Overwrought wine prose. My first shipment from Friends of Acacia came today, and the newsletter describes the 2001 Carneros Pinot Noir thusly: "The 2001 vintage was memorable on several counts. After a strong start in late August, September 11th took our breath away. Nature, it seemed, also paused at this event to slow the ripening pace down."
 :: posted by Dante Ramos at 12:01 PM
 :: Comments? []

Global warming and wine.The good news is, the increase in global temperatures over the last 50 years has improved wine quality around the world -- particularly in cooler areas. (Another story here.) But while rising temperatures in the future will continue to help places like Germany and Oregon, they could spell trouble for California and Italy. It works like this:

...regions with warmer climates, such as Italy's famed Chianti region, could see grapes ripen too quickly under even warmer temperatures. Grapes that ripen too quickly on the vine generally have higher sugar content, which produces more alcoholic wine with less acidity and balance.

Plus, half of Louisiana could end up underwater. I guess I won't rush out to buy a Hummer.
 :: posted by Dante Ramos at 9:03 AM
 :: Comments? []

"Napa Nation." The NYT has a moderately interesting article on how places outside of California -- and much farther afield than Washington and Oregon -- are trying to lure tourists to their wineries. Grand Junction, Colo., for example, has changed its slogan from "A Landscape of Adventure" to "Colorado's Wine Country" and seen tourism revenues go up. (Alternate theory: Maybe the real issue is that the old slogan sucked?)
     Before our New Mexico tasting in September, I was pretty skeptical of wines grown outside of the usual places and made from something other than the usual varietals. And I won't be rushing up to North Dakota to try Pointe of View's chokecherry wine.
     But when I'm in my home state in early December, I will try to visit the premier winery there. Acacia it's not, but the wines seem worth a try, and the tasting room looks cozy enough.
 :: posted by Dante Ramos at 7:46 PM
 :: Comments? []

Helpful feature. Incidentally, the results page for the October tasting includes individual scores. Just scroll down to the bottom.
The grid is also accessible by clicking tastings and then scrolling down to October 2003. For boring technical reasons, it looks better when you get to it this way.
 :: posted by Dante Ramos at 1:05 AM
 :: Comments? []

October 14 results. At long last. The theme of the evening was Napa and Sonoma. Chip and Charles had just come back from there, and several of the wines we tasted were souvenirs. But not all of them; Chip filled out the evening’s lineup with some recommendations from Jon at Cork & Bottle. Kate and Wayne hosted.
     1) "Recall." 2001 Gundlach-Bundschu Rhinefarm Vineyards Zinfandel, Sonoma Valley. (See also this PDF.) $32. Average 15.6, range 13-17. The butchest wine of the evening was also the most popular. Strong cherry nose with some asphalt underneath it, and one person even caught some anise. Kate thought it smelled like the leather vessel that Robin Hood would drink his wine out of. Chocolatey, herby, peppery and fruity taste. Meaty but not cloying, Steph thought. Terri said it was unapologetic, "Sean Connery in the making." Mark said it was butch because it mixes gasoline and alcohol, "which is why men die young." Now you know.
     2) "Runoff." 2001 Buena Vista Zinfandel (PDF), California. $9 at Cork & Bottle. Average 15.4; range 15-16. An odd but appealing wine; note the consistent scores. Light-bodied for a red, and especially a zin, but it’s got a very chewy taste to it anyway. Most of us caught various berry and cherry flavors and scents. Becky, who knows her berries better than anyone your Webmaster has ever met, thought it tasted of lingenberry and blackberry. Also kind of smoky and peppery. Reminiscent of red meat, or at least makes one want to eat red meat. (Note: The winery is in Sonoma, but the grapes are from all over.)
     3) "Primary." 2000 St. Supéry Chardonnay Napa Valley. $18.50. Average 15; range 13-17. The first wine of the evening, and a very pleasant one. Apple, butterscotch, vanilla and honeysuckle in the nose, a little bit of citrus, ginger ale and pear cobbler on the tongue. "So creamy it’s like drinking cream," Steph thought. Wayne thought it started musty but finished really well.
     4) "Arnold." 2000 Gundlach-Bunschu Rhinefarm Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma Valley. (See also this PDF.) $32. Average 14.6; range 13-17. Starts with a ground turmeric in the nose, and then comes the fruit. Finish was a little chalky. Kate found it sweet, summery, fizzy and cute. It reminded her of Gary Coleman. Others thought it was liberal but pro-gun. It reminded one person of California also-ran Tom McClintock, inasmuch as it had integrity but also had a potentially limited appeal. Two people likened it to Louisiana also-ran Randy Ewing; one of them put it like this: "It was decent, friendly and honest. I drank the whole thing, and I didn’t notice it, and it didn’t really deliver."
     5) "Kathleen." 2000 Cline Sonoma County Syrah. (PDF) $13 at Cork & Bottle. Average 12.9; range 10-15. The first two seconds of the nose were bad, bad, bad. And although Becky thought it never improved -- she thought it smelled of a combination of cat pee, tobacco and sea salt -- most of us found our way to giving it moderate praise: "rich in its own way," "comforting, solid and basic." It’s like Brendan Fraser or a benign frat boy, Mark thought. It’s like Keanu Reeves, Terri thought; there’s not much to it, and it’s a little annoying, but not so much that you wouldn’t touch it. A few people found the finish chalky, antiseptic and medicinal. Chip thought it suffered by comparison to some of the other wines.
     6) "Bobby." 1999 Stag’s Leap Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. $13. Average 12.3; range 11-14. Simple, fragrant, redolent of pear, honeysuckle, melon, maybe a little grapefruit. Uncomplicated, maybe a little flat and anonymous. Wayne found it pleasant but thought it lacked fruit and tasted almost like a light-bodied beer. Your Webmaster didn’t get much out of it until the temperature of it rose significantly, and that just didn’t seem right.
     7) "Gray." 2000 Keenan Napa Valley Chardonnay. (PDF) $17 at Cork & Bottle. Average 12; range 10-16. Poor Gray: out of a job, and the worst-performing wine of the evening to boot. Chip, who liked this one more than anyone else, identified tart pineapple flavors in it and thought it would go well with roasted chicken. Wayne, who gave it the next-highest score, thought the key would be finding the right thing to do with it; someone else suggested grilled fish as a possibility. Most people found this wine unbalanced and overly acidic and identified (mal)odors like overripe pineapple, vinegar and butter on the verge of burning.
     The fake names here all refer to recent political events in Louisiana and California. Interestingly, the results of the tasting were similar to those of the California election: "Recall" proved quite popular, "Arnold" fared better than the other people, and "Gray" finished way out of the money. If the tasting is any omen what’ll happen in Louisiana, the turnout for the runoff will be higher than for the primary, and Kathleen will edge out Bobby. Anybody taking bets?
 :: posted by Dante Ramos at 7:40 PM
 :: Comments? []