Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dailydish/2011/10/great-meal-for-a-great-cause.html
l\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Enclos Leoville Barton Leoville Las Cases Leoville Poyferre Les Forts de Latour
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sharia Law Supporters Seek To Ban CA Wine Production
I occasionally stop and think about ways I might engage more readers here at Fermentation. One thing I've never considered doing is something like this: San Francisco Restaurant Workers Support 25% Tip Standard This article in the Contra Costa Times,...
Palmer Pape Clement Patache d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Aux Pavie Pavie Decesse
Closures again
I?m very old fashioned when it comes to wine closures. Most of my 40-year career of wine drinking has involved opening wines with a real cork. I get a thrill each time I use my waiter?s corkscrew to open my wine. Continue reading
Source: http://www.winecountrygetaways.com/napablog/closures-again/
Calm and quiet lifestyle in the heart of the city at Kemang Icon
Set in one of the most energizing and upscale area of Jakarta, Kemang Icon transforms the traveling experience of guests here with its urban and dynamic lifestyle. This boutique hotel is fully dominated by avant grade architecture with the fresh and lively concepts of urban lifestyle. The hotel ensures a totally serene atmosphere even as [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vagablond/ysSN/~3/L0lP6I7APUc/
Clos l\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Eglise Clos Puy Arnaud Corbin Cos d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Estournel Couspaude
The Capital Grille Offers: A Generous Pour
With locations across the country, The Capital Grille is offering a unique wine tasting opportunity - The Generous Pour. From July 12th - September 4th, 2011 you can enjoy 9 different wines from around the world with your meal for $25. In the Boston area there are a couple of additional events this month that conspire to make this offer even more compelling. More on that in a moment...To kick off the event, Capital Grille locations invited bloggers and members of the media for a preview. Master Sommelier George Miliotes hosted the event via live simulcast and then answered questions via Twitter (you can follow him @TheWineExpert). Click on the image below to get a feel for the event:
The evening started out with a taste of hors d'oeuvres accompanied by a white sparkling wine from the Loire Valley - the Marquis de la Tour Cremant de Loire Brut. I'm not much of a sparkling wine drinker so for me the wine set the tone for the event. The wines chosen provide an opportunity to taste delicious, high quality wines you'll enjoy from categories you don't normally explore alongside wines you're likely more familiar with. I thought this wine was outstanding - clean crisp apple, melon, and peach. It accompanied the food amazingly. Highly recommended.
Wellesley Wine Press: You have a knack for finding wines that appeal to wine enthusiasts interested in discovering delicious new wines without stretching too far out of their comfort zone. In a nutshell, what?s your philosophy for choosing wines by the glass for The Capital Grille or for events like this one?
George Milotes: "For me, it is all about wines that are well-made and taste good. As solid winemaking practices have spread around the globe, there is a greater pool of diverse and tasty wines to choose from. We love to find areas or wines that are overlooked or underappreciated. Hence, the Tarima Hill Monastrell is part of The Generous Pour Wine Event this year. Monastrell is the greatest underappreciated red in the world today from a growing area (Alicante) that is barely known in Spain, let alone here in the US. We feel privileged to introduce the wine to the U.S. while showing our guests something new and delicious."
From there we moved on to a dining room table for a sit-down appetizer course. Their Pan-Fried Calimari and Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella were served with a classic California Chardonnay (Chateau St. Jean) alongside a 2010 La Cana Albarino from Rias Baixas Spain.
Here too we see a characteristic of the event worth mentioning - comparison opportunities. While the California Chardonnay was rich and full-bodied, the Albarino revealed a clean palate-cleansing nature I appreciated. The Prosciutto was salty, and the Albarino accompanied it brilliantly. Green apples, mango, kiwi, and lemon-lime with soft edges yet apparent acid. quite nice:
From there we moved on to the main course for a choice of Filet Mignon, Salmon, or their Bone-In Kona Crusted Dry Aged Sirloin with Shallot Buttter. The first time I heard of a coffee-encrusted steak I was concerned it would be overly sweet. However, I've had this steak a half dozen times over the years and I can safely say it's the best treatment I've ever tasted. They offer the Kona rub on other cuts but I've found it plays best on the sirloin. Unconditionally recommended:
The big dogs - two Cabernet Sauvignons - were the 2006 Chalk Hill Estate Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2003 Freemark Abbey Cabernet Bosche Rutherford (pronounced "bow-shea"). I thought the Chalk Hill was tasty but bright and a little young...especially compared to the 2003 Freemark Abbey which was a beautiful wine. At 8 years I thought the Freemark was drinking at its peak with rich, round fruit, a little leather and nice supporting structure. For pure enjoyment this was probably my wine of the night.
WWP: You?ve run a similar event the past couple years in the form of the Master Wine Tasting Event. What have you learned from putting together those lists that went into the wines selected for The Generous Pour Wine Event?
George Miliotes: "The main thing we learned is to have a fun mix of familiar and new wines that all taste really, really good. For example, we aim to keep a Cabernet drinker interested with Freemark Abbey Cabernet Bosche 2003, but also give that drinker a chance to break out and try a Vistorta Merlot 2006 (from the Friuli region of Italy). This way, every guest has the chance to experience the best of both worlds.
The other exciting thing that we have learned is that guests will enjoy any wine that tastes good, especially if our team educates them about it. Two years ago, we introduced Bonarda (a popular red varietal in Argentina) to our guests. We were sure we would sell minimal amounts. To our surprise, that was not the case, as guests were more than excited about tasting this tannic red with our dry aged steaks. As a result, each year I try to find something completely new or different."
Right behind these big reds were a couple of wines a little more off the beaten path. Like the 2006 Conte Brandolini Vistorta Merlot Friuli-Venezia Giulia. I thought it was distinctly old world yet still approachable.
Perhaps the most highly anticipated wine of the evening, based on George's earlier description of Monastrell as being the most under-appreciated grape variety in the world, was the 2009 Tarima Hill Monastrell from Alicante, Spain. Refreshingly fruit-forward after the Cabernets. Kind of reminded me of the 2008 Betts & Scholl Grenache I tried at the Wine Spectator event a couple months ago. I definitely need to try more Monastrell and Grenache.
Rounding out the evening along with dessert was RL Buller "The Portly Gentleman" from Australia. I'm not much of a port guy but I liked the way this one avoided the medicinal flavors sometimes present in Port and offered an interesting does of blueberry flavors which I enjoyed. The table was divided on their opinion of this wine.
I attended the event at the Capital Grille's Newbury Street location in Boston but this offer is available at locations across the country.
George Miliotes: "We certainly see red wine consumption go up when cold weather settles in, and there is a smaller movement towards white during the summer. Our guests tend to gravitate towards reds, due to our dry aged steaks. As one would think, there is plenty of white enjoyed at our West Coast locations, due to the higher temperatures and light dishes such as our fresh seafood."
Bottom Line: This event provides an opportunity to try wines you otherwise might not be willing to take a risk on at an affordable price point with excellent food and service.
Further Reading:
- Inside the Brand: A Review of the 2010 Master Wine Tasting Event at The Capital Grille
- Auctioned Chef's Table Dinners: Deal or No Deal?
- A Review of The Generous Pour from eat drink RI
I mentioned that in Boston there are a couple of other events that coincide with this offer that make this year's Generous Pour even more compelling. The first is Boston Restaurant Week which runs August 14-19 and 21-26, 2011. According to http://www.restaurantweekboston.com the Chestnut Hill and Burlington locations are participating this year. Stack a three course meal for $33.11 along with this wine offer for $25 and you have one of the best bargains in steakhouse history.
A second compelling event is that the Newbury Street location is relocating to a new location nearby (900 Boylston Street in the Hynes Convention Center not far from Towne Stove & Spirits) on August 24th, 2011. Having celebrated so many special occasions at the current location I'm sad to see it go, but the new decked-out location is going to be twice as big with a bar area that opens onto the street for warm summer evenings. Stay tuned for more information on the new location but in the mean time take this opportunity to visit the classic Newbury Street restaurant one last time. It will be missed.
Question of the Day: What are some of your favorite Capital Grille memories? If you've never been, what are some of your favorite steakhouses in the country?
Clos Cantenac Clos de l\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Oratoire Clos de Sarpe Clos des Jacobins Clos du Marquis
A new daily email service!
Do you love the smell of freshly baked blog posts hitting your inbox every morning? Then sign up for my new “daily dose.” I’ve been sending them with the new service for about ten days so if you are a subscriber and you have been feeling a nagging emptiness in your inbox, then something has [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/GuSC/~3/8i6Bpby9d-A/
Grand Puy Ducasse Grand Puy Lacoste Gruaud Larose Guadet Guadet Saint Julien
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 Gaffeliere La Garde La Gomerie La Lagune La Mission Haut Brion
Tasting Report: 2009 Failla Keefer Ranch Pinot Noir
We were able to track some down before things got too out of hand and I'm pleased to report the wine delivered. Kind of like when Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green said the Bears "are who we thought they were" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDAq5tyfk9E). Well, maybe not just like that but the point I'm trying to make is I had high expectations and the wine delivered in a big way.
Here are my notes...
2009 Failla Keefer Ranch Pinot Noir
$45 Release Price
13.9% Alcohol
550 Cases Produced
Another one of these California Pinot Noirs that charms with it's fruit-forward aromatics and ultimately satisfies for how clean and free of "off" notes it is. Pure. Something for everyone I think, with aromas of tart cherries, orange oil, and soft leather. Well balanced. Silky smooth on the palate with a beautiful finish without any strange aftertastes. Fantastic stuff.
Cellar Tracker
Wine-Searcher
93/100 WWP: Outstadning
Bottom Line
It might be hard to find this particular bottling but I'd definitely be interested in seeking out other Pinot Noirs from Failla. Especially the 2009s.
Check 'em out:
Failla Website
@faillawines
I'm compiling some thoughts and tasting notes for 2008 Oregon Pinot Noir (what the heck happened to that vintage?) and 2009 California Pinot Noir. Especially if you're interested in domestic Pinot Noir I'd love it if you subscribed to the site so we can keep in touch.
Question of the Day: Have you tasted Failla's wines? What did you think? What have you heard?
Beau Site Beaumont Beausejour Becot Beausejour Duffau Lagarrosse Bel Air Lalande de Pomerol
Value Alert: 2009 Balletto Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
To kick off Restaurant Week Boston we visited Sorellina. It was our first time there and I thought it was fantastic: Elegant & serene but with a lively atmosphere. Impeccable service. Outstanding food. 4.5/5 stars. Enjoyed it very much.
That said, the mark-up on the wine was pretty aggressive. The table next to us ordered a $140 bottle of Groth Cabernet that's readily available at retail for $39.99. I think I've even seen it for $34.99. $210 for a bottle of '07 Orenellia...too bad it was a half bottle.
But restaurants almost always use wine as a profit center - nothing new there. I chose to go the by-the-glass route. I probably should have gone with something from Italy (Sorellina is a modern Italian restaurant) but I just wanted to enjoy some wine with whatever I might order. I went for a glass of 2009 Balletto Pinot Noir for $14.
In the context of the tranquil environment, beautiful stemware, and ideal serving temperature I thoroughly enjoyed the wine. I took note of the producer and thought to check whether I could track it down at retail. I did a search on Wine-Searcher.com (the gold standard for finding wine online) and it turned up a retailer who said they had it for less than $20. That's the good news.
The bad news it was only available at Select Liquors - a retailer I've had bad luck with. I've tried ordering wines from them at least a couple other times and they've never fulfilled for one reason or another. However, after a couple days I received an email saying my wine was ready for pick-up.
Select Liquors is situated within Bazaar on Cambridge - a funky but evidently well-regarded (according to Yelp reviews) Russian grocery in Allston. I had a hard time finding someone who spoke English to direct me to where I could get my wine. I showed my ID at the register and that was that. I got my 2 bottles of Balletto and I was on my way.
Drinking it later that night during family pizza night (Old School this week for those keeping score) something occurred to me. The atmosphere in which I tasted the wine the first time couldn't have been much more different. And I have to say - although it was still outstanding the second time I did like it more the first.
In many ways a bottle of wine is a commodity. The effort that goes into preparing it in a restaurant pales in comparison to the Lobster Gnocchi we had at Sorelina (which was amazing by the way). But when you factor in the overall experience and the resulting discovery of great wines that can occur it's a bit easier to swallow the high markups we see in restaurants.
2009 Balletto Vineyards Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
13.9% Alcohol
4,004 Cases Produced
Release Price: $24
Rich but not overripe. Black cherry and cola notes. A little rough around the edges (mildly astringent, which may improve with time) but there's so much right here it's hard not to love. Really nice wine.
90/100 WWP: Outstanding
Winery Website
CellarTracker
Wine-Searcher
Question of the Day:
What's your strategy for dealing with overpriced wine in restaurants?
Ausone (Cut Capsule) Ausone (Soiled Label) Bahans Haut Brion Barde Haut Baronat Mouton Baron Philippe
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Field Notes from a Wine Life ? Inexplicable Edition
Odds and ends from a life lived through the prism of the wine glass…
The Green Card Cometh
I would be remiss if I didn’t offer a public congratulation to Johannes Reinhardt, winemaker at Anthony Road Wine Company in Penn Yan, New York in the Finger Lakes (FLX) wine region for earning his green card. Not that he’s waiting for my congratulations, by the way.
However, I do think it’s important to honor professional excellence, integrity and the pursuit of the American dream in a period of time when our national mood is drenched with political acrimony and institutional cynicism.
Sometimes things work out the way they should…
First reported by Evan Dawson at the New York Cork Report in the first week of September, Reinhardt has earned his permanent worker status, a way station on the way to a permanent green card.
Reinhardt’s back-story is well chronicled in some circles (here and here) and his story is a notable chapter in Dawson’s recent book, Summer in a Glass, but it’s also the kind of workaday footnote that barely blips on the radar of the larger wine consciousness, even if it should.
The summary of a longer narrative is Reinhardt initially came to the U.S. from Germany over a decade ago, leaving his family winemaking legacy behind, to do the same on U.S. soil. Working on a string of visas while seeking a permanent green card (a green card that has proven difficult to obtain as he faced rejection after inexplicable rejection), Reinhardt carved out an enviable leadership position in the collegial Finger Lakes winemaking community helping to elevate it to the world-class status it now enjoys for its Rieslings, while also doing the same for his employer, the aforementioned Anthony Road winery.
For those that don’t follow immigration law, which is most of us, the difference between a visa and a green card is most akin to the labor differences in between the NFL and the NBA. In the NFL, you can get cut and lose your job at any time. In the NBA, you have a guaranteed contract. A green card acts as something of a guaranteed contract in the U.S. in that you’re not at-risk to have your ability to be in our country yanked or not renewed (deported).
With permanent worker status and a green card in his future, Reinhardt can now seek citizenship should he choose to do so, or, at the least, get on with building a life in the U.S.
I sat adjacent to Johannes and next to his wife Imelda at a wine dinner in the spring of 2010 while his wines were being poured. With just brief interaction, his meticulous work effort, charisma, collaborative spirit and genuine desire to achieve excellence as a winemaker in the Finger Lakes shone through. I’m happy for him, his wife, and most importantly, I’m happy for wine enthusiasts who will continue to enjoy access to his fantastic wines.
You can toast Reinhardt by buying some Anthony Road wine at the winery web site or at a New York-based online retailer (I use Marketview).
Just in time for Harvest
“It takes a lot of beer to make good wine,” as the saying goes. Joining the Winepod, a high-end home winemaking system that was launched a few years ago, comes the WilliamsWarn Personal Brewery launched by a couple of Kiwi’s in New Zealand. Promising craft brewery beer quality at home and priced at around US $5000, the WilliamsWarn, which includes an all-in-one tap for dispensing your brew, looks like the perfect accompaniment to the Winepod and one of the commercial grade espresso machines that are available.
Now all I have to do is figure out how to scrape together $14,000 of disposable income to buy all three…
More information here (initiates a download of the WilliamsWarn product details sheet).
As Seen in Sommelier Journal
The July issue of the Sommelier Journal (you are a subscriber, right? You should be…) features a blurb about a new service that allows Sommeliers to create wine clubs for their guests and consumers interested in their wine finds.
Powered by the unimaginatively named company “Wine Club Shipment,” the firm handles all web site development, shipping and logistics and the Sommelier does what they do best – find unique and interesting wines.
Sign me up. For two reasons, this is a fantastic service:
1) With all of the mojo that the craft brew scene and mixologists are earning, I’m very ready for the wine world’s bright young Sommeliers to take a step forward into the limelight by curating selections.
2) Wine clubs, in general, get a justifiably valid bad name for unloading plonk on unwitting consumers. Anything that can stem that tide with a quality orientation is a good thing
The company web site is scant on detail, but you can get a sense for the service at the A16 wine club site.
Even a Blind Squirrel…
On the heels of my recent post called, “Palate Tuning and the Permanent Record” in which I discussed disparities in critical wine scores and the hypothetical development of a meta-database that weighs variables in critics palates to create a sort-of super wine score, comes, well, you guessed it – something pretty darn close to that.
I published my post on the 15th and then, via Lewis Perdue’s Wine Industry Insight wine news round-up on the 16th, I saw an article published on the web site Inside Toronto that details a company, WineAlign, in Ontario that has a similar concept with the twist of taking major critical reviews and overlaying that on Liquor Control Board Ontario (LCBO) wine availability in Ontario, Canada.
It can be done in the states, but the magic is in hardcore number crunching and weighting critical palate preferences to create a meta-score that can map to an individual consumer preference reliably.
Johannes Reinhardt Photo Credit: Morgan Dawson Photography
Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/field_notes_from_a_wine_life_inexplicable_edition/
Wine Making Wine Tasting Yellow Tail Cabernet Wine and Roses
Cowan Cellars Announces First Release
With much anticipation, Cowan Cellars has announced its first release. Way to go, Jim and Diane!!� We wish you both much success in this and upcoming releases. The wines are: 2010 Isa (skin-fermented white) 2010 Pinot Noir, Bennett Valley 2010 Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast. You can read about these wines on here. You can read [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gangofpour/uncZ/~3/LPvVhL7ZNmU/cowan-cellars
Mas Des Dames, Rose, Coteaux Du Languedoc 2009
Outside here in Minnesota it’s in the mid 20′s Fahrenheit with a thick snowpack. It is far from springtime here but a bit of spring can be had here inside a bottle of dry ros�. Every spring and summer I resolve to drink more ros� but for one reason or another rarely do. So I [...]
Mas Des Dames, Rose, Coteaux Du Languedoc 2009 originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/Sofm980mQUI/
Haut Bailly Haut Batailley Haut Batailley Rare Signed Marie Jeanne Haut Brion Haut Marbuzet
Aid Olivier Cousin goes global [AOC]
Although we mentioned it last week in a squib, it bears mentioning again: the French authorities have threatened Olivier Cousin, the horse-tilling vigneron that is a mentor for many younger ones, has been threatened with a $50,000 fine and two years in jail. His transgression? Goofing around with names. The biodyanamic farmer of 25 acres [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/GuSC/~3/O-ALQU-8xm4/
Lanessan Langoa Barton Larcis Ducasse Larmande Larrivet Haut Brion
European Wine Bloggers Conference Begins October 14, 2011
This evening we set off to Italy for the European Bloggers Conference IV. We are very excited because the agenda of conference sessions and wine country excursions are ?molto fantastico.? We can only wonder how we will be able to manage the consumptions of so much fine wine and food that the Italian wine consortiums have in store for the 216 wine bloggers that will attend this amazing wine soiree. The conference headquarters are in Brescia, Italy, which is situated in the heart of the Franciacorta wine territory, notably known for its fabulous sparkling wine. Continue reading
Langoa Barton Larcis Ducasse Larmande Larrivet Haut Brion Lascombes
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Wine Word of the Week: Vineyard designated
This week?s Wine Word of the Week is vineyard designated. Official definition from Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst?s The New Wine Lover?s Companion: Vineyard designated is a term indicating that a wine is made with grapes from the specific vineyard named on a wine?s label. In the United States, a vineyard name on a [...]
Wine Word of the Week: Vineyard designated was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WinePeeps/~3/8BuMNvGGMnE/
Bahans Haut Brion Barde Haut Baronat Mouton Baron Philippe Batailley Beau Sejour Becot
Six from the Perrin Family
We?re always happy to taste new offerings from the Perrin family of Ch�teau Beaucastel fame, as they rarely fail to satisfy. We weren?t at all disappointed with the six we tried most recently, and here?s the full Rh�ne-down. 2010 La Vieille Ferme Luberon Blanc, 13% alc.: Perhaps the most appealing La Vieille Ferme Blanc bottling [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gangofpour/uncZ/~3/hXD9xMxEdaY/six-from-perrin
l\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Interdit de Valandraud Lucia Lynch Bages Lynch Moussas Magdelaine
The Lost Symbol, Quantum Mechanics and How Randall Grahm helped me Reconcile Biodynamics
By a country mile as the crow flies over a buried cow horn on the vernal equinox, Biodynamics is the subject I’m most interested in amongst a myriad of conversational issues that compete against each other in the wine business. Yet, I’ve never been able to square with Biodynamics – the benefits or the bunkum – until now.
When Stu Smith of Smith-Madrone winery and author of the blog Biodynamics is a Hoax said in a recent interview, “It’s a fight between religion and science. There’s no question about it. The people that are mostly Biodynamic supporters are post-modernist skeptics of science” I paused and took it in. Yet, I was also confused about the boundary lines that he drew.
We live in a complicated world. It seems too tidy to draw boxes and say that BioD detractors are pragmatic and progressive in matters of viticulture who resent the piety of Biodynamic practitioners whilst the BioD folks shrug their shoulders when asked how Biodynamics works, eschewing modern day viticultural practice, gazing at a moon chart.
Meanwhile, as we’re noodling on these neat assignments, let’s also throw in secondary dubiousness with Demeter as the arbiter of standards (and depositor of checks), mix in the Biodynamic father Rudolf Steiner as an alleged charlatan and add a dash of societal convention that relies on burden of proof for outcomes.
With this heady stew, we now have perfect assignments along with swirling sub-issues that force the interplay of capitalism, spirituality, philosophy and science that is nearly impossible to reconcile amongst even the most reasonable people.
Harrumph.
The problem-solver in me needs to transcend partisan Biodynamic views. The facilitator in me wants to find common ground.
I want to know the truth about Biodynamics. Not necessarily THE TRUTH, but my own truth, a personal reconciliation even if it is: “There’s a lot in life we don’t understand and this is one of them.”
I’m okay with living in the space between so long as I’ve assigned value to the black of, “It’s a hoax” and the white of, “It’s religion.”
Why? Because unlike Smith’s assertion, there has to be more to Biodynamics than accepting the use of BioD practices as an article of faith.
Likewise, Biodynamics can’t be debunked as an article of faith, counter to science. If so, it presumes that the base of our collective human knowledge is at an end point. We know everything there is to know and so Biodynamics doesn’t fit because it’s not rooted with a base of empirical proof.
So, what if Biodynamics is neither religion nor science, but rather a hybrid of the two that isn’t fully understood?
After all, by its very definition, Biodynamics relates to: the study of the effects of dynamic processes, such as motion or acceleration, on living organisms.
That’s what I’ve been exploring. Undoubtedly, it’s not leading me to THE TRUTH, but it is leading me to a truth different than, “science” “hoax” and “religion.”
Katherine Cole’s new book Voodoo Vintners (see review) does an exceptional job of framing Biodynamics in a balanced manner, yet there’s one chapter that I found sticking with me long after finishing the book.
In Chapter Four titled, “Science … or Sci-Fi” Cole explores the emerging scientific realm of quantum mechanics – the idea that our bodies, minds and physical environment are a symbiotic elements of energy that interact and that our consciousness, our thoughts, can impact our world. Specifically, she cites a book called, The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe by Lynne McTaggert.
The framework for Cole’s mention is the notion of “intention” in the vineyard. The idea that, as she notes and deftly discredits in the paragraph, “The belief is that the preparations aren’t merely herbal treatments for plants; they’re carriers of the farmers’ intentions, which have been swirled into them through the powerful act of stirring. While it isn’t a requirement for Demeter certification, intention is that little bit of witchcraft that separates the most committed practitioners from the unbelievers.”
Yet, what energy forces and “intention” distills down to is not a rejection of science, but an embrace of the most cutting edge of science.
Randall Grahm, the founder of Bonny Doon Vineyard, is quoted from his blog in the book noting, “The world of wine exists in a non-Euclidean space, and certainly partakes of the quantum universe; there are great discontinuities in what we know or imagine we know.”
With that, I made a mental note to pick-up, The Field.
Later, I read Ideal Wine by David Darlington, which covers some of the some topical area with more insight into the scientific quantum mechanics link and Biodynamics, including Steiner’s founding of the philosophical area of anthroposophy, a pre-cursor philosophy to the more scientifically-rooted, legitimized quantum mechanics.
After I purchased The Field, I noted that it had a cover blurb that said, “The author and science featured in The Lost Symbol.”
The Lost Symbol is author Dan Brown’s follow-up after the wildly successful book, The DaVinci Code.
By now I’m deep into the proverbial rabbit’s hole. The Lost Symbol is a mediocre story, but an incredible mix of historical insight, cutting edge new science in quantum mechanics and its relation to modern day man’s role in seeking spirituality. And, unlike the DaVinci Code that took some liberties with the line between fact and fiction, Brown is quick to point out in the preface of The Lost Symbol that, “All rituals, science, artwork, and monuments in this novel are real.”
And Brown does, in fact, lean on the ideas in The Field and McTaggert’s subsequent book called, The Intention Experiment whilst the cottage industry of “decoding” The Lost Symbol books gives validation to the basis for the ideas presented.
For the two people that have read this far, all of this is pretty heady stuff and not easily explainable, which might partly account for the obfuscation in Biodynamics and wine. You have to be really, really intellectually curious to spend the time, but here’s where I’m at and here’s my recommendation if you want to follow a similar path:
Biodynamics isn’t about science vs. religion or “post-modernist skeptics of science” as Smith put it. The entire conversation is wrong. It IS about science that isn’t fully understood – quantum mechanics. In fact, there’s a growing body of evidence that science and religion are one and the same. This may be pseudoscience to some, but, regardless, the wine and Biodynamics conversation needs to be about whether you believe in the cutting edge of science or whether you need empirical proof in the here and now. Talking about anything else is bloviating with half-truths from ideological positions.
Further, anybody interested in wine and trying to understand Biodynamics from a wine perspective is wasting their time by reading about Biodynamics through the lense of the agricultural practices. Don’t spend any time on Nicolas Joly, or Monty Waldin, or any of the leaders in the field. You’ll never get past the weird preparations and the attempt at the explanation thereof.
Instead, any attempt at understanding Biodynamics needs to come through a view of the emerging science side. Get a notebook to take notes. Read The Lost Symbol first. Then, read a decoding book about The Lost Symbol. This acts as an accessible introduction to a number of ideas. Again, the ideas and facts are real, the story is fiction. From there, read The Field and skim The Intention Experiment. Then read Voodoo Vintners and Ideal Wine.
Once this has been completed, fill in the gaps with internet research on Steiner and some of his history with Theosophy and later Anthroposophy and then wade into Google and Amazon.com searching for, “Quantum physics, God, Consciousness.” Balance all of this with some quick searching on metaphysics to understand the delta and overlap between science, religion and philosophy.
If, after having done this, you haven’t completely confused the shit out of yourself, you’ll have gained a new enlightenment the least of which will be akin to Oliver Wendall Holmes quote, “Once the mind has been stretched by a new idea, it will never again return to its original size.”
As I mentioned earlier, when seeking a truth, I’m okay with “There’s a lot in life we don’t understand and this is one of them” and that’s where I come down on Biodynamics, but the conversation must not be framed in black and white terms. Everybody around Biodynamics – the proponents and the detractors are operating in the gray and there is no one particular truth, but, and this is a big but, we might not be too far away from a deeper understanding.
A Partial Journey in Exploring Biodynamics:
Other stuff to read:
The science behind The Lost Symbol
Space photo credit: Wired.com
Domaine du Peyrot Alter Ego de Palmer Angelus Ausone Ausone (Cut Capsule)
Grape Radio Interviews Author Rex Pickett
My friends at Grape Radio have posted a great interview with Rex Pickett, the author of ‘Sideways’ and its sequel ‘Vertical.’ Although the guys spend much of the podcast talking about ‘Sideways’ Pickett does work in plenty of details about his latest novel. Between this and the written interview posted recently by Blake Gray, I [...]
Grape Radio Interviews Author Rex Pickett originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/sjlaqqM3PSg/
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WBW 71: Rhones Not From The Rh�ne
When Wine Blogging Wednesday founder Lenn Thompson asked me to host this months’ tasting I was both honored and nervous. What theme would spark new participants to join the monthly virtual tasting? How could I come up with something original after 70 tastings? But after sharing three ideas on Twitter direct messages, we were set [...]
WBW 71: Rhones Not From The Rh�ne originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/4_t2_VZ5Kcs/
Napa Valley California Vinyard Wine Bottle Types of Wine Food and Wine
The Gentle Caress of Steve Jobs and Wine
When I heard the news that Steve Jobs, 56 (56!!), had died I was in the process of syncing my Apple iPhone to my Apple iTunes account via my Apple iMac, while uploading Apple Pages, Keynote and Numbers software to...
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Friday, October 28, 2011
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
Caronne Ste Gemme Carruades de Lafite Certan de May Charmail Chasse Spleen
Academy of Wine Communications-FLX: February Meeting this Thursday, 2/25/10
Update: February meeting canceled due to winter storm warning for the region.� We’re working on setting up our next meeting for Thursday, 3/18/10.� Watch here for more details. February’s meeting of the Finger Lakes Chapter of the Academy of Wine Communications will be held on Thursday, February 25, 2010 at Three Brothers Wineries & Estates [...]
Source: http://familylovewine.wordpress.com/2010/02/22/awc-meeting-this-thursday-22510/
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Palate Tuning and the Permanent Record
I’m aware that there are at least three strata of consumers who use wine reviews (and likely many more).
1) People that calibrate their palate to that of a critic so they can make very informed purchase decisions. These people are few and probably most closely aligned with Robert Parker or niche critics like Allen Meadows of Burghound or Charlie Olken of the Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine.
2) The broad swath of consumers who use scores, perhaps with some deference to the score-giver, to make retail purchase decisions. With these folks, all things considered equal while balanced against price, a 91 is better than an 88 so they go with the higher score on the shelf-talker.
3) Online armchair wine researchers are an emerging category of users. Searching for a wine presents a sort of blotter file like the dreaded “permanent record” of school days gone by. Consumers use search to research wines, validate a thought, sway indecision and incent action, sometimes in conjunction with #2.
This is linked, but separate from a recent working study presented under the banner of the American Association of Wine Economists called, “The Buyer’s Dilemma – Whose Rating Should a Wine Drinker Pay Attention to?” For a well-considered post on this topic, see Joe Roberts post at 1WineDude.
For my part, I’ve done very little wine reviewing on this site preferring instead to make any specific wine the context for bigger ideas or points I want to make (no pun intended). However, as I’ve gotten into the groove with my Forbes.com column, where there is a much broader audience, a wine-of-the-week column does have merit and I’ve started reviewing wines with more regularity.
Doing so is fun, but the most that I hope for is to be a part of the permanent record as noted in item #3. I certainly don’t have visions or a desire for anything more, but just the same, doing any sort of reviewing does open a can of worms, particularly in the case of the 2009 Red Car “Trolley” Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, a wine that I recently reviewed and gave four stars to – which equates to a generalized “90-94” score. I don’t give precise numeric ratings. If I had to, I would have given the Red Car a 92, I liked the wine – it was earthy, nuanced, layered, balanced and it required some thought to figure out, all hallmarks of a good wine.
So, consider me SHOCKED when I saw the Wine Spectator review for this very same wine and Jim Laube gave it an 81. I was less shocked, but slightly curious when I saw that Steve Heimoff at Wine Enthusiast gave it an 86 and Stephen Tanzer gave it an 88.
Can you imagine somebody searching online for the Red Car and seeing search results that present a disparate spread along the lines of Spectator’s 81, Heimoff’s 86, Stephen Tanzer’s 88, CellarTracker’s average score of 89 and a score under the Forbes masthead of 90-94?
It would be a real WTF moment that creates more confusion instead of the consumers desired order.
This disparity in scores brings me to my point, which is the point of the Wine Economist working paper – whose score should you listen to? Well, Joe Roberts, rightfully so, says listen to your own palate. However, with the preponderance of existing and emerging wine reviewers out there, combined with an ever burgeoning tsunami of information about wine online, that’s easier said than done. The real need is for meta-aggregation of scores, a sort of super wine review database.
Neil Monnens and his Wine BlueBook represents this on some level with his monthly newsletter that aggregates wine scores for individual wines from three or more critical scores giving it a QPR rating, but this is just the tip of the iceberg compared to where information is going.
Methinks that if a stats wonk can assign a Quarterback rating to NFL quarterbacks, and Sagarin ratings for college football, there has to be a way to create a meta-rating database based on regression analysis that accounts for palate preferences across a wide diversity of reviewers to create a super score for a wine that acts as the ultimate arbiter. And I won’t be surprised if, in the near future, this emerges.
Ultimately, the ongoing debate about wine scores is for naught. The horse has already left the barn. A better conversation might be around shaping the future and the fact that the best answer to, “Whose Rating Should a Wine Drinker Pay Attention to?” might be, “Trust your palate,” but it might also be, “Tune your palate against the database.”
Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/palate_tuning_and_the_permanent_record/
To Kalon Fruit on the Cheap: The 2008 Robert Mondavi Oakville Cabernet
Although there was some significant damage in other areas it looks like the hurricane wasn't as devastating as some feared it might be. I'm grateful for that and hope you and your family are safe.
It's been a few months since Wine Spectator dropped a big 94 point rating on the 2008 Robert Mondavi Oakville Cabernet. With a $45 release price and relative high 7,700 case production this wine becomes one to seek out - especially since discounters typically offer it for less than $35.
The meat of the Robert Mondavi line-up consists of the Napa Valley Wines (~$24), District Wines (~$45), and the Reserve Wines ($135). I last checked in with the Oakville bottling in the 2005 vintage. I caught a case of it on what I thought was a really good price - around $25/bottle. I slowly made my way through that case, enjoying a bottle once a month. It was so enjoyable and consistent. Outstanding Napa Cab every time at a relatively affordable price point..
Spectator didn't rate the '05 Oakville and neither did The Wine Advocate. Advocate rated the '08 Oakville just 89+ points so this is a wine Spectator really liked and Advocate thought was so-so. Some have suggested this wine as a candidate for Wine Spectator's wine of the year. I think the rating is a little low to take the top spot (they seem to go for wines rated 95 or better) but I wouldn't be surprised to see it in the Top 10. We shall see.
Although the '08 Oakville has been out for while I haven't seen it in Massachusetts yet. The Costco in Waltham still has the '07 for $29.99. I get the feeling the distributor may be trying to clear out the '07s before releasing the '08s. I spotted the '08 for $39.99 in New Hampshire. Not the greatest price in the world but I thought it would be interesting to get a handle on whether it was worth seeking out more.
I opened the bottle the same night I bought it. Is it one to back the truck up for? Not exactly, but it is made from 93% To Kalon fruit (pronounced "tow-kuh-lawn" - a famous vineyard that is 550 acres of Mondavi and 89 acres Beckstoffer which produces some of the most sought after wines in America). I'd recommend checking out a bottle or two if you're a fan of big Napa Cabs. This one is huge.
2008 Robert Mondavi Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon
15.5% Alcohol
7,700 Cases Produced
$45 Release Price ($32-$40 street price)
A bold Napa Cab of great concentration and density that enters the room with a confident swagger. Complex aromas and flavors of rich blackberries, sweet spice, plums, and vanilla beans. A little overpowering at points (15.5% alcohol) but with adequate aeration this comes together nicely. Would like to check in again in a year but for now I'd be in for 1-3 bottles of this at a target price of $30-$33.
92/100 WWP: Outstanding
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CellarTracker
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I spotted a bottle of the more affordable '08 Napa Valley bottling so I bought it to see if there was an uptick in its quality as well. There's not. It's just as good as it always is - a solid 88-90 point Napa Cab you can find anywhere - usually at a very favorable price point:
2008 Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
15.0% Alcohol
93,000 Cases Produced
$28 Release Price ($18.39 at Costco)
Comes off a bit brash at first but with some time it settles down and becomes quite enjoyable. Black currant, plum, acidity, tannins - all the classic Napa markers are here. Hard to imagine someone feeling shorted with this one south of $20. 15.0% alcohol and it shows early on.
89/100 WWP: Very Good
Sometimes, it doesn't take a lot of research to find outstanding wines at reasonable price points. The Robert Mondavi wines present tremendous value year in and year out. For example the 2006 Reserve Cab was one of the best wines I've ever tasted and can be had for around $80 if you shop around.
Question of the Day: Have you checked in on Robert Mondavi Cab lately? What do you think?
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