IS SANCERRE THE SALMON OF WINES?
A recent Wall Street Journal article about what it takes to be a somellier contained a number of interesting surprises. The one that especially caught my eye was mentioned as a side issue. Interviewing a New York City sommellier by the name of Michael Madrigale who works at what I surmise to be a hoity-toity Upper West Side restaurant called Bar Boulud, the author noted the following anecdote: when her companion asked for a glass of Sancerre while dining there, Mr. Madrigale responded, "Sancerre is the salmon of wines" and directed her to some obscure Greek wine. I have[...]
SIZE MATTERS AND BIG SEEMS WORSE; Thoughts about large format wine bottles
A few years ago I ran into a Jeroboam of Chateau D'Yquem at Wine House a San Francisco wine shop. It was around $3000. I wondered who on earth would need a bottle like this, since it could supply a party of hundreds. At 3-4.5 liters (depending where it comes from) a Jeroboam is the equivalent of 4-6 bottles of wine. The Yquem is a Sauternes, a dessert wine from Bordeaux, the most famous and coveted label of the region. Sauternes is usually purchased as half bottles (325cc), because one only drinks a small amount of it at the end of a[...]
FRIDAT NIGHT COINCIDENCES
Our Friday night wine tastings which consist of a "bring your own concealed bottle and let's guess what it is" game, are casual and devoid of any particular theme. Thus when coincidental themes emerge, and they do more often than you think, those tastings are forever recalled as special. A recent one in my house featured just this very phenomenon. Mel Stagnaro brought along a 1988 Chateau Mouton Baron Phillipe, the second label of the famed First Growth, and it appeared as the third tasting in the line-up. We all guessed it as an old Bordeaux, not too bad, but a bit[...]
BITCHING ABOUT BEAUJOLAIS
As we enter the traditional holiday period of autumn and winter, a new tradition that I find most annoying has ingrained itself within the wine world: parties and celebrations that mark the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau. Last night our local Wine Wizard's was, as usual bursting at the seams as frequent and infrequent customers all flocked the place and devoured all seven cases of the wine Larry, the owner managed to procure. I am sure the same scene was repeated all over the U.S. among wine aficionados. My wife and I were among the minority of Larry's clients who refused the[...]
THE 2011 VINTAGE; BAD FOR MOST, GOOD FOR OTHERS
Those of you who live in the Central Valley of Northern California will remember 2011 for its most peculiar climate. We had the coolest summer this year of any I have experienced in 20 years. Then came early rains in September followed by a balmy October. My own fig tree in the backyard didn't seem to know what to make of it all. It usually begins giving fruit in late July, with sweet, juicy, orange sized purple mission figs abundant through August and September. Then as the weather cools, I get smaller, less sweet figs, less frequently, but it goes on[...]
ROSSO DI MONTALCINO, AN OLD WORLD BARGAIN
The magazine Wine Spectator, usually a champion of impossible-to-reach, hoity-toity wines, recently published a long list of what they considered "value wines" (under $30), from around the world(10/15/2011 edition). I suppose with the ongoing economic crisis, they have to cater to a certain segment of previously wealthy readers who are still interested in fine wine. As I have known well, and contrary to common opinion, the best values are in non-California wines. France, Italy and Spain, so called "Old World" winemaking regions, featured prominently in the list. One red label that appeared in their list was Rosso di Montalcino, an[...]