Flight 571

It was the 23rd of October 1972, eleven days since the flight left Montevideo, Uruguay, and the survivors had just learned there would be no rescue.  The word had actually gone out five days earlier but the lone transistor radio worked only intermittently.  At that point there were twenty-seven survivors left alive out of the original forty-five passengers and crew and they all now knew their survival depended on someone leaving their plane fusillage shelter to hike down the mountain.  Since it would be seven weeks until any Spring warming may occur, they also realized their only potential food would be the bodies of those killed in the crash.

On October 12th, the plane, carrying a rugby team with family and friends, had set down in Mendoza, Argentina due to the hazardous weather but the pilot soon decided to continue on to Santiago, Chile.  "Dead reckoning" is the practice of estimating distance using the usual time for a plane to get to a  destination.  In this case the navigator did not take into account the headwinds into which the plane flew.  Consequently, the pass through the Andes was missed by 100km with the plane clipping mountainsides, first tearing off the right wing, then the left, and finally, the tail section, leaving the survivors very much exposed in the battered fusillage at close to 12,000ft altitude in frigid temperatures.

On December 23rd the sixteen remaining survivors were rescued, seventy-two days after leaving Uruguay.  Books, feature films, and documentaries, including one on PBS, are available for a full accounting of the horrors and heroics of what has become known as the "Miracle of the Andes".

This post originally was to be about Concha y Toro Serie Riberas Gran Reserva Malbec, a wine we thought to be remarkable for its quality/price and for being Chilean, and not Argentine.  The back label of the bottle mentions the vineyards on the Tinguiririca River which flows down from the very active Tinguiririca Volcano which is the peak next to the mountainside where Flight 571 came to rest.  Santiago lay seventy-five miles to the northwest, the same direction the river flows.

Easter Champagne

What could be more symbolically appropriate than to open a bottle of great Champagne on Easter Sunday.  First off, you don't need any occasion to pop a cork, but come on, Easter begs the issue.  This is the acme of the Christian year and what says celebration like Champagne.  So I know what you're thinking; you're wondering just how should you enjoy your bubbly this time.  Here are a few suggestions:

1.  There is a reason why Champagne brunches are as popular as they are.  Is it because Champagne is less filling (like Miller Lite?).  I'd like to believe it's because the stuff is uplifting.  I guess we'll have to leave that one to greater minds than mine to figure out.  Hey, I say just enjoy it!

2.  I love Champagne by itself.  Toasts being optional, the wine becomes the event when it is poured separate from the meal and we all become entranced by those tiny bubbles scaling our wine flutes.  Even if you have just had it with a meal, open another after dinner just for the heck of it, and go ahead and make a toast!

3.  Here's a secret: Champagne goes with food!  Like with still wines, the acidity cuts through fat and there is something about the bubbles (and minerality) that work with salt.  So I'm thinking a light dry Blancs des Blancs Champagne with fried fish or chicken and a heavier, richer Blancs de Noir with steak.  Some of those wonderfully inexpensive Spanish Cavas could cover both!  Did someone say Barbecue?

4.  Speaking of Cavas, you know they have tapas over there so why not pop a cork over the afternoon snack tray.  I hear they do something similar in Italy so try a Prosecco if you want something less dry but equally satisfying.  Sliced meats, smoked fish, nuts, olives, and bruschetta are all historic combinations but what's wrong with chips, pretzels, popcorn, and the like.  Works for me!

5.  And then there's dessert!  I say match the sweetness of the Champagne with the sweetness of the dessert which probably means we're talking pretty sweet!  Or not!  Like we said earlier, the bubbly makes the event, so dessert becomes something special no matter which kind you pop open!

Chain Stores vs Independents

This past week I had two conversations with two different customers about the relative merits of buying wine from the grocery store vis-a-vis the small independent store.  Both of these fellas are good customers here, one having been a shopper here for the entire twenty years, the other for just a month or so.  The old timer shared with me that another one of my customers told him the grocery store nearby was selling better wines now.  Later in the week the newer customer had contrastingly asked, "Why would anyone shop there when you can get better wines here and at lower prices?"  These were separate conversations at different times, not a group discussion, which probably wouldn't have resolved the where-to-shop issue anyway.

So let's look at the two businesses.  The business of chain stores is mass marketing and to do that you have to find out what most people like and then mass produce that on an industrial scale.  The business of the little guy is to find affordable wines that express distinction in quality outside of the channels that stream mass market product to the chains.  The chains build a reputation using business school/insider trade savvy combined with advertising know-how.  (Martha Stewart wines?)  The little guy uses his accrued experience in the business and "shopping cred" built by customer referrals.  The chains use the wine industry lobbying arm, the Wine Institute in Washington D.C., to know what to stock.  The little guy avoids that approach at all costs and does the consulting and tasting himself.

On this end and having worn both hats, I can say that satisfaction lies with doing it yourself while being a corporate type is where the money is.  If a chain ever got the right balance of industrial wine with artisan production, the small retailer would be history.  If the retailer ever got the funding to buy the mass market wine deals, he still wouldn't succeed in that game because the fix is always in the favor of the chains.  But this discussion is irrelevant anyway because the small retailer has a different philosphical approach to what this industry is and the chain industry will always be about mass marketing.

This coming Friday, the 11th of April, between 5 and 8pm, Nan Harrison of Hemispheres Global Wines joins us here for a tasting of California wines and more.  Nan's effusive personality along with her product knowledge make this event a must-experience for everyone.  Please join us.

Barbera

In the January 11th edition of the Wall Street Journal, wine writer Lettie Teague urges all of us to reassess the place of Italian Barbera in the wine world.  She maintains there has been a renaissance of sorts in the production value of this quintessential Italian wine grape and my experience at this end of the business bears this out.  For the past ten years it seems whenever I am presented with a new Barbera the price-quality ratio is steeped more in the value direction than before.  I even thought the Renwood Barbera of Amador County, California which I tasted three years ago was better than it should have been.

So getting back to the WSJ article, Teague interviews a New York Italian restauranteur who calls Barbera "his Pinot Noir".  Being a Pinot junkie, I thought about that for a minute and going against my better judgment, I agreed with the premise.  First of all, it's an Italian restaurant.  Barbera, yes; Pinot Noir, no way.  Secondly, as stated in the article, price matters.  One can get way better fifteen dollar Barbera than Pinot Noir.  Thirdly, and this one builds on the first two, there is the matter of consistency and staying power in a wine's flavor and Barbera has that within the lighter wine style format while Pinot Noir is hit-or-miss.  Actually, Pinot Noir misses a lot.

Barbera is the third largest selling wine in Italy after Sangiovese and Montepulciano and it is every bit as food friendly as the other two.  Ampelographers believe its origins lie either within Piedmont or just outside in Lombardy.  Today there are three Barbera styles exhibited in the examples of Asti, Alba, and Monferrato of Piedmont.  Barbera d'Asti shows the esteemed Nebbiolo-like oak-aged product with complexity, intensity, structure, and ageability.  Barbera d'Alba limits the time in oak in order to show the inherently higher acidity of the grape and its abundant cherry/berry flavors.   Monferrato shows Barbera in a slightly frizzante style with a blend of up to fifteen percent other local varieties.  Of the three, Alba is the most popular and the style most imitated elsewhere.

In California, the Renwood mentioned above is most similar to Barbera d'Alba and the Amador County Sierra Foothills venue is the best for the grape in California.  Unfortunately because of its current limited commercial appeal, most Barbera plantings are in the central valley where the juice goes into inexpensive jug reds.  Barbera is also widely planted in Argentina and Australia and basically wherever Italian immigrants carried their vines.

So are we at least potentially on the cusp of a renaissance for Barbera in the wine world?  Of course.  Lost in the discussion is the fact that Barbera is a vigorous vine that does well in the hotter climes we are facing and interestingly enough, while losing vineyard space to Nebbiolo in Piedmont for commercial reasons, at the same time it gained popularity there and elsewhere.  That is telling.  In Piedmont ( and elsewhere) it is both the poor man's Nebbiolo and within the wine trade, the go-to everyday choice in Piedmont and elsewhere.  It's just a matter of convincing everyone else to give it a try.

This Friday, the fourth of April between 5 and 8pm, we will be tasting reds and whites from Argentina and Washington State along with a few surprises.  Please join us.  And feel free to become a follower of this blog so I can get rich and retire!

Somm

I just watched the 2013 film documentary, Somm, about four guys who endure months of agony in pursuit of the Master Sommeliere credential.  The test is given once a year so you might as well say they endured for a year and since many contenders try repeatedly year after year, some of these masochists endure for years on end, all for the possibility of joining a worldwide fraternity of two hundred or so Master Sommelieres.

Before sitting down to write these reflections on what I thought was really a great film, I read a number of other reviews because frankly, this is my first film review and others' perspectives can't help but guide me.  Much to my dismay, most reviewers I read didn't seem to care for the film.  Interesting.  Being in the wine business for thirty-plus years, I felt there was plenty to criticize involving the subject matter, but as one who likes to enjoy a good flick, I thought writer/director Jason Wise did a fine job with this one.

The film shows how these contenders learn to taste and describe wines while concurrently studying the minutia of the wine industry, often one production region at a time.  I thought Mr. Wise set this out well.  Criticisms of others often concerned weakness in character and relationship development which I just thought wasn't the focus of Mr. Wise's test-centered endeavor.

What I did have a problem with was the placement of a wine rack in an apartment directly in sunlight; an anecdote about enjoying a great wine on a fishing boat (huh?); and using the wine descriptor, "smell of a freshly cut garden hose", which in fairness, is just the latest in a continuing stream of ridiculous wine descriptions.  But who doesn't know how to chill a bottle of wine fast?  And just how do these working guys afford all of the expensive wine they are tasting to prepare for the $2,000+ exam?  And then the biggest blunder of the film, the omission of anything involving food and wine pairings which actually happens to be WHAT A SOMMELIERE DOES!

I still liked the film though.  Much of it reminded me of studying sessions with fellow students (remember the flash cards?) and knowing that you had to know this stuff for the test but at the same time knowing you had to cut up a bit or you would go nuts.  In my formative years in the wine business, something similar went on with co-workers when we would open a bottle and learn from each other as we explored the subject more or less seriously.  As an admonition to film critics and wine snobs may I offer: When studying something, along with objectivity and scholarship, it is best to acknowledge others' perspectives while maintaining a spirit of fellowship.

This Friday at our weekly tasting session we will explore a Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chianti, Chardonnay, Malbec, and Spanish Garnacha.  Hey, become a follower here or I'll take that test and become elitist all over you.

A Tale of Two Tastings

Last night at the weekly event here at the store we tasted three whites and four reds with the whites being light, simple summertime fare and the reds being some combination of the Bordeaux varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.  The whites were delightful and actually sold better than the reds but they were also less than half the price of the reds and it's the reds I want to talk about here.

Our tasting lineups are often determined by what I have in the store when Friday rolls around and this time I had four wines in roughly the same price range all using some combination of the grapes listed above.  The 2009 Canoe Ridge Columbia Valley Merlot is 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2007 Testamento Mendoza, Argentina Red Blend is 50% Malbec and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2010 Stratton Lummis Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot while the 2011 Tower 15 "The Swell" Paso Robles Red Blend is all five grapes: 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 12% Malbec, 11% Petit Verdot, and 10% Cabernet Franc.

Purely for objectivity, I decided to bag the wines up in brown paper with a prominant number 1, 2, 3, or 4 on each bag.  Our tasters last night were quite receptive to the plan and played along gamely.  Interestingly enough, there was more diversity in commentary about the wines than I would have expected with everyone expressing a fave other than what was chosen by others nearby.  That doesn't always happen  Often someone makes his declarations known and everyone else follows the leader.  At the end of the evening all four wines sold comparably well with the Argentine slightly outselling the others.

Our group of tasters last night was a vigorous one and at evening's end there was only a small amount left in each bottle.  Rather than waste my "Private Preserve" gas in each bottle, I combined the wines into one bottle.  I figured I was playing with historically proven blending grapes anyway, so what the heck.  I then gassed that bottle and put it away for today's business.  Nothing ventured, right?

Without giving away any of my winemaking trade secrets, I figure my proprietary blend ended up being about half Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% each of Merlot and Malbec, and 5% each of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  On Saturday three adhoc tasting groups tasted the wines from Friday and I was totally upfront about the red blend concoction I had assembled.  Two out of three liked the wine while the third thoroughly did not.  At the end of the day I tasted my blend and darned if it wasn't really good.  Sales results, by the way were about half of what I sold on Friday.  As these things go, that was good enough. 

I also got recommendations on Saturday to go public with my new wine.  Maybe I missed my calling...and maybe I should hire an agent.

2012 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc+Viognier

I haven't tasted this wine.  I'm reporting on it because it's on the shelf here and, of course, I need to sell it but also because of my long history with Pine Ridge Vineyards.  The wine is in the store, by the way, because someone recently asked for Pine Ridge Chardonnay and upon quoting him a price and observing his telling sigh, I told him how good the Chenin/Viognier was for about a third of the Chardonnay price.  That is sometimes the way things happen here.

Pine Ridge Vineyards was founded by Gary Andrus in 1978 about the same time I took my first wine job while studying in northern California.  I didn't taste Pine Ridge wines until sometime in the early eighties and for my naive palate, they instantly became amongst my faves up to that point.  Pine Ridge is known for Cabernet Sauvignon in particular but also for red Bordeaux or Meritage blends in general.  Pine Ridge is also known for its location in the Stag's Leap District of Napa Valley and yes, there is a ridge of pine trees adjacent to the vineyard.

The 2012 Chenin/Viognier blend is 80% Chenin Blanc and 20% Viognier and according to their website features jasmine, honeyed pears, and chai spice in the nose and tropical fruit primarily in the mouth although finishing with white peaches, pineapple, and citrus.  This wine experiences no time in oak so that finish is fresh, crisp, and clean.  Other reviews report aromas and flavors of grapefruit, mango, perfume, honeydew melon, candied pineapple, spring flowers, and cantaloupe.  Some reviewers consider this wine to be off-dry; most use adjectives like crisp and elegant to describe its basic dryness.  Every review scores this wine highly.

Pine Ridge Chenin/Viognier is a refreshingly low 12% alcohol with a medium body and good zesty acidity making it a perfect cocktail wine.  Food pairings would include salads and seafood in general but also spicy dishes, including sushi and Asian dishes, and this wine may be one of the few to tackle curry successfully.

So here's a new installment echoing a recurring theme in this blog: the modern California wine industry illustrates in cases like Pine Ridge just how a wine may evolve based on history and good business sense.  Mr. Andrus originally planted Chenin Blanc in his Pine Ridge estate vineyards back in '78 and bottled his Napa varietal Chenin Blanc through the 1980s.  It was amazingly good.  Then, one would assume because Napa land had become so expensive, growing Chenin Blanc grapes there became impractical so those rows were replanted in Cabernet and other Meritage grapes.

The Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc is now sourced from Clarkesburg in the Sacramento River basin where the loamy, mineral-rich soil optimally nourishes vine roots while the diurnal effect of hot days and cool nights accentuates the acidity of the grapes and hastens the ripening process.  The tropical fruit flavors, however, come from the Viognier sourced a little further south and west in Lodi.  As beneficial as Clarkesburg is to Chenin Blanc, Lodi is similarly to Viognier, and that kind of insightful knowledge is learned over time.  The Chenin Blanc is harvested early for acidity; the Viognier, later for rich, ripe fruit and that's how this game is played.

Please join us here this evening (5-8pm) when Taylor Moore of Eagle Rock Distributing presents the wines of Chilcas, a certified organic producer in the Maipo Valley of Chile.  We will be tasting five reds and a Sauvignon Blanc priced between $12.99 and $50/btl.  Please join us and for gosh sakes become a follower of this blog.