The last week of April was filled with wonderful wine. I kicked off the week at the Wine Media Guild’s monthly luncheon. This Tale of Two Pichons featured a matched, vertical tasting of Chateau Longueville au Baron de Pichon-Longueville (aka Pichon-Baron) and Chateau Pichon Lonagueville Comtesse de Lalande (aka Pichon-Lalande). These highly acclaimed Bordeaux wines were accompanied by a sumptuous meal at Felidia.

Christian Seely, Manager of all AXA-Millseimes properties (which includes Pichon-Baron) was joined by Gildas d’Ollone, Managing Director of Pichon-Lalande, in enlightening us about these two properties and their resulting wines. Much discussion about the cepages (blend) and weather patterns of each year ensued, with both men noting the importance of ripeness and yields.

The Longueville property was initially one large parcel, but upon the marriage of the Baron’s daughter, it was split into two separate properties as part of her dowery. In 1978, Giladas’ aunt purchased the Pichon-Lalande property, which she sold to Roederer in 2007. Pichon-Baron is presently owned by AXA-Millisime.

As usual, the first part of the event featured a walk-around tasting. Given the day’s theme, the luncheon was particularly crowded and included some luminary members and guests that rarely attend. Consequently, I chose not to take detailed notes during the tasting but rather, to simply enjoy the wines. We began with the 2000 vintage, which was lauded as one of the top vintages in Bordeaux, until 2005 arrived. Overall, I found the 2000’s to be quite amazing and felt that the 2005’s needed additional time to mature. I was also surprised that the 2003’s (the hot vintage) were as good as they were. Generally, it was interesting to taste each wine from the same vintage and see how the two differed. Similarly, it was great to see how the same wine changed from vintage to vintage. In some vintages, I preferred Pichon-Baron, while the Pichon-Lalande was my favorite in others. During the actual lunch, the 1985, 1989 and 1975 (the latter in double magnum) Pichon-Lalandes were served as were the 1989 and 1990 Pichon-Barons. The 1975 Pichon-Lalande was incredibly bright and lively for its age.

After lunch, many of the attendees headed over to the Four Seasons restaurant to attend a preview tasting of the recently declared 2007 vintage for Port. Event participants included properties from the Fladgate Partnership, Symington Family Estates and Quinta do Noval. I briefly tasted through a few of the 2007s, noticing their richness, coupled with chocolate and berries. A selection of older Ports was also available to taste, of which I particularly liked the very concentrated Smith Woodhouse 1977, the mellowness of the Graham 1970 and the luscious bramble fruit of the Dow 1980.

The following evening found me at Grape & Grain wine bar in the East Village, meeting up with a friend from out of town. The by-the-glass list was surprisingly heavy on Spanish wines, but also had a selection of others. We weren’t very hungry, so we simply ordered a white bean dip accompanied by spicy pita chips. My initial glass of wine, a white blend of Macabeo, Xarel-lo and Chardonnay, seemed somewhat oxidized, but as many traditional white Spanish wines have this characteristic, I ignored it. However, when my husband arrived later on, he brought it to the server’s attention who expressed surprise, having not encountered it in that wine before. Consequently, he opened a second bottle, which had the same oxidized note and then a third, which didn’t, before pouring me a new glass of wine. The bar also carries a selection of beers in hommage to the “grain” in its name.

My next major interaction with wine didn’t occur until the end of the week, but it was quite major. Grand Cru Classes hosted the Saturday night dinner for TasteCamp East in its Tuscan-inspired tasting classroom. Participants had been asked to bring a bottle of wine, especially one from their home state/local wine region. Many attendees took this a step further and arrived with a full case. Consequently, with 30+ people in the room, there was a sea of wine. The diversity of wines present was quite astounding with fruit-based wines sharing the table with the likes of Duckhorn. All in all, it was an extremely fun evening and we enjoyed meeting and, in some instances, re-acquainting ourselves with, the bloggers.

We woke up Sunday morning with a fair amount of cleaning up to do.  All told, we ended up opening over 30 bottles of wine, with many unopened bottles taken home and a just few left behind. It truly had been a wine-soaked week.

Friulian wine producer, Collavini, has introduced a new Pinot Grigio, produced from organic grapes. The family-owned and operated winery has been in existence since 1896 and is currently run by Manlio Collavinin, along with his sons Luigi and Giovanni. Wife, Anna, manages public relations for the company.

In addition to being an organic wine, several environmentally-friendly measures have been taken in connection with the wine. More specifically, the bottle itself is made of recycled glass and may be recycled yet again. Sealed with a natural cork, the closure is also recyclable. Related packaging such as the wine shipper and its partitions, was produced from recycled materials, most of which is fully recyclable as well.

Made entirely from Pinot Grigio, the (ICEA) certified organic grapes are grown in the Venezie region, with adherence to organic practices and eschewing man-made fertilizers and pesticides. The winemaking process is not certified organic, but care was taken to follow traditional winemaking practices with minimal handling of the fruit.

Collavini Pinot Grigio 2008
IGT Delle Venezie
$13.99 SRP
This wine has a clean nose of floral, lemon and slight stone aromas. On the palate, it is dry with lively acidity and a relatively light body. Flavors of lemon, stone and tangerine persist throughout the wine’s medium+ length. The high acidity permitted this wine to pair nicely with fried food, cutting through the grease and cleansing the palate between bites.

This week I began writing a column for Examiner.com as their NY Wine Shopping Examiner.

I am excited about the opportunity to combine my love of shopping with my passion for wine. While my sister , who works in the fashion industy has a closet full of clothes, I have a closet full of wines and you can imagine how they got there. I often feel like a kid in a candy store when I go to a wine shop, which is why I previously did most of my wine shopping online. However, as part of my investigative reporting, I will be venturing out of the house more and seeking out wine and spirit shops around New York.

In addition to profiling local wine shops, I will also cover wine shop events including in-store pours, classes and sales. If it has to do with wine and retail, it’s my beat. Won’t you join me on this journey?

In December, I attended my first Wine Media Guild lunheon as a full-fledged member, having ben voted in by the membership a few days prior. I graciously thank Marisa D’Vari, Robert Simonsen and Louisa Hargrave for their sponsorship, which is greatly appreciated. The luncheon’s theme was Vintage Champagne and we had the good fortune to hear from Ed McCarthy, one of the noted experts on the subject. Formerly an English teacher, Ed is now the author and co-author of numerous wine books, including, “Champagne for Dummies.” He explained that his defining wine moment was with Krug Champagne, when he discovered that, “Champagne is more than just bubbles.”

We began by warming up our palates with two non-vintage Champagnes, before moving on to the main event. Vintages represented were 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003 as were a wide range of producers, both large and small. Vintage Champagnes are those Champagnes made in especially good years (aka vintages), when the grapes stand on their own and communicate something special. Conversely, non-vintage (NV) Champagnes are the product of a blend of wines from different years, which provides consistency from year to year. Accordingly, once you determine your preference for a particular producer’s house style, you know you can rely on the wines to deliver the same qualities every time you taste it.

The sole 1995 wine was from Henriot, its Cuvee des Enchanteleurs Brut. Ed described it as big, sturdy and full-bodied and added that this was a Champagne house to watch as they are making wonderful wines. He also noted that while 1995 was a good year with ageability, it wasn’t as good as 1996. Although he described the 2000 vintage  as good, but not great, it was the 2002 vintage that Ed really advocated. He explained that it was a much maligned vintage, but to him, it is the best vintage since 1996 and thus the one to buy now to hold. The 2003 vintage was the year of the heat wave that swept through Europe, resulting in extremely ripe grapes with much lower acidity than usual. However, this does not mean that some producers didn’t make good wines in 2003. As an example, Ed pointed out the Louis Roederer Brut 2003.

All in all, there were 19 vintage Champagnes, most of which I enjoyed greatly. However, at an average price of $100.00, these wines will seldom if ever find their way into my cellar. Fortunately, price did not necessarily dictate preferences.

The least expensive wine on the table was the Nicolas Feuillatte Blanc de Blancs 1999 at $40.00, but its lower price was not reflected in the glass. The wine was dry with ripe, lemon fruit and full-bodied with a creamy mousse. Blanc de Blancs refers to the fact that the wine is produced exclusively from white grapes (Chardonnay), while Blanc de Noirs are produced from one or a blend of the other two permitted grape varieties, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, both of which are red grapes. Nicolas Feuillatte is a cooperative (in fact, the region’s largest), rather than a privately owned Champagne house, with the grapes purchased from its grower-members.

The big ticket item of the day was the Perrier-Jouet “Fleur de Champagne” Blanc de Clancs 2000 at $300.00, but this turned out to be the most controversial wine at the event. When I first tasted it, I found the nose to be unpleasant and several people wondered aloud whether it might be corked. However, once seated for lunch, Ed was quick to point out that there was nothing wrong with the wine, but admitted that it is idiosyncratic, which would account for the mixed reception. He described it as very citric and very lemony.

Regardless of cost or preference, I felt very fortunate to have the opportunity to taste these wonderful wines and to learn from Ed.