Sancerre, promises wine reforms” [Dr. V]

It’s spring time, which for us wine geeks doesn’t just mean crocuses and robins–it means it’s time to pay now for wine that won’t be delivered for another two years.

A friend called me on Saturday and asked if I wanted to claim a few bottles of Ridge Monte Bello 2006 allocation. I hesitated for a moment, thinking that nobody outside the winery has ever tasted the wine and the final blend is probably a year away from being constructed. Then I said yes.

Is this sheer folly? At least when Bordeaux futures start rolling out in the next month, journalists and buyers from around the world will have already ventured to the region to taste barrel samples and be able to offer a third party opinion.

But I figure Ridge is a Name You Can Trust. Which wines would you be willing to pre-buy without anything other than the weather report and some vague assurances from the winery about the current vintage being spectacular?

We’re fans of the box around here. No shame in that. In theory, it’s convenient, fresh and brings the per glass costs down to levels low enough to make you generous, even with your neighbors. I wrote an open letter to Jorge Ordonez and told him to hop on it. Sadly, no word from him and his importing empire.

Box wine theory does not often meet reality in America. The quality of many almost all box wines found on our hallowed shores is enough to give them a bad reputation. Oh wait…So for inspiration, let us turn to France. They get it after all.

Domaine Sorin: I had the Cotes de Provence 2005 rose last summer (find this wine). At 25 euros, it was double the price of another box we bought, which might make it seem expensive. But the 5L box meant that it was five euros ($6 give or take) per liter putting it in the realm of gulp-tastic pricing. Domaine Sorin is made without chemical fertilizers or pesticides in the vineyard. The blend comprises of four classic grape varieties from the region and is vinified and aged in vats. Sadly it is only available in France. Perhaps another letter is in order? Dear Domaine Sorin importer…

For some worthwhile and no doubt more attainable box wines, check out boxwine.org for the round-up from this Wine Blogging Wednesday.

tags: wine | Wine blogging Wednesday 31

No doubt stung by his Dr. Vino demotion to rural town council last week, Nicolas Sarkozy, Minister of the Interior and a leading candidate in the race for the French presidency, has now announced that he is in favor wine reform.

After the Revue du Vin de France reported that he does not like wine since he’s too busy (“you cannot reconcile alcohol with frenetic activity”), he got a raspberry from this web site.

But now that wine-lover Segolene Royal is gaining ground in the polls, Sarkozy is making nice with wine producers! The BBC reports that he actually tasted local wine while campaigning in Sancerre! No report on whether he looked “dour” as he did during a sherry tasting in Spain. (Be sure to send photos of him in Sancerre if you find them.)

Not only that, but he is now trying to curry favor with wine producers by intimating that he might remove tight restrictions on advertising wine in movie theaters and on TV that date from 1991. “Wine cannot be lumped together with tobacco or drugs”, Sarkozy told the local wine producers.

As if that weren’t enough to bring the downtrodden French winemakers to his side, he “promised to protect French wine producers, vowing to bar from the market imported wines which fail to match the domestic wines’ quality.” Whoa, Nico. While lifting the advertising restrictions is a good thing, who would be the Senior Minister for Wine Quality?

Still, this pandering to wine producers raises Sarkozy’s Dr. Vino rating to: member of the National Assembly.

Related:
“Sarkozy woos French wine makers” [BBC]
“Leaders and liters of wine: French presidential contenders 2007” [Dr. V]

UPDATE: Leave it to Bertrand, wine photographer extraordinaire, to tip us off to a photo of Sarkozy tossing back the Sancerre. People came from near and far to behold the busy man take time to sip some wine.

tags: wine | French wine | French elections

I’m always on the quest for wine bargains. Sure, Napa cabs can be great but they’re often expensive. Ditto many Burgundies. We need a wine for Sunday – Thursday.

Behold Colonia Las Liebres (Rabbit Colony), our current house red. I bought a bottle for $8 and thought it was remarkably decent. Then I hunted on the web and found it for $5 a PJ Wine (map it) in Manhattan. But wait, it gets better: there’s a case discount that brings it to $4.49 a bottle or the insanely low price of $53.88 a case. I had two cases delivered yesterday. I figure that should get me through the end of February. Oh wait, that’s Wednesday. OK, maybe a little longer.

The wine is an unoaked, unfiltered bonarda from Mendoza, Argentina. It is an unbelievable value. It has some bright purple fruit balanced against pleasant acidity and easy tannins. It’s gulpable. It’s now my official burrito wine but I’ve had it with pasta and would love to try it with barbeque. Is it a little bit rustic? Try it and let me know your thoughts…It’s made by Marco de Grazia et al. at Altos de las Hormigas in Argentinta (Michael Skurnik, importer). Scoop up as much as you plan to consume between now and July. And say adios to Two Buck Chuck.

(note: the 06 label has the same image but with a white background)

tags: wine | value wine

So what will you be doing for your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day? It’s likely that it will include some wine, food and flowers. Here are a few suggestions for the wine — the rest is up to you.

Can you find a good pinot noir under $20? I put this to the test recently asking some wine shops for their faves. Some clerks recoiled in horror at the prospect of finding a worthwhile pinot noir–the grape praised by Miles in Sideways–for a mere $20. Part of the problem is that since Miles told everyone to have pinot noir producers have rushed to bring more to market even though there was little more to be had. Thus many “pinots” under $20 contain the legal minimum of 75 percent pinot noir and then jack the rest up with syrah or zinfandel trying to make a dark, lush wine not dissimilar to the very merlot that Miles disdained.

So thanks to your generous click-throughs on ads on this site, I deployed my tasting budget gathering 12 bottles of pinot noir under $20 and a few friends. The wines hailed from Burgundy, the grape’s ancestral home, as well as California, Italy, Chile, and Oregon. All were tasted blind, which provided some unusual surprises.

On the whole I would say that the category produces some good rewards but is not without risk. Think of the degree of difficulty as equivalent to the quadruple back flip off a low board. But the reward is a very food friendly wine with great fruit and acidity and little of the tannin that wine newbies find offputting–yet sufficient depth and intrigue to fascinate wine geeks like me. In sum, an excellent date wine. And because of the light price tag, you can deploy the rest of your Valentine’s Day budget elsewhere.

So here they are, in order of preference:

Au Bon Climat, Santa Barbara County, 2005. $18. Find this wine
The hands-down winner. A wonderful, almost Burgundian nose of earth and fruit. On the palate, the wine has cherry notes, cola, a certain pleasant earthiness, and a surprisingly nice level of acidity given its SoCal origin. The finish even has a bit of an arc like a serious pinot. Very food friendly and hugely date friendly.

O’Reillys, pinot noir, Oregon 2005. $19 Find this wine
The Irish are known for their wine. OK, maybe not. But they might be better known for it after giving the O’Reillys pinot a shot. This O’Reilly factor comes from the no-spin-zone of Oregon: a delicate balance of cherry notes and acidity make this a bottle whose contents disappear quickly.

Hofstatter, pinot nero, Alto Adige, 2005. $18. Find this wine
Mentioned previously on this blog, the Hofstatter fared well during this blind tasting. This pinot, light in color, has a sense of place in the bottle. But don’t worry about the Dolomites where it came from: the place for you should be on your dining room table.

Fleur, pinot noir, Carneros, 2005. $15 Find this wine
This pinot is easy drinking. Soft, straight forward pinot noir, it paired great at our tasting with the Jasper Hill cheese called “constant bliss.” With the bouquet of flowers on the label, the wine in your glass, and the cheese on your plate, you’re as close as I can take you to Valentine’s pleasure.

And finally…Roederer Estate, brut rose, for $20+ Find this wine
If you must have a great-tasting pink bubbly this V-Day, you’re going to have to pay a couple of three dollars over our limit. But it is 60% pinot noir! This Roederer Estate is a great way to go. It pairs well with many foods–but not sure how it is in the jacuzzi.

If you have a favorite pinot noir under $20 feel free to post a comment below.

Related: “Biodynamics in Oregon”
Aging pinots

tags: wine recommendations | pinot noir

There’s a lot of talk these days about “grower champagnes,” sparkling wines made in the Champagne region by the grape growers themselves (see my backgrounder). In all the rush to talk about this farmer fizz, the fact that growers also make bubbly outside of Champagne sometimes gets lost.

When I was in Argentina earlier this year, I tried some of the local bubbly. Moet controls the Argentine market for bubbly through its local subsidiary. In fact, their local label has risen to a level of brand awareness on par with Kleenex and Xerox. Instead of asking for a glass of “champagne” Argentines mostly ask for a glass of “Chandon.”

The sparkling wines made at the Mendoza Chandon winery serve many Latin American markets but don’t ever go north of Panama. Domaine Chandon in Napa provides American domestic sparklers to the US market alongside the Champagne brands in the LVMH portfolio such as Moet, Veuve Clicquot, and Krug.

In Argentina, Pascual Toso plays the Avis of the bubbly market to Moet’s Hertz. This family-owned company has been making wine since 1880 and now provides something like five percent of the bubbly to the Argentine domestic market. But unlike Chandon Argentina, which you would have to go there to taste, Toso brut is exported to the US. It is a blanc des blancs made of chardonnay and chenin blanc. If you’re looking for a bargain bubbly, to stock for a large party or simply for a break on the budget, the Toso retails for between $6-8 in the US (find this wine). Light in color, with notes of yeasty brioche, it’s some farmer fizz that will add bubbles to your budget.

tags: wine | bubbly | LVMH