[TDG Wine Camp: 15 Buck Barolo]

I didn't intend to buy it. I just thought that the timing of your article and the flyer in my mail was an interesting coincidence.

On the other hand however, I'm doing lamb shanks this weekend and it might make a decent braising liquid.

Buy two bottles of Yellowtail for the same price - better for braising than that terrible Barolo.

(I didn't think you where going to buy it - that was a generic you)

[Does California Chardonnay Age?]

WTN: Kalin Cellars Chardonnay, Cuvee LR, Sonoma County, 1988

The color is a dark gold..... that reminds me I have to make an appointment for my annual physical...anyway, the nose is rich and full of butterscotch and butter with a surprising strong mineral component and a touch of lime. Full and round in the mouth with a firm almost tart backbone balancing the ripe tropical fruit (mango?) fruit and oak. The finish is firm with a stony/lime tartness to help carry all that richness and butterscotch. This was a pleasant surprise as I expected it to be shot and when I saw the color, well...

Certainly not a wine to keep any longer but at this point is is a very interesting and complex wine showing both richness and a firm structure to carry its weight and oxidation.

Tasted: 2/23/2003

Comments: this is a bottle that I bought at a store after it had gone through the distributor's warehouse and retailer's shelf "fast-aging techniques" and I am sure that bottles at the winery would be much fresher.

[TDG Wine Camp: 15 Buck Barolo]

That's the wine: avoid. Buy yourself a nice $9.99 primitivo, nero d'avola, negroamaro Cotes du Rhone, a long list of Spanish wines or for that matter a nice Australian shiraz and you will be a lot happier. That Barolo at $10.99 is a rip-off.

[Do you really like Chardonnay?]

Please send any questions you have to Carolyn via PM or e-mail. I will add these are among the most age-worthy California Chardonnays ever produced.

[lake como advice]

Como is a beautiful spot - we just went there two weeks ago on a gita. What exactly are you looking to do and what kind of hotels and restaurants are you looking for - if money is no object just make your reservation at the Villa d'Este now and save time.

[TDG Wine Camp: 15 Buck Barolo]

Let's not forget another nice Chicago wine shop Que Syrah

and Nancy's Wines For Food in Manhattan.

[TDG Wine Camp: 15 Buck Barolo]

Both of these wines sold for under fifteen bucks and proved the P.T. Barnum theory of sales: "There's a sucker born every minute."

click here for WINE CAMP: 15 BUCK BAROLO

Support your local wine merchants - post your comments here about your favorite local small wine merchants and why you love them.

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[bergamot oranges]

I don't believe they are actually oranges, but a distinct type of citrus fruit.

Click Here for the BERGAMOT CONSORTIUM OF REGGIO CALABRIA

or below for the short version -

Bergamotto di Reggio Calabria

[Second annual Israeli wine competition]

Do the winners of this competition sell out or raise their prices like happens with the Wine Spectator top 100?

[Mmmm....Pesquera]

Here is a lot more information on these excellent wines:

Dehesa La Granja

Bodegas Condado de Haza s.l.,

Pesquera de Duero

El Vinculo

[1995 Bordeaux]

Probably the worst point to open top 95's - they are in the middle of the transition from children to adults and you know how erratic adolescents can be. Wait a couple of more years - at least.

[Anselmi Capitel Croce & Foscarino]

It may be different in style from the Anselmi you enjoyed, but I am very fond of Inama. All stainless steel fermentation. Crisp, lively, acidic, but still with plenty of character.

Only the regular bottling of Inama is aged in stainless steel. All the single vineyard wines get the barrique treatment.

I think the Inama Foscarino is quite extraordinary.

[Anselmi Capitel Croce & Foscarino]

The changes and improvement of Soave have been amazing. However, there are some producers that take it to the extreme by seemingly trying to make a kind of wine syrup. More is not always better.

My top list would include:

Pieropan, Inama, Tamellini, Gini, Anselmi, Suavia and new vintages from Marcato especially Il Tirso.

[Antinori's Muffato della Sala]

Muffa=mold in Italian. As with all Antinori wines Muffato is very well made. Here is the offical Antinori data:

Umbria - Indicazione Geografica Tipica

Vintage: 2001

Grapes: 60% Sauvignon Blanc; 40% Grechetto, Traminer (which is actually the French Gewurztraminer) and Riesling

Taste: Medium-gold color with peachy-honey aromas. A rich dessert wine that is fresh and well-balanced, with great elegance and complexity.

Muffato della Sala's grapes are grown entirely at Castello della Sala - 200 to 400 metres (656 to 1,312 feet) above sea-level - on calcareous Pliocene sedimentary soils rich in marine fossils with some clay. Early morning mists encourage the development of botrytis cinerea, the noble rot, which reduces the water content of the grapes, thereby provoking a higher concentration of sugar and aromas. The grapes from these plots are well botrytised and are generally harvested later than the normal vintage: in 2000 the Traminer and Riesling were harvested a couple of days before the Sauvignon Blanc and last to be harvested was the Grechetto at the beginning of November.

After a soft pressing, the must fermented for 20 days at a temperature not exceeding 61°F. This produced a sweet wine which was introduced in Allier and Troncais French oak barrels where it was aged for 6 months.

Alcohol: 11,50% vol.

History: Muffato della Sala is produced from botrytised grapes grown on vineyard plots whose microclimates favor noble rot; 1987 was the first vintage released. It is one of the 'experimental' wines Antinori's developed in the 1980s, and was originally produced from 50% Sauvignon Blanc with Grechetto (30%) and Drupeggio (20%), the blend that Antinori used then in its Orvieto Classico Abboccato. The grape mix was adjusted until 1989, when the current blend was decided upon. Muffato della Sala is produced in extremely limited quantities.

[Better Wine at Macaroni Grill?]

"It used to be people were only very value-oriented," said Patrick Droesch, vice president of beverage for Brinker International Inc., which operates the Chili's and Romano's Macaroni Grill chains, among others. "Now ... they want to have a really good glass of wine and so they are looking for wines by the glass that may be more expensive."

[Imported Wine Price Increases Continue]

Mark is right - there are vast warehouses full of unsold European wines purchased by importers at old exchange rates and these are often being discounted to reduce inventory. There is no reason not to buy European wines now.

When these new vintages come out that may be another matter.

[NZ wines with dinner]

The gewurz sounds very tasty with the food I might add.

[NZ wines with dinner]

Jim - did you like the pinot gris? Would you drop $23 on it again? For me the ZH style is just too much of too much.

[Women Taste Better]

Wendy Caron, wine director for Gastronomy restaurants, has just pasted together a mock-up of Baci's new wine list as she walks through the restaurant one recent Wednesday night. Stopping at a table to greet some regular customers, she holds the proto-list at arm's length over her head.

[Beer Industry Losing Out to Spirits]

Market-share gains by Anheuser-Busch Cos. not withstanding, the past year has been no party for the beer industry. The final numbers aren't in yet, but most market watchers estimate that brewers' shipments to wholesalers declined about 1 percent from 2002. Merrill Lynch analyst Christine Farkas estimated in a recent report that beer volume this year will rise about 1 percent.

[Who's the Dad?]

Vouillamoz, who spent a year working at the University of California, Davis, in the lab of noted grapevine geneticist Carole Meredith, and Schneider tested DNA samples of Nebbiolo against samples of DNA from more than 1,500 grape cultivars gathered from countries around the world.

[Imported Wine Price Increases Continue]

The dollar's falloff, with the encouragement of the Bush administration, has been precipitous. The Australian dollar was worth 51 U.S. cents on Jan. 1, 2002, 56 U.S. cents on Jan. 1, 2003 and jumped to 75 U.S. cents on Jan. 1, 2004, says Lynn Reaser, chief economist with Banc of America Capital Management in St. Louis.

[What to do with all that NZ Pinot Noir?]

The huge amount of pinot noir coming on stream in New Zealand is creating a headache for the wine industry.

[Rats: a new market for wine producers?]

A team of scientists at Finland's National Public Health Institute are scratching their heads over their latest findings: Rats bred to drink alcohol live longer, healthier lives than rats bred to refuse alcohol -- whether or not the rodents actually consume alcohol during their lifetimes.

[Moto Restaurant - Chicago]

Klinger:

How are you?

OK,  I feel the need to comment on this now while it is still in it's early stages. I have said this before, when people commit to work outside of the box they unintentionally enter a smaller box. I assure you Moto's cuisine is as original as Trio, as the Fat Duck, as Veyrat, as Gagnaire and so on. So chef Cantu has attached rosemary to silverware, does the intentional olfactory sensation become a link to Trio's lobster with rosemary vapor. NO. When something is new it is scrutinized, analyzed, and deconstructed. People will find the common demoninators where they want. They will try to imobilize the movement. They will corrupt the style to the point where they disable themselves from enjoying a wonderful meal because they overthink it. Please,  go to Moto, come to Trio, these are restaurants that are taking risks, introducing a style of cuisine new to this country. We should all be happy that Chicago is now leading the country in culinary innovation.

chefg - I cannot agree more with your comments. Coming from the wine side of things this is the same problem cutting edge winemakers experience. Everyone wants you to belong in a box. As a writer I succumb to this all to often in trying to construct articles - you tend to put what people do into a box in an attempt to communicate easily. Those of us who are writers should be inspired by chefs and winemakers that expand horizons and incorporate that same passion in our writing.