The Vino Voices Site Has Moved!
The web address of Vino Voices is actually Vinoexpressions.com.
Tomorrow (Tuesday), the Vino Voices web address will become VinoVoices.com.
The site has a fresh look, and all past articles (and Forbes articles) are now easier to search for and find.
If you are a subscriber and for some reason do not receive news of a new post at the new site within 48 hours, let me know!
Enjoy….
A Tale Of Two Prague Wine Bars
Some wines produced within the Czech Republic are daring and magnificent — tightrope walkers that beautifully balance finesse and control against staid comforts of plummy fruit and sandpaper tannins. Here is an invisible dance of gusto, prodded by the same bold mentality that sent Velvet Revolutionaries to chuck their ossified Soviet past. This landscape now shouts vibrant experimentation. Many other regions (including Bordeaux) could learn from sipping today’s best Czech juice.
Below are tales of two wine bars in Prague. One is local, low key and serves not unattractive bulk wine; the other focuses on quality for mainstream visitors.
Both are lively. One is even lovable.
One: The Sketchy Alley Wine Bar
There are two pathways to the Ma Skleničku Wine Bar within the city of Prague. Both are sketchy. One appears unlikely, because it passes through the inner bowels of a low key and dodgy looking arcade off Jindrišská street. The second option (which I took) leads to the end of an extremely sketchy alleyway. Deep inside this tunnel I was ready to pivot and hoof out for fear of getting mugged until I heard voices on the other side of a dumpster. They sounded joyous, not threatening. I tiptoed three steps forward, craned my neck and saw outdoor tables with wine glasses.
Score!
There were tables in the alleyway, as well as couches in the arcade. There were more seats inside. I entered. Quelle surprise. Adjacent to this run-down alley way, beautifully dressed ladies and dapper men sipped and bantered.
I sat.
Eight spigots sprouted out of one wall. A young guy with black hair pulled on any of these to pour wine.
I ordered white.
‘Ryzlink?’ He asked. ‘We have two types. One is smooth. The other tough.’
Tough.
I loved this place.
He suggested I start with smooth.
He poured a generous pour. The label above the spigot classified the juice as Moravian Table Wine, made from the Ryzlink Vlašsky (Welschriesling ) grape. No year was listed.
The décor was sparse. There was no music. No wine list. No charming server. No olives or bread. Water was tap water.
Jackpot.
Locals sat inside. Thursday evening youngsters chatters with animated politeness.
Wooden tables were small, likely hewn from a Czech equivalent of IKEA. The room lacked Aussie, Hanky, Brit or Chinese accents. A guy with purple hair tried picking up magnificent women by spouting ‘hakuna matatu’ in Swahili and insisting he buy them shots (they all declined). A drooling dog roamed across the floor.
Backstreet Prague. The real deal.
The largest white wall was pasted with brown letters that spelt grape varieties—from Chardonnay to Ryzlink Rynsky. A 30-something year-old well-coiffed man in a pinstripe suite and bow-tie chatted with casually attired coworkers. A blonde and brunette at the adjacent table wore stunning dresses that could have belonged to royalty.
A woman in high heels and ripped jeans with a tattooed shoulder breezed inside. Her blouse slung over one shoulder and flaunted curves, which incentivized Mr. Purple Hair to hover close and offer her a shot. She summarily declined. (Offering shots in a wine bar did not seem to be a particularly intelligent pickup strategy.) He next eyed me and smiled and I looked away, wary of getting near any whiff of his vodka.
I next ordered ‘tough’ ryzlink. The bartender told how customers included people who lived on the block. Apparently, and thankfully.
I ordered a final glass: rosé. This ruby dark juice from southeastern Moravia was truly tough. I whiffed diesel, asparagus and vinegar aromas, then tasted oatcakes.
The inner bar included glimmers of style. Chess pieces filled empty drawers on a shelf. There were enough skirts, machismo, jewels, embroidered blouses and preppy shirts to fill a king’s party chamber during some moonlit Moravian feast. Pickup lines flew, but most well-dressed locals greeted their comrades with discourse and genuine enthusiasm.
There were no free snacks. A blackboard listed available dishes—from Kachní Paštika (duck paté) for about $2.80, to Klobásy (grilled sausages) for $5.
I stood and paid. Three sizable glasses cost less than six bucks. The experience was precious, but it was getting dark and time to eat. I exited and turned left, this time staying well clear of that alleyway.
Two: Quality Although Slightly Commercial.
I stopped into Vinograf Wine Bar Senovazne (there are two associated Vinografs in Prague), which is neither pretentious nor overtly commercial. The long bar made from hand hewn wood is attractive; locals hang out to read newspapers. Long necked Riesling magnums stood on adjacent low tables where customers sat in comfortable chairs chatting while work partners uncorked after-toil beverages.
An electronic tablet menu in multiple languages here breaks down wines by the glass, of which on the day I visited there were 10 whites, two rosés, nine reds, two sparkling wines and 18 choices from bottles sealed by Coravin. The young servers love wine, and are jazzed to share information and advice.
I began with a 2017 white made from the Ryzlink Vlašsky (Welschriesling) grape from the ‘flowerline’ series, made by Mikrosvín Mikulov winery. Produced in the southeast Moravia wine region, this wine (no, it’s not Riesling) with a floral nose includes gritty, salty minerality in the mouth—a premium balanced beauty with cheekfuls of luscious acidity and crunchy minerals. The high latitude cool climate crispness includes warmth from summer sun kissed soils.
The second wine was a 2018 Grüner Veltliner (known in Czech as Veltlínski zelené) from Ilias winery. Grüner Veltliner is one of the more widely planted white grapes in the country. This white from the Mikulovská sub-region of Moravia is more Kansas or Missouri than California—a full flush of juice to enjoy a barbecue with—sweet and easy. It is as open as a Pinot Blanc but includes a sliver of spice in the mouth.
There are several small wine bars in Prague. What they lack in variety of juice they make up for in abundance of local character. When in doubt, ask locals where to go. Some of the best Czech wines are scintillating: balanced, bold and beautifully crafted.
My latest Forbes pieces include Biondi Sant from Tuscany, Château Ausone from Bordeaux and far more about Czech wines.
And, yes, the new website is still being prepared!
Thanks for tuning in again.
Sizzling Summer Food And Wine Pairings
Wildly Winning Food and Wine Combos
As spring merged with summer the scents of fresh food and light wines have splattered across the days. From Majorca to Tuscany to Bordeaux — below are a few meals I was fortunate to sample during these past months, concocted by chefs of renown and paired with wines of solid repute.
These food and wine pairings provide contrasts that showcase Spanish Mediterranean shoreline foods matched with organic and orange wines; Tuscan mountain fare paired with traditional Italian classic vintages, and southern French foods matched with wines from Bordeaux winemakers.
Many of these menus illustrate food and wine pairing principles. These include:
- Food and wine pairing can be more of an art form than an exact science. Don’t lose sleep over it, and have fun experimenting.
- Consider dominance: a light wine may get lost if paired with too hearty a beef dish, and a hearty and aged red wine may overpower a light salad. Avoid having either a dish or a wine smother its pairing in terms of power, sweetness or acidity.
- Sparkling wines are most versatile, because they include relatively high acidity and some sweetness (e.g. — champagne paired with cheese stuffed fried olives).
- Pairings can be complementary or contrasting. For complementary — consider acidic sparkling wine paired with red snapper and pickled green tomatoes, or a heavy super-Tuscan red blend matched with grilled boar. For contrasting — consider sweet and fruity components of a Saint-Émilion red blend contrasting against Tandoori spices and pepper reduction over poached lobster.
- Let the best wines take center stage. Remember, a good wine may take 20 years to be ready, while a good meal takes a few hours to cook. If you have a special wine, let it dominate (but not smother) the pairing to highlight its character. An example taken from below is when a 2010 Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé is matched in heft, but not overshadowed by, a dish of pigeon and foie-gras.
The four selected dinners are below.
Setting One …
The Dinner and Location –
Palma de Majorca, on the rooftop of the seven-story home of Swedish entrepreneur Konrad Bergström, who just launched a new fleet of luxury electric boats for sale.
The Chef –
Chef Frida Ronge flew in from Stockholm to prepare our amazing dinner (she is Culinary Director of Tak, in Stockholm). Frida is an award winning chef and author of the cookbook Rå Som Sushi.
The Theme –
Cutting edge and healthy cuisine paired with organic, natural, orange and biodynamic wines selected by Stefan Lundgren, a Swedish art and wine dealer who lays low on the island now and then.
The Food & Wine Pairings –
Hatt & Söner Champagne—Grand Cuvée Quattuor 2013 – 100% Chardonnay
Matched with …
Various pre-dinner snacks, including maki with green chilli, crab and avocado; green asparagus miso emulsion and salmon roe; grilled pulpo and squid ink, and cheese stuffed panko fried olives.
[Pairing Note: For this mixed bag of appetizers, champagne fits all]
***
2017 Sparkling white wine made from 100% Bacchus grapes from Germany—2naturkinder pet nat.
Matched with …
Red snapper sashimi in shrimp bouillon with beans and pickled green tomatoes
[Pairing Note: Light white acidic bubbly matches seafood and greens]
***
2017 German white wine made of 100% Johanniter from Gustavshof in Rheinhessen
Matched with …
Zucchini and squid noodles with wasibi tahini, cress and horseradish
***
2017 L’Ephémère Blanc blend of Grenache Blanc, Clairette and Roussanne from Julien Peyras of the Languedoc-Rousillon, France
Matched with …
Fermented salad with lemon, thyme and almond milk
***
2016 De Sol A Sol—Tinaja Airén made from 100% Airén grape, an orange wine from Esencia Rural, La Mancha, Toledo, Spain
Matched with …
Tataki grilled mackerel with gooseberries, yuzu koshu and salsa verde
***
2017 La sAoulée red wine from 100% Gamay grape, made by Nathalie Banes of Beaujolais, France
Matched with …
Chirashi sushi yellowfin tuna, tamago and furikake from Sweden
[Pairing Note: This light red Beaujolais will pair with poultry, as well as strong fish]
***
2011 Mas Zenitude blend of 75% Carignan and 25% Syrah from Languedoc-Rousillon in Fance
Matched with …
Granita with cherry and hibiscus syrup
***
2018 Tout Terriblement sparkling white wine from 100% Gewurtztraminer from Phillipe Brand of Alsace, France
Matched with
Guanaja chocolate with olive oil and salt
& & &
Setting Two …
The Dinner and Location –
The two Michelin star Caino Restaurant is located in the small village of Montemerano in the hils of Tuscany, Italy. It is close to the 11th century castle of famed winemaker Jacopo Biondi Santi, who hosted our dinner and spent the evening telling grand tales of making wine, hunting wild boar and negotiating to buy Denzel Washington’s Humvee while he was visiting the U.S.
The Chef –
Valeria Piccini is the two Michelin star chef serving up plates at Caino in the Tuscan hills. She is also the author of several gorgeous cookbooks.
The Theme –
Tuscany! Beef and grilled wild boar matched with Sangiovese based wines.
The Food & Wine Pairings –
2018 J Rosé from Castello di Montepò
Matched with …
Maremmana beef carpaccio, peposo style
***
2015 Sassalloro Castello di Montepò, 100% Sangiovese
Matched with …
Vignarola’s Risotto with smoked lamb tartare
***
2011 Schidione Castello di Montepò, a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot
Matched with …
Grilled wild boar
[Pairing Note: This hefty red meets and matches the taste of wild red meat]
& & &
Setting Three …
The Dinner and Location –
Rooftop of CAPC Museum of Contemporary Art in Bordeaux city — Hosted by Château Cordillan-Bages
The Theme –
This was 15th anniversary dinner for JM Cazes wines.
The Food & Wine Pairings –
2011 Châteauneuf-du-Pape from Domaine des Sénéchaux
Matched with …
7-hour confit of Pauillac lamb with lemon and rosemary
[Pairing Note: The strong wine structure complements the lamb; the notes of herbs of provence within the wine match the rosemary]
***
2013 Xisto from DOC Douro
Matched with …
Roquefort espuma, roasted hazelnut crumble and diced celery
***
2016 Michel Lynch Prestige—Sauternes
Matched with …
Gariguette strawberries from Médoc with rhubarb ice cream and vanilla and lime cream
[Pairing Note: Make your sweet wine sweeter than dessert; but fruit can handle more acidity, so the wine can be slightly drier]
& & &
Setting Four …
The Dinner and Location –
This Jurade Dinner was held in Saint Emilion at Château Soutard.
Twice a year, the robed members of the ancient ‘jurade’ order of Saint-Émilion, protectors and lovers of wine, meet to induct new members and enjoy a splendid meal matched with fabulous local wines.
The Theme –
This year’s Jurade meal at Château Soutard kicked off Vinexpo wine trade fair, held in the city of Bordeaux.
The Food & Wine Pairings –
Chilled Béarn corn-bean soup, smoked eel, pickled griolle mushrooms and sage
Matched with …
2016 L’Archange from vignobles Chatonnet, Saint-Émilion, and
2016 Château Lanbersac Cuvée Or (red) from Françoise et Philippe Lannoye of Puisseguin Saint-Émilion
***
Poached blue lobster with Tandoori spices, carrot mousse with citrus, Timut pepper reduction with fresh coriander
Matched with …
2011 Château Tour Baladoz, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, and
2010 Château Grand Corbin Manuel, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru
[Pairing Note: Because Saint-Émilion wines are red, pairing them with seafood can mean matching sweetness with spice, or acidity with cream, or both]
***
Farm-raised pigeon and Wellington duck foie-gras with steam-boiled and browned turnips and peaty sauce
Matched with …
2010 Château Soutard Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé, and
2009 Château Laroze Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé
***
Matured cheeses, followed by bay leaf panacotta, Menton lemon jelly, almond crumble and gariguette strawberries
Matched with …
2004 Château Troplong Mondot Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé, and
1989 Clos Fourtet Saint-Émilion 1er Grand Cru Classé
[Pairing Note: These wines are not dry, but the medium dryness and fruit will match the sweetness and acidity of dessert]
& & &
OTHER NEWS –
My Recent Forbes posts include the following …
Tenuta Luce Roots Its Wine Reputation In The Hills Of Montalcino
How a Penniless Ten-Year Old Became A Shoemaker Of Dreams
Tuscany’s Il Boro Village blends Tradition and Luxury with Forward Thinking
Why the Collio of Friuli Delivers Crackling and Creamy Wines
France is Changing Key Wine Regulations
This Powerful Little Grape is About To Change the Wine Scene
Why Sicily’s Mount Etna is a Hot Spot For Wine Production
Wine Books –
I’m now reading Wine Reads – A Literary Anthology of Wine Writing, edited by Jay McInerney. This compelling collection includes 27 excellent selections, including: the opening chapter of the book from which the Sideways movie was made; a history of events that led Robert Mondavi to create his own winery; a fictional piece about a wine tasting by Roald Dahl — author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
New Vino Voices Web Log –
Still under development! But, getting closer ..
Uncork The Vibrancy of Friuli Wines
Castello di Spessa, Friuli
Some Recent News –
- The new Vino Voices website is still under development.
- Malibu Magazine recently republished an article I wrote about a female vintner and family near Malibu (page 168 of this link)
- InsideHook will soon publish my interview highlighting wine travel advice.
- I am collating all wine ‘scores and notes’ from past years and will make these available in some form later this year—whether as PDF, or in a database.
- My latest Forbes pieces include the story of a natural wine loving Swede who just launched a line of luxury electric boats, a Bordeaux wine critic’s visit to Switzerland to encourage ‘outsider’ diversity in wine choices, five wineries to watch out for this month, insights from 11 entrepreneurs and adventurers, and mutual wine influences between China and France.
- Forthcoming Forbes articles will cover wines from the Pyrenees in France, Sicilian wines, Tuscan and Friulian wines and an interview with Alain Vauthier, owner of Château Ausone in Saint-Émilion.
Volcanic Mount Etna in Sicily
Keystone Contacts –
During recent wanderings in Sicily and Tuscany I met a pair of New Yorkers who also happen to have a house in Nerja, Spain, where my parents also once owned property. They write bestselling books about wine, which look enticing. It was good to meet these ‘world wine guys’ Mike and Jeff, who are also regular contributors to The Wine Enthusiast Magazine. I also met Syrah Queen Rupal Shankar—whose Instagram account is on fire with excellent photos of vino and geography. Together we spent time with Ryan O’Hara, who writes The Fermented Fruit blog, and is also a co-owner of a grand new restaurant in Washington D.C. And it’s always good to spend time with Sicilian wine friends Salvatore and Andrea …
Friulian vineyards
Friuli –
This post will be relatively short—but I wanted to mention the beautiful white wines of Friuli, in northeastern Italy.
Frico food in Friuli with a lively Pinot Grigio rosé wine
‘Friuli Venezia Giulia’ is one of 20 administrative regions within Italy. Those from Friulia, however, will adamantly tell you that they are not Venezians or Giulians. Friuli has its own language, a conglomeration of influences from Celtic, Lombards, Visigoths and others because the region was basically the geographical door mat for invaders during the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.
Ribolla Gialla grapes from Collio grow over acidic ‘ponca’ marine sandstone
Historical relationships between Friuli and the adjacent country of Slovenia were described to me as that of a ‘cat and dog.’ Because of successive waves of invaders, the Friulian people from the mountains learned to be reserved and somewhat secretive. Apparently even getting a neighbor to share a recipe can be difficult.
Sardine appetizer with Ribolla Gialla wine
Friulian white wines include those made from Ribolla Gialla grapes (which poet Boccaccio once listed as enticing gluttony among sinners). Other frequently grown white grapes include Pinot Bianco, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio. I tasted a handful of wines made by Attems (owned by the Frescobaldi family) and although I’ll expand on those in a longer article for a publication, the impression was emphatically positive.
Fresh fruit and grappa after dinner
I even considered some Friulian Sauvignon Blanc tasted to be ‘Burgundian’ (even though that grape is little grown in Burgundy) because of its overall creaminess, quality and balance. Pinot Grigio from Friuli can include florals as light and distinct as those from wines made from Viognier grapes, while wines made from Ribolla Gialla—sometimes aged exclusively in acacia casks—can combine the creaminess of oatmeal in the mouth with the acidity of plump gooseberries. Delicious.
Winemaker Daniele Vuerich inspects acidic marine sandstone ‘Ponca’ soils within Friuli
Some Friulian vines grow over ‘ponca’ soils—marine marl and sandstone laid down some 50 million years ago when the terrain was below the ocean. These easily breakable soils can result in slopes disintegrating unless they are anchored with vegetation, such as apple trees. The soil’s high acidity combined with cool night temperatures contributes to mallic acidity of wines.
Clio Cicuto, a Friulian and Tuscan wine guide
Food in Friuli is also excellent. Whereas fish, pasta and rice were historically abundant in Venice and Trieste (a sea shore city in Giulia), the more mountainous Friuli region historically produced potatoes, cheese, barley and beans. Dishes here are complemented by meats, typically secured by locals who hunt wild boar, deer and pheasants. One winemaker I spoke with, Gianni Napolitano, told how it took him four years of taking courses and exams before he could be licensed to hunt. Such is the thinking in Friuli—that quality and capability in any endeavor—whether learning to hunt or to make wines— takes time and patience.
Winemaker Gianni Napolitano
Again, I shall write more about specific Friuli wines in another publication. I just wanted to highlight the beauty of the wines and food from this region.
Finally, a Big Thank You to Jill and Jim McCullouch of New Zealand, who visit Bordeaux every year, and en route through the UK always buy me copies of Decanter Magazine’s special Bordeaux summer issues! Much appreciated …
Thanks again for tuning in.
Socially Unbuttoning Bordeaux
This Vino Voices website/weblog is being redesigned by a professional (finally!)
It will soon be more compact and include a visual menu of previous posts.
Stay tuned.
Also, the Etalon Rouge wine website is also being redesigned, and is temporarily offline.
My recent Forbes pieces are here.
Forthcoming Forbes posts will include the story of a natural-wine loving Swedish entrepreneur who just launched a range of luxury electric boats, as well as notes about a vertical tasting of Ausone and Smith Haut Lafitte wines in Switzerland. There will be an article about the mutual influence of the French and Chinese in the wine world, and a list of five wineries (and their best wines) that are worth watching right now—including selections from the islands of Sicily and Majorca, as well as from the French Languedoc.
Château Soutard in Saint-Émilion, lit up during the annual ‘jurade’ dinner
When spring erupts in southwest France, so do social events. This post covers a few of the usual wine and food events here.
View of vines in the commune of Cars, Bordeaux
La Roche Chalais – where zero degrees longitude intersects the Dordogne River
ONE: Open Doors in Bourg.
This is an annual event in the nearby region (and town) of Bourg where wineries open their doors for two days to visitors. This year it was was renamed ‘Tous ô Chais’ (all cellars) instead of ‘Portes Ouverts’ (open doors).
The premise remains the same.
First, pick up a map listing participating wineries. Next, call friends to join you in visiting several wine châteaux for long tastings in a gorgeous rolling countryside.
Five of us spent an afternoon exploring, and met some local characters shown below.
Not surprisingly in France, the first winery we visited was closed for lunch. However, at the second winery (Château Lamothe) the owners let us unpack our own picnic at this massive indoor table, where we opened a bottle of wine and enjoyed an impromptu off the beaten track lunch of baguettes, cheeses, saucisson, tomatoes and chocolate. Parfait.
Exploration partners (from left): South Africans Martin and Jodi, and Chicagoans Melissa and Jody
Château Lamothe, whose owners graciously offered their banquet table for our picnic lunch
Owner Louis Meneuvrier (and son) of Croix-Davids
Château Sauman
Jean-Yves Béchet at biodynamic Château Fougas
Guard dog at Château Sauman
Château Sauman
Madame Lamothe with a 2018 barrel sample
The below list includes a selection of good quality wines scored for value using my proprietary Vino Value algorithm. In general, wine values in this region are excellent
| Vino Value™ Scoring of Selected Wines – Open Doors Bourg 2019 | |||||
| Winery | Wine | 100 Point Score Equivalent Range | Retail Price – Euros | Retail Price – US dollars | Value Score |
| Château Lamothe | 2016 Grand Réserve | 92+ | 8.10 € | $9.07 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Lamothe | 2015 Grand Réserve | 92+ | 8.30 € | $9.30 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Fougas | 2016 Organic | 92+ | 8.00 € | $8.96 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Fougas | 2016 Forces de Vies | 92+ | 19.00 € | $21.28 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château La Croix-Davids | 2016 La Croix-Davids | 92+ | 9.00 € | $10.08 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Sauman | 2018 Rosé | 92+ | 5.00 € | $5.60 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Sauman | 2017 MM Émotion | 92+ | 9.00 € | $10.08 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
TWO: Dinners Asscociated With Primeurs Wine Tastings and VinExpo 2019 Trade Fair
The April ‘primeurs’ wine tastings and this year’s earlier than usual renowned VinoExpo trade fair in Bordeaux city also coincided with dinners throughout the region. Many were formal, with excellent wines and food. I was fortunate enough to attend a Lynch-Bages sponsored dinner in Bordeaux city, as well as the renowned ‘Jurade’ dinner (this year at Château Soutard) in Saint-Émilion. Château Angélus also hosted a rather amazing dinner/spectacle titled ‘Dinner Under The Stars.’
This dinner in Bordeaux city was hosted by wineries that included Lynch-Bages
Legendary wine producer J. M. Cazes at dinner with Blaye wine producer Les Kellen
Jurade dinner at Château Soutard in Saint-Émilion
New Bordeaux Mayor Nicolas Florian (left) with Monsieur De Boüard of Cht Angélus at Jurade dinner
Below is a quick video provided by Château Angélus in Saint-Émilion of their April ‘Dinner Under The Stars’ during ‘primeurs’ wine tasting week. This was was quite the exceptional event—where magnums of wine from past three decades were served.
THREE: Impromptu Social Events
Warmer weather brings everyone out and together. This year has included exceptionally longs spells of sunny days in February, March, April and May.
In our town of Blaye, new South African neighbors recently held a bubbles and cake gathering, to which our French winemaking friend brought several classic old vintages. This is part of the local culture. Wine, cheese, dinners, desserts and social events seep into many aspects of life here in the spring (as well, honestly, during all other seasons).
Friend Monsieur Marchand brought a few beauties to sample …
Neighbor Celia accepts a quick glass of Languedoc wine from Minervois while passing by
There was also that memorable recent hippie dinner in Blaye.
South African, Russian, French and semi-Italian hippies gather for summer love (and wine)
Neighbor Emilie insists on a selfie (photo courtesy E. Boudrais)
This brief post was just a visual whirlwind to demonstrate social spring highlights around Bordeaux.
Remember—this site will soon be redesigned.
Regardless, upcoming posts cover Majorca, Sicily and Tuscany—and will provide more details about their dynamically changing food and wine cultures.
Again, thanks for visiting this site.
La Palma skyline—Majorca island of Spain
11 Tips For Wine Travel
My latest Forbes pieces are here, and include wise words from 10 winemakers and winery owners, U.S. entrepreneurs launching canned South African wine, how a digital negociant helped change the U.S. wine world, and other pieces on Vinitaly, agriturismos, and the 2018 Bordeaux vintage.
Below are a few hints regarding wine related travel.
One: Seek Local Knowledge.
When you reach a new destination, ask a local sommelier which wines he or she recommends, or get input from a reputable winemaker whose style you enjoy. Try to find a contact involved in the wine world before you even arrive, although it’s best to do your homework in order to find one with a decent reputation. Also, that book you may have read about the wine region, which was published five years ago? Since then, winemakers may have adopted a new style, or have begun experimenting with unusual, or unique, grapes for that geography. To get a current handle on the wine vibe of any locale, word of mouth is valuable, but best if that comes from a proven source.
Two: Serial Winery Touring is Overrated .
Let’s say you visit Sonoma or Tuscany or the Loire Valley. You then make arrangements to visit three or four wineries on the same day. Or else you just begin driving from one winery to another. That’s a great way to see the countryside and to get a feel for regional wine styles (although in Europe, you will need to book most visits in advance rather than just driving up).
But after that first perusal, following the same pattern on successive days may be a mistake. First, you’ll only be sampling wines from one winery at a time, and if you hit a dud, you’ll be stuck with a range of poor wines awhile listening to stories of heritage and terroir and the same old ‘wine is made in the vineyard, not in the winery’ story. You’ll then motor onto another locale, and perhaps get the same talk while sipping mediocre vintages. After your initial day of physically visiting vineyards, it may be better to find a wine bar, or a restaurant, and have a local who truly knows the best of the region’s wines pour you several to taste. This is faster and requires less driving. True, vineyard visits are not about speed or efficiency, but life is too short to spend your travel time with vintners pouring mediocre or poor wares. Visiting wineries can be fun, but the novelty wears off rapidly after being toured past stainless steel tanks and barrel rooms five times in an afternoon.
Three: Don’t Swallow Wine Before Lunch.
Swirl, sip, spit, but wait until eating lunch before you begin swallowing wine. Otherwise you’ll catch a buzz and be less able to appreciate wines you are drinking. If you drink on an empty stomach in the morning (and forget sipping water), you also risk getting a hammering afternoon headache.
Four: When Planning your Trip, Combine Wine with Other Activities and Interests.
For the wine region you visit, consider also food, sport, architecture, history and local literature. The town where I live in France has an annual marathon that passes wineries. Even those who don’t sip wines offered along the trail can enjoy the country by running next to vines. Or perhaps you want to enjoy a morning round of golf before visiting a winery. Or have a guide drive you and tell about the local history, whether related to Romans, monks, or covered wagon settlers. Also, consider buying a book about that region (or even its wines) before you visit. Variety is good for life, and placing your visit within a larger context will help you enjoy your travels even more.
Five: Select Aspects That You Want to Learn More About.
Listen and observe, then select one or two topics that interest you and learn more—whether by reading or asking questions. Whether it is carbonic maceration or the Carménère grape or aging wine in acacia barrels—identify a topic, and make the effort to learn more. This will keep your mind clicking as you travel, and will make aspects of your trip more memorable later.
Six: Respect Lesser Known Regions, Grapes and Producers.
Everyone seeks that ‘hidden jewel:’ that unknown winemaker producing astonishing juice which costs next to nothing. Truthfully—there are plenty out there. However, you’ll either have to taste a lot of mediocre juice first before finding them, or will need to be clued into their identify from locals with knowledge. Just because a château or domaine or tenuta or bodega has produced wine for three centuries and the owner’s offspring are on the cover of a famed wine magazine and their bottles cost north of $75 does not necessarily mean they are the best in town. There is no direct and unrelenting correlation between price and quality in the world of wine. If a guide tells you he or she only associates with the best of the best producers, be wary: the landscape of wine quality changes every year. Remember also that taste is personal. Following big names and famed brands soon turns boring; it is also evidence that you lack any sense of discerning personal taste.
Seven: Don’t Overthink Food Pairings.
There are no perfect food/wine pairings, so don’t regard these combinations as some type of differential equation you need to solve. Allow room for experimentation, and ask the waiter/sommelier/winemaker what they think. Bringing up the topic of food with winemakers often energizes them, and they will often recommend a local dish (have them write it down, with the correct spelling) and may also suggest local restaurants. Here are three keys to remember for wine pairings: simpler dishes are easier to pair with, pairings can be complimentary (e.g. goat cheese and Sauvignon Blanc) or contrasting (e.g. salty oysters, sweet champagne), and ‘wine killers’ include vinegar (this includes balsamic), milk, eggs and earthy veggies (such as beetroot or artichoke). Again, don’t over think it: experiment.
Eight: Pack Appropriately.
In years past I traveled with a spiral notebook, tape recorder and 35 millimeter camera when visiting wineries. Today, an iPhone will take care of all that. It also allows you to take notes, interview locals and snap photos. Its GPS will also help you navigate to your next location, and the internet connection can forward pictures to friends instantly. The world has changed dramatically in the past decade.
If checking a bag in at the airport, I’ll pack a corkscrew. Imagine ending up in a countryside inn with a gifted bottle of Brunello di Montalcino and no corkscrew on the premises. That would be like finding refuge in an arctic cabin during a snowstorm that is laden with canned food, but without a can opener. As for clothing—high heels do not fare well in vineyards or up cobbled Italian alleys. Bring warm clothes if you want to get outside and see vineyards (which you should). I am constantly amazed at vineyard visitors who dress as though they were visiting a Prada store on the Champs Élysées or a garden party in Surrey. Remember—a vineyard is a farm.
Nine: Do Your Research (If You Are So Inclined), But Don’t Consider it Doctrine.
Just because five newspapers and two magazine articles in the last three years profiled a certain winery in Abruzzo (or Marlborough) as having the most dazzling wines imaginable does not negate the value of also putting other wineries on your itinerary for that region. Lesser known wineries often offer a more intimate and memorable experience. And even though Trebbiano d’Abruzzo (or Sauvignon Blanc) may be the dominant white grape in that region, that is actually all the more reason for you also to taste white wines made with the Pecorino (or Breidkecker) grape, just to highlight the contrast.
Ten: There’s More To Wine Country Than Wine.
Wine regions also sometimes include good local beers. Consider kicking off an evening (or afternoon) with a glass of suds before you start popping corks (or twisting screwcaps) to enjoy local grape juice. Remember, there are no rules when it comes to travel and wine.
Eleven: Respect Your Own Sense of Taste.
Finally, no matter what the critics or sommeliers say, you are the judge of which wines you appreciate and do not appreciate. If you are standing in an opulent tasting room with a bedazzling view of snow crusted distant peaks and romantic trimmed vines below while drinking from a Riedel glass and listening to quadraphonic classical music and the wine simply does not do it for you, that’s it. Try another. Or move elsewhere. Don’t let the environment hoodwink your mind into ignoring your taste buds. It’s your trip, your life, your experience. Trust your own taste, and don’t succumb to any groupthink.
Most importantly, Enjoy! Don’t take wine travel too seriously.
A Decade Of Springtimes …
Ten years ago (in March) I first arrived to visit Bordeaux city and countryside. In 2017 I wrote a post about that arrival, which included being in a bar where others were dancing on tables when police raided, blowing whistles, because the music was too loud. Several of us escaped out back and went to some woman’s apartment to continue the festivities. What an unusual way to become familiar with a city.
A few years ago, I moved here to live.
During the past four years I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Printemps des Vins de Blaye, a public gathering where, for the price of about $8, you can spend two days visiting the magnificent 17th century Citadelle of Blaye and sampling limitless wines from a hundred local producers.
This year we were graced with excellent sunny weather, and visitors formed a far more international and cosmopolitan gathering than ever before. There was live music (🎼), ample food booths, demonstrations of barrel making (and barrel racing) and plenty of tastings. Altogether, it was a convivial and stellar gathering.
I managed to taste and take notes on dozens of wines. The wines listed below are a few selected based on those that would ‘score,’ on a 100 point scale, between 91 and 96 points, and are also of either excellent or superlative quality in terms of price (as scored using my proprietary Vino Value Algorithm).
It’s a representative list, and there were many other winemakers I would have liked to have visited. All wines are red, unless where noted.
| Vino Value™ Scoring of Selected Wines – Printemps des Vins de Blaye April 2019 | ||||
| Winery | Wine | Retail Price – Euros | Retail Price – US dollars | Value Score |
| Château La Cassagne Boutet | 2015 Les Angelots | 25.00 € | $28.25 | Good/Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château La Cassagne Boutet | 2018 Le Puits Rosé | 5.00 € | $5.65 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Magdeleine Bouhou | 2015 MB Grand Vin | 13.50 € | $15.26 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Magdeleine Bouhou | 2015 La Boha | 8.50 € | $9.61 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Puynard | 2017 Bordeaux Rosé | 6.00 € | $6.78 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Puynard | 2016 The Steps | 10.00 € | $11.30 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château du Vieux Puit | 2017 French Rosé | 6.50 € | $7.35 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château La Rose Bellevue | 2015 The Secret (100% Merlot) | 20.00 € | $22.60 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Florimond | 2015 Réserve (red) | 8.20 € | $9.27 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Segonzac | 2016 Héritage (red) | 12.00 € | $13.56 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Chateau Bellevue | 2016 Amorphae (red) | 20.50 € | $23.17 | Good/Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Nodot | 2015 Cuvée Prestige (red) | 7.50 € | $8.48 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Nodot | 2016 Cuvée Tradition (red) | 10.95 € | $12.37 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Canteloup | 2016 Château Canteloup (red) | 6.20 € | $7.01 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Les Graves la Valade | 2015 Élevé en Fûts de Chène (red) | $6.50 | $7.35 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Gauthier | 2015 Guathier (red) | $8.00 | $9.04 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Haut Bourcier | 2016 Haut Bourcier (red) | $7.50 | $8.48 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Môndésir Gazin | 2015 Blaye (Merlot / Malbec) | $14.00 | $15.82 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Camille Gaucheraud | 2012 Merlot | $6.00 | $6.78 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château La Motte | Cuvée la Motte (sparkling rosé) | $7.00 | $7.91 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Peymelon | 2015 Peymelon (red) | $8.50 | $9.61 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Petit Boyer | 2016 Vieilles Vignes | $12.50 | $14.13 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Bel-Air Royère | 2015 L’Esprit | $12.00 | $13.56 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
My latest Forbes pieces are here, including winemakers from five countries to watch out for, Italian jewels, and some recommendations from Bordeaux primeurs.
Thanks for tuning in again.
French Alpine Wines Of Savoie
Savoie, pronounced Sav-WAH, is a wine producing region associated with the French Alps. The whites are notable, although you are likely not familiar with the white grapes of Jacquère or Gringet. The first is crisply acidic, somewhat like a Riesling meeting a Pinot Gris.
This region is where Celts and Romans lived, and was controlled by Italy until 1860. The Alps are gorgeous, the food and wine delicious and many towns include stone fortifications (including those constructed by military architect Vauban, in the town of Briançon) that are both commanding and attractive.
Serre-Chevalier ski resort, southern French Alps
Skiing here is excellent, and after-ski racelette with wine can be delicious.
Jacquère is the most prevalent Savoie grape, making up roughly half of vine production in this region that is splattered from below Lake Léman (think Geneva) all the way south to below the city of Chambéry.
Another widely planted white grape is Roussette de Savoie, also known locally as Altesse. Wine from this grape includes tastes of tropical fruit and honey and can often be aged for several years. Another white wine from Savoie is made from Chasselas, typical and abundant also in the Swiss Vallée region.
Old Town of Briançon
Reds include Gamay (think Beaujolais) and more recently planted Pinot Noir, although these do not generally match the quality of whites. Other reds are made from the grapes Mondeuse (dark colored and acidic; as a blending grape it helps red wines to age) and Persan (herbal, well-structured and rare).
Sunny morning on the slopes
The location of these Alps is in relative proximity to Burgundian and Beaujolais wine country, and also the Rhone valley. This provides a wider range of wines locally available, and towns frequented by visitors offer greater wine selections from such different regions (and countries).
Alpine vista from Briançon
The Alps run east to west and then southward—passing through Slovenia, Austria, Lichtenstein, Switzerland, Germany, Italy and France. Choose whichever country you like, but it is worthwhile visiting these young, jagged peaks for a dose of life that with differing regional cultures (and sports), but also for a taste of distinct local food and wines.
Plaisir Ambré Restaurant in Briançon
In the southern French Alps, dinner and drinks at the Grand Hotel (freshly renovated two years ago) in the town of Chantemerle are excellent, and the little restaurant named Plaisir Ambré in Briançon offers excellent food (and Savoie wine) at reasonable prices. Afterwards, stroll down the inclined main street to view a wildly refreshing vista of snow dusted peaks.
A rare gathering of renowned Alpine Entrepreneurs outside the Grand Hotel in Chantemerle
Whether in summer or winter, alone or with friends, travel here with an open mind, and a hunger to learn about slices of history (and living) far different from what you already know.
Lunch with Savoie wine
My latest Forbes pieces are here, and include articles about South African wine, about an alpinist Instagrammer, about a winemaking mother in the Malibu hills and also about a French winter sports organizer who decided to quit his job in order to be CEO. There is also a brief piece about running through Bordeaux Grand Cru vineyards.
In the coming weeks I’ll cover the general quality of 2018 Bordeaux ‘en primeur’ wines, and will include a second annual tasting of a range of excellent Swiss wines. There will also be a general post that covers wine from the island of Majorca.
Thank you again for tuning in!
South African Wine
Latest Forbes pieces are here regarding South African wines.
This post includes additional photos, and a value scoring of many wines tasted ….
The food, wine, countryside and hospitality were excellent.
View from Anthonij Rupert wines near Franschhoek
Babylonstoren, Stellenbosch
Elgin Valley
Elgin Valley
Hemel-en-Aarde Valley
A gathering of Chenin Blanc producers
Bosman Family Vineyards north of Wellington
Olive Hamilton Russell and Chardonnay from Hemel-en-Aarde
Anthony Hamilton Russell with the ever elusive and excellent Ashbourne Pinotage
Hannes Storm of Storm Wines in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley
View from Delaire Graff Estate of Stellenbosch
The winemaking crew from Thokozani and Ovation Wines
A firepit at Delaire Graff Estate in Stellenbosch
A gathering of Chenin Blanc producers
Wines below listed with equivalent 100-point score ranges and are also rated according to their value (price versus quality) as being Superlative (♫♫♫), Excellent (♫♫) or Good (♫) according to my proprietary Vino Value algorithm. This considers factors such as subjective scoring, objective price information and price elasticity.
Prices provided are representative average U.S. retail sales prices, which fluctuate somewhat depending on the state where sales take place.
| Vino Value™ Scoring of Selected Wines – Cape Region South Africa February 2019 | ||||
| Winery | Wine | 100 Point Score Equivalent Range | Retail Price – US dollars | Value Score |
| Backsberg | Backsberg Chenin Blanc. 2018. | 91 to 94 | $12.99 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Backsberg | Tread Lightly Pinotage Rosé. 2018. | 91 to 94 | $12.99 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Backsberg | John Martin Reserve. Sauvignon Blanc. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $22.99 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Backsberg | Family Reserve (white). 2017. | 97 to 100 | $34.99 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Backsberg | Pumphouse Shiraz. 2016. | 94 to 97 | $24.99 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Backsberg | Klein Babylons Toren Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot. 2015. | 91 to 94 | $24.99 | Good Value ♫ |
| Backsberg | Family Reserve (red) 2016. | 94 to 97 | $38.99 | Good Value ♫ |
| Babylonstoren | Chenin Blanc. 2018. | 94 to 97 | $19.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Babylonstoren | Viognier. 2016/2017. | 94 to 97 | $26.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Babylonstoren | Candide (white). 2017. | 91 to 94 | $27.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Babylonstoren | Shiraz. 2016. | 94 to 97 | $29.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Painted Wolf Wines | The Den Chenin Blanc. 2018. | 91 to 94 | $12.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Painted Wolf Wines | Old Vine Paarl Chenin Blanc. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $20.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Painted Wolf Wines | The Den Pinotage. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $12.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Painted Wolf Wines | Guillermo Swartland Pinotage. 2014. | 97 to 100 | $22.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Painted Wolf Wines | Swartland Syrah. 2015. | 94 to 97 | $22.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Natte Valleij | Stellenbosch Cinsault. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $30.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Natte Valleij | Swartland Cinsault. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $30.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Natte Valleij | Simonsberg Paarl Cinsault. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $30.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Natte Valleij | Darling Cinsault. 2017. | 97 to 100 | $30.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Natte Valleij | Natte Valleij Cinsault. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $19.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Rustenberg | Stellenbosch Chenin Blanc. 2017. | 91 to 94 | $15.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Stark-Condé | Three Pines Cabernet Sauvignon. Jonkershoek Valley. 2016. | 91 to 94 | $35.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Stark-Condé | Oude Nektar. 2016. | 94 to 97 | $45.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Jordan Wine Estate | Inspector Péringuey Chenin Blanc. 2018. | 94 to 97 | $19.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Delaire Graff Estate | Botmaskop. 2016. | 94 to 97 | $37.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Delaire Graff Estate | Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. Banghoek, Stellebosch. 2015. | 94 to 97 | $70.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Delaire Graff Estate | Delaire Graff White Reserve. 2016. | 94 to 97 | $42.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Neil Ellis | Cabernet Sauvignon Jonkershoek Valley. 2015. | 94 to 97 | $45.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Glenelly | Stellenbosch Estate Reserve. 2013. | 91 to 94 | $27.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Glenelly | Lady May. 2013. | 91 to 94 | $45.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Wildekrans | Sauvignon Blanc. 2018. | 90 to 91 | $17.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Beaumont Family Wines | Chenin Blanc. 2018. | 90 to 91 | $20.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Beaumont Family Wines | Hope Marguerite Chenin Blanc. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $35.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Villion Family Wines | Chenin Blanc. 2017. | 91 to 94 | $14.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Beaumont Family Wines | Pinotage. 2015. | 91 to 94 | $30.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Luddite | Saboteur. | 90 to 91 | $30.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Villion Family Wines | Cabernet Sauvignon. 2015. | 91 to 94 | $19.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Iona | Sauvignon Blanc. 2018. | 97 to 100 | $13.50 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Creation Wine Estate | Estate Chardonnay. 2017. | 90 to 91 | $16.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Creation Wine Estate | Reserve Chardonnay. 2017. | 91 to 94 | $25.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Creation Wine Estate | Estate Pinot Noir. 2017. | 91 to 94 | $19.50 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Creation Wine Estate | Reserve Pinot Noir. 2016. | 94 to 97 | $36.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Creation Wine Estate | The Art of Pinot Noir. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $62.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Creation Wine Estate | Reserve Syrah. 2017. | 91 to 94 | $25.50 | Good Value ♫ |
| Creation Wine Estate | Syrah Grenache. 2017. | 90 to 91 | $15.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Storm Wines | Vrede Chardonnay. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $55.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Ataraxia | Chardonnay. 2017. | 97 to 100 | $27.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Hamilton Russell Vineyards | Chardonnay. 2017. | 97 to 100 | $40.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Hamilton Russell Vineyards | Chardonnay. 2018. | 97 to 100 | $40.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Storm Wines | Ignis Pinot Noir. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $55.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Tesselaardsdal Wines | Pinot Noir. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $45.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Tesselaardsdal Wines | Pinot Noir. 2018. | 94 to 97 | $35.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Ataraxia | Pinot Noir. 2015. | 94 to 97 | $32.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Ataraxia | Pinot Noir. 2016. | 94 to 97 | $32.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Hamilton Russell Vineyards | Pinot Noir. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $52.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Hamilton Russell Vineyards | Pinot Noir. 2018. | 97 to 100 | $52.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Hamilton Russell Vineyards | Ashbourne Pinotage. 2016. | 94 to 97 | $60.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Meerlust Estate | Meerlust Chardonnay. 2017. | 97 to 100 | $23.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Meerlust Estate | Meerlust Pinot Noir. 2017. | 90 to 91 | $23.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Meerlust Estate | Meerlust Red. 2016. | 94 to 97 | $15.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Meerlust Estate | Meerlust Merlot. 2015. | 90 to 91 | $23.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Meerlust Estate | Meerlust Cabernet Sauvignon. 2015. (price half magnum price) | 94 to 97 | $27.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Meerlust Estate | Meerlust Estate Rubicon. 2015. | 97 to 100 | $32.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Ken Forrester Vineyards | Petit Chenin Blanc. 2018. | 91 to 94 | $13.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Ken Forrester Vineyards | Old Vine Reserve Chenin Blanc. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $18.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Ken Forrester Vineyards | Chenin Blanc. 2007. | 94 to 97 | $18.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Ken Forrester Vineyards | The FMC. 2016. | 97 to 100 | $60.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Aslina Wines by Ntsiki Biyela | Aslina Sauvignon Blanc. 2018. | 94 to 97 | $20.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Aslina Wines by Ntsiki Biyela | Aslina Chardonnay. 2018. | 94 to 97 | $23.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Aslina Wines by Ntsiki Biyela | Aslina Cabernet Sauvignon. 2016. | 97 to 100 | $27.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Aslina Wines by Ntsiki Biyela | Aslina Umsasane. 2016. | 97 to 100 | $30.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines | Kloof Street Old Vine Chenin Blanc (Swartland). 2018. | 94 to 97 | $14.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines | Mullineux Old Vines White. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $30.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines | Mullineux Granite Chenin Blanc. 2017. | 97 to 100 | $80.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines | Kloof Street Swartland Rouge. 2017. | 91 to 94 | $17.50 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines | Mullineux Syrah. 2016. | 97 to 100 | $37.50 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Joostenberg Estate | Joostenberg Chenin Blanc. 2018. | 91 to 94 | $13.50 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Joostenberg Estate | Die Agteros’ Chenin Blanc. 2017. | 91 to 94 | $20.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Botanica Wines | The Mary Delaney Collection Chenin Blanc. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $26.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Mulderbosch Vineyards | Chenin Blanc Steen Op Hout. 2017. | 91 to 94 | $12.99 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Mulderbosch Vineyards | Chenin Blanc Block W. 2015. | 94 to 97 | $32.50 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Raats Family Wines | Original Chenin Blanc. 2018. | 91 to 94 | $15.99 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Raats Family Wines | Old Vine Chenin Blanc. 2017. | 91 to 94 | $29.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| DeMorgenzon Stellenbosch | Chenin Blanc Method Cap Classique NV | 94 to 97 | $37.50 | Good Value ♫ |
| DeMorgenzon Stellenbosch | Maestro White | 94 to 97 | $25.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Bosman Family Vineyards | Generation 8 Chenin Blanc. 2018. | 94 to 97 | $14.99 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Bosman Family Vineyards | Upper Hemel en Aarde Valley Sauvignon Blanc. 2017. | 91 to 94 | $18.99 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Bosman Family Vineyards | Optenhorst Chenin Blanc. 2016. | 94 to 97 | $44.99 | Good Value ♫ |
| Bosman Family Vineyards | Twyfelling Cinsault. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $25.99 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Ovation | Spumanté | 91 to 94 | $10.35 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Ovation | Sauvignon Blanc. 2017. | 91 to 94 | $10.35 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Ovation | Merlot. 2017. | 91 to 94 | $11.90 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Thokozani | Thokozani Shiraz, Mourvèdre,Viognier. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $15.70 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Diemersfontein | Pinotage (‘Coffee Pinotage’). 2017. | 97 to 100 | $18.99 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Joostenberg Estate | Joostenberg ‘Die Agteros’ Chenin Blanc. 2017. | 91 to 94 | $13.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Bellingham Wines | The Bernard Series Old Vine Chenin Blanc. 2017. | 91 to 94 | $17.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| David & Nadia | Hoë-Steen Chenin Blanc. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $50.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Longridge Wine Estate | Ou Steen Chenin Blanc. 2016. | 94 to 97 | $28.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Boekenhoutskloof Winery | Semillon. 2016. | 94 to 97 | $23.50 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Allée Bleue | Black Series Old Vine Pinotage. 2017. (cellar door) | 94 to 97 | $24.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Boschendal | 1685 Sauvignon Blanc. VINTAGE? | 91 to 94 | $17.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Boschendal | Elgin Chardonnay. 2016. | 94 to 97 | $35.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Boschendal | Pinotage Rosé. | 90 to 91 | $13.99 | Good Value ♫ |
| Boschendal | 1685 Cabernet Sauvignon. 2016. | 91 to 94 | $24.99 | Good Value ♫ |
| Boschendal | Black Angus. 2015. | 94 to 97 | $40.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Reyneke Wines | Organic Syrah. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $25.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Reyneke Wines | Reserve Biodynamic Red Wine. 2016. | 94 to 97 | $25.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Reyneke Wines | Organic 17 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $15.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Reyneke Wines | Cornerstone 2015 (red blend) | 97 to 100 | $25.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Reyneke Wines | Cabernet Sauvignon. 2015. | 97 to 100 | $65.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Groot Constantia | Sauvignon Blanc. 2018. | 94 to 97 | $20.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Groot Constantia | Constantia Merlot. YEAR? | 91 to 94 | $28.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Groot Constantia | Constantia Pinotage. 2017. | 91 to 94 | $28.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Groot Constantia | Constantia Shiraz. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $28.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Groot Constantia | Constantia Gouverneurs Reserve (red blend). 2018. | 97 to 100 | $50.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Klein Constantia Estate | Sauvignon Blanc. 2018. | 91 to 94 | $17.99 | Good Value ♫ |
| Klein Constantia Estate | Constantia Glen. 2017. ?? | 91 to 94 | $28.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Klein Constantia Estate | Constantia Glen 3 (Red blend). 2015. | 91 to 94 | $27.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Klein Constantia Estate | Constantia Glen 5 (Red blend). 2014. | 94 to 97 | $38.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Klein Constantia Estate | Metis Sauvignon Blanc. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $24.99 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Klein Constantia Estate | 1685 Clara Sauvignon Blanc. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $29.99 | Good Value ♫ |
| Klein Constantia Estate | 1685 Chardonnay. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $29.99 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Klein Constantia Estate | 1685 Estate Red. 2015. | 94 to 97 | $29.99 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Klein Constantia Estate | Stellenbosch Anwilka (red blend). 2014. | 94 to 97 | $51.99 | Good Value ♫ |
| Klein Constantia Estate | 1685 Vin de Constance (sweet wine). 2015. | 97 to 100 | $94.99 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Spier | 1692 Chenin Blanc. 2018. | 94 to 97 | $8.25 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Spier | 1692 Vintage Selection Chenin Blanc. 2017. | 94 to 97 | $13.99 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Spier | 21 Gables Sauvignon Blanc. 2018. | 91 to 94 | $22.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Spier | Creative Block 5 (red blend). 2015. | 94 to 97 | $23.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Spier | 21 Gables Pinotage. 2015. | 94 to 97 | $26.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Spier | First Stone (red blend). 2015. | 97 to 100 | $35.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Spier | Frans K. Smit (red blend). 2015. | 97 to 100 | $80.00 | Good Value ♫ |
A sage and serious warning for the many rural walkers in South Africa
Posts during the coming months will include tastings of Bordeaux, Swiss and possibly Burgundian wines.
Enjoy the coming springtime….! And thanks for tuning in.
Wine Detox Part Three—The Algorithmic Regime
The bizarre allure of cold darkness
My latest Forbes pieces are here and include articles that discuss the marriage of Azorean tourism with forestation, Germanic influence on Italy’s Friuli wines and a Bordeaux restaurant that oozes with flavors.
I’m posting this from the sunny wine country of the Western Cape of South Africa, where temperatures are in the 90’s F (30’s C).
Hello, Sunny South Africa!
But the story of these wines, and this gorgeous region, will be covered in a forthcoming post after this trip is completed.
This post is the third and final wrap up regarding a wine detox. I’ll share how to lose weight and increase exercise capabilities.
Hands off until February
What’s with the current infatuation with ‘detox’ anyway?
A year or two ago I heard talk about people taking a ‘dry January’ in the U.K.. Now, between four and five million Brits now give up alcohol for the first month of the year. That’s more than the population of Ireland (but don’t expect that entire isle to go on the wagon for even a few hours, much less weeks…I lived there, schooled there, have Irish ancestry, and so have ample license to speak from experience, thank you).
A whole month without booze? I thought it ridiculous. Yet, I did something similar. This was not, however, an emulation of any dry January. This personal decision was based on timing.
Why?
On Christmas day, after bolting down early afternoon flutes of bubbly and then tucking into helpings of Turkey while swilling more wine, I found myself—too soon—knackered. As in, worn out. Tired. Didn’t want to move.
Blaye’s bicycle path begins here
What gave?
I weighed myself. I was six pounds heavier than ever before in life.
That was a wake up call.
A trigger.
So I decided to dedicate January toward changing that situation. It worked out better than expected.
Last Friday marked four weeks without drinking a drop of alcohol. During that time I also modified my eating habits by omitting bread, pasta, cheese and raw refined sugar. I also focused on exercise. The result: in the space of 31 days I increased my running distance from 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) to 10 miles (16 kilometers) and my weight dropped a total of 15 pounds (6.5 kilograms).
That weight is the equivalent of five bottles of wine. The picture below shows the equivalent weight lost in 31 days (glass and liquid combined). Now you understand the smile.
These bottles equal the weight lost in a month
Imagine putting those bottles into a backpack, strapping it on and lugging it around for a day. No wonder I was tired.
That weight is gone.
Tasty and not permissible for January
For those who are interested, I explain how below. I developed a method, a formula. However, I am not a trained specialist in exercise or nutrition. So, seek advice from a qualified trainer and a licensed physician regarding your own personal exercise program.
The secret of making this work is focused distraction.
Here is the explanation.
Citadelle of Blaye
Background.
When in my twenties, I walked into a store called Neptune Mountaineering on the corner of Table Mesa drive and Broadway streets in the city of Boulder, Colorado. There was a typed notice on a bulletin board. It told of how the ‘Boulder Mountain Marathon’ (unofficial, not sanctioned, and not legally permitted) would soon take place. The distance was somewhat greater than the standard marathon distance of 26 miles (it was about 28 miles) and the course wound through the hills of the ‘Front Range’—the hilly topography that forms the base of the mightier Rocky Mountains. The total vertical elevation gain for the course (the equivalent distance that participants climb uphill) was over one mile (1.6 kilometers). This meant that the course was not only 28 miles long, but we runners had to ascend the equivalent of climbing the stairs of the Empire State Building four times.
Without hesitation I decided to run this marathon. I checked a calendar. The event was exactly 26 days away. That meant I had 26 days to train to run 26 miles.
How ludicrous.
Ludicrous enough to be wildly attractive.
That summer I had worked as a mountaineering instructor in the Wind River mountains of Wyoming, hiking long distances for weeks at a time with a heavy backpack at high elevations. I was in generally excellent cardiovascular condition, although I had not run in months, or maybe years. My running muscles, in other words, were not disciplined.
The promise of spring
Still, the challenge was so wild that it gave me a sense of peace. In order to succeed, I had to block out all other thoughts and train with complete focus. Which I began to do. However, you cannot run all day, or every day. During times not running, friends and I also climbed the Grand Teton peak in Wyoming, and traveled back to Boulder to go rock climbing.
After almost three weeks I completed my last training run of 18 miles along mountain trails at a relatively high altitude in the Pecos wilderness of New Mexico. Then I rested for almost a week. During these times I lived out of my pickup truck. I camped out, washed in rivers and cooked potatoes and salsa over a stove under starlight or in the blazing sunshine.
Ten miles before winter sunrise
After this brief, intense training, I drove my pickup truck near Boulder and camped out at a patch of woodland on a steep road off Boulder Canyon. I showed up to the marathon venue in the morning, across the road from the hospital in North Boulder.
One of the race organizers was Neal Beidleman (who later became known in relation to the Mount Everest debacle described in the bestselling book Into Thin Air by John Krakauer). He opened a bag of flour and poured a thin line of this powder across the street. This, he told us, was the starting line. He then mentioned how they had no permit for the event, so if anyone asked us while running, we were supposed to say that we were all friends out for a ‘fun run’ together. Which we did! It was hilarious. The route ascended first by road, and then along trails along the side of Green Mountain. It descended to Eldorado Canyon, and then back along the Mesa Trail and through Chautauqua Park before descending back to north boulder.
It was grueling.
But I completed the Boulder Mountain Marathon. It took over four hours, but considering the elevation gain and total extended distance, I was content.
Running in the countryside is good for the mind
The success hinged on making a decision and then focusing on that decision and goal completely.
This January, with no race or running mates and being a few years older—I managed to focus enough to run 10 miles after 31 days of training (the method described below, however, is for a 28 day period, and is not so challenging).
The lessons of focus, learned from that Boulder marathon, applied again. This time I also wanted to lose weight. As mentioned in the previous blog post, committing thoroughly to a workout can completely eclipse the discomfort of changing drinking and diet habits. Once the mind is galvanized on a challenging physical goal, forgetting about booze and baguettes and brebis cheese becomes relatively simple.
Below is the formula.
Six mile run: perhaps the sports store sells night vision goggles?
At the end of a 10 – before dawn, and expectations of a vinous reward
The Algorithmic Regime.
The French word for diet is ‘regime,’ which implies—in English—disciplined focus. Sounds better than ‘diet,’ right? A diet is about cutting calories, whereas ‘regime’ implies control and a system for getting things accomplished.
The following is a definition for ‘algorithm,’ taken from Yuval Noah Harari in his bestselling book Homo Deus:
‘An algorithm is a methodical set of steps that can be used to make calculations, resolve problems and reach decisions.’
In this case, an algorithm is used to solve a problem: how to reduce weight and increase running distance by at least a factor of four.
I invented the following steps, as well as the term ‘algorithmic regime’ that describes them.
Applied over the space of four weeks—they can help increase your exercise capabilities and weight loss. This method is for 28 days. By going 32 days, you may also be able to achieve significantly more. Again, consult your physician; I am not a trained specialist.
Here is the method:
For four weeks, follow this guidance:
ONE.
No alcohol.
No bread.
No pasta.
No cheese.
No raw, refined sugar or candy bars or sugary soda drinks.
If this is too general and you need structure, follow the General Motors Diet.
All well before sunrise
TWO.
Exercise. I chose running, and formulated the schedule below for 28 days. This is my own invention, and is based on the premise that long runs require plenty of rest between them. Again, if you want to run longer, than add five additional rest days, followed by the longer run.
Rather than start off slow and gradually increase exercise, I started with a full-blown schedule of small amounts of daily exercise, then slowed it down. The distances increased, but so also did the amount of non-exercise days. This is because longer runs require more intermittent rest time.
The basic algebra involved in this ‘regime’ is simple. Basically, for the second set (‘Y’), you run the same distance that you ran for the first set (‘X’), plus an additional one third of that same distance. Algebraically, this means:
Y = 4.3X (or, Y=X+1/3X)
Now, look at the schedule below. Do you see a pattern?
You run five days in a row, then you take one day off. Then you run for four days in a row, and take two days off. Then you run for three days in a row, and take three days off. Then you run for two days (although now, you take a one day break between these days) and then take four days off. The formulas and example distances are in the table below.
The Algorithmic Regime
NOTE: Y = 4/3X (or Y=X+1/3X)
| Day | Formula | Set | Example Target Miles According to Formula | Example Target Kilometers According to Formula | Percent Increase of Distance Over Previous Set |
| 1 | X | 1 | 1.5 | 2.4 | |
| 2 | X | 1.5 | 2.4 | ||
| 3 | X | 1.5 | 2.4 | ||
| 4 | X | 1.5 | 2.4 | ||
| 5 | X | 1.5 | 2.4 | ||
| 6 | Rest | ||||
| 7 | Y | 2 | 2.0 | 3.2 | 33.3 |
| 8 | Y | 2.0 | 3.2 | ||
| 9 | Y | 2.0 | 3.2 | ||
| 10 | Y | 2.0 | 3.2 | ||
| 11 | Rest | ||||
| 12 | Rest | ||||
| 13 | X+Y | 3 | 3.5 | 5.6 | 75.0 |
| 14 | X+Y | 3.5 | 5.6 | ||
| 15 | X+Y | 3.5 | 5.6 | ||
| 16 | Rest | ||||
| 17 | Rest | ||||
| 18 | Rest | ||||
| 19 | 3X | 4 | 4.5 | 7.2 | 28.6 |
| 20 | Rest | ||||
| 21 | 3X | 4.5 | 7.2 | ||
| 22 | Rest | ||||
| 23 | Rest | ||||
| 24 | Rest | ||||
| 25 | Rest | ||||
| 26 | 3Y or 4X | 5 | 6.0 | 9.7 | 33.3 |
THREE:
It helps to personalize this challenge by doing it in some offbeat way. For the Colorado marathon, I trained along the Rocky Mountains, from Jackson in Wyoming south to the Pecos Wilderness of New Mexico, while camping out and climbing peaks and rock walls with friends.
For this recent month, the attraction was waking before dawn and running in the dark (usually in the cold). Do NOT do this unless you wear a headlamp and reflective gear, and preferably stay off all roads. I began and ended most runs before sunrise. This was truly invigorating. The point is, this is not a spin class or a group sport, but a personal mission to lose weight and improve diet. Make it personal. Get creative.
A FEW NOTES:
There are 26 days listed above, and this program is for 28 days. This means you can add another two rest days at your discretion.
I increased my own running distance (over a longer time period) by a factor of more than six, running a total of ‘5Y,’ or 10 miles. I reduced the rest days by one before the six miler, then took five days of rest before the final run (mostly rest, although adding a few small runs is beneficial). However, this may be excessive and I do not encourage you to try it. But if you do, then make the final, longer run at a slow, steady pace.
This system is likely only appropriate if your first run (‘X’) is less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers).
For rest days, you should still walk and get some basic exercise. During the final two sets, when you have three and four consecutive rest days, you may want to go for a short run on one of those days, or a long walk or bicycle ride.
Before any of the runs in session 3, 4 or 5, you may want to eat some fruit and even candy before you begin the exercise. This will provide energy to help propel you along the distance.
Invest in a book on stretching and stretch the night before you run, as well as on the day of the run.
For the final run, you may want to break with the food restrictions and eat a sizable pasta meal the night before to gain calories you can burn along the trail (although I did not and felt very energetic throughout most of the long run).
Check the weather forecast the night before your runs, and dress appropriately.
[Dawn Darkness]
Days 14 and 15 are critical, because you hit and pass the half way mark. The running distance becomes more challenging than earlier, but the free days between running sets has also increased. By this time you should have lost about half the quantity of pounds or kilograms that you intend to lose over the four weeks.
Begin each run slowly. Slow and steady wins here.
The first run of set four will be a challenge. Begin slowly and keep a low, steady pace.
Running in the dark with a headlamp is dangerous, so I do not recommend doing so!
This will be challenging, but hopefully enjoyable. If you feel any pain or discomfort or hesitation, then back off.
Thanks again for tuning in!
Wine Detox Part Two—Why Exercise And Weight May Not Relate
The chilly beauty of dawn
This is Day 20 of being alcohol-free this month, as well as abstaining from bread, pasta, cheese and raw, refined sugar (except for an occasional spoonful for coffee). I’ve also been running—mostly at 6.30 a.m. in freezing temperatures in the dark. I dropped over eleven pounds (close to five kilograms) and tripled the running mileage.
A ‘wine detox’ is just an excuse for getting exercise and losing weight. Avoiding a corkscrew and bottle is only partially related to any health effects of saying no to a glass of Chablis.
But exercise, apparently, is no key to losing weight. This news is bizarrely counterintuitive, although it may jibe with what many of you have experienced.
I recently picked up a copy of a July, 2108, Scientific American publication titled ‘Revolutions’ and read a surprising article titled ‘The Exercise Paradox.’
Take a walk and clear the mind, but don’t expect it to impact your weight
Recently, a scientist named Herman Pontzer and colleagues spent time in the African bush of Tanzania with members of the Hadza tribe, a group of traditional hunter-gatherers. These tribespeople hoof it through the bush to stalk prey or rummage across vegetated plains and hills to dig tubers and roots and pluck berries to munch.
Vines ahoy
These scientists worked with specific tribal members to have them drink a certain amount of water each day, into which they had placed harmless trace amounts of the rare isotopes of deuterium and oxygen 18. They then collected urine samples daily from these same individuals (I knew there was some reason for avoiding science as a career). These samples were then transported to the Baylor College of Medicine in the U.S. and analyzed. This procedure has been used for some years and is called the ‘doubly labelled water method.’ It measures carbon dioxide production in a human body, and from that determines the amount of energy individuals expend on a given day.
The results were not as expected.
Taking a break from this nectar
The Hadza tribespeople, who cover miles on foot and exercise regularly, burn about the same number of calories each day as regular 8 to 5 individuals in the U.S. or Europe. For men that’s roughly 2,600 calories a day, and for women it’s about 1,900 calories.
Other similar studies have shown a similar pattern. Traditional farmers in Guatemala, Gambia and Bolivia were shown to expend about the same amount of energy daily as city dwellers. A 2008 study by a Loyola University of Chicago researcher found that rural Nigerian women and African-American women in Chicago expended about the same amount of energy each day, despite the fact that they were involved in different activities, at different levels of intensity.
A subsequent review of 98 studies from throughout the world showed that those living with comfortable modern conveniences burn about the same quantity of calories every day compared to less affluent persons working more physically demanding jobs. Sedentary people, another studied showed, burned only 200 calories less per day than moderately active individuals.
Australian researchers found similar results between sheep and kangaroos kept in pens and those allowed to run freely. Chinese scientists found the same was true for pandas, whether they lived wild or in a zoo.
The reasons are still unknown. Perhaps, the author speculates, the mind and body make subtle changes to behaviors in other daily physical tasks to save energy. Perhaps, on physically demanding days, less energy is spent on maintaining organs and regulating internal cellular activities.
Uphill we go
I suspect a reason may be that human and mammalian bodies try to maintain constant levels of energy consumption. Imagine you have a factory, and on some days the production is low and on other days it’s high. The facility will, generally, still consume the same levels of background energy. Although the conveyor belt carries fewer boxes of television sets or breakfast cereals or whatever is produced, it still needs to run at the same speed. The same number of employees are also there, so the quantity of oil for heating and the amount of electricity stays the same for lighting. Also, staff levels are not reduced just because the factory is going slow for a few days—so cafeteria stoves burn the same amount of fuel to provide the same number of meals per day. It may be less costly, in terms of energy and stress, to maintain a constant burn on energy, even when that burn is more than is needed.
Just a guess.
[Video: Goodbye to this for several weeks]
Regardless the reason, whether or not you exercise apparently has limited impact on the total calories you burn.
Pontzer writes: ‘All of this evidence points toward obesity being a disease of gluttony rather than sloth. People gain weight when the calories they eat exceed the calories they expend.’
He does not discount the value and benefit of exercise for health, however, and writes, ‘You still have to exercise…Exercise has tons of well-documented benefits, from increased heart and immune system health to improved brain function and healthier aging…but evidence indicates that it is best to think of diet and exercise as different tools with different strengths. Exercise to stay healthy and vital; focus on diet to look after your weight.’
Yet from experience and a common-sense perspective, many of us will likely agree that keeping a specific, lean diet and exercising are mutually beneficial.
Goodbye to this for a month (except a few slivers of meat)
If you are changing diet, or going on a detox, exercise will help flush away waste cells. If you are exercising, changing the protein/fat/carbohydrate profile of your diet will help build muscle tissue and provide appropriate energy levels for your workout.
Together, the two may also have synergistic effects—where the result exceeds the sum of individual inputs. This seems to be the case with regard to the mindset needed to execute both at the same time.
Here’s what I mean.
Pre-dawn running in the frigid cold – refreshing for the brain, but wear a wool hat
Avoiding alcohol and types of food you are used to, as well as exercising, requires mental focus and discipline.
In fact, if you are truly challenging yourself, then the discipline required for exercising (for example, rising at 6.15 a.m. to run miles in freezing darkness along twisted, hilly country roads) can mentally eclipse any hunger (or wine) pangs you may have during that same day. This means that by undertaking exercise and diet at the same time, you may be less likely to notice the diet or detox. I’ve become focused enough on the challenge of forthcoming chilly hill jogs that that I’ve forgotten the lure of sugary hot spiced wine, or even gooey chocolate almond croissants.
[Video: more of what I said goodbye to for a month]
Here’s another, different, example of the same phenomenon.
In college I was once emotionally upset about a relationship with a woman. Then I checked my calendar and was shocked to find out that the next thermodynamics course exam, which I had thought was NEXT Wednesday, was taking place THIS Wednesday—two days away! Galvanized with a goal and intent on passing, I immediately cracked the books and…completely forgot about all of that emotional angst. There was no space in the brain, effectively, to contemplate both subjects (which, considering the pettiness of what I was upset about, turned out to be a good thing). It’s the same with combining exercise and diet.
In other words (and this has nothing to do with any research mentioned above) when we commit to one challenging goal that unambiguously absorbs and focuses our resolve and direction, we can sometimes simultaneously achieve lesser goals along the way, often with greater ease compared to how we would view these tasks if we lacked a larger, overriding, objective.
Plan your run, then run your plan, and switch on the headlamp
After a total of four weeks, I’ll certainly enjoy vino again (which is timely, considering an upcoming trip to a now sunny segment of wine country). But the goal this month—to feel a lighter—has reaffirmed the benefits of combining diet with motion…even if that means just taking a walk and skipping ice cream and apple pie after dinner.
See you in February
And running on country roads in the dark? The freezing cold and quiet countryside blackness can help wake the mind, while also keeping it calm and focused. But if you do this, be very, very careful. I wear a headlamp and flashing electric armband, and strongly advise that anyone else do at least the same. Daylight running is likely safer. Certainly it’s somewhat warmer.
My latest Forbes pieces are here, and include management advice from top hotel owners, the expanding Swedish wine scene, and how converting plastic to fuel can help to clean up our oceans.
Thanks again for tuning in …
This Wine Detox Is A Bhutanese Parasite
A New Year is here. Open mind, open horizons.
Clearing the mind
Many of us splashed our way through midnight, then decided to enjoy celebratory bottles again for a January 1st lunch, delaying that promised exercise regime until January 2nd.
Or was it the 3rd?
New Year’s Chablis
About four times a year I undergo a week-long ‘detox’ that involves eating mostly fruit and vegetables and drinking no alcohol. This January I’ll do alike, but will prolong the session to clear the mind, drop some weight and increase productivity.
Just one final glass – promise! – before beginning that detox
I usually follow the ‘General Motors’ diet (Google it) which eliminates pasta and bread and cheese. This time I’ll substitute fish for the beef component. Combining this with some exercise—running, walking or gym—means that in seven days from the beginning I should feel shinier and more energized. But this year that time span will be extended.
Ain’t that the truth
I’ll also incorporate ‘detox’ methods others have suggested—such as a half lemon squeezed into hot water and sipped between 5 and 7 a.m.—when the liver produces most bile. [Suggested by friend Brant Hartsock, whose Asian medicine doctor recommended he do this 3 to 4 times weekly.]
Or taking ‘liver cleanser’ tablets that include seeds, bark, roots and fruit. I’ve begun downing two daily. [Gifted by friend Elena, who picked them up in Goa, India, after she spent two weeks at a ‘dynamic meditation’ retreat there.]
Or good quality honey and turmeric taken in the morning [suggested by neighbors Les and Clarissa here in Blaye].
Labelling that is not in any way subtle
There is also tea gifted by friends when I visited Bhutan last year. I had put this box of ‘cordyceps and green tea’ on a shelf until—intrigued by seeing recent photos taken by these Bhutanese friends and posted on social media—decided to brew a mug, and do some internet research.
This may be hard to believe.
Daddy I think it’s time for your cordyceps detox.
Basically, cordyceps is a form of fungi, of which there are several hundred species. They attack insects from within, sometimes commandeering the body of, say, an ant, and telling it to climb to the high point of a grass stalk and cling on. Strands of cordyceps then spring, or at least grow, out of its head (best seen in time-lapse photography) thereby killing the insect and providing the fungi with nutrients. (Check out this video clip from BBC’s David Attenborough telling about cordyceps in general.)
The real life feats of these killer fungi make zombie movies look tame. In fact a video game was invented years ago that has 60 percent of humanity wiped out by a species of cordyceps.
Yak herding Layup women live at high altitudes in Bhutan, and wear distinct conical bamboo hats
One species is known as Cordyceps sinensis and is prevalent in Bhutan, Nepal and Tibet. It lives above 11,000 feet altitude. This form of cordyceps invades Himalayan caterpillars when they are buried below the surface of soil, where they keep warm for winter. The spores will kill a caterpillar from the inside, then grow a long thin shoot out of the dead body, making the two species appear as a bizarrely fused, elongated critter. This grows vertically upward until it pokes out of the soil. The spores transform the entire caterpillar into a fungi (although it retains the outer shape and appearance or the displaced caterpillar).
Colorful and light hearted roadside police in the land of cordyceps – Bhutan
At high altitudes in June, teams of pickers, including the Layap people who live above 13,000 feet elevation (the women wear distinct, conical, bamboo hats) crawl on their bellies over the earth in search of shoots. They then dig below the surface to unearth the rest of the cordyceps, attached to the now dead and transformed caterpillar. Historically, herders noticed that their Yaks became energized after grazing on grass with these shoots. This led the herders to boil cordyceps for tea, and they learned of its medicinal properties. Since then, they have spent thousands of years harvesting cordyceps for beneficial effects.
Wonder tea: caterpillar annihilation = detoxification
This stuff is not easy to hunt—think slender truffles at high altitude—which is why cordyceps can command a very hefty price. Apparently Chinese athletes were sucking down cordyceps tea during the 2008 Olympics to try to gain an additional competitive edge.
Gateway to cordyceps country in Bhutan
This marriage of insect and fungi excavated from hillsides may look odd, but apparently does wonders for the body.
It can apparently prolong life, increase memory and—according to an esteemed cancer center in the U.S.—includes ingredients that can slow down cancer. Additionally, it can improve kidney function, reduce heart disease and—indeedy!—boost sex drive.
Yum – put the kettle on (Photo credit: Tshering Chojur)
Using lemon, honey, cordyceps tea, fresh air, fruit and vegetables – I’ll let you know how this January’s detox goes.
[If you are interested in obtaining real deal cordyceps, let me know; my Bhutanese friends spend weeks in the mountains at harvest time.]
I wrote no Forbes posts in December, but posted one for January. This originated from meeting and interviewing a visionary Swiss entrepreneur who is a sailor, businessman and engineer. The post is about wristwatches, navigation and turning plastics into fuel to clean up oceans.
Thanks again for tuning in!
I hope your 2019 turns out to be Magnificent 🙂
Subtle Intrigues on The Paris to Bordeaux Flight
The Opera House on Place de la Comédie, Bordeaux
The Paris to Bordeaux flight on Air France is an excursion into a lifestyle. Passengers generally appear trim, fit and polite. They are cordial rather than effusive; graciously calm instead of overly animated. Their attire is lean, not bulky; elegant, not flamboyant. Any casual (never gaudy) passenger may sport an earring, a glinting watch or a leather satchel that signals inconspicuous and unobtrusive wealth. Most wear tight, thin layers in subdued shades of gray or black or tan (with an odd splash of red or yellow on a kerchief): a snug buttoned vest, a thin winter jacket, a business suit that appears more Zurich than Dallas; a daypack more Milanese chic than Barcelona summer.
The Seine River and Notre Dame, Paris
Even younger passengers, giddy with sexual tension, touch rather than fondle, laugh instead of cackle. Their tattoos are likely more Celtic pattern than Marvel comic character. Footwear, like clothing, is prim and functional—designed to walk city streets instead of stomp coastal pathways.
Bordeaux at night
Hand luggage is slipped (never shoved) into overhead compartments. It is compact and sleek, never sloppy or loud. Some bags have bright colors: token garnish beside more modestly hued main dishes.
Darwin, Bordeaux
This overall flight experience is slim and taut. Narrow, like the plane. Professionals travel light; passengers returning home appear modest and calm. At the end of this sleek and rapid aerial transect of France you look down through the window at the sight of the muddy, meandering Garonne River below. It snakes across a plain pitted with vineyards and farms and tame rural enclaves outside Bordeaux—the gorgeous stone city without skyscrapers.
Grand Hotel, Bordeaux – opposite the Opera House
The view will take you back into the ordered courtliness of 11th century Aquitaine, a land ruled by a woman named Eleanor, a fecund, fertile sunny domain of romance and wine and bawdy chivalry. Rather than hold the title Queen of France, or Queen of England (she was, at different times, both) this ruler clung to her title as ‘Eleanor of Aquitaine’ because this land she ruled—the terrain between waters—was renowned as Europe’s richest in terms of wealth, agricultural bounty and progressive thinking toward love, commerce and life.
A wildly edible chocolate garden in a Bordeaux store
A drink and snack are served during the flight—a satisfying quick nibble and quaff. Eating and drinking in this land of the Gauls is enjoyed in moderation—which is why wines are 12.5 to 13.5 percent alcohol rather than booze bombs laden with gobs of fruit and tannin.
Market time
The flight takes one hour. The baggage carousel at the main airport terminal includes a few towering bottles that advertise wine. The airport garden is—of course—a vineyard.
Baggage claim, Bordeaux Merignac airport
There are no visible customs agents at the airport. Why would there be? Who would smuggle opiates into a land that oozes with oodles of excellent wine? They are there, certainly. But hidden. Inconspicuous. Unobtrusive. This is the land of the Bordelaise, where subtlety rules. Why make a fuss when you have it all?
In 1933, Air France was created from a merger of a half-dozen airlines, unions and navigation companies. It remained the French carrier until merging with KLM fifteen years ago. A year later the airline was Europe’s largest, with a quarter of the continent’s market share. (Well choreographed safety video is below.)
All wine served on Air France is French. On long haul flights even economy passengers are offered Champagne (incidentally, my friend Gabrielle Vizzavona wrote this excellent recent piece on champagnes, for Le Figaro newspaper; even if you ne parle pas Francais, just check out the names, and drool). Because aridity and air pressure on airline flights modifies our sense of taste, tannic wines are best avoided while fruity choices turn pleasant in the air (I wrote about the effects of altitude on wine in this past post).
So many choices, so little time …
Air France selects excellent food and fresh wines that will age well within the next four to six years. After Emirates, according to The Wall Street Journal, Air France pays the next highest average price per wine bottle served on its flights. This year the World of Fine Wine ranked Air France as having the Best Airline Wine List in The World.
Burgundy and Rhone wines
Air France employs Paolo Basso—voted world’s best sommelier—as a wine consultant. Earlier this year I met Paolo in Switzerland at a wine event and sampled his own wine—which is excellent. We talked about the city where he now lives—Lugano, Switzerland—where I also spent four years living in youth. He has good taste. If Paolo nods assent at a wine, I’m all for it. Even decent wine is something to appreciate during a flight. I once sat in business class on a U.S. air carrier crossing from Chicago to Los Angeles and was served a red wine that tasted more like bubble gum than a fermented fruit beverage. The event made me reconsider the worth of accruing air miles with that company.
Bordeaux wine
Still, integral to the French culture, employees of Air France sometimes strike. This past summer the airline was sporadically on strike for months during the same time that the national rail service—SNCF—went on strike. Even after that ended I arrived at Bordeaux airport one day to learn that air traffic controllers had gone on a sudden one-hour strike during lunch hours. One hour! Perhaps they needed more time to finish their crème brûlée. Still, no harm. The upstairs restaurant was open. I scooted inside and sat. Their wine list? Splendid. One hour with a good meal and a bottle of Bordeaux was the right way to kick off a day of travel.
Airport waiting time
Thanks for tuning in. Next month’s Forbes articles will tell of a four-year ocean expedition promoting technology that converts plastic into energy. It will also foray into the world of high-end watches, as well as Swedish wines.
Meanwhile, enjoy your holiday season!
Kick Off Any Event With Creamy Crémant Sparkling Wine
A lineup of modest yet endearing crémants
Consider crémant sparkling wine as a non-sophisticated entry point to any gathering—whether barbecue, picnic, dinner or party. It’s an opening act, the liquid equivalent to a bowl of pretzels before dinner. The juice is clean, zippy, low in alcohol and lively. It’s like fresh orange juice before breakfast or a rinse off shower before plunging into a swimming pool or a one-page prologue that begins a novel; it’s the vestibule entry way leading into a castle. Crémant is more passageway than place to linger.
The French word crémant (pronounced CRAY-mon) refers to sparkling wine that is made in the same way as champagne. A secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle rather than (as with Prosecco) in a steel vat controlled for pressure and temperature.
‘Secondary fermentation’ means an extra dose of yeast and sugar are added before a bottle is sealed, allowing the generation of carbon dioxide fizz.
Looks like Crémant O’ Clock
The word crémant was once used in the Champagne region to refer to sparkling wines made at lower pressures than champagne. These provided not a fizzy feel in the mouth as much as one that is creamy. Today that meaning has vanished; the word now refers to sparkling wines produced outside of Champagne.
Ten regions produce crémant, eight of which are in France, one in Luxembourg and one in Belgium. The newest French appellation for this drink—Crémant de Savoie—was established only in 2014, while that of Alsace was created in 1976 and that for Bordeaux in 1990. Crémant producing regions of France are: Bordeaux, Bourgogne (Burgundy), Loire, Savoie, Jura, Die, Limoux and Alsace. All appellations must use hand-picked grapes and juice must age at least nine months on the lees (which means keeping yeast in the barrel).
These sparkling wines are basically bargain bottles of effervescence; kick off cocktails for a delicious early event buzz.
Dusk means crémant hour
Advantages of crémant over champagne include lower cost and flexibility—it can be made from a geographically more diverse range of grapes. Many regions producing this beverage include—as a base for whites—the two classic Burgundian grapes of Chardonnay (providing acidity, freshness and elegance) and Pinot Noir (providing structure and fruity aromas). Crémant regions not including these two grapes are Bordeaux, Die (in the Rhone Valley) and Savoie (in which Pinot Noir is not used, though Chardonnay can be). Crémants also include locally popular grapes, and many—such as Mauzac, Chenin Blanc and Aligoté—include aromas of apples and lemons, as well as other fruit.
To gauge the ease of access and price, at a local supermarket (and at one nearby winery), I purchased crémants from four regions of France, then sampled them with a colorful array of characters at the local wine bar: two are winery owners and one individual is not involved with the trade, but is a fiction author from Canada.
Their collective comments are below.
Left to right: Ben, Les, David
Cremant Bourgogne (Burgundy).
Veuve Ambal. Grande Réserve. Demi-Sec. 12% alcohol.
Euros 7.95 ($9.00)
The four included grape varieties are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Aligoté and Gamay. Whereas Aligoté is acidic and adds structure and taste (including lemon and green apples) Gamay is the Beaujolais grape that bursts with fresh fruit flavors.
I considered this demi-sec as a gorgeous and sweet opener for the evening.
Les – Etalon Rouge winery proprietor:
‘Nutty and dry for a demi-sec. Includes tastes of ripe yellow peaches.’
David – Canadian author:
‘Tastes of strawberries. Good desert wine.’
Ben – La Garagiste winery proprietor:
‘Flavorsome, but a bit sweet.’
The cold winter season is ideal for cold, sharp crémant
Cremant Limoux (rosé).
Antech Alliance. Brut. 12% alcohol.
Euros 8.55 ($9.70)
This includes Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Chenin Blanc and Mauzac. The last grape, also known as ‘blanquette,’ is used in another regional sparkling wine known as ‘blanquette de Limoux,’ which was supposedly the first sparkling wine ever made, predating even champagne.
I enjoyed the subtle tastes of lemon and nuts.
Les – Etalon Rouge winery proprietor:
‘Stunning color, not pink or apricot but in between. Beautiful tiny bubbles. Dry off the tongue, but with a beautiful finish that lasts.’
David – Canadian author:
‘Flavorful but subtle, silky and refreshing.’
Ben – La Garagiste winery proprietor:
‘Very lemony and fresh.’
Bubble Up
Crémant de Loire.
Ackerman Grand Millesme 2016. 11.5 % alcohol.
Euros 7.99 ($9.05)
The grapes include Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Chenin Blanc. The Chenin Blanc is the locally prevalent white wine grape of the Loire Valley, and offers high acidity, which is good for sparkling wine. Rosé crémant from the Loire Valley can include Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and also locally available pineau d’Aunis.
I enjoyed the citrus taste, and appreciated how the wine developed and improved in the glass after five minutes.
Les – Etalon Rouge winery proprietor:
‘Elegant and smooth; best yet.’
David – Canadian author:
‘Wildflowers, blackberries and lemon.’
Ben – La Garagiste winery proprietor:
‘Beautiful and notable effervescence, reminder of pop rocks candy. Sharp, but balanced on the tongue.’
Beaune city in Burgundy
Crémant de Bordeaux.
Clos du Notaire L’héritage. 12% alcohol.
Euros 7.50 ($8.50)
Crémants from Bordeaux are made from the same grapes as are used for red and white blends. This particular crémant from Bourg is unusual because it includes only one white grape—Semillon. This grape is today a darling of Australia’s Hunter Valley, and also once covered 90 percent of white grape vineyards in South Africa in the early 1800’s (today it represents only one percent of grapes found in the cape region of South Africa).
For me this has heft, structure and power, as well as aromas and tastes of lime, nuts and pineapple. It is not as complex as that from the Loire.
Les – Etalon Rouge winery proprietor:
‘Ebullient sparkler that has oomph. Reminds you that it is in your mouth. Extremely dry finish; sort of melts away.’
David – Canadian author:
‘Pomegranate and vanilla, very spicy. A lot of character and punch.’
Ben – La Garagiste winery proprietor:
‘This stays in the mouth longer than any others.’
These observations highlighted the truth that a demi-sec is notably sweeter than a Brut, that lemon certainly is a characteristic of Mauzac grapes, that Semillon has commanding structure and body and that Chenin Blanc, combined with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, can produce distinctly complex wines.
The range of quality and style for crémants is wide and offers much to appreciate for little price: blasts of fruit, commanding power, rich complexity and also subtle shades of flavor—depending on which bottle you choose, and from which region. As corks pop during the holiday season, offer your friends something different with crémant.
^ ^ ^ ^ ^
My latest Forbes pieces are here, and include one on the digital marketing of champagne and the physics of bubbles, on why Cru Beaujolais wines made this year are looking powerful, on hunting for a war ancestor in central France, and why the city of Beaune is a good base for exploring Burgundy.
Thanks, as always, for tuning in again!
A Military Ancestor Stationed Between Burgundy And Champagne
Un Ancêtre Militaire Stationné Entre Bourgogne et Champagne
Mayor of Beauchemin, and the ‘porteur de drapeau’ or flag bearer (Jean-Baptiste’s father)
The Armistice that ended World War One was signed at 11.00 a.m. on November 11th, 1918. Eleventh hour, eleventh day, eleventh month. A century ago.
Years ago my mother told me that when she grew up, Americans around Chicago used to dedicate a minute of silence to that moment (although they used Central U.S. time, not French time—because otherwise they would be sleeping). She remarked that few did the same any more.
Peace in a rural French village
However, they still do in Europe. Ten years ago I entered a supermarket near Durham in the U.K. with my American friend Barbara, and—ignorant of the hour or the day—was shocked to see all shoppers frozen in place. It was like a Zombie movie. I soon realized the truth, and respected their respect for history.
Earlier this year my sister prepared an album detailing family history. I saw an image of my grandfather on my mother’s side—Lester Peter Ray. And there was a scan of a letter he wrote, with a map.
Lester Peter Ray
Card showing travel route
In 1918, he had traveled by boxcar from Brest, on the west coast of France, to the city of Langres—north of Dijon in central-eastern France, and was then sent a few miles away to the village of Beauchemin (‘beautiful trail’).
I decided to visit this year, but kept putting it off. Last Thursday, on a whim, I bought a plane ticket on Easy Jet to Lyon, rented a car, and on Saturday morning drove to Beauchemin for a quick visit in the rain before a more lengthy visit the next day. The village has 103 residents. A local man I chatted with suggested my returning the next day, Sunday, in time for the memorial commemoration. I agreed, then drove to Langres, a wonderful walled city designed by the military architect Vauban. There, I slept the night.
On Sunday I returned to Beauchemin. No one showed up at the memorial at 11.00 a.m., but they trickled in about 11.05, because they considered the key commemorative moment to be at eleven minutes past eleven, or at 11.11 a.m., on 11/11.
Portion of letter that accompanied map from Lester Peter
The mayor stood before the village war memorial and read a proclamation telling about the war, while the flag bearer stood beside him. The group of some 30 villagers next moved to the cemetery, where the mayor read another proclamation. Apparently, the mayor does this every year, and the same is done in villages throughout France. This is done annually not only on the day that commemorates the end of the First World War, but also on the day that marks the end of the Second World War. These rituals remind the locals of the importance of these historical events, and trigger conversations about lessons learned.
Can you imagine how Americans’ respect for history in general could be improved by encouraging such events? Our state of education concerning history and geography in the U.S. needs improvement, and such voluntary family events could be excellent ways to wake children up to the importance of both subjects. Our future leaders, if clueless about the past, may otherwise be ill-trained to lead us in sensible directions forward.
We then all moved into the town hall (it used to be a cheese processing plant) to drink a few glasses of wine and eat snacks.
A woman named Alix Prodhon spoke with me and said she knew a local historian I may want to meet, then brought me to her home near the memorial where she and her husband Jean-Baptiste and two wonderful children Clemens and Rose cleared the table and prepared lunch. We ate a salad with bacon and onions, then a main course of chicken and also wild boar (hunted by husband Jean-Baptiste) as well as lentils. Jean Baptiste poured out glasses of Beaujolais wine. Then, a plate with four types of cheese—including Emmenthal, Morbier, Langres and Epoise. What luxury!
Parents Alix and Jean-Baptiste, and son Celesten and daughter Rose
Both children—aged 10 and 8—spoke of how the love school, how they thrive on history and mathematics, and pulled out colored books that provided history lessons with attractive drawings and text. It was quite inspiring to see how much they had already learned about local and international history, and how much more they wanted to learn.
Cheeses after lunch
We soon drove five minutes to another village, Marac, where Franck Besch has collected U.S. military memorabilia for 30 years. He has opened a museum in Marac. He was delighted to meet, took details about my grandfather and within a day emailed me a copy of Lester Ray’s hand written registration card with the military, as well as details about his regiment, position, arrival and departure dates from France. Talk about a serendipitous encounter and situation…
At center is Franck Besch before his museum with a ‘History of ‘Doughboys” – and the most hospital local residents
Lester was apparently in the D company of the 5th anti-aircraft machine gun battalion and had arrived in Beauchemin in October of 1918, then departed for the U.S. on January 2, 1919. The city of Langres, a fifteen minute drive away, had hosted over ten thousand U.S. soldiers during this war, where they set up training schools in communications, medicine, and veterinary science (because of all the horses involved in the war).
Inside the museum
Lester Ray, after returning home, would eventually go on to become an executive at a Chicago company that managed a series of tunnels below the city for transporting and storing goods. Fortunately, he did not go to battle when in Europe.
What an incredible day!
In the village of Marac, drinks and stories before a roaring kitchen fire
We visited the house of more friends of Alix and Jean-Baptiste and sat before a roaring wood burning stove in the kitchen and drank more wine as I told them of what had become of Lester Ray’s children. The locals were rapt and joyous and spoke about the ‘magic’ of that moment, and assured me that Lester Peter Ray was above us, watching.
Indeed.
I was immensely fortunate to spend time with such generous, good-hearted, curious and bright people.
The coziness of a French country village home in autumn
Quite an amazing day.
Freshly painted memorial in Beauchemin
As for wine, that which Jean-Baptiste opened was a Cru Beaujolais, rather than a ‘nouveau.’ The cru are the top quality wines from the Beaujolais region (these wines are made from the Gamay grape), and unlike the less expensive ‘nouveau,’ these wines can be stored for years. Of the ten regions that produce Beaujolais Cru, the northernmost is Saint-Amour (which we drank for lunch) and is light and delicious. After lunch, Jean-Baptiste gave me a gift of a bottle of 2015 Claude Loup Saint-Véran, which is a white Burgundy Macônnais wine (made from Chardonnay grapes). The appellation for this wine is located in Burgundy, very slightly north of that of the Beaujolais we drank.
White Burgundy wine from Saint-Véran
The Saint-Véran appellation was established in 1971, at the far south of Burgundy, and is produced by six communes on chalk and clay soils up to 450 meters elevation. I cannot tell you how the wine tastes, because I’m saving this bottle for a very special occasion.
The nearby city of Langres straddles the Burgundy region to its south, and Champagne, to its north.
The walled city of Langres, north of Burgundy and south of Champagne
It turns out that the uncle of the flag bearer met in Beauchemin (on the right in the first picture above) used to bring in bottles of liquor for American soldiers stationed in Beauchemin during the war. (I wonder if they picked up a taste for less alcoholic wine.)
To those soldiers who served in the First World War, to my ancestor Lester Peter Ray, and to the exceedingly warm, hospitable residents of Beauchemin (and Marac)—here is a toast to our freedoms, our respect for history and our ability to enjoy wonderful food and wine together.
Sante!
Just What IS ‘Good Wine’?
Trentodoc sparkling wine from Trentino, in northern Italy
What is a ‘Good Wine’?
Good question.
Not difficult to answer:
It’s whatever you like.
Simple.
Vneyards at Château Angélus in Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux, France
Tasting different wines over time is like visiting different countries, or learning fresh phrases in another language or exploring country or city roads around where you live. It’s like getting to know a neighborhood or building a house or writing a book or riding a bicycle. The more you do, the more familiar you become with the process and the entire landscape of that activity. Over time drinking different wines, you experience different tastes and styles and strengths; you tune into more details and understand the bigger picture of that entire agricultural industry.
Etalon Rouge vineyards in Fours, Bordeaux
In time you may find that the plonk you once adored now tastes a bit one dimensional and lame. That wine you slugged back as a teenager that gave you a cracking headache the next morning? You realize it never even tasted that good.
Riesling wine from New York state in the U.S.
As with reading or traveling or cooking, after time sampling different wines you grow hungry for more variety and exploration. The greater range of wines you drink, the more you also appreciate different levels of quality.
If I drink wine and think about it (does not always happen) I look for three basic levels of quality.
First—is the wine balanced? Unbalanced means there’s a dominance of some characteristic that’s not very pleasant, or is only appreciable in small doses. Balanced means that the different components—including fruit and tannin and alcohol—meld together in your mouth in a way that is at least pleasant. You won’t wince.
That’s a good baseline for a decent wine: balance.
Teroldego wine from northern Italy
Second—complexity and/or coherence. Complexity means that that taste of a wine has different layers, or levels. It’s like a movie that has a subplot, or at least a few unexpected surprises. Or, imagine you go to a party and meet not only friends you know, but intriguing or funny or memorable new characters who make you laugh or think differently or provide fresh information or viewpoints. Complexity is like having a dinner course with multiple flavors and even textures—creamy risotto as well as crunchy green beans and maybe even succulent sweet baby carrots. Think layers, surprise and exploration.
Coherence means that even if complexity is lacking, there’s strength of character in one aspect of that wine that pleases you and commands attention. It’s like going to a party and there’s a stage show and the comedian or singer or magician completely captivates your attention. It’s like reading a book where the plot may be thin, but the central character dazzles, or at least attracts and pleases you.
Casual wine bar in Saint-Tropez, France
For example, it may be a simple New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wine with a dominant and intriguing grapefruit character. Or the peppery snap of a well made wine from Carmenere grapes. It could be the beautiful and fruity roundness of a specific, gorgeous Merlot. ‘Coherence’ is a word I’ve adopted regarding wine to mean one memorable, focused aspect that makes you concentrate and perhaps even mentally applaud.
Complexity and coherence together are also possible: imagine going to that party, meeting fresh faces and also enjoying the stage show. It’s like eating a dinner where you not only appreciate the delicacy of that lemon sole—which captivates your attention—but are also mesmerized by that mint chocolate chip ice cream dessert that follows.
If a wine is balanced, and also has complexity or coherence, you should be a happy individual—smiling and satisfied.
Two cheerful Russian women enjoying excellent wine in Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux
The third level is emotion. You won’t get this very often, but when you do it’s memorable.
Let’s say a balanced and complex wine—even before any of the alcohol impacts you—makes you experience emotions you did not expect: joy or sadness or euphoria or whatever causes a flood of feelings to course inside. If wine tickles memory or jostles feelings which make you feel giddy or unusually high—that’s a bonus.
I recall sitting in the wine bar L’Univerre in Bordeaux City and sipping red Burgundy with a friend and being so blown away with the scent and taste that I wanted to get up and walk to other tables and clap strangers on the back and insist they sample the liquid nectar in my glass. Fortunately, my drinking companion convinced me that was not a wise idea. But the emotions caused by that wine? Outrageous.
Plenty of wine to taste and books to read
Emotion is when you go to a party, perhaps unexpectedly, and fall in love. It’s like watching a movie that makes you cry or laugh or decide to alter the fundamental trajectory of your life. It’s having that unexpected meal—quite likely in a small tavern in a tiny town you never heard of before and only stopped in because you got a flat tire—and being blown away by the medley, the gastronomic chorus, of different flavors from that plate.
That’s what I look for in wine, if making a mental effort to ‘look for’ anything. Plenty of wine is unbalanced (including some expensive bottles made by supposedly ‘renowned’ producers). If I just find balance, that’s great. That’s enough. That’s contentment. Throw in complexity/coherence, and that’s a treat. That’s special. That’s bonus and pleasure, and probably even involves sharing good times with friends.
A misty harvest morning in Etalon Rouge vineyard in Fours, Bordeaux
Emotion? That’s a jackpot. That is spotting, for the first time ever, that lovely woman seated inside the café working with pen and papers by her mug of tea and realizing she is intensely beautiful and attractive to you, although she is unaware that you even exist. It is meeting that individual introduced to you on a train platform on some rainy day when your mind was filled with complaints about not wanting to be there and hating the fact that you forgot your umbrella when suddenly the world—on encountering that friend of a friend when you least expected it—transforms to lightness and beauty, uplifted by this magical new individual who just blasted into your life.
Spanish Ribera del Duero wine in Madrid
Finally, one of the beauties of wine is unpredictability. Whereas you want one brand of beer to taste the same year to year, bar to bar, throughout the world, you want the opposite in wine. Even a wine made from grapes from the same vines each year by one producer will change in taste from vintage to vintage, year to year and bottle to bottle. The taste will also change depending on your mood and the weather, as well as the company you keep.
Which means, and this is an odd thing to say and even odder to realize, that sometimes—not often, but sometimes—you may find a wine that is not necessarily balanced or even complex but that, because of the situation on that sunlit autumn afternoon on that grassy hillside beneath an oak tree with a picnic and a blanket and wonderful company—still provides powerful and memorable emotions you can never replicate. Sometimes, in other words, the highest levels of quality in wine may unexpectedly emerge from a wine that until then was unknown, not renowned and until that moment never before mentioned as remarkable. Perhaps it’s a special vintage, or the angle of sunlight, or …. well, who knows.
That only happens sometimes.
Which is part of the magic of wine.
A casual afternoon glass of red wine inside the citadelle of Blaye, France
& & &
Now, visitors.
Remember weeks ago I wrote a three part series about driving a loop through south west France? There was Part l, Part II and Part III.
I did it as a way of saying goodbye to travel writing. I had always wanted to write books like those from travel writer Paul Theroux or Laurens Van Der Post or William Least Heat Moon. But I wrote a few travel books (self-published, and listed here) which never generated too much interest. So, I decided to do that little trip and write that little piece as a way of saying goodbye to travel writing.
Which I did.
Susie and Davide enjoying their visit to southwest France
And then, weeks later, out of the blue, a woman named Susie from New Jersey got in touch. She’d read these pieces. She said she wanted to visit France with her boyfriend Davide and do the same journey. Sure, I thought. Whatever. I never expected to hear anything more.
But they did! They showed up in the town Blaye, then drove that route up to Soulac-sur-Mer and spent a few evenings with me drinking red and white wines in our cellar and in a local restaurant and telling stories of travel and exploration. They said, keep writing, keep the ‘dry wit’ and to make my email address more conspicuous on this blog. That was a most unexpected surprise! They also ended up sharing novelties they learned about our own neighborhood, as well as that of nearby Saint-Émilion.
Sometimes only after you say goodbye to things does their very essence return. This may even encourage you to modify your direction a bit, then continue forward. There are no rules in life, and until we embrace that truth, our vision and opportunities will be limited.
& & &
My latest Forbes pieces are here and include more articles about sailing than wine in recent weeks, after a recent visit to Saint-Tropez.
[In the above video – Clarissa and Monica work hard at the harvest]
Our hand harvest of all Etalon Rouge Cabernet Sauvignon grapes was completed after 2.5 days of grueling effort (thanks to all who helped out, including Kim and Julie Hopkins, Monica, Pierre, Sonya and Thomas Marchand and many others). The new winery that Les and Clarissa undertook to prepare on Rue Saint Simon in Blaye is completed, spectacular, and now includes grapes merrily fermenting in oak.
New Etalon Rouge winery on Rue Saint Simon in Blaye, Bordeaux, France
Thanks again for tuning in!
Contact me anytime at: tjlmullen@gmail.com
You can also find me on Instagram or at my Roundwood Press site and blog.
Foire Aux Vins Makes For A Colorful Outing
LeClerc grocery store having its wine sale bonanza
In 1973 the French supermarket chain LeClerc held a wine sale called ‘Foire aux Vins,’ or the ‘fair of wines.’ Wines from all over the country were discounted, put on sale and were soon snapped up by bargain hunters.
The practice has blossomed, and now most supermarket chains in France do alike. Some do so both in fall and spring, although the fall season has most sales.
I was invited last night and showed up at LeClerc at 7.50 p.m., took a grocery cart, and was held at bay outside the doors until the main grocery store closed. At 8.10 p.m., the doors opened and a parade of shoppers bust forward clinging onto their carts.
Sampling of inexpensive, decent wines
I had expected a wine tasting only. Not so. A platoon of ladies greeted entrants by handing out plastic glasses filled with bubbly, and winemakers gave tastings along the aisles. I soon stuffed bottles of wine from Languedoc, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the Loire Valley, Provence and Bordeaux into the cart, as well as bottles from Italy and Austria. Most ranged in price from about five to fifteen Euros, although there were bottles from Saint-Émilion and elsewhere for up to 80 or 90 Euros.
In minutes, the cordoned segment of the supermarket turned into a sort of polite French carnival. The empty cartons I had put into my cart kept getting pilfered by others when I looked away, and wine sellers and makers not seen in months shouted their hellos across aisles. I watched two men who found a shelf of Languedoc wine selling for 2.50 Euros a bottle rapidly clean off the entire shelf into their basket with hungry gusto. A female doctor we know, who somehow managed to get into the store early, rapidly loaded up her cart, which was almost twice her size.
This can lay away for another decade and will still taste wonderful
After loading a few boxes with bargains from all over France, we pushed the cart to the check out and paid, happy to have scored bargain wines and to have participated in a slice of French consumer culture.
Comparing local prices to those on the Vivino app (which is somewhat of an average for the U.S.), retail prices in the U.S. range from being similar to those in France to about 75 percent more.
As an example, a few bottles are listed below with their equivalent Euro prices converted to U.S. dollars, as well as their U.S. price.
My kind of shopping cart
Savigny-Lés-Beaune Sous Lavières. 2017. $22.50 ($39.00 in U.S.). [Burgundy]
Cht de la Gardine Châteauneuf-du-Pape. 2016. $35.65 ($44.55 in U.S.) [Rhone]
Jean Chanussot Mercurey. $18.50 ($24.25 in U.S.) [Burgundy]
Cht de Cazeneuve Cynarah Pic Saint Loup. 2016. $10.30 ($14.99 in U.S. [Languedoc]
Cht Larrivet Haut-Brion. 2013. $29.40 ($27.20 in U.S.) [Bordeaux]
Cht La Tour de Mons, Margaux. 2015. $20.20 ($33.99 in U.S.) [Bordeaux]
Cht Haut Bourcier Cuvée Remy. 2012. $9.25 ($15.99 in U.S.) [Blaye, Bordeaux]
Cht Roland La Garde Tradition. 2015. $6.90 ($15.10 in U.S.) [Blaye, Bordeaux]
Campo Ai Sassi Rosso di Montalcino. 2016. $17.26 ($18.00 in U.S.) [Tuscany, Italy]
Weingut Autrieth Grüner Veltliner Eiswein. $14.75 ($14.86 in U.S.) [Austria]
Etalon Rouge hand harvest of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes
I checked the purchased wines with U.S. prices when I got home, and mistakenly thought that my Esprit de Valandrau from Saint-Émilion cost 19 Euros locally and $178 in the U.S.
Whoaa! I hustled back to LeClerc this afternoon to buy more bottles. But, no. Truth is, the Esprit is the second label, which costs comparatively the same in the U.S. as in France. The $178 price is for Valandrau’s top tier wine.
False alarm.
Thanks for tuning in again.
My latest Forbes pieces are here and include interviews with two who have hiked the El Camino de Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage trail in Spain, sparkling wine from near Italy’s Dolomite Mountains, why I grapple with grappa, the virtues of Hungarian oak and biodynamic wine making in Oregon.
Harvest lunch – before the main course of chicken
Finally, as I mentioned on social media—we recently harvested the first half of our one hectare (2.5 acre) Etalon Rouge (‘Red Stallion’) vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. This year looks like it might just produce a Stellar Vintage!
Vineyard harvest lunch break in the commune of Fours in Bordeaux
Driving A Counterclockwise Spiral Through Southwest France – Part lll
[This is the last of a three part series about a recent journey. French words are italicized; some, not all, are translated.]
This post is a few weeks overdue…
General location in France
The overall, brief but colorful, route
The final route segment
PART THREE: FOREST, SHORES, CITY
Soulac-sur-Mers
I pulled off a sweater, rolled up sleeves and began the 3.5 mile drive to Soulac-sur-Mer.
The roadside included pine and palm trees, sandy road shoulders and villas behind trimmed hedges, white wood fences or chains linked by squat brick columns. This made the locale appear to be a similar but slightly shaggier version of famed Cap Ferret further south. One bonus here: ample parking.
A scaled down statue of liberty as tribute to Marquis Lafayette
Near the Atlantic Ocean I found a museum run by the Memorial of Fortresses in North Medoc. Part of France was occupied by German forces during the Second World War, including the country’s coastal western strip. Resistance was organized and coordinated (including by the British) both in England and surreptitiously in France.
Inside I looked at old uniforms and guns and photos and maps in glass cases. There were hand grenades and medals and rusted pistols and drab olive green gas masks as well as buttons and belt buckles. Everything was aged and oxidized and most had been dug out of local salty sand. The curator at this little outpost sat me down before a small television screen that showed a black and white video of war footage in France. It was all people prancing with victory music and aerial shots of bombarded ships and capped French officers hoisting flags as American tanks squeezed along dirt roads. The black and white footage included medals pinned on soldiers, salutes, handshakes, marching in formation and roadside crowds cheering on French troops. If only victory had been that clean. The museum is a reminder of how heavily fortified and defended this peninsula was by Germans, as well as of bloody battles required to recapture this terrain.
Looking toward the distant Phare de Cordouan lighthouse from Soulac
One war story is that of Operation Frankton, where a group of 10 soldiers, led by the initiator of the plan—Herbert ‘Blondie’ Hasler—paddled five canvas canoes (each with two-persons) from the mouth of the Gironde Estuary to Bordeaux city, placed mines under German ships and then retreated to a northeastern estuary bank near Blaye before escaping on foot.
The operation was akin to the Doolittle Raid of Tokyo in 1942, when 16 U.S. aircraft bombed that city. The real damage was not physical but psychological—alerting enemies to unrealized vulnerabilities in the heart of their best defended positions.
Only four of these soldiers made it to Bordeaux to inflict minimal damage and only two—Hassler and canoe partner Bill Sparks—escaped. Two canoes, swamped by ocean waves, immediately vanished at the mouth of the estuary, and another six men were apprehended and executed. After the war Hasler organized, and participated in, a single-handed transatlantic ocean race between New York and Plymouth.
Fresh fish for sale
Outside I spied a blazing trio of flags—American, French and European. I pulled over to where dunes rose and waves roared. Here was a bronze miniature Statue of Liberty. Rescued from abandoned disuse in Paris in 1980, the statue now celebrates the Marquis Lafayette, who at 19 years of age departed France in 1777 to fight for liberty in America, then returned to France to participate in the Revolution. The statue was made from original molds used to model the actual Statue of Liberty.
A father walked his two young daughters, each three feet tall and wearing a turquoise bicycle helmets as well as mirrored sunglasses with colored frames. He carried their bicycles across the street into town. If not for victory, I wondered, what freedom would those children have now?
Beach art
I kicked off sandals and climbed dunes, toes squishing through delicious layers of warm and cool sand, and looked westward across waves, ever attractive and always inspiring. Soon I visited another beachside memorial that included four French flags and names, hundreds, inscribed on a black marble wall commemorating the 1944-1945 liberation of Point de Graves, this northernmost tip of the Médoc.
Soulac-sur-Mer is a regular beachside holiday town, stuffed with roadside parked cars and a waterfront with dozens of international flags. Along walkways and the main road moved morning joggers, a stylish young brunette in a polished black Mini, a stroller carrying a scared terrier in his arms and ample men with ugly, unkempt and unwashed Rastafarian braided dreadlock hairstyles—each moving arm in arm with a female mate, each resembling a runway model. Did I recently miss the onset of this bizarre latest trend?
At noon, I ordered an orange juice at Les Chiens Fous. From an outer table I watched a healthy parade of multicolored generations reveling in the wind bitten and sun soaked day, evincing joy and health and movement and some sensible disregard for social media for at least a few hours.
Soulac’s summer highlights include ample bicycling, family friendly everything, juicy fresh fruits and historical reminders of a darkly jagged history where liberty eventually prevailed over an industry of genocide. Times have changed, people have moved on, nations and identities have—thankfully—merged.
On the southern edge of the city I found a shack of a wine store. A glazed eyed man in a cap with a remote and faraway look melted into his lawn chair out front. I walked in.
Fresh from the market
A rotund and chummy woman appeared. We spoke. They sold two types of wine. One from Perpignan, on the other side of France; one from Castillon on the other side of Bordeaux city—itself far away.
I inspected the Castillon. Five euros for a bottle of red. And the Perpignan. Three euros a bottle for rosé. That included the cost of shipping it across the country. I decided to buy both to try. If the rosé was a go, perhaps California’s Two Buck Chuck may have met its match. I pulled bottles from the counter. Later I tried the rosé. Not Bad. Not good. Not really a surprise.
Montalivet
The beach of Montalivet, further south along the Atlantic coast, parallels thick pine forests and dunes demarcated by a long and shaggy wood picket fence. Here again there was bicycling for all ages, surfing, kite surfing, beach volleyball and beach soccer. The town’s abbreviation in ‘Monta,’ hence signs for Monta Surf School and Monta Pizza.
Pedestrian Avenue de L’Ocean was as jammed and sweaty as a summer outdoor concert. There were bikers in black bandannas, a skirted boy wearing a pearl necklace and a swarthy, bearded chap in a pirate’s hat. I counted 24 people in line outside the ATM. This crowded summer family scene with too many bodies hungering for fast food made me return to the car and get out…fast.
Montalivet – too crowded
The southern outskirts of Montalivet skirts several forests: Dunaire, Vendays and Junda. There are adjacent miles of bicycle trails, as well as a separate asphalt bicycle path paralleling the road through deep, dense, lovely woods—all a glorious escape after the pedestrian human zoo of Montalivet. Long distance bikers (many with children) moved with loaded panniers, while shirtless boys skateboarded. One couple picked roadside blackberries. The towering, expansive woods of the Médoc are a cathedral, a living and breathing respite from nearby sea tides of humans clustered on narrow streets. Although this road is a patchwork of asphalt repairs—a buckled, neglected semi-artery through the woods—it magnificently lacks bleating crowds.
Hourtin-Plage
I liked Hourtin-Plage immediately: a square grassy park, uncluttered side streets, dispersed groups of people with nothing to prove. I sat at a shaded table at Le Grillon Restaurant and ordered fresh tuna with herbal vinaigrette sauce and Château Pouyannne white wine from Graves—poured into a less than pretentious big bulb of a glass with the words Gallo Family Vineyards printed on the side. Then, aha! Once again: seated dead ahead—another lame knot of ugly and unwashed dreadlocks on an enervated youth eating lunch together with a ten star babe. What is going on, World?
Rated restaurants hope to neutralize unpredictability by providing consistently good food. Sometimes this works; not always. There’s strange, unpredictable magic in dining out. Michelin Star restaurants offer food that is visual artwork, although not always delicious, and staff can be as stilted as furniture in a doll’s house. Better to have good people, soul filling and reasonably priced fare that is delicious as well as decent wine (even table wine) with friendly staff who treat diners alike whether they are celebrities or off duty dishwashers. You can’t predict when you’ll find this confluence. This restaurant ticked those boxes, and was a pleasure to visit. The atmosphere was quiet and happy, and the staff unrushed but efficient.
For dessert I ordered a café gourmand (you don’t know what this is? It can change your life) before motoring south to Bordeaux city.
Bordeaux City
This has been a cracked and brutal summer with tree leaves, burnt and withering, turning yellow and brown mid August. August is an odd and mobile month in France, a time when train stations may close on Friday mornings (for whatever reason), when libraries often close for the month and school-free students with weird haircuts loiter and slouch and share lame jokes at train stations or on street corners. This is traveling season when commuters haul luggage more often than shopping bags and vines look trim and grapes full and dangling.
The Garonne River looked gloriously muddy, its shores a pastel of muck and weeds while beyond rose beautiful Bordeaux city spires and stately architecture, all as deliciously proportioned as a well decorated Christmas tree.
Spires in this city welcome you, a reminder that this was home of Eleanor of Aquitaine and centuries of medieval knights and troubadours, sword and ax fights and wandering bards. The spires piercing skylines are part of lithic architecture that curls parallel to, and along, the city’s winding waterfront.
I parked near the main railway station, Gare Saint-Jean, which is as much destination as thoroughfare. Here classical piano music rang out and the overall vibe was less raucous than stations at, say, Paris Montparnasse or Milano Centrale.
Out front were trams and a bendy bus departing for Place de la Bourse (5 stops). I boarded and paid. Away it whooshed and rattled along past road construction near Pont de Pierre, the stone bridge crossing the Garonne with 17 arches, one for each letter of Napoléon Bonaparte’s name.
Place de la Bourse
Near the water of River Garonne is Bourse, a wall of beautiful stone apartments and offices. Across the street is a sizable horizontal fountain with multiple jets that spray mist or flood the surface with water a half inch deep. Kids lay down and did snow angels and belly rolls and everything that makes parents cringe at seeing their children wallow on stone earth before a battery of strangers. Still, kids here are generally not bratty or loud or obstinate but whisper and sing and cuddle their parents with overt affection.
A tour guide who looked pre-teen carried a red flag on a stick and marched a group of visitors across Place de la Bourse, She was followed by a sizable woman and several youths attired with the latest style of backpack—basically pear shaped leather pouches on strings slung so low that they bounce off wearers’ rear ends.
Others drove rental bicycles over square cobbles, jouncing butts and boobs and halting to take toothy selfies. They’re all very stylish these French: couples with matching sailor shirts and a woman in debonair silver lace sandals pulling a chique but heavy chunk of luggage across cobblestones. This contrasted sharply to the attire I saw weeks earlier in the aisles of Walmart in rural New Mexico.
I moved by foot into the sunny heart of this magnificent city, compact and clique, global yet quintessentially French. Here is a smattering of public squares—places—that makes the city infectiously attractive: I begin at Place de Parlement with woofing dogs, two lost cyclists, a three year old holding her mother’s bouquet of flowers and roadside stone bollards linked by thick and weathered chains. I passed a parked pink Vespa near to where diners scarfed down plates of salad nicoise and drank golden ales and light yellow wines.
Then, up Rue du Pas-Saint-Georges with its abundant little eateries—terraced and table clothed—such as Le Saint Georges and Osteria Da Luigi. Next—past Place Camille-Jullian with an ancient Roman column and performing tightrope walker and trimly dressed ambling Asians who smelt of lavender.
For a light dinner I ate at an Asian restaurant across from Bradley’s Bookshop (‘Coffee & Tea Taste Better with a Good Book!’). This is the confluence of Rue Saint-Siméon, Rue de La Merci and Rue Arnaud Miqueu.
Earlier in the bookstore I had purchased a Jared Diamond book The World Until Yesterday as well as Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari and three short stories by Nabokov and then walked outside and relished the gorgeous temperature. There on Rue Saint Siméon clunky dented bicycles were chained in twos, like drunken sentries, on metal rails and I noticed several American visitors dressed alike: sneakers, beige cargo shorts, gray t-shirts.
There I dined outside—à l’extérieur—and ordered Saké Teriyaki and a half bottle of Château Boyrein white wine from Graves and wallowed in the acoustic beauty of young French ladies chatting at the adjacent table. The dress and comportment of families and couples here was sleek and trim and bereft of loudness or bulk.
Eating with chopsticks, I noticed the constants of summertime: mirrored sunglasses, tanned legs, older wrinkled French wives sucking on vapes, short sleeves showing off intricate tattoos. Most families, even when herded on crowded streets, stayed harmonious and polite.
Even in the most hectored and aggravated cobbled intersections, stuffed with ambling bodies and toddling toddlers I was amazed to see driving school vehicles shunting along these rues (one came close to taking out the entire table of gabbing teens beside me).
If not full on savoir-faire on the part of visitors who obviously just arrived, they displayed a quiescent hush, as though in a cathedral during service. This toning down of loud voices showed respect for a location different from their home.
It is easy to love this city, including its understated power (three times it functioned as the alternative capital of France) and its yawning confidence—much like a Grand Cru Classe wine that commands a committed audience and generates a fat bank balance. A thousand years ago the Aquitaine was the veritable living Elysian Fields of Europe.
Without being reputed so, this city is also a pillar of style and fashion and architectural glory (dusted off by Mayor Alain Juppé, who led the cleaning of stone buildings since his election in 2006).
Next, up the main shopping street—pedestrian Rue Sainte-Catherine—which, near its northern (theater) end, is slightly inclined and heaved with swarms of pulsating humans, sweeping their own divergent paths, clutching plastic bags and bicycle helmets and with clicking heels navigating baby strollers and parading tattooed thighs or signal-red lipstick as they cooed and froed and peddled scooters or paraded along this artery, this aorta, of an ancient yet revitalized city. Tanned sisters bantered about lingerie before Yves Rochet while necklaced divas darted into H&M, and a snoozing, horizontal indigent—his cap and framed family photo propped up on the walkway before him—actually made money while he slept.
I diverted westward off Saint-Catherine along Rue de la Porte Dijeaux. At first the stone road was inclined in a steep V for drainage and had a whiff of urine but I sallied forth past the stores: Galeries Lafayette and L’Atelier du Chocolat (try a feuilleté blanc or Rocher Suisse Noir—sinfully delicious) and passed young ladies gandering at summer dresses in the window of Bimba y Lola.
This street / rue then intersected with Rue Vital-Carles, which offered an inclined gape at the rosary window and graceful spire of Cathédrale Saint-André. Here, a tram car passed—not the blocky stocky style like those from Lisbon but sleek and blue and whispering efficiently along rails tastefully embedded in stone pavement.
Here at the corner is Librairie Mollat—a book selling institution in the city with its blue tinged wooden window frames showing abundant titles (Varuna by Charles Frazier, The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse and A Column of Fire by Ken Follet).
Then, on foot through the ancient stone gate—Porte Dijeux, built in the 1700’s to commemorate the ancient western, Roman entrance to the city. Outside Le Bistro de la Porte drinkers at round marble tables languished with books and parfaits and eerie green cocktails while loud jazz throbbed through a cheery humid Friday afternoon.
I spotted second hand books for sale, including one on how to be a perfect gentleman—Le Guide du Parfait Gentleman—with a chapter titled comment être sexuelle (how to be sexual).
Place Jean Moulin gave a flurry of brazen impressions—gesticulating visitors wearing Hawaiian shirts and girls rolling cigarettes and every person in this open space belittled by the ancient, shiny, imposing spire of Saint-André cathedral.
Next, down Cours Pasteur—eerily empty at 4.51 on a Friday afternoon, past a bicycle store selling bangers and a vapid ‘international bar’ that can’t even attract locals. I sauntered through Place de la Victoire with its live Peruvian flute music, an Egyptian obelisk and a magnificent old stone Román door beside a sinuous street. I hiked along at a rare clip in order to drive northward to catch the ferry back to Blaye.
Then along Cours de la Marne past Marché des Capucins where strange spices, bizarre fish and esoteric vegetables flourish in cool interior stalls during weekends. From Bordeaux city I drove northward, through the famed wine country of Médoc (which I’ll omit, having covered it in so many other stories and articles).
The Ferry Home
The road northward to Lamarque ran along groomed and clean roads passing well snipped hedges and grassy but mowed road shoulders. The church spire of Lamarque resembles a long bullet, or the capsule cover to a syringe.
Finally, homeward on the Lamarque to Blaye car ferry. The 3.45 p.m. boat left on time, pirouetted in sun dappled but muddy water and the day, with fresh breezes on that Friday afternoon in August was uplifting and, considering it marked the completion of this local driving loop—perfect.
During the 25 minute ride to Blaye I sat upstairs in sunshine where the sight of the nearing cliffside Citadelle looked beautiful. Perfect. Like home anywhere.
^ ^ ^
Thanks for tuning in again.
My latest Forbes pieces are here, and include sparkling wine from Trentino in Italy, why it’s worth visiting the beaches of Bordeaux, and a slice of Bali in Bordeaux.
[This is the second of a three part series about a recent short journey. Part I is here, and Part III will come out next week. French words are italicized; some, not all, are translated.]
PART TWO: NORTH AND WEST.
The Big Picture – Location in France
It’s preferable to travel by train or bus or on foot if you are writing about travel. A car, obviously, needs to be driven. You can’t write while driving. You need to pull over. So, I often endlessly search for rest areas or alleys to pull into to capture notes and thoughts. All of this searching can suck away part of the joy of freewheeling and being on the road. Or else you can remember what you want to write about by constructing mental images—mnemonics (think of the book Moonwalking with Einstein). Years ago I once met and shared beers with a canoeist in Atchison, Kansas along the Missouri River. I had no recorder or notebook so configured his story mentally using a pyramid of interconnected images, then later transcribed our conversation, virtually verbatim, into a chapter.
Grapes from our Etalon Rouge vineyard in Four, near Blaye
The bizarre part was that he had worked overseas in Guam with land titles for 20 years, left his job, returned to the U.S., bought a canoe and launched into the upper Missouri River to paddle south before learning that the river had dams. Several. Each of them massive. Much of his expected river adventure turned into a series of lake water paddles.
The relatively short overall route along the Gironde estuary and in the Médoc
Back to France:
Regardless of the challenges of driving and writing, I continued on from the town of Blaye in southwest France, moving north.
I exited Blaye on an Ektachrome blue morning past the handsome slate spire of Château Lagrange and country roads with full, flourishing greenery and thick hedgerows. Around a country corner I passed Château Segonzac (near the final landing point for Operation Frankton canoeists during World War Two; more about that next week) across the street from a field of sunflowers.
The sunflowers of Charente-Maritime province
Here were reeds, plains, spires, fields filled with stubble and dirt clods, and cyclists moving along thin roads bordered by wild earthen canals. Along the Route du Marais and Route de Montalpin beside Canal de Ceinture, I saw—miles ahead—four white cylinders, like salt shakers from a cheap diner, marking the local nuclear power plant—the Centrale Nucléaire du Blayais. Located on a plain east of the estuary, this assemblage of four pressurized reactors comprises the local cathedral of energy.
Part II – Blaye to Le Verdon-sur-Mer
It’s been humming along since 1981, churning out thousands of megawatts and employing three hundred locals full-time. It produces a scant five percent of French energy needs and is poised across the estuary from Bordeaux’s Médoc, bastion of some of the world’s most renowned and expensive wines. One nuclear catastrophe there and, well, your precious bottle of Lafite might quintuple in value in the space of an earthquake. Is that possible? Who knows? Flooding in 1999 breached the walls and soaked the plant with 3.2 million gallons of floodwaters, while seismic shudders in 2002 threatened the integrity of its pipelines.
Countryside near Braud-et-Saint-Louis
Next, through the town of Braud-et-Saint-Louis, gateway to the nuclear compound, and except for a roundabout and an eerily placed set of emergency warning klaxons on the roof of the mayor’s office, I saw little else. Visiting the power plant is off-limits except during special visitor days, so I moved past this thunderclap of power en route to Mortagne-sur-Gironde.
‘The locks,’ ‘The port,’ ‘Everywhere’
Miles up the road I stopped at Saint-Ciers-sur-Gironde, a bustling hive and cluster of Tuesday morning errand runners. At the Super U I bought a two chausson aux pommes and a mango passion fruit smoothie for breakfast. In the check out before me stood a woman with two girls—likely 5 to 7 years old—with their new school notebooks and markers and, bizarrely, a paperback copy of The Disappearance of Josef Mengele by Olivier Guez. Light reading, not.
Five star Château Mirambeau accommodation
I next drove through a happy slab of slanted vineyards and open views and entered the province of Charente-Maritime and within yards saw the first field of corn. There were doves and cooing pigeons and semi trucks hauling hay bales in this twisted, hilly, little known patch of geography that sizzles with quiet landscape beauty. I then navigated through thin roads in towns such as Petit Niort and lively Mirambeau, with its purple window shutters and rows of thick eucalyptus trees.
Chalky cliffs outside Mortagne-sur-Gironde
Mortagne-sur-Gironde
There is an upper and lower portion to the town of Mortagne-sur-Gironde, the upper being a long row of sand colored stone buildings, the lower being a port, perpendicular to the massive Gironde Estuary, with dozens of boats and a few waterside restaurants. During the same December flood of 1999 that gnashed at the nuclear power plant near Blaye, the tempest ruined a polder at Mortagne, a 470 acre (190 hectare) crop of diked and reclaimed land. It was never fully reclaimed.
Harbor at Mortagne-sur-Gironde
The port is lively on a summer afternoon. I parked and walked past grassy spaces next to wooden gated locks, campers with fold out canopies and garishly colored lawn chairs, children dancing under trees, zones of poor internet service and a bikinied bicyclist taking selfies along a stone harbor wall. The Gironde is about a mile, or a kilometer and a half away, but the beauty of limestone bluffs meeting a silty delta next to prim and tended grassy parks with shaded benches makes this port attractive. A menu outside a linen table clothed restaurant gastronomique showed it was selling buffalo mozzarella gazpacho as well as duck cannelloni with herbs, but I decided to wait until the next town before lunch.
Little used side canal in Mortagne-sur-Mer
Talmont-sur-Gironde
Miles to the north, the view from the town of Chenac-Saint-Seurin-d’Uzet toward the town of Talmont-sur-Gironde shows a visually alluring angled slab of bright white sea cliff (likely limestone). This land includes cylindrical hay bales and mixed agriculture—dirty small sheep north of Mortagne, sunflowers, vines and muscular and cream-colored cattle chomping grass with fury.
Limestone cliffs just south of Talmont-sur-Gironde
In Talmont-sur-Gironde I sat in shade on a restaurant porch and ordered merlu (hake) fish and a Leffe beer, followed by an apple tart—tarte aux pommes—slathered with caramel covered ice cream.
Estuary view from Talmont-sur-Gironde
Whereas Mortagne is shaggy, Talmont is prim. Parking at Mortagne is free, but costs in Talmont. Campers and bikers and locals flock to Mortagne, while urban families and couples with convertibles trundle into Talmont. On busy summer days, Mortagne is a fiesta, while Talmont is a zoo. In Mortagne, lunch lasts an unrushed two to three hours, while in Talmont, four separate servers on a crowded patio cater to every need, as though in the U.S.,and whoosh out dessert before you even switch from drinking an entry beer to a glass of dry white wine. In Mortagne, the restaurant staff speak French; in Talmont they practice English, whether or not you like it. Mortagne is France; Talmont is California. And if both were in California, one would be Ventura, the other Newport Beach.
Typically bright colored shutters in Talmont-sur-Gironde
‘Now, coffee and bill,’ a server said loudly in English as he plopped both on the table before I’d begun downing the glass of wine. His action was polished, though slightly rude and harried.
Still, walking after lunch was golden. Views within and from little Talmont are splendid—mud flats and fluttering birds and tidal waters all somewhat reminiscent, on a minuscule scale, of Mont Saint Michel in northern France. Here there is wind, a balustrade of climatic temperance that mitigated an otherwise harshly hot week. This wind becomes a song in the ears—rustling reeds, licking tree branches, scudding cumulus and vibrating its bounty of peace. Clean air and clear vistas from the shores of Talmont: magnificent.
The church of Saint Radegonde in Talmont-sur-Gironde sits above the estuary
Estuary waters look muddy from here, though the sight of snow white egrets and the laugh of cycling couples is, in the wake of wine and beer and a seafood at lunch, sumptuous. Truth is, I love Talmont.
It’s a wee promontory around Saint Radegonde church, originally constructed in 1094, a time when Saint Marks Basilica was consecrated in Venice and just before work began on the Cathedral of Durham in northern England. The church and village jut into tidal waters and are riddled with cobbled alleys and little stores. I love its stony white paths, elevated trail above water and sight of seabirds on seaweed coated isles; the brazen blocky église, the photogenetically trim vistas and the myriad of colors on rock and soil and cobbles. There is a Venetian profusion of little alleys here (again, on a minuscule scale) leading to who knows where.
View from Saint Radegonde church of the Gironde estuary, in Talmont-sur-Gironde
Bicyclists of all ilk gather here, whether healthy and not, compelled by a shoreline visit that blends brutal history with skittish and deft scenes of nature. So, more power to both venues—Mortagne and Talmont, although I’d hate to see the ritual of a lazy two wine bottle lunch supplanted by Anglo Saxon infatuation with speed, table turnover, efficiency, profit and time.
This is also home to Les Hauts de Talmont wine, which produces biodynamic wines, including a 100% Colombard white, as well as a red and a rosé made from Merlot. Co-owner Jean-Jacques Vallée told me the story about these wines when we met.
Jean-Jacques Vallée is now co-owner of Les Hauts de Talmont wines
I left town but soon pulled over and parked in a park within the nearby villages of Arces-sur-Gironde because the church is a beauty, and I marched through a ghostly silent village, relishing birdsong interspersed with silence.
Church in Arces-sur-Gironde
Back in the car I listened to Gregorian music while passing slanted fields of sunflowers—tournesols—their heads pointed downward to avoid August sun in this land of escargot and pineau fortified wine and estuary sturgeon caviar and the summer clank and rumble of rubber tractor wheels and grinding motors.
Royan
The next morning I woke to rain and soon dialed the car radio to a channel named musique (which was classique) and by 5.20 a.m. heat pushed into the car, forcing me to crack open windows. The scent and whoosh of nature zipped in and, combined with the beauty of outer fog sheets, felt uplifting.
Waterview from near the ferry port in Royan
I passed the lovely small beaches of Meschers and the long open sands of Saint-Georges-de-Didonne and moved into the cloying whiff of highway diesel outside the city of Royan. Many buildings in this city of 18,000 residents are concrete and rectangular and painted white with navy blue porch rails. Streets curl along with seaside topography and are generally wide and lined generously with trees. It’s a cross between some 1960’s Floridian beach architecture and that of a modern coastal California suburb. Strategically located at the northwest entry point to the Gironde estuary (largest in Europe), the city was 80 percent leveled by bombs during the Second World War, so the absence of medieval charm is understood. Parts of the city have a positive and prosperous vibe, with BMW sports cars sweeping out from occasional gated communities to secure family morning lattes.
A wooden walkway and a parallel stone bicycle path curl around the beach periphery lined with profusions of planted flowers. The waterfront here is a maintained and orderly, with an air of respect for health and fitness. At 7.00 a.m. both a gardener and a leaf blower were humming with industriousness.
Waterfront flowers in the city of Royan
I stepped into dawn light and the salty, invigorating scent of ocean air, then shivered in a cold 60 degree breeze while wearing shorts, sandals and a thin shirt. I sat on a park bench at an ocean point on Boulevard de la Côte d’Argent—reminded by its ocean freshness of California’s Laguna Beach or Ireland’s Salthill. (Another reminder of Laguna Beach: a conspicuous sign notifying that from April 1 to September 30th, no dogs are allowed on the beach.) A tractor was grooming the cove’s sand beside Casino Barrière and red-roofed waterside stone homes across this little bay—Plage de Pontaillac—appeared attractive and cozy. The memory of having packed a warm sweater in the car was welcome.
Pontaillac Beach in Royan
At 7.08 a.m., men in their 60’s were going swimming (freezing!) or bicycling and a 30 some year old woman, all togged out in sports wear and strapped with some electronic health monitor, went for a very slow stroll. The breakfast porch of four-story and three Star Hotel Miramar looked inviting, but I whiffed the scent of fresh croissants from down the street and hunted the source on foot, still shivering.
At pâtisserie-boulangerie Chocolat’in, on Rue de la Plage, I bought a roll filled with chocolate chips, then sat on another bench near seagulls and strollers. I eyed the northwest elevated edge of the cove with its two dozen painted white wooden fishing shacks. Here be palm trees, joggers and slow rolling waves during the easy morning transition to dawn.
Bakery delights in the city of Royan
I soon meandered along a park profuse with geraniums and roses. This square—Mado Maurin—includes a curling bike path near a pizzeria. Standing youths wearing suede jackets finished their breakfast pastries and then, in bare feet, push started a friend’s Fiat near the Surf Club Royan. I was underdressed but excited about the up coming ferry ride across the yawning mouth of Europe’s largest estuary. The car ferry, known as le bac in France, next departed next at 9.00. I paid at the entry booth, parked next to vehicles with snoozing vacationers, then went for a walk.
Anchored close to the Captainerie building bobbed tugs and massive catamarans, sleek yachts, rubber dinghies with heavy engines and sailed fishing boats.
View of Gironde estuary from south of Royan
I wondered why this northern ferry cost 50 percent more than the ferry between Blaye and Lamarque further south. After departure, I realized that it is, in comparison, an asphalt highway compared to a dirt track, a Marriott versus some Motel 6. You pay at a booth from your car window before even entering the dock space, are assigned a waiting line, and eventually drive straight on to park. Simple. No ejecting passengers who have to walk aboard on foot, no maneuvering 180 degrees before being barked at to reverse into a narrow back slot and then having to stand in a line to pay. The indoor waiting room of this northern ferry includes not just a coffee machine, as in Blaye, but a cafe staffed by two selling an ample range of drinks and snacks.
Northern Médoc
The ferry departed at 9.00 to a massive horn blast, then aimed at the far shore with its sloping green grassy sand dunes, a point of natural beauty. Westward and within the ocean stands the towering white Phare de Cordouan lighthouse, oldest in operation in France. It was first built by the Black Prince Edward of Wales in the 1360’s, about the time the bubonic plague ended, the Chinese Ming dynasty began, the 100 Years War raged, Pope Urban V tried moving the Papacy back to Rome from Avignon, Muscovites built a Kremlin Wall around their city to oppose Lithuanian invasions and the Thai Kingdom conquered (once again) Cambodia.
Pointe-de-Grave on the ‘left bank’ of the Gironde Estuary
Waves on this crossing are oceanic, not estuarine: whopping great swells that lurch stomachs and shift stances only minutes after departure. The bac pivots up down and sideways—like a traveling fairground ride—impacting platoons of passengers: capped grandpas, cuddling lovers and families munching baguettes. After twenty minutes it threaded a needle between concrete pillars and entered the modern harbor at Pointe de Grave. Vehicles and dozens of bicycles disembarked, including families and a lean bronze muscled couple paddling tandem with backpacks.
Point-de-Grave harbor
I soon stopped across from LeClerc supermarket Le Verdon-sur-Mer and walked across the street to Epicerie Chez Cathy—small and stocked with fruit and veg. There I bought a peach from a prim and polite young lady and outside saw a beautiful roadside counter of fish on ice garnished with greens. Two energetic women at this mobile poissonnerie—Bateau Cassy—sell maigres, bars, dorades, and soles, all festooned with slices of lemon. Both businesses—Cathy and Cassy add a local market dimension to the looming adjacent chain store.
Next, south to Soulac-sur-Mer, and then onto Bordeaux City.
Driving A Counterclockwise Spiral Through Southwest France
[This is the first of a three part series about a recent journey. Parts two and three will come out next week and the week after. French words are italicized; some, not all, are translated.]
PART I. HOME GROUND.
The Shape Of A Short Trip.
The Big Picture – location in France
Inspiration to explore my neighborhood came from writer Paul Theroux. I first heard of this author when I took a train from El Paso in Texas to Mexico City with a backpack, decades ago. I paid 36 dollars for a 36-hour train ride in an old 1940’s American train caboose with my own cabin, including toilet and bed. A conductor walked along the hallway swinging a silver pail and selling iced beers. The train sometimes stopped in the middle of nowhere and we’d step outside and buy homemade tamales from kids.
During this trip I met a house painter from the highlands of Colorado. He suggested reading The Old Patagonian Express—By Train Through the Americas by Theroux. I did. Years later, the author’s writing inspired me to join the Peace Corps. I ended up in the same African country where he served—Malawi—and on the same month that we volunteers arrived an article appeared in National Geographic, written by Theroux, about his revisit to that nation. This curiously timely coincidence encouraged me to continue wandering. I savored his book Riding the Iron Rooster—By Train Through China while malaria ridden in a village without electricity or running water south of Chitipa in rural Malawi, and years later while working in the desert outback of Namibia, Africa, relished The Happy Isles of Oceania.
Theroux’s latest travel collection is Figures In A Landscape—People & Places. I read it weeks ago. In one essay he mentioned a desire to explore his neighborhood and I was seized with the sudden certainty to do alike.
The relatively short route along the Gironde estuary and in the Médoc
How to explore my neighborhood here in southwest France? First, my vintage, bulletproof Mercedes that once belonged to the Nigerian ambassador in London now lacks air conditioning and the motor is prone to overheating. This means I can’t travel too far during any brutal August day because the heat—la chaleur—will be sweltering and may cause engine problems. Yet I had to get beyond known terrain. Before plotting a route on Google maps I did so mentally. Locations to visit unfurled like a counterclockwise semi-spiral across the provinces of Charente-Maritime and Gironde. The trail resembled a snail’s curl, or the cross section of a squashed croissant. When I looked at a map this little route was not a spiral so much as a reverse P, or a capital Q. Finally, I plotted this tour on Google and the shape of the journey resembled a tilted slipper, or an amoeba with a flagella tail. Perhaps a partially peeled banana. In some regards, then—yes—a spiral.
But, seriously, who cares?
I stuffed a sweater and corkscrew and extra iPhone batteries into a cotton shoulder bag and throttled off at dawn, beginning the wonky semi-spiral path leading, of course, back home in time for weekend parties. The route began at Saint-André-de-Cubzac, headed north through hometown of Blaye, upward to coastal Royan, across water by ferry to the Médoc, southward past beaches and then on to Bordeaux city.
On y va. Let’s go!
Part l – Saint-André-de-Cubzac to Blaye
Saint André-de-Cubzac, Bourg, Corniche de La Gironde
I entered Saint-André-de-Cubzac at a traffic roundabout with a statue of a leaping dolphin wearing an angled red cap, because this is the birthplace of ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau. I then slipped into a parking space outside the gare—train station—and wandered off to hunt for the morning market.
Linked to a major motorway as well as a railway line, and located on the Dordogne River, Saint-André is a gateway to greater Bordeaux city. This town has long been a center of commerce. Twelfth century rulers built north-south and east-west roads (known as the ‘cardo’ and ‘decumanus’–terms invented by clever Tuscan Etruscans) with a church at the intersection. It was pivotal for trading wine with those living in that angle of land between the Dordogne and Garonne rivers known as ‘Between the Rivers’ or ‘Entre-deux-Mers.’
Birthplace of Cousteau
Streets here hum and moan and screech with traffic—chortling semi trucks and belching SUV’s. These pass handsome buildings assembled from tan sandstone. Many rues include clusters of hairdressers, banks and real estate agents.
I passed a jogging girl and a man painting the iron rails around his garden. An ambulance driver honked at his friends. But where was the market? Better still, where could I get a mug of coffee? I walked past the stone Justice de Paix building where a woman dressed in orange pulled her matching brick colored shopping trolley, obviously heading to (or from?) some market. I followed.
Quiet street in Saint-André-de-Cubzac
Streams of strollers coalesced near Place Raoul Larche, where I entered Bar Brasserie of Cafe de l’Hotel de Ville across from a charcuterie. There I ordered a grand cafe crème from a stout, affable tanned man who, when I asked est-ce que c’est un marché aujourd-hui? nodded and replied simply, oui, then pointed in the direction from where I just came.
Merde. Which means, shite. Had I somehow missed the market?
Market fresh
I sat and sipped the bitter morning brew on an unkempt terrace littered with ciggie butts. Knolls of grass poked through cracked masonry where roots, long ago, heaved through bricks.
Yet, aha! There was another road leading slightly uphill and to the left. I finished the coffee and moved that way past Le Rolling Snack, the Boucherie Fortin (‘entrecôte bordelaise Euros 1.90/kg’) and found a sign: Marché Réglementé (regulated market) outside a parking lot where stalls covered in white canopies stood.
Although not as picturesque as a market in, say Sarlat-la-Canéda or Périgueux in the Dordogne, the wares were fresh and the sellers flashed friendly smiles. There were covered stalls and portable refrigerated counters and food for sale included massive green grapes, fig jam, sweating watermelons and Madagascar crevettes (shrimp). There were sesame loaves, firm ‘haricot’ beans and skinned rabbits – heads and bulging black eyeballs still attached. A uniformed pair of Police Rurale officers patrolled, and the sun began baking shoppers by 10 a.m. I heard the scoop of ice and vendors whistling and the eternal trio of farewells, spoken together: ‘merci, bon journée, au revoir.’ I bought a loaf of pan muesli from a smiling dark haired beauty with turquoise painted fingernails.
Monument to those who died in World War l
This market square—a parking lot that sometimes transforms to a social quadrangle—is bordered on three sides by flourishing trees and on a fourth by a community center. It provides a lively gathering point for neighbors and shoppers inspecting colors and shapes and textures of unpackaged wares. Here, twice weekly, locals bond with market vendors under the lash or scorch of outdoor weather. These open-air markets excel not just as shopping venues but as places to share news with neighbors and even, for a stranger such as myself, making me feel suddenly welcome.
I returned to the car via back alleys, then drove north through Saint Gervais past the twin stone round towers outside Château de la Brunette. This road passing vineyards, la route du vin de Blaye et Bourg, wends over speed bumps through the town of Prignac-et-Marcamps, where a side road leads to Grotte de Pair-non-Pair. I had visited that site before: a 65-foot long cave where generations of Neanderthals and (later) Cro-Magnon humans lived. Protected from weather, wolves and bears, generations lived here until some 20,000 years ago and carved images of mammoths, rhinos and giant deer on walls.
Vineyard on the Gironde estuary
Bourg
Then into Bourg, a special place not only because of wines (think Châteaux Gros Moulin, Mercier and De La Graves) but also because the curling blacktop road down Rue des Douves leads to an ancient port on the Dordogne River, once a keystone for Roman and medieval commerce. The city is also called Bourg-sur-Gironde, although this is technically incorrect because it sits along the Dordogne River, and not the Gironde estuary. Hundreds of years ago, before the estuary silted up and moved the confluence of the Dordogne and Garonne rivers four miles (6.5 kilometers) upstream and north, Bourg was on the Gironde. That’s why it was built as a fortification, in order to view and defend the entire estuary. No longer. You can call it Bourg-de-Gironde (‘de’ instead of ‘sur’) because it belongs within the administrative department that also happens to be named Gironde, but locals might not warm to that. Save yourself a hassle if you visit and just say Bourg.
Bourg seen from the port – foreground building used to be for doing laundry
This city was once, centuries ago, a stopover on the timber route, when inland and upriver trees from the forests of Cantal—between Bordeaux and Lyon—were shipped downriver for making leather or barrels or the supports for coal mines in boats called gabares. After delivering their wares, these boats were axed up as firewood or fencing and the pilots jogged back upstream to their homes to repeat the process. The Dordogne River was only navigable for a few weeks each year, and during then hundreds of boats floated downstream to deliver their sellable goods.
Today Bourg is quiet and peaceful and soaked with history, whether of medieval carpenters building catapults for castle invasions or of passing boats with quarried sandstone moving from Saint-Émilion to Bordeaux to provide construction materials for that city’s cathedrals and châteaux.
The town includes a covered structure that was was 18th century water pool, a communal laundry point. There is also a beautiful arch, made both from natural limestone and masonry that covers a sloping pedestrian walkway. From the upper ramparts (below tree cover and the shadow of a church spire) is a strategic view of the great, glissading, often log-bloated waters of the Dordogne River miles south of where it merges with the Garonne.
Inside the cool, peaceful and ancient public laundry house in Bourg
You stop in Bourg. You don’t stay in Bourg. Beside the attractive port and lovely ivy and flower coated walls there’s little to do except visit the glass walled wine bar—Maison du Vin—when it’s open on Fridays and Saturdays in summer, or the annual Nuit de Terroir food, drink and music festival organized each August by the region’s young winemakers on lovely castle grounds.
Still, the frequently blazing blue sky and curious tinny tinkle of church chimes, combined with the swearing of a harsh fisherwoman by the waterfront, and the chance to circumnavigate this pleasant petit ville on foot past water vistas make visiting Bourg well worthwhile.
The inclined and one-way main street, with tea shops, wine stores, a boucherie and several closed boulangeries (bakeries) is both attractive and somehow sad, a reminder of an era when there were more prosperous locals, and fewer indigents on the dole (au chômage) littering local cafes. During the past two centuries the population of Bourg plummeted by one third. Somehow, this town makes me lonely. Yet, friends who moved here from Australia or Bordeaux city tell of gregarious locals making them feel welcome, and of their appreciating quietness and calming vistas.
Flowers in Bourg
Several pedestrian and driving conduits link Bourg’s upper town and its lower port—stone channels, chutes and staircases. This town is a historical gem. But it is the hinterland of Bourg more than the city, the swelling hills and steeples and lost roads and sprawling vineyards and wine producers across miles of this ancient locale that give not only grace but economic agricultural abundance to this region.
I stopped at the winemakers’ crêperie restaurant near the water, avoiding the larger chain restaurant slightly uphill (a garish concoction of electronic menus and TV screens, food that appears to have been defrosted via microwave and staff who, at best, are disinterested). It was 11.43 a.m. The crêperie owners, a couple biding time on their porch, told me, after inquiry, that they would open at noon—‘midi’—and obviously cared not a fig about possibly seating me earlier to offer a pre-lunch aperitif.
Across the street I peeked inside a refurbished restaurant with a menu that included roasted goat cheese salad, moules (mussels) and dessert. I sat, ordered a glass of white wine from Château Mercier and food. Splendid.
Roasted goat cheese salad, moules and Sauvignon Blanc wine
After lunch I moved toward Blaye along the lower shoreline routes, Pain de Sucre (sugarloaf) followed by the Corniche de la Gironde. Here cute stone homes are separated from waterside gardens, transected by an old and thin rolling road. A woman in a rainbow red dress set glasses and cutlery on a garden table for lunch in proximity to where summer apartments—gîtes—are rented. Further ahead and behind the vines of Château Tayac, a stone roadside porch overlooks the estuary waters toward Bec d’Ambès, the point where the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge and mate to form their mightier offspring, the Gironde Estuary, which flows north to the Atlantic Ocean. On this tongue of land, unfortunately, rest an ugly set of refinery tanks that should to be relocated.
This is close to where I live in the city of Blaye. I used to drive here and go running because the energy of open space and waterside vineyards and the confluence of rivers always churns out optimism and upwelling, a countryside certainty that just as seasons follow each other and plants bud once again after winter, life will continue regardless of financial or emotional worries, and irrespective of whether we hunt for certainty in a universe where that is elusive and slippery at best, and likely nonexistent.
Next, I passed the glinting church of Bayon—a gorgeous cluster of sandstone shapes: block, cylinder, column. Originally built in the 12th century and again a few centuries ago, the structure is a visual beacon of form and finesse, conspicuously seen from across vineyards.
The sweet little church of Bayon
Again, a thought arrived: what is a confluence but birth? A reminder that parents die and then only offspring exist. Just as rivers merge and parents mate, both produce downstream, or future, manifestations, whether estuary or child. And an estuary eventually flows into the ocean—itself a broad and almost boundless recipient of every confluence on earth, a possible metaphor for afterlife where the outpourings of every terrestrial river on this planet coalesce and mingle and one day evaporate to precipitate and transform, again, to some new and gurgling stream.
Along the corniche run gleaming sandstone houses with painted pastel shutters on a band, a belt, a strip of human habitation between estuary waters and nearby cliffs. This is a breezy land where residents tend to tend gardens, take walks in local hills and sometimes ride small skiffs in the flowing estuary.
My heavy (remember: bulletproof) silver Mercedes passed through villages and locations with gendered names: (masculine) Le Rigalet, (feminine) La Mayanne and sexless Marmisson. Here water splashed over reed covered rocks and a few marine engines throttled and I passed the still masted, though rusted withering shipwreck of the Frisco—scuttled in August of 1944 two days before Bordeaux was liberated from German occupation. During the war, these waters were riddled with mines to prevent invasion of of occupied Bordeaux city.
The ‘Frisco’ – scuttled in August, 1944
This journey takes place through both the ‘left bank’ and ‘right bank’ of the Gironde Estuary. Basically, left means west, and right means east, while the Gironde Estuary originates from two tributary upstream rivers mentioned earlier—Dordogne to the east and Garonne to the south (and, eventually, also east).
But what is an ‘estuary?’
It’s basically where a river meets the ocean, a combination of freshwater—from rivers—and saltwater—pushed upstream by oceanic tides. The constant smashing of river and tide churns up the water bed, spewing out nutrients on which marine life thrives.
The Gironde is the largest estuary in Europe, and the impact of salty tides is felt 100 miles (160 kilometers) upriver from the Atlantic Ocean. The estuary, by definition, runs from the mouth of the river at the Atlantic southward to the Bec d’Ambes (remember? Dotted with petrochemical storage tanks), the point where the Garonne and Dordogne meet.
This estuary is 47 miles (75 kilometers) long and 7.5 miles (12.5 kilometers) at its widest point. When you consider its total area, the waters of the Gironde at any moment form a region larger in area than Malta or Barbados, Guam or Andorra, or the Isle of Man and pour a quarter million gallons (one million liters) of freshwater into the Atlantic Ocean every second.
Vines and landscape of rural Bourg
Twenty thousand years ago, when much of Europe was coated in ice, the ocean was hundreds of feet lower and this river valley held a mere trickle. But the climate warmed (gosh, without even fossil fuels or highways), waters rose and because Bordeaux city needed defending, forts such as Bourg and Blaye were crafted by stonemasons on limestone cliffs.
The Gironde has been a navigation and trade route since the Bronze Age, when copper flowed in from Spain, tin from Cornwall, and—later—wheat and flour were exported to Rome. From Spain came ham and olives and from northern Europe leather, wool, meat and dried fish, all gleefully traded for hogsheads of wine. But the wedding in 1152 of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henri Plantagenet, future King of England, drove a boom in trade as wine began flowing to England with accelerated gusto. True, it stopped flowing for awhile after the 1453 Battle of Castillon (which ended the 100 Years War), after which the French booted the English out.
The lands around these waters buzz with life. Today the estuary’s marshy environment is a place of cattle herons, white storks, black kites and coots. Here are threatened pond turtles, as well as deer and wild boar. These waters run below a migratory axis for 130 birds species who alight to feed and mate and rest.
Blaye
Blaye, a city of some 4,000 residents is where I live. It has gained recent popularity, although was historically always strategic, being an estuary crossing as well as located along the route of commerce flowing from the interior of France and Bordeaux City (via the Garonne River) to the Atlantic seaboard as well as the world. It’s also a wine haven (both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, while visiting Bordeaux, visited Blaye by boat) and a strategic military point (every king of France, except one, has visited).
Blaye at high tide
Between 1685 and 1689, Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban—engineer, architect and author—oversaw the construction of the Citadelle of Blaye, a defense fortification that incorporates earlier forts and castles from as far back as the eight-century into its design. Built on 94 acres (38 hectares) that incorporated a village, this handsome lithic defense perches on a cliff above the estuary. It was a garrison for soldiers as well as a strategic canon perch (along with Fort Médoc on the opposite bank, and Fort Pate, on an island in the estuary) to thwart potential invasions of Bordeaux city to the south. The entire complex is now a UNESCO heritage site. Today it includes stores and restaurants, and holds fairs related to gardening, antiques, classic cars and wine.
Blaye (pronounced blYE), a town exposed to tides, is itself tidal with rhythms of change—whether quiet dark months of winter interspersed with bright summery crowds flooding to the international horse jumping days in July, or restaurants closing and being replaced, or the September grape harvest, a pinnacle moment, being matched by the equally buoyant wine tastings of April. There are tides of population movements: visitors, moving residents, cruise ship tourists gaping in shock at seeing lampreys and eels and horse meat for sale at the market.
View from the Citadelle to the city of Blaye
There are free concerts on Sundays in August within the Citadelle, before magnificent views of the estuary—packed with faces both never seen and familiar. French is the rooted language in Blaye and to live here, you need some facility with that tongue, which means you actually need to grow roots to be a part of the fabric, the cultural warp and weft, of this locale.
What was once a significant medieval garrison (Blaye comes from Blavia, meaning the ‘Road to War’) as well as a hub of commerce now relies economically on wine production, jobs at the up-estuary electricity power station and tourism.
It’s easy to be at ease here. Within minutes from the front door I can stroll to the post office, bank, dry cleaners, boulangerie, fromagerie (cheese store), fruit shop, newsagents, bookstore, barber, coffee store, wine store and a half dozen restaurants. The vast inner open space and parkland of the Citadelle are a seven minute walk away and within three minutes I can step onto a ferry to the Médoc or wheel a bicycle onto a path leading eight miles (14 kilometers) northward through vines.
From the Citadelle, the view of the mile long Estuary and its islands Paté and Patiras is uncluttered and inspirational. This estuary, according to a local artist, is ‘the Mississippi Of France,’ and the right bank (here) includes amazing wine values. Which is why I’m publishing this little travel story on my blog instead of on Forbes: I don’t want anonymous hoards to show up and start unpacking.
2016 Château Puynard at La Cave wine store in Blaye
There are ample festivals throughout the year for food and music and wine. Youth adore the annual Black Bass Festival, though fortunately it’s not held in Blaye, but somewhere out in the bush. If you play one song on stage there, you’ll acquire serious cred and likely be guaranteed a bevvy of groupies for life. I’ve never gone, never will. Not my scene. This year the listed bands include Hangman’s Chair, Psychotic Monks, Swedish Death Candy, Cannibale and I am Stramgram. Not exactly my playlist. But, hey, enjoy.
Here are moonrises and views of the estuary, inexpensive delicious wines, local seafood that sells for a fraction of most city prices, ample festivals and sound and resonant country roads to travel on by bicycle or vehicle or motorbike and enjoy peace, quietude, cafes with shots of espresso along fecund, burgeoning, lively and blossoming acres of fertile countryside. Here you live, love, spare a moment to reflect on life, starlight, long meals and ample camaraderie over a bottle of Etalon Rouge or Peybonhomme Les Tours wines to keep your soul ticking, satiated, insulated from mainstream politics and juiced up with the sight of phases of the moon.
If I could bottle and sell this experience, I’d make enough to retire here.
Thanks for checking in. Recent Forbes articles include pieces about Ruchè grapes in Piedmont, Italy, social entrepreneurs gathering at Windsor Castle and a lively new book about cocktails.
Missouri Wine Has A Long History
Recent Forbes posts I’ve written are about wines from Sicily and Puglia, as well as from Prosecco country in northern Italy. There is also a review of a lively new book about aperitifs, by Kate Hawkings.
Now, heartland wines …
I stopped to visit friends Barb and Andrew in Kansas City, Kansas
I recently drove across part of the United States to transport books to a cabin I own in a remote portion of the state of New Mexico.
The trip was both reinvigorating and mind clearing.
From Columbus, Ohio, I spent days driving across parts of the Midwestern and Southwestern U.S. states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico, where I finally unloaded books. I then spent a night on that land, and later at the property of friends who own a new ranch where they produce ‘grass fed/grass finished’ beef (apparently the demand for this beef is too high for them to satisfy).
Norton, the Missouri state grape, produces a hearty red wine
Much of the portion of this journey crossed parts of the geographical and cultural ‘heartland’ of the United States, which few people associate with wine.
Yet in the past they did, and may well do so again.
As mentioned in my book Vino Voices—Wine, Work, Life, before Prohibition (which basically outlawed alcohol in the U.S. between the years 1920 and 1933) the state of Missouri included the second largest winery in the U.S. It was named Stone Hill Wine Co., and was located in the town of Hermann. It was reopened in 1965 as Stone Hill Winery, and now thrives. Back in 1915, it sold wines with names such as White Pearl, Starkenburger, Ozark Queen and Sweet Scuppernong. The property included a nearby forest as well as a sawmill and the owners produced their own barrels. Stone Hill then sold 1.25 million gallons of wine a year, which won prizes in Paris, Vienna, New Orleans and Buffalo. Even earlier, in the mid 1800’s, a greater volume of wine was produced within the state of Missouri than in any other U.S. state.
In June of 1980, the first American Viticulture Area (AVA), [similar to a European wine appellation], was established. This defines required practices for producing wines within certain geographical regions (if they are to be accorded with AVA status). The first ever AVA status in the U.S. was conferred on the region of Augusta, Missouri. It was only eight months later that the second AVA was established—in Napa, California.
Because of Missouri’s sometimes harsh continental climate conditions, grapes here include those from both vitis vinifera (European) and vitis labrusca (American) vine species, and grapes are often clones. Popular grapes include—for whites—Traminette, Chardonel, Vignoles, Vidal Blanc; for reds they include Norton (Cynthiana), Concord, Catawba, and Chambourcin.
Today, Missouri’s wine industry is worth more than $1.5 billion annually.
According to the Missouri Wine and Grape Board, between 1995 and 2015, grape production increased in Missouri from about 2,400 tons to 5,500 tons. During that time, the land bearing vines soared from 900 acres (360 hectares) to 1,700 acres (690 hectares). Today, the most planted grape vines are Norton (20%) followed by Vignoles (15%), Chambourcin (10%) and Vidal Blanc (8%).
Apparently July 21st has been designated as ‘Junk Food Day’ and a published guide pairs Norton with Nacho Cheese and Corn Chips, Traminette with Caramel Corn, Chardonel with Buttered Popcorn (note the prevalent role of corn in day-to-day life in much of the U.S.) and Chambourcin with Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, or Oreos. (French friends may not understand this celebration, no doubt.) A handy online map of Missouri wine trails breaks the state into 11 distinct regions, and identifies 65 wineries in a state that is about half the size of Montana, twice as large as Portugal, or roughly the same size as either Cambodia or Uruguay.
Les Bourgeois Winery in Rocheport, Missouri
[I wrote about wines from Missouri before, in this article, and in this.]
While passing through Missouri, I stopped for a wine tasting (spitting only—no swallowing while on the road) at a winery named Les Bourgeois, off Interstate 70 Highway.
Below are tasting/value notes for wines tasted at Les Bourgeois. On a 100 point scale, wines here rank between 89 and the early 90’s.
These have been ‘value-evaluated’ (which relates overall quality to local price per bottle) as ‘superlative ♫♫♫,’ ‘excellent ♫♫,’ or ‘good ♫,’ based on my own proprietary Vino Value algorithm that matches subjective input (taste) to local bottle prices. Prices are local.
Solay – a blend of white grapes
2017 Vidal (white). $25. [Good Value ♫]
Nose and taste like a cross between Chardonnay and Viognier. Grapefruit on the tongue; an acidic mouthful.
2016 Solay (white). $20. [Superlative Value ♫♫♫]
Like a crisp Sauvignon Blanc on the nose. Brittle, crisp and tart in the mouth.
2016 Chardonel (white). $25. [Excellent Value ♫♫]
Ash and pears on the nose, meringue pie and chewy bananas in the mouth.
2016 Traminette (white). $25. [Good Value ♫]
White flowers and a massive hit of lemon drops on the nose. Candy cane in the mouth.
Image is titled ‘Discombobulated,’ and is by Bill Manion
2015 Syrah. $25. [Superlative Value ♫♫♫]
Cherries and cherry cough drops on the nose. Black and white pepper in the mouth.
2015 Norton Premium Claret (red). $25. [Excellent Value ♫♫]
Leather, ash and smoke on the nose, though subtle. Acidic with mild lemons in the mouth.
2016 Noiret (red). $25. [Good Value ♫]
Like a sweet Tempranillo. A stiff taste of wood in the mouth is offset by decent charcoal aromas and spice.
Below is an extract, about Missouri, from my book Vino Voices—Wine, Work, Life.
This piece includes the second half of a chapter about Stone Hill Winery. This ends a segment about co-owner Jon Held, and then includes an interview with their South African winemaker, Shaun Turnbull. [My writing is in italics; interview quotes are in non-italicized font.]
We return to the winery and enter a large tasting room. I look at photos on the wall. There is an award for Small Business 1982, presented to Jon’s parents by President Reagan in the Rose Garden.
Jon stands behind the counter and pours wine together with Shaun Turnbull. Shaun and his wife moved from South Africa five years earlier to work at Stone Hill. Shaun is young, tall, black-haired and wears a brown t-shirt. When Jon could find no local winemakers with the experience he desired, he recruited Shaun from South Africa.
Shaun:
I come from close to Stellenbosch in South Africa. Grew up there. College as well. I saw my future in the States. I’m pretty much a rock spider—an Afrikaaner who doesn’t speak very much English. I was brought up in Afrikaans culture, but also subtly with the westernization of South Africa. We seem to fit more in American culture than our own South African culture.
It’s pretty easy to make wine anywhere else in the world, but it’s not easy here. To make decent quality, you really have to know what you’re doing. It’s phenomenal. Pretty much the whole spectrum of wine styles is out there. Like Traminette and Vignoles grapes, which are very diverse. You can experiment and that’s really exciting. You don’t have to think inside the box. There’s always some new variety that pokes its head out that suits our climate. There’s a whole big pot of stuff you can work with.
Missouri River and bluffs
The climate for grape growing, for winemaking, that’s challenging. Last year, October; cold, wet, we never saw the sun. It was like living in the northwest. Raining all the time. The leaves were falling off and turning yellow. That was quite a challenge. Sometimes you can plan a harvest and what you’re going to do. But here it’s like four seasons in one day. The weather can change like that. You’ve seriously got to make decisions on your feet according to what we get.
What drew me also was that it was a relatively unknown wine region. There’s no vinifera grape varieties in it. The size of the operation also blew me away for a Midwest winery. Just seeing all the equipment and the amount of effort that goes into producing. It’s not just a fad. I come from an area and a wine growing culture where it’s very, “Oh, wineries, cool, let’s try that.” But business wise, they were run like a hobby. But you come here and see this and you’ve never heard about it. But it’s a success, and there’s potential. It’s also a niche. It’s got its own identity. It’s kind of an angle. It’s unique. You don’t want to get ridiculously commercialized. You want your identity.
We try to keep our grapes from Missouri. I like that idea, keeping your own identity. Some producers around here, they’re buying straight from California to make a Cabernet or Pinot Noir. Why do that? It’s just another bandwagon.
Vines belonging to Stone Hill Winery, Missouri
We descend to visit the old vaulted cellars.
Shaun:
These are the old cellars, dug out by Germans. Think it took them eighteen years to dig. Imagine them by candlelight. They didn’t have electricity back then. This is the Apostle cellar. Used to have twelve big casks, and every cask had an apostle carved on it. Prohibition destroyed most of it. Legend goes that some of the barrels got saved and put on a train and shipped off to Germany, but nobody really knows. I like drinking red wine. I like making red wine. I like thinking about red wine. Believe me and my wife, if it’s ninety, one hundred degrees out there, we’ll drink red wine. We really enjoy red wines. I seriously like coming up with the best red wine in the bottle, making red wine from beginning to end. I’m not one of those winemakers who likes the limelight. I like spending time in the cellar, the creating part. I enjoy that.
Winemaking is a very patient process. You can think a lot about it while you make it, while you wait for it. You can ponder on it. You really think about what you’re doing and how it’s going to turn out and what you need to do. Wine is like an oil painting—you’ve got layers and layers to make it more complex. The more complex the wine, the better it’s going to be.
What’s winemaking all about? Balance. What’s grape growing all about? Balance. You want balance at the end of the day. In your vineyard, you want balance and vigor. With canopy management, with crop load, everything’s got to be in balance. When it comes to the winery—acid, sugar, complexity, flavoring, density. All that’s got to be in balance.
It can be frustrating. You’ve got to take a lot of care with this product because it’s a living, breathing entity. It’s got microbes in it—bacteria, yeast. You can spoil it easily. You could lose some complexity, some of the fruit aroma. You’ve seriously got to be very careful. One of Missouri’s challenges is to get educated people into the industry. The key wineries, they’ve got educated, experienced people. The reason? They’re business owners and do not treat it like a hobby.
I didn’t want something to tie me down in the office. I wanted to create something and knew I may as well use my God-given gifts; my palate and nose. I’m from the suburbs and had to compete with a lot of guys coming from the agricultural community. That’s what drove me. I really wanted to make it and prove to myself that I can actually do this. I never look back.
Eventual arrival in southwest New Mexico…
Thanks for tuning in…
A Quick Spin Through North, East and Southern Europe
Summer is in full gear, and wines are flowing.
There have been few posts in the past month, as I was traveling a bit to northern, eastern and southern Europe. But before I get to those lands and wines…
First, a few recent Forbes posts are here, which include a quick spin through some shining wine regions of Hungary as well as southern Italy, a stellar wine meal with Angélus wine in Saint-Émilion in Bordeaux, and dinner at a beaut of a new restaurant in Paris. There’s also coverage of the Volvo Ocean Race from Sweden, as well as new maritime technology that includes ‘self-docking’ boats that may bring cocktail hour even faster on the seas.
Also, our Etalon Rouge 2016 red wine (100% Cabernet Sauvignon) has been bottled, and it’s the best yet—even better than 2015. As you can see in the photo below, U.K. wine writer and television personality Oz Clarke truly enjoyed a glass when we spent time together in Hungary recently.
Wine author Oz Clarke enjoying Etalon Rouge
Other good people met in Italy, including press, television and blog journalists from Italy and the U.S. also enjoyed glasses of the rouge.
Media personalities in Brindisi downing Etalon Rouge
Skipper Caudrelier
And, as you might remember, French Skipper Charles Caudrelier is seen here holding a bottle of Etalon Rouge from our meeting in Hong Kong back in February.
The news?
His Dongfeng team won the Volvo Ocean Race a few weeks ago in The Hague, Netherlands. Big victory. The New York Times included a full page spread about the story.
Also, if you are interested in my blog about publishing and ways of thinking, click here for today’s post from Roundwood Press (usually posts alternate each week between these two blogs, but this is a ‘loss of synch summertime,’ and for today, they come together….).
Now, a few unusual and worthwhile wines to try.
Visits to various locations in the past month have involved sampling multiple stellar vintages.
Those travels, with endless miles and meals and information overload (and constant note taking) within a short time mean it’s now time for much appreciated R&R back here at home base in Blaye, France.
It also means days of eating only fruits and vegetables and reducing coffee and wine intake to revamp the body.
We’ll start with Hungary.
HUNGARY
In Budapest, a funicular leads down to the Danube River
Vineyards of the Somló region in Hungary
Vineyards of the Tokaj region of Hungary
Vineyards of the Hungary’s Eger region
A brief overview of Hungarian viticulture:
Wines here are generally increasing in quality, and younger winemakers are more focused on quality than quantity; reds make up 40% of wine production, and the best grapes generally include local Kékfrankos, often blended with international grapes in order to make Bordeaux, Burgundy and Rhone style wines.
Dry whites are dominated by Furmint (which is also the basis for the famed Tokaji sweet wine) while Viognier, Olaszrizling, Juhfark and Hárslevelü are also nudging up in quality.
Recently in the Eger wine region, ‘bulls blood’ blends (such as the reds mentioned above, with Kékfrankos as a base) known as ‘Egri Bikavér’ have been joined by white blends known as ‘Egri Csillag,’ which means ‘the star of Eger.’ Such wines must include juice from at least 4 white grapes, of which Carpathian Basin grapes should comprise at least 50%, while international varieties can make up the balance.
Budapest and the countryside are beautiful and the people are warm and friendly. Because winters are cold, try visiting in spring or summer. Also, boating on Lake Balaton is excellent.
One Hungarian winemaker in the Somló region names his 500 and 1500 liter oak casks after Hungarian kings from the past. One of these (or so he told us) was named Viagra (as seen on the label of a bottled barrel sample in the photo above, bottom right; notice Oz hovering nearby?).
ITALY
Palermo, Sicily
The countryside outside Sicily’s capital city of Palermo is gorgeous and includes such lesser known grape varieties as, for whites: Insolia, Catarratto, Grillo; for reds: Frappato and Nero D’Avola. The two with the strongest characteristics appear to be Insolia for white (think zesty lime and tangerine), and Nero D’Avola for red (think smoky and oaky aromas, and licorice and chocolate tastes).
On the southeastern coast of mainland Italy is the Puglia region, still seeking its own contemporary identity to present to visitors. It, too, offers wines from grapes you have likely never heard of (but don’t turn them down if someone thrusts any under your nose, preferably with a plate of steaming pesto risotto). Here, enjoy white wines made from the Minutolo grape (think flint and apricots) and red wines made from the Susumaniello grape (scent of charcoal and taste of blackberry pie).
Italian food, as always, blows visitors away. There’s detail, pride and a shovelful of sparkling flavors in every mouthful. Certainly, France, I love your magret canard (duck breast) and chocolatines, but when it comes to pasta, prosciutto and cinghiale wild boar, the descendants of the city of Rome should gastronomically lead the way.
Far to the north in Italy, in the Veneto province, the wine region of Conegliano-Valdobbiadne (which is now all classified at the highest DOCG level for quality) produces excellent Prosecco, but also a few (unexpected) stunner reds.
From the video below of a Valdobbiadene winemaker, you now know it’s encouraged to play with your food: create a little volcano in your risotto, then pour in Prosecco.
Who said growing up wasn’t fun?
Finally, as for caffeine in Italy, remember that no milk is allowed in a coffee beverage after 11.00 a.m. unless you’re at an airport. Consider it illegal. Seriously. I tried to order a cappuccino one evening near Palermo, but a local advised me that such an the act was treasonous, posing risk of imminent deportation.
Be forewarned, and instead, down an espresso.
Swimming pool at Baglio di Pianetto guest house south of Palermo, Sicily
SWEDEN
Just a quick note from the southwestern portion of this island riddled land…
Recently I enjoyed dinner with friends at The Grand Hotel of Marstrand, which is on an archipelago island northwest of Göthenburg. We traveled there via boat for almost an hour. This place is especially popular during the abbreviated Nordic summer here, and the wine and food pairing were excellent. Dinner included their famed langoustines, together with wine poured from a magnum of Alsace Riesling from Gustave Lorentz, as well as a Pinot Noir from Hahn Family Wines in Monterey County in northern California.
Both wines were excellent and the food and setting unique and splendid.
The takeaway came from speaking to a local, who told me that Sweden now produces its own wines.
That’s right! Swedish wines.
I’m working on sampling a few bottles to provide feedback. Soon enough.
Thanks for checking in again…
Quirks And Qualities Of Life In France
The park within Place des Vosges, Marais, Paris
First a bit of news – weeks ago I had the fortune to be invited to Abruzzo in Italy to receive an international wine writing award (‘Parole di Vino,’ or ‘Words of Wine’) from Il Consorzio di Tutela dei Vini d’Abruzzo. Several of us, including Emanuele Gobbi (Spirit of Wine journalist), Giorgio d’Orazio (independent Abruzzo journalist) and Stevie Kim—Managing Director of Vinitaly International, received awards.
Grazie Mille…
Abruzzo is gorgeous, and the quality of life there is yet untrammeled by hoards of visitors.
More splendid news: our Etalon Rouge wine was just named by the U.K. Independent newspaper as one of the ‘wines of the week,’ within the Top Ten ‘Esoterica’ bottles at the recent London Wine Fair. Huge News!
Sadly, however, a rapid and vicious hailstorm more than a week ago damaged a massive amount of grapes in the Blaye and Bourg wine regions where we live (Etalon Rouge, fortunately, was not impacted). Some vineyards were completely knocked out. When the damage is better assessed, I’ll provide more information.
Now, a little about life in France….
Recently, I got lucky with trains.
Fortunately, the rail transportation strike did not take place last Wednesday, although it did on Monday and Tuesday. ‘Lucky’ because that let me travel to Paris for an appointment. The railway strike, which has lasted for months, is still on. Schedules have evolved a pattern: roughly (though not always) three days of strikes are followed by two days of trains. This cycle repeats—endlessly.
This strike—la grève—affects terrestrial transportation arteries that impact daily lives of millions of commuters who rely on them throughout France. It will apparently continue for at least another month. Perhaps more.
Looking out from Bordeaux’s train station – Gare Saint Jean
A national airline strike has also been going on for months. Air France canceled flights by the bucketful. I recently walked into Bordeaux’s airport to catch a KLM flight and the terminal was a ghost town. Only one ticket counter was open. After checking in, the airport seemed to be all mine: empty coffee stores, ample seats, no check out line after buying the Financial Times and passing through security was a breeze.
Flying the skies above Bordeaux and the Garonne River
Weeks ago I boarded a BA flight from Bordeaux to London. It was delayed for one hour—exactly—because air traffic controllers, not pilots, had decided to stage their own little strike. For one hour. At lunch time. Perhaps someone wanted more time for dessert and coffee? Although this had a minor impact on my schedule (I was late for a wine tasting—hardly a dire event) that was not true for a friend destined to Hong Kong via Heathrow for an important wine sales presentation. All because of a one hour strike. Ouch.
Lunch setting at the new Anne Restaurant of Pavillon de la Reine Hotel in Paris
This is all part of life in France. Call it cultural. As with any location, there are benefits and pitfalls of living here. Certainly, wine here is inexpensive and delicious, police are rarely militant about whether you actually halt at a stop sign (and—bizarrely enough for the linguistically proud French—these are actually red, hexagonal and include the English word ‘Stop’) while the selection of cheeses at any market is dizzyingly attractive.
Americans often gripe of encountering aloof or snobby Parisians. This would not happen if they merely dropped a polite ‘hello’ or ‘thank you’ in French. The exception is not in the city, but in the countryside—if you attempt to get a seat (and food) at a rural restaurant at 2 pm. Otherwise, the French are disarmingly charming and friendly.
Here is what I love about France: watching female bicyclists in Bordeaux—elegantly dressed, casually insouciant and capable of navigating, with aplomb, narrow twisted alleys in the company of snorting vans and gnashing dump trucks, all while displaying kittenish and coy zeal, as though auditioning for a Vogue photo shoot. It’s art. 
Also: boulangeries and patisseries (the two differ) with their sinfully fresh, artful concoctions laid out each morning before the parade of burly farmers, female fishmongers and suited lawyers who march in to order their quotidian share of pain raisin or campagnarde (a type of baguette) or endlessly woven layers of scrumptious mille-feuille. And those chocolatine aux amandes? Dangerously delicious.
There is also lunch.
Ah, lunch in France. Legendary.
More ritual than meal, really. Baguette and bottle of wine and perhaps olives, but at least olive oil. A cork pops from a bottle of rosé and conversations stream, then torrent while plates appear with steamed white asparagus and grilled duck (topped with a nodule of foie gras), or roasted veal or pasta with slivers of salmon sprinkled with turmeric or tarragon. Then more corks pop and the Rhône Valley red begins to flow.
The French also have time.
Very important.
There is always time in France for conversation and friends. My friend Gabrielle is busy running her own wine consultant business: teaching classes, writing for Le Figaro, consulting for restaurants and appearing on a TV cooking show. Last week she booked dinner for us at a new restaurant, named ‘Anne,’ within a five-star hotel off Place des Vosges in the Marais (she prepared their wine list).
As always, when we met, she relaxed, never checked emails or took phone calls and instead engaged in witty, charming discourse over at least three courses and three bottles—Chablis, Bandol and Bordeaux—during a meal with digestifs that lasted, well, six hours (okay, a fourth bottle and the chef ended up at the table). Each time we meet, she has time. Like most French, she truly, irrefutably, inarguably and uncompromisingly has time for other people in this fleeting, precious, mysterious and limited concoction we call life.
§ § §
My latest Forbes pieces are here, and include pieces about how biohacking may change the health industry, wines from the Canary Island, a Sotheby’s wine auction in London and white grapes you have likely never heard of from Abruzzo in Italy. And more about that Parisian dinner to come.
Finally, a quick video I shot on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands some weeks ago. I’m including this of Pablo Matallana because he produces excellent wines—though only 500 reds a year and 70 whites. At 10 Euros a bottle? A steal.
As always, thanks for checking in.
It’s been awhile since posting – mostly due to travel. This post will include only recent images taken on the Canary Islands as well in the countryside around Madrid.
Recent Forbes posts I’ve written include text, and some are:
Why The Vines And Wines Of The Canary Islands Will Twist Your Head With Surprise
Why Swiss Wines Continue To Impress
Wines From Madrid Are Not What You Expect
The Entrepreneur Streamlining The Sale Of Top Wines
Why The Wine Vintage Of 2017 Has A Dual Personality
A Cookbook Created From Picnicking In Paris
Why Bhutan Is Still Out Of This World
Now, Photographs taken recently.
Lanzarote Isle, Canary Islands (Spain)
Tenerife Isle, Canary Islands (Spain)
Countryside surrounding Madrid (Spain)
Again, thanks for tuning in.
Forthcoming posts during the coming months will include a few doses of Italy as well as a European city more renowned for lager than for wine…
Bordeaux Jewels Of Wine And Life
The region where I live in France is a sizable, though little known, portion of Bordeaux (technically and administratively known, basically, as the ‘Gironde Département’) where wine prices are reasonable, historical intrigue is ample and day to day living is blissfully unrushed.
Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson visited this wine region of Blaye (taking boats from the city of Bordeaux for visits) on the right bank of the Gironde estuary. So has every king of France except one. Eleanor of Aquitaine (queen at different times of both France and England) also passed through here during the age of troubadours and female trobairitz (wandering minstrels who sang love songs) in the 12th century.
We are surrounded here by oceans of vineyards. There are several hundred around the towns of Blaye and Bourg, though it can difficult to discern exactly how many. The winemaker-sponsored website and literature about the Blaye—Côte de Bordeaux appellation neglects to number the wineries within the 12,900 acres (5,213 hectares) of vines. Bourg, which is smaller although in some ways better organized for international visitors, has 157 wineries (châteaux) within 9,800 acres (3,979 hectares) of vines, or about 15 square miles (40 square kilometers) of juice growing terrain.
Within these spaces, winery names can be disarmingly confusing. Many wine châteaux (which is the name of a winery here; singular is château, plural is châteaux) have similar names.
The team from Château Clos de Loup providing tastings at Blaye Printemps des Vins Festival this April
The effort of wine producers to distinguish themselves with striking originality in naming their brand is largely absent. Heritage appears more important than gaining a competitive edge. It is this attitude toward life that, though sometimes illogical, provides a sizable sliver of attraction for this region.
Looking at the estuary from Blaye Citadelle
For example—there’s Château Barbé and Château de Barbe, Château Nodot and Château Nodoz. There’s Château Lagarde and Château Roland La Garde. Château Monconseil-Gazin and Château Mondésir-Gazin. Château Bellevue and Château Bellevue Gazin. There’s Château Canteloup as well as Château Haut-Canteloup.
Most of these wine producers with similar names are veritable neighbors. Driving distances between the above listed pairs of wineries are: 3.8 miles, 4.5 miles, 3.3 miles, 1.4 miles, 0.5 mile and 0.5 mile.
Oddly, few locals appear confused. If you ask the difference between two like sounding châteaux, any local may walk to a window and point outside and inform you that over there is Château Barbé. He or she will then pronounce the two names slightly differently, with subtle tone and mannerisms implying that your linguistic deficiencies may be mildly heathen.
Should you dare mistake Monconseil-Gazin for Mondésir-Gazin, locals will likely shrug, shake mystified heads and query whether you enjoyed too many verre à vin last night?
It is now spring. Suddenly begins a parade of festivals: wine festivals, mountain biking and wine festivals, port festivals, music festivals, a black bass festival, an asparagus festival and a snail festival (which I tend to skip).
We recently had our annual Printemps des Vin de Blaye festival, where some 90 winemakers set up tastings in tents and ancient rooms in the local centuries-old Citadelle in Blaye. For a meager six Euros, visitors received an empty wine glass, a map and a pass that let them sample all the vino they desired for two days.
This is not a high cost or internationally renowned wine region. Yet I’ve tasted some local wines that cost between 7 and 15 Euros. Back in the U.S., some wines of the same quality might cost four times that amount.
Conviviality is key here. Friendless trumps marketing efforts.
Below is a visual tour of Printemps des Vins.
The smiling sisters from Château Lagarde
Each year I taste several wines and compare quality and cost to determine overall value, using my proprietary Vino Value Algorithm.
Below are results for a few reasonably priced good wines, together with value score: Superlative, Excellent and Good Value. (Subjective scores for taste were factored in, although not shown below.) All wines listed in this table are worth drinking. Unless noted, all are red.
| Vino Value™ Scoring of Selected Wines – Printemps des Vin de Blaye – April 2018 | ||||
| Winery | Wine | Retail Price – Euros | Retail Price – US dollars equivalent | Value Score |
| Château Nodot | 2015 | € 9.00 | $11.07 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Domaine de La Valade | 2015 Tradition Rouge | € 4.50 | $5.54 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Domaine de La Valade | 2015 Cuvée Prestige Rouge | € 5.80 | $7.13 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Tour Saint-Germain | 2015 Cuvée Tradition | € 11.00 | $13.53 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Rose Bellevue | 2015 Secret | € 18.50 | $22.76 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château La Motte de Lignac | 2016 | € 7.00 | $8.61 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Jussas | 2015 | € 6.50 | $8.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Capron (Cantinot) | 2011 | € 10.00 | $12.30 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château du Vieux Puit | 2012 Les Racines | € 6.50 | $8.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Clos du Loup | 2012 Le Louveteau | € 7.50 | $9.23 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Florimond | 2014 Réserve | € 7.70 | $9.47 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Haut-Terrier | 2015 Élevé en Barriques Neuves | € 11.00 | $13.53 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Moulin de Prade | 2014 | € 5.00 | $6.15 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Segonzac | 2015 Vielles Vignes | € 7.00 | $8.61 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Les Margagnis | 2015 | € 7.20 | $8.86 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château de Calmeilh | 2015 | € 6.00 | $7.38 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Lagarde | 2015 Excellence | € 12.00 | $14.76 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Les Bertrands | 2015 Cuvée Vieilles Vignes | € 6.50 | $8.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Les Bertrands | 2015 Cuvée Prestige | € 8.50 | $10.46 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Magdeleine Bouhou | 2015 La Boha | € 8.50 | $10.46 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Marquisat La Pérouse | 2016 Cuvée Prestige | € 8.50 | $10.46 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Morange | 2015 | € 6.00 | $7.38 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Morange | 2014 Vin d’Augustin Morange | € 9.60 | $11.81 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Monconseil Gazin | 2015 | € 7.80 | $9.59 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Haut-Colombier | 2015 | € 7.50 | $9.23 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Haut-Colombier | 2016 | € 8.00 | $9.84 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Haut-Colombier | 2017 | € 8.00 | $9.84 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Grillet-Beauséjour | 2015 No. 2 | € 6.00 | $7.38 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Petit Boyer | 2016 Grand Réserve | € 12.50 | $15.38 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
Monsieur Stéphane Heurlier, renowned local winemaker
Sampling reasonably priced bubbly from Domaine du Cassard
Monsieur Eymas of Château La Rose Bellevue
The Wizard of Château La Cassagne-Boutet, Nicolas Vergez, once again commands an audience
A cooper demonstrates barrel making
Friends having lunch after tastings
Primeurs
In contrast to our humble wine region, there are better known, and commensurately more expensive wine regions located nearby. Each year for a few weeks in spring, châteaux hold ‘En Primeur’ tastings of wines made from grapes harvested the previous fall. These events take place to our east, around Saint-Émilion and Pomerol, or across the water to our west, around and within the Médoc, Pessac-Leognan and Sauternes appellations.
My latest Forbes pieces are here, and include a synopsis of tasting some 100 Bordeaux wines during this recent En Primeurs week, and discovering the dual personality of that recent vintage.
Below are a few photos from some of the events to give you an overall flavor of how spring kicks in here in southwest France.
Chilean Rodrigo Sepúlveda Schulz takes time off from Luxembourg financial work to enjoy Primeurs
A warm smile from Margot from Domaine des Chevaliers
For lunch, a double magnum of 1999 Château Smith Haut Lafitte.
Hospitality Manager Alex from Château Smith Haut Lafitte…with four excellent wines
Gardens in spring bloom
Daniel and Florence Cathiard, generous owners of Smith Haut Lafitte
It is the Season…(isn’t it always?)
Lunch at Château Rauzan-Ségla
This 3rd floor tasting room within Château Haut-Brion includes only nine seats, surrounded by ample bookshelves
This olive tree on the grounds of Château Pape Clément was planted in the year 193 AD. It’s still a beauty!
Looking down the limestone escarpment from Château Pressac, at Saint-Étienne-de-Lisse, near Saint-Émilion
Chãteau de Pressac (Grand Cru Classé) was purchased 21 years ago and renovated by Jean-Françoise Quenin
The 2017 Ángelus is a genuine winner
Clémence Collotte of Château Jean Faux shows a truly unexpected winning wine at an amazing price
Bordeaux wine author Gilles Berdin (on the left) enjoys international vintages from Bernard Magrez
Finally, a warm Thank You to Hubert de Boüard and Laure Canu from Château Ángelus in Saint-Emilion; Hélène Garcin-Lévêque and Patrice Lévêque from Château Barde-Haut in Saint-Émilion; Lahcene Boutouba of Clavis Oréa wine; author Gilles Berdin of Bordeaux; Florence and Daniel Cathiard of Château Smith Haut Lafitte; Thomas Hebrard and staff of U’Wine; Marie-Louis Schyler of Baron Philippe de Rothschild SA, and Soline Bossis from Château Mouton Rothschild.
The wine and food were wonderful, but your company was the true jewel of the En Primeurs week.
Thanks again for tuning in. The next posts will include wines from a few countries where you likely do not expect it…
Pinerolese Wine From Italy’s Alps
The French / Italian Alps, viewed from a flight between Bordeaux and Milan
Welcome to the Italian Alps….
First, however, I want to let you know that my recent Forbes pieces are here. They include an article about Txakoli wine from the Basque country, about a young woman about to circumnavigate the world via sailboat without stopping, and why this custom luxury lodge in the Italian Alps respects its origins, as well as ‘building biology.’
Now, back to the mountains.
In the year 218 B.C., a long-bearded Carthaginian general named Hannibal Barca, from what is now Tunisia in North Africa, crossed the French and Italian Alps with an army of some 20,000 motley, yet fierce warriors, as well as 37 elephants. The animals were brought to shock the Romans during Hannibal’s attack. Though few survived the crossing, the army was victorious in a few significant battles against Roman legionnaires.
Val Troncea Natural Park
Another onslaught of foreigners to these quiet mountain villages came in 2006, when Torino (Turin) hosted the winter Olympics here—across a conglomeration of ski slopes known as Via Lattea, or the Milky Way.
From this same region comes a wine you have likely never heard of.
Here’s the gist:
Thanks to two women who live in the eastern U.S. (film maker Camille Broderick Rodier of Juharo Productions and interior designer Lucie McCullough) I recently spent time with an intriguing character, and wines he serves, in the Italian Alps.
He grew up in the same house that his family and ancestors have lived in for over 300 years.
Today, Daniele Ronchail is an accomplished architect who designs and leads renovation teams to improve existing structures. Sometimes he gets the chance for a special project.
Daniele with children Matteo and Giulia in the Val de Troncea Natural Park
(Check out the Forbes piece I wrote about the lodge—Baita 1697— that he and interior designer Lucie McCullough collaborated on.)
Daniele strives to use traditional materials and techniques, and to preserve the structural integrity of ancient buildings.
Like many of the residents from this region of Piemonte, Daniele is seriously focused on work and craftsmanship details, but still loves conviviality, good food and wine.
Skiing down to the ‘frazione’ (village) of Pattemouche, in the larger ‘comune’ of Pragelato
I met Daniele at the restaurant he also owns named Rivet d’Or in the Pragelato comune of the Italian Alps—west of the city of Torino.
Daniele explained how his cellar holds hundreds of different types of wine, but in order not to confuse diners with an exhaustive list, he keeps it to a simple few pages, then changes the list now and then.
That’s refreshingly unusual.
Instead of making his wine list a virtual monument to himself, or an advertisement about his cellar, he modestly provides a shorter list in order to keep clients satisfied and not overwhelmed.
Sturgeon with black beans served with Ramìe wine
Because Pragelato is part of the region of Piemonte, much of his wine list includes renowned vintages from further south, such as Barbera, Nebbiolo and Barolo.
(Italy has 20 regions; Piemonte—which means foot of the mountains—is the second largest region, after the isle of Sicily.)
Yet Daniele’s list also includes local wines from the appellation known as Pinerolese, which is located relatively close to Pragelato.
Ski slope lunch in the Via Lattea (Milky Way) ski area west of Torino
A few technical details here….
This Pinerolese appellation region is less than 100 acres (40 hectares) in size and produces less than 10,000 bottles a year. Ten different grapes can go into Pinerolese wine. If it’s called a ‘rosato,’ then half of the grapes must include one, some, or all four of the following varieties—Barbera, Nebbiolo, as well as lesser known Bonarda Piedmontese and Neretto (also called Chatus). If instead a Pinerolese wine is named after some specific grape, such as Barbera or Dolcetto, the wine must contain 85% of juice from that grape. Finally, to call such wine a Ramìe, it must include 60% of juice from Avanà, Avarengo, Bequet and/or Neretto grapes.
Interior of Rivet D’Or Restaurant
Enough details.
The point is this: these wines include some grapes you have likely never heard of before, but added in quantities that cannot be haphazard or recklessly experimental (that is, if producers want to obtain their government ‘denominazione’ quality control certificate, which often helps bottles to sell).
To drink this wine, it’s best paired with food.
So, let’s open Daniele’s menu. This includes a few quotes—perhaps from Daniele himself—such as:
“Do not look at the past with nostalgia … But take the best from it, and bring it into the future.”
Charcuterie with Arneis and Nebbiolo wines inside Baita 1697 luxury lodge in the Piemonte
During dinner we tasted two wines.
The first was on the list—a 2016 Merenda Con Corvi. The majority grape here is Barbera. With this we ate pork belly with oyster sauce, Jerusalem artichokes with a special ‘bagna caoda’ mousse (a specialty of the Piemonte that includes cream, garlic and sardines). The next dish was veal tongue on dried tomatoes. This selection itself formed an Olympic taste menu. The wine included that characteristic blueberry and biscuit taste of Barbera, but was also light and smoky. Barbera historically was considered sort of a common grape for making wine; no longer. In the past decades winemakers have been concocting some seriously flavorful, and more complex, juice from this grape.
I finished glass number two of the same wine before we even moved onto the next dish: rabbit ravioli with butter and hazelnuts.
OMG….Seriously delicious.
A Pinerolese wine based on Barbera
Daniele told me of his life and architecture business, then uncorked a bottle of 2015 Pinerolese Ramìe, made by Coutandin. Only a few thousand bottles of this wine are produced each year (so few that it was not even on his wine list). The included grapes (as mentioned above) were listed as Avanà, Avarengo, Chatus, Becuet, Barbera and others. The taste of this wine has the wake-up acridity of a Barolo, but is still less tannic and easier to drink young.
With this wine, out came the next plate: purple beet tagliatelle, followed by sturgeon with black beans, and then veal ‘cooked by osmosis’ with rocket sauce and rice vinegar.
Rabbit ravioli with butter and hazelnuts
Piemonte wine and food are unlike anything served elsewhere on earth (and appreciated even more after a day of sunblasted powerhouse skiing).
Visiting Daniele’s restaurant highlights how many people living in this Alpine region respect detailed cooking of traditional (and sometimes modern) dishes. Dining here is exposing yourself to a detailed mindset—focused on minutiae in the kitchen, as well as on selecting low production bottles that not only match food, but also surprise diners. Eating and drinking here is tasting cultural history.
While in Daniele’s restaurant I felt temporarily part of a local community. That’s something to savor while it unwinds, because such moments are fleeting.
If you enjoy getting out in fresh air, there’s also plenty to do in these mountains. Food and wine just complement a ski or hiking trip.
During days after eating at Rivet d’Or I shared more dinners at local restaurants with a few exploratory skiing aficionados pictured below. Their smiles tell all.
Ski accomplices Florence and Katie from London
Off Piste renegade skiier Matthew from Oxford
*****
Next week, ‘primeurs’ in Bordeaux kicks into full gear—where we will taste 2017 wines to rate the overall quality of that vintage, as well as to compare specific wines. Remember—frost last year knocked out about half the grapes in Bordeaux (and many throughout Europe). The quantity will be reduced, but it’s the quality we’ll inspect.
I have the privilege of begin able to visit Château Angelus, Château Barde-Haut and others in Saint-Émilion, as well as Château Haut-Brion in Bordeaux and Château Rauzan-Segla as well as Château Margaux in the Médoc.
Additionally, this coming weekend is the Printemps de Vin de Blaye, when we sample local Blaye-Cotes de Bordeaux wines within the sprawling 17th century local Citadelle, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and enjoy music and barbecues on the ample lawns.
I’ll keep you informed.
Once again, thanks for tuning in…!
Highland Wine from Bhutan
This post is overdue. I’ve traveled for a few weeks, some of which is covered in recent Forbes posts. A highlight was attending the inauguration of the reincarnated next spiritual leader, or rinpoche, of Bhutan (we met four years ago, and I was invited back after his 3 years of solitary meditation), as well as attending part of the Sail In Festival in Bilbao, Spain. Those posts also include a book review about the attraction of Volcanic Wines.
First—a little piece about Bhutanese wine. Details, admittedly, are sparse.
Dochula Pass on a clear day
Four years ago, during s previous visit, I penned a blog post about searching for Bhutanese wine, mistakenly thinking this little nation of towering peaks and deep forests lacked wine production facilities, and that only rice alcohol (or ‘ara’) constituted the closest cousin to grape wine.
That is not true.
Colorful prayer flags outside Tango Monastery located on a hillside near the city of Thimphu
Apparently Bhutan produces several wines.
Peach wine
In a rest house outside of the city of Paro, I found a copy of the government’s manual of statistics for 2017. Inside, the numbers showed that the leading cause of death in hospitals relates to alcoholism. I suspect the real problem is that most alcohol in this highland country is dangerous, poorly made equivalent of ‘moonshine,’ which can eventually poison drinkers.
A view of Himalayan peaks from the monastery on Dochula Pass, between Thimphu and Punakha
One counteraction is that the Royal Bhutanese Army is now involved with the production of wine and whiskey. First, the profits help support the army; second, the controlled quality of this alcohol is better for the people of Bhutan. The program is known as AWP, which stands for Army Welfare Projects, and was founded in 1976.
There are now a few commercially produced wines in the country (there may have been four years ago; I wasn’t aware then). One wine is made from peaches, and others from grapes. Most, but not all grapes are procured outside the country.
At a rest house in Thimphu I twisted the screwcap off a bottle of ‘Vintria Shiraz Dry Wine.’ The label declared that this ‘…elegant textured Shiraz Dry wine with great fruit flavors reminds of dark berry fruits, hints of oak pairing and vanilla aroma with long-lasting fruit palate aftertaste.’
Though the first sip was imbalanced and the alcohol tasted uninhibited, on the second sip I did indeed detect that vanilla, though the ‘long lasting fruit palate aftertaste’ was not happening. Some other ‘Bhutanese’ wines are actually produced in India and imported. The wine is yet of a caliber that during most of this trip I stuck with extremely good Bhutanese beers—Red Panda, Druk (both 5% alcohol) and Druk 11000 (8% alcohol). With time and more visitors to the country, the wine here will likely improve.
Construction of the Tiger’s Nest Monastery near the city of Paro was initiated in the 17th century by Tenzin Rabgye
I’ve not yet sampled the whiskey, a bottle of which was given to me as a gift by friend and guide Tshering and his wife Wangchuk. The label looks enticing, with a drawing of snowcapped peaks and the words Essence of The Himalayas. It’s a blend of ‘vatted malts from Scotland’ and is produced at the Gelephu Distillery in Bhutan.
‘Essence of the Himalayas’
On left are friends Tshering and his wife Wangchuk and son Ngawang, and on right are KP and his wife Mindu. We all hiked uphill to the Tango Monastery for the rinpoche’s inauguration.
Irrespective of wine and whiskey, the photos below show a sampling of life within this peaceful little mountainous nation, which includes a closed border to the north with Tibet (which China now claims) and a southern, open, border with India.
View of the Tiger’s Nest Monastery from below. It takes about 2 hours to hike there.
The rinpoche we met is apparently the 8th reincarnation of Tenzin Rabgye, who in the 17th century did much to bring together the people of Bhutan. One way he did this was by adopting annual festivals in each town, a notion he acquired from an emissary he sent to visit Nepal. The festivals draw people out of their relatively secluded mountain homes and villages, and are often attended to by politicians or members of the Royal family, coming from distant regions. A few of the following photos and short video below are from the national day festival we attended within the massive and handsome fortress, or dzong, within the town of Punakha.
Punakha Annual Fesitval
Reincarnation of Gyalsey Tenzin Rabgye of Bhutan
How does a ‘reincarnation’ come about? Basically, when the King visited the eastern part of Bhutan for National Day one year, a five year old boy from a very poor family in Trashigang tugged on his clothing as he was walking, and declared that he was Tenzin Rabgye (who had lived in the 17th century). Thinking he was being teased, the King asked him a few questions, and found the boy able to describe the route to, and interior of, Tango Monastery in the west of the country. The boy and his parents had never been there. The King sent two groups, including monks, to meet the boy with his parents. During this time they quizzed the parents, who had not coached the boy, but had sent him at a young age to be trained—as he emphatically desired—as a monk. During quizzing, the boy’s knowledge about Rabgye, the names of his parents and about monuments on the other side of the country convinced the visiting monks this was no ordinary child.
Typically colorfully dressed family attending the Punakha festival
The major cities in Bhutan are Paro and Thimphu, about an hour drive from each other. There are still no traffic lights in either and the pace of life is a bit sleepy, but the number of vehicles is ramping up and the cafes catering to foreigners are multiplying. With road improvements, it’s now about two hours to drive to the town of Punakha, which sits tranquilly along a river valley. During this trip, vehicles cross Dochula Pass. There’s a sizable cafe and a monastery and stellar views—on clear days—of the highest Himalayan peaks in Bhutan, some of which are between 18,000 to over 25,000 feet (5,400 to 7,500 meters) in elevation.
These 108 stupas, or chortens, were built on Dochula Pass in 2003 to commemorate a short internal war (or battle) that took place in the south against illegal foreign settlers. The then king of Bhutan was involved in the battle.
During both visits to Bhutan it was on Dochula Pass where I experienced unexpected shafts of mental clarity. Which was a little odd. If these were to happen anywhere, I expected it would be while meeting the Rinpoche or hiking to Tiger’s Nest monastery. Both were similar—basically being aware of being ready for far larger scenarios to unfold in life (which occurred after the last visit). Dochula Pass is quite the transition point.
A group of monks at Tango Monastery
Viewed from Dochula Pass is Masang Gang peak, with an elevation of 23,507 feet (7165 meters) above sea level. This is not the highest peak in Bhutan, but perhaps the most visually distinctive. Mountaineering is forbidden in Bhutan, as are ascents of peaks above 19,685 feet (60oo meters) elevation.
That’s all for a brief report on this jewel of a peaceful, mountainous, Buddhist nation.
Recently a friend named Brad, who I spent time with in Angola, Pakistan and on a sailboat in Colombia and who now lives in a small town named Coyote, New Mexico, sent me this New Yorker article about Chinese wine. It’s entertaining, especially the latter portion where the writer is cruising around the countryside with some guys who pilfered wine and drank it from a huge plastic jug.
Thanks for tuning in again. We have a nice lineup for the coming months, including more on Swiss wine and sommeliers, a yet to be revealed Tuscan wine in London, more peeks at Hungarian wine, and perhaps a few vintages from Sicily.
The Profession of Tasting Port in Porto, Portugal
Recent travels have impacted the timing of this blog (including this post). My father, a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, received their alumni magazine. He laughed when he told me that each issue had ‘published occasionally’ printed inside. It’s the same with this Vino Voices web log. I try to get a post out every second Tuesday, but sometimes it’s on a third Tuesday. Or a Thursday. Or, like today, Monday.
Now, onto some exceptionally delicious wine…
Not only a rainbow of flavor, but also colors
The Port and Douro Wines Institute (Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto) is a magnificent and stately old structure on a hillside in the city of Porto, Portugal. Unsurprisingly, this decadent building was once was a bank. During a recent visit, I expected to be bombarded with a slew of port making jargon and discussions of technique, but was fascinated to learn that, because port wine historically had some problems of being tainted with additives, a group of official ‘tasters’ within the building now sample thousands of wines per year, testing each for quality.
A happy lot of visitors, and they haven’t even begun tasting
This position as a ‘taster’ is respected, and even after one year of training, a taster is re-tested four times annually. There are some 13 tasters, who each sample about 5,000 wines per year. Profiles of tasting prowess for each individual are kept and matched against others, and any slippage in ability is noted. These tend to happen when tasters are going through a difficult emotional period—such as a divorce—at which time they will be asked to stop tasting temporarily, and, say, inspect vines instead.
Stately inner decor at the Porto Wine Institute
Each working day, members of the institute visit six randomly selected port production houses within Porto (and ten per week in the more distant region of Douro) to make sure they are bottling their wines properly, and also to take samples. Samples are covered in plastic bags so tasters can’t identify them. Additionally, readouts on the quantity of wines produced are matched against quantities of grapes picked to check that no additives are included to bulk up volume.
Each port wine is sampled by seven tasters. If the majority accepts it, it passes. If four reject it, it gets re-tasted.
Several grapes are used to make port wine, including Trousseau, or ‘Bastardo’ (you have to love that name) as well as varieties of Touriga.
“Touriga Franca is more angular in the mouth than Touriga Nacional, which is quite balanced,” said Bento Amaral, Director of Technical Services and Certification.
Because it is a public institute, results are reported to the Ministry of Agriculture.
Getting ready for work
The wine region named ‘Porto and Douro’ is exactly that—composed of two separate regions. Porto is on the western, Atlantic coast while inland Douro stretches from mid-country to the eastern border. Douro produces grapes, while Porto processes and ships wine. They are connected by the Porto River. Inland Douro is mountainous and gorgeous, underlain by greywacke/schist and dotted with granite outcrops. Its three regions (Baixo Corgo, Alto Corgo and Douro Superior) include high mountains and deep valleys that protect grapes from wind. This land is also bathed in buckets of rainfall—47 inches (1200 mm) a year. The 965 square miles of this region (250,000 hectares) include 126 grape varieties, many of which have been used to produce wine for centuries, and 25,000 growers who each tend their own estates—quintas—that are on average each about 4 acres (1.7 hectares) in size.
Cork bark is processed and made into corks close to Porto
To be labeled ‘port,’ wine must be fortified (which means that a spirit, brandy, is added) and made from grapes produced within the vineyards of Douro. Port can be white, rosé, Ruby or Tawny and is quite the sexy yet subdued drink—more likely to be mellowly quaffed in an oak library than to be guzzled at some spring music fest. That’s because the alcohol content is usually between 19 and 22 percent, making this wine sweet and rich. Port is also a blend—made from more than one grape.
We tasted Colheita—a single vintage tawny port-which was as sweet as Sauternes, as well as a paler and more delicate 20 year old Sandeman port. We then tasted a Valentina Vintage 2015, which will be able to last for centuries. ‘A vintage port must be full bodied in the middle palate so they will age well,’ Bento said. The years 2003, 2007 and 2011 are declared ‘vintage’ years for Port, a decision made when 60 percent of the port houses deem it so.
A night scene in rainy Porto
Port is eminently part of the cultural and financial identity of Portugal. There was a time when 50 percent of the country’s exports were port wine—often destined for colonies of the Portuguese Empire such as Brazil, Angola and Mozambique. Heck, it was tax money from wine sales that built the bridges and water supply systems and higher education structures within the city of Porto. Inland, gorgeous Douro became the first ‘demarcated and regulated winemaking region in the world (1756),’ according to a tidy little volume (with a port-colored cover) issued by the institute with the breezingly reassuring title of Port—Celebrating Life. Porto’s historic center became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996, while the same status was given the winemaking region of Douro in 2001.
After decades of aging, corks in port bottles can, because of the sugar content, become effectively glued to the glass. This can make the process of opening particularly old bottles potentially messy. The solution is both effective and theatrical: hot metal tongs are used to heat the glass bottleneck, which is then brushed with ice water to fracture the glass.
Since I visited eight years ago, Porto has changed dramatically. It’s more vibrant and alive. Restaurants and wine bars and hotels have geared up—tastefully—for visitors. This hilly and casual city on the water is a prime springboard for visiting Portugal’s countryside.
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My latest Forbes pieces are here – and include the state of the U.S. wine industry, cork production and an around the world sailboat race.
Thanks for tuning in again.
Porto hospitality from the co-owner of Hotel A.S. 1829
Surprised by Portuguese Wine And Impressed by Corks
Airborne in Lisbon
Portugal is a culture of navigation
Not just corks and Port, but excellent wine comes from Portugal.
I recently met an excellent crew of people in Portugal, where we began a few meals in Porto with Encruzado white wine. Encruzado is a grape, primarily grown in Dão, with a taste that can be sharp or buttery and is excellent with seafood.
Colares wines are also an exploration. This relatively recent article written by Eric Asimov does a better job explaining than I can.
Acidic Vinho Verde from the northwest of Portugal is also a must have.
Corks or screw caps? Your choice, but information about corks interested quite a few readers in a Forbes piece I wrote yesterday (other recent articles include the mother/daughter team running Château Margaux and a Hong Kong stopover for entrants of a grueling round the planet sailing race – the Volvo Ocean Race).
In addition to what I wrote in that piece on corks, Jo Mills of Rippon Wines sent me this information via email. Rippon is located at a stunningly gorgeous patch of land in New Zealand, and the wines they produce are biodynamic. The family also spends part of the year in France.
Wise Words From The Universe Of Wine
2018 is here…The world of wine, food and travel is Wide Open!
Vino Voices has much to be grateful for:
Wine Enthusiast Magazine published our Corsica piece in their February Travel issue.
Recent Forbes pieces are here, and include another piece about the wines of Hungary, about the Penedès wine region near Barcelona, Spain, and a review of a book that matches Portuguese wines with recipes.
Forthcoming pieces to be published later this month and in January will cover a wonderful lunch—last Friday—with both the owner, Madame Mentzelopoulos, and managing director, Philippe Bascaules, of Châteaux Margaux in the Médoc region Bordeaux. There will also be articles about cork production in Portugal as well as coverage of an around the world yacht race, and wines, in Honk Kong.
Also, a recent blog piece about Hungarian wines was re-printed by Robert Scott of WineLine Radio. Much appreciated, Robert!
I’ve now written 95 articles for Forbes. After having combed through these, glass of vino in hand, I collected a few dozen memorable quotes relating to wine and life. These are below.
Speakers are identified below each quote (or quotes).
SAGE WORDS….
“Making good wine is like cooking. What’s important are the raw materials.”
Dominique Léandre-Chevalier, of Domaine Léandre-Chevalier, Bordeaux, France
“We put so much energy and experience into what we’re doing. At the end, we have great wine. But you have to put a lot of heart into this business.”
Isabelle Chety of Château Mercier, Bourg, Bordeaux, France
“Travelers think good Bordeaux means huge prices, and some of those wines are no good. They don’t know there are a lot of small estates making good value, good quality wine—with soul.”
Nicolas Vergez of Château Cassagne-Boutet, Blaye, Bordeaux, France
“The glass is so important. It’s the last thing between the mouth of the customer and the wine itself.”
“What makes a good wine glass? It doesn’t matter how curvy the sides are. The edges need to come toward each other at the top to focus aromatic potential. If it’s too small it will hide the aromas and crispiness. For a Grand Cru wine, use a bigger glass because it has so much to say.”
Sommelier Alexandre Morin, Bordeaux city, France
“Why should people in Denmark not be able to come up with cheese as good as any cheese in France? Scientifically there was nothing that would prevent it. How do I sell this idea to people? How do I get them to understand? How do I route this idea in parliament and not just in socialist circles?”
“Food became for me the weapon, the secret tissue through which you could impact life. It was not a matter of being a cook or coming up with wonderful recipes, it was a matter of using food to impact life in Denmark.”
Claus Meyer—television chef and owner of several restaurants, including Agern and The Great Northern Food Hall in Grand Central Station, New York, USA
“Biodynamics was at first a challenge, but it respects vines and biodiversity. Yet it’s also simple and we add nothing to the wines.”
Winemaker Guillaume Hubert, Château Peybonhomme-Les-Tours, Blaye, Bordeaux, France
“Because we are so widely exposed to wines that are ‘big’ and loud, we generally don’t respond so well to wines that say what they have to say in a much quieter fashion.”
Randall Graham – Winemaker and owner of Bonny Doon Vineyard, California, USA
“When you move to a true taste, which means farming that permits the root to feed on the soil and the leaves to feed on the climate, you don’t need technology, on the condition that your yields are not too high. If you want to return to a true wine with a true taste, eight times out of ten the yields have to be significantly reduced. Then it’s an economical problem for people who have loans.”
“Suddenly people are not considering farming as just mechanical, but as the commitment of human beings toward the earth. I find that very promising. A way of thinking. A way of behaving. A way of giving meaning to your life. Because if the meaning of your life is just to get more money and you don’t get it and then—surprise—you are in your coffin.”
“If you come up with a product which is not the result of technology and sort of engineering wine, if you come up with a product which carries specificities of your climate and geology—there is a market for this.”
Nicolas Joly, owner and winemaker at Coulée de Serrant vineyards, Loire Valley, France
“Unfortunately many producers are competing with a younger generation of consumers who choose wine as much by what’s on the bottle as what’s in it. If labels are not innovative, provocative, new and refreshing, the wine may be lost in the noise. The new generation of French wine makers—who are traveling to wine fairs around the world—are starting to understand this.”
Stephen Barrante of Atomic Kids Studios, Connecticut, USA
“Everyone has feelings, histories and potentials that are different. Our memories work in different ways. We try to make wine pairings that connect with courses in an emotional way. Every menu is different. Every season is different, and with every season there is a new challenge.”
“There is history in a landscape, a terroir, a grape, a moment, an area. The winemaker has to write the history that is there, being careful, honest. The sommelier? We tell that history to the people. It’s important not to make a value of wines. We are not judges. We tell histories. Histories we don’t love? Don’t tell them. Behind each wine, a lot of people are working. We have to be careful with that. It’s like when you buy a CD. You listen. If you don’t like it, don’t continue to listen. Maybe it’s not your music. And maybe a wine is not perfect for you, but is for another person.”
Sommelier Ismael Álvarez of Nerua Guggenheim Restuarant, Bilbao, Spain
“If there’s one word to describe Rioja, it’s diversity.”
Winemaker Clara Canals Sotillo of Bodegas Campo Viejo, Rioja, Spain
“When you talk with people from Burgundy, people from the Rhone Valley, they all say more and more—our consumers want wine with a bit less alcohol, with more fruits, with less extraction and with elegance and finesse. This is really the new goal for us, to make wine that is very fresh and with great energy.”
Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, owner and winemaker at Château Ángelus, Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux, France
“What is exciting is that every morning when I wake up I ask myself—what can I make better? There are things we can make better everywhere. The little details. Every little detail matters that we can use in this quest for excellence.”
Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal, Executive Managing Director of Château Ángelus, Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux, France
“The sub-$20 price point in America? The wine is really not that good. The sub-$20 price point in Europe? You can find great wine. In Europe there’s a demand for good wine. People won’t tolerate bad wine the way we do. Prohibition really set us back, in that we aren’t really a wine savvy country.”
“If you put a craft wine at the same price next to a mass-produced wine, nine times out of ten a person is going to choose that craft wine. There’s a lack of harshness, a lack of flaws, an interesting character, a natural acidity that is not an additive. There’s a cleaner, refreshing finish.”
“I don’t believe in muddled, weak concepts. They do not have longevity. I think you really have to stay the course with a strong concept.”
Mary McAuley of Ripe Life Wines, California, USA
“You can have the best plans on earth, But if, on the people basis, you don’t get along—it’s very complicated.”
“Our common values are the long term view. Family values. Quality. The patience to produce something good rather than earn money right away. Respecting clients first.”
“There are no secrets. Our new projects need seven years from the moment we begin. We try to make the best wine possible. It’s very easy to say, not so easy to do. It’s also important to maintain the personality of the wine’s region. If all the wines are the same, it’s very boring.”
Baroness Ariane de Rothschild, co-owner of Bodegas Benjamin de Rothschild & Vega Sicilia, Rioja, Spain
“Expensive wines are not always the best wines. First it’s necessary to show that the quality of our wines is great.”
Pablo Álvarez, co-owner of Bodegas Benjamin de Rothschild & Vega Sicilia, Rioja, Spain
“You always need information—the chemistry in the soil, the climate, rainfall, humidity, sunlight intensity. But the last word comes from your feeling with the place.”
Alberto Antoninim, winemaker of Balasto wine from Bodega Garzón in Uruguay
“I love fruit in wines, Sometimes I get the suspicion that people use too much oak in wine, too many tannins, to hide faults.”
Richard Serisier, owner of Château de Cadillac, Bordeaux, France
“If you want to build a winery, it’s not for everyone. It’s a beautiful world, an amazing world, but there is a lot of sacrifice. You want to produce the best wine in the world that everybody knows. So you need to know about vineyards, about wine, about marketing, about vinification and finance. It’s a job where you need to know a little bit of everything. You have to be curious.”
Miriam Masciarelli of Masciarelli Wine Company, Abruzo, Italy
“A wine needs to have the taste of where it comes from. I think it’s boring just to taste raspberry, whatever fruit. I need more complexity, terroir, minerality, length. Those very big Malbecs? I don’t honestly believe a Malbec should be like that.”
“What Argentina brought us is knowing that when you gain a certain point in maturity, you tend to lose identity. You have grapes, especially Merlot…more fragile to heat, that tend to be the same when too ripe.”
Hélène Garcin-Lévêque, co-owner of Château Barde-Haut in Saint-Émilion, France
“Show me a great man and I will always show you one or several women who have made him.”
“Winemakers today focus on selection. They produce a great wine only with a vat of great juice. I am convinced that well installed, marginal—including mediocre—juice, can make the great even greater.”
“Talleyrand said some privileged men never create the event, they adapt to the event. And when they are clever, drive them.”
“The visitor must leave you believing he is a member of your family.”
“My story is of a modest man in complicity with a fantastic vineyard, soil and extraordinary terroir. My story is just luck. What is genius? Just luck that lasts.”
Henri Duboscq, owner and winemaker at Château Haut-Marbuzet, Médoc, Bordeaux, France
“American consumers are looking to drink wines made from indigenous grapes. They love Barolo because it’s distinct. American consumers do their homework, and are knowledgeable about wine. Consumers appreciate finding a wine characterized by a specific terroir. The American market loves unique wines.”
Giuseppe Capuano, marketing manager of Vias Imports in New York City USA
“Life is too short to use just one grape. Why so many varieties? It’s like a painter. The more colors they have, the more complex art they can produce.”
Josep María Albet i Noya, owner and winemaker at Albet i Noya in the Penedès wine region of Spain
“Time is important for our products, but we’re not in a rush.”
Maria Rosa Vallès, owner of Rovellats Cava in the Penedès wine region of Spain
Wine and Life—Consider This For 2018
Welcome In—2018.
First, thanks to all purchasers of our own Etalon Rouge wine this year.
Second, my December Forbes posts are here.
Now—the new year is here and days getting longer. So consider a little exploration of ideas, drinks and places during 2018. A few simple suggestions are included below.
Black Velvet.
Friends—both Americans and Europeans—are mostly mystified when I mention this drink. Black velvet is a 50/50 mix of Champagne and Guinness. Apparently, according to Wikipedia, this was invented at the Brook’s Club in London in 1861 to mourn the death of Prince Albert.
Try it with friends. This is a Christmas and New Year’s classic (not bad for Paddy’s day either)—rich, stout, and—yes—bubbly. What did you expect?
Reconsider Cork Versus Screw Cap Closures.
The reduction of ‘corked’ wines has been dramatically reduced during the past two decades due to vigilance in hygienic techniques used by cork producers. ‘Cork taint’ derives from fungi coming into contact with chlorides and results in a chemical taint known as TCA [2,4,6 – trichloroanisole] which can spoil the taste of wine.
One alternative to cork as a bottle closure is a metal screw cap. Although more convenient to open, the impact on taste is not necessarily neutral. Some wineries (including in Australia, where screw caps are more dominant than corks in the marketplace) have switched back from screw caps to cork to avoid wine which is overly ‘reduced’ (which occurs when oxygen is sealed out). Check out these abstracts from the Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research, and The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry regarding the impact of corks and screw caps on flavor (another article is here).
I have no qualms regarding either, though enjoy the ‘plop’ of a popping cork as a sound of celebration.
Reconsider Beaujolais—Try ‘Cru Beaujolais.’
The famed ‘Beaujolais Nouveau’ was a marketing ploy that had the advantage of turning the world onto the beauty of wines made from the Gamay grape. However none of the ‘nouveau’ wines were made using the best grapes in this French wine region: the Crus. These wines can last for decades and most are delicious. Considering the quality, their price is also reasonable.
Have a Beer Before Wine.
There are little mnemonic poems that tell you not to drink beer after wine, or wine after beer. These phrases are usually the opposite in the English and German languages. Confusing, yes? A phrase I learned in high school in Europe is even simpler—’Don’t mix the grape with the grain.’ But, honestly? If you drink in moderation and stay clear of poorly made wine, mixing both does not inevitably lead to a headache.
Both Australian and French winemakers often down a glass of lager or beer before they pop open a bottle of wine, especially at mealtimes. The contrast can be refreshing.
The Blame For That Headache Is Probably Not Due To Wine Sulfites.
White wines actually often include more sulfites than red wines, yet many people still complain that the sulfites in red wines can give them headaches. This article gives a brief overview.
If you do have a pre-disposition to getting headaches from red wine, it’s likely due to histamines or tyramine. Why does that matter? Because sulfites are often added to wine, as a preservative, in the form of sulfur dioxide. Blaming this additive as being the cause of headaches is giving it a bad rap. And remember, sulfites are also natural, and found in many foods as well as wines. Some people do have allergies to sulfites, and yes, the prevalence of sulfites in food is rising due to the increased quantity of processed food people eat. However foods such as dried fruit and french fries may have higher quantities of sulfites per serving than wine.
Chilled from Winter? Try this Simple Soup: Wine, Broth, Cream, Egg Yolks and Cinnamon Croutons.
My recently completed book The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion includes 125 recipes from winemakers and wine producers from 18 different countries. One favorite recipe is this because it is simple and flavorful. It’s a taste rodeo—the cream contrasts against the acidity of the white wine while the salty broth contrasts against cinnamon and nutmeg. If you can’t find Terlaner soup, substitute another blend—preferably including Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Terlaner soup (photo credit: Andrian Wines of Alto Adige, Italy)
Consider Creating A Wine Library.
Whether using virtual e-books or real volumes, having references about wine at hand can be instructive and helpful. Here are a few books and articles I’ve listed over the years. I also recently reviewed books for Forbes about Rioja’s wines in Spain, Lisbon wineries, wines of the world and learning about wine.
Try Wines From Different Countries and Regions.
Although I’ve written about excellent wines from Switzerland, Hungary, Corsica [France] and Turkey, this year may be the time to sample wines from China, Moldovia, Israel and England. Consider just some of the grapes you may never before have sampled: Vitis Quinquangularis Rehd, Ezerjó, Jandali and Orion. All are waiting for you to try.
Go On, Try Using An Aerator.
You may have unwrapped one at Christmas.
When to aerate wine? When it’s relatively young, tannic and you don’t have the time to decant it. An aerator might sound gimmicky and the sound of it glugging wine into your glass may lack finesse, but it can be an effective way of bringing out flavors.
Enjoy This Short Multiverse Animated Fiction With A Decent Wine.
And while you watch this seven-minute piece, you may wonder what type of wine they drank in that short opening scene (hint: the name of the restaurant probably gives it away).
Be happy that no one is pushing a ‘reset’ button in your own life.
In 2018 I’ll keep you informed of new places and spaces in the wine world. My Wine Enthusiast article about Corsica comes out in the February travel issue, and this blog will include pieces from Lisbon, Hong Kong and other parts of the world.
Again, thanks for tuning in.
The Surprising Beauty of Hungary and Its Wines
Parliament Building in Budapest
Hungary, the size of the U.S. state of Indiana, has a population of 10 million and has been a European Union member since 2004. Historically it’s been a doormat for invaders: Tartars, Turks and Soviets.
Let me tell you about wines, first in general, then more specifically. I won’t even mention the famed Tokaji sweet wines here.
There are 22 wine regions in Hungary and about 155,000 planted acres (63,000 hectares).
Wine regions of Hungary – taken from The Tasting Table wine store of Budapest
To learn about these I wandered the massive food market, walked downstairs and bumped into a corner room display about wines—including a model of the country.
The massive market of Budapest
The Celts were growing grapes in the region of Europe now known as the Carpathian Basin three hundred years before the Christian era. Romans then arrived and under Emperor Marcus Aurelius Probus were instructed to plant grapevines all over this region, and cultivated about 80 different species—most of them reds. They stored fermented juice in gourds and amphorae. In the 16th century the current country known as Hungary was split into three. The Turks paid little attention to grape cultivation on their land, but decided not to destroy vines as they could provide tax income.
Today, most Hungarian wines are white, and most reds come from the southwest region of Villány—best known for Cabernet Franc. To taste them, we’ll wander a bit through the capital city of Budapest.
The city of Budapest has a similar social energy to that of Berlin, but with a more mature and relaxed attitude toward time. Youth love going out to social events, but have less of the focused zeal of Berliners. This is a city where strangers meet your gaze and smile warmly in return, which is a refreshing surprise. The streets are clean, the architecture is both bold and magnificent and the people are generally happy now that the subduing and inefficient yoke of communism has been gone since the last Soviet soldier shipped out in 1991.
When you begin walking in this city, it’s difficult to stop because there is some surprise around each corner. You’ll run into visual and sensory overload on streets steeped in history.
A city with surprising architecture
After a half day of wandering you may realize you are embedded in a sizable continental region steeped in spellbinding history—whether from the ruling eras of Romans, Muslims or Hapsburgs—and that you will only see a distant smidgen of this tapestry even after a few days.
The ‘castle district’ is magnificent and wonderful for walking. From the road square of Szvent Mihaly Kápokna with its stone turrets, beneath which visitors cackle on cell phones, you can view the city below and shake your head at the bizarre truth that people still use selfie sticks to take photos.
The pedestrian friendly ‘castle district’ of Budapest
During the fall season, the castle district is sunny and burnished with glorious heaps of unswept leaves and multi colored residences. Sirens wail from the lower city and mingle with the loud chatter of bird songs from feet away.
On a friend’s recommendation I ate dinner at Zeller Bistro. This is where tattooed locals swig glasses of bubbles. It’s an eclectic mix of upscale and edgy characters. A chap named Attila seated me before a small stage, then served local ham, sausage, celery soup and veal and a bottle from the Gróf Buttler winery called Egri Bekavér. This red wine, known as ‘Bull’s Blood,’ comes from the Eger wine region in northeast Hungary and is a blend of three grapes—Kekfrankos, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This 13,000 acre wine region is surrounded by the Mátra and Bükk mountains. This was a powerhouse of a wine to enjoy with dinner.
Zeller Bistro
It tasted of smoke and oak, blackberries, cranberries, chocolate pudding and ash. It’s a gorgeously layered, bright wine with a serious forward heft of black fruit. It’s a dark, powerful and balanced with a rivulet of raspberry taste.
Live music and wine at Zeller
The next night I went to Borssó Bistro, where as part of traditional celebrations for Saint Martin’s Day, the menu focused on goose products—four courses with four wines. I sat upstairs and the atmosphere was warm and energetically boisterous—soft candlelight and homemade butter with the fresh bread. The intimacy and authenticity there are both welcoming and warm.
A magnificently comfortable restaurant
Together with a local sparkling wine (Hungaria Grande Cuvée Brut) came the amuse-bouche opening dish—parsley cream, French blue cheese and quince. This pairing was a rip-roaring mouthful of contrasting and uplifting flavors.
From all around the wood-paneled room I heard American, Chinese and Irish accents—as well as plenty of local banter.
For the first course: goose soup with stuffed pasta and a 2017 Esterhazy Pinot Noir rosé from the Etyeki-Kûria winery. The Etyek-Buda wine region, just west of Budapest, produces mostly sparkling and white wines. This wine was simple, crisp, slightly fizzy and a clean way to enter the meal.
Hungarian rosé
This restaurant is magnificent. The atmosphere inside, with green lanterns and framed bottle labels hanging on walls, is quiet though lively, with a meld of laughs and silverware clatter and the sound of friends toasting.
Here, some ladies wear furs, some rough woolen cloaks and others designer silk ties. Some where loafers and some wear boots. There are dignitaries and dodgy looking characters, which adds a zip of intrigue to dinner.
The second course—smoked goose breast with cassoulet and green beans had such a full-on, delicious, gamy and wild taste that it was no doubt be too brazen for a more conservative restaurant. I drank a wine from the renowned sunny Villany wine region in the south of the country, near Croatia. Vines here were almost destroyed by the Turks, but in the 18th century German settlers focused on producing quality wines. This 6,000 acre (2,500 hectare) region produces reds and rosés. This was a 2017 Gunzer Zoltán Pincejebol made from the Portugieser grape.
All goose dishes for Saint Martin’s Day celebrations
“Like a Beaujolais,” said the server.
A hearty red made with the Portugieser grape
This tasted like a citric Syrah: dense berries and tar with a streak of lemon. This is a deep and hearty red—with fresh Mediterranean citrus superimposed on dark berries, charcoal and chocolate.
The third course was goose with quinoa with cheese and butter as well as a light red 2016 Szent Gaál wine from the Szent Gaál winery. Made with the Kadarka grape, this comes from the Szekszárd wine region, the ‘Hungarian Burgundy.’ This southern region, west of the Danube River, has a warm and balanced climate with Mediterranean and continental inputs. There are hot and sunny summers and the soil base is calcareous. Typical grapes produced in this region include Kadarka, Kékfrankos (remember our first wine, last night?) and Bikavér.
From the Szekszárd wine region, the ‘Burgundy of Hungary’
The taste of this Kadarka? Blueberries on the nose, sort of like a Barbera. In the mouth it was prunes, tangerines, and high in acidity.
What helps make this restaurant attractive is that it lacks the perfectly precise, sometimes fearful orchestration of a Michelin starred restaurant, which makes it more approachable. There is no residual stiffness from any of the wait staff, no fear that they might be serving some inspector.
Cozy and warm restaurant during a chilly Budapest night
During three nights, several meals and samples of 16 local Hungarian wines, I was never disappointed. Most dishes and wines were stellar and the prices were affordable to make me think, more than once, ‘are you kidding me?’
The final wine came from Recas wine in Transylvania. Made from the Feteascā Neagrā wine grape (a Moldavian grape, the name meaning ‘old maiden’).
Named La Pulere, it was like a casual Californian Pinot Noir with bright raspberries, strawberries, plum, peach and lime. This dark forest of smoky berries includes shortbread, strawberries, currants and prunes. This went with the dessert – Lúdláb cake.
Chocolate tart and a good red wine -an indication of the Christmas season
The end of communism in 1990 brought many changes to Hungary. One was an attitude toward making wine. Production was no longer always considered as just a high volume, low quality endeavor but as a way for producers to distinguish themselves by creating higher quality products. Some of their current wines are stellar – rich and delicious.
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Here are a few of my latest Forbes posts (and I will write another article for them, from a different angle, about Hungary in January).
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For those interested in a remote sommelier, I am including a menu below that was provided, and paired with wines, by Julien Pouplet—the ‘reluctant wine guru’ living in the Pyrenees Mountains of southern France.
The suggested wines are available in the U.S. (and some outlets in New York city are identified).
IF you would like to subscribe (for a modest fee) to menus paired with French wines by Julien every two weeks, let me know and I will put you in touch.
OR, if you have your own menu but want Julien to act ‘remote sommelier’ and provide French wine pairings via email, this can also be arranged. The first pairing is free.
This week’s sample menu (no photos, unfortunately) is below.
Julien in the Loire Valley some years ago
Apertif –
Ibérico Ham
Suggested wines:
Clos Uroulat ‘Cuvée Marie’ – Jurançon Sec (available at Mr. Wright Fine Wines and Spirits, New York).
Hirutza Hondarrabi Zuri Txakolina (available at Saratoga Wine Exchange).
Appetizer –
Asparagus steamed in bamboo, curled parmiggiano cheese flakes and olive oil.
Suggested Wines:
‘Les Choisilles’ from François Chidaine of Montlouis S/Loire (available at The Wine Connection, New York).
Côteaux du Vendomois ‘Vieilles Vignes’ by Patrice Colin (available at the Amsterdam Wine Company)
The Basque country of southern France
Main Course –
Roast chicken with homemade French fries.
Suggested wines:
Château Penin Bordeaux Supérieur (available at Pavilion Wine and Spirits, New York)
Château de Bellevue Lussac Saint-Émilion (available at Flatiron Wines & Spirits, New York)
Winter nouriture
Dessert –
Orange segments with grated cinnamon and fresh mint salad.
Suggested wine:
Méthode Traditionnelle sparkling wine by Francois Chidaine (available at Flatiron Wines & Spirits)
Enjoy the Holidays 🙂
Crus du Beaujolais Tastings
Looking out over the Moulin-À-Vent wine region within Beaujolais, France
This is a supplement to the regular Vino Voices blog, and complements a Forbes piece I wrote about tasting several Crus du Beaujolais wines.
For a background on Crus du Beaujolais wines (which are generally excellent), you should read the above article.
The following are brief tasting notes regarding several additional Crus du Beaujolais wines, in addition to those mentioned in the other article. All of these wines, in my humble opinion, score above 90 points on a 100 point scale. These are generally excellent value wines, many of which will age for several years, if not decades.
Jeff Kralik and Charlotte Perrachon at the Moulin-À-Vent (windmill)
Cave du Château de Chénas. Moulin-À-Vent Coeur de Granit. 2015.
Light plums on the nose which turn slightly smoky after a minute in the glass. Opens in the mouth to a taste of luscious and light raspberries; delicate like a Fleurie. Very mild tannins.
Château de Bellevue. Moulin-À-Vent La Roche. 2015.
Mildly pungent on the nose. Gorgeous black fruits in the mouth. Slightly layered. Weak to medium tannins.
Château de La Terrière. Moulin-À-Vent Le Moulin. 2015.
Luscious and opulent black fruit and cherries on the nose. Slight citrus in the mouth. Medium tannins.
Château de La Terrière. Moulin-À-Vent Le Moulin. 2016.
Similar to the 2015 (above), but bigger black cherries on the nose. Rounded and elegant.
Château des Gimarets. Moulin-À-Vent Espirit de Ma Terre. 2014.
Black fruit, earth and blueberries on the nose. Light to medium structure. Slightly gravelly and fruit full beauty in the mouth.
Château des Gimarets. Moulin-À-Vent Tradition. 2015. [91.5 points]
Deliciously soft raspberries on the nose and additional violets in the mouth. Luscious with subtle tannins.
Édouard Pârinet of Château Moulin-À-Vent, Beaujolais
Château des Jacques. Moulin-À-Vent Clos de Grand Carquelin. 2014. [91.5 points]
Huge bouquet of focused black fruit, tar and cherries on the nose. Soft and nuanced in the mouth with mild tannins.
Domaine Anita. Moulin-À-Vent Coeur de Vigneronne. 2015.
Mild earth, truffle and blackberries on the nose. Luscious cherries with medium complexity in the mouth.
Domaine Bourdon. Moulin-À-Vent. 2014.
Distinct on the nose and mildly pungent—similar aromas to Cabernet Franc. Deep dark fruit. In the mouth raspberries; medium tannins.
Domaine Bourdon. Moulin-À-Vent. 2015.
Raspberries and dark plums on the nose. A hefty and commanding mouthful with black cherries and black pepper. Well balanced with medium tannins.
Domaine Cédric Vincent. Moulin-À-Vent Les Merizes. 2015.
Beautifully soft and elegant on the nose with violets and truffles. This is a gorgeous fruit filled mouthful. Slightly acidic. Low to medium tannins.
Domaine Cédric Vincent. Moulin-À-Vent L’Harmonie. 2016.
Deeply beautiful Pinot Noir like aromas on the nose, though mildly acidic. Opens to red fruit in the mouth, with soft tannins.
Guarding the terroir
Domaine de Bel-Air. Moulin-À-Vent Granit & Manganèse. 2015.
Raspberries and Play-Doh on the nose. Bright cherries in the mouth. Smooth, well-balanced easy to drink wine. Deliciously delicate.
Domaine Céline & Nicolas Hirsch. Moulin-À-Vent. 2016.
Bright raspberries on the nose, slight citrus in the mouth. Crisp, slightly pungent.
Domaine de Colette. Moulin-À-Vent. 2015.
Plum and tar on the nose, gorgeous black cherries and raspberries in the mouth. Delicate, weak tannins. This is an easy drinking beauty.
Domaine de Gry-Sablon. Moulin-À-Vent Vieilles Vignes. 2015.
Hefty black fruit on the nose. In the mouth—focused florals and black cherries. This is a commanding wine: fruit forward, balanced and firm with medium tannins.
Domaine de La Chèvre Bleue. Moulin-À-Vent Réserve Philibert. 2015.
Red fruit on the nose. Fine chocolate and cherries and slight tarragon in the mouth. Layered and somewhat complex. Mild tannins.
Domaine de La Paillardière. Moulin-À-Vent Cuvée 12M. 2014.
Black fruit and beef on the nose. Orange rind, pepper and red fruit in the mouth. A well rounded mouthful with medium tannins.
A range of cru wines from Moulin-À-Vent, Beaujolais
Domaine de L’Iris. Moulin-À-Vent Domaine de L’Iris. 2016.
Light, barely distinct fruit on the nose. Bright lavender and mandarin in the mouth. Mildly tannic. Mildly distinct minerality.
Domaine Des Caves. Moulin-À-Vent Cuvée Étalon. 2014.
Mildly pungent aroma. Mingles with black cherry to provide a commanding, balanced nose. Gorgeous full fruit mouthful.
Domaine des Caves. Moulin-À-Vent Cuvée Étalon. 2015.
Nose includes hibiscus and pear—pleasant and also floral. Full and hearty mouthful of fruit with slight minerality.
Domaine des Fontaines. Moulin-À-Vent. 2015.
Mild blackberries on the nose. Slightly citric and round in the mouth. Will go well with fish or game.
Domaine des Pierres Roses. Moulin-À-Vent Champ de Cour. 2015.
Gorgeous Burgundian like nose. Violets and acorns and slight tar. A full mouthful with tangerines and red fruit.
Domaine de Rochegrès. Moulin-À-Vent Domaine de Rochegrès. 2016.
Light raspberries, mild lemon rind and caramel on the nose. In the mouth the same. This is a well-balanced basket of fruit.
Cellars below Château Moulin-À-Vent, Beaujolais
Domaine des Rosiers. Moulin-À-Vent Vieilles Vignes. 2015.
Nose is light with mild scent of plum. Balanced cherries and nuts in the mouth. Mildly, and nicely, crunchy in the mouth.
Domaine des Rosiers. Moulin-À-Vent Vieilles Vignes 2016.
Bright and powerful plumbs on the nose. In the mouth—raspberry, pleasant and full taste of plumb and graphite. This is an easy drinking wine, far more fruit than minerality.
Domaine du Penlois. Moulin-À-Vent Sous L’Aile du Moulin. 2014.
Bright fruit and florals on the nose and in the mouth. Beautifully easy drinking wine.
Domaine Labruyère. Moulin-À-Vent Coeur de Terroir. 2015.
Gorgeously soft and supply black pepper on the nose. Rounded, mineral and very approachable in the mouth. Perfect for fish or light game.
Domaine Labruyère. Moulin-À-Vent Le Carquelin. 2015.
Spice and black fruit on the nose. Rounded, well-balanced and includes a fully approachable fruit mélange in the mouth.
Domaine Louis Boillot & Fils. Moulin-À-Vent Les Brussellions. 2015.
Black pepper and green pepper on the nose. Rounded and full in the mouth.
On a clear day, you can see the Sâone River and beyond
Domaine Merlin. Moulin-À-Vent La Rochelle. 2014.
Simple raspberries and mushrooms on the nose, creamy minestrone and spice in the mouth. Slightly tart, easy drinking.
Domaine Jean-Pierre Mortet. Moulin-À-Vent. 2014.
Peaches and caramel on the nose. Rounded raspberry rodeo in the mouth. Supple, satisfying. Low tannins.
Domaine Richard Rottiers. Moulin-À-Vent Champ de Cour. 2015.
Light fruit, mild tannins, easy drinking.
Juillard Wolkowicki. Moulin-À-Vent Éole. 2015. [91.75 points]
Light and beautiful florals. Lavender and black cherries in the mouth.
Maison Jean Loron. Moulin-À-Vent Champ de Cour. 2015.
Less than distinct nose, but full and gorgeous rounded tropical fruits in the mouth. Mild tannins.
An array of colorful Beaujolais tastes
Maison Le Nid. Moulin-À-Vent Tradition. 2015.
Mild on the nose. An attractive raspberry and pepper package in the mouth.
Maison Mommessin. Moulin-À-Vent Domain de Champ de Cour. 2015.
Bright, light and fruity mouthful. Light tannins and low complexity. Subdued, but easy drinking.
Manoir du Carra. Moulin-À-Vent Famille Sambardier. 2015.
Bright plumb and pepper on the nose. Raspberry and plums in the mouth. Fruit forward, few discernible tannins.
Orange Wine in Milan, and Secrets of Northern Italy
First, my latest Forbes pieces are here. They include another wine book review, challenges facing Barolo wine, and excellent Crus du Beaujolais wines that are smoking hot values.
Second, we’ll take a quick tour of lesser known locales within northern Italy that serve excellent food and wine (and we’ll learn a bit about ‘orange wine’).
Galleria Vittoria Emanuele II near the main cathedral of Milan
I recently enjoyed dinner in the city of Milan, Italy, with a couple living there—Diletta Sereni and her boyfriend Niccolo. I had met Diletta, a food journalist, earlier this year in Abruzzo. She writes about food, farming and sustainability. Diletta insisted that, if in her city, I should get in touch to sample local food and wine. Because Milan was a stop off point during recent travels, I decided to stay there for a day and evening to explore.
Inside Museo del Duomo in Milan
For hours I walked through the city—buying roasted chestnuts, pacing under the high glass ceiling of Galleria Vittoria Emanuele II, wandering on the flagstones past restaurants on Via Brera, eating a sfogliatella napoletana pastry and getting a haircut from a barber named Silvio. After spending time wandering through museums—Natural History, Novecento, El Duomo—I met Diletta and Niccolo at Ratanà. This restaurant, they explained, had no Michelin stars but was twice listed as the best restaurant in the city by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Serra (“The New York Times of Italy,” they told me).
Diletta and Niccolo – wonderful hosts in Milan
After aperitifs of Anisos Vallagarina (a biodynamic white wine) for Diletta, Crémant d’Alsace Extra Brut for Niccolo (crémant is sparkling wine, made the same way as champagne, but from outside that region) and Franciacorta Brut (a sparkling wine from the northern Lombardy region of Italy) for myself, we ordered dinner. The key to the main course of Osso Bucco, they explained, came at the end when we could eat the bone marrow (for which we were provided a special tool that resembled a miniature whale flensing knife).
My Italian is rudimentary; fortunately, Diletta and Nicolo translated
With this we drank a local organic wine from north of the city—a 2015 Buttafuoco Cerasa that includes three grapes: Croatina, Barbera and Ughetti di Solinga (Vespolina). This tasted of light and bright raspberries, with a mild crunchiness and taste of chestnuts. Diletta and Niccolo suggested this wine because it apparently matches well with food rich with fat. Milan is located in the Lombardy region of Italy, and this is primarily where Croatina grows. Vespolina is grown primarily in the Piedmont region (just west of Lombardy). The Barbera grape, grown in the Monferrato portion of the Piedmont region since the 1200’s, was considered a table wine until its quality and status recently began being boosted.
A light and refreshing blend of three red grapes
Just as most people associate Italy with Leonardo da Vinci and poet Dante Alighieri, most Italians are also well aware of artist Umberto Boccioni. I showed the couple photos taken earlier that day in the Novecento (‘nine-hundred’) art museum and they immediately recognized the works as created by Boccioni. Diletta then pulled a 20 cent coin from her pocket to show that one side included an image of one of his bronze sculptures (titled: Unique Forms of Continuity in Space).
‘Elasticity’ by Umberto Boccioni
After dinner, bloated, we walked through the Isola portion of Milan. Although Leonardo Da Vinci designed a church that still stands there, the region transformed a magnet for drug dealers and prostitutes in decades past, until a surge of recent upgrades. The region is now a magnet for businesses and young professionals. The Bosco Verticale towers (vertical forest) with their 900 trees on apartment porches were recently given an award for best ‘tall building worldwide.’
We soon sat inside the couple’s local wine bar—Enoteca Surli, where 24-year old sommelier Lorenzo Scarsi served glasses of orange wine.
Sommelier Lorenzo Scarsi at Enoteca Surli in the Isola region of Milan
Orange wine?
The first was a non-filtered 2016 Quinto Quarto Rebula from Franco Terpin from the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. Made from Ribolla Gialla grapes, this apparently typifies an ‘orange wine,’ common in northeast Italy. An orange wine is a white wine that ferments with skins and seeds. It’s basically a white made like a red. The green skins are not removed after pressing, which gives the juice a distinct orange color.
Quinto Quarto orange wine from winemaker Franco Terpin
This orange wine was acidic and distinct, like a white but heartier. We next tasted an Ein Quantum Weiß 2016 from Austria, a blend of 12 grapes, which also had a distinct taste—tannins and toast. The taste of orange wine undoubtedly grows on drinkers with time.
An Austrian orange wine blended from 12 grapes
We next tried an Orano Sangiovese from the Le Marche region on the Adriatic coast—north of Abruzzo and east of Umbria, then finished with a biodynamic and unfiltered 2016 Mille from I Cacciagalli. Made from the dark Aglianico grape as well as the Piedirosso grape, this is slightly vegetal and pungent on the nose, similar to a Cabernet Franc. Lorenzo told us this is one of the bestselling wines at the bar.
Biodynamic, unfiltered and distinct
Lorenzo held the bottle to the light.
“Non passa niente,” he said. No light passed through that dark wine.
The evening was enjoyable and instructive. Grazie mille Diletta and Niccolo!
Next stop—Lugano, Switzerland (don’t worry, we’ll soon scoot back into Italy).
Looking from Monte Brè toward Monte Salvatore over Lake Lugano, Switzerland
Looking from the city of Lugano toward Monte Salvatore (right) and Monte Brè (left)
In Lugano my friend Elena took me on a whirlwind tour not of southern Switzerland, but of hidden dining gems within the backwoods of nearby Italy.
Elena outside Hostaria di Cacciatori near Ferrera di Varese in northern Italy
We drove south, from Lugano into Italy, and headed in the direction of Varese. After some 40 minutes, we stopped at Hostaria dei Cacciatori (‘the hunters’ restaurant’) near a small rural town.
A Saturday lunch gathering in the restaurant
Inside this home with starched linen tablecloths and large wine glasses, the owner and chef—Aurora and Paolo—told us that Aurora’s father opened this restaurant 50 years ago. When we were ready to order, there was no menu; Aurora recited what was available that day.
Paolo and Aurora
After a glass of sparkling Prosecco, we ordered a fine bottle of Brunello di Montalcino wine made from Sangiovese grapes from Tuscany (Aurora recalled that Elena ordered the same wine when she ate there last, almost a year ago), then ordered an appetizer of lentils and sliced salsicha sausages, followed by pasta with shaved, fresh truffles from the local forest. The pasta was yellow because it is made in freshly in-house, and egg yolks impact the color.
The entrance lobby at the Hostaria
World renowned Brunello di Montalcino wine is made 100% from the Sangiovese grape (which is also the main grape constituent in Chianti). Brunello was the first wine that was awarded the highest quality ‘DOCG’ (Denominazione d’Origine Controllata e Garantita) designation in Italy; today there are a total of 74 DOCG designations throughout Italy.
Pasta with shaved truffles (which, fortunately, were still available)
The next evening we drove again into the hills of Italy to find a family owned restaurant in the countryside—Agriturismo Barcola. This is a ‘grotto’ restaurant; this local word describes family restaurants that were once adjacent to outdoor caves (grottos) where they kept meat cool and cured. Elena navigated down a single lane on a dark mountainside into a dirt parking lot completely filled with cars.
The entrance to Barcola
Inside, families bantered and locals toasted and we ate appetizers of tomino cheese wrapped in bacon, followed by tagliatelle pasta with shavings of fresh wild boar (cinghiale) and a bottle of delicious red Valtellina Superiore Sassella wine. This excellent wine is made from the Nebbiolo grape on the steep slopes of the Rhaetian Alps northeast of Milan, near the border of Switzerland.
From the Rhaetian Alps, which you have never heard of
For a digestif we drank homemade (‘fatta di casa’) crema di limone—similar to limoncello. When I asked for the bill the owner scribbled a number onto a torn scrap of paper and handed it over. For all that dinner and wine and digestif for two persons the cost was 56.50 Euros. Very reasonable. When we reached the parking lot it was a mishmash of cramped cars, parked randomly within a circular dirt arena, and drivers trying to extricate their vehicles without banging into too many others. Being in Italy, though, this turned into a laughing, camaraderie forming event.
Tomino cheese wrapped in bacon. You know you want it.
And Lugano? Beautiful. I once lived there, and enjoyed every moment. I wrote a piece about the Merlot wine from that region of Switzerland years ago.
Sitting outside Osteria La Lanchetta before Lake Lugano, enjoying sundowners
The beauty of the meals described above came from spending time with people who live in the region—people who recommended where to go because they appreciate excellent local foods and have, through time, filtered out locations they consider prime for visiting.
As a teenager, I spent years living in Lugano. I thought I knew it all about the city and its countryside.
Nonsense. In the space of 48 hours, Elena opened up new dimensions to this region that blasted previous concepts.
Sant’Abbondio church in Certenago, Switzerland, in the municipality of La Collina d’Oro (‘the Hill of Gold’)
As you travel, you will meet others who will invite you to visit. To spend time at their spot on this planet.
Do It!
Go. ‘Throw Caution to the Winds.’ Buy the Ticket.
This will expand Your Horizons, change your thinking, and even—bizarrely—help solve problems that you were concerned about taking time away from.
Funds will come and go, and problems will arise and diminish.
Memories and camaraderie? They are to be seized.
***
Thanks again for tuning in. I write this blog and another (roundwoodpress.com) and also write for various publications (shown below). I appreciate your visit to this site and hope you will continue checking out Vino Voices!
Searching for A Reluctant Wine Guru In Jurançon
Pyrenees peaks forming the border between France and Spain
One: Destination Jurançon.
Years ago we spent time with a local wine merchant in La Cave wine bar in the town of Blaye, often drinking ‘mysterious bottles’ and trying to guess their origin, age and grape types included.
Julien Pouplet was a wizard, often being able to identify the specific slope within, say, Saint-Émilion, from where a mystery wine originated. He also had a rare knack for finding incredibly distinct and beautiful wines that cost a song—often for between 5 and 10 Euros a bottle. In the Russel Crowe narrated documentary about wine titled Red Obsession, Julien was interviewed three times. We took a trip to the Loire Valley together years ago to source phenomenal wines that were biodynamic and unknown.
Then, he vanished.
I tracked him down over a year ago when I was on leave from working in Pakistan.
Unfortunately, Julien had already finished this jewel
We sat and drank some reality-bending Burgundian Pinot Noir wines at a few different wine bars in Bordeaux city.
Last I heard, he wrote that he was in ‘Béarn.’
Béarn? Berne? Switzerland?
No. Béarn as in Béarnaise sauce, as in the seat of the Kings of Navarre in the 12th century at the base of the Pyrenees mountains. To the south.
The biggest city in the region is Pau. A friend had mentioned that the ancient buildings in the inner city were beautiful.
Looking out from the Castle of Pau
One of many squares with fountains in Pau
Eglise Saint-Jacques in the city of Pau
I emailed Julien on a Sunday and said I would drive to Pau on Tuesday.
Did he care to meet?
The Castle of Pau
He responded.
“Bonjour Tom. Please come home for a dinner. I also got an extra bedroom if you want to. If you come with a car, I can arrange a tasting in Jurançon.”
He also mentioned that he had just cooked pasta with freshly minced veal, onions, garlic, tomatoes, Banyuls wine and white pepper, and paired this with a Domaine Charvin Côtes-du-Rhone red wine from within Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
It sounded like he was living a balanced and healthy life.
I arrived in Pau by noon, explored the city and ate lunch (read my Forbes article to get the full picture).
The rudiments of a French lunch
Beautiful and hearty lunches are served here in Pau; locals cram in to eat
Chef Pierre Ferrère and Véronique – at Bistrot des Halles, Pau
I met Julien at his beautiful countryside dwelling.
He turned out to be the same guy: did not drive a car, would not drink wine that is not French, was still writing poetry, shopped only for fresh food from local markets, remained incisive and wary.
But did he still have his facility with wine?
At 4.00 pm we drove off to the mountains to meet his friend Jean-Bernard, owner and winemaker of Clos Lapeyre.
View from Julien’s house
Reluctant Guru Julien
Two: The Wines of Southwest France.
Here is a brief overview of three wine regions of southwest France:
Madiran. Jurançon. Irouleguy.
Zero in on a map of southwest France and there are a few discrete geographical ‘islands’ of wine production. Three are those listed above.
This map cannot be reprinted due to copyright prohibitions, but if you click here and look at the bottom left, you can see these three wine regions.
Jean Bernard of Clos Lapeyre – pouring Jurançon wine from Austrian oak barrels
Here is the skivvy in a nutshell:
- In the far southwestern portion of France is Irouleguy. Here are produced both white and red wines, and because the slopes are so steep and difficult to harvest, the cost of wine is also steep.
- To the east is Jurançon. Only white wines are made here (mostly sweet) from the grapes Petit Manseng, Gros Manseng and Courbu.
- Further south is Madiran. Reds are made here, principally from the Tannat grape.
Irouléguy is in ‘pey Basque’ country. That’s Basque territory. We can describe that some other time in another article. Same as with Madiran.
Jean-Bernard and Julien at Clos Lapeyre
For now: Jurançon.
Jurançon is in Béarn. From the 1100’s until the French Revolution in the latter 1700’s, the Béarnais had a representative government with plenary courts occupied by representatives of three classes: nobility, clergy, and regular folk. The identity of the inhabitants of this region has remained vociferously independent until the present. The main city of Béarn is Pau (pronounced ‘Po’).
Although not known to many of those unfamiliar with France, Pau was a happening spot in the past. Rich Brazilians hung out here in the 1800’s, as well as wealthy Brits. Even today it has an airport with direct flights to and from London. According to Julien, horses from the region are such thoroughbreds that sheiks from Dubai sometimes fly into the region, then chopper out to horse farms to check out the studs.
Three: Vines and Wines.
We spent a few hours with Jean-Bernard Larrieu, owner and winemaker of Clos Lapeyre. The photos show how gorgeous his terrain is.
Sweet nectar
Three generations of his family have farmed their 70 acres, and Jean-Bernard explained how the location of Jurançon—25 miles from the Pyrenees peaks and 60 miles from the ocean—gives it key characteristics that make this region nicknamed the Piemonte of the Pyrenees (Piemonte is the Barolo wine region in northwest Italy with similar physical characteristics). The mountains block winds from Spain, and the coastal influence moderates temperatures.
Clos Lapeyre Mantoulan 2011 dry white wine
Think this: lots of rain but little wind, and a relatively large difference between day and night temperatures.
It is this last point, the temperature difference between day and night, that maintains both acidity and sugar in grapes (acidity develops during the cool evenings; sugar develops during the full sunshine). The south and southwest facing vines are located where the slope, aspect, altitude and geology uniquely combine to be most beneficial to Manseng grapes.
Manseng grapes
The elevation of Jean-Bernard’s land, at 1,200 feet above sea level, is cooler than the valley floor, where rich soils are not good for vines. The little Manseng grapes, Jean-Bernard said, are ‘skin and bones’ but are packed with concentrated flavor. They grow in a region so lush and rain soaked that grass grows all year long. These vines love moisture.
The little Manseng grapes mature late in the season, thriving above layered soils where sand and silt alternate with clay.
The vineyards of Clos Lapeyre facing the Pyrenees peaks
The Jurançon wine region is not large, comprising a total of 3,200 acres. There are about 100 independent winemakers here, of which 55 (including Clos Lapeyre) make their own labels and brands.
Jean-Bernard’s vineyard is certified organic. He is also moving toward biodynamic certification. He plants cereals between vine rows because cereal roots break up and aerate the soil, which is beneficial for adjacent vines.
Tasting room Clos Lapeyre – nice place to be when the rains lash outside
There are four prinicpal drainages within the Jurançon region, all perpendicular to the Pyrenees. Hence, another local saying is that the best vines look toward the mountains.
We walked vines and then sampled nine different excellent quality wines in Jean-Bernard’s cellar. We then headed back to Julien’s for dinner.
Near the vines at Clos Lapeyree
“I prepared a grandma’s dinner,” he said. “Simple, rustic, efficient, tasty.’
While I played with his little black cat, named ‘petit chat,’ Julien poured from the bottle Jean-Bernard gifted us—a Mantoulan 2011. Julien then served celery soup with onions, garlic and potatoes.
Later during dinner I pulled out a few bottles of ‘mystery’ Bordeaux reds and had Julien try to identify the wines. He recognized the Clos Saint-Émilion on his first sip, though erred in thinking that it was a 2010 rather than a 2009. When clued into the fact that another red came from the left bank, he correctly guessed that it was from Château Haut-Marbuzet. “Because,” he said, “it tastes unlike any other Bordeaux.”
View from Julien’s home
The Reluctant Wine Jedi was in top form.
He played Grateful Dead tunes and classical music and poured his own mystery red (a Côtes-du-Rhone, I correctly deduced; although from which producer I had no idea).
He then served pork and carrots with more wine.
At which point Julien admitted that he is no longer interested in trying to ascertain the origin or age or grape components in different wines.
Instead, he is focusing on the ‘phases of flavors.’
‘Phases of flavors…’ ?
The Guru remains ahead of most of us who enjoy wine.
He is also beginning to pair specific French wines with specific meal dishes—at a distance and online, for overseas clients. (Consider that the next time you assemble a high hitting dinner for friends; having a virtual French food and wine sommelier choose the paired wines.)
Although in Jurançon now, there is no telling where the future will bring this wandering sage.
Again, thanks for tuning in.
My latest Forbes articles are here.
Merlot In A Mill In Southern France
Ancient flour mill, and entrance to restaurant
1. Growing Contacts And A New Tab.
Since a year ago I’ve been fortunate to be published in (or else have articles about to be published in) the following:
Thanks for your support, readers!
Also, the piece I wrote about 24 Zesty Hours In The Powerhouse Of Poitiers gained local media attention. This includes mention of honor in publication, and a recap of the article, though in French.
Other recent articles in Forbes are here, and include the story of how Argentina impacted a French winemaking couple, a wine book review, and Rothschilds and Four Seasons collaborating on opening an upgraded French ski resort. Tomorrow I’ll publish an article about wine wizard Henri Duboscq of Château Haut-Marbuzet in Saint Estephe.
This weblog also now includes a new tab that provides an overview (and history) of sizzlingly tasty Etalon Rouge Bordeaux wine. This very limited production Bordeaux wine (100% Cabernet Sauvignon and 100% Sauvignon Blanc) is produced from a small vineyard a group of us recently invested in.
Thanks to those of you in the U.S. who recently ordered bottles.
2. The Oven and The Mill.
Here is a short travel piece—a recollection of a local afternoon spent here in southwest France.
Right Bank Bordeaux countryside
Friends had mentioned a restaurant, thirty minutes away by car. On a recent afternoon, hungry and craving to explore, I drove to Au Four et Au Moulin (the Oven and the Mill) in the small commune of Reguignon.
The tiny commune of Reguignon
The drive from Blaye passes by withered brown ferns, bent trees and strands of sagging barbed wire near a tiny village named Le Grand Village—where a sizable wooden barn appears about to collapse.
Structures belonging to the Huchet family.
The approach to the restaurant is down a thin lane in a lost though lovely slice of countryside. I parked before a barn door and paced through an old mill leading to the restaurant. The interior is white and bright and the staff—wearing aprons and jeans—appear relaxed and welcoming. Mounted black and white photographs shot by owner Francois show rural scenes—neighbors shaking hands, cows moseying down a country road and a tractor plowing sod.
Restaurant with terrace on the right
The third generation Huchet family constructed a flour mill here in 1908, adjacent to other buildings from the 1850’s. Decades ago, owner Francois Huchet and brother Jean-Marie did an impeccable job renovating the structure and transforming it into a restaurant.
This is an unobtrusive family dining venue. Politeness prevails: voices were hushed and siblings there were chatting instead of arguing.
Rabbit, oysters, beef, fish and ample wines
Lunch is not rushed or complicated. I started with a glass of Tutiac white wine—sweet and simple, with acidic creaminess to balance a plate of salty Atlantic oysters and slices of baguette (the alternative appetizer—rabbit terrine—sounded a bit rich).
Tutiac Vignerons is a local wine cooperative that includes a few hundred winemakers. Collectively they pool juices and talents to craft wines from both the Blaye-Côtes de Bordeaux and Cötes de Bourg regions. This is an interesting organization in that it is the source of income for at least 100 families, and now highlights a focus on ‘sustainable’ practices, which include using only recyclable packaging and shipping materials. They also collect corks for recycling at their half-dozen outlets, and then donate the proceeds to a Bordeaux cancer research center. The cooperative has also donated a portion of their income to Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in the past.
Entanceway
I next ordered beef for the main course. Well cooked please, because I’m American—I joked. Chef Joëlle Brard laughed, because ‘well done’ is a culinary sin in France. It arrived covered in onion slices with golden slivers of fried potatoes.
The wine for this was a 2014 Château Siffle Merle prestige cuvee—100 percent Merlot.
This four generation family estate is next to the restaurant
This wine is a hefty and welcoming glass that tastes of graphite and cocoa, an oaked and balanced beauty. The dense juice—bulging with aromas—arrived like a signal that autumn is here. This is no Burgundian trapeze artist but a Bordeaux tightrope walker. Like restaurant diners around me, the taste came with a controlled liveliness.
Apparently this wine won a bronze medal in Mâcon. Does that matter? Mâcon is both the name of a city and its surrounding region located almost on the other side of France, in the southern portion of Burgundy wine country. This is where they grow Pinot Noir and Gamay grapes. If these quite discerning wine loving Burgundians slapped a medal on a Blaye wine from a distant corner of the country made from a grape they are unused to cultivating, that generally indicates they truly appreciated the quality.
The circular panel below was once the stencil for marking flour sacks
Francois poured a second glass.
This matched the raspberry crème brûlée desert with berries on cherries.
Raspberry creme brûlée
After lunch, Francois carried over a bottle of Champagne Cognac. He sat down and poured glasses and we spoke of history, harvest, travels and life. The sun was full, the autumn colors subtle and the pace of life unhurried. We had met before in Blaye, where he has exhibited photos taken from around the world.
‘Champagne Cognac?’ Yes, it’s Cognac (which is made in the west of France, in a region just north of Bordeaux) and is not associated with the Champagne wine region (which is located across the country in the northeast of France). Cognac is produced in six regions, of which one is named ‘Grande Champagne’ and another named ‘Petite Champagne.’
The word champagne comes from the Latin for ‘open country’ and so the term is not, cartographically speaking, unique in France. There is a Champagne commune (population 530) between the cities of Royan and La Rochelle near the western coast of France, another Champagné commune (population 3000+) in the Loire Valley just east of Le Mans, and there are towns named Champagne in Brittany, in the Rhone Valley and at other French locales. Heck, there’s a street named Champagne right up the road in the nearby commune of Saint-Aubin-de-Blaye. Although Champagne wine producers are quite proprietary about the use of that word, it’s a relatively common, and historic, location name throughout France.
Proprietor Francois Huchet in the preserved mill
The action of sharing a final drop after lunch was not unusual. Just as dessert is served after cheese and French words often terminate in soft vowels rather than blunt consonants, this culture enjoys smooth, rather than abrupt, partings.
The drive home—past vines shedding crimson leaves—made me consider what motoring may have been like in the rural U.S. in the 1950’s: country roads, small towns, farmlands, orchards and yawning open spaces. Rustic, simple, unrushed. Few traffic lights or chain stores, and full drafts of clean oxygen to suck down and enjoy.
October vines
A few back roads on the way home were not much wider than a single lane. The route passed a stately church spire in Saugnon, hay bales at Forgette and bleating sheep around Sabaron. Sunlight, like honey, opened wide above the village of Perrin and sweetened the day.
‘Eat bread, you will live well’
Aspects of life here can be a dream—sometimes providing abundance when least expected. This lunch was a reminder that sometimes we have to slow down and appreciate now.
3. Message From a Bottle.
Over a month ago I received this email:
Hi,
I found your name during my try to find a special answer.
We live on the Swedish west coast. After storms we and our grandchildren search the shore for stranded goods. We find a lot of odd things from all over the world. Then we try to identify what it is and where it comes from. After that we make an exhibition for our neighbours.
Chocolate paper from the Philippines, milk case from New York, milk packages from Russia, shoes from China, wooden fruit boxes from Brazil and Argentine, radio transmitter from a weather balloon…
And, yesterday, we found a wine cork. We could identify it coming from Bourg. Due to the size we believe it’s from a magnum sparkling wine. BUT, we are not sure of the name of the wine or the vineyard.
It seems to be something like Sabinant de Bourg. (Maybe the S in Sabinant should be something else?) Can you please help us to identify the wine if possible? (Maybe even with a picture of a bottle.) Or give me some hint of where to look for an answer?
With warm greetings
Lars Wikander
writer, Sweden
He included photographs.
Uncertain, I crowdsourced the answer to this mystery by emailing local winemakers.
Soon, Rémy Eymas of Château Gros Moulin in Bourg responded. He suggested that the word was ‘Cremant’ (a term for sparkling wine) rather than ‘Sabinant.’
Much appreciated Rémy.
We also realized that cremant made in Bourg is called Cremant de Bordeaux. Therefore, it seems this cork probably said Cremant de Bourgogne (Burgundy), but the final letters were washed away.
When I informed Lars, he was delighted—and responded to tell about the origins of ‘trivial knowledge’ in Sweden.
“About knowledge of things like this I think of a Swedish expression – ‘Pompe knowledge.’ Pompe was one of the dogs owned by the Swedish king Karl XII 300 years ago. It may be interesting to know that, but absolutely unimportant in the whole. Fascinating knowledge anyhow. I looked forward to your blog. Thankful greetings.”
He sent a few photos of box sides they have collected on the shoreline: pears from Argentina, milk bottles from New York.
Lars—you have a most fascinating hobby to share with grandchildren.
This interaction reminded me of a paragraph I wrote years ago in my non-fiction book Rivers of Change – Trailing the Waterways of Lewis and Clark. It is based on an article I read while doing research. I had spent days in the basement of the public library in the city of Saint Louis reading past issues of the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch on microfiche. This came from a piece titled: ‘Ulster Girl Finds Bottle From Midwest’ [St Louis Post Dispatch, November 11, 1986, Section B, p.12.]
“The Missouri and Mississippi rivers meld together fifteen miles upstream of St. Louis before chugging south toward the Gulf of Mexico. The waters then join the Atlantic Ocean and disperse. A sixteen-year old Nebraskan teen-ager penned his name and address on a piece of paper, stuffed it into a Coca-Cola bottle and screwed the cap on. He tossed this into the Missouri River south of Nebraska City. A year later he ripped open a mysterious envelope from Northern Ireland and read a four page letter sent by a sixteen-year old lass. She told how she had found his bottle near her home in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland.
I thought it curious that littering — chucking a soda bottle into a river — denies that everything is connected, while throwing a corked bottle with a message inside embodies hope that all things are intertwined.”
4. Coming Soon
Next time we’ll sample a range of excellent value Bordeaux wines and score them.
Also, Wine Enthusiast Magazine will publish my piece on Corsica for their February Travel issue.
Finally, stay tuned for two upcoming Forbes articles regarding Italy: the wine country of Abruzzo (photo below), as well as thoughts of a renowned Barolo winemaker.
Left to Right: Ugo, Antonio, Diletta, Valentina and Maria – along the Trabocchi Coast of Abruzzo, Italy
Again, thanks for checking in.
Harvest Season And Moseying Around Médoc
Flashback:
Remember I wrote about this rebel?
Apparently he is still in rebel mode, according to the Times (thanks for sharing Gill Blayney).
Present.
To see my latest Forbes pieces click here. They include a piece about artist Cleon Peterson as well as a meeting with a wine producer in the Médoc who turned his war-scarred memories into art for the world.
Upcoming stories during the next month will include another interview in the Médoc as well as in Saint-Émilion, another Rothschild project opening in the Alps, more Abruzzo intrigue and the review of a forthcoming new wine book.
Harvest.
As those of you on FB know, our Etalon Rouge harvest is in, and the grapes taste zippy and fresh. Photos are below.
Though reduced in quantity because of nasty hail this spring, we’re hoping for some stellar wine. We also have a FB page you can search for and join (search Etalon Rouge).
We are building a new winery on Rue Saint Simon where a few of us live.
If you would like to purchase any 2015 do let me know. It’s the best yet—100% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Our vines in the commune of Fours
The freshly harvested 2017 grapes are being fermented, as well as aged, in brand new French oak barrels to improve the overall quality. Fortunately our new consulting enologist Christian Prudhomme has consulted for Opus One in California, Mouton Rothschild, Cheval Blanc, and Y’quem in Bordeaux. He’s quite the amazing enologist.
Requisite French vineyard scene – tractor and deux chevaux car (courtesy of Les)
This year our relatively minor quantity of white Sauvignon Blanc was hand harvested, while the red was machine harvested. In the future we may hand harvest red, but also want to aim at become biodynamic.
As you know the vineyard used to belong to comedian Gerard Depardieu and afterward artist Thierry Bisch. So, if, after tasting, you feel like telling jokes or getting creative, that’s the provenance of the vineyard!
Visualize the future bottle
Clarissa and winemaker Stéphane Heurlier from Château La Bretonnière (we borrowed his harvester)
We are borrowing space at Chateau de la Salle until our own facilities are constructed
Rambling in Saint-Estephe.
Friend and author Gilles Berdin invited me to visit a few châteaux in the Médoc region of Bordeaux this past Wednesday. I drove two minutes from where I live to the ferry boat, then rode over the estuary waters for 20 sun-soaked glorious minutes to the ‘left bank’ of Bordeaux, which includes the Médoc region. Saint Estephe is a sub-region of the Médoc that includes glorious full bodied red wines.
Gilles has written several excellent books about winemakers that share the same format. He and the vigneron sit down to share a bottle and chat. He records their words of wisdom and insight about wine and life. He visits several times, each time sharing a different, special bottle. Some of his books are translated into English, and all are excellent.
On the ferry, a person emerged from a car ahead and looked at me.
“Tom, ca va?” he asked.
It was Nicolas Vergez from the winery Châteaux Cassagne Boutet. We talked of life, work, and the poor harvest this year.
Having lost 90 percent of his grapes to the spring frost, Nicolas had finished his harvest and was driving to his family’s cabin on the Atlantic shore to go surfing for a few days. When we returned to our vehicles, he sauntered over carrying two bottles of Le Puits Merlot 2014 wine as a gift.
Merci Nicolas.
Authentic Surfing Vigneron Nicolas Vergez
After the ferry docked at Lamarque, I then drove for 20 minutes to meet Gilles. During the hours that followed, we met two winemakers who are now titans in their field. Giles has written books about both.
Both men struggled to achieve success; one came from no wealth, while the other was basically a quasi war refugee repatriated to France from Algeria as a young boy. These men are generous, visionary and have great pride in sharing with others.
I published one piece for Forbes about one of these men earlier today, and will publish the other in the coming days/weeks ahead.
At Château d’Arsac, the first winery owner, Philippe Raoux, gave us a tour before seating us for lunch and wine.
Philippe Raoux before his Château d’Arcy and beautiful grounds
Apparently the mathematics of winemaking
Part of the winemaker’s series – stunning Sauvignon Blanc
Philippe’s souvenir from his day in Oran, Algeria – then a wine producing powerhouse
Before we left, Philippe presented me with a gift box of 4 special bottles from his winery, made by four separate female winemakers from four different continents.
Each year he invites one renowned winemaker to come tend a plot of his grapes and then make wine in any way they desire. Their input is included in the annual Winemakers’ Collection series.
Four continents, four female winemakers
We next motored onto Château Haut-Marbuzet. The owner and legendary figure Henri Duboscq turned out to be a lively and bright soul who believes that making wine and making love share much in common. He was not hesitant, during our lively and fun interview, to explain how analysis and passion are separate—after all, he asked, ‘you don’t spend too much time analyzing lovemaking, do you?’
Looking out at Château Haut-Marbuzet
Monsieur Duboscq appreciates that his life may not truly have been under his guided control, but under greater forces which he submitted to, and which changed his life—quite for the better. He also believes that vines choose the individuals to tend them, not the other way around.
“Ah!” he exclaimed. “You live in Blaye! You do not have to catch a plane home. Then you can take some wine! Do you like wine to drink now, or to age?”
I hesitated.
“Then you must have both!” he said before sending his assistant off to bring back a half-dozen bottles of 2013 and 2014.
I had left Blaye on the 10.00 am ferry, returned on the 6.30 pm ferry, been given two wonderful interviews, a healthy lunch with wine, and acquired, unexpectedly, a dozen wonderful bottles of wine.
Now that was quite a Wednesday 🙂
The MacCarthy’s once owned the Marbuzet vines. Yes, Irish winemakers!
Again, another piece will be on Forbes about charismatic Henri Duboscq within weeks.
Again, thanks for tuning in!
Powering By Foot Around Poitiers
Needing to get out of town, I packed an overnight bag, scoured bookshelves, chucked four historical paperbacks about medieval France into a bag and drove 45 minutes to Libourne before parking and taking the TGV train an hour and a half north.
To Poitiers.
Ivy-coated Cathedral of Poitiers
Why Poitiers?
Because this university town of about 85,000 residents was, during the medieval ages, a powerhouse. Back in the 1100’s, south of the Loire River and in the western part of what is now France, the duchies of Gascony and Aquitaine and the county of Poitou ruled the land. Two principal cities within these three regions were Bordeaux and Poitiers.
Interior of Cathedral of Poitiers
‘France’ was then something, and somewhere, else. It was a small yet powerful entity centered in Paris. These other lands to the south (including Poitiers and Bordeaux) were rich from exporting wine and salt and also blessed with sunshine.
“These turbulent nobles enjoyed a luxurious standard of living compared to their unwashed counterparts in northern France,” wrote Alison Weir in her book Eleanor of Aquitaine. She continued: “Renowned for their elegance, their shaven faces and long hair, the Aquitaine aristocracy were regarded by northerners as soft and idle, whereas in fact they could be fierce and violent when provoked.”
1677 sculpture of ‘The Great Ghoul’ by 22-year old Jean Gargot
After arriving I got a hotel room in the city center, then began walking.
There was much to explore.
But, first, lunch.
This is a ritual in France.
Church of Notre Dame, Poitiers
Eating was also a time to immerse in the culture of this medieval city that is now an energetic university town. Young people here, in contrast to my college days, dress with elegance and style.
I sat at an outdoor porch and ate fish and drank Loire Valley white wine and watched people: a homeless man with two dogs on leashes and another two in his backpack; stodgy and sandled British pensioners searching for fish and chips; a young Scandinavian visiting princess pouting at her parents for having to parade with them down the street; a skinny kid on a ten-speed bike. Multiracial pairs embraced with zeal in spacious squares where the prevalence of white stone facades keeps the atmosphere bright.
Inside the Jardin de Plante
The New York Times had an article about renowned chef Alice Water’s first foray into the sensual pleasures of Paris as a student. Poitier might now be much the same for youth as Paris was decades ago – an outlying and freewheeling city as well as a lavish, previous home to medieval aristocracy.
This is a twisting hilly town by a winding river, a blend of facets of other towns: Angouleme and Sarlat and a dribble of Nantes thrown in.
Leek Casserole
The locals’ ambient intimacy is warm, almost conspiratorial.
When you order wine they give you two choices for red by the glass: Bordeaux or Chinon.
Although students dress well, there is also ratty and ridiculous attire—the beer swilling motorcyclists seated for a drink right after their muddy ride; the youth dressed head to toe in stylish black garments but wearing bright pink shoes.
Porch of the restaurant Le Clain D’oeil
For dinner I walked on a hilly street and found this restaurant and decided to eat there. It had opened only four months earlier and I was the only customer.
The food Rocked.
So good I included it in this Forbes piece about Poitiers. I hope someone markets this guy.
Interior of Clain D’oeil
Go there. Tolerate the bohemian tunes and proximity to hillside traffic and enjoy the gut level southern/northern hemisphere cuisine that needs no linen napkins.
That article also tells of the wine.
Other recent Forbes articles are about edgy art on a high-speed trimaran and a photogenic harvest assembly in Saint-Émilion.
Thanks for tuning in again.
This chap is looking for something unusual
Corsican Food, Wine and Hospitality
First – my latest Forbes posts are here and include The Secret Attraction of Swiss Wine, and Why Sleepy Corsica Produces Excellent Wines.
Second – is about an island speckled with intriguing food and wine.
Visiting the Mediterranean island of Corsica provides the magic of veering free of big cities—Paris and Barcelona and Rome—and instead hitting off-beat puny towns a few hours from the small Ajaccio airport (which has magnificent mountain views). The food is satisfying and the wine is off the charts at prices that will make you cringe with appreciation. This is land where cork bark is farmed from trees and hauled off by mules, and where vineyard pests include wild boars.
I found a book that highlights local delights. The title is rhythmic and sounds, acoustically as: Pan, Van, Orsan. The actual title of this hardback is Du Pain, Du Vin, Des Oursins which literally means: bread, wine, Corsican people. It’s a reminder of the fruits of variety, the benefits of diversity and the glue of community that binds our world together.
The book includes photos of local charcuterie—sausage and salami plates—as well as fig and lentil dishes, Corsican veal with olives, Niolu and Calenzana cheeses, Canneloni and rosé wine, fiadone cheesecake and hazelnut cookies. It describes seven varieties of local olives and hillside herbs that include mountain thyme, Corsican mint and wild fennel.
Money and technology are not enough to produce Corsica’s beautiful wine. There is also a sense of pride in the final product. I visited unkempt cellars littered with dilapidated wooden crates, loose electrical wires sprouting from walls, and despite a sense of disorganized chaos—the wines they produced were spellbinding.
On the eastern coastline I ate squid salad and drank un pichet of local white wine (delicious: a half liter costs just over three Euros) at a beach near Sainte Lucie de Porto Vecchio. Next I crossed east to west over gloaming peaks that split the island, stopping for a night in the hillside town of Venacu to eat stufatu (veal and beef stew) with glasses of Nielluccio red wine.
Staying at many hotels in Corsica is simple: Walk in and ask for a room. You will be told the rate and given a key and asked to pay in the morning. No need for your name or identification or credit card details or license plate number. Fill out no forms.
Island trust.
Third – a few suggested sites to visit.
The Man Who Helped Save Languedoc – from the Irish Times
Museum Discovers Wine Dating to 1700’s – thanks to friend Dan Burgess
A Three Day Fast – from Forbes
Thanks again for tuning in…
In France – Dancing On Tables and Lalande de Pomerol Wine
First, my latest Forbes article on Lalande de Pomerol wines is here, and other Forbes recent pieces are here.
Next is a story about coming to live in France.
Here is how it began.
At the end of March of 2009, I took a break from studying in England and visited Bordeaux in France, where I rented a small Peugeot 200 car.
Bordeaux city in the evening…beautiful!
Cathedral of Saint André, Bordeaux
The first night I stayed at a bed and breakfast named the Jardin-du-Sequoia, or Sequoia Garden, on Rue St. Genes. It was so named because—oddly—there was a massive sequoia tree growing in the garden out back. I sat in the garden, opened a bottle of Saint-Emilion Château Milens red wine and sliced up cheese and a baguette before walking to the street corner where I found a bar named Nieux Amsterdam. Two energetic Dutch brothers ran this lively but offbeat jewel.
After many beers, people started dancing on tables.
Really.
I took photos.
Then the police raided the bar. Truly. They entered and blew a whistle. It was comical but alarming.
A lovely woman seated at the bar looked at me. She crooked her finger as an instruction to follow her, which I certainly did. We slipped out a side door with a few others.
Someone drove us to her apartment, where the party continued.
I got back to the rest house sometime after 4.00 am.
I loved Bordeaux!
Though I lost touch with the woman, I am grateful she helped our escape from the Police Municipale!
My Rescuer-Hostess
The next day I drove to Sauternes and Saint-Émilion and then to some place I’d never heard of named Blaye—pronounced Blye.
The owner of the Villa Saint Simon Guest House, a South African named Les, sat me in the kitchen with his friend Frank, and opened a bottle of wine. I presumed these two men were a happy gay couple (turns out they were not) and we chatted. Another pop, another bottle. More chat. A retired lawyer and previous London restaurant owner, Les operated a winery tour business in this lesser known portion of Bordeaux known as Blaye.
The next day we squeezed into a Citroën deux chevaux car and visited a winemaking couple named Valerie and Jerome at their Château near the small village of Saint Palais and then ate a stellar lunch at a country restaurant (filled with animated locals) named Chez Olga.
Fish, pasta, duck breast. More pops, more wine.
Life was in full flow.
Before leaving the next day, I remembered I had to choose a project/thesis to complete my MBA course in England. Les had a nearby farm that grew kiwi fruit where he wanted to build an eco-village. I suggested that I prepare his marketing plan. He photocopied an architectural concept drawing and handed it over. He then said if I returned he would supply me more information and all the wine I could drink.
Well…
Okay.
Countryside around Saint-Émilion wine country
Les at his Kiwi Farm near Blaye
While other students studied financial derivatives and modeled statistical analyses of market fluctuations, I spent weekends that summer drinking Bordeaux red wine and asking people to fill out questionnaires about why they wanted to visit wine country and what they thought about building an eco-village.
For that thesis? I won a prize: ‘Most original.’
Most fun, too.
Looking out from Valerie and Jerome’s château.
Sometimes you never know when folks will dance on tables or the police will raid or the woman will take you home or the deux chevaux will cart you off for an amazing spin with colorful characters in an unknown countryside with superb, affordable wine and unexpectedly ambient local restaurants while a fresh breeze slaps your smiling face and reminds you to wake up and appreciate the moment!
It was fun.
So much fun that I visited a few more times, then bought an apartment and moved here.
Life is brief.
No regrets.
Home.
For now.
Our local park and 17th century citadelle
^^^
Next, our own 2015 Etalon Rouge wine has been bottled and labeled.
It’s a winner. Well made, well blended. Friends from the U.K, Luxembourg and Colorado have already placed their orders. Thank you!
Finally,
Thanks to Wine Social for choosing my book Vino Voices as their book of the week. I am flattered and appreciative….merci beaucoup!
Thanks again for checking in.
First, my latest Forbes posts are here, and include pieces about the new high-speed Paris/Bordeaux train, a book about Lisbon wines and a summer festival you have never heard of.
Second, I have a confession.
I have been doing business with Russians.
You can’t blame me.
For the dozens of wineries located in 18 countries who contributed recipes for my forthcoming book The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion—these two ladies below are finding the correct publishing house for that book. Also, we are discussing alternative publishing strategies with a new publishing imprint that Forbes acquired less than a year ago.
Sonya, Elena and Friday afternoon glasses of Pessac-Leognan white wine.
Sonya Marchand (on the left) is a neighbor who took a cruise to Bordeaux, said goodbye to her roots in Moscow and Siberia, and moved here to the countryside. She produced the promotional video for my book The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion, and has her own video production company—STA Marchand.
Elena Malgina (on the right) is also Russian and now lives in Lugano in Switzerland (where I also once lived many years ago). While not working as a financial controller, she is a bibliophile with her own literary agency and is representing my book to various renowned publishers in the U.S. It was Elena who had the idea to produce the promotional video. (She also seriously scolded me for not having ever read books by Bulgakov.)
These charming and intelligent women are helping to ensure that The Winemakers’s Cooking Companion finds a secure publishing home that produces long-lasting, appreciated books. The photograph is from days ago when we spent time together here in Blaye.
Gateway to summertime in Italy
Third, I recently visited the southern portion of the Piedmont wine country in Italy. Aspects of that trip that relate to Dolcetto wine covered in my recently written Forbes piece.
Below are practical tips for visiting this region.
First, a little background about the geography of the Piedmont region.
Italy, including its southern isle of Sicily, is generally shaped like a tilted J. The top left portion of the upper horizontal bar is mostly the region of Piedmont (the lower strip of that bar being Liguria, along the coast). The Italians call this not Piedmont, but Piemonte. Because this rolls off the tongue smoothly, I shall do alike. It means, literally, the foot of the mountains.
Piemonte is a hilly land, once so cloaked in forests that medieval dukes from Austria visited its hilltop castles so they could spend days hunting.
Fountain at the Castle of Cremolino
This is a varied countryside. It’s a hilly land of sunflowers, winding roads, cobbled alleyways and road signs that warn of jumping deer. It’s filled with birdsong and tenutas (mansions), corn stalks and crenellated hilltop towers. There are raw rock buttes, ivy covered taverns and the Ligurian Apennine peaks. Unlike the more expensive haunts of Asti, Alba and Barolo to the west and north, southern Piemonte includes rugged roads and summer gatherings that include the Suckling Pig Festival of Toleto, or the Wild Boar Festival of Rocca Grimalda.
As with most locations in Italy, the language is musical. This is a land where conversation is sport, discourse is theater and a simple discussion about where to locate the water meter sounds like a poetry recitation.
View from Cremolino Castle
‘Stereo2’ band from Genoa plays at the ‘suckling pig festival’ in Toleto
An ancient fortress in the hills
Motor scooter by roadside, with village of Carpeneto in the distance
The food and wines here are truly special. Seriously, even the bottled water is the best I’ve tasted in years. There’s filleto baciato salami, porcini mushrooms, succulent blackcurrants, nougat, distinct Marroni chestnuts, and Amaretti di Acqui cookies. I can’t even recall any of the number of cheeses. And, yes, truffles.
In the southern portion of Piemonte, the wines include red Dolcetto and Barbera, and whites include Gavi. These are generally affordable, easy drinking wines.
Here is a little recollection.
At a hilltop societa’ a tavern in the Madonna della Villa village in the hills, we drank glasses of negroni before the owner and his wife agreed to rustle up amazing dishes of pasta al pesto di Pra at nine in the evening for a group of us (this is a Genovese dish; the mild, small-leaved basil should be grown on the windy, sunny slopes of Pra near Cristoforo Colombo airport). With this we uncorked a bottle and enjoyed glasses of chocolate, truffle and green pepper flavored Barbera wine, which also paired well with the bunet chocolate and amaretti dessert—a custard made from chocolate and amarone and served in ramekins.
Barbera d’Asti wine
Pasta al Pesto di Pra
Another wine produced in this region is white Gavi, which is also the name of a sizable town.
On a wall in Gavi, a plaque commemorates a legend about the name.
The city of Gavi, legend tells, was named after a sixth century princess—Gavia. The daughter of a Frankish king and a mother who descended from the king of Burgundians, she married against her family’s desires and then fled to the Lemme Valley. When her father’s soldiers found her, she was protected by the Queen of the Goths—Amalasuntha, who granted her power over a territory. The grateful inhabitants of this land later named their town after her, and named the local white wine grape after a characteristic of their ruler Gavia: Cortese, or courteous.
Salami store in Gavi
Alleyway in Ovada
Here is practical advice for visiting the south and east portions of Piemonte wine country.
- If you are visiting Piemonte for the first time, do stop by Barolo and Barbaresco wine producing regions, as well as such towns as Alba and Asti. Save the lesser known region of southeast Piemonte until after spending days in the more popular regions. They are renowned for a reason.
- Towns have posters telling of upcoming sagras, or festivals. Try visiting one. These will provide insight into local culture and history you cannot get from a guidebook or tour. If the festival includes food (and wine) all the better. Arrive with an open mind and a curious attitude and don’t be shy to strike up a conversation. Those who speak a little English will love the practice.
- Consider staying at an agriturismo. These are guest houses that are also working farms. They are all rural, have individual characteristics, and often serve their own homeade food and wine. Here is a good article about them.
- A frazione is even smaller than a village. If you see a sign for a festival there, expect few people and a more intimate experience.
- If you want to learn some Italian before visiting, I highly recommend Pimsleur language lessons. These involve a lot of repetition and practice, and you will find that years after taking a course you remember phrases and understand the gist of what people are saying. If you want to complement this with a grip on grammar, choose the Babbel series. You can subscribe online (about $6 to $9 a month) and the interactive courses are excellent. Remember—understanding grammar is great, but you have to practice speaking phrases in order to communicate.
- Carry small money notes. If you pull out a 50 Euro bill (or a 20, at times) in even a medium sized town, many people will wave it away because they lack change. Remember also that they may not take credit cards.
- Ask for local food at restaurants. I visited one restaurant that served 45 types of pizzas, but also dozens of local pasta dishes—which are more intriguing. Different towns often have their own specialties.
- For red wines, Barbera and Dolcetto go well with most foods. Barolo and Barbaresco match heftier beef dishes. White Moscato is a bubbly, low alcohol wine good anytime of the day.
- Stop at a tourist office (marked with the i symbol) to pick up maps and literature regarding local events.
- Consider flying into Genova’s Cristoforo Colombo airport instead of Milan.
- Rent a car. Unless you are taking a train or bus between large towns or cities, public transportation in rural areas can be a dodgy proposition.
- If you go in winter (I did once; bare but beautiful) make sure you get all-weather tires: many hills are steep.
- Never ask for cappuccino after noon. This is a form of sacrilege.
Flags in the town of Acqui Terme
A special Thank You to my guide (and long time friend) Domitilla Zerbone, who introduced me to the wine and foods (and suckling pig festival) of this region, navigating her incredible Panda vehicle across winding roads. Thanks also to her friend and author Sylvia Padoa who took us to a poolside at the Agriturismo Villa Pallavicini in Gavi wine country, then introduced us to cones of stracciatella e nocciola gelato (chocolate and hazelnut ice cream) in Gavi.
Hot sun and cold wine at Villa Pallavicini in the Gavi wine region
Incredible hosts – Domitilla (right) and Sylvia (left)
Finally, at a fruit store in the city of Gavi, this is written across one wall.
It is a quote from the 20th century Milanese writer named Leo Longanesi. La natura ha strane leggi ma lei almeno le rispetta.
Translated, these words of wisdom mean:
‘Nature has strange laws, but at least she respects them.’
That’s an insight to ponder.
Once again, thanks for tuning in.
^^^
My book Vino Voices has gone through a few iterations in the past years.
I just re-published the illustrated version (with dozens of original photographs) as an online ebook, which can be found here.
I will be happy to email a free copy of the ebook to the first three people who let me know they want one.
Before Roman Wine? A Land Called Etruria…
First…
My latest Forbes pieces are here and concern women winemakers embracing offbeat thinking, an Australian changing Bordeaux’s wine scene, and the mother/daughter winemaker story mentioned below.
I also wrote two other pieces concerning the Romans for Forbes: about a huge villa funded by the wine trade, and how the Romans enjoyed luxury in western France.
Now…
About those ancient Italian winemakers.
Romans worked about seven hours a day during summers, and about six hours per day during winters. They also believed that wine was a daily necessity for all.
Grapevines at dusk in Abruzzo
Clever culture.
The western culture has changed from that of these denizens of antiquity.
We appreciate pain killers at the dentist, antibiotics from doctors, flipping a switch rather than tending a flame to provide light, and not being surrounded by the ubiquitous smell of horse poop from the prevalent Roman mode of transportation. We switch on dishwashers instead of commanding slaves to scrub pots and would prefer to watch Russel Crowe flash a sword blade in a Ridley Scott gladiator movie than to watch humans actually butcher limbs within hot stone coliseums.
The Italians still appreciate excellent food
Yet Roman attitudes toward work and wine had admirable traits (slavery aside).
Rome was the epicenter for the Roman Empire (consider: this society built sturdy roads in England centuries before local tribes even tried to emulate their engineering). The city of Rome was also a subsequent focus for the Renaissance. This ‘rebirth’ took a sleeping medieval continent, which then disdained the concept of bathing, and reminded it of valued culture from the ‘old days,’ including the joy and benefits of soaking in hot baths.
And the Romans loved their wine.
When Roman society was in full swing, an unparalleled, structured, full-bodied wine named Amineum (according to Pliny) came from Greece, while a rosé from the Nomenta grape north of Rome was also favored. International trade brought other grapevines, and wines, from Spain and Bordeaux (Biturica).
But their vines and winemaking techniques likely originated elsewhere: from the north, and before that from the east.
In a post three years ago I explained how the roots of Roman wine come from the ancient society of what is now Italy’s Tuscany—that of the Etruscan people. It hinges on an article in the Smithsonian Magazine.
Before Rome, there was Etruria—populated by people called Etruscans (today, these are the people of Tuscany).
The Etruscans loved dinner parties where men and women reclined together on couches after feasts of, say, fresh caught trout stuffed with rosemary and dabbed with honey, and drank their wine—to which they added spices or even grated cheese. And some of their grapevines, like the Etruscan people, likely originated in the eastern Mediterranean millennia ago.
Sunshine, vines, 6 hour work days? Those Romans were resourceful.
Etrurian wine making techniques migrated not only to Rome, but around 500 BCE, to France.
The legacy of winemaking remains rich on the Italian peninsula; today there are some 300 plus wine grape varieties in the country.
In a recent Forbes piece I described how two of the three most grown grape varieties in Italy are being propelled into popularity, and given respect, by a dynamic mother/daughter team from Abruzzo.
After Spain, Italy exports the highest volume of wine in the world (though in wine value, France remains first).
Which means the descendants of Etruria, and Rome, still value an international outlook.
And appreciation for life.
And coliseums, no longer filled with butchering gladiators.
Thanks for tuning in.
Wine & Celebration—The Faces of Vinexpo
This post includes little writing.
If you want to read about Vinexpo, check out my Forbes pieces about the event—Women In Wine Embracing The Offbeat, or read about an unusually attractive garden dinner setting to launch Uruguay’s icon wine.
First, some photos from Vinexpo – with descriptions of colorful characters.
Then, some photos from that Uruguayan dinner mentioned above.
Mother daughter team—Lisa (left) and Roberta Borghese from Ronchi di Manzano winery in Friuli, Italy.
Rachel Hubert—biodynamic winemaker from Blaye/Bourg, as well as affable neighbor.
Phillip and Andre Zull of Zull Wines from Austria—delicious and affordable Grüner Veltliner!
Menymeny provided a tasting of Chinese Ningxia wines—with a truly rich and intriguing dark fruit taste.
Daniel Brunier of renowned Vieux Télégraphe, Châteauneuf-de-Pape, Rhone Valley
Winemaker Valentina Buoso of Pascal Jolivet…beautiful Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé.
Once again, Aurore Monot-Devillard pours beautiful Burgundies from the family owned Le Domaine du Château de Chamirey.
Silvana Bento (left) and Penauille Anaïck serve Portuguese wines, including whites made from the Antão Vaz grape. No, I’d never heard of it before either. Sort of like Pinot Gris.
Pauline Guiset (left) and Emilie Flchr and rivers of bubbly from Collet.
Monsieur Ferran of Château Ferran serves his white Pessac Leognan from Bordeaux at lunch. Tres Bien!
Marjorie Amphoux Bertin convinces her audience of the value of Languedoc Roussillon wines.
Pauline Dufour of Château Simon demonstrates that Graves whites can be very affordable.
An emissary for Shtoff insists that it’s never too early to sip.
Natalia Pinho of Tsallin Wines from Switzerland—she showed me photos of a ‘helicopter harvest’ on steep slopes. Ah, those Swiss!
Ms. Haruka Takeuchi introduced many of us to spellbinding sake.
Now, a few photos from the dinner at Château de Lantic, prepared by renowned Argentinian chef Francis Mallmann. We sampled the new icon wine Balasto from Bodegas Garzón. Wonderful.
A sample of Uruguayan/Argentinian/Italian hospitality…
Summer White Wines From The Azores And Japan
Three Topics This Week:
- Book
- Azores Islands in the mid-Atlantic
- Denis Dubourdieu memorial wine tasting (Japanese, Spanish, French and Italian wines featured)
The Cookbook –
The draft of The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion is ready and I’m communicating with a few publishers in the U.S. Our book agent in Europe is also in touch with several publishers (and reminding me to be patient). It takes time to find the right ‘home.’ I shall keep contributors informed.
Below is a photo taken months ago of preparing salmon cured with fennel and citrus. This recipe was sent by Kimberley Judd of Greywacke Winery in New Zealand, compliments of Chef Hornby of Arbour Restaurant (Greywacke wine is produced by Kimberley’s husband Kevin Judd, the winemaker who brought renown to Marlborough with his Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc).
Azores Islands –
Below are a few photographs from my second visit to the Azores islands, taken a few weeks ago. You can read more – either from my blog post from many years ago, or the Forbes piece I wrote in May. Both articles tell about the local wine and its growing popularity. Additionally, I previously wrote an article about Azorean ‘espece’ cookies which are challenging to craft, but delicious.
Eight years ago, during a visit, I was convinced that it would be eminently wise to invest there – and that the wine would become popular worldwide. Well, the market for property has exploded in the past three years and the quantity of grapevines has doubled in the past two years.
Ah, perhaps I should follow my intuition for where to invest! I visited New Zealand in the 1980’s and said the same. At least where I now live—Blaye, in France—is greatly on the uptick (compared to the sleepy and somewhat unkempt town first visited eight years ago).
The Azores were once famed for whaling—hence the image of the whale on one of the wine labels below (both of these whites are excellent, by the way).
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Denis Dubourdieu Wine Tasting
On June 1st, thanks to an invitation from friend and wine author Gilles Berdin, I had the privilege to be invited to the Institute of the Science of Vines and Wines in Bordeaux city to attend an event of the Duad’s Club, which includes their alumni members. DUAD stands for Diplôme Universitaire d’Aptitude à la Dégustation (University Diploma in Wine-Tasting Expertise). This group meets every few weeks to sample specific types of wine. DUAD was created in 1974 by Emile Peynaud, and includes twice weekly lectures.
I entered a massive, bright lit, white university classroom/laboratory. There at least 50 seats faced a blackboard and each desk included a built-in spittoon as well as a flat panel of glass on which two wine glasses rested.
The attendees were all adult professionals involved with the trade—winemakers, winery owners, wine brokers, cellar masters, enologists and journalists.
The two professionals providing the lecture with the background about the wines at this event were Dr. Axel Marchal (a professor/researcher at the Institute), and Christophe Ollivier, a professional associate of the late enologist Denis Dubourdieu who passed away last year (hence this gathering was a tribute to him; Dubourdieu was also the enologist for our own Etalon Rouge wine label).
We sampled ten wines, each of which had been made under the guidance of Mr. Dubourdieu.
There were seven whites (a Japanese, two Spanish, and four French) and three reds (a Barolo from Italy, a Bordeaux and a Rhone). All were excellent, and using a 100 point scale, I would rate 9 out of 10 of these wines with a score of 90 or greater. The tasting notes follow.
[Skip the following tasting notes, if that’s not what interests you]
Individual wines were poured simultaneously to each ‘student,’ after which two wine specialists told us about the vintages.
The first wine was excellent—a Japanese Shizen 2013—made with in the Yamanashi Prefecture using the Koshu grape. The beautifully balanced and lively white wine has the scent of white flowers and a smooth taste spiked with grapefruit.
Two other superlative whites included a 2014 Chivite Collección 125 from the Navarre region of Spain, and a 2013 Château Couhins Lurton from Pessac Leognan of Bordeaux. On the nose this second wine smelt somewhat like a bouquet of fresh flowers and in the mouth it balanced rich cream with tanginess.
The other white wines—all excellent—included a 2015 Valenciso Rioja, a 2015 Reynon from Bordeaux, a 2015 Clos Floridene from Graves in Bordeaux and a 2014 Chateau Carbonnieux from Pessac Leognan.
All three reds were excellent. These included a 2008 Pio Cesare Barolo from Alba, Italy. The taste included the characteristic ammonia tang of the Nebbiolo grape as well as a silky taste that blended straw, cherries and blackberries. The 2006 Paul Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle tasted beautifully of soft red fruit, while the 2008 Haut Bailly from Pessac Leognan had a smooth taste blending rich cherries with a pinch of tobacco.
[Corrections: Dr. Axel Marchal of the Institute of The Science of Vines and Wine at the University of Bordeaux had the courtesy to inform me that in my original post, my understanding of the DUAD acronym was incorrect; I have since replaced it with the correct meaning. He also informed me that the tasting described above was not a lecture of DUAD, but an event of DUAD’s Club—which is comprised of alumni. Finally, I have included the names of both presenters at this event—who did an excellent job providing a comprehensive background and describing the wines tasted: Dr. Marchal himself (who is also the head of DUAD) and Christophe Ollivier, a former associate of the late Mr. Dubourdieu.]
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That’s all for now from our semi-cloudy, sometimes sun-splashed home in Blaye, France. There will be plenty to tell of after Vinexpo Bordeaux next week.
If you want to read other recent Forbes pieces about golf and wine vacations, or Vinexpo, click here. Thanks for tuning in.
DOUBLE ISSUE: Wealth, Wine And Possible New App
Vineyards in upper Rioja, Spain
I had the good fortune to meet and speak with Baroness de Rothschild last week, and found her energetic, colorful, determined and endlessly curious. Earlier I had made notes on words of wisdom from this woman who tirelessly travels the world. Born in El Salvador, she lived in Columbia, spent time in Senegal in Africa and now tirelessly manages a foundation responsible for thousands of employees and over $100 billion of assets. She is a bright, though warm and approachable woman. In building wine businesses, her two watchwords are ‘discipline and quality.’
Traveling south of Rioja to San Sebastian, Spain
Some wise words about life and wine from this bright woman are below.
“You can work a lot but if you never party I don’t see the point in working. It’s important to celebrate.”
“We’re only one of the families in the world that does banking as much as we do winemaking. For me it’s an economic model that really has worked. Why? As a finance person—asset diversification. That’s one. Two, to be very rooted in the earth. Banking tends to be often times very abstract and so it’s a very healthy exercise to be reconnected with basics. It’s very difficult, by the way, to earn money when you are subject to weather. But it’s a very good reminder. For me it’s a model. It’s balance.”
“I think we build more by heart and conviction rather than by business.”
“There is a strong market for terroir projects that are related to a specific region.”
“I don’t have hierarchies. I manage with a flat structure. Because I think small businesses are just as much work as big businesses.”
“A lot of people have a static view of what Rothschild is, so this is something to discuss: the difference between myth and reality. They myth exists as long as you keep keeping it. You could say living off just Lafite [wine] could be nice. For me it’s not very satisfactory. With a name such as ours it’s really interesting to keep building because it’s what I like to call legacy transformation. When you inherit, is it an end in itself? I think if my life was just to inherit it would be a very sad life. You can’t just one day just inherit and sit on a pile of dividends and make your life just that. It’s important to take risks, to have strong roots, strong opinions, and go for it.”
Bottles of Macán wine – Tempranillo from Rioja
“The wines I like drinking? There are times you drink excellent wines you are just not into. Sometimes they just don’t work. That’s my personal experience. Sometimes you don’t expect anything and you drink and wine and you say—’Wow! Absolutely amazing.’ I always have a hard time with people having a linear view of wines because I think it depends on how you feel, and it’s not always the company. Sometimes you taste wine, sometimes you don’t. I think there are obviously amazing wines in Bordeaux. To be very precise my very favorite is Lafite ’59. Absolute superstar. Why? Because every time you have the same experience of power. I think it’s a memorable wine. Cheval Blanc—I think it’s an exceptional wine. Many vintages are exceptional. And Burgundy? Very interesting wines. I have the extreme luxury to have a very old cellar. I really like just picking a bottle. Especially I would say hanging our in the garden in Bordeaux is the experience. Sometimes you have amazing surprises without the filter of the hype. Sometimes you say, ‘is that it?’ ”
Disciplined vineyards near the Sierra Cantabria in Rioja, Spain
Sage words.
By the way, their new Rioja wine Macán? It’s beautiful. Truly. Read more about it in my Forbes piece here.
Madame Rothschild, who received an MBA in New York, mentioned the economic concept of ‘elasticity’ and ‘inelasticity’ with regard to the price of wine. Which relates, tangentially, to a possible new app.
Basically (very basically) if the price of something increases, and that does not proportionally impact your decision to buy it—that product displays ‘inelasticity.’ Imagine you have to drink bottled water instead of tap water. If someone increases the price, you still buy about the same amount of water. Why? Because you need it to survive. ‘Economic inelasticity’ means that someone can increase a price, and that ends up also increasing their overall revenue. (The opposite holds true for ‘elasticity.’)
Is wine an elastic or inelastic commodity? Ah, it depends. If the price of a mediocre wine doubles, are you going to drink half as much? If the price of an excellent wine halves, will you drink twice as much?
I’ll not discuss that uncertain realm of economics.
However…
If we take a few dozen wines, discern those of acceptable quality, and then compare their quality to price, we can deduce which of those wines are the best value to buy. Evaluating that is not quite so simple, because at certain points the quality of some wines is high enough that you will be willing to spend a bit more than for mediocre wines. These are points at which degrees of elasticity change.
This is considered in the Vino Value algorithm I developed, and have mentioned here before. Tomorrow I’ll have the second Skype call with an IOS software specialist interested in developing this algorithm into an interactive app that would allow users to rate their own wines alone or, in groups. (Investors are welcome.)
I’ll keep you posted.
Given a range of wines from the same region, each priced differently and having—according to your own taste—different levels of quality, this algorithm eliminates wines not worth considering and highlights three best levels of value.
This past weekend was the Portes Ouverts—’open doors’—wine tasting in the nearby Côtes de Bourg wine region of Bordeaux (which I’ve written about before here). What is news?
The new owners of Clos du Notaire, a young couple, have already sold out their entire stock. I was fortunate to taste from their final bottle and found it delicious…I am confident their future wines will equal and perhaps surpass what were already good wines coming from this château. Also, the top cuvée from Château Sirac, 2015, is a beauty worth watching.
Helpful service from Naomi at Château Puy ‘dAmour
Taking the motor for a spin out of Château Tayac
During two leisurely days I visited 14 chateaux—both alone and in a group of five. Lunch on both days at different châteaux was a pleasure … grilled duck, foie gras and glasses of hearty red blends of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec wines.
Wandering the vineyards of Château Gros Moulin
The table below rates wines for overall value, not just quality.
Finally, if you have been under the impression that Bordeaux wines are generally expensive, look at the prices.
| Vino Value™ Scoring of Selected Wines – Côtes de Bourg Open Doors 2017 | ||||
| Winery | Wine | Retail Price – Euros | Retail Price – US dollars equivalent | Value Score |
| Château Sauman | Secret de Sauman Rosé 2016 | € 6.80 | $7.41 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Puy d’Amour | Rosé | € 4.80 | $5.23 | Good Value ♫ |
| Clos du Notaire | Clos de Notaire 2012 (red) | € 9.80 | $10.68 | Good Value ♫ |
| Clos du Notaire | L’usu Fruit 2016 (red) | € 5.90 | $6.43 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château La Croix-Davids | Le Paradis 2014 (red) | € 7.00 | $7.63 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château La Croix-Davids | Grand Vin de Bordeaux 2014 (red) | € 9.00 | $9.81 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château La Croix-Davids | Louis Meneuvrier Bouteille 2014 (red) | € 15.00 | $16.35 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Brûlesécaille | Blanc de Brulesecaille 2015 (white) | € 8.50 | $9.27 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Brûlesécaille | Château La Gravière 2012 (red) | € 8.00 | $8.72 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Mercier | Cuvée Prestige 2014 (red) | € 9.95 | $10.85 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Mercier | Clos de Piat 2014 (red) | € 12.80 | $13.95 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château de Rousselet | Traditionnel 2012 (red) | € 4.10 | $4.47 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Vieux Nodeau | Tradition 2012 (red) | € 12.00 | $13.08 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château de la Grave | Grain Fins 2015 (white) | € 10.50 | $11.45 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château de la Grave | Classic 2015 (red) | € 8.00 | $8.72 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château de la Grave | Nectar 2014 (red) | € 15.00 | $16.35 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Gros Moulin | Les Lys du Moulin 2016 (white) | € 6.00 | $6.54 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Gros Moulin | Gros Moulin 2015 (red) | € 7.30 | $7.96 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Gros Moulin | Per Vitem ad Vitam 2014 (red) | € 14.00 | $15.26 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Gros Moulin | Heritage 2014 (red) | € 20.00 | $21.80 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Tayac | Cuvée Océane 2015 (white) | € 7.20 | $7.85 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Tayac | Cuvée Réservée 2009 (red) | € 11.50 | $12.54 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Tour des Graves | Tour des Graves 2014 (white) | € 7.00 | $7.63 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Tour des Graves | Tour des Graves Fût de Chêne (red) | € 7.00 | $7.63 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Puybarbe | Cuvée Le Main 2014 (red) | € 5.40 | $5.89 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Puybarbe | Cuvée Tradition 2014 (red) | € 7.00 | $7.63 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Sirac | Cuvée Especial 2015 (red) | € 19.00 | $20.71 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
You may want to check out these sites…
This wine blog is run by an American friend, Alex Rychlewski, who has spent years living in Bordeaux.
This food and lifestyle site is run by a charming young lady, Marion Flipo, who leads tours in Paris.
Here are various articles, many in the New York Times, written by a freelance American writer, Sara Lieberman, who is a travel and lifestyle writer based in Paris.
Here are also a few wonderful, colorful, lively Instagram sites (from an international team of women I recently met in Paris) that highlight food, drinks and trips:
Elizabeth from the Shetland Islands…
Revamped Food, Wine And Cocktails In Paris
First, the big news is that devastating frost severely impacted grapes across not only France, but throughout many countries in Europe. Between 50 and 100 percent of many vines were knocked out. I wrote a brief piece about this tragedy for Forbes, which is here.
Another Forbes piece regarding a strategy for visiting Paris is here.
But weather aside, a two-day trip to Paris last week highlighted how the charm of this city is inversely proportional to the amount you must drive, while directly related to how much you can walk the streets.
A real buzz of this visit was when the mayor of Paris—Anne Hidalgo—spent a morning presenting awards to 100 chefs within the city within the seriously opulent Hotel de Ville (city hall) building, the size of a city block with stain glass windows, decadent chandeliers and ornate ceiling tapestries. You are thinking Parisian chefs and French cuisine? Au contraire—not so.
The awards targeted chefs of every nationality and ethnic background, as long as their eateries (regardless the size) measured up to metrics that included affordability, use of locally sourced ingredients and (of course!) diversity in the wine list. Bistros and restaurants awarded included Les Cartes Postales, which has provided Japanese elegance in cuisine for 39 years; Yard: a British chef highlighting his produce in a New York style warehouse; Noste – where a young Basque man spit-roasts beef; Korean ‘melting pot’ cuisine at Pierre Sang; Mexican cuisine from Coretta; Tempero, a restaurant fusing French, Brazilian and Vietnamese cuisine, and Amarante—with ‘faultless French cuisine’ that includes ‘good fat—generous and rare’ (according to those who hosted the ceremony). Awards were also given to cuisine from diverse parts of France, including Brittany, Normandy, Touraine and Auvergne.
Chef Alain Ducasse spoke, saying, “We are working in historical and contemporary locations, intent on defending gastronomy.”
This was soon proved when, after the awards, we attended a buffet that included beef Bourguignon, cassoulet, creme caramel and rice pudding. Excellent food.
Coincidentally, I recently wrote a book review about the new Paris food, wine and culture scene for Forbes.
Elsewhere in Paris, at the little bistro named Le Refectoire—an excellent lunch was matched with an easy drinking, light and fruity wine: a Pic Saint Loup from Château Valflaunès in the Languedoc. This is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre grapes. Pic Saint Loup wine is produced from grapes grown around a mountain massif of the same name in the south-east of France.
At a cooking class at L’Atelier des Sens (the workshop of senses) a group of us made eclairs, with a bit less efficiency than the chef.
At the restaurant Anicia (named after the mountain of that name in the Auvergne region of France) the chef matched filet of dorado fish and parsley butter with a Loire Valley white wine from the Cheverny appellation. Beautiful
The gist of the this food and wine fest was to highlight the truth that ‘Parisian cuisine’ has altered form in the past decade. No longer are restaurants over-priced and somewhat stuffy bastions of Michelin starred exclusivity. The economic crisis shifted that paradigm, and affordable, top quality, no frill restaurants and bistros (embracing the ‘bistronomy’ movement that was first kick started by a rebellious Parisian chef 25 years ago) are legion in this ever-changing city on the Seine.
And if wine is not enough for you? There are cocktails galore…
I always suspect that the romantic Paris of the past will have vanished by the next time I visit…yet it never does. The city always reinvents itself in a way that maintains pride in how it fuses art with food, and blends live music with intimately small but comfortable locales. The new proliferation of international cuisine and affordable food in unadorned venues helps keeps the unpredictable and always surprising pulse of this city beating with gusto.
Spring Roundup From Saint-Émilion
Last week I was fortunate enough to be invited to taste 2016 wines in Saint-Émilion by author Gilles Berdin (his book series of interviews with winemakers is excellent). We began at Château Angélus where I spoke with both the owner Hubert de Boürd de Laforest, and his daughter Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal, who is now Managing Director for the estate.
Left to right: Hubert de Boürd, Thierry Grenié de Boüard, and Stéphanie de Boüard-Rivoal of Château Angélus.
Earlier this week I included interviews with them in two separate Forbes articles. In summary, this renowned wine château has been owned and managed by the same family for 235 years, and they plan to maintain that structure while global conglomerates gobble up precious acres around them. Their aggressive plan is three-fold: to keep the château within the family (setting up legal vehicles to do so), to expand their business (including running an excellent restaurant and hotel in the small nearby city of Saint-Émilion), and to take the quality of their wine to an even higher level. The dynamics of the lucrative Bordeaux wine scene can be quietly fluid, and for a family to retain reins of their estate requires determination and clear vision.
I was impressed by their friendliness, clarity of thought, down-to-earth pragmatism and respect for quality. The interviews with them provided jewels of insight regarding the value of family and focus.
Afterwards, we managed to slip into Château Cheval Blanc (merci again, Gilles) for a taste of their supremely light wines. Beautiful.
Tasting room at Cheval Blanc
Fermentation tanks for that beautiful Cabernet Franc
Because Cheval Blanc and Château d’Yquem of Sauternes are now owned by conglomerate LVMH, we were also able, at the same venue, to enjoy a few splashes of that Yquem liquid gold—thanks to winemaker Sandrine Garbay.
Sandrine Garbay
Murielle Andraud and Jean-Luc Thunevin
We then visited Valandraud wines in Saint-Émilion, from where—decades ago—Murielle Andraud and Jean-Luc Thunevin launched ‘garage wines’ that revolutionized wine making in the region. We sipped a glass with them and enjoyed sunshine in their garden that was buzzing with wine aficionados.
More than a quarter century ago the couple grew vines on less than a hectare. The wine had no classification but that of Saint-Émilion. Jean-Luc then often complained about winemakers’ hands being tied by regulations. In time their hand picked, hand-destemmed, low-yield wines won a reputation. They now own several wine stores in the city and sell wines that not only command a good price, but are well-respected.
Last week we also enjoyed the springtime of wines, Printemps des Vins, here in our local Citadelle in the town of Blaye. The good news is that the wines tasted—across the board—were far better than even two years ago. Vapid, visionless and insipid oak bombs have been replaced with easygoing tastes of bright fruit, indicating that Blaye is turning a page in terms of wine quality.
Winemakers from Château Margagnis in Blaye
Later this week I will post two other Forbes pieces about millennials. One is about a young winery owner and a winemaker, both from the East Coast of the U.S., who are determined to make decent quality ‘craft’ wine for less than $20 a bottle in California. Both studied at culinary school, and both want to rock the market for that wine price point—which is now often associated with plonk in the U.S.
The other article is about a soon to be launched book that relates to the Parisian food phenomenon known as ‘bistronomy’ and the economic crisis. The book is titled The New Paris by Lindsey Tramuta. The author is a particularly articulate young woman who now lives with her French husband in Paris and who documented how the economic crisis led to improvements in much of that city—for the better.
Again, thanks for tuning in.
Wine and Words in Bordeaux
Roadside walk near the village of Cars
For years while living in southern California I attended the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books each spring. Held on the University of California Los Angeles campus for several days (this year it will be later in April), this event is a gift.
I listened to dozens of authors—including Michael Crichton, Pico Iyer, Jared Diamond, Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, A. Scott Berg, Gore Vidal, Dava Sobel and even Kirk Douglas (more actor than author, but an engaging speaker). These authors who produced captivating books were available to listen to for free. Held for a few days each year, the event is inspiring.
Now in France I attend L’Escale du Livre each year in the city of Bordeaux, close to home. In comparison to the LA festival, it is small and with fewer sessions to attend. But the architecture around the location is inspiring, and enjoying lunch on a cobbled place with a few glasses of wine? Beyond perfect.
Stalls at the foot of Église Saint-Croix de Bordeaux
This event is a micro-world tour. In one stall there is French literature; the next stall includes books about travels in the Gobi desert and Patagonia, while a few feet further on are collections of recipes from the Pyrenees. There are books on travel, wine, taste, geography, romance and cooking. There are picture books and copies of ancient monograms, detective novels and surfing chronicles. This is a place to enjoy the tactile touch of paper and to appreciate opinion, intelligence and art distilled into paragraphs and onto pages.
Several stalls include books relating food and wine.
The subject of taste is a common book theme
The pleasures of wine
Last year at this event I met Gilles Berdin, author of several books of interviews with winemakers. From under the counter he pulled out an English translation of interviews with oenologist Denis Dubourdieu. Unfortunately winemaker Dubourdieu passed away months later. This January, Gilles invited a group of us to listen to biodynamic wine guru Nicolas Joly from the Loire Valley.
This year, Gilles pulled out an English translation of another of his books published by Elytis in Bordeaux: Sharing a Bottle with Henri Duboscq (of Chateau Haut-Marbuzet). This time, together with books displayed on the table, Gilles also displayed a bottle of wine. When we noticed it was past 11.00 a.m., he poured us une petite dégustation of this beautiful white Bordeaux blend–including Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon.
Author Berdin (right) and editor from Elytis
I placed the book in a daypack and walked outside to Place Pierre Renaudel to sit at a covered table over a cobbled square. There with an aperitif of vin blanc I waited for tabouli followed by a lamb, eggplant and tomato sauce moussaka. Meanwhile I flipped open the book and read what Monsieur Duboscq said about tasting a good wine.
“Inhaling such a wine gets one ready for tasting, tidies up memories, invites meditation and anticipates palatal delights. Such aromas lead to spiritual ecstasy. Now, take a generous mouthful.”
Wine tidying up memories? Love it. On the next page:
“Indeed, with wine, as with love, there is no such thing as a definite truth. At best there are truths on the spur of the moment.”
Four pages into this book and I was already exposed to jewels of wisdom.
Basilique Saint-Michel
Then the next page:
“No mouthful, no bottle is ever exactly identical to the previous one. I always find this mathematical need to define wine amusing. How could one possibly define the paroxysm of pleasure?”
“For 50 years I have endeavoured to be a supplier of dreams through my wine and, if possible, a generator of voluptuousness.”
I sipped noon wine in the sunny square and then flipped to another page. Again, life and insight:
“In the glass of wine, you will thus find the miracle that thousands of rootlets extracted from the gravel, you will find faith, passion, winemaker madness, you will find this divine essence, life itself.”
This book event in a quiet portion of the city is where wine meets paper, vintages meld with literature and there may even be the coincidence of patio sunshine with a decent lunchtime vintage.
Worlds between covers
Another of Gille’s books is about ‘garage wine’ (Le Vin de Garage) produced in St. Émilion by Murielle Andraud and Jean-Luc Thunevin at Château Valandraud. Tomorrow we’ll visit there (as well as Château Angelus) to taste their 2016 wines. Also, this coming weekend will be the magnificent Printemps des Vins wine festival here in Blaye, when some 80 winemakers on 80 acres of land will uncork their latest wares for sampling within an ancient fortress. I wrote a piece for Forbes about this event.
Other recent Forbes pieces have been more about travel than wine—including pre-history and food in the Dordogne. One piece includes a random sample of meals from 21 (out of the dozens) of winemakers in the forthcoming book The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion. Incidentally the text has been compiled. After one more day of work with the photo editor we’ll produce a draft pdf to send publishers.
Will keep you informed. As always, thanks for tuning in.
Colorful Bordeaux alleyways
Why Gurus Are Obsolete And Brands Are For The Timid
People buy famous and expensive wine brands for different reasons.
One reason is that they can be a decent investment—which is valid.
Another, somewhat unsettling, reason relates to risk aversion.
An essay in a recently published Wired Magazine outlines this logic*. According to Rory Sullivan, vice-chairman of the New York marketing firm Ogilvy & Mather Group, one reason people buy renowned brands is that humans instinctively want to avoid disaster, rather than seek perfection. Famous brands may not provide perfection, he notes, but their reputation means that they will likely steer you clear of disaster. They are, he wrote, “…an exceedingly reliable way of avoiding buying something which is awful.”
Unless you are purchasing expensive and renowned Bordeaux First Growths to lay away in a cellar to sell later, or hang out with deep pocketed friends, or are trying to impress somewhat shallow visitors, is it worth shelling out serious cash for wine? Some say yes. For me, there are a few mind-altering Burgundy wines for which I might fork over $100 per bottle (and certainly not frequently). But thousands, or tens of thousands of dollars to buy less than a liter of fermented grape juice?
Why?
I’ve sampled a few pricey Grand Cru wines. A few (certainly not all) are mediocre. For daily drinking, I’d be more inclined to nip down the road to any of a dozen local châteaux selling splendid wines for south of 20 Euros a pop (including the 8 Euro La Garagiste made by a wild-haired Brit named Ben—good stuff).
If you want to buy more expensive brands, fine. Just don’t be confident that the level of wine quality will raise commensurately with the price.
This short video highlights problems concerning price and quality.
Or, you could ask a critic.
Famously expensive brands, after all, attract ‘experts’ and ‘renowned’ critics.
Perhaps some ‘experts’ hope that this association with an established tide of renown may somehow float their own levels of self-esteem, public profile, or even income.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. Human nature, at times, causes us to be attracted to that which is popular.
But some ‘experts’ may soon become disposable.
Here’s why.
In his highly readable, fascinating and excellent book titled Thinking, Fast and Slow—Nobel Prize winning author Daniel Kahneman tells the true story of a Princeton economist and wine lover named Orley Ashenfelter. In the 1980’s this man, who publishes the Liquid Assets newsletter, thought it would be worthwhile to predict the future value of Bordeaux wines based on the weather in the years when the grapes grew. Generally, wet springs impact the quantity of wine produced, while warm dry summers can be wonderful for quality.
Ashenfelter designed a mathematical model with an input of just three weather-related factors:
- The average temperature over the summer growing season.
- The amount of rain at harvest time.
- The total rainfall during the previous winter.
Using this, he could predict average wine prices not only years ahead, but decades into the future, with a correlation between his predictions and actual prices of 0.90.**
Pretty dang good.
He predicted 1986 would be an average vintage, vying against the prediction of world renowned wine guru Robert Parker.
Ashenfelter was correct, not Parker.
His impetus for creating this mathematical model came from observations of a wine château owner in the St. Estephe region on Bordeaux’s left bank. Ashenfelter’s algorithm worked so well that it had the potential of rendering opinions of ‘experts’ obsolete.
So—they trashed it.
When this happy mathematician paraded his algorithm (an example of ‘demystification of expertise,’ as Kahneman called it) within prominent wine circles, the reactions—according to a New York Times article—ranged between ‘violent and hysterical.’ The Wine Spectator magazine stopped letting Ashenfelter advertise, while Robert Parker called his research ‘ludicrous and absurd.’
Not everyone was skeptical. One Yale professor suggested that if others were not told these predictions derived from mathematics, more ‘experts’ might be willing to accept them. But, no.
“The prejudice against algorithms,” Kahneman remarked in telling the tale, “…is magnified when the decisions are consequential.”
And popular input regarding the price of expensive wine? Very consequential.
[What does it take to become a wine critic? This Irish brewer found that it’s not difficult to judge wines, as long as all are relatively awful.]
Now, what wine to serve…?
But seriously, the conclusion?
- Consider why you want to purchase an expensive wine with a renowned brand name.
- Perhaps an algorithm can help you select wines of better value.
Regarding number 2, learning about Ashenfelter’s research only a few weeks ago struck an inner bell.
Two years ago I developed an algorithm—to identify the best value wines within any specific wine region. It combines two factors—one being subjective, which is taste, the other being objective, which is price. Like Ashenfelter, in developing it I used a regression analysis to calibrate the model. The mathematics are not linear because, when humans hit a sweet spot as far as quality goes, they are more receptive to opening wallets and purses to fork out more greenies for that lovely liquid.
The reaction I got for this mathematical model? It ranged between fascination and wariness. The most gifted wine taster I ever met (a young French man) was polite, though suspiciously inquisitive. Generally, however, its merit still waits to be proved.
Spring has arrived here in Bordeaux. That means it will soon be time to take out this Vino Value algorithm again for a road trip or two, combining quality with price to recommend the best value wines to purchase. Previous uses focused on wines from California’s Anderson Valley, on the Finger Lakes wine region of New York as well as on the Loire Valley and on wines from the Cahors region.
I’ll keep you posted as this model rolls out again.
In the meantime—remember the point of the above stories: be confident in your own judgment of which wines you like, and be wary of buying any wine just because it has a ‘label’ that equates with expense.
Prices aside, here are a few insights into what constitutes quality in wine.
Finally, my latest Forbes articles are here, including a recent piece about why you will seen an increase in new blends of Rioja white wines.
Coming attractions include….
…the Dordogne region of France. Thanks for tuning in.
And a final question:
Notes:
* See The Wired World In 2017 – ‘In The Game Of Life, Anything Times Zero Must Still Be Zero.’
** Kahneman suggested that one reason for the inferiority of ‘expert’ opinions is that “…humans are incorrigibly inconsistent in making summary judgments of complex information.” He continued by writing, “The research suggests a surprising conclusion: to maximize predictive accuracy, final decisions should be left to formulas, especially in low-validity environments.” (Those are domains with a significant degree of unpredictability and uncertainty, which applies to the quality of wine and the vagaries of weather.)
Comment below if you like.
Pairing Wine With Kangaroo To Celebrate A Cookbook
Bilbao at night
70,000 barrels at Bodega Campo Viejo in Rioja – an hour and a half south of Bilbao
Of inventive cuisines developing in the world now, one is a beautiful fusion of Basque and Latin American food. I covered this topic in a few new pieces for Forbes, based on another trip made there two weeks ago. Click here to read latest pieces about:
- A special anniversary dinner at the Guggenheim in Bilbao.
- Spain’s accidental sommelier.
- A dynamic new Basque/Latin America restaurant, and a renowned pintxos restaurant – both in San Sebastián.
- Bordeaux wine labels are getting a makeover.
- An 11th generation winemaker tells how traditional Bordeaux wines are stuck in the past.
The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion Cookbook –
The book is now formatted, the recipes cooked, and the photographs are now being edited.
To celebrate cooking a final recipe, a group of us recently gathered for a video shoot and lunch. This included the same two couples I was with almost two years ago when the idea for the book came.
In the summer of 2015, while sitting with friends Les, Clarissa, Jérôme and Valérie under the shade of a tree at the garden of Château La Rose Bellevue, Valérie served zucchini/cucumber gazpacho soup. We toasted glasses of a Grand Cru Chablis wine and the thought suddenly came – what about putting together a book of recipes from winemakers and winery owners? The recipes could come not only from France, but throughout the world. After mentioning the idea, these friends toasted and said, ‘go for it!’
The result is highlighted in a brief pre-publication informational video below (prepared by STA Marchand Productions; photo credit: Hans Herzog Estate, New Zealand).
During this recent gathering, Valérie cooked a recipe from Hans Herzog Estate of Australia for Dukkah Crusted Kangaroo – substituting ostrich meat (from a local ostrich farm here in southwest France) for kangaroo meat, because of their similar gamy flavors. Venison would also work as a substitute, but is unavailable now – meaning, out of season.
Many people in rural France are big on food being ‘in season,’ which makes sense. Show up to a friend’s home in January carrying asparagus, and they may treat you with suspicion. I once cooked a zucchini in early February, considered a veritable sin by a neighbor.
“Was that imported from Morocco?” she demanded, adding, “They use a lot of pesticides!”
This focus on seasonality also applies to meat – if venison or pheasant are out of season, then substitute.
Substituting ostrich for kangaroo meat in rural France
There is a local outdoor market here twice a week. You get used to seeing produce appear and disappear, depending on seasons. It’s a contrast to many supermarkets in the USA, where often everything is available – always. No complaints about having food always available, but here in the rural region at least, there is a pervasive and acute awareness of which local food is freshest.
Kangaroo meat is certainly not local, though apparently it’s a hit around Christmas time, when it is available (imported, of course). Which wine to choose for a pairing? Apparently Shiraz (Syrah), according to Isabel Van Den Brink of Hugh Hamilton – who provided the recipe below. We enjoyed the ostrich meat substitute with a bottle of 2009 Secret from La Rose Bellevue (100% Merlot), as well as a Châteauneuf-du-Pape (which may include up to 13 grape varieties, of which Grenache and Syrah are most prevalent).
Ingredients for making dukkah
Preparing Persian feta
Crispy asparagus
A gathering of winemakers enjoying a beautiful Australian recipe
Chef Valerie (left) and film maker Sonya
The recipe is below…once again, thanks for tuning in.
Dukkah Crusted Kangaroo
From Isabel Van Den Brink, Hugh Hamilton Wines, McLaren Vale, South Australia
Preparation Time and Quantity –
1 hour to prepare and cook. Serves 4 people.
Ingredients and Amounts
Kangaroo and Vegetables
Kangaroo fillets (or venison steaks) – 1 to 1¼ lb (500 g)
Egyptian dukkah – ½ cup (75 g) [or use below recipe to make your own]
Olive oil – 2 tbs (30 m;)
Baby beetroots – 1 bunch
Asparagus spears – 1 bunch
Persian feta** – ⅕ cup (40 g)
Garlic cloves – 2
Salt and pepper – to taste
Lime zest and juice – to taste (from 1 lime)
Kangaroo and Vegetables Preparation –
- Pre-heat oven to 370°Fahrenheit (190°Celsius).
- Wash, then trim beetroot and asparagus spears.
- Mince or chop garlic.
Kangaroo and Vegetables Recipe –
- Wrap the washed, trimmed beetroot in aluminum foil and place in oven. Cook for 35 minutes.
- Combine 1 tbs (15 ml) of olive oil with minced garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Place asparagus spears on a baking sheet and coat with oil/garlic/salt/pepper dressing. Cook for 25 minutes.
- Butterfly kangaroo fillets so they are as even as possible in thickness.
- Rub thoroughly with dukkah.
- Heat remaining oil in a non-stick fry pan and fry kangaroo fillets until both sides are browned.
- Transfer kangaroo to a tray lined with baking paper and cook in the oven for another 10 minutes.
- Remove kangaroo from oven and allow to rest while you unwrap beetroot and serve with crumbled feta.
- Remove asparagus from oven after it has been there for 25 minutes and transfer to serving plate.
Dukkah
Nuts (any of: cashew, almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia, pine, pistachio) – 1 cup (100 gms)
Sesame seeds – 1/3 cup (45 gms)
Coriander seeds – 3 tbs (15 gms)
Cumin seeds – 3 tbs (18 gms)
Black pepper seeds – 1 tsp (2½ gms)
Finely chopped fresh chopped mint – as needed
Thyme (dried) – 1 tsp (1¼ gms)
Fine salt – as needed
Dukkah Preparation and Recipe –
- Toast sesame, coriander, cumin and pepper seeds in a pan over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Crush these seeds with a mortar and pestle.
- Pulse nuts in a food processor.
- Combine spices and nuts.
- Add fresh chopped mint and thyme.
- Add salt to taste.
Serving –
Slice kangaroo fillets and serve with beetroots, asparagus and feta.
Isabel writes –
“This dish goes beautifully with Shiraz – including the style we make here at Hugh Hamilton.”
Comments –
Isabel writes –
“Kangaroo fillets are served rare as the are very low in fat content and become tough if over cooked. All kangaroo meat is 100 percent free-range as kangaroos are not ‘farmed’ in any sense.”
Other Comments –
There are several streams of beautiful flavors in this recipe. The beetroot coated by fragrant feta is a wild ride for the taste buds, and the crunchy dukkah with earthy scents over the strong flavor of meat is incredible. The asparagus provides a bridge between the meat and beet tastes.
There are several dukkah recipes available. You can choose your own. Try combining nuts (such as roasted almonds or pistachios) and seeds (such as sesame seeds, coriander, and cumin), and middle-eastern spices. Alternatively you can purchase dukkah.
Obviously if kangaroo is not available, and if venison is out of season, improvise, adapt and substitute. We used ostrich meat from a local farm in Bordeaux.
* Persian feta is produced near Melbourne, in the Yarra Valley. It is a feta cheese marinated in fresh thyme (or, alternatively, fresh oregano), 2 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves (finely chopped), peppercorns, fresh thyme and olive oil (you can combine different styles of olive oils), lime zest and juice of 1 lime.
Moscow’s Missing Wine Labels And Chateauneuf-du-Pape
My friend Stephanie and I went to the same high school in Europe, though at different times. Our birthdays are a day apart (hers is today – Happy Birthday Steph!). This woman knows how to recommend a good read.
Five years ago as I boarded a train from Paris to Bordeaux for Christmas, she communicated her book recommendation: The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes. It had recently won the 2011 Man Booker Prize. I downloaded this quick read. By the time the train arrived at Gare Saint Jean on a chilly winter afternoon, I had finished this captivating tale.
Weeks ago Stephanie recommended another book: A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles. This fictional tale recalls years when a Count lived in Hotel Metropol in Moscow. It begins in 1922.
Imagine no labels…
One tale recalls how an embarrassed headwaiter invited the Count down to their vast wine cellar with 100,000 bottles. He explained how, ten days earlier, the ruling political party deemed individuality in the world of wine bottles as suspect, and instructed the hotel manager to strip away all labels from each bottle, then sell all the ‘red’ and ‘white’ for the same price.
“What has happened!” gasped the Count.
Andrey nodded in grim acknowledgment.
“A complaint was filed with comrade Teodorov, the Commissar of Food, claiming that the existence of our wine list runs counter to the ideals of the Revolution. That it is a monument to the privilege of the nobility, the effeteness of the intelligentsia, and the predatory pricing of speculators.”
“But that’s preposterous.”
For the second time in an hour, the unshrugging Andrey shrugged.
“A meeting was held, a vote was taken, an order was handed down. . . . Henceforth, the Boyarsky shall sell only red and white wine with every bottle at a single price.”
[A Gentleman in Moscow. Viking. New York. 2016]
This tale is a reminder that rather than save a special wine for some grand, magnificent occasion at an unknown future date, you might want to enjoy it now. Text your friends, set the dinner table, pull out a corkscrew and share your beloved bottle with worthy allies.
Without a label, this would become just a ‘red’
Without labels, wine would be even more mysterious. Valuable information on those paper shards tell the region where the wine was made, the year the grapes were picked, and alcohol content.
Labels are also a marketing tool.
A recent edition of the online science magazine (highly recommended) named Nautilus, tells about several experiments concerning perception of the quality of wine and how it relates to what we know about price. The article also highlights intriguing notions concerning how perception can be influenced by labels, as well as by names.
According to the article, one study concluded:
“… the colors of the labels were less important than their shapes, or the shapes printed on them. The most successful labels were brown, yellow, black, or green (or combinations thereof), with rectangular or hexagonal patterns.”
The article then mentioned surprising results from another study:
“Mantonakis and her colleague Bryan Galiffi even showed that consumers significantly tended to prefer the products of wineries with hard-to-pronounce names…”
There you go.
How to sell your wine.
Use a slightly complex name, slap on a brown/black/yellow/green label with a few rectangles and hexagons, and Bob’s Your Uncle. Of course, to maintain repeat buyers, winemakers will have to keep focusing on excellent quality.
Back to Moscow, where the Count – horrified at seeing nude bottles – wandered around the labelless cellar, then selected one bottle with two crossed keys embossed on the glass neck. He touched this emblem of Chateauneuf-du-Pape from the French Rhone Valley, then plucked up the bottle and carried it away upstairs – eager to enjoy a good drop, and slightly smug at outmaneuvering the bureaucrats of Moscow.
^^^
From the Margaret River wine region of western Australia
Next, a recipe.
There are slightly more than a dozen recipes left to cook for The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion. The countdown toward completing the field work is in full gear.
We’re also producing a short promotional video (thanks Sonya) and our intrepid graphic artist is editing photographs (thanks Lou).
This comes from western Australia. Substitute local ingredients accordingly depending on where you live and what’s available – combining fish and shellfish. This is a crispy, crunchy spring/summer delight (we are pulling out of winter, soon, after all). It’s relatively easy to prepare. Serve with a Chardonnay.
Crayfish, Dhufish, and Squid Pasta Marinara
From McHenry Hohnen Vintners, Margaret River, Western Australia
Preparation Time and Quantity –
45 minutes to cook. Serves 4 people.
Ingredients and Amounts
Pasta (such as linguini) – 5¼ oz (400 g)
Olive oil – ¼ cup (60 ml)
Butter – 5½ tbs (80 g)
Garlic cloves – 4
Lemon – 1 for zest
Crayfish – 1
Dhufish fillets – 2
Squid – 1
Tomatoes (ripe from garden) – 10 oz (300 g)
Fresh chili – 1
Mixed herbs (e.g. – basil, sage, parsley) – handful
Flaked sea salt – to taste
Fresh cracked pepper – to taste
Preparation –
- Slice garlic cloves, zest lemon, chop chili pepper, chop mixed herbs.
- Scoop crayfish from shell and slice.
- Cube the dhufish.
- Slice squid into rings.
Recipe –
- Cook pasta in large saucepan of boiling, salted water until almost al dente (2 to 3 minutes if fresh, 6 to 8 minutes if dried).
- Meanwhile, heat oil and butter in a frying pan over medium high heat.
- To oil and butter add garlic, lemon rind, and chili, and cook until tender (1 to 2 minutes). Add salt and pepper seasoning to taste.
- Add crayfish, dhufish, and squid, and turn occasionally until cooked (2 to 4 minutes).
- Remove from heat.
Serving –
Add pasta and garden tomatoes, toss to combine, and serve immediately, scattered with fresh herbs.
Comments –
Lilian Kurys-Romer writes –
“Margaret River is a hot spot for food and wine, and we are lucky enough to be quite obsessed with both! …Our backyard is the quintessence of enjoying the outdoors sustainably; we’d go for a dive for some fresh endemic crayfish (western rock lobster), dhufish, and line caught squid, and pick tomatoes and fresh herbs from the back garden, heading inside to throw together a very relaxed pasta marinara.
“Don’t forget to enjoy reasonable gulps of Chardonnay throughout the process.”
^^^
My latest Forbes posts are here – including a piece about the ancient Grotte Pair-Non-Pair cave in southwest France, a messy Catalonian food festival, a renowned bubbly wine from New Mexico, and thoughts from the Godfather of biodynamic wine from the Loire Valley.
Alternative Agriculture For Wine and Food
Flickering fire flames, downy snowflakes, brutal temperatures…And glasses filled with full-bodied red wine to provide comfort and ward off the deep chill of winter.
Wonderful. Very traditional.
Yet…
During dark, chilly eves this winter, I was hit by an inclination to drink white wines instead of reds. I uncorked zinging, tangy refrigerated bottles of Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc and gulped frozzled mouthfuls with brutal, energizing pleasure.
Yes!
No idea why.
Yet it makes sense.
The crystal clear, razor-sharp snap of winter matches ice-crackling brittle acidity of Chablis and Sauvignon Blanc.
Not so?
Googling that thought, I came up with an article from Epicurious titled Four Ways to Persuade Your Friends to Drink White Wine All Winter.
Which is wonderful – because now that someone else has written about the topic, there is no need to write another article.
Instead – we can switch attention to agriculture. Alternative agriculture. Though the subject is not new, the modest inclination to embrace it is somewhat mystifying. This is somewhat, though not too much, akin to choosing to drink whites instead of reds during winter.
When I was a child living in Europe, a relative sent me copies of Ranger Rick Magazine. All things colorful and natural and eco were inside – photographs of wildlife, color by number caterpillar drawings, and stories. One memorable story was about a family living in suburbia who decided, at the insistence of the children, to let their garden grow wild. Wild. No more manicured lawn. Instead, a profusion of weeds and bugs and colors plopped up outside the front door. The neighbors were furious. So one day this rebellious family invited neighbors to visit the garden and see strange but intriguing relationships between plants and insects and listen to songs of increased numbers of visiting birds. In short they witnessed what we can call the ‘vibrancy of an ecosystem.’ I forget the ending, but think the neighbors all decided to do alike, and everyone lived happily ever after…
You get the story. Work with nature, not against it. Again, this is nothing new.
But there is a strange tendency of humans to overlook that which is not considered mainstream. And as we become more connected through media, ‘mainstream’ has a potential to become more prevalent, if we allow ourselves not to consider other options.
For example, take wine. I recently interviewed Nicolas Joly for a Forbes piece. He uses biodynamic principles in growing vines and making wine – which include no use of herbicides, pesticides, or imported yeasts. His yields are less, but the enhanced aromas and tastes of his wine allows him to charge prices commensurate with the quality. So the wine he produces is ecologically and economically beneficial, and tastes better.
He refuses to call himself a winemaker, as he considers himself a tender of vines. The wine – with a little physical manipulation – makes itself. He is, therefore, ‘Nature assistant and not wine maker.’
After writing this piece, I received an email from the author of the book about Joly – Gilles Berdin. He told me that he appreciated the article, but found it mystifying that a foreigner from half way across the planet wrote about the talk, while the local and national press had ignored it. “It puzzles and many questions arise about the media,” he wrote.
If you want to learn about Joly’s way of regarding agriculture, by the way, below is a clip from a few years ago in which he speaks with hyper-energetic wine blogger Gary Vaynerchuk.
Now let’s see a parallel situation regarding food. Specifically, alternative agriculture and media myopia.
Yesterday a friend from Blaye here in France forwarded a YouTube clip of the renowned chef Dan Barber from Blue Hill restaurants in New York. It is about his trip to Spain to a poultry farm where the farmer, by working with the land and animals, expends less effort and produces food that tastes better.
One amusing part of this story is that this Spanish producer of foie gras (who uses no force feeding of geese) won an important international medal for producing what the judges considered the best foie gras that year. Immediately, some accused him of cheating. Why? Because he did not force feed the geese, so it could not have been real foie gras…! Nonsense. They were likely angry that someone succeeded by being different. [There is another video from Barber about visiting a fish farm in Spain; it is as good.]
The point is – and this point becomes very, very clear the more you tune into lopsided media coverage of worldwide events – you can choose to live ever so slightly off the beaten trail and reap rewards that impact your health and wealth in ways unexpected. But you have to be open to listening to alternative points of view, and be brave enough to take a few steps away from crowded avenues in terms of thinking. It is somewhat bizarre, or as author Berdin might phrase it – “it puzzles and many questions arise” – how strongly humans can resist change, even when that change may benefit them in terms of health, lifestyle, or ecology.
^^^
Thanks again for tuning in…my latest Forbes posts include pieces about the wonderful and ancient city of San Sebastian in Spain, about the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, and about the unexpected (in terms of geography) ascendancy of New Mexican Gruet sparkling wine to world class levels…
Lose Weight Through…Cooking and Drinking Wine?
This is bizarre. As in – unexpected.
Here’s the story.
My weight stabilized and reduced, almost paradoxically, the more I cooked.
Ingredients for Sockeye Ceviche Cocktail – From Cherry Point Winery, British Columbia, Canada
This spring I left an overseas job and moved to Bordeaux’s countryside in southwest France. I had gained weight working in Pakistan, so began running. Yet surrounded by friends and ambiance, there was plenty of good food and wine. Too much. After weeks I plunged into a week-long ‘General Motors Diet.’ Friends had highlighted this effective seven-day diet years ago. Basically – you exercise every day, drink no alcohol – and follow a simple pattern of eating fruit, veg, and some beef. It works IF you follow it rigorously. I did so and dropped 14 pounds in a week. Yet within a month – I gained most of that weight back. (Those chocolatine aux almandes croissants at the bakery? Life is too short to resist forever.)
I repeated the diet every few months. Sometimes for weeks in a row. Weight would drop 10 pounds, then increase seven pounds, then drop four pounds – like a Yo-Yo.
It was frustrating.
But there was another problem.
Piadina – from Galassi Maria Wines in Emilia-Romagna, Italy
I still need to finish compiling a cookbook. The 120+ recipes collected from winemakers from 15 countries all need to be cooked in order to check the timing and quantities and sequencing. For months I held back from cooking while instead nibbling apples and carrots (and occasionally bingeing on wine to satisfy hunger pangs).
But time was running out. The book needs to be completed. So, I set aside weight loss considerations and began cooking.
This included cooking two new recipes a day.
Many meals included wine. Sometimes bread. Even chocolate for dessert. Mmmm….
A week passed. Then two. I weighed myself, expecting the worst. And yet – weight had stabilized at the lowest point in months. In fact, in the following days I watched it decrease even further. It then generally hovered between 1 and 3 pounds above the low point set earlier during the year – not within the earlier range of between 3 and 7 pounds.
I thought the scale was broken.
No idea what was going on.
A friend said that eating non-processed food, rather than processed, packaged food – with all the added salt and sugar and unpronounceable chemicals – is what made the difference. He was right.
Partially.
But there was something else.
Chicken Cacciatore – from Summerset Winery in Iowa, USA
Here is what happens when you cook more. As physical actions in the kitchen become more efficient, shopping becomes more efficient, less food is wasted and your relationship to food changes. The time spent preparing meals – slicing green peppers, sautéing onions, crushing garlic, layering lasagna, frying cod, chopping lamb into small cubes and dicing parsley into beautiful green shards made me appreciate each meal far more. Fresh tastes and subtleties, unmasked by heaps of sugar or salt, grew more intense. For each cooked meal I set the table – plate, fork, knife, spoon, water glass, wine glass (sometimes; usually) – and then enjoyed steaming aromas, unusual texture combinations and tastes neither tame nor bland.
Food became less of something quick to satisfy hunger, and more of a symphony of subtle tastes to enjoy. My appetite diminished. I ate less and enjoyed it more. I also enjoyed wine more with meals, though no longer needed to guzzle down a liter.
Was this normal? I generated a theory: when you respect the food you shop for and prepare, you naturally tend to respect moderation. Well balanced meals with fresh ingredients don’t hit on our dopamine triggers or cravings for sugar buzz highs. As you become efficient in the kitchen and avoid waste, you become considerate toward more balanced eating and more dismissive of gluttony and inconsistent eating patterns. You eat reasonable, not excessive portions. You drink quantities of milk or water or beer or wine proportionate to each meal. Your psyche intuitively knows that to do otherwise would be to contradict the economical, organized, carefully timed actions and mindset required for you to have crafted a decent dish. Your overall increased respect for food, in other words, increases your attention to how carefully you eat.
Was this theory nonsensical?
No sulfites, no olive pits, no stress
I googled for information relating weight loss to cooking and – tada! – came across a 2014 article from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health that showed the same – those who cooked more at home consumed fewer calories. These subjects who cooked more not only ate more moderately at home – but also when they went out to dinner.
Next came a 2013 article in the London Daily Telegraph about a French book (The Parisian Diet) that said the same – that cooking helps us lose weight. The article included information from another author, Michael Pollan, on how – since the 1960’s – the average time Americans spend on cooking decreased from about 1 hour to less than 30 minutes, while during that same time the French also reduced their home cooking times, but only from 90 minutes to an hour.
Home cooked meals are also generally not laden with sugar (okay, those addictive Christmas chocolate chip cookies shared with friends were a worthy exception). A very recently published book titled The Case Against Sugar (as reviewed this past weekend by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times) highlights the perils of consuming too much sugar – a truth long squashed by industries that profit from peddling sucrose. Too much sugar impacts insulin levels and causes glucose increases in the bloodstream – which can lead to cells holding onto more fat.
Lamb Chops in Red Wine – from Bodega Terramoll in Spain’s Balearic Islands
Perhaps this relationship between cooking and weight is part of the explanation for the ‘French Paradox’ – the mystery as to why the French generally often seem as thin as rakes and have a lower propensity toward coronary heart disease (compared to, say, US residents) when their lives revolve around the joys of eating (often high saturated fats) – croissants, cheeses by the dozen, foie gras and canard – as well drinking ample wines: bubbly, Bordeaux and Burgundy to boot. In France, plenty of meals are thoughtfully home cooked with fresh ingredients, and the notion of snacking is disdained.
When respect for the quality and preparation of ingredients is in balance, the quantity of food eaten becomes more balanced. Cooking and eating become more journey than destination.
Would a stone mason, honed on the craft of efficiency in cutting and shaping blocks of marble or granite, tend to construct a gaudy and excessively lavish building? Doubtful. Would a mosaic artist who spent decades honing their craft of working with the subtle minutiae of multicolored tesserae stones venture out to create a flamboyant, ugly piece of art? Probably not. If we cook fresh vegetables, fruits, poultry, fish and meat with an eye toward balance in texture and flavor, it becomes disharmonious to our thoughts to want to scarf down Twinkies or power-binge double fudge milkshakes between meals. As our mindset toward food changes, as do our appetites.
When I abandoned weight loss and started cooking far more – weight stabilized and reduced of its own accord. Most meals taste wonderful. I snack less and feel more incentive to take long walks.
And that occasional glass or two of vino?
Pas de problème.
Which basically means – Enjoy.
%%%
I’ve published no Forbes articles this month yet, but will soon get cooking with articles from Spain.
Thanks for staying tuned. Click here to visit the Forbes redesigned website.
Unexpected Lessons From A Kitchen
This week’s post differs in that it is only about cooking. However one of my latest Forbes posts is about a British Columbia winery. In the future we’ll be covering more British Columbia wine producers.
Now, to the kitchen.
Years ago I read books both by Julia Childs (My Life in France) and Julie Powell (Julie and Julia) and thought that Julie’s idea – cooking 524 recipes in 365 days was original – yet simple and facile. It seemed anyone who cooked up that notion could simply plunge through.
Not true.
The process of compiling a cookbook has for myself involved collecting over 100 recipes from 15 countries, formatting each to be consistent, converting measurements to both Imperial and Metric units, and then…
To make recipes consistent, each recipe must identify preparation and cooking times and how many people will be served. Some contributors supplied this information; many did not (they were not asked to). In some recipes the ingredient list did not tally with subsequent cooking steps. Some recipes lacked clarity.
Which meant – it was time to cook each recipe.
In youth I baked cakes: four layered spice cakes; banana pan cakes – all taken from a Better Homes and Gardens, or a Betty Crocker cookbook. Later I learned to make yeast breads. Kneading became almost meditative. The majority of other meat, fish, poultry and vegetable dishes? Not so much.
In cooking these recipes (a task not yet completed), here are a few lessons learned.
- As with all actions, with time and practice you learn to economize. Cooking the first 50 recipes was slightly stressful (because I would not otherwise have selected them). The process was new and unknown. Planning what to buy, organizing ingredients within a relatively small kitchen, timing, and taking notes required leaving a comfort zone to which there is no return. The book My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz is inspiring because he understands the challenge of operating within a constricted working space. With foods you never worked with before you learn improved economy of operations and new ways to wield knife, bowl, cutting board and oven.
- Much delicious food is simple to cook. Vegetable stock? Slice and dice greens and reds and orange carrots, toss in a pot, cover with water, simmer for an hour and strain. Done.
- Some cooking is complex. Petite triangular pasta pieces individually stuffed with cheese and spinach? The taste is unworldly, though the preparation effort requires the concentration of a dentist. Decide carefully before committing to what you will cook for friends, then practice at least once in advance.
- Some kitchen gadgets are helpful. After college I skied days and worked nights as a dishwasher at the Grand Banks Restaurant in the town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Since then I had not used a dishwasher in decades. No reason. Weeks ago it became clear that constantly balancing a mini-ziggurat tower of pots, pans, dough encrusted ladles, parmesan smudged forks and a spinach draped colander over a small drying board was an admirable, though unstable act. A gust of wind from an open window could crash the pile. Instead, I recently tried out the dishwasher and was delighted at the improved results of the machine compared with decades ago. No wonder they endure.
- However, not all amazing kitchen equipment is necessary. A blender does not have to tell digital time in three languages, and a plastic ladle from Ikea often works just fine.
- Eating healthy and home cooked food feels beneficial in several ways. Instead of chowing down packaged foods with unpronounceable ingredients, you can feel pride ladling out butternut squash soup from vegetables bought at the morning market, followed by risotto made with fresh mushrooms. Sure, we don’t always have the time for cooking. But turn off the TV and you certainly will have more.
- Appreciate the effort of cooks. Anthony Bourdain was right: writing for money is easy in comparison to cooking because you can sit down. Cooking can be physically demanding, frenetic, hot, challenging, and always subject to the availability of ingredients. Unfortunately, your audience will not wait.
- Some of the best recipes require you to do everything. Yes, everything. No supermarket bought pie-crusts. No canned vegetable stock. No rice in a bag. Slice ’em, dice ’em and assemble all ingredients – fresh. Twist in your hands the very turnip or carrot or pea pod you will transform into lunch.
- The Europeans are onto something with their weight rather than volume measurements. Ever tried to measure four tablespoons of unsoftened butter pulled from a fridge? If you know what the weight is in grams, plop it on a scale and get a readout. Simple.
- Consider visual presentation. A dash of green herbs, shreds of cheese, or a slice of bread or red radish added to a dish can improve the appearance immeasurably. You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.
- If you burn rice or make crappy lasagna or your potatoes are cold and your cod looks mangled – wonderful. Learn from your errors.
- By choosing new recipes, you learn about foods never heard of before. Jerusalem artichokes do not resemble artichokes; quails and pheasants are certainly not chickens. Leeks and sweet potatoes? Prepare to become well acquainted with them.
- Improvisation and substitution are essential. I received a beautiful and excellent recipe for Dhuka crusted Kangaroo; fortunately the Australian chef provided an alternative to kangaroo meat if unavailable. Lack an ingredient? Check for substitutions online. No ricotta cheese? Try bourse. No carrots for vegetable stock? Chop up a zucchini. Live large and go for it. Have the audacity to be creative.
- Be grateful that most of us are quite fortunate. We have refrigerators, stoves, blenders, electricity, thermometers, oven proof glassware, zesters, peelers, excellent knives and knife sharpeners, timers, plastic bags, aluminum foil, olive oil available year round, trash disposal systems, dishwashers, cookbooks, online tutorials, television channels, FDA food quality standards, electric kettles, measuring cups, scales, pot scrubbing abrasive pads, kitchen fans, freezers, internet answers to questions, and – of course – corkscrews. We are not living in North Korea. Be very thankful.
- Thanks to all recipe contributors. I am often amazed after following steps to find that a dish emerges not only bizarrely creative and beautiful, but delicious. Each recipe is a river that runs its own unique course.
- Thanks also to author Michael Pollan (whose books will encourage you to eat and cook healthier foods) as well as Betty Crocker and Molly Katzen – cookbook authors from years gone by.
Bordeaux’s Difficult to Pronounce Wine Region – Pessac Leognan
Established as a wine appellation in 1987, Pessac-Leognan was formerly referred to as Haut-Graves. This wine region sits just south of Bordeaux city. Actually, part of it is within the city.
I drove there in early December to visit the Portes Ouvertes, a delightful French tradition where dozens of wine châteaux in a given region pour free samples from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm on a Saturday and Sunday. In this case more than 40 wine chateaux in eight communes poured non-stop while streams of cars on exploration tours followed special countryside signposts.
Out of the city at last
The northern wine chateaux are within the periphery of Bordeaux city. Château Baret is a stately white stone architectural beauty with vineyards spreading out before—a sizable Renault dealership. This is a land of community swimming pools, warehouses, schools, offices and industrial zones. Only after you slip out of the town of Leognan further south does the countryside abruptly transform to swelling agricultural fields, forests and vineyards. The sight of this open space will make you exhale with relief.
The region is known for both red and white wines, though I found the whites exemplary (usually a blend of 5 to 55 percent Sauvignon Blanc; the balance being Semillon) while the reds (Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, primarily) were balanced and smooth but generally lacking zest or distinction.
The range of variety is noticeable within Pessac Leognan—in terms of architecture, size of operations, quality and price. Some of it is similar to the Languedoc in southeast France where you can drive to adjacent wine producers and find large differences between the quality and cost of what they produce. I visited one large château oozing with wealth where scheduled bus tours arrived each hour. They served high-priced mediocre plonk and had difficulty identifying which grapes they had blended.
Hells Angels, having sampled glasses of Graves at Château Fieuzal
Yet the overall variety of this visiting experience was colorful and rich. The Bordeaux Hells Angels had parked outside Château Fieuzal to stop in for a taste, while Château Mancèdre included an exhibit of the winemaker’s photographs from rural Galway, Ireland. At Château Mirebeau the winemaker gave talks about biodynamics while at Château Eyrans groups of visitors were given barrel samples of Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. Because the cold snap of winter arrived days ago, the fireplace in Le Ferran, surrounded by couches, was welcoming.
The below wines—ranked for value—are all white, good quality, and priced between $15 and $25 a bottle.
| Vino Value™ Scoring of Selected Wines – Pessac Leognan Wines December 2016 | ||||
| Winery | Wine | Retail Price – Euros | Retail Price – US dollars equivalent | Value Score |
| Château Baret | 2015 Blanc | € 17.00 | $18.12 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Mancèdre | 2014 (white) | € 20.00 | $21.32 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Larrivet Haut-Brion | 2014 Les Demoiselles (white) | € 15.00 | $15.99 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
|
Château Mirebeau |
2015 Héliotropes (white/biodynamic) | € 23.50 | $25.05 | Good Value ♫ |
^ ^ ^
Work on the book The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion continues. We’re still cooking recipes, and this week spent time with graphic artist Lou Dorémus on the layout of pages. Elena Malgina is also focusing on publishing contacts.
Here’s a recipe for pumpkin soup to ward off the chill of December. The aromas of these vegetables when they are frying is beautiful.
Potimarron (Pumkin) Soup
From Valérie Eymas, Co-owner of Château La Rose Bellevue, Saint-Palais, Côtes de Blaye Bordeaux, Gironde, France
Preparation Time and Quantity –
35 minutes to prepare, 50 minutes to cook. Serves 6 to 8 people.
Ingredients and Amounts
Leeks (only white part) – 3
Small pumpkin (‘potimarron’) – 1 (or use ½ normal sized pumpkin)
Potatoes (medium) – 3
Sweet potato – 1
Chestnuts – 1½ cups (200 grams)
Jerusalem artichokes – 4
Garlic cloves – 2
Coarse salt – 2 tablespoons (35 grams)
Olive oil – as needed
Sweet garam masala – 1 tablespoon (8 grams)
Fish sauce – 3 tablespoons (45 grams)
Coconut milk – 3 tablespoons (45 grams)
Water – 1¼ quarts (1¼ liters)
Preparation –
- Chop leeks.
- Peel and chop all potatoes – regular and sweet. Cut to approximately 1 inch (2 centimeter) squares.
- Peel and chop artichokes to same size as potatoes.
- Scoop out innards of pumpkin, then cut the interior flesh into chunks about 1 inch (2 centimeter) squares.
- Heat chestnuts.
- Peel and chop garlic cloves.
Recipe –
- Sauté the leeks in oil until browned, then add chopped pumpkins and potatoes.
- After a few minutes of frying, add other vegetables and chestnuts and fry for about 10 more minutes.
- Top up with the 1¼ quarts of water and bring to the boil.
- Reduce heat and let simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
- While simmering, add garam massala, fish sauce and coconut milk.
- Put in blender and purée.
Serving –
Valérie writes –
“Serve with garlic croutons, shredded cheese, and a few coriander leaves on top.”
^ ^ ^
Finally, you may want to check out my latest Forbes posts, which include one about the growing wine bar scene in Berlin, and coastal Cap-Ferret in southwest France.
Slow Cooked In Barolo Wine …
Recent Forbes posts include one published today – about how a Michelin star meal can be affordable. Other posts include the opening of Vinitech in Bordeaux and the drink you’ve likely never heard of spelled Pineau (but pronounced Pinot).
The photograph below, and the recipe that follows, are of veal cooked in Barolo wine. I wrote a few pieces about Barolo recently after a visit to Elton John’s concert there months ago, and a stay in the countryside of Piemonte where we compared this wine country to that of northern California.
This recipe requires patience: the meat cooks in wine for eight hours.
‘Brasato al Barolo’ – Veal Cooked in Barolo Wine
From Chef Valter Quirico and Winemaker Flavio Fenocchio of Marchesi de Barolo, Barolo, Piemonte Region, Italy
Preparation Time and Quantity –
20 minutes to prepare, 8 hours to cook. Serves 4 to 6 people
Ingredients and Amounts
Boneless veal shoulder roast – 1 [about 2 to 3 ½ pounds (1 to 1 ½ kilograms)]
Red onions – 2
Carrot – 1
Celery stalk – 2
Bay leaf – 1
Olive oil – as needed
Salt – 1 teaspoon (6 grams)
Barolo Cannubi wine (or similar Barolo wine) – 3⅓ bottles [2½ quarts (2½ liters)]
Preparation –
- Chop onions.
- Slice carrots and celery stalks.
Recipe –
- Cover bottom of saucepan with olive oil and place over medium heat.
- Add veal and chopped vegetables – onions, carrot, celery, bay leaf.
- Cook until beef is browned.
- Add salt and Barolo wine.
- Cover, and cook over low heat for 8 hours.
- Take meat out of liquid and allow to cool.
- Whip sauce left in saucepan.
- Cut meat into pieces and serve with sauce.
Serving –
Flavio writes –
“To accompany this special dish I particularly like to drink our Barolo Sarmassa, elegant but so full-bodied to cope with a very tasty meat dish.”
Valter writes –
“After slow cooking, the veal is so tender that there is no need to use a knife to cut it!”
Comments –
Flavio writes –
“Our cook Valter has been working with us for ten years. He has this special recipe, a very traditional dish here in South Piedmont and one of my favorites. And guess what? It needs Barolo wine!”
Tom’s Comments –
It’s true—you will not need a knife to eat this tender, savory beef when it’s ready. Serve with cooked vegetables, as well as pasta, rice or potatoes and a full red wine with plenty of body (such as Barolo). This meal showpiece is hearty, but still light. If Barolo is not available, try another tannic wine.
When cooking, remember to check now and then and adjust the heat so the liquid stays at a simmer.
Precious Does Not Have To Be Expensive – With Wine, Travel Or Food
Seasons have changed in the Gironde department of France
The bottles most cherished in my little cellar are neither renowned or expensive. Instead, they deliver memories. There is the 2008 Clos Apalta, purchased in Chile after meeting the winemaker (and months before Wine Spectator Magazine declared this Wine of The Year). There are magnums of biodynamic Cabernet Franc purchased from Clos Cristal of the Loire Valley after walking vines with the winemaker last year. Those bottles—one and a half liters of liquid magic—cost 30 Euros apiece are no longer available after the vineyard shut down. Or the few boxes of unique 2012 Les Angelots, made by friend Nicolas down the road. The label drawing includes two blue stone angels mounted on the winery’s outer wall. Somehow, Nicolas managed to bottle one of them. When I returned in spring after months working in Asia, the first priority was to phone and purchase his final box.
Precious wines are not necessarily expensive
Memory of place, people and situations can makes bottles of wine—open and finished, or unopened—more memorable than any association with expense, renown or prestige. That is a strange and simple truth about wine.
The notion that precious does not have to be expensive applies not only to wine, but travel. Traveling off-season can mean purchasing less costly tickets, paying reasonable prices for accommodation and bumping into fewer streams of visitors wearing multicolored neoprene tight and speaking your own language. Even day trips, often unexpectedly, can turn as memorable as a week spent in a distant country.
What’s precious can be fleeting … so enjoy now 🙂
On Sunday I visited the city of Cognac, an hour drive north. Soon I’ll write more about the city and the local drink Pineau (pronounced, yes—Pinot; it’s confusing). This blend of cognac and non-alcoholic grape juice is wildly popular here, yet apparently unknown in much of the world. In the meantime, here are some panoramic photos from that countryside drive and afternoon city walk. This getaway was precious, not costly. Tip of the week? When Google Maps alerts you to an alternate, non-highway, more scenic route that only adds eight minutes to a one hour drive—choose YES.
What else in life can be precious, without necessarily being expensive?
Food, sometimes. That’s one unsung benefit of Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.—the joy of sharing a long lunch or dinner with friends and new faces, often at home, sometimes with a drink or two, maybe with decent conversation and perhaps followed by a walk.
Here in southern France the cool season has arrived. It’s not cold enough for a wool hat or gloves yet, but that time draws close. The leaves that turned brown and gold weeks ago are now spalling off vines.
As for food, two European recipes are included below—from Italy and France. They are easy to prepare, will keep you warm, and could even be a T-Day appetizer or dessert.
The first recipe comes from the Alto Adige region in northern Italy (location of the gorgeous toothed Dolomite mountains) while the second is from Bugey in the Rhone region of southern France. Thank you Andrian Wines, as well as Marjorie and Bernard Rondeau, who supplied these recipes.
Terlaner soup (photo courtesy of Andrian Wines)
Terlaner Wine Soup
From Rudi Kofler, Cellar Master of Andrian Wines, Terlano Wine Region, Alto Adige Province, Italy
Preparation Time and Quantity –
5 minutes to prepare, 25 minutes to cook. Serves 4 people.
Ingredients and Amounts
Broth – 2 cups (½ liter)
Egg yolks – 4
Cream – ⅕ cup (50 milliliters)
Terlaner wine* – 1 cup (¼ liter)
Bread cubes – from 1 stale roll
Butter – 1 tablespoon (14 grams)
Cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt – to taste
Preparation –
- Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit (150 degrees Celsius).
- Tear bread chunks from the roll so they are about ½ inch (1 centimeter) square.
Recipe –
- Mix cream and egg yolks until smooth.
- Pour butter over torn bread cubes, then roast for 10 to 15 minutes in the pre-heated oven.
- Remove bread from the oven and sprinkle with cinnamon.
- Pour broth and wine into a saucepan over low heat.
- Add cream/yolk mixture.
- Add a pinch of salt, a little nutmeg and cinnamon.
- When at a boil, remove from heat.
Serving –
Pour into bowls. Top with bread cubes and sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon.
Comments –
Andrian wines tells the history of this soup –
Rudi Kofler – Cellar Master (photo courtesy Andrian Wines)
“The Terlaner wine soup was first served in Berlin in 1965 at a culinary event presenting South-Tyrolean specialties. Andreas Hellrigl, Josef Theiner and Franz Tauber, three renowned South-Tyrolean chefs, elaborated old recipes and created the Terlaner wine soup.”
* Terlaner wine is a composition of the Terlano wine region’s three most traditional grape varieties – Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc (the Pinot provides freshness and an acidic structure, the Chardonnay delivers warmth and mellowness, and the Sauvignon adds fine aromas). Choose a suitable blended white wine alternative.
^ ^ ^
Tarte Bugiste (photo courtesy of Domaine Cerdon de Bugey)
‘Tarte Bugiste’ – Tart from Bugey
From Marjorie and Bernard Rondeau, Owners of Domaine Bernard et Marjorie Rondeau, Boyeux-Saint-Jérôme, Bugey, France
Preparation Time and Quantity –
35 minutes until dough ready for first rising; 1 additional hour (after dough has risen) to finish preparing and to cook. Serves 8 people.
Ingredients and Amounts
Dough
Flour – 3½ cups (350 grams)
Sugar – 3 tablespoons (37 grams)
Butter (soft) – ¼ cup (60 grams)
Eggs – 2
Fresh yeast – 4½ teaspoons (15 grams) [or 1 sachet dried yeast]
Salt – pinch
Milk – 1 cup (240 milliliters)
Filling
Powdered sugar – as needed
Butter or heavy cream – as needed
Chocolate chips or chunks – as needed
Preparation –
- Warm milk and set aside.
- Melt butter.
Recipe –
- Add yeast to warm milk and stir.
- Beat eggs with sugar.
- Add melted butter and a pinch of salt to egg/sugar mixture.
- Add flour and milk/yeast mixture to the above mixture.
- Knead for several minutes (8 to 15) until this becomes homogenous, soft dough.
- Put dough in a bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let rise for 2 to 3 hours in a warm location.
- When dough is ready, pre-heat oven to between 480 and 520 degrees Fahrenheit (250 and 270 Celsius).
- Punch down dough, knead again, then roll out to a disc and let rise a second time for 15 to 30 minutes. It’s okay if it looks lumpy and bubbled.
- Sprinkle dollops of butter or heavy cream (or both), and powdered sugar on top of dough, and (as Marjorie says –“for being greedy”) add chocolate chips or chocolate chunks.
- Bake in pre-heated oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
Serving –
Marjorie writes –
“Bon appétit. The specialty of our region is this Bugiste tart with cream.”
Tom’s Comments –
Sinfully soft and delicious. Try this with a sparkling rosé.
The amount of dough is small enough that you could knead it on a decent sized cutting board, if you don’t want to flour up a counter or table. Add flour liberally to keep the dough from sticking. Knead the dough the first time for 8 to 15 minutes or so, until it pushes back, turns springy and homogenous and looks slightly glossy.
Put on a lower shelf in the oven to avoid the top burning.
^ ^ ^
Elena Malgina of Lugano, Switzerland will provide additional assistance to move the book The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion forward. Elena’s background is working in financial management, though she recently opened her own literary agency, Ithaka. In the past months she arranged for the translation and publication of letters written by renowned Russian writer Andrey Platonov and recently represented a book about President Obama’s policies. The choice to work with Elena was based on her intelligence, energy, and enthusiasm for the publishing industry. “One of my most exciting epiphanies of the last couple of years,” Elena wrote soon after we met, “was the simple realization that profession and passion can simply coexist and make a magical synergy.”
Welcome Elena.
Finally, my latest Forbes pieces are here, including one about jazz pianist Daniel Gassin who is now in Dubai helping Quincy Jones open a jazz club. Future articles in the coming weeks will be about Loire Valley wines, Mont Saint-Michel island, the intriguing life of a flying winemaker (who is also a remarkable chef) and a Michelin starred lunch that costs less than a meal at Denny’s.
As always, thanks for tuning in.
‘Tis The Season For Wine Movies
The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion cookbook is now being represented by an aspiring young literary agent (also with a background in financial consulting) who is based in Lugano, Switzerland. She has a growing web of international connections and ample enthusiasm. We’ll introduce Elena more fully in a few weeks.
My latest Forbes posts include pieces about biodynamic wines, cannéle pastries, Roman wine merchants, wine bars at LAX airport, and the ‘lost’ grape of Bordeaux: Carménère. I was also recently asked to write a review for London’s Sunday/Daily Telegraph newspaper about a five-star hotel in Bordeaux city. Their wine list is good, but it’s worth exploring city wine bars for even more diversity.
Now, movies.
After asking friends to recommend wine movies, the input included surprises. For example, Andrew Carr of Kansas City recommended Star Wars.
???
We’ll get back to that one later.
More traditional wine related movies include romance or suspense and often both.
Bottle Shock was recommended by Californians Lynne Barry and Diane Sanders-Rehberger. This is actually the only movie I’ve seen 13 times. It is based on a renowned wine tasting that took place in 1976 which brought California’s wines to the attention of the world, and is set in both Paris and Napa Valley, California. (Friend Tiffany Tedesco Baumann informed me that the ‘Parisian’ scenes were actually filmed on the main square of Sonoma city in California.)
The movie A Good Year was recommended by Stephen Barrante of Connecticut and New York, as well as Tiffany Tedesco Baumann from Sonoma, Lisa Tyreman from London (and sometimes Palo Alto; she has an intriguing blog), as well as wine merchant Stephanie Niblock Cohen of vinously renowned Glenview, Illinois.
In the movie, financially motivated but fiscally dodgy London banker (Russell Crowe) inherits a vineyard in Provence, France – and with it comes a coyly attractive young American relative, encounters with an eye-catching French waitress, and a mystery wine that may be either stellar or plonk.
Back in the U.S., the cult classic Sideways (recommended by Kerry Harker of Laguna Beach, California and Stephanie Niblock Cohen) actually reduced the sales of Merlot wine in the U.S. for years. It also introduced many Americans to the finesse of Pinot Noir, and alerted the world that south of Napa Valley and north of Los Angeles spreads the magical Central Coast wine country with excellent quality wines at decent prices (as well, apparently, as heartache and romance associated with road trips).
Back in France, a recently released movie I’ve not not had the pleasure to see yet (though I wrote about it before) is titled Premier Crus. It is based in Burgundy and revolves around what appears to be a rough harvest and family travails. The movie is subtitled in English.
The Secret of Santa Vittoria was recommended by Peter Ratray from Sussex in the U.K. I’ve not yet seen this (though did read the fictional book a few years ago). Free and full editions of the movie are available on YouTube. Made in 1969 and starring Anthony Quinn and directed by Stanley Kramer (of 2001: A Space Odyssey fame), it’s about German occupation of an Italian village during the Second World War, and the hiding of precious wines.
A recommendation from Martin Robinson from London, as well as Kamala Balachandran Wright in the U.S., is for The Year of The Comet. This appears to be about a precious wine bottle hidden in a castle on Scotland’s Isle of Skye that must be transported to London by a beer loving Texan and his new girlfriend. Scenes involve thieving thugs, helicopter chases and a cliffhanger or two.
Kelly McGrath Quevedo of southern California suggested watching Mondovino. This documentary regards the impact and controversy associated with Robert Mondavi’s winemaking style and the changing of wine production techniques throughout the world.
Another documentary (released this year) is the second in a series about sommeliers, titled Somme: Into the Bottle. It is better than the first in the series. The variety of people interviewed helps keep the narrative grounded.
Diane Sanders-Rehberger also recommended A Walk in the Clouds, a 1995 movie about a young lady returning to Napa Valley with a few surprises for the family.
Back to Star Wars…
The original bar scene in the first episode (“a wretched hive of scum and villainy,” according to Obi-Wan Kenobi) is memorable, but the only mention I found of wine was from books associated with the series, not the movies themselves. ‘Wookieepedia’ informed me that Hans Solo kept the odd bottle of Corellian wine aboard the Millennium Falcon, and apparently Princess Leia once refused his inebriated advances by splashing this wine in his face.
The documentation is clear: the association of romance and wine historically stretches back a long time to a far, far away galaxy.
Thanks for tuning in. We’ll be back again with some more recipes and wine news later this month.
‘Vin de Garage’ in Northern California
Some friends, known since youth, joined gangs, fraternities, rotary clubs, professional associations or workers unions.
A few became “garagistes.”
According to French lore, garagistes, or garage winemakers, began producing, well, vins de garage in the 1990’s. They were reputed as slightly edgy, streaked with rebellious tendencies and prone to wander far from any pack. They produced (or procured) grapes to produce low-yield, small volume wines produced with new oak.
Consider Château Valandraud, in Bordeaux, France. This one hectare (2.5 acre) plot of vines produced such superior low-quantity wine that, in the eyes of wine critic Robert Parker – it ranked higher than the famed Pètrus wine for quality. In the 1990’s word of this silent rebellion spread to the Ribera del Duero in Spain, then to Australia. California garagistes, though previously unlabeled, had been producing such wines since the 1980s, with cult labels including Screaming Eagle and those from Harlan Estate.
Harvested grapes from Rattlesnake Ridge, California (photo courtesy Diane Steinberg)
What made these bottle desirable, and pricey?
The answer is simple: their lack of availability, uniqueness and quality.
Ah, the lure of exclusivity.
Today the term garagiste refers to individuals who produce limited wines, often doing much labor themselves. They rarely have links to large capital investment or deep pocketed wealth, are not beholden to traditional beliefs and are often wary of predominant mindsets. They are as much entrepreneurs as agriculturalists.
As written before on this site, Robert and Tiffany Tedesco Baumann have been making 100% Sangiovese in their Sonoma city front yard for some 10 years now.
Low volume, high quality, and never a need to mow the front lawn
They brought bottles to a recent gathering at Sheep Ranch in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California (as well as their rosé). The red was wonderful – layered, complex, excellent with food, and the rosé crisp and delicious.
Beauty in Northern California
At the same gathering, Richard and Diane Steinberg from Los Altos brought their own bottles – including Syrah grown on their own acres using 19th century plantings from the Barossa Valley of Australia. Again, superb taste and professionally executed – balanced, full, well crafted.
Yes, their vineyard does have rattlers (photo courtesy Diane Steinberg)
Richard harvesting Syrah (photo courtesy Diane Steinberg)
To be honest, many wines I tasted after sampling these garagiste wines – bottles from professional winemakers in California – were surprisingly blunt in comparison. I found the handcrafted wines – honed from years of experience – to be a treat because they had an edge of individuality, and were not crafted to suit mainstream market tastes.
The point? When traveling, sample local wines when possible but also don’t be afraid to venture to a friend of a friend who produces small quantity, little known wine. I once tasted low volume Merlot produced by relatives of my nephew’s wife, Iris, in Italy – in the freezing cold weather of winter outside the shed where it was made. It was superb. Fortunately, Iris and her husband Malachi labeled the wine, then served it at their wedding.
Left to right – Domenico, Iris, Roberto…and that’s chilly delicious Merlot from the shed
Thanks for tuning in to this site again. My latest Forbes post includes a reason why spending time at LAX international airport terminal might actually be enjoyable.
California Versus France
During past weeks I’ve traveled from NoCal to SoCal, as they say – from the Sierra Nevada Mountains of northern California to the gilded sand of Laguna Beach in southern California, stopping now and then to sample local wines.
The good news is that there are still ample great wines at decent prices (less than $20 a bottle) in California and that the styles – whether fruity or powerful – are usually well-balanced and delicious.
The rise of the ‘urban winery’ is also evident. I recently drank at a winery in Laguna Beach producing bottles using grapes taken from northern California (Napa and Sonoma), as well as at the inland Rancho Capistrano Winery – which also sources grapes from throughout the state.
California friends are also producing their own wines, including Corner Lot Winery’s Sangiovese from Sonoma County, and Rattlesnake wines from Los Altos (the vineyard includes 19th century vines from Barossa, Australia).
And good news – congratulations to Norm Benson of Dark Star Cellars for selling his winery – after years of dedicated, hard work.
When I tell California friends about France, they are intrigued by the notion of long afternoon lunches with good food and wine, walking to local markets for high quality cheeses and breads, and visiting ancient structures dotted throughout the countryside. For friends from France, the image of California beaches and a Beach Boys surfing lifestyle is attractive. When I asked my Spanish/French friend Monica in Bordeaux what she wanted me to bring her from California, she just said, “Malibu beach.” But of course!
Laguna Beach, California
Gironde Estuary, France
While getting a haircut in San Luis Obispo in the Central Coast of California, a woman who had moved to that town with her young child from Durango, Colorado, told me she loved the local lifestyle with good food, wine, free concerts and sunny beaches. She then made it quite clear that she also wanted to adopt the French lifestyle that included two-hour lunches with wine. (We used to have the three martini business lunch decades ago in the U.S….there must be a productivity related reason why that culture faded away.)
The openness and hospitality is quick and confident in California – including immediate invitations for porchside pizzas and Pinot Noir. In France, in contrast, it may take a more time to establish friendships, though once formed – the consequent depth and degree of camaraderie is solid and assured. And there will rarely be veneer with the people you befriend; what you see is what you get.
Civrac-de-Blaye, France
Sierra Nevada, California
But in this age of high-speed trains, AirBnb and relatively inexpensive flights – I mostly notice mutual curiosity between our nations.
We want to learn about each other. When over a glass of wine people describe memories of train trips and language courses taken overseas (whether in the U.S. or in Europe, or anywhere out of the country), their voices often take on emotion, as though they were describing a flood or hurricane or eclipse – that of wonder at having been exposed to new or unknown facets of reality.
“Vous êtes un énigme,” my French friend Annabelle once told me (“You are an enigma”) when she learned that I, an American, had moved to live in her rural town in France. No other US citizen then lived there. Why would I leave the beaches of California for the vineyards of Bordeaux? My reply, during a two-bottle lunch/language lesson, was – why not? As long as I can secure overseas contract work part of the year to pay bills, I am happy to be able to walk to open air markets, enjoy visiting the local park that is also a world heritage site, and purchase affordable and good quality food and wine in a laid back countryside atmosphere.
It works both ways. Other French musician friends – Laurence and Christian – left France to spend summer traveling around Wyoming and the Dakotas in the U.S. this year. Their pictures show them viewing bison, checking out ancient gun museums and dining casually off campground picnic tables (what a relief – just weeks ago Christian was visibly upset when, at a concert in France, he saw me drinking wine out of a plastic cup. He immediately replaced it with a stylish glass).
Malibu, California
Bordeaux, France
The French had their 18th century revolution soon after the U.S. war of independence. In the 19th century they graded their best Bordeaux wines in a way similar to how our third President Thomas Jefferson also ranked them. Their capital city has been a refuge and point of inspiration for many U.S. artists – including Woody Allen and author Ernest Hemingway, and Samuel Morse – inventor not only of a code, but a dedicated painter who thrived in Paris. Our curiosities are similar, our politics have parallels, and our mutual respect for the freedom of speech is enduring. In summary, there is no ‘California versus France.’ Differences do not divide us; mutual curiosities – instead – draw us together.
Some French (and American) friends still believe I’m a spy, providing some mysterious degree of high level intelligence to aid our U.S. national security forces. I’m not sure what intel related to French wine production techniques could be translated into national defense policies. Still, if someone offers to pay for that information, I may take them up on it. After all, it may prove that the two-hour, two-bottle lunch really does provide excellent input for slowing any decline of civilization.
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My latest posts on Forbes are about wineries in California – including in Calaveras County, Malibu city, and Laguna Beach.
More Irish Wine
I’m traveling through California (sampling wines) – so this post will be short and light.
Years ago I wrote about Irish wine, as well as the history of wine being traded for sheepskins near the Dingle peninsula.
Now the same winery I wrote about is graced with serious reviews, as shown in the video below….
Thanks for tuning in, and please check out my latest Forbes posts about bread, Claus Meyer, and Calaveras County wine from northern California.
The Power of Food, Why Vets Turn Sommeliers, and The Taste of Zambela
First – friends who own La Galerie Restaurant recently hosted food and cuisine visionary Claus Meyer‘s flying visit from New York to Blaye, Bordeaux – which lasted less than 18 hours total. The buffet dinner was spectacular.
This visit is significant, because if this renowned food personality/philanthropist responsible for co-founding the 4 time recipient of the best restaurant in the world (Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark) embarks on a restaurant, it could become a worldwide focal point for innovation, quality, and respect for using local ingredients. Rather than inspect Paris or the city of Bordeaux, Claus has eyes on our little city (population about 3,000) of Blaye (pronounced ‘bl-YE’). Why? Perhaps because business partners suggested the benefits of this location, perhaps because his epiphany regarding food occurred decades ago in the nearby French city of Agen, perhaps because – like his restaurants in Denmark and Bolivia – the venue is not mainstream. Perhaps all these reasons contribute.
During a 6 am drive to the airport I managed to ask questions (included in my latest piece for Forbes). The man is straightforward, funny and energetic.
Second – Someone sent me a piece from The New York Post about how the need to impose order on stressful situation is why some military veterans are attracted to becoming wine sommeliers.
Third – a group of us co-own an exclusive 1 hectare (2.5 acre) vineyard near Blaye – previously owned by movie comedian Gerard Depardieu, and later by renowned artist Thierry Bisch. The red wine (Etalon Rouge; note this website is outdated) is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and the white is 100% Sauvignon Blanc.
Harvest is coming soon. If anyone is interested in bottles of 2015 (a stellar vintage), please let me know as my storage space is running out (shipping to the U.S. is for a minimum of 6 bottles).
Fourth – below is another recipe from the forthcoming book The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion. It is a recipe for Zambela dough from Maria Galassi’s winery in the Emiglia Romagna part of Italy. This general purpose dough can be creatively used for all sorts of desserts. I recently made half-moon shapes stuffed with chocolate chips, pine nuts, raisins and powdered hazelnuts. Thumbs up.
Zambèla Dough
From Maria Galassi, Owner of Galassi Maria Winery, Paderno di Cesena, Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy
Preparation Time and Quantity –
15 minutes to prepare dough, 20 minutes to knead, 30 to 60 minutes to form pastries, 15 minutes to cook. Serves 10 people.
Ingredients and Amounts
Flour – 5 cups (500 grams)
Sugar – 1½ cups (300 grams)
Zested peel of 1 lemon
Baking powder – 1 teaspoon (5 grams)
Brown sugar – as needed
Eggs – 3
Butter – 7 ounces (200 grams)
Lard (or shortening) – 1 tablespoon (14 grams)
Preparation –
- Pre-heat oven to 360 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
Recipe –
- Put all ingredients in large bowl, then mix together. Start with dry powders and lemon zest, then add others.
- Now knead this dough until it is consistent and homogeneous—about 20 minutes.
- Regardless what you make below, the baking time is about 15 minutes, or 25 to 30 minutes for larger items.
Maria wrote –
“Now it’s up to you – with this dough you can put no restraint on your imagination! This is what I do – I prepare a double dose of the dough and prepare three or four things.
You can:
- Prepare classic oven cooking by rolling out the dough until getting a thin pastry, cutting in any shape you like, and covering with sprinkles.
- Make circles, fill them with jam, and fold them into half-moon shapes.
- Add other ingredients, such as chocolate drops, raisins, chopped hazelnuts, pine nuts – then cut into any shape you want. My advice – raisins and pine nuts or chocolate and hazelnuts. Really excellent!
- Roll out the dough, spread it with jam or cocoa paste or almond paste, then roll it into the shape of a strudel.
- Add some cocoa powder – 1 tablespoon (50 grams) –and some milk to half the dough, and making huge cookies.
- Using two pieces of dough (one with cocoa powder, one without) you can superimpose two rectangles of rolled out pastry, roll this into the shape of a cylinder, cut it into slices and get a ‘girella’ (Swiss roll).
- Shape it into a ‘ciambellone’ or ‘zambèla (similar to a chiffon cake), and cover the surface with brown sugar.
Tom’s Comments –
These are delicious, both the crust and insides.
It’s not often you have the pleasure of being told to put all ingredients in a bowl and mix together, but that is how easy the preparation is. Start mixing with a wooden spoon, then use your hands. Instead of a rolling pin I used a wine bottle (a trick learned decades ago as a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa). Because there are no moving parts, this provides greater control.
To make half-moons, first make circles about 5 inches (12½ centimeters) in diameter. Fold each circle of pastry over, and crimp the touching edges at one end and continue crimping forward along the semi-circle until the pastry is shaped first like a funnel, then like a half-moon. Before closing it, you ‘stuff’ additional fillings inside to make the pastries full and generous.
Claus Meyer’s New Venture, and Culinary Beauty from South Africa
In just over a week’s time, chef Claus Meyer will visit our small town of Blaye in the countryside of southwest France. Claus was a co-founder of the Danish restaurant Noma – which was ranked best restaurant in the world four times – and is also founder of the newly opened Great Northern Food Hall, as well as Agern Restaurant, in Grand Central Station in New York. He is a visionary regarding the importance of food to good living, has hosted several international cooking shows, and is quite the philanthropist – running charitable organizations in several locations, including Bolivia.
There is a distinct possibility Claus may open a restaurant here in an existing building in Blaye. Regardless, he’ll spend a casual evening with a group of about 70 locals at La Galerie restaurant, where a buffet featuring local foods will be served. Claus will also speak and share the value of learning about (and using) local ingredients when preparing a meal. From this region that includes our local oysters, estuary caviar, cèp mushrooms, seasonal asparagus and more (including, no doubt, our local Blaye and Bourg wines).
I’ll write more after the event and will post a Forbes article.
Sleepy vineyards around Blaye
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This week’s preview of a recipe for the forthcoming book The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion is quite special in that it encompasses several facets of a main course, and was specifically designed and created for this forthcoming book by a chef of growing renown in South Africa – Carmen Muller. The dish goes well with Rupert & Rothschild Baron Edmund red wine (hence the recipe’s name). If this is unavailable, try a full-bodied, excellent quality Bordeaux blend. Thanks Very Much both to Chef Carmen Muller, and to Guest Liaison Manager Genevieve Dorman of Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons, South Africa.
Baron Edmund Braised Veal Brisket, Celeriac Purée, Crispy Sweetbreads, and Pickled Mushrooms
From Head Chef Carmen Muller of Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons, Franschhoek Valley, South Africa
Photo courtesy of Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons
Preparation Time and Quantity –
Baking time for the brisket 3 to 4 hours. Serves 6 to 8 people.
Ingredients and Amounts
Braised Veal Brisket Ingredients
Veal Brisket – 3⅓ pounds (1½ kilograms)
Onions – 3
Celery stalks – 3
Carrots (large) – 2
Garlic cloves – 4
Tomato paste – ½ cup (100 grams)
Red wine (Bordeaux blend, such as Baron Edmund*) – 2 bottles
Beef stock (homemade is best) – 1 quart, or 4¼ cups (1 liter)
Vegetable oil – as needed
Salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaves – to taste
* Includes Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc.
Veal Brisket Preparation –
- Pre-heat oven to 340 degrees Fahrenheit (170 degrees Celsius).
- Chop onions, celery stalks, and carrots.
- Crush olive cloves.
Veal Brisket Recipe –
- Heat a large frying pan over high heat and brown veal brisket on all sides.
- Remove brisket from frying pan and place in large, deep, roasting tray.
- Fry the mirepoix (carrots, onions, celery) in vegetable oil. When almost browned, add garlic, thyme, and bay leaves.
- Add tomato paste, and caramelize with vegetables.
- Add red wine, about 1⅔ cups (400 milliliters) at a time, then reduce down before adding the next 1⅔ cups (400 milliliters).
- Add stock, and reduce for about 10 minutes.
- Skim the surface, then place veal brisket in a deep tray and bake in pre-heated oven for 3 to 4 hours until tender, but not falling apart.
Celeriac** Purée Ingredients
Celeriac – 2¼ pounds (1 kilogram)
Milk – 1 quart or 4¼ cups (1 liter)
Cream – ⅘ cup (200 milliliters)
Water – as needed
Salt, white pepper – to taste
** Celeriac (also known as celery knob or turnip root celery) is a type of celery with a large root and lower stem that has little starch. In the U.S. this be found at some Asian markets. Substitutes include parsley root, chopped celery, or can even include carrots.
The Tasting Centre where Carmen Muller prepares dishes – Photo courtesy of Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons
Celeriac Preparation –
- Wash and peel celeriac, then slice into thin rounds.
Celeriac Recipe –
- Put celeriac into a pot and pour milk and cream over. Add water as needed to cover the vegetable in liquid, and heat on grill.
- Season lightly with salt and white pepper.
- Simmer until cooked.
- Strain celeriac out, keeping liquid.
- Make a purée, adding a small part of cooking liquid if needed. Season to taste.
Crispy Sweetbreads Ingredients
Sweetbreads – 10 ounces (300 grams)
Cake flour – ¼ cup (20 grams)
Butter – 4¼ tablespoons (60 grams)
Salt, pepper – to taste
Crispy Sweetbreads Preparation –
- Fill a large bowl with iced water.
Crispy Sweetbreads Recipe –
- Put a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a rolling boil.
- Blanch the sweetbreads for 2 minutes.
- Place sweetbreads into large bowl filled with ice water.
- Remove sweetbreads and place on paper towel.
- Pull outside membrane off, and slice into serving portions or cubes of about 1 to 1½ inches (3 centimeters).
- Dust sweetbreads lightly in flour, then season with salt and pepper. Dust excess flour off.
- Heat butter in a large frying pan over medium high heat, then gently fry sweetbreads until golden and crispy (about 5 to 7 minutes).
Pickled Mushrooms Ingredients
Wild mushrooms – 18 ounces (500 grams)
Sherry vinegar – 5⅓ tablespoons (80 milliliters)
Olive oil (extra virgin) – 1½ cups (350 milliliters)
Thyme and rosemary sprigs – 2 each
Garlic cloves – 2
Chili (dried) – 1⅓ tablespoons (1 gram)
Salt – ⅘ teaspoon (5 grams)
Ground black pepper – 2 teaspoons (5 grams)
Pickled Mushrooms Preparation –
- Chop mushrooms into desired shapes.
- Crush garlic cloves.
Pickled Mushrooms Recipe –
- Place all ingredients, except mushrooms, into a large pot.
- Heat on medium until just below boiling.
- Remove from heat and add chopped mushrooms.
- Let marinating mushrooms stand at room temperature for 2 hours.
- Refrigerate mushrooms for up to 3 weeks.
Serving –
Place some celeriac purée on a warm plate and ‘smear’ with a large spoon into a desired shape. Place some of the glossy veal brisket on top, and the crispy sweetbreads around. Place the pickled mushrooms as desired. Garnish with parsley micro-herbs.
Comments –
Carmen writes –
“What we serve is not fine dining, though a lot of French influences and techniques are present. There’s ample room for creativity here, and we really do have a blast in the kitchen.”
Carmen’s other culinary creations include grass-fed mac ‘n cheese, braised springbok shanks with wild mushrooms…and seared tuna with chipotle caponata and chickpea ‘chips.’
Genevieve Dorman (Guest Liaison Manager) writes –
“Carmen created this amazing food and wine pairing for your book. She creates delicious masterpieces and won the EatOut Nederburg ‘Rising Star Award’ and was acknowledged for her ability to create astounding dishes with a small staff or two and a rather small kitchen. She is known for creating a variety of inventive, delicious and ever-changing dishes designed to pair with, and show off, the excellent wines attached to the estate.
“Carmen insists on limiting wastage in the kitchen and making everything, where possible, from scratch. This includes a daily dose of stocks, jus and sauces; jams and flavored butters – even the crystallized ginger that accompanies her Valrhona Chocolate Negus…She designed a recipe that could be easily produced in a small space that resembles a traditional South African ‘mosbolletjie’ [sweet brioche made with grape juice and flavored with aniseed]…that might be served with butter flavored with truffle duxelles, or homemade free-range duck liver parfait.”
Chef Muller – Photo courtesy of Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons
Tom’s Comments –
This is a hearty, rich dish where taste and texture sensations are balanced—the fat of the meat with the vinegar acidity of mushrooms, the crunchy sweetbreads with smooth celeriac purée. The complexity and timing of this dish requires relative confidence with cooking skills before you try it out for a dinner party. Consider the ingredients, make substitutions accordingly if necessary, and plan out your sequence and timing.
Serve with an excellent quality Bordeaux blend, possibly the same you cooked with.
International Nomads Changing The World
I. The Cookbook –
Friend Denise Chang-Yen wrote from Calgary last week to say she successfully cooked the empanada recipe provided on the last post here. It’s great to hear that a recipe from Chile, formatted and photographed in France, was tested by a friend in Canada. The internet continues to connect us – as do wine and food…
The cookbook The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion is still being prepared. Recipes have been collected and formatted for consistency. Measurements have been provided in both Imperial and Metric units. All dishes are now being test cooked and photographed. I’ll keep contributors informed as progress moves forward. And yes, I will be cooking those South African recipes soon and shall include some of the stellar photographs you sent me (with attribution) on this website. In the meantime, a recipe for delicious chicken and mango curry couscous from British Columbia is included below.
Chicken and Mango Curry Couscous
From Denise Brass, Co-Owner of Camelot Vineyards, Kelowna, Okanagan Valley Wine Region, British Columbia, Canada
Preparation Time and Quantity –
Total preparation time including cooking – 40 minutes. This includes 10 minutes to grill the chicken and 3 minutes to toast almonds. Serves 3 to 4 people.
Ingredients and Amounts
Chicken breasts – 2
Couscous (cooked) – 1 cup (160 grams)
Mango – 1
Raisins – ½ cup (75 grams)
Spring onions – 3
Almonds (sliced) – handful
Curry powder – 2 teaspoons (5½ grams)
Salt – ½ teaspoon (3 grams)
Stevia* – ¼ teaspoon (2½ grams); or ½ cup (100 grams) sugar
Cumin powder – ¼ teaspoon (½ gram)
Olive oil – 3 tablespoons (45 grams)
Pepper – to taste
Dressing
Lemon (large; squeezed into juice) – 1
Agave or honey – 1 teaspoon (5 milliliters)
Salt – ¼ teaspoon (1½ grams)
Curry powder – ½ teaspoon (1 gram)
*Stevia is a plant-derived sugar substitute without calories. Alternatively, ¼ teaspoon of stevia extract powder is approximately the same as a ½ cup of sugar.
Preparation –
- Cook couscous.
- Peel and slice mango.
- Dice spring onions.
Recipe –
- Heat oil in a large skillet on low to medium heat.
- Combine curry powder, stevia (or sugar), cumin, and pepper in a small bowl.
- Coat both sides of chicken breasts with this mixture.
- Grill chicken on a skillet until cooked through, turning over as necessary – about 7 to 15 minutes, depending on thickness (cut open to ensure meat is cooked before taking off heat).
- After it is cooked, cut the chicken into small, bite-sized pieces.
- Toast almonds in a separate pan (to provide them with a crunchier taste) – 2 to 3 minutes.
- In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together – chicken, couscous, mango, spring onions, raisins, and almonds.
- Prepare dressing, then pour over other ingredients and mix.
Serving –
Denise wrote –
“Sometimes I add a bit more lemon, curry powder, or cumin at the end for more flavor.”
Comments –
Denise wrote –
“This is one of a few personal favorite recipes, provided by my daughter Timika Brass who now resides in Austria.”
Tom’s Comments –
This is a delicious smorgasbord of flavors. You may want to make the dressing first so that you can serve the chicken while it is still piping hot. Remember to cut the mango slices small enough so they are bite size. Serve with a white such as a Riesling, or a dry rosé.
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II. International Gypsies: Charlene’s Story –
Yesterday I visited the town of Mirambeau – midway between the cities of Bordeaux and Cognac in France – to check out the renovated 5 star hotel Château Mirambeau. I posted that article on Forbes.
On the way home I took a 15 minute detour to the town of Montendre to eat and visit the newly opened wine bar called Le Cha’bernet – which is a play on words from the name of the owner (Charlene) and the grape (Cabernet Sauvignon).
Charlene at her store wine bar
It turns out Charlene opened her wine bar only a month ago, and apparently neighbors are enthusiastic, especially during the summertime Tuesday ‘night market,’ when plenty of locals swarm around the town square buying food and wine and listening to live music.
Charlene is a sommelier who studied at La Rochelle and worked in one, two, and three Michelin star restaurants in France (including, coincidentally, at Château Mirambeau, where I had visited earlier), Switzerland and England. She also worked at a wine store in Saint Émilion.
She now sells wine from all over France, as well as non-French wines, including Argentinian Malbec, Chilean Carmenere, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and Sicilian Zibibbo (the label calls it a ‘meditation wine’ – intriguing). She runs the store alone for at least ten hours a day, and sells food as well as wine – cheeses from Limousin, Charentes, and the Pyrenees mountains, as well ham and charcuterie.
Charlene is one of many roaming nomads met in recent years who travel the world to learn their trade, then return home to use their knowledge to gain income and share their experiences with others. It is this incessant flow and tide of intelligence and experience that improves the world, opens minds, broadens cultures and keeps innovation churning. In preparing the cookbook mentioned above, I found recipes for Italian gnocchi from Tasmania, Australia; for chicken masala from Chile, and for chimichurri from Italy. The boundaries of the world are fading as new generators of innovators travel far from what is known and comfortable to seek excellence and experience. Bravo.
Well done neighbor, and good luck with business.
My other recent Forbes posts are included here.
Spanish Intrigue and Austrian Appetizer
During the past months a lovely Spanish neighbor has gifted me twice with fare from her home country: Salamanque ham and bottles of unfiltered wine made from hand-picked Prieto Picudo grapes. These grow in tight, pointed clusters in the Valdeleña vineyard of the Ribera del Cea, Spain.
Always eager to sample wines from lesser known grapes, I uncorked this puppy and sampled it with the Spanish ham, sliced tomato (fresh picked from her garden) and organic comte cheese. The wine is like a sweet Merlot on the nose, round in the mouth, and includes tastes of charcoal, smoke and jam. After months of drinking low-alcohol Bordeaux French wines—this packed a punch with 14 percent alcohol. Although I don’t agree with the label’s saying it has a ‘long charming aftertaste,’ it’s easy drinking, and grows on you with time.
Which is why I’ve just poured a second glass.
Prieto Picudo grapes in this wine from northwest Spain
Aged 12 months in oak, this wine is decent to drink with red meat or charcuterie. It originates within the Castilla y León region of Spain (in the central to northwest portion of the country) and is produced by Bodega Melgarajo—which is basically a late-1990’s sustainable rural development program, now run by a group of 170 winegrowers. Incidentally, Wine Spectator Magazine mentioned this wine producer in the final paragraphs of a 2013 article.
Gracias, Monica!
While on the topic of Latin culture, I recently cooked a batch of 50 empanadas from a recipe provided by Lapostolle winery in the Colchagua Valley of Chile. This stunning multimillion dollar winery was carved out of a granite mountain and enables the production of gravity fed wines – inspired by French Bordeaux blends, but including the local Chilean Carmenere grape.
The production of these empanadas took plenty of preparation time, but were well appreciated by all who sampled them. A recent dinner gathering (thanks Jonathon and Danielle) included guests from the UK, Holland, South Africa, Germany, Canada, and the U.S. enjoyed these nibbles. My Spanish friend also sampled them (and approved) while seated outside our local Cave de La Citadelle wine bar with a glass of local French wine: a melding of two amazing food and wine cultures.
Here is the recipe.
Cheese and Mushroom Empanadas
From Wine Team and Winemaker Andrea León Iriarte at Casa Lapostolle, Colchagua Valley, Chile
Preparation Time and Quantity –
2 to 3 hours to prepare (depending on your speed with forming individual empanadas), and 30 minutes to fry. Makes 50 empanadas.
Ingredients and Amounts
Dough*
Vegetable shortening – 3½ ounces (100 grams)
Salt (kosher) – 1½ teaspoons (7.5 grams)
Warm water –⅔ cup (160 milliliters)
Flour – 3 cups (300 grams); plus extra for rolling out dough
Filling
Olive oil (extra virgin) – 2 tablespoons (30 milliliters)
Onion – 1⅓ cups (200 grams) [about 1¼ medium size onions]
Button mushrooms – 12 ounces (340 grams)
Dry white wine – 3 tablespoons (45 milliliters)
Egg – 1
Cheese (Gouda) – 6 ounces (170 grams)
Vegetable oil – as needed for deep-frying
Salt and fresh black pepper – to taste
* Rather than make pastry dough, you can use good quality pastry dough purchased from a store. It’s better to make your own if you have time.
It takes a few hours to make these – but is worth it
Preparation –
- Remove stems from mushrooms, then dice caps.
- Dice onion.
- Beat egg and add 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) of water.
- Shred Gouda cheese.
- Heat water.
Recipe –
Dough
- Heat vegetable shortening in a small saucepan over low heat. When it begins to melt, add salt and warm water.
- Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Put flour in a food processor. While it is running, pour half the set aside melted shortening liquid inside. Stop the processor, set to pulse, and while on pulse slowly add remaining liquid. (Alternatively, you can mix by hand in a bowl with a wooden spoon.)
- Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead briefly for a few minutes – until smooth.
- Form dough into a disk or a ball, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until cool.
Filling
- Heat oil in a 12-inch (25 centimeter) skillet. Add onion, then sauté on medium heat until soft.
- Add mushrooms and sauté until ingredients begin to brown. Add wine and cook until liquid evaporates. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
- Lightly flour a surface and roll dough out as thin as possible. Cut 3-inch (7.5 centimeter) diameter circles out of dough, saving scraps (which can be re-rolled, but only one time). The easiest way to do this is place a glass onto the rolled dough and twist.
- Place a small pinch of cheese on each circle and top with about ½ tablespoon (2 to 3 grams) of mushroom mixture, leaving a ½ inch (1 centimeter) border around the filling.
- Brush egg wash around edges and fold dough over to make a half-circle.
- Tightly crimp edges by folding them over or using fork tines.
- Heat vegetable oil in a 2-inch (5 centimeter) deep fryer, sauté pan, or wok. When the oil reaches 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius), slowly drop the empanadas inside, 6 at a time.
- Cook for a few minutes on each side, until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels and allow to cool before serving.
Serving –
Lapostolle recommends drinking Sauvignon Blanc wine with the empanadas. Alternatively any white Bordeaux blend works.
Tom’s Comments –
These are excellent and attractive vegetarian appetizers.
It takes about 1½ hours to have the dough ready to press, and ingredients all ready. Assembling the empanadas should be an assembly line process. I put three bowls before me: shredded cheese, mushroom/onion mix, and beaten egg. After putting a pinch of cheese and a half spoon of the mushroom/onion mix dead center of each dough circle – one at at time – I folded the dough over, crimped the edges, dipped the semicircular edge in the egg mixture in a rolling motion, then finally crimped each side with the tines of a small fork.
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Now another recipe, taken again from the book I am assembling: The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion. These Austrian breadsticks are another appetizer/nibble to enjoy with a glass of wine.
Salzstangerl Bread Sticks
From Ariane Umathum of Umathum Wines, Frauenkirchen, Burgenland Wine Region, Austria
Preparation Time and Quantity –
15 minutes to prepare bread stick dough, 30 minutes for the dough to rise. Another 35 minutes to knead and form bread sticks, and 20 minutes to cook. Total time—1 hour 40 minutes. Makes 64 bread sticks.
Eat with beer or wine in the sunshine
Ingredients and Amounts
Flour (fine) – 2¼ pounds (1 kilogram)
Salt – 2½ teaspoons (14 grams)
Water (lukewarm) – ¼ cup (60 milliliters)
Milk – 2 cups (½ liter, or 500 milliliters)
Yeast – 1 package
Sugar – 3 tablespoons (40 grams)
Cream – ⅘ cup (200 grams)
Salt and caraway seeds – as needed
Preparation –
- Pre-heat oven to 480 degrees Fahrenheit (250 degrees Celsius), or wait until after step 2, below, to do this.
Recipe –
- Add yeast to lukewarm water with a pinch of sugar.
- In a bowl, make dough by mixing flour, salt, milk, yeast mixture, cream and sugar. Mix with a wooden spoon, then with hands. Knead for 2 to 3 minutes. Then put in an oiled bowl, cover with a towel, and leave in a moderately warm place, such as near the pre-heating oven or in sunshine. Let it rest and rise for at least half an hour.
- When dough is ready, cut into 8 parts.
- Knead each of 8 dough pieces for 2 to 4 minutes each on a floured surface such as a table. Then then cut each of the kneaded lumps, one at a time, into 8 more parts.
- To knead this dough, roll each of the lumps between your hands to make 6 to 10 inch (15 to 25 centimeter long bread sticks.
- Take each bread stick and roll it in a plate in which olive oil has been placed, then roll this oiled bread stick in another plate where salt and caraway seeds have been sprinkled. With practice, it will take about 30 seconds to coat each bread stick this way.
- Put some olive oil on a baking tray and place bread sticks on the tray. Reduce oven heat to 390 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius).
- Bake bread sticks for between 15 and 20 minutes.
Serving –
Ariane writes –
“To give you a typical Austrian recipe, I chose salzstangerl. They fit wonderfully with wine and are so easy to prepare. In Burgenland they are often served at wine tastings.”
Tom’s Comments –
These salty delights will keep you reaching for more, and will make you thirsty enough to reach for more wine. You can choose how long or how thick you want the sticks, though ¼ to ½ inch (⅔ to 1¼ centimeters) thick works well. The use of two plates with olive oil and with the combined salt/caraway seed mix is my idea—just to provide assembly-line efficiency to the process. The alternative is to sprinkle the sticks on the baking sheet, but unless they are oiled, the seeds will not stick.
This recipe provides plenty of breadsticks, so you can halve the recipe if you want. However, even if you halve the recipe, you will need two baking sheets.
These sticks go well with red or white wines, preferably dry rather than sweet.
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Finally, my latest Forbes posts are here, including a tribute to winemaker Denis Dubourdieu, and a piece on how Romans enjoyed luxury in western France.
Comparing the Langhe Region of Italy to Napa, California
Every two weeks I email out a notice about my wine blog – Vino Voices. This goes to a list of friends and wine lovers which grows slowly over years.
I also write short online articles for Forbes. My readership of those posts is greater than those who read this blog. Yet I decided to continue writing this independent blog – separate from Forbes.
Why? Because you followers have read me through the years. I want to provide you with fresh material that is informative and useful. Although this takes time, it’s satisfying. I appreciate your readership. Bottom line: thanks for following this blog through the years.
This week: Langhe and Napa…
The castle of Barolo
Piemonte, or Piedmont in English, means “foot of the mountain” when translated from Italian. It is the second largest of 20 separate regions that make up the country of Italy. This parcel of land with close to 5 million people sits in the northwest of the country – inland from the Mediterranean and south of the Italian Alps.
The Piemonte region is further subdivided into 8 provinces. One in the southwest corner is named Cuneo. Within Cuneo is a region known as Langhe. This, translated, means “the tongue,” perhaps a reference to a spit of geological outpouring, a wash of ancient soils.
In 2014 a total of five regions, including much of the vineyards of the Langhe-Monferrato region, were designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites. This increased the number of such sites within Italy to 50 – a greater number than for any other country.
The Langhe is home to famed wines produced from the Nebbiolo grape – Barolo and Barbaresco, as well as from another red grape – Barbera, and the sweet bubbling Moscato d’Asti made from the white Moscato grape.
This land bubbles with hills, each dotted with ancient castles. The region has a reputation for astounding food: hazelnuts grow close to vines, wild boars that provide cinghiale meat roam hillsides, and cheeses and breads here are outlandishly tasty.
Within the Langhe different towns sit on their own hilltops. These include locales we visited: Barolo, La Morra, and Montforte d’Alba.
A Californian transplanted to Piemonte
Last week I visited with friends. While driving, one asked me to compare the Langhe region to the Napa wine region in California in the U.S. I am no great fan of Napa, thinking their wines generally overpriced and overoaked. However I do consider Napa an attractive location. Considering its reputation in the world, I deliberated the question and found some general comparisons.
There’s a sizable difference in size between these two regions. The Langhe includes some 3,300+ acres under vine, whereas Napa has some 45,000+ acres under vine.
Just as Napa is one American Viticultural Area (AVA) with 16 sub-AVAs, the Langhe includes its own divisions – but these are more complex, and accord to grape types produced as well as the quality of resultant wines (the governmental designation of the highest quality wines – DOCG, or Denomanazione di Controllata et Garantita – is applied generously, and deservedly, to the Langhe). Both Napa and the Langhe are vine lands interposed with what were once villages with smaller populations – Oakville and Yountville in Napa, for example, and La Morra and Barolo in the Langhe. But whereas Napa is generally a linear, broad bottomed valley accessed via two semi-parallel roads, the Langhe is topographically more complex – with multiple hills circled by swirling valleys accessed via dipping, switchbacked roads.
Villages in Napa and the Langhe were traditionally farming communities, bonded to neighbors through trade. But to protect themselves from sword wielding invaders, each castled hilltop in the Langhe retained agricultural independence in case of attack or siege.
Both locales include hot, hilly terrain influenced by cool maritime influences – the Pacific Ocean to the west of Napa, and the Mediterranean south of the Langhe. Both have soils that were once ocean floors – lifted to dry land some 150 million years ago in Napa, and 30 million years ago in the Langhe. Whereas Napa is known for its Cabernet Sauvignon, the Langhe has its famed Nebbiolo grape – both of which produce tannic bold wines that command stiff prices due to limited production and cachet.
Breakfast in La Morra
The food is legendary in both places. In Napa the tradition evolved more recently when increased wealth provided visitors who could pay steeper prices, luring in Michelin quality chefs. The Langhe has a longer and more traditional culinary history filled with natural bounty – truffles, rich cheeses, hazelnuts and soft breads beyond description.
Our time there was scant. The only tasting of Barolo we had time to enjoy was at 10.30 am. I happily obliged, as did my colleagues (except the driver) and none of us spit out what we drank. When in a gold mine, enjoy the gold, as we did by swirling and comparing the Barolos we liked best. The surprise – and it was large – was the cost, which appears to have diminished since I last visited almost a decade ago: now 21 to 35 Euros buys a bottle of extremely decent wine, a bargain from a collective group of producers based out of locales such as La Morra (which produces one third of all Barolo wines).
I first visited Barolo eight years ago and was given a vertical tasting of some amazing wines by a local winemaker. Since then I’ve had an affinity for this land. Do I have a preference between Napa and the Langhe? Good question. In order to decide, perhaps it would be best to visit both locales again to drink wines and eat local foods. Twist my arm.
Click here to read my latest Forbes posts.
Grit And Power – Rosé Wines from Bordeaux and Cahors
Pink and Ready to Drink
Welcome to Summertime…
July 4th kicked off mid-summer in the US, while Bastille Day – July 14th – will soon do the same here in France.
First – my other wine/food blog posts for ForbesLife can be accessed by clicking here.
Second – last week I visited, with friends Les Kellen and Clarissa Schaefer, the cities of Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer, and Monte Carlo along the French Riviera for the eye-opening art exhibit of neighbor, friend, and artist Thierry Bisch. Thierry was commissioned by Prince Albert II of Monaco to paint 20 images of endangered wildlife from throughout the world. The Prince’s Foundation invited us to Monte Carlo to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of its efforts, during which it has funded 370 projects throughout the world (including Solar Impulse and actions to help save the Mediterranean Blue Fin Tuna).
While on the riviera, friends and I tasted several wonderful Provencal rosé wines.
After returning home to Bordeaux, I compared four local rosés against those from the Côtes d’Azur. Together with wine aficionado, wine judge, restaurateur, wine store owner, vineyard proprietor and entrepreneur Les Kellen – we sat in the sun on this 4th of July Monday and uncorked lunchtime bottles before plates of smoked trout, smoked tuna, oysters from the Bay of Arachon and chunks of bread ripped apart from a baguette.
Two of the rosé wines were exclusively Malbec, and all wines included 13% alcohol.
Here’s the scoop:
2014 Château La Rose Bellevue (75% Merlot, 25% Cab Sauv, 5% Cab Franc)
This wine from 20-year-old vines provides easy summertime drinking, and has more fruit and flowers than minerals. The acidity pairs well with smoked tuna and seafood. Relax and enjoy this – poolside if possible – on a July or August afternoon, or while having pre-dinner drinks with great friends, excellent food, and casual conversation. This balanced and polished wine comes from a producer consistent with quality.
2014 Le Puits de la Cassagne (100% Malbec)
Don’t laugh, but there’s a surprising and beautiful taste of crunchy buttered toast here with a hint of citrus. The wine is zesty, tense and well crafted. It’s not as seductive or seaside mellow as a Provencal rosé because it’s fiery. Forget about lazy afternoon drinking with this puppy: pop the cork when you’re revving up for action like a power evening after Bastille Day celebrations.
2014 Clos Triguedina Malbec Rosé (100% Malbec)
This is from east of Bordeaux – in the country of Cahors with typically chalky, tannic wines. “From Cahors, but in the style of a claret,” Les said after tasting this dark pink rosé. The wine has decent, balanced acidity – just right for knocking back while eating a plate of fresh oysters. This is beefier than Bordeaux rosés, but has a smooth and longer than expected finish. Beware ladies – there’s attractive wildness to this elixir you may find compelling.
2015 Château de la Grave Hommage Rosé
Full in the mouth, this rosé includes doses of citrus that provide balanced acidity. “In the style of Provence,” Les declared, while swirling a glass above a plate of seafood. This well-balanced beauty is also well priced. Within my Bordeaux hometown, it has become a reliable staple.
Happy Fourth of July
Conclusion
Comparing Bordeaux and Cahors rosés to those from Provence – here are conclusions:
These summer wines may lack precision and finesse of Provencal rosés: their acidity is more dominant and the fruits jumpier. But for price versus quality, the value is excellent (they also match well with seafood).
La Rose Bellevue and de la Grave are classic rosés, well-balanced with slightly tart (de la Grave has punchier fruit, while Bellevue has a cleaner taste of citrus).
Matching Provence against Bordeaux and Cahors rosés is like comparing a Vermeer painting to a Jackson Pollock, or a gothic flying buttress to a Romanesque vaulted arch, or the temperate Mediterranean climate to more moody Atlantic afternoons. The terroir – where wine reflects location – differs.
How the grapes of Provence grow and acquire eventual taste depends less on topography (mountains and valleys) than on climate – which is steadier in the Mediterranean. Similarly, grapes in flatland Bordeaux are jolted by jabs and spikes of temperature – hazy mornings followed by full throttle sunny afternoons. After tasting multiple bottles of rosé and taking a jaunt across France I learned that – regarding the fingerprint of terroir (and how these wines consequently taste) climate trumps topography.
**
A few recent and well written articles about rosé wines include Rosés From Provence by Eric Asimov of The New York Times, and Nick Passmore’s 20 Top Rosés For Summer 2016.
Again, my latest posts on ForbeLife are here.
The Future: Blog, Forbes, Wine
Loire Valley Meets Bordeaux….a Powerful Alliance
FIRST –
For years I’ve written a blog tangentially related to wine with ramblings, explorations, tastings, and books read. This came out occasionally at first, then every two weeks. After I created an online publishing company (Roundwood Press) and started another blog, weekly posts alternated between the two.
I wrote and photographed and never understood the magic is of attracting readers to a blog. Comments were few (thanks, however, to sister Patricia), book sales negligible, and subscriptions often just not happening.
It’s been a labor of love, though it consumes time. I read each post dozens of times to iron out the flow of words, scrutinize sentences to make sure each has its place, and check that context makes sense.
No complaints.
New Horizons
As years rolled I wondered – shall I continue? Other bloggers bragged about having 10,000 subscribers within a year. What? I’d be delighted to have a few percent of that number.
A year ago an opportunity arrived to contribute to ForbesLife – an online lifestyle publication. I said – could you wait until I return from Pakistan to earn some funds? They said – sure.
So I went.
After seven rewarding and productive months with some wonderful people in Pakistan, it was time to move on. So is the way of life. I bid farewell, returned home to France, and told Forbes – I’m in.
Sweet
Here’s the deal.
I’ll continue writing Vino Voices blog posts, though they will likely be shorter, and include links to pieces on Forbes (which will relate to wine, travel, food, and lifestyle).
The benefits include access to gazillions of images and videos, enjoying increased readership, and having similar latitude to choose which posts to write – each about the same length as what I have been writing.
My latest posts published on ForbesLife (two this week and one last week) are the following. I do hope you click and check them out.
- Bordeaux Winemaker Artist Teams With Prince Of Monaco To Save Wildlife
- How To Visit A Wine Bar In Saint Émilion
- Bordeaux Wine Festival Launches Soon
SECOND –
An ally of my sister (who, through his popular finance blog, was able to increase traffic to my own Roundwood Press site) named Jim Collins just published his own online book titled: The Simple Path To Wealth: Your Road Map To Financial Independence And A Rich, Free Life. (Cover illustration by sister Trisha Ray.)
Check it out. The basic philosophy is: save more than you spend, invest wisely, and enjoy life. It works for him; there’s no reason why the method can’t work for you.
THIRD –
The longest day of the year was June 21st.
In 1982, the French Director of Music and Dance, Maurice Fleuret, wanted to get more people involved with music, so created an event in Paris called La Fête de la Musique. It has since spread to each town in France. Music is played in the evening, paid for by cities and towns, and people listen for free.
Jammin’
The little city of Blaye where I live has some 5,000 residents. Yet even here there were seven separate stages set up around the city where some 25 sets of musicians will play tunes while folks of all ages come outside and enjoy life.
THAT was a celebration of life, community, and art. And the wines did flow…It was a remember that life is brief, cooperation and community are paramount, and making time for gatherings is important.
FOURTH –
La Cite du Vin is Bordeaux’s new Wine Disneyland. For the past eight years Bordeaux’s mayor (and aspiring presidential candidate) Alain Juppé has been pushing to clean up the city, improve traffic flow, and turn Bordeaux into an international destination. He is succeeding, and this new City of Wine is like a museum that’s fun – with movies, music, and interactive facilities designed to help people learn about and appreciate wine, not only in Bordeaux and France, but throughout the world.
City of Wine
Here are some photos. I recommend you visit this locale, and perhaps our beautiful Bordeaux city someday. The wine bar and restaurant are well worth visiting and there are beautiful views from where they are on the 7th and 8th floors.
Upstairs Wine Bar
I’ll have Sauternes with that
FIFTH –
Winemaker recipe book – the final recipes are still coming in. I’ll keep you informed.
FINALLY –
Thanks for tuning in these past years to read. I hope you continue…
A Turkish Master Chef and Winemaker
The last time I wrote about Turkey was five years ago in a piece titled Turkish Wine. Many of us were privileged guests of a high school friend – Ferit Sahenk – who hosted more than a hundred of us for an unforgettable week in Istanbul and Bodrum.
It’s time to mention Turkish wine again – as well as zesty Turkish food.
In response to my request for a recipe for the upcoming book The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion, Nurcan Bariş – of Urla Wines on the Karaburun Peninsula of Turkey – wrote the following:
Dear Tom,
Sorry for my late answer and thank you for your great offer.
I presented your email to the Vice-Chairman of the Urla Winery, Mr. Bület Akgerman, and he prepared this delicious recipe for you. He loves cooking and also is Bailliage Regional d’Izmir/Chaine des Rotisseurs.
From a sunny, colorful land of rich food and good wine
Turns out the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs is a gastronomic organization located in 80 countries, but rooted in the Middle Ages. In the year 1248, King Louis IX of France ordered professional guilds be established to train apprentices and tradesman. One guild was for ayeurs – goose roasters. This evolved to include those who prepared meats and other game. Members called themselves rôtisseurs, created a code of arms, and took savvy pride as edgy developers of kitchen arts, wielding mastery over the transformation of raw meats into stylin’ meals. This tradition lasted four centuries.
In 1793 the French Revolution brought with it the guillotine, and the end of the guild system. Yet a pair of history-loving gastronomes resurrected this in 1950. Membership of the Chaîne today involves encouraging people to love and appreciate food, wine, and the bliss of life – wherever they live. Sounds like a dinner party. That message, and the organization, have spread wings around the globe.
A colorful plate served to us in Turkey 5 years ago
No wonder Turks are all over it – their cuisine developed under the varied influences of the Hittites, Greeks, Persians, Romans, and the Ottoman empire. They have to stay open-minded about cooking techniques because history constantly alters and enhances their cuisine.
I cooked this recipe days ago (along with the cheesy pastry balls shown in my last blog), then cracked open a bottle of Château Tayac Bordeaux bubbly to see how the meal fared. Not bad. The coco, lemon, and curry light up taste buds. The key to enriching flavors is to saturate all spices and stock over low heat for hours.
Put on low heat, pop a cork, pour a glass, and enjoy watching time pass
The next day I served it to a French woman. THAT is a rapid, surefire way to test your cooking. She ate without wincing, devoured a second helping, and only asked whatever happened to the accompanying rice – which I had forgotten to prepare. No harm. The dish was still a tasty hit. Begin cooking hours ahead of meal time, then settle down with a glass or two of wine during the two and a half hour slow cooking window frame.
Turkish Exotic Snapper, Burgundian Gougères, and Côtes de Bourg Wine
Exotic Snapper
From Bülent Ackgerman, Vice Chairman of Urla Winery, Izmir, Turkey
Preparation Time and Quantity –
35 minutes to prepare, 2½ hours to cook. Serves 4 people.
Ingredients and Amounts
Canned coconut milk – 14 fluid ounces (400 milliliters)
Green chilies – 5
Red chilies (dried) – 2
Cinnamon stick – ½
Fresh ginger (grated) – 2 teaspoons (3½ grams)
Garlic cloves – 2
Fresh curry leaf stalks (optional) – 4
Turmeric (ground) – 1 teaspoon (2½ grams)
Chili powder – ⅓ teaspoon (⅔ grams)
Curry powder – 1 teaspoon (2⅔ grams)
Tomatoes – 2
Fish or chicken stock – 9 fluid ounces (250 milliliters)
Snapper fillets – 1¾ pounds (800 grams)
Spring onions – 2
Juice from 2 limes
Preparation –
- Seed and chop green and red chilies.
- Finely chop garlic cloves.
- Seed, then finely chop tomatoes.
- Grate ginger.
- Diagonally slice green onions.
- Cube snapper fillets.
Recipe –
- Put coconut milk, green and red chilies, cinnamon stick, ginger, garlic, curry leaves (if using), turmeric, chili powder, curry powder, tomato chunks, onions, lime juice, and stock in a slow cooker, or heavy dish such as a Dutch oven.
- Cook on low heat in slow cooker for 2 hours, or until flavors have developed. (Or cook at 220 degrees Fahrenheit (100 degrees Celsius) in a regular oven in a heavy dish/Dutch oven.)
- Add fish and cook for another 30 minutes, or until fish is cooked through and flakes when tested with a fork.
Serving –
Serve with rice, and garnish with the remaining spring onion. For wine, try a crisp, chilled white (ideally a Turkish wine made with the grapes Narince and Emir).
Making Wine in Turkey Back in The Day
Comments –
I made this during a weekend in France when all stores were closed. Substitution turned pivotal. I substituted bell peppers for chili peppers, then added chili powder for spice. I used lemons instead of limes, sliced a regular onion rather than spring onions, and chopped cod instead of snapper.
It all worked. No harm being a little creative.
What’s Next –
Today we visited the sparkling new, visually impressive, La Cité de Vin (‘City of Wine’) in Bordeaux city, with its high tech sensory and visual exhibits – all intended to teach about wine. We watched some animation, drank a few glasses, and peeked at the city from the impressive restaurant on high. Wow!
Will inform you about it soon.
Bordeaux Spring Wines, Burgundy Summer Recipe
I recently left an overseas job early. Turns out to have been a wise choice – the situation was turning unscrupulous.
Next, I flew back to my (relatively) new home in France – and to friends – to readjust, reacquaint with honest allies, and re-plot the Trajectory of Life.
Looking out the airline window before landing near agricultural fields surrounding Bordeaux, the weather looked optimal.
Within days of landing I had the fortune to attend, for the second year, Les Printemps des Vins de Blaye – The Winemakers’ Springtime in Blaye – within the local Citadelle fortress.
For 8 Euros you get glass, map, list of booth locations of 80 winemakers, and free access to sample all the wines you like from the Côtes de Blaye – Bordeaux wine region.
Splendid.
A little Bubbly helped start the day…
Next – the wines.
Many of the ‘usual suspects’ were there…
In between tastes, there was ample room to step outside for fresh air and a beautiful skyline…
Below is my value wine scoring for a few selected Blaye wines – created using the Vino Value algorithm.*
The more musical notes (♫), the better the overall value.
Even if you live far away and will not purchase these wines, there are other benefits to inspecting these value scores:
- Check out the prices. This is Bordeaux. Yet many wines costs between 5 and 10 Euros ($6 and $11) per bottle. Who on earth led you to believe that most Bordeaux wines are expensive? Not true. These are some amazing values here, as there are in most wine regions on the planet, if you take time to look.
- The ‘internal engine’ of the algorithm is hidden – for each wine I provide subjective scores based on taste, then mathematically combine these with prices to generate overall value scores. Looking at these scores shows that often wine values have no necessary correlation with price. There are ample good wines out there at a reasonable cost, and many duds which are too expensive. This makes searching for good value an adventure – let your taste guide you, not the reviews of others.
- Often (not always) winemakers have three or four wines in a series, and their ‘Top Cuvée’ may cost 30 to 100 percent higher than their ‘Second Best’ (because of the added cost of purchasing new oak barrels, and the required additional storage for longer aging). Yet often the taste of the most expensive wine is only slightly better than that on the second tier. Meaning? Often purchasing a bottle ranked second best is of better value than buying number 1.
| Vino Value™ Scoring of Selected Wines – Printemps des Vignerons de Blaye 2016 | ||||
| Winery | Wine | Retail Price – Euros | Retail Price – US dollars equivalent | Value Score |
| Château Siffle Merle | AOC Crémant de Bordeaux Blanc Brut | € 9.00 | $10.08 | Good Value ♫ |
| Vignobles Bourdillas | 2009 Chateau Jussas | € 5.50 | $6.16 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Vignobles Bourdillas | 2012 Chateau Jussas | € 5.40 | $6.05 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Vignobles Bourdillas | 2015 La Rose des 4 Freres (Rosé) | € 5.10 | $5.71 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Les Jonqueyres | 2014 if des Jonqueres (Vin Biologique) | € 8.00 | $8.96 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Vignobles Bayle-Carreau | 2012 Chateau Pardaillan | € 7.10 | $7.95 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Nodot | 2014 Cuvee Tradition | € 8.50 | $9.52 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Nodot | 2010 Cuvee Prestige | € 11.00 | $12.32 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Bel-Air La Royere | 2012 Grand Vin | € 22.00 | $24.64 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Bellevue Gazin | 2005 Les Baronnets | € 7.50 | $8.40 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Bellevue Gazin | 2005 Premieres Côtes de Blaye | € 13.00 | $14.56 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château La Rose Bellevue | 2014 Le Secret | € 18.50 | $20.72 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Les Bertrands | 2010 Nectar des Bertrands | € 16.00 | $17.92 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château La Cassagne Boutet | 2015 – Les Puts (Rosé) | € 5.00 | $5.60 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château La Cassagne Boutet | 2012 – Les Angeles | € 20.00 | $22.40 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Lagarde | 2014 Rouge Excellence | € 10.00 | $11.20 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Canteloupe | 2014 Eleve en Futs de Chene | € 8.00 | $8.96 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Des Tourtes | 2015 Cuvee Classique (Blanc) | € 5.30 | $5.94 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Les Margagnis | 2011 Grand Vin | € 6.50 | $7.28 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Les Margagnis | 2012 Grand Vin | € 6.00 | $6.72 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Petit Arnauds | Grande Reserve 2012 | € 7.50 | $8.40 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château L’Esperance | 2015 Bordeaux (Rosé) | € 7.00 | $7.84 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château L’Esperance | 2010 Cuvée Trois Freres | € 15.00 | $16.80 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
* For more information on this proprietary wine value scoring algorithm, click here.
Weeks after Les Printemps we attended Portes Ouvertes – Open Doors – in the neighboring wine appellation of Côtes de Bourg – during which dozens of winemakers over several square kilometers opened doors to thirsty visitors. Tasting was free. This time I simply sipped and enjoyed, rather than take notes or rank wines. The only reason I mention this is a photograph taken many years ago (see second photo, below) shows how Bourg was once differentiated as being for lovers, whereas now love is apparently out – and spiciness in the wine is in.
Ah, a region of Love –
Finally – A Recipe
More than 100 winemakers (or winery owner) from more than 17 countries contributed recipes to my forthcoming book The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion.
These include such classics as –
Paella-risotto-chateaubriand-lamb rump-chocolate cake-mushroom omelette-seafood extravaganzas-lasagna-pot pies-candied figs-salads-veal schnitzels-focaccia-ceviche-baked yogurt-sashimi-foie gras-wild game (kangaroo, boar, guinea fowl)-apple tart-salmon mousse-wine flavored ice cream-glazed pork belly-rib eye steaks-balsamic asparagus-fondue-Chardonnay chicken-fresh pasta.
Thanks to all of you. Your generosity and inventiveness are greatly appreciated.
Cookbooks belonging to Marjorie Taylor of The Cook’s Atelier, in Beaune, France.
Below is a recipe contribution from a winemaker and winery owner Anne-Marye Piguet-Chouet (and her grandmother Michèle). Anne-Marye and her husband run Piguet-Chouet & Leurs Fils Vignerons. This is classic recipe from Burgundy, France.
Gougères are round, cheesy, puff pastry aperitifs.
I took some photos years ago while visiting Burgundy. My friend Robin and I took a cooking class at The Cook’s Atelier in the city of Beaune, where we also made gougères.
‘Les Gougères Bourguignonnes’ – Burgundian Cheese Pastries
Photo credit to Anne-Marye Piguet-Chouet
From Anne-Marye Piguet-Chouet (and Grandmother Michèle)
of Piguet-Chouet & Leurs Fils Vignerons,
Auxey-Duresses,
Burgundy, France
Preparation Time and Quantity –
25 minutes to prepare, 25 minutes to cook. Serves 6 people.
Ingredients and Amounts
Water – 1 cup (250 milliliters)
Butter – ½ cup, or 4½ ounces (125 grams)
Flour – 2½ cups (250 grams)
Eggs – 5
Salt – ⅘ teaspoon (5 grams)
Comté cheese* – 1½ cups , or 5¼ ounces (150 grams)
Nutmeg, cayenne pepper, – to taste
Preparation –
- Pre-heat oven to 320 to 340 degrees Fahrenheit (160 to 170 degrees Celsius).
- Grate cheese.
Recipe –
- In a saucepan, place water, salt, spices, and butter and bring to medium heat.
- Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low.
- Add flour and stir vigorously (using a wooden spoon).
- Keep over very low heat for 4 to 5 minutes until paste dries enough so that dough no longer sticks to walls of saucepan. Do not let dough dry out completely.
- Let cool, then add eggs one by one, adding grated cheese between each egg. Stir until the mass becomes one smooth paste.
- Make dough balls with spoons (or squeeze dough through a pastry bag). Space these balls on a baking sheet. Cook in pre-heated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the dough inflates and is brown.
Above all – DO NOT OPEN oven while they are cooking!
Serving –
Serve hot, preferably, with champagne or a white Burgundy wine.
Comments –
Anne-Marye writes –
“Enjoy your meal! This Gougères recipe is a specialty of Burgundy.”
Weeks ago in Bordeaux city I met a friend to share wines. It’s oddly refreshing that the best wine bars in this renowned city of wine are simple restaurants that lack ornaments or distraction.
Last summer I took a road trip with Julien Pouplet to the Loire Valley. (Julien was interviewed several times in the Russell Crowe narrated documentary about French red wine – titled Red Obsession. That was when he still looked Bohemian and before his wife told him to get a haircut.)
Julien appreciates good wine, and has the rare ability to sniff out wonderful values.
This time, re-united in Bordeaux city, we first visited Le Flacon (The Vial), where the scent of fresh home cooking is strong as you enter.
The proprietors are Gilles Davasse and his wife Valerie, from Toulouse. They opened this wine bar and restaurant three years ago. The atmosphere is casual and simple, though the wine list is elaborate.
Night in the city
Proud owner and wine aficionado Gilles
Some wines available at Le Flacon
We started the evening with Loire Valley wines, then moved onto Burgundies, and finally to a Rhone Valley wine as we careened on foot to different wine bars.
We began with a Domaine de Belliviere – Les Rosiers (which was recently selected by Decanter Magazine as one of the Loire Valley’s top wines). It comes from the northern Loire, from the small appellation in Le Mans (think fast cars). This taste was a hit of fruit – apricots, tangerines, and lemon – which provided a beautiful kick-start to the evening.
We next visited the wine bar L’Univerre (The Universe) – which has a stellar reputation in the city.
Food and….plenty of wines
“This is the best wine list in France,” Julien said.
Because the en primeur tastings were starting in Bordeaux that week, visitors were pouring in from throughout the world. “We’re lucky to get a table tonight,” he mentioned.
We started with a white Burgundy (these are all made from Chardonnay) – a 2011 Roulot Bourgogne Blanc. Because the grapes are from the famed Meursault appellation and the flavors are so intense (fresh, chewy, apples and nuts) this was actually a bargain for the quality – at 35 Euros a bottle.
Our second bottle was a red Burgundy – a 2010 Claude Dugut. Like most red Burgundies, it includes 100 percent Pinot Noir.
“This guy is a true wizard,” Julien said.
Julien Warming up
This was easy on the nose, with a complex and intense dose of a black cherries in the mouth. After one sip, Julien’s prose heated up.
“Rustic and refined at the same time. Powerful but elegant. Not made to please people. But when it pleases you – it’s a XXX definition of XXX.”
I had to edit that. It refers to a specific religion’s definition of their god. I’m not being politically correct here. Just cautious. After all, this is just a wine blog.
But the wine reminded me of a Beaujolais.
“Rounder,” said Julien. “Not as rustic as a Beaujolais.”
Our third bottle was another red Burgundy – a 2011 Nuits St. Georges. It had the peppery taste of a Chilean Carmenere wine and was a show stopping non-filtered black oasis of flavor. At only 12.5 percent alcohol, it shows that power can come without high alcohol content.
“It’s a Stradivarius,” said Julien. That was setting the bar high.
Still, I did shake my head in amazement. So amazing that I stood to wander the restaurant and insist other guests try it. Fortunately I calmed down and realized the alcohol was getting to me.
After two sips of this power – we talked about meeting up on Easter Island to share bottles of amazing Pinot Noir. We then realized it was probably good we weren’t conversing with anyone else.
Our next stop was Le Wine Bar (I do hope you don’t need a translation).
As soon as we sat, a plate of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese arrived. After that came a Chateau de Saint Cosme 2008 Gigondas AOC, from the southern Rhone Valley. South of Burgundy runs the Rhone Valley, and within the Rhone, Gigondas is an appellation that includes no white wines. The reds here are typical Rhone valley wines in that they include Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre grapes (what the Australians call a ‘GSM’ blend). Gigondas can also include 10 percent other Rhone varietals. Often these Gigondas wines are known for ‘power, not finesse.’
This was like a sexually advanced wine, a licorice all-spice wonder, an awesome combination of blackberries and cherries.
Julien’s taste lexicon now kicked into full gear, while I began praising the wine to a pair of English tourists.
“We’re back in the Middle Ages,” Julien said. “Though even so, this wine is still a bit young. This is definitely not a bottle to show to your mother-in-law.”
Like I said – power, not finesse.
Ah, more jewels in the wine bar
After that series of taste blasts in the beautiful ‘little Paris’ of Bordeaux city, it was time to walk home. Satisfied and happy.
If you do visit the wine country of Bordeaux, remember that some of the best wine tastes are affordably priced in some excellent, non-pretentious restaurants in this city, and most everywhere is accessible on foot or via tram.
&&&
We next cross the Atlantic to the USA – to northern California’s wine country.
A friend of my sister’s, Richard Sheppard, recently sent me a book he wrote titled Impressions of Wine Country.
French Wine / Book about California Wine. A Nod to the Judgment of ’76.
This is a visual feast about the wine world of northern California, particularly in the valleys of Sonoma and Napa. Richard leads the reader across the Golden Gate bridge, describing its inauguration in 1937, and enters a modern world of wineries – including that of Francis Ford Coppola, Dutcher Crossing, and Toad Hollow. Many journeys take place by bicycle, and Richard’s insight into how to extend life is fabulous.
“I subscribe to the idea that good friends, good food, and good wine have a lot to do with longevity.”
The book travels through seasons – from ‘ZinFests’ in February, to a farmers’ market in May, to tasting Chateau Montelena Chardonnay in June, to cheese tasting in July. There’s a night harvest in August and wine blending in October. Each month includes a road trip, stories, tales of wine making and tasting, and beautiful watercolors that illustrate the colorful open spaces of California’s northern wine country.
It’s a good book and guide to this wine region.
Finally, after deciding to make changes, I’ve returned to France for a few weeks. Or months. I look forward to sharing wine insight and news here, and hope you keep tuning in. It looks as though I may contribute wine writing to Forbes – and will let you know.
Winemaker Wizards – Bordeaux and Paris
The Salon des Vignerons Indépendents is a three-day event held each year on the outskirts of Bordeaux city. Similar events are held in Paris and Lyon. Visiting any provides not only an education in wine, but in culture, geography, and – unexpectedly – the bonds of family.
This year it was held on the first days of this month – April. About 300 French winemakers/producers attended, each occupying a booth in the spacious Parc de Exhibitions, and each eager to sell their wares directly to consumers.
There are as many as 10,000 members of this organization in France, who use the association as a vehicle to maintain autonomy from larger cooperatives. Members have to make and bottle wine themselves from their own vineyards. The organization is based in Paris, and hosts events to draw winemakers together.
After taking a tram to the outskirts of the city, getting lost, and asking curious bikers at the Aquitaine Tattoo Festival how to correct course, I spent an afternoon at the salon, sipping wines from all over France, and speaking with congenial, inquisitive, entrepreneurial individuals.
The tastes were full and varied: a 100 percent Pinot Meunier bubbly from Champagne, samples of pure Viognier and Syrah from the Rhone Valley, smooth Burgundian Chardonnay, crisp Gewürtztraminer and Riesling from Alsace, full Vermentino from Saint Chinian in the Languedoc, round Merlot from Cadillac, and tannic Gaillac from north of Toulouse. And that was just before lunch.
The diversity of cultures, geography, cuisines, and demeanors from within the boundaries of France is eye-opening. Within this salon gathered individuals who often live only dozens of kilometers from neighboring regions where the climate, topography, lifestyle, food, and wine differ remarkably. The beauty of this event is that it highlights the lack of homogeneity, and constant surprises, related to wines produced in France.
Men, women, and children pushed trolleys filled with purchased wine down hallways, ate lunch sandwiches at their stalls (I found a plate of charcuterie, followed by espresso, at an indoor café), and by mid-afternoon the halls bustled with throngs eager for a thrilling taste, a pleasurable buzz, a decent deal.
Sebastien Mann with his family’s Alsace Riesling
After writing about VinExpo in Bordeaux last year, I was criticized for publishing only photos of lovely women on my blog. Where were the handsome men, one female winemaker asked me. This time I include photos of male winemakers (though the number of women winemakers I met was still large, and all were bright and impressive).
Winemaker Thibault Labarthe of Domaine de Labarthe (Gaillac) – Cuvee Guillaume 2014
Faugeres – with a hint of minerals
There is only so much wine that can be tasted, so I chose to wander to booths that represented vastly different types of wines. Some I would recommend include:
Domaine Rozel (Rhone Valley) – Perle de Viognier 2015 – Euros 9.5
Domaine Deleuze-Rochetin (Rhone Valley) – Saba 2014 (100 % Syrah) – Euros 6.50
Domaine de La Croix Saint Eulalie – (Saint Chinian) Cuvee Jade – Euros 16.50
Champagne Trudon – Emblématis – Brut – Euros 15.20
Domaine de Grangeneuve (Rhone Valley) – Terre d’Epices 2013 – Euros 13.50
And also –
- Domaine des Pradels-Quartironi (Saint Chinian, Languedoc) – Cuvee Haut Coup de Foudres Rouge 2013 – Euros 8.50
- Domaines Bunan (Bandol) – Château La Rouvière Rosè 2015 – Euros 17.00
- Champagne Françoise Bedel – Origin’elle (80% Pinot Meneuire) – Euros 27.00
- Chateau Saint Michel / Domaine Manigley (Burgundy) – Rully ‘La Crée’ 2014 (100% Chardonnay) – Euros 16.00
- Earl Mann (Alsace) – Vielles Vignes Riesling 2014 – Euros 14.60
One beauty of Bordeaux city is the ease (after you park your vehicle) of getting around – by foot, tram, or bus, and the variety of city niches close to each other that are still not crammed or crowded: ancient squares, awe-inspiring cathedrals, modern stores, a lengthy waterfront, parks, a zoo, and ample museums and exhibition halls. After hours at this event I hopped (stumbled?) onto a sleek tram and zoomed back to dinner in the city.
%%%
Next – onto Paris…
My trip was to the US embassy to have some papers signed. However, friends from Château La Rose Bellevue invited me to an afternoon set of wine tastings within the sumptuous 5 star Peninsula Hotel near the Arc de Triomphe. This was hosted by Nicolas Rebut of Lac Wine Consulting.
Who could refuse?
Again, more winemakers from throughout France gathered.
One wine wizard encountered was Félix Devavalaere of Burgundian Domaine des Rois Mages (‘Three Kings’). Keep an eye on this vigneron who now produces tasty, affordable, Grand Cru Burgundy whites (his mother has already established her reputation in the Burgundy region).
Félix Devavalaere
Other wines of mention include –
Vins de Bugey – Cerdon. Sparkling rosé from near the Jura mountains made from Gamay and Poulsard grapes.
Xavier Monnot Puligny-Montrachet from Burgundy. A serious treat.
Josmeyer Gewürtztraminer from Alsace.
Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé from Gitton (a friendly, multi-lingual father/daughter combination – Pascal and Chanel).
The Secret (100 percent Merlot) from Château La Rose Bellevue in Bordeaux. I’ve been drinking The Secret for years with pleasure.
Burgundy’s Domaine Coffinet-Duvernay 2014 Chassagne-Montrachet.
Patrick & Christophe Bonnefond Côte Rôtie, as well as 100 percent Syrah.
Domaine Gavoty – Provence rosé, including that made from 100 percent rolle (or Vermentino).
Domaine l’Amauve Côtes de Rhône.
I was invited to the winemakers’ after-event dinner party at the restaurant Neva Cuisine. Unable to locate a metro station, I spent a pleasant half hour walking through back alleys to get there. Here, wine from unconsumed bottles from the event flowed as courses were served.
Again, I expected to be dismayed by Paris during this visit – thinking it would now be too large a city to feel comfortable in after living in the countryside; thinking that the individual character of neighborhoods would have been subsumed into a more homogenous culture of shopping and convenience. But, no. Paris still beguiles, charms, and surprises. On a sunny spring afternoon when you have free time and no schedule? The possibilities are endless. This is a universe as much as a city. And when winemakers from throughout France funnel in, they expand the mindset and taste of this universe – so that it keeps looking outward, rather than in.
Once again – thanks to the tastings, vignerons of France: a la votre santé.
Winemaker Yves Leccia (left) from Corsica pours for Alexandre Fouque-Canioni from Faugeres in the Languedoc
The Eymas winemakers (two on the left) toast Christophe Bonnefond (right)
Appetizer with a glass of Burgundian Cassagne-Montrachet from Domaine Coffinet-Duvernay
Market Day in Southern France
This post includes three topics –
- Market Day
- Canadian Winemaker Recipes
- Easter Winemaker’s Lunch
Market –
It’s spring – printemps – in southern France. At least some days. The temperature oscillates between 48 and 75 Fahrenheit (9 and 24 Celsius). Beautiful hours of sunshine are interspersed with rain and howling winds.
But change is coming, so it’s time to ramble and meander. It’s always good to mosey through the Wednesday or Saturday morning open air market in the city of Blaye.
I’ve learned a few lessons here about market day shopping.
Lesson One –
There are two types who sell fruit and vegetables – producers (meaning farmers who grow the crops) and vendors (middlemen who may operate a store when it’s not market day). Getting food from farmers is the real deal because they will never jeopardise their livelihood and reputation by selling sub-par food.
How to tell them apart?
Producers, or farmers, often have dirt beneath their fingernails. They may look a little rough and their clothing is often crinkled. Their marketing skills are often less than polished, and their laughter is loud. Okay, so that’s somewhat of a generalization…
Does it really matter to find only producers? Not so much. In general, prices of most sellers are comparable, though producers may answer more questions, and will sell only freshest produce. I shop at different vendors to support all local stalls, and for the variety of experience
Lesson Two –
Why go to market?
In the USA, many ‘farmers markets’ sell local produce, often untouched by pesticides or herbicides. This is excellent, though often costly. It reminds me of the Bed and Breakfast scenario. In Europe, Bed and Breakfasts have traditionally been less expensive than hotels. They provide a room in a home and a meal before morning check out. The USA discovered this concept decades ago, then created Bed and Breakfast ’boutique guest houses,’ which sell the ‘experience’ of staying at a home, often for a cost greater than hotels.
It’s the same with many open air markets now bustling in the USA. People are often willing to pay more for the combination of being assured of quality, as well as for the ‘experience.’
One solid reason for shopping at markets in France is that a few large supermarket chains sell inferior vegetables and fruits – outdated, perhaps partially rotten, and of a poor enough calibre to make customers consider keeping their distance.
The reasons for shopping at markets here is to secure decent quality food at a reasonable cost. It’s also a lively and colorful experience. And those live chickens and the fresh horse meat? All for a decent price.
Recipes –
I recently cooked two recipes from winemakers in British Columbia, Canada, and also shot a few photos. These contributions are for the forthcoming book The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion. The wine scene is vibrant in British Columbia, and many wineries include restaurants.
The first recipe is for Mushroom Velouté (velouté is a sauce made with cream; it’s also a soup thickened with butter and cream) from Chef Damain Mischkinis at Burrowing Owl Estate Winery.
This recipe is outrageously delicious. I sprinkled prosciutto on top and served it with a Sancerre white wine, though the recommended Pinot Gris or Sauvignon Blanc would better cut through the cream.
Mushroom Velouté, from Chef Damain Mischkinis of the Sonora Room Restaurant at Burrowing Owl Winery, British Columbia, Canada
Preparation Time and Quantity –
15 minutes to prepare, 50 minutes to cook. Serves 4 people.
Ingredients and Amounts –
Butter – 3 tablespoons (42 grams)
Onion (medium) – 1
Garlic cloves – 2
Oyster or Crimini mushrooms – ½ pound (220 grams)
White wine – 4/10 cup (95 ml)
Milk – 1 cup (225 ml)
Cream – ½ cup (115 ml)
Vegetable or chicken stock – 3/5 cup (150 ml)
Sprigs of thyme – 3
Sprig of rosemary – 1
Salt and pepper – to taste
Preparation –
- Slice the onion and garlic.
- Slice mushrooms lengthwise into four pieces each.
- Measure out wine, stock, milk, cream, and set aside.
- Tie herbs together with butcher’s twine to make what is called a Bouquet de Garnis.
Recipe –
- Sauté onions and garlic over medium to high heat in butter until soft.
- Add mushrooms and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add white wine and herb bouquet and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Add milk, cream, and stock.
- Bring to the boil and simmer for approximately 30 minutes, or until mushrooms are cooked and soft.
- Puree in blender ‘until sinfully smooth.’
Serving –
Garnish with brioche and prosciutto crumb and serve with a Pinot Gris or a Sauvignon Blanc wine (such as one from Burrowing Owl Winery, of course).
Another, second, recipe I recently tried was for shortcake, from British Columbian CedarCreek Estate Winery. This was shared in a recent blog post. The shortcake was frail enough so that sandwiching cream and strawberries between slices of cake was too difficult a challenge, especially after I’d downed a glass or two of rosé.
Here’s the finished product.
Easter with Winemakers –
Our friends at Château La Rose Bellevue put on an afternoon feast this past Sunday, with the menu written on a chalkboard. The photos tell the story.
However, two wines deserve mention. During our blind tasting of whites, I was certain the first was a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc because of the distinct acidity and slight tang. It turns out the wine we tasted is instead made with 100 percent Garganega grape from north-east Italy (produced by Buglioni).
There was also a white that tasted familiar, yet remained unknown. It turns out that a mysterious wine wizard from the region of Blaye produces a wine made from 100 percent white Cabernet Sauvignon. Considering how unusual it is to shuck tradition in this region, this maneuver from Domaine Leandre-Chevalier is bold.
Blackcurrant Wine, Hawaiian Poisson, Alaskan Halibut
How We Used to do Selfies
I went to high school in Europe, drank cheap Italian wine, and suffered monumental headaches the next mornings.
In comparison, beer was easier to manage.
However, six or seven or us took a photography trip to the island of Burano (or was it Murano?) off Venice. We spent the morning shooting Tri-X and Plus-X rolls of black and white film.
For lunch we sat at a simple, deserted, outdoor restaurant in sunshine with our German teacher, Horst Durrschmidt, who ordered our standard meal – eight simple fish courses with multiple jugs of white wine.
Life was wonderful. And because there was no autofocus on cameras back then, our afternoon shots turned out fuzzy.
Inland from Venice, but You Get the Idea: Rural, Tranquil
So soon after shooting a few inebriated rolls of film, we snoozed, and, hey – no headache the next day.
Perhaps wine could be decent.
A friend who went to the same school wrote me last week.
Dan Burgess informed me of an article in Bloomberg Magazine about a new book that recalls a visit to wineries in all fifty US states.
The timing? Beautiful.
I’m collecting recipes from wineries in all 50 states (and throughout the world), and recently have been graced with colorful and unexpected contributions: Balsamic Asparagus from the meat-loving Heartland of Kansas, as well as European recipes from the Midwest – including Italian Chicken Cacciatore from Iowa, and German Noodle Salad from Indiana.
I’ll soon travel to France and Italy to sample food and wine with lust. Meanwhile, check out recipes from the two last states inaugurated into the USA union – in 1959.
Climatically divergent and socially disparate, Hawaii and Alaska share amazing natural scenery, excellent access to diverse and abundant seafood, and a creative hardy few who produce tasty wine without grapes.
Stephanie Krieger of Nani Moon Meadery in Hawaii wrote:
“Aloha Tom,
Below is a recipe created from Nani Moon Pineapple Lime Mead from one of our favorite chefs on Kauai, Ron Miller of Hukilau Lanai.
Mahalos!”
Here is the recipe.
Pineapple Lime Poisson Cru, from Nani Moon Meadery, Hawaii, USA
Preparation Time and Quantity –
25 minutes to prepare, 15 minutes to cook.
Ingredients and Amounts
Fish and Marinade
Thinly sliced sashimi quality raw fish – 8 ounces (230 grams)
Fresh coconut water – 2 tablespoons (30 grams)
Fresh squeezed lime juice – 2 tablespoons (30 grams)
Nani Moon Mead (pineapple lime) – 2 tablespoons (30 grams)
Sea salt – ½ teaspoon (3 grams)
Ginger – ½ teaspoon (3 grams)
Whole cilantro leaves or micro greens – handful or as needed
Fried Cassava
Cassava – ½ pound (230 grams)
Sugar – ½ teaspoon (2 grams)
Coriander – ½ teaspoon (1.3 gram)
Paprika – 1 teaspoon (1.3 grams)
Salt – ½ teaspoon (2.8 grams)
Preparation –
- Finely grate ginger.
- Heat fryer to 340 degrees Fahrenheit (170 degrees Celsius).
Recipe –
- Mix coconut water, lime juice, grated ginger, and mead in a bowl with the salt.
- Arrange thinly sliced fish on a platter.
- Pour the marinade over the fish and top with fresh cilantro leaves / micro greens.
- Refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Mix sugar, coriander, paprika, and salt, and set aside.
- Peel the skin off the cassava root. Use a vegetable peeler to make thin strips of cassava.
- Place the strips directly into a 340 degree fryer and fry until golden brown.
- Remove from fryer and season immediately with the spices.
Serving –
Ron and Stephanie wrote, “The crunchy chips are a great accompaniment to the tender raw fish, and can be prepared a few hours ahead.”
Comments –
Ron and Stephanie wrote – “Micro greens are showing up for sale at farmers markets and fine stores. They are really easy to grow. All that it takes is a little bit of sanitary soil and a plant propagation tray. The moist seeds emerge in a few days and are ready to harvest in a week. They can be grown indoors or out.”
Yes, it’s French sushi rather than Hawaiian sashimi, but again, you get the idea.
And from Alaska –
Halibut Quiche, from Bill and Dorothy Fry and Colleen Peschel of Bear Creek Winery, Homer, Alaska, USA
Preparation Time and Quantity –
15 minutes to prepare, 45 minutes to cook. Serves 10 people.
Ingredients and Amounts –
Prepared pie crust – 1
Eggs – 4
Milk – 2 cups (475 milliliters)
Swiss cheese – 1 ½ cups (170 grams)
Fried bacon slices – 10
Onion (green or white; small) – 1
Smoked halibut (crushed) – 1 cup (170 grams)
Salt, pepper, garlic, cayenne – few dashes each, to taste
Preparation –
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius).
- Place the piecrust in a pie pan.
- Dice the onion.
- Mix spices together.
Recipe –
- Put cheese, bacon, onion, and crushed halibut into piecrust.
- Sprinkle spices on top.
- Beat eggs and add to milk in a bowl.
- Pour egg/milk mixture over ingredients in pie pan.
- Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.
Serving –
You can serve with Colleen’s ‘Alaska Currant Royale,’ which is a flute filled ¾ full with a medium dry champagne, to which you add 1 ½ ounces (45 milliliters) of blackcurrant wine. (“The more black currant you add, the sweeter it gets.”)
A reasonable alternative if you can’t rustle up black currant wine. In fact, you don’t even need champagne.
Poached Plums and Icewine – Taking Measure
In the past months I’ve collected recipes from winemakers, winery owners, and sommeliers throughout the world.
I’ve noticed some trends.
Austrians are very responsive to queries (40 percent), whereas Germans are not (4 percent); Canadians are more so than Californians (30 percent versus 10 percent), while New Zealanders are marginally better than Aussies (17 versus 11 percent). After Canadians and Austrians, South Africans are best at answering questions.
The surprise? How different nationalities measure cooking ingredients. Sure, we all know Americans use volume (cups, ounces, teaspoons) while Brits use weight (grams and milliliters). Italians and Israelis also stick to metric weights, while Australians, New Zealanders and Chileans combine, indiscriminately, both methods in any one recipe (grams for some ingredients, tablespoons or cups for others). It’s the same with South Africans – one recipe will include grams, milliliters, and cups. And Asia? Thai winemakers use weight, while Vietnamese use volume (ah, perhaps the war with Americans had an impact). Canadians use both – though exclusively; some individuals use only weight in one recipe, while others use only volume. Same with the French – weight for most, but volume for others (including well-known Bordeaux winemakers). (For Germans I need Google Translate for recipes, though they appear mostly metric.)
Argentines and Turks are most methodical – they use weight, then convert it to volume for each ingredient. They are Awesome! Cosmopolitan, exact, and polite. You guys (actually, one winery owner, who is also member of an ancient French cooking society in Turkey, and one woman, who not only is a physician who lectures at the University of California in San Francisco, but also owns and runs an Argentinian winery) are fantastic.
There are also other measuring units. Austrians use Dags (decagrams, or 10 grams), whereas some South Africans include punnets.
I noticed some recipes include two bottles of wine – one as an ingredient, the other to drink. Then our buddy Flavio Fenocchio from Piemonte, Italy, recommends slow cooking veal in no less than three bottles of Barolo wine (cannot wait to test drive that recipe).
Some favorite meat ingredients include kangaroo, red deer (“shot wild by Danny, our stockman, in the hills behind Bannockburn“), and a combination of dhufish and squid (“don’t forget to enjoy responsible gulps of Chardonnay throughout the process”). Vegetarian delights include poached plums, sweet pickled daikon, fried cassava, and fresh curry leaves.
I do love assembling this book.
This week’s recipe comes from a British Columbian winery – CedarCreek. These organized Canadians also supplied a photo of the dish, and an image of their Executive Chef Jeremy Tucker (who appears rather Heston Blumenthal like, yes?).
Here is the gorgeous recipe:
Shortcake, from Executive Chef Jeremy Tucker of CedarCreek Estate Winery, British Columbia, Canada
Preparation Time and Quantity –
10 minutes to prepare, 12 minutes to cook. Serves 6 to 8 people.
Ingredients and Amounts –
Flour (all purpose) – 1 ½ cups (150 grams)
Baking powder – 1 tablespoon (11 grams)
White sugar – ½ cup (100 grams)
Salt – 1 teaspoon (5 grams)
Butter (melted) – ½ cup (120 ml)
Orange (for zest and juice)– 1
Heavy cream (36%) – 1 cup (240 ml)
Strawberries (or other fruit) – ¾ cup (115 grams)
Whipped cream
Preparation –
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).
Recipe –
- Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl – flour, baking powder, sugar, salt – and mix evenly.
- Add melted butter, orange zest, and heavy cream.
- Mix into a single ball of dough, using a rubber spatula. Be careful not to over mix.
- Form into 6 to 8 tennis ball size dough balls. Place on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from heat and let cool while you prepare fruit.
- Cut fruit into bite sized pieces.
- Toss the fruit in a mixing bowl with a pinch of sugar and juice squeezed from zested orange.
Serving –
Cut the shortcakes in half. Place fruit and whipped cream between each two slices, then serve with a Riesling ice wine or a rosé (such as CedarCreek Platinum Riesling Icewine, or Pinot Noir Rosé).
Comments –
Cedar Creek wrote –
“Quick and easy to make, this simple yet delicious shortcake is customizable to seasonal fruit.”
Argentina Humita, South African Herb Rump, and Wine…
New Wine and Food Video, and Online Wine Magazine
During the past two weeks my videos and writing have been broadcast from Europe by others who enjoy food, travel, and a decent glass of vino.
Last summer, sommelier Alexandre Moirin worked with the owner of Château Pindefleurs – Audrey Lauret, as well as videographer Vincent Malet and myself (taking drone footage). He produced the splendid short video clip below. It’s about Château Pindefleurs wine from the Saint Émilion region of Bordeaux, France. There are also snippets showing some tantalizingly food visuals in the Bordeaux city restaurant Le Chapon Fin.
Darby Higgs from Australia now produces the attractive online publication Est Wine Tours Magazine – emphasizing travel and taste. I’m flattered that he asked to re-publish my blog post about The Black Wine of Cahors, from last October, and requested that I collaborate with his other online publishing venture. His web app (and magazine) look great. Thanks Darby – I’ll be in touch 🙂
Both of the above two projects were undertaken for free – with no commercial gain on my part.
Winemaker Recipes
Willing winemakers continue to stream vibrant recipes into my online mailbox for the forthcoming book The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion. If you know any potential contributors, please share their (or my) contact information.
For dozens of recipes available so far, here are basic statistics. Because the number of recipes from any region depends somewhat on who I contact, this will shift as I focus on different geographical regions.
Recipe Providers –
49 percent female, 40 percent male, and 11 percent a joint contribution by a male/female team.
Origin of Recipes –
North America – 36 percent, Europe – 37 percent, South America – 6 percent, Australia and New Zealand – 7 percent, South Africa – 10 percent, Asia – 4 percent.
Types of Main Dish –
Meat – 41 percent; seafood – 26 percent; poultry – 11 percent; vegetable dishes – 17 percent; pasta – 6 percent.
Again, these compositions will change with time.
This week we’re featuring two Southern Hemisphere recipes – from Argentina and South Africa. The first dish is vegetarian; the second includes meat. Photographs below were supplied by the winery and winemakers.
Humita en Olla, from Sommelier Diego Esteban of Anuva Wine Tastings, paired with wine from CarinaE Wines, Mendoza, Argentina (Yes, that’s a capital E at the end of Carina – it is Latin for ‘friends’)
Photo by Diego Esteban
Preparation Time and Quantity –
20 minutes to prepare, 40 minutes to cook. Serves 10 people.
Ingredients and Amounts –
Corn kernels – from 20 cobs, or 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg) [canned corn is an option]
Butternut Squash (grated)– 3 cups (600 grams)
Red bell peppers – 2
Green bell peppers – 2
Spring onions (only green part)– 2
Purple onions (medium) – 2
Chimichurri mix – 1 cup (200 grams)
Olive oil – 3 tablespoons
Fresh basil – bunch
Parmesan cheese (grated) – 4 cups (400 grams)
White pepper – 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 grams)
Milk – as required
Salt and pepper – to taste
Ingredients – photo by Diego Esteban
Preparation –
- Cut corn off cob. Chop with a food processor. Add some milk and stir until the consistency is creamy.
- De-seed bell peppers, and take out white parts (to avoid humita becoming too acidic).
- Slice onions and green parts of spring onions.
- Chop up bell peppers, spring onions, and purple onions – or put them in a food processor).
- Grate the butternut squash.
- Wash basil leaves and tear into little pieces.
Recipe –
- Put 3 tablespoons (45 grams) of olive oil in a big pot.
- Heat pot until hot.
- Add onions and bell peppers and sauté for 5 minutes.
- In a bowl, add chimichurri powder, salt, pepper, and enough olive oil to cover ingredients by a half inch (1/4 cm).
- Add corn, grated butternut squash, and chimichurri mixture to pot.
- Add more milk, depending on how thick or thin you want texture.
- Once it boils, lower heat to medium.
- Stir every few minutes for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Five minutes before ready, add basil and grated cheese.
- Take off stove, and leave covered for 5 minutes.
Serving –
According to Cara Lester from Anuva, “Humita is a traditional northern Argentine dish, and pairs with the flagship white wine of Argentina – Torrontés – made from the only high quality native wine grapes of the country. The best examples of this varietal come from the north of Argentina region of Salta (hence, an exellent pairing with Humita). They have a nickname for it in Argentina – ‘la unva mentirosa’ meaning ‘the lying grape’ due to its exuberant sweet and aromatic nose, which leads tasters to believe it is a sweet wine, when on tasting they discover is is a delicate dry white.”
Diego agrees, adding “Torrontés is known for being a super aromatic wine, and the spices from the Humita work wonders with these aromas.”
Cara continued:
“Wine can include Salta’s Carinae Harmonie Torrontés, from Cafayate, Salta. “On the nose – peach, mango, jasmine, honeysuckle…in the mouth a refreshing touch of citrus fruit and minerality. The intense flavors means it pairs beautifully alongside Humita. While the sweet corn, pumpkin, and regganito cheese work the sweeter notes, the chimichurri spices cuts through the acidity perfectly.”
CarinaE is owned by a couple, Brigitte and Philippe Subra, who moved from France to Argentina in 1998.
As an allternative, Diego suggests a Mairena Torrontés.
Photo by Diego Esteban
The next recipe is also from down south.
Spiced Garlic and Herb Rump with Concertina Potatoes, from winemaker Christiaan Coetzee of Uva Mira Mountain Vineyards, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Image from Uva Mira Mountain Vineyards
Preparation Time and Quantity –
15 minutes to prepare, 1 1/2 hours to cook. Serves 8 people.
Ingredients and Amounts –
Rump Steak
Rump steaks – 4 ½ pounds (2 kilograms)
Milled pepper – 2 teaspoons (4.5 grams)
Coriander seeds – 4 tablespoons (20 grams)
Dried chili flakes – 1 1/4 teaspoons (6 ml)
Garlic cloves (medium) – 6
Thyme (sprigs) – 4
Rosemary (sprigs) – 4
Concertina Potatoes
Potatoes (medium) – 10
Package brown onion soup – 1
Water – 3 ½ cups (800 ml)
Butter – 1/5 cup (50 grams)
Image from Uva Mira Mountain Vineyards
Preparation –
- Pre-heat oven to 355 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
- Place all rub ingredients (pepper, coriander seeds, chili flakes, garlic cloves, thyme, rosemary) in a mortar and pestle and grind until well combined.
Recipe –
- Slice the potatoes, but not all the way through. Place in an ovenproof dish.
- Mix the water and soup mix, then pour over the sliced potatoes. Add a dollop of butter.
- Bake potatoes for 90 minutes, turning and spooning soup mixture over potatoes every 30 minutes.
- While potatoes are baking, toss the steaks in the rub and leave to marinade for at least half an hour.
- Cook the steaks heat over extremely hot barbeque coals until done, and season to your liking.
- Let the steak rest for at least 5 minutes.
Serving –
Slice the steaks and serve with the Concertina Potatoes, and with a Bordeaux blend red wine, such as an Uva Mira O.T.V. – a 14.5 percent alcohol blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot.
Enjoy 🙂
Red Wine Chocolate Cake
Time marches fast, taking me away from home and wilds and long, lazy afternoons.
Still, I have the memory of strong mountain wines. And chocolate cake. And a recipe that includes both.
Contributing to my upcoming book The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion, Michael Reinisch of Johanneshof Reinisch wines in Tattendorf, Austria, sent me a recipe for chocolate cake with red wine.
Which red wine?
He recommends Laurent Holzspur. St. Laurent is a red grape variety grown in Lower Austria, as well as in Burgenland (while Holzspur vineyard belongs to Johanneshof Reinisch wines). The grape is similar to Pinot Noir – thin skinned and early ripening.
Next time I’ll plan ahead to secure this particular wine. Instead I used a local French red, which also worked well.
Enjoy this beautiful combination of chocolate, cinnamon, and nuts baked with scrumptious red wine.
Here’s the recipe (thanks Michael).
Tattendorfer Rotweinkuchen – Red Wine and Chocolate Cake
From Michael Reinisch of Johanneshof Reinisch, Tattendorf, Austria
Preparation Time and Quantity –
5 minutes to prepare, 50 minutes to cook. Serves 4 – 6 people.
Ingredients and Amounts –
Butter – 1 cup (250 grams)
Icing sugar– 1½ cup (300 grams)
Vanilla – 1 teaspoon (2 1/2 grams)
Red wine – 1 cup (¼ liter)
Flour – 3 ½ cups (380 grams)
Baking powder – 1 teaspoon (2 1/2 grams)
Cinnamon – 1 teaspoon (2 1/2 grams)
Minced nuts – ¾ cup (150 grams)
Chocolate chips – ¾ cup (150 grams)
Preparation –
- Pre-heat oven to 320 degrees Fahrenheit (160 degrees Celsius).
- Grease cake pan with butter.
- Chop nuts into small pieces.
Recipe –
- Mix the butter, sugar, vanilla, eggs, and wine together. Beat until well blended.
- Mix the flour, cinnamon, and baking powder.
- Add flour and dry ingredients to butter / egg / wine mixture and stir until well blended.
- Add nuts and chocolate.
- Pour into a cake pan and bake in pre-heated oven for 50 minutes.
The lemons? For the tart from the last post, of course 🙂
Feasting With Winemakers – Salmon, Chicken, Lemon Tart
I recently enjoyed a cook-fest in southern France – trying out recipes supplied by winemakers from around the world for the forthcoming book – The Winemakers’ Cooking Companion.
After cooking, I carried dishes down the street – Rue Saint Simon – to La Cave de La Citadelle wine store and wine bar. Inside, friends gathered around an ancient wooden table to sample the food.
We started with cured salmon, made with a recipe from Assaf Winery in the Golan Heights of Israel. Next – a hearty pan-roasted chicken (with whole green olives) from the Hunter Valley of Australia. Dessert was a lemon tart (recipe supplied by Artisan Wines of Austria).
We substituted recommended wines with Bordeaux and other French equivalents.
Although friends devoured the appetizer and main course, they held off on dessert. I finally realized that for the French, cheese comes before dessert. They were just waiting for this missing course.
Of course…
Below are the recipes.
Cured Salmon in Rice Vinegar, from Assaf Winery, Golan Heights, Israel
Preparation Time and Quantity –
10 minutes to prepare before curing, 10 minutes to prepare after curing. Serves 4 to 6 people.
Ingredients and Amounts –
Salmon fillets – 2 sizable fillets, or 7 ounces (200 grams )
Coarse salt – 4 tablespoons (60 grams)
Light brown sugar – 2.5 tablespoons (40 grams)
Rice vinegar – ¼ cup (60 ml)
Olive oil – 1/8 cup (30 ml)
Capers – 2 tablespoons (30 ml)
Red onion – 1
Parsley leaves – handful
Preparation –
- Mix salt and sugar.
- Cover the flesh sides (non-skin sides) of the salmon with the salt/sugar mix.
- Tightly cover in plastic wrap.
- Place in a bowl, and put another bowl or dish on top that presses downward. Put a weight on top of this (I used a full wine box).
- Refrigerate for 2 nights.
- Remove plastic wrap, then gently wash away sugar and salt.
- Tap the fish with a paper towel to dry it.
- Remove skin.
- Slice thinly.
Serving –
- Arrange on a plate and drizzle with rice vinegar and olive oil.
- Slice capers and red onion thinly and arrange on top.
- Garnish with parsley leaves and serve with a rustic, crusty bread.
Comments –
Anat from Assaf Winery told me how this winery is located in the northern portion of Israel – The Golan Heights – and is owned by the Kedem family as part of the Kedem Wine Village. Adi (the eldest in the family) is a chef, a Clinical Nutritionist, and a mother of three. She studied at the French Culinary Institute in New York, as well as at Israel’s Reidman College, then founded AdiKa Café, which forms part of the wine village. The cafe teaches locals about local food, serves fresh-baked bread and other foods, and hosts culinary events.
*****
Pan Roasted Chicken, from Todd Alexander of Belford Block Eight Wines, Hunter Valley, Australia
Preparation Time and Quantity –
1 hour to prepare, 1 hour 20 minutes to cook. Serves 6 people.
Ingredients and Amounts –
Organic chicken – 1
Spanish onions – 4
Potatoes – 6
Mushrooms – 6
Whole green olives – 1 cup (240 ml)
Garlic – 6 cloves
Lemons (or limes) – 4
Lemon thyme (or rosemary or oregano) – 10 sprigs
White wine (such as Semillon) – 2 cups (500 ml)
Organic (or homemade) chicken stock – 2 cups (500 ml)
Olive oil – 2/3 cup (150 ml)
Pepper and salt – to taste
Preparation –
- Pre-heat oven to 430 degrees Fahrenheit (220 degrees Celsius).
- With a sharp knife, carefully slice along both sides of the backbone of the chicken to remove it, then place the bird skin side up and crush to flatten out. Push firmly to break some bones – which will help provide a tastier, moister bird. Cover and leave at room temperature while preparing other ingredients.
- Slice the mushrooms into 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) slices.
- Slice potatoes into 1/8 inch (1/4 cm) slices.
- Slice onions into 1/8 inch (1/4 cm) slices.
- Thinly slice 2 lemons.
- Peel the garlic cloves.
Recipe –
- Layer the sliced mushrooms evenly over the base of a large, deep, roasting tray.
- Layer the potato slices over the mushroom slices and salt slightly.
- Layer onion slices over the potatoes.
- Sprinkle whole olives evenly over the onions. It’s okay if this includes the juice. (Whole olives taste better when roasted, but advise your guests if they contain pits.)
- Layer the two sliced lemons (including skins) over the olives. (The lemons will carmelize and can be eaten with skins on.)
- Arrange the herbs sprigs evenly over the onions and olives.
- Put the peeled garlic cloves in the middle of the pan to flavor the chicken.
- Place the chicken skin side down over the vegetables, and squeeze juice of one lemon over the flesh, then season liberally with salt and pepper.
- Turn the chicken skin side up, place over the garlic, squeeze the juice of one lemon over the skin.
- Pour the chicken stock and white wine over the chicken.
- Let rest 10 minutes.
- Uncover the chicken, then pat skin dry with a paper towel.
- Pour olive oil over the skin, then season well with salt and pepper.
- Place chicken in hot oven for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 360 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Cook until potatoes are tender and chicken thigh juices run clear when pricked with a fork. This will likely be between and hour and an hour and a half, depending on the size of the chicken.
- Remove chicken from pan, cover with foil, and leave at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes. Return the pan with vegetables to the oven to keep warm.
- While preserving juices, cut chicken into six even portions and place over vegetables. Pour the chicken juices over this.
Serving –
Serve in the center of the table and spoon juices over rice, grain, or pasta – or mop the juices up with a crusty bread. Serve with an oaked Australian Chardonnay – such as Block Eight’s Reserve Chardonnay.
Comments –
From Todd:
“The Hunter Valley is well known for its wine, but also olives, and has some great local poultry farmers – which is why I’ve given you my Block Eight signature chicken dish. We absolutely love living here. I’m a passionate cook, cookbook collector, and kitchen garden amateur. It’s nice to think that of Hunter vineyards, our story stood out for you.”
*****
Courtesy Franz Schneider
Lemon Tart from Franz Schneider of Artisan Wines, Haltburn, Austria
Preparation Time and Quantity –
15 minutes to prepare, 30 minutes to cook. Serves 4 – 6 people.
Ingredients and Amounts –
Dough –
Flour – 2 cups (240 grams)
Soft butter – 1/3 cup (80 grams)
Sugar – 1/5 cup (40 grams)
Cream cheese – 1/5 cup (40 grams)
Vanilla – 1 teaspoon
Egg (small) – 1
Salt – pinch
Cream –
Caster sugar – ½ cup (120 grams)
Eggs – 2
Lemons (juice and zest) – 2
Butter – ½ cup (115 grams)
Recipe –
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 Celsius).
- For dough – beat together butter, sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, egg.
- Add flour and salt.
- Knead ingredients until a smooth ball, roll out, then put into a 9 inch (24 cm) diameter tart pan. Prick the base with a fork several times.
- Bake in pre-heated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 Celsius) for 10 minutes.
- For the cream – mix eggs and castor sugar until a creamy consistency.
- Add lemon juice, zest, and melted butter.
- Pour the cream into the partially baked tart shell, then bake for another 15 to 20 minutes.
- Cool the dish for one hour to let the cream turn firm.
Serving –
Serve with fresh berries or ice cream.
Comments –
Franz has a selection of recipes on his winery’s website. He generously informed me he “would love to add recipes to your book – just let me know which you would like.”
Santé!
Raclette and Wine in the Pyrenees
Here in the French Pyrenees ski town of Cauterets, seven kilometers from the border with Spain, there may be little snow, but there is ample hospitality.
Cauterets is in the province of Gascogne, south and east of Bordeaux, home of Aragon and French people who have shuttled between here and Spain for centuries. This is the home of the Three Musketeers and the concept of ‘the sweet life.’ It’s as appealing as it sounds.
I arrived by bus (after a two-hour train trip south from Bordeaux to misty Lourdes) where friends picked me up. We drank reunion beers and gin and tonics before shopping at La Cheeserier, where we met Marion and Julien, the proprietors. There we bought wine, cheese, and meats to make raclette back at ‘home’ – a spacious three-story house perched above the small city.
The local wine appellation in this province of Gascogne is known as Madiran, and the best reds include 100 percent Tannat (also the dominant grape in the country of Uruguay). The AOC appellation rules also allow the inclusion of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Fer.
The local whites include Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng, Sauvignon Blanc, Courbu, and Arrufiac grapes.
We also tasted one 100 percent Syrah – out of appellation here – but a bold, smooth stranger to this territory.
The cheese store also sold Mont D’Or – cheese in a can. This is opened and heated before you dip crusts of bread inside. Three skiers inside the store/bar invited me to sample their local Mont D’Or feast, which I did. It’s a delicious way to keep warm during the nip of winter.
Back at the house Valérie made raclette while Jérôme opened bottles of wine.
Although Tannat can be brutally tannic, the bottles we chose were well made, and the tastes smooth and round.
This hill country is sleepy and seductive, and no one is in a rush. The food and wine are unique, and crowds vanish a few days after the brunt of the holidays pass. It’s an ideal locale for easing into the first weeks of the New Year.
And a glass of Madiran for lunch while skiing is not a bad idea, either…
Almost Bought A Farm
About a year ago, during winter, I was driving away from the city of Bergerac, some 120 kilometers east of Bordeaux. Along this highway I said to myself – I need a sign of how to change life in the direction of destiny.
Destiny.
Suddenly there was this highway exit. I took it. I drove uphill, and there was this sprawling set of farmhouse buildings on the left. I said – bloated with destiny-inspired confidence: now – there will be a sign saying: ‘For Sale.’
And – Whoaa. There was.
So I pulled over and hopped a fence and scouted the grounds, and yes, the farmhouse needed rehab, but it had this stylin’ new swimming pool in the back, and three separate renovated adjacent structures – farmhouses – nearby. True, they were bought and occupied. But what about buying this set of buildings, transforming it into some sort of school, and eventually purchasing other buildings when the neighbors moved out?
Check out the view:
Magnifique…
I didn’t buy.
When I phoned, the sellers were out of town. But really, at that time I needed company and people, and not to be in the middle of the freezin’ ass countryside trying to figure out how to renovate barns without money or know-how or tools while bedding down on a pile of lice-infested hay in a sleeping bag with big dreams and no heating. And probably no food. (There would have been wine. Of course. I mean, this is France.)
Instead, I invested in a cosy apartment above a restaurant and a wine cellar and within shouting distance of a wonderful market, people, stores, vineyards, and a waterfront.
Excellent choice.
Who knows. Maybe that farm is still available.
Hello, Alternate Reality
Back to wine.
There are 22 regions of France, sub-divided into 96 departments. This is similar to the United States having states which are sub-divided into counties.
The Busy Farmhouse Neighborhood
The French region of Aquitaine brims with magnificent history: in the 12th century, young and beautiful Eleanor of Aquitaine married both the kings of France and England in succession, crusaded to Jerusalem (where she apparently took a lover), and eventually gave birth to Richard the Lion Heart. For centuries the Aquitaine equates with agricultural wealth and free-thinking individuals.
This region includes the smaller departments of Gironde (think Bordeaux), Dordogne (think inexpensive castles being cleverly snapped up and purchased by Brits), Lot-et-Garonnne (think riverside beauty and peaceful acres lacking a decent airport), Landes (complete mystery, but on cursory research appears to include the heart-healthiest wines on this planet), and Pyrénées-Atlantiques (with chique turbo resorts catering to aficionados of mountain and ocean sports).
Where is Bergerac?
Within the Dordogne, I visited the city of Bergerac earlier this year, as told above. This city is roughly at the same latitude as the city of Bordeaux, but 140 kilometers east as the crow flies. It includes compelling architecture, twisting alleys with cafes, open squares, fountains, and pedestrian shopping malls that emulate those of Bordeaux city. There is also a waterfront along the Dordogne River (a tributary of the Gironde estuary which splits Bordeaux wine country brutally in two). Bergerac has an international airport with flights to the UK, Ireland, and north Africa, as well as adjoining countryside with spacious real estate less expensive that many other regions in France
I purchased eight bottles of Bergerac red wine for 75 Euros (81 US dollars). At eight bucks a bottle it was jammy and oaky, yet still better than wine that would have cost twice that much from a supermarket shelf in Michigan or California.
When in doubt in life – there is consolation in Le Vin De Merde. [Not from Bergerac, but Bordeaux.]
Which is good. Perhaps I’ll buy a case, a sleeping bag, and a sketch book to fill with drawings of how to renovate that farmhouse while pouring glasses of affordable Bergerac wine.
After all – destiny has no fixed timetable.
So, Happy Holidays. And Dream Big. When a voice calls, take the highway exit. Look around.
You may be surprised. And you can always say – perhaps later.
Holiday Wine Reads
Who has time to read books during the holiday season? There are people to visit, food to eat, movies to watch, and trails to walk.
But lists of wine books persist. If you don’t have time to read now, put books on an electronic ‘wish list’ for later.
Some of the lists below are recent, while others were published months ago. In March, The Gourmand Group listed best wine books, while in April, Food and Wine Magazine listed top sommeliers and their pairings of wine and food.
In July, the UK Daily Telegraph told us the best wines to match with scallops, and in August The Jerusalem Post recommended a book about a wine route in Israel.
In November, The Seattle Times recommended five great wine books for the holiday season, and more recently Lettie Teague from the Wall Street Journal recommended five wine books for beginners. Meanwhile, The Wine Turtle recommended 10 must-read wine books.
What else this past year?
The Irish Times recommended how to match wine and cheese, as well as a book by the author of that article – titled Wilson on Wine 2016. The Australian Daily Telegraph reviewed the book Tangled Vines, and The Portland Tribune reviewed the recent wine thriller, titled Vintage.
For more traditional wine books, The Australian reviewed James Halliday’s wine books, and here is a review of Matt Kramer’s book True Taste. If you’re into seriously heave wine lit, The Vancouver Sun recommended a six pound (three kilogram) wine book titled Wine Grapes.
Care for a visual treat? Open and read (from back to front), the graphic novel Drops of God, and though not a book, the following site includes a compilation of Fiona Beckett’s recipes, including recommended drink pairings (which includes wines).
So ignore the holiday bustle awhile. Treat yourself. Take time off. Pour a favored vino, then enjoy a decent read.
Premier Crus – the Movie
Months ago, there was a showing in my home town of Blaye, Bordeaux, of the new French movie Premier Crus. Some of the actors attended and answered questions. I was sorry to have missed out.
“Ne t’inquiétez pas,” a winemaker friend told me. “Don’t worry. When it comes out on video, with subtitles, we’ll gather to watch it before a roaring fire at our vineyard.”
Sounds perfect…
This movie takes place in Burgundy, a region on the opposite side of the country from Bordeaux, with a comparatively smaller quantity of wine production. Burgundy’s cachet and fame derive from the quality of the delicate local Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines the region produces.
[Though Bordeaux is not teeming with actors, a neighboring vineyard was recently sold by actor Gerard Depardieu to artist Thierre Bisch to another friend…who suggests an investment would be wise. But, that is another story.]
For those who crave variety it may be difficult to subsist on Pinot Noir alone as a source of local red wine. Still, a nice Burgundy at the right temperature is always welcome. It may not be enough reason to move to the region, but it’s impetus for an occasional visit.
The geographical setting of the movie is somewhat timely. After Chinese invested heavily in Bordeaux wines during the stellar vintages of 2009 and 2010, prices skyrocketed, and investment consequently declined. The Chinese then discovered Burgundy. The worldwide fame of the region (once again) escalated. (Apparently Tuscany may be the next focus for serious Chinese investment, thought that is unsubstantiated rumor.)
I’ve not yet seen the movie. Have any of you?
Before leaving the media world, I was prompted to delve into, and enjoy, a highly readable fiction book about competitive blind wine tasting, titled Blinders, by Michael Amon. Rather than review it here, check out the review on the Social Vignerons site. The book is a great read – entertaining, down to earth, unpredictable, and fun.
News –
Years ago I took a water resources course. Reviewing notes from one class before exams turned confusing until a friend revealed the reason. During each of two classes per week, alternate topics were discussed: the first covered hydrology, the second covered water quality.
Without knowing this, the notes seemed confusing.
It may be similar with two separate blogs I publish on alternate weeks. One – Vino Voices – concerns wine. The other – Roundwood Press – includes articles about writing, publishing, and travel.
Because the Vino Voices blog promotes a book published by Roundwood Press, it belongs to that site.
Hence, the forthcoming merger.
In coming weeks, both blogs will transform to different tabs on one site. Subscribers to Vino Voices will automatically be redirected. This process should be straightforward.
“Ne t’inquiétez pas.”
Don’t worry.
The Roundwood Press site also now includes a new tab – Videos. This includes dozens of short videos clips I took and published during recent years, including vineyard drone shots, winemaker interviews, cellar song renditions, book reviews, and travel pieces (including that wonderful, brazen, toothless, singing grandmother from the mountains of Bhutan – below).
Thanks for staying tuned during the modification of this site. If your friends are interested in wine – please share a sample post and encourage them to sign up. This may not yet be a Premier Cru of wine blogs, but it is improving…
If you’d like to learn more about my book Vino Voices, click on the image below.
Life Advice from the World of Wine…
People shared the following wisdom – not about wine, but about life – during conversations for my book Vino Voices (now in paperback).
“People work for one of two reasons. One: to make their wealth. Two: to fill their heart with wealth.”
Bill Wilson – Proprietor, Wilson Creek Winery, Temecula, California, USA
__________
“You know Zen? Japanese. Something very slowly. The rhythm is in the moon, in the sun, the nature. You can do nothing against this.”
Carolos Costoya – Owner, Costoya Winery, Ribeira Sacra, Spain
__________
“In a situation when things go wrong in a small community, a lot of people come together and make a big difference. That’s one of the great things about living in a small community. You’re really connected with people.”
Autumn Millhouse – Author, Napa, California, USA
__________
“I’d rather under promise and over deliver if you know what I mean. Well I reckon’ that’s the way forward.”
Summer Bell – Winemaker, Stonyridge Winery, Waiheke Island, New Zealand
__________
“You say, ‘I can’t.’ Then you say, ‘Well, yes, I can.’ You say, ‘I couldn’t,’ but then you say, ‘I’m going to see whether I can.’ It gives you enthusiasm.”
Flavio Fenocchio – Winemaker, Marchesi di Barolo Winery, Barolo, Italy
__________
“I woke up one day and thought, ‘Okay, I bought a house, I’m here, I’m unemployed. What do I love, what do I want to do that would be cool?’ This is what happened with that thought pattern.”
Windee Smith – Proprietor, Valley Wine Shack, Sonoma, California, USA
__________
“Serendipity? I think that’s for anyone who’s open to what the universe sends them.”
Les Kellen – Proprietor, Villa Saint Simon Guest House, Blaye, Bordeaux, France
__________
“Innovation is the way forward in life.”
David Lehmann – Winemaker and Owner, david Franz Wines, Tanunda, Australia
__________
“It’s all about not forgetting that you don’t stand here today having accomplished it all on your own. You’ve done it through the help and support of other people. It’s about what goes around comes around.”
Norm Benson – Winemaker and Owner, Dark Star Cellars, Paso Robles, California, USA
__________
“I did what I had to do. I proved that I will succeed, and I can succeed, and I don’t need a man to do it.”
Robyn Drayton – Winemaker and Former Owner, Drayton Wines, Pokolbin, Hunter Valley, Australia
__________
“People don’t realize that today you need something extra. Like good music. Like having time for reading. Or eating. Something extra. Something like a slow life. That means you have the time for appreciating wine, music, lots of things. These are things we need to indulge in because they’re healthy, good, stable.”
Alvaro Arriagada – Winemaker, Casa Donoso Winery, Talca, Chile
__________
“I love teaching. You watch these people who are so lacking in self-confidence and so wanting to learn but so scared to ask questions. And you watch them turn into confident people who can evaluate and critically analyze and think. That’s what makes me happy. That’s why I do what I do.”
Marianne McKay – Lecturer, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
__________
“My philosophy that I share with the family is it should have some support and encouragement – divinely – in that you should be good at it. The way that you know you’re good at it is you think you are. That’s one thing. But if other people think you are, then it’s not just in your mind.”
“Give me a passionate person in anything they’re doing. I want a passionate airline pilot. I want a passionate chef and a passionate winemaker and a passionate brain surgeon and a passionate dentist who’s not thinking about earning ten thousand dollars, but wants to do the best he can. I consider it a good day when we encourage the best in others because that brings out the best in us.”
Peter McDonald – Farmer and Musician, Finger Lakes, New York, USA
__________
“My husband said, ‘If you can read a book then you can be whatever you want.’ ”
Zlatka Cvetko – Co-Owner, Kogl Winery, Velika Nedelja, Slovenia
__________
“Work’s never really been much of a grind for me, because otherwise, why do it?”
Samantha Scarratt – Winemaker, Wither Hills Winery, Marlborough, New Zealand
__________
“For us, rather than always being first, it’s more important being among the first three, because if you are consistently among the first three out of ten or fifteen… that’s a big result.”
Mauro Gamba – Co-Owner, Botti Gamba Barrel Producer, Castell’Alfero, Italy
__________
“Balance. You want balance at the end of the day.”
Shaun Turnbull – Winemaker, Stone Hill Wine Company, Hermann, Missouri, USA
__________
“You have a company. You have an image. If you make a mistake in one market with a big customer, that can be known nowadays in all the world. So you have to really work the best you can so that you will not have problems. Otherwise your image will be compromised.”
Filipe Brandão – Manager, J. Tavares corks, Santa Maria de Lama, Portugal
__________
“There’s the being your own boss, entrepreneurial side of things, where you’re building it. The reward is that satisfaction of starting a business, being successful in it, making a good product, and then you get immediate validation from the customer – whether or not you met their needs or didn’t.”
Jason Gerke – Co-Owner, Jowler Creek Winery, Missouri, USA
__________
“I don’t want to get sucked into a job that’s too comfortable. I’d rather be financially a little uncomfortable…and find the right opportunity.”
George Stevenson – Chef, Seattle, Washington, USA
__________
“My goal is to get people what they want. To give a little education, but not preach. Listen to your customer and show them something new. The non-pretentious sort of path.”
Clint Hillery – Sommelier and Wine Bar Owner, Sydney, Australia
__________
“I am independent with my own business. I say always to my employees, ‘I work harder than you, longer than you, but I must have time for people.’ It’s important to have time for people and not say, ‘Okay, we have five minutes.’ I think it’s very important. It’s a way of life also.”
Louis-Bernard Emery – Owner, Cave Emery Wines, Valais, Switzerland
__________
“It’s about composition, not about numbers. Somebody asked Mozart one day, ‘How many parts in a requiem?’ And he looked at them and said, ‘Well, there are enough of them and they’re in the right places.’ ”
“There’s inherently nothing that’s perfect. Everything can be improved on, ultimately. But the purpose of wine and books and art and music is…they encourage people to go and search for more. Especially young people. It’s like in art, Cezanne and Gauguin are of course obtainable by a rich person, but they inspire other people to do better than they would otherwise have done.”
“Everyone is great in their own way, and they are different. They are original and have their own quality. It’s the composition that matters. It’s not how many words. They don’t sell books by the weight in kilos, thank God.”
Danny Shuster – Wine Consultant, New Zealand
Southern Wine Surprises – UK and France
I’m far from Europe now, recalling highlights.
Here are some notes about recent surprises from both France and England.
Burgundy – Expensive and Sometimes Deservedly So
The author of the Bordeaux Wine Blog is Alex Rychlewski, an American who has lived in Bordeaux city for decades. One of his recent posts describes an evening when we met, together with a friend from England, to taste two excellent wines in the city. The first was an excellent white – a Chablis, while the second was a Gevrey Chambertin from Burgundy. Here’s what I scribbled that evening.
“This blew me away – an enchanted blackberry forest…with smoke and leather. No subtleties here. It’s like reading a medieval thriller that’s a page turner – dark and alluring. Chocolate, mint, and yes – really – even pencil lead.”
Faugères from Languedoc – Simple, Silky, Satisfying
Earlier that evening I met up with television documentary producer Maxime Granata at a city wine bar known as Chez le Pépère in Bordeaux. He suggested a glass from the Faugères region of the Languedoc in southern France. This was silky and rich – a better wine from a region once considered – decades ago – to be a field of plonk. Overall, the quality in Languedoc improves, incrementally.
Maxime’s latest TV production is called The Wine Seekers. Click to check out the trailer – it looks zippy and fun and we’ll let you know when it comes out.
Three other wines are listed below – surprises from southern France and southern England. Two are made from unusual grape varieties. One comes from a region few even know about.
Jurançon – Where? And What Grapes?
That wine is a mystery, I told the friend who poured it. You’re sure it’s French?
Bien sure, he said. Of course.
First came the process of elimination: I sniffed and swirled and rolled it in my mouth like a happy child. It was not Sauvignon Blanc or Muscadet or Chenin Blanc. That ruled out Bordeaux and the Loire Valley. It could have been Chardonnay, but no it couldn’t be. The scent was strong with diesel, as well as apricots, orange rind, green apples, lamb chops, and – oh yeah – Play Doh. Seriously. It was buttery but chalky…like a cross between a well-oaked Burgundy and a mineral Chablis.
But, no.
There was something out of the ball park with this wine.
The truth, my friend Julien told, is it came from southern France – between Bordeaux and the Pyrenees Mountains.
This was Camin Larredya – a white wine made from three grapes – Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng, and Petit Courbu. It looks like this region of Jurançon near the city of Pau – just a tad east of the surfing, bling-bling crowd from Biarritz – has been producing wine since around the 1300s (a colorful era when the 100 Years War pitted French and English soldiers in heinous longbow-versus-crossbow massacres while the Black Plague snuffed out a third of Europe’s population).
I’d never heard of the grapes, much less tasted them. Just when you think you’ve grabbed hold of understanding wine, someone uncorks a bottle not only of Manseng, but with gros and petit versions included.
Back to the tasting room.
Côtes De Duras – Think Modified Bordeaux
This red wine was a raspberry explosion, which indicated Malbec included. And Merlot was detectable. Meaning the wine probably came from Bordeaux, or close. But it was smooth, agreeable, delightful.
This was a medium cuvée from the biodynamic producer Domaine Mouthes le Bihan located in the Côtes de Duras near the city of Agen, south and east of Bordeaux along the Garonne River. Agen is renowned for its large carmel-scented chewy prunes (best filled with Roquefort cheese, or stuffed into pork. Sometimes both).
As the friend who poured said of this wine, “It’s not complicated, but it’s complex,” with 50 percent Merlot, 25 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 15 percent Cabernet Franc, and 10 percent Malbec.
At 15 Euros a bottle this is an unparalleled bargain.
Dorking – Only 21 miles from London
This noble botrytis dessert wine comes from England (thanks David and Gaynor). Poured out of a 50 ml bottle it’s a sweet late harvest wine. Considering that that region is a fair distance from Sauternes, I was impressed by the smoothness and overall quality. This Denbies 2014 dessert wine is made exclusively from the Ortega grape (don’t worry if you’ve never heard of it; neither has most of the world). This winery uses grapes appropriate for the latitude and climate, including many familiar to Germans: Muller Thurgau, Reichensteiner, Seyval Blanc, and Bacchus, as well as Rondo and Regent.
Years ago in the Cognac region, a wine maker told me how he learned his craft – paradoxically – in England. Charles Capbern-Gasqueton told me: “In England we didn’t have anything. There was a lab, but far from the place. You had to do everything on your own. For the sugar level, for fermentation. When you’re living in Bordeaux, in Cognac, and you need anyone to assist, it’s very easy to find people. You can’t in England. There’s no one there. So you have to do it with no help. You are responsible from the beginning to the end.”
For visionary vintners forging out in foggy territory with German varietals and a wildly variable climate – nice one. This wine is smooth and well made.
Black Wine of Cahors
Window view from Restaurant Bellevue, town of Puy l’Evêque
Three hours east of Bordeaux and an hour and a half north of Toulouse, the sine-shaped River Lot snakes through the hills of Cahors wine country.
Red wine from the Cahors appellation must include 70 percent Malbec (known locally as Côt) and 30 percent Tannat or Merlot, or a blend of both. No Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc are allowed.
That’s a hefty dose of deep black tannins. Which means – producing tamed and balanced wines is a challenge here.
Medieval country scene, from a window in Clos Triguedina
In the year 1137, fifteen-year old Eleanor of Aquitaine (which was the wealthiest province of what is now known as France), married the King of France. At this time the Medoc region of Bordeaux (which now produces the famed ‘First Growth’ wines) was an uncultivated swamp, devoid of vines. The wine for Eleanor’s wedding in Bordeaux City came, instead, from further east – the region known as Cahors. This wine had a reputation for being dark and hardy and having a long life. When rot killed great swathes of Malbec vines in 1956, the region of Cahors did not rip out the grape vines as did many other regions in France (and Bordeaux) but continued to plant them during succeeding years.
Quietly rural
I recently visited Cahors with Stella Kim, a South Korean wine sommelier now based in Singapore. Taking her away from the more branded wines of Medoc and Saint Emilion seemed to be a good way to get her to appreciate a lesser known, yet attractive, wine region that produces good quality and good value French wines.
Architecture based on defense and religion
We visited three wine châteaux in a day, and enjoyed more bottles during our meals. We ate lunch at Hotel Bellevue overlooking the Lot River in the town of Puy l’Evêque. For dinner we drove a half hour to Le Gindreau restaurant (one Michelin star) in the location of Saint Médard – hidden in the countryside. The best bottles were smooth and balanced, though hardy. Those of lesser quality were tannic yet bland.
Fusing modern to ancient
Note that one wine we tasted (and which I bought several bottles of) is named Probus – after the Roman emperor who decreed that local wine could be grown again after an earlier prohibition was imposed by the empire leadership. [My other posts about Romans and French wine include Long Road through Languedoc, and Wine Bottles and Battles].
Fortunately, we found a few beauties in the region. After some long tasting sessions, followed by bottles of Belgian ale, we even managed to snooze a few hours before returning to Bordeaux.
And the Cahors region? Beautiful.
My scoring for wines we tasted are below, using the Vino Value™ algorithm. *
| Vino Value™ Scoring of Selected Wines – Cahors | |||
| Wine | Retail Price – Euros | Retail Price – US dollars equivalent | Value Score |
| Château Lamartine Cahors 2012 | € 7.50 | $8.40 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Lamartine Cahors Cuvée Particulière 2012 | € 11.00 | $12.32 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Lamartine Cahors Expression 2012 | € 23.00 | $25.76 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Lamartine Cahors Expression 2011 | € 24.00 | $26.88 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Carrigou Cahors 2010 | € 9.50 | $10.64 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château du Cèdre Cahors Héritage 2012 | € 7.50 | $8.40 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château du Cèdre Cahors Extra Libre Vin Natural 2014 | € 14.50 | $16.24 | Excellent Value ♫ ♫ |
| Château du Cèdre Cahors Organic Wine 2012 | € 14.50 | $16.24 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château du Cèdre Le Cèdre 2012 | € 33.50 | $37.52 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château du Cèdre GC 2012 | € 74.00 | $82.88 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Clos Triguedina Cahors 2010 | € 17.35 | $19.43 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Clos Triguedina Probus 2007 | € 33.00 | $36.96 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
Harvest Buzz in Wine Country
This post includes four topics –
- Harvest! And Recipe
- New Videos
- New Paperback
- How the Wine Scoring Algorithm Works
Harvest!
There is a unique harvest tradition in a small region of Bordeaux. While visiting Château Mercier last week I enjoyed lunch with the Chéty family and grape pickers – including fresh baguettes, tomato salad, meatloaf, beans, roast chicken breasts, cheeses, apple tarts, and bottles of premium 2010 wine. Afterwards, as per tradition, we celebrated the ‘products of the season’ by eating chestnuts (in this case, boiled with fennel seeds, fig leaves, and salt) and drinking glasses of fresh, pink fermenting wine juice (only days old).
Boiled chestnuts and fresh fermented grape juice
After the lunchtime onslaught of taste vibrations and rich wine, sampling chestnuts and pink vino felt decadent. Yet this was affordable decadence, which is a true lesson about quality. The event took place in an atmosphere of camaraderie (during harvest near the village of Plassac) and resonated with mutual respect for agriculture, community, family business, and taste – all reminders of how the best qualities in life often lie off the beaten trail.
Below is the recipe from Château Mercier – which is probably more suited for Europe than much of the US, considering it includes gathering fresh chestnuts and figs.
Harvest Festival Chestnuts – from Martine Chéty of Château Mercier.
Comments –
Martine writes:
“Some of these local chestnut trees are two meters in diameter and hundreds of years old. The town of Saint Trojan has 500 trees, which prevented famine during past times. During winter evenings, it was a pleasure for our children to sit by the fireplace and roast chestnuts in a pan. But here is a recipe for boiled chestnuts, which we taste with sweet wine that is just beginning to ferment.”
Preparation Time and Quantity –
15 minutes to prepare, 45 minutes to cook. Serves 6 people.
Ingredients and Amounts –
Fresh chestnuts – 2 pounds (1 kg)
Fennel flowers – a handful, or two teaspoons of fennel seeds
Fig leaves – 4
Coarse salt – 2 teaspoons (10 grams)
Recipe –
1. Cut a hole in each chestnut, then place into a saucepan.
2. Cover the chestnuts with water.
3. Add all other ingredients.
4. Boil for 45 minutes.
New Videos –
Here are some videos I recently prepared – one includes drone shots for a Saint Emilion Grand Cru wine chateau, and the other includes a winemaker friend excited about the upcoming harvest.
Drone Château Pindefleurs
Interview of a Bordeaux Winemaker – Jérôme Eymas of Château La Rose Bellevue, in the appellation Blaye – Côtes de Bordeaux
That same interview in French
New Paperback –
My book Vino Voices will be re-issued this week – this time stripped of all photographs, reduced in size, and issued as a paperback. It’s a quick read with more than fifty characters telling, in their own words, the surprising but sometimes challenging attractions of working with wine.
I’ll be happy to send free copies to the first five people who contact me with a mailing address.
No longer just an ebook or a coffee table book
How the Vino Value Wine Scoring Algorithm Works –
Earlier this year I spent months developing a new wine value scoring algorithm frequently used on this site. A few readers told me how they had printed off the scores before marching to their local wine store. The scoring table shown shows only results, not the process.
In case you’re wondering whether there really is a method to this scoring, here’s a summary of the process in a few points.
Point One – Quality is Not Completely Subjective
In doing blind wine tastings with friends (some who never drink wine, others who love it) I noticed how everyone generally puts wines into a few categories – bad, excellent, and okay. In other words, having years of wine tasting experience may help a person appreciate subtleties in taste, but most humans have a relatively uniform appreciation of quality. After tasting eight wines, most people will rank them as best, worst, and in a middle range along a scale that is roughly the same. Not exactly, sometimes not even too similar, but statistically – with a large amount of people – close. In other words, humans’ ability to discern and rank quality is relatively universal. Sure, we’re all different and tastes are generally subjective – but along a linear scale, there are warthogs and princesses, and most humans can tell the difference.
Point Two – The Correlation Between Quality and Price is VERY Loose, at Best
If you graph the quality of wine (taking ‘quality’ as points from well reputed sources, such as Parker’s Wine Advocate, or the Wine Spectator Magazine) against the price (taken from these same reputable sources) you come up with a graph that looks like buckshot pellets sprayed against a barn door with a blunderbuss. You expect to see some resemblance to a straight line, or at least a coherent curve, but – No. You think that as price increases, quality similarly increases? Or, you think that as quality increases, prices similarly increase? Wrong.
Find out yourself. Boot up an Excel spreadsheet, buy a copy of the Wine Spectator, plug in the numbers, churn out a graph. The points will look more like the Milky Way galaxy than like a line of lights along a runway.
Point Three – Value Relates to Quality and Price
People out there score wines. And they list prices. And they are not combining the two in some intelligent manner that examines all wines in a region, looks at the quality, looks at the price, and says – Bingo – in relation to each other, these wines can be ranked as good value, excellent value, or superlative value.
So now I’m doing it.
Point Four – It’s Not Simple
Generating an algorithm to value-score wines was not easy, though the premise is easy. The relationship between price and quality is not linear, because at some point the quality of wine is good enough that our concerns about price lower. Yet few examine this methodically. That’s why wine producers and sellers are able to sell wines at prices that hardly correlate to quality (remember – buckshot and the barn door).
Point Five – How It Works
No, I’m not giving away proprietary details. But the images below should trigger an appreciation that there really is more to these Vino Value™ scoring tables than four simple columns.
Wines are ranked according to quality and price. These variables are then combined, but weighted and modified based on the premise from Point Four above (concerns about price diminish with an increase in quality, though in a non-linear way). The weighing factors also depend on which wine region we’re in.
Here is what you might see on a typical post:
Here is the (slightly redacted) behind-the-scenes table that you don’t see:
The point is – quite a bit of thought and methodical calibration goes into this value scoring of wines.
Coming soon – the black wine of Cahors…
Battle Wines from Castillon
One of several little castles in the region
In 1953, residents in southern France voted to change their town’s name from Castillon-sur-Dordogne (‘Little Castle-on-the-Dordogne River’) to Castillon-la-Bataille, or ‘Little-Castle-of-the-Battle.’ This wasn’t just some plucky whim to add drama to their heritage. Exactly five hundred years earlier, their hometown had hosted a battle with pedigree – the final fight of the 100 Years War. During this tournament of maim and kill, England’s eighty-year-old Earl of Shrewsbury was pinned down by his slain horse and bludgeoned to death by an axe-wielding French soldier. This ended not just a battle, but the protracted war.
Elisabeth and Eric at Château La Rose Poncet
The more I learn about the ‘100 Years War’ between France and England, the more the name appears to have been invented by an enthusiastic, though erroneous, teacher trying to simplify history for impatient, bored students. First, this ‘war’ lasted not 100 years, but 116 years. Second, it was not a war but a series of battles and skirmishes, only loosely connected in purpose. Third, this ‘war’ was preceded and succeeded by ample other conflicts between France and England. Slapping this moniker on is like a historian considering US conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan as being part of ‘The 65 Year War’ between the US and, well, Asia.
The grounds of La Rose Poncet – ready for harvest
A big surprise about this battle? It was residents of Bordeaux themselves – the ‘Bordelais’ – who requested that Henry VI of England send in troops to rescue them from the French. Truly. Bordeaux, and a sizable chunk of the land mass we now call France, had then been under English reign for hundreds of years. The residents of Bordeaux were more interested in maintaining their flourishing, prosperous, wine trade with England and sunning themselves in the Aquitaine sun than having estranged neighbors gallop in uninvited to hoist an alien flag over their home territory.
The weekend before last, alerted by another American wine blog writer living in Bordeaux named Alex Rychlewski, I visited ‘Portes Ouvertes’ in the wine region known as ‘Castillon – Côtes de Bordeaux.’ This region sits on the right bank of the Gironde estuary, bordering the more famed (and expensive) Saint Emilion wine region to the west.
Château Pitray – home to generations of the same family for six centuries
For two days, the owners of seventeen wine châteaux threw open doors, uncorked bottles, and poured out streams of their prized products. I managed to GPS navigate through forests and over hills, wending a route to track down ten châteaux (ranging from stately castles to garages).
The first château I visited was the 12 hectare (30 acre) Belgian owned Château Goubau. After I parked, Bea Goubau-Goossens trekked off into vines to implore her husband Stéphane to dismount his tractor and come pour wine for the early bird visitor – me – all bright-eyed and enthused for a morning tasting – degustacion – at 10.15 am (well I did have the afternoon already planned out). After dismounting his tractor, Stéphane appeared as well dressed as though on his way to a wedding – minus the jacket. Their wines? Their top red wines are peppery, with a beautiful balance between tannins and fruit.
Gentle hills and quiet living
This was an excellent start to the journey – where good quality wine results from careful vine keeping and thoughtful investments in appropriate technology. Fermentation takes place in horizontal steel tanks where a rotating arm (along the eye-level axis) accomplishes the same as a ‘pump over’ or ‘push down’ to keep floating grape skins in constant contact with juice. Why this method? Because it is gentle on the grapes, Stéphane said. The non-traumatic consideration toward grapes is a factor he constantly keeps in mind to produce quality wines. Considering Stéphane has an MBA from Harvard and ten years winemaking experience, I was not surprised to find him well-organized, methodical, and determined to produce the best. The couple moved here in the year 2005 to a site with a stunning vista of lower woodlands, because “we had a passion,” Stéphane admits. When I departed, having invested in a few bottles of their wine, Bea reminded me how the wine “goes particularly well with food.”
Very true.
Lunch time picnic spread near the vines
At the next château – far more rickety – the owner’s friends had set up an ancient film projector inside. They wooed me in, glass in hand, to a dank stone cellar to watch a black-and-white newsreel of skirted London ladies parading around the 1966 World Trade Fair.
Newsreel showtime in a cellar
This was followed by a quick snippet about communist elections in bygone France. The relation to wine? None. Yet it was intriguing, especially for a community steeped in a history that revolves around England and power. I tipped my glass, bid adieu, and motored on.
Next? Lunch in a garden (which was excellent), where the owner’s young son insisted that I halt mid-way through a plate of roasted duck to attend his magic show in the garage. Which, of course, it would have been impolite to refuse. This day was getting more intriguing by the minute.
At Château La Rose Poncet, proprietors Elisabeth and Eric shared their stories about grunts and grief and eventual gratitude at their making wine for over 15 years. They take particular pride in their ‘Mon anGe’ wine (which is a play on names of their children), a prize-winning 100 percent Merlot. The wine was well made and their dedication to the vines was obvious.
At Château Lapeyronie, we sampled a delightful 100 percent Carménère – a definite unexpected and beautiful highlight of this foray into Castillon.
Life is good
Our final stop was at Château Fontbaude – which involved sitting at a table in the shade of trees with Christian, one of the owners, to sample his 100 percent Merlot from an 80-year-old plot. This was a peaceful way to end the day.
And the wine from this region – in general?
Growers tell how their vineyards share identical or similar geology to neighboring Saint Emilion. The red wines are primarily made from Merlot (several of them 100 percent) and Cabernet Franc (or Malbec), while Cabernet Sauvignon is little used. Whether oaked in barrels or not, many wines are mouth-puckeringly tannic, which may relate to the purity of the limestone substrate. The dichotomy here – including pitfalls and advantages – is that small growers often disregard investing time or expense in improving production techniques, while those winemakers who do so often produce excellent wines at reasonable costs.
Unexpected surprise – 100 percent Carménère
Of the many wines we tasted, the following deserve ranking as good, excellent, and superlative values for price (which, as my friend Annabelle explained in French, is: ‘bon rapport, qualité prix’) using the proprietary Vino Value algorithm. *
|
Vino Value™ Scoring of Selected Red Wines – Castillon – Côtes de Bordeaux |
|||
| Wine | Retail Price – Euros | Retail Price – US Dollars Equivalent | Value Score |
| Château Goubau ‘La Source’ 2012 | € 12.50 | $14.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Goubau 2011 | € 17.00 | $19.04 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château de Laussac ‘Cuvée La Dame’ 2013 | € 5.00 | $5.60 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château de Laussac ‘Cuvée La Fleur’ 2012 | € 8.00 | $8.96 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château de Laussac (A.N. Robin) 2012 | € 12.50 | $14.00 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château de Laussac ‘Cuvée Sacha’ 2012 | € 19.50 | $21.84 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| [Château de Laussac ‘Les Valentines’ 2012 (Saint Émilion Grand Cru) ] | € 15.00 | $16.80 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château La Font du Jeu (Lapeyronie) 2012 | € 7.00 | $7.84 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Lapeyronie 2012 | € 9.00 | $10.08 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Lapeyronie 2012 (no sulfites) | € 15.00 | $16.80 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Lapeyronie Carménère (100%) 2012 | € 15.00 | $16.80 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Franc La Fleur 2011 | € 10.00 | $11.20 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château La Rose Poncet 2010 | € 6.00 | $6.72 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château La Rose Poncet ‘Vent d’Ange’ 2011 | € 6.00 | $6.72 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château La Rose Poncet 2011 | € 8.00 | $8.96 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château La Rose Poncet ‘Mon anGe’ 2011 | € 20.00 | $22.40 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Bellevue – Danièle Hirtzlin 2012 | € 6.00 | $6.72 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Bellevue – Danièle Hirtzlin ‘Vignobles Lydoire’ 2012 | € 7.50 | $8.40 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Bellevue – Danièle Hirtzlin ‘Cé Ma Cuvée’ 2011 | € 14.00 | $15.68 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château de Belcier 2010 | € 10.40 | $11.65 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château de Belcier ‘Le Pins de Belcier’ | € 14.40 | $16.13 | Good Value ♫ |
| Clos Vedelago Merlot 2012 | € 11.00 | $12.32 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Fontbaude ‘Vieilles Vignes’ 2012 | € 10.00 | $11.20 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Fontbaude ‘L’Ame de Fontbaude’ 2011 | € 16.00 | $17.92 | Good Value |
* For more information on this proprietary wine value scoring algorithm, click here.
Drone Footage from Blaye – Côtes de Bordeaux
We leave beautiful Castillon now and return to the northeast (an hour-long drive) to home territory. I recently prepared this short video – including ample drone footage – for friends Jérôme and Valérie Eymas who own and manage Château La Rose Bellevue (Blaye – Côtes de Bordeaux wine appellation). The music ‘Le Bon Vin’ was generously provided free of copyright by the French musician/poet duo Philippe Lemoine and Hervé Tirefort (more information about them is on the YouTube site). And thanks to Les and Clarissa from Villa Saint Simon, Blaye, for introducing me to these winemakers.
Valérie wrote this about the video (which she directed) on her Facebook site:
Tom, Jérôme and I have worked on a little video this summer (Tom has done all the job!!!). Us, we put in all our talent, in lifting up our glass of wine several time under the bite of the sun & the 40°C (104°F) burning of the heat… We chose to illustrate this video with a French song & music made by Hervé Tirefort and Philippe Lemoine. Those who know us will find in the lyrics (sorry but it’s in French) our philosophy of Epicure. Life is short and we must not miss all the good things that Mother Nature offers to us. We turn our grapes in our winery into a nectar, another day we adore tasting a nice dish of fried porcini mushrooms that we picked ourselves early in the bushes, as well as a fruit tart that we’ve made with fruits that we’ve picked in our grandmother’s garden… Isn’t it the Good Life ???
Indeed, it is.
Wake Up, Bordeaux
Several weeks ago on a Saturday morning two members of the National Police visited the wine store of a friend. Both men had removed identification numbers from their uniforms. Their mannerisms were blunt and intimidating. They demanded to see all legal documentation regarding ownership of the wine store. My friend immediately complied, and presented these documents.
Strangely, one officer took out a personal cell phone and began, methodically, to photograph each document.
When the store owner heard this story later that morning, he promptly walked to the local station and demanded an explanation. Officers removing identification numbers? Police photographing proprietary legal documents with personal cameras? This all very odd.
So began the saga of what could be called the local wine store wars, in which a proprietor of one store (in a city to be unnamed) apparently courted local police officers – with off-duty afternoons spent sharing bottles together – before requesting that they harass the proprietor of a newly opened wine store in town. Which they did. And which, having now been informed of the wanton illegality of their actions, these officers are wishing to forget.
Beautiful Bordeaux city
This is a neighborhood story. It took place in France. Yet it could have taken place in Italy, Argentina, or the United States. The difference of how it plays out depends on how strongly the civil servants of a country adhere to their legal systems. It is one thing to have laws, but an entirely different matter to ensure those laws are enforced.
It is likely that the wheels of justice will prevail, the perpetrators reprimanded, and the matter soon forgotten or transformed to a lesson about the folly of haste.
What is more intriguing is that the officers appear to have been instruments of another individual’s motive to kill competition.
Perhaps none of these individuals heard of the phrase, spoken frequently by ex-US President John F. Kennedy, that ‘a rising tide lifts all boats.’
Fluid Bordeaux
This phrase was not invented by Kennedy, but adopted after he heard it spoken at a regional Chamber of Commerce meeting in New England. It means – economically – that when businesses better themselves financially, their actions often increase opportunities for neighbors to do alike. If a successful business draws more visitors and customers to a location, many other regional businesses are often better poised to increase their own sales.
Using a baton to squash competition also relates to the famed 1855 classification of Bordeaux wines – which is still considered valid. That year, at the behest of Emperor Napoleon III who was poised to host the world’s fair (‘Exposition Universelle’) in Paris, scouts visited Bordeaux to discern which wines were of the best quality, in order that they could be obtained and displayed to visitors in Paris.
Their selection of wines created a Bordeaux classification system – now more than a century and a half old – that is still utilized and considered by many as both practical and realistic.
Many merchants, wine producers, and critics never challenge the validity of this archaic system, contrary to the fact that common sense and ground realities indicate otherwise. Some other châteaux adjacent to these famed ‘first growth’ wines now produce wines that match or exceed the quality of wines listed in this ancient classification system. The unspoken belief is that this 1855 classification system should be considered valid because of its historical repute. This notion is quaint, but outdated.
Bordeaux region – a blend of modern and ancient thinking
Since the time of that classification, two world wars have been fought, the atom split, the airplane invented, the computer created, slaves emancipated, golf clubs teed off on the moon, and the horse and buggy replaced by the automobile. The world of agriculture was also reshaped in the past 170 years, including land management practices, technological innovations, pesticides, herbicides, management competency, climate alterations, quality control, and the economic impact of multiple external variables – including the invention of sophisticated processing equipment, the deployment of air cargo and container ships, and the viability of ‘flying winemakers’ – able to provide precise advice based on experience gained from working in dozens of countries.
If one wine store attracts more visitors to a location, all wine stores in the region can profit from the associated escalation of business. The notion that competition should be fended off by rigidly clinging to the status quo is, simply, outdated.
Flowers planted more recently than 1855
Ratatouille and Eggplant for Harvest Season
Summer fare – cucumbers, watermelon, and rosé – will soon be on fewer tables…
This web log is about wine, but this week we include two recipes. Why? Because recipes keep pouring in after my request for them for a forthcoming book – Winemaker’s Cooking Companion.
Isabelle Chéty of Château Mercier informed me of her mother – Martine’s – trove of vineyard recipes on their website recipe page (including – harvest cod, ribeye steak cooked over vine shoots, and Côtes de Bourg ratatouille), while winemaker Thomas Marchand contributed his great-great-grandmother’s recipe for pan-fried foie gras with basmati rice – originally from the wine region of Cahors.
Harvest season approaches – with outdoor dinners…
As an American I’m woefully ignorant about the sport – but at the wine store ‘La Cave de la Citadelle’ in Blaye was recently introduced to renowned Australian cricketer Dennis Lillee and his wife Helen. They were visiting the region, and kindly offered to put me in touch with Australian winemaker friends who can provide some more valued recipes.
This week includes two recipes appropriate for the upcoming harvest (yes, it’s still a few weeks away): fried eggplant (aubergine), and ratatouille. Both come from Martine Chéty, who lives with her winemaker family in the beautiful rolling hills of Bourg, about 20 minutes away from Blaye (or 10 minutes, if you drive like her daughter Isabelle).
Slicing and dicing for ratatouille…next step? Pour yourself a glass of wine
I plan to cook all recipes that will included in the upcoming book – so managed to rally up a pan of ratatouille yesterday evening. My effort was far from splendid. After sautéing onions, I neglected to turn down heat after adding peppers and garlic. The result? A bit of burnage…a cardinal sin of cookery. Still, the final product was decent, though a bit mushy – likely because I winced at the sight of bare veggies in a pan, and – panicked – threw in a glass of water. Not a brilliant move. No harm….live and learn.
Martine Chéty may have prepared this recipe years ago, because she recommends enjoying the ratatouille with a glass of Château Mercier Cuvée Traditional 1995. Good luck rustling up a bottle of that liquid gold. Instead I drank their Cuvée Prestige 2010 (even scoring that bottle required having an inside track). But a decent bottle of red – Bordeaux or some Cabernet or Merlot (or preferably a blend of both) – will do fine.
These recipes comes from the 13th generation of a family that has lived on the same land, and has produced wine, since the year 1697. That’s more than a century before explorers Lewis and Clark hiked and canoed across the American continent while shooting buffalo and fishing wild salmon to eat. It’s the same year Saint Paul’s Cathedral was consecrated in London, the same year the first steam engine was patented, and the year Peter the Great broke Russia’s isolation by touring western Europe.
One hour on the heat
Côtes de Bourg Ratatouille – from Martine Chéty of Château Mercier.
Comments –
Martine writes:
“August makes a cornucopia in the garden, cheerfully offering all vegetables, which I don’t want to lose. The children eat their provisions, and the rest I cook for a monstrous ratatouille which I put in jars, which, during the course of winter will bring us comforting flavors and good memories…My husband Philippe and I enjoy breaking eggs on this ratatouille when it is in the skillet.”
Preparation Time and Quantity –
45 minutes to prepare, 1 hour to cook. Serves 6 people.
Ingredients and Amounts –
Tomatoes (medium) – about 10
Eggplants (large) – 2
Zucchini (or ‘courgettes’) – 4
Onions (medium) – 3
Bell peppers (large) – 2
Garlic cloves – 2
Parsley, Thyme – generous sprinkles
Sage leaves – 3
Salt, Pepper – sprinkle
Sugar – 2 teaspoons
Olive oil – enough to just cover the pan bottom
Recipe –
1. Prepare the veggies – chop the onions and garlic, slice the peppers into long pieces a half-inch (1 cm) wide. Peel and chop the zucchini and eggplant into small chunks. Put aside.
2. Peel the tomatoes by plunging them into boiling water for 30 seconds, removing, then putting them into ice water to cool them before peeling (put three or four into the boiling water at a time). Then seed the tomatoes by slicing each in half along its ‘equator line’ and then scooping out the seeds with a spoon. Now chop them into chunks. Put aside.
3. Sauté onions in olive oil until they are lightly browned.
4. Reduce heat. Add sliced peppers and chopped garlic. Cook for 10 minutes.
5. Add zucchini and eggplant.
6. After 5 minutes add chopped tomatoes.
7. Add salt, pepper, parsley thyme, and sage.
8. Add sugar. Stir.
9. Cook for an hour over medium heat, stirring occasionally, and adding spices/salt/pepper as needed from tasting.
This ratatouille goes well with white meats, and with a decent bottle of red Bordeaux wine, or a Merlot.
Turn down the heat and fill up your glass
Fried Eggplant (Aubergine) – from Martine Chéty of Château Mercier.
Comments –
Martine writes:
“Eggplants (aubergines) are also known as ‘cèpes du pauvre’ (poor person’s mushrooms) because some years mushrooms are scarce or expensive. This dish replaces them with a taste that is strangely reminiscent. As we say at home, ‘When there are no thrushes, we eat blackbirds.’ “
Preparation Time and Quantity –
30 minutes to prepare, 5 minutes to cook. Serves 4 people.
Ingredients and Amounts –
Eggplants (aubergines) (medium) – 3
Garlic cloves – 3
Parsley – a few sprigs
Salt, Pepper – sprinkle of each
Sugar – 1 teaspoon
Recipe –
1. Prepare the veggies – peel the eggplants and then slice along axis into strips about 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick. Put strips in oven with medium heat for 5 minutes to dry them. Remove, then cut into large cubes.
2. Chop parsley until it is very fine. Crush or chop garlic.
3. Cover a pan bottom with olive oil. Add the eggplant chunks and fry on medium heat until tender.
4. Add garlic and parsley.
5. Sprinkle on salt, pepper, and sugar.
6. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring gently.
This goes well with all meat dishes and a decent red wine, such as Bordeaux, or a Merlot/Cabernet blend.
Bon Appétit!
The next Vino Voices post will include some high-speed drone footage above vines, as well as between vines…
Cooling Down in Alsace
Vineyards in Alsace wine country, and villages such as Ribeauville, Kientzheim, and Kayserberg
The beauty of Alsace is impressive. Strasbourg city includes soaring medieval architecture, and countryside villages are worth exploring by foot. The best wines here are also worth seeking out.
Alsace is the smallest of 22 regions that comprise continental France. Because of its location (bordering Switzerland and Germany), and history (sometimes part of France, sometimes belonging to Germany) the architecture and food appear more Tyrolean or Teutonic than French.
Before 50 BC, the Romans invaded this region and established it as a wine production center. Wise choice. They recognized the value of the sunshine and soil – the terroir – and the economy still thrives on wine production and export.
This region never lacks color…
…or readily available wine
I recently spent three days in Alace with my sister and her husband where we tasted about fifty wines. Red wines are often tasted before whites here in order to end on a sweet, strong note. The seven principal grapes include six whites: Riesling, Muscat, Gewürtztraminer, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, and Sylvaner; and one red: Pinot Noir. Only the first four are used to make Grand Cru wines – although there are exceptions to that rule. Pinot Gris is usually sweeter than Riesling, while Sylvaner – which is apparently somewhat ‘in fashion’ now – is an acidic, somewhat indistinct grape.
There’s a huge difference between low quality and high quality wines here. We generally found Riesling and Pinot Noir to provide the best wines, though some late harvest Muscat and Pinot Gris wines are also excellent.
The AOC designation of Alsace wines is similar to that of Burgundy – where slope, aspect, and location of soils are considered critical (from a historical perspective) to ensuring quality of grapes produced. Generally, ‘tradition’ wines are from grapes grown on the plains, ‘terroir’ wines from grapes grown on lower slopes, and ‘grand cru’ wines from grapes grown on the steeper, higher, choicest slopes.
Which are dry wines, and which sweet? Some producers, including Edmond Rentz, include a graphic on the back label of bottles that indicate sweetness or dryness. But it’s not always easy to tell in advance.
“The problem with Alsace,” said Anne-Caroline from Domaine Albert Mann, “is that you rarely know which are sweet, and which are dry wines.”
Alsace vineyards at the base of the Vosges Mountains
Alsace is visually impressive – with rolling hills, thick woods, hilltop fortresses, and small towns of medieval origin in neighboring valleys (such as Ribeauville, Kientzheim, Kayserberg, and Wettolsheim).
Below is a scoring of selected wines we tasted from three producers (scoring was made using the proprietary Vino Value algorithm * ). Some of the ‘superlative’ valued wines are higher priced because their quality is exceptional for this region.
| Vino Value Scoring of Selected Wines – Alsace | |||
| Wine | Retail Price – Euros | Retail Price – US dollars equivalent | Value Score |
| Edmond Rentz (Zellenberg) | |||
| Muscat – 2013 | € 7.20 | $7.85 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Riesling – 2013 | € 6.70 | $7.30 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Riesling – ‘Les Alouettes’ 2012 – 2013 | € 9.20 | $10.03 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Riesling – ‘Les Comtes’ 2012 | € 8.30 | $9.05 | Good Value ♫ |
| Riesling – Schoenenbourg Grand Cru 2013 | € 10.90 | $11.88 | Good Value ♫ |
| Pinot Gris – 2014 | € 7.50 | $8.18 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Pinot Gris – Froehn Grand Crus 2012 | € 11.90 | $12.97 | Good Value ♫ |
| Gewürtztraminer- Burg, Le Bourg 2013 | € 10.10 | $11.01 | Good Value ♫ |
| Pinot Gris – Sélection Grainse Nobles 1998 | € 49.35 | $53.79 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Domaine Albert Mann (Wettolsheim) | |||
| Pinot Noir – Clos de la Faille ® 2012 | € 32.00 | $34.88 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Pinot Noir – Grand P ® 2012 | € 43.00 | $46.87 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Pinot Noir – Les Saintes Claires ® 2013 | € 50.00 | $54.50 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Riesling – Cuvée Albert 2014 | € 19.00 | $20.71 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Riesling – Schlossberg 2013 | € 39.00 | $42.51 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Pinot Gris – 2014 | € 13.00 | $14.17 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Pinot Gris – Furstentum 2011 | € 24.00 | $26.16 | Good Value ♫ |
| Riesling – Schlossberg Grand Cru L’Epicentre 2013 | € 90.00 | $98.10 | Good Value ♫ |
| Gustave Lorentz (Bergheim) | |||
| Cremant – D’Alsace Brut (méthode traditionelle) | € 10.25 | $11.17 | Good Value ♫ |
| Muscat – Cuvée Particulière 2013/2014 | € 10.85 | $11.83 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Riesling – Grand Cru Altenberg ‘Vieilles Vignes’ 2009 | € 22.75 | $24.80 | Good Value ♫ |
| Pinot Noir – Elevé en Fût de Chêne 2010 | € 15.60 | $17.00 | Good Value ♫ |
| Gewürtztraminer – Cuvée Particulière 2011/2012 | € 13.50 | $14.72 | Good Value ♫ |
| Gewürtztraminer – Vendanges Tardives 2008 | € 33.20 | $36.19 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
* For more information on this proprietary value scoring algorithm, click here.
Bordeaux is On Fire
Though not really on fire, the Bordeaux region of France is hot. Very hot. There have been successive heat waves during past weeks (the most recent saw temperatures of 41 celsius, or 106 Fahrenheit). These leave us sunburned, thirsty, and reclining on patios during windy evenings sipping glasses of wine to cool down.
Midnight cooling down at a sidewalk wine bar
One result of this blast of sunshine is that grape vines are now leafy and full. So far, the weather has been good. Throw in a few rain showers to slake thirsty vines, and 2015 could be a stellar year for wine. The heat may shorten the growing season: harvest could begin in the first, rather than the traditional third, week of September.
Irrigating grapevines here is illegal. Vines have to push lower to seek sparse moisture. This becomes difficult when soils are dry and hard, as they are now. Evening drizzles have been insufficient to keep vines happy.
Fortunately, the forecast says heavy thunder showers are on the way.
Last week I visited winemaker Thomas Marchand at Château l’Espérance in Blaye. This modern facility is located on the right bank of the Gironde River. They produce white, rosé, and red wines with phenomenal quality for the price. Below is footage I shot of the château with a Phantom 2 drone. We would have shot more, but after the drone careened off a wall and snapped a propeller, we decided to call it a day. (Thanks for letting us use your music, Nico Vlahavas.)
Forget the Critics
Our friend Julien Pouplet (featured in the Russell Crowe narrated documentary Red Obsession) now works in Blaye for a new wine store named La Cave. He has been a wine consultant in the cities of Bordeaux, Saint Emilion, and Blaye. Julien has the rare ability to sample French wine and discern the vintage and region of origin. I recently presented three ‘mystery bottles’ over the course of days and he correctly guessed the vintage and origin of a 1996 St. Julien (Medoc) Bordeaux, a 1998 Saint Emilion Bordeaux (he knew the slope it came from), and a 2014 one-hundred percent Syrah from the Rhone Valley.
In the video below Julien explains how he does it, and he shares other wisdom.
Bourg Hospitality
Last week I also visited friends at Château Mercier, which has been in the Chety family since 1698. (We took drone footage there weeks ago.)
Inside Château Mercier
Lunch, Isabelle Chety assured me, would be usual fare. For eight people we uncorked five bottles of wine, delved into a scrumptious salad hand-picked from the garden that morning, then dined on entrecôte steak rubbed with garlic and red wine-infused salt.
Isabelle and Charlotte at Château Mercier
Afterwards we sampled six types of cheese before eating three different desserts. And finally? Coffee.
Merci…
Original 1698 document granting land title to Château Mercier
What’s Next?
The small, densely populated region of France known as the Alsace borders Germany and Switzerland. It produces delicious white wines such as Riesling and Gewürztraminer. If you want to learn more (including which wines match curry dinners), tune into future posting from Vino Expressions…
Here’s a no-brainer no one talks about.
If you want to learn to cook, where do you go? Cooking school? Restaurants? Cookbooks? Television chefs?
Sure. But you can do better.
If you want to cook flavors with the power to ignite passions, bond friendships, swing emotions, even fire up romance – you need to find Masters of Taste.
Who are they? What people (many since the age of four years) have developed taste buds that can differentiate between multiple olfactory stimuli – taste sensations – to know what triggers delight in those who taste?
Think about it.
This is just a warm up…
…not near main course yet…
What people dedicate their lives to taste? I don’t mean chefs who begin cooking school at age seventeen. I don’t mean television cooks who spent their first careers as stock brokers or engineering professors. I mean people who dunk their taste buds in the lifelong pursuit – the gustatory pleasure – of differentiating between ten thousand shades of taste.
Who?
Talented wine makers.
Find an incredible wine maker, and most times you also find a cook with taste buds attuned to subtlety, complexity, creative possibilities, and the desire to please others as they eat and drink.
Family Eymas on a sunny Sunday afternoon…
The other day, Les and Clarissa from Villa St. Simon in Blaye and I shared lunch provided by friends and proprietors of Château La Rose Bellevue – Jérôme and Valérie Eymas. We sat in the shade of a sprawling tree and drank Chablis and tucked into bowls of Valérie’s gazpacho soup. While tasting this amazing summer delight, I realized that it’s time to write another book. We did a little brainstorming for the title: The Winemaker’s Cooking Companion.
This book will include recipes from winemakers, wine producers, and others from the world of wine.
We’ll start off with this family recipe from Valérie, taster and assistant producer of dozens of vintages. This recipe is well suited to the hot days of summer.
Zucchini / Cucumber Gazpacho Soup
Zucchini/Cucumber Gazpacho Soup from Château La Rose Bellevue
Ingredients and Amounts…
Zucchini – 2 normal, 2 round
Table salt – 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 grams)
Water – 1 and 1/4 cup (300 ml)
Cucumber (large) – 1
Rocket salad leaves – 1/2 bag [3 ounces(80 grams)]
Garlic cloves – 2
Coconut milk – 1 cup (200 ml)
Fish sauce, or nuoc mam – 2 tablespoons (30 ml)
Dashi Bonite dried fish powder – 1 sachet
Lime juice – from one lime
White pepper – 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 grams)
Coriander leaf
Recipe…
1. Peel, de-seed, and chop up four zucchini.
2. Boil them for twenty minutes in the water, together with two pressed cloves of garlic and the salt.
3. Take off heat and let cool.
4. Peel, de-seed, and chop up one large cucumber. Add this to the boiled zucchini mixture.
5. Add the rocket salad leaves, coconut milk, fish sauce, Dashi powder (Valérie uses Dashino-Moto Bonito Flavored Seasoning – made by Shimaya), lime juice, and white pepper. Mix well.
6. Put in a blender. Whirl until the consistency is creamy. Add coriander leaf on top for decoration (or you can replace with mint).
7. Let cool in the freezer, then serve cold.
We enjoyed a Grand cru Chablis with this, although Valérie suggests a Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc would be more acidic, and better.
(My own effort with this recipe included too much garlic, so I reduced the quantity to two cloves.)
The Grand Cru Chablis with a screwcap….
Bon appétit…
Beauty and Surprises at VinExpo 2015
My first ever visit to VinExpo (2015 in the city of Bordeaux) was an eye-opener. It was a massive yet well-organized event with easy accessibility, plenty of restaurants, and impressive information booths. Forty-five thousand visitors from 120 countries attended, as did more than 2,300 exhibitors. (Thanks Jemma Lopez and Valérie Eymas for organizing tickets).
The event includes far more than wine. Some unexpected surprises included the following.
1. Ukrainian wine made from the Albariño grape – (typical grape from the Galicia region of Spain). Crisp and delicious after 12 months in oak. Affordable? Very much. Nice job Yuri, Andriy, and Eugene from Kámyanka Global Wine.
2. Provence Rosé packaged and sold by…..Swedes (Bodvar). Delicious. Thanks for the introduction Linn.
Linn Gustafsson of Bodvar, Sweden
3. I was reminded how good Burgundy wine is like music by the Beatles: it’s without peer, and seduces not through power or repetition but by being fresh, light, and original. Thanks Aurore (and introduction from Valérie) for sharing amazing tastes from Domaines Devillard (including Château de Chamirey, Domaine de la Ferté, and Domaine des Perdrix).
Aurore Monot-Devillard from Bourgogne
4. French vodka. No kidding. Viche Pitia makes vodka using an 18th century Russian recipe. The option that includes caraway may have you substituting vodka for wine as an aperitif in the future. Thanks Pierre and Suzanna.
Suzanna Aiskhanova serving up the best
5. Aerosol cocktails. Flavored with carrot, olive, beetroot, basil, thyme, and cucumber, these alcoholic spritzers (‘Garden Party’) may well liven up the New York cocktail scene. Merci Charlotte.
Charlotte Guezenec of Distillerie G.E. Massenez
6. Whiskies from the Isle of Man, and from Japan. Unfortunately I never returned, as promised, Julie and Lynn of Lombard Brands…my loss. I thought the Isle of Man was well-known for the Manx Mountain Marathon, not for producing whisky. But – nice job you do.
I also learned how in 1918 Matsataka Taketsuru became the first Japanese citizen to enroll at the University of Glasgow to study Scottish whisky making. A decade later, with his Scottish bride, he founded Nikka Whisky in Japan. This amazing man was well ahead of his time.
From Scotland to Japan to France…
7. Poetry and tears from Italy. Sommelier Federica Biasi introduced us to winemakers from the Marche and Abruzzo regions of Italy. Marche is one of twenty regions that comprise Italy, located southeast of Tuscany along the Adriatic Sea. Here we also tasted wine made from two grapes – white and red – I never heard of before.
Federica introduces us to grapes we knew nothing about
Ulisse (left) and Andrea from Velenosi
The first wine the men from Velenosi Wines shared was made from the grape Pecorino. I had never heard of this grape, but did recall that Italians call cheese made from sheep’s milk ‘pecorino.’ Andre Bianco, export manager for Velenosi, told two stories of how this grape may have been named: either because sheep like to nibble this grape, or because small bunches resemble a sheep’s head.
Pecorino grapes produce white wines with naturally high alcohol content (14 or 14.5 percent) that have a zesty, fresh, mineral and citrus taste. To obtain the Italian DOCG classification these grapes must grow between 400 and 600 meters above sea level. This is ideal terrain not only for growing Pecorino, but as Andreas explained – it’s also ideal terrain for living – on mountain slopes that face the sea.
In addition to stories, Italy’s poetic language permeates the life of these wine producers. The motto of Velenosi is: Il vino è un’arte capace de far sognare (‘Wine is an art that makes us dream’).
Map showing the location of the Marche region
The second grape that Andre and his co-worker Ulisse Patalocchi introduced us to was the red Lacrima. The word ‘lacrima’ means ‘tear’ in Italian. Being a good storyteller, Andrea explained how the skin of this grape is thin, and can easily break when it is mature, producing a ‘tear’ of juice. Lacrima grows in the southern region of Marche, close to the city of Ancona, and is classified in Italy as DOC.
“It is white wine masked as red,” Andrea explained. “It’s a crossover grape,” Ulisse added, “Because the wine smells white. People who love Pinot Noir usually also love Lacrima.”
The Lacrima they served was aged one year in oak barrels, with grapes late harvested to boost their concentration, thereby producing a rounder, more complex taste.
Only 150 hectares (about 370 acres) of Lacrima exist. The taste of the wine is unique enough that many well-known restaurants in northern California serve bottles of Lacrima. I also enjoyed their blend of 80 percent Lacrima and 20 percent visciole wild cherry syrup, added to produce secondary fermentation (in ancient times, sugar from wild cherries helped preserve wines). And when this liqueur is mixed with sparkling wine? Meraviglioso! (Wonderful).
Valentina Di Camillo of Tenuta I Fauri Wines
Satisfied with tasting and stories, we moved to the nearby booth of Tenuta I Fauri. Here, a brother and sister team from the Di Camillo family produce Pecorino and Montepulciano wines within the Abruzzo region, south of Marche.
Tenuta I Fauri were among the first winemakers in the region to produce Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wine without oak, to better highlight the taste of the grape. Their Pecorino is also clean and crisp and very affordable.
Again, there is Italian poetry in the way their company brochure describes daily work:
“…con un occhio sulle vasche de cimento in fermentazione e con un orecchio ai tuoni…”
(“…with an eye on the cement tanks during fermentation and with an ear to the thunder…”)
Team of Le Cordon Bleu graduates
Pecorino and Lacrima…..two lesser known Italian wines worth seeking out. Thanks to the Italian, French, and Brazilian sommeliers Federica, Tristan, and Dg Veiga for the introduction!
Easy in the Loire Valley
Julien Pouplet tastes some amazing biodynamic Clos Cristal Cabernet Franc wine
“When trustworthy people give you a tip about wine, the least you can do is give it a try.”
Julien Pouplet – wine consultant, Blaye/Bordeaux
Evening in the city of Saumur, on the Loire River
“All the great vineyards are places in which life is pleasant, and where the art of living flourishes.”
Jean-Philippe Delmas, from “The Magic of the 45th Parallel” – by Olivier Bernard & Thierry Dussard
The Loire is the longest river in France, meandering westward more than 620 miles while draining a fifth of the nation’s land before it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. I recently spent two days visiting selected vineyards in the Loire Valley with Julien Pouplet (Julien is known for rolling his eyes while being interviewed for the Russell Crowe narrated documentary – Red Obsession, about Bordeaux wines).
Highlights of this trip included tasting stunning yet affordable biodynamic wines, and learning the hard way how regional wine producers are often more focused on the quality of their product than on the details of business.
Notice the menacing guard dog (bottom left) here at Le Rocher des Violettes
We stayed inland near the cities of Saumur, Chinon, and Tours, tasting wines from the Saumur and Touraine sub-regions of the Loire Valley, avoiding the coastal dominance of white Muscadet wine. The primary inland white grape here is Chenin Blanc, while the dominant red is Cabernet Franc. Well crafted wines here are often low in alcohol (11 to 13.5 percent) with subtleties in tastes and aromas that are unusually inspiring.
Subsoils of the Touraine include chalk limestones with flinty soils. And within the Touraine, Chinon wines – including magical bottles from such wine makers as Philippe Alliet – grow on soils produced by tuffeau. This regional chalky limestone started forming 100 million years ago (when the region lay deep under churning seas) from the dead cells of Bryozoa, minute organisms grouped in floating colonies.
While driving throughout the region you can see cliffs of tuffeau – some hollowed and transformed to dwellings (with neat window panes and doors facing the outside world), while others are cool, constant temperature, subterranean storehouses for wine.
Biodynamically flourishing
The pace of the Loire Valley is slow, matching the almost indiscernible movement of the wide river that defines the land. Many wines here are meticulously hand-crafted by artisan farmers with sensibilities toward detail, patience, and attention to local terroir that are reminiscent of small producers in Burgundy, located further east.
Marked individuality among different vineyards is not unusual. The biodynamic Clos Cristal has three kilometers of walls with circular holes punched through them, each running parallel to vines. These were constructed in the early 1900’s. Vines growing north of these walls are trained to pass horizontally through separate holes, emerging to face south. There, fruit is exposed not only to direct sunlight, but to the warmth re-radiated from the walls. This concentrates heat, providing greater ripeness to the fruit.
Vigneron Marc Gensollen shows Julien the walls of Clos Cristal
Making appointments with Loire Valley vignerons is not always easy, but after meeting and sampling wines (sometimes for more than an hour), we often found many vignerons reluctant to sell their sparse and treasured bottles. Many had already been promised to known buyers. At Domaine Philippe Alliet, for example, we managed (with no small amount of bargaining acumen on Julien’s part) to buy six bottles of 2013 Chenin Blanc from the mere three barrels produced that year. Personal contacts cultivated over time, of course, is key to obtaining these wines.
However, not all wine makers are difficult to reach, and many keep regular hours (Clos Cristal, for example, is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 2.00 to 6.00 pm).
As for accommodation? Rather than staying in any stately chateau, we found an AirBNB home in the town of Saumur. The back garden included a historical monument – the largest dolmen (dolmen de bagneux) in France. Constructed 5000 years ago with capstones weighing 109 tons, this was an impressive feat of pre-literate engineering. Back in those days, the locals apparently used mushrooms (evident from images thrown as shadows on dolmen walls) rather than wine, to changed their mindset.
Ancient chateau (without wine) at Villandry
5,000 year old Dolmen de Bagneux in Saumur – inside which we sipped local Saumur wines
The value of these Loire valley wines?
In this regard there were two unexpected surprises. The first is that there is a relatively high overall value for some sparkling and biodynamic wines produced in the region. The second is that adventurous vignerons utilizing red grapes not usually used in the region may be better off concentrating on the locally favored Cabernet Franc.
Below is a scoring of several wines we sampled, made using the recently developed and proprietary Vino Value algorithm. *
| Vino Value – Loire Valley – Value Scoring of Wines | |||
| Wine | Retail Price – Euros | Retail Price – US dollars equivalent | Value Score |
| François Chidaine – Appellation Montlouis-sur-Mer | |||
| François Chidaine Brut Nature (sparkling) | € 12.80 | $14.50 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| François Chidaine Vouvray Pétillant (sparkling) 2011 | € 12.80 | $14.50 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| François Chidaine Vouvray Les Argiles 2013 (white) | € 15.50 | $17.50 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| François Chidaine Les hloisilles 2013 (white) | € 17.00 | $19.25 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| François Chidaine Les Bournais 2013 (white) | € 20.90 | $23.67 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| François Chidaine Choisilles 2011 (white) | € 20.00 | $20.65 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| François Chidaine Montlouis Moelleux 2010 (white) | € 20.90 | $23.67 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| François Chidaine Vouvray Moelleux 2010 (white) | € 20.20 | $22.87 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| François Chidaine Touraine Sauvignon 2014 | € 7.70 | $8.72 | Good Value ♫ |
| François Chidaine Tourraine (Côt, Cabernet France, Pineau d’Aunis) 2014 | € 7.70 | $8.72 | Good Value ♫ |
| Clos Cristal – Champigny des Hospices de Samaur | |||
| Clos Cristal Saumur Champigny Récolte 2013 | € 14.00 | $15.85 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Clos Cristal Saumur Champigny Récolte 2012 | € 14.00 | $15.85 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Clos Cristal Saumur Champigny Boutifolle 2011 | € 18.00 | $20.00 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Domaine Philippe Alliet | |||
| Rosé 2014 (Cabernet Franc) | € 6.00 | $6.79 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Cabernet Franc 2014 | € 11.00 | $12.46 | Good Value ♫ |
| Cabernet Franc 2013 | € 15.00 | $16.99 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Cabernet Franc 2013 – Mid Level | € 17.00 | $19.25 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Cabernet Franc 2013 Cuvée | € 20.00 | $22.65 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Chenin Blanc 2013 | € 15.00 | $16.99 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Le Rocher des Violettes (Montlouis-sur-Loire) | |||
| Pétillant 2013 (sparkling) | € 14.60 | $16.53 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Chardonnay 2014 | € 9.30 | $10.53 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Touche Mitaine 2014 | € 15.10 | $17.10 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| La Négrette 2013 (white) | € 19.30 | $21.86 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Les Borderies 2014 (white) | € 17.40 | $19.70 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Moellen 2014 (sweet) | € 29.95 | $33.92 | Good Value ♫ |
| Antoine Sanzay | |||
| Saumur Champigny ‘Les Poyeux’ 2014 (red) | € 20.00 | $22.65 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Saumur Champigny ‘Les Poyeux’ 2013 in barrel (red) | € 20.00 | $22.65 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Saumur Champigny 2013 (white) | € 19.50 | $22.08 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
* For more information on this proprietary value scoring algorithm, click here.
Château Mercier
Below is some drone footage taken at Château Mercier, Côtes de Bourg – Bordeaux. The Chety family have run this vineyard since the late 1600s, and produce wines of excellent value.
Many of us appreciated an impromptu midnight invitation last Christmas evening to visit the Chety family’s private cellar. We sat on crates on a stone floor and sampled bottles from as far back as 1985 – listening to music provided by Nico (who also provided music for the drone footage). Magnifique!
Merci, Château Mercier…
Christmas Cellar Time
Open Doors in Bourg – Affordable Bordeaux
“So what is a great wine?…I would say that it is one that has everything but nothing to excess….a great wine leaves one spellbound and dazed…”
Olivier Bernard – ‘The Magic of the 45th Parallel’
For two days in May, more than 50 winemakers threw open the doors to their châteaux in the Bourg-sur-Gironde (Bourg) region of southwest France. The Bordeaux Côtes de Bourg appellation bills itself as the ‘spicy side of Bordeaux.’ All wine tastings were free. Producers ranged from garage winemakers to established vignerons in ancient stone chateaux with designer-lit barrel rooms. The little city of Bourg (population of a few thousand) sits 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of the city of Bordeaux, before the waterfront confluence where two mighty rivers – the Dordogne and Garonne – merge to form the Gironde estuary.
[Special thanks to Nico Vlahavas for providing permission to use his music, and who reserves all rights.]
Built by Romans and later reinforced by the English, various heads of state and royals have historically visited Bourg while they moved along Bordeaux’s right bank (east of the Gironde). This is intrinsically slow and leisurely wine country, dotted with small villages wrapped by vineyards.
Unwrapping bottled pleasure
Like the adjacent wine appellation Blaye-Côtes de Bordeaux, the Côtes de Bourg wine appellation is largely unknown on the international scene (though known throughout much of France). In the 13th century Bordeaux’s left bank Médoc was a swampland, while the right bank region – including Blaye, Bourg, and St. Emillion – produced well-recognized wines. Still, this general ignorance about this region is also quite wonderful. We appreciate fewer visitors to this rich and expansive wine country; having local, well-established chateaux that lack bustle or hype is one bonus of living here.
Voila! Porte ouvert
Here the quality for price ratio is galloping ahead. Today, 85 percent of Bourg wines are sold within France. The prices are reasonable (of dozens I tasted, the most expensive cost less than 24 Euros a bottle). Most of the 400 producers here are typically ‘mom-and-pop’ family operations with vineyards of less than 10 hectares (25 acres) in size.
Visiting any single chateau for just a tasting instead of a tour still involves getting to know the vigneron and not being in a rush. Then there is lunch. Ah, lunch. We ate outside Château Mercier on Saturday (which served wines from 23 different years, below a French sign which simply read – ‘help yourself’), and at Château Gros Moulin on Sunday. These meals included salads, entrecôte (steak), canard (duck), foie gras, and rivers of Sauvignon Blanc based white wines, rosés, and sumptuous reds (the number of hectares dedicated to white wines is less than one percent of the total Bourg vineyard area).
[Special thanks are due to Villa St. Simon and La Galerie in Blaye for organizing lunches, and for introducing me to both vigneron Thomas Marchand and musician Nico.]
Chateaux de La Graves
A typical blend here will include 67 percent Merlot, 18 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 10 percent Malbec, and 5 percent Petit Verdot. Whites typically include 41 percent Sauvignon Blanc, 23 percent Colombard, 23 percent Semillon, 8 percent Muscadelle, and 5 percent Sauvignon Gris. The reason for being called the ‘spicy side of Bordeaux’ is because the percentage of Malbec grown here exceeds that within any other Bordeaux appellation, and that percentage is growing. We also tasted some rocking 100 percent Malbec rosés in this region.
Chateau Mercier’s wines from 23 different years – help yourself
Balancing nature and technology
The local vignerons have ample other gatherings to attract visitors. On June 27 there is the ‘Spicy Rallye des Côtes de Bourg’ which involves signing up a car load of participants and cruising between wine châteaux on a treasure hunt of sorts. On July 14th (Bastille Day) there is also the Spicy Bike ‘N Trail event (click to watch their lively video). The value of the wine here is outstanding. Below are value scores I compiled for several Bourg wines, based on the proprietary Vino Value algorithm. *
| Vino Value – Côte de Bourg – Value Scoring of Wines (all red unless noted otherwise) | |||||||||||||||
| Wine | Retail Price – Euros | Retail Price – US Dollars Equivalent | Value Score | ||||||||||||
| Chateau L’Hospital Eleve 2005 – AOC Cotes de Bourg | € 15.00 | $16.47 | Excellent Value ♫♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Du Luc 2010 | € 7.00 | $7.68 | Good Value ♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Le Clos du Notaire 2010 | € 8.50 | $9.33 | Good Value ♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Lemoine Leudonat 2010 | € 4.65 | $5.10 | Good Value ♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château la Tuiliere 2009 | € 12.20 | $13.39 | Good Value ♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Haut-Bajac 2011 Cuvée Tradition | € 5.80 | $6.37 | Good Value ♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Haut-Bajac 2012 Cuvée Prestige | € 8.50 | $9.33 | Good Value ♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château de Lidonne Côtes de Bourg 2009 – Le Malbec | € 10.50 | $11.53 | Good Value ♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château de Lidonne Côtes de Bourg 2010 | € 7.50 | $8.23 | Excellent Value ♫♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château de Lidonne Côtes de Bourg 2009 – Le Cabernet Sauvignon | € 9.50 | $10.43 | Good Value ♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château La Tertre Camillac 2012 | € 6.50 | $7.14 | Good Value ♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château de la Grave Caractere 2012 | € 9.50 | $10.43 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château de la Grave Nectar 2012 | € 14.00 | $15.37 | Good Value ♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château de la Grave Caractere 2011 | € 9.50 | $10.43 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Mercier 2009 (unoaked) | € 9.00 | $9.88 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Haut-Guiraud 2012 | € 6.90 | $7.57 | Good Value ♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Haut-Guirard Péché du Roy 2013 | € 13.40 | $14.71 | Good Value ♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Haut-Guirard Péché du Roy 2012 | € 13.40 | $14.71 | Good Value ♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château L’Esperance Côtes de Bourg 2014 (white) | € 6.50 | $7.14 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château L’Esperance Côtes de Bourg 2012 | € 10.50 | $11.53 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château L’Esperance Côtes de Bourg 2011 | € 10.50 | $11.53 | Excellent Value ♫♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Vieux Nodeau 2014 Rosé | € 5.00 | $5.49 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Vieux Nodeau 2014 White (Sauvignon Gris) | € 9.00 | $9.88 | Excellent Value ♫♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Vieux Nodeau 2012 Tradition | € 6.00 | $6.59 | Good Value ♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Vieux Nodeau 2012 Cuvee | € 11.00 | $12.08 | Excellent Value ♫♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Gros Moulin 2012 Per Vitem ad Vitam | € 14.00 | $15.37 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Gros Moulin 2012 Heritage 1757 | € 20.00 | $21.96 | Excellent Value ♫♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Falfas 2104 Les Demoiselles Rosé | € 9.50 | $10.43 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Falfas 2011 | € 13.50 | $14.82 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Falfas 2009 Le Chevalier | € 23.50 | $25.80 | Excellent Value ♫♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Falfas 2010 Le Chevalier | € 23.50 | $25.80 | Excellent Value ♫♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Tayac 2002 | € 15.00 | $16.47 | Good Value ♫ | ||||||||||||
| Domaine de Cots 2009 | € 14.50 | $15.92 | Good Value ♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Relais de la Poste 2010 | € 8.70 | $9.55 | Excellent Value ♫♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château La Croix Davids 2012 | € 15.00 | $16.47 | Good Value ♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Belair Coubet 2010 | € 10.15 | $11.14 | Good Value ♫ | ||||||||||||
| Château Rousselle 2010 | € 18.00 | $19.76 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ | ||||||||||||
* For more information on this proprietary value scoring algorithm, click here.
We’re looking forward to your visit to the region sometime soon….
Coming Next: Storming the Loire Valley
Atomic Wine
This much energy released in 1/20th of a second
I drove into the town of Socorro in the state of New Mexico (USA) to find a motel room for a night. Most motels and hotels were full.
Fortunately I found a room.
“You’re here for the visit tomorrow, right?” a young lady asked me at the reception.
“Visit?”
“Trinity site. It’s only open to the public two days a year. It’s open tomorrow.”
Trinity? Where humans first saw the mushroom cloud of an atomic explosion? Where desert sand transformed – instantly – to glass? Where physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer muttered the words from the Bhagavad Gita – ‘I am become death, the destroyer of all worlds’?
“Can you show me where it is on this map?” I asked.
Visitors came from all over the world – and the line of cars headed to Trinity was miles long
On July 16, 1945, a bomb with a plutonium core was raised to the top of a 100-foot steel tower standing on desert sands in what was then the Alamagordo Bombing and Gunnery Range. The site was named Trinity.
At 5.29 am, a 19-kiloton atomic explosion was the first ever produced by humans – ushering in the era of nuclear arms. Observers sat and watched from protected bunkers almost two miles (three kilometers) away. The shock wave broke windows 120 miles away and turned the desert sand into a glass now called Trinitite – formed in temperatures of 14,710 degrees Fahrenheit (8,154 degrees Celsius).
Remote desert beauty
New Mexico, the state that hosted the ever first atomic explosion, was also the state where the first vitis vinifera grapevines were planted in the US to produce wine (in the early 1600’s). There are now almost 50 wineries in New Mexico, producing mostly decent white wines, including Riesling, Chenin Blanc, and Muscat.
Does residual radiation from Trinity impact New Mexican grapes? Is there a nuclear tinge to the local wines? Hardly. Many places on earth have more natural radiation than at Trinity. A one-hour visit there exposes a human body to one millirem or less – half of what we receive by flying in a jet across the US.
A powerful truckload
Still, the visit made me wonder about how nuclear events, and nuclear accidents, have impacted the world of wine. According to a 2008 article on the Wine Economist blog, the April 26th, 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the Ukraine released a plume of radioactive fallout into the atmosphere that was carried by prevailing winds north and west. Scandinavians soon were on high alert and avoided at all possible foods that may be contaminated by radiation. Because the plume passed partially over France on its westward voyage, there was fear that it might contaminate French vineyards. The Swedish national alcohol monopoly then sought alternative sources of wine to sell – and phoned up a wine negociant in the state of Washington in the USA. Long story short – he bought surplus wine, bottled it, and sold it to Sweden. Suddenly, the European appreciation of American wine expanded. Buyers even flew to Washington to meet this negociant.
And atomic tests result in technology that could help detect wine fraud. Since the first atmospheric tests of nuclear devices began, the atmosphere received huge amounts of radioactive carbon-14. Atmospheric tests ceased in 1980 – the Chinese being the last to explode an atmospheric nuke. The quantity of carbon-14 diminishes over time, diluted by carbon dioxide. By analyzing wines, however, we can tell what the relative ratio is in the alcohol between stable carbon-12 and diminishing radioactive carbon-14. This means we can date the wine through atomic analysis. Does that have an advantage? It can help let people know whether the wines they are buying are fake – produced more recently than the label on the bottle. However, to be worthwhile, any test would have to be reasonably priced.
After pacing the land at Trinity and gaining a new appreciation peace and stability, I visited nearby friends to uncork multiple bottles of New Mexican wine.
Some were extremely good. Yet there’s ample room for improvement. Of nine bottles sampled, only five made the cut as being of reasonable value for price. Of the other four (not listed below), two cost in the mid- to high twenty dollar range, and were less than mediocre in taste.
Wines below were scored for value using the proprietary Vino Value algorithm.*
| Wine | Retail Price – US Dollars | Retail Price – Euros Equivalent | Value Score |
| St. Clair Winery 2013 Malvasia Bianca | $13.99 | € 12.44 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| St. Clair Winery 2013 Riesling | $13.99 | € 12.44 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Voluptuous Moscato | $10.99 | € 9.78 | Good Value ♫ |
| Lescombes 2013 Chenin Blanc | $15.99 | € 14.23 | Good Value ♫ |
| Wines of the San Juan Muscat | $12.99 | € 11.55 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
* For more information on this proprietary value scoring algorithm, click here.
Bargain Bordeaux Wine
Walking through three centuries of epic history – along the southeast facing entrance to La Citadelle
For a mere eight Euros (or a little below nine US dollars, at the current exchange rate), I recently sampled dozens of wines within an ancient fortress in the southwest of France. In the 17th century King Louis XlV commissioned the military architect Vauban to construct a defense fortification within the city of Blaye (pronounced ‘bl-EYE’). This formed one of twelve strategic works Vauban constructed throughout France. The sprawling ‘La Citadelle’ structure housed a defense garrison poised to fight invaders, or patrol against pirates sailing the turbulent, wide waters of the Gironde estuary.
Today, the massive Citadelle complex includes remnants of an ancient prison and water wells, as well as a functioning vineyard. This recent Printemps des Vins de Blaye – Spring Wines of Blaye – showcased wines from 80 winemakers –vignerons – from a total of 700 who produce wine for the appellation Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux. This 600 hectare (15,000 acre) wine growing region perches north and east of the city of Bordeaux along the banks of the wide, island-dotted, waters of the Gironde.
The definitive sign that spring has hit Bordeaux
Soils here include mostly clay and limestone. Unlike the predominantly gravel soils on the west bank of the Gironde (which favor Cabernet Sauvignon), the more abundant clays along the east bank retain moisture and coolness, favoring the Merlot grape. Red wines in the Blaye appellation are generally based on Merlot blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and sometimes Petit Verdot.
Colors and creation as backdrop to well-crafted wines
This annual event included food halls, musicians, and workshops/exhibits – including a cooper toasting wood staves and shaping wine barrels. Most Blaye wines are extremely good. Some are truly excellent. Most wines from this appellation are a bargain for their price.
Defense point for Europe’s largest estuary
Value scores in the table below were generated by the proprietary Vino ValueTM algorithm*, and are for red wines only.
| Wine | Retail Price – Euros | Retail Price – US dollars equivalent | Value Score |
| Chateau Moulin de Prade 2009 | € 5.50 | $6.03 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Mondésir-Gazin 2011 | € 14.00 | $15.35 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Marquis de Vauban La Cuvée du Roy | € 17.00 | $18.64 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château le Cône 2010 Monarque | € 14.50 | $15.90 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Magdeleine Bouhou 2012 | € 5.50 | $6.03 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Magdeleine Bouhou 2011 | € 6.50 | $7.13 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château L’Espérance 2010 Cuvée Trois Fréres | € 15.00 | $16.45 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Les Millards 2010 | € 5.50 | $6.03 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Les Millards 2010 Cuvée Prestige | € 15.00 | $16.45 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Nodot 2007 | € 6.50 | $7.13 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Nodot 2010 | € 9.50 | $10.42 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Les Margagnis 2011 | € 5.50 | $6.03 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Les Margagnis 2012 | € 6.50 | $7.13 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Les Chaumes 2006 | € 8.00 | $8.77 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Les Chaumes L’Impertenente 2014 | € 6.80 | $7.46 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château La Cassagne-Boutet 2011 | € 12.00 | $13.16 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château La Cassagne-Boutet 2012 | € 12.00 | $13.16 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| La Cassagne – Les Angeles 2012 | € 20.00 | $21.93 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château La Brettonnière 2010 Excellence | € 9.00 | $9.87 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château La Brettonnière 2010 Stéphanie Heurlier | € 12.50 | $13.71 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Tour-Saint-Germaine 2010 | € 8.50 | $9.32 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Tour-Saint-Germaine 2012 | € 15.00 | $16.45 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Vieux Planty 2011 Prestige | € 5.90 | $6.47 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Vieux Planty 2011 Prélude | € 7.50 | $8.23 | Good Value ♫ |
| Domaine du Casssard 2011 | € 6.10 | $6.69 | Good Value ♫ |
| Domaine du Casssard 2013 | € 5.50 | $6.03 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Domaine du Cassard Prestige 2012 | € 8.20 | $8.99 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Crusquet De Lagarcie 2012 | € 7.50 | $8.23 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Berthenon 2010 Cuvée Henri | € 7.50 | $8.23 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Berthenon 2012 Cuvée Chloé | € 14.50 | $15.90 | Good Value ♫ |
| Domaine Maison De La Reine 2012 | € 6.70 | $7.35 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Domaine Maison De La Reine 2012 Cuvée Expression | € 12.80 | $14.04 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Le Chay 2010 | € 7.45 | $8.17 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Le Chay 2012 | € 7.15 | $7.84 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Peyreyie 2010 | € 5.80 | $6.36 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Peyreyie 2011 | € 5.90 | $6.47 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Les Jonqueyres 2012 | € 16.00 | $17.55 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Des Tourtes 2010 | € 8.50 | $9.32 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Des Tourtes 2012 L’Attribut | € 8.20 | $8.99 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Les Taillou 2012 | € 4.90 | $5.37 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Les Carreyes 2013 | € 5.90 | $6.47 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Canteloup 2012 | € 5.50 | $6.03 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Grand Renard 2012 Cuvée Prestige | € 6.00 | $6.58 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château La Levrette 2009 | € 14.00 | $15.35 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Bellevue-Gazin 2005 – Les Barronets | € 7.50 | $8.23 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Bel-Air La Royére 2012 L’Espirit | € 12.00 | $13.16 | Excellent Value ♫ |
| Château Bel-Air La Royére 2012 | € 22.00 | $24.13 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Bois-Vert 2010 Cuvée Prestige | € 8.50 | $9.32 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Bois-Vert 2009 La Confídence | € 14.40 | $15.79 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Frédignac 2011 Terroir | € 6.80 | $7.46 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Frédignac 2012 La Favorite | € 8.50 | $9.32 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château La Motte 2006 | € 10.50 | $11.52 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château La Motte 2012 | € 5.75 | $6.31 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Chateau La Rose Bellevue 2012 Prestige | € 8.00 | $8.77 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Puynard 2012 | € 6.00 | $6.58 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Puynard 2011 Le Chéne | € 8.00 | $8.77 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Lagarde 2011 Excellence | € 10.20 | $11.19 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château L’Escadre 2009 Tradition | € 6.30 | $6.91 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château L’Escadre 2008 Major | € 15.70 | $17.22 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Les Petits Arnauds 2010 Excellence | € 7.30 | $8.01 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Haut Colombier 2008 | € 13.00 (Magnum) | $14.26 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Haut Colombier 2007 | € 8.00 | $8.77 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Haut Colombier 2009 | € 11.00 | $12.06 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Morange 2009 Le Vin D’Augustin Morange | € 9.50 | $10.42 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Les Bertrands 2012 | € 6.00 | $6.58 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Les Bertrands 2012 Cuvée Prestige | € 8.00 | $8.77 | Excellent Value ♫ |
| Château Les Bertrands 2010 Nectar de Bertrands | € 16.00 | $17.55 | Good Value ♫ |
| Les Vignerons de Tutiac 2012 Selection | € 5.75 | $6.31 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château L’haur du Chay 2013 Cuvée Tradition | € 7.00 | $7.68 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château L’haur du Chay 2012 | € 8.00 | $8.77 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Haut La Valette 2012 | € 4.50 | $4.94 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Haut La Valette 2012 Distinction | € 6.10 | $6.69 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Haut La Valette 2013 Distinction | € 6.30 | $6.91 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Larrat 2012 | € 5.50 | $6.03 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Larrat 2013 | € 6.20 | $6.80 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Larrat 2010 | € 7.00 | $7.68 | Good Value ♫ |
| Château Moulin de Grillet 2010 | € 6.70 | $7.35 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Moulin de Grillet 2010 Les Aisles | € 11.50 | $12.61 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château L’Abbaye 2011 | € 5.40 | $5.92 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château L’Abbaye 2010 | € 5.80 | $6.36 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Château Haut Canteloup 2012 | € 4.70 | $5.15 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Haut Canteloup 2012 Cuvée Prestige | € 6.70 | $7.35 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Château Les Pierrères 2012 | € 10.60 | $11.63 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
Heartland Wine
For Easter, friends invited me egg hunting at Jowler Creek vineyard in the state of Missouri. My sprinting friends found 14 eggs between them, including coupons for free wine. (I wrote a post about the Jowler Creek entrepreneurs years ago, which included photos and interview excerpts from my book Vino Voices). The couple who run the vineyard and winery host events most weeks during the year – tastings, outdoor movies, live concerts, and more.
Heartland topography and architecture – ample and clean
After egg hunting, we sipped white wines on the porch. White wines from the states of Missouri and Kansas – agricultural heartland of the USA – often include hybrid grapes such as Vignoles (also grown widely in New York’s Finger Lakes region) and Traminette (a hybrid developed in the state of Illinois in 1965 that includes Gewürtztraminer).
These wines range between sticky sweet to crisp and acidic. The overall price range is attractive for purchasing bottles for a summer barbecue, or for sharing with cheese and sausage on a porch in spring.
Chateau Jowler
I used my wine scoring algorithm to rate several widely available Missouri whites. Of six scored below, we tasted ten, and four did not make the cut. Three of those that did are from Stone Hill vineyard, also written about in the book Vino Voices.
Vineyard at Stone Hill – primed for machine harvesting
Vino Value Scoring –
| Wine | Retail Price – US Dollars | Retail Price – Euros Equivalent | Value Score |
| Jowler Creek Vignoles 2014 | $15.99 | € 14.71 | Good Value ♫ |
| Jowler Creek Critter Cuvée | $12.99 | € 11.95 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
| Jowler Creek Muskrato de Missouri 2013 | $15.99 | € 14.71 | Good Value ♫ |
| Stone Hill Vignoles 2010 | $11.49 | € 10.57 | Good Value ♫ |
| Stone Hill Vidal Blanc 2013 | $7.99 | € 7.35 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Stone Hill Traminette 2013 | $11.49 | € 10.57 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
[This algorithm combines subjective and objective data – including scores from tastings (often multiple), prices per bottle, and others factors that include availability. Value scoring is relative for wines from the same region. ‘Superlative ♫♫♫’ is the highest scoring, ‘Excellent ♫♫’ the second highest, and ‘Good ♫’ next.]
Jowler Creek spread of wines
Easter Accomplices Barb and Andrew
While Stone Hill Winery was originally established in 1847 (and re-established after Prohibition), Jowler Creek is relatively new. Both put in constant effort to spread the word that heartland vineyards produce decent wine at affordable prices.
New York Wine
View from the ‘Walkway Over the Hudson River’ – looking South
In upstate New York I visited Kevin Hall, proprietor of South Side Wine and Spirits in the city of Poughkeepsie. He generously poured servings of Monte Da Ravasqueira 2013 Rosé from the Alentejano region of Portugal, which includes 32 percent Syrah, and 68 percent Touriga Nacional (also called by some the ‘Merlot of Portugal’).
Kevin is knowledgeable about wine he sells, and not afraid to speak his mind.
Kevin Hall at the Office
“I like it,” he said about the wine we shared. “Portuguese Rosé is a little tougher to sell than Rosé from Provence. It’s a little different. You could almost do it with pasta, to cut through that sugar. This Rosé has enough fruit in it that it could hold up to a light pasta.”
We told of cooking lamb for dinner, and asked what wine he suggested.
Home of Good Wine and Great Food Pairing Advice
“I would do Pinot Noir. Lamb is so rich, earthy, you want to kind of bring it down a little bit. I wouldn’t do big and sappy. Wouldn’t have to go too expensive, but you want a higher end Pinot. Try A to Z. It’s got nice fruit, but it’s flat, and I don’t mean that in a bad way because that means it’s not overly zealous, not big and cherry. You get some red fruit, but you’re not getting a California big spicy wine. That’s the Yuppies dream – the A to Z. It’s not assuming, not big and bold. Easy to drink.
“New York wine? There are 3,000 wineries in the Finger Lakes region, 27 wineries on Long Island, and about 25 wineries in the Hudson River Valley. I listen to Kevin Zraly [author of Windows on the World Complete Wine Course] and like him a lot. He’s got a good personality, he knows his wine, but is not presumptuous about it. He has a very good palate, but he’s not the guy sitting there saying no that’s not how it is. Good down to earth guy with a sense of humor.
Guarding the Store
“I’m still not at the level where I can identify what grapes are in a wine. I don’t know how they can do that. Merlot now, if you get them from the right region, they taste like Cabs. You used to be able to go to a Malbec and say, it’s raspberry. Now it could be raspberry, could be blueberry. Could be light acidity, or heavy. You used to be able to say Merlot is cherry, plum, or raisin. Now there’s a little bit of blackberry, blueberry, black fruit. How do you know the grapes unless you know the terroir? I don’t think you’re tasting a lot of blueberry in French Merlot.”
I chose five easily available bottles of New York Riesling, four from the Finger Lakes, one from the Hudson River Region, and one with grapes sourced from throughout New York state. I then scored them for value – using an algorithm that combines multiple taste tests, price per bottle, and others factors that include availability. Value scoring is relative for wines from the same region.
‘Superlative ♫♫♫’ is the highest scoring, ‘Excellent ♫♫’ the second highest, and ‘Good ♫’ next. The results are below, and values are relative to comparable wines from the same regions. Mid-price New York Rieslings grow better by the year, though have room for improvement.
| Wine | Retail Price – US Dollars | Retail Price – Euros Equivalent | Value Score |
| Dr. Konstantin Frank 2013 Riesling (Finger Lakes) | $14.99 | € 13.79 | Good Value ♫ |
| Salmon Run 2013 Riesling (Finger Lakes) | $11.99 | € 11.03 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Ravines 2013 Dry Riesling (Finger Lakes) | $17.99 | € 16.55 | Good Value ♫ |
| Glenora 2012 Dry Riesling (Finger Lakes) | $13.99 | € 12.87 | Good Value ♫ |
| Brotherhood 2013 Riesling (Hudson River Region) | $10.99 | € 10.11 | Superlative Value ♫♫♫ |
| Whitecliff Vineyards 2012 Riesling (New York State) | $15.99 | € 14.71 | Excellent Value ♫♫ |
New Wine Scoring System – Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
Thinking about Bordeaux, in Bordeaux
During a recent weekend in Bordeaux, I was leveled by flu – knocked out on a Friday night and bedridden for days. When my mind came around I was soaked by a curiosity. What if I harvested techniques learned from decades of technical and management experience to create a fresh wine scoring system – based not on taste, but on overall value. I sat up in bed and considered combining techniques of weighted scoring and linear interpolation with a dab of conditional formatting.
Ill and unable to leave the apartment, I sat and belted out lines of code, scribbled and solved algebraic formulae, then assembled a spreadsheet. It includes a new mathematical algorithm that considers subjective and objective data – including tasting scores taken at different times, average retail prices, aging potential, even efficiency of distribution systems.
Weighted, linear, and formatted…like rows of vines
For decades when I lived and worked overseas I created and modified a similar system to help decide where to move to and live between contracts. The method involves plugging in variables, assigning weighted scores, and generating a list of optimal locations. Again and again, this system indicated in advance locations where I eventually moved – including California and Bordeaux – and for which I am forever grateful. In other words, the system worked.
So I modified the system to optimize (in the mathematical sense of the word) wine values, in relation to similar wines from the same region.
Unusually good pinot noir comes from this twisted, wooded valley
After tweaking this system for wine, I was still ill and my taste buds were frazzled. Rather than apply the results to Bordeaux wines, I waited until I returned to the United States. Here, I purchased several bottles of pinot noir from California’s Anderson Valley.
This northern California valley is underlain by clay and gravel, and the geology – within the San Andreas Fault Zone – is a complex layering of northwest-southeast running deposits that include a central streak of alluvial fan and fluvial deposits flanked by sandstone and shale deposits. Both pinot noir and gewürtztraminer have become signature varietals of Anderson Valley. The reason I chose Anderson pinots for this first scoring is that this distinct little patch of geography (16 miles by 5 miles of deeply wooded, hilly terrain) produces distinct pinots.
Deceptive wine country
I tried the new system with friends and family members, then re-tweaked the algorithm so that the better the taste, the less influence price impacted the overall score.
Still – was I dancing in the dark? I needed independent verification that this was the right track. To calibrate the system I retrieved dozens of publicly available price/score data from the past six months, then used regression techniques to generate linear and quadratic equations relating all variables (yes, sounds geeky). I then wrote code to verify my original scores were within acceptable limits, based on this analysis of existing data. This separate check for different vintages of Anderson Valley pinots showed my system was not out of whack – and wines I considered of value were within a decent value range compared to other regional pinots.
What awaits after passing through the wooded Anderson Valley
I then applied my original algorithm. The results for five pinots are below. You’ll notice that each listed wine is categorized as having a value that is ‘superlative,’ ‘excellent,’ or ‘great.’ In other words, you can’t go wrong here. Wines considered not of value (with an overall weighted score of less than 81 percent) have not been included. At this point I’m not revealing tasting scores, weighting values, or total scores – just wine names, vintages, representative retail prices (in California), and overall comparative values. ‘Superlative’ is the best score, followed by ‘Excellent,’ followed by ‘Great.’
| Wine | Retail Price – US Dollars | Value Score |
| Handley Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, 2010 | $25.99 | Excellent Value |
| Cakebread Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, 2013 | $39.99 | Superlative Value |
| Goldeneye Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, 2011 | $39.99 | Excellent Value |
| Vin Verray Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, 2012 | $28.99 | Great Value |
| Chime Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley, 2011 | $25.69 | Great Value |
The Handley 2010 is fruit forward, with licorice and charcoal.
Cakebread 2013 is deliciously smooth, filled with berries.
The Goldeneye 2011 is also smooth, with cherries and licorice. Goes amazingly well with goat cheese.
The Vin Ver’ray is rich, with the taste of berries marching out after several minutes in the glass.
The Chime 2011 improved in the glass after 20 minutes – with cherries, a hint of mint, and aniseed.
Over time this system will be re-calibrated, re-verified, and refined. Which wines to apply it to next? I’m open to suggestions. Meanwhile, stay tuned.
Riviera Gold
Thanks for tuning in again! Vino Voices has been ‘out of service’ awhile.
Villefranche-sur-Mer in the foreground, separated from Cap Ferrat by the Mediterranean
The reason?
I just spent a month at language ‘boot camp’ at L’Institute de Francais in Villefranche-sur-Mer, ten minutes from Nice. From 9.00 am to 5.00 pm fifty of us immersed in five separate intensive French language courses, in a location with gorgeous hillside vistas of Cap Ferrat promontory poking into the Mediterranean Sea (classmate Niel informed us how the Rolling Stones once resided there). Our brains smoked from the course intensity – losing concentration during class was not an option.
Look what happens with classmates after a few bottles of riviera wine…
The experience was exhausting, but excellent. The instruction was superlative, the food delicious, the students diverse and motivated, and the camaraderie enormous. Fellow students included a British financial consultant who wants to understand French clients, a European manager of the International Monetary Fund, a Florida professional guitarist who now lives in Congo managing malaria prevention projects, the Dutch owner of a riviera boat inspection company, and a Californian who piloted a drone to create a documentary about Africa’s Serengeti. And many, many more colorful characters.
The Angel’s Share
We sampled local wines. The real pro on specific wines along the French Riviera region is fellow blogger Chrissie – whose Riviera Grapevine blog covers both France and Italy. The default wine in this region is rosé (which kept us company many evenings) but we branched out to try others.
One evening we took the bus to Nice for a sampling at La Part des Anges (‘The Angel’s Share’), where we ate cold meats – charcuterie – and cheeses, and sampled five diverse wines. Three were local, one came from near Bergerac to the west, and another came from the northeast, above the Burgundy region. What the wines share in common is all are produced organically or biodynamically. They are also excellent quality, good value wines.
Enjoyable way to practice French
A good start to an evening
We sampled reds before whites, because whites matched cheeses we ate last. (Unlike English and German, many French words don’t end in a hard consonant; this helps provide the language with its musical rhythm. That mindset is reflected in how the French also prefer ending their meals with sweet food, rather than savory – hence cheese before dessert, unlike in England. And Americans who eat cheese before a meal? Some consider us barbarians…. 🙂 .)
The first red was Les Grimaudes from the Costieres de Nimes – the southernmost portion of the Rhone Valley. This region has produced wine since ancient Greek civilization thrived. The local low-lying limestone soil includes large pebbles, drains easily, and is low in fertility – forcing vine roots to plunge deep, resulting in more complex wine. This heavy biodynamic wine is a Grenache and Syrah blend – smooth and distinct (15 Euros per bottle).
The lineup – from left to right – three reds and two whites
The second red was a 2012 Domaine Hauvette Le Roucas. This more oaky, flavorful blend includes Grenache, Syrah, and also Cabernet Sauvignon – providing a tannic edge and greater kick than the first red. This Grenache predominant (60 percent) wine comes from a small producer south of Avignon, and is produced organically (not biodynamically). It costs 25 Euros a bottle.
The third red was a 2011 L’Ancestral, produced by Chateau Lestignac. This one hundred percent Cabernet Franc comes from the Perigord region near the city of Bergerac – a long way from Nice. The wine is smooth, though lacking the distinction of the second red. It’s produced by a young couple – Camille and Mathias Marquet – who have been making wine since 2008, and are looking to make ‘wine with a personality.’ This is an impressive red for new winemakers. The wine is ‘certified organic,’ and was the most elegant of all reds we sampled. The cost per bottle is 25 Euros.
For the whites, we first tried a 2013 Cuvée du Pressoir Romain, a blend of the Rolle grape (known as Vermentino in Italy) – produced on local slopes (opposite the slopes to the famed Bellett grape), ten kilometers north of Nice. This is blended with Ugni Blanc (also known as Trebbiano). This is a fresh, light white. Each bottle costs 19.90 Euros.
Finally, we tasted a 100 percent Chardonnay from Domaine de la Tournelle, located northeast of the Burgundy region – far north – on the border of France and Switzerland. This domaine produces both organic and biodynamic wines. This wine – Terre de Gryphées – is hand harvested and aged for at least two years in oak barrels. The taste was less zesty and crisp than the first white, but smooth and enjoyable. The price – 20 Euros a bottle.
The lessons from this tasting? First, drinking red before white is no sin. Enjoy wine any way you like. Second, be creative about choosing a tasting theme (here, all wines were organic or biodynamic French). Third, a winemaker’s age does not necessarily correlate with the quality of what they produce. And as always, diversity keeps people alert – in taste, geography, and modes of production.
Time and wine on the French Riviera were priceless…mais de parler français couramment? C’est un autre histoire.
It’s Nice in Nice
I am busy with intensive language school while taking some time off work, so you will have to standby for a longer post later about the French Riviera. These photos were taken this Sunday in Villefranche-sur-Mer, ten minutes from Nice.
My blogging friend Chrissie from The Riviera Grapevine (now on a well deserved holiday in Australia) has told of the virtues of the bellet grape in this region during the past year…so perhaps I’ll switch from the ample rose to bellet within the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the ‘chilly’ winter weather means wearing a sweater at night. Pas mal, as they say here. Not bad.
Surprises In a Cellar, and Christmas Artists
Surprises In a Cellar –
Let’s visit a ‘cave’ in an ancient stone basement in Bordeaux – comfortably lit, with a classic cellar vibe – chilly, dank, and smelling of must and dust. Perfect. 🙂
A trove of 2009 – ready for unpacking
This cellar is on Bordeaux’s right bank, beside the Gironde estuary, where vintages are not expensive, and taste is amazing. Why? Generations of winemakers work here – hundreds. Here’s a sampling of what is stored, the original cost, and current values.
| Chateau | AOC | Vintage | Bottle size | Original purchase price/bottle (Euros and US dollars) | Current value/bottle (Euros and US dollars) |
| Chateau Cantinot | Blaye, Côtes de Bordeaux | 2009 | 750 ml | € 10($12.25) | € 15($18.35) |
| Chateau Cantinot | Blaye, Côtes de Bordeaux | 2009 | Magnum | € 20($24.50) | € 30($36.70) |
| Chateau Clos Saint Emilion Philippe | Saint-Emilion Grand Cru | 2009 | 750 ml | € 16($19.60) | € 22($26.90) |
| Chateau Clos Saint Emilion Philippe Cuvée 109 | Saint-Emilion Grand Cru | 2009 | 750 ml | € 22($26.90) | € 32($39.15) |
The point? These are well priced wines. The quality is excellent (Bordeaux winemakers take immense pride in the quality and reputation of their output). These are bargains compared to many US, Australian, and other European wines of comparable quality. That’s the magic of purchasing from smaller producers on the right bank, where the term ‘Bordeaux’ does not necessarily equate with ‘expensive.’
Wine is best with friends
Second, the increase in value is not shabby – 45 percent over five years. Not a bad investment. And if the economy tanks and the world goes to heck, then it’s time to pull a few glasses out with a corkscrew.
Christmas Artists –
Here are a few artists/musicians met during these past Christmas season days.
Clarissa at work in Blaye
Clarissa Schaefer runs La Galerie in Blaye after living in South Africa and Germany. In her own work she tries to put ordinary objects into new contexts so they can be appreciated when viewed from different angles.
During 2015, La Galerie will feature another creator residing in Blaye. Thierry Bisch is not only a renowned French artist, but a winemaker – producing an unusual (for Bordeaux) 100% cabernet sauvignon wine – named Etalon Rouge. At the price, it’s a steal. Click on this link to see paintings Thierry produces.
In the video below Thierry explains – humorously – why he produces images of animals rather than people, and why being true to yourself is of the greatest value.
Jacob on right, with friend and fellow New Zealand traveler Finn.
This video was produced by an up and coming young film maker from the wine country of Marlborough, New Zealand, who now lives in France: Jacob Beullens.
This past Saturday in Blaye, a Bordeaux blues musician named Raoul Ficel graced La Galerie restaurant and art gallery with hours of soulful music. If you check out Raoul’s site you’ll find a splendid sepia-toned photo of one album cover – taken along the banks of the Gironde estuary – which Thierry calls the “Mississippi River of France.”
Blues along the Gironde – the ‘Mississippi River of France’
Raoul Ficel with his No. 1 Fan – His Daughter Zoe
But the best part of this season? Being grateful, and perhaps having a friend or two to share that gratitude with.
Happy Holidays All.
Back in Bordeaux
After catching flights from Islamabad to Paris and onto Bordeaux – I’m with friends in the city of Blaye and enjoying free time after four years spent working in Asia.
November sky above the Gironde estuary in Blaye, Bordeaux
The good news is that conditions appear to have been optimal for the 2014 vintage. That’s a relief. After stellar vintages in 2009 and 2010, the years 2011, 2012, and 2013 were unremarkable by comparison.
This may have been one reason why the mood was particularly festive and bubbly at a party which friends Les and Clarissa invited me to on Saturday night at the home of friends Alain and Dominique Bredin – physicians and members of a local wine tasting group.
Within minutes I met some of Right Bank Bordeaux’s most colorful winemakers.
Isabelle – back home with good family wine
Isabelle Chetty shared the story of how she abandoned France when fifteen years old, took a job as a butcher in New York, then traveled the world working on cruise liners before spending time in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands (St. Thomas is my birthplace, so we chatted about the isle we share in common). Eventually, she returned to Bordeaux where she and her brother now own and manage Château Mercier (Appellation Côtes de Bourg) with 23 hectares (57 acres) of south and west-facing slopes that include clay and gravel soils.
Isabelle shared generous helpings of her 2010 Cuvée Prestige, a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Malbec. I later learned how the wine goes well with Pyrénées cheese (coincidentally, I purchased the same Pyrénées at an open air market in Blaye that morning, where the vendor wearing a red beret insisted on pouring us glasses of red wine to drink while we tasted his cheese).
Corinne proudly shared her 2007 vintage
Corinne Chevrier-Loriaud shared some of her 2007 vintage Château Bel-Air La Royére (Blaye – Côtes de Bordeaux) a hearty blend with an intriguing composition of 70 percent Merlot and 30 percent Malbec. Great promise with this winery.
When he was not busy charming his audience, I greeted Yann Bouscasse. We first met last July. Previously the owner of the third largest container shipping company in the world, Yann and his wife Florence decided to move to Bordeaux – where they now own Château Cantinot. I had the fortune to buy futures in 2009 Cantinot years ago, and the cellared vintage is now balanced and a joy to drink.
Yann regaling Isabelle with stories
What else is new? The $9.7 billion Tours Bordeaux high-speed rail project – begun in 2012 – will be completed by the end of 2015. It will shave more than an hour off train travel times from Paris to Bordeaux, reducing a typical three-hour twenty-minute ride to less than two hours. This is the world’s largest rail concession contract, meaning that the consortium that designs and builds the rail line will also operate and maintain it for fifty years. The project is massive, and the road between the City of Bordeaux and Blaye shows the buzz of construction and earthwork projects. Soon, Parisians will visit the southern wine world of Bordeaux for a day. No doubt many Bordelais will appreciate choosing to live outside the city. Regardless, the rail line provides evidence of how Bordeaux’s economy is revving up.
Les and Clarissa enjoying life…
Wine in a Refuge and Enclave
I live and work in an Asian country where the population’s religion is predominantly Islam. I drink within a diplomatic enclave at a restaurant associated with the French embassy. The waiters (all are male) have become friends over time. They pass me a wine list soon after I enter. Because none drink alcohol, they are unable to recommend new wines on the list, but only tell how each sells compared to others.
For four years, this little walled-in enclave with decent wine and food have helped make the experience of living in this foreign land not unenjoyable. By ‘enclave’ I mean it. You pass through multiple road blocks and pat downs to enter. Why? Security. Consider recent events in this nation: 45 people were killed last week in a suicide bombing at the Wagha Border; days ago, a Christian couple (parents of three children) were bludgeoned by neighbors, strapped to a tractor and hauled around dirt roads, then finally shoved alive into a brick kiln to be incinerated by rural neighbors in Punaj Province. The reason? They reportedly (and this is questionable) criticized another religion. So far this year, 160 women (and those are only the known victims) were doused with acid and disfigured by men intent on ruining their beauty for diverse, ludicrous, reasons.
Jean Jacques and Chloe
The wine list here is chosen by a young Frenchman (Jean Jacques) with an excellent sense of taste and value. He also added maps of wine regions, and lists of typical grapes from each.
There are other diplomatic restaurants/bars/clubs nearby: Canadian, Australian, British, American. Due to security, it can be challenging and difficult to gain entrance to most. Also, other wine lists are often inferior in terms of quality. This remark is not snobbish – but true. By inferior I mean many other wines are fruit bombs lacking character or complexity. It’s like watching a movie heavy on action and thin on plot or acting. Think of watching Casablanca. Why does it remain classic? There’s an intriguing plot set in a semi-exotic locale with excellent acting by Humphrey Bogart. You’re entertained because of quality and originality at many levels.
It’s the same with wine.
The wine list at this restaurant is not extensive, but includes decent Bordeauxs (with bottles from St. Estephe, Pauillac, St. Emillion, and well as good quality bargains from Blaye and Bourg). There are often Rhones, at least one white Burgundy, as well as an Alsace, Mosel, or Rhine Riesling.
Moi, Aussie Michele, and Aussie Steve
I love to visit this restaurant, because the guests are from diverse international backgrounds – Norwegian, Moroccan, French, American, and dozens of other nationals. Because of constant job turnover, the faces change over the space of months, not years.
Last weekend I spent time with three friends – Claudio from Argentina (but with a Spanish passport and a home in Portugal), Alfred from Sierra Leone (just back from a visit to Uganda), Steve from Australia (now owning a home in Malaysia with his Japanese wife).
Weekend chill time
Here, we leave work behind, appreciate the truth that violence is not destined to rule the planet, and appreciate that a good way to break down potential animosities is by sharing time and meals with people from different backgrounds. Here, we enjoy the company of good friends, decent food, varied wine, fresh stories, and different opinions.
In a few weeks I shall leave this country. I cannot begin to describe how wonderful it has been to work with local staff – polite, courteous, hard-working, and generous people. Yet, for legal reasons related to religion – they are not allowed within the walls of our favored social venue here in the capital city.
Pity.
Tolerance is born with dialog, and dialog can begin by sharing food and ideas in the company of diversity.
Farewell to you and your wonderful staff, Club 21. Au revoir.
Wine and Sea Life in the Maldives
The Maldive Islands in the Indian Ocean do not produce wine. Those living on any of the inhabited two hundred (of over a thousand) coral reef atolls earn their income from fishing or tourism. The highest point on the islands – a golfing tee – is less than ten feet above sea level. All wine is imported (it’s a four-hour flight from the capital of Malé to Dubai, and a one hour flight to Colombo, Sri Lanka).
The arrival scenario here to the capital city of Malé is unique: walk outside the airport, cross a road, and you stand before an ocean shoreline pier lined with ships waiting to buzz you out to your destination island.
Prepare to unwind.
The Maldives is Islamic, and alcohol you bring into the country is confiscated at customs. However, you’ll be provided with a receipt – and allowed to pick up your bottles on the way out. Resorts operate bars that serve visitors. On exiting the country, the duty-free store at the airport will happily sell you a range of bottles – including first-growth Bordeaux wines.
There are no wine surprises here – most resorts serve basic fare that include both inexpensive and costly Chilean, Californian, French, and New Zealand reds and whites and bubbles to help you unwind during the late afternoon on a white sand beach while watching a gorgeous sunset after a day of diving, snorkeling, sailing, or just reading and taking it easy.
Full bottle, tropical breeze, sound of lapping waves…time to unwind
The short video above shows that rather than spending time working on a wine post this past week – I’ve simply been on vacation. Peaceful and quiet. Remedial. With some intriguing aquatic friends…
Tread very carefully
Most visitors are from Asia and Europe. For example, this is Monsieur and Mademoiselle Roger, from a village near Lille in France. They have come to this same resort for 34 years and speak not a word of English. Filled with energy, they invited me to meet them in the morning to go see ‘a show.’
Curious, I met them at 10.00 am. They led me down some back alleys to where a chef was preparing food by chopping up chickens and throwing scraps into water – where a dozen basking sharks and ten sting rays eagerly tucked into the grub. Children stood nearby (but not too near) taking photos and laughing.
Soon after this visit, the Roger’s and I sat at the sand covered bar, where they drank glasses of scotch before lunch. One evening we shared wine before dinner. The retired doctor raised a glass, called the Maldives parfait, and then toasted to our mutual health – “a votre santé.”
The Universe of Wine in Context
Words and Wine – Book Review
If you like wine, but squirm at words churned out to describe it, here’s a book for you.
How to Love Wine: A Memoir and Manifesto by Eric Asimov tells how it’s okay to disregard looking for a quill of three thousand nouns and adjectives to describe wine. (How many Americans have even tasted a gooseberry? And just what is ‘tapenade and lavender’?)
Chapters alternate between stories about appreciating wine and wine regions, with the story of Eric’s own career. As a long time wine writer for The New York Times, Asimov explains how a few strong descriptors – instead of detailed minutiae of tasting notes – are usually adequate to describe a wine. He also questions whether it’s necessary to describe a wine. As long as we’re smiling, who needs it?
Context can include food…
In a chapter titled The Tyranny of the Tasting Note, Asimov writes:
“…I’ve found that people who have no idea how one is supposed to talk about wine are far more creative and clear in discussing it than those who have read some books or undergone some training in wine classes.”
“…the flowery litany of aromas and flavors does little to capture the experience of a fine glass of wine.”
“…exaggerated language makes it far more difficult for people to enjoy wine without fearing that they somehow don’t understand what they are tasting…”
…location…
In a chapter titled Drinking by Numbers, Asimov elaborates in simple terms how scoring wines, and purchasing wines according to scores, can suck mystery and beauty out of appreciating wine. He offers the importance of considering context.
“Considering context requires asking crucial questions. Where will you be drinking this wine? With whom will you be drinking it? What will you eat? What’s the weather, the mood?”
Whereas the 100 point scoring system has merit, Asimov tells how it fails to consider context. That cheap but wonderful wine you drank with your beloved on a sunny evening on a beach that provides golden memories? Context. That overpriced red that you winced at while drinking with overcooked beef and annoying company? Context.
…and company
Asimov’s words reflect those of my friend Les Kellen, who, speaking of wine, tells friends:
“Wine can taste different at different times depending on what you’re eating, the temperature, even who you are with.”
Asimov is an experienced traveler, and has been privileged to taste a great range of diverse wines – at all price points. His writing also shows that he’s a normal guy who worked hard to gain his experience. He appreciates the benefits of discovering the magic and mystery of wines without depending on words or scores to point in any direction.
Perhaps he best sums up wine’s beauty in the second chapter:
“As much as we learn about it, as much as we know, it is at its heart a mystery.”
This book tells how exploring that mystery can provide joy.
If you love wine, but are still mystified as to why, you’ll appreciate this book even more.
Nice one Mr. Asimov.
Blackberry Wine
“Wine talks…It has a million voices. It unleashes the tongue, teasing out secrets you never meant to tell, secrets you never even knew. It shouts, rants, whispers. It speaks of great things, splendid plans, tragic loves and terrible betrayals.”
Church in Auvillar, along the Garonne River – west of where the French book scenes take place
So begins the book Blackberry Wine, by Joanne Harris (author of Chocolat). The book opens to the speaking voice of a bottle of wine – a 1962 Fleurie. This wine tells the story of a man named Jay – born the same year the wine was bottled. Pushed to the back of a cellar with two comrades – a Château-Chalon ’58, and a Sancerre ’71 – the trio stay happily away from the ‘metallic chatter’ of other bottles nearby, including a Dom Pérignon, a Mouton-Cadet, and a bottle of Stolichnaya vodka.
French scenes take place near where the Lot and Garonne rivers converge
Then, six weeks before the story of this book begins, six other bottles arrive. “The strangers. The Specials…each with its own handwritten label and sealed in candle wax.” These wines were made not from grapes, but from other berries – including elderberry and blackberry. They are a lively crew who laugh and whisper. These bottles are inextricably related to the story of a man living upstairs: 37-year old Jay Mackintosh, author of a best-selling book titled Three Summers with Jackapple Joe.
The book soon splits into two parallel stories – one taking place beginning in 1975, when Jay was a youngster in rural England, and the other beginning in 1999, when Jay lived in London. The first story tells of Jay’s encounters with a charming semi-hobo named Joe (the protagonist of his later book), and the other tells of how Joe flees London and his girlfriend to live in a country house bought on impulse in France (primarily because the photo of the building reminded him of an image Joe once shared of his French dream house).
Modern day Jay comes to terms with loose ends from his childhood, while also embedding himself into colored and troubled rural interconnections east of Bordeaux.
Memorable scenes include young Jay protecting himself from bullies by clutching a magical bag of charms provided by Joe, and a surprise visit from his ex-London girlfriend – intent on bringing unwanted fame (and a television crew) to Joe’s new home village.
Garonne River near to the city of Agen – a setting from the book
Characters in the book include liars, thieves, unlikely heroes, and an amiable ghost. The story concludes by the same bottle of 1962 Fleurie. For a vicarious plunge into railway, riverside, canal, and agricultural territory of rural England and France combined with a protagonist hunger to explore, Blackberry Wine is a decent read.
Wine and Poetry
My siblings recently sent copies of poems we read while growing up, a few of which we had to memorize (as required) for school. These included Ozymandias (King of Kings) by Shelley, and Fair Daffodils by Robert Herrick. There was also mention of Poems on the Underground in the UK (where passengers appreciated poetry placed on billboards), as well as Poetry in Motion, where the same took place along New York’s public transport system.
Those poetic New Yorkers….(the orange flags are part of Christo’s ‘Gates’ project)
Good verse includes compact, powerful imagery that hits our emotions. Poetry is the literary equivalent of – ? Perhaps Red Bull. Or whiskey. Maybe wine.
During the opening scene of the classic movie Bottle Shock, a helicopter cruises over hills and vineyards while a voice recalls words of the writer Robert Louis Stevenson (which are also written on the entrance sign to Napa, California), that ‘Wine is bottled poetry.’
See? Bottled Poetry
Shakespeare never doubted the power of the grape, and in Antony and Cleopatra wrote:
Come, thou monarch of the vine,
Plumpy Bacchus with pink eyne
In thy fats our cares be drown’d,
With thy grapes our hairs be crown’d!
Cup us till the world go round,
Cup us till the world go round!
John Keats’s wrote Wine Poem: Women, Wine, and Snuff
Give me women, wine and snuff
Until I cry out “hold, enough!”
You may do so sans objection
Till the day of resurrection;
For bless my beard they aye* shall be
My beloved Trinity.
[* always shall be]
Wine is often intertwined with romance; Robert Burns wrote of wine and his beloved woman at the beginning of his poem about departing for battle:
Go fetch to me a pint o wine,
And fill it in a silver tassie;
That I may drink, before I go,
A service to my bonie lassie:
Jonathan Swift wrote about the power of an empty wine bottle, unearthed in 1722, in Stella’s Birthday – describing it as though it were a womb containing medicine.
Behold the bottle, where it lies
With neck elated toward the skies!
The god of winds and god of fire
Did to its wondrous birth conspire;
And Bacchus for the poet’s use
Pour’d in a strong inspiring juice.
See! as you raise it from its tomb,
It drags behind a spacious womb,
And in the spacious womb contains
A sovereign medicine for the brains.
Part of the poem Ode to Wine, by Pablo Neruda, is below. This Chilean romantic had homes in both the city of Valparaiso, as well as along the coast of Chile. I was fortunate enough to visit both when I began writing Vino Voices years ago. Inside his beach house we learned how Neruda, renowned lover and poet, drank wine out of multi-colored glasses because he believed they changed a wine’s flavor.
View from Pablo Neruda’s beach home in Chile
My darling, suddenly
the line of your hip
becomes the brimming curve
of the wine goblet,
your breast is the grape cluster,
your nipples are the grapes,
the gleam of spirits lights your hair,
and your navel is a chaste seal
stamped on the vessel of your belly,
your love an inexhaustible
cascade of wine,
light that illuminates my senses,
the earthly splendor of life.
Want to invest in a decent book of poetry? Consider the classic Norton Anthology of Poetry, a serious tome to plonk beside your nightstand. 100 Best-Loved Poems, a bit slimmer, includes more classics than contemporary verse. My favorite, because it’s a paperback stuffed with verse, and also light enough to have packed away for a two-year trip to Africa with the Peace Corps years ago, is Immortal Poems of the English Language.
Next time you’re alone with a glass of wine, turn off the TV. Try enjoying some verse instead.
Biodynamic Bordeaux in the Médoc
Médoc means middle territory, appropriate for the French wedge of land seated between Atlantic Ocean waters on the west, and the Gironde Estuary to the east.
Map courtesy The Wine Cellar Insider
Pine trees grow on the ocean side of this land strip, while swamps and vineyards sprawl eastward. The soil is crappy. It’s so poor ‘you couldn’t even grow potatoes here,’ our energetic guide, Matthew, told us. But vines that struggle through nasty soils often produce excellent wines. Combine that truth with the underlying complex limestone substrate, ocean winds deflected by a massive pine forest, well-drained gravel soils, seasoned winemakers, the best French oak barriques, and the particular soup of all natural elements on the Médoc – the terroir – and the resulting ‘left bank Bordeaux’ wines are some of the most prestigious, and expensive, in the world.
For renowned wines, there are the usual suspects: three châteaux classified in 1855 as Premier Crus (Lafite, Latour, Margaux; the fourth, Haut-Brion, is located south of Médoc, within Bordeaux city) and another added in 1973 – Mouton Rothschild.
The Tower of Latour
Swampy bottomlands of Lafite
The gated bastion of Mouton Rothschild
The stately chateau of Margaux
Yet the beautiful Médoc is electrified by contradictions. It is traditional yet anachronistic, conservative but liberal, pure and still polluted. The strict, ancient laws of viticulture and wine production adhered to locally are admirable: irrigation is illegal, wines must be produced from grapes grown on châteaux properties – not imported, and for red wines to be labeled ‘Bordeaux,’ they must include a blend from at least two, but no more than six, specific grape varietals. (Whites, making up only eleven percent of Bordeaux’s wine production, usually include three varietals, although a total of nine are allowed.)
That’s tradition.
Très Swish
But the ranking of which châteaux produce the best wines is an anachronism. Four of the five top Bordeaux Premier Crus were ranked highest by Thomas Jefferson during his visit in 1787, and re-ranked the same by the French in 1855. This accepted classification system has not changed since, with one exception: the addition of Mouton Rothschild in 1973, in a dodgy act of political legerdemain.
To agree on the utter validity of this century-and-a-half old ranking system is a compliment to Thomas Jefferson as well to Emperor Napoleon lll. Otherwise, it is nonsensical. Soils change depending on how they are cared for, as well as due to effects of erosion; climates shift to favor slightly different patches of land over time; excellent winemakers may be replaced by mediocre, and winemaking techniques have improved dramatically during the past two decades, much less century. The dogmatic adherence to an ancient classification system flies in the face of logic, natural resource economics, and science. Yet regardless of discussion over the history of the classification system, the entire region of the Médoc as a whole retains a valid reputation for producing excellent red wines.
Back to the land
There is also the conservative versus liberal slants on wine production. Chateau Pontet-Canet, a stone’s lob from Premier Cru Mouton Rothschild, was classified in 1855 not as a first, but as a far lower fifth grow. Yet it now produces wines that sell for a fraction of those from neighboring Premier Cru lands, and are often ranked as highly. Wine Spectator Magazine rated the 2005 Mouton slightly lower than the Pontet-Canet, yet it sells for over $500 a bottle, while you can get a bottle of the Pontet for about a hundred bucks. And while the 2009 Mouton may rank a tad higher than the 2009 Pontet, a bottle will cost you two to three times as much as the Pontet.
Pontet is also now embarking on some vineyard techniques that might appear liberal within the local context, certainly in a universe separate from most of their Médoc brethren.
Mmmm, was it sniff, then swirl, or the other way around?
To understand this is to grasp an agricultural perception of the difference between pure versus polluted. Some soils of the Médoc have been nuked with fertilizer and pesticides for decades. The result? No one is quite sure what soup of trace chemicals they’re quaffing down with each sip of their beloved Bordeaux. Whereas most of these stately châteaux selling bottles for the price of small diamond brooches utilize traditional fertilizer and pesticides, others forge ahead with more ecologically sustainable ways of keeping their soils healthy. Pontet-Canet is now certified as a biodynamic wine producer. Considering that it is located in the heart of the traditional wine-producing country of Médoc, that’s like hanging a Jackson Pollack painting next to a Monet at the Louvre – certain to raise eyebrows.
All sizes for the family
But whether or not you subscribe to all biodynamic practices – be they planting and harvesting by lunar cycles or spraying nettle teas on your crops – biodynamic methods are fundamentally healthy for soils, and promote the notion of working in concert with natural cycles, rather than trying to dominate them. The practice encourages bugs to return to abandoned soils to burrow and aerate the land. Pontet-Canet is also moving toward using horses rather than tractors to work the soil – resulting in less compaction and erosion.
The results? Taste to find out. You won’t be disappointed.
Horses? Biodynamics? Ancient cellars? I’ll drink to all that…
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Bastille Day in Bordeaux
Too busy for a post this week – so instead, a quick question:
What renowned Medoc château is named after the tower in the photograph below?
Secret From North Italy Alps – Lagrein Wine
The seventh edition of the World Atlas of Wine, edited by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson (thanks for the gift, Lisa Hazard!) informs me that the Lagrein grape, grown around the far northern Italian city of Bolzano, produces wine that is “serious stuff…with aging potential and a growing number of followers around the world.”
Lagrein grows in the Alto Adige province, so far north in Italy that the region is also called the Südtirol, or southern Tyrol, because it is heavily influenced by the bordering country of Austria (and was part of the Austro-Hungarian regime until the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, after the First World War). The predominant language of Bolzano is German, not Italian. Alto Adige produces just one percent of Italy’s wine, on a total vineyard area of 5,300 hectares (over 13,000 acres). The Alto Adige produces a complete range of wines – from sparkling to dessert, but is particularly known for cool climate white wines, including Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürtztraminer, and Riesling as well as lesser known whites more commonly grown in Germany than Italy – including Sylvaner, Müller Thurgau, and Kerner.
Le Montagne Dolomiti
The region is prone to maritime climate influences from the west (Mediterranean sea) and the east (Adriatic sea), while the range of altitudes within this alpine terrain provides vineyards with multiple microclimates. If you stand in the city of Bolzano and gaze upward you’ll see mountains covered in vineyards. A recent promotional advertisement for Alto Adige wines in Decanter Magazine tells how red porphry sandstone provides mineral tones to the region’s white wines. Some vineyards are located above three thousand feet above sea level, while vineyards closer to the valley floors produce more reds. The sometimes wickedly hot daytime summer temperatures in the Bolzano basin – around the convergence of the Adige and the Isarco rivers – produce rich Lagrein grapes, which are used for both red wines and rosés. Wines bottled under the Denominazione di Origine (DOC) Alto Adige Lagrein label must contain at least 95 percent of that grape, and any wine labeleled ‘riserva’ must age for at least 24 months. 
In this region, the commonly grown red ‘workhorse’ grape is Schiava (also known as Vernatsch). Other local reds, according to the 2014 edition of Guida Vini [published by Altro Consumo], include Marzemino, and Teroldego, and Lagrein – which is velvety and distinct. A cousin of both Pinot Noir and Syrah, Lagrein is tannic enough to provide it with decent ageing potential. Lagrein’s flavor has both zest and minerals – green grass and rock salt, lemon and tar. For dinner in the town of Muncion, my brother ate partridge and wildfowl risotto, while I munched on Tyrolean ham spaetzle, served with Lagrein wine. Lagrein goes well with both dishes – both poultry and local ham (known as ‘speck’ – and which is distinctive because it is both cured and smoked). 
Lagrein – goes well with appetizers as well as main courses
Harvest and Chopping Block – Here’s a recipe for a light dish with potatoes and ‘speck’ ham (you can use prosciutto ham) to go with Lagrein wine – from bon appétit magazine. Also, at my nephew’s wedding near Venice a week before this trip, his friend Hanna told me about the website Smitten Kitchen….which happens to have a recipe for making another excellent dish to accompany Lagrein – spaetzle. Looking for a distinct wine, or even a travel destination few of your friends know about? I recommend Lagrein, and Italy’s Dolomite Mountains. Can you take a 45 second survey to help improve this site? This will provide you with more of what you want. Thanks.
Angels all around us
Modena, Italy – Sparkling Lambrusco and Superb Food
In late May, after attending a nephew’s wedding near Venice, then exploring Italy’s northern Dolomite Mountains – I considered how best to spend the rest of the trip.
I looked at a map. Having visited Bologna and Verona years ago, I was drawn to the city of Modena.
Modena? Isn’t that renowned for balsamic vinegar?
Indeed. As well as for manufacturing Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Maserati cars. It’s also within the province of Emilia-Romagna – famed for exquisite food, as well as Lambrusco wine. Cars? No big deal. Good food and wine?
I drove there in two hours.
Whereas Sangiovese wines of Tuscany (Chianti, Brunello) are often rich, red, and tannic, the province of Emilia-Romagna has – Lambrusco! – pink or red, fresh and frothy. Serve in a chilled glass.
Modena’s large open plaza – Piazza Grande – resembles that of many ancient Italian cities, surrounded by concentric ring roads pierced by perpendicular avenues shooting toward the center like spokes to a bicycle hub. After parking, I walked ten minutes before happening – by chance – across a splendid wine bar.
Fabrizio, the manager of Modena’s wine bar Enoteca Athenaeum told me that Lambrusco, “is an easy wine, like Prosecco.” During a late Thursday afternoon we listened to music by the Doors, U2, and Buffalo Springfield while he explained how most – over 90 percent – of Lambrusco sparkling wine is made using the Charmat Method, as opposed to the Classical Method (also known as Metodo Classico, or Méthode Champenoise), which is used to make Champagne and several other sparklers, including Franciacorta from Italy, Cava from Spain, and Crémant from France.
Both methods require adding additional yeast and sugar to the wine after it has undergone primary fermentation (where sugar first transforms into alcohol) to initiate a secondary fermentation. In the Charmat Method, this fermentation is speeded up in pressure controlled tanks (often steel), whereas in the Classical Method it takes place more gradually in the bottle (the sugar and yeast are added to the bottle before it is capped).
Modena’s Piazza Grande in the evening
The Charmat method produces fresh wines that are rich with fruit and floral aromas, but which lack complexity found in Champagne (or other Classical Method products) – which typically undergo longer secondary fermentations – often 24 months or more. Lambrusco can be frizzante (fizzy) or spumante (sparkling). Though bubbles in a Lambrusco are often larger than those found in sparkling wines made using the Classic Method, the overall pressure in the bottle is, paradoxically, often less – resulting in little or no foaming over the rim on opening.
Lambrusco is the name of both grape and wine. True Lambrusco is neither sweet or white, and contains at least 11 percent alcohol. There are over a dozen Lambrusco grape varieties (and dozens of clones), and wine is made primarily from six of them. Additionally (and confusingly) there are at least eight separate separate Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) regions producing Lambrusco wine. Be wary – some of the grapes and the DOC regions share the same names.
Fabrizio chilled a wine glass by swirling ice cubes inside, then filled it with Lambrusco di Modena, assuring me this was from the vicinity of the city. He referred to other varieties of Lambrusco in his English (learned while visiting America) as being “from the suburbs.”
Below is a brief description of four of the main grape varieties (not clones) used to make Lambrusco wines.
- Lambrusco di Sorbara – From north of Modena, producing high quality, dry to medium dry fragrant wines.
- Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce – At least four Lambrusco grape varieties come from this, the largest Lambrusco producing and exporting region, with both light-colored wines, and drier, darker wines. Both Sorbara and Salamino Lambrusco grapes are often cultivated on plains, often in proximity to each other.
- Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castlevetro – This Lambrusco grape comes from a small hilly region 20 kilometers south of Modena, and produces deep purple, tannic, dry wines. Not only the leaves, but the stalks turn rich red during autumn. The quantity of production is relatively low, but the quality is high. The wine is intensely ruby-red and violet, with its foam the same color. In general, fruit and acidity are reasonably balanced, and there is often bitter aftertaste (not unpleasant). For many, either this or Lambrusco di Sorbara produce the cream of the crop of Lambrusco wines.
- Lambrusco di Modena – This is what Fabrizio served – decent wine, decent price, made from grapes produced in various regions close to Modena. The quality has elevated over time enough to result in the inclusion of the wine in DOC status.
Ring the doorbell first – for excellent food served in Modena at Trattoria Aldina (see the two upstairs window signs?)
Lambrusco wine turned into a huge, welcome surprise. Sit in the sun on a summer afternoon, fill your glass with frothy, purple, and delicious, low-alcohol vino and enjoy it with cuts of prosciutto, olives, and cheese. You’ll enjoy. This fizzy wine goes well with rich foods from appetizers through desserts, including sweet sausage, salami, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, lasagna, tortellini, and all types of pasta. As the Italian writer and musical composer Bruno Barilli said, “il Lambrusco fa boom nello stomaco,” meaning – obviously – that the wine goes ‘boom’ in the stomach.
Eating well in Modena? Not difficult
According to a book I bought in a Modena bookstore, written by Sandro Bellei and titled – La Rivincita del Lambrusco – Il vino più venduto nel mondo (The Revenge of Lambrusco – the best selling wine in the world), the word ‘Lambrusco’ derives from two Latin words – labrum, meaning margin, and ruscum, meaning wild plant – indicating a grape that once grew wild along forest edges. Romans harvested these grapes from Apennine Mountain slopes. Before them, Etruscans also made wine from Lambrusco grapes.
Between 1960 and 1970, the grape grew in international stature, and in the 70’s Lambrusco invaded the US market. Today it is largely exported to the US, UK, Germany, Russia, Japan, China, and Brazil. Much of this exported wine is a blend of Lambrusco grapes from at least eight separate Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) regions, and can contain up to 15 percent of juice from non-Lambrusco grapes. Fortunately, the benefits of genuine Lambrusco are replacing wines that in the recent past were sold overseas (many in the US) which were overly sweet and fizzy, as Eric Asimov described in his New York Times piece. The better and genuine Lambrusco wines are mentioned in an article about wines that are best to drink young in a recent piece by Will Lyons in the Wall Street Journal.
Enjoying time with new friends and fresh wine at Enoteca Athenaeum in Modena
Words and Wine –
Sandro Bellei’s paperback book (mentioned above) is titled La Rivincita del Lambrusco (The Revenge of Lambrusco). It includes a series of independent essays about Lambrusco. Written in Italian (though approachable if you understand Spanish or French), the book is a love song to a grape and wine, as well as to excellent food, rich history, and a culture that takes pride in enjoying the beauty of long meals and slow drinks with companions.
Different chapters describe types of Lambrusco grapes, history and marketing of the wine, and also include recipes, a long poem, and even an essay on how well Lambrusco pairs with sushi.
Enjoy!
Harvest and Chopping Block –
Here is the translated introductory paragraph from the book titled i Sapori dell’ Emilia (The Flavors of Emilia), by Ambra Ferrari.
“Sundays in summer, when the city is quiet and deserted, about noon I leave the house and go hunting for perfumes, seeking scents of the kitchen. On weekdays it’s impossible to catch them, as they are confused among a thousand other smells – the scent of meat sauce and broth, so gentle and delicate, cannot withstand the bully of car fumes. I wander streets and sniff the air like a bloodhound. If I take a slight hint of foods I do not let them get away. I follow, with patience and expertise, into the heart of old houses and finally stand with eyes half-closed in the hallways of those who know lasagna noodles.”
And below is a dessert recipe from the book, listed with a recommended wine to match.
Modena Bonnissima Pie
Ingredients –
- 5 cups (500 grams) sifted flour
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- grated peel from 1/2 a lemon
- 3/4 cup (250 grams) melted honey
- 2 cups (250 grams) chopped walnut kernels
- 1 small glass of rum
Steps –
- Mix the flower, sugar, butter, egg yolks, and lemon peel.
- Divide this dough in two.
- Take one half of the dough and use it to line a buttered baking pan.
- Mix the melted honey, chopped walnut kernels, and rum.
- Pour this honey nut mixture over the dough in the pan, then level it with a knife blade.
- Cover this with the remaining dough.
- Bake at 350 to 375 (medium heat) for about 30 minutes.
Finally –
Serve with Lambrusco di Sorbara Dolce (sweet) wine.
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The Season for Rosé Wine
For those of you interested, even peripherally, in French wine, I suggest you subscribe to the web log The Riviera Grapevine – Pronto! In recent posts, Chrissie has written about rosé wine from southern France and about the Rolle grape. She’s included photos of hedonistic midnight swimmers and wine aficionados on green landscapes below peach colored moonlight. Chrissie’s blog clues readers into the nuances of varied wine appellations dotting the Riviera – where some striking rosé is produced. There’s so much going on in this region, I cannot keep up.
Rose from Provence….appreciated in Asia
Here, in the humble outreaches of a Diplomatic Enclave within the capital city of an Asian country, I frequent a semi-autonomous restaurant associated with the French embassy. It has access to a smattering of decent Bordeaux, Côtes du Rhône, and bottles of rosé – exceeding the wine capacity of any other restaurant located within this nation of close to two hundred million souls. The back label of the 2012 Marius Peyold Côtes de Provence (photographed above) informed me that this rosé is made from Grenache, Syrah, and Censault (classic grape varieties in many Languedoc wines), and that it has notes of red fruit, white peach, and citrus. It tasted crisp and slightly tangy – a fresh way to ring in summer.
Summertime in Provence wine country
Over a year ago, my French friend and accomplice in sampling introduced me to rosé. We usually shared bottles of Rosé D’Anjou from the western, Loire Valley region of France.
Provence – more than Roman engineering
But in the Provence region of southern France, where Peter Mayle penned his books and Russell Crowe drove multiple times around a roundabout to thrill movie audiences, rosé is king. Perhaps queen. Certainly for royalty, as well as regular folk. It’s wine to enjoy – blush, fresh, mildly zippy. Rosé is ubiquitous in Provence – bright, light, fresh, and fruity, and the antithesis of all misgivings Americans once had about rosé after they excoriated the marketing triumph of White Zinfandel years ago. Truth is, the success of that wine was responsible for saving the Zinfandel grape from virtual abandonment and extinction within California (and the United States). Zinfandel now gains nothing but respect for producing hefty red wines. And when you drink a hit or two of it as rosé you may realize that it also still provides an excellent way to kick off summertime. But don’t trust my limited experience. Tune into Chrissie’s primer on Provence rosé.
Capers and caper
Peter Mayle retired from England and moved to southern France, where he scribbled notes about contract workers fixing up his home in Provence. His subsequent non-fiction book A Year in Provence turned into a best seller more than two decades ago – detailing the highs and lows of renovating a home. His recent fiction book The Marseille Caper [A.A. Knopf, 2012] is a quick read about the deception of already deceitful land developers. Thrown in are scenes from a private airline and yacht, and the rantings of a few dim-witted hit men piloting stolen motorcycles. There are also plenty of meals where characters enjoy glasses of rosé with artichoke hearts, smoked salmon, clams wrapped in Spanish ham, goat’s cheese, and foie gras.
Etrsucan Wine, and New Blog Format
A 2013 article from Smithsonian Magazine tells, basically, how French wine originated in Italy.
View southward from Mount Falco, near the source of the Arno River in Tuscany’s Casentino Forest
Before Roman society blossomed, the Etruscan civilization shone as a bright light of ingenuity, innovation, and civilization on the region of Italy now known as Tuscany. It was Etruscans, not Romans, who invented the structural arch above doorways, who laid out the fundamental rectilinear street system used to this day for city planning, and who first drained marshes to recover land used for agriculture throughout what is now Italy. The Etruscans were a hilltop dwelling, sometimes seafaring, bawdy lot who loved a good party, creatively concocted food, and who relished downing ample wine. Women enjoyed more respect than offered to females in Greek society and in the later Roman Empire. Many Etruscans belonged to the League of Twelve Cities, each city circled by defensive stone walls that followed contours of rolling landscapes.
Today’s Tuscany – formerly Etruria
I wrote about Etruscans in my fictional book River of Tuscany, with an excerpt quoted below.
The Greeks envy us! They criticize us as drunks, sneering that Etruscans taught Gauls the pleasure of wine. They scoff at how we treat women, saying we are too decent to them, which emboldens females with independent and adventurous spirits. They say we descended from Odysseus and his lover Circe and that we share their traits of shamelessness and promiscuity.
Tuscany’s city of Pisa – long after the time of Etruscans
According to a recent article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, chemical analyses of ancient amorphas used to carry wine in southern France – south of Montpellier – show these contained wine which originated in Etruria in what is today’s Italy – undoubtedly ferried there by ships. These amorphas were dated to between 525 and 475 BC. The wine also contained basil, rosemary, and pine resin – perhaps preservatives, perhaps additives for medicinal purposes.
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wine – legacy of Etruscans?
DNA analysis of cattle in Tuscany shows that they descended from cattle brought to the Italian peninsula by seafaring immigrants. These people, who formed Etruria, were likely from Lydia, an Iron Age kingdom located in what is now western Turkey. They may have brought vitis vinifera grape species along, although ample wild grapes likely thrived on the peninsula already. Apparently Etruscans did not train their grapes or prune vines, and considered wine as both common and sacred: wine vessels were buried with bodies in tombs, and wine was used at religious and funerary ceremonies. The Etruscans also apparently liked to grate cheese into their wine to add flavor, and kept cheese graters on hand for visitors to any banquet.
By the second century BC Etruscan society was largely conquered by and absorbed into the growing Roman Empire.
What is the legacy of the Etruscan people? Tuscany. Home, eventually, to Florence – a city-state that flourished in the 1500’s because of its wealth, progressive notions and tolerance (sometimes, not always), as well as magnetism for bold and spirited Renaissance artists, thinkers, architects, engineers, bankers, and politicians. Today, the signature wine grape of Tuscany is Sangiovese (the primary grape in chianti, in Brunello di Montalcino, and in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano). What grape did the Etruscans use? We don’t know yet, though archaeological evidence will likely reveal that answer in the not distant future.
Montepulciano wine route
Interested in knowing more about Tuscany? A list of books about Tuscany is included at the end of this post.
Changes to Format –
Vino Video –
Will be brief and focused on different locations producing wine.
Small town, big wine
Traversing Time –
Roman wine country
Bon apetit
Harvest and Chopping Block –
Words and Wine –
Pablo Neruda – lover of women, poetry, wine
Working with Wine –
Wine tasting – challenging work
Want to read more about Tuscany? Below is a bibliography, compiled for the book River of Tuscany.
- Fortune Is a River, Roger D. Masters, Plume, New York, 1999
- The Hills of Tuscany, Ferenc Máté, Delta, New York, 1998
- The Etruscans, Raymond Bloch, Frederick A. Praeger Publishers, New York, 1958
- Hannibal: One Man Against Rome, Harold Lamb, Doubleday & Co., Inc., New York, 1958
- Pride of Carthage, David Anthony Durham, Doubleday, New York, 2005
- Hannibal – The General from Carthage, Ernle Bradford, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1981
- Leonardo Da Vinci – Engineer and Architect, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Quebec, 1987
- Leonardo Da Vinci – Flights of the Mind, Charles Nicholl, Viking, New York, 2004
- Daily Life in the Middle Ages, by Paul B. Newman, McFarland & Company Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina, 2001
- Tuscany in Mind, edited by Alice Leccese Powers, Vintage Departures, 2005
- In Tuscany, Frances Mayes, Edward Mayes, Bob Krist. Broadway Books, New York
- Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes, Broadway Books, New York, 1997
- Travelers’ Tales Italy, edited by Anne Calcagno, Travelers’ Tales, San Francisco, 2001
- The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy, Odile Redon, Francoise Sabban, Silvano Serventi, Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1998
- Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well, Pellegrino Artusi, University of Toronto Press, 2006
- A Taste of Tuscany, Eyewitness Travel Guides, DK Publishing Inc. New York, 2004
- The National Park of the Casentine Forests – where trees touch the sky, Giunti, Florence-Milan, 2003
- Vroom with a View, Peter Moore, Centro Books, New York, 2006
- Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds, by Harold Bloom, Warner Books, Inc. New York, 2002
- Dante, by Thomas G. Bergin, The Orion Press, New York, 1965
- Brunelleschi’s Dome – How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture, by Ross King; Penguin Books, New York, 2001
- La Bella Figura, Beppe Severgnini, Broadway Books, New York, 2006
- A Thousand Days in Tuscany, Marlena De Blasi
- The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany, James Bentley
- River of Tuscany (Rivers of Time Series), T. Mullen, Roundwood Press, 2013
- Fortune Is a River, Roger D. Masters, Plume, New York, 1999
- The Hills of Tuscany, Ferenc Máté, Delta, New York, 1998
- The Etruscans, Raymond Bloch, Frederick A. Praeger Publishers, New York, 1958
- Hannibal: One Man Against Rome, Harold Lamb, Doubleday & Co., Inc., New York, 1958
- Pride of Carthage, David Anthony Durham, Doubleday, New York, 2005
- Hannibal – The General from Carthage, Ernle Bradford, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1981
- Leonardo Da Vinci – Engineer and Architect, The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Quebec, 1987
- Leonardo Da Vinci – Flights of the Mind, Charles Nicholl, Viking, New York, 2004
- Daily Life in the Middle Ages, by Paul B. Newman, McFarland & Company Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina, 2001
- Tuscany in Mind, edited by Alice Leccese Powers, Vintage Departures, 2005
- In Tuscany, Frances Mayes, Edward Mayes, Bob Krist. Broadway Books, New York
- Under the Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes, Broadway Books, New York, 1997
- Travelers’ Tales Italy, edited by Anne Calcagno, Travelers’ Tales, San Francisco, 2001
- The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy, Odile Redon, Francoise Sabban, Silvano Serventi, Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1998
- Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well, Pellegrino Artusi, University of Toronto Press, 2006
- A Taste of Tuscany, Eyewitness Travel Guides, DK Publishing Inc. New York, 2004
- The National Park of the Casentine Forests – where trees touch the sky, Giunti, Florence-Milan, 2003
- Vroom with a View, Peter Moore, Centro Books, New York, 2006
- Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds, by Harold Bloom, Warner Books, Inc. New York, 2002
- Dante, by Thomas G. Bergin, The Orion Press, New York, 1965
- Brunelleschi’s Dome – How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture, by Ross King; Penguin Books, New York, 2001
- La Bella Figura, Beppe Severgnini, Broadway Books, New York, 2006
- A Thousand Days in Tuscany, Marlena De Blasi
- The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany, James Bentley
Also –
- The Etruscan World, Jean MacIntosh Turfa, Routledge, New York, 2013
Fresh Video from Southern France Wine Country
Last spring I spent time rambling through the Languedoc and Bordeaux regions of southern France. The brief video below includes not only shots of vineyards (conspicuously absent of greenery), but three structural highlights visited during the trip – the Canal du Midi, Carcassonne Fortress, and the Citadelle of Blaye.
All three relate to the curious history of wine production in France.
First, check out the video.
Both the Languedoc and Bordeaux are massive wine producing regions. Bordeaux has long been associated with high quality wines, while the Languedoc was historically renowned for mass produced table wines. No longer. Cellar magicians in the Languedoc are now focused on quality and character, and some excellent, meticulously crafted wines from that region are available at a decent price. (Check out a previous post about the Languedoc.) In my book Vino Voices, Charles Capbern-Gasqueton gives a tasting of Languedoc wines from the French AOC (appellation d’origine contrôlée) regions of Corbières, Minervois, Berlou, Cessenon, and Faugères. An excerpt is included in a previous blog post.
(Charles, a wine and barrel dealer from a Cognac producing family, told me: “You need people to say, ‘This wine, I’m sorry but even if it’s from a famous château, it’s just crap.’ It’s like food. Tonight you’ll get a piece of meat from the butcher. It’s beautiful meat. You go to the supermarket, and it’s going to be crap….Wine is to be a real pleasure. It needs to be fun, exciting, simple. Now they make so much fuss about wine it’s pretentious, snobbish, and boring. You need to be with a real winemaker, you don’t want beautiful girls with small skirts showing you around…”)
Incidentally, the Guardian newspaper recently included a good article on Languedoc wine.
Now, back to those structures, and a bit of history.
Canal du Midi –
Construction of the 150 mile long Canal du Midi was completed in 1681, joining the southeast coast of France and the city of Toulouse. Because Toulouse was already connected to Bordeaux (on the eastern coastline) via the Garonne River, the canal provided the missing link for a sea-to-sea waterway passage from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic.
Building the canal was what one non-fiction author (of a most excellent book, by the way) deemed a feat of ‘impossible engineering.’ The notion was not only technically challenging (no water projects of any great scope had been constructed in the region since the Roman Empire), but psychologically daunting. Local farmers were baffled by the notion that humans were brazen enough to try to alter the course of nature, and were equally stupefied that it was financed by the seat of the government (which they generally held in suspicion) in northern France.
Ancient knowledge from Illiterate mountain women may have helped ensure the success of these eight egg-shaped staircase locks at Beziers
The notion of the canal had lasted for centuries. Leonardo da Vinci even visited France to scope out the prospect for building such a canal. The visionary who piloted the actual scheme, however, was a retired tax collector named Pierre-Paul Riquet who assuaged the fears of locals, then garnered local confidence and support to plunge ahead with the work. Unexpectedly, the most technically oppressive challenges of hydraulic engineering were partially solved by laboring women who had descended from their farm fields in the Pyrenees mountains to pick up seasonal work. Back home, they and their ancestors had spent centuries maintaining and modifying Roman built irrigation networks. From this, they possessed an almost innate knack for helping to size, shape, and arrange the layout of locks and water routes, as well as to understand the subtle behavior of gravity flowing liquid – a gift to project engineers who lacked such hands-on experience or knowledge.
Once the canal was constructed, all sorts of wares – including wine – flowed in both directions. This led to the Bordelaise implementing taxes and regulations to keep Languedoc wine from encroaching on their own wine export business. However it also provided an avenue for Bordeaux wines to more easily reach Italy and other neighboring regions, so others could taste for themselves whether all the international hype they had heard about French wine had merit. (This export had been going on for long: pottery fragments in Italy’s ancient city of Pompeii, destroyed by a volcanic eruption in AD 79, include writings that indicate the wine came from the region now known as Bordeaux.)
Heavily fortified, and massive, Carcassonne
Carcassonne
The massive fortress of Carcassonne began as a simple mound fort established by Romans, and grew through multiple iterations over centuries. It was invaded by Visigoths, defended (eventually) against Saracens, sieged by crusaders – always maintaining inland poise as a stopping point along the old Roman route that linked the Mediterranean to the Atlantic – established long before the Canal du Midi existed. It’s likely to have housed its share of wine traders making the coast to coast trek centuries ago, though any wine transported that distance would likely have been affordable only by the wealthy or by royalty. Sure, swarms of visitors visit Carcassonne. But if you are ever in the region, choose early morning (preferably) off-season to visit, and enjoy much of the inspiration it provides in peace. It’s worth it.
Citadelle of Blaye
The muddy brown slice forms the waters of the Gironde estuary, which splits Bordeaux in two….the Citadelle on the right was key for defending the waterway, and wines that shipped through it
Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban was a military engineer and adviser to King Louis XIV who constructed massive defensive complexes within France in the 1600’s and early 1700’s. One of these was the Citadelle du Blaye (now a UNESCO World Heritage site) on the eastern bank of the Gironde estuary that bisects Bordeaux.
The Citadelle provided national defense, and also vigilance against pirates intent on looting ships laden with wine which regularly sailed to Britain for trade (the wine trade between Bordeaux and England has thrived at least since the 12th century).
These structures were constructed without the aid of internal combustion engines or electricity. They were built using animal and human labor during ages when Novocaine and antibiotics were unavailable. Whenever someone tells me they would like to have lived during a past era, I think – no thanks. The romance of that notion is great, but the reality would have been a hard slog.
California Dreamin’ – and Good Wine
Viewing the Pacific Coast from Mendocino
For a few weeks I visited friends living near California’s coast who love wines: Californian, French, Italian – all. They love to socialize and share. North to south – here’s a quick recap of coastal California wine regions visited and wines tasted, as well as people and beverages shared during this eye-opening venture.
Mendocino County and the Anderson Valley –
Coastal California
The northward drive from San Francisco to Mendocino takes three hours. Pass Napa, Sonoma, and Healdsburg along Pacific Coast Highway 101, then turn west at Cloverdale on Route 128. This is a tight and gnarly road, sun dappled and spiraling below tree canopies and passing signs warning of twisted, rough, narrow roads crossed by wandering stags. Pine trees coat hills. Meadows form horse farms. Raptors soar above, and dead skunks splay across asphalt. The Hendy Woods State Park on Hornblower Road is riddled with hefty redwood trees and sheep farms. This is Tolkien country – deep dark forests, and no telling what comes next.
Coastal miles before the city of Mendocino
This is the site of the Anderson Valley of Mendocino County (not to confuse with the larger Alexander Valley in Northern Sonoma County, further south). It’s home to loggers, farmers, cannabis growers, and seriously good winemakers.
Cooled by fog – the valley is primed for growing Pinot Noir
The valley slopes from about 200 feet to just below a thousand feet above sea level, and fog cools the climate in a way that favors northern European grape varieties – including Gewürztraminer and Pinot Noir. This month’s Travel and Leisure Magazine includes the somewhat vague generalization that Mendocino grows the largest variety of grapes in the United States. Jay McInerney described Pinot Noirs from Anderson in a recent Wall Street Journal article, writing that they tend to be “medium-bodied, more savory than sweet.” A friend who spent years living in northern California’s wine country, stated without doubt that the 2009 Handley Pinot Noir we shared was the best Pinot he ever tasted.
Roaming through Dry Creek
Northern Sonoma Hiking and Zins
Thanks to northern California dweller Lisa Hazard for the hospitality and Zinfandel shared in northern Sonoma County! Our day road trip to explore Dry Creek Valley was a treat. For more on these wines, see my post about Rockpile Ridge.
Corner Lot – home and vineyard
Chardonnay in Sonoma
A wine map of Sonoma County shows how the included Sonoma Valley includes excellent Chardonnays. The Baumann family shared some of these locals wines and dinner during my visit to the City of Sonoma. Earlier that day, Tiffany Tedesco Baumann took me to a local cellar to sample her 2013 Corner Lot Sangiovese – in the barrel since October. This is smooth and seductive, about ready for bottling….and securing one of these rare bottles is harder than you can imagine. As pure as an Italian Brunello di Montalcino, this is 100 percent Sangiovese. It’s also elegant testimony to the potential for growing excellent Sangiovese in Sonoma Valley. Though little known, that’s not news: Italian grape varieties have been planted in Sonoma County since the 1880s.
French and Italian Wines Raging in Santa Barbara
After leaving Mendocino and Sonoma counties in California’s Northern Coast wine region, I drove to the county and city of Santa Barbara, which marks the southern end of California’s Central Coast wine region (described in another post, last year). The April 2014 issue of US Airways Magazine includes an entire section dedicated to the city and county of Santa Barbara, California. This includes seven articles about wine.
Santa Barbara celebration
Thanks to Anne and Bill Mitchell and their generous wine guru friend Charles King – we celebrated Bill’s birthday in Santa Barbara with winemakers and locals who show how much they respect their European wine making heritage – by opening bottles of Chablis, Montrachet, Barbaresco, Barolo, Pomerol, Cornas and seeing a 1976 Margaux gifted as a welcome surprise. This was a wine extravaganza none who attended will forget. Salud!
Zin and Grenache in Ventura
Hongola hospitality
A half hour south of Santa Barbara I spent the night in Ventura, California – famed for the song Ventura Highway from the band America, for Chouinard climbing gear, and for an easygoing beach and surfing vibe that lacks throngs of tourists many similar California coastal towns witness. Steven and Melissa Hongola invited a visit, and our planned lunch turned into dinner, and sharing their bottle of Epiphany Cellars Grenache, from Santa Barbara County.
In the county and the state, generally, Grenache is growing more popular as single varietal. It also offers good quality for a decent price. Grenache is often blended with Syrah, which provides more tannins, color, and acidity, but which lacks the spice and alcohol of Grenache. Along with Syrah and Mourvedre, Grenache forms one of the classic components of Rhone Valley blends from southern France, and the primary grape in characteristically powerful (and usually pricey) bottles of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Thanks for providing one of my favorite wine varietals guys.
Bubbly in Orange County
Though not really along the wine trail (though there is a winery in town), I visited my old homestead city of Laguna Beach in to see friends. This is within the Southern California wine region. There we dusted off a few bottles of Mionetto Prosecco (DOC) Treviso, delivered (along with grapes and cheeses) by the lovely Bascom sisters to Victoria Beach. Local California alternatives to this Italian sparkling wine include almond champagne from the Wilson Creek Winery in Temecula (mentioned in my book Vino Voices). There were two clear advantages to drinking Prosecco rather than local bubbly on this spring day.
Surf, sisters, and time for celebration
First, Mionetto is the best selling Prosecco in the U.S. It is fermented completely in a tank using the ‘Charmat’ method, and does not need to be aged, unlike champagne and sparkling wines, which are partially fermented in the bottle using the more elaborate ‘méthode champenoise.’ This gives Prosecco it’s primary quality – freshness. Prosecco also shares qualities more typical of California sparkling wines and champagnes than those from Europe – more fruit and less yeast characteristics. This made the Prosecco perfect for a spring afternoon (paired with grapes and cheese): fruit and freshness. Nice choice, sisters.
California links with European winemakers stay strong (Napa’s Robert Mondavi Winery famously teamed with Château Mouton Rothschild of Bordeaux in 1979 to produce Opus One). From north to south, winemakers constantly refer to their varietals and methods as aligning with, or differentiating from, regions that include Bordeaux, the Rhone, and Italy’s Piemonte.
Thanks for the warm hospitality, friends and California.
Sonoma’s Rockpile Ridge – Hot Terroir
An hour north of San Francisco sprawls Sonoma County – with a million agriculturally rich and beautiful rolling acres, seventy miles of coastline along the Pacific Ocean – and 14 wine appellations.
Spring in Sonoma County
North of the cities of Napa and Sonoma is Healdsburg – similar to the city of Sonoma, with a main square surrounded by restaurants and small retail outlets, though partially surrounded by massive Redwood trees.
Healdsburg mural of agricultural heritage
Healdsburg is where the Russian River merges with Dry Creek, both waters flowing south. Stand in Healdsburg and look south – and you face the territory of the Russian River Appellation – known for lean Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. Turn north and slightly to the right and you’ll face the Alexander Valley (and wine appellation), while the Dry Creek valley (and appellation) is forward and to the left.
Dry Creek typically receives cool foggy mornings and warm afternoons. Vines were first planted here in the 1870s when French immigrants settled. Later, Italian immigrants considered the land reminiscent of Tuscany and Piedmont and planted their own vines (I spotted vineyard signs for Montepulciano and Sangiovese grapes). Steep slopes, stony soils, and a moderate climate here favor Zinfandel for red wines and Sauvignon Blanc for whites.
Gateway to Northern Sonoma wines
Drive up Dry Creek past the last of a dozen roadside wineries, cross a bridge over Lake Sonoma, then climb and wind into the Rockpile Ridge sub-appellation (‘sub’ because part of the territory also lies within acres of the Dry Creek appellation). Established in 2002, the Rockpile appellation only includes vines grown at over 800 feet elevation – where they are unaffected by fog (Zinfandel is prone to rot from excessive moisture).
High and dry
A total of eleven growers now plant vines along Rockpile Ridge. Mauritson has grown grapes here for six generations and the winery owns 90 of the region’s 200 planted acres. Mauritson produces eight Zinfandels, seven made from Rockpile Ridge grapes. They also grow Syrah, as well as Petit Sirah – which they add to Zinfandels to impact the color and tannin structure.
In the tasting room up Dry Creek valley, Carrie Mauritson explained how bunches of Zinfandel grapes tend to ripen unevenly, resulting in them being kept on the vine longer to eliminate the unripe. But On Rockpile Ridge, bunches ripen relatively evenly, meaning they can be picked earlier – often resulting in a lower than typical alcohol content for a Zin (thought not tame, at 14.75 percent).
Rockpile Road
….and the Cab Franc is decent too
Mauritson Zins from Rockpile Ridge are subdued, not brash. Other winemakers (including Rosenblum) now source grapes from Rockpile, apparently a hot terroir at the moment in northern Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley.
Rosenblum’s Rockpile Zin
Fresh Chilean Wine Appellation for the Maule Valley
Winemaker Andrés Sánchez just wrote from Chile. He shared news about a new appellation in the Maule Valley that applies to wines based on the Carignan grape (Andrés and I met years ago during my research for the book Vino Voices).
Click here to read about this new Chilean wine appellation.
Gilmore Winery in Chile’s Loncomilla Valley
Andrés, together with his wife Daniela and her father Francisco – the winery owner – live in Chile’s Loncomilla Valley, which is part of the Maule Valley. I wrote a post about their Gilmore Winery years ago. They are an inspiring trio because they live off the beaten path, grow their own vegetables, and created the design of their own winery and guest house buildings – which are spacious and flooded with light. All have traveled the world and worked in many countries, and now love their chosen home in the Chilean countryside.
Chapel on winery grounds
Andrés told me –
“We live together here. Our house is there in the corner. It’s a quality lifestyle. We use spring water so we can take showers. We grow all the vegetables that we eat today. We cultivate an organic yard and we eat organic. We try to find the balance. We are really connected with some of our clients in Germany, Switzerland, Finland. But it’s kind of a luxury to live in this way. Probably more and more people will try to get this lifestyle, the natural way. With space, with an environment, with less real cost of food. Real food.”
Sounds ideal.
Onsite aviary
Happy Fourth Anniversary – Vino Expressions!
Green from the Emerald Isle
Today – St. Patrick’s Day – marks the fourth anniversary of the launching of the web log – Vino Voices. The site was originally titled Vino Expressions – to match the book title this blog promotes. When I changed the book name to Wine and Work, (which is now Vino Voices), this blog name changed with it.
The original Vino Expressions book
The modified version – Wine and Work
Four years? That’s wild. Particularly as for three of those years I’ve assembled posts from a country where it can be a challenge to obtain wine. Most posts (and all photos) are based on travels, research, and interviews with others. For the first few years, this post simply included excerpts from the book Wine and Work.
A years ago came the sister website – Roundwood Press – which is both an online bookstore and a blog related to a dozen books, written during the past twenty-one years.
Also from misty Ireland – name of the sister website
This has been a busy month: an emergency plane landing, two neighborhood suicide bombs, lockdowns for days – all punctuated by a few splendid parties and dinners. Each event provided the essential reminder that life is brief, and should be – as much as possible – celebrated. To celebrate this anniversary of this web log, I am ‘re-blogging’ the first full wine-related post – from March, 2010. It is about a wine maker who works on a hilltop in the piemonte region of Italy and who loves crafting Barolo wine. Flavio Fenocchio was the first person interviewed for Wine and Work, a strong soul who not only graciously treated us to a mid-morning tasting of excellent Barolo wines, but who shared stories about his passions: photography, geology, and exploring the hills and riversides of Italian wine country. He is one of the people this site is dedicated to – those who choose (whether for vocation or avocation) to do what they love, and to share the best of it with others.
Thanks for tuning in during these past years.
Slainte!
Here is the original post titled Flavio Fenocchio – Master on the Hill Top
We sat together on a spring afternoon, tasting a half-dozen bottles of Barolo wine made during the past ten years. The winery sits in Italy’s northwestern region known as Piemonte, named after the Italian words meaning foot (piede) and mountains (montagne). Located south and east of the Alps, this region basks in summer sunshine. Piemonte is a decadent find for those who love good food and wine.
Few people drink Barolo because production is small and the price is high. The region produces eight million bottles each year, compared to 200 million bottles generated from the Bordeaux region of France alone. Barolo comes from the Nebbiolo grape, which the Romans enjoyed, and which US President Thomas Jefferson considered as sweet and heavy. Today, Barolo has a reputation as a distinct and excellent red.
Flavio compared himself to both an artist and scientist, admitting that an artist moves by inspiration, while the force that guides a winemaker is the question – ‘why not?’
“Making wine is a matter of trying to tell the future from the present. It’s similar to a cook trying a new recipe, trying to understand the cooking time, the temperature. You only have results when the meal is prepared, or when wine is aged.”
“What I am aiming at is to find surprise. To give emotion. It’s like photography. You have to impress, to do something people remember. If you can put a little of your personality not only in your wine, but in your job, it’s more interesting. Doesn’t always happen,” he added, laughing. “The worst and best thing about this job is that we are never bored,” he said.
“You have to ride the horse,” he added, referring to the process of making wine. “It’s not always a quiet horse. But with a good one, you can win the race.”
Before the tasting, I managed to visit the underground cellars, guided by Alessandra Minetti
“The first bottle of Barolo came from this cellar,” Alessandra explained as we toured through dank and musty pathways.
“Probably from one of these big traditional barrels,” she said, pointing at rows of huge oaken casks.
“These barrels are about 180 years old. We still use them to make wine.”
She then showed me the Barolo ‘library’ – a room controlled for temperature, humidity and light and storing 36,000 bottles of wine.
“One of the biggest collections of Barolo in the world.”
She pointed at the oldest bottle behind a glass case. The pale label read Barolo Cannubio 1859.
“Dusty,” I said.
“We want the dust,” said Alessandra, laughing. “We never clean them.”
Words and Wine – Best Wine Writing
Researching and writing a book about people who work with wine changed my life. I plunged into stories about grapes and geography, filled the fridge with quirky and classic vintages, and marveled when the world’s geography of taste expanded. I sipped wine made by colorful characters in locations odder than any pea green boat ever aimed for: a countryside resembling Hawaii in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean; a land where people mount wooden phallus symbols over their doors; an unexpected locale in rural farmland Missouri producing wine that would make you marvel.
Smiling in anticipation of Bubbly
During the past six years I’ve read ample books and articles on wine, and found that the quality of some literary ‘vintages’ surpasses others. I enjoyed Wall Street Journal pieces written by Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher because their approach is simple – decide for yourself what you like, experiment with new wines, and scrap decanting to let wines ‘breathe’ in the glass instead, changing character while they do.
It’s a challenge to write about wine and hold readers’ attention. Writers can only prattle on so much about the taste of cherries or chalky soil, or the whiff of Montecristo cigar smoke or leather saddles they sniff in a glass. Sure, readers want delight and descriptions they can relate to, but also need hard facts and edgy anecdotes to keep them turning pages. Reading about winery dogs and chateau owners and the rise of prices in Burgundy will only holds readers attention if – like good wine – the elements of each essay are fresh, memorable, and coherent.
Colorful winery of Château du Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy
Wine books cover several genres. These include relocation tales about those who shucked professions and moved to France or California or New Mexico to try their hand at producing wine. There are wine detective stories – fiction and non-fiction – about thieves and looters and swindlers seeking fortunes, usually through deceit related to labels or provenance. There are compendiums and atlases and instruction manuals about how to swirl and taste and purchase wine.
My favorite wine author is Gerald Asher. The writing in his books A Vineyard in My Glass, or A Carafe of Red, is rich and fluid, and his grasp of subtleties associated with interplays between geology, geography, climate, and grapes is immense. Asher can drop a casual sentence that encapsulates assessment and analysis garnered during decades of personal experience exploring the wine world, but which also includes essentially the distillate of an entire college course on viticulture or wine making.
Good friends, food, and wine
Choose any of Asher’s essays and select random paragraphs. He recounts slivers of medieval and ancient history with ease in writing that, like good wine, is complex yet intimate and enjoyable.
Waiting in a wine garden in Bergamo, Italy
Asher, who never indulges himself to be a privileged bon vivant, is – above all – optimistic. In his essay titled Roussillon – Sunlight in a Bottle [from the book A Vineyard in My Glass; 2011], he writes:
“Those are the colors of Roussillon’s wines, too…sunlight preserved in a form most likely to be of comfort to us at this time of year. In fact, a rib roast and a carafe of Côtes du Roussillon Villages followed by mince pie with a glass of old Rivesaltes should be reassurance enough for even the most skeptical that the world will indeed go on turning and that the sun will go on shining.”
I enjoy wine writings from Eric Asimov, Lettie Teague, Jay McInerney, and even the dynamic confidence Robert Parker injects in his tasting notes. Choose whoever you like, but for less than the cost of a decent bottle of wine, I suggest you invest in a book by Asher.
Hong Kong’s Dynamic Wine Scene
My friend Kathy Fu who works in Hong Kong provided photographs for this post, as well as information about Hong Kong itself – basic but intriguing stuff I simply never knew. Kathy also introduced me to Roddy Ropner, interviewed below.
Hong Kong was under British rule for most of 150 years before 1997, when governance transferred to the People’s Republic of China. It then became known as a Special Administrative Region of China. A constitutional document ensures that the existing political situation in Hong Kong will exist for 50 years after this transfer.
The famed Hong Kong night skyline (courtesy K. Fu)
The land includes Hong Kong island, as well as more than 260 outlying islands. Renowned deep water Victoria Harbour lies between Honk Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. I always imagined the place as a small pocket of highly developed land, teeming with skyscrapers. The truth is that 40 percent of the country includes parks and nature reserves. Most – over 90 percent – of all inhabitants are of Chinese descent, though English and Chinese are both official languages.
In 2008, Hong Kong’s 80 percent wine import tax was eliminated. Overnight, the location poised itself as the gateway to the growing interest for wine for Asia, particularly for wealthy Chinese buyers. The demand for more expensive wines has focused on French labels, mostly Bordeaux, although in recent years demand has grown for Burgundian wines.
Roddy Ropner from Wellspring Wines in Hong Kong provided insight into current trends in the Hong Kong wine scene.
Have you seen any noticeable difference in trends in purchasing fine wines during the past 12 – 24 months – especially for Australian / New Zealand wines in comparison to European wines? Increased or decreased attention / sales?
I don’t see much Australian and NZ wines in the auctions but it seems to me that AUZ in particular, and NZ to a lesser extent, are trying to position themselves in the Fine Wine category. Australia’s Barossa Valley master class in wine was launched in HK so they clearly see that as a key market. I think that there was a backlash against Australian Chardonnay (overoaked) and Shiraz (too alcoholic, over extracted) and both the wineries and promoting bodies have taken this on board and are now trying to promote their premier wine regions. NZ is doing something similar and trying to let consumers know that there is more to NZ wine that Sauvignon Blanc. There is a lot of interest in NZ Pinot Noir and this is probably connected to the love of Burgundy that we are seeing in HK and other parts of Asia.
Deep water Victoria Harbour (courtesy K. Fu)
From conversations with clients, can you sense any growing interest in selecting particular wines for matching with Asian foods – such as Rieslings?
As a huge generalization you can say that people in this part of the world LOVE their food. If you sit down to a dinner with Hong Kong friends the most common topic of conversation is FOOD! So I think it is quite normal that they will then think about food and wine pairing. Also Jeannie Cho Lee MW, first Asian Master of Wine and HK resident, is one of the most prominent wine critics / writers and she has very much promoted the pairing of wine with Asian food. That being said when talking about pairing wine with Asian food people finally realize that there are so many styles that it is impossible to generalize. The cuisine in HK and south China is different to that in Shanghai and that in Beijing. Also, each meal comes with some many courses that its hard to pick one wine – say Riesling – that will par with everything.
On the subject of Riesling I still seldom see people drinking this although the dry styles from Clare and Eden Valleys [Australia] seem in demand in the wine shops. More traditional older wine drinkers might prefer a Mosel Kabinett but as I say I seldom see this being drunk here. What a shame! I think that many people also find that Pinot Noir / Burgundy pairs well with Hong Kong food as it does not overpower the dishes in the way that a Bordeaux might.
Hong Kong is now considered a ‘fine wine capital’ – regarding sales / auctions. Are you aware of any particular measures / legislation that Hong Kong is actively pursuing to maintain or strengthen this reputation?
Good question. I have just been asked to join the Hong Kong Wine Merchants Association – I have not had time to reply yet. http://www.mobilogin.com/HKWMCC/
They say that one of their roles is to lobby the government but I have not yet found out which areas they are concerned about!
The government has introduced some standards for warehousing etc.http://www.investhk.gov.hk/zh-hk/files/2012/08/2012.07-wine-en.pdf
But this is a pretty “laissez-faire” society and the government on the whole does not get too involved. Of course the great coup was to drop import duty on wine – that created the conditions for the current boom in wine. And it’s probably fair to say that most of the demand for fine wine, especially at the auctions, was coming from Chinese buyers. The reality is that there are comparatively few collectors and regular drinkers of fine wine in HK. The population here is 7 million – the size of a 2nd tier city in China!
That being said when I first came to HK in the late 80’s I attended a lot of Chinese dinners and we were always served tea and beer. Now there is almost always wine on offer. Either from the wine list or guests bringing their own wine – which is very common.
Has there been any increase or notable added attention / sales related to wines made in Hong Kong using imported grapes from France / the U.S.?
I understand that there are a couple of wineries making wine in HK. I did hear that they were set up as a way of getting round the import duty when that was still in place. However now that the import duty as been dropped there is no particular reason to buy / drink them. There are so many wines and wine merchants in HK and I think wine lovers love the idea of drinking wine from a special place or region. I don’t feel particularly excited about the thought of drinking a wine made in a factory in Hong Kong from grapes grown by another party.
Kathy Fu
Thanks for the background information on wine Roddy, and thanks Kathy for photographs and general background on Hong Kong. One day I hope to visit. Sooner rather than later.
Beauty in Wine Regulations?
For this bottle – grape varieties are not listed, while the appelation and vintage are
The title of this post is misleading. Regulations concerning wine are rarely beautiful, but associated grape names can be. You’ll see.
Below are some basic and bedrock regulations concerning how wine producers can label their bottles in the U.S. Because the universe of wine laws and regulations is often labyrinthine, this post focuses just on a few colorful aspects of U.S. labeling rules. Future posts may peek at those from other wine producing countries. Why? Because regulations force wine makers to consider a wider world beyond fields and cellars.
First – which grape varieties should be listed on a wine label? None, if a producer chooses. But if any are listed, rules apply.
Wines sold in the U.S.(which are not imported) can list on bottle labels only grape varieties recognized by the federal government. Imported wines receive more lee way: they can include any grape names, as long as each is officially recognized by the government of the exporting country.
Rules and regulations? Not now – it’s cocktail hour.
Inspecting a list from the government’s guidance on including grape variety names on wine labels (courtesty of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau; part of the Treasury), I counted over 310 ‘acceptable’ grape varieties for making wine in the U.S. These include some darlings: Watergate, Captivator, Blue Eye, Edelweiss, Iona, Melody, Noah, St. Croix, and Freedom. Ever heard of these? Just seeing ‘St. Croix’ and ‘Freedom’ on a label could entice me to buy the bottle. And there are more. Additional approved grape varieties (pending the next official rule-making) include: Geneva Red, King of the North, Bluebell, and Rose of Peru – which sound like characters from a child’s storybook.
Second – what percentage of grape(s) named on the label must be included in the wine?
More stringent than the U.S. – for Argentinian wines, at least 80% of the wine must come from the single variety named on the label
Per U.S. regulations, a single grape variety can be written on the label if at least 75 percent of that bottle’s wine is made from that grape. There are exceptions. First, if the grape is of the vitis labrusca vine variety rather than the more widely used vitis vinifera, only 51 percent (or more) of the wine needs to come from that grape. Second (though I suspect this is rarely used), if a TTB officer finds that the wine made from the 75 percent minimum of one grape still tastes too strongly, he or she can drop the minimum to 51 percent. In both cases, the front or back label will have to include specific language telling that story.
If a producer wants to list two or more grape varieties, they must include the names of all included varieties, as well as their contributing percentages (each within a range of plus or minus two percent).
The state of Oregon has a reputation for applying more stringent requirements – requiring that 90 percent of any single variety must be in the wine if the label names just that grape. But there are eighteen exceptions to this rule, including all component grapes used for red Bordeaux and red Rhone blends, as well as Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Zinfandel, and others. What is notable is that this rule does impact both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Considering these two grape varieties constitute the sole components of renowned red and white wines from Burgundy, it’s likely the Oregon legislator who crafted this rule was influenced by Oregon wine producers who are true lovers of pure Burgundian wines. Perhaps beauty does seep into regulations.
Only 75% of contents contains Pinot? Burgundian wine pickers would be horrified.
Third, what year were the grapes grown?
Stating the ‘vintage’ – the year that the included grapes were harvested – is not required in the U.S. But if a producer chooses to list the vintage, at least 95 percent of grapes included in the bottle must have been harvested during that year. This applies to grapes listed as coming from any designated American Viticultural Area, or AVA. If a state or county is instead listed as the appellation (rather than an AVA), only 85 percent of grapes need come from that labeled vintage.
Less stringent than the U.S. – for Chilean wines 75% of grapes need to come from the listed vintage for domestic wines, but 85% for exports
Fourth – how much alcohol is in the wine?
A friend was recently pulled over by the police, tested, and charged for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). Because she drank only wine that night, she suspected someone might have spiked her drink. I suggested another probable cause. During the past two decades, alcohol content has been creeping upward in U.S. wines. Whereas fifteen to twenty years ago most bottles typically used to include between 12 and 13.5 percent alcohol by volume, that number has been ascending upward to as high as 16 percent. Why? Due to improvements in viticulture and the popularity of fruit forward, high alcohol wines, grapes spend longer time on the vine, increasing sugar levels, requiring more prolonged fermentation periods, and resulting in higher alcohol levels.
What does this mean for a cocktail drinker?
Is this enough food before my first glass?
If a wine contains 14 percent of alcohol – or less – the label is not required to show the percentage, and can include the words ‘table wine,’ or ‘light wine.’ If it does include the percentage, there is an allowed variance to that stated number of plus or minus 1.5 percentage points. For wines that include greater than 14 percent alcohol, however, the rules are slightly different. First, the percentage must be shown on the label; second, the variance must be only plus or minus one percent.
Partygoers Beware: pouring into a wide, hand-held glass = faster road to cloudy minds
Let’s say my friend who received the DUI had arrived at the party in the early evening. She had an empty stomach and poured herself a glass of wine. She did not read the alcohol content on the label, which showed, let’s say, 15.5 percent. That means the wine could actually contain 16.5 percent alcohol, which means each glass she consumed contained over 37 percent more alcohol than the usual bottle of wine she drinks at home with dinner, a Bordeaux with 12 percent alcohol. Also, if her host went with the current trend of using larger and wider wine glasses, her single pour to the mid-point of the glass provided, say, fifteen percent more liquid than she was used to drinking at home. The human brain has difficulty gauging the volume in a container, and people generally pour themselves more if a glass is wider. Also, people generally pour themselves more when they hold a glass in their hand rather than set it on a table. She drank two glasses on an empty stomach (which provided the same amount of alcohol as three glasses of her usual wine poured at home). Even after subsequent dining (during which she may have enjoyed another glass or a few) her bloodstream was swimming with a greater chance for getting a DUI than she would have suspected.
Want to stay buzzed but not toasted at a party? Check the wine label for alcohol percentage next time you reach for a wine bottle. Otherwise, regulations you break could cost you your driving license. Here’s to safe drinking.
Searching for Wine in Bhutan
The Kingdom of Bhutan is a small nation tucked into the mountains north of India and east of Nepal. It has a population of less than 700,000 people and no traffic lights. It is illegal to sell tobacco or engage in mountaineering in Bhutan (one is bad for health; the other might disturb mountain gods). Forbidden also are fishing and hunting.
The ‘dzong’ in Punakha, at the confluence of the Mochu (mother) and Phochu (father) rivers
This small country produces two excellent beers – Druk 11000 (which comes in a big – 650 millilitre – bottle, contains 8 percent alcohol, and packs a smooth punch), as well as the weaker, yeastier, Red Panda.
And wine? Bhutanese produce ara, made predominantly from wheat, although rice or barley are also used. This ‘wine’ might be what we call ‘moonshine lite’ in the United States, and is produced on the sly in villages.
Is it really wine? Technically, no. But that’s no reason to stop a good story.
Before telling of the satisfying hunt for ara, here’s a little background skivvy on wine made from wheat. Technically, wine is produced from grapes or other fruits. Sure, you can add wheat as a clarifying agent to white wine, or add wheat to provide additional tannins in red wine. But wine without fruit? The Japanese drink Sake, which is made from rice and sometimes referred to as wine. But most definitions of wine state that the basis is fruit. I found an internet recipe for ‘wheat wine’ that includes taking one pound of wheat and adding sultanas, potatoes, and grapefruits – but the sultanas and grapefruits are fruit, so their contribution makes this ‘wheat’ beverage a wine.
However, since locals and visitors to Bhutan refer to wheat based ara as wine, I’ll do alike for this piece.
In order to travel within Bhutan as a foreigner, you are required to have a guide. This is supposed to help enhance visitors’ experience. I told my guide, Mr. Tshering, that I wanted to discover more about Bhutanese ara.
Lively and colorful market day in Punakha
And so our adventure began.
First, we visited the local market within the city of Punakha. Very colorful.
After this visit, we drove fifteen minutes, parked along a roadside, and began hiking.
Mr. Tshering (left) and driver Mr. Sonma lead the way
We soon passed a store selling wooden phalluses. Apparently an ancient and deified hero of Bhutan known as the Divine Mad Man came from Tibet. His sexual prowess and reputation for philandering were legendary. So when four spirits were found to be maligning the people who crossed Dochula mountain pass, the Divine Mad Man was summoned to solve the problem. He used his powers to rid the pass of demons. Today, in a show of apparent gratitude, images of penises riddle the countryside: over store fronts, poking above bar doors, painted on buildings.
Legacy of the Divine Madman
Unique souvenirs
After passing the Phallus Handicraft store, we walked past a water powered prayer wheel – sending prayers to the heavens.
When I asked Mr. Tshering whether a site for wine making was ahead, he told me no, that we were going to the Temple of Fertility instead.
Apparently both Mr. Tshering and our driver, Mr. Sonma, considered my bachelorhood as a condition they needed to help rectify. Although, considering that both men are bachelors, I suspected they sought a little temple magic themselves to change their own personal situations. So we ascended a mild hillside toward the temple, all the while passing multiple Bhutanese couples also en route, dressed in traditional long robe clothing – khera for women, and gho for men.
A monk headed for the fertility temple?
Once there, we spun multiple prayer wheels with our hands, took off our shoes, entered the temple, bowed and said prayers before an image of Buddha, received a blessing from a monk, and returned to the car. On the way we passed laughing and gracious children.
Taking a break from gardening
Traditional Bhutanese dress
School girls pointing out the trail
But what about the ara, I asked Mr. Tshering.
“Oh, yes,” he said. “We will go.”
Days later, in the town of Chamkhar in the central province of Bumthang, I told Mr. Tshering we should skip the planned afternoon trip to monasteries and instead just wander through town on foot, which we did. When we paced down one street we spotted Mr. Sonma, standing outside a tea shop and sipping a mug of chai. It turned out that the store belongs to Mr. Tshering’s brother.
Nothing but goodness at the Karma General Shop
Fresh groceries, colorful shoppers, and ara wine
“Ara!” called Mr. Tshering. A woman drinking it laughed. She then asked for another mug and poured me a full helping. It was only 11.30 in the morning but, hey, I couldn’t refuse Bhutanese hospitality. So I took a few sips in the same time it took this woman to finish her glass and pour herself another. And then she burst into song and dance at this random wonderful little tea house/general store we happened across.
The ara had the taste of mildly bitter lemonade.
Hours before New Year 2014 rang in
Ara is carried in this container from a mountain village
This mother of seven, wearing a nose ring made from gold, told us how the wine in the store is made at a local mountain village, and carried to the store in a big plastic container (Mr. Sonma fetched the empty container from the kitchen to display). Apparently ara is drunk by villagers at any time of day – the sugar helps keep them warm while working in mountain fields, and the alcohol dilates their capillaries, flooding their extremities with warm blood.
This woman rapidly downed two glasses, after which the shopkeeper topped up her bottles free of charge. He told me this was to keep her husband from asking whether she had already sampled the wares while on her way home.
Buzzed and happy by the encounter, my Bhutanese friends and I set off walking again. They insisted that I get some rest. After all, they said, that night was New Year’s Eve, and we would be going out drinking and dancing.
Days later, while hiking through the wide, beautiful Phobjikha valley at 10,000 feet above sea level (carved into a U-shape by glaciers long ago), we spied and photographed rare black necked cranes, watched locals practice archery, then met a farmer who invited us into his home.
Flight of Black Necked Cranes
Local archery contest
After ascending steep wooden stairs, we sat. Our host, Mr. Dau, poured us his homemade wheat-based ara, likely 16 to 20 percent alcohol and particularly smooth to drink.
Mr. Dau serving ara wine in his home
Glacially carved Phobjikha valley
Although technically ara might not be wine, the alcohol content brings it into a range above beer but lower than more potent alcohols. As a lunch time drink for workers who are toiling in the field, it’s delicious, nutritious, and always seems to help strike up camaraderie between the easygoing, peaceful Bhutanese.
In Bhutan, the drink is used for celebrations, to seal deals, and also for courtship. In her book Married to Bhutan [Hay House, 2011], author Linda Leaming tells about encounters with her future Bhutanese husband. She wrote:
“We taught each other English and Dzongkha. Namgay also brought me walnuts, rice, eggs, and butter. He brought me weavings by his sisters, and ara, a locally brewed wine that tastes a little like sake. This meant we were courting.”
Ara can also be stronger than the variety I tasted in Chamkhar. In her book Radio Shangri-La [Crown Publishing, 2011], Lisa Napoli wrote:
“Ara is a clear wine, distilled from rice. A Bhutanese friend plied me with several large glasses one night. It left my head thick and cloudy. It was delicious, but it wasn’t something you’d drink if you were hoping to do anything productive the next day.”
Ara is not only a daily drink for field working villagers, but also a national beverage with pedigree. On request, I was served a helping of ara in a handsome mason bowl within a Thimphu city hotel owned by the royal family. Ara is also the name of the bar at one of the pricier resorts in Thimphu.
That little bowl to the right? Particularly potent ara
Of course, fortified or not by ara, any visitor to Bhutan will want to view or hike to the Tiger’s Nest, built after the original Guru Rimpoche – spiritual leader of Bhutan – received a vision for building the monastery in the seventeenth century (after transforming himself into a flying tiger and cruising through the air to the location from the east). This spectacular monastery was built in the late 1600’s. Magnificent.
Here’s to trying new wines and experiences in 2014.
Tiger’s Nest
Christmas Eve Wine from Vietnam
The flight from Saigon to Hanoi takes two hours. In late December, the journey will take you from t-shirt, shorts, and sandals weather to where you’ll need to pull on a sweater, scarf, and cap before venturing outside.
Not Paris – but there is a Notre-Dame Basilica in Saigon
I had never heard of Vietnamese wine. But there, in the hotel room in Hanoi, stood a bottle. Considering the upstairs restaurant sold wines from Bordeaux, Napa, Colchagua, and Stellenbosch that cost from between $22 and $56 a bottle, why would the hotel risk supplying a free local wine unless it was decent?
I opened the bottle of 12 percent Dabeco ‘red wine,’ and tried it.
“Dabeco red wine is a fermented product from various kinds of fruits of Dalat specialties which create the deep flavour taste.”
This wine was a beautiful surprise. It is light, fruit full, and has the crispness you typically associate with a white wine. This is an Asian Beaujolais, a light and easy pre-dinner drink.
The French began planting wine grapes here in the nineteenth century. What is the wine potential today? The climate is tropical, laden with hills that provide ample microclimates, and vitus vinifera vines thrive here. Not only that – growers can reap three grape harvests per year. In the same way that the waters of the Rhine River or the Finger Lakes moderate temperature extremes in adjacent vineyards in Germany and New York, the Mekong and Red rivers do the same here in Vietnam. And in the same way that breezes from the Pacific Ocean can moderate California’s coastal vineyard climate, the waters of the Golf of Tonkin do alike in Vietnam.
To your health, from Ha Long Bay
The climate of the north, around Hanoi, generally offers more favorable grape growing conditions than in the far south. Here, grapes are grown among the Ba Vi mountains. In the Central Region, they are grown within the Annamite Range, while in the south, grapes are planted along the coastal plain. Wine grapes can include Cardinal and Chambourcin.
However, the website for Dabeco tells how Dabeco is made from French imported Grenache and Carignan grapes – typically used in the Languedoc region of southern France. These grapes are grown in the south of Vietnam in Ta Lat, which is about a six-hour drive north of Saigon.
Cool Hanoi
Imported grapes have produced an increasing quantity of decent Vietnamese table wines for the past two decades.
Night time in the sleepy city of Hoi An
Cardinal and Chardonnay
Vang Dalat produces wines from the Phan Rang grape growing region, about a two-hour drive south of the well known coastal resort region of Nha Trang, in central Vietnam. The winery produces a million and a half liters per year. The white I tasted is blended from Cardinal and Chardonnay grapes, contains 12 percent alcohol, and costs $4.50 a bottle (although hawkers near resort regions may try selling it for $20 a bottle). It tastes like a tart Chenin Blanc. Apparently the Cardinal grape makes raisins in the United States and Europe, but is suitable for making wine in Vietnam and Thailand.
For Christmas eve, before hitting a heavier red, I would not hesitate for a moment to open another bottle of Dabeco red.
Happy Holidays.
Finding Home in Burgundy
Two years ago my friend Robin and I spent five days at a house in the village of Magny-les-Villers in Burgundy – surrounded by vineyards and rolling countryside. On arrival at such a quiet location, Robin wondered aloud whether we would find things to do for five days. On leaving, we both wished we could stay for weeks longer.
Peaceful Magny-les-Villers
I found this new book about Magny-les-Villers online. Turns out it was written by Laura Bradbury who (together with her husband Franck) rented us the house where we stayed. Titled My Grape Escape, this book is all about finding and renovating that property. It is about camaraderie with friends, family, and workers who help inject sanity and levity into the daunting task of completing renovations before the first paying guests arrive.
Colorful entryway from an inner courtyard
View of the local church steeple
The genre is that of foreigner buys property in France, undertakes renovations, and in doing so learns to slow down and appreciate the quality of day to day life. It also documents the transformation of a person as well as a property. Laura was in her twenties when she and Franck purchased this property. Her years of studying law at Oxford convinced her that time spent in non-productive tasks was almost abhorrent, something to feel guilty about. But her husband Franck helped demonstrate otherwise.
A cellar within walking distance
When they set off to spend a day buying a second hand car, they instead enjoyed long hours with friends eating breakfast and lunch, and drinking wine and coffee, and buying – unexpectedly – all required kitchenware for their home at a bargain price. Their failure to find a car was alleviated within days when they found one to purchase elsewhere. The book is filled with these scenes – which expand Laura’s comfort in letting go of control. As Franck asks her about events in life: “…why don’t you try to believe that they will turn out just fine – no matter what we do or don’t do?”
One day when Laura and Franck part from their friend René, he leans in the open car window to tell her, “…never confuse what is urgent with what is truly important.”
We found this tiny wine outlet…
…selling some cracking good Burgundy
Laura lets go of her plans and realizes that working long hours in a law firm might damage her precious marriage. She also begins to enjoy herself more. Opportunities to learn abound around Magny-les-Villers. “I had never met anyone who was more gifted for capitalizing on a moment of celebration than Burgundians,” she writes.
Whether you want the renowned Montrachet…
..or a famed Clos de Vougeot…
On visiting a physician to get a prescription for pills to reduce anxiety, Laura hears her husband Franck ask whether his wife can still drink wine while on medication.
“Only good wine,” Doctor Dupont answered. “I would highly recommend around two glasses at lunch and dinner. Something fortifying. A Pommard or a Vosne-Romanée would be perfect, though I would also consider a solid Savigny. I would, however, advise you to stay away from the whites at the moment, Madame Germain. They tend to have an agitating effect.”
…or a simple wine for lunch, Burgundy has it all
Voila! What the doctor ordered – from Vosne-Romanee
This burgundy will make you see colors
The book is riddled with colors, scents, and images of good food and wine. There are blue-footed chickens from Louhands, yellow wine from the Jura region, cherry red ramekins, lime green pie plates, as well as stewed rabbits and prunes in white wine sauce, smoked morteau sausages and potatoes with crème fraiche and freshly chopped parsley, and bottles of bubbly crémant, Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, and Savigny-les-Beaune Les Guettes.
The home they are renovating comes with historical intrigue. Built in the year of the French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille – 1789 – it was also used to house a billeted German soldier during the Second World War.
It was a pleasure to read this story of how the property we stayed in was first renovated. Though I never met Laura and Franck personally because they were in Canada at the time, the attention to detail they put into each communication, and their rapid responsiveness to our queries were both informative and helpful. The brightly painted home was a joy to stay in. On more than one morning while there, we woke, drank coffee, sliced a baguette for breakfast, then simply opened the door to wander by foot around some of the most sublime and precious wine properties of the Cote D’Or.
Burgundy terrain – producing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
This book brings alive the quirky joys of living in the French countryside, and will make you reconsider what you truly consider important in life.
Check out more about Laura and Franck’s properties in France, here, or Laura’s book My Grape Escape, here for the Kindle version, and here for the paperback.
Where to go?
Laura and Franck can recommend some of the best places to visit. Two local wineries recommended by Franck are the following:
Domaine Naudin-Ferrand
In Magny-les-Villers; 03 80 62 91 50; info@naudin-ferrand.com
Domaine Maillard-Lobreau
In nearby Savigny lès Beaune; 03 80 21 53 42; maillard-lobreau.gerard@wanadoo.fr
Vacation Desserts from Wine Country
Here are two dessert recipes for the holidays.
One comes from wind-zapped, volcanic isles known as the Azores, which are circled by the raging Atlantic Ocean – by way of California; the other is from California’s San Francisco – by way of the ancient, stone walled city of Beaune in Burgundy, France.
I took the photos below, which are not nearly as gorgeous as those from cookbooks. But if you make the effort on the first recipe and pull through, you’ll be so delighted with the result that you too may pull out a camera and start snapping.
Unfortunately the cookbook I purchased during a visit to the Azores is now packed away in some storage area (these pictures were taken a few years ago). Instead, I’ll refer you to the recipe of Nancy Grossi. She concocted these ‘espece’ cookies in California’s Healdsburg wine country, based on the recipe of her Azorean relative. Click here for Nancy’s recipe.
After putting in this much effort, you need to invite friends over to share
In the above photo you see that perched next to these cookies is a bottle of Pico Lajido wine. This sweet liqueur is made from fortified verdelho grapes grown on the island of Pico, which is dominated by a (sometimes) snow ringed, conical volcanic peak. The grapevines of the Azores are so unusual that less than a decade past they received UNESCO World Heritage designation, which I wrote about a few years ago.
You too, will be proud enough of these to want to take a picture
Below is the second recipe, which a friend and I learned at a cooking class while vacationing in Burgundy. The cook is an American – Marjorie Taylor – who runs the Cook’s Atelier cooking school in Beaune, France. Her recipe for lemon cream tarts is adapted from a book of recipes based on those from a San Francisco bakery. The book is titled Tartine, by Elisabeth M. Prueitt.
Fresh from the market or orchard
The recipe involves first making a sweet dough, and then a lemon cream.
While putting in effort to make these tarts, you may want to open a bottle of bubbly. Try a 100 percent Pinot Meunier Champagne or sparkling wine, because it is fruit forward, often with aromas of bread dough, as well as red or citrus fruits – which will complement the dish you’re making (and the ingredients you’ll be sampling). You may want to try the sparkling wine Domaine Chandon Carneros 2011 (about $30). If you want to splurge with friends and are cooking for a special festive day, you may want to open a bottle of 2008 Chartogne-Taillet ‘Les Allies’ Extra Brut Champagne ($70 – $85). Then again, you might want to save that bottle for the opening of your entire meal.
After you finish a decent dinner (perhaps of asparagus and giant ravioli, shown below), you’ll be ready to tuck into your dessert masterpiece.
Livin’ large
Enjoy the holiday upcoming holiday season.
Books, Booze, and Branding
This week it’s time for something different.
I write two blogs – one about wine, the other about books and publishing.
What to do after launching a new book
Every Tuesday I try to fire off one blog post, alternating posts on different weeks between the wine and publishing sites.
Why Tuesday? I checked the stats. People don’t check the internet much on weekends. They’re at football games or soccer matches or fixing up their homes or cooking with friends. They tend to look at the internet quite a lot on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. So I write during weekends and post on Tuesdays, hoping to snag attention when most eyes surf the net.
This week – I am posting the same blog for both sites: vinoexpressions (also known as wineandwork), as well as roundwoodpress.
The reason is simple.
This week we go from Barolo…
A few years ago, a friend sent a link to check out Wine Library TV. Someone named Gary Vaynerchuk ranted about wines on videos. I thought he was a bit over the top and loud, but he did come across as down to earth.
…to books
I’m now reading Vaynerchuk’s book – Crush It. Basically, he used the internet to promote his family wine business and succeeded wildly, then decided to step away from wine in order to work on promoting how the internet can be used for personal branding. The book is filled with short videos that keep the narrative lively.
This self-appointed wine wizard transformed himself into a branding guru.
Branding –
Here are a few quotes from Vaynerchuk’s book regarding following your passion, and branding yourself.
“…live and breathe your passion. Do that, and you’ll no longer differentiate between your work life and your personal life. You’ll just live, and love doing it.”
“Everyone – EVERYONE – needs to start thinking of themselves as a brand. It is no longer an option; it is a necessity.”
“…skills are cheap, passion is priceless.”
“Tell me your story, and if you’re good, I’ll come back for more. Then I’ll tell my friends, and they’ll come…”
[Italicized quotes above – copyright: Vaynerchuk, Gary (2010). CRUSH IT! Kindle Edition.]
His steps toward success in building your brand are simple, but require that you work your tail off. The major factors he attributes toward succeeding in building your brand are: do what you are passionate about, create excellent content, keep it down to earth and real, create a community, and make the world listen. This is a fun book to read, because Vaynerchuk is down to earth and energized.
Whether you like wine, are an aspiring author, are looking for work, or trying to carve out your own professional niche, it’s worth reading this book. Why? Because personal branding is critical to selling your product or yourself. I never met Gary. But what he says resonates with the same message provided by the authors of the book titled: APE, Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur – How to Publish a Book, described in an earlier blog post: if you want to succeed in this internet wired world, don’t pump out BS or try to be what the Irish call a ‘chancer.’ Because whether you are describing wines you love or trying to get others to tune into your latest series of sci-fi or pet grooming book series, you truly have to believe in what you are doing.
No BS
That confidence resonates with others.
Your brand will grow as your outreach expands, your confidence notches up, and your communities grow.
Community –
The internet has created a brave new democratic space. Writing web log posts has allowed me to gain access to a community of people who are passionate and informed about what they do. The virtual community is far larger and more diverse and international than if I was only able just to walk around the ‘hood getting to know neighbors.
Let me illustrate, first about wines, then about publishing.
If I have a question about wine from the French Riviera or the Ligurian coast, I’ll contact blogger Chrissie who writes The Riviera Grapevine; if I want to know about Italian Piedmont wines such as Barolo (or if I want to talk about a new fiction book idea), I can drop an email to author / wine guide / blogger James Sajo who lives in Italy and runs a guide business and is dialed into local wines. To get the scoop on the best deals in Bordeaux wines, I’ll get in touch with my friend Les Kellen, who runs wine tours and operates a guest house in Blaye, Bordeaux.
If I want advice on publishing and marketing (or want to see some zippy artwork), I’ll check out Robin Kalinich’s site, or check out the blog or drop a message to Fiona Pearse – an IT guru and author living in London.
Bordeaux is a region, a wine blend, and also a very successful brand
Using the internet, I don’t have to hop on a plane or drive (though that’s fun) to get up to date information from people who are passionate about what they do. Instead, I just check in with the virtual world, and zip off an email query.
Another Word about Wine and Books –
What else do wine and books have in common? I subscribe to the Wine Spectator magazine. Because I’m working in Asia, I get the digital rather than the print edition. So I recently looked at the site and realized they have an entire wine course – with quizzes, instructional materials, quotes, and multiple videos that are free for subscribers. As the site says, homework was never so much fun. One lesson is about Buying Wine. To encourage people to be experimental at wine stores, they write:
“Think of a trip to the wine store as if it were a trip to the book store…None of the titles are familiar, so you read the plot descriptions on a few back covers as well as the employees’ comment cards…Buying wine is pretty much the same, only a bottle of wine is often less expensive than a hardcover book…” [Copyright Wine Spectator magazine.]
Thanks, as always, for tuning in.
Why Does Wine in the Sky Taste Different?
Does wine taste different when you’re on an airplane?
The simple answer is yes. But this easy question has contradictory answers. The information is largely anecdotal, and there’s a lack of research about why wine tastes differently at twenty-eight thousand feet above sea level than it does on the ground.
Nice view and safe flight. Now what about the wine?
After reading dozens of articles, blogs, and research papers – I’ve come to these conclusions:
There are two sources for why wine tastes differently during a commercial plane flight than it does on the ground. First – our taste buds register tastes differently high in the sky. This is the major reason. Second, the chemistry of wine alters in the environment of a plane. This is a minor reason.
Let’s look at the major reason first.
In the sky, our sense of smell and taste alter due to three principal factors. First, cabin air pressure is lower than at sea level. Second, cabin air is relatively dry (or has low humidity). Third, the engine background noise level is relatively high.
All three factors impact taste.
Even if you were even close to sea level – sitting at a wine store in Napa, Bordeaux, or Walla-Walla in Washington state – and a storm system suddenly cruised in and the clouds gathered above and the air pressure shifted from high (sunny) to low (murky), the wine before you would likely taste slightly differently before and after the weather shift. Changes in atmospheric pressure will change how wine gives off odors, and change the way that your nose and taste buds perceive the taste of that wine.
Time for a vino to calm the nerves
At twenty-nine, or thirty thousand feet above sea level (an odd number means that you are flying east; an even number means that you are flying west. You didn’t know that, did you?), cabin pressure is lower than at sea level. On commercial airlines, the pressure is maintained at about the same as if you were sitting at eight thousand feet above sea level, or as high as the city of Aspen, Colorado.
Generally, reduced air pressure in the cabin dulls your taste buds. This is partly because there are fewer molecules you are available to sniff, and partly because the mild hypoxia (lack of oxygen) caused by a lower cabin pressure impacts how oxygen is transferred within the body. Also, studies show that the relatively high noise levels inside an airplane (95 decibels) reduces our ability to taste salt and sugar (but increases our ability to appreciate crunchiness in food). These factors mean that for wine, your ability to taste fruitiness is diminished, which is why airlines often serve fruit bomb wines – to overcome your diminished taste for it.
The reduced moisture in an airplane cabin impacts the efficiency with which we salivate. Usually tannic wines cause us to salivate heavily in order to reduce the astringency of tannins. But because our salivation works less well in the dry conditions up in the sky, tannic wines often taste more tannic. Perhaps for the same reason, the taste of acidity in wines also comes out stronger when you are on an airplane.
With our sense of fruitiness diminished, while our sense for tannins and acidity increased – we may suddenly better appreciate the fruit of a Merlot, or an Amarone, while finding the tannins of Cabernet Sauvignon undesirable. For whites, a sweet Riesling may appeal to us more than it would on the ground, while we might find the acidity of a Sauvignon Blanc over the top.
Bring on that fruity cocktail, or fruity wine
Earlier, I mentioned how the chemistry of the wine itself changes in cabin conditions. The low pressure inside a cabin means that volatiles may leave our wine more quickly than down on earth, and often this means that fruit flavors march off first. That just adds to the diminished taste of fruit in wine at altitude.
To test out if these ‘guidelines’ are actually considered by airlines, I inspected a 2012 wine list from Etihad (Etihad is based in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates). Excuse the poor quality of the scan below, and the crinkles from folding the drinks menu to put in my pocket. I’ll address a few of the wines.
Do these wines ‘comply with the sky?’
White Wine
- Chateau de Chassagne-Montrachet AOP Saint Aubin 1er Cru, “Le Charmois,” 2008, Burgundy, France
The review I found is for a 2006 bottle, but the characteristics are likely similar. The review includes:
“…pleasant buttery and light oak like bouquet…medium bodied, balanced, smooth, with traditional light oak…”
The key term here is ‘light oak,’ which indicates not heavy on tannins.
- Terrazas de los Andes Reserva Torrontés 2011, Salta, Argentina
The wine review for this (click on the wine name above), mentions “Its white flower aromas, such as orange blossom and rose combine harmoniously with its intense fruity notes of pear, mango and passion fruit. On the palate, it is fruity and sensual, with excellent acidity…”
‘Intense fruit notes,’ and ‘excellent acidity’ mean lots of fruit and not too much acidity. This wine will likely stay tasty in the sky.
- Villa Maria Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2012, Marlborough, New Zealand
The wine review includes, “mid-palate weight, and a balanced acidity.”
Again, I’ll interpret ‘excellent acidity’ to mean not too high – meaning ‘cabin compliant.’
Red Wine
- Segla 2008 Margaux, Bordeaux, France
I’m including quotes from two non-professional tasters who published their thoughts on the Cellar Tracker site:
“Complex cedar, sweet dark fruits and rose perfume…Medium – full-bodied. Fine grained tannin…”
“This has intense and expressive aromas of blackberry…A bit lean at the back that seems lack of the structure for the long term but, who cares?”
Both quotes hit on the intensity of fruit, and the low level of tannins (‘lack of structure’ means, basically, lack of tannins). Once again – the wine sounds fruit forward and not too tannic. Considering this is a left bank Bordeaux blend, which is typically dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, the laid back tannins is atypical, but right on for drinking during a flight.
- George Wyndham Founders’s Reserve Shiraz 2010, Langhorne Creek, South Australia
The Australian Crackawines website gave me the following review:
“…black berry cola fruit. The palate is pippy, currants and black fruit, medium long and low in tannin, high in acid on the finish.”
So, high in fruit and low in tannin – good for the skies. But the high acid might not be such a delight up high.
Taste.com, also from Australia, said much the same:
“…concentrated and glorious fruit aromas, and ripe crimson berries…balanced by subtle oak.”
‘Glorious fruit’ and ‘subtle oak’ indicate lots of fruit and low tannins.
In the terminal, the Bordeaux tastes grand; up high, you might want to switch to Pinot Noir
Conclusion? Airlines buy wine depending on price, availability, on its regional origin (flights to, say, South America usually feature Chilean or Argentinian wines), and on taste. Typically, blind tastings are made of hundreds of wine before a few are selected, and the selections in Business or First class are usually changed about every three months.
Tasters are aware of what tastes well in the sky, as evident from this press release from British Airways. Judging from our above inspection of an Etihad wine list from last year – you should expect wines that are high in fruit, and not high in either tannins or acidity.
That said, newer aircraft such as the Boeing 787 are being designed to reduce the cabin pressure, increase the cabin humidity, and decrease cabin noise – all of which will reduce the impact of how the taste of wine alters between the earth and the sky.
Honeymoon Mead in New Mexico
Years ago, friends and I drank liters of full-bodied beer on a hillside known as La Collina D’Oro (The Hill of Gold) in the Swiss province of Ticino above the city of Lugano.
Today, one of those drinking partners – Mick Coker – is reinventing himself and family business by producing award-winning beers and wines in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This includes mead, or honey wine.
New Mexico – a long way from Switzerland
Inside his Sandia Chile Grill hangs a road sign, taken from La Collina D’Oro. Below this hang recently won state medals for brewing prowess.
The wines that are winning state awards include a 14.5 % alcohol Ruby Red mead, which won not only the 2013 Gold Medal but also the Best in Show Medal for two years. With a taste that includes blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries, Mick says the mead is “well balanced – a citrus punch.”
Memories, and triumphs
His 27-year old son Clint works with Mick to produce these winners.
Almost two years ago, Mick bought some beer making kits, then checked out the financials for production. “It’s a screaming deal,” he said. “Whereas in food production the food costs 25 to 30 percent of sales cost, beer costs are only 9 to 16 percent of sales cost.
Fresh from the vat – with Clinton Coker
“I just started making beers and ciders in 2011, and a year later in the New Mexico State Fair won a Gold Medal for cider, and the Best of Show Overall Medal for beers, ciders, and meads.
“We just kept working on recipes. I’m still hearing about the awards from people who’ve been working at making beer for ten years. It’s a thorn in their sides. Even though we’d only been brewing for one year, we were doing two batches a week. So just because you’re a ten-year brewer doesn’t mean you’re brewing that much. We put in the hours. We don’t look at it as years, we look at it as brewing time.”
One result of their rapid success is that, “A few people within the brewery scene shunned us. I told them that I drank in Switzerland when growing up, and learned to taste good beer.
Team of Craftsmen with magical yeast
“Five years from now, we want a big brewery. We’d like to have a place with a big dance hall with a saloon western environment – because, don’t people like to drink and dance?”
For dinner Clint cooked us sirloin steak with mushrooms and bacon, smothered in green chile and cheese.
Mick and Clint cultivate their own yeast. They showed me photographs of their yeast cells. They take pride in their ‘hands on’ approach – and provided a quick tour showing valves, barrels, pressure gauges, spigots, hemosectometers, pipettetes, and hydrometers. This is quite a sophisticated operation, though Mick summarizes, “Some shit works, some shit don’t work.”
“I hated chemistry. I hated biology. If they told me I could make beer using chemistry, then I’d have been there at class fifteen minutes early, penciling notes.
“It’s all math,” he said. “God gave us the art form, the rest is math and science.”
Whiteboard on the wall – with plenty of chemistry
Clint likes the challenge of making mead, because the technique is not widespread.
“The challenge is finding things I can compare my meads to.”
“It’s a lost art,” Mick added.
“It’s like a samurai sword,” Clint agreed. He talked about the history of mead-making in the Middle Ages and its prevalent role in the worlds of Vikings, Romans, monks, and nobility.
Earlier in the day, I had given Mick a hard copy of a book I wrote almost a decade ago, titled Rivers of Change – Trailing the Waterways of Lewis and Clark. Serendipitously, I recalled that the book included a passage about mead. I flipped pages to the chapter about Weston, Missouri, and read aloud:
“Inside, I sidled up to a wood counter beneath stained glass windows. A grinning lass with a hairdo in the shape of a bucket poured samples of honey wine, apple wine, and raspberry mead into three glasses. I downed each with ease. She told me how the owners of the forty-acre vineyard produced up to ten thousand gallons a year. While swirling more wine in a glass, I picked up a book marker titled A Little Bit of Romantic History. It told how Vikings and Norsemen first introduced honey wine (mead) to England. Savoring its crude bouquet, the English deemed the concoction a love potion, then forged a tradition that bride and groom sip the mead for a full moon cycle after marriage – thus the word honeymoon.“
Rivers of Change book beside a Lagoon of Mead
“The ultimate goal,” Mick said, “is to make a living for the rest of our lives on good alcohol, and giving other people the opportunity to enjoy the finer things in life.”
That sounds like a worthy ambition.
Amazon Wine
You may be just a few clicks away from buying decent wine at an affordable price.
Amazon Wine simplifies wine buying. Enter the web page, click on your preferred grape variety, then (if you like) choose a region you want the wine to come from. Read your list of selections.
To test it, I first hunted for a 2010 Firestone Riesling from California’s Central Coast – Santa Ynez valley. Although the label was on the website, the wine was not available for sale. I then realized it was possible to uncheck the little box on the left titled ‘Include Out of Stock.’
I next chose a grape variety as well as a geographical location, clicking on Grenache and France, then fine-tuning by clicking Provence as a region – and found a sparkling rose made entirely from Grenache. It costs only $15. If you order, it will be shipped to you from Planet Wine, located in Oakland, California. The shipping cost is $9.99. But if you buy six bottles, the shipping cost remains $9.99.
Amazon is trying to simplify online wine purchasing, but this only works in 17 states within the United States, due to the Byzantine system of alcohol laws which vary state by state. Click this guide to find out which states ship wine (obtained from an article in the Chicagoist about Amazon’s wine program). If you live in the UK, you can also buy wine from Amazon. Actually, Amazon does not stock or ship wines in the U.S. or U.K., but acts as a mediary between wine sellers and buyers.
Want wine? In the U.K., you only need a postal address, internet access, and credit card.
For the next try, I searched for a Riesling from Washington state in the U.S., with a professional rating of higher than 90 points (these include ratings from the Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, and Robert Parker). Boom – 11 are listed, including a $17 Convergence Zone Dewpoint Riesling (this only showed a rating from Wine Enthusiast) – though this is only available for shipping to four states (California, Colorado, Florida, Washington), and the District of Columbia.
Okay, let’s say I want a Chardonnay (click) from Washington state (click) that is 12 to 14 percent in alcohol (click) and – should you want – is gluten-free (click). There’s one available from Mercer Canyons for only $14.99 a bottle.
Hmmmm….let’s try a few more clicks again on a specific country and grape type to find an Argentinian Cabernet Franc, for only $16.99 a bottle.
This splendid 16th century market in Lagrasse in France sells wines on Saturday mornings…or you could sit indoors before a computer screen and click on Amazon to buy a few bottles. Ah, a quality of life decision…
What does this mean? A few months ago I was at a ranch in a remote part of New Mexico in the United States, and a friend told how Amazon Fresh delivers some food and general groceries weekly. This is testimony to the growing reach of the company. The September issue of Fast Company magazine includes an article on how Amazon has gone far beyond books – and is selling a massive array of products throughout the world.
You get the idea. If you live where wines can be shipped, and dabble in internet shopping, you may never have to leave home again to experiment with vintages that fit your criteria (although – much of the fun of wine is getting out to share it with friends).
Beside the USA and the UK, where else does Amazon sell wine? Where will it deliver the same day as you order? Improbable though it may sound, where else but China? They are building over a dozen massive warehouses throughout the country to facilitate this business.
***
Odds, Ends, and Intriguing Alleyways to Explore –
Book, Wine Tours, Italy –
On a separate note, I’m following a new wine blog by an American who lives in Italy, and is also an author. He’s a very approachable and modest guy, and from what I’ve read of his book The Salome Effect, his writing is easy to read and entertaining. The book includes snippets of insight into Italian life, food, and wine. These help flavor the plot about an American who is in love with both a Torino stripper, as well as a Caravaggio painting, and who plans to have both. Suggest you check out the site of James Sajo. He’ll also hook you up with a wine tour around the Venice (Venezia), or Piedmont (Piemonte), or Turin (Torino) regions of Italy.
From The Salome Effect –
“He reduced the heat under the eggplant and tossed a generous handful of linguini into the boiling water. Time for a glass of wine…He opened a bottle he had found at a small winery near the village of Guarene near Alba…the owner had told Robert to open this bottle, a 2004 blend of Barbera d’Alba and Nebbiolo grapes called Ruit Hora, for a special occasion.” [copyright James Sajo, 2012]
Money to Buy Wine –
If you want to improve finances to improve your ability to buy and try different wines, you need to check out the financial wisdom of James Collins about Money, Business, and Life. Really. He also has some colorful advice about spending time in Ecuador.
A Wine to Try, a Book to Read –
Years ago Peter May took me on a tour of vineyards and wineries in the Stellenbosch region of South Africa. Peter’s book Pinotage combines history and mystery to produce a true detective story about South Africa’s flagship grape. This is a good read about a wine that deserves more world recognition. You might also want to check out Peter’s website.
Writing Wine Notes –
Lettie Teague of the Wall Street Journal just posted this piece about writing wine notes. It’s informal, entertaining, and instructive.
Free Book –
For this month of October, anyone who signs up as a subscriber to this blog (you can sign up on the Home page), or to the Roundwood Press website/blog (which is the mother company of this web log) gets a free copy of the e-book Vino Voices in both Kindle and non-Kindle formats. (A positive review on Amazon would certainly be appreciated, but that’s up to you…) No, I won’t share your email or contact information with anyone else.
The Origin of the ‘Margarita’ Cocktail…Also, Mexican Winemakers
A recent article in the New York Times tells of Mexican winemakers getting established in northern California. No surprise. Their families have picked grapes, worked cellars, and grown accustomed to the entire wine production cycle over decades. Wine has also been made in Mexico since Cortés the conquistador planted grapevines throughout the land he and his men plundered in the early 1500s.
Over a year ago my friend Les Kellen, who runs Villa St. Simon and gives wine tours in the Bordeaux region of France, put me in contact with recent guests who stayed with him. The couple, Hans and his wife Itzia operate Cantina Hussongs in Ensenada, Mexico, which has been open for over 120 years. They now also produce wine. Eight years ago I visited Hussongs in Ensenada for drinks and so – intrigued – I contacted Hans about his winemaking. He wrote back the following.
Rural Mexico…a new frontier for wine country?
“Hi Tom – Glad to hear that you have visited us! And you are right, Les is a fantastic host. We had a really good time in Bordeaux and made a really good friend.
“The winery is called Bodegas San Rafael in honor of the valley where we are. This used to be called San Rafael valley and is now called Ojos Negros (Black Eyes) – hence the name of our premium line of wines. We started back in 2000. When we first started growing grapes, we used to have cattle, and planted whatever was in demand. One day my dad decided he wanted to make wine and planted 15 hectares of grapes, which proved to be a marvelous bet. We now have 25 hectares and are the only winery in that valley – which proved to be perfect for wine growing.
“Regarding celebrities that have visited us [Hussongs] – these include John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, Bing Crosby, U2 and Margarita Henckel, among the most famous. Margarita Henckel was the daughter of the German ambassador in the 1940s, and the ‘Margarita’ drink was named after her, invented right here in our bar by one of our bartenders in 1941.”
The winery operated by Hans and Itzia now produces wines from ten varieties of grapes. These wines made under the label Ojos Negros include single varietals with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Syrah.
The list below shows that the winemaker is also not afraid to be bold with blending: how often do winemakers in Mexico produce 100% Cabernet Franc?
Delirio – blend of Riesling, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc
Desseo Rose – 70% Syrah and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon
Euphoria – 100% Cabernet Franc
Alegria – 70% Tempranillo, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon
I have not yet tasted the wines. Someday. But Mexican wines look like fresh territory to explore.
And if you have no interest in the wines, here’s how to make a Margarita.
California Central Coast Wine Tastings
Before exploring the topography of taste, it pays to learn general geography.
So I bought a map. Then another.
Welcome to easy, open, spacious Santa Barbara County in Central California
Before venturing out to taste wines within Central California, it pays to understand the lay of the region. So, here it goes:
There are two types of geographic boundaries here – artificial and natural. Artificial boundaries include county lines – delineated by cartographers, and often based to some degree on local geography. Natural boundaries are based on, well, nature. These can include rivers and ridgelines, coastlines and vegetation type.
My first question while driving north of the city of Santa Barbara was – geographically, what constitutes California’s Central Coastal wine region?
Easy question, easy answer. This would land you a ten point score on a geography quiz.
Hot days and cool sea breezes = decent alcohol and acidity
Basically, California’s Central Coastal wine region stretches from San Francisco southward to Santa Barbara. That’s a distance of about 280 miles (450 kilometers), and takes over five hours to drive. In contrast, the distance stretching across France’s Bordeaux wine region – northwest to southeast – is a little over 100 miles (165 kilometers) and takes about three hours to drive. In other words, this is a massive region with a huge diversity of wine.
The Central Coastal wine region includes parts of at least ten counties, as well as three separate American Viticultural Areas, or Appellations.
When I pointed wheels north of Los Angeles ‘toward wine country,’ this turned into a bigger proposition than expected. The goal was overwhelming and, well, mildly intoxicating. All I managed to visit was the southernmost portion of this region – Santa Barbara County (think of the movie Sideways) and San Luis Obispo County, a bit further north.
A likely candidate for a future vineyard
Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara county is roughly rectangular, and the coastline runs – somewhat unusually – across both its western and southern boundaries. This county is touched with another bit of aberrant geography in that it is predominantly crossed by east to west running mountains, or ‘transverse’ ranges. These generally don’t run parallel to the north-south state alignment. This unusual orientation of mountains has a significant and characteristic impact on local wines.
Because these mountain ranges do not block sea breezes coming from the west, hot daytime temperatures (good for converting sugar to alcohol) complement cool evening temperatures (good for grapes retaining acidity).
Somewhere rather off the beaten trail
Additionally, each topographical valley within Santa Barbara County has a unique shape, and so each valley has its own microclimate. Although the conditions within the entire country are somewhat similar for growing in a general geographical sense – having cooling fog and afternoon breezes that are ideal for slow-ripening grapes – these microclimates resemble different dialects of the same language. For local grape growers, knowing the difference between vine growing characteristics of local valleys is something they learned over time. Just as an American can spot the difference between accents from El Paso or Boston, or a Brit can tell the difference between someone raised in Newcastle as compared to Surrey, a Santa Barbara county grape grower will know without consciously thinking about it the choicest locations for growing Pinot Noir grapes close to the coast – within, say, Santa Maria valley – where the impact of ocean breezes is more pronounced.
Firestone – massive, but including some wines that do not taste mass produced
There are four key valleys for wine grape growing within Santa Barbara county: Santa Ynez, Los Alamos, Santa Maria, and Lompoc. Each valley favors producing a different spectrum of wine types. The genuine surprise is that so many wineries seem to be busy trying to produce elusive hard-hitting or elegant reds, that they are missing the clean beauty of many excellent, top quality whites.
By the time I learned this local geography I was feeling overwhelmed, geographically challenged, and thirsty. So I chose one wine route (the Foxen Canyon Trail) linking two valleys (Santa Ynez and Santa Maria) within one county (Santa Barbara) [did you catch all that?] and motored off to begin tasting. To get to this trail, which is known for Rhone varietal wine blends that include Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvedre, head north of the town of Solvang on Highway 101.
Recent word floating above vineyards and wine blogs is that the cool weather of recent years made the grape varieties of 2010 of Syrah and Mourvedre shine, while grapes typical of Burgundy (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir) were favored by the weather in 2011. There was a late freeze at the end of May throughout much of California in 2011, which reduced production volume, but still allowed quality to show.
The Foxen Canyon Trail….a flat tire here will keep you waiting awhile for another passing vehicle
I found that in general, the Rhones from the past three years were not spectacular.
Surprises? I found myself inclined toward whites and not reds (Riesling, Viognier, Chardonnay), and enjoyed wines from grape varieties that this region is not particularly known for (Riesling, Roussanne). Few of the reds came across as bold or characteristic enough to elicit a ‘wow.’ Many reds from the past three years have been pushed through a combination of blending and oaking to give the wines some semblance of assertiveness that is simply artificial.
A memorable white at good value is a 2011 Riesling from Firestone (a crisp mandarine, nectarine, lemon and honey flavor bomb), followed by a 2009 Estate Roussanne from Zaca Mesa (of which there are only 300 acres planted in all of California) – which is full-bodied, creamy, buttery, powerful and mimicking a classic Chardonnay. The Foxen winery 2011 Sauvignon Blanc is both distinct and different – a herbal lemony Sauv that drops the butter.
American climate and American rootstock; oak from France
Another surprise – the Sauvignon Blancs in this region are underpriced and underrated and are soon (I suspect) going to give New Zealand serious competition. What they lack in minerality they make up for in a powerful profusion of fruit.
The 2009 Syrahs were okay, not spectacular. However, the Zaca Mesa 2008 Estate Z (a Rhone varietal blend of Syrah, Mourvedre, and Grenache) – weak on the nose – is a layered assortment of fruit and tannin ideal for pairing with meat.
Back in Solvang, for dinner I walked a few blocks to Cecco Ristorante. While waiting for the Cinghiale Pizza – wild boar sausage, tomatoes, smoked mozzarella cheese and braised kale – I drank a 2011 Caruvintas Santa Ynez Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Again, here is a winning white from Santa Barbara County – classic and full bodied.
[Is the word ‘cinghiale’ (which is Italian for wild boar – a popular dish in Tuscany) becoming a rage in California now? At dinner I flipped open a copy of the Wine Spectator magazine and immediately saw a review of a Sonoma Coast Cinghiale Vineyard Pinot Noir.]
San Luis Obispo County
San Luis Obispo (SLO) county is directly north of Santa Barbara County. It’s shaped like a tilted parallelogram – like a map of California with the top third cut off. Unlike Santa Barbara County, only the western boundary forms a coastline.
The region of Paso Robles in the north of SLO county is known for the marked temperature difference between its hot days and cool nights – producing distinct and luscious, chocolaty reds. The 40 to 50 degree Fahrenheit diurnal temperature variation around Paso is one of the highest in the United States. Syrah, a hearty grape that thrives well on windy and sun blasted slopes in the Rhone Valley and Languedoc region of France, also fares well here in Paso where the temperature difference can give grapes a beating.
I had not planned to visit the SLO region until, serendipitously, a friend from high school turned out to be visiting there for business. So we met in the wonderful city of San Luis Obispo and ate an outdoor creekside dinner at the restaurant Novo. Wow. That was an excellent recommendation from the downtown hotel where I stayed.
Good company, good wine
Here it became clear that visiting umpteen wineries can lead to a lot of hit and miss tastings, while visiting one joint with a well-selected wine list and servers who know, and appreciate, these wines – can be a winning alternative. Goodbye to endless driving or feeling obliged to buy bottles you don’t want. On recommendation, we tried two wines at a time, and were not told what they were. Fortunately, we each figured out the grapes quickly. Here’s what we were served (check out Novo’s wine list), and what we thought of them.
Dizzyingly good Rhone blend from Paso Robles
Round One:
Barrel 27, ‘Rock and a Hard Place’ Grenache. Santa Barbara County – 2010.
Tablas Creek, ‘Patelin de Tablas’ Syrah-Grenache-Mourvedre-Counoise. Paso Robles – 2011.
We thought the Grenache-Syrah-Mourvedre (a Rhone blend, or what the Aussies refer to as GSM) rocked – layered and complex and rich. The pure Grenache was decent, though a bit one-dimensional in comparison to the GSM.
Round Two:
Giornata, Sangiovese. Paso Robles – 2010.
Aaron, Petite Sirah. Paso Robles – 2010.
Again, we agreed – the Sangiovese was the winner. It had a classical balanced taste, reminiscent of bottles of Chianti my friend and I drank in Italy when we lived in that region as teenagers. The Petit Sirah was solid and well balanced, though a bit timid.
Round Three:
I took no notes on these wines (though the Napa cab did outshine the SLO Syrah, and sold for a decent price).
The excellent wine list and service at Novo (as well as an Aquarian Blue Moon) provided a pleasing wind up to summer.
Too soon, it was time to leave Central California and return south…
Coravin Review…and Random Red Tasting
There’s a new wine toy on the market.
This gadget appears stellar for those who can exercise restraint.
The Coravin device extracts wine from your bottle – without you having to take out the cork or even peel off the cap.
Better still, it substitutes oxygen in your wine bottle with inert argon gas.
This means that you can drink a quaff of wine from your beloved, perhaps pricey bottle, then drink from that bottle again five years down the road as though it were never opened.
Coravin is based on medical technology. The inventor, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), worked in the medical field devising surgical needles that would impart minimum damage to tissue. When his wife became pregnant and he was alone drinking wine at their home during evenings, he found himself drinking only part of a bottle, then pouring away the rest after it went bad in a day or two.
Secret Device Testing and Wine Tasting Laboratory in California…
Using his background knowledge and inventive flair, he produced the Coravin device.
This is a clever and elegantly designed gadget sold in a gorgeous package.
I won’t get into details – suffice it to say that it let’s you – with ease – puncture through foil and cork with a surgical lance, extract enough wine to fill your glass, then replace the oxygen in the bottle with an inert gas to preserve its character for years.
Professional Wine Tasters at work…
As an excuse to test it, I bought a few random bold red wines while in California and invited friends over. We practiced using Coravin, then tasted and scored various wines. I then packed away the partially empty bottles and motored up to visit others.
As for the random red sampling, were there any surprises? Overall, the Châteauneuf-du-Pape was not only less expensive, but we thought considerably better than a more expensive Napa Cabernet, as well as a more expensive Bordeaux blend. In wine lore, we’ll refer to this tasting as the Judgment of Laguna Beach, rather than the Judgment of Paris…(the Paris event was a famous 1976 tasting in which French judges, tasting blind, chose a California red and a white as the overall winners).
Yesterday I happened on a good article about Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the International Herald Tribune (New York Times), asserting that this French Rhone Valley wine still maintains an excellent reputation for being a powerful and unique red, based on its combination of 13 varieties of grape (dominated by Grenache), stellar production climate, and soils often permeated by an unusual type of pebble.
When I motored north to visit my brother and his family, I discovered that the argon gas cylinders are not allowed to be carried, or shipped, via airplane. So before flying out of California, I left them with this toy to play with….until the next visit.
Assortment of random reds
|
Producer |
Wine
|
Year |
Taster Tom |
Taster Lori Jo |
Taster David |
Tasters Average |
Rankings (1=high, 5=low) |
Price (1=high, 5=low) |
|
E. Guigal Crozes-Hermitage |
Syrah |
2009 |
6.5 |
3.5 |
5.0 |
5.0 |
5 |
5 |
|
Ojai Vineyards Sta. Rita Hills Melville Vineyards |
Syrah |
2008 |
6.8 |
5.9 |
6.0 |
6.2 |
4 |
4 |
|
Domaine Grand Veneur
|
Châteauneuf-du-Pape |
2009 |
8.5 |
8.0 |
8.0 |
8.2 |
1 |
3 |
|
Chateau D’Issan Margaux
|
Bordeaux Blend |
2009 |
6.7 |
7.5 |
6.5 |
6.9 |
3 |
2 |
|
Keever Vineyards Yountville Napa Valley
|
Cabernet Sauvignon |
2009 |
7.8 |
8.0 |
7.5 |
7.8 |
2 |
1 |
Roundwood Press is Born
Vino Voices now belongs to a larger family.
Roundwood Press, launched in May, is the proud publisher of Vino Voices as well as a dozen other books. In the coming months, we’ll publish two more ebooks.
Powerscourt Waterfall in County Wicklow, Ireland
Roundwood is in Ireland – a misty village in the Wicklow Hills. For now, Roundwood publishes books I have written during the past two decades – both fiction and non-fiction.
Whether you like tales of travel, history, adventure, inspiration,or even wine or notes about leadership, click on Roundwood Press to consider your next book to read.
If you signed up for notifications from this Wine and Work website, you will not automatically be signed you up for Roundwood Press information. Just visit the Home Page of Roundwood Press to sign up for updates, web log posts, and information about new books. All that’s needed is your email….and no, I will not share that information with anyone else.
Thanks for exploring the misty hill country.
Tom Mullen
Ireland’s Cliffs of Moher – a bit west of Roundwood Country, but sharing the same magical beauty.
Moscato di Scanzo – Back to Basics in Bergamo, Italy
Fifty kilometers northeast of the Italian city of Milan, where the plains of Lombardy shove against the Orobie Alps, both Romans and Venetians chose to establish a hills slope as a city. Over centuries, three plateaus now associated with the city of Bergamo were born. The lower Citta Bassa is a typical Italian city with bell towers, walkways with arcades, piazzas and open markets. The older, higher, walled city – Citta Alta – is similar, though the streets are narrower and more twisted, and the layout of buildings more compact.
Entrance way to the walled upper city of Bergamo
Above and outside the walls of Citta Alta is the village of San Vigilio – approached on foot or via a funicolare tram car. There, the air is crisp, the views expansive, the greenery thick and the pace of life slow.
Typically Italian, where cities were once states that often warred with each other, the cuisine and wines of Bergamo evolved independently of other nearby locales. The casoncelli pasta has its own shape and filling (sometimes beef or bacon or even fruit and biscuits), and three local DOC wines have the odd distinction of being either embarrassingly modern or intriguingly ancient.
Chicche in crema di zucca con fonduta di stracchino allantica e scaglie di mandorle – pumpkin cream gnocchi with Stracchino cheese and almond slices
Filleto di mailino in crosta di pistacchi di Bronte – Pork filet mignon with Bronte’s pistacchio nuts crust
Two of these local DOC wines are known as Valcolepio Bianco and Valcolepio Rosso. Why are they modern? Because the rosso is basically a Cabernet Sauvigon / Merlot blend, even though neither of those grapes are native to the Lombardy region. The bianco is much the same (though with a hint of more variety) and includes Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, and Pinot Grigio grapes. Whoever pushed these wines for DOC certification was thinking about how to market popular wines in a modern world. They were given DOC status in 1976, which was renewed in 2002.
The two Valcolepios are tasty. The bianco is fruity and fresh, and the rosso is dry, spicy, and goes well with beef. It also turns notably smoother after ten minutes of being opened.
Let’s ignore these marketable and more modern wines and skip to the Moscato de Scanzo.
This is a truly local wine.
After eating local pacora goat cheese, bergamese ham, and local salami, this is the dessert wine to taste with friends. This is fifteen percent of alcoholic sweetness – an odd but enjoyable taste of pepper and port – smooth and syrupy.
The somewhat un-local local Valcalepio wine
Wine is fine, but dessert is dandy
This wine is where the local action is. Although it was the last of all three of these wines to gain DOC status (in 2002, rather than 1976), it is the only one of all three to be granted the higher DOCG status (in 2009). This is a fine tribute to a local grape.
This Moscato di Scanzo grape grows between three and six hundred meters elevation at the foothills of Orobie Alps east of Bergamo – in vineyards found only around the town of Scanzorosciate. This grape was cultivated in the days of Romans (after they ejected the Gauls in 50 BC) when soldiers received land and vineyards as a reward for their loyalty.
The bottle I bought included wine from 80-year old grapes from what the shop owner said is the smallest DOC vineyard in Italy – a mere 8 hectares (20 acres).
Because this grape is rare and so few are grown, the price is high (49 Euros for a 50 ml bottle is not unusual). During the Renaissance, nobles from Florence and Milan treasured this wine.
The grape is heavily aromatic and is processed in a unique way. First, the grapes are laid to dry on a table for three weeks to concentrate their sugars and flavors, and then the grapes are carefully crushed to avoid releasing the bitter compounds in the skin and pips. Finally, the wine is aged for at least two years in steel or glass, as it tends to taste better without oak.
This is supposedly a vino di meditazione – a meditation wine. I think it’s more appropriate to share it with good friends, food, and laughs.
Wine Quotes
Here are a few quotes about the beverage we love – by winemakers and wine drinkers.
“Well, in wine you have to let go of the ego. You have to drop all this crap about being a wine maker.”
- Don Karlsen
“Good wine is a daily necessity for me.”
- Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to John Jay, the U.S. Foreign Secretary
“All this technology – spinning cones, filters, evaporators – it’s all voodoo.”
- Leo McCloskey
“Pinotage, again like its bloodline Pinot Noir, is the unpredictable, dangerous ride of your life’s work as a winemaker. It can smell fear on a winemaker at twenty paces.”
- Bruck Jack, in conversation with author Peter May
“And everywhere I went the world of wine offered me a warm welcome, camaraderie, and more knowledge.”
- Robert Mondavi
“Like artists and cooks, most winemakers want to hear only compliments.”
- Alan Tardi
“An individual and his name, at least in comparison with the land and its productive power shaped and directed by nature, is quite simply a great big nothing.”
- From the brochure for Kogl Winery, Slovenia
“Wine is nothing of luxury, business, or money. Wine has to be something to drink every day. It has to be balanced for health…with the culture, habits, and needs of people.”
- ‘Cognac’ Charlie Capbern-Gasqueton – Wine Consultant/Store Owner
“You don’t need to have a big business to make a good wine. But when you buy a bottle you’re not just buying wine, you’re also buying the landscape and history behind that wine. You have to look at the bottle in these three dimensions.”
- Fernando Oliveira – Azorean Lava Vineyards UNESCO Coordinator
“How to make good wine? Get no sleep is a good start. Allow Mother Nature to take its course as opposed to trying to be manipulative.”
- Tim O’Callaghan – Winemaker in Australia’s Barossa Valley
“I didn’t have any idea what wine was…I was just astounded. Food isn’t wine. Wine is food though.”
- George Stevenson – Winery Chef in Washington State, U.S.A.
“The ultimate destination of wine is on the table, with food. Serve the same wine with two different dishes and you will have two different opinions of it.”
- Kermit Lynch
“Grape cultivation is difficult, laborious, and not always rewarding work, dependent on a variety of factors (weather, soil conditions, insects, diseases) that are beyond a vintner’s control. The only certainty is doubt.”
- Todd Kliman
“It will be obvious to everyone that air has always been considered the enemy of wine and that all the practice of vinification invite us to adopt this point of view.”
- Louis Pasteur
“All you can do is tend your vines. The money takes care of itself.”
- Mitchell Klug
“The best of wines always proudly tell you from where they come.”
- Neal I. Rosenthal
“If you want to succeed, you have to listen to yourself, to your own heart, and you have to have the courage to go your own way.”
- Robert Mondavi
“Wine, to us, is all about geography, history, sociology, discovery and adventure – as well as good flavors. Don’t be embarrassed about what you don’t know; consider it a gift that you have so many new wines to explore.”
- Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher
“Wine to me is all about sharing.”
- Robert Mondavi
“A perfect memory, but with a little bit of sadness.”
- Xun Wang’s first wine tasting description – of a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon at Fat Buddha restaurant in Durham, U.K.
“If a vintner chooses not to filter, he limits himself to the minority of wine buyers, the true connoisseurs who care about quality and will accept some gunk at the bottom of the bottle.”
- Kermit Lynch
“The French, he said, had done a wonderful thing back in the…1930s. They had passed laws protecting small farmers and wine makers from the predations of large companies. They had created appellations before the rise of the modern corporation, Madison Avenue, and cutting-edge marketing. It was why Château Lafite could exist today.”
- Lawrence Osborne
“In wine, elegance is everything. But elegance is impossible to describe.”
- Lawrence Osborne
Long Road through Languedoc
Cathar Country….and home to ample vineyards
Most likely, here is what you know about wines from the Languedoc region of southern France, and here is what you should know – but don’t.
First, the Languedoc has long been the biggest producer and exporter of wines within France. Second, until a few decades ago, Languedoc wines fairly well sucked, to be blunt.
Enough said.
Along the Roman Wine Route
Here is what you didn’t know.
Clay amphorae filled with wines and sent TO France by Greeks and Romans
BEFORE the modern era when zesty winemakers began churning out excellent quality wines from Corbieres, Faugeres, Saint Chinian, and Minervois in the Languedoc, BEFORE the Canal du Midi was constructed (‘impossibly engineered’) in the mid-1600s to link the Mediterranean to the city of Toulouse (and onto Bordeaux) for a blossoming wine trade, BEFORE Leonardo da Vinci marched across this mucky region of France (on request) to analyze the feasibility of constructing a canal that might one day yawn from sea to ocean across the nation, BEFORE the demented French Albigensian Crusaders went on a rampage of hapless murder and wanton slaughter (usually by burning at the stake, though simple slashing by sword sufficed) of tens of thousands of their own countrymen, BEFORE the Saracens poured over the Pyrenees Mountains from Spain to France to overrun the Visigoths within the iconic walled city of Carcassonne in the eighth century – BEFORE all these events laid themselves bare on the eventual parchment of European History – There Was a Road.
Canal du Midi – constructed mid 1600s to barge wine to and from the Mediterranean to Toulouse
A Roman Road.
The Romans built a road leading, essentially, from the Mediterranean near-coastal city of Narbonne all the way to Bordeaux, gateway to the Atlantic Ocean (construction of this eight foot wide Via Aquitania was in accordance with the Law of the Twelve Tables, dating from three centuries earlier, in 450BC ). The famed walled city of Carcassonne – darling to filmmakers, tourists, and historians – was simply a stopping point along this road. Cicero described in detail the multiple toll stations along this road. Their purpose included taxing half the value of all Italian wines shipped across the Mediterranean by Romans, and then sent by cart to the interior of Gaul, or France.
Living along the Wine Route to Bordeaux…and it Looks Like She’s Lovin’ It
Why is this important? The underwater archaeology museum in the town of Agde on France’s Mediterranean coast details how first the Greeks (about 600 BC) and then Romans (beginning about 100 BC) regularly cruised along the French coastline trading amphorae (bullet shaped casks made from red clay, about two-thirds the height of an adult) filled with wine. In return they gained suede and furs from the locals. Emissaries from these ancient civilizations traded serious quantities of booze with locals of what later became part of France. Some ships carried eight thousand amorphae of wine, weighing multiple metric tons. Sure, they also traded bronze and copper knickknacks that included bracelets, torques, necklaces, and hatchet heads – but the Main Event of this trade was Italian Vino.
Here was the problem. When Roman toll stations along the road began charging this fifty percent duty on wine, Roman generals and consuls who took leave at splendid and tranquil villas in the mountains of inner Languedoc grew tired of this tax. These people of power decided to opt out of the Italian wine importation paradigm, and instead began growing and harvesting grapes to make local wine. Hence the rapid growth and profusion of Languedoc wines. Blame it on taxes.
Bread: baked today. Corbieres wine: 2009 AD. Bridge: 1150 AD. (Village of Lagrasse)
Ancient underground Roman cellar in Narbonne, near the Mediterranean
Today, you can catch a train or float a barge or zip in a Hyundai along a highway from the Mediterranean coast to the Atlantic, and – basically – you will follow the original Roman route from East to West across Gaul. And wines you may buy along the way? Most won’t be Italian imports today. Brunello di Montalcino in the Languedoc? Not likely.
The Romans had it sussed. Few lead, many follow. But their taxes spawned the original heightened production of Languedoc wines. Popular red grapes in the Languedoc today include Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, Cinsault, and Mourvedre. Back in the day of this Roman road? Likely they grew Syrah, which is hardy enough to withstand the high winds of these exposed lands that scroll over this hot, hilly territory. Regardless of what they grew in southern France, the Romans kept their towns and cities close to good wine and sunshine. Clever folk.
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A bearer of Roman grapes in the city of Narbonne
No Ice Wine in Iceland
Viking settlement – half way to Vin Land
Well, maybe there is.
But here’s the question: what wine are they drinking in Iceland? Simple answer – they are drinking beer. More comprehensive answer is also simple, but far more intriguing. Before revealing that answer, here are four facts you need to know that will not only boost your Trivia Knowledge Quotient way high, but increase your respect for 1. food, 2. bizarre French winemaking challenges, 3. unusual but delightful reasons for granting national holidays, and 4. the strange yet magnificent benefits of rejection.
Here we go. Hold tight.
1. NOMA. Whether or not you are a food aficionado (I’m clueless), you will—during the past decade—likely have bumped into the names of the three top restaurants in the world (according to the World’s Best 50 Restaurant Awards organized by Restaurant magazine). They used to be (not in order) French Laundry of Napa Valley in the US, Fat Duck of Bray, UK, and El Buli of Spain. But in 2010 a chef who had previously worked at some of these restaurants—René Redzepi—floored the competition and won the title for his restaurant NOMA (meaning, essentially, ‘crazy food’) in Copenhagen, Denmark. He won again in 2011 and 2012. (Yes, there was a food poisoning problem this past February.)
What’s the connection to Icelandic wine? The city of Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark, and the country has long had a connection to Iceland. In 1944 Icelanders voted to terminate their union with Denmark. However, Danish ties are still strong. And as Copenhagen cuisine marks a top-notch throughout the world, so follow brethren Icelanders who keep a close eye on their continental European counterpart. The food in Iceland is quite stunning. Taste explosions are rampant. And Icelandic restaurants catering to a sudden surge in tourism and appetites for excellent cuisine (seafood and lamb are specialties) naturally want to have good wines to accompany their menus.
A self-serve cloak room. The color black is definitely in.
Conclusion: beer is king in Iceland, but good quality wine is making mixed—but rapid—inroads.
2. Volcanic eruptions. An Icelander once told me how in 1774, an eruption of Mount Hekla sent enough ash into the atmosphere to darken the skies over Europe and to impact the quality of Bordeaux wine. I failed to find any Google verification of this, but his point makes sense. Icelandic volcanic eruptions did erase over a dozen consecutive summers in Ireland over a thousand years ago, so there’s no reason to dispute their potential impact on European viniculture.
Conclusion: all things are connected, and you—French vigneron—may find the taste of your wines one day seriously impacted (for better or worse) by gnarly lava gushers in the true land of Ice and Fire.
The In Beverage
3. Beer. On March 1st, if you were to sit down at some nice restaurant such as Rub23 in the second largest metropolis of Iceland (population—about 17 and a half thousand) named Akureyri, the delightful Nordic serving lady would have told you that the specials included lamb (no surprise) and beer. Beer? Of course. March 1st every year is Beer Day in Iceland—where the population celebrates the fact that on that date in 1989, the government ended prohibition of alcohol (over 2.25 percent) after 74 years of enforcement.
Buddies celebrate ‘Beer Night’ at about 3 am in Akureyri
Conclusion? Wine is increasing in popularity in Iceland, but beer is King, is locally made (unlike wine), and the Gull and Polar brands slip down the hatch with ease.
Natural Beauty in Iceland – and yes, the water is warm
4. You’ve heard of Iceland quite a lot in the past five years. Why? In 2008 their economy imploded—with the stock market plunging 90 percent, unemployment soaring by a factor of ten, and inflation hitting almost twenty percent. Second, their volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted in 2010, not only grounding airline traffic throughout Europe but impacting profits and raising the ire of the CEO of Ryanair (to many people’s delight). As they say in publishing—any reviews are good for business. So too with Iceland. Now that their name is not an obscure noun associated only with Northern Lights, hissing geysers and errant Irish monks beaching leather boats along the coastline, the world wants to know more. Result?The number of tourists this year is expected as 400,000 (greater than the national population of 320,000) and within five years to be a million. And Hollywood is loving the splendid geography too (think Game of Thrones or the movie Oblivion).
Conclusion: when your nation becomes the world’s object of fascination and tourism leaps— make sure you have adequate beverages (including wine) to serve the flood of incoming visitors.
Finally—what wine are they drinking in Iceland?
Answer: Wine lists are an odd bag that fail to separate popular but mediocre labels from excellent quality wines. Generally, Riesling is a hit (‘the ladies like it sweet in Iceland,’ one waiter said, cryptically), Chardonnay is popular, though Sauvignon Blanc is giving it serious competition. For reds it’s Cabernet Sauvignon and Rioja from Spain. And white Zinfandel is always a hit with the young ladies.
Liquids rule in Iceland
Finally—who cares? Here are reasons you should.
Lessons from Iceland are clear. Regarding cuisine and quality—as goes Copenhagen, so goes Reykjavik. Extrapolate this lesson to the world—as go the most powerful and excellent trends in food (and wine), so will your locale—depending on the strength of cultural ties.
Second—all things are connected. A volcanic eruption in Iceland may impact the quality of Saint Emilion’s Merlot in France; a financial crisis ignited in the United States can impact the number of visitors, hence the diversity of wines, in Iceland. Factors that impact the quality and flow of wine are never completely predictable.
Cheers. Or as Icelanders say, Skál.
Wine, Life, and Insight along the Gironde
The relatively little town of Blaye, a 45 minute drive northeast of Bordeaux city, perches on the Gironde estuary. From here you catch a ferry across to the more renowned Medoc region. Or – you can visit Blaye’s Citadelle, a UNESCO world heritage site that was constructed as one of multiple ancient defense fortifications in the region.
The Gironde estuary….gateway to magic
A South African named Les holds wine education classes for a reasonable price at Villa St. Simon in Blaye. These take place in the newly refurbished ‘Galeria’ art gallery in town – modern, cosy and warm – with vibrant new art, sweet and fluid music from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, and a wine cellar below.
Vines catch an estuary breeze
I sat in on a recent December wine tasting with Les, and took the following notes – insights from a bold chap unafraid to speak about risks and reward.
Follow your passion….not the money
One 21-year-old woman at the table was studying law in England, and said that she wanted to do whatever it took to ‘make as much money as possible.’ Les told her:
“Don’t do anything for money. Do it for passion, and the money will come to you.”
More quotes and insights from Les are below.
“What is a well made wine? Like a good person – well-balanced.”
“What is a good wine? What you like.”
“A red wine is balanced between alcohol, tannins, fruit, and acid. You should not taste one predominantly over the others. There should be a balance.”
“It’s important in the way and order that you taste wines – one wine affects the others that follow.”
“In France, people start with a more modest wine, perhaps a punch or a ruby port.”
“In France, dessert is served after cheese. Sweet after savory. Americans start with cheese, which seals your stomach. No, that’s crazy.”
“Wine can taste different at different times depending on what you’re eating, the temperature, even who you are with.”
Blaye
“I was once given a bottle of Mouton Rothschild 1982 as a gift, which eight years ago was worth 3,600 Euros a bottle. Lovely wine. Was it worth that? No. No wine is worth that. Don’t be a label victim. It’s like clothes. If you pay $3,000 for shoes, you’re paying for the label name.”
La Galeria – which also doubles as a tasting room
“How do we tell the age of wine in the glass? Tilt it against a white background. The little ring at the edge of the miniscus – there’s a double line. The color between the lines changes as the wine gets older. It loses blue, becomes red, then red-brown, then brown-yellow. The youngest ones are going to be more blue. That’s the key if you keep looking. Soon you’ll be able to get it every time because it absolutely screams at you.”
Patience…
“Young wines benefit from oxygenation. Older wines, open only before you drink them – otherwise they will die.”
“Often young wines taste better they next day after they are opened.”
Gateway to an estuary soaked with intriguing history…including dozens of battles
“I love corks because I’m old and traditional and I love the sound of the cork – and there’s something lovely about going out on a romantic dinner and opening the bottle.”
“I like to think that any wine can breathe – and that it suffocates under a screwcap. But in wine, everyone is right.”
“I’m of firm belief that the body eliminates everything it doesn’t want.”
“Wine is one of the greatest things to get into when you are young – because wherever you go, you will have a home.”
“Wine? Anthocyanins are good for the eyes, and it takes away your cholesterol. Also, you’ll feel good.”
“Some of the best places for whites in France – Alsace, Rhone, Burgundy, Entre deus Mers. Bordeaux is not exceptional for whites.”
Hanging out
The Citadelle of Blaye – defending the Gironde from invaders
“The French are very bad marketers. They work to live, not live to work. They’re absolutely right. Lunch time is two hours long. It’s sacred.”
“There are 10,000 chateaux in Bordeaux. I’d like to taste them all.”
“It’s getting trickier and trickier to find authentic places that are also secure.”
Flowers before an ancient landscape
Seductive Saint Emilion
King John was not a good man, but he did right for Saint Emilion…
A.A. Milne, the author of Winnie the Pooh, also wrote a poem about King John.
“King John was not a good man,
And no good friends had he.
He stayed in every afternoon…
But no one came to tea.”
King John was the fifth, and youngest son, of the Eleanor of Aquitaine – the legendary ruler of southwest France who during her long life married both the Kings of France and England, yet never lost her allegiance to the beautiful lands surrounding the city of Bordeaux that she loved – the Aquitaine. Eleanor lived in the era of troubadors, poets who sung of bliss and merits of marriage for love rather than convenience. While based in the city of Bordeaux, Eleanor cemented the beginning of a stronger wine commerce with England. During her fiery life, she traveled to Jerusalem on a crusade, gave birth to Richard the Lion Heart, and spent 16 years imprisoned near Winchester, England, by her second husband because he feared she might set their sons against him.
Kitty kat at a visitors’ center in Saint Emilion
Eleanor liked her youngest son, John Lackland, least. He was not consistent, gracious, fair, or temperate. History – as shown by Milne’s poem – does not remember him fondly.
But –
John Lackland did – in the year 1199 – provide a charter to the town of Saint Emilion in France, guaranteeing its virtual autonomy during a chaotic period of history. Saint Emilion, in return, kept producing their magnificent wines which were exported to England.
Saint Emilion is a bit of a geographical oddball. It’s not nested in the shadows of centers such as Paris, Poitiers, Rouen, or Bordeaux. Instead, it’s a hummocked and hilly patch of semi-bald land set on a nondescript chunk of terrain two hours east of Bordeaux city. It was named after a reclusive saint who revered nature more than scripture. It also sits along pilgrims’ southern route toward the Spanish spiritual center of Compostela.
But great power is often hidden from view.
Saint Emilion happens to sit on complex array of soils above convoluted limestone and sandstone, all of which impact the flavor of grapes growing there.
In January, I visited the Couvent des Jacobins winery. This is named after a Jacobite convent constructed in 1389 that forms part of this building. The proprietress, Madam Borde, welcomed us with gusto. Our guide was Greg, a wine merchant – originally from Australia – who runs the Bordeaux Classique wine store in town.
“There are two parcels of vineyard here, and another plot nearby,” Greg told us. “Most wines include 66 percent Merlot, and the rest is Cabernets – mostly Cabernet Franc. They have about 10.5 hectares [about 25 acres], producing 5000 cases a year, of which 33 percent of it ages in new oak barrels.”
Once home to the Jacobites
We bent double to enter a three and a half-foot high door that led to a stone staircase which descended to the cellar. First, we looked at their wine library – dating back to 1947 (during the war, many wines were appropriated or transported elsewhere and hidden).
“The family has owned this chateau for over a hundred years,” he told us, then pointed into the immaculate cellar.
Beautiful and functional
“The barrels are made from three different types of wood. Top and bottoms made from pine, the body from oak, and rims from chestnut, because mice like to nibble on that soft wood.
Madame Borde – energetic and in charge
“Madame Borde gives different names to each parcel of grapes grown and the wine fermented from them. See?” he said, pointing at chalked names on barrels. “Eva, Emma, Claudia. All wines from different parcels are kept separated until blending, then aged in oak 12 to 14 months.
“Here they use extended fermentation at a cooler temperature, then boost the heat to finish it. In the past, malolactic fermentation used to stop during the coldness of winter. This produced carbon dioxide, and in February or March the temperature rose and corks would pop out of barrels. They now keep the temperature constant to help the malolactic fermentation.
“There are 900 chateaux within five classifications in St. Emilion. The wines are classified every ten years by blind tasting. The Grand Cru Classe, there are 64 of them. Regarding the classification in St. Emilion, it’s about consistency. Even during a difficult vintage you should still make good wine.”
After the recent September, 2012 classification, two new wines moved up to the top level – Premiers Grands Crus Classés A. Before that, it was only Cheval Blanc (40 hectares) and Ausone (7.5 hectares).
Some of the most expensive property in France?
A blend of new and old – including the convent walls from 1389
“The plots are generally small. For a lot of chateau in St. Emilion you can’t buy the wine there. A lot of wineries are open, but they don’t sell to the public.
“The whole of the underneath of St. Emilion is hollow,” Greg explained.
For centuries, sandstone and limestone were quarried from beneath the town and sent by barges down the Dordogne River to construct buildings in the city of Bordeaux. One result – wineries don’t have to build their own cellars because the earth below has generally been excavated. Greg told the story of how Madame Borde, as a child, would put a picnic basket on her bicycle and spend hours bicycling through the interconnected cellars below St. Emilion. Today, however, there are often locked gates between adjacent cellars.
“12 to 14 degrees in the cellar, 80 percent humidity,” Greg added.
As we walked through the labyrinth of cellars below, we heard the voices of others working and visiting neighboring cellars. Later, we visited Greg’s store within this beautiful little stone city. Stores here are packed with wine stores catering to all sizes of wallet. These include excellent whites for nine Euros – evidence of bargains, even in one of Bordeaux’s most popular little cities.
1947 to….
….the 21st century (a collection from various wineries in St. Emilion)
Secrets of Right Bank Bordeaux
Ivy isn’t the only thing that grows around these crumbling walls
This is where it all changes. Close to where it all began.
The Gironde Estuary – the widening river mouth of southwest France that flows into the Atlantic Ocean – flows after the joining of the Garonne River (to the south) and the Dordogne River (to the east) near the city of Bordeaux. This estuary splits the larger Bordeaux region into two – the Left Bank and Right Bank. Times are changing. Fast. Pricier wines along the Left Bank are losing the spotlight to some amazing Right Bankers – which often cost Very Little (less than 20, even 10 Euros).
Right Bank, and not at all righteous
Many Right Bank wines are undeserved underdogs – overlooked and inexpensive – that are often elegant jewels. Right Bankers were not included in the famous 1855 classification of Bordeaux wines (or the little known classification of 1797 by future US president Thomas Jefferson who visited Bordeaux – and listed the same top four Grand Crus as Napoleon’s scouts did decades later). Who knows – maybe crossing the Gironde’s choppy waters back then to stay and sample Right Bankers was considered dicey. Regardless – the coming years should see an increased shift in wine appreciation here.
Soon to be reincarnated as Right Bank Bordeaux wine
Here are samplings and stories about worthwhile, up-and-coming (as well as established) Right Bankers.
Friends living on the Right Bank who make or deal in wine recommended the following. Local knowledge. Considering that this web log Vino Voices forms a niche, and not a very greatly circulated niche, these insights are still fresh, and still little known.
I Am
Je Suis
Je Suis is seductive. It’s also bold and unusual. The label is racy, even for the sexy French. Its motto is – From the Earth’s Very Own Erogenous Zone. This Right Bank red is anomalous for two reasons.
First, the wine includes 80 percent Cabernet Franc, and 20 percent Merlot – smashing the traditional right bank motif of blends being predominantly made from Merlot, or occasionally Cabernet Sauvignon. Stranger still – the architect of this wine from Château Gros Moulin (Big Mill) is not a bold, brash dabbler in novelty, but a seasoned and respected eleventh-generation winemaker from this region. After creating this novel blend, he fermented the wine in cigar-shaped new oak barriques.
Second – outside the village of St. Emilion, but still east of the waters of the Gironde Estuary – this may be a forthcoming Icon wine for the Right Bank. It will last for decades, and the quality is excellent. Priced at 95 Euros a bottle (which also includes shipping anywhere in the world), it’s an exception to the inexpensive Right Bankers in general – but is carving a clean new identity for this Côtes de Bourg / Côtes de Blaye region.
In two years Je Suis will be a meat lover’s darling. Even now, though still tannic, you can enjoy complex, chewy, pleasurable foreplay for what’s to come after a few more years in the bottle. Roll over, Right Bank traditions. Je Suis means ‘I Am’ – perhaps a declaration of arrival by the Right Bank. Only 1,500 bottles made.
The Secret
Valérie and Jérôme are letting out the Secret
Secret’s out
I had the fortune to spend New Year’s eve with Jérôme Eymas and his wife Valérie (the winemaker and marketing manager, as well as co-owners for Château La Rose Bellevue winery – www.chateau-larosebellevue.com), and managed to sample bottles of both their 2005 and 2009 The Secret (thanks for the evening, Les and Clarissa of Villa St. Simon).
The Secret is a 100 percent Merlot made only during select years (2005, 2009, 2010), with production limited to 3,000 bottles. This wine spends 18 months in new oak and is limited in production by Jérôme – the polite, happy, and wildly energetic young winemaker (who is always agreeable to talk, drink, and share ideas).
This Grand Vin de Bordeaux is a (right bank) Premières Côtes de Blaye [nowadays known as Blaye, Côtes de Bordeaux] – it’s motto being, Tout Secret doit être bien gardé (all secrets must be well kept).
Valérie insists that wines don’t have to be either expensive or exclusive. Considering that The Secret represents only 1 percent of their output in the scant years that it’s made – she means what she says. But, that 1 percent? Nice one guys. Don’t keep it so secret.
The 2005 Secret, to my simple taste buds, is oak and smoke, liquorice and leather. After fifteen minutes in the glass, florals march out, as well as a beefy whiff of tar. This is hefty and well-balanced.
The fresher 2009 Secret is cherries and chocolate, raisins and a wee bit of olive oil. After fifteen minutes in the glass, even more chocolate oozes out. And then – the taste of plums?
[Check out a previous post about Château La Rose Bellevue].
During our dinner, we were joined by Alain from Blaye, a medical doctor who spends many free evenings tasting Bordeaux wines blind with friends (in some quasi-mysterious group known as the wine philosophy club…ah, secretive). Alain asked me how I would rate this wine – after telling me he gave it an 18 out of 20 (90 points). At least, I agreed.
Twenty Thousand and counting
20 Mille – Jean Philippe Janoueix
This Right Bank winery is on the east bank of the Dordogne. 20 Mille embodies an odd concept. The trend toward better quality wines in Europe during the past century means that growers reduce their number of vine clusters to grow plumper, more flavor laden grapes. This produces a lesser quantity of wine – but of better quality, for which winemakers can charge more. ’20 mille’ means twenty thousand – which is the number of vines grown per hectare – far above a more normal number of 12,000 for this region.
20 Mille grows more vines per hectare – because physically challenged vines produce better quality grapes (the competition causes roots to sink deeper to soak up more water and nutrients – hence enhancing flavor). However the growers here then discard many grape clusters – choosing only the fittest as being suitable to harvest. First – flood the vineyard with grapes to boost the overall competition, then keep only the hardiest survivors.
Ruthless, but effective. This smooth Bordeaux – 100 percent Merlot – still has plenty of backbone. It goes well not only with meat, but also with grilled duck (roast chicken? Perhaps. Go on, ditch the white wine for poultry paradigm, and give it a try).
Château Rouselle
Classic, inexpensive
This 2005 Côtes de Bourg is hefty and tannic, but sings a different tune after fifteen minutes in the glass. It loosens up and throws out the taste of sweet berries. This is a classic right bank blend – oaky and bold. About 17 Euros a bottle.
Château La Grolet
The 2009 Chateau L Groulet is a Côtes de Bourg biodynamic wine – which means no green harvest, no pesticides, and the land is plowed to reduce insect infestation. At about fifteen Euros a bottle, this is a bargain. Solid Right Bank winemaking at a reasonable cost. The young wine is smooth and oaky, but more balanced than many Napa reds (no offense) that cost four times as much.
Thanks for tuning in. The Right Bank will be back…
Casablanca, Ulysses, and Sailing to Bordeaux
Annick and Pierre Saturney met in the Moroccan city of Casablanca. They soon married. She was born in Morocco, of parents from Brittany in France who had moved to North Africa to secure work. Pierre was a Frenchman serving military service in Morocco. In 1959, when the political dice rolled and showed unwelcome numbers for Morocco, the couple moved back to France. They soon lived in a hefty, stately château perched along Bordeaux’s Gironde estuary, and opened Château Tayac winery.
Not many of these in Casablanca
Livin’ on the riverside
The winery produces a small quantity of white wine, using one hectare of white grapes (Sauvignon Blanc, Semillion, and Muscadelle), as well as their signature Prestige red wines. These are unusual for the right bank of Bordeaux because of instead of being primarily comprised of Merlot, they are typically 80 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 20 percent Merlot. Perhaps as a tribute to wine critic Robert Parker who spent hours in their winery (and who supposedly showed partiality to Merlot at that time) – Tayac also decided to produce Terrasses wines (90 percent Merlot and 10 percent Cabernet Sauvignon) in years when Merlot is particularly good (2001, 2003, 2009).
Mesmerizing label – smooth blend of three classic Bordeaux white grapes
Terrain, Daughter, Children – not necessarily in order of preference
We sipped glasses of white, rose, and red wines while Ulysses the winery dog curled on the floor behind us.
Easy cellar living
Annick pointed at a glass case with two bottles of their wine that traveled around the world in a sailboat – stopping in Italy, Spain, Greece, Venezuela, Brazil, and Martinique and all sorts of other locales.
Terroir de Mer
Of three bottles that completed the journey, she and Pierre shared one during a dinner with the couple who made this sailing venture. They all found the wine ‘100 times’ better than the same wine taken from their cellar. If anyone tells you wine does not travel well – remember this story.
Beats Cellaring
Another time the couple handed a bottle to a friend who then drove twenty thousand miles. Afterwards, they tasted it and found the wine ‘perfect.’
It was time to drink. The 2002 Prestige had a deep, smooth, velvety taste of blackberries while the 2009 Terrasses was young, tannic, and ripe with the taste of cherries.
Today, the couple’s two sons Loic and Philippe make and market their wines. On a late December morning – rain battered and blustery – we interrupted the entire family while they ate lunch in a huge kitchen before a roaring log fire.
It really is all about family
Their winery symbol is the Black Prince (also known as Edward of Woodstock after the English town where he was born in 1330). At the age of sixteen, Edward was victorious in battle against the French at Crécy, and at age twenty-six won another victory at Poitiers. The exploits of the Black Prince symbolized English victory during the ‘100 Years War’ between France and England. And yet – his native language was French, and allegiances then were unpredictable. What was certain was that the wine commerce between France and England was robust at that time. No surprise. Politics can be grand, philosophical, and confused, whereas good wine always facilitates the merging of different people and viewpoints.
Prince of Wales
The Black Prince…in white today
Skip the Wine Bars of Paris?
My Paris wine tasting plans disintegrated. Great luck, really.
Color Everywhere
First, I surfed the Net, then checked FourSquare, then Googled wine bars within a few kilometers walking distance of my rented AirBnb pad in the Marais district of Paris. Early in the afternoon on Christmas Eve, I set off. The plan: visit three wine bars and sample three wines at each – following maps I printed, as well directions copied by hand into a back pocket notebook. Simple.
Ludicrous.
Our Lady
The first wine bar – found after hiking through colorful China and India town – was closed for the Christmas holiday (why do so many of these recommended bars have the number ’67’ in their street address?).
The second bar / restaurant was a further kilometer away. When I entered this highly-recommended-location according to the Internet (‘reservations recommended’) I found it stuffed with well-coiffed young American women talking about their flight schedules to return home. Not exactly a local experience. “Table just for me,” I told the hurried, harried waiter. He replied in English: “No! We are finished!” Not knowing what he meant, but realizing it sounded dire, I exited.
Keeping sane on the Seine by crossing water to find wine
Next door I found a lovely, half empty modern restaurant. Perfect. But I soon found that it was Italian, with all wines from Italy. No worries, I thought. Adapt – sample Italian wines in France. But after waiting 15 minutes without service, I left.
I soon found another restaurant / bar that I had not planned to visit. It looked promising, with a hefty food and wine list. I entered at 2.50 pm (the sign said it stopped serving at 3.00 pm), but the owner said ‘ferme.’ Closed. I left the muggy, crowded restaurant without regret.
Away I walked. Forget the wine bars, I decided. Then, on the left, a guy in a doorway repaired sagging cheap Christmas lights.
“Ouvert” I asked. Open?
“Oui,” he said.
“Manger?” I asked. Eat?
“Oui. Sandwich. Fromage. Avec ou sans beurre?” Yeah, cheese sandwich – with or without butter. That was the entire menu at that time. I said ‘without’ and walked in. Chairs were stacked on tables and the place was near closed. The owner pointed me to a seat and sliced a baguette lengthwise at the bar counter and layered it with cheese and offered a glass of ‘vin rouge’ – red wine. Far from crowds or Zagat recommendations or Lonely Planet niches – I ate the simple, delicious baguette and washed it down with a glass of St. Christophe 2006 Bordeaux wine.
The baguette that saved the day
Beautiful.
The owner spoke not a word of English- which was refreshing. His wife walked to the front door and smoked a cigarette and when their friend with a cap appeared from the street, the owner – Alberto – invited him in for an espresso.
Alberto told me he spoke Portuguese, Spanish, French and Italian. Because my French is weak, we conversed in Spanish and Italian until he got excited and reverted to French, telling me the Bordeaux wine he poured was ‘très, très grand vin rouge!’ – or a big, meaty red. I later learned that Chateau St. Christophe is located outside St. Emilion, that the Merlot grapes are grown above clay and limestone, and are hand sorted after harvest – always a good sign of attention to quality.
Alberto admitted that he thinks Argentinian and Chilean and Australian wines are good, but that Californian wines are best – beside French, which in his opinion are – of course – ‘Number One.’ He told of the magnificence of Romanee Conti from Burgundy (a bit pricey), Petrus from Bordeaux, and Cheval Blanc. “C’est tres grande!” he repeated with a sense of triumph.
Espresso time
As I paid, Alberto told me he once worked near the Eiffel Tower, where he became friends with a usual customer – author Ray Bradbury. “Fahrenheit 451,” Alberto said, to which I added the title of another of his books – “Martian Chronicles.” He told of how he and Ray sometimes met four times a day as Bradbury visited the cafe, and how the writer sent him Christmas cards and came to his apartment and autographed a copy of one of his books for Alberto.
I asked Alberto for his email address.
“No tengo Internet porque no soy un hombre moderno,” he said in Spanish, explaining that he lacked Internet because he was not a modern man. I asked for a glass of Burgundy wine, but he had no open bottle and so poured me a Portuguese red instead. He insisted I would like it. Good stuff.
No crowds, no English, no tourists, no artifice, no complicated menu, no Internet.
Perfect.
Those well reviewed wine bars I planned to visit? No need. Ditch the guide book. Switch off the Internet. Wander to a place, a time, a moment that is unique and beautiful and will never leave you.
It’s not always about the wine.
But the wine tastes better when the best of life, times, and camaraderie unfold. You will never be able to predict where or when that will happen. Just stay ready. And don’t freak when you have to ditch plans. Consider it an adventure.
Should you visit Paris and get a hankering for a decent cheese baguette with a simple but good glass of ‘grand Bordeaux,’ remember Alberto – who will recall times spent with author Ray Bradbury while he sips espresso. Where?
Ditch the guide book
Café du Théater, 17 rue René Boulanger, 70510 Porte St. Martin (metro – use Strasbourg St. Denis or République).
Happy holidays!
PS – I just found this piece in the New York Times that recalls a lunch with Bradbury in Paris. Who knows – it may have been at Alberto’s place….
How to make that baguette even better
Hemingway and Vikings Long Gone from Paris
This is not the Paris of Hemingway. Of Morse, Fenimore Cooper, or Thomas Jefferson. This is not the Paris of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Woody Allen or Dan Brown. This is not the Paris of Communards, Toulouse-Lautrec or ninth century Viking invader Bjorn Ironside – commanding longboats into a city that no longer resembles the skyline we know.
The Paris of these people is attractive – including the alleys and rues they breezed through, or used as imagery to paint, write, invade, or as a backdrop for film.
Playin’ in the Band
This Paris is different. Fresh and vibrant. Modern merged with ancient. Put your coffee down, click out of your email, scoot closer to your screen – because it’s time to open wine in a city of constant change.
Locks of Love – on a bridge above the Seine River
Art, Architecture, Childhood – Rodin Museum
Chestnuts on the Seine
December weather mixes sunshine, spitting rain and slapping wind. Citroens splash puddle water at men with dogs and women clutching white shopping bags. This is a fashion runway soaked by elements. Pride, disdain, joy, and innocence hustle below gnarly clouds dealt like a slow hand of cards above Paris.
Time to taste wine.
O Chateau – 68 rue Jean Jacques Rousseau
Just a few minutes from the Louvre, this new wine bar appears both stately and old – and is decked with leather and wood. I signed up for a wine tasting, and was joined by an American couple from Denver and two English chaps from London. We sat at a high wooden table surrounded by shelves of wine, while our host Lionel (“Like Lionel Richie,” he said) provided a tour of six wines and six cheeses.
Cosy
Lionel tells all
Lionel is grounded in French tradition, but also spent years working in California….so knows the benefits and limitations of French wine regulations. First – a Monmarthe champagne comprised of three traditional grapes – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meuniere (my friend Alex tells me that ‘meuniere’ refers to a miller, or a miller’s wife – which explains ‘sole meuniere’ – where fish is covered in flour…and also Pinot Meuniere, where the undersides of vine leaves are covered by a dusty white coating).
Pinot Meuniere has recently gained hefty respect in the Champagne region, and the centuries old disdain for the grape (apparently foisted by Moet, who lacked plentiful access to the grape) – is vanishing.
We sampled five other wines from throughout French regions (Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc, Burgundy Chardonnay, Bordeaux Haut Medoc blend, a Rhone Valley blend of Grenache and Syrah, and Languedoc (Grenache/Carignan/Syrah from St. Chinian).
Here are a few jewels of insight from Lionel:
- The only French region that allows wines produced from different harvest years in Champagne.
- “In the United States, you can mix Champagne with orange juice to make a Mimosa….in France, you do that and you go to jail.” (Not really….but you can add Creme de Cassis – which boosts the alcohol content and is great for a first date.)
- When you check the clarity of wine – cloudiness can indicate the presence of microorganisms, which are turning your wine into vinegar.
- When tasting a Sauvignon Blanc wine from the Loire Valley of France – the fruity and citrus flavors may come from the grape….but the passion fruit and pineapple? They come from the soils of the region around Sancerre village.
Ivy and Jeff from Denver, Colorado
- Food can help balance the sweetness, alcohol, and acidity of wine – oysters, for example, can neutralize acidity.
- To complement a wine, it’s usually good to choose a cheese from the same region. A Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc is balanced with a Loire Valley cheese (and if it’s aged in oak ash – it’s even yummier).
- If you’re drinking a creamy Chardonnay from Burgundy, consider complementing it with a creamy cheese – such as a Comte (a fruity cheese from the Aix region).
- The Burgundy region only produces about 2 percent of wines in France (while Bordeaux produces about 40 percent). Burgundy wines summarized? Limited production, quite expensive, and predominantly only made from only two grapes (Chardonnay for white, Pinot Noir for red).
- French wine labels are confusing even for the French. “In France,” said Lionel, “maybe 99 percent of people know different wine regions, but not the type of grapes produced there.”
- Very basically (without getting into the French Revolution) – ‘domaine’ wines come from small wineries (the majority in Burgundy), whereas a ‘chateau’ is a bigger winery, often producing wine from grapes grown in different regions.
Literature in a wine library
- For the past forty years, wine consumption in France has decreased by about 1 liter per person per year.
- ‘Legs’ on the inside of a wine glass can show the relative balance between sugar and alcohol – slow moving legs indicate higher sugar content.
- “We consider the Rhone Valley like the Napa Valley – warm and dry.”
- Most Rhone Valley wines are powerful – 14 percent alcohol is typical.
- To neutralize high alcohol and low acidity? Use red meat, strong blue cheese, or bitter dark chocolate.
- Which is more important, the terrain or the winemaker? Lionel says that “for me, at least 95% of the greatness of wines comes from the grapes, not the winemakers. Nature always decides the quality of the wines.”
- What about organic wines? “In France, we like pesticides,” Lionel admits, and tells how even Grand Cru vineyards include them. “I think organic wines will remain a niche market,” he admits.
- There are more than 600 different grapes available to use in France.
- Lionel’s favorite wines? “I like Châteauneuf du Pape. I am also a big fan of Chenin Blanch from the Loire Valley – often available for just 6 or 7 Euros a bottle. I think Pomerol in Bordeaux is my favorite village for wine.”
A cheese for each wine – Loire (bottom right), Comte unpasteurized from (bottom left), semi-hard Cantal (top right), Camembert (top left) and one that’s sweet and creamy (center)
Women and Wine
Here are some excerpts from the book Vino Voices, which includes sparks of wisdom whittled from women who bent their backs, tasted bankruptcy, abandoned careers, and jumped on a lifestyle of producing and marketing the wine they love – regardless its mass market appeal.
If you think wine is about glamour or snobbery or affectation or wealth – read the following, and think again.
Pokolbin, Hunter Valley, Australia, 1923
Robin Drayton – Winemaker, Hunter Valley, Australia
Robin Drayton and her acres of vines
It’s quite a challenge because it is a male dominated industry. But I like a challenge so I can handle it. At the end of the day we’re all equal. I don’t look at myself as being any different. Yeah. Just one of the boys, I suppose…There’s lots of wasted nights’ sleep because I don’t have a partner, so I take on 100 percent responsibility myself. It can be quite nerve wracking. There’s a lot of pressure on. Leading up to vintage it’s always nail biting…I’m not a city girl. So it’s the country life and open space. Being a business owner is hard. It’s certainly easier to work for someone else than for yourself…Mum and Dad were killed 15 years ago in a plane crash. The plane was never recovered. So I put up a little plaque down in the vineyard. I chose that spot because Dad can look over the vineyard. Hopefully he would have been very proud. Because I’ve continued on. That’s the most important thing.
Wine on Waiheke Island, New Zealand
Summer Bell – Winemaker for Stonyridge, Waiheke Island, New Zealand
Summer uncorks a masterpiece
I think as a woman it’s really important that you have a trade. I don’t want to rely on anyone for anything. I even looked at law and a few other things, but wine has always been something I enjoy. Back on the farm when I was young I loved being outside…I mean, it’s hard work. Vintage always is. My busiest day last vintage I was bringing fruit in, managing all the ferments, plus I was pressing – being the only winemaker. It was a huge day. I look back now and say, man if you can make it through that day and then get up at five o’ clock in the morning and do it all again, you’re fine…Reward? Having that tangible, amazing thing that you’ve made in your hand at the end of the day.
Sonoma Vines
Windee Smith – Owner of The Wine Shack, Sonoma, California
Windee’s wine store
The reward is that you get to make people happy every day. You get to talk about what you love every day…It’s educating people; it brings people together; it’s a communal event. People come weekly to see friends and talk to people. It’s a new and different concept…It’s sort of a pilgrimage. I woke up one day and thought, “Okay, I bought a house, I’m here, I’m unemployed. What do I love, what do I want to do that would be cool?” This is what happened with that thought pattern.
Sun glow in Stellenbosch
Marianne McKay – Oenology Lecturer in Stellenbosch, South Africa
Marianne in South Africa
I had a lovely salary, very glamorous looking at it from the outside. I was flying all over the world meeting the heads of pharmaceutical companies in Europe and I was in charge of a team of validation scientists and big projects – and I bloody hated it. I hated being in a different country every week. I hated flying on stupid airplanes…. And then a friend of mine at UCT emailed me about Plumpton College, this little agricultural college, for an oenology lecturer…Much, much happier. And I love teaching. I’ve always loved teaching…Yes, that’s the reward…You watch these people who are so lacking in self confidence and so wanting to learn but so scared to ask questions. And you watch them turn into confident people who can evaluate and critically analyze and think. That’s what makes me happy.
Passing from Sonoma to Napa
Tiffany Tedesco Baumann – Winemaker and Business Co-Owner, Sonoma, California
Tiffany’s Front Yard Vineyard
The reward is knowing that we could produce something that’s drinkable…What do I like most? That we have times like this. That we have friends over and just being able to share it. And seeing my kids out here in the morning that we harvest, picking grapes and helping and dumping them into the crusher and having them be a part of it…It was a load of fun. Doing the bottling process ourselves was kind of cool. It’s an excuse to have friends over. Everyone gets to participate.
Guys and Grapes
Looking from Italy’s Langhe region toward the Alps
Flavio Fennochio – Barolo Winemaker from the Piemonte Region of Italy
Marchesi di Barolo winery
We receive the grapes from God…There’s a little part of me in this wine. I didn’t build the car, but I drove it for some time. What I am aiming for is to find surprise. To give emotion. It’s like photography. You have to impress, to do something people remember…You have to ride the horse. It’s not always a quiet horse. But with a good one, you can win the race.
Casa Donoso, Chile
Alvaro Arriagada – Winemaker from Casa Donoso, Chile
Alvaro at the ranch
I realized that getting into wine was something very special because nobody needs wine. It’s not something vital, not something that you’re gonna die if you don’t have. But it gives you a quality of life. People don’t realize that today you need something extra. Like good music. Like having time for reading. Or eating. Something extra. Something like a slow life.
Spire of Bordeaux
Les Kellen – Wine Guide and Merchant, Blaye, Bordeaux, France
Les and lady friends
I studied law in South Africa. Quite frankly, I hated every second of that profession…Serendipity? I think that’s for anyone who’s open to what the universe sends them. Sometimes the universe does try, and we don’t respond. I’m open to everyone….I love meeting with families that run small vineyards and eating with them and tasting their new wines…We do it while we’re having fun. Otherwise it’s not worth it. It’s done in an unpretentious way. That’s the way I think wine should be. Wine is a simple pleasure.
Barossa Sunshine
Ben Chipman – Tomfoolery Winemaker in the Barossa Valley, Australia
Ben and barrels
It’s about community and lifestyle. We’re very lucky. We love what we do…We don’t enter wine shows…People in the wine business get so hung up on competition and jealousy, and that’s stupid. There’s so much space for everybody…
Charles beneath his local dolmen
Charles Capbern-Gasqueton – Wine Barrel Merchant, Cognac Region, France
There’s no one there. So you have to do it with no help. You are responsible from the beginning to the end…. To socialize and have a connection with people is interesting. Even if you’re losing money, at the end there is satisfaction so it doesn’t really matter. When you like wines you have to fight against all those well known people with all the money. You have to be the voice of reason and tell the people – you’re buying that for a hundred bucks, and I have this for ten bucks. And I think this is better than yours. Then you can show them the truth. You can taste the wine, and explain that they’re wrong.
California wine country
Bill Wilson – Owner of Wilson Creek Winery, Temecula, California, USA
Home of almond champagne
People work for one of two reasons. One: to make their wealth. Two: to fill their heart with wealth. You’re not going to make wealth in this industry. It’s very, very capital intensive. People get into this and surround themselves with this business because it is passion driven, creative. No one tells them what to do or how to do it.
Norm Benson – Dark Star Winemaker from Paso Robles, California, USA
You have to decide that you really want to do this. You have to be committed to and love what you’re doing.
If you’re interested in buying a Kindle copy of the book, just click Vino Voices.
Wine Bottles and Battles; Crusades and Connections
I pulled out four bottles of wine from a box recently bought from a French friend – Jean Claude – as well as a bottle from a co-worker who had been in Europe, and then lined them on a table and considered their connections.
Random selection
First, I inspected the label of a bottle of smooth Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wine – which is not to be confused with Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, which includes not the Montepulciano grape but primarily the Prugnolo Gentile grape, which is a clone of the Sangiovese grape, which is the primary constituent of Chianti wine, which brings us – too rapidly, perhaps – to the second wine….a 2006 riserva Chianti Classico…
Hills of Tuscany
…which originates in Tuscany, home of Leonardo da Vinci, who while residing in France in 1517 was consulted about the feasibility of constructing a project in the Languedoc region of southwest France – that of building a canal that would link the Mediterranean with the Atlantic to ship wine over water (this canal-du-midi that still operates was later constructed in the mid 1600’s by a wealthy local French tax inspector – a Herculean feat of engineering).
This – Languedoc – is home to the third bottle of wine which I have not yet had the fortune of tasting. It is from St. Chinian, which survived the 13th century Albigensian Crusades to crush the local Cathars (vegetarians who abhorred war, capital punishment, and sex). In 1209 ten thousand crusaders gathered in the city of Lyon and marched south, no doubt passing the land of Chateauneuf-du-Pape – from where the fourth wine originates.
Incidentally, these testosterone laden crusaders stopped at Bezieres in the Languedoc, ordered some twenty thousand Catholics and Cathars to surrender, and – when they refused – slaughtered them all. They next marched to Minervois in July 1210 where they burnt more than a hundred surrendered citizens at the stake. Minervois, along with St. Chinian, is now one of the five or so prime locations reputed to produce excellent Languedoc wine.
Enjoying a bottle of ‘neuf in Lyon with nephew and his girlfriend
In antiquity, vines spread within the Languedoc principally along the Via Domita, a Roman road that paralleled the Mediterranean coast. Grapes grew so abundantly that this region rivaled wine production in Italy – prompting Emperor Domitien – in AD 92 -to order that half these planted vines be yanked out to kill off competition to his domestic fermentations.
This protectionist ruling was eventually overturned by the more enlightened Emperor Probus, who restored these Languedo vines. According to his reign – also – four large Roman villas were constructed at a site north of the city of Lyon that had the Celtic name of ‘House near the Woods,’ or Cab Leya – which eventually became the word Chablis – which brings us to our fifth wine.
Not just dotted with pretty chateaux, but dripping with roaring history
During the ninth century in Chablis, the rule of St. Benedict allowed monks – who owned most local vineyards – a daily allowance of one hemina of wine per day – about a quarter liter – which kept them sober enough to be vigilant (though still defenseless) against Viking attacks. Benedictines were so influential that in the eleventh century in east/central Italy they built the outstanding Abbey of San Liberatore la Majella and propelled social and economic development. The people from this region – the Abbruzzese – were traditionally sheepholders who, likely bored with shepherding, took advantage of mountains slope soils and optimal climate to grow grapevines from as far back as the sixth century BC. Even the poet Ovid – a native of Sulmona in the region – praised the local grapes, and the north African leader Hannibal poured mugs of local Pretuzin wine to reward thousands of soldiers for braving the cold, brutal conditions during their traverse of the Alps (with a few elephants) en route to slay and perturb the Romans. This region, of course, is Abruzzo – which brings us full circle back to the first wine mentioned – Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.
Warfare, engineering, art, social mobility, and brutal crusades are all connected by these five randomly chosen bottles – and the thread of grapes that fill them. Part of the magic of wine is how this once living yeast-infused drink is born of genetic history of vineyards that blew in historical winds when great conquerors, brutal warlords, sage artists and calm monks rode, battled, sketched and sang hymns along the rugged soils on which these vines once grew.
Delicious.
A quick rundown:
Pirovano Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
Pirovano is a family owned winery that has operated for over a century and which produces not only this Montepulciano d’Abruzzo but also sparkling wines. This is very easy drinking and inexpensive wine that will go well with red meats and pasta. Light, easy, fun.
http://www.vinicantinepirovano.com/
Castello di Querceto chianti
The Castello di Querceto 2006 Riserva had to age 38 months in bottle and barrel to get the reserve classification. This DOCG is tannic – leave it open for an hour or so to cool its heels before you begin digging in. This one is a bit heavy – not for light drinking before dinner.
http://www.castellodiquerceto.it/index.asp
Languedoc’s New Generation
Winemaker Laurent Miquel studied mechanical engineering, spent time working in quality control in the UK, and returned to follow the path of his winemaker father, who for 25 years avoided what Laurent calls the ‘pile ’em high’ attitude of producing big quantities of cheap wine that were once popular in the Languedoc. I haven’t tasted this yet, but Wine Spectator hints that previous years have provided plenty of smoke, spice and cherry. 100 % Syrah.
http://www.laurent-miquel.com/us/index.html
Domaine Chartreuse ‘neuf du Pape
Domaine de la Chartreuse 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape….this is a typical du Pape…layers of flavor that won’t let you down. Smoke and meat and the bottle soon vanishes whether you are drinking it before, with, of after dinner. This is a hit.
Domaine Baillard Chablis
Finally – a white…This 2009 Domaine Baillard Chablis in a Chardonnay that won’t overpower food, and at 12.5% alcohol won’t get you tipsy too soon during the late afternoon. Crisp fruit and minerals. If you’re into Chardonnay, drinking this is like taking a smooth and winding trail with fresh views to a familiar landscape.
Bond, Bangkok, Baja, Burgundy and Bordeaux
I recently had the fortune to fly to Bangkok via Thai Airways from the vibrant city of Lahore, Pakistan.
Who were these talented architects of Lahore?
During the redeye flight there was a choice of four wines – and I chose two. The white Terra Burdigala Bordeaux – 2009 (75% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Semillon – a classic white Bordeaux blend) paired with the dinner of seared Atlantic salmon, fresh tarragon sauce, tossed spinach fettuccine, and roast veggies. For dessert I halted the young lady wheeling the drink cart and asked her to load up the glass with the red Côte de Nuits-Villages 2009. Wow. Côte de Nuits on an airline flight? Wish I had snagged the entire bottle and guzzled ’till landing. Roll over, United Airlines.
Okay, let’s go back in time.
This Côte de Nuite wine reminded me of a recently published James Bond book, written decades after the original author Ian Fleming died in 1964.
In June, 2011, Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. commissioned Jeffery Deaver to write the new Bond book titled Carte Blanche, which was then published by Simon and Schuster.
In the book, a young Bond (set in contemporary times) is working at the Ministry of Defense in London when he receives a mysterious handwritten invitation to have lunch at the Travellers Club in Pall Mall. Intrigued, he accepts. There, he eats lunch with an older gentleman named the Admiral who tries to recruit him as a member of either the Military Intelligence Section 5 (known as MI5), or MI6 (involved with foreign espionage rather than domestic UK affairs). When the Admiral suggests that Bond select a wine, the young guest flicks through the list and suggests a French Burgundy – pointing to either a Côte de Beaune or a Chablis as the optimal choice. Bond lets the waiter choose the exact bottle from these regions, and receives an Alex Gambal Pouligny Montrachet, which the author Deaver describes as, “the highest incarnation of the chardonnay grape”).
Quiet place of Quality
[The previous post tells about a little about Montrachet.]
Later during lunch, the admiral says, “There’s no shortage of Special Air or Boat Service chaps about who know their way around a knife and sniper rifle. But they don’t necessarily fit into other, shall we say, subtler, situations. And then there are plenty of talented Five and Six fellows who know the difference between” – he glanced at Bond’s glass – “a Côte de Beaune and a Côte de Nuits….but who’d faint at the sigh of blood…”
So, no – knowledge of wine will not make a hero. Delta Force or SAS training appears to be in order too.
Before we go back to Bond (and then to Bangkok), here is a quick reminder on Burgundy wines. Basically, almost all Burgundy white wines originate from the Chardonnay grape, whereas Burgundy reds are made from the Pinot Noir Grape.
Back to Bangkok. In 1974 the ninth James Bond movie, The Man with the Golden Gun came out. It included a Bond car chase scene in the hinterlands of Bangkok with an until-that-moment-vacation-taking sheriff named J.W. Pepper – who happened to have run into Bond in the previous movie Live and Let Die, where Pepper worked as a tobacco chewing Louisiana sheriff.
Bangkok – from the air
So, there was Bond. In Thailand. The memory of which was good enough reason for me to ask the polite cart lady for a top-up on the Côte de Nuits. Which she obliged to with a polite smile.
In the scene where Bond offers the woman Goodnight a visit when he returns from a dinner, she tells him, “I’ll keep the wine properly chilled,” to which Bond replies, “And everything else warm, I trust?” As the Irish would say, what a Chancer.
Now back to an earlier Bond where wine helped keep our hero, Sean Connery, alive. The classic scene that taught generations about pairing food with wine is in From Russia with Love, when actor Robert Shaw plays a blonde haired Captain Nash who shares dinner in an Orient Express train dining car with Bond. Nash keeps speaking with a crisp Etonian accent and calling Bond ‘old boy’ (or was it ‘old chap’?). Later, when Nash is unmasked as an impersonating fraud and the men are about to scrap in one of the sleeping carriages, Bond says, “red wine with fish. Well, that should have told me something.”
Gave the game away by choosing a red
This scene is dear because my father spent an afternoon playing golf with Robert Shaw on a course in County Wicklow, Ireland. There was little Hollywood or Pinewood glamour involved. It probably rained all the way to the clubhouse pub. (“He was quiet,” my father recalled. “Didn’t say much”).
In the 1971 movie Diamonds are Forever (which included multiple Blofeld bad guys, a diamond studded laser amplifier, various Vegas adventures and Bond in Baja) – the final scene shows our triumphant agent enjoying a cruise with his new redhead girl – Tiffany Case. As they recline on the deck of a private cruise at dusk, two baddies wheel out a sumptuous meal served on silver platters.
“There must be some mistake,” Bond replies, wearing a bow tie.
“No mistake sir,” replies Baddie One, assuring him the meal was sent on specific instructions. “Oysters, prime rib du jour.”
Bond’s woman stands with joy.
“Wine, sir?” asks one of the enemies. “Mouton Rothschild ’55.”
He opens the cork with a compressed air gadget. Bond sniffs the cork.
“The wine is quite excellent,” 007 declares. “Although for such a grand meal I had rather expected a claret.”
“Of course. Unfortunately our wine cellar is rather poorly stocked with clarets,” the round faced villain serving our agent declares.
Bond, suspicious, then says, “Mouton Rothschild is a claret.” (‘Claret’ is colloquial British for red Bordeaux.)
At this point, alerted Bond barbecues one of the baddies with shish-kebab ignited booze, then throttles the other, chucks him over a rail into the ocean and blows him up with a bomb smuggled in by the villains in the dessert.
See? Grave is the danger of not knowing the meaning of claret.
Vino Voices 
