The Wine Curmudgeon

Mini-reviews 1: Big House, Clos de los Siete, Napa Cellars, Kendall Jackson

A new, monthly feature – reviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the final weekday of each month.

• Big House Prodigal Son 2005 ($12): This is 100 percent petit sirah from the company that bought the Big House wines from Randall Grahm. It’s probably the best of the new lineup.

• Clos de los Siete 2007 ($16): This Argentine red blend from Michel Rolland is a poster child for the over-extracted, over-ripe, over-alcoholic, and over-oaked wines that he has popularized. If you like that style, you’ll love this wine.

• Napa Cellars Chardonnay 2007 ($22): Mother’s Day wine, made in the classic Napa Valley style (though the oak has been toned down a bit).

• Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2008 ($20): More New Zealand in style than California, but still an excellent example of well-made sauvignon blanc (though a bit pricey.)

Technorati Tags: wine reviews,Big House,Clos de los Siete,Napa Cellars,Kendall Jackson

Wine of the week: Campo Viejo Rioja Crianza 2005

Spanish wine remains a fine value, despite the fluctuation of the dollar, and the Campo Viejo is an excellent example of why.

It’s a red wine made with tempranillo from the Rijoa region of Spain. Crianza is the basic wine in the three tiers of Rioja. The middle level is reserva and the best is gran reserva; winemakers must follow specific guidelines for the wines to attain those levels.

So why the Campo Viejo? It has been $10 for as long as I can remember; it’s widely available, from grocery stores to wine shops; and it’s consistently made. (The label is owned by the very large Pernod Ricard group). The 2005 tastes more modern than I remember, which means more cherry fruit. But it’s still Rioja, which means it’s tart, a bit tannic (though soft tannins) and occupies that that in-between ground between red and white wine foods.

Drink this with everything from roast chicken to burgers to – yes – tapas and paella.

Technorati Tags: wine reviews,wine of the week,red wine,Spanish wine,Campo Viejo,Rioja,crianza

Tuesday winebits 75: Dom Perignon for sale, wine drinking study, wine critics

• Is Dom Perignon parent for sale? That’s the story that has had the wine world atwitter (pun fully intended) since the end of last week. Reportedly, French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, which also owns Luis Vuitton, wants to sell its wine and spirits brands to Britain’s Diageo, the drinks behemoth whose brands include Guiness and Smirnoff. The price is said to be around 12 billion euros, or about $15.8 billion. Why this deal and why now? The LVMH brands, which include Krug champagne, are some of the most prestigious in the world. Is LVMH feeling a recession pinch? Does Diageo see an opportunity to buy the brands at a recession discount? Or is this just more multi-national wheeling and dealing in which the investment bankers get rich?

• Just 7 percent of wine drinkers drink 80 percent of the wine: That’s the finding from a study by Pointer Media Network, which says that 7.5 million wine drinkers in the U.S. consumer 8 out of every 10 bottles sold. For imported premium and imported wine, 4.7 percent drive 80 percent of the volume. Which, and not coincidentally, is about the same number as that for table and box wine -- 4.6 percent drive 80 percent of the volume. This compares to the 15 percent figure from the Wine Market Council – that is, 15 percent of Americans drink 91 percent of the wine,

• Wine critics and biorhythms: How do you get a critic to like your wine? Have the critic taste it when the moon is in the best position, of course. Tesco and Marks & Spencer, which sell one-third of all wine in Britain, invite critics to taste their wines only at times when the biodynamic calendar suggests the wines will show at their best. Hey, not even the Wine Curmudgeon can make this stuff up. Bunk? Hooey? Depends on who you ask. Biodynamics is gaining currency in the wine world, but what strikes me as even more important is that Tesco is a $94 billion company and Marks & Spencer is an $18 billion one. They’re awfully big to go in for hooey.

Technorati Tags: LVMH,Diago,Dom Perigon,wine drinkers,wine consumption,biodynamics,Tesco

Red River Wine Festival

I saw the future of American wine two weekends ago. That’s when what must have been 1,000 people attended the fifth annual Red River Wine Festival in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Wichita Falls, about 140 miles northwest of Dallas, is not what most people consider wine country, even for Texas. It’s an old ranching and oil town on the Oklahoma border, and it’s known for a bicycle race if it’s known at all.

But all those people showed up at the city’s agriculture center to sample wines from 50 Texas producers (the weekend after the dog trials and the weekend before the horse show). Even the Wine Curmudgeon was surprised -– pleasantly, of course, but surprised nonetheless.

The best part about all this? Those 1,000 people weren’t attracted by scores or snob appeal or famous names. They went because they were interested in wine, and wanted to see what it was like. Yes, some looked confused and many may not have been quite sure they were supposed to have fun. But they paid $20 a head to be there, and they were drinking wine. What else matters? That's something for the industry to consider as it continues to obfuscate and befuddle consumers instead of educating them.

A personal note: The Wine Curmudgeon spoke at the event’s Friday night dinner, and it was great fun. The women at the city’s Junior Senior Forum, which puts on the festival, do a terrific job. In fact, I’ve been to more prestigious events that aren’t as well run or organized. Much thanks for inviting me. And I'll wear a less nice tie next time.

Technorati Tags: Red River Wine Festival,wine festivals,wine tastings

Wine, the recession and what's really going on

Pick your bad news:

• Cosentino Signature Wines, a 60,000 case winery in Napa Valley, defaulted on interest payments on an $18 million loan.

• The recession has brought sales of high-end Napa Valley red wine to a screeching halt, says one retailer.

• Layoffs have hit some of the wine industry’s biggest companies – Kendall Jackson, Brown-Forman (whose brands include Fezter and Sonona-Cutrer), and Diageo’s North American operation (Beaulieu and Sterling).

• U.S. wine sales in dollar terms were down in 2008 compared to 2007, and were mostly flat by the amount of wine sold – the first time either of those has happened since 1993.

Which means that everyone who hoped the wine business could slidestep through the recession was probably wrong. After the jump, why this matters and what it means to you:

Wine terms: Private label and store label

Retailers love private label and store label wines for two reasons. First, the profit margins are better than those on national brands. And second? You can’t buy them anywhere else.

In this, private label and store label wines are becoming increasingly popular as the recession takes its toll on the wine business. A retailer can sell a store or private label wine for less than the similar national brand and make more money. That way, the consumer is happy and so is the retailer.

After the jump, what these brands are – exactly -- and how they affect you:

Wine review: Chateau Famaey Cahors Malbec Rose 2007

The temperature in Dallas hit 91 yesterday, which is even a bit warm for us in April. So The Wine Curmudgeon reached for the rose.

The Famaey (about $10) is made with malbec from the southern French region of Cahors. It’s a strawberry bombshell, which was a bit surprising. The French are supposed to be a bit more subtle than this. But it was also bone dry, and any hints of sweetness come from the intense strawberry flavor. That’s because our brains are used to associating that kind of fruitiness with sweetness (think of a Jolly Rancher). Hence, we assume that it’s sweet. I would have preferred a little more acid to balance the fruit, but there is certainly nothing wrong with the wine.

Drink this well chilled as an aperitif or with any kind of picnic food. I’d also try to slip it past a white zinfandel drinker. The results could be fun.

Technorati Tags: wine reviews,French wine,rose,Chateau Famaey