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Nov
2017
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Linkin’ logs: 11-1-17

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Scrollin’ away, vying for the best vinous news:

• The wrong kind of party poopers have cost a Long Island winery its license. H/T to my friend Rolf.

• Cayuse is losing gobs of money because of faulty corks. My buddy Joe sez: “I’m fairly certain that someday people will look back on cork closures like we remember eight-track tapes.”

• I love these kinds of things: When certain wines get too expensive, try these alternates.

• The Prohibition era was an endlessly fascinating time, prompting endless resourcefulness. But I never had heard about wine bricks from back in the day.

• Some spot-on postmortems on the Wine Country fires, which have proven to be the costliest in U.S. history, by Jon Bonné and Elaine Chukan Brown.

• Finally, a variation on the dating game:

 

 

 

29
Oct
2017
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Wines of the Week: Oct. 23-29

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Everyday: It snowed here the other day, which means it’s time for … white wine. In recent years, I have found that the lift and energy from vibrant whites, mostly from Europe, often suit me better than big-ass reds at the end of a wintry day. The 2015 Cecchi La Mora Maremma Vermentino ($10) is just such a wine, super-clean, full of life on the palate and smooth and savory on the finish. The sun-splashed fruit cocktail of flavors doesn’t hurt, either (not to mention the price). Of course this Italian white plays well with all manner of seafood, but roasted winter squash is an equally swell accompaniment (especially this one). And ooo baby baby, would some Smokey Robinson provide another perfect pairing.

Occasion: Autumn is also a great time for Spanish reds, the topic of my latest piece as the U.S. correspondent for the Spanish Wine Lover website. One of the best ones out there, year in and out, is the Remirez de Ganuza Rioja Reserva, a superb value at $52 for the current vintage (2009). A robust, rich nose, perfect melding of red fruit and earth and gobs of stuffing and structure are hallmarks of this gem. The finish seems to last for days. Grilled sausages, roasted lamb or beef and of course paella are splendid matches for this rustic but refined red. Ditto for the polished but rough-round-the-edges vocals of Linda Ronstadt.

 

26
Oct
2017
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Wine economics 101: More than supply and demand

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This week brought news that lower worldwide production might mean price hikes.

I’m not buying it. While respecting the supply/demand rubric, I’m a stronger believer in the principle that “the price will be what the market will bear.”

For decades as a sports journalist and fan, I have tried to convince cynics that the salaries of the athletes have absolutely no bearing on how much game tickets and concessions cost, that those are completely determined by what customers are willing and able to pay. If ducats or beers are overpriced, sales figures for these items will go down. That’s where (wait for it!) supply and demand enter the picture.

Greedy, craven owners have tried for years to claim that the salaries of their “talent” drive prices, but that’s hogwash. In fact, the converse is true: How much money is available to pay players is determined by how much moolah the owners get from TV, merchandise, game revenues, etc. Union contracts call for a percentage of the revenues to go to the performers’ salaries.

The “what the market will bear” principle completely holds true in the wine world. Yes, increasing demand has been a factor in driving the costs of high-end wines ever skyward, but that’s pretty much equally true for both Domaine Romanée-Conti (1,780 cases a year) and Château Lafite-Rothschild (35,000 cases a year).

Those.Wines.Cost.Exactly.What.People.Are.Willing.To.Pay. Not a dollar more or a dollar less.

Consider this: Production of wine during the Great Recession was steadily increasing, but the bottom fell out of the market for many wines, especially in the $30-$75 range domestically. Yes, there was less demand — but not because people didn’t want these wines as much as they had before; instead, it was because they had less disposable income. So wineries had to reassess and reconfigure what they could charge for wines based on what (wait for it!) the market would bear.

The same principles have been at work in the Bordeaux futures market. And they will hold true as the 2017 vintages get released. Supply and demand are absolutely factors, but only in the sense of the role they play in what the market will bear.

19
Oct
2017
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Linkin’ logs: 10-19-17

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It’s a big ol’ goofy world, as John Prine intones, especially in the vinous realm:

• My kind of memorial to my kind of mayor, who purportedly drank a gallon of wine to save the city.

• Cork dork-osity: It appears that wine tastes better, or so we think, after that popping sound.

• I might be a bit too claustrophobic to sleep here. Probably should opt for an igloo instead.

• Words matter, except when they don’t, as this semi-frivolous lawsuit shows.

• In the “What the fuck is the matter with people?” category, Snopes felt compelled to post that Mexican drug cartels did not start the Wine Country fires. On the same topic — and decidedly not fake news — I talked to several former Minnesotans dealing with the crisis (photo courtesy of Tom Thornton).

• I buy wine to enjoy with friends and loved ones, not as an “investment.” But financially speaking, that’s apparently a good idea.

• Finally, I don’t care to try this, but it is worth noting:

23
Sep
2017
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Linkin’ logs 9-23-17

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Cool links unearthed while drowning in great wine in Sonoma:

• Day-um! I’m going to be in western North Carolina later this month, but not in time for a seriously cool-looking wine train excursion.

• “Baby, you’re a star,” a friend quipped after I posted this shameless self-promotion TV clip on Facebook.

• Proof that the world will never run out of wacky ideas: wine flour.

• Some fab photos here, and Decanter nailed the winner by George Rose.

• I’m grateful that these guys did it so I don;t have to: chape-wine throwdowns at Thrillist and the Washington Post.

• Finally, a worthy vocabulary expansion:

1
Sep
2017
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Linkin’ logs: 9-1-17

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Scrollin’, scrollin’, scrollin’, keeps those cool links flowin’:

• It’s heeeeere, for better or whatever: blue wine.

• I love to garden almost as much as I love wine, so these ideas combining the two work for me.

• It’s possible that our wine predilections might be linked to our DNA. Not sure what that means for those of us who like pretty much everything.

• Guess I need to drink more wine so’s I can blog more. :o)

• O yeah: Here’s a great feature on my friend Bill Hooper and a cool, seriously tasty wine he makes

• Finally, being an ink-stained wretch is actually my “secret identity,” a la Clark Kent:

 

 

9
Aug
2017
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Linkin’ logs: 8-8-17

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OK, so I’m waaaaay behind on this, and the first story is almost a month old (but still pretty cool):

• I don’t have many old wines in my cellar, but this cellar has only (really) old wines.

• Not a single one of us knows how much we snore on a given night. But wine might play a part in it.

• This is too much work for my lazy self, but going underwater for wine might appeal to more active sorts.

• Whew! Gabriel Froymovich makes a strong case that Americans are not turning away from wine.

• Love this idea: So wine syrups are a thing with savvy mixmasters.

• It’s back-to-school time is nigh, so VinePair provides some wine pairings for parents.

• Finally, in at least one way, wine makes us more articulate:

12
Jul
2017
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Linkin’ logs: 7-12-17

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Some refreshing summer reading from the InterWebs:

• Huge news: The “natural wine” movement has reached the Vatican.

• Anyone wanting to visit a cool Minnesota winery should start at Chankaska Creek, and not just for table wine. Kudos to Lauren Vogt for a stellar in-depth look-see.

• Oregon’s King Estate is making wine for Amazon. I’m a longtime fan of their pinot gris.

• The latest on the health front from a centenarian: Wine is a key to longevity.

• My pal Peter penned a nice piece on enjoying wine. Some great tips therein.

• I’d love to try a ’96 Madeira — in this case (actually two), a 1796 Madeira.

• Finally, an oft-bandied-about statement in another realm gets its day on the vinous front:

 

 

 

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