The Wine Curmudgeon

Green wine update, Part II

The market for organic products United States has grown more than 25-fold in the last two decades, so it's not surprising that wineries have joined the move toward more eco-friendly products. But there are two important things to understand in discussing eco-friendly wine.

First, it's not as easy to identify a green wine – which can fall into one of four categories – as it is an organic potato, which is either organic or it isn't. Second, no one has quite figured out whether eco-friendly wines taste better because they're environmentally sound or because better winemakers use those techniques.

I wrote a story for the Star-Telegram newspaper in Fort Worth last month discussing just those things. I'll post an edited version here in two parts: Thursday, what defines a green wine; today, some thoughts about green wine quality and some wines to try.

International Eastern Wine Competition 2010, Part I

The Wine Curmudgeon is in New York's Finger Lakes this week to judge one of my favorite events. It's the International Eastern Wine Competition, run by my pal Richard Leahy of Vineyard & Winery Management magazine. It's one of my favorites because the wines we judge are so Wine Curmudgeonly -- mostly regional wines, and many made with grapes that aren't chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, or merlot.

Plus I get to wear a lab coat and look like I know what I'm doing. Look for my report next week, plus the annual picture of me in my lab coat. This year, I haven't spilled nearly as much red wine on it as I did last year.

Green wine update, Part I

The market for organic products United States has grown more than 25-fold in the last two decades, so it's not surprising that wineries have joined the move toward more eco-friendly products. But there are two important things to understand in discussing eco-friendly wine.

First, it's not as easy to identify a green wine – which can fall into one of four categories – as it is an organic potato, which is either organic or it isn't. Second, no one has quite figured out whether eco-friendly wines taste better because they're environmentally sound or because better winemakers use those techniques.

I wrote a story for the Star-Telegram newspaper in Fort Worth last month discussing just those things. I'll post an edited version here in two parts: Today, after the jump, what defines a green wine, and Friday, some green wines to consider.

Wine of the week: Château Boisson 2009

The great Lynne Kleinpeter has very little patience with the Wine Curmudgeon and his never-ending -- some would say obsessive -- quest for the perfect $10 bottle of wine. As she has has said on more than one occasion: "Enough already. Just shut up and drink the wine."

So when Lynne says that the Château Boisson ($10, purchased) is pretty close to a perfect bottle of $10 white wine, you know it's worth drinking. I reviewed the 2008 Boisson, and it was more than decent. And the 2009 makes the 2008 seem quite ordinary.

It's a white blend of sauvignon blanc and semillon, with some lemon fruit in the front and a long mineral finish. It's about as close as I have come to finding older-style white Bordeauxs that don't taste like New Zealand sauvignon blanc. As such, serve it chilled on its own, with almost any kind of grilled or roast chicken, and even with entree salads. Highly recommended and a candidate for the 2011 $10 Hall of Fame.

wine reviews, wine of the week, Chateau Boisson, white Bordeaux, cheap wine, inexpensive wine, $10 wine

Winebits 130: Chilean blind tasting, wine layoffs, rose wine list

• Chilean wine wines blind tasting: But the Wine Curmudgeon wonders how big a deal this really is. The Chilean wine, Errazuriz KAI, won the tasting, with Napa Valley's cult classic Opus One second and Bordeaux's Chateau Haut-Brion. The catch is that the Errazuriz was made with carmenere, and the next two wines were Bordaux blends that didn't have any Carmenere in them. Which raises the question: How can you compare wines that aren't made of the same grapes?

• Diageo sets layoffs, possible label sales: Diageo, the British drinks multi-national, says it will lay off 14 percent of its U.S. workforce and may sell brands and vineyards to cut costs. Among Diageo's U.S. wines are Beaulieu, Sterling, Chalone, Acacia, and Rosenblum. In fact, just before the wine market collapsed at the end of 2008, Diageo paid $105 million for Rosenblum. Which means there are probably a lot of Diageo execs wandering around London headquarters (assuming any of them are still there) going, "What were we thinking of?" And, if you really want a giggle, this 2008 story noted: "Analysts welcomed the acquisition which they said tied in with Diageo's focus on premium wines in the US. ..."

• Biggest rose wine list: Franco's restaurant in London's fashionable Mayfair neighborhood has what it says is that country's largest list of rosé wines. Well done, Franco's -- we'll teach those rich people a thing or two about wine. Decanter reports that the Italian restaurant has 52 rosés from 12 countries on the list, including one from Luxembourg. Franco's, if you need any Texas roses, let me know.

Chilean wine, Diageo, wine layoffs, rose wine, wine lists

Expensive wine 14: Adelsheim Chardonnay 2008

One of the Wine Curmudgeon's regular complaints is that it's almost impossible to find New World chardonnay that tastes like chardonnay. Too much of it has too much oak and too much alcohol. In fact, I got some samples the other day where the chardonnay had more alcohol than the merlot and the cabernet sauvignon.

In short, too much winemaking gets in the way of the wine. For whatever reason, New World chardonnay producers, who work with some of the best fruit in the history of winemaking, are terrified of letting the grapes be the highlight of the wine.

That is not the case for Oregon's Adelsheim ($22, sample). Quite simply, it is one of the best New World chardonnays I have ever tasted -- rich and just enough oak to make it chardonnay, but not too much "technique" to get in the way of the green apple fruit. And, at 13 percent alcohol, it's lower than some sweet rieslings I've had.

The Adelsheim is a steal at this price. And the more expensive Caitlin's Reserve Chardonnay ($40, sample) was an even more sophisticated and subtle wine (think of a fine Chablis, but with New World fruitiness). Availability, however, is limited.

Drink the Adelsheim on its own, or with any classic chardonnay dinner -- chicken in cream sauce or Dover sole, for instance. And be glad that Adelsheim winemaker Dave Paige took the time and effort to make this the right way.

expensive wine, Adelsheim, chardonnay, wine reviews

Are wine corks fashionable again? Part II

Tina Caputo, the editor at Vineyard & Winery Management magazine, had an interesting assignment for me: Has the media perception of corks changed over the past several years?

Her point, and it was a good one, was that the Winestream Media was quick to hop on the anti-cork bandwagon, and that its efforts played a key role in detailing the problems that cork had with the industry and with consumers. But now that cork has improved, is the media reporting that?

It's not news that cork wine closures had quality problems. Failure rates were as high as 10 percent, according to some studies. If 1 out of 10 bottles of ketchup were off because the closure failed, there'd be a federal investigation. But it wasn't until the mainstream wine media picked up the failure story that the cork industry started to fix things. Now that the quality of corks has improved -- and even its harshest critics think it has -- has the media covered that?

The answer, which appeared in my story in the May/June issue of VWM? Not really. The story isn't available online, so I covered the highlights Thursday and today. Today, after the jump, why so few people are writing about cork's improvements. Thursday detailed cork's quality problems, and why they seem to be over.