Source: http://thecaveman.blogspot.com/2009/02/cant-hold-sulphites-there-are-lot-of.html
Friday, 25 May 2012
Sarkozy, teetotaler, is out; Hollande, in. But is he a Champagne Socialist?
At the polls yesterday, French voters bid adieu to President Sarkozy who was famously, and incongruously, a teetotaler as head of France. “President Bling Bling,” as he was known, will now be replaced by “Mr. Normal,” Francois Hollande. As far as our beat is concerned, does that mean that a wine-lover will be returning to [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/GuSC/~3/HxhA_q0wX28/
Field Notes from a Wine Life ? Power Structure Edition
Odds and ends from a life lived through the prism of the wine glass…
Naked Wine and Occupy Wall Street
It’s not hard to notice the parallels between the natural wine movement and Occupy Wall Street - both are valid causes sorely lacking coherence and a rallying point that would move them from fringe head-scratcher to mainstream momentum.
• Natural wine is about purity of wine expression—shepherding grapes grown without chemicals to the bottle with as little human manipulation as possible, representing the place where they came from in the process.
• Occupy Wall Street is about re-calibrating the world’s best economic system – capitalism—to preserve the middle-class, the labor force that has allowed the U.S. to create the most productive economy in the world.
Neither movement represents fringe radicalism as some would have you believe. I look at both as being valid inflection points and, at their core, about keeping a balance between big and small, allowing every man and woman an equal opportunity at pursuing success around their particular truth.
What reasonable person would deny the validity of either if not clouded by confusion?
One idea well-conceived and well-communicated can change the world, but, unfortunately, both the natural wine movement and Occupy Wall Street are prevaricating from their essential truth, rendering them both toothless and feckless.
No need to crib from Che Guevara, but appealing to base logic and the common denominator would do both movements some good.
Just one man’s opinion…
On the Aussies, Redux
A few weeks back, I noted how the Australian wine industry was poised for a rebound in public perception due in part to two things happening in concert – public backlash to Yellow Tail wine, what I call the, “Derision Decision,” and an unspoken coalition of influencers recognizing Australia’s artisanal wine production – the antithesis of Yellow Tail. I cited recent sympathetic mentions from Jay McInerney in the Wall Street Journal and Dan Berger, wine writing’s current patriarch, as proof points.
You can add to the list of sympathetic mentions about artisanal Australia with recent mentions from Jancis Robinson and James Suckling.
Don’t sleep on Australia. It’s making a comeback slowly, but surely in public perception.
Tim Mondavi and Wine Spectator
Thomas Matthews, the Executive Editor for Wine Spectator magazine (WS), has commented on my site a few times. Each of these instances has been to protect or project Wine Spectator around its editorial goals.
Good on Thomas for not being afraid to get in the ring. Certainly, WS takes its fair share of shots from the wine chatterati, mostly with grace and aplomb.
Lest I cast myself as anything but objective, I should note that James Laube’s article on Tim Mondavi and Continuum in the current issue of WS (November 15th issue) is everything right about what mainstream wine media can offer wine consumers that online wine writing (mostly) doesn’t –long-form, depth, first-person access and an effort that takes weeks and not hours.
Laube’s piece is excellent - well-written and balanced; acknowledgement thereof is in order.
Besides the Wine
Jordan winery has two wines – a Cabernet and Chardonnay, but they really have a triumvirate in terms of things to buy. Jordan focuses on food and wine as being partners at the table and, to that end, any purchase from Jordan should also include their olive oil. Wow!
The Jordan olive oil makes Trader Joe’s EVOO seem like Two Buck Chuck, comparatively speaking. A little whole wheat Barilla pasta, some homemade pesto using the Jordan olive oil and some artisan bread in five minutes a day and you’re assuredly living the good life. The rub is I wouldn’t pour the round Jordan Chard with the pesto, probably a Sauvignon Blanc, but don’t let that dissuade you from picking up their olive oil – it’s good stuff.
Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/field_notes_from_a_wine_life_power_structure_edition/
Visit and Tasting Report: Vaughn Duffy Wines
As I was looking at potential wineries to visit I was like a kid in a candy store. There are so many tremendous Pinot Noir producers to visit in Sonoma. Of all the wineries I visited, the one I'm most excited to write about is this one: Vaughn Duffy Wines
The name comes from a young couple that relocated to Sonoma from San Francisco: Matt Duffy & Sara Vaughn. I met with Matt at Vinify Wine Services - a custom crush facility for emerging winemakers where he works as a Cellar Master - to taste the two wines he produces: A Pinot Noir and a ros�,
I first heard of Vaughn Duffy from @tgutting on Twitter. He seems to always be drinking wines from California Pinot Noir producers I enjoy - like Siduri, Zepaltas, and Joseph Swan. I pinged him to ask what he thought were some up and coming producers I should check out. Vaughn Duffy was his recommendation.
The wines I tasted were just the second produced by Vaughn Duffy Wines so we're definitely getting in on the ground floor here.
Matt, as earnest and enthusiastic and kind as you can imagine, worked as an intern at Siduri so he follows a similar lineage as Ryan Zepaltas in that respect. While tasting his two current release wines - a 2010 Pinot Noir and a 2011 Ros� - I asked about his winemaking philosophy. Although he enjoys leaner Pinot Noir for personal consumption he wants to make wines his family and friends will enjoy. That they'll love.
And enjoy them I did.
The prior vintage of Vaughn Duffy ros� landed on the San Francisco Chronicle's Top 100 list of 2011. Quite an accomplishment for the first wines ever released under this label. Matt makes this wine from juice bled from premium Pinot Noir grapes from clients he works with at Vinify. To pay their generosity forward he donates $1 from every bottle sold to Sonoma charities. No two vintages are exactly the same - Matt says the 2011 vintage took longer for fermentation to begin - but many of the same crowd pleasing characteristics found in the 2010 ros� are also found in the 2011.
All of the winemakers I spoke with agreed that 2010 was a tough vintage for Pinot Noir. The growing season was extremely cool and grapes were slow to ripen. To assist ripening, leaves were removed late in the season. Then a rogue heat spike late in the season with temperatures well over 100F came along and fried exposed grapes.
When I hear that a vintage is "challenging" I tend to treat that as an indicator I should buy selectively. I asked each of the winemakers I spoke with about this and they said that good producers won't put out bad wines. If the grapes were truly fried they wouldn't have been picked. So what we'll see with 2010 Pinot Noir is reduced yields but good wines from good producers.
Although the 2010 Vaughn Duffy Pinot Noir is labeled "just" Russian River Valley, it could technically be labeled as a single vineyard wine. The grape source for the prior vintage was the Suacci vineyard (where Zepaltas and others have produced single vineyard Pinot Noirs in the past). However, in 2010 a fire near the Suacci vineyard imparted smoke taint on the Vaughn Duffy rows within the vineyard. As if the challenging overall weather conditions weren't enough!
So Matt sourced grapes from the Desmond vineyard which is Southwest of Windsor in the Russian River Valley. This is traditionally a warmer site so Matt thought the cooler growing season would be a good one for Pinot Noir. Based on what I tasted in the bottle, I think he was right.
Here are my notes on the wines:
2011 Vaughn Duffy Pinot Noir Ros�
14.1% Alcohol
$16
259 Cases Produced
The innocent light peach color did little to prepare me for how electric this wine is. Made using the Saign�e method - juice bled from pressed Pinot Noir. Peaches, watermelon, and floral aromatics. Slight residual sugar is balanced wonderfully with sharp acidity. It's hard to imagine this bottle of wine at a deck party going unfinished. Terrific.
92/100 WWP: Outstanding
2010 Vaughn Duffy Pinot Noir
13.7% Alcohol
$39
99 Cases Produced
For my palate, this is a delicious wine. Ripe strawberries, cherries, and a round voluptuous personality. Fresh. Pure. Friendly. Hard to stop tasting. Just the second vintage from Vaughn Duffy. I like the style here.
92/100 WWP: Outstanding
Next Steps:
- Visit VaughnDuffyWines.com and sign up for their mailing list.
- If you're a New England friend and would like to go in on a mixed case with me drop me an email (wellesleywinepress@gmail.com) and let me know. I'd prefer to amortize shipping costs across a larger order.
Do Case Discounts Actually Stifle Wine Purchases?
This question has been on my mind for some time so I thought I'd get it out there for discussion both from consumers and retailers alike.
If you're like me and many of my friends, your cellar is full, you've got more wine than you need and yet you're always in the market for certain specific wines. If a retailer has a wine you're looking for, and that retailer has a pricing model where for example a mixed case is 20% off - what do you do?
Do you put together a 12 bottle case of other wines you know you'll eventually drink? Do you get together with friends to split a mixed case? Or do you consider the whole production a hassle and delay the purchase indefinitely?
Are case discounts actually having the opposite effect they're intended to have?
There are basically three pricing models in stores in this respect: Low, medium, and high case discounts.
Which model works best for consumers? And which is most effective for retailers?
My reason for writing this is I often find myself not buying from retailers whose model requires hefty case purchases for favorable pricing.
If there's one thing a deal hound hates it's paying more for something than he has to. Even if it's just a few dollars here and there, it's a percentage game because over time the dollars add up.
Some retailers will give you a case discount if you're a regular even if you buy just 2 or 3 bottles. While this sounds good in theory in reality it's annoying to both consumers and retailers. It's annoying to consumers the first time they visit a shop and the employee who typically gives them the discount doesn't ring them up. And it's annoying to retailers because once a customer gets a discount they expect it forever.
What do I Like?
I like a model where I only have to buy what I want, and everything I buy is at the best possible price. I like receiving emails offering specific wines at very aggressive prices that I can pick and choose from, buy what I want, and over time build towards a case purchase. Then, I'll either pick it up at the store or arrange for shipment a couple times a year.
This is different than what I look for when buying, for example, a bicycle. Or tires. I don't buy bicycles or tires often enough to sweat it. I just visit a local shop or two, consider convenience and service, and go with my gut instinct.
But when you're buying wine again and again it pays to think about this stuff.
Consumers: What do you think? Looking back over the past couple years which models have earned more of your business?
Retailers: What are your thoughts on this? How did you decide to go with the case discount model you're using? And what trends have you seen as you've run specials offering deeper discounts with lower quantity purchases?
If you're like me and many of my friends, your cellar is full, you've got more wine than you need and yet you're always in the market for certain specific wines. If a retailer has a wine you're looking for, and that retailer has a pricing model where for example a mixed case is 20% off - what do you do?
Do you put together a 12 bottle case of other wines you know you'll eventually drink? Do you get together with friends to split a mixed case? Or do you consider the whole production a hassle and delay the purchase indefinitely?
Are case discounts actually having the opposite effect they're intended to have?
There are basically three pricing models in stores in this respect: Low, medium, and high case discounts.
- Low
On the low side we have operations where the first bottle is offered at the maximum discount. There are no case discounts. - Medium
In the middle is a more moderate 10% - 15% discount for a mixed 12 bottle purchase. - High
At the other end of the spectrum are placed where 25% or even 30% discounts are offered for mixed case purchases of 36 bottles. Typical margin for a retail wine shop is 33% so when a retailer offers a 30% discount it's usually what's required to get the prices down out of the stratosphere.
Which model works best for consumers? And which is most effective for retailers?
My reason for writing this is I often find myself not buying from retailers whose model requires hefty case purchases for favorable pricing.
If there's one thing a deal hound hates it's paying more for something than he has to. Even if it's just a few dollars here and there, it's a percentage game because over time the dollars add up.
Some retailers will give you a case discount if you're a regular even if you buy just 2 or 3 bottles. While this sounds good in theory in reality it's annoying to both consumers and retailers. It's annoying to consumers the first time they visit a shop and the employee who typically gives them the discount doesn't ring them up. And it's annoying to retailers because once a customer gets a discount they expect it forever.
What do I Like?
I like a model where I only have to buy what I want, and everything I buy is at the best possible price. I like receiving emails offering specific wines at very aggressive prices that I can pick and choose from, buy what I want, and over time build towards a case purchase. Then, I'll either pick it up at the store or arrange for shipment a couple times a year.
This is different than what I look for when buying, for example, a bicycle. Or tires. I don't buy bicycles or tires often enough to sweat it. I just visit a local shop or two, consider convenience and service, and go with my gut instinct.
But when you're buying wine again and again it pays to think about this stuff.
Consumers: What do you think? Looking back over the past couple years which models have earned more of your business?
Retailers: What are your thoughts on this? How did you decide to go with the case discount model you're using? And what trends have you seen as you've run specials offering deeper discounts with lower quantity purchases?
Thursday, 24 May 2012
Tease your taste buds with Luxury Wines
Are you looking forward to relax this weekend and enjoying some of the world?s finest wines? You can consider pampering yourself with a range of expensive wines that may be costlier than your car. Some of the most expensive wines that you can think of tasting are 1996 Latour. Labeled as one of the finest [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vagablond/ysSN/~3/ebB_J3iszPE/
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