Wine Tasting Guy

pre-Passover wine tastings

March 22nd, 2009

So the blog header is NEW! What do you think? I have been encouraged to further tweak it, but I kinda like it…

I want to write REAL QUICKLY today about the madness that has become pre-Passover wine shopping. It is said that over 50% of kosher wines consumed throughout the entire year is purchased in the 2-3 weeks leading up to Passover. What wines should you drink this holiday?

Yeah, of course it would be nice if we could all drink Katzrin. Sadly the $150 Katzrin Red, a Bordeux style blend, is out of the price range for most of us.

I WILL be putting together my Wines for Passover post within the next few days (to supplement an article I recently wrote for a paper about Passover wines). But what I want to write about tonight is something I feel strongly that more of YOU should be doing. You should be attending one of the amazing FREE or VERY reasonable priced wine tastings taking place this month. I have already poured wine at several such events and my schedule for the next 2 weeks (leading up to the first seder) is NUTS. I have a different tasting throughout NYC (and Brooklyn) nearly EVERY NIGHT.

PLEEEASE, feel free to send me a note and ask about a tasting in your area. I’ll be happy to tell you about one I’ll be pouring at or direct you to another I may be aware of.

I state this so emphatically as; the best way to BUY wine is to first TRY wine.

I can tell you about wines that I like but you may not like the same wines.

Again, for those of you who are OH SO BUSY and can not attend a FUN and educational event, I will be writing a post with some suggestions. But for the rest of you, GO ATTEND a pre-Passover wine tasting. You will have fun and learn something too. And the best part, is that you will be assured to find a wine that you will enjoy at your Passover seder.

Happy pre-Passover Wine Tasting!

WTG

Tags: Passover wine
Posted in wine tasting | 2 Comments »

Headaches from Red wine

March 17th, 2009

This is a topic I have covered before but just saw some interesting and cool news that I felt compelled to share.

As reported by Wine & Spirits Daily (with a more comprehensive article form the SF Gate here);

“UV RAYS COULD ZAP HEADACHES OUT OF WINE

Researchers in South Africa are testing technology that uses ultraviolet rays to zap unwanted microbes and yeasts in wine, which would reduce the need to add sulfites that make some people feel bad. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that only a small percentage of people suffer a true allergic reaction, but it is still a concern for many drinkers.“

The interesting news here is that if this technology proves to work (I admit skepticism) wineries will not have to add as much or possibly even ANY sulfites to wine to prevent oxidation.

In addition to the cool technology I find it of interest that the author feels the need to clarify (something I have previously written about) that the number of people who are actually allergic to sulfites is “a small percentage”. Which is not to say that they are not suffering from headaches caused by red wine. Simply that it is not (as they often suspect) the sulfites that are causing the headache. It is likely one of the hundreds (if not thousands) of compounds in wine that the person may be allergic to that is causing the headache.

On an unrelated note please look out for a new blog header (the fuzzy one on top just ain’t too flattering), my wines for Passover post and some other exciting new additions to the Wine Tasting Guy site in the not too distant future.

But for now…

Happy headache-less Wine Tasting!

WTG

Tags: red wine headache, sulfites
Posted in wine health | 1 Comment »

Israeli…I mean Burgundy tasting report

March 16th, 2009

With Passover right around the corner (just over 3 weeks and counting) this is my busy season. I have been attending, leading, writing about and dreaming Israeli wine tastings. I do LOVE the stuff, but I suspect that I may deviate just a tad from the typically exclusive Israeli wines at my seder this year.

I must admit however that I did take a very welcome break from Israeli wines last week to attend another in a series of Burgundy tastings with my wine tasting group. Led by our fearless leader Jeremy, and his MUCH BETTER HALF (Thanks for the pics!), we tasted through some selections from the Vougeot & Echezeaux regions of Burgundy. The quality of the vineyards in these regions are considered to be amongst the best with a great majority being classified as Grand Cru or Premier Cru.

Located in the Cote de Nuits, these wines are certainly world class and Jeremy put together a masterful selection of seven wines for this tasting. This tasting also included brief overviews of each of the wines by individual club members who each researched a wine prior to the tasting.

I found the wines common trait to be their minerality/flintiness, but otherwise they were each unique, elegant and certainly thought provoking.

We started with the 2004 Domaine Bertagna VOUGEOT “Clos de La Perriere” 1er Cru which was my least favorite. Others loved this wine, yet I found it to be a bit generic. Don’t get me wrong, it was nice, just not special (to me at least). The clear light ruby wine with pink inflections at the rim had a subtle nose of slate/stone leading to mild red berries. On the palate the fruit was subtle (I suppose some might say elegant) with nice minerality, a touch of heat and a medium length finish.

The 1999 Domaine Francois Legros VOUGEOT “Les Crais” was clear ruby with signs of bricking at the rim. HERE were those funky earthy/vegetal aromas that led to aromas of cherry pie. This was a soft & velvety wine with red fruit, a touch of heat, and a medium to long finish.

The 2002 Vincent Girardin, Clos de Vougeot GRAND CRU was clear ruby with pink & orange inflections at the rim. This wine was not shy and had a LOT going on. A collection of aromas from earth & stone to mint & baked red fruit. On the palate were big red fruit that danced in the back of my palate. This very soft and clean wine finished smooth and long.

The 1988 Clos de Vougeot, Domaine Jean Grivot GRAND CRU was a clear garnet with bricking at the rim. It had that distinct aged Burgundy “pukey” smell. A hint of rubbery aroma led to muddy earth & mulchy aromas. While this may turn some people off, I find it to be fascinating (Burgundy bias anyone?). On the palate was an amazing bracing acidity & baked cherry pie flavors with a long finish.

Moving from Vougoet to Echezeaux, the 5th wine of the night was the 1999 Domaine Laurent (negociant) Echezeaux GRAND CRU. This clear ruby colored wine faded to garnet towards the rim and appeared to be almost clear AT the rim. Initial hits of char & smoke led to an array of aromas from vegetal earth, to ripe baked fruit as well as flinty minerality and a bit of burnt rubber (surprising since it is reported that the winemaker prefers CO2 to SO2 which is what usually gives off the rubbery smell). This fresh and mouth coating wine had great acidity and a lovely minerality with a nice long finish.

The 1991 Camille Giroud Echezeaux GRAND VIN was clear garnet with bricking taking place at the rim. While smelling this wine I had a bit of a wine aroma epiphany. That familiar “pukey” smell I have mentioned on several occasions when referring to Burgundy is quite similar (to me) to canned tomatoes which I think is a much less offensive (to some) descriptor. Look out for this modified aroma descriptor in the future. SO, aromas of canned tomato and earth led to a wine that was soft and elegant with a bright acidity and pretty red fruit. It was lively and round and had a long finish.

The last wine of the night was the 1988 Mongeard-Mugneret Echezeaux GRAND CRU. This cloudy (lots of big & small sediment floating around) brown/brick-orange wine had aromas of canned tomato, minerality and cooked vegetables. On the palate it had a bracing acidity, lovely minerality, and (unbelievably at this point considering its appearance) ripe cherry flavors. It was lively yet soft and elegant and had a long finish.

Happy Pre-Passover BURGUNDY tasting!

WTG

Tags: Burgundy, Echezeaux, Vougeot
Posted in wine tasting | Comments Off on Israeli…I mean Burgundy tasting report

hodgepodge of wine stuff

March 12th, 2009

Following yesterdays rant about overly extracted/ high alcohol wines, I see that the NY Times is listening (no, I am nowhere near that egocentric). In Wednesdays edition of Eric Asimov’s “The Pour”, Asimov talks about a California Pinot Noir producer who “renounced the fruit-bomb style in favor of wines that emphasize freshness and delicacy”. The winemaker stated “It got to the point where I didn’t want the wine to be fatter than the food”.

Asimov goes on to talk about a predominant style of wines that are “ripe & extravagant” and approaching 15% alcohol (MUCH higher than the one time traditional 11-12%) and goes on to talk about how he “was thrilled to find a small but growing number of producers pulling in the opposite direction…Instead of power, they strive for finesse. Instead of a rich, mouth-coating impression of sweetness, they seek a dry vitality meant to whet the appetite rather than squelch it.”

Well put Mr. Asimov.

Continuing with the hodgepodge, I read a quickie peice in the USA Today about young adults holding their liquor (or wine) better than their older counterparts. Entitled, “Can older adults hold their alcohol?”, apparently “The older adults performed more poorly than the younger group”. Well kids, looks like you need to start giving your parents a curfew and THE LECTURE on responsible drinking.

Finally, I attended a rather large kosher wine (and food) event a few weeks ago and wrote about it for The Jewish Press – “America’s Largest Independent Jewish Weekly”. The article has now been posted online and can be found here.

I attended another of my wine tasting group’s Burgundy tastings tonight and will write about it as soon as I have the chance. Stay tuned, and…

Happy delicate, youthful, kosher wine tasting!

WTG

Tags: Asimov, Jewish Press, the pour, USA today
Posted in wine - kosher, Wine STUFF | Comments Off on hodgepodge of wine stuff

Parkerization??

March 11th, 2009

In between meetings, phone calls and several attempts at celebrating Purim today, I stopped by the “Today’s Bordeaux” wine tasting this afternoon down in Tribeca. It was a real nice tasting with lots of Bordeaux offerings, including about 15 whites (white Bordeaux is generally a blend of Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and sometimes Muscadelle), 100 reds and even 2 or 3 Sauternes (dessert).

Of the 100 or so reds were many from the now famed 2005 vintage, and several were from other vintages such as 2003, 2004 & 2006. An interesting part of the tasting was the early pre-release tastings of the 2008’s. This was a real treat and provided insight into how the wines will be once they are officially released.

But rather than writing about any specific standout wines (and there certainly were some) I want to write about an observation. I found many of the reds to be pretty big/fat/extracted … whatever you want to call it. Now they were by no means Australian inky big. Or Argentinian/Chilean big. But they were big.

Which leads to the title of this blog. Fellow writer, blogger & NY-er Alice Feiring recently wrote a book “The Battle for Wine and Love: or How I Saved the World from Parkerization“.

In a nutshell, Feiring writes about how Robert Parker and other critics favor wines made in this big, often high alcohol, extracted style. I am all for people drinking whatever style of wine they like, yet as my palate evolves I am beginning to tend to appreciate a leaner, lower alcohol wine that some will say better pairs with foods. And Feiring points out in her book a (scary) trend wherein producers are making wines that will attain high scores – more often those that fit the profile of the big, extracted, high alcohol wines. So what of the smaller, lower alcohol & generally more food friendly wines?

Today’s tasting, although thoroughly enjoyed by yours truly, might be further proof that EVEN BORDEAUX producers are falling victim to the lure of high scores and making wines that they believe will attain high scores from the aforementioned critics.

This is certainly not bad news for everyone, and frankly may be good news for many. But for those whose preference is natural, lower alcohol wines, this may indeed be further indication that Feiring is on to something.

Happy BIG/small Bordeaux wine tasting!

WTG

Tags: Alice Feiring, Bordeaux, Robert Parker
Posted in Wine STUFF, wine tasting | Comments Off on Parkerization??

Italian wine +

March 8th, 2009

Late last week had me exploring the wine region of the world that I am least comfortable with. Italian wines. Italy has over 2,000 indigenous varietals and just about any time I attend an Italian wine tasting I am exposed to a new varietal.

So this past Thursday, between an appointment on the upper West Side and several appointments in Brooklyn I stopped by the Sub-Zero Showroom in midtown Manhattan for an intimate unveiling of the Banfi 2005 Belnero. I was quite pleased to be invited and felt badly that I was not able to stay for the entire event.

A blend primarily consisting of Sangiovese, blended with a little Cabernet and Merlot, the clear ruby wine was quite nice. On the nose, an initial hit of Eucalyptus, followed by toasty oak and then both raspberry and black cherry, the wine had nice fruit on the palate, well integrated tannins and a long finish.

But more than the wine, I was intrigued by two other things I learned at this event. The first was the statement that the Belnero was “nitrogen bottled to minimize sulfites”. I have heard of Nitrogen being inserted into the headspace of wine bottle immediately preceding the wine being bottled (to remove oxygen which could lead to premature oxidation), but I had not heard that it can help to minimize the use of sulfites. Interesting…

The other interesting tidbit shared with regards to the winemaking was that of the vessel used to age the wine. The winery has apparently been working for several years on a hybrid (patented) wood/stainless steel vessel. The way I understood it this vessel is actually a stainless steel tank with slots that fit oak staves. While the use of oak staves in stainless steel tanks is not anything new, apparently the Banfi people feel they have something special here. And judging by the wine, it seems that they do…

The other event I dropped by last week was the Tre Bicchieri (Gambo Rosso) tasting.

Long time readers may remember my less than stellar experience with this event last year. I considered passing on the event given my experience from last year but I’m happy I attended, even if it was for only about 45 minutes.

With the guidance of good friend Fred, I was able to quickly try 12 wines. The Vietti Lazzarito 2004 Barolo was lite with chunky tannins and a pretty funky label. I was told this wine needs 20 years (yeah, I’ll be waiting for this one) to show its full potential. The Lis Neris 2006 Sauvignon Picol (made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc) had a gorgeous floral and grapefruit nose, but was surprisingly (to me for an Italian wine) low on acid – though this could have something to do with my New Zealand association with Sauvignon Blanc (generally quite acidic).

The Castello Monaci 2006 Artas, made from 85% Primitovo (a close relative of Zinfandel) and 15% Negroemaro (1 of the 2000+ Italian varietals) had an interesting leather and dried fruit nose (similar to zinfandel), but was different from Zinfandel in that it was lite, food friendly, had a nice acidity to it and a long finish.

And finally, possibly the most exciting wine of the tasting for me was the Nino Negri 2005 Valtellina Sfursat. You may remember my writing about a Sfursat following the Brunello tasting a few weeks ago. Though the nose on this Sfursat was not reminiscent of the last one I tried (it was actually rather tight and pretty closed) it was the mouth feel of this wine that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was velvety and mouth coating yet was not over the top and extracted. It had a great balancing acidity, clearly a terrific food wine. And had a very long finish. Nice…

Happy Italian wine tasting…

WTG

Tags: Banfi 2005 Belnero, Gambo Rosso, Tre Bicchieri
Posted in wine tasting | Comments Off on Italian wine +

Keeping open bottles of wine

March 5th, 2009

I was in Brooklyn today doing some work with wine and at the end of the day I met an old friend for a beer (hey – they say it takes a lot of beer to make a good wine). As we were parting ways I gave my friend about 4 open bottles I had been working with that day. He thanked me for the gift and mentioned that he would use them that weekend with family. To which I replied that he better get to them before the weekend as they will likely be oxidized by the weekend and no longer good.

Which leads to today’s topic. How long can one keep an open bottle of wine??

There are many answers here and I suppose the only truly important answer is that you can keep an open bottle of wine as long as you still enjoy drinking it. BUT…oxidation does kick in by day 2 (if not sooner with older wines) and the more sensitive one is to oxidation the more likely they will detect this in a wine and no longer appreciate/enjoy said wine.

SO, you want to keep a bottle past the night (or day) you open it. What to do?

Yes, you can recork it and refrigerate it. That works to some degree as the refrigerator slows the oxidation process. But I do not like this method as there is still oxygen in the bottle.

How about that gadget that removes oxygen from the bottle?

Sure, this works well enough. But there is no way this cheapo gadget fully removes the oxygen. And all the pumping also tends to remove many of the aromas that make wine so special.

What about inserting gas into wine? They are selling an at home version of an inert gas these days that allows consumers to insert gas into their open wine bottles. This gas is heavier than air and keeps the oxygen away from the wine, in turn preventing the wine from oxidation. But how many of us really want to start messing with gasses????…

Which leads to my preferred method. This is a trick I learned while working at some wineries. I like to pour the wine out of its original bottle into a smaller bottle. Make sure it is filled to the top (thus removing all oxygen). And simply re-cork it.

I like using old 500ml. or 375ml. wine bottles. But this can also simply be done with an old plastic water bottle. The water bottle might actually be the best trick as you don’t have to have an exact amount like you do for the glass bottles.

With the water bottle you can simply pour in your leftover wine. Screw the cap on – but not completely tight. Then gently squeeze the bottle to remove any air (oxygen). And when the air is all out and your crushed water bottle has nothing in it but wine close the cap until it is tightly closed.

A pretty cool trick that works WONDERS!

Happy previously opened wine tasting!

WTG

Tags: oxidation, wine saving
Posted in Wine STUFF | 3 Comments »

Reviewing wine – how to remain unbiased?

March 2nd, 2009

I was recently contacted by some people representing an Australian wine. They found my blog and asked me if I would be willing to receive some samples and review said wines. I responded that I would be happy to give the wines a try, but that I would only review them if I had something positive to say. I do not see the point in bashing a wine. Not only might it be a wine that others will love, but what constructive purpose will my writing anything negative about their wine serve.

At the same time, and more on topic as it pertains to my title, how do I remain unbiased in my review. The people were quite warm when they reached out and even complimentary. I really WANTED to write nice things.

I have on several occasions been given reason to believe that a wine critic I have come to know will sometimes score wines made by people he likes a point higher than he might have had he not liked the people.

And I recently watched a critic reviewing a wine online whereby he admittedly gave the wine an extra point since it contained a varietal he particularly enjoys.

WHAT TO DO..???…HOW TO REMAIN UNBIASED???….

For starters, I do NOT score wines. I find this to be silly. One man’s 90 is another’s 75. And what really is an 80 vs. an 85? Or an 85 vs. and 89? How about an 89 vs. a 90? Or my biggest issue; a 91 vs a 95???

This takes me back to a previous post where I quoted a study that concluded that wine critics themselves can not replicate their own scores when tasting wines blind.

I do not have a solution for this. I believe that we are all human and emotions will play a role in our judging of things that are subjective, such as food or wine. If the cook is a friend, if the dish looks appealing, if the setting is just right – you WILL enjoy said meal, wine, etc more than had things been different.

I suppose this is the reason why wine critics maintain as non-descript a setting as possible, re-taste wines several times and (claim to) taste blind.

Well, I’m unequivocally stating, and you can all quote me on this, that I will NEVER use a 100 point scale to give a wine a score. I can see an A-F scale, or even a 1-10. But 100 points…come on….be serious.

Without further ado, on to the wine in question. I was sent the Ozzie-Ba-Ru 2003 Hunter Valley Shiraz. And I was worried. The typical Australia Shiraz style is one I am at present not a big fan of. It is often very extracted, over the top fruity, and simply not a style I go for these days (though I loved this style wine as I was developing my palate). Lo and behold I REALLY ENJOYED THE WINE.

A reasonable 13% alcohol in a screw cap package, this clear light reddish wine was full of aromas that were present but subdued. Cherry cola/black cherry, raspberry, pine needles and a hint of earth on the nose. These aromas opened up to secondary aromas of mocha and chocolate (or as my special lady, unprompted, said “white chocolate”). The palate had a nice bracing acidity and well integrated tannins with big yet well balanced and not over the top fruit. A wine with a very nice overall structure. I’m not certain that this is an “A” wine, but it sure is close. Nice job!

Happy unbiased (good luck) Wine Tasting

Tags: blind tasting, Ozzie-Ba-Ru wines, Wine critiquing
Posted in Wine critiquing, Wine STUFF | Comments Off on Reviewing wine – how to remain unbiased?

Israeli Wine STUFF

February 26th, 2009

I had the pleasure of attending an intimate evening with friends and winemakers from a well known Israeli winery. Yotam Sharon and Irit Boxer-Shank, two of the winemakers from Israel’s Barkan winery were in town and joined a group of about 10-15 people for a really cool wine tasting.

In addition to the wines of barkan that they make, they brought some “Segal” wines, made at their sister winery by fellow Israeli winemaker Avi Feldstein.

They brought 9 wines with them, and walked the crowd through each one. Beginning with 2 chardonnays, and then working through reds such as Pinotage, Shiraz, Cab’s & a Merlot. The best wines of the evening were an altitude series (624 – named after the meters above sea level of the vineyard) Cab, a single vineyard Cab by Segals, and the high end Barkan Superior Merlot. The wines were great and the evening was both educational and fun!

The other Israeli wine related story I want to share this evening has to do with an interesting masters thesis researched at the University of Haifa’s Center for Tourism, Pilgrimage and Recreation Research. The student, Noa Hanun, surveyed 254 visitors to wineries across the Northern winemaking regions of Israel.

Sure I find such a thesis in and of itself to be pretty cool. But there were some interesting findings as well. Of most interest to me was that “Fifty-two percent of respondents expressed a strong interest in (wine), while only 22% showed a very high level of knowledge of wines and wine production“.

While I am amazed at the (in my mind) high percentage of those who believe (or showed) a high level of wine knowledge, this further confirms for me the ever expanding interest in wine among those who still admit to having a strong interest while knowing little about wine.

I think this expressed interest is fantastic and my only real comment to these people is to be more confident in their own wine knowledge. Sure they may not have a firm grasp on the technical side of winemaking but as they grow more and more comfortable with wine the most important thing for them to understand is that THEIR PALATE doesn’t lie. And while they can learn more of the technical aspects (should they be so inclined) as long as they know what type/style of wine THEY like than they DO in fact KNOW about wine.

Happy Israeli (winemaker) Wine Tasting & educating!

WTG

Tags: barkan, Israel Wine, University of Haifa's Center for Tourism
Posted in Israel Wine | 1 Comment »

Wine Tasting Afternoon

February 23rd, 2009

I’m exhausted! After stopping in at the “Return to Terroir” tasting this afternoon (and quickly tasting about 18 whites & a sparkling wine) I made my way over (conveniently around the corner) to the 2009 Kosher Food & Wine Experience.

This tasting is put together primarily by the large kosher wine importer/distributor; Royal Wine Corp. This year was their 3rd such event and there were over 200 wines from all over the globe in addition to some lovely food catered by Michael Schick caterers.

I will be writing more specifically about the event for a nationally distributed Jewish Weekly paper, but I just want to post quickly and respond to the inquiries I’ve already gotten about the event in very general terms.

Yes, it was once again a “balagan” (hebrew slang roughly translated for our purposes here to jam-packed event).

Utilizing their third different venue in three years, these guys really know how to sell out an event. This venue was the largest and it was still quite crowded. Although I do believe the waits for pours were shorter and the space not as crowded as years past (I was only elbowed about 3 times 😉 ).

Of the 200 or so wines being poured at the event, Royal spared no expense and poured some of their best. They unveiled their own new Herzog wine, called generation VIII, made from fruit harvested from the famous To Kalon vineyard. There were top notch Spanish wines, French wines, and of course some terrific Israeli wines as well.

In addition to the wines there were spirits, but sadly I was unable to try any as I really tried to taste (or in many cases re-taste) as many of the wines as possible. Amazingly enough I only made it through 50 wines. I suppose that is what happens when you are interviewing winemakers and really trying to be as analytical as possible about the wines.

As if the food, wine & spirits wasn’t enough, they had speakers and a special guest, Daniel Rogov, the famous Israeli wine critic (and good friend) at the event. I really would have liked to have heard the speakers but was very focused on my wine tasting. I did have a brief chance to chat with “Rogov” who was as sweet as ever. And that was after he spent the evening passing out and signing several hundred copies of his “Rogov’s Guide To Israeli Wines 2009” book. The book provides a terrific overview of the industry and the specific wineries, and I recommend it to ANYONE (and everyone) with any interest in Israeli wines.

As soon as the paper permits, I will post a link to my more detailed story featuring some of the winemakers and their wines.

If you have any specific questions, as always, feel free to comment, reach out directly, or just yell real loud….

Happy Terroir driven & kosher wine tasting!

WTG

Tags: Kosher Food & Wine Experience, Return to Terroir, Royal Wine Corp
Posted in Israel Wine, wine - kosher, wine tasting | 3 Comments »