Wine Online

You're interested in wine, but you're not sure where to start. You ask a friend who is "into wine", you ask your neighbors, you ask a local wine store. If it's a good store, you'll find a salesperson who knows what he's talking about, but let's face it, unless you have their mobile number, you can't get answers at all times of the day or night. And frankly most store employees are not that educated about interesting wines. Most of them are there to move product, and that's about it.

So what to do?

Thanks to Al Gore (kidding), we have that lovely series of interconnected tubes, also known as the Interwebs. Better known for its massive quantities of porn, or so I'm told, the Internet is also the best place to learn about wine without opening a bottle. Of course, it's not as much fun, but pouring yourself a glass at 9am is usually a sign of a serious, more urgent issue.

Luckily, there are hundreds of websites that can help you learn about wine. The best ones allow you to interact with other winelovers, asking questions and getting answers at your convenience. You can start at the Wine Spectator's website, where you can take quizzes, read about news, and sign up for online classes. This is a very good starting source for people intimidated by wine and the mystique that surrounds it.

Snooth is a growing community of wine-lovers that is great for beginners as well. The interface is a little confusing, but sticking with it will offer you a world of learning opportunities. If you've started a small collection of 6 bottles or even have a huge, thousand bottle cellar, visit CellarTracker, where you can keep track of your inventory and write tasting notes, sharing them with other like-minded and like-palated people.

The wine critic Robert Parker's website is a good next stop, though it should be noted that this is a bit more technical. The Bulletin Board attached to the site is an excellent source of information, with thousands of winelovers interacting on a daily basis. It should be noted that the board is pretty loyal and defensive of Parker, so if you find your tastes differing from his be wary. That said, it's a great place to learn even more about wine.

Another good place to talk about wine is Wine Disorder. This bulletin board is fiercely loyal to the wines imported by Louis Dressner. If you like your bottles with tons of oak and fruit, this is not the place for you. If you love high-acid, esoteric, unique wines, this could be of interest to you.

Lastly, one of the best, most rough-and-tumble yet welcoming places to chat about wine would be the Wine Berserkers Bulletin Board. While it's not the most sophisticated, it is the most down-to-earth and warm site for both newcomers and experts, and boasts fora for winemakers and wine peddlers. This gives you a view of what happens "behind the scenes", and is a very good place to learn about all aspects of wine.

You can meet fellow winelovers in all these places, from newbies to winemakers, and can learn vast amounts about this beautiful thing we call wine. So visit a few of these sites and see which ones you like while enjoying a glass of your favorite bottle.
Cheers!

Local Food, Imported Wines

Eric Azimov has an interesting article in today's NY Times about locavore restaurants in California which also serve European wines. It would seem to be hypocritical, but in many ways I can understand why they do this. Truth be told, most, not all, CA wines don't go with food. But before you get your panties in a bunch, please reread what I just wrote: I didn't say ALL CA wines don't go with food, I just said most.

In general, and again, this is a GENERALITY, many CA wines are not food-friendly, especially if the food is more on the delicate side (obviously, a hunk of BBQ'd beef is another matter). Ripe, sweet fruit, low acid, high alcohol do not translate to things one wants to drink with a meal. They tend to overpower most dishes. And don't get me started on the liberal use, or rather abuse, of oak.

Most (again, not all) European wines are not as big and brutish and their acidity lends itself to food much more easily than CA wines. So I can understand why many CA restaurant lists have these wines. It would be nice if more CA wineries tried to make more food-friendly wines, but these don't get the points and attention that big, oaky, sweet fruity alcohol bombs do. And don't get me started on points...

Luckily, here on the East Coast, we have a plethora of choices, both from the Old World and from the New World. We are truly blessed for living between the two and having access to them. Of course, this negates any attempts whatsoever at being a locavore unless you try to get Long Island wines (which are more European in style than their CA counterparts).

Frankly, I am not saying CA wines are bad, just that they don't match with food as readily as European wines do. Someone once told me, CA wines are for cocktails, European wines for dinner. And I can understand why he said that.
Cheers!

Harvest in Spain

 

Sunrise in Navarra
Harvest is that magical time when the grapes are plump and ready to be taken off the vine, a wonderful period of the year when the air is humming with possibilities. Right? It's also a mad dash that goes on almost all day and night, when a year's preparations are focused into a 2-4 week period.

 

Vineyards awaiting the pickers
As in most parts of France, Spain had a fantastic year. 2009 is shaping up to be a very good year in many places, but we won't know for a while. In the meantime, the grapes came in clean and plump, as these pics show.

 

Back to work!
To give you an idea of what it looks like, here are a series of pictures from my winemaker Txus Macias in Navarra. Harvest here is a family and friends affair, with everyone pitching in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, at the end of the day, it's time to break bread and pop corks and enjoy the fruit of your labor, basking in the glow of a day's work and the warmth of your friends. But isn't that wine is all about? It's not about points, or what's supposed to be the "right wine", but about sharing good times with good friends and family, and realizing that these are the most important, and sometimes ephemeral, things in life.
Cheers!

The Battle of the Bojos

 

No, not the bozos. "Bojo" is short for Beaujolais, and I am sure as Hell not talking about that plonk that arrives in November labelled "Nouveau". Frankly, if you're into that, then there's nothing of interest to see here, please move along to the next blog. Seriously. Go away.

I am talking about real Beaujolais, which is real wine. Delicious wine. Long-lasting, intensely satisfying wine. Stuff that makes you wonder how Nouveau can even exist at all. Made by small farmers with a real love of the land, it speaks of its terroir as well as its northern cousin, Burgundy. It's also something I really like and appreciate, even if I haven't really written that much about it. I suppose I was too busy drinking it to really stop and write about it.

And in case you were wondering, it's made from the Gamay grape, once called "a treacherous grape", as it is quite vigorous and can make tons of crappy wine if not cultivated carefully. It was banned from Burgundy in the 14th century, and found a new home south of that region, in the Beaujolais. And here it's made some fantastic wines that are really not appreciated by either the serious drinker or the wayward wino.

Well, recently, I had the chance to open two Bojos side by side to see how they were doing. Admittedly, it wasn't completely fair, one was 2007 and the other 2008. That extra year was really important, as I've had the 2007 and it was completely different from the 2008.

The 2008 Jean-Paul Brun Terres Dorees Vieilles Vignes L'Ancien Beaujolais was the first victim. Right from the start, this smelled gorgeous of light cherries and earth, yet was completely tight and unforgiving. Things in the mouth had yet to come together. This was like looking at the sketch of a beautiful suit, handling and choosing the fabric, but not finishing the stitching job. We decanted this for several hours, and it still refused to come to the party. Smell was great, taste was just not there. The 2007 of this is absolutely fantastic, BTW.

Compared to that, the 2007 Pierre-Marie Chermette Domaine du Vissoux Cuvee Traditionelle Beaujolais Vieilles Vignes was a sex bomb on the nose and in the mouth. With a sappy, ripe smell of cherries and light fruit and plums wrapping a core of earth and smoke, you just wanted to sit there smelling it. The palate was similar with a gorgeous mouthfeel that was almost velvety and ended with some crisp minerality with a long finish. Beautiful.

OK, so it wasn't a real battle, more of a skirmish. But I really encourage folks to drop their Nouveau and try one of these. It'll change the way you think of Beaujolais. And best of all, these wines cost less than $20 each.
Cheers!

The Season of Tastings

 

The Orsay room is set up
'Tis the season for tastings, and so these past few weeks I've been busy standing behind tables pouring my wines that are distributed in NYC. At T Edward's tasting Jean-Pascal Aubron's Muscadet got very good reactions, a testament to his wine-making skills. But the biggest taste test was at Orsay, where Gabriella Wines held their Fall Portfolio Tasting. I poured four wines (Chateau La Bouscade, Clos Bagatelle, Felines Jourdan and Chateau Haut-Musiel) for eight hours, standing in a low-ceilinged room while hundreds of store and restaurant wine buyers filed past, sniffing, swirling, tasting and spitting (for the most part). To say I am exhausted is putting it mildly.

 

The room fills up
But I did find some things very interesting. For one thing, many folks are upbeat about the economy, which is a plus for everyone. Rising tides and all that. For another, it was really fascinating to see how the people who choose the wines the end consumer finds on lists or shelves make their decisions.

 

K&D Wines' Buyer
Most stopped and listened, either out of politeness or interest or both, as I rattled off the information about my wines. Many seemed to enjoy learning about what they were tasting, and took the time to ask questions and probe deeper. Others shot past, gulping the wines quickly and nodding a quick thanks.

 

One of Premier Cru's wine buyers
But I found it fascinating to think that all these people would be making business decisions that would affect what ends up in the glasses of the end consumer. Just like I'd gone through thousands of wines before choosing the ones I represent, they had to taste through hundreds of bottles lined up on tables like soldiers on the march. Like me, they seek the wines that are both well-made and sellable (the two are sometimes mutually exclusive, sadly).

With so much to taste, it is easy to become overwhelmed and fall back on the standard labels. So it was nice to see how dedicated these buyers were to finding interesting wines (sometimes mine! yay!). For me, it was physically and mentally exhausting (you'd be amazed at how tiring it can get, standing and talking ad nauseum about my wines for hours on end, and I love my wineries. But it's a part of the job I love precisely because I get to talk so much about my portfolio. And folks seemed to appreciate the effort, I am happy to say.
Cheers!

A Deliciously Affordable Bubbly

Well, affordable bubbly is something I am always on the lookout for. However, inexpensive Champagne is difficult to find, though it is possible. But, what about Cremants or other sparkling wines? Is it possible to find one? Well, as it turns out, yes.

-NV Jean-Francois Ganevat "La Combe" Rotalier Oh! Cremant du Jura
Well, that's a mouthful of a name, no? I have to say, however, this is quite a lovely mouthful of a wine as well. I wasn't expecting much, as I've had some pretty lousy Cremants from all over France, and I've never been a huge Cava fan, though I do like some Prosecco. Usually, I find many Cremants too sweet or rough for my taste, but this one is quite different.

First off, the nose is very floral, with lemon, green apples, and quartz/mineral accents, and it doesn't smell sweet or overworked like other Cremants. The bubbles are quite small and piquant, tickling the palate and not rough around the edges. Think Badoit mineral water as opposed to Perrier. On the palate, this wine offers similar notes, with some nutty aspects that are backed up by a very tart finish that goes on a relatively long time. I daresay if this were poured blind among some BdB Champagnes (this is 100% Chardonnay), it might hold its own or at the very least put in a good showing. Heck, at Day Two, it was still going, though the bubbles had faded but were perceptable on the tongue, and it became much more floral. Delicious with the sushi I ordered.

In other words, I really enjoyed this. It is made like traditional Champagne, by an organic winemaker named Jean-Francois Ganevat who also has very old vines on his property in the Jura. And of course, it's always a pleasure to find something this enjoyable. When you get that "A-ha" moment, there's the small thrill of victory against the seas of swill that are sold.

At a whopping $18/bottle by the case, this is quite the value.
Cheers!

Video of 2009 Harvest in Cahors

Vintage 2009 at Chateau de Gaudou

I am travelling on business in the great state of Texas where some of the wines I represent will be appearing soon. In fact, you will also find them throughout Mexico as well since this distributor sells into both countries (now that's pretty cool!). So I leave you with a short video offered by Chateau de Gaudou in the Cahors of their 2009 harvest (another region where the year is looking wonderful).

You will notice that they mechanically harvest their lowland vineyards, but all the hillside vines are tended to by hand. This is where the grapes for the 1733 and the Tradition come from. The flatland stuff is sold off in bulk, so don't worry, they're being careful with your babies!
Cheers!