Dr Vino's wine blog

Last year, we kept you updated on the important wine-u-tainment news about the possibility of Russell Crowe starring in a Ridley Scott adaptation of a Peter Mayle novel:

Russell Crowe, Hollywood’s cell phone-launching, bad boy maximus, is rumored to play the lead role. It could be quite an awkward blend of Mayle’s mostly Merlot with Crowe’s brawny Shiraz.

Well, now it is true. Scheduled for an October 27 launch in the UK and a November 10 release in the US (how did the UK edge out the US?!), cinema-goers around the world are about to soak up the warm rays of the Provencal sun. Surely they’ll be ready to throw in the towel on lucrative careers in cold places, ditch their lame glasses, and move to vineyards populated by cranky locals and beautiful women.

Related:
“More wine to hit the silver screen” [Dr. V]
A Good Year movie trailer [via Apple]

“Mondovino, shaky, not stirring” [Dr. V]
“Sideways, the movie, the wine” [Dr. V]

tags: wine | wine movies | Russell Crowe | A Good Year

If you are going to contribute relief money to a war-torn region, would you simply write a check to a relief organization? Or would you blend in some fine wines?

Next week you can do both. For the first time in 12 years, the wines of the T Edward portfolio will be available under one roof for a consumer tasting. Thomas E. Byrne wrote me that “entirely all the proceeds go to Darfur.” The charity is the International Rescue Committee, which does work in the region (as well as Lebanon and the Congo).

The excellent wines include many organic producers and many excellent and hard-to-find wines:

The event will showcase fifty of T. Edward’s organically driven winemakers from Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Oregon, California, Washington, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Greece and Portugal. In total, over four hundred wines will be poured, including selections from ZD, Robert Sinskey, Vineyard 29, Jamey Whetstone, Titus, Dutton Goldfield, Tenuta di Trinoro, Allan Scott, Jean Luc Thunevin of Chateau Valandraud, Domaine de Montvac, Sybille Kuntz, and Tamarack.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006, 6-9 PM
Puck Building, at Lafayette and Houston.
Tickets are $100 and available through DiningForDarfur.com

tags: wine | charity wine events | NYC

Consolidation has been one of the most noticeable trends in the wine industry of the past few years. Two of the juiciest morsels still privately held have just indicated their desire to get in on the M&A action. But instead of submitting to being bought, they are the ones doing the buying.

Jess Jackson, owner of Kendall-Jackson among other brands, has just emerged as the highest bidder for Legacy Estates, the bankrupt wine company that includes the premium brands Freemark Abbey winery in Napa Valley, the Arrowood Vineyards and Winery in Sonoma and the Byron Vineyard and Winery in Santa Maria. He has offered $97 million according to Wine Business Monthly but may have to pay a further $5 million to Wilson-Daniels, Legacy’s distributor, to get out of the prior distribution agreement. [WBM]

Roger Trinchero, vice-chairman and CEO of Trinchero Family Estates, announced the acquisition of Napa Cellars a small winery founded in 1996. [WBM] Napa Cellars offers wines around $25 retail, the low-end of Napa’s increasingly high price range.

The Trincheros struck gold in the late 1970s when they pioneered white zinfandel, which grew into the multi-million case brand of Sutter Home. As white zinfandel has softened, the privately held company has leveraged its bulk to acquire higher-end wine brands.

According to WBM, Trinchero was the sixth largest US winery last year with over nine million cases sold. Kendall-Jackson was eighth, selling five million cases. If you’re interested in seeing the biggest of the big, check out this informative article from Wine Business Monthly.

Are these companies rounding out their portfolios to be more attractive to potential suitors? Could be. Or they could be getting ready for the next generation of leadership with a slightly more diverse range of wines. Time will tell…

tags: wine business | mergers & acquisitions

Which wine under $20 would you pair with this: “rigatoni country style, which includes pasta, white beans, sausage, broccoli and a lot of garlic.”

If this sounds familiar, you must work in one of 12 NYC wine shops that got asked this question recently. Or you read the WSJ. Wine columnists Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher dispatched their assistant to query (anonymously) wine merchants about their food wine pairings. Then they ordered the rigatoni dish from their favorite take-out and tasted through the wines.

I’ll just reproduce their comments from the top two recommendations from their July 14 column. Unfortunately, the column is only available behind the WSJ subscription barrier. However, I’m pleased to say you can find all the shops plotted on my map of NYC wine shops–totally free!

VINEYARD/VINTAGE: Ca’Montini ‘L’Aristocratico’ Pinot Grigio (Trentino) 2004
PRICE: $16.99 (find this wine)
PLACE PURCHASED: Mister Wright, Manhattan
TASTERS’ COMMENTS: Best of tasting (tie). The bright acidity of the wine cuts right through the heaviness of the dish, like a splash of lemon. The food gives the wine weight while the wine lifts the food. Like a great marriage, they make each other better.

VINEYARD/VINTAGE: Santi ‘Solane’ Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso 2003
PRICE: $17.99 (find this wine)
PLACE PURCHASED: Eli’s W.I.N.E., Manhattan
TASTERS’ COMMENTS: Best of tasting (tie). Lusty wine for lusty food. The wine seems proudly rustic, dancing on the tongue, which makes the food get up and dance, too. Put them together and we just wanted to say, “Get a room.”

It’s odd that two such contrasting wine styles worked for them with the dish. What do you think would work?

The other shops queried in the story are ranked here by effectiveness of pairing (I’d suggest more than one pick from each shop before writing any list of shops in stone):
Pasanella and Son Vintners
Bottlerocket Wine & Spirit
Best Cellars
Smith & Vine, Brooklyn
Gotham Wine & Liquors
Discovery Wines
Crush Wine & Spirits
Moore Brothers
Big Nose Full Body, Brooklyn
The Greene Grape

Image: maomau

tags: wine | wine + food pairings | NYC wine stores

By Judith Hausman

After a blind tasting or a big party, every host has wondered what to do with those bottle ends. If you are as frugal as I am, you just can’t bring yourself pour out that last glass of Laughing Magpie or Macon Lugny especially when it’s so easy to put it to good use. Got leftovers? Think opportunity.

Obviously you can cook with it. Add that gulp of red to a barbecue marinade, a stew or spaghetti sauce. Or salt it and refrigerate it until that cooking opportunity presents itself, reducing the salt in your recipe. Deglaze a pan with it, along with a little grainy Dijon mustard and a splash of cream, to make a classic sauce for sauteed boneless chicken, salmon filets or veal medallions.

Or combine red or white wine with orange slices, strawberries, grapes and some seltzer for an impromptu sangria. Stir even Champagne into a Scandinavian-style, cold berry soup. Whir a mix of berries, the wine and additional water or fruit juice in a blender, sweeten (or not) to taste and serve with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.

To transform the wine further and keep it longer, bring the leftovers to mother…a vinegar mother, as the starter is called. The word “vinegar” comes from the French “vin aigre,” or “sour wine.” Formulas vary but essentially, you will mix roughly 2/3 the quantity of any wine with 1/3 the quantity of white or cider vinegar in a clean jar, bottle or crock… and wait.

Depending on temperatures, alcohol content and acidity, you will have wine vinegar in about two to four weeks. Once a filmy substance forms at the bottom of your container, you have a mother. Some recipes suggest putting the container in the dark and covering it lightly. Some suggest keeping it in a warm spot to speed the process.You can then carefully decant it into another bottle. Or use the vinegar above the mother and then continue to add a new supply of wine to it, waiting after each addition for the vinegar to develop.

Once you have transferred the vinegar to another container, you can spike it with herbs, spices, citrus peel, berries or garlic. Steep sprigs of classic tarragon with lemon peel, a combination of basil leaves, garlic cloves and a few peppercorns or slender chili peppers, dried or fresh. In a decorative bottle, these vinegars are beautifully sparkly gifts too. Attach a tag with a reliable vinaigrette recipe.

Here’s a last and favorite way to use up that red. You may have seen artfully wrapped Italian wine biscuits in specialty stores but they are not difficult to make at home. Elegant and not too sweet, the plump, crunchy biscuits pair well with a dry, assertive cheese, such as Parmegiano Reggiano or Asiago, before a meal or with coffee afterwards.

Wine biscuits
Adapted from They Called it Macaroni, Nancy Verde Barr (Knopf, 1990)

4/12 c. white flour
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. baking powder
3/4 to 1 c. vegetable oil, a combination of sunflower, olive oil or other
1 c. red wine

Pre-heat the oven to 350. Put racks on the upper third of the oven.
Sift the dry ingredients and then mix in oil and wine, kneading well to make a soft dough that does not stick, or using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment. If the dough is dry, the biscuits will crack.

Divide dough into 40 pieces and roll each gently into a 5” “snake,” which you can then shape into rings or figure 8’s.

Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet 2’ apart and bake for 20 min. at 350 in the top third of the oven. Then lower the temperature to 300 and bake for 15-20 min. more or until golden.

Cool on a rack and store in a closed tin. Serve with aperitives and cheese or as dessert with coffee.

Image credit: Ha-Vi

tags: wine | vinegar | food & drink

The NYT Sunday Business runs a long article today on numerical wine ratings, aka The Number. Consider it essential reading. I’ll be adding it to the syllabus of my critics class at NYU this fall since it provides a good overview of the contours of the debate.

The struggle to end Prohibition, which ended 73 years ago at the national level is still being fought at the county level. Yesterday, the NYT business section (again!) ran a story about the new push to make Dry counties in the south “wet.” The new forces behind the change are “…local and national business interests that stand to profit from the sale of alcohol, including real estate developers, grocery chains, restaurant groups and Wal-Mart, are combining their political and financial muscle to try to persuade hundreds of dry towns and counties to go wet.”

Eric Felton wrote a funny piece in yesterday’s WSJ entitled “When bad things happen to good tequila” and chronicles when alcohol brands are at the center of bad news stories, as was the case with a bottle of Cazadores tequila in Mel Gibson’s car. [$WSJ]

Teens don’t get around local liquor laws very often by buying wine and spirits on the web a survey showed. [USA Today]

If you thought worms were reserved for tequila, Australian scientists are studying them for their smell sensors–for wine. [Reuters]

And in Australia, growers with unprofitable vineyards have been urged to abandon them to help reduce the country’s glut. [Adelaide Now]

tags: wine | wine news | tequila

French Rabbit, Pinot Noir 2004. $10 – 1 liter box Find this wine
Sacre bleu—French innovation! Many commentators attribute the current state of malaise in the French wine industry to a lack of innovation and bad labels. This one-liter box should silence the critics. Bright orange, English language, and critter label (well, that’s not the original part) all in packaging that will stand out on the shelf and weighs a fraction of glass. But what about what’s inside? Well, you won’t mistake it for Gevrey-Chambertin, but at least it is 100 percent pinot noir unlike many similarly priced California wines. It’s fruit forward and soft tannins—in other words a great red for the summer picnic basket. And you won’t even have to remember the corkscrew. Importer: Boisset America.

Commanderie de Peyrassol, Coteaux de Provence, rosé, 2005 $13 find this wine
The other day I had a rosé and it was no fun. Rosé is supposed to be fun. Besides the truncated flavor range, the price made it a further downer: $30. Yikes–talk about a buzzkill! So I was thrilled when, a few days later, I had this Peyrassol. Made by a mother-son duo in the hills of Provence, this wine from syrah, grenache and cinsault offers pale colors but alluring blend of rose petals and strawberry aromas give way to refreshing crisp acidity. Just what you need on the deck in Provence–in fact, a deck anywhere. Try this very food friendly with a range or foods from fish to spicy dishes. Shop around so that you don’t over-peyrassol. Importer: Neal Rosenthal.

Pascual Toso, Mendoza, Malbec reserve 2004. $13 find this wine
On my recent trip to Argentina, the jovial Ernesto Toso picked me up in his beat-up sedan and drove me from downtown Mendoza to his family winery in the Barrancas area, about 45 minutes. Overlooking a dry river bed that had channeled into the ground like a miniature Grand Canyon, I tasted the line of wines made at the winery with Paul Hobbs from Sonoma, California as consulting winemaker. The real sweet spot in terms of quality to price was the Malbec reserve with wonderful aromas of dark fruits and a hint of vanilla to complement a luscious mouthfeel and soft tannins. The straight malbec (about $8) is a good approximation but spring for the reserve if your budget permits. Fire up the grill and pull the cork! I also tried the $100 Magdalena 2002 (find this wine), which was no doubt a powerful and serious wine but at that lofty price point I couldn’t help but think about other wines I could have—or even nine bottles of the malbec reserve. Importer: TGIC imports.

Sorbus, cabernet/malbec, Mendoza, 2004. $6 find this wine
The other day a friend poured me some $6 Borsao, a wine that I discovered several years ago as a go-to value. Well, move over Borsao, here comes something meatier. A phenomenal value, this Sorbus displays the depth that a cab-malbec blend can give and has that same, crowd pleasing “ah” of the Ruca Malen Yauquen. I found it at PJ’s Wine in Manhattan for the bargain price of $5.97. This is one to buy by the case! Importer: Mediterranean Wine Co, Dover, NJ.

Lucien Albrecht, Alsace, pinot blanc, Cuvee Balthazar 2005. $8 find this wine
Pinot blanc is the other, other pinot. It’s not pinot noir. And its not even pinot gris/grigio. But it is worth checking out from this Alsatian producer. The light floral notes in this aromatic white are balanced with the crisp acidity somehow seem to make it a good choice for a mother’s day brunch, one heavier on savory than sweet. Or it is great with a salad or hors d’oeuvres. Whatever you pair it with, it does pay to shop around since I found a range of $8 – $16 for it through online vendors for the previous vintage. Importer: Pasternack, Harrison NY.

Veramonte, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2003 $8 find this wine
That Chile can compete on price the world has known for a decade or more. But quality is increasing as well and when the two intersect, the result is something like this Veramonte. From Augustin Huneeus’ vast vineyard in the Casablanca valley comes this Cab that you will want to buy in bulk for the BBQ this summer. The wine is widely available and has a lot of varietal character thumping soulless shiraz on neighboring shelves into submission. Franciscan Estates, importer.

Ruca Malen, Yaoquen, Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec,
2004 $9 (find this wine)
When I greeted Mrs. Vino with a glass of this wine after she came home at the end of a long day last week she took a sip and said, “delicious!” I couldn’t have said it better myself. This blend of Cab and Malbec hit the high points of the flavor arc (more on that here) for a low price tag. Inky purple in color, with blackcurrant and violets in the aromas, this lush and velvety wine is a guaranteed crowd pleaser whether outside by the grill or inside at the table. But you’ll be laughing all the way to the bank since it is such a steal. Importer: Domaine Select Wine Estates, NY, NY.

Alta Vista Torrontes, Mendoza, 2004 $9 (find this wine)
The best white wine that I had on my recent trip to Argentina I had on the first day at Cabaña Las Lilas restaurant in the hip Puerto Madera area of Buenos Aires: Alta Vista Torrontes. And it kept popping up on the trip as I tasted it two more times (including at the winery with the 05) and loved it each time. “Aromatic” is a way that Torrontes frequently gets described but perfumed might be more accurate. White peach, honeysuckle blossom, perhaps even lychee conspire in an hugely rich and expressive aroma that is not for the faint of heart. The wine has crisp acidity and is totally dry (2g residual sugar) despite the vortex of aromas. While this wine is a little bit hard to find in the US, an able substitute is the Santa Julia Torrontes, which has wider availability (Whole Foods) can be found for as low as $6. Pair with Asian foods or try it as an aperitif. Either way, a torrent of flavor will be yours!

Pepiere Muscadet 2004 $11. Find this wine Marc Ollivier poured me a taste of this Muscadet a few days ago and after giving it the old swirl, sniff and taste, I cocked an eyebrow and looked at the price sheet. Whoa! I cocked two eyebrows! This crisp, tangy Muscadet was so refreshing and vibrant that it made me want to have grilled fish—and right away. The secret to the success in the glass comes not only from the vineyard but also from the winemaking: Ollivier leaves his wine on the lees right until his late bottling in May. This makes it more smooth and complex than the average Muscadet and a great wine for a midweek dinner. Importer: Louis/Dressner (NY).

Marc Ollivier, the man behind the Muscadet

Luzon Verde Jumilla 2004. $7. Find this wine
Verde in this case does not mean young—as with the Luzon and the Luzon Alto, this is more old-vine deliciousness from Spain. Verde here means organic complete with an image of a whimsical grass cutter on the back label. This old vine monastrell (mourvedre) is a jammy yet balanced glass that will thrill fans of big reds—especially when they learn the price! Importer: Jorge Ordonez, Dedham, MA.

See previous list of value vino

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Image credit: AP.

tags: wine | airport security