Category Archives: Geek Notes

Geek Notes — Grape Radio Episode 391 Interview with Hubert de Boüard of Ch. Angélus

Published on October 10, 2018

I’m getting ready to teach a class on Bordeaux so I’ve been getting my geek on with Bordeaux-themed podcasts. I found lots of great material from this 2015 episode of Grape Radio (44:43) featuring interviews with Hubert de Boüard of Château Angélus in Saint-Emilion and Angus Smith, Grand Maitre of the US chapter of the Commanderie de Bordeaux.

I don’t know when I’ll get a chance to do Geek Notes write up on them but Levi Dalton’s I’ll Drink To That! had two more great Bordeaux episodes that I really enjoyed. Check them out!

Episode 388 with Decanter’s Jane Anson. REALLY good stuff that’s worth listening to two or three times because of all the great info. Anson is one of my favorite wine writers and her writings are worth the subscription to Decanter’s premium content alone.

Episode 350 with Alexandre Thienpont of Vieux Château Certan and François Thienpont of Le Pin in Pomerol. The difference in their approach is fascinating. Also Erin Scala gives a great overview of the lasting impact of the 1956 frost in St. Emilion.

Some Background

Angélus is my absolute favorite Bordeaux estate. While I obviously can’t afford to drink it everyday, I do make sure that I nab at least one bottle as a future each year to enjoy at a special dinner down the road. Even though vintages average around $300-400, I actually think Angélus is relatively undervalued compared to other top growths in Bordeaux like the First Growths of the Medoc, Cheval Blanc and Petrus.

While I enjoyed my evening with Petrus, I would take 6 to 7 bottles of Angélus over a second bottle in a heart beat.

I haven’t done a full geek-out post on Angélus yet (oh but its coming) so I will direct folks to Jeff Leve’s awesome write up of the property on his The Wine Cellar Insider site as well as this geeky little blurb from the Grape Radio episode page:

The estate has been owned by the Boüard de Laforest family since the Domaine de Mazaret was bequeathed to Comte Maurice de Boüard de Laforest in 1909, and expanded by the acquisition of Clos de L’Angélus in 1926 and a plot from Château Beau-Séjour Bécot in 1969. The name refers to the three Angelus bells audible from the vineyards. — Grape Radio, June 9th 2015

While the terroir is top notch, I do think a lot of Angélus success is because of Hubert de Boüard’s viticulture and winemaking style. Which means if you are looking for better price points, some of his other properties like Château La Fleur de Boüard in Lalande de Pomerol (Ave $35), Chateau Bellevue in Saint Emilion (Ave $56), Chateau de Francs in Cotes de Bordeaux (Ave $14) and consulting clients are good places to look.

Among his consulting clients, a few of my favorites are:

I would put the quality of Ch. Lanessan on par with many 4th and 5th growths.

Ch. Grand Corbin in St. Emilion (Ave $33)
Ch. de Ferrand in St. Emilion (Ave $45)
Ch. Vieux Château Palon in Montagne-Saint-Emilion (Ave $30)
Ch. La Pointe in Pomerol (Ave $47)
Ch. de Chantegrive in Graves (Ave $28)
Ch. Fieuzal in Pessac-Léognan (Ave $48)
Ch. Grand Puy Ducasse in Pauillac (Ave $51)
Ch. Lanessan in Haut-Medoc (Ave $24)

The 2015 vintages for several of these (the Vieux Château Palon, Chategrive and Lanessan in particular) are exceptional values for the money and well worth stocking up on.

There is also a second and third wine for Angélus, Le Carillon de l’Angelus (Ave $103) and Number 3 d’Angelus (Ave $52), but I haven’t had an opportunity to try either.

Some Fun Things I Learned From This Podcast

(2:11) Hubert de Boüard talks the signature role that Cabernet Franc plays in the wines of Angélus. While the estate has less Cab Franc than Cheval Blanc, it still accounts for 47% of plantings. In most years the grape makes up around 40-50% of the blend. Side note: Really interesting to compare de Boüard’s view of Cab Franc to the Thienponts who don’t seem as enthralled with the variety.

(2:55) He goes further into how this high proportion of Cab Franc differentiates Angélus from other Merlot-dominant St. Emilion wines. While it also plays a prominent role in Cheval Blanc, the sandy gravel soils of that property give it a different personality than the clay-limestone soils of Angélus.

(6:00) The second wine, Le Carillon, is made from both dedicated blocks and declassified Angélus fruit.

(7:26) Brian Clark asks how the style of Angélus has evolved over the years. Hubert de Boüard talks about the influence of his university studies and Émile Peynaud on adding a more scientific approach to winemaking.

It often seems like Cabernet Franc is the forgotten “third wheel” of the Bordeaux blend behind Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Even Petit Verdot is starting to get more attention.

(9:20) Jay Selman brings the topic back to Cabernet Franc and notes how some people love the variety and some hate it. (Put me on the love side) Hubert de Boüard highlights the importance of ripeness and good soil which allows the grape to show its spicy and velvet side.

(10:27) Cab Franc is not favored on the Left Bank because it tends to be more green when grown in their gravelly soils. It often ends up in the second labels of Medoc and Grave producers.

(10:54) Really fascinating description of the “crescent” (or croissant?) of ideal soils for Cabernet Franc that begin with Ch. Lafleur next to Petrus in Pomerol then Certan (Vieux Château Certan? Certan de May? Certan Giraud?) into St. Emilion with Cheval Blanc, Angélus and Ausone. The key is clay but too much is too much because the soils will be too cold. The clay needs to be balanced with a warmer top soil of limestone, gravel or sand. To de Boüard, Cabernet Franc is very Pinot noir-like in needing the right balance of conditions to shine.

(12:18) Cab Franc vines need at least 20 years of age and low crop yield to perform best.

(13:20) At Angélus around 17% of the Cabernet Franc vines are at least 70 years of age.

(14:30) Hubert de Boüard talks about the classification of St. Emilion which is VERY interesting to listen to in light of recent news. One interesting note he does make is the importance of evaluating the land in St. Emilion’s classification versus just the winery’s brand with the 1855 classification.

(18:50) Eric Anderson asks about what would happen if a winery gets demoted in the St. Emilion classification. Surprisingly, instead of answering “hire lawyers” de Boüard gives the example of Beau Séjour Bécot and how the Becot family responded to their 1986 demotion.

I know de Boüard thinks the 2001 is better but man was this 2000 Angélus a sexy, sexy wine.

(19:50) Brian Clark asks about top vintages in Bordeaux. I got a chuckle out of Hubert de Boüard’s response “The best one is the one we didn’t sell.” Wondering if he’s thinking about the Woeful ‘7s’? More seriously, de Boüard notes how the reputation of a vintage on the Left Bank sometimes overshadows how the year was on the Right Bank. He gives the example of the 2000 vintage which was great on the Left Bank but overshadows the more superior Right Bank vintage of 2001.

(21:30) It’s unfortunate that consumers get obsessed with the “expensive vintages” de Boüard says. He highlights years like 2001 and 2006 as years that consumers can get great value. With this interview taking place in mid-2015, I wonder if de Boüard would include years like 2012 & 2014 in those “great buy” vintages once they reach the age of 2001/2006.

Interview with Angus Smith of Commanderie de Bordeaux

(27:29) Here the interview switches to a description of the dinners of the Commanderie de Bordeaux and details about the organization. Essentially this is a not-so-secret society of wine lovers dedicated to advocating Bordeaux wines across the globe.

Historically, the Commanderie had been open to just men and their spouses. Thankfully, that looks to be changing with some chapters, like the Chicago chapter, opening up their membership to women. The DC chapter even had a women hold the title of chapter head, or Madame Le Maitre, with Bette A. Alberts.

When this episode first aired in 2015, I emailed the head of the Seattle chapter and got no response. So I don’t know if women are allowed in this chapter. Frankly, I think it is ridiculous to even let this be a chapter by chapter decision. I understand the nature of private clubs and the privilege they have in deciding their membership. But its 2018 and having gender-based restrictions on wine clubs is beyond silly.

(36:56) Jay Selman asks about decanting with a good discussion that follows. Smith and de Boüard seem to be fans of a few hours and double decanting. At Brian Clark’s chapter of the Commanderie they tend to do a blanket 3 hour decant on all wines–outside of very old vintages.

(39:43) Smith and de Boüard argue against putting the cork back into the bottle after double decanting. With this the cork is often put in upside down with the wine stained side facing out. This means that the side that was exposed to dirt and dust is now inside the bottle and potentially contaminating the wine. But beyond that, de Boüard sees little need to recork the wine at all after decanting.

(40:31) A shout-out to decanting white wines. This is something that I don’t do myself but I can see the benefit–especially with whites seals with screw-caps which can be very reductive on opening.

(40:56) A discussion about what is it about older wines that are appealing to wine drinkers. One good point I like from this discussion is how people’s definition of “older wines” varies from person to person.

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Geek Notes — Super Cool Map of Barolo Crus

Amber LeBeau in Geek Notes, Wine Knowledge

Published on September 30, 2018

A section of the Grand Crus of Barolo map with the full version at http://www.jdemeven.cz/wine/Barolo_map.pdf

For centuries wine collectors and lovers have poured over maps of the top vineyard sites in Burgundy.

Names like Chambertin, Clos St Jacques, Les Amoureuses, La Tâche, Les Suchots, Les St Georges, Les Perrières, Charmes, Genevrières and Montrachet are practically tattooed on the hearts of wine geeks everywhere.

But as the prices of those wines reach several hundred and even $1000+ a bottle, it’s becoming more worthwhile to look outside of Burgundy for complex, terroir-driven wines.

One such area that is ripe for geeky exploration is Barolo and its sister region of Barbaresco.

Like Pinot noir, Nebbiolo does a fantastic job of conveying the story of where it came from–the soils, the micro-climate and the character of each vintage. Just like in Burgundy, a Barolo made in one cru could taste dramatically different than a Barolo made from vines that are just a stone’s throw away–even by the same producer and tended to in the exact same manner.

It’s clear that the next horizon for wine geekdom is going to be pouring over maps of the top vineyard sites in Piedmont and tattooing names like Rocche dell’Annunziata, Cannubi, Brunate, Vigna Rionda and others on our hearts. While prices of these wines are steadily starting to rise, good bottles showing amazing complexity and character can still be found for a fraction of the price of top Burgundy Grand and Premier Crus.

Really gorgeous Rocche dell’Annunziata from Mauro Veglio. This wine has the stuffing to last 20+ years.

That is one of the reasons why I was very excited to stumble upon this excellent map produced by a Czech blogger that highlights many of the top crus in Barolo. It’s well worth checking out and bookmarking.

The map offers a great description of the main soil types in Barolo–Tortonian and Helvetian–and the type of wines they tend to produce as well as general commune characteristics and the top crus from each.

A Few of My Favorite Barolo Crus

Last June I got an opportunity to visit Piedmont and fell in love with several wines from some of these top vineyards.

Only two producers work with the fruit of the Marenca cru in Serralunga d’Alba–Luigi Pira and Gaja for their Sperss Barolo.

Arborina (La Morra)
Gattera (La Morra)
Rocche dell’Annunziata (La Morra)
Sarmassa (Barolo)
Romirasco (Monforte d’Alba)
Margheria (Serralunga d’Alba)
Vigna Rionda (Serralunga d’Alba)
Marenca (Serralunga d’Alba)
Villero (Castiglione Falletto)

Other Great Resources For Geeking Out About Barolo and Barbaresco

Antonio Galloni’s Vinous site has some beautiful and very well put together interactive maps of Barolo and Barbaresco that are available to subscribers. These maps not only show the topography difference but also includes a quality ranking of Exceptional, Outstanding and Noteworthy. When you click on each vineyard the map give you a description for the style of the wines from the cru, key producer and reference bottles as well as links to educational videos that go into greater details about the terroir and wines.

Many of these write-ups are done by my Vino-Crush Ian D’Agata who is writing an upcoming book about Barolo and Barbaresco.

Barolo and Barbaresco: The King and Queen of Italian Wine by Kerin O’Keefe.

This goes a little more into history and the general culture of the region but also name drops important producers and vineyards.

Barolo and Barbaresco (Guides to Wines and Top Vineyards) by Benjamin Lewin.

Written by a Master of Wine, this is a fantastic (and super cheap) resource for anyone planning to visit the area because Lewin highlights the producers that have tasting appointments available.

Barolo MGA Vol. I & II and Barbaresco MGA by Alessandro Masnaghetti.

Masnaghetti’s books are written in both English and Italian.

These are really pricey (especially when you add international shipping) but they are, by far, the benchmark standard reference for intimately learning the cru vineyards of Barolo and Barbaresco. Beautifully illustrated with great detail, I picked up my copies while I was in Piedmont (at 40 euros apiece) and saved a little bit of money but they are well worth the publisher’s price and getting them shipped.

A Wine Atlas of the Langhe: The Great Barolo and Barbaresco Vineyards by Victtorio Mangnelli.

A little bit outdated (2003) but at around $53 it is cheaper than buying all of Masnaghetti’s volumes and is still a useful resource with detailed maps and producer listings.

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Geek Notes 9/25/2018 — New Wine Books for October

Amber LeBeau in Blind Tasting, Geek Notes, Wine Knowledge

Published on September 25, 2018

Fall is here which means shorter days but longer nights to spend curled up next to a great wine book. Here is a look at some of the upcoming October releases that I’m excited to get my hands on.

Amber Revolution: How the World Learned to Love Orange Wine by Simon J. Woolf (Hardcover release October 2nd)

This Two Vintners “OG” Gewürztraminer made in an orange wine style with extended maceration blew me away with how complex and delicious it was.

For many wine lovers, “orange wine” is the biggest wine trend that they’ve heard of but haven’t had the chance to try yet.

It’s tempting to call this a fad and chalk it up to Millennials’ latest fancy. But this is a really old winemaking style that has been around for as long as wine has been made. At its most simplest, orange wine is basically just white wine that has spent time in contact with grape skins. This exposes it more to oxygen than the modern method of quickly pressing white grapes and processing them anaerobically.

While a couple 2017 releases like Marissa A. Ross’s Wine. All the Time, Master of Wine Isabelle Legeron’s Natural Wine and Alice Feiring’s The Dirty Guide to Wine touched a little on orange wine, to the best of my knowledge, Amber Revolution is the first book devoted exclusively to the topic.

Judging by the recent popularity of the category, Woolf’s book is quite timely. Here he covers the history and production methods behind orange wines, as well as profiles 180 producers in 20 countries.

At this year’s Louis Roederer international Wine Writers’ Awards, Simon Woolf took home the Domaine Ott International Feature Writer of the Year award for his work at Meininger Wine Business International, Decanter and blog The Morning Claret.

Update:

On Instagram Simon Woolf had this advice for folks wanting to get a copy of his book. “Btw although in the US the book is only available from October, in Europe it can also be ordered direct from my site. Also for US customers, best to order direct from the publisher.”

Kevin Zraly Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: Revised, Updated & Expanded Edition by Kevin Zraly (Hardcover release October 16th)

The new edition of Windows on the World likely will also touch on orange wine and the renaissance in Georgian winemaking of using Kvevri (Qvevri) amphora jars buried in the ground to ferment and age wine.

From the very first edition in 1985, Kevin Zraly’s Windows on the World books have been a benchmark standard in wine education.

In addition to his Windows on the World wine classes and books, Zraly has also authored the very useful wine texts The Ultimate Wine Companion: The Complete Guide to Understanding Wine by the World’s Foremost Wine Authorities and Red Wine: The Comprehensive Guide to the 50 Essential Varieties & Styles with Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen (authors of Wines of California that I mentioned in last month’s Geek Notes).

Frequently updated, the Windows on the World series has grown to include a pronunciation guide (Kindle only), a tasting notebook and food pairing companion.

The current 2018 edition has been expanded to 432 pages (up from 384 pages in the 2016 edition). It includes more detailed coverage of South America, Australia, China and New Zealand with new maps and infographics.

For geeks on a budget, there is one advantage of the frequent updates and releases. You can get used copies of previous editions of Windows on the World super cheap on Amazon. For instance, the 2012 edition is going for around $1.30 for the paperback version. While a tad outdated, at 352 pages it still covers the basics and the classic wine regions very well.

The Sommelier’s Atlas of Taste by Rajat Parr and Jordan Mackay (Hardcover release October 23rd)

This is probably the book that I’m most excited for because of the atlas’ focus on blind tasting. As the Amazon description notes:

“There are books that describe the geography of wine regions. And there are books that describe the way basic wines and grapes should taste. But there are no books that describe the intricacies of the way wines from various subregions, soils, and appellations should taste.”

Any wine student seeking higher level certifications through the Court of Master Sommeliers or the Wine Spirit & Education Trust should be intimately familiar with the wines on the Probable List of Examinable Red Grape Varieties, Examinable White Grape Varieties and the Certified Sommelier Examination Grape Varieties & Growing Regions.

All these wines will have distinctive profiles (typicity) with the examination board picking examples that demonstrate these distinctions well. Not only do you need to train yourself how to identify these wines, when you get to examinations like those of the Institute of Masters of Wine you will also have to explain why these distinct profiles exist (terroir, viticultural decisions, winemaking, etc).

Dearth of Blind Tasting Resources

There are not many resources out there tackling blind tasting and typicity from an examination point of view. Of course, there is material from WSET and CMS that you get with classes but outside sources are hard to find. Neel Burton’s The Concise Guide to Wine and Blind Tasting has been the closest I’ve found. But even that strays more into a “Windows on the World” type overview instead of getting into the nitty gritty details of teaching you to look for this while tasting a Chablis Grand Cru like Les Clos and this while tasting a Chablis Premier Cru like Montmains, etc.

I’ll be honest. At this point in my studies, all I can tell you is that they are both delicious.

Parr and Mackay’s book looks like it’s going to fill in that sorely needed niche–at least regarding terroir.

To understand the role of viticulture and winemaking decisions on the taste of wine, James Halliday and Hugh Johnson’s The Art and Science of Wine and Jamie Goode’s The Science of Wine: From Vine to Glass are two of the best books I’ve found so far.

Vines and Vintages: A Taste of British Columbia’s Wine History by Luke Whittall (Paperback release October 30th, 2018)

I’m only about 3 to 6 hours away from the wine regions of the Okanagan and Vancouver Island. Yet, in all practicality, the wines of British Columbia might as well be from China. Here in the US, they are incredibly difficult to find. Even restaurants in Vancouver are far more likely to offer French, Australian and Californian labels instead of local BC wines.

While I haven’t been overly impressed with the Bordeaux varieties in BC, this 2016 Clos du Soleil Cab Franc/Cab Sauv rose from the Upper Bench of the South Similkameen Valley was quite tasty.

But every time I do eventually get my hands on wine from BC, I tend to enjoy them. It’s clear that this is a growing industry. With the influence of climate change, it is only going to become more significant on the world’s wine stage. This is definitely an area worth exploring.

The few other books that I’ve came across dealing with BC wines have been a brief inclusion in Cole Danehower’s Essential Wines and Wineries of the Pacific Northwest and some of John Schreiner’s (a bit outdated) works The British Columbia Wine Companion (1997) and Chardonnay & Friends: Variety Wines of British Columbia (1999).

But with 370 pages, I can see Luke Whittall (already an established authority on BC wines with his blog and podcast at Wine Country BC) going into far more detail about the British Columbia wine scene and the remarkable growth it is has seen in the last 20 years.

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Geek Notes — UK Wine Show Episode 111 with Ian D’Agata

Amber LeBeau in Geek Notes, Wine Knowledge

Published on September 23, 2018

I have a new vino crush and man have I been crushing hard.

How can you not to get all tingly and giddy over sweet talk about biotypes, Pigato vs Vermentino, Cerasuolo di Vittoria and the battle for the soul of Pecorino?

Well at least it is hard for me not to get tingly, especially when that sweet talk is coming from a wine writer with over 25 years of experience living and breathing the wines of Italy. Thankfully for us, and my geeky fan-girling heart, Ian D’Agata has drilled down all of those years of walking the vineyards and tasting wines with producers into the magnum opus of Italian wine grapes with his 640 page tome–Native Wine Grapes of Italy.

Frequent readers know that one of my favorite resources is Jancis Robinson’s Wine Grapes written with Julia Harding and José Vouillamoz. That gorgeous hunk of geekdom devoted 1280 pages to covering 1,368 grape varieties grown across the globe.

But with an estimated 2500 different varieties (many of which likely biotypes/clones of other grapes) growing in Italy alone, you need a dedicated source to help untangle the messy weave of regionalization, synonyms and just downright weirdness that can be found with Italian grapes.

D’Agata’s book is like a scalpel to that tangled mess. While he is upfront about not having all the answers–especially with conflicting DNA analysis and contrary first person observations–it is impossible to pick up Native Wine Grapes of Italy and not come away learning mountains of new information about Italian grapes.

Did you know that the Moscato bianco grape of Piedmont was once one of the most widely planted wine grapes in the Tuscan village of Montalcino? In fact, it is still grown there today and used to make the DOC wine Moscadello di Montalcino.
Those are just a few of the hundreds of fun tidbits I learned from D’Agata’s Native Wine Grapes of Italy.

The work is exceptionally well organized (mostly alphabetical though several varieties which belong to groups or families of grapes like the many Greco, Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes get their own chapter) making it a fantastic and easy to use reference anytime you want to dive deeper.

I seriously can’t recommend Native Wine Grapes of Italy enough for wine geeks and students. A definite must have that is less than a third of the price of Wine Grapes and can often be found used for around $25.

But you don’t need to take my word on it. As I’ve discovered while prepping for my upcoming class on Italian wine, Ian D’Agata has been a frequent guest on several of my favorite podcasts discussing Italian grapes and wine regions. These podcasts, plus his writings on Vinous, give you a great sneak peak into the content of Native Grapes as well as an upcoming book he’s working on about the crus of Barolo and Barbaresco.

They are all well worth a listen–after which I’m sure you’ll be vino-crushing on Ian too.

Podcast Interviews with Ian D’Agata

In The Drink Episode 206 w/ Ian D’Agata (43:57)

Monty Waldin’s Italian Wine Podcast Episodes 20 through 22 on the Aglianico, Glera and Sangiovese grapes respectively. (About 10 to 15 minutes each)

Really wished I had listened to the IDTT episode with D’Agata before I visited Piedmont last June. I probably would have appreciated even more how cool this map and viewpoint from La Morra was.

I’ll Drink to That! Episode 354 w/ Ian D’Agata (1:37:49) — In this podcast, Levi Dalton and D’Agata spend a lot of time talking about Barolo, Barbaresco and his upcoming book on those regions. Really fascinating stuff.

My only slight negative with D’Agata’s interviews is that he does speak very quickly. While his enunciation and articulation–especially of Italian names and words–is great I do find myself having to slow down the podcast or go back sometimes to re-listen to things that D’Agata breezes through.

For this edition of Geek Notes, I’m going to go back to a June 2008 interview that Ian D’Agata did with Chris Scott of the UK Wine Show (37:28).

Some Fun Things I Learned/Enjoyed From This Podcast

The format of the UK Wine Show starts with Chris and his wife Jane going over recent wine and beverage industry news. Even with older podcasts, I always find this segment very interesting as a “window in time” look at what was big and newsworthy in the world of wine at the time. I also often end up learning something as well.

Photo taken by self and uploaded to Wikimedia Commons as User:Agne27 under CC-BY-SA-3.0

I know now if I pick up a strong oaky flavor in a DOC wine under $10-15 that perhaps I should be suspicious.

For instance, the first news story in this 2008 podcast (1:07) was on a controversy in the Tuscan wine region of San Gimignano where 4000 bottles of red wine were confiscated because of the use of oak chips in production of the DOC wine. I honestly didn’t know that San Gimignano produced red wine (much less a DOC wine) because I was only familiar with the white Vernaccia di San Gimignano.

While it makes sense that oak chips wouldn’t be acceptable in DOC/G wine, I didn’t realize how strictly regulated that was in Italy or that oak chips were permitted for IGT wines.

It was also fun listening to early thoughts on the 2007 Bordeaux vintage with Chris and Jane (5:36) especially considering the woeful reputation that vintage has now (though, in hindsight, good cellar defenders can still be found from 2007).

The interview with Ian D’Agata begins at the 10:35 mark.

(11:47) Of the 2500+ grape varieties grown in Italy, only around 1000 of them have been genetically identified. Of that 1000, around 600 are used for wine production.

(13:55) Chris asks if the Sangiovese of Brunello di Montalcino is a specific clone. Ian D’Agata debunks quite a bit of common misconceptions about Sangiovese and clones that is incredibly eye opening (and also well worth reading about in his book). Simply put, a lot of the stuff that we’ve learned in wine books of the past have been very incomplete and imprecise.

(18:45) D’Agata describes the Umbrian variety Sagrantino which I haven’t had the privilege of tasting yet but am very intrigued by.

(19:20) A prediction that Aglianico is the next big thing from Italy. This has definitely held true with even producers in the US like Leonetti releasing an Aglianico. I know at my local wine shops I’ve seen the selection of Italian Aglianico in the last 5 years go from maybe one bottle of Taurasi ($50+) to now featuring more than a half dozen options from Basilicata, Marche and Campania. As many of these can be found in the $13-25 range, there is some awesome value here that is well worth exploring. In my January 2018 post In a rut? Try these new grapes!, I describe Aglianico as a fantastic wine for Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah drinkers to branch out with.

Fun fact: When you Google pics of Nero d’Avola, one of the results is a picture of the Muscat of Norway grape instead. I know this because that is my hand in the pic holding a cluster of Muscat of Norway I harvested from Cloud Mountain Vineyard in the Puget Sound AVA.

(20:40) Chris notes that he always found Nero d’Avola to be very Merlot-like. D’Agata highlights the similarities (and that Merlot is apparently often blended with Nero d’Avola) but also the relationship with Syrah and Teroldego and what good Nero d’Avola should taste like.

(21:40) A great discussion about the unheralded gems of Southern Italian whites like Mt. Etna’s Carricante (a distant relative of Riesling), Grillo, Inzolia, Vermentino and Grechetto. However, D’Agata notes that the Grechetto used in Orvieto is not always the best Grechetto.

(24:52) Apparently Italy makes really good dry Kerner, Silvaner and Gewurztraminer on par with Alsace up in the Alto Adige region.

The Valadige (pictured), Alto Adige and Friuli regions can be more labor intensive than the Veneto or some parts of New Zealand which can make producing value priced Sauvignon blanc a bit difficult.

(26:16) While Italy doesn’t do well with Chardonnay (over-oaked), D’Agata feels that they excel with Sauvignon blanc with a style between Sancerre and Marlborough. This definitely caught the attention of New Zealand native Chris Scott. Considering how hot Sauvignon blanc has been in the UK market, I’m kind of surprised that we don’t hear more about Italian Sauvignon blanc. The higher cost of bottles from Italy compared to bulk NZ Sauvignon blanc probably is a significant reason.

(29:06) A lot of Pinot grigio that is/was imported to the United States might not actually be Pinot grigio with D’Agata noting that a fair amount of Trebbiano is likely used.

D’Agata does notes that just because there might be Syrah, Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon growing in a vineyard of Montalcino that doesn’t mean it is being used in a producer’s Brunello di Montalcino. However, the color of the wine could be a tip off.

(30:26) Very interesting discussion about the Brunellopoli scandal that was just starting to hit the news at the time of the interview. D’Agata notes that the dark purple/black color of Brunello di Montalcino is often a clue that something might be up with a wine that is supposed to be 100% of the moderately pigmented Sangiovese. The new clones of Sangiovese that produce darker colors can only give you a deeper ruby, not black color.

(34:23) Even though Italians invented screw caps, apparently they can only be used for IGT wines and not DOC/G? (At least back in 2008) D’Agata pointed out that it is more expensive to bottle wines with screw caps as opposed to corks which can be a financial burden for small producers.

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Geek Notes — Wine For Normal People Episode 84 Featuring Tuscan Wine Regions

Amber LeBeau in Geek Notes, Wine Knowledge, Wine regions

Published on September 16, 2018

Screenshot from the Wine For Normal People podcast

Outside of blog land, I frequently teach wine classes. As part of my usual prep routine whenever I have a class to write, I’ll fill my Overcast queue with wine podcasts relating to the class. I find that listening to podcasts while cleaning the house, working out at the gym and driving helps submerse me into the topic and compliments my book studies really well.

My usual sources for hardcore geekdom are Levi Dalton’s I’ll Drink To That! (whose episode with Gramercy owner and Master Sommmelier Greg Harrington I featured in a previous Geek Notes) and the GuildSomm podcast hosted by Master Sommelier Geoff Kruth.

However, I’ll also frequently listen to Chris Scott’s The UK Wine Show, Heritage Radio Network’s In the Drink, Jim Duane’s podcast Inside Winemaking and the very first wine podcast that I started with–Grape Radio.

Two newly launched podcasts that are also in my rotation are Wine Enthusiast’s What We’re Tasting and James Halliday’s Wine Companion podcast.

But I’m always on the lookout for more options so if you know of any other great wine podcasts worth checking out, post them in the comments below!

It was while working on an upcoming Italian wine class that I stumbled upon what is definitely going to be a new go-to resource for me–Elizabeth Schneider’s Wine for Normal People podcast.

A Little Background and Why You Should Listen Too

Anyone who shares a disheartening sigh while looking at wine displays virtually dominated by the same 3 big mega-corps is fighting the good fight in my book.

Elizabeth Schneider is a Certified Specialist of Wine and Certified Sommelier who hosts the podcasts with her husband, M.C. Ice. I’m sure there is a story behind the hubby’s stage name but I haven’t came across it yet while listening.

Outside of the podcast, she does speaking engagements, online classes and has an upcoming book Wine for Normal People: A Guide for Real People Who Like Wine, but Not the Snobbery That Goes with It slated for release in early 2019.

Her website also has a super user-friendly list of brands owned by big mega-corps that is worth book marking. As I found in compiling my own list of supermarket wines, this is no easy task to stay on top of so I wholeheartedly support Schneider’s efforts in promoting more knowledge and transparency in this area.

I must confess that when I first read the description of the Wine For Normal People podcast, I thought this would be a bit too beginner for me. It could still be a great podcast that benefits a lot of people who want to dip their toes into the world of wine but I was expecting it to be something more like an updated version of William Wilson’s Wine for Newbies podcast.

But what I quickly found after listening through a few episodes is that Schneider has a fantastic teaching style and approach to wine that serves up ample geeky goodness but balances it by presenting the topic in a digestible manner.

Even for folks like me who have fell down the rabbit hole of wine geekiness, listening to the podcast and paying attention to how she presents her topics is of huge benefit. When we live in a world with a billion+ wine drinkers, one thing that us hardcore wine geeks have to realize is that we really are the minority here. Not every wine drinker aspires to be a Master of Wine or Master Sommelier or even a wine geek. The passion and enthusiasm that drives us to learn more–and to share what we’ve learned–can often be a bit much for many wine drinkers and ends up driving them away back to the comforts of the same ole, same ole.

In the end it is all about balance which, like a good wine, I find well exhibited in the Wine For Normal People podcast.

Plus, there is still plenty of geeky nuggets in each episode like these things I noted in Episode 084 on Tuscan Wine Regions (35 minutes).

Vineyards in Montalcino

Some Fun Things I Learned/Enjoyed From This Podcast

(3:36) I really liked Schneider’s answer to the question of if the French should feel threatened at all by the rise of Super Tuscans using Bordeaux varieties. She talks about the difference in French culture of “closing ranks” versus the in-fighting that you often see among Italian winemakers.

(7:06) Brunello is a relatively recent wine on the Italian wine scene with the particular Sangiovese Grosso clone isolated only in 1888. However, Schneider notes that winemakers as early as the 14th century were aware of the superior quality of wines in the Montalcino region.

The estate of Biondi-Santi pioneered the modern concept of Brunello di Montalcino.

(8:44) Very surprised to hear that only 4 vintages of Brunello were declared during the first 57 years of production after 1888. I definitely want to read more about this and why.

(11:55) This starts a really great discussion on the two zones of the Montalcino region–the northern and southern–with some very useful insights on the different wines produced in the different soil types. Nice tidbit on the winemaking approach of Silvio Nardi who own vineyards in both zones.

(15:24) The uniqueness of the Sangiovese based wines of Carmignano compared to Chianti. Often called “The Original Super Tuscan” due to its historical tradition of using Cabernet Sauvignon but Schneider also notes that Carmignano is distinct for growing Sangiovese on flatter lands whereas the grape usually thrives on higher elevation hillsides. Also of interest is that some Carmignano estates, like in Bolgheri, have Cabernet Sauvignon vines that were grafted from cuttings taken from Chateau Lafite in Bordeaux.

(21:20) Going to have a slight disagreement with the podcast here. After talking about some of the reasons why Chianti has historically been “a hot mess” (quite true!), Schneider encourages people to not really bother taking a chance on Chianti and instead look for wines from the Chianti Classico zone. This isn’t bad advice per se, but it is one of the Magic Beans of Wine that I’ve never been a fan of promoting.

I won’t deny that Chianti’s bad rap is well earned but sometimes there is a needle of a gem within the haystack of fiascos. You have to trust that a good quality producer is not going to put their name on crap.

Yeah, there is lots of crappy Chianti out there. But there is also a lot of crappy Chianti Classico out there as well. Instead of focusing on the region (Chianti vs Chianti Classico), it really should be about the producer–which, to be fair, is a common theme that Schneider makes repeatedly in this podcast. Yet, for some reason, she seems to ignore that a good quality producer of Chianti Classico can also make a good quality Chianti. This Chianti may even be made from grapes grown in the Chianti Classico zone but declassified down to Chianti for various reasons–younger vines, less aging, wanting to have a more approachable and easy drinking bottle at a lower price point, etc.

Sure, the Chianti Classico from that same producer will be the superior bottle but that doesn’t discount the potential value in a bottle of well made Chianti from a reputable producer.

(22:59) Canaiolo nero use to be the main grape of Chianti until the 1870s. Very interesting! I would love to try a varietal Canaiolo.

(24:22) Oooh I love Schneider’s use of different varieties of roses as a vehicle for explaining the differences in Sangiovese’s clones. It’s not easy to explain clones but this metaphor is a good start.

(24:55) This starts a very useful overview of the different sub-areas within the Chianti Classico zone.

Photo by Viking59. Uploaded to Wikimedia Commons under PD-self

While it’s not impossible to envision the Gamay of Beaujolais (pictured) growing in Tuscany, I would probably wager on this being a case of a weird Italian synonym for another variety,

(29:02) Very interesting to hear that some producers of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano have been grafting over to the Chianti Classico clone of Sangiovese–though Prugnolo Gentile still dominates. Also apparently Gamay can be blended in (29:23)!?! I wasn’t aware of Tuscan Gamay so I’m wondering if this is a synonym for another grape like Alicante? Will need to do some more research here.

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Geek Notes 8/28/18 — Upcoming Wine Books For September

Amber LeBeau in Geek Notes

Published on August 28, 2018

Let’s take a look at some of the new upcoming wine books that will be hitting the market soon.

Crush: The Triumph of California Wine by John Briscoe (Paperback to be released Sept 1st. Hardcover on Sept 4th)

September is California Wine Month (I know, I know, someone needs to publish a calendar with all these various wine months and days) so the release timing of this 368 page book covering the history of the California wine industry is apt.

Given the breadth of its subject, it will be interesting to see how this book tackles its topic with most books on California’s wine history being more singularly focused like James Conway’s 3 book series on the history of Napa–Napa: The Story of an American Eden, The Far Side of Eden: New Money, Old Land, and the Battle for Napa Valley and Napa at Last Light: America’s Eden in an Age of Calamity, Charles Sullivan’s nearly completely California-centric Zinfandel: A History of a Grape and Its Wine or George Taber’s account of the famous Judgement of Paris tasting and its impact of the California wine industry.

It’s also telling of a daunting task that Thomas Pinney, a former professor at Pomona College in Claremont, California, needed more than a 1000 pages and two volumes to document a lot of California’s history in his work A History of Wine in America Volume 1 & Volume 2. Yes, Pinney does include a little bit of history of winemaking from other states–including the early booming industries of Missouri and Ohio–but the vast majority of his work focuses on California and even then you get the impression that he probably could have added a third volume.

California wine pioneer Martin Ray in the 1960s. Any good book on California history should have him featured.

If you are craving more, I can recommend for any geeks wanting to learn about California wine to check out Larry Bettiga’s Wine Grape Varieties in California which goes beyond the usual suspects of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay to detail more than 50 grape varieties growing throughout the state as well as Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen’s Wines of California, Special Deluxe Edition that takes a little more of an overview approach of the state, focusing on wineries and winemakers. Likewise Jon Bonné’s The New California Wine: A Guide to the Producers and Wines Behind a Revolution in Taste also takes an overview approach but focuses on the wineries that Bonné particularly feels are driving the future of the California wine industry.

Literary Libations: What to Drink with What You Read by Amira K. Makansi (To be released Sept 4th)

I love when my passion for wine and literature cross paths which is why I’ve been really looking forward to Jay McInerney’s upcoming November release of Wine Reads: A Literary Anthology of Wine Writing which will include both fictional and non-fictional stories and anecdotes on wine from folks like Rex Pickett (of Sideways fame), Jancis Robinson, Kermit Lynch, New Yorker writer A. J. Liebling as well as McInerney who previously wrote Bacchus and Me: Adventures in the Wine Cellar, A Hedonist in the Cellar: Adventures in Wine and The Juice: Vinous Veritas.

Makansi recommends drinking a Bloody Mary while reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
But come on, you’ve got to go with the Hungarian wine Egri Bikavér (Bull’s blood) or a Romanian wine from Transylvania which is a legit wine region with more than 6000 years of viticulture and unique varieties like Fetească Regală (white) and Fetească Neagră.

I suspect that Makansi’s Literary Libations is going to have a more light-hearted and entertainment-focused approach than McInerney’s work–especially since the former is categorized as “Humor Literary Criticism” by Amazon. Still the description of the 224 page Literary Libations notes that it will offer nearly 200 wine, beer and cocktail recommendations for numerous classical works across a number of genres.

I can see this being a fun easy read, especially for something like a long train ride or airline flight.

Flawless: Understanding Faults in Wine by Jamie Goode (To be released September 7th).

Now this is a book to truly get your geek on. A plant biologist by training, Jamie Goode (the Wine Anorak) is an excellent writer who takes a keen scientific approach to all aspects of wine production and tasting, presenting it in both a thought provoking and digestible manner.

If your book shelf doesn’t have at least his The Science of Wine: From Vine to Glass then you are missing out. Likewise his I Taste Red: The Science of Tasting Wine and Authentic Wine: Toward Natural and Sustainable Winemaking with Master of Wine Sam Harrop are also well worth the read.

A plating of Brettanomyces bruxellensis. While mostly considered a fault in the wine world, many brewers are intentionally cultivating this yeast strain to produce sour beers.

With Flawless, Goode turns his attention to faults in wine which can have a myriad of causes in the vineyard and the winery. To add to the complexity of faults, humans have a wide range of sensitivity to them with some, like Brettanomyces, being considered anything from a component of terroir and complexity (see A Spice of Brett) to an incorrigible fault that should be eradicated in winemaking.

It will be fascinating to see Goode’s take on this so you better believe that this book will soon be on my shelf.

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Geek Notes — I’ll Drink To That! Episode 331 Featuring Greg Harrington

Amber LeBeau in Geek Notes, Washington wine, Wine Knowledge

Published on August 23, 2018

Screenshot from I’ll Drink To That! channel on SoundCloud.

As part of our celebration of Washington Wine Month in August, I’m reviewing some of the resources that folks can use to learn more about Washington State wine.

For this edition of Geek Notes, I’m encouraging readers to check out Levi Dalton’s I’ll Drink To That! podcast episode 331 featuring Washington winemaker and Master Sommelier Greg Harrington of Gramercy Cellars in Walla Walla. To listen to the full podcast on Sound Cloud click here.

The first half of the 2 hour podcast covers Harrington’s pre-Washington story including his path to Master Sommelier and his experience working with Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse, Joyce Goldstein and Stephen Hanson as well as the Vegas wine scene during his time developing the wine program at the Bellagio. That later segment in particular includes several intriguing anecdotes about opening up the Bellagio with 150 cases of 1982 Petrus (Wine Searcher Average $5,835 a bottle now) that was completely sold out within 6 months (43:27 mark) as well as how wine comps are handled for high rollers. (Yeah, I think I’ll just be content playing my Somm Game in Vegas)

Harrington also makes some great points about how his experience working in restaurants taught him how to run a business (a “MBA in a box”) (1:48:32 mark) with skills that he still uses in his winery today.

The whole episode is well worth a listen but at around the 1:10:00 mark, Dalton and Harrington turn their attention to the Washington side of his story.

Some Washington-related items I learned from this podcast.

(1:16:40) While Harrington bought at a really good time in the mid 2000s, he still thinks there is about 10 years (from 2017) left where buying vineyards in Walla Walla is still a good financial decision.

While Grenache has huge potential and promise in Washington State, we still have a long way to go before we can reap the benefit of old vine plantings like this Grenache vineyard at Charles Melton Winery in South Australia.

(1:19:42) Harrington thinks Grenache offers a lot of potential but the freeze of 1984 killed nearly all of the Grenache that was previously planted in the state so the grape is being rethought now with new plantings in new locations.

(1:20:25) Whites in Washington don’t seem to excite Harrington as much as the reds though he is intrigued at the potential of the Columbia Gorge for white wines like Sauvignon blanc and even unique varieties like Trousseau gris and Fiano. Very interesting commentary especially considering how delicious Gramercy Picpoul is.

(1:22:43) The “blessing and curse” of Washington is its long growing season with Harrington noting that Syrah could be harvested in some vintages anywhere from September 1st to November 1st, producing a wide variance of style in the same year. Harrington notes that Gramercy is usually among the first in all their contract vineyards to pick Syrah.

Located on the eastern edges of the Walla Walla Valley, the Forgotten Hills Vineyard is very cool climate site that is usually harvested later in the season.

(1:23:50) A really great explanation of the frost issues that can impact Walla Walla as well as what actually happens to the vine when it is damaged by frost. Super geeky and one of my favorites tidbits from the podcast.

(1:25:30) “Syrah likes a view” with Harrington preferring higher altitude vineyards above 1300 feet including the Les Collines Vineyard.

(1:26:17) Harrington talks about both the positives (the aromatics) and negatives (too high pH) of fruit from the Rocks District. He prefers to use Syrah from here as “salt & pepper” seasoning for blends.

(1:27:03) He is also a big fan of Red Willow Syrah and considers that vineyard to be one of the premiere areas in the state for the grape.

(1:28:19) The benefit of fermenting with the stems with Syrah and answering the myth about using “green stems”. Really informative section! From here the podcast gets into a lot of geeky winemaking stuff about dealing with reduction, volatile acidity and native fermentation that isn’t necessarily Washington-centric but definitely worth listening to.

(1:34:33) Dalton asks Harrington if Syrah from Washington is less reductive than Syrah grown elsewhere. Harrington gives a very interesting answer and notes that perhaps the fact that Washington vineyards and wineries here tend to use less sulfur treatments on the grapes and in winemaking could play a role. He also notes that all of Gramercy’s estate vineyards are organic.

(1:38:40) Harrington thinks the drinking curve for Washington Syrahs starts at around 5 years from vintage date while Cabernet Sauvignon tends to be more approachable younger after around 2 years in the bottle. He also feels that Washington Cabernet Sauvignon tends to be soft and needing tannin.

The warm climate, steep aspect and poor sandy soil of the Alder Ridge Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills seems to be particularly well suited for Mourvedre.

(1:42:01) Among Washington vintages, Harrington is very high on the 2007 and 2010 vintage as among the best in Washington. Both 2010 and 2011 were very Old World-style vintages. 2012 was a great Cabernet Sauvignon vintage but not as much for Syrah.

(1:43:26) Harrington is high on Mourvedre in Washington but it needs to be planted in spots warmer than areas like the Rocks District in Oregon. He cites Olsen Vineyards in the Yakima Valley and Alder Ridge as promising vineyards for the grape.

(1:45:50) Dalton asks how often Washington winemakers look to the Old World for inspiration with Harrington encouraging more winemakers to explore the classic wines of the Old World.

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Geek Notes 7/30/18 — New Wine Books to Geek Out With in August

Amber LeBeau in Geek Notes, Wine grapes, Wine Knowledge

Published on July 30, 2018

Elevations of New Zealand

A look at some of the some of new releases in the world of wine books.

The Wines of New Zealand by Master of Wine Rebecca Gibb (released July 30th, 2018)

While there has been a few other books written to cover the wines of New Zealand such as Michael Cooper and John McDermott’s Wine Atlas of New Zealand (2002) and Warren Moran’s New Zealand Wine: The Land, The Vines, The People (2017), as far as I can tell this 356 page book is the first in-depth and exclusive look into the wines of New Zealand that has been written by a Master of Wine.

While previous books were written by New Zealand insiders, I’m intrigued at the perspective that UK-based Gibb may add to the story–especially in light of the global worldview of wine that is required to attain MW certification.

This intrigues me because it seems like in many ways that the NZ wine industry has been suffocating under the weight of success for their Sauvignon blancs with the grape still representing a staggering 72% of New Zealand wine production (2016).

Now with producers in other regions of the world breaking down the science of thiols and their precursors as well as the role of methoxypyrazines to tweak their own approach to Sauvignon blanc, wine shelves are awashed in pink grapefruit and gooseberries.

Suddenly New Zealand’s “distinctive style” doesn’t seem so distinctive anymore.

View towards the Southern Alps but it honestly wouldn’t be out of place in the Malbec country of Mendoza, Argentina.

Yet for a country that spans over 10 degrees of latitude from the Northland region of the North Island down to Dunedin south of the Central Otago district on the South Island (more than the latitude difference between Champagne, France and Naples, Italy), it feels like there has to be more to the New Zealand wine story that just their ubiquitous Sauvignon blanc.

I mean, come on, this is a land that was able to bring to life on screen the diverse terrains Tolkien’s imagination in the Lord of the Rings series. Certainly there has to be a treasure trove of unique terroir that can be married to different varieties in magical ways.

As a wine geek and consumer, I would love to learn more about some of the 50+ other grape varieties grown in New Zealand.

What about Albariño in Gisborne? Syrah from Hawke’s Bay? Pinot blanc from Central Otago? Petit Verdot from Waiheke Island?

I know those varieties probably won’t excite the patio pounders and cafe sippers who guzzle down Kim Crawford, Oyster Bay and Nobilo by the caseful but it is certainly an answer for the legions of drinkers who’ve grown fatigued of Sauvignon blanc as is the inevitable fate for every fashionable variety.

Perhaps Gibb’s book would not only answer that fatigue but maybe also give a reason to give New Zealand’s old standby of Sauvignon blanc a fresh look with new eyes?

How to Import Wine: An Insider’s Guide (2nd Edition) by Deborah M. Gray. (To be released August 13th, 2018)

Gray’s first edition of How to Import Wine from 2011 was an extremely valuable resource for me in studying for the business unit of the WSET diploma.

It laid out clearly a lot of the complexities behind finding clients, building brands as well as the licensing, regulations and expenses that go into importing wine and finding distribution for those wines. It’s a far less romantic reality than you would imagine after reading Kermit Lynch’s Adventures on the Wine Route.

And then there is the reality of a rapidly changing market–driven particularly by Millennials and our wanderlust tastes. The second edition of Gray’s book looks to tackle some of those changes along with new laws and regulation that have emerged since the previous edition.

In Vino Duplicitas: The Rise and Fall of a Wine Forger Extraordinaire (paperback) by Peter Hellman. (To be released August 21st, 2018)

Seems like folks love reading (and writing) about rich folks getting snookered on wine.

Similar to how Benjamin Wallace’s The Billionaire’s Vinegar chronicled Hardy Rodenstock’s forgeries and scandals, Hellman takes a look at the build up and fall out of Rudy Kurniawan’s nearly 10 year con of infiltrating the big spenders clubs of the wine world and then blending his own fake bottles of legendary wines to sell to his buddies.

Hellman’s book was originally released in hardcover and audio book back in July 2017 and is a great read for folks who like historical non-fiction along with a peak into the gaudy wine drinking lifestyles of people who pop Petrus and DRC like a Sunday brunch wine.

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

Why have mimosas when you can have La Tache? Assuming it’s real of course.

I also recommend checking out the 2016 documentary Sour Grapes which covers the Rudy Kurniawan from the perspective of those who knew Rudy as well as his victims and the people who brought him down.

That film also introduced me to the awesome work of Maureen Downey (aka ‘The Sherlock Holmes of Wine’) who was at the forefront in exposing Kurniawan. The day she releases a book on wine forgery, you better believe I will be snapping that sucker up on preorder.

The Wines of Eastern Europe by John Hudelson PhD. (To be released August 1st, 2018)

Seriously, Pošip is a fantastic white wine! Kind of like a less green and pungent New Zealand Sauvignon blanc.

Admittedly the wines of Bulgaria, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Georgia, Croatia and the like are a bit of a blind spot for me. Sure I’ve had Tokaji before (including a huge jackpot score with The Somm Game on my last trip to Vegas) and my mind was blown away on my trip to Croatia with how incredibly delicious their whites made from Pošip, Grk and Maraština were.

I’ve also had an oddball Bulgarian, Georgian and Romanian wine but outside of flashcard WSET knowledge about Bull’s Blood, Fetească Regală, Saperavi and the like I don’t really have much in-depth knowledge about the wines and culture of this part of the world. And I doubt that I’m alone in sharing this blind spot.

But exciting things are happening in the wine industries of Central and Eastern Europe with new winemakers taking fresh approaches to their bevy of unique indigenous varieties–to say nothing of the Natural Wine Movement that seems to have its spiritual home here.

With 386 pages written by John Hudelson, the author of Wine Faults: Causes, Effects, Cures (which was super valuable to me during my winemaking studies), I can see The Wines of Eastern Europe going a long way towards filling in that gaping blind spot.

Though giving Hudelson’s previous work on wine faults, I’ll be really curious to see how he approaches the topic of sulfite use and natural wines.

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Amazon Prime Day Deals — Anything worthwhile for wine lovers?

Amber LeBeau in Geek Notes, General

Published on July 16, 2018

Today is Amazon Prime Day, a day that Amazon claims rivals Black Friday and Cyber Monday for buyers looking to get a good deal.

While there are some interesting buys, I’ve found that the pickings are often slim on deals targeting wine lovers.

Still it’s always worth taking a look to see if anything catches our eyes.

Oster Cordless Electric Wine Bottle Opener with Foil Cutter– Regularly $19.99, today $14.39 for Prime Members.

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of electric bottle openers–preferring my old trusty double-hinged corkscrew or Rabbit-lever openers. My biggest complaint is how easy the electric bottle openers seem to burn out after a year or two of use. But for less than $15, even getting a year of use might not be that bad. So while this will be a pass for me, I can see this being a decent buy–especially for senior citizens or folks with arthritis that may have difficulties with other openers.

Coravin Model Limited Edition Wine Preservation System– Regularly $349.95, today $174.95 for Prime Members.

I paid around $300 for my old Coravin Model 1000 system three years ago so I will say that this is a very good deal. If my current Coravin wasn’t working perfectly fine, I would be very tempted because even though you can get the cheaper Coravin Model 1 for $199.99, that is a distinctly cheaper, less solidly built version than the regular Coravin.

There is a lot of marketing hype around the Coravin so I will be upfront with some of my real world experiences using it. There is the caveat that potentially the newer models have improved some of my grievances.

Cons:

The author using her Coravin to pour a flight of white wines.

Unless you spring for the $70 kit with the “fast pour” needle, pouring from the Coravin is SLOW!!! You eventually learn some tricks like tilting the bottle upwards and getting the feel right with hitting the gas but it will still take nearly 30 seconds to get a 5 oz pour.

That doesn’t seem like a lot of time but it definitely feels longer while your standing there holding the bottle and waiting for it to finally fill the glass. Compound this with doing a tasting featuring multiple bottles and the time adds up.

The first pour is always a little gassy and “spritzy”. It blows off and won’t impact most wine drinkers but if you are like me and use the Coravin system to help with studying for blind tasting exams, it can throw you off at first.

It doesn’t preserve the wine no where near as long as the marketing hype says it would. Instead of several months or years, realistically I feel like I can get 5 to 7 weeks with reds and 3 to 4 weeks with whites before I start noticing a change in flavor. It’s not like the wine is immediately bad or tasting oxidized but I certainly notice a distinct change that seems to exponentially increase with each revisiting after that point.

Pros:

Will Clos Saint-Jacques go with black garlic and salume pizza?
Let’s find out!

Even with only a few weeks worth of preservation, the Coravin is still a great tool to help you get the most out of your wine enjoyment. Instead of having to feel like you need to finish a bottle within a day or two, you can stretch it out over several glasses for days/weeks.

With dinner you can have different wines with each course, creating your own version of The Somm Game. Want to test out various pairings? Knock yourself out and pour two different wines to see what works best. If you and your spouse can’t agree on what wine to have with dinner, you can each have whatever you like.

And, most importantly to me, it truly is invaluable as a study tool for tasting exams. Want to taste the terroir differences of the crus of Barolo? Explore what makes “mountain fruit” of Howell Mountain, Spring Mountain and Diamond Mountain so different than the Cabernet Sauvignon grown in the Stags Leap District and valley floor of Napa? You can spend several hundreds of dollars getting examples of these wines and then have to face a decision.

Do you have a big tasting party with friends and open them all at once?
Do you open them up one at a time, take your notes and then try to compare them after the fact?

OR

You can use the Coravin and pour samples of all the different wines you want to compare and contrast and then revisit that tasting several times over the next few weeks.

That, for me, has always been the Coravin’s strongest selling point and the area where I know this tool has saved me the most money.

It’s not really drinking alone if the cat is home stemless wine glass, 15 oz.(cat) – Laser Etched — Regular $14.99, today $11.99 for Prime Members.

Yeah, this is pretty much sums up the kind of offers that Prime Day has for wine lovers. I’ve never felt compelled to spend $12 for a silly engraved wine glass but if that is your thing, you do you.

$5 off print books priced $20 or more

This deal doesn’t work for used books sold by 3rd party sellers which how I buy the vast majority of my wine books.

Many of my favorite wine books that I use frequently on this blog, I bought used from Amazon and paid only a fraction of their asking price.

Old or new, I really don’t need an excuse to buy more wine books.

Clive Coates’ Grands Vins: The Finest Châteaux of Bordeaux and Their Wines — Regularly $63.97, available Used for less than $10. Fabulous details on the history of Bordeaux estates used frequently in my Bordeaux Futures series.

Bill Nanson’s The Finest Wines of Burgundy: A Guide to the Best Producers of the Côte D’Or and Their Wines — Regularly $29.26, available Used for less than $10. Very valuable in my Keeping Up with the Joneses of Burgundy series.

Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson’s The World Atlas of Wine, 7th Edition — Regularly $42.78, available Used for less than $10. Benchmark standard for wine maps.

Of course, for new releases there are not many used options so this coupon deal could be use for several of the titles featured in previous Geek Notes that are over $20.

From June— Practical Field Guide to Grape Growing and Vine Physiology by Daniel Schuster, Laura Bernini and Andrea Paoletti. $40

From March — Wine: A social and cultural history of the drink that changed our lives by Rod Phillips. $34.95 and Oregon Wine Country Stories: Decoding the Grape by Kenneth Friedenreich. $29.99 hardcover.

If you come across any deals that I missed, post them in the comments below.

Happy shopping!

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Geek Notes 6/26/18 — New Wine Books for June/July

Amber LeBeau in Geek Notes, Wine Knowledge, Wine marketing

Published on June 26, 2018

A look at some recently released and upcoming wine books that intrigue me for various geeky reasons.

For last month’s edition looking at some of the new releases from May and early June check out Wine Geek Notes 5/9/18 — New Wine Books to Geek Out Over.

How to Wine With Your Boss & 6 Other Tips To Fast Track Your Career by Tiffany Yarde. Released June 19th, 2018.

While not necessarily a wine book, the description and “look inside” preview caught my attention. Unlike other career advancing self-help books that tell you how “think rich”, “lean in” and develop habits of highly effective people, Yarde looks to be taking a different approach in utilizing wine education topics on tasting and varieties to apply them to business principles.

At least that is what the intro is describing, though the title How to Wine With Your Boss also seems to be advocating wielding your knowledge and confidence in the social lubricant of wine as a tool to advance your career. That is an approach that could be fraught with pratfalls with the associations of alcohol in the workplace in light of the #MeToo movement. While we, wine geeks, know that the point of sharing a glass of wine is not about nefarious intentions, I can’t begrudge a male manager or coworker from being reticent in accepting such an invitation.

Still, the idea of book teaching wine enthusiasts how to take their passion and knowledge of wine and apply it to business is intriguing–if that is such a book that Yarde has written. She does have a blog and website, Motovino, that describes more of her philosophy though, unfortunately, the blog is not frequently updated.

Practical Field Guide to Grape Growing and Vine Physiology by Daniel Schuster, Laura Bernini and Andrea Paoletti. To be released July 2nd, 2018.

This looks like some hardcore viticultural geekdoom here written by New Zealand wine grower Daniel Schuster, Tuscan viticulturalist Laura Bernini and winemaker Andrea Paoletti that will combine a mix of New World modernist and Old World traditionalist approaches to grape growing.

Oldies but goodies.

When I passed Unit 2 of the WSET Diploma level on Viticulture and Winemaking with Master of Wine Stephen Skelton’s Viticulture, Jeff Cox’s From Vines to Wines and the old school classic of A.J. Winkler and crew’s General Viticulture (under $15 used) were my primary study aids in the vineyard.

At around 146 pages, I can see the Practical Field Guide being an easily digestible compendium to the books I mention above and another great study tool for wine geeks seeking certifications in the WSET or Court of Master Sommelier programs.

Wine Marketing and Sales, 3rd Edition by Liz Thach, Janeen Olsen and Paul Wagner. To be released July 2nd, 2018.

I’ve had this book pre-ordered since February–so, yeah, I’m pretty excited.

While I was doing researching for my article Under the (Social Media) Influence, I realized that there was a dearth of resources for wineries and wine business students about how to effectively utilize social media. A huge reason for that is how quickly the industry and technology is changing so this updated edition of Wine Marketing and Sales was desperately needed. With how in-depth and perspective-driven the previous two editions were, I have no doubt that this and other modern topics and challenges of the industry are going to be addressed.

Dr. Liz Thach, MW is one of the most brilliant minds in the wine business whose writings in Wine Business Monthly and other publications are must-reads for anyone wanting to keep a pulse on the happenings in the wine business. In addition to Wine Marketing and Sales, Thach’s Wine: a Global Business is another resource that I’ve thoroughly gobbled up in highlighted notes and annotations.

The New Pink Wine: A Modern Guide to the World’s Best Rosés by Ann Walker and Larry Walker. To be released July 19th, 2018.

Has the “Rosé Revolution” jumped the shark yet? Who knows?

But The New Pink Wine is here to join a chorus of recently released rosé wine books in the last year and a half that includes Master of Wine Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan’s Rosé Wine (you can check out my review of it here), Victoria James and Lyle Railsback’s Drink Pink, Katherine Cole’s Rosé All Day, Master of Wine Elizabeth Gabay’s Rosé: Understanding the pink wine revolution and Julia Charles’ Rosé Cocktails that I highlighted in last month’s Wine Geek Notes.

If you want to go “old school hipster”, there is also Jeff Morgan’s 2005 work Rosé: A Guide to the World’s Most Versatile Wine which was on the Pink Train way back when Brangelina were still filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

What will the Walkers’ The New Pink Wine add to the conversation? At 224 pages, it’s not aiming to be a pamphlet. Both the Walkers do have lots of experience in the food and wine industry with Ann as a chef, educator, writer and frequent judge for the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Larry Walker has written for various food & wine magazine and is the editor for several of Williams-Sonoma’s Wine Guides.

I suppose as long as new bottles of rosé keeping hitting the wine shelves, we’ll keep getting new rosé wine books for the book shelf.