Dr Vino's wine blog

French Rabbit, Pinot Noir 2004. $10 – 1 liter box Find this wine

Sacre bleu—French innovation! Many commentators attribute the current state of malaise in the French wine industry to a lack of innovation and bad labels. This one-liter box should silence the critics. Bright orange, English language, and critter label (well, that’s not the original part) all in packaging that will stand out on the shelf and weighs a fraction of glass. But what about what’s inside? Well, you won’t mistake it for Gevrey-Chambertin (it’s actually sourced from the Languedoc), but at least it is 100 percent pinot noir unlike many similarly priced California wines. It’s fruit forward and soft tannins—in other words a great red for the summer picnic basket. And you won’t even have to remember the corkscrew. Importer: Boisset America.

tags: wine | tasting notes | wine reviews

I’m sure you’ve been on the edge of your Aeron chairs waiting to hear which winery this is that we spied from the sky. Actually, all the words appeared in the comments of the original post, but nobody got them all correct. And the winery is:

Gallo Family Winery in Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley.

You know, the one with the ads of Gina contemplating a glass of wine in the barrel room (not visible from the satellite). See the original image.

tags: wine | winery photos | Google maps

EU reforms: “We must make greater efforts to market our wines in an increasingly competitive marketplace. As things stand, the EU spends just 14 million euros annually on promotion and marketing.” And to think Yellow Tail’s ad spend is $24 million this year in the US alone…Read the details of Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel’s plan.

Australia dumps: “Mark Mckenzie, from Wine Grape Growers Australia, says wineries should help out growers by throwing out large volumes of old, poorer quality wine.” There’s a glut down under too. [ABC Rural]

French wine is thumped: Wine, alcoholism, road safety, and environmental impact. Discuss! Do you feel like you’re a French high school senior taking the baccalaureat? That’s what some of them had to write essays on for four hours. One journalist suspects operatives of the anti-alcohol lobby have entered the Ministry of Education… [Vitisphere]

Napa gets a Gehry: Kathryn and Craig Hall have been cleared by the County to build a winery designed by star-chitect Frank Gehry in St. Helena. The Halls own 562 acres of vineyards in Napa and Sonoma already. The new winery’s cost? “I wish we knew. My best guess is we will be in for at least $70 million,” Craig Hall told Wines & Vines.

tags: wine | wine news | Frank Gehry

In last week’s NYT story on champagne from ungrafted vines, Eric Asimov had this line:

A recent column in Wine & Spirits magazine speculated that as much as a third of the vines in Spain were ungrafted.

This is an all-too-rare example of one consumer wine publication citing another. Congratulations Eric!

Why does this happen so infrequently? Isn’t everybody on this voyage of wine discovery together?

He also had this nice observation:

But objectivity is often useless with wine. The same bottle will taste different at a candlelight dinner with your sweetheart than it will, say, in a fluorescent office.

tags: wine | wine knowledge

Are you baffled by restaurant wine lists? Check out a story I wrote with Ray Isle in the current Food & Wine magazine called “Deconstructing a Wine List.” Text here, but the images make it worth seeking out in print.

France: INAO, the national appellation authority, has voted to have a two tier AOC system. The first will be basically the way it is today; the second will allow new winemaking techniques (such as oak chips) that are now allowed in the EU. [vitisphere]

Bordeaux bargains: “I think there are tremendously satisfying wines in the $25 to $35 range, especially compared to California Cabernets … Your garden-variety Napa Cabernet goes for about $50,” says David Netzer of Wine House. [SF Chronicle]

Dan Berger on the 30th Anniversary of the Judgment of Paris: “The message of 2006 is that the French remain in the driver’s seat when it comes to classic Cabernet Sauvignon-based red wines with terroir character.” [Appellation America]

Hip-hop artist Jay-Z flushes “Cris” and hints at a switch to Krug–as I predicted!

Vijay Mallya speaks out on why he bowed out of bidding for Taittinger: “We bid but (French Bank) Credit Agricole was the winning bidder. There was a sentiment that Champagne assets should remain in French hands. So, we gracefully bowed out of the process. I am not prepared to get into a bidding war because that would have diluted shareholder value of United Spirits. That was something I was not prepared to do,” he said. [link]

Coffee may protect against cirrhosis. Study participants who drank four cups a day had 80 percent less incidence. [WSJ]

Whole Foods will cease the sale of live lobsters. [AP]

tags: wine | appellation | France

The Bordeaux 2005 vintage has been widely praised–Parker wondered whether it was “perfect”– and now the top chateaus are now releasing their long-awaited prices. The top, top grands crus will be out next week and are expected at around $500 for a 750 ml bottle (about $20 an ounce). How much is too much? What is your strategy for futures?

I may take the plunge on one marginal (read: affordable) 05 wine. But it’s unlikely. I think I’ll deploy my Bordeaux budget in the vintages that have been overlooked such as 1999 or 2002. My fear is that the 05s will not be worth in two years what they are worth now.

Below are some prices to illustrate that for a lot of these wines, it’s often a question of buying a future or making a mortgage payment. Scary. Even more scary was a quote from today’s LA Times. Don Schliff, Bordeaux expert at Wine Warehouse in LA, wonders if he’ll be able to get allocations that are big enough. Wowza.

* * * * *
Here are some high 2005 prices per case from recent emails I have received from various retailers. If you are honestly interested in finding the best price, click the link.

La Mission Haut Brion 95-97 pts, WA $2999 per case find this wine

Pape Clement 96-100pts, WA $1699 find this wine

Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 2005 (750ML) (WS92-94) $1680 find this wine

Palmer (WS95-100/WA94-96) $2880 find this wine

Magrez Fombrauge (WA94-96) $2700 find this wine

Marojallia 94-97 pts, WA $1699 find this wine

Pape Clement Blanc 94-96 pts, WA $1799 find this wine

Found one price for Haut-Brion already: $5568.72 !! (I like the .72) find this wine

tags: wine | Bordeaux | futures | craziness

Wine is great for many reasons. One of them happens to be its amazing ability to make people too full of themselves look bad. And an express route to looking humble is the blind tasting. Witness Paris, 1976.

Such was the case this past week in London. On his TV show, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay poured two wines blind for the “veteran crooner” Cliff Richard (pictured right–I mean how could this guy leave it to someone else to make him look bad? Love the silver workout shoes).

The first Richard said was excellent. OK it was $700.

The second he trashed saying: “That’s rubbish. I wouldn’t pay for that, it’s tainted, it’s insipid. It tastes like vinaigrette. I’d never buy that.”

Only problem? It was his wine. As in from his winery, Adega do Cantor (Cellar of the Singer), in Portugal.

Zing!!

See more images of Cliff [Story via Decanter]

tags: wine | Cliff Richard | blind tasting | gotcha

With a month of soccer/football kicking off today in Germany, a few references for you:

1. If you’re NOT into it, check out this funny video clip from The Simpsons.

2. If you are into it, don’t forget my tips on betting wine for football. I wrote them for the Superbowl, but hey, the same principal of differing value wagers can be applied to handicap this tournament.

3. Catch some of the matches at bars around NYC! (You may have to drink beer though) Here are a few good sounding ones from the latest issue of TimeOut New York:
* Novecentro: Argentine joint will show all games live. Good wines available! 343 W Broadway
* L’Angolo: say “forza Italia” here. 108 W Houston
* Brass Monkey: For English fans of the non-hooligan persuasion. 55 Little W 12th St
* Zum Schneider: four screens mean this is advance tix only. 107 Ave C @ 7th
* Opia: Francais et GQ. 130 E. 57th bet Park and Lex
* “Little Brazil”: multiple venues, “carnival-like” atmosphere. W 46th St bet 5th and 6th Aves
* Iona: two screens, all non-pay-per-view matches, outdoor area. 180 Grand St, Williamsburg

For the rest, check out TONY. See the FIFA official site.

tags: World Cup | betting | food and drink | NYC