The Wine Curmudgeon

DrinkLocalWine sets Regional Wine Week for Nov. 12-16

Which is the fifth annual, believe it or not. Who knew we’d get this far?

We’ll also announce the site and date for the annual DrinkLocalWine conference and give away two pairs of tickets in the process. That’s the fifth annual, too. Which is even harder to believe.

Last year’s wine week was one of the most successful in DLW history, linking to dozens of stories and blog posts about wine produced in more than half of the other 47 wine states.

Anyone can send us a link at DrinkLocalWine to their post, whether from a blog, a web site, Tumblr, Facebook or whatever. All we ask is that it be about a wine, winery, or region in The Other 47 – not California, Washington, or Oregon. We’ll aggregate them on the DLW web site, offering a one-stop snapshot of what’s going on in regional wine.

One personal note: This year, wine week coincides with the blog’s birthday week, so the blog will have even more posts than usual. Talk about a birthday week present for visitors, no?

Wine of the week: Ludovicus Blanco 2011

Last week’s discussion about the book “Grape-a-hol” made me wonder: Do I do enough to find $10 wine that doesn’t taste like grape juice with alcohol? Are the wines I review worthy of being reviewed?

Then I found the Ludovicus ($10, sample) in my database, and felt a whole lot better about what I do and how I do it. This Spanish white is the kind of wine that the big milt-national wine companies claim they make, but know, deep down, that they don’t even try to do. It has a little bit of citrus fruit, but this wine isn’t about fruit. Rather, it’s made with the Spanish version of grenache blanc, so it has spiciness, minerality, and even a bit of honey – a combination that I don’t taste in a lot of other wines. It’s surprisingly complex and yet still drinkable at the spur of the moment, something else that hardly ever happens.

I wrote in my notes “No idea how this wine can be this good at this price.” It’s almost certain to make the 2013 $10 Hall of Fame, and is highly recommended – another reason why Ole is Spain’s best wine importer.

Winebits 252: Glen Ellen, tasting notes, wine labels

• The end of a legendary brand? Glen Ellen, the brand that helped fuel the 1980s wine boom, has apparently disappeared and exists today only as part of another brand, Concannon. Both labels are owned by The Wine Group, which also makes Cupcake. Lew Perdue has the depressing details at Wine Industry Insight, Why depressing? Because Glen Ellen chardonnay was one of the first cheap and mass produced but well made wines available in the U.S., and those of us of a certain age used it to get into wine. If you held a party in the 1980s or early 1990s, you bought a bunch of the 1.5 liter bottles of the various Glen Ellen varietals.

• Stupid tasting notes: Blake Gray, writing in Palate Press, notes that tasting notes are some of the most difficult things to do if you write about wine. I know I hate writing them, and I’m terrified that after a while, the notes for all the wines I review read exactly the same. Gray offers some terrific advice, quoting Eric Asimov of the New York Times: Notes should describe the texture, freshness, and body of the wine more than fruit flavors. Asks Gray: “Who buys a wine because it’s described as tasting like peaches instead of apricots?”

• Not in New Hamphire, you don’t: From the state liquor law file comes this, where regulars are trying to decide if a wine called If You See Kay should be sold in state stores. The label, say critics, is obscene, crude and tasteless, and the wine needs to be off shelves. The Wine Curmudgeon thinks it’s just stupid, which is why I’m not a regulator. The story in the legendary New Hampshire newspaper, the Union Leader, is a hoot to read, and describes the label thusly: “The provocative ‘Kay’ label, when pronounced, spells out the four-letter vulgarity.” Wish I had written that.

The Winestream Media still doesn't understand regional wine

How far has regional come in the past couple of years? So far that it’s sometimes difficult even for those of us who believe in local wine to believe. Case in point: The wine list at Dallas’ highly-regarded Pyramid Room has all of the usual Napa heavy hitters. But what’s on the same page on the list with the Peter Michael Les Pavots, about as heavy a hitter as they come? Two Texas wines – a Becker cabernet sauvignon and a red blend from Llano Estacado. Five years ago, that would have been unthinkable.

What’s even more amazing is that local wine has made such progress with almost no help from the Winestream Media. Yes, there has been an occasional story or blog post, but the prevailing attitude is still that there are many, many more things more important. More, after the jump:

Winecast 20: Don Brady, Robert Hall Winery

Don Brady, the winemaker at Paso Robles’ Robert Hall Winery, is something of a legend in Texas. He worked for three of the state’s best-known producers before going to California, where he has become one of the best winemakers there.

Brady is also, for some reason, not as well known as he should be. His wines not only offer value – the $10 rose, the $15 sauvignon blanc, and the $15 Rhone de Robles red blend are revelations in a world of over-priced, cute label plonk – but they reflect the terroir of his part of Paso Robles without concern for scores or ratings.  Perhaps the highest compliment I can pay: I once voted to give his 14 1/2 percent, oaked viogner a gold medal, and regular visitors know how I feel about high alcohol, over-oaked wine.

We talked about Don’s start in Texas, his approach to winemaking, and how he manages to make such wonderful wines. Click here to download or stream the podcast, which is about 19 minutes long and takes up 18 1/2 megabytes. One caveat: Skype didn’t cooperate the way it usually does, and there is a hum in certain parts of the recording.

Wine writing, the wine business, and "Grape-a-hol"

Mark Feldman: "Some wine writers were afraid to review our book."

Are some wine writers afraid to write certain things because they don’t want to offend the powerful in the wine business? Are they sometimes manipulated by the same people they don’t want to offend?

Two recent developments make this newsworthy: First, a blog post by British wine writer Jamie Good, noting that he comes “across people trying to control the media all the time. …  Many companies clearly have a policy that no communication is released to journalists without being manicured and censored by the comms people.”

The second came during an interview with Mark Feldman, the co-author of “Grape-a-hol: How Big Business is Subverting Artisan Winemaking and the Future of Fine Wine.” The book pulls no punches, describing the wine made by the world’s biggest wine companies – the wine that most of us drink – as little better than bathtub swill.

It’s an intriguing thesis, but one very few people have heard about. Feldman says that’s because many of the writers he approached to review the book were afraid to. They told him they agreed with what Feldman and Michael Spratt wrote, but didn’t want to offend the wine companies that the book criticizes. The writers relied on those companies for samples, interview access, consulting jobs, and the like, they told him; hence, no review.

More, after the jump:

Wine of the week: 14 Hands Hot to Trot Red 2010

Chateau Ste. Michelle, the Washington state multi-national that does the 14 Hands, is on a roll. It placed four brands in the top 20 in a recent survey of best-selling $10 wines, only one less than E&J Gallo and as many as Constellation and The Wine Group (which does Cupcake) combined. That’s a very Rocky-like performance given how powerful its competitors are.

Equally as impressive is that a 14 Hands wine is a wine of the week for the second time this year (despite this one’s very silly name). I try not to do that sort of thing, but it’s difficult to overlook 14 Hands’ combination of quality and value. Which, no doubt, is why Chateau Ste. Michelle sells so much wine.

The Hot to Trot ($9, purchased) is a red blend – mostly merlot, syrah and cabernet sauvignon – that is simple but well made. It doesn’t try to do too much, and it doesn’t taste like winemaker Keith Kenison used his chemistry set to take it in any one direction. Look for some spice and lots of black fruit and that earthy Washington state feel, especially in the back.

Very nicely done for the price, and should please anyone who wants a glass of red wine but doesn’t want to make a big issue of it. Pair it with basic red wine food like meat loaf and mashed potatoes.