Brad Ballinger

You may see about getting them in Italy as well. When I was in Germany last fall, I was able to purchase to shipping cases (not styrofoam, but doubly thick cardboard used for the same purpose) for one euro each from the owner of a winery. Of course, I bought a fair amount of his wines, so maybe he cut me a deal.

I agree with doc. Poach it in simple syrup. But add an aromatic to the syrup like vanilla, clove, almond, etc. Then you don't have to worry about cost. Alternatively, find the cheapest red available. The wine isn't going to ruin a moscato pairing, and there's something about the presentation of a pear poached in red wine.

Nor am I Alberto Should that be 'the point of the question?' ....but me neither. Extremism should be dicouraged (it might be argued). Well I wasn't expecting anyone to burst a blood vessel over it. It's a light-natured enough question. And I don't expect anyone who answered whites to never drink reds and vice versa. You'll find that I'm hardly ever one for extremism, and never one for absolutism.

Yes, there are plenty of good NM houses making wines of superior quality - Bollinger, Jacquesson, Krug (of course), Pol Roger, Billecart-Salmon... What I find appealing about many RM wines is their distinctiveness and personality; the uniqueness they offer. And the comparative value (particularly with respect to vintage wines where the quality of harvest from a grand cru can compete with the blends from many vineyards). Blending invites the possibility of inferior wine in the blend (and not just from an inferior vintage, but from inferior vineyards). And while I agree it takes an art to blend these into ambrosia, the art is being lost and took a hit with the overproduction around Y2K.

For a more intelligent discussion of the 2003 vintage, read Terry Theise's report here. As far as the hyperbole, it will always be with us.

I received a brochure in the mail for a retailer's upcoming sale. One page was devoted to 2003 German wine futures offerings. Here's the hype from the brochure... Does stuff like this hook you? It can be from any retailer, critic, user on a wine board, etc. Do you buy into it? If so, what hooks you. If not, why not? By the way, I asked some people I know who know this vintage firsthand (RieslingFan being one of them), and the general opinion is that these will be ripe ripe ripe wines, very good (and very expensive) at classified auslese levels and higher. But for the true riesling fan (no pun intended, David), they will be lacking that racy quality often sought. Oh, and many feel the wines aren't for aging (except those ultra expenseive dessert wines).

I think history is going to be extremely complimentary (if not downright slavishly adulatory) of the 1996 vintage in Champagne. Like Mark, I'm an RM slut, and I've had fantastic bottles from Diebolt-Valois, Pierre Peters, Fleury, L. Aubry, Varnier-Fanniere, and Chartogne-Tallet (but the Ficare, not the Saint Anne). Nice report, Chris. I've been increasingly disappointed with Mumm over the years. I confess, though, to not having had much Perrier-Jouet. But I do have to get me the Belle Epoque -- if for no other reason than the bottle -- for an upcoming wedding anniversary. Edited for stupid typo.

Sauerbraten. There's such a small window for optimum marinating time so it doesn't end up too tough or too dry. It's easily the worst thing I've ever made -- twice.

2002 Villa Simone (di Piero Costantini) Frascati Superiore. I whipped up some fettucine alla carbonara tonight, and that meant only one word -- Frascati. This particular wine is a blend of malvasia, trebbiano, and greco (or clones thereof). It's an uncomplicated wine that's damn near gulpable. It sees no oak. The nose is flinty, talc-like, floral, almonds, and citrus oil. The flavors in the mouth are ripe lemons and grapefruit with competing tropical fruits. There's a zesty kick to the finish. And it's a great partner to carbonara!

Wuss.

No you're not. Notice I intentionallyavoided the word varietal. And when I do use it, I almost add the word wine afterwards. Varietal wine. Variety grape.

And no "pink" replies (not this time). And for those who will be persnickety and seek to qualify with bubbles or residual sugar, I'm talking table wine. I'll start... White. I find them more varietally distinct.

I don't know if I'm a language expert, but I did minor in English in college. Although I've no doubt violated the rule I'm goint to write in the next sentence, it's what I try to do when writing about wine... Capitalize the grape name when referring to a specific wine. Don't when simply referring to the name of the grape or a type of wine. However, either is probably acceptable. And I'd rather have people write about wine than abstain from doing so because they don't want to make a grammatical boo boo. As an interesting aside, the auto-correct feature in the version of Microsoft Word installed on my computer automatically capitalizes Riesling (intentionally capitalized here), but not the name of any other grape.

Just this past weekend, I grated some horseradish root, mixed it with creme fraiche, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Served it atop grilled venison tenderloin cut into 1/4-inch thick medallions and served on toasted baguette rounds that had been rubbed with a garlic clove. Yummmmmy.

Why's that? You're going to invite me over more often?

The thing about limoncello from the Amalfi Coast is the lemons that grow there, yes, but also due to the producers using under- or unripened lemons. Katie's addition of lime peel likely attempts to approximate this quality. The best I've had was purchased out of a couple of producers' garages outside of Ravello and Minori along the Amalfi Coast.

Planeta can also produced wines with amped up oak. I'm not against oak as a rule, but I am when it gets to the point of distraction. Many white Burgundy wines also see oak, but come across much more balanced than that Kistler you've had. Regarding that wine, I think you and I might be in the minority. I've never had a Kistler I've liked even in a room surrounding by others raving about it. The Schiopetto, by the way, is also aged in oak. But it is likely older and bigger barrels. The winery is now being run by the second generation. Hopefully they will continue to make wine in the style of the father, Mario.

I must have missed or glossed over the GunBun referenece. I've been to their winery twice, but never had a chance to taste the GW. There's a few in CA making it with low RS. Martinelli is another that comes to mind. Even so, I think Mark is not only referring to those who drink gloppy CA versions. I've known many to dump bone dry Alsatian gewurz. Hell, I had a 2000 Mittnacht Klack over the weekend that was dumpworthy.

Well, I've taken three trips there (but the last was in 1998, so maybe I'm due again). I'm not sure I can get my wife to stomach another one just yet. And time in San Francisco, believe it or not, isn't a draw for her. My favorite U.S. city, and she could take it or leave it.

Carolyn, What kind of GW are you serving? Like winemike, I was think munster. I was also think something studded with caraway. And, if you have some VTs or SGNs in the mix, I'm thinking anything smelly.

There's an acquaintance of mine from the U.K. who swears by Bordeaux with Indian cuisine. I've never tried it (I usually resort to beer). The conventional wisdom (right or wrong) usually pairs wines with some residual sugar to tame the spicy hot quality of the dishes. A red in that category would be brachetto - a sparkling Italian red with some sweetness. A Barbera frizzante I had over this past weekend would also be interesting to try. I don't think there's one (or even two) specific red wines that will be THE ones to pair with Indian cuisine. The best advice is to try a couple and see how well they work for you.

Friday -- Marcia and I had our next-door neighbors over for what is turning out to be a bi-weekly event. I have a bunch of venison in the freezer, so any excuse to try something new on people... For starters, we had smoked salmon on rye toasts with dill butter. With it, we served a 1995 Pierre Moncuit "Cuvee Nicole Moncuit" Brut Blanc de Blancs VV, Le Mesnil sur Oger Grand Cru. Medium straw color. Active bead. Nose of yeast, wax, lemons. In the mouth, the wine gave me the impression that the time for drinking is now and it's not going to improve much. It was pleasant enough with it's pear and dough flavor profile turning quite lemony on the finish. But it was starting to show some age. The mousse was a bit coarse and loose and didn't seem to be part of the wine at all. I had this wine three years ago, and preferred it more at that time. This one was purchased recently close out from a retailer, and storage may have been an issue. Dinner was a venison ragout over parmesan polenta. Accompanying it was a 1995 Volpaia Coltassala. This is a Tuscan IGT wine that is 95% sangioveto clone and 5% mammolo thats sees time in barrique, but I don't know how much. These were my last two bottles from a case, and the wine is squarely in its drinking window. The complexity was amazing. The nose showed graphite, dried cherries, cinnamon, earth. Nice acidity in the mouth with more dried cherry and mineral. Nothing overly woody. Tannins not yet fully resolved, but smooth. Nice length to the finish. Our neighbors brought over a lemon and orange tart for dessert and I opened a 2002 Donnafugata Ben Rye, Passito di Pantelleria. At this time, this wine is all about flowers and apricot nectar. They dominates the nose and the palate. It has the acid to go several years. So we'll see how it develops. Saturday was our monthly gourmet group with five couples. The theme was April Fool. Bring something "different" for people to guess what it is. Mask the wines. For this one, we were assigned appetizers and I grilled venison tenderloin, and served it on crostini with a horseradish creme fraiche. With it I poured a 2002 Cascina Castle't "Goj" Barbera del Monferrato Frizzante. This is a dry spritzy wine I felt fit with the April Fool theme. I'm pretty sure it's meant to drink young. This one was fairly grapey with some bright red fruit accents. The fizz was quite slight, just enough to make the wine appear whimsical. The Piemontese drink this with a cured meat platter, and it would be a great match for that food. It was a fun and uncomplicated starter. "Goj" translates as "joy," and that's what this wine symbolizes. With a monkfish and black fungus soup, two white wines were poured from tall bottles. The first one was floral and spicy and I figured it for Gewurztraminer, but the owner was talking like it was Riesling. "Are you sure?" I asked. He was. Then the foil was removed and it was a 2000 Mittnacht Klack Gewurztraminer, Alsace. "Oops," he said, "wrong wine." The wine was waaaay low in the acid department and didn't do much for me. The riesling was a 2002 Von Buhl "Armand" Riesling Qba, Pfalz that was very lively and refreshing. The next course was roasted potatoes of various varieties with a rose sparkler. Very faint pink. Sweetness that spoke to me more of California than Champagne. A bit too sweet for me. It was something from Domaine Chandon, but I didn't see anymore details. The main course was Wagyu beef -- ribeyes and NY strip roast. The host asked me about wines he was going to serve so I knew what these were going in. One was a 1998 Bellegrave, Pomerol. It was lush and showing very nicely. Fairly fruit forward with some oaken vanilla and silky tannin. The other was a 1998 Canon Saint-Michel, Canon Fronsac. By comparison this was more austere and seemed to be more interested in showing off the non-fruit elements it had to offer -- some spice, herb, and earth. It was the tighter of the two wines and may need to be left alone whereas the Bellegrave can be enjoyed right now. Dessert was lavender ice cream with lavender/rosemary cookies. The wine was something that had seen better days and was past its prime -- a 1995 Grigich Hills "Violetta," Napa Valley, a late harvest blend of chardonnay, johannisberg riesling, and sauvignon blanc. But it was fading fast.

Hello everyone. Craig had asked me to post an introduction that goes into a bit more depth than my bio, so here goes... Like many of the people who participate in this site, I’m fanatical about food and, in particular, wine. As far back as I can remember, I’ve always been fascinated with bringing a meal to the table. But my interest really took off in college, where I had an arrangement with my roommates that I would do all the cooking, and they would do all the dishes. The more clean dishes there were, the more “elaborate” the meals I would prepare. On occasion we would have wine with the meals, but it was more because we liked the idea of wine with dinner than the actual wine itself. That changed in graduate school at Miami University (Ohio). Although I earned a Master of Arts in Speech Communication, a fellow grad student and I audited a class in the Geography department titled “Geography of Wines.” We were interested in the class because we had heard that each session ended with a wine tasting. But what turned out to be an excuse to get a buzz on kicked off a lifelong learning adventure with wine. That’s the approach I’ve taken toward wine since that autumn in 1983 – that of a student auditing this endless course about wine. I use the word “audit” because I’m not pursuing a designation or certification. Wine will likely always be an avocation; never a vocation. I use the word “student” because I am always learning about wine. Every year there is a new vintage worldwide. Every year there are new vineyards planted. Every year there are new producers that surface. Every year new and different wines are distributed. And, if I let it, every glass has something new to teach me. That’s the perspective I hope to bring eGullet’s Wine Forum. When Craig Camp first wrote me asking me to co-host the wine forum, he wrote that he was looking for a “serious amateur” to bring that perspective and that voice to the forum. I feel I can do that. Wine is not my profession, and I am nowhere near an expert. I view wine as a consumer and a learner. It’s easy for any serious hobbyist to get so into a hobby to the point where he or she develops a narrower and narrower view of the topic, becoming increasingly out of touch with the more casual hobbyist. Although I may have failed from time to time, I’ve tried to not let that happen to me. I try to view wine from a perspective broader than my own narrow preferences. For example, I personally don’t care for many of the extracted and heavily oaked wines being produced lately – primarily in North American and Australia, but they are gaining a larger foothold in Europe as well. Even a casual reading of my tasting notes will reveal that. But I don’t place a value judgment on those who prefer them. The market is obviously demanding more of these wines. Although some of my fellow wine geeks may wish it to be otherwise, there are no universal absolutes in wine or other matters of taste. Even my consumerism is affected by my learner side. Compared to most “serious amateurs” I know, my cellar size is relatively small (about 300 bottles), but there is a high degree of turnover. I go through phases experimenting with different wines. Right now, I’m in a predominantly Italian phase. Who knows what will be next, but I’ll probably never make enough money to go through a serious Burgundy phase. For that, I’ll just have to find more rich and generous friends. On the personal side, my wife Marcia and I live in St. Paul, Minnesota. We have two French Bulldogs, Sebastian and Ruby. We both share interests in world travel and volunteerism. I’m able to fund my wine hobby through my employment as a Training and Development director for a worldwide office parts distribution company. After 12 years of marriage, my wife still considers me the best cook she knows. And that's a blessing I count every day.

A clarification on the yum/yuck. I agree with those who say there needs to be more. If the entire summation of a wine were left to one of those two words, there would indeed be something missing. Wine likely needs more description and then maybe yum or yuck as the concluding word for my friend who uses that scale. I also partially mentioned it tongue in cheek. Personally, I really don't pay any attention to wine ratings. And when I write and post tasting notes, I don't add any type of rating. One, I know I could never be consistent enough. Two, I'm rarely drinking/evaluating wine in a vacuum. In my description I'll try to be evaluative, to a point, from my preferences, but that's the best I can do. On one occasion, I posted ratings along with the notes. But that was from a golf/wine weekend, and I had fun rating the wines eagle, birdie, par, bogey, etc., but that was a one time thing. And, Walt. Again, you will probably find some takers for your system. Theoretically it makes sense for those who wish to use something like it. It will require more consumer effort than what is available to them now. There was one web site (I can no longer remember it) that at what was called an e-sommelier. It would send emails with wine recommendations based on the types of wines you've been drinking or buying. I experimented with it once just to see how it would work. For me, at any rate, it never recommended a wine I would actually buy. But that was just me.

A friend of mine as a two-point scale: Yum and Yuck. Seems to make sense.