Rebel Rose

Spot on, John.

Yes, it does happen, but rarely. Again, because of shipping, consolidation, and inventory issues. Plus, it is SO easy for a little order like this to get lost in transit across the US. It happens, but yin/yang, sometimes successfully, sometimes tragically. Many wineries (ours included) will not take the risk. Yes, the Wine Institute and Free the Grapes are spearheading the free shipping movement. The executive director of the Wine Institute is Bobby Koch, President G.W. Bush's brother-in-law. In addition to being a very personable guy, his staff is making great strides in lobbying for the small family winery, and they maintain the most comprehensive database of online shipping regulations, with direct links to each state's requirements and forms. But, as in all good conversations, your statement sparked a thought . . . Why does the WSWA bill themselves as the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America if their interests are clearly antagonistic toward wine producers? How many of America's 4,000 wineries (most of whom are small, family-owned affairs) do their members represent? Is it even 50%? 25%? Why use our product to headline their name, while reviling us as corruptors of youth? Why use Wine as the first word in their association title, and not even feature wine at their annual convention? Are we supposed to lend some remote veneer of sophistication to their Jello shots served by strippers in nurse's uniforms?

We want: * To be respected for producing a fine product * To have the freedom to deliver our products to discerning customers who request our wines * Not to be reviled as black marketeers and youth corruptors by the very people who are charged with promoting our product No, they won't. They only have room for a static amount of wine in their portfolio and they will not go to the trouble of ordering minute (1-5 case) quantities of wine from a producer outside their portfolio. Wines ordered by distributors are shipped in pallets of 56 cases. The shipping costs for small orders can equal the cost of the wines themselves. No, they can't--if they live in a state the winery is not legally able to ship to. No, we can't. Unless we are willing to face fines of $10,000 and the loss of our license. Where are you looking? There is a huge movement toward open commerce in the wine industry. Small, artisanal wineries do not generally target the "average" consumer. Wines are typically purchased by wine consumers looking for particular styles, producers, varietals, and regions. Some of your points are excellent, John. The tide is changing. But the WSWA is not a "trade organization." It is a monopoly that insults and reviles the smallest players in its own empire, the Cinderallas of the liquor industry, for merely wanting to join the ball. From Juanita Duggan's published address at the last WSWA convention, she accuses small family-owned wineries of wanting to: And this is a segment of her own "trade association" clientele.

I just became aware of this delicious essay by our own Craig Camp on the annual WSWA convention: Sad, sleazy, and so unfortunately true.

I just remembered one point that I don't think we've covered yet . . . Sulphites occur naturally in the winemaking process, and therefore, no wine is completely free of sulphites. Under EU regulations, a wine is declared "sulphite free" if it has less than 10 mg per liter. A phrase commonly seen on US organic/natural wines is No Added Sulphites, which many people mistakenly assume to mean None. At. All. From the UK Independent Online: The above article is a very interesting and detailed piece on asthmatic reactions to foods, including wine. If you are interested in this topic, I highly recommend taking a look at it.

Barbara, try The Jug Shop in San Francisco. Ask for Chuck Hayward. In spite of its campy name and decor Chuck is one of the most knowledgeable and friendly experts you will ever meet, as is the rest of his staff. Plus, they specialize in excellent, affordable wines.

Good news! I learned yesterday that a shop will be opening in OC soon that will focus entirely on a cooking service. They prepare a week's menu for and with you; purchase, pre-measure and bag the ingredients; then teach you how to prepare the meals; and package them up for you to take home. They will also provide wine pairing suggestions, wine samples, and featured wines to purchase with your meals. The store is scheduled to open in March. I don't have the name or address yet, but I will post the information as soon as I receive it.

Last year was far too wet and wooly, and this year is far too frosty and dry! Last winter season, November through February, we received over 20" of rain. Our annual yearly average, including spring rains, is around 22". This year, we have received only 5" of rain since last summer. Our brethren to the north are reporting some good rainfall this last week, so let's hope some drifts our way soon. The weather patterns are extremely variable right now, so it's much more accurate to look out the window than follow the weather forecasts.

Barrel broker Mel Knox offered these observations by PM:

Many retailers in your area have their inventory online, or at least listed in wine-searcher.com. If you can point us to your favorite retailer, perhaps we can actually see their list and then suggest wines that you can actually get. But to keep it broad, I agree with Carolyn--a meaty West Coast syrah or a good Rhone CdP style. A zin/syrah blend like the ones Linne Calodo makes, or a cab/syrah blend would also be great with the steak frites. Edited to add: Oops, I see now your dinner was on the 10th. What did you select and how did it go?

Is that a Mendocino bear? I know our neighbors* at the end of Dover Canyon Road see black bear occasionally, and one neighbor at the very end of the road looked out their kitchen window one morning and saw a bear feasting on a deerkill just 50 feet from the house. And the pork--would that be wild hog from around your vineyard? Do they do any damage to the vineyard, or does deer fencing effectively keep them out? * Anyone within 5-10 miles of us is considered a "neighbor."

I was curious today to see the following article: Hole in one? Cheers. Golf fans drink most wine: study Well, I would say the figures are "up" by only one bottle but a year, but . . . I recently did a lifestyle survey of our winery clientele: How does wine fit into your active lifestyle?

Actually, I agree with you that I have never truly experienced "sweet" tannins, although I frequently see a wine described that way. I believe it to be marketing-speak for the soft tannins imparted particularly from oak. Depending on the type of oak used, barrel aging can sometimes give wine a dusky sweetness that is not really related to the experience of sugar, but is more a smoothing of the mouthfeel and a melding of fruit and wood components.

I have no idea, really. But I'll guess that it refers to making a reservation for wine service if you expect to order or bring a quantity of wine and/or open old or rare bottles--in other words, if you want wine service that may require decanting, flights of glasses, more than one wine steward, etc.

Tom has now taken this discussion to a new level with the launch of the first ever American Wine Blog Awards, sponsored on his wine blog, Fermentation. Congratulations, Tom! It's a huge undertaking. You can view finalists and profiles of the judges on his site. We also have a separate thread, American Wine Blog Awards, for discussion of the 2007 competition and finalists. Clearly a lot of people are reading wine blogs, but who are they? And why?

We had a very lively discussion last May on the merits (and lack thereof) of wine blogging, Wine Blogging Comes of Age. I think I'll resurrect that thread! Let's continue the discussion on wine blogging/writing in general in the above thread, and discuss the merits (or lack thereof) of specific finalists, and comments on the competition itself, in this thread. Cheers!

Finalists in the first annual American Wine Blog Awards competition have been announced. Finalists in each category were chosen from over 600 nominations by a panel of judges selected for their knowledge of the wine industry and wine journalism. Winners will be decided by online voting. Three eGullet members have been selected as finalists in the competition: Craig Camp for Wine Camp Mary Baker for Dover Canyon Winery Josh (pinotblogger) for Pinotblogger Also former eGullet Q&A guest Eric Asimov of the NYTimes for his blog, The Pour. The American Wine Blog Awards are conducted by Tom Wark, proprietor of “FERMENTATION: The Daily Wine Blog”. Wark instituted the Awards to draw attention to the high caliber of content and ideas being produced on the more than 400 wine blogs that now exist on the Internet. “Anyone who looks over the Awards finalists will discover there is enormous talent and dedication in the wine blogosphere,” noted Wark. “What we are seeing is a renaissance of the wine writing genre being spurred on by citizen wine writers and the blogging format.” Go to the Fermentation website to vote. Voting ends Friday, February 16, 2007.

When does a wine vintage start? When do growers know whether a vintage will be good, great, or awful? I don't know that I can adequately answer those questions, but I do know that for a winegrower, vintage starts with the first winter rains. Winter, even here in our relatively mild central coast, is a time of dormancy. Barbecues are covered or rolled into the garage, basketballs and baseballs lie forgotten in dusty corners, roses and grapevines raise bare arms against cold and shredding skies. Like most fruit trees and vines, grapes require this period of dormancy to build strength for the coming vintage. In a way, this time of year is truly the beginning of the next vintage, just as January is the beginning of our new year. A vine is impacted by its past—the type of trellising selected, the demands of past years in terms of water and heat and production, and the amount of tender care and handling it may or may not have enjoyed. But that is in the past. Now the vine is resting, rebuilding, getting ready to produce a new "leaf," as a year is often referred to in viticulture. A new leaf, new buds, new clusters as if nothing had gone on before, as though nothing can deter it from beginning fresh. Like all plants, a vine is mindless in the sense that it will joyously burst into life in the spring and given its own way it will sprawl, climb, and spread like the weed it is, until, exhausted by its summertime orgy of sun-chasing growth, it finally produces some wild clusters of bird-size fruit. It is up to the husbandman, gardener, or vineyard manager to prune, shape, domesticate, and tame those shameless vines into tidy rows of well-branched vines dripping with the appropriate number of grape clusters per acre—discipline bringing order and strength into nature. Pruning is often left until February, so this is also a time of relative dormancy for the viticulturist as well. As in any form of gardening, this is a time of year for planning, dreaming, shopping, and caring for tools and machinery. A time for quiet, cerebral growth not unsimilar to that taking place unseen in our vinous captives. This time of year vineyards look so bare and sad; their last scrap of glorious, gypsy-colored leaf blown away and trampled into the mud. Vines are chained together like prisoners, gnarled shoulders hunched like beggars against the rain. But vines need this period of rest. Cold weather slows the flow of sap so the vine's cells harden, forming a protective layer of strength and structure in the base of the vine. Roots stretch comfortably in moist soils, no longer burdened by a search for water and nutrients with which to feed hungry tendrils and pregnant grapes above. Roots expand outward and downward, a mirror image of the springtime spirit of the plant above. A few months later, nodes will begin to swell on the old wood of the vines. The first tiny leaves will fan out, and then growth will be fast and rampant. Grapevines grow at a rate of approximately two inches per day in spring, rapidly covering their trellises with veils of dancing greenery. That is when we really begin to think about the next vintage. Will there be enough rain, enough heat, too much wind, too early frost? Without enough leaf canopy, the fruit will sunburn. With too much leaf, it may not ripen properly. Severe wind or rain at pollination time will interfere with fruit set. Hard summer rains will cause mildew. Once the vines physically burst into life, the vineyard manager's life is a constant contest between attaining perfection and keeping interlopers away. But when, actually, does vintage begin? It begins now, as the vines suck water and strength from the soil like racers taking their first deep breaths, gathering themselves for their next leap toward freedom and the sun.

This morning the San Francisco Chronicle has a long piece on chocolate and wine, including recipes and general pairing advice: A Bittersweet Affair Interesting, there are several points of view--yes to port, no to port, yes to red wine, no to red, yes with sparkling . . . no one suggest ditching the chocolate, though! There is also a Chronicle Podcast: Thanks to Jon Bonne for sending me a heads up last night!

I overlooked the San Francisco Chronicle Podcasts, often delivered with a sense of humor.

Welcome, Casey! Casey is a highly regarded Mendocino grower. You can learn more about his vineyard, which is owned by Casey and his partner John Scharfenberger (of chocolate and sparkling wine fame) at Eaglepoint Ranch Winery. Casey also takes great photos . . .

Look around you on the LA and SF freeways, and you will see fellow motorists with their iPod or iRiver headsets on. Are they listening to music, or are they listening to: Grape Radio Cellar Rat Napa Valley Wine Radio Wine Library TV Women and Wine Radio Do you listen to wine podcasts? Which are your favorites? Why?

What are you planning to serve on Valentine's Day? A deep, silky red with a dry-aged, cheesecake-textured steak? Champagne and caviar? Vin santo with a strawberry in the glass? If you play chess, try daring your romantic partner to a game of Queen's Choice. Basically, the concept is that you place "bets" on small pieces of paper, with the weight of each favor corresponding to the power of the piece. With each captured piece, you capture a favor. You may look, you may covet, but you may not collect unless you win the game. But if you capture your opponent's Queen she may demand her choice of a favor from you whether or not she wins the game . . . and she may collect immediately. Which do you desire more? To win the game by capturing the Queen, enslaved to her desires . . . or will you risk all to win the game and all your captured pleasures? What are you willing to wager on each of your pieces? What is your Queen worth? If you are not uncomfortable with her capture, then you have not wagered highly enough. Or, you could try playing Twister with scented massage oil, but I'd recommend a sparkling Moscato for that . . .

jende's recent question about wine with savory chocolate dishes reminds me that this is sherry and port weather. What are we drinking, and what are we pairing our wines with? Late harvest California syrah for me, paired with a murder mystery and a roaring fire.

I think it will also depend on what the "savory" ingredients are. Although I am as willing as anyone to indulge in port and chocolate on rare occasions, I generally steer away from pairing ports, California port-styles and late harvest with sweet desserts, as it's a sugar-sugar overload for me. I like to pair Cali-ports and late harvest reds with nuts and savory cheeses, and conversely I would select a California syrah with soft tannins or a zinfandel with some slight RS to pair with a savory/chocolate dish. (Modern California syrahs have more of a sweet blueberry profile and less smoky character than CdP reds, which in my view isn't generally a good thing--except with chocolate!) Syrahs also exhibit a roast beef/bacon character that pairs well with savory elements.