Archive for the 'Connoisseurship' Category

Published December 10, 2012

Less than a month after a Wall Street Journal article reported that wine critic and former Wine Enthusiast Magazine columnist Robert M. Parker Jr. had decided against various offers for The Wine Advocate, his subscription-supported newsletter, it appears he has sold a “substantial interest” of the company after all.

Parker remains in place as one of the publication’s reviewers and, according to several reports, will be the company’s chairman. The new investor-owners are said to be from Singapore, where the newly announced editor in chief, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW, is based.

In the midst of all the WA changes, perhaps the reports having the biggest repercussions were that the newsletter would cease print publication—being made available to subscribers as a PDF—that it would accept advertising for nonwine products and that it would produce wine tasting events.

Those changes would mean that WA was no longer a newsletter, no longer supported only by subscribers and not beholden to any commercial wine interests. It would become a digital magazine, plain and simple. Sure, it wouldn’t accept wine advertising, but if it had commercial relationships with the wineries, importers or retailers that support its tasting events, it could no longer legitimately claim independence from the wine trade.

For decades, it was this veneer of independence that made WA different, which made it special and worth supporting for many readers, even through some hefty subscription-rate increases. It was this same independence that led readers to accept that the wines reviewed in its pages need not always be tasted blind.

If WA were on its way to becoming just another wine magazine—albeit the one with the world’s best-known wine critic behind it—it would be interesting to see how this affected its content. Relieved from the burden of ink and printing costs, would there be illustrated articles, or would the content continue to be heavily reliant on wine reviews? Would the wines be tasted blind, as they are by all of the world’s other major wine magazines?

But wait. It seems all of this speculation is much ado about nothing.

In a series of tweets this morning, Parker wrote that the print edition of WA will continue and that it “will never take on ads,” while at the same time leaving room for some luxury advertising on the Web site and online forums.

As someone whose nascent interest in wine was encouraged by Parker’s writing back in the late 1980s—it made a mouthwatering antidote to the staidness of the British writers of the time—I’m glad to hear that WA will be continuing without the major shake up that most media outlets have reported.

Yes, there are some changes, but they appear to be small and incremental—and largely positive. Providing a PDF option for subscribers is a useful option; having Perrotti-Brown as an editor should improve the quality of the content; and making the newsletter’s contributors regular employees will go a long way to avoiding any appearances of impropriety going forward.

If and when the publication does evolve further from its homegrown, Nader-esque roots, I hope that the new one will be a worthy successor.

The world of the cocktail is thriving. We are in a perhaps unprecedented heyday for everything related to the world of spirits, whether it’s the inventive mixologist, the eclectic spirit revived from the past or created fresh, or the artisanal, inspired drink. Anyone with an interest in creation will find something to entice in the world of the modern cocktail…an alluring balance of serious science and sexy swagger.

With any momentous trend comes the backlash, and certainly as the mixology and creative cocktail culture has spread into “mainstream” America, the world can become a parody of itself. At its best, shaped in the hands of serious studies of past and present like Julie Reiner, Dale DeGroff, Audrey Saunders and beyond, the evolution of the cocktail is not only enjoyable to the palate but an education in American history and culture itself. It’s also no different than the culinary world…chefs who push the envelope on flavor combinations and find new riffs on old classics are celebrated with appropriate fanfare.

The backlash comes from the scene taking itself too seriously, or being re-worked inappropriately. No one would argue that a perfectly crafted cocktail—especially one of the bespoke type that happens in the best cocktail clubs throughout the country—is something both the mixologist and imbiber should spend some extra time to appreciate and absorb. But that margarita slopped together with premade mix that’s now $20 because it has a clever name and is served with a big ice cube? It’s happening more and more. It’s not special. And to discerning drinkers who are also aware of their wallets, it’s downright insulting. Serious mixologists are not so happy about it either. The growing interest in premium spirits is the upside of this world going big, but greed can kill the culture if it goes too far.

The mystery and exclusivity surrounding many of the better cocktail clubs has also created some suspicion and pushback from customers who question if it’s worth the hassle. Unmarked speakeasy-style watering holes with militant doormen and impenetrable lists complicate the situation. But here’s the question…is the kind of person who’s eager to sample premium spirits with a sense of adventure the same person who’s looking for a happy hour special made with whatever’s behind the bar the same person? Is it wrong for a serious cocktail club to make some decisions about the number of people they let in, and the level of customer? That’s assuming a lot of course…and maybe the hassle is about seeing who really wants to be there.

Is the culture of mixology taking itself too seriously? What’s your take?

The wild Douro landscape

Last week, I had the pleasure of tasting through a vertical of Chryseia, an expensive Douro wine with an international pedigree. It’s a Portuguese wine produced by a partnership between the English Symington family–owners of Dow’s, W.&J. Graham’s and Warre’s, among other Douro properties–and the French Prats family (Bruno Prats sold Château Cos d’Estournel in 1998).

I liked the wines well enough–especially the 2004 and 2007 vintages–but I have to confess to some reservations about the style, which Rupert Symington described as “trying to make a more elegant style of Douro wines.” He and Prats want the wine to come in under 14% alcohol, which has a definite impact on the wine’s character.

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The spirit that hovers over the absinthe drinker in the posters of the 19th century is portrayed as either a slavering demon or an ethereal green fairy, but in all cases the absinthe drinker is a broken-down, miserable soul. It’s the outlaw image that is partially responsible for absinthe’s resurgence today.

It may not be a demon, but there’s nothing fairy-light or shy about absinthe either: drink it straight and it’s a rugged ride; put it in a cocktail and it dominates. It’s a trickster. A demon in fairy disguise.

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Around the holidays, there’s no better way to make a gathering special than to pour some sparkling wine. Just the appearance of a froth-topped flute is enough to energize a room. This season, don’t play it safe with the same old Champagnes and California sparkling wines, jazz up your parties with some of these offbeat selections.

 1. Blanquette de Limoux

Billed as the world’s oldest sparkling wine, Blanquette de Limoux comes from an out-of-the-way portion of southwest France. Containing at least 90% Mauzac–the region’s indigenous grape–it lacks the crisp, razor-edge acidity of Champagne, but offers soft, easy-drinking instead. Recommended producers: Saint-Hilaire, Sieur d’Arques, Antech-Limoux and Château Rives-Blanques. $10-20.

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“Rum is my enemy.” I have a friend who claims that as his motto. And if you were to hear his stories of waking up in strange places, heaving all over a friend’s bed, insulting his host, punching a nun….you, too, would consider rum your enemy.

I think a lot of us have forms of alcohol that we really can’t even think about, let alone drink, so horrendous was an early experience. For me, it’s martinis. For a lot of people it’s Tequila. But I would encourage all of us to face our fears.

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What is complexity in wine? I always thought that was a pretty straightforward proposition until a recent conversation with Joe Czerwinski, Wine Enthusiast’s tasting director and my YodaVino.

We were tasting a Torres Mas la Plana ’97, a Cabernet Sauvignon from Spain. Joe admired it very much, while I had a “meh” reaction to it. We sparred for a few rounds, neither giving ground, until Joe got me to entertain this possibility: that what I took to be a relatively simple wine actually exhibited what he called integrated complexity.

A complex wine exhibits different facets in terms of aroma, flavor and mouthfeel. Some of these may even change as the aerates or warms, which can be vexing to the reviewer who wants to nail it down but a great pleasure to the private citizen who finds a new evolution every few minutes. Eventually, it will offer a character with different nuances of spice, wood or caramel-vanilla from the oak; the tannins and acidity will be present—not intrusive, but rather coaxing a galaxy of potential flavors from the fruit.

My assumption has always been that in a complex wine, those elements can be isolated and identified, pleasurably.

What Joe was suggesting is that in certain wines, many of those elements are present, but the wine itself is so well structured, so very much itself, that it’s hard to discern the component parts. And you wouldn’t necessarily want to, because what all such wines do is: they knock you out. You love them, and may not necessarily know why.

This relatively simple revelation had me rethinking some stellar wine experiences, where I was in so much thrall enjoying the wines that I was at a loss (or couldn’t be bothered) to analyze them. Heidi Barrett’s Amuse Bouche; Riccardo Cotarella’s Falesco Montiano; any wine from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in Burgundy; a Columbia Winery Red Willow Syrah from the late David Lake.

It’s similar to the reaction you get to a work of art that moves you in a way that you can’t quite describe, moves you far beyond how you would evaluate its component parts.

Have you had a similar experience, and which wines moved the earth for you?

Well, sort of one, anyway.

I’ve been collecting wine for more than 20 years now, and I’ve heard the repeated complaints–largely from the French–about how Americans only buy wines in the greatest vintages. If we stipulate that greatest means possessing a unique combination of ripe fruit, extreme complexity, intense concentration and the ability to evolve positively over time, I’ll certainly plead guilty to that. Let me explain.

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A friend sent me a YouTube link to a “Make Your Own Video” skit that hilariously tackles the myth and romance of starting one’s own winery and/or becoming a winemaker.

Once I stopped laughing, I started to really think about what it takes to be happy and successful in those endeavors (other than a ton of money in the case of starting a winery, incredible patience and a work ethic of steel). As the video spoofs, it’s not often about glam and glitter, but a serious, grass-roots devotion to creating an agricultural product that speaks of the place in which it’s grown and made. That’s no easy feat.

I turned to some sage voices in the wine business to ask them what kind of advice they would impart to a person seriously interested in pursuing a life as a winery owner or a winemaker. Here’s what they said:

“Winemakers and winery owners must have extreme passion and a huge connection to the wine. It’s a tête-à-tête relationship with a living organism, and like a human, it evolves over time. Through this personal, in-depth relationship, you’ll also get to know yourself better. Approach it artistically and do not cling too much to concrete objectives.” -Jean-Charles Boisset, owner, Boisset Family Estates

“Winery ownership is not easy. Pleasurable sometimes – but not always. Glamorous, maybe – but not as a rule. Winery owners are pretty hard. They like to go camping and sleep on the ground. They like spinach. They love young Cabernet Sauvignon. There is always a little pain to go with the pleasure. “ –Mike Ratcliffe, owner Warwick Wine Estate

“Vino is mother nature’s precious gift but to produce a beautiful wine is only one step in the process. The challenge is to get the fruit of your labor onto the tables of wine lovers across the globe. In a world full of great wine and thousands of labels, the focus is not on the wine you want to make but one that consumers will enjoy. Next, how to bring it to market with great value? Making and sharing wine is romantic but achieving distribution, brand building, marketing, and investing time, resources and finances is decidedly less so. Worth the ride? Yes, by the glassful!” –Cristina Mariani-May, owner, Banfi Vintners and Castello Banfi

“My advice to an aspiring winemaker? Know what you want. Are you interested in Chardonnay, Sangiovese, Pinot Noir or Verdelho? To make volumes of good wine; or small amounts of great wine? Do you want to incorporate both the vineyard and the winery? Go work at a winery doing what you aspire to do. And work overseas, too. To an aspiring winery owner: First, know how to sell the wines you want to make. Find the best site to make them. Focus on vineyards that can produce them. Use your capital carefully. Or, buy a winery that does what you want, and manage it carefully. For most, winery success requires persistance.” -Zelma Long, pioneering California winemaker and winemaker for Vilafonté Winery

“You must really love and be passionate about what you do, otherwise when the hours get long you will start to hate the job. It definitely is not a 9-5 job (more of a 5 -9 and that is on a good day in the harvest). Be prepared to put in many extra hours, not only during the vintage (6-8 weeks of the year) or when one needs to blend and bottle a wine, but when marketing and promoting your wines throughout the rest of the year. The upside of the job: all of the above if you love wine and live and breathe it, as well as the ability to travel for and with your wines. We have met wonderful people and made many friends through the common bond of wine. Wine is beautiful! –Cathy Jordan, Owner, Jordan (Jardin) Wines

What in your mind is the right approach for the aspiring winemaker or winery owner? Is it more grit than glamour, or a romantic ride?

Every year, I review Israeli wines for the April issue of our magazine. I do this because the majority of wines from Israel are Kosher, and a lot of Kosher wine is purchased and consumed in the month of April for the Jewish holiday Passover (September is also a busy season for the category with the High Holy Days including Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur). Every year, I have noticed an improvement over the previous vintage, and marvel at the fact that some fabulous winemakers are creating beautiful stuff that too many people are unfamiliar with.

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