Dr Vino's wine blog

Well, it’s been a pleasure holding the fort these past days. Thanks again to Dr. Vino for the podium.

One parting observation: I’m writing this from Chicago, which has so much great wine (though not great vineyards…) So why aren’t there any wine bloggers in Chicago? (My current week’s stint excepted.) So much wine, and so many serious wine shops, but no blogging. (I’m excluding the cheesy self-promotional blogs that just try to sell stuff, like, say, this one…)

Notice the big gap on the western shore of Lake Michigan on the map. Are Chicagoans too busy drinking? No time to write?

tags: wine | wine blogs | Chicago

Two buck Chuck maker Bronco Wine failed in its efforts to weaken the meaning of “Napa” when it’s on the wine label.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a challenge to a California law that requires wines carrying the name “Napa” to have at least 75% of their grapes from Napa County.

The context:

In a 2000 law, California required that at least 75% of the grapes used to make wine labeled from a particular county must come from the named region. But a 1986 federal law was more generous, allowing existing wine labels to keep their names even if they didn’t meet the grape content requirement. Bronco insisted that the federal rules allowed it to use the Napa name and that the state was prohibited from establishing stricter regulations.

Bronco even tried to use free speech as an argument for its more liberal use of the Napa name. Thankfully, this failed. But while Napa fought back and won, where will the next challenge be? Any bets on Texoma?!?

tags: wine | food and drink | wine and place names | Napa | SCOTUS

Jack’s comment on the earlier airline wine post raises an interesting question.

My understanding is that airlines like American aren’t paying at all for the wine on their flights, including in first class. It’s all free/promo stuff to them, so they couldn’t care how bad the wine is.

It turns out this isn’t the case — at least not for wine. Some products onboard might be provided gratis to the airlines, but major carriers are actually major wine buyers. Large buyers can lead to significant discounts, of course: American Airlines’ (aptly-named) wine buyer, Richard Vine

…doesn’t just pick the wines featured in flight. He bargains for price and quantity. And unlike some airlines, he also negotiates on how a wine will be promoted during a flight.

For some wineries, “we’ve become part of their business plan,” he said. “That gives me one more bargaining chip, because they don’t have to spend as much on marketing.”

Other airlines go even further and contract out their wine buys for what amounts to private-labeling. Some even have “creative input” when it comes to winemaking:

In tourist class, US Airways serves Casa Mayor cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay from Chile, which don’t have a retail price because they’re made specifically for US Airways and not sold in U.S. stores.
The advantage of buying as many as 650,000 little bottles a year, Stubbins says, is that when US Airways tasters decided they would like Casa Mayor’s chardonnay a little sweeter, the winery was glad to add a few sugar-rich semillon grapes to the blend.

Don’t like the Casa Mayor? Blame US Airways! But if you do or don’t like the wine on your flight, don’t just brush it off. Provide feedback. Consider it a public service.

tags: wine | food and drink | wine and travel | wine and airlines

Hiroshi Tanaka wants to turn young, freshly-bottled wine into a well-cellared library wine in minutes. Correction: seconds.

Tanaka claims to have perfected a machine that can transform a bottle of just-fermented Beaujolais Nouveau into a fine, mellow wine in seconds, all by zapping it with a few volts of electricity.

How does it work?

Though the exact mechanism of water molecule clusters remain a matter of scientific debate, Tanaka claims the electrolysis treatment instantaneously breaks up water clusters in the wine, allowing the water to more thoroughly blend with the alcohol. His company’s machine is a two-chambered device roughly the size of a stereo. Wine passes through one and tap water passes through the other; a membrane the company has patented separates the two. Platinum electrodes provide the juice, driving negative ions — the cause of acidity — from the wine into the water.

Perhaps ironically, you’ll have to be patient if you want your flash-aged wine:

The company is in talks with wineries in California and Washington state to start providing its U.S. affiliate, BW2 Holdings, with young wine to treat and sell, Tanaka said. BW2 hopes to sell the bottles on the Internet later this year for an affordable US$5 (euro4.14).

Now if only they’ll come up with a way to turn back time on wine that’s past its prime…

tags: wine | food and drink | wine and technology

If you like wine, a new study says you are more likely to care about healthy eating. Big surprise?

Wine drinkers have healthier diets than people who prefer beer, according to research reported by Danish scientists on Friday.

They tend to buy more fruits, vegetables, olives, low fat cheese and cooking oil than beer drinkers who are more likely to consume ready meals, soft drinks, sugar, sausages, lamb and butter or margarine.

First off: Lamb??! Who knew that lamb was such a touchstone for healthy eating. (Note to self: cut down on the haggis.)

Second: The sample for this study is entirely based in Denmark, but the results are pretty intuitive. (Well, maybe not the finding re: lamb…) Wine is still perceived as upmarket, compared to beer (microbrews excepted). Socioeconomic status and healthy eating, or at least a consciousness about healthy eating, tend to go hand in hand. So big whoop.

Now, if someone would fund research to replicate the 2003 Duke University study that wine drinkers make better lovers…

tags: wine | wine and health

First off, thanks to the good Doctor for handing over his practice during his days of fun in the sun. It’s a privilege.

On to the vino…

Besides wine, I tend to obsess over travel. On January 17, the Wall Street Journal ran an article about the disappearance of free drinks on board commercial airplanes, especially on carriers based in the United States, and the declining quality of the wine in flight, even in premium classes. (article by subscription only):

In first and business classes, where drinks are still free, the quality and quantity is dropping aboard some carriers: Starting this past June, US Airways stopped serving Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, which costs about $70, to its international business class passengers. Now, its classiest red-wine option is a Wente Syrah, which retails for about $13.

This reminds me of a recent flight on United Airlines from Paris to Chicago. We upgraded to business class, and the printed menus included the list of wines available, with tasting notes. One wine in particular caught my eye. The Jean-Luc Colombo white Cotes du Rhone Les Abeilles 2002 was described:

Complex, crisp and well-balanced, it is an incredible value.

Umm, I’m all for buying wines with a lot of bang for the buck, but do you think the customers who actually paid $5000 for a business class ticket enjoy knowing that their airline got a great deal?

At least that wine was better than the 187ml bottles of plonk that were being served (for $5 each) in economy. Paging United’s sommelier Doug Frost! Is a 2002 Brook Hollow Cabernet Sauvignon the best you can come up with? A quick Google search yielded this stellar review from the Compleat Wine Geek (note the price for a full 750ml!):

Brook Hollow Cabernet Sauvignon California 2002 ($3). Okay, we’re back to the Kool-Ade theme. Smells like cherry fruit punch with a hint of cotton candy and cinnamon tossed in for good measure. Clean, crisp, and utterly devoid of character, it gives the impression of having had everything interesting filtered out of it. Gives insipid factory wine a bad name, the worst of the lot. [Buy again? No.]

There may be a solution, though. The FAA requires that flight attendants serve any alcohol on board, so you’re not supposed to pour from your own flask. But if you come on board with a bottle of wine and ask the flight attendant to serve it to you, that’s legal, as long as the airline’s policy permits. JetBlue is singled out in the article as permitting this as a matter of policy. But I’ve heard of other airlines doing it too, so it’s worth a shot if you want to assure yourself of a quality pour.

And there’s no corkage fee. Yet.

tags: wine | food and drink | wine and travel | airlines

Mark Ashley, who has served as our Senior Free Wine Correspondent, will be guest blogging for a few days while I am offline. Mark is a consumer advocate, lover of value vino, and travel hound who will elucidate us with a few posts.

Over to Mark, reporting live from the Chicago bureau….

Well, now that the gray lady says so, it’s official: Trader Joe’s is opening a location near Union Square. The address of the 10,000 sq ft store is 142 East 14th Street.

But the address wine geeks will care about is 138 E. 14th St since that’s where their wine store will be. They will have a separate at-grade entrance to avoid running afoul of New York State’s bizarre laws on wine retailing the way Whole Foods did at Columbus Circle. No word on how big the wine shop will be. No other TJ’s in NY or CT sells wine and one location in NJ does.

Trader Joe’s may be in for a rough ride in given the number of wine shops in the area. Their business model of selling high volume wines, such as the notorious Two Buck Chuck, may not fare well in Manhattan where consumers are often reluctant to carry more than a bottle (or two) home with their laptop and groceries. And it’s hard to see the profit margin in offering a $24 case of wine for delivery. But hopefully they will find diverse wines that are good values.

Just steer clear of the Chiaro del Bastardo…

tags: wine | food and drink | Trader Joe’s | NYC