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October 2007
Bordeaux or California? Let each wine’s ‘carbon footprint’ guide your choice
Looking to go green? Consider drinking Bordeaux rather than that California Cab — at least, if you live east of wine’s national carbon footprint “Green Line,” which runs through or near the Miami Valley and Dayton area.
That’s among the many conclusions reached by Dr. Tyler Colman, who teaches at New York University when he isn’t writing his wildly popular wine blog known as Dr. Vino.
Colman and a research colleague collaborated on a paper for the American Association of Wine Economics entitled Red, White and “Green”: The Cost of Carbon in the Global Wine Trade. A summary of the findings can be found at this post on Dr. Vino’s blog.
It’s fun, if somewhat technical, stuff, to compare the carbon footprint of wines such as YellowTail from Australia to a French wine from the Loire Valley to a California cab.
The researchers came up with a “Green Line” that runs through Ohio — Tyler says in an email that it runs through Dayton, but we all know you can’t trust a New Yorker’s knowledge of Ohio geography — and here’s how he explains this “green line”:
For points to the West of that line, it is more carbon efficient to consume wine trucked from California. To the East of that line, it’s more efficient to consume the same sized bottle of wine from Bordeaux, which has had benefited from the efficiencies of container shipping, followed by a shorter truck trip.
So, ladies and gentlemen, what’ll it be: California or Bordeaux? Let your green conscience guide you.
Or go green entirely and consider an Ohio wine. And yes, I mean “green” in the environmental sense, silly.
Thanks for reading, and cheers!
Mark
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Vintage 2007 was a year of extremes for Ohio winemakers
Mother Nature delivered a roller-coaster of a ride to Ohio winemakers in 2007, but the ride ended safely and happily for most.
First the Easter Massacre freeze affected many vineyards in the Buckeye state, in some cases virtually wiping out the yields on certain varietals, though most wineries in the northeast corner escaped the worst of the cold snap. An unusually warm, and mostly dry, growing season followed, though some rains did fall in some areas late in the harvest season.
All in all, Ohio winemakers are smiling.
Markko Vineyards founder Arnie Esterer said the 2007 vintage’s warm, dry growing season led to early ripening and an early harvest.
“Sugars and flavor developed well in spite of low rainfall,” Esterer said.
Markko’s pinot noir was harvested at 22 degrees Brix, a measurement of sugars in the grapes, while chardonnay came in at 23 degrees, and a field blend of mostly cabernet sauvignon registering in excess of 20 degrees — all relatively high sugar levels for a upper midwest region that in some years struggles to ripen its vinifera grapes. All of Esterer’s riesling reached “late harvest” maturity levels of 26-28 degrees Brix, Esterer said in his web site’s newsletter.
Wes Gerlosky, winemaker for Harpersfield Vineyards, was equally enthusiastic about the quality level in his vineyards, which are also in the northeast corner of the Buckeye state.
“Things are looking very promising for vintage 2007,” Gerlosky said in an email to Uncorked. “I’m willing to predict 2007 to be at least the equal of 2005 and perhaps even approach the level of the fabulous 2001 vintage. All systems are ‘go’ and on track here in the Grand River Valley.”
The extremes of the growing season were felt keenly at Kinkead Ridge, located near Ripley in southern Ohio. The winery saw some varietals decimated, while others enjoyed a banner year.
“Last year we had 7,000 pounds of Viognier. This year we had 160 or so. There will hardly be any white wine this year,” said Nancy Bentley, Kinkead Ridge’s co-owner. “Several days of very high temperatures, shoots up to 4 inches long, and a plunge to 28 degrees decimated the Viognier, Roussanne, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah. Losses in the Viognier/Roussanne ranged in the 80 percent range compared to last year.”
But her partner and winemaker Ron Barrett has high hopes — very high hopes — for his cabernets.
“Because of the long dry growing season, the Cabernet Sauvignon may be an extraordinary vintage,” Barrett said. “Small berries, with a high skin to pulp ratio, are very good for red vinifera. The Brix levels were 25+ on the reds, resulting in wines with higher alcohol content than normal. The Cabernet Sauvignon survived the freeze, so quantities are normal; and almost normal on Cabernet Franc.”
Also reporting a mixed bag of vintage results was Damon Leeman, owner of Perennial Vineyards in Navarre. “Our early varieties produced well — Vignoles, Seyval blanc, Chancellor,” Leeman said. “Our later varieties did not fare as well — Vidal, Chambourcin, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir. We had some drought problems which may have played a role. However, overall, the harvest was good.”
In west-central Ohio, the Winery at Versailles also experienced an unusual year, according to co-owner Mike Williams.
“Our vineyard and our contracted vineyard both had an extremely dry season. In fact, we dropped two-thirds of the fruit in Versailles, in order to allow the vines to survive.
“But we found that our harvest was early. The Seyval was picked Aug 14th at 20 Brix, with nice flavors. The Steuben and Chambourcin were picked before Labor Day, and the Chambourcin averaged 24 Brix — unheard of at that time of year. Both vineyards are very young, so we kept the yield down, and they tend to be inconsistent, but both the acids and Ph were just about perfect.
“The grapes that we bought from the Lake Erie district were excellent in both varietal character, and chemical make-up. … Overall, I think that 2007 will be and good to excellent vintage, for both quality and quantity.”
The problem at Terra Cotta Vineyards in New Concord in east-central Ohio wasn’t the frost but the deer, which prompted owners Donna and Paul Roberts to net their vineyards.
“By the time the deer figured there were grapes there we had them picked,” the owners wrote. “The weather was much better this year than in 2006, when we had a lot of rain. Same with the harvest — it was much better this year due to weather conditions. Last year we were picking Chambourcin at 32 degrees and snow!”
Jim Iubelt, owner of Maple Ridge Vineyard in Madison in northeast Ohio, said the quality of his Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir will be “well above average, with superior acid-fruit-sugar balance than the preceeding 10 years.”
Quantity was up by one-third over last year, although rain at harvest reduced sugar potential in some varietals and triggered botrytis mold in some whites.
Rain was less of a problem at Laleure Vineyards, located 40 miles east of Cleveland. Owner Rich Hill said he “pruned short this year to give out wines a bit of a rest after two pretty large crops,” and had no problems with spring freeze or harvest rains. Dry weather throughout the growing season kept the threat of disease down, he said.
“We didn’t get enough rain to hurt at all late in the season,” Hill said. “In fact, October so far has been less than 0.25 inches. It has to rain sometime though, right?”
Vintage 2007 so far “is looking great,” Hill said.
That’s the view of many Ohio winemakers who survived the 2007 roller-coaster ride — and will prepare for another one next year.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Here’s one Napa winery that isn’t afraid to take on the world
Michaela Rodeno, CEO of St. Supery Vineyards and Winery
Most traveling-winemaker events are numbingly similar: Representatives of a winery zip across the country, introducing their wines — and only their wines — over a few bites of food.
Not St. Supery, the Rutherford, CA-based winery that has carved out a niche for sauvignon blanc in the heart of Napa .
Michaela Rodeno, St. Supery’s CEO, has a passion for sauvignon blanc — and she wants to share that passion with as many people as possible. So when Michaela travels the country on behalf of St. Supery wines, she brings her sauvignon blanc and eight others from around the world to educate about the different styles and expressions of the grape.
Rather than shrinking from comparisons to world-class wines, she invites them. And she doesn’t cherry-pick a bunch of stiffs, either: included in her comparative tasting is the Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fume Pur Sang ($70), from one of the most (if not THE most) highly respected producers of the grape in the world.
Rodeno, who spent 15 years helping to guide Domaine Chandon’s success before taking the CEO position at St. Supery, brought this fascinating event to Rosendale’s in Columbus a few weeks back and led the comparative tasting herself. She talked about sauvignon blanc’s history in California and how winemakers there in the 1980s often tried to hide sauvignon blanc’s herbal character by lavishing it with oak and trying to make it taste like chardonnay. Then in the 1990s New Zealand introduced American palates to the more aggressive grapefruit-infused style of sauvignon blanc, and California winemakers took notice.
Today, St. Supery owns about 10 percent of all of the sauvignon blanc vines in Napa, Rodeno said. About 40 percent of the winery’s vines are sauvignon blanc. Yet, the grape continues to lose favor in the wine-growing region: Once accounting for about 15 percent of the grapevines in Napa, sauvignon blanc has dropped to about 5 percent of the valley’s total acreage, the winery CEO said.
Although this was clearly a comparative tasting, it was not designed as a competition. “We’re not trying to pick a winner here, but to show how diverse they are,” Rodeno said.
But the tasting did spring some surprises. (please click on “continue reading)
First, St. Supery did bring its A-game to the tasting in the form of its 2006 Dollarhide ($35). This bottling contains the winery’s best lots of sauvignon and represents just 4 percent of Dollarhide’s total sauvignon blanc production. And it showed very, very well, in part because of what it isn’t: it is not a profound expression of any one of sauvignon blanc’s characteristics (grassiness, grapefruit, cat pee, tart acidity), as many other sauvignon blancs are. It is a wine that is above all, balanced, containing nuances of all that makes sauvignon blanc distinctive, but with no one trait standing out. And it manages that balancing act while also delivering great intensity of flavor.
Here are the wines we tasted, and my tasting notes:
— Duckhorn 2006 Sauvignon Blanc ($25): muted nose, with little varietal character. The flavors are flat, and the wine lacks acidity. In this case, maybe the 22 percent semillion didn’t do its companion grape any favors.
— 2005 Clos Floridene, Denis Dubourdieu (white Bordeaux, $20): Some vanilla-caramel notes on the nose, which carry over into the flavors, though firm acids rescue the finish. The healthy dose of semillon (perhaps as much as 44 percent) and the 100 percent barrel fermentation seem to place this wine into a category other than sauvignon blanc.
— Didier Dagueneau Pur Sang Pouilly-Fume 2005 ($70): Powerful nose of lemon zest and grapefruit, this wine combines concentrated citrus flavors with great viscosity and firm acidity. Essence of sauvignon in a high-intensity wine.
— Villa Chiopris 2005 (Italy, $18): A lean wine that emphasizes the grassy end of the sauvignon spectrum, with little grapefruit-like fruit. The austere acidity makes the wine single-dimensional.
— Craggy Range 2006 (New Zealand, $25): Very grassy/herbal nose, a bit of tart citrus fruit peeks through on the palate, followed by firm acidity.
— Kim Crawford 2006 (New Zealand, $19): Here’s the quintessential New Zealand style, dominated by grapefruit (and yes, a hint of cat pee) aromas and citrus-lychee flavors. A zingy, refreshing wine.
— Casa Marin Cipreses Vineyard, 2005 (Chile, $32): An example of the lean, grassy style, with all grass and herbs on the nose, with just enough fruit to carry through to a long, tart finish.
Mulderbosch 2006 (South Africa, $20): Muted nose, muted flavors, very little varietal character, and a short finish.
— St. Supery Dollarhide 2006 ($35): A nose that strikes the right balance between grapefruit and grassy. The lychee-grapefruit flavors dominate the palate, then give way slowly to refreshing acidity in a long, pleasurable finish.
Now I know, Rodeno said this is not a competition, but … well, we’re Americans. My favorites: If I were having a glass, I’d go with the intense, essence-like Dagueneau. If I were sharing a bottle over dinner, the St. Supery would provide the most pleasure through the end of a meal.
Most important, this is a GREAT idea of St. Supery’s — one that other wineries should emulate. As long as they have the wines to back up their quality claims, that is. In this case, St. Supery did.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
(Image courtesy of stsupery.com)
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Buying wine from an out-of-state retailer
It was a preliminary ruling in a case not yet fully decided, but a Michigan judge has appeared to favor the concept that out-of-state wine retailers should be able to ship wine legally to Michigan residents as long as Michigan wine retailers have the ability to ship wine legally, if I understand the press release entitled SWRA Hails Michigan Judges Ruling on Retailers and Wine Shipping correctly.
The SWRA, by the way, stands for Specialty Wine Retailer Association, a group that is lobbying against attempts to restrict the retailers’ ability to ship wine to customers in other states. Most of the wine-shipping attention has focused on wineries rather than wine retailers, but the SWRA’s efforts might change that.
Can anyone tell me what Ohio’s laws are regarding the shipment of wine into Ohio by out-of-state wine retailers?
Many Dayton-area wine retailers aren’t shy about reminding customers that they are local business owners who support the community in many ways, through payroll, charitable contributions, taxes, and more. They make a valid argument worth considering. But our retailers can’t stock every wine known to man. And they must operate under the three-tiered, state-mandated price markups that are embedded in Ohio law. That sometimes leads to what appear to be price differences in select wines advertised by wine retailers outside Ohio — price differences that often evaporate once shipping costs are factored in.
What are Ohio’s rules, and if you’ve purchased wines from out-of-state retailers, what has been your experience?
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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The Times of London weighs in on Parker book brouhaha
And you can see the TimesOnline piece entitled The Emperor of Wine and the attack over a question of taste by clicking on the aforementioned link.
Did the Times do an adequate job of “considering the source” — exploring the book author’s background as a dismissed (and therefore presumably disgruntled) employee? Just wondering …
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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The “Vino Vista” at the Dayton Racquet Club
We teased to it a few days back, and now here’s the “rest of the story” on the Racquet Club’s new wine room:
It started out as a storage room — with a spectacular view.
Then, the folks who run the Dayton Racquet Club got to thinking.
“We really didn’t have much on this side of the club, and we wanted to take advantage of the space,” said Kevin Round, the club’s general manager.
And valuable space it is, on the 29th floor of Dayton’s tallest building, the Kettering Tower, and boasting breathtaking views through the floor-to-ceiling glass window panels of north Dayton and beyond.
The club surveyed its members and found at least 20 were interested in renting a wine storage locker in a temperature-controlled, humidified cellar-in-the-sky. That was the support club officials needed to build the “Vino Vista” wine room where club members could not only store wine, but have a private dinner for two or 10, Round said. The club also stores its own wines — about 1,200 bottles — in the custom-designed, stained-redwood wine racks that line three of the room’s walls.
The Racquet Club — which boasts many of the city’s business leaders among its members — has prepared a special multi-course wine-pairing menu available in the room, matching, for example, a lamb chop and mushroom ragout with pinot noir, and filet mignon and seared foie gras with cabernet sauvignon.
Workers put the finishing touches to the new wine room at the end of September, and the response “has been favorable,” Round said. Members have already scheduled several dinners in the Vino Vista room, including several wedding anniversaries and other special occasions.
Racquet Club member and local attorney Bruce Nicholson said the new wine room “is marvelous for those of us who love wine.” Nicholson said he and his wife Tina plan on reserving the wine room for family events and “for nice relaxing dinners with our wine-tasting friends.”
— For more information: The 36-year-old Dayton Racquet Club has 1,400 members, and membership is by invitation. New members pay an initial membership fee and monthly dues that range from about $100 to $175. For more information, call (937) 224-4381.
Photo courtesy of The Dayton Racquet Club
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An absolutely frightful wine-tastings list
The overseers of the Dayton-based wine listserv, in conjunction with local wine shops and restaurants, offer up the scariest wine-tastings-and-events list I’ve ever shuddered to see. Click on the “continue reading” link below only if you dare …
Jay’s Kitchen Door Friday, October 26, 2007 4-8 pm 2005 Domaine Marcel Deiss Riesling 2001 Sassetti Livio Brunello di Montalcino 2003 Chateau D Issan Margaux 2003 Robert Pecota Kara’s Vineyard 2003 Elyse Morisoli Vineyard Cabernet
Saturday, October 27, 2007 1-6 pm NV DE Faveri Rose Sparkling Prosecco Podere Sapaio Volpolo Loredan Gasparini Capo Di Stato, Colli Trevigiani IL Poggio Brunello
Italian Lunch October 27, 2007 12:30 pm $55 Bruschetta with Norm’s Pesto and Prosciutto Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Chestnut Ravioli Shrimp & Porcini Mushroom Risotto with White Fish Osso Bucco Frisee & Radicchio Salad with Karen’s Vinaigrette Pear & Almond Tart with Chocolate Demitasse
Arrow Far Hills - Kettering Saturday, October 27, 2007 11-5 pm 2005 leitz dragonstone riesling 2006 woop woop shiraz 2001 sierra cantabria rioja, reserva 2005 cline pinot grigio/chardonnay 2006 penner ash pinot noir, willamette 2006 petraio nero d’avola
“Big Red Tasting” Saturday November 3 11-5 Arrow Far Hills Store Taste 25+ Big Time Reds All wines price per taste
Dorothy Lane Market (DLM) Oakwood Friday, October 26, 2007 5-8pm Fontaleoni ’05 Vernaccia Lioco ’06 Chardonnay Drouhin ’05 Pommard Cht. St. Michelle ’04 Orphelin Hendry ’03 Cabernet Sauvignon Brown Bag
Saturday, October 27, 2007 1-6 pm Cht. De Chamirey ‘04 White Burgundy Owen Roe “The Kilmore” ’06 Pinot Noir Robert Hall ’05 Rhone de Robles Lan Culmen Reserva ’01 Rioja Chateau Branaire Ducru ’04 St. Julien Trick or Treat Shots Bonus Bottles! Beers: Penn Dark Lager, Left Hand Milk Stout, New Holland “The Poet” Oatmeal Stout, North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
DLM Washington Square Thursday, October 25, 2007 5-8 pm 2006 Lioco Chardonnay 2005 Kaleido Malbec 2004 Camberly Philosopher’s Stone 2004 Chateau Belgrave, Haut Medoc 2004 Chester Kidder Encore Wine!
Saturday, October 27, 2007 12-5 pm “Fifi’s Freaky Halloween Costume Tasting” 2005 Werewolf Pinot Grigio 2006 Ghost Pines Chardonnay 2005 Dracula Zinfandel 2005 Big Red Monster Blend 2005 Vampire Merlot 2005 Ghost Pines Cabernet Sauvignon Encore Wine!
Dorothy Lane Springboro Friday, October 26, 2007 3-7pm 2006 Ghostpines Chardonnay 2005 Ghostpines Merlot 2005 Ghostpines Cabernet 2005 Seven Deadly Zin
Saturday, October 27, 2007 12-5 pm 2002 Talley Rosemary’s 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 www.cuveewinebar.net Tasting from Friday, October 26 -Thursday, November 1, 2007 Reusher-Haart 2006 Piesporter Treppchen Riesling Jelu 2007 Torrontes Rancho Sisquoc Chardonnay Jelu Malbec Kaleido Bonarda Kaleido Malbec Gouguenheim Cabernet Sauvignon
Food: Shredded Beef Argentine Style
Wednesday, October 31, 2007 6-8:30 Halloween Tasting at Cuvee! The wines of Midnight Cellars, snacks, costumes. Think of it as adult trick or treat!
Monday, December 3 Kinkead Ridge Wild Game Wine Dinner
Saturday, December 8 Cuvee Bubble Bash Annual Champagne/Sparkling Wine Tasting
Arrow Centerville 615 Lyons Rd Centerville Saturday, September 22, 2007 11 am-5 pm 937-433-6778 2004 Louis Latour Grand Ardeche Chardonnay… 2005 Merryvale Pinot Noir… 2004 Merryvale Starmont Merlot… 2004 Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Cabernet Sauvignon… 2003 Columbia Crest Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Trader Joe’s, Town & Country at Stroop and Far Hills Tasting Thursday 6:00-8:00, Sunday 4:00-7:00. Castineira Albarino (2004) DO Rias Baixas, Spain. Familia Sanchez (2005) DO Valencia, Spain. Abrazo del Toro Reserva (2002) DO Carinena, Spain..
The Wine Gallery and Cafe, Corner of 3rd and Wayne Thursday, October 25, 2007 First Beer Tasting! All Belgian Beers
Wednesday, October 31, 2007, 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM 2006 Milton Park Shiraz 2006 Terra Barosa Shiraz 2006 Shotfire Ridge Shiraz 2005 Werewolf Pinot Noir
1/2 price appetizers if you wear a costume for the Wine Tasting
MARKET WINE IMPORTS (2nd Street Market) Saturday October 27, 2007, 2007 10AM to 1:00PM
Therapy Cafe, 452 E. Third St., Therapy-cafe.com Sunday, October 28, 2007 from 4-9 pm Complimentary tapas and deserts will be provided. Organic and Biodynamic wines and Sunday football games!
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar 937-320-9548 Wine Wednesdays 5pm to 7pm in the bar. Wednesday, October 31, 2007 KING ESTATE Pinot Gris Willamette Valley, 2006 YALUMBA Grenache Barossa Bush Vine Reserve, 2005 VINA DONA PAULA Malbec Lujan de Cuyo, 2005 HUNNICUT Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, 2004
Palermo’s 2667 South Dixie Dr. 299-8888 12 - 5pm, Saturday, October 27, 2007 And during the wine tasting, Palermo’s will have an ALL U CAN EAT pasta special for $10, lasagna, manicotti, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parmesan, baked ziti and more.
Winan’s Chocolates (Dayton Mail) Thursday, Oct 25 Wine Education 101
Thursday Nov 1st: The Thanksgiving Taste Wines selected to complement the Thanksgiving Day Feast. Also, Winans will be sampling premium roasted seasonal coffees and Handmade Gourmet Chocolates.
Thursday Nov 15th: The Biltmore Collection The Biltmore Collection, including the Biltmore’s Signature Christmas Wine.
Boston’s Bistro Magyar ( Hungarian ) Wine Tasting Thursday, October 25, 2007 7:00 pm 3 Table Reds, 3 Table Whites, Kolbasz, Cheese, Ciabatta w/ Asiago
A Taste of Wine - Miamisburg 937-247-1120 Spooktacular Wines: Vampire White Zinfandel, EVIL Chardonnay, Werewolf, Dracula M - TH 11am - 9pm Fr - Sat 11am - 11pm Sunday - 1pm - 7pm
Miami Valley Wine & Spirits 937-667-3614 943 West Main St. Tipp City, OH, 45371 Friday October 26, 2007 6-9 pm Friday October from 6-9pm the powers the Vampire varietals of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir will incite the challenge and warm up palates for the blood-frenzied battle between the Merlots and Cabernet Sauvignons of both Vampire and Werewolf.
Cork-n-Vine Wine Cellar in Troy, Ohio. 10am-10pm Mon-Thurs. 10am-midnight Fri and Sat. Halloween Tasting - Incognito Viognier, Vampire Pinot Grigio, Spellbound Cabernet, Evil Cabernet, and 7 Deadly Zins
Dayton Ohio Habitat for Humanity Women Build Public Wine Tasting October 26, 2007 5:00p.m. $25 per ticket Carvers Restaurant 1535 Miamisburg-Centerville Rd The first 100 people through the door receive a FREE gift Wine Hors d’oeuvres Raffles All proceeds to benefit the 2008 Dayton Ohio Habitat for Humanity Women Build Advance Tickets: http://daytonhabitat.org
Little Sonoma, 6078 West Chester Road, West Chester, OH 45069.513-942-9463. Located two blocks north of Union Centre Blvd. at the corner of Muhlhauser and West Chester Roads www.LittleSonomaWines.com Friday, October 26, 7 pm Wines of Francis Ford Coppola Saturday, October 27, 3-6 pm ~ Happy Halloween Wines! Tuesday, October 30, 5-8 pm Midnight Cellars Wines
La Petite France 3177 Glendate-Milford Road Cincinnati, Ohio www.lapetitefrance.biz Call 513-733-8383 Friday, October 26, 2007 A Taste of Paris Dinner $40
November 9, 2007 6:30 pm $60 RSVP Fabulous French Wines Dinner Vouvray, Remy Panier Bordeaux Blanc, Chateau Bonnet Crawfish, bacon, and collard greens stuffing
Cotes du Rhone, J Vidal Fleury Warm beet soup with dill cream
Chorey Cotes de Beaune, Tollot Beaut Pan-roasted duck breast with lingonberry sauce and whipped turnips
Graves, Baron de Montesquieu Pumpkin custard profiteroles with caramel sauce
Kinkead Ridge Winery 904 Hamburg Street Ripley OH 45167 937-392-6077 www.KinkeadRidge.com: Reopening for a special barrel tasting the Saturday after Thanksgiving!
The Inn at Versailles J. Lohr wine dinner menu 11/2/07, 7:00pm, RSVP 937.526.3020, $885 Bay Mist White Reisling Spicy Tuna Tartar
Arroyo Seco Chardonnay Saute’d Georges Bank Hake with a white wine and lemon crème sauce
Wildflower Valdigue Maytag Bleu Cheese Wedge Salad
Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon Maple Glazed and Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Green Onion & Parmesan Cheese Polenta
Carol’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Slow Mesquite Smoked & Roasted Locally Grown Buffalo Broil with Baby Organic Glazed Carrots
Green Mountain Organic French Roast Black Cherry Gelato Martini
Harmony Hill Vineyards 2534 Swings Corner Pt. Isabel Road, Bethel, Ohio 45106 (513) 734-3548 Fax: (775) 402-7424 www.hhwines.com
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New owners will rename Springboro wine shop ‘Bella Vino’
Grapes of Ruth wine shop, 495 N. Main St. in Springboro, has been sold and will become Bella Vino Wine Merchant and Bar, David Sauer, one of the wine shop’s new owners, said today.
Sauer is a veteran of the local food-service and dining scene, having worked for the past nine years for Gordon Food Services. He also served as chef at Walnut Grove Country Club and managed the now-defunct Boulevard Grille at the Mall at Fairfield Commons.
Sauer said he intends to expand the food offerings at Grapes of Ruth/Bella Vino, focusing on appetizers and desserts. A larger beer selections and themed wine tastings are also planned, Sauer said.
Other owners include Charles Walsh, Dave Girouard, Kevyn Coy and Craig Coy. Sauer will run the day-to-day operation of the shop with his wife Jen.
“I didn’t want a full-service restaurant, and I didn’t want a bar,” Sauer said. “This seemed to fit perfectly with my and my wife’s passions — we enjoy wine, and we enjoy entertaining.”
Ruth Hagedorn, who purchased the Mulligan’s wine shop in 2003 and renamed it Grapes of Ruth, has moved to Florida, Sauer said.
The shop features a full-service bar, offering mixed drinks as well as beers and wines. Wines will be sold by the taste, half-glass or by the glass.
Bella Vino Wine Merchant and Bar store hours will remain the same as The Grapes of Ruth but will be extended in the future, Sauer said. The store is open Monday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. It is closed on Sunday.
For more information, call (937) 748-3807.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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‘Why put up with any bad corks at all?’
Yesterday’s entry entitled Do retailers and wholesalers ruin more wines than bad corks do? prompted a detailed and knowledgeable response from reader and frequent commenter MJ, who has worked in the wine business and knows a heckuva lot more about these subjects than your Uncorked author. So today let’s turn the floor over to MJ on the matters of cork taint and wine storage:
“Chiefwino is right on target concerning distributor wine storage and extremes in temperature during shipment. Oft times, the problem is in a rail car from CA spending the odd night in a chicago rail yard awaiting truck transfer for the remainder of it’s journey. The old joke in the business is that all wholesalers have “temperature controlled” warehouses, that is, they are “controlled by the temperature outside”.
The instances of truly poor storage at wholesalers is significantly less than 20 years ago and most all of larger wholesalers now dedicate at least a portion of their warehouse space to true climate control for their best wines.
Cork taint has always been considered by realists to be around the 7-8% range. Bruce Sanderson from the Wine Spectator says that about 10% of all of the tasting samples that they try are corked in some way. Much of it has to do with your tasting experience and level of perception.
But should we put up with any bad corks at all? What do you think would happen if just 1% of all Coca Cola produced tasted “off” or strange because of a closure issue? That would be a serious and newsworthy item and a major PR concern. Why do we put up with it in wine? Why should we? For the sake of ritual? That is complete nonsense. Beer used to come with a cork as did spirits (and even mouthwash and perfume by the way, among other things). All of these moved on to different and better closures/seals and no one even mentions it today.
Consider what one bad batch of corks can do to a respected producer (note* this is from Forbes.com)”Vintners live in fear of trichloroanisole, or TCA, which results from the interaction of mold, chlorine and phenols (organic compounds found in all plants). Cork taint, as TCA is commonly called, produces a dank, moldy smell and a flavor of wet cardboard—not exactly what one desires in a wine. No one can say precisely how many bottles of wine are ruined by TCA, or “corked,” each year. While cork producers place the percentage at as low as 2%, some California winemakers claim that as much as 20% of all wine bottles have cork taint. Evidently, regardless of the exact number of ruined bottles of wine, there has been enough “corked” wine to prod vintners to seek out new ways of sealing bottles.
Indeed, some vintners have lost substantial amounts of money to cork taint. In 2000, the respected Piedmontese winemaker, Elio Altare, discovered that 28,000 of his 33,000 cases of 1997 Barolo were “corked.” He decided to sue his cork supplier for about $650,000 in damages. Altare told The Wine Spectator, “I can’t believe that, while we’re sending people to the moon, we can’t, at the same time, remove mold from a cork.”
But the problem is more complex than removing mold from a cork. Scientists have found that TCA can develop on live cork oak trees, during processing, or while the wine is being shipped. To win his case, Altare had to prove that the corks were contaminated before they reached his vineyard and not during the bottling process. In January 2002, a court-appointed technical expert declared the corks had not been contaminated while in Altare’s winery.
Altare’s cork supplier (unnamed due to Italian legal procedures) reportedly paid the winemaker about $500,000 in damages in an out-of-court settlement.”
Finally, if your retailer has poor storage conditions, you would know it from just walking in the door. Unless it is a tar-paper shack in the middle of the Mojave, you really needn’t worry much about storage conditions with your retailer.
Thanks, MJ, for the information, and the food for thought.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Do retailers and wholesalers ruin more wines than bad corks do?
I found this comment that came in late to a Saturday post rather provocative, and I’d like to hear some opinions on it:
The percentage of wine that is negatively affected by a bad cork is a smaller percent than the distributor and retailer not properly storing the wine. Blaming a cork is easy, cork can not defend itself. But ask a distributor or retailer how they store their wine, and you will find out the truth.
Hmmm.
I may not be the best person to ask about this right now, because I just opened over the weekend one of the most profoundly “corked” bottles of wine I’ve ever encountered. Allow me to name names: It was a 2005 Domaine Saumaize -Michelin Les Creches Saint-Veran, a white Burgundy. Some wines have just a whiff of the musty, wet cardboard-damp basement TCE aroma that defines a corked wine, and it can be hard to tell whether a wine is tainted or not. Not this bottle. The smell was powerful and pervasive. That said, it wasn’t the winery’s fault that it put a tainted cork into what was likely a perfectly good bottle of its wine.
And I’m not at all sure that just because this one bottle is bad, the other 2005 Saint-Verans from the same producer aren’t just fine. I’m not convinced tainted corks come in batches, since opening a second bottle (an option I didn’t have for this wine) usually resolves the problem of a corked wine. (What has been your experience on this? Does opening one corked bottle greatly increase the chances other bottles from the same vintage will be corked, too?)
How a wine is stored by a retailer or distributor does not, however, have any impact on whether a wine is corked or not, does it? I’ve always thought that wines stored improperly — either too hot or too cold — will usually show some outward signs: a pushed-up cork, seepage or stickiness around the capsule, stained labels, lower-than-usual fills. The aromas and flavors will have sherry-like component from oxidation, since wine has pushed through the compromised cork and been replaced by air. (Are there other signs of poor storage that I haven’t covered here? Other changes in aromas or tastes that I haven’t described?)
My hunch is that some (not all) distributors’ warehouses and some (not all) retailers’ storage areas are a tad too warm in summer and a tad too cold in winter — but probably not to the extent that it damages the wine in a noticeable way.
Am I being naive, overly optimistic, on that front? Is my reader who submitted the comment correct about the storage conditions of many of the wines we purchase?
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Small wineries vs. wine distributors: any Ohio impact?
A little help, please, from those of you in the wine trade: Does this story (press release, actually) out of Lodi, CA about a court case pitting a small winery versus a wine distributor have any potential impact in Ohio, or do our state laws take precedence over this court decision?
Thanks and cheers!
mark
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Former Parker employee poised to release ‘unauthorized’ biography
A former employee of Robert Parker is poised to release an unauthorized biography of sorts of Parker, Decanter.com reports today. The book, written by a woman who parted ways with Parker less than amicably, will hit stores in France later this week.
The book has already triggered quite a response from the Parker army on the Mark Squires’ Bulletin Board on eRobertParker.com. One bulletin board post described the book as “Tabloid journalism, leach-sucking commentary from someone who is very jealous.”
All this, even before the book comes out — although there was an article in the French newspaper Sud Ouest that helped pour some gasoline on the flames. (Brush up on your French.)
Some balance is needed here between the rabid Parker-bashers and those who demonstrate nearly blind allegiance to the world’s most influential wine critic. Clear-headed wine consumers will take into account the book’s source and the circumstances under which it was written. They’ll view the contents with healthy skepticism, to be sure — but not with blind allegiance, either. Because while sometimes — perhaps most of the time — disgruntled ex-employees serve up junk, other times they reveal information that merits, at the least, further investigation and reflection.
In the end, we’ll be able to separate the fact from the fiction, don’t you think?
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Were consumers represented in Ohio’s wine-shipping negotiations?
Check out this WineSpectator.com story entitled “Ohioans lose direct wine shipments. The story includes this excerpt:
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that wholesalers contributed $91,350 to Ohio politicians in the first half of 2007. But the new law also found support where some might not expect it: Donnie Winchell, executive director of the Ohio Wine Producers Association. Typically, local producer associations encourage open, direct shipping since, in theory, it helps small wineries grow their business beyond the borders of the state. “We needed to continue the privilege of selling directly to retailers, because it’s the only way we will continue to grow, and we need to be able to sell to people who come to our door and then ship to them when they get home,” said Winchell. “When [this bill] came down the pipe, both of our concerns were addressed positively.” All of Ohio’s nearly 100 wineries produce less than 150,000 gallons per year.
I am certainly happy for that the Ohio wine producers’ concerns were addressed positively in the legislation.
My question today is the same one I posed back in June: Who at the negotiating table — where wine wholesalers, Ohio wine producers and legislators were hammering out this legislation that was appended to the state budget bill with virtually no public scrutiny or debate — was representing the consumers?
Can anybody answer that question?
Mark Fisher
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A one-question wine quiz
This mini-quiz relates to a story I’ll have in Tuesday’s Dayton Daily News (and I’ll sneak it onto Uncorked as well).
Of the following bargain-priced (under $10) pinot noirs, how many are made from grapes that come from California?
(A) Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi
(B) Turning Leaf
(C) Frei Brothers Redwood Creek
(D) Pepperwood Grove
(E) Smoking Loon
Let us know how many are California-based, and of course, extra credit for which ones.
Answers to come soon, on this same bat-channel … Winners will receive the lovely prize of your fellow Uncorked readers’ unending admiration.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Alternate takes
I offer for your weekend reading pleasure some “alternate takes” — stories that have run in other publications on issues and people you know through the pages of Uncorked.
For starters, here’s a Cincinnati Enquirer story from my friend Chuck Martin entitled “Realizing fruits of their labors”, profiling none other than Ron Barrett and Nancy Bentley from Kinkead Ridge. A fine read.
Then turn to this Napa Valley Register story entitled “Screwing Around with Caps”. The screwcaps-versus-corks debate rages on.
Finally, for a look at how vintage 2007 is stacking up at harvest time in California, check out Wines & Vines story entitled “A Tale of Three Harvests”.
Thanks for reading, enjoy the beautiful weekend, and cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Absinthe not on this weekend’s tastings list, but you never know …
First of all, my thanks to all who submitted guesses (most of them correct) to yesterday’s post that asked, “Where was this picture taken?” It is indeed the new wine room at The Dayton Racquet Club on the top floor of the Kettering Tower in downtown Dayton. More about that room later. Congrats to Gene who was the first to buzz in with the correct answer. But Gene will be waiting a loooooong time for that case of Opus he thinks he’s getting for winning the contest.
Second, My Dayton Daily News colleague Alexis Larsen reports that Absinthe is poised to make its triumphant return to American palates. It’s not in Ohio yet, but I’m sure that’ll change soon. One of her readers suggests it’s not really Absinthe if it doesn’t contain Wormwood. I don’t think I’d know the difference. Until the hallucinations kick in.
We have the usual sterling, comprehensive tastings and events list to offer this Friday, courtesy of a Dayton-based wine listserv that compiles and shares the information (click on continue reading for details). I’ll miss every last drop this week, so you folks need to fill in for me, help carry the load.
But we also have a somber note to pass along. My blogging colleague Michelle — some of you met her a few months ago at Jay’s; she lives in northern Kentucky and writes a Cincinnati-based wine blog called My Wine Education (I usually link to her blog every Friday for Cincy-area wine events) — lost her 21-year-old sister this week. Her sister died suddenly and unexpectedly, apparently of a congenital heart defect that had not been detected beforehand.
Our sympathies to Michelle.
Jays Kitchen Door Friday, October 19, 2007 4-8 pm 2006 Conclass Rueda 2005 Bruno Colin Chassagne Red 2005 Uccelliera Rosso di Montalcino 2002 Uccelliera Brunello di Montalcino 1998 Banfi Poggio Alle Mura
Saturday, October 20, 2007 1-6 pm NV Krug Grand Cuvee Brut 2001 La Gerla Brunello di Montalcino 2004 Simi Landslide 2003 Chateau Lagrange
Italian Lunch October 27, 2007 12:30 pm $55 Bruschetta with Norm’s Pesto and Prosciutto Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Chestnut Ravioli Shrimp & Porcini Mushroom Risotto with White Fish Osso Bucco Frisee & Radicchio Salad with Karen’s Vinaigrette Pear & Almond Tart with Chocolate Demitasse
Arrow Wine & Spirits Far Hills - Kettering Saturday, October 20, 2007 11-5 pm 2006 Chateau Guiraud White Bordeaux 2006 Mud House Sauvignon Blanc 2002 Amazin Grapes Zinfandel 2004 Saladini Pilastri Rosso Picceno 2005 Root I Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 Page Napa Valley Red
“Big Red Tasting” Saturday November 3 11-5 Arrow Far Hills Store Taste 25+ Big Time Reds All wines price per taste
Dorothy Lane Market (DLM) Oakwood Friday, October 19, 2007 5-8pm 2005 Bourgogne Blanc (Chardonnay) Clos Pegase Pinot Noir 2005 Raymond Reserve Merlot 2002 Clos des Brusguieres Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2005 Caurudes de Lafite 2004 Brown Bag
Saturday, October 20, 2007 1-6 pm Pierre Gimonnet NV Brut Champagne Thierry Merlin-Cherrier Sancerre 2005 Joseph Drouhin Gevry-Chambertin 2005 Crasto Douro 2005 Le Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2005 Chateau Gruaud Larose 2004 Bonus Bottles! Beers: Barrel House Boss Cox Double Cark IPA, Lindemans Framboise Lambic
Dark Beer Tasting Wednesday, October 24, 5:30-8:30 pm Thomas Hardy’s Vintage Ale Penn Dark Otter Creek Stovepipe Porter Left Hand Milk Stout and more
DLM Washington Square Thursday, October 18, 2007 5-8 pm 2006 Macon Lugny “Les Charmes” Chardonnay 2002 Louis Jadot Pommard 2003 Arcadian Sleepy Hollow Vineyard Pinot Noir 2005 Rocca Albino Rosso di Rocca 2005 Crasto Douro Encore Wine!
Saturday, October 20, 2007 12-5 pm NV Lolonis Ladybug White 2003 Keller Estate “La Cruz Vineyard” Chardonnay 2006 Erath Pinot Noir NV Lolonis Ladybug Red 2003 Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon Encore Wine!
Dorothy Lane Springboro Friday, October 19, 2007 3-7pm 2006 Melville Chardonnay 2006 Sharecropper Pinot Noir 2006 Sinister Hand Pinot Noir 2001 Mi Suena Cabernet Sauvignon
Saturday, October 20, 2007 12-5 pm 2002 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay 2005 Talley Ricon Pinot Noir 2001 Sequum Kidd Ranch Zinfandel 2002 Summit Lake Cabernet Sauvignon
Cuvee Wine Bar and Cellar, 4457 State Route 725 Bellbrook Tuesday - Thursday 11:30 - 7 pm Friday and Saturday 11:30 - 8 pm www.cuveewinebar.net Tasting from Friday, October 20 -Thursday, October 25, 2007 Sweetest Day Tasting Saturday, October 20 Bellbrook Massage will be providing massages. A sweetheart inspired wine menu and snacks. PrimoBaccio Moscato D’Asti SolaRosa Rose of Syrah Four Vines Naked Chardonnay Temptation Zin Sin Zin Redemption Zin Fetish Playmate Shiraz
Arrow Centerville 615 Lyons Rd Centerville Saturday, September 22, 2007 11 am-5 pm 937-433-6778 2006 Villa Rosa Gavi de Gavi… 2006 Michael Pozzan Russian River Valley Chardonnay… 2004 Simplicity McLaren Vale Red… 2003 Duckpond Merlot… 2004 Michael Pozzan Napa Valley Merlot… 2005 Pozzan Family Reserve Marianna Napa Valley Red
Trader Joe’s, Town & Country at Stroop and Far Hills Tasting Thursday 6:00-8:00, Sunday 4:00-7:00. Three Knights Chardonnay (2006) AVA Sonoma County, California. Pacific Crest Chardonnay (2006) AVA Paso Robles, California. Pacific Crest Merlot (2005) AVA Paso Robles, California. Epicuro Salice Salentino (2003) DOC Salice Salentino, Italy.
The Wine Gallery and Cafe, Corner of 3rd and Wayne Saturday, October 20, 2007, 2007 Noon to 10PM
Wednesday, October 17, 2007, 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM
MARKET WINE IMPORTS (2nd Street Market) Saturday October 20, 2007, 2007 10AM to 1:00PM
Therapy Cafe, 452 E. Third St., Therapy-cafe.com Sunday, October 21, 2007 from 4-9 pm Wines of Iberia Complimentary tapas and deserts will be provided. Capcanes Mas Donis 2004 Costano Solanera 2004 Quinto Do Dorado Arautus 2006 Tomas Cuisine Vilosell 2005 Altos de la Hoya Olivares - Monastrell Dulce Mont Marcal Cava Rosada Pasanau Ceps Nous2..5 Morgadio Albarino 2006 and Sunday football games!
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar 937-320-9548 Wine Wednesdays 5pm to 7pm in the bar. Wednesday, October 24, 2007 CAVAS SUBMARINAS, Sauvignon Blanc Itata Valley, 2006 LORING, Pinot Noir Chalone Brosseau Vineyard, 2005 MARKHAM, Merlot Napa Valley, 2003 VALENTIN BIANCHI, Cabernet Sauvignon San Rafael Famiglia, 2005
IL BORRO ESTATE WINE DINNER, SALVATORE FERRAGAMO October 23, 2007 6:30 PM $85.00 per person and does not include tax or gratuity An artisinal display of traditional anti-pasta LAMELLE, Chardonnay Toscana, 2006
Pasta Fagioli acceneted with garlic toast points POLISSENA, Toscana, 2004
A CONTEMPARY TRIO OF GRILLED EGGPLANT, AN ITALIAN SAUSAGE RAVIOLI, AND A MEATBALL CASTIGLION DEL BOSCO, Brunello di Montalcino, 2001
ROASTED VEAL FLORENTINE WITH FRESH HERB RISOTTO IL BORRO, Toscana, 2004
DARK CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY TORTE LAYERED WITH TOASTED ALMONDS PIAN DI NOVA, Toscana, 2005
Palermo’s 2667 South Dixie Dr. 299-8888 12 - 5pm, Saturday, October 20, 2007 Luna - Pinot Grigio, Napa Valley, California Brancott - Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand Greg Norman Estates - Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara, California J. Lohr - Merlot, Paso Robles, California Bonterra - Organic Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendocino, California And during the wine tasting, Palermo’s will have an ALL U CAN EAT pasta special for $10, lasagna, manicotti, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parmesan, baked ziti and more.
Winan’s Chocolates (Dayton Mail) Thursday Oct 18, 2007 6 -10PM A Taste of France - The Country of Love Chateau St. Sulpice - Bordeaux Nicolas Potel , Cotes De Nuits - Burgundy Hugel, Cuvee Les Amores - Pinot Blanc - Alsace Pascal Lolivet, Attitude - Sauvignon Blanc - Loire Valley
Boston’s Bistro Magyar ( Hungarian ) Wine Tasting Thursday, October 25, 2007 7:00 pm 3 Table Reds, 3 Table Whites, Kolbasz, Cheese, Ciabatta w/ Asiago
A Taste of Wine - Miamisburg 7 pm on October 20 - Sweets for Sweetest Day - Wine and Chocolate Pairings. RSVP 937-247-1120
Sunday, October 21, 3 - 6pm. Wine Tasting with Alex Rubio, PKNT Winery, Chile
Miami Valley Wine & Spirits 937-667-3614 943 West Main St. Tipp City, OH, 45371 Friday October 19, 2007 6-9 pm Wines of Argentina, Quara: Torontes Cabernet Merlot Chardonnay Tannat
Cork-n-Vine Wine Cellar in Troy, Ohio. 10am-10pm Mon-Thurs. 10am-midnight Fri and Sat. Halloween Tasting - Incognito Viognier, Vampire Pinot Grigio, Spellbound Cabernet, Evil Cabernet, and 7 Deadly Zins
Grapes of Ruth Thursday evening 6-8pm PKNT Wineries will show their Chilean wines, a Chardonnay, Carmenere, Cabernet Sauvignon and a Pinot Noir.
Dayton Ohio Habitat for Humanity Women Build Public Wine Tasting October 26, 2007 5:00p.m. $25 per ticket Carvers Restaurant 1535 Miamisburg-Centerville Rd The first 100 people through the door receive a FREE gift Wine Hors d’oeuvres Raffles All proceeds to benefit the 2008 Dayton Ohio Habitat for Humanity Women Build Advance Tickets: http://daytonhabitat.org
Little Sonoma, 6078 West Chester Road, West Chester, OH 45069.513-942-9463. Located two blocks north of Union Centre Blvd. at the corner of Muhlhauser and West Chester Roads www.LittleSonomaWines.com Friday, October 19t 6-8 pm (a drop-in tasting) Experiencing Pinot Noirs
Saturday, October 20th, 3-6 pm ~ Beyond Burgundy
La Petite France 3177 Glendate-Milford Road Cincinnati, Ohio www.lapetitefrance.biz Call 513-733-8383 Friday, October 26, 2007 A Taste of Paris Dinner $40
November 9, 2007 6:30 pm $60 RSVP Fabulous French Wines Dinner Vouvray, Remy Panier Bordeaux Blanc, Chateau Bonnet Crawfish, bacon, and collard greens stuffing
Cotes du Rhone, J Vidal Fleury Warm beet soup with dill cream
Chorey Cotes de Beaune, Tollot Beaut Pan-roasted duck breast with lingonberry sauce and whipped turnips
Graves, Baron de Montesquieu Pumpkin custard profiteroles with caramel sauce
Kinkead Ridge Winery 904 Hamburg Street Ripley OH 45167 937-392-6077 www.KinkeadRidge.com Last Day for the public is September 22, 2007 11 - 5 Reopening for a special barrel tasting the Saturday after Thanksgiving!
The Winery at Versailles Wine Dinner, Saturday October 20,2007 7:30 pm RSVP (937) 526-3232 www.wineryatversailles.com Autumn Corn Chowder, Mixed Greens with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette Chicken Saltimbocca, Risotto, Vegetable Medley, Apple Flan with Ice Cream Harmony Hill Vineyards 2534 Swings Corner Pt. Isabel Road, Bethel, Ohio 45106 (513) 734-3548 Fax: (775) 402-7424 www.hhwines.com
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Can you identify this picture?
Pop Quiz: Can you identify this picture — what is it and where was it taken?
The winners get as their reward the customary Uncorked contest top prize: the unflagging admiration of the Miami Valley’s wine community. And not much else.
Got any guesses?
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Health officials declare mIddle-class wine drinkers ‘hazardous’
As strange as class distinctions are here in the good ol’ USA, they just seem a bit more, well, rigid in Great Britain, which is in the throes of a controversy over “middle-class” drinking, according to Decanter.com.
The row started with a slew of stories in several British newspapers focusing on “the fact that those living in middle-class areas are more likely to consume ‘hazardous’ levels of alcohol,” the Decanter story says. Here’s an excerpt:
Health minister Dawn Primarolo said that ‘everyday drinkers’ were to blame. “[They] have drunk too much for too long,’” she said. “This has to change.”
The editor of Decanter appears to sniff at the idea, suggesting it’s not the well-off middle class, but rather the working class, that’s to blame:
“The reason southern, middle-class wine drinkers are more common in the ‘hazardous drinking’ category is that the ‘harmful drinking’ category, which is the more dangerous one, is taken up with binge drinkers from the working class, north-west of the country.”
Oh, well then, if it’s just the working class …
Reader comments on the Decanter story suggest rather strongly that the government’s definition of “hazardous” drinking is a bunch of hooey.
What do you make of this? Are there any lessons here for Americans, or is this a uniquely British row?
Cheers!
Mark
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Bargain pinot noirs, no matter WHERE they’re from …
Here’s a story that ran in today’s Dayton Daily News Life section — and which we teased to last week with our little one-question wine quiz and the answer — about bargain pinot noirs, and in some cases, the surprising origin of those wines. Click here for photos and reviews of each wine.
What’s your favorite pinot noir?
Here’s how I ranked the eight bargain pinots, from best to, well, least best:
Under-$10* Pinot Noirs: the rankings:
(1) Pepperwood Grove 2006 (Chile, $7.99): Concentrated bing-cherry fruit and depth of flavor made this wine stand out in a crowd. Delicious, and a bargain.
(2) Smoking Loon 2006 (California, $8.99): Soft (as in not overly acidic) straightforward and satisfying, with pinot noir’s trademark tart-cherry fruit. A close second.
(3) Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi (France, $7.99): Decent raspberry-like fruit that characterize lighter-style pinot noirs; clean and pleasant.
(4) Rosemount 2005 (Australia, $9.99): The only Australian in the bunch offers plummy fruit and low acidity, tasting more like a merlot or a light shiraz than pinot noir.
(5) Red Bicyclette (France, $8.99): Faint aromas and flavors of raspberry-like fruit fade into a tart finish.
(6) Cavit 2004 (Italy, $8.99): Soft, simple, a hint of fruit, no tannins but a tart finish. Would a fresher vintage taste offer more charm?
(7) Turning Leaf 2005 Reserve (Italy, $9.99): Light, thin, muted fruit flavors lead to a puckery finish.
(8) Redwood Creek Frei Brothers 2006 (France, $5.99): Thin, innocuous and almost watery, low in acid and flavor.
*Prices listed reflect what I paid in Ohio supermarkets in October 2007. Prices may vary.
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New law prompts Ohio winery to cease shipping
The pain and confusion caused by Ohio’s new wine shipping laws are no longer limited to consumers. Now the law is causing harm to Ohio wineries, according to an email that Harmony Hill Vineyards sent to customers yesterday.
You may recall we wrote about Harmony Hill — which is located in Bethel about 30 miles east of Cincinnati — just last month. Here’s what Harmony Hill’s co-owner, Bill Skvarla (shown above on the entertainment patio of his winery), had to say to his customers:
Dear Friends of Harmony.
As of Monday, October 1, Harmony Hill Vineyards & Estate Winery will no longer ship wine to consumers, in ANY State. This regretful decision is based on a new law passed by our legislators that bans direct shipment of out-of-state wine to Ohio consumers from wineries that produce more than 150,000 gallons. That, alone, would not be an issue (Harmony Hill produces less than 3000 gallons) except that the law limits the purchase per household to no more than 24 cases.
Sec. 4303.233. No family household shall purchase more than twenty- four cases of nine-liter bottles of wine in one year.
Our fear is the winery’s liability for shipping that illegal 25th case to an Ohio household, since we are not able to track how much wine each household has already purchased.
I could easily turn this into a five page email touting my opinions of how this could have possibly happened in this day and age, but instead ask that you check the “Legislative Alert” link on our website http://www.hhwines.com/ to see how many of Ohio citizens’ rights have been rescinded by this ridiculous legislation. I will only share one letter from a loyal Harmony Hill customer who summarizes these limitations very well, and ask that you visit our Legislative Alert page and form your own opinions based on what others around the country are stating.
With regrets,
Bill and Patti
Now here’s a copy of the strongly worded customer letter that was part of the Harmony Hill email: (please click on “continue reading” … )
Recently, the Ohio Legislature enacted a law that, depending on how it is interpreted and enforced, may effectively ban direct sales of wine from producer to consumer, except what is bought at the actual winery. This ban is already effecting sales both within and without the state. People who are in wine clubs that ship a bottle or two every month were abruptly cut off by this legislation. The law was enacted in near secret and was quietly attached to a budget bill. I think we can prudently ask what the source of urgency was to so pass such legislation.
The Ohio Wine Producers Association is fond of passing off that the Ohio wine import ban is all about protecting Ohio jobs. The OWPA does not specify who’s or how many. This concept is expressed in sound bytes and other brief, unqualified, statements that imply more than they say.
For this argument to have merit at least three things need to be considered. First, is the assertion about jobs true or provable and does the legislation NET more jobs than it eliminates? Secondly, if the first assertion lacks enough evidence to be compelling, how can we justify the government stepping in and smashing the free market? And lastly, is this notion of government enforced jobs protection consistent with other actions, or lack thereof, by the state?
First, I would challenge the Ohio Wine Producers Association to produce economic studies indicating what jobs have been lost because of direct shipment and where and over what period of time these jobs were lost. I would caution them to also include an unbiased prediction of jobs lost in wineries here in Ohio because of the ban. We already know that wineries INSIDE Ohio are now afraid to ship wine, even within the state, because of the Ohio Liquor Control Board’s ambiguous and potentially far reaching interpretations of the law. Further, jobs will be lost as other states ban the import of Ohio wines also because of the ambiguity in the law. And lastly, Ohio wines are on the rise in quality and national respect, can we get a handle on the potential future markets lost because of this protectionism? I suspect the OWPA has no such studies.
Secondly, is it appropriate for the government to step in at this stage and risk smashing the direct sales market for Ohio wines? Some economists believe that government interference is always wrong and always damages the free market. Although I have some sympathy for that notion, I do not necessarily agree with it. But thinking about that does point us in an interesting direction. The only place I think regulation might be needed, and I think most would agree with me, is in the case of rogue monopolies or groups that function like monopolies. If we look at all sides of this debate we see that, on one side we have the Ohio Wine Producers Association, the Beer and Wine Distributers, and retail wine interests. On the other side we have small Ohio farms who grow grapes and make wine. Clearly, this legislation was not designed to regulate monopolies, this legislation was designed to protect monopolies.
Lastly, we need to consider if this action is somehow consistent with other actions taken to protect Ohio jobs in the wine industry. I cannot imagine wineries in Ohio, most of whom are small, have lost jobs by shipments from out of state wineries directly to consumers. Ohio wineries use the direct sales approach to circumvent the rigid mark up structure used if they go through the distributer-retail system. In that system they get perhaps 33% of what they do if they sell direct to the consumer. Most Ohio wineries are barely surviving, they simply cannot do so if they have to loose 66% of every sale. In fact, the direct sales model will help our wineries as people both in Ohio and outside it try our wines. Direct sales is a potential way for the small winery to be rewarded for crafting excellent wine. Direct sales is a great tool to get our fledgling wine industry to add jobs in agriculture. We know this to be possible, for nearly a century Ohio was the number one national exporter of wine, and in fact the American Wine Industry was founded in Cincinnati in the 1820’s by Nicholas Longworth. Ohio could do this again because we indeed have the climate and soil. This could net 1,000’s of jobs if it was allowed to take place. If our state government was interested in jobs they would take a look at retailers who discount daily under $4 per bottle, prices that are close to the cost of the label, cork, glass, and trucking. Such retailers are using wine as a loss leader, something I cannot imagine is good for jobs in Ohio. This legislation was obviously not part of a consistent approach to jobs protectionism at all, nor is it clear any action was needed on such an urgent basis.
Wineries do not need our state’s interference under the guise of “protectionism”. The scariest words of all are “trust me, I am from the government…”. Wineries need the state off their backs so they can continue to farm grapes and make excellent wine. We need to call on our legislators to repeal the ban.
Jim Fearing
Cincinnati
What do you think of Mr. Fearing’s comments and about Harmony Hill’s decision?
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Pinots’ mystery origins revealed
Well, there certainly was some spirited and highly educated guessing going on — but no right answers — in our little pinot quiz, which posed the question:
Of the following bargain-priced (under $10) pinot noirs, how many (and which ones) are made from grapes that come from California?
(A) Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi
(B) Turning Leaf
(C) Frei Brothers Redwood Creek
(D) Pepperwood Grove
(E) Smoking Loon
The correct answer is “One,” and it’s (E) — the Smoking Loon.
The Woodbridge Mondavi and the Redwood Creek come from France (both are Vin de Pays d’Oc), the Pepperwood Grove comes from Chile (Valle Central), and the Turning Leaf from Italy (Delle Venezie).
One of these wines is an incredible bargain, placing first in a tasting of eight under-$10 pinots — more on that Tuesday. (The other wines included in the field of 8 were Cavit (Italy), Rosemount (Australia), and Red Bicyclette (France) — wines whose origin was not so much of a surprise as the four mentioned above.)
But I must admit, this was a bit of a shock to me. I know turning to overseas producers for juice is a trend, but Turning Leaf? Woodbridge? For pinot noir? And it begs the question: How cheap must it be to produce wines in Italy and the south of France that these mega-wineries can still pay the costs to ship the wines across the Atlantic Ocean, then package them and sell them here for less than $10 a bottle? With Ohio’s mandatory three-tier pricing system, which essentially doubles the price from the manufacturer to the consumer, wouldn’t that mean they’re accomplishing all of that while selling the wine for $5 a bottle or less, and still making a profit? Wow.
Thanks for the entries. Stay turned early next week for more. And yes, two of the wines were very good — eminently drinkable.
Cheers!
Mark
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Wineries take steps to combat drunken misbehavior
Wineries — heck, the wine industry as a whole — always seem to want to promote the sophisticated, dignified, classy side of their products. Helps sell wine, I presume.
But wineries in all parts of the U.S. are grudgingly coming to grips with a seamy underbelly of their tasting rooms: drunken, obnoxious customers.
Then, Decanter.com weighs in with a story from southern California about the Temecula Valley Wine Association seeking to curb similarly bad behavior from guests that the association’s director describes as “boisterous, rude, obnoxious and disruptive.”
Struck me as rather humorous how the Napa Valley folks insist in the Decanter story that they don’t have the same magnitude of a problem in their “wine Mecca.” “We seek serious tasters,” sniffs one Napa winery owner.
Yeah, right.
Dayton-area wine purveyors who pour in wine bars or for drop-in wine tastings have dealt with similar behavior. Most of us have seen it. Have you?
I think there are a couple of things wine retailers and wine-bar owners (and winery owners) can do to reduce the potential for overindulgence.
— Most already do a good job of having food or some type of snacks available. But how many offer water to drink, other than an occasional carafe of warm water intended for rinsing out wine glasses? Why not put out some of those little half-size water bottles for tasters to drink?
— Tasting rooms should offer the option of smaller tastes or, if they offer the option of “half-pours,” they should say so on their tasting sheets.
— A dump bucket should be within easy reach, and should have some sort of sign identifying it and encouraging its use. Maybe something humorous along the lines of, “REAL wine tasters use dump buckets” or “Life’s too short to drink wine you don’t like. Dump unwanted wine here.”
I’m not sure any of these suggestions would solve the problem, but they might help.
What’s been your experience on the wine-tasting circuit? What do you do in your tasting rooms and wine bars to protect yourselves — and your customers — from the unwanted behavior of the few?
Mark Fisher
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A wine tastings list to be proud of — and to behave for!
The slight chill in the air has me thinking red wines — how about you? Once again this week, our humble little wine-tastings list (which is compiled by a Dayton-based listserv and used here with permission) is growing and growing and growing. Who knew wine could be so popular? Don’t forget, for tastings and events in the greater Cincinnati area (which has got nuthin’ on Dayton’s events, I’m here to tellya), check out Michelle’s My Wine Education blog. Cheers!
Mark Fisher
Jay’s Kitchen Door Friday, October 12, 2007 4-8 pm 2006 Domaine Larochette Macon Les Morizottes 2004 Vinas del Cenit 2001 Clos Les Lunelles 2000 Le Macioche Brunello
Saturday, October 13, 2007 1-6 pm 2005 Poet’s Leap Riesling 2004 Green’s Point Shiraz 2004 Terrazas Afincado Caber net Sauvignon 2002 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia
Cooking Class! - A Fall Dinner Menu Saturday, October 13, 2007 10:30 am - 2 pm $40 Hands on. Bring your aprons and remember to wear appropriate shoes. If interested, call Jay’s, 222-2892 to RSVP.
Italian Dinner October 27, 2007 12:30 pm $55
Arrow Far Hills - Kettering Saturday, October 13, 2007 11-5 pm 2006 pillar box red 2005 macmurray pinot noir 2004 frei brothers cabernet sauvignon 2004 candoni chianti 2005 faiveley bourgone 2006 jadot macon-villages
Dorothy Lane Market (DLM) Oakwood Friday, October 12, 2007 5-8pm Morgan Pinot Gris 2006 Paolo Scavino Sorriso 2004 August Briggs Zinfandel 2003 L’Aventure Optimus 2004 Chateau Forita Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2005 Brown Bag
Saturday, October 13, 2007 1-6 pm St. Julien Riesling 2006 Jean Vesselle Brut NV Morgan Metallico Chardonnay 2006 Chateau Cantenac Climat 2002 L’Aventure Estate Cuvee 2003 Domaine Pierre Usseglio Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2005 Bonus Bottles!
Beers: Daleside Monkey Wrench Dark Ale, Bear Republic Big Bear Stout
Dark Beer Tasting October 24, 5:30-8:30 pm Thomas Hardy’s Vintage Ale Penn Dark Otter Creek Stovepipe Porter Left Hand Milk Stout And more
DLM Washington Square Thursday, October 4, 2007 5-8 pm 2006 Kris Pinot Grigio 2005 Ludavicus 2004 Peter Lehman’s Clancy’s 2003 Allegrini Palazzo della Torre 2004 Shafer One Point Five Encore Wine!
Saturday, October 13, 2007 12-5 pm 2006 Setzer Gruner Veltliner 2006 Martin Codax Albarino 2005 Brewer Clifton Santa Rosa Pinot Noir 2005 Kinkead Ridge Syrah 2004 Marquis Philips S2 Cabernet Encore Wine!
Dorothy Lane Market Springboro Friday, October 12, 2007 3-7pm 2005 Vie Di Romans Chardonnay 2005 Mauro Veglio Dolcetto D’ Alba 1999 Mauro Veglio Barolo 1999 Gagliole Rosso
Saturday, October 13, 2007 12-5 pm 2005 Domaine Morey Montrachet 2002 Joseph Drouhin Mouches Blanc 1999 Louis Jadot Pommard 2003 Domaine George Nuits- Saints
Cuvee Wine Bar and Cellar, 4457 State Route 725 Bellbrook Tuesday - Thursday 11:30 - 7 pm Friday and Saturday 11:30 - 8 pm www.cuveewinebar.net Tasting from Friday, October 13 -Thursday, October 11, 2007 Leitz 2006 Dragonstone Riesling Valdinera 2006 Favorita Lava Cap 2006 Chardonnay Consilience 2004 Petite Sirah Lake Breeze 2003 “Bernoota” Shiraz/Cabernet Ahnfeldt 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Beer: Bell’s Oberon Food: TBD
Sweetest Day Tasting Saturday, October 20 Bellbrook Massage will be here providing massages. A sweetheart inspired wine menu and snacks.
Arrow Centerville 615 Lyons Rd Centerville Saturday, September 22, 2007 11 am-5 pm 937-433-6778 2005 Arbor Crest Riesling… 2006 Bernard Griffin Chardonnay… 2005 Patton Valley Pinot Noir… 2004 Bernard Griffin Merlot… 2005 Amani Cabernet Sauvignon
Trader Joe’s, Town & Country at Stroop and Far Hills Tasting Thursday 6:00-8:00, Sunday 4:00-7:00. Gilbaud Freres Sur Lie (2005) AOC Muscadet de Sevre et Maine, France. Valreas (2005) AOC Cotes du Rhone-Villages, France. Chateau du Buisson (2005) AOC Bordeaux, France.
The Wine Gallery and Cafe, Corner of 3rd and Wayne Saturday, October 13, 2007, 2007 Noon to 10PM 2004 Palmeri Syrah 2004 Hunnicutt Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Leal Chardonnay
Tuesday, October 16, 2007 2PM to 9PM Valley Home Pinot Grigio Valley Home Syrah Southern Tier Harvest Ale Penn Octoberfest
Wednesday, October 17, 2007, 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM Sant Antonio 2002 Amarone Sant Antonio 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, Capital del Monte Sant Antonio 2005 Valpolicella Sant Antonio 2002 Valpolicella Ripasso Mont Garbi Sant Antonio 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon
MARKET WINE IMPORTS (2nd Street Market) Saturday October 13, 2007, 2007 10AM to 1:00PM 2006 Polka Dot Riesling 2004 Heavy Weight Red (2) Surprise bottles
Therapy Cafe, 452 E. Third St., Therapy-cafe.com Sunday,October 14, 2007 from 4-9 pm California ABC Complimentary tapas and deserts will be provided. Alban Central Coast Viognier 2006 Chappellet Chenin Blanc Dry 2004 Robert Pecota Sauvignon Blanc 2006 Claiborne & Churchill Dry Riesling 2005 Qupe Syrah Bien Nacido Havens Merlot 2003 Summers Charbono 2005 Handley Pinot Noir 2005 Verdad Tempranillo 2004 and Sunday football games!
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar 937-320-9548 Wine Wednesdays 5pm to 7pm in the bar. Wednesday, October 17, 2007 FERRARI-CARANO Fume Blanc Sonoma County, 2006 QUPE Syrah Central Coast, 2005 SEBASTIANI Merlot Sonoma County, 2003 TURNBULL Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville, 2004
IL BORRO ESTATE WINE DINNER, SALVATORE FERRAGAMO October 23, 2007 6:30 PM $85.00 per person and does not include tax or gratuity An artisinal display of traditional anti-pasta LAMELLE, Chardonnay Toscana, 2006
Pasta Fagioli acceneted with garlic toast points POLISSENA, Toscana, 2004
A CONTEMPARY TRIO OF GRILLED EGGPLANT, AN ITALIAN SAUSAGE RAVIOLI, AND A MEATBALL CASTIGLION DEL BOSCO, Brunello di Montalcino, 2001
ROASTED VEAL FLORENTINE WITH FRESH HERB RISOTTO IL BORRO, Toscana, 2004
DARK CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY TORTE LAYERED WITH TOASTED ALMONDS PIAN DI NOVA, Toscana, 2005
Palermo’s 2667 South Dixie Dr. 299-8888 12 - 5pm, Saturday, October 13th
And during the wine tasting, Palermo’s will have an ALL U CAN EAT pasta special for $10, lasagna, manicotti, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parmesan, baked ziti and more.
Fifth Street Deli Saturday, October 13, 2007 3 - 6pm Wines by Joe, Pinot Gris Sineann, Pinot Gris McManis, Syrah McManis, Cabernet McManis, Pitite Sirah Owen Roe, Sinister Hand
The Winds Wine Cellar Yellow Springs, OH October 12, 2007 7:00 pm
Chin’s Ginger Grill, 965 West Main Street, Tipp City Wednesday, October 17, 2007 6:30 pm Monthly Wine Tasting Dinner Call 9376677774
Miami Valley Wine & Spirits 937-667-3614 943 West Main St. Tipp City, OH, 45371 Friday October 12, 2007 5-9 pm
Cork-n-Vine Wine Cellar in Troy, Ohio. Polka Dot Green Med. Dry Riesling, Masi Masiano Pinot Grigio, Estancia Chardonay, Aquinas Pinot Noir, McMannis Cabernet, Chateau Souverain Zinfandel
The Wine Cart - West Chester Friday, October 12, 2007 5:30 - 9:00 pm McManis Viognier Mcmanis Syrah McManis Zinfandel McManis Cabernet McManis Petite Sirah
Dayton Ohio Habitat for Humanity Women Build Public Wine Tasting October 26, 2007 5:00p.m. $25 per ticket Carvers Restaurant 1535 Miamisburg-Centerville Rd The first 100 people through the door receive a FREE gift Wine Hors d’oeuvres Raffles All proceeds to benefit the 2008 Dayton Ohio Habitat for Humanity Women Build Advance Tickets: http://daytonhabitat.org
Little Sonoma, 6078 West Chester Road, West Chester, OH 45069.513-942-9463. Located two blocks north of Union Centre Blvd. at the corner of Muhlhauser and West Chester Roads www.LittleSonomaWines.com Friday, October 12th, 7-8 pm Pure Evil Chardonnay Root:1 Sauvignon Blanc Root:1 Cabernet Sauvignon Cline California Zinfandel Boarding Pass Shiraz Epiphany Petite Sirah
Saturday, October 13th, 3-6 pm Frankland Gully Dry Riesling Yalumba Barossa Shiraz-Viognier Billi Billi Shiraz Frankland Gully Shiraz-Viognier
La Petite France 3177 Glendate-Milford Road Cincinnati, Ohio www.lapetitefrance.biz Call 513-733-8383
Hardy’s Bed & Breakfast Inn in Lebanon, Ohio and Copperfield’s Catering Saturday, October 13, 2007 German wine tasting dinner, $55.00 per person, 513-933-0392 Choice of Roasted Port Tenderloin with Apricot Fennel Ragout or traditional Beef Sauerbraten. Dessert is an Apple Cream Tart. The cost is $55.00 per person.
Kinkead Ridge Winery 904 Hamburg Street Ripley OH 45167 937-392-6077 www.KinkeadRidge.com Last Day for the public is September 22, 2007 11 - 5 Reopening for a special barrel tasting the Saturday after Thanksgiving!
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Kinkead Ridge video doesn’t bring home the gold, but hey …
Okay, so Ron and Nancy’s video about life at Kinkead Ridge didn’t win the top prize in the Wine Spectator’s winery video contest, the magazine announced this week. But our favorite Ripley, OH winery owners impressed the winners, as well as the folks at the Spectator, who made the KR video one of only five national finalists. And they came away with a decent little consolation prize.
Besides, who knows? The Academy Awards are just around the corner …
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Wine marketing 101: Sex sells
Wow, I knew that sex sells and all that, but using a 70-year-old film starlet who made her name as a bombshell in, like, the 1950s, to tout a new line of wines , well … in the marketing of wine, you just never know what will come next.
Here’s the hook for the new line of wines called Mamietage that are the result of a collaboration between Mamie Van Doren and Wine Country Cellars to be — um — unveiled on Oct. 23:
The wine labels are unique in that they all feature nude poses of Mamie covered up by a top, clear “peel away” label that has stars strategically placed. Peel the label away, and there is Mamie nude.
Well, all-RIGHTY then.
We have, of course, explored this link between wine and sex in other entries, but this coupling does seem to be rearing its head yet again.
Oh, and by the way, this headline is also in the wine news this week: Cleavage Creek Winery To Donate 10% of Gross Sales to Breast Cancer Research.
Only in America …
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Best Burgundy dinner ever?
Friday night’s Burgundy dinner at The Winds had it all: a beautifully prepared five-course meal, eight thoughtfully selected Burgundies from the stellar 2005 vintage, insightful comments from arguably America’s most influential Burgundy expert, a bargain price — and a looooong waiting list.
Mary Kay Smith, co-owner of The Winds, said she could have booked two more for every one of the 40 or so who made it in to the Burgundy dinner. It’s easy to see why.
The first draw was the star power of the guest: David Schildknecht, formerly of Mason-based wine distributor and importer Vintner Select, now on the staff of Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, where he reviews, among other regions, Burgundy.
I’ve written before that wine is a part of David’s DNA — intertwined in his soul. He proved it again Friday night, with in-depth explorations of Burgundy history, terroir, climate (and climate change!) , vintages and producers.
But this was no lecture. It was a meal. The five-course menu and wine pairings consisted of:
— Pear Fennel Salad, paired with the Chateau de Cary Potet Aligote;
— Seared Sea Scallop with Ginger Lemongrass Buerre Noisette. with Domaine de la Feuillade St. Veran Vieilles Vignes;
— Salmon with Grape Sauce with Domaine Joseph Drouhin Chorey-les-Beaune and the Domaine Joblot Clos de la Servoisine Givry;
— Mushrooms Cooked like Escargot with Nocholas Potel Savigny-les-Beaune Vieilles Vignes and the Domaine Bruno Colin Chassagne-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes;
— Grilled Labelle Farms Duck Breast with Corn Risotto with the Nocolas Potel Nuits St. George and the Domaine Louis Boillot 1er Cru Gevrey-Chambertin les Cherbaudes.
Each course was well-executed — no small feat, considering it was served in a separate building from the kitchen, on a Friday night when the restaurant’s regular customers were in the dining room, and when the restaurant’s executive chef and co-owner, Kim Korkan, was half a world away, visiting Japan.
All this for $70 a head? Are you kidding me?
The wines? Well, the full combined retail bottle price of the wines served was well in excess of $300. That, and the food menu described above, puts the dinner’s price in perspective.
The reds were fascinating, showing the full breadth of colors, aromas and tastes that pinot noir can achieve on this relatively small plot of French soil. But the quality-to-price ratio wines of the night may well have been the two whites, the brisk and bracing Cary Potet Aligote ($15), from Burgundy’s “forgotten” white grape, and the St. Veran ($25), with its tightrope dance of fruit, acidity and minerality usually found only in the most expensive of white Burgundies. Stack the St. Veran up against any California chard in its price range, and, well … no contest.
Quite a night.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Mark your calendar in INK for these holiday (and early 2008) events
Sometimes, you just gotta plan ahead, no matter how much you enjoy flying by the seat of your pants, being compulsive, going where the wind takes you, etc. etc.
This is one of those times. Get your calendars out. Write these dates down. Plan ahead. You won’t regret it.
— Dorothy Lane Market’s Holiday Food and Wine Show will be held Thursday, Nov. 1, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at DLM’s Springboro store. The cost is $70. Order tickets online by clicking here.
— Arrow Wine & Spirits will have its annual Holiday Tasting on Sunday, November 11 from 6:30-8:30 pm at Arrow’s Centerville Store. Cost is $45 per person. Call Arrow at 433-6778 to make reservations.
Now, let’s look forward to 2008, so we can get some events onto your calendar in ink so nothing else spoils the fun:
The Cincinnati International Wine Festival will be held March 28-29 (Winery dinners March 27, Charity Auction and Luncheon March 29).
And last but by no means least, the Fleurs de Fete will be held Sunday, May 18, 2008 at Carillon Historical Park.
See you there!
If you have events coming up over the holidays or early 2008 that you think Uncorked readers might be interested in, don’t pout about being left out — post a comment and let us know about it.
Cheers …
Mark Fisher
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What will Carlo Rossi jug wines inspire YOU to create today?
The image above and the press release below showed up in my email inbox earlier this week. Perhaps you, too, have been, at some point in your life, inspired by the jug wines of Carlo Rossi as these artists have. So tell us: What have Rossi’s wine jugs inspired you to create during your lifetime?
Carlo Rossi (the iconic jug wine) has collaborated with cutting edge artist Jason Miller, glassblower Joe Cariati and jeweler Jules Kim to create limited edition pieces inspired by the jug. All will be on sale in select stores in NYC, Miami, San Francisco and LA throughout Winter of 2007. The works in the Carlo Rossi Jug Simple Collection are varying interpretations from each designer’s personal experience with Carlo Rossi. Designer Jason Miller paid homage to the jug by using it to encapsulate an ornate crystal wine glass resting inside. Renowned glass blower Joe Cariati created a series of colorful wine decanters inspired by the jug’s practical elements, including its one-of-a-kind glass ring handle. Inspired while enjoying a glass of Carlo Rossi Merlot, jewelry designer Jules Kim crafted a 14K gold necklace incorporating a mold of her own lip adorned with a red garnet symbolizing one’s inevitably-stained lips after sipping red wine.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Indian summer and fine wines
Unseasonably warm, record-setting temps are on tap for this weekend, along with some stellar wines. A fine way to enjoy Indian summer. So click on “continue reading” to gaze upon an extensive (another new wine-tasting venue this week!) tastings and events list that comes to Uncorked via a Dayton-based listserv that compiles it all. Don’t forget, for tastings and events in the greater Cincinnati area, check out My Wine Education. Cheers!
Mark Fisher
Jay’s Kitchen Door Friday, October 5, 2007 4-8 pm Denim Day for Breast Cancer Awareness! NV Mirabelle Brut 2001 Masia Carreras Grenache Carignan 2004 Alto Moncayo Garnacha 2003 Vieux Mas Des Pape 2003 CA Rome Romano Marengo
Saturday, October 6, 2007 1-6 pm 2003 Schramsberg Brut Rose 2003 Finca San Doval 2002 Silverado Merlot 2002 Chateau Smith Haut Lafite
Italian Dinner October 27, 2007 12:30 pm $55
Arrow Far Hills - Kettering Saturday, October 6, 2007 11-5 pm 2005 vilosell 2002 marques de gelida 2005 boarding pass 2005 wine by joe pinot gris 2006 wine by joe pinot noir 2004 culler la palette
Dorothy Lane Market (DLM) Oakwood Friday, October 5, 2007 5-8pm Aubry Champagne Brut NV Hunters Sauvginon Blanc 2006 Kinkead Ridge Cabernet Franc 2005 C.G. Arie Zinfandel 2005 Penfolds Bin 38 GSM 2004 Brown Bag
Saturday, October 6, 2007 1-6 pm Setzer Gruner Veltliner 2006 Columbia Winery Pinot Gris 2005 Altun Reserva Rioja 2001 Sottimano Barbaresco 2002 Sagna Nero di Avola 2003 Chateau Boswell Reserve Cabernet 2004 Bonus Bottles!
Beers: Barrel House Oktoberfest, Avery Hog Heaven
DLM Washington Square Thursday, October 4, 2007 5-8 pm Louis Roderer Brut Premier 2005 JJ Vincent Bourgogne Blanc 2004 Domaine des Relagnes Chateauneuf du Pape 2003 Carmody McKnight Cabernet Franc Encore Wine! Encore Wine!
Saturday, October 6, 2007 12-5 pm 2006 Hunter Sauvignon Blanc 2005 Consilience Pinot Noir 2004 Chateau de Serame Minervois 2004 Pretty Sally Cabernet Shiraz 2004 Steltzner Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Encore Wine!
Dorothy Lane Springboro Friday, October 5, 2007 3-7pm 2005 Daydream Chardonnay 2003 Two Hands Brave Face Shiraz Grenache 2003 Two Hands Harry & Edward’s Garden Shiraz 2003 Two Hands Stella’s Garden Shiraz
Saturday, October 6, 2007 12-5 pm 2002 Arcadian Chardonnay 2005 Reynolds Pinot Noir 2002 Grgich Hills Zinfandel 2001 Corison Cabernet
Cuvee Wine Bar and Cellar, 4457 State Route 725 Bellbrook Tuesday - Thursday 11:30 - 7 pm Friday and Saturday 11:30 - 8 pm www.cuveewinebar.net Tasting from Friday, October 6 -Thursday, October 11, 2007 Field Stone 2006 Sauvignon Blanc Solena 2006 Pinot Gris Calera 2006 Central Coast Chardonnay Turnbull 2005 Old Bull Red Kaesler 2005 Stonehorse Shiraz Four Vines Heretic
Beer: Bell’s Oberon Food: TBD
Sweetest Day Tasting Saturday, October 20 Bellbrook Massage will be here providing massages. A sweetheart inspired wine menu and snacks.
Arrow Centerville 615 Lyons Rd Centerville Saturday, September 22, 2007 11 am-5 pm 937-433-6778 2006 Saint Claire “Vicars” Sauvignon Blanc… 2004 Campus Oak Syrah… 2004 Leal Pinot Noir… 2002 Castillo de Fuendejalon Rioja… 2004 Pretty Sally Cabernet/Shiraz… 2004 Bravante Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
Trader Joe’s, Town & Country at Stroop and Far Hills Tasting Thursday 6:00-8:00, Sunday 4:00-7:00. Chateau Ste. Michelle Gewurztraminer (2006) AVA Columbia Valley, Washington. Blazon de Bourgogne Pinot Noir (2006) AOC Burgundy, France. Dr. Beckermann Auslese (2006) Rheinhessen QmP, Germany. Plus - 4 new beers from Kennebunkport Brewing Company India Pale Ale Pumpkin Ale Wheat Beer Apricot Wheat Beer
The Wine Gallery and Cafe, Corner of 3rd and Wayne Saturday, October 6, 2007, 2007 Noon to 10PM Live Music! Temple Bruer Shiraz, Grenache Viognier (Australia) Patton Valley Pinot Noir (Oregon) Elaina Walsh Pinot
Wednesday, October 10, 2007, 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM All organic Wednesday Menguante Garnache, Spain Stellar Cabernet Sauvignon, South Africa Pircas Negras Malbec, Argentina Badger Mountain Merlot, Washington State Muscadet de Sevre et Maine, France
MARKET WINE IMPORTS (2nd Street Market) Saturday October 6, 2007, 2007 10AM to 1:00PM Try new award winning wines from Missouri, White and Red plus several other wines for the early morning tasters. Tasting start at 9AM to 1PM.
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar 937-320-9548 Wine Wednesdays 5pm to 7pm in the bar. Wednesday, October 10, 2007 DOMAINE NAPA Chardonnay Napa Valley, 2005 SCALA DEI Priorat Negre, 2005 JACKSON TRIGGS Merlot Okanagan Valley Proprietor’s Reserve, 2003 SILVERADO Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, 2002
Therapy Cafe, 452 E. Third St., Therapy-cafe.com Sunday,October 7, 2007 from 4-9 pm Bordeaux Complimentary tapas and deserts will be provided. Live Jazz by Lee McKineey Trio + Live French Vocals Photo Exhibit Opening of Jon Warner
Angelique Monbosquet 2000 Ch. La fleur de Bouard 2002 Ch. Thieuley Reserve 2003 Ch.Joanin Becot 2003 Ch.Lacoste Borie 2003 Ch. Lalande Borie 2003 Rosé de PAVIE MACQUIN 2005 Ch. Marjosse blanc 2005
and Sunday football games!
Palermo’s 2667 South Dixie Dr. 299-8888 12 - 5pm, Saturday, October 6th Luna - Pinot Grigio, Napa Valley, California Brancott - Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand Greg Norman Estates - Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara, California J. Lohr - Merlot, Paso Robles, California Bonterra - Organic Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendocino, California
And during the wine tasting, Palermo’s will have an ALL U CAN EAT pasta specia for $10, lasagna, manicotti, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parmesan, baked ziti and more. Mark wrote about this offer last weekend in the Go section.
The Winds Wine Cellar Yellow Springs, OH October 5, 2007 7:00 pm Burgundy Tasting with David Schildknecht
Miami Valley Wine & Spirits 937-667-3614 943 West Main St. Tipp City, OH, 45371 Friday October 5, 2007 5-9 pm Dogfish head Pumkin ale Ichabod Pumkin ale Post Road Pumkin Weyerbacher Pumkin ale Lagunitas Imperial Red and more!
Dayton Ohio Habitat for Humanity Women Build Public Wine Tasting October 26, 2007 5:00p.m. $25 per ticket Carvers Restaurant 1535 Miamisburg-Centerville Rd The first 100 people through the door receive a FREE gift Wine Hors d’oeuvres Raffles All proceeds to benefit the 2008 Dayton Ohio Habitat for Humanity Women Build Advance Tickets: http://daytonhabitat.org
Little Sonoma, 6078 West Chester Road, West Chester, OH 45069.513-942-9463. Located two blocks north of Union Centre Blvd. at the corner of Muhlhauser and West Chester Roads www.LittleSonomaWines.com Friday, October 5th, 5-8 pm - Celebrating Women Wine Makers Cambria Katherine’s Vineyard Chardonnay Yalumba Eden Valley Viognier Crios Syrah- Bremerton Deux Amis
Saturday, October 6th, 3-6 pm - More Women & Wine
La Petite France 3177 Glendate-Milford Road Cincinnati, Ohio www.lapetitefrance.biz Call 513-733-8383
Kinkead Ridge Winery 904 Hamburg Street Ripley OH 45167 937-392-6077 www.KinkeadRidge.com Reopening for a special barrel tasting the Saturday after Thanksgiving!
Inn at Versailles - Banfi Dinner October 5, 2007 at 7:00pm ~875.00 inclusive Reservations Required 937-526-3020 innatversailles@earthlink.net Maschio Prosecco Fresh Mozzarella & Tomato Brushetta Fumaio Mixed Organic Micro Greens, Smoked Trout& Fall Pear Salad with a Sherry Walnut Dressing Principessa Gavi Grilled Portabella Mushroom with Lump Crab, Spinach, and Goat Cheese Castello Banfi Rosso di Montelcino Veal Saltimbucca with Saute’d Wild Mushrooms Santori Amarone Locally grown, Grilled Lamb Chop with an Apricot, Fresh Mint and Garlic Glaze Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino Smoked Buffalo Tenderloin with a Caramelized Shallot, Sambucca and Demi-Glace Sauce Banfi Rosa Regale Black Cherry Gelato
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Oktoberfest isn’t ALL about the beer …
Think the Dayton Art Institute’s Oktoberfest is all about beer?
Think again.
“Every single year, the weingarten has nearly doubled in sales from the previous year,” DAI spokeswoman Rene Roberts said, going back to 2000. “We have people who come and stay the whole time in the weingarten.”
I mention this because I wrote a piece in yesterday’s Dayton Daily News entitled DAI improves on formula for Oktoberfest success, and gave rather short shrift to wine in the story. Hey, space was tight, and even though Oktoberfest isn’t ALL about the beer, it is still MOSTLY about the beer. Make sure you check out my colleague Jim Witmer’s piece on the Oktoberfest beer selection as well as his awesome photos.
But the DAI’s wine selections are no slouch.You’ll be able to sip glasses of Las Brisas Sauvignon Blanc/Verdejo, Vega Sindoa Merlot and Vina Alarba Old Vine Grenache for a mere $5, or buy a full bottle of Gunderloch Diva Spatlese ($25), a half-bottle of Duval Leroy Rose ($30) or Deux Amis Zinfandel ($25). In all, there will be 10 wines available by the glass, and another dozen or so by the bottle, from the wine distributor of Cutting Edge Selections and selected by Cutting Edge rep Lauren Wiethe and DAI festival organizers.
So if you find yourself at Dayton’s popular fall festival and get a little, well, thirsty, just remember — you got options.
It’s not all about the beer.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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The (Toledo) Blade enters the wine-shipping brouhaha
The Blade in Toledo has weighed in on the wine-shipping controversy in an editorial entitled “Stomping on consumer choice”. I think you can guess what they think about the new restrictions. But here’s an excerpt:
Forcing Ohio consumers to pay more - or not have certain vintages available to them at all - is as if the state had decided to impose a restrictive tax on wine. We urge, instead, that lawmakers remember the words of Benjamin Franklin, who said that wine is “constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy,” and Thomas Jefferson, who called heavy taxes on wine “an attack on the health of our citizens.”
Ol’ Benny and Tommy did have a way with words, didn’t they?
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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OSU prof says new wine laws hurt Ohio consumers
Ohio’s new wine-shipping laws are starting to attract national attention, and more folks are weighing in on the law’s impact within the Buckeye state.
First, take a look at this entry on the Wine Enthusiast magazine “Unreserved” wine blog entitled “Ohio Consumers Lose”. It’s written by native Ohioan (Miami County, actually) Jim Gordon, who also serves as editor of Wines & Vines magazine.
And Gordon’s not alone in his belief that consumers lose under the new law. Alan Wiseman, assistant professor of political scientist at Ohio State University, sees several downsides, according to the following news release from OSU’s media relations office: (Please click on “continue reading”)
COLUMBUS - Ohio wine consumers will face a more limited selection because of a new state law that restricts direct shipments to customers in the state, according to an Ohio State University political scientist.
In addition, the law may make it more difficult for Ohio consumers to get the price bargains available to consumers in other states.
The law, which went into effect Oct. 1, prohibits wineries and wine companies that produce more than 150,000 gallons of wine a year from shipping directly to consumers.
“This is a troubling loss for Ohio consumers,” said Alan Wiseman, assistant professor of political scientist at Ohio State.
Wiseman has studied the effects of state laws governing interstate direct shipments of wine to consumers.
In a study he co-authored, Wiseman found that retail wine stores near one Virginia town charged significantly more than did online sellers for identical bottles of wine - when online sellers could not legally ship wine directly to consumers in that state. However, when Virginia changed it laws to allow direct shipment to consumers, the price differential between online sellers and retail stores shrunk nearly 40 percent, according to the study in the August 2007 issue of The Journal of Politics.
Wiseman said Ohio is in a different situation because it has minimum price mark up laws that make it nearly impossible for retailers to compete on price. But legalized direct shipment may put pressure on the state to change laws to benefit consumers. The new law does limit the selection for consumers. For example, it might be impossible for consumers to acquire highly desirable limited-release bottles from larger wine producers if they are not carried by an Ohio distributor.
“Restricting direct wine shipments is a barrier to competition,” Wiseman said.
Allowing direct shipment by wineries that make less than 150,000 gallons of wine a year is seen as a way of helping Ohio wineries, all of which fall under that limit. However, Wiseman said this new law probably doesn’t help Ohio’s wineries.
“Ohio wines are not perfect substitutes for out-of-state wines,” Wiseman said. That means that just because a wine lover can’t order direct shipments of a California wine doesn’t mean he or she will necessarily substitute an Ohio wine instead for direct shipment. “The real winners are the retailers and distributors who no longer have to worry about consumers shopping for wine out of state,” Wiseman said.
The new law has its defenders, including a reader named Keith who just last night posted a comment on an earlier Uncorked entry on this topic. In case you missed it, here’s a shortened version (for the full text of Keith’s comments, click here.:
Over a year ago before a judge struck down the Ohio laws that had been on the books since prohibition, you couldn’t belong to a wineries wine club that shipped from outside Ohio at all. getting wine shipped in to Ohio was basically illegal and even bringing it in your self you were liable for paying the state excise taxes on the wine. Even after the laws were struck down the individual ordering the wine was still liable for filing and paying the excise taxes, which I’m sure few did. what we are getting I guess is still better than what was in existence over a year ago. You can still have wine shipped in to Ohio by a small winery desiring to obtain a permit to do so. Which outside of the gallon limit Ohio’s law basically reflects what nearly every other state has enacted. At least now the consumer is not liable to pay the taxes and it will be the responsibility of the shipping winery. The only fair thing to a really small winery is absolute open and free trade, which knowing Ohio and most other states it is not going to happen as wine is a beverage that contains alcohol and it is by US Constitution the states perogative to control the substance. … it just surprises me that people think they have had something taken away from them that was absolutley known to be temporary until something new was passed by the legislature to bring Ohio in to compliance with the US Supreme Court decision. I really think it could have been worse and some states are going through some of that.
What do you think? Is this a tempest in a teapot, or an issue that could have a profound effect on how Ohioans purchase wine in the years and decades to come?
Cheers!
Mark
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Time to check your spouse’s checkbook for surreptitious wine purchases
Y’know, it’s never too early to start holiday shopping.
So if you notice any unusually large, unexplained expenditures in your spouse’s checkbook recently, sit tight and ask no questions. It could simply be that he or she purchased a bottle or two from the cellars of your soon-to-be-new-best-friend, Dr. Nils Stormby, at a recent Zachy’s wine auction.
And a rather successful auction it was, according to Decanter.com: All 656 lots sold, at prices more than double the most optimistic of pre-sale estimates.
So come Christmas morning, who knows? You may find wrapped, underneath your tree, a pristine magnum of 1945 Chateau d’Yquem, or perhaps a few half-bottles of the ‘62.
Gee, a bottle of d’Yquem from your birth year — wouldn’t that be nice?
So don’t question any mysterious entries in the ol’ bank ledger. You wouldn’t ‘t want to spoil the surprise, do you?
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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New wine laws ‘explained’
The Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Liquor Control has attempted to explain Ohio’s new wine-shipping laws, and frankly, it’s a hoot.
I welcome translations.
No one can blame the Division of Liquor Control folks. They’re just trying to make sense themselves of what the the legislators foisted upon them, in a law that received no meaningful public scrutiny whatsoever because of the way it was slipped into the state’s budget bill.
Actually, the folks at ShipCompliantBlog.com have attempted to translate the new law, and their interpretation is helpful.
It’s just a shame that any of this confusion had to happen at all.
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Controversy escalates over new shipping restrictions
The plot thickens, as they say, according to this story from Cleveland.com entitled “Ohio watchdog group criticizes wine-shipment ban”. In addition, the national organization that calls itself Free The Grapes! is trying to rally consumers against the law.
The Plain Dealer story details how public watchdog agency Ohio Citizen Action is now questioning the apparent back-room deal, to wit:
“What we’re talking about is not just access, it’s cutting a deal that no one actually knows about until it’s over,” said Catherine Turcer, legislative director for Ohio Citizen Action.
Well, actually, Uncorked readers knew a little something about it, but not enough. I wish I had been able to better understand the bill’s language at the time to better assess the law’s impact.
Note that the Plain Dealer story identifies our local State Sen. Jeff Jacobson as one of the chief architects of the legislation. Here’s an excerpt from the story:
Jacobson said he felt the matter was thoroughly hashed out behind closed doors, noting that he even heard out a lobbyist for the large out-of-state wineries. “This had plenty of discussion within the Senate,” Jacobson said. “It would be impossible for every issue in every budget bill to be one that people spend hours and hours talking in a public meeting about.”
Maybe they should have spent a few more minutes talking about this one.
But who are we to question the wisdom of our legislative leaders?
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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