Dr Vino's wine blog

As the American dollar has come to resemble a peso, a zloty or another currency that needs an infusion of iron (or gold), Champagne producers may be heading for other countries that can actually pay full price for the stuff. To wit, from today’s NYT, comes word that champagne shipments have fallen six percent this year, the first decline since 2001. But it gets worse. To the tape:

“The euro is rising and the dollar is falling, and soon we’ll have a real structural problem if the cost of the grape keeps increasing every year,” said Ghislain de Montgolfier, the departing president of the Champagne maker Bollinger and leader of the Union of Champagne Houses, a trade industry group.

Within the elite world of Champagne makers, there is discreet debate about shifting strategies in the United States, including possibly reducing volumes or shipping bottles to other countries with stronger currencies.

Boizel Chanoine Champagne, for example, closed its subsidiary in New York. “The U.S. today is not our priority,” Céline Voide of Boizel said. “We prefer to concentrate on Europe and Asia.”

Don’t leave us! Take our fistful of dollars but don’t bid us farewell! Stay for the all brides and grooms out there and all those who need to christen boats. The rock stars, real estate moguls, and the hedge fund managers. And don’t forget us wine geeks. What are we going to put in our American flag encrusted champagne flutes? Key words for American bubbly enthusiasts in 2008 remain: prosecco, cremant d’alsace, cava, and sparkling wine.

Related: “Talking Champagne with Peter Liem of Wine & Spirits“

SPIT: freedom in Illinois!
Wine-loving residents of the Land of Lincoln now have fewer choices: It’s confusing, but in a law effective today, wineries (both out-of-state in-state) will have caps on the amount they can ship to Illinois and out-of-state retailers will be banned from shipping to the state. While it’s a sad day and you can chalk one up for special interests let’s just hope this legislative folly goes the way of the foie gras ban soon enough. [Chicago Tribune]

SPIT: freedom in France
Liberté takes a back seat in France too where wine ads are strictly controlled in France and Microsoft has taken the unusually cautious step of removing wine ads from their ad service (Google ads still include wine on the internets in France). If anyone is looking at this site in France, remember, ceci n’est pas une pub! [thepost.ie]

SIPPED: wine education
An inside look at wine education at the Sommelier Society of America. [NYT]

SPIT: jugs!
Almaden and Inglenook, two wines known for their big jugs, will now come in the lightweight bag-in-box format. It sounds like old wine in new wineskins but because of the volume involved it will contribute to reducing wine’s carbon footprint. [Bizjournals]

SIPPED: corks in space
Schramsberg winery reports that Navy Commander Kenneth Ham is flying with bottles of the bubbly on board the space shuttle Discovery! If only. But he is taking some corks and labels from the Napa sparkling wine producer on the flight with him.

SIPPED: Wine books
A review of three wine books today in the NYT Book Review section follows one by Eric Aismov from ten days ago to review the spring crop of wine books. And, yes, my reviews will follow soon before you head to the beach this summer!

RIP: Robert Mondavi, the American wine colossus, who died at 94. [SF Chron, NYT]

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Here’s a great lineup of red wines form Loire – three 2005s from Bernard Baudry and two vins de table (and thus, no vintage) wines from Puzelat. Hmm, sounds like a matchup from Wine Madness…So let’s throw in a Breton too to change things up…

First to the Baudry wines from Chinon: I tasted them first blind, in a lineup of Loire reds. The 2005 “domaine” (under $20; find this wine) is tight, concentrated and serious with a great balance of dark fruits, acidity and cab franc tannin. I poured it later to my NYU class where the reception was mixed but definitely favorable. It probably needs some cellar time…

The Baudry Les Grezeaux (find this wine) is another solid offering that, back in the blind tasting, had a great degree of seriousness and poise. But even better was the Le Clos Guillot (find this wine), a serious and age-worthy wine with great integration of the dark fruits, acidity, minerality and tannins.

The Puzelat “vin de table” wines (find these wines) are not allowed to state the vintage but they are probably 2006. They are easier drinking, with bright fruit and higher acidity and totally rewarding under $20 wines. Try with chevre.

The Catherine & Pierre Breton 2005 Chinon (find this wine) is also tasting great right now–so great, it’s one of those “there must be a hole in it because how else could it be empty so fast” kinda great.

The reason for these speed reviews today was at the suggestion of Garyvee, who holds the rotating chair for Wine Blogging Wednesday this month and picked the excellent theme. Since he is a video blogger, I’m not sure how he will do a customary round-up but you can always check the WBW site for the latest.

Also of note: Eric Asimov did his own Chinon shuffle recently.

SPIT: Wine tasting menus!
John and Dottie, WSJ wine columnists known for their sunny outlook, go negative on NYC wine pairing menus. Le Bernardin takes it the hardest. To the tape: “”Very little went right. The sommelier didn’t hear a word we said…Each white wine was served in the same kind of glass…not one of the seven wines we were served was poured from a full bottle…Most important to us, the pairings themselves were uninspired….We felt very much like we had been treated as hayseed tourists who ordered the tasting and wine-pairing menus only because we didn’t know how to pronounce the names of any of the dishes or wines.” Price: $280–for the wine only. And a parting shot on the phenom: “when we order the tasting menu, the restaurant puts us on its schedule, which is generally too rushed.” [WSJ]

SIPPED: Amazon swirls and sniffs
Move over Manuka honey: Amazon may soon sell wine along with its growing non-perishable grocery line according to the Financial Times today. This would be a welcome entrant into the brier patch of online wine retail. The more retailers, the merrier the wine consumer! The story has a mention of fellow wine blogger Tom Wark. [FT.com]

SIPPED: foreign owners in Bordeaux
Properties producing mid-range wines on the periphery of Bordeaux have been squeezed in recent years. But they may find relief from foreign buyers as evidenced by Haiyan Cheng, 28-year-old daughter of “vastly wealthy Chinese businessman,” Zuochang Cheng. She bought a property–a first for a Chinese buyer in the region–for $3 million and plans to renovate it and expand the vineyards. [NYT]

SPIT: Merlot (again), this time for headaches?
Merlot can’t get no lovin’. Malolactic fermentation may improve the taste of red wines but it also fills them with tyramines and histamines, which cause allergic reactions in many people. “Merlots seem to be particularly high,” UC Berkeley Professor of Chemistry Richard Mathies said although his research is inconclusive. [Red orbit]

SIPPED: Amen to that!
Taking Communion may soon help Chilean farmers get a fair price for grapes. The clergy and parishioners at Manchester Cathedral evaluate the wine today for potential introduction as possibly the world’s first “Fairtrade” Communion wine. Seventy percent of the churches in the Diocese serve Fairtrade tea and coffee. [BBC]

SIPPED: Drink for causes, part II
“For each bottle of wine you purchase as futures from his Lookout Ridge Winery, [Sonoma vintner Gordon Holmes (and former Wall Street publisher)] donates a wheelchair in your name to one of the world’s 100 million needy people desperate for mobility.” Andy Erikson of Screaming Eagle fame is one of the winemakers. (find this wine) [Bloomberg]

French wine marketers have been rightfully pilloried for not knowing up from down in terms of marketing low- to mid-range wines. And now for something completely different: Wine for women. Roll the tape:

“We offer different wines to drink for a variety of occasions, whether it is a girls’ night out, individual tasting pleasure, a romantic dinner, after love making, or a business success.” [WineSight brochure via Decanter]

“After love making”? Zey are so French! Does a man need a separate bottle for such an occasion, a big zin?

And isn’t this deja-vu? Oh yes, Beringer rolled out “White Lie” a few years ago, which, mercifully, cannot be found now. And a magazine called Wine Adventure, marketed as “the first ever wine magazine for women,” barely lasted a year after its 2005 roll-out.

No matter. British retailer Marks & Spencer seem to think marketing to women will aid the sales of a pink port for “ladies.” Have your say about gendered wine products in the latest poll!

poll now closed

Related: “Mourvedre: the next big red?“

Have you ever tried a rare romorantin? The grape is a little off the beaten path. But that’s good.

From Cour-Cheverny in the Loire, the Francois Cazin, Le Petit Chambord 2005 is an attractive wine–excellent balance between acid, minerality, and subtle tropical fruits. Sort of splits the difference between chenin blanc and sauvignon blanc. It’s limited availability, as you might imagine since romorantin is hardly made by the tanker, but I found this bottle for $15 (find this wine).

Then I paired it with a piece of “cave aged gruyere” from Trader Joe’s. It was one of those wine-food pairings where you take a good wine and a good food and make a great pairing. A Ratatouille moment, if you will.

One question for you: is cave aged gruyere from Trader Joe’s really aged in a cave? (or just come guy’s basement?) What are the norms of production on that? The greatest cave aged cheese, Roquefort, doesn’t even bother mentioning that it was aged in a cave. So I’m suspicious…I want pictures of spelunking regulators! And while we’re talking terms, what’s up with “vendages manuelles” (hand harvests)?

Growing pains?
Elaine Sciolino, an NYT France correspondent, ventures to Champagne. As demand for Champagne rises, she examines the fascinating politics of expanding the boundaries of the growing region–is it a boondoggle or a necessity? [NYT] Peter Liem of Wine & Spirits also addressed this question on this blog in September.

Small is beautiful
A Business section story tracks the “grower Champagne” trend, with picks. [NYT]

Big is beautiful
Mike Steinberger, who wrote about grower Champagnes several years ago, now rides to the defense of the big houses and their entry level, nonvintage blends. Shocking! Fortunately the world is still on its axis since he spanks Moët White Star rightfully calling it “execrably sweet, with a confected, cloying taste that made me want to run for my toothbrush.” [Slate]

Old is beautiful
Mike Steinberger fires off another piece this time observing the trend toward buying 30+ year old Champagne at auction. Paradoxically, buyers not much older than the bottles themselves seem to be the source of much of the demand. [Portfolio]

Champ-Angleterre?
Are Champagne houses really contemplating a move to England? Maybe the world IS spinning off its axis?! [Telegraph]

Budget bubbles
Executive Pursuits columnist Henry Hurt III fears a decline in his purchasing power next year. So he had a couple of friends over and poured them nine bubblies blind to see if he could get away with pouring sparkling wine instead of Champagne. They trash the, ahem, grande dame, and praise the lowly Boyer brut, a $9.95 sparkling Burgundy (find this wine). Booyah, Boyer! Happy new year, indeed! [NYT]

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Yesterday I went to one of those lunches that comes around, oh, never. So much fine Champagne is rarely found outside the penthouse jacuzzi of a hip hop mogul.

It was the December lunch of the Wine Media Guild with a theme of prestige cuvées. You got it–Krug, Dom Pérignon, Cristal and 20 other top wines from top houses. Leading us in the packed-house tasting was WMG member Ed McCarthy, photographed at right, author of Champagne for Dummies. I felt like calling him E Diddy with so many bling bubbles around him.

I’m not going to do a run-down of all the wines but here are some of my takeaways. Read more…