Dr Vino's wine blog

How great it is
“2005 was my best vintage–until 2006.” Franz Pichler of FX Pichler in Austria told me at a tasting.

Why drink wine?
“Twenty five years ago people drank wine for three reasons: 1) allegedly because it made dinner better; 2) because it made the people at dinner better; and 3) to intimidate others. Now, the first two reasons are still valid but the third is to ensure you will have sex within six hours of drinking the wine.” –Josh Wesson, founder of Best Cellars, at a Vinexpo panel about “millennials” in New York yesterday.

All for one?
“It is a reasonably well-known fact that the largest buyer of classified growth Bordeaux…..with a heavy emphasis on FIRST GROWTHS, is the Asian chairman of a major…and I mean major company….of course all his activity is done through third/fourth/fifth party strawmen….and not one auction house or wine merchant would dare reveal the name(and they all know who it is)….purchases to the tune of 40-50 million dollars per year for about 4-5 years.” [Robert Parker, on his BB, ellipses in original]

Vodka, aka, diluted ethyl alcohol
“The European Union would define vodka simply as diluted ethyl alcohol, which is, of course, what it is. That suits members like Britain, the Netherlands, France and Austria, which wring “vodka” from anything from grape mush to sugar cane. The quotes are important here, because countries of the Vodka Belt around the Baltic Sea, which have distilled the stuff for centuries and produce two-thirds of the European Union’s vodka, insist their traditional use of grains and potatoes to make vodka should be enshrined in the definition. All else, they insist, is mere regional swill, and should be labeled as such.” [Serge Schmemann in the NYTimes]

Truth in labeling
“It might be disenchanting if the label also listed the chicken, fish, milk and wheat products that are often used to process wine.” Oh those? Not so much. But what’s this Mega Purple? [LA Times]

This just in from Berkeley: my book manuscript has gotten final approval from the University of California Press!

Though based on research I originally did for my doctoral dissertation at Northwestern University, I have written the book for a broad audience. It tells the story–nay, backstory!–of wine in France and America. The title?

Wine Politics: How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters and Critics Influence the Wines We Drink

Does it grab you? Are you ready to pre-order from Amazon?!? Well, hold that thought: it won’t be out until Spring 08.

Until then, you can browse some of the other wine titles from the Press.

Is smaller sometimes better? At the Time Warner Center, it might just be that way for wine lovers.

Per Se, Masa, Cafe Gray, and Porter House New York all pour big, pricey magnums. Landmarc now pours reasonably priced splits half-bottles.

Chef Marc Murphy and his wife have just opened their 300-seat bistro in the space formerly reserved for Charlie Trotter in the glitzy TWC. Amazingly, they have opened one week ahead of schedule!

Their Tribeca location has astonishingly low pricing for restaurant wines. They basically don’t have wine by the glass, instead stocking a wide selection of half-bottles.

And if price weren’t set to make this the most accessible venue in the TWC, Landmarc will be open from 7 AM – 2 AM, even longer than Whole Foods!

Whether this business model will be able to make the million-dollar-a-year rent of the TWC remains an open question. But no doubt many wine bottles will head to the recycling as we find out.

UPDATE: restaurant phone is 212.823.6123

Related: “Will Landmarc’s Downtown Cool Play Alongside Its Ritzy New Neighbors?” NY Mag

On Saturday at the University of Chicago, we had a fun time “critiquing the critics.” We discussed what is certainly one of the hottest hot-button issues in wine, the use of scores, and assessed a variety of other ways for evaluating wine. We tasted our way through ten wines and munched through some artisanal cheeses and breads.

The wines were from a range of styles and included bubbly, red and white. Some of the faves were:

* Bisol prosecco, NV (about $13; find this wine). Controversy came with this wine with high praise from Wine & Spirits (93 points) and faint praise wine Wine Spec (86 points). The yummy sparkler got a thumbs up from the group.

* William Fevre, Vaudesir, Grand Cru Chablis, 2004 (about $45; find this wine). I didn’t even realize that Rovani/Parker tasted Chablis but Rovani slapped a 93 on this one. ‘Tis good. Wonderful minerality with delicate acidity, which makes for a very nice mouthfeel and it has an excellent finish. No unanimity on this wine to be sure, with others preferring the American chardonnay, but I thought it was excellent, if pricey.

* Deisen, shiraz, Barossa, 2002 (about $50; find this wine). A brawny shiraz from down under with 15% alcohol. Parker 94. The class loved it with no dissenters. While the wine is very user friendly as far as shiraz-ma-taz is concerned, I found the alcohol to be somewhat off-putting.

* Castano, Hecula, monastrell, 2004. (about $10; find this wine). This is a darned good value vino since many participants thought it was at least $30. It’s got hints of that mourvedre gamey-ness and I think it could do with a few years in the cellar to tame it a bit. But still, it’s vigor would be great with game or grilled meats.

* Dominus, Napa, 2003 (about $100; find this wine) This was the most critically contested wine of the day with a huge spread between Parker’s 95 and the Wine Spec’s Jim Laube zinging it with an 81 (a score so low that the Wine Advocate would not even publish it). Laube didn’t even grumble about TCA, the usual cause of his zingers, simply going with the “disappointingly dry and austere.” I poured it blind and there were lots of pros and only two cons before I revealed the “controversy.”

It was a hedonistic afternoon. If you’re interested, there may be a couple of spaces left for my next class in May. Hope to see you there!

Some seemingly fun and worthwhile wine events in the near future, New York edition (listed chronologically):

April 19: Mmm, yummy Portuguese wines…ViniPortugal tasting to benefit Slow Food USA. (The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers). 5:30PM-8PM. $35–all proceeds go to Slow Food. Details.

April 21: Tasting of organic wines AND spirits. LeNell’s (Red Hook, map it), noon – midnight. Free.

April 22: Earth Day Call to Action Invites Wine Lovers to Fight Global Warming. Bottlerocket (Flatiron, map it). 3-6 PM. Free.

April 27: Killer 2005 Beaujolais tasting at Crush Wine Co (map it), 6-8 PM, free.

April 28: Crushpad, a facility that lets you make your own wine in downtown San Francisco (no vineyard ownership required!), comes to NYC. 2-6 PM. Reservations essential. [Crushnet]

Check for more events at localwineevents.com

Jancis Robinson weighs in on the not-yet-priced, most recent vintage from Bordeaux. First, she damns it with faint praise. Then she throws it out the window. Roll the tape:

I would say that, with a handful of exceptions, this is a vintage to be bought by wine lovers only if they have an empty cellar that they are dying to fill…Most years there is a common theme to the primeurs sales pitch. This year it has been that many vintages have in the past been erroneously overshadowed by the one that preceded it: 2004 by 2003, 1996 by 1995, 1990 by 1989, 1986 by 1985, for example. We are meant to believe that by association 2006 is in danger of being overlooked because we are dazzled by the greatness of 2005. Do not fall for this.

Then she goes on about the weather:

By the end of August the mood of vine growers had changed from July’s euphoria to gloom. Would the grapes be healthy and ripe enough to produce even a halfway decent vintage?…But then rain, sometimes heavy, fell virtually every day from September 11 to 18, and on both 21 and 24 – different intensities in different districts but generally picking had to stop and growers had to cross their fingers that rot and mildew would be kept at bay – not least because the nights were often warm and damp too, making 2006 a great vintage for mushrooms and truffles, but less great for wine. Meticulous preparatory work in the vineyard started to pay off for those who had ensured their grapes were well aired and not too tightly packed.

Next week she promises to be back with her picks–hmm, sounds like it will be a short list!

“Bordeaux 2006 – how the weather screwed it all up” [JancisRobinson.com]

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Do you know your spirits? Try tasting them blind. Brown bag optional.

Taking a page from the blind wine tasting, we’ve been subjecting dinner guests to blind spirits tastings recently.

I pour three dark spirits of similar age into three glasses. Telling them apart by color is nearly impossible. The aromas tip off a lot of people. And on the palate is usually a dead give away.

It’s a fun way to sharpen your understanding of what cognac, whisky, and aged rum taste like. Here are the three that I’ve been pouring:

Chateau Fontpinot (Frapin), XO cognac (about $90; find this cognac) *
Bowmore, Islay, 18 year old whisky (about $80; find this whisky) *
Rhum Barbancourt, Haiti, 15 year old (about $35; find this rum) **

* These spirits were samples
** This spirit was purchased at duty free

Eric Asimov’s trying to eliminate my job!

In his column yesterday (which is currently the #3 most emailed on the site), the NYT chief wine critic and chief wine blogger says that the best thing for wine newbies to do is find a trusted wine shop and put $250 of your wine budget in their hands and walk out with a case of wine. It’s better than even taking a class he argues.

As a wine educator (with three classes this week), I have to object! But he does make a good point–two good points, actually.

First, my objection. In my classes, I select wines, organize them thematically or stylistically, pair them with food (granted, just cheese, bread, and occasionally olives not a full meal), show maps, images, and talk about the politics, people and history of a wine. We also talk about how to find the best wine buys locally, wine-friendly restaurants, where to taste wines for free, how to serve, and much more. The two hours fly by. And all participants get to talk, sip, and discuss, so there is a social aspect as well. So don’t write off classes too quickly, even for newbies! They can have much to offer.

But Asimov still has a fundamentally good point: there’s no substitute for learning through tasting. Not everyone will have wine classes available near them or perhaps the time to take a class so then I absolutely agree that you should put your money where your mouth is via a local retailer. This lowers the barriers of entry so that anybody can do it, regardless of level of wine geekdom.

The second good point that Asimov makes is to trust a local retailer, hopefully two retailers. Why? Well, for one, they have the wines available to sell you. Many times you can read about great sounding wines on the web or in print but then you can’t find them near you. Trusting the retailer doesn’t lead to that frustration.

Moreover, you can have feedback. Unlike a critic whom you may never meet, you might visit your retailer once a week or once a month. So there’s accountability. They want to make you happy and keep you coming back, not sell you wine a hedonistic fruit bomb if your preferences run more toward the earthy and the minerally.

But one subtle distinction: the custom case is the way to go over the pre-fab case. Many wine shops put together cases at various price points or for different flavor preferences. While these sometimes can be good, I’m always leery that they are putting wines that need to “move” in such cases. When you choose a staffer to put together your case for you, not only is it more customized, but it’s more likely to be wines chosen simply on their merits, rather than economic reasons.

So, why are you still in front of your computer? Get thee to a shop!

Related:
“Add some juice to your wine dollar: buying tips” [Dr. V]
“Making a case: 12 gift wines” [Dr. V]