I’m preparing to fly to KC to lead a wine tasting in a few days. But not before I head to Boston to do a wine training. I was recently asked my opinion about a wine by the CEO of a multi-million dollar wine importer. And today I was asked to be a contributing writer to a well regarded wine website. SO WHO THE HECK AM I???… Read the rest of this entry »
Confessions of a wine blogger
January 19th, 2010
Kosher Food & Wine has arrived
February 5th, 2010My posts have been increasingly inconsistent of late as my new job has me working night and day representing amazing wines and helping to plan fabulous events.
This past week saw it all come together with the culmination of the 4th annual “Kosher Restaurant & Wine Experience” on Feb 1 in NYC & the 3rd annual “International Food & Wine Festival” on Feb 3rd in Oxnard, CA.
I helped out with a bit of the planning for the NYC event and have been ecstatic to hear all the positive feedback (with a dash of criticism thrown in of course).
And while I had little (OK, nothing) to do with the planning of the West Coast event, I was privileged to represent Israeli standout wineries Carmel & Yatir – whose wines also received rave reviews from the attendees.
Though high priced items such as the Yatir “Forest” attracted lots of attention, having spent MANY hours (on my feet) pouring the Carmel/Yatir wines I found that people were pleasantly surprised by the resurgence of Carmel and the new “Private Collection” (new label & no longer mevushal/flash pasteurized) & “Appellation” series wines. Though the Appellation Carignan & Petite Sirah (both old vines incidentally) have been cult favorites for years among Israeli wine lovers, other Appellation wines such as the 2007 Cab Franc (in NY) or the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz (in CA) were also very positively received.
Though my wife makes fun of my food critiquing, I am far from a food critic (can you say Food Tasting Guy?). Yet I managed to sneak away from my post at the CA show a few times and marveled at the culinary genius of Tierra Sur Chef Todd Aaron’s creative and delectable cuisine. It was so good I reserved a precious spot to go back for dinner prior to my return flight to NY early next week. Now if I can only figure out a way to get the company to cover the tab…
Happy mind blowing-ly good KOSHER food & wine tasting!
WTG
Bad wine – what to say (or not say)?
January 31st, 2010We live at a time when there is lots of good wine on the market. Modern technology and competition have respectively both enabled and forced wineries to make wines of high quality. Even the cheap (budget) wines out there are drinkable. But what about those are just plain bad? As a wine writer and aspiring wine V-logger how do I handle the issue of reviewing a bad wine? How do the PAID wine critics face themselves after announcing to their readers that someone’s hard work is crap?
For the most part, I have tried to follow the old adage; “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”. If I thought a wine was bad, I would simply say NOTHING. Don’t write about it. And even if I thought a wine was mediocre, I might write the positives about the wine, and skip the mediocre parts. But does this hurt my credibility? Can I be taken seriously if I only have nice things to say? What of the controversial wine panning? Dare I potentially burn bridges out there? Will I piss people off if I say that I think their wine sucks?
An argument can be made for both sides. But I think the reality is that I can not play both sides of the fence. And things have gotten even murkier…I am now working within the industry for an importer/manufacturer/producer of wine. Even if I managed to somehow remain unbiased, I think my employer would be pretty pissed if I had anything bad to say about their wines. And they would have every right to feel the way they did.
Moving forward, as I figure out how to VLOG (uploading & editing video can’t be THAT hard, can it?), I will start regularly popping corks (twisting caps) on bottles that have been sent to me over the past few months. Though I am sure these people aren’t gonna thank me if I have less than complimentary things to say, it will be hard to hide my expression on video. So I guess that will keep things REAL.
And as to the wines I work with, well, I’ll try to include a disclosure of sorts as the industry is attempting to move to greater transparency & I believe I must play by the rules if I want to maintain professional credibility.
On an only somewhat related note, I would be remiss if I did not mention a big event taking place tomorrow night. I have helped out a bit in the planning of this event. It is the big KOSHER RESTAURANT & WINE EXPERIENCE. This is the 4th year this annual event is taking place. This year there will be about 20 food purveyors to go along with the 40+ wineries. The response has been tremendous. Looks like another sellout. Shoot me a message and introduce yourself if you will be there. We’ll have a drink…on me;)
Happy Wine Critic free wine tasting!
WTG
Wintertime soup wines…
January 10th, 2010This article was originally written for Gourmetkoshercooking.com…ENJOY!
Winter/Soup wines
It has been a cold winter of late in the Northeast and given the option I’d like to spend every evening curled up in front of the fireplace with a steaming hot bowl of rich hearty soup. Give me an “everything soup” – start with the chicken & herbs and simply throw everything you can imagine in – ahh, the best. Now you want to have a nice glass of wine in front of your fireplace with the aforementioned bowl of soup, but which wine to choose?
Pairing wine with soup can be a challenge for wine lovers; with the overpowering nature of a rich soup and the similar liquidy texture between the two. The first rule, as always, is to drink whatever wine you like. But if you want to work a little outside the box you can turn to some underappreciated wines; sparkling & fortified.
When considering sparkling wine the associations are automatically champagne & celebratory events. I’d encourage you to consider trying a sparkling wine any time and turning to those made outside of the Champagne region of France (similar to champagne but legally not allowed to be called “Champagne”), such as Cava from Spain, Prosecco from Italy, or simply sparkling wine made in places such as Israel or California. When done right, the texture of the little bubbles in a sparkling wine combined with its bracing dry acidity make sparkling wines “food neutral” – as in they compliment ANYTHING. Looking to the “old world” you can seek out the French Blanc de Blanc by Herzog, the slightly sweet Bartenura Brut Prosecco from Italy or the bone dry ELVI “Adar” Brut Cava from Spain.
Another option for fireplace sipping, also unheralded, is “Port”, a fortified wine from Portugal. Often sweet and generally fortified with a neutral grape spirit such as grappa or brandy, this wine screams warm slippers & fireplace sipper. The fortification of the wine leads to a higher alcohol level than regular table wines. And said heavier alcohol makes for a similar textural contrast as the aforementioned sparkling wines – making for a heart warming combination with soup. Try the Porto Cordovero from Portugal or Israel’s Vintage Port made by Carmel.
It’s cold outside but these underappreciated wine styles paired with that steamy bowl of soup and a crackling fireplace can ensure that you are nice and warm inside.
Happy Cold weather soup sipping and alternative wine tasting!
WTG
A healthy vine is a …frozen vine???
January 5th, 2010Wine people may often be heard saying that wine starts in the vineyard. While this may seem obvious, what is less obvious is the feeling many wine folks say – that a bad winemaker can still make good wine with good grapes although a good winemaker generally can not make a great wine with bad grapes.
Vines must stay alive from year to year as they only give off fruit once a year, in the late summer & fall – harvest time. The vines do not give much fruit the first 3 years and many winemakers don’t bother using the fruit from the first 3 years anyway. And as vines age they tend to produce better grapes for winemaking. The fruit becomes richer as an aging vine produces less fruit. And as the roots go deeper the fruit is said to gain complexities. But how is one to keep a vine alive when the elements take hold and frost sets in?
Well, pre-freeze the vines of course…
…OK, so this was something I had trouble wrapping my head around when I first heard it. But the theory (or I guess science) is quite interesting. The vines are sprayed with water just before a frost. This water then freezes, and encapsulates the vines in a protective ICE shell – keeping it safe and protecting it from the harsh environment.
I bring this up today NOT because I’m looking to play Mr. Wizard, not because it is FREEZING in NYC and not because I have ice-wine on my mind. But rather because I read an article about a problem Russian River (Sonoma, CA) growers may be facing. The water used to spray the vines and create that protective ice shell comes from local streams. These streams are home to salmon. And there is a concern that the salmon numbers are dropping as a result of lower water levels. This has led to the possibility that farmers may lose the ability to spray their vines and vineyards may be severely damaged.
Not sure how this is all going to play out, but I do hope that the vines & salmon are all saved. Hey, can’t we all get along…
Happy Salmon & wine tasting!
WTG
How big is your cork?
December 29th, 2009
Shooting for a little subliminal New Years humor as we prepare to POP THE CORKS of bubbly or whatever alcoholic beverage you will be imbibing in this New Years.
This picture was taken while enjoying some special wines with good friends while on a business trip in Israel. Although the differences may appear to be small, it is amazing how long that cork on the right is. Though the most interesting (albeit somewhat oxidized) wine of the night was this one…
But back to corks for a quick second, these extra long corks are used so that they can absorb a LOT of wine during bottle aging and still maintain a proper seal & prevent oxidation. Though I wonder how long it would take that long cork on the right to get fully soaked & for any seepage to take place…
Remember folks, it is not the size of the ship…
Happy NEW YEARS wine tasting!
WTG
Avoid the hangover – drink clear spirits
December 22nd, 2009Ahhh….the holiday season is upon us (as is the COLD in NYC). Which means lots of partying. Lots of partying means lots of drinking. And lots of drinking means the likelihood of the infamous HANGOVER.
But is there a way to avoid a hangover? I think when it comes down to it, if you drink too much and don’t have sufficient food/fluids in your system, you will suffer with some form of hangover. I would recommend drinking with your meal & if possible, having a glass of water with each drink. But researchers from Brown University have a different idea…drink clear spirits.
The researchers have said that dark drinks such as wine or whiskey have many times more chemicals called “congers” than lighter colored drinks such as gin or vodka. And it is these “congers” they concluded that cause the infamous hangover.
“While the alcohol alone is enough to make many people feel sick the next day, these toxic natural substances can add to the ill effects as our body reacts to them,” Damaris Rohsenow, a professor at the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University, said in a statement.
OH BOY…I’m in trouble…90+% of my wine/beer/spirits collection are dark. Dark beer, bourbon & red wine. Thank goodness for ibuprofen!
Happy hangover free imbibing!
WTG
Is it worth it to spend $40, $50 or more on a bottle of wine?
December 15th, 2009When is it worth spending more than $30 for a bottle of wine? I would contend NEVER. OK, maybe not never, but for 90+% of purchases I think it is silly.
Let me begin by saying that I am referring to wines bought at a wine shop, not in a restaurant. Restaurants generally charge more, so that magic number probably goes up to about $40-50.
I have read several articles of late noting the decrease in sales of “premium” wines ($30+) that has resulted as the economy has struggled. Some speculate that as the economy recovers people will go back to buying these wines while others believe that consumers have found wines they like at lower price points and will not go back to paying more for a bottle. But more importantly, SHOULD PEOPLE EVER spend $30+ on a bottle of wine?
To answer this question we must first discuss some of the factors that make a wine so expensive.
The most important component of wine is the grape. To make a premium wine one must use the best grapes. These premium grapes come from the best vineyards in the best wine producing regions. When not used by the growers themselves, these grapes can cost upward of several thousand dollars per ton. The high price for these grapes leads to a more expensive wine. (This doesn’t even account for the cost of the land or the vines which often require 3-4 years before they reach maturity.)
The winemaker, though a debatable topic (for another time) is also an expense. Those winemakers who have proven the ability to make premium wines command premium salaries. Some of the best are actually contracted to be consulting winemakers and work with the full time winemaker to make the best wine possible. This adds to the cost of the wine.
Finally, and the factor I believe plays the biggest role in this debate is the aging process – which further breaks down to time and device. How long the wine is aged and in what vessel. Every day wines might be aged in stainless steel tanks that can be reused year after year & kept there for only a few weeks or months before being bottled and sold. On the other end of the spectrum are the wines that are aged in the finest oak barrels for as many as 24 or more months. The cost of these barrels can exceed $1,000 & are they only fully effective in their first use – though they are often used for 3, 4 or more different wines. That is 2 years of holding on to a product aged in $1,000 oak barrels before it can be sold – though it is often held for at least another 2-3 months after the wine is bottled.
SO, as you can see, these premium wines can cost their producer a lot of money to produce.
Then Wine Tasting Guy, you ask, I want the best wine there is and I am prepared to pay for it.
If your purchase is made for ego purposes stop reading now. You are doing what you want and there is no logic I can provide that will (or should) change your mind. But if you are really curious about whether or not your expensive purchase is worth it or not, read on…
In my (humble) opinion, these wines are similar to, if not LESS DESIRABLE than wines that undergo a cheaper aging process. Huh? If it is cheaper how can it be BETTER? Well, 90+% of wines (I think the number is closer to 95%) are consumed within 48 hours of being purchased. Therein lies my argument. So many of these premium wines are being consumed THAT NIGHT…but they are made to be consumed in 3, 5 even 10 or more years.
Premium wine aged in fine oak barrels need time to reach their full potential. A well made wine gains complexities as it ages. And the barrel aging process leads to wine that tastes oaky and often “tight” in its youth (think of cold food that should be served hot). HOWEVER, once these premium wines are given time (known as bottle aging) for the oak flavors/aromas to integrate well with the fruit component of the wine & are further allowed to develop secondary characteristics, these wines can be magical.
On the other hand, wines intended for early consumption, within about 3 years of the vintage date, generally have less new oak used and can reach their full potential much sooner. So while some may argue that the potential of these wines does not hold a candle to that of the premium wines, at least they are being enjoyed closer (or at) their full potential rather than way before their potential has come close to being realized.
SO, if you are a wine collector who intends to age your wine (in the proper place, temperature, humidity, etc) then go for it. Buy expensive wine…and invite me over to enjoy it with you 
. You are likely to be rewarded! But if you are like the other 95% of the population who consume wine within 1-2 days of buying the wine (or even within 6-12 months) then save your hard earned money and buy a wine in the magical $15-25 range.
Happy economically sound wine tasting!
WTG
Is this food/wine any good?
December 7th, 2009When you go to a bar/restaurant, do you ask the waiter if a dish/drink/wine is any good?
I mean seriously, what server/waiter/waitress worth half their weight in plonk (low grade wine) would actually answer NO, that dish/wine is bad. I mean seriously…
But WTG, what if I am curious about a dish and want to know if it is any good? Shouldn’t the server tell me the truth???
NOOOO!!!! Sure the server is working for a tip & presumably that server will not want to steer you wrong. BUT once you leave the restaurant that server has a boss to answer to & if that boss hears the server saying anything negative about the food at the establishment said server will likely be unemployed.
The best solution would be to ask for a taste of the dish/wine in question. In the case of foods this may be difficult, but with most wines that are served by the glass at restaurants or wine bars you should be able to get a taste.
At restaurants I like to employ 2 strategies. The first, if I have a specific dish in mind, is to ask the server if they have had the dish. (Many servers only eat from community dishes prepared in advance of their shift for the whole staff.) If they have, ask if they enjoyed it and would order it again. This way the server can tell you that they might not have enjoyed it or they might not order it again, without saying that it is not good (or heaven forbid BAD).
The next strategy I like to take, and the one I favor most hoping to get the restaurant’s BEST dish is to ask the server what their favorite is, or what they would order if they were eating dinner and I was paying. This really gets them to open up & generally lets you know if you take their recommendation that you are likely to end up with a good dish.
Happy tasty food & wine tasting!
WTG
“Contains Sulfites”
December 1st, 2009We’ve all seen it on the back label of a bottle of wine…
…but what does it mean?
Sulfites are a preservative. They are found in dried fruit & are commonly used in salad bars. They are added to wine to preserve the wine & prevent it from spoiling.
Some people are allergic to sulfites. Others believe that the sulfites in wine are what cause them to get headaches from wine.
Wouldn’t it be great if there were no sulfites in wine? And what of organic wines – isn’t that sulfite free??
Well, ALL wine has sulfites. Sulfites are naturally occurring on the grape skins. Since red wine gets its color from the skins red wines have more naturally occurring sulfites than white wines. But white wines generally have more sulfites added than red wines. So there is no and will never be any sulfite free wine (as far as I understand) – or at least none that will last more than a few days (hours?).
As to organic wine, it not only has the naturally occurring sulfites, but almost all has added sulfites – otherwise the wine would spoil relatively quickly. BUT…and here is the difference, organic wine, to maintain their organic classification, can only add a specific (small) amount of sulfites. YES, it is still there, BUT it is also added in smaller amounts.
SO, now that we have cleared that up I want to tell you about a real cool technology I just read about on decanter.com. The technology, called SurePure, uses light to purify wine REDUCING (but not eliminating) the need for sulfites. Something about the technology “deactivates microbes” (whatever that means) reducing the likelihood of spoilage. Apparently it is already used in the juice, dairy & beverage industries. And now it has been approved for use in South Africa.
No idea whether this technology will work for wine, how far its use will spread or whether it will enable those who suffer from red wine headaches to drink wine worry free. But it does sound like an exciting development…
Happy light purified wine tasting!
WTG
