Photo by: Tracy Ellen Kamens

I had the pleasure of visiting Trefethen Family Vineyards a few years ago when I participated in the Napa Valley Vintners’ Wine Educators Academy. On the first evening, we were given a tour of the winery by Janet Trefethen herself and were then treated to a wonderful welcome dinner under the stars in their courtyard. Trefethen wines, were, of course, served with the meal, as were several others from the region. The common theme was wines that are less associated with Napa Valley, but were of equally high quality. Namely, we tasted rosés, Rieslings, Pinot Grigios and other white wines that were ABC — Anything but Chardonnay. All in all it was a perfect night. 

Given my positive experience with the winery, I was excited when I received a package from Trefethen a few weeks ago. It was addressed to my other personna (NY Wine Shopping Examiner), so I presumed it was a sample intended for my column. Accordingly, I looked forward to tasting it. In fact, I was so eager to open the package, that I broke my usual patten of attending to junk mail and bills ahead of personal correspondence, cards and packages (a habit based upon the adage of eating dinner before dessert). 

I ripped open the box (okay, for those who know me, I carefully undid the packaging) and was thrilled to see a very small wine bottle nestled inside. What a brilliant idea I thought! Writers don’t necessary need to taste an entire bottle to take notes and write about a wine — a tiny bottle, just a taste, would be perfect. Although, with less to spare and share with my colleague/husband, I became a bit possessive of the bottle and began to inspect my newfound treasure. 

Reading the label, I noted that the wine was called Fallow and was from the 2009 vintage. I turned to read the back label, looking for information on the grape varieties contained therein, then burst out laughing. My precious wine bottle was empty — filled not with wine, but air (78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 1% Argon and Trace elements, according to the enclosed Tech Sheet). The back label stated, “This is pure Trefethen Fallow, bottled to capture the very essence of the Napa Valley; light, delicate and ethereal. The perfect match with April Fool’s dinner.”  

The Tech Sheet also spoke about the time-honored, but less-used, practice of leaving a portion of farm land fallow — empty — to “naturally recover and come back into balance after harvest.” As proponents of sustainable farming practices, Trefethen still maintains the practice of leaving vineyard land fallow when replanting, the results of which can be found in my tiny bottle. 

I was disappointed not to be able to enjoy a taste of a Trefethen wine, but admired their sense of creativity and humor. All joking aside, if you do get a chance to taste a bottle of Trefethen wine, I highly recommend it. 

COUGAR TOWN #18, JOSH HOPKINS, COURTENEY COX, CHRISTA MILLER (ABC/ADAM LARKEY)

I admittedly watch way too much television. I wish I could at least defend my bad behavior by claiming to watch documentaries or other educational programming, but I can’t do that. No, truth be told, I watch crap — and lots of it. Case in point, I spent last Wednesday evening watching ABC’s Cougar Town, Courtney Cox’s current sitcom.

The saving grace of last week’s show (and the reason for this post – I promise there is a reason) is that much of it was about wine, which was the first time I could recall wine taking center stage in primetime. The plot centered on Courtney Cox’s character, Jules, and her poor wine drinking habits, i.e. drinking too often and too much. Not expressly stated, but certainly indicated visually, was her equally appalling wine etiquette (or rather the lack of it  — filling the glasses to the very top and slurping from the glass, hands-free). Yes, slurping can be considered appropriate behavior with wine tasting, but in this case it wasn’t.  In addition, Sheryl Crow made an appearance as a wine sales representative. For various reasons, which I will not elaborate, Jules decides to give up wine for a month, but, [spoiler alert] eventually caves in and drinks. As they say, “Everything in moderation…including moderation.”

In any case, it wasn’t that the show was so good, but as noted, it was unusual to see wine given such prominence in a television show’s plot and signals a recognition from the writers of this show, if not the network overall, that wine has finally become an important part of the American culture. We’ll just have to stay tuned to see when and where wine will next appear.

I recently attended a trade tasting for wine in new packaging. My husband was supposted to meet me at the event and I gave him the detailed address. However, when I arrived, I found a text message noting that he was here waiting for me outside. I found him in my line of sight standing against the door frame. It turns out that elevators must be operated by building staff at the hour – buttons could be pushed, but would not engage without a key. I had directed him to go to the Penthouse, but no button was labeled PH. Not surprisingly, he made the next best guess –12, since it was the top floor of the building. Yet, this was incorrect. The building staff finally recognized that the elevator guests were eager to get to the Artisanal Wine Tasting event, which was being held on 9 and helped us out.

Once upstairs attendees were greeted warmly and invited to meet an Australian winemaker, Adam. We were then introduced to the Octavin –which we were not to call a box. They company was firm in that these were not boxed wines; they were casks.

The rented venue was more like a beautifully-furnished apartment than a party space and the guests found ourselves crowded around the kitchen table talking, eating and tasting, the way wine and food and supported to be enjoyed. The living room was comfortably furnished, but saw little of the action.

In the middle of all of this, a small subset of the Wine Media Guild began to arrive, which prompted a mini-scholarship meeting despite the absence of the committee chair. In truth, we were simply marveling at how much work Jonathan had already put together to bring to the group for discussion the next day. His thoroughness prompted some to wonder what else was left to do, but that question would be solved the next day in the proper channels.

Returning to the event at hand, participants tasted through the various white and red wines, while also having the opportunity to speak with Adam about his viticulture and vinification techniques and methods. It was very enlightening, especially in learning more about the unique, alternative packaging.

The Octavin  is a stylish wine storage and service device that is much more elegant than the shape associated with the rectangular box. This isn’t your parents’ wine-in-a-box; they should have been so lucky.  There are multiple wines produced under the Octavin line, but they have different names and hail from a variety of wine regions. It fits easily in the refrigerator and has its own open/close spout, which keeps the wine fresh for weeks. The cardboard construction significantly reduces that heft, thereby reducing the carbon footprint in both production and shipping — one cask is the equivalent of 4 bottles. We very impressed with the wines and enjoyed tasting them.

Reaching for a final appetizer toward the end of the tasting, I placed my glass of Cabernet Sauvignon on the edge of the kitchen counter while I reached over to grasp the onion bread. However, no sooner had I begun to reach for the food than the wine glass became unsteady and suddenly went down. It’s not clear if the glass itself was broken, but red wine flowed all over the hard-wood floors, down my arm and hand, and more embarrassingly, all over my husband’s blue, French-cuff shirt.

The cute gold paw print links were no match for the large ruby stains, which immediately began to soak in. A well-intentioned server brought him Wine Away, but with the volume of wine spilled, we decided that it was a job better suited for our valiant dry cleaners. In my own embarrassment, I grabbed at paper towels and, head bent, began to wipe the floor in an effort to prevent anyone from slipping on the wine. Fortunately, I had caught my husband in a good mood that he kindly excused my clumsiness and once dry (thanks to a towel provided by Adam), agreed to stay a little longer. Thus, with an eye toward the door, we re-tasted one or two of the red wines to finalize our impressions of them and then headed out into the night. Note to self: wear black next time.

In today’s troubled times, investors aren’t sure where to put their money and, to add to the confusion, there are many more options for them to consider. In light of these issues, the recent Art, Wine or Stocks event discussed the risks and rewards of investing in these varied asset classes. Each discussion was ably addressed with a respective expert who further elucidated the nuances in investing and trading in these traditional and non-traditional commodities.

For stocks, Kathy Boyle, CFP™, President of Chapin Hill Advisors, shared her firm’s strategy for protecting clients during long term secular bear markets which CHA feels we are in the midst of a cycle and may have another 6-10 years to go. Backed up by historical graphs, Kathy explained that the bear cycle from 2000-2002 followed an 18 year secular bull market where investors and advisors were trained to buy and hold. Using the market model from the period prior to this boom, along with her own sharp instincts, Kathy and her team carefully plot an investment course for clients, which seek to minimize loss amidst the tumultuous market. Kathy feels that protecting client’s wealth is the key in today’s stock market as compared to earning significant gains, which was more easily accomplished under the old set of parameters. For her, it is all about holding portfolio value steady at this point in time. 

Admittedly, art is an expensive investment, but Jennifer Krieger, Founder of Hawthorne Fine Art, believes that it can be a good one if investors choose wisely. She recommends finding a mentor to help one identify and find the pieces of art they wish to purchase and further suggested that non-contemporary American art has an excellent track record of maintaining good quality and value over time. This is especially true when compared with more modern pieces that have peaks and valleys in their marketability. Jennifer also notes that art purchases should be made with an eye on the long term as their investment value will take time to grow. At her gallery, Jennifer’s current exhibit features Clark Greenberg Voorhees, an American impressionist painter she has admired from her early days venturing into art. Today’s exhibit is a culmination of her years of work and effort in tracking down dozens of Mr. Voorhees’ works, most of which were in the homes of private collectors, rather than on display in museums. Many of Voorhees pieces cost upwards of $20,000, but a few smaller canvases are priced below that figure.

As John Kapon, President and Auction Director of Acker, Merrall & Condit, unwittingly noted, wine is a liquid asset. However, compared to stocks, it, like art, is illiquid. Despite its illiquidity, John noted that wine has the advantage in that it can always be drunk and enjoyed even if the investment doesn’t pan out. Throughout his conversation, John discussed the need to make big investments in wine in order to make money doing so. Additionally, he pointed out that the other aspect to successful wine investment is time – with time bottles become more scarce, and, with scarcity, they become rarer and thus more valuable to the collectors who are anxious to obtain those wines. John advised that China, especially Hong Kong, was very alive in the market and that most, if not all, of the wine market’s decline had been recouped. While he didn’t offer a detailed list of investment quality wines, John suggested that French wines continue to deliver as the big winners, with only a handful of wines from elsewhere doing well in the auction market. An audience member asked about the Futures market in wine to which John strongly advised the need to buy from a reputable firm, alluding to some of the recent scandals surrounding the Futures trade. Of course, dishonesty in wine isn’t limited to the Futures market. Thus, it is important to do one’s homework in all areas of investing, whether one chooses to invest in art, wine or stocks.