Rebel Rose

Stone, I would blind-taste with you any day. I think there's a time to do serious blind tasting, and a time to have fun with it. We have a central coast Syrah tasting and dinner coming up in two weeks. As competition research, every few months we have a blind tasting of one varietal with a close group of friends and neighboring winemakers. (Most of our 'serious' tastings, however, degenerate as soon as the wine and people arrive.) Oh well. It's supposed to be all central coast syrah, but I have just decided to find a 2BC Syrah for the tasting! Now this is going to be fun!

Wine 101: Disgusting Things in Wine It may seem ridiculous at first to return a "corked" bottle of wine at a restaurant—after all, if it's not corked, how do they keep the wine in it? But when we wine geeks refer to a wine as "corked," we meant the wine has an awful attic or basement smell (we can't even call this an aroma) probably due to minute traces of mold on the cork. Every once in a while, a devoted wine consumer will encounter a corked bottle. It might be an expensive bottle, a French bottle, or even a bottle from a favorite local producer. Mold and moisture occasionally set up housekeeping in a cork, despite every winemaker's best efforts at sanitizing. The chlorine used by cork producers to sanitize the corks is, in addition, thought to contribute to the factors which create 2,4,6-Trichloroanisole (pronounced "corked"). If you encounter a corked wine, you will have no doubt. It will smell like grandma's hot, musty attic with dead mice in the walls. In a restaurant, simply ask your waitperson to take the bottle back and bring another (at no charge to you, of course). If you purchased the bottle, the store or winery should be happy to exchange the bottle if they still have the wine in stock. One of the reasons that winemaking is referred to as an art as well as a commerce is that so many things can go wrong during the life span of a wine in production. Aside from mechanical problems like leaking barrels or cellarmen running into tanks with forklifts, wine is chemically delicate and must be supervised and nurtured, like a child, in order to avoid the various infections and diseases to which it might be prone. One of the most common spoilage reactions is simple oxidation—a bottle of wine which has been opened, partly drunk and then forgotten for a few days will oxidize, resulting a "stale" aroma. Oxidation is actually a normal part of winemaking. As wines age in their barrels, part of the wine evaporates (known as "the angel's share") and winemakers regularly top their barrels with extra wine in order to keep them full and prevent the wines from oxidizing too quickly. And when wines are moved from barrel to barrel during winemaking, they also encounter oxygen during their journey through pumps and hoses. A little oxygen gives wine a softer, rounder character and is part of its transition from childhood to drinkable adulthood. An inch of head space (air) in a fifty-five gallon barrel will have much less effect on a wine than the four inches of air in that half-empty bottle in your refrigerator. However, when tasting and buying wines, if a wine tastes very flat, or somewhat "brown," it is possible that the wine had just a little too much air during its production. Sulfur dioxide is another potential disappointment. Most winemakers use as little as possible, and most wines have no more than 50 parts per million of free sulfur dioxide, which is a preservative found in natural form as a dust on the surface of grapes. However, occasionally a winemaker has to deal with grape, wine or barrel infections which may require a more liberal sprinkling of sulfur. It's like cooking with salt; a tiny bit improves the overall flavors of a dish, but overabundant use can ruin the whole thing. Sulfur dioxide smells like burning matchheads, and may elicit a sneeze. I have, on occasion, encountered bottles of wine that smell like rotten eggs when first opened. This is due to hydrogen sulfide, a problem sometimes encountered during fermentation. It seldom survives the scrutiny of a careful winemaker; however I can attest that it does occasionally make it into the bottle. If you encounter a wine with this symptom, don't discard it right away. Let it breathe for half an hour or so. Hydrogen sulfide is highly volatile, so the “off” aromas may dissipate, and you might end up enjoying the wine after all. On the other hand, sometimes hydrogen sulfide combines with other elements in the wine to form mercaptans. Mercaptans have a pungent, offensive, and sour odor, generally compared to garlic. Unattended by the winemaker and with careless exposure of the wine to air, the aeration drives the mercaptans to form di-mercaptans, which range from asparagus and rotting cabbage to rubber, or pulp mills. Di-mercaptans are a more complicated and more stable form of disulfides and once formed, are extremely difficult to remove. Mercaptan characteristics in a wine are a sign of careless winemaking and a deteriorating wine. If you have a scientific bent, here is a bulletin on 'Sulfides in Wine' published by ETS Labs. Brettanomyces is a spoilage yeast that loves to set up housekeeping in wooden barrels and tanks. Brett gives wine a variety of off flavors, ranging from bandaid or stinky tennis shoes to metallic flavors. There are nine different strains, all of which produce varying aromas. Brett populations also tend to clump in barrels or tanks, and are not evenly distributed throughout a wine. Once a barrel is infected, it is almost impossible to remove the bacteria, so winemakers are very careful when racking wines from barrel to barrel to check for Brett barrels which might infect the rest. When a Brett barrel is discovered, the wine is usually discarded, although, truth to tell, many famous French producers produce Brett wine and sell it for $70 a bottle or more. A small amount of some strains can give wine a characteristic odor that is distinctive but not necessarily unpleasant. In addition, rather than giving off a single odor, populations of Brett give off a range of aromas as they develop, beginning with barnyard, leather and clove given off by small populations, to bad infections with smells of bandaid or wet animal hide. Hopefully, your wine tasting experiences will include only our typically touted aromas and flavors--pleasant things like orange blossom, pear, and pineapple in white wines, and black cherry, plum, cassis, and cinnamon in the red wines. But if you taste a wine that you really don't like, be prepared to craft your own opinion. Perhaps something like, "I'm sorry, but this wine has off aromas of old paper and mouse fur, with flavors of balsamic vinegar and Meyer lemon, and a lengthy aluminum foil finish."

But wait, there's more. Unfortunately. Vampire lipstick Chewing gum in the spit bucket Tasters who want to spit their gum into your hand Motorcyclists in leather on a hot day who smell like sweat and gas Old ladies that fart (although they're kinda cute) Filthy purses the size of carpetbags plunked on the counter People who dump their wine into the cut glass water pitcher People who mistake my lunch for an appetizer plate and get persnickety if I don't serve it up and, people who assure me they're good friends of the owners

Oh no. In two days we will have a full October Blood Moon. And that means . . . The Wine Tasters from Hell! What is the worst, least sanitary, rudest, most disruptive behavior you have ever seen in a tasting room?

Yes, I think we have to remember that not everyone has encountered a barnyard frequently enough to have fond memories of one. . . A clean, well run barn-yard has mingled smells of wood, clean sawdust, rich earth, animal hide, fresh hay and the warm, fermented grass of healthy dung. Let's not go into the smells of an unhealthy barn environment except to say that it is not what we are fondly looking for in Burgundy. Another related 'aroma' found in Burgundies and pinots in general would be 'compost,' which is a warm, fermenting vegetal-earth combination, or 'mushroom,' which might include the damp-earth-and-fungi smells of a healthy mushroom spawn garden. As geo t pointed out, an intriguing whiff of these aromas lends complexity and interest to a wine.

Seeaview, Washington is indeed one of the prettiest towns I've ever seen. (I'm from WA, and lived on Orcas Island for several years.) Seaview will make you want to move to the Olympic Peninsula. Thanks for the mention, derricks, and I should probably mention that dovercanyon has changed her moniker to Rebel Rose. Ta da! Since Dover Canyon is the name of our business, I changed my username to something less advertorial when I was asked to become a forum host. Pretty Rebel Rose is the winery's beloved mascot, in charge of hospitality. Another wonderful place to eat in Cambria is Hoppe's 901. We never get past the appetizers because we have to try them all. The abalone comes from the local abalone farm in nearby Cayucos. Fresh from the ocean, probably delivered in a bucket of seawater.

If you take tanabutler's advice (and of course I think you should): McPhee's Grill in the burg of Templeton Bistro Laurent for dinner (Laurent Grangien trained with Michel Rostang in Paris, was the chef at Fennel Bistro in Santa Monica, and executive chef at the Inn at Morro Bay before moving to Paso to open a French family-style bistro.) Vinoteca Wine Bar (half a block from BL) is a well-appointed, cozy wine bar with great appetizers (generally more than are listed on their website)--a fun way to start the evening and a good way to try a tasting course of Central Coast wines.

That was beautiful, Jim. A glorious insight into where you live and how much you love it. Thank you.

If you want the full Big Sur hippie experience, eat at Nepenthe. The food is rustic and okay, but the view is incredible and the servers are, well, very California. Tie dye skirts, Birkenstocks . . . I had a waitress that kept staring off into the upper corner of the room, somewhat disconnected, shall we say, from the ordering process? If I asked a question, she'd fade off (checking with Gazoo) and respond, "I. . . dunno. . . ." Edited to add: Years ago they had this awesome tea. I can still taste it. It was spicy strawberry, vanilla and clove--very zingy. My girlfriends and I would drink quarts of it with dinner and get very, very giggly. Then they stopped serving it and couldn't clearly explain why . . .

The Board of Directors refused the offer. Stockholders I spoke with yesterday, including employees, are shaking their heads in disbelief, and keeping their fingers crossed.

Now that there's just funny, I don't care who ya are.

Great pictures, Carolyn! Can't wait for the rest!

Carolyn, I'm so glad you're back, and once again, my deepest condolences on your loss. Your story is beautiful. I had tears running down my face and the sniffles. Your father is so blessed to have daughters like you. Congratulations on your recent accomplishments and assignments. You are amazingly talented, and I'm sure your father will find pride and comfort in his daughter's interesting life.

fresh_a, that level of talent and experience is so far above me, it's like looking up to the Second Coming. Unbelievable. I love the story--he's only 23 and a former cook whose talent was recognized amd trained.

Extremely interesting. Marco_Polo, I love the way you describe the wines. Now I'm dying to try Sagrantino in any incarnation.

Beans for soup? ::sigh:: It's PASS-a-RO-bulls. And we never say CAHM-brrrree-ah. It's 'CAM-bree-eh?'

A belated thanks to everyone for their compliments on our area! I missed this thread in August as harvest started a week early and I had no life. Lledlund, it was great visiting with both of you and quite a thrill to meet my first eGulleteers. Melkor, did I miss your visit? Were you incognito or did our attendant Jake take care of you? And yes, both pronunciations are in use, but we can tell how long you've lived here or whether you're a first time visitor by how you say it.

I think Ruhlman and Bourdain should do a regular television evening food critique. We could tie them to their stools, and they'd have the little clip-on mikes. If we took away pens, pencils and clipboards, then they could only sling words. We'd probably have difficulty signing guests, but wouldn't it be fun to find one they both dislike?

Uh yes, but I was referring the size of a typical wine glass, which one hopes, would not be filled entirely to the brim, lest one get wine all over one's buttondown shirt.

Oh, don't give up so easily! I haven't had a good guffaw like this in a long time. You guys are hilarious. And on top of that, I think you're the only one who took Jason's comment seriously, which makes it even funnier, I'm afraid. That was a great article, by the way.

Figure four 8 oz. glasses per bottle, and expect 30-50 people to drink wine, an average of 2 glasses each. That's two cases--one white, one red.

Hannah, let us know where you are geographically, because that will help us sort out what we have tried and what we think may be available . . . K Morgan, no problem. Thanks for the great suggestions--we're always looking for those great new releases and surprising bargains. That's what this thread is all about!

From 1993 . . .

Here is a link to a similar discussion about women winemakers and the glass ceiling in France. I seldom get a burr under my saddle, but oh, the straight-faced condescension in the quoted article really got to me. Ouch. Mr. Rogov, I found your article interesting and insightful. From a journalism standpoint, it would have had a happier ending if you had covered, even briefly, the great strides and accomplishments women have made in the culinary fields. But maybe that's another article?

I really enjoyed How to Cook a Tart by Nina Kilham. I thought it was hilarious and there were no red herrings--there are clues on every page. In the first paragraph, a cookbook author finds a dead floozy on her kitchen floor. I wish I had recipes for some of the dishes described in this book. Well, except of course, for the 'piece who resisted.'