Bohemian Highway Blues

posted by Adam in Snooth, Wine, Guest Bloggers, Music

“Uncork, unwind and let the journey begin” - Bohemian Highway Winery

The first time I purchased Bohemian Highway Chardonnay was just after a long windy drive down the actual “Bohemian Highway” while en route to Cazadero, CA. After such a memorable and scenic route, I immediately noticed the artwork and label name on the wine bottle during a stop at a local wine retailer called Sophie’s Cellars. I especially liked the price point ($8.99 though I’ve now seen it as low as $5.99) and decided to give a few bottles a try.

Prior to moving to California, I worked as a music supervisor for independent films in New York. The most recent film I worked on was titled Shooting Livien and featured Dominic Monaghan (Lost), Jason Behr (Roswell), and Sarah Wynter (24). My favorite part of the process of pairing music and film was “scoring” a scene - choosing the right lyrics, tempo and mood for a particular moment in a film’s plot – a moment where the song playing in the background can tell as good and as important a part of the story as the images themselves. A musical score in this capacity acts as an “enhancement” of the movie experience. Music adds color and context, and pulls the story together in a very poignant and special way. When the pairing is done well, magic happens.

As per recent studies published on wine, music has been proven to similarly enhance the experience of wine. I generally find the “mood” of the track is easier to pair than the lyrics. After discovering that Vetiver’s music and this chardonnay are a great match from a mood perspective, I was excited to find that the song “Blue Driver” lyrically exemplifies the concept of a nice relaxing drive on the “Bohemian” highway.

“Foot upon on the throttle, watching the old slow road, looking out the rear view mirror, for the highway patrol“- “Blue Driver” song lyric

The track is a bluesy fun filled tune with acoustic guitars and a relaxed tempo. As much as this song compliments the taste of the chardonnay itself, the addition of lyrics about highway driving in tandem with the imagery of the label is a nice coupling that adds to the experience and in my book makes for an unforgettable Wine and Music pairing.

Enjoy!

Wine: Bohemian Highway Chardonnay

Wine Year: 2005
Wine Style: Chardonnay
Wine Region: Northern California, Russian River
Wine Label: Bohemian Highway
Wine Link: http://www.snooth.com/wine/bohemian-highway-chardonnay-2005-5/

Wine Description: This lightly-oaked Chardonnay is marketed as the “embodiment of the casual, free-flowing spirit you’ll find along the way when driving the Bohemian Highway“. The wine is great for summer and is clean and crisp and full of fresh apple and pear flavors. I have shared a few bottles with a salmon dinner and some friends, and on another occasion with a picnic lunch hike and it was perfectly suited for either occasion. I was not as impressed with the merlot from Bohemian Highway, so would steer interested parties toward their Chardonnay.

Artist: Vetiver

Music Year: 2008 (May)
Music Style: Folk
Music Region: San Francisco, CA
Music Label: Gnomonsong
Music Link: http://www.midheaven.com/artists/vetiver.html

Music Description: Vetiver is guitarist and songwriter Andy Cabic and a host of his instrumentally savvy friends and touring buddies. Vetiver’s most recent album “Thing of the Past” is comprised entirely of cover versions of some of the band’s influences and favorite songs.
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Vetiver perform live on a number of occasions and they are always a treat. They have been releasing albums since 2005, which is the year of the Bohemian Chardonnay included in this pairing. As the band is from San Francisco, comparisons to The Grateful Dead and other psychedelic folk/Americana bands are often used. I do agree with these comparisons, but find that Vetiver has its own unique and desirable angle - one that is especially evident in songs such as the one posted here.

In line with the relaxing, uncorked layed back mentality of the Bohemian Highway, it’s worth noting that - “Blue Driver” was originally written and performed by Michael Hurley, a folk legend from the late 70’s who has recorded records in many different parts of the country, including California. Although Hurley has never gained a large audience, critics, musicians, and loyal followers have all sung his praises. Hurley’s music is a known influence for popular acts including Lucinda Williams, Smog, Yo La Tengo, and Cat Power. Hurley sings with Vetiver during the chorus of the song included with this post, and is the voice of the police man at the very end of the track. Fun stuff – check out Michael Hurley singing his own version of the track here.

Vetiver - Blue Driver - blue_driver.mp3

Adam Rabinovitz is Senior Director of Retail Marketing at IODA, the global leader in digital distribution, marketing, and technology solutions for the independent music industry. IODA distributes music from over 4000 labels, representing over 50 different countries and over 170 different genre styles.

The Art of Blending

posted by Dan in Snooth, Wine, Guest Bloggers

At Larkmead Vineyards we have a Tasting Room. But as our venerable, resident raconteur and Winery General Manager likes to say, we don’t normally give tours to visitors because we don’t have antique cars or a fancy art collection, we have wine that we believe speaks for itself. That being said, there are occasional groups of tasters that get a short tour through our cellar. I am welcoming of these visitors and when wine work is at a minimum, I’ll direct the tour myself. I find this a great opportunity to interact, answer questions and add insight to the tasting experience. The visitors range in wine knowledge and appreciation, but I have found some consistent themes to their questions, even reading the questions on their face if they are too embarrassed to ask them. Since our portfolio of wines contains two Bordeaux style blends, the question of blending – the how and why – seems to almost always emerge. So, I thought it would be a great opportunity to dish our secrets to the wine drinking public who don’t have the chance to taste at our winery in Napa Valley.

First and Foremost, the Vineyard.

Currently we have ten grape varieties planted on our vineyard estate. The five “noble Bordeaux” varietals: Cabernet, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. And Sauvignon Blanc. As well as Zinfandel, Syrah, Viognier and Tocai.

Our vineyard is Cabernet dominated with 60% of the 113 acres planted. We produce wine from less than 50% of all the grapes we grow, selling the remainder to other wineries, the largest buyer being Duckhorn. Since our brand has been growing in popularity, we intend over the next couple of years to evaluate the opportunities that demand will afford us - consuming more of the vineyard’s fruit for our own winemaking. However, at our current production levels (<10,000 cases annually) we are comfortable with the quality of our wines and will only hope to increase our production if we can maintain a high level of quality.

Our Wines.

Our total case production is distributed amongst five dominant offerings and two small scale bottlings. The top five include a white wine, Sauvignon Blanc, and four reds. The red wines are split between two blended wines and two (wholly) Cabernet based wines. One blend, Firebelle, has Merlot at its core, while the other, Salon, Cabernet. Each year the focus remains the same with the blends, but the composition will change based on the quality of the fruit (i.e. different grape types) during the vintage year. Thus the question I am often asked: how do we decide on what goes in each bottle and why? A big part of the answer is in the previous sentence.

Harvest and Vinification Techniques.

Here’s some insight. Our vineyard is designated to 40 parcels, one as small as half an acre and one as large as six and a half acres. Our vineyard has three distinct soil types - sand, clay and loam (a mixture of sand and clay). And in each of our parcels we employ different rootstocks as well as different clonal selections, different pruning and trellising. For Cabernet alone we have planted eight clones throughout the vineyard on three different rootstocks and employ two pruning and trellising methods. Last year during harvest, we (the Larkmead winery) completed 22 pick days and fermented 30 individual wines (seven of those wines were co-fermentations that including Cabernet-Cabernet, Cabernet-Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc-Petit Verdot). The free run from the fermentation is drained to barrel and the press wine (light and heavy) from the must is managed separately. Throughout primary alcoholic fermentation and post-Maloactive fermentation (in barrel) we taste the wines regularly. The goal of the tasting is to, for lack of a better word or phrase, rank the wines. Thankfully there is a winemaker, my boss, who has a ten-year history with the estate which affords him preconceived ideas as to where the wines will end up in our portfolio, but each year we see movement in the blends and Cabernet based wines. The reason for the movement in large part is based on the taste of the wine, and in a lesser degree the wine’s chemistry.

Blending.

When we are tasting the wines we are looking for three major components: the purity of the fruit (aromatics, mid-palate and finish), the texture (tannins and acidity) and the complexity (depth, nuance, et al). The chemistry of the wine (pH, acidity, residual sugar, alcohol, etc.) will play a role in balancing the wine for taste and stabilization. But the role of taste plays the most integral part in the final blend.

We are fortunate to have such a diverse vineyard site that allows us to make complex wines. On a macro level, our 40 parcels are broken down to three regions that are divided by a road (Larkmead Lane) and a river (Napa River). The block west of the Napa River, totally planted to Cabernet, produces very aromatic, bright fruit wines; while the block east of the River tends to produce wines with more depth, concentration and structure that provide a brooding character. For example, our Estate Cabernet which is the bulk of our production (almost 50%) will have in upwards of 10 to 12 of our fermented Cabernet wines blended into it, with the wines (almost) divided between the two distinct regions of the vineyard. We don’t plan it this way before harvest; the decision is made with blending trials post-fermentation. For our Bordeaux Blends, knowing one is Merlot based we start there, from 2003 to 2007, the Merlot percentage has been as low as 48% and as high as 62%. Cabernet complements our Merlot and as mentioned above, based on the quality of the fruit during the vintage year, you will see a mix of other varietals – Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. 2003 and 2007 blends include Merlot, Cabernet and Malbec, while in 2005 and 2006 Cabernet Franc plays a significant supporting role to the Merlot and Cabernet. Again, we are fortunate to have these options to guide our winemaking decisions.

Behind harvesting, blending trials can be the most exciting winemaking activity. While the wine (producing) world of California proliferates single vineyard, single varietal/clonal wines, many of which I truly enjoy drinking, I have also stared down my nose at far too many one-dimensional wines that lack that excitement factor you wish for in every glass. I’d be curious to what wines you enjoy drinking – blends, single vineyard, single varietal. And how much do you know about these wines? If there is a wine that is a staple in your wine drinking diet, I hope you take a few minutes to check out the tasting and technical notes (on the winery’s website) and dig a little deeper into the glass, it might surprise you.

Dan Petroski is Assistant Winemaker at Larkmead Vineyards in Napa Valley. Dan has an MBA from New York University and worked as an Ad Exec in New York for several years, before switching it up and trading his suit for a move out west

Snooth Manual Part III

posted by mark in Snooth, Snooth User Manual

It’s a great time for Snoothers to be thinking more locally. We’re constantly improving the site and recently have added the ability to search by zip code. Now you can get recommendations from stores in your area. I thought it would be a good time to go through the search features in a bit more depth to get a better idea of what’s possible. I hope you’ll tell us how you’re using Snooth in the comments!

1. Start big and refine. Snooth works for finding very specific wines, but let’s assume you’re in a store looking for a recommendation. I know that I would probably start with a general idea about what I’d like, and ask someone to help me narrow it down. Snooth can function much the same way. For example, let’s say I’d like to buy a White Wine.

2. What’s your price range? Going back to my store example, the clerk would probably then ask you to select a price range. Generally I like to stick around 8-20 dollars so let’s use the slider to create that.

3. Food pairing? Are you going to have this wine with food? Sometimes that can change the recommendation, so let’s go ahead and say that we’re going to have this white wine with cheese. Here I went ahead and typed “with cheese” directly in the search box. Simple.

4. Location, location, location. At the time of this writing I’m now looking at thousands of results for White wines good with cheese between 8 and 20 dollars. Whew! Now it’s time to buy. First, I need to know which wines are available for me to purchase because some stores might not ship to me. To do that, I need to log in. Once I do that, I’ll see a link at the top of the screen where I can click to “Add a Merchant”.

Here I can select specific merchants I want to buy from. But for now, I want all merchants that can ship to me in the US, so I’ll select USA in the dropdown and rerun my search. Now I can read reviews, choose wines I would like to buy, and click through to a merchant to make the purchase.

5. But I want it now! If you’re not in a rush, I’d recommend the above method. But sometimes, you need to get the product this moment and from a store close to you. Luckily, Snooth has the ability to search around a specific zip code. Simply find the dropdown in the refine tools, add the zip code and re-search.

I hope this has been helpful. Happy Snoothing!

Is wine recession proof?

posted by philip in Wine

Clearly this is a hot topic, and something we think about a lot and try to infer data, based on site usage figures and other metrics.

Starting with Snooth. We saw our strongest week of traffic last week in over 4 months and our traffic has picked up over 20% in the last 60 days. We’re a young site and hardly representative of the dollars spent, so I wouldn’t use that data for anything, however, people are still searching for wine, so that’s a good start. Anecdotal evidence supports this.

Compared to the spirits industry, wine is rock solid. Users have been migrating from spirits to wine for several years now and the winery businesses are the jewels in the major drinks company’s portfolios.

“Constellation Brands, the world’s biggest wine company by volume, said three weeks ago its first-quarter profit jumped 50 percent.” That combined with UST (snuff tobacco giant), who said that it was thanks to their wine portfolio that they limited their decline in profits as much as they did, presents some solid cases for the wine industry’s health.

On the flip side, we have data trickling in telling us that on-premise sales are suffering. Is this really a surprise? When times are tight, people are clearly going to be dining out less, and probably less likely to be springing for wine at triple the retail value. The same article references “off-premise” sales (grocery stores, liquor stores etc.) seeing just a 5% decline in sales over the past few weeks. It was a short study, over a limited number of participants in a single market, but ties in with Neilson’s predictions that wine might be “recession proof”.

This is backed up by the folks at Silicon Valley Bank who said that “wine is still an affordable luxury even in a bad economy. So while wine is not recession-proof — like electricity and visits to the doctor — people still continue to consume wine even during difficult times, and our experience is that wine continues to demonstrate volume growth.”

“Affordable Luxury” - I like that phrase, and although some may see wine as a ‘necessity’, for most of us, I think thats a the sweet spot. People who are buying $80 wines, probably can weather the recession, and for everyone else, while there may be a little trading down (I may buy $10 wines, instead of $14 wines) I still foresee people drinking a glass or two to unwind at the end of a long day.

Dog Days of Summer…

posted by John in Snooth, Wine, Guest Bloggers

I know it is not a good idea to complain about summer. It is a time where everyone can get outdoors enjoy the weather and not have to have numerous layers of insulation to keep warm. I can’t help myself though. It is about this time of the summer that being at the winery is, well, work.

Summer is one of the least exciting times for a winery. Yes, we see a lot of visitors, pour a lot of wine (and hopefully sell a lot as well)…we are busy. But we do the same thing weekend after weekend; we are in the tasting room, pour wine and we sell wine. People come and people go. It is the same thing every weekend.

So what is the problem? The problem is there is nothing to do. The vineyards are doing their own thing and the wine in barrels is aging. We really aren’t needed. So we wait. We wait for harvest. That waiting is annoying and it is boring. We are waiting for the excitement to being. We are waiting for harvest.

Fall and early winter are all about harvest and production. We do a fall release of wines and we do have some wine club events but this time of year is, first and foremost, about harvest and production. We go into high gear and are working non-stop. Grapes are coming in from all of our 14 vineyards by the tons. Some grapes arrive as early as the end of August; some grapes arrive as late as early November. The red grapes are de-stemmed and set out to cold soak. The white grapes are gently crushed as whole clusters. The red grapes require punch downs and constant monitoring. The juice from the white grapes goes straight to barrel (no stainless steel for us). Everything needs to be cleaned again and again. There is energy in the air.

New barrels arrive and the old barrels are moved out of use. The barrels have to be moved around and reorganized like a giant puzzle. The newly crushed juice is put into barrel and labeled by grape, clone, vineyard lot and vineyard. The harvest production assembly line moves on and on through the fall and into winter. Slowly production winds down and everything is in the appropriate barrel. The production equipment is cleaned one last time and put away for the winter.

You might think winter would be boring and it can be. However, there is neat thing about winter. It’s when the wine comes alive. All the work that is done in the fall is now coming to fruition (sorry for the pun). The fermentation of the wine is bubbling along, barrel samples are being made. Tentative blending decisions thought through and tasted. It is the time when the grape juice that went into the barrel becomes something more. Oh yeah, we also hold our Winemaker’s dinner in the winter…that makes it special too.

Spring brings about hopes for the new harvest. It is also when get ready to release our spring wines. We have bottling activities and racking of past year’s wine. We gear up for our spring club shipment and there is renewed traffic on the wine roads. We see the vines come back to life and we have the summer to look forward too. This brings me back to where I am now, the middle of summer. Where the work days drag on, the non-work days fly by too fast and all I have to write about is that I miss the excitement of harvest. So for the next month or so…I will be busy doing the same things over and over. We are in the dog days of summer where work, really feels like work. This year I really feel it.

John Andrews is a software product manager during the week and is a professional Tasting Room staffer at Loxton Cellars in Glen Ellen, CA on the weekends.

Stampa

posted by Robert in Snooth, Wine, Guest Bloggers

I am still toying with the shape and tone of this blog so forgive me as I feel my way. This week I feel compelled to comment on some Italian-wine news that has been filtering in over the last few weeks.

I included a throw away reference to Lambrusco in this space a few weeks ago and that simple act has opened my eyes to the onrush of Lambrusco related press floating around out there. ‘Brusco is the sparkly wine from Italy’s Emilia - Romagna region which is often cited as Italy’s stomach and has been a favorite of mine for years owing to its flexibility as a food wine and its unpretentious drinkability. The quality and quantity of Lambrusco available in the United States has been increasing swiftly over the last few years and recently the Consorzio dei Lambruschi Modenesi announced the bottling of its 500 millionth bottle. Additionally, one of my favorite producers, Lini, had a nice write-up in Men’s Vogue of all places. I recommend the article for its no nonsense approach and for also linking to Riunite commercials from the 70s that will have some of you cringing and others just shaking their heads.

Speaking of Emilia-Romagna, in my post explaining the difference between the French and Italian wine law systems I used Sangiovese di Romagna as an example claiming that if it were more French there would be sub-zones within the greater DOC that indicated greater quality. In the back of my mind I think I might be responsible for this initiative that hopes to add sub-zone designations to the larger DOC. Right now this idea is in its infancy but it is an opportunity for the Italians to define the subzones carefully and place tighter yield and growing restrictions that will ensure higher quality wines are produced. In this way the Italian wine label might actually reach out to consumers and provide additional information as opposed to adding seven more unknown words for wine lovers to trip over. We shall see.

Also, hearty congratulations to Barbera del Monferrato Superiore for becoming Italy’s 37th DOCG. This completes the recognition of Piedmont’s workhorse grapes Dolcetto (see Dogliani) and Barbera. I will be exploring this elevation in more depth in another post but I did not want BMS fans to waste another minute in planning their parties.

And lastly for this week, in a news article that I can currently not confirm - so please take it as rumor - the Italian government seems to have approved the use of Bag-in-Box for Italian DOC wines. Exempt from this would be DOCG and any wines using the Riserva, Superiore or vigna designations. If true it would mark a significant departure from past dogma and open the door to the possibility of good quality Italian wine appearing in the Box format. I whole-heartedly support such initiatives and I hope producers take advantage of the new packaging options and begin to allow other modifications such as permitting screw caps for DOC wines as well.

Thank you for taking the time and see you again in two weeks.

Robert Scibelli is a lecturer and administrator at New York’s premier wine school, International Wine Center.

Barbera and Tomato

posted by Kirstin in Snooth, Wine, Guest Bloggers

As old and fabled of a pairing as bacon and eggs or Adam and Eve, Barbera and tomatoes hardly need an introduction.

But I feel like cooing, so here goes.

While tomatoes aren’t as extensively utilized in Piedmont cooking, the region where Barbera thrives, as they are in say in Bologna, Sicily, or Tuscany, you can be sure that they are often on the table together. This is when the magic happens.

Now, just like with other grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay, there are many ways to make the wine called Barbera. Some expressions are oakier, richer, and riper. In general, these are styles of Barbera that are good with food, but in my opinion are best generally utilized as as a cocktail wines.

The traditional style of Barbera, on the other hand, is fermented, lower-oak goodness that puckers lips and leaves one searching the room for something to cut the high acidity, like a slice of butter. This is the type of Barbera that we’re looking for. These are the Barberas that live for tomatoes.

Barbera is a high acidity Piedmontese grape with a juicy cherry, strawberry, and often tar-like touch. A tomato is a fruit-vegetable (hereafter referred to as a freg) with sweet overtones and a high acidity bite. This pairing is a classic case of matching like to like. Although it might sound somewhat asinine to pair a freg known for its acidity with a wine also known for the same (maybe it sounds as silly as the first time you use brown and white sugar in a cookie recipe, for example), it works amazingly well.

Case in point:
Zachary’s deep-dish spinach and mushroom pizza with Borgogno Barbera D’Alba.

Zachary’s deep-dish is known around the SF Bay Area and exists as a topic of conversation in Chicago for its crispy, buttery crust, that’s jam-packed with oozing layers of mozzarella and massive amounts of tomatoes. It’s so tomatolicious, in fact, that some pizza purists insist that it is more casserole than a true pizza. Whatever. It’s the best and only thing really worth ordering on their menu that inspires sure-bet bliss. And its better heated in the oven the next day.

My point is, anyhow, that it is the tomatoes that makes this pizza such a perfect match for the grape.

If a tomato ever seemed sweet to you, just wait until you try it with Barbera. This is when our freg friend transforms to tomato candy. The high acidity in the gape emphasizes all hints of sugar in the freg, but it doesn’t make the tomato too sweet so that the wine tastes metallic or sour. And the tomato returns the favor for the wine, twelve-fold. It transforms this tart little grape into a complete table pleasure.

But that’s just my opinion. Try it with an overlaoaded deep-dish near you.

Do you have any favorite tomato wines?

Kirstin Jackson Ellis works as a wine bar manager and wine and food consultant in the San Francisco Bay Area and writes about wine and food pairing at Vin de La Table, her luxurious and lighthearted blog.

Shiraz vs Syrah…An identity crisis?

posted by Callie in Wine, Guest Bloggers

Shiraz is the Bruce Wayne of the wine world, thereby making Syrah…Batman.  Cutting to the chase, Shiraz generally, is a straightforward, bright, vibrant wine, while Syrah is a little more smoky and mysterious.  It is commonly misunderstood that Shiraz and Syrah are two completely different grapes, however, they are not!  What’s known as Shiraz to the better part of the world is genetically, exactly the same as Syrah (where it moonlights as in France and few other places).  Both grapes tend to produce medium to full bodied wines that have deep and lush purple coloring, however the common demeanor similarities end there.

There has been much debate about the origins of the Syrah grape.  It is thought that the grape started out in the town of Shiraz, in Persia.  Still, this is debated as researchers have found that the grape is related to two indigenous vines from south east France.  Until the 1970’s Syrah was almost exclusively planted in southern France and Australia.  Since then it has traveled far and wide and can be found thriving in all parts of the world, from Switzerland to California.  Shiraz performs best in warm climate places where it can ripen fully, thus limiting the places where it can be cultivated.

As I mentioned before, this grape tends to produce deep, medium to full bodied wines, however the likenesses between Shiraz and Syrah stop there.  Here we have a prime example of how geographical effects wine production.  Yay!! A new lesson in Terrior!

Syrah, as it is classically grown in the Rhone Valley, often makes for peppery, spiced wines that are hinted with berries.  It is usually dark, and lush in color that is far earthier than its Aussie Shiraz version.  If nothing else, the Rhone Syrah is an elegant and complex wine that’s a bit more serious (think Batman), but extremely enjoyable.  French soils are heavy with limestone and can hold a lot more moisture.  This forces the vines to go deeper for nutrients, which in turn makes for a generally more complex and richer wine.   Moreover, Syrah is produced in a cooler climate where it doesn’t ripen as quickly, which lends itself to a less ripe and more sultry and smoky, plum flavored wine.

Which now leads me to Syrah’s alternate identity; Shiraz. Widely grown in Australia, Shiraz tends to be bright and vibrant with lots of jammy fruit.  They also tend to be a lot less complex than a Syrah.  This is because Shiraz is grown in a warm climate with sandy soils where grapes ripen fasters and vines get their nutrients easily.  The Australian Shiraz can be made in several different styles, some being easy drinking quaffers with lots of fruit (Bruce Wayne-esq, if you will).  Here, even the fermentation process (which tends to be faster than in France) plays a part in end product of the wine.  A shorter aging process leads to a less complex and more fruit driven Aussie Shiraz that we know and love.  While a longer process leads to bolder, more concentrated/tannic juice, which is why we get the smoky yet firm characteristics often found in the French Syrah.

As you can see, there is much more than just the grape that meets the eye (or should I say nose here).  Even if you like Cabernet, it may be more like you like California Cabernet as opposed to the French Cabernet.  As we see here, Shiraz and Syrah may be the same grape, but it has the ability to produce almost completely opposite wines depending on climate, geography, and production practices.  If you’re up for some extra credit, go to your local wine shop and try a Syrah and Shiraz side by side. Are you a Batman or a Bruce Wayne drinker?

Callie Exas has just launched her wine career at New York Wine Co. in Manhattan. So far so good!

Complimentary Cool

posted by Adam in Snooth, Wine, Guest Bloggers, Music

For this week’s Wine and Music post, we continue to explore the pairing potential of Willamette Valley, Oregon with a 2006 Pinot Noir accompanied by a silky smooth folk re-issue from early 70’s groove wizard Rodriguez.

Cool (adjective) - moderately cold; neither warm nor cold

Willamette Valley is known for its cool climate and has been acknowledged as one of the best regions for Pinot Noir. The founders of Benton-Lane moved to Oregon from California in order to set up their shop in the best growing climate for this type of wine.

Cool (adjective) - characterized by great facility; highly skilled or clever

Rodriguez’s lyrics and style epitomize the “cool” so frequently associated with the early 70’s and though admittedly the 2006 Pinot and this music have over 30 years between them, and pairing “cool” is as cliché an approach as it gets, I find these two cool products are complimentary to one another and that they are an undeniable match.

Wine: Benton Lane Pinot Noir 2006

Wine Region: Willamette Valley, Oregon
Wine Label: Benton-Lane
Wine Year: 2006
Wine Type: Red: Pinot Noir
Wine Link: http://www.snooth.com/wine/benton-lane-pinot-noir-2006/

Wine Description: Benton-Lane Winery is a family owned estate which operates on the grounds of an old sheep ranch called Sunnymount. Their first vintage was in 1992 and they have since gone on to win two Top Wines in the World. Benton-Lane’s environmentally conscious vineyard practices have earned them certification under the internationally sanctioned L.I.V.E (Low Input Viticulture and Enology) program, and regionally sanctioned Salmon Safe program. Benton-Lane was founded to release great Oregon Pinot Noir and they have certainly accomplished that goal.

This wine has a great spicy yet smooth character and a balanced black cherry and plum flavor. I found it to be extremely pleasant and will definitely be picking up some more. According to the company website, “This deep ruby colored pinot noir has impressive and varietal aromas of cherries, red plums, hibiscus and wild mushrooms.” I’ll admit I wasn’t aware of the mushrooms until reading about it after the tasting, but I did notice something else in the mix which offered a unique earthy feel.

Music: Rodriguez

Music Region: Detroit, Michigan
Music Label: Light In The Attic
Music Year: August 2008 / Original Release - March 1970
Music Type: Folk : Psychedelic/Rock
Music Link: http://www.lightintheattic.net

Music Description: The Rodriguez “Cold Fact” album is being re-released in mid August by uber-hip Seattle label, Light in the Attic. Rodriguez - born Sixto Rodriguez - but who referred to himself as Jesus Rodriguez, is an early 70’s psychedelic folk musician who had a decent amount of success in South Africa and Australia, but has been a relative unknown in the US and Europe. Originally from Detroit, Michigan- Rodriguez’s albums are full of a unique flavor, and have been described as “outspoken lyrics, unforgettable tunes and a trippy vibe.” For lack of better ways to put it, Rodriguez aged incredibly well over time.

Rumors of Rodriguez death in the late 70’s sent the musician into further obscurity where he remained for many years. Only recently has his name starting surfacing again, much as a result of the re-issue of this album.

Light in the Attic has released some great albums recently but this one hits the ball out of the park. Each track is a gem, and is reminiscent of early Simon & Garfunkel or Donovon but with much more of an edge- an edge that sits closer to a Bob Dylan or a Fela Kuti. There is a obvious psychedelic slant to the album, evident from the colorful and catchy hit “Sugarman” as well as other tracks such as “This is Not a Song, Its an Outburst” and “Crucify Your Mind” but his approach does not water down the message or come off too “hippy-dippy” (a term coined comedic great George Carlin).

Including with this post is Rodriguez’s popular hit single “Sugarman“. As far as I know, Snooth is the ONLY place you can download this song until the album comes out on August 19th. Extra Special Thanks to everyone at Light in the Attic for granting permission to share this track in advance of the album release and for bringing this amazing product back into the market.

Rodriguez - Sugarman - sugar_man.mp3

Enjoy!

Rethinking Bordeaux

posted by Dan in Snooth, Wine, Guest Bloggers

For you business school types, wine geeks, Bordeaux aficionados and value seekers, the good people at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration released in June a report that analyzes the Bordeaux Classification of 1855 for the modern day consumer. The analysis, after review of wine ratings from the three most popular sources today (Robert Parker, Stephen Tanzer and Wine Spectator), proposes some modifications to the original classification. The authors don’t believe that their study will change the mind of the Bordelais, but they do a stellar job in helping ratings mongers understand the successes and failures of the 61 Chataeu considered “classified growths” from First to Fifth.

The short report contains charts and graphs and the explanation of their regression analyses that brought them to their conclusions - that modifications to the original classification are necessary based on current third party qualitative reviews and (consequent) market demands. The use of the popular “rating services” was pull-quoted, as it often is under such circumstances, to remind readers that one “should not compare scores,… but should choose the rater who best matches their own tastes.” Without surprise, Parker led the pack with the highest average ratings per vintage, the Spectator was a close second and Tanzer was most conservative with a one-point plus differential from Parker.

Since Parker and the Spectator originated in the late 70’s (’78 and ‘76 respectively) and Tanzer in 1985, the report focuses on vintages from 1995 to the present where at least 40% of the 61 wines were reviewed during each vintage year. Vintages, in the report, are compared and give consumers a mathematician’s look at standout growing years. Again, without surprise, score inflation is seen in the 21st Century - 2000, 2003 and 2005. The report states that years of improving viticultural and vinification practices could be a explanation of this trend, but also implies that the reviewers are playing to the consumers who are relying on their services. (The cynic’s viewpoint is that the Chateau themselves have been witnessing these trends and are crafting wines that feed this vicious cycle.) However, it is quite interesting that the report states the circulation of each reviewer’s publication - 40,000 subscribers to erobertparker, 363,000 subscribers to Wine Spectator, Tanzer, unknown, but likely less than Parker. That is a primary readership that is a fraction of the American wine drinking public (let alone worldwide). [Statistical note: According to recent research done by Constellation Brands and the Wine Institute, only 12% of the wine drinking public uses reviewer comments to help make their buying decisions. That’s less than 450,000 people - subscribed to rating services - in a universe of 5 million ‘enthusiasts’ as described by Constellation and Wine Institute.] I digress.

The compelling thing about the report is what they have reported regarding QPR (quality price ratio). The authors of the report don’t take credit for this and state that critics have been citing this for years regarding the original 1855 Classification. Frank Prial, the venerable wine critic from the New York Times, stated this decades ago, “there are Fourth and Fifth Growths that should be Second and Thirds; alternatively, there are highly rated properties that should be demoted.” Using the statistics from the findings, the Cornell folk found this true, pumping Chataeu Leoville-Las-Cases from Second Growth to First Growth and Chateau Lynch-Bages and Chateau Ponet-Canet from Fifth to Second Growths. There are also a handful of Chateau that fall, most interestingly, Chateau Mouton-Rothschild from First to Second.

The forward movers are an interesting set. The jumps in classification correlate to their price per bottle. Leoville-Las-Cases costs three times more than the average Second Growth wine, but still a third cheaper than its would-be counterparts in the First Growth. Similarly, Ponet-Canet sells at a 260% premium from its fellow Fifth Growth, but a 40% discount from its potential Second Growth bedfellows.

Cornell has done a valiant service to wine drinkers with this report, especially in showing the consistency of the reviewers when rating the Third, Fourth and Fifth Growth wines as being ‘very good to excellent’ in their reviews and costing a fraction of their upper crust neighbors. As linked above, I implore you to read it yourself (registration to the Cornell site for a download is free and easy) and then make your own buying decisions, if you haven’t already.

Dan Petroski is Assistant Winemaker at Larkmead Vineyards in Napa Valley. Dan has an MBA from New York University and worked as an Ad Exec in New York for several years, before switching it up and trading his suit for a move out west.