mydailywine

Thanksgiving Wine Picks: Organic Wines & Biodynamic Wines

2009-11-06T10:21:00.000-08:00

If you want to taste some stellar wines that were made with organic and biodynamic grapes, here is my quick list for Thanksgiving wine choices:

Sparkling Wines:

Domaine Carneros Brut Cuvee 2005 $26 (widely available)
Aroma: Honeysuckle and toasted nuts. Flavors: Pear compote and lemon custard. A perfect match for slightly spicy asian foods or a cheese and fruit platter.Varietal blend:64% pinot noir, 34% chardonnay and 2% pinot blanc.
Made from organically grown grapes.

Tarantas Cava 2008 $13.99 (ask for it at Wholefoods)
The Tarantas Cava is full of apple fritter aromas with a touch of cinnamon and has a dry, refreshing finish. Gorgeous bubbles and low alcohol make this a perfect celebratory aperitif at week's end. Made with organically grown grapes.

White Wine:

Weingut Zahel Riesling 2008 $19.99 (buy it online here or ask your local retailer)
Gorgeous citrus fruits with a touch of honeysuckle aromas. Lovely fruit to match your turkey but dry, minerally finish. Very refreshing acids. NY Times writes about these Austrian wines here. Zahel practices a mix of organic and biodynamic farming, although they do not use copper sulphate as many biodynamic farmers do.

Rose Wine:

Edmunds St John Bone Jolly Gamay Noir Rose 2008 $15 (ask your retailer or call here)
Count yourself among the blessed if you can score a bottle of this delicious California rose wine. I used to sell it as a wine wholesale rep in Texas and we could never get enough. Gorgeous flavors of strawberries and citrus fruits. Crisp, dry finish. A quintessential Thanksgiving wine. Grapes are from practicing organic vineyards and have no commercial yeasts added.

Red Wine:

Cooper Mountain Pinot Noir Reserve 2007 $25
The Cooper Mountain Pinot Noir 2007 Reserve is an excellent, change all your preconceptions about domestic Pinot Noir, wine drinking experience.
Delicious cherry aromas with a bit of smoke and earth. Nice touch of mushroom. Gorgeous ruby color. Certifed biodynamic.

*all of the above were recieved as samples, except the Edmunds St. John wine

In Their Own Words:What Wine Buyers Want Now

2009-10-30T10:37:00.000-07:00

There is much talk about which wines consumers are buying and this is of great interest to me. But just as telling is which wines the wine trade buyers are purchasing.
Consumers are likely to being making their decisions based on what is offered to them at their local wine store or restaurant.
Rather than make any sweeping generalizations or assumptions, I decided to reach out to a few wine buyers who purchase for some highly respected venues, both restaurants and retail shops.
You will see from their thoughtful answers that there is no one secret to success for wine sales. The one unifying theme I saw was passion. All of the people quoted below are clearly wine lovers, in addition to being wine professionals.

"I like to buy wines that I would enjoy in my own home. They should have elegance, balance, finesse, authenticity, typicity and value. Value at any price level is paramount in this economy. Ego-driven, trophy wines are so passe! Our customers are looking for wines that are delicious, have good table manners and don't require a second mortgage to acquire."
Lance Storer
Corporate Fine Wine Buyer
Centennial Fine Wine and Spirits
Texas

"1.quality of the wine - personality, terroir-driven, the wine has to tell me a story, to show me a landscape, etc. - to be multidimensional (multilayered, with acidity, bitterness, balanced, little tannins, etc.), the "buvabilité" - very little additives, natural, etc.

2.the price according to the quality - I want good quality wines affordable for everybody - it is very easy to create a grand award wine list if you have the money (it is just verticals of big names), it is harder to create a short list accessible to everybody"

Pascaline Lepeltier
Sommelière Executive
Rouge Tomate Group, Paris and New York

"On a list the size of ours, each wine needs to have a reason for being because for the most part I can't bring in duplicates of varietals or regions. As to how I decide, I start with my palate and sensibility, based on what pairs well with the food on our menu. Is it something that my guests will love even if I don't? (Malbec for example.) Is it something that I need to bring on because I have a hole in the list that needs to be filled? (currently Champagne) Is it something that is worth paying a bit extra for because of the name recognition that guests will pay extra for, even though equally good products exist at a lower cost? (Caymus, Molly Dooker)
In all honesty, though, proceeding this pragmatic process, are the combined factors of relationship and convenience. There are some reps and companies that I just really like working with."
Marisa Gierlich
Street Restaurant, Los Angeles

"I'm not trying to express myself through my wine list--I feel a bit like a
traveling ethnographer reporting on the interesting things I've seen. I am
always interested in tasting new wines from everywhere wine is made. That
said, I admit to being a biased taster with strong feelings about the wines
I love and the wines that I do not love. I only pour wines that I
love--perhaps this doesn't make me such a great business person, but I need
to feel passionate about the wines that I sell. I mostly drink old
world wine and that's what you'll find in the main at my place. I am madly in love with gamay so you'll always find a really good cru Beaujolais on my list, or something from Italy's val d'aosta, or Steve Edmund's Bone Jolly gamay. You'll typically find two or more wines from the south of France, a place where there's a lot of very
exciting winegrowing going on right now.

My list is organized by tasting profile rather than country. I like to offer
two or whites or roses that have fresh acidity, zingy wines that work great
as an aperitif, and on my list I have a heading right now for "Fresh and
zingy whites,". I will change up my list based on the headings I use. When I taste a new wine that I like I try to see how it can fit into one of the categories on my list.
I'm not dogmatic about it, however: the rubrics are there just to help me
stay focused.

I taste between 40 and 300 wines a week. Tasting wine makes me happy; I am
always pleased and interested to taste new wines from anywhere wine is made
(except prison--I draw the line at pruno). Oxidative winemaking is one of those doors--once I begin to"get" these wines I started falling for a constellation of other oxidative wines, e.g., starting with Amontillado sherry -> sur voile wines from the
Jura -> Madeira -> Amphora wines from Slovenia -> oxidative solera Banyuls,
& etc."
Lou Amdur
Lou's Wine Bar, Los Angeles

"There are several factors that I consider when selecting wines for K&L.
1. Relevance; i.e. does the wine represent a particular wine region or style for the areas that I am buying for:
For instance, I try to have a well rounded and thorough selection of wines from the Languedoc. Perhaps one or two from Pic St. Loup, Corbieres, Minervois, Limoux etc. If I taste a wine and I a) like it b) and feel that it will represent the category well, I will select it.

2. Price/quality ratio. These I consider to be workhorse wines. Although they do not need to necessarily express a tremendous sense of place or terroir, they need to represent an excellent quality price ratio. In addition, their flavor profile needs to be one that many customers will enjoy. An entry level cotes du rhone might be such a wine, or perhaps a picpoul de pinet from the Languedoc.

3. Vintage. More applicable to higher end and collectible wines. Certainly if a particular vintage is given high marks or highly praised, chances are I will go broader and deeper in my selections for that particular vintage.

4. Critics reviews. certainly help drive sales and most retailers greatly depend upon them to help drive sales.
If a particular wine receives high marks from say Robert Parker, Wine Spectator, Tanzer or the New York Times, this will highly influence my decision in purchasing the wine for the store.

5. Customers will often inquire about a particular wine and the possibility of me bringing it into the store.
Often, I will take them up on their suggestion and in fact do so, especially if it fits into criteria #1 above.
Two recent examples include: 2007 Clos Marie Jurancon Sec and the 2007 Domaine Sang de Cailloux Vacqueyras "Floureto"."

Mulan Chan-Randel AIWS
Rhone Valley & French Regional Wine Buyer
K&L Wine Merchants
638 4th Street
San Francisco, Ca 94107

Here are a few thoughts on how we decide on selections for our wine lists:
1. Menu
2. By the glass pours at various price points with both well recognized and obscure grape varietals
3. Pricing to value perception
4. The mix of product

Virginia Philip M.S.
Master Sommelier
The Breakers
One South County Road
Palm Beach, Florida

Online Wine Sales: Where's The Beef?

2009-10-25T12:55:00.000-07:00

Amazon Wine pulling the plug has been a major disappointment for many of us in the online wine business.
There is no doubt that they would have helped 'float the boat' for all online wine sales, even direct to consumer sales from the winery website.

Wine ecommerce has yet to hit critical mass yet. I believe it will relatively soon.
But the expense of doing wine business online has made it a slow sales channel for many companies thus far. Many wineries and online wine companies have not realized the level of sales they were expecting as of yet.

We have a few challenges to overcome in the online wine industry:
1. Most pressing is the state by state regulatory issues that Tom Wark has so eloquently addressed in his Fermentation blog post here. These unnecessary and expensive hurdles make it financially unfeasible for many online wine companies.

2. As of yet,there has not been widespread consumer adoption of online wine purchasing. This is one aspect I was counting on Amazon Wine to really lead the way on. People used to scoff at the idea of consumers buying books online. Now it is considered perfectly acceptable , if not preferable, for many readers.
Amazon also created a viable path for smaller publishers to get their books to consumers, especially when the chain bookstores refused to carry their titles.
Online sales channels are creating similar outlets for smaller wineries and importers, especially when large wholesalers refuse to represent artisanal wine producers.

3. Much of the wine trade has been pulled kicking and screaming into the online world over the past few years, both from a sales and marketing perspective. Wine wholesalers have fought against opening up trade barriers for online retailers across the states. Wineries have been slow to understand and maximize online sales channels, except those sales originating from their own websites. Local retailers only started shipping wine once their consumers continually requested the service.

Wine consumer demand will be the deciding factor in revolutionizing the online wine world, as well as accelerating online sales numbers (this is the beef).

In this way, online wine sales mirror the rise of organic wines in the past few years. This growing category was not heralded by the wine trade, the consumers kept asking for and are finally getting their request met with higher quality wines made with organic and biodynamic grapes.

Until that time, we are lucky to have a host of companies that continue to fight the good fight when it comes to online wine sales. These are a few of them:
Snooth
Inertia
VinTank
Wine Searcher
American Winery

Biodynamic Wine Goes Mainstream: One Winemaker's Journey

2009-10-19T18:08:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of meeting winemaker Antonio Bravo from Emiliana Winery today. There is quite a bit of online chatter about organic and biodynamic wines but I especially relish the opportunity to discuss these wines with the person who actually makes them.

Antonio made vast amounts of conventional wines for huge wine companies like Kendall Jackson in the past.Now he makes smaller quantities of certified organic and biodynamic wines for Emiliana. He started out with some healthy skepticism for biodynamic wine making but became a believer when he saw the grape quality. Not to mention the health of the vineyard workers and the vitality of the vineyards themselves.

But as a friend of Antonio's said,"Belief is for the priests". Antonio made it clear that his priority is to produce high quality wines in a responsible manner. And hopefully wines that are specific to Chile, wines that could not be mistaken for a Napa cabernet or an Australian shiraz. This is another reason that Antonio uses natural yeasts as much as possible.

These are wines I encourage you to seek out. Bright acidity, fresh fruit flavors and lovely spice (especially the carmeneres).

Emiliana produces four brands:

G is a red blend of carmenere, syrah, cabernet sauvignon and merlot.Certified biodynamic and made with natural yeasts. $90

Coyam is another red blend of syrah, merlot, carmenere, cabernet sauvignon, malbec and mourvedre. Certified biodynamic and made with natural yeasts. $30

Novas has several white wine and red wine blends. Made with certified organic grapes and a blend of natural and cultivated yeasts. $17

Natura is the entry level wine and has several varietal wines: chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon, carmenere and syrah. Made with certified organic grapes. $11

Behind the Wine series: Interview with wine importer, Jenny Lefcourt (Jenny & Francois Selections)

2009-10-14T18:12:00.000-07:00

Jenny & Francois Selections have a well-deserved cult following amongst astute wine lovers and wine trade alike. Jenny Lefcourt and Francois Ecot began importing wines from France in 2000. Their import portfolio focus is terroir driven wines that are grown organically and have minimal intervention in the cellar.

1. What were you doing before you founded Jenny & Francois Selections?

I was an academic. I did a PhD at Harvard in the French department and
taught literature, film and language in France and at Harvard as a
graduate student. I wrote my dissertation on 1920s and 1930s French
film. I spent a lot of time in the Paris archives doing research.
François was a jazz musician and tuned and restored accordions for a
living before going back to school for wine making in Beaune. And lots
of wine tastings for pleasure!

2. When did you become a wine importer and why?

We started our import company in 2000, so we will soon celebrate 10
years as importers! François and I were always going to wine
tastings, vineyards, wine shops, and it
occurred to us that maybe our love of natural wine could turn into our
jobs since we were both ready to move away from our
careers of the time. We see what we do as a political choice: when we
came to NY in the late 1990s, we didn't see any of the natural wines
we were drinking in France. We thought it would be great to introduce
Americans to the beautifully pure wines that we had grown to love and
that are a true expression of the multitude of terroirs, disappearing
varietals and traditions of France. We wanted to defend natural wines
in the world, against big industrial wines with no life, no
personality, no expression of "difference." We wanted to bring the
taste of the varied terroirs of France to the US in the form of these
pure, real, and revolutionary wines.
Francois did apprenticeships in many vineyards (with Hervé Souhaut, Thierry
Puzelat, and Thierry Allemand) to learn literally from the ground up
what wine and wine making is all about. There are very few importers
who have done the work to really understand what goes in to making
great wine.

3. What do enjoy most and least about being a wine importer?

I enjoy sharing wine with wonderful people. I have met so many great
people in the wine world and it is lovely to share great wine and food
and discussion, both in France and in the US. Putting my nose to a
wine and feeling that thrill of being overwhelmed by something pretty.
Least? Its no fun when a restaurant is doing badly to have to ask for money!

4. How do you and Francois decide which wines you will import?

Luckily we almost always agree! Mostly it is pretty instinctual. If we
find a beautiful wine that speaks to us, we
usually have a moment of "yes! this is it!

5. Please share one of your favorite food and wine pairings.

What is amazing is to be surprised that something works that you
wouldn't imagine could. We did a wine dinner at ICI restaurant in
Brooklyn a few years back with Domaine l'Anglore. They paired his
floral, magical Tavel with a tomato "tatin". When I looked at the menu
I couldn't imagine what that would be like, and it was one of those
pairings that made everything spectacularly pleasurable. It is always a pleasure
to work with great chefs who know wine well: The Farm on Adderley,
Roebling Tea Room, and In Vino have invented lovely pairings recently for wine dinners.

6. What makes you feel happy?

Harvest under the sun, and taking a break to sip something that smells
as good as the Autumn air.

Selling Wine: The Story vs The Score

2009-10-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

There is ongoing discussion and disagreement over wine critics scores and the subsequent effect on wine sales.
Most of us who work in the wine industry have varying levels of frustration about the score wars.

This frustration stems from the fact that we have so many amazing wines to sell that either haven't been scored or have received low scores from critics. Some of us passionately believe that these wines are in some cases superior to the 95 point wines.

We believe this because, like the wine critics, we taste many wines throughout our work week.Wine retailers, distributors and importers are constantly tasting and evaluating wines.

As Steve Heimoff, a wine writer/critic from Wine Enthusiast magazine, pointed out in a recent post on his blog , the higher the score, the more fruity and oaky the wine.

Steve Heimoff said,"Wines that score in the 90s tend to be bigger, riper and probably oakier than those in the 80s. That’s the way the system works."

I am pleased to hear such transparency from a wine critic. This same problem has been discussed within wine competition circles as well.
Fact is that when you taste dozens, often hundreds, of wine in one single sitting, your palate becomes fatigued. As a result, only big oak and fruit shine through.

But does that mean that if your wine is not big, ripe and oaky, you may as well not bother submitting it for review?

Thankfully, there has been a movement towards lighter, elegant, food-friendly wines in the past few years. Certainly the sommeliers and
independent wine shops that hand sell wines have helped grow the sales of these wines. Countless wine distributor reps, the often unfairly maligned workhorses of the wine trade, have told the stories of these wines and secured a place on the wine list or retail shelf as a result.

These are wines with a story. A story about the people who made the wine and why they made it, as well as about the place the wine was made.

Yes, there are certainly the retail accounts as well as wine consumers that base their buying decisions on critic scores alone.

But fortunately, I have found an equal number of trade buyers and consumers who are more interested in the wine's story and what food would pair well with it.

Austrian Wines: What To Drink Now

2009-10-04T15:01:00.000-07:00

Austrian wines have a well-deserved reputation amongst wine lovers for their food friendly attributes. They have great acidity, relatively low alcohol and are refreshing to drink during meals.

Restaurant sommeliers have been championing Austria's famous white wine, Gruner Veltliner, for many years. A few of Austria's lighter style red wines have gained attention as well, such as St. Laurent, Zweigelt and Blaufrankisch.

Paul Darcy and Carlo Huber, of darcy and huber selections, both grew up in Vienna. Although, they have been happy to see an increase in Austrian wines over the past few years, they still missed the wines their families drank in Vienna.

To sate their own longings, they decided to start importing wines themselves. This is a relatively new venture for them both and the wines are primarily available in New York at the moment. Although consumers can get their darcy and huber fix online here.

darcy and huber imports many wines but they have really hung their hat on Gemischter Satz, a traditional white wine blend from Vienna.

Not all of the wineries they import are certified organic or biodynamic, but most farm naturally and all are growing indigenous grape varietals.
Jutta Ambrositsch is a young female winemaker that Alice Feiring wrote about earlier this year. Her wine is reviewed below.

Rotes Haus Gemischter Satz 2008 $19.99
Beautiful light golden color. Slightly effervescent. Enticing peach and citrus flavors. Bright acids keep it light on its feet. Delicious. Great aperitif or match it with lemon roasted chicken.

Edlmoser Gemischter Satz 2008 $22
Clear golden color. Honeydew melon and lime flavors. Floral nose. Slight fizz.
Another winner. With all that melon flavor and nice refreshing acids, would be a great match for prosciutto wrapped melon slices.

Ambrositsch Gemischter Satz Sommeregg 2008 $29.99
Wow. Very bright tangerine and lime flavors but with a strong mineral backbone for balance. Assertive acids make it a great match for creamy pasta dishes.

Millennial Wine Drinkers: Savvy meets Sophisticated

2009-09-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

I have read two articles in the past month that described Millennial wine drinkers as less sophisticated than older wine drinkers.
Here is a link to one of the articles.

I cannot say that I agree with this viewpoint.
But then again, it depends on your definition of sophistication.

Boomers have historically wanted to impress friends and family with an expensive bottle from high profile wine regions like Bordeaux or Napa.

Millennial wine drinkers gain prestige by bringing a bottle with a interesting story, which might be an import from Croatia.

I would argue that Millennials thirst for wine knowledge and their desire to experience as many grape varietals and wine regions as possible, is a mark of sophistication.
Their frequency of wine purchases tells us that they have made wine a part of their everyday life. Whereas past generations of Americans may have relegated wine drinking to only special occasions.
And yes, they are savvy too, these new young wine explorers. They access and share information, wine reviews, food pairing ideas and pricing online.

They have also been the generation that has accelerated the growth of the organic wine and biodynamic wine sector. They care about what they put into their bodies and how it was made as well.
I always get an enthusiastic response from Millennial wine drinkers about natural wines. With the older generation, there is some begrudging yet growing interest mixed with distrust for a product made without chemicals.

These are some interesting results from a recent Wine Market Council survey.
Frequency of wine bottle purchases over $20:
43% Millennials
32% Gen X
22% Boomers

Importance of online information when purchasing wine:
36% Millennial
29% Gen X
22% Boomer

Percentage of imported wine purchases:
41% Millennials
31% Gen X
24% Boomers

Is certification important for organic and biodynamic wine?

2009-09-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

To certify or not to certify. This has become an increasingly hot topic of discussion in the wine industry. Especially as this wine niche has continued it's strong growth cycle.
Consumers care about not only what they put into their bodies, but just importantly, they care about how the surrounding earth and waterways as well.

I have always had a healthy anti-authoritarian streak and have therefore been sympathetic to winemakers who have chosen not to certify. I enjoy many of their wines and I trust that they are making them without chemicals, even without a piece of paper to prove it.

However, I do understand the need for proof and certainty that a product is truly what it claims to be.

I asked a few wine industry leaders for their view on this thorny subject:
Alice Feiring, well known wine writer
Randall Grahm, owner and winemaker at Bonny Doon Vinyards (and recent published author as well)
Joseph Kaulbach, head buyer for N California Wholefoods

Alice Feiring said, "Slippery.
The anarchist in me says no. The public advocate in me says yes. At least it gives the consumer some direction."

Randall Grahm had this to say, "I am utterly torn on the subject. The deepest, most soulful, Nietzschean part of me resists the whole idea of certification with every ounce of his being. Certainly the certification practice can only address the most superficial aspects of one's practice and largely speaks to the things that one hasn't done (pesticides, exogenous, synthetic materials, additives, etc.) than to what one positively has done. Those who publicly parade their virtue seem to me to be nothing more than Pharisees, money-lenders in the Temple. (Note that we at Bonny Doon do this as well.)

And yet. There are certainly any number of people who would happily assert their "green," organic or even "biodynamic" credentials in the absence of any real practice that supported these characterizations in any way. For that reason, some form of certification seems useful, at least on some level, at least to exclude the most obvious charlatans from insupportable claims. The downside of certification is that it can be relatively expensive, especially for very small growers. Going through the certification process as a cynical marketing ploy is not, as it turns out, a particularly useful strategy. The customer is still not quite ready to pay the premium required for this level of diligence. And, as I have said more than once, being certified, either biodynamic or organic is not in itself a guarantor of positive qualities; if the practice is done right, it is a very good thing for the planet (and for the practitioner as well). But wine quality, grape quality is determined by so many factors (not the least of which is the quality of the site, and the skill of the farmer) that all we can truly say about a "certified" wine is that it will do no its consumer no harm."

I also asked Joseph Kaulbach, Head Wine Buyer for Wholefoods N. California, and this was his response, "A lot of wineries claim to be terroir-driven, sustainable, green, etc. Those of us in the wine industry go on tours of cellars, eat grapes from the vines, and talk with the winemakers directly.

The public is left with our word, a story, or a wine label. Biodynamic and organic winegrowing certification adds legitimacy to the claims of connection with nature. If a winery believes organic farming is important, then they should get organic certification and put it on the label. How would their customers ever know about their commitment with it?"

What do you think? Is certification important for organic and biodynamic wines?

The New Deal Wine: High End Wine vs Real Story Wine

2009-09-17T07:16:00.000-07:00

There has been plenty of buzz about the recent death of high end wine sales.
Here is an article that says high end wines will bounce back.

This recent story plays it safe about whether high wine will return to its former glory days.

But today's article from Wines & Vines is my pick of the lot because it includes an actual survey based on consumer feedback , from Wine Opinions.

Wine consumers were relatively neutral about some of the statements, as is normal for surveys.

But consumers were crystal clear about two issues.
1. They are not buying expensive wine and have no plans to return to the category anytime soon.
2. Wine consumers remain very interested in organic and sustainable wine.

There are a few issues at hand here.
One is the economic 'adjustment' we have all experienced this past year which has slowed our spending in every sector.
The wine collectors who purchase high end Napa Cabs tend to be older and probably have wine cellars. So first of all, they can sit tight through this recession and just drink their cellared wine. Secondly, most people agree that the older generation was hit hardest by the stock crash and tightened their belts even more than their younger counterparts.

But the other issue is a shift in consumer knowledge and purchasing patterns. Common practice for older wine consumers has long been to impress their friends and associates with a wine's pricetag (i.e. their income).

Millennial and Gen X wine consumers want to impress their friends and associates with the wine's story (i.e. their knowledge). All the better if the wine is from a small family farm in Sicily that nobody has heard of and costs $16.

These generations demand authenticity and celebrate the 'small guy' producer. And as a result, I think they will be willing to spend substantially more per bottle when the story and the quality is there.

But I do believe it will become much more difficult for high end California wines that do not warrant their pricetag. Sure their real estate was expensive and so was all that new oak for the big Napa Cabernet they made. That does not mean you can arbitrarily slap a $75 pricetag on the bottle.

I sense that the strong and unflagging consumer interest in organic wines and 'real story' wines will push CA winemakers out of their comfort zones.

Perhaps we will enter a new phase of wonderment at all of the vast differences in CA terroir that up until now have oftentimes been masked by new oak abuse and over-ripe fruit.

Evolution White Wine Nails it With This Video

2009-09-13T17:14:00.000-07:00

I am a fan of Sokol Blosser Winery. They are located in Oregon, which produces some of my favorite domestic wines. The wines tend to be more like ballerinas than like boxers. Light on their feet and food friendly.

Sokol Blosser also farms organically and has had women at the helm since the start. Starting with the winery founder, Susan Sokol Blosser, and now run by her daughter, Alison Sokol Blosser, along with Alison's brother, Alex Sokol Blosser.

This video shows that this is a winery that gets it. They have noticed the sea change amongst wine consumers and are reaching out to the current generation.

Sokol Blosser Evolution White Wine $17.00
Pale golden color, floral aromas of honeysuckle and baking spices like ginger.
Flavors of ripe peaches and lime marmalade. Bright, refreshing acids give it a lift.
I would definitely match this one with spicy Thai dishes or perhaps chicken enchiladas with salsa verde.
12 % alcohol
Grape varietal blend: pinot gris, muller-thurgau, riesling, semillon, muscat canelli, gewurztraminer, pnot blanc, chardonnay and sylvaner.

Randall Grahm: A 'Been Doon So Long' Interview

2009-09-10T11:05:00.000-07:00

Randall Grahm is a dreamer, a romantic and an intellectual.
He also happens to be the winemaker and owner of the well known Bonny Doon Vineyard.

His new book, 'Been Doon So Long' will be released on September 14th.
On September 14th, you can buy the book directly from the Boony Doon website or from Amazon.

1) The title of your new book is 'Been Doon So Long', what's that title mean to you?

Well, it is a bit of a pun, obviously, but with a few levels of meaning. Apart from the obvious sense of being associated w/ Bonny Doon Vyd. for so long, the original citation, "Been down so long, it looks like up to me" creates a bit of a zen paradox: "Why should being down look like being up?" So, in the elided version, "Been Doon So Long...", the reader must ask him or herself, now what? Which is essentially what I am asking myself, "Now, what?" Bonny Doon has not exactly been a dooner, sorry, downer, but it has been what it was, a funny experimental winery that made substantial amounts of good wine at fair prices and marketed them with some degree of wit and whimsy. Now, we will try to retain some whit, but are going after bigger fish - wines that perhaps will express a sense of place.

2) What is the book about? Is it fiction or non-fiction? Knowing you, I suspect it has both.

Well, I think that those are spurious categories: There is no such thing as non-fiction, as every account one creates is some sort of fictional creation, and every fictional creation is always telling some kind of truth. But, to your point, there is a fair amount of literary satire, prose and poetry, send-ups (with a vinous slant) of the stylzed writing of well known writers, as well as a fair number of comical, light-hearted pieces ("connerie") and earnest essays. Plus certainly a one-of-a-kind glossary of French/Yiddish/technical vinicultural terms.

3) Obviously you are a man that believes in transformations.
How has your relationship to winemaking changed over the years?

Transformation is the very essence of wine; it is the lesson that wine teaches us. The major transformation in my own thinking has been the move away from being a control freak - wanting to technically control all aspects of the process, to being far more interested in the potential expression of a natural phenomenon.

4) I have noticed some seismic changes in how U.S. wine consumers relate to wine.
A wine friend recently said that the older generation wanted to impress friends with how much a bottle cost but the younger generation wants to impress friends with the wine's story (knowledge).
What do you think about the above observation and how it relates to today's wine consumer?

If what you say is true, that would truly be a major change for the good. I think that we are still fairly infantile as a wine culture, and while we may now be substituting "story" for "price tag", certainly the vast majority of wine consumers are not yet able to differentiate between the real, inherent coolness of the wine (a wine that is produced in a natural way and somehow articulates a sense of where it is from), and a wine that is largely a creation out of marketing whole cloth. In fairness, discerning the authentic and real from the "paste" is not the easiest task these days in the very loud and crowded bazaar that is the modern wine world.

5) You are a restless intellectual and dreamer who could have devoted your life to a number of pursuits. Why wine?

It seemed like a great idea at the time, and I was fortunate to have been bitten hard by the wine bug. Certainly my immersion in wine has likely deformed my personality in some way, but it has also given me the opportunity to call upon many aspects of myself and integrate them. Probably, unfortunately for me, the slight celebrity status afforded winemakers these days has not been particularly favorable to my slightly (or more so) narcissistic tendencies.

6) Your current favorite food and wine match?

2008 Ca' del Solo Albarino and oysters

Sulfites in Wine

2009-09-03T17:00:00.001-07:00

Sulfites in wine continues to be a topic of great interest for wine consumers.
Just as a reminder, all wines possess sulfites as they are a natural by-product of the fermentation process. So the issue lies with the level of sulfites added either during winemaking or before bottling.

And it is worth repeating that around 2% of the population actually has sulfite allergies. Sulfites are also found in fruit juices and dried fruits, not to mention scores of other packaged foods.

The histamines in wine, as well as the quality and quantity of wine consumed most likely contribute to more headaches than sulfites.

There was another article this week about one proposed solution.
In South Africa they have developed an ultra violet treatment to kill the microbes found in wine.

But that only solves part of the problem.
Sulfites act as both an antibacterial agent and a antioxidant for wine.

Wines with no added sulfites still battle with possessing an oxidized quality if they are not consumed young and fresh. Oxidized wines can be identified by flavors of old cooking sherry and often are darker than expected.

I have tasted delicious wines that were made with no added sulfites. It is true that many of those wines were consumed close to their home region and within 18 months of being bottled.

Arjun Mendiratta did an excellent post on the Saignee blog about sulfites last July.

Want to try some great no added sulfites wines?
Here are some suggestions for where to find them:
Terroir wine bar in San Francisco
Natural Process Alliance in Sonoma
The Ten Bells wine bar in New York

One Amazing Woman and Her Wine

2009-09-01T06:41:00.000-07:00

I liked Eileen Crane before I even tasted her wines. She makes sparkling wine at Domaine Carneros and honors other notable women by putting their names on the labels.
Pretty cool.
This is a female winemaker who has collaborated with Julia Child to create a sparkling wine to commemorate Child's 90th birthday. Crane also named a bottling after Greta Garbo, Ella Fitzgerald and even gave a shout out to Madame de Pompadour, who first championed Champagne in France during King Louis XV's reign.

And part of the proceeds from the above wine sales have gone to youth music programs and Clinic Ole, which provides affordable, accessible health care for underserved communities in Napa.

As if all that wasn't laudable enough, Domaine Carneros started farming partially organically in 2000. And in 2008 the Domaine Carneros estate vineyards became fully certified organic. Thus they became the first certified organic American sparkling wine producer.

"Farming organically has many advantages over conventional farming--especially when striving for long- term results. It keeps the land and environment healthier. It allows the winery to grow healthier, longer lived vines capable of producing higher quality grapes. Just walking in an organic environment feels good,
feels safe and more breathable."

Domaine Carneros Brut Cuvee 2005 $26 (widely available)
Aroma: Honeysuckle and toasted nuts. Flavors: Pear compote and lemon custard. A perfect match for slightly spicy asian foods or a cheese and fruit platter.
Varietal blend:64% pinot noir, 34% chardonnay and 2% pinot blanc.

Organic Wine & The Family Winemakers Show 2009

2009-08-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

Monday in San Francisco was full of blue skies and relatively warm breezes for the city on the bay.

I was in town to check out the annual Family Winemaker's Show. The show is held at Fort Mason, which has a gorgeous view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and the SF bay.
I was accompanied by one of my favorite partners in wine crime, Clay Wallin,of VinTank and Wine 2.0.

I always seek out the domestic wineries that are producing wines made from organic and biodynamic grapes. This is a necessary vetting tool since there are hundreds of wineries present. One needs to approach such events with some method to avoid exhaustion.

Anonymous comments from various winemakers regarding organics and wine:
"We used to be certified organic but it was too difficult to control the weeds through tractor mowing. We let the certification go so we can use Round Up again."

"We are practicing organic but have not gone through the certification process yet. It seems costly and time consuming."

"Wines made from organic grapes are not any healthier to drink. We farm organically as a lifestyle decision. We live on the same land as the vineyard."

"We farm biodynamically because we believe in being proactive and preventative. We do not want to make decisions based on fear which is how most conventional wines are made. Fear of stuck fermentation so they buy commercial yeast, fear of insects so they apply chemical pesticides, etc."

I tasted dozens of delicious wines on Monday.
But here is a wine made from organic grapes that is affordable, easy to find and offers great value for money.

Clif Family Winery The Climber 2007 (white wine blend) $14
Very zippy and refreshing. Floral and citrus aromas with lush peach and nectarine flavors. Great summer seafood match. Varietal blend: sauvignon blanc, pinot blanc, chenin blanc, muscat

Clif Family Winery The Climber 2005 (red wine blend) $17
Amazing value for your money. This red wine is a definite crowd pleaser. Soft red berry fruit with just a touch of earth and pepper to give it an edge.
Varietal blend: red zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, petite sirah, syrah, merlot

San Francisco Natural Wine Week

2009-08-20T17:09:00.000-07:00

Been wondering what the heck is natural wine?
And whats all this noise about orange (!) wines?
What is the real story on wine and sulfites?

Well get out there in San Francisco next week and scratch that itch.
There is a whole week's worth of natural wine tastings and even a natural wine seminar to wrap it all up.

The widely respected wine writer, Alice Feiring, wrote a post about the definition of natural wine this week.

You can find out all about it here. SF Natural Wine Week.

8/24 Monday – Terroir
8/25 Tuesday – Biondivino
8/26 Wednesday – Uva Enoteca
8/27 Thursday – Arlequin Wine Merchant
8/28 Friday – Nopa
8/29 Saturday afternoon – The Jug Shop
8/30 Sunday – Natural Wine Symposium hosted at Terroir

Clean and Green: New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

2009-08-19T15:02:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, during a hot muggy summer, I had an intense love affair with sauvignon blancs from New Zealand.

I was living in Texas at the time where the air was steamy and the food was heavy. The bright citrus and tropical fruit flavors of this crisp white wine were something to look forward to at the end of my day.

At the time I was selling wine as a distributor sales manager and we just happened to carry the Via Pacifica portfolio of NZ wines. They had some great brands that I loved to sell and drink: Huia Estate, Highfield, Thornbury, Olssens and more. All NZ wine brands you should seek out.

But my summer affair ended as they do and I have not had much of a craving for NZ wines as of late.
So it was a pleasant reminder to recently sample the Wairau River Sauvignon Blanc 2008 from New Zealand.

Wairau River has dedicated much time and resources towards responsible grape farming. They are certified carbon neutral, recycle their wastewater and plastics and are currently being to audited to join Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand.

But my post title was referring to the style of the wine, rather than the winery's environmental efforts.

Wairau River Suavignon Blanc 2008 $15
Light golden-green color. Bright flavors of green gage plums and limes. Firm acids on the finish. Extremely refreshing on a summer day with grilled garlic prawns.

Exploring Portuguese Wines

2009-08-11T11:43:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to attend the Vini Portugal tasting at the recent wine bloggers conference in Sonoma. I had been looking forward to this particular tasting for a couple of reasons.

1.I have not tasted as many Portuguese wines as I would like.
2.The Portuguese wines I have tasted have been delicious and different.
3.We would be tasting wines from Napa and Sonoma all weekend and I relished the change of style and pace.
4. I have been drinking the light crisp Vinho Verde wine from Portugal all summer and need to break out of my comfort zone.

The dynamic duo from Spain , Gabriella and Ryan Opaz, of Catavino were the event organizers.
The lineup was extensive and impressive.
Especially several interesting wines made from touriga nacional. This is the grape to watch for when buying red table wine from Portugal.

But my favorite producer was Quevedo.
Oscar Quevedo was a gentle and intelligent young man.
He is in the process of converting his vineyards to organic farming.

Quevedo Vintage Port 2005 $49.99
Rich dark color. Flavors of blackberry and plum with a touch of earthy, salty flavors (like a splash of worcestershire). Drink it with a a chocolate tart with fresh raspberry sauce.

Quevedo Rose Port 2007

This was the absolute stunner of the tasting. Beautiful salmon color. Bright flavors of fresh summer strawberries and cherries. Delicious chilled on its own. But I heard that mixing it with tonic and lime makes for a killer summer cocktail.

Kevin Kelley: A Natural Wine Hero

2009-08-05T19:59:00.000-07:00

Kevin Kelley is a winemaker to watch. In addition to making wine for Lioco and his family winery with wife, Jennifer Kelley, Salinia Wine Company, he also cofounded the Natural Process Alliance (or NPA).

I was lucky enough to be in Sonoma recently and taste the NPA Chardonnay. Made from organic grapes and nothing else. No added sulfites, acids or commercial yeasts.
It was delicious, fresh and had me looking around for more.

But alas, NPA wines are only available within a 100 miles of where they are made in Sonoma. And that is as it should be with natural, young wines.

The difference between drinking NPA Chardonnay and more traditional Chardonnay, is the difference between drinking store bought canned lemonade and making the real thing from scratch at home.

Kevin was gracious enough to answer a few questions below:

Who is the Alliance?

Our name pays respect to the thousands of process that must occur to bring wine into the world. From the microbes in the soil to the people that drink the wine, each member of this alliance is required and equally important. We are just one small part of this process and we listen closely to our composer, nature.

How and why did you become a winemaker?

As an avid reader, I happened across a local history called “Like Modern Edens” by Charles Sullivan in high school. This opened up the world of wine and its long history to me and I was hooked. There are very few things that have marched through time with and have had such a deep impact on civilization. To be a part of that history is exciting and humbling all at the same time.

What prompted you to start the NPA?

Jennifer and I fell in love with Vin en Vrac while we were in France. Being able to visit a local winery and buy wine fresh from the tank was a revelation for us. Surprisingly, this had fallen out of favor long ago in California. We wanted to bring this back and offer fresh young wine that has not gone through all of the rigors of production. In doing so, we are also eliminating the biggest waste stream in the industry, the packaging.

What are your future plans for the NPA? It would be great to see a NPA wine from other regions like Southern California or New York so locals there could taste the NPA goodness.

The NPA is a modest local project with a stated delivery area of within 100 miles of the winery. Currently we are delivering to restaurants and we hope to be selling directly to consumers this fall. We were not the first to do this and most certainly will not be the last. We truly hope that other wineries follow suit and revive this tradition. Please pick up the phone and call your local winery and tell them that you would support this

What has been the response to NPA from the wine trade and wine consumers?

The response has been great! From the conscientious farming and hands off winemaking to the reusable packaging we have been getting glowing reviews. The most important aspect of course is wine quality and the positive response has been overwhelming. These are not your average main stream wines yet the public seems to be embracing them.

What does natural wine mean to you?

The term natural wine in itself is a misnomer and means something different to each individual. We are as hands off as possible with the wines and only gently intervene when it is absolutely necessary. This however does not tell you any specifics about the wines. Because of this, we clearly define what we are doing with the wine day by day. Using Twitter and our web page, we update our followers on any changes that may be occurring. For example, the Pinot Gris was unsulfured until recently when it started down the road of oxidation. When we elected to add a small amount of Sulfur to stop this process, we immediately announced the change on twitter and changed the profile on the web page. Our Chardonnay came from an organically farmed vineyard was fermented on its skins and then placed in neutral French oak with out a single addition. Honest or transparent wine would be a better term; we will let you decide if it is natural wine in your book.

What is your favorite food and wine pairing?

Wow, there are too many to list. Champagne with anything, Beaujolais cru with a killer hand chopped burger, Muscadet with raw oysters.

What makes you happy?

When the sun rises on another day, I am happy.

Drinking With Benefits

2009-07-29T10:49:00.000-07:00

I know you.
You buy organic salad greens and tomatoes. And you are starting to gain interest in organic and biodynamic wines.
You inquire about where your food and wine comes from when you dine out.
You care about what you put into your body.

But what does your favorite restaurant do with your empty bottle of wine at the end of the night?

The people behind Drinking With Benefits asked that same question and got a disturbing answer.

Narisha Johnson looked around as she was having a drink at a local bar one day and wondered where the hundreds of empty glass bottles ended up.

After a little investigation, she found out that bars and restaurants in her hometown of Dallas were sending all these empties to the landfill. The local government does not supply recycling services for businesses. And the restaurants and bars saw no reason to spend extra money on a private service.

So Narisha took matters into her own hands and created a program that creates value for the restaurants, the recycling companies and of course the end consumer as well.

She created buzz for the participating venues by holding special 'drink green' parties. These venues are listed on her website and advertised as drink green restaurants. This allows consumers to identify and support venues that share their values.

Drinking With Benefits negotiates rates with recycling companies and acts as a third party certifier to insure these companies are truly recycling and not dumping the bottles after pickup.

What small green steps can you take in your city, your office or your favorite restaurant?

From Austria with Love: Biodynamic Wines for Summer

2009-07-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

I have written about Natural Merchants before because they import some wonderful organic and biodynamic wines from Europe.

BioKult Wein is one of those wine treasures. Amazing quality for the price and made from biodynamic grapes to boot.
The Michlits family is the largest producer of organic wines in Austria.
Still confused about the difference between organics and biodynamics?

The grapes are grown without toxic chemicals to act as pesticides and herbicides. So far so organic.
But biodynamics is also about treating your land as a whole organism , whose overall health needs to be maintained. The natural treatments used to ward off pests and to fertilize the vines should come from your own land.

Biodynamic wine does not use commercial yeasts for fermentation , instead using native or wild yeasts. BioD wines are not chemically manipulated in the cellar either, meaning they do not have added sugar or acids.

(This is where it gets tricky since there is a difference between BioD wines and wines 'made from BioD grapes'. The latter does sometimes add sugar, acid and commercial yeasts.)

And yes, harvesting, applying treatments, etc is done according to the biodynamic calendar, much like the old farmers almanac.The Michlits have a herd of 50 Angus cattle and grow organic wheat as well.

BioKult Gruner Veltliner 2008 $14.99 (Available at Wholefoods Markets nationwide)
Light golden color with slight green hue. Aromas of peaches and even kiwis. Slight fizziness to this wine which is refreshing. Flavors of apple fritters and lemons, touch of pepper. Made with Gruner Veltliner, the most popular white wine grape in Austria.

BioKult Rose 2008 $14.99
Dark rose and ruby color. Aromas of cherries and watermelon. Beautiful acidity to keep it light and fresh. Flavors of summer raspberries. Made from Zweigelt, Austria's #1 red grape variety.

King Estate Winery, Organic Wine from Oregon

2009-07-15T22:01:00.001-07:00

This week MyDailyWine speaks with John Albin, Director of Wine making for King Estate Winery in Oregon. King Estate is certified organic by Oregon Tilth.

1) How did you become a winemaker?
I started making wine with my father when I was a kid. I grew up in Seattle and at the time there were no grapes grown in Washington so we bought grapes from the Central Valley that came in on a rail car. While attending the UW I worked at Associated Vintners; that lead to UC Davis and a career in winemaking.

2) King Estate's own vines are certified organic. But you also purchase grapes from surrounding vineyards that are not certified organic. What specific standards do you hold these outside vineyards to, especially regarding pesticides and herbicides?

All of our contracted vineyards develop an annual vineyard management plan during the off season. That plan is reviewed together. We have worked with most of these growers for many years so we are all on the same page as far as what we are striving for. If you were to examine the practices of all of our growers you would find that they are all in the sustainable camp, some are LIVE certified and some are in the process of being certified organic. No pre emergent herbicides are used nor are herbicides that “travel”; chemicals like Paraquat or 24D are not allowed.As far as pesticides go, no one uses insecticides; we are fortunate in Oregon that insects are not really a concern. Sometimes sulfur is used to keep mites in control but we use that mainly for powdery mildew. Fungicides would include those on the organic list; sulfur, potassium carbonate, copper sulfate. In addition, many outside growers add DMI’s to the list. All of this boils down to using a little common sense when it comes to using any material responsively whether they are organic or not .

3) You obviously care about producing pure fruit grown without chemicals. How does this translate in your actual wine making process in the cellars?
The winery is also certified organic. We don’t use any wine additives that you wouldn’t recognize; things like egg whites, yeast, gelatin. Same thing for cleaning supplies.

4) Do you believe that organic grapes produce better wines or is organic farming simply better for the environment?
I don’t think those statements are mutually exclusive and depends a little on what your definition of “better” is. Organic farming can be better for the environment depending on the farmer. Organic grapes can produce better wines, certainly it can be done sustainably which is better no matter how you slice it. Good farmers on good sites will produce good fruit, that’s the long and the short of it.

5) What has been your biggest challenge to date as a winemaker?

I think the biggest challenge has been to try and figure out what makes Oregon viticulture tick. There are so many micro climates and soil types along with clonal selections and rootstocks that getting down to what are the best combinations is a life long endeavor.

6) Which winery or winemaker inspires you and why?
Robert Mondavi; great winemaker and a great promoter of American winemaking. He’s probably done more than any other single person for winemaking in America.

7) Please share your favorite wine and food match.

We are very fortunate to have a chef on staff. Michael Landsberg makes a seared scallop dish with fresh sweet corn, leeks and a wonderful Aromatique sauce. I’m addicted to it. Our Signature Pinot Gris is dynamite with it.

MyDailyWine tasted two King Estate wines recently:

King Estate Signature Pinot Noir 2007 $25
Beautiful bright ruby color. Tastes like plum tarts and cinnamon. Light style for a domestic pinot noir. Delicious with Moroccan style braised chicken with golden raisins and almonds.

next Riesling from King Estate 2008 $12
Light golden color. Flavors of marinated peaches and lemon custard. Very bright acids to cleanse the palate. This is definitely the wine for spicy food. Great match for Thai or Vietnamese cuisine.

Go Ask Alice: Alice Feiring and Natural Wine

2009-07-11T13:05:00.000-07:00

Alice Feiring, the fearless wine iconoclast and well known writer, graciously granted an interview to MyDailyWine. The links to her recent book and her website are below. Both are essential reading for winelovers.

*THE BATTLE FOR WINE & LOVE
(or how I saved the world from Parkerization) --out now!
New York Times Book Review Section, Summer Reads: "Both lively and sardonic." --Bryan Miller
www.alicefeiring.com

1)Which wine was your first love?

I still have the bottle. A 1968 Giovanni Scanavino, drunk in 1980.

2)What was your first wine writing assignment?

It was in 1990 on Long Island wine, written for Connoisseur magazine.

3)What is natural wine and why do you champion it?

The Alice definition? Nothing added to the grapes (except maybe a little bit of sulfur before bottling) and nothing taken out (such as alcohol and acidity). The hard-core natural is nothing added ever.

About a decade ago I became fed up with much of the wine I was tasting. The wines I was enjoying, as I later found out, were natural. I became fascinated (and pained) with the ways wine could be manipulated. Dismayed most people believed the marketing crap: wine was made in the vineyard. Many winemakers who were manipulating believed it as well. (Disconnect? I don’t get it.) Like becoming a writer, where I thought I had little choice in the matter, it was this genre of wine that just evolved into my ‘material.’ These are the wine stories, and the issues, that captivate me.

4) You travel quite a bit for your wine writing career. What was your favorite recent wine travel experience and why?

I loved my last visit to Rioja in April. I had never seen the vines there at the very gentle moment of bud break, like a swelling under the bark, for some reason I found it very moving. I also got to drink great old rioja for real cheap and that was thrilling..

5) There has been some discussion on your blog recently about elitism within the natural wine movement.
Do you think natural wine is harder to understand and/or enjoy than so called conventional wine for the average wine consumer?

Many of the wines are vin de soif, easy and can be appreciated by anyone. Many of the hard core natural, the wines that really fit the vin naturel category, like Puzelat, Rimbert, Souhaut, Chaussard, Pacalet…etcetc. can be difficult because the liveliness combined with the translucency is shocking to those who are brought up on 90+ points or commercial wines. Also, there are flavors that the drinker of conventional stuff doesn’t have a vocabulary for, or a context. They can be shocking. But, on the other hand, a favorite story of mine is early on, when Frank Bruni (departing NYTimes restaurant critic) returned to New York for the gig, I gave him a glass of Patapon (made by Chaussard, which was pineau d’aunis).At the time he was still charmed with oak. His reaction? He laughed. And then bought a case. He didn’t have to think twice. That wine changed his relationship to wine. Other people might have spit it out.

6) Why do you write about wine? Is it to share your thoughts or to educate wine lovers or neither?

Good question. Believe me it wasn’t my idea. Only a fool or someone independently wealthy would want to write about wine today. Ach, maybe I’m a fool? I keep on saying I’m getting a job at Whole Foods. I’m moving north and raising goats. There are so few slots and shrinking daily. And frankly, most of what editors want (or people) is what they should drink, save the words and the story, just show me the wine. That’s not what I want to write about. I love writing about the way wine fits into culture. And for some reason even though I’m constantly quitting my blog and pitching stories, I don’t seem to be able to keep my mouth shut or my hands off the keys.

7) Which wine is your current love?

Looking for one! But it’s summer so it’s muscadet. Luneau-Papin, Domaine Pepiere, Guy Bossard and Jo Landron.

But right now I’m feeling older Barolo deprived.

8) What makes you happy?

Oh, Amy, such a question! I’ve been trying to find that one out for decades. I’m just an old Russian Jew in disguise. Being in the moment, being in my skin, writing well, connectedness. Funny, a wine that is transportational shared with someone who ‘gets’ it, delivers that in a sip.

The Ten Bells, New York's natural wine bar

2009-07-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

Fifi from The Ten Bells tells all!

1) What was the vision behind opening Ten Bells?

The story of The Ten Bells was to open a place where we would go to : good food with the priority of getting ingredients from local producers working organic or sustainable methods, and natural wines.

2) What did you do before Ten Bells?

I worked for more than 8 years @ Le Pere Pinard, a French Bistrot who was located on Ludlow Street, 3 blocks away from The Ten Bells. As the G.M, I was running the day to day operations including taking care of the wine list.

3) Are all of the wines at Ten Bells considered natural wines?

I would say 99% are.

4) What does the term natural wine mean to you?

A wine is considered natural when the winemakers use organic methods not only in the vineyard but in the cellar as well, meaning less intervention as possible, indigenous yeast, no sugar added, very low or no sulfites, no collage.

5) Do your customers understand natural wine and do they ask for wine that is organic or biodynamic?

Some of them knows and come to us because we carry the wines that they're looking for. But for most of them, we have to explain the difference between organic, natural and biodynamic. The only phase of winemaking that got the "organic" label is the growing of the grapes. After that, winemakers can use chemical yeast, add sugar, wood chips or sulfites as much as he wants, he will still have the "AB" label on his bottle. Then the natural wine keeps the organic methods in the vinification process, and for biodynamic wines, every steps of the process is ruled by the invisible forces of the Earth.

6) What makes you happy?

Right now, the first thing that makes me happy is my daughter... she was born 3 weeks ago!!! In a more general way, I would say that my life makes me happy. I do what I love. I travel to visit vineyards and winemakers, only in France so far, I visit farms upstate New-York to find ingredients, and the final idea of it is to share it with people that understand or hopefully will understand that it is a necessity for everyone to eat and drink better. And with The Ten Bells, it's the perfect way to show that you can do so without breaking your wallet.

7) What makes Sundays so amazing at Ten Bells?

We created the "Sunday Night Delicacies" so every Sunday we offer a special treat to our patron. it changes every week and we like to bring items that people are not use to eat. So from one week to another, you can feast on a roasted baby goat or a suckling pig, a creamy chicken gizzard and heart stew or a spicy lamb curry.

Amazing Wines Emerge from the Hidden Hills of L.A.

2009-06-27T08:54:00.000-07:00

Last night we were closed in on all sides by Friday evening traffic on the 101 highway just northwest of Los Angeles. Depressing strip malls and chain restaurants were all the eye could see.

Then we took the Mulholland Drive exit and the roads suddenly became twisty, romantic lane ways hidden in the magic hills of Topanga Canyon, a million miles from Los Angeles.

The roads reminded me of the close turns and roadside thrills of driving in Greece. Dry but beautiful indigenous plants, soaring rock formations and shady grottoes perfect for coyotes to rest.

Our dinner hosts were witty and well-traveled. They had a mesmerizing view of the green hills and steep canyons from their back deck. David told me he first fell in love with wine by drinking volumes of German and French wines while he was in college in Scotland.

Topanga is surely much warmer than Germany but the steep hillsides are similar. He wistfully shared that he would love to plant some vines on his land. I encouraged him to reach out to other local wineries who might be willing to tend his vines in exchange for the resulting grapes.

That reminded of a wonderful Topanga Vineyards wine I had a few months back.

Sandy Garber and her husband, Randy Meyer first started Topanga Vineyards by growing 90 vines on their property in Topanga. Now they have expanded and buy much of their fruit from the Central Coast. It is unclear if they currently use any Topanga grown grapes but they still live there.
Sandy also runs her own Los Angeles based wine distributorship, Garber and Company.

Topanga Vineyards Grenache Blanc 2008 $18.99
was fresh and lively. Aromas of lemon and beeswax dripping with honey were matched by luscious stonefruit flavors and a nice acidity on the finish.