Smoky Pinots and spicy Cabernets

January 21, 2011 in wine culture with 0 Comments

 

Yesterday will be one of the more memorable days among the many tasting occasions taking place this January.

First, the BIVB event. I went to hear how the BIVB presented itself, the diversity of offerings from Burgundy (at Village level) and maybe try a few of the seemingly popular 2009 Burgundies. The presentation was simultaneously familiar, yet surprising, but more on that soon. The 2007 & 2008 wines they showed were really good, but I can’t help feeling that if they lost that chip off their shoulder about their superiority, consumers might be more forthcoming.

However, the most memorable aspect (above and beyond the very few 2009′s that I tasted, which to be honest were not as impressive as I had expected) was the fact that a light in the Old Billingsgate gantry decided to overheat and burst into flame. Not sure if people were more concerned for their safety and that of the building, or the impact it was having on their ability to smell the wines. However, I left as we were being (temporarily) evacuated. Here are a few snaps I took of the offending light.

I moved on to the Oregon & Washington tasting instead, and arriving earlier than planned, was lucky to take part in a comparative tasting of some TOP Washington Cabernet Sauvignon wines from 2007 and 1997. Here are my tweets:

  • Ch. St. Michelle Cold Creek 07: chalky, soft tannins but a big sweet, dark ripe fruit body. Slightly reductive nose. Years to go
  • Ch. St. Michelle Cold Creek 97: lots of tertiary character on nose, tannins nicely integrated. Sweet spice. Elegant, almost floral, wine
  • Seven Hills, Klipsun Vineyard, 07: v. Young, plum & White pepper nose, sweet, dark fruit and liquorice root
  • Seven Hills, Klipsun Vinyrd, 97: smells of Campari (bitter edge, spirity), sweet fruit masked by acidity & tannin, maybe falling away? [I decided later it was actually Averna it smelled of - a herbal digestive drink]
  • L’Ecole No41 Pepper Bridge 07: Pepper (yes), blackcurrant nose and christmas spice, chalky, rounded taste. V. Nice
  • L’Ecole No41 Pepper Bridge 97: very nicely integrated, juicy, tasty wine. Well developed. My fave I think
  • Woodward Canyon Old Vines 07: mocha, vanilla nose. V soft, opulent tannins. BIG! needs age
  • Woodward Canyon Old Vines 97: herbal, all spice nose and hint of damp. Real herbal edge to taste. A little overpowering
  • Overall impression of Washington Cabs: REALLY benefit from age, they’re full flavoured, not full bodied, wines. Know your AVAs

As you might expect really, the extra time has been very positive for these wines. The shame is that as you drink the 1997s you really notice how young and un-ready even the 2007′s are, but that is how they are being experienced by the consumer. Wineries … hold on to your stocks a little longer! Your importers and retailers cannot do it, and it is your wines and your eventual customer that will benefit.

A memorable day in lots of ways.

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Two wine apps – a brief review

January 17, 2011 in reviews with 3 Comments

 

I don’t spend long enough looking at apps for the iPhone and other smart phones, largely because so many of them are based around storing tasting notes and collecting wine information – and I think that too boring for words.

However, sometimes some off-the-wall stuff comes along that captures my imagination, at least for a bit. Neither of these two apps will necessarily divert you for long, but they are both free … and so are worth every penny!

UK Wine Tax Calculator

Screen capture of UK Wine Tax Calculator app

50.6% Tax - tastes funny

(App by APPetise)

A simple app. No tasting notes, no recommendations, no points.

Plug in the retail price you are paying for your wine, plus the alcohol level, and this handy little app will tell you what (MASSIVE) percentage is going DIRECTLY to the government in both VAT and Duty. Then you can sit back, enjoy your wine, and when you hear politicians say “We are all in this together”, you can toast them with your glass of tax-revenue-in-a-glass. You’ve done your bit!

An interesting development would be to add estimated values for certain other items, such as the packaging and supermarket retail margins, so you can get an idea of what percentage of that final price might actually be the cost of the wine itself! You’d be surprised!

Wine Tonight?

Screen capture of Wine Tonight App

Wine Tonight App - yes dear

(App by Whitespace)

Know anything about biodynamic wines? What about the theory’s application to a wine tasting calendar? No?

I’ve been monitoring the idea that as well as the wines being MADE following certain lunar and natural cycles, the wines taste different on a similar schedule. I bought a little booklet called “When Wine Tastes Best” for 2010 and always thought it should really be an app. And in 2011 they’ve obliged, sort of.

In theory, the days of the year fall into 4 categories; GOOD -Fruit & Flower and BAD – Leaf & Root. Don’t ask me how they decide, but if you look up a date it should tell you whether your wine will be showing itself at its best, or be having the vinous equivalent of a bad hair day.

I had hoped the app would allow you to link up to a calendar, maybe help you plan your wine dinners and tastings in advance. It doesn’t. It only tells you the status of TODAY. Click on “Wine Tomorrow?” and you get an ad for the printed booklet.

They’re REALLY missing a trick here. The physical booklet only costs £3.99 (or less) but there are printing costs, and delivery costs to factor in. SURELY they’d make a lot more money selling it on iTunes for £0.79 and encouraging a lot more immediate, impulse buys?

For the record, the calendar is hit-and-miss. I’ve not wholly bought into the concept, … but there are days where otherwise perfectly good wines just don’t taste right, so …

Have you spotted any other wine apps worth reviewing that are NOT tasting note stores or cellar management tools?

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Lebanon and a truly inspiring wine story from the BBC

January 13, 2011 in wine conversation with 0 Comments

 

Today the BBC Radio 4 broadcast a special programme on the wines of Lebanon, presented by Jeremy Bowen, called ‘Vines on the Front Line‘. The result was actually a very interesting human story, not one of grapes, and I was impressed.

Jeremy Bowen, BBC

Jeremy Bowen, BBC

To listen to the report, click on the link below:

(at least if you are in UK, not sure if it works elsewhere. If I find a permanent download file, I will add this in here later too.)

Vines on the Front Line, BBC Radio 4

My view:

Jeremy is best known, at least in this household, as an international correspondent for the BBC, reporting from the Middle East on conflicts, power struggles and diplomatic wrangling. He is definitely not a name I would have associated with wine reports, but, as he said himself,

“Grapes have been part of my life as a correspondent”

… and I can well imagine!

There are many directions a programme about wine in Lebanon could have gone. It could have been an excuse to treat the people involved as freaks in the context of a war – bombs and suffering sell news better than wine stories after all. It could have been another ‘introduction to wine’ programme rehashing basic wine knowledge with a bit of politics thrown in to make it a bit different.

Instead, Jeremy Bowen’s people skills, and his ability to sniff out real, personal stories, were well matched to his political and historical knowledge, and used to make us understand that what people are doing is neither odd, nor crazy, but actually part of a culture that is older and more enduring than the political, religious divisions that dominate our news of this region. There’s a lesson in there!

I like the fact that he doesn’t actually spend time giving us any detailed tasting impressions, or discussing wine making practices other than a few references. Wine doesn’t have to be about that. What makes Lebanese wine different is the combination of ancient & modern history, the attitudes to wine culture and the imported technology, the recent struggles to keep these traditions alive, and by people whose passion is simply demonstrated by the fact that they continue to do it despite the political, and violent personal, setbacks.

I’ve listened to the programme 3 times. I want to go out and drink some Lebanese wine and learn more about it. That’s the mark of a good programme. Well done Jeremy. Well done BBC.

Can we have a few more like this please?

By the way, if you are inspired to try some Lebanese wines too, here’s a list of key wineries and their UK importers who might be able to help locate a local stockist to you (list courtesy of @LebanonWines)

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Afros Wine – a sensory experience

January 10, 2011 in wine culture with 0 Comments

 

What helps a winemaker make a really interesting wine?

Is it the tools, technology and modern training received from experts at the best wine colleges? Or might it be the fact that when they walk through a grove, crunching the remains of Autumn leaves underfoot, to the sounds of the local church bell down the hill, they know the fact that the trees are exactly 107 years old because their grandparents planted them to celebrate their wedding?

Vasco Croft at Afros

Does a biodynamic vintner make better wine because (s)he follows this particular regime, … or does the biodynamic respect for nature stem from a connection to that land that the vintner already has?

This was my second meeting with Vasco Croft of Afros Wine, the first being a Vinho Verde tasting in London where I was rather taken by his wines. This time we met at his estate on a visit during the Wines of Portugal International Conference (#WoPIC) in 2010.

By the way, Vasco, as a fellow visitor remarked, has more than a passing resemblance to a young Richard Gere and certainly seems to embody the ‘vitality’ that biodynamic followers like to discuss. He looks like he could move seamlessly from the winery to leading a local yoga masterclass.

I was taken by the sounds of his place. I’ve been to many wineries recently, from the large and clinical to the small and haphazard. This place was more ‘natural’, more suited to the translation of ‘Adegga’ as ‘farm’ rather than the grander wine term ‘estate’.

There may have been 30 people there, but you could still FEEL the calm, seeing the mountain horses and sheep allowed to roam freely in the vineyards and hearing the specially designed fountain sculpture ‘dynamising’ the water used in the winery and vineyard.

After a brief outdoor tour, past the edges of the vineyards, through the special room for biodynamic preparations, past the fountain and into the grove, we finally entered the recently completed tasting room. Here we matched the rather individual Afros wines to a menu specially designed by the kitchen team at Ferrugem (a well respected local restaurant) that, like the wines, take traditional materials and delivered them in an exciting way.

Our first experience was to match the delicate mouse and fragrantly biscuity Afros Espumante Reserva Loureiro 2007 (sparkling wine) with a spoon of “sarrabulho* sweet, Reineta apple puree and caviar of cherry tomatoes”. Arguably the food flavours were a little strong for the wine, but both were excellent.

sarrabulho sweet, Reineta apple puree and caviar of cherry tomatoes

Sarrabulho sweet and caviar of cherry tomatoes

Next was a superb take on a classic: Pastel de (Bacalhau com) Nata – a light pastry which instead of the traditional sweet cream, was filled with creamy, savoury cod in order to match the floral, crisp Afros white made from the Loureiro grape, Afros Loureiro 2009. A stunning combination, not just of the salty food and crisp wine, but also the creamy softness of the food accentuated the structure of the white wine. Wow!

We followed this with a surprising combination of  red Vinho Verde, made from a grape no-one thought could make ‘proper’ wine, the 2010 Afros Vinhao, with Caldo Verde soup (based on potato and cabbage I think). Lovely! The wine was intense, with that ‘purple’, inky, sharp character I associate with teinturier grapes (with red flesh) but also fresh, with a fruity character of crisp blueberries, red currants and pepper.

Next was the surprising Afros Espumante Reserva Vinhão 2006 sparkling red, made from the same Vinhao grapes, but further enhanced by the second fermentation that rounded out the palate with some yeasty character but also had the bubbles to bring out the fruity aromatics. We matched this to chef’s local equivalent of a ‘surf and turf’ dish of octopus, chestnut and red pepper sauce. So many flavours but well complemented by the wine.

polvo com tinta(o)

It is heartening to see a small business balancing a very modern outlook with a natural approach in a traditional context. Biodynamics, from a traditional ‘estate’ but made with an eye on an international consumer.

This is a small estate, and one of the very few registered biodynamic producers in the whole of the country, but I hope it represents a new wave of ‘artisan’ winemakers that will gain international and national recognition for their dedication, and will raise the profile and standing of their region and country.

Well done Vasco, and well done Portugal

p.s. lots more food and vineyard photos if you see the full set above or click through to my Afros photos on flickr

*as far as I can tell this is a dish made in the style of black pudding, but I have been unable to find out much more – it essentially was a blood-pudding meatball

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Can a cheap wine be too good?

November 30, 2010 in marketing with 16 Comments

 

I attended a “Spanish Wine on the High Street” tasting recently. The idea was to showcase the best, or most popular, Spanish wines in the ranges of the UK’s top supermarkets and high street wine retailers (or what’s left of them), as selected by their buyers. There were wines of many styles and prices there, including very expensive ones (and lots of Rioja). I have published some of my thoughts from that tasting on my Posterous blog, but I want to explore a separate question here.

What would you expect for 61p?

Supermarket wine shelves UK
Image by casavides via Flickr

We all want a deal. We all love finding a bargain, where the value for money, the “bang for your buck”, is great – especially if we are the ones to discover it and tell our friends and gain ‘kudos’. But sometimes, things might also look, and taste, too good to be true.

One of the wines was from a region already known to make decent, uncomplicated and good value wines. It was not stunning, but it was certainly drinkable, with nice fruit and a clean finish. The surprise was that it was selling for only £2.70 a bottle.**

Normally, if I even tasted a wine that cost this much, I’d expect something virtually undrinkable, simply because it is not possible to make a wine and sell it at this price. So, what does it mean?

I should say I know NOTHING about the deal that got this wine listed in this retailer, but let’s face some basic facts:

In the UK, on a retail price of £2.70 there is £0.40 of VAT and £1.69 of Duty (which is fixed for ALL wine bottles, of any price). That leaves £0.61

That 61p has to cover the cost of:

  • the glass bottle
  • printing the label
  • cork
  • capsule
  • cardboard cases
  • shipping (from the producer to the UK)
  • distribution (within the UK to all the shops)
  • PLUS the retailer’s margin (the supermarket has to make some money!)**

oh, wait …

  • growing the grapes
  • picking the grapes
  • crushing the grapes
  • fermenting the juice and storing it for a period of time
  • all the processes of ‘filtering’ and ‘preparing’ the wine
  • bottling, corking and labelling the wine
  • getting through a great deal of administration and bureaucracy
  • staff to do all this stuff
  • … and maybe leave some money for the winery?

Does that sound likely?

Wineries do their utmost to make a good wine in such a volume that they can make economies of scale and sell it at a reasonable price, but this is extreme. So what are the implications?

These deals are driven by a certain level of desperation. No winery can make money on it, but there are circumstances where “moving” a wine even if it is for almost nothing, is cheaper than the alternative. If your tanks are full of a good wine you have not been able to sell from last year, and you NEED those tanks for this year’s wine, and you can’t simply pour it down the drain … what can you do?

Retailers will gladly take it off your hand if they can make money from it. They’ll sell it cheap and get folks flocking to their shops.

The knock on problem is that we consumers say “Hurrah!” as the value for money is apparently very high, and we love spending so little.

We are then entitled to think, “well, if that wine tastes THAT good for £2.70 then why should I pay £4, £5 or £6, or even £10+?” But it isn’t economic. Wineries and regions will not survive selling wine at that price level.

All the good work by wine lovers to explain the agricultural, artisanal, low-margin, high unique value proposition of wines is lost in a storm of price discounting.

Selling decent wine at throw-away prices changes the expectations about wine as a whole, and particularly the country that it is associated with. It associates it with “cheap” wine, a moniker that is VERY hard to get rid of later (just ask Bulgaria, Portugal, and even Chile).

Too often they become, and remain the “best wines for not a lot of money” instead of the “best value for money” which they aim for.

I totally understand why wineries can end up in this situation in the short term, and that supermarkets are also commercially driven, but it does wine no good. If this becomes the norm (as, arguably, it has), good wineries that have to sell at properly commercial prices will not find space for their wines and are forced to compromise as well, or go out of business.

At the end of the day, cheap wine is usually terrible, undrinkable, nothing more than slightly flavoured, acidic alcohol. You get what you pay for … generally.

But if you buy that wine, and it actually tastes good, then what incentive do you have for spending more? After all, if we keep spending at this level, more wineries will be desperate enough to sell wine at these prices. Until they all close.

How can we change this situation, if retailers don’t care? Whose responsibility is it? Well, the government is poised to create a “law” to stop selling “below cost” … but how do you define that, and where does the money go? A topic for another day.

I think that good wine CAN be too cheap.

Do you agree? Do those who cannot afford more expensive wine ‘deserve’ good wine at cheaper prices despite what it does to the industry – is it just a case of survival-of-the-fittest?

By the way, for a variety of reasons, I am not mentioning the wine, producer or retailer that occasioned this thought. It is a general point I am making.

** I discovered that the £2.70 was a promotional price during a 25% off promotion. However, as this simply removed one aspect (the retailer’s margin), the general point remains although it would have to be taken into account

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