Posts made by Susan Kostrzewa:

So many intriguing, influential characters over the centuries have populated the wine world that it would be impossible to tell their stories in one fell swoop. But one segment that is often overlooked in the history of wine is the women of centuries past and their contributions to the category. These trailblazers defied the odds and built powerful brands despite the obstacles and male-dominated times in which they lived. There’s no two ways about it, these sisters made a mark in a male-dominated business and did it with finesse and vision.

When I first started learning about wine while living in Sonoma, I was surprised at how often the stories of plucky and innovative daughters, wives and sisters popped up in relation to the founding and early days of iconic California wineries. Simi’s story was especially powerful: Founded in 1876 by two Italian brothers, Giuseppe and Pietro Simi, the winery was taken over by Giuseppe Simi’s daughter, Isabelle, in 1904, and she continued to helm the brand throughout Prohibition, ensuring its survival. The pioneering continued in 1973, when Maryann Graf, the first woman to graduate from an American university with a degree in oenology, joined the winery. And Zelma Long, one of California’s most important winemakers, added to Simi girl power in 1979. All of these women, especially Isabel were anomalies in their own time.

Across the pond a century before in 1805, 27-year-old Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot gained control of late husband François Clicquot’s banking, wool trading, and Champagne production in a time when female business owners were essentially non-existent. Using funds from her father-in-law, “Veuve (widow) Clicquot” focused the company completely on Champagne production, developed an early Champagne technique called riddling and impacting the future of all Champagne styles and production. She also helped catapult the brand to success and it’s still one of the most important names in the wine world to date.

These are just a few of the stories that solidify women’s roles in the wine world—they were integral in paving the way for a new era in which women are prominent at all levels of wine business. Female sommeliers, wine directors, winemakers, buyers, owners—even wine editors like me—owe it to these great ladies for their bravery, skill and strength. Today, the trend continues, with stars like Helen Turley, Jancis Robinson, Karen McNeil and Baroness Philippine de Rothschild carrying the noble torch.

The next time you pop the cork on a great sip, don’t forget the women behind the wine. And let me know who I’ve missed!

Like art, music and literature, the cocktails and favored beverages of an era are often intrinsically linked to the history and culture of the time. Delve into the origins of your favorite cocktails and you’ll find a fascinating glimpse into the psyche of a bygone era. The creation of mixed drinks in particular is routinely linked to events in history.

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Halloween is upon us, and autumn, my favorite time of the year, inspires thoughts of moody evenings spent reading melancholic greats like Poe, Shelley, Lovecraft. Dark storytellers with an eye for beauty, many of these poets and novelists were also fans of fine wine and spirits—of course in some cases, to dramatic ends.

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Each year, Wine Enthusiast Magazine awards three tiers of awards (Award of Ultimate Distinction, Award of Unique Distinction, and Award of Distinction) to submitting restaurants with notable wine lists. In reviewing this year’s applicants, I started to think about how wine consumers approach wine selections when they walk into a restaurant, and what most restaurants are honestly doing right (or screwing up) in their presentation of wines.

First, based on the applicant wine lists and my own dining in Manhattan, where I live, I’d say presentation and organization tends to be schizophrenic. Some restaurants organize by wine variety, some by region, and some by style. Others get cute and clever and organize choices by criteria that are more personal and subjective (i.e. “Wines for Romantics;” “Wines for Celebrating;” or “Rebel Wines”). Some include elements of all of the above. I’m not sure anyone is really sure of what diners want, or how they actually read wine lists.

We talked about the different approaches among the judging panel, and just as restaurants varied widely in approach, we all varied widely in what we preferred. Several of us liked the “wine styles” approach—this is great for wine drinkers who know what they like as far as style or flavor profiles go (i.e. “Dry, Crisp Whites” or “Big, Fruity Reds”) but may be lacking in the more advanced wine knowledge (which probably describes 90% of the American wine drinking public). It seems to go one step further in making wine and food pairings choices easier, too. This was in keeping with our own approach to organizing wines in the Wine Enthusiast Wine & Food Pairings Cookbook; we received a lot of positive feedback from readers who connected with this way of presenting wines.

Others in the group found this approach annoying and liked the traditional approach of cataloging wines by region or variety—it seemed to be associated with more “serious” lists and higher-tiered eateries, which, it could be assumed, attract a more serious and knowledgeable wine drinker. I felt this kind of list was less user-friendly and that if you happened to be a food lover who maybe was still learning about wine (again, probably like most Americans), then you might get lost in the endless columns of wines that may not be familiar to you. One hopes these types of restaurants would employ a friendly sommelier who could help diners navigate the list, but in some cases it wasn’t true, and often, people hesitate to ask for help for fear of “looking dumb.” How many of these diners stare numbly at the list, then panic and choose something based on price alone?

Finally, the more eclectic approach of grouping wines under “clever” headings (usually handpicked and chosen by the sommelier or wine director)was deemed among our group to be charming and add a human, personal touch (like having your wine expert best friend handpick wines for you), but only in addition to a list that offered more help, like one of the approaches above.

List organization style was just one of many things we considered in judging our own awards–depth of list, creativity, food-pairing elements–all figured heavily as well, as did staff education, storage and events. There was no one “right” approach to wine lists organization necessarily, but it was an interesting topic of discussion.

What type of restaurant wine list do you prefer? Old school, practical, zany? Are restaurants doing a good job in exposing you to new wines and organizing lists in ways that are helpful, logical and stress-free?

Traveling to emerging wine regions such as South Africa, Greece and Cyprus and tasting wines in New York from everywhere from Hungary to Long Island, I’ve thought a lot about how an under-the-radar region can make its mark in a market flooded with wine choices. Consumers are already accustomed to finding good wines at reasonable prices, and from places they recognize. So how can a country or region perceived as exotic or “foreign” to Americans find a place on domestic tables?

To start, by perfecting and promoting their own unique varieties, and marketing them realistically. This sounds easy enough, but it’s quite a challenge on many levels. The first is financial: it’s tempting for wineries to plant familiar varieties like Cabernet or Chardonnay—wines they know sell in other markets—instead of upholding the indigenous tradition of a Pinotage or Furmint , no matter how noble or worthwhile an endeavor. In their minds, they know there’s a real chance those indigenous varieties won’t ever gain serious, bankable traction in the highly competitive international markets.

I would never fault a smaller winery for trying to make solid business decisions—money is a real issue for these producers and a few missteps could put them out of business quickly. But in general, I think it’s dangerous for emerging regions to jump into the huge pool that is international-style winemaking. I’m not denying that sometimes great mainstream wines come from unlikely places (just try a South African Chenin or Cypriot Syrah sometime) but the real strength of a rising star region lies in its native varieties.

These are the wines that are best suited to the soil and the climate of the region, that in many cases have been made for decades, even centuries, by local winemakers. Found nowhere else, they embody the essence of the place in which they are grown, offering a truly unique experience to wine drinkers often lost in a sea of commercial, homogenous-tasting wines.

Despite this cultural allure of the wines, how do wineries get the message out to the American public? That requires a difficult balance of “unique, but not too foreign.” Blending native wines with mainstream varieties is one way to introduce wine drinkers to an emerging region and its local grapes. Consumers are more likely to grab a bottle of Xinomavro and Merlot because at least one of those words is familiar to them and it feels less like a risk. Eventually, one hopes they will graduate to exploring single varietal Xinomavro and all of the diversity expert producers can offer, but let’s take it one step at a time.

Labeling is important too—the bottle should have character but be readable and distinguishable. And then of course there’s education—tastings at wine stores, articles in wine magazines like Wine Enthusiast, getting the wines on restaurant lists and inspiring servers to learn about them and promote them—all will help wine lovers embrace the unfamiliar. It’s not easy maintaining one’s cultural identity in a market so flooded with familiar, and in some ways easier, wine choices. But thinking strategically, producers can uphold the character and tradition of their own native wines, while at the same time staying in business. What do you think?

I recently traveled to Greece and Cyprus on a wine tasting tour and besides being seduced by the beauty, food and culture of the countries, was fascinated by stories of the ancient Greek, Roman and Crusader-era history of the places. Both countries have been making wine for millennia, and many of the wine and food traditions we enjoy today were born in that part of the world.

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In our September issue, we’re running a piece on unusual California tasting rooms. This includes everything from the Persian palace setting of Darioush in Napa to the drag tomfoolery of Paso Robles’ Clautiere Vineyard, where donning wigs and silly hats is intended to break down barriers and allow for easy socializing. Whether it’s incredible, cutting-edge architecture or fun themes, many wineries offer personality and, in some cases, a little kitsch. But is this what you want?

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How we taste Wine Enthusiast is a hot topic with many angles. One healthy debate I’ve had with numerous friends and acquaintances is whether we, tasting blind and essentially in a void (well, stark, controlled tasting room environment anyway), are really doing a service to consumers. Most wine drinkers enjoy wine in a completely different way, namely with food, in varied settings, with wafting restaurant smells surrounding them and outside stimulus galore coloring–and they believe–enhancing, their wine experience.

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You think cooking is a cute job, eh? Like Mommy in the kitchen? Well, Mommy never had to face the dinner rush while the orders come flooding in . . . every second counts and you cannot be mommy. –Colette, Ratatouille (2007)

A lot has been written about sexism in the wine and food (specifically restaurant) industry; we tackled the topic ourselves in our October 2008 “Bottle of the Sexes” issue. It came up again for me last November in Philadelphia as I sat on a “Breaking Through the Cork Ceiling” panel discussion with influential women of the wine industry like Martine Saunier and Cristina Mariani-May.  The good news in the wine world at least? Most of us agreed that if you’re smart, hardworking, and take what you do seriously, you’ll get ahead, regardless of the occasional old-boy boneheads who scowl at you when you crash their Victorian frat parties.

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Growing up in northern Michigan, I was certainly no stranger to the concept of outdoor sports. Fishing, hunting, waterskiing, hiking, skiing—it was all around me. I’ll admit though, I was more of an indoor creature—more likely to have my face stuck in a book than chopping wood or ice fishing. So when I traveled to the Finger Lakes in upstate New York last weekend on a wine tasting trip and was told that we’d also be dropping some lines in Cayuga Lake, I was somewhat wary.

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