Rebel Rose

It seems Mr. Gilmore was unhappy with the Napa Valley Register quoting him incorrectly, and he sets the issue straight in a letter to Wine Business Monthly (which provided a link to the original article): So, once again, growers are claiming that it's all the wineries' fault they can't sell their grapes, but they don't have any science to support the "forced dehydration" issue. I spoke with another winemaker just last night who affirmed that while the media is talking up a "great" vintage this year, there were a lot of vineyards out there this year with pH levels so low they couldn't even give the fruit away.

On re-reading the piece again, I have to admit, Daniel, it is extremely well written. And I now see that you were building toward this point: Can you tell us what gave you the creative itch to do these interviews and write this article? I'm also curious as to your opinion relating to my earlier question, but let me phrase it differently . . . does the bounty of fresh foods that San Francisco enjoys affect diners tastes and expectations at all levels? If someone accustomed to buying fresh and really high-quality take-out sushi for lunch, or all the incredibly stacked and innovative sandwiches you see everywhere, or collecting fresh salad and soup ingredients at farmers' markets, or attending cooking classes at Copia or local wineries--is this kind of dining clientele going to be harder to please at a high end level? Or even jaded about dining out? As for Alice Waters, speaking for myself, I enjoy the food immensely and I respect her tireless efforts to promote good quality ingredients and respectful cooking, but I think she is also busily promoting herself, and while I respect her business acumen, I get just a little tired of constantly having others point to Alice Waters as the sole voice for the organic foods trend. Edited to add: Walked away from my desk mid-post . . . did I just miss him? Dang!

True, other factors will affect or support longevity in a wine. Here's a discussion we had previously (my private rant, mainly): pHat Wines, EnupH is enupH! on pH and acidity and how they can detract or support longevity of fruit. This post explains in some detail what one can expect from different pH levels.

Actually, I don't plan to tackle whether a technique is traditional or modern--I'll leave that up to our members to debate. I will try to present some topics on specific winemaking techniques, similar to the Wine 101 pieces on tannin and sulfites, but addressing more production issues than consumption issues. We have a guest conversation on oak cooperage with barrel broker Mel Knox here: A Conversation with Mel Knox, Barrel broker on oak and cooperage Mel is highly entertaining, and this thread is a good place to start learning about the different types and densities of oak, degrees of toast, forests, etc. Feel free to continue posting in this thread.

UC Irvine Extension Launches Corporate Wine Studies Program for OC's Business Executives; In Image-Conscious Southern California, Etiquette Plays Vital Role in Business Success "Interactive Wine Team Building Games"? Any guesses as to what that might be?

The Napa hang time debate continues . . . Harvest's over, let the grape 'hang time' debate begin For those of you interested in the ABV controversy mentioned in other threads, this would be a good article to read and question. For what it's worth, I'd like to point out that while higher ABV may be a problem in Napa and in many popular and/or cult wines, it is not necessarily, as we've discussed elsewhere, a universal trend. And I agree with Kenworthy that the wine fashion pendulum will likely swing in the other direction soon. I have a couple of reservations about these comments. First, harvesting at 27 brix means the raisined grapes will hydrate in the must to at least 28, resulting in an alcohol of 16-17%. Are there really that many wines out there at that level? Higher alcohols tend to "cook" wines meant for cellaring, resulting in caramelized flavors after just a few years of aging. (Our zins are usually 14-15.5%, and we tell customers not to cellar them past seven years from vintage. ) At the prices people spend for Napa wines, I would be surprised if there were really that many cabs successfully moving at that ABV. I could be very wrong, however! Second, the fact that 16% of North Coast wineries did not break even does not necessarily have anything to do with forced hang time. Vineyard fruit may be turned away for low pH, or any number of other factors! And if it's so friggin' hard for Napa growers to sell their grapes, then why are 80% of the grapes sold in Paso Robles going to Napa and Sonoma?

Beyond tacky: Michael Jackson to stop Jesus Juice wine (brief) When Bad Jokes Go Public CBS version None did. Duh. The TTB would never approve such a label. How incredibly arrogant of this guy to actually think he'd have an opportunity to turn a winery down.

2002 Santenay, Domaine Raymond Launay, a Becky Wasserman import. I have no previous experience with this wine, and I have a head cold. All I know is that I really wanted a glass of pinot tonight, to go with what Dan is preparing for dinner, and therefore had to rummage in this pinot-phobic household through my private antique cabinet where I stash stuff from my travels. Any previous experience with this wine?

I thought this thread was interesting in light of other recent threads on marketing wine to women. Does a woman's place in wine production affect the industry's perception of women as wine consumers?

Do you believe that this new approach, which emphasizes quality, will cause some naysayers to trust the McDonald's brand? Would an emphasis on quality products and ingredients make you more inclined to try McDonald's over other outlets? I think all corporations this size are probably looking for the next "fresh" message that they can deliver. I don't know whether it's sad or promising that McD's is finally getting the message that America might respond more favorably to an "it's good for you," campaign than to yet more mindless hiphop. But like I said before, with all the negativism surrounding the Supersize documentary they may be losing a significant market share to other grease chains. (For better or worse, I sometimes still take my twin nephews to McD's, but we if we order hashbrowns, we squeeze them in napkins to remove some of the grease.) Add to the Supersize publicity the whole french-fries-will-kill-you campaign, and then add in customer confusion over Paris Hilton's wet t-shirt/fast car commercial for Carl's, and I bet McDonald's has decided that they need to proactively fight for market share now in the face of increasingly wholesome offerings at other chains, and a growing consumer awareness that a nightly menu of fast food is unhealthy.

Erk. You guys are really working me here. The ABV and ripeness-by-phenolics issue is highly controversial even within the field. Looks like it's time to line up some guest speakers for the winter months. In the meantime, I can start working on a piece on some of the general issues that individual wineries face when bringing in fruit. Phenolic ripeness is almost a 301 topic, but if you feel you're ready . . . .

I, too, have seen the book listed. But since I generally know where to put my commas, I haven't read it. The joke after which it is apparently named, however, is a pretty good one. (It's a very old joke.) Only obliquely related to dining, however. So does anyone here have any insights into corporate marketing?

In other topics, primarily those dealing with artisanal vs. global winemaking techniques, we have questions about oak cooperage, malolactic fermentations, fining, filtering, micro-oxygenation, whole cluster vs. whole berry fermenting . . . Are you guys ready to absorb and question some specific topics on these issues? Are there other winemaking techniques you would like to have presented as separate topics?

Fining and filtration would make an interesting subject for our Wine 101 essays. Although maybe it's time we should start on some Wine 201 themes! Another topic . . . For now, let's keep to the spirit of the original post in this thread, which is to identify wines (preferably recognized by reviewers) that you would declare as having artisanal character. Let's not overthink it initially. I think mikeycook has something here. Simply identifying wines that we believe have unique character will give us something to work with if and when we discuss artisan vs. globalized styles. Otherwise, we're just chewing air. So your choices would be?

Actually, I've *heard* that Panda joke before. It's not a "metaphor" for anything. It's from a fairly gross (but funny) sex joke. Well you don't want to meet one in a bar! And pretty much the issue of "whether or not others should eat it" has been done to death in other threads. Isn't the issue of this thread why a huge chain like McDonald's would be undertaking a makeover? So back to the subject--at least it's heartening that McDonald's has become aware of consumer desire for assurances about quality, organic food, etc. I'd like to think that means that a ground swell of consumerism awareness is definitely having some effect. Unfortunately, as in most of the organic labeling in groceries, much of the hype and language will still be misleading but appealing to a large segment of the population who really just want their fast food and want to believe that it's good for them. Like eating a submarine sandwich for every meal will actually cause you to lose weight. The reality is more likely that McDon's is feeling a slight downward pinch in revenues after the Supersize documentary, recent news bites about carcinogens in french fries, and competition from firms like Subway and new chains like Burgerville, which recently got written up in the Slow Foods magazine.

Well, one cannot exactly forego racking. Aeration can be avoided, if one wishes, by using gravity racking or gentle air pumps, which leaves the winemaker with the option of burbling the wine a little or not. But racking is absolutely necessary. Micro-oxygenation is useful for brightening wines that are heavily oxidized or have other flaws.

Here's a related article from Decanter, German state tasters fooled by cheap import:

Patterson seems to be discussing just one level of dining in San Francisco. Is that all he has experienced about SF cuisine? Is he failing to take into account the rich universe of casual dining that includes tapas bars, eclectic Mediterranean, and Mexican food eateries, all of which have access to fresh local produce, cheeses, nuts, olives, etc.? So isn't it oversimplification to point to Alice Waters as if she is the entire trend? I think the bar for flavor and dining experiences in the Bay Area is already very, very high. I don't think that dining in San Francisco is boring and homogenous at all! But then, I guess if you filter your dining experiences by reviews, trendiness and hit to your wallet, it would definitely limit your options.

For those of us who are new to the term "Meritage," here is a well-written article by an amateur winemaker about the term and its history. In three annual blind tastings of California and French meritage blends, one wine that always topped my list was Cain Five. The vintages were early nineties, however, and I haven't tasted more recent vintages. Opus One always came in quite low on my scorepad. Too funky for my taste--it always seems to have wet barrel and tobacco flavors that I feel overwhelm the fruit. Maybe they use heavy toast on their oak. (Barrels can be ordered with varying degrees of interior toasting.)

Oops, can't forget Duckhorn's Paraduxx and their support of wetlands in the Pacific flyways. Good point, PCL, about a difference in the things we revere in the New World. One might argue that Old World producers have always placed so much emphasis on place, and therefore their crumbling old buildings are a symbol of their identity as vintners. New World vintners continue that connection by naming their wines after soil, rocks, and places. But you gotta love the animal labels and the humor that often goes hand in hand with them. Animals have a place in everyone's heart.

Chris!

Someone here was definitely wacko. But the world of wine has an abundance of strange and frightening characters and circumstances. Our Odd Wine News thread includes reports of French authorities seizing entire winery productions. Topping that, Italian Customs confiscated wine and then apparently stole it. And you missed the saboteurs who chainsawed 475 vines down in Spain, and the poor vineyard guys in Napa who were shooting at birds and had a SWAT team descend upon them. "Step away from the bird, NOW, sir!" Edited to correct geography.

Florence Fabricant mentioned truffles and Rhones in today's NYT Online. * She has posted a recipe for Five Spice Chicken Livers. Where the Rhone Bends to the West lists some California Rhone-esque wines that inspired her recipe. * Requires free registration

It's interesting that this thread was started over a year ago, and the issue of high alcohol is still a "hot" topic in other threads. After re-reading the material here and noticing Brad's comments about our viognier, I wandered over to the "label library" and picked out a few. Interestingly enough, for the last three vintages, the Rhone whites have always been our highest table wines. 2002 Dove Pond Vineyard Syah 13.6% 2001 Menage (Bordueax-esque blend) 14.2% 2003 Hansen Vineyard Cabernet Sauv. Reserve 14.4% 2003 Jimmy's Vineyard Syrah 14.4% 2002 Benito Dusi Old Vine Zinfandel 14.7% 2002 Cujo Zinfandel 14.8% (This is our massive, high alcohol fruit bomb) 2004 Hansen Vineyard Viognier 15.2% 2004 Starr Ranch Roussanne 15.4% Interesting that in our area, the Rhone whites are much more powerful than the zins--from the vineyards we source from, anyway. Of the whites, I prefer the roussanne, and of the reds, the Old Vine Zin. ::shrug::

So, just to recap the discussion as best I can . . . A. There have always been high alcohol wines (interesting historical points, Brad!) B. There may be more high alcohol wines now, but C. One can still find gentler alcohols. D. Any popular trend toward higher alcohols is not due to global warming. I guess that means I can put away my deck chair and cocktail umbrellas for the season. For those who would like to continue a discussion about higher alcohols, I recommend the High Alcohol Wines - Overkill? thread. For the sake of topical clarity, let's keep this thread focused on the veracity (or lack thereof) of the global warming theory.