Dr Vino's wine blog

For the latest edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday, 54 bloggers around the world accepted my mission to “go native.” Each one chose a wine made from a grape variety indigenous to where it was grown.

The result was a terrific listing of many unheralded yet rewarding wines. Tannat, for example, featured prominently with no few than four bloggers tasting this burly red grape and three of them tasting it both from its native France and comparing it with versions from Uruguay. Bloggers explored many remote corers of Italy, the country that produced the most tasting notes. Even the good old USA got some grapes written up, though only one Norton and assorted hybrids and clones developed to become indigenous.

Bonus points were awarded to those bloggers who dared to compare–two versions of the grape, from the homeland and a new home. The bonus points committee also rewarded bloggers who were able to try the grape in its growing area since, they too, were going native.

Without further ado, let’s go to the roundup! Read more…

“We’ll see who are the real biodynamic producers this year. If they’re really biodynamic, this year they won’t have any wine.”

Such was the provocative statement a French wine insider told me last week. He was referring to the gray and damp vintage of 2007 in France. Time will tell.

The reason that it’s tough for biodynamic producers is that various vine maladies can creep in with rain. Treating them with chemicals is fairly easy, treating them without chemicals, as is the wont of BioD producers, is very labor intensive–or impossible, as this guy was implying.

Related:
“Bordeaux vineyards lose 90% of crop as rain and rot threaten French harvests” [Decanter.com]
“Bordeaux 2007 in progress: weather” [Dr. V]

(image, with permission)

When I attended a tasting last fall in New York and tried a serious wine from the Douro, I inquired as to the the grape variety.

“Field blend,” came the reply.

I laughed. What’s this “field blend” stuff? Can’t these Portuguese keep track of which grape vines they have in their vineyards? Well, after my trip to the region last week, I learned there’s a method to the apparent madness: many of the oldest vineyards were intentionally planted with a row of this and a row of that to be harvested at the same time and go into port. Table wine producers have tended to keep that same old vineyard blending to make lovable mongrel blends instead of purebreds, single varieties of the New World. Hey, if it works in Chateauneuf, why not elsewhere?

In planting new vineyards, some vineyard owners aim to repeat the traditional “field blend” approach of co-mingling varieties in the vineyard while others take a single vineyard, single variety approach. Thus many of the single vineyard wines from the region tend to be from newer vineyards.

The grape variety touriga comes in various forms in the region but none seems more prevalent than Touriga Nacional–it’s “national” for crying out loud! Read more…

Zooming down the Douro River at 35 knots provided relief from the noon-time heat. Vintner Joao Ferreira Alvares Ribeiro powered the boat across the placid water, sparing us the the twists and turns of the roads that curve through the valley. Whoever planted the first vines here must have been a sadist and a masochist as well as a hedonist: elaborate terraces for vines that represent generations of work now score the vertiginous hillsides on either side of the river.

The mighty Douro wends 600 miles from its start in the middle of Castilla-Leon in Spain (where it is known as the Duero), across northern Portugal and down to the city of Porto where the river opens into the Atlantic. In a different era, the river was narrow, fast moving affair with rapids. Now, since five dams have been built on the Portuguese side, it is languid and wide, making for our great boat ride. Indeed, our ride was symbolic of the fast pace of changes in the region. Read more…

Discussion on a recent posting highlighted that the new Sattui castle winery in Napa has a “no kids” policy, which set off brief exchange with one reader supporting it. One dad emailed that he thought there should be a “no asshole” policy instead. As a wine-loving dad, I certainly enjoy going to wineries with my wife and four-year old–heck, we’ve even been to NYC wine bars together, though at an early hour.

So I thought I would give this a more public airing with a poll. What do you say: should kids be banned from wineries?

Thanks for voting; poll now closed.

Related: “At Wineries, the Visitors Can Be Young and Bubbly: Napa Valley” (NY Times, May 22, 2005)

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If you’re up for a challenge, where am I that I took this photo today? Be the first one with the correct guess and all the glory will be yours. More soon.

UPDATE: Read more…

Our “impossible food-wine pairings” continues! In this series, we look at foods we enjoy in America that present an impossible wine challenge! We have previously digested chips and salsa, nori, and the falafel sandwich. And now, for all the meat-a-tarians who were getting cranky, we present our first meat dish…

Chicken tikka masala!

Comments are open.

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Devise a strategy for all that surplus wine! This month in Chicago and New York, I’ll be leading classes on collecting, the wine auction market and how to strategize for investing or enjoyment. Both locations will have tastings of collectible wines.

We’ll do one marathon session at the University of Chicago on Sep 29. (details and registration)

Starting on September 25, we’ll spread it out over three Tuesday evenings at New York University’s Torch Club. (details and registration)

Only five spots are left in Chicago and a few more in NY so sign up now or never! Hope to see you there.