posted on 12 June 2009 by jeff
Diet Merlot anyone?
A few weeks ago the Times (UK) published a story about the proliferation of aluminum cans in the wine world. Wine can sales are on the rise, and moreover, the can-makers are predicting huge growth. Let me be the first, (forgetting all of the can industry people who said this before me) to say that I am all about this development. Single servings of wine in a can? How could this not be awesome?!
A lot has changed in the wine packaging world recently. Stelvin closures, glass closures and man’s-most-useless closures, (synthetic corks for you uninitiated) are everywhere. Moreover, we’re all familiar by now with the “premium wine cask,” (that’s what complete idiots call a cardboard box). With the exception of shamefully-stupid synthetic corks, these are all pretty useful ideas. They don’t really hurt the wines they secure, and they offer consumers with options: consumers love options.
But none of these have anywhere near the potential of can-wine. Part of
Bikinis and beer cans we've seen, but how about bikinis and cans of burgundy?
what is so awesome about beer is that you can have just one. You’re always free to have more, or less, of your current beverage. You can’t do that with wine. Sure, you can go to a restaurant and order a glass of wine, but you’re paying a whole lot more for that wine because the restaurant now has a whole bottle that they may, or may not, be able to use. Boxed wines have partially solved this issue, but a single-serving packaging format has the potential to make wine into the kind of truly broad spectrum, mass-appeal beverage that beer is.
If canned wine is to succeed, it will have to first pass muster with retailers and restaurateurs. Assuredly there will be some backlash from some members of the wine community. Wine is something of a mysterious world, and those of us who live in it professionally can sometimes be a bit overzealous in safeguarding it’s secrets against those we fear might corrupt, or subvert it. In reality, however, canned wine will never be capable of assaulting the lofty heights of wine’s ivory tower.
Much like boxed wine, these cans will be filled with simple, drinking wines. They’ll not be age-worthy, nor will many of them be worthy of serious discussion. That doesn’t mean that none of them will be worth drinking. If you can find something as like-able as Alandra in a box, you’ll almost certainly be able to find equally tasty wines in cans before long. Let’s be clear, I’ll kick the first fellow who attempts to put St. Julien in a can squarely in his marbles, and I’ll insult his mother for good measure while he’s rolling about on the floor. But, if someone fills a can with a delightfully crisp and refreshing Sauvignon Blanc, I’ll buy the very first 6-pack. That is a promise.
J.
Tags: alandra, boxed wine, cans, marbles, premium wine cask, sauvignon blanc, synthetic cork
Category: The Wine Blog | Comments (1)
posted on 6 June 2009 by jeff
Inexpensive sparkling wine imports, namely Prosecco and Cava, have received a lot of press in the last 18 months. Hoping to relate to a hipper crowd, media outlets like the Wall Street Journal have been frantically trying to place themselves on the cutting-edge of wine consumption: five years too late. I love Prosecco, and I love Cava too. But I’d like to suggest a couple of sparkling options you might not have encountered yet that tend to be just as affordable and equally compelling.
Odd Aussies
Australian wine makers are courageous; they will try things that producers from older regions would never attempt, for fear of breaking tradition. De Bortoli’s new line of sparklers is a perfect example of this. Named Emeri for a family matriarch, the line includes a sparkling Sauvignon Blanc. Fresh, herbaceous, lime fruit and a well-balanced effervescence make this the coolest beach wine anywhere.
Emeri de Bortoli Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc: $12.99
Sekt
Few have ever been accused of associating the Germans with jollity. That being said, and evening spent with their native sparkler, Sekt, is almost always delightful. Most Sekt producers us the Italian Charmat method to craft their wines, which gives Sekt the same refreshingly volatile carbonation that Prosecco displays. Henkell’s trocken Sekt contains more residual sugar and adds a layer of richness to the sharp dryness of brut Sekt.
Henkell Trocken Brut Sekt: $15.99
Loire Valley
The Loire never fails to supply drinkers with delicious, and affordable, wines. Remy Pannier is a Loire stalwart, and a substantial portion of their yearly production is devoted to their Marquis de la Tour sparkler. Composed largely of Chenin Blanc, this bubbly definitely exemplifies Chenin’s deliciously crisp and dry, fruitiness.
Marquis de la Tour Brut: $11.99
J.
Tags: cava, Chenin Blanc, emeri de bortoli, henkell, Loire, marquis de la tour, prosecco, remy-pannier, sauvignon blanc, sekt, sparkling wine, wall street journal
Category: The Wine Blog | Comments (0)
posted on 7 May 2009 by sarah
Tortoise Creek Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, & Viognier
You learn a lot when you walk a dog. In the past three years of trolling the streets of Somerville and Cambridge with my beagle Charlie I’ve learned that folks over the age of 75 love to complain about garbage can placement, dog-owners of unfriendly beasts tend to walk head down and cross the street when you approach, and people leave chicken bones absolutely everywhere. It’s as if chicken bones are not considered litter since at one point they were part of a living organism. If the gutters were teaming with steaks or pork loins I would be less perturbed due to the decreased choking hazard they pose to dogs. Are chicken wings the new “on-the-go” food? Are south-beach diet obsessed moms going to replace oranges and cookies with chicken wings at soccer games? Are they going to kick “Go-gurt” and granola bars off the shelves? All I know is that I would like to start a movement to replace the wing with the nugget. I have pulled enough half-eaten filthy chicken wing bones out of Charlie’s mouth moments before what I fear is certain death.
What do nasty images of chicken bones have to do with this week’s Tortoise Creek wines? Good question.
In order to develop some semblance of an opinion about wine you need to walk the same four blocks around it. Over time you will begin to notice differences in grape, vintage, vineyard location, and wine-making technique. I have by no means trolled the streets of wine enough to consider myself an expert but this week I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to do a comparative study on three wines from the same vineyard. For an amateur, this is a great way to hone in on the nuances.
I explored three white wines from Tortoise Creek Vineyard. I found that the chardonnay was 100% chardonnay with nice overtones of melon. The sauvignon blanc was crisp and dry, I tasted grapefruit. I think my favorite was the viognier, it tasted like summer in a bottle to me. I could imagine sipping this before dining al fresco with friends on a warm evening.
Just as I noticed some differences between the wines I also noticed similarities. All of the wines are noticeably missing any taste of oak. They are all refreshing and make me smile, thinking of days with my feet up on a porch.
The Tortoise Creek wine makers Mel and Janie Master understand the richness of the Languedoc, and with their passion for good wine and good food, are commitment to producing quality wines at value driven prices. The Languedoc region of southern France is a land of many different eco-climates, soils, and weather conditions - reflected in the countless subtleties of its many wines. The remarkable weather conditions and vast array of quality growing areas give each wine a unique taste.
The Tortoise Creek chardonnay would be delightful with a chicken nugget.
Tags: beagle, chardonnay, compartive studies, go-gurt, Sarah Osteen, sauvignon blanc, Tortoise Creek, viognier
Category: Girl on Grape | Comments (0)
posted on 6 March 2009 by dan
This’ll be my 2nd bumbling on sauvignon blanc today. I know. It’s winter. So it goes.
3 Brooms is from New Zealand. They’re run by Barker’s Marque, who have a bunch of cool wines; check ‘em out here. The other day, we had one of the owners in the shop, the Barker brother with the misfortune of owning a Kiwi winery and also living on the North Shore of MA. Sucks for him. Regardless… he told us this story behind the name of the wine:
Back in the day, in Britain, which is where the Barkers hail from originally (Barker being the family who owns the vineyard), there was a local horse race at Epsom Downs entirely lacking in competent beer supply. So the Barker’s set up a beer stand. Which beer stand, their various (grateful) patrons pointed out, had no actual signage informing potential-patrons of its beer-carrying status. So those past Barkers looked around, found three brooms lying about, and strung them up on a pole above the stand. 3 Brooms. Get it? Which story may not hold all that much interest, but it is cool for this: the present-day Barkers, when puzzling over a name for their wine, looked back to their own history… the wine, therefore (sorry, I hate people who use that word) is connected to this like self-perpetuating history. In these trying times of cultural bastardization, I think that’s something worth mentioning. Whatever else 3 Brooms is, it imagines itself in its own terms. (for the Barkers story of 3 Brooms, complete with photos click this link)
It’s own terms being this: a g* damn solid s.b. from New Zealand. I happen to dig New Zealand wines, especially of this varietal, but then, I also dig white grapefruit juice. Acid here pinches my tongue and then creeps up the sides on the finish. Lots of sharp fruits. Mostly, what’s so cool is that drinking this wine rearranges the way my tongue feels at rest. It rouses it from his ordinarily languid laziness, tickles it with this like-exquisite pucker.
Try it for yourself, of course. And feel free to come hit me with your empty bottle if you disagree with my humble opinion. I say so with due confidence that the bottle is actually empty and that you’re a liar.
Tags: 3 Brooms, Barkers Marque, New Zealand, sauvignon blanc, Three Brooms, white wine
Category: Wine Reviews | Comments (3)
posted on 5 March 2009 by dan
One of our wine reps walks in the store around noon today asking do we want to taste some wine? with this bag stuffed with bottles hanging off his shoulder. And he pulls out six bottles of Charles Krug: five varietals from the 1861 appellation, plus a bottle of Generations, which has a little bit of everything in it. And so we say ok and we grab some cups and this rep pours out some sauvignon blanc and so we sip it and Jeff says wow. Which is notable.
For those of you unfamiliar with Charles Krug, the winery has the distinction of Peter Mondavi ownership and operation. Peter Mondavi and the rest of the Mondavi’s are to wine what the Kennedy’s once were to Am. govt. Check out The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty. The Amazon product review calls it “a tale of genius, sibling rivalry, and betrayal”. What with all the drama, it’s easy to forget the Mondavi family still produces some incredible bottles. These 1861 Charles Krug’s come from a winery recently remodeled after the original winery est. in that year, which was also the first winery est. in Napa. The 1861 is a brand-spanking-new label with an implicit statement of its own deep-rooted history.
As to this sauv blanc: function follows form. Grassy and reeking of citrus like any good s.b., it manages to straddle the old world and the new world with (frankly) surprising dexterity. Softer around the edges than its traditional French counterparts, but with a firmer center than most of the Cali interpretations. It’s immediately drinkable, but it leaves a lasting impression. Which is what makes Jeff say wow and I say yeah. The rep smiles, being a rep and all and enjoying making buyers say wow. It turns us into suckers.
For those of you unfamiliar with Jeff, he buys all the wine for dT and, plus, is in possession of an oft-frustrating depth of wine-knowledge. Like most in possession of such a knowledge, he tends to lean more towards the old school, citing claims of delicacy and subtlety and whatnot. California, then, and all the new school hedonists are needlessly over-the-top. So it’s rare a Napa wine will make Jeff say wow, but this is a Napa wine and Jeff says wow.
dT’s crazy today: we just got a whole coffee station (coffee by the cup or by the pound now available, by the way), we just got new signs for our wine deparment, a whole portfolio of interesting beers just became available to us… but after everything, what seems the most notable is that a wine from California made Jeff say wow.
Tags: American White, California White, Napa, sauvignon blanc
Category: The Wine Blog | Comments (0)
