With much speculation about the 2009 vintage of Bordeaux floating around, I spoke with Robin Kelley O’Connor, director of sales at New York’s venerable Sherry-Lehmann Wine Merchants, about the effect of the economy on Bordeaux sales in the United States. He was just back from Bordeaux where he tasted more than 1,000 wines from the latest vintage. For 20 years, O'Connor was Trade Liaison spokesman for the Bordeaux Wine Bureau in North America, and he served as the president of the Society of Wine Educators from 2003 to 2007.
O'Connor told me he was a fan of Bordeaux both personally and professionally. “For both quality and quantity, it is the single greatest wine region in the world. I love Burgundy, California, Germany, Spain and others but it really comes down to the magic of what Bordeaux can produce, its staying power and the mystery of how the wines age for so long. I’ve promoted $10 bottles as well as $500 bottles, but it’s the workhorse wines that keep everybody in business there.“
Although he has seen his store’s customers (Sherry-Lehmann sells to 42 states, Mexico and Brazil) trade down within the Bordeaux category ever since the 2008 economic downturn, they have stayed loyal to the region.
O’Connor began teaching consumer-friendly educational events at Sherry-Lehmann’s mid-town Manhattan store in 2008. “When we do Bordeaux tastings and seminars, we sell out immediately. There is more excitement than for other regions we offer, even when the prices are high. People really are interested in tasting the wines but also in education so we bring in the owner or winemaker. Many times the attendees have bought the wines already and so it makes sense to come and taste and decide when to drink them.”
His prediction for the 2009 vintage: It's a great vintage, comparable to the 2005, but it won't sell as vigorously because of the economy.
Read more from O'Connor about the American appetite for 2009 Bordeaux in my interview with him in Decanter magazine's June issue, which contains a full report on the 2009 Bordeaux vintage.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Boxed In
Do you avoid boxed wines because you think they are cheap, inferior plonk? I would have been with you if I hadn’t had the opportunity to taste so many over the past few years and discover that most all of them are drinkable, enjoyable wines. Not to mention great bargains.
The most recent I’ve tasted is from the Octavin Home Wine Bar. The 2009 Silver Birch Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand, was outrageously good for $24 for the equivalent of four bottles! If you, too, have a taste for tart, you will be very pleased with this wine.
I probably would not serve it to guests, but only because the bag-in-box presentation still has a stigma attached to it – although the octagonal box it comes in is the most attractive container I’ve seen yet. (Yet for casual drinking at home, the box with the spigot is actually preferable to selecting, opening and storing four bottles). I think younger wine fans will get over this stigma quicker than older ones -- or may not acknowledge it to begin with -- and as wine producers compete for that younger generation of drinkers, we will be seeing more and more of them. After all, even in the fortress of wine tradition that is France, the bag-in-box wine category is the fastest growing today.
Octavin also makes Monthaven Winery 2008 Chardonnay from California’s central coast at $24 and 2008 Big House Red for $22. Both octagonal boxes contain the equivalent of four bottles.
The most recent I’ve tasted is from the Octavin Home Wine Bar. The 2009 Silver Birch Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand, was outrageously good for $24 for the equivalent of four bottles! If you, too, have a taste for tart, you will be very pleased with this wine.
I probably would not serve it to guests, but only because the bag-in-box presentation still has a stigma attached to it – although the octagonal box it comes in is the most attractive container I’ve seen yet. (Yet for casual drinking at home, the box with the spigot is actually preferable to selecting, opening and storing four bottles). I think younger wine fans will get over this stigma quicker than older ones -- or may not acknowledge it to begin with -- and as wine producers compete for that younger generation of drinkers, we will be seeing more and more of them. After all, even in the fortress of wine tradition that is France, the bag-in-box wine category is the fastest growing today.
Octavin also makes Monthaven Winery 2008 Chardonnay from California’s central coast at $24 and 2008 Big House Red for $22. Both octagonal boxes contain the equivalent of four bottles.
Monday, March 29, 2010
That's Italian
The V. Sattui winery in Napa Valley, the most visited winery in the most visited wine country in the United States, is celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Sattui family in the wine busines, and late last week I attended a luncheon in San Francisco’s Italian North Beach neighborhood to help celebrate. It was held at the venerable North Beach Restaurant -- worth trying if you visit San Francisco – just two blocks from where Vittorio Sattui, great grandfather of Dario Sattui, the winery's owner, first established the V. Sattui family wine business in 1885.
It turns out, according to Victor Geraci, a historian with the enviable title of “Food & Wine Historian” at the oral history office at U.C. Berkeley, that Italians have played a pivotal role in founding and cultivating the California wine industry.
During Prohibition, the Sattui family went into the insurance business. But in 1972, Dario Sattui – a true Napa Valley original -- restarted the family wine business while living in a windowless van with his girlfriend -- “soon to be my wife and then soon to be my ex-wife.”
Things were promising back then in Napa Valley. “I had everything going for me. No money. No knowledge. I had a one year plan to make money. If I’d known a lot I would have done it like everyone else and it would have taken 10 years to get a nickel back,” Sattui told the luncheon crowd.
When the V. Sattui Winery opened, “You name it we didn’t have it -- no cash register, no bottling line, nothing but a $15 calculator, a bare bones budget,“ said Sattui, who has taught classes at U.C. Davis in how to start a winery with no money. From the beginning, he only sold his wines direct to winery visitors -- the first in Napa Valley to do so -- and had picnic tables “where other wineries had signs that said ‘Keep Off The Grounds.' " He used to pay customers to sit at the tables when it drizzled to attract people cruising by on Highway 29. “The simplest things worked. Thank God I didn’t really know what to do.
"My dad was a cab driver. I’m just an average guy. I believe that average people -- as long as they don’t realize how average they are --can accomplish a lot. If you try long enough and hard enough, you can only fail so many times.”
You still can’t buy V. Sattui wines anywhere but through this winery in St. Helena with a cult following. The values this cult worships have nothing to do with today's hot new wine but rather with a warm, family atmosphere and a relaxed, non-snobbish approach to quality food and wine.
It turns out, according to Victor Geraci, a historian with the enviable title of “Food & Wine Historian” at the oral history office at U.C. Berkeley, that Italians have played a pivotal role in founding and cultivating the California wine industry.
During Prohibition, the Sattui family went into the insurance business. But in 1972, Dario Sattui – a true Napa Valley original -- restarted the family wine business while living in a windowless van with his girlfriend -- “soon to be my wife and then soon to be my ex-wife.”
Things were promising back then in Napa Valley. “I had everything going for me. No money. No knowledge. I had a one year plan to make money. If I’d known a lot I would have done it like everyone else and it would have taken 10 years to get a nickel back,” Sattui told the luncheon crowd.
When the V. Sattui Winery opened, “You name it we didn’t have it -- no cash register, no bottling line, nothing but a $15 calculator, a bare bones budget,“ said Sattui, who has taught classes at U.C. Davis in how to start a winery with no money. From the beginning, he only sold his wines direct to winery visitors -- the first in Napa Valley to do so -- and had picnic tables “where other wineries had signs that said ‘Keep Off The Grounds.' " He used to pay customers to sit at the tables when it drizzled to attract people cruising by on Highway 29. “The simplest things worked. Thank God I didn’t really know what to do.
"My dad was a cab driver. I’m just an average guy. I believe that average people -- as long as they don’t realize how average they are --can accomplish a lot. If you try long enough and hard enough, you can only fail so many times.”
You still can’t buy V. Sattui wines anywhere but through this winery in St. Helena with a cult following. The values this cult worships have nothing to do with today's hot new wine but rather with a warm, family atmosphere and a relaxed, non-snobbish approach to quality food and wine.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
What’s in a name?
Would you buy a wine called Bitch?
One that comes with a pink label dominated by the word “Bitch,” surrounded by a border of little hearts with daggers through them?
I wouldn’t. I asked fellow members of a food and wine writers Internet group that question and got a unanimous thumbs down. “Cheap,” “tacky,” “unfunny,” “harsh,” “off putting” and a “turnoff” were some of the responses.
I told them that, supposedly, Bitch stood for “Babe In Total Control of Herself.” No one bought it.
If some people choose wines because of pretty or interesting labels, many also choose wines by their names. There are well-known brand names (Kendall-Jackson), cute or funny names (Goats Do Roam), unappetizing names (Fat Bastard) but mostly just ho-hum names (Fill-in-the-Blank Family Vineyards). In this slow economy, people are hunting for a gimmick (well, some people are always looking for a gimmick) and someone behind this wine from Australia must have thought the name “Bitch” would compel buyers to grab it off the shelf. And it probably does.
As much as I was turned off by the name, I was even more turned off by the sparkling wine, Bitch Bubbly. Sweet, flat-ish, uninteresting. Afterwards, I regretted having drunk a whole glass – and that’s rare.
I hear the Grenache is quite good, and a good value, too. But something about that name makes me not terribly motivated to try it.
One that comes with a pink label dominated by the word “Bitch,” surrounded by a border of little hearts with daggers through them?
I wouldn’t. I asked fellow members of a food and wine writers Internet group that question and got a unanimous thumbs down. “Cheap,” “tacky,” “unfunny,” “harsh,” “off putting” and a “turnoff” were some of the responses.
I told them that, supposedly, Bitch stood for “Babe In Total Control of Herself.” No one bought it.
If some people choose wines because of pretty or interesting labels, many also choose wines by their names. There are well-known brand names (Kendall-Jackson), cute or funny names (Goats Do Roam), unappetizing names (Fat Bastard) but mostly just ho-hum names (Fill-in-the-Blank Family Vineyards). In this slow economy, people are hunting for a gimmick (well, some people are always looking for a gimmick) and someone behind this wine from Australia must have thought the name “Bitch” would compel buyers to grab it off the shelf. And it probably does.
As much as I was turned off by the name, I was even more turned off by the sparkling wine, Bitch Bubbly. Sweet, flat-ish, uninteresting. Afterwards, I regretted having drunk a whole glass – and that’s rare.
I hear the Grenache is quite good, and a good value, too. But something about that name makes me not terribly motivated to try it.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Tease of Cahors
Usually, wine producers don't travel halfway around the world for tastings unless their wines are available in the place they're visiting -- why tease anyone with a taste of wine they can't obtain? But sometimes, as in the case of Cahors, the wine region in southwestern France, producers hit the road to attract importers, restaurateurs and writers, and to build excitement for the wine in a region where it's not well-known.
Argentine Malbec is better known in the U.S. than French -- though Cahors maintains it is the birthplace of Malbec. A Cahors wine must be 70% Malbec to carry the Cahors label. Many are 100% Malbec and, if not, they are commonly blended with Merlot.
At a tasting of 21 Cahors producers in San Francisco today I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed Cahors Malbec. The wines, as a group, were deeply saturated in color (they call Malbec the "black grape"), pleasantly herbal, fruity, and most of all, they were not the tannic monsters I was expecting -- even recent vintages like the 2007. I tasted wines from the 2002 to the 2008 vintages and found none unpleasantly or powerfully tannic. I enjoyed the wines -- and that's saying a lot since my own tastes run more to tart and snappy whites (Cahors makes no white wine) and earthy, crisp reds.
Only one of the wines, Chateau La Coustarelle, is available in California. But many others can be found in Texas, New York, Washington state, and others. Wines I particularly enjoyed, and labels to look for, include Chateau Vincens, Domaine Les Roques De Cana, Mas Del Perie, Domaine Le Bout Du Lieu and Chateau Armandiere. Prices are generally reasonable. One of my favorites, Le Vins des Noces from Domaine Les Roques De Cana (not yet available in the U.S.) sells for only 10 Euros, or about $14.
Argentine Malbec is better known in the U.S. than French -- though Cahors maintains it is the birthplace of Malbec. A Cahors wine must be 70% Malbec to carry the Cahors label. Many are 100% Malbec and, if not, they are commonly blended with Merlot.
At a tasting of 21 Cahors producers in San Francisco today I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed Cahors Malbec. The wines, as a group, were deeply saturated in color (they call Malbec the "black grape"), pleasantly herbal, fruity, and most of all, they were not the tannic monsters I was expecting -- even recent vintages like the 2007. I tasted wines from the 2002 to the 2008 vintages and found none unpleasantly or powerfully tannic. I enjoyed the wines -- and that's saying a lot since my own tastes run more to tart and snappy whites (Cahors makes no white wine) and earthy, crisp reds.
Only one of the wines, Chateau La Coustarelle, is available in California. But many others can be found in Texas, New York, Washington state, and others. Wines I particularly enjoyed, and labels to look for, include Chateau Vincens, Domaine Les Roques De Cana, Mas Del Perie, Domaine Le Bout Du Lieu and Chateau Armandiere. Prices are generally reasonable. One of my favorites, Le Vins des Noces from Domaine Les Roques De Cana (not yet available in the U.S.) sells for only 10 Euros, or about $14.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
High on Italian Wine
If you haven’t heard of Italy’s Alto Adige (pronounced Alto Ah-dee-jay) wine region, join the crowd. I’d passed through this German-inflected area of Italy many years ago, but wasn’t familiar with its wines, so I was thrilled to attend a 90-minute seminar on its main wine varieties and distinctive geography today in San Francisco, followed by a walk-around wine tasting of almost two dozen producers from the area.
The Alto Adige wine region, one of Italy’s smallest winegrowing areas, is also its northernmost bordering Austria and Switzerland and lying south of the section of the Italian Alps known as the Dolomites. Though not as widely known as many other wine regions, it certainly is no new kid on the block -- winegrowing was thriving there in 700 B.C. What I love about discovering wine regions like Alto Adige are the grape varieties I have never encountered, such as the rich, indigenous Lagrein, and interesting blends such as a fragrant Reisling-Moscato-Chardonnay-Pinot Bianco blend.
To read more about what producers in the area are doing, see my story on decanter.com.
Following are several of the wines I tasted. Some I liked more than others, but all were eminently drinkable. Some seemed like good buys, while the price tags on a couple raised eyebrows around the room. I’m passing them on anyway because value, like taste, can be a highly individual thing.
These wines are available in the U.S. and I have noted the importers/distributors.
2008 Alois Lageder Pinot Bianco Haberle, $20.
Pale straw color with a hint of green, rich aromas and flavors of tropical fruits and a medium-weight, silky texture in the mouth. Not buttery or heavy like many Chardonnays; a medium acidity level means it won’t be too tart for people turned off by the sharpness of a Sauvignon Blanc. An appetizing 13% alcohol. Distributed by Chambers and Chambers Wine Merchants.
2006 Terlano Pinot Bianco Vorberg, $28
From a wine cooperative made up of many small producers, this elegant, lean wine with a medium body and sensuous mouthfeel had a completely fresh, clean taste even though it’s from the 2006 vintage. Another nice alcohol level of 13%. Available through Banville & Jones Wine Merchants.
2008 Tramin Gewürztraminer Nussbaumer $40
The dark, honey color of this wine suggested the rich aromas and flavors to come. Bursting with aromatics, the wine suggested sweetness, but finished dry. A surprising 14.75% alcohol level (I guess they need super-ripe grapes to get all that flavor in the glass). Available from Winebow, Inc.
2005 Abbazia di Novacella Pinot Nero Riserva Proepositus $60
Dark and rich in color, aromas and cherry flavor, this wine has richness but is still leaner than most high-end California Pinot Noirs. Intense ripe fruit suggested a touch of sweetness but the wine was dry. Nice, lush mouthfeel, and a moderate 13.8% alcohol. Vias Imports.
2008 Cantina Bolzano Lagrein Perl $24
Garnet in color, unusually lean, elegant and crisp for a red wine, tasting of dark red and blue berries, this wine also has an appealing 13.5% alcohol. Imported and distributed by Martine’s Wines, Inc.
The Alto Adige wine region, one of Italy’s smallest winegrowing areas, is also its northernmost bordering Austria and Switzerland and lying south of the section of the Italian Alps known as the Dolomites. Though not as widely known as many other wine regions, it certainly is no new kid on the block -- winegrowing was thriving there in 700 B.C. What I love about discovering wine regions like Alto Adige are the grape varieties I have never encountered, such as the rich, indigenous Lagrein, and interesting blends such as a fragrant Reisling-Moscato-Chardonnay-Pinot Bianco blend.
To read more about what producers in the area are doing, see my story on decanter.com.
Following are several of the wines I tasted. Some I liked more than others, but all were eminently drinkable. Some seemed like good buys, while the price tags on a couple raised eyebrows around the room. I’m passing them on anyway because value, like taste, can be a highly individual thing.
These wines are available in the U.S. and I have noted the importers/distributors.
2008 Alois Lageder Pinot Bianco Haberle, $20.
Pale straw color with a hint of green, rich aromas and flavors of tropical fruits and a medium-weight, silky texture in the mouth. Not buttery or heavy like many Chardonnays; a medium acidity level means it won’t be too tart for people turned off by the sharpness of a Sauvignon Blanc. An appetizing 13% alcohol. Distributed by Chambers and Chambers Wine Merchants.
2006 Terlano Pinot Bianco Vorberg, $28
From a wine cooperative made up of many small producers, this elegant, lean wine with a medium body and sensuous mouthfeel had a completely fresh, clean taste even though it’s from the 2006 vintage. Another nice alcohol level of 13%. Available through Banville & Jones Wine Merchants.
2008 Tramin Gewürztraminer Nussbaumer $40
The dark, honey color of this wine suggested the rich aromas and flavors to come. Bursting with aromatics, the wine suggested sweetness, but finished dry. A surprising 14.75% alcohol level (I guess they need super-ripe grapes to get all that flavor in the glass). Available from Winebow, Inc.
2005 Abbazia di Novacella Pinot Nero Riserva Proepositus $60
Dark and rich in color, aromas and cherry flavor, this wine has richness but is still leaner than most high-end California Pinot Noirs. Intense ripe fruit suggested a touch of sweetness but the wine was dry. Nice, lush mouthfeel, and a moderate 13.8% alcohol. Vias Imports.
2008 Cantina Bolzano Lagrein Perl $24
Garnet in color, unusually lean, elegant and crisp for a red wine, tasting of dark red and blue berries, this wine also has an appealing 13.5% alcohol. Imported and distributed by Martine’s Wines, Inc.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Role of The Wine Critic
I was talking to the well-known Berkeley-based wine retailer and importer Kermit Lynch yesterday and he said something I agree with completely about the role of the wine critic.
“The job of the critic is first to say whether a wine is correct – that is, balanced, clean and not flawed, and then to guide the reader to how to best appreciate it -- for instance, don’t drink a Muscadet with spicy tacos. Everything else is personal taste.”
Amen.
I was trained as a news journalist so my orientation is to give readers information so they can decide an issue for themselves. Some wine writers, I’ve noticed, think it is their job to sell wine. I say, leave that to the salesmen. My job is to let people know the information that will guide them toward making the right choice of wine for their individual tastes. It certainly isn’t to do what some other critics do, which is to say, “Drink this wine because I like it.” In fact, it isn’t to say “Drink wine,” at all. If someone says to me “I don’t drink wine,” I would never say to them, “Oh, but you should.”
It’s not my job to do anything other than guide readers in the direction of what wines are well-made, quality products at all price levels, and what wines they may like. Writing for the British wine magazine, Decanter, I’ve had to give star ratings before, but I also had 50 words or so to describe the wine so readers could decide whether it was to their taste. If you don’t do that, what’s the point?
Another thing Kermit said was, “Maybe someday there will be lots of wine critics out there instead of just a few being so popular. I would love to see that.” So would I, and I think the blogosphere is contributing to that future.
“The job of the critic is first to say whether a wine is correct – that is, balanced, clean and not flawed, and then to guide the reader to how to best appreciate it -- for instance, don’t drink a Muscadet with spicy tacos. Everything else is personal taste.”
Amen.
I was trained as a news journalist so my orientation is to give readers information so they can decide an issue for themselves. Some wine writers, I’ve noticed, think it is their job to sell wine. I say, leave that to the salesmen. My job is to let people know the information that will guide them toward making the right choice of wine for their individual tastes. It certainly isn’t to do what some other critics do, which is to say, “Drink this wine because I like it.” In fact, it isn’t to say “Drink wine,” at all. If someone says to me “I don’t drink wine,” I would never say to them, “Oh, but you should.”
It’s not my job to do anything other than guide readers in the direction of what wines are well-made, quality products at all price levels, and what wines they may like. Writing for the British wine magazine, Decanter, I’ve had to give star ratings before, but I also had 50 words or so to describe the wine so readers could decide whether it was to their taste. If you don’t do that, what’s the point?
Another thing Kermit said was, “Maybe someday there will be lots of wine critics out there instead of just a few being so popular. I would love to see that.” So would I, and I think the blogosphere is contributing to that future.
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