Libation Station... "The Wine Shop Chronicles"
Saturday, May 31, 2008
CampingThis is my first attempt at using Googlee Docs to blog with. I've preferred Word in the past because of all the automatic editing bells and buzzers. As I learn more about ebb and flow, Word has become extremely restrictive and annoying because of formatting complexities that don't mix well with Googlee... like quotation marks showing up as question marks on the blog. So maybe this is my way to circumvent the unease of traversing competing software structures. Maybe not. Does this mean Googlee wins and Bill Gates, who we thought won, did not win? Will the still potential Yahoo acquisition escalate the war? We need a new war, don't we? The current one is getting really old.
We camped in the shop last night as there were many ado's to attend to. As I've stated before, I like sleep-overs here. At 6'2", I get the big couch. At 5'3", G gets the short, which is really short and she doesn't sleep well. Visits from friends, a Youthnet school art auction, a book club wine tasting, the usual Saturday crowd spurred on by the first Farmer's Market of the season and then to top it off, giddy anticipations in the way of a dinner invite from the people bringing us Food on the Brain. Since Argentina seems to be the theme, a chimichurri marinate fused on a flank steak brings hints of a Malbec. We do have an earthy one with notes of leather and subdued fruit which is tempting, but I just found an Argentine Syrah that I remember having extreme elegance and good acidity. Now I'm really giddy because I can taste that beef melting away with the tannins. Some trepidation exists with the marinate as I'm not sure how much vinegar is in play. But hey, without trepidation, where's the bliss of reward?
I finished Alice Feiring's book last night. She's quite the wine wench, but it would appear we need more such elves lurking earthward beneath the techno-surface. A few more knaves wouldn't hurt either... Mr. Dressner included. So as I get to the end chapter at 2AM, I'm picking up names of winemakers and importers that deal with biodynamic/organic/earth/wine friendy applications and I start pulling bottles off the shelf to check the labels and lo and behold, I have found a 2004 Nuits Saint Georges Clos de la Marechale from Jacques-Fredrick Mugnier. That being quite the mouthful, it also is imported by one Becky Wasserman. We also have her Jose Dhondt Champaign. Another find is a Catherine and Pierre Breton's Bourgueil Cab Franc. I remember this one. The layers are deep with greens and florals and leathers. I also remember these wines come from Triage in Seattle.
Triage = Dressner and Wasserman
Cavatappi = Kermit Lynch
Cordon = Weygandt
If you are in and around Seattle and want to try these magnificent displays of at least mostly biodynamic expression and can't get all the way up I-5 to see us (it is a nice drive, BTW), drop these names at your local wine shop and enjoy.
Labels: Other Observations, Wine Alert
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Events and stuff...I've been away from the shop since Saturday, trying to get miscellaneous projects done, yard work, cement slabs and sunken deck pillars realigned---easy stuff. We both ache from tip to toe but at least our external domestic contributions are showing results. Weeds are temporarily at bay and walking down the deck steps no longer requires an extra arm on the railing.
Events are nearing and the usual First Wednesday Whatevah is approaching the soonest with synchronicities and synergies occurring on June 4 between 5pm and 8pm.
On Saturday, June 21 we are teaming with The Dulce Plate in La Conner for an Argentine wine dinner. The menu is available for viewing on our events page. Call the shop or email if you wish to participate. Chef Bryan has put together quite the array as usual so we suggest you bring your appetites.
Last night we sampled one of a new Washington winery's wares. It would reside on the shelf for around $30-$32 a bottle. I need to know more about the winemaker and vineyard and history and philosophy to get my palate around it as I was overwhelmed as usual with what I consider too much generic fruit and wood. I think it's time I start delving into the vineyards and see what methods are being used. I'm having a real difficult time differentiating wines in this price range as of late and though labor and land are substantially pricier here on the left coast, I am consistently being left with wanting more out of the bottle than I have been getting... price regardless. Maybe my palate is changing. Maybe I need to know more about what is going down and fermenting in the gullet and where it came from. The other day Georgiann sampled a wine and broke out into blotches. She is not that intolerant to sulfates, or at least not in wine. That biodynamic word keeps popping up. That terroir concept keeps raising its stinky earthy head. It may have something to do with a particular book I'm currently reading. It is more of a confirmation than enlightening reading experience as things I have suspected are on quite a few others' minds. More on this later when I'm done with it.
Labels: Events, The Dining Amenity Enhancement Project, wine and health
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Wine Dogs...
We've carried Dunham Cellars' 3-Legged Red in the past. As a small specialty shop, it's hard to use up shelf space on wines that are stocked everywhere, the result of what is just plain good marketing on the part of the winery and in this case their biggest and best marketing juggernaut... Port, the 3-Legged Dog. Who isn't at least curious of content when a dog is on the label?
I remember being in Walla Walla for the spring bottling a couple of years ago and venturing into Dunham's tasting room. There was very little room to maneuver as that particular weekend is a very popular and packed event. As I nudged my way to the tasting bar I noticed a parting of the line in front of me, people sidestepping an obstacle on the floor, not mindlessly stepping around, but bending over to touch and usually muttering something in its direction. That obstacle was Port. He was sprawled out on his floor, in his tasting room, on his time and wasn't in the mood for moving. He was also enjoying all of the attention.
I've read several posts and articles lately on dogs and their presence in a business environment and sever
al to do with wineries. Ours is a integral part of our daily existence. We take her everywhere and when she actually has days off, our customers ask, "where's Maggie?" and on a regular basis. Some have said she is our greatest marketing ploy. When she has been away from the shop for too long, like for a whole day, she can be very aggressive on the affectionate side and literally attaches herself to any and all that come into the shop. No one seems to mind.
Sometimes in the midst of our many maniacal days, it takes the awareness and appreciation of these loyal guardians and watchers to remind us of connections beyond stacks and pricing, accounting and promotion. And when we lose one, there is significant reason for tribute and remembrance. We'll be keeping the 3-Legged Red on the shelf along with the Hightower Murray Cuvee. Murray also passed away earlier this year.
I've read several posts and articles lately on dogs and their presence in a business environment and sever
al to do with wineries. Ours is a integral part of our daily existence. We take her everywhere and when she actually has days off, our customers ask, "where's Maggie?" and on a regular basis. Some have said she is our greatest marketing ploy. When she has been away from the shop for too long, like for a whole day, she can be very aggressive on the affectionate side and literally attaches herself to any and all that come into the shop. No one seems to mind.Sometimes in the midst of our many maniacal days, it takes the awareness and appreciation of these loyal guardians and watchers to remind us of connections beyond stacks and pricing, accounting and promotion. And when we lose one, there is significant reason for tribute and remembrance. We'll be keeping the 3-Legged Red on the shelf along with the Hightower Murray Cuvee. Murray also passed away earlier this year.
Labels: Other Observations
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Sulfer intolerance...We've have had several inquiries as of late, probably due to the trend toward "green" and "organic" certification, about selling sulfite-free wine. There is a misconception that "organic wine" is by definition sulfite-free. The following is from the ecowine.com website:
"THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A SULFITE-FREE WINE.
Totally sulfite-free wines are an accident of nature; but wines low in sulfites or free of added sulfites do exist. Let us explain. Sulfites are a natural byproduct of the fermentation process. Fermenting yeasts present on all grape skins generate naturally occurring sulfites in amounts ranging from 6 to 40 parts per million (ppm.).
According to Professor Roger Boulton, Ph.D., University of California at Davis, Department of Viticulture and Enology, even if no sulfur dioxide is added to wine, fermenting yeasts will produce SO2 from the naturally occurring inorganic sulfates in all grape juices. Thus, says Boulton, it is impossible for any wine to be completely free of sulfur dioxide.WHY DO WINEMAKERS ADD SULFITES TO WINE?
Sulfur has been used as a preservative in winemaking for quite some time. To prevent wine spoilage, European winemakers pioneered the use of sulfur dioxide (SO2) two hundred years ago. Unfortunately, freshly pressed grape juice has a tendency to spoil due to contamination from bacteria and wild yeasts present on the grape skins. Not only does sulfur dioxide inhibit the growth of molds and bacteria, but it also stops oxidation (browning) and preserves the wine's natural flavor.
WHO IS AT RISK? The FDA says only about .4% of the population, or about a million people, is considered highly allergic to sulfites. According to Dr. Vincent Marinkovich, an allergist and clinical immunologist who has performed extensive research on SO 2, sulfites pose no danger to about 99.75% of the population; the highest risk group are asthmatics (about 5% of the population) and only about 5% of this group is allergic to sulfites.
Many people, however, have little tolerance for sulfites. They are considered sulfite-sensitive. Even for moderate wine drinkers, the average level of sulfites found in many commercial wines can cause heartburns or other side effects. Unpleasant reactions include burning sensations, hives, cramps, and flushing of the skin. For them, organic wines are an especially good choice since they contain minimal amounts of sulfites that will in most cases lie below their threshold level."
Biodynamic agriculture, specific to grape growing, is a practice of chemical-free agriculture that's new on the mainstream wine scene but predates organic methods. Biodynamic wine is subject to stricter, and decidedly more esoteric, standards than wines made from organically grown grapes. The information I can find so far does not show that Biodynamic wines have fewer sulfites by definition, but I'm still looking. They are probably more chemically free in the growing process than organic certified wines are. If the winemaker decides go a step further and not add sulfites, then I suppose for sulfur intolerant people, that's a good thing.
More on Biodynamic wines later...
Labels: wine and health
Friday, May 23, 2008
lower layeredWe have received in some new quaffs in the way of "not yer usual stuff." A totally unoaked Chardonnay from the Loire being one of them. I started playing with it yesterday. Extremely pleasant fruit, creamy, and loaded with minerality. I hope it held up in the fridge last night but at under $12, expectations are not unreasonably high.
There is also a nonvintage Italian red that works great as a pizza wine. There are real earthy overtones though, and when that happens, I like to double up on the mushrooms.
The one that really turned my crank was a white Grenache Blanc predominant blend from Languedoc... made by a former winemaker at Lafite. I went nuts over it, but Georgiann was not as thrilled. These things happen.
Yesterday we did a semi-rearrangement of the shop, opened up a warmer inviting experience when first walking in, and it allowed us to increase our $12 and under rack to a broader ranged $15 and under rack. These are really great buys and wonderful selections. They are also the price range where we find the most amount of hidden treasures. We like probing the backs of warehouses, peaking under the forklifts to see what someone else missed.
Throughout the weekend I will be springing these little surprises on people who walk in.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Spain via Bordeaux...This is something a little different for this bog, and it shouldn't be as I am supposedly a wine professional and should be able to apply immediate and mostly accurate sensory input of any given wine with lofty descriptive annunciations regarding the nose and palate on many layered levels and with a stylish prose worthy of any Spewtator or Advocate rater wannabe or is be. The problem is, I have not been that interested in being able to do that, so I have not really honed that area of potential expertise. I have been more into the intricacies of subjective manipulation and reception, my reasonable ability to seek out and find value wines of noted distinction, and humbly present them to the buying public. I'm now questioning myself--if I can train the connection between nose, palate, and cortex with regard to memory, as in, "I know what a pear tastes like, but this doesn't look like a pear, so is it pear I'm tasting?" type stuff. I also feel I don't have that great of a palate. The 19th century artist Paul Cezanne would stare at an apple for 6 hours before lifting his brush. The same attentiveness to process within this context seems as apropos for dissecting wine, I would think.
So my first real Cezanne style attempt at wine analysis is with a Spanish red:
Bogedas Los Aljibes Vina Aljibes Tinto 2004
This is a Bordeaux blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot,and 25% Cabernet Franc. The first whiff after pouring it into the glass confirms the standards associated with this style of wine regardless of the country of origin. It is big and intense on the nose with heavy black and a little red fruit and noticeable tannin. Without a doubt, the first impression is that this is of the new world style that many Spanish winemakers are employing. I have had the bottle open for about 30 minutes and already the tannins have started to cool. I'm still waiting on it to release more than the black current and blackberry flavors. Though it has been aged for at least 9 months on new American and French oak, I'm not getting any toasty syrup which is pleasant and yet there is the hint of vanilla bean. I'm actually wondering why I didn't start a steak on the grill. There is a silky depth to it as it flows back and forth across my tongue, like there is more viscosity to it than there actually is. The finish is smooth and lingers for a little less than I would like, but then this wine is still a little tight. The balance is absolutely wonderful and the tannin structure is definitely present. I remember the 2003 vintage as having more volatile tannin structure. Maybe the superior 2004 vintage across the entire country allowed for a little more subtlety. I would say the 04 requires a little less of a requirement for food. Did I say food? I meant beef. Alcohol is 14% which is reflective of the newer style, but the balance keeps this wine cool. The price of just under $20 is more than welcome, as this quality of wine produced on the West Coast would fetch a higher price.
The winery also doubles as a destination and a stud horse ranch. In the wine industry, it doesn't hurt to be diversified.
3 hours into the breathing process, acidity has moved forward as fruit has retreated. I'm also detecting some minerality... something some people find offensive in Spanish wines. Not me. I now wish I had not wolfed down the tomato, mushroom, onion, and garlic, pasta I fixed for dinner.
Labels: Wine Alert
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
diminishing returns...
At a tasting in Seattle yesterday we were delighted in finding out one of our favorite whites we've been enjoying all winter will be continued with the importer. Unfortunately, the next vintage will not arrive for 3 months and we are down to about 8 bottles. Unfortunately a bump in price thanks to our US dollar decline and the price of oil incline is definitely on the horizon. This is the problem with our particular focus in purchasing wines. If we snooze, we lose. The flip side to this problem is that we never get bored. It's good not to be bored. Though it's good to be bought, we can be bought but not bored.So as the 2006 Jean Guillot Sauvignon slowly drizzles into the sunset with all it's beautiful paper thin crispness and food friendly enhancements, we will patiently wait for the next such surprise... there are at least 4 being tested to act as substitute in the $8-$12 price range. It is difficult to find a white wine that covers the bases from asparagus to corn dogs. We will persevere.
Labels: Wine Alert
Monday, May 19, 2008
tasteless in Seattle...The heat the past few days, unexpectedly stifling, and the air thick and humid would normally bring out thoughts of rose's, clean crisp Loire whites, Spanish Albarino, maybe a Portuguese Vinho Verde... maybe a Gruner. My taste buds were not back. The best my palate could muster, differentiate, were notes of saline-like nonsolutions, maybe pencil eraser saturated with charcoal, and asphalt... briny asphalt. It wasn't pleasant. Only sipping lemon ginger tea and a Belgian ale worked and it was difficult because Shelly Humula's wine club Vino Venerata visited the shop Saturday night for a reasonably top shelf tasting including some specific cheeses that literally melted in the mouth. To discuss the wines being sampled without being able to sniff, swirl, and slurp along with all involved was something I was unaccustomed to. To be in the moment, one should be all the way in the moment
Sunday got a little better and yet with still reason to worry as today, two of my favorite distributors were bringing out new finds, old vines, and Louis/Dressner such lines. I couldn't tell if my mouth was watering from the anticipation or memory. I was prepared for disappointment. It wasn't all that bad, though the buds still are out of whack.
I know there was a ton of fruit on the Saint Emilion which I know from at least the smell that it was spectacular for being under $20 on the shelf. I know the unoaked Chinon Cab Franc was as big as a Cahors Malbec. I know the Dolcetto was as big as any from Italy that I have tasted recently, definitely not of the old world way. My palate was seriously de-Parkerized. I couldn't find the fruit. Luckily G and her highly sensitive hyper palate was there to nod some confirmation and also there were other things lurking about. That's what is so great about multi dimensional wines... there's a little something for everyone, even one with a lousy sinus infection.
Sometime soon, within the next two weeks, these wines will be on the shelf, and I still am adamant there will be plenty of complexity and eyebrow lifting interest under the $16.00 range. I may even have to lengthen the $12 and under rack as what I think I assume I found based on previous maybes was very impressive. Until I get all my buds back, it will have to do.
Labels: Events
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Why does boring wine cost so much?My nose and taste buds as well as hearing thus balance have yet to recover, so still this space is void of anything in the way of tasting notes or recommendations. I do though have more time to rant since I can't taste anything and am generally in a pissy mood because of it. What is the deal with American wineries being unable to produce a decent reasonably balanced and complex wine that can be sold between $8-$12 retail? Is our diet so bland that we can only handle a one dimensional wine? I'm about to throw a revolt bolt into the shop cog towards overpriced fruit bombs that offer little more than a blast of toasted berry. Sorry, I need more than that to compliment rather than supplement and I really think the wine consumer would appreciate it more if we as retailers were more honest in our subjective appraisals. Of course we want to promote our local economies but at the cost of what? Quality? Sustainability? In the world of wine, regardless of what the purveyors of cardboard sales state... more is not better.
Maybe we as a nation are not capable of honoring a time honored process that was not originally our idea to begin with. So be it. There is nothing wrong with that. Wine and food chains are not a good mix. Wine and quantity marketing is not a good mix. Our national claim to grape fame is Zinfandel. It is fat and slothish. It is an amazing grape and some really good things can be done with it, but at $46-$60 per bottle? Something ain't aligned. Is it our national pastime to equate high expenditure with sophisticated validity? If it cost a lot it must be not only good, but a requirement to have and hold? This is going to make us a leader in world wine production and consumption? What is it we are consuming? There certainly isn't a move toward less expensive American wines. The dollar is in the tank and yet European wines are gaining in market share. Boring wine obviously is not translating into the ideological market mentality we project. And that's fine. If it doesn't fit, don't jam it.
The shelves are getting more thin on the high priced fruit forward over oaked styles we as a nation supposedly crave. I may even merge the Washington, Californian, and Australian bins into a single category arena and name it "Wines that Numb for Times when we need to be Numb". The rest of the shop will reflect prices more in line with what is delivered to the palate. When my taste buds finally return, I'm going to drink everything in the "Freedom Wine" section first.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
viruses and wine...This is about as miserable as I care to get. The head still has remnants of some kind of synapsual activity. Though it feels cerebrally shrunken and whatever space was newly available between the gray matter and skull has been replaced with what I believe is cotton, I can muster a few thoughts for this blog. I do want state that I am seeking to hunt down and dispatch with utmost prejudice the dog or dogette who infested me with this calamity, one that leaves me unable to concentrate for more than 30 seconds and totally unable to sample wine. I have a feeling there is some really good juice slipping by that I am missing out on.
Thoughts about wine blogging have been on my mind as I have seen a surge of immense proportion by all and any who feel they have something to say about wine, and who wouldn't have something to say as it is a topic that carries the greatest amount of subjectivity that has a dollar amount and perceived sophistication attached to being in the know about it. As in all trends toward a collective intensity, there is a sizable amount of goop and poop that needs to be filtered through, much of it having to do with marketing agendas, like whose who and whose book is coming out and what other organizations is whose who associated with. Then there are the armchair winos who incessantly clog the bandwidth with whatever. So here's my take on the wine blog phenomenon.
If you have something to say and it doesn't at least lift an eyebrow (preferably totally pissing at least one somebody off) don't write it. There are way too many drivelings out in cyberville about what tastes great and with what and who said what and who rated what. There are a few notable exceptions that really stand out. Alice Feiring's blog, Vinofiction, and The Wine Offensive are three of the best I like to read. I don't need crafted journalists to provide me with in depth professional structure in a middle of the road reported nature. This is the Internet, not the food pullout section of the Cleveland Plaindealer. I need bloggers that offer me a glimpse into their cynical angst and buck the homogeneous with what and how they really feel. Give me accountability, defensibility, and facts beyond the generic. Give me thick encrusted skins with an independent opinion beyond shelf talkers and 90+ ratings. Wine making in its purest sense is an art form, not a commodity to be reported on like corn or soybeans on Entertainment Tonight.
So with that all in mind, I'd like offer up some wonderful notes on the wine I had last night or what new young winemaker is turning heads in Napa or Walla Walla, but instead I'll keep sipping the Tylenol Nighttime Formula and reading some real good stuff from less than fruit forward mindsets and enjoy the trip.
cough cough sniff sniff
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
doinkThere are pesky counter reactions to actions and some are equal and some are escalated. If one were to think they were immune to such circumstances, then one would continually be of the mindset that the world was but a place to get away with everything. Two cases in point regarding a good thing gone bad:
The 4 Bitchin' Babes' airline of choice decided to push their departure date out to the point when they arrive, it will be too late to get here from Seattle.
We bagged several end of season morels and I awoke with a giant welt on my back courtest of a deer tick that was snacking freely at my expense.
So the First Wednesday wine walk will continue as planned. CD's will still be for sale. There will be 4 pours of something fun and tasty and there will still be Bali Jewelry on sale in the loft. In the meantime, though the odds are extremely against, I will be debating on what wine goes with Lyme Disease. I'm thinking Picpoul, as it is citrusy.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
maniacal moments continued...Well, I sure haven't been here for awhile. I have been elsewhere though, as opposed to nowhere. I'm always writing something and putting it somewhere and sometimes some things, like this blog, get neglected. I am now here to un-neglect it.
We have been extremely busy the past two weeks and this one appears to be more of the same. Yesterday G wrecked her upper appendages removing the moldy residuals from a previously stunted summer and extended winter on our deck while I trashed my back hacking tree limbs and gussying up the yard.
Today I am up on wooded slope looking for morels while G prepares the shop for tomorrow nights festivities including 4 Bitchin' Babes with all their hormonal imbalances and a Bali jewelry display and sale. The two are somehow related but then maybe only by coincidence.
Thursday night is a get together with friends, Friday night is a pouring with Basi Rodriguez of Casa Ventura and then off to the Lincoln Theater for those 4 Bitchin' Babes will be, well... bitchin'. Saturday is another party, and Sunday is my turn to work the shop while G gets to pass out unless she decides not to. Monday I'm off to an industry tasting in B'Ham and then Tuesday, when I normally get to pass out, G is off to Wenatchee with others like-minded to learn how to help save our downtown and I'm in the shop... maybe passing out.
Somewhere in the midst of all this I'll be searching for closeouts and discontinuals of the "why are they doing that, this is good shit!" sort to offer up at what seems to be ridiculously low prices. But please, is there really such a thing as a ridiculously low price?
I just remembered that I forgot to go to Walla Walla. Oh Well.
R
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View my page on OpenWine Consortium
This work by Libation Station, Inc. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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