Dr Vino’s wine blog

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Last week I shot some video with Eric Arnold of First Big Crush fame, now also of Forbes.com fame. The first video–and my video debut–is now live! I pick ten independent American wines for Independence Day. Head on over to Forbes.com for the story (with slide show) or cut straight to the video.

What would be on your list of independent wines?

Also, check out this story from Bloomberg–who knew AVAs could be so fun! Regulatory columnist Cindy Skrzycki does a good job recounting the story that led the Feds to reject the petition for a Viticultural Area named Tulocay in Napa. Quotage from Dr. Vino.

In the name of reducing his carbon footprint, Prince Charles has retrofitted his 1970 Aston martin convertible to run on ethanol–made from “surplus” English wine.

Wait, surplus English wine? This isn’t France. I thought wine was a new thing in England and they were proud enough to serve it to world leaders? (In 2006 there were actually 365 English vineyards totaling 2,280 acres–not a lot, but more than I would have guessed.)

So just how fuel efficient is it for Prince Charles? I caught my carbon footprint research co-author, Pablo Paster, on chat and crunched the numbers. It turns out that the ethanol the Prince is putting in his car has three times the carbon dioxide emissions of regular fuel–not to mention that he’s soaking up a lot of English wine in the process! It takes about 500 liters of wine to distill into a tank of fuel.

But the exhaust must smell great–chardonnay with a whiff of irony!

E Pluribus Vinum will be the new motto for America, soon to be the top wine drinking country in the world! Katie of Ramsey, N.J. suggested it and you voted it.

As a prize, I sent her a signed copy of the hottest (only?) wine book to be released in July, my own, Wine Politics: How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters, and Critics Influence the Wines We Drink. Thanks, Katie, and thanks, all, for your votes!

An $18 bubbly showdown! Well, it was and I didn’t even plan it. Some friends came over recently and we each had a bubbly ready to go. So what are wine lovers to do? Why, open them both, of course!

First up, from the Loire was Thierry Puzelat, naturalista wine maker who made it through to the quarterfinals in the Wine Madness tourney back in March. I was ready for Thierry to bring the shazam since I am a fan of his wines. But the cork on the Vin Pétillant de France Naturel Non-dosé released with a whimper rather than a bang. The mousse–the foamy part–was weak! This pétillant did not have the gas (literally) to keep it frothing! Upon tasting, it was more like cider than Champagne–that non-dosé stuff can be tough to make. A bummer! One person dumped her glass! (Ahem!) Puzelat, upended! Shades of Wine Madness all over again!

Then it was on to the Strohmeier…I mean come on, who’s ever heard of Strohmeier? They’re an Austrian producer founded in 1990, which is practically a New World time frame. And it’s not even from the esteemed Wachau–it’s from Styria! Some southern part of Austria that has produced, among other things, the Governator! And the grape in this Schilcher Sekt nonvintage–Blauer Wildbacher? Let’s get serious! Now to the pour: major mousse! Frothing all over the place. Bright pink effervescence in the glass! Now on to the taste. Oooh, it’s got hints of strawberry, it’s juicy, it’s got good acidity–in short, a delightful summer sipper on the deck! No glasses dumped on the geraniums! Strohmeier takes home the trophy in this spontaneous $18 bubbly showdown!

Find the Puzelat petillant
Find the Strohmeier Schilcher Sekt nonvintage

Jancis Robinson, Robert Parker, Hugh Johnson, Burton Anderson, Frank Prial, Kevin Zraly, and Ed McCarthy were inducted into the Wine Media Guild Hall of Fame on Monday night at a ceremony in New York City (there were also posthumous inductees; see the full list and bios). It was the inaugural class inducted into the HoF and therefore the first ceremony.

Members, various guests and two of the inductees poured into the event at I Trulli restaurant. Read more…

Gramona gran cuvee ($18, find this wine)
In the quest for affordable bubbly, cava often appears. But this 2004 gran cuvee from Gramona is a cut above, softer and rounder than champagne but lacking the sweetness often found in other, lesser cavas. Handsome packaging also makes this a good gift to bring to a lawn party.

Luneau-Papin, Clos des Allees, Muscadet 2005 $12 (find this wine)
One of the unanimously popular wines from my last NYU class, this Muscadet has the vaguely saline allure of good Muscadet yet weaves in a layer of creamy richness. A no brainer with seafood.

Kurt Darting, riesling, Durkheimer 2005 (about $13, find this wine)
From the Pfalz, one of the warmest growing areas in Germany, comes this value riesling from Kurt Darting. The warmer climate makes it have more tropical fruit notes and makes the off-dry wine a great match for spicy foods. It was the most popular wine at a recent tasting I did for 130 people who applauded, cheered and threw panties on stage for this wine when I asked them which was their fave. Riesling appears on the inside track fo the Grape of the Year 2008!

Thierry Puzelat PN ($18, find this wine)
I always love finding a great pinot noir under $20 and this stealth find doesn’t say the grape variety or place on the label. That’s because the naturalista winemaker Thierry Puzelat in the Loire has made this wine as a humble vin de table rather than as a traditional appellation wine so it can’t even provide the vintage either (you can read more about these crazy French wine laws in my new book, Wine Politics). This PN has good pinot character with lively fruit and acidity, which make it a perfect pairing for dining on the deck.

Yellow + Blue malbec, Mendoza 2007 (about $11 for a liter, find this wine)
This is my first taste of the YB, an unoaked malbec from grapes grown organically in Mendoza that comes in a one-liter TetraPak. Unlike most box wines that have little to distinguish them other than the packaging, this wine has good poise and intensity with berry, plum and herbal freshness. Because of it’s a third more wine than a regular bottle, this is a crazy-good value. The ultra-light packaging means it’s easy to throw it in your backpack or picnic basket when you need wine on the go. Try serving slightly chilled.

Chateau d’Oupia, Minervois, 2006 $11 (find this wine)
Fuller bodied than the malbec, this natural wine from Languedoc should be a staple of tightwad grillers everywhere. Grilled meat–preferably without sauce–has met it’s match.

Related: “Which wine pairs with 98 degrees? Australian riesling edition”
“Kickin assyrtiko in Santorini“

Yikes, it was a scorcher this past weekend and temperatures remained in the “excessive heat warning” levels for four days. So the most pressing question for wine lovers was: which wine pairs with 98 degrees? For us, the answer was dry Aussie riesling.

These young wines were wildly refreshing. Read more…

Something amazing happens to a port after about twenty years. And in my case, that’s a good thing since I have several bottles from the excellent 2003 vintage stashed away to celebrate our oldest son’s twenty-first birthday in 2024.

But the absence of aging the wine myself and waiting twenty years, I was able to have an extraordinary tasting experience last week of vintage ports from the producer Croft. Their 1945 is something of a legend — no ‘47 Cheval Blanc but you get the idea. So when I heard it was being poured at a press event in Manhattan, I was there in a flash.

In short, it was amazing (find this port). This port, which, if it were human would be gearing up for retirement at age 63, was still going strong with fantastic depth, color and finish. It had beautiful notes of orange zest, aniseed, spice, fig, all in beautiful harmony with great poise.

Although recent records have shown that Croft dates back to 1588 making it the oldest port house, it had fallen on a rough patch for much of the second half of the twentieth century. Among other things, the then-owners installed automated stomping machines and, as I posted last year, when it comes to port, nothing beats the foot. When The Fladgate Partnership purchased Croft in 2001 to bring it under the same ownership as Taylor Fladgate, Fonseca, and Delaforce, one of the first changes, um, underfoot was to rip out all the automatic crushers and install stone lagares for the resumption of foot treading. The 1945 was stomped by foot.

We tasted a few intervening vintages during the automation era and the vintage 1960 stood out as an impressive one (find this port). It was slightly richer brick-red hue and had more notes of anise mocha with supple tannins. But with the 1994, we were clearly on the more youthful side with the color still more the intense purple of youth rather than the faded, brick red that comes with age. The palate impressions were of more youthful intensity too and hadn’t entered the ethereal world of the mature. The first vintage under the new ownership, the 2003, had tremendous color intensity, ripe fruit concentration, viscosity and vigor. I would gladly tuck one of these away in the cellar and at $60 retail (find this port) it’s even a good bargain.

So there you have it: a magical transformation happens to port with more than twenty years of age. It may not be something that you might have been thinking about on a hot June day, but it’s something I can look forward to with my son twenty years hence. And you can enjoy it relatively sooner since vintage port with some age on it continues to be one of the better values at wine auctions.

Hot weather. Cold wine. And patchouli.

That’s the subject of a short piece that I did for the new Hearst website, The Daily Green. Well, OK, I didn’t get to mention any patchouli. Click through and see the six “natural” wine producers that I did mention!

Actually, here, I’ll spare you the click through and list them here. But you still have to click through for the pretty slide show and descriptions! One day I’ll learn how to do a slide show here…

Clos Roche Blanche, Touraine, sauvignon blanc 2006 (about $14, find this wine)
Albert Mann, cremant d’Alsace (sparkling pinot blanc; about $20 find this wine)
Ocone Falanghina del Turbano, 2007 (find this wine)
Cooper Mountain, pinot gris 2006 (about $15, find this wine)
Porter Creek, Fiona Hill Vineyard, Russian River Valley, pinot noir. (about $39, find this wine)
Chateau Oupia, Minervois, 2006. (about $10, find this wine)

Last week I was chatting with a food writer who was all about the soft shell crab. Then I was cleaning up over the holiday weekend and intercepted Saveur on its way to the recycling bin: “American Crab: A celebration of our favorite spring catch” read the cover. Crabs, they’re everywhere! Perhaps even on your plate.

Since we are now unofficially in summer, when blockbuster movies turn our brains to mush, I thought I’d give you an easy one for our “impossible” foods series: which wine would you pair with softshell (blue) crabs?

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