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by Martin Field Readers familiar with Yarra Yering wines will be saddened to hear of the passing of winery founder, Dr Bailey Carrodus, after a short illness, on 19 September 2008. A personal reminiscence I knew Bailey fleetingly in the late '70s and early '80s. He was a loveable if sometimes irascible character with an incisive mind. His wines were highly individual and did not always suit the prevailing palates of the day. Despite the critics, Bailey created his own unmistakable style and gained a wide international market. Strange that we were friendly. When we first met, (I was brash) I shared my considered opinion that some of his '70s wines were a tad too acidic. I got the inimitable Carrodus look...
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.
With the huge popularity gain for wine in the past five years, one could wonder if a recession in the wine industry is looming.
Much depends on factors in the grand scheme of things. The once-booming housing industry created much wealth for a lot of Americans, but a recent downturn in home sales has created a large-scale semi-panic in the mortgage and banking industry. The stock markets have been shaken by the idea that mortgage companies are virtually disappearing overnight. This has put into question the stability of the biggest banks, and what their exposure to these smaller (defunct) companies has been.
The wine industry is based much on excess wealth. Wine is seen by many, not as an essential, but as a luxury item that would be cut out of a budget if tough times arose. A recent look at distribution and retail inventory levels showed a large glut, sometimes in excess of 200 days worth of stock.
The ever-popular Pinot Noir seems to be immune to this kind of chatter, however. Spurned to new heights of acceptance by the movie Sideways, the "heartbreak grape" seems to be an indespensible red... a must for any cellar or pantry. The next couple of years will be crucial to the industry at the retail and restaurant level.
Designed as an aperitif the Farina Val de Reyes Vino Semi-Dulce is recommended with foie gras, pates and soft cheeses. Back in May of 2007 a bottle (of the previous vintage, 2004) was matched with delicious results with a Melon, Pecorino and Culatello Anti-Pasti.
A requirement for a wine to accompany Little Windfall Apple Tarts resulted in this being opened as a proper dessert wine.
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Fariña Val de Reyes, 2005, Castilla y Leon, Spain [More: Adegga / Snooth]
The Botrytis effected Moscatel is really evident on the aroma with hints of orange, honey, pear and a heady honeysuckle edge. Is it the botrytis that gives that nice weight to the palate in addition to the sweetness? A good long spicy finish is clean and fresh from the citric acidity. Behind that spice is there a dimension not too dissimilar to that of autumn - well-kept apples, damp leaves, wild mushrooms and all? Alcohol 13%.
It is not a rich, sickly dessert wine being more fresh and lively than many. With the Little Windfall Apple Tarts it was rather scrummy with a lemon dimension matching the tarts lemon curd. With desserts you need the wine to be sweeter than the food; this match worked perfectly.
Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 90/100 [3.75 out of 5]
Wine started flowing through taps in dozens of homes during an Italian grape festival in Marino, south of Rome.
At the heart of the town's famous Sagra dell'Uva??, or Grape Festival, is the moment when sparkling white wine flows from the fountains in the main square.
But this year locals and tourists had to make do with water, as bad plumbing meant the wine supply was switched by mistake to local homes.
...
"But this year," Mr Palozzi said, "Due to a technical error, instead of connecting wine to the fountains, we accidentally channelled it into some local homes.
"Apparently the people living around the square who got the wine coming out of their taps were very surprised, they thought that it might be some kind of present from the local council! It only lasted three minutes, we corrected it straight away."
An amazing dinner at Tetsuya’s last weekend to celebrate a friend’s birthday, I’ll let the tasting notes and the pictures of the wine then food tell the story.
1981 Krug This is a wine that I have always wanted to try (being my birth year) and I was very lucky to get the chance on this night. Golden coloured, with a lazy, meandering bead. Powerful ginger, spice, earth, toffee, creme brulee and cedar aromas on the nose. Incredibly deep flavour and complexity, with fresh acidity sweeping over the palate into a long and memorable finish. Kept improving the longer I left it. 97/100
1982 Krug A year and a half ago I had this wine from the same source and it looked a touch awkward (while still being excellent), but tonight it was much improved. Light gold colour with straw highlights, an insanely fine bead - probably the finest I’ve ever seen. Aromas of almond, coffee, black truffles, vanilla and ginger came to the fore as the wine warmed up in the glass. The palate is vibrant, with great acidity laid over complex flavours. Still developing, another 5 years and I think it will be close to maturity. 95/100
1990 Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Hengst Gewürztraminer Vendange Tardive Golden coloured, this wine possessed an ever shifting, evolving nose of spices, honey, lychee, pineapple and rose petals. The palate possesses an astonishing balance between weight and refreshment. Rich, complex, deep and softly sweet, but with superb acidity, focus and purity of fruit. None of the oily or warm alcohol characters I often get from this grape and region. Close to the best Alsatian wine I’ve ever had. 96/100
1965 Lindemans Bin 3110 Hunter River “Burgundy” (classic release) This is one of the legends of Hunter Valley and Australian wine. Still deeply purple coloured, fading slightly to red at the rim. The nose is intoxicating and layered with notes of earth, tobacco, liquorice, leather, blackberries and five spice. The palate is so composed and well balanced. Harmony reigns among the various elements right up to the long finish. Very different in style to some other great old Australian wines I’ve tried, but superb in its own right and very representative of the Hunter Valley. 97/100
1953 Domaine J. Faiveley Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Saint-Georges Very lightly coloured. The nose on this wine was one of the most unique I have ever seen, along with cherry, earth and spices there was a beguiling character that I followed for some time, in the end only being able to describe it as akin to tropical fruit! The palate has superb definition and the structure that has allowed it to live to this age is still clearly evident. If there is one shortcoming, it is that the fruit is a touch thin, but otherwise the balance is very good - it seems that those famous Faiveley tannins do eventually integrate (it just takes 55 years! ). 94/100
1990 Domaine Leroy Clos de Vougeot This wine is a strong argument in favour of the excellent reputation of this fine estate. A bold, brooding nose of cherry, strawberry, liquorice, black tea, game and forest floor. There is a richness to the palate, but it is finely textured and exists alongside the structural elegance of the wine rather than pushing the palate around and dominating. Drank well tonight, but will continue to improve over the next 10 years. 95/100
1966 Château Palmer (Margaux) Youthful in colour. A nose that has both primary and secondary characters wound together with raspberry, cedar, tobacco, cinnamon, violets and graphite. The palate is velvet smooth, this is an absolute pleasure to drink. The elements of the palate are resolved in full and work together in harmony. Classic top-shelf Bordeaux. 96/100
1975 Château Lafleur (Pomerol) Corked A few were brave enough to taste this and proclaimed that underneath the taint it was exceptional, but I was not willing to try. NR/100
1990 Gaja Barbaresco Sori Tilden (Piedmont) Deeply coloured. One of the most complex, haunting and evocative noses I have ever had the privilege to experience - there were aromas of blackberry, rose petals, anise, pine, smoke, plum and layers more - with every sniff there was something new uncovered. There is a wonderful intensity to the palate, it is as though all the elements have been magnified but somehow remain in balance with a wave of pure fruit, striking acidity and the finest of tannin. On a night of legendary wines, this wine somehow rose above and was my favourite wine of the evening. I don’t give out 100 point scores often (4 wines so far) … and I’m not going to for this, but I really feel like I could, it is so very tempting. 99/100
1982 Penfolds Grange A nose of blackberry, cedar, liquorice, vanilla, red and black currant. Youthful and very fresh with bold and bursting with flavour, but maintains its balance across the long length of the palate. Drinking beautifully well now. Consistent with the previous bottle I tasted a year prior, one of my favourite Granges. 95/100
1990 Lindemans Sesquicentenary Release Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon (magnum) 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Shiraz. An aroma of tomato leaf dominates the nose, behind it are some notes of raspberry, blackberry and a touch of briar. The texture of the palate is good with elegant primary fruit characters and good balance. Drinking well now but will develop and improve over the next 10 years. Was not shamed among some of the great wines from around the world. 91/100
1928 Marc Brédif Vouvray A dazzling light straw-golden in colour. The aromas were surprisingly fresh - lots of pear, apple, honey, blueberry, ginger, oats and cloves. Amazing acidity and depth still present on the palate. It actually got better after an hour in the glass, taking on extra weight of flavour. This wasn’t showing any signs of falling apart, maybe good bottles will live forever! 94/100
1981 Jakob Gerhardt Niersteiner Frauenkirchner Bouvier and Traminer TBA (Austria) Deeply coloured, almost like a tokay, but with strands of gold. Deep scents of apricot, marmalade, honey and apples. Great depth on the palate, with strong sweetness and a viscous mouth-feel balanced by very good acidity. Great persistence. Drink now. 93/100
1968 d’Oliveira Reserva Boal Madeira (Portugal) Nutty, burnt toast, caramel, banana and a very familiar medicinal aroma from my childhood (possibly amoxicillin). There is a bitterness to the palate and the alcohol stands out. It is very long and intense, but I couldn’t really get into this. 86/100
Chestnut Mushroom Soup with Truffle Salt
Italian White Roll and Truffle Butter
Smoked Ocean Trout and Avruga Caviar with Scallop Mousse and Quail Egg
Leek and Crab Custard
Grilled Scampi Wrapped in Pancetta
Scampi in Sea Water and Lemon Scented Olive Oil
Marinated Scampi with White Miso and Passionfruit
Confit of Petuna Tasmanian Ocean Trout with Konbu, Apple, Fennel and Witlof
Antarctic Black Cod with Globe Artichoke and Yuzu Vinaigrette
Roasted Breast of Quail with Soft Polenta and Shiitake Mushrooms
Slow Roasted De-Boned Rack of Lamb with Blue Cheese and White Miso
Grass Fed Angus Beef Fillet with Blewitt and Chestnut Mushrooms
Cheese
Apple Sorbet with Apple Jelly
Mont Blanc
Apple Tarte Tartin with Calvados Cream Ice Cream
Chocolate Terrine with Mascarpone and Cognac Anglaise
I think Frank is having an affair. He mutters her name constantly ? sometimes lovingly, sometimes not so much so. Her picture appears in books on the coffee table, on the dashboard in the truck, even pinned on the bathroom mirror with some unintelligible scribbles and notations below it. I know he sometimes even takes her to bed.
Like all relationships, there is a definite up and down cycle to his infatuation with this woman. As his WSET exam gets closer he finds her more frustrating. At other times, he finds her charming, witty, and distinctly sexy. But he relies on her totally and without reservation. ?I just can?t be without her,? he?ll sometimes confess.
I suspect that if Frank ever actually met her face to face and in person, he would give her the traditional European greeting ? three kisses on alternating cheeks ? right, left, right. He might even hug her.
Tonight Frank writes the vinticulture portion of his WSET Diploma exam. Perhaps when he?s done and the marks are tallied, he will close the Oxford Companion to Wine and Jancis Robinson will be forgotten for a short while. Perhaps. At least until it?s time for the next exam.
It's official. Millennials are a major force in wine. Why we needed a study to tell us this, I'm not sure. We millennials are hip, sophisticated and reliably swayed by marketing. Sigh. At least we have the good sense to like wine.
Quotable: "Connoisseur, n. A specialist who knows everything about something and nothing about anything else." - Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary
Caberiffic: Delectus 2001 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Stanton Vineyard Oakville ($50). Tobacco, mushroom, black cherry, plum. Decant, my friends, decant.
Splurge worthy: Philip Togni Vineyard 2003 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (online prices vary widely, between $80 and $150). Blackberry, dusty chocolate, plum, great acid on the back end.
My girlfriend discovered some wines in a family member's apartment. The condition of the wines...are questionable, I suspect most of them are vinegar, but thought I would run them by the fine people in this comm.
They are
1975 Champagne: Piper-Heildsieck
1979 Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe: Chateau L'Angelus
Beaujolais Nouveau Est Arrive! I bought the first bottle at our local store and am serving tonight with raclette of salmon and baby spinach with dill cream cheese.
The wine is purple--of course-- with a fairly big bouquet of sweet strawberry that is nearly perfumy. Palate is a little chewy with light strawberry flavors and a slightly steely finish.
This is pretty straight forward Nouveau although better than last years! I paid $9 for it a the super market. Look for other producers and also look for Beaujolais Villages Nouveau and give them a whirl. Let us know how you like them--or don't and raise a glass!
Port wines can seem like a challenging subject. There are all sorts of bottlings: vintage date, late-bottled vintage date, Colheitas, single Quintas, and still others know as ruby reserve, crusted, or white — and let?s not forget the various tawny Ports of 10, 20, 30 and 40 years of age. Why are there so many different bottlings, and where does one begin to explore all of these fortified wines? Thankfully, we had the opportunity to talk with Louisa Fry from the Port and Douro Wines Institute, an inter-professional council of growers and producers from this famous Portugese region.
Join us as we hear about the origins of Port, what it takes to get a vintage declared, and whether it’s called Port or Porto. We?ll also discuss the amazingly steep terraces of Portugal’s Douro region, and the varieties of grapes that are able to be blended into the final product. Of course, it wouldn’t be complete without hearing about the optimum time to drink Port.
For more info on the Wines of Portugal: www.ivdp.pt
One of the events I enjoyed was the vineyard walk on Saturday morning led by Zephyr Adventures. We went to Saralee's Vineyard in the Russian River Valley, where we met up with Rich and Saralee Kunde (who made us a fabulous lunch!), Daniel Moore of Zmor Winery, and Rod and Lynn Swan Berglund of Joseph Swan Vineyards. We hiked through the vineyards, learned a lot about the area and its viticultural heritage, and drank some fantastic wines.
I hope this slide show whets your appetite to learn more about the Russian River Valley appellation, and makes you feel that you've been able to enjoy a little bit of this year's fall season here in the California Wine Country.
If you're interested in seeing more pictures of the 2008 Wine Bloggers Conference, head over to my Flickr photostream where I've set up a collection of pictures for you to flip through.
It didn?t take long for a tribute album to surface following the death of Pink Floyd mastermind Syd Barrett. The groovy part is Like Black Holes in the Sky: The Tribute to Syd Barrett avoids gimmickry with an all-underground roster of metal, prog and sludge bands.
Syd Barrett?s spacegrassy Piper at the Gates of Dawn is a building block for future stoner, doom and tech metal practitioners. As testimony to the Pink Floyd album?s pioneering spirit, Like Black Holes in the Sky: The Tribute to Syd Barrett hoists six Piper cuts in addition to seven of Barrett?s solo tunes, largely represented by The Madcap Laughs.
Instead of obvious candidates like Queens of the Stone Age on this thing, you get Jesu, Yakuza, Intronaut, Zodiak, Stinking Lizaveta, Unearthly Trance and Kylesa as well as the mighty Pentagram, all likely nominees to do Syd Barrett?s frequently off-kilter music justice.
Jarboe and Giant Squid capture the sheer lunacy of Barrett?s quizzical music on ?Late Night? and ?Octopus? respectively. Meanwhile, Voivod drummer Away leads his offshoot project Kosmos in a laser-dashed version of ?Vegetable Man,? one of the compilation?s coolest tracks.
Other highlights include Intronaut?s ?Arnold Layne? as well as the Piper songs like Yakuza?s ?Lucifer Sam,? Pentagram?s ?Flaming,? Kylesa?s ?Interstellar Overdrive? and Dredg?s faithfully trippy interpretation of ?Astronomy Domine,? a translucent gem that briefly made Voivod stars.
Appropriate Syd Barrett should be represented by fringe rock and metal bands whose mutual appreciation for where their sounds originate makes Like Black Holes in the Sky: The Tribute to Syd Barrett a rare tribute album with its heart in the right place.
I've thought long and hard about this one, but it's time to shut up shop here at The Wine Chicks.
As you all know, I simply don't have the time any longer to post stuff - that's been more than obvious. I also have been focusing so much on certain wines that I rarely taste outside of my own portfolio. And the last thing I want to do is make this site an extension of my day job. I've wanted to keep this open but since I'm pressed for time, I too often just post about a tasting/wine dinner/IPO wine with which I was involved. The quality of my writing has certain suffered and I don't want to keep posting crappy blips just for the sake of posting crappy blips.
So, let's ring in a Chick-free New Year! Who knows? Maybe I'll resurface elsewhere in the not-too-distant future...
The average wine consumer has no idea what it means for a wine to be organic. And when it comes to Biodynamic wines, most wine drinkers have never even heard of them. But that doesn't matter, because an increasing number of the most sought-after, expensive wines in the world are biodynamically produced, which means that biodynamics is one of the most significant modern trends in global winemaking.
The only problem (for those who care) is that biodynamic winemaking involves a maddening, paradoxical mixture of scientifically sound farming practices and utterly ridiculous new-age mysticism. If you want to know just how kooky it can get, you might be interested in a recent feature on biodynamic wine in SF Weekly, which dives into detail on the cow skulls stuffed with oak bark left in a hole; the red deer bladders filled with yarrow flowers buried in compost piles; the proscriptions to burn insects in the vineyards only during certain proper planetary alignment; and the claims that the moon should determine when you put your wine into new barrels.
Of course, if you actually believe in biodynamics, you now hate my guts along with Joe Eskenazi, the author of the aforementioned article which is entitled Voodoo on the Vine.
Joe's angle on biodynamic winemaking will draw criticism for focusing only on the strangest parts of an elaborate farming and winemaking methodology. His (and my) detractors would be justified in complaining at the sensationalism of a few practices, and a few predilections of the methods inventor, while many, even most biodynamic winemaking principles are the same as good old organic farming.
But that is precisely the problem. Most biodynamic farming principles make sense because they are the same as scientifically grounded organic farming (e.g. don't use pesticides; let the sheep take care of the weeds and fertilize the soil; etc.). But then the whole system is undermined by the use of, and rationalization for, special preparations and actions that are not only bizarre in their conception, but explained by the worst kind of pseudo-scientific quasi-religious gobbledygook that you could possible imagine.
You can't imagine how angry this makes me. You see, I love biodynamic wine. Some of my favorite wines in the world; some of the best wines I have ever tasted in my life; some of the wineries that seem to consistently make some of the highest quality wines I have ever experienced are produced biodynamically, and I don't believe this is a coincidence.
This is what Joe Eskenazi did not include in his article, perhaps because he's not fully immersed in the world of wine. While he rightfully points out, with the appropriate level of cynicism, the fact that some wine producers are moving to make biodynamic wine because they think it will sell better, there are many more producers who have been making wine biodynamically for years, even decades without ever telling anyone about it, least of all the people who buy their wine. These winemakers are some of the smartest, most talented folks in the wine industry. The only reason they would possibly be producing wine biodynamically (which Eskenazi's article points out is much more labor, time, and cost intensive than any other farming method) must be that they believe they make better wine that way.
There are two types of people in the world. Those who believe that while science is not perfect, it is the most powerful interpretation that we have found of the world around us, and those who believe that there are better explanations for what we observe in the natural world than science can provide. I am very much a member of the first group. There's a lot we don't know about the world yet, and there are a lot of really interesting interpretations about how things work, but the scientific method produces the most reliable interpretations of what is real and what is true that I know of. I (and pretty much everyone in a first world nation, whether they know it or not) trust my life to that fact nearly every moment of every single day.
And that belief I hold is precisely the source of my unending frustration with biodynamic wine. I think it's good stuff. But I know it's not good for the reasons that the people who make it, and the people who tell them how to make it, say it is. The claims of the philosophy that underlies biodynamic wine growing, and the specific explanations for various prescriptions of the farming and winemaking process are just plain wrong. They can be proved wrong, in some cases simply with a calculator, but in all cases by rigorous scientific enquiry.
Which is why I keep hoping that someone will come up with Biodynamics Lite™: a kinder, gentler form of biodynamic winemaking that throws out all the bullshit, and sticks to the things that science tells us will actually work.
I plan on continuing to drink more and more biodynamic wine, and encourage everyone who loves wine to do so as well. I just hope there is a day when I don't have to roll my eyes a little every time I see the word on a wine label, or bite my fist as a winemaker proudly tells me that the reason I love his wine is due to the fact that he completely avoided the dueling vortices when he mixed his preparation of ground up quartz crystals.
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.
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 Colgin Cellars 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.
(Photo of Maria Callas dated 1960, only a year before this wine was produced.)
Tecnorati
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A few were brave enough to taste this and proclaimed that underneath the taint it was exceptional, but I was not willing to try.
airport waiting lounges, I try to make study time for my 
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.