Hi Everyone,
Here is another look in on our in house staff education process. . . my notes as a teacher for this weeks class.
Staff Education Notes:
Ben Wood Instructor
Wednesday 08/24/10
Reading: World Atlas of Wine 6th Edition, Beazley, Johnson, Robinson
Pages 28-29 The Wine Growers Year
Pages 68-70 Cote Chalonaise and the Maconnais
The Wine Growers Year
Harvest is the most important part of the year for any winery or vineyard. This time and the weeks following it are bar far the most critical time for anyone involved in the production side of the wine business. This time of year is so important that I am surprised the book started this section in January!
January Vineyard Tasks: Pruning. Cutting the shoots to allow them to produce the best fruit, this also allows for training the vines properly for the vineyard according to the training plan. This needs to be done while the sap is as low in the plant as possible.
January Winery Tasks: Malolactic fermentation. This is the process by which the higly acidic green apple flavors of malic acid are transformed (through bacteria) into the less acidic higher Ph Lactic acid with flavors of milk, or butter and a rounder mouthfeel. Usually by this point in the year this is well underway.
February Vineyard Tasks: Pruning and Mending. At this point in the year (usually after the hard freezes have stopped) the posts, wires and stakes in the trellis system are usually repaired. Most Vineyards try to wait until after freezes to cut down on “motion” while installing these (the contraction from freezing to non frozen soil can move a post a few inches).
February Winery Tasks: Topping Up. This is done to keep oxidation to a minimum in the barrels or tanks- and frankly most wineries keep a eye on this right up until bottling.
March Vineyard Tasks: Ploughing the soil to control weeds. This is often done several ways. . . many estates use tractors, but the amount of animals used for this task are growing. See the following link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSJ-GbngymI.
March Winery Tasks: Bottling. Usually wineries will bottle the wines that are intended to be drunk young. This also includes batch testing to make sure there are no bacterial infections, or other problems in the wines (done before or during the bottling process to ensure that the wines are stable).
April Vineyard Tasks: Desuckering. A simple trimming of the vines ensures that the vines are not to vigorous (removing leaves, and the several of the buds). This allows the vineyard to keep the correct amount of bunches on each vine.
April Winery Tasks: Racking. Racking is the process of moving wines from one resting or fermentation container to another. This is often done to remove sediment, and lees that can cause bitter flavors and chemical problems in the wine.
May Vineyard Tasks: Frost Protection. This is a critical task, particularly after the buds have begun to show. There are all sorts of ways to accomplish this- from large flamethrowers to small smoke pots. A famous example is Domaine Leflaive hiring a helicopter to dry their holdings in Le Montrachet after a rain shower before a frost that could have damaged the harvest that year.
May Winery Tasks: Order Fulfillment. Preparing and shipping the orders for the wines- labeling, boxing and shipping the wines to customers, stores and distributors.
June Vineyard Tasks: Shoot Positioning. Positioning the shoots to enable the vine to turn sun into grapes is one of the more important tasks performed during the growing season. This is done by taking the fruit bearing shoots and turning them so the grapes hang down and the leaves get great exposure to the sun.
June Winery Tasks: More Racking. This task needs to be finished before the onset of summer heat.
July Vineyard Tasks: Spraying Vs. Pests. Pest control becomes very important at this point in the year. Spraying can be done using chemical pesticides and herbicides or can be attempted using other methods. A few biodynamic preparations can be used at this point in the year as well (a specific is the stinging nettle preparation which can be sprayed on leaves to ward of insects). Keep in mind that the “pests” can be birds, mice, or even fungus infections, not just bugs and parasitic plants.
July Winery Tasks: Bottling “fine” Wines. This is the point of the year when most wineries dealing in ultra premium or premium wines (i.e. classified growth Bordeaux, and the like) bottle the wines. 2010 harvests will most likely be bottled in July of 2012 unless tradition or law require additional aging.
August Vineyard Tasks: Verasion. This is when red wine grapes turn from green in color to red. During this time some quality producers make a green harvest. Green harvesting is cutting bunches of grapes of the vines to concentrate the flavor into less grapes.
August Winery Tasks: Prepare the Winery. Basically this is the point at which the winery needs an extremely thorough cleaning. These days that means sterilizing everything from tanks to barrels to tubes to bolts that attach the tubes . . . one of the biggest changes in winemaking in the last 70-50 years is the understanding that foreign chemicals cause lots of chemical problems in wine, and one simple way to avoid that is to clean well before harvest and before winemaking.
September Vineyard Tasks: Harvest! The most important decision that a winery can make is the exact date of harvest. It affects the flavor or success of the wine from that vintage. If harvested to early, the wines might be unripe and have green flavors, if harvested to late there is a serious risk of rain or hail or other weather damage. Rain will dilute the wine, and hail will destroy the grapes- drastically lowering the production.
September Winery Tasks: Winemaking. Make the wine- frantically trying to get the grapes in, press and beginning fermentation. The winemakers and vineyard staff are often spending 24 hours a day in the winery working every few hours and sleeping when the can.
October Vineyard Tasks: Preparing For Dormancy. Hopefully at this point the vines are preparing to reach their resting state. The leaves are turning brown, and the sap is starting to fall.
October Winery Tasks: Punching Down. This process keeps the fermentation going. There is a cap of semi solid material that forms on the top of the fermenting wine, and some of that material is active yeast which is needed to ferment the sugar into alcohol. The yeast will die if left exposed to oxygen and allowed no sugar. Some wines might need punching down – shoving the cap back into the fermenting juice. Some might need a pumping over- taking the fermenting juice and pumping it back on top of the cap (this also allows the wine a little more exposure to oxygen). Often this task is performed several times a week on each batch.
November Vineyard Tasks: Cover Crop. Planting the cover crop in between the rows is done at this time. Also the plant usually reached a dormant state during this month as well (at the time when the leaves fall off, and the sap reaches the root system).
November Winery Tasks: Fining. Clarification of the wine is done at this point in the year, as hopefully the primary fermentation is done or nearing completion. Fining or clarification can be done using several substances, including egg whites, gelatin, clay, and isinglass (ground fish gills!).
December Vineyard Tasks: Pruning, and Vine Propagation. December, it is winter and the vines are fully dormant. Once this is the case, Pruning can begin and often this is when the cuttings removed to the greenhouse and turned in to new plantings to be planted in a few years.
December Winery Tasks: Early tasting. The winemakers often start tasting the wine at this point and begin deciding what else each batch will need (2 years in oak, a month in steel; that sort of thing) and what blends will be. The malolactic fermentation begins usually at this point.
Cote Chalonaise
This southern region borders the south end of the Cote d’Or at chagny. Less hilly, more pastoral these areas actually have a higher elevation then most of the Cote d’Or. Mostly made up of slopes of limestone (often smaller then the great plates of it contained in the more famous areas to the north). Though it is further to the south, the higher altitude requires a longer growing season and a higher risk due to the need for a later harvest.
The most celebrated AC’s are from north to south are listed below, first the Cote Chalonaise.
Bouzeron: This village is one of the few villages that only produces wine from one grape – not even the famed Burgundy Chardonnay- but instead the less known Aligote. The AC is a reward for perfectionist winemaking by some of the famous winemakers who live there (namely Aubert De Villaine – famed co owner of Domaine Romani Conti who grew up in this village and drinking and championing the crisp whites made there).
Rully: mostly a white wine producing village, but a few reds are made there. The style of the wine is lean and crisp for white, and austere but classy for reds.
Mercurey: The largest AC village in the Cote Chalonaise. This is a red wine village, with very few whites made; the style of wine is like the Cote de Beaune; rustic but age able. There is a lot of 1er cru “inflation” in the last 30 years the amount of 1er cru sites here went up from 5-over 30!!!
Givry: Smallest producing village in the Cote, this is also a red wine area. The wines are light, fresh and fruit driven and drink well quite a bit younger then Mercurey reds.
Montagny: Located 6-8 miles to the south of Givry, this large village produces mostly white wine. The AC area includes Buxy; and the local Buxy Co-op is one of the best in the Cote Chalonaise with a rich style Chardonnay that is delicious.
The Macon
The Macon is one of the largest regions in Burgundy. White wines are mostly Chardonnay. Red wine in the Macon is often made from Gamay which when grown here on the limestone soil takes on a more structured style then when grown slightly to the south in Beaujolais on the granite soil there. In the Macon the labeling system is pretty simple- the basic wines say Macon on the label, the Better wines say Macon-Villages on the label, and the best wines say either Macon followed by the name of the village or the name of the village alone. Here are the villages with descriptions of the wine.
St Veran is a white wine village with crisp, lean, high acid wines.
Pouilly-Vinzelles and Pouilly-Loche used to be great cheaper versions of Pouilly Fuisse, however they are now in the process of developing their own identities. Great wines are being made here by producers like the Bret Brothers.
Macon-Prisse, Lugny, Uchizy and Chardonnay (village- not grape!) are good well priced and plump white Burgundy with good value, but little to no oak.
Vire and Clesse are two villages producing great wine for very good values. Combined they make up the newest AC in the Macon (Vire-Clesse).
Overall these areas are making wines that have an enormous range in style from new world wines to clean crisp austere wine. Some of the wines come with a French accent and many in a full international style.
Tasting
St Veran ‘La Grande Bruyere’ Domaine Roger Luquet 2008
Color: Pale Straw
Nose: Lees, mineral and apples
Palate: Crisp, mineral and high acid- a lean wine.
Macon Fuisse ‘Les Grandes Bruyeres’ Domaine Cheveau 2008
Color: Pale Gold
Nose: Apple, quince, spice, earth, deep and rich
Palate: Rich Fruit with nice weight and nice balance. Nice finish
Givry ‘Champlalot’ Domaine Faiveley 2006
Color: red/brown fades out at edges
Nose: Cherries, Minerals, Pepper
Palate: Tough, rustic Pinot fruit with peppery finish.
Macon Rouge ‘Terroir de Tournus’ P. Pauget 2008
Color: Purple Red
Nose: Earthy, funky, juicy with just a hint of the Gamay grape’s candy apple flavor
Palate: Nice rich wine with clove and red apple flavors and a nice savory finish.
Thanks For Reading.
Ben Wood
08/26/2010Had this for dinner with shoulder lamb chops on Saturday night. The chops were kind of tough (as you would expect) but very tasty. The wine was delicious. Medium bodied, with good red cherry and black cherry fruit, some brambles and earth. Very tasty, with good complexity for a 2003.
67 Wine Poderi Luigi Einaudi Dolcetto di Dogliani 2003
This is a quick inside look at our internal Education
system at 67 wine and spirits. We hold these classes once per week.
These are my notes for this week!
Staff Education Notes:
Paul Bressler Instructor
Wednesday 8/18/10
Reading: World Atlas of Wine 6th Edition, Beazley, Johnson, Robinson
Pages 26-27 Terroir
Pages 66-67 Gevery-Chambertin
Terroir is derived from the following aspects of a vineyard or plot of land:
Geology
Geography
Climate
Orientation
Altitude
Geology is the soil and soil types.
Examples of topsoil include central valley of California which is extremely fertile and where most of the jug wines from California
come from. This supremely fertile land makes less “quality” wine. At
the opposite end of the spectrum is Chateaunef De Pape, which has no
topsoil in most location (just galets- football sized rocks). There are
some others, Clay- very water retentive. Sand is very expedient at
drainage.
Subsoil is the next layer down, and includes Sedimentary limestone and volcanic soil- these are both great for wine.
Geography
are all the things that are affected by latitude and longitude. These
include sunlight; temperature, wine, and that sort of thing are all
affected. One other factor is the proximity or location on a mountain,
a valley or plain. An example provided was the valleys that are open to
water at one end hold the moderating influence from the body of water
until the end of the region.
Climate is temperature, rainfall and that sort of thing.
Growing
temperature during the season is really important. Hot wine areas have
shorter growing seasons, and cooler growing regions have longer
seasons, but risk rain or hail at the end. The Diurnal difference is
really important for wine grapes (diurnal is the difference in
temperature from day to night!). Rainfall is good- most wine grapes
need 20-30 inches of rain a year, but not at the end of the growing
season- or during harvest! Fog has an effect as well- mostly a massive
cooling, and sun blocking effect- this works well in the Caneros region
in California where they can grow some great pinot noir!
Orientation
is the facing of the exact land the vines are on. This affects vine
training, for instance in vineyards with south facing slopes the vines
need more foliage, where if the vines are on a north facing slope
(rare, but several parcels of Gigondas from Domaine Les Pallieres
are facing this way to preserve freshness in a part of the Rhone that
can create a lot of stewed fruits and overripe wine!) you need less
foliage to allow the grapes exposure to the sun to ripen!
Finally
altitude affects vineyards in several ways as well. Generally speaking
there is a direct temperature difference with height – 5 degrees cooler
for every 1000 feet up! Even a couple of feet up or down a slope can
make a degree or two change. This is one reason why vineyards on steep
slopes are harvested by hand, often in several passes over the course
of a week or two. There is a larger diurnal temperature difference as
well the higher up a slope you get, the cooler the nights become. Also
included in this is the surrounding area- if you are on a slope that
leads to a valley, the deeper the valley is the cooler the slope will
become, as it takes longer to heat up and longer to cool down as well
(there is more air to affect).
There
was a section on the technique of vineyard mapping. There are maps for
quality of grapes, yield of grapes, plant available water,
electro-magnetic maps. There are all kinds of reasons to use these- the
first growths use them to decide what parcels go into the second wines.
Gevery Chambertin
This is quite far north in the Burgundy
region, and consists of almost all red wine producing areas. At the
south end you have Chambolle Musigny which contains some of the most
famous grand cru vineyards in the whole of Burgundy- Musigny on the
south west end, and Bonnes Mares at the North West end of the Chambolle
Musigny appellation. Musigny grand cru are known
for being savory and perfumed, with umami flavors. Bonnes Mares have a
little more finesse, with more fruit and pretty rather then savory
notes.
Morey St. Denis is a large area, and one that also produces a few whites. From the top of the slope on the North West side of the vineyard the wines are bigger, from the middle the wines are lighter.
Gevery
Chambertin is the other major growing area. This appellation consists
of a lot of contiguous grand cru vineyards. The World Atlas of Wine
says basically nothing about this area in terms of the character of the
wines produced here. This lead our instructor Paul to posit that the
area varies so much, both by producer and by where exactly the site is.
Tasting:
Chambolle Musigny Sigaut 2006:
Nice Wine! Color is pinkish red and fades to clear at the edges of the glass.
This wine has scents of earth, flowers, mushrooms and cherries that combine nicely and provide a compelling nose. The taste is light, elegant and has great fruit on the palate with a nice acid level that is not to high or bright.
Big
muscled wine. The wine is dark red in color giving us our first clue
that this is more ‘intense’ wine. The nose of this wine is a little
closed, but consisted of dark raspberries, earth and a little forest.
Acidic and edgy tasting, you can tell this wine has some evolving to do
. . . it will change into something great after another two years or so.
Thanks for reading,
Ben
8/19/10Hi all,  Today I'm honored to be guest posting on David Mcduff's blog. He has covered the Tour De France in a vinous way for the last several years, and this time we managed to have him up to 67 wine for a tasting last week (while the race was in the Jura region) and I am writing about today's stage from Rodez to Revel. The course for this day is a fast rolling romp through the southwest part of the French countryside. The riders start quite near to one of my favorite wine regions: Galliac; and they pass Fronton- another great wine region in the southwest of France.  Unlike the stereotypical professional cycling racer, these wines are not steroidal monsters with chemical injections (kidding). The wines are however, racy, controversial and fascinating. All of the great wines of these areas are made from native grapes that grow for the most part only in the south west. Fascinating grapes like Bracul, and Duras for red wines, Ondonc, Mauzac and Len De l'el for white, and sparkling wines. These are unique grapes rescued from obscurity by winemakers like Patrice Lescarret at Causse Marines.  These are wines of whimsy, interest and intensity. A member of the "vins naturals" movement, Lescarret practices organic farming with some bio dynamic ideas as well as extremely minimal intervention in the cellar. The wines are focused on the native grapes in the region- include a cuvee named Les Greilles, an AOC Gaillac made from all of the local grapes. A beautiful crisp white wine with honeysuckle and mineral notes, dry on the palate and refreshing, one of my favorite wines to drink. There are some telling images on the label:   (the large mouse, and the no badger symbol) involving the personal mythology (Mssr Lescarret is called the mouse, and badgers hunt mice . . . This was the story I was given- A good mystery for you!). A second wine from Gaillac that I love is made by Brigitte and Alain Cazottes of Domaine des Terrisses. Racy and good the red from this estate has proven to be one of our best selling wines. The grapes are farmed biodynamically, and the soil site has quite a lot of clay (up to 60% in some parcels) and because of this the wine comes through with strong aromatics and great flavor. Firmly in the syrah camp, this wine smells of garrigue (a bit) and dark red fruit, with soily mineral notes and a hint of game. Beautiful and complex it is racy and thirst quenching with just enough weight to make you know it is wine!  Tomorrow will be a fast, and hopefully interesting stage as the riders pass some very great vineyards- makes me wish I was there to eat the food, drink the wines and cheer on the riders!! cheers, Ben 07/17/10 Hi all, I was recently involved in a planning a tasting here to honor the Tour de France.  This past Sunday we played host to vinous cycling fanatic David McDuff- who came up to the store and hosted a tasting of 3 wines from the Jura region. The race passed through the Jura on two days of racing Saturday and Sunday. Sunday's race left 7 time winner Lance Armstrong 12 minutes out of the race lead, and basically out of contention for the win. However, Andy Schleck and Cadel Evans both rode very well- and that sets up this years edition of the race to be one of the most open and exciting in a long time. Keep up at Cyclingnews. On to the wines we tasted: As Sunday was a mountain top finish in the Jura we chose to taste several of our great wines from the area. Two whites and a red. The first up was the red from Domaine De La Tournelle 'L'uva arbosiana' This wine is made from Ploussard, one of the regions defining grapes. This wine undergoes carbonic maceration, and is a great light red leaning toward pink. Scents of earth, forest and light strawberry expand out of the glass when served cold. This juicy red can be enjoyed with light fair or grilled foods.  Next up was the Arbois Chardonnay from Villet. Here is my tasting note on this wine from our first taste with great importer Savio Sores: nutty notes with great minerals and earthy golden apple aromas on the nose and on the palate, but on a somewhat brighter, fresher style. The palate is slightly rustic, earthy, Terroir driven, harmonious and balanced by a great acidity. The finish is quite long and inviting. Overall, one will find substance, body, length, minerals and dry, earthy yellow fruit in this well rounded, medium bodied, autumnal white wine.Finally we tasted the great L'etoile Savagnin from Montbourgeau. This is one of types of wines that you love! L'etoile is a region that has land shaped like a star (if scene from above) and Savagnin is one of the great grapes of the Jura and really does not grow anyplace else. This is a oxidized wine that tastes like a light sherry- with more complexity. great aroma and a wine that keeps you coming back- it changes just about every 4 minutes or so adding a layer or removing a flavor . . .fascinating! This wine is a great pairing with Hummus and Falafel with heavy spices. I would like to thank the generous and intensely talented David Mcduff- please check out his well written blog. David gave his time for this and then got dragged around the city to The Ten Bells (a great natural wine bar) and then to Puppets Jazz to hear my band Franglais play. I very much enjoyed the day talking about wine, music and biking with another fanatic!  Cheers, Ben 7/14/10 Just wanted to let everyone know that we put up the second iPad. This one is on the first floor, and it's filled with high end Chardonnay, California and White Burgundy. It's actually set up opposite the White Burgundy section, above the Italian whites.
Paul
07/02/2010
Hi,
Last week we hosted the Sud de France tasting a week or so ago. The store was decorated beautifully for this event and we tasted some very good wines. The decorations and our hostess for the tasting Sarah with all the Sud de France displays.
 Sarah, William and our staff member Liz holding up a glass of great southern French wine!
 The line up of wines! From right to left: Minervois D'Oupia a blend based in Syrah and made old school, fruit and herbs in a fairly robust wine- great stuff. Mouressipe Cacous- pure Grenache made by Alain Allier, this is incredibly complex and pretty wine. Mas Cal Demoura Rose- a Coteaux de Langeudoc, Great and clean beautiful rose from the Langeudoc. Rimbert Petit Corchon Bronze- From St. Chinian and a great bottle of crisp rose. Isa White from Chemins de Bassac- a great languedoc white- clean and yummy.
Cheers,
BenRecently I had the honor of posting as part of the great series 32 days of natural wine- for those who did no see it- here is the post:
32 Days of Natural Wine: The experience of selling “Au Natural”! Hi, So, I am a big fan of Saignée, and after having several discussions with Cory about last years 31 Days of Natural wines, I thought I might attempt to pen something down. Unlike a lot of writers in the series, I work for a retailer. Our goal is to sell wines (of course!), however I have a very large personal bias toward natural wines and wines with an honest sense of place. To that end, I’d like to talk about the experience of selling these wines. First, A few definitions that we use all the time at work (there are a lot more that can sometimes be helpful, but here are the basics): Biodynamically grown: this is a label given to wines that are made from an estate practicing biodynamic agriculture, but is not certified or undergoing any certification process. Organically grown: these are wines from an estate that practice organic agriculture, but are not certified or undergoing any certification process. Certified Biodynamically grown: a label given where an estate has completed a Demeter or similar certification. Certified Organically Grown: wines produced from an estate that has completed some form of outside organic certification. Second, A few definitions that have very little meaning in our way of thinking: Sustainable: a catch all for wines that wish to, in many ways, to generally green wash. It is neither a definition that we use, nor do these wines get any sort of special labeling online or in the store.
Lutte Raisonnée: the same idea as sustainable, a green washing idea that gets no extra advantage online or on our shelves. Of course, as all of you know, we get asked questions about these types of wines all the time: “Do you have organic wines?” “Are there any good organic wines?” “What is biodynamically grown?” And so on. We love getting these questions and challenging the customers who ask them to try natural wines. A favorite to sell is the Domaine Deux Anes Premier Pas. This is a great wine imported by Jenny and Francois selections. One great selling point is the rough translation of the wine’s name, “Two Asses,” with another being the visual appeal of the label, depicting the two donkeys that work the land. The caveat is the flavor, which is quite earthy and funky right out of the bottle (but like most great wines, gets truly delicious after about 20 minutes).
Many of the complaints we get with natural wines include, “It’s cloudy, so something must be wrong,” “The wine tasted ‘bad’, so it’s corked,” all the way up to “Why organic? That type of product always tastes bad.” On one hand, there is a reluctance to experience new things. There is a resistance towards organic products that originate from the days when all organic products were unscientific, and generally not as good as they are now. On the other hand, people in my age range and younger are more eco conscious and often look specifically for organic wines. Some of my favorite moments include educating our customers about the amount of chemicals that go into a mass produced wine . . . Enzymes, colorants, liquid tannin, and more, and then seeing their reaction. Another one is explaining about the difference in the sulfite levels, and how that comes about (not adding sulfites to control the winemaking and using a limited amount during bottling) and what it might mean for them as consumers. In short the arguments, discussions and conversations around these great wines make them a joy to sell. Here is a quick list of some of the ones I love to sell and the “pitch” I use: Alain Alier’s Mouressipe: these are wines made in the middle of a beautiful forest and is tucked away from traditional vineyards that surround it.
Lopez Heridia’s Gravonia Blanco: a great wine made in the old tradition of Rioja. This wine is light, beautiful and earthy.
Domaine Guillot-Broux Macon-villages: this wine is a saline and beautiful chardonnay that tastes primarily of minerals with a hint of lime.
Natural wines are enjoyed by a full range of customers; however they are more important to some smaller segments of our demographic. They are really quite popular with the “younger” age group- especially millennials. As the youngest group of wine drinkers, they seem to be very eco conscious, and consume the largest amount of wine per capita in the history of this country! Millennials are also among the most educated consumers and the most adventurous in terms of willingness to try new wines, such as Groilleu, Bracoul, and other various blends from all over the world). Due to their desire to experience new wines and their eco-conscious mentality, these wines are perfect for them (and anyone else who wants to try some good wines!). These wines are the most fascinating thing to sell, discuss and share with our customers due to the story that comes with each bottle of wine: the honesty that comes from working the land yourself, as well as vinifying the grapes in a natural and non-manipulated way. Interacting with the people involved in natural wines has also been a joy, ranging from our customers who regularly buy these wines to the importers and wine makers. Each one has an interesting story about the wines they love and are pretty cool people to hang out with. Thanks, Ben  A problem we were facing here at 67 Wines and Spirits was how to give customers access to the older, rarer, and/or more expensive inventory we have in stock, while keeping those wines in a cool, safe environment to preserve their integrity. We are now using an iPad as a medium of display and interaction. With the introduction of the iPad, we are able to give customers a chance to digitally scroll through the wines that we have in our cold room. This project was two months in the making: taking pictures of each individual bottle, editing them, and finally, finding a format that customers can easily interact with. The first “test iPad” went up a few weeks ago and we have had great responses to the new technology in the store.  While some come to just play around with the new toy, others have taken advantage of being able to see the conditions of older wines we have in stock. Not only can people see the actual bottle being sold, they can zoom in on specific conditions as well as read a review by a wine critic.  As of right now, the first iPad is neatly placed upstairs in the Bordeaux section, where it is up and running, allowing customers to page through a myriad of Bordeaux wines. These include a great selection of Lafite Rothschild and Latour, among other big names, in vintages as new as 2005 and as old as 1883! In the upcoming weeks, we will be placing several more iPad’s throughout the store to display the great Chardonnay’s, Italian’s, and Burgundy’s (just to name a few). Whether you are a connoisseur searching for that missing piece to your collection or just looking for a great bottle as a birthday gift (I am born in ’87 but that is one vintage we do not have!), don’t hesitate to come in and play around with a new toy. In a world where so much is “hands-off”, this is one item that we encourage you to put your hands on. -Matthew Aglialoro Hi all, Here are some recommendations for Summer wines that you might enjoy in this 90 degree heat!  Rose: Puro Movia Sparkling Rose- an occasion wine. I personally have three coming up . . a 100th birthday in my family, my anniversary, and a friends birthday. This great wine would be fun to serve at any of these! Clos St. Magdeleine Rose- A great pale southern france rose from the quaint little fishing village: Cassis. Great complex and balanced with beautiful structure and fruit- Plus this, like the Movia is Biodynamic. Delicious.  Whites: Angiolino Maule Masieri Bianco- Garganega, yes that is right, it's hard to say and amazingly good to drink! Complex, earthy, clean and refreshing this white has a great nutty-ness that is quite compelling. . . Try some of this Biodynamic wine and remember to try pronouncing Garganega! Uby Colombard Ungi Bl- Colombard and Ugni Blanc grapes farmed in the same area where they make Armagnac; in fact this vineyard is owned by the family Lesgourges, who own a famous Armagnac producer as well. A great summer white, crisp, light, with great fruit. A luscious alternative to Sancerre or New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.  Red: Jean Maupertuis Cotes du Aevergne La Guillaume- This stuff is the Bootsy Collins of wine! Funky and amazing this is one of my favorite reds to drink with a slight chill (or a good chill) in the summer; it moves from pure funk and barnyard to a beautiful expression of terroir and fruit. Enjoy the heat! Thanks for reading, Ben 06/04/2010 Hi all, We recently were involved with this event that features all of the best restaurants on the upper west side and several local wineries, stores and spirits companies. Its a great event. Here are a few photos of the night:  The Table.     Oscar pouring some wine for the young lady.  Ben pouring wine for a gentleman  This customer had a great way to store his fork and spoon!  Ben and Oscar explaining some openers to a customer.  The scene- shot one, facing Columbus ave! (East)  The scene- Facing 76th street.  The Scene- The final shot. That's it from the event floor today! Thanks, Ben 05/27/2010 Hi all, As many of you know- or will figure out by reading blogs it is high tasting time here in NY for the wine trade. Recently there have been several very interesting tastings. One of my favorite events just happened: the 2010 Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants NYC tasting. A great event and a chance to taste most of the Lynch imported wines that are available to us. Here are my comments on several of the wines (some of which we carry) and some quick photos. The Scene:  The Scene 2:  The first couple of tables were sparkling wine- at the moment we don't carry any. However up next was the great wines from Domaine Ostertag inlcluding the sylvaner Old vines and the great Riesling 'vignoble d'E'. both great dry white wines from the crus of Alsace. A table later was perhaps my favorite section of the tasting: Beaujolais! Hosted by Mathieu Lapierre, son and heir apparent of famous Morgon producer Marcel Lapierre. These are among the best Beaujolais in the world. Raisins Gaulois vdp Des Gauls was bright, clean and very gulpable. The Morgon was smooth, and richer. The ' Cuvee Marcel Lapierre' was big, clean and very good. Also on the table was a library vintage of the 2003 Morgon- who says Beaujolais can't age! This was astounding, fresh and very complex. After tasting through Kermit's very nice selection of Burgundy producers, we came upon the tables from the Loire valley. Aside from the Beaujolais this is perhaps the strongest section of the book. I tasted some of my old favorites- Salavard Cheverny Blanc; a mineral blend of Chardonnay and Savignon Blanc. Another one that I love is the Hippolyte Reverdy Sancerre. This wine is a textbook example of great Sancerre- beautiful, aromatic and chalky with great flavors and good balance. The Red Cheverny from Salavard was smoky and still light- very nice. Charles Joguet's Chinon's are always good, but this batch was very nice- the 'Cuvee Terrior' was nice, with wild herb flavors and very dry. New to the Kermit Lynch portfolio is the amazing wines from Cathrine and Pierre Breton. This couple growing in both the Bourgueil and the Chinon areas are making some of the best wines in the Loire. The Bourgueil Trinch is delicious and clean. The 'Nuits D'Ivresse' is rich and rounder. They also brought a library vintage: a 1996 Bourgueil 'Les Perrieres' Funky and smooth- impressive. Here is quick photo of our Host and I:  Some of the other great wines I tasted there were the amazing bandols from Domaine Tempier- here is a shot with Daniel, the winemaker of Domaine Tempier:  Here are some links to the unique wines he makes: Domaine Tempier Bandol. Rich and dry with great flavors of dark berries, chocolate, lavender and thyme. Domaine Tempier Bandol La Migoua. Incredible mouvedre wine with coco powder, blackberries and lots of spice- this is a special cuvee made from all south facing old vines . . Great wines and a fun day- this was a really enjoyable well run tasting. Hi all, Yesterday I was privileged to attend on of the best wine tastings in NY. Louis/Dressner is one of my favorite importers. The focus of their portfolio is natural wines, be they organic or just traditional. As you might imagine it's always a pretty exciting tasting. In addition to this they usually bring several of the winemakers over to speak with everyone and explain the wines. However, the volcanic cloud had a lot to of influence on if a winemaker came over or not.  The international symbol of the volcano- located on the table for George Descombes and Damien Coquelet, two great wine makers from the Beaujolais region the make great wine (and were supposed to pour in our store while they were here), representing the cloud of volcanic ash that kept them from flying here from France. These are some of my favorite wines, cru Beaujolais that show amazing flavors and great elegance. The next table over featured wines from producer Marc Ollivier, his vineyards are located in the Muscadet appellation. Pretty, complex and dry whites and astoundingly good reds which were new to me. The red from Cabernet Franc grapes was clean, earthy and great. Medium bodied with bright cherry flavors. I made my way around to the De Moor table where I tasted their amazing Aligote and Chablis wines, and a special cuvee of Aligote made from vines planted in 1902- centenarian vines! These are very concentrated wines for non Chapitalized, non Yeasted, and non wooded wines. In short great stuff.  One more great French Wine from the Sud Quest- the south west part of the country- Causse Marines from Gaillac. These are great wines with different grapes from what we are used to - Bracul sometimes know as Fer Servadu for the red, and Mauzac, Ondenc for the white! Astounding wines, smooth and complex. After that it was on to the Italians. I tasted with Alessandra Bera who made it from Italy despite the air travel problems. She showed a great Dolcetto that I did not really know that well, it turns out that Bart has carried them here at 67 for some time! Smooth and delicious and it can take a slight chill. Arianna Occhipinti showed all three of her wines from Sicily, and a great bottle of olive oil (if you ever see this- buy one!). She grows bio-dynamically and makes delicious wines. My favorite bottle of wine last year was a bottle of the 2007 Frappato, an indigenous Sicilian grape that is light and elegant with raspberry, smoke, and pepper but not heavy at all. Finally I tasted the wines from sister team Fontereza in Montalcino- A great Tuscan wine estate that produces bio-dynamic wines. These wines will be presented at the store tonight by Francesca Padovani from 4.30-7pm (april 23rd). Full bodied and delicious she makes a nice range of Sangiovese wines including a lovely Rosso Di Montalcino, and a Brunello. See you for the tasting tonight!! Thanks, and Thanks for reading. Ben 04/23/2010 Hi All, yesterday we hosted Evan Lewandowski, the assistant winemaker from the Quivira Vineyards and Winery. This Sonoma, California based winery is known for being biodynamic and organic and making some very attractive wines wines at delicious prices. Evan Chose to pour Quivira's Zinfandel, Grenache, Grenache Rose, and Savignon Blanc. Each of the wines was very good; clean and show the grapes very well. I found these wines to be compelling and quite nice, especially for the price.  Liz and Evan explaining the wines to a customer.  Evan preparing to pour the next wine of the flight.  Evan looking at customers tasting the wines he made.  Evan showing of his own tasting skills! (sorry this shot is a little out of focus!) Thanks, Ben Hi all, We just add a great new feature to our website: Customer Reviews! This feature allows you to review a wine on the 67wine website, and once approved it will be public! Any wine is fair game. Have fun, get some wines, and review them! If you check the website at this link, you can see some special offers regarding this (including a discount for reviewing items, and a very special contest!). Thanks, Ben As far as I can remember, every winery I have ever visited (all in
California, unfortunately) makes their wine not just vineyard by
vineyard, but block by block. The wines are usually (not always) kept
separate until the final blend is put together just before bottling.
Many choose their best barrels, from whatever particular vineyard or
block, and combine them for a "Reserve" bottling. I would guess that if
you used many different vineyards, and one (or more) was consistently
better than the rest, then a single vineyard bottling makes sense.
Unfortunately, it's easy to go overboard, making a number of mediocre
single vineyard wines when judicious blending could have made one or
two very good wines (see Pinot Noir, Oregon). Are Single Vineyard Wines Really Better? « Artisan Family of WinesHi all, Yesterday we had a quick event for our staff here in the store as a celebration of our long standing employee Phyllis. Bernie initiated this first thing in the morning by saying it was her 11th birthday, and we should celebrate. At 5pm we had a cake from Soutine's and some great Bollinger Champagne! I quick ran and got the camera:  The Birthday Girl, the proud parent, and the cake!!  The birthday girl got the first slice of course!  And, a close up!  The cake . . . it was quite yummy!  A photo of the staff celebrating: Lana, Evelyn, Paul, Mike, Bernie, and honorary staff member, Dorthy. It was a little fun celebration!! Cheers, thanks for reading, Ben 10/25/10 Hi all, Recently I've been on a little kick for trying out new wine bars here in NYC. As anyone reading this is a wine drinker, it's always worth knowing where the best glass or bottle near you is. Here are a few I've liked: Tangled Vine: A new bar that opened on the upper west side, at 81st and Amsterdam. This is a great spot the features well executed mostly local food, and a great list of wines which are at all sustainable, organic or bio-dynamic. A few of us went to check it out after work last weekend. We were seated quite fast despite the crowd. After ordering a few quick bites for the table, the homemade potato chips and the house cured olives with chili, and citrus. The olives were delicious. We chose a bottle of wine: A red from the Teran grape made by Clai Bijele Zemlje in Croatia! Gamey and meaty this is a nice bottle to have with some solid preparation of meat. For dinner, people selected the pork belly sliders, and a beet salad- both were excellent, and very enjoyable! This is a great spot and necessary for the upper west! The Ten Bells: This is the most famous "organic" wine bar in New York City- a great space in the East Village. I have been here several times of the last 8 months, and enjoyed each trip for different reasons. This last time I was coming after being out at Tangled Vine. Ordered two glasses, one of the Deux Anes Corbieres Primer Pas, which was as always, funky and tasty. One glass of the Tete Julianas, light and elegant. Both are great organic wines that we carry in the store. A great selection of music was on and for once it was not totally crowded (though that can be nice as well!) . . .A Nice time. The Bodega bar: This is a brand new bar in the Greenpoint area of Brooklyn which opened just last week, and has not even had their "grand opening". This is an amazing space, with old school rustic touches and a granite bar that was really solid. They have a stage, and hopefully will start music soon. The owners Ben and Gina are great, friendly and enthusiastic, with a great list so far, and solid plans for expansion. I went in to say hi, and have a glass, and was treated like a visiting dignitary! After thirty minutes the bar started to fill up, and seemed to be mostly Greenpoint residents relaxing with a good glass of wine or beer at the end of the day. I am looking forward to returning on March 30th for the grand opening! Thanks, Ben Hi all, We recently were involved in a great event here in NYC, the natural winemakers week- sponsored and hosted by Jenny and Francois Selections. We carry a decent selection of wines from this great importer; Their Focus is on wines made organically or biodynamically in the vineyards, and very minimal winemaking techniques in the cellar. These are spectacular wines that are very unique and interesting! As part of this week full of events, I attended the portfolio tasting, and we hosted a winemaker tasting. Here are some photos I took:  The scene at The Smith- for the Jenny and Francois tasting.  Another side of the same room- more New York wine trade people tasting these great wines.  Troy Bowen, our contact with Jenny and Francois explaining the wines.  Kate, explaining the wines and pouring . . . sorry about the compression of the picture!  Paul Darcy of Darcy and Huber (a great Austrian wine importer) tasting the wines and enjoying the tasting.  Jenny Lefcourt (one of the owners of Jenny and Francois), brilliant wine importer! The tasting was on Monday, and on Wednesday we hosted several of the great winemakers here in the store for a tasting that included Tire Pe, Chemins De Bassac ( isa) Tony Coturri and Colombaia. A great combination of natural winemakers. Here are some photos of that event:  The man, The myth, the Legend- Tony Coturri!  Coturri's wines from the tasting- the amazing field blend alberello, the sandocino and, zinfandel. All great organic, unfined and unfiltered wines from Mendocino county in California  Tony and Lynda pouring and chatting.  Isabella (of chemins de bassac) and Dante (of Colombaia) chatting about the wineries in france.  Remy (chemins de bassac) and David ( Tire Pe) tasting and talking with the customers.  A little signage!  And finally a picture of all of the winemakers, their hosts (Troy, Jenny, and Francois) in front of our store! We were proud to host them and be part of this great event! Thanks Ben Lenn Thompson's blog, once called Lenndevours, now called New York Cork Report, had an article by Ton Mansell that piqued my interest. In reading it, I found him repeating one of my favorite wine facts: When you smell cherries (or in this case rose petals) in wine, what you are smelling is the same chemical compound responsible for that scent in cherries (or rose petals) themselves. "In 1999, researchers at Cornell determined that the signature aroma of lychee/rose in Gewürztraminer comes from a compound called cis-rose oxide (diagram at right). Unsurprisingly, this molecule is also found in rose petals." For the full article, see the New York Cork Report: Growing Up Gewürztraminer: Varietal Character and RipenessPaul
3/6/2010 Consumers Skeptical Of Organic 'Hippie Wine'The article implies that people are less willing to pay a particular price for organically grown wine than they are to pay the same price for a non-organic wine. I can say categorically that isn't true here. One thing about the way we've integrated organic wines into our store was to resist the temptation to create an "Organic Ghetto". Every wine we carry has to carry its own weight among its peers. We think that every wine we choose, organic or not, has to be sold for what it's worth. I won't ask the customer to pay a higher price because the wine is organic. I will choose the organic wine over a "conventionally" farmed wine of equal price and quality. Most of the time, I don't find out that the wine is organic until after I've tasted it. A great example of that is the Domaine Grand Veneur Cotes du Rhone Village Les Champauvins. I bought it for the store in December. It wasn't until late February, when one of the owners of the Domaine was in the store, that I found out that it is not only being farmed organically, but that they have filed for Organic certification. We've now identified that with a green label. The price didn't change - and it's still delicious. Paul
3/6/2010
Sometimes you find things that have been around for a long time- today we found these bottles of older Coteaux du Languedoc from Chateau De Cazeneuve. These are from the 1997 vintage, and have been in our store for a long, long time!  Once we found them, I decided that we needed to sell them, but I knew nothing about this wine! First, I checked out the website from the winery. Next, I tried to read up about it on review sites- not a lot out there! Next up, I tasted one:  The wine had a lovely color of brick and a slight fade to orange at the edge of the glass- pretty typical of wines this old. The smell was compelling with a lot of floral, mineral and complexity. A few minutes after opening it grew into intense cinnamon and floral noise. The flavor on the palate was clearly berries and spice, with nice soft entry. I enjoyed it up until the finish, which has a bit of heat, and was somewhat overpowering for me. Paul, our Rhone buyer, liked it so much that he took a bottle! Thanks, and Enjoy some wine today! Ben 03/03/2010 Hi all, Today was another big snow storm here in the city. The store was open (of course) and to prove our dedication I thought I would take some photos . . .They all came out blue; and I'm not really sure why! here are a few shots:  This was take from the second floor window; Looking out over 68th street and Columbus Ave.  Another shot out of the second floor window, this time looking at our local bodega- the Great Farm on the northeast corner of 68th street and Columbus Ave.  This one was a bit more fun- Laila outside playing in the snow.  Finally, Maggie and Laila outside enjoying a quick break by playing in the snow! Thanks for reading, and again, apologies for the blue tone in the photos. Ben 03/02/2010
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