My Christmas Present to Me - 1974 Clos du Val

Taking advantage of the Holiday to bring out some old wines from my cellar, I grabbed a lone  remaining bottle of 1974 Clos du Val, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley. This was a wine I did not intend to keep this long, but it somehow had escaped a corkscrew for  almost thirty years after I brought it home. I did not expect much.

 The first sniff changed my expectations with a rush. There was still clean, bright black cherry fruit layered in with the cedary, earthy aromas of elegant old cabernet sauvignon. The wine absolutely filled the palate being expansive and elegant at the same moment. The freshness of the fruit was nothing short of astounding and the complexity humbling. The finish made you long for the next sip. I drained the last drops with a mixture of pleasure and sadness.

When I purchased this wine I was a wine neophyte full of wonder. This bottle brought that wonder back to me. Certainly there can be no better gift to give yourself.

Happy Holidays to All

Happy Holidays to all visitors and subscribers to this blog. I sincerely thank the hundreds of subscribers and thousands of visitors that have taken part in The Wine Camp Blog since its launch in November. I remain committed to offering an alternative voice to the established wine media here and on The Wine Blog Forum. It is your interest and support that makes all of this worthwhile.

May the next year bring you good luck and fortune and let's hope that there is more peace in the world in 2006.

Europvin - look for it on the label

THE ROOM is full of people -- standing room only. In front of the room is a conservatively dressed gentleman speaking a little too softly to be easily heard. Each head leans forward to catch every quiet word. There seems to be a wisdom in his tone and an attitude that is somehow reassuring.

Christopher Cannan is a stranger in a strange land. In a quasi-religion filled with huge egos and blatant self-promotion, he is a rare being. He is humble and a true gentleman who makes his choices based on honesty and integrity. Believe it or not, Christopher Cannan sells wine.

He is a true believer and that aura touches all who encounter him. The question is how does he do it? All around him lesser mortals have given up the true faith to follow the almighty dollar, pound, or Euro. How did such an honest and quiet gentleman become one of the most important names you can look to for reliable bottles of wine from France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy?

Cannan was born in Gloucestershire, England, in 1949 and received his early education in the UK, followed by further studies in Switzerland, Germany, and Spain that gave him a good knowledge of the French, German, and Spanish languages. He did a brief stint in the insurance industry, but his love of the grape soon led him to the wine business. With the help of the London based importer, Percy Fox & Co., he spent most of 1970 traveling to all the main wine producing areas of Europe, earning his keep by working in cellars and vineyards. The areas visited included Bordeaux, the Loire, Champagne, Germany, Alsace, Burgundy, Sherry, and Oporto. This was followed by experience with some of the more famous wine shippers of the time, Louis Eschenauer and Frederick Wildman. When Wildman closed its Bordeaux office in 1978, Cannan set off on his own and created Europvin, based in Bordeaux.

Today Europvin/Christopher Cannan Selections ships wines to 36 different countries and in the US delivers wines to 32 states. Cannan has assembled a telephone-book-size portfolio of the finest estates of Europe that only excludes the Germanic countries. Cannan's accomplishment in assembling such a portfolio is unmatched by any importer. However, what is truly amazing about his huge catalogue is the unbelievable quality level that he is able to present his clients in all price ranges.

Cannan's supreme accomplishment is to be able to deliver such high quality over such a broad spectrum of wines, a feat that has never been matched by anyone. So why isn't Cannan more famous? There can be only one answer: In an industry full of blowhards, Cannan's quiet quality is easy to overlook. Dedication, honesty, and a passion for wines that beautifully reflect the soils that created them are just not as cool as the lastest 90+ point wine in The Wine Spectator or The Wine Advocate.

That's not to say Cannan's wines don't get top reviews. They most certainly do, especially from Robert Parker. But Cannan's quiet style, which is reflected in his staff, always seems to generate press attention full of respect but lacking in bombast -- kind of like having your wines reviewed deep in the Wall Street Journal while other wines get the New York Post front page treatment.

Seemingly using the same Stealth technology as the US Air Force, Cannan has quietly assembled a dynamic portfolio that includes:

- The best of Spain, including Lustau Sherry, Vega Sicilia, La Rioja Alta, Bodegas Maruo, Bodegas Lena, Clos Mogador, Clos Martinet, Gran Clos, Cims de Porrera, and Belondrade Y Lurton

- Some of the most creative new wines in Portugal: Luis Pato, De Zellaer's Ports, and all the wines of Cristiano Van Zeller

- The incredible Tokaji wines of Oremus in Hungary

- Exceptional Italian estates including: Az. Ag. San Fereolo-Dogliani, Fattoria Zerbina-Emilia Romagna, and Riecine in Chianti Classico

- A list of French wines that is incredibly complete and deep including truly wonderful wines produced by: Champagne Pierre Gimmonet, Domaine Paul Ginglinger-Alsace, Domaine Pinson-Chablis, Domaine Anne Gros-Vosne Romanee, Hubert Montille-Volnay, Alain Graillot-Tain l'Hermitage, Mark Sorrel-Hermitage, Auguste Clape-Cornas, Chateau Pibarnon-Bandol, Domaine Sarda-Malet-Roussillon, Jean Max Roger-Sancerre, and a complete selection of all levels of Bordeaux including Grand Cru Classe and petite chateaux

What more could you want? Yet all this was not enough for Cannan, who apparently is only quiet on the surface. In the late 1990's he invested in the Priorat (Priorato) region of Spain and became both a negociant and producer of wine from his own estate. In 1999 he launched the Laurona label, along with partner Rene Barbier, which is produced from purchased grapes selected from old vine Garnacha and Cariñena vines located outside of the Priorat D.O. With the 2000 vintage he released his first wines from his own vineyard. A total of 7000 bottles of Clos Figueres and Font de la Figuera (his second label) were made by Rene Barbier at his famous Clos Mogador winery and released last year. Laurona may be one of the best values being produced in Spain today, and the first release of Clos Figueres was received with acclaim by journalists and consumers throughout the world.

The year 2003 marks the 25th anniversary of the creation of Europvin/Christopher Cannan selections. During this quarter century, Cannan has made the purple Europvin label on the back of your bottle really mean something: it is his guarantee of quality; each bottle labeled with his name reflects a level of commitment to excellence and high ethical standards rarely seen in any industry. Whenever you see his label you can be sure of getting a bottle of wine worthy of your attention and your money.

Christopher Cannan may not make much noise, but sometimes silence can be golden.

Lazy Wine Buyers

Never has there been a time when there is so much interesting wine to drink. That's why there can be no other explanation for a poor wine selection than laziness. Not even cheapness can be used to explain away bad wines as there are too many good cheap wines to keep track of these days. Others plead the need for continuity, but tasty big production wines fill the shelves. No, bad wine lists are the work (or lack thereof) of the lazy. Either too lazy to educate themselves or just too uninterested to take the time.

A recent trip reminded me of this as I was served a really terrible 2002 Joliesse California Cabernet Sauvignon on United Airlines. This burnt smelling and raisin flavored wine was their only red wine choice. United loves to show photos of the famous chefs and sommeliers they use to help them select their wines, but I find it hard to believe that such a mediocre wine ever passed the lips of those famous names. What can be the excuse for selecting such a wine out of all the wines possible? Laziness. They think that just because most people pay little attention to the wine going down their throats, that it just isn't worth their time to do any better. Certainly they can get away with it, but along the way you would think you would run into someone with a little pride. 

Of course, you have to wonder about the people at Joliesse too. With all the lovely, ripe fruit in California, this is the type of wine that they come up with? No Joilesse, United Airlines and all the others like Trader Joe's have only one excuse for the plonk they peddle.

A Nobile Character

The complaint of where to find true Tuscan sangiovese character in wines frequently comes up in this era of heavily oaked Tuscan sangiovese wines that are often blended beyond recognition by the addition of too much cabernet sauvignon. One answer may lie in Montepulciano and it is hard to imagine a more complex example than the extraordinary 2001 Vigna del Nocio from Poderi Boscarelli.

Vino Nobile may have a grand name, but it seemed the winemaking revolution that swept Tuscany in the 1970's overlooked Montepulciano. Some producers, notably Avignonesi and Poliziano tried to push the region forward, but the lack of an easily identifiable style of Vino Nobile and the loose regulations of the DOC meant that there were a lot of mediocre wines sold making the name far less "Nobile" in the eyes of many consumers.

There is also a lot of confusion caused by the name of Montepulciano and the wines of the Vino Nobile zone do not use any of the grapes from the vine of the same name. The montepulciano vine is responsible for some very good wines in Marche, Abruzzo and Puglia, but you won't find a drop of it in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. In the case of Tuscany, Montepulciano is a lovely hilltop medieval village located east of Montalcino near the border with Umbria. As in Montalcino, the unique characteristics of the sangiovese vine in this region inspired its own name and the Montepulciano branch of the sangiovese family is called prugnolo gentile. The DOCG regulations remain very loose here and still allow for up to 20% of other approved varieties and a maximum of 10% white varieties. Fortunately the regulations amended in 1999 also allow for 100% varietal sangiovese wines. Obviously there still can be a lot of variation in style even within these new regulations.

The concept that prugnolo gentile is "the sangiovese" of Montepulciano is another concept that is dying in the face of the ongoing refinement of clonal selection of sangiovese in central Italy. As vineyards are being replanted throughout Montalcino, Montepulciano and Chianti Classico the types of sangiovese vines selected are from clones that have been identified as providing certain characteristics and superior wine and more attention is devoted to these variables than to if the vine is "brunello" or "prugnolo gentile". Thus on a technical sheet for Vigna del Nocio they list the blend as "80% sangiovese/prugnolo gentile" as it is blend of various selected clones of sangiovese with prugnolo just being one of the clones in the mix. Banfi claims they identifed 650 "clones" of brunello when they started their research in Montalcino and from this it is clear that claiming wines are made from "brunello" or "prugnolo gentile" are no longer very precise statements. The fact of the matter is that all the top wines of the best zones are now increasingly being made from a selection of the finest clones of sangiovese available without regard to the zone of their birth.

While the big firms in Montepulciano have grabbed most of the spotlight, a small gem has continued to shine brightly since being founded by Paola Corradi in 1962. Poderi Boscarelli has always been dedicated to quality and produced some this region's best wines year after year. While traditional in style, they have introduced innovations that enhance the quality of their wines without giving up the character of their vineyards. The barrels used for Vigna del Nocio are 500 and 1,000 liters - not 225 liter barriques and the oak used is both Slovenian and French. The 15% of merlot in the blend fleshes out the lean character of the sangiovese without overwhelming it. The Vigna del Nocio is a must-have for serious collectors of sangiovese.

Terrabianca Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The Terrabianca estate in Tuscany is loaded with style, after all the fashion industry provided the financial fuel for this beautiful estate. However, never satisfied with just good looks, the Guldener family has pursued quality both inside and outside of their bottles. The wines of Terrabianca are justifiably famous as each is of superb quality, but wine is not the only excellent liquid that Terrabianca puts into bottles. They also produce a delicious extra virgin olive oil from their Il Tesoro estate in Maremma on the Tuscan coast. To make things more interesting, Terrabianca offers some perfect stocking stuffers (mine please Santa), a range of flavored oils that comes in an assorted gift set of six 100 ml. bottles. The package includes one bottle each of Terrabianca extra virgin olive oil plus bottles of their oil flavored with oregano, basil, white truffles, hot peppers or rosemary. These oils add an easy creative touch to your cooking - and like all things from Terrabianca they look good on your shelf too.

Karate and Cabernet

ROBERT KAMEN started to make his own wine with the dedication of Daniel Larusso (Ralph Macchio) in The Karate Kid, a bit of the reluctant hero like Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) in The Fifth Element, a touch of the romantic like Paul Sutton (Keanu Reeves) in A Walk in the Clouds, a shade of the offbeat humor of Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) in Lethal Weapon 3 and the single-minded intensity of Liu Jian (Jet Li) in Kiss of the Dragon.

That Robert Mark Kamen should incorporate all of these personalities into one person is not strange at all, because he is, in fact, them. These characters are all part of Kamen's fertile imagination as he invented all of these roles. Kamen was the screenwriter for these well-known movies and many others. It fact, it was the magic of movies that created the role of winemaker for him.

Like the unwitting hero of a movie, Kamen was led into the world of winemaking without knowing he was being drawn into the plot. Upon selling his first script to Warner Brothers in 1980, Kamen headed up to Sonoma County to celebrate with friends. That day, while hiking through the mountains of the Sonoma Valley, they came to a remote hillside overlooking the valley and Kamen fell in love. "We went to this remote, rugged, overgrown mountainous land strewn with rocky volcanic outcroppings and I fell in love with the place," said Kamen. Yes, it was love at first site, the property happened to be for sale and Kamen headed directly to the real estate agent's office. The agent promptly relieved Kamen of his still warm check from Warner Brothers and in an unanticipated plot twist Kamen found himself a winegrower.

It would take Kamen over twenty years to make his own wine from his land. Although his first script, which financed the purchase, was never made into a movie, his next script, Taps, staring Tom Cruise, was. This was followed by the hugely successful Karate Kid movies. All this success did not make Kamen forget about his steep, rugged piece of the Sonoma side of the Mayacamas Mountains. He kept investing in his vineyard, teaming up with the now-famous organic viticulturist, Phil Coturri, to create an outstanding cabernet sauvignon vineyard that produced grapes sought after by Sonoma's finest producers.

In 1995, Kamen's movie, A Walk in the Clouds, was released. In that movie, Kamen had written a scene where the movie's hero, Paul Sutton (Keanu Reeves), saves a family's precious grapevines from total destruction in a fire. "People kept telling me that was wrong," says Kamen. "They told me that vineyards don't burn." In an ironic twist on his own script, he received a call from Coturri the following year telling him that his vineyard was on fire. The fire destroyed a third of his vines and his home. "It was a difficult moment," said Kamen. "It made me reevaluate everything."

"Everything happens for a reason," believes Kamen, an accomplished martial arts practitioner and student of oriental philosophies. Using these strengths he decided to rebuild the vineyard. "We replanted with tighter spacing, better vine selections and rootstocks," said Kamen. "The vineyards became stronger and better than before."

Today there is a 40-acre vineyard planted predominantly with cabernet sauvignon and small amounts of merlot, cabernet franc, and petite verdot. The difficult growing conditions plus stringent vineyard work has reduced yields to about 1.5 tons per acre. This is an extremely low yield, but grapes produced at this level have intense, complicated flavors. "It was finally the quality of the grapes that made me decide to produce my own wine," notes Kamen.

"I was really thinking about what I was doing just growing grapes," observes Kamen. "In screen writing you write many scripts that are never made -- just growing the grapes was the same thing. As a screenwriter the idea is to get the movie made. The reward is to see it on the screen. It's the same with growing grapes. The final reward is to see the wine in the bottle. The appeal is the symphony of the whole process."

Kamen brought in winemaker Karen Bower Turganis to complete the team and in 2002 they released their first wine, 907 cases of the 1999 Kamen Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. His second release, 1605 cases of 2000 Kamen Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, is a gorgeous California Cabernet. The 2000 vintage, like the 1999, is 100% cabernet sauvignon. It was aged for 22 months in barriques (60 gallon barrels) of various French oaks. It is a brilliant dark ruby wine filled with the aromas of spices and dark ripe fruits like boysenberries and plums. On the palate it is rich, creamy, and smooth with round, bright cherry vanilla flavors blended with a touch of cassis. The texture and balance of the wine stand out with the foundation of the wine more based on the firm and fresh acidity than the soft integrated tannins.  As you might expect, the Kamen wines are not cheap pushing beyond the $50.00 a bottle mark.

Defying the powerful West Coast pull of both winemaking and movie-making, Kamen has remained a New Yorker. This has kept his palate firmly in touch with the European style of winemaking. "The first wines I loved were Bordeaux and Burgundy," explains Kamen. "I'm looking for restraint and my palate leans away from the large California style. Sure in California we have more ripeness and bigger flavors, but we make our cabernet in a style that is restrained by Napa standards. We want to balance the ripeness of California with the restraint of Europe."

In the movie The Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi karate-chops the tops off three beer bottles. Daniel Larusso says to him, "How did you do that? How did you do that?" Mr. Miyagi replies, "Don't know. First time." Well maybe that happens in his movies, but when it came to making wine, Robert Kamen knew exactly what he was doing right from the first act.

Touché Ruché

Ruché just doesn't taste like it comes from Piemonte. It is a graceful wine, elegant and floral with a body more defined by its lively acidity than its soft, round tannins. If there is a wine in Italy to relate to fine Beaujolais it is most certainly not the tart dolcetto, which is often referred to in that context, but the refined smoothness of ruché can be more than a little reminiscent of a Fleurie or Chènas. Of course, ruché is not Beaujolais and has its own distinct character, but as most people have not tasted this delicious wine it is a fair way to set a point of reference.

Ruché now sports its own DOC, Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato, and this small zone in the hills just outside of Asti is responsible for all the production from this rare variety. Now that DOC status has been awarded to this region you can expect to see production expand perhaps making ruché easier to find. This is one of those wines that one sip is likely to inspire gulps and case purchases. Ruché is pure forward fruit flavor.

Ruché is a bit of a mystery vine. Local wisdom says it is an ancient variety probably indigenous to the Monferrato hills. Even the origin of the name is unclear with some claiming it came from the name of a local monastery while another source points to a resistance to a particular vine disease. Whatever the case, little documentary evidence exists and the history of ruché is more folklore than fact.

Cantine Sant'Agata is making an exceptional assortment of ruché wines and excellent wines from Asti's two other important red wine vines: barbera and grignolino. Founded in 1916, the present generation, Franco and Claudio Cavallero, produces 150,000 bottles of wine from their own vineyards, which total 30 hectares. Other than a small amount of chardonnay all their vines are indigenous and all their wines are of excellent quality and value.

2003 Cantina Sant'Agata, Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato, 'Na Vota ($19)
Brilliant ruby with a just a touch of purple, quite translucent. Smooth, forward ripe cherry vanilla nose with a bitter tinge. a touch of cassis and lovely hints of wildflowers and violets. Firm and fresh on the palate with flavors that expand and grow mirroring the forward yet complex fruit and flowers of the bouquet. In the finish the cassis dominates carried by a refreshing acid zip. The warm 2003 vintage produced particularly rich versions of lesser known Piemontese varietals like ruché. grignolino and freisa and you should keep an eye out for them as they are now in the market. They also offer a special selection ruché, Pro Nobis, to continue the Beaujolais reference, it is to regular ruché what Moulin-a-Vent is to normal Beaujolais.  It has all the characteristics of the 'Na Vota on steroids. I will confess I prefer what I consider the more balanced 'Na Vota, but I am probably in the minority on that choice with most consumers preferring the chunky Pro Nobis.

A John Given Selection-Imported by John Given Wines (Northeast and other states)
Imported by Siema Wines (southeast and other states)

Wines from the Salthouse

Doug Salthouse did very well in his former business. So well that he is well acquainted with the world's most famous wines. Not only has he drunk them, he has visited them. He is at home with Lafite, Domaine de la Romanee Conti, Vega Sicilia and Gaja. So how did he become one of the finest retail sources for wines that have modest prices, but big character and loads of complexity.

I met Doug several years ago on his visit to the Piedmont region of Italy to research the great wines of Barolo and Barbaresco. I knew right away he was a kindred soul when it came to wine and food. This was an unfortunate event for our spouses, who we eventually pushed over the line.

With his former business out of the way, Doug took the plunge and purchased a wine and liquor store in New Jersey and Smart Buy Wines and Spirits was born. Doug, of course, offers all the heavy hitters of the wine world, but what makes this store special is that Doug has taken his well-developed and sophisticated palate and applied it to discovering a tremendous selection of wines selling for under $25.00 - many less than that.

Several months ago I asked Doug to send me an assorted case a month, a kind of impromptu monthly wine club. The results have been a long list of really exceptional wines that are real bargains. It reminds me of when I started buying wine thirty years ago and it was easy to find great bottles for under $20.00.

You can find many of these wines (and some of the more expensive wines too) in Doug's e-newsletter. You can subscribe to this educational newsletter by visiting www.smartbuywines.com.  I have also started an ongoing thread of my tasting notes on Doug's wine selections that you can find here:

http://winecampblog.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5

Real wine merchants that rely on their own palates and opinions have become increasingly rare in this age of wines-sold-on-points, but Doug's selection are based on his own convictions as to what makes wine so fascinating. I can't wait for the next shipment.

Smart Buy Wines and Spirits

102 Linwood Plaza, Fort Lee, NJ 07024

Phone: (201) 242-WINE (9463)  Fax: (201) 242-9601

Zenseless Zagat in Zeattle zzz...

Last weekend, I was walking around Seattle with a copy of the current Zagat Guide in my back pocket. Like millions of tourists traveling around the nation, I was using Zagat to lead me to fine restaurants. A lot of people are eating mediocre meals and drinking bland commercial wine thanks to Zagat. While invariably Zagat will lead you to packed restaurants, only with difficulty will it lead you to adventurous cuisine and great wine lists – except if price is no object and you don’t need a guide for that.

The trouble with Zagat is that you have to read between the lines for the guide to lead you to a great (meaning exciting food) restaurant. If you eat by the numbers, Zagat will give you the massively successful corporate-group operations (in this case Seattle’s Wild Ginger) that deliver reliably efficient food with boring results. Now, I understand this is what the vast majority of the dining public is seeking and they are great business concepts; what they are not are exciting places to eat.

It is well to remember that Zagat is a simple popularity contest, not a thoughtful review by experienced dinners. The better marketed a restaurant is, the more customers they have and the more Zagat votes they get. When it comes to Zagat, more votes are most decidedly not always better. Zagat usually gives you only the restaurants too successful or famous to ignore.

If you want interesting food and wine, buy your Zagat long before you visit a city and read between-the-lines to seek out cutting edge food. An hour of research and comparison with other guides before you arrive will lead you to a much better meal and wine list. The trouble is you often should avoid most of their highest recommendations and often a few less points can be a good thing.

Oddly enough, Zagat can be a treasure trove of ethnic BYO restaurants. You are much better off bringing your own wine to a really fine ethnic restaurant than dealing with hot spots with politically correct corporate food and wine.

Montecastelli Selections

The room is packed with wine lovers clutching oversized wine glasses. Behind each of the dozen or so tables covered with wine bottles stands an Italian winemaker busily pouring their wines into the mob of outstretched glasses in front of them and trying explain in their best English their vinous creations. Through the crowd darts the energetic and passionate Jens Schmidt, owner of Montecastelli Selections. Each of these producers are part of the Montecastelli portfolio - his selections. Jens seems to be at every table at once as he tries to convey his passion for these wines to each of the consumers attending.

The sold-out tasting is at Sam's Wine Warehouse in Chicago, one of the world's largest fine wine retailers. It is not easy for new importers to get their wines into such a high profile store, but almost the entire Montecastelli catalog is represented on the wine racks at Sam's - a tribute to their quality and the sharp palates of Sam's Wine Director Todd Hess and Italian Buyer Greg Smolik (since departed to form his own interesting wine importing company). Hess and Smolik are looking over the crowd at the tasting with satisfaction as each guest departs with shopping carts laden with the delicious Montecastelli wines. Their customers are sure to return for more as these wines will taste even better at the dinner table.

Jens and Ruth Schmidt have come a long way in a very short time. Montecastelli was only founded in 1997 and their American importing company was born in 2002, yet they have established themselves with some of America's most demanding retail buyers and are distributed in 22 states. They have accomplished this with only two tools: a dedication to quality and old-fashioned hard work. Montecastelli is the name of their home and farm in Tuscany where they have restored an 11th century monastery. Here they produce their excellent olive oil and have also established a lovely agriturismo. They are living in reality what so many thousands only dream about.

One thing that is certain when tasting through this portfolio is that all of the wines are absolutely delicious to drink. They are modern wines, yet they pay homage to traditional winemaking and never let modern methods overwhelm the integrity of the vineyard. Jens describes his palate in this way, "Technically speaking I value cleanliness, fruit and natural balance of acidity. I disapprove of even only small amounts of Bret (brettanomyces-a winemaking fault that is sometimes considered acceptable in small amounts), oxidization and lack of acidity. However in our wines I am looking for more: To make things unique I always look for character and integrity. Integrity is the combination of the vintners approach and individuality confronted with the things in nature he cannot change: history, climate and soil type. Character is emerging as a unique expression of the vintner findings over time and his ability to listen and taste."

Indeed each wine in the Montecastelli portfolio is a wine of character.

You Say Its Your Birthday?

Tom Wark, the indefatigable blogger that created Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog (http://fermentation.typepad.com), has become the cornerstone of the wine blogging community with links and feeds scattered far-and-wide across the Internet. His enthusiasm for wine blogging has expanded the public awareness of wine blogs and his selfless devotion to promoting all wine bloggers has set the tone for this virtual community. Yes, Tom is one of the grand old men of wine bogging and, as unbelievable as it may seem, today is only his first anniversary as a wine blogger. For those of us who follow Fermentation that is astounding. How can such a influential blog be only having its first birthday? It really brings home that wine blogging is a medium in its infancy.

What really sets Tom apart is the journalistic edge he brings to Fermentation. There are not only opinions there, but real reporting. I often feel like I’m reading the Op-Ed section of the wine industry. In particular Tom has led the charge on the direct shipping issue, even outing crooked state representatives.

The whole wine blogging community owes Tom much for his support, leadership and fine example. Happy Birthday Fermentation and many, many happy returns.

Reasons to be Cheerful - Part Three

Reasons to be Cheerful:

1. 2002 Coho Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
2. 2002 Coteaux du Layon Domaine des Baumard Clos de Sainte Catherine
3. 2002 ChinonDomaine Phillippe Alliet Coteau de Noire
4. 2003 Chinon Vielles Vignes Domaine Phillipe Alliet
5. 2004 Muscadet de Sevre-et-Maine sur Lie Domaine de la Pepiere, Clos des Briord Cuvee Vielles Vignes

Why are these reasons to be cheerful? Besides being very nice wines, it makes me very cheerful to know that someone is not only drinking them with pleasure, but taking the time to tell us about that pleasure. This is the power of Wine Blogging; the ability to greatly expand communication on wines beyond larger producers with advertising budgets and wine blogs stretch the envelope beyond the usual suspects. The list above are recommendations from a very fine Wine Blog, Catherine Granger's Purple Liquid. This is really a lovely Blog that marries well the experience of fine food and wine served at a passionate table. Catherine captures the experience of wine and food beautifully and I highly recommend passing on the link to her site to all your wine loving friends.  http://manageyourcellar.blogspot.com/

Red Wine, Tomatoes and Fish

Surrounded by coastline, Italy is full of fresh seafood. Blessed by abundant sunshine, it is also full of richly flavored tomatoes. This means that the two often appear in the same dish and that creates a challenge for food and wine matching.

White wines always seem to fall a little short against the acids of the tomatoes and reds always taste a little more tannic contrasted against the seafood. Italians usually don’t give this much thought and make do with whatever is local. A tried and true solution is rosé, but good rosé can be hard to find. Fans of salmon and tuna long ago discovered the natural combination of pinot noir with robust fish dishes and the often garlicky and a bit spicy fish and tomato combinations of Italy fall in the same category. The problem is that wines like that are hard to find in Italy. Oddly enough a good solution can be found in the hills of Tuscany far from the fresh seafood restaurants on the coast.

The fine pinot noir vineyards of Marchesi Pancrazi are a lucky mistake. For years they produced an ordinary light red wine thought to be sangiovese; then an enologist visiting owner Vittorio Pancrazi discovered the vineyards were in fact planted with pinot noir vines. These mis-identified vines were planted in 1975 and not correctly identified until 1989. This mistake made Vittorio Pancrazi the owner of the oldest pinot noir vines in Toscana and started him off in what was to become a passion: to make great pinot noir in Toscana.

The Marchesi Pancrazi Pinot Nero has now well established itself as one of the best pinot noir wines in Toscana and in fact in all of Italy. Dedicated research has adjusted Burgundian winemaking methods to the unique soils an climate of the Pancrazi vineyards which are located on the estate, dating from the fifteenth-century, west of Firenze. New clones of pinot noir have been selected and vineyards replanted all with the goal of great pinot noir in mind. Fortunately not all the attention was focused only on great wines and in the process Marchesi Pancrazi has also created a charming and easy wine for everyday drinking that happens to go perfectly with the seafood and tomato dishes where we started.

The Pancrazi San Donato is their lighter, fresher wine for light-hearted early drinking. It  is made from 50% pinot noir and 50% gamay and serving it slightly chilled brings out the juicy fruit flavors. The gamay undergoes carbonic maceration and this blend offers the charming fruit that this style of fermentation produces along with a balancing backbone from the pinot noir. In San Donato, Vittorio Pancrazi has created a lovely cru Beaujolais styled wine.

I Was Big Glass Gluping

The Riedel explosion has done much more good for wine than bad, but one negative aspect has been the onslaught of giant wine glasses. My recent experience at Thanksgiving not only exposed me to many wines I would never drink on my own,  but it also brought home the change in the way people drink wine today as compared to  a few years ago. In a typical exercise in American overreaction, we went from glasses that were too small to glasses that are just plain huge. I am reminded of The New Yorker cartoon where a man is drinking from a huge glass of wine and comments that his doctor has recommended he cut back to one glass of wine a day. While I understand (and agree with)  some of the Riedel philosophy that the space amplifies the aromas, all to often most wine glasses these days are just big. While the exacting designs of Riedel and other fine wine glass producers without a doubt improves the wine experience, most other (read cheaper) glasses don't do anything for wine except to hold more of it. Many glasses used today make the host look cheap if less than a third of a bottle is poured into the glass. This phenomenon works well for mass-brand-wine-beverage producers as they are more interested in consumers that gulp than those that savor. Bigger is not always better when it comes to glasses.  Invest in fine quality glasses of medium size if you don't want to own dozens of different types of glasses for each and every type of wine. A great wine shows its character in any well designed glass, but can be lost in a glass whose only quality is its size.

Thanksgiving Mix and Match

With families thousands of miles away, holidays take on a different personality. This year for Thanksgiving we were kindly adopted by a friends family in Portland. It was a full-blown, traditional Thanksgiving feast and the thirty plus guests attacked it ferociously. The tables were filled with a mishmash of all of today's most popular wines and there was shiraz, merlot and lots of labels with bright funny animals. I cannot resist trying to taste every wine in such a situation as these are bottles I would never buy on my own.  The wines were generally what I expected, but what stood out to me was the fact that almost none of them matched well with kaleidoscope of food on our plates. What I also noticed is that no one else in the room other than me seemed to give a hoot. The  wines flowed, stomachs stuffed, bottle after bottle emptied with nary a comment about how they matched with the food. It is at these moments that you really see what a wine geek you have become and how separated you are from the way most people experience wine. You also clearly understand how millions upon millions of cases of (what I consider) awful wine can disappear down the throats of wine consumers. There is indeed two segments of the wine business: first there is the wine beverage business and then there is the fine wine business. The second is microscopic in comparison.

A Turkey of a Recommendation

This morning on NBC's The Today Show, famed restaurateur, author  and winemaker Joseph Bastianich was the expert quest recommending wines for Thanksgiving. His recommendation for the turkey? None-the-less than Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir. I'll repeat that just in case you missed it: Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir. Now thousands of the millions who saw the segment will search out the Mondavi and for many of them it will be their first experience with pinot noir. While I realize that Bastianich had to make a recommendation of a wine that was readily available, it seems he could have found something better than the Mondavi when he was given such a bully pulpit to promote an interesting wine and, yes, there are interesting wines available that are produced in quantity. As a winemaker and restaurateur that gives the public image of supporting small production wines, this was not a choice that well reflected that image. To make matters worse, he kept referring to the Mondavi as a wine made by the father of the California wine industry, when (as we all know and I am sure he knows) the Mondavi family no longer makes the wines sold under the Mondavi label as now they are made by corporate giant Constellation Brands, who while they may own most of the California wine industry, certainly did not father it.

The consumer has a rough road when the experts treat such opportunities so lightly. 

Living On the Edge - Damijan Podversic

2001 Damijan Ribolla Gialla, Collio ($35)

In the Gorizia hills of Friuli on the border with Slovenia winemaker Damijan Podversic makes some of the most personal - and sure to be controversial - wines made anywhere. Damijan ferments on the skins in upright wood fermenters using only natural yeast. This may not sound so controversial, but indeed it is as he is making white wines not red. The results are white wines so concentrated with flavor and tannin that if you close your eyes you would be absolutely convinced you were drinking a red wine. Actually, you feel like you are drinking a red wine even when you have your eyes open. Podversic joins Gravner and Radikon, also from this region, in producing wines that really have no other equivalent in the world of white wines. What is it about Friuli that inspires such radical winemaking? While all three of these producers produce extreme wines, they are extreme in different ways and very distinct from each other. This orange/gold wine should be served at cool room temperature. It is intensely flavored and bone-dry with warm orange spiced flavors bolstered by a strong dose of tannin. Like this wine or not you have to admire the courage, intensity and creative independence exhibited by the winemaker. This is a must "brown-bag" for your tasting group that will drive your friends crazy and spark some serious debate. Ribolla Gialla is one of the indigenous vines of the Friuli region with records of its existence predating 1300. While this wine is a long way from a typical Ribolla Gialla it is a wine that stretches the imagination and brings a wonderful grape variety into the spotlight.

Warning: Serving Damijan to Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio lovers could be dangerous as, for them, this wine is the vinous equivalent of electro-shock therapy.

A Jens Schmidt Selection: Imported by Montecastelli Selections

Closer to Fine - Wine

There she is in a full page photo with feature story in the December 15th, 2005 issue of The Wine Spectator. Emily Saliers, 50% of The Indigo Girls, a folk-rock duo that makes clear their left-wing, anti-establishment politics. The article doesn't focus on politics of course, but on the fact that Saliers is now a restaurateur and wine lover. The caption below her photo lists her favorite wines as; 1994 Silver Oak, 1996 Opus One and 2000 Petrus.  Now there are some radical left-wing wine choices. It seems very strange that an artist who has prided herself as being a free-spirit would list wines that epitomize conservative choices (both wine and political choices) when there are so many wine growers in the world that make spectacular wine AND agree with her politics, indeed with her entire view of life. What this means I am not sure. You can certainly chalk it up to new money and little wine experience (and too much Wine Spectator reading) and hope that Saliers eventually follows the spirit of her art as she selects her wines. Celebrity and business-expense-account drinking are the only reason contrived wines like Opus and Silver Oak exist and articles like this just keep them going.

The Greatness of Wine from a Poor Vintage - Sottimano 2002

Andrea Sottimano rushes into the small tasting room of his family’s winery in Barbaresco. He is covered with dust and sweat, removing his hat he smiles disarmingly and says, “sorry, I’m late”.

You know right away that this is no gentleman farmer’s estate. Andrea was, as always, out in the vineyard working their vines. At the Sottimano estate they take the phrase “great wine is made in the vineyard” to a new level. Each of their vines is treated like a Bonsai tree in a Japanese garden. Nothing is too much for these vines to ask.

The ultimate proof of their skills and dedication in the vineyard sits in the glasses in front of me as Andrea pours the full range of their 2002 vintage. This was a year so difficult that many producers gave up, selling their wines off in bulk. The Sottimanos did not give up, but attacked their vineyards with a vengeance, reducing yields to ridiculous levels. This intensity extended beyond simply reducing bunches as they even dropped the lower half of the remaining bunches to the ground.

If you’re wondering why they do this it can’t be for the money. The Sottimano Barbaresci sell for under $75 – or less than many Napa Cabernets that harvest many tons an acre more than they do. This is a work of passion and they have even reduced pricing to encourage consumers to try their 2002’s. If you don’t have a cellar to age your Barbaresci the recommended eight or so years before they mature, these wines are a must buy as they offer pure nebbiolo pleasure in a package ready for drinking sooner rather than later. This is not to say they will not develop nicely with several more years of aging.

The 2002 Barbaresci from Sottimano are not the greatest Barbaresci you will ever taste, but they are an amazing accomplishment and will provide delightful drinking while you are waiting for their exceptional 2001’s and 1999’s to mature. In another testament to their skills in the vineyards, their 2000’s offer more complexity than the simple charming, forward wines offered by most producers.

Click below for my Sottimano new release tasting notes 

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