February 17 2007
Bolstered by Good Grape’s recent nomination in the categories of Best Overall Wine Blog and Best Wine Graphics in the American Wine Blog Awards, I would like to announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America in 2008.
I am ignoring my mother’s emphatic proclamations from when I was a child: “If Bobby jumped off a cliff would you do it, too?” It does seem as if everybody else is doing it.
There are enough Democratic contenders to round out a rec softball team with most of the candidates vying to hold down right field. Instead of Barack Obama invoking Abe Lincoln, I will be invoking Thomas Jefferson, a wine fans’ favored president based on his love of the grape.
Running on a platform of, “A chicken in every pot (preferably Coq au Riesling) and a vineyard in every backyard,” I would have a standing meeting with the Congressional Wine Caucus for their frequent mixers. But, I may have some problem first selecting a Vice-President because my proposed candidate is a Canuck. His name is Jeff, as well—introducing Jeff Chorniak from Toronto.
Chorniak owns what is believed to be the world’s smallest vineyard—the Africus Rex patio vineyard. His vineyard is 7-foot by 11-foot square and is planted with 26 Cabernet Franc bonsai vines. The winery—all 108 square feet of it--is in his cellar.
It’s believed that Chorniak will be able to rally suburban constituents interested in backyard viticulture.
Bonsai vines can be purchased for around $100 and can reach up to 14 inches in height. Varieties include Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
For those not interested in the actual viticulture part, several places sell bonsai vines for ornamental purposes—including Wine Enthusiast magazine; they happened to sell one to me as a gift for my brother as he moved into a new home. It promptly died, too.
Because of this premature death and because of ongoing transgressions in their wine magazine publishing business, one of my first acts will be to leverage my bipartisan support via the Wine Caucus and open up a Congressional Inquiry into Wine Enthusiast magazine’s questionable scruples in publishing—exchanging favoritism for advertising to editorial and review coverage.
Thankfully, I am not alone in this outrage on behalf of the people. Craig Camp at The Wine Blog Camp agrees, noting in a recent post:
It’s a joke, right? The Wine Enthusiast selects 2004 DeLoach 30th Anniversary Pinot Noir number 1 at the pinnacle of its top 100 wines of the year list. If this wasn’t so ridiculous it would be painful. However, we can retain our sense of humor because no one actually cares what The Wine Enthusiast thinks.
A recent review by the Good Grape for President Campaign noted the following in the March 2007 issue:
Of 104 content pages they were broken out thusly:
• 3 pages were Table of Contents or introductory related
• 35 pages were content related with 4 of the 35 pages associated with large photograph splash pages
• 8 pages were related to Wine Enthusiast promotions
• 20 pages were related to full page color ads
o Inside front, inside back and back cover ads, not included in the 104 pages, add an additional 3 ad pages
• The Wine Buying Guide constituted 38 total pages with 14 pages having purchased advertisement
By my estimate, with the March 2007 edition of Wine Enthusiast magazine, on the heels of Wine Enthusiast naming Oliver Garden restaurant as its 2006 person(s) of the year, they have now ceased to be a magazine that serves readers, but rather are a politic mouthpiece for big wine.
In a democratic society by the people and for the people, the Congressional Inquiry will work to validate and potentially disband the Marxist influence so obviously evident.
Our foreign policy is built upon maintaining goodwill internationally; especially as the U.S. overtake the French in overall wine consumption in the middle of my term. Because of this, we will proactively institute French sensitivity training as offered by the Ile-de-France tourism board. Every American will learn how to cop a French attitude to bolster an international esprit de corp.
Bolstered by the original vision of the U.S. founding fathers and especially Thomas Jefferson, we will also be instituting some economic measures related to wine.
In an effort to create a more egalitarian society around the numerous labels at every price point, regardless of potential or inherent quality and a complete lack of differentiation based upon packaging, we will be instituting an honor system at all places that sell wine at retail. No longer will consumers pay $8.99 to $80 for a Pinot Noir that looks the same and may actually taste the same. Instead, consumers, taking a page from a café in the suburbs of Seattle, will pay what they feel is the value of the wine, without regard for desired sell price from the producer or the distributor. We believe in market driven economics for ALL wine.
In the event that Christopher Walken gets knocked out of the primaries, I may appoint him to a high cabinet position, so please keep an eye on his candidacy, as well.
Remember, a “Chicken in every pot and a vineyard in every backyard.” Good Grape for President.
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February 15 2007
Friday evening is your last chance to vote for the American Wine Blog Awards. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to vote here.
And, some other errata and miscellaneous from the week so far … I wrote a post on the Inertia Beverage Group blog yesterday … you can check it out here. Normally I wouldn’t write about the professional blog here on my site, but I wrote about Spot Runner, an Internet advertising agency that lets virtually anybody buy inexpensive ad space in television markets nationally. Quickly, you realize that Stormhoek with their quirky YouTube videos and Gary Vay-Ner-Chuk at Winelibrary.tv could be in a living room near you before too long. Frankly, I think it would be pretty cool. They could cozy up to Jennifer The Watson’s Spa Girl and Don from Don’s Gun’s for local Indianapolis infamy.
I decided to take the bait with the press release/email I received yesterday. QPRwines renamed themselves The WineBlueBook. According to the release,
“WineBlueBook’s new name (formerly QPRwines) plays off the “blue book” metaphor and works with the company’s strategy to best serve wine consumers with an easy to read guide to purchasing wines and understanding scores versus price. Neil Monnens adds, “blue books are one step research books for most industries – why shouldn’t a crowded market like wine not have its own resource.”
Hmm … I don’t have enough information to pass sound judgment on this one, but my instincts tell me that forsaking the unique equity built up with QPR and trading that for “Blue Book” which is associated most predominantly with used cars is not a good branding decision. I’m sending Neil an email to see if I can find out … check out the new site here.
At Winecast.net, Tim posted the round-up from Wine Blogging Wednesday (WBW) on Monday. A lot of wine and food bloggers are taking part in this fun little monthly exercise in group wine drinking and blogging. Dare I say a critical mass has been met. Rumor has it that Lenn is developing some organization around the event. ’07 could see WBW graduate to high school.
Over at Pinotblogger.com, Josh recounts the first part of what will be two parts in how he met his wife, Candace. It doesn’t get much better than combining the words “diddling” and “banging” within two sentences of each other within the context of talking about a reality television show on MTV. Nice.
Speaking of banging, or diddling, or something like that ... the Winespectator.com site, unfortunately the password protected portion, has a blurb about Dr. Ruth Westheimer doing an appearance at Bottlerocket Wine & Spirit in New York to promote the recently published 3rd Edition of her book Sex for Dummies. In the short article blurb she says,
“Well, I do tell people, especially in today’s world where everybody has a hectic schedule, if you’re going to have a romantic encounter, make sure you drink a glass of red wine, or maybe two, but not more!” said Westheimer. “Men, if they drink too much, will fall asleep, or not be able to function, and women might say things that they’ll regret.”
My wife is Dr. Ruth’s editor for the aforementioned Sex for Dummies. And, yes, it’s true--it’s as fun of a job as it sounds. Dr. Ruth, according to my wife, is a peach of a lady, too. As soon as somebody in the marketing department at Wiley Publishing can get their act together, I’ll post a link for the Sex for Dummies podcast that hostess, Lindsay Lefevere, conducted with Dr. Ruth, too.
For Valentine’s Day Lindsay and I agreed that we wouldn’t do any gifts or even spend money on a card, we would simply go out to a very nice dinner.
I was excited to go to one of the best restaurants in the city, a place that won Wine Spectator Awards of Excellence five years in a row ’01 – ’05 and best restaurant of the year, critic’s choice by Indianapolis Monthly in 2005. We decided to not go to our favorite restaurant and try something new.
Not necessarily a mistake, but the restaurant didn’t live up to the hype. The prices on the web site were a little off from the prices on the Valentine’s dinner menu, wringing a couple of extra bucks out of patrons here and there including on my appetizer and my entrée. Our service was casual, casual to an extent that you don’t expect to experience while enjoying fine dining. No 2nd tier of support for our waiter who had casualness you would expect at a chain restaurant. I half expected him to crouch down with suspender buttons twinkling and ask what he could get for us. The ’03 Patz & Hall Pinot Noir I ordered was in fact a ’05, delicious just the same and to top it all of they had a mandatory 18% gratuity included on the bill—for a two person party. I know a lot of people that don’t go out on New Year’s and Valentine’s Day because it is amateur hour, but a mandatory included gratuity for a two person party is an insult. It’s even more ridiculous that I didn’t get a choice on the gratuity as they hit me full-on for the wine, too. I don’t mind tipping for wine service, but unfortunately I didn’t get wine service. I got a bottle opened for me and that’s about it. It’s too bad for the waiter because I usually tip 20% because the math is easier, especially after drinking 2/3’s of a bottle in an hour or so.
Despite some of the shortcomings, the Patz & Hall wine made it worthwhile—an absolute beauty of a wine to complement the beauty of my wife and best friend, Lindsay! Despite Dr. Ruth’s warnings, though, I did have more than two glasses.
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February 14 2007
By: Damien Casten
Pt. III Extracting terroir
Back in Alsace, Jean Schaetzel’s quest for authenticity led him to conduct small scale trials in his vineyards in the middle 1990’s. He is a careful, scientific, man who does not jump to conclusions and does not waste his time with efforts that will not improve his wine. Said Jean “I experiment with anything that I think may be beneficial, regardless of what others think. If it works, I’ll repeat the experiment. If it works again, I’ll apply it in the vineyard. I always try a second time but if it fails twice, I move on.” He bases his biodynamics on what he perceives to be facts and has little time for non-verifiable claims.
In 1997 Jean was one of the first Alsatian growers to convert all of his vineyards to biodynamics. Today he grows twenty five individual wines on roughly thirty acres of land. His two Grand Cru Rieslings tasted earlier from the Kaefferkopf vineyard demonstrate why he takes such pains to vinify so many distinct wines. Jean has found that the grapes of the same variety draw different nutrients from their respective soils, mature and ferment at different rates. He does not intervene. Each process goes as long as necessary. Since converting to biodynamics he says he can let the grapes hang longer before picking because they are healthier and more resistant.
Fermentation is slower and longer than before. This is good news for the wines as they gain body weight and density as they stay in contact with the grape skins and seeds, dead yeast cells and other byproducts of fermentation known as lees. Jean feels the bitterness that often results from extended contact with the lees is rarely an issue because the grapes, and thus the lees, are clean, having never been chemically treated. Jean can not explain exactly why fermentation is slower since converting to biodynamics, but the improvement he tastes has convinced him to stay the course. What’s more, the extended contact with the lees increases the natural sulfur dioxide in the wine that boosts the wines natural defenses against oxidization. Leave a bottle of Jean’s wine open for three days and more often than not, you will not taste the oxidization that ruins lesser wines in half the time.
To conclude, a question: Do biodynamic wines taste better? In a word, no. Remember that grapes grown using biodynamic farming practices must still be fermented into wine, and as anyone who has ever left a pot on the stove can attest, even the best ingredients taste bad in the hands of a careless chef. The good news is that organic and biodynamic farmers are, more often than not, very attentive to details, particularly when it comes to their grapes. More and more, the world’s greatest wines seem to be coming from organic and biodynamic grapes. Chapoutier, Pingus, Leroy, DRC, Zind-Humbrecht and many small producers you’ve of whom you’ve never heard are converting vineyards every year. So what’s next? Now comes the fun part. With all the scientific rigor you can manage, obtain comparative samples, procure glassware, call some friends, and investigate for yourself. Do not assume that all organic growers produce good wines, or that all makers of good wine are strictly organic. Like any product on the market, the consumer is the ultimate judge and the choice is up to you. And remember, no matter how much you study, read, taste and learn, the only reason wine exists is happiness. Pursue it.
Notes:
The addition of sulfur dioxide to wine is a common practice. It dates back to the 1600’s when the Dutch discovered sulfur’s ability to stabilize and protect wines on long sea voyages. Today, sulfur is used as a cleaning agent in wine. It fights bacteria, inhibits oxygen and kills wild yeasts which are susceptible to sulfur and less predictable than their cultivated cousins. US labeling regarding sulfites and organics can be a bit confusing.
• “Organic” on a label means that grapes have been grown by a certified organic grower and that there was no sulfur dioxide added during the winemaking process.
• “Made with organically grown grapes” means that the grapes were certified organic but sulfur dioxide was added during winemaking.
• “Contains Sulfites” indicates a concentration of sulfur dioxide greater than 10 parts per million. As a small amount of sulfur dioxide is a byproduct of fermentation, this is seen on almost every wine label.
Asthmatics and others who are particularly sensitive to sulfur should know that sweet wines often contain considerably higher amounts of sulfur than dry wines. This is because extra sulfur is used to stop fermentation and protect the residual sugar that gives sweet wines their name.
Authors Note: Quote from Jean Schaetzel a direct attribution from personal conversation
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February 13 2007
By Damien Casten
Pt. II Organic and Biodynamic Enclaves
Farmers fleeing Hitler took Steiner’s methods with them founding Biodynamic Gardening Associations in England and California as early as 1938 and it further spread to Australia in the 1950’s. The approach was not widely applied in viticulture until the Frenchman Nicolas Joly of Coulee de Serrant in the Loire Valley halted the use of all pesticides in his Chenin Blanc vineyards and adopted biodynamics in the early 1980’s. Joly became a true believer and is still one of its most vocal proponents.
Biodynamics widest following is in France where it flourished in the late 1980’s. Burgundy, Alsace and the Loire valley are the three regions with the greatest concentration of converted farms. This makes some sense as the communities within these regions are often close knit and even share vineyard plots, as anyone who has tried to understand Burgundian labels can attest.. Where one grower has converted with success, others have often followed suit. France’s most famous biodynamic producers include Lalou Bize Leroy of Domaine Leroy in Burgundy, Alsatian Master of Wine Olivier Humbrecht of Zind-Humbrecht and Rhone based negociant Michel Chapoutier. At the iconic Domaine de la Romanée Conti, proprietor Aubert de Villiane is cautious when speaking of biodynamics. “DRC is organically farmed and has been for more than twenty years. People credit Steiner when they convert from traditional farming, but for me the real key is organics.” Still, de Villiane is curious. He farms a small parcel of vines as a test but for the moment is not convinced that the entire estate should be converted . For a more affordable taste of French Biodynamics, seek out the Muscadets of Guy Bossard at Domaine de l’Ecu in the Loire Valley. He produces a number of different wines from plots with different subsoils that retail around twenty dollars.
Many of the large, often corporately owned vineyards in Champagne and Bordeaux have been slow to adopt strict organic methods, much less biodynamics. The merlot based Pavie-Maquin of St. Emillion is perhaps the most famous of the Bordelais chateaux to experiment with biodynamics. Part of the problem in climates susceptible to mildew like Bordeaux is that biodynamics has no method of treating the disease, but focuses instead on prevention whereas there are effective inorganic sprays available. Risking an entire year’s crop to maintain biodynamic standards is difficult to imagine.
In the US, the pattern of concentrated areas of interest has been repeated. Master of Wine Jancis Robinson points out that Napa Valley has in the past few years begun “flirting” with organics and biodynamics but that the move is a slow one. In contrast, Oregon, with its smaller vineyards, favorable climate and statewide dedication to natural produce is one of the leading organic wine regions in the world. Nearly half of all vineyards in the state are certified organic. Robinson cites numerous wineries that have significantly improved quality levels in recent years after adopting sustainable practices. The uptake of biodynamics has been slower, but the 2002 conversion of Beaux-Freres, run by Michael Etzel and co-owned with his brother in law, Robert Parker is notable. Robinson says “the contrast between the 1998 and 2003 vintages from his Jackie Block…could hardly have been greater… (The biodynamic) 2003…was probably the finest Oregon Pinot Noir I tasted during a…visit there earlier this year.”
Famously, Northern California is a hotbed of organic farms feeding the revolution Alice Waters instigated at Chez Panisse. Vineyards have followed suit with organic and biodynamic methods catching on in the past fifteen years. Frey, Fetzer and a bit farther south, Benziger are recognized as leaders.
Fetzer Vineyards in Mendecino County extended organic methods from a test garden in the 1980’s across their property. They started Bonterra, an entirely organic vineyard in 1990 and just bottled their first biodynamic wine from Bonterra’s McNabb Ranch. Julian Miclette, a grower on McNabb ranch speaks clearly of the quantifiable and spiritual benefits. He cites a study comparing the pruning weight of vines farmed organically and biodynamically at Bonterra over seven years. Pruning weight is the relation of the weight of new wood produced by the vine each year to the weight of the fruit. It speaks to the vine’s ability to self regulate and produce just as much fruit as its health, root structure and environment will allow to ripen The biodynamic vines consistently produced the ideal pruning weight ratio, while the organic vines were close, but not spot on. For Julian this indicates the vines’ increased ability to “reliably produce a sustainable amount of balanced fruit”. Technical terms aside, Julian says “the whole trip of biodynamics is learning to be more observant as a farmer”. Echoing biodynamic growers across the world, he adds “the whole farm feels better since converting, it seems to make people happy and it attracts wild animals like boar that contribute to the overall health of the vines.” Alan York, one of the Bonterra study’s coauthors and perhaps the leading biodynamics expert in California focuses on biodynamics’ apparent ability to extract the most terroir from the terroir. Stressing the process, York says “the objective of biodynamics is authenticity, and (that) doesn’t equate to better.’’
Authors note: quotes with Julian Miclette taken from personal phone interview. Quotes from Alan York excerpted from UC Davis news article
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February 13 2007
A couple of quick notes … voting is still taking place on the American Wine Blog Awards—you can cast your vote in the democratic process at the following link. Voting takes place through Friday.
No politicking by yours truly, but I do encourage you to spend some time on a couple of the categories to potentially look at some sites that may be out of your reading or listening or watching “jetstream.” There is some good work—aside from the winery blog category that I mentioned in an earlier post, another stacked category is the “Best Wine Podcast or Video Blog.”
My frequent collaborator, one of the most technically astute wine bloggers that I know of, Tim at Winecast.net, should receive an emeritus award even if he didn’t make the final nominations. And, the other contenders are all exceptionally strong, as well. Winelibrary.tv is an Internet juggernaut that will be hard to beat, but I’m looking forward to seeing the final results.
Another blog, nominated in the best winery category, Stormhoek, has a really fun post that can be found here. A pack of baboons had to be shooed out of the Chenin Blanc vineyard after they were found enjoying breakfast. Classic. What a great little snippet. I’m guessing that no wine lover that has picked up a South African Pinotage recently (including me) gave a moments notice to baboons being an indigenous animal to the terrain.
Elsewhere, Tyler Colman, better known to online wine denizens as Dr. Vino, references the friendly wager that he and I made over the Super Bowl on his site. Living in Indianapolis with the victorious Colts is sweet indeed—as will the bottle of Tulocay Zinfandel that I’ll pick up as a part of the win. As a courtesy to his good nature, I did return the favor and send him two relatively inexpensive, found only in Indiana wines. A Shiraz/Cab blend and a quirky semi-sweet white made from a vitis aestivalis grape called Norton. I have a hunch that these are not going to tickle his palate and invite intrigue with the skill of Indiana winemakers—but, hopefully, they can act as a through the week quaff and as a novelty.
Finally, in wacky medical research, researchers have found a potential link to smell and a shortened life. Those that are sniffing their way through increased wine drinking to get the resveratrol might be doing more harm than good. From this news account based on this research news release:
Studies in worms, flies, mice and monkeys have shown that aging can be slowed by cutting way back on calories consumed.
But is it food itself that shortens life? Or might it be the mere perception of food—the biochemical stimulation that occurs when food odors tickle olfactory nerves?
Scott Pletcher, a geneticist at the Huffington Center on Aging at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, knew that the mere scent of food could block some of the life-extending effects of caloric restriction in tiny, soil-dwelling worms. So he and his colleagues conducted similar tests in flies.
Sure enough, when calorie-restricted flies—which tend to live about 50 percent longer than normal—were housed in containers with the smell of fresh yeast (a favorite food of flies) wafting in, the life-extending benefits of their diet were reduced by about 20 percent.
Hmmm … I wonder if the dieting masses, eating sensibly, but not forsaking their scent laden wine knew that their lifespan could be shorter as a result? I’m not exactly calorie restricted, but I’ll take my chances …
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