Weekly Interview: Charles Smith

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 05-31-2013

Each week, as regular readers know, we pose a series of questions to a winemaker. This week, we’re featuring Charles Smith of Napa Valley’s Smith-Madrone. 

Smith-Madrone traces its roots to 1971, when Charles’ brother Stuart purchased 200 acres of land on Spring Mountain with the vision of starting an estate winery. Charles joined his brother two years later after a brief stint teaching, and the pair produced their first vintage in 1977. 

Check out our interview with Charles below the fold.  Read the rest of this entry »

Daily Wine News: Credit’s Due

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 05-31-2013

“These producers deserve credit for being willing to take chances on lesser-known grape varieties… They also deserve credit for seeking out the often-tiny plantings of these grapes, finding older vineyards with varieties once more-widely planted in the state but now seen much less often, as well as for convincing growers to take a risk with new plantings of obscure grapes.” Ken Zinns of Grape-Nutz offers his impressions from the recent Seven Percent Solution tasting. 

Across Sonoma, small vintners are upset about a new rule requiring them to label their wines “Sonoma County” even if they’re within a specific sub-appellations.

Go Don Cornwell! After questioning the authenticity of a magnum of 1962 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche, Christie’s has pulled the bottle from an upcoming auction. Wine Spectator has the details. 

In Wine-Searcher, Kerin O’Keefe compiles a list of “10 Things Every Wine Lover Should Know About Bartolo Mascarello.”

“One of the wonders to me of Santa Barbara County wine country is the number of winemakers still in their 40s with over 20 years of winemaking experience. It’s an impressive concentration of ability.” Lily-Elaine Hawk Wakawaka writes a fantastic profile of Andrew Murray.

In the United States, port sales have been increasing over the past few years — and with the 2011 vintage declaration, the industry expects even stronger growth.

“Pink is the new black. Sales of imported dry rosé wine are up 28 percent from last year, says the Conseil des Vins de Provence.” In the Chicago Tribune, Bill St. John has the details.

Wine bottles could soon include (voluntary) nutrition labels. Jeff Siegel is excited. 

The Associated Press reports on the news that French President Francois Hollande’s palace has decided to auction off about a tenth of its cellar.

In Venezuela, the Catholic Church is suffering from a wine shortage.

Daily Wine News: Lifetime Wasted

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 05-30-2013

Sanford & Benedict (sanfordwinery.com).

“The Sanford & Benedict Vineyard has already achieved a lot in proving that Santa Barbara can produce excellent Pinot Noir and that the Sta. Rita Hills appellation is one of the best cool climate vine growing locations in the state.” Together with “a who’s who of Santa Barbara County vintners,” Richard Jennings attends a remarkable event at Sanford & Benedict with Michael Benedict, speaking for the first time since 1980.

“A man from Texas is suing Robert M. Parker, Jr… for what he is calling a ‘lifetime wasted drinking profoundly expensive wine I don’t even like.'” A great piece of comedy from Table to Grave.

In Wine Spectator, Suzanne Mustacich writes a great essay on Bordeaux et Ses Environs et Ses Vins, Classé par Ordre de Merite — better known as Le Féret — which “may be the most influential book on wine ever published.”

In Wine Enthusiast, Roger Voss declares that “the practice of selling Bordeaux soon af ther vintage is no longer helpful for consumers or the wine trade.”

Alder Yarrow offers “a hearty endorsement of the state of Rhone Wines in California.”

In Wine-Searcher, Amanda Barnes chats with French winemaker Jean-Claude Berrouet, who headed up winemaking at Petrus for 44 years and now works as a consultant across the world.

Elsewhere in Wine-Searcher, Rebecca Gibb offers a quick roundup of the 2013 harvest across the southern hemisphere.

In a video for Wine Spectator, Morgan Twain-Peterson talks about the history — and advantages — of field blends.

Jay Youmans, MW, CWE, wonders if “Virginia the ‘Bordeaux of North America.'”

After teaching a class called “The Idea of Wine,” Mike Veseth figured he’d “share some of the topics” of this semester’s term papers “to give you an idea how bright college-aged American students think about wine after spending a semester studying it.”

Bottlenotes highlights “ten new wine bars in Brooklyn to check out.”

Trimbach: An Alsatian Stalwart

Posted by | Posted in Grape Adventures | Posted on 05-29-2013

Trimbach has been written about before. And I have to admit that early in my wine days, I wanted to write off the winery. With its solid yellow labels and its  seeming omnipresence (over 30% of Alsatian wine in the United States is Trimbach), it just seemed so generic.

Domaine Trimbach.

But the truth is that the wines are fantastic. My non-wine-aficionado family still remembers the Trimbach Pinot Blanc we had at a celebratory dinner years ago, and I certainly can’t let it go unsung, especially after having tasted much more of the winery’s lineup.

I had the pleasure of being in the same room as Jean Trimbach earlier this month, along with other great wine personalities from D.C., and a healthy amount of his wine.  Here are some impressions:

Trimbach is currently headed by brothers Jean and Pierre Trimbach, who focus almost exclusively on marketing and vineyard/winemaking, respectively. Jean’s son Julian is currently studying viticulture and oenology in Dijon and will join his uncle back in Ribeauvillé after graduation, becoming the 13th generation to man the ship.

To put Trimbach’s size into perspective, there are about 15,000 hectares under vine in Alsace, worked by about 5,000 growers. All told, just over 1,000 different wines are produced in the region. Trimbach’s wines represent 105 of those hectares — 45 of which are owned by the Trimbach family, and another 60 of which are owned and farmed by families with a similarly long histories in Alsace. Read the rest of this entry »

Daily Wine News: Special Preparation

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 05-29-2013

Flickr, martinvarsavsky.

Stephane Derenoncourt has admitted that he “puts his wines through a ‘special preparation’ for En Primeur.” Wow.  

“A nation whose fine wines aren’t sought-after, collected and treasured by connoisseurs everywhere will fail to gain (or gradually lose) international credibility, and with it economic buoyancy.” Andrew Jefford offers some advice to Australia’s wine industry.  

“Is grüner veltliner, like riesling, a tuning fork for terroir? What does “limestone soil” taste like?” In Palate Press, Meg Houston Maker tastes through 12 Grüner Veltliners with Aldo Sohm. 

According to W. Blake Gray, “Qupé proves [that] California Roussanne can age.” 

“For Frank, it was ultimately only the music that mattered. For me, it is, or at least has become, all about the wine; most everything else is but a mere distraction.” Randall Grahm is “slightly haunted” by comparisons to Frank Zappa. 

“I don’t understand why so many people are scared of wine and bothered by those who invest time and money in its enjoyment.” Dave McIntyre comments on the notion that “wine appreciation is nonsense.” 

In 2010, President Obama received three bottles of 1961 Chateau Lynch-Bages from the Sarkozys. 

Wine Enthusiast offers some recipes for “boozy brain-freezers [that] are not super sweet-and-sticky affairs from your youth, but satisfy the sophisticated palate.”

A Beach Book for Wine Enthusiasts

Posted by | Posted in White's Wines | Posted on 05-28-2013

As regular readers know, I write a free, twice monthly wine column that’s distributed to newspapers across the country.

These columns are hosted by Palate Press: The Online Wine Magazine. If you don’t see my column in your local newspaper, please send an email to your paper’s editor and CC me (David – at – Terroirist.com).

In my latest column, I review Nose, a new novel by James Conaway that’s a perfect beach read for wine enthusiasts.

A Beach Book for Wine Enthusiasts

Rarely do wine enthusiasts have a summertime page-turner. There was Sideways, of course, the Pinot-drenched novel by Rex Pickett that became a blockbuster movie, but that hit bookstores nearly ten years ago.

Over the past decade, many writers have tried to replicate the success of Sideways with wine-inspired fiction. But the strongest narratives have been nonfiction — books like Benjamin Wallace’s The Billionaire’s Vinegar, which exposes the seedy underbelly of wine auctions, and Evan Dawson’s Summer in a Glass, which chronicles the history of the Finger Lakes wine region.

Fortunately, oenophiles once again have a work of fiction that’s perfect for the beach: James Conaway’s Nose, released this spring by Thomas Dunne Books.

If Conaway’s name sounds familiar, that’s because he’s been writing for more than 40 years. An essayist for National Geographic Traveler, Conaway is best known in wine circles for Napa:The Story of an American Eden, released in 1990, and his 2002 follow-up, The Far Side of Eden. Both works — juicy, social histories of America’s top winegrowing locale — garnered much acclaim.

At the center of Conway’s foray into fiction is Clyde Craven-Jones, a transplanted Briton who has become the world’s most powerful wine critic. From his adopted home in northern California, Craven-Jones — known as “CJ” — can move markets with the scores he publishes in his eponymous newsletter. So producers everywhere try to imitate “the Craven-Jones style” by producing big, boozy wines. (Without question, this character is loosely based on Robert M. Parker, Jr.)

Check out the rest of the piece on Palate Press: The Online Wine Magazine.

Daily Wine News: Time & Place

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 05-28-2013

From Wikimedia.

“Sangria, the wine punch that is consumed throughout Spain in the heat, and in the tourist spots year round, does not have to be oversweetened with sugar and cheap liqueur, or a repository for rotgut that is too stale to be served by the glass.” Eric Asimov celebrates sangria “made with care and good ingredients.”

Corison Wines are all about the time and place.” Melanie Ofenloch, better known as the Dallas Wine Chick, visits Corison Winery. (As regular readers may remember, we interviewed Cathy Corison back in April 2011.)

In the Financial Times, Jancis Robinson searches for “austerity whites.” 

“So many cellars, so little time!” In Palate Press, Bethany Barber writes about a recent trip to Alsace. 

In Wine-Searcher, W. Blake Gray compiles a list of tips from sommeliers on how to get the most out of a restaurant’s wine list. 

“As for what we like to grill, in order, that’d be burgers, steak, hot dogs and chicken. So, what’s a wine that goes with all four? I’m going to suggest Grenache.” On CNN’s Eatocracy, Ray Isle anoints Grenache “the perfect wine for every grilling scenario.” 

“2012 may end up as a forgotten futures campaign, with most wines unsold.” In Bloomberg, Elin McCoy writes about this year’s lackluster en primeur campaign.

“Last week in London, I drank pinot blanc with almost every meal, finding it as refreshing with dishes like wild bream and crab as it was with smoked salmon, and with just about all cheeses, from cheddar to Gorgonzola.” Elsewhere in Bloomberg, John Mariani praises the versatility of Pinot Blanc. 

“These wines were so profound that they almost overshadowed my first encounter with Leonetti.” Bill Ward is impressed with a number of wines from Walla Walla. 

Sake doesn’t need numeric scores!” Richard Auffrey makes a strong case that sake wouldn’t benefit from numerical scores.

Sherry At The Dinner Table

Posted by | Posted in Grape Adventures | Posted on 05-27-2013

I’ve always had a preference for spicy cuisines.

I enjoy eating and cooking various Indian and Caribbean regional styles, along with more fiery Sichuan food, and this is one of the reasons I drink so many German and Austrian whites — spicy curries, Jamaican jerk chicken, and Sichuan specialties such as a shredded baby lamb with green pepper simply aren’t the most friendly accompaniments for more delicate red Burgundy or Bordeaux.

There are certainly exceptions –at BYO Sichuan restaurants in New York, I’ve found smoked-tea duck to pair quite well with many old-world reds — but for the most part, Grüner Veltliner or Spätlese or Auslese Rieslings pair superbly with those cuisines.

Recently though, I’ve discovered that a range of dry sherries work exceptionally as wine pairings for such cuisines, and as I’ve started exploring sherry in more depth, I’ve been amazed at the range of different culinary styles that a dry Fino, Amontillado, or a Palo Cortado can pair with. A couple of bottles from the Equipo Navazos La Bota series (the ever-eloquent Brooklynguy writes more about them here) have been particularly eye-opening in this regard.

Read the rest of this entry »

Daily Wine News: Rarely Boring

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 05-27-2013

“Why should anybody who cares about what they eat and drink settle for familiar and icy rather than something full of character?” In the New York Times, Eric Asimov praises “the parallel universe of provocative Greek wines.” 

Over on the blog for K&L Wine Merchants, Gary Westby previews the 2004 Dom Perignon. 

“Poor Riesling. It really is the Rodney Dangerfield of wines.” BuzzFeed lists ten reasons “you should love Riesling.”

In The Drinks Business, Catherine Seda offers a fascinating report on “The Winemakers Tasting,” a new event in Napa Valley where attendees gather to “see what vinous innovations and experimentations are happening.”

Ben Carter of Benito’s Wine Reviews sits down with Julia Crowley, the blogger behind Wine Julia. 

In the Wall Street Journal, Lettie Teague offers a three-day itinerary for Healdsburg. 

Meanwhile, in The Guardian, Joe Roberts (aka, 1WineDude) writes a brief travel essay suggesting Pacific Coast

“While we have supported many initiatives to prevent drunken driving, a reduction in the legal level of alcohol to what could be measured after social drinking… could be an overreach.” Newsday comes out against the NTSB’s proposal to lower the legal drinking limit.

visitors make an excursion to Healdsburg and Sebastopol.

“With all due respect to all blogs, including this one. I must admit that I hardly read them.” Doug Frost doesn’t always read blogs, but when he does, he reads Fermentation and HoseMaster of Wine.

“If you presume wine experts to be a stuffy lot, think again. Denton met his wife, Maria — a fellow wine instructor and the portfolio manager for Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy Champagne brands in D.C. — in Orlando while performing in a punk rock band together.” Arlington Magazine profiles David Denton, a sommelier in Washington, DC. 

In the Huffington Post, Anneli Rufus discovers that grapes are grown on farms. (She doesn’t explain where she used to think they came from.)

“Drinkers can now expect to pay $2.67 on average for a PBR, up from $2.40 a year ago, according to Restaurant Sciences.” Across the country, cheap beer is getting pricier.

Wine Reviews: Petite Sirah & Blends

Posted by | Posted in Wine Reviews | Posted on 05-25-2013

Petite Sirah is one of my go-to wines for this time of year, especially when I’m entertaining or hosting casual wine drinkers. Nerds and newbs alike enjoy petite sirah’s chewy texture, the bold dark fruit, the earthy and peppery notes. It’s no wonder wine writers love talking about pairing Petite Sirah and summer grill-outs. Serve me a Petite Sirah with anything meaty that was cooked over fire, and odds are I’ll be happy.

All these Petite Sirahs were received as trade samples and tasted blind.

2009 Concannon Vineyard Petite Sirah Conservancy
USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Livermore Valley
SRP: $15
Gobs of blackberries on the nose, red licorice, purple Gushers candy, along with mocha and toasted coconut. Juicy and full of red and black berry fruit, this wine is jammy and thick. High alcohol is evident over the creamy-smooth tannins. Inky, but not much in the way of secondary flavors. (85 points IJB)

2010 Concannon Vineyard Conservancy Crimson & Clover
California, San Francisco Bay, Livermore Valley
SRP: $15
Aromas of purple taffy, raspberry jam, rose petals and toast. Soft tannins, medium acid, this wine takes a jammy, easy-drinking approach with flavors of raspberry, cherry, vanilla, mocha and toasted oak. 50% Petite Sirah, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Syrah and 10% Zinfandel. (86 points IJB)

2010 Mettler Family Vineyards Petite Sirah
California, Central Valley, Lodi
SRP: $25
Almost like paint on the nose, with these deep, brooding aromas of blackberry, plum and charcoal, along with notes of vanilla and toast. The tannins are firm but rounded, and the wine is really inky, like gobs of ink and crushed berries. The acid is a bit low for my palate, but the blackberry and plum fruit is beautifully concentrated and sweet. The charcoal note really comes into play on the palate, and the wine finishes with notes of coffee and caramel. A wine with no shame, but it’s got the depth and complexity to pull it off. This Petite Sirah includes 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, aged 21 months in French oak. (88 points IJB)

2010 Fields Family Wines Petite Sirah Estate
California, Central Valley, Lodi
SRP: $28
A really exciting petite sirah with lots of unique characteristics. Lots of red and black cherries on the nose, with green coffee and a smell that reminds me of a greenhouse full of flowers. On the palate, chewy tannins provide structure for the saucy cherry and blackberry fruit. There’s a very distinct flavor of sweet teryaki marinade, and I get a real kick out of it. Earthy and peppery notes linger onto the finish. (89 points IJB)

Wines Scoring <85 points
2011 Concannon Vineyard Petite Sirah Selected Vineyards
USA, California, Central Coast
SRP: $10
Medium purple color. Aromas of plum cake, caramel and green peppercorns. The palate shows fine tannins and juicy raspberry and plum fruit. Creamy and jammy with a solid dose of oak. There’s bitterness to this wine, like the skins and pips of the berries or something, and the finish is short. For $10, you can’t really expect much more.