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Winemonkey is moving!

We've Moved!

Hey faithful readers!

Vino Girl and I are moving in together. More content, more updates, more everything. So change your bookmarks.

You can now find us at our new collective blog:

Drink the Good Stuff!

What's even better is we've up and moved the entire content for both blogs to this new and improved blog so you can find everything in one place!

Pre-Sale Hysteria

Your winemonkey has to admit a bit of fondess for the quasi-industry event known as the pre-sale. I say "quasi" because this event is in fact open to any and all that are interested in attending. And I say "industry" because they are normally attended by the same insider crews and the events themselves are not well published.

The pre-sale, for those that do not know, is a wine tasting extravaganza held a couple of days before an auction. Sotheby's and Christie's are the leaders of this pack in New York city, but they can be found in almost every major city (Chicago has Hart Davis).

Why I enjoy them so much is that for the outrageuously low entrance fee of $75 (I can hear some groans already, but wait), you can quaff down tons of stuff you would most likely be unable to get your hands on. Now obviously this is meant to spurn your interest in purchasing the lots at auction and certainly you may get caught up in a wine enough to bid on it at the auction, but far and away the beauty of these events are the wines being poured and relative calm in which you can enjoy them.

One word of warning, they are unusually short tastings lasting only one hour, but what an hour it will be. Frankly, I would think that with a little planning on your part a pre-sale could be one of the best dates you could take your wine smitten significant other on.

As an example of their wine hedonism and the fun you can have (and by fun I mean wine), I will offer up a recent event your winemonkey attended:

1978 Chateau Margaux
1981 Chateau Ausone
1982 Vieux Chateau Certan
1982 Chateau Latour a Pomerol
1982 & 1995 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou
1985 Chateau Lynch Bages
1990 Chateau Angelus
1996 Chateau Leoville Las Cases
1997 Frescobaldi Castelogioconda Brunello di Montalcino
1979 BV Georges de Latour Private Resource (killer juice)
1987 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (you'd be surpised how good it really is)
1993 Heitz Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
1996 Dalla Valle Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
2002 Harlan Estate "The Maiden"
2002 Noon Estate Shiraz Reserve
and a couple I can't remember.

So the next time you want to wow your boyfirend, girlfriend, SO or spouse (and look like a wine insider to boot) just check the auction catalogs or give the the auction house a ring an go get yourself a unique wine night out.

Your Daily Broadbentism: 1980 Chateau Petrus

"A magnum of the '80 was produced for the tasting and an imperiale for the dinner. It was a bit over the top, spicy, specious but an attractive drink. And drink it we did, accompanied by caviar dished out like porridge... At best **" MB

Country roads, take me home

To the place I belong
Ohhhh Virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads

Okay, maybe it's West Virginia in the song, but the sentiment rings true.

For those that are unaware, there was a time in your winemonkey's life, a dark time, an evil time, when wine did not control my life and was but a mere side attraction. Oh... the horror of it. It was during those times when escape to a wine country was a neccesary succor. (yeah, I said succor) Unfortunately, I was an east coast winemonkey and could neither afford the time or expense to travel to Napa, Bordeaux or Tuscany. My wine destination of choice was the Vriginia Wine Valley. A bustling place of wine newness that fit in with my personal wine newness and together we forged a bond of wine entertainment that sustained me through the dark years.

Now there were many weedy and green Viriginia reds to be had (I still use the term 'Viriginia Red' to describe certain non Virginia wines) and some very interesting whites amongst the slog, but that is how it goes with any wine region.

I can certainly say I have had some cru bourgeois and even some classied growths that did not cut the mustard. But Virginia can be fun and so can their wine ad that is the point. They have a great wine tasting event every year out at the horse track for God's sake. I mean, come on, these people know how to party.

I had forgotten that earlier time until I received a blog comment from Dezel who has a great Virginia wine blog and I was reminded of how fun drinking wine without thinking about it could be. To Dezel I say thanks.

Learn about Virginia wines for yourself at Dezel's Virginia Vine Spot or go to the Virginia Wine and Food Society's site at Virginia Wine Guide.

West Virginia ain't gotten nuthin' on you VA.

Your Daily Broadbentism: 1943 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild

"At a Sunday lunch in March 1983: uncorked at 10AM and poured at 1:30PM to accompany soft brown eggs presented on a wicker-work tray and served with 'soliders' of toast by a white gloved man servant, the Mouton was undeterred..." *****MB


Ed. Note: Anyone who has read a Chrisite's catalog or his book Vintage Wine, is no doubt familiar with the wine note prose of Michael Broadbent. If mouthed by anyone else, surely there would be smack involved. But, when it's coming from the quintessential old-world wine master, you just have to smile, chuckle to yourself, and wonder why you didn't get to live such an extravagent life.

I plan on adding interesting 'Broadbent-isms' from time to time to kept you all in good spirits and immeasurable envy. All credit goes to MB.

Wine Monkey Starts The Wine Blog List!

All the news that's fit to print...

We'll your favorite winemonkey has taken it upon himself to compile a list of wine blogs. Now wine blog watch does a great job but I just needed a little something extra so I decided to try my hand at creating a viable central information source for all your wine needs. So go ahead and check it out and let me know what you think.

The Wine Blog List

South African winery jumps the gun

Continuing our futures discussion, it seems that South African winery Cloof is offering its Bordeaux blend wine to consumers en primeur in the UK. The newly renamed ‘Lynchpin’ right bank blend would be the first commercial offering a South African future.

Publicity stunts aside, it seems to this winemonkey that the whole point of purchasing futures from the consumer’s stand point is to obtain an allocation of wine at a more reasonable price than when the wine will be released. As much as South African wines have come around (don’t get me started on pinotage I still can not go there), I can’t imagine that the wine, which is being offered at about $15, will generate any economies of scale for the consumer versus waiting for the bottle to be released.

The wine which is actually being sold as a pre-release (a technique used by many US wineries) is available only from UK retailer Magnum Fine Wines. On top of that, (US distributors take note here) there doesn’t seem to be any distribution into the US.

Don’t get me wrong I am pulling for all wineries to do a bang up job making and selling their product, but I can’t believe there is going to be a run on Cloof Lynchpin. That being said, apparently an unnamed A-list wine writer from the UK has jumped on this bandwagon and ordered up 30 cases of the ZA juice.

But for me, I can wait.
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Here are your stats:

Cloof Winery
The winery changed ownership in 2002 and is making strides in improving quality. The winery sits on about 1,300 hectares with a bout 100 hectares under vine surrounded by wheat fields. The vines, which are untrellised and dry farmed, bake in the sun and the wines have been described as undoubtedly New World in style.

2005 Cloof Lynchpin
Average age of vines: 8 years
Location: Darling, on the eastern slopes and flats of Dassenberg, 70km north of Cape Town on granite and oakleaf.
Yield: Approximately 2.2 tons per hectare for Cab Franc, 6 for Cab, a mere half a ton for the Merlot.
Blend: 71% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon

The wine, which is culled from prime blocks on the property, is aged in 75% new French oak for 14 months. I haven’t had the wine but the numbers and its locale suggest it will be reminiscent of big Aussie stuff with high ph (thus low acid) and over 15% alcohol. It is interesting to note that this wine is blended at the end of the alcoholic fermentation instead of barrel selected after some maturation time.

Two bottles of Chateau Picard sell for $6,600!

Seems like your winemonkey has been on an auction rant of late so let us continue.

Two bottles Chateau Picard sold for a whopping $6,600. Unfortunatley for the cru bourgeois St. Estephe property, the bottles were actually vintage 2267 from the fictitious wine estate of Star Trek: Next Generation Captain Jean Luc Picard's fictitious family also known as Chateau Picard. Talk about futures. The bottles which were props and do not contain any wine sold for more than TEN times their estimate. Personally, I could think of many bottles which actually contain wine that I would rather fork over $6,600 for, but to each his own.

And I thought, wine people were nuts.
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Here is some info on the "real" Chateau Picard:
Size: 8 hectares (~20 acres)
Vine density: 9000 vines per hectare
Average age of vines: 30 years
Grape Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon (85%) and Merlot (15%)
Location: Clay interspersed with limestone on sand and gravel in the center of Saint-Estèphe.
Classification: Classified as a cru bourgeois in 1932.

In 1997, Mahler Besse (talk about coinceidence) purchased the property and modernized the winemaking equipment and the cellars. Normally considered one of the better cru bourgeois wines in the appellation, the wine is vinified in 35% new oak barrels for 12 months after 3 weeks extended maceration in temperature controled vats.

And you didn't think you were going get anthing useful out this.

Fair Warning: Part Deux

Just a quick update on wines that you can't afford. At a recent Christie's dinner, your winemonkey confirmed that the record breaking '45 mouton cases previously discussed were in fact Nicolas Reserve bottles with original corks. Phew! The final two buyers battling it out were both phone bidders, one Asian and one European. A nice battle of the continents. So as I said before, look out for strong bidding on that Sotheby's case. There was also some discussion as to the fact that Mahler-Besse (Sotheby's case) typically tops off their bottles, but this winemonkey likens it to some friendly school boy competition as to which house has the better case.

For those that have given up on the Sotheby's lot in light of the expected run up, fear not. Acker's "Cellar Part II" Auction has some '45 Mouton for your drinking pleasure at ridiculously low estimates. I am very interested in how the 6 mag lot (632) is going to fair as it was the record breaker at Chrisite's.

There is still time to get that second mortgage, but you better act fast.

Acker Lots, Get 'em while they're hot!
629 Chateau Mouton Rothschild - Vintage 1945
3bn, 9ts, 3cuc, original cork and short capsule, serial numbered bottling. Non-consecutive but close to each other, very common for this wine from the same owc, outstanding color and condition, owc
12 bottles per lot $80000-120000

630 Chateau Mouton Rothschild - Vintage 1945
6bn, 4ts, 2hs, 3cuc, original cork and short capsule, serial numbered bottling. Non-consecutive but close to each other, very common for this wine from the same owc, outstanding color and condition, owc
12 bottles per lot $80000-120000

631 Chateau Mouton Rothschild - Vintage 1945
bsl, stl, cuc, nicolas bottling, outstanding color and condition
1 bottle per lot $6000-8000

632 Chateau Mouton Rothschild - Vintage 1945
6ts, 2cuc, original cork and short capsule, serial numbered bottling, outstanding color and condition
6 magnums per lot $90000-120000

633 Chateau Mouton Rothschild - Vintage 1945
lbsl, cuc, outstanding color and condition
1 magnum per lot $10000-15000

634 Chateau Mouton Rothschild - Vintage 1945
bsl, lstl, cuc, rebouchée au Château en 1985, Réserve du Château, outstanding color and condition
1 double magnum per lot $20000-30000

635 Chateau Mouton Rothschild - Vintage 1945
bsl, stl, wc, cuc, nicolas bottling, correct dark hand blown glass for the era. Orginal, branded cork stating Mouton Rothschild 1945. Réserve du Château, outstanding color and condition
1 Jeroboam per lot $40000-50000

2004 Burgundy

How is it that so many new world chardonnays are over the top and yet so many white Burgundies are sublime? Is it the harmony of apple, pear, lemon, spice, hazelnut and vanilla? Is it terroir? Its probably a little bit of both. I have always found the style of white burgundy to be more inline with my personal palate than some showier Cali Chards which to me alwas showed a little too soft and a little to oaky. (Now this was not always the case, we tasted a mid 80s Rombauer Chard the was excellent while their stuff today is too oaked for my palate. )

Recently, I had the chance to taste through many 2004 white burgs and while I am not an expert in this field to the extent of a burghound it is a personal fascination of mine and a white I am inclined to drink. So, since our publication focuses on a very different area of wine, I am more than happy to write about my white burgundy experiences here.

The 2004s are shaping up to be a very fine vintage indeed. Very nice, classically structured and flavored wines across the board. I was sorely disappointed in the 2003s and have avoided them on more than one occasion. And now that it is bookended by both the amazing 2002 and the fine 2004, it looks like 2003 is destined to be a favorite of the cherrypickers. I am sure there will be some outstanding values in 2003 and if I find any I'll let you know.

Now, while your winemonkey certainly likes his Batard-Montrachet, they come few and far between so what I am talking about here is the likeability of so many of the "lesser" and outlying areas.

For example, Olivier Leflaive's wines were outstanding from top to bottom. Now the top is expected to be outstanding. Enough said. But, I have found that the wines toward the value end of the Leflaive portfolio gets lost in the shuffle and are just a tad too simple. In 2004, however, I feel like that is not the case. The basic stuff is a just a notch up and I feel like I am getting a really nice bottle for the price.

Now if you don't expect Montrachet in a bottle of St. Veran I think you will do well so drink up.

-------------
Some of my favorite producers/wines in no particular order (some pricey, some not):
Olivier Leflaive- great across the aboard, good consistency
Domaine Ramonet- come on, its Ramonet
Bonneau de Martray- when I think Corton Charlemagne, I think BdM.
Raveneau- Some of the best values in white burgs are Grand Cru Chablis

Fair Warning

It is fall in New York and the change of colors on the leaves heralds the wine auction season. A time when those with too much money get to spend it lavishly on wines most of us will never get to taste just so they can rub it our faces. Ahhhh, autumn.

As wine spectator so aptly reported earlier in the week, records are being shattered all around and unfortunately for my favorite wine the 1945 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild. (Like I could afford even a single bottle) Chrisites LA Auction sold a case of the juice for $290,000 followed by 6 mags for $345,000 shattering the previous case record by $175,000. I bet that breaks the wine budget for the year.

The good news is that Sotheby's NY Auction, to be held on October 21, will all so feature a case of the Victory label. Now I am not aware as to the provenance of the Christie's bottles, but Sotheby's has acquired a case and then some from the untouched Mahler-Besse cellars.

All too often the '45 Mouton has been reconditioned (albeit most auction botles come from the famed Nicolas Cellars) but Sotheby's case was acquired by Mahler-Besse in 1946 or 1947 and has been cellared by them ever since-- a deal at an estimated $120,000 to $200,000.

I fear, however, that we will be up against some stiff competition as it was reported that 5 buyers were in play for the Chrisitie's case as prices rose up to $150,000 and a final two battled it out. Now, I would bet there are some sore egos with fat wallets dripping at the chance to snag these bottles for a relative song compared to their Christie's couterparts, so to you all I say good luck.

I think it takes a while for the bank to approve a second mortage so I would get on that.

------
Ed. Note:
In all seriousness, those that are attending the auctions would do well to wait out the crowds and bid on lots at the end of the auction when most of the crowd has thinned. Look for "off " vintages and odd lots from your favorites or look for known but non-marquee producers from good vintages that you may want to try. A quick browse of the catalog and I can spot a number of good deals laying in wait at the end of auction. But remember when you get caught up in the bidding that you are going to pay a 19.5% buyer's premium on top of the hammer along with a 1% insurance charge and any sales tax due (on the total not the hammer.) Good luck to you all.

compu-monkey?

Many of you were probably not aware of your winemonkey's penchant for computer geekdom. To the ones that were, I say fear not. I have geeked it up and added a poll to the sidebar to further distract you from my blathering and to up the ante with vinogirl. I popped up a simpleton for the first run but I will rotate in some wine worthy questions for all of you from time to time. Hmmmm.... Perhaps even a poll question about poll questions to ask?

Yeah I went there. In any case answer away.

A picture is worth...

I see that vinogirl has upped the blog ante by adding pictures to her posts.

To her I say, the gauntlet has been thrown.

As for my fellow readers, I will do my best to keep your wine interest up while reading my blathering rants by throwing up a picture every now and then to distract you.

Happy reading all.

Italian Nights

So the other day your favorite winemonkey and his wine tasting companion tasted to through some high end Feudi di San Gregorio wines. Amazing stuff from stem to stern. Many of you are familar with their flagship Serpico made from 100% Aglianico di Taurasi and harvested in part from century-old pre-phylloxera vines with a price tag to match. It was amazing juice as was some of its pricey siblings, but that is for another publication. Here I must confess that I have fell in love with a simple little wine they make that I in fact did not taste on that fine day.

No fellow wine lovers, your winemonkey was hot footing it out on the town with some very fine ladies who unfortunately do not share my enthusiasm for fantastic wine and damn the price point. So given the task to find an interesting and reasoably priced italian red was laid on me and focused all my wine powers to bear down on the right bottle. Thankfully, we were at a nifty little wine bar on the Lower East Side of New York called 'inoteca that carries a wide range of excellent stuff from 2005 quaffers to 1966 Barolo.

Enter the Feudi di San Gregorio "Rubrato" Aglianico. This 100% Aglianico di Taurasi is a masterpiece of an uncomplicated wine at an uncomplicated price. Tons of interest, superior balance, bright fruit and wine that made everyone happy from yours truly (as I am now writing about it) to my wine drinking companions who throughly enjoyed the wine.

How did I come to such a decision in the face of the multitude of choices presented? An easy task when you understand wine. I always (and should as well) look for solid producers that I may have tasted and enjoyed and most likely at a higher price point. These producers tend to care about their wines all the way down the line. The "Rubrato" Aglianico is an excellent example. I had not had it, yet I enjoyed a full range of ultra premium and iconic Feudi di San Gregorio recently and from the same vintage. It was a no brainer.

For the wine geeks, here is the company line:

"Grapes are hand-harvested during the last two weeks of October. After de-stemming and pressing, maceration lasts 20 days at a temperature of 79ºF. The resulting wine is aged for 12 months in barriques prior to bottling and release."

If you are interested in what else they produce take a gander below and start exploring. (P.S. I bought a case.)

Feudi di San Gregorio Portfolio
Aglianico del Vulture “Efesto” DOC Vigne di Mezzo
Campanaro
Cutizzi
Falanghina Sannio DOC
Fiano di Avellino DOCG
Greco di Tufo DOCG
Patrimo
Pietra Calda
Primitivo di Manduria di Ognissole
Privilegio
Rubrato Aglianico
Serpico
Serro Cielo
Taurasi
Taurasi Riserva DOCG Piano di Montevergine

The New New Thing

As many you are aware, our favored Bordeaux grape varieties have fallen slightly out of favor with the current crop of California loving wine geeks. California pinot and syrah are the current flavors of the month and they show no signs of letting up. Was this a reaction to Sideways? Perhaps. More likely, I feel that sky high Napa Cab prices have driven consumers of quality wine to find alternative sources to get their fix. It also doesn’t hurt to be leading the trend and rubbing it in your friend’s face that you made a mailing list he missed, and oh... does he want to split YOUR allocation? (yeah, wine buyers can be a funny sort) That pettiness aside it is clear that wine enthusiasts are always on the look out for the next new thing so they can stay ahead of the curve. Buyers are fickle on the whole and like to feel special. Another Insignia is not going to cut it. I applaud everyone buying into the new pinot and syrah craze, but here I offer the NEW new thing.

During our extended California tasting trip, Jen and I had some crazy good Cab Franc. As you know we focus on the Bordeaux varietals with a heavy emphasis on Cab, Merlot and blends. There were many outstanding wines in the bunch, but during the trip it be came apparent to us that the most interesting and well priced wines were the Cab Franc mono-varietals and “right bank” blends. Virtually all were priced reasonably due to the relatively unfashionable Cab Franc grape used. Hold on, I know what you’re thinking--a mouth full of green pepper and weed. To that I say, this not your father’s Cab Franc. The green pepper flavored Cab Franc of the Loire Valley and elsewhere have nothing in common with what California can do with the grape in the hands of good producer.

They can get some serious ripeness in that valley and it makes all the difference. The wines are a touch spicy with ripe round fruit and interesting depth. These Francs had tons of character and interest. And let me tell you after tasting a bazillion wines that is a big factor in making a wine enjoyable. So drink up!

Oh and get them before you friend does.

Ahhh...to drink again in peace.

Just a quick post and probably not what you are thinking. No political commentary here.

Last night I sat down had some vino with some friends after a theater screening of "The Godfather" (friggin awesome- as always). However, what was truly awesome was catching a late night dinner after the movie and drinking some no name right banker while chatting and taking it all in.

No notes. No reviews. No grades. No thinking. Just me, some friends and a good bottle (thankfully). I don't get a chance to take it down a notch as much as I would like, especially since we are in high gear with our impending launch, so it was nice to just enjoy the wine and the company with out too much thinking. I implore everyone like me to do the same.

Go ahead, put down the wine list. Just put it down and let someone else pick the wine the next time you are out. You know who you are. Then don't worry about it. Drink it with dinner. Shhhhh....don't talk about it. No really. It's okay. Talk with you friends about something that is not wine related.

It's cathartic and you will thank me.

That being said... don't worry troops, I am not off the work wagon completely. I am back in the saddle over the next couple of weeks with a bevy of tastings for the site including a great Ausone vertical to 1949.

Drink up!

A Toast to a Great Burgundian

I realize I am a claret monkey, but a glass must be raised nonetheless...

Famed Burgundy winemaker Henri Jayer died this past Friday at age 84 as reported in the NY Times. There is a little I can say that hasn't already been said in the article or on Mr. Parker's bulliten board.

So, here's a shout out to all the untrained vineyard workers (and wine writers) with a dream! Sotheby's has Jayer's 1978 Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parentoux (the wine that put him on the map) estimated at $5,000 per bottle with only 3,500 bottles made per vintage.

Buyer's take note: In this winemonkey's humble opinion, while the 1978 is historically significant and would grace any cellar, the smart money is going to be on the 1997 1er Cru Cros Parentoux Reserve. This was the first vintage of the "reserve."

When Henri turned over the operation to his nephew-in-law Emmanuel Rouget in 1996, he kept 1/3rd of Cros Parantoux for himself . In 1997 he bottled 1400 bottles of Henri Jayer Cros Parantoux Reserve and only did this from 1997 until 2001.

Gary Danko has a 2000 on the wine list for $2,200 and to give you all some perspective on how important Henri was, they have the 2000 Vosne-Romanée Grand Cru, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche for a mere $1,000.

Drink up and dream!

A mess of a tasting

My partner in crime, Jennifer Frank, recently went on a trade tasting rant that I feel I must follow-up by example. A certain un-named trade tasting attended today at a fairly famous midtown restaurant has got to be the worst of all tastings. It is a veritible circus of tasters, drunkards, waiters, sales people and suppliers. I can hear the three ring circus music playing right now. Dun-dun-dada da dun dun dada.

As we entered the painfully small space for such a large tasting, it became obvious that this was to be no ordinary tasting. A recent tasting on the westside by a leading and ultra-large distibutor was at least housed in a monsterous hanger (the NY bar exam is held there for God's sake) that could fully accomodate all of the suppliers, sales people and tasters with ease. Thankfully, (and hopefully thoughfully) the liquor suppliers and their "airport bar" comedy show were pushed to the end of the space. This allowed all of the super slick neon, HDTV setups and scantily clad women passing flavored shots to show themselves in all their glory with out running into any hardcore wine tasters.

Sadly, this was not the case today. As we look at probably the WORST designed tasting book on the planet, we sigh in disbelief. Set-up by supplier with no index or brand/table crossrefrencing it becomes a useless paperweight under my arm. Perhaps a weapon to use against the throng? Alas, I am non-violent. Now, picture your humble winemonkey pushing his way through the crowds of people, jostled left and jostled right, all in a feeble attempt to taste a couple of interesting bottles. I quickly grab and pour (which I am thankful for-- it is always easier to pour yourself) begin my note and take a taste. Suddenly the horror begins. Where the hell is the friggin' spit bucket? You have got to be kidding me. Oh no, you... have... got... to be kidding me! Yes, a table away and full to the gills sits the closest spit bucket. I ignore the comments of a fellow taster who emphatically tells her collegue "Let's just do shots of liquor" and make my way through a second throng of people to reach my destination. What a nightmare. Eventually, the shift was made to spitting into a second cup because clearly I don't have enough to carry-- only a book larger than bible in one hand and my wine glass in the other.

This second spit cup scenario, however, ended up in another catastrophe that I will have to save for another post.

Finally, I will not comment on the quality (or lack thereof) of the suppliers. They are, in fact, pouring free product to everyone there and that is a lot of free booze going down the drain for them. I also will not comment on the rude waiter gestapo (yeah let's add more people on the floor) running back and forth. They are as fed up with us as we are with us. I will however comment on the food. The food-- oh the food. Plates and plates of aspargus as far as the eye can see. Albeit a nicer overall spread with all sorts of bites if you could make your way there to wait ten deep in line. But, people please STOP SERVING ASPARAGUS. Do you want your wine to show poorly? Are you throwing down the gauntlet and saying your wine can stand up to asparagus any day and twice on Sunday? Do you have that much hubris? Oh unnamed distributor, you and your asparagus fly too close to the sun.

Sadly, we were beaten today. Every wine we made a break for was either not being shown or missing in the morass. I don't think we will be making the trek back to this particular tasting next year. But don't cry for me Argentina, as I write this I am preparing to sally forth yet again to another tasting.

Bring on the asparagus.

The Wine Makers

So, the latest big news is that yours truly has made it as far a the semi-final round in a new reality show to air on PBS in the Fall of 2007 called the Wine Makers. I'll be sure to let you all know if I make the finals and get some air time!

I am, however, a little hesitant in moving on. The last thing I or our publication needs is for me to be portrayed as the Omarosa or that sommelier from Top Chef. At least, I feel a little bit better that it is running on PBS. But as they say, the only bad press is no press. So you all better watch out as I strut my stuff for all the world to see.

Information on the show can be found at The Wine Makers.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave...

First off, has it been over a month since my last post? I would expect some cobwebs around here. My apologies but the real work must get done. (On a sidenote: the website is coming along quite nicely. sooooo close. oh... soooo close.) We had about two and half weeks in Napa meeting and greeting some wonderful people. Most of whom seemed genuinely interested in our work. Which, of course, brings me to the point of the article.

As serious wine critics, we decided at the outset to not accept any adverstising within our publication. Our business model is based on a subscriber base and we felt it was important to remain as objective as possible when reviewing wines.

It has come to my attention, through an interesting read, that the Wine Enthusiast (aka WS jr.) accepts label adverstisements in their buying guide. No this is not "stop the presses!" type of information for sure. This is also not to say that wine magazine advertising doesn't have its place. On the contrary, it generates revenue and keeps wine people working which is a good thing. On top of that, I think magazine readerships also come with a healthy dose of common sense when it comes to viewing the ads and the wine scores of those ads in a given issue.

No. My complaint is with the editorial aspect of buying guide feature pages. Label art connected to a review is almost always perceived as an added attraction to highlight a given wine FROM THE EDITORIAL SIDE. Label art, bottle shots, winemakers photos, etc are the province of editorial content creators not ads in disguise. I believe most readers think a the the magazine has highlighted a label because of some special quality the wine posses not because the magazine was slipped a couple of C-notes. First by not explaining this attribute of their guide, there is more than just an appearance of improriety. By selling this space, they have pulled the wool over the consumers eyes and have become the mouth piece of the industry, shilling for dollars and not bringing to the reader true objectivity.

[to advertise here please contact me]

Hopefully more updates and no cobwebs come.

Some like it hot?

So, I have to say the your good ol' winemonkey was quite the hipster this weekend taking in a New York style late night dinner at The Stanton Social. Our 11:30pm resy wasn't even the coolest as the dining room was full to the gills until after 1am and even got a 2am bump with late night partygoers looking to chow down.

The company was excellent and the food fun with tapas sized items that included kobe beef sliders and french onion soup dumplings along with a handful of fried items whose batter was a bit heavy. This post, however, is not a knock on chef's heavy handed breading.

It would be obvious to anyone reading a wineblog that we ordered up some vino and this, my friends, is where everything went wrong. After sallying forth into a interesting and eclectic winelist typical of many of these hotspots, we awaited for our ill fated selection to arrive.

The waiter, in standard fashion, showed me the bottle and poured a taste. As I am want to do in the presence of non-wine entusiasts such as my dining companion, I tone down the ritual rhetoric to a quick sniff for corkage or fault and wave the waiter on. My first instinct was that the wine was a bit alacoholic, but it was not of too much concern as we picked a random Aussie to try and I figured the heat was a finction of an over-ripe americanized style. As I began to take my taste (and as the waiter began to pour the wine out) it became obvious to me that this wine must have been sitting under the heat lamp with our kobe beef sliders. I could have sowrn I was drinking mulled wine it was so hot. I stopped our waiter and asked him to chill the bottle, but should have immediately sent the thing back. I am sure he looked at me with surprise as it was a big red wine, but I was basically paralyzed due to the shock of the situation.

Now I have tasted thousands of bottles of wine and while I am quite good at noticing cork taint I will have to say that this is the first time I have been poured hot wine. Now, I am not talking cooked wine, that no doubt many of you have experienced, but hot wine. Could this be the new trend in wine service? Are the hipsters mocking the wine faithful and saying "Forget 68 degrees we drink red at 86! Bring me a cup and a saucer!"

Thankfully, my company more than made up for the wine (which ended up being plonk), but I have to admit that I will now fufill the wine tasting ritual from nose to palate to avoid another overheated bottle.

Or perhaps I am just not as hip as I thought.

Cheers.

Stop the Insantity

As reported by Vino Girl , earlier this week. A nice bottle of '76 La Mission Haut Brion hit our offices in the sweltering heat. Now I can hear you saying, "Oh, winemonkey clearly this must have been an error on the retailer's part that would not happen again." Alas, such is not the case as anecdotal evidence has indicated that our unnamed supplier has offended yet again.

But this post is not meant to be an indictment of this retailer. No, this post is an indictment of the entire wine industry. Producers to wholesalers to retailers ignoring that wine should not be shipped unrefrigerated. So I ask you, how is it that a $2 gallon of milk is shipped so easily in refrigerated trucks yet $100 wine goes into the hot box?

Now don't get me wrong, there have been many producers that refuse to ship in the oppressive heat that much of the country has been experiencing, but a quick scan of the major bulletin boards and you can see the complaints of those that received yet another shipment of wine club wine in the dead of summer. And don't even get me started on the wholesalers and distributors.

No one is saying you shouldn't make a buck. That is hardly the case. If a customer wants to take the risk, let them. But when a customer specifically says not to ship something into the heat or worse doesn't even know its coming (e.g. wine clubs) perhaps cash flow should take a back door to prudence.

Or else you may find your customers are taking the back door to you.

You know things are bad when...

As reported in the Independent this weekend, uber-wine corporation Constellation felt that controlling most of the known wine world was not enough tried to game the system for the JD Wetherspoon's 650 pub house wine contract by trying to convince employees to purchase their own wines back and expense it to the company.

In an email, leaked to the Bristol Evening Post, the higher-ups at Constellation noted the dismal sales of their wine (versus other would-be contract holders) and encouraged employees drink up on the companies tab.

Now, the winemonkey, does not give a twit about the dealings of Constellation and the obviously superior wine products they could not even get their own emplyees to drink (for free mind you). We live in a capitalist society and do what you need to get ahead I say (although this crosses the line a bit, but in the best sense of irony has backfired right in their faces)

What I am thinking is how can these guys not realize that if you are going to game the system; YOU DO NOT WRITE AN EMAIL ABOUT IT.

Enron anyone? Wall Street trading scandals anyone? I realize this is across the pond but come on people. At least they got what was coming to them.

Oh, cry me a river

So, after coming a bit a late to the game. I had to touch on a most humorous wine dialog. Mark Fisher, author of the blog Uncorked and a writer for the Dayton Daily News, recenty commented on the apparent absurdity of the Wine Spectator's "dining awards" not actually measuring the dining. Now, Mark usually just posts his point and let's the public slog it out, but this time he profferred his most recent piece to Marvin Shanken before publishing it.

Marv, as many of you know, is the head of all things Spectator and in only what can be called an error of ill judgment decided to respond in kind from his own hand instead of passing this on to a more objective plebe in the organization.

What follows is Marv's response to Mark's excellent piece of blog-dom:

I won’t belabor the fact that 26(?) years ago we started the awards program to both encourage and recognize those restaurateurs that were willing to make wine an important, in fact integral part of the total dining experience. NO ONE ELSE WAS DOING THIS!!!!!!!!!!! We underwrote all the costs for the first 20 years at considerable expense to us. The program became so successful, with thousands of entries, that we were going under water with it. Staffing, processing, travel, etc. One of our editors suggested that it was quite legitimate to charge for the service as the restaurant was getting the benefit — and attracting many more patrons. So we started charging and the rest is history. It keeps growing because it continues to be a great service to the dining and wine worlds. To personally inspect the 4,000 entries from around the world would cost an additional $40 million. We talked about it, then decided it was just a little more then we wanted to spend this year. Maybe next year though. Have a good summer, Marvin P.S: Our editors have traveled around the world many times to inspect candidates for the Grand Award. Half the time they don’t pass the inspection. Should I send the bills to the Dayton Daily News? Please advise.

Aaahhhh, what? Does this man really run one of the most powerful wine media outlets? Did he get his 12 year old niece to do this? And why hasn't this crybabyness been picked up by the wine media at-large?

In any case, let's also not belabour the facts. Wine Spectator does charge an application fee and they rate a restaurant on the merits of the wine list. That is the award's nuts and bolts. Next, no one is realistically going to argue about the admin fee. I mean, come on we get it, it costs money to run the program. But also, let's all agree on the absurdity of calling it a "dining" award, when no dining actually occurs.

So, what is going on here other than a rant and some bad accouting? ($10,000 for a trip to rate a restaurant- Get me on one of those Grand Award trips- sheesh)

Well it has to be because of Spectator's grand plan to invade the entire lifestyle genre. No, not by duping people into dining in sub par restaurants after perusing a winelist but by forcing people to read about the annual Pig issue when they buy the magazine to see what is going on in the wine world.

This calls into question, yet again, Spectator's position on where it stands in the wine world as it moves itself into the greater lifestyle genre and why so many of the former wine flock have lost the faith. Is it that a magazine begins by appealling to a niche few, makes money, expands, loses focus of why it exists and trys to appeal to a larger and larger audience in attempt to make even more money? I think we are getting closer to the truth. Call it the MTV effect. (Have you seen a video lately?) But who can blame them when they are raking it in.

Perhaps Marvin should stop counting his money long enough to turn off his CAPS LOCK and realize that by trying to appeal to everyone he will end up losing his core audienece and most probably appeal to no one.

But I still want to go on one of those $10,000 restaurant trips.

Wine Monkey Returns!

Welcome all! The sands of the hourglass have turned and yet another wine blog hits the ether after a temporary hiatus. Look forward to comments and sarcasm on all things wine. Read up and comment away.