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Wine Ebooks:
| | The Complete Grape Growers Guide. |  | | A Complete Guide For Growing Grapes. Converts Very Well At A Reasonable Price! Growing Grapes And Making Wine Is A Very Popular Topic Right Now.
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| | Fool-Proof Wine Values. | | | Learn How To Easily Find Wines Of $50 Quality For $10 Or Less. Impress Friends With Your Expanded Wine Knowledge. Eliminate Your Dependence On Wine Salespeople. And Take The Hassle Out Of Buying Wine.
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| | Making Wine From Home. | | | A Fun And Very Informative Book On Home Wine Making. The De Facto Standard For All Home Wine Enthusiasts With Recipes, Advice And Tricks.
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Blogs & Sites:
 Tecnorati
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| [01/01/1970, 02:00] | 1999 Chambertin, Perrot Minot, 750 ML - 149.99 | | | 88-92 points. Rovani: "Perrot-Minot's 1999 Chambertin is produced from five rows of vines owned by a friend. This medium to dark ruby-colored wine has a sexy, plummy, sweet, perfumed nose. On the attack and mid-palate, it is forward, soft, and opulent, revealing loads of dark, plummy fruits. However, this medium-bodied wine has a firm, highly structured, and tannic finish. Which personality will win out - the extroverted, lush, and forward one or the tannic, backward and tight one? Time will tell. Anticipated maturity: now-2008+". | | | |
| [02/18/2008, 05:10] | Scorpiiion GSM 2006 | | |  The last in a trio from Barossa producers Scorpiiion is their 2006 GSM, which is comprised of 45% Grenache, 42% Shiraz and 13% Mataro, all of which is sourced from the Barossa Valley.
Vibrant ripe plum and blackberry aromas are entwined with lurking chocolate and vanilla. On the palate I found intense flavours of fleshy dark fruits, a velvety mouthfeel and a little drying tannin on the finish. Its full bodied, fruit forward and very gluggable. After having the chance to taste three different wines produced by Scorpiiion, I can definitely see the fruit driven but balanced style they are aiming for across the range. The GSM represents the best bang for your buck and is a great option if you just want to buy, open and drink. Prices appear to range from $15-23, depending on your selection of retailer and the number of bottles, Squashedgrape being the cheapest at this time. Score: 89/100
Price: $21
Closure: Screwcap
Alcohol: 14.5%
Other Opinions: Wine Without Wank
Would I buy this wine?
Although I personally lean toward more savoury styles, $17 per bottle is a great price.  | | | |
| [05/09/2008, 16:08] | After hours: aged bloggers carouse | | | Quickly, about last night. I got home about 6pm, unpacked, ate the ritual return dinner of a turkey club and potato salad, and after enduring a couple of TV shows that Ken had recorded ("CSI Miami" and, God help us, that thing with Sally Field), I fortified myself with iPod and Charlie Christian's elegant guitar work and sped downtown on the beauteous 6 train to Il Buco. Sorry, that sentence was almost Italianate. Sorry, too, that this that is another of those dumb Twitter-like blog posts. Oh, who cares. It's... | | | |
| [05/08/2008, 04:12] | An Italian's Love For New York | |  ?Oshpett, oshpett,? the beer vendor barked on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Yankee Stadium. He was clearing the way for fans to get to their seats when I heard the remnants of a southern Italian dialect, several generations removed. For the folks he was selling beer to, he?d often end his transaction with a parting ?Chin-tann.?
Layered under decades of time and waves of subsequent immigrations, the Italian voice is stretched but not silenced. One needs only to scratch the surface only slightly to see the Italian presence in New York.
?Dig down into New York and you?ll reach Rome,? I once heard on a cold winter night several decades ago. I?m not sure how that applies in today?s world, but looking around the city today, it seems Italians are exploring the new New York, and loving every minute of it.
 Once a section at the ballpark would be filled with suited up gentlemen, hats and all, with their mandatory cigar, looking after the legacy of Lazzeri, Rizutto and DiMaggio. These days the field has altered and they sit in their seats along fellow fans from Japan, from all over the world, and follow the careers of Giambi, Jeter and Matsui. E la nave va.
 Hungry? Get yourself a Nathan?s, a kosher dog or a hot Italian sausage. You can even find a cannolo in the stadium if you dig deep enough.
Traveling in the subways and walking along the streets upside one can hear the ring of Italian being spoken. From the southern dialects now woven into a new patois? to the fresh staccato sounds of tourists from Friuli or the Veneto. The city is crawling with all kinds of Italians looking for a slice of New York to love.
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| [11/10/2006, 11:39] | The Little Guys | | 
This merry band of merchants, flying the flag for small, artisanal wineries with distinctive, regional wines came to Fulham last week to give both press and public a chance to see what they have to offer. The lower and upper ends of the wine market are well served by supermarkets and the "establishment" but there is increasing demand for wine between these extremes. The best value for quality of wines with integrity and interest. These merchants are really passionate about their lists and usually have personal relationships built up with the producers so they have fairly extensive knowledge of the vineyards, wineries and vintages. Some of the listings are inevitably idiosyncratic and not all the wines will be to everyone's taste but these are dedicated people who will help you find treasures you will come back for again and again. Jim Monks from Decanter Wines is a private collector who started by bringing in pallets for his own cellar, his approach is unashamedly personal (all the wines are aged in his cellar until he feels they are ready to drink and only then offered to the public) and any commercial success is second to his goal of providing himself with the kind of wine he wants to drink. Luckily, his taste seems to be shared and his wines show very well. Also showing was Nick Dobson a self-proclaimed "niche player" with some outstanding and unusual wines from Switzerland, Austria and Germany. With these countries slowly garnering a following for their wines it is worth knowing where to track down some great examples. Also well-represented were Amordivino, Italian importers; The Big Red Wine Company showing mainly the Southern Rhone on this occasion; Abbe Arrous whose "Cyrcée, Collioure 2002" was the outstanding wine of the day for me; and Leon Stolarski with a wonderfully diverse selection of regional French wine. The full list of tasting notes will be put up on this site but have a look at their website and sign up to their free monthly newsletter asdw.org.uk it is always going to be worth finding something a little bit different and a little bit special. | | | |
| [05/26/2006, 12:36] | Wine Woot - One Week, One Wine | | | What am I doing around 1:00 am EST almost every night? Checking woot.com for the latest woot item, of course!
Being a computer/tech junkie, I am always finding random good deals on woot. Now, they have made my life complete, with Wine Woot.
 Every week they will be featuring a single deal on wine. Take it or leave it, but when they are out of stock, you are out of luck. If this turns out anything like the regular Woot.com, a good deal will be sold out in minutes. The wine deal they have up there right now looks pretty good: St. Supéry 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot Sampler. Seeing as how these would fit the Cheap Wine Reviews rule of 15 bucks or less, I might give this wine a try. | | | |
| [05/14/2008, 08:01] | Interview with the Ancients | |  I took a walk in a quiet place. In it, there were many souls from ancient times. They were from Greece and Italy, Sumeria and Egypt, Persia and Etruria. The voices were silent but the souls were coming through loud and clear, on a Friday afternoon on the eastern edge of Central Park.
I had just interviewed a gentleman about his life, his book and things Italian. But we didn?t quite make a connection. How could you do anything in 15 minutes, except perhaps to size each other up like two bulls in a ring? Not that it was that kind of encounter. I left feeling the need to reconnect with my roots, so I hopped on a subway and headed back a couple of thousand years, to interview the ancient ones.
 Q. What were the wines like when you were living?
A. They were dark and musky, and warm. They tasted a little like sour water sometimes and at other times sweet like rose petals.
Q. Who made the wine in your community?
A. We had families who passed the trade down from generation to generation. There were families, like in Chaldea, who had been working with the grape for hundreds of years.
Q. Who among you were the first to taste wine?
 The fellow in profile speaks
A. When we first tasted it, it came about by accident. One of the servants had left a vase of grapes lying around in a cool dark place and forgot about it. Several weeks later one of the porters was walking around and smelled this sweet odor. He had it brought up to the dining area and we all took bites out of this fruit we knew, but it tasted very different this time. And the juice in the bottom of the vase we all took sips of. This was something we had never experienced before. So we instructed the porters to pick more grapes and let them sit in the basement in the same manner. That was the first time we had seen it.
Q. How did the news of this travel?
A. Slowly at first, but after 400-500 years pretty much everybody in the known world had an idea of the transformative powers of the grape.
Q. And the merchants, how did they fit in?
A. At first, it was seen as a religious ritual, so the merchants stayed away. A tribe of women eventually wound their way through the empire, setting up trade with the Egyptians.
Q. Many times we hear that the Greeks brought wine culture to Italy. Who knows about that in this room?
 An Etruscan princess answers
A. We had already started with the grape before the Greeks arrived. We had been going on for several hundred years. What the Greeks did was to bring some new grape types with them, but not superior to the ones we had been cultivating for 500 years.
Q. It seems Ancient Romans loved wine. Poems were written about it, buildings and temples were erected in honor of the god of the grapes.
A. That all is true, but keep in mind we had very little to eat and drink. We were often sick and food went bad quickly. Wine kept, and it kept us well and our bellies full. And it made us happy.
Q. Did the grape have anything to do with the expansion of the Empire(s)?
A. Other than it went where man went? Of course when we conquered Gaul or the Huns or the Britons, we would plant vines and keep the local people collected and subdued. Wine had a part to play in the civilizing factor of the wild tribes.
Q. Last Question. If you were around today, what kind of wine would you like to see? What would you make?
 An older Roman answers
A. Listen, I would round up some of my soldiers and head to Toscanium and set that land straight. I?d bring them back to the Jovian roots and light a bloody fire under their feet. And by all the power of Jupiter, we?d bring them back to the flame of truth and all that is holy about the miracle the gods have sent down from the heavens in giving us grape with which to make this precious wine. Anyone caught disrespecting the gift of the gods would be crucified and struck down, their family sent into exile. To go against the Divine Immortals is the worst sin one could commit against the pantheon that rules our ancient souls.
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| [09/19/2006, 03:15] | Big Daddy Merlot 2002 | | | Part of becoming a connoisseur of cheap wines is knowing where to look for them. I’ll share with you one of my little secret places I attempt to seek out cheap wine: the “Reduced for Quick Sale” shelf at your local supermarket. At Meijer, my local super-mega-ultra-store, this shelf is usually located in the bottle return area. Not a very pleasant place to be searching for wines, but just think of it as a treasure hunt! You may find a bounty of cheap wines that you never knew existed. While picking over the wines yesterday, a cartoon label caught my eye: Big Daddy Vineyards Merlot. I picked up the March 2002 vintage for about 6 dollars. Why was this reduced for quick sale? Was it worth enduring the stench of the bottle return area to bring home this wine? Yes, yes it was. It’s almost sad that this wine traveled all the way from Argentina to end up in my bottle return area.  Big Daddy knows how to make a good cheap wine. Believe it or not, the first attribute of this wine I picked up on was the light hint of bacon. Mmm bacon. Who doesn’t love bacon? Big Daddy loves it, that’s for sure. Look at that belly! On top of the bacon was a strong berry with a leathery taste. If you’re looking for a full bodied cheap red wine with a lot of character, give the Big Daddy Merlot a try. Rating: 8/10 - High score for originality
Price: 6.00
Place of purchase: Meijer
Vineyard Info:
Big Daddy Vineyards
Mendoza, Argentina
www.bigdaddyvineyards.com | | | |
| [05/15/2008, 07:00] | Amisfield Pinot Noir Central Otago 2006 | | | Very good intensity to berry, black cherry and roast duck flavors, with plenty of cedary oak and stony notes extending through the taut, tannic finish. Needs time to show its best. Best from 2009 through 2012. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 3,500 cases imported. | | | |
| [07/23/2006, 05:23] | | | An Argentine glacier moves back
There is in danger the productive region that Argentina and Chile share
A glacier of Argentina, the Upsala, in the southern province of Santa Cruz, moved back almost 13,5 kilometres between  1928 and last year, according to analysis of organizations that study the environment. In 20 years there would be serious problems for the production.
For graficar the process of deterioration of the mass of ice, a photo took from the same place of the one that was taken an image of the glacier in 1928. To simple sight is observed that most of the ice already is not.
 The scientists who study the phenomenon of the melting it attribute to the increase of the temperature average of the planet, due to the use of fossil fuels as the petrol and other derivatives of the petrol.
The organizations environmentalists claim Argentina and Chile that political decisions take, since the melting does not affect only the Upsala, but all the big glaciers of the south of the continent.
Also they demand that countries like The United States and Russia, they sign and put into practice Kyoto's Protocol, which almost 120 countries resolved in 1997 to reduce the emission of the gases that raise the temperature of the planet.
These organizations that study the environment demonstrated besides the fact that in some zones of the mountain chain of the Andes, in the frontier zone between Chile and Argentina, also the volume of the glaciers is diminishing.
According to experts of the United Nations, if measurements are not taken to reduce the global warming, the glaciers will disappear in 20 years, which will provoke big problems for the productive activities.
Source: Simbolo. Net (# 52) Buenos Aires - Argentina
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| [05/05/2008, 12:00] | Champagne Taittinger: A Walk Through the Cellars | | Welcome to our video podcast of the A Walk Through the Cellars - Taittinger - Video Show #31. Click the Image Below to Play the Video: Click Here to Download File The roots of Taittinger date back to 1734, when Champagne merchant Jacques Fourneaux established his company. The business prospered through the 19th century, ultimately Fourneaux-Forest merged with the Taittinger family, who retained control. Join us as we accompany Cellarmaster Loïc Dupont through the famous Taittinger cellars, located in Reims on the site of Gallo-Roman chalk mines dug during the 4th century, and enlarged in the 13th century by the Saint Nicaise Abbey monks to provide storage for the Champagne wines which they traded in. Remains of the Abbey, which was destroyed during the French Revolution, are still visible today throughout the tunnels, in an excellent state of preservation. | | | |
| [04/30/2008, 04:38] | Casa LaPastolle "Cuvee Alexandre" Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 wine review by (PB) | | 
This multiply reviewed wine is always a super value and a great quaff. It has an intense deep black cherry color with vegetal aromas with rich dark berries.
Palate is a rich, big, juicy Cab. that is a blockbuster wine with big dark fruit that's bready and delicious finishing with subtle chocolate. What a bargain at $15 | | | |
| [05/12/2008, 12:38] | The New 1961 From Latour? | | | When I taste young Bordeaux from top estates such as 1, I often wonder which could be the next 1, 1 or 1. The later three vintages at Latour are some of the greatest red wines ever produced, and they certainly are reference points for the château itself. | | | |
| [09/18/2007, 01:34] | Pinot Harvest Looking a Little Spotty | | Due to the unusually cool summer, and the recent rainfall, Oregon's Willamette Valley wine producers are nervously biting their nails, dreading a harvest with grapes that are not fully ripened. Without the proper heat units, the grapes will not reach full maturity, although they may look fully ripe. The cooler weather will likely mean that harvests in Oregon will be delayed as much as they can be, without pushing the grapes over the edge.
Look for the next two weeks to be crucial to the '07 harvest. | | | |
| [01/01/1970, 02:00] | Carmel Wine, Food & Lodging Recommendations | | | Continuing in the vein of my first regional wine and food review of the Napa Valley, I will now travel south down the Central Valley to another loved wine region, Carmel Valley [WL]. Carmel Valley sits due Southeast from the beautiful and famous hamlet, Carmel-by-the-Sea, and is overlapped by the ... | | | |
| [05/04/2008, 03:09] | Working - I Think So | | With the help of Bron Marshall and J I seem to be back on track. I'm now under www.winosandfoodies.com . Which means you will need to alter your subscription in your readers as originally my URL was set to winosandfoodies.TYPEPAD.com and that is where you would have subsscribed to.
Thanks Bron.
Posting soon. | | | |
| [03/28/2008, 01:00] | Tainted Booty | | | The "good for you" snacks he manufactures are maybe not so healthful. Parents have sued. Products have been recalled. Yet the shaman of snacks survives. | | | |
| [05/07/2008, 22:58] | Da Giggetto a Roma | | | Pretty good, I must admit. The roast lamb, a Roman specialty, is wonderful. The house wines are awful. A bottle of Gianpaolo Paglia's Guazza (Ansonica, Vermentino) was lovely and a bargain at 16?. We are sitting here at the table, watching the crowd and listening to the celebrations of Israel Memorial Day. The kids are draped in Israeli flags and the band just ceased playing the Top 10 of world Zionism, I guess. A lot of energy and fun. I've seen the same 4 guys, I swear, walking up and... | | | |
| [05/08/2008, 08:20] | 1990 Trimbach "Cuvee Frederic Emile" Riesling, Alsace | | 
I can remember a time when the word "Alsace" only brought to mind dim memories of my 5th grade class discussion on some valley that people were fighting about in one of those big wars. In those days I definitely couldn't spell Gewurztraminer, and I had only tried one or two of them.
Perhaps you'd call me a late bloomer when it came to Alsatian wine, but bloom I eventually did, and now I'm a quiet, but fierce devotee of what I believe to be some of the most individualistic wines on the planet. Alsace has always been an odd duck of a winegrowing region. It is the only region in France that not only allows, but mandates that the name of the grape variety appear on the label (though there are exceptions). It happens to grow grapes more associated with Germany and Northern Italy than with the rest of France (Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris), and perhaps by virtue of its occasionally Germanic past, produces more beer than any other winegrowing region in the country. Characterized by steep hillside vineyards whose sun exposure, coupled with the region's cooler climate make for long slow grape maturation, Alsace has been worked by small village winemakers for centuries (major regional wars notwithstanding). There are thousands of producers in the region, though according to the Oxford Companion to Wine, about 175 of those producers make up nearly 80 percent of the regions production. Many of those 175 are still relatively small by French standards, but some, due to their tenure as well as success have grown to be significant producers that make enough wine for export all over the globe. Trimbach (or more properly, Maison Trimbach) is perhaps one of the best known of these larger producers, and for good reason. The Trimbach family has been making wine under their name since progenitor Jean Trimbach founded the house label in 1636. Twelve generations later, the estate is still run by the family, and is synonymous with the region, producing what some consider to be the finest wines around. For the first two hundred or so years, Trimbach wines were made, like many in the region, in relative obscurity. Produced and consumed all within a 25 mile radius, the wines were part of the fabric of village life. Around the turn of the 20th Century, however, the then proprietor Frederic Emile Trimbach submitted the family's wines to be shown at the 1897 Brussels Exposition, where they were apparently greeted with significant acclaim. Now, nearly 120 years after that initial success, Trimbach is known for producing two of the region's finest wines -- both Rieslings. One is bottled under the name Clos St. Hune, and comes from the Grand Cru Rosacker vineyard, and is widely regarded as the region's best Riesling. The other is this wine, named after the enterprising Frederic Emile, whose marketing skills launched more than a century of prominence for his family winery. In addition to these top wines, Trimbach makes 13 other wines, in quantities ranging from a couple thousand cases to the tens of thousands. Cuvee Frederic Emile is made mostly from grapes grown on a south-southeast facing hillside vineyard named Osterberg above the winery. The limestone rich soil of this Grand Cru vineyard drains quickly and deep, and the grapevines are, on average, 30 years old. The grapes are picked with painstaking deliberation into small shoulder baskets over a series of days, with the goal of selecting only fully ripe clusters of grapes. These clusters are destemmed and assiduously sorted, again to ensure only the choicest grapes are crushed and fermented, ever so slowly, with native yeasts. I'm not sure about the total production of this wine. The Clos St. Hune is less than 600 cases, but I suspect Cuvee Frederic Emile is made in slightly larger quantities. Were it more plentiful, however, it might be more common to find beautiful aged bottles like this one that some good friends shared with me last month. Trimbach's wines, especially their top cuvees, seem to age forever, and as they do, their personalities begin to truly shine. Every time I enjoy Rieslings from the Old World like this one, I realize that I don't drink enough Riesling. Every time I enjoy such a beautiful Alsatian wine, I am reminded that I definitely don't drink enough of Alsace.
Tasting Notes:
Pale gold in the glass, this wine has a shockingly bright nose of quince and honey that begs to be inhaled slowly, as if that were physically possible. On the tongue it is halogen bright, with gorgeous acidity that brings to life a swath of flavors ranging from fresh lemon juice and honey to paraffin and nut skin. The wine lasts forever in the mouth, lingering through its drawn out finish on vapors of pomelo and orange zest. A fantastic, distinctive wine.
Food Pairing:
Whatever you eat with this wine, make sure it's damn good. I drank this on my birthday last month and enjoyed it with many things, but especially with a light cooked shellfish salad of crab, squid, octopus, and clams in an "ocean vinaigrette" with seasoned sesame. Overall Score: between 9.5 and 10 How Much?: roughly $110 - $190 these days. Current releases (2003) go for $35. This vintage of the wine can occasionally be found on the internet. Current releases can be purchased here.
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| [05/06/2008, 17:15] | A Timely List of Bordeaux Values | |  After our recent Wine Book Club foray into Bordeaux, I thought you might be in the mood to buy some wine from the region to stash away in your cellars and closets for drinking in three to five more years.
If you are looking for some good value in Bordeaux, then you should check out the list of 100 affordable wines that was selected in a blind tasting by a jury that included Chanterelle Master Sommelier Roger Dagorn, Binny's Fine Wine Buyer Barbara Hermann, and author Leslie Sbrocco. I had hoped to attend their tasting last month in Los Angeles, but was felled by such a bad cold that I couldn't taste or smell anything--not ideal for sampling Bordeaux.
Thankfully, the list is still up on the web so I wanted to let you all know that it's a well-rounded list of dry whites, reds, and roses, as well as sweet dessert wines. Though I didn't get a chance to taste my way through the whole list, the inclusion of wines from Chateau Lamothe de Haux, Chateau Andron Blanquet, and Chateau L'Embrun all inspired confidence. None of these names will be terribly familiar to you, because they are produced by smaller producers who are vastly overshadowed by the big Bordeaux names. But they were selected for the list because they were excellent representatives of Bordeaux for the price.
So if you want to try some Bordeaux, but are not prepared to pay premium prices, this list could help you to find more affordable options that will still deliver great taste and classic varietal flavors. | | | |
| [05/14/2008, 05:14] | Benmarl's Kristop Brown - New, Young Winemakers of the Eastcoast | | 
Benmarl makes one of my favorite wines - a Reserve Baco Noir which is turning heads and is a scarce commodity because it sells out every year. Here's an interview with one of the best young winemakers today.
I do not know Kristop Brown well. But I know of him. He is young, but well educated, and hungry for more knowledge.
Kristop Brown has rock star good looks, a soft spoken voice, and confident but unobtrusive personality, and a great way with people. Oh yeah, and he makes great wine. The current heart throb of Hudson Valley winemaking, it is easy to see why people are drawn to the quiet but charismatic winemaker from Benmarl. He certainly mirrors the zen of the current age, Brown seems to evince a love and enthusiasm for wine and winemaking, but also seems to possess a sense of self, not taking himself too seriously.
?I worked at Millbrook Winery for one year,? said Brown. ?I became interested in wine at Millbrook where I was able to taste wine from Millbrook as well as the other estates owned by John Dyson in Tuscany and the Russian River Valley. This opened my eyes to the world of wine.?
?I went to Rutgers University and studied forestry,? he said, admitting that wine was not yet a trade he had at first considered seriously.
?I've been at Benmarl since the [first week] in January 2004,? says Brown. ?I learned to make wine apprenticing under Eric Miller, former winemaker at Benmarl [and son of owner Mark Miller], and owner and winemaker at Chaddsford winery (Pennsylvania). I took Organic chem. I and II at SUNY Ulster to help me understand wine better.? He added, ?I am also in school part time with the goal of getting a degree in Chemistry.?
Benmarl is known for its Baco Noir, and in recent years Brown has helped raise the hybrid from a local favorite to a wine other winemakers are talking about. Many other wineries had pulled their Baco Noir vines, not able to make a go of it with the somewhat obscure hybrid. But Brown?s newest incarnation of this grape reminds one of a fine Rhone or a Washington state red. It?s big, fruity, but dry and elegant. And the new package and label have helped make the transformation complete. This wine is a true treasure.
I asked Kristop about the vines at Benmarl. ?The average age of a Baco vine on the property is 25 years old with the oldest at 50 years. These older vines give great character and low yields. Also Baco should be planted in steep rocky soils overlooking a body of water, which is exactly us. Aging in a mixture of new and used French oak is an essential part of Benmarl's Baco program. We age Baco for at most 8 months. I feel the youthful fruit of Baco shows best and should be consumed in the first 1-5 years of its life. Lastly the high acidity must be dealt with and this to me is the biggest challenge in making the wine. Blending a small amount of low acid wine like Foch works, de-acidifying may work (but sometimes leaves a "hole" in the wine), and leaving a dash of residual sugar are all techniques I have used.?
?90% of the producing vines are Baco with the rest split between Marchel Foch, Leon Millot, Noiret and there is a dash of Chambourcin, Aurora, and Villard Noir?We are currently cultivating young Traminette vines on the property and making plans for restoring much of the overgrown terracing to replant. This of course will take many years to complete. ?
I asked him if he enjoyed making Baco Noir. ?I do enjoy making Baco the most because I am starting to know the variety a little better having worked with it for four and a half vintages. I am able to tend the vines and make the wine which I think allows for maximum control of the outcome. I also enjoy making crisp whites with slow, cool fermentations like Traminette and Riesling. The intensity of aromatic fruit that is created is intoxicating.?
What is his favorite part of the process? ?My favorite part of winemaking believe it or not is working in the vineyard. This is where the wine is made. I finally understand the French philosophy on the vigneron which means "winegrower.?
The more you know Mr. Brown, the more you want to know. He was originally born in Sharon, Connecticut, in June of 1975. He is married to Jade, and they have an 11-month-old baby, Ruby. "I used to fly fish and go camping with Jade before the baby, but would like to return to it when Ruby is older. I also have two cats (Stanlely and Stella)."
Did he want to be a winemaker when he was younger? Hardly. ?I don't think I ever really thought about that when I was little. Maybe a professional fisherman or something.?
I asked him to name a few of his favorite East Coast wines, but this is a truncated list, including Dr. Franks Rkatsitelli, Millbrook Tocai Friulano, Whitecliff's Awosting White, Bedell Cellars? Taste Red, Glenora's Cabernet Franc.
Asked what wine region he would most like to visit, he replied, ?I would like to visit the Loire Valley to see how they produce Cabernet Franc, which I feel might make a good vinifera varietal for our property.?
I told you he was serious. | | | |
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More gewurtz. The good news is that this is an excellent wine. The bad news is that it is sold out. I thought I would review it anyway because it is worth reviewing and you might spot it on a restaurant list somewhere or other. This is barrel femented in old French oak and left on lees for an extended period. All very interesting and artisanal.
