Bordeaux & Madonna...Timeless Legends...

   I think that Madonna's casting you a look Bordeaux!



        Well hello fine fair weather fruit from the vine drinkers. Welcome to another week of Karen Wendy’s ramblings on wine and all things related. This week our focus is on that classic fairy-tale place of legends Bordeaux. As always I’m looking to do things with a twist so similar to one of my university theology classes where I wrote a comparative paper on the Bible and Bob Marley, I wanted to come up with a modern day iconic classic legend to compare Bordeaux to…who better than Madonna! Let’s see if you’ll agree with me on the comparison…

       Bordeaux has been around a long time people, we're talking close to 2000 years as the history of the first wine productions put it somewhere at 48 AD, though Pliny the Elder first recorded evidence of vineyards in Bordeaux in 71 AD. If Pliny the Elder had stuck around until 1983 he would have heard Madonna's first recording as well with her self-titled album. Now by no means am I saying that Madonna is as old as Bordeaux wines, but relatively speaking she most certainly is. Madonna at 52 years (her birthday's in 4 days just in case you didn't know) in the music industry and Bordeaux wines almost at 2000 in the wine industry - each one has earned their right as well established and well respected in their own industry. They aren’t your fly-by-night Australian wines or Amy Winehouses that just don’t have enough mettle to withstand the drugs and rock and roll – no my friend these two are here to stay.

     Drawing on another comparison let's look at production of the two. In Bordeaux there are 37 well-known Appellations, e.g. Medoc, Saint-Emilion, Pomerol and Pauillac just to name a few. Whilst Madonna has 29 albums (not including box sets) accredited to her name, e.g. Like a Virgin, Ray of Light & Hard Candy. But to really put on the wow factor Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide and is recognized as the world's top selling female recording artist of all time! How does Bordeaux wine measure up to this  - with its eyes closed...this region's vintages on average produce 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine. Vintages people, as in every year. This is everything from large quantities of table wine to some of the most prestigious and expensive wines in the world. Want a review on a couple of wines that would put a good dent in your wallet if ordered at a restaurant? Check out Gary Vaynerchuck as he tastes two Bordeaux from the highly contentious 2008 vintage.

http://dailygrape.com/videos/44-2008-right-left-bank-bordeaux-tasting

     Another easy link to make between their two legends is the list of number ones. To keep it simple we'll look at Wine Spectator's annual Top 100 list to see the number ones:

 - List from 2004: Château Rieussec Sauternes 2001 - 100 points

 - List from 1999: Château Ducru-Beaucaillou St.-Julien 1995 - 95 points

 - List from 1993: Château Latour Pauillac 1990 - 100 points

  And Madonna - well survey says that she's got twelve Number One hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 - Like a Virgin, Frozen and 4 Minutes are just a sample of some of her amazing works of art. Bordeaux wines and Madonna know what it’s like to be at the top of their game and I will almost guarantee that they will be again and again – 52 pffff – Madonna will be rockin’ out well into her seventies and still lookin’ good doing it, as for Bordeaux I’ve got no doubts they’ll be making their billboard number ones again.

       Lastly, but by no means could this be the end of the comparison, I’m sure you’re curious to know what on earth sponsored this comparison – besides Madonna’s birthday of course and finding some way to incorporate that into my blog. Here’s the article that sparked the idea in my head written in the French newspaper Le Monde and translated into English for the online version of Time magazine:

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2087901,00.html

       In reading that I thought to myself wow – talk about keeping up with the times and using modern technology to improve a process that’s thousands of years old. Madonna? Totally in the same boat, remember relatively speaking. She has produced absolutely quality music over the decades (almost 30 years!) but has also evolved with the market, trends, and youth of the generation. Bordeaux wines are not about to throw out generations of wine making knowledge and put full trust in satellite images to tell them how they should be producing their wine and neither is Madonna going to chop and change herself to the point where she is unrecognizable to her devoted fans (me!).  
       
      Which brings me to my last words for my wine loving fans (you – hopefully!) what Bordeaux wines did I drink this week?

Dourthe No. 1 Rouge 2009      Château Pey La Tour 2007

Merlot - Cabernet Sauvignon   Bordeaux Superieur
$18.75                                      $22.50

Curious to know what I thought about them - why not come to our warehouse this full moon Saturday and find out for yourself. Until then may your glass be a plenty and your wine rack never empty - but if it is you know who to call!

Upcoming Events At Discovery Wines

We are very excited to announce our upcoming events for the month of August!

Every Friday night this month Karen from Discovery Wines will be at Muse handing out complimentary samples of their featured wines. Come along to Muse at #17 Front Street between 5pm-7pm to check out their skybar, great cuisine and to taste some new wines. The theme this Friday is Argentina!

We also have the following events coming up.

August 13, 10am-12pm - Wine 101: Intro to Wine Class

Christian will be offering two wine classes (second one Aug. 27) at Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. These classes are designed to give you all the basic information you need to know about wine. 

August 18, 7-9pm- Organic Wine & Food Pairing

We have paired up with Mike Knight of TEN Cafe & Bar to bring you an evening of organic wines and cuisine. 

August 20, 6:30-8:30 pm- Wine Tasting & Sunset Cruise

This isn't your average "booze cruise" folks.  Discovery Wines is teaming up with Ana Luna Adventures for an incredible evening of wine exploration and nautical adventure aboard the luxurious M/V Ana Luna.  We are going to set sail from Grotto Bay and watch the sunset off of St. Georges Island all the while sipping some of the Discovery WInes team's favorite treasures. Come join us for what is sure to be a memorable evening.

August 27, 10am-12pm- Wine 101: Intro to Wine Class II 

(This one will be held at Harry's Restaurant)

The second of two, this class is designed to provide you with a more depth understanding of wine.

Space is limited. For further information or to reserve your spot, please contact kristen@discoverywines.bm or 331-WINE (9463)

A bit of nostalgia in a bottle

When I smell Carmenere I am transported to another place.   Such a distinct smell conjures up images of vineyards set at the base of enormous snowcapped mountains, meticulously manicured grape vines hand harvested when the fall arrives, old beat up bicycles leaning on grape trellising, and the most remarkably hard workers I have ever had the pleasure of laboring with. It is with great nostalgia then that I sip a glass of Carmenere that just arrived to the DW warehouse over the Cup Match holiday and briefly throw down a bit of prose on Chile, this weeks blog subject.

I was lucky enough to spend over a year in Chile making wine and traveling the majestic country from top to bottom, all the while, tasting as much as I could of one of Chile’s most important exports.  I feel lucky that I got to spend so much time there seeing the beautiful mountains, rivers, beaches, lovely ladies…ahh yes, I left a bit of my heart in the small town of Santa Amalia, but I digress. 

I have a certain association with Chile; I understand a bit of its identity, if you will.  But I don’t think too many other people do. For example France conjures up generic images of the Eiffel Tower, or croissants or snotty French people even to someone who hasn’t been there.  Italy just the same, think Italy and you think romantic hills of Tuscany or Roman architecture, easy identification even for those who have never set foot in Europe.  Chile however, is not so identifiable.  This gives France and Italy a leg up on marketing and selling wines.  A marketer or a wine slinger like myself doesn’t have to give a little song and dance to get someone interested in a place like France. Even if they have never been, I don’t need to try too hard to give them an idea of the culture, the landscape, the architecture let alone why they should try the wines from that place.  It’s already an understood that good wines come from France and Italy. Well, I ran across an article recently that discusses the struggle that Chile is having trying to promote its identity and how that translates to association with a wine exporting country. 

http://wineeconomist.com/2011/04/19/reimagining-chiles-wine-identity/

This article brings up that perhaps Chile’s grape, Carmenere could be the vehicle to giving Chile an identity.  Carmenere is Chile’s grape; there is no doubt about it.  Nobody else produces it let alone celebrates it the way Chile does. Carmenere was, however originally a grape that was grown side by side with Cabernet Sauvignon in Bordeaux, France.  In the early 1900’s a disease (root louse rather) destroyed essentially every vine in Europe and replanting was done without Carmenere.  Not much is known why Carmenere wasn’t replanted, but it wasn’t. So folks thought it was lost.  Well it had not become extinct after all; it turned up in Chile in the 1980’s and is now trying it’s best to define a nations wine culture.  Might just work, couldn’t hurt any.  The quality of some Carmenere these days is awesome.  If you haven’t tried one yet you owe it to yourself to buy a bottle today.

Anyway, wine culture is one thing.  Those are the folks like you reading this blog who are already curious about Chile.  It’s the rest of the consumers out there that must be introduced to Chile so that instead of seeing a Kangaroo on the label and thinking “Oh, Australia, yeah good cheap wine” they will see something on the bottle of a Chilean wine (mountain, river, lovely lady etc.) and associate it with quality wine.  Good luck Chilean wine marketers, I’m rooting for you.

How Much Is Too Much?

Recently there has been a lot of light shed on the rising level of alcohol in wines and as with anything "out of the norm" much controversy has followed. Some critics are for this increase and others appalled, but what does it really come down to? I figure there are two ways to look at it. If you are from the "younger", I just turned of age category, then you probably didn't even notice the increase in alcohol levels and if you did, you would probably be more inclined to buy the wine with the higher level as this would provide you with more bang for your buck. The cheaper the wine and the higher the alcohol level, the better. Enough said. On the other hand if you are a self labelled connoisseur, you probably have your own very opinionated thoughts on these rising levels and you can read all about other critics thoughts in the article below.
http://www.slate.com/id/2293895/
My opinion..... As long as the wines continue to be complex and balanced, then I will continue to buy without reading the alcohol level on the label. If I get too much heat from a particular bottle, then I will probably be tempted to glance at the alcohol level and make a mental note for next time. I thinks it's important to taste test for yourself and I imagine you will find that a well made bottle of wine will not show its level on the palate, while a wine of less quality may. Wine is like anything though, you generally get what you pay for! So, when it comes to a question of how much is too much or how much is enough, I think not in terms of the alcohol level in the wine, but rather the number of bottles needed on hand for the company I will have!

Soggy Cereal Bringing The Thunder

   Hello fine fair readers of the Discovery Wines Blog – it’s Karen Wendy back at the helm again this week with my oh so humble thoughts about this week’s theme Food & Wine Pairings. Now there couldn’t have been a better topic for me to discuss as I absolutely, positively love, love, love and practically live for those 8 course tasting menus whenever and wherever I go. But cereal? Really that’s what you want us to try with wine Gary? Ah man you might be pushing my limits. If you haven’t already seen the video on Facebook then check it out – c’mon read the card before you open the present people:

http://tv.winelibrary.com/2009/09/08/what-wine-pairs-with-cereal-episode-734/

   So what’s my very first reaction to this – no it’s not the fact that I’m turned off from pairing wine with cereal – I can see the logic behind it all. Nor is it that Gary blindly selects wines that he hasn’t tried before to pair with the cereals – yup he’s a bold guy. Nope, it’s the fact that he eats 

SOGGY CEREAL!

 

   I will admit that I’m not a cereal person, but if there’s nothing else for breaky and cereal's my only choice you can be guaranteed that I will be eating it milliseconds after the milk has been added. I mean if that’s the way he eats his Cap n Crunch wouldn’t it better for him to call it Sargeant Soggy or Major Mush?

   Okay cereal eating preferences aside, I was far too curious to see who the developer of Cap n Crunch was that also made wine – you too? Here’s the link to Chaim Gur-Arieh of C.G. Di Arie Vineyard & Winery – you’ll even find a follow up interview with Gary Vaynerchuck and his idol too on the homepage.

http://www.cgdiarie.com/

   As for the wines that are featured I personally can’t say much on the 2007 Von Kesselstatt Spatlese Scharzhofberger Riesling or Clicquot Demi Sec as I have yet to try them. However, the 2008 Landmark Overlook Chardonnay (newer vintage than the one Gary tried) has definitely crossed my palate as well as its sibling wine Chardonnay Damaris 2007 which is slightly more expensive but oh so worth the buy. Both wines are great buys and come recommended personally from me for you.


    As my mom is a Chardonnay lover, I enjoy getting her to test-taste ones on the Discovery Wines' list and Landmark Overlook Chardonnay is the one that she orders time and time again. So if you can’t trust soggy cereal pairings you can definitely trust my mom!

      

Patrick's Prose

Ever since I started working at Discovery Wines, taking over the organization of the warehouse, filling orders and organizing our stock, there have been some wines back in the cold dark depths of our warehouse that are just kind of lurking,  just sitting there that never seem to get ordered.  Two of them in particular were the exact wines that Gary V. was talking about in a recent segment of the Daily Grape.  Christian did a tasting for us at DW recently on the Saint Joseph (2004 and 2006 vintage) and I asked his opinion on why they do not sell.  Basically he thinks Syrah doesn't get enough attention in the Bermuda market, for some reason it is not sexy here. Too bad, I really liked it. Maybe its time to bring a little sexy back to Syrah here in Bermuda.  Take a look at Gary V.'s video blog and let me know what you think.

http://dailygrape.com/videos/45-northern-rhone-reds-from-crozes-hermitage-and-st-joseph

Remember for anyone who has the right answers to the questions about the video blog, Discovery Wines is handing out free schwag!

Take a look at the link and I've got a few questions at the bottom.

1.  The J.L.Chave is 100% what grape?
2.  What are the two white grapes producers can use in Saint Joseph?
3. The Alain Graillot smelled like what piece of meat you would find at a BBQ?
4.  The Crozes Hermitage reminded Gary of what dish that his Grandma makes?
5. True or false:  Gary thinks the Northern Rhône needs more attention?

Christian has an opinion on Champagne...shocker!

So there was a bit of a promotion at Beau Rivage the other day for a certain Champagne that has been in the news lately (check the links at the end of this rant).  Armand de Brignac made its debut with it's new distributor on the island and sadly yours truly did not receive an invitation.  I have always wanted to try this particular wine simply because it is the most expensive bottle of Champagne money can buy ($400 for NV Brut, $500 for Rosé).  Relatively new to the Champagne world the fine folks at Armand de Brignac (or Ace of Spades as it is otherwise known) have created what they claim is the finest Champagne in all the land and they held a blind tasting to prove it.  Whatever.

So, yeah, I didn't get an invitation.  No big deal.  I've got friends in the wine industry here in Bermuda and I was able to get my hands on a bottle.  So I had to compare it to what I have always considered to be the finest Champagne on the planet, along with a few friends in the industry and my homemade pizza, because nothing goes better with Champagne than pizza.

Before I get to that however, let me just digress about my feelings regarding Champagne a little.

The world of Champagne is one of the most trumped up, image based industries out there.  Few people rarely taste and compare champagnes to the point of determining a favorite based on anything more than the price tag associated with it.  Yellow Label (it's friggin' orange!) from Clicquot is brilliant.  The loudest most visible label in the room, so everyone knows what you're drinking and how much it cost.  The folks that own Clicquot (LVMH) also own Moët Chandon (Dom Pérignon), Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Givenchi, Dior, TagHeur, De Beers diamonds...the list goes on. All the luxury brands under one roof.  That is all fine and good, however speaking as someone who knows nothing about watches or hand bags, but a lot about wine, I'm a little annoyed.

I'm annoyed because I don't want to have to spend more money on a product than what it's worth.  Especially something I consume.  A diamond may last forever, but a bottle of Champagne is gone as soon as I swallow.  After visiting Champagne and being wined and dined by the Champagne houses, it was very disappointing to realize just where all the money they are making of those overpriced bottles is going. Don't get me wrong, I love the history of these places and think that the novelty back in the 1700's and 1800's of secondary fermentation, must have been all the rage. But now it's just a rip-off.  Bottom line is qualitatively speaking, there are not enough "Grand Cru" vineyards in all of Champagne to come anywhere close to providing enough grapes for how much Dom Perignon is produced.

So, okay, you get my point on Champagne.  The irony of all this is the world's best Champagne is produced by LVMH, that same luxury goods company I am demonizing, but it is a Champagne house you probably have not heard of.  My favorite Champagne in the world (and most Champagne snobs favorite for that matter) is Krug ($200).  Ask anyone out there who really pays attention to the world of Champagne, what the best Champagne is (qualitatively speaking) and they will no doubt answer Krug.  And it is because they produce Champagne like no other producer.

Non Vintage Champagne is labeled non-vintage because it is a blend of multiple vintages of wine that is turned into a base wine for blending.  Each new lot of non-vintage Champagne is blended with different ratios of other years' wine to create a consistent style.  Krug's Non-Vintage can have upwards of 10-15 different vintages blended into the final lot.  No other producer comes close.  The wine itself then spends upwards of 18 months in a barrel and is in constant contact with the lees (the solid bits that fall out of the wine and add complexity) again other producers, if you are lucky, may do 10 months.  These are expensive processes that drive up the cost of the wine and ultimately deem its quality and justify the price tag.  Finally, and most importantly to me when talking about the justification of luxury costs, is the fact that Krug sources from the highest percentage of Grand Cru vineyards in Champagne and its production is relatively small, making it rare and in my definition of a luxury item, just about spot on.

So, back to the pizza and Champagne tasting.  Armand de Brignac was incredibly light bodied with super fine beads of bubbles ever so delicately making their way from the bottom of my glass to a little baby explosion at the top.  I detected a slight sweetness to it, almost as if the dosage (sweet liquer they add to induce secondary fermentation, or, the stuff that makes the bubbles) was not completely fermented and residual sugar was present.  Krug was rich, complex, delicate without being light bodied, changed and evolved as it warmed in the glass and breathed a little, it was simply magnificent.  As always, it seemed amongst all of us, that the two wines were almost incomparable. Armand de Brignac is great, but in my opinion does not justify its price tag and is headed down the image road that all the other producers of luxury goods have created.  Just its pewter label (that is allegedly affixed by hand) and the gold bottle, reek of image and are screaming to be noticed.  Well, I noticed it.  I drank it, I will let someone else buy it the next time I drink it.

http://sanfrancisco.ibtimes.com/articles/163585/20110615/mavericks-owner-mark-cuban-buys-90-000-90k-champagne-bottle-for-players-tip.htm

http://www.namedevelopment.com/blog/archives/2006/10/jayz_draws_an_ace_of_spades_brand_cristal_pulls_a.html