Billionaire's Vinegar 2nd Edition

And so the saga continues. As reported in Decanter, there is new evidence in the Jefferson bottles case. One of the main characters in the book is William Koch, a Florida billionaire, and he claims to have new evidence that will once and for all prove Hardy Rodenstock's guilt.
So perhaps Benjamin Wallace will have to consider writing a revised edition of his book. Since the film rights to the book have been optioned, the continuation of this story will make for an even more exciting movie. It will be fascinating to see who will play Michael Broadbent and who will be the actress taking on the role of Jancis Robinson.
Speaking of billions, the news that Foster's in Australia is considering shedding its wine division has investors and growers worrying and wondering. Foster's spent $6.8 billion getting into the wine business by acquiring Beringer Wine Estates and Southcorp Ltd. in the US. Flagging world wide beer sales triggered this expansion. Wine sales continue to increase world wide. Here in Canada, and we are a beer drinking nation, wine sales have increased yearly and beer sales are down according to Statistics Canada.
So it seems to me rather counter productive to sell off a potentially lucrative business. Another eyebrow raiser is the sale by the world's largest wine producer, Constellation Brands, of 5 well-known California brands, two Washington state and one Idaho winery. A strong Euro and increased wine consumption in the US has benefited American wineries. Again another puzzling corporate decision. So if you don't like the company that owns your favorite winery, wait a month or two, it is likely to change hands soon. Billions of dollars at play. In the meantime I will just continue to enjoy my daily fruit of the vine and since I am leaving for a week of visiting wineries in California, I am sure to be tasting my way through some fabulous examples. My camera and I are ready.

Wine, Vinegar....and Billionaires!

Just finished reading "The Billionaire's Vinegar"
by Benjamin Wallace,Crown Publishers, New York. A very impressive detailed book on the history and the mystery surrounding a 1787 Chateau Lafite which went at the incredible auction price of $156,00. The bottle was auctioned off by Christie's of London and was supposed to have been owned by none other than America's first wine connoisseur, Thomas Jefferson. I love mystery stories and I love
history surrounding wine. After all it has been around for over 6000 years. Benjamin Wallace has created a wonderfully detailed account of the Thomas Jefferson wines. A thriller from start to finish. Its rather sad that the great gift of the fruit of the vine should be turned into an object of greed. You soon know who the culprit is in this story. And of course well known figures in the world of wine are not spared in this saga either. The well known and respected Michael Broadbent is a key player in this whole affair. Mr.Broadbent claims there are many inaccuracies in the book. I doubt that he will come forward and tell us what they are. In the end the pathetic Hardy Rodenstock has not done the wonderful world of wine any favours and you can only hope that Bacchus and any other Gods of wine out there, show him some mercy.
Just when I finished reading this book I received the sad news of the passing of a dear wine friend of mine here in British Columbia. Claude Jacques Violet passed away on May 31st, 2008.
A true pioneer in the BC wine industry. Claude and his magnificent wife of 49 years, Ingeborg, known by her friends as "Ingy" dared to be different. Visit the Domain de Chaberton's web site to get the details about the Violets. Click on "winery" and then "about us"to get the history of
Claude and Ingy. More than 300 years of wine history can be attributed to the Violet family. What has always struck me and left me so very impressed was their sincerity, their honesty and their dedication to anything wine and their community. They say behind every good man, stands a good woman. Only in this case beside a "great" man stood a great woman. Claude you will be missed my friend.
Shady characters like the one in "The Billionaire's Vinegar" will come and go. But wonderful people like Claude will be in our hearts and minds forever. Rest in peace, mon ami and I am sure that right now you are having a great conversation in that big vineyard in the sky with the winemaker of the 1787 Chateau Lafite.

The Heart and Soul of Wine.

Berry Bros & Rudd recently released a report on the future of wine.
They are of course Britain's oldest wine establishment, celebrating their 310th anniversary this year. I have a great respect for this vintage company but do not agree with everything covered in this report. (For those of you interested in reading the entire report, email me at fruitofthevine@shaw.ca and I will send you a pdf copy)
Their claims on China as a future rival to Bordeaux are refuted by people in the know as evidenced by comments left on Decanter.com
There is an intense interest in wine around the globe and a thirst for knowledge about the subject. Bloggers and writers everywhere giving us daily doses and we can't seem to get enough of it. We all know how wine drinkers progress from the sweet barely drinkable wines but eventually will settle for the many outstanding wines available today. I think of my own journey along the road of wine which started while in college. Mateus was where it was at. So I find Jasper Morris' MW
prediction somewhat unbelievable.
"In 50 years, consumers will ask for wine by the brand name or flavour and won't know, or care, where it has come from. Grapes will be genetically modified to change a wine's taste and producers will add artificial flavourings to create a style wanted by consumers." I cannot visualize the wine consuming public dumbing down and ordering a "Waitrose White" or a "Rosemount Red"
The quality of wines will continue to improve. It has to, if wineries expect to sell their wines in this highly competitive market. An example of this happening is the creation of a "crus" appellation in the Minervois region of the Languedoc. TheAOC Minervois La Livinière
was established in 1999. This past week I had the pleasure of meeting Isabelle Coustal, the proprietor and wine maker at Chateau Saint Eulalie.
Her Chateau Sante Eulalie La Cantilene is an outstanding wine and an example of what the future holds for us wine drinkers not content to drink the commercial plonk. We tasted Isabelle's Plaisir d'Eulalie. and it truly is a pleasure. Candle light and wine shared with friends enjoying a good meal came to my mind. Now I won't be around 50 years from now to say I told you the BBR report was not accurate, but future wine drinkers will be enjoying some amazing wines like the ones coming from the Minervois La Liviniere today. And with wine makers like Isabelle leading the way the Heart and Soul of good wines will be passed on to wine drinkers 50 years from now.

The Nose Knows Fine Wine!

Birds do it! Bees (wasps) do it! And of course dogs do as well. Do what? Use their sense of smell. They do it so well that they are being trained to do some pretty amazing tasks. Wasps
could be trained and very cost effectively at that, to detect toxic chemicals and explosives. That would make for an interesting scenario at our international airports. Instead of sniffer dogs you would see inspectors walking around with jars of wasps. Birds also have a strong sense of smell. It turns out they use their sense of smell to detect possible predators. Our dear dogs are being trained to detect the nasty vine mealy bugs which have become a challenging problem in California vineyards. It is quite obvious that in every case this is part of their genetic make up. It comes naturally so to speak. I am sure momma and papa wasp aren't taking time out to teach the little ones. By the way that is my little dog Maddie in the picture. Click on the pic. to get a closer look at what she is doing. I am teaching her to detect TCA in my wines. So what is all the buzz and surprise about our sense of smell and taste being part of our genetic makeup? An interesting article by Dan Berger over at Appellation America discusses how recent research has come up with the idea that our genes may be a factor in how we smell and taste our wines. Really now? So perhaps who you are will determine whether or not you should pay attention to Parker points or any other subjective point system. Speaking of Robert, has he been blessed with an abundance of smelling and tasting genes? They say that as you get older your sense of smell and taste are likely to be less intense. So does that mean he will be retiring soon? After all he will be turning 61 this July. And how about that $1 million insurance policy he has on his nose and palate? Will his insurer be taking a second look at his coverage? If your genetic makeup plays a large role in what you can taste and smell how do you insure your genes? Just some points to ponder. In the meantime drink what you like and like the wines you drink.

Do Capsules on Wine Bottles Impress You?

I had not really given much thought to wine bottle capsules until I read the feature article in the March issue of Wines&Vines magazine on capsules. "Capsules in Transition" gets down to the nuts and bolts and its importance in the marketing scheme. Wine Business Monthly does a capsule survey every two years. The last one was in 2006, so we are due for one this year. It will be interesting to see the change in trends when the survey is released. As pointed out in the Wines&Vines article the cost factor will have a determining influence.
All the wine press has focussed its attention on the pros and cons of cork versus screw-caps and it seems capsular comments have been few. Screw-caps had long been considered by many wine drinkers as closures for inexpensive or inferior wines. That is certainly not the case today. A press release in February 2007 boldly announced that Boisset would be launching both a Grand Cru and a Premier Crus under screw-cap.
But capsules? I just have not been paying too much attention. OK, a funky label might get my attention when I am shopping for wine. But I have never turned away from a wine because of its capsule or for that matter bought one because the capsule gave a "buy me" message. I have to admit that lead capsules always appealed to me. They seemed somehow to denote and give a certain grandeur to a bottle of wine. So I went and paid a visit to my humble little wine cellar to see just what kind of capsules I have been collecting. Ah, there is one with a lead capsule! It turned out to be a 1976 Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou. Not a great vintage but a good one. It needs to be consumed now! Had I ignored this noble wine because of a secret admiration for lead capsules? Fond dreams and memories of great wines are part of the charm of drinking wine. Changes in capsule styles should never interfere with those special moments in the presence of a gift as great as a good bottle of wine. Sure would like to receive some capsular comments on this topic.

ROSÉ and BEAUJOLAIS.. are here to stay!!

Preferences and fads in wine styles come and go. The movie "Sideways"
created an increased demand for Pinot Noir. That seems to have settled back and now Merlot sales are increasing once again. With consumers becoming ever more knowledgeable about wines, might we see a decrease
in the ever popular "White Zinfandel"? While I like my reds and certain white varietals, there is something undeniably pleasant about a good rosé.
Sales of rosé wines are on the increase.
But what always baffles me is the continuing success of Beaujolais Nouveau. Released on the third Thursday of each November it has been a marketing success. Over 65 million bottles are sold annually, which accounts for more than half of all the wine produced in the Beaujolais.
Say "Beaujolais" and the average wine drinker thinks of it in terms of Nouveau. What a shame.
Because Beaujolais produces some outstanding wines at reasonable prices.
There are five classifications of Beaujolais:
Beaujolais Nouveau, Beaujolais, Beaujolais Superieur, Beaujolais Villages and the 10 Beaujolais Crus. The ten village Crus from north to south are St.Amour,Julienas, Moulin-a-Vent, Chenas, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Regnie, Brouilly and Cote de Brouilly. The Beaujolais Crus are the spritual home of the Gamay Grape. Most Beaujolais should be drunk young but the Crus are much more concentrated and the best can be kept for up to 1o years.They can then resemble a mature Pinot Noir but at a much lower price. Its time for Beaujolais! I know, they do not get Parker points. Not big and bold enough. But there in lies their charm. And if you want to get away from those high alcohol, over-powering wines look no further.

Eat, Drink (Wine) and be Merry.....

..... for tomorrow you die! Or so British Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo and her anti-wine drinking cohorts would have women believe, if they consume one glass of wine a night. A report released by the minister claims that "Women who regularly drink too much are 50 percent more likely to develop breast cancer."
Ever since the now famous French Paradox was aired on the CBS weekly program "60 minutes" back in November of 1991, the clock has been ticking and almost weekly another "scientific" report tells us about the benefits of drinking red wine. The latest study from Spain states that polyphenols in red wine can prevent high blood pressure in older women. A new study at University of Rochester Medical Center shows antioxidants to be effective in killing pancreatic cancer cells. The media of course jump on these reports to bring you both negative and positive claims about the consumption of wine. Some of the evidence for the healthful benefits is almost anecdotal, some semi-scientific and but a lot are studies undertaken using classic scientific methods. None seem to be totally conclusive and will remain that way until a study involving a large number of wine drinkers, consuming equal amounts over a long period of time can be evaluated. In the meantime governments will continue to reap the benefits of collecting huge amounts of revenue in the form of additional taxes. Not much we can do about that, I guess. There are human endeavors that are much more dangerous than drinking your favorite glass of wine. Try white water rafting, mountain climbing, skiing or just plain driving your car. So my advice to you based on personal research over many years..... drink your wine and enjoy to the fullest, for tomorrow you....

Overwhelmed by Wine!

Are you an overwhelmed wine drinker? I am. But not in the sense that the marketing gurus have determined what the definition of an overwhelmed drinker is. In a study commissioned by Constellation Wines US. Wine consumers were broken down into six categories. So why am I overwhelmed? Not by the sheer numbers of wines available from around the globe but rather by the "so much wine, so little time"factor. And I love trying wines from different regions in the world whenever I can get them. When I travel to different parts of the country and to other countries I drink "local" wines as much as possible. I read a lot of wine blogs but I have to say that I do not find the endless reviewing of wines on these blogs to be particularly useful. Mostly because I cannot purchase the wine described at any of the wine shops I frequent locally. But also because of my philosophy about wine. Wine to me is the most wonderful drink in the world to be enjoyed to the fullest. This frenetic chasing of one wine after another does not give me the peace and joy I have come to expect from wine. I have a dozen or so I fall back on for that purpose and then will taste others for a change of pace.
Having said all that I have a wine newsletter by the same name as my blog "Wilf's Wine Press" and I have a panel of 8 tasters to help me review wines. You will not often see me reviewing a wine on this blog because of the fact that chances are you will not be able to find them where you live. So what's the point in you reading about a wine you cannot get. My newsletter's subscribers are for the most part (95%) local and at least the wines I review will be available to them.
So keep on drinking. (wine of course) And perhaps someday soon we will be able to try a wine from a far off Arab state. There might be a rocket or two resting among the rocks in their vineyards but that will just add to the "terroir" taste. Or is that terror?

I Saw Three Sailing Ships....Delivering My Wine!

Yes, coming to a port near you, will be your next shipment of wine. Talk about history repeating itself. In the late 17th century a flourishing trade relationship developed between Britain and Portugal with the shipment of Port wine. To help the wine survive its voyage it was found that the addition of brandy made the wine more stable and thus the forerunner of todays Port wine came into existence. This time around it is France and Ireland. Going green does give rise to new investment opportunities, does it not? But there is a thin line here between sincerely believing you are contributing to the reduction of that carbon footprint and just using this as a means of adding more greenbacks to your bottom line. You have to wonder when "the Canadians have already ordered 20,000 bottles" whether or not this is just a marketing opportunity being exploited. Of course they could ship the wine in plastic bottles to reduce weight and perhaps carry a bigger load. But then you do not want to be consuming those BPA's, do you? Or perhaps now that we know wine just does not taste as good when bottled in plastic, we will be demanding "green" containers. You cannot get anything more natural and socially responsible than glass. If you thought that the cork versus screw caps debate was controversial, the glass and plastic bottle should keep us all busy for a while. I know this is a traditional Christmas carol but follow the link below to a musical version of it and close your eyes, glass of wine in hand and picture your next wines being delivered by three sailing ships.
Three Ships

Does Wine Age Under Screw Cap?

It is not my intent in this post to rehash all the arguments for and against cork or screw caps. All I know is that at the present time, I do not have any wines aging in my humble little cellar that are under screw cap. While each side has put forth strong arguments, some proponents have taken an almost religious do or die approach. Its black and white and the other side better wake up. After all, says New Zealand we are mostly under screw cap, so we must be right. Others are taking a more reasoned approach and have an ongoing evaluation wine program. Most of these evaluations have not been very scientific and it is difficult to keep subjectivity out of the picture. And the power of suggestion plays its role as well. After all, recently a group of tasters chose a cheap wine, which they were told was expensive, as the best and the expensive wine which they were told was cheap as their least liked wine. So can tasting wines with cork and screw cap closures for evaluation, even when done blind, be anymore believable? Amorim believes that more research will lead to the development of an improved cork closure that every one can be happy using.
When I cellar my wines it is with the intent on having them develop and mature. And if a closure prevents that from happening and gives me a wine with all its fresh, lively fruit just like the day it was bottled, then why would I cellar it?
So I was happy to read that Nomacorc and UC Davis are conducting research into how oxygen
influences the evolution of wine and hopefully determine what constitutes the optimum closure(s). Chemical markers will be used to evaluate the evolution of key wine molecules exposed to different amounts of oxygen. All very scientific and very objective.
We will just have to wait till August 2009 for the results. In the meantime when I am in the mood for a fresh, zippy, fruity wine I will buy that delicious New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and when the mood strikes me for a serious mature rich red I'll take my chances and dig up something I have been aging for a while. Happy drinking to all of you out there!!