Rebel Rose

Not to be outdone by Alan Goldfarb and Dan Berger, the editors of Appellation America asked me for my opinion, and here it is: Are We Not Good Enough to Own Terroir?

I suppose this really falls under the category of wine marketing, but it's so funny I think it deserves it's ooown post! And even better than the press release is Tom Wark's take on it at Fermentation.

Congratulations, Chad! I already know how many copies I want to buy. I guess I'll have to start a 2007 Christmas list soon.

Hmm, I am thinking more along the lines of a grenache-based Rhone blend--earthy but fruity, with perhaps some mineral content. It sounds like the dish will be hearty with light, citrusy herbal tones?

Dum dum de dum Dum de dum de dum de dum . . . From Jen's Cincinnati Wine Warehouse blog.

Here's a really fun article on the Wine Patrol and WinePAL (Wine Patrol Approved Lists) by Mike Dunne at the Sacramento Bee. (Free registration may be required.) Cutler's Wine Patrol program asks only that restaurants offer 1 wine in each category under $30, that ideally 10% of the wine list be in that price category, and that there be reasonable limits on corkage fees.

Science uncorks wine's allure: Researches zero in on compound that influences flavor. Monday's Sacramento Bee, free registration required. Hurray for acidity. And it's good for you! The article goes on to describe how scientists have identified genomes in grapes and hope to design better grapes and healthier wines with higher levels of Vitamin C. That would be a bonus. I think.

In today's Mail & Guardian: Is it honest for French winemakers to insult the use of oak alternatives while secretly using them? Or is it nobody's business?

Alan Goldfarb reports on the outcome of last week's Terroir Conference at UC Davis.

According to today's press releases, their latest offering is Used Automobile Parts!

Keith, I think your system is incredibly romantic and in touch with the artistry that fine winemakers invest in their product. May I suggest . . . using small price tags-on-strings with the date of your journal entry. I use old-fashioned string tags to warn off my ravenous partner. They may have a date, or the name of the giver, or predictions like "Thanksgiving 2008." Or just pithy comments like "Die." In your case, perhaps a string tag with the date and .0# of your journal entry (similar to antique diaires with multiple daily entries, such as 25.01.87.03).

According to an earlier poster, French wines will always be superior to Californian because they're, well, French. Post # 9 (To review the orginal questions, I give you Post #1) And from Post #15 Why or why not?

Thanks for the details, David! I find wines rated in the mid-to-high 80s to be very, very nice wines, generally from producers with a consistent style, and often a very good value. Too bad we don't still have our tasting tag going--we could do a Millenial theme. Or critter labels . . .

And now we have the Bottle of the Sexes: Winemakers Pitch Macho Merlot for Men

Quiz! Here's your chance to be a small winery owner for a day. Will you, or will you not, apply for a New York wine shipping license? (This is sort of like Vineyard Challenge. If you lose, no one will know! If you win, you have pontification privileges.) To apply for a New York wine shipper's license: Can a winery apply a) online b) by fax c) by mail d) all of the above How many pages of application forms are required? a) 3 b) 7 c) 9 or more d) all of the above How long does it take to receive certification? a) 6 days b) 6 weeks c) 6 months d) 6 years This language is required on every box: Contains Wine For Personal Use and Not For Resale Signature of Person Age 21 or Older Required for Delivery Delivery to an Intoxicated Person Is Forbidden by Law And Probably not Advisable Anyway True or False The penalty for not labeling with appropriate language is: a) loss of the NY shipper license b) a $10,000 fine c) loss of your basic permit and therefore your right to make wine, period. d) all of the above

I'd like to report that the search for definable North American terroir has now gained momentum with the launch of Appellation America. So far, the site has sponsored professional blind tastings of several regions and varieties, with interesting results. As a regional editor, I am in charge of organizing tastings and creating content for the Paso Robles region, beginning with an overview of the region's physical characteristics. A Roundtable Discussion is open, which is moderated in much the same manner as our Spotlight guest appearances, and I invite everyone to join in. More importantly, if you have any thoughts regarding the definability of New World terroir vs. Old World terroir, I'd love to hear your opinion here. If you think it's a silly effort, please feel free to say so. Bring it on!

With the recent sale of Screaming Eagle, I got to thinking about 'limited' mailing lists as they seem to have become all the rage recently. Cult classic wineries like Screaming Eagle, popular producers like Turley and others have long been known to have a private, closed availability and long, long waiting lists. They generally offer a closed selection based on your past buying power--the more you spend, the better the wines you are offered. As a first time mailer, you are generally offered a selection that includes lesser wines, and if you don't take it, you lose your place to someone who is willing to buy in. Brand new producers with no track record of consistency are now billing themselves as having a 'full mailing list' and a 'waiting list' after receiving one or two high scores. And on the other hand, some wine aficionados collect mailing lists like librarians collect folios, and exercise their bragging rights with obnoxious predictability. I myself recently graduated after moldering for 2 years on a waiting-list-for-the-mailing-list, only to find that I am expected to buy an allocation of $1300 worth of various wines from a producer that I have never once tried. Thanks to reviews on this board, I quickly became aware that the wines would be waaay too oaky for my taste. Does anyone have any favorite mailers? Coveted allocations? Or stories of disappointment like mine? Are you a recovering mailcaholic--has your wife challenged your pregnant cellar? Are closed mailing lists a form of good customer service, or have they become marketing hype?

I like the way Amtrak on the west coast features different regional producers as the train passes through the central coast, north California, Oregon and Washington. They also offer afternoon 'wine tastings' with flights. With grilling season upon us, what is everyone's spring house plonk?

Defining ‘organic’ after a product has left the ground and begins going through a process can be a very subjective thing. If a winery is marketing itself as organic, should it make every effort to fulfill consumer expectations? I find this topic interesting because I am always intrigued by customer perceptions vs. the realities of winemaking. There have been arguments presented on other organic practices threads elsewhere, and probably here too, that the choices of site, rootstock, vine clone, trellis type, pruning practices, and amount of irrigation are intrinsically forms of flavor manipulation by the winemaker. However, I suggest we assume that if it’s in the ground, and being farmed responsibly and organically, that we are starting with an organic product. So if it were up to us to define organic wine—which is an interesting exercise because apparently it is—how far do we drill down? Down to components actually stirred into the wine? Or down to components that come in contact with the wine and are hopefully removed later? Yeasts Some people object to the use of 'commercial' yeasts in organic wine. I think you should decide for yourselves on this issue, certainly. Commercial yeasts are not mutated, cybernetic or artificial. All yeasts propagate wildly (so to speak). Commercial yeasts are harvested in the field and then propagated in isolation to protect the purity of the strain--in much the same way that heirloom tomatoes and other heirloom plants are propagated. When choosing from a commercial yeast selection, winemakers can select Bordeaux yeasts, Brunello yeasts, Riesling yeasts, etc. Each yeast brings out different characteristics in the wine. 'Wild' yeasts are comprised of a multitude of floating yeasts with different characteristics; some are fast, light fermentors, others are long-distance runners. Yeasts float around, escape, and propagate on their own, as anyone who has cleaned a refrigerator can attest. If a 'wild yeast' producer is on a wine road heavily populated with other wineries, the 'wild' yeasts are primarily escapees from the other wine farms. I'd also like to point out that producers of organic breads do not wait for native yeasts to hop in their dough. (Not sure I'd want to see the result if they did!) Ditto for organic yogurts--they use pure lactobacillus cultures. I am merely pointing out that commercial yeasts are just cleanly propagated strains, without the chaos and bacteria that are part of wild yeast populations. Did you know that Brettanomyces bacteria exist in all vineyards? A heavy Brett population in high pH wines (which seem to be the latest trend) will very likely bloom later in the bottle. SO2 Some organic wine producers use SO2 and some eschew the practice. For several years we produced 25 cases a year of old vine zinfandel for a private client, sans SO2. It was wonderful wine if kept very cool and drunk young. A very fun project, and one that led us into a deeper relationship with the old vine zin grower. However, these wines will quickly develop off characteristics, and lose pigment. With a little residual sugar in the wine, you'll have stink bomb in your cellar. These wines will develop secondary fermentations—they open with an alarming pop and literally spew little clouds of funky haze. Copper sulfate Among many things that can be, and traditionally are, added to wine, I am very sensitive to copper. It is used to brighten wines that for some reason have become oxidized. An organic producer would presumably stir the wine with a copper rod or splash the wine over a copper screen. Large, commercial producers simply add liquid copper sulfate—an eerie blue liquid. Copper levels in wine are highly regulated worldwide, but it’s interesting to note that a metabolic copper imbalance will induce headaches, palpitations and even hallucinations. Hah, and we thought it was just the alcohol! Filtering and fining These are natural substances that contact the wine—sometimes briefly, sometimes for a period of several days. Should all organic wines be unfiltered and unfined? It’s certainly possible to make such wines, but without additions of SO2 we are increasing the probability of truly nasty wine. If they are used, where should they come from? Should only substances raised on the vineyard be used? Modern use of ceramic crossflow filters and micron filter pads for bottling lines have reduced dependence on old-fashioned pad filters, which use diatomaceous earth for coating the pads. But DE filters are still popular because they are affordable and easy to use. DE is ground microscopic shells. We occasionally use our DE filter—only on high pigment, high Brix wines. I also sprinkle DE on my dog’s food (expels worms) and on my garden (snails and earwigs). But I am not going to wade into the Pacific Ocean and harvest it. I can never get the wave timing down. So we buy it in 40# bags. Fining substances are stirred into the wine and allowed to settle to the bottom of the barrel—they attract and bind proteinaceous haze and other particles, carrying them down to the bottom and sealing them in a fine layer before the wine is racked off the lees. Fining agents include bentonite, which is liquefied clay. We do not use it in the winery, but I drink it several times a week—it’s an ancient detoxifier. I do not eat it directly from our soils, however, I buy the Sonne’s Organic Foods clay, all cleaned up and filtered, and available in an old-fashioned brown 1 quart jar. Another fining agent is ‘isinglass,’ a pretty name for a god-awful smelling powder made of dried sturgeon’s bladder. Again, we do not use it but I understand many chefs and pastry artists do—combined with water it forms a gelatinous muck that can be dried to a durable layer as fine as a young woman’s skin. Charcoal was once used as a fining agent, although it became unpopular because it stripped color and flavor from the wine—in our home we keep activated charcoal capsules on hand for stomach upsets. I highly recommend it, as it works quickly and efficiently for any kind of gastrointestinal distress. A must for travel. Occasionally we use egg whites for fining, although I don’t think we have actually fined a wine for several years. Generally one/quarter white per barrel is used. I buy most of our eggs. Does that make them a commercial product? Cleansing agents And finally, how is hygiene handled at an ‘organic’ winery? Does it matter what agents come in contact with the barrels and tanks, the hoses, clamps, beakers, bungs, and stirrers? Does it matter where those agents come from or how they are produced? Even with the advent of modern ozenators, citric acid and metabisulfite are still all purpose cleansers of choice at most wineries, but I have also seen iodine used to sterilize tanks. Although we use our ozenator for almost everything, we still keep a 60# bag of citric acid handy for those moments when we need to soak something—a gasket with heavy pigment residue, or a bucket full of clamps, hose gaskets and tools that we want to keep sterile during harvest chaos. I also use it in our dishwasher—the glasses come out sparkling clean, and it dilutes waxy lipstick. It’s also great for soaking burned pots and cleaning greenhouse pots. Labor This is one of my personal fits, so please excuse me if I rant a little. There are wineries out there that receive a lot of press for ‘organic’ or ‘biodynamic’ practices. What is not publicized is that they hire large teams of itinerant, underpaid, and unappreciated workers to turn their compost piles, hoe around every vine, and perform the other backbreaking and tedious physical work required in such an enterprise. And yet some firms, which claim only to be ‘sustainable’, are small family-owned business—yes, like us, and like our neighbors—where the family members actually acquire blisters in the vineyard and the kids mow the cover crop. (What better way to keep them entertained and teach them driving skills?) We choose to use Roundup, a systemic herbicide, under the vineyard rows each spring because there is simply no way we can keep up with hoeing all summer and have a meaningful life. (Sorry, end rant.) In closing I will ask—when you are looking for an organic product, what are you looking for? Something with no mechanical intervention at all? Something with no added substances, but hang the hygiene and labor? Do you want the definition of organic to be simple or thorough? Are you looking for something that is produced with care, commitment, and a sense of responsibility to man and earth at every level? I would like to hear your opinions.

He definitely needs to work on his delivery . . . Brian Talley told us a charming story about when they switched to screwcaps, and part of their glass order from their bottle vendor were traditional bottles sent in error. With no time to correct the delivery before the scheduled bottling date, they ended up doing some of both. Somehow one restaurant received a case that was half Stelvin and half cork closures. The waitstaff used the Stelvins for by-the-glass pours, and traditional cork closures for bottle-to-table orders. Eventually they got down to 2 bottles, one Stelvin, one cork. A table ordered the Talley pinot, and the cork closure bottles was promptly displayed and served. They liked it so much they ordered a second bottle, which threw the waitstaff into a considerable dither, as they didn't want to upset the client. A brave waiter volunteered to present the bottle with a flourish, towel, etc. Naturally the table asked about the change, and the waiter blithely (or desperately) replied, "All the better to serve you quickly, sir."

We do. See the Classic Wine Threads index pinned at the top of the forum for threads with heaviest traffic. Actually, if you do an advance search for "corked" you will discover that the only lengthy discussions here are this one and the thread on closures, referenced above. We don't get repetitive posts from members counting the exact number, percentage, and cost of corked bottles they have encountered in a lifetime. Although anyone is certainly welcome to start one . . .

Decanting Robert Parker Eric Asimov's interview with Mr. Parker this week in the NY Times is probably the best I have ever read. On the subject of diversity: What really raised my eyebrows is that in response primarily to this comment by Mr. Parker: Decanter responded with an article titled Parker: I'm targeted and misunderstood The article goes on to slap Parker in every paragraph, often taking his comments out of context and misrepresenting them. This has gone beyond professional competition; I think it's very, very poor journalism.

There's also a discussion on various types of closures and our personal preferences for them here: Looking for Closure: Screwcaps vs. Corks

Stephen, are there other symbols that have already been chosen for the list? Maybe a little context would help get the creative juices flowing . . .

Oops, I overlooked the obvious. A new NBA team called the Screagles. Patti, I predict that the winery prices and popularity will take a hit initially, because the new owners do not have a track record in winery and brand management. What happens in the long term will depend on their plans, flexibility and responsiveness.