flag on the play, part deux: judging wines is no easy....business

Two Mondays ago we mused about the challenge of judging wines because a new report by Robert T. Hodgson was released about the difficulty in doing so. Largely my comments were geared to judging competitions themselves, only briefly mentioning the points systems often used (by Robert Parker and increasingly others, like Gary Vaynerchuk). What I didn't say was how much I detest any "official" point system. That's why my "ratings" here at Pour Favor never go down a numeric scale; I opt for a much more user-friendly, experiential way of expressing my likes and dislikes.  "Yum" describes the wines I've enjoyed most; "pass" describes ones I don't need to have again.

I get it. Ratings sell wines to the masses. Fortunately,  I don't have to like it and I don't have to subscribe to it myself. In our boutique shop we offer our own descriptions of a wine. Only 1 in maybe 15 is a mass-produced "shelf talker" with a Parkerized-rating listed.  Larger stores depend on the mass produced marketing materials (and the number system) because they don't have (as many) expert staff on hand to talk to customers about a particular wine. Suppliers need to give as much fodder to these bigger stores as possible to "move the product" for them.

But what about a winery's feelings on the topic? I'd say it's gotta be pretty varied, depending on your larger marketing plan, your size/production capability and your personal philosophy. Getting any score can be a good news/bad news thing.

On Friday Gretchen Roberts at Conde Nast's Portfolio came out with a list of "The Parker Holdouts", or wineries which prefer not to submit their wines for review. Roberts interviewed Phil Woodward of Woodward/Graff wines. He said he "prefers to work with local journalists who like to tell a story rather than rate a wine". Clearly he is a man who believes if you romance your potential customers with information about a wine, they're more likely to pick up a bottle, and if they like it, get emotionally involved in your product.

Ric Henry of Karl Lawrence Cellars has a similar strategy. He "wants to cultivate customer loyalty, not flash-in-the-pan buyers who chase scores." He even likens his product to the Oakland Raiders, where "in a good year or bad, I stick with my team". Gotta love a man with a sports analogy for wine.

As much as I appreciate the philosophy these (two) wineries have about scores, I also argue they are looking at the bigger picture and "protecting" themselves. If you get a bad score, you can be totally screwed in the future. If you get a good score, you sell a ton of that one wine (which is limited in supply).  The pressure to produce more of the same wine in the following year can be difficult to manage - you don't want to jeopardize quality, but you may feel more compelled to meet the demand. But who knows what the next vintage will bring? Too many times we see a good wine go south the following year because they cut corners or change their blend because they only have so much juice in the first place.

All of this said, at the end of the day you do need someone out there "judging" wines for you to a) find the cream of the crop and then b) help you make a selection based on an informed impression of a given wine.

The question is, do you prefer your wine "judges" to be your local buyers, or the Robert Parker's of the world? Does it matter to you?

En fuego...

oak-trash-barrel

I'd say I'm largely a glass is half full kind of person. (And no, I wasn't just referring to my wine glass! That's probably more often half empty... ;) ) As you know from last Friday's post, I celebrate little victories as they arise, am told I have "abundant enthusiasm" and have an ability to laugh at even the dopiest of things (a few commercials come to mind...).  But this week has been a sobering one.

A world away, I can't help but feel devastated by the loss of life, nature and livelihood due to the bushfires ravaging Australia. Many Americans understand this devastation personally as California wildfires have become a common summer ocurance; no matter where we live, we sit with fingers crossed, waiting for the intense heat and unseemly winds to abate. If nature was simply running its course as it should, I would have a much more optimistic outlook. It's when criminal acts may be to blame I become absolutely unglued. I am my father's daughter - and as he says often, "I hate waste."

Certainly there is ample news coverage on the fires this week. But if you want a closer look at how the vintage has been impacted by the heat or how wineries are coping with the fires in particular, Decanter's done a nice job of covering the events.

If you find yourself sipping from the Australian cup often or are interested in the business of Aussie wines, a good resource for you is Winebiz.

For those of you who want to "(re)visit" Australia in a gesture of solidarity this weekend, pop into your local wine shop and ask them what's worth trying. If you're not a fruit-bomb lover, we've found a few treats on offer lately and have been lucky to rediscover a few other selections with just the right touch of age on them.  See what you can find!

Will you grab an Aussie selection from your local's shelf this weekend?

Winter Warmers: Gruner Veltliner

You're probably grateful to learn I'm not just a wine nerd. One of my other passions is cycling (yes, my road bike even has a name). I've found if you are really passionate about something (or things),  it is only natural your various interests intersect - however much in your thoughts rather than in practice. Case in point: I'm not likely to sip some vino and get on my bike, but sometimes I think about what "grape" I might be on any given day. (One of these days I'll probably even post on the topic in and of itself - or better yet, start a discussion on the new Pour Favor Facebook page....) For whatever reason, this week I've been feeling a bit Gruner Veltliner -  and feel compelled to post accordingly... Gruner Veltliner is a native Austrian white grape - their most well known and most planted, in fact.  Like training athletes, I find Gruner gets even better over time. 8 out of 10 times I open a bottle, it tastes better on day two than day one, and even better on day three than day two (after that, you may be pushing it). It takes time for it's muscle to show.  Gruner is a svelte athlete, with terrific definition, but without an overblown, steroid-infused look/feel.  (Exactly the one I'm going for myself.)

Gruner also balances it's sweet (read: fruit forward) with it's sexy (read: character-driven, white pepper 'spice appeal') side. Think ripe, fleshy white peaches, a hint of citrus, a dash of apricot - and white pepper minerality. This is the formula for one of the most food-friendly and versatile wines you can find. And its extra touch of oomph (i.e. weight from its svelte muscles) makes it a terrific white to enjoy during the winter months. Lovely acidity even allows it to precede a meal - or a night out on the town.

Which ones do I tip my hat to in particular? Try the Hofer Gruner Veltliner for a mere $12 (and a 1L bottle at that!); the Laurenz Singing Gruner for $15; or, seek out one of Kurt Angerer's special offerings.

Are you feeling like a Gruner these days, too?

The saga of wine shipping: challenges continue for MA

Friday it was frigid outside, but it was hard to feel cold when all of you kept the votes coming to celebrate our 100th post! Today we're back to business, though - and unfortunately, it's a nasty one. Here's the scoop: Late last November wine consumers made a toast to Judge Zobel (US District Court) for allowing winery-to-consumer wine shipments to proceed in Massachusetts. As you probably recall from my original post on the topic, this ruling was thought to be long overdue; the previous state law stipulated wineries producing more than 30,000 cases of wine per year and having a Massachusetts wholesaler were not allowed to ship directly to consumers themselves. Zobel ruled this regulation was discriminatory and unconstitutional.

But nothing is ever easy. News broke last week Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coaxley is going to fight the ruling. My question is simple: why?

Those in favor of the law are attempting to protect MA wineries and wholesalers. But the truth is, if you travel to a vineyard in say CA, WA, OR, or NY and decide you want a case of their wine, savvy consumers will only select wine you can't otherwise get locally. Why pay the additional shipping otherwise? The folks at Free the Grapes also report "winery anecdotal evidence clearly shows that a bottle of wine that is shipped directly does not replace a bottle purchased at a favorite restaurant or from a wine merchant. Legal winery-to-consumer shipments help to build awareness of wines and their sales through traditional sales channels." This is what I call a win-win, not a sum-zero game.

Even when I put on my Retail Hat and take off my Average-Jill-Wine-Consumer Hat, I can't see an argument in favor of this law. Allowing free trade state to state simply will not measurably impact sales negatively - for us at the shop or the wholesalers we work with. A case here and there just doesn't make or break you. Consumers will still seek wine expertise locally. And many won't be able to justify the additional shipping costs.

When I put on my Tax-Payer Hat I can't help but go bananas. In one breath newscasters are telling us about how schools will be closed next fall to help close the state budget gap. And in the next breath they tell us the state is using our tax dollars to finance the AG's efforts to appeal a federal ruling. Give me a break. This is good old fashioned inefficiency - and stupidity - at work.

Do you agree with my take?* Or do you see a stronger argument in favor of the Attorney General's efforts to maintain the law as is?

*NOTE:  For any readers who agree with my stance, you can take action.

a celebration of wine and small, local businesses!

Support Pour Favor!

Today is a very special Friday! In fact I'm so excited about what's transpiring I was tempted to provide information about a little something we wine nerds like to call a "Victory Varietal"... But it's not Wine Wednesday, so I'll save that bit of goodness for another day and instead get on with what I'm feeling so victorious about! First and foremost, Pour Favor is celebrating a milestone.... This is our 100th post! Readers have already begun to help us celebrate by voting for the Pour Favor blog. On our homepage you can see a little icon in the upper right hand corner and a link tovote at Local Wine Events. LWE is a great place to learn more about what wine and food events are happening near you or wherever your travels take you. Check it out, vote and then come back here for more!  I'm looking forward to our on-going wine banter and hope you will continue to tune in and comment regularly.

Cheers!

Second, next Thursday night Somerville Local First is hosting a Local for Love event at Poor Little Rich Girl in Davis Square. Come support other small businesses like Pour Favor, enjoy some great vino (yes, I'll be there pouring the wines for local fine wine shop Ball Square Fine Wines!), some fabulous chocolate and even cocktails brought to you by the ladies at LUPEC (Ladies United for the Preservation of Cocktails). Too much goodness and easy fun to miss this free event. Just be sure to RSVP - and say hello when you drop by! I'll be the woman with the wine and the big smile.

Have a great weekend - and be sure to open a bottle of something fabulous to celebrate your own victories this week, no matter how large or small!

What wine do you have on hand to celebrate a special occassion?

winter warmers go west!

California wines were largely where my wine journeys started. But living on the east coast, and in New England more specifically, the influence of Old World cultures means there is also a large supply of Old World wines. California became less and less a part of my at-home wine drinking as my tastes took me in different directions and the rich history of winemaking abroad sucked me in. But that doesn't mean California doesn't have quite a bit to offer. It's not exactly a small state and it certainly has myriad climates, micro-climates, soil types, winemaking styles/influences and even its own unique history. So today my quest for winter warmer wines takes me - er, us - west! One winery that continues to impress me is Spencer Roloson in Napa Valley. It's not often I find one single winery where I have more than one "favorite" wine in their repertoire. With these guys I do. Perhaps it is because founder/winemaker Sam Spencer has a crush on the Rhone Valley & Spain, too. (In his vineyards you will  find Rhone & Spanish varietals planted like Syrah, Carignane, Valdigue, Viognier, and even Grenache Blanc.) But what's particularly cool is that Spencer believes, as I do, that wines need to be "true to their varietal character with enough finesse, elegance and focus to reveal the origin".

What does this really mean? It means the true flavors of each grape varietal are evident, demonstrating the characteristics they are known for; they simply taste like they are supposed to, not 'manufactured' through winery tomfoolery, if you will. And the best part is (drum roll please) they have a sense of place. In tasting Spencer Roloson wines, you know they come from Napa Valley, California. Ok, so maybe you don't taste volcanic deposits necessarily... Suffice to say, the Spencer & Roloson wines have a distinctly New World, California flavor: uber-round edges, deep layers of rich flavors, often sweeter notes of vanilla or chocolate... I know you know what I'm talking about. These wines coat your tongue and go down smooooth. But this smoothness does not hide the lovely fruit or earthy, floral/herbaceous flavors each wine delivers.

"Forced" to choose just one winter warmer wine for today's post, I'm going with the 2004 Spencer Roloson Palaterra, their red blend. This wine is modeled on the wines of the Rhone with this vintage a blend of Syrah, Carignane, Valdigue grapes. If this wine was a musical instrument, I'd say it is a cello. With every movement of the bow across its strings, deeper blackberry and chocolate covered strawberry flavors are accented with higher notes of fresh cut rosemary and thyme. The finish is just as graceful and intoxicating as its flavors on the midpalate. A solid food wine, I imagine the heartier wine-lover would enjoy this alone, too.

Which California wine is your winter warmer of choice?

Flag on the play! Judging wines is no easy task

On the heels of the Super Bowl, it's hard not to think about the role of referees in sports. I love instant replay technology. Some of those calls are ridiculously hard to make.  Such technology helps us to keep everything on the up and up. Meanwhile, because football coaches are only allotted a certain number of  Challenge Calls each half and they are penalized if they get it wrong helps keep everyone honest - and the game clipping along at a reasonable pace. We're dealing with a different kind of sport when it comes to wine.  As a former springboard diver, I argue wine is more like a diving competition where 5 judges have a say in a person's performance. Is this fair?

On the one hand, whenever you are dealing with a subjective entity you have to go with a panel of judges to render a conclusion. In the case of diving, whenever my mom was judging me, my scores were lower. Naturally she feared giving me too high a score so as to show favoritism.  Fortunately, they drop the high and the low scores on each panel and average the middle 3.  It's not a perfect system but it's the closest thing to fair you can get.

It doesn't always work that way for wine. It seems that each competition has its own judging process, typically on either a 100 point or 20 point scale. Rules are established as to what attributes a wine must have to score a certain rating, but I don't think they ever drop a score. Goodness knows they should! There are a lot of external factors that make this particular 'sport' a challenge to referee.

A recent study conducted by Robert T. Johnson over three years showed "of approximately 65 judging panels... just 30 panels achieved anything close to similar results, with the data pointing to "judge inconsistency, lack of concordance--or both" as reasons for the variation. The phenomenon was so pronounced, in fact, that one panel of judges rejected two samples of identical wine, only to award the same wine a double gold in a third tasting." (Source: Wines & Vines) The abstract of the official report made an interesting point, too: wines that are bad, are consistently rated poorly; it's the good to great wines that prove more of a challenge to judge fairly.

So what do scores really mean? Who are these so-called "experts"?  How can we know they don't suffer from palate fatigue after tasting 100 some odd wines in a given time period? I know from personal tasting experience my judgment is definitely questionable by 6pm on Tuesday Tasting Day at the shop, as compared to when my energy, mind and palate is "fresh" at 10am. Am I drunk? Not at all. We spit so you don't have to. The truth is, no matter how professional you are, circumstances dictate your experience with a wine. Subjectivity is the only writing on the wall.

What are we to do? Well, the average consumer can rest assured there are numerous folks out there in the trade assessing the quality of a wine. Consumers are automatically tasting the better stuff on the market - even if it isn't your preference. But for me this kind of study simply underscores what I'm always saying: context is everything; scores are relative. Find your congenial wine guru after giving a few "judges" a try based on knowledge and compatibility and then taste from their cup of suggestions.

Do you think wine judging is a worthwhile undertaking or too subjective to have much merit?

wine column hop'n!

Even with the Super Bowl due this weekend and beer lovers all over the US (and beyond?) gearing up for the big day of consumption, wine columnists at some of the country's top rags stayed the course, touching on topics I personally have been following. And so this Friday I bring to you a look at wine from three of my favorite writers: New York's City Winery is open. Looking for the Disney World of Wine? It seems City Winery is trying to be just that. As enthusiastic and passionate as I am about the art of fermented grape juice, I'm not sure if I'm about it.  Must we be everything to everyone? Or is it just this approach that will allow CW to find success even in a down market? Eric Asimov, author of the New York Times' "The Pour", checks out the scene and brings up some very interesting points.  I'll be in town once the ice melts to check it out for myself, but in the meantime, I'm dying to hear what my Big Apple readers think of it! Are you "a fan" of the concept? Comment below!

Malbec, mmm Malbec! Argentine Malbec is certainly a section in the store with a ridiculous number of facings given our small space. But there is enough demand to warrant so many choices! This scenario (plus my personal affection for it?) encourages our reps to continue to bring by new Malbecs for us to try. What's interesting is how many simply 'eh', down right bad, or "fakey-fake" offerings we've tasted in the last 4-5 months. Of course, this just makes us feel even happier with the wines we do carry, but it also demoralizes me a bit. I'd hate to see Malbec winemaking go down the tubes just to meet the increasing demand. While we've been experiencing this challenge here in Greater Boston, you never know for sure if your experience is being felt elsewhere.... This week Gaiter & Bretcher at the Wall Street Journal took 100 Malbecs to the mattresses and reported their findings. Check out their 411! And then tell us, what are your own recent experiences?

Fireplace magic. Since I've been on my winter warmers bender and definitely used the term "fireplace wine" at least once in recent history, I was happy to see Stephen Meuse take up the torch in January's Boston Globe "Plonk of the Month" column. Meuse usually rounds up a solid number of somewhat lesser known, reasonably priced wines, from around the world (yea!). You'll never see mass-marketed items, so it is a pleasure to check out his line-up every 4th Wednesday. And I appreciate that with "plonk" wines as his focus, he describes the wines in relation to their accessible price; it's true, we are "prepared to overlook the occasional quirk [to] be amply compensated by a level of character and interest heavily marketed brands just can't deliver". See what he recommends this month here. Are you familiar with any of these already?

Winter warmers: Exploring Espana!

While I may talk a lot about my love of rustic, French wines, Spain is also near and dear to my heart. In particular, I frolic in the Priorat whenever I have the excuse to take home one of their higher ticket sensations. What is it I love about these wines? Let's see... how about: Layered with flavor.

Concentrated with ripe dark and red fruit flavors.

Medium-plus bodied so as not to overwhelm and distract, and instead packing just enough of a mouthfilling punch.

Food friendly with  solid acidity, but dry enough to warrant a bite or two of cured meat, manchego cheese or lamb. And to my taste, perhaps their best attribute:

Rustic, though in a distinct, clean, minerally sort of way (rather than having the damp-trodden forest floor or barn-tastic qualities of many Cote du Rhone wines).

The combination of seriously old vines (less fruit produced), super challenging growing conditions and the fact that the Priorat is the new 'hotness', means these wines fetch worthy, but not necessarily recession-sensitive prices.

Enter the Montsant region. Montsant is the lesser known horseshoe region that encompasses the Priorat. Here the climate is similarly arid, but the soil has its own unique mixture of slate, granite, sand, limestone and clay; each vineyard has a unique terroir. Like its better-known counterpart, Montsant also boasts a tremendous number of 100+ year old vines. (Yes, you can let out a cheer!) In fact, 55% of the vines in Montsant are >20 years old; Priorat can "only" boast 40%. And there you have it - tremendous concentration and distinct, let-your-heart-sing flavors! All that hard work by the vines to produce just a few clusters means happiness in your glass.

When its cold outside and dinner "in" with friends is on the menu Montsant wines are a brilliant option. I proved this little theory of mine last weekend when I  hosted a bit of a dinner party. I was serving a spinach and beet salad with cashews and feta; garlic, lemon and thyme roast chicken; and roast potatoes. I wanted a wine with solid acidity, a bit of rusticity and great concentration. It also had to be light enough on its toes (that is, have enough bright fruit) to be universally appealing to my guests. I was tempted to go for a basic Cote du Rhone, but wanted riper, redder fruit flavors and something with a touch more minerality and less barnyard "funk". The steep-sloped Priorat region came to mind, but I knew I'd open several bottles and didn't want to spend $20 on each. A Montsant was a natural solution.

The Etim Seleccion 2006 is a new Montsant wine brought to us by the folks at Ole Imports. It has entered the market at a great time, too, just when we're looking for fabulous wines at accessible prices. The Etim is 60% Grenache, 30% Carigane, and 10% Syrah. This varietal combo means sweet, juicy, ripe, red fruits are delivered in a mouthfilling package; and the terroir in Montsant means you'll find a touch of clean, wet-slate minerality to boot.

Too much wine speak mid week? Let me put it this way: if you were going on a first date with the Etim, you'd be waiting for the moment when you could escort her out of the restaurant into the mind-clearing chill, gently push her up against the brick and discover for yourself  just how succulent, sweet and edgy she is.

Can you beat that? What wine did you enjoy last weekend?

The glorious grape: a book review

Reading is one of my favorite, totally self-contained escapes. Since wine became my "job" though, I've falled off the wagon in some ways.... I constantly seek more information and so I'm reading to learn, rather than for the sheer pleasure of it. But I realized the wine books I've been picking up of late are finding some middle ground; they are lighter on their feet, if you will, offering great information in a delightfully palatable package. It seems unfair to keep some of these finds to myself, so in the coming year, I hope to explore more of these texts and share the fruits of my efforts with you. Natalie MacLean offers just one such diversion in her Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass.  If I knew MacLean in real life, I can only imagine she (like me) thinks she is the funniest person she knows - and is all the better for it. (I mean, come on. If you were stuck on a desert island and you only had yourself to entertain, you BETTER be the funniest person you know!) The best news is, MacLean is open about what she does and doesn't know about her subject. She is unabashed but refreshingly professional (read: respectful) as she explores wine. Her book takes you through the new vineyards of California, the history-entrenched vineyards of France, the bowels of a wine shop, the floor of a high-end restaurant and... beyond. She is nothing if not funny and thorough.

MacLean delivers something for everyone, at every stage in their wine knowledge/enthusiasm. I, for one, loved her chapters on French regions in particular - her tales of meeting some of Champagne's most important women, tromping through Burgundy.... I also enjoyed reading about her experiences trying retail for a day (and the price she paid for wearing fashionable shoes, rather than comfortable ones) and attempting life as a Sommelier for an evening.

I also appreciate how much perspective MacLean brings to the various places wine breathes (no pun intended on that one, but I'll keep it!). Case in point: while she's working in one San Francisco shop she learns how hard some shops work to meet their customers needs such that "[wine] comes alive for them". (p. 146) It's not just about business, but sharing something special with customers - both a new wine and just as important, the genuine interaction with the customer him/herself. Both MacLean's  historic ruminations and her real life revelry with her subject underscore the reason so many people I know are drawn to wine: it is a lovely, warm quilt, representing and connecting myriad facets of life.

Naturally, there are a few segments where I was less enthralled and I'm still deciding whether her on-line wine/food matcher is a tool I can use with confidence. But MacLean is witty and honest. For a subject where neither are a given, I applaud her efforts and hope she continues to capture her musings.

What wine books have struck your fancy? Have you found others that expand your horizons - while entertaining you, too?