The Virtues of Moscato d'Asti

Autumn may not be the time to go on espousing the virtues of Moscato d’Asti but I am going to do it anyway (rebel!). Moscato d’Asti is that light, fizzy, peachy elixir that is the relative black sheep of the family of wines that come from Piedmont, Italy. It is not a wine to ponder but to sip (hey, you can guzzle it – it’s got about the same % alcohol as beer). It works nicely as a light aperitif or as a dessert wine for those people who are just not crazy about Port and want something refreshing and slightly sweet at the end of a meal.

Moscato d’Asti comes to mind for a few reasons. First, I just purchased a few bottles of Spinetta Moscato d'Asti from Taylor, who recently acquired a case of the good stuff. Second, my mother was just in town and, let me just tell you, moms love the stuff! Third, and most imminent, I am about to embark on my annual “Syracuse Girls Weekend” with 10 of my best friends from college. As you might imagine, vino girl is in charge of the wine for the weekend and I like to keep alcohol intake (we are not in college anymore folks!) as well as price, in mind. I used to fret over what wine to bring but have learned that as long as there is something to hold and sip in between the incessant chatter and gossip, everyone is more than happy. Enter Moscato d’Asti.

Although completely out of the scope of Bordeaux varietals, Spinetta is our Moscato d’Asti of choice at Bon Vivant. It is lip-smacking, thirst-quenching and easy drinking -- not overly sweet and cloying like some other Moscato d’Asti's can be. It may more readily conjure up images of lawn chairs and balmy weather versus cozy sweaters and Autumn leaves but at about $15 and 5.5% alcohol, your friends will thank you whatever the season.

The New New Thing

As many you are aware, our favored Bordeaux grape varieties have fallen slightly out of favor with the current crop of California loving wine geeks. California pinot and syrah are the current flavors of the month and they show no signs of letting up. Was this a reaction to Sideways? Perhaps. More likely, I feel that sky high Napa Cab prices have driven consumers of quality wine to find alternative sources to get their fix. It also doesn’t hurt to be leading the trend and rubbing it in your friend’s face that you made a mailing list he missed, and oh... does he want to split YOUR allocation? (yeah, wine buyers can be a funny sort) That pettiness aside it is clear that wine enthusiasts are always on the look out for the next new thing so they can stay ahead of the curve. Buyers are fickle on the whole and like to feel special. Another Insignia is not going to cut it. I applaud everyone buying into the new pinot and syrah craze, but here I offer the NEW new thing.

During our extended California tasting trip, Jen and I had some crazy good Cab Franc. As you know we focus on the Bordeaux varietals with a heavy emphasis on Cab, Merlot and blends. There were many outstanding wines in the bunch, but during the trip it be came apparent to us that the most interesting and well priced wines were the Cab Franc mono-varietals and “right bank” blends. Virtually all were priced reasonably due to the relatively unfashionable Cab Franc grape used. Hold on, I know what you’re thinking--a mouth full of green pepper and weed. To that I say, this not your father’s Cab Franc. The green pepper flavored Cab Franc of the Loire Valley and elsewhere have nothing in common with what California can do with the grape in the hands of good producer.

They can get some serious ripeness in that valley and it makes all the difference. The wines are a touch spicy with ripe round fruit and interesting depth. These Francs had tons of character and interest. And let me tell you after tasting a bazillion wines that is a big factor in making a wine enjoyable. So drink up!

Oh and get them before you friend does.

Ahhh...to drink again in peace.

Just a quick post and probably not what you are thinking. No political commentary here.

Last night I sat down had some vino with some friends after a theater screening of "The Godfather" (friggin awesome- as always). However, what was truly awesome was catching a late night dinner after the movie and drinking some no name right banker while chatting and taking it all in.

No notes. No reviews. No grades. No thinking. Just me, some friends and a good bottle (thankfully). I don't get a chance to take it down a notch as much as I would like, especially since we are in high gear with our impending launch, so it was nice to just enjoy the wine and the company with out too much thinking. I implore everyone like me to do the same.

Go ahead, put down the wine list. Just put it down and let someone else pick the wine the next time you are out. You know who you are. Then don't worry about it. Drink it with dinner. Shhhhh....don't talk about it. No really. It's okay. Talk with you friends about something that is not wine related.

It's cathartic and you will thank me.

That being said... don't worry troops, I am not off the work wagon completely. I am back in the saddle over the next couple of weeks with a bevy of tastings for the site including a great Ausone vertical to 1949.

Drink up!

Would You Like A Zin With That?

It has been quite a while since I actually enjoyed drinking Zinfandel. So, when I recently discovered three Zins that I found pleasurable to drink (with food in fact) I thought I should share.

In recent years I found most Zinfandels weighed down with alcohol and overripe fruit. Zin, to me, became the kind of wine that does not match well with food but with which food is absolutely necessary if you don’t want to fall on your face from drinking it. My opinion of Zinfandel has subsequently been swayed by three exceptionally balanced bottles with both alcohol and price in check.

The three Zinfandel producers recommended below may not be for the Turley crowd, but if you enjoy a lusciously jammy and spicy wine that pairs brilliantly with grilled meats, BBQ, and such appetizers as, say, figs wrapped in bacon you will not be disappointed. Keep in mind that 2003 and 2001 were the best recent vintages for Zinfandel but other current vintages were rated above average as well. I have not noted specific vintages below as I suggest you try what you can find out in the market today.

The Zins

Bald Mountain Zinfandel
California, Napa
The wine is full of soft, juicy berries and has an alluringly silky texture. Not to be taken too seriously, this is a fun bottle of wine with just the right amount of spice and vanilla to complement the jammy fruit. Great with food, especially the bacon wrapped figs mentioned earlier, the wine sells for approximately $27 retail.

Downing Family Fly by Night Zinfandel
California, Napa, Oakville
A Zin from Cab Country, the grapes are organically farmed from a single vineyard. Interestingly, Downing Family has bottled Fly by Night with both cork and Stelvin screw cap closures since the 2000 vintage. A beautiful wine with succulent acidity and ripe berry flavors along with chocolate and mineral notes. The wine has impressive intensity and balance and is a steal at about $20 retail.

The Terraces Zinfandel
California, Napa, Rutherford
This small production Zin has a marked spiciness which harmonizes nicely with the luscious berry fruit. As the wine opens up it shows vanilla and chocolate along with red berry jam. Nicely layered with great balance and a long finish, this is a great “go to” Zin at about $25 a bottle.

Posted by vino girl a

A Toast to a Great Burgundian

I realize I am a claret monkey, but a glass must be raised nonetheless...

Famed Burgundy winemaker Henri Jayer died this past Friday at age 84 as reported in the NY Times. There is a little I can say that hasn't already been said in the article or on Mr. Parker's bulliten board.

So, here's a shout out to all the untrained vineyard workers (and wine writers) with a dream! Sotheby's has Jayer's 1978 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parentoux (the wine that put him on the map) estimated at $5,000 per bottle with only 3,500 bottles made per vintage.

Buyer's take note: In this winemonkey's humble opinion, while the 1978 is historically significant and would grace any cellar, the smart money is going to be on the 1997 1er Cru Cros Parentoux Reserve. This was the first vintage of the "reserve."

When Henri turned over the operation to his nephew-in-law Emmanuel Rouget in 1996, he kept 1/3rd of Cros Parantoux for himself . In 1997 he bottled 1400 bottles of Henri Jayer Cros Parantoux Reserve and only did this from 1997 until 2001.

Gary Danko has a 2000 on the wine list for $2,200 and to give you all some perspective on how important Henri was, they have the 2000 Vosne-Romanée Grand Cru, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche for a mere $1,000.

Drink up and dream!

Blogs versus Magazines

I just finished reading Alder Yarrow's post about Wine Spectator finally acknowledging the existence of wine blogs, apparently the first time a major wine magazine has done so. The post got me thinking about the relationship between blogs and major wine magazines as it concerns the wine loving population (this means you).

I personally believe that wine blogs are a complement to major magazine wine coverage and not, as one might think, the competition. Advertising departments at the major wine rags might disagree with me (just read the business section -- networks of blogs are bringing in some serious ad dollars these days) but editorially speaking they can’t compete.

Consider this; most wine bloggers (even good ol’ Spectator’s bloggers) discuss wines they have tried recently, wine regions they have visited of late or “controversial” topics such as screw caps and box wines. Although wine magazines certainly touch upon these same things, there is more of an obligation to the reader on their part to cover the entire world of wine (or the region or regions they focus on) versus just writing about the great wine they drank at home in their pajamas.

I disagree with Kramer from Spectator that most blogs deliberate about unapproachable wines with miniscule case productions (that is more a fault of those supercilious wine bulletin boards out there). A reader just might find interesting suggestions on what to purchase by hopping around from one wine blog to another on any given day.

The difference is that blogs are streams of consciousness whereas the major magazines are (for the most part) well thought out publications written by professionals that will ultimately do more to further a reader’s knowledge. The problem with most blogs lays in the fact that someone’s “best wine EVER” is the next person’s slog. I find it akin to using tripadvisor.com (user generated hotel reviews) to plan a vacation. Three separate tripadvisor members who stayed at the same hotel at the same time reviewed their stay in three completely different ways. Reviewer #1 says “this is a house befitting heaven”, while reviewer #2 was not as impressed stating “ok, but nothing special” and, finally, reviewer #3 rants that “this is a disappointing second rate rip-off”. The same principal applies to wine.

Chances are you will consider this entire post ridiculously self serving since (a) I obviously have a blog and (b) I plan on having an online wine magazine published in the not so distant future. Be that as it may, I would love to hear what you have to say. Consider this my disclaimer.

Fallen Star

Unlike my Bon Vivant partner, Taylor Senatore, I did not make the cut as a semi-finalist for the new PBS reality series "The Winemakers" scheduled to air next Fall. I suppose I should be upset at blowing my chance to be big star — well, as big a star as you can be on PBS anyway.

The reality of it (no pun intended) is that I never thought I would make the cut in the first place. I just wasn’t interesting enough at the casting call and now I don’t have to worry about whether America would have loved me or hated me.

Part of me looks back at the casting call and makes excuses for my weak performance. At the end of the day, however, I think I will be much happier watching Taylor strut his stuff from my couch — feet up, wine glass in hand.

I wish you luck from my fallen star, Taylor. Just remember, pocket squares may be unacceptable on the bottling line!

A mess of a tasting

My partner in crime, Jennifer Frank, recently went on a trade tasting rant that I feel I must follow-up by example. A certain un-named trade tasting attended today at a fairly famous midtown restaurant has got to be the worst of all tastings. It is a veritible circus of tasters, drunkards, waiters, sales people and suppliers. I can hear the three ring circus music playing right now. Dun-dun-dada da dun dun dada.

As we entered the painfully small space for such a large tasting, it became obvious that this was to be no ordinary tasting. A recent tasting on the westside by a leading and ultra-large distibutor was at least housed in a monsterous hanger (the NY bar exam is held there for God's sake) that could fully accomodate all of the suppliers, sales people and tasters with ease. Thankfully, (and hopefully thoughfully) the liquor suppliers and their "airport bar" comedy show were pushed to the end of the space. This allowed all of the super slick neon, HDTV setups and scantily clad women passing flavored shots to show themselves in all their glory with out running into any hardcore wine tasters.

Sadly, this was not the case today. As we look at probably the WORST designed tasting book on the planet, we sigh in disbelief. Set-up by supplier with no index or brand/table crossrefrencing it becomes a useless paperweight under my arm. Perhaps a weapon to use against the throng? Alas, I am non-violent. Now, picture your humble winemonkey pushing his way through the crowds of people, jostled left and jostled right, all in a feeble attempt to taste a couple of interesting bottles. I quickly grab and pour (which I am thankful for-- it is always easier to pour yourself) begin my note and take a taste. Suddenly the horror begins. Where the hell is the friggin' spit bucket? You have got to be kidding me. Oh no, you... have... got... to be kidding me! Yes, a table away and full to the gills sits the closest spit bucket. I ignore the comments of a fellow taster who emphatically tells her collegue "Let's just do shots of liquor" and make my way through a second throng of people to reach my destination. What a nightmare. Eventually, the shift was made to spitting into a second cup because clearly I don't have enough to carry-- only a book larger than bible in one hand and my wine glass in the other.

This second spit cup scenario, however, ended up in another catastrophe that I will have to save for another post.

Finally, I will not comment on the quality (or lack thereof) of the suppliers. They are, in fact, pouring free product to everyone there and that is a lot of free booze going down the drain for them. I also will not comment on the rude waiter gestapo (yeah let's add more people on the floor) running back and forth. They are as fed up with us as we are with us. I will however comment on the food. The food-- oh the food. Plates and plates of aspargus as far as the eye can see. Albeit a nicer overall spread with all sorts of bites if you could make your way there to wait ten deep in line. But, people please STOP SERVING ASPARAGUS. Do you want your wine to show poorly? Are you throwing down the gauntlet and saying your wine can stand up to asparagus any day and twice on Sunday? Do you have that much hubris? Oh unnamed distributor, you and your asparagus fly too close to the sun.

Sadly, we were beaten today. Every wine we made a break for was either not being shown or missing in the morass. I don't think we will be making the trek back to this particular tasting next year. But don't cry for me Argentina, as I write this I am preparing to sally forth yet again to another tasting.

Bring on the asparagus.

A Paramount Mess

Funny that I was blogging about Fall tasting season just yesterday when today I happened to attend the worst trade tasting of them all. One of the country’s largest wine & spirits wholesalers held their event today and I can safely say it has become the poster child for what is wrong with trade tastings. Everything about the event was a gigantic disaster.

For a more colorful account of the spectacle, please see Taylor Senatore’s piercingly accurate rant. I add my overall assessment below…

For starters, there was no rhyme or reason to how the tasting was set up making it virtually impossible to find any of the brands you might want to try. The floor was a maze of tables and the few signs were like cruel jokes pointing you in the wrong direction. On top of that, the room was entirely too small for the amount of people and brands that were crammed into it, causing pushing and shoving and general disorder.

There was at best one spit bucket for every two tables of wines/spirits, seemingly because two thirds of the attendees were more interested in getting liquored up than tasting the wines professionally. For many attendees, the wines seemed to take a back seat to the buffet, at which the notorious asparagus was omnipresent.

Attendees who were not loaded all seemed to have the same look of anguish across their faces and, among likeminded professionals, eye rolls and exasperated sighs were exchanged while weaving through the crowds. All in all it felt a little bit like a high school dance where all the kids were pushing and shoving to try and get to the one spiked bowl of punch.

To top it all off, we did not find one exceptional wine in the whole bunch. That is not necessarily to say that this particular wholesaler does not carry any outstanding wines, just that one might need the navigational skills of Magellan and the patience of a saint to find one. Never again. Never ever again.

The Wine Makers

So, the latest big news is that yours truly has made it as far a the semi-final round in a new reality show to air on PBS in the Fall of 2007 called the Wine Makers. I'll be sure to let you all know if I make the finals and get some air time!

I am, however, a little hesitant in moving on. The last thing I or our publication needs is for me to be portrayed as the Omarosa or that sommelier from Top Chef. At least, I feel a little bit better that it is running on PBS. But as they say, the only bad press is no press. So you all better watch out as I strut my stuff for all the world to see.

Information on the show can be found at The Wine Makers.

Trade Tastings - 'Tis The Season

Trade tastings range from relatively small displays in the distributor’s offices with some cheese and palate-cleansing crackers, to overblown events with rows and rows of wines and booze, big screen televisions pumping club music, “booth babes” in tight black dresses, and food spreads like you have only seen at your second cousin’s fourth wedding.

I am here to tell you that tasting season is anything but fun. I know what you are thinking. “Oh, cry me a river. You have to taste wine and eat food for free all day for a living. Rough life". Sure, on the surface you might think that attending a trade tasting is a dream day at work but I hereby challenge anyone to try it for a week and then dare to disagree with me.

I am not going to try and convince you that tasting season does not have its highlights and benefits such as discovering new wines, re-tasting old (and pricey!) favorites and, in some cases, having the opportunity to speak to winemakers in person about their brand or brands. In order to fully appreciate the highlights, however, you should first be aware of the lowlights.

The Purple Teeth Effect. Tasting hundreds of wines a day (and I am actually talking about tasting and spitting — not drinking) will inevitably give you purple teeth, a feeble buzz, a horrible taste in your mouth and a dull headache later in the day.

Liquid Lunch. Tastings generally begin around lunchtime and run through early evening. The food available at the tastings is generally not enough (the requisite cheese and crackers), too clumsy (picture a long line of tasters piling crab cakes, cheese tortellini and lamb chops on to one small plate) or completely inappropriate (it still blows my mind that so called wine experts will put asparagus, artichokes and vinaigrette dressing — the holy trinity of notorious wine killers — out on the buffet table).

Pourers Anonymous. Pourers can be annoying. Some pourers are jus plain oblivious (just let me pour my own wine then, please), overzealous (you will never get to the other 200 wines at the tasting if they keep babbling on incoherently about their wines) or just plain stupid (when someone suggests that a wine on the table is corked, they are most likely not doing it to piss off the pourer but to let them know that the wine is not showing well. Save the BS and open another bottle.).

Splash Buckets. Spitting wine isn’t pretty to begin with and the last thing you need to see is a dangerously full spit bucket. Spit buckets are an essential element of the serious trade tasting but they are all too often hiding behind wine bottles, being blocked by annoying “belly up to the bar” tasters, nonexistent when wineries think their product is just too good to spit, or painfully full.

Wine Overkill. Tastings can be overwhelming. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of wines on display will not help brands stand out but instead will tend to blur them together in one incoherent grapey mess. In our estimation, it is physically impossible to taste more than 60 or 70 wines in one day (and that is stretching it) and assess them accurately.

You may still think that attending a trade tasting sounds like a lot of fun but, hey, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Oh, and did I mention that when the day is through and you have brushed the purple stains off of your teeth and tongue that you have to think about waking up and doing it all over again? Sweet dreams and happy tastings!

As anyone in the wine industry will tell you, we are in the midst of “Fall tasting season." This is when most of the big wine importers/distributors show off their portfolio of wines in an effort to get potential buyers to place an order. There is also a “Spring tasting season” which operates under the same premise that these exhibitions will increase orders or, or at the very least, boost interest in the wines.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave...

First off, has it been over a month since my last post? I would expect some cobwebs around here. My apologies but the real work must get done. (On a sidenote: the website is coming along quite nicely. sooooo close. oh... soooo close.) We had about two and half weeks in Napa meeting and greeting some wonderful people. Most of whom seemed genuinely interested in our work. Which, of course, brings me to the point of the article.

As serious wine critics, we decided at the outset to not accept any adverstising within our publication. Our business model is based on a subscriber base and we felt it was important to remain as objective as possible when reviewing wines.

It has come to my attention, through an interesting read, that the Wine Enthusiast (aka WS jr.) accepts label adverstisements in their buying guide. No this is not "stop the presses!" type of information for sure. This is also not to say that wine magazine advertising doesn't have its place. On the contrary, it generates revenue and keeps wine people working which is a good thing. On top of that, I think magazine readerships also come with a healthy dose of common sense when it comes to viewing the ads and the wine scores of those ads in a given issue.

No. My complaint is with the editorial aspect of buying guide feature pages. Label art connected to a review is almost always perceived as an added attraction to highlight a given wine FROM THE EDITORIAL SIDE. Label art, bottle shots, winemakers photos, etc are the province of editorial content creators not ads in disguise. I believe most readers think a the the magazine has highlighted a label because of some special quality the wine posses not because the magazine was slipped a couple of C-notes. First by not explaining this attribute of their guide, there is more than just an appearance of improriety. By selling this space, they have pulled the wool over the consumers eyes and have become the mouth piece of the industry, shilling for dollars and not bringing to the reader true objectivity.

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Hopefully more updates and no cobwebs come.