Wine Happenings

It's time for some updates and reminders concerning wine happenings here on the internet. (wonderful photo "Noblesse Oblige" by Linus)

First, Joel from Wine Life Today posted the roundup from Wine Blogging Wednesday #43. Dedicated to "comfort wines" March's event produced not only some terrific wine recommendations, but some great writing from folks all over the wine blogosphere. Thanks to Joel for a terrific, popular theme that was definitely thought provoking.

No official news yet on WBW #44, hosted by Gary Vaynerchuk, but the Wine Blogging Wednesday community site has the brief description of "old world Cabernet Franc." As always, the host may tweak this in some way none of us could imagine, but this gives you at least some idea of the direction. When the detailed announcement is made, I'll be sure to let you know.

There are still two weeks to go before the deadline for the new Wine Blogging Wednesday Logo Contest. If you're feeling creative and would like to help Lenn jazz up this monthly event by having your logo splashed all across the web, check out the details and join in the fun.

Speaking of contests, have you heard of the small winery on the top of Spring Mountain in Napa called Fantesca? They make some superb Cabernet, allow you to Adopt a Grape and watch it grow, and once again this year they asked for suggestions on what to put on their "Fortune Corkies." Fortune Corkies are corks imprinted with inspiring messages about wine, friendship, and family. On March 21 they will be announcing the winner of this year's contest (whoever it is will get a magnum of Fantesca Cabernet--corked with their Corkie). Check the site for more details.

Finally, after a strong first-time showing, the Wine Book Club returns for their second event. Host Tim Elliott of Winecast selected Noble Rot: A Bordeaux Wine Revolution as his chosen book. This is one of those books I've owned for some time, but never actually read so this is welcome news that now I will have to pick it up and get started. We will be reading along, and on April 29 (the last Tuesday of next month) we'll be able to see what people think by following the conversation as it takes place on blogs, Shelfari, Facebook, and the up-and-running Wine Book Club site. Thanks to Tim for not only hosting WBC #2, but also designing and hosting the website.

Three Spring Party Whites

It's spring. The clocks have been set forward, the days are longer, and we're looking at a new season of family meals, christenings, graduations, birthdays, and showers. Not the spring kind, either. The wedding kind. (photo by Gregor Rohrig)

You may be in the position of hosting such an event. What to serve in the wine department? Not a red, with the increasing temperatures and the fresh vegetables that crop up on most party tables this kind of year.

What you need is easy, quaffable whites. But you don't want factory-style whites--you want something a bit more distinctive. And you don't want to spend a king's ransom on the wines, either, especially not if you are hosting more than 50.

So here are three recommended whites, all of which go with a different kind of spring food, and all of which can be had for around $10. Some a bit more, some a bit less. All are delicious, and were just tested out on 75 guinea pigs--I mean guests.
If you are serving roast chicken, pasta with a creamy sauce, or varied cheeses: Get yourself some 2006 Razor's Edge Chardonnay. I got mine from domaine547 (my new party wine headquarters) for $9.99/bottle, but I cleaned them out of the stuff, so you may have to elsewhere for yours. This is an unoaked chardonnay that has a zesty yet creamy set of flavors and aromas that will be a nice pairing for the food you are serving. There are smooth apple aromas, a nice apple and honeydew melon set of flavors, and a freshness that keeps you coming back for more. Good chilled, but because it's not oaked it's not horrible when it warms up a bit (as it's bound to do during your party). Excellent QPR.

If you are serving asparagus frittata, goat cheese, or vegetarian dishes: Get yourself some 2006 Cameron Hughes Lot 26 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc for $11. This was released last apring, and I've already given it a thumbs-up, but I had a bottle this week and its every bit as fresh and delicious as it was 9 months ago. Check out the full review here, and pick some up at your local Costco or directly from Cameron Hughes. The zingy herbal profile of the wine is made for salads, it sings with goat cheese, and it is just fine with one of the world's most-difficult-to-eat-with wine vegetables: asparagus. Excellent QPR.

If you are serving mixed appetizers and dishes: The wine for you is the 2006 Zonin Pinot Grigio Amore. I received this wine as a sample, but you should be able to find it in a store near you for around $8. This is a simple, straightforward, classic Pinot Grigio, which is seems has become the default wine option in bars and restaurants all over America. It has abundant bitter lemon aromas, and a citrusy flavor with a pithy edge that keeps the wine fresh and interesting. This is not a wine to have with a burger, but it will certainly shine with anything in the appetizer department, and the price is right to keep you (and your guests) happy. Very good QPR.

If none of these sound right, or you just want some help picking the perfect wine for your special occasion, ask your favorite wine merchant for some suggestions that fit within your budget. In the past, I've gone to BevMo and done my best, but a lot of stress was taken off my shoulders this year when I simply asked domaine547 for their recommendations. The wine they suggested was terrific--and we ran out. Is there a better endorsement?

Good luck with your spring parties and if you know there's one in your future get the wine you want NOW. It will be one less thing to worry about.

Overwhelmed by Wine? You're Not Alone.

If you think you are the only person in America who is overwhelmed by wine, think again. Wines and Vines' Tina Caputo revealed that 23% of 3500 wine drinkers surveyed feel as you do, according to a study commissioned by Constellation Brands and released under the name "Project Genome."

Why are people overwhelmed? There are too many options in the store, they don't know what to buy (so they pick the label they like best), they can't find information in the stores to help them that is easy to understand, they can't find anyone to help them make the decision, and if the information they get is confusing, they walk out of the store without buying anything. This may explain why the 23% of those surveyed who fit into the Overwhelmed category bought only 13% of the wine consumed.

Contrast this pattern with the group that had almost precisely the opposite profile in the survey: Enthusiasts. The Enthusiasts represented only 12% of those surveyed--but bought 25% of the wine. Enthusiasts entertain at home, think they know something about wine, are relatively affluent, browse wine in stores and in magazines, are influenced by ratings, and most of their wine costs over $6. (who the hell is buying most of their wine for under $6? If this is you, I want to meet you.)

Jose Fernandez, Constellation's CEO, concluded from the study that "We've under-communicated to these [Overwhelmed] consumers," he said. "Increasing per capita consumption in the Overwhelmed category is our biggest opportunity… If we do nothing, today's Overwhelmed will be tomorrow's Overwhelmed." Fernandez blames this trend in part on the wine industry's tendency to hire Enthusiasts, who can't empathize with the Overwhelmed. Constellation's head of consumer research, Leslie Joseph, concurred and said that "We need to do a better job as an industry of [sic] helping these people understand what a wine's going to taste like."

I hate to be a contrarian, but I totally disagree. First, there are two categories where I think there is much more potential for growth in wine sales: the 15% of Savvy Shoppers who like trying new wines and could probably be persuaded to be even more adventurous; and the good old Enthusiasts who are already buying a lot of wine and will probably only continue to buy more. Second, I don't think Enthusiasts are to blame when it comes to a failure to reach the Overwhelmed. If someone is overwhelmed by wine then there are probably a lot of factors contributing to the issue that no one--no matter how clearly they communicate--is going to be able to surmount. At least not in a 5 minute encounter in aisle 4 of BevMo.

Third and most importantly the Overwhelmed will not be made less overwhelmed if Constellation and other big brands start explaining more clearly how their wine is going to taste. Such tactics will only make the Overwhelmed even more panicky. I don't think people trust advertising when it comes to wine. Most people think the opposite: that the wine advertising is inherently not to be trusted. That's why so many people rely instead on supposedly unbiased, authoritative, points-based ratings, and why if they read 6 wine labels that all promise raspberries and crushed velvet fruit they leave the store in despair. The Overwhelmed want someone else--someone not making and selling the wine--to tell them what the wine tastes like.

So is there a way to help the Overwhelmed, send them armed and ready into Wine Warehouse to face the Sauvignon Blanc aisle, and point them in the direction of wine enthusiasm rather than wine frustration?

Yes.

It's called the Internet--and it's less scary than a wine store because you can go there in your pajamas. Type the name of a wine you've seen in a store or on tv into a search engine, and you will get information. Will you get too much information? Of course, but you have to let it wash over you and hold on for dear life to the few bits and pieces that float by that make some sense. This is how I feel when I ask someone to explain baseball. Gradually, you will find that more and more pieces "stick," and you will feel less overwhelmed when you go into the wine store to make your purchses. You may even find information in your searches that comes from Enthusiasts who run wine blogs like this one and at least try not to be too scary. When you do, you might get hooked on this wine malarkey and turn into an Enthusiast yourself.

Beating the Late Winter Blahs with Gamay

Think Gamay and you probably think Beaujolais. I hope you think real Beaujolais, but maybe you think Beaujolais Nouveau, the grapey brew that arrives just before Thanksgiving in time for your leftover turkey sandwiches. Gamay is one of the world's most food-friendly and affordable red wines. It's also the perfect wine for beating back winter blahs and blues. (image from Kobrand USA)

The next time you're in the wine store, I want you to keep your eyes peeled for Gamay. But don't just look for Beaujolais bottlings. Look for a Gamay from the Loire. The Loire also has a strong tradition of cultivating this old grape variety. Gamay is grown throughout the Loire, and it tastes a bit different from Beaujolais examples. This isn't surprising, but it confirmed my sense that the Gamay variety can have the same interesting variations from region to region as the finest Pinot Noir--at a far more affordable price.

I recently tried an excellent QPR Loire Gamay: the 2006 Chateau Courtinat Tradition. Made exclusively from old vine grapes grown in the Saint Pourcain VDQS, I bought this from Garagiste as a future for just under $12 ($11.84 to be exact) in the fall. It's no longer available through Garagiste, and I unfortunately can't find it elsewhere on the web. But I wanted to write about it anyway because it was so distinctive--and so good.

It had a beautiful deep ruby color, just like your favorite Pinot. There were lovely aromas of raspberry, cherry, earth, and mushroom with a pronounced whiff of iron. The flavors were perfectly balanced between fresh red fruits, earthiness, and mouth-watering acidity. I liked the silkiness of the wine, and the mineral taste, that reminded me of iron, that hung around in the mouth after you swallowed. The sense of depth in this wine belies its 12.5% alc/vol indication. This may not pack an alcoholic punch, but it certainly isn't a lightweight in the taste department.

At a time when many of us are struggling with the late winter blahs, Gamay is a perfect wine choice. It's not too light, it's not too heavy--it's just right. It will be just as good now with a bowl of soup as it will be in a month or so with ham (if that's what sits on your spring table) or even in June with some BBQ. Right now, you can give yourself a nice jolt of the summer eating to come by preparing a Greek pasta dish with olives, capers, tomatoes, feta cheese and lots of parsley. It will blow some of the cobwebs out of your winter diet, and the garlic and feta are just lovely with the smooth, cherried flavors of the wine.

It's time to bring some excitement back to your wine list, and your table. All the things that make Gamay a perfect fall-into-winter wine make it a perfect winter-into-spring wine as well. Drinking Gamay is kind of like putting your wine habits on daylight savings time--it's a sure sign of spring.

Sparkling Wine from Campania

Alessandro de Conciliis likens making wine to playing jazz. The analogy is a good one. Both take specific elements, put them into new combinations, mix the old with the new, and improvise when necessary to make things sing.

Based in Campania, de Conciliis makes a number of great wines, but I wanted to taste his sparkling wine because of the shared Roman heritage that this Italian region has with the French region of Champagne. When I think Italian sparkling wine I think Prosecco, but I'm learning that there's a whole world of choices out there in Italy if you like bubbles.

The 2005 Viticoltori De Conciliis Selim sparkling wine is just one example. ($19.99, K & L Wines; available elsewhere for between $15 and $20) Named after the jazz musician Miles Davis, it's made from 70% Fiano (variety #97 in my Wine Century Club) and 30% Aglianico grape varieties--the first native to the region, the second brought to Campania in ancient times by the Greeks. This was a good QPR sparkler, with a pronounced yeasty aroma. Citrus and nuts played a duet in the flavors, and the wine was active in your mouth with its abundant small bubbles/bead. This wine was better with food, given its yeasty aromas, and it went especially well with appetizers--especially those that involve bread like thin grissini, or nuts (I loved this with a handful of cashews).

It was a treat to try this interesting Italian sparkling wine, and confirmed my suspicion that Italian whites are going to play a significant role in my top wine discoveries this year.