Some Tips on Planning for a Jaunt in Wine Country

People ask me all the time: What wineries should I visit when I'm in (Napa/Sonoma/Long Island name a region)? I really struggle with the answer. It's kind of like people asking what the best pizza or bagel is in New York or the best barbeque in North Carolina. I could tell you my picks, but the truth is that everyone has a favorite and a strong opinion about why that is.



Although I always offer suggestions, I think there are some fundamental keys to planning to visit a wine region that will help you stay organized and have a great experience. So here are a few things to think about when you're heading to make a visit to vineyards -- whether they be in California or Croatia...

1. Plan...or plan to explore.
   
   
   
   Ok, so it's very romantic to think about hopping in the car and just stopping by places you happen upon in wine country. But there are some problems with this approach. First, vineyards are pretty big and wineries are spread out. Without a map to orient you and an idea of where you want to go ahead of time, you could waste precious time driving aimlessly around. Most tasting rooms, in the US at least, are only open from 10 AM to 5 PM. That's not a whole lot of time to mess around. Second, if you get lost and wind up away from the wineries you're going to be irritated. Plotting a trail for yourself will save you time, stress, and maximize your fun.
   
   
   
   On the other hand, if you're not a planner and wish to explore (something I do when I go to Sonoma, for instance), make sure you pick a discreet geographic area to troll. If you're in South Africa, for instance, decide that you're going to Franschoek and explore within that area or if you're going to Napa, stick on the Silverado Trail. Again, trying to tackle a whole county or region in a day or so is going to waste time, so confine your inner Magellan.
   
   
   
   
2. If it's your first time in an area, you may want to hit the big names. They are usually pretty cool, albeit commercial. There's no shame in wanting to see the gorgeous vineyards of Robert Mondavi or the caves of Veuve Cliquot in Champagne. There's a reason why these places are visited often...they are gorgeous and are worth the time, if you take them for the marketing showpieces they are.
   
   
   
   Conversely, if you've been to an area multiple times, you may want to hit the little guys to branch out and learn more about the boutique side of things. That's a different experience (often requiring appointments, BTW), and very cool but it will give you a different flavor for the area...not necessarily the one that everyone talks about.
   
   
   
   
3. Research wineries in the area and call ahead to schedule appointments if that's what's required. Don't assume that every tasting room is open for walk-ins. Especially in Europe, you will need to set appointments to taste before you head out into wine areas. What a shame it would be to go to Germany or Italy and not get to taste because you didn't look into pre-scheduling appointments. An hour on the computer and the phone will ensure you have the trip you want to have! And please...if you schedule and appointment don't be late. Sometimes the proprietors are coming just to meet with you and to be late is kind of rude. Call if you get lost.
   
   
   
   
4. Plan to visit 5 wineries but don't be surprised if it's fewer. Again, 10 AM - 5 PM isn't that much time once you factor in driving time and lunch. Make sure to visit your favorite wineries or the "must hit" ones first, so you don't miss them if your time runs out. Four to five wineries is a great day and trying to cram in much more will leave you tired, drunk, and not appreciating what you're tasting.
   
   
   
   
5. EAT. Yes, my inner Jewish grandmother comes out here. You have to eat. Whether you stop at the grocery store ahead of time and bring snacks and water or plan a nice big lunch at a chi chi place, you've got to refuel. To the point above, this will spare you from feeling drunk and exhausted. Most major commercial wine areas have excellent options for food -- since wine and food go hand in hand -- but it makes sense to research this as well and, to point 1 above, plan it into your day so you ensure you get replenished.
   
   
   
   
6. We did a podcast where we talked about tasting room etiquette, so I'll just mention some high level tips that may be of interest and you can listen for the rest...
   
   
   
   
   • My number one rule: PLEASE don't "big time" the tasting room staff. Many of them are learning about wine and aren't 100% up on their stuff. Many of them are, but showing you know more than they do benefits no one. Be courteous, ask questions you genuinely want to know about (not ones you answer yourself after they give you an answer you don't like), and if you don't like the wines, keep it to yourself.
     
     
     
     
   • Guess what: It's ok and even cool to spit. As you're going through your day, you may want to think about only drinking the stuff you really are in love with and spitting the rest. Those spittoons aren't there for nothing. That said, it's completely fine to drink too...
     
     
     
     
   • And to that end, it's not ok to be hammered, loud, and obnoxious in a tasting room. Even if you went to Sonoma to drink yourself silly, remember there are other people who are there for different reasons (celebrating an anniversary, dorking out about wine, taking notes for a blog...see right: )
     
     
     
     
   • Finally, if you don't love the wine you taste, don't feel obligated to buy it. Why spend your money on a bottle you don't like or that you can get at home when you could purchase something unique that you love from another winery that only sells out of its tasting room? I try hard only to buy what I like and what I can't get locally.
     
     
     
     
7. Do I need to say this one? Don't drink and drive. From Long Island to Virginia to Washington to California, all places that have a concentration of wineries also have good wine tour buses or car services. Use them or designate a driver who will spit the whole time. If you're abroad, be extra careful, and just hire someone to take you around.
   
   'Nough said.

So that's a loose framework for visiting wine country. Hopefully it helps! Please post your comments below and let me know if you have other questions on wine country tips and travel! *This post came at the request of my absolutely fabulous, supportive and amazing sister. JWS, you rock. Readmore »»

Chai Christine Cannac, Bédarieux

From the Auvergne to the Languedoc - specifically Bédarieux, an attractive town in the Vallée de l'Orb we haven't visited for a while. But we'd heard there was a good natural wine bar and shop there and finally made it up there for lunch today.



Christine Cannac (above) has worked as a sommelier all over the Languedoc but came back to set up a wine bar in her home town a couple of years ago. She'd become more and more drawn to natural wines, she told us. Her wine list is a roll-call of the great and the good including Casot des Mailloles, Marcel Lapierre, Dard et Ribo, Thierry Allemand and Léon Barral in nearby Faugères.



We initially made the mistake of ordering a couple of unknown (to us) wines by the glass - a grenache gris called La Begou from Maxime Magnon and a rather over-funky rosé called Plait-t'il from Le Petite Baigneuse - which I don't think were showing at their best. Possibly they'd just been open too long.





So we switched to a bright, breezy vin de soif called Fou du Roi from Axel Prüfer of Le Temps des Cerises just up the road at Le Mas Blanc which was perfect with our shared platter of charcuterie. According to the Australian importer Living Wines, which rather impressively ships it over to Tasmania, it's a blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Carignan.







We drove up the road to see if Axel was around but the winery was firmly shut up. Shame. He sounds quite a character.





Anyway if you're in the area Chai Christine Cannac is a good place to drop by for a drink. Just order by the bottle. The bar is at 3 square Robert Schumann, 34600 Bédarieux. Tel: 04 67 95 86 14.





Readmore »»

Teaming Up With The Travel Belles: Check Out My First Monthly Feature!

I feel so fortunate...I just teamed up with an amazing online travel magazine, The Travel Belles. That means that every 4th Wednesday, I'll be writing for an article that talks about wine and travel!



Check out the first article:

Wine and Travel: The Perfect Pairing for Travel Belles and Other "Normal People"

Readmore »»

My Oh My! Say YES to the Zwei: Awesome Red Zweigelt from Austria

It's no small feat to turn around a reputation...especially when you're accused of making wine that incorporates anti-freeze...but somehow Austria has managed to make it happen.



Forget that wine has been made in Austria for 4000 years. Memories are short and what people remember is 1985. This is when some corrupt wineries decided to chemically alter their wines to make them taste more full, sweet, and substantive. Sounds good, no? The only problem is that they did this by adding diethylene glycol to the wine, a chemical closely related to the poisonous substance commonly found in anti-freeze. It was a common practice for years, but uncovered when one of the idiots trying to kill wine consumers committed the ultimate act of douche-baggery and tried to claim the substance on his tax return. The government investigated and all hell broke loose in the Austrian wine industry.



Needless to say, for about 20 years, no one would touch Austrian wine with a 10 foot pole, despite the fact that they now have the strictest regulations in the wine world. These days it appears that they have finally managed to turn a corner and it's a good thing. Their wines, especially their native grapes like Grüner Veltliner and Zweigelt (which I'm getting to) are pretty great.



Austria is a cooler place, so the whites have great acidity and the reds tend to be on the lighter side. The Zweigelt (pronounced: SVY-gelt) grape is the shiny (relatively) new toy of the Austrian red wine world. It was made as a cross of the two other Austrian red grapes -- Blaüfrankish and St. Laurent -- in 1922 by Dr. Fritz Zweigelt of one of the wine universities near Vienna.



Today, it's the second most grown grape in Austria (after Grüner Veltliner). It's generally light to medium in weight, with some cherry flavors, a hit of peppery spice, and good acid. It's great with food and I always think of it as an alternative to Pinot Noir or Beaujolais.



The warmer region of Burgenland, much of which is on the shores of Lake Neusiedl and on the Pannonian Plain that stretches through eastern Europe, has a continental (hot in summer, cold in winter) climate which means the area can produce red wine grapes. The Lake moderates the climate and adds some humidity to the air, making dessert wines a big feature of this area too. (Map courtesy of Blue Danube Wine Company).



I've never been, but apparently lots of the winieries have poured a ton of money into their architecture, so the area is glammed up and artsy (similar to some parts of Rioja). New winemakers have poured in and there's lots of high quality wines coming from the region.



I'd consider Zantho one of those places. The Zweigelt is the only one that I see regularly in stores, and it's solid. It has an interesting closure -- it's a plastic "stopper" -- which I wasn't crazy about since it was hard to get out and I don't think it did much to preserve the wine, but I give them points for innovation. Here's the rundown:



The Wine: Zantho Zweigelt

The Grape: 100% Zweigelt

Where it's from: Burgenland, Austria

Alcohol: %

Vintage: 2009

Price: $12.99



Color: Zweigelt is never a dark color and this one was true to form. It was a rose petal color -- kind of pinkish. It wasn't at all saturated or dark, just kind of light to medium in color and very feminine looking.



Smell: The wine literally smelled like a toasted baguette -- it was like toast to me. Black and red cherry, spiced apple with cinnamon, and smoked meat came to mind. There was a cooked raspberry note and then a cedar quality. It almost smelled like mulled wine -- and I mean that in a good way. When I closed my eyes and smelled, it reminded me of winter in New England -- with the smoke from fireplaces in the air and that "cold smell" that you can only know if you've visited a cold place like that! It was a very "moody" wine.



Taste: So pleasing. It wasn't at all overpowering. The smoke, toast and oak were all present and the taste was like a smoked strawberry (not that I've had one, but if I did this is what it would taste like). Black cherry, cinnamon, and cedar were on the second sip and the tannin was noticeable but not overpowering.



Pairing: If you want a wine to pair with a heavier fish -- here's your wine. It's not too high in acid and has awesome flavors to go with spice rubs, blackening spices, or even fruit toppings. Same goes for chicken. This is a great alternative to Pinot Noir!



Drink or Down the Sink?: Drink. Great price, great wine, totally different from the ordinary. It may be hard to say, but it's easy to drink! Go for it! Readmore »»

Auberge de Chassignolles: a natural wine hotel

Ever since I visited the natural wine bar Gergovie earlier this year and found out that owner Harry Lester (below) ran a hotel in the Auvergne called the Auberge de Chassignolles during the summer I’ve been dying to go.



And last week we made it and spent 3 indulgent nights there.



It’s just as good as I’d hoped. A tiny village set in glorious unspoilt countryside about 950m above sea level, surrounded by dense forests and rolling green pastures it’s as good a get-away-from-it-all destination as you can imagine.







Our room overlooked a 12th century Romanesque church





The auberge operates on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis, dinner being a 5 course prix fixe affair that changes every night - fantastic value for 24 euros a head.







Harry also has a serious, largely natural wine list which we made good use of - highlights being the 2008 Domaine Michel Lafarge Raisins Dorées Bourgogne Aligoté, the 2008 Elian da Ros Cotes du Marmandais, Le Vin est une Fête and Antoine Arena Carco 2009 from Patrimonio in Corsica. There are also some great classics such as Domaine Tempier Bandol, Thierry Allemand’s Cornas, Grange des Pères and a 1999 vintage of Domaine de Trévallon.





In fact it was so perfect we’re squeezing in another night on the way home next week ;-)



Note: the hotel closes for the summer at the end of September





Readmore »»

Gamay sans Tra La La 2010

We took this wine on a picnic this week. Well, a sort of picnic. We took the day ferry from Poole to Cherbourg (narrowly missing the floods) and decided to forgo the delights of the cafeteria service and take our own sandwiches (parma ham and basil, since you ask).



A bright breezy gamay, served well chilled seemed the perfect accompaniment and so it proved. It was utterly delicious, full of wild berry fruit with a whiff of white pepper and a slightly earthy edge that stopped it being jammy.



It comes from Domaine de la Garrelière a biodynamically run estate in Touraine and is made with natural yeasts, unfined and unfiltered. Sans Tra La La, for those of you who don't speak French, roughly translates as gamay without fuss (or, more accurately, pretension).



Amazingly the remaining half bottle survived a 9 hour car journey and an overnight stay on our route to the Auverge and was still as fresh as a daisy, two days later. A genuine vin de soif.



You can buy it from Caves de Pyrène and Vinceremos for around £10-11 though the latter only seem to have the 2009 vintage currently.



Readmore »»

Wine For Normal People Radio : Episode 25 Top 7 Wine Myths DEBUNKED!

In my line of work, I hear it all. People spout alleged facts about wine left and right and it's hard to tell what's truth and what's fiction. We could go on and on, but this week Rick and I debunk the top 7 myths of the wine world.



Here are the show notes...

We start with a few shoutouts to awesome reviews on iTunes for the show! Amazing stuff!

A new and fabulous piece of "old school" technology for the Wine For Normal People Podcast... Call us!!! 800-599-8478 (in the U.S.) or 1-415-226-9105 and dial extension 5 to leave your question for the Wine For Normal People Podcast, and we will play it on the show!

• Listener Question - from Brandy in the UK about food and wine pairing
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Main Topic - Top 7 Wine Myths DEBUNKED! We cover these topics:
  1. Flavors in Wine
  2. Aging Wines
  3. Expensive Wines
  4. French Wine
  5. Cigars & Wine (controversial and I'm sure some of you will hate me for my view)
     
     
  6. High Scoring Wines (and Wine Critics)
  7. Screw Caps (vs. Corks)
     
     
     
     
• Grape of the Week - Tempranillo

And a special and amazing thanks to Sean Amann for creating an awesome intro for Grape of the Week!! If you want to submit your version or any other music or stuff for the show, drop me an email at elizabeth(at)winefornormalpeople(dot)com and we'll put it on the air!

Please comment on the Facebook Page and if you haven't done so already please review us on iTunes and we'll give you a shout out!

To access the podcast please click the player below or go here:

Ep 025 Top 7 Wine Myths DEBUNKED!

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Readmore »»

Guest Post on Foodie Buddha: "The Art of a Good Wine List"

Check it out! I did a guest post on a very popular Atlanta foodie site, Foodie Buddha.

Here's the link to "The Art of a Good Wine List."

Answers to the Age-Old Question: What Makes a "Good" Wine List?

by certified Sommelier Elizabeth Schneider

Enjoy and drop a comment below if you have questions/comments!

Readmore »»

Why score wine?

The movement against scoring wine seems to be growing. There's now a website called Scorevolution which is backed by a growing number of individuals including Christophe Hedges of Hedges who I met in Washington state last year and - inevitably - Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon who has a trenchant view on everything, bless him.



The manifesto, it has to be said, is a bit turgid, but it's hard to fault the sentiment.



"Wine is a gustatory expression of where its grapes grew and the method by which they were farmed. These methods having been developed over time to address the variability of nature. The combination of land, climate, culture and philosophy is terroir. Ideally a wine will evoke an understanding of the region and perhaps the individual vineyard that was its place of origin. The subtle expression of wine through the context of its geography"



"If we rely on the biased palates of the select few - and no palate can ever be unbiased, as the process of tasting is supremely personal - to tell us what is good, great and perfect then haven't we sacrificed our own understanding of the wine and, as such, what would be the point of drinking it?"



In other words wine is more than numbers.*



I was interested to read Eric Asimov the wine writer for the New York Tines had been reported as reiterating that the only way to appreciate and assess wine was with food which is, after all, the context in which most people enjoy it.



And how reliable are scores? On what basis are they allocated? I remember discussing this with Tom Cannavan of wine-pages.com, a frequent judge in wine competitions on a press trip and he said that even if critics ostensibly score from 1-20 that most have a register of 1-5. I'm conscious of that myself. I usually score supermarket wines for my own reference between 12 and 17, most of the wines I taste falling around the 13-14 mark. But 12 sounds much more generous than 1, on the 1-5 scale, doesn't it?



How then do you indicate to your reader how you rate a wine? On my credit crunch drinking blog I do in fact rank wines from 1-5, 1 being 'drinkable. Amazing, given the price' and 5 'unmissable. Snap it up'. Which I think is probably OK for cheaper wines, much less satisfactory for more complex ones.



Parker appears to score from 1-100 but any wine below 89 seems to be regarded as a poor score.



And surely it depends on how you're feeling, who you're with, what you're eating and, above all, what your personal taste is.



Which is why I now favour a system of flagging up natural wines in accordance with how they're likely to fit into your wine drinking experience: green being similar to a conventional wine, amber maybe slightly more challenging and red a warning that the wine may well be way outside your comfort zone.



Speaking of which I've had a wine this week, the Herbel La Pointe Chenin 2008 which has the unfortunate look of an unhealthy urine sample and an aroma of fermenting apples. Maybe it's suffered in transit or wasn't kept cool enough but even my husband, a diehard natural wine fan, couldn't finish his glass. Definitely a red which goes to show, as I've said before, that just because a wine is natural doesn't mean it's good.



What do you think about wine scores? Are they useful or useless and is there any other way you'd advocate of flagging up a wine's style and quality to the consumer?



* There's an interesting debate on the 100 point scale on Palate Press here.





Readmore »»

Wine For Normal People Radio : Episode 024 The Grape Miniseries...Chardonnay

And finally, we tackle the big daddy of the whites: Chardonnay. So many styles, so little time. MC Ice steps in while Rick is on summer break!

Episode 24: The Grape Miniseries, Chardonnay

Here are the show notes...

• Some fun facts about the Chardonnay grape and why everyone loves it (this is the real dorky stuff and some surprising things about how boring the grape is on its own...)
• Typical profiles of the Old World v. New World Styles
• Major (and not so major) growing regions in the Old World: Burgundy (see the Primer if you want more info on this), Champagne, Northern Italy, Austria, Germany, Eastern Europe
• Major growing regions in the New World: South America, South Africa (see the picture below of me petting the lion cub, as mentioned! I didn't mention it was at a preserve, I didn't just hop out of the car and pet a wild one!), Australia, New Zealand California and some other spots
• A word on food and Chardonnay pairing...

Chardonnay is such a huge topic that we couldn't do anything but brush the surface. If you've got questions post them on Facebook or Tweet us @Normalwine

If you like the 'cast, please review us on iTunes and we'll give you a shout out!

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Readmore »»

Mosel v. Rheingau Riesling: A Taste Test With An Unexpected Result

Ah Riesling, you need a PR campaign! Similar to the US ads that called pork "the other white meat" to un-ghetto-ize it, you need a campaign as the "other white wine" to get some much deserved props! You have fallen to the wayside in the minds of many a wine drinker and although sweet seekers know and love you, you get a horrible rap among dry wine lovers who have already made a foray into the world of wine.



Sad, but true.



There are a ton of amazing drier Rieslings but people don’t seem to know this. It’s neglected and cast aside for the safer Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.



I'm an unabashed Riesling fan and advocate and I write about it all the time. I could make a very convincing argument that it's the finest white in the world and that it's more versatile than the ever-popular Chardonnay because it makes every type of wine -- dry, sweet (Chardonnay doesn't do sweet), and sparkling -- and it can age forever. It is so reflective of terroir (listen to the podcast for more on this) but it maintains a strong character everywhere it grows. It is almost always super aromatic -- like peaches, flowers, honey, and minerals -- but it's balanced by strong acidity no matter how much sugar the producers leave in the wine (which is why it's often sweet). Pay attention when you have it next time and you'll see that under your tongue waters and waters regardless of sweetness: the mark of acid.



Riesling needs cold climates to really thrive and no where does it do better than in Germany, its homeland. I'm lucky enough to be on the mailing list for the Wines of Germany so they send me some amazing stuff to try (full disclosure, although I'll be honest about what I think). I had a few bottles on hand to write about so I decided to do a bit of a taste test to see the differences between wines from the same vintage and of the same sweetness level from the two finest growing regions for Riesling – Rheingau and Mosel – were true to the common knowledge about them.



To reiterate from a previous post, which gives details on German wines that I won't go into here:

"Rheingau has completely different terrain from Mosel. Where Mosel is full of steep slopes and terraced vineyards, Rheingau is pretty gentle, with slopes that flatten towards the Rhine River and its tributaries. Mosel has mostly one type of consistent soil -- slate, and Rheingau has lots of different soils mushed up together. Rheingau's Rieslings are hard core -- lots of flavor, lots of acid, lots of stuff goin' on in general, probably because of the soil type and the growing conditions. Mosel Riesling is but a soft flower compared to Rheingau."

Although that's conventional wisdom, strangely, it appears that in the case of these wines, the identities flip-flopped. They were of slightly different price points, but that doesn’t account for what I discovered.



This issue will need further exploration…thank goodness I’m still on the Wines of Germany list so I can replicate the experiment and report back! Here are my "findings:"



The Wine: Selbach Riesling Kabinett, Fish Label

The Grape: 100% Riesling

Where it's from: Mosel, Germany

Alcohol: 9%

Vintage: 2009

Price: $14.99



Color: A beautiful pale straw color with kind of a greenish brassy look to it (like a bleached blonde in a pool). There were some bubbles, probably from the addition of a little sulfur dioxide, a common practice in Germany to keep the wines fresh.



Smell: I felt like I had just stepped into an orchard of peaches and apples. This was fruity and delicious with a bit of honeysuckle scent too. I wanted to take a bite out of the glass – it smelled like juicy, ripe fruit. There was a very characteristic note of petrichor (my favorite esoteric word, which just means the smell of wet pavement after it rains). It had that petrol/gas smell that is so common in German Rieslings (sounds gross, smells good), which I adore.



Taste: This is definitely on the off-dry/slightly sweet side, so if you don’t like that beware. The wine was more like an apple pastry with honey on top than fresh fruit. It had almost a marshmallow, candied taste, which I think dulled the prickly acid sensation I love in Riesling. I was slightly disappointed that it wasn’t more minerally in flavor. But with food...



Pairing: Although alone, I wasn’t a fan, we paired this with sushi and it was AWESOME. This wine with soy sauce was a freaking dream. It mellowed the salt and made the sushi taste creamy and smoky. This was one of those times that the wine completely transformed the food. I couldn’t get enough of this pairing (nor could MC Ice who poured soy sauce on the brown rice and practically ate it with his hands, in between sips).



Drink or Down the Sink?: Drink, but only if you’re having Asian that has soy sauce. This wine was not what I’d expect from a Mosel Riesling, which tend to be subtle and complex. It was kind of a yawn on its own but because it came alive with food, I’m keeping it on the list.



This is a re-review of Schloss Reinhartshausen Old Vines Wine -- I've reviewed the '07.



I wish we had tried this the same night, but we broke it out the next night.



The Wine: Schloss Reinhartshausen Old Vines, Estate Bottled

The Grape: 100% Riesling

Where it's from: Rheingau, Germany

Alcohol: 12%

Vintage: 2008

Price: $22



Color: Richer than the Selbach, this was like the color of those golden raisins your mom puts in your lunch bag when you’re a little kid, which you promptly chuck so as not to look like a dork because you don’t have the regular kind.



Smell: Not much has changed since the last time I smelled this wine – it’s so light in aroma for a

Riesling. I got a little bit of the gardenia smell and a touch of something like a waterfall but that was a real stretch. This is not an aromatic wine -- weird for Riesling.



Taste: Certainly the wine has more going on once you drink it, but it’s still kind of blah. Just like last time, I found that it had great acid. There were some light lime and peach notes but this time around, I thought the wine was much more noticeably sweet. It was clear to me that this was an off-dry wine, which I didn’t note last time. I don't mind a little sugar, but this seemed too sweet and not in harmony with the fruit and acid.



Pairing: I wish I’d had this with Asian, but I went Mediterranean and just had it with couscous, veggies, and herbed goat cheese. It was a nice, unoffensive complement but nothing special. Even though I didn’t get to try it with Asian, I don't think it would have been as good as the Selbach was. It just didn't have enough going on to hum in the way the Selbach did with food.



Drink or Down the Sink?: I really wasn’t impressed and it definitely fell short of the promise of a Rheingau wine, which I think should be bold and rich in flavor and smell. In comparison to the Mosel, I thought this fell short. I wouldn’t buy it for $22 – there are too many other great things out there!



I think this is an unusual outcome and that these wines kind of switched identities. It's not a case of vintage variation (same vintage) or different sweetness levels, it just must be that these producers are not making the expected -- cool but also a little disappointing for me.



I'm going to do more tasting and research and I'll report back on whether this is just an anomaly (which my hunch is that it is...). If you do any of your own taste testing, drop a note here or on Facebook and let me know how it turns out!

Readmore »»

AB Ansonica Bucce 2008: a complex Tuscan white

I missed Gianpaolo Paglia's Poggio Argentiera winemaker's dinner at a local Italian restaurant Rosemarino in Bristol the other week but we caught up with one of his wines on Thursday night: a complex, earthy white from the Maremma region of Tuscany called Ansonica Bucce.

Ansonica is apparently the same variety as Inzolia and, according to Gianpaolo, derived from the Greek Roditis. It's fermented (I think, though my Italian is pretty rudimentary) on the skins "not filtered, not manufactured, just made" as the back label puts it. "How wine was once upon a time." It's aged for a year in cement and oak vats so has a slightly oxidative character but isn't an orange wine.

At first I found it a touch austere (it was served too cold) but it opened up in the glass and really came into its own with food, particularly my spinach, walnut and fontina lasagne which also had a slightly bitter edge. (Interestingly my husband says it was more aromatic when he tasted it at the dinner: Thursday was a root day.)

You can buy it from R.S.Wines in Bristol for £9.99 + VAT. Readmore »»

Lunch With a Wine Legend: Nothing to Make Me Doon About Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon

Wine is such a nerdy subject that I hesitate to say it has celebrities, since that seems to imply a level of glam that I just don't think exists, but if there were to be a wine celebrity, most certainly it would be Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Wines.



Courtesy of Empire Distributors and Miller Union, a very trendy, great restaurant in Atlanta's West End, I had the pleasure of attending an intimate lunch and spending an afternoon with this fascinating man.



Volumes have been written on this guy (including a book that he authored, "Been Doon So Long") so I'm not going to rehash that stuff but I'll give you a quick summary of who he is and what he's done so in case you aren't familiar, this US Weekly version will get you up on the gossip. Here a few fun facts on him:

• He started Bonny Doon Winery in 1984 with a wine called Le Cigar Volant, the French term for UFO. It was unusual for the time because it was a blend similar to Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Southern Rhône Valley (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and a few other grapes) and the US was coming on strong with Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. He became an advocate for growing grapes from the Rhône and was termed the original "Rhône Ranger," for his support of those grapes in California's Central Coast. The quirky label with a UFO on it captured lots of attention for its "irreverent" vibe.
  
  
  
  
• The dude built huge brands through good wine and a genius for marketing -- Big House, Cardinal Zin, and Bonny Doon made up 450,000 cases of wine by 2008. With quirky, artsy labels, and an off-beat twist rare in the wine industry (and by this I mean the grapes, the labels, the communication with consumers and the fact that the Winery was located in Santa Cruz, rather than in traditional wine areas), Randall Grahm found a great niche in this over-crowded industry. He seemed to have it made...but he was completely dissatisfied.
  
  
  
  
• Around 2008, he decided that he'd gotten away from what excited him about wine and sold Cardinal Zin and Big House to the conglomerate, The Wine Group. He decided to get back to the vineyard and concentrate on wine and land and terroir, rather than marketing and business. He sought a retreat to his roots as a wine guy (he attended UC Davis -- THE wine university as a youth) so, regardless of how controversial it was, he sold the cash cows and focused on the stuff he loves. That's what he's doing today.

I had been told by a few people in the industry that Randall Grahm was kind of "out there" and "weird," so I was especially excited to meet him (and hoped this wasn't a euphemism for him being a giant, condescending a-hole). I'm kind of weird myself (remember that "normal" just applies to not liking jerky, snotty wine people) so I thought I'd dig him. I did.



For lack of a better description, Randall Grahm was so Santa Cruz -- long hair, a beret, and a very relaxed demeanor. And yet, there's something about him that reminded me of every great professor I've ever had -- smart, intellectual, good listener, clearly a keen observer. I felt like I wanted to be in his presence to soak up everything he had to say. My father is a professor, so I have a certain level of comfort around these academic types and I had the sense that if he wasn't in wine, this self-termed philosopher would be the next Socrates or at least the toast of Stanford or Oxford or something.



Randall started by telling us that he cashed in the chips because he wanted to make "Vin de terroir" -- wines that reflect the land. He bought some raw land in a crazy, undeveloped area called San Juan Bautista. It's southeast of Santa Cruz and known for its mission, which was featured in Hitchcock's movie"Vertigo." This area is on the big fault line that will eventually push San Francisco into the Pacific, the San Andreas Fault, and it has amazing soils and is very cool in climate, which theoretically will allow him to grow terrific grapes for wine.



Theoretically, he admits. And this is not something that most winemakers are comfortable saying. I've found that there's a certain hubris sometimes about them, like they know what the land will produce and can tell you the outcome of every vintage.



Not here. Randall Grahm fully admits that he's making it up as he goes along and he has no idea what he's going to get out of a new vineyard. There's an element of risk and reward that's exciting and scary. In an industry obsessed with margins and money, this is a very unique outlook.



I was already drinking the Kool Aid but then the dude said the thing that I've never heard another California winemaker say. He said that he strives to make the best wines he can, but that he'll never make wines that have the character of European wines. Without the soil and without the centuries of time to iterate and make changes, he just can't do as well with his grapes as they do there. Rather than putting down European producers, he was realistic about the differences in land, production and experience and showed an appreciation for the Old World that you don't always see in California.



Given that, his interest in making another Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon is nil. You're not going to see Pinot or Chard or Merlot out of Bonny Doon or its sub-brands.



Ok, so he's a big thinker and a big talker. But besides buying a vineyard in a weird place, what exactly IS he doing in wine? Well, it's not just the same 'ole stuff. He's doing something very different. In San Juan Batuista, Randall Grahm is doing a "Grand Experiment." He is trying to create genetic crosses of conventional grapes. He's identifying the best areas for red wines and the best for whites and then creating hybrids of grapes in the fields to see what happens.



He's not doing this passively, mind you. The guy is trying everything from employing new fertilization methods from gurus in Switzerland to calling in people that study nature spirits that will make the vineyard more prolific.



Why is he doing this? Because this is Randall Grahm's life work. Rather than follow his hewn path as the wine industry's best marketer, which is what all the trade rags and business writers say about him, he wants to be the industry's innovator...or die trying.



He's just starting this path so in the meantime, he still has his Bonny Doon, Ca' del Solo, Contra, and Le Cigare brands to make and sell. And in my view, these wines are better then ever. The sell off of the larger Big House and Cardinal Zin brands seem to have really benefited these brands and I was really impressed at the event.



Here are mini-reviews of the lineup:



__________________________________________________________________________



The Whites and Rosé



The first few wines were from the Ca' del Solo vineyard, which is farmed Biodynamically (check out the podcast or blog on this) and produces non-Rhône grapes. The vineyard is located in Monterey County, about an hour south of San Francisco. This line doesn't have standard varieties -- and I love that.



I was surprised at how well Spain's white gem, Albariño, and the grape from which all others derive, Muscat, performed in this moderate climate.



The Wine: Ca' del Solo Albariño

The Grape: 92% Albariño, 8% Loureiro (another Spanish blending grape)

Where it's from: Soledad, Monterey County, California

Alcohol: 12.8%

Vintage: 2009

Price: $18



Note: This wine was a bit of an experiment for the Winery, but they did a great job. If this is how Albariño behaves in Monterey, I think it has a bright future there! Randall did note that the Biodynamic farming and hands-off winemaking were big factors in getting the flavor right.



Color: Beautifully golden and very shiny, with kind of thick legs. The wine looked just like all the Spanish Albariños that I've had the pleasure of knowing.



Smell: Lemon, lime, and a salty mineral note just hit the mark. It was very similar to Spanish Albariño, which is rare because the soil and climate of Galicia is hard to replicate. The smell was like green herbs and green apples too -- it reminded me a little of Herbal Essence shampoo (the old school one in the green bottle).



Taste: Maybe it's because the vineyard is Biodynamic, or because the winemaking is hands off, but this wine is very true to form. It was a little simpler than some of the Spanish Albariño I've had but still had a great barely-ripe peach flavor with wet rock, and a little saltiness to boot. It had great herbal flavors and was a bit like fresh cut grass. It had good acidity and was super dry. Awesome with the arugula salad.



Drink or Down the Sink? Drink. Amazing wine and very impressive that this grape can grow so well in Monterey.

__________________________________________________________________________



The Wine: Ca' del Solo Muscat

The Grape: 98% Moscato Giallo (yellow muscat from Northeastern Italy), 2% Loureiro

Where it's from: Soledad, Monterey County, California

Alcohol: 12.7%

Vintage: 2009

Price: $15



Notes: Randall mentioned that he traveled to Alto-Adige in Northeastern Italy to pick out the Moscato Giallo clones himself. He did an amazing job finding grapes suited to the terroir of his vineyard.



Color: A super light yellow, almost clear with tiny little bubbles from a continued bit of in-bottle fermentation.



Smell: Muscat, in general, is really fragrant and sometimes over-the-top. Apparently this clone is a little less floral, which I found a good trait. I got that honeysuckle, orange sherbet smell but then also a celery twang. It sounds a little weird but I liked the contrast a lot.



Taste: The floral/honeysuckle note was kickin' and it reminded me of orange tea too. There was a sharp bite of acid that made the wine refreshing and not syrupy, despite the fact that there was noticeable sugar left in the wine (which is par for the course for Muscat). The acid cut the sugar and the wine was just a delicious treat and not so sweet as to be a dessert wine. It lingered around forever.



Drink or Down the Sink? I usually don't love Muscat, but this one could be a staple. What a great study in contrast of flowers and bitter celery with honeysuckle flavor and acid. Another winner.

__________________________________________________________________________



The Wine: Le Cigare Blanc

The Grape: 57% Roussanne, 43% Grenache Blanc

Where it's from: "Beeswax Vineyard," Arroyo Seco Monterey County, California

Alcohol: 14.3%

Vintage: 2008

Price: $22



Notes: This is Randall Grahm's white version of Châteauneuf-du-Pape of the Southern Rhône Valley. It's the Rhône Ranger at his best! This is a huge wine and we actually had it last because it's oily and flavorful so it had enough gumption after the reds. It went really well with the ginger flavored ice cream sandwich we had for dessert (yum!).



Color: I would expect nothing less than a golden yellow wine. Roussanne tends to be a darker color, and this looked like rich and flavorful.



Smell: All pear, all the time. A little bit of melon and ginger too. It smelled rich and like it was made with uber ripe grapes.



Taste: How I wish I'd had a nice piece of fish to pair with this...would have been amazing. The wine was like laying my tongue on a fluffy pillow -- so soft and full and gentle. Big pear flavor with a touch of acid to prevent the wine from being thick and gross. Loved this...although like I said, next time I'm having it with some halibut.



Drink or Down the Sink? Drink. I'm a big fan of the wine after which this one is modeled: Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc. This one is a great New World version of that big daddy of a wine. For $22 it's a steal too!

__________________________________________________________________________ The Wine: Vin Gris de Cigare

The Grape: 71% Grenache, 16% Roussanne, 11% Grenache Blanc, 2% Mourvedre

Where it's from: Central Coast, California

Alcohol: 12.8%

Vintage: 2010

Price: $15



Notes: Vin Gris is technically white wine made from red grapes, usually Pinot Noir. So this wine isn't exactly a Vin Gris because it was a salmon colored wine and it was made from red and white grapes. That said, this is a signature wine for Bonny Doon.



Color: A beautiful copper salmon color, this wine was just what I like to see in my Rosé. Too red and I know it's going to be too much, too light and it may not have panache. This was perfection in color.



Smell: The Grenache gave it a raspberry and strawberry tang and it was just a little bit like yeasty baked bread too. A pretty fresh nose but nothing that bowled me over.



Taste: I gotta say, of all the wines, this was my least favorite. It had a raspberry flavor but there was a pine tree note for me that put me off. An herbal flavor was there too, that I thought didn't mesh well with the strawberry flavors. The wine was slightly bitter for me and the acid wasn't quite strong enough.



Drink or Down the Sink? Down the sink. I really wasn't a fan. It was a simple wine and it was good in that, but I think the experiment of blending red grapes (Grenache and Mourvedre) with white (Grenache Blanc, Roussane), which is not done in the South of France where Rosé reigns supreme, really didn't work for me. That said, there were some at the event that raved about this wine. Give it a try and let me know what you think.



__________________________________________________________________________

The Reds



In my opinion, this is where Randall Grahm really shines. Rhône grapes made in a pure style. These reds kick ass!



The Wine: Bonny Doon "Le Pousseur' (means the trickster)

The Grape: 100% Syrah

Where it's from: Central Coast, California

Alcohol: 13.5%

Vintage: 2007

Price: $20

Color: An opaque, beautiful rich plum color with a ruby rim, this wine looked like ripe fruit plucked right off a vine. The legs were thick (so I expected high alcohol) and the wine had so much pigment that it made them take on a color. Blockbuster city!



Smell: ...And yet the smell was so much more delicate than the looks of the wine. It had a light plum scent with chocolate and then a lavender and thyme twang. It smelled fresh and delicious.



Taste: The first sensation I had was of black pepper and cinnamon with chocolate. Then there was plum and black raspberry fruity goodness. The tannins were not too mouth drying and there was a little acidity too. It was fresh! Everything just seemed to work together -- wine harmony.



Drink or Down the Sink? Drink. This is an excellent wine. Not over-the-top but still fruity. Lots of subtle flavors and something that you could drink for hours and it would be a different wine with each sip. I love that. This is especially a winner and since Syrah is so unpopular in the market today (don't get me started on why...so dumb), the price of this wine is INSANE for the high quality of the wine.



__________________________________________________________________________

The Wine: Bonny Doon Contra

The Grape: 55% Carignan, 16% Grenache, 14% Mourvedre, 7% Petite Sirah, 5% Zinfandel, 3% Syrah

Where it's from: Central Coast, California

Alcohol: 13.5%

Vintage: 2009

Price: $14



Notes: This comes from the warmer inland area of Contra Costa County, hence the name Contra. Randall revealed that you can see the house where that poor girl who was kept hostage with her two kids for 15 years from this vineyard.

Color: Another super-dark wine. Carignan can be kind of a ghetto grape in the Rhône, but in it's old age, it creates wines with tons of flavor and these vines are old so the wine is dark, rich, and thick!



Smell: This was the most earthy of all the wines we had. It had a ton of raspberry fruit but the overall impression was more of dried dirt and cinnamon spice than of fruit. It was kind of subtle but also seemed like it was going to be flavorful at the same time...just not in the typical fruit bomb way.



Taste: The wine was like it smelled -- subtle and earthy with a good hit of raspberry flavor and a ton of cinnamon or nutmeg thrown in.



Drink or Down the Sink? Drink. It was a good, solid red that would go well with food because it's just not too fruity or alcoholic (I'd pair it with mushroom sauces, au jus, grilled veggies or meat, simple preparations).

__________________________________________________________________________



The Wine: Le Cigare Volant

The Grape: 44% Syrah, 43% Grenache, 12% Cinsault, 1% Mourvedre

Where it's from: Central Coast, California

Alcohol: 14.4%

Vintage: 2006

Price: $35



Notes: This is Randall Grahm's homage to Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge and he rocks it out! There isn't much to say except that this is his flagship and calling card. He seemed really proud of the wine as he was talking about it and he genuinely believes that his increased focus on this wine after selling off Big House and Cardinal Zin has improved the juice. I couldn't agree more.



Color: Similar to the other reds, this was a dark, opaque, plum color with a rosey, watery edge. Typical of Syrah and looking delicious. Super thick legs = pretty high alcohol.



Smell: Wow. I could smell this for days. Tobacco, smoke, and bacon hit me right away. Then there was a dark blackberry or raspberry thing -- like stewed berries or compote that goes on waffles. There was a little spearmint too. It was strong, it was delicious.



Taste: The wine was true to the smell except that it had a wonderful peppery flavor that just brought it to life. The tannins were tame and the acid was prominent, so the wine tasted tangy (in a good way).



Drink or Down the Sink? Drink. I've had this wine before but I don't remember it being this good. It's such a flavorful and complex wine and it tastes damn good. You can enjoy it or analyze it, either way it's a real pleasure to have. Amazing stuff.



Thank you so much to Empire Distributors and to Randall Grahm and Miller Union here in Atlanta for a great experience. I can't wait to visit the winery in Soledad. Great guy, great wine, and a very interesting future ahead for us all if he succeeds in his quest!



Have you had these wines? Drop a comment and let me know what you think!!!

Readmore »»