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September 17 2007
Eric Arnold, a Wine Spectator Editor, released his first book today called “First Big Crush,” a Hunter S. Thompson-esque romp (minus the hallucinogens, but with a ratcheted and commensurate amount of beer) through a vintage year at Allan Scott wines in New Zealand.
Inspired by unemployment (and sans the WS gig which came after the fact) and taking a risk to write a book on what I assume to be spec., Arnold has written a bawdy and lively story that is part voyeuristic romp and part ex-pat “tales from the fermentation tank.”
If you’re interested in learning about the winemaking process, but bored with the stuffy idea of wading through textbook definitions of malolactic fermentation, then this is the book for you. Arnold writes like the Graduate Assistant you wish you had for that 400-level class in the last semester of your Senior year. Accessible, insightful and refreshingly free of any of the b.s. artifice that is the crutch of people hanging onto insider status, this is a FUN book that reads like a serialized blog, complete with a voice that resonates for anybody under the age of 40, or the young of heart. Make sure you drink some Hogue Fume Blanc when you’re reading the book. Arnold’s introduction will explain in some detail why Hogue is significant, and I will let you in on the fact that being “socially adjusted” makes the book even funnier, like listening in on a conversation at a bar.
I caught up with Arnold for a quick Q & A. The following is our un-edited exchange. My questions are bolded. His answers are italicized.
Good Grape: The Book has a very blog-style, first-person Gen. Y voice to it. Did you go into the writing of the book thinking you wanted to write something that might hit an audience more like yourself and less like the typical wine enthusiast?
Actually, I’m Gen X. At the very tail end of it, anyway. But yes, really from the first sentence my intention was to use the voice in which members of my generation speak to each other. Otherwise, what would have been the point? Why write a wine book that’s the same as so many of the others (boring, elitist and failing to really focus on who makes the wine, how they make it and why it tastes the way it does)? However, I also tried to follow the idea that any good, immersion-style nonfiction writer does his or her best to convey the style and voice of the people they’re profiling. On top of that, too, I think the voice in the book matures significantly by the final few chapters, as I – and the reader, hopefully – gain a much stronger grasp of what goes into winemaking. I’d love to tell you that that element was intentional, but I don’t think it was. Growing up just sort of happens whether you like it or not, and least of all when you’re actually paying attention. A total bitch, ain’t it?
Ed. Note: I think Arnold is 30, the same age as my wife. A small quibble, but he’s the first year of Gen. Y—my benchmark being a relative appreciation for the John Hughes films of the 80s, which mostly missed my wife, but something I’m incredibly fond of as a Gen. X’er a couple of years older.
Good Grape: Do you read wine blogs and if so, do you have any favorites and what do make of writing and video bloggers gaining notoriety in what has traditionally been a very closed-off media circle covering the wine industry?
Absolutely, I read and watch them religiously, especially Dr. Vino, Tom Wark’s Fermentation blog, and primarily Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV. What he’s done is immensely important for a range of reasons, all of which become more and more apparent the more you watch. Mike Steinberger from Slate.com really captured Gary’s appeal and significance perfectly. But most of all, what Gary’s done that’s so brilliant, is remind people that wine is supposed to be fun. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come close to pissing myself laughing at some of the things he’s said and done – and learned at the same time.
Also, I think all the Wine Spectator editors have done a very good job with their blogs, and embraced them as an opportunity to connect with and respond to readers – really put a face with their scores, descriptions and general ideas and experiences. That’s been a great first step toward opening that very closed-off media circle. They’re showing that they’re just regular people who care very deeply about providing their readers with the best information they can.
Good Grape: You mentioned in the book that Hogue Fume Blanc got you onto wine because it was a cheaper way to drink on a Saturday night when you were in college. When was the last time you drank a Hogue Fume Blanc and do you agree that college students are drinking a ton more wine then they used to? What do you think is the college student wine equivalent to “Natural Light” or “Keystone Light” i.e. decent, but cheap?
Last time I drank Hogue was probably less than a year ago. I’ve got to say, it’s still a really good wine for not that much money ($8 or $9 retail, depending on where you go). It’ll never knock your socks off, but it won’t taste like squirrel piss either. It’s a great party wine.
Do I agree that college students are drinking more wine now? Couldn’t tell you, since I haven’t set foot on a college campus in a long time. But next time I do, I hope the experience is like something out of Old School. The KY wrestling match is one thing I never managed to accomplish in my four years.
In all seriousness, though, the research stats you hear from the wine industry these days would indicate that college students are indeed drinking wine, mostly to pregame…but hey, it’s a start. As for calling Natty Light or Keystone decent and cheap, um, where did you go to school exactly? Cheap yes; decent, no.
Good Grape: If somebody in their twenties gets really excited about wine after reading your book, what’s another book you would refer them to? It doesn’t have to be a reference book.
Ooh, tough one. I could give you a much longer list of books NOT to read. But a lot of people tell me they really like Matt Kramer’s books since he has a very no-nonsense approach (and he’s hilarious as a speaker, if you ever get the chance to see him in person). I’m looking forward to Dr. Vino’s book, which probably comes out next year. Just knowing him and his approach, I think it’ll probably be a natural step from my book to his.
Ed. Note: This was a loaded question because I would recommend Matt Kramer’s “Making Sense of Wine.” I wanted to see how he would respond.
Good Grape: You have a good wit that shines through in your writing with a non-traditional, occasionally off-color sense of humor. Four part question, here: 1) Who is your favorite comedian, 2) Please quantify how it is that you have nicer tits than Andrea Immer, 3) What’s a good one-liner that got edited OUT of the book, and 4) Do you fear reaction from your normally staid colleagues at the Wine Spectator?
1) Dana Gould, probably. Though Drew Carey, in his standup days about 10 years ago, was amazing. And I hate to say it, but John Valby, aka Dr. Dirty, the guy who plays the piano and sings all those unbelievably filthy limericks, is a misunderstood genius. I remember seeing his shows in college, and you felt like you were going straight to the lowest circle of hell to have your brain gnawed on for eternity. But it was worth it.
2) I don’t have nicer tits anymore… I lost almost 20 lbs. in New Zealand from doing all that manual labor.
3) There’s a cocaine joke in there that mentions Chris Farley. Originally it was Lindsay Lohan, but the lawyers made me change it since, at the time, she had never been arrested for possession, never been in rehab, and stated in her Vanity Fair interview that she’d never done blow. The book was practically being printed when she ran her car off the road and had enough Charlie in her pocket to be called Pablo. I was so pissed off about that. But lawyers do what they have to do….
4) Who said they’re staid? Most everyone here is very laid back, very friendly and has a pretty good sense of humor. You’ve really got the wrong idea about them. I bet the guys who write for The Economist show up to work naked half the time.
Good Grape: Aside from the inspiration at your high school reunion and your buddy Jim, did you look into going to another English-speaking country like Australia or a place that might have helped your love life like Italy or Chile?
Believe me, I was thinking about my sex life first and foremost! But ultimately it came down to me simply being legal to work in New Zealand at the time, since I was under 30 and qualified for a visa. I wanted to go there anyway, of course, but at the same time, who really wants to read another book about Italian wine or French wine? Who gives a shit? I needed to go someplace new and fun – a place that could benefit from me as much as I could from them. My sex life had to take a back seat. And oh my, did it ever.
Good Grape: What did you spend your book advance on? Any wine to celebrate?
Paying off the debt I incurred writing it. I’ll spend the remainder on one of those Thomas Jefferson wines since they’re basically worth about as much as Hogue Fume Blanc now.
Good Grape: Good hook-up with Sammy Hagar for the jacket blurb, I enjoyed that Spectator article a few months back. With the original Van Halen reuniting for a concert tour, are you a David Lee Roth or a Sammy Hagar era fan of Van Halen?
You know, in high school everyone liked David Lee Roth – they all said he had the showmanship and all. But I first listened to them with Hagar, and he was definitely the better songwriter and singer. I see the appeal of Roth, don’t get me wrong. But in all honesty, I was only enough of a fan to buy Van Halen CDs, not enough go see a show. I was more into Tom Petty, the Stones, Pink Floyd, The Who and Aerosmith, as well as some more off-beat stuff like The Pixies and Jesus and Mary Chain.
Ed Note: This too was a loaded question as I wanted to see how he answered. I prefer Sammy Hagar-era Van Halen. David Lee Roth is the popular choice, though.
Good Grape: What do you make of the dichotomy of winemakers being drinking, cussing farmers and most wine enthusiasts being conservative, Lexus driving elitists?
Well, I think we’re stereotyping both sides of it, here. Sure, winemakers can be drinking, cussing farmers, but they dial it back depending on who they’re talking to and when. And I’d say that most conservative, Lexus-driving elitists I know let the expletives and bad manners out much more naturally than anyone, but they keep it toned down for business situations, funerals and weddings – and maybe not even then. They’re assholes, really.
Good Grape: Who is better dinner conversation? Suckling, Laube, Kramer or Eric Arnold?
You’d have to ask my friends and family, who’d probably all say, “Any of the three but Eric. His minimum number of penis jokes per course seems to be on the rise lately.”
Good Grape: What’s the next book going to be about?
This interview, and what a joy it was. Right on the same level with Internet porn… just a click away from this interview! Explore the parallels for yourself!
Good Grape: Thanks for taking some time out, Eric. This is probably the first time I’ve had a reference to sex, penises, Andrea Immer’s breasts and wine in one conversation. We need to hang out more often.
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September 11 2007
My friends and I have acknowledged that some bars, with attractive, but well-worn and hard living female bartenders are the last stop way station in some sort of secret lifecycle; the stripper life station having already been completed, and true hard luck yet to fully manifest itself. It’s the beer slinging place where strippers go to die. Now that I think about it, I guess a butterfly analogy would be nicer, but life isn’t always pretty. Nor is buying wine at retail.
In an analogous fashion and in the vein of way stations and life cycles, I now know where older vintages of wine go to die. They go to a “fine wine” shop in Indianapolis, IN.
The vast majority of wine purchased in the U.S. is drunk within a week of purchase. What’s not immediately consumed tends to be drunk in the next couple of years, if it makes it that long. Only a slight percentage of wine is set aside for aging. Simply put, if we see an older vintage wine that’s not an age-worthy Bordeaux or Cabernet for sale in a wine shop, it should be reason to pause.
And, so it was as I browsed a local wine shop recently. On display were a dozen, well-merchandised 1999 Zinfandel’s from a well-known, quality-minded producer—Steele. I’ve very much enjoyed Steele Syrah and their second-labels in the past and taking a flyer on an older vintage of their Zin wasn’t much of a stretch even if, aside from this wine shop’s fine wine room, virtually all other wine in the shop ranged in age from ’01 to ’06.
Nonetheless, the ’99 Steele Du Pratt Vineyard Zinfandel for $18.99 was nestled next to ‘04’s beckoning me to purchase it in yet another $20 social experiment in the name of blogging research.
The shelf-talker compared it to a Claret—giving an indication, to me at least, that it would be age-worthy and drinking just fine in ’07. I figured it might be a bit more austere than a typical California Zin, but still a nice wine. The label invited additional curiosity—a California Zin that has 13% alcohol. Hmmm … that’s not something you see very often.
Nevertheless, I bought the bottle and started to do some research figuring that I could track down some information somewhere on this wine.
The Internet, however, is mostly barren of information on the ’99 Steele Zin. In fact, if you go to Wine-searcher.com, said Indianapolis wine shop is the ONLY ONE in the country listed as having this wine.
The Steele web site had this to say about the vintage and wine:
1999 Steele Zinfandel
DuPratt Vineyard
Mendocino Ridge
Vintage - After the almost disastrous vintage of 1998 we awaited a better vintage in 1999. Well we waited and waited and waited some more. As the season progressed our hopes dimmed. The weather remained cool and sugars stayed low. Almost miraculously the sun came out toward the end of the vintage and gave enough heat to ripen the crop.
Vineyard - Even in a good year, picking the DuPratt in not always easy. A mountain vineyard with hilly terrain gives some vines more sun. By its nature Zinfandel ripens unevenly and each cluster has raisins, ripe berries and under-ripe berries. Choosing when to harvest takes skill, intuition and sometimes, good luck. Our answer to this is a test pick in which we harvest two rows, which run the length of the vineyard. If we get what we feel are adequate sugars after a day of soaking on the skins, we then harvest the remainder of the vineyard.
Winemaking - This tiny 5.5 acre plot of 80 year old vines has always produced wines of spectacular quality. The long season enjoyed by grapes grown in the Mendocino Ridge appellation does allow full ripeness and consistent quality year in and year out. Aging for 16 months in a special mix of French oak barrels is the other key to the great flavors and drinking pleasure that is a hallmark of the DuPratt Zinfandel. The long season and elevation makes wines which are rich, elegant and complex. They are more like fine Claret than typical old vine Zinfandel from California.
What do I deduce from buying a ’99 in ’07, reading the vintage notes about poor ripening and having a Zin at 13% alcohol that is compared to a Claret instead of a Zinfandel, its grape? Well, I wouldn’t deduce much if the wine was worth a damn, but it’s not. It’s devoid of fruit, has a metallic edge to it and the oak hasn’t softened out. Plus, the wine leaves a bad, astringent after taste.
Because of all the empirical data that I have at hand:
1) Sub-$20 ‘99’s aren’t that prevalent at retail in ‘07
2) A California Zin is compared to a Claret instead of its namesake grape
3) It has 13% alcohol when CA Zins are almost always 14% and above
4) Producer acknowledges on the web site that ’99 was a difficult growing year
5) It is only sold at one retailer in the country, according to Wine-Searcher.com
6) My tastebuds confirm that this is crappy wine
What I deduce is that I have been duped … a bespectacled accountant from the wholesaler found this in an inventory audit, dusted it off, had a sales guy give a sweetheart deal to the retailer, and the retailer foisted it onto me with margins exceeding 50% or greater, with a shelf talker exhorting me to enjoy this “Claret-style” wine with food.
I’ve railed against this retailer before for doing what I consider to be fairly consistent and ongoing scurrilous activity, but what I didn’t realize is that this is also a place that wine goes to die, or to be passed onto an unsuspecting public.
In hindsight, I would have preferred to use my $20 bucks to buy four beers with $4 bucks left for a tip from an attractive, well-worn bartender with a life story—at least this way I’d know my money was going somewhere beneficial. Heck, ’99 was probably a good year for her.
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August 31 2007
I ran across an interesting article on personalities matched to munchies—taking psychoanalysis to new heights. I would suggest that somebody should come up with the eHarmony personality profile for wine lovers, but I think somebody already beat me to the punch. Thankfully, I’m already married, so my wife would just call me a mixed bag of snacks while she’s pretty much a pretzel. Just to keep things on the wine up and up, I’ve included wine pairing suggestions. Which munchie are you? Excerpted from Utne Reader, September ‘07 who Excerpted from Alternative Medicine, May ’07.
Tortilla Chips: You’re a perfectionist. You’re successful and ambitious, and you like to plan ahead. You have a strong sense of social responsibility and abhor injustice.
Wine Pairing: California Sauvignon Blanc/Fume Blanc
Pretzels: You’re the life of the party. You love novelty and can quickly become bored with routine. You tend to start new projects before completing existing ones.
Wine Pairing: Off-dry Lambrusco
Cheese Curls: You have a high sense of morals and ethics and insist upon treating everyone fairly. You might seem uptight, but you’re highly organized and methodical
Wine Pairing: Australian Shiraz
Popcorn: You’re a take-charge type, but with a modest low-key demeanor. Confident but reserved, you would make a large charitable donation without telling anyone
Wine Pairing: Chardonnay
Nuts: You’re even-tempered, easy to get along with, and highly empathetic. Your easy-going, cooperative nature contributes to success at home and at work
Wine Pairing: Ripe, California Pinot
Potato chips: You’re achievement-oriented, successful and competitive. You’re a natural leader but can be irritated with inconveniences like long lines and traffic jams
Wine Pairing: Verdehlo or Gruner Veltliner or Champagne
Crackers: You’re contemplative, thoughtful and often a loner. You prefer private time and shy away from confrontation and arguments; you can’t stand to hurt another person’s feelings
Wine Pairing: Rose
Meat snacks (salumi/jerky): You’re gregarious and generous, and you tend to be loyal to a fault.
Wine Pairing: Medium bodied Cabernet or Zinfandel
Please leave a comment and tell me which snack YOU are.
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August 26 2007
Though the company I work for is based in Napa, I’ve never been on a tasting trip in Napa. Kind of wacky, I know. The reality is that I haven’t stayed over through the weekend for trips before and my through the week activity is head’s down work. I was, therefore, very excited about a full Saturday line-up of tasting with my wife and another couple.
We started our day off this past Saturday at about 9:45 am with a visit to Grgich Hills, one of the few tasting rooms in the Valley that opens before 10:00 am. We entered to a mostly empty parking lot and joined just one other couple who, obviously, won the “early bird” prize, beating us through the doors. Grgich Hills was the perfect place to start the day.
In what appears to be an untouched casualness from 30 years ago, Grgich Hills gets kudos for their very low-key tasting room, their wines and one of their tasting room employees who is one of finest examples of subtle salesmanship that I have experienced. I wasn’t sure if I should hug the guy, invite him over to dinner or ask him why he wasn’t selling something where he could make a little money. When he said that he collects Napa Cab but that he purchased a case of a particular Chardonnay because it was that good, I could feel my wallet separate from my back pocket. The reality is we didn’t get different treatment than any other guest at the winery that day, but the way tasting room employee told stories and gave everything a narrative arc while pulling bottle after bottle certainly made it seem like we were VIP guests. The Chardonnays shined here, the reds were serviceable and all of the prices are a bit dear, but this is a great tasting room experience. The couple we were with bought one of the library chardonnays and the tasting room employee waived all of our tasting fees, carefully wrapped up our glasses AND gave a trade discount
since they were also in the business. Great place, Grgich Hills is.
Yelp reviews for Grgich Hills here.
Next up was a winery tour and tasting at Mondavi. The analogy I use for going to Mondavi winery is akin to a Catholic going to the Vatican. I mean, you kind of have to go, don’t you? Or, maybe said differently, it’s like the Asians associating Disneyworld with Americans. That said, our tour actually turned out to be a pleasant surprise—well managed, brisk, and informative with a couple of fun surprises. Color me a camera carrying tourist, but I got a kick out of being able to go into the demo vineyard to pluck some Pinot, Malbec, Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay grapes to taste them in their natural state.
What I found most interesting about the tour, though, is the strict maintenance the tour made to Mondavi still being a family operation. No mention of Constellation AT ALL. Multiple references were made to Mondavi being a small operation, etc. In fact, our guide indicated that Robert just celebrated his 94th birthday and that Margrit and Robert are in frequently. The video in the fermentation room includes Tim Mondavi as head winemaker.
The tour ended with a tasting of the Fume Blanc, the Chardonnay and the Cabernet. All in all, not a bad tour by any stretch of the imagination, in fact it was time and money well spent. But, certainly, it’s disingenuous to present the winery as a small family-oriented operation to the masses when that reality stopped two years ago.
Yelp reviews for Mondavi here.
We took a stop for lunch at V. Sattui—the California State Fair Winery of the Year for the third time in four years. V. Sattui, for those that haven’t been, is something of THE populist winery in Napa and our visit didn’t prove any different. A crush of humanity met us at around 1:00 pm and the grounds, deli and tasting room were thronged with people. One of the unique benefits of V. Sattui is they are grandfathered in to some law and are able to serve food, which also means that every Tom, Dick and Harry that isn’t at Oakville Grocery is there around lunch time.
We enjoyed some sandwiches and expensive deli salads on the lawn before I picked up a couple of bottles of wine. Kudos also go to the tasting room employee who knew, intimately, the buying laws of Indiana for consumer direct shipping and promptly had me sign up with a Xeroxed copy of my drivers license.
As a side note, V Sattui only sells from the tasting room and 23 of 28 wines submitted at the California State Fair won medals. I’ll need to go back here during the week when I can actually enjoy some time there, without 1400 of my friends.
Yelp reviews for V. Sattui found here.
We then shot over to Silverado Trail, leaving a lot of the crowds behind and went up to Rombauer—by far the most picturesque winery I’ve been to, nestled onto a ridge with expansive views of the valley from its shaded tasting room. If I had to choose a favorite wine, Rombauer Zin would make my top five and it’s also one of the wines that my wife and I use as a reference point for other Zins. The tasting room here is small—there is room for just six or seven people without starting to go two-deep, and the tasting line-up is short—in keeping with the small array that Rombauer produces—Merlot, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Cabernet and some specialty selections to sell from the web site and tasting room.
I love this place, I love their wine. I bought the Proprietor Selection Zinfandel made from Joan’s Vineyard, out in front of the tasting room, using head trained Zin vines.
Yelp reviews for Rombauer found here.
And, to close the day, we shot down Silverado Trail to Silver Oak. It was a great way and place to cap the day. Ironically enough, Tom Walsh, the Tasting Room Manager had sent me an email on Friday after reading my post on Silver Oak last Thursday, inviting me down to the tasting room and extending an invitation for a free tasting for my wife, friends and me.
Not one to turn down the extension of hospitality, I took Tom up on his generous offer and we wound down our day by trying the Alexander and Napa Valley Cabs, in addition to the Towmey Merlot. A great visit and very hospitable place, made all the more pleasant by a complete lack of pretension. Thanks goes to Tom for being a gracious host and for extending the invitation.
Yelp reviews for Silver Oak found here.
All in all, a great tasting day in Napa Valley and a great introduction for tasting days to come.
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August 23 2007
First, I should get this out of the way. I’m starting to get bored with myself. So, I can only assume that the people that read this blog from time to time are similarly getting bored. I mean, I understand it’s tough to slog through 800 + words to get to a point, when I make one. I’m working on it, believe me.
Frankly, I think the challenge with my current state of boredom is the difference between knowledge and wisdom. I have too much of the former and not enough of the latter.
I read a ton—too much, in fact. I am a voracious consumer of information—30 + magazines a month (most if not all by subscription). I mean, seriously, I don’t know a single other person in my entire universe that reads that many magazines, and especially not a neurotic nutball that feels guilt if the months pile up on Food & Wine magazine, for example. And, I spend a lot of my life online reading blogs, etc. When I’m reading a book I’m reading non-fiction and I usually get through a book a month—most are wine and/or marketing/business related. Sometimes they’re wine business books, just to make it easy for myself.
Simply put, I take in too much information that is intended to make me knowledgeable. Ideas are great, but there’s a point of diminishing return when you can’t practically do all or them, or any of them, really.
Sadly, in the last three years I’ve read just two fiction books that I can recall—Life of Pi and the Da Vinci Code. Life of Pi made me cry and feel joyful and The Da Vinci Code gave me serious pause to reflect on the dogmatism that 12 years of Catholic schooling can give you. My wife starts to steam because I still haven’t read Harry Potter despite the obvious emotional investment she has in the series—for Pete’s sake she took a day off from work to go to a recent Harry Potter book release party wearing a homemade t-shirt that says, ‘Ron is a Keeper.’ She was a mess when Dumbledore died, but I don’t know what any of this means in practical terms.
Net-net, I’m on max information overload. I’m about as plugged into the things I’m interested in as humanly possible. I’m knowledgeable. I’m mostly decent dinner conversation. There’s not a whole hell of a lot in wine, pop culture, business or Notre Dame Football that eludes my grasp.
But, this is where the double-edged sword comes into play.
While I feel like I’m pretty knowledgeable, what I’m missing is wisdom—the wisdom that can be gained from reading fiction—the empathy you feel for well-drawn characters in a story that has a beginning, a middle and an end with a moral.
So, this post would normally be about wine customization labels and the obvious market that is being missed. I got inspiration for the post from an ad in Rolling Stone magazine (yes, by subscription) for Converse shoes whereby Generation Y can customize their sneakers. There’s lot of this customization stuff going on—in fact there’s probably some marketing case studies, too, if I searched for them (I’m not). Heck, http://www.threadless.com and http://www.spreadshirt.com have businesses built on customized t-shirts. Common sense tells me that if one of these custom-label wine companies created an easy to use, highly flexible and customizable online label-maker and offered and marketed the ability for younger consumers to create their own cool labels then you’d really have a pretty cool business going.
But, like I said, I’m getting bored with myself and ideas are great to a point, but sometimes action is more interesting. Or, absent action at least having the wisdom to know the good ideas from the bad is pretty cool, too.
I think I’m off to read a good book, but before I get to the fiction I’m reading Henry Miller’s Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch—it’s a non-fiction, supposed to be kind of like a first person blog before there were blogs. It’s supposed to be packed with wisdom, too. Maybe it will give me some ideas.
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