Wine Peeps

“It is one of the ironies of the wine market today that just as the price differential between the cheapest and most expensive bottles is greater than ever, the difference in quality is probably narrower than it has ever been. There is good and bad quality at every price level.” –Jancis Robinson, How to Taste

Doesn’t a $400 bottle of wine have to be better than a $30 bottle of wine? Not necessarily. A wine can disappoint (or surprise) you at any price, whether it’s $4, $40, $400 or more. While many great wines are very expensive today, in my opinion, not many of these expensive wines are really worth their price tag.

At Thanksgiving dinner a few years ago, Mom surprised us with a 1996 Chateau Lafite Rothschild (French Bordeaux) that set her back $400, just so that we could see what a so-called “perfect” bottle of wine rated 100 points by the experts tasted like. Now I’ll have to admit, it was a very good bottle of wine. But was it worth $400 or anything close to that price? Probably not.

In fact, later during dinner, we took the remaining half bottle of the Lafite and blind tasted it against a 2000 Columbia Crest Walter Clore Private Reserve (Bordeaux-type blend from Washington). Walter Clore is widely available at about $30 per bottle. In our blind tasting, two of the four of us preferred Lafite and the other two chose Walter Clore as their favorite.

Now if it’s worth the $370 difference for you to say you drank a Lafite, fine, but we’d rather have a case of Walter Clore for the same money ourselves.

While we’re on the subject of $400 wines, in May 2006, there was a thirtieth anniversary re-tasting of the wines from the famous 1976 Judgment of Paris Tasting, the event that really put American wines, and California wines in particular, on the map. The tasting in 1976 pitted some of California’s best wines against top French wines, and the American wines won. It was one of the pivotal events in the history of wine, not so much because the Americans won but because the experts who tasted the wines could not tell which wines came from which country in the blind tasting.

In the 2006 re-tasting, it was generally thought that the French wines would have aged better and would certainly win this time. But the American wines won again. In fact, the California Cabernets swept the first five places this time around.

The point is not that French wines are no longer that good; in fact, they are probably better than ever. The point is that there are outstanding wines made today almost all over the world, and you don’t have to pay $400 per bottle (or even more in the case of many 2005 Bordeaux) to find one.

“I don’t think there’s anything rational, or sane, about paying $750 to $1,000 a bottle for any wine. That’s one reason I stopped buying Bordeaux a few years ago. It simply became too expensive for my taste…The same market that gives us scary Bordeaux prices offers us values as well, increasingly from around the world. You just have to pay attention, strike when the opportunity presents itself, and be prepared to walk away from loved ones that become too expensive.” –James Laube, Senior Editor, Wine Spectator

“I couldn’t help but think if we’d spent more time researching the business of winemaking, we would have known that success isn’t totally dependent on the quality of the product. As with any other industry, marketing, luck, connections, politics, and—in this case—personal preference can influence any winery’s status in the marketplace.” –Linda Kaplan, My First Crush

The people who make money in the winery business are not necessarily the people who grow or contract for the best grapes and they are not necessarily the people who make those grapes into the best wine, but they are the people who have developed and executed a top notch, consistent program for marketing their product, selling out every vintage before the next one is ready to come to market.

For smaller wineries, most of them cannot sell their wines for enough per bottle to make a profit unless virtually all of their wine is sold direct from the winery through their tasting room, wine club, and website. They probably cannot attract a good distributor nor can they really afford to give up half of the retail price right off the top for distribution.

If you want to see a small family winery operation that understands hospitality and marketing, visit Icicle Ridge Winery in Peshastin, Washington, just east of Leavenworth. Louie Wagoner, the Wagoner family patriarch, is a well-known and respected pear farmer who ventured into the winery business about seven years ago. Son-in-law Don Wood is the winemaker and the entire family is involved in the operation.

They have a very unique tasting room setup in the dining room of Louie and Judy Wagoner’s log home at the winery. You’ll never feel more at home anywhere else than at Icicle Ridge. They have established a very successful wine club that is built around a myriad of special events held at the winery throughout the year. Our favorite Icicle Ridge events are their summer Jazzamatazz Concerts, featuring popular regional artists such as Darren Motamedy.

A couple years ago, they opened a second tasting room on Front Street in downtown Leavenworth, a popular tourist destination that gets hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. While no winery can make the absolute best wine every year, Icicle Ridge is a good example of a winery that understands that you can be number one in hospitality and marketing every year.

The wine producing business is not nearly as glamorous as it looks from the outside. It’s basic agriculture.

Traditionally, especially in Europe, winemaking was a family farm type business on a small plot of land passed down through the generations. It was an annual struggle to grow the grapes, process them into wine, and sell them for enough to support a family.

In the United States, it was somewhat similar early on, but today the wine business is inundated by the hobbyist winery owners on the one hand and the mega-winery conglomerates on the other.

Whether here in the U.S., in Europe, or wherever, the wine producing business is a labor intensive, get your hands dirty endeavor. You can do everything technically correct in planting, weeding, pruning, irrigating, scheduling your harvest–you name it–and the weather can still ruin your crop.

In the winery itself, skill in blending cannot always make up for deficiencies in a particular grape vintage. And the opinion of just a couple of key critics can make-or-break your marketing effort for the year. Our hats are off to those families who have made wine production their life’s business and succeeded. Again, it’s not nearly as glamorous as it looks from the outside.

“Wine tasting is to taste a wine with care in order to appreciate its quality; to submit it to examination by our senses, in particular those of taste and smell; to try and understand it by discovering its various qualities and defects and putting them into words….” –Jean Ribereau-Gayon and Emile Peynaud

As you begin to examine each wine in a tasting you attend or host, try to follow the tasting methodology below (adapted from several sources over the years, including the Wine Spectator, Emile Peynaud, and Amy Mumma, CWU World Wine Program coordinator) or something similar:

First, pour about 1/3 glassful in an appropriate tasting glass.

SEE: Tilt the glass at a 45-degree angle away from you against a white background with good lighting.

• Is the wine brilliant, clear, or hazy?
• Do you see any bubbles or ropiness?
• Is the color pale or intense (appropriate for the varietal)?
• Does it have good color depth or density?

Sight is the first of our senses that we use in wine tasting. What you see gives you a sneak preview, clues as to what to expect. Be sure to take good notes at each step in seeing, sniffing, and sipping.

SNIFF: Swirl the wine gently in the glass to aerate it and release its bouquet, then put your nose inside the rim of the glass and take a couple of slow, deep sniffs to smell for aromas.

• Is the wine clean, or are there any off-odors?
• Are the aromas faint or intense?
• What are the aromas? Does it smell like fruit, flowers, spice, etc?
• Does the wine smell oaky? (American Oak: overt, vanilla, perception of sweetness; French Oak: subtle, spicy, kicks in mid-palate)

SIP: Take a small amount of wine into your mouth, let it lie on your tongue a few seconds and then slowly draw in some air through your lips, and then swish the liquid around like mouthwash, bringing it into contact with every part of your mouth.

• Is the wine sweet or dry? (<0.5% residual sugar is considered dry)
• Does the wine fill your mouth, i.e. have body? Does it feel more like water (light-bodied) or cream (full-bodied)?
• What are the flavors and are they intense or diluted? (Do they have the subtlety of an Old World wine or the boldness of a New World wine?)

Take another sip and evaluate the acidity, tannins, and alcohol.

• Is there a tingle around the sides or tip of your tongue? Does it have sourness like lemonade (tart), is it flat like water, or something in between (crisp, zesty)? [Signs of high acidity: leaves your mouth initially feeling dry but is soon replaced with significant saliva production.]
• Is there a puckering dryness (astringency), a rough gritty feeling, or even bitterness on your tongue or inner cheeks, like strong iced tea would cause? [Signs of tannins: leaves your mouth feeling dry and cottony.]
• Does the wine taste hot at the back of your mouth? [A sign of alcohol.]
• Are the flavors, acidity, tannins, and alcohol in equilibrium? [A sign of balance.] Too much alcohol and not enough acidity and tannins means a wine is soft. Too much acidity and tannins and not enough alcohol means a wine is harsh. A balanced wine will become smooth and integrated as it matures.
• Do you find something new in the wine each time you come back to it? Do you taste a number of different flavors? [Signs of complexity.]

SUMMARIZE: Spit or swallow the wine and record your impressions. After you spit or swallow, you can close your mouth and breathe out through your nose for further evaluation of the wine.

• Is it free of measurable wine faults? (ex. musty, baked, vinegary, sulfur, etc.)
• How long after you swallow do the flavors linger? (Finish, sometimes also called Length.) A finish of <5 seconds is short, 5-9 seconds is moderate, 10-15 seconds is long, and 15+ seconds is lingering. The longer the finish, the better.
• What is the wine’s overall quality?
• Do you like the wine personally?
• How would you describe the wine in one sentence? Try to make your one word sentence not just “I like it” or “I don’t like it” but more a description of what you like or don’t like about the wine. It doesn’t have to include any fancy wine-speak, just a simple sentence like “This wine is not balanced; I’d prefer a wine with more fruit and less alcohol.”
• And, finally, keep written tasting records. You’ll find it valuable and entertaining to look back on in the future.

The true wine experience encompasses all five senses, including hearing as you listen and appreciate the sounds of your friends and family drinking good wine with you and celebrating the day.

“Wine is a little like love. When the right one comes along you’ll know it!” –Anonymous

Keep in mind that the wines you prefer may not technically be the best wines, especially early on in your wine journey. And that’s fine. However, as you hone your tasting skills, hopefully you will be able to distinguish between pleasant but simple wines and truly outstanding wines.

A blind tasting means that the bottles are covered by sacks or wine bags so that the labels cannot be seen. Typically, a number of wines of a single type (ex. California Cabs) are tasted and compared, and then their identities are revealed. In a single-blind tasting, the varietal is known but not the individual wines. In a double-blind tasting, neither the varietal nor the individual wines is known.

By tasting wines blind, you are not influenced by the label, the reputation of the winemaker, or the price. You are focused totally on the quality of the wine and are completely unbiased in your evaluation.

After you have evaluated the wines, the real fun begins, which is removing the bags or sacks that have covered the bottles and discovering the identities and prices of wines that you really like (or don’t like).

Have you ever participated in a blind tasting? If so, did you find it to be a positive experience?

Come back on Monday for my Tasting Methodology post for tips on evaluating wines during a tasting (blind or not).

Wine rating services, wine critics, wine journalists, and wine bloggers are useful but don’t follow them blindly. Learn which critics tend to like what you like and then let them lead you to some new wine possibilities. Remember, in the end, it’s what tastes good to you, what you like that counts.

While the points ratings of the wine critics are useful for comparative worth purposes, good descriptions of the wines and what they taste like is even more valuable.

As Matt Skinner says in Thirsty Work,

“…wine is a little bit like music or art. What you and I like may be two completely different things, but at the end of the day neither one of us is right—we just have different tastes.”

Even world-renowned taster/critic Robert Parker states,

“There can never be a substitute for your own palate, nor any better education than tasting the wine yourself.”

If you do want to have online access to vast databases of wine reviews and articles on wine and the wine business, you can subscribe to one or more competent services such as eRobertParker.com or Wine Spectator Online.

Remember, the most important thing to do after you’ve read any reviews, articles, or blog posts is to get out there and taste the wines for yourself. Make notes as to what you think and compare them to what the “experts” said. Figure out what sources most closely match your tastes so that you can refer back to them for reference. Never be embarrassed by what you like. After all, wine is a beverage to be enjoyed!

“What is the definition of a good wine? It should start and end with a smile.” –William Sokolin

The two biggest dangers to wine are wide temperature fluctuations and high temperatures for a sustained period of time. For wines that you plan to consume in the next week to the next year, which will probably be most of your wine, a dark, low-vibration closet in a home or apartment with a normal household temperature of 68 to 72 degrees is fine. It’s also wise to store your wine flat, so that the wine remains in contact with the cork and keeps the cork from drying out. Actually, the color and thickness of the wine bottle itself are inherently a great help in protecting the wine as well.

Only for those few collectible wines that merit aging for years before consumption do you need to be concerned with a temperature- and humidity-controlled facility. Unless you have literally hundreds of these elite bottles, a refrigerated wine storage unit is probably your best bet. Unlike a standard refrigerator, these units keep wine at an ideal temperature of about 55 degrees and 70 percent humidity, with a minimum of vibration. We have had good luck with a EuroCave unit, but there are several other top brands with good reputations.

Base your wine inventory on what you eat and how you entertain. Always have a little sparkling wine on hand for an aperitif (before dinner drink) and the occasional celebration. Have some good whites (we generally have Sauvignon Blanc in our household) and plenty of reds. For the reds, you’ll want some Shiraz/Syrah, Merlot, Zinfandel, and fruit-forward Cabernet Sauvignon for immediate consumption, and possibly some special Bordeaux, Bordeaux-style blends, and age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz/Syrah to put away for those future special occasions. Finally, you’ll want a few wines to complement your special desserts, such as Moscato or late-harvest Riesling.

More wine is ruined by being too warm than too cold. When in doubt, serve a wine colder than you might think necessary.

Protectionism was one of the main causes of the Great Depression, yet we seem to have to relearn that lesson over and over again in both national and state politics. Here in the state of Washington, our legislators once again this year failed to listen to the lessons of history and pass a bill (SB6384) to allow wine to be shipped freely from retailers to consumers in the state of Washington.

Instead they listened to the protectionist rhetoric of the large wineries and distributors and lapped up the money that their lobbyists so generously provide. When are our legislators going to think for themselves and do what is right for the consumers of Washington State? After all, this is a democracy. When we let the free enterprise system work without artificial restraints such as these, it functions best. Artificial barriers only seem to work in the short run, but they will kill those they are designed to protect in the long run, our Washington wineries and distributors.

I have been a big fan of Washington wines for many years, and we have touted them energetically wherever we go in our wine travels and on this blog. But I am embarrassed by the recent actions of our Washington Liquor Control Board which I understand has been writing threatening letters to retailers around the country demanding that they cease shipments to Washington wine buyers. I realize that the board is only trying to enforce the law, but do they, our legislature, and our Washington wineries and distributors not understand that life is a two-way street? We need retailers around the country touting Washington wines. Do you think these threats help the image of the Washington wine industry around the country and get wine retailers excited about promoting our wines? Of course not! And if we continue our protectionist rules, the Chateau Ste Michelle/Columbia Crest group, for example, may find itself not being able to sell in other states someday.

The straw that broke the camels back for me personally was when I could not find an Australian wine that I like in local Seattle area stores as I have in the past and went online to see where I might find it. When I found it at an online retailer I had purchased through before and placed an order, the order was rejected by the retailer saying that they could no longer ship to a customer in Washington State. I guess they must have received the infamous letter. That is nuts!

The State of Washington has a law that benefits in-state wineries, distributors, and retailers to the disadvantage of out-of-state competitors. In addition to being shortsighted, as I have said above, this kind of law should also run afoul of what constitutional lawyers call the “dormant Commerce Clause.”

In “dormant Commerce Clause” cases, the Supreme Court has held that the federal Constitution’s Commerce Clause, which authorizes Congress to regulate commerce “among the several states,” is more than a grant of power. Rather, according to the Court, the Clause also contains an implicit prohibition, insofar as the Clause reflects America’s intent to be an integrated and unbalkanized economic whole generally free from parochial tariffs and other barriers to trade that states might erect to try to protect their local industries from out-of-state competition. Thus, according to Court doctrine, if state laws that discriminate against out-of-state firms are ever to be upheld, it must be because of Congressional permission or some other unusual and compelling circumstance.

In simple English, if this is truly the United States of America, we need to eliminate these protectionist state laws, which are probably illegal and without question not of long-term economic benefit to the individual states, and instead, have laws that let me, you, and all other consumers buy whatever wine we want to buy, wherever we can find it, from whomever we want to buy it, whether in-state or out-of-state.

So what do you and other Washington wine consumers do in the meantime? Here are some suggestions:

1. Write your state legislator explaining your displeasure.
2. Write the big wineries and distributors explaining your displeasure and how this law may backfire on them in the future.
3. Buy one less bottle of Washington wine for every bottle you are denied buying elsewhere and notify the Washington winery that loses your business.

Have you had similar problems having wine shipped to you in Washington State from out-of-state retailers? Does this protectionist law upset you as much as it upsets me? Please share your story. We would love to hear if you have some better ideas on how we can restore the democratic process in Washington State on wine sales.

“The differences between wines are genetically inherited: the vines and the vineyard are the bloodline. They are also inherited: when the vine is pruned, as the grapes ripen, when they are picked, as they are fermented and matured and bottled and stored again.” –Hugh Johnson, A Life Uncorked

On two recent occasions, I have been asked about “reserve” wines. In both instances, the person asking the question logically assumed that wines labeled “reserve” must be better than those that are not. However, the word “reserve” on a bottle of wine doesn’t always mean that it is better than any other bottle from that vintner. In some cases it does, but in many cases it does not.

In 1999, Washington became the first state (and I believe still the only one) to define standards for “reserve” wines. According to a measure adopted by the Washington Wine Quality Alliance, the word “reserve” can be used for no more than 10% of a winery’s production or up to 3,000 cases and the wine must be of higher quality than most wines made by that winery. Thus, “reserve” wines in Washington (at least from wineries that adhere to the WWQA standards) truly are the best of the best. In other states and countries, the use of the word “reserve” is mostly a marketing gimmick.

Other terms on labels that sometimes cause confusion when used to imply superior quality are “estate grown” or “estate bottled.” In reality, estate vineyards are simply vineyards that are owned by the winery; therefore, “estate grown” grapes come from such vineyards.

“Estate bottled” simply means that the vineyard and the winery are located in the same viticultural region and the wine was bottled at the winery that owns or has direct control of the vineyard. There is nothing in this term that connotates superior quality.

Buyer beware!

What do you think the criteria should be for a wine to be labeled “reserve”?

“If you can’t describe it in words or talk about it, like ‘It reminds me of gym socks or my mother’s blackberry pie,’ you can’t remember it.” –Karen MacNeil

It’s a good idea to come up with a good buzzword, or descriptor, for each varietal of wine you drink. Obviously, there will be specific descriptors for each bottle of wine you drink within a varietal. But having a few buzzwords that are easy to remember help you know what to expect when you get ready to open a bottle at home, pick one off the shelf at a wine shop, or order in a restaurant.

Here are just a few of our buzzwords for the most popular varietals:

Reds
Cabernet Sauvignon—blackcurrant or cassis, intense, earthy (Old World)
Shiraz/Syrah—peppery, blackberry, bold
Merlot—plummy, smooth
Zinfandel—hot, spicy
Pinot Noir—raspberry, perfumed

Whites
Chardonnay—buttery, oaky
Sauvignon Blanc—crisp, grapefruity
Riesling—fruity, floral, citrus, sweet

What is your favorite varietal and what buzzword or descriptor would you use to describe it?