Author Archives: Tracy

Grand Cru Grapevine: The Magic of Monterey (May 2010)

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May finds us busy as a bee with Spring in full swing and Mother’s Day just around the corner. And, in a few weeks, the official launch to the Summer 2010 season, Memorial Day Weekend, will be upon us.

On May 18, Tracy will begin her 5-week Italian wine class at NYU’s School of Continuing & Professional Studies (Register through NYU now). Then, on May 20, she’ll head up to Poughkeepsie to present on the Long Island wine region for the It Was a Good Year tasting group. Next, it’s back to the North Fork on May 21 for a class presented in partnership with the Town of Riverhead’s Department of Recreation.

Finally, we invite you to join us From Vine to Wine as we kick-off our public schedule with our first class scheduled for Saturday, May 29, 2010 at 11:00 AM and a second class set for Sunday, May 30, 2010 at 1:00 PM (Mad about Merlot). 

On Thursday prior to the holiday, Hampton Jitney riders may find a Grand Cru Classes gift certificate at their seat, but you already have the inside track as a loyal reader of the Grand Cru Grapevine. Accordingly, we are pleased to extend the same offer to you – take 20% off a private event scheduled in 2010 or buy one ticket to a public class, get one free.

While you are waiting to head out to the Hamptons or the North Fork, you can sneak off to California’s Central Coast for a virtual visit of its vineyards with this month’s focus on “The Magic of Monterey.”

Drink wisely and well,

Tracy Ellen Kamens, Ed.D., DWS, CWE

CEO: Chief Education Officer

and

Jared Michael Skolnick

COO: Cork Opening Officer

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THE MAGIC of MONTEREY

Like many places in California, Monterey is a magical place. Known as the salad bowl of the U.S., the county is home to numerous farms and driving along the highway one is privy to signs announcing, “Now growing…lettuce (or some other produce)”.

We had the great pleasure of visiting Monterey in 2007 when we attended the SWE annual conference being held there. Arriving at San Jose airport (which is a much cheaper flight than flying directly to Monterey’s regional one), we picked up our rental car and got ready to hit the road south. To truly put us in the California spirit, we had splurged on a convertible and, as soon as we were settled into the car, the top came down. Our options included the interior highway U.S. 101 or the coastal U.S. 1 (aptly named the Pacific Coast Highway). We chose the latter and proceeded to drive accordingly. While in the San Jose vicinity, the thermometer in car read 89oF and the breeze felt great flowing through our hair. This was soon to change in a surprising way.

Upon reaching U.S. 1, we drove south toward our destination and watched the temperature drop precipitously. By the time we were at our destination, it was 65oF. Quite a difference! The drive itself is only about an hour, so what accounts for the vastly different climates? Mountains. And, not only mountains, but their orientation to the Pacific Ocean. The Central Valley of California is shielded from the cold Humboldt Current off the Pacific Ocean due to the (mountain range) that runs north-south or, in other words, parallel to the coast. These mountains insulate the interior from this cooling influence and keep the temperatures high. Conversely, the coast is open to the current and significantly alters the temperature.

Moreover, when you actually get to Monterey, there is a gap in the mountains where they begin to run east-west or perpendicular, rather than parallel, to the ocean. This mountainous orientation plays a big role in the Monterey wine region, with the warmer air at the south-western end of the valley creating a vacuum that pulls the cooler ocean air downstream. Accordingly, the area of Santa Lucia Highlands is hospitable to cool-climate grape varieties, namely Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but also Riesling and Pinot Grigio. Temperatures range from 65oF-75oF with minimal temperature shifts and a long hang time-harvest is often as late as November. The warmer areas of southern Monterey and the Hames Valley are home to Cabernet Sauvignon and Rhone varietals respectively, which are able to ripen sufficiently given the higher temperatures found there.

Jerry Lohr of J. Lohr Vineyards noticed this unique terroir, particularly in the Arroyo Seco area, back in the 1970s and is among the pioneers in the region. More recently, others have recognized the potential and have established their own vineyards and wineries. Single-vineyard wines are particularly prized with a number of small, named vineyards earning stellar reputations. Gary’s, Talbott, [look up info]. Of course, wines from the wider Monterey County appellation are also produced and can be quite excellent as well. All in all, there are a wide range of microclimates, more than 55 varieties grown and ideal growing conditions to create balanced wines, resulting in true magic in a glass.

TASTING NOTES

Loredona Wine Cellars, Riesling 2007, Monterey, CA, $12.00
This wine shows lime, floral and peach blossom aromas. On the palate, it is slightly off-dry with vibrant acidity and flavors of peach, lime and floral notes, culminating in its long length. 10,000 cases produced.

Wente, Riva Ranch Chardonnay 2008, Arroyo Seco, CA, $20.00
In the 1930s, Wente was the first producer to label a wine as Chardonnay; today, Karl Wente is the fourth generation of his family to run the winery. This wine was barrel fermented and then aged for eight months in a combination of French, American, Eastern European and neutral oak. Aromas of spice, apple peel and a slight note of butter greet the nose. It is dry, with medium-full body and medium acidity. The palate offers up apple and well-integrated oak flavors of butterscotch, spice and an undercurrent of toothpick, finishing with long length.

Carmel Road, Pinot Noir 2007, Monterey County,CA, $16.50
This wine spent nine months in 98% French oak, 21% of which was new and 2% in American oak, 100% of which was new. Displaying raspberry, smoke and herbal aromas, this wine is dry with good acidity and low tannins. Notes of raspberry, cherry and smoke persist throughout its long length.

Lucienne Vineyards, Doctor’s Vineyard Pinot Noir 2007, Santa Lucia Highlands, CA, $35.00
Showing nice complexity, this wine has aromas of earth, herbal, raspberry and floral notes. Barrel aged for 14 months prior to bottling, its dry palate is very fruity with raspberry and herbal notes, coupled with an earthy undercurrent and balanced with bright acidity and long length.

Galante Red Rose Hill Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Carmel Valley, CA, $35.00
Jack Galante, owner and winemaker, is the grandson of the founding mayor of Carmel. Aromas of blackberry, slight oak and slight eucalyptus dominate the nose. The dry, full-bodied palate shows balanced acidity and ripe tannins with notes of blackberry, oak and smoke.

Whole Foods rolls out cork recycling program in New York City

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Saving the world isn’t easy. Usually it takes time and effort to do the right thing, which is why so many of us may have good intentions, but stop short of actually doing the right thing. But, the environmentally-conscious can now recycle corks with greater ease.

Previously, the only cork recycling options available to New York City residents required wine drinkers to save their corks in bulk and then ship them off to one of a handful of participating organizations. However, last month, Whole Foods announced that it was partnering with Cork ReHarvest to collect corks company-wide.

According to the company’s April 6 press release, corks collected on the East coast will be sent to Jelinek Cork Group, an established North American cork manufacturer which will convert the old corks into post-consumer products.

Kimberly Robison, Marketing Team Leader for the Whole Foods Market on New York’s Upper West Side
(808 Columbus Avenue @97th St.), explained that the Whole Foods wine store had been participating in the cork recycling program since it opened in August 2009.

And for those of you that get nose bleeds above 59th Street? Michael Sinatra, PR Coordinator for the company, stated that “cork reharvest boxes are in the process of being rolled out to all (6) of our New York City stores.” He also noted that “they actually are being added to all 21 of our current Northeast region stores throughout New York, Northern New Jersey, Long Island, Westchester and Southern Connecticut.”

Moreover, Mr. Sinatra advised that the customer service team of a store still awaiting its recycling box would still be pleased to accept the customer’s corks.

WHOLE FOODS MARKETS – NEW YORK CITY LOCATIONS
Upper West Side
808 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10025
Phone: 212.222.6160

Columbus Circle
10 Columbus Circle, Ste SC101, New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212.823.9600

57th Street – Opening Soon
250 East 57th Street, New York, NY 10022

Chelsea
250 7th Ave, New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212.924.5969

Union Square
4 Union Square South, New York, NY 10003
Phone: 212.673.5388

Bowery
95 East Houston St, New York, NY 10002
Phone: 212.420.1320

Tribeca
270 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10007
Phone: 212.349.6555

What do you call yourself?

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What do you call yourself. I invariably go by Tracy (often misspelled as Tracey); Tracy Ellen; Dr. Kamens; Ms; and have even been known to respond to Yo! They all work depending on the place and circumstance, but I recently came across an interesting situation.

I was out in a wine bar with a group of friends — yes, I know I must be a glutton for punishment, dining in a wine bar, even when off-duty, but I guess the truth is I really like wine. Anyway, my well-meaning friend, Stephanie, told the server that I was a sommelier. My OCD kicked in and I felt obliged to correct the label as I am many things, but I am not a sommelier. I explained to the server that I was in fact a wine educator and not a sommelier.

My friend apologized, but was confused. She didn’t understand the difference between the two and to her, the term sommelier made sense. As a lay-person, she was familiar with the sommelier title and knew it to be a good thing as someone who was very educated about wine and could help advise others. My concern in distinguishing my role as a wine educator from that of a sommelier to my friend was to qualify my lack of experience in the service/restaurant setting as well as to reinforce my emphasis on education as my raison d’etre. I’m not sure I fully succeeded, but she probably won’t ever call me a sommelier again.

One term that I don’t ever feel comfortable using is the term wine expert. I don’t think that I will ever achieve expert status in my mind — there is always too much to know and things are changing, making it difficult to keep current with every wine region, producer, vintage, etc. I am also careful to call myself a wine writer and not a journalist as I have not spent any time in J-school (Journalism School) and have tremendous respect for those that have.

As a wine educator, my experience with Stephanie shows that there is a need to better educate consumers as to what various wine titles mean. Moreover, if we are going to flaunt our wine credentials, consumers need to understand the value of these various credentials if they are to have weight with this group. Through such education, consumers will then have more appreciation for wine professionals who have pursued and successfully completed rigorous training, which should also provide some accountability as consumers will also have an expectation of what that wine professional’s title(s) indicate.

Other people might care less about titles, but my aim is not to reinforce hierarchy, but rather to correctly identify who I am as a wine professional, what knowledge one should expect from me and what I do with my knowledge and experience (I educate/teach others). If you disagree with my approach and want to call me names, feel free, but just don’t call me late to dinner ;-).

Chianti makes a comeback

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If you think that Chianti is all about the straw-wrapped bottle, think again. Yes, time was that people prized Chianti as much, if not more, for the bottle it came in (and its ability to do double-duty as a candle holder) as for what was inside, but times have changed. Today, Chianti wine is reaching new heights of quality and making quite a comeback.

Hailing from Italy’s Tuscany region, the demarcated Chianti area is concentrated between Florence and Siena. Here, the Sangiovese grape plays the starring role, but may be blended with other grape varieties including small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Among the most well-known Chianti producers, Ruffino has been family-owned for over 130 years, with the current family having acquired the company in 1913. Today, Ruffino owns seven estates in Tuscany, with each estate having a unique climate and soil, giving a different character to each wine.

At the entry level, the Ruffino Chianti Superiore DOCG 2008 provides youthful aromas of cherry and a slight vegetal note, along with bright acidity, medium tannins, and cherry, vegetal and oak on the palate. At $12.99 SRP, this food-friendly wine offers good value. The Superiore designation indicates that the wine was produced from lower yielding vines and was aged longer than Chianti DOCG (minimum of nine months).

Moving up Ruffino’s hierarchy is its Ducale Trilogy, featuring Il Ducale, the Riserva Ducale and the Riserva Ducale Oro. The Ruffino Riserva Ducale Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2006 is produced from 80% Sangiovese and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The first use of the term Riserva is because this wine had historically  been reserved for the Duke (Ducale) and the latter use is because the wine has been aged for a minimum of two years by law. The Oro (gold label) is only made in exceptional years. The wine shows developing aromas of blackcherry, oak, tomato and herbs. Flavors of  sour cherry, oak and tomato continue on the palate throughout the wine’s long length. This deeper, fuller-bodied wine is listed at $24.99 SRP.

Wine gifts for wine lovers

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April’s arrival heralded many things — spring showers (check, although admittedly they began in late March), Tax Day (check) and my husband’s birthday (April 24).

It’s not for me to reveal his age, but he’s younger than me. If you know my age, this might give you a hint. If not, perhaps you might get the impression that my husband is a stud who married an older woman. Actually, we’re only six months apart, so other than education and our actual birth years, we are essentially on the same time line ( (and my husband messed up his educational timeline, but that’s another story).

This year, we are still young and fabulous, but broke. We hope we will always be fabulous, try to stay young — at least young at heart — but hope that the broke adjective doesn’t follow us around forever. Of course, I exagerate, but we do expect that gifts will be more modest this year than previously.

Accordingly, here is a trip down memory lane when we were more flush…
For our fifth wedding anniversary, I bought my husband a collection of seven wines as Bordeaux Futures from the famed 2000 vintage. At the time, the wine was still in oak barrels, so it was perfect as wood is the traditional gift for a fifth anniversary. The wines were delivered in Summer 2002 and have been in our cellar since then. These are wines to be aged, so they will likely remain undisturbed for several more years.

For another birthday, I bought my husband three wines from vintages that were special to us — his birth year, our wedding year and the year we met. Choosing these wines was a lot of fun, but took work as I needed to research which wines had done well in those vintages and were still showing well. In the end, he received a bottle of Chateau Montrose from Bordeaux (yes, we do have a continued love affair with Bordeaux), a bottle of Chateau Climens (a botrytized dessert wine also from Bordeaux) and a bottle of Aldo Conterno Barolo Bussia (from the Piedmont region of Italy; bet you thought I was going to say Bordeaux again!).

And, about two years ago, I bought him a ticket to a Bourbon and Cheese tasting class at Artisanal. He loves Bourbon and almost never met a cheese he didn’t at least like, so it was a match made in heaven. He had a great time at the class and was his first forray into cheese education, which he later followed up with Murray’s Cheese’s boot-camp — 15 hours of cheese education over three days. Not surprisingly, we have added the moniker, Cheese Wiz, to his list of titles.

With only two days left to go, this year’s actual gift has yet to be determined, but, as long as we’re together to celebrate, it’s good enough for me. As the birthday boy, he may disagree if he walks away empty-handed. Guess, I’d better get shopping.

Villa Massa Limoncello has freshness and versatility to spare

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When life gives you lemons…make Limoncello. At least, that was the thought shared by Stefano Massa and his brother, Sergio, as a way to protect and preserve a treasured asset of his homeland — the Sorrento Oval Lemon. This lemon has been recognized for its high quality and received Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status in 2000 under EU regulations. Cultivated in the Sorrento area since the Middle Ages, the Sorrento Oval Lemon was originally brought to the Amalfi Coast in the Middle Ages as a way to prevent scurvy.

In 1991, Stefano and Sergio developed a special technique to extract the essential oils found in the lemon peels to create a high quality, standardized product of Limoncello that could be brought to the market. Previously, many Italians made their own Limoncello at home as did the Massa family. In fact, Stefano and Sergio returned to the family recipe that had been handed down for generations to create their product.

Unlike many of its competitors, Villa Massa Limoncelllo uses only this special lemon, inflused in pure alcohol for a minimum of three days and then blended with water and sugar and nothing else — no colors, no artificial flavors and no preservatives. The result is a liqueur that exudes the freshness of lemons, with the acidity beautifully balanced with sufficient sweetness.

When enjoyed on its own, the liqueur should be served cold and the bottle has been conveniently designed to fit in the freezer. However, the Villa Massa Limoncello is versatile as a mixer as well as a cooking ingredient. Try it with sparkling wine in place of orange juice or mix it with tonic water for pre-dinner cocktail. It can also replace rum in baking recipes or be used as a marinade component.

The Villa Massa Limoncello is available in 375 ml ($16.99 SRP) and in 750 ml ($27.99 SRP) sizes and can be found at a number of local wine shops.

Wine Educator’s Dirty Little Secret

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The Wine All-in-One for Dummies was published by Wiley in September 2009. I’d received the review copy of the book months ago, but hadn’t gotten around to writing the review. What was the hold up? Had I stashed the book away and forgotten about it? Quite the contrary. Rather, it has been a busy season for me as a wine educator and the book has become an indispensible tool as I prepare for various events and clients.

The book, written by Ed McCarthy, CWE, and Mary Ewing-Mulligan, MW, differs from the previous Wine for Dummies books in that it is a compilation of five separate books, drawing on material previously published in: Wine For Dummies, 4th Edition, California Wine For Dummies®, French Wine For Dummies®, Italian Wine For Dummies®, Red Wine For Dummies®, White Wine For Dummies®, Australian Wine For Dummies®, Canadian Wine For Dummies®, and Champagne For Dummies.

With its soft cover and reasonably-sized format, it is much easier to schlep around than the Oxford Companion to Wine or other similar tome, and, as a basic refresher, it is more than capable of handling the task. Granted, this is not MW exam review material, but it does provide information on grape varieties, wine character/styles and lists of top producers from each region. In this last regard, I can check my wine selections against their list and confirm that the wines I have chosen to purchase for an upcoming event should be indicative of the region and/or the wine style I am trying to illustrate.

Mary and Ed have an engaging writing style, which, when coupled with the symbols used in the for Dummies® series, make it extremely accessible for both amateurs and professionals to use. Admittedly, as a wine professional, I am somewhat embarrassed to be seen with “for Dummies” in the title, but am careful to shield the title when carrying the book around in public. But, that being said, the title doesn’t negate the book’s usefulness, so I continue to call upon it as needed.

When the Bud Breaks

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Grapevines are dormant all winter — hibernating from the cold and snow — until the weather reaches an average of 50°F. Well, as you may have noticed, we have had temperatures much higher than that lately. In fact, even though it is only mid-April, we have experienced temperatures as high as 92°F, achieving a new record in Central Park last week.

Consequently, the vines have woken up from their slumber much earlier than expected. And, I mean MUCH earlier. According to figures posted on Vine Views referencing Cornell’s Cooperative Extension as the data source, the average date for bud break on Long Island is April 26 and the earliest was April 17.  Yet, this past weekend, on April 11, 2010, we clearly saw evidence of bud break on our vines as we sat outside enjoying a leisurely breakfast. Or at least we thought we did. It seems that what we actually have is bud swell; bud break doesn’t really occur until the bud unfurls its green leaf.

While bud swell and/or bud break are generally good things, heralding the start of the new viticultural year, the problem with such an early bud break is that Mother Nature can be quite fickle. Sometimes she decides that maybe she isn’t quite ready to proceed with Spring as we thought, bringing cold temperatures and possibly even a frost despite what had seemed like a permanent end to winter. The vine can withstand frost when it is dormant, but it is much more susceptible to damage once it has come out of dormancy, especially since the sap is flowing within it.

In Bordeaux, where climatic similarities with Long Island exist, they experience many of the same worries. Here, the Feast Days of Saints Mamert, Pancrace and Gervais (respectively May 11, 12, and 13) are thought to be the marker as to when the threat of frost has past and the Saints themselves are often referred to as the Saints of Frost and Freeze. Thus, we still have a full month before we can rest easy.

Elsewhere in the U.S., frost this time of year is also a problem. Wes Hagen of Clos Pepe noted that he was on Frost Patrol (waking up in the middle of the night to turn on fans and sprinklers) these past several weeks and had suffered damage due to a deep freeze earlier in April. Fortunely, a recent article published in Practical Winery and Vineyard Magazine offered some possible solutions to reverse the damage, so he may be able to save those vines after all.

Regardless of whether bud break has actually occurred, it is clear that this will be an interesting year since weather plays such an important role in the growth and development of the vine and, ultimately, the grapes themselves. Wine may be a more glamorous product than beans or orange juice, but in the end, it is still farming. Fingers crossed, we will have warm, dry weather stretching long into the fall, but only time will tell what the season will bring.

A Tale of Two Lunches

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I woke up on a Monday morning in March with a reasonable agenda — an Italian wine tasting followed by a portfolio tasting. Thus, once I dragged myself out of bed (Mondays are the worst and rainy Mondays are even more horrible), I presumed that I would attend the two events, head home and get some work done in the afternoon (but, we all know about the best laid plans…).

I left our apartment at 10:00 AM to ensure a prompt arrival at the International Culinary Center (formerly known as the French Culinary Institute), which resulted in my being the first to arrive. The weather caused many attendees to be late and necessitated a late start to the event. However, after the delay, the event hit the ground running. It was a small, but dedicated group there to learn from both Adolfo Folonari of Ruffino and Cesare Casella of Salumeria Rosi on the theme of terroir.

Adolfo shared a brief history of Ruffino, noting that the company has been family owned for over 130 years, having been founded by two cousins. Adolfo’s family acquired the company in 1913, continuing the founders’ legacy and now maintains seven estates in the Tuscany region.  He then presented four wines — three of which were Chianti appellations and one Brunello di Montalcino. The wines were very good and showed the diversity within the Ruffino portfolio from the fresh and fruity Ruffino Chianti Superiore DOCG 2008 ($12.99 SRP) to the more complex Ruffino Riserva Ducale Chianti Classico DOCG 2006 ($24.99 SRP) and the modern Ruffino Santedame Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2006 ($33.00 SRP).

Participants then had an opportunity to taste the wines again, this time paired with salumi (cured meats), presented by Cesare, who wore a red chef’s coat, with a sprig of rosemary taking the place of a pocket-square. The pairings were well-received, but of greater interest to me, was learning about the effect of terroir on this type of cuisine. For example, Cesare explained that in Alto Adige, the climate is too cold to salt cure the meat and consequently, they use a cold smoke instead. Similarly, in Calabria, smoking is used because it is too hot to use salt curing. In addition, the breed of pig also differs from region to region, affecting the final product.

We then moved from the formal presentation to the luncheon where guests enjoyed three additional salumi and four other Ruffino wines. We were particularly impressed with the Ruffino Lumina Pinot Grigio Venezia Giulia IGT 2009 ($9.99 SRP), which had vibrant acidity and good fruit concentration, from Ruffino’s property in Collio (Alto Adige). After the salumi were cleared, the menu included beans and tuna as well as short ribs with mushroom risotto, followed by vanilla panna cotta. We were seated at round tables and played a sort of musical chairs, with each table getting a chance to chat with Adolfo and Cesare for one course of the meal, as they made their way around the room.

During lunch, I received a phone call from the PR Coordinator at W.J. Deutsch, letting me know about an event that was taking place as she spoke. It sounded interesting, plus I had yet to get to the venue, sd26, so I switched gears and headed over to meet with Stefano Massa of Villa Massa.

I arrived at sd26 and was warmly greeted by Barbara Scalera, but, as I had been unable to find the restroom before departing ICC, I explained that I needed to first go to the Ladies’ Room before she and Stephano could have my undivided attention. The damp weather had wreaked havoc on my hair, but fortunately, I didn’t scare my hosts. I did my best to make myself presentable and was then led to a private dining room upstairs.

I was seated next to Stefano who promptly launched into a story about his journey into Limoncello. He noted that he and his brother, Sergio, were pioneers in crafting quality Limoncello of Sorrento. Stefano’s family had been producing Limoncello at home for family consumption, the recipe for which had been passed down for generations. Their guests really enjoyed their Limoncello and Stefano and Sergio saw an opportunity to produce the liqueur on a commercial basis. Most importantly, they are committed to maintaining the terroir and consequently only use natural ingredients, most notably the Sorrento Oval Lemon, which has had its own Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) since 2000.

About three-quarters of the way into his monologue, food was served, but the first order of business was to taste the Limoncello. Stefano first served it to me cold and then at room temperature. I was advised to first smell the liqueur before taking some onto my tongue and slurping in some air, in a similar fashion as one tastes wine. The fresh lemon aromas were obvious and even more so with the room temperature specimen.

Risotto was the dish of the day, making a second appearance, this time with scallops that had been marinated in the Villa Massa Limoncello. The second course was veal testina, which I didn’t particularly enjoy (the recipe calls for 1 veal head), but the dessert course was lovely. The Italian pastry, Baba, had been prepared with the Limoncello in place of the more traditional rum and was accompanied by a refreshing Limoncello sorbet. I also liked the use of the Limoncello in two cocktails I was served — the first being a blend of Limoncello and tonic water (I actually really like tonic water, so this was a nice “twist” for me). The second cocktail was a modified Mimosa, with Limoncello standing in for orange juice, resulting in a less sweet version of this popular brunch drink.

At a time when it seems that every spirit producer (and some wine producers) is trying to show the versatility of its product by using it as an ingredient, in cocktails or both, I found the Villa Massa Limoncello to be one of the more successful in this arena.

Having now eaten two lunches in a single day, I thanked my hosts and departed the restaurant. Unfortunately, it was now 4:30 PM and I would not have time to make it to the Dreyfus Ashby portfolio tasting as it ended at 5:00 PM and it would take at least that much time to travel to Ardesia Wine Bar, where it was being held. As I said, the best laid plans…, but of course, it was a great (if not fattening) day of tasting.

Bubbling with anticipation

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My sights are set on Washington, D.C. this July where I’ll be in attendance for the Society of Wine Educators‘ annual conference.

I am thrilled to be presenting again this year, having co-presented the Certified Wine Educator Preview with Geralyn Brostrom and Ed Korry last year in Sacramento and on Long Island wines in 2007 in Monterrey.

Taking my cue from the patriotic location and aptly-named conference theme of Red, White and Bubbles… A  Capital Perspective on Wine, I proposed a session, “Born in the USA: American Sparklers”, which was accepted for presentation in mid-January.

I don’t want to give too much away at this point since I want to ensure a good turnout for my session, but as I have just finalized the list of producers, I am very excited. The presentation will shed some light on the history of sparkling wine in America and will feature tastings from nine different sparkling wine producers, hailing from eight states. The wines themselves will offer a diverse sampling of sparklers, making for what I hope will be a fun and festive tasting.