Bring the (Co)Noise

Posted by | Posted in Wine Where? | Posted on 02-21-2011

Cana's Feast Winery

Quick: Name the black grape varietals allowed in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah probably made your list — but what about Conoise?

If you didn’t include it, don’t worry too much. Only about 0.5 percent of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s surface is planted with this grape. And just a miniscule amount of this grape is being planted in the United States. Read the rest of this entry »

Daily Wine News: Beer & Premox

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 02-21-2011

Beer is just as heart healthy as red wine, according to a new study from the American Dietetic Association.

In the Financial Times, Jancis Robinson writes about “premox” (premature oxidation) of white Burgundies. If you’re looking for an in-depth analysis, this isn’t it – but  all attention to this topic is important, and it’s great to see a piece on this in such a high-profile publication.

Eric Asimov tastes “20 bottles of Côtes du Rhône from the very warm 2009 vintage.” He’s not thrilled, and worries that climate change will produce more years like 2009.

Adam Lee writes a piece for Palate Press, addressing the rumor that some Pinot Noir producers spike their juice with Syrah.

Alder Yarrow shares his notes from this year’s ZAP Zinfandel festival. It sounds like the 2009 Ridge Geyserville is really going to be something special.

Let’s assume Ludacris really enjoyed the Chateau Lafite he tried about five years ago.

A documentary about Pinot Noir. I don’t know much about this film, but I definitely plan on watching it.

Jon Bonné recommends a handful of ’09 Chardonnays from Oregon and Washington.

In the Tennessean, Mt. Juliet resident William Haupt III writes a letter to the editor urging lawmakers to legalize the sale of wine in supermarkets. I link to this letter because Haupt is doing what everyone who reads this blog should do if they’ve got some time: get involved. If you live in a state with stupid wine laws (translation: just about anywhere), write your legislators, write to your local newspaper, talk to your friends, and check out the American Wine Consumer Coalition on Facebook.

Weekly Interview: Alex Davis

Posted by | Posted in Interviews | Posted on 02-18-2011

Each week, as regular readers know, Terroirist poses 16 questions to a winemaker. This week’s featured winemaker is Alex Davis, who crafts wine Porter Creek Vineyards, one of my favorite producers in the Russian River Valley. While Davis makes Chardonnay, Viognier, Carignane, Syrah, and Zinfandel, his focus is Pinot Noir.

Porter Creek traces its history to 1977, when George Davis — Alex’s father — purchased 40 acres in the heart of the Russian River Valley along Porter Creek, a major tributary of the Russian River. George’s goal was to produce Pinot Noirs and Chadonnays that would be able to compete with the finest French Burgundies.

Porter Creek’s first wine was released in 1982, and George made the wine until 1997. By the time Alex took over at the age of 26, he had graduated with a enology degree from Fresno University and worked in France with Christophe Roumier, Bernard Michelot, and Marcel Guigal. Last month, Davis made Jon Bonné’s list of “winemakers to watch.”

In his article, Bonné described Davis’s wine as “nuanced, pure in its fruit and informed by his time in some of Burgundy’s greatest cellars. It harks back to a much defter view of what Russian River could yield.” I agree. Read the rest of this entry »

Daily Wine News: Yearning for Freedom

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 02-18-2011

Uploaded to flickr by Bohman.

Not sure how I missed this. As loyal readers know, lawmakers in Maryland’s General Assembly recently introduced legislation to legalize the direct shipment of wine to consumers from out-of-state wineries and retailers. I chimed in on this issue in the Washington Post, fearing that lawmakers would gut a critical part of the bill. Last Thursday, Maryland state Sen. Joan Carter Conway ADMITTED that was the plan, stating that the final bill would likely would keep in place the Maryland laws that prohibit residents from ordering wine from Internet retailers, joining wine-of-the-month clubs and taking part in out-of-state wine auctions. Absolutely infuriating.

On a similar note, we go to Tom Wark: “Yesterday, as WineBusiness.com reports, associations representing nearly all the wine, beer and spirit companies operating in the U.S. issued a letter to all members of Congress urging them NOT TO SPONSOR any new version of H.R. 5034.”

Shockingly, the state-employed bureaucrats who oversee Alabama’s state-run liquor business oppose privatization. In other news, the sky is blue.

Wine Spectator looks at the push to legalize corkage in Maryland and Virginia, and also runs through the tangle of confusing laws across the nation.

In Palate Press, Michelle Locke looks at Carignan’s potential in Chile. This was a great read, as I’ve always felt that Carignan is an under-appreciated grape.

Speaking of Carignan, one of the best examples I’ve ever had is produced by Porter Creek Vineyards. And later today, we’ll feature Alex Davis of Porter Creek with our weekly winemaker interview.

Off the Beaten Path: Inwood Estates (TX)

Posted by | Posted in Wine Reviews, Wine Where? | Posted on 02-17-2011

Today I’m excited to debut what I hope will be a semi-regular series here at Terroirist that features tasting notes written about wines from “lesser known” wine regions of the United States.

Having spent five years tasting my way through Virginia’s wine country, I gained an appreciation for the wines of the Commonwealth and found myself wondering what else is out there. I figured a series profiling some wineries that are “off the beaten path” would be fun.

This curiosity brought me to Texas (via the Internet), where I learned about Inwood Estates Vineyards and Wineries. Read the rest of this entry »

Daily Wine News: Have Aerator, Will Travel

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 02-17-2011

Earlier this week, we wrote about Daniel Sogg, a former editor and reviewer at Wine Spectator, and his decision to join the blogosphere. In his most recent post, he argues that “the prevailing approach to wine criticism is broken.” Earlier this month, Slate’s Michael Steinberger launched a blog — and I’m just now discovering it. Steinberger is probably my favorite wine writer, so I’m thrilled he’s started the Wine Diarist.

In the Washington Post, Dave McIntyre chimes in with his thoughts on this weekend’s DC Wine and Food Festival.

Many oenophiles swear by the Vinturi Wine Aerator. One wonders if its fans will purchase the travel edition.

On the Wall Street Journal’s wine blog, a nice interview with Steve Flynn, the owner of September Wine and Spirits.

A wine commercial! For the 2011 Paso Robles Zinfandel Festival. Awesome. (H/T: Dr. Vino.)

Interviewing Bobby Parkerchuk

Posted by | Posted in Interviews | Posted on 02-16-2011

Gary Vaynerchuk and Robert Parker are probably the two biggest personalities in wine. So when “Bobby Parkerchuk” started tweeting last April, the wine world got a whole lot funnier.

Parkerchuk tweets as the love child of Parker and Vaynerchuk. Like Vaynerchuk, he loves bringing the #THUNDER. Like Parker, he’s quite fond of #CdP07 (that’s 2007 Châteauneuf-du-Pape).

Parkerchuk was interviewed by Dr. Vino shortly after his birth, but for the most part, he sticks to Twitter. We wanted his take on the shakeup at The Wine Advocate, so on Tuesday, we caught up over email.

The interview went well. In fewer than 400 words, Parkerchuk referenced Manfred Krankl, ’97 Harlan, censorship at the eRobertParker bulletin boards, and “vinofreaks.” I’d give the interview 99+ points, easy.

Read the rest of this entry »

Daily Wine News: A Class Act

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 02-16-2011

First they came for the premixed alcoholic energy drinks. Then they came for the energy drinks. Never mind the fact that a small coffee from Starbucks has more than twice as much caffeine as a Red Bull.

Morgan Twain-Peterson’s Bedrock Wine Co. has been praised by a number of critics. And virtually every bottle Morgan has produced has garnered quite a bit of praise on CellarTracker. But the notes on one bottle — the 2009 Russian River Valley Zinfandel — have been horrible, hovering in the mid-70s. On Tuesday, Morgan sent an email to his customers, issuing a full refund for the wine. Pretty cool.

Patty Bogle, matriarch of Bogle Vineyards, died last week. Bogle certainly has an incredible story — when she founded the winery with her husband in 1979, they hoped to one day produce 4,000 cases annually. It’s now the nation’s 14th largest winery, and ships more than1.2 million cases of wine each year. Bogle is also credited with putting Petite Sirah on the map.

A nice piece in Reuters about Tokaj, Hungary’s most famous wine region, and it’s most famous wine, “the lusciously honeyed Tokaji Aszu.” Having just attended a tasting of Hungarian wines, I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t drink enough of them.

Red wine cures cancer! Not really. But when the common cancer drug rapamycin is used in combination with resveratrol, the drug is better able to suppress tumor growth.

Daily Wine News: Fewer Headaches!

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 02-15-2011

Her wine had amines. Uploaded to flickr by quinn.anya.

The Court of Master Sommeliers welcomes six new Master Sommeliers to the organization. Five of the six are from California. Congratulations to all!

Former Wall Street Journal wine columnists Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher — a husband and wife team — might be best known for creating “Open That Bottle Night” (OTBN), an annual tradition where they urged readers to open a symbolically significant bottle and then share their stories. This year, Dottie and John will host OTBN live on Palate Press.

In Slate, Mike Steinberger writes about the 2009 vintage in Beaujolais.

The FDA has approved a new strain of yeast, created by a biotechnologist at the University of British Columbia, that produces fewer amines in red wine. Amines are believed to trigger headaches, hypertension, and migraines in some people.

Daniel Sogg, a former editor and reviewer at Wine Spectator, joins the blogosphere. In his most recent post, he argues that “the prevailing approach to wine criticism is broken.” (H/T: Tom Wark.)

In Connecticut, lawmakers may consider a bill that would legalize liquor sales on Sundays.

Michael Diamond of the Beastie Boys starts blogging for JamesSuckling.com.

Wine is big in Asia. Unsurprisingly, glassware maker Riedel is planning an aggressive expansion in China.

Daily Wine News: Go USA!

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 02-14-2011

Harvard Business School. Uploaded to flickr by Patricia Drury.

Every year, the “Commanderie du Bontemps Bordeaux” hosts a contest between university wine clubs from France and Britain to see who knows the most — and has the best palate for — Bordeaux. This year, the competition was open to schools in Asia and the United States — and some students from Wharton and Harvard Business School did pretty well. We shouldn’t be too surprised. Wine Spectator’s Unfiltered blog has described these students as “the future American market for classified-growth Bordeaux.”

MacRostie, the highly regarded producer of  Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, has been purchased by  Lion Nathan USA, an importer and producer of Australian and New Zealand wines. Steve MacRostie, the California native who founded the winery in 1987, sold the business in order to retire.

W. Blake Gray spends a few hours with Greg Brewer, co-owner and winemaker for Brewer-Clifton, owner and winemaker of Diatom, and winemaker for Melville Vineyards. Brewer has some really interesting thoughts on high-alcohol wines.

Eric Asimov dedicates his latest column to Teroldego, a varietal I hadn’t even heard of. Anyone know where I can pick some up?

Speaking of obscure, Jon Bonné tastes 30 Austrian reds, and recommends a bunch of them.

Jay McInerney pens a really nice piece on Alexis Lichine, wine writer, promoter, salesman, and owner of Château Prieuré-Lichine.