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November 2005
Convicted Felon as Wine Folk Hero? No Thanks
We last wrote about Stealing a Wine’s Place of Birth” back on Oct. 5, when this blog was just a baby (it’s a toddler now). But the misleading-label issue is back in the news in many fun ways:
The Associated Press reported today (11-30-05) that a Shanghai court ordered two Chinese companies to pay $37,000 to the maker of …
… Hennessy Cognac and to stop selling products that violate its trademark. A Chinese food company was selling in local supermarkets wines under the name “Hanlissy” that was billed as “French cognac brandy” and was, um, not anything of the sort. The court “ruled the Chinese companies had sought to mislead consumers,” the AP report said. Duh.
Now I’m hearing news reports suggesting that the folks who produced large amounts of wine with “Napa” on the label — but which actually contained little or no Napa County grapes— are contemplating yet another appeal, this time to a California Supreme Court decision that essentially told them to cease and desist, that their actions were designed to mislead consumers. Sheesh.
For some remarkable insight behind the scenes of this nasty little court fight, check out the U.S. News and World Report profile of Fred Franzia, the man at the epicenter of the “Napa” labeling court battle. The story overall is pretty balanced, though there are times when the author seems to want to canonize Franzia as a hero of the little people for making and selling inexpensive wines and standing up against the high-falutin’ image-obsessed wineries.
Pul-leeze. Let’s not forget a key sentence in the story, referring to a 1993 indictment of Franzia and his company: “Franzia pleaded guilty to a felony count of conspiracy to defraud …” Federal prosecutors charged Franzia and his company of passing off grapes costing between $100 and $200 a ton as zinfandel grapes worth perhaps 10 to 12 times as much. According to the indictment, Franzia scattered zinfandel leaves on top of non-zin grapes as they sat in bins.
A convicted felon as a hero of the people? I don’t think so.
I prefer my wine labels to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, thankyouverymuch. Whether I’m in Dayton, Napa or Shanghai. And preferably, not in a courtroom. Is that too much to ask??
Thoughts? Feel free to “Post a Comment.”
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
Chateau Pavie and the Great Extraction Debate
The debate rages in fine-wine regions around the world about winemaking techniques, pitting traditionalists against proponents of longer “hang-timeâ€? for grapes. Leaving the grapes on the vine long beyond their traditional picking time can produce …
… highly extracted, more concentrated wines with sweet fruit, more viscosity and higher alcohol, and winemakers often lavish more oak on top of those wines. But these attributes also can “homogenizeâ€? wines by muting the varietal character, the terroir and the complexity.
No one knows which side is “right,� and the truth probably lies, as it does with most of these bitterly polarizing debates, somewhere in the middle.
In some winemaking regions, in some vintages, embracing longer hang-time in the vineyards and an international style of winemaking in the cellar can result in wines superior to those made in the traditional method. In other regions and in other vintage conditions, the “newâ€? method will produce overripe, clumsy wines with high alcohol levels that make them tiresome to drink — and may inhibit their aging potential. (For a fine summary of the debate as it’s playing out in the 2005 Bordeaux vintage, link to this story from the Wine International web site, and my thanks to fellow wine blogger Tom Wark from Fermentation for finding it.)
Coincidence that the Wine International story should mention so prominently Chateau Pavie, the respected domaine in the St. Emilion commune. I had the opportunity to sit down with a group of Dayton-area wine enthusiasts earlier this month to taste through a substantial vertical of Chateau Pavie. No other domaine in Bordeaux illustrates and captures this debate any better. Consider: In his 16th buying guide, wine critic extraordinaire Robert Parker proclaimed the first three Pavies made since the 1998 vintage – when new owner Gerard Perse embraced high-extraction methods recommended by consultant Michel Rolland – “three of the greatest Pavies of the 20th Century.� In contrast, Clive Coates, no slouch of a wine critic and author himself, mourns the change in approach, declaring that Pavie since 1998 “is now a rather over-extracted wine (that) has lost its elegance.�
In the end, as you’ll see by tasting notes I prepared with an assist from fellow taster Doug Lehrer, we failed utterly in our quest to resolve the Great Debate. But – um – we sure enjoyed the attempt.
The Tasting Notes:
1971: One taster called 1971 “the most underrated vintage in Bordeaux in the last 50 years.� I haven’t tried near enough ‘71s to agree or disagree (MY most memorable ’71 was a Mosel Auslese). But THIS ’71 had the “nose of the night�: Fully mature (without being oxidized) aromas of toasty, earthy red fruits. On the palate, the wine was nicely balanced, the tannins fully integrated, with fruit fading but not gone, and a mushroom-forest floor note in the impressively long finish.
1981: Dusty, iodine-dominated nose with herbal-bordering-on-vegetal flavors, this austere wine seemed to have dried out, with a short, clipped finish.
1982: An intriguing nose of herbs, earth and candy-apple fruit. Palate boasts a solid core of fruit and ample tannins. This wine’s still a baby, and it seemed to close up in the glass, refusing to show what’s underneath the robe of tannins. But the lengthy finish, which got more generous with time, shows promise of wonderful things to come.
1983: Nose of red and blue fruits and a bit of toastiness. Still youthful on the palate, with hints of lead pencil and iodine adding complexity to the still-ample fruit. Fine acid balances the flavors, followed by a long, appealing finish.
1986: Muted nose, with hints of dark fruit and earth. A firm and tannic wine that allows only a sneak peak of what seems to be solid core of fruit still hiding beneath. Shows balance and potential.
1989: Sweet, dark fruits dominate both the nose and the palate. This is a big, ripe, strapping wine, with gobs of fruit and firm tannins and fine acidity to balance. Young, very young, and promising, very promising. Not showing complexity yet, but has all the components to suggest it’s coming.
1990: Similar to the 1989 on the nose, but with a hint, an appealing hint, of an earthy, brett-like component. Perhaps not as dense and concentrated as the ’89, but also not quite as tannic or acidic. This wine opened up in the glass more than most and allowed the fruit to peek through. Balanced and delicious.
1997: Earthy, vegetal aromas, followed by lean, herbaceous flavors. Largest single contributor to the dump bucket.
1998: Is this the first of the new, Michel Rolland-assisted vintages? A deep, dense wine in every way: sight, aromas and flavors. Toasty, fruit-packed nose, concentrated and broad flavors, with ample tannins to balance. And a finish that hangs and hangs. Whether you approve of the style or not, the undeniably ripe and concentrated fruit could hardly fail to delight.
1999: Very similar to the 1998 on the nose, but more open and accessible on the palate. Sweet and intense fruit, but will this fruit bomb improve?
2000: Dark, ripe fruits dominate the nose. Sweet, ripe, glycerin-filled in
the mouth, with a viscosity of 5W-30 motor oil. This wine stirred some
controversy: no doubt it’s a huge, rich, red wine, but Bordeaux characteristics are muted at this point. At this stage of its development, it could be confused
with a super-Tuscan from a hot year, or even an Australian blend. An
international-style wine? And if so, is that necessarily a bad thing?
2001: Dark fruits peek out from the muted nose. Again, a wine of huge glycerin and fruit concentration, but also very tannic. Unlike the 2000, though, it shows some appealing hints of cedar and graphite. The alcohol also makes it presence known in the finish. Shows fabulous potential. A wine to grow old with – and a reason to live a long, long time.
2002: This bottle had a gunflint-and-sulfur nose that carried through into the palate, which had an over-roasted, coffee-like quality, yet little fruit. Difficult to evaluate; perhaps an off bottle?
Thoughts, comments are welcomed…
(Photo courtesy of Sue Kalal, poor cropping blamed on Mark Fisher and the limitations of the computer system)
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
Celebrate the Latest Study on Diet, Wine and Health — Carefully
(To tell us what you had for Thanksgiving dinner, click here.)
Eating a Mediterranean-style diet for three months can reduce the risk of heart disease by 15 percent, a new study shows.
Male participants in the study who were assigned the “Mediterranean-style� diet were allowed two glasses of red wine daily, while women were limited to one glass, according to the Reuters News Service story about the diet’s benefits. Study participants who were assigned a more traditional low-fat diet also reduced their risk factors for cardiovascular disease, though not by as much as the Mediterranean-diet folks.
Look for the wine marketing folks to seize upon this as further proof that wine is good for you. But does anyone else have …
…mixed feelings about how these research findings can be misused?
The benefits outlined in this study — performed by a French researcher and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition — probably have a lot more to do with … … diet than alcohol consumption, although there’s no way to tell for sure. Nonetheless, there are dozens of other studies that suggest moderate consumption of alcohol lowers the risk of heart disease and overall mortality. Some of those studies suggest wine is better than other forms of alcohol in its protective effects, others suggest there’s no difference between wine and other forms of alcohol.
But I’m wary of wine marketers, makers and sellers who seem just a tad too eager to promote wine as the next great health drink – a veritable fountain of youth.
As ridiculous as some government regulations are regarding wine labeling – we’ve all heard about the most outrageous examples — I’d be reluctant to do away with all oversight and place our trust in the wine industry to do the right thing when it comes to promoting sales of its product.
So take this most recent study as you should all of the others you read about: with a grain of salt. Preferably over a piece of crusty bread dipped in olive oil. And, of course, some red wine – in moderation.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
…And What of YOUR Thanksgiving Feast?
Now that folks are starting to straggle back to their homes and computers, it might be the right time to ask: What did you have to drink with your Thanksgiving dinner? And how the heck was it?
For my pitiable experience, see the posting just below this one entitled “The Wine that Saved Thanksgiving.”
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
The Wine that Saved Thanksgiving
The best wine that crossed my lips during my Thanksgiving trip to dine with 44 in-laws in beautiful and bucolic Perry County, Ohio was a 2002 Markham Vineyards Merlot. You remember merlot, don’t you? You know, the grape so convincingly slandered by Miles in the movie “Sideways” that its sales plummeted after the movie hit it big.
Well, as Markham’s very own web site proclaims, “The news of Merlot’s demise have been greatly exaggerated,” and the Markham version illustrates why. The wine boasts a solid core of fruit wrapped in just the right amount of smoky, spicy oak to make it both comoplex and fun to drink. Of course, enjoying the merlot many hours after a wine-free Thanksgiving dinner in the basement of a United Methodist church in New Lexington, Ohio may — may — have exaggerated …
…the wine’s attributes. But it was darn fine.
And it reminded me that we wrote a bit about a Markham principal last year (August 2004, I believe) in the Dayton Daily News Taste of Wine column when he came through town to promote his wines, so sit back and enjoy this command performance, and cheers!
Mark Fisher
America just can’t compete with Europe when it comes to wine history. We don’t have winemaking families that can trace their lineage - and sometimes their vineyards - back 10, 15, even 20 generations.
But we’ll settle for people like Bryan Del Bondio.
Del Bondio, general manager of Markham Vineyards, is a wine man from a wine family. Unlike most of his counterparts in the Napa wine business, Del Bondio is very much a hometown boy.
His grandparents emigrated from Italy to the San Francisco area sometime around the turn of the century and made it to Napa in 1902. His father worked at the historic Inglenook winery for 46 years, “making everything work,” his son said. His mom also worked at the winery, running the office there, but her career spanned “only” 40 years, because she took time off to raise her children.
As a child, Del Bondio recalls riding his bike down Highway 29, now the very developed, very congested main artery through Napa wine country. “There weren’t any traffic lights,” he said.
Appropriate, then, that upon his graduation from the University of California in Davis, Del Bondio latched on with a winery whose roots extended farther back than even his family’s. At 22, he was hired by Bruce Markham to manage Markham Vineyards, which traces its winery to 1874, when Frenchman Jean Laurent gave up on finding gold in the northern California’s rivers and settled down to make wine.
Today, the 50-year-old Del Bondio spends 80 to 90 days a year on the road, promoting Markham’s wines, and his travels led him to Ohio’s Miami Valley last weekend for a well-attended dinner at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and a Saturday afternoon drop-in tasting at Arrow Wine’s Kettering store. Ohio, Del Bondio said, is a top-10 state for Markham’s sales, so we’ll likely see him swing through these parts again.
Unlike many of the winery’s neighbors, Markham’s bread-and-butter is not the chardonnay-cabernet duo, although it makes both varietals. Sauvignon Blanc is its strongest-selling white wine, and merlot has dominated its red-wine sales.
And indeed, the Markham 2003 Sauvignon Blanc is simply delicious, and a relative bargain at $12.99, given the wine’s pricey Napa zip code. The wine strikes just the right balance between the extremes of this varietal: the grapefruit-and-faintly-ammonia-scented New Zealand style, and the oak-infused, ripe California chardonnay-wannabees. The Markham sauvignon is crisp and refreshing, and it works well before dinner or with lighter late-summer fare.
The 2001 merlot ($23.99) contains 15 percent cabernet sauvignon and 5 percent cabernet franc, a blend that shows up in the flavors. It’s not one of those too-soft merlots, but is in fact a concentrated dry red with big flavors built for grilled meats or other hearty fare.
Good wines with a dollop of history on top. I bet the previous generations are smiling upon Bryan Del Bondio.
A California Winemaker Responds
In the rush of the holiday, this comment to my earlier “Uncorked” posting about “organic” wines and what that designation means sort of got lost, so I offer it up here as its own separate posting. It comes from …
… Brian Fitzpatrick of Fitzpatrick Winery and Lodge. Now, let’s get back to digesting that Thanksgiving meal and the post-Thanksgiving meal and the next-day Thanksgiving meal and … well, you get the idea.
I am the owner/farmer/winemaker of Fitzpatrick Winery & Lodge in California and for 26 years have been farming and making wine from organically grown grapes. My number one goal is quality; and I believe the way to world class wines starts with organically grown grapes. Imagine if the wine tastes great and is free of toxic herbicides, fungicides, pesticides, etc. Your health and that of the environment are the beneficiaries of our efforts. And why not? The only thing holding back farming wine grapes organically is attitudes. Drop your excuses and get with it; there is no downside to building a living healthy environment. Making great wines starts with growing great grapes. The winemaker’s hand oversees the process but can’t make up for mediocre grapes. So when you’re looking for stunning world class wines, the growing region, the vineyard and winemaker all offer leads to discovering that trophy wine. Through my 26 years professionally making wines I know that my judicious use of sulfites helps me deliver consistent quality wines. But that’s not to say that you will never find a fantastic organic wine (made without sulfites) but you may have some disappointments along the way. Not all wines are great, no matter how and where they’re grown or how there made. Winemaking is like the Iron Chef and Nature delivers it’s fruit a little different every year. But the benefits to your health and our environment are always better with wines made from organically grown grapes. Wine is part of a healthy lifestyle - Slainte! (Irish for ‘Good Health’)
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
Now HERE Are Some Reasons to Be Thankful …
My oh my, are some of the local wine-tasting folks breaking out the good stuff for our holiday weekend! Note especially the 1998 Ch. Mouton Rothschild Saturday at DLM Springboro. Zounds! But bring your wallet …
The following tastings list comes courtesy of a local wine listserv, for which, I can assure you, I am most, MOST thankful.
Did you miss the …
… Organic Wines “Uncorked” comment from the veteran organic winemaker from California? Check it out, just below the Thanksgiving wines entry.
I’ll be without computer access for the next 48 hours, so any comments you post will be delayed in appearing on this site. Otherwise, enjoy, enjoy, enjoy, and we’ll catch up to you this weekend.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
The Tastings:
Jay’s Kitchen Door
Friday, November 25, 2005 4-8 pm
2002 Truchard Chardonnay; 2000 Artesa Merlot; 2002 Chappellet Mountain Cuvee; 2000 Spottswood Cabernet; 2000 Bella Novelo Cabernet; 2001 Arrowood Grand Archer Cabernet.
Saturday, November 26, 2005 1-6 pm
2001 Gregory Graham’s Syrah; 2000 Delectus Syrah; 2001 Toad Hollow Merlot.
Arrow Wine & Spirits – Far Hills store (Kettering)
Saturday, November 26, 2005 11-4 pm
2004 Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling, 2004 Patricia Green Pinot Noir, Estate, 2004 Jester Shiraz, 2002 Cloud View, Napa, 2004 Mitolo “G.A.M.�, 2004 Batasiolo Moscato D’Asti.
Dorothy Lane Market (DLM) Oakwood
Friday, November 25, No Tasting!
Saturday, November 26, 2005 1-6 pm
2001 Fiddlehead Cellars Sauvignon Blanc
(from the movie Sideways fame, Kathy Joseph, vintner);
2002 Archery Summit Pinot Noir,
2003 Starved Dog Lane Shiraz/Viognier,
2000 Kelham Cabernet (CA),
2000 Ricasoli Casalferro Super Tuscan,
First Bonus Bottle - 2001 Paul Hobb’s Beckstoffer Vineyard.
DLM Washington Square
No Thursday tasting — Happy Thanksgiving!
Saturday, November 26, 2005 12-5 pm:
Nicholas Feuillatte Premier Cru NV, Domaine Baisson-Charles 2002 Meursault, Chateau De Pommard 1998, Gypsy Dancer 2004 Emily’s Reserve, Poggiassai Super Tuscan 2001, Silvio Nardi Brunello di Montalcino 1999.
Dorothy Lane Springboro
Friday, November 25, 2005 12-7 pm
Carpe Diem Chardonnay, Rodney Strong Pinot Noir, Steltzner Claret, Delectus Dog-Gone Good.
Saturday, November 26, 2005 12-5 pm
97 Mount Veeder Reserve, 98 Mondavi Reserved Cabernet, 98 Chateau Mouton Rothschild, 99 Clerico Barolo.
Cuvee Wine Bar and Cellar, Bellbrook
Tuesday – Thursday 11:30 – 7 pm Friday and Saturday 11:30 – 8 pm Wines beginning Friday, November 25, 2005:
J Pinot Gris 2004, Pecota 2003 Sauvignon Blanc, Tandem Ritchie Vineyard 2003 Chardonnay, Fritz Windisch 2004 Dornfelder, St Supery 2001 Merlot, Faunu 2000 Nero D’Avola, Cyrus 2001 Red Wine.
Cuvee Bubble Bash will be Saturday, December 10 at 7:30 PM: Champagnes, other sparkling wines and Chef Chris’ delights. Todd Nikolai of Vintner Select and Sara Staloch of Vanguard Wines will be helping the Cuvee gang. $65.00 per person. Reservations required. Details to follow.
Jay’s Restaurant special wine dinners
Pine Ridge Wine Luncheon, Saturday, December 3 12:30 PM — RSVP 222-2892, $60 per person.
Wild Mushroom Strudel with Smoked Salmon, Lobster-Pumpkin Bisque,
Oven-Roasted Pear Salad with Bleu Cheese and Walnut Tartlets,
Braised Short Ribs with Truffled Cauliflower Puree and Cranberry Relish,
Macerated Bing Cherry Tart with Toasted Hazelnuts and Mascarpone.
Italian Luncheon with Ardie Bonnano, Saturday, January 14 12:30 PM, RSVP 222-2892, $60 per person.
Diver Sea Scallops with Stewed Escarole and Cannelini Beans, Mixed;
Greens in a Spinach Frittata Socle with White Balsamic Vinaigrette;
Seafood Lasagna, Petite Grilled Veal Chop with Chianti Reduction;
and Roasted Baby Vegetables;
Pine and Almond Shortbread with Spumoni and Espresso Chocolate Sauce.
Jay’s 30th Anniversary Luncheon!!! Saturday, February 18 12:30 PM RSVP 222-2892, $75 per person: Celebrating Jay’s thirty years of great seafood and wine will be five wine representatives with their own wines and stories to tell about working with Jay.
Amuse Buche – Caviar-Smoked Salmon Flutes, Saffron-Buckwheat Crepe with a Ragout of Lobster and Chantrelle Mushrooms in a White Wine Cream Sauce; Three Crab Smoked Tomato Bisque with Basil Oil and Boursin Cheese Crouton; Phyllo Shredded Shrimp with Mixed Greens, Spiced Almonds and Fried Brie with a Sweet and Sour Vinaigrette; Duo of Seared Filet and Chilean Sea Bass in a Crawfish-Morel Mushroom Sauce with Truffle Oil; Anniversary Surprise Dessert
B. R. Scotese
Fairfield Wine tasters! Today and Wednesday, November 30, 2005 4:30 pm will find many of the Fairfield Wine group at B. R. Scotese! The restaurant is no smoking on Wednesdays!
SIPS in Centerville
Wine tasting 5-7 pm every Saturday, By the glass tasting 7:30 am – 11 pm weekends.
Cosentinio Napa Chardonnay, Kris Pinot Grigio, Franciscan Cabernet, Joseph Drouhin Laforet Pinot, Franus Zinfandel, Clos du Bois Merlot, Steltner Claret, Artesa Elements, Ravenwoods Cabernet, Tavel Rose
Neil’s Wine Dinner November 30, 2005 Reception 6:30 pm Dinner 6:50 pm $60 RSVP 298-8611
Red Wine Risotto Cakes with White Cheddar, Chicken Liver Pate “Deviled Eggsâ€?, Potato Crisps with Bundnerfleisch — Sparkling Ravenhurst Blanc de Blanc NV 4-5 Years Old
Lobster Pate with Orange and Leeks — Woop Woop Chardonnay, 2004
Chicken Bouillabaisse — Penescal Sauvignon Blanc 2003
Pork Osso Cuco with Spaetzle, Chard and Melrose Apple — Dino Torti Barbera, 2003
Pear Clafouti — Nicolas Peche, Essence of Peach, NV.
Friday and Saturday at the 2nd Street public Market.
2002 Zeller Schwarzkatz, 2001 Hidden Mesa Cabernet Sauvignon
Trader Joe’s, Town and Country Shopping Center
Sunday 4:00 to 7:00, Tuesday 5:45 to 8:00
Penmara Five Families wines from Australia, Chardonnay 2004, Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, Shiraz 2003.
DiSalvo’s Deli and Italian Store
The Deli’s Wine of the Month: Galassio Monepulciano from the Abruzzi region of Italy.
December 7 6-9 p.m. Disalvo’s Deli Wine dinner — Please RSVP 298-5053
Calamari Picante,
Buillabaisse with Lobster and Shrimp.
Oso Bucco Milanese with Risotto,
Mindy’s Special Holiday Dessert
Best Wines for Thanksgiving Dinner
I launched the Dayton Daily News “Taste of Wine” column wayyyyy back in 1989 (I was 12 at the time) with a column on … Thanksgiving wines.
The advice has remained constant in the 16 years since: Keep it simple!
This is a dinner that can be a nightmare to find wines that complement all of the competing flavors that go into a traditional Thanksgiving meal. There’s no wine on earth that will …
… pair perfectly with roast turkey, savory gravy, apple-and-sausage stuffing, oyster stew, cranberries and marshmallow-laden candied yams. Plus, chances are you’ll have some once-or-twice-a-year wine drinkers at the table whose tastes don’t run in the same rarified circles as us wine geeks.
Rather than send folks scurrying around town to find specific recommendations, I suggest you look for crowd-pleasing, easy drinking varietals and buy what’s convenient — although I invite those of you in the retail end of the wine business to make specific suggestions as a comment to this posting. That would include rieslings from Washington State, Germany, California or Ohio. These are wines that generally have some sweetness to them and have the added benefit — to family peace, anyway — of low alcohol content. On the red side, pinot noir or gamay from California, Oregon or France would be a safe, popular choice.
Smooth and easy and crowd-pleasing, that’s my mantra when it comes to Thanksgiving wines. What do you think? Got any specific recommendations or general advice? Post a comment!
If, perchance, you read Wednesday morning’s Taste of Wine column in the Dayton Daily News and are looking for the recaps and reader reviews of either the Dorothy Lane Market holiday food and wine tasting or Arrow Wine & Spirits holiday tasting, just click on the store-name links and go straight to ‘em!
Cheers, and Happy Thanksgiving!
Mark Fisher
“Organic” wines? Says Who?
What does “organic” means when it comes to wines?
You pick:
—grapes grown according to strict organic guidelines?
— no sulfites? Or no sulfites added?
— no headaches?
— best wine you can buy; worth seeking out?
— lousy wine, better drink it up fast because it won’t last?
— some mysterious combination of the above?
I don’t pretend to know, but all these questions remain even after reading last week’s Parade Magazine story on organic wines. The story answered a few questions, and seemed to raise many more.
On top of that, I received the following query from “Uncorked” reader Cynthia, who we’ve helped out in the past with food-and-wine pairings and other matters. This time, she sends along the following:
“I read aboutOrganic Wines in last week’s Parade section. Anyone ever try these? What’s the point? It sounds like another weird …
… concept like non-alcoholic wines…”
I do not know how to answer her. Any suggestions? What are YOUR thoughts on organic wines?
Happy Thanksgiving early, and more on that tomorrow …
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
Wine News & Notes, Including a Special Delivery
— The “Napa Valley Style” (huh?) of growing grapes and making wine is going to China, according to the Napa Valley Register story on a trade agreement between the two countries. My question is: Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
— Dates have been set for the Cincinnati International Wine Festival: the grand tastings will be held March 24-25 in the city’s convention center, winery dinners will be held at various Cincinnati-area restaurants on March 23 and a charity auction and dinner will take place on Feb. 25 at the Hyatt Regency. Always a popular event that raises big money for several worthy charities, and worth exploring if you’ve never been to one. More details will emerge as the events approach.
— Read about how Santa Barbara County, which I visited in the summer of 2004 (BEFORE the “Sideways” craze hit, thankyouverymuch), is nurturing the next generation of winemakers in this San Francisco Chronicle story on the topic. It’s a happening place, to be sure.
— Was it just me, or was the Georges Dubeouf Nouveau Beaujolais a cut above its competitors this year, and also a cut above the usual nouveau wines? What do YOU think?
— Some of you Dayton and Cincinnati-area folks know Todd Nikolai, who works for Mason-based Vintner Select and served a wine retail dude for Dorothy Lane Market for a spell, where he was known as “Tall Todd” to differentiate him from DLM’s Todd Templin. Well, Nikolai became a father for the first time yesterday. Carina Ann Nikolai was born at 2:42 a.m. Saturday (11-19-05), all 7 pounds, 11 ounces and 20.5 inches of her. Mom, Dad, baby all doing well, according to Todd’s e-mail.
And to that I say: Cheers!
Mark Fisher
The Best Wine with Grilled Wolverine Meat
Frankly, any fermented grape juice will do for this particular joyous occasion. Trust me.
Well, okay, I had the Prefernce Cremant de Loire and the Foreau Vouvray Brut, both Champagne-type sparklers. And I went door-to-door to my neighbors, just to share the joy.
No one turned down a glass of bubbly. Even my Michigan-fan next door neighbor. They lose with class, those Wolverine fans.
So, I have two questions.
Is Lloyd Carr Michigan’s John Cooper?
And what should I drink next?
Cheers, AND Go Bucks!
Mark Fisher
What wine pairs best with a Buckeye win over Michigan?
We can find out for ourselves at any of the tastings scheduled for throughout the Dayton area. How about the ‘99 Argyle Brut(us the Buckeye) at Arrow or the (Buckeye) Pride Merlot at DLM Oakwood?
And if you know of something going on we should know about that’s not on this list (which comes to “Uncorked” courtesy of a local wine listserv), simply post a comment and tell us about it.
Now rather than the usual “Cheers,” let’s close with … Go Bucks!
Mark Fisher (Class of ‘81)
(Click on “continue reading” to view the list of wine-tastings, dinners and other events.)
Jay’s Kitchen Door
Friday, November 18, 2005 4-8 pm: NV Chandon Etiole Brut; 2001 Ca’Rome Barolo; 2001 Poderi Luigni Eiadudi Barolo; 2001 Conterno Barolo.
Saturday, November 19, 2005 1-6 pm: 2003 Furst Gewurztraminer; 2002 Latitea Pinot Noir; 2002 Robert Pecota Arrowhead Merlot; 1998 Alexander Valley Cyrus.
Arrow Wine & Spirits Far Hills
Saturday, November 19, 2005 11-4 pm: 1999 Argyle Brut; NV Evolution 9; 2004 Chateau Ste. Michelle Pinot Gris; 2004 Tamari Malbec Reserve; 2003 Marques Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon; 2003 Robert Mondavi Merlot, Napa.
Dorothy Lane Market (DLM)
DLM Oakwood:
Friday, November 18, 2005 5-8 pm: 2003 Esterlina Chardonnay; 2002 Napa Cellars Zinfandel; 1999 Villalta Alta Amarone; 2002 Doyenne Syrah; 1997 Mt. Veeder Reserve Cabernet.
Saturday, November 19, 2005 1-6 pm: 2003 Dancing Coyote Cha Cha Chardonnay/Chenin Blend; 2003 Arcadian Pinot Noir; 2003 Pride Merlot; 2003 Finca Sophenia Cabernet; 2002 Jocelyn Cabernet; 2000 Monfallepto Cordero di Montezemolo Barolo.
DLM Washington Square
Saturday, November 19, 2005 12-5 pm: Columbia Crest 2003 Chardonnay; Columbia Crest 2003 Merlot; Turkey Flat Rose 2004; Buchli Station Pinot 2003 California; Van Duzer Pinot Noir; Tandem Syrah; Delectus Dog-Gone Good.
DLM Springboro
Friday, November 18, 2005 12-7 pm: Carpe Diem Chardonnay; Rodney Strong Pinot Noir; Steltzner Claret; Delectus Dog-Gone Good.
Saturday, November 19, 2005 12-5 pm: Hanzell Chardonnay; Hanzell Pinot Noir; Hitching Post Pinot Noir; Domaine Serene Reserve Pinot Noir.
Cuvee Wine Bar and Cellar, 4457 State Route 725 Bellbrook
Tuesday–Thursday 11:30 – 7 pm, Friday and Saturday 11:30–8 pm
Heidi Tolchinsky of WineWorks, Ohio will be at Cuvee Saturday, November 19th with a great lineup of California wines to sample. She will be there from noon until she leaves. WineWorks, Ohio represents many of the smaller, winemaker-owned-and -operated wineries in Napa, Sonoma and beyond: Esterlina Riesling; SoloRosa Rose; Reverie Daydream Sauvignon Blanc; Ortman Chardonnay; River Road Pinot Meunier; Noah Duarte Zin; Delectus Argentum.
Also, Cuvee Bubble Bash will be Saturday, December 10 at 7:30 PM Champagnes, Sparklings and food prepared by Chef Chris. Todd Nikolai of Vintner Select and Sara Staloch of Vanguard Wines will be helping the Cuvee folks. $65.00 per person. Reservations required. More details to follow.
B. R. Scotese Fairfield Wine tasters: Wednesday, November 23, 2005 4:30 pm will find many of the Fairfield Wine group at B. R. Scotese! The restaurant is no smoking on Wednesdays!
Autumn Wild Game and Wine Dinner, Sunday November 20, 2005 @ 6:00, $60 per person ($40 designated driver) Reservations required 431-1350
Appetizer: Wild Boar Sausage and Grapes Wine: Piping Shrike 2002 Shiraz
Soup: Duck and Barley with Tarragon Wine: Duxoup 2001 Charbono
Salad: Ancho Chile Rubbed Pheasant over Bibb Lettuce with a Pecan Pomegranate Vinaigrette Wine: Fritz Haag 2003 Estate Riesling
Entrée: Citrus and Juniper Elk Loin with Parsnip Potato Puree and a Cabernet Reduction Wine: Coyoteville 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon
Dessert: Drunken Chocolate Cake Port: Dow Crusted Port
SIPS 1035 S. Main Street, Centerville
Wine tasting 5-7 pm every Saturday, By the glass tasting 7:30 am – 11 pm weekends.
Saint Hilaire Brut Sparkling;
Gundlach-Bundschu Gewurztraminer;
Loosen ‘DR. L’ Riesling;
BLOCK 13 Pinot Noir;
Schlink Haus Dornfelder.
Grapes of Ruth
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 19, 7PM-??????: YMCA STRONG KIDS BENEFIT EVENING; COME JOIN YOUR FAVORITE CELEBRITY BARTENDERS FOR DRINKS , FOOD AND FUN
Neil’s Heritage House Wine Dinner, November 30, 2005: Reception 6:30 pm Dinner 6:50 pm, $60, reservations call 298-8611
Red Wine Risotto Cakes with White Cheddar, Chicken Liver Pate “Deviled Eggs�, Potato Crisps with Bundnerfleisch Sparkling Ravenhurst Blanc de Blanc NV 4-5 Years Old
Lobster Pate with Orange and Leeks Woop Woop Chardonnay, 2004
Chicken Bouillabaisse Penescal Sauvignon Blanc 2003
Pork Osso Cuco with Spaetzle, Chard and Melrose Apple Dino Torti Barbera, 2003
Pear Clafouti Nicolas Peche, Essence of Peach, NV
Market Wine in the 2nd Street Public Market is tasting the following wines on Saturday: Stonehaven Winemakers Riesling Ochoa Rose 2003 (Dry Blush), Legacy Late Harvest Pinot Noir (Semi Sweet), Gallo Sonoma Pinot Noir
Trader Joe’s in the Town and Country Shopping Center is tasting these wines on Sunday 4:00-7:00 and Tuesday 5:45-8:00: Stella Pinot Grigio (2004,) Trellis Cabernet (2002), Barefoot Zinfandel.
These wines available for tasting at the Grapes Of Ruth starting Nov. 18: Domaine Wachau Riesling, Mount Eden Chardonnay, Au bon Climat pinot noir, Clos chanteduc Rhone, Castano Solanera Vinas Viejas, Novelty Hill merlot, Bennet Family Cabernet Sauvignon.
A Round of Lambrusco for the Leadbelly Boys
My fellow Dayton Daily News writers and bloggers, the Leadbelly Boys, have “called me out” to prepare just the right wine-tasting experience for my Colleagues with the Cast-Iron Stomachs. I’ve already suggested a lineup that includes Boone’s Farm, Lambrusco, Mad Dog and Thunderbird, but …
… I’m sure I missed something. Take a look at the Leadbelly post and help me prepare the most fitting wine-tasting experience for my esteemed colleagues.
Thanks, and Cheers!
Mark Fisher
Care for a Glass of ‘Pink Cabbage Water?’
First, thanks for the robust response to my invitation to tell the world your thoughts on this whole nouveau phenomenon. And there’s still time to do so, by either posting a comment to this entry or scrolling down to the item below and joining the chorus.
I thought I’d have some fun and take my query to the next level — in this case, to Mark Squires’ Wine Bulletin Board on eRobertParker.com. This site is fairly new to me, but it becomes quickly obvious that these folks are pretty serious about their wine and their appreciation of it. These are the folks I invited to share their thoughts on nouveau wines.
Oh my.
Some excerpts:
Some are better than others (and how is that different from any other wine?), but in general Beaujolais Nouveau is juicy fun. What can be wrong with that? … I often wonder if those who dismiss Beaujolais Nouveau out of hand ever give it a try. (Robert Fleming from Atlanta)
Some of us have given that plonk many, many tries. I’m a fan of Cru Beaujolais but have never been able to work up any enthusiasm for pink cabbage water. (Frank Deis from New Jersey)
It’s fun stuff - has the shelf life of milk and …
… goes great with Turkey. I don’t know how anyone who likes wine cannot be at least interested in a wine that tastes more like freshly crushed grapes than any other wine on earth. (Thomas Keim from California)
I have always heard the earlier you drink this wine the richer your year to come will be. I have drunk this stuff every third Thursday for the last 12 years, and my w-2 wages have always gone up a nice amount each year. (Jeff Morris from California)
To view the entire thread of posts responding to my query, click on this Mark Squires’ BB on erobertparker.com nouveau thread.
So there you have it! A happy “Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!” to all, and of course, cheers!
Mark Fisher
All Hype or Pure Pleasure? YOU Decide
I’m curious, and I want you to help answer my curiosity. So all you lurkers out there — I’m calling you out. It’ll be easy, I assure you.
I want to know what you think of the nouveau phenomenon.
I wrote yesterday about this coming Thursday’s release of the 2005 Beaujolais Nouveau wines (see below) and their imitators from other parts of the world. My sense is the release — which comes with great fanfare in places like New York and Paris — is not as big of a deal in these parts as it used to be. I could be wrong.
What do you think of nouveau winess? What do you like (or not like) about them? Are they priced right?
Do you drink them with meals, or by themselves?
What could nouveau producers do to make the release of these wines more appealing? What could the wine shops do differently to make this experience more enjoyable?
If you’re on the retail or wholesale or marketing end of the wine trade, let me hear your thoughts too.
You don’t have to answer every question posed. Any one of them will do. Just click on the “post a comment” link and take it from there.
Let us know what you think.
Update: the initial comments to this solicitation have been all across the board, ranging from “goes great with pizza” to “Hideous” to “I’d rather drink dry vermouth on the rocks.” Take a look — and then let your voice be heard.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
The Delicious Madness that Is Nouveau Beaujolais
The crushed grapes have stopped bubbling in their vats. Their purplish juices have been slapped into bottles, still frothing. The tiny cylindrical piece of tree bark has been wedged into the bottle necks. The bottles have been loaded into boxes, the boxes stacked on airplanes, the airplanes piloted across the Atlantic.
All this just so you can …
…drink some vintage 2005 wine Thursday.
Yes, Nov. 17, 2005 — being the third Thursday in November – means it’s time to sample the Nouveau Beaujolais (and its imitators) for the annual autumn rite of allowing us to stain our teeth with the first wines of the vintage.
It’s a celebration of the harvest, a sort of thanksgiving the week before Thanksgiving.
The focus here is not on pretense, but on fun. Nouveaus, made from grapes that were still hanging on the vines a few weeks ago, are not wines to swirl and sniff and analyze. They’re meant to be swallowed.
So what’s the new vintage like? Well, we’ll let Georges Dubeouf, the tireless Beaujolais producer who helped create the worldwide nouveau phenomenon, tell us about the 2005 harvest in his neck of the French woods:
. Now that the grapes are fully ripe, they have exceeded even my expectations and have achieved a level of perfection rarely seen by a vigneron.
Naturally, perfect grapes are imperative to yield a perfect wine and, so far, 2005 is a marvelous vintage. Each day, it is showing more personality, richness, expression and grandeur – its future is full of promise. The main difference between this vintage and 2003 is that this wine doesn’t have a jammy edge to it; 2005 is fresher with more fruit, in short – it is perfectly balanced.
Beyond its impeccable appearance, the 2005 vintage also contains some of the most remarkable aromas. They breathe a refreshing complexity of black currant, blueberry, blackberry, black cherry and kirsch, intermingled with violet, cocoa, coffee, pepper, licorice and warm spices.
The taste of the 2005 Beaujolais Nouveau lives up to the standards set by its color and aroma. The palate gives the impression of intense concentration. This is a warm wine, bold and fleshy. It is harmonious, voluptuous and seductive. It is the sort of wine to help you rediscover the aromatic palate. The succulent fruits are held together by supple tannins that create the lavish expression of a high class wine. This is the mark of a formidable vintage that will be discussed for years to come.
On November 17th, 2005, you will discover all of this for yourself. I invite you to taste a Beaujolais Nouveau that will quickly write itself into the history of great vintages.
So there you have it, from the man they call the “King of Beaujolais.â€? Truth be told, there haven’t been too many vintages our good friend Georges couldn’t find SOMETHING nice to say about. But the 2005 vintage has been getting rave reviews in several wine-producing regions throughout France, so we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.
But lest you think it’s all about Dubeouf, here’s the list of nouveaus that Arrow wine, just as an example, is promising to offer for sampling Thursday:
2005 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Nouveau 2005 Bouchard Pere & fils Beaujolais-Nouveau 2005 Mommesin Beaujolais-Nouveau 2005 Joseph Drouhin Beaujolais-Nouveau 2005 Beringer Nouveau (California)
Other shops are joining in the fun, some tasting all day, and others, including the Wine Works in Springfield, tasting after work (5:30-7:30 p.m.)
Leave your pretensions at home and come try some nouveaus on Thursday.
Arrow Wine Hits a Bull’s Eye
So, what did folks think of the Arrow Wine & Spirits Holiday Tasting that was held Sunday night(11-13-05)?
I’ll go first.
Food was plentiful and tasty. Wines were of high quality. And the logistics worked smoothly. All in all, Arrow hit the target.
Since this event takes place 10 days after Dorothy Lane Market’s Holiday tasting, it’s hard not to compare the two. DLM’s holiday show draws larger crowds and is clearly …
…more ambitious, both in the first-rate food preparations and the numbers of wines represented. It also costs twice as much ($60 compared to Arrow’s $30).
But the folks at Arrow ramped it up a bit this year. The food was a cut above previous holiday tastings and included whole poached salmon. And the wines poured mostly by area distributors seemed a bit stronger across the board as well.
Favorites ranged from a tasty, deeply purple-colored Tamari Malbec from Argentina ($11.99) to the consistent line of New Mexican sparklers from Gruet ($15.99) to a smooth, complex 2003 Clio from Spain ($41.99) to a surprising and crowd-pleasing sparkling red (of all things) from Australia, the Black Chook Sparkling Shiraz ($19.99). And the $85 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet and the $103 Stag’s Leak SLV Cab were no slouches, either.
No one ran out of the most popular wines, and the food was replenished throughout the evening. The food stations were spread out and duplicated at multiple stations, so there was no waiting for sustenance. Short lines of no more than a half-dozen or so people formed at wine-pouring stations. And most — most — folks got their pour and immediately stepped aside to let the line continue moving.
If someone held hot coals to my toes to come up with something to whine about, the wine selection seems a tad skewed toward sparkling wines at the expense of whites and dessert-style wines, but I guess distributors view the holidays as THE time of year to sell the bubbly.
Let’s face it, we wine enthusiasts in the Dayton area are darn lucky to have events such as the Arrow and DLM holiday tastings. In larger cities, they’d cost more and be even more of a headache to get into and away from. And smaller cities have nothing like this.
Now, what do YOU think?
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
What WE Get to Taste This Weekend in Perpetually Sunny Dayton, Ohio
Man oh man, how can any wine enthusiast scan this list and not be thankful we’re alive and living in good ole’ “It’s Great ‘N’ Dayton” Ohio?
And I wonder what wine pairs perfectly with an Ohio State win over Northwestern, or even more importantly, what wine to buy this week in anticipation of next Saturday’s OSU win over Michigan?
I note that this weekend’s tasting at Cuvee includes the Robert Pecota Syrah. I chose the 2001 Pecota Monterey Syrah to accompany one of the dishes at the Eclipse Anniversary Dinner, because it is quite simply one of the best syrahs I’ve tasted from California. Not a deeply extracted heavyweight, but just the perfect balance between sweet fruit that is the hallmark of California reds and the earthy-spicy qualities usually found only in syrah-based wines of the northern Rhone. It’s delicious without being overpowering.
But enough! On to the tastings, courtesy of a local wine listserve!
Jay’s Kitchen Door
Friday, November 11, 2005 4-8 pm: 2001 Domaine Blanc Reisling Grand Cru, 2000 Bosquet De Papes Chateauneuf du Pape, 1999 Domaine Beaurenard Chateauneuf du Pape, 2000 Domaine Les Pallieres Gigondas, Les Hautes Brusquieres Chateauneuf du Pape.
Saturday, November 12, 2005 1-6 pm: 2000 Barolos
Arrow – Oakwood
Saturday, November 12, 2005 11-4 pm 2004 Vega Sindoa Chardonnay, 2004 Vina Alarba Old Vines Grenache, 2003 Penley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2002 L’Ecole No. 41 Merlot, 2003 Numanthia.
Holiday Wine Tasting - Arrow Wine Centerville: Great wine, food and live music. Sunday, November 13, 2005 6:30-8:30 pm, $30 per person - call 433-6778 for more information (caution: may be sold out!)
Thursday, November 17 Tasting ALL DAY Nouveau Beaujolais, both Arrow stores
Dorothy Lane Market (DLM)
DLM Oakwood
Friday, November 11, 2005 5-8 pm: 2002 Kammerner Gruner Veltliner, 2002 Anfora Zinfandel (Italian), 2004 Mr. Riggs Shiraz/Viognier, 2001 Totel-Aviron Julienas Bourgogne, 2002 Barnett Merlot.
Saturday, November 12, 2005 1-6 pm: 2004 O’Brien Chardonnay, 2003 La Casina Girasole (Chianti), 2003 Sebastiani Pinot Noir, Little James Basket Rhone Blend, 2001 Lonen Cabernet Sauvignon.
DLM Washington Square
Saturday, November 12, 2005 12-5 pm Podere Scopetone 2000 Brunello
DLM Springboro
Friday, November 11, 2005 12-7 pm: Pessagno Chardonnay, St. Francis Red, David Bruce Pinot Noir, Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet.
Saturday, November 12, 2005 12-5 pm: Keller Chardonnay, Keller Pinot Noir, Domaine Laroche Chablis Premier Cru, Staglin Cabernet.
Cuvee Wine Bar and Cellar, New wines beginning Friday, November 11, 2005: Marfil Classic, Kuhl Kabinett Riesling, Vocoret Chablis, Augustus Chardonnay, Andeluna Cabernet Sauvignon, Pecota Syrah, Angeline Pinot Noir, Tablas Creek Esprit de Beaucastel.
B. R. Scotese Fairfield Wine tasters! Wednesday, November 16, 2005 4:30 pm will find many of the Fairfield Wine group at B. R. Scotese. The restaurant is no smoking on Wednesdays.
Autumn Wild Game and Wine Dinner Sunday November 20, 2005 @ 6:00 $60 per person ($40 designated driver) Reservations required 431-1350
Appetizer: Wild Boar Sausage and Grapes Wine: Piping Shrike 2002 Shiraz
Soup: Duck and Barley with Tarragon Wine: Duxoup 2001 Charbono
Salad: Ancho Chile Rubbed Pheasant over Bibb Lettuce with a Pecan Pomegranate Vinaigrette Wine: Fritz Haag 2003 Estate Riesling
Entrée: Citrus and Juniper Elk Loin with Parsnip Potato Puree and a Cabernet Reduction Wine: Coyoteville 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon
Dessert: Drunken Chocolate Cake Port: Dow Crusted Port
SIPS 1035 S. Main Street, Centerville (close to Kroger and Elder Berman) Wine tasting 5-7 pm every Saturday, By the glass tasting 7:30 am – 11 pm weekends. Joseph Drouhin Laforet Pinot, Franus Zinfandel, Vinum Cellars Petite Syrah Pets, Errazuriz Merlot (Chilean), Artesa Elements, Ravenwoods Cabernet, Bennett Family Reserve Cabernet, Tavel Rose
Grapes of Ruth
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 12, 3-6PM THANKSGIVING DAY WINES A SPECIAL TASTING OF WINES THAT HAVE BEEN SELECTED FOR THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY. FRANCOIS MONTAND BRUT ROSE, BONNY DOON PACIFIC RIM CHENIN BLANC, DOPF IRION TOKAY PINOT GRIS, CLAIRBORNE AND CHURCHILL DRY GEWURTZRAMINER, CAVE DE TAIN ROSE DE SYRAH, TAFT STREET PINOT NOIR, DOMAINE SERENE YAMHILL CUVEE PINOT NOIR. DESERT WINES: EOLA HILLS LATE HARVEST SAUVIGNON BLANC, ALVEAR PEDRO XIMENEZ ANADA, CHATEAU JAU MUSCAT DE RIVESALTES.
Trader Joe’s, 328 E. Stroop Road, Sunday 4-7 p.m. and Tuesday 5:45-8:00 p.m.:
2004 Indaba Sauvignon Blanc (South Africa), 2004 Blackstone Pinot Noir, 2002 Blackstone Zinfandel.
Eclipse is offering a special anniversary wine dinner and Mark Fisher is picking out the wines.
WINE DINNER MENU 6 p.m. Monday, November 14, 2005 at Eclipse 79 South Main Street in Centerville (937) 436-3925 for reservations
Pates, imported cheeses and champagne
Seared rare Hawaiian white tuna block with fois gras, butter poached lobster and papaya mustard vinaigrette 2003 Beckman Marsanne
Trio of sweet, candied, hot and savory beets with exotic greens wrapped in a Vietnamese rice paper NV Foreau Vouvray Brut
Butternut and roasted garlic bisque served in a mini gourd 2004 Alban Viognier
(Biltong) South African dried beef tenderloin air cured with salt and coriander 2000 Melini Chianti Classico Riserva ³La Savinella
Seared rabbit loin and confit with a sauce of apricots and black trumpet mushrooms 2003 Jean-Luc Dubois Savigny-les-Beaune ³Les Picotin² (red Burgundy)
Venison tartare and smoked buffalo carpaccio 2001 Robert Pecota Winery 2001 Syrah
Secret dessert Port tba
Kinkead Ridge Estate Winery
Saturday, November 19: taste wine perfect for your Thanksgiving turkey. 2004 Viognier/Roussanne, 2003 Cabernet Franc Saturday, November 26: first annual barrel tasting Saturday, December 10: (the weekend of Ripley’s River Village Christmas) Saturday, December 17: We will also be tasting the 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon.
These are the last chances to visit the winery in 2005; the winery will re-open for the release of the Riesling and white Revelation in May of 2006. Three of our vintages released this year are sold out; don’t miss these remaining ones.
Kinkead Ridge Estate Winery 904 Hamburg Street Ripley, Ohio 45167 Directions: see www.KinkeadRidge.com/htm/directions.htm
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The $16,500 Wine Tasting
Hey, and you thought the Eclipse dinner was expensive!
Check out Decanter Magazine’s story about the wine tasting to end all wine tastings and get a little taste — or “a splash,” as the story says — of how the other half lives.
Let me see if I’ve got this straight: even at $16,500 a pop, this tasting was …
… sold out. Some of the wines were way over the hill and shot — probably punishing to even swallow. And organizers are already busily planning next year’s event!
Only in America.
Wait — let me be more specific: only in Manhattan.
Think something like this would fly in Dayton, Ohio?
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
A Half-Dozen Wines for Dinner … Brilliant!
The menu and the wines have been set — subject to the usual last-second snafus — for the Eclipse Anniversary Dinner, and both are, shall we say …
… eclectic in the finest sense of the word. I am really looking forward to this event. Blue Moon and Eclipse proprietor Greg Fitzgerald put together the meal and invited me to choose the wines. What was he thinking?? You’ll have to ask him.
Here’s what we came up with:
Reception: Pates, imported cheeses and sparkling wines picked by Greg
First Course: Seared rare Hawaiian white tuna with foie gras, butter-poached lobster and papaya mustard vinaigrette, served with the 2003 Beckman Marsanne
Second course: Trio of sweet, candied, hot and savory beets with exotic greens wrapped in a Vietnamese rice paper, served with a non-vintage Brut sparkling Vouvray from Phillippe Foreau
Third Course: Butternut and roasted garlic bisque served in a mini gourd, served with the 2004 Alban Viognier
Fourth Course: Seared rabbit loin and confit with a sauce of apricots and black trumpet mushrooms, served with 2003 Jean-Luc Dubois Savigny-les-Beaune “Les Picotin� red Burgundy
Fifth Course: South African “Biltong”-style beef tenderloin air-cured with salt and coriander, served with the 1999 Melini Chianti Classico Riserva “La Savinellaâ€?
Sixth Course: Venison tartare and smoked buffalo carpaccio, served with the 2001 Robert Pecota Winery 2001 Syrah
Seventh Course: Dessert TBA, served with the Taylor-Fladgate LBV Port.
Hey, I said it was eclectic. And a feast. Not a chardonnay or a cabernet in the bunch, but lots of incredible wines. The food should make them even better.
The dinner will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14 at Eclipse at 79 S. Main Street in Centerville. Tickets for the seven-course-plus dinner, with seven wines to accompany, are $80 per person, not including tax and tip. For more information or to make reservations, call the restaurant at 937-436-3925 (Thanks, Bob, for the correction).
And, of course, Cheers!
Mark Fisher
Wine as Seduction: Help a Colleague Build a Case
Help a colleague of mine build a case — of wine, that is.
Some of you wine-tasting regulars have met my handsome and talented and single (well, talented and single, anyway) reporter colleague, Mehul Srivastava, whose learning curve and enjoyment of wine are accelerating so incredibly fast that …
…I suspect he wants my job.
He’s headed to Washington D.C. Thursday (11-10-05) and wants to take a case of wine with him to sustain him during his stay (although recommendations on where to buy wine in the District would also be welcomed, I’ll bet). Here is what he’ll need the wines for:
A) Casual evening with friends before heading out for the bars
B) A Chianti or two with a friend who likes them.
C) After an evening out, at my place, with a special friend. (Hmmm. Subtle, that Mehul.)
D) One “Wow!” wine to look forward to, to cap off my stay there.
E) A wine to slowly drink during the evenings when I stay in (cold, strange city, when the wine is my only friend …)
F) One to remind me of Dayton
G) And one surprise.
Now, there is a kicker: He doesn’t want to spend too much on this case of wine — not much more than $100, maybe $120 tops. That works out to $10 a bottle, maybe a little more, minus discount plus tax.
Anybody out there who can help poor Mehul? He’s already gotten some VERY good suggestions (see comments) but is still (ahem) thirsting for more….
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
BEER as the New Health Food??
Oh my, here we go. Beer has been found to contain a potentially powerful disease-fighting compound, according to researchers cited in an ABC News report on the topic.
The report states that beer “has has gotten a bad rap as a calorie-loaded beverage that only serves to create paunchy beer bellies and alcohol-fueled lapses in judgment.” (Well, yes, its has done both of those things too, now that you mention it…)
But now the fermented grain product has been found to contain …
…xanthohumol (hmm. Doesn’t sound healthy, does it?), which the report describes as “a unique micronutrient that inhibits cancer-causing enzymes.”
I wonder whether this news potentially could have the same impact on wine sales as the CBS 60 Minutes report entitled “French Paradox” had on red-wine sales many years ago?
And do you suppose beer marketers might be filling their drool cups every hour?
Maybe Homer Simpson was right after all.
But wine’s still better.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
Hijacked!
I will, on occasion, step aside from this pulpit and invite a hijacker to take over “Uncorked” for the day. No better day than today, since I am tied up attending a conference for my “other job” as education reporter. So here is an excellent posting from Patricia Vendt on …
… Champagnes and on those who produce them — and who take the time and make the effort to come to Ohio and to share them with us. Thank you Patty!
“Last week Vanguard Wines and Michael Skurnik Wines, Inc. held a tasting of all the wines from these small champagne grower producers who have been recognized in many of the wine journals including a recent Food & Wine Magazine article recognizing Laurent Champs in their Wine Families: Generation Next.
A familiar brand name champagne may buy their grapes from as many as 40 villages and are looking for a consistent style. These producers let their wines reflect the character of the soil, the vintage, and the skill of the wine maker. The vintners were charming and eager to share their wines and knowledge. Jean-Baptiste Geoffroy and Laurent Champs poured their wines at the DLM Holiday show. I noticed in a post about the DLM show, Niki agreed with my assessment of the French vintners.  Didier Gimonnet from Pierre Gimonnet Arnaud Margaine from A. Margaine Alexander Lallement from Jean Lallement et Fils Jean-Baptiste Geoffroy from René Geoffroy Laurent Champs from Vilmart & Cie  There were also other Champagnes from Terry Theise’s selections. Over fifty champagnes were available for tasting and it was truly a learning experience
It was a stellar opportunity to try chardonnay and pinot noir and their blends in side-by-side tastings. Appetizers were provided that turned a rose’ from a yuck to ahhhh when paired with dark chocolate. I didn’t think I cared for demi sec, a sweeter style, but when the Milan demi sec was paired with a mushroom cooked in wine stuffed with a caramelized onion confit I changed my mind.
Then there were the Special Club champagnes that represent the vintner’s best as judged by an association of twenty-six vintners. For a great champagne resource, check this Skurnik Wines Theise site.
The worst part of the afternoon was that I learned to spit those absolutely lovely champagnes.”
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Mmmmmm. Wine Good. Here Are the Tastings for This Weekend
If you’re looking for either the restaurant wine prices posting or the Dorothy Lane Market Holiday Show posting, scroll down a smidge.
And if you’d like to feast your eyes upon what we’re tasting in Dayton, Ohio this weekend, compiled by and courtesy of a local wine list serve, click on “continue reading.” Then, enjoy!
Jay’s Kitchen Door Friday, November 4, 2005 4-8 pm 2003 Domaine Paul Blanck Pinot Gris 2001 Ridge Litton Springs 2000 Paradigm Cabernet 1998 J Phelps Insignia
Saturday, November 5, 2005 1-6 pm NV Gruet Blanc de Noir 2001 Abel Mendoza Jarrarto Rioja 2001 Malleolus Tempranillo 2002 Numanthia Termes
Arrow – Oakwood Saturday, November 5, 2005 11-4 pm NV L’Hereu de Raventos Blanc, Cava, Brut 2004 Evans and Tate Chardonnay, Australia 2002 Clos Pegase Pinot Noir, Mitsuko’s Vineyard 2001 Wellington Merlot, Sonoma 2001 Sierra Cantabria Rioja, Crianza 2003 Massena, “The Eleventh Hour�
Holiday Wine Tasting - Arrow Wine Centerville Wine, food, music Sunday, November 13, 2005 6:30-8:30 pm $30 per person - call 433-6778 and make your reservations
Dorothy Lane Market (DLM)
DLM Oakwood Friday, November 4, 2005 5-8 pm 2002 Mt. Eden Chardonnay 2003 Santa Barbara Pinot 2001 Trinchero Reserve Meritage 2003 Finca Sophenia Malbec 2001 Jarrarto Rioja
Saturday, November 5, 2005 1-6 pm 2004 Boger Sauvignon Blanc 2002 Hendry Zinfandel 2001 North Star Merlot 2000 Paveil De Luze Marqaux 2003 K Cellars Ovide Pierre Peters Grand Cru
DLM Washington Square
Saturday, November 5, 2005 12-5 pm 2003 G+M MACHERMER WEINGUT GEWURZTRAMINER SPATLESE 2004 SOLO ROSA ROSE’ 2001 CHIMNEY ROCK FUME’ BLANC 2002 RUTHERFORD HILL MERLOT 2002 JOCELYN CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Dorothy Lane Market Springboro Friday, November 4, 2005 12-7 pm Kelham Sauvignon Blanc Teatown Chardonnay Mt. Eden Cabernet Heller Merlot
Saturday, November 5, 2005 12-5 pm Rudd Sauvignon Blanc Wildhorse Chardonnay Paraiso Syrah Joseph Phelps Insignia
Cuvee Wine Bar and Cellar New wines beginning Friday, November 4, 2005 G & M Machmer 2003 Gewurztraminer Spatlese Gainey 2003 Sauvignon Blanc ForestVille 2003 Chardonnay Debonne 2003 Pinot Gris Buchli Station 2003 Pinot Noir Elena Walch 2001 Lagrein Maxwell 2002 Four Roads Shiraz Grenzche Robert Mondavi 1997 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Food: Escargot in Garlic Butter
B. R. Scotese Fairfield Wine tasters! Wednesday, November 9, 2005 4:30 pm will find many of the Fairfield Wine group at B. R. Scotes.! The restaurant is no smoking on Wednesdays.
Autumn Wild Game and Wine Dinner Sunday November 20, 2005 @ 6:00 $60 per person ($40 designated driver) Reservations required 431-1350
Appetizer: Wild Boar Sausage and Grapes Wine: Piping Shrike 2002 Shiraz
Soup: Duck and Barley with Tarragon Wine: Duxoup 2001 Charbono
Salad: Ancho Chile Rubbed Pheasant over Bibb Lettuce with a Pecan Pomegranate Vinaigrette Wine: Fritz Haag 2003 Estate Riesling
Entrée: Citrus and Juniper Elk Loin with Parsnip Potato Puree and a Cabernet Reduction Wine: Coyoteville 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon
Dessert: Drunken Chocolate Cake Port: Dow Crusted Port
Grapes of Ruth THURSDAY NOVEMBER 10, 6-8PM
INTRODUCTION TO WINE TASTING MOLLY SWEENEY OF VINTAGE DISTRIBUTING WILL BE CONDUCTING THIS SEMINAR. LEARN THE BASICS OF WINE PRODUCTION, WINE TASTING AND WINE TASTING TERMS. THE FEE FOR THIS SEMINAR IS $20.00 AND RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED.
The Dorothy Lane Market Holiday Food & Wine Show — In Your Words
If you’re looking for the restaurant wine prices post, scroll down just a little bit.
Okay, I’m curious to hear what YOU thought about the DLM food and wine show. Tell you what. I’ll go first.
The food was fabulous, an absolute feast of well-prepared, high-quality eats, and plentiful, too. The wines …
…were also very high in quality, varied and plentiful.
But this event was oversold. Especially during the first hour, before attendees got plates of food and found a seat upstairs or a quiet corner to munch and sip, it was gridlock in many places on the first floor. The line for one wine station extended past a second wine station.
The situation was irritating — but only for a while. The crowd spread out a bit, plus the fine food and wines began to work their magic alchemy, and the frustration eventually melted away. It also helped mightily that every DLM employee appeard to be working their tails off to get everybody served.
But the logistics should be addressed before next year’s show. Perhaps fewer tickets should be sold (although no one I know would volunteer to be shut out), or perhaps the store should be shut down entirely for the event.
In the end, the event was a success.
One postscript to those who attended — and this is an issue I wrote about before last year’s Fleurs de Fete — when you’re at an event like this, standing in a long line to receive a sample of wine, get your sample and GET OUT OF THE WAY. If you want to engage the pourer in extended conversation, at least do so after stepping off to the side, so the line can keep moving. It’s the considerate thing to do.
That’s my two — um, maybe three — cents worth. You?
Mark Fisher
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
Restaurant Wine Prices: Bargain or Boondoggle?
The issue of prices on restaurant wine lists has been, shall we say, uncorked in comments the last couple of days, and I’d like to hear your opinions and experiences on this delightful little topic.
First, David Schildknecht from Vintner Select pointed out that Ohio’s licensing laws that allow restaurants to sell wine for consumption with dinner OR to take home (Sips, Jay’s, the Winds all have retail wine shops affiliated or even a part of their restaurants, for example) have “had the effect — through competition — of significantly driving down the price of wine in restaurants, indeed so much so that in many fine dining establishments, bottle prices are not significantly higher than retail prices,” or slightly over. David says this situation “quickly becomes a topic of astonished conversationâ€? whenever winery owners and winemakers visit Ohio and glance at our wine lists.
But Jens, a Cincinnati-area retail wine shop owner and wine blogger, said down in the Queen City (Dayton’s southernmost suburb, I’d like to think), restaurants “charge 1.5 to 3 times retail …
… on their wine lists. I wish more restaurants priced at $10 over retail. I would buy more, expensive wines and maybe an extra bottle!”
It’s been a while since I’ve ordered a full bottle of wine in a Dayton-area restaurant, preferring the by-the-glass route instead, and even in doing that, I’ve been astonished myself in both directions — a healthy pour of high-quality wine for a shockingly reasonable price, and a microscopic pour of so-so wine for a shockingly gouging price.
What do YOU think of restaurant wine prices in Dayton and around Ohio?
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
Currying Favor with the Prohibitionists
The following analysis and history on Ohio’s wine shipping issue comes from David Schildknecht of Mason, OH-based Vintner Select, a wine importing and distributing company. One comment from your “Uncorked” author: David mentions a piece of draconian legislation that has been introduced (not passed, just proposed) that would, in David’s words, ban any wine shipment “from any sales transacted by computer, mail, or telephone.” Considering the impact such a law would have on…
… Ohio’s wine industry — its wineries, grape growers, wine shop owners, etc. in every legislative district in the state — it’s difficult to imagine such a bill would gain enough votes to become law — especially with the powerful speaker of the House predicting the Legislature will go in the opposite direction, toward a less restrictive shipping system. In fact, it smells of grandstanding by some legislator who knew full well when he or she proposed the bill that it had zero chance of passing, but who wanted to curry favor with his Prohibitionist constituents. But thanks to David for making sure we can keep an eye on such proposals to ensure nothing “sneaks through” when we’re not paying attention. Anyway, here’s David’s take on the current state of wine shipping in (and to) Ohio, and on restaurant wine-list prices in Ohio:
“I realize that the State of Ohio (in which I nowadays reside as does the import-distribution business for which I work) is often cited for being consumer-unfriendly on account of policies such as mandatory minimum mark-ups. But misinformation abounds both within the State and without about Ohio regulations (including those governing pricing - but that is a topic for another day). And this general level of misinformation seems to prevail among wineries and consumers in other States as well.
For example (to address the question at the head of this thread), Ohio has traditionally been cited - and unwittingly treated as a “no-ship” zone - by out-of-state wineries. In fact, Ohio has for decades permitted shipping by private individuals. Way back in the early eighties when I began my retail wine career in Washington, DC, I was amazed to find that a group of wine enthusiasts in Ohio were the only ones among my customers to whom I could routinely consign loads of over-the-road freight, with the State of Ohio issuing an official authorization. Note that this Ohio law applies to shipments from retailers and not just wineries (whereas the Supreme Court Decision only relates to “producers”, i.e. wineries).
There were however three conditions for obtaining a permit as a consumer to ship wine into Ohio: 1) payment of the relevant tax; 2) a limit to the total gallonage per year; 3) certification that the wine was not available through an Ohio distributor. The gallonage limit did not amount to a serious impediment for those who - like my customers from back in the eighties - pooled these permissions. And it is not clear to me whether there was ever active scrutiny by the State to determine that the wine to be shipped was not already registered with a local wholesaler. In any event, what has changed in the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent decision regarding parity of shipping is that Ohio’s Division of Liquor Control has announced it will no longer enforce restrictions 2) and 3) [which, incidentally, correspond with Ohio Administrative Code Section 4301:1 Rule 23!] when issuing consumer shipping permits. (Incidentally, Fedex and UPS have now lifted any restrictions consumers may have experienced in trying to ship into Ohio.)
What comes next though is still anybody’s guess. The change in practice at Liquor Control is a sensible expedient but the Ohio Legislature - like that of other States - must ultimately determine how to change State law to conform with the Supreme Court’s recent decision. It is widely recognized that either an open door policy OR (sadly) a ban on all shipment of wine within the state in question will fulfill the conditions of parity set forth in that decision. Since Ohio has a significant wine industry of its own, one hopes our legislature will take the liberal approach which New York’s governor is advocating for that State. Then again, Michigan has a significant quality wine industry as well, which that State now appears intent on sacrificing in the name of liquor control and the supposed protection of minors. At present, Ohio legislation has been introduced that would take a different approach, by cutting off shipment from any sales transacted by computer, mail, or telephone! Local wineries have already raised the alarm that such a law would be just as much a death knell as would an outright ban on any shipments of wine within the State.
Permit me to end on a less depressing note and drive home the point that progressive as well as restrictive elements can be found amid our crazy-quilt of fifty-one (don’t forget DC!) different liquor control laws. I am pleased to point out to any who have not enjoyed the Ohio culinary scene that we have one of if not the least restrictive laws concerning dual (on- and off-premise) licenses, which aren’t even permitted in most states. In addition to the conveniences afforded by dual licenses, they have had the effect - through competition - of significantly driving down the price of wine in restaurants, indeed so much so that in many fine dining establishments, bottle prices are not significantly higher than retail prices, or occasionally represent minimum Ohio retail plus a fixed service charge. This situation is immediately evident to any of the many winery proprietors or representatives who visit Ohio in my company and quickly becomes a topic of astonished conversation.”
So there you have it, courtesy of Mr. Schildknecht.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
The Wine Fire Revisited
Today I’ll let my fellow wine bloggers do the heavy lifting. The only heavy lifting I’ll do today is a glass of viognier, followed by a glass of syrah (I’m still auditioning the wines for the Nov. 14 Eclipse anniversary dinner). That’s taxing enough.
Tom Wark’s excellent wine blog Fermentation (it has a new name, without the “s,” because of some legal mumbo-jumbo) offers an update on the devastating wine fire in Vallejo, California, including some pictures from inside the …
…warehouse that will make strong wine lovers weep.
Remember, investigators believe this blaze was the result of arson. I ask again: what punishment is appropriate for the low-life who set this fire?
Grrrrrr.
Cheers….
Mark Fisher
