Craig Camp

Thirty dollar Barolo is probably an oxymoron these days. The entry level has probably become $45 for good quality (not greatness) on a reliable basis. Anything below this mark probably comes from over-cropped vineyards of questionable character. There are notable exceptions like the Fontanafredda Barolo Serralunga (year in and out the most consistent bargain in Barolo) and Marchesi di Barolo, Barolo. I would not include the wine you tasted in my list of recommended value Baroli. There are good reasons that Barolo is expensive as nebbiolo in a find Langhe vineyard is among the most expensive vines to farm in the world. Vietti reports logging about 900 work-hours per acre and all of that work is done by hand. Beyond that yields are very low, less than half of famed Napa Valley cabernet vineyards and then it takes almost five years before they can actually sell it. All if this means great Barolo is an expensive pleasure. We always seem to forget Barbaresco when Barolo comes up and this is a mistake. With slightly less fame and a year less aging, Barbaresco is usually a better buy than Barolo and offers many of the same pleasures. The wines of the Produttori dei Barbaresco remain the finest values in classic nebbiolo produced. Here are links to some of my other comments about Barolo: Barolo Wars Barolo Royalty: Marcarini The Perfect Vintage

The climate in Oregon is too warm for sparkling wine? Perhaps you have not visited the northern Willamette Valley in the fall. Sparking wine producers in Oregon are picking a full month later they do in California, where they often have to pick on August. You can only make Champagne in Champagne, just like you can only make Burgundy in Burgundy and Barolo in Barolo. These names designate places with distinct character. There are certainly wines like the late disgorged Iron Horse and Argyle wines that can rival Champagne on a quality basis, but they don't taste the same and they should not taste the same as wine from Champagne. They should taste like wines from the Green Valley and Willamette Valley. For example at Iron Horse, they discovered over the years that the French method of controlling sweetness with dosage had to be completely reevaluated as the fruit character of their vineyards did not require the same degree of sweetness. Thus they use a much lower level of dosage than they do in Champagne relying instead on fruit sweetness rather than added sugar. This makes for a wine quite different in style than Champagne. Preference of one over the other is a personal choice. One area where domestic sparklers really trash champagne is in the basic brut category. The thin wines, tasting more of aspirin than fruit, most French Champagne houses dump millions of cases of on the world market are clearly inferior to wines like the 2000 Argyle Brut, which can be easily found in the $20 range. Indeed, most French Champagne is a manufactured industrial product, while the best American sparklings are produced by artisans in comparison. Even production of famous names like Crystal and Dom Perignon is measured in millions of bottles produced. In Champagne itself, most of the finest wines come from the smaller producers. Enjoyment of fine American sparking wines should be made in the same way one admires the qualities of outstanding New Zealand or Oregon Pinot Noir as compared to Burgundy - each of the wines can be excellent, but each has their own personality, just as it should be.

Gotta ask - why in the world were you aging a dolcetto? That Montevertine is lovely, I still have two bottles left. I disagree that the palate is washed out - I just see it as mature and delicate - almost Burgundian. What were the storage conditions like on these wines? If good, those other bottles should be very nice.

2004 Soligo Prosecco Millesimato A cool mist of a wine that froths across the palate leaving only refreshment. Lively and light with touches of peaches and pears. No complexity here, just loads of charm. A real pleaser and wonderful aperitif.

After a hard days work a stop at the bar for a quick drink is a tradition stretching back several millennium. In the USA it's Miller time and in the UK a pint of bitter, but in northern Italy you are more likely to find working men with large work-hardened fingers holding a delicate fluted wine glass and quaffing Prosecco while munching on salami and potato chips. Sparking wine is part of everyday life in Italy, not something for anniversaries and New Years Eve - and it's priced accordingly. Our local bar is decidedly blue collar, but behind the bar is always a magnum of Prosecco on ice and more than a few of the oversized bottles disappear down the throats of thirsty Italians every day. While Prosecco is often thought to be the name of a sparking wine, it is actually the name of a grape. In Veneto, wines from prosecco grapes are made into still, frizzante (lightly sparkling) and Spumante (sparkling) wines with quality ranging from tasteless to deliciously fruity and charming. Charm is what Prosecco Spumante is all about and the lovely fresh peach and citrus flavors of this grape are brought alive by the bubbles. Prosecco is for fun and for enjoying as often as possible and while it will never challenge the complexity of Champagne - for pure easy pleasure and refreshment the frothy sparking wines of Prosecco can't be beat. The simple pleasures of Prosecco remind us that very enjoyable wines can be created from humble varieties in the hands of dedicated and educated winemakers with the best vineyards. Stretching out north and northwest of Venice are endless prosecco vineyards most of which produce flavorless frizzante and sparkling wines sold for a few Euros a bottle in grocery stores, which are often "improved" by adding a dollop of Campari or Aperol. However, on the hills around the town of Conegliano the prosecco vine is most at home and produces wines with such exceptional aromatics and freshness that the region has been awarded its own DOC, Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene. The sub-region of Cartizze is considered the finest of all and wines from this small zone add that name to their labels. These wines sell for a few more dollars than plain Prosecco, but are worth it due to their additional complexity and depth - all without giving up any of their charm. Dryness designations follow the Champagne model with Brut being the driest and Extra-dry being just off-dry. Prosecco sparkling wines are made by the Charmat method, which is the best method for preserving the luscious fruit flavors of this grape. The delicious fruit flavors and aromatics of the best wines from Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene possess such a unique and pleasurable character that they should not be considered budget Champagnes, but sparkling wines with their own place in the wine world. The choice is not which is better, Champagne, Cava or Prosecco, but which is better for the moment and, of course the budget. Prosecco is a fruit driven wine and it is the quality of the fruit flavors that define the best wines from this region. These easy fruit flavors make Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene the perfect choice when you are looking for refreshment and one of the best of choices for brunch - Easter or not.

2003 Domaine Coste Chaude, Visan, Cotes du Rhone Villages A delightful combination blend of structured earthy characteristics and forward charming ripe fruit. The nose is full of ripe raspberries with an underlying layer of spices and shitake mushrooms. Warm and generous on the palate with a firm backbone to balance the ripe dark fruit flavors. A tangy bitter tar note blends with the sweet fruit finish. 60% grenache, 40% syrah 2003 Forefathers McLaren Vale Shiraz - made by Nick Goldschmidt on Coppermine Road A Australian Shiraz even I can like. Yes its jammy and an explosive fruit bomb, but it comes off well balanced with a good bite of acid. Not so much on complexity, but big on up-front pleasures. This wine is begging for a big cheddar burger.

It is rather ironic that the great State of Texas, which makes wine producers jump through all sorts of hoops and paperwork to sell wine in their state in order to protect consumers, can turn a blind eye to such out-and-out fraud.

I think I love wine and cigars too much to force them together. There is no dry table wine that really stands up to the intensity of a fine cigar (IMHO of course). Just taste a wine before and after you have lit your cigar and there can be no doubt that everything about the wine changes on your palate. The intensity of fine spirits and fortified wines with cigars is a match made in heaven. For me there is nothing better than Armagnac and a great cigar.

Riesling is always our last vineyard harvested and we just picked last Sunday. What the birds and deer did not eat was affected with quite a bit of Botrytis. However in this case rot is good and should add depth and complexity to the wine.

We use a Defranceschi Membrane press, it does rotate, but is much gentler than a horizontal rotary bladder press. Does this look like what you saw?

No I don't think 14%+ is our goal, that of most producers nor my personal preference. I think "ideal" for pinot noir is around 13-13.5%, but an "ideal" level is a moving target changing from wine-to-wine, vineyard-to-vineyard and vintage-to-vintage. Some wines are just structured to carry more alcohol with balance better than others. Certainly pinot noir under 13% often seems to lack the viscosity and depth to be really complex. They only way to tell if the alcohol level of an individual wine is balanced is to taste, if it tastes balanced it is. I have had wines at 13% that tasted hot and alcoholic and wines at 14.5% that tasted perfectly balanced. Another element is that if you are making a non-manipulated wine, there is only so much you can do to lower the final alcohol level (raising the level is a bit easier thanks to C and H). A fine pinot noir is the sum of the vineyard, winemaking and the vintage. If you have a very hot vintage (2003) you are going to get higher alcohol levels - that is just the nature of the vintage and the wine must reflect that nature. You can't just pick earlier as the seeds, stems and skins are not mature. Each vintage gives its own balance of sugar, acid and tannin and thus its own unique personality. Vintage variation is the reality of winemaking in Oregon, and I think one of its strong points. For those who find the 2003's to alcoholic (me included) you will find the 2004's and 2005's a refreshing return to a more elegant style of pinot noir with alcohol levels more in the 13% range.

As there are tannins and pigment in the grapeskins, and additional tannins in the seeds, I would imagine that in a well balanced pick the tannins in those elements might perfectly balance the fruit acids and flavors of the pulp. Therefore, is deciding on bunch-and-stem fermentation based on the condition of the stem, or on the potential of the grape? ← Interestingly enough we received some gorgeous pinot from the Arbor Vert vineyard with fully lignified stems. Everything seemed perfect so we included about 20% whole clusters in the fermenters. I'll keep you updated on their progress.

We have been going dawn to whenever the last week so I havn't had a chance to update this thread, but I'll have more time to catch up next week. In the meantime, I thought everyone would be interested to get a look at some viognier grapes. Pictured here is freshly arrived viognier from the Del Rio vineyard in southern Oregon. This is a very strange year as we have picked most of the vineyards in the northern Willamette and the fruit from southern Oregon, which is usually among the first to arrive is just coming now. We are still waiting for the syrah.

Let's face it, considering the working conditions offered by most wine distributors, their sales positions are not likely to attract the most professional people. Also, many larger distributors are not actually in the wine business, although they sell a lot of wine, they are in the beverage business. Selling Kendall Jackson, Rutherford Hill, Turning Leaf and other mass brands does not require wine professionals, but street hustlers that can move boxes (as they so lovingly refer to wine). Most wine sales personnel are underpaid and under-valued by their management, who considers them interchangeable parts. Also, the bullying most sales reps get from their sales management is sure to drive the most talented people out of the business. The truth is that most large distributorships are driven by spirits not wine. You can make a hell of a lot more money selling Absolut than any wine brand and its a lot easier.

2004 Chateau Vari Bergerac Blanc Sec Here's a little beauty and its under $10 a bottle. Clean, fresh and crisp it makes a perfect seafood wine or party aperitif and is a great everyday white. No pretence and complexity here, just brilliant fresh fruit flavors. 60% Sauvignon Blanc 40% Semillon.

2003 Alios de Sainte-Marie, Premières Côtes de Bordeaux This is a wine that will remind you why merlot became famous in the first place. From an estate in the Premières Côtes de Bordeaux, a area usually thought of for grocery store wines, this wine is a triumph of modern viticulture and oenology. Rich and ripe in the the nose without a bit of the herbal notes of some many merlot based wines. On the palate it almost magically combines the richness of modern winemaking with the firm structure that make Bordeaux Bordeaux. The smooth vanilla/plum fruit has this streak of bitterness that runs through the center of the wine making it alive and extremely interesting to drink. Age this one 2 or 3 more years and you will have a real beauty. An amazing $16.99 a bottle.

As there are tannins and pigment in the grapeskins, and additional tannins in the seeds, I would imagine that in a well balanced pick the tannins in those elements might perfectly balance the fruit acids and flavors of the pulp. Therefore, is deciding on bunch-and-stem fermentation based on the condition of the stem, or on the potential of the grape? ← Yes and no - if the stems are not lignified you have no option. If they are, then you have to look at all your options. The tannins in the skins is less intense that that of non-lignified stems. There is more than one kind of tannin. I would say it can be interesting to add some percentage of wine fermented whole-cluster if the option is available.

Pinot blanc is a favorite here at the winery, sometimes I think we drink as much as we sell. We are working to acquire more sources for top-quality pinot blanc and will be planting more in our estate vineyards next year. Pinot blanc is nowhere near "blanc" just after it is crushed. Pictured here is freshly whole-cluster pressed pinot blanc ready to start its fermentation. Its hard to believe that this muddy looking liquid becomes a bright fresh wine.

Well that is one of the great debates of pinot noir making and it varies from winemaker to winemaker. There is not one right answer, as it should be - great pinot noir should vary vineyard to vineyard, region to region and winemaker to winemaker. This produces an endless variation on the theme of pinot noir. As far as your question, I would make the following points. If you are going to ferment with whole clusters that means, of course, that the stems will be included. If those stems are not lignified (turned to wood instead of the soft green texture you see in the photos above) they will add green tannins to the wine. Even when fully lignified, too many stems will make the wine too tannic. We almost always choose to ferment the whole berries, as compared to the whole bunches, as we feel the stems are rarely fully lignified in the cool climate of the northern Willamette Valley. Fermenting whole berries greatly enhances the complexity and depth of the fruit. Many producers here do select small amount of fruit from warm sites to whole bunch ferment as, when done correctly, this style of fermentation has the potential to bring out unique complexity in the wine.

Although we call this crush, in fact we don't crush pinot noir, but just de-stem it. Pictured below is a freshly filled 2-ton fementer of Hawk View 777 clone of Pinot Noir. About 80% of the berries enter the fermenter whole. They will now be cold-soaked for about 5 days before fermentation will be allowed to start.

2003 Chateau Beauchene, Premier Terroir, Cotes du Rhone With more guts than many Chateauneuf du Pape, and nearly the same blend (70% grenache, 25% syrah, 5 mourvedre) this warm, earthy wine is a bargain at $14. A brilliant ruby that is just translucent, the nose is rich and ripe with leather and raspberries. Generous, yet still tight on the palate with a long earthy finish.

Pinot gris varies quite a bit in color from bunch to bunch. Unripe grapes have a decided green cast to them and those not rejected in the vineyard by the pickers will be rejected on the sorting table in the winery before hitting the fermenter. This photo is in very bright sunlight which brings out the golden cast in some of the grapes.

John and Cellarmaster Tammie Crawford barrel Deux Vert Pinot Noir by gravity flow.

This is pinot gris harvested from our estate Webber Vineyard. The color of the bunches ranges from pink/gold to bunches that are just as purple as pinot noir. These bunches went directly into the press for whole cluster pressing.

I have followed Doug Salthouse's transition from wine consumer to wine merchant with great interest. Always an enlightened consumer, Doug has now made the transition to true wine merchant. In other words, he is discovering producers, many of which you have never heard of, and is offering them to his customer at great prices. His e-newsletter is full of great values. I just signed up for him to send me an assorted case of his selections a month. The wines I have purchased from him so far have all been excellent - and not one of them over $30! It is most encouraging to find true wine merchants out there who are relying on their own palates - not those of Robert Parker or The Wine Spectator. I'll offer up some tasting notes on the wines I buy from him here. Check Smart Buy Wines out at: Smart Buy Wines