Wine Whine #10

SUMMER WHINE

It’s hard for me to believe that I have been writing this monthly “whine” for almost a year. It started by accident and as I have added names to the distribution list I have been having lots of fun expressing my own biases when it comes to choosing and drinking wines. Remember the choosing is as much fun as the drinking. This month I wish to welcome John Brough of Edmonton, Carol and Peter Fardy of Halifax, and Pat Fleming of Edmonton.

Recently one of my readers (who happens to be a very close relative) has been complaining about the antiquated format that I have been using for distribution. Not wishing to open attachments in principle (you know, those things potentially full of viruses) he insists that I start a blog and distribute the “whine” in that fashion. So, the next issue will be posted on a blog. However, recognizing that some of you are as technologically challenged as I am, next month’s issue will also be sent as an attachment.

Cellar Offering 190: My “whines” are always triggered by the appearance of a new offering from the Opimian Society. This month is no different. Offering 190 has wines from California and Canada as well as a few reprises from Spain and Italy. Most of you now know that my personal taste finds most Italian wines too acidic and most Canadian wines just plain awful. As there are only a few Spanish wines in Offering 190 I shall restrict my comments to the wines offered from California.

Arguably the best wines in the world come from California (sorry Gerard, but I had to say that at the risk of losing my only subscriber from France). Those of you who watched the recent movie “Bottleshock” know that Californian wines came to world attention in the 1970’s when a British wine merchant organized a blind tasting where the best of California was pitted against the best of France. For each pairing the experts chose the American wine and when the whole thing was repeated a few years later the Americans wines won again.

One of the five Californian vineyards that was chosen for the competition was the Steltzner Vineyards in Stag’s Leap, Napa. This month Opimian is offering four wines from Stag’s Leap. These wines are very expensive, but interesting for those of you are into a bit of history. By the way, I only ever tasted one bottle of Stag’s Leap and I was not overwhelmed.

Above I made reference to France versus California. Which country makes better wines? The question is really quite silly, it’s like saying “are fresh garden peas better than fresh garden beans?”; or “is rare prime rib better than medium rack of lamb?” If one could make a single statement about French wines it would be something like “they are generally light, soft, subtle and very complex.” On the other hand, wines from California are “big, bold, and full of fruit flavor.” The vintners work very hard to make their wines distinct and “New World” wines are not supposed to taste like “Old World wines” or vice versa.

Now I think the ultimate in “New World” wine is offered this month from Opimian. There are 7 wines from Reed Renaudin’s “X” Winery and Amicus. These wines are good, and the best is the Amicus, Special Blend (not to be confused with another great wine “Altimus” from Argentina). If, on the other hand, you are shocked at the price, continue on and look at the wines from Ironstone Vineyards. If there are any bargains in Californian wine, look here. In particular consider the Stone Valley Merlot for very good, everyday wine.

Reading a Californian Label: In some previous issues I wrote about reading Spanish wine labels and South American wine labels. This time I shall make a few comments about California labels. Firstly, unlike the strict appellation laws in France, Americans seem to be able to legally get away with almost anything. As such the information on a bottle of California wine is mostly just marketing bull. On the other hand, the wine will almost always identify the varietal (merlot, cabernet, etc.).

The task for the consumer is not in reading the lines on the back of the bottle but in reading between those lines. Here are some hints:

If there is only a brand on the front and some bullshit on the back such as “this wine matches well with barbeque steak, chicken and veal” it’s probably plonc.

“this wine is blended from some of the finest grapes in California”—this means the producer bought the leftover grapes from 47 growers and mixed them together to make really bad plonc.

“this wine is one of the finest wines produced in the Central Valley”—perhaps but few good wines come from the Central Valley

If the front of the bottle identifies the wine from Sonoma or Napa the wine will definitely be decent.

If the wine says it’s from the grower’s own estate you are in luck.

If the wine says it’s from a single vineyard, even better; but not as good as if the single vineyard is identified.

The Professional Sommelier: In an upscale restaurant you may luck out and find that you can order your wine from a sommelier, rather than from your waiter. While this may seem pretentious, it is not. Almost always the sommelier will know his (or her) wines, will give good advice, and the good news is that the sommelier doesn’t cost you anything. You tip the sommelier just as you would your waiter, but having your bill split between the waiter and the sommelier and adding a percentage tip adds to the same total.
If you are served by a sommelier, engage in a conversation. He will need to know what you are eating, how much you want to pay for your wine, and your overall taste preferences (such as do you like light or heavy wines). Just as your waiter will be able to tell you about how a dish is prepared, and what is particularly good tonight, the sommelier can tell you about the wine, how it tastes and if a particular wine is of essentially good value.

Betty and I recently spent 14 nights on the good ship Constellation. We had the same sommelier 12 of the nights and ate in “open seating” on the other two. The second night I ordered a “malbec” and Rodrigues (from Goa, where StFXers all know you can find the bones of St. Francis Xavier) looked at me and said “No, you will find this wine disappointing”. I ordered something else, but the first night we had “open seating” I ordered the malbec from a different sommelier. Guess what, the wine was awful and the only bottle of bad wine I had during the entire holiday. On another occasion I ordered a shiraz (actually one of Greg Norman’s). Rodrigues said: “If you will pay $ 5. more I can recommend something much better”. The extra $ 5. was very much worth it. Finally, I complained one night that there were no carmineres from Chile on the wine list. Not a problem for Rodrigues, he simply appeared with a great, yet inexpensive carminere.