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Friday, September 30, 2011
Gallo and Wine: The Impact May Be Never Ending
It's not a perfect irony, but it's interesting: It is being reported that researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center in San Francisco are moving closer to not only understanding alcohol and nicotine addiction, but toward developing drugs...
Will Yellow Tail Find More Green?
Australia, a wine darling in the U.S. for most of the past 20 years, fell prey to Newton’s Law of Motion and the coloring of the bruising from the tumble down, in addition to being black and blue, is also yellow and black.
Aside from grappling with a myriad of structural industry and world currency issues, the Aussies have also had to grapple with the fact that their number two import market, the U.S., has had its wine cognoscenti turn their back on the perceived plumped up juice from Oz, a fact that was contributed to in no small measure, I believe, by the ubiquity of Yellow Tail – the inexpensive, redolently sweet, duotone in taste and packaging wine brand that grew case sales 3180% from 2001 to 2008, as reported by the New York Times.
To mix metaphors, where perception is reality, one bad apple (Or three if you count Yellow Tail category imitators as well as Robert Parker, Jr.’s legacy proclivity for Mollydooker) has spoiled the bunch, at least in the minds of wine influencers.
Tom Steffanci, President of Yellow Tail brand owner W.J. Deutsch & Sons, noted to Shanken News Daily (SND) in April, “…It’s so important that we never compromise on quality…you can’t fool consumers on quality…” However, wine tastemakers don’t think much of the Yellow Tail quality nor are they often shopping in the $6.99 price category.
Consequently, the brand that begat a category casts a pallor over an entire country’s wine. As one Australian wine marketing rep recently told me with a deep sigh, “This is the toughest job in the wine business.” A job, by the way, that includes aggressively trying to market Australian wine as being borne of terroir and regionality, a job, indeed, that evokes salmon swimming upstream into the waiting maw of a hungry bear.
Yellow Tail’s sales have plateaued in the last two years at 8.3 million cases and recent statistics from Australian wine export reporting indicates that total Australian volume to the U.S. dropped 19% in the year ending in June. This makes sense given that Steffanci indicated to SND that the brand represented around 40% of Australian wine sales in the U.S.
This subtext leads to an interesting question, one I’m sure the Australian wine marketing folks would also like the answer to: Is Yellow Tail a declining brand, victim of the “Derision Decision” – the point in time where something grows to such popularity that it transcends ‘hot with cachet’ to ‘not cool,’ a victim of the cultural zeitgeist?
Or, is Yellow Tail’s stagnant growth merely a mindshare issue alleviated by some marketing?
The answer to that question may be an indicator to when the overall category of Australian wine sales might recover, at least from a perception perspective which can lead to a sales recovery in the upper reaches of price tiers, not anchored by their mates in the $6.99 category.
Doubtless, it’s not schadenfreude to suggest the Australian wine marketing folks might not be terribly upset if Yellow Tail shrunk from its ubiquity and, by proxy, it’s mindshare that equates to, “Australian for wine.”
Already, some East Coast liquor and bottle shop sales data (IRI provided by Wine Australia) shows that Australian wine priced $15.99 to $19.99 was up 24% in the fiscal year ending in June.
This rooted in reality but still hypothetical question of whether the Australian category is tethered to the relative misfortune of Yellow Tail in order to makeover perceptions is especially interesting given that 85% of every man, woman and child over the age of 21 is expected to see at least one Yellow Tail marketing message before the end of W.J. Deutsch’s fiscal year in March of 2012.
I guess we’re about to find out…
The New York Times (NYT) recently highlighted Yellow Tail’s new advertising and marketing campaign. With a shift in positioning from the nebulously adventuresome, on the go-oriented and short-lived, “Open for Anything” to the equally nebulous, but brand reinforcing “The go-to,” Yellow Tail is attempting to incrementalize and grow their flat case sales.
Brands face this conundrum all the time in the brand growth cycle. Explosive growth doesn’t always remain so and brands enter into an inevitable maturity phase: Do we push growth along or innovate? The unspoken question being, “Do we milk this sucker or do we take a left turn and try to reignite growth?”
At least for now, Yellow Tail is taking the safe route. In the words of Renato Reyes, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Deutsch, as quoted in the NYT’s, he said Yellow Tail as, “The go-to” is “trying to own ‘occasionality’” and be, “the spine of (consumer) purchasing behavior.”
A look at their media mix indicates that their digital activity is skewing female with its current focus on the young female movie Bridesmaid on Facebook in addition to late night television with its young male audience and lifestyle channels that hit a broad, culturally literate, age-spanning audience. Apparently, Yellow Tail is going for reach in trying to hit a mass segment of people that are likely wine-interested, but not wine enthusiastic (see all the creative here).
By trying to be the “spine” of wine purchasing behavior, they’re trying to create brand loyalty, notoriously difficult to achieve in wine, but akin to regular purchasers of any other consumer goods where repeatable familiarity drives business.
As Reyes noted to the NYT’s, if every Yellow Tail consumer makes a purchase, “One more time, that would represent 10 percent growth.”
Incrementalize.
In my opinion, this audience traded up a price level to Malbec and Moscato, but that’s anecdotal and definitely beside the point.
Meanwhile, an industry hangs in the balance… or does it?
Some tastemakers are coming back around to Australia as evidenced by a recent story by Jay McInerney in the Wall Street Journal where he noted in a similarly themed article about Australia’s current wine misfortune, “I’m ready and willing to revisit Australia.”
Likewise, the Dean of working wine writers, Dan Berger, recently confronted Australian wine (mis)perceptions head-on using a “young wine blogger” as his foil (likely a Slats Grobnik-like writing device) where he made the case that the best red wines in Australia, “Are balanced and age nicely.”
So, where does this leave Australian wine that doesn’t have a kangaroo? Is it wearing a bumblebee colored hairshirt, casually waiting for one brands decline in order to catch its next wave of momentum? Will Yellow Tail find additional green, continuing to leave fine Australian wines in the red? I suspect the answer is no. But, regardless of Yellow Tail’s sales, and even if re-emergent, Newton’s Law of Motion also states that when a force is directed at an object it accelerates in proportion to and in the direction of that force.
Inexpensive plonk and marketing campaigns aside, I suspect that Yellow Tail and Australian wines of character can co-exist and the real force that is starting to accelerate are the U.S. wine influencers and tastemakers, the progenitors of the, “Derision Decision,” who will soon direct their energy on the good in Australia and not their perception of the bad.
That’s a force (and trend) worth watching and one that Newton, also a wine drinker, would approve of.
Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/will_yellow_tail_find_more_green/
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Announcing WBW 71: Rhones Not From The Rh�ne
The theme for WBW 71 is, "Rhones Not From The Rh�ne." Pick any wine made from a variety best known in The Rh�ne but not made in that famous French region. It doesn't matter if the wine is white, pink or red; still, sparkling or fortified. Whatever you choose just needs to be made from primarily a Rhone grape and come from a region not in France.
Announcing WBW 71: Rhones Not From The Rh�ne originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/jrDA0wzAgrw/
Clos Puy Arnaud Corbin Cos d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Estournel Couspaude Couvent des Jacobins
Davis Bynum, Pinot Noir 2008
Davis Bynum is a�venerable name in California Pinot Noir having made their reputation back when Joseph Swan was still with us. Founded in 1973, Davis Bynum was the first to produce a single-vineyard Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley; from the now legendary�Rochioli Vineyard. And this heritage lives on even after the sale to [...]
Davis Bynum, Pinot Noir 2008 originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/6sxRm_z4EEU/
Gloria Gomerie Grand Puy Ducasse Grand Puy Lacoste Gruaud Larose
Best Summer Sangria
This is a guest post from my wife Deanna who serves as the CMO of the Wellesley Wine Press. She also blogs at Casa Dwyer and you can follow her on Twitter.
Let's be honest. Not every bottle of wine is worthy of drinking on its own. I believe it's why Sangria was invented. This Summer I found myself craving a cool red drink that was approachable and delicious. I used several recipes and came up with what I think is a flavorful rendition wine lovers and newbies will both adore. I haven't yet seen my partner drink it, but, really, what does he know? *giggle*
Best Summer Sangria
(makes enough for 4 glasses)
Use a glass wine carafe like this one
.
3 oranges, 2 juiced, 1 halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1 lemon, 1/2 juiced, half thinly sliced crosswise
a small handful of fresh raspberries
1/4 cup blue agave sweetener
1/3 cup Amaretto (I like Amaretto di Saronno)
1 bottle dry red wine, chilled
Ice cubes, for serving
Directions
In a large pitcher, combine fresh orange juice, blue agave, and amaretto; stir well. Add wine, orange slices, lemon slices and raspberries. Fill glasses with ice before serving.
Enjoy!
Editor's Note: Any red wine will do. I like tosacrifice pick an affordable juicy red like Grenache, Malbec or Monastrell, but really pretty much anything will work - even Two Buck Chuck. Like choosing your tequila when making a frozen margarita - it doesn't matter nearly as much when you're drinking it straight. Cheers.
Let's be honest. Not every bottle of wine is worthy of drinking on its own. I believe it's why Sangria was invented. This Summer I found myself craving a cool red drink that was approachable and delicious. I used several recipes and came up with what I think is a flavorful rendition wine lovers and newbies will both adore. I haven't yet seen my partner drink it, but, really, what does he know? *giggle*
Best Summer Sangria
(makes enough for 4 glasses)
Use a glass wine carafe like this one
. 3 oranges, 2 juiced, 1 halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1 lemon, 1/2 juiced, half thinly sliced crosswise
a small handful of fresh raspberries
1/4 cup blue agave sweetener
1/3 cup Amaretto (I like Amaretto di Saronno)
1 bottle dry red wine, chilled
Ice cubes, for serving
Directions
In a large pitcher, combine fresh orange juice, blue agave, and amaretto; stir well. Add wine, orange slices, lemon slices and raspberries. Fill glasses with ice before serving.
Enjoy!
Editor's Note: Any red wine will do. I like to
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/lPRAXxZZXqc/best-summer-sangria.html
Patache d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Aux Pavie Pavie Decesse Pavie Macquin Pavillon Rouge du Margaux
Top 10 Words of the 2011 Napa Harvest
The Top Ten Words of the 2011 Napa Harvest In my super -un-scientific, un-official, survey of growers, winemakers, owners and finance types in Napa Valley, here are the Top Ten words I hear associated with the 2011 Napa Valley Harvest...
Figeac Fleur de Gay Gazin Giscours Giscours Rare Signed Marie Jeanne
Certified Open : All' Angolo Pizza & Pasta Quietly Launches in Koreatown
Best 2009 California Pinot Noirs Under $30
I truly enjoyed reading through this Pinot Noir issue in particular. There's something unmatchable about taking a break from staring at the computer monitor and thumbing through glossy pages while enjoying a glass of wine. The issues arrive with higher frequency this time of year, covering the most interesting categories for the upcoming holiday buying season, so it's a great time to subscribe.
You can even use airline miles (here's how) and once you have a print subscription you can get an online subscription for 50% off. I constantly refer to their ratings database. Not just for the scores but for production levels, prices, and historical rating trends for a given winery.
But the thing I like best about the magazine is how it turns me on to new producers.
If we look at the top rated 2009 California Pinot Noirs they've rated so far, cap the price at $30, and sort based on the WWP QPR (what's that?) we find a select group of wines:
| Price | Rating | WWP QPR | |
| Loring Pinot Noir Russian River Valley | $29 | 93 | 2.07 |
| Loring Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands | $29 | 93 | 2.07 |
| Siduri Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands | $29 | 92 | 1.64 |
| Chasseur Pinot Noir Sonoma County | $30 | 92 | 1.59 |
| Alta Maria Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley | $28 | 91 | 1.35 |
| Siduri Pinot Noir Russian River Valley | $29 | 91 | 1.30 |
| Siduri Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast | $29 | 91 | 1.30 |
| Laguna Ridge Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast | $20 | 89 | 1.19 |
| Sarapo Pinot Noir Carneros-Sonoma County Donato | $20 | 89 | 1.19 |
I touched on Loring and Siduri in my prior post. I consider them to be cornerstones of value in California Pinot Noir and once we get past them we see a few names that might not be as familiar.
First - Chasseur. Their $30, 92 point 2009 Sonoma County Pinot Noir is one to seek out. I've tried two bottles of the wine and each time I've been impressed (91-92 points). The CellarTracker median for this wine is currently 90.5. They produced 562 cases of the 2009 Sonoma County and distribute to the east coast so there is still an opportunity to buy this wine at retail. I bought mine at Grapes the Wine Co in White Plains, NY (review of the store here - I think he still has some). Consult Wine-Searcher for retailers with availability near you.
Strangely, it's hard to get excited about 89 point rated wines (c'mon, admit it - it is). But given the $20 price point of the last two wines on the list they're worth discussing:
Laguna Ridge is a second label from Lynmar who produces Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from (mostly) the Russian River Valley in Sonoma. Lynmar's Pinots range in price between $40 and $120 and Spectator rated their 2009s between 88 and 94 points. 492 cases of the 2009 Laguna Ridge Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir were produced. No CellarTracker ratings yet. Scarce availability at retail so far.
Sarapo resells small lots of wine from artisan wineries. It's run by Eric Kent's winemakers and deals mostly in the grape varieties Eric Kent is known for: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah.. The 89 point 2009 Sarapo Pinot Noir Carneros-Sonoma County Donato can be found at retail for $19.99 and eligible for mixed case discounts which would bring it down to $16.99 or so. One to consider on the more affordable end of the spectrum. There's even some availability in Massachusetts.
Conclusion
While there are a few new names to discover here, we haven't seen any mindbending QPRs revealed - at least not yet. It's been mostly a "get what you pay for" vintage as notable for the highly regarded producers who were snubbed (more on that another time perhaps) as it was for the reliable producers who delivered great wines in a great vintage.
That doesn't mean it's a bad vintage to buy from - far from it. It just means that for the most part we'll have to pay $25 and up to get an outstanding bottle of California Pinot Noir.
But that doesn't mean there's not a few gems out there Spectator didn't rate. Or that we just don't agree on. Check back later this week and I'll share my tasting notes for the 25+ 2009 California Pinot Noirs I've tried so far. I think there'll be some gems in there worth discovering.
Click here to subscribe to the Wellesley Wine Press
Question of the Day: What are some of your favorite affordable California Pinot Noir producers?
Cheval Blanc Cheval Blanc (Bin Soiled) Cheval Blanc (Damaged Label) Cissac Citran
25% Off 6+ Bottles at vinodivino
However through Saturday August 27th at 11:00 am they're offering 15% off 6+ bottles and if they sell 100 or more cases of wine total it's 25% off 6+ bottles. Click here to see details of the sale.
Assuming they'll get to the 25% range it's a pretty good deal. Here are some wines that caught my eye:
- 2007 Hartford Court Pinot Noir (regularly $50, $37.50 after 25% off)
- 2009 Elk Cove Pinot Gris ($18 down to $13.50)
- 2009 Byron Pinot Noir ($15.50 down to $11.63)
- 2007 Domaine La Roquete Chateauneuf du Pape ($45 down to $33.75)
Question of the Day: What wines catch your eye at vinodivino?
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/ndnYIUJpXe8/25-off-6-bottles-at-vinodivino.html
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Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wine and the Thinking Hat (Or Six of them?)
All opinions are valid, but not all opinions are correct, particularly if they’re based on incomplete thought.
Lately, this is what I’ve been thinking about as our national media de-camps into political ideology which itself mirrors our politics. We’re in a period of time in which demagoguery has dangerously replaced the usual rhetoric.
It defies my comprehension how our political landscape has devolved to the point where winners and losers are assigned based on who gave what in the national debt negotiations. The net result is nobody wins and everybody loses, especially tax-paying Americans who have to suffer the fools that are our elected officials. Even more egregious, I fear we’re inured to this finger-pointing blame game as a new reality.
A respite for most people, the wine world isn’t immune to bickering partisanship. Consider: Critics. Points scoring. Parker. Biodynamics. Corporate wine. New World vs. Old World. Technology. Oaked Chardonnay. The three-tier system…
The wine world is no better than the national political conversation when it comes to taking sides and discarding rationale thought. On wine issues, opinion acts as an article of faith, facts be damned.
But, it doesn’t have to be that way.
Recently, this site was named the most influential wine blog out of 3,000 drinks-related blogs. In spite of this, I don’t carry a burden of responsibility to use that supposed influence in any particular way. However, if I could do one thing in creating influence (of the outwardly positive sort) it would be this: Urge all wine enthusiasts engaged in wine conversation online or offline to be empathetic and look at a situation and an opinion (that may be counter to your own) from 360 degrees. Doing so doesn’t always lead to answers, but it does lead to pragmatic enlightenment.
And, we need more enlightened people (to say nothing of pragmatism). Somewhere along the road of “social” associating itself with “media,” people, regular people, have subsumed the bad habits of traditional media and our elected officials and forgotten the most fundamental rules of the human condition: “Treat others as you would have them treat you” and “Before judging a man, walk a mile in his shoes.”
Even worse, for all of the benefit that interactivity and social media has wrought for “conversation” and “dialogue” and the exchange of ideas, a whole lot of nothing has ever reached concurrence.
Can it be that social media might be good for citizen uprisings with attendant violence, but poor for aligned progress? Does ease of communication inspire our more savage instincts? God, the early returns aren’t great. Yet, what’s the point of the exchange of ideas and information if it’s not to come to a place of mutual understanding?
Instead, too often it seems, we’re all stuck in the mud and Exhibit A would be the recent online wine points score debate that is the same debate that has been going on in the same material fashion for the last decade. Yawn. Wake me when somebody comes up with something better. Then, there’s a real conversation to be had.
While my own naïve idealism isn’t enough to create a ripple in the pond, there are frameworks of change that can be adopted, even if incrementally.
I recently began exploring a paradigm for critical thinking called the “Six Thinking Hats” created by Edward de Bono.
Six Thinking Hats is as simple as it is beautiful and it offsets the fact that as we’ve perverted the Socratic method of thinking by combining its opposing viewpoint debate with feelings and emotions, losing dimensional thinking that leads to logical conclusions.
The Six Thinking Hats seeks to provide a holistic method of analyzing a situation or a problem. Where our current thought process is typically duotone, the Six Thinking Hats is a full color picture.
Think of a recent meeting at work. You were discussing a topic of some importance or consequence in outcome. Chances are good it was a mud puddle of confusion amongst varying viewpoints that went in circles for an hour before you adjourned with a weak-kneed action item. Or worse, interpersonal dynamics had the outcome yielding to the dominant ego in the room.
It’s hardly a recipe for success. And, it’s repeated millions of times daily in the exchange of information on a subject.
Yet, the Six Thinking Hats is not about who is right or who is wrong, it’s about the way forward. Instead of rewarding ego, the Six Thinking Hats rewards profundity of well-rounded thought – it requires an individual to look at all sides of an issue, moving away from habitual thinking styles that can run narrow and linear.
Represented by the metaphor of six differently colored hats, each hat represents a different aspect of thinking that can (and should) be used in the exchange of ideas to come to an essential truth. In a group setting, a group would each symbolically assume the role of one hat color at a time to examine an issue to agreement.
The hats are:
White hat: Facts and information. With this hat, the focus is on what is known and what is available to be known.
Red hat: Emotion, judgments, intuition. Gut reactions. With this hat, the focus is on instincts.
Black hat: Caution, faults, problems, issues. This hat focuses on why something might not work.
Yellow hat: Optimism, positivity, benefits and constructive. This hat focuses on the value and benefit of a decision.
Green hat: Creative, out-of-the-box and crazy alternatives. This hat focuses on innovative ideas.
Blue hat: Guiding, facilitating and managing the process. This hat acts as a calibrator for thinking about thinking.
As you can see, most people tend to skew towards one or two hats, but not all of the hats in totality. However, what a difference a conversation might be if a group of people were committed to looking at a subject with all six hats.
Perhaps Biodynamics wouldn’t be considered voodoo to a percentage of the population. Parker wouldn’t be a bogeyman. Corporate wine wouldn’t be a scourge… A level of common ground could be found in conversation amongst differing viewpoints…
I don’t presume that everybody is going to download the PDF linked below and really absorb the notion of the Six Thinking Hats, particularly in the realm of wine issues, but in the future I will be creating a thinking hat outline for topical issues that seem to be particularly rancorous in the online wine discussion – if for no other reason than to save us from ourselves on the next go around of debate about the 100-point system.
As a final thought, it should be noted that Six Hats Thinking is taught to pre-school and kindergarten students as a thinking tool-set for their pliable minds. Perhaps the kindergartener in all of us that plinks on the keyboard should pay heed to what four and five year olds can comprehend.
Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/wine_and_the_thinking_hat_or_six_of_them/
Clos Dubreuil Clos l\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Eglise Clos Puy Arnaud Corbin Cos d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Estournel
Emilio Lustau, Sherry Dry Amontillado, ?Los Arcos? NV
Like a lot of American wine lovers, Sherry is a personal blind spot. It’s not that I haven’t had good or great Sherry ? in fact the only wine I have ever rated 100-points is a Sherry ? it’s just the style is hard to get your head around. �For starters, many Sherries are intentionally [...]
Emilio Lustau, Sherry Dry Amontillado, “Los Arcos” NV originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/nOPwDNjwl78/
Clos Dubreuil Clos l\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Eglise Clos Puy Arnaud Corbin Cos d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Estournel
Questioning Authority: The Leslie Sbrocco Edition
Insight and education and entertainment does result from exploring the expertise of authorities in any given field. But sometimes, simply questioning the authority on more mundane matters can also deliver insight...and surprises. The "Questioning Authority" interview series on FERMENTATION is...
Montrose Mouton Rothschild Nenin Olivier Rouge Pagodes de Cos
More Wine.com 50% Off Deals (this time excluding Masschusetts)
At least a couple more Wine.com 50% off vouchers are currently active.
One comes from the lesser-known site Bloomspot and offers $30 for $60
Another comes from BuyWithMe and offers $35 for $70
As with other offers Wine.com has run, shipping is not included so keep that in mind when considering the offer.
Also worth noting is the list of excluded states: OK, GA, IN, KY, MD, ME, TN, UT and MA. It appears Massachusetts has been newly added to the list of excluded states which is peculiar because Wine.com can ship to Massachusetts otherwise. They're one of the few (if not the only) national retailer who has secured a Massachusetts retailers license which enables them to ship to Massachusetts residents. All the wine they sell to Massachusetts must be purchased through Massachusetts wholesalers.
The fact that MA is excluded from these offers is therefore interesting and may be related to the Massachusetts ABCC cracking down on alcohol deals. The ABCC is of the opinion that retailers may not use coupons to sell alcohol:
(click to enlarge -or- see the Fines/Misc Information tab on the MA ABCC's site for more information)
Bottom Line: These deals may present an opportunity to snag a nice bottle of wine on the cheap, but make sure to read the fine print before proceeding.
One comes from the lesser-known site Bloomspot and offers $30 for $60
Another comes from BuyWithMe and offers $35 for $70
As with other offers Wine.com has run, shipping is not included so keep that in mind when considering the offer.
Also worth noting is the list of excluded states: OK, GA, IN, KY, MD, ME, TN, UT and MA. It appears Massachusetts has been newly added to the list of excluded states which is peculiar because Wine.com can ship to Massachusetts otherwise. They're one of the few (if not the only) national retailer who has secured a Massachusetts retailers license which enables them to ship to Massachusetts residents. All the wine they sell to Massachusetts must be purchased through Massachusetts wholesalers.
The fact that MA is excluded from these offers is therefore interesting and may be related to the Massachusetts ABCC cracking down on alcohol deals. The ABCC is of the opinion that retailers may not use coupons to sell alcohol:
Bottom Line: These deals may present an opportunity to snag a nice bottle of wine on the cheap, but make sure to read the fine print before proceeding.
Canon Canon la Gaffeliere Cantemerle Cantenac Brown Carillon d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Angelus
Good News Spreads Fast
Word on the winners of the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition is spreading like wild fire! A preview tasting for the media last week in Beverly Hills has generated a lot of buzz that we are really excited about! Take a look at some more posts: http://gastronomy-101.blogspot.com/2009/06/event-la-wine-competition-preview-and.html http://thirstyinla.com/2009/06/19/2009-la-wine-spirits-competition/ http://lablips.dailyradar.com/story/los_angeles_international_wine_and_spirits_2009/ http://www.womenwine.com/posts/journals/18487-winners-of-the-2009-la-international-wine-competition
Source: http://blogs.fairplex.com/blog/wine/?p=90
La Tour Martillac Labegorce Zede Lafite Rothschild Lafleur Lafleur Gazin Pomerol
Glen Ellen, Petite Sirah 2007
Wines in the “fighting varietal” section of the wine store don’t get a lot of wine blog love. Nor do they get reviewed very much in the mainstream wine press leaving the inquiring consumer to consult Google for information. And I get a lot of incoming search traffic every time I review such a wine. [...]
Glen Ellen, Petite Sirah 2007 originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/bmDbiM7S5nI/
Batailley Beau Sejour Becot Beau Site Beaumont Beausejour Becot
Social Media Quick Tip: Tag Your Favorite Wine Brands on Facebook
This is old news for some, but if you haven’t explored the status tagging feature (similar to photo tagging) on Facebook, take a few minutes and check it out. Status tagging can help your winery’s Facebook fan page to become more engaging and vibrant.� Facebook users can type the “@” symbol before a Facebook fan [...]
Chauvin Cheval Blanc Cheval Blanc (Bin Soiled) Cheval Blanc (Damaged Label) Cissac
Downfall of a Cult California Winery [video]
Sometimes these spoof wine videos come in waves–remember the animated wine trade videos? Now, the meme of the moment appears to be “Hitler yelling” videos, such as the one we saw recently. This new one, entitled “Downfall of a Cult Californian Winery,” depicts the plight of a cult winery owner during this time of a [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/GuSC/~3/WEJQfZgIGoE/
Lafleur Lafleur Gazin Pomerol Lafon Rochet Lagrange Lalande Borie
Perfection in a Bottle?
In the rolling hills of Tuscany the Frescobaldi family has been making wine for 30 generations and some 700 years. Yet, it was only in 1995, when the family aligned with the Mondavi’s, America’s first wine family, that a cross-continental collaboration was borne in Montalcino, an area within the Tuscan region famous for its Brunello, a 100% Sangiovese wine.
Luce della Vite, meaning “Light of the Vine,” is the resulting winery even as gyrations in the Mondavi family business have blunted the initial collaboration of the two families in jointly creating a world class winery. Now run exclusively by the Frescobaldi’s with investment from Michael Mondavi (and imported to the U.S. by Michael Mondavi’s Folio Wine Partners), their flagship wine, sourced from 29 DOCG certified acres, the 2006 Brunello di Montalcino, has been awarded a perfect 100-point score by James Suckling, former European Bureau Chief for Wine Spectator, now leading his own wine project at his eponymous web site.
This introduction would be apropos of nothing besides ornate wine writer affectations were it not necessary to create the milieu for what is an interesting convergence of issues in the wine world.
Encapsulated in this one wine, from an Italian wine family, formerly aligned with the scion of American wine and imported to the U.S. by his son and given a perfect 100-point score by a former critic with the Wine Spectator, many of the contemporary issues of the wine world can be examined and pondered…
Consider:
• A 100-point score
Is there such a thing as a perfect wine? I’ll leave the question open-ended while noting that my own scoring only goes to 99. In the realm of subjectivity, can something like wine or art achieve perfection?
• The fallibility of wine criticism
Stephen Tanzer, another notable wine critic, gave the same wine 92 points. Wine Enthusiast scored it 93 points. Robert Parker’s Italian wine critic (and recently anointed California reviewer), Antonio Galloni, gave it a 90. While a 90, 92 or 93 is a good score, the difference between a 93 and a 100 certainly points to a margin spread that provides more questions than answers about the wine.
• Crossing the digital divide
Suckling, ex-Wine Spectator, is out of the paper magazine business and running his own web site with subscriptions, a business that is less than a year old. He has lived in Tuscany for a number of years and knows Brunello wines well. However, anointing 100-point wines isn’t something critics do lightly or without thought. So, when he declares that, “The 2006 vintage for Brunello di Montalcino is the new benchmark…” is he genuinely reviewing the vintage and the region’s most notable vintner or is this his attempt at market-making relevance akin to Robert Parker Jr.’s declaration of ’82 Bordeaux as “superb” when others weren’t as bullish?
• Critical scores affect on inelastic pricing
While so-called “cult” wines get a bad rap based on their stylistic profile, the reality is that prices are high because of scarcity – more people want to buy it then there is wine available to buy. Suckling’s 100-point score for the Luce Brunello is oft-repeated on numerous retailer web sites where the retail price has been raised from a suggested retail price of $89.99 to an average price of $127 based on Wine-Searcher.com data. Meanwhile, the 2005 Luce Brunello is being discounted and has an average price of $84 based on Wine-searcher.com data. It should be noted, that save for Suckling on the ’06, both wines were reviewed consistently with scores in the low 90s.
• A global style
It’s interesting to note that Suckling’s tasting note for the Brunello called it, “…A wine with soul.” Meanwhile Antonio Galloni noted, “The sheer concentration and depth of fruit are remarkable, but ultimately this comes across as a heavy, labored Brunello with limited finesse.”
So, which is it? Is it a soulful wine or one with limited finesse? The U.S. has the largest global appetite for Brunello with some reporting that upwards of 25% of all Brunelli produced is imported to the states. Given that, is the Luce Brunello made to appeal to more of a fruit-forward palate that is often found in the U.S., a style of wine that Wine Spectator and Suckling have lauded in the wake of Robert Parker, the so-called, global style?
Summary
I’ll save the full review of the wine for my Forbes.com column…in the meantime, I’m reminded that the conversations about the people, personalities, ideas and issues in the wine world are often as interesting as what’s in the glass and that’s certainly the case with the 2006 Luce della Vite Brunello di Montalcino, a 100-points for interest and conversational fodder and less for the actual wine. For me, that’s just perfect.
Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/perfection_in_a_bottle/
Armagnac Baron de Sigognac ans Armagnac Chateau de Laubade NV Armagnac Clos des Saveurs Armagnac Magnol (Cracked Seal) Armagnac Vieil Sempe YO
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
John Slover, Solomonic sommelier
King Solomon was known for his wisdom. And when he ordered a baby cut in half, he made a woman cry. John Slover is the Solomonic sommelier, though his splitting things in two is more likely to make people happy. When at Bar Henry, he introduced a bottle-splitting program, wherein diners could order 375ml of [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/GuSC/~3/44pC5wsHR9E/
Tasting notes - Berlin Tasting
Here follows my tasting notes from The Berlin Tasting in Copenhagen.
No. 1 - 2005 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild (Bordeaux)
Dark colour with intense smell of pencil, cigar, currant and spicy wood. It’s full-bodied, rich and concentrated but also with an upfront softness. 96/100.
No. 2 - 2004 Sassicaia (Tuscany)
Not so intense in the nose - a little cherry. The [...]
No. 1 - 2005 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild (Bordeaux)
Dark colour with intense smell of pencil, cigar, currant and spicy wood. It’s full-bodied, rich and concentrated but also with an upfront softness. 96/100.
No. 2 - 2004 Sassicaia (Tuscany)
Not so intense in the nose - a little cherry. The [...]
Source: http://www.wine4freaks.com/40/tasting-notes-berlin-tasting/
Clos des Jacobins Clos du Marquis Clos Dubreuil Clos l\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Eglise Clos Puy Arnaud
It?s Time For Radical Simplification of Old World Wine Labeling
I’m a traditionalist but also a realist. And I think now is the time to shake up the centuries old wine labeling and classification systems that have stood as a barrier to selling many Old World wines to American consumers. Case in point is Germany where a tradition of bad Middle Ages typography continues on [...]
It’s Time For Radical Simplification of Old World Wine Labeling originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/O3SxpboWGf4/
A few different things to do in the Napa Valley
Take the food and wine tour at the Robert Sinskey Vineyards. This has always been a favorite spot of ours. Too bad they closed their picnic area to visitors. We used to love to sit on the patio area across from the vineyards enjoying the view and our lunch with a glass of the Sinskey Pinot Blanc. Continue reading
Source: http://www.winecountrygetaways.com/napablog/a-few-different-things-to-do-in-the-napa-valley/
La Clemence La Conseillante La Couspaude La Croix de Beaucaillou La Croix du Casse
NYT: wine consumers ?brainwashed? into thinking they need education
Writing in yesterday’s NYT, Eric Asimov delivered wine education a puzzling broadside in the last paragraph of a story about beer: Beer consumers are a far more confident lot than wine consumers. They?re at ease with beer, mostly because they?ve had a solid grounding in their subject, unlike wine consumers who?ve been brainwashed into believing [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/GuSC/~3/LJe6MFGDqio/
Duhart Milon Duhart Milon Rothschild Exception de Quinault Ferriere Feytit Clinet
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Wine Deal: 2007 Cigliuti Barbaresco
Since the 2005 came and went I've been looking for the 2007 vintage. Early reviews of 2007 Piedmont are very positive. The 2007 Cigliuti Serraboella Barbaresco has been slow to appear on Wine-Searcher but made an appearance on Lot18 Monday. Lot18 is a private invitation flash sale site offering up a limited assortment of wines at a discount.
They're offering a two-pack of Cigliuti's Barbareschi - one from the Serraboella vineyard ($72 release price) and another from Vigna Erte ($57). The Serraboella comes from older vines and is the premier wine from Cigliuti, but the Vigna Erte is outstanding as well. I rated the 2004 Vigna Erte vintage between 91 and 94 points across a couple bottles. Either of this wines present a compelling taste of outstanding Barbaresco.
They can't ship to MA but it's worth finagling a way to ship this one to friends in a neighboring state. Pro tip: If you want to hold shipment until the weather is cooler ping service@lot18.com with your request.
Click here to check out the deal on Lot18
Haut Bages Liberal Haut Bailly Haut Batailley Haut Batailley Rare Signed Marie Jeanne Haut Brion
Field Notes from a Wine Life ? Trend Edition
Odds and ends from a life lived through the prism of the wine glass…
The Devil’s Cut
I’m a sucker for the clever and unconventional, I admit it. One such bit of cleverness isn’t even wine-related, though it is oak barrel related.
Most wine enthusiasts are familiar with the, “Angel’s Share.” It’s a term that denotes the wine (or spirits) that is lost from a barrel due to evaporation during the aging process. Now comes the, “Devil’s Cut” from Jim Beam.
Using a proprietary process that extracts the bourbon moisture that’s left in the staves of the barrel after being emptied, this extract is then blended with regular Jim Bream to create a deeper, more characterful sipper.
I’d hate to think what a wine might taste like if the, “Devil’s Cut” was blended in from a wine-aged oak barrel, but a thumb’s up to Jim Beam for thinking outside the box. The wine world could use more esoteric and idiosyncratic ideas similar to what the Scholium Project is doing, turning wine on its head. Can a day be too far away when white Pinot Noir and orange wines aren’t outliers?
Speaking of Idiosyncratic
Last year I wrote a story on Proof Wine Collective and their out-of-the-box wine label design work. An edgy company of twenty-something’s in San Luis Obispo, they’re set to eschew a services-oriented business helping market other people’s wine projects and start their own wine thing.
Anti-wine by the guys at Proof sets the table for what’s to come with an Anti-wine Manifesto that says in part, “I can hear the death rattle of our industry when salespeople peddle wines made and re-made in the same style, over and over. I hear it when they glorify classism, pretending that customers own a cellar to age wines for decades, when in truth we buy a bottle to drink tonight…My goal with this project is to be free from the affectations of an industry I can no longer respect. These wines follow no formulae (Ed. Note: Nice use of the plural of formula!). They are blended between vintages in order to take the best traits of each. I regard red and white varietals as equals, and intermix them with no interest in what is “sellable.”
I like idea, for sure. However, initial reverberations indicate that they’re going to have to do some traditional-type activity in the wine business to get solid footing. Sales at retail. Wine events.
If a nascent wine brand truly wants to be free from the affectations of the industry and do so without being shticky then it has to be prepared to swim completely against the current.
I’m rooting for Anti-wine, but I’d also like to see a completely new playbook written for the wine business, not a statement of intent while coloring inside the lines.
Tastevin
I’ve read a couple of recent articles that indicate that watches are set to become a trend (here and here). This struck me as odd because I hadn’t received the memo that watches were out of style. I started to think about accessories for wine enthusiasts that are decidedly out of style and I came to the tastevin.
Traditionally used by Sommeliers, but long out of favor, the only reason I know it’s not a mythical unicorn, is because a Somm. at my honeymoon resort some years ago was wearing one and checking the quality of the bottles he was serving by taking a quick sniff and slurp.
Now inspired, I’m starting a one-man wine trend. If you see me at a wine tasting in the future it’s probable that I’ll be using a tastevin instead of the insipid glassware that’s usually provided.
Feel free to adopt usage of a tastevin for yourself. The key to not feeling douchey is to either be incredibly confident or so hip that others don’t even know its hip. Either will work for this emerging trend that you and I are starting. Buy one at Amazon.com.
Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/field_notes_from_a_wine_life_trend_edition/
Larmande Larrivet Haut Brion Lascombes Latour Latour a Pomerol
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