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I have been traveling back and forth across the country for the last two weeks and have been working long days for months. In between flights and endless delays in airport waiting lounges, I try to make study time for my WSET exam coming up all too soon in a few days. After a grueling, four-city tour, tonight I feel justified in picking something special to celebrate a clean desk and being home. A bottle of Amarone is definitely appropriate. The bottle I decide on is an Amarone Negar 1961. Yes the vintage is right, 1961.
It was a great year for Italian wine in 1961 ? rain and sun in perfect balance. John Kennedy was president of the USA. The Berlin Wall was under construction. Maria Callas was 38 and at the height of her career. Sophia Loren was starring in El Cid, and I was all of nine years old.
The label is a little worn and torn. The fill level looks promising ? still mid neck ? although there is a little sediment. The cork seems to be okay ? solid and removes easily without crumbling. Should I decant and risk adding too much air? I pour a glass to see what has happened to this 40-something wine.
The color is amazing ? dark red, with a little orange and brick red on the rim. The nose is equally remarkable ? still lots of fruit left on the nose, black cherry with truffle, and a little sherry oxidization odors in the background. A few swirls of the glass and the oxidative aromas disappear.
The taste and finish on this wine is surprising, still full of black cherry, truffles, and forest floor with a finish that lasts for minutes. The tannins are like silk, and there are not enough descriptors to describe the mouth feel and full body. The acidity must be holding this wine together.
Now, there is a caveat to this story. We both love Amarone, so there is a built in basis here. But points and ratings have no relevance to this wine. It is, quite simply, a great wine. It is like the Callas aria playing on the stereo ? powerful yet filled with grace and finesse. It is an Amarone at its heights. Yes, 1961 was a good vintage year for Italian wines. I am going to lay down some bottles for the future.
SUSAN'S NOTE:
This Amarone is a perfect example of why Frank and I both hate the point system. Is this a 98 or only a 97 point wine? After all, how do you define the difference of a single point? Or has this venerable liquid actually achieved the enviable position of 100 points despite its initial hint of oxidation? It is only two additional points after all.
And if we were to rate it as a 98, would that make it comparable to the 2004 Cabernet Blend IX Estate from that received a 98 point nod from Robert Parker? Hmmm, let?s see. A three-year old blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Petit Verdot from Napa Valley versus an Italian Amarone with almost half a century of love, care, and passion in its provenance. Somehow, the comparison just doesn?t work ? although I suppose one day, some scientist, somewhere in the world, will come up with a formula that proves you can actually make a meaningful comparison between apples and snow peas.
(Photos of Maria Callas and Sophia Loren are both dated 1960, only a year before this wine was produced.)
Big News! Okay, I was trying to keep this one under wraps but it seems a few people have already found out and, well what better place to announce it than here right?
As of August 7th I will be back at the Wine Warehouse full time drinking for my living. I am very excited and can't wait to get back in the game.
Also My friend Andi got a new job at the O'Henry Hotel and I wish her mucho success in all of her endeavors. I will miss her.
Les Anges raised from the ashes of Hulk & Fifty Foot Combo , two well known, much loved rock'n roll bands from Belgium. Having previously been regulars of the Dutch, Belgian, French and German rock scene, the four members of Les Anges have been tearing up the scene since forming in January 2007, having played hundreds venues across Europe. With the release of their first album "A Deep Grave as a Shelter" in April 2007, Les Anges have since graced stages at festivals such as Dour and have shared the stage with bands such as the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Dandy Warhols and The Egales of Death Metal. With the sexy sounds of Sandra's keyboards, the charisma & charm of Renaud's guitar rocking, the hot & heavy bass lines of Matthieu and the 70's rythmic beating of Giacomo's drums all makes for a rock'n roll orgasm. Staying true to their rock roots, their live performances are high energy, electric, charismatic and definantly not to be missed. Look out for Les Anges first album "A Deep Grave as a Shelter" out now and available at the FNAC, Caroline Music and various other music outlets.
‘Twas the night before Conference, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a computer mouse;
The nametags were hung by their lanyards with care, In hopes they’d be worn when they bloggers arrived there;
Each and every wine geek were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of black-cherries and licorice danced in their sweet heads;
While I sat panicking over every tiny detail, Ryan smiled proudly regarding the conference’s grand scale;…
Yeah, not going to happen! Our creative juices are completely dehydrated. The conference is now on cruise control, and barring any strange twists, we should be enjoying a fine Participant tasting on Friday night. Still a bit nervous? Of course! Seeing that this is our conference, or rather, this is the first international wine bloggers conference ever, we just hope all the wine bloggers behave themselves!
So for now a few pointers too things we think you should look at.
Another winery sent to the sidebar
This time it’s Port wine, and damn fine port wine at that, Quevedo. A few months ago, we started working with this small winery and we’re proud of the results. Located in the Douro Valley, right next to some of the most historic wineries in the region, this is a young winery with old roots. We’re holding back a bit on the details, because they’ve done a superb job telling their story at this point. So, please check them out and say hello from us!
Thank you Sponsors
We don’t do advertising on Catavino, but we did need sponsors to help us put together the EWBC conference. Therefore, we’d like to offer a sincere thank you for their generous support. It’s companies like these that support new technologies at the early stages that will continue to succeed. Thank you: Dinastia Vivanco, La Rioja Tourismo, Raimat, Casa de la Ermita, Heredade Esporao, Amorim and all of the wineries who donated wines for our various tastings!
Wine Recommendation
In an effort to catch up on some sample tastings, we had an impromptu BBQ party on the roof this past Sunday afternoon. Seriously fun time with lots of friends, who as a result of summer schedules, have been strangers to us for what seems like months. Our brined, bone in pork loin was the main attraction, which continually amazes us as to how juicy pork can be on the grill when brined correctly. Grilled vegetables, couscous, Ryan’s famous black beans and a couple of melons rounded out the meal. As for wine, we offered a bunch of tasters, some better than others. I will say though a Cava from Utiel-Requena winery Sybarus. This little wine is a knock out, with great toasted notes, intense honey and lot’s of lemon notes.
So Gabriella and I just want to say sorry for the short post. We’ll be around, and trying to get an update up on Friday or Saturday though we make no promises.
The Coca-Cola Company today reported third quarter earnings per share of $0.81, an increase of 14 percent versus the prior year quarter on a reported basis. After considering items impacting comparability, earnings per share in the quarter were $0.83, an increase of 17 percent. Earnings per share for the quarter included a net charge of $0.02 per share for restructuring charges and costs related to global productivity initiatives partially offset by a gain on the sale of a portion of the Company?s investment in the Pakistan bottler. Earnings per share for the third quarter of 2007 were $0.71 and included a charge of $0.03 per share, primarily related to restructuring charges, which was offset by a $0.03 per share gain primarily related to the sale of a portion of the Company?s investment in Coca-Cola Amatil Limited.
For some people, the storage and acquisition of wine is more than just a hobby, it is an art.
Wine connoisseurs all know that the proper storage of wine is important to its final flavor. Once it is already bottled, wine will still mature and gain body and flavor. Proper care should be taken when handling wine, or else its potential for greatness will go to waste. To keep their wine well preserved, the discriminating connoisseur will choose a proper wine rack.
How to Buy a Wine Rack
The Build Wine racks can be made of so many different materials and styles. You should consider which material and style fits your need and preference. You could have wood, glass, alloy, or metal racks. Some people try to choose materials that match their living rooms. There are a variety of styles of wine racks, find one that if convenient for you. The popular styles include counter top racks, diamond bins, cabinets and others.
The Essential Elements A good wine rack will ensure that the following elements are strictly controlled. Light, humidity, temperature, stability. If you want to keep your wine well preserved and ready for ambush party, you need to make sure they are not exposed to light, moisture, extreme temperatures and shaking or vibration.
Cabinet wine racks are good at keeping wine bottles safe. They can emulate the conditions at a wine cellar best. These condition include moderate humidity, cool temperatures, and little light
We try to control the humidity so we can avoid getting the wine cork from accumulating moisture. This will lessen the chances that the wine will get contaminated or oxidized. Keeping the correct humidity or appropriately moist environment will keep the wine cork damp, reducing the chances of contamination and/or oxidization. Warm conditions will accelerate wine aging. You have to keep this in mind when you consider which wine rack to choose.
Things to Remember Don’t place wine cellars above or near refrigerators. Refrigerators generate heat and this heat could ruin you wine collection. Buying and installing a good wine rack would be useless if that happened.
Your rack has to be smooth enough that when the wine bottles are put and taken, they will not get scratched and damaged. Bottles and labels are also important parts of the overall value of wine.
A wine cellar is great but not necessary to store your wine in the correct environment. But since not everyone can afford a wine cellar or has space enough for one, you could opt for a wine rack instead. Wine racks function a lot like wine cellars, but they are smaller and are more accessible. They are also a lot cheaper and easier to install.
Believe it or not, ultraviolet light can affect and ruin wine. That’s the reason wine cellars are so dark and that’s why you have to keep your wine in a dark safe place. When you store your wine bottles, make sure they are stored sideways; this ensures that the wine is always in contact with the cork to keep it moist.
Once again we cannot express how important it is to maintain the right conditions for your wine to mature nicely. Your wine rack system has to maintain the right amount of humidity and temperature to keep your collection going. Bear in mind that wine is something you keep for a long time. Keep your wine racks pumping a temperature range of 55-60° F. Also make sure the humidity is in the 50% to 75% range. Adjust these settings according to the needs of your wine.
Start Planning for Your Wine Rack Now! Well, now you have pretty much gotten everything in order. When a party comes crashing through, you can whip out the grade A wine and celebrate to your hearts content. Pour out the good times to the tune of the compliments and admiration your friends will throw your way all because of your fine wine rack.
About the author: For more great wine rack info and advice check out: http://www.rack-hq.com
What am I doing around 1:00 am EST almost every night? Checking woot.com for the latest woot item, of course! Being a computer/tech junkie, I am always finding random good deals on woot. Now, they have made my life complete, with Wine Woot.
Every week they will be featuring a single deal on wine. Take it or leave it, but when they are out of stock, you are out of luck. If this turns out anything like the regular Woot.com, a good deal will be sold out in minutes.
The wine deal they have up there right now looks pretty good: St. Supéry 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot Sampler. Seeing as how these would fit the Cheap Wine Reviews rule of 15 bucks or less, I might give this wine a try.
Nose: very fruity nose of cherry cola and macerated day old strawberries Palate: light feel with strong acid structure and some tannins Finish: short and a bit metallic
Hooray for Beaujolais Nouveau day! The Primeur 2008 Beaujolais Nouveau from Drouhin this year is a solid table wine that is easy to drink and easy going. It meets expectations without letting down. Shows good character. I paid $16 for the bottle.
This is a dry, slightly sparkling wine, with a pleasent, rich, complex aroma. A pleasure to sniff and taste, there’s a fruity note and there’s quite an undefined spicy note, definitely requires another bottle of researching . The producer specifies it as a wine “with characteristic Muscat taste and smell carrying combination of spicy tones of incense, cinnamon, basil and fruit tones of pine apple and strawberry”.
Although it does have the muscaty taste it’s a dry wine, but still does go well with desserts such as nutty cakes. Also goes well with lighter meat dishes and on it’s own.
The Ivanovi? winery is a winery with a long tradition, one of those where the younger generation has embraced it’s ancestry recipes and combined it with modern trends. Some of the details are available online. It is located in the ?upa region in southern Serbia.
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.
Best Deal Magazines is currently offering "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wine" as a downloadable version for free. The guide is currently off of print in bound form, but is loaded with good advice on how to select, taste, and collect wine. Although aimed at the beginning wine lover, there's sure to be something of interest to the experienced sipper also.
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Next up for Halloween Week here at BWR, a creepy cocktail... Given the sobriquet "Corpse Reviver", I'd suggest this as a fun apéritif for your Halloween party this year.
While looking around for more information on cocktails, I stumbled upon the excellent blog Oh Gosh! written by Jay in England. Since I lean more towards the classics I liked the sound of the Corpse Reviver #2 from the 1930 edition of The Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock.
The drink is equal parts gin, Lillet Blanc, Cointreau, and lemon juice (fresh squeezed only, please), with just a dash of pastis, absinthe, or other anise-flavored liqueur. Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with a cherry if desired. It's meant as a restorative breakfast beverage, but in my opinion is much better as a refreshing afternoon cocktail. I'm just not a fan of drinking before the mail arrives. The flavors balance out well with each other, and the touch of pastis adds a sophisticated element to the drink.
Keep this in mind for next summer as a good "grown up lemonade", which reminds me of something my friend Paul and I used to make back in our novice drinking days. We'd combine generic artificial lemonade, 7-up, and vodka. We called it Limonov Sevenupski and in retrospect it was syrupy sweet, but that helped cover up the flavor of the sometimes prison-grade vodka used. (There was one called McPherson's or something that was made in Missouri and sold for about $15 a gallon.)
On a similar note, my high school physics teacher had a previous career as a C-130 pilot for the Navy. He used to fly supply missions to Antarctic science stations, and he taught us about a cocktail enjoyed down there that he called Absolute Zero. The recipe involved stealing pure grain alcohol from the lab and adding crystallized orange juice concentrate to make the Devil's own screwdriver. As he told the group of 11th graders, "You could get drunk off the fumes alone."
Vermentino was the outstandiong variety at the recent AAVWS. Six of the seven Vermentinos were awarded medals. See more about vermentino Vermentino was one of four white varieties which will shape the Australian wine industry over the next decade see my take on these varieties here.
Laura Catena is hardly your average emergency room doc. The Argentine native - who came to the US with her professor dad to attend high school and wound up staying to attend Harvard for undergrad and then Stanford for medical school - "moonlights" from her job as an ER physician at UCSF by making wine, and on another continent at that. That's right, the married mother of three (yes, she has a nanny) successfully holds down TWO glamorous jobs and apparently has energy to burn, as I witnessed when I interviewed her in San Fran's homey Cole Valley several weeks ago. But besides her fascinating resume and seemingly boundless energy, I was most intrigued by Catena's commitment to making small batches of totally world-class wine from Mendoza's top low-yield, high-elevation vineyards. And though you may have heard more about her family's OTHER winery, Bodega Catena Zapata (considered by many the preeminent winery in all of Argentina), I predict her own label, Luca, has a bright future all its own.
Read on for an exclusive interview with Laura, including her ruminations on pursuing multiple careers, living on two continents, and generally being fabulous (okay, that last part is totally my conjecture, but I have to say she's impressive). Enjoy!
The whole world failed Rwanda - Words attributed to UN staff members under Secretary-General Kofi Annan, reported by Philip Gourevitch in Annals of Diplomacy: The Genocide Fax, New Yorker, 11 May 1998.
This is a premium Montenegrin red wine made from the indigenous Vranac grape. The Reserve is produced from particulary good years, in small quantities, aged in barrels for several years. It is also aged in bottles for one year before being released to the market.
This is a dry wine, with a pleasant fruity nose. However, the impressions are far lower than it’s price. If you want to experience the Vranac variety the Montenegrin way, go for a regular Planta?e Vranac or their Vranac Pro Corde. They are much cheaper and the experience is almost the same.
Wines of the Vranac variety are produced throughout the region, apart from Montenegro, you can find them in Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Herzegovina.
Here's my second look at the new Coppola Encyclopedia wines in the odd-shaped bottles. The 2006 Encyclopedia Tempranillo is from Yecla in Southeast Spain. $14, 13.5% abv. The nose has a little stewed fruit with a touch of herbs, medium tannins, and a black cherry finish. It's a solid but uncomplicated wine that's food friendly in the grand tradition of Spanish wines. The tannins are probably a little strong for Thanksgiving but keep this in mind for stews and braises over the winter months. I thought it was a great burger wine.
The screwcap is large, 1⅝" (42mm) across, ample room for printing a quote. (The silver swirl destroys the contrast necessary for legibility! Elementary design concepts!) The bottles are designed to be reused as decanters or containers for olive oil, vinegar, etc.
I suppose I should take this opportunity to mention that I've got a new camera. For the past three years almost every photo on this blog has been taken with a Fujifilm FinePix s5000. The Fuji was a great camera and I was able to coax some amazing shots out of it, but for a bridge camera (between standard point-and-shoot and DSLR), I started running into limitations with it regarding low light conditions and chromatic aberration when using macro lenses. I recently upgraded to a Nikon D40, a true digital SLR with the ability to swap out lenses.
I normally don't repeat photos, but take this recent shot. Very low light conditions, yet I shot it without a tripod and without any special setup. I just put the camera in full auto and snapped a picture. Due to the lenses, with a DSLR it's very easy to get that low depth of field look. Without going into all the math, it just means that what you want people to pay attention to is in focus and everything else in front of or behind the object is blurry. In the top photo of the wine bottle, the screwcap is in sharp focus but you can barely discern any details about the background other than colors. (This method can be increased or decreased through various methods, but I'm not teaching a photography class here.)
Will the Nikon D40 give you outstanding photos? Only if you take a lot of terrible ones first. Like anything else, practice makes perfect. But out of the different cameras I've used throughout the years, this is simultaneously the easiest and, if I want to explore all the different settings and adjustments, the most powerful camera I've owned. If you're interested, check out the review linked above, and if you decide to get one for Christmas, you can purchase it from my Amazon store, where you'll find customer reviews, accessories, and other detailed information.
Margaret River, Western Australia. 14%. Cabernet sauvignon, Merlot. Cork. Source: cellar (approx $A30 on release).
A dusty nose with earth, menthol, eucalyptus and prune. . . Without too much imagination there is also the scent of a well used saddle. Quite firm and granular in the mouth, with a sour juicy edge and creamy, slightly adhesive tannins. Enjoyable but even in middle age, this is still slightly awkward and abrasive.
Treana Red 2004 $36.99 Wine Label says: Treana Winery is located in Paso Robles, at the center of California’s Central Coast. Having spent more than two decades developing vineyards in and around Paso Robles, the Treana Red blend reprewsnet grape varieties best suited to the region’s unique calcareous soils and distinctive climate. The Treana vineyards are [...]
Tecnorati
This is a dry, slightly sparkling wine, with a pleasent, rich, complex aroma. A pleasure to sniff and taste, there’s a fruity note and there’s quite an undefined spicy note, definitely requires another bottle of researching 
. The producer specifies it as a wine “with characteristic Muscat taste and smell carrying combination of spicy tones of incense, cinnamon, basil and fruit tones of pine apple and strawberry”.
Laura Catena is hardly your average emergency room doc. The Argentine native - who came to the US with her professor dad to attend high school and wound up staying to attend Harvard for undergrad and then Stanford for medical school - "moonlights" from her job as an ER physician at UCSF by making wine, and on another continent at that. That's right, the married mother of three (yes, she has a nanny) successfully holds down TWO glamorous jobs and apparently has energy to burn, as I witnessed when I interviewed her in San Fran's homey Cole Valley several weeks ago. But besides her fascinating resume and seemingly boundless energy, I was most intrigued by Catena's commitment to making small batches of totally world-class wine from Mendoza's top low-yield, high-elevation vineyards. And though you may have heard more about her family's OTHER winery, 
This is a premium Montenegrin red wine made from the indigenous Vranac grape. The Reserve is produced from particulary good years, in small quantities, aged in barrels for several years. It is also aged in bottles for one year before being released to the market.
