Archive for: November, 2018

Joe Wagner vs the Oregon Volcano

Amber LeBeau in Oregon wine, Wine marketing, Wine Tasting

Published on November 30, 2018

Joe Wagner, with his Copper Cane Wines & Provision, has been one of the most successful wine producers of the 21st century. But that fame and success doesn’t shield him from the ire of lawmakers and Oregon wineries who feel he has been playing fast and loose with state and federal wine labeling laws.

Joe Wagner's Elouan

These producers, led by Jim Bernau of Willamette Valley Vineyards, believe that Wagner’s wine labels confuse consumers and devalue the branding of Oregon. Wagner contends that he is being truthful about where the grapes are coming from and that his wines bring Oregon to the attention of more drinkers.

While the legal aspects of labeling will be debated and hashed out by government agencies (with so far Wagner and his labels losing the battle), I wanted to investigate the idea of whether Wagner’s wines help or hurt the image of the Oregon wine industry among consumers. To test that, I held a blind tasting featuring the offending Wagner wines against more traditional Oregon Pinot noirs.

I wanted to see if Wagner’s wines stood out and if there’s smoke behind this controversy erupting in Oregon.

The Background

Joe Wagner started his winemaking career with the establishment of Belle Glos in 2001. Focusing on vineyard designated Pinot noirs, Wagner was inspired by the wines of Kosta Browne and soon built Belle Glos into a 100,000 case production. In 2006, he introduced Meiomi–a unique Pinot noir with Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay and sometimes Grenache blended in.

By 2015, Meiomi was selling more than half a million cases a year. Wagner cashed in that success by selling the brand to Constellation Brands for $315 million. That sale allowed him to focus on his other brands–including Elouan which was founded in 2014 to highlight Oregon Pinot noir.

The Controversy and Current Rules for Oregon Wines

Elouan Reserve labeled as from the Rogue Valley.

Wagner makes all his Oregon wines (Elouan and the Willametter Journal) in California–primarily at Copper Cane’s Rutherford winery. In interviews, Wagner has stated his reasoning for trucking the grapes down to California was to maintain quality control.

Compared to federal standards, the rules for labeling wines in Oregon are more restrictive. For instance, to have a wine varietally labeled from Oregon, it must be at least 90% of the stated variety. Federal laws only mandate 75%.

To list an AVA on an Oregon wine, it must contain at least 95% of fruit sourced from that AVA. Crucially, the wine must also be produced solely within the state of Oregon. While the federal standard for AVA designation is only 85%, like Oregon, Federal laws also dictate that a wine using an AVA needs to be “fully finished” in the state containing the AVA. However, it does allow wines to be finished in adjacent states if it labeled under a more generic state designation such as “Oregon”.

While the basic Elouan has Oregon listed as it designation, the reserve wine uses the Rogue Valley AVA. With the wine being “fully finished” in California, this does seem to be a clear violation of labeling usage. Likewise, the case packaging of Elouan makes reference to the Willamette Valley, Rogue and Umpqua Valley. For the Willametter Journal, the grape source is listed as the “Territory of Oregon” which is a fanciful term not currently recognized as an approved AVA. Additionally, Willamette is prominently highlighted in red ink on the label as if it was an AVA designation.

Mega Purple — Mega Illegal In Oregon

The Willametter Journal has the word “Willamette” highlighted on the label in bright red.

Another unique aspect of Oregon wine law noted by Jim Bernau, is the use of additives like Mega Purple, Ultra Red, Purple 8000 and Red 8000. These are illegal in Oregon since they are based on teinturier grapes like Rubired that are not currently grown at all in the state. Essentially, the law views the use of these color and mouthfeel enhancing additives as illegally blending in grapes grown elsewhere.

Wagner and Copper Cane’s representatives have denied using these additives. However, there is wide spread belief in the industry that they are used frequently in California–particularly for inexpensive Pinot noirs.

The Big Questions

In setting up the blind tasting, I wanted to look at three focus points that I’d hope would answer the overarching question of whether Wagner’s wines help or hurt the branding of the Oregon wine industry.

1.) Does Joe Wagner’s Oregon wines stand out when compared to other, more “traditional” Oregon producers?

2.) If his wines do stand out, is this because of a signature winemaking style that overwhelms terroir? While we can’t prove if he is blending in other grape varieties (like he did with Meiomi) or using additives such as Mega Purple, a strong winemaking signature could give credence to the idea that his wines may “confuse” consumers about what Oregon Pinot noirs usually taste like.

3.) And finally, when compared side by side, what wines do people enjoy drinking?

The Tasting Format and Participants

Several of the folks who graciously offered their palates for the blind tasting.

To help with answering questions #2 and #3, I included 3 of Joe Wagner’s California wines in the lineup to go along with the 3 offending Oregon wines. While not part of the controversy, I thought the inclusion of Wagner’s popular California Pinot noirs could shed light on if he has a signature winemaking style that his Oregon wines would also demonstrate.

The Wagner Wines

2017 The Willametter Journal Oregon
2016 Elouan Oregon
2015 Elouan Reserve Rogue Valley
2014 Belle Glos Diaryman Russian River Valley
2016 BÖEN Santa Maria Valley
2016 Tuli Sonoma County

Included in the tasting were 15 Oregon wines from other producers. Additionally, there was 1 wine from British Columbia–the 2016 Quill from Blue Grouse Estate–that a guest brought. While originally I wanted to limit this to just Wagner and Oregon wines, I thought the Quill could serve as an interesting control. Would it be pegged as an “outsider” or “Wagner wine”? Or would it slipped in seamlessly with the Oregon wines. If so, that could indicate that perhaps the distinctiveness of Oregon wines are not as clear cut.

Oregon wines featured:

2016 Erath Oregon
2016 Willamette Valley Vineyards Whole Cluster
2015 Domaine Loubejac Selection de Barriques
2015 Citation, Willamette Valley
2014 Domaine Drouhin, Dundee Hills
2016 Stoller Estate Reserve
2013 Patton Valley Vineyards West Block
2014 Welsh Family Wines Bjornson Vineyards, Eola-Amity Hills
2011 Siltstone Guadalupe Vineyard, Dundee Hills
2016 Marshall Davis, Yamhill Carlton
2014 Noel Vineyard, Willamette Valley
2012 Colene Clemens Margo
2016 Ayoub Pinot Noir Memoirs Dundee Hills
2012 Cristom Pinot Noir Mt. Jefferson Cuvée Willamette Valley
2009 Coelho Winery Pinot Noir Paciência Willamette Valley

The wines were all served blind with only myself knowing the identities. Since some of the Wagner wines like the Belle Glos and Elouan Reserve had visible wax capsules, I placed those wines along with random Oregon bottles in one of 8 different decanters.

While there was a handful of industry folks from the retail side, the vast majority of the participants were regular wine consumers.

The Results

More traditional Oregon wines like the Stoller Reserve, Patton Valley West Block and Marshall Davis were the runaway favorites of the tasting.

During the tasting, many participants began noticing a trend of some wines being noticeably darker and fruitier–especially compared to other wines. A couple wines even stained glasses in ways that usually aren’t expected of Pinot noir.

The conversation emerged that in order to “Pin the tail on the Wagner”, one needed to look for the least “Pinot-like” wines of the bunch. This would turn out to be a worthwhile strategy that several tasters adopted.

After the tasting I asked the participants to first pick out their favorite bottles. The results were overwhelming for Oregon with the 2016 Stoller Estate Reserve, 2016 Marshall Davis and 2013 Patton Valley West Block getting multiple votes. The BC wine, the Quill, also got some votes as a favorite with many tasters thinking it was an Oregon wine from areas like McMinnville.

But the surprise of the favorite reveal was the inclusion of one of the controversial Oregon Wagner wines–the 2017 Willametter Journal. While the wine was more lush than the others, tasters compared it favorably to warm vintage Oregon Pinot noirs from AVAs like Ribbon Ridge and Eola-Amity Hills.

Pin the Tail on the Wagners

With the Willametter Journal already revealed, the quest then moved to see if the tasters could identify the 5 remaining Wagner wines. It should be noted that several participants had the Willametter Journal pegged as a Wagner.

Voting on what was a Wagner wine.

In the end, the tasters identified all but one Wagner wine blind. The 2015 Elouan Reserve Rogue Valley was the most obvious Wagner. It was near unanimously picked as being the least “Pinot noir-like” wine in the entire tasting. Several tasting notes alluded to a “root beer soda-like” quality and compared it to other grapes like Syrah and Zinfandel.

The only Wagner wine to escape detection was the 2016 BÖEN Santa Maria Valley. This one reminded a few tasters of Oregon wines from areas like Dundee and the Eola-Amity Hills.

Most surprising of all were two Oregon wines that were pegged by multiple tasters as Wagner wines–the 2016 Willamette Valley Vineyards Whole Cluster made by Jim Bernau and the 2015 Citation made by Howard Rossbach who founded Firesteed Cellars. The 2016 Erath Oregon also got some votes for being a “Wagner wine” as well.

Takeaways

Both the Citation and Willamette Valley Vineyards Whole Cluster were popular picks as Wagner wines.

For the most part, Joe Wagner’s Oregon wines stood out and tasted noticeably different compared to other Oregon Pinot noirs.

However, it is extremely interesting that the best selling Oregon wines (at least from a volume perspective)–the Willamette Valley Vineyards Whole Cluster and Erath–struck so many tasters as potentially being Wagners. While we didn’t have a bottle of Firesteed Cellars (recently sold to Vintage Wine Estates in 2017) in the tasting, the identification of Rossbach’s Citation as a potential Wagner goes along with that trend.

Together, those three wines (WVV, Erath and Firesteed) dominate restaurant wine lists and supermarket retail for Oregon wines. They’re popular wines that appeal to many consumers’ palates.

Likewise, Joe Wagner has built his success on producing wines that strike a cord with consumers–especially at restaurants and supermarket retail. While his style is distinctive, it is a style that sells. It’s also very telling that the Willametter Journal, one of the wines at the heart of the controversy, was selected as a favorite even as it was noted for being very different from the other Oregon wines.

However, overall, the Willametter Journal was an outlier. While wines like Stoller, Patton Valley and Marshall Davis might not sell at the volume of Wagner’s wines (or WVV, Erath and Firesteed for that matter), when tasted side by side–the vast majority of tasters went towards these more traditional-style Oregon Pinots.

Help or Hurt?

The Erath Oregon Pinot noir, now own by Ste Michelle Wine Estates, is made in a style that reminded quite a few tasters of Joe Wagner’s wines.

Now to the question of whether Joe Wagner’s Oregon wines help or hurt the image of Oregon wines among consumers.

The results are a mix-bag.

Does his wines represent Oregon? Definitely not at the top tier.

But at the entry-level? That’s a hazier question.

It’s hard to make the argument that Wagner’s “hurting” Oregon when many of the most popular Oregon wines seem to appeal to the same palate his wines do. These wineries (like Willamette Valley Vineyards, Erath and Citation/Firesteed) may not be using the same techniques as Wagner but, whatever they are doing, they’re making easy-drinking and crowd pleasing wines that hit the same notes as Joe Wagner’s wines.

While I’m sure there are a few Oregon wine producers who would like to throw Joe Wagner into a volcano, I don’t think we can dismiss the likelihood that his wines (or similarly styled Pinots) will be the tipple of choice at the luau.

Regardless of how they’re labelled.

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Geek Notes — New Wine Books For December

Amber LeBeau in Geek Notes, Wine marketing

Published on November 29, 2018

I apologize for the delay in getting a new post up. This past week had a double wallop of holidays coupled with a nasty bout with the flu bug. But I’ve turned the corner on that just in time to take a peak at some intriguing new wine book releases.

Inside the Chinese Wine Industry: The Past, Present, and Future of Wine in China by Loren Mayshark (Paperback released on Nov. 7th, 2018)

A porcelain wine jug from the early 15th century Ming dynasty.

There is no question that China is already a significant player on the global wine market. Its influence, particularly on pricing, is keenly felt in Bordeaux and Burgundy. As middle class consumption grows, industries like Australia have found the Chinese market to be extremely lucrative for their imports.

But for a country close to the same size as the United States, the potential for domestic production of Chinese wine is immense. The country has already surpassed Argentina, Chile and Australia to be the world’s 5th largest producer of wine.

As an author, Mayshark has a varied background with his previous works tackling the concept of death and the ills of higher education.

While only 174 pages, I suspect this will be a very research heavy book. Mayshark looks to go deep into the history and culture of alcohol in China. I’m not expecting much terroir and viticultural details but this looks to be a solid intro to a country that is only going to gain prominence on the world’s wine scene.

Port and the Douro, 4th Edition by Richard Mayson (Paperback released on Nov. 26th, 2018)

Mayson’s first edition of Port and the Douro in 1999 quickly became one of the benchmark standards for understanding Port and the often overlooked dry wines of the Douro. Over the years, the text has grown from 320 pages to now 418 pages in the latest volume.

While the Port industry hasn’t quite seen a spike of interest in “Grower’s Port” like we’ve seen in Champagne, there has been more attention paid to vineyards in recent years. While still quite rare, single vineyard or single quinta Ports have been on the rise. In the preface to this latest release, Mayson notes this volume reflects that increased interest.

Though the big shipping houses still dominant, smaller Port producers are gaining traction. Another significant addition to Port and the Douro is an expanded chapter on producer profiles.

Acidity Management in Must and Wine by Volker Schneider and Sarah Troxell. (Hardcover to be released Dec. 17th, 2018)

Checking volatile acidity using a cash still during my winemaking studies at the Northwest Wine Academy.
If you want to see the still in action, Yakima Valley Community College has a great 9 minute video on it here.

This book is for hard core wine student and folks who are interested in making wine themselves.

When you are looking for winemaking texts, you have two extremes. There are the fairly simple books aimed towards home winemakers that go really light on the science (Jeff Cox’s From Vines to Wines and Jon Iverson’s Home Winemaking Step by Step are two of the better ones) or you have very dense enology textbooks like Roger Boulton’s Principles And Practices Of Winemaking.

There are not many books in the middle with Jamie Goode’s Wine Science being the closest that I’ve found.

Schneider and Troxell’s Acidity Management definitely looks to be more on the textbook side of the equation. However, looking at the pages available on Amazon’s “Look Inside” preview, I’m intrigued at how relatively digestible the science is. It’s tech heavy without being dense. I can see this being a great resource to understand more of the nitty gritty details of winemaking.

Wine Globalization: A New Comparative History edited by Kym Anderson and Vicente Pinilla. (Paperback to be released December 31st, 2018)

This book is high on my radar as I’m gearing up to tackle Unit 1 of the WSET Diploma on The Global Business of Wine. This will be my second go-around with this unit. I realize after my first attempt that a big weakness is how “US-centric” my understanding of the wine industry is.

Featuring over 20 different authors from a wide range of backgrounds, this 576 page anthology truly has a global scope. There are chapters covering traditional markets like France, Germany and the United Kingdom as well as emerging markets in Asia and South America.

Even better, the paperback edition is less than half the price of the hardback or Kindle edition. I’m definitely going to jump on this before the price changes.

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60 Second Wine Review — Accordini Ripasso

Amber LeBeau in 60 Second Reviews

Published on November 19, 2018

A few quick thoughts on the 2009 Accordini Igino Valpolicella Ripasso.

The Geekery

Accordini Ripasso wine

Accordini Igino was founded in the 1960s but the family’s history in Valpolicella dates back to the early 1800s. Igino’s son, Guido, runs the estate today with his wife, Liliana, and their daughter Ilaria.

The family farms 35 hectares (86 acres) in the hills north of Verona around the villages of San Pietro in Cariano and Negrar.

To produce ripasso, the Accordinis drain the free-run juice from their Amarone tanks without pressing. This leaves the skins, lees and unfermented sugars left over from the Amarone’s fermentation. They add their Valpolicella base wine to the tank for an extended 10-14 day post-fermentation maceration on the Amarone lees.

During this time, ambient yeasts will consume the remaining sugars trapped in the Amarone skins and trigger a secondary fermentation that extracts additional color, tannins and flavor into the wine. However, compared to the secondary fermentations of sparkling wines, the CO2 is not kept captured in the tank.

The ripasso (roughly translated as “repass” or “renew”) process usually takes place in January or February with the wine then aged an additional 12 to 18 months in oak before release.

The 2009 Ripasso is a blend of 60% Corvina, 20% Rondinella and 20% Corvinone.

The Wine

Lots of sweet spices like star anise & cinnamon in this complex red.

High intensity nose. Very spicy star anise and cinnamon. Noticeable dark fruits–blackberry, black currant and plums.

On the palate, those dark fruits carry through but also bring an orange citrus note with them. Medium-plus acidity balances the full body weight of the fruit. The acid makes the wine very dry but juicy and amplifies the spices from the nose. Ripe medium tannins are noticeable but fairly soft at this point. Long finish lingers on the spice.

The Verdict

At $20-25, this is a very complex and character driven red.

It reminds me a bit of a Right Bank Bordeaux with its profile but easily one that would be more in the $40 range. Very good buy.

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Life Hack — How To Find A Good Bottle Of Wine

Amber LeBeau in General, Wine Tasting

Published on November 18, 2018

If you Google “How to find a good bottle of wine”, you’ll get 690,000,000 results of all kinds of conflicting advice.

Food and wine pairing

From VinePair’s “9 Tricks To Find A Good, Cheap Bottle Of Wine”, Marie Claire’s “How to Choose Wine for Dummies” series to WikiHow’s How to Select a Bottle of Wine (with Pictures!) you’ll find a smattering of suggestions telling you to focus on everything from what wine region it comes from to the producer or the grape variety.

Some of the advice is useful (be adventurous). Some of it is ridiculous–like WikiHow’s bizarre suggestion that the best time to pick out a budget Cabernet Sauvignon is when you are on an airplane. (What?)

But even the best advice can be overwhelming–and wine geeks aren’t immune to those feelings. In fact, the more you think you know about wine, the more you start to doubt yourself when picking out bottles.

The stir fry is going to be a medium body dish with a little bit of a salty-smokey element with the pork. Let’s go with a cru Beaujolais for the body and acid/salt balance.

Oh but it’s also going to have a little spice. Maybe an Alsatian Pinot gris to temper the heat?

Or I could go with a barrel-fermented California Sauvignon blanc to keep the body matching and still play off the subtle smokey pork?

Ack, wait…the stir fry is going to have asparagus!

Fuck it, we’re going with Champagne.

But It Doesn’t Have To Be That Complicated

Granted the Billecart doesn’t need much help but my wife could make Cook’s taste good.

If you really want to know the one single “life hack” that will increase your odds of finding the best bottle of wine to enjoy, here it is.

Don’t focus on the wine. Focus on the people you’re sharing it with.

Numerous studies have highlighted how our environment impacts our perception of taste. While most of these studies focused on impersonal things like the color of the room or ambient sounds, it’s not far off to assume that personal factors like the company we’re with is also going to impact our perceptions.

And more profoundly.

Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal recently shared with the Sydney Morning Herald his technique of changing the taste of things by visualizing different people he liked or disliked.

During lunch, he conducts an impromptu experiment, asking me to take a sip of my sake while picturing someone I love dearly. Then he says to try a sip while imagining someone I really dislike. The difference is marked – in the second there’s a bitter taste not apparent in the first. — Kerrie O’Brien, 11/9/2018

Other studies in the field of neurogastronomy have found evidence of a link between visualization and taste. For instance, if you look at images of things that are sweet, the next item you eat is more likely to be perceived as sweet. If you look at images of something bitter, you’re more likely to taste bitter, etc.

Better Than Visualizing

While Blumenthal’s “trick” is cute. We can take it a step further by actualizing. Why think about someone you love dearly, when you can have them sitting right across from you?

Wine is meant to be shared and even crappy wine has its charms when it’s enjoyed with good company. Have you ever had a tremendous wine at a restaurant or on vacation, only to bring home a bottle from the store and have it be “ho hum”? Sure, the ambiance of where you were played a role. But most likely you were at that nice restaurant or on vacation with someone you cared about–someone who made that experience better.

The next time you’re stressing out over which bottle to open for an occasion, put those worries at bay. Ultimately, wine is just grape juice. It came from the ground, went into the glass and will likely be gone in the morning.

But the people and experiences we have with it can live on for ages. Focus on that and enjoy the moment.

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60 Second Wine Review — La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904

Amber LeBeau in 60 Second Reviews, Blind Tasting

Published on November 17, 2018

A few quick thoughts about the 2007 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904.

The Geekery

La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904 wine

La Rioja Alta is one of the oldest wineries in Spain, founded in 1890 as Sociedad Vinícola de la Rioja Alta by five families in Rioja. The Gran Reserva 890 takes its name from this founding date. More than 125 years later, descendants of the original families are still involved in the winery.

The Gran Reserva 904 commemorates the year 1904 when Daniel Alfredo Ardanza y Sánchez merged his Ardanza winery with Sociedad Vinícola de la Rioja Alta. Very unusual for the period, the first president of the winery was a woman, Doña Saturnina García Cid y Gárate.

Along with López de Heredia, La Rioja Alta is considered one of the flag-bearers of classic, old-school Rioja with a style trademarked by extensive aging in American oak. It’s located across the road from López de Heredia in the Barrio de la Estación (Station Quarter) of Haro–not far from CVNE and Muga.

The 2007 Gran Reserva 904 is 90% Tempranillo sourced from 60+ year old vines and 10% Graciano. The wine spent 4 years aging in 100% neutral American oak barrels with 12,500 cases made.

The Wine

Photo by Mr.kombrig. Uploaded to Wikimedia Commons under CC-BY-SA-3.0

Plenty of cigar tobacco notes in this Rioja.

Medium-plus intensity nose. Lots of fresh cigar tobacco with a dried minty edge. There are red fruit notes like cranberries and cherries as well. Maybe a little dill.

On the palate, the tobacco is still quite present but also brings a leathery component. High acidity is mouthwatering but makes the cherry notes taste fresh. Medium-plus tannins are ripe but pronounced. They hold up the medium-plus body of fruit very well. The most noticeable aspect of oak comes out on the long finish with lingering vanilla.

The Verdict

For wine students studying for blind tastings, there are few better bottles to be intimately familiar with than La Rioja Alta. It’s textbook with structure and nuances that hit every note.

At $50-60, it’s in a good spot now but has the legs to go on easily for another 10-15 years.

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Three Days of Glory Film Review

Amber LeBeau in Burgundy, Event reviews

Published on November 16, 2018

Today is the beginning of the 2018 Hospice de Beaune weekend. It’s also the worldwide release day for the documentary film Three Days of Glory.

I got a chance to get a sneak preview of the film that was produced and directed by Scott Wright of Caveau Selections and filmmaker David Baker. As I’ll explain below, it’s a must watch for wine students and Burgundy lovers.

But first, a teaser from the trailer.

What is Burgundy?

This is a central theme of the film. It follows the journey of several Burgundian producers, including Thiébault Huber of Domaine Huber-Verdereau in Volnay, Patrick Essa of Domaine Buisson-Charles in Meursault and Thierry Violot-Guillemard in Pommard, as they deal with the devastating April frost and numerous curve balls that the 2016 vintage threw at vignerons.

While grappling with the complications of the present, the vignerons (along with other voices like Burgundy expert Allen Meadows of Burghound and Scott Wright himself) contemplate their place in the traditions of Burgundy as well as the role they play in shaping the future of their families’ domaines.

The Human Element

Thierry Violot-Guillemard and his son, Joannès. Media photo courtesy of Scott Wright/David Baker.

What is exceptional about Three Days of Glory is that it really highlights what Wright calls “the human element” of Burgundy’s story. Every wine book you pick up about Burgundy will spend gallons of ink in exposition of terroir. That is irrefutably a huge part of Burgundy.

But the hands that put Burgundy’s story to paper, that shepherd the fruits of terroir to the glass, are the hands of the men and women who work the land.

Their heartbreaks, their struggles and, indeed, their glories are intimately connected. Against the backdrop of this troublesome vintage, Wright and Baker give viewers a chance to learn about what makes Burgundy, Burgundy in ways that you can’t gleam from a book or bottle.

Coupled with the film’s beautiful cinematography, watching Three Days of Glory is the next best thing to visiting Burgundy itself when it comes to understanding the region and its wines.

While the film is playing in selected theaters, you can rent Three Days of Glory at home on iTunes for only $4.99. That’s well worth it for a date night with a nice bottle curled up on the couch.

The Hospice de Beaune — 3 Days of Glory and Wine

The closest that I’ll ever get to the Hospice de Beaune.

The title of the film refers to the Les Trois Glorieuses, the 3 day celebration around Hospice de Beaune weekend that happens every November. Regardless of the success or struggles of the year’s vintage, the Burgundians celebrate the end of harvest with events such as the famous Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin dinner at Clos de Vougeot, the La Paulée de Meursault luncheon and the Hospice de Beaune wine auction conducted by Christie’s.

While you have to be a Burgundy insider to attend most any of these events, if you have deep pockets, you can visit Christie’s website on Sunday to make a bid. The time listed is 2:30 pm. I’m not sure if that’s London or Beaune time so I would recommend folks on the West Coast US to set their alarm for 5 am if they want to be part of the action.

Or, like me, you can live vicariously through Three Days of Glory as they showcase the auction and festivities around the weekend.

Caveau Selections

It’s near impossible to watch Three Days of Glory without wanting to try the wines of the producers featured. So right after you finish, you can do what I did and head over to the Caveau Selections site.

There you’ll find a little bit of back story about Scott Wright and his wife, Martha, who started their import firm in 2005. Prior to getting into the import business, the Wrights founded Scott Paul Winery in the Willamette Valley. Scott also worked several years with the Drouhin family as director of Domaine Drouhin Oregon.

I know this is a post about Burgundy but this old vine Pinot Meunier from Laherte Frères is seriously one of the best wines that I’ve had all year. I was so excited to see that I could get this from Caveau Selections.

Not only do they have available wines from many of the domaines featured in the film (including from the 2016 vintage), they also have an awesome selection of Grower Champagne. I particularly flipped when I saw Laherte Frères (an insanely good Pinot Meunier specialist) and Pertois-Moriset (great blanc de blanc grower from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger).

I haven’t decided if I want to join their curated wine clubs yet but it’s clear that the Wrights have a passion for seeking out exceptional growers to feature. While I greatly enjoyed watching Three Days of Glory, I think the discovery of the portfolio of Caveau Selections is going to be delighting me for years to come.

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What’s The Point In Writing Wine Reviews?

Amber LeBeau in General, Wine critics, Wine reviews

Published on November 15, 2018

I have a confession to make. While I’m no longer in the retail game, I spent over 7 years in it working as a grocery store wine steward and an associate at a major wine retailer. In that time working the floor and talking to thousands upon thousands of customers, I never once had a customer ask me for a wine they saw reviewed on a blog.

Not once.

Oh I’ve had numerous people come in with Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list or a copy of award winners from local competitions like the Seattle Wine Awards. Local newspaper and magazine articles such as Andy Perdue’s Top Wines Under $30 and Sean Sullivan’s 30 Most Exciting Wines in Washington also brought people in hunting.

But never once did I have a customer show me their phone with a wine review from a blog. Or an Instagram pic. Or a Twitter wine chat recommendation.

Never.

I share this confession because as I settle into full-time writing, I’m wondering “What is the point in doing wine reviews?”

Do Consumers Care?

Jeff Siegel, the Wine Curmudgeon, recently asked if we’ve “reached the end of wine criticism?” . He highlights a 2013 Laithwaites Wines Survey that shows only 9% of wine drinkers actively used wine reviews to make a decision. In fact, rather than being helpful, the majority of the 1000 wine drinkers surveyed found reviews to be of little use.

Becca Yeamans-Irwin (The Academic Wino) created a chart showing the results of the Laithwaites’ survey for Wine Industry Insight.

Wine Industry Insight Chart on how helpful reviews are

Chart made by Becca Yeamans-Irwin for Wine Industry Insight. Published 10/26/2018

When I step back and think about how I approach reviews as a consumer, I realize that I hardly use reviews at all.

Context or Empty Text?

It’s not that I don’t read reviews. I’m reading wine stuff all the time and pay for subscriptions to Decanter, JebDunnuck.com, Vinous Media, Burghound, Jancis Robinson’s Purple Pages and others.

But I’m not reading any of those for reviews. If anything, these sites are like porn mags where I am actually just reading them for the articles.

When an article includes tasting notes with descriptors about bouquet, body, fruit, etc, my eyes gloss over them. Instead, I’m looking through the review for something unique or interesting about the wine–something about its story that is worth my attention.

When I was selecting sample reviews for my 2017 Bordeaux Futures posts, the ones I picked had added details about the vintage or chateaux such as if they had frost damage or how this wine compares to the style of years past, etc. While I often found the notes of critics like James Suckling to be virtually useless, other writers like Jane Anson of Decanter gave me the context I craved.

I also regularly read numerous bloggers who do wine reviews such as Jeff Leve’s The Wine Cellar Insider, Dwight Furrow’s Edible Arts, Dave Nershi’s Vino-Sphere, Tom Lee’s Zinfandel Chronicles and Robin Renken’s Crushed Grape Chronicles.

The writers and bloggers that give me context, I follow. The ones that just spew out tasting notes and numbers, I don’t even give a second thought to.

Here’s an example of a wine blogger I follow.

https://foodandwineaesthetics.com/2018/10/16/wine-review-bonny-doon-syrah-bien-nacido-x-block-santa-maria-valley-2009/

While I was familiar with the Bien Nacido vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley, I didn’t know that it was the first cool-climate US vineyard to plant Syrah. This great tidbit adds context to Dwight Furrow’s review of the Bonny Doon Syrah Bien Nacido X-Block.

Even if Furrow didn’t like the Bonny Doon Bien Nacido Syrah, those added details about the wine intrigues me enough to want to try it.

It wasn’t his description of the wine, the “rich, smoked meat with mint highlights” or “luscious, peppery burst of fresh fruit”, that ultimately influenced me. Nor was it his 92 point score. There are many wines that have savory, meaty flavors and pepper notes. Likewise, the cliche “a dime a dozen” doesn’t even come close to expressing how many “92 point wines” there are out in the world.

But the story he shared about the wine–the uniqueness of the Bien Nacido vineyard and the framing of this as a “treasure of the past” that can be used to view Grahm’s new projects–gave me a reason to want to try this wine above all the other savory, meaty and peppery 92 pointers out there.

Why Do I Review Wines?

Being a blogger myself, these sentiments might be a bit of “biting the hand that feeds me”. I mean, shouldn’t I be banging the drum for more people to pay attention to wine reviews? I do, after all, even have a samples policy. Come on! Get with the program LeBeau!

But though I’ve been actively blogging for over a year, it’s hard for me to disengage from the mentality of a consumer and reader of blogs. Nor can I discount my experiences working in the industry. It is those experiences, and dealing with other consumers, that have made me hugely skeptical of the entire concept of “wine influencer”.

Lord knows that there are A LOT of stories that can be told about Randall Grahm and his wines.

However, I do think that wine writers have influence. But, as I mentioned with my example of Furrow’s review, it’s not in their tasting notes or numbers.

I might not walk into a wine shop with Furrow’s review on my phone, but the story of Bonny Doon’s Bien Nacido Syrah will resonate in my mind when I see the label or name on a wine list.

Even though I won’t remember the details of his tasting note at all, I will remember the story and context that Furrow shared about the wine.

THAT is the true influence of a wine writer.

These experiences are what shape my own 60 Second Reviews and how I expect readers to approach them.

To be brutally honest, folks could stop reading them after the Geekery section and make them 30 second reviews.

It’s that first section where I strive to give you something that either intrigues you about the wine or gives you a reason to think about it differently.

The tasting note that follows is mostly for my own edification. It’s there to force me to pay attention to what I’m tasting versus just drinking it. A lot of the language I use in those notes (like medium-plus acidity, firm tannins, etc) is language that I need to use for my blind tasting examinations. It’s not the same language that you are going to use when tasting the wine and my note is likely going to be quite different from yours in other ways as well. Wine is subjective and intensely personal.

Rating With My Wallet

The Verdict section, as I mentioned in my post Why I Don’t Use Scores, is my reconciliation of how I feel about the wine with what I paid for it.

I don’t expect to ever get many samples sent to me–and really, after the “hand biting” of this post, why would a PR firm want to? So the vast majority of wines I review will continue to be things that I bought with my own money from shops, wineries and restaurants.

Some things I’m going to feel really good about buying. Other wines are going to feel like I way overpaid for them. I’ll share that frank assessment because you’re likely not going to be getting samples sent to you either.

With every wine, it’s going to be your wallet and your taste buds that determine if it’s worth it. Not a tasting note, not a wine review and certainly not a numerical score.

That is why I don’t want to waste your time with empty text.

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60 Second Whiskey Review — Game of Thrones Cardhu

Amber LeBeau in 60 Second Reviews, Whiskey

Published on November 14, 2018

A few quick thoughts on Diageo’s Game of Thrones Limited Edition Cardhu representing the House Targaryen.

The Geekery

Diageo Game of Thrones Cardhu bottling for the House Targaryen

The House Targaryen Cardhu is the latest release in Diageo’s Game of Throne Scotches. The first release was the Johnnie Walker “White Walker” that came out this past October.

In my review here on the White Walker, I talk about this series as well as some geekery about Cardhu.

The Whiskey

High intensity nose. It smells like freshly baked apple pie with cinnamon and nutmeg. More toasted pastry than smoke. Around the edges are some white floral notes like lillies.

On the palate, those baking notes come through with the spice and vanilla complimenting the malty weight. Noticeably fruity, it is not as sweet on the palate as the nose would’ve suggested. Creamy mouthfeel is well balanced with no back-end heat. It actually feels heavier in the mouth than what you would expect with its low 40% ABV. No peat. Long finish ends on the baked apple notes with a little bit of lingering salinity.

The Verdict

This Cardhu smells and tastes like Thanksgiving apple pie.

Regular readers know that I’m not a big fan of marketing gimmicks. I accept them as a reality of the beverage industry and do my best to explore them with an open mind–whether they be coffee-infused wine, bourbon barrel-aged beers and wine, IPA cask whiskeys, sparkling mango and sangria crazes, etc.

But, gimmicks aside, this GoT Cardhu is actually a really good whiskey that is worth buying on its own merit.

At $40-50, it is a little less than the Cardhu 12 year that’s usually around $53-60. While I would still give the nod of more complexity towards the 12 yr, this Scotch isn’t that far off.

Like its big brother, the GoT Cardhu carries the banner of beautiful floral and fruit notes. It also expertly walks a tight rope of being fruity but not sweet. It’s an immensely drinkable dram that I will certainly be getting another bottle of.

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Viva La Vida New Zealand — The Coldplay of the wine world?

Amber LeBeau in Wine marketing, Wine regions

Published on November 13, 2018

At a recent panel on New Zealand wine held in London, Richard Siddle, a long time editor of several UK wine business publications, called the Land of the Long White Cloud “The Coldplay of the wine world”.

Photo by Zach Klein. Uploaded to Wikimedia Commons under CC-BY-2.5

Ouch.

Ostensibly, it was meant to be a compliment with Siddle noting that Kiwi wines are “consistent, popular and in everyone’s collection”.

But liking a country’s wines to a band that has just as much ink devoted to wondering why they’re so loathed as they do positive press, doesn’t exactly scream “Highly Recommended!”.

With compliments like that, who needs insults?

Dad Music and Mom’s Wine

Nylon columnist Anne T. Donahue aptly summed up the criticism of Coldplay following their 2016 Super Bowl performance as a chafing against “dad music”.

I mean, it’s not that Coldplay was incompetent or bad—they were fine. But “fine” isn’t enough, especially when compared to Beyoncé’s “Formation” battle cry, and her dance-off with Bruno Mars. To appear alongside both artists on stage served only to highlight Coldplay’s normality; to draw attention to the overt safeness of a band we once felt so strongly for, which then reminds us of who we used to be. Ultimately, Coldplay has become the musical equivalent of a friend we had in high school: okay, I guess, but someone you don’t have anything in common with anymore. — Anne T. Donahue, 2/12/2016

I have to admit, that “okay, I guess” sentiment really does encapsulate my thoughts on New Zealand Sauvignon blanc. Maybe Siddle is onto something?

Now don’t get me wrong. New Zealand Sauvignon blanc does have many charms. They’re always exceptionally well made and consistent. Virtually regardless of producer or vintage, you can order a Kiwi Sauvignon blanc and know exactly what you’re going to get.

Grapefruit, passion fruit, gooseberry and guava. Check. Lemongrass, green bean and jalapeno. Check. Crisp, lively mouthfeel. Check.

For students taking blind tasting examinations, you pray that a New Zealand Sauvignon blanc is included in your flight. In a world of so many exceptions, a classic Marlborough Sauvignon blanc is as much of a sure thing as you can get.

Which makes it boring as hell.

When you get what you want but not what you need

There’s no doubt that since Montana Wines/Brancott Estate introduced to the world Sauvignon blanc from Marlborough in the 1970s, it’s been a raging success for the New Zealand wine industry. In 1985, it status was elevated even further when David Hohnen established Cloudy Bay as the first dedicated premium Sauvignon blanc producer in New Zealand.

Soon supermarket shelves and restaurant wine lists were awash with the wine of choice for suburban moms everywhere. Led by labels like Kim Crawford, Nobilo, Villa Maria and Oyster Bay, around 86% of all the wine exported out New Zealand in 2017 was Sauvignon blanc.

The flood of grapefruit and gooseberries to the US alone generated around $571 million in sales. Those figures, coupled with still healthy sales in the United Kingdom, pushed the value of New Zealand exports over $1.66 billion NZ dollars in 2017.

Yet the overwhelming dominance of the industry by one grape variety has given many folks, such as Master of Wine Tim Atkin, reason to question if this is “…too much of a good thing?”

Arguably the biggest problem with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is the influence it has had outside the country. It’s not just the idiotically named Kiwi Cuvée, produced in the Loire Valley by the French company Lacheteau, it’s also the me-too styles that are produced in countries like Chile, South Africa and Australia. Yes, I know that there are different interpretations of New Zealand’s signature grape, but the most successful is the one that someone described as a “bungee jump into a gooseberry bush”. With some residual sweetness, of course. — Tim Atkin, 3/7/2018

The bounty of options of not only authentic New Zealand Sauvignon blanc but also a parade of facsimiles is like skipping over “Clocks” on Spotify only to have the next song be a cover band version.

Is It All Yellow?

Really fantastic Pinot gris from Martinborough. It had some of the zippy acidity and even gooseberry of a NZ Sauvignon blanc with the tree fruits and weight of an Oregon Pinot gris.

Even New Zealand producers are starting to fret about the risks of having all their eggs in one grapefruit basket.

Lucy Shaw of The Drinks Business quotes Philip Gregan, CEO of New Zealand Winegrowers, at that London panel with Siddle “The challenge now is to broaden the story beyond Sauvignon Blanc. We’re a New World country so we need to be open minded, think differently and come up with fresh ideas in order to keep our wines exciting and relevant.”

Google “New Zealand wines beyond Sauvignon blanc” and you’ll get a laundry list of wine writers and bloggers craving something different.

Will those cravings eventually extend to consumers who are still driving the thirst for tankers of Sauvignon blanc?

Perhaps.

While right now Pinot noir has a head start in crafting its own identity in New Zealand, it could be the sirens of Chardonnay and Pinot gris that tempt bored Millennials back to the islands.

Tell me your secrets, And ask me your questions

The last chapter of Gibb’s book gives tips about visiting the wine regions of New Zealand. This will be extremely handy next year when the wife & I visit the country either before or after the Wine Media Conference in Australia.

If you’re interested in learning more about New Zealand wine–both Sauvignon blanc and the vast diversity beyond that grape–here are a few of my favorite resources.

The Wines of New Zealand by Master of Wine Rebecca Gibb.

I highlighted this book back in a July edition of Geek Notes and it has certainly lived up to its billing. By far this is the most comprehensive and in-depth coverage of the New Zealand wine industry that I’ve come across. While a lot of the producers and wine recommendations that Gibb make may be hard to find in the US market, she definitely spends considerable time highlighting the diversity of New Zealand wines beyond Sauvignon blanc.

UK Wine Show with Chris Scott

Chris Scott is a New Zealand native and wine educator in the UK. Sprinkled among the show’s 570+ episodes are numerous interviews with New Zealand wine producers and experts. A few of my favorites are below.

Harpers Podcast 1 New Zealand wine growers (58:23) — A bit unique compared to the usual UK Wine Show format with Chris interviewing Philip Gregan and 3 growers from different parts of New Zealand.

Allan Johnson on Palliser Estate, Martinborough (30:22) — Palliser is making some fantastic wines including Pinot gris (mentioned above) and Pinot noir that are distributed in the United States.

Martinborough Vineyards with Paul Mason (34:12) — Really great insights about the terroir of the Martinborough region on the North Island and the style of Pinot noir grown here.

Steve Smith Craggy Range on Terroir (20:27) — Steve Smith is a Master of Wine and here he touches on a lot of the unique aspects of New Zealand terroir–including why not every area is suitable for Sauvignon blanc.

Dr John Forrest of Forrest Estate on Riesling (24:12) — While I haven’t had an opportunity yet to try a New Zealand Riesling, it’s clear that there are some special areas in New Zealand (like the Waitaki Valley in the Central Otago) for the grape.

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60 Second Wine Review — Cavit Lunetta Prosecco

Amber LeBeau in 60 Second Reviews

Published on November 12, 2018

A few quick thoughts on the Cavit Lunetta Prosecco.

The Geekery

Based in Trentino region north of the Veneto, Cavit is a consortium of 10 co-operative wineries with over 4500 growers. It is one of the largest wineries in the world, selling around 65 million bottles of wine a year. To put that number into perspective, the entire state of Oregon sold around 3.4 million cases (40.8 million bottles) in 2016.

Cavit was first introduced to the US market in 1977 by importer David Taub of Palm Bay International. Originally known as the Cantina Viticoltori del Trentino, Taub encouraged retailers to promote the brand using an anglicized pronunciation of Ca’Vit similar to the name of television show host Dick Cavett. Within two years, Taub was importing more than half a million cases of Cavit wines.

The Lunetta is made from 100% Glera sourced from the large Prosecco DOC zone. The wine is brut in style with 10 g/l residual sugar.

The Wine

There’s a mix of tropical fruit notes in this Prosecco but it’s hard to pick out what exactly they are.

Medium-minus intensity nose. A mix of peach and tropical fruits that aren’t well defined.

On the palate, the tropical fruits carry through more than the peach but still don’t define themselves. The acidity and bubbles balance the fruit and residual sugar well with this Prosecco tasting like a true brut. However, the fruit quickly fades for an exceptionally short finish.

The Verdict

Due to its large production, you’ll often find 187ml examples of Lunetta available at restaurants–particularly those with corporate-driven wine lists. In my experience, there is a lot of bottle variation in these 187ml splits. My best guess is that it’s probably related to how long the restaurant has been sitting on them.

While a regular 750ml bottle of Lunetta usually drinks like a decent under $10 Prosecco (though the price has been steadily creeping over the $10 mark), sometimes these 187ml splits (like this one I had at the Macaroni Grill) can be very underwhelming. Buyer beware.