The Coravin: Wines by the Milliliter

Posted by | Posted in Accessories | Posted on 10-07-2013

Precision is everything

Lucas Paya pours ’82 Lynch-Bages by the milliliter at barmini

This summer, a groundbreaking wine device was released after years of research, and it immediately took the wine world by storm.

Online bulletin boards started buzzing, sommeliers started salivating, and collectors clamored to get their hands on one. So much has already been written about the Coravin that there’s not much more to be said about the device itself. In short, the Coravin was invented by a medical device entrepreneur as a way to access wine in a bottle without removing the cork, by piercing the enclosure with a slender hollow needle and injecting Argon gas that displaces the wine that is forced out.

The idea is, because the natural properties of cork allow it to reseal itself after being pierced, you can remove wine from a bottle, place it back into storage, and revisit the same wine days, weeks, or months (years?) later without it suffering the usual effects, such as oxidization, of an open bottle. As boutique wine importer Lyle Fass told me, “For old wines [the Coravin] is miraculous.” Fass tasted a 1971 Chateau Beycheville that had been accessed a month earlier and reported that “it was fresh, vibrant, delicate and had not degraded at all.” This understandably has many wine collectors excited about the ability to sample their bottles at various points on the aging curve, but as Fass notes, “[Coravin] will change the game for restaurants.”

Restaurants were basically the laboratories for testing the Coravin. Del Posto, the elegant temple of Italian cuisine in Manhattan, has been offering wines by the glass using a Coravin for the last year. The list includes glasses of Piedmontese superstars like Gaja and Conterno for $200. Like Eric Asimov, who was skeptical of astronomic by-the-glass prices at NoMad, I was not convinced that simply using a Coravin to serve a traditional 6-ounce pour would reinvent restaurant wine programs.

Enter barmini by José Andrés. The Spanish chef, long known for pushing traditional boundaries in his cuisine, has established a “cocktail lab” next door to his molecular gastronomy showcase, minibar. Under wine director Lucas Paya, barmini is using the Coravin in the most innovative way I have seen.

Read the rest of this entry »

Daily Wine News: A Big Win

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 10-07-2013

Wildflower ground cover at Stoller vineyard, Dundee Hills, Oregon“What matters most to her is that she is selling wines she believes in made by producers she knows.” In the Wall Street Journal, Lettie Teague profiles one of New York’s coolest sommeliers, Pascaline Lepeletier.

“Patience, and the prepared mind, scored a big win in 2011.” Jon Bonné tastes through the latest releases from Oregon.

In the Los Angeles Times, S. Irene Virbila explains how to “Befriend your local wine shop.”

“With sales of Burgundy wine hitting new heights, combined with two small harvests in a row, leaders of the region’s wine industry have revealed it is now selling more than it is producing.” AFP has the details.

“I was drinking better wine when I was an architect in New York than as a sommelier in Pennsylvania.” In the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Melissa McCart writes about Pennsylvania’s onerous wine laws.

In Bloomberg, Elin McCoy writes about “Australia’s new obsession with terroir.”

“So much attention is focused on famous names and international wine-grape varieties that we overlook the really rare, sometimes fragile wines.” Wine-Searcher previews Extreme Wine, Mike Veseth’s forthcoming book.

Elsewhere in Wine-Searcher, Panos Kakaviatos chats with Alsatian vintner Olivier Humbrecht.

“People should never close their minds to any place.” On Winemakers Recommend, Chimney Rock’s Elizabeth Vianna praises a wine from Brazil.

Terroirist contributor Isaac James Baker spends an evening drinking and chatting with Elisa Scavino, granddaughter of Piedmontese winemaker Paolo Scavino.

Sommelier Interview: Matthew Carroll

Posted by | Posted in Interviews | Posted on 10-04-2013

BRABO_083Matthew Carroll is the sommelier at Brabo Restaurant, Brabo Tasting Room, and The Butcher’s Block, all in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.

Matthew has been on a rather unexpected journey to get to his current role in wine. Prior to working as a sommelier, he was a school teacher for 10 years in Special Education, a job which he said was actually “good prep for a life in wine and restaurants.”

I met Matthew recently at a wine event at Brabo, part of a regular pairings series they are running to educate guests on various regions and styles. Matthew impressed me with his ability to teach (not surprising, given his background) and with the almost boyish fun he had in pairing the wines and talking about them.

He also has a knack for wine descriptions, a trait that, as a wine writer, I admire & enjoy.

A white wine aged in 35% new French oak “smells like money.”

Or a 1999 Chateau Lynch-Bages has a “nervousness” with the “tension between the fatty bacon in the dish and the graphite austerity of the wine.” It was a totally energetic pairing.

Or, my personal favorite, the 2005 Chateau Guiraud was the “baritone of Sauternes” with its low, muted acidity and rich rounded sweetness. That’s good stuff.

You can read more about Matthew and see the interview below the fold. And fun bonus fact NOT included in the interview, but disclosed to me by his PR rep.. .he apparently is covered in grape tattoos. Now that’s commitment. See more below! Read the rest of this entry »

Daily Wine News: Higher Alcoholic

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 10-04-2013

zinfandelMy name is Ron. And I’m a Higher Alcoholic.” The HoseMaster once liked the way 16.9% ABV Turley made him feel. But now, with Raj as his sponsor, he’s discovered Lioco.

“He’s well-read and thoughtful, and while you may not agree with everything he says on biodynamics and farming methods, his wines speak volumes.” In Wine-Searcher, Rebecca Gibb writes a wonderful profile of Ted Lemon.

Elsewhere in Wine-Searcher, W. Blake Gray heads to Santa Barbara County to meet Bob Lindquist of Qupé.

“Stories can be meaningful to making important decisions.” Inspired (yet again) by Steve Heimoff, Kyle Schlachter writes an excellent screed.

Lily-Elaine Hawk Wakawaka visits harvest at Il Poggione.

WineSpecator.com reports: “Lorna Belle Glos Wagner, the strong family matriarch who worked behind the scenes as she, her husband, Charlie Wagner, and their son Chuck founded Caymus Vineyards and helped put Napa Cabernet on the map, died Oct. 2. She was 97.”

In Greece, researchers have unearthed some 6,200-year-old wine. I wonder if the tannins have settled.

“Like most good ideas, it came from a mother.” In the Baltimore City Paper, Clinton Macsherry profiles one of Maryland’s most exciting new wineries, Old Westminster.

“The premise is that by directly funding the winemaker, the company removes the middleman and marketing costs—savings that are then passed on to the consumer.” In the Wall Street Journal Europe, Will Lyons profiles Naked Wines.

In the New York Times, travel writer Ann Mah visits Paris to write about “a new breed of wine bar [that] has sprung up… casual places that pair thoughtfully chosen, modestly priced bottles with small plates of food.”

Mike Veseth starts the countdown for his forthcoming book, Extreme Wine. 

Grape of the Day: Encruzado

Posted by | Posted in Wine Reviews | Posted on 10-03-2013

A few weeks ago, I attended Wines of Portugal’s “Academia do Vinho,” which featured a high-spirited lecture from master sommelier Doug Frost and a tasting of 18 wines.

I have to admit, I like Portugese wines because they can provide great value at the low end. The wines at the tasting reinforced this — 15 of 18 wines retail for $25 or less, and most showed vibrant fruit, food-yearning acidity, and refreshing minerality.

At the high end, we tasted the very complex 2010 Niepoort “Batuta,” which showed strong tannin, dried vanilla, sweet spices, unctuous dark fruit, and a load of the schistous minerality for which the Douro region is known. This wine rings up at around $80, “if you can find it,” commented MS Keith Goldston.

I’d love to revisit this wine in ten years. The other wines would also be fun to watch evolve, especially because the “great value” in Portugese wines could be gone by then.

While the Batuta was delicious, my wine of the day was from the Dão region.

Located in north-central Portugal, the Dão produces about three times as much red as white from high-altitude vineyards marked by granite soils.

But where there’s great red wine, there should be great white wine. Enter Encruzado, the most plentiful white grape in the Dão. The 2010 Quinta de Cabriz Encruzado was our third wine of the day and offered savory notes of sage, basil, and dried mint. Kaffir lime, orange blossom, and meyer lemon fleshed it all out. The kicker was the the texture. All of these elements sat on a broad, waxy, paraffin-like surfboard that delivered an extraordinary mouth-feel. The wine spent six months in French oak, which really rounded it out while also adding beauty and softness.

During a break, I mentioned how much I enjoyed the Encruzado to my colleague at Bourbon Steak, Julian Mayor. He wasn’t surprised. He recently returned from Portugal and found that the grape produces “interesting and complex whites… Somewhere between Burgundy and Bordeaux yet completely unique.”

I side more with the Bordeaux comparison, and that’s why it’s no wonder I am a fan — I’ve fallen in love with Sémillon this year. And at $14, this wine is a no-brainer.

Daily Wine News: Significant Niche

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 10-03-2013

Flickr, Damian Liszatynski

Flickr, Damian Liszatynski

“Orange wines are a small drop in the ocean of wine available to us, but they have become a significant niche, even earning their own subheading on restaurant lists.” In the Washington Post, Dave McIntyre writes about DC’s increasing interest in orange wines.

“I was able to identify the characteristics of each winemaker in each vineyard, making the case that there is a signature of place, but the decisions employed by the winemaker were the dominant factors.” James Laube tastes the results of an “interstate Pinot Noir exchange.”

In Wine Spectator, Dana Nigro chats with Doug Bell, the global wine buyer for Whole Foods.

In the Oregonian, Katherine Cole explains why, thanks to the region’s “young upstarts,” Walla Walla may one day be best known for its Rhône varietals.

In Wine Enthusiast, Virginie Boone profiles Leo Hansen, Tracey Brandt, Chris Brockway, and Jillian Johnson, “four winemakers [who] are driven by… a sense of California history, of why things were planted and survived, and most of all, the complexity of flavor bursting from these vines.”

In Portugal, a new law allows Port producers to use cheaper brandy for fortification.

Over at 1WineDude, Shelby Vittek chats with Jason Wilson, author of the just-released Planet Of The Grapes.

“A Chardonnay with your Swiss chard?” On Monday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed a law allowing local farm stands to sell New York-made wines.

Wine importer Neal Rosenthal spends “A Day in the Jura.”

The next time you find yourself in the mood for a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, Patricia Guy thinks you should “consider reaching for a good Soave Classico instead.”

Consumer Reports offers “5 tips to buying good wine at bargain prices.”

François Pinon: Totally Uncompromising

Posted by | Posted in Grape Adventures | Posted on 10-02-2013

Hail damage in Vouvray.

Hail damage in Vouvray.

My wife and I had made the appointments to visit our favorite wineries, Domaine Huet and François Pinon, well before the hail fell.

As big as chicken eggs, the hail strafed the vineyards of Vouvray early on the morning of June 17th, devastating the just-budding vines. Some vineyard parcels were only partly damaged, but many were completely destroyed. This, on the heels of a very poor 2012 vintage. And it only took ten minutes.

So when we arrived in Chinon just over a week later on a long-planned vacation, I became apprehensive about making our way to Vouvray. The damaged vines will yield no wine this year. Huet lost around half its vines. Rumor had it that François Pinon, a small but revered wine producer, had lost his entire crop.

In Chinon, which also lost plenty of vines, the hail was on everyone’s minds; the sullen expressions and bleary, sleepless eyes made that clear enough. Still, it was high vacation season, and even those affected were doing their best to carry on as normally as possible.

But what would it be like in Vouvray?

I asked around at my other appointments across the Loire. Would François wish to accept guests during this difficult time? Certainly we would be a bother, right? On the other hand, if I were to call to cancel, would I just be adding to the insult?

In the end, old friends of François’ like Mathieu Baudry (Domaine Baudry) and Marc Ollivier (Domaine de la Peppiere) urged us to keep our appointment. The distraction, they assured me, would be good for him.

Frankly, I was nervous. 

My wife and I are really just a run-of-the-mill, if passionate, wine nerds — not industry players. We literally had no business there. But we set off for the Pinon property, fortified by a thrilling wine tasting at Huet that included a generous selection of library wines. As much as we wanted to try more beautiful Vouvray, we also wanted to see if we could help, in some minor way. 

On the way, we got lost in a massive maze of devastated vineyards. And when we finally pulled up to the Pinon winery, we were awed by its simplicity. The winery isn’t much more than the Pinon family’s historic home alongside a small tasting room built into a wall of the Loire’s characteristic chalky white tuffeau. It was modest and rustic and immensely charming. It took a bit of time to find François; he finally emerged once we began, as a near last resort, to shout “bounjour François!”  Read the rest of this entry »

Daily Wine News: Certain Incense

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 10-02-2013

decanter“In a short time, he’s thoroughly grasped the state, this new movement and become one of its most influential chroniclers.” In NorCal Wine, Fred Swan praises Jon Bonné’s forthcoming book, The New California Wine.

“As with all rituals, a certain incense began to swirl around the event.” Matt Kramer philosophizes about decanting.

The TTB has established four new American Viticultural Areas and modifyed one existing California AVA.

But the government shutdown has shuttered the TTB.

This past weekend, “remnants of tropical storm Pabuk felled rainfall records set more than a century ago in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.” In Wines & Vines, Peter Mitham has the details.

“Trying to prove the worth of his Livermore Valley Cabernet-based blend Lineage,” Steven Kent Mirassou put it up against wines from Harlan Estate, Opus One, Joseph Phelps Insignia, Continuum, and “a random Saint-Estèphe a PR person had sitting around.” W. Blake Gray attends a blind tasting — and finds the results surprising.

“What could be better than running 13.1 miles through a metropolis of asphalt and steel, cheek-to-jowl with 10,000 or 12,000 other souls, and afterward celebrating the achievement with two wedges of orange and a bottle of Costco water?” Wine, of course. In the Press Democrat, Chris Smith explains why “Matt Dockstader is king of run-and-sip.”

Ever wonder why “stupid wines” can fetch so much money? Because there’s a market for everything.

“We love Virginia. We are proud of it.” In Capitol File, a lifestyle magazine in DC, Leslie Quander Wooldridge writes about the DC area’s “award-winning wines.”

“To close, Putake honey was transformed into a heavenly dessert taco. A much better finale than Magnum, P.I. got.” In Montecristo, a lifestyle magazine in Vancouver, Joy Pecknold writes a fun piece about a recent visit to Cloudy Bay Vineyards.  

In the Wine Economist, Cynthia Howson, Pierre Ly, and Jeff Begun publish their final post on the Chinese wine industry.

In the Daily Meal, Juliet Tierney finds out how five entrepreneurs broke into the beverage industry.

Wondering What To Drink? Ask a Winemaker

Posted by | Posted in White's Wines | Posted on 10-01-2013

Pahlmeyer's Kale Anderson, on Winemakers Recommend.

Pahlmeyer’s Kale Anderson, on Winemakers Recommend.

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 explain why I love asking winemakers about the wines they’re drinking – and highlight a new website that focuses exclusively on these insider tips.

Wondering What To Drink? Ask a Winemaker

Imagine if BMW’s design chief admitted that Ford produces some of his favorite cars. Or if the CEO of Coca-Cola confessed that every now and then, he craves a Pepsi.

Pure fantasy, of course. But with wine, such admissions happen daily. And now, a website has launched — WinemakersRecommend.com — to share these insider picks with the world.

I’ve been a sucker for tips like these since I first fell in love with wine.

It was the fall of 2007, and I was out in Napa Valley with a few friends. We had visits lined up at a number of the area’s top wineries – Heitz Cellars, Opus One, Robert Keenan Winery, and Failla, to name just a few – and at each spot, I asked the tasting room staff what they enjoyed drinking. I looked for many of those wines when I returned home.

As I dove deeper into the world of wine, I continued to ask those in the industry for suggestions. Sommeliers, retailers, and importers were eager to share tips, of course. But I was surprised that winemakers were equally excited to offer recommendations. After all, the bottles they pointed to were often in direct competition with their own.

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

Daily Wine News: Chemical Soup

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 10-01-2013

Ridge includes ingredients on its back labels.

Ridge includes ingredients on back labels.

“The only result of an ingredient label would be to scare off wine consumers who might think that they would be getting a chemical soup.” So argues Dan Berger in his latest column.

“The [2012] harvest was HUGE and still is sending shock waves into the business.” Silicon Valley Bank’s Rob McMillan digs deep into some fascinating data.

In Wine-Searcher, Paolo Tenti profiles Bruno Giacosa, the Italian “producer who inspired a generation of winemakers.”

Elsewhere in Wine-Searcher, Rebecca Gibb explains why a smaller glass is the best way to prevent a hangover.

Mauricio González-Gordon Diéz, who played a key role in the Sherry industry for more than six decades, died on Friday. He was 89.

“Piedmont’s famed Barolo and Barbaresco producers also make delicious, affordable wines that can be served with a variety of dishes and offer sheer drinkability — Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto.” In Wine Enthusiast, Kerin O’Keefe explains how to “get an authentic taste of [Piedmont] without taking out a second mortgage.”

Jancis Robinson attends a vertical tasting of Quinta do Noval’s Vintage Nacional, one of the world’s most legendary Ports.

“Whether the new classification will gain wider acceptance is still an open question. But for me, I don’t get a figurative or literal headache from German wines anymore.” In Palate Press, Gary Thomas explains how the German wine industry is changing. 

In the Seattle Times, Andy Perdue profiles Jessica Munnell and Juan Muñoz-Oca, “the power couple of the Washington wine industry. Combined, they make more wine than anyone else in the state.”

“A well-made blend need not have a varietal name in order to be charming.” Steve Heimoff is excited about the increasing number of blends coming out of California.

“Like with all decisions made here at Jordan, it all comes down to the palate.” Jordan posts a great video detailing how picking decisions are made.

In Bloomberg, John Mariani writes an always welcome reminder on the importance of storage and serving temperatures.