The Wine Curmudgeon

Wine review: Milbrandt Pinot Gris 2007

A couple of years ago, Butch Milbrandt, who makes this wine, was in Dallas on a publicity tour. We tasted through the winery’s offerings, all of which were solid, well-made efforts. I especially liked the riesling and the pinot gris. So, Butch, I asked, when am I going to be able to write about these wines? Because you know, I can’t write about them unless they’re available in Dallas. We’re working on it, he said.

So, two years later, I finally have my chance. It’s in a couple of smaller stores and a few restaurants (which I’ll write about next month for Dallas’ Advocate magazines). The point, of course, is why did I have to wait so long to write about such a nice wine? Ah, the travails of availability.

Butch and brother Jerry are well-known Washington state grape growers whose  foray into production side of the business produced this pinot gris (about $15). It’s fruity (pears, perhaps?) with a long, minerally finish. It’s salad and porch-sipping wine – not just for the end of winter, but as the weather warms up.

For more on wine availability and its problems:

• Wine availability, and why it matters to you
• Wine of the week: Tormaresca Neprica 2007
• Wine through the mail: The do's and don'ts of direct shipping

Technorati Tags: wine reviews. Milbrandt Vineyards,pinot gris,white wine,Washington state wine

Dale Robertson’s 30-point scoring system

The Wine Curmudgeon does not believe in wine scores and he doesn’t use them. Regular visitors here know how I feel. The only score that matters is whether you like the wine or not.

But Dale Robertson, who does the wine writing for the Chronicle newspaper in Houston, has a system that is worth looking at, even for those of us who think scores are silly. Rice’s system, which uses a 10-person tasting panel, takes into account two of the biggest problems with scores: personal opinion and availability. By averaging 10 scores, Robertson can work around the fact that someone who doesn’t like merlot is probably going to score merlot lower.

The most interesting part, though, and why I’m writing about it, is that one-third of each wine’s score depends on whether it’s available in the Houston area. The more it’s available, the more points it gets.

How the system works after the jump:

Wine of the week: Hedges CMS Red 2007

This red wine blend from Washington state has been a steady, dependable $10 effort since at least the early 1990s. I remember buying it on one of the first Internet wine sites, the late Virtual Vineyard. And why did I have to buy it on-line? Because availability was limited.

It’s still not easy to find (and its white blend cousin, also called CMS, is even more difficult to locate). Why? Who knows? Just know that you should try it if you see it. CMS is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and syrah – moderate alcohol, pleasant dark berry fruit, some structure and tannins, and solid value. I tasted it against a $25 petite sirah, and there was no comparison. The CMS was a more interesting wine in every way.

Drink this with any hearty late winter dish, like stuffed bell peppers. And be sure to ask your local retailer why he or she doesn’t carry it.

For more on wine availability and its problems:

• Wine availability, and why it matters to you
• Wine of the week: Tormaresca Neprica 2007

Technorati Tags: wine reviews,wine of the week,red wine,Hedges CMS Red,$10 wine,cheap wine

Tuesday wine bits 66: James Tidwell, liquor taxes, Nazi wine

• Master sommelier: James Tidwell, the sommelier at the Four Seasons in suburban Dallas, has become a master sommelier – one of just 96 in North America and 167 worldwide. The honor is probably the highest that a wine person can achieve, and is incredibly difficult to do. James is not only one of the nicest guys in the wine business, but has also been gracious and generous with helping the Wine Curmudgeon navigate so much about wine that he doesn’t know.

• States look for recession funding: And what better way than to raise taxes on wine, beer and spirits? WineSpiritsDaily.com reports that Kentucky approved a 6 percent tax on retail beer, wine and spirits sales, while Oregon may increase its surcharge on beer to $49.61 from $2.60 a barrel. Arizona is considering a "Liquor Luxury Tax” of $3.50 a gallon, which is significantly higher than the current 16 cents a gallon. At least 18 other states are considering proposals to raise taxes.

• Hidden wine set for auction: A British auction house is selling a cache of wines from the 1920s that had been hidden from the Nazis in a bricked up cellar during World War II. The wines, which were on the German-occupied English Channel island of Guernsey, include Chateau Latour 1926, Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1928, and Chateau Ausone 1928.

Technorati Tags: James Tidwell,master sommelier,liquor taxes,recession,World War II wines

Yes, anyone can write a wine review

The Wine Curmudgeon has always insisted that he is not better or cooler or neater than anyone else. Because I'm not. I just drink more wine. Writing about wine is not rocket science, even though so many people try to convince us that it is.

As proof, I offer this one-paragraph gem from Elyse Symons, a regular visitor here. It pretty much says everything that needs to be said.

“JanKris 2003 Syrah: Meh. When distracted it's OK, but when I'm actually paying attention to what I'm drinking it's like someone took really great grape juice and added a bottle of vodka. Ick.”

Technorati Tags: wine reviews

Wine availability, and why it matters to you

The bane of the Wine Curmudgeon’s existence is availability. Why are so many wines that I like not in stores for you to buy? In fact, get a group of wine writers together, and one of the topics that always comes up is availability. It drives us crazy. There is a bunch of great wine that you’ll never taste because retailers, for whatever reason, don’t want to carry it.

This week, I’m going to look at availability. I’ll review several wines that should be in more stores as well as discuss a rating system that takes availability into account. Is that one possible solution to this problem?

Today, after the jump, a look at what retailers buy, why they buy it, and what you can do about it.

Wine terms: Old World and New World

Or, the Christopher Columbus view of the wine world.

That’s because Old World refers to European wines – primarily those made in France, Italy, Germany and Spain. New World wines are those made mostly in Columbus’ New World – California (and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the U.S.) and South America, as well as Australia and New Zealand.

How does New World differ from Old World? In style, and styles are different because the Old World differs from the New World in climate, soil, and approach. Or, in other words, terroir. (And yes, one of these days, I’ll get around to the terroir discussion.)