Appellation Feiring http://WWW.alicefeiring.com/ What am I looking for in wine?

I'm looking for the Leon Trotskys, the Philip Roths, the Chaucers and the Edith Whartons of the wine world. I want my wines to tell a good story. I want them natural and most of all, like my dear friends, I want them to speak the truth even if we argue. With this messiah thing going on, I'm trying to swell the ranks of those who love the differences in each vintage, who abhor homogenization, who want wines that make them smile, think, laugh,and feel sexy. For better or worse, it seems as if I am a wine cop traversing the earth, writing and speaking my mind, drinking and recommending wines that are honest.

Please check in frequently for news of my latest travels, travel, wine tips and rants.

]]> en-us barolasbooks@aol.com Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:03:28 +0000 This Present Arrived Today http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AppellationFeiring/~3/ee9ab-y9LEg/this_present_ar.html Thanks, Andre!... http://WWW.alicefeiring.com/feiringsquad/this_present_ar.html Natural Wines: Ain't for Everyone http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AppellationFeiring/~3/RYPN5wSSmaI/natural_wines_a_2.html DBGB, the new Daniel Boulud 'gastropub' just opened around the corner from me. I had no idea it was coming. While in construction, I was so confused by it's outside design, I thought we were getting a new supermarket. Stuck into the ground floor of an apartment complex, the design choice is industrial, but to me, faux. However, the wine list selected and tuned by Colin Alveras is real. Sweet Colin, most recently, was the chef/owner of the (RIP) The Tasting Room, championed many American wines, the reason I couldn't show up happily at his restaurants. Now, he's embraced French and natural--nothing but grapes kind of wine with minimal intervention. Except for a few exceptions (such as the remarkably priced 1.2 bottle of Krug, priced at a mere $60) his list is packed with selections from Louis/Dressner, Jenny & Francois and Savio Soares. The conventional drinker might be challenged, especially if they want Big and Napa. These are the wines that burn through the lists at 10 Bells, Marlowe & Sons, made the defunct 360 and Bette destinations but at DBGB? >> I was finishing up my own 2007 Luneau Papin ($7!) when I saw a bottle of Dard &... http://WWW.alicefeiring.com/feiringsquad/misc/natural_wines_a_2.html Morgon de Provence http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AppellationFeiring/~3/r2SiCKKkeDg/morgon_de_prove.html Who knew? So last night I was having a glass of Krug at Freeman's, you know, that pretty sexy restaurant down an alley on the Lower East Side? They are selling Krug BTG at $30, and my friend I was meeting said, what the hell. We ordered two glasses. The news is that the champagne is greatly diminished. Totally unspectacular. The sulfur went directly to the front of my face. The wine, served from 1/2 bottles, had an aggressive bubble, metallic flavor and smelled dirty on the nose. Gone was the cream, bisque and lime-like acidity. Gone was the richness. It could have been Yellow Label. In the middle of missing the Krug of yore I'm looking over the wine list, really not bad! There's plenty to drink and the prices aren't vulgar. I see under Provence Reds....2006 Foillard Morgon Cote de Py. Never my favorite, but it's an intersting expression and I applaud the choice to have a Py at all. I ask the adorable bartender (who's birthday is Monday, July 6th, as I overheard), who wrote the list. She does. 'It's lovely,' I said. I was not being coy. I meant the compliment. 'Thank you,' says she. 'But... http://WWW.alicefeiring.com/feiringsquad/misc/morgon_de_prove.html Montesquieu? A lulu. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AppellationFeiring/~3/G4SSKOGfF1g/_montesquieu_bu.html A while back, you know, I can't remember, last month? I get a call from a very, very perky woman in Florida, I think she said that's where she was. She's acting like my new best friend. 'I got your name' .....hell...I can't remember where she got my name, at a cognac dinner? So I'm nice to her. She asks me about the kind of wines I drink and starts to pitch me on a cabernet. I'm a little slow on the uptake and I tell her she should probably read my book before she starts to pitch to me. 'I'll buy your book but you go to the website.' So I do and it's an e-tailer. We're still on the phone and I add, 'You'll find out if you do your research that I hate the word handcrafted when it comes to wine.' 'Great!' she says. I think she's a publicist. It never really occurs to me that she's out to fleece a red haired sheep. Just now, I see Out of Area on my caller ID. I'm expecting France. I get Florida. She reminds me. 'Hey! I read your book and I think I have a wine for... http://WWW.alicefeiring.com/feiringsquad/wine/_montesquieu_bu.html 31 Days of Natural Wines http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AppellationFeiring/~3/rSjmvNvoAno/31_days_of_natu.html Today, it's my turn up on Cory Cartwright's series, 31 Days of Natural Wines. Oddly enough, he asked me to this right after my rant out about writing for free. But, this was for the cause, and it is an idea that is generous and giving and wish I had thought it up myself. I don't know who else he's up his sleeve as participants, but so far he's contributed as well as Jeremy Parzen and Tracie B. And next up, me. For my readers? Fatigue alert: this is a reconfiguring of my Muscadet post of two weeks ago. What can I say? It is the season, after all. Saignee's site... http://WWW.alicefeiring.com/feiringsquad/misc/31_days_of_natu.html Gemischter Satz mit Schlag http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AppellationFeiring/~3/ybJ8U3swvok/_gemischter_sat_1.html Vienna has more than schlag, it has terroir. In fact the snow covered Alps stops at the Danube. It's almost like the mountain range gave a last burb and out of it emerged three defiant mounds of rock and loess. Kahlenberg, Nussberg and Bisamberg are just outside of city limits. Cool, no? 1400 of acres of vines, a third of the acreage of Long Island, are in pitching distance of the thriving city of Vienna, home of the Sacher Torte, home to Freud's favorite cafe and home to some of the best of Josef Hoffman's designs. It serves to reason that the end of the Alps has got to have something special down under. And it deserves respect. But driving through the vines I saw farming that made Champagne look biodynamic. Yes, it was that bad. Except of course for the exceptions. Perhaps because he's in biodynamic conversion, Wein winemaker Fritz Wieninger, has become a mentor to fledgling winemakers wanting to go chemical free. Part of this reawakening is a reinvigoration of a white field blend called Gemischter Satz. This GS, has always been the local glug of choice, especially in those Heurigens (those winery restaurants where schnitzel and GS... http://WWW.alicefeiring.com/feiringsquad/misc/_gemischter_sat_1.html A Quiet Refuge http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AppellationFeiring/~3/8vv-qqgXf-U/a_refuge_on_cli.html My friend Lisa Donoughe, a brilliant publicist/strategist and the creator of the Portland Indie Wine Festival wanted to see a natural wine bar in action. So we were off to the Lower East Side. TEN BELLS The mysterious, dark restaurant was particularly bacony and garlicky on Thursday night but after an hour, the noise and the their- elbow- in- the -gut -because -the- louts -in- back- of -us- had -no -spatial- sense got, the better of us. We slurped back some delicious gamay from Christian Venier (Savio Soares, importer) and snuck in a little guerilla questioning to the young woman who asked for the VdT why she was here. "Because this guy I'm meeting suggested it. I think he knows I like organic." Then she asked, "What's a natural wine?" I'm sure no one on Thursday night ( except Jorge who was working his ass off, could have answered that question). But you know what? Even though I couldn't tolerate the noise, I love it that the place was packed with people who didn't know how good they had it, yet were knocking back. Just as we escaped, I heard the string bean in back of me say, "I can't... http://WWW.alicefeiring.com/feiringsquad/misc/a_refuge_on_cli.html Last Domaine de la Pepiere Muscadet Moment in Paris http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AppellationFeiring/~3/EC_FFljpeRo/last_domaine_pe.html It happens; the wrinkle in the brain, the wrinkle in the heart, the moment when I question my life connections. Even though I have spent almost two decades being pulled into a fermenting vortex there are those moments when I wonder if I bored with wine. And so it was on this last trip, I often did wonder. Austria was stormy. Weather continued into Paris. On my last afternoon, after a exhibition on war time fashion at the Musee de la Resistance, I picked up my dense loaf of pain seigle from Poilane. I purchased cheese from ABM to munch when I arrived in New York City. On the Rue Dufour, the last cloud over the city dumped a reservoir of rain on me. Then as if apologizing, that same sprite flipped the switch on the sun. My feet suddenly dry, my hair properly frizzed out, and I was spit out like Jonah, right in the mouth of Fish, the wine bistro on Rue de Seine. Sitting at the bar. I ordered a salad to fortify me for the flight home. Knowing I would be drink challenged on that flight, I chose my wine. When I saw the 2008... http://WWW.alicefeiring.com/feiringsquad/wine/last_domaine_pe.html Words of Wisdom From A Bud http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AppellationFeiring/~3/tbh7elgbaOs/words_of_wisdom.html I was bitching to Jon Bonne about requests from magazines --you know the Hachette's, G&J's, the NYT's of the world--who ask me to contribute to their site for the 'exposure' instead of pay. He wrote, "As I've been saying for a while now: blogs didn't kill journalism. blogs killed writing. The art of writing is now essentially fully devalued. It's a hobby." Think of it before you jump all over us. The popularity of the blog has reduced writing to a 500-word postage stamp norm, and usually given away for free. For free. Free, the industry standard. While a digest of words can be a fun exercise in craft, the indulgence the 2000- to 5000 word article was nirvana. Yes, the fee was great, but the process was the thrill and one that we exercised our chops for. And often took a pledge of borderline poverty before, because it was worth it. But now borderline is the real thing. Words and writers are no longer valued. Is it because of the blog? Oh no. For sure. But now the expectation is words are free.. I get a few requests a week for categories and topics readers would like to see... http://WWW.alicefeiring.com/feiringsquad/misc/words_of_wisdom.html Austria First Impressions http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AppellationFeiring/~3/2VFCdASYNSA/austria_first_i.html I was warned that Austria was melancholic. Maybe that's why I felt so good there. Now, sitting in my friend's kitchen under a skylight, near the Canal St. Martin and contemplating the blur. I wanted to bring you along with almost live blogging but was thwarted by disconnectivity that plagued me. Where others might come to find truth in schnitzel and Gruner, I was #1: going to plumb the depths of the new Gemischter Satz craze, drenching the city. #2: tag along with Terry Thiese (Austrian Wine Board). #3: pay homage to Albert Loos, Josef Hoffman and general Austrian style. Saturday after soaking in the Hoffman and a terrific chair exhibit at MAK (applied art museum) I was supposed to meet the Austrian Wine Councils Director for lunch at The Milk Bar After realizing I was being stood up, I succumbed and had a glass of Jamek Gruner 2007, a delicious plate of cheese and then snuck into the Herren room to click this image of a great looking urinal which seems to have been modeled after huttes, those strap-on grape picking baskets.... http://WWW.alicefeiring.com/feiringsquad/misc/austria_first_i.html eRobertParker.com, Constellation Brands and me http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AppellationFeiring/~3/wqnfLPBmSkI/erobertparkerco.html In a furious act of synchronicity, just prior to a tasting the wine line up at Nigl, groundbreaking news about me putting in a bid to purchase the Wine Advocate We Want You Back at eRobertParker.com We're sorry to have lost you as a subscriber to eRobertParker.com. Perhaps, with everything that's going on in the world, you've just overlooked renewing. These days we're all focused on careful spending so the information on eRobertParker.com is more important than ever to fine wine lovers. +++ (for those who aren't aware of my history, I was booted from the boards because, well, just because.)... http://WWW.alicefeiring.com/feiringsquad/misc/erobertparkerco.html Coming Back Soon http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AppellationFeiring/~3/3_hvrzWAPZY/coming_back_soo_1.html Sorry for radio silence. In Austria and off the grid.... http://WWW.alicefeiring.com/feiringsquad/misc/coming_back_soo_1.html Favorite Wine Shops That Jive With Appellation Feiring? http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AppellationFeiring/~3/dPrjzcBB2B8/what_are_your_f.html Oh readers, in near and far flung territories! We don't all live in the Bay Area, Boston or New York. What about the foreign territories? What about Iowa, Montana, Florida, Nebraska, N. Carolina, Maine. What happens if you want to drink the wines you read about here but live there? What are favorite stores and why and please and thank you why would I love them too? and if you say Trader Joes you must tell me some terrific score that is adjunct free, or lose all credibility... http://WWW.alicefeiring.com/feiringsquad/wine/what_are_your_f.html Are New York Wine lists Being Penny Wise and Pound Foolish? http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AppellationFeiring/~3/c84puJW4W1g/the_economy_and.html I headed to the Powerhouse Arena book store to hear a round table with Michael Steinberger David Kamp and David Lynch and Benjamin Wallace Jenny Lefcourt was there pouring her From the Tank, which were showing their pretty colors. Lynch posed a question to Steinberger, "Why do most Parisian restaurant wine lists suck? he asked. He then inferred that the lists in NYC are so much better. Like an antsy kid in the rear of the class who had the right answer, it was hard to refrain from piping up. I kept quiet but thought, "Don't eat out in NYC or travel to Paris much, do you?" Lynch has been caught up with beverage directing at the likes of Babbo and John Dory and intimately linked with Italian wines so his mystification by the French seems understandable, though misconceived. To Steinberger's credit (always to Slate Mike's credit, one smart cookie), he told how beer slingers are often contracted to supply the wine as well. Hence, crap. He also reflected that America has surpassed the French with wine interest and connoisseurship. Agreed there. In France the cultural drinking paradigm is---if it's Bordeaux, it's class not crass. But New York City... http://WWW.alicefeiring.com/feiringsquad/wine-cop/the_economy_and.html Savio Soares Tasting http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AppellationFeiring/~3/qsW6kZEDkuM/savio_soares_ta.html How is it possible that Savio Soares and I had never met? Everyone in the wine world in NYC was buzzing about this portfolio. But, did I know who he was? No. All was fixed at a dinner, instigated by The Brooklyn Guy Upon entry to il Buco, I spied a familiar looking, bespectacled man sitting with Neil. "You're Savio?" I asked. "You live here?" he exclaimed. "I thought you were married to a French winemaker." Over the past few years we saw each other over in France, in a crush of tasters at tastings and made plenty of assumptions, all untrue. I am not married to a French winemaker (though open to the possibility). He on the other hand is Brazilian born and bounces between New York City and his wife and son in Germany, and of course European tastings and is one of the newish importers not afraid of picking up vin naturel. But plenty of his wines are true. We had some terrific wines that night and then last week, he staged a tasting at Wined Up, one of the oddest names ever for a wine bar. (on Broadway in the Flatiron district of NYC) One smart... http://WWW.alicefeiring.com/feiringsquad/trade-tasting-reports/savio_soares_ta.html