Learn How To Easily Find Wines Of $50 Quality For $10 Or Less. Impress Friends With Your Expanded Wine Knowledge. Eliminate Your Dependence On Wine Salespeople. And Take The Hassle Out Of Buying Wine.
Earn $6.17 / Sale! %75 Commission! The Ultimate Resource For Anyone Who Wants To Learn How To Make Outstanding Wines & Spirits From Their Very Own Home!
With an on premise spa, accommodations, restaurant, and soon even their own brand of cheeses, Village Farm Winery is a resort destination for wine lovers and the merely curious alike. That's not even to mention the wines, which are well worth mentioning.
At the entry level there is a delightful rose of Syrah with the even more delightful name of Ma Cherrie. The Village Cellar line offers a 100% Chenin Blanc and a Shiraz with 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Both of these are fruit forward styles that are easy to enjoy.
The Chateau des Brumes Shiraz / Cab blends have a name that evokes France, and this is more than a coincidence. In a controversial, but highly successful move, the des Brumes wines are made in part from Cabernet grape concentrate brought in from France.
This practice is somewhat akin to chaptalization which is the adding of sugar to increase the potential alcohol of a wine. Some would say the most honest way of accomplishing this would be the addition of concentrated grape juice, which is exactly what des Brumes is doing.
It is not only the addition of the sweetening agent that some might consider to be cheating, but that the grapes come from France. No laws are being broken, and the resulting wines are of excellent quality, so it is mostly a question of honesty on the label that is at stake. Chateau des Brumes is completely honest about the origin of their wine.
I usually let the product in the glass make up my mind about a wine, and in this case Chateau des Brumes gets my vote. There are three levels of the Shiraz blend, a Gold label with 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, the Les Prestige with its mauve color label and 30% Cab and at the top La Fleur a royal blue colored label and 40% Cab with the longest aging in oak barrels.
The vineyards are maturing and the amount of French wine they are adding is decreasing, but during my visit there I saw first hand one of the reasons they like to hedge their bets.
More than 1/3 of their Cabernet fruit had been destroyed by that oldest of vine pests, powdery mildew. Oidium as it is known to the techie crowd was one of the nails in the coffin of the French wine industry in the late 19th century, but it is far from unheard of even in modern times.
Fungicide and other extreme measures can be taken to prevent the mildew, but you have to commit to spraying before it shows up, and in this day and age the unbridled use of petrochemicals is not highly regarded by careful stewards of the land. Therefore they take their licks, and keep on trying to produce the highest quality grapes they can.
The resort itself is a treat to visit. Taking the rustic air of the Village Farm name to heart the whole place is designed to evoke a visit back to simpler times, but without any sacrifice of comfort.
The rooms are sparse but comfortable and overlook a whirlpool bath and pool. The day spa has all of the usual treatments and massages that Thailand is famous for, and the old barn converted to a restaurant hosts daily wine appreciation courses.
A small glass window bust-out lets visitors peek into the winery itself. Carved out of the ground with much of the bare rock left exposed, it has a real traditional wine cave feeling that also helps to keep the temperature down. The winery is tiny, and only has two basket presses to process the grapes as they come in. It seems an impossible task. Half of what little space they have is set aside for the temperature controlled barrel aging room.
Combining hand ons techniques with modern advances and some good old fashioned ingenuity they make the best of what they have, and every glass of wine they pour proves the results.
Viravrat Cholvanich took what was an only a fruit farm just a decade ago, and has added to it a modern wine destination. The plans for the next generation are in place with daughter Viravadee having already taken over the reins as Managing Director.
Further down the road then some of the other wineries of the area, Village Farm is the perfect place to end your tour of the wine scene centered around Khao Yai National Park. Enjoy a facial and back rub, saunter over to experience a Thai Fusion dinner, pop a couple of corks, and then rest up in your room after a brisk swim and soak.
Looks like a piece of news slipped by me a couple of months ago. Every year I look forward to a report, which more than any other single piece of news, speaks the truth about the state of wine in America. Restaurant Wine magazine commissions and publishes a report every year on the top 100 wines and top 100 wine brands sold in restaurants around the country, from family diners to fine dining restaurants.
Based on the simple measure of how many cases of each wine were sold at these restaurants, we get a picture of the most important person in America when it comes to wine: the average American wine consumer.
And why is this person so important? Because they are the bread and butter of the wine industry. They are the fuel for the wine engine. They are the bottom 95%, so to speak, whose spending habits make (or break) the market and who make up the pool of wine drinkers from which true wine lovers slowly graduate to more expensive wines and esoteric habits like...reading wine blogs.
I like knowing what the rest of America drinks when it comes to wine. Here at Vinography, here in San Francisco, here in my group of friends, I live in a bubble of unreality when it comes to wine. In this bubble, $40 bottles of really good wine are a steal and most everyone I hang out with knows how to pronounce Viognier ("vee-own-yay"). But that doesn't represent wine drinking America any more than San Francisco represents the political tenor of the rest of the country.
This is what wine drinkers in America drink:
1 Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay USA 2 Beringer Vineyards White Zinfandel USA 3 Cavit Pinot Grigio Italy 4 Sutter Home White Zinfandel USA 5 Inglenook Chablis USA 6 Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio Italy 7 Yellow Tail Chardonnay Australia 8 Copperidge Chardonnay USA 9 Yellow Tail Shiraz Australia 10 Franzia Winetaps Vintner Select White Zinfandel USA
Those are the top 10 wines consumed by Americans (by volume) in 2007.
And here are the top 10 wine brands sold in American restaurants in 2007:
1 Beringer Vineyards, Foster's Wine Estates Americas 2 Kendall-Jackson, USA, Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates 3 Franzia Winetaps, USA, The Wine Group 4 Yellow Tail, Australia, W.J. Deutsch & Sons, Ltd. 5 Sutter Home, USA, Trinchero Family Estates 6 Inglenook, USA, The Wine Group 7 Copperidge, USA, E. & J. Gallo Winery 8 Cavit, Italy, Palm Bay Imports 9 Woodbridge, USA, VineOne (Constellation) 10 Foxhorn Vineyards, USA, The Wine Group
For me and for the wine lovers that I hang out with (and no doubt the folks that read this blog) these are somewhat sobering lists, if only because for most of us, these are wines we generally don't, and wouldn't, consume given the choice. The average retail price of these wines is well below $8 per bottle, and the last time I asked you readers what you spend on average per bottle it was somewhere around $20.
And some of you probably didn't think that you were all that sophisticated when it came to wine, did you? Notice how the top 10 wines only includes a single red wine? If you're a Cabernet drinker you're a member of the wine elite. And I'm only partially kidding.
Here are some additional interesting facts about this year's list:
- White Zinfandel sales are down 15% - Chardonnay was more popular than Pinot Grigio for the first time - Pinot Noir sales were up (again) by 89% - Merlot sales were down (again) by 9% - Sauvignon Blanc and Sangiovese wines appeared for the first time on the top 100 list (bravo!)
So what to make of all this? I take a number of things away from this list every year. The first is appreciation for how lucky I am to be able to drink the quality of wine that I do regularly. The second is humility -- a reminder that while I may not choose to drink them, these wines, the companies that make them, and the people that drink them are what really make the wine world go 'round. And finally, I always finish my perusal of these numbers with hope. The amount of wine America drinks continues to go up, and slowly, but surely, the diversity of that wine continues to expand.
The Harpers Alcohol: Know Your Facts campaign has been launched in a bid to offer an alternative view to the almost daily barrage of press stories that give the impression drinking in the UK is out of control. When the real picture, based on the Government's own statistics, show overall long-term drinking levels are actually in decline.
Harpers (which is a well established UK wine industry weekly) has put up a petition on the Number 10 Downing Street website calling on the public and members of the drinks industry to lobby the Prime Minister directly on the issue to ensure future legislation does not punish the majority of people who drink responsibly.
You can add your support to this vital issue by signing up to the petition (If of course you are a UK resident).
You can also get your local MP involved by signing an open letter calling on them to raise the real facts about alcohol in any debates in the House of Commons.
Your support can make a difference and it is vital we ensure the real facts are heard and understood by our politicians."
California study theorizes that antioxidants and resveratrol in red wine may cut down on cancer risk...
A daily glass (or two) of red wine may reduce the risk of lung cancer in men, particularly in smokers, according to research published in the October issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
Smokers suffer from an especially high risk of lung cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, 213,380 new cases of lung cancer were reported in the United States in 2007, with 160,390 deaths, making it a leading cause of cancer death in the country.
Sitting in front of the computer preparing to sum up my experience at the European Wine Blogger Conference, I literally feel speechless. Are there words for my emotions, my feeling of warmth and excitement for what’s occurred, along with a touch of sadness and depression I’ve been feeling now that the conference is over? It’s like using an instant camera with the intention of capturing the breadth and beauty of the Grand Canyon. Unless you were there, feeling the hot canyon winds come across the 1,218,375 acres that dip down an average of 4,000 feet deep; smell the rich evergreen and sandalwood aromas in the air; or touch the blazing hot iron soils which kick up fine, red dust under your feet, pictures nor words can never fully describe your experience.
On one hand, I feel a warmth in my heart that has lasted for four days, and I expect it will last well into the future. To see 40+ people from all over the world come together and bond in literally, moments flat, was something we wish would happen among nations everyday. From Friday to Sunday, voices were always raised, bubbling with curiosity and excitement; because how often do you get to speak with someone who blogs in another language as to their perceptions, desires, hopes and fears about wine blogging? For me, not often enough. Instead, I am typically caught in a whirlpool of voices from my own culture, an incestuous conversation that circles around the same view point over and over again. But to have so many different ideas as to what wine blogging is, what we need to do to better our profession, how we can solve our problems, and where we can find solutions was beyond a breath of fresh air, was astonishing! And although we never came to any solid conclusions, we did solidify trust among us, breaking down both cultural and language barriers that hinder our communication to form a cohesive and passionate group willing to continue the conversation well into the future.
Just to give you an idea of the depth of conversation we were able to share, I had a great discussion during dinner on Saturday night with David Cray from Carleton University in Canada on how he can blog about his research on the structure and organization of wine bloggers, allowing us to see step-by-step what has worked and what hasn’t worked in his research. All six wine producers from Portugal, France, Germany and Italy chatted about how they are interested in both tasting and blogging about each others wines to emphasis the fact that even wineries drink other peoples wines. With Justine Keeling, a winery owner out of Tuscany, spoke of her genuine desire to have wineries speak honestly and openly about the daily experiences in the vineyards, rather than promoting only the positive events. Giampiero Nadali offered us some wonderful and innovative ideas on using hedonistic, rather than traditional, tasting notes. And Thomas Lippert offered up his insight on how wine bloggers can increase their credibility by separating themselves from spam and wine aggregators. Granted, this is only a tiny percent of the conversations that were dissected and debated, but it at least gives you a general notion of how receptive many people were in sharing their thoughts. We’ll be going into more detail in the coming days regarding many of these topics.
Oddly, despite these incredible feelings regarding the conference, I am also going through post conference depression (PCD). When I went to drop off our gigantic van filled to the hilt in leftover wine (no complaints, mind you), I literally broke down in tears in front of the Hertz attendant. Among a cloud of exhaustion and excitement, I felt an enormous sense of loss. I wanted my 40+ new friends back. I wanted to have the ability to call someone up and go out for a drink. I missed their kindness, their positive attitudes and the hours upon hours of belly aches I had from laughing nonstop. Look, I’m tearing up again!
I’ll stop before I get my cast wet, but please know that we couldn’t have done this without your belief in us and your willingness to come hundreds, if not thousands, of miles to La Rioja.
Saludos,
Gabriella Opaz
Here are a few pics from Ryan’s camera of what happened, enjoy!
Following the theme of my last post about Americans? increasing awareness of the quality wines that many artisan producers of Argentina are exporting, I?m pleased to post the first installment of my interview with Ed Lehrman of Vine Connections. Along with his business partner, Nick Ramkowsky, they formed a company that not only imports the wines of artisan Mendoza producers, but selectively forges meaningful, long term relationships with them. As Ed Lehrman explains in the interview, this type of involvement encompasses much more than shipping and distribution, extending into representation, consulting, label design and many other crucial aspects which in the end, bring American consumers the types of genuine artisan wines that multinationals couldn?t even conceive of delivering.
Based out of Sausalito, CA, Vine Connections has been at the forefront of the changing of the guard, in terms of tastes, that I described in my last post. Their portfolio includes excellent California, New Zealand and Japanese Saké producers, alongside the wines of star Mendoza winemakers Susana Balbo and Pedro Marchevsky, along with others to look out for, such as Mapema, Tikal and La Posta del Viñatero. If you really want to know what Argentines really like to have at the table and moreover, the breadth that Argentine wines are capable of achieving, I encourage you to explore the types of artisan producers that Vine Connections represents and whose work, over the coming years, will ultimately triumph over the characterless, corporate-backed South American wines saturating our shelves.
I would like to thank Ed Lehrman for taking the time to provide his in-depth responses concerning Vine Connections, its vision and inspiration. Our conversation unfolded over e-mail:
*What is the vision behind your company and what were some of the key experiences that led you and your business partner to get started?
- My partner, Nick Ramkowsky, and I have both been in the wine business since 1986 (we started very young), and we could have done any number of things together. Nick was a small California distributor at the time, and I had just sold my direct-to-consumer wine business where he had been one of my suppliers. A fateful trip together in May of 1999 launched us into the importing/national sale & marketing business. We spent about a week in Mendoza on that trip tasting wines from bottle, barrel, tanks?you name it?and we met some incredible winery owners and winemakers. By the end of the week, we were looking at each other and asking, ?How does the 5th largest wine producer in the world hide incredible wines like these from the US?? It seemed like this must be the opportunity of a lifetime for wine guys like us to lead the charge in introducing Argentine wine to the US, and in a way that they would be fully appreciated for their quality and authenticity, and not just their price. As an aside, of the first 12 wines we imported from Argentina, the LEAST EXPENSIVE wine was $22 retail! So in fact, Vine Connections was originally formed in order to be an Argentine wine importer. *Compared to other importers, what is the depth of Vine Connection's involvement with the producers its represents? (in terms of consulting, marketing, other assistance, etc.)
- It is hard to speak about other importers, since some do quite a lot and some just taste and buy. As for us, we take the approach that we are the winery?s own sales & marketing department and they can use us for as little or as much as they need. That may mean writing back label copy, helping with label design, or determining whether a new blended wine is even a good idea to add to their portfolio.
For all of our wineries, we do the copywriting for all printed materials since we can communicate their stories in English more effectively, and along the same lines, we handle most press relations since we are here and readily available. And I guess the most valuable thing we do would be called ?consulting? since we offer our advice on many topics based on our 40 years of working in the U.S. wine biz. *How does your company forge relationships with producers? In this vein, what is the process like for you when considering an addition to your portfolio? Do the producers come towards you in the way of trade events, do you travel to areas to scout, so to speak, or some combination thereof?
- We are very careful in this regard since our objective as an importer is to build brands and not just sell wine. That requires long-term relationships, so besides tasting backwards and forwards through a winery?s production, we spend as much as time as we can with the owners and the winemakers to see whether there is a good fit for working closely together. When we meet people who already think they know it all about winemaking, marketing, etc., we politely walk away no matter the wine quality. Our initial screen is the wines?they have to be particularly good since that is what we are known for importing. Then we start talking about their philosophies, their dreams, their business objectives, and where we should all eat dinner together (a meal with a potential supplier is always a good way to gain more insight).
This process means that while we have run into some wines that we like, we have sometimes been unwilling to take the winery on. The most common stumbling block for us seems to be that the winery lacks a strong winemaking philosophy, and often because they have abdicated this cornerstone to a consulting winemaker (and most often to foreign winemakers). As time has passed, we have pretty much settled into the idea of only representing wineries owned by Argentines and with Argentine winemakers since the winemaking vision is usually clearer and more grounded in expressing what makes Mendoza so special compared to other regions.
From the first moment that we meet a winery team, it usually takes about 18 months before we come to an agreement, do the ground work, and then start selling the wines in the U.S. It seems to work--we have never lost an Argentine winery and every brand that we represent has achieved a significant level of success.
I wish I could say that finding these producers followed a particular recipe, but in truth, all of our brands have come to us via different sources. The key is to have your radar on all the time so that the best ones don?t slip by accidentally.
*You represent Susana Balbo and Pedro Marchevsky's Dominio del Plata Winery?how did that relationship come about and how far back do you go?
- Well, if it weren?t for the ?dynamic duo? of Mendoza, we may never have been Argentine wine importers. We met them on our first trip to Mendoza in 1999, and they were so obviously talented and knowledgeable that they got us thinking a lot about the possibilities. We also formed a trusting relationship so quickly that it became obvious that we would work together, and together push forward a common vision of making Argentine wine part of the daily American fine wine conversation. That seems like an ominous task looking back now?we had no company yet and they were renting a very small winery at the time?but at the time it just seemed like destiny.
Following the theme of my last post about Americans? increasing awareness of the quality wines that many artisan producers of Argentina are exporting, I?m pleased to post the first installment of my interview with Ed Lehrman of Vine Connections. Along with his business partner, Nick Ramkowsky, they formed a company that not only imports the wines of artisan Mendoza producers, but selectively forges meaningful, long term relationships with them. As Ed Lehrman explains in the interview, this type of involvement encompasses much more than shipping and distribution, extending into representation, consulting, label design and many other crucial aspects which in the end, bring American consumers the types of genuine artisan wines that multinationals couldn?t even conceive of delivering.
Based out of Sausalito, CA, Vine Connections has been at the forefront of the changing of the guard, in terms of tastes, that I described in my last post. Their portfolio includes excellent California, New Zealand and Japanese Saké producers, alongside the wines of star Mendoza winemakers Susana Balbo and Pedro Marchevsky, along with others to look out for, such as Mapema, Tikal and La Posta del Viñatero. If you really want to know what Argentines really like to have at the table and moreover, the breadth that Argentine wines are capable of achieving, I encourage you to explore the types of artisan producers that Vine Connections represents and whose work, over the coming years, will ultimately triumph over the characterless, corporate-backed South American wines saturating our shelves.
I would like to thank Ed Lehrman for taking the time to provide his in-depth responses concerning Vine Connections, its vision and inspiration. Our conversation unfolded over e-mail:
*What is the vision behind your company and what were some of the key experiences that led you and your business partner to get started?
- My partner, Nick Ramkowsky, and I have both been in the wine business since 1986 (we started very young), and we could have done any number of things together. Nick was a small California distributor at the time, and I had just sold my direct-to-consumer wine business where he had been one of my suppliers. A fateful trip together in May of 1999 launched us into the importing/national sale & marketing business. We spent about a week in Mendoza on that trip tasting wines from bottle, barrel, tanks?you name it?and we met some incredible winery owners and winemakers. By the end of the week, we were looking at each other and asking, ?How does the 5th largest wine producer in the world hide incredible wines like these from the US?? It seemed like this must be the opportunity of a lifetime for wine guys like us to lead the charge in introducing Argentine wine to the US, and in a way that they would be fully appreciated for their quality and authenticity, and not just their price. As an aside, of the first 12 wines we imported from Argentina, the LEAST EXPENSIVE wine was $22 retail! So in fact, Vine Connections was originally formed in order to be an Argentine wine importer. *Compared to other importers, what is the depth of Vine Connection's involvement with the producers its represents? (in terms of consulting, marketing, other assistance, etc.)
- It is hard to speak about other importers, since some do quite a lot and some just taste and buy. As for us, we take the approach that we are the winery?s own sales & marketing department and they can use us for as little or as much as they need. That may mean writing back label copy, helping with label design, or determining whether a new blended wine is even a good idea to add to their portfolio.
For all of our wineries, we do the copywriting for all printed materials since we can communicate their stories in English more effectively, and along the same lines, we handle most press relations since we are here and readily available. And I guess the most valuable thing we do would be called ?consulting? since we offer our advice on many topics based on our 40 years of working in the U.S. wine biz. *How does your company forge relationships with producers? In this vein, what is the process like for you when considering an addition to your portfolio? Do the producers come towards you in the way of trade events, do you travel to areas to scout, so to speak, or some combination thereof?
- We are very careful in this regard since our objective as an importer is to build brands and not just sell wine. That requires long-term relationships, so besides tasting backwards and forwards through a winery?s production, we spend as much as time as we can with the owners and the winemakers to see whether there is a good fit for working closely together. When we meet people who already think they know it all about winemaking, marketing, etc., we politely walk away no matter the wine quality. Our initial screen is the wines?they have to be particularly good since that is what we are known for importing. Then we start talking about their philosophies, their dreams, their business objectives, and where we should all eat dinner together (a meal with a potential supplier is always a good way to gain more insight).
This process means that while we have run into some wines that we like, we have sometimes been unwilling to take the winery on. The most common stumbling block for us seems to be that the winery lacks a strong winemaking philosophy, and often because they have abdicated this cornerstone to a consulting winemaker (and most often to foreign winemakers). As time has passed, we have pretty much settled into the idea of only representing wineries owned by Argentines and with Argentine winemakers since the winemaking vision is usually clearer and more grounded in expressing what makes Mendoza so special compared to other regions.
From the first moment that we meet a winery team, it usually takes about 18 months before we come to an agreement, do the ground work, and then start selling the wines in the U.S. It seems to work--we have never lost an Argentine winery and every brand that we represent has achieved a significant level of success.
I wish I could say that finding these producers followed a particular recipe, but in truth, all of our brands have come to us via different sources. The key is to have your radar on all the time so that the best ones don?t slip by accidentally.
*You represent Susana Balbo and Pedro Marchevsky's Dominio del Plata Winery?how did that relationship come about and how far back do you go?
- Well, if it weren?t for the ?dynamic duo? of Mendoza, we may never have been Argentine wine importers. We met them on our first trip to Mendoza in 1999, and they were so obviously talented and knowledgeable that they got us thinking a lot about the possibilities. We also formed a trusting relationship so quickly that it became obvious that we would work together, and together push forward a common vision of making Argentine wine part of the daily American fine wine conversation. That seems like an ominous task looking back now?we had no company yet and they were renting a very small winery at the time?but at the time it just seemed like destiny.
A bit more than 1/2 year ago, we were in Chateauneuf du Pape. Anyway long story short. The sommelier at Beaucastel came up with a short video clip to explain the varietals and the philosophy going into CdP and Beaucastel in particular. Enjoy
How do you keep up to date with the wine world these days? I’ve found out what works for me although I still suffer from information overload some times. My interests are as follows ?
current hot topics such as closures, global warming, harvest expectations and so on
recommendations on wines to try and buy
educational material especially anything that helps me towards my WSET Diploma
I’ve found the following sources really help me
Harpers magazine. I wish I could afford their annual subscription but it’s just too much. However I subscribe to their daily bulletins via Google’s reader and this really works for me. I see a couple of lines summarising news items when I’m on the computer at home or work and I can always click the link to go their web site if i wish to read more
an unusual source of news items is South African Wines. They send out regular emails which summarise the key stories from around the world by directing you towards the various publications, web sites, blogs etc which have something interesting and relevant
there is no substitute for a monthly magazine which is good for those train journeys commuting to work. Decanter and Wine and Spirit are my favourites. I was working in the US last summer and enjoyed Wine Spectator and thought about taking out a subscription but the cost including mailing back to the UK was prohibitive
I love reading other people’s blogs. People like Jamie Goode and Andrew Jefford talk about people they have met, wines they have drunk and places they have visited. The problem with blogs is that there are so many (and yes I have one also) that it’s possible to subscribe to too many of them using Google’s reader that information overload soon takes over.
Podcasts are great for car journeys if you put them on a CD or train journeys if you play them on your phone. I’ve learned a lot from some of the podcasts from Grape Radio
For bedtime reading or sitting in a chair (with a glass of something nice of course) there is no substitute for the hard stuff ie: books. You can’t go wrong with a copy of the Oxford Companion to Wine by your side. I also try to look up every wine I try in at least one reference book such as the World Atlas of Wine, Wine by the Label or Oz Clark’s pocket wine book. These often give the context for the wine leaving the label to give the detail (unless of course it’s French!).
I may occasionally suffer from information overload but I do learn a whole lot of interesting stuff about wine which vastly increases my enjoyment of the stuff.
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.
Two weeks ago a team of American researchers promised what the New York Times story called "guilt-free gluttony" through resveratrol, a component found in red wine.
Now, in a scientific detente, French researchers are doing them one better: cardiovascular-improving sloth. To wit:
"Resveratrol makes you look like a trained athlete without the training," said Dr. Johan Auwerx of the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology in Illkirch, France who led the study. [Read full story]
This is going to be serious competition for the ab toning belt.
We all know that red wine can cause pinot envy. So only four deadly sins to go! What will resveratrol create next? Humble pride? Gentle anger? Generous greed? Platonic lust?!?
Related: "Lose weight on a red wine diet"--with video of lab mice! [Daily Telegraph]
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.
So, when Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston split, he had to sell his Frank-Gehry designed wine cellar. But, he?s not moping around.
It's rumored that the movie star, who was adept at stomping people in Fight Club and Troy, could soon be stomping grapes, thereby putting him among the ranks of celebrities with their names on wine labels.
Pitt stayed in a village in the Piedmont (Italy that is) and visited 2 different wineries that were for sale.
Monica Tavella, spokeswoman for the Fontanafredda estate in Piedmont, told the newspaper that Pitt stayed there after the Winter Olympics and expressed interest in the art of winemaking and viticulture.
Holy Jesus. Brad Pitt and super exclusive cult Barolos?? Shhhh?. I need a moment to myself.
Okay, let's move on............
A Votre Sante
In France when you want to ?cheers? you say A Votre Sante which translates ?to your health.? Over the past 5 years we have heard a lot about compounds in red wine which are beneficial to your health, specifically resveratrol. Studies have shown that moderate consumption of red wine can reduce the likelihood of a heart attack. But check out the other things they are testing it for look at how good it actually is. Also, in the quote below MDWD refers to a moderate daily wine drinker. While our doctors and government don't recommend wine, British health officials routinely do. A growing mound of studies, reflecting sources such as the American Heart Association and The New England Journal of Medicine, confirms wine to be precisely the potent and nutritious medicine our ancestors assumed it was. Besides the magic in polyphenols, which you could get from grape juice, and in alcohol, which you could get from gin, wine adds up to more than the sum of its parts. In contrast with bingers and abstainers, as well as beer and spirits drinkers, moderate daily wine drinkers (MDWDs) are better-educated and earn more. Their higher cognitive skills propel them through the Alzheimer's years with a 50 percent lower risk of dementia, one reason they're half as likely to end up in nursing homes even though they live longer, succumbing to cardiovascular diseases at half the rate of abstainers and heavy drinkers. Since moderate daily wine raises "good" cholesterol and reduces inflammation and clotting, MDWDs recover better from heart attacks and surgery and have a lower risk of stroke. They also have a 30 percent lower rate of Type 2 diabetes. Both red and white wine pack powerful, cancer-fighting antioxidants. Incidence of endometrial cancer is 83 percent lower in female MDWDs. Wine with meals halves your risk of colorectal cancer. Wine even eases blood-vessel constriction in smokers, while its polyphenols alleviate certain lung diseases. MDWDs get fewer colds with lighter symptoms. Their bones are denser, and they have nicer teeth, due to wine compounds that zap gum-disease bacteria. But wouldn't all that alcohol play havoc with your liver and kidneys? Nope. In fact, MDWDs have 30 percent lower risk of kidney dysfunction, and liver disease decreases as wine consumption rises. MDWDs have narrower waists and half the obesity rate of bingers and abstainers. Mysteriously, adding wine to a diet appears to melt pounds. It could be antioxidants and flavanoids speeding the breakdown of fat. It couldn't hurt that red wine, at 1.37 grams per liter, provides 8.5 percent of recommended daily fiber. It might have to do with metabolism or pleasure centers, which might explain why wine also helps with anorexia.
Craziness. Not only are wine drinkers cooler, more educated, and more successful, we?re also tons healthier. Now, drink up!
English Lit, Geometry, and Vinology?
How cool is this? In Australia high school students can actually take a class to teach them how to make wine. The rules are that they cannot taste or drink wine
Tecnorati
reduce the risk of lung cancer in men, particularly in smokers, according to research published in the October issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
