May 5 2008
Inspired by a comment I received from Josh at Pinotblogger in response to my review of a BioD wine (found here). He raised the question, a very valid question, about whether I would enjoy the wine as much if I tasted it blind. He’s right. How much is my tasting the “vitality” in a BioD wine related to my own psychosomatic predisposition to being intrigued by BioD wines made with natural yeasts?
But, just as soon as you start to go down one path of mental resolution, you open up a $22 bottle of BR Cohn Silver Label Cab and a Trader Joe’s $5 bottle and you realize that the TJ’s wine is better. A normal predisposition would say the more expensive wine is better.
It’s all subjective; fortunately I’m a sales and marketing guy with a liberal arts degree so I don’t have to get bound up in quantifying the science in it all. This subjectiveness is illustrated as much by our desire to date to attractiveness (or, in my case, marry) demonstrated by eHarmony (it don’t mean a thing without the picture). Blind tastings and personalities matches are great, but, yeah, I guess the label does matter.
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April 28 2008
Ask any comedian and they’ll tell you it’s damn hard to be funny in person, let alone in the written word. But, as I put this post together, I have to say that today’s interview with Jeff Bundschu, President of Gundlach Bundschu, shines as an example of his wit and accessibility. Students of leadership say that leaders imbue their organizations with their attitude and I’m virtually certain that the Gundlach Bundschu ethos is about intellect and a laugh. Anybody that can combine references to Don Quixote, KEXP, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Harold and Kumar go to White Castle while admitting to watching American Idol is one okay guy in my book. And, it also happens that he oversees some damn fine winemaking, as well.
Herewith, 20 not so penetrating questions for a wine craftsman (and be sure to leave a comment and take a guess at the last question):
Which of the Seven Deadly Sins are you most guilty of?
Jeff: No fair. This is like asking me which of my kids I love more. Today it’s Sloth. No, it’s Lust. We’ll call it Slust.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
Jeff: Easy. LITTER. Thinking about it just makes me want to change the last answer to WRATH!!!!!!
What is on your nightstand?
Jeff: GQ april, Don Quixote (Cervantes), 3 New Yorkers, The Art and Craft of Playwriting (Hatcher) , Alpine Sierra Trailblazer (Sprout), The Invention of Everything Else (Hunt), Collapse (Diamond), Creating Effective Boards for Private Enterprises, (Ward). I wish American Idol wasn’t on so late so I could read some of it…
What is in your refrigerator or pantry that you wouldn’t openly admit?
Jeff: Mice. Just kidding. Ants.
What do you drink when you’re not drinking wine?
Jeff: Hmm.. scary. Depending on the time of day and the occasion I drink the following regularly: water, mineral water, decaf coffee, emergen-c, cytomax, espresso, red-bull, diet seven-up, diet-coke, and organic milk.
What type of music or radio station is played most often on Rhinefarm?
Jeff: KEXP streaming live from Seattle. Check it out!!!!
In what era would you live if you transport yourself?
Jeff: I am most always more exited about tomorrow than yesterday, but if I have to choose, it would be Paris in the 1920’s.
What is the best wine-related book you’ve read?
Jeff: ‘Reflexions’ by Richard Olney. A controversial book by a controversial man, though I knew nothing of him nor his reputation when I read it. This is a rough autobiography of perhaps the most influential American palate of the last century, who spent his entire adult life in a one room house in the south of France, rarely (if ever) working in a restaurant. These writings gave me deep insight into the richness a life with wine and food can have, provided you take the time to truly appreciate ingredients and their origins. Along the way, it is a great (and at times eyebrow-raising) first hand history of some of the most revered names in 20th century food and wine. Beware though, the guy comes across as a petulant priss.
What is your favorite movie genre?
Jeff: If ‘Dazed and Confused’ and the ‘Bourne Ultimatum’ gave birth, that would be it. Wait a minute.... They already made Harold and Kumar go to White Castle!
Is your desk messy or organized?
Jeff: I have three in the same room. One is spotless, one is average, and the other doesn’t look like a desk because it has so much crap on it.
Are you always early or terminally late?
Jeff: Let’s put it this way: I am gleefully postponing a meeting that was supposed to start 17 minutes ago to finish this important (interview).
Do you read the comics in the newspaper? If so, what’s your favorite comic?
Jeff: Zippy the Pinhead. Period.
Who would you want to play you in the movie about your life?
Jeff: My talented brother from another mother, Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
What super-power would you most like to have, and why?
Jeff: I don’t know if beaming, a-la Star Trek, is a super power but I want that. Just think- Dawn patrol in Hanalei, coffee in Hollywood, lunch at Dellas in Sonoma, an afternoon ride at Mont Ventoux, dinner at Chanterelle in NYC, the Foo Fighters at Wembley, and home to sleep in my own bed.
You are moving and can only take three or four articles you want to take with you. What would you grab?
Jeff: Wife, kid, kid, in any order. I’d leave the guinea pigs.
What do you do if you have a spare hour?
Jeff: As of late, Tweet and be Twat on Twitter.
What was the last great restaurant you ate at?
Jeff: Chanterelle in NYC. Some would call it old school, I would call it timeless. French inspired dining experience in lower Manhattan. Incredible service, ambiance, flavors, portions, wine and conversation. Ruth Reichl wrote in her 1993 review of the place, ‘Leaving the restaurant late at night...turn back and take one last look. The people inside, caught in the shimmering golden light of the room, look blessed.’ 15 years later, I concur.
What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Jeff: Butterscotch
What is the best compliment you have ever received?
Jeff: Hmmmm, I can’t remember. Is that a bad sign?
“2 Truths And a Lie” – Share 3 unique things about yourself and your life, 2 of them true, 1 false. Readers will guess by leaving a comment
Jeff:
1. I believe over-extracted wines are the smog of our industry: pervasive, obscuring, and throat burning.
2. I never miss an issue of the Wine Spectator.
3. I am shy.
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April 15 2008
You would think that a seemingly innocuous speech by financier Bill Price at a recent North Bay Business Journal wine industry conference would be much ado about nothing.
You would be wrong, however.
A more flippant lead to this post would surely start with a quote from “Sympathy for the Devil” by the Rolling Stones, or, perhaps, Tony Montana from Scarface.
“Please allow me to introduce myself …”
Or,
“Say hello to my little friend …”
While not above it at other times, in this instance I will roll with the straight facts.
I’ve seen reference to Price’ comments in at least three different places, and while I get around, I do not read that much.
In a nutshell, Price said, as excerpted from a coverage piece by the North Bay Business Journal:
The wine business is approaching a historic period in which 1,000 to 2,000 of the 2,400 wineries in California could be for sale in the next 10 years, Bill Price told the audience of nearly 300 at the BUSINESS JOURNAL’s Wine Industry Conference at the Vintners Inn. He was citing a Silicon Valley Bank/Scion Advisors study on winery ownership succession released earlier this year.
“In a growing or consolidating industry, it generally pays to sell early or late,” he said, regarding timing in relation to the trend. “If you sell in the middle, there generally are compressed multiples.”
That’s because there are few properties for sale at the beginning, so buyers are paying higher multiples of earnings before taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) than they would after a few years, when neighbors see the high multiples and put their businesses on the market, according to Mr. Price.
Frankly, seeing this blurb in several different spots reminded me of political coverage where the slightest sound bite is blown up, spun and covered unmercilessly by talking heads. Surely, it cannot be that big of a deal, right?
Maybe it is a big deal. Could it be that for all of the advocating that bloggers do online about small wine, terroir, and other high brow, nuanced wine-related thought-leadership types of things that we are really in the midst of the halcyon days? In 10 years time will we look back wistfully at the good old days, the pre-2008 era in wine?
Separately, I have been managing the Wine Business Network group that I started at the professional networking site LinkedIN. Slowly, surely, and without effort, it has grown to 275 members in two months time. It has folks of all stripes from the wine industry—big wineries, little wineries, distributors, retailers, the whole gamut. Likewise, I have rejected membership for a fair number of folks that did not fit the criteria for “Wine Business.” Recruiters, oddball vendors and the like have been politely rejected for membership. I’ve been trying to keep it for wine folks.
Today, however, I received a request from a Mr. William Chong. Mr. Chong is the Head of Alternative Fund Services at HSBC.
HSBC is the world’s largest bank. HSBC is also based in China. I hear the Chinese are taking a liking to wine.
Alternative Fund Services at HSBC, based on my own cursory review, provides fund administration services to customers that might include hedge fund managers, funds of hedge fund managers, absolute return fund managers and private equity partners.
Perhaps, it is not so coincidental that Bill Price founded Texas Pacific Group, a private equity firm. He knows that which he speaks, particularly, it would seem, about winery sell-offs and acquisitions.
I find it curious that unexpectedly I would see a notation about a winery sell-off and all of a sudden and out of the blue somebody from the world’s largest bank that supports hedge funds and private equity would want to be a part of the Wine Business Network.
Perhaps I am being hyperbolic, as I am wont to do. Perhaps, not. Nonetheless, I approved Mr. Wong’s membership, contrary to my own previous arbitration about who gets in.
Dear Wine Industry: Please allow me to introduce you to Mr. William Chong. He works for a bank with a lot of money. I hear that some of you guys may have your winery up for sale in the next decade. Some folks say you might want to do it sooner, rather than later.
If you want to join the Wine Business Network at LinkedIn, you must have a profile and you can request membership at this link. I will not be taking any finders fees, a case of wine will suffice. I am sure you will have Sympathy for the Devil.
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April 9 2008
Cue Elton John and the soundtrack to “The Lion King.” I now feel like, at least from a book publishing perspective, I have seen the trifecta and completed the “Circle of Life.”
For a Generation X’er like me, first came the eponymously named book by Douglas Coupland. Then, as I crept into my thirties, a slacker-turned-adult manifesto called, “The Day I Turned Uncool” by Dan Zevin was published. Now, finally, comes the triumphant and celebratory book called, “X Saves the World.”
Damn right.
In my mind, there is a clear line of delineation between my generation, Generation X, the small band of brothers nestled between the Baby Boomer’s and Generation Y, those in their twenties. However, to read Alan Goldfarb’s column in Appellation America, he would have you believe that anybody not a Boomer, and, God forbid, under the age of 40, is the downfall of Western Civilization, or at least wines of distinction and, based on omission of fact, entirely the same generation of people.
He grinds the axe, singing an old saw, but, unfortunately, comes off as only glancingly provocative.
The crux of his argument is that this one giant mass of “kids” does not drink wine with food, therefore missing out on nuanced wine, though he somehow overlooks the fact that folks in their 30s are executing the majority of fine dining. It is a young man’s game. Any issue of Food & Wine will verify this. He also overlooks the complete revolution with Sommeliers in their twenties, driving international trends.
Ah, we have to talk about something and, I guess, this is as good as the next topic and certainly better than arguing about BioD.
Vin de Napkin—inspired by this article at Appellation America.
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March 24 2008
What do an obscure post-Easter holiday, festive libations and Bill Clinton have in common? Could be the set-up to a punch line, huh? The answer is not a bacchanalian party with interns, either.
Before doing a quick Google search, I would have sworn that South Bend, a northern Indiana border town, a region referred to as Michiana, on the south bend of the St. Joseph river, in the shadow of our lady’s golden dome, my hometown, was the only place in the U.S. that celebrated a peculiar and festive Polish holiday the Monday after Easter called Dyngus Day.
What did we do before Wikipedia and Google?
Alas, because of Wikipedia, I now know that Buffalo, NY and pockets of New York also celebrate Dyngus Day, this most joyous of celebrations. Welcome to the party, fellas. I made it 35 years thinking this goofy slice of Eastern European- cum-Americana was unique to South Bend. Selfishly, it is somewhat nice to be in on something local, and, well, kooky. Kind of like that hidden gem of a wine made in absurdly small quantities by the crackpot winemaker.
Dyngus Day is, frankly, an excuse to party, a hump holiday after St. Patrick’s Day and before late spring weather roars to life. It is a day of beer, polish sausage, boiled eggs, and city-county council members slapping backs and kissing babies at VFW lodges throughout town.
Undoubtedly, there is some vino being served, too--perhaps some Hungarian vino from Tokaj or a lightly tannic German red wine, something to pair with the food. Polish sausage, in particular, a zesty sausage that is on our dinner table every Easter, pairs well with a peppery Syrah, even if a Pinot is best for the Easter table.
Besides South Bend being a legacy town with a huge enclave of polish folks and a place where being called a “Polack” is not viewed as an ethnic slur, it is also a town that hosted the former President of the U.S. today. Indiana, for once, is in the thick of current politics and a primary coming up on May 5th.
Meanwhile, Bill and Chelsea hit Indiana all day today. They will be there for something called Dyngus Day. According to one Google search, Dyngus Day is a day where guys get to drench gals in water; apparently tomorrow, gals get to throw dishes at the guys. It’s a Polish holiday. Of course, what part of Dyngus Day will Bill Clinton take part in?
That excerpt leads me to the somewhat loosely tied point of this post. What living president would you want to party with, er, enjoy a glass of wine with?
For my money, out of Jimmy Carter, G.H. Bush, Clinton, and G.W. Bush, you are almost forced into a no-brainer decision. My personal politics aside, which straddle the middle of the road, when I’m not fantasizing about being a beatnik or a farmer of organic produce on the margins of society, I would definitely choose Clinton.
I think I would pull a Washington state red blend out for him—something with brisk acidity, complexity and abundant fruit.
Dyngus Day aside, which President would you drink with and what would you have?
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