Dr Vino's wine blog

Mike Steinberger, who is one of the greatest wine writers on the planet, has a piece on Slate about his quest for 1947 Cheval Blanc (find this wine), which he calls “The Greatest Wine on the Planet.” Consider it essential reading: savor the story since the wine itself is much more elusive.

And if you didn’t catch it, last year Mike went on a quest for a $700 bottle of 1996 Coche-Dury Corton-Charlemagne.

Image: Michael Steinberger

WBW 42: The assignment, describe an Italian red in seven words.

The wine: Paitin, Serra Boella, Barbera d’Alba, 2006 $20. (find this wine)

My seven words, in alphabetical order!

Acidity, berry, cherry, delicious, earthy, food-friendly, gonzo!

Terroir, the new 500 sq ft wine bar in the East Village opens “at the end of February.” I caught up with Paul Grieco and talked about what the plan is for the new place. Here are some key words and phrases: edgy, Riesling, sense of place, gonna piss people off, Riesling, terroir, uber-terroir, open their minds, and…Riesling! Sounds like great stuff!

For those who don’t know him, the Paulster won a James Beard award for wine service when he was a Gramercy Tavern in 2002, then he and Marco Canora started Hearth in the East Village and later Insieme on 51st and 7th. Both the restaurants have great wine programs but this is their first wine bar! Read on for my Q&A with Paul! Or map Terroir at 413 E. 12th St. Read more…

SPIT: dollars!
I was just poking around on this web site and I came across some prices of the previous vintages of wines currently in the market. The Loire, Rhone, Champagne, Beaujolais–many prices have risen, sometimes 20 percent in a year! Eeegad. Ben Bernanke, importers, where’s our price stability?! We might have to cut back.

SIPPED: euros in New York!
Robert Chu, a wine retailer in the East Village is accepting euros for payment. Financial site Minyanville suggests that the “euros accepted” sign is, in fact, a contrary indicator and foreshadows a dollar rally. As lovers of imported wine, we can but hope! (But why did they neglect the supermodels refusing dollars as payment as a contrary indicator a few months ago?) Did they check out the generous (for him) rate of 1E = $1.25 he charges? (Thanks, Mark!)

SIPPED and SPIT: American wineries!
A Silicon Valley Bank report claims that 51 percent of US wineries will have new owners by 2018. But with the dollar so low, how many of them will be foreign? [PR Newswire]

SIPPED: diversity!
Dr. Vino makes a suggestion for a way to play the weak dollar, but not here, instead, on Reuters.

Image: a reduced-sized, reworked crop of an image attributed to Shannon Stapleton/Reuters.

Where was I when I took this picture? Although I blurred the name in the sign with photoshop, it seems that the sign itself had some damage done to it in the real world. Must be a rough neighborhood. (Hint?)

No prizes this time, just respect and admiration.

UPDATE 2/14: Read more…

Are you interested in climate change and wine? How about a free tasting of natural and organic wines? Then you need to put March 18 at 7 PM on your calendar and come to West 26th St.

I’ll be joining a panel to benefit The Nature Conservancy. Dominique Bachelet, director of climate change science at The Nature Conservancy, and Scott Pactor, owner of Appellation Wine & Spirits, and I will be on the panel. The wines will be provided courtesy of the excellent importer/distributor Michael Skurnik.

Even though the event is free and open to the public, you’ll need to register because space is limited. I hope to see many of you there!

“Message in a Barrel: Drinking Wine in a Changing Climate.” Details and registration.

In other Dr. Vino green news, there are still a few spaces left in my afternoon seminar at UC Berkeley (but held in their SF SoMa location) on Saturday, February 23. “Red, white and green wine: can you taste the difference?” Image: istockphoto.

Peter Liem found this gem of a video (54 secs). Funny, this is the EXACT SAME way that I open my 1996 Cristal! What a coinkydink! Valentine’s Day grandstanders can really impress with this method of opening–and have two bottles open to boot.

Stephen Bitterolf is one of two wine buyers at Crush Wine & Spirits for “the wall,” an undulating display for the store’s wines under $55. (Wines over $55 are in “the cube.”) He went on a trip to Germany last fall and is a huge fan of riesling. Here he shares his favorite value and splurge rieslings, best value regions, the most “impossible” food-wine pairing that he has overcome, and discover why he keeps his cellar hundreds of miles from where his mouth is. He’s pictured above with venerable importer Rudi Wiest and keeps a blog of his tastings and travels as “Drinking at work.”

Riesling: It’s not just for grandmothers anymore. Why are you so into it? Read more…