Amusing Musings From the Wine Road

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2009-04-21T13:32:33-07:00

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Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

Perrier-Jouet Uncorks 20 Champagnes Spanning 178 Years!

2009-03-12T12:38:50-07:00

Thursday, March 12, 2009
No one's ever said the wine industry doesn't throw great parties. And nobody throws better parties than the Champenoise. Especially when it comes to popping corks on old vintages.

Last weekend I poured a bit of wine for a couple hundred people at the new wine shop in Grass Valley. The event was fun and successful. But it was nothing like the fete put on for a small group of hand-picked wine experts on the other side of the pond.

Twenty ancient bottles spanning 178 years were brought out from the cellars at the boutique Champagne House Perrier-Jouët. There they were poured for a dozen of the world’s top wine and champagne experts (and arguably, 12 of the luckiest people in the trade) who'd been invited to taste 20 historic vintages.

World's Oldest Champagne (1825)
The tasting included the oldest bottle of champagne in the world (according to Guinness) - the Perrier-Jouët Vintage 1825 (photo at left).

Each sip would have been worth hundreds of dollars at auction, according to the Head of the International Wine Department at Sotheby’s, Serena Sutcliffe MW, who co-hosted the tasting with Perrier-Jouët Chef de Cave, Hervé Deschamps.

“It is virtually impossible to assign a value to the 1825 vintage – we’ve never seen anything like it on the market! This was, quite simply, the opportunity of a lifetime tasting such exceptional, historic vintages.”

And if ever there was a party interested in seeing such a wine on the market, it would be Ms. Sutcliffe of Sotheby's. Or her counterpart at Christie's, though her work on this event means you'll ever raise a paddle on a bottle of P.J. at a Christie's auction.

Her presence also stakes the reputations of Sutcliffe and Sotheby's as to the authenticity of each bottle's provenance. Though such concerns are relatively small when the wine comes from the producer's own cellar, this would not be the first time for such shenanigans.

Most Expensive - 1874
In addition to the world's oldest bottle of Champagne, the tasting also included the renowned “Perrier-Jouët 1874”, which earned fame long ago when it was became "the most expensive champagne in the world", a title it has held for 124 years, ever since it was sold at a world-famous auction in 1885. I can't tell you if it stilll holds that title today, as my research time is short. It would be amazing to learn the price paid in 1885 is still a record in today's currency.

The private tasting was a promotional event for the upcoming release of Perrier Jouet's first vintage Champagne from this century - the Perrier-Jouët Millesime 2002 (photo).

Even at the Grande Marquees, the majority of bottles produced are non-vintage -they carry no date on their labels because the wine is crafted to reflect the house style year after year. This consistency

is achieved only through blending, the Cellar Master's artful use of different varietals, vineyards and vintages of still wine that constitutes the final blend in the bottle before its secondary fermentation.

Vintage-dated champagnes such as the Millesime 2002 from Perrier-Jouët, are produced only in rare and exceptional vintages. And while I can only wish my reputation qualified me for such tastings, I'm pleased to see that even the likes of Perrier-Jouët take this occasion to pop the corks on old bottles from their cellar!

The Wines Tasted

1825 - "Liquid figs and mincepies, in other words, total addiction!"(Co-Host Serena Sutcliffe) "The intellectual high-spot, but in terms of quality the least interesting." (Richard Juhlin, Sweden)

1846 - NA

1858 - NA

1874 - "Shows there are still magical wines from this century!" (Richard Juhlin, Sweden)

1892 - NA

1906 - NA

1911 - "Gem of the Tasting!" (S. Sutcliffe, Co-Host) "The Winner!" (Richard Juhlin, Sweden) "Impressive complexity, fruit and energy" (Essi Avellan MW, Finland)

1928 - "Impressive complexity, fruit and energy" (Essi Avellan MW, Finland) "Miracle" (S. Sutcliffe, Co-Host)

1952 - "Miracle" (S. Sutcliffe, Co-Host)

1955 - "Impressive complexity, fruit and energy" (Essi Avellan MW, Finland) "Miracle" (S. Sutcliffe, Co-Host)

1959 - "Miracle" (S. Sutcliffe, Co-Host)

1964 - "Miracle" (S. Sutcliffe, Co-Host) "Close second to the 1911, Chevalier-Montrachet like" (Richard Juhlin, Sweden)

1971 - NA

1975 - "Marmalade" (S. Sutcliffe, Co-Host)

1976 - Nice Spiciness (S. Sutcliffe, Co-Host)

1982 - "Crystal Beauty" (S. Sutcliffe, Co-Host)

1985 - "True complexity shown" (S. Sutcliffe, Co-Host) "Toasted Beauty. Like drinking Spring itself!" (Richard Juhlin, Sweden)

1995 - "Crystal Beauty" (S. Sutcliffe, Co-Host)

1996 - "True complexity shown" (S. Sutcliffe, Co-Host)

2002 - NA

Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

Quote of the Day:
"The night you open a '61 Cheval Blanc, that is the special occasion"

~ Virginia Madsen as "Maya", from the movie "Sideways"

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No Country For Old Wine

2009-03-10T09:29:04-07:00

Tuesday, March 10, 2009
"Jeff is celebrating a birthday and we'd like you to join us for dinner!" When friends say that, we're inclined to jump at the chance. But when that dinner is at San Francisco's venerable Restaurant Gary Danko, and we're to be the guests of our friends, well...

"We'll bring the wine!" is all we could say. Knowing our selections would have to be worthy of the celebrated occasion (and Danko's $35 corkage fee), we rummaged in our cellar and pulled out a couple dusty, treasured bottles - one red and one white.

The white wine was a Sine Qua Non from the 1990's. When Danko's Sommelier performed the flawless tableside service, the cork was dark, the wine was gold with a brownish hue, and it was clearly several years past its prime.

I'd been afraid of this, but dared not say anything. Super wife and I have had recently had a discussion about why it makes sense to open an expensive wine on a regular old weeknight if it's nearing (or past) its peak. She didn't want to. I did. We didn't.

It's a difficult thing, deciding to pop the cork on an expensive wine for no reason other than "the helluvit". And I suspect it has much to do with these old wines being purchased in much headier times, and opening them brings home one more reminder that we are now living in a new age of frugality. Whatever the reason, my logic did not prevail, the wines remained saved for a special night, and now it was here. And the wine disappointed.

Moved to action, Super Wife went into the cellar with a flurry the next day, and soon we separated a 1990 Meursault from its cork. Same thing. Well past its prime.

So now we're working our way through three cases of expensive white wines, mostly from the 1990's. The majority are well past the point of drinking for anything more than curiosity and edification.

So I encourage you to celebrate the moment with that old bottle you've been saving for that special occasion that just never seems to come around. Open it tonight, even if you're dining alone, or having Chinese take-out for dinner. Better yet, invite some friends over for dinner and make the opening of the wine the special occasion.

Future Candidates for "Just Because" Cork Removal
J. Wilkes Wines, Vertical Tasting (2001 - 2003) - 6 bottles of Ultra-Premium Bien Nacido pinot noir in a wooden crate. On Sale for $199! The wine writers for the Wall Street Journal - Gaiter and Brecher - established "Open that bottle night" nine years ago, and every year they and their readers reserve a Saturday night to open a special bottle they've been saving for that occasion that never quite comes. These bottles would serve perfectly for that event. And at this price, each bottle is at the impossibly low price of $33, with the collectible box thrown in for free!

Budget Options - For those seeking lots of wine for a little money, our online specials represent wines that are almost sold out, with less than a case of each. These end-of-bin items provide great value for the thrifty wine shopper.

Premium Options - - we always seek value in our wine discoveries. But value exists at every price point, and our "Grand Cru" selections represent some of the best wines we've tasted in the Luxury price category ($45+). Whether you like Pinots from Brian Loring, or Bordeaux blends from L'Aventure, the big Syrahs from Clos Mimi or Big Basin, or... talk about excellent candidates for future delight, most of these wines provide great return on a small investment in cellaring!

Go ahead - invite some friends for dinner and open that special bottle. Better yet, make it an annual event. Even better yet - semi-annual! It's a great way to enjoy wine, food and friends.

Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

P.S. If you'd like to age a white wine, make sure it's built for it. We also liberated the cork on a bottle of 1986 Riesling (Spatlese) and it was stunning! Not all aged whites will disappoint. Others Crisp Chenin Blancs or Sauvignon Blancs of the Loire and other German and Alsatian wines can provide bottled pleasures beyond belief!

Quote of the Day:
"The night you open a '61 Cheval Blanc, that is the special occasion"

~ Virginia Madsen as "Maya", from the movie "Sideways"

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Wine Damaged by Extreme Temperatures - An Interesting Test by FedEx!

2009-02-26T11:08:07-08:00

Thursday, February 26th, 2009
The wine industry gathered in Napa on Tuesday to share tips on how to sell more wine directly to wine-lovers. It was thought-provoking and worth the time and money. And today there are a hundred more wine marketers leveraging FaceBook and Twitter to attract the "Millennial Wine Lover".

One of the sponsors of this well-organized event was the venerable FedEx company, which has dedicated tons of resources to our industry. If you've ever ordered wine from me or any other online merchant, odds are good your package was delivered by FedEx. Along with UPS and Golden State Overnight, the three companies account for virtually 100% of the wine shipped directly to consumers.

So it was with great interest that I learned from a charming FedEx representative about an interesting and valuable test. She indicated FedEx has tapped a new technology that monitors the temperature of a package every few minutes as it travels from point A to point B, recording each update in a centralized computer. I presume the updates are sent via a wireless network, but I'm unclear on the communications technology.

Regardless of the inner workings, I was intrigued by the idea. My company has lost lots of potential profit on damaged wine, and since this is a thin-margin business I was very interested in whether the temperature monitor could tell me when to hold my wine for more weather-friendly days. I hoped FedEx would publish the results in real time, so our industry (and wine lovers) as a whole would know when it was safe to ship.

But the FedEx Rep believed the technology would prove it was safe to ship wine in all seasons, regardless of temperature. My skepticism was evident, apparently, as she asked if I was willing to bet dinner on the outcome. As I told her then...

...Yes I am!

But only if we can structure a meaningful test. I thought I'd open the discussion to those with a vested interest in its outcome - other retailers, wineries and the wine lovers we serve. I invite input to see if we can structure an unbiased test, and ask that you encourage FedEx to make the results public - preferably in real time. Here's what I suggest as a foundation.

To be tested - Can wine be shipped during periods of extreme temperatures without affecting the long-term life of the wine?

The test should be conducted using packages sent via regular ground service as well as 2-day and overnight air.
In each of these three service levels, both Styrofoam and recycled packaging materials should be tested.
Both the outside temperature and the package temperature should be reported. Ideally, a monitor would be set up inside a re-corked bottle to measure the actual temperature of the wine and not just the termperature surrounding the cardboard package.
We must agree on maximum and minimum temperatures at which the long-term life of the wine is affected.
Anything Else? Please reply via comment or directly to me at the email address below.

The results of this test will impact millions of dollars worth of shipping, and even more in the value of wine being shipped. Let's give FedEx kudos for applying the technology and also encourage them to give transperancy to the real-time results via the internet and the wine blogosphere.

Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

Quote of the Day:
"Accept challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory"

~ General George S. Patton

Box Wines to the Rescue?

2009-02-23T17:16:58-08:00

Monday, February 23, 2009
A lot is being made of boxed wines lately. This is largely because wine lovers are seeking value in their every-day quaffs. Fortunately for the value-minded drinker, more drinkable wines are finding themselves inside boxes than just a few years ago.

Now I know that serving wine from a plastic spigot isn't glamorous. And no, I don't have a box of wine sitting in my refrigerator - call me a hypocrite if you must. But I'm neither offended by nor opposed to the idea as long as the wine is good. I'm not opposed to inexpensive wine, but life is too short to drink BAD wine, no matter what the price.

But I predict this will be the year the wine-buying public will embrace boxes for wines under $15/botle. We may not see the rush to value that was the $2 Chuck of 2002, but I think alternative packaging will be the fastest growing area in the wine business. I know I'll have those who challenge my contention - after all, boxed wines have been waiting their time in the spotlight since the 1980's. But I think now is the time to throw one's predictive hat into the ring for Boxed Wine acceptance. Here's why.

Why Boxed Wines Will Take Off
- Not all boxed wine is Franzia. Thank God. Decent wines are beginning to find themselves inside boxes these days. As a rough guide to quality, plan to spend more than $20 for 3 Liters in order to get wines you can enjoy for the life of the package. Check out Black Box Wines, if curious.

- Boxed wines are already commonplace in Europe (see photo above, taken in a Loire Valley grocery store). Just as they are in South America. And Australia. And Canada. And virtually every wine-loving country except ours. So much for the American pioneer spirit, eh? Whoulda thunk WE'D be the traditionalists when it came to new wine ideas?

- Some of the newer packages are damned sexy (photos)

- Wine in a box is easier to carry to a picnic, and to smuggle into rock concerts.

- Wine stored inside a Mylar bag remains undamaged by oxidation for 3+ weeks after first opening. (Click here to see the results of trials indicating a six week life for bag-in-a-box wines). After opening a glass bottle, even when well preserved, wine lasts no more than a day or so before noticeable oxidation sets in.

Though the bag-in-a-box is not a good option for wines intended for cellaring, 95%+ of wines are intended to be consumed within 12-18 months. And since 90%+ of American wines are from the West Coast, and many wine drinkers are East Coasters, a large part of our industry's carbon footprint comes from schlepping. It seems increasingly clear that transporting heavy glass is a luxury we can no longer afford with inexpensive wines. Imagine the added burden on imported wines.

A standard wine bottle holds 750 milliliters and weighs just over 3 pounds when full. Trucking three pounds of anything from the West Coast to NYC creates over 5 pounds of carbon-dioxide emissions. Because a 3-liter box of wine replaces four glass bottles with less than a half pound of cardboard and Mylar, it generates about 80% less CO2 during its cross-country trek (www.aboutboxedwine.com).

Now, since 97% of wine on the market today is intended for consumption within 12 - 18 months, our nation could eliminate the emissions-equivalent of 400,000 vehicles (about two million tons of CO2) by packaging such wines in a box instead of glass bottles.

Tetra Paks?
To help overcome consumer resistance to alternative packages, producers have adopted solutions that are less utilitarian than the Mylar bag inside a cardboard box, but which are more acceptable or attractive (see photo). Such packaging comes in a wide variety of sizes, offers an impressive canvas for graphic options and is far lighter than glass. But it still allows oxygen to contact the wine upon opening, and in that sense offers no benefits over its glass brethren.

The Glass Industry Strikes Back
I've run out of space and research time today, but I'm very interested in recent news headlines about lighter-weight glass bottles. This new package might give alternatives a run for their money while offering a solution for wines to be cellared as well. A topic for a different day.

Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

Quote of the Day:
"What a decent boxed wine lacks in daily variety and prestige, it offsets with affordability and eco-friendliness. Over the coming decade I think it will become the standard package for wines under $15."

~ Dave the Wine Merchant

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Win a Free "Bottle Shock" DVD!

2009-02-16T08:18:00-08:00

Monday, February 16th, 2009
The movie Bottle Shock is finally out on DVD. Actually, it came out on February 3rd, after premiering in theaters last summer.

Since its August release, I'd been asked many times for my opinion. One friend was even kind enough to send me a logo T-shirt - they're quite nice, actually. But I hadn't found time to see the film until a promotional copy arrived in January.

I have to say, I was negatively pre-disposed to the movie, based on its reviews and inevitable comparisons to my own licensed entity - the movie "Sideways". But selecting your movies based on reviews may be as misleading as buying wine based on a Spectator rating. I found the movie entertaining, despite its (seemingly inevitable, Hollywood) characateur-ation of a well-known Napa family. Not to mention a few discomforting enophilic inaccuracies.

If you're reading these words right now, you qualify as a wine geek. And, like me, you consider your geekhood a badge of honor. As such, you are likely well familiar with this movie's plot. But jut in case you're a wine geek who's been living under a rock...

...The movie follows two merging story lines - the first is that of the Barrets, a dysfunctional father-son team who own Chateau Montelena - then a struggling winery. During the course of the movie (and no, this isn't giving away a mysterious ending), their Chardonnay rises to fame when it beats the best from France in the 1976 blind tasting now known as "The Judgment of Paris" (See George M. Taber's book by the same name).

The second story line follows Steven Spurrier (portrayed by Alan Rickman), a British ex-pat wine merchant whose Parisian shop is empty of customers. To increase revenues, Spurrier decides to visit Napa so he can select wines to be tasted against the best of France in a blind tasting he was organizing as a promotional even for his store/wine school. He'd invited some of the most respected palates in France to participate, though he had no idea it would become the most famous blind tasting in the world. In fact, Taber (writing for Time magazine) was the sole journalist who deemed the event worthy of coverage.

All told, Bottle Shock is an amusing movie that will appeal to many wine lovers, despite a few scenes that will invoke slaps to the head. And the wine country scenery makes it well worth watching (and Taylor/Dushku don't hurt, either). Now, on to the contest.

How To Win Your Free DVD
Enter before the end of the week. We'll randomly draw three entries from those getting the correct answers and contact you for mailing instructions.

Sorry Entry Deadline Was Feb. 20, 2009!

	In what year did this famed tasting occur?*
	Who was the only journalist in attendance at the tasting?*
	What was the name of the Wine Merchant who staged this famous tasting?*
	Whose Chardonnay did the French judges place #1?*
	Whose Cabernet Sauvignon did the French judges place #1?*
	What was the most notable repurcussion of the contest's outcome?*
	Your First Name*
	Last Name*
	Email Address*
	I don't care to receive email specials from Sideways Wine Club.
	What Type of Wine do you drink most often?		Cabernet Franc Cabernet Sauvignon Chardonnay Merlot Pinot Gris/Grigio Pinot Noir Sauvignon Blanc Viognier I prefer more obscure varietals!

Good Luck!

Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

Quote of the Day:
"I'm not really an asshole. It's just that I'm British...and you're not"

~ Alan Rickman as Steven Spurrier in the 2008 film "Bottle Shock"

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Kudos to Two Wineries! One Big, One Ant-Sized.

2009-02-13T15:50:28-08:00

Friday, February 13, 2009
The wine business is a business just like any other. Sometimes people are just people, barely meeting the definition of civility towards others in the business. But then there's the winery that rises above the rest, either through their hospitality or their pluck. Let me tell you about two such wineries today - one a well-funded behemoth, the other an under-funded, rising star fueled by a big dream and a lot of talent.

The Big One...
We recently invited Eileen and Jeff over for a special celebration dinner. My wife and I had planned the meal and dug through our cellar to find the right wine for the evening. We knew our friends were big fans of the Rubicon Bordeaux blend from Neibaum Coppola, and we'd been looking for a reason to open our 1994, so we decided that night was the perfect occasion.

Imagine our disappointment when the bottle had a flaw inherent to it manufacture, but which Coppola could not know about until the wine had aged a bit. It was not drinkable.

Now, as a wine merchant, I don't carry a lot of Napa Cabs and am virtually unknown in those parts, I daresay. But I still don't like to approach a winery flashing my industry badge, so to speak, because I'm always curious to see how a winery will react to an unadorned consumer.

So I filled out a form on the Neibaum Coppola website as an anonymous customer using my personal email address. Though the content of my message indicated I was familiar with the problem behind the flaw, and had correctly identified it, I did not indicate my industry association in any way. So when the winery representative replied within a day, pleasantly offering a very amenable resolution to our ruined bottle (replacement with the current vintage), I felt it was worth sharing with you. Kudos to Coppola!

...And The Ant-Sized One
If you've visited this space on a regular basis (thanks Dad!) you may recall past articles featuring our association with the three young guys behind Anthill Farms winery (2007 Harvest photos and article on 2006 harvest.) Anthony, David and Webb are no strangers to our olive orchard in Boonville, which is situated next to a very small vineyard owned by the delightful Donna Abbey and Dan Harris (the best neighbors one could hope for!)

But this week I finally got around to reading Anthill Farm's well-deserved feature story - Making a Mountain Out of [an] Anthill" - that appeared in the wine section of the S.F. Chronicle two weeks ago. It is an inspiring story.

At the opposite end of the spectrum from Coppola, Anthill Farms has yet to pay its partners a dime, and was started a few years ago with less than $10,000. But they can take comfort in the consistency of their short track record - consistently high scores from Burghound and the Chronicle (as well as from yours truly, for what that's worth!)

Though I can't get enough of their wine to include it in a club shipment, you deserve the chance to taste it before it's all gone. You can buy some here.

It was a good week in the wine industry.

Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

Quote of the Day:
"These guys are the overwhelming underdogs."

~ Yogi Berra (1925-?) Baseball Player, Manager, Hall of Famer, and

delightful mangler of the English Language

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Paraskavedekatriaphobia - A Wine for Friday the 13th

2009-02-11T10:52:49-08:00

Wednesday, February 11, 2009
It's a good word, paraskavedekatriaphobia. It refers to someone with a fear of Friday the 13th.

Even as a kid I had fun with the superstitions surrounding Friday the 13th. That's when I began to notice most of the unfortunate occurrences attributed to superstitions were normal events that simply stood out when one's mindset was predisposed for disaster.

This "pre-disposed mindset" was the subject of an amusing short story I recall from my youth. It featured a young Midwestern boy (much like myself, at the time) named Homer Price. In this particular short story, a snake oil salesman by the name of Professor Atmos P. H. Ear (a wonderful play on words) blew into town, and then just as quickly, left town, as is the wont of such salesmen. This particular charlatan was selling shakers filled with a lifetime supply of an odorless, weightless, tasteless and invisible flavor enhancer called "Ever-So-Much-More-So".

When sprinkled on a common doughnut, the fried ring was suddenly the BEST doughnut ever tasted. When added to a common cup of diner coffee, the bitter brew suddenly transformed into a transcendent morning eye-opener and mood-enhancer. Of course, the salesman was simply able to bring his customers to focus on what they were tasting, and in so doing, they re-appreciated the flavors they'd bome to take for granted. And in so doing, he also sold a lot of cans filled with air.

This story appealed to me because it's an amusing and well-told tale. But also because it helped me see the human foible - that everything tastes better when we pay attention to our food. You know where i'm going with this, I suspect. Sometimes we discover anew an old favorite, just by focusing on it at the expense of everything else. A partner, for example. Or our kids.

Or a good glass of wine.

One of the exercises I lead at the beginning of my wine classes might be called "Ever-so-much-more-so". It focuses our attention on each wine's unique aromas and flavors and it's always an eye-opening experience, if you'll allow me to mix my sensory metaphors to make a point.

Our noses and tongues were once critical to our survival - indicating which food sources were safe and which were deadly. Now that we buy food at a store, and most of it is safe (peanut butter aside!), we have less to worry about. So food scents and flavors have faded into the background noise of our busy lives, and we're content with rather bland, salted, sweetened, and processed foods that fit nicely into our hectic lives.

So on this Friday the 13th, I invite you to slow down and smell the wine. Enjoy a meal, perhaps following the old meditative practice of preparing a meal in silence, with no TV, radio, phones or conversation, paying attention only to the aromas and flavors of your ingredients. If it sounds weird, that's because it is, but you'll be amazed at the amplification that occurs in your senses.

Or maybe I'm just superstitious.

"Ever-So-Much-More-So" Wines

Tarrica Wine Cellars, 2007 Pinot Noir, Monterey ($16.50) -

This is a surprising wine that offers true Pinot pleasure at a fraction of the cost for most pinot noir hailing from Monterey county. This prestigious pedigree normally justifies a price two or three times this amount, and while this wine would have difficulty standing up to its big brothers in a blind taste test, it offers a lot of value for not a lot of coin.

Torbreck, 2008 Cuvee Juveniles, ($24.50)

I happily discovered the Torbreck wines over a year ago. An Australian producer that pulls fruit from all over the Barossa Valley, this particular wine is a blend of the classic Rhone varietals, with Grenache in the lead. The fruit comes from old vines, and I mean really old - some having celebrated their centenarian birthdays years ago - which lends a depth and intensity to this young, un-oaked wine. And no, the 2008 vintage is not a typo, but keep in mind the Southern Hemisphere harvests during our spring, so this wine is almost a year from its harvest so don't worry about bottle shock - it's been in bottle for many months now. Drinking very nicely right now!

Cima Collina, 2006 Pinot Noir, Tondre Grapefield Vineyard ($48)- This wine is at the other extreme from the affordable Tarrica, offering a truly transcendent wine made even more so with even the most feeble of attempts to shut out the world and focus on its aromas and flavors, which evolve and develop for as long as you can resist finishing the bottle. Not a wine for everyday drinking - at least, not for most of us - but a wine that makes a any celebration ever-so-much-more-so.

Any or all of these three wines will suffice as proof of the ever-so-much-more-so phenomenon, with flavors and aroomas that evolve over the course of an enjoyable evening. But if you decide to test the theory this Friday, I mean, just in case, don't do so while sitting under a ladder, or looking in a mirror, or with a black cat in the room, or with an umbrella open indoors, or the number 13 anywhere in view, or...

Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

Quote of the Day:
"The root of al superstition is that people observe when a thing hits, but not when it misses."

~ Francis Bacon, Sr. (1561-1626)

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Fighting Vainly The Old Ennui - Wine and Valentines?

2009-02-09T13:16:48-08:00

www.zwani.com

Monday, February 9th, 2009 - "Fighting vainly the old ennui" - as I write this I hear Jamie Cullum's voice singing that phrase from the Cole Porter song "I Get a Kick Out of You". And after two weeks of being bombarded by thousands of of pink-and-red heart-themed ads for everything from tires to premium membership at Marketing Profs, I find myself battling a Valentine's Day ennui. Which is not good for an online wine retailer. I should be jumping into the fray, unleashing my own barrage of cupid-born messages.

I'm still a big fan of celebrating love in all its various and sundry forms, as long as the celebration is sincere. But really, how many red-heart-infused ads can we see before the words "I love you" fail to conjure the sense of excitement that is their birthright?

So today's posting contains no heart images. No flying babies with bows and arrows. No doilies. No pink or red typeface. Just the news that West Coast customers who order by noon on Wednesday will still receive wine in time for weekend festivities, whatever you have planned.

Click here to see my most recently recommended wines.

Or click here for my recommended sweet wines.

And what better way to express your love for someone than through a languorous evening of great food, wine and conversation? In that spirit, I've copied here a recipe from my February shipment to club members. It compliments a wide range of red wines, and warms the coldest of hearts on a winter night.

Salt-Roasted Porterhouse

This recipe was inspired by Govind Armstrong at “Table 8” in Los Angeles. If you’re like me, you'll worry that smothering a steak in salt will yield tough, dry meat similar to beef jerky (or shoe leather, but then I repeat myself). Fortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. By forming a hard barrier, the salt seals the meat's juices inside. You then crack open the salt crust and discard it before carving - sort of a low-cost version of clay pot cooking that rewards the home chef with a moist and tender steak.

The spice rub takes a leaf from the playbook of our pulled pork recipe that was so popular last summer, producing another meal you’ll long remember. Add a great bottle of pinot and a loved one and this just may form a perfect winter memory.

Ingredients
2 Bay leaves, crushed
1 Tbsp whole peppercorns
2 tsp Whole coriander seeds
2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp dried rosemary (or t Tbsp chopped fresh)
½ tsp dried crushed red pepper
1 ½ Cups (plus 1 tsp) coarse kosher salt
2 large Porterhouse or T-Bone steaks

Procedure
Mix the first seven ingredients well. Transfer 2 Tbsp of the mixture to a spice grinder and grind well – to a fine powder, then mix in 1 tsp of the salt, keeping this ground mixture separate from the whole spice mixture. Rub the finely ground spice mixture all over the steaks, wrap in plastic and chill for at least 3 hours or up to 8 hours.

Preheat your oven to 475. Mix the remaining “whole” spice mixture with 1 ½ Cups kosher salt in a medium bowl. Add a scant ¼ Cup water and stir to moisten the spices. Unwrap the steaks and place them in a large roasting pan, then pack the salt-spice mix over the top and sides of each steak, leaving the bottom (pan-side) unsalted.

Roast for about 25 minutes or until the internal temperature registers 130 degrees. Remove from oven and place on a cutting board, cover loosely with a tent of foil and let sit for 8-10 minutes.

When ready to serve, crack open the salt crust and discard. Turn the steaks over (to the more tender, un-salted side) and slice into ½ inch thick slices.

Enjoy with loved ones old or new.

Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

Quote of the Day:
"Without love, what are we worth? Eighty-nine cents! Eighty-nine cents worth of chemicals walking around lonely."

~ Hawkeye Pierce, in the TV show M*A*S*H

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Tudor's Anderson Valley Pinot rated 90 Points

2009-02-05T11:47:25-08:00

Thursday, February 5th, 2009
I received an email this morning with news from Winemaker Dan Tudor that four of their pinots were granted scores of 90 or above in the most recent Wine Spectator reviews by James Laube. Dan was among the first wineries we featured in the all-Pinot version of our Sideways Wine Club sampling program back in 2005. Back then, I thought the Tudor's were producing some very fine pinots, and I'm glad to see other palates recognize the same thing. (Click Here to see all our Tudor Pinots)

In his article, Laube mentions that the Tudor's have improved their wines. I spoke to Winemaker Dan Tudor, who took umbrage at that - "Our wines have always been this good. It's just that 2006 was a bit of a difficult vintage, and I think we coaxed more from our grapes than many other producers did, so perhaps it just seems as if we improved more than the rest"

Ah, so that's it. Dan commented on the wide variation in scores some of his wines were given, with other notable palates scoring the same wine very differently than did Laube. Which brought us to the question about whether scores are a reliable indicator of a wine you're going to enjoy or not! "Not really" he said "unless you enjoy the same sort of wines a reviewer does on any particular day. It's more useful to read a description and understand whether a given wine is made in a style you enjoy, regardless of its score"

Dan also shared one of his company's secrets for assuring every bottle tastes as they intended it when bottled - their use of the the Diam Corks from Oeneo. These are composite corks that many consumers perceive as being cheaper and inferior to a whole, natural cork. According to Dan, nothing could be further from the truth. The Diam corks begin as natural cork bark, are ground and sieved to a uniform consistency (and any impurities eliminated), then purified of over 150 contaminants (including the offending TCA that leads to cork taint and ruined wine, such as the treasured bottle of 1994 Rubicon we had to dump last month!) In addition to removing TCA, the process reduces other harmful compounds behind such offensive cork-based aromas as rubber, petroleum, mushroom and sulfur. Note, the mushroom mentioned here is not the natural mushroom ("Forest floor") aromas found in many good pinots - one of the reasons pinot and mushrooms have a natural affinity at the table!

This purification process is accomplished using "Supercritical CO2" - the scientific description for the change in gaseous properties under specific pressure/temperature conditions. In this case, CO2 is at its Supercritical phase at temperatures above 88 degrees and pressure in excess of 71 Bars. (Note, I found no mention on the Oeneo website about whether the CO2 is released into the atmosphere during the purification process - does anyone know? Please leave a comment)

After purification, the cork "dust" is molded into the shape of a cork using a food-grade binder (I believe this to be urethane, but can't find confirmation). Two levels of permeability are available to the winemaker, a basic version for standard wines and a more permeable version for very delicate wines. But the best news for winemakers is that the company guarantees against cork taint, and I know of no other wine closure that offers such assurance.

Dan, "Amusing Musings" extends our congratulations on your good ratings, and thanks you for the time on the phone today.

Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

Quote of the Day:
"Crap"

~ My wife, Leslie Durschinger, upon tasting a corked bottle of 1994 Rubicon

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Wine for the Bacon Explosion! (A super Bowl recipe?)

2009-01-29T11:10:23-08:00

Thursday, January 29th, 2009
In case you are a vegetarian, or have been away from your crackberry for the last few weeks, the food world has been a bit surprised with the collective hunger pangs caused by a recipe buzzing around the Internet. Even the NY Times covered it in its venerable Dining and Wine Section, which reports that 16,000 web sites (now 16,001!) have linked to the recipe at the BBQ Addicts website. We're watching history here, folks - no other recipe has been disseminated to so many in such a short period of time.

Called "the Bacon Explosion" by its creators, the popular recipe may have generated more clicks in the past week than the Super Bowl and the Oscars, combined. OK, perhaps not, but estimates exceed 14 million hits.

BTW, if interested in preparing this hunk of pork for your favorite meat eater, I think the BBQ Addicts site provides the best step-by-step instructions (surprisingly, only 415 diggs as of this morning).

What Wine Goes With Bacon Explosion?
Which brings me to today's email from a member asking what wine I'd pair with this "dish". Actually, it's pretty easy. Most any red wine will work well if it features sweet, ripe-fruit flavors. I'd opt for medium bodied wines, and avoid pairing this mouthful of flavor with your more precious bottles.

From there, the perfect pairing depends on whether you used sweet sausage or hot sausage in your roll and sweet or tangy BBQ sauce. If your preferences lean towards hot sausage and tangy sauce, look for low alcohol wines (below 14.5% for sure) as the alcohol will fight the spicy heat in your particular version of the bacon explosion. Plus, your tangy sauce is likely acidic, and you'll want a wine with higher acidity to stand up to it - I hate to sound like a broken record, but a pinot noiror Italian Reds from a warmer growing region are likely to be the perfect match. Also, Zinfandels from cooler regions where lower alcohol reigns supreme.

If your tastes lean towards sweeter BBQ sauce and sausage, then opt for a ripe Syrah or other Rhone blends. The smoker used to prepare the Bacon Explosion resonates with these wines, whose latent talents include amplifying the toasted oak flavors from their barrels - a great bridge to the smoked meat. Or try a riper Zinfandel or Shiraz that offers jammy fruit and higher alcohol and a peppery spice that flatters this smoked shaft of porcine meat.

Oh, and a decent merlot could work well too.

Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

Quote of the Day:
"Excess, upon occasion, is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit."

~ Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965)

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Marvelous Malbec - Going the way of Merlot?

2009-01-28T11:32:21-08:00

Wednesday, January 28, 2009
This weekend's Wall Street Journal "Tastings" article featured the results of a Malbec tasting. It could not have been more timely. As it was being inked I was writing up a Malbec from Argentina for Monday's club shipment - the Finca Sophenia 2007 Reserver Malbec ($19).

This wine was selected for my club members for much the same reasons Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher describe in their article - it provides an interesting change of pace at an affordable price.

Read their full article here -http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123274529050711187.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

I think the most interesting aspect of their article is that, while the varietal is enjoying a rapid ascent in popularity, they found many samples to be quite unpleasant. This is exactly what earned Merlot such vehement opposition from wine geek Miles Raymond in the movie Sideways - every grower and winemaker wanted in on the action and began planting Merlot vines in inappropriate places, and/or over-cropped the hell out of the vines, resulting in large quantities of uninteresting wines.

Great winegrowers will tell you - over and over again, if you let them - that great wine begins in the vineyard, and that the producer can mess up great grapes, but can not fix bad grapes. They view their role as a caretaker, and seek to make wine only from the best fruit possible. In the case of Malbec, or at least the poor quality ones, it seems the wine is being overly manipulated to cover up bad fruit. Acid may be added. Oak barrels (or more likely staves, or chips or tea bags of oak shavings) are being relied upon to lend flavors to otherwise bland grapes.

This is a slippery slope. But you can help! By purchasing and sharing only Malbecs known to be of good quality, you make the most important vote you can make. Hopefully, your message to the producers in Argentina will be loud and clear.

I can stand behind the Finca Sophenia. For additional options, refer to the wines reviewed in the WSJ article here - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123274529050711187.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

Today’s Quote:
"First come the innovators, who see opportunities that others don't. Then come the imitators, who copy what the innovators have done. And then come the idiots, whose avarice undoes the very innovations they are trying to use to get rich."

~ Warren Buffett (1930 - ?)

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Feed Your Passion!

2009-01-14T10:18:33-08:00

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
"You are so lucky! What a GREAT job you have! Don't you just love it?"

This is, invariably, what I hear after telling people what I do for a living.

The truth is, I am passionate about wine. But there are times when ANY job becomes, well, work. Sure it's fun to sample wines, but imagine standing eye-to-eye with an enthusiastic winemaker (or their hungry representative), tasting their wine, and then telling him/her you won't be buying any. Now imagine doing that again. And again. In fact, you have to say that FAR more times than the much more enjoyable "I take it!", which happens all too infrequently. Add to this the paperwork and compliance and logistics and administrative tasks, throw in a pinch of partnership disputes, and pretty soon you have a high-stress, low-salary job on your hands.

So to keep my love alive, I feed my passion so I can share it with you. Sort of the wine equivalent of putting on my oxygen mask before assisting others (I can't be of much help if I'm unconscious, now can I?)

I am not much for New Year's resolutions, but I do find these to be an effective way to keep my wine love burning.

First, Feed Your Curiosity. My wife and share wine almost every evening. We enjoy a wide variety of wines, from all over the world and at all different price points (well, after eliminating wines under $12, which we rarely find interesting). This exposure to the world's vinous bounty fuels an unending curiosity, and recharges one's batteries.
Make Wine Part of Your Ritual. When we sit down to eat, our family tradition is to raise our glass and toast each other, being sure to make eye contact. This sort of intimacy makes many Americans uncomfortable, but is common in Europe, where it is considered rude NOT to look in the eye of your toast recipient. Don't look at your glass, look at the other person, even if they look at their glass. Your eye contact says "Of all the places I could be right now, I am happy to be here, sharing this meal with you".
"Because it's Wednesday"(or Monday, or Sunday or...) My point here is that too many special bottles are being held in reserve for the perfect occasion, only to end up dying in wait. Auction houses are full of wine collections that outlived their collectors. Spontaneously opening a great bottle "just because" is rarely regretted, unless the decision was made under the influence. Which brings me to...
Avoid Intoxication - The wine business attracts heavy drinkers. And it can make heavy drinkers out of moderate drinkers. This may sound counter-intuitive, but to maintain my passion I've found it essential to avoid intoxication. You see, I love wine, but I don't like being drunk, or the slowness of head it brings the next day.

How do you feed your wine passion? I hope you'll leave your own ideas in our comments section - it is newly redesigned to make commenting easier.

Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

Today’s Quote:
"Life is pretty simply. You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. The trick is the doing something else."

~ Dolly Parton, Country singer and actress (1946 - ?)

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Three Gangloffs = Rare Opportunity

2009-01-06T17:51:36-08:00

Tuesday, January 6, 2009
What better start to the new year than with some truly impressive wines? These lovelies are not budget-friendly, but relative to the same amount spent dining out, this is a great value on a wine that is a memory waiting to happen.

The Winemakers: Yves and Mathilde Gangloff
I don't know whether Yves' long, curly tresses inspired Jim Clendenen's (owner/Winemaker at California's Au Bon Climat) aging rock star look, or whether it was the other way round. Wherever the truth is found, they both define the look of the hip, flowing-haired winemaker.

Yves youthful appearance hides his many years of experience. In 1980 he began (as so many great producers do) working in the vineyards of esteemed Côte-Rôtie producer Delas, where he gained intimate familiarity with the vineyards and micro-climates of the area. As money and opportunity allowed, he pieced together his own patchwork quilt of vineyards.

A native of Alsace, which is no stranger to great white wines, Gangloff was unexpectedly thrust into the producer's role in 1987, when his négociant suddenly backed out just before harvest. What a serendipity this was for the wine world.

The Gangloffs are the very definition of boutique producers (or micro-domaine, as the French call it), with little more than 5 acres of vineyards planted to grapes (1.7 in Condrieu and 2.4 in Cote Rotie). Their wines are well worth the hunt!

The Three Wines

Wine #1 - 2006 Condrieu (Viognier). $79.75
Happily, this beautifully aromatic white wine grape has become increasingly popular over the last 15 years or so. Sadly, good examples are still relatively scarce, as new plantings have lagged demand. It can vary in style, from lightly perfumy to highly alcoholic, but is always identifiable through its nose of peach-and-apricot floating on top of waves of honeysuckle.

France's Rhone Valley (and specifically Condrieu) is often thought to be the best spot in the world for Viognier. In Condrieu, the maximum yield is a low 30 hl/ha, assuring the rich character for which their wines are known, and the high prices they command as a result. Gangloff vinifies his Condrieu using the method common to the area:

Oak fermentation. Typically, about one-third of the barrels are new, the remaining 2/3 consisting of 1-3-year-old barrels.
Sur lie Aging. After fermentation the wines are left to age on the spent yeast cells for one year.
Bâtonnage. A labor-intensive stirring of the lees while in the barrel. This further softens the wine prior to bottling.

The wine is made in a lush, bold style, with fig and papaya fruit flavors. To that I would add one of the more interesting descriptors I've heard for Viognier - graham cracker - in addition to the classic peach/apricot and floral notes that are markers of this varietal - though here they are heavier, richer, more honied.

Every great cellar needs a case of this wine. Sadly, you'll have to build it slowly, as I have to limit this wine to just one bottle per customer.

Wine #2: Gangloff 2005 Cote Rotie, La Barbarine, $75

2005 was an outstanding year for lovers of Rhone wines, as it was in many winemaking regions. I don't know if the dry conditions meet the classic definition of a drought, but summer rainfall in the Northern Rhone has been well below average since 2002, a condition that can benefit well-established vines in certain soils.

The summer was long and hot, the only relief coming in the form of the Mistral wind, which cooled at night and provided sufficient diurnal variation to preserve the day's concentrated ripeness with the night's adequate acidity. You will notice a powerful structure, but it is so well balanced as to be most pleasant.

The grapes were completely destemmed prior to fermentation in stainless steel tank. Natural yeasts and very little SO2 were used for fermentation before the wine was matured for 23 months in oak barriques - Yves and Mathilde employed some new barrels amidst others that were 2 - 4 years old (sorry, I don't know the breakdown in percentage) , as is his custom. Likewise, the wine was bottled unfiltered and unfined in September 2007.

Making the most of a beautiful vintage, Gangloff has crafted a memorable wine. This is his Syrah from his younger vines, ranging in age from 5 -15 years, and with yields of 40 ha/hl. The granite slopes of his vineyard produce a classic Cote Rotie - an earthy minerality, and a roasted coffee bean aroma, smokey “roasted slope” (the translation of Cote Rotie) and sweet cassis aromas. This wine's tannins and refreshing acidity give it weight which also adds to its gravitas as well as its long finish. Will age nicely for years to come.

This wine reflects the Gangloff's vineayrd plantings - 92% Syrah, 8 % Viognier - a traditional blend for Cote Rotie. The addition of Viognier is perceptible only in that it amplifies the aromas of the wine, helping the more reluctant Syrah aromas to leap from your glass.

Only 467 cases produced. Only one bottle per customer. Sorry.

Wine #3: Gangloff 2005 Cote Rotie, La Serienne Noire, $97
I often disagree with the Wine Spectator, and this is no exception. The only reason I can think of for a score of only 92 points for this wine is that they are suffering over at the Spectator offices, with rating points being in shorter supply than an optimistic economist.

This is a beautiful wine that will turn any ocassion into a great memory. Look for black cherries and red berries that surf down rolling waves of mineral, dark chocolate and black olive. Despite the old world origins of this wine, it is quite fruit forward, sporting surprisingly fine-grained tannins for a wine of this youthfulness. A very dark and powerful wine. A telltale sense of its own terroir lurks within, making it unique among its Cote Rotie peers.

For this wine, the Gangloff's traditionally use 100% Syrah, choosing to employ more new oak to soften the tannic grip and add some of the sweetness lent by the floral Viognier in La Barbarine.

The grapes were completely destemmed prior to fermentation in stainless steel tank. Natural yeasts and very little SO2 were used for fermentation before the wine was matured for 23 months in oak barriques - for their premier crus, Yves and Mathilde employ 30% - 50% new barrels, with the remainder 2 - 4 years old. Likewise, the wine was bottled unfiltered and unfined as is their custom.

Only 290 cases made. Very limited availability. Sorry, only one bottle per customer.

Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com or
Dave@TastesOfTheValleys.com

Today’s Quotes:
"I'll never be able to afford it so I better buy it now!"

~ Unknown

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Merry Shoe-mas! or How to Get Wine Delivered by X-Mas!

2008-12-17T10:33:59-08:00

Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Just about the time I began complaining to my boss (a most unsympathetic SOB) about describing yet another wine, a news story reminded me of why I love my job - it has a noticeable lack of footwear-flipping foes. Those who disagree with my opinions may stop buying my wines, or selling me their wines, but such insults don't leave tread marks on my cheeks.

Googling the term Merry Shoe-mas provides some interesting hits. First, there are the folks over at OSOYOU, whatever that is, who have leveraged recent shoe news by offering a free pair of party shoes for each of the 12 days of Christmas. I should note they're giving one pair of free shoes per day, not one free pair per customer. Google also directs one to the Iraqi journalist, Mr Zaidi himself, whose shoe-tossing epithets may have evoked a certain amount of sympathy from U.S. voter in both parties (though I recommend venting one's Bush-related angst through the likes of the Sock and Awe game (click to play), which has proved so popular globally they have surely had to reinforce their load capacity since yesterday.) Wait, not yesterday. I mean Sunday.

Which brings me to today's real topic. Though it SEEMS like just yesterday that Mr Zaidi's flying shoes proved our lame duck POTUS still has good reflexes, it actually happened on SUNDAY. Yes, three days ago. Which means time is flying. Which means it would be wise to check your holiday to-do list.

Remember that holiday wine you've been meaning to order? Well, if the order is going to a CA address, the order need be in by end of day on Thursday, Dec 18th for delivery by the 24th. If it's going to an address outside CA, you'd be wise to order by Friday and opt for overnight delivery if it's to arrive before the 24th! Click here to order wine.

Too late to order? Relax. Our electronic gift certificates (Click Here to Order) are delivered via email or phone, so you can purchase them up until the 24th. Starting at $50, our certificates allow your recipient to select whatever wine they'd like, using your stored-value certificate to pay for wine or merchandise, sales tax and shipping.

And while their selected wine may not arrive in time for the holidays, the gift of wine comes with the suggestion of a nice meal shared with friends and family, and that's a gift we need all year long.

Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com or
Dave@TastesOfTheValleys.com

Today’s Quotes:
"I did not own three thousand pairs of shoes. I owned one thousand and sixty."

~ Imelda Marcos (1929 - )

"These are my new shoes. They're good shoes. They won't make you rich like me, they won't make you rebound like me, they definitely won't make you handsome like me. They'll only make you have shoes like me. That's it"

~ Charles Barkley (1963 - )

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P.S. I realize that the full word is Christmas, and that contemporary keepers of the faith find the shorter "X-mas" objectionable. But to commenters tempted to decry my heathen nature in a public forum, I refer you to ancient history, back to the days of Christian persecution, when the X served as the secret symbol of recognition amonst believers. Hence the abbreviation X-mas, which has remained in use all these many years hence.