Dr Vino's wine blog

The craziest thing about being a wine consumer in America is that actually getting wine can be so difficult. And if it’s not impossible to find, a wine–the exact wine you are looking for–can be expensive. There’s so much red tape it’s almost enough to make you drink beer.

Well, the US wine market just inched toward normalcy. While Staples can order staplers directly from the producer in China, wine stores in New York have been prevented from ordering wine directly from wineries in California. The wine must go through a state-licensed wholesaler and a wholesaler cannot also be a retailer. This can create a bottleneck preventing the wine from low-volume producers who can’t interest a wholesaler in taking on their wines.

Thanks to some new software and a more generous interpretation of the stodgy laws, wine stores and restaurants in New York can now order “directly” from wineries in California. The stores can order from small wineries and the software “clears” the wine through a participating wholesaler who pays appropriate taxes to NYS. The wholesaler is still getting paid (presumably less than their normal markup of 30-50 percent) simply for having a distribution license and not adding any logistical or sales value. But at least the consumer has a slightly greater choice since there will be a few more six-packs of limited-production wines in Manhattan.

I wonder who gets bumped off the Screaming Eagle mailing list so that Sherry-Lehmann can get on?

Seriously, I hope that it will increase the visibility of wines from the Pacific Northwest. I have been underwhelmed by their representation in NY stores. Let’s just hope the prices are reasonable…

Related: “New York Merchants can by wine directly – almost” [Decanter]

UPDATE from the Dr. Vino inbox: “To me, this seems another example of a big deal being made out of something that will ultimately have no real impact on retail stores. Also keep in mind that larger stores (and restaurants especially) don’t like having 18 different vendors and also like to use relationships / partial exclusivities to get more allocated wine and better deals…”

tags: wine | the business of wine

In the past week, I’ve gotten solicitations from practically every wine shop in NYC. This is the home stretch of the sacred fourth quarter and they are all vying for our business! But there is something missing in their gift baskets.

I got an email from BottleRocket with wines and books in their gift baskets.

I got printed materials from Zachy’s showing wine and stemware selections in theirs.

I got print and emails from Crush suggesting their gifts of miscellaneous essentials for wine lovers including a Laguiole corkscrew with a black horn handle.

What do all of these things have in common? They are all missing gourmet cheeses or other foods. Why? The kibosh on the food-wine pairing is courtesy of the ancient laws that govern wine retailing in New York State that prohibit wine retailers from selling food (or cigars). You never know what might happen if you could buy Camembert with your Sancerre…New Yorkers can say it with wine this holiday–just get the cheese from somewhere else.

Related: Interactive map of NY wine shops

tags: wine | wine gifts | new york

I recently tried to order wine from a San Francisco retailer to my home in New York. They don’t ship to New York

Later, I put a great case of hard-to-find wines in my virtual shopping cart from an Oregon web vendor. Only trouble when it came time to check out: they don’t ship to New York.

I called a retailer in Chicago to put together an order to be sent to me. Sadly, no NY shipping. I queried why and eventually the owner wrote me back that his lawyer advised them not to ship to New York.

I thought that the Supreme Court’s ruling from last year would facilitate New York (and other) wine lovers in having more access to wines. Yes, buying from wineries is great but buying from other stores in other states also has advantages. What’s going on? Please post any insights or experiences in the comments.

tags: wine | direct shipping | buying wine

Last night I ate a dinner made by “cookie.” Or at least that’s what the President called him. Yes, that President.

Walter Scheib, Executive Chef at the White House for 11 years, gave a talk at NYU interspersed between three courses about his time in the White House.

In 1994, his wife saw in the newspaper that the White House chef had resigned. Chef Scheib was then at the Greenbrier in West Virginia and he saw no reason to apply. As he told the story, he and his wife were on a plane and he couldn’t escape her enthusiastic encouragement for the whole flight. The next morning when he left for work, his wife presented him with his resume and a cover letter to sign and send to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Smart woman.

With 4000 applicants whittled down to 30 finalists and 10 who were ultimately brought in to cook a test meal, Scheib described it as a American Idol before there was American Idol.

Hillary Clinton was the one doing the hiring. She said that she wanted a chef who cooked American cuisine, a break with the tradition with French chefs. He cooked an audition lunch for the then-First Lady and her staff. Even though he called that one of the three most important meals he cooked during his tenure he neglected to save the menu from that day. But whatever it was, it got him the job.

He described the White House kitchen as a cramped at 30′ x 30′ and it had not been updated since 1976. There were two septuagenarian French chefs on the staff. Scheib put in all new appliances from stainless steel, high BTU ranges to extractor hoods. And he told the chefs that he would be bringing in a new style of food with spices ranging from curry to habanero. They said “that’s great!” And then they retired.

The meal that Chef Scheib prepared last night at the NYU Torch Club was bipartisan. The first dish was sweet potato and red curry soup with kefir and lemon grass, a favorite of Chelsea Clinton’s. I expected not to like it. But it was excellent, a blend of light sweetness followed by a gentle heat of the curry. It’s amazing to have a food that has a tasting arc like a wine. Apparently Tony Blair smelled Chelsea having it at Camp David one time, tried it, and asked the chef to prepare it for him as a sauce for his lobster the next time he visited the White House.

The second course came courtesy of the Bush twins. One time the family was away from the White House and Jenna and Barbara decided to come back. And have 40 friends over. Chef Scheib thought they would want to do a cookout and arranged for a drop shipment of beef. Only at 2:30 that Saturday afternoon, the twins told him they wanted to have a mini state dinner, in the main dining room with fancy china, and their friends would be dressing up. Deep six the cookout grub he wondered? Oh no, they twins replied that they would have it in the main dining room.

So knowing their love of margaritas, he prepared a lime-tequila sauce and reduced it to a mere glaze for the beef. Fried plantain chips soared over the meat, which was served on a bed of fresh mango and banana. That was our course number two. Scheib said that the Bush twins remarked after the meal that it was a pity to waste that much tequila.

Finally, we had a bipartisan dessert, honey-lavender ice cream and peach-berry cobbler. The Bushes apparently like Blue Bell ice cream from Texas. But Chef Scheib and his crew wanted to make their own. So they ground real vanilla beans, replaced half the sugar with honey and added lavender blossoms. The result was an amazingly intense ice cream that was gooey thanks to the honey and beautifully delicate with the lavender. The cobbler was fairly standard. But Bill Clinton likes it so much that he wants to have it at Chelsea’s wedding.

As your Senior Wine Correspondent I had to ask about the White House wine during the Q&A. Scheib joked that the White House has a great cellar: it’s called the state of California. Seriously, he said that the White House cellar is actually quite small, only about 300 bottles. Whenever they had an event that called for wine they would work with a winery to obtain their best wines–often from the personal collections of the vintners themselves. They rotate the wines very often so no one wine is considered a house wine. And they do draw from states beyond California too.

All in all it was a nourishing meal on many levels. This election day, vote for good food.

Related:
The American Chef, Chef Scheib’s web site, complete with recipes.
The list of food and wine offerings at NYU/James Beard Foundation

tags: wine | food and drink | white house | walter scheib

It’s only 15 days until the campaign of spin stops and you can vote on that decisive electoral issue. You might think I am talking about foreign or economic policy. I’m actually talking about wine.

As I have written previously, Massachusetts has a state-wide ballot initiative taking place on November 7 that would allow wine sales in food stores. It’s a no-brainer from a wine lover’s perspective: buying wine where you buy your food makes it easier to have wine with your dinner. It’s such a novel concept that 34 states already allow the practice. People in Massachusetts should vote yes and make it 35 states.

But the issue makes people say funny things. Is it the wine talking? Or the campaign contributions?

“A dramatic expansion of alcohol sales as proposed in Question 1 would undermine the system as a whole and make meaningful enforcement nearly impossible,” Eddie J. Jenkins, the chairman of the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, said last week.

“I am opposed to Question 1 because it would make alcohol more accessible to underage persons and will dramatically increase the availability of alcohol in Massachusetts,” said Ted Mahony, the agency’s chief investigator.

Not only are these positions laughable–ever heard of carding?–but these unelected officials are now having their statements reviewed by an Ethics Commission since they are not supposed to “engage in political activities” while on the job. Their boss, State Treasurer Timothy Cahill, an opponent of the measure, gave them the green light to speak out according to the Boston Globe. He received $22,000 last year from distributors in campaign contributions.

In an unusual coalition against the measure, package store owners have been joined by some distributors and 28 local police chiefs. Since the measure is backed by Stop & Shop and Shaw’s, two supermarket chains, the distributors who are opposed must fear that retailer consolidation would be a significant counterweight to their market power. The cops’ demagoguery about drunken driving I just don’t understand.

Supermarkets do not have reputations for selling high quality wine. And they don’t always deliver wine at the best price. But there’s always the chance that they will try. Certainly Whole Foods does a good job though you pay a premium for the convenience. And Trader Joe’s has solid offerings at reasonable prices. Maybe they will serve as guiding lights for the bigger chains in Massachusetts.

Both sides have raised $7.6 million thus far according to the Boston Globe. And the irony is that if the measure passed, as polls suggest, November 8 would not bring cases of Kendall-Jackson to Stop & Shops. It would simply allow the right for municipalities to set their own rules.

I would vote yes to make wine one step more convenient and more like a normal, enjoyable consumer product, a part of everyday life.

tags: wine | massachusetts wine | supermarkets

Jean-Luc Thunevin is a “bad boy.” So says Robert Parker. The maker of the vin de garage Valandraud may have turned heads thus far in his brief career as a vintner but now he’s turning tables–table wine, that is.

This vintage will be the first vintage of “Bad Boy,” the table wine, produced by Thunevin. Making a quality wine in the administrative category vin de table is a rarity in France.

“The appellation system is still very important for the French consumer,” Jean-Luc Thunevin told me recently. But he is willing to forego it for this wine in order to radically experiment with this wine.

Bad Boy will be a blend of 70-30 blend of merlot and grenache. The grapes for this unusual blend will come from St. Emilion and Thunevin’s property in the Roussillon, respectively. Michel Rolland will be the consulting enologist. “He’s the best blender,” Thunevin told me. The wine has not yet been priced.

The wine will have a picture of a black sheep on the label and Bad Boy in large font.

Vin de table is rare in France since restrictions prohibit producers from stating either the region or even the vintage on the label.

Related: “Merlot-grenache” [Dr. V]

tags: wine | French wine | AOC | Thunevin

Pabst Still Coasting On 1893 Blue Ribbon Win
-The Onion

So what’s wrong with the 1855 classification of red wines from the Medoc? We can sum it up succinctly: the Pabst problem. It’s resting on its laurels.

The classification was a snapshot and not a moving picture. Several houses riding high in 1855 have since plummeted or been acquired by others. One chateau, Mouton-Rothschild, headed the other way and was promoted to first growth status as recently as 1973, the first and only change to the system cast on parchment.

But over on the Right Bank, they’ve got a moving picture. Granted, we’re talking one frame per decade but at least that’s more dynamic than over in the Medoc.

The wines of St. Emilion (see dark purple on map) were first classified only in 1954. Unlike the 1855 classification with 61 properties distributed over five “growths,” or classes, the St. Emilion classification divides 55 proprties into two categories of average and above average. Actually, that would be too humble: the two categories are mere “great growths” (42 chateaus) and “super great growths” (13).

Well, tomorrow is the big day for the announcement of the next revision. The big phenomenon in the region in the 1990s was the emergence of ultra-premium vins de garage that were not included in the last revision in 1996. More garagiste wine makers than you could shake a gigot d’agneau at have hit their stride since then. If the revision is truly dynamic, it should expand beyond the current 55 members and include some of the garagistes. Stay tuned for part deux tomorrow…

St. Emilion Classification, 1954 (1996 edition)

FIRST GREAT GROWTH CATEGORY A

* Château Ausone
* Château Cheval Blanc

FIRST GREAT GROWTH CATEGORY B

* Château Angélus
* Château Beau-Séjour Bécot
* Château Beauséjour (Duffau-Lagarosse)
* Château Belair
* Château Canon
* Château Figeac
* Château La Gaffeliere
* Château Magdelaine
* Château Pavie
* Château Trottevieille
* Clos Fourtet

GREAT GROWTHS

* Château Balestard La Tonelle
* Château Bellevue
* Château Bergat
* Château Berliquet
* Château Cadet Bon
* Château Cadet-Piola
* Château Canon La Gaffeliere
* Château Cap De Mourlin
* Château Chauvin
* Château Clos Des Jacobins
* Château Corbin
* Château Corbin-Michotte
* Château Curé Bon
* Château Dassault
* Château Faurie-De-Sauchard
* Château Fonplégade
* Château Fonroque
* Château Franc Mayne
* Château Grand Mayne
* Château Grand Pontet
* Château Guadet Saint-Julien
* Château Haut Corbin
* Château Haut Sarpe Saint-Christophe Des Bardes
* Château L’arrosée
* Château La Clotte
* Château La Clusiere
* Château La Couspaude
* Château La Dominique
* Château La Serre
* Château La Tour Du Pin-Figeac (Giraud-Belivier)
* Château La Tour Du Pin-Figeac (J.M. Moueix)
* Château La Tour Figeac
* Château Lamarzelle
* Château Laniote
* Château Larcis Ducasse Saint-Laurent Des Combes
* Château Larmande
* Château Laroque Saint-Christophe Des Bardes
* Château Laroze
* Château Le Prieuré
* Château Les Grandes Murailles
* Château Matras
* Château Moulin Du Cadet
* Château Pavie Decesse
* Château Pavie Macquin
* Château Petite Faurie De Soutard
* Château Ripeau
* Château Saint-George Cote Pavie
* Château Soutard
* Château Tertre Daugay
* Château Troplong-Mondot
* Château Villemaurine
* Château Yon-Figeac
* Clos De L’oratoire
* Clos Saint-Martin
* Couvent Des Jacobins

St. Emilion producers’ union web site

tags: wine | St. Emilion | St. Emilion classification

The news is out: Robert Parker’s “Team America” (who knew?!) has been expanded. We made the odds and the number four most likely, Antonio Galloni, was hired. With a non-American “super-taster” yet to be announced, keep an eye on the short list where two of the top three are non-American.

In brief, David Schildknecht gets the biggest role and the promotion was enough to make him give up his importing business, an ironic twist since the man he is replacing, Pierre-Antoine Rovani, is going back into the wine trade. In addition to the Teutonic wines that he currently covers, Schildknecht will add the following regions: Alsace, Burgundy, the Loire Valley, the Languedoc-Roussillon, Champagne, New Zealand and South Africa.

Antonio Galloni must be as thrilled as the founder of a technology start-up being bought by Microsoft. His two-year old Piedmont Report will be folded into the eRobertParker database and he will assume responsibility for all the wines of Italy, a hugely diverse wine country with hundreds of indigenous grape varieties. Let’s hope he tries some falanghina.

Dr. J. Miller edged out a woman dentist from Bordeaux to join “Team America.” He will be responsible for the Pacific Northwest, Port, and South America but most interestingly Spain and Australia, which were in the firm grasp of RP himself. Mark Squires will cover the dry wines of Portugal.

Will too many cooks spoil the successful broth that is “Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate”? Yes and no. The coverage will be expanded with the team of commentators–who knows, the brown ink-on-manilla-paper newsletter may even shift to run color images in the publication and try to target a broader audience? Doubtful. The way Parker has added new staff by focusing on regions rather than say, grape variety or food pairing, underscores that he wants to build on the base of being a publication for serious wines and serious wine buyers.

But this expanded coverage is also precisely where the strength of adding more reviewers becomes a weakness. More tasters means more palates. Will they bring more diversity? On the one hand, that would be refreshing since otherwise Parker could have added wine tasting robots.

But diversity would dilute the newsletter’s market power since a WA score could no longer presume to be objective, since it would vary with each reviewer. Since so many buyers buy simply based on Parker points, this would, in effect, remove the most important yardstick of quality for the auction market and throw it into disarray. How would collectors and investors know which wines to bid up?

But the wine auction market thrives mostly on Bordeaux and California, the regions that are still firmly in Parker’s grasp. When he ultimately gives those up, then the WA scores will be put to the test.

Related: “The best laid plans” [Dr. V]

tags: wine | Robert parker | critics | wine auctions