The Wine Curmudgeon

Winebits 268: Wine prices, cult wines, grape names

• So much for the price hikes: The Wine Curmudgeon mentions this not to beat a dead horse, but because he was once again passed over as a person of knowledge, insight and authority in the wine business. Apparently, getting this pricing thing right is not nearly as important as knowing toasty and oaky. But the 2012 California grape harvest was the biggest ever, and prices will do what prices do in those situations. Furthermore, the continuing Euro crisis will lower the cost of European wine. Or, to quote someone who knows about this (and who is on the list), “All in all, it looks like the business is in balance but we'll see some early price reductions.”

• Greatest quote ever? The Artisan Family of Wines blog on cult wines: “To win a few snobs with money to burn, we’ve alienated a large part of our potential market, to our harm and their loss.” Hmmm. Sounds like something I should use in The Cheap Wine book (Q&A explaining how Kickstarter works; Kickstarter link; What the book is). The entire post is worth reading, and I would quote more, but then I would end up quoting the entire post.

• New grape names: Cornell University has announced the names of its newest grapes, a white called Aromella and a red named Arandell. They were the winners of a contest that attracted some 7,000 entries. The former got its name because it is an aromatic, muscat white, while the latter is a combination of "arandano," the Spanish word for blueberry, and the "ell" from Cornell.

Expensive wine 47: Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet 2006

During the publicity blitz for the Cheap Wine Book and the Kickstarter project (Q&A explaining how Kickstarter works; Kickstarter link; What the book is), I did a virtual talk show with a group in Napa Valley. One of the questions I got was why I drink only cheap wine; what did I have against expensive wine?

The Wine Cumurdgeon is so misunderstood.

I don't have anything against expensive wine. I even drink it myself when the occasion arises. My point is that we expect everyone to drink expensive wine, whether they want to or know anything about it instead of realizing the limitations involved. It's like learning to drive -- you don't start with a Lamborghini, do you?

In fact, I told the people on the show, I look for the same thing in expensive wine that I look for in cheap wine -- value. And the Sauzet ($50, purchased) delivers on this count over and over and over. It's chardonnay from the French region of Burgundy, and specficailly the area called Puligny-Montrachet. In this, the wines are elegant and always in such balance that it's almost impossible to believe.

Sauzet is just one of many excellent producers from the area. The 2006, which I've tasted three times, has changed -- and for the better -- each time. Always, it's a mix of green apple fruit, spiciness (cloves or white pepper?) oak nestled in the background, and the  minerality that defines this wine.

This would make a lovely gift for The Holiday That Must Not be Named, as well as for any dinner with someone you care about.

 

Tom Paxton and a Bottle of Wine

 

Tom Paxton has been skewering the American conscience with such wit and precision for so long that he makes the Wine Curmudgeon jealous. One day, I hope I can come close to something like "Yuppies in the Sky" and its haunting refrain, "condos for sale, condos to buy."

Until then, while I redouble my Kickstarter efforts for The Cheap Wine Book, enjoy this, one of the Paxton classics (courtesy of AMSDConcerts on YouTube). Don't think he's too concerned about scores or wine talk, do you?

And Kickstarter? We're 53 percent funded with 11 days to go, which means it's crunch time. Pass the links along to anyone who might be interested:

• The Q&A explaining how Kickstarter works.

• The Kickstarter link.

• What the book is.

 

 

Valentine's Day wine 2013

The Wine Curmudgeon does not usually do a post for The Holiday that Must Not be Named. This year, though, one of my resolutions for the blog is get more of you to drink sparkling wine. So Valentine’s Day seemed like a good place to start. And the wine of the week on Wednesday will be bubbly as well.

The Champagne and sparkling wine primer is here. You can also find suggestions in the sparkling wine category on the right side. This year, probably because of the hype over sweet red wine and moscato, I got several sweet sparkling wine samples, which is several more than I usually get. As noted in the primer, sweeter sparkling wines are rare in this country.

The less said about those wines the better. They were not cheap, and very, very sweet, with little else to note about them. One day, I suppose, I’ll stop underestimating the wine business’ ability to insult the consumer’s intelligence.

So what are some good choices for the holiday? How about:

• Mittnacht Freres Cremant d’Alsace NV ($21, sample): Crisp with pear fruit (also on nose). Fairly sophisticated, especially for Alsace cremant, and with long, minerally finish. Made with pinot auxerrois, not a common grape.

• Mumm Napa Brut Rose NV ($15, purchased): Widely available and solidly made -- fruity and dry with strawberry fruit. I don’t remember it being this cheap in a long time.

• Graham Beck Brut NV ($18, sample): South African sparkler is clean and fresh, halfway between cava and California bubbly. Some vanilla with apple fruit in the middle.A nice change of pace.

Cheap Wine Book cover mockup

Pretty spiffy, no? And a tip o' the Curmudgeon's fedora to designer Jynette Neal.

Having said that, we're still running behind --47 percent funded with a little less than two weeks ago. But that's not an insurmountable gap. Because, as noted in this Q and A, Kickstarter is all or nothing, and I probably won't be able to do the book without the Kickstarter money.

Please send this link around, and we can make up the difference in no time.

Wine of the week: Thorny Rose Sauvignon Blanc 2011

New Zealand sauvignon blancs were all the rage in the couple of years before I started the blog. One of them, Cloudy Bay, even got big scores from the Winestream Media, something that almost never happens to sauvignon blancs.

Since then, they’ve mostly faded into the store shelf and have become just another wine to buy. I’m not quite sure why; the fickle consumer, perhaps, who moved on to something else?

So I was surprised to see the Thorny Rose ($9, purchased, 13.5%), apparently a new label from Big Wine’s Constellation Brands. Who is doing new sauvignon blancs these days?

Be glad they’re doing this one. I expected another tepid grocery store New Zealand sauvignon blanc, with lots of sort of grapefruity fruit and not much else. Instead, I tasted lots of real grapefruit, as well as a tiny bit of tropical fruit in the middle and even an attempt at a finish. This is not a one-flavor wine by any means. (Though, if you click on the link to the wine, be warned: The copy reads as if it was written by someone my age trying to appeal to someone in their 20s.)

Serve it chilled with roast or grilled chicken or boiled or grilled seafood, and don’t forget how much sauvignon blanc likes garlic and parsley.

Winebits 267: Pennsylvania sales, restaurant wine, hangovers

• One more time: Pennsylvania’s governor will propose legislation to privatize the state’s government-owned liquor business, the second time since 2011 it will have been tried. Pennsylvania, said Gov. Tom Corbett, could raise as much as $1 billion by privatizing the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. He said that Pennsylvania and Utah are the only two states in the U.S. to have “fully state-controlled liquor systems.” Chances for success? Probably not much better than the attempt two years ago.

• Consumers trade down: The restaurant business, which has always taken wine drinkers for granted, is finally facing the revolt many of us have been hoping for. The recession hurt restaurant wine badly, and the recovery hasn’t been much better, says a recent report. Diners ordered 13 percent fewer bottles in 2012, and bottle sales accounted for just one-eighth of wine orders and only 41 percent of wine revenue. In other words, consumers, tired of overpaying for crappy wine that is often oxidized or spoiled, stopped paying for it.

• Avoiding the morning after: There’s nothing in this post that’s especially new, but it’s good to have it all in one place: You can minimize a hangover by drinking water while you booze and by drinking less alcoholic wines. It also argues that high tannic red wines help keep hangovers at bay, since they make us drink more water. Though I have to admit it’s difficult to follow the main piece of advice: “With every glass of wine, drink a glass of water.“