Filtered/Unfiltered

Fruits from the Garden Filtered/Unfiltered wine : this is a topic that brings lots of debates, questions and images, and speaking of images, I think that this picture of simple fruits and vegetables picked in a garden, as well as the following pictures, can make a good symbolic illustration of another duality, the one opposing the natural/real wines (often summed up as "unfiltered") with the technical/industrial wines that swamp the market. These fruits and vegetables above have in common with their wine equivalents the fact that weren't pushed or sprayed, and they riped quietly on the tree or on the ground and they reflect the vintage and the occasional accidents that mother nature brougt onto them, like scars, insect bites or drought-induced small size. If you're used to what the supermarket selects for you, the first bite may be a surprise, like some can very acidic (that's why you can keep them through the winter), but there's the taste, and at the end you feel that you ate something real and good for you.
Speaking of fruit or vegetable species, here is another small digression that I would like to make about an odd "French paradox" : I learned recently that not only are our modern commercial vegetable species very limited in number, but also that the European Union and the French Administration prevent BY LAW farmers or gardeners to sell seeds from ancient fruit- or vegetable species not "registered in the catalog" of the French Agricultural Administration. How strange as it sounds, France is keeping a catalog (?!) of a limited number of fruit/vegetable species that you can buy/sell the seeds of... Really amazing. Just search for "carotte" (carrot) in the aforementioned catalog and you will find only 64 varieties listed when there are some 400 ancient varieties in France. The GNIS is the French agricultural body which is responsible for this Orwellian catalog. Here is a link (in french) to a page with figures about the autorized species). It seems quite counterproductive for France, considering its supposed love for quality food products to prevent ancient, minor or nearly-extinct vegetable seeds species to be sold, but this is what it does, and continuing such a short-sighted policy could lead to the loss of these ancient species that are part of the agricultural heritage of the continent. Imagine a country where the only wines available would be Gallo's or Castel's (the French for Gallo), that's something similar that the French Agricultural Administration is putting in place on the vegetable/fruit front, as only a handfull of selected and commercial seeds are de facto allowed and promoted... A militant group of French seed-farmers named Kokopelli also notes in one its article about the history of this catalog that the US and Canada don't have such a catalog by law and that seed companies there sell a huge number of non-hybrid seed species, most of them ancient (non-clones) varieties (the details about North America are in the text in red, last third of the page). About the American seeds companies, see also this page by Jack of Fork & Bottle.

Osaka Wine Bar : Pinot Noir

The Lights of MinamiOsaka, Japan.
The wine-bars craze has come to the Japanese provinces and Osaka has a certain number of good wine bars. Osaka people are historically known as merchant people with a pronounced taste for good food. With a tradition of plentyful access to fresh fish (Osaka is a port) and to foreign imported delicacies, Osakans are the epicurian side of Japan. There's a cliché word to describe this passion of Osaka for good food : Kuidaore, litterally "eat oneself bankrupt"... The cliché goes on to say that Tokyo people ruin themselves on fine shoes and Kyoto people on expensive cloths. And what about about Louis Vuitton bags ?...
The place to go to experience this intense local dining culture is Minami (means South), and more precisely Shinsaibashi. In Osaka you have roughly two districts for the night and restaurant pleasures : Minami (South) and Kita (North). In short, the "serious", business-minded district is Kita, this is also where Umeda's high rises, important businesses and large train stations are located. Important businessmen or yakusas will rarely bring their guests to Minami (although for the latter we saw a couple of cars with blackened windows there which could hint that it is changing...) and artists or students will rarely choose Kita for their evening outings. There are also wine bars in Kita, but the price will be also much higher than in Minami.
Source:http://www.wineterroirs.com/page/3/

Paris Wine Bars : Racines

Racines. Pierre Jancou Pouring a Claude Courtois to CésarPassage des Panoramas, Paris
Racines is a natural-wine bar which is located in one of the remaining Napoleonian shopping arcades of Paris. These arcades were some sort of early shopping malls and allowed the Parisians of the Napoleon era to do window shopping and stroll in a clean, well-lit and heated street (in winter) without being bothered by the rain and the horse carts. There are quite a number of these "passages" and "galeries" in Paris and most of them are located around the Palais Royal and the Grands Boulevards on the right bank. See this map (mouse over for names and click) for their location and details The Passage des Panoramas was built in 1799 and it was probably the very first covered arcade in Paris. Emile Zola writes at length about the passage in his novel Nana, which features an intriguing and energetic young Parisian prostitute. Read the chapter 7 of Nana (in English), where you'll have a taste of the sexual freedom of a high-class prostitute under Napoleon III and glimpses of this lively shopping arcade in an era that historians deem as having known "the most rapid economic and social change in French history".
The wine bar looks like it has always been around, it melts perfectly into this bustling neighborhood and in this arcade lined with traditional local stores. The shop facing Racines, at N°57 of the passage, is where the famed "chocolatier Marquis" stood in the 19th century. Zola's Nana loved this "perfume of vanilla emanating from a chocolate dealer's basement". It still has some of its period fixtures and it is also really worth a look, even if you didn't read Nana.
Although these Napoleonian covered arcades have begun to come to light these last few years, they are mostly still largely ignored by mass tourism (we wouldn't complain about that) and out-of-town visitors need to do some research to reach these havens of authentic local life. At least with Racines, wine lovers will have a chance to be introduced to one of these architectural gems in addition to sipping some of the best natural wines around.
Source:http://www.wineterroirs.com/page/2/

Chateau Meylet (St Emilion)

Michel Favard Opening a BottleChateau Meylet, Saint-Emilion (Bordeaux)
The Bordeaux region is not the first French wine region you think of when you look for biodynamic farming. That said, the wineries of the region have been more and more practicing sustanainable agriculture, if not full-blown organic farming, especially the high-end wineries where it is well understood that a healthy vineyard is the base for a good wine. This 2001 Wine Business article paints an interesting picture of the region in this regard, even if since then more wineries have adapted their vineyard management.
But on the whole, the Bordeaux region is not a hotbed of organic farming. There are still, though, a few isolated vignerons in the Bordeaux area who are pioneering the biodynamic way in spite of adverse weather conditions like rain and humidity. Michel Favard is one of them and he makes wine out of a small vineyard surface in St-Emilion (less than 2 hectares). We met him in his beautiful house in Jugazan, on the entre-deux-mers side of the Dordogne, 15 kilometers from Chateau Meylet and its vineyards. He lives in this house where he also rents a few "chambres d'hôte" (bed & breakfast) to visitors. Note this address (les Sources, Jugazan) if you visit come to Bordeaux vor VINEXPO, it is not that far from Bordeaux and the accomodations are so scarce at this time of the year in the region that most "chambres d'hôte" are booked.
I had tasted some of his wines in Paris last year if I remember, and I was particularly impressed by his Chateau Meylet, Serpes 1998, a beautiful wine in the mouth and an unfiltered-unfined, no-aditives and no SO2 wine which went through a 15 to 20 months elevage on its lees.
Source:http://www.wineterroirs.com/page/2/

Wine News

Michel Lorain holding his Tressot Blend (Vin Gris de Joigny)Located at only one hour and a half from Paris by train, Joigny is a little-known gem of Septentrional Burgundy, a region which until the phylloxera devastation provided Paris with barge-loads of table wine. The city of Joigny (see map) lies on the slopes of the Yonne river
Here is a story where wine meets gastronomy. The 3-star-chef Michel Lorain, creator of the world-famous Joigny restaurant La Côte Saint Jacques decided to revitalize a forgotten terroir of Northern Burgundy as he was leaving the reins and the kitchen-keys of the restaurant to his son Jean-Michel Lorain [pic on the right], now another 3-star chef. No real retirement for Michel Lorain : He set shop on the other side of the street (the former restaurant location) and worked as passionately for the Joigny wines as he did to develop his gastronomic restaurant. He patiently bought plots on the hill just above the street in the early 1990s' and replanted Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. I tasted his Pinot Noir 2006 at the Côtes-Saint-Jacques and loved it : this 12-Euro Pinot Noir has well-integrated tannins and offers lovely aromas of jellied black fruits and underwood. But this story is centered on a forgotten variety that he successively reintroduced in the region : the Tressot. He blends the Tressot with Malbec, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon and the result is something between a rosé and a white, a Vin Gris, a high-acidity, fresh wine with light flower (rose) and fruit aromas. Tressot was still allowed a few years ago in the Burgundy sparkling but was later outlawed (another weird Appellation-rule move). This Tressot-blend wine was served on the Royal tables of King Louis XIV who loved it and allowed exceptionally the Joigny vignerons to print the Royal flower de Luce on the bottles and thus avoid the tax (couldn't the modern rulers have such grand visions for the General Good and help share what they like !). His very small production of this wine (6000 bottles/year) coupled with its affordability (8,9 Euro) means that they try to satisfy every customer with a few
Source:http://www.wineterroirs.com/

Food & Dining

Cabernet Corporation is an international wine merchant based in Novato, Calif. The name is misleading, because most of their imports are not made from Cabernet grapes.

For example, Cabernet Corporation just added several Argentinean Malbecs to its portfolio. They are "old vine" Malbecs derived from nearly 100-year-old grapevines.

Older grapevines are sought because they produce grapes with highly concentrated flavors. The trade off is that old vines produce relatively few grapes, resulting in limited production wines that are expensive to produce.

I sampled the most affordable of the new line, Llama 2005 Malbec Belasco de Baquedano ($15). This wine is produced from old vines in the promising Lujan de Cuyo subregion, located in Argentina's well-known Mendoza region.

There is a llama on the label, but this is not a beginner's "critter wine." This is a dense purple-tinted wine with deep flavors of blackberry and plum, and a spicy oak finish from six months of French oak aging.

Source:http://www.reporternews.com/

WINE WISDOM: Smart wine buying

Because I love wine and buy it regularly, I'm always looking to get the most for my money. It's not just because the economy is in the proverbial toilet, nor that today it might be cheaper to fill my car with Chateau Margaux instead of gas. I want the best possible price. Also, I love that wonderful feeling in finding a $13 wine that tastes better than bottles costing two or three times as much. Here's how to get the most for your wine dollar.

Save by the case

It's no secret that you can get a discount buying a whole case of wine. These discounts average 15 percent, but range from 10 percent to 20 percent. Forget about buying at only 10 percent off and look for a shop that offers 20 percent. Sometimes, you can even do better than that.

A local shop offered a case of Barbera Italian wine at a terrific price of $85 ($7 per bottle) or a 30 percent discount on a case that would have been $120 ($10 per bottle) otherwise. Not wanting a full case, I split it with a friend, getting six bottles at the same great, low price. At that price for a decent wine, who could pass it up?

Splitting a purchase with a friend is a creative way to benefit from case savings. A friend and I split a case of Altamura Cabernet Sauvignon retailing for $70 per bottle two years ago. It cost us $55 a bottle for a wine I recently saw in a shop for $90. Also, it was a lot easier to justify paying for only six bottles at that price, versus incurring the full case cost myself.

Save on a mixed case

Unless you are totally in love with a particular wine, 12 bottles is a lot of it. There are so many wonderful wines out there and you can only drink so many in a month, so why limit yourself? The good news is most retailers will provide you with the same discount on a mixed case of wine. Simply pick out any 12 bottles and you'll still save 15 percent to 20 percent.

What's the perfect number of bottles to buy of a wine? I'm convinced the optimum number is between three and six, depending on how much you like the wine. With a single bottle of good wine, if you love it, once the bottle is empty, you'll be kicking yourself for not buying more. Trust me on that. Buy three or four and, after the first delicious bottle is finished, you'll have the peace of mind that comes with knowing you have another bottle or two left to enjoy another day.

Save at tastings

You like wine and want the case price, but don't have money to splurge? Head over to a shop running wine tastings evenings or weekends. Retailers always discount the wines featured in their tastings. Typically you'll save 15 percent or more and 25 percent discounts are not unusual. Often the discount applies if you buy a minimum of three or six bottles, and I've attended many tastings where discounts applied to a single bottle. It's the perfect solution: you sample the wine to ensure you like it and get the case price savings on a small quantity. Whoever said "it's a wonderful world" must have just come from one of these tastings.

Save at sales

Most wine stores run sales from time to time with discounts of up to 25 percent or 30 percent. Sometimes you have to buy 12 bottles, sometimes only six, occasionally only one to earn the discount. Usually spend $15 for a bottle? A sale is your chance to get a $20 bottle for that amount. Heck, why not pick up a $50 champagne for $37 and celebrate life?

Save on wine regions

California and some French wines can be ridiculously over-priced while some from lesser known regions can be as good or better, saving you dollars. Look for wines from Argentina, Chile, southern Italy and Spain for wonderful wines at bargain prices. I'll make recommendations in future columns. In the meantime, try Finca La Linda Torrontes ($14) from Argentina, available at Dyer's (Watertown), Gordon's (Waltham), Panzano (Southborough) and West Concord Liquors (Concord). It's a wonderfully aromatic and pleasant white I know you'll savor.

Source:http://www.dailynewstribune.com/

Food and Wine for Tasting

Artist CE Whitney will be featured at the next Tortuga Liquors’ art, food and wine tasting event, which will take place on Thursday, 25 September at the store’s Governors Square location.

Artist and musician Gordon Solomon and his band stole the spotlight at the last tasting on Friday, 5 September.

At the event, Cracked Conch provided appetizers and Hurley’s supermarket sponsored a cheese tray, while the served wines were Bouchard and Fils Bourgogne Chardonnay and Gevrey Chambertin.

In Thursday’s tasting, appetizers will be provided by Casanova restaurant, with featured wines being Sefiro Chianti and Pieve Vecchia Soave.

When the monthly event continues on 30 October, artist/photographer Patrick Broderick will be featured. Tamas Estate Barbera, Sangiovese, and Pinot Grigio will be the wine of choice.

Source:http://www.caymannetnews.com/

Sardinian Wine

Today grape and wine production is a flourishing business thanks to the island's geographic location, its fertile soil and fine climate - especially on the hills that are protected from the winds.
Grapes with high sugar content yield wines, especially whites that attain high alcohol content with respect to those from the mainland. This also provides the basis for production of fine sweet wines as well as sparkling varieties.

The main grapes, in addition to Nuragus that was presumably brought over by the Phoenicians, include Cannonau, Giro and Torbato, imported by the Spanish, Barbera, Sangiovese and Trebbiano introduced by the Piemontesi. Other red (Bovale, Carignano, Giro Monica and Nasco) and white (Malvasia di Sardegna, Moscato Bianco, Vermentino and Vernaccia d'Oristano) grapes complete the rich ampelographic panorama.

Among the DOC red and rose wines are the famous Cannonau, produced throughout the islands from the grapes of the same name (13.5% alcohol by volume), In the province of Cagliari they make the mild Carignano del Sul-cis (11 5%), Giro (14.5%), Monica (that reaches 14 5% while Monica di Sardegna "stops" at 12-13%) are all made from varietal grapes and are usually also made in liquoroso - high alcohol grade and usually fortified - versions (17 5% that can become 18% or more in the Cannonau).

The area between Cagliari and Oristano is the home of Campidano di Terralba (11.5%) made from Sardinian and Spanish Bovale grapes. Arborea (11%) comes from near Ori¬stano and is made from Sangiovese and local grapes, Mandrolisai (11.5%) is produced with Bovale, Cannonau and Monica grapes near Oristano and Nuoro. Alghero is a newer wine and is made in both white and red.
The outstanding white wines include the DOCG Vermentino di Gallura, made in the province of Sassari from the grape with the same name (12%) Vermentino di Sardegna, a very pleasant white (10.5%) is made throughout the island.

The triangle between Cagliari, Oristano and Nuoro produces Nuragus di Cagliari (11%), the province of Cagliari is the home of the robust Nasco (14,5%) while Arborea Trebbiano (10.5%) comes from near Oristano and they are all made with the grapes of the same name.

India wine

Researchers in Britain have carried out the study and found that beer, red wine and caffeinated drinks like coffee contain high levels of oestrogen-like chemicals linked to male fertility.

And what's shocking is that the study found the drinks when taken with roasted peanuts, can cause more damage as they too contain high levels of phytoestrogens, naturally-occurring plants compounds.

In fact, according to the researchers, a particular type of phytoestrogen, called isoflavones, which mimic the female sex hormone oestrogen, are to blame.

In their study, the researchers surveyed dozens of food using a sensitive chemical technique and measured levels of isoflavones and lignans, a second oestrogen-like chemical, but did not speculate on the effects on health or fertility.
Lead researcher Gunter Kuhnle of Medical Research Council in Cambridge said the study clearly showed more food and drinks than previously thought to contain the compounds, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported.

"The data we have collected has enabled us to put together an accurate table of which foods contain the highest levels of phytoestrogens, so we can look at the effect of long term exposure, and work out what the safe levels are likely to be for humans," Kuhnle said.

Wines

Sangria, is a super summertime wine "punch" with its traditional heritage well rooted in Spain. Typically, Sangria is made with red wine, fresh, seasonal fruit and a bit of bubbly water or citrus flavored soda. It is easy to make and easy to drink.
There are seven primary wine-producing regions in France. Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Loire, Provence and the Rhone Valley comprise the dominant French wine regions. These regions, are known for particular grape varietals as dictated by the district's indigenous terroir. The varied growing-regions, a rich wine-making history and a passionate vineyard heritage all allow for French wines to continue to set an uncompromising, gold standard in the world of wine