Chicken Wings and Rice

That was the menu last night while the F.A. was getting her 'Alias' fix. Not really wanting to contemplate the origins of the universe, I grabbed a bottle and started out the door.

Trénel Fils 'Saint-Amour' 2002


It has been fasionable for some time to simply discount the wines of Beaujolais straight-away as 'bubble gum and bananas in a bottle'. This is a fair description of many of the wines that come from there but it is in no way indicative of the entire region. Unfortunately, the machine that is Georges DeBoeuf is a double-edged sword of sorts. While he and his company have done wonders to attract attention to this place south of Burgundy, the majority of people (at least in this neck of the woods) think 'Nouveau' and then think 'No Way'. This is a shame.

For starters, understand that Beaujolais is a region like Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rioja, etc... Secondly, the grape around here is Gamay. Curiously, the appellation also permits some white grapes to be grown and blended like Chardonnay and Aligoté. And third, when in the hands of someone who cares, Gamay can reach heights that most people would not believe. I'm not talking about Latriciéres-Chambertin but certainly not the plonk that many people assume it to be.

Saint-Amour is one of ten 'crus' in the Beaujolais and while being the furthest north, it is the second smallest. The soil here has a higher concentration of limestone (that which is more closely associated with it northern neighbor - the Mâconnais), and produces a wine that is more 'Burgundian' than most. It has been my experience that the best wines of the Beaujolais come from Saint-Amour, Moulin-à-Vent, and Morgon, but there are fine wines being made throughout.

Opening the Trénel, straight away the most impressive thing about the nose was the concentration. Quizing the F.A., she thought it to be Italian and then thought better and said Burgundy. The first time I tasted this wine it was served blind. I thought it was Pinot straight-away. As the wine progressed in the glass, it maintained a strong Pinot style while showing the 'grapey' flavor that is the hallmark of most lesser Gamays. Color was considerably darker than I had expected, although not as dark as some that I have had from the southern part of Beaujolais. Tannins were very much present but very well integrated, giveng the wine more structure without being overbearing.

All in all, an excellent bottle of wine. Price is +/- $20, and while that may be more expensive than most people would expect to pay for a Beaujolais, this wine is a different animal altogether. Definitely worth the money and I would be curious to wee this wine in 4-5 years. I suspect it will be even better.

Once again...

This time from the San Francisco Chronicle. I can't get enough of these articles and what's more is the non-chalant attitude that permeates them. That's right, while criticizing 'the French' for their 'holier than thou' approach to wine they completely miss the point that the French (and myself included) are trying to make.

As others master Pinot Noir, Burgundy's mystique evaporates

At face value alone, the title is ridiculous. It assumes that people have actually 'mastered' Pinot Noir and secondly that all things Burgundian were/are simply a ruse pulled over on an unsuspecting public. Of course, this is ridiculous. From the article:

" Any lingering doubts about that were shattered in 1976 by the famous blind tasting organized by merchant Steven Spurrier in Paris, where French judges picked a 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon as superior to some of the finest French Bordeaux.

Burgundy lost any mystique it had for Chardonnay -- its main white grape -- in that same tasting, when a 1973 Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay beat white wines by some of Burgundy's most famous producers."

I have opined on more than one occasion about the real and perceived significance of wines that 'win' competitions. I know people like to throw the 1973 show-down around like the ultimate 'gotcha'. Anybody who has ever watched a sport, much less played one knows full well that on any given day, one 'team' can and will beat the 'better team'.

It was like Model-T winemaking," Jensen says of Burgundy's most famous estate, Domaine de la Romanee Conti, where he worked in 1970. "I was expecting to see fancy machines and space-age gimmicks. We punched the wine down with our feet. I saw there was no secret to Burgundy winemaking. They had limestone- derived soils, but their winemaking was very basic."

This is unbelievable. I invite you te read it again. Mr. Jensen openly admits that tinkerings in the vat room or laboratory have little if anything to do with the final product. Does this lend any credence to that crazy French notion of terroir?!?

"In Burgundy, they raise their prices no matter what kind of vintage it is," says Clyde Beffa, founder of Redwood City-based K & L Wine Merchants."

With all due respect Clyde, can't one say the same thing about California Cabernet?

There's a stubbornness in being unwilling to admit other countries are now making a very similar wine," says John Winthrop Haeger, author of "North American Pinot Noir" (University of California Press, 2004). "The Burgundians have long said they don't make Pinot Noir. They make Morey St.-Denis or Gevrey- Chambertin."

And right here, we get to the heart of the matter. To read the above statement, it sounds as if Mr. Haeger dismisses out-of-hand that which the French believe and do. The fact is that in Burgundy they do make Morey St.-Denis and Gevrey-Chambertin. This is a basic truth. And if you were to go through Burgundian reds from the Côte de Nuits down through the Côte Chalonnaise it would become very obvious that the wines are, in fact, very different.

Another treasure from the Languedoc

Heading home last night, I went into the cellar to find a bottle to go with dinner. It's one of the perks of owning the joint and truth be know, a main reason for opening my own retail space to begin with; to finance my obsession.

The bottle I chose was the Domaine Faillenc Sainte Marie Corbières Rouge 2003. I had only tasted this wine once before at a private tasting with importer Neal Rosenthal (ouch! just hurt my toe dropping names). Seriously though, I was invited to a tasting where Mr. Rosenthal was talking about the wines that he imports. Given the set-up and the number of wines we went through, I had no idea how long the bottles has been open before the wine got into my glass. As a general rule, even if I am really excited about a wine (such as this) I won't sell it until I have had a chance to sit with the wine and see how it performs over the course of a few hours. As far as Mr. Rosenthal goes, that is another post altogether. One that will be forthcoming soon.

Before I get into the wine, let me establish a little context. The appellation of Corbières lies in the southern part of France known as the Languedoc. This is the same general region that has been garnering a bit of attention as of late for their political protests. They should be getting more attention for their wines as well. Drink a few of them and you'll understand why they're pissed. Corbières is located more or less dead center between the towns of Narbonne to the east and Carcassone to the west. The appellation is disected north and south by the 'A61' and sits about fifteen mile inland from the Mediterranean Sea. Grower/producers who are both Forward-looking yet maintain a reverence for tradition are producing incredible wines from Corbières, Pic St. Loup, and Minervois just to name a few. If you have not dialed into this part of the world, you are missing out.

Domaine Faillenc Sainte Marie Corbières Rouge 2003


When reading 'more established' wine journals, one will often come across the word 'garrigue', used as a descriptor for the wines of the Languedoc and southern Rhône valley. Literally translated, the word means 'scrub' but as it pertains to wine, it is meant to encompass the multitude of 'shrubs' that proliferate in this part of France i.e. rosemary, lavander, sage, etc...

I can honestly say that I have not come across a better example of 'garrigue' in a wine than I did last night. Upon opening the wine was obviously tight. The nose gave off hints of rosemary and oak but what was initially the main aromatic (and one that stayed throughout the bottle) was a sometimes-not-so-subtle salinity. I wouldn't go so far as to say the wine smelled 'bloody' (a word that I have often used in reference to some Spanish reds) but it wasn't that far removed. The palate mirrored much of this and so the Financial Advisor and myself agreed to give it some time in glass.

After about 25-30 minutes, things began to loosen up a bit. Again, the glass smelled like I had taken a header into my herb garden. Rosemary (in particular the 'piney-ness' of the stems) , lavender, sage, basil, and still that 'salinity' that we started with. Upon further discussion, the F.A. and I decided it was more along the lines of black olive than blood. Be this the maritime influence or the probable presence of olive trees near the vineyard, it is similar to the 'eucalyptus' that people get all silly about in certain California Cabs. The palate began to open up as well yielding dark cherry, blackberry (sans the sweetness) and of all things, black olive. I'm sure this sounds disgusting to alot of people but I just call 'em like I see 'em.

At around an hour, the wine continued to unfold. The tannin which was quite high at the outset was becoming a bit more integrated but still very present. The palate was still progressing and the F.A. commented that it 'just keeps getting better and better'. The extreme heat of this vintage obviously had an impact of the final wine and as it was, I suspect that this wine has the legs to go at least 5-8 years in the cellar.

All this for the low, low sum of +/- $16.00?!?!? Like I said before, if you haven't checked this region out, you're missing out

There's gold in that thar hill!!

Or at least that's what a certain couple of folks think. Enter "semiconductor pioneer T.J. Rodgers and his longtime domestic partner Valeta Massey". These two are at the center of what looks to be a decent shit-storm in the town of La Honda. Their story is a timeless classic. Boy meets girl. Couple makes a load of cash and has to start spending it on something. The wine bug bites and ultimately they make the decision to get back to their (non-existent) wine-making roots. To quote Nathan Arizona, "Oh stop, I'm gonna bust out cryin'.

The SF Chronicle has a pretty good article on the matter here and I think the opening paragraph sums it up:

"A Silicon Valley millionaire couple's audacious plans to grow "the best Pinot Noir grapes in the world" on steep slopes in the Santa Cruz Mountains has set off a water war in the woodsy hamlet of La Honda."

Everyone has to have aspirations but this is getting a little carried away. Plus, as you get into the article, it seems that growing 'the best' is not really the mission, rather they will produce (read manufacture) the best, regardless.

I know, people are already getting giddy as schoolgirls just thinking about it. Before you sign away your first born for a spot on the mailing list, read on. The name of this joint is 'Clos de La Tech'. I just love the nod to their collective computer past but I fear something a little more sinister is at work.

You see, peoples' attention spans are awfully short these days and it is simply a matter of time before the 'Clos de' part is going to go the way of all flesh, leaving the moniker 'La Tech'. In an of itself, this is not all that bad, except when you think the place that does produce some of the finest Pinot Noir grapes in the world, the famed vineyard 'La Tâche' in Burgundy. Less you think I'm crazy, mark my words. Some moron will end up buying this thinking he got one hell of a deal.

Back to the 'grape-growing':

"The rows are tightly spaced and the vines are scrawny, with the aim of forcing small amounts of complexly flavored grapes from each small plant. Dense plantings of 1,500 or 2,000 vines per acre are standard, but Clos de la Tech has about 4,000 vines per acre.

With extreme slopes and rows too narrow for conventional farm equipment, a specially designed tractor that straddles the vines is lowered by cable from a trailer and controlled by a rider with a joystick. Tiny weather stations whir above the vines, monitoring conditions in individual planting blocks. The need for water is determined by measuring the water pressure within the plants.

Detailed records are kept on the health and fruit quality of the vines, whose parentage varies although all are Pinot Noir. Unsuccessful vines are to be chopped back and re-grafted, Massey said; the intention is to fit particular vines to the specific plot of soil they are best suited for."

Sounds like Darwin meets Cy-borg. At the risk of sounding like a luddite, all of this does take a bit of the romance out of the equation. And I'm a curious about the planting arrangement. According to the article and the pictures in it, the vines are running down the slope rather than side to side as is common practice in Germany and Alsace where growing on very steep slopes is common place. I would think there is a reason for this, and not just to ease the job of the harvesters. Isn't the point of 'terracing' to assist in the prevention of erosion and potential land slide? Maybe it's worth a phone call.

And then you have the folks of La Honda, who live at the base of this hill. It sounds like they have a pretty good argument going aginst this thing. 'La Tech' has admitted they are not going to farm organic and with recent weather patterns in California, I don't think it's all that unreasonable to fear the worst, a la Los Angeles this past February.

My uncle used to tell me and I remember it to this day:

"There are two things you need to know about plumbing. Payday's on Tuesday and shit rolls downhill."

Maybe it's time to move out of La Honda.

Is that a bunch of bologna in your pocket.....

or are you just really happy to be in the United States?

From the Savannah Morning News:

Border agents have beef with smuggled bologna

WASHINGTON -- The Homeland Security Department has a major beef with
845 pounds of bologna thaty a Mexican immagrant tried to smuggle into the country.

Border agents found the pork-based meat in suitcases on a bus stopped April 4 at a checkpoint north of Las Cruces, N.M.

Though the U.S. Agriculture Department has approved Mexican bologna imports, the meat nabbed in New Mexico was not refrigerated and was vunerable to health risks such as Classic Swine Fever, officials said Monday.

Agriculture specialists with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection destoyerd the bologna. The agency is part of the Homeland Security Department.

In case you think this is a joke, it was also reported on NPR this morning. And in doing a quick google, apparently this isn't the first time someone has tried to bring home the bologna, so to speak.

A couple of questions come to mind, straight-away.

1. WTF?!?!
2. What's so damn good about Mexican bologna?
3. If fried bologna (albeit American) smells so rank, how did no one on the bus notice nearly half a ton of the stuff stinking up the joint?
4. Not that I really need to know but just how exactly do you 'destroy' this much processed meat?


Wow.

A fine line?

Over the past few weeks there has been a great deal of ink poured over the trials and tribulations of the French wine industry. In particular, the actions of various grower associations. While it should be no surprise that Renée and Vincent tossing molitov cocktails at the Agriculture Department will grab a few headlines, there has not been all that much written as to the source of their frustrations.

For some reason I can't find the article which shed a little more light on the situation but the gist of it was this: The growers of the Languedoc are pissed because of the inaction of their Bordelais counterparts. Better said: Back in the nineties, the growers in the South of France saw the writing on the wall and reigned in the amount of land they had under vine. This meant ceasing many new plantings along with improving the existing vineyards they had. At the same time, the folks in Bordeaux were all slap-happy and planting vines anywhere they could. The result: Because of the A.O.C. designations, the grapes grown in Bordeaux are 'worth' more than those grown in the Languedoc. As such, the price the Languedoc folks can get for their produce is in the can. This is splitting hairs admittedly, because too many grapes is too many grapes, regardless of where they come from.

I, in no way condoning the Southerners tactics, can understand the rub.

Let us on to another part of the world. One that has been all the rage for some time now. That's right, good ole Australia. It seems that since [yellow tail] and all of its friends have been racking up the cash, every jack-hole down under is looking to put their 'folding money' into vines. As it turns out, not everybody is so excited about the prospect. Check it. I have opined before about what should be obvious to every corner of the world. That being 'Okay so you can grow some grapes. You can then probably make something that resembles wine. Who gives a shit?!? From the article:

"If these plantings proceed they could prolong this period of over-supply of grapes and also extend the period of lack of profitability in grape growing amongst existing growers," he said.

So maybe my friends across the pond aren't all that far off base. I suppose a few Aussies chucking 'Bloomin' Onions' at each other is less offensive than blowing shit up.

It's a fine line between genius and insanity.

Selling The Dream

In what has become a daily experience (sometimes hourly) I see things in the world of wine that simply piss me off to no end. This one might take the cake.

Crushpad Unveils ''My Cult Cab'' Program;
Wine Enthusiasts Can Now Create Their Own Cult Class Wines

Let me address the premise as it is stated. The reality is that wine enthustiasts CAN NOT make 'Cult Class Wines'. Seriously, my head is about to explode. Between this press release and their website, the entire concept is ridiculous.

"For the My Cult Cab program, Crushpad will source fruit only from luxury-class vineyards that have a proven history of producing spectacular, high-end Cabernet Sauvignons, scoring up to 99 points from The Wine Advocate."

At the risk of indicting the whole of my home country, the is so stereotypically 'American'. Just because Parker gave some wine from some vintage from some vineyard '99 points', it in no way means that you can replicate it, much less come anywhere close.

"This includes rigorous fruit sorting to remove imperfect berries; extended maceration, if required; superior barrel treatment including 100% new French oak and the use of finishing barrels."

This sounds like it came out of the Parker Digest of Winemaking. According to their website, your never-to-be/nobody-gives-a-shit 'Cult Cab' can see as much as '150% new French oak'. Can anyone explain how this is possible?

And just how much will it cost for your wife to become the next Heidi Peterson Barret?

"Pricing for My Cult Cab starts at $10,000 per barrel ($33 per bottle), compared to $3,900 to $5,900 per barrel for most Crushpad wines"

What a bargain!!! But if they only left it at that:

"The company was founded in 2004 by wine industry veterans and technology industry refugees determined to liberate winemaking from its traditional stereotypes of impossible wealth, expansive chateaus and golden retrievers."

Golden Retrievers?!?! WTF!!! I know this probably sounds like a good idea to a few people out there, but I ain't buying it.

Of course, people ask me all the time if I would ever want to own my own vineyard. My response: I'm better at emptying bottles than I am at filling them up.

Birds of a feather...

As per my previous post, I came across a new 'organization' Check them out here. It appears that they are based in California but not necessarily limited to there. Either way, I'm down with the premise. From their website:

Welcome to RAP—The Rosé Avengers and Producers. We’re an international group of winemakers and wine drinkers dedicated to righting the wrongs done to dry rosé. In Europe, they down copious amounts of pink wine, perhaps the most versatile of all food wines. But what gives in the States? Except for a handful of savvy drinkers, too many Americans would still rather buy a mediocre white or red instead of a great rosé. It’s bizarre.

I'll be keeping my eye on this and I truly hope that they can exact a change in John Q. Sixpack's mentality towards all things pink.

I know I am.

Drink this stuff

***Just thought I would be on the leading edge of what is sure to be about a million articles on all things Rosé***


This is without a doubt my single favorite time of year. Everything is in full bloom, the damned mosquitos are still at a minimum and the latest crop of Rosé begins to flow. That's right, it's Rosé time. And if you are one of those people that can't get your head past 'that pink stuff' you're a moron. And that's fine, it means more for me.

Over the last week, I have been enjoying a few different labels and figured that I would share my findings. Just for the record, let me dispell a few myths and lay down some basic truths:

1. 'All rosé is sweet'. This is simply ridiculous. Unless of course the last time you had anything 'blush' was in 1987. Rosé (and that is what it should be called) can and does run the gamut from bone dry to rather sweet. It is this jack-hole's opinion that the drier the better.

2. 'White Zinfandel is a grape'. Again, wrong. This was simply a moniker created to help in selling the crap that it is. And truth be known, it worked like a bastard. White Zinfandel (and all rosé for that matter) is the result of an abbreviated maceration of the skins and juice. Think of it this way, grapes are like people, all the color is in the skins. As such, the less time the juice and skins are in contact, the less transfer of color from one to the other. Rememeber, two of the three grapes used in the production of Champagne are 'black'. Yet the majority of Champagne consumed is 'white'. Magic?

3. 'Pink wine is for girls'. There are variations on this theme like 'Real men don't drink pink' or the one I heard just yesterday in my shop 'My momma told me never drink anything pink'. Well, your mom is an idiot and you are too for listening to her. Of course, the guy who said this won't buy French wine. He'll drink, just so long as someone else pays for it. Somehow, this makes sense to him. Here's my take: Who cares if pink wine is for girls? I like girls, albeit one in particular. And I like wine. Put the two together and how bad could it be?

Enough of that, let us on to the wines:

Château Routas 'Rouviere' Coteaux Varois 2004
Every time I think about reviewing a wine from this house, I feel like I will come across as the poster boy for Routas. The truth is they make very good wines. They also price their wines accordingly. Considering that most people don't know where the Var is (it's in Provence), Routas does not enjoy the cachet that other regions do, so prices are quite reasonable. 40% Grenache, 30% Syrah, and 30% Cinsault. Honestly, if I was afforded only one Rosé for the rest of my days, this would be it. First off, is the color. A beautiful hue of pink with a touch of orange. Absolutely translucent, it looks like spring. The aromatics come across with faint hints of rose petal and what I can best describe as unsweeted strawberries. The palate is very clean with flavors of light strawberry and cherry. The finish is bone dry (as any proper rosé should be) and the aftertaste, while existent is not cloying or cumbersome. Arguably the best wine for sitting on the porch watching the grass grow. I sell it for $13.00, but prices can/will vary depending on locale.

Sauvion Rosé d'Anjou 2003

Whereas, the Routas comes from Provence in the southeast of France, the Sauvion coms from the Loire Valley just south and west of the town of Angers. This wine is made from the grapes Gamay (yes, the same one in Beaujolais) and Grolleau. The color of this wine is a shade or two darker than the Routas due in part to different grapes as well as the vintage. 2003 was extremely hot and as such grapes were 'more ripe' than what one would normally expect. All in all the wine behaves very much like a rosé should though this wine has bit more to it. Across the board, the color, aromatics, and palate are 'amped up'. Again, probably more vintage specific than anything else, it is a curious alternative to the more tried and true rosés. The wine almost comes across with a hint of tannin, obviously something you would expect in a red wine more so than a rosé. To draw a comparison, while both are excellent food wines, the Routas is more like a reception rosé, the Sauvion will do better with the presence of some food. Expect to pay $11-$12 per bottle.

Domaine Vieux Chêne 'Cuvée Friande'
Vin de Pays de Vaucluse 2003
This wine has us heading back to the southeast of France, specifically in the southern Rhône valley. The Vaucluse is putting out some amazing wines made from the usual suspects of the Rhône (Grenache, Syrah, etc..) but without the sticker price of more well-known appellations like the Côtes-du-Rhône, Gigondas, Lirac and so on. Vieux Chêne farms all of their vineyards organically, always a plus. The first thing that one notices about this wine is the color. It is a very dark, bordering on what you would think a red wine should look like while still remaining translucent. As with the Sauvion, this is more because of vintage and grape. Made from 100% Grenache, it behaves more like a red wine than a rosé. Aromatics are tight and concetrated, exhibiting similar traits as the other two, just more wound up. Not exactly my cup of tea when looking for a rosé, but for $10-$11, what the hell? I have had far worse wines for more money.

Alabama 101

A prime of example of what kind of fun stuff goes on in L.A. (that's local talk for 'Lower Alabama'). Here's the entire article:

A Mobile woman has been jailed on charges accusing her of driving her vehicle into two cars and a pedestrian before fleeing on foot, bringing along her 6-year-old son while carrying a bottle of wine.

Police Cpl. Marcus Young said Yanique Mauldin, 32, abandoned her vehicle and ran from officers Sunday afternoon.

Mauldin, who is already on probation for an assault conviction in 2004, was held on charges including felony leaving the scene of the accident, resisting arrest and misdemeanor DUI.

Police said the three accidents occurred about 5 p.m. on Airport Boulevard. No one was hurt in the two vehicular wrecks, but Luis Garcia, 45, of Mobile was injured and taken to a hospital after being struck in a parking lot.

Young said Mauldin also received tickets for driving on an expired license and for having no proof of insurance.

So, No Insurance, No License, No Brains.

I have to say that I'm surprised she remembered the kid.

Out of sight, out of mind

Just in case you needed one more reason not to drink the wines of Gallo, here you go:

Farmworkers lived in squalor in raided Windsor house

To be fair, it seems that the dudes living in this joint 'used' to work at Gallo, so there you go. Some of the amemities of the casa:

"The walls and floors were ripped, scarred and dirty. Exposed wiring ran throughout. The septic system had failed, and sewage puddled on the ground...."

The workers, employed by Fresno labor contractor Israel Gonzales, who rented the house, cooked on propane camp stoves indoors, Pantazes said. They slept on mattresses in all five rooms of the three-bedroom, one-bath house at the northwest corner of Highway 101 and Shiloh Road. They bathed with a garden hose outside.

Sounds like a little piece of paradise to me. One question though: Was the garden hose included in the rent?

"On Monday, a construction crew hired by the owner of the property, Sonoma County hotelier Niten "Nick" Desai, sifted through piles of waste. They secured leaking batteries and open containers of engine oil. They loaded hundreds of pounds of debris into an industrial garbage container."

"Desai said he did not know how many people were living at the house and had no idea of the condition of the property, which he had rented to Gonzales for three years. He said he never visited the property because Gonzales never complained and always paid the rent on time. Desai declined to say how much the rent was."

Is it that hard to understand why the rent was paid on time without complaints?!?! I'll tell you why, because the bastard paying the rent wasn't living there. But it doesn't end there:

"Labor officials said Gonzales' license as a labor contractor had been revoked in the past and he was working under a permit held by his daughter Alondra Gonzales."

"That license was revoked Thursday after the raid on grounds Gonzales did not have Department of Labor permission to provide worker housing. The 29 men were left without an employer. Gallo officials said they would try to find housing and jobs for the men, Fryer said."

That's right. Twenty-nine people were living in this shithole. And Gallo (or anybody else for that matter) had no idea?!?! This is simply unbelievable. Doing a quick reference on Yahoo.com maps yielded the following:

From Gallo's tasting room: 8.3 miles - 11 minutes travel time

From DeLoach: 6.7 miles - 11 minutes travel time

From Kendall-Jackson's 'Wine Country Store' :8.2 miles - 10 minutes travel time

From Rodney Strong: 5.2 miles - 7 minutes travel time

The point is this. Does anyone honestly believe that out of the umpteen thousands of people that travel to this little neck of the woods, not to mention the ones that live and work there, no one noticed 29 people bathing themselves with a friggin' garden hose?

Maybe all that jive about cracking down on the 'illegals' is just that. Or maybe it's about the old saying 'Out of sight, out of mind'.

When keeping it 'real' goes wrong

All respect to the Chappelle Show, but I had to borrow the title. It simply sums this thing up:

Demonstrators in Bordeaux take action against André Lurton

In the latest of a string of 'political demonstrations', groups of growers from the south of France have taken out their frustrations on a bunch of vines.

"In this case, vines were symbolically pulled up on Monday outside the prominent Bordeaux owner's Entre deux Mers estate, Chateau Bonnet."

Of all the properties that Monsieur Lurton and his family own (among them Château Dauzac in Margaux, Châteaux Couhins-Lurton, Cruzeau, Rochemonn, and La Louvière in Pessac-Leognan, and many others the world 'round), I must admit that I find it somewhat curious that Bonnet would be the go-to estate. I would hazard a guess that of all the houses, Bonnet commands the lowest price per bottle. At least here in Georgia.

'Lurton represents the new class of producers who are omnipresent throughout the world and damaging our local industry, making it harder and harder for young winemakers to be successful,' said Pierre Andron, organiser of today's action and part of radical farmer José Bové's La Confederation Paysanne.

I must take some exception to this statement. I am curious how it is the André Lurton is single-handedly keeping the young winemakers 'down'. True, he has done rather well for himself. But it is not him alone. It is his two sons that have embarked on 'expanding the empire', so to speak. And it is his sons that have done more, in my opinion, at 'homogenizing' the wines that they put their names on.

With that said, I sold (off and on) the wines of Château Bonnet for about the last 5 years. I can most certainly say that I have seen a marked change in what ends up in the bottle. Initially, the wines, especially the white were exactly what they should be. Nice, dry, daily drinkers. And the pretty much still are. The big difference is that the Entre-duex-Mers now tastes like a dead-ringer for a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. LAst time I checked a map, those two places were not any where near each other.

And if that is the crux of the protest, I can agree to a certain extent. Although I'm not sure that ripping some vines out of the ground really proves anything to that end. Rather, these people look like a bunch of clowns beating up on a defense-less plant.

When is a town a town?

And as a follow-up, what laws can a non-town enforce on its non-residents? Yet another fine example of the post-neo-prohibition movement in this country, but even better.

Musty law aims to cork winery

These arguments amaze me every time they come up, but this one is simply unbelievable. The long and short of it is that there's a winery 'in them thar hills', and some people don't like it.:

"The town of 3,000 people in the heart of Colorado's fruit orchards is the state's only dry town, having voted nearly 40 years ago to prohibit the retail sale of wine and liquor. Only 3.2-percent beer is allowed."...

"The town of Orchard City could be held up as a model for contradictions. Incorporated in 1912 in order to float a water bond, the town eventually annexed the communities of Austin, Cory and Eckert, which have their own post offices and their own ZIP codes. Orchard City never built a post office, so it doesn't have a ZIP code."

"We're for real even though you can't find us," said Huerkamp."

"The town has no schools, no traffic lights, no sidewalks and no police force. Because it provides no services, it has neither sales nor property taxes."

And if that weren't enough, here comes the ringer:

"We're not trying to wreck this man's business. We'd like to find a cooperative solution to this," (emphasis T.t.S.)

Wow.

The High Priestess of Genius-ness

I seriously wonder if there is a preson alive that can top this woman. Of all the idiotic things that I have read, this one takes the cake. From the title, I have to wonder if she actually wrote this herself. My instincts (or the first two words in the title) tell me that she didn't, some monkey did. But considering that she did deliver these words to a crowd of fellow monkeys is simply amazing.

Prepared Remarks
for
Juanita D. Duggan
President and CEO, WSWA
2005 WSWA Annual Convention and Exposition
April 11, 2005
Orlando

To read this address, one has to wonder if she is a Southern Preacher during her off-time. It reads with all the fire and brimstone that certain evangelists employed in times gone by. I highly recommend reading the entire thing, although I don't blame you if you can't get through it. Some of the gems:

"As an industry, we have always understood our moral obligation to ensure that this sort of thing does not happen - that we know who is selling what to whom, in what quantity, and that alcohol is not put into the hands of people who are not supposed to drink. It's the right thing to do."

Well, she wastes no time whatsoever wheeling out the 'high horse', does she? I can't get enough of the whole 'moral obligation' bit. Just one question about that Ms. Duggan: Just exactly how do the Jager girls fit in with that M.O.?

"Consider the recent presidential election that turned on the question of values and morality. Voters made it very clear they want to be able to protect their families from some elements of American culture. Just as they always have, they once again validated the rationale for controlling alcohol."

Yet another classic move that gets me all giddy inside, regardless of how many times I see it done. The timeless 'Bring up something that has nothing to do with you and then twist it to your advantage'. Put aside your personal politics for about a minute and think about this. The past election was a choice between a clown and a monkey. Regardless of the outcome, it's going to be peanuts for everyone. The only question is what kind: The creepy orange ones that are sold at gas stations or the ones covered in poo and flung at you by some angry lemurr. I'm sorry Ms. Duggan, but the 2004 election had nothing to do with you or your industry. I know you wish it did, but it didn't.

"And that's precisely why we need to preserve it. It's not sales or margins that are at stake. It's our moral credibility. Divorcing ourselves from the moral center is a recipe for disaster."

Really? You're not concerned about sales or margins in the slightest. She stops just short of the golden rule: 'We do it for the children'.

This is the header from their website:


Thank God we got that settled. I always thought it was Mr. Jack Daniels and Mr. Basil Hayden along Samuel Smith and John Courage that were bringing those good times.

I stand corrected. Thank You WSWA

Genius of the week nominee

So it's been a while since someone stepped up to the plate and swung for the fences. This guy may have knocked one out:

When Hang Time Hangs You Up

From the looks of it, Mr. Morgan is a regular contributor to the venerable monthly tome that is The Wine Entusiast. If this is the best they've got, you may want to take your five bucks and throw it out the window. You'll get better insight. Or maybe the Enthusiast ought to give me a call.

Straight-away, there is this comment:

"The Controversy over ripeness levels in california winegrapes bothers some growers, critics and enologists - but delights fans of lush, fruit-forward wines."

So who is one to believe? I mean, its obvious that the growers, critics, and enologists have a severe bias, right? So they are not to be trusted. And beware the fool who questions the almighty consumer. As I have stated before, most people don't know jack about wine or anything else for that matter. Well, maybe pop culture, but precious little more than that. There seem to be real concerns about the effects of longer hangtime on the health of the vine, the subsequent wines produced from said grapes, and yes, the monetary effect of such practices on growers. I have little patience for this kind of 'devil-may-care' attitude that permeates this entire article. Mr. Morgan's response:

"This, of course, is pretty much nonsense. Twenty years ago, the average price per ton of California red wine grapes was barely $175. At that time, if someone had told grower and seminar organizer Andy Beckstoffer he would be paid the $6,000-plus per ton he now gets for his choicest Cabernet Sauvignon, he wouldn’t have believed it."

And so I must ask you, Mr Morgon, if twenty years ago someone told you that you'd be paying $2.50 for a gallon of regular gasoline, would you have believed them? In 1982, Conan the Barbarian came out. Could you have possibly imagined this guy would be elected Governor of California? I doubt it. And speaking of twenty years ago, weren't they still 'giving' land away out there? You can't buy a wide spot in the road now for less than $500k/acre!

"Today, all the best growers get top dollar for their grapes, even though they might lose a little tonnage to the shrivel factor. But that shrivel factor is the key to the current style of winemaking so popular among consumers and winemakers: Ultraripe grapes produce the lush, supple wines that have become the hallmark of Napa Valley Cabernet. Some say these wines are too alcoholic—the fermentation result of grapes that contain too much sugar." (Emphasis T.t.S.)

Is there a finer example of the tail wagging the dog? Of course there are exceptions, but if you drink most of these wines, it becomes very obvious that these wines were 'made' to cater to the 'current style'. This is incredibly short-sighted and ultimately silly. And just in case you forgot, this wasn't always the case in California. I have been fortunate to have had some older Cabs from California (mid-late 70's) and the wines are holding up quite well. I'm sure this has nothing to do with the grapes being harvested before Halloween and finished wines with alcohol levels in the 12-13 percent range. Only coincidence, right?

"The one wine the attending sommeliers fought over after the tasting was Harlan Estate."

To use Harlan as some sort of indication of the rest of California Cabernet is simply an exercise in journalistic masturbation. Kudos for getting into the Parker tasting, the rest of the world has no clue what you're talking about.

"It makes sense to me. Taste Cabernet grown in a cooler climate such as New York or Chinon, in France’s Loire Valley. These wines can be tasty, but they are marked by herbal notes that would be inappropriate to Napa Valley."

This one is unbelievable. First off, the Cabernet that is at home in Chinon is of the clan 'Franc' not 'Sauvignon'. I trust you know this and it was simply your editor that let this one slip by. Secondly, I have found far more 'herbal notes' in New World Cab Franc than I have ever found in any Chinon. This is likely due to poor growing and vinification i.e. a winemaker treating Cab Franc like Cab Suav. This is not all the far removed from most California attempts at Viognier. Newsbreak: It isn't Chardonnay. Don't treat it as such. And lastly, how is it that those 'herbal notes would be inappropriate to Napa Valley'? Honestly, I don't even know what that means.

" Aside from Smart’s occasional acerbic barbs (“Winemakers are not people. Yeast are winemakers.”),..."

Technically, he is 100% correct. I know egos throughout the world are being crushed but..

"Frankly, I’m so tired of that debate. Ultimately, proof of quality is in the bottle. If a wine tastes great, who cares what the alcohol level is?"

You're right, the proof is in the bottle. The down side is that by the time you reach the end of the bottle, you may have a bit of trouble remembering how it started.

I knew there was a reason I stopped reading this magazine. Thanks for the reminder.

Another point of view.

Checking up on the other wine blogs, it seems that once again I have been beaten to the punch so to speak.

Tom at Fermentations had this to say about the same article in my previous post.

Another reasoned commentary and maybe another reason to dump blogger.com.

Good work.

Scoop or poop? Who knows?

With the Supreme Court decision concerning interstate shipping, get ready for another rash of articles questioning the role of the wholesaler as it pertains to the delivery of not only wine but all forms of alcohol.

I came across this article from the L.A. Times (subscription needed but is relatively painless). It is pretty well written and as per usual, the L.A. Times affords the article a decent amount of ink. Something that I find generally lacking. And as per usual, I have a few problems with some of the things put forth:

"Some of the country's largest retailers and beverage companies are challenging the wholesalers' power in courts and state capitols. Some want to deal directly with each other, cutting out the middleman, which they say will lead to lower prices for consumers."

Before reading the rest of this, put aside whatever politics you believe in and think this through. I would agree that on face value, the absence of a wholesaler (middle man) should lead to lower prices for the consumer. But there are not so subtle differences between should, would, and could.

In talking to some of my clients that currently order wine direct from wineries, it seems that they aren't really saving all that much money in doing so, as opposed to buying the wine through the normal channels. Of course, the initial bottle cost looks attractive but once you add in the shipping rates it almost evens out. It seems the biggest advantages to ordering direct are two-fold:

1. The buyer is more or less guaranteed to get whatever single-vineyard or special cuvée that they desire.

2. The buyer will more than likely get said bottles before one who goes to the local bottle shop. That said, I'm not sure what the value is for being the first on the block.

In light of these two points, it seems that the wineries have figured out a simple truth: If you're willing to pay $60 for some wine at your local bottle shop, you're probably willing to pay the same straight from the horse's mouth. But I thought this was about the evil wholesalers lining their pockets? - you say. Well, I would freely grant the idea that some of the wholesalers (at least here in Georgia) are most definitely evil and are making very good money. But to suggest that in their absence the overall pricing is going to dramatically fall is wishful thinking at best. Rather, I suspect that one might see a minor change in pricing with the majority of the 'wholesale mark-up' going to one of the tow remaining parties. One less check to cut, so to speak.

"Because Washington adheres to the three-tier system, it prohibits direct purchases from breweries and wineries outside the state. Moreover, it requires wholesalers to charge all retailers the same price, whether they are buying the products a case at a time or by the pallet load. And it doesn't allow Costco to purchase on credit, despite the chain's healthy credit rating from Standard & Poor's." (emphasis T.t.S)

These two statements are incredible. Maybe things are different in Washington State but here's how it works in Georgia. First off, the pricing is not the same for everyone. Restaurants generally get a different pricing than the retailers do, even more so if the wine is being poured BTG (by the glass). Secondly, when a joint is buying a pallet load of wine, you can be damned sure they aren't paying top dollar for it. Or they very well may be, this article just doesn't talk about the other 1/2 pallet that shows up free of charge. That's right, the wonderful world of free goods. Remember that next time some clown gives you the old line about '10% off case purchase'. They didn't pay for a fair bit of the 100 cases of Yellowtail they have stacked up to the ceiling. They're not doin you any real favor. They're making money on top of money. Or better said, 'free money'. Secondly, I don't know of anywhere that permits alcohol sales to be recieved 'on credit'. It may exist but I've never heard of it. I would think the reasons for this to be relatively obvious, but may be not. It's easier to get a gun in most states than a retail wine license, so why would you think you could just whip out the old AmEx and instantly stock your wine shop. Suppose you go out of business?

"Alcohol has to be treated as a special product because when it is misused it causes devastating social consequences," she said.

Mark Anderson, executive director of the Ohio Liquor Control Commission, said "preventing excessive consumption of alcohol" was one of the considerations behind his state's regulations.

WTF?!?!? Could anyone, and this is an open invitation for anyone to explain to me how the presence of a wholesaler effects the potential 'mis-use' or 'excessive consumption' of anything much less alcohol?

"I don't think anybody wants to see a situation in the alcoholic beverage industry where there are 15 brands on the floor and no one else," she said.

Is that what you really think? At the risk of sounding like Mr. Nossiter (and I haven't seen the movie yet), just wait. That time is just around the corner. Between the consolidation in the industry and the total lack of soul and passion that most wineries seem to have these days, it's simply a matter of time.

With all of this said, I don't think for a second that the wholesalers are going anywhere fast. Their roots go too deep and regardless of the Supreme Court's opinion, whatever changes are to come, they will be nominal at best.

Spreading the Good Word.

Last Wednesday, Tom Wark and I had the opportunity to speak with Lynn Krielow Chamberlain, she of WineFairy.com. An interesting discussion of blogs and wine, you can click here for the dialer and then get the show in streaming audio. It is also available through iTunes and Live365.

Check it out and let me know if I made any sense.

Thanks to Tom for the recommendation and thanks to Lynn for the arena of discussion.

This just in....

blogger.com sucks.

I haven't been able to post anything for three days, which may or maynot be a good thing. Either way, I am going to be changing this up in the near future.

As they say, 'You get what you pay for'.

The beginning of the end?

I make no claim of understanding the ins and outs of the institutional banking industry but there are a few things that pique my curiousity about it. Among them are the 'talking head' shows that proliferate cable television, generally on Saturday mornings. There is also one network here that dedicates all of its programming to business, money, the business of money, and the amount of money business makes. I find myself watching these shows and wonderng to myself, 'Why the hell are these people giving free advice on the next 'hot' stock? Of course, there's a saying about these kinds of things: 'Nothing's free but the air, and it's polluted'.

Couple with that my general view of complete jaded-ness and I start to think that the tip about ACME, INC. or whatever corporation was probably a really good idea about 2 weeks ago.

Wine tipped to mix with super

From what I've been able to gather, the Asutralian 'Superannuation Fund' seems to be more less our 'Mutual Fund'. And according to the article:

"We think there'll be a big move into institutional investment in big vineyards,"

Could this be similar to what happened with Mondavi? I remember reading somewhere that Bob went on record saying more or less that 'going public' was one of the biggest mistakes that Mondavi Corp. made. Sure, it raised all sorts of money that may/may not have been available but it seems that once Wall Street gets involved, bad things are inevitable.

I'm sure the logic is that since Australia is 'cleaning up' in wine sales both here and the U.K. it is a no-brainer to start investing your retirement fund. I would be a little worried about all of that. First off, Australia has seen tremendous growth over the past 5-8 years, but there is a maximum to everything, isn't there. Second, the vast majority of this growth has been in the 'entry-level' price point for wine sales. Unless some serious changes are made, I foresee Australia becoming the benchmark for least-common denominator wines. And how many ways are there to skin that cat?

In a mad, mad world....A ray of logic?

At least that's what it started out sounding like:

No dodgy medals on wine labels

Yep. It seems that the folks down under have seen the light as it pertains to wineries slapping all sorts of (more or less) meaningless 'medals' on their bottles of wine.

"Under a Winemakers Federation of Australia code of practice to take effect from this year's vintage, gold, silver and bronze medals displaying sponsorships or anniversaries, or awards from obscure wine shows, will not be allowed."

I have commented more than once or twice on this practice and I'm glad to see that I am no longer alone in my thinking. As I've said in the past, there are a few 'competitions' whose judgement on the wine might actually be an indication of the quality inside the bottle. However, there are these sorts of functions every other week and obviously not every wine fair has a fair representation of the wines available in the market place. The point? How much is that 'gold medal' really worth when there were three Chardonnays in the competition? Not much, in my book.

This all points to good until:

"Producers may indicate other awards or promotions on wine labels, but they must be differentiated from show medals by way of shape and colour," Mr Strachan said.

Oh well, it was worth the effort. The obvious response to this legislation will be along the lines of an oval medal instead of round or a gold ribbon, etc...

Maybe this will take root in other regions. One can only hope. I say keep the labels as junk free as possible and save your medals for the website. If your wine is as good as you think it is, people will do the research on their own.

What is your life worth?

It may be somewhat of a rhetorical question but one that everyone should ponder once in a while. Scanning the news from around the globe, I came across this article:

Growers prepare to cast ballots on sharpshooter 'tax'

The long and short of it is that apparently the vast majority of funding for research on the glassy-winged sharpshooter and the joy that it brings - Pierce's disease - comes from a 'self-imposed' tax that the grape growers pay. From the article:

"Grapegrowers are currently assessing themselves up to $3 per $1,000 of crop value to fund research...

Three buck per thousand?!?! Doing a little mathematics that bring the effective tax rate for said research to a whopping 0.3%. Just to put that into perspective, the current sales and use tax in Napa (i.e. the additional amount you have to pay on top of the $2.00 for a Big Mac) is 7.75%.

I need more taxes like a hole in the head but seriously, is this the maximum that the growers are willing to put towards research on the very thing that could quite literally 'kill' their business? In their defense, I'm sure they have enough to deal with like workman's comp, irrigation, general labor, excessive hangtime that dehydrates fruit and lowers 'real' weight, etc... Couldn't some sort of shared expense be arranged? I would hope that the wineries don't have their heads so far up their barrels as to ignore the obvious impact of Pierce's disease.

"There's a small upside if you don't spend the money," said Graves. "On the other hand, the upside of spending the money is you don't get your business wiped out.

That 'small' upside Mr. Graves is talking about is having an extra couple hundred bucks in your pocket to put towards the U-hual and get your ass out of town.

I know it's a stretch to imagine, but why not drop a dime to the folks across the pond. I'm sure they would be all too willing to explain the consequences of ignoring a little bug.

As the saying goes, History doesn't repeat itself, people jsut keep making the same mistakes.

Impromptu Tasting/Critique

Towards the end of a rather busy day at the shop yesterday, one of my sales reps stopped in to catch up. As he was leaving, he asked what I had planned for the rest of the evening. He then invited me over to his house to drink a bt of the juice. A couple of other folks were coming over and he was curious as to how one of his wines was holding up. An hour later, we were pulling corks.

The host's bottle was a Ravenswood Zinfandel 'Cooke Vineyard' 1994. The other couple showed up with a ZD Pinot Noir 'Carneros' Reserve 2002. Admittedly, niether of these would have been my first choice, but what the hell? I spend most of time drinking the wines of France and and the rest of Europe, so why not check out what the folks in California are (or were) up to?

Upon initial inspection of the Ravenswood, the bottle appeared to be in 'perfect' condition. Ullage (the French term for the fill level in the bottle) looked to be right were it was upon release. Back then (and maybe still) Ravenswood used a shorter capsule, much like those found on wines from Ridge. I've never gotten the scoop as to why these shorter capsules are used but in any event, it allows one to see a fair bit of the cork, albeit the wine side it. As such, the cork looked to be doing its job rather well. No streaking up the sides, and it was saturated about as far as one would expect a wine of 11 years to be. Things are looking good.

As the host was decanting the wine, discussion headed towards the 1994 vintage and our recent experiences with wines from the year. I offered that my experiences have been nothing but bad ones. Multiple bottles from various producers including Ridge (Montebello), Rutz Cellars (two different single vinyards), and some stuff from Truchard. And may different grapes as well, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel. Without exception, they have all shown one thing: 'These wines are for drinking...ageing, not so much.' Add to that list, the Ravenswood.

Going into the decanter, the wine yielded very little sediment. Somewhat surprising as I always thought Joel Peterson (former owner) afforded his single vineyard wines a little bit more room for expression. I suspect that the wine was relatively well fined and more than likely filtered before bottling. Inititially, the aromatics were extremely tight. This is to be expected as the wine had been locked up for 11 years. The most dominant aspect of the nose was the alcohol. The label indicated a paltry 14.3%. I would challenge most winemakers to make a Zinfandel with such low alcohol in today's environment. I suspect it would be rather difficult. The palate was very similar to the nose, wound up, almost no fruit to speak of. The color of the wine, while translucent, was somewhat rusty. There was a particluar 'cloudiness' to the wine. It didn't look as if the wine was breaking down, so to speak, but it had nowhere near the color and concentration that one would expect to find in even the most average Zinfandel.

The consensus was that the wine was gone or heading that way, so we decided to let it sit in the decanter for a bit and went on to the ZD Pinot Noir 'Carneros' Reserve 2002. I had the pleasure of having lunch with the owners of ZD a few years ago, and greatly appreciated their time and attention. For those of you who don't know, the 'ZD' is an abbreviation of the words 'Zero Defects' and that is supposedly what the mantra of the winery is. I should say that for the most part, their goal was achieved. However, I should qualify that. Here goes:

This wine is a prime example of everything that is wrong about California Pinot Noir.I'm sure that by simply reading those words, heads are exploding all over the world. I know, I know, the movie Sideways changed your whole reality and now you are totally obsessed with all things Pinot Noir. Here's a bit of advice: Get over it. If you want to learn about Pinot Noir, I can't think of a worse place to start than in California.

There was very little, short of the two words on the front label that was remotely similar to that which is Pinot Noir. The wine, both straight-away and after an hour in the decanter smelled and tasted like a syrah. So much so that were I to taste the wine blind, I might have thought it to be an entry-level Crozes-Hermitage. The aromatics gave off the tell-tale barnyard (read: cowshit) smell that, either by way of terroir or poor winemaking, I closely associate with the wine of the southern Rhône valley of France. The palate was almost the same with tannins that were so up front and in your face, they nearly eclipsed the 'fruit' in the wine. The entire bottle seemed to scream 'Look what the winemaker can do!' or 'Look at me! or quite simply, 'I have been affected'. Utterly devoid of any subtlety, this is a classic case of a wine that was made to show. The only problem is that it showed everything but a soul. And at the risk of getting all misty-eyed, it is soul that I look for in any wine, but most especially, Pinot Noir.

Back to the Ravenswood. After an hour and a half, the wine began to 'open up'. Of course, this is a relative term because the atrophy that had already set in was winning the battle. A slight core of cherry fruit in the mid palate was almost immediately wiped away by the harsh tannins that seemed to be the only thing keeping the wine together. The acidity and alcohol were still quite high, remeniscent of something far more Italian than anything else. In fact, the cheese that was being served seemed to be the only thing around that could top the wine. When taken together, the bite of the white cheddar actually made the Zin taste 'somewhat' fruity.

I'm sure it sounds like I had a miserable time, but in fact it was quite intersting. As I said before, it has been some time since I've had the opportunity to drink wines like this, so it's good to do some research.

Lesson of the day: Drink your .94's and California Pinot still sucks.

The Marginalization Will Be Televised!!!

As well as written about in every possible medium. I hope that it comes as no surprise whatsoever that I have absolutely no patience for this kind of crap:

Here in spirit(s): Elvis-inspired wines making a splash

Let me start by saying that I take serious exception to the notion that 'E' himself had anything to do with 'inspiring' these wines. His mug on the front label of millions of bottles of crap? That's money in the bank. And as we know, money inspires all sorts of things.

"We launched Graceland Cellars as a tribute to the King of Rock 'n' Roll," said Scott Cahill, president of Graceland Cellars' parent, Signature wines. The winery is in Hayward, Calif., a northern coastal area. "But while the soul of our company is in Memphis, our products are firmly planted in innovative California winemaking."

A tribute? And what's this bit about your 'soul' being in Memphis? From looking at the Signature Wines website, it appears that the whole M.O. of Signature is to make whatever someone else wants. Soul, huh?

"Getting Elvis Presley Enterprises to allow them to use the trademark took time and assurance of a quality product, he said. "We couldn't ask for a better partner than Elvis Presley Enterprises. People feel a real connection to Elvis and that opens the doors to our wines. The quality in the bottle is what brings them back."

I know this might be like splitting hairs but honestly, even if you wanted to, could you have asked for a better partner. I mean, there is only one Elvis Presley Enterprises, right? And as far as that quality thing goes, I suppose this only goes to show that 50,000,000 Elvis fans can indeed, be wrong.

" Blue Suede Chardonnay, Jailhouse Red Merlot, and The King Cabernet Sauvignon will have a suggested retail price of $12 a bottle."

These names are great. If they were truly inspired by The King himself, they would be carrying names like 'Codeine Cabernet', 'Methaqualone Merlot', and 'B-Loaded Chardonnay'.

For the record, Elvis' recording of 'Blue Moon ' is seriously one of the finest songs ever recorded. With that said, Junior Parker smokes the Pelvis when it comes to the song 'Mystery Train'.

The Big Five...um, make that six

I had heard some rumbings that something like this might be in the works. Apparently, the rumor mill actually works once in a while:

Sixth Premier Cru to be added in Bordeaux

For those of you to whom this means little if anything, let me explain. In 1855, the wines of the Left Bank were 'classified' in order from one ('Premiers Cru' or First Growth) to five ('Cinquèmes Crus' or 'Fifth Growth'). This ranking was based on both the qualitative differences between the wines and the prices that said wines commanded for the prior 100 years. This organization, generally known as 'The 1855 Classification' has been in place ever since and among other things, has played a pivotal role in the pricing of the wines of Bordeaux. To put it simply, the 'First Growths' set their prices and everyone else down the ladder sets their prices accordingly. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule but for the most part it works. The idea being that in good vintages, everybody prospers. And in vintages of lesser quality, the wines are priced to match. Unfortunately, this 'lowering' of prices does not always occur at the rate some of us would like to see, but it seems to be a far better system than what most of the rest of the world subscribes to. In California, the mindset seems to be 'Get it while you can, because if you don't charge $12,000 for your Cab, you neighbor will.' I digress...

'For the 150th anniversary of the 1855 classification the Union des Grands Crus Classes de Bordeaux will announce this month it has been examining three potential candidates to join the ranks of the First Growths.'

Just reading this, I began to get excited. Not because of what will be the inevitable : A second growth becoming even more unaffordable than it already is. No, I am excited because I am curious to see what the Union deems 'worthy' of the knod. I have my recommendation, but they stopped calling me for advice a while back.

'Speculation is rife as to which of the properties are likely candidates for promotion. Most insiders privately agree that the winner is likely to be one of the so-called 'Super Seconds' - Cos d'Estournel, Montrose, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Leoville Las-Cases, and Palmer (a third growth, but considered a second growth by virtue of its price and quality)'

Well, they listed of my candidates straight away.

Let me go on record right now: The winner is (or should be) Cos d'Estournel

The other two, Montrose and Ducru are probably worthy, but I for one feel Cos is operating at a different level. With that said, Palmer should most definitely be promoted to a Second Growth. If this were to happen:

1. All parties would get the respect they deserve.

2. St. Estèphe would finally get footing with its neighbors to the south. Admittedly, Lafite is about 1/3 of a mile away, but the line has to be drawn somewhere.

3. The addition of Palmer to the list of Second Growths would concrete their status relative to the remaining houses.

It will most definitely be interesting to see who makes the cut.

We'll know by the end of the month.