Dr Vino's wine blog

Sipped: Peter Singer, Princeton ethicist
“And buying the merlot may help sustain a tradition in the French countryside that we value–a community, a way of life, a set of values that would disappear if we stopped buying French wines. I doubt if you travel to Fiji you would find a tradition of cultivation of Fiji water.” Excellent! He’s clearly been reading his Dr. Vino! [great piece on bottled water in Fast Company]

Sipped: NYC tap water
The NYT gives NYC tap water a thumbs up for taste and price, pointing out that eight glasses of tap water a year has a total tab of $0.49. [NYT]

Sipped: Oregon wine tourism
Oregon Wine has a new interactive map for plotting your next trip to the state. Good stuff–we love maps! [Oregon Wine]

Sipped: Michigan wine country(?)
“There’s a quiet revolution happening here,” Joel Goldberg, a local wine writer, told the NYT about the burgeoning wine life in Michigan. “Go off a side road and through the woods and you’ll find a vineyard here, a vineyard there — hundreds of acres of new vineyards are going in all over the place. And there are some real quality wines.” [NYT travel]

Spit: the US Dollar
Touched a record low versus the Euro on Friday as it fell to $1.3814.

Spit: EU wine reform, in Central Europe
“If this EU reform is passed, I think the size of the vineyards under cultivation in Hungary will be halved. It could create a dramatic situation,” Laszlo Kiss, president of Hungary’s National Council of Wine Communities. [AFP].

Spit: California Rhone-style wine under $10
“Why can’t California deliver the same kind of terroir [as a Cotes du Rhone] for $10? “[SF Chron]

Uprooted
The Financial Times has extended coverage today of the controversial plans that Mariann Fischer-Boel, EU Agriculture Commissioner, has for the reforming the wine sector. The policy still must approved by the member states but if enacted as early as next year, it would lead to the uprooting of 500,000 acres of low-end vines as one measure to reduce the structural wine surplus. The whole policy would, in the words of the Commissioner, put European wines “back…on top of the world” (um, has she note been to Burgundy, Champagne, Bordeaux, or Piedmont to name a few regions that would be on the top of anyone’s list?) France, Italy, Spain and Portugal may oppose the plans. [Financial Times 1 and 2; Bloomberg]

Protected
On the northern shores of Lake Geneva some vines won’t be threatened by either development or the new EU plans, and that’s not just because Switzerland is not a member of the EU: the Lavaux wine region has just been designated proclaimed part of our world heritage by UNESCO. [Swissinfo]

Contextualized
Eric Asimov discovers the perfect food-wine pairing: a juice glass of aglianico with a pizza margherita at Una Pizza Nepoletana in the East Village. Three cheers for evaluating wine in context! [The Pour]

Gargled
Feel a strep throat coming on? Got some wine handy. Gargle. That could be the advice of some Italian researchers who say that wine “could be used to cure a sore throat.” [Telegraph.co.uk]

From reader comments:
JW sez re: Chamarre: “Where will it be in 12 months time – my view is that it will be the victim of the 3 R’s of marketing – redesign, relaunch and resign!”
Jay Miller sez: “Forgetting “emotion” for the moment, if Bob (or any other critic) rates a wine 95 (or 100) one day, will it get the same, or nearly the same score a week or a month later(under blind tasting conditions).”

Related: “To reform or not to reform…“

Vinexpo, schmoozefest
You’ve read some of my coverage of Vinexpo last week (with more material to come), but here’s Elin McCoy’s take on the happenings. [Bloomberg]

Boating wine
“That regatta [in 1851], known as the 100 Guinea Cup, was a fleet race around the island in sturdy yachts made of hardwoods, iron and copper that often featured staterooms below decks and carried plenty of wine and provisions. It took nearly 11 hours for America to complete a 50-mile journey and win…This time, the America’s Cup, sailed in the Mediterranean waters off Valencia, is a best-of-nine match-racing series around the buoys in carbon-fiber yachts, where lightness is king everywhere except in the keel and where the wine remains on shore unless it is being poured on someone’s head in celebration.” You decide which was the better wine voyage. [IHT]

Taste test
In a fascinating exploration of the physiology of taste–and a takedown of the system of wine scores–Michael Steinberger submits himself to the ultimate taste test to find out if he is a supertaster. Must read. [Slate]

Moldovan wine to flow freely again
Is that the sound of clinking glasses you hear in Chisinau? What? Where’s Chisinau? Why, Moldova, of course! In a showdown of the Vladimirs, President Putin said that he would lift the ban on President Voronin’s country’s wine. Russia had accounted for more than half of Moldova’s wine exports before the ban. [Moscow Times]

To Russia, with love
Should wine producers target Russia, India or China? David Skalli makes the case for Russia. [sawf.org]

Mondavi, House of
Eric Asimov reviews the new Mondavi tome in the NYT as does Jon Bonné in the SF Chron.

(image)

House of Mondavi’s crumbling foundation
“But by early 2004, Robert Mondavi Corp.’s reputation for high-quality wines had eroded, and the House of Mondavi was rent by conflict. His hand-picked successor, son Michael, had been removed as chairman, and the Mondavi family was on the brink of losing control of the company. Indeed, behind Michael’s ouster was a closely guarded secret: Robert faced a personal financial crisis that threatened to embarrass him and destroy his legacy.” [WSJ, with video!]

Are wine ratings pointless?
“A wine gets rated one time — a nanosecond in its life cycle,” says Sebastiani winemaker Mark Lyon. “From then on, its fate is determined. Aren’t wines always evolving? Shouldn’t they be rated every year?” From a story by W. Blake Gray in today’s SF Chron

Slow drinkers
“Boxed wine really does keep for six weeks, but would we keep one in our refrigerator for that long? There are so many interesting, affordable wines on the shelves that we’d rather taste several wines than one in a big box.” – John Brecher and Dorothy Gaiter. But what about the low low price per glass if you can find a good one?!? [WSJ]

Do futures have no future?
“Wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to play this game? I hope 2006 will not be a success. I hope it will really show the Bordelais the shortcomings of the system.” –Jancis Robinson in a podcast on Bordeaux futures, aka “en primeur”

Wine beats beer
How did wine become more popular than beer in America? It must be because we got klass. Not so, argues Field Maloney on Slate. We’ve got lifestyle. [Slate]

Corked, ’tis (almost)
The wine market for direct shipments in Illinois is about to become corked up. If passed, IL HB 429 will limit Illinois residents to receiving 12 cases of wine a year. You might think that a case a month would be reasonable. But the bill also would strip many out of state wineries and retailers from the right to ship to Illinois wine consumers. That is not reasonable. [SunTimes]

Corked? No ‘taint
Amorim, a cork producer facing a marketplace challenge from screwcap manufacturers, claims to have found a way to treat corks to bring spoilage, known as cork taint, down to below one percent. [IHT]

What’s all white and has a whiff of man?
Why, the editorial dept at Wine Spectator. Dr. Debs explores and admonishes. [GWU $20]

Pairings gone awry
In his office just off the tasting room at Food & Wine Tower, Ray Isle has recently explored disastrous food wine pairings. California chardonnay and smoked sable ended up “the pairing equivalent of hammering yourself on the side of a head with a mallet.” And he finally found a food that does NOT go with champagne: yuzu sorbet sprinkled with espelette chili powder. I’ll have to bear that in mind… [Tasting Room]

Ixnay sake?
Two sushi experts sayonara to the sake and sushi pairing: “it’s a fool’s pairing—the flavor of sake is too similar to rice to enrich the meal. Opt for beer or green tea—their bitterness acts as a palate cleanser.” What about champagne? [TONY]

They read it for the articles
Playboy had a launch party last week in Shenzhen for some wines they will launch on the Chinese marketplace. The wines may not be valued for what’s inside the bottle since “Playboy wine can enter China market quickly by wide international influence of Playboy brand.” No label image available. [CWIW; via wineconsultant]

Drink me, I’m Irish
If you had a $40,000 a year wine buying budget and a cellar filled with 1,500 bottles, who might you be? Why, Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs! They’re not outrageous ranging from 10 to slightly over 100 euros in current value with the oldest vintage a 1982. Many of the properties represented have Irish connections, such as the obscure Chateau Vignelaure in Provence, which is owned by David O’Brien. Chateau Kirwan and Leoville-Barton feature in the cellar logs, even if their Irish connections were 200 years ago. [independent.ie]

Napa exists!
We might not be able to make new “champagne” brands any more in America, but now Europeans can’t make “Napa.” Take that! [NVR]

Not THAT Georgia
“Want to try Georgian wine?” Mamuka Tsereteli booms, holding out a plastic cup. Seeing a blank look, he helpfully adds, “Caucasus mountains?” Selling Georgian wine in America. [WaPo]

Bottle age
Two Buck Chuck does what none of its wine could do: turns five years old. [AP]

How sweet it isn’t
Mariann Fischer-Boel, the reformist EU Commissioner of Agriculture, has taken aim at Southern European wine producers with the threat of uprooting vines and reducing subsidies. Now she takes aim at Northern Europeans with a potential ban on chaptilization, a method of adding sugar to wine. [J. Ro]

Liquid assets
“I’d bought the wine before it was even bottled, as futures, for $350, and I unloaded it for enough money to purchase a car.” Elin McCoy on her 1982 Chateau Lafleur in a piece on the wine market today. The bluest blue chip? Lafite. But could a correction be coming? [Bloomberg]

Blog buyout
Gary Vaynerchuck, video blogger and owner of the store Wine Library in Springfield, NJ buys out the social networking site, Cork’d. I wonder what Dan and Dan are uncorking tonight? [via Lenndevours]

BYOB in NYC
NY mag has a list of six BYOBs with decent wine shops conveniently located around the corner. [NY mag]

Crank it up to 11
“Another barroom brawl on the BB…hey, is that what BB really stands for?” -Commenter in the fray about point inflation over on eBob. Keep scrolling (post 242) to when Mark Squires compares Parker to Galileo! [eBob]

Related: “Lake Wobegon wines” [Dr. V]
Map of New York City wine shops [Dr. V]

Sabretts and Vega Sicilia
Wines from renowned collector Steve Verlin’s estate are being sold this weekend in Chicago at Hart Davis Hart. He sounds like he was quite a character based on this preview tasting in New York: “In keeping with Verlin’s quirky preferences, the Sabretts [hot dogs] were served at Monday’s dinner with the 1968 vintage of Spain’s most honored wine, Vega Sicilia Unico. There was also popcorn popped in truffle oil partnered with a classic champagne, Krug 1985, and Krispy Kreme doughnuts were washed down with Chateau d’Yquem 1976.” [NY Sun]

Bordeaux sighs in relief
After getting damned and slammed by Jancis Robinson, Bordeaux catches a break from Robert Parker for the 2006 vintage. He hails it as “superior to 2004.” The Medoc lives to see another day, St. Emilion can raise their head in public but Pomerol is the belle of the ball since the wines from there are “excellent across the board.” Dry white Bordeaux bounces back from irrelevancy as the Parkermeister joins J Ro in praising the wines this vintage. But RP only hands out three potential top scores, to Mouton Rothschild, La Mission Haut Brion, and Bellevue Mondotte of St. Emilion. Needless to say, none of those were on the Jancis short list.

Caution: fragile. May be fake
Have you ever objected when the sommelier at a fancy restaurant uncorks your wine and tests a sample himself? Then don’t buy wines from the 18th century, which now post-Rodenstock, are getting downright molested. Quote: “A combination of nuclear isotope analysis and gamma radiation and proton beam tests conducted by experts from the universities of Bordeaux and Manchester will be used to confirm the age of each glass bottle in the Antique Wine Company collection. The wine itself � extracted by hypodermic needle through the cork – will be subjected to molecular and chemical analysis.” [Decanter]

Cameron Hughes, in the house
Yesterday’s post about American negociant Cameron Hughes sparked a comment frenzy–including several by Cameron himself. He elaborates on the differences between his wines and private labels at grocery stores, his sales techniques, and even offers readers of this site 50 % off shipping using a discount code. See the comments.