Dr Vino's wine blog

“One day, my Dutch importer phoned to say, ‘Your wine got 100 points in Parker.’ I was not happy at all.”

That’s what Dirk Niepoort, one of Portugal’s best wine minds, told Sarah Ahmed in a piece on wine-searcher.com. The maker of table wines continued, saying that it would “destroy” what he’s done in the vineyard and winery because “it’s too early to have 100 points;” such acclaim would raise prices and alienate the customer base he’s trying to build. To the tape:

As I get older, I care less and less. And more and more I want to build our reputation on word of mouth with customers who eventually have the money but, more than anything, have a taste and respect for what we do. That creates the image, not the Parker or “Wine Speculator” [sic] way. It’s slower, but much safer – less volatile.

Asked what he most dislikes in wine, he replied, “points.” He further stated that his sales were up 80% in the first quarter of this year.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: I inquired which @NiepoortWines received 100 points, they replied on Twitter “Someone told Dirk he got 100 pts and that was his reaction. In fact he never got 100 pts from Parker.”

Related: Points for all? Recent evidence of wine score inflation

Just when the wine auction market’s froth appeared to be blowing off, the fine wine world is bracing for some foam.

El Bulli, the famed restaurant where the entire season used to book up in minutes and futuristic dishes paraded before diners all night long, closed last year (but will reopen as the ElBullifoundation). Now, wine-searcher.com reports that the owners will be selling off the contents of the restaurant’s wine cellar.

The collection has many mature wines and it remains to be seen what the estimated 10,000 bottles will fetch at an upcoming Sotheby’s auction. But perhaps the big question for bidders as well as chef Ferran Adria and his partner Juli Soler is whether they will apply the same creativity in the sale as they did in the kitchen. Thirteen-year-old albarino may fetch one price, but what about doing the food-wine pairing for collectors and selling an essence of oyster and albarino microfoam served on the half shell? Or an orb of Corton-Charlemagne lobster? Or reformed into already-fermented grapes with “with their mad sphere-making gadgets and such“? With such an imprimatur, the wines would be harder to counterfeit.

The El Bulli wine list (pdf)

Picture this: a guy sitting around a table with three pregnant women having drinks. That was the scene recounted to me once by an internist about his wife, an obstetrician, and two of her OB/GYN colleagues while they attended a medical convention. He told me that the doctors considered drinking in moderation was safe. They just couldn’t really tell patients that because some would abuse it and, of course, liability concerns.

This perspective on drinking while pregnant got some recent validation. The researchers at Aarhus University in Denmark collected data from 1,600 pregnant women and their babies up to five years old. Their studies indicate that drinking one to eight (!) servings of alcohol a week during pregnancy, even in the early stages, showed no IQ differences in the children than group of mothers who abstained from alcohol. Even binge drinking didn’t have an impact, surprisingly. The babies from mothers who consumed over nine drinks a week showed lower attention spans.

Pregnancy is a tricky thing and many women would want to err on the side of caution; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which partially funded the studies, still recommends that Americans abstain from alcohol during pregnancy. Even French wine labels now bear an image warning against drinking while pregnant. But I guess everything worked out okay for Rachel Weisz, who spoke out for moderate drinking during her pregnancy and sparked an uproar, especially now that she’s Mrs. Daniel Craig!

“Knocked up: expecting moms and defying expectations”

It’s time for bluff the reader! To those at Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, bear in mind that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. One of these tasting notes and author combinations below is true, the others are false. Hit the comments with the right answer!

A) “Acrid aroma of seared steak, hot metal and welding fumes.” -Gary Vaynerchuk’s description of a cabernet franc from Gary, Indiana.

B) “Imagine having to choose between your ideal fantasy sexual partner and this wine–-and you choose [the wine]! That’s how good it is.” -Antonio Galloni on the $2,500-a-bottle Krug Clos d’Ambonnay.

C) “Usefully light. Not heavy. Not tired. Go for it! In private, of course.” -Jancis Robinson on Gallo Family Vineyard Moscato.

D) “Tastes like the urine of Satan after a hefty portion of asparagus.” -HoseMaster of Wine in a roundup tasting of California sauvignon blancs.

Answers to follow…

Have you ever noticed that box wine doesn’t chill itself? Or thought the fridge somehow seems too full or plebeian for such a majestic thing as box wine? Or you are nostalgic for the kegerator days of yore? Well, then, say hello to Freshbag, a mini wine fridge, just for box wine.

The Freshbag has three settings, one each for rosé, white and red. Keep em all chilled and ready for when unexpected guests drop by. Fitting both three or five liter formats, Freshbag has got you covered. And when it’s not in use, it takes up space in your cabinet. All that for a mere $250 at stores in France.

#WineDeepThoughts

With a tip o’ the cap to Jack Handey!

Steve Cuozzo, restaurant critic for the NY Post, has a rant about wine lists today (“Sour Grapes“). He complains about “esoteric or pretentious” wine lists, filled with Greek wines and grapes he’s never heard of and producers he doesn’t know. Such lists leave him stumped and “at the mercy of a sommelier determined to teach you a thing or two, when all you want is a nice, affordable Bordeaux to go with chicken and summer greens.”

He sure plays a good curmudgeon! But he does have a point: wine can be overwhelming and it’s common to feel swamped when trying to navigate a wine list. Some diners may feel overwhelmed with any list while others, like Cuozzo, may have taken the training wheels off and feel comfortable with certain regions (though pairing Bordeaux with chicken and mixed greens does make the reader wonder about his palate–really, try the assyrtiko.).

All the places that Cuozzo describes in his column sound like they have serious wine programs with someone on staff who has created a wine list with some wines he or she is really excited about. Rather than feeling at the “mercy” of said person, Cuozzo would be best advised to engage that person in discussion about what’s good and what they would recommend with chicken and mixed greens, hear a bit of the story of those who made the wine or how it was made. Who knows, if he did that a few times, he might even learn a thing or two about them there “esoteric” varieties, and feel more comfortable ordering wine off of such lists himself. Then the grapes would not be sour to him, and he could offer advice to his readers about how sweet it is to be armed with a bit more wine knowledge.

What do you do when you encounter a wine list dominated by wines you don’t know much about?

Daniel Boulud’s various restaurants have attracted wine geeks not just for the thoughtful food preparations to pair with the fruits of the vine but also for the gems in the cellar. Michael Madrigale at Boulud Sud and Bar Boulud has been offering glass pours from rare big bottles for a while.

Now Caleb Ganzer, the new sommelier at DB Bistro Modern in midtown, and Daniel Johnnes, Corporate Wine Director for the Boulud restaurants, have started public bidding for wines on Twitter that prospective diners can enjoy in the restaurant. Each Monday at noon, he lists a wine’s starting bid, tags it with #DBwinebid, and, via Twitter, the can bid it up during the following 24 hours or so (highest bid at 5 PM each Tuesday wins). Recent offerings included a 2011 Turley white zinfandel starting at $10, a 1988 Gruaud Larose that was won for $80, and Coche-Dury Meursault 2008 for $160. The current offering is a G. Roumier, Chambolle-Musigny, 2009 with a bid of $100, cheaper than many retailers list the wine. Don’t forget that in a timed online auction, sniping can often lead to success.