Scaling Back

I’ve been hearing for some time now that wine blogs are, as a whole, losing energy and becoming less popular.  I think that can be for any number of reasons, but whatever the reasons are, it seems to be true.

I’ve had some interesting observations regarding my own blog - most of my posts with the highest number of hits are among the most off-beat wine topics I’ve come up with, including Vranac from Montenegro, and a few Croatian wines.  To me, that’s a little peculiar.  I do understand that perhaps readers are led to those particular blog posts from Google because no one else has covered some of the topics I’ve covered, or at least not recently.

Then there have been other blog posts that have garnered a lot of attention, but not for the tasting notes or the seriousness of wine topics - no, especially in the case of one of my most popular posts this year, on what some of my wine friends began calling the “Nebbiolo man” - this was a blog post about the allure of men who age gracefully and comparing them to Nebbiolo based wines.  That post was meant just for fun, and the vast majority of my other posts were meant to be taken more seriously.  And instead, I drew some attention (and made some mischief) with a blog post centered more on men than on wine.

The somewhat broad topic that I’ve chosen to focus on is off-beat wines and the benefits of experimenting with them.  Many of the off-beat wines I’ve focused on are from Sud-Ouest, or South West France.  As I’ve explained in the blog on numerous occasions, I fell in love with the mysterious, terroir-driven, unique wines of Sud-Ouest after attending a master class with the Guild of Sommeliers last year, and being exposed to wines that would change the way I viewed wine ever since.  Other off-beat wines I’ve given attention to include wines from Savoie, Burgenland, Montenegro, Croatia, Campagna, and Valle d’Aosta, to name a few.  I’ve received a lot of questions as to why I prefer those wines.  Truth be told, I still have an affinity for good Bordeaux, like so many other wine drinkers.  And I love a good Rhone or Burgundy.  And I really love the wines of Piemonte.  My taste isn’t quite so strange as some may think.  But like I’ve explained before, it would be ridiculous to expect some of the native grapes in places like Irouleguy, Sicily, Wagram, Priorat, etc., to be produced here in the United States.  I prefer hunting down these wines and experiencing their uniqueness and expression of identity when they’re produced in their place of origin.  It’s a great way to learn, it’s fun, and it serves as a constant reminder what a tremendous place the wine world really is, and that the more we learn, the more we realize we still have yet to learn.  If I thought there was anything finite about wine, I’d lose some interest in it.  But knowing how much is left to explore, how much history there is to uncover, and how many new developments there will be - well, that makes it all the more irresistible to me.

Anyone who has been reading my blog since the beginning might recall why I started the wine blog.  I once had a friend that I met through a wine discussion on the internet.  He and I began our friendship and over time, and exchanged a lot of wine notes and observations.  When our friendship came to an abrupt end, it felt strange to me that I had no one to share my wine observations with, so I thought about simply posting it all to Facebook.  But then I decided to share them with whomever cared to read them, so that’s why I started my blog.  This January will mark 2 years since I started the blog.  I’ve learned so much in that amount of time.  In fact, I can hardly believe how much I’ve learned, and how quickly, and the changes it’s brought to my life.  I’ve since entered the wine industry, met some fascinating people, and interestingly enough, learned a great deal about myself.  If that sounds crazy, think of this - I started a wine blog to share my observations with like-minded people who love wine.  Since then, I changed careers, developed new friendships, and I’m learning what it is that I love.  Yes, I’ve been learning a great deal about myself.  5 or 10 years ago, I never would have predicted that this would be my current path.

Since entering the industry and meeting so many people who share my views and also having the chance to learn from each other, my real life interactions have replaced what was at one point exclusively online interaction regarding wine.  I’ve also noticed that while I’ve helped some people find new favorites in the wine world, and shed some light on different things to consider, I’ve realized that some minds are too shuttered or narrow and closed off from new ideas (or old ideas that never crossed that threshold of a person’s mind), and I’ve learned that it’s nearly impossible to have any effect whatsoever on a mind or palate so immovable.  And it’s exasperating to try and convince someone that it’s probably worth it to spend less on better quality wines than on mass produced wines that command prices higher than they should, only to be told that they think I’m wrong, or just looking for off-beat wines for the sake of being different.  And it’s also frustrating to have to explain very basic, fundamental things over and over, knowing that it’s not being heard and digested.  It’s also frustrating and annoying to have to defend my strong preference for wines produced as they were intended and have been grown, harvested, and produced for centuries - simply because my preference lies with tiny vineyards and producers in Europe, instead of Long Island, New York, United States, etc.  I like a lot of the people involved with the Long Island wine industry and in fact I have some favorite wines from Long Island (you can find them in this blog), and so I tend to keep most of my opinions to myself about what I really think of a lot of the wines produced here on the Island.  Meanwhile, I go along spending a lot less for wines that tell me a great deal about themselves, and transport me to a new place every evening when I open a bottle.  For me to feel the need to defend this concept, day in and day out, is more than just annoying and frustrating.  I’m proud to pour regular tastings in a wine boutique that focuses on both traditional and off-beat wines that are focused more on quality than on name but are predominantly from Europe, and I’m proud to represent a book that is 100% European and 100% quality driven.  Every time I go into another wine shop or restaurant with the book and the wines I represent, I’m enthusiastic and confident in them.

What I’m trying to say is, I think my blog has served to teach me a great deal over the past 2 years, but I’m not so sure I got through to anyone about a whole lot.  I’m beginning to feel that a lot of it falls on deaf ears, and the rest is just repetition to those who already agree and share my beliefs.  For those reasons, I’ve decided to scale back on the blog posts, and after the new year begins, marking 2 years of blogging, I’ll be writing only when I feel so inspired.

My Case for European Wine - Revisited (Again and Again)

“What’s with you and all these European wines?  Why no American wines?”

I hear this all too often.  Each time I answer, I come up with more reasons why I drink European wines at a ratio of probably 50 European wines to every 1 American wine I choose.  I think my reasons are logical.

I prefer lower alcohol wines.  I prefer leaner, brighter, terroir-driven wines.  I’m not saying that all European wines are in that category and no American wines fit in.  But generally, I find more expression of identity in European wines, and that the wines are truer to the grape and the region from which the grape originates.

It’s no secret that I also prefer esoteric wines that are made from grapes that grow exclusively in those tiny regions and appellations in Europe.  It would be impractical to expect American producers to experiment with Coda di Volpe, Negroamaro, Jacquere, Roter Veltliner, Negrette, etc.  American producers are a lot less familiar with those grapes and it would be risky to experiment excessively with them, especially since American consumers usually wouldn’t pay for off-beat wines and prefer to spend money on Chardonnay, Cabernet, Pinot Noir, and Zinfandel.  And it’s completely ok that American consumers generally prefer safe bets.  But when I look at quality/price ratio, I find that European wines are by far the more efficient way to go.

Certainly, there are exceptions.  But here’s an example.

A month or two ago, I was pouring at one of the regular Friday tastings.  A couple approached me and was completely unfamiliar with the wines.  The couple claimed they don’t drink any French wines (already a massive red flag in my mind), and that they prefer Italian and California.  I was curious to hear which Italian wines they like.  The man told me he likes Amarone and “the one that starts with a B, it’s really expensive” - Brunello, I asked him - yes.  And then he proceeded to tell me he could barely afford to drink them.  I asked him if he was at all familiar with Primitivo or Aglianico, and he had no idea what those are.  I explained, and hopefully he’s tasted a few since then.  I also asked him which are among his favorite American producers.  He told me he and his wife like Kendall-Jackson and Robert Mondavi.  (My thought process probably looked something like, “Aha!  I thought so!”  But obviously I wasn’t going to say that.)  I suggested he try some others.  He wanted to know why.  I told him he’d surely find more exciting wines of better quality elsewhere, and undoubtedly at a better price.  “Where?” he asked me - I responded, “Right here.  In this wine shop.  From France, and Italy, and Germany, and Austria, and Spain, and Portugal.”  He wanted to know if I was confident those wines in the $12-$20 price range would be better than the Mondavi wines.  I told him I was absolutely certain they’d be better, and I hope he and his wife took my suggestions.

It’s nearly always the case that I find much better deals with European wines.  Sure, there are some really expensive wines coming from Europe.  But in comparison to their American counterparts, I find that European wines are less expensive and tell their own stories through their grapes and terroirs.  Basically, my point is that I’d rather pay less and get more.  Wouldn’t anyone?  And yet I find that so many American consumers refuse to believe that a French or Italian wine would be less expensive than its American counterpart.  Seeing (or tasting) is believing, I suppose.

I’m completely open minded about it and I do have some favorite American producers.  Most are small producers who pay attention to detail and therefore create a unique wine.  But in all honesty, I don’t remember the last time I spent $15 or less on an American bottle and was completely satisfied with it.

So there’s some of my answer as to why I strongly prefer European wines.

Bergerac - 100% Merlot, Sud-Ouest.  Very dependable and expressive.  $13.

Keeping it Fun - Blind Tasting

Yes, wine should be taken seriously, for so many reasons.  But I think a lot of people who take it seriously tend to forget to have fun with it too.  I take it seriously but I make it a point to remind myself regularly to keep it fun.  How do I keep it fun?

Well, I aim to learn something new about wine every day.  I love researching things that might not have occurred to me previously, I enjoy trying new wines all the time from regions that often go forgotten, made of grapes that most Americans have never heard of, and I love attending tastings.  But one of the most fun things I can think of is blind tasting.  I do realize blind tasting is often done so that the person scoring the wine is not biased (or at least that’s what people claim), but I like doing it to keep my mind completely open, and to teach myself more about the characteristics of the grapes and terroirs.

Sure, it can be a humbling experience - sometimes a wine we hold in high regard comes up short, or sometimes our palates come up short and we have no idea what we’re tasting - but overall it’s lots of fun and a great way to keep it interesting.  And it’s also a great way to get others to try wines they might not have considered.  (All summer I suggested it to people to try, when their guests only drink white Zinfandel and they wanted to pour dry rose - I suggested covering the label or decanting.)

Want to try blind tasting at home?  Brown bagging is the way to go.  Open the bottle, remove the foil from the top, and try to cover as much of the bottle as possible with the brown paper bag (as oftentimes, the shape of the bottle gives away some clues).  Pour away and watch the other person/people observe the color, viscosity, aromas, flavors, and textures of the wine.  If it sounds like a challenge, it is.  If it sounds like fun, it is!

I’m Back

It feels so strange; I haven’t written any blog posts in almost 2 weeks.  Why?  We had a hurricane.

Obviously.

And we had no power for quite a while.

And we also had a nor’easter.

It was a rough couple of weeks - a bit stressful and challenging, but I’m feeling pretty lucky after hearing horror stories from communities not too far from here.  I’ve placed a link to the Red Cross Hurricane Sandy Relief efforts at the top right corner of the blog - please consider donating whatever you can to the recovery efforts in our area (Long Island, metro New York, and New Jersey).  Every little bit counts.

One of the things that got me through the past couple of weeks was wine.  No, I didn’t overdrink - that’s not what I meant.  Wine is that thing that makes my mind wander from where I am, it makes me think, it makes me happy, and it makes others around me happy, too.  Opening a couple of bottles every night with the family while we waited for our road to be cleared of the trees and debris, waited for our power to be restored, and waited for gasoline, food, and supplies to reach our area again, we had our wine together and it provided fun, comfort, and something to share and talk about and think about together.  This is no surprise to me, as we did the very same thing last year during the hurricane.

I hope we won’t have another experience like this for a long time.  But for now, I appreciate the stash of red wines that got us through the past couple of weeks, and I’m happy to welcome whites back into the mix, now that our refrigerator is up and running again and we’re able to chill the whites properly.

Preparing for a Hurricane

The hurricane is on its way.  Most of my accounts are in evacuation zones, the roads are flooding, and the best thing to do right now is probably stay indoors, be prepared to light candles, and light the fireplaces...and drink red wine.  Remember - red wine.  Not white.  Why?  Because if the power goes out, chances are we won’t be able to chill the whites properly.

Last year I wrote a blog post right after the hurricane, called “Riedels in the Dark,” yes, it’s a reference to the chapter “Riddles in the Dark” from The Hobbit, but it’s exactly what happened in our family - we lost power for a week, so we played poker, listened to baseball on the radio, and drank plenty of fun red wines every night - Riedels in the dark.  I got exposed to some interesting Rhones, Cahors, and other Old World wines, as well as some delicious New World wines, particularly Argentinean Malbecs.

But let’s face it - big storms can be pretty scary and intimidating, especially if we listen to weather forecasts where they’ll try and convince us that the world might just be coming to an end, or something along those lines.  Yes, it’s scary.  And inconvenient due to damage and power outages.

There’s plenty of red wine in the house and hopefully it won’t be consumed in the dark.  Hopefully the storm doesn’t hit us as hard as it’s predicted to hit Long Island.  But if it does, at least we have our wine.  I poured two tastings this weekend, and got to talk to a lot of people.  They were all out buying as much wine as they could, for the impending storm.  I’m happy to hear people have their priorities in order - a supply of wine translates to staying indoors during the storm, spending time with family and friends, and keeping satisfied and entertained.

So let’s try and stay safe and hopefully by the time I write my Friday post, we’ll all be ok and we’ll have enjoyed some fun red wines.

Tastings are Fun!

I love pouring tastings.  Of course it’s important to be able to sell the wines at the tastings, but what I really love is having the opportunity to talk to people about wine, and share the experience of what it is that I happen to be pouring that day.

What makes it most fun for me is when people attending a tasting are open minded and willing to try anything on the table, and are interested in the wines and want to hear more about the grapes, the regions, the producers, etc.  It’s also a learning experience for me - it’s important to me to learn from the people what they like and what they don’t like, and why.  Do they prefer dry or sweet?  Lighter or full bodied?  Fruity, or spicy, or earthy?  Do they want to pair the wines with food, or are the wines intended for sipping?

If somebody’s really interested in what they’re tasting, I feel more comfortable going into a deeper explanation of the wine - how Petite Sirah is actually Durif and not Syrah, or how Malbec is originally from Cahors and not Mendoza and what makes them different, or why someone may think they don’t like Chardonnay, until they taste a Chardonnay has that little or no oak.  The better the reception, the more enthusiastic I get, and the more enthusiastic I get, the better the wines show, and consequently the better they sell.  If I failed to get behind the products and lacked inspiration, I don’t think the wines would appear so exciting.  And if I’ve got some fun recipes in mind to suggest with the wines I’m pouring, it makes them even more appealing.

Pouring tastings is probably my favorite part of being in the wine industry.  After deciding I no longer wanted to be an attorney and instead wanted to be in the wine industry, I thought about why I felt this way.  I thought back to my first day in court, working alongside another attorney, and I looked at the people waiting their turn.  One man was so stressed from his appearance in court, that he actually collapsed right there in the courtroom.  I realized that a lot of people aren’t happy when they go to their attorney.  The most entertaining thing I was doing was researching and writing on tax exemptions.  Most times, the law isn’t bringing people together.  But being in the wine industry, things are just different.  And the people coming to tastings remind me of that, when I see how happy they are when they find a wine that’s right for them, or they realize that they actually do like Chardonnay, or that they share my love of offbeat wines - the wine helps me connect with people, and that’s one of the reasons why I love pouring tastings.

“Don’t Be That Guy"

I’ve read many, many times that a man absolutely must know how to order wine in a restaurant, whether he’s at a business dinner or on a date.  I agree.  But why just men?  I’m a lady who knows her way around a wine list (for obvious reasons), but I think the average person should have basic command of wines so as not to panic when the wine list arrives.  It’s good to feel some degree of comfort when ordering wine, either by the glass or by the bottle, and it’s fairly basic to know how to pair to most dishes.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Merlot are pretty basic - steak and hearty dishes.  Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc (and perhaps Riesling as well) with lighter dishes, fish, etc.  Pinot Noir is generally what I consider a safe “crossover” wine - it’s lighter than the other reds, usually has nice bright acidity, and tends to pair well with lots of dishes.  I’d also generally place Chianti and other Sangiovese based wines in that category as well, for its food friendly characteristics and texture.

Yes, anyone can ask the sommelier or whomever is available to assist at a restaurant, for help with the wine list and making a selection.  But I think it’s a good idea to have basic knowledge enough to be able to select a reasonably safe wine to have with dinner.  And if it’s just for sipping, feeling confident enough to experiment with the wines available can be quite fun!

The other thing I think is at least as important as knowing how to choose a wine is knowing how to use a corkscrew.  I think this is particularly important for men, and based on my own personal experiences, I think it’s safe to say it’s essential that a man know how to open a bottle of wine.  (Yes, I was once involved with someone who couldn’t master the corkscrew - good thing I know how.)  Any corkscrew will do, and since new corkscrew models are available that make opening the bottle even easier, there’s hardly an excuse for not being able to use one.  But mastering the waiter’s corkscrew is worth it.

Me - I’m impressed when someone knows how to order wine correctly.  I’m left scratching my head when a guy can’t open the bottle on his own.  As they say, “don’t be that guy” - it’s pretty easy to learn to order correctly, and it’s very easy to open a bottle.