In Ourself We Trust (or at least we should)

Last night, my husband and I went to dinner with friends, Stacy and David, at Vai Restaurant and Wine Bar. This is a relatively new addition to Manhattan’s Upper West Side and predominently features an assortment of tapas-style Italian plates, easily shared with the table. Ordering our first bottle of wine, we started the evening with a Falanghina, an Italian white wine which was very aromatic with good acidity. It paired well with our selection of a plate of five cheeses (Tallegio, Manchego, Pierre Robert, Parmesan and Asiago) and a plate of three meats (Speck, Serano Ham and Proscuitto).

Upon finishing up these plates and the wine, we determined that we were still hungry and chose to share the Tomato and the Truffle Pizzettas. Having decided upon the first wine, I gave Jared the task of picking the next, which we all agreed should be a red wine. He narrowed it down to a Sangiovese from Puglia and a Chianti. We went with the Sangiovese since he then noted that the Chianti was from the atypical (due to extreme heat) 2003 vintage.

With Jared having tasted the first bottle, this time it was my turn to taste the wine upon its arrival at the table. The server opened the bottle and poured my glass, which I proceeded to swirl, sniff and taste. My first inclination was that the wine was corked, but the flavors did not seem to be muted on the palate. Hence, I chalked up the musty nose to earthy notes in the wine. I thought about asking Jared for his opinion before accepting the wine from the server, but felt some pressure, particularly as a "wine expert" in front of our friends.

However, Stacy noted my hesitation and commented that I was a tough critic. I didn’t want her to think that I was being overly judgemental, so I confessed that I had thought I detected some TCA on the nose. We all proceeded to drink the wine with the pizzettas, and made some comments regarding the aromas and flavors we were getting.  David seemed less enthralled by the wine, disliking the intensity of the aroma. A little later on, he asked for our opinions of whether or not we liked the wine and explained that he didn’t really care for it.

At this point, I tasted the wine again and was more convinced that the wine was indeed corked and apologized profusely to everyone. We discussed the protocol for dealing with corked wines in a restaurant and acknowledged that the error was mine since I had approved the wine with the server before she poured it for the table. Moreover, the bottle was about half empty (or more optimistically half full). However, we decided to bring the faulty wine to the attention of our server anyway.

She smelled the wine and then brought it to her manager? who sniffed the bottle and instantly agreed that it was corked. We were brought a new bottle of the wine, for which I deferred the tasting to Jared, feeling somewhat embarrassed at my previous mistake. Our friends were eager to taste the new bottle and have the opportunity to compare its taste with the faulted version, which turned out to be a great learning experience for them.

My lesson for the day was to trust my instincts and be more confident in my assessment of wines. As an academic, I have accumulated significant knowledge about wine as evidenced by my earned credentials. However, with only two+ years in the wine business, my real-world experience with wine is more limited. Accordingly, I frequently feel less confident in my abilities and prefer the moniker "wine educator" to that of "wine expert." Last night’s experience has reinforced that I do have the skills necessary and that, especially now that I have left my previous career to pursue our business full-time, I need to think of myself as a wine professional and act accordingly.

On a final note, I would like to express our appreciation for Vai Restaurant in the way that they handled the incident. As noted, the wine was nearly finished by the time we brought up the issue and we truly didn’t expect the restaurant to take any action. We were more than pleased with the class and service they provided. And, of course, the food was quite good, too! If you have the chance to patronize this restaurant, please do so in recognition of their good service.

A Lady who Lunches

Taking advantage of both Restaurant Week and my self-employed status last week, I had the opportunity to visit three restaurants participating in this New York tradition. First established in 1992 in celebration of the Democratic Convention hosted in New York City that year, Restaurant Week participants offer a special prix-fixe menu. Originally, the cost for the luncheon corresponded to the year, i.e. $19.92. However, this has changed over the years and the current price is $24.07 for lunch and $35.00 for those restaurants offering a dinner menu.

On Monday, I dined with the lovely Marisa D’Vari of A Wine Story at Cafe Boulud. I started with the Gazpacho soup, while Marisa ordered the Hearts of Palm salad. We both followed with the Seared Sea Scallop and then shared the two desserts — a peanut butter and raspberry tart and an apricot creme brulee. The restaurant offered two wines with lunch — a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon — both for $24.07 each. We ordered a bottle of the Chardonnay.

Tuesday afternoon found me at Artisanal Restaurant with my dear friend Sharon. If you have not been to this restaurant, Restaurant Week is not the week to go, as the options do not provide one with the true flavor of the restaurant, which focuses on cheese as an art form. While the menu was nice, goucheres, fondue and general selections from the fromagerie were not available. I enjoyed a plate of parmesan gnocchi, which was particularly wonderful with its accompaniment of summer vegetables. A Scottish salmon was equally lovely. My friend started with the soupe du jour, which was a chilled, beet soup, replete with horseradish ice cream. She still had this soup on her mind a few days later. For her main course, she enjoyed the Summer Vegetable Risotto. For dessert, we ordered the Marquis au Chocolate and a plate of cheeses du jour ($5.00 supplement), the latter permitting us to better appreciate the fact that we were in a cheese-oriented restaurant. However, as I am very finicky about the kind of cheeses I like, I really did not like the selections and simply ate enough to be polite. Artisanal has nearly 100 wines by the glass, offered in both glass and taste pour sizes, which is fabulous. I selected a glass of the Lirac Domain Lafond, Roc-Epine white wine, which comprises 50% Grenache Blanc, 30% Rousanne and 20% Viognier. This beautiful, Southern Rhone blend was full-bodied with rich fruit flavors and notes of almond/nuttiness, which we both found to be quite agreeable.

I finished off the week with lunch with my wonderful husband, Jared, at South Gate at the Jumeirah Essex House. We actually spent our wedding night at this hotel, opposite Central Park, so the setting was near and dear to our hearts. Arriving a few minutes ahead of Jared, I ordered a glass of an Argentine rose of Malbec, which had a vibrant, deep pink hue and aromas and flavors of red fruits and spice. Upon tasting the wine, Jared also ordered a glass of the wine. I kicked off lunch with a pea flan, which highlighted the beauty of fresh vegetables, coupled with the richness of morels. Jared had shellfish in a saffron sauce, which he graciously permitted me to taste. My main course consisted of mahi mahi, served with eggplant "caviar" while Jared had trout in a brown butter sauce. Although Jared’s creme fraiche cheese cake dessert was nice, my choclate pot au creme with chocolate madeleines was the highlight of the meal (and best dessert of the week), with crunchy chocolate pearls mingling with creamy chocolate mousse and airy whipped cream, complemented by a cup of cappucino.

I ended the week a few pounds heavier, but just as much happier, having enjoyed three fabulous lunches.

Go, Go Gadget

Several months ago, I was contacted about a new wine device called the Ravi and given the opportunity to test the Ravi. The Ravi was launched in Quebec, Canada and has a patent pending. This product is inserted into an open wine bottle with the intention of cooling the wine down to an appropriate temperature.

While we initially assumed that the target was white wine, instead, the focus for the Ravi was to ensure that red wines were served at the proper temperature. With the admonition that many people serve red wines too warm (room temperature refers to rooms prior to the advent of central heating), the Ravi seeks to lower the wine temperature to the perfect 55-60F. (Fuller-bodied reds can be served as high as 62F, but warmer than this becomes too hot.)

I intended to use the product soon after its receipt, but due to not reading all of the instructions ahead of time, I made an error, which caused a delay. The Ravi has two parts, which snap together. One piece is stored in the freezer for at least an hour prior to use to permit it to produce its cooling effect. The internal mechanism is a stainless steel tube, through which the wine passes, cooling the wine on contact.

One is advised to clean the Ravi prior to its first use and here is where I made my error. I wasn’t careful about not getting water inside the device, which the next instruction cautioned not to freeze the part with water inside. Accordingly, I had to wait until the water evaporated, which, due to the seasonal humidity, required waiting a few weeks. Once this problem had been rectified, the Ravi went into the freezer, but the sustained heat prevented me from having any interest in red wine.

I finally had occasion to use the Ravi at an event for a private client last week. We were presenting wines paired with the delicious dinner prepared by the hosts, which included a St.-Emilion and an Australian Shiraz, to accompany the main course of seared steak. We took the opportunity to bring the Ravi with us and used it to cool down these wines as we poured them for the event guests. Starting first with our own glasses, we were pleasantly surprised to note the success at which the device accomplished its goal. Feeling the bottle itself, the wine was much warmer than it was once it was poured into the glass. Accordingly, the serving temperature was more appropriate and the wine could be better enjoyed.

The only drawback was that the device itself is a bit cumbersome to use given that you are adding about 5 inches to the top of the wine bottle. In addition, we found that the wine seemed to get a bit stuck after a few pours, which required some effort to get it flowing again. However, overall, it did work for its intended use and can thus be recommended. The Ravi retails for ~$50.00, but as there are no replacement costs, it is a one-time investment if one is interested in having such a product.

Is Water the Next Oil?

With three separate articles on water rights in the past month [Dammed up water rights could flow again; St. Helena site for water rules hearing; and Washington State Grapples with Water], water could be the next oil in terms of its scarcity and desirability of a resource.

While irrigation is generally forbidden for vineyards in the EU, some special dispensations have been made, particularly during the heat wave of 2003. And, in drier areas of Spain, growers are feeling the pinch of global warming. Similarly, Australia’s inland vineyards have seen significant stress where irrigation practices have been halted due to the drought. (For obvious reasons, it is more important to provide the limited water to people instead of plants.)

In this vein, it is becoming increasingly difficult to successfully grow wine grapes in the absence of natural water. Consequently, at least in New World wine regions, obtaining water rights may be vital to sustaining viable vineyards. In Chile and Argentina, the problem of water access has yet to be a problem as the Andes snow melt provides a sufficient supply of fresh and reliable water. But, as the above referenced artices indicate, the water issue has come to the forefront for Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Washington State and Oregon.

In addition, although the current discussion relates to grape growing, it is likely that similar issues are facing farmers of other crops, putting additional pressure on the food supply of this and other countries. Further, as water is a crucial resource for all beings, not just plant species, the water crisis could become even more critical in the years ahead; perhaps even more so than the current oil crisis. I would think that, despite incredible difficulty, we can find ways to live without oil much more easily than we could to live without water. Consequently, the need to conserve water is more important than ever.

Maritime Wines Explored

With the first vitis vinifera vines planted on Long Island in 1973, this year marks the 35th year of viticulture on the East End and the birth of the Long Island wine industry. When Louisa Hargrave and then husband, Alex Hargrave, initially sought to make wine in the area, there was a lot that they admittedly didn’t know. As others followed, many were also without much, if any, experience in growing grapes and/or making wine.

At the time, most of the wine books and literature weren’t available in English and what was available was focused on California. The Long Island vignerons clearly recognized that their terroir and climate were vastly different from those of California and thus, these books weren’t particularly helpful. However, they did see the similarity between the East End and Bordeaux.

Not surprisingly, in 1988, Larry Perrine, presently of Channing Daughters winery, organized the Long Island Bordeaux Symposium (Maritime Climate Wine Growing: Bringing Bordeaux to Long Island), which brought the Bordelais to Long Island to see the wine region and provide advice. For many, this was a turning point for the wines produced on Long Island, with the quality increasing rapidly post-Symposium.

Fast forward 20 years and Long Island is now a well-respected, albeit still less well-known, wine region. No longer in need of specific advice from their colleagues, a new Symposium will be held this year, which expands the query to the world wine industry, once again spearheaded by Larry Perrine, this time joined by Louisa Hargrave. Titled, The Art of Balance: Cool Climate/Maritime Wines in a Global Context, the Symposium will be held on August 5 & 6, hosted by the Stony Brook Center for Wine, Food and Culture in partnership with the New York Wine and Grape Foundation ane the Long Island Wine Council.

The full agenda for this two-day Symposium is available online: (http://www.stonybrook.edu/sb/winecenter/symposium2008.shtml).

While the daytime programs of the Symposium may be of more interest to those in trade (although non-trade members are more than welcome), there is a Grand Tasting on Tuesday evening, featuring more than 200 wines, paired with wonderful food from area restaurants.

Spain is the new France

While Spain has always been the country with the largest number of hectares planted to grape vines, it has stood in third place with regard to wine production (much of the grapes it grows find their way into brandy). However, it looks like this ranking is about to change, with Spain earning the #2 spot currently held by France.

At the moment, Italy is the biggest producer of wine in the world, with annual production at 60m hectoliters. France produces approximately 53m hectoliters and is expected to drop to ~44m over the next several years, giving Spain, which averages 45m hectoliters, the opportunity to take the lead over France.

Of course, production volume is not correlated to production quality, so it is not necessarily a win for Spain or a loss to France if these expected rankings come to pass. However, it is somewhat interesting in that France has long been the gold standard in wine, with French imports attaining the top spot in many markets. But, as evidence of this shift in power, in the UK, US imports now outnumber French imports in terms of sales. Further, as production levels change, it is likely that many new wines from Spain will find their way onto our shelves. This may prompt more consumers to learn about Spanish wines.

In fact, Wines from Spain and other affiliated organizations have been actively promoting a variety of Spanish wines to both consumers and the trade. In particular, events on Navarra, Rioja and Murcia were held earlier in 2008, as was a special presentation and tasting of wines from the up and coming region of Castilla y Leon.

Modern wine practices have taken hold in Spain with many wineries having renovated and revamped in the past several year. Yet, although top Riojas can be quite pricey, most of the wines coming out of Spain represent a good quality to value relationship. Moreover, it is exciting to watch many of these emerging regions come into their own as they find their footing in the marketplace. Overall, consumers will benefit as the diversity of Spanish wines are made available to them.

Cookies & Wine

Yes, usually one enjoys cookies with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. However, last week I had occasion to pour wines, alongside a collection of cookies. I assure you that these cookies deserved to be paired with wines instead.

The culinary creation of Lior Lev Sercarz, these cookies are truly works of art themselves. Under the banner of La Boite a Biscuits, Lior uses unusual flavors in his cookies such as fig, elderflower, ouzo and lavendar. Inspired by the season and a chosen artist’s interpretation, the cookies, or rather biscuits, combine confection and culture into one. The accompanying tins feature the artist’s work and are collectible.

Last week, I had the opportunity to pour wines for a new importer, Sherbrooke Cellars, at a gallery opening. I poured three wines to gallery guests while they enjoyed not only a wonderful art show, but also an assortment of luxury cookies.

So what does one serve with such a grand selection of sweets? I had three wines to offer the attendees: a small grower Champagne (Champagne Charles Ellner Cuvee De Reserve NV), a Bourgogne Blanc (Jacques Bavard Bourgogne Blanc 2006) and a Pouilly-Fuisse (Challet Pouilly Pouilly Fuisse 2005). As it was hot summer’s evening, most guests were drawn to the Champagne, but as Lior is French, there were several other French people in attendance, who seemed more drawn to try the white Burgundies. While I did not personally taste the wines in concert with the cookies, I am confident that all, especially the Champagne, were an excellent match given their high acidity to counter the sweetness of the biscuits.

I did have a chance to taste a few of the cookies (the servers came around with the tins when things were slow) and they were quite lovely. However, at $65.00/box, you certainly don’t want to dunk them in milk.

Wine Goes to the Movies – Part II

In a recent posting on the Spirit World, I wrote about the prominent attention that wine is receiving on the big screen. In that article, I mentioned the movie Bottle Shock, which retells the tale of the 1976 Judgement of Paris. At the time I wrote the article, I had not yet had the opportunity to see the movie, but that oversight has been rectified thanks to a screening several weeks ago (Thanks, Vicky!).

I went to see this movie thinking that I wasn’t going to like it since I was not only familiar with the true story that inspired the movie, but also had attended one of the re-creations held by Acker, Merral & Condit in 2006. The Acker event was wonderful, with Steven Spurrier (creator of the original event) in attendance along with George Tabor (author and the only journalist present at the original event) and Christian Vanneque (one of the original judges and, at the time, sommelier at La Tour d’Argent).

However, I was pleasantly surprised at the screening. The plot line was relatively true to reality with only a few, minor inventions. At a Q&A with the writers after the screening, they explained the need to focus on only a few characters. In this case, they chose to feature Jim Barrett and Bo Barrett of Chateau Montelena and in doing so, provided the audience with a rich portrayal of this father and son duo. The scenery, filmed from a helicopter, is quite stunning, showing off the vineyards in all their true spendor.

As a testament to the writers’ abilities, I found myself caught up in the excitement upon the Paris pronouncement that Chateau Montelena had won, despite being aware of this eventual conclusion. Overall, I was glad that I had decided to see the movie over my initial prejudice.

DWS — Done, with success

As I have chronicled previously, I have been pursuing the Wine & Spirit Education Trust’s rigorous course of study leading to the Diploma of Wine & Spirits (DWS). This two-year program comprises 6 units, which essentially covers all aspects of the wine and spirit industry from production to sales and marketing.

In April, I submitted my final two papers — one on the history and current outlook on wine co-operatives and the other on the supply and demand issues regarding Champagne. Since the papers are submitted for a specific deadline and are then sent to London to be graded with submissions from students from all around the world, the turn-around time is a bit long.

Finally, I received notification last week that I had earned a Pass with Distinction on my co-opertives paper, which included a case study on Nicolas Feuillatte, and a Pass with Merit on my Champagne paper. Then, earlier this week, I received a second letter acknowledging my successful completion of the full credential and my right to use the post-nominal, DWS, after my name. I am one of 6 to have completed the Diploma this cycle and one of 20 for the year (within the U.S.).

I am proud of my accomplishments and, while I will not rest on my laurels — the world of wine is always changing and thus requires continuous study — I am looking forward to taking a break from formal study. However, I do anticipate a return to pursue the Master of Wine credential at some point in the future.

~Tracy Ellen Kamens, Ed.D., DWS

The First Day of the Rest of My Life

OK, yes, to a certain extent, every day is the first day of the rest of one’s life. So why is today different? Today is my first day as a full-time wine professional. Up until yesterday, I had been holding onto that "pesky" day job while I launched Grand Cru Classes, working in the evenings and on weekends.

However, as I am continually reminded, life is fleeting. We may live to be 100 (in my case, I hope not — 85 is fine with me) or depart life much earlier, regardless of our best intentions. Consequently, it was time to take a leap of faith and turn my full attention to my career in the wine world.

It is all at once scary and exciting, but already I am seeing the benefits of my decision. First, it was a pleasure to have slept in this morning; well, I admit that 8:00 AM isn’t all that late, but it was nice not to have to be anywhere by 9:00 AM. Next, I am confident that I will not miss my hour-long commute to the office.

And, speaking of the office, now everyday is "Take Your Dog to Work" Day. I love having Annabelle around as my muse. Other perks include wine with lunch — somehow my previous employer it didn’t seem apprpropriate to bring a bottle of wine with my sandwich (can’t imagine why :-] ). And, it will be much easier to attend trade tastings and events — no more rushing out of the office in the middle of the day.

Finally, I am looking forward to having more time — more time to build the business, more time to write (not least of which to post more frequently than once a quarter) and more to read. Just in time, too, as the August issue of Decanter has just arrived and I haven’t quite finished with June.

Of course, this rosy glow may fade a bit come August 1 when my usual monthly paycheck isn’t directly deposited into my account. But, for now I’ll just enjoy the ride.