Ontarians boosted LCBO sales over the $4-billion mark for the first time last year.

“Wine guru Parker says he’s happy with a $20 bottle,” blared a Reuters headline from a Tokyo stop on Robert Parker’s Asian trip. Yay! Before heading to a $3,000-a-head tasting dinner, he suggested to locals that it was OK to drink Beaujolais Nouveau, zinfandel starting at $18, and malbec from Argentina.

But buried in the story, Parker said, “You hear the argument you can’t go through a museum and say, ‘The Monet gets a 90 and the Cezanne gets 88.’ But there is a general consensus to what is good wine. I’m not trying to replace your taste, or the person buying the wine…”

Really? Unlike Parker, I find few “good” examples of Beaujolais nouveau (cru Beaujolais is an entirely more rewarding category, however). And some tasting panels can’t agree on what constitutes “good” either: Consider the recent Times panel on Soave where one taster said ”I was shocked at how many of the wines I didn’t like” to which Eric Asimov replied, “Needless to say, I disagreed.” Consensus? And, as a further example, I doubt Parker and Alice Feiring would have many overlapping examples of “good” wines. When have you not agreed with someone else about a wine’s being “good”?

Speaking of lack of consensus, it’s also sometimes hard to determine what is “typical” as a portion of Jean-Paul Brun’s Beaujolais has been denied the appellation, ostensibly for being atypical. Or, in his case, good.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - From the heart of Silicon Valley and California ' s famous winemaking regions comes Winepod - the world ' s first personal winery that combines technology, art and science to empower wine ...

U.S. scientists say they've devised a technique that can help wine grape growers produce high-quality grapes even in arid areas.

I drink wine from as many different countries as I can, as often as I can. I firmly believe that the only way I keep learning anything as a wine lover will be through continued exploration.

There are times, though, when searching out new countries, grape varieties, and appellations just takes too much energy. At times like these, usually after a long week, I just want a nice meal and a good glass of wine to go with it. Like most people in these situations of part-exhaustion, I tend to stick to the predictable -- the least risky choice that is most likely to yield the most pleasurable result.

So when I found myself dining alone the other night, and not wanting to think much about which white wine I wanted, I reached for a safety wine. I had never had it before, but I knew it was: white, a blend of different grapes, French, and it was from Provence.

There aren't many sure bets in the wine world. There's a lot of crap out there to be sure. But if you're gonna order wine, sight unseen and untasted, I think it's pretty hard to go wrong with most of the wines in the Cotes de Provence. At least the ones that end up getting imported here.

So there I was, sitting alone at the big communal table, watching the chefs do their thing from behind the pass. I was reading some notes I had taken from a meeting earlier in the day, and only barely noticed when the waitress put the glass down by my plate. I reached out between sentences and took a sip, and in the kind of moment that keeps me drinking wine, I was forced to pause, to savor, and to say a silent prayer of thanks for my luck at living a life in which I get to enjoy good things like this glass of wine.

Don't get me wrong, this wine was not epiphany-creating-stuff-of-the-gods. It was just darn good, and it really hit the spot.

The family that currently owns Chateau du Rouët purchased the property in 1840 with the intention of harvesting cork from the trees on the property, and selling some of the pine wood that was particularly in demand for shipbuilding at the nearby ports of the Mediterranean. The property encompassed more than 1000 acres of forest, as well as the grounds of a sizable manor that was erected by the new owners in 1880.

Around 1920, a fire ravaged the estate, as well as some of the forest, and the current owner decided to plant a vineyard between the scrubby, fire prone hills and the forest of the estate. Though it was only a secondary consideration at the time, this began the history of wine cultivation at the estate.

Today the descendants of the original three families that purchased the property farm approximately 170 acres of vineyards at the foot of a set of hills known as the Gorges de Pennafort that rise with their red volcanic rocks and ancient caves about 1500 feet above the property. The mostly sandstone terraced vineyards are wedged between the flatlands, the hills, and a swath of Mediterranean forest of cedar, bamboo, cork oaks, maritime pines, and even palm trees. The vineyards run mostly north to south to shelter the grapes from the fierce Mistral winds that whip over the hills at certain times of the year. These winds are not all bad, however. Combined with the warmer breezes off the Mediterranean, they combine to create the cool, dry climate that allows the Cotes de Provence to create wines of great personality.

On the grounds of the winery sits a small chapel that is worthy of mention only because of the unusual doors which adorn its modest facade. These doors were taken from a sailing ship named the Le Belle Poule, which at one time was well known for one of its last voyages -- a trip it made to carry home the ashes of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1888, Lucien Savatier, who contributed greatly to the development of Chateau du Rouet's vineyards, as part of his duties to dismantle the ship, took the doors from the cabin that housed Bonaparte's ashes during the voyage and installed them on the chapel where they remain today.

In memory of the ship (which adorns the label even today) the winery produces a red, a white and a rose wine, all called "Cuvee Belle Poule." The white wine is a blend of three grapes: Ugni Blanc (30%), Sémillon (20%) and Rolle (50%) from what the winery refers to as "old vines" but I'm not clear on just how old they are. 1250 cases are made.

Tasting Notes:
Pale gold in the glass, this wine has an appealing nose of pears, rainwater, and very faint melon aromas. In the mouth it is crisp, and light, and bouncy. Great acidity and mineral qualities underlie green melon and pear flavors that along with the chalky stone quality to the wine make it fantastically refreshing. Everything I want in a white wine with dinner.

Food Pairing:
I drank this with a lobster bisque the other night and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Overall Score: 9

How Much?: $18

The 2004 may be tricky to find, but the 2005 and 2006 are readily available for purchase on the internet.

Australia could be forced to give up its place among the world's biggest wine exporters within 50 years and become a niche player, a new report predicts.

When it comes to steak, conventional wisdom says the color of your wine should match the color of your meat.

Just a short commercial note that I have launched my own consulting company for fine wine producers. You can get more information at http://craigcamp.wordpress.com/2008/05/21/craig-camp-consulting/. Many thanks to all for the support I’m getting in launching this project.

Now back to talking about wine.

Are you ready to ship to Georgia? Do you have your permit for Illinois? Wondering when Pennslyvania will open for direct shipping? Find these answers and catch up with the hundreds of regulatory changes that have occurred in the past twelve months for direct shipping.

ShipCompliant is holding its 3rd annual Users Conference & Compliance Seminar on July 11th at the Marriott in Napa, CA, and we'd love to have you attend.

As the head bartender at the famed New York restaurant One if by Land, Two if by Sea, Mike Lombardozzi knows a thing or two about martinis. But even he was surprised when he replaced the premium vodka in his specially created Pomegranate martini with O2 Sparkling Vodka, the first of its kind.

Martini Alert - Inventor's O2 SPARKLING VODKA Comes to U.S. from England

"Everyone says that it is the best martini they have ever had," says Lombardozzi, who has christened the drink the CosmO2.

O2 is the creation of Philip Maitland, a British entrepreneur and inventor, who spent two years researching and developing a process to create a sparkling spirit.

"Many thought it would be impossible," says Maitland, "but I persevered and was awarded a patent in 2003."

If any California city should mark May's fourth National Preservation Month with a degree of self-congratulation, it's Pasadena.

The next innovation in the buoyant high-end vodka market is rolling out this spring--Camitz Sparkling Vodka, an organic Swedish brand offering a patented carbonation process that ensures the vodka?s bubbles retain the same ?chemical DNA? as the multi-distilled spirit itself. Imported by Manhasset, New York?s O2B Brands, Camitz carries a suggested retail of $45 per 750-ml., and is being distributed by Southern Wine & Spirits in key markets like New York, Florida, Nevada and California, with more to follow.

O2B Brands executive director David O?Brien says the marketing approach for Camitz will center on building enthusiasm in the high-end restaurant and hospitality trade, where the brand?s versatility? in traditional vodka cocktails, as a substitute for Champagne in drinks where bubbly is used as a float, or as a pairing with a variety of foods?will encourage a number of consumption opportunities.

It’s not even January 1 and there’s an article about hangovers! Joan Acocella writes in the New Yorker about the phenomenon that Egyptians call “still drunk,” the Japanese “two days drunk,” the Chinese “drunk overnight” and the Danes “carpenters in the forehead.”

While drinking to excess without a resulting hangover might sound like something technology should have fixed by now (in a world of fat-free desserts, how could they not?), Acocella doesn’t suggest much in the way of a cures. But she does talk about various causes. To wit:

The severity of a hangover depends, of course, on how much you drank the night before, but that is not the only determinant…And what kind of alcohol did you drink? In general, darker drinks, such as red wine and whiskey, have higher levels of congeners?impurities produced by the fermentation process, or added to enhance flavor?than do light-colored drinks such as white wine, gin, and vodka. The greater the congener content, the uglier the morning.

Does that red-white difference ring true for you? What about “natural” winemaking? Partisans of sake often tout its purity and some even go so far to say that it doesn’t give headaches. I’ve never put that to the test.

And as to the cure, she suggests wearing sunglasses and moping around. Just kidding. Folklore often dictates the “hair of the dog.” But I’d steer clear of this morning-after twist from a Ukrainian in the story: “two shots of vodka, then a cigarette, then another shot of vodka.” She counsels to avoid Tylenol since it increases toxicity to the liver. For prevention, she points to advocates of drinking lots of water, a glass of milk or eating a meal prior to drinking. And, of course, consuming alcohol in moderation.

“A Few Too Many,” By Joan Acocella, The New Yorker

I’m tired of all the whining about alcohol and extraction, manipulation and critic focused wine making. Wine is meant to be drunk, enjoyed and savored. And if you are not enjoying what is in front of you, pour the bottle down the drain and move on.

My tastes range from ultra-modern to the most classic of the classical, as flavor is what counts above all. I say this because last Sunday afternoon, I had the opportunity to taste a wine that made me stop, assess, and realize that not all the old styles are gone as of yet. This wine is a classic, and I was forewarned that it is a “wine that requires some patience”. Seeing that the style was a remnant of winemaking practices no longer seen as fashionable, I wondered if we all “need a bit more patience” as we get older.

The bottle our good friend Maria Joao opened was Paulo do Silva’s Colares Chitas Reserva Velho 2002

DOC Colares is a little more than a blink of an eye if you were to steer your boat north up the coast of Portugal towards Oporto. Having driven through there once back in 2003 aboard a bus whose speed indicated a desire to break the sound barrier, I can tell you only this, the blurred scenery was amazing. Today, there are still few producers in the area, and although the wines are not award winners, I find them to be intriguing. Part of my curiosity for the wine, may stem from the history of this varietal. The Ramisco’s roots are notoriously deep reaching, and when Phylloxera tore through Portugal in the 1890’s, destroying the wine landscape, the vine’s roots were left unaffected.

As for this 8 year old wine, it immediately reminded me of Tondonia, or another well aged Rioja wine. Light in body with a zesty acidity, the nose is musty with notes of earth and leather. Having had discussions recently about brett more than once in the past week, my mind immediately jumped to this aroma. However, upon further thought, I second-guessed my initial judgment as it was clean, and may have only been showing its unique character of herbs with cherry/cranberry notes mixed with pencil lead. This was a very elegant wine, and one that I would seek out again, possibly pairing it with the region’s famous grilled fish fare. In the end, I’d give this a 4 out of 5, keeping in mind that this is a wine for contemplation, a little patience and a good book.

I do suggest this wine, and I praise the desire to keep wines like this a part of the wine landscape. I’m sure that most modern wine lovers would not immediately fall in love with this, but the desire to explore new and interesting flavors makes me hope that we do not let them fade away. Fortunately Portugal still has many hidden nooks and crannies for wine lovers like me to explore.

Cheers,
Ryan Opaz

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