Dr Vino's wine blog

Do you travel with wine? I did recently. And according to today’s NYT, there are a lot of wine professionals who do.

As if the Global War on Toiletries weren’t cramping our style enough by prohibiting us from carrying cabernet in the aircraft, now it is surfacing that United may be preventing wine from being checked in the hold.

According to a thread on Flyertalk, one passenger was denied checking wine in his luggage at the Los Angeles airport, LAX. The traveler put a “fragile” sticker on his bag and the staffer checking him in (wait, they have people doing that at LAX?) asked him why, he said he was taking a nice wine to a friend’s wedding. No go said the staffer. “She just started shaking her head and informed me that if UA “knows” that you are checking wine, they must ask you to remove the wine from your suitcase,” he wrote.

The traveler chucked the $90 cab in the trash. He must have decided not to chug it like this guy.

United, what are we supposed to do? Even though it doesn’t appear to be your official policy, this inconsistency is bad. Vintage variation? Fine, we can live with that. But travel policy variation? Nope. I’m putting you on notice, United Airlines!

Thanks for the tip, Mark at Upgrade: Travel Better!

Related: “Who’s threatening us now: Homaro Cantu!” [Dr. V]

My post yesterday about natural wine bars in Paris reminded me that I never did a round-up of my France postings from this summer (and, ahem, beyond, such as yesterday’s). So here it is, a post to other posts! Yay!

France travel
Goose gitmo, my visit to a foie gras farm
Explore Perigord
France travel tips
Dr. Vino for minister of information

Buying wine at stores
Buying wine a la francaise
La Derniere Goutte, Paris
Lavinia, French for wine convenience
Bernard Magrez, the brand, the boutique
Caves Auge, the oldest wine shop in Paris
French microbrews

Paris wine bars
Feeling natural in Paris wine bars
La Muse Vin
Restaurant Fish

Tasting
Malbec match-up
The price is right
The price is right, part deux

General background on the state of French wines
France 500 fortunes, wine version
La double vie de barrique
Mortgage or future?
Breaking: Bordeaux exports up

UPDATE: don’t forget to check out my map of Paris wine shops–and bars to go!

The Parisians are getting natural. And I’m not talking about life on the Paris plage, the beaches that the current mayor put in a few summers ago, where topless sunbathing is prohibited. I’m talking about wine bars that are au naturel.

I read about the trend in Alice Feiring’s NYT story. I had to check some of them out for myself.

First stop, Aux Tonneaux aux Halles. On a non-touristy pedestrian street off of Les Halles, the owner was there pouring wine behind the bar. He buys the dozen or so wines available by the glass directly from the producers. Many of the wines are made without the addition of sulfites, some are made biodynamically, and they all taste distinctive. Be sure to try the excellent goat cheese. And the Morgon vielles vignes 2003 from G. Descombes.

Near the Chatelet metro, is Bistro Les Halles. No, Tony Bourdain is not the chef. But you can have a quick lunch at this olde tyme bistro–though it pays to arrive early to beat the rush. I love the Frenglish translation on the window (pictured above). Wines by the glass are between two and five euros.

Heading to the Latin Quarter, La Cremerie, mentioned in the NYT story has changed hands as of September 1. Pierre Jancou who had presided over the huge slab counter in the tiny wine shop/bar for four years decided to move to Germany and import the wines that he had been pouring in the sixth arrondissement. But he would only sell the shop to a like-minded owner so at least this space won’t become a fashion boutique.

Le Comptoir du Relais in the sixth is bigger and swankier than La Cremerie–indeed, swankier than most of the natural wine bars. With a more extensive menu, this spot in the hotel Relais St. Germain looks great. Pity I only had time to walk by it on this trip. Next time, a meal…

I also posted previously about the natural wines at Fish, a restaurant that also has a bar friendly enough to rival Cheers. As well as the 100 bottles of wine on the wall at La Muse Vin.

Anyway, just a few scribbles. Feel free to post your notes about your favorite wine bars among the new naturalistas.

Aux Tonneaux des Halles: 28, rue Montorgueil 75001
Le Bistro des Halles: 15, rue des Halles 75001
La Cremerie: 9 rue des Quatre-Vents 75006
Le Comptoir du Relais: 5, Carrefour de l’Odeon 75006
Fish: 69, rue de Seine 75006
La Muse Vin: 101, rue de Charonne 75011

You may not be able to travel with wine in the cabin any more, but you can still bring it on the plane–as checked baggage.

It was with a dash of hope and a tinge of desperation that I did just that yesterday. I needed some wines for a tasting this Saturday in New York. And I tracked down some Vieux Telegraphe 04 at a shop while I was in Chicago over the weekend. I ended up buying a case of wine total in the Windy City.

So I lowered twelve bottles into a previously used styrofoam shipper, sealed it up, and dropped it at O’Hare’s curbside check-in. Unfortunately, the skycap’s line was slowed with live animals and a large family, so I eventually hoisted my 40 lb, handleless box as well as my other bag to check and my carry-on and shuffled in to the computer self check-in.

After that I had to pick up my items, bring them to be weighed and continue my shuffle over to the TSA. I lingered to see the box enter the enormous scanning machine. After my corkscrew was confiscated on the outbound leg of my trip, I certainly didn’t want this delayed or destroyed. The box appeared on the belt out of the scanner and the TSA agent leaned over, gave it a squiggle with a marker, and set the box on its way down a second belt to the plane. Phew.

I remember seeing a documentary about life inside Heathrow when I lived in London a decade ago. One of the scandalous things was that the bags can have a 12-foot free fall from one conveyor belt to the next. Yikes. Hopefully O’Hare has a more gentle system.

After arriving in New York, I saw my bag, but where was my box? Finally, it appeared! And it was unharmed! I might just do this again.

Some things to bear in mind for checking wine:

* Make sure the wine is worth it. There’s a lot of lifting involved and the wine really has to be worth the schlep-faktor, either in terms of price or sentimental value.

* Get dropped off at curbside. Even though my line was slow, I was happy I wasn’t lugging it across the parking lot of the rental car company.

* Check the airline’s policy. I flew on American, and they allow a box as long is it doesn’t exceed 50 lbs or 60 linear inches (h + w + l).

* If you’re using a styrofoam shipping box, try to reuse one. They are not environmentally friendly. But then again, neither is air travel.

* Each passenger is allowed two bags on many airlines, so don’t forget that you can use the baggage quota of the whole family! (just be sure you can fit it all in the car/taxi at home)

tags: wine | buying wine | wine travel | air travel

I flew. I gave unto the TSA.

In this case it was a corkscrew, not liquids. It must be the fourth corkscrew that I have forgotten in my bag this year while traveling. The 20 millimeter foil-cutting “blade” is what makes it verboten–corkscrews themselves are not actually banned. Know your rights!

And I thought I was doing so well with the 2 oz toothpaste in a ziploc bag…

tags: wine | TSA | corkscrews

Victim: Rose City Wine Bar, Portland airport (PDX)

DOB: January 2005

Parents: Hilton Restaurant Group

Symptoms: Small, handsome wine bar with worthwhile local wines by the bottle and by the glass. Has small plate food; is a part of the casual Rose City Cafe next door. Since August it is on the wrong side of the law–the TSA that is. Dealt potentially fatal blow by the location just outside security. With longer lines and a liquid ban, few are likely to linger or buy vino to go.

Diagnosis: Deathwatch.

Deathwatch hat tip: eater

tags: wine | wine bars | airports | air travel | PDX

This morning I woke up in Walla Walla. Love that name.

Go to the front of the class by answering this question: which TWO states does the Walla Walla AVA straddle?

(An AVA is a federally designated area for wine grape growing.)

tags: wine | Walla Walla | wine trivia

Il Corzanello, Corzano e Paterno, IGT Toscana, Bianco, 2005. $14 (find this wine)

Last fall I recommended an Italian white as a great late-summer/early fall wine. This year I stumbled on another: Il Corzanello.

Mrs. Vino and I were fortunate enough to stay at the renovated guest house of this producer a few years ago during a friend’s wedding. About a half-an-hour outside of Florence in hills of Tuscany lie the farmhouses of the “agritourismo.” Down the dirt road lined with olive trees and around the corner on the opposing hillside is the winery. Their cheeses, which are not available in the US, are amazing. And the honey too. I had several cups of Illy espresso in the rustic kitchen to get over my jet lag. Almost every day since then, I have managed to find Illy somewhere–it blows Starbucks away.

But getting back to the Il Corzanello. The blend of mostly trebbiano and chardonnay sees no oak and no malolactic fermentation so it has great purity of fruit. The wine has wonderful concentration, with notes of minerality and crisp acidity, with a rich midpalate and a long finish. Although only 800 cases are produced, some is exported to the US. Try it with pecorino—in one of their guest rooms if you can!

Importer: Fleet Street Wine Merchants.

tags: wine | Tuscan wine