Mark Sommelier

Deb, If you keep the list small and well focused, you can offer all the wines on the list by the glass, too. Glass sales lead to bottle sales if the wines are well chosen and well priced.

I read recently that Deloach was approached by Boisset for acquisition. Haven't heard yet if the bankruptcy court approved the sale. In regards Matanzas rolling down the prices in '02 (they actually went down by 33%), many wineries had trouble moving inventory in the months after 9/11 when high-end restaurant business went into a general slump. The price roll-back was one way move boxes.

1) Fingerprints on glass doors 2) Filthy restrooms 3) Any employee with BO 4) Agressive up-selling 5) Bottled water gouging 6) Inattentiveness 7) Bum's rush towards the end of the evening 8) Un-seasoned food 9) Weak coffee 10) Hostesses talking on the phone with their boyfriends Geeze, this could go on all day.....

Or when cleaning them and they break, the blood is funneled out of you......

No. Glasses can emphasize the fruit and focus it at a point in the glass to highlight it. Glasses can also emphasize flaws in wine. The balance and aging claim is hokum.

2 other testers have not reported their findings yet. Let us hope that one or both of them decides to do double blind ABX tests. I see some problems with that, though. The "agitation" variable cannot be gotten around. The only way around that is to use brand new bottles of the same wine, which introduces the bottle variation variable. The second pour vairable is, IMO, bunkum. Having worked with fine wine for 25 years, I have never seen the second glass of wine poured from a single bottle taste as if it have breathed for half an hour simply from pouring the first glass. Does the third glass taste like it breathed for an hour? I also don't understand how a placebo clip can have a psychological effect on people who are not even watching the wine be poured. I did a single blind test on people with very refined palates. They noticed a difference, which is all we set out to find. Not if the Clip makes the wine taste better or worse. Who will the control group be in a double blind test? Grannies? Babies? Wine Experts? Lab rats? I have no interest in doing more tests, coming back here and getting ambushed again with scientific babble about something as personal and subjective as the taste of a glass of wine. If science can prove the Wine Clip works, I think a better approach was suggested by Dr. Vengroff. Darren, can I borrow your mass spectrograph?

I stopped in today with a friend for a late lunch and ended up killing the whole afternoon. They serve all afternoon, we found out, after showing up to find Ceiba closed for Columbus Day and Poste closing promptly at 2. This was my second visit, but the first visit was with a group of 20 or so and so not conducive to careful study of the menu and winelist. 2 of us ordered 10 things and a bottle of tasty Agryros Estate, a white wine from the island of Santorini. The standouts were a lobster tsaziki special, shrimp with dill, fried mussels, the baba ghanoush and the marvelous pita bread. We ordered seconds of the shrimp it was so good. We then repaired to the bar for coffees, araks, dessert (dates and turkish coffee cake), and that most European of accompaniments, cigarettes. This place is most pleasant in the mid-afternoon when the crowds have subsided. The service was genial, helpful and professional all the way through. The food was ordered all at once, but arrives as it is ready. The nice touch for a gringo at Mediterranean food like me was that everybody who brought food stopped to describe it. I will be going back.

Craig, I'm in the same boat, or was. Here in Washington, DC there are two distinct customer bases: the business diner and the social diner. The business diner dominates during the week. These are the people on expense accounts who go for the high score wines. On the weekend, the social diners are much more careful with their dollars and are more bound to ask my advice vis a vis bang for the buck or appropriate and unusual wines.

Rocks, Maybe Mr. Lynch should call it The Pinot Noir Clip and advertise it on Burghound.com. It is true, the pinot noir exhibited the most extreme differences.

Whew! 21 hours later, there are 127 responses and a raging flame war. Who knew? Please, let me reiterate for everyone's benefit ( including Mssrs. Kinsey and Amster-Burton), I was asked to test the Clip. I agreed. I was as skeptical as anyone else is or was . Everyone who I invited to test the Clip was extremely skeptical to the point of thinking I was nuts. The first test was done straightforwardly with everyone watching to see if there was something to this and it was not a waste of time. After that test, I decided that, yes, there was something to this. THE THING REALLY DID AFFECT THE WINE. THERE WAS A PATENTLY OBVIOUS DIFFERENCE. I have 10 witnesses. In the test with 3 glasses, it was obvious. In all the other tests, it was obvious. I stated, and will state again: the clipped wines were mellower at the outset. Period. Everyone agreed. Whether there was a double blind ABX testing or not, I do not own a laboratory. I am hoping someone else has the time and resources to try the vaunted double blind ABX test. I tested the product in one of the situations it was intended for, a restaurant. I even went so far as to try a test on some customers at table. They saw the difference, too. Average Joe consumer is going to pour 2 glasses and see the same effect. I also stated that some of the claims like "makes wine taste like it has been aged for years" were not true. The effect became less obvious after 15 or 20 minutes, which means to me that you can buy the Clip if you are impatient, or you can wait 20 minutes for the wine to open up. For 20 bucks, you should all take advantage of Mr. Lynch's grand gesture and see for yourself.

Does Lite beer really taste great and is it really less filling?

doc wrote: "I realize that the rankings are not based solely on a wine's "quality", but the combination of quality and price - its relative value. Nevertheless, this experience does reinforce a sense that there is more behind this list than meets the palate." This is true, although as soon as the wine was made WOTY, the price shot up. Still, it is hard to comprehend how the year before, Cinq Cepages was WOTY with a score of 95 and Chateau Margaux was #2 with a score of 97. Could the Beringer Blass Wine Estates connection have something to do with it? I wonder.

Craig, Great article! You touch on some very interesting and important points. As a guy who works in the trenches selling wine, I see the point obsessed drinkers every day. Trying to explain to them that Caymus Special Selection cabernet may not be the best choice for an aperitf or Dover Sole meuniere is fruitless. People who drink these kinds of wines, both white and red, on a regular basis seem incapable of appreciating the subtlety, elegance and nuance of a Loire chenin or red Burgundy. Personally, I think these "hedonistic fruit bomb" wines de-sensitize the palate. Another interesting developement was Parker's decision to exclude all wines scored under 85 from the WA. How does the consumer know if the wine they like was not scored because the points were too low or RP never got around to tasting it?

The bottom line here is that any sommelier who listens to a customer order a £150 bottle of wine and turns around and recommends and brings an £800 bottle without disclosing this fact is a thief and a charlatan. The restaurant should eat the bottle and fire the alleged sommelier IMO.

FG, I understand your concern. I did not use different bottles for the clipped and un-clipped pours for obvious reasons: bottle variation. I have poured one or two bottles of wine in my career - once the cork was pulled, I poured the un-clipped glasses without tipping the bottle unduly, then applied the clip and continued pouring. Agitation was at the minimum. Aeration was less than 30 seconds. A noticable difference was observed in all my tests. It is interesting that docsconz finds the opposite. The first pour of all the wines went into my glass.

Great description! doc, I quite agree. I always prefer the strange turn of phrase to the "gobs and gobs" approach.

Or a piece of cheese.

Dear FG, I am neither a scientist, nor do I play one on TV. I conducted the first test that I described to see if there indeed was an effect on the wine or if this was a waste of my time. I decided that it wasn't a waste of time. The results surprised everyone, including me. Every person who participated was skeptical. After the testing we had a discussion about whether the "effects" of the Wine Clip were psychological. We decided that they weren't.

Greetings, eGulletters. These are the results of 3 separate testing sessions conducted by me this week and the conclusions I drew. I invited co-workers, chefs, wine importers and friends to help evaluate The Wine Clip. Dennis was kind enough to send one quickly. I chose to use different methodologies for each test. I will explain each as I go on. Test #1 Wednesday, October 8, 2003 at the Chef's Table, Michel Richard Citronelle, Washington, DC For this test I gathered 5 participants, including myself. One chef (MR himself), one wine importer and two co-managers of mine. Since this was the inaugural test, 4 wines were selected and poured in sequence into identical glasses with the subjects watching. The first pour was un-clipped, the second clipped. The first two wines had been opened 20 minutes prior to the testing sessions. The wines were: 1 Martue "Especial" 2001, Castilla, Spain ( a cabernet-merlot blend) 2 Abadal 2000, Plada Bages, Spain (merlot) 3 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru "Perrieres", Domaine Michel Guillon 2000 (pinot noir) 4 Fugue de Nenin, Pomerol 1998 (merlot-cabernet franc) Changes were noted by 4 out of 5 testers in both Spanish wines. The clipped wines had a more subdued bouquet and a slightly more generous mouthfeel. This got the ball rolling. The Gevrey-Chambertin exhibited the most extreme changes. The wine was poured right after the cork was pulled. The un-clipped glasses had beautiful toasted oak and cherry scents in the bouquet. The clipped glasses were observed to have a more subdued bouquet, the toastiness of the oak suppressed now. A slightly smoother edge on the clipped wine as the wine finished. The Pomerol also exhibited changes, but not neccessarily for the better. Again, the bouquet was suppressed with the clipped glasses and the wine had an agreableness the un-clipped wine did not show at first. As the moderator, I asked these simple questions: Do you notice a difference? 5 of us said yes Does the wine taste better? 4 said yes, one no Does this thing work? 4 said yes, one said no Further observations: It was noticed that 10 minutes after the test, the differences in the wine specimens was much diminished and harder to detect. Test #2 Friday, October 10, 2003, Chef's Table One co-worker, one wine importer with the best palate I know. This test was conducted blind. The subjects covered their eyes as the wines were poured. Two wines were selected: 1 Gevrey-Chambertin "Vielles Vignes" AOC, Domaine Michel Guillon 1999 2 Clos du Marquis, St. Julien, Bordeaux 1996 For the first round, with the Burgundy, I poured the wine into the same glass for each participant, that is to say, un-clipped wine went into glass 1 for each participant, clipped wine in glass 2. I poured the wine into the opposite glasses for each participant on the second round with the Bordeaux, that is to say, the clipped wine went into glass 1 for one participant and glass 2 for the other one. As the moderator, after each round I asked these questions: Which wine tastes better? In both cases the clipped wine was chosen. Do you notice a difference? Both subjects said yes. Does this product amaze you? Both subjects said yes. Further observations: Olivier the Importer picked the clipped wine right away in both cases. He is the importer of the delicious wines of Michel Guillon, so he was familiar with the wine's characteristics. Because I had mixed up the glasses among the subject, the other person initially was hesitant about her choice. When pressed, she admitted that she like the other glass better. I then told her that this was indeed the clipped wine . The pinot noir showed the most drastic change. Again, 10-15 minutes later, the differences were much harder to discern. Test #3 Saturday, October 11, 2003, Citronelle Bar For this test I invited the estimable DonRocks to be the subject. Don is the best blind taster I have ever observed. Two wines were selected for this test: 1 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru "Perrieres", Domaine Michel Guillon 2000 2 Chateau Maucamps, Haut Medoc, Bordeaux, 1995 Two methods were employed for this test. The Burgundy was poured first. The subject left the room when the wines were poured, first un-clipped, then clipped. After examining both wines, I asked Don: Is there a difference? He said yes Which wine tastes better? He indicated the clipped wine initially. For the second round with the Bordeaux, I poured 3 glasses, one clipped, two un-clipped. After examining the glasses, Don was able to identify the clipped wine. This is where the trouble started. He thought one glass was definitely clipped and he identified it correctly. One glass he correctly identified as un-clipped. It was that pesky third glass that caused consternation. He suggested that perhaps I had poured clipped and un-clipped wine into the middle glass. At this point, he left the room again and I shifted the glasses around. He was able to identify the clipped wine again. The other two glasses were ultimately decided to be not clipped. I asked these questions: Did the clipped wine taste better? He was undecided Was there definitely a difference? He said yes. Would you pay eighty bucks for this? He said "Hell no" Since Don is a passionate winelover, we began a discussion about the morality or immorality of zapping fine wine with neodymium boron magnets. Further observations and conclusions: 1) In all cases a difference was noticed between wines poured straight from the bottle and wines poured using The Wine Clip. 2) In most of the cases the clipped wine was thought to be better tasting. 3) In all of the cases it was observed that 15 minutes after the test had been conducted, the differences in the two wines were almost imperceptible. Personally, I found it interesting that different kinds of wine reacted diffferently, with pinot noir the most extreme example. Only red wines were used in these tests. I intend to experiment with white wines in the near future. I demonstrated The Wine Clip with some customers one of the evenings. They were amazed at the results, too. I hope that these observations are helpful to those interested in purchacing this product. It does most of what the literature that comes with it says: it makes wine taste as if it has been breathing for 30 minutes. It does not make wine taste as if it has been aged for many years as purported. Thanks for the opportunity to test this product. Mark Slater Chef Sommelier, Michel Richard Citronelle Washington, DC Bon Vin ne peut mentir ! (Good wine cannot lie )

You have it backwards. If given the choice, BK wins every time.

Wow, dood. That is like a todally cool idea.

Steven, The question you just asked Rus is, I have to say , the most interesting question and topic that I have ever read on eG. I hope Russ rocks with this one. Hey Russ! (Russ and I are acquainted).

doc, There are reasons Bob doesn't review Burgundy anymore. He made some serious and important enemies there when he was writing about it. It is Pierre's job now.

So doc, What have you learned from this? Guigal makes shitty wines, or Wine Spectator is a suck up joke of a publication? I can assure you that I can show some Guigal wines that will blow you away. I am currently pouring Guigal CNP 2001 by the glass. Parker actually drank my last 2 bottles of Guigal La Mouline '99 ( $500 each) in my restaurant. He gave them 100 points, BTW.

Add Elliott Staren's Wide World of Wine on Wisconsin Avenue in upper Georgetown.