Christina Applegate Christina DaRe Christina Milian Christina Ricci
Friday, July 1, 2011
Mother Nature & Wine Country: The Interview
The weather in Northern California this spring has been terrible. Cold and wet. There's lots of complaining out there. In an attempt to understand what is going on I thought it advisable to go directly to the source. After considerable...
Wine Revelations, Power Grabs, Numbers, Battles and Events
Thinking About... THE REVELATION Upon reading Anthony Lane's remarkably thoughtful analysis of Terrence Malik's new film, The Tree of Life, in The New Yorker, it finally hit me why wine critics likely won't rise to the quality challenge laid down...
Christina Aguilera Christina Applegate Christina DaRe Christina Milian
Wine Politics and Silly Season Go Local in Oregon
Weary from HR 1161 and national wine politics? Don’t look to Oregon for respite. There, its silly season for local politics and it’s wearing the patience of the well-intentioned causing furrowed brows as an assault against reason takes place.
By nearly universal account, Ed King, founder of King Estate in Lane County in the southern Willamette Valley, has built something from nothing – with vision and moxie he has created the largest winery in Oregon. His is an internationally renowned, sustainable, certified organic estate winery on a 1033 acre property in an area that didn’t have much going for it when he started in 1991.
Planted to 465 acres of grapes and another 35 acres in fruits, vegetables and flowers, King Estate is an exemplar of respecting the land as an ecosystem, supporting farm-to-table cuisine as a way of life (before it became trendy), job creation with a staff of over 200 and a payroll of over $5M a year (nurturing a local economy in the process) while paying heed to the so-called, “Triple Bottom Line” – the notion that a business can be profitable, people-oriented and environmentally sound (this interactive map gives insight into the management of the estate).
In fact, King Estate achieved what many aspire to, but few attain in the wine business: The creation of a national brand that doesn’t compromise on its core values of agricultural stewardship. Editorial note to Ed King: Start name-checking obscure literature reference points, footnote your missives and hire Randall Grahm’s PR apparatus to super-size your well-deserved mojo.
Yet, despite being a beacon of light for how to run a business, King Estate finds itself in the middle of a political sticky wicket from land use advocates.
A tiny operation, the Goal One Coalition is a public interest group that serves to mobilize citizens on issues related to global warming and a “limited number” of land use issues. My interpretation of, “limited number” means they get their knickers in a twist at least once a year on a minor issue that justifies their existence in the annual report.
Using McCarthyism as a tactic, Goal One has picked a fight with King Estate and the nexus of the issue is a case study in the pointless nature of most politics, absent reason and distinctly partisan in nature. Let it be said that sometimes a democracy is a drawback, nothing ever gets accomplished in a committee and while all opinions are equal, some are more equal than others.
You see, King Estate had the temerity to establish a restaurant on their grounds in 2005 and pair their wines with estate-grown comestibles along with foodstuff from local farmers and food artisans.
While the restaurant wasn’t an issue for several years, the formerly lackadaisical Lane County land management division encouraged several of the larger wineries, including King Estate, to start submitting for permits for special events and restaurant activity on a volunteer basis in 2009. King Estate did just that – submitting an application in October of 2009 and their application was approved in December, 2010, some 15 months later (Lane County officials are, apparently, very busy … ahem).
Unfortunately, in the intervening months, the state of Oregon passed Senate Bill 1055 and, well, when it comes to politics the state and the local folks don’t much communicate (see also: formerly lackadaisical)
Under Senate Bill 1055, newly signed into law, a winery is only allowed to sell things that are incidental to the retail sale of wine, including items that would be in a limited-service restaurant, as defined by another Oregon statute. That statute dictates that a limited-service restaurant means, “pre-packaged” food.
So, what do you think happened when King Estate finally received its permit from Lane County? Yup, you got it – the Goal One Coalition appealed it on the basis that the newly installed Oregon law from Senate Bill 1055 meant that King Estate’s restaurant that had just received its permit from Lane County was in violation of the new law.
Do you see where this is going? King Estate, an all organic estate vineyard with a five year old farm-to-table restaurant voluntarily submitting for permitting, waylaid by a new law, was being poked in the chest by radical land use extremists and might have to serve pre-packaged food at its restaurant based on a small technicality…
This makes perfect sense doesn’t it; it’s completely rational, right? Paging Bizarro Superman...
And, of course, the land use Nazi’s realized that King Estate has been operating the restaurant for the last five years, has never had a complaint from a neighbor, serves farm-to-table food that supports the local community and treats its land like the crown jewel that it is in the Southern Willamette Valley. Right?
Flash forward a couple of months and House Bill 3280 is introduced to right some of the wrongs from the former Senate Bill 1055 including giving the capability for a newly designated, “Landmark” winery (a winery that produces 150K + gallons of wine per year in at least three out of five years) to operate a restaurant.
As of May 2nd, House Bill 3280 passed the House with a resounding vote of 52-3 and it moves on to the Senate for vote, as well. Thank goodness somebody is demonstrating some rational thought even if it probably took thousands of dollars in lobbyists’ money to do so …
Signing the King Estate petition is still a valid exercise until the Senate bill is approved. If you’re so inclined, you can do so here. Personally, I like the notion of a national readership carpet bombing a local petition, but then I’m a benevolent anarchist at heart.
Hopefully, reason beholds the Oregon legislature giving King Estate a clear path forward in continuing to serve food and wine together at the sustainable table, as they should be, and we can turn our focus onto other nefarious activity including HR 1161.
Politics, man. Got love it. Or, not.
Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/wine_politics_and_silly_season_go_local_in_oregon/
Event Report: 2011 Wine Spectator Grand Tour Boston
Prior to the event I wrote down a cheat sheet of wines I wanted to taste. I didn't think I'd actually get a chance to try all the wines especially after reading Wine Spectator Tim Fish's blog post from the Las Vegas event. At tastings like these lines usually get long and I end up going wherever the crowds aren't. However I was pleasantly surprised the lines for even the marquee wines weren't too long at all. I was able to try everything on my list and then some.
The event provided an excellent opportunity to taste some of the great wines of the world. I bumped into Phil Minervo from Lower Falls Wine Co who coached me to taste through wines in their peer group rather than jumping around.
Bordeaux
What better place to start with a fresh palate than Bordeaux?
With my souvenir Riedel tasting glass in hand I made my first stop at the 2004 Chateau Margaux table (93WS/$220 release price). I thought the wine had incredible texture, was made in a serious style, and had a long finish. Next up: 2004 Cos d'Estournel (94WS/$80). I've always eyed that wine as attainable top-quality Bordeaux. I thought it was very elegant in style:
Side note: The size of the pours, even for these expensive wines, provided an ample opportunity for assessment. In Massachusetts, a sample of wine poured at a tasting cannot legally exceed 1 ounce and most vendors were pouring right at that mark.
Italy
Next up was Italy to taste some Barolo and Tuscan reds. The 2006 Roberto Voerzio Barolo Rocche dell'Annunziata Torriglione (92WS/$265) was beautiful - and stunningly aromatic:
Pinot Noir
Even though I was spitting as much as I possibly could, I was parched after tasting so many Bordeaux and Italian wines.
I took a break then made a bee line for the Kosta Browne table where Managing Director of Marketing & Sales Sam Lando was pouring. Perhaps more than any domestic winery I was pleased to see them there. They seem to have little trouble selling through their wines and it was a pleasure to taste the 2009 Kosta Browne Russian River Valley Pinot Noir (NYR). Beautiful stuff - my wine of the night. At 14.5% alcohol they seem to have found ways to bring the alcohol levels down slightly while maintaining their rich mouth feel and delicious flavor profile.
Nearby, Adam Lee was pouring his 2009 Siduri Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir (92WS/$29). I liked this wine quite a bit more than his 2009 Russian River Valley bottling I tried earlier this year and will seek out the SLH for future purchase. It's a winner.
Oregon was also well represented. Sokol Blosser was pouring their 2008 Sokol Blosser Dundee Hills (90 WS/$38). I love how distinctly vibrant their wines are across every recent vintage and bottling - fabulous. The 2008 Bergstrom Pinot Noir (93WS/$78) showed how you're rewarded for spending more in Oregon Pinot Noir.
Napa Cabernet
Looking back I can't believe some of the Napa Cabs I passed up. The 2007 Robert Mondavi Reserve was there and I didn't make it a priority to taste it. What was I thinking? I very much enjoyed the 2008 Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon (94WS/$130). It was only outdone by the 2006 Joseph Phelps Insignia (94WS/$200). Love everything about that Insignia with its rich mouth feel and generous fruit-driven flavor profile. For my palate, it's absolutely delicious without going over the top. Cliff Lede was pouring their 2007 Poetry (91WS/$150). Beautiful bottle. Nice wine.
Wandering Around
The wineries were generous with their selections. Michael Twelftree from Two Hands was pouring their 2007 "Zippy's Block" Single Vineyard Shiraz (91WS/$110). Catena Zapata brought their 2007 Nicasia Vineyard Malbec (96WS/$120). For wineries like these (which I've heard of tasted their wines before) it was nice to be able to try some of their lower production bottlings.
What was advertised as a light buffet turned out to be quite substantial. Buffet stations and seating areas outside the ballroom provided a break from the action. Plenty of bottles of Acqua Panna and Pelligrino aided in hydration.
Several people I ran into at the event called it "the best wine tasting I've ever been to." I agree with them. The combination of high quality wines, manageable crowds, and the overall experience made it an event I'd look forward to attending again. It was the kind of thing I'd really enjoy going with some friends, attending the event, going to dinner afterwards, and spending the night at the hotel.
More than anything the tasting provided a way to taste some of the great wines of the world and get a feel for their flavor profiles. I can read tasting notes all day but until I get a chance to experience wines myself it's hard to know what I'll like. Because of this I find tastings like this really valuable. I learn a lot and can focus my wine exploration in new directions.
Disclosure: I attended on a free blogger pass.
Further Reading: A review of the event from The Passionate Foodie
Further Reading: A review of the event from The Passionate Foodie
Question of the Day: Have you been to a Wine Spectator tasting in the past? What are some of the best wine tastings you've ever been to? What made them so enjoyable?
The wines from Pierre Usseglio I
Domaine Pierre Usseglio is first and foremost a maker of�Chateauneuf-du-Pape but has also a couple of vineyards just outside the appellation. From these they make a good value�C�tes-du-Rh�ne and�a Vin de Table, where Merlot makes up�80 % og the blend. �I gave the 2006�C�tes-du-Rh�ne 2006�88-89 p. which makes it a good value. It’s a sort [...]
Source: http://www.wine4freaks.com/44/wines-from-pierre-usseglio-1/
Flowering at Hirsch Vineyards
Last Thursday, I stopped by Hirsch Vineyards where Jasmine Hirsch told me that flowering was the second latest–and the latest was just last year. Given this year of wacky wine weather, I thought it was worth asking the question: What is flowering and how does a late flowering affect the finished wine? To further reproduction, [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/GuSC/~3/Mo8WaFWd2tQ/
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