Much Ado About Something
Filed Under The Wine World
“The market for wine-bottle closures is a $4 billion battlefield where an epic confrontation is now taking place.” - George Taber, from To
The much-needed discussion about wine closures is upon us and none other than George M. Taber is taking the podium. Former reporter and editor of Time Magazine, Taber is no stranger to wine. His earlier book Judgement in Paris captured the moment when California bested the great wines of Bordeaux, and it quickly became the definitive text on the subject. With his new book, Taber has once again brought clarity to a major controversy in the wine world. Read more
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New Year’s Resolution: Buy Wider, Buy Smarter
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This is typically the time of year when we all engage in a bit of reflection: What we did right over the course of the past year, what we could have done better, and how we plan on making the most of the coming year. And if there’s one thing most of us can improve on in 2008, it’s to become more open-minded wine-buyers and more strategic collectors.
If you fall into the former category, then make 2008 the year you experienced one new grape varietal or region each week: The wine world is expanding at breakneck speed, and the more open-minded you are to wines from unexpected grapes or unfamiliar parts of the world, the more drinking pleasure you’re likely to have. And the more exciting it’ll be each time you pull something off the rack or out of the cellar.
If you fall into the latter group, then make 2008 the year you hedge your bets. Too many friends and acquaintances of mine buy a single bottle of such-and-such a wine and then simply hope for the best when the time comes to open it up. Which is the wine equivalent of a sky-diver not having a reserve chute.
Corks fail regularly, after all, or bottles age and fade before they’re expected to. For any number of reasons, there’s no guarantee that the juice in the bottle will be what you expect it to when you finally pop that cork. So buying double, as it were, is not a reckless expense; it’s just smart wine-collecting.
Of course, the most clever people will fashion their wine lives to fit into both those categories. So drink well, drink widely and wisely, and make 2008 a vintage to remember.
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Philadelphia Inquirer & Philly.com Debut Wine Videos
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Might as well hear about it from the fatboy himself. Here’s the link.
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Pimping out the School’s Good Name…..
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Well, it’s that time of year again. Its that when I swallow my pride, and join the endless torrent of Christmas Holiday Sales and Promotions.
If you have a special someone who lives near Philly, then how about getting him/her/it a wine school gift certificate? They are beautiful and customizable, and will be delivered via email as a printable document. Anyways, thats my holiday sales pitch.
If you prefer something a b it more trashy, then I say go with this Pimp Wine Glass, which I found here.
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Happy Holidays!
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I’m dreaming of a blanc (de blanc) Christmas
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(sung to the tune of White Christmas)
I’m dreaming of a blanc (de blancs) Christmas
All chardonnay, no pinot noir
The Salon is chilling
And artists swilling,
In a 1930s Paris bar
I’m dreaming of a blanc (de blancs) Christmas
Josephine staggers, then a-rights
May my day turn easily to night
And may all of my champagne be white
And the wine, the year, what fills my dreams?
Salon Brut Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil 1928. Read more
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Return from Piemonte
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I was always one of those guys who was unaffected by jet- ag, no matter where I was traveling to or returning from. But this most recent trip–my wife and I spent the 10 days around Thanksgiving in the town of Costigliole d’Asti–seems to have gotten to me. I’m exhausted!
This is either because I’m (a) getting older or (b) suffering from Barbaresco, Barolo, and Barbera withdrawal. I’d like to believe it’s the latter of the two options.
I’ll be posting my tasting notes here over the course of the next several weeks, but I thought I’d take this blog space to discuss one of the most surprising discoveries of my time in Piemonte: The sheer range and quality of Barbera.
Over on this side of the pond, Barbera tends to exist in the vinous shadows, and I personally never gave it much thought except when I was having a simple pasta dish or a particularly meaty pizza. But in Asti, it’s a whole different ball game: Barbera runs the gamut from light and refreshing–I tasted an almost nouveau-style one at the Asti Truffle Festival–to dense and brooding and perfect alongside a rich piece of steak. I even tasted a number of them with a decade or more of bottle age–and they were fantastic!
I suppose the lesson here is a simple one: Always be open to new wine experiences, and don’t assume that the selection on our shelves represents the totality of a certain type of wine. Even a supposedly humble grape like Barbera can do great things when given the TLC it so richly deserves.
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Italian Pick of The Week 11/26/07
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Mastroberardino Aglianico Passito “Antheres”, NV, Irpinia IGT, Campania
With the holidays upon us thoughts turn to sumptuous meals and the bounty of late autumn as it folds into winter..and wines to enjoy as an accompaniment to antipasti, entrees, and, of course, dessert. Italy is renowned for its array of dessert wines and post dinner liquori anddigestivi, ranging from mildly sweet to uncompromisingly bitter.
The dean of Campania’s producers, Mastroberardino, offers this late harvest liquoroso that was dried on straw mats known as graticci for months before being fortified with distillates of three year old wine. The result is an alcoholic blast of warmth and the textures of a young port.
The nose opens to the typical Taurasi mix of bitter cherries and woodsy fruits, dark and earthy. In the mouth the firm body you’d associate with Aglianico serves as the foundation for the developing flavors of dark cherries, raspberries, and rounded notes of prune and raisins. The sensation created is of balance, depth, and a passito sweetness that complements rather than overwhelms.
This is a wine to savor on its own or with dry pastries, perhaps a Sienese panforte or a plate of biscotti. A wine to warm the soul. Go ahead, indulge yourself, you’ve earned it.
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Sommelier Smackdown End-of-Year Bout
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“Tell him he can have my title, but I want it back in the morning.” - Jack Dempsey’s response after a drunk challenged him to a fight.
Things are heating up around the Wine School, folks. Seems there is a good old-fashioned sparring match coming up as sources have confirmed that Founder Keith “Wall-Eye” Wallace has officially challenged his trusty Instructor Brian “B.D.” Freedman to the ultimate duel:
It’s the Sommelier Smackdown End-of-Year Bout. There will be wine. There will be food. There will be judgement. Maybe not the “sweet science” you had in mind, but, a sweet science, nonetheless.
In the past months, Wallace and Freedman have gone up against some of Philly’s toughest contenders - Christophe Tassan, Ryan Davis, Jeff Bloom, Christophe Guillot, Anthony Masapollo – pairing food with wine on limited budgets and strict rules. Some rounds have been won, some lost – with a few glorious victories going to each man.
To be certain, these aren’t exactly the halcyon days of Ali and Foreman. Still, there will be plenty of ego entering the ring come Wednesday, December 12th, as Wallace and Freedman go head to head in THE wine and food match of the year.
Who’ll be standing four rounds and two hours later? Purchase your seats, folks, and place your bets. I’ve got a hunch many are going to want to be ringside for this one.
Sommelier Smackdown, Wednesday, December 12, 7:30 – 9:30 PM.
Keith “Wall-Eye” Wallace vs. Brian “B.D.” Freedman.
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What is Italian Wine?
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Recently, our Advanced Class students finished a seven week viaggio through the oftimes bewildering, but nonetheles fascinating, demimonde of Italian wine. Along the way they tasted, analyzed, and discussed dozens of wines representing eighteen of Italy’s twenty regions, from the obvious - Barolo - to the relatively obscure - Peleverga. The objective of this “by the glass” tour was to answer, if at all possible, the question “..what is Italian wine?”, a task they revisited at the final session.
The wines had been presented not only for their aesthetic and organoleptic merits, but also in the context of regional history, economics, geography, culture, and society. To learn of Italian wine divorced from these interdependent factors is to ignore millennia of viticultural heritage and Italy’s current and future position in the international wine community. Read more
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