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At the end of March, Decanter.com broke the news that Domaines Barons de Rothschild - more often referred to in China as DBR Lafite or merely ‘Lafite’ - has teamed up with CITIC, China’s largest government-owned investment company, to produce a ‘Chinese Grand Cru’ in Shandong province’s Penglai peninsula.
CITIC hails from the economic reforms of Deng Xiaoping; and its remit from the outset was to attract foreign investment. Decanter would have first heard about the venture from importer Summergate, DBR’s Chinese distributor. Summergate partners Ian Ford and Brendan O’Toole were apparently involved early on in a project whose origins stretch back some fifteen years. In 2006 O’Toole and Ford also visited Penglai with DBR’s Christophe Salin (when site selection and grape sourcing was no doubt on the minds of all involved).
Since the story broke, journalists and bloggers have gone mad with speculation as to precisely what this joint venture will yield. No one can be blamed for getting excited or even voicing some scepticism (especially those sceptics who have been exposed to Chinese wines, some of doubtful provenance, before). There are real questions involved as to what kind of wine or wines will eventually be produced, whether exclusively Chinese grapes will be used and what kind of price point(s) v. quality Chinese consumers can expect from whatever DBR-CITIC eventually bottles.
At the same time, the speculation-fuelled fire has, well, run wild. It is surely more constructive to wait to see what DBR Lafite produces for its nominal ‘Chinese Grand Cru’, whilst concentrating on more immediate phenomena: for example, the dominance of France in the Chinese import wine business. Consider also the cross-cultural exchange of perceptions in which France’s ‘Chinosierie’ has been projected back onto the French by a Chinese wine-drinking public whose love of tradition, ancient narratives and wine-making dynasties easily chime with what France can offer.
True enough, most emerging wine markets begin with France. That the majority of the grape varieties deemed ‘international’ originate from that country also clearly plays a role. Although a depressing amount of distinctly average French wine reaches Chinese shores, the crème de la crème are also present (even if ‘Grand Cru’ is something of an abused term in China), mainly in the shape of Bordeaux. But some domaine Burgundy and even more eclectic gems from other French regions are beginning to appear.
On the face of it, anything labelled ‘Lafite’ could sell in China. But why not equally the other Bordeaux first growths or other French properties that have made wines in countries outside France before? (These don’t do too badly, admittedly!).
DBR Lafite was, of course, swift to translate its website into Chinese and has clearly been visiting China from early on (the argument that ‘Lafite’ is easy for Chinese consumers to pronounce does not actually wash when ‘Margaux’ is even easier for them to say). Much consists in names. But not only Lafite grabs attention in this respect. The Chinese translation for Chateau Beychevelle (??Longchuan, meaning ‘dragon boat’) has helped that property’s wines do particularly well here. Our own company Dragon Phoenix has also played a modest role recently in helping Chateau La Lagune find an evocative Chinese name (one that both ‘transliterates’, i.e. sounds similar in Chinese, but also captures the meaning of ‘La Lagune’ itself: hence ??? LangLihu, i.e. ‘the beautiful lake’). But with Sopexa on hand, the rest of France is hardly doing all that badly here either.
Less trumpeted, but as intriguing, however, is the presence of Torres in China, not only in the form of distributor Torres China, but in a winery called Silver Heights. Silver Heights is located in Ningxia province, a good deal west and in a much drier part of the country than the rain-soaked Shandong (which receives most of its precipitation post-flowering and, frequently, during harvest).
The vineyard is at high elevation (1,200m above sea-level) in the Helan Mountains; whilst the winery has garnered the expertise of returning Chinese winemaker Emma Gao (who completed stints at Châteaux Calon-Ségur and Lafon-Rochet). Admittedly, these Bordelais ‘origins’ are not absent from Torres China’s literature - why should they be? - but it will be interesting to see if a Spanish influence as well as the Bordelais one comes to bear.
Torres China is also making wine together with Grace Vineyard of Shanxi province under the ‘Symphony Series’ label. To date, an off-dry Muscat designed to partner with different forms of Chinese cuisine promises potential. Grace Vineyard, especially in its 2006 and 2008 vintages, is also going from strength to strength and has recently opened a Beijing wine club with other wineries planned in other Chinese regions.
So, at the risk of speculation, what does the future hold? Will the Lafite-CITIC wine be able to sell on name and association alone? It’s worth bearing in mind that, for better or worse, a lot of wines are sold in this way in many a country besides China. But judging by the quality of what DBR Lafite has produced in other parts of the world, the DBR side of the equation is unlikely to be happy with an underperforming wine (in quality terms). True, CITIC probably doesn’t have to worry from competition from local producers in the form of Great Wall, Dynasty or Changyu now they have Lafite on their side. But the distribution and sale of the wine, of course, remain to be seen.
A final thought: if this ‘Chinese Grand Cru’ is anything like young red Bordeaux, what kind or kinds of Chinese cuisine will it suit? Red Bordeaux generally needs considerable bottle-age to match well with certain Chinese dishes (e.g. certain Cantonese classics or the lighter dishes of Huaiyang cuisine). But whatever the scenario, I hope this new venture produces a Chinese wine in the best sense of that phrase.
Josh Hermsmeyer, the guy behind the must read Pinotblogger site, has issued a challenge to all wine bloggers and will reward the winner with a prize of up to $1,000 depending upon how many respond to his call. In a nutshell, he is asking us to answer two questions:
Why are you passionate about wine/what motivates you to blog about it?
Is it appropriate for a wine reviewer to prescribe the ways in which a wine should be made or is their job chiefly to review what?s in the bottle?
Times being what they are, I will attempt to answer these somewhat provocative questions and perhaps give you some more insight into what makes amateur wine writers tick. Or at least how I come at this craft.
So the first question is pretty straightforward. I blog and podcast about wine because I can and like to do so. Like a lot of wine bloggers, I was the guy everyone asked for wine tips so I found it easier to just write them down and record reviews. Now I just point people here for my picks as opposed to trying to remember them at will. My podcasting got me into blogging due to the same software being used (Wordpress). It was easy to blog so I did so soon after I started to podcast in late 2004. I got into podcasting after something clicked with me in September of 2004 when I first discovered the genre. At the time there was something like 25 podcasts but no one was doing anything about wine so Winecast was born. Over the years the podcast has ebbed and flowed but I still will be posting shows and continuing until I don’t find it enjoyable. So I guess I do this because I love wine and like sharing what little I know about it. I had much the same answer a couple years back but with a slightly different spin.
The second question is a bit more complicated. I think Josh is asking this in response to Robert Parker’s recent statements about wine bloggers (or shall I say “blobbers”?). Mr. Parker has long been accused of influencing winemaking styles in order to garner higher scores which many times leads to more demand and higher prices. The biggest beneficiaries of his ratings has been the classified growths of Bordeaux but some Cali cult wines and Aussie Shiraz has benefited, too. And I don’t blame any producers for making such changes in order to get the scores. It helps sell their wine but is also something that I hope we will get away from in the next decade as Mr. Parker retires and drinks down his cellar.
Wine writers of any level should tell the story of the wine they are reviewing and not dictate what that story should be. Sometimes this is a terroir story, sometimes it’s not. For a review to communicate the essence of the wine, as much context as possible is required. I’ve not delivered on this ideal as much as I would have liked in the past but hope to help invent the new language of wine reviews going forward. We’ll see.
In the meantime, I’ll keep trying new things to communicate how a wine moves me. Wine is a living being that is in constant change. Those of us who write about it should respect this and attempt to bring all the nuances displayed in the glass into our writing.
I found a really great site for custom wine racks. I found wineracks.com and I absolutely cannot decide which design I like best. They have a selection of smaller capacity wine racks that can store three to forty eight bottles of wine.
Wineracks.com has wine racks in both wood and metal. I?ve found several that suit my current needs and several that I wish my needs would suit! Some of the different styles are just simple stackable racks that assemble without tools. There are other wine racks that are elegant, solid oak racks with tabletop and stemware storage.
The twelve bottle modular wine racks are made of pine and can be configured in many different ways. There are kits available to add and expand these wine racks. Wineracks.com has this item listed for $22.50.
The Cha Cha Wine Racks sold by wineracks.com are made of colored plastic. They snap together with clips and come in four colors. The colors that the components for these wine racks come in are orange, light blue, green and white. Each color is sold separately for $22.50.
I was particularly taken with the Lisbon wall wine racks. They are black wooden wine racks that hold both bottles and stemware. Wineracks.com has the Lisbon wall wine racks listed for $69.00.
I am pretty sure that I do not want the Accordia wine racks that wineracks.com have for sale. My mother had one that looked like this when I was growing up and I always thought that it was ugly. I much prefer any other style.
The Bali fifteen bottle wine racks were inspired by contemporary Indonesian style. I like the wavy look of these wine racks. The price for the Bali wine racks is $96.00. These come in a natural color. There are also twelve bottle Bali wine racks that are $72.00 in either crimson color or black.
I do believe that my favorite wine racks have to be the cellar cubes. Wineracks.com has the cellar cubes in both unfinished Pine and Mahogany. The Mahogany cellar cubes sell for $59.95 and the Pine cellar cubes sell for $34.95. These wine racks require simple assembly and the holes are pre-drilled and the hardware is provided.
A few weeks ago, when organizing the London Food and Wine Blogger’s Gathering, I was asked whether Henrietta Lovell, owner of the Rare Tea Company, would be able to conduct a tea tasting during the wine tasting. My first reaction was that of astonishment, wondering who in their right mind would want to sip on a hot bitter tea after a glass of cava and before a sip of sherry? Wouldn’t that be rather, off setting? But the request continued to suggest that the tea tasting would teach us the subtle qualities of good tea, and its capacity to cleanse the palate, leaving your mouth feeling refreshed and invigorated, as if nothing had ever touched your palate previously. Clearly, I couldn’t say no.
Not surprisingly, the tea did exactly as promoted. Having enjoyed a big, bold Tempranillo from Rioja and a thick slice of Camembert cheese, I was a little astonished to find that the luke warm paper sippy cup filled with a light, herbal smelling green tea literally washed my palate clean. So clean, that when I purposefully filled my glass with a German Reisling, it was if the gripping tannins of the Tempranillo that previously wrestled with my tongue into submission not 2 minutes earlier, had never existed.
I admit that I am rather addicted to Henrietta’s teas. Having quit coffee not 1 month ago, I now wake up and savor a pot of her green tea every morning. But it was Henrietta’s passion when talking about tea and its relationship to wine that truly piqued my curiosity. And if it piqued my curiosity, I had faith it would incite yours as well. So today, I bring you a short interview with Henrietta Lovell, and thank her for taking the time, after her whirlwind trip to Malawi, to answer my questions.
1. How did your incredible passion for tea grow?
I used to work in financial print- not the zenith of excitement- but it did take me round the world. Working in Asia I was privileged to be ‘wined and dined’ by clients and in China that often meant tea. They are extremely proud of their teas which have been cultivated for around 5000 years. Instead of buying an expensive wine to impress a guest they would think nothing of ordering a $100 pot of tea. That might seem extraordinary but so was the tea.
Coming from a proud tea drinking nation I was so often stunned by the incredible complexity and variety of teas from around the world that just weren’t available at home. I began to realise that we only knew one kind of tea- mass produced, industrial black tea. What was worse was the low quality green tea the unsuspecting consumer was being fobbed off with. Interest peaked in green teas because of the health benefits of less processed teas but the UK consumer has been lead to believe that it must be a bitter brew for the virtuous because they had no access to the delights of the good stuff. Over and over again I meet people who say they don’t like green tea only for them to dry a decent one and be immediately won over.
You can buy tea for pennies a kilo and thousands of pounds. I realised that BIG TEA was all about margins and volume and both the farmer and the consumer were getting a bad deal.
2. What makes the Rare Tea Company so “rare” or “unique”?
I started Rare Tea to cause a revolution- to give people access to the very best teas they had been missing out on. Not just tea connoisseurs but every day tea drinker’s. I didn’t want to put people off with complicated names and a vast array from the mediocre to the good. I offer a small selection of the best. I’ve traveled the world seeking out the finest so that my customers don’t have to be experts to enjoy good tea. Hopefully people will trust me and branch out into new worlds of flavour. I source all the teas myself and work directly with small farmers.
What is rare is that I am not looking for vast volumes so I can work directly with small farmers and craftsman. I don’t buy from a faceless tea-broker. I’m not looking for massive margins and I can pay my farmers what they need to craft their tea.
3. Where do your teas come from, and what is the deciding factor in choosing which teas to carry?
Flavour. It has to taste good. There are terroirs for tea just as there are for wine. The finest White Silver Tip Tea, for example, is found near the small town on Fuding in the Fujian mountains of China. Just like champagne the tea differs from farm to farm depending on varietal uses, soil, rainfall, growing methods, harvesting and production. Teas may have the same name and come from the same place but they are not all equal. I look for the best flavour.
However, its not always that simple. The environmental impact and conditions on the farm are also important. I just got back from Malawi where I’m working with a farm that is doing amazing things to help the local communities as well as protect the delicate ecosystem.
4. At the tasting, your eyes literally sparkled with excitement when sharing each of the tea’s unique aroma, color and flavor. As a wine lover, can I transfer any of skills I use to appreciate a wine to the way I might appreciate a tea?
All of them. A tea tasting is very much like a wine tasting. The aroma comes first. You suck in as much oxygen with each sip as possible and roll the tea around your mouth, Unless you want to be awake for a week you must spit which is just as hard when you’re tasting gorgeous teas as it is when tasting fabulous wines.
There are as many different teas in the world as there are wines- maybe more. The tastes are just as fabulously complex and diverse. One of my first advocates was the Sommelier Katie Exton from Chez Bruce, in London. From her I realised that people who were interested in wine were fascinated by flavour and easy to win over with their first taste of the good stuff.
5. Wine has very specific way in which it should be cared for, depending on the specific style of wine. Are there specific ways we should care for a tea in both its storage and preparation?
Yes- most teas are very sensitive to light and air. They really should be kept cool and dark and most importantly airtight.
When making good tea the leaf to water ratio is crucial. It is best to measure a teaspoon of tea per cup and infuse for about 3 minutes. Pour all the infused tea leaving the leaves dry (not steeping) in the bottom of the pot. It’s a bit like taking a steak out of the frying pan when it is cooked to perfection. The leaves can then be re-infused several times revealing different subtleties of flavour. This can’t be done with cheap tea-bag teas because the tiny particles have a massive surface area and give up their flavour straight away like floosies.
6. Like wine, there are high quality teas and low quality teas. Are there specific signs we can look for when searching for a high quality tea?
If it comes in a paper box, and inside are bags, the people who made it don’t care about it. The tea will be stale before you open it. It’s like leaving a fino sherry in a decanter or wine without a cork.
The best teas come from whole or large pieces of leaf- these need room to unfurl as they infuse so they are always better loose. Cramped in a tea-bag whatever shape or material- even the best tea wont be at its best.
Like wine you get what you pay for. If it costs 99p there is a reason and you can be sure they have compromised on taste.
If the tea is full of herbs, flowers and flavourings its generally because the tea itself is no good.
7. In a wine tasting, you showed us that tea can be used to cleanse the palate? Are there specific teas we should use for white wines, heavier red wines, sparkling wines, fortified wines, sweet wines, etc.? Or is there a tea that is essentially, the jack of all traits in cleansing the palate?
Oolong is the most flexible. Good oolong has such depth of flavour it can stand up beside the richest reds but is subtle enough to work with delicate white.
Generally I would suggest using whole leaf green teas with white wines. With softer red you need a good oolong and as you move into really full bodied reds the best pairing is a rich black tea like the malty caramel of Emperor’s Breakfast.
The important thing to remember is the first sip of tea is overwhelmed by the residual wine in you pallet. It is the second sip that the flavours are revealed.
8. What is the number 1 misconception you come across with people’s perceptions of tea?
That tea needs milk and sugar to make it palatable. The good stuff is delicious on its own. I’m not saying you must drink it black or that its sacrilege to add sugar but that it is GOOD on its own. This is not true of industrial teas, of course.
Second misconception: Tea is cheap. It can be made cheaply by vast agribusinesses so that our supermarkets can use it as a loss leader. But the good stuff needs to be crafted and what you pay for is a concentration on flavour rather than volume. If we were prepared to pay a bit more for our teas it would benefit not just us in terms of flavour but the small farmer.
9. If someone is conducting a wine tasting and would be interested in calling on your services to guide them through a wine and tea pairing, is this something you can offer?
Claro que si! [Which I assume she means, "Absolutely Gabriella, I would love nothing more than to infuse the masses with my undying passion for tea"...or something to that affect]
10. If we are interested in purchasing your teas, where can we find them?
Henrietta will also be conducting tea and wine tasting at The Taste of London. For more information, please contact Henrietta at henrietta.lovell@rareteacompany.com
This is a premium Montenegrin red wine made from the indigenous Vranac grape. The Reserve is produced from particulary good years, in small quantities, aged in barrels for several years. It is also aged in bottles for one year before being released to the market.
This is a dry wine, with a pleasant fruity nose. However, the impressions are far lower than it’s price. If you want to experience the Vranac variety the Montenegrin way, go for a regular Planta?e Vranac or their Vranac Pro Corde. They are much cheaper and the experience is almost the same.
Wines of the Vranac variety are produced throughout the region, apart from Montenegro, you can find them in Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Herzegovina.
Ingredients: 10-12 slices bacon, fried until crisp then crumbled 1 9" unsweetened pie shell (or make your own tart pastry) 4 eggs, beaten 2 cups cream or Half & Half 1 1/4 cups Swiss or Gruyere cheese, shredded 1/2 cup onion, chopped and sautéed (optional) 1 Tbs. unsalted butter 1/2 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. nutmeg 1/4 tsp. cayenne
Preparation: Preheat oven to 425°F. When oven is up to temperature, cook pie shell for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned on the inside. In the meantime, sauté chopped onion in butter until slightly softened. Drain on paper towel.
Combine the eggs, cream, salt, nutmeg and cayenne and whisk until well mixed (a food processor works well for this).
Remove pie shell from oven and distribute onion and crumbled bacon over the bottom. Sprinkle a layer of cheese over the onions and bacon, then carefully ladle the egg mixture over all.
Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 325°F and continue baking for another 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted halfway between the center and the edge comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.
Did I say normal service would be resumed? Well Friday evening’s bottle didn’t quite go to plan – it was horribly corked… (I hope tomorrow’s Mazis fares better!) a a corking corton
“You’re the prowler of the night to the beds of virgins, Oh God what powers you have to gain kindnesses from girls.†(Old Gaelic toast to whisky)
If any spirit sums up what spirits are about, it’s whisky. It adapts to where it’s made, who’s drinking it and why. It can be as sophisticated as high tea and as rough as three-day stubble. Sipped or slugged, it can inspire art or arson.
In a purely anthropological sense, whisky goes hand in hand with bread-eating cultures and climates. The process goes something like this: You grow grain, which you make into bread. You mill your grain and save a bit to sow for next year’s crop, but in the good seasons what do you do with the extra? Give it to the pigs? No way. You make whisky.
Irish Whiskey
What came first, the Irish predilection for drink or the drink itself? It’s a real chicken and egg scenario. Whatever the answer, the Irish did make whiskey first. Distilling had already been around in Ireland for a couple of hundred years when its first historical mention occurs. Apparently in 1276 Sir Robert Savage fortified his troops with “a mighty draught of uisce beatha (whiskey).†Irish whiskey began with the rural poor in Ireland, who probably preferred to drink than eat. These days there’s much more to the difference between Irish whiskey and Scottish whisky than the letter ‘e’.
It all comes down to quirks in production that are utterly Irish and devoid of logic. Although there’s a fair bit of peat in Ireland it was rarely used to dry the malted barley. Coal was preferred. This is the defining difference. That smokiness so apparent in Scottish whisky is not there. Without the smoke screen to mask the flavors, there’s a delicate perfume and a less masculine taste. The Irish also use raw barley as well as malted barley. This evolved not from any desire to make a better tasting whiskey but because there was a tax on malt.
Oats were used occasionally for the same reason. Irish whiskey is distilled three times (as opposed to the normal two) in larger than normal pot stills. The idiosyncrasies of pot stills and the extra distillation produce a uniquely delicate drink. Whiskey made this way is known as “pot still whiskey†and like Scotch is often blended with neutral-tasting grain whiskey.
Jameson, based in Dublin, is a blend of pot still and grain whiskey and sums up what Irish whiskey is all about. The classic Tullamore Dew got its name because its founder was Daniel E. Williams, initials D.E.W. It’s renowned for its lightness. Bushmills is the oldest surviving distillery in the world and is a little more malty than most Irish whiskeys.
Scottish Whisky
Whatever the Irish say, Scotland is the spiritual home of whisky. No other drink is so associated with one country. But until about 1840 ‘Scotch’ as we know it didn’t exist. In the early 19th century malt whisky production was booming. Licensed distilleries had jumped from 125 to 329. At the same time the continuous still was being developed. Invented by Aeneas Coffey (an Irishman!) and patented in 1830, it allowed for the bulk distillation of grain spirit. The blending of malt whisky and cheaper grain whisky from the Coffey stills was a logical step.
Scotch was born.
For the unadventurous it had the same appeal as McDonalds, processed cheese, fish fingers and instant coffee. Its success was guaranteed. Many malt distilleries shut down or operated only to produce blending components for Scotch. Until Glenfiddich decided to stick a toe in the export market in the 1960s, you couldn’t buy a single malt whisky outside Scotland. Thankfully malt whisky has made a comeback. If you’re into single malt you’ll want to taste everything, but here are a few suggestions: Talisker, Highland Park, Bowmore and Lagavulin.
American Whiskey
Whether they liked it or not, whiskey followed the Puritans to America. The Scottish and Irish emigrated too and brought with them a desire to drink and the means to make good that desire.
The defining thing about American whiskey is that it isn’t made from barley. Corn was indigenous to the U.S. and it was corn and rye that were used. No one can agree on when and by whom the first drinkable corn whiskey was distilled. Some say it was the Baptist preacher Elija Craig in 1789, others John Ritchie in 1777, and some Evan Williams in 1783. No matter, Kentucky soon became the state most famous for whiskey and racehorses.
The story here goes something like this. Thomas Jefferson, governor of Virginia at the time, offered 60 acres to any settler who built a permanent structure and grew corn. Sixty acres produces a lot of corn and the excess was turned into whiskey which was then shipped down the Mississippi to New Orleans and traded for Arab horses, which were then ridden up the Natchez trace back to Kentucky. Whiskey and racehorses often go together but rarely is the relationship so symbiotic.
To be called a bourbon, a whiskey need not be from Bourbon County but it must be at least 51 percent sour corn mash (most are about 70Ã90 percent, the balance being barley and rye) and aged for at least two years in charred, white oak barrels. Charring of the barrels is a crucial part of the process. Said to have been invented by the aforementioned Reverend Craig, the charring opens up the wood and brings out those vanilla and caramel flavors crucial to the bourbon style. Wild Turkey is a classic big bourbon available in a range of alcoholic strengths, while Woodford Reserve is a little more sophisticated and a good sipper.
Tennessee Whiskey is a corn whiskey but it differs from bourbon. It’s smoother and lighter, less sweet and heavy. The reason is charcoal filtering. Newly distilled clear spirit is dripped through a vat filled with finely ground charcoal. When people ask for Tennessee Whiskey they don’t, they ask for Jack Daniel’s.
As ever, language says more about the differences in whiskies than any amount of technical detail. In Ireland a person asks for a whiskey by brand name: “a Paddy†or “a Dunphy†or in rare cases generically as “a ball of malt.†In Scotland they’ll ask for a single malt by name as a dram, nip, tot or the affectionate “wee goldie.†Americans ask for a belt, blast or a slug. Each is a different drink drunk differently. They just happen to be all made in stills, all called whisk(e)y and all have that power to gain kindnesses from girls.
WHISKY
TERMS
* Single Malt Whisky - A term coined in the 1970s during the malt whisky revival, used to define the whisky of one distillery made with 100 percent malted barley.
* Scotch - A blended whisky made in Scotland.
* Irish Whiskey - Whiskey made in Ireland, normally a blend of pot still whiskey with malted barley and grain whiskey.
* Bourbon - An American whiskey with 51 percent or more corn mash aged for two years in charred oak barrels.
* Tennessee Whiskey - a whiskey with no specific grain criteria but normally made with corn mash and charcoal filtering.
If you?re interested in designing your own custom wine cellar there are a number of options available to you. The best news is that there are wine cellar designs for everyone from the avid do-it-yourselfer to the complete woodworking novice.
There are modular wine racks that are available in different grains and finishes, with the least expensive generally being a wood such as pine. Most modular wine rack dealers will offer other materials such as red cedar or finished wood as well. Of course you can always save some money and finish the wood yourself if you desire a particular type of finish or color for your wine cellar racks.
There are many wine racking companies that offer crown molding and skirting pieces so that you can easily combine different styles of wine cellar racking materials and types. This approach can yield some very unique custom wine cellar designs.
There are built in glass racks that are made to fit snugly within a rack system. A good place for one of these individual units would be above the table top piece mentioned above. This would add to the ambience as well as functionality of your custom modular wine racking system.
If you want something a little different than the traditional wood wine cellar racks, there are attractive metal trellis rack pieces that are very economical, yet stylish. These tend to look classier than the wood modular wine racking pieces, especially for placement in bar areas that will be viewed by visitors.
If you would like to add a table area to your wine cellar while increasing the storage capacity of your cellar at the same time, a wine bin table may be the best addition to your modular racking system. There are taller, wine tasting tables that hold just over 100 bottles or about 180 bottles of wine, and there are shorter wine rack tables that hold more than 200 wine bottles in case bins.
There are many online dealers and manufacturers of wine cellar racking pieces that also offer custom computer design services to help you achieve the exact wine cellar layout that you have in mine. With many of these professional services you can then have the plans sent to you and decide if you will build them yourself or have someone else build them for you.
With all of the wine cellar design options available to you, there are many ways to accomplish the perfect wine cellar design for you and your situation. There are many wine enthusiasts online communities and the like where you can find others interested in the same things that you are and maybe gain some other ideas about wine cellars and the design aspect of creating your own wine cellar.
This time of year the wine lover is inundated with T-day wine recommendations..."German Riesling is perfect with turkey"...."A Beaujolais is a sure bet on Thanksgiving"...."Burgundy, both red and white are ideal on your Thanksgiving".....etc. etc.
I for one am tired of staid poultry & stuffing wine pairing suggestions.
How about something different to eat and drink on Friday - the day after turkey day? May I suggest a Vermentino, not from the sardinian coast, but from Lodi, California. Who knew the California version of this hefty-spicy-herby-citrusy grape could be so true to its Italian roots? After racking up mo' mo' credit card debt on Friday, take the edge of with a plate of turkey enchiladas paired to Uvaggio Vermentino 2006 ($10). It will be the best wine-food match you will sample all week.
For sure it’s cheaper than the previous Puligny, but is it me – or does ?75,000 sound rather a lot for 0.4 of an acre? Anyway: 3,94 ouvrées plantées en cépage Pinot Noir Age de la vigne : environ 40 ans Situation : Belle exposition sud-est Vigne présentant un bel état général Good luck with your bids! a beaune 1er les cents vignes [...]
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)
After uncorking a bottle and enjoying the wine, probably most people throw the cork in the trash. Certainly there’s worse waste: It’s not as if there are junkyards full of corks, and since they are the bark of oak trees, they are biodegradable. But surely we can do better than simply throw them away. Here are ten ideas!
1. Kicking things off, consider this gorgeous “bowling ball” from Minnesota artist Jan Elftmann. We’ll come back to her at the end, but this is a good one to get things, er, rolling.
2. The wall o’ corks as you may remember from the 15,000 cork wall at Frankly Wine, a Manhattan wine shop
3. The cork vase: easy and can bring back some wine memories. As seen here at Pottery Barn. (Where we saved you $14 last year!)
4. Exquisite miniatures emerge from the Design Within Reach annual contest: the foil, capsule, wire, and cork from two Champagne corks to make a chair. Behold this year’s judge’s choice (and previous winners):
5. Recycle! A sustainable building firm in Missouri will collect corks to recondition into building materials: Since 2004, wine consumers have mailed in 1.5 tons of corks (approximately 400,000). Amorim, the large cork producer from Portugal, has also started a program called “Recork America” that may reconstitute wine corks into flooring and bulletin boards. There are drop points at some wineries and Whole Foods locations. But since flooring is boring to look at (except when serving as the background for this web site), here’s a picture of the cork cover for the iPhone!
6. Tip out a clock: similar to the popular cork wreath but a little more sleek and stylish. This one’s available for purchase at Etsy.
7. A trivet/hot plate pad or cork bulletin board. Classic yet practical–as well as actually feasible.
9. Make a cork castle, such as this one in a wine shop window in Chicago’s Lincoln Square. And why not put Obama there? ChiBart
10. A chair made of 3,000 corks. Click through to the Gabriel Wiese gallery for many more styles…
11–BONUS! But the person we all need to emulate for cork artistry is clearly Jan Elftmann. In over 20 years, she has collected 50,000 corks. Perhaps her piece de resistence is her truck, which is covered in 10,000 corks. She also had a display of her Cork Bowling Alley at the Minneapolis Institute of Art click through to her site for videos and more of her art.
So what are you waiting for? Start uncorking your favorite wines! Or check out corks for sale on EBay. What do you do with your leftover corks?
Someone asked on a previous post on Valencian cava whether the wines mentioned were available in the UK. I had a quick look and drew a blank. This set me thinking. I travel to the UK fairly frequently, and I generally return with a few English wines to give to friends and to keep in reserve to surprise those that still scoff at the notion of wines from Britain. One of the joys of doing this is, of course, that it is not possible - at least as far as I know - to buy English wines in Valencia, or anywhere else much. Even in England, the last time I asked, Oddbins wasn’t offering a single English wine. Apart from the quality of the wine itself, I feel as if I’m handing over something rare and of special interest. I assume there’s no need to go into detail about all the excitement about developments in English wine - if more information is needed, here’s “Raise your glass to the great grapes of Britain” and “Wine lovers of Britain rejoice“. There’s even a brand new vineyard in London at Forty Hall.
Naturally, there is a lot more Spanish wine in the UK than the other way around, but even so, it is often hard to find wines that are outside the mainstream. Such is life, and then the challenge is to track them down. As I wrote in my reply to the comment on Valencian wine, my first port of call is the normally www.wine-searcher.com (free version as yet, rather than the “Pro Version” which I’m saving up for), where you just put in the name of the wine and the country you’re looking for it in, and out comes all sorts of information. For example, Andrew Chapman, the designer of the cover of “Valencia Land of Wine” is someone I’ve worked with a fair bit over the years. For this particular job, he suggested part payment in wine, which I thought showed both discernment and commitment to the project.But how to get Valencian wines to him down in Brighton?
By great good fortune, wine-searcher.com came up with Cooden Cellars a couple of times when I looked for wines mentioned in the book, and they happened to be very close to Brighton, in Eastbourne just down the road, and even to deliver free there. I promptly made an order comprising three bottles of “Les Alcusses” (DO Valencia, from the southerly Clariano subzone, an intense blend of monastrell, syrah, merlot, cabernet sauvignon and tempranillo - GBP7.13 each in early 2008), the second wine of Pablo Calatayud’s Celler del Roure, whose star wine “Maduresa” was instrumental in convincing smart Valencians to drink their own wines. There followed two bottles from Bodega Mustiguillo “Mestizaje” (50% bobal, plus tempranillo, syrah, cabernet sauvignon and merlot, GBP10.50), another apparently overexuberant blend that just happens to work a treat, and which I’ve mentioned before, and at twice the price their sleeker and more sedate “Finca Terrerazo” (70% bobal, 25% tempranillo, 5% cabernenet sauvignon, GBP21.50). Then a couple of bottles of Rozaleme from Utiel-Requena (70% bobal and 30% tempranillo), not bad going for Eastbourne to have a bobal blend, and a good value at GBP6.50 each) and a bottle of Sequiot (cabernet sauvignon, tempranillo from Vinos de la Viña in DO Valencia, a wine I’ve yet to try. Finally, just to show that I’m not entirely limited to Valencian wines I threw in a bottle of Emilio Lustau’s Don Nuno Dry Oloroso (GBP5.95). Funnily enough, Andrew’s reply mentioned that he’d been a fan of “Les Alcusses” from his own local off-licence for ages, without ever realising before that it was from the Valencia region.
Looking through wine-searcher.com across all countries, it’s good to see that there are plenty of wines from the Valencia DOs out there in the USA, Germany, UK and elsewhere. I’m guessing that it will still be a while before I can order English wines from the comfort of my armchair for my friends outside the UK. I’ll keep trying, though.
Going against the better advice of my high school English and sex education teachers, this story starts with the climax. For anyone involved in wine, the three months from the end of August until the end of November are both the most exciting and the most frightening of the year. These three months dictate the final say in whether you happily learn that your wines will be served at the White House or whether you become the largest vinegar producer in your neighborhood. These are months of 60- to 80-hour work weeks (and many times more) that on one hand require complete control of the environment around you and on the other hand require you to give in completely to the whims of nature. These are months where all thoughts of family and friends dim in an ever growing purple haze as your sleep deprived mind attempts to reconcile the hundreds or thousands of details that'll make or break the next year of your life. This is Crush.
More specifically this is my accounting of Crush for David Coffaro Vineyards and Winery. This vineyard/winery is owned and operated by (take a big guess here) David Coffaro and I'm his assistant winemaker (i.e. only employee). This is the inside scoop of what we have to do in order to put a prime bottle of vino on your table. David Coffaro Vineyard and Winery consists of 20 acres of grapes that Dave planted in 1979 and a winery building that he's been operating since 1994. We make wines that are big and red; zinfandel, petite sirah, carignane, an "Estate Cuvee" (a blend of the previous grapes plus cabernet sauvignon) and a "Neighbors Cuvee" (our only non-estate wine whose blend changes from year to year). Like a sandblaster to Tammy Faye Baker's face, I hope to strip away the layers of overglamorized marketing rhetoric and highlight the best advice I ever got about becoming a winemaker -- "Don't do it!"
The excitement of crush takes place on two separate but intertwined stages that seem to spin and twist in independent motion. The first of these stages is the vineyard. The 20 acres of vines we grow is minuscule by industry standards (There are certainly vineyards that are smaller but we are definitely of the side of pretty-darn-tiny). The first job we have in the vineyard is to wait for the grapes to turn from a rather pretty translucent pink color into an intense dark purple/black color. This process is called veraison. Once the color changes we're in the picking ballpark and ready to play the game. The second step is doing a large amount of grape sampling from each block of vines. It's amazing how grapes will vary from one small block to another, even if they're only 10-100 feet away. For about a month before the actual harvest, my job is to pick a representative sampling of all the grapes we grow and monitor them for sugar content. In general we're looking for a level of 24 to 25 percent sugar, which we measure as 24 to 25 degrees Brix.
The Brix reading is only the second stage however. Knowing the sugar level lets you know the technical ripeness of the grapes but not their actual flavors. Somewhere in the early to mid-twenties (sugar level), grapes go through an incredible change of flavors that ultimately add to the complexity of flavors in the finished wine. This change can only be determined by tasting the grapes themselves. So during the final week before harvest Dave and I walk through every block and randomly snack on grapes to make sure they have the flavors we want. If the sugars are perfect but the flavors aren't there then we simply wait until they develop before picking. Once they do, Whamo!, it's time to wake up really damn early and pick some grapes!
Harvesting grapes is a demanding and sticky job. The grapes are about 25 percent sugar and as the workers dump their picking tubs into the half-tons bins, grape juice splashes everywhere. It's well worth the effort, however, because I get to drive a really cool tractor. Once the half-ton bins are full they are driven to the winery and weighed. From there they're taken, by forklift, into the winery and the grapes are put through a machine called a crusher/destemmer. Now, agricultural machine manufacturers are not very creative when it comes to naming their equipment. When I say we dump the grapes into a crusher/destemmer you can be well assured that the machine will probably crush (lightly) the grapes and destem then, doing very little if anything else. We then pump the destemmed/crushed grapes (a.k.a. "must") into a one-ton bin (again, no big guess on how much it holds). The must is then inoculated with yeast and the transformation into wine begins. [As a side note I should mention that this is specifically the process for making red wine. White wine is processed in a similar but distinctly different manner. I'll get into the whites later.]
The addition of yeast is technically a winemaking choice and not a requirement. Native yeasts, which accumulated on the grape skins in the vineyard, will naturally transform the grapes into wine. But most winemakers don't trust these native yeast strains for the same reason you don't let your crazy cousin Leroy baby-sit your kids -- you just don't know what might happen and, even though the results might be fine, it's just not worth taking the chance. Yeast contribute four things to the winemaking process: heat, alcohol carbon dioxide (CO2) and sulfites. The heat and alcohol produced make it possible to adequately extract the flavors and characteristics from the grape skins (almost all of the character and all of the color of red wine comes from the skins being broken down). Alcohol acts as a solvent that extracts organic compounds in the grape skins and the heat aids in and speeds up the chemical reaction involved in fermentation.
The CO2 has a separate and interesting effect on the fermenting grape skins. As the CO2 is released by the yeast cells it catches in the grape skins and causes them to float to the surface of the fermentation bins. This forms a solid layer of covering the top of the bins like ice on a lake. This layer is called the "cap" and can get so thick in larger tanks that a full-grown person can walk across it without falling through. The cap, however, presents a small problem. Since most of red wine's character comes from the skins, having them separate from the juice during fermentation can be bad. This small problem is solved by either "punching down" or "pumping over" your bins or tanks. Punching down involves taking a stick-like device (a 2x4, garden hoe, etc.) and breaking up the cap while at the same time mixing it with the juice. Pumping over involves hooking up a pump to the bottom of the tank and pumping the juice over the top of the cap. These actions insure that the grape skins have enough opportunity to breakdown into the wine.
We monitor the fermenting bins at Coffaro constantly and record the residual sugar levels and temperatures at least once a day. When our measurements show that there's one percent sugar or less left in the wine we prepare the press. We use what's called a bladder Press (For $200, what item is inside this press?). The bladder press is a long cylinder made up of a perforated screen. We pump the fermented juice and skins into the press and rotate it while inflating the internal bladder. This is such an efficient form of pressing that when we remove the grape skins -- the squeeze-dried skins is now called pomace -- they are dry, warm and flaky. They serve no real further purpose and are dumped back into the vineyard as fertilizer.
The pressed wine is pumped from the press into a selection of barrels that we've pre-chosen dependent on the wine varietal and individual character it exhibits. At Coffaro we use six to 10 different cooperages, with barrels ranging from American, French and Hungarian oak. However, this doesn't mean we make "oaky" wine. Barrels serve two general purposes; the first is storage and aging; the second is imparting flavor. Barrels only contribute oak flavors to wine for the first two-to-three years of their life, then, after that, are considered "neutral." As storage containers they can be used for decades with the proper care. So, although all of our wines are barrel aged, we only use 20-25 percent new oak to contribute delicate oak flavors. (This percentage varies from winery to winery. Some use as much as 100 percent new oak, some don't use any depending on the varietals grown and the style of wine preferred by the winemaker.
Once the wine is in the barrel we inoculate it with a malo-lactic starter. All red wines and most whites go through a process called malo-lactic fermentation (ML). ML is a bacterial process that changes the malic acid that's naturally found in wine (it's the same acid that makes green apples taste tart) and changes it into lactic acid (the same acid found in milk). This process makes reds more chemically stable, and for white wines it adds flavor (i.e. that "buttery" flavor in most chardonnays). Now that this is done both the wine and the winemakers get a chance to take a short break and recuperate before it's time to start the whole process over again.
Next time we'll learn why they call cellar workers "rats."
Check out Brendan's "Harvest Diary -- A week in the life of Crush at David Coffaro Winery" at http://www.coffaro.com.
Orogeny Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2004 $22 Rabbi Tuchman says: We were invited to a friends house for lobster on Father’s day. Yeah, it’s a tough gig. Since we tend to drink more red wine, it was my mission to pick up some Chardonnay while I was out shopping for the meal. I tend to struggle [...]
What are your views on biodynamics? For me I can appreciate the beliefs and thoughts behind the practise, especially after chatting to such converts as Rudiger Gretcher, winemaker at Boekenhoustskloof, South Africa. For the general consumer however the 'ideas' appear as little more than 'hippy talk' or, at worse, just add to the mysticism and impenetrability of wine as a whole.
A survey by Berry Bros. & Rudd backs this up as only 15% of drinkers would buy a wine purely because of its biodynamic (or organic) certification. The environmental impact of wine production is rarely a concern for wine lovers.
As the Berry Bros. survey finds the root of this is a lack of understanding - with six in ten (57%) wine buffs saying they'd buy more biodynamic wine if they understood how it was grown.
"In light of the fact that many wine lovers remain in the dark about biodynamic and organic wine production, with many respondents citing biodynamic methods as 'mysticism', Berry Bros. & Rudd is launching 'Wine Matters', an initiative to dispel biodynamic myths and encourage wine enthusiasts to have their say on how the wine they buy is produced.
The initiative, at bbrblog.com/category/wine-matters, is an interactive platform for debate with a series of topics and discussions from Berrys' Masters of Wine and industry experts, including a post from Jasper Morris MW, asking: 'Biodynamics: Do we believe?'
Morris comments: "Our number one concern as a business is selling the very best quality wine and we are increasingly seeing that biodynamic production methods, given the stringent attention to detail required by producers, result in better quality wine. We want to share this knowledge with our customers and let them know where their wine has come from and how it has been made."
Berry's will be inviting guest bloggers each week to join the debate including biodynamic wine producer from Rhône, Montirius, and Gavin Partington from The Wine and Spirit Trade Association."
Visit Wine Matters to have your say on biodynamic wine production and learn more about biodynamic viticulture methods.
Berry Bros. & Rudd will also be inviting wine lovers to come to the Berrys' Factory Outlet, in BasingBerry'sstoke, for a complementary biodynamic wine tasting on 5th and 6th June and are including an organic or biodynamic wine in Wine Club cases going out to over a thousand members.
My wife has a saying, something along the lines of, “Don’t Boo my Wow.” She likes to convey the equivalency of “Don’t Rain on My Parade” particularly when my sunshiny and warming brand of pragmatic idealism dances the fine line of disdain.
Depending on the perspective, it happens either very seldom (my perspective) or all the time (her perspective).
Understanding that, I hate to be a party pooper, but “wow” am I experiencing Murphy-Goode fatigue.
This program has officially turned into the boorish, loud-talker at the cocktail party that goes on for an hour talking about their boy-genius 1st grader, but fails to ask you your name.
Is this Murphy-Goode thing a promotional earned media opportunity or a genuine social media engagement program?
I honestly can’t tell which it is.
Murphy-Goode has gotten so much ongoing, persistent press out of this deal it almost obscures the fact that some really good, really talented people genuinely want the opportunity to work for them.
It’s almost like the Super Bowl when you realize on that early February Sunday that, yes, besides the hype and the commercials, there is actually a game to play.
And, in playing this game, the Murphy-Goode winner has to relocate, effectively leave their existing life and earn good money (not great money) for a six month temporary gig.
At the end of the day, it’s presented as a temp. job.
I dunno. Maybe I just don’t have enough vision for how that six month gig might parlay itself into something better. Maybe I’m not in tune enough with the zeitgeist that makes this so newsworthy.
And now VinTank layers on by offering $100K worth of pro bono consulting. To be fair, I like Paul Mabray from VinTank, I used to work with him, and I think he is a classic entrepreneur – he has a vision for things that are still 250 miles away and very, very hazy for people until much closer to the destination.
That said, Paul is also a born marketer who knows when to catch a wave and when to beg-off on snaking a wave.
He also doesn’t shrink from a dissenting viewpoint which is why I don’t have a problem calling “bullshit” on the consulting offer, his catching a wave, so to speak.
I’d rather see him offer $10K of pro bono consulting to 10 wineries then to pile on this Murphy-Goode media reach-around. It shouldn’t be hard – Paul can check out his Twitter followers for wineries that don’t also have a blog and/or a Facebook fan page, those that are toe-dipping and not fully engaged, and really help them grow a focused presence based on some actionable planning and in doing so measure their mindshare and sales increase.
That would be genuinely helpful to the wine industry, spreading the seeds of positive progress. It also helps build measurable case studies which the wine industry desperately needs, with many wineries adopting Missouri’s unofficial state motto for most things.
Maybe it’s appealing to me because I love Barolo but only get to drink it every full moon during a leap year. Maybe it’s because the opportunity to penetrate the secret society of high-end collectors while acting as the equivalent of a trusted financial advisor is fascinating to me. Regardless, Italian Wine Merchants (who didn’t respond to several inquiries for comment on the job posting) seems to have a good opportunity, natch, a great opportunity for the right candidate.
To boot, it’s a permanent position with openings in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Connecticut, Seattle, Dallas, Houston, Washington DC, Hong Kong, Mexico City and London. So, it’s in a neighborhood near you.
They are looking for (according to the job posting):
Ambitious, self-motivated and industrious sales professionals. The successful candidate will have a proven record of success in fine wine, luxury goods, wealth management, financial trading or exclusive real estate sales. The candidate will be responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with high net worth individuals, while simultaneously managing a portfolio of fine wines and other luxury products and bringing them successfully to market.
With the following attributes (edited):
• Highly motivated individual; thrives in a competitive environment
• Active learner with initiative, drive and salesmanship
• Demonstrated professional demeanor
• Refined communication skills, both over-the-phone and face-to-face
• Strong knowledge of, or interest in the fine wine industry
• Experience making phone/face-to-face sales calls (cold calls included)
• Capacity to work with a client base of high net worth individuals and to grow that client base
• Ability to identify high-level clients from large lists of leads
• Strong presentation skills to both small and large groups (20 — 100 people)
• Ability to formulate, present and implement selling plans and work within a CRM system
You can tell from the job posting that this is a serious job, for serious candidates, with the opportunity to make serious money, while being immersed in the wine business. The previous job history they are looking for in a candidate virtually ensures a six-figure income opportunity.
Call me crazy, call me Shirley, call me whatever you want, but the longer this Murphy-Goode thing goes on with the stroking of the press, and the candidates inducing themselves into a Darwinian game of social media chess, the more my skepticism (and my empathy for the participants) increases.
They won’t be a social media consultant, they’ll be a monkey in a Twitter zoo.
If the 500 or so Murphy-Goode candidates are serious about a career in wine, the opportunities exist for a really goode permanent job, no gimmicks attached.
Rkatsiteli is a new grape to me and I suspect that's true for many of you reading this post. It's the kind of grape that has us all channeling our inner wine geek and scurrying to dig out our Oxford Companion to Wine.
When you find your reference books, you'll discover that Rkatsiteli (pronounced "rkah-tsee-tely") is widely planted in eastern Europe, especially in places like Georgia, Bulgaria, and the Ukraine. In Russia, they make fortified wines (akin to Sherry) from the grape, and even turn it into brandy.
So how did it get to the Sierra Foothills, which is where the bottling I tasted came from? Rob and Marilyn Chrisman of Avanguardia Wines like relatively unknown and untrodden grapes even more than I do and have specialized in growing and making wine from them since 2004. Avanguardia grows Italian, French, Russian, and University of California crosses like Refosco, Peverella, Forestera, and Rkatsiteli. Some indication of their independent spirit can be seen in this statement from their web site: "As California wines go, our wines are somewhat atypical: we don't produce high alcohol wines, we don't like 'fruit bombs'. Only subtle oak is OK. Acidity is higher than most in order make them food friendly. Balance is everything here at Avanguardia." I've had two of their wines (so far) and they are terrific value and some of the most interesting wine I've had from my home state, so check them out if you're in need of spicing up your cellar.
The 2006 Avanguardia Cristallo I tasted recently is made with around 85% Rkatsiteli, with the remainder of the juice coming from Pinot Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Melon de Bourgogne. (available direct from the winery for $14) With nothing to compare it to in terms of varietal characteristics, I have to say that whether it is "correct" or not I really liked this wine. It smelled of fresh shucked corn--green and creamy at the same time. The palate is creamy, too, but it retains its herbal acidity and freshness, with grassy and floral notes. If you like your wines fresh and zesty, you will think this is a very good QPR pick. If you like your wines fresh, zesty AND geeky (as I do), you will think it has excellent QPR.
With your Rkatsiteli, I'd suggest some grilled fish. We had it with grilled halibut with a roasted pepper relish and some green beans with basil. The fresh, creaminess of the fish was a nice pairing for the creamy aspects of the wine, and the wine's herbaceousness accented the roasted peppers.
Calling all Rkatsiteli lovers: tell me your experiences with the grape in the comments below. Let's get a Rkatsiteli fan club going, ok?
Full Disclosure: I received this wine as a sample.
From popular wine reviewer "Dr. Debs" at Good Wine Under $20: "In the spirit of the New Year, a group of bloggers decided to start an online Wine Book Club. Many of us want to read more--hands up if you've got a stack of books sitting on your bedside table with an inch of dust on them . . ." The first bi-monthly book is Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy, and the discussion will be hosted by Philadelphia retailer David McDuff at McDuff's Food and Wine Trail.
I?m in Austin this week and enjoying the company of people who are really interested in wine, even Italian wine. Business here seems to be revving up and after a day with a producer from Montalcino, the reception has been, well, humbling.
I say this because we are just beginning to get into the 2004 Brunellos after what has seemed to be one of the longest years of selling a vintage. The vintage has been the 2003, which got hit by the perfect storm of a lesser than great vintage, the ?little problem? in Montalcino and the October 2008 world financial meltdown.
So the warehouses and shops and restaurants have an ample supply left of the 2003 Brunello. Pity, because today as we tasted the 2004 from Caparzo, I really felt sorry that a great vintage like the 2004 is suffering only because of the circumstances we have all found ourselves in.
What to do? Is the '03 Altesino Montosoli so terrible? Of course it isn?t, after all it is the sibling rival to Caparzo and Guido Orzalesi would tell anyone that the wine is sound and bonafide. By the times aren?t yet receptive. Or the ship has already sailed for the 2003. So, once again, what to do?
I would (and do) advise to simply take the hit and close them out. Now. Lesser wines are taking the hit. Dolcettos and Barberas are streaming through the wine bars having been discounted to ridiculously attractive levels, ones that even I would bite on. And I need no more wine in my closet.
In the case of the 2003 Brunellos if only to give the 2004 their time under the spotlight, even if it is only the life cycle of a drosophila.
Which leads me right into this question: Why is it the market seems to get so interested in Italian wine after it has been discounted to cost or below?
Really, three times in this month I have had wine buyers, somms and restaurant managers wax the glories of a particular wine or two. After the third one mentioned it, I started to wonder how wines like these got their legs so deep in the community. We?re talking Dolcetto and Barbera and from producers that are well known, Einaudi and Vietti. And let?s throw in the Fontodi Chianti Classico Riserva, too. I heard that one lately too, even though it probably is a residual memory serving only to try and diminish any of the legitimate attempts to sell Italian wine for what it is worth. More on this to come.
The Dolcetto. I saw it on a list Out West and thought, what the heck, seems like a good wine that someone bought and didn?t know what they had. It was lively. And then again, I saw it, in another fancy place. Ok, good, the wine buyers have sussed out a sleeper, and we all benefit from their acuity. Hoorah for us!
The Barbera. I started hearing about this little beauty from SB (somm-buddy) who comments on this site. I knew the place, went up to the estate in Castiglione Falletto back when the crust of the earth was cooling. I got it then, just stood up a bottle of their ?81 Nebbiolo to let the dust settle. Had first communion with Alfredo, OK? I get it.
And then the dirty little secret comes out. The wines were ?discounted?. Closed out. Disontinued. Disco?d. Why? Upon a little digging I hear that Remy Amerique, the importer for Vietti, is sandbagging their wine division. So these folks are possible soon without a home. No future? Time to disco? Sure seems like it.
And Einaudi, are they without an importer? They still show up on the Empson site, so it doesn?t look like that is their fate. Overzealous buyer at the distrib? Perhaps, but I?m not sure. Maybe my Empson peeps reading might share some insight. The wine is real. Good. So, what happened?
How to get excited about Italian wine when it is not on close-out?
Look, for a generation now some of us have been carrying this donkey up the hill. The Italians always undervalued their wine, almost apologizing for it because of the price. A Chianti Classico Riserva selling for $7 when a 3rd growth was going for $12. And the Italian was contrite, ashamed, sorry. So the wine got discounted down to $3 and all of a sudden lots of buzz from a restaurant here, a wine shop there. It was rampant in the 1980?s with Rosso di Montalcino, the ?throw away? wine. The distribs had to buy the Rosso to get the Brunello and when it didn?t sell they?d schlep a bottle to Don Cazzu and make him an offer he couldn?t refuse. Great stuff, from Costanti to Il Poggione to San Restituta. I am not kidding. How many times I sat there with my bag of wine while Don Cazzu tells me what a great deal he got for the ?74 RdM for only $2 a bottle. And he was right! But it perpetuated the image of Italian wine value. A Rosso di Montalcino was only worth $2-3 a bottle because it wasn?t bought right in the first place and it surely was never sold right. And so the true value of the wine never made it into the hearts and minds of the wine buyers.
And now we stand here, once again, at the corner of Downturn and Summertime with Dolcetto and Barbera and 2003 Brunello and when will we ever get to the place where we can really rev it up on the Montalcino autostrada of life? I think our little vehicle needs some work on the engine, the little one that takes us up the hill, yes we can, I think we can, will we ever? Can we?
Deep breath. Close eyes. Relax. Maintenance light is flashing. Must consult the manual. Ad Occhi Chiusi.
John Brecher and Dorothy Gaiter, the wildly popular wine columnists at the Wall Street Journal, published an updated glossary of handy wine terms in Saturday’s column. Here’s their headline:
Singing the ABCs of Wine The columnists’ updated glossary swaps Parker for Dr. Vino and Vayniacs; why there are 27 entries
The weather was quite warm, so first I opened the bottle, then I left it in the refrigerator for about 90 minutes – clearly it would start too cold, but would be teased to the right temperature in the glass. 1999 Frédéric Esmonin, Mazy-Chambertin Medium-plus colour, still with some last vestige of cherry-red. Right from [...]
Once a bartending necessity that reigned supreme in soda guns the world over, tonic water - and her friends club soda, Coke and 7Up - is fizzling in today’s hipster scene. What’s bubbled to the forefront? Energy drinks, which in a few short years have gone from mini-mart obscurity to VIP status behind the bars of even the hottest, Paris-Hilton-worthy nightclubs and restaurants.
As anyone who’s chugged Gatorade or Lucozade knows, energy drinks are nothing new. They’ve been around since the 1930s, are sold throughout the world and have traditionally enjoyed especially strong popularity in the Far East. (Think Pocari Sweat. Yum.) In their early incarnations, energy drinks were meant to quickly rehydrate the body and to provide energy through carbohydrates in the form of sugar. They were the savior of many exhausted athletes, lethargic kids with the flu and pathetically hungover frat boys.
In the mid-’80s, an Austrian businessman looking to cash in on the energy drink craze in Asia took the concept and gave it a decidedly modern twist. The result was Red Bull, a unique-tasting drink spiked with caffeine and the amino acid taurine, which pumps up the heart rate.
Red Bull’s slick silver mini cans, clever ad campaign and energy-boosting properties made it an instant hit among club-goers and those looking for a quick boost from something other than espresso (or a powdery South American import that might invite a sentence of five to 10). By the late ‘90s, Red Bull was available worldwide, had taken up sponsorship of popular new extreme sporting events and was well on its way to becoming a pop culture icon.
Since then, the energy drink market has exploded. New entrants include Rockstar (which contains liver-rejuvenating milk thistle), Monster, Socko, Full Throttle, Hype, Bomba (which comes in four flavors), Roaring Lion, Go Fast, Atomic X and Boo Koo. (The entertainment value alone - “I’ll have an Effen Boo Koo†- keeps us enthralled.)
Everyone from traditional soft drink marketers to celebs are getting in on the energy drink craze, scrambling to create new concoctions with fresh hype. Rap star Nelly is hoping to grab a piece of the market with his bright green, sweet sour-apple brew PimpJuice, which contains taurine, guarana and multi-vitamins. (No word on whether the nutrient properties of the drink will finally heal the boo-boo that lurks beneath his omnipresent Band-Aid. Or what test group approved of the name PimpJuice.)
Though all energy drinks are unique, they share in common some form of caffeine and sugar as key ingredients. Guarana, a natural source of caffeine, replaces the straight chemical in some brands. What gives energy drinks their rocket boost is the amount of caffeine and sugar they include: studies show energy drinks pack four times the amount of caffeine as soda and as many as 13 teaspoons of sugar in a single bottle.
Energy drinks also get an extra kick from ingredients such as ginseng and vitamins B12, B6, riboflavin and niacin. The most popular addition (and the one that put Red Bull on the energy drink map) is taurine, one of the most abundant amino acids in the body. It functions as a metabolic transmitter, has detoxifying properties and has been shown in studies to be beneficial to cardiovascular functioning. Mix these peace-and-love herbs and vitamins with some cutting-edge nutritional research, and the old standbys caffeine and sugar, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a go-the-distance, 21st century good time.
Not long after these space age potions hit the shelves, smart consumers realized if energy drinks could keep them going as they burned the midnight oil or blasted through a road trip, they could put a whole new spin on a night of partying. Thus was born Red Bull-vodka. In the late ‘90s, European drinkers started a new trend in cocktails by marrying the recently released Red Bull with vodka, creating a mix packing a potent alcohol punch and a lift of herbs and caffeine, and enabling drinkers to get maximum pleasure out of a hard-earned weekend night of raving or pub crawling.
As more energy drinks were born, more cocktails were created. Bars around the world now stock energy drinks as mixing basics and look for innovative blends to create their own signature cocktails. While most drinkers still prefer flavored vodkas such as Stoli Citros or Skyy Melon to add intrigue to their energy drinks, more innovative experiments are being undertaken every day: how about an energy drink/Jagermeister mix? Perhaps a little Johnny Walker Black? (Any carpet fluff you might ingest later will simply add to the...mouthfeel.)
If mixing isn’t your thing, consider an energy/alcoholic drink that comes straight from the bottle. Zygo is a peach-flavored vodka blended with so-called “functional ingredients†taurine, D-ribose, guarana and yerba mate. Known as the “morning vodka†with a 35 percent alcohol content, it hits the spot with partiers still pounding the dance floor at dawn. Sparks, a sickly sweet, citrusy concoction with taurine, caffeine, guarana, Siberian ginseng and a 6 percent kick of alcohol, is becoming a popular party alternative, as are MoonShot, a (believe it or not) lightly carbonated, caffeinated beer, and XXL Orange, which packs 8.9 percent vodka, orange juice and caffeine into a curvy plastic bottle. (Frankly, that sounds to us like what a pimp would really be juicing.)
In a culture that’s dancing as fast as it can, it seems energy drink cocktails are the perfect libation for the new millennium. And who knows, tonic and club soda might even make a comeback - thanks to the recently released Hi-Ball Modern Mixers line, which offers classic mixers enhanced by B-vitamins, caffeine, taurine, guarana and ginseng. So grab a can of liquid energy, throw in the spirit of your choice and start channeling Don “The Magic†Juan. And remember, it takes seven to make a stable.
Black Magic Bomba Energy Drink
1 1/3 oz. vodka
2/3 oz. triple sec
2/3 oz. lime juice
Shake vodka, triple sec and lime juice together. Pour into chilled martini glass. Top with Black Magic Bomba Energy Drink.
Warning: Consume energy drink cocktails in moderation. Caffeine is a primary ingredient in energy drinks and can, when combined with the dehydrating effects of alcohol, lead to feelings of dizziness and faintness. In some cases, sensitivity to caffeine can also raise blood pressure and trigger potentially deadly heart reactions. Drink responsibly.
While in most media circles, the larger global economic meltdown consumes the lion's share of attention, the wine world is experiencing its own nasty correction. Many top wineries, especially those with bottle prices over $80 find themselves struggling to sell their wines as the usual outlets are simply refusing purchases that they used to beg for.
Vegas restaurants, long-standing bastions of "I don't care what it costs as long as it sounds expensive" buying habits, are dumping their allocations of high-end wines like ballast water from an unstable ship. Cult wineries with mailing lists that had waiting lists thousands of members long are now struggling to find people to buy their wines, especially if they make more than a few thousand cases.
But more than anything else, the largest bellwether of a true collapse in the fine wine market are the high end Bordeaux wines, and the companies that have pimped them along a skyrocketing trajectory of pricing whose incline was no less irresponsible and unsustainable as any of the credit-default-swaps that brought down the global economy.
The phenomenon is certainly not restricted to Napa and Bordeaux, however. There are plenty of other wine regions that have massively over-invested based on the impossible hope that wine prices and demand would continue to soar at the top end of the market.
It's sad to see the wine industry suffer at all, but it certainly wouldn't be a bad thing to weed out a lot of chaff from the marketplace, and bring some of the outrageous prices (and pretensions) back down to earth.
Thanks to Jack at Fork & Bottle for the tip on Keith's post.
If you were to sit down to your last dinner and were offered one last bottle of wine from anywhere in the world - what would that wine be and why?
Additionally - if two sommeliers, namely Robert Parker and Hugh Johnson, approached your table to offer you advice - who's suggestions would you take most to heart?
I'd go with Johnson and signal Parker away from my table :)
An appetizer or snack ? you might call Greek-style nachos ? that I?m hoping will liberate the entire concept of nachos and take it in a few different directions.
A 64-page softcover pocket guide that you can keep handy. Offers everything you've ever wanted to know about wine from A-to-Z. Learn about wine-production regions along with their maps major grape varietals storing pairing serving and selecting the perfect wine glass. Softcover 64-pages. Size: 8-'H x 3-'W
The Wine Bottle Glass Funnel is perfect for those instances when have a little wine left over in your decanter or even in your glass. The thinness of this glass funnel allows you to insert the funnel right into any bottle. Then easily and cleanly you can pour the wine back into the bottle for a later date.
The elegance of the Wine Enthusiast lead-free crystal 'U' Decanter enhances your wine experience with an inner dome to increase the oxygenation of fine wines. The finger-hold punt ensures controlled pouring every time. Gift Boxed. Recommend to hand wash. Size: 10-3/4'H 46 oz.
As Seen on Ellens 12 Days of Giveaways & Good Morning America The pocket-size electronic talking Wine Master offers a sleek and slim design easy control panel and over 10 000 wine and spirits reviews ratings and suggested retail prices at your fingertips. The newest version of the Wine Master is the most essential wine tool you can own. Bring along with you to wine shops and restaurants and never make another wine buying mistake again. Requires 2-AAA batteries (not included). Over 10 000 wine and spirits reviews ratings (100 pt. scale) and suggested retail prices from Wine Enthusiast Magazine Food and wine pairing guide Digital display screen with back-light and compressed text functions Talking navigation with on/off Type Varietal Winery or Vintage search option Handsome non-zipper black case Wine Master is a mighty wizard that gives you mastery over the most serious wine shop clerks and sommeliers. Brushed aluminum with chrome accents. The Wine Enthusiast 2008 Wine Buying Guide is also available. Size: 4-3/4'H x 3'W NOTE: The information included in the Wine Master is based on the reviews and ratings conducted by The Wine Enthusiast Magazine. For the 2008 edition we added 10 425 reviews. Therefore if you look at a review of a 2002 Caymus in 2007 and in 2008 the review will be the same. Since we cannot review all the wines produced in a year some wines may not appear with a newer year review which does not mean that the wine is discontinued but just that particular vintage (year) was not reviewed.
Always know 'whose glass is whose' with these wine cellar-themed charms! Set of 6 cast metal charms are finished in antique silver and dangle from 3 strands of glass-faceted beads. Magnetic closures make sure the these mini-medallions stay secure around the base of each guests' wine glass. Set of 6 charms includes a wine bottle corkscrew grapes wine glass chiller bucket and cheese wedge.
You needn't interrupt your enjoyment of the wine now to fuss with pumps and dispensers. Deliberately low tech our Wine For Later Set eschews pumps spray cans nitrogen gas canisters and complicated dispenser systems for the graceful time-honored process of decanting. When you uncork a bottle simply pour off the wine you wish to save for later using an elegant glass funnel. Top off either the 1/2 bottle or the 1/4-bottle decanter and seal it with our airtight glass stopper. Since no air comes in contact with your wine it remains unoxidized and unspoiled. Adorn the decanter with our ornate silverplated grape-cluster cork pin for easy identification. Only from The Wine Enthusiast. Gift-boxed 6-piece set includes: 2 Wine For Later glass decanters 1/2 bottle size and 1/4 bottle size. 2 airtight glass stoppers. A beautiful glass funnel. A silverplated cork pin.
Choose the right wine every time! From the editors of Wine Enthusiast Magazine comes the most current comprehensive and informative wine buying guide on the market. Based on tastings by a distinguished in-house panel this wine buying guide features qualitative ratings reviews and prices for more than 50 000 wines. Plus tips on when each wine is best enjoyed. Also includes expert advice on tasting and storing vintage wine charts and Top 10 lists. 990 pages. Softcover.
Pair your wine with top chef recipes! A memorable meal starts with the wine! Find over 80 delectable recipes organized by wine style. This first cookbook by the editors of Wine Enthusiast Magazine guides you in selecting the right recipe for your wine. Includes recipes from top chefs such as Bobby Flay and Rick Bayless along with expert wine pairing tips. Whether you're serving a light aromatic white or a big powerful red you'll choose the right dish here! 256 pages with full color photography. Hardcover. Take A Look Inside At Sample Recipes.
The Riedel Syrah Decanter is a great wine decanter to use everyday. It's perfect for Syrah or any other red wine. Crafted in Germany of lead-free crystal the Syrah decanter holds 49-ounces and stands 9-5/8' tall. Add to your wine decanter collection or give as a gift any season. Size: 9-5/8'H 49-3/8 oz.
Make wine your next party theme! Consider this your personal party planner! Step-by-step instructions and essentials make hosting a wine tasting easy. Includes 100 wine tasting sheets 6 cloth blind wine tasting bottle bags with embroidered letters A through F 6 wine tasting masts Wine Enthusiast Magazine vintage chart corkscrew and a 15% Off Coupon for Wine Enthusiast glassware. Sip save enjoy!
The Wine Clip uses principles of magnetics to improve the taste of wine as it is being poured out of the bottle. The effect is instantaneous and has been found by many wine professionals to result in a genuine improvement in flavor and mouth-feel especially when used on red wines. Using magnets to treat fluids water fuel wine etc. - is not a new idea and the technology has been applied successfully in many industries. What causes the effect has been the subject of some debate but it is generally thought that passing a conductive fluid through a properly designed magnetic field has an effect on the polar molecules in the fluid. In wine it is believed that the large polymerized tannins in wine that normally result in a high degree of astringency are broken up or otherwise affected resulting in a less astringent softer flavor. The Wine Clip may also accelerate aeration by drawing higher concentrations of oxygen to the wine as it is being poured. In contrast with most gases oxygen is highly magnetically susceptible and is attracted to a magnetic field. This would explain testimony from wine experts that The Wine Clip instantly produces the benefits of time consuming aeration. Lifetime warranty.
Learn how to host a tasting party! Host a great wine tasting party with this complete new essential wine tasting kit. Created by the editors of the prestigious Wine Enthusiast Magazine you'll find all the how-to's and essentials of hosting over 30 wine tastings. Kit includes: Wine Enthusiast Magazine Pocket Guide to Wine plus 2006 Vintage Chart 2 tasting checklist notepads 6 bottle bags 6 bottle stoppers 24 bottle tags a blank wine journal 2 wine label removers and a coupon for two free issues of Wine Enthusiast Magazine . Size: 6'H x 9'W x 3-'D
Luigi Bormioli Esperienze Wine Decanter is a complete innovation in the field of wine appreciation. Designed by Federico DeMajo the lead-free crystal wine decanter is a combination of technical skills and creative artistry. Made in Italy the interior base of the decanter is designed with ripples; tiered concentric circles that facilitate rapid wine oxygenation as the wine is poured into the decanter and flows down over them for an excellent wine tasting experiences. Dishwasher safe. Size: 9-1/4'H 88 oz.
Love your wine? Show your metal! Serve it with the help of this animated bottle holder handcrafted from recycled steel copper and wood. German artist Guenter Scholtz skillfully bends welds brushes and carves these materials to bring this whimsical wine taster to life a discriminating gent leaning on a wine rack fitted with a wine barrel. Holds most standard size wine bottles. Comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. No two Scholtz pieces are exactly alike. 12'H x 6'W x 5'D
A One-of-a-Kind GiftFor the wine lover that has everything a fun gift theyre sure to cherish. Weve matted and framed our Wine Enthusiast Magazine cover with your choice of tiles (Man Woman Wine Enthusiast or Chateau of the Year). Theres a careful 7 1/4' x 7' cut-out in the cover so you can slide in a photograph of your favorite wine enthusiast. Every wine lover on your list should have one. You can purchase it as a special package with a one year subscription to Wine Enthusiast Magazine and SAVE $16.95 off the regular subscription price. Size: 14'H x 11'W Framed Print
An elegant arc turns serving into ceremony. Geometrically designed Parabola wine decanter offers a unique shape to a classic wine accessory. This stunning mouth-blown wine decanter is visually exhilarating and optimally functional. Made of 24% lead crystal the Parabola decanter offers a unique handle and spout holding a full standard-sized bottle of wine and provides flawless aeration. Size: 10-1/2'H 56 oz. NOTE: Please use the recommended Decanter cleaning balls when cleaning the Parabola decanter.
Make the hippest wine bar in town yours! Three wines any time no waiting! This professional wine preserve and wine serve system keeps 3 opened wine bottles fresh for weeks and primed for pouringright at home! Spigots serve as both stoppers and dispensers of argon gas. Argon prevents wine from oxidizing and spoiling over time. Non-electric and compact. Black with stainless steel trim. Accommodates most standard-size wine bottles. Non-electric and compact. Black with stainless steel trim. The argon gas cartridges are hidden in a compartment underneath your wine bottles. The system includes two argon cartridges which will power 12 to 15 wine bottles each. Size: 11-1/2'H x 10-1/2'W x 5'D
Attract more wine loversglass by glass! Increase your bar or restaurant sales by offering a wider selection of premium wines 'on tap'. This professional preserve-and-serve system keeps 5 opened wine bottles fresh for weeks and primed for pouring. Spigots serve as bottle stoppers. With each pour argon gas is dispensed into each bottle to blanket the wine's surface from oxygen and prevent it oxidizing and spoiling over time. Wine Saver PRO's commercial grade quality is ideal for restaurants hotels bars and wineries or for any wine lover that enjoys serving wine. Wine Saver HOME also makes the ultimate addition to any home wine cellar. Accommodates most standard-size wine bottles. Non-electric and compact. Black with stainless steel trim. The argon gas cartridges are hidden in a compartment underneath your wine bottles. Available here and sold seperately argon cartridges will power 12 to 15 wine bottles each.
Inspired by furniture pieces originally found in Bordeaux and used by the regions expert wine makers for tasting sessions of their Grand Cru wines. Special guests wine merchants or the wine makers themselves would taste some of the finest vintages at the very foot of elegant furniture pieces such as this. EuroCaves contemporary version has been designed to accommodate the needs of todays wine connoisseur. The Elite Wine Buffet is ideal for entertaining and can be placed in any room. The ample display shelves are ideal for storing glasses displaying decanters keeping reference books and storing spirits. The storage drawers can hold other accessories such as corkscrews label savers tasting albums and much more. The Elite Wine Buffet can hold a maximum of up to 20 bottles. Sold seperately the wine cellar space can accommodate a EuroCave Performance 83. Size: 56-5/16'H x 54-5/16'W x 29-9/16'D. Light assembly required.
Tecnorati
At the end of March, 
DBR Lafite was, of course, swift to translate its website into Chinese and has clearly been visiting China from early on (the argument that ‘Lafite’ is easy for Chinese consumers to pronounce does not actually wash when ‘Margaux’ is even easier for them to say). Much consists in names. But not only Lafite grabs attention in this respect. The Chinese translation for 
A few weeks ago, when organizing the 
This is a premium Montenegrin red wine made from the indigenous Vranac grape. The Reserve is produced from particulary good years, in small quantities, aged in barrels for several years. It is also aged in bottles for one year before being released to the market.
. 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.
Someone asked on a previous post on Valencian cava whether the wines mentioned were available in the 
I would (and do) advise to simply take the hit and close them out. Now. Lesser wines are taking the hit. Dolcettos and Barberas are streaming through the wine bars having been discounted to ridiculously attractive levels, ones that even I would bite on. And I need no more wine in my closet.
The Barbera. I started hearing about this little beauty from SB (somm-buddy) who comments on this site. I knew the place, went up to the estate in Castiglione Falletto back when the crust of the earth was cooling. I got it then, just stood up a bottle of their ?81 Nebbiolo to let the dust settle. Had first communion with Alfredo, OK? I get it.
Look, for a generation now some of us have been carrying this donkey up the hill. The Italians always undervalued their wine, almost apologizing for it because of the price. A Chianti Classico Riserva selling for $7 when a 3rd growth was going for $12. And the Italian was contrite, ashamed, sorry. So the wine got discounted down to $3 and all of a sudden lots of buzz from a restaurant here, a wine shop there. It was rampant in the 1980?s with Rosso di Montalcino, the ?throw away? wine. The distribs had to buy the Rosso to get the Brunello and when it didn?t sell they?d schlep a bottle to Don Cazzu and make him an offer he couldn?t refuse. Great stuff, from Costanti to Il Poggione to San Restituta. I am not kidding. How many times I sat there with my bag of wine while Don Cazzu tells me what a great deal he got for the ?74 RdM for only $2 a bottle. And he was right! But it perpetuated the image of Italian wine value. A Rosso di Montalcino was only worth $2-3 a bottle because it wasn?t bought right in the first place and it surely was never sold right. And so the true value of the wine never made it into the hearts and minds of the wine buyers.
Singing the ABCs of Wine
