And away we go...

It's that time of the year again, harvest, when the grapes are ripe (hopefully), the sugars high and the pips not too green. It's also a race against the clock, as you rush into the fields to pick those cute little berries before rot/birds/weather/deer get to them. And to those of you who think it's easy, I offer my report of the 2006 Burgundy harvest, where I learned how difficult a job it could be.

That said, there is a lovely sense of camaraderie in the trenches, as you waddle from cluster to cluster with sharp secateurs and clip the bunches. Covered in mud, dust and leaves, with some spider webs thrown in for good measure, no one can get too full of themselves. Let's face it, misery really does love company.

So I offer for your perusal some pictures from this year's harvest at La Bouscade, in the Minervois region of SW France, which is going on even as I write these words from the comfort of my New York apartment. My knees, feet, fingertips and back are all thanking me for not having volunteered this year. I am getting too old for that...

Picking Grenache

Grenache awaiting pickup

Yet more Grenache

Loading the trailer
Enjoy!
Cheers!

Never Forget: September 11, 2001

Meet the Winemaker!

Fabrice and his mom at ViniSud
I am really excited, this week I am hosting the first of my winemakers to visit New York. Fabrice Durou, of Chateau Gaudou, will be in town to show his wines and answer questions. We will be visiting a bunch of stores in Westchester on Wednesday, then spending the entire day on Thursday in the city, hitting stores and restaurants that either carry his wines or are interested in them.

It's always a thrill to say "my winemaker", I still giggle a little bit each time. As I've said before, this is the culmination of lots of hard work and even more luck, and I am thrilled to see things coming to fruition. The reaction to Fabrice's wines has been extraordinary, to say the least, due to both their quality and their price points. Better yet, to me, is that they are quite unlike most Cahors (which are normally referred to as Black Wines, with teeth-staining tannins and tons of oak). These are elegant and balanced yet never forget where they're from.

So, if you happen to see some weird French guys pouring wines at your local store, feel free to come up and say hello and try the wines. Who knows, you might enjoy them!
Cheers!

Meeting YOU, the end consumer

I did a tasting at K&D Wines the other day, where they sell my Picpoul (and I'm happy to report it's flying out the door). I had the opportunity to meet you, the end consumer, and see your reaction to my wines.

And this is where I get the real satisfaction out of my job. Yes, there is lots of hard work and stress, but when I see that smile on the face of someone discovering a new wine (and hopefully liking it), it makes all of it worth it. I can't help but grin like a complete idiot (which I am, as many friends will attest). This is why I do what I do.

There is no feeling like turning someone onto a wine they've never tried or heard of before. That sense of adventure and discovery, as they tentatively sniff, swirl, and taste the wine, are exhilirating moments that leave you breathless in anticipation. And as someone who enjoys babbling endlessly about his wines, standing in a store and explaining where it's from, how it's made, and what it is, this is a complete thrill.

When I began Vinotas Selections, my goal was to bring well-made, boutique and interesting wines to the US at decent prices. But in this competitive industry, it's easy to make a mistake, or be overtaken by mass-produced plonk, or just plain ignored. So seeing the smiles on the faces of the people the other day, and watching them walk out the door with bottle after bottle, made me forget nearly a year's worth of effort. More importantly, it energized me to both find more interesting wines to represent and to push harder to enter new markets. Almost like a virtuous circle, really.

At the very least, for a few hours, I was really, really happy.
Cheers!

Learn About Wine- Riesling Rules Book (free!)

It's been a crazy couple of weeks, but I wanted to take this opportunity to mention that the Pacific Rim winery in CA has just put out a free book called "Riesling Rules". Now, if you've met me or read this blog or just been even remotely close to me, you know my first love and passion is and will always be Burgundy (ergo Pinot Noir and Chardonnay) and Champagne. However, I do enjoy wines from other regions and grapes, such as Riesling. This variety is originally from Germany and the Alsace region of France, but also finds a home in Italy, CA, OR, WA, New Zealand and Australia, to name a few. Did I mention you can also get some pretty good Riesling in the backyard of our very own state of New York?

In any case, this book is an exploration and an explanation of all things Riesling, with very little PR for Pacific Rim. I ordered a copy as the blurbs I saw online looked quite promising and so far so good. Now, I usually get a little wary of wineries and their marketing machines, but in this case it seems like they are looking to educate the consumer about the wonders of this grape as opposed to only about their wines.

In other words, this is a wonderful educational tool more than a marketing move. Riesling is such a versatile wine that I really encourage folks to order it, plus, let's face it, it's free. And that's always a good thing.

You can order it online here: http://rieslingrules.com/the_book/
Cheers!

Into the 21st Century...

Well, after much puttering around, I finally managed to put up a page on Facebook, the annoyingly fun social networking site. So any of you reading this can now also become a "friend" of Vinotas Selections by going here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vinotas-Selections/13939566836

And what does this mean exactly?

For starters, you can see pictures of my wineries and the winemakers, chat amongst yourselves, or just bitch and moan about how expensive other wines are. I am, of course, joking. Still, feel free to become a "fan", and of course it's always nice to get feedback.

And yes, I know I promised I wouldn't keep shilling my wines, but I'm not really doing that here, am I? More of a Public Service Announcement, and heck I am putting myself out there for your criticisms...
Cheers!

La Paulée (in Colorado)- Day Two

Hey, look at that, I geeked out somewhat in my previous post! What a shock (not)!

OK, sorry, but I was really swept up in the excitement of the memory of having tasted some real vinous delights. Most of these are extremely hard to get and shockingly expensive, so having them all at one sitting was a real treat. Especially to this old Burghead.

So I promise I won't go overboard with Day Two... Well, I'll try not to.

Day Two of our little Paulée was a two parter: a lunch tasting of the 2005 Burgundies, and a dinner Burgapalooza of rare old wines. If you aren't aware of it, the 2005 vintage in Burgundy was one for the records. The weather was perfect, the grapes ripened on time, everything was in balance, and as many winemakers have told me, all they needed to do was get out of Nature's way. If you've ever wanted to try Burgundy, look for 2005 Village-level wines: not only will they be abundant and relatively cheap (for Burgundy, approx. $25-50), but they will offer fantastic experiences.

Of course, this will mean you are well on your way to the Dark Side that is Burgundy...


The 2005 Grand Tasting was organized according to the rules of the real Paulée in France: we each brought one Village, one Premier Cru and one Grand Cru of a well-regarded producer. That made for a lot of wine, but we were there to taste, not drink. If I wanted to get drunk, I'd chug some vodka.

This was one of the best 2005 tastings that I've been to in a while due to the level of organization and the generosity of the folks coming. These wines showed beautifully, and the weather gods were smiling on us.

The wines in general were remarkably open and ready to go, except for the Grand Crus. All the wines had an amazing power and lift to them, and, except for the ones that had been clobbered with oak, a gorgeous purity of fruit. Most of that fruit was elegant and well-sown-together, nothing seemed out of whack, I mean even the tannins were fruity if sometimes overwhelming (again, the Grand Crus). This is a vintage to own as much as you can, I hate to say. I bought more after tasting these myself, there is so much upside potential it makes my head spin.

Instead of listing the wines with my impressions, I'll post the names of the producers. Why? Because unlike most wine regions of the world, when choosing which Burgundy to buy, it's all about the producer. Let me repeat that: it's all about the producer.

So, here we go:
-Nicholas Potel= very good wines, true to their place of origin and quite transparent.
-Michel Magnien= not bad, a bit heavy-handed with the oak, but good for folks who like CA Pinot.
-Rene LeClerc= always a reliable if relatively unknown producer, his wines were delightful and quite terroir-specific (something I look for in Burgundy).
-L&A Lignier= descended from the vaunted Lignier domaine after the father Romain's death a few years ago, these wines were killer in all the flights, so good that I went out and bought more at my wife's urging.
-de Vogue= not to my liking in general, these sometimes were a bit clumsily oaked, though when it was good it was very much so.
-Trapet= extremely refined and elegant, lovely.
-Dujac= though I've always liked this domaine, it's more for the hedonistic value than the pure expression of the wines' identity. Dujac has a definite signature in its wines, one that I like. The hedonist in me loves them but the purist in me sometimes shakes his head in frustration.
-Roumier= what can I say? It's Roumier. One of my favorite producers, his wines were elegant, true to their terroir, yet carried themselves with power and elegance all rolled in one. To say the least, Christophe has scored a home-run in 2005 with every single wine we tasted. Amazing.


After the Grand Tasting, I quickly hit the gym (this business is ruinous to waistlines, as you can imagine), then showered and changed for the Grand Finale.

I didn't know what I was in for, this was a true orgy of Burgundian delights. Flight after flight of amazingly rare and old wines whizzed by my inquiring palate, making me swoon in delight so many times it should have been illegal. The food was great too, and the company awesome, but the wines, my God, the wines!

At several points I had to stop and sniff and sit there, realizing I held in my hands vinous proof of God's existence. Starting with old Champagne in magnums is always nice: 1982 Bollinger RD Extra Brut and 1985 Krug, wines I could have enjoyed on their own for a long time. Then the other wines appeared, and all semblance of restraint fell to the wayside. I can resist all things but temptation, after all.

How can one refuse a 1955 Charles Vienot Chambertin Clos de Bèze that is still lively and full of vigor? Or a flight full of Domaine de la Romanée Conti Romanée Saint Vivants alongside a 1988 DRC La Tâche? The La Tâche was itself proof of God's existence, an ethereal beauty full of Asian spices, light red fruits and this mouthfeel that made me sit back and sigh.


Then, the flight that made me a believer: 1991 Emmanuel Rouget Cros Parantoux, 1988 Joseph Drouhin Grands-Echezeaux, 1988 Maison Albert Bichot Grands-Echezeaux Domaine du Clos Frantin, 1991 Emmanuel Rouget Echezeaux. The book-ending Rougets were so hauntingly beautiful that all I could do was sit and go back and forth, smelling each one, my head dizzy with the complex aromas they were offering. Such power, such lift, such grace and elegance, oh my God I think I can still taste them... Sigh...

When Burgundy is like that, it's a scary yet exciting and soul-stirring experience. Yes, there were many more wines, but these were the ones that stayed in my memory. Heck, they've gotten their dark little tentacles wrapped around my soul and are making me smile even as I write these words.

While the wines were fantastic, it was the people who really made this worth the cross-country flight. We would never have all met if it weren't for this passion of ours, and for that I am thankful. The generosity shown this weekend left me speechless, as most of these wines are stratospherically expensive and incredibly rare. Thank you to everyone for sharing!
Cheers!

La Paulée (in Colorado)- Day One

La what???

La Paulée (pronounced Paul-ay) is the festival in Burgundy that marks the end of the harvest. For three days, winemakers party their exhausted butts off. This being France, there is an inordinate amount of wine drinking, cigarette smoking, and other assorted depravities.

This festival now also takes place in New York and San Francisco, where it is an excuse for collectors to bring out their best wines. The ensuing Bacchanalia would make even the most ardent hedonist blush. In any case, this past year, due to a skiing accident, a good friend in Colorado had to skip La Paulée de SF. Instead, he decided to hold a mid-summer Paulée at his home outside Denver.


So about 15 invitees swooped in from all over the country to taste through a boatload of Burgundies. We really were in God's country, the views were stunning, the air crisp and dry as opposed to the oppressive and heavy heat in NYC.


The first night we tasted through a selection of wines from the vaunted Chevalier-Montrachet vineyard. This very small Grand Cru vineyard has only about 18 acres under vine and is located in the town of Puligny-Montrachet. It makes gorgeous Chardonnays in the right winemaker's hands. However, there are only about 20 producers currently making Chevalier Montrachets, so it's tough to find sometimes. A well-made Chevalier will have a distinct spiciness, more than likely due to the stoniness of the vineyard. You find more finesse than power here, an elegance that is difficult to find anywhere else. These aren't your average Chards, that's for sure.


Here is what we tasted, with my impressions alongside:

Flight 1

* 2004 Vincent Girardin Chevalier-Montrachet-
Wow, gorgeous purity.

* 2002 Vincent Girardin Chevalier-Montrachet-
Delicious, rounder, more accessible, softer than the 2004.

* 2002 Henri Boillot Chevalier-Montrachet-
Beautiful, enormous power and concentration balanced by acidity and finesse.

* 2001 Domaine Ramonet Chevalier-Montrachet-
Somewhat oxydized, but Ramonet's signature spearmint aromas managed to break through (I have no idea why, but his wines have a slight hint of spearmint to their aromas).

Flight 2

* 1999 Etienne Sauzet Chevalier-Montrachet-
Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable, this kept getting better and more nuanced as it breathed over the course of the evening.

* 1995 Louis Jadot Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles-
Oxydized.

* 1995 Georges Deleger Chevalier-Montrachet-
Horribly oxydized.


Flight 3

* 1993 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet-
Very good.

* 1993 Domaine d'Auvenay (Lalou Bize-Leroy) Chevalier-Montrachet-
Unfreakingbelievable. Seriously. This proves God exists. You could chew this wine (that's a good thing, trust me).

* 1992 Verget Chevalier-Montrachet-
Delicious, but hard to taste after the 1993 D'Auvenay.

Flight 4

* 1985 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet-
Quite good.

* 1978 Domaine Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet-
After an inital funk blew off in the decanter, this was quite good and honeyed.

* 1982 Louis Jadot Chevalier-Montrachet Les Demoiselles-
Corked.


Now we moved onto the other wines for the post-tasting dinner.

Flight 5

* 1985 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon-
AWESOME, just absolutely awesome, a wine to let sit and breathe. This was, sadly, my last bottle, but we enjoyed it a lot. It was a fantastic match for a mushroom bisque, I might add.

* 1990 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut La Grande Dame-
Another delicious wine, this wasn't nearly as complex as the DP.

* 1996 Saint-Chamant Christian Coquillette Champagne Brut-
Fun to try, more yeasty and toasty than anything else, but not bad. Not great though, and definitely not in the league of the others.

Flight 6

* 2005 Louis Jadot Bonnes Mares-
Very extracted, almost CA Pinot-like. Not to my tastes.

Flight 7

* 1999 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg
Wow. Absolutely wow. I get it now. I let this wine breathe for a while and it kept unfolding and opening up, a real wine for the ages and yet more proof that God exists. Wow.

* 1993 Domaine A.-F. Gros Richebourg-
Excellent also.

* 1971 Charles Vienot Richebourg-
Delicious too, it belied its age with a surprising youthful energy.

Flight 8

* 1990 Frederic Esmonin Ruchottes-Chambertin
Nice and ripe.

* 1990 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Vaucrains
Fun to drink.

* 1993 Dominique Laurent Mazis-Chambertin
Surprisingly good, as I usually don't like Dominique Laurent's wines, he tends to go overboard with the oak.

Flight 9

* 1993 Domaine Méo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Brulees-
CORKED. Argh!

* 1993 Louis Jadot Bonnes Mares-
So so, not great, not bad, but should have been better.

* 1993 Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier Musigny-
Not bad, but not nearly as good as it should have been. Freddy's one of my favorite producers. Sigh.

Flight 10

* 1972 Hospices de Beaune Beaune 1er Cru Cuvée Nicolas Rolin Bouchard Père et Fils-
Served from mag, this also belied its age with a youthful vigor. Delicious if a bit simple.

* 1972 Maison Leroy Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Champeaux-
Really good. Fruit was interesting and strong. Expressive in a unique way.

* 1964 Gros Frere et Sœur Clos Vougeot "Musigni"-
Ooooh, delicious, still very much alive and proof that old Burgundy rocks.

* 1969 Jaffelin Chambertin-
Blah, not much going on.


We ended the evening around midnight with some stinky cheeses and a 1970 Grahams that was quite good too. But after all that Burgundy, it was tough going to Portugal. What a day it had been, and we were looking forward to Day Two and its Grand Tasting...
Cheers!

Happy Birthday Mrs. Vinotas

The Table is Set
It's Mrs. Vinotas' birthday, so time to open a birth-year wine and cook some yummy things. Plus, it's been a great week work-wise, I managed to get two more wines (my Cotes du Rhône and my Minervois) into the biggest market in the US: New York, baby! If you can make it here, well, you know the rest...

As per the wife's request, I picked up some lamb chops from the local butcher, some tiny potatoes from the nearby farmer's market, and some spinach from, well, let's face it, I'm lazy, the nearest store.

The lamb chops are ready
The menu was pan-seared lamb chops with herbs, steamed spinach and baby potatoes roasted in duck fat with garlic, shallots and onions.


What's the best way to start any nice dinner? Champagne! To satisfy our need for bubbly, I picked up a bottle of NV Champagne Gonet Medeville Blancs de Noirs, a producer I'm not familiar with. This 100% Pinot Noir was quite nice, with peach, sour cherries, dark toast notes, and hints of licorice. The acidity was quite nice and the wine was big enough to hold its own against seared lamb chops, an impressive feat.

1973 Paul Chanson Corton Grand Cru
When I met her, I turned my wife to the Dark Side that is Burgundy, and now that's all she wants to drink. To say the least, I am thrilled. So as I cooked, I popped, or tried popping, a 1973 Domaine Paul Chanson Corton Grand Cru. The cork was stuck, and all the corkscrew kept doing was dig up cork. Frustrated, I finally had to push it into the bottle, at which point decanting was essential, unless we wanted to chew our wine. So what to do? Usually, I'd cover the opening with some cheesecloth and decant the wine. I couldn't find any cheesecloth, so I just decanted it, at which point of course my wife found the damn stuff. So I covered the top of the decanter to filter any cork bits that might try to intrude into my glass.


And how was it? Not bad, not great, it slowly breathed and opened up, and certainly seemed to develop with the lamb. Lots of sous-bois, as you can imagine (that's that lovely forest-floor aroma), with soft, dark cherries, leather, hints of iron, a soft mouthfeel, and a somewhat unbalanced frame that ended in a short, slightly sour finish. While this wasn't dead, it wasn't great. Then again, 1973 wasn't a very good year in Burgundy (or anywhere else except maybe Champagne).

Dessert was semi-homemade vanilla ice cream (what's semi-homemade? It's ice cream I bought at the store near the house but served at home) in a fresh crêpe. No dessert wines as we have an early-morning flight for a weekend of vinous depravity.

Happy Birthday Sweetie!
Cheers!

Friday Night Wines

You meet a lot of people who share this passion for wine, and most are generous and quite nice. As in every relationship, a very few end up being close friends, and this past Friday we were honored to have two couples that we call close friends over for dinner. It is nights like these where you realize how lucky you are, to share in the friendship as well as the wines.

This was something we'd been planning for a while as they hadn't seen the new kitchen and were sick of my constant rambling about it. So after a day slaving in the kitchen, our guests arrived, to find foie gras and sliced Rosette de Lyon sausage. What to serve, you ask? What else? Champagne!

We began with a NV Champagne Henriot Brut Souverain, big and bold yet beautiful and complex, a lovely wine that could stand on its own as well as up to the powerful taste of the foie. A friend offered a bottle of 1999 Kistler Cuvée Kathleen Chardonnay Sonoma County, but it was slightly oxidyzed, so we had to pass on it. The Henriot was quickly emptied, so we popped a NV Champagne Charbaut which was steelier, yet whose finish was rather clipped. It seemed to fall off the palate rather rapidly, something I didn't care for. Still, a learning experience if anything.

Our first course was a Melon Carpaccio, drizzled lightly with some olive oil and lime juice and sprinkled with tarragon leaves. If I might say so myself, this was fantastic. Perfect for a summer's evening. After much hemming and hawing over which wines to serve with this dish, I decided on a 2001 Zilliken Forstmeister Geltz Saarburger Rausch Kabinett Riesling (that's a mouthful, no? And people say French wines are hard to understand????). Beautiful, crisp, lively on the tongue, with minerals and lime fruit dancing joyfully across the palate. And quite good with the melon to boot!

Main course was a duck breast on a bed of wild mushrooms, a dish I'd never made before. Sadly, I think I overcooked the poor birds, as I do prefer them medium rare. What can I say, I'm still learning the ins and outs of the stove... Yeah, that's my excuse... Anyway, for our first flight we poured a 1988 Arnoux Vosne Romanée les Suchots and a 1995 Patrice et Michele Rion Chambolle Musigny les Cras. The Arnoux was corked (those damn Portuguese trees again!) so I tossed it, but the Chambolle showed sous-bois, mushrooms and light cherries on the nose, giving way to similar aspects on the palate. For a Chambolle, the wine was surprisingly mouth-filling, leaving a haunting resonance long after it was gone. Not as lacy as a Chambolle should be, the flavors were slightly muddled, but it was still delicious. For the record, Patrice Rion was the winemaker for the heralded Domaine Daniel Rion, and 1995 was his first vintage making his own wines.

The next flight, though, was killer: 1989 and 1990 Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape, both brought by our guests. Talk about generosity! Both of these looked so young we were wondering if they might be fakes, but as they breathed they put on weight, took on some darker colors and began showing graceful signs of ageing. Both offered very similar bouquets, though the 1990 was a tad darker and muddled than the 1989, but I'm quibbling here. Basically, here was everything you could ask for in older Chateauneuf: leather, game, meats, dark and heady fruits, and a lovely balance. Absolutely decadently fabulous with the duck, too, I might add. We lingered for a while over these wines, as you can imagine.

Next came a flight of cheeses (aged Comte, raw milk Morbier and a Tomme de Savoie), with which I poured the 2002 Carillon Puligny Montrachet. Heady aromas of hazelnuts and lemons filled the air above the wine. This was just pure Puligny, backed with some startling acidity which made for a great match for the cheeses. Now this is what Chardonnay is all about!

The night ended with some home-made Mint Sorbet with assorted cookies, and at this point we were pretty happy. I am not sure what could have gone with the Sorbet, maybe Champagne? Sadly, we were out of bubbly (a sign of the Apocalypse, perhaps?), so we went back to some of the other wines once the mint had disappeared down our gullets.

It is nights like these that I am thankful for the people I've met through wine. We talked about the wines, it's true, but we also talked of other things, and laughed and lingered at the dinner table until the wee hours of the night. This is what it's all about.

And a big thank you to our guests for their generosity and for putting up with the smoke conditions while I prepared the duck.
Cheers!