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Monday blues? Here at Vin Vini Vino, we've got Monday Hangovers, a weekly dose of headaches, hangups and how-not-to's. Consider it your worst-case-scenario guide to wine. Grab an aspirin - we'll try not to yell.
OK, so this weekly feature hasn't been so weekly lately. Frankly, I haven't been all that snappy with the posts, either.
Like any passion (cross-stitch, anyone?), wine has a habit of getting lost in the shuffle when the stampede of daily life comes barreling through. We've been painting our office, landscaping, working, entertaining. It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it.
But how do you pick up with your passion once you find the time again?
How do you get inspired? How do you find the energy?
If wine is your cup of tea, er, juice, you go to the store. That's right, when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. Even if you have a cellar full of drinkable bottles, shelf browsing can be quality time. There's nothing like a few hundred brand new, shiny bottles lined up like soldiers to remind you that there's a world of wine out there - and that what you've tasted wouldn't fill a bucket.
Something to try at every turn. Single-varietal gamay, beerenauslese, pinot blanc from Sonoma, muscat, ripasso, Douro, Kongsgaard, vernaccia.
I've always privately believed that if everyone just drank a bit more wine, the world would be a better place. Who knows if that's really true, but apparently it's quite likely that if everyone drank more wine, the world would be more democratic.
What's that, you ask? Wine drinking liberal elitists? Guilty as charged. But get this little statistic:
Amount of wine produced in states that McCain won: 4.3 Million Gallons Amount of wine produced in states that Obama won: 773 Million Gallons Percentage of wine produced in America that comes from states that Obama carried: 98.6
Harper's Index eat your heart out. The whole thing makes me giggle. And while Obama is a big beer lover, it's clear that the White House wine cellar will get a lot more attention starting in January than it has for the last eight years.
As much as I love books and in particular books on wine, it is apparent I have too many of them. At last count there was over 70. Most have been idle and untouched for years, collecting dust and musty smells. Recently, I gathered the least loved, mainly the ones full of tasting notes and numbers (perhaps that is a lesson for writers of wine blogs too) and visited several second book merchants. I had low expectations which proved excessive. I had thought someone would at least offer $10 for my twenty books. In the end, no one was interested, the purveyors of trashy second hand novels said my books on wine were worthless. . . Of course this unsupported secondary market means that occasionally treasures at bargain prices can be found. In the image above (which are some of the books I kept), there are two such finds. A first edition of the World Atlas of Wine set me back 50 cents (Church fair in the rural town of Albany) and George Saintsbury's classic book was only two dollars.
For those interested in old wine books, in particular books full of tasting notes and numbers, I'd suggest visiting your local Good Samaritan store, I've heard that some new stock has just arrived.
Errol at Washington Winemaker in Bellevue, Washington relates the story of three women winemakers being threatened by the U.S. Olympic Committee for daring to use the name 'Olympic Cellars' for their winery, which is located on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State'. Gee fellas, I think the Olympic Mountain range has been around longer than your trademark. The mountain range name was made official in 1864 and was in common and published use before that.
Purest essence of a divine grape. congratulations to the vintner and my tastebuds. Winners both. The soul of the soil comes through, with slightly spicy, slightly peppery hints on a fruit wash- that lingers. This for me raises the status of this grape over the Chianti (San Giovese) wines- in general. This year, this bottle- SUPERB.
I'm on the road for work, which means that I'm reading The Wall Street Journal. This paper is everywhere business travelers are: in lounges, planes, and hotels. I don't subscribe at home, but as it's Friday and the paper was outside my door, I turned to the "Tastings" column written by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher to read what two of my favorite wine critics had to say. (photo by filtran)
Essentially, they said that expensive wine was so five minutes ago. And then they made a surprising recommendation for this year's "holiday gift pick."
It's not expensive. It's not hard to get. But it will leave you wondering if America's expensive wine habits are on the brink of changing--for the better. What do I think? For my thoughts on their story, click over to Serious Grape, my weekly column on the excellent food site Serious Eats, and get all the details.
There's a working theory out there about Pocahaunted: either every record they've released is a concept album, or none of them are. There's good proof to support both camps. The truth, of course, might lie somewhere in between the two (if that's possible -- which it probably isn't), but Island Diamonds makes a stronger case for the former. The ladies' longstanding studio union with Eagle Rock guru Bobb Bruno has explored an array of terrains in the past, but their partnership on Diamonds transformed Pocahaunted into a way weirder, doper, and dancier creature than ever before, inspired in equal parts by Manda's obsession with Max Romeo tropical soul and bad acid jazz and Bethany's abiding love of mainstream rap and the Cocteau Twins (that sounds like it'd be a nightmare, right?). Naturally, the results don't really resemble any of the influences they may have attempted to channel during these sessions, but so what? Low-lidded drum machine beats, sparse guitar chimes, and the occasional air-raid siren cycle beneath a night sky of cooing, crying, and caterwauling in the classic PHAUNT mode/model. This CD digipak edition is a repress of the sold out LP on Arbor, with all new collage-portrait artwork by the band, plus two bonus tracks added on (one an outtake from the Diamonds sessions, one the unedited mix of their Bored Fortress 7" single) and a freaky digital music video for 'Ashes Is White' created by part-time Pocahaunted bassist/best friend Luis Naranjo. Info stolen from; Insound
You can find a complete discography on Nacho?s blog Hijos de Saturno. Have fun and leave me a comment!
The Wine Bloggers Conference (WBC) in Sonoma has come and gone. I’ve been toiling around with so many things to write about that I hardly know where to start. So I’m going to have to write a series of posts about different things.
First, there will be no “wrap-up” post. The concept of the WBC was to take our online conversations and meet face to face, as a community, to get a better understanding of the issues and each other. Then we need to talk more about the issues back online again. So I have always viewed the WBC as another element like our comments, tweets, forum posts, etc. We need to keep this conversation going and evolve the medium as a community. Its exciting when you think about it. Like I mentioned, technology has once again taken an industry status quo and turned it upside-down. The game has changed and we can influence how things pan out in the future. Already, as noted by Alice Feiring in her keynote speech at dinner on Saturday, there has never been a community of wine writers and now, if you felt the energy in the room at the conference, clearly there is. Guess what - thats new.
As a co-producer with so many new friends let me say a thanks and an apology.
First the apology:
While its necessary to get sponsors to pull something like this together on this scale and make sure we’re not just gathering in a park drinking from the water fountains, we tried very hard to make this a re-imagining of a wine conference. All bloggers welcome and the community is there to interact with each other first and foremost. We attempted to dedicate an entire morning to the Unconference - a free-flowing session with ad-hoc topics, no sponsors, no pitches, only bloggers. I personally communicated to everyone that we would have at least that much time to do something completely unscripted because thats what we as bloggers are about really - going off-script, something completely different. I took my time getting to the Unconference and when I arrived there was already a session about Wine2.0 and getting bloggers involved. So after all my talk of unscripted, unsponsored, hippy-blogger-love day, a brand ran a session anyway which changed the tenor of the Unconference. I didn’t take that lightly and I do apologize to the community for it. We hadn’t intended for there to be any corporate presence in that session and I should’ve paid a little closer attention to what was going on. I wanted to get that out because its been toiling in my head for days.
Now the thanks.
I’ve been getting alot of kudos, which I do appreciate and I do my best to say so even though I’m not the best at taking compliments, but really Allan Wright of Zephyr Adventures turned out to be the perfect partner to pull this off. I know a few of us had been kicking around the idea of a conference for a while but knowing what it takes to pull off a conference, my hesitation was basically I knew what I didn’t know and that was very daunting. Allan approached me in April and after talking over what he thought he could do for a conference like this it was pretty clear he had alot of experience and skills in areas I didn’t and THAT is what makes teams, companies, ideas, etc. work! The success we had was not only fast (April to October - 6 months) but we were able to take care of what we needed efficiently as if we worked together for a long time when in reality we were going basically “site unseen”. So MANY thanks to Allan, the perfect partner to making this come to fruition.
Next post…the anatomy of a conference - the snafus you DIDN’T see even if you thought it went smoothly!
I’ve decided to live blog tonight’s Twitter Taste Live using COVERITLIVE, a service I used for live blogging a tech event earlier this week. All the presenting bloggers Twitter accounts will be captured here along with others I will add during the tasting. You can also post comments right here in the view below. If this works, I’ll continue to cover these online tastings for those who can’t join us live.
There's a show on Nova now that rehashes well-known findings about the evolution of monotheism in Israel. It took centuries and the accommodation of many ethnic groups, usually the marginal and dispossessed, in a secular act of will to set "our" sole god against "your" thicket of piddling deities. It was a way to define us and them. Got it. Now forgive me if I go off-topic and if I insult your most cherished beliefs...
Editors note: Starting today, we will be highlighting an Iberian wine, or winery, every Friday. It may cover a single one, a project or a winery. We’ll try, in most cases, to choose wines that are widely distributed, but this will not always be possible. Hope you enjoy.
About a year and half ago, I stumbled across a wine website that had a link to an Iberian winery blog. Clicking the link, I was taken to a page with about three posts and no comments enabled. At the time, there were approximately three other winery blogs out there, and I was excited to see another pop up. However, this “blog” didn’t allow comments. Thus, in my world, it wasn’t a blog. Long story short, earlier this month, I made contact with Andrew McCarthy through a friend, and was able to help him with a little Blogspot coding to remedy this problem. Today Castro Martin sits at the 8th place in our sidebar list of Iberian winery blogs, and I’m glad to have them there. I have loved Castro Martin’s wines for quite some time, and today, both Gabriella and I would like to recommend their great Albarino’s from the popular region of Rias Baixas.
Seriously, these are some nice wines: full of body and pure fruit, they are both complex and easy to understand. The Castro Martin Albarino is straightforward pure flesh fruit with some zesty acidity. It is a 2006, and if you noticed, we’re almost to the end of 2008; meaning that for it to have this kind of zestiness is a credit to the winemaker or the grape. I’ve been lectured by winemakers who work with Albariño that contrary to popular thought, it should be aged. In fact, I have yet to do it, but I have a standing invitation with Lusco to taste through some older vintages just to illustrate this exact point. This wine is still alive, full of vivacity, and I trust will last for another year or two.
The second wine we’re suggesting is the A2O, a wine that unfortunately is spelled with a tilde (~) over the 2; thus making brand awareness an issue since no one I know can type it. But that’s beside the point. This wine is full of stuffing and ready to go for a 5 year stay in my cellar, if we can stop ourselves from drinking it all up. Rich and layered flavors supported on a framework of acidity that is strong and yet supple. I want more, and you should too. Check this wine out!!
This family owned winery itself has a history that stretches back well before DO of Rias Baixas existed, and their website claims that they were the first to use stainless steel tanks for their wines. And current winemaker, Angela Martin is responsible for the production of award winning wines, such as the Acio de Ouro (no info) in 2000, for best Albariño. There’s even rumor that in 2001, Andrew McCarthy attended a wine tasting that appeared to have lasted a bit longer than was to be expected, eventually ending in a marriage!
I don’t need to recap the entire history and wine making, because the site (despite its silly pop-up windows and some distracting flash) provides some good information for your to peruse on your own time. Here’s a direct link to avoid the pop-up window.
Complaints? Well I have to say, I hate fake cork. If your going to opt out of the real cork, then please move to screw caps. Fake cork is annoying, ugly and at times, harder to open than the real stuff. Please just get on with it and move to a screwcap if you don’t want the cork. Otherwise, the wines are great and well worth seeking out. Not to mention, please leave a comment on their newly “open to comments” blog, where you can see what is happening in Galicia, Spain.
The good wines of the small big companies. The Malbec 2004 Marguery Family
"FAMILY MARGUERY" elaborates his wines in the locality of Cross of Stone, Mendoza, into Republic Argentina .
"Exclusively we are compromised by the production of wines of high quality "enologica" by means of the use of the last technological advances and in limited items. Our grapes come from ancient vineyards strictly selected of the localities of Uco's Valley (Mendoza - Argentina) seeking to express the peculiar characteristics of every "terroirs", says Marguery.
This wineries of Argentina was founded in the 2000 year. " We look for wines of good concentration, complex and expressive, for it and consistent with our vision, we work in this respect from the vineyard. Everything there speaks about the care and the dedication that we have with our plants wineries. There helps us very much the height that they have on the level of the sea (1.100mts.), the desert conditions of the climate, the poverty of the soil, the thermal extent, that is to say all conditions that favor the ideal development of the Malbec ".
Wine & Spirits Magazine recently announced its Top 100 wineries in the world, and that included the first New York state winery to ever make this prestigious list ? a list that has an amazing 22-year history.
Fox Run Vineyards on Seneca Lake will be featured with the others on the list in the November issue of Wine & Spirits.
Congratulations to Scott Osborn at the entrie crew over at Fox Run on this monumental achievment!
Unfortunately, at my new job we have dial-up (effing historic) so the blogging thing will be very irregular. I promise to have a post tomorrow night though, so look out. As soon as I can get back to the regular schedule I will. Be patient my lambs....
On other accounts, the new job is great (obviously I'm not far enough in to have any probs...) and I am feeling very fulfilled. More deets tomorrow.
Oh well… whilst we await the final assessment of the 2007 (a difficult year perhaps), the Bordelais are hoping that Bacchus might at least come to their aid in the rugby world cup. Take a look at their invocations at our new site drinksvideo.com. By the way the opening passage is in French but you [...]
Celebrate Wine is pleased to be a part of a new wine-writing project called "Drink Local Wine." The site brings together wine journalists, sommeliers, bloggers, and other wine enthusiasts from 16 "non-west coast" states and Canada. The goal is to enforce the reality that North American wine is not just about California, Oregon, and Washington anymore.
At "Drink Local Wine," you'll find information about wines from Illinois, Maryland, Georgia, and Wisconsin...and, of course, my home state, Ohio. Be sure to take a look.
Contents of this feed are a property of Creative Weblogging Limited and are protected by copyright laws. Violations will be prosecuted. Please email us if you'd like to use this feed for non-commercial activities at feeds - at - creative-weblogging.com.
I don?t know what it is about Sunday. Where once there was a family dinner, now there is solitary reflection in front of an empty screen. From the perspective of practice, when I look around these days, what is it about Italian wine that seems to have become an endless catwalk of the richest, biggest and most obvious? Standing in line, waiting to talk to a wine buyer last week, I was thumbing through a pile of wine reviews and noticed how the wines that were getting all the accolades ( read: 94 points and above) seemed to be these shorn up, beef-caked, tag-team wines that more resemble porn stars than classics. Who is putting these wines in their cellars, let alone their goblets?
When did the search for the Shangri-La of wine go so off track? The history of Italian wine shows us that it was built up over the ages by the monastics, who took care to keep the light burning through some dark and dreary days. Nothing so glamorous then, working the fields in the dark, at 4:00 AM in the biting cold. Year after year. With no love, save the Divine Love, to keep the solitary worker in the field, hopeful for a better day. Hope and faith. Not arrogance.
I went through a wine collection yesterday, one that has been in the works for 30 years. In it many of the bottles were created by people that are long gone. Some of the newer wines, one in particular, A Super Tuscan from a producer in Montalcino, struck me. I don?t know what the owner will do with the wine. It has too much power to be enjoyed. It?s too noisy, wants to lead but doesn?t really need a partner to dance with. I?d say to put it in the ?drink now? bin, but I?m not sure it will ever be ready to drink.
I spied a few California wines, some which were blockbusters in their day, now shuffling off to the veteran?s home, no fire left in them. Maybe that is where these over-promising and under-delivering Super Tuscans will end up. Which seems like a waste of the Tuscan land which wrought them from the ground.
Whether it is Tuscany or Campania, Sicily or Friuli, Italian wines are at a crossroads. They have fashioned themselves to be these worldly wines in a universe of other worldly wines, all competing for the attention of the same buyer. And those buyers are looking for the next big thing, whether it is an Ovid from Napa or a Mollydooker or God knows what. Why? When did Ferrari seek to emulate General Motors? Or Ducati chase after Harley Davidson? Still, Italian wine chases after the Shangri La wine crowd.
And if an Italian wine becomes a landmark, say a Sassicaia or a Bric dël Fiasc, does that really lead them (and the rest of us) into the Promised Land? How does it go, for what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
And if the Italian wine succeeds in becoming the king pin of all wines, then what? Defending a territory that for all purposes doesn?t exist in Italy? That would be the fitting punishment for succeeding in looking away from all that is unique and indigenously wonderful in many of the wines of Italy. It?s not too late to turn back, some of the young winemakers have looked beyond marketing and their Upper West Side flats to embrace their soil. Not glam, but sans arrogance. We can only hope. And work to help those who see this as a time to return to their winemaking as an act of selflessness and true vocation. Sounds almost ecclesiastic. Oh, wouldn?t it be loverly?
Then all we?d have to do would be to figure out what to do with all these monstrous wines lying around.
Kansas City, there I came, for an evening of 1947 Bordeaux assembled by one of the Midwest?s top connoisseurs, Mark. When it comes to Kansas City and wine, there is only one Mark. It was actually a wine weekend, but I could only get away for a Saturday night due to a June catalog production [...]
This was originally going to be one of those quick and dirty reviews. Two Argentinean wines, a snack provided by Chef Tim (that would be Tim Ellison, one of our favourite local sommeliers and co-founder of the BC Wine Appreciation Society), followed by a fast dash through the Cambie Liquor store to stock up on a few winter staples like Cognac and Champagne. Oh well, things change.
Uncharacteristically for a Saturday, there was plenty of parking ? must be something to do with the snow. Vancouver + Snow = Mass Panic.
Tim and I do our usual three-kiss-on-the-cheek greeting ? that?s right cheek to right cheek, left to left, and right to right in case you?ve ever wondered. The beef he?s carving with Melissa Popp from Hills Foods smells wonderful and the Chimichurri Sauce looks even better. Both wines on offer are from Bodega del Fin del Mundo from Patagonia, Argentinean ? Southern most White and Southern most Red. Hmmm. White and Red. That tells me a lot, but what the heck.
Turns out our white is a 60/40 Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay blend. Surprisingly crisp with a pleasing length to the finish ? not huge but pleasing. Today, however, this wine seemed just a bit too citrus without food ? or maybe I?m just cantankerous from the snow. Still, at the price point of $12.95, this is one worth stocking for when you need a sipper with light nibblies. I?m already thinking summer sailing and it?s only December.
The red is 70/15/15 Merlot, Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Once again priced at $12.95, this is one good value. A hint of tobacco and a nice, round mouth feel. I was surprised I liked it as much as I did. And it went fabulously well with the beef ? although I had to check that particular pairing twice just to be sure. Tim and Melissa Popp from Hills Foods were happy to provide a photo op for the results of their combined cooking talents.
Tasting Aftermath at the Computer
Arriving home, I thought it would be fun to find out more about a winery located ? literally ? at the end of the world. One thing lead to another ? like good surfing usually does. I spent, let?s just say ?a while,? including a browse about through the Hills Foods site (who generously provided today?s beef) ? some great recipes and cool organic meat products. But here?s the summary about the wines.
Bodega del Fin del Mundo was founded in 1999 when the owners planted vines on a deserted plot of land in Patagonia, Argentina. First problem ? no water. From the pictures on the website, there?s not only no water, there isn?t much of anything here ? think bleak, windswept, and desolated. Twenty kilometers of irrigation canal with computerized pumping system later, there was water, but now each plant needed its own windbreak to protect it from the gales that swept across the land on a seemingly daily basis. These folks clearly have plenty of the stubborn gene.
In 2002, their first vinification produced 30,000 bottles and netted a silver medal for Malbec. The owners began constructing a new, contemporary winery so they could move out of the small warehouse they?d been using to date. By 2004 were winning gold and silver medals at the Brussels Wine Expo and the Mondial du Pinot Noir in Switzerland, and their list of medals gets longer every year.
Also interesting, Bodega del Fin del Mundo continues to consider itself an experimental vineyard and is researching the viability of grape varieties seldom associated with Argentina ? Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Aspirant Boushet, and Viognier.
And here?s a bonus, Tim even shared his recipe for his Chimichurri Sauce. Check it out. Thanks Tim!
TIM'S ARGENTINEAN CHIMICHURRI SAUCE
A light oil and vinegar sauce with chopped parsley, cilantro, and garlic. Use as a garnish on your favourite cut of grilled beef. Makes 1 cup and would be wicked with fish and chicken too.
Ingredients: 1/2 cup vegetable or olive oil 1/4 cup red wine or sherry vinegar 1 med white onion, minced 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped 1 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped 2 tbsp oregano, fresh, finely chopped 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 1/4 tsp chili pepper flakes 1/4 tsp black pepper, coarse grind 1 tsp lemon juice salt to taste
Method: Whisk together oil and vinegar in non-reactive bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine thoroughly. Season with salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours to allow flavours to develop. Serve as a garnish with all types of grilled meats and fish. Will keep covered in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Tecnorati
When did the search for the Shangri-La of wine go so off track? The history of Italian wine shows us that it was built up over the ages by the monastics, who took care to keep the light burning through some dark and dreary days. Nothing so glamorous then, working the fields in the dark, at 4:00 AM in the biting cold. Year after year. With no love, save the Divine Love, to keep the solitary worker in the field, hopeful for a better day. Hope and faith. Not arrogance.
I went through a wine collection yesterday, one that has been in the works for 30 years. In it many of the bottles were created by people that are long gone. Some of the newer wines, one in particular, A Super Tuscan from a producer in Montalcino, struck me. I don?t know what the owner will do with the wine. It has too much power to be enjoyed. It?s too noisy, wants to lead but doesn?t really need a partner to dance with. I?d say to put it in the ?drink now? bin, but I?m not sure it will ever be ready to drink.
Whether it is Tuscany or Campania, Sicily or Friuli, Italian wines are at a crossroads. They have fashioned themselves to be these worldly wines in a universe of other worldly wines, all competing for the attention of the same buyer. And those buyers are looking for the next big thing, whether it is an Ovid from Napa or a Mollydooker or God knows what. Why? When did Ferrari seek to emulate General Motors? Or Ducati chase after Harley Davidson? Still, Italian wine chases after the Shangri La wine crowd.
And if the Italian wine succeeds in becoming the king pin of all wines, then what? Defending a territory that for all purposes doesn?t exist in Italy? That would be the fitting punishment for succeeding in looking away from all that is unique and indigenously wonderful in many of the wines of Italy. It?s not too late to turn back, some of the young winemakers have looked beyond marketing and their Upper West Side flats to embrace their soil. Not glam, but sans arrogance. We can only hope. And work to help those who see this as a time to return to their winemaking as an act of selflessness and true vocation. Sounds almost ecclesiastic. Oh, wouldn?t it be loverly?
