Dr Vino's wine blog

SPIT: Bordeaux futures
In recent years, Bordeaux futures ran up to tremendous highs (see above chart above for three top chateaus ex-cellars; compiled from data from The Times of London). Now, they may be poised to fall back to 2002 prices, which is what British buyers told the Times they were willing to pay. A Bordeaux insider told me recently that the first growths really should not cross the €100 threshold. But he admitted that they probably will after they hear nice things about their wines at the en primeurs tastings in early April.

SIPPED: Bordeaux past
In a blast from what seems a distant past, a new investment fund for wine is opens this month with allegedly 15 to 20 million pounds of assets. Investors will need to meet the 500,000 pound minimum for the closed-end fund. Send checks to Richmond Park partners Steven Berger and Pascal Maeter who will manage the Lunzer Wine Investments Institutional Fund. [Bloomberg]

SIPPED: industrial waste over Givry
The Burgundy village of Givry has to contend with plans for a new industrial waste treatment plant on the outskirts of town. Last year’s mayoral campaign was fought largely around this issue with an anti-plant activist winning town hall. But the regional authorities later approved the plant, winemakers sued, and now a tribunal has suspended the approval. Score one for the winemakers! Check out the story at washingtonpost.com.

SPIT: excise tax
California’s legislature approved a new budget without increasing the excise tax on wine.

SIPPED and SPIT: wine blogs
The wine blog award winners have been announced. Alas, this blog is not among them. But thank you for your clicks of support! And hearty congratulations to the winners! [Fermentation]

SIPPED: insurance!
A “Master of Coffee” (not Mister Coffee) in England has insured his tongue for £10 million ($13.95 million) via Lloyd’s of London (not to be confused with the newly nationalized Lloyds Banking Group, ahem). Take that Robert Parker–his policy is 14 times bigger than your policy! [BBC via sdelong]

SPIT: the French Paradox!
“The consumption of alcohol, and especially wine, is discouraged,” state new government guidelines. Where? France! Sacre bleu! The National Cancer Institute has a new brochure out that also discourages consumption of red meat, charcuterie and salt. [The Times of London]

SPIT: wine on the web
The French Parliament recently debated a bill that included “a ban on free wine tasting, more specific health warnings on bottles, and the legality of mentioning wine on the internet.” [Decanter]

SPIT: Wine on the web a l’americaine!
Korbel has gone before a judge to have Comcast reveal the identities of internet users who posted comments that “damaged” the company on the forums of Craigslist. In a move that could have implications for the freedom of speech on the internet, the proceedings will be closely watched. [Sonoma Press Democrat]

SIPPED: Fewer greenhouse gas emissions
Bordeaux announces a new goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020. Steps include introducing lighter weight bottles and having more container shipping directly from the Port of Bordeaux.

SPIT: the Belle Epoque in Bordeaux
The downturn hits Bordeaux. [Decanter]

SIPPED: Wine for the price of beer
WSJ reporter David Kesmodel has a piece on trading down and bargains; included are some value vino picks from various commentators, including Dr. Vino! [story; wine picks]

SNACKED: Bankable Parmigiano reggiano
An Italian bank has about 500,000 wheels of Parmigiano reggiano cheese, worth about $3,000 each, as loan collateral. If only our toxic assets had that kind of collateral! Maybe an American bank will stockpile wine. [Marketplace]

SPIT: Robert Parker
Business Week announces that Nick Passmore will be writing a twice-a-month wine column for the magazine. Robert Parker will no longer be contributing to the magazine. But what will US Airways do with all those tray tables?!

SPIT: Champagne saber
American skiier Lindsay Vonn may be out of World Cup ski competition, despite being the overall leader this season. Why? A Champagne injury. “Vonn received four stitches in her thumb after picking up a bottle of champagne opened with the edge of a ski and trying to spray it over guests attending a private party on Monday following her victory in the downhill at the World Ski Championships.” [Telegraph]

SPIT: water
Deadly forest fires in Australia have encroached n vineyards; 15% of the crop could be lost. [Decanter]

SPIT: water, part 2
A lack of rain plagues California vineyards. [KCRA]

SPIT: Luxe
Profits at LVMH were dragged down by slumping Champagne sales [AP]; the Naples charity wine auction brings in about $5 million, a third of last year [Decanter].

SIPPED: supermarket wine
Tennessee also may allow wine sales in grocery stores. [AP]

[Update] SIPPED: Chianti and lubrification!
“Our data shows that women who reported drinking 1-2 glass of red wine daily have higher FSFI scores for both sexual desire, lubrification and overall sexual function.” [Sexologies, thanks reader Bill!]

Last week I attended the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium, the annual wine industry trade show in Sacramento. The tractors and sorting tables in the exhibition hall give the event an agricultural vibe but there are also a series of panels and sessions around the main hall. Here are some tasting sized pours.

SIPPED: wine
Industry observer Jon Fredrikson reported while wine consumption grew (by volume) in 2008, the growth slowed to the slowest in a decade. Restaurants have been “pummeled” as more wine consumption is happening at home. He also spoke of a “shrinkage of the supplier pipeline.”

SPIT: global wine surplus
Bill Turrentine, a bulk and bottled wine broker, showed that there’s not a lot of excess wine on the global market with only Australia showing a notable excess. He said that that in previous cycles, sinking demand was confounded by oversupply, a situation that is not happening right now.

SIPPED: trading down
“The $10 bottle is the new $20 bottle, and the $20 bottle is the new $100 bottle.” – John Gillespie of Wine Colleagues in St. Helena.

SPIT: Current quality of wine under $10
“We’ve already succeeded getting American wine on the table at the Four Seasons. That was 30 years ago. Our goal today is to get wine on the table of the bus boy at the Four Seasons.” – Paul Lukacs, wine writer

SIPPED: self
“Wholesalers do a great job getting wine to the local market place.” -Craig Wolf, President and CEO of the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America. Perhaps. But what about expanding wine retailer shipping between states and turning the American market for wines into a national market?

SIPPED: big tires?
“You’ve got to check out this tractor babe–she’s hot! Come on!” -unidentified man upon seeing his friend.

(image, with permission)

SPIT: presidential pardon
Of all the names circulating for a presidential pardon, few lists would include Fred Franzia for his federal offense (and, no, as much as reader Alberto would like, it wasn’t making Two Buck Chuck). But Franzia wants to own a gun. That’s one thing that he can’t do because in 1993 he pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to defraud, paid a $2.5 million fine. The AP reveals how he worked the system–unsuccessfully–to try to get a presidential pardon. He’s no turkey! (via Mark Fisher)

SIPPED: roll out the barrels
A hotel in Holland (of all places) allows you to fulfill one of your wine fantasies–sleeping inside an old oak barrel! Wait, that’s not one of your wine fantasies? Well, you can now do it anyway. Just don’t bring luggage because a 15,000 liter vat is not all that roomy for two humans! (Treehugger, via Mark Fisher)

SPIT: editors
Ruth Madoff may be in the news for the alleged Madoff Ponzi scheme. While the details of that are being sorted out, Karen MacNeil, a Napa-based wine and food writer, has come forward to say that she was more than an editor on Ruth Madoff’s kosher cookbook. “But in point of fact, I wrote the entire book,” MacNeil told the Times. (Thanks, Steve!)

SIPPED: pennies and Saran Wrap
Just in case you thought manipulation of wine was limited to the winery, Harold McGee gives people the discusses dunking knives and pennies in his wine–but ultimately gives people the green light to use plastic wrap to remove cork taint! Has anyone ever done this successfully? Hit the comments! [NY Times]

SPIT: discussion
Over on eBob, discussion about my recent Q&A with John Gilman was cut off after 130+ comments.

SIPPED: American wine in the UK!
America California overtakes France to move into second place in the UK wine market, thanks to high volume supermarket brands, particularly rosé (aka white zin?). British observer Malcolm Gluck doesn’t think much of the low-end American wines and has this to say: “If you are looking for wine under £5, France knocks America into a cocked hat.” [Telegraph]

SIPPED: resveratrol
Australia is known for its brawny shiraz. Now an Australian doctor has made a new amped up wine though not with tannins, rather, with the possibly life-extending and sloth-inducing resveratrol. Will he prescribe to take two (glasses) and ask you to call him in the morning? [news.com.au]

SPIT: recession!
Crushpad, a custom wine maker San Francisco, has released the pricing on a 2007 Napa Cab. Pre-buy the wine now for $39 a bottle. Every 100 points the Dow falls between the day you pre-buy and when you take delivery in August 2009, they lop $2 a bottle off the price and will cut you back an “economic stimulus” check with the difference. If, by some miracle, the Dow is higher, you pay no more. [Bailout wine]

SIPPED: Claudia Schiffer’s anatomy!
German designer Karl Lagerfeld has designed an uber-kitshy Champagne glass (or is it a bowl?) for Moet & Chandon inspired by a part of supermodel Claudia Schiffer: her bosom. According to Decanter, the glass sits atop three “diminutive” Dom Perignon replicas. The only way to get the glass is with the 1995 Dom Perignon Oenotheque (find this wine) for $3,150, or $2,750 more than the bottle itself. That’s a lot of lift!

Buyers wanted
The IHT reports that fine wine buyers “are pushing back.” Separately, wine auction house Acker Merrall gives potential buyers come hither eyes and cuts their buyer’s premium to 18 percent; Zachys responds by going to 17 percent.

Adieu, Copia?
Copia, the wine, food and art museum and restaurant in Napa City, closed on November 21 and has filed for Chapter 11. The original $55 million in funding came at least half from Robert Mondavi. The NYT promises more coverage tomorrow. [Diner’s Journal]

Biodynamics is poop
In what promises to be a salty interview, French actor-vintner-restaurateur Gerard Depardieu–who once joked that his mother’s amniotic fluid was actually wine–disdains biodynamics claiming the vineyard treatment “doesn’t exist.” Then he claims that he uses biodynamics at his Chateau de Tigne property in Anjou only because he is “poor.” [Decanter]

Michigan: no delivery?
A federal court struck down Michigan’s law that prohibits out-of-state retailers from shipping to Michigan residents while allowing local wine stores to deliver. While the case is on appeal, a new bill in the legislature tries to create a level playing field–by preventing local wine stores from delivering! See the op-ed against the bill in Crain’s Detroit Business.

SPIT: red states
With more states turning blue, a reader writes in to say that it will be even harder to do a red state-blue state article again now that Virginia and Colorado are blue. Indeed! Texas, over to you?

SPIT: global wine mergers
The purchase of Napa’s Chateau Montelena by the Reybier group (Cos d’Estournel), hailed in July by Robert Parker as “one of the biggest stories in my 30 years in the wine field,” has now been canceled. [PR newswire]

SPIT: global wine
John Mariani has a sip of the Andeluna Grand Reserve Pasionado, a $50 red from Mendoza, and calls it “an explosion of high-alcohol, grapey, oaky flavors that seemed to epitomize all that is wrong with what has been called the globalization of wine.” [Bloomberg]

SIPPED: Making drinks instead of ordering them
At least one person from the world of finance has stopped thinking about structured equity products and is now thinking about Purple Hooters at the New York Bartending School in Manhattan. [Bloomberg]