The collapse of part of McLaren Vale's Wirra Wirra winery last week was widely reported - but not widely seen. The visual is far more dramatic than the telling. This is a substantial winery in the middle of vintage - or it was in the middle of vintage.

Apparently I don’t get out much.  Until recently, I didn’t know that some restaurants charge as much as $250 per bottle for their corkage fee.  Excuse me, but that is insane.  As Lettie Teague in Food and Wine magazine asked recently, “What could you get for $250 that you couldn’t for, say, $25?”

The average cost of corkage around the country is about $25, which is infinitely more reasonable, but even those establishments that have reasonable corkage fees, they, perhaps surprisingly, come with their own set of rules.  One of the more popular restaurants in San Francisco, Michael Mina, for example, has a two-bottle limit with their $35 per bottle fee, and the bottles that you bring can’t be something that they have on the house list.  That certainly makes sense, and if you’re planning on bringing your own bottle of wine to your next dinner reservation, it’s a good idea to call ahead to inquire as to the restaurant’s fee and their own individual rules.  You know, “know before you go,” and all that.

In her recent Corkage article, Lettie shared seven cheap corkage spots for your drinking pleasure:

Where to Go

Metro Marche, New York City ($10).  This bus-station brasserie has good food and cheap corkage.  625 Eighth Avenue, 212-239-1010

Sip Sak, New York City ($13).  Great Turkish food and a low corkage fee.  928 Second Avenue, 212-583-1900

Dehlia Lounge, Seattle ($15).  Corkage here is just $15, as it is at all of Tom Douglas’s restaurants.  2001 Fourth Avenue, 206-682-4142

Market, St. Helena, California ($15).  Corkage is free on Tuesday nights at this friendly diner.  1347 Main Street, 707-963-3799

Charlie Palmer Steak, Washington, DC ($25).  If you bring an American wine, the corkage is free; otherwise, it’s $25.  101 Constiutution Avenue NW, 202-547-8100

Naha, Chicago ($25).  There are lots of great corkage spots in Chicago, but this restaurant also has terrific food.  500 North Clark Street, 312-321-6242

Michael Mina, San Francisco ($35).  This top restaurant has a great wine list and a fair corkage fee as well.  335 Powell Street, 415-397-9222.

Photo from Morgue File.

My first selection for these troubled times is the second most popular wine reviewed here by pageviews, the Petite Sirah by Crane Lake. This label is made by Bronco Wine Company who also produce the Charles Shaw brand for Trader Joe’s. Crane Lake is offered to independent retailers and typically sells for a couple dollars more than the more famous “2-buck Chuck.” Another difference is that more than just the typical varieties are offered, including this Petite Sirah and even a Sangiovese.

Petite Sirah is a good variety to look for in value wines these days as it flies a bit below the radar of most consumers. Many of the best examples can be found for less than $20 a bottle but I was interested in what you could get for $4. I picked up the 2004 vintage a while back but did not review it was a bad bottle, but I was able to track down the 2005 vintage for this tasting.

Tasting Notes:

Crane Lake, Petite Sirah 2005 ($4) - Dark purple-black color with aromas of blueberry compote and white pepper. Simple and juicy blueberry and plum flavors with some black pepper finishing with plush tannins and good acidity. Clean and surprisingly varietally correct.

Composite cork closure
12.5% ABV
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Buy this wine online

Well it’s Wine Blogging Friday for me this month, but hopefully I can sneak into the summary. The theme for Wine Blogging Wednesday this month comes by way of Philly-based wine blogger Joe who goes by 1WineDude online. And it’s a complete departure from our basic formula of wine variety, region or something a bit quirky. In fact, he has challenged us to actually drink madeirized — or intentionally heated and/or oxidized — wines. This style of wine is found in Madeira, Australia?s Rutherglen Tokays and Sherry. But Joe was also mindful that these wines might not be available everywhere so he included all fortified wines including Porto for his “Baked Goods” theme.

I knew at some point there would be an occasion to write about Sherry, a wine I’ve had over the years but didn’t really get into until a visit in June of 2007 to El Puerto de Santa María in the so-called Sherry Triangle. As a guest of Osborne, I visited their winery and tasted Fino literally pulled from the solera. But the most surprising part of this visit was a dinner with only Sherry served. I knew the starter would be easy with a Fino or Amontillado and the dessert course would be matched with a sweet Sherry of some sort but the entree would be a challenge. That’s when I was introduced to Oloroso which was a revelation at the time. But the best wine that night was a sweet Sherry made from a very old solera and the Pedro Ximénez grape. I rated it a 99, the only wine I have ever rated that high.

But before I dig my notes out for that wine let me flash forward to this week when I was looking for a Sherry to review for this tasting. As someone now a bit more educated about Sherry, I know that Fino is best consumed before 6 months from it’s bottling date. Most every Sherry producer has some sort of bottling code that indicates the day and year of bottling. Many times these are cryptic with Roman numerals used for the year but Osborne uses a more understandable code. So while I am continually disappointed in the stores here in the Twin Cities where Fino is “fresh” at 9-10 months past bottling, I was surprised to see a bottle of Osborne Pedro Ximénez “1827″ on the shelf with a bottling date of  June 23, 2007… just 5 days before my visit to the winery.

For those not familiar with how Sherry is produced, a quick aside before my tasting notes. The production of Sherry is very old, in it’s current form since the the Moors ruled Spain some 1,200 years ago. Some, according to this piece in Wikipedia, track this style of wine back to the city of Shiraz in modern day Iran, literally the cradle of viticulture in antiquity. The production of Sherry starts with grapes grown in very chalky soils around Jerez, Spain from Palomino or Pedro Ximenez. In the latter case, the grapes are dried for two days before pressing and fermentation begins to concentrate their sugars. After primary fermentation, the wine is fortified with brandy to levels of alcohol determined by the style of the final wine. Fino or Amontillado are fortified to 15 degrees alcohol so that flor yeast can survive to complete the wine. Oloroso is fortified to 17-18 degrees alcohol to prevent the growth of flor and the wine is primarily shaped by oxidation in the solera.

The solera is a system of large barrels between 3 and 9 in number usually stacked in a pyramid shape. This allows for the young wine to be introduced at the top of the solera to fill the lower barrels where the finished wine is drawn for bottling. Sherry is aged in barrel for a minimum of three years but this time in barrel is much longer for more highly prized and rare Sherries. Through reduction and oxidation the resulting wine gains complexity and since all the barrels are neutral, no aromas or flavors from the oak. This is a truly unique and old school style of wine that I hope more wine lovers will try.

Tasting Notes:

Bodegas Osborne, Pedro Ximenez “1827″ Sherry ($21) - Mahogany in color with powerful aromas of fig, molasses, espresso, hazelnuts and some heat from the alcohol. Rich and sweet in the mouth with fig, maple syrup, cocoa and caramel flavors finishing very long with enough acidity that balances the luscious sweetness. Decadent, delicious and an excellent value at around $20 a bottle. Also very nice poured over vanilla ice cream as it’s own dessert.

17% ABV
Screwtop closure
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Bodegas Osborne, Pedro Ximenez “Viejo” Sherry ($100/sample tasted at the winery) - Almost black in color with very complex aromas of fig, dates, espresso, dark chocolate, molasses and a hint of baked orange. In the mouth, very rich and layered fig, caramel, baked orange, spice and nut flavors mingle with quite a bit of sweetness that is balanced by acidity. This wine has a finish that seems to go on forever. One of the most extraordinary tastings of my life and as close to a perfect wine I have ever encountered. Buy it, if you can afford it.

16% ABV
Natural cork closure
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Thanks to Joe, the 1WineDude, for getting me back into this style of wine. I’m going to continue to explore Sherry both here and on my podcast… and might even post those recordings made in Spain some 17 months ago.

This is the kind of cross diversification I can relate to! Kerin O'Keefe (decanter.com) writes:

Italian coffee giant Illy has just acquired the 90ha Mastrojanni estate^? in the Montalcino hamlet of Castelnuovo dell'Abate.
 
Founded in 1975 by Gabriele and Antonio Mastrojanni, the estate has 24 ha under vine and an overall production of 80,000 bottles a year.
 
Until now Mastrojanni has been a family-owned firm^?, and is known for its classic Brunellos, particularly its single vineyard^? Brunello, Schiena d'Asino.
 
Managing Director and winemaker^? Andrea Machetti, who is to remain in charge of day-to-day operations under Illy, has been with Mastrojanni since 1992.
 
'The Illy family members obviously love wine and are known for their good taste^?. Though they will make some investments in the business, the house style^? won't change and we will continue to focus on making outstanding Brunello from Sangiovese,' Machetti told decanter.com.
 
The Illy family, based in Trieste, which bought controlling shares in chocolate^? company Domori in 2006 as well as in French tea firm Dammann Frères in 2007, is not new to the wine business.
 
Francesco Illy, one of the four grandchildren of the firm's founder, already owns a young estate in Montalcino, Podere Le Ripi. Riccardo Illy, president of the holding group said, 'Everyone in my family has a passion for wine, and with this acquisition, we have realised one of our dreams.'

» Full Story

Tags: melgab, wine, brunello, montalcino, illy, italian, south-africa, South Africa

This is another dry red wine from the sunny ?emovsko valley near Podgorica, Montenegro. We’ve covered a few wines from the Planta?e winery in the past and this is probably the poorest of their wines, without much character. Enjoyable only with a meal.

The difference in perception of this wine and the Dulka Cabernet we just covered is quite huge - the wine makers from Fru?ka Gora do seem to know how to add some magic to their wines and add a special touch to it (OK, it costs twice as much, but is well worth it!).

Score: 5/10
Price: 240 RSD (?3)
Retailer: Widely available in Serbia and Montenegro

Technorati Tags: Montenegro, Montenegrin Wine, Podgorica, Cabernet, Cabernet Sauvignon

The New Facility, open to the public--NOW! This Fantastic New Facility is Designed Exclusively for the Creation of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon; Featured at the Oakville Tasting Room are Vertical Tastings and New Offerings for all Guests.

Silver Oak Cellars, producer of Cabernet Sauvignon from both Napa and Alexander Valley, has announced the opening of its new winery and tasting room in Oakville. Re-built from the ground up after the original facility suffered a fire in 2006, the winery is designed to produce one wine only, the Silver Oak Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Its first grapes were received September 1st. The new timber-framed tasting room features reclaimed stone, oak and redwood and is evocative of the original tasting room built in 1981. Open September 29th, the winery is certain to remain a beloved Napa Valley destination.

Kopaonik is the largest Serbian ski resort. It is a popular place for domestic skiers and is becoming increasingly popular with foreign visitors. Although “Kopaonik” is actually a large mountain, the term usually refers to the area around the “Grand” hotel and the apartment complex “Sun?ani Vrhovi”. The area is small but contains quite a few hotels and private houses. It’s self contained, with shops, banks, a post office, etc. Apart from the restaurants in hotels, there are a few good restaurants around. In this article I’ll write about the restaurants I’ve visited this year, it might help you make the right choice (I didn’t have any tips at all…).

Etno club “Sunce”

This restaurant is located at the end of a quiet cool-de-sac, in the woods, a 5 minute walk from the Grand hotel. It looks very small from the outside, but it’s quite a spacious place. The atmosphere is great, fairly traditional, with two open fire places, a mixture of smaller and larger tables, a nice blend of loudness and privacy. The music wasn’t great, but that’s the easiest thing to change . The food was excellent and so was the service. They offer mainly Serbian dishes, if you’re not sure what to choose from the menu, the waiters will help you with their recommendations, you can trust them. The wine list includes wines from some of the better Serbian cellars, such as Radovanovi? and Aleksandrovi? (Topola). Go for Aleksandrovi?’s red or white Triumph, they are some of the best wines Serbia has to offer. Overall, it’s a great place, I’ll be back.

Food quality 5/5
Atmosphere 5/5
Service: 5/5
Price 3/5 (moderate, but excellent value)
Wine list 3/5 (Radovanovi?, Aleksandrovi?)

Na?a ku?a

This place reminds me of modern pubs-restaurants in Ireland. It has a large bar area in the center, with large tables around, a couple of two seater tables in the corner for some extra privacy and a cosy open fire in the front. Both the interior of the restaurant and the furniture are made of light coloured wood, and there are stripes of small red lights throughout. There’s also a big video beam that mainly shows snow scenes during the day. It is a place frequented by the younger crowd and is open quite late into the nigth (until 3am). They have a small but well-chosen menu (which is also extremely well designed) and it’s obvious they put a lot of effort to make it a bit different from other restaurants in the vicinty. The chef is excellent, and the food is great, so give “Na?a Ku?a” a try if you get tired from the Serbian cousine and are looking for some European tastes. It is one of the more expensive restaurants, with a full dinner for two with a bottle of wine and a dessert producing a bill of around 50 euros. The wine choice is not great, but they do have a few wines apart from the regular choice, we recommend the wines from the Terra Lazarica range.

Food quality 5/5
Atmosphere 4/5 (nice mix of modern and traditional, younger crowd)
Service: 4/5
Price 2/5 (expensive)
Wine list 2/5

Etno ku?a Studenica

If you’re on a lower budget looking for good quality Serbian food you should visit the etno restaurant Studenica. Pick one of the two tables on the far left to avoid looking at the interior of the kitchen and to avoid the local crowd on the right side. The place is clean, the food was great and the waiter was top-notch, but the problem with this place is that it has too much light, it is visited by the local crowd and generally the level of privacy is quite low.

Food quality 4/5
Atmosphere 2/5
Service: 4/5
Price 4/5 (relatively cheap, good value)
Wine list 1/5

Zvrk

This is a very popular restaurant located at the center of ski activities (the “baby slope”, ski lifts Karaman Greben and Pan?i?ev Vrh), just besides the Grand hotel. The restaurant has two levels, the upper one being more packed and colorful, the lower one containing a large center-located open fire place. This fire creates a very tempting smell outside the restaurant, which is the main reason you probably won’t resist getting into it. In general, it’s not a bad place, but there are much better choices around…

Food quality: 2/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Service: 3/5
Price: 3/5
Wine list: 1/5 (just the very basic Serbian wines)

Technorati Tags: Kopaonik, Serbia, Serbian Cousine, Restaurants Serbia

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.

And that means that we're making progress.

Read more details on the annual Restaurant Wine report.

• Lynfred Winery Seyval Blanc 2007, Southern Illinois
• Callaghan Vineyards 'Lisa's' 2006, Sonoita, Southeastern Arizona
• Galena Cellars 'Eric the Red' Marechal Foch 2006, Illinois
• Dos Cabezas Wineworks 'DC Red' Cabernet/Sangiovese/Grenache 2004, Cochise County, Southeastern Arizona
• Callaghan Vineyards 'Caitlin's' 2004, Sonoita, Southeastern Arizona
• Galena Cellars Frontenac 2006, Illinois

The Wine and Salad Problem - 03 August 2006

Matching Wine with Sushi - 23 February 2008

Wines for Easter Dinner - 28 February 2008

Refreshing Prosecco - 09 April 2008

BREAKING NEWS: 10.54 PM AEST March 7 2008

Message from Andrew Kay - CEO, Wirra Wirra:

'An onsite accident occurred at Wirra Wirra yesterday following the collapse of a fermenting tower at our winery in McLaren Vale. A number of fermenters, tanks and a presses have been damaged, resulting in some loss to our 2008 vintage.

'We are currently working closely with the authorities and SafeWork SA to assess the full extent of the damage.

'We’d like to extend our thanks to all the emergency services whose quick action and professionalism were outstanding. Our thoughts are with our young cellar hand who is currently in a serious, yet stable condition at Flinders Medical Centre. We are pleased to hear that he is making positive progress.

'While it is difficult to determine at this time the full extent of wine lost, it is significantly less than has been reported. Some of the wine in tank may still be salvageable, while offers of fruit from growers to offset the loss have been coming in thick and fast. Whilst the loss of wine is important to our business, clearly the safety and welfare of our staff is of greatest priority at this time.

'Workplace safety for all our staff is of paramount importance at Wirra Wirra, and we are thankful no more serious injuries were sustained.

'We’d also like to extend our thanks to the winemaking community of McLaren Vale and our neighbouring districts who have rallied round with offers of help and well wishes; we have been extremely touched by their support and generosity.

Trott produced the first vintage of Church Block back in 1972 “with a little help from his friends”. It looks like history will repeat itself in 2008.'

BREAKING NEWS: 3.13PM AEST March 6 2008

McLaren Vale winery, Wirra Wirra, earlier today suffered considerable damage to its winery when a number of 45,000 litre fermenters collapsed, causing damage to some tanks and presses, and a significant loss of vintage 2008 must and wine.

One cellar hand sustained minor injuries, however no serious injuries have been reported.

The winery has temporarily been shut down, and staff are working with officials to ascertain the full extent of the damage.

Wirra Wirra is unable to determine when the winery will be up and running again.

First Press - the UK wine trade’s first fully-interactive Ezine, has just launched featuring an interview with JancisRobinson.  First Press has been produced by Nicky Burston of World Wine Agencies. It has a lifestyle look and feel and is easy to download, or email directly to friends. Issue 1 of this new quarterly features wine celebrity interviews and podcasts, up-and-coming news and events and includes a prize draw for tickets to Old Trafford.

Part of becoming a connoisseur of cheap wines is knowing where to look for them. I’ll share with you one of my little secret places I attempt to seek out cheap wine: the “Reduced for Quick Sale” shelf at your local supermarket. At Meijer, my local super-mega-ultra-store, this shelf is usually located in the bottle return area. Not a very pleasant place to be searching for wines, but just think of it as a treasure hunt! You may find a bounty of cheap wines that you never knew existed.

While picking over the wines yesterday, a cartoon label caught my eye: Big Daddy Vineyards Merlot. I picked up the March 2002 vintage for about 6 dollars.

Why was this reduced for quick sale? Was it worth enduring the stench of the bottle return area to bring home this wine? Yes, yes it was. It’s almost sad that this wine traveled all the way from Argentina to end up in my bottle return area.

Big Daddy knows how to make a good cheap wine. Believe it or not, the first attribute of this wine I picked up on was the light hint of bacon. Mmm bacon. Who doesn’t love bacon? Big Daddy loves it, that’s for sure. Look at that belly! On top of the bacon was a strong berry with a leathery taste.

If you’re looking for a full bodied cheap red wine with a lot of character, give the Big Daddy Merlot a try.

Rating: 8/10 - High score for originality
Price: 6.00
Place of purchase: Meijer
Vineyard Info:
Big Daddy Vineyards
Mendoza, Argentina
www.bigdaddyvineyards.com