Dr Vino's wine blog

The past few weeks have seen a few listicles about top wines or most memorable wines had last year. As is the nature of such lists, they generally skew to the fine and rare. I don’t have a problem with that–in fact, maybe I’ll get around to doing one of those myself–but there’s also something to be said for the everyday wines that bring great pleasure. I bought two such wines by the case in the last year and enjoyed them often.

Both are 2009 reds, one from Beaujolais and one from the Loire. The vintage was very kind to each region and each is made by a leading producer in the region. The J.-P. Brun Terres Dorrées, “L’Ancien,” 2009 is a wine to make converts of Beaujolais haters. It’s been a house staple here for a while but this vintage is particularly good, maintaining the snappy acidity of gamay but having a little more roundness thanks to the vintage. I served it to a lot of non-wine geek friends who really like it. The term “L’Ancien” refers to the traditional style of viticulture

The Cheverny comes from the estate vineyard of the Puzelat brothers. It’s a blend of gamay and pinot noir, made in a natural style. It’s a graceful introduction to a slightly more wild (low sulfur) version of natural wines. Delicious on its own, the mouthwatering acidity makes you look forward to food–as well as the next glass.

Occasionally, “memes” get started on Twitter: someone starts a hashtag such as #lessambitiousfilms and people chine in with their ideas, such as “The Sounds of Muzak,” “Being John Stamos” or “Saving Private Ryan 15% on his Auto Insurance by Switching him to GEICO.”

Now the meme has spread to wine with people tweeting about #lessambitiouswines. Suggestions include, “Châteauneuf-du-Pabst,” “Henschke Hill of Poise,” and “Humble Mountain Vineyards.” I suggested playing it both ways with “Bronze Oak #lessambitiouswines Gold Oak #moreambitiouswines.”Howard Goldberg has been on a roll offering “Geworstraminer,” “Pinot grease,” and “Defite-Rothschild.” Hit the comments if you have other ideas.

And if you are poking around on Twitter for some chuckles, there has been a raft of anonymous accounts offering up spoof tasting notes to inside-baseball sommelier talk. As they say at the finest tweeting establishments, #enjoy.

Blend $4 billion in deficits with a new Tea Party governor. Squeeze in a full Republican legislature. Shake and garnish with consumer bitters.

Will this stiff drink, now on the table in Harrisburg, lead to the end of the PLCB? The state-run system that bestows such snappy names on its wine stores as #5801 is in a rough patch. As seen in the picture at right (and the accompanying Times story details), the opening hours of this store are limited and the prices, selection and knowledge of the staff may not be all that great either at some state-owned stores. The new kiosks have bombed. Consumer dissatisfaction may be growing as is chatter about privatization. Even though previous governors have floated the idea only to meet with failure, the stars seem to be aligning for reform. While this is something most Pennsylvania wine consumer would likely raise a glass of hard-to-find wine to, the logic that will carry the day for public officials is about money. Read more…

SIPPED: boom times
Wine auctions brought in a total of $408 million, nearly doubling the 2009 take according to Peter Meltzer. Hong Kong boomed, with $165 millon in wine auctions, surpassing New York’s $154 million. According to the article, the five largest auction houses by wine gross are: Acker worldwide, Sotheby’s worldwide, Christie’s worldwide, Zachys worldwide, and Hart Davis Hart Chicago. The highest price paid for one 750ml bottle was $232,692 for 1869 Lafite. Bottoms up!

SIPPED: chemicals
Chinese Central Television, an outfit not known for investigative journalism, has outed 30 wineries practicing wine adulteration in Changli County of Habei Province, leading to their closure. [ShanghaiDaily.com]

SIPPED: the stuff of sitcoms
Not all the “hot” wine was mulled over the holidays: two thieves broke into rapper 50 Cent’s Connecticut mansion; one was found in the closet drinking wine from his cellar. [People]

SIPPED: the hard stuff
A Napa vintner is distilling sauvignon blanc vodka and selling it as varietal and vintage. After six distillations, is there really any trace of either? [winesandvines.com]

SIPPED: the free stuff
Samples of wine and spirits can now be poured in California grocery stores. Happy shopping! [sacbee.com]

SPIT: basement dwellers
The WIne Advocate publisher asserts that “two dozen troublemakers,” basement-dwelling, “generally single men” led to eBob paywall. He also hints at his heir apparent. [winebersekers]

SIPPED: wine frontiers
Remember those vines planted in Norway? Well, now there are also vines planted in Tanzania, specifically the flat area around Dodoma (come on, Arusha, where’s cuvée Kilimanjaro?). [allafrica.com]

Champagne, it’s not just for toasts, celebrations, boat launches, New Year’s Eve and locker rooms any more. (In fact, as our spy cam shows, it’s not even used in locker rooms these days.) Champagne elevates many foods; food, it turns out, also elevates many Champagnes. (I, for one, am very convinced of the food-friendliness of Champagne and found myself craving a glass of blanc de blancs the other day while lunching on some sushi.) But this is hardly breaking news for readers of this site–almost none of our “impossible” food-wine pairings without someone saying, “easy, Champagne!” If roasted chicken is the sort of food that a lot of wines would pair with, Champagne is the wine that a lot of foods pair with.

Nonetheless, it’s a good point to make and Mike Steinberger eloquently urges readers to cast off stereotypical assumptions while making some excellent Champagne selections.

Interestingly, in the piece, a sommelier makes the point that pairing red wine with a main course is going to be a hard tradition to break for many people. What do you think: If you were offered a Champagne or Your Favorite Red at the same price with a meal, would you categorically rule out the Champagne?

A final word: if you have kids, consider ringing in the new year tomorrow on an earlier time zone, such as Paris, as we do. Then you can enjoy the wine with food–while you’re still awake.

Ah, Christmas. Despite big meals on Christmas eve and Christmas day, Christmas food pairings get little attention from all those people who were so forthcoming with pairing advice on Thanksgiving. Perhaps it’s because there’s no national consensus on the menu. Or maybe those with pairing suggestions are all paired out. Either way, if you were celebrating Christmas or Festivus, what did you uncork and did it work?

If you care what the masses uncorked, you can always run a search on cellartracker, limited by dates opened, to see what cellartracker users opened. (Is it me, or is this list less interesting than the last time we took a look, for Thanksgiving last year?)

We opted for a younger wine this year, uncorking a Jacques-Frederique (“Freddy”) Mugnier, Nuits St. Georges, Clos de la Marechale, 2007. The Mugnier estate dates back to the late 19th century and today the estate’s crown jewel is a three-acre slice of filet mignon Musigny, which produces about three hundred cases of wine (that starts at $500 a bottle!). The past two generations have let other careers in banking, engineering and aeronautics get in the way–for shame! As a result, the family let others manage the properties and such was the case with the Clos de la Marechale, which Faively managed until 2003. This 2007 (find this wine) was showing well, with invigorating acidity, reticent fruit, and a good amount of NSG tannin on the finish. While we certainly enjoyed it (emptied!), it would likely benefit from a couple more years in the cellar–but it’s hard to resist!

David Pogue, tech columnist for the NYT, is known for his goofy videos. Earlier this week, on a lark, I joined him at his house to tape a segment about low-light cameras. Sure enough, it is pretty goofy–you can tune in to see my acting debut today at about 1:45 PM on CNBC. Don’t blink or you’ll miss my lines!

We were chatting during the taping and he told me that almost authored “Wine for Dummies” way back when. Read more…

Does champagne go to your head faster because of the bubbles?
No, it goes to your head faster because you are on a date.

Does Champagne give you gas?
No. Does Pellegrino?

Is Champagne made from champagne grapes?
No, those are for decoration. The champagne in your glass likely is made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and/or Pinot Meunier grapes.

What’s the best Italian Champagne?
Champagne comes from…the Champagne region! Bubblies from Italy are mostly Prosecco. While both can be fun, they are made differently, taste different, and are priced differently. In the past, I’ve enjoyed the Bisol, “Crede,” prosecco (about $15).

Sweet Champagne gives me a headache. Are there any ones that are not sweet?
Champagne is not naturally sweet–sweetness is added via a shot of something sweet called the “dosage,” placed just before the cork goes in. The trend for the producers of Champagne that wine geeks favor is a throttling back on dosage and you may see wines labeled “zero” or “extra brut” indicating that the amount of residual sugar is below the level of perception. As to those headaches, maybe try taking only one flute as the tray gets passed around at the holiday party?

I don’t have flutes. Can I still have Champagne?
Yes, by all means, use a white wine glass. The bubbles will dissipate sooner but you will likely get better aromatics.

What’s the best way to open Champagne?
Well, the best way bar none is to be like the Japanese bottle slinger. Next best, try to go for the world sabering record in one minute. But if you really want to open a bottle like a pro, see our How to: open a Champagne bottle.

What’s a good Champagne to give?
If you’re looking for a blingy name that people may know, try the “brut Premier” from Roederer (maker of Cristal), about $35. For an artisanal Champagne, try the Camille Saves, Carte Blanche ($45), a blend of mostly pinot noir that makes for a delicious aperitif or companion to a meal. (find these wines at retail)