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Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Rant-and-a-half, Wine Spectator Top 100 and more
Meritage Time!
Let’s start with the answer for the Wine Quiz #37 – About History of Wines and Holidays. First, you were supposed to identify the US president who signed the bill fixing Thanksgiving celebration to the 4th Thursday in November. In the second part of quiz, you were supposed to add a missing name to the list of great contributors, or may be even “founding fathers” of the California wine industry. I’m glad to tell you that we have a winner for the first question – wineeveryday was correct to answer C, Franklin D. Roosevelt – while Lincoln was the first president to officially issue Thanksgiving Proclamation, the holiday was floating until FDR actually singed the bill fixing the date to the 4th Thursday in November – here is the link if you want to read more.
The second part of the quiz was harder. Actually, the list of people, all of them been extremely instrumental in upbringing of the California wine industry, was taken from the Culinary Institute of America Vintners Hall of Fame inductees of 2007 – and the missing name was of Agoston Haraszthy, Hungarian immigrant who in 1857 planted some of the first European varietals in California on Buena Vista property.
Now, let’s talk about interesting stuff. On November 19th, Wine Spectator published their 2012 Wine Spectator Top 100 list (here is the link). You can explore all of the Top 100 information freely until November 27th, after which date the information will be available only for subscribers. From that Top 100 list, I find the Top 10 group quite interesting (not necessarily a positive word here) – the cheapest wine is $40, and practically none of those wines are available anywhere in the country, and if they are available, it would be from a different vintage. Wine of the year is Shafer Relentless Napa Valley 2008 (96, $60) – should be a good wine, but good luck finding it. In the top 10, there are 2 wines from California, 4 from France, and 1 each from Italy, Oregon, Australia and Argentina. If you care to share it, what is your take on the Wine Spectator Top 100 list?
So by now, you probably already heard about invigorating review of Guy Fieri’s new restaurant called Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar in Times Square – but in case you missed, it makes quite an exciting reading. Guy Fieri is most famous as a host of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives ( triple-D) program on Food Network, which I personally enjoy watching. The review, which appeared last week in the New York Times, became an instant sensation, reaching 100,000 views/shares within the first hour. My friend Emil rightfully called the New York Times’ review a “rant-and-a-half” – it takes the form of an open letter and definitely worth reading – the amount of critique from this one review would be enough to kill 5 restaurants. Mr. Fieri came up with an answer, which is lame at the best in my opinion – and it seems that Yelping community concurs with New York Times’ opinion.
Considering that tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I still have a lot of things to do, this is all I have for you for today. Ahh, yes – don’t miss WTSO’s Magnum Monday on November 26th – should be very interesting.
Happy Thanksgiving and Cheers!
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Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Judgement of Where?, Beaujolais Nouveau, Magnum Monday and more
Meritage time!
Let’s start with the answer for the Wine Quiz #36 – Stomping the grapes. I made an effort to simplify the quiz – I guess full uncertainty with the right answer, which I mentioned a number of times, greatly reduced the interest on the side of the participants. Anyway, I’m happy to report that we have a winner! Have you ever heard the expression “whistle while you work”? According to Wiki Answers, etymology of the “whistle while you work” goes all the way to the slave days – when salves were carrying food, they were supposed to whistle – while you whistle, you can’t eat. In our case, while you whistle, you can’t eat grapes, so you had to be able to whistle in order to get the job! Thus the winner of the Wine Quiz #36 is Pablo, who gets unlimited bragging rights. And if you have a problem with this solution – I will be very happy to listen to your version.
Moving on to the interesting stuff. Let’s start with the Judgement of … no, not Paris. Yes, of course you know about famous 1976 Judgement of Paris, which became pivotal moment for the California wines. Now we are going to talk, out of all things, about (bet you would never guess) … Judgement of Princeton and Judgement of Richmond! I learned about both events from the Daily Sip e-mail. Both events took place during this year and were modeled precisely after the Judgement of Paris, only one was done for the wines of New Jersey versus France, and in the second event, Virginia wines were compared with the wines from all over the world. You should definitely judge for yourself – my experience with New Jersey wines is extremely limited (and negative), so I can’t really comment on the results ( but would be very glad to try those great wines from NJ). I have much more successful experience with wines form Virginia, though I would definitely question selection of the world wines for the competition. If you will find time to read about the events ( or if you knew something about them already) – I would be very happy to read your comments.
This coming Thursday, November 15th, is the 3rd Thursday of the month – which means that 2012 Beaujolais Nouveau will be available in the wine stores near you! This year is the 30th anniversary of the Beaujolais Nouveau phenomena as created by Georges Duboeuf, so the event will be celebrated accordingly. For this celebration, Georges Duboeuf produced a special web site, called 30 Years of Magic, where you can watch a special movie and download a special application for your mobile device, so you can join the festivities, anywhere, any time. I plan to report on the wine as soon as I will be able to get a hold of a bottle.
Last, but not least – WTSO, one of my all times favorite online wine shops, has done it again! Well, to be precise, they didn’t do it yet – but Monday, November 26th, will be a brand new whole day event called Magnum Monday, where WTSO will offer for sale about 20 different wines, all in the magnum (1.5L) size. This is all we know at the moment, but if this event will be anything like WTSO’s past marathons, you better get ready (and get some space in the cellar), as this will be a no-nonsense event.
That’s all I have for today for you, folks. The glass is empty. Until the next time – cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, International Tempranillo Day, Beaujolais Nouveau, Bad Wine Reviews and more
Meritage Time – and Happy Halloween!
Let’s start our meritage post from the regular place – an answer for the last week’s Wine Quiz #34 – Hello, my name is… I would like to say that I’m quite happy with this quiz, as there was a very good participation, and there was a full range of answers, covering all available options.
And the winners are (drum roll, please) PSsquared, VinoinLove and thedrunkencyclist as they all correctly guessed that Predicament is not a wine name. Believe it or not, but the rest of the names on the list are for the real wines. I don’t have the labels to show you for all of them, but here is some information and the links.
if you see kay: the wine is made by Jason Woodbridge, and yes, the name is controversial – here is one of the articles on the subject.
No girls: an actual wine by Christophe Baron, the winemaker behind Cayuse – here is the link to the winery’s web site, and here is the link to my short post about that wine (I’m a happy owner of a few bottles from the inaugural release).
Frequency: I can’t show you the label or a good link, as 2011 Frequency Central Coast GSM is the first release of the wine. You can search for it on Wades Wines web site (I guess this is the only merchant carrying it right now).
To the rescue: an actual wine by legendary Sine Qua Non, California’s cult Rhone style winemaker. The full name of the wine is Sine Qua Non Grenache To The Rescue, and you can look for it on Wine-Searcher (don’t be shocked at the prices, and if you will get a bottle for yourself, can you get one for me too, please?).
Let’s move on to the interesting news from around the vine. First, I want to bring to your attention that November 8th is International Tempranillo Day – if you read this blog for a while, I’m sure you know that I’m very impartial to the Spanish wines, and Rioja in particular, and Tempranillo is a star there. Tempranillo is also successfully grown in many other regions of the world – Australia, California and Texas come to mind first. Find a bottle of Tempranillo and join the celebration on November 8th!
Talking about celebrations – Beaujolais Nouveau 2012 is almost here! The new harvest celebration, originated by the French wine maker and wine merchant Georges DuBoeuf, takes place on third Thursday in November, which this year will fall on November 15th. The Beaujolais Nouveau arrival is celebrated with parties and events all around the world, and celebration this year will be special, as it will be the 30th celebration of this tradition. Look for the events in your area – I’m sure you will find some interesting places to visit and celebrate in style. At the very least, make sure to pick up a bottle of that young wine and celebrate in the comfort of your home.
One of my favorite wine bloggers, W. Blake Gray, is back from vacation, so I’m offering to your attention an interesting blog post about bad wine reviews.
Last but not least, here is the post by Joe Roberts, a.k.a. 1WineDude, where he is defending usage of oak in the wines. I’m also curious what do you think about oak in your wines, so feel free to use comments section and express yourself.
That’s all for today, folks. The glass is empty. Happy (and spookingly exciting) Halloween Wine Wednesday! Cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Jura Wines, Garagiste Here and There, Sherryfest and more
Enjoy Californian wine from Napa & much more!
Meritage Time!
First and foremost, here is the answer for the Wine Quiz #32 – A Guessing Game, Ultimate Challenge. In the quiz, you were supposed to match 6 red wine grapes with the reviews of the wines, and for added bonus provide country of origin for each reviewed wine. Before I will give you the right answer, let’s talk about the winners. Nobody managed to match all 6 reviews correctly, which was rather expected – but both Vinibouni and Whineandcheersforwine did quite well, correctly identifying 3 and 1 wines, respectively. Actually, Vinibuoni could even hit 4 out of 6, but he couldn’t decide between two reviews for the Merlot grape, so his final count stands at 3. In any case, I applaud the courage of both respondents, and considering the level of difficulty, I would like to declare Vinibuoni a winner of this quiz (as usual, the winner gets the unlimited bragging rights and have to pat him/herself on the back).
And the right answer (drum roll, please) is A5, B6, C1, D3, E2, F4 (looks almost like lottery numbers). Here are the details:
Cabernet Sauvignon:
“delicious stuff; not huge, but impeccably balanced, nuanced and tremendously long and pure. It’s a cascade of currant, blueberry and plum fruit shaded on one side by subtle, toasty oak, on the other by hints of minerality and exotic spice. But it’s the elegance and the length that make this a winner.” – Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Barossa Valley Kalimna Block 42 2004, Australia (WS97).
Malbec:
“torrent of blackberry, boysenberry and bittersweet ganache notes. But there’s exceptional drive and focus here as well, with a great graphite spine driving through the spice- and floral-infused finish. A stunner for its combination of power and precision” – Bodega Catena Zapata Malbec Mendoza Nicasia Vineyard 2007, Argentina (WS96)
Merlot:
“complex, yet subtle, with blackberries, minerals and berries. Full-bodied and very velvety, with lovely rich fruit, with chocolate and berry character. Very long and refined. A joy to taste.” – Chateau Certan Marzelle Pomerol 2000, France (WS91)
Nebbiolo:
“a seductive red, drawing you in with its pure cherry and floral aromas and flavors, then capturing you with the silky texture and harmonious profile. Stays fresh and elegant, with a long, ethereal finish.” – Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo Cannubi S. Lorenzo-Ravera 2008, Italy (WS95)
Pinot Noir:
“aromas of tar and smoke, with very pure, concentrated blackberry and spice notes underneath mark this exotic, seductive red. Silky and complex, it caresses the palate. It needs a little time to absorb the oak, but this is long and has great potential.” – Mommessin Clos de Tart 2003, Burgundy, France (WS95)
Syrah:
“still tight, with a wall of mocha and raspberry ganache covering the massive core of fig fruit, hoisin sauce and plum cake notes. This is extremely dense but remarkably polished, with a long, tongue-penetrating finish that drips of fruit and spice laid over massive grip.” – E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Landonne 2005, France (WS99).
As you can see, the line up look pretty reasonable (using best wines, nothing obscure) and includes all the wines which I would loooooove to try. I don’t know yet what the next wine quiz will be all about, but I think I’m done with wine reviews for a while.
And now to the “interesting items” department.
First, there was a very interesting blog post by Wink Lorch about her unique tasting experience of old vintages from Caves Bourdy, one of the best producers in Jura. Why am I sharing this? I have no idea why I’m so generous with you, my readers, as I’m giving to you one of the best-and-still-under-appreciated wine regions. Very interesting wines are made in Jura, and Jean-François Bourdy represent 14th (!) generation of winemakers – his wines are outstanding and very long living – but equally hard to find in US. I mentioned that “scarce availability” in my comment for the post, and Wink was kind enough to send me a list of distributors and retail shops which carry Jean-François Bourdy’s wines. One of the names on the list was Garagiste Wine, which I never heard of before and which attracted my attention. And that leads to the next interesting subject I wanted share with you.
Turns out that Garagiste is a wine buying service, where wine is available through e-mail newsletter. I looked through the sample, seemed interesting, but as I’m trying to limit the amount of wine I’m buying, I decided not to subscribe, simply to avoid temptation. To my surprise, a few days ago I came across an article by Dr. Vino about Jon Rimmerman, the man behind Garagiste, and all the controversial coverage which ensued from the article in New York Times, for which Alice Feiring, a well known wine writer and blogger, had to write her own blog post and provide her commentary. It is a lot of reading to do, but I think it will worth your time.
Now, here are couple of wine events for you, taking place on two opposite coasts of US. First, to continue the theme of Garagiste ( no connection to the NYT story and the wine selling service), The Garagiste Festival will be taking place in Paso Robles on November 10th, giving attendees an opportunity to taste wines from more than 50 small and unique wineries (I wish I can be there, sigh).
Another event is taking place in New York, which seems will be taken over for the next few days by a Sherry – Sherryfest will start this coming Saturday and will go on for a few days. If you like Sherry, or never had it before, and especially if you had it before and didn’t like it, you owe to yourself to give it a new taste.
That’s all I have for you today, folks! Happy Wine Wednesday and Cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Ingredients, F&W Winemaker of the Year and more
An extensive French wine inventory to explore.It’s Meritage Time!
Today’s Meritage issue is somewhat unusual – it doesn’t contain the main element, the answer for the wine quiz. The reason is very simple – nobody even tried to answer that quiz. Come on, my wine loving friends, at least you can give it a try! To remind you, in the Wine Quiz #32 you were supposed to match 6 red wine grapes (out of 7) with 6 wine reviews. Please try it again – hopefully there are some brave wine lovers out there.
As far as interesting wine reading is concerned, I came across a few articles I wanted to bring to your attention.
First, there was an interesting article by New York Times’ wine and food critic Eric Azimov about Bonny Doon winemaker Randall Grahm, who started putting wine ingredients on the back label of his wines. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I care to know if he added tartaric acid or oak chips to his wines – I mostly care about the taste of the wine, and I trust that winemaker did his or her best to create a good wine. But – that’s me – and I would be interested in your opinion.
Next is an article in Food and Wine magazine about best winemakers of the year 2012 – I personally never heard of them before nor tried their wines – but thanks to the article, I now will be on a lookout for them.
And now a couple of articles on one of my all times favorite subjects – ageability of wines. Not all the wines in general, but mostly the California Cabernets. Both articles are from the Palate Press, an online wine magazine.
First article is written by Evan Dawson, and it is discussing the subject of California cult Cabernet Sauvignon being fit for aging (or not) depending on the source of the fruit (valley floor or mountain) and the ABV level of the wine – with discussion referring to the opinion of Randy Dunn, a winemaker behind eponymous Howell Mountain Cabernet. I don’t think I drunk enough California cult Cabernet to have an opinion one way or the other, but I can tell you that I had 2002 Dunn Cabernet when it was about 9 years of age, and it took that wine 5 days just to start opening up.
The second article is by the W. Blake Gray and it is talking about many wines (again taking California cult Cabernet as an example) are made for instant consumption and not meant to be aged – however, many wine connoisseurs still acquire those wine specifically for aging, and will be disappointed in the long run (and will lose money).
Both articles are excellent and are very interesting to read in my opinion – but let me know what your thoughts are.
That’s all for today, folks. The glass is empty. Happy Wine Wednesday and Cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Vines and Music, and not much else…
Meritage time!
I don’t have much news for you for today – but let me at least give you the answers for the Wine Quiz #31 – A Guessing Game, Ultimate Challenge. In that quiz, you were supposed to match 5 white wine grapes with the 5 reviews. I have to admit – I was not very inventive, and most of the wines I referred to were from France. But it also seems that I got it over the top, as there was only one answer to that quiz – come on, people – this is only a game, there are absolutely no bad consequences, whether you answer it right or wrong! I sure hope to see more answers for the second part of the Ultimate Challenge, which will be about red wines. So the right answers are: A2, B3, C1, D5, E4. Here are the wines and reviews for you:
Chardonnay:
“An enticing, lemony white that is both aromatic and rich on the palate. Apple and mineral notes combine with the lemon flavors that glide to a lingering finish” – Domaine Michel & Fils Mâcon-Villages à Clessé 2011, WS90
Chenin Blanc:
“This has weight and depth but remains stylish, with ginger and glazed pear notes in reserve while persimmon, green almond and piecrust notes lead the way. Lovely cut on the finish keeps the ginger edge echoing. Should develop nicely in the cellar” – Guy Saget Vouvray Marie de Beauregard 2010, WS92
Sauvignon Blanc:
“Gently kissed with toast, giving the core of white peach, lemon and chamomile a broader frame of lightly toasted brioche and paraffin. A suave echo of flint chimes through the finish in this lovely rendering of the toasty style” – Henri Bourgeois Sancerre Étienne Henri 2009, WS93
Savagnin:
“Intensely minerally and smoky, with a blanket of acidity behind the apple, sea salt and anise flavors. The long finish is bracing and powerful” – Andre & Mireille Tissot Arbois Vin Jaune 2000, WS90
Viognier:
“Extremely rich and generous, with ripe, opulent peach, nectarine, apricot and tangerine flavors that are woven together on a full, lush body with smoke, spice, cedar and mineral details and a juicy acidity.” – DuMol Viognier Russian River Valley Lia 2007, WS93
As you can see, first four wines were from France, and the last one was from California. I will try to offer a higher geographic variety with the red wines quiz.
Going for the interesting news, I found one article from Dr. Vino which I wanted to share with you – it is about use of the music in the vineyard – what do you think, can the music affect the vines and lead to better (or worse) wines?
In a kind of “local news” update, I’m in Texas this week, where I will attend the GUSTO Tastings event, called “Texas versus the World”. GUSTO Tastings (which is effectively a meetup group) runs a lot of very interesting wine events here in Austin (lucky for you, people of Austin), and every first Wednesday of the month they conduct a special event where they compare Texas wines with the wines from other regions and countries. Today’s event will be all about Viognier, and I’m definitely looking forward attending it (and meeting fellow wine blogger @SAHMMelier, who told me about this event) – for all of you who will not be able to attend it, I promise the blog post with all of the details.
That’s all for today’s Meritage – enjoy your Wednesday, folks, and make sure there will be wine in your glass (definitely will be in mine). Cheers!
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