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Wedding Champagne 6-14-2023

Last week we argued Champagne was a poor choice for a wedding reception. Too many people, too high prices, too much cacophony to appreciate expensive French bubbles.

Champagne has a place. Consider it for an intimate honeymoon meal. Consider it for an anniversary tête-à-tête. Consider it when you want to treat yourselves to a special episode just because you can.

While Champagne makers insist their product is more than just a special-time tipple, for most of us opening a wine that costs triple digits automatically makes it a special event. So what is Champagne? There are specific rules and production methods that make it what it is and why it costs what it does.

Start with location. Champagne is exclusive to the chalk-and-clay soils of France’s Champagne region centered around the city of Reims, about 90 miles east, slightly north of Paris. Legislation defined the production zone in 1927. It encompasses about 132 square miles, 319 villages. Nearly 280,000 plots are tended by more than 16,000 growers. Most plots are about the size of a tennis court.

Myriad plots create a mosaic of individual terroirs, giving Champagne makers a rich, diverse palate of grapes. Champagne can only be made using three grapes: chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier, although very limited quantities of other varieties are allowed in rare instances.

Makers must employ méthode traditionnelle where the second fermentation—the fermentation that produces CO2 bubbles—is in the bottle that you eventually buy. Non-vintage bottles must age a minimum of 15 months in the bottle; many Champagne houses age longer. Vintage-dated bottles must age a minimum of three years; many houses age longer.

Champagne is the most expensive sparkling wine. Elaborate and lengthy production protocols contribute to Champagne’s pricing. Vintage-dated bottles start at $60-80. Prestige bottles have sold for as much as $2 million. Ultra high-end examples sell for $275,000. A bottle of Perrier-Jouët, 1874 vintage, sold for $57,000, the record amount at Christie’s. You can buy a bottle of Dom Perignon Brut Rosé 2005 online for $2,500-$3,500. Everyday bottles sell for $125-$300-plus.

Champagne costs as much as it does because it is excellent wine, time-consuming to make, rare in the highest quality tiers, and—most importantly—because Champagne drinkers are willing to pay. All of which is why I recommended you pour less-expensive sparkling at your raucous post-matrimonial-vows shindig. Save Champagne for the times and places you can really appreciate it.

Last round: Marriage is a union between a person who never remembers anniversaries and another person who never forgets them. Wine time.

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Wedding bubbly 6-5-2023

June—the wedding month. Time for celebration and Champagne. Well, yes and no.

Celebration, surely. Champagne at the wedding? Let’s think about that.

Many weddings, at least the reception part, are boisterous, topsy-turvy events. A wonderful whirl of activities by an eclectic gathering of people who likely fill out the entire bell curve of wine drinkers.

Photo by Roman Boed

True champagne starts out at $40 a bottle and quickly bubbles up from there. There are more cost-efficient sparkling lubricants to encourage bonhomie and create a festive nimbus around the newlyweds.

Consider two sparkling wines made the same way as Champagne—where the second fermentation occurs in the bottle you pour. The fancy name is méthode traditionnelle.

When such sparkling is made in France, but not in the Champagne region, it typically is labeled crémant or with a specific appellation designation. These can be found in the $25-50 range.

When the sparkling is made in Spain, it is called cava, and major values abound. Bottle prices can be as low as $15 and many of your guests likely could not tell the difference between cava and a Champagne costing tens times as much. In fact, since both crémant and cava can be lighter and crisper with more approachable fruit flavors, many may prefer those pours over wallet-wacker wines.

If you want to stay within the borders of both the USA and your budget, there are affordable bubbles made in Washington, California, Oregon, and New York. Korbel, for instance, makes a lovely California brut rosé for $15. And never forget the amazing, affordable sparkling Gruet makes in New Mexico—an astonishing treasure wine writers have touted so often as a hidden gem it no longer is a hidden gem. Gruet definitely remains a gem, however, at less than $20.

Finally, there is the sparkling darling with soaring popularity—Italy’s prosecco. The wine is made using the cost-efficient tank method, creating a creamy pour in the $10-15 range. Father’s of brides can easily find succor in this choice, and a host of guests will celebrate the host’s bubbly call.

Champagne has its nuptial niche. We explore that next week.

Tasting notes.

• Mack & Schühle Art of Earth Prosecco Frizzante DOC: Simple, pleasant, fresh, good acidity. Great example of tastiness and affordable quality. $12-16 Link to my review

• Josh Prosecco Rosé DOC: Charming crowd pleaser. Light, balanced, versatile. Excellent sipped by itself. $15 Link to my review

• Scharffenberger Brut Rosé Excellence Sparkling Wine Mendocino County NV: Plush, creamy, vibrant acidity. $24-28 Link to my review

Last round: The wedding was so emotional, even the cake was in tiers. Wine time.

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Wine supply and demand 5-31-2023

The U.S. wine industry has been on an historic 50-year run. Demand from Baby Boomers drove the effort. Now the wine industry is fearful the run is done and tough choices loom.

In the 1970s there were about 1,000 wineries in the United States. Today, there are more than 11,500.

Napa has gone from 25 wineries in 1975 to more than 400 today. Wineries and grape growers planted more and more acres to meet demand. Now demand has leveled off.

Winemakers still make money. Premiumization allows makers to sell the same number of bottles—or fewer—while maintaining income because increases in price make up for sales stagnation or decline. Also, the increase in direct-to-consumer purchases mean the winery gets to keep more of the sale.

The growth model of the past half century, however, is not sustainable. Jeff Bitter, president of Allied Grape Growers, said several years ago for the grape business to be healthy, 30,000 acres of vines needed to be pulled. This year he told the Western Farm Press: “We didn’t pull out the acreage that I believed we needed to in order to be in balance. But three short crops in a row have masked the reality that those acres are still there. When you’re producing at 10% below average crop, it’s like some of that acreage has been removed. And although the acreage base has been reduced somewhat from where we were three years ago, we shouldn’t be fooled by those short crops because the acres are still in the ground.”

Bitters is a fourth-generation California grower who oversees a nearly 600-member statewide grape growers cooperative that sends $100 million worth of grapes annually to wineries, shippers, packers, and dehydrators. He maintains there are several things to be concerned about, but waning consumer demand is the major reason for anxiety.

The problem is younger consumers are a smaller cohort, have more choices in alcohol beverages, and may rebel against their parents’ preferences. In addition, Boomer numbers shrink every day. Some die, some reduce wine consumption, some turn to other beverages.

Production follows demand. With demand down or flat, the astonishing growth of vineyards and wineries cannot be sustained.

Bottom line: There will be plenty of good wine for you, but you may want to re-think your dream of spending retirement money on starting a wine operation.

Last round: Excessive use of commas is considered a serious crime, made worse with semicolons. They almost always result in a long sentence. Wine time.

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Wine bottle shapes 5-24-2023

Wine bottles come in various shapes, sizes, weights, and colors of glass. A quick tour.

Bottle shapes:

• Tall, slender. Wines from Germany’s Mosel and France’s Alsace. Green, brown, and blue glass historically marked regional differences.

• Tall, curvy, often distinctive. Once exclusive for rosés from the Côtes de Provence. Now can be a distinctive bottle for rosé anywhere.

• Burgundy. Curved sides, gradually sloped necks, wide main body. Usually associated with pinot noir and chardonnay, now is used for other reds and oaked whites.

• Bordeaux. Sharply sloping shoulders; main body is not as fat as Burgundy bottle. Associated with cabernet sauvignon, merlot, other Bordeaux varieties and blends. Some think the shape is meant to handle sediment when decanting.

• Sparkling. Intended for Champaign, cava, other sparkling wines. Glass is noticeably thicker, punt deeper. Constructed to protect the wine during production moments like disgorgement and riddling. A “mushroom” cork and a twisted wire closure keep the bubbly’s pressure intact, as does the heavier glass. The pressure inside is 60-90 psi; pressure in the tire of a family car is 32-35 psi.

• Fiasco. Short, rounded wide base, covered with a straw basket. Once the go-to bottle for Chianti.

• Unique bottles. Any shape the winery can dream up and bottle maker produce, from stubby to square to you-name-it. No specific wine. Designed to stand out on a wine shop shelf.

Bottle volumes:

• Piccolo. Holds 187 milliliters (ml), a little more then one standard serving.

• Demi. Half-bottle, holds 375 ml.

• Standard. Holds 750 ml; five standard pours.

• Magnum. Twice as large as standard bottle; holds 1.5 liters. Keeps sparkling wine fresh longer; slower aging for still wines because there is less oxidation.

• Jeroboam. Twice as large as a magnum; holds 3 liters—five times as much as a standard bottle. Ideal for a party for wine drinkers.

Tasting notes:

• Chateau Domecq White Wine, Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico 2021: If you have not experienced a wine from Mexico, this is excellent place to start. Mostly chardonnay with dash of viognier. $14-16 Link to my review

• Duchman Family Winery Roussanne, Oswald Vineyard 2020: Rich, complex with distinct fruitiness enveloped by creamy mouthfeel and crisp acidity. Made in Texas using Texas grapes. $26 Link to my review

• Wrath Wines Boekenoogen Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands 2018: Enchanting interplay of black and red fruits. Significant whole cluster fermentation for sophistication and subtlety. $49-58 Link to my review

Last round: With the rise of self-driving vehicles, it is only a matter of time until there is a country song about a guy’s truck leaving him for another owner. Wine time.

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Same-tasting wines 5-17-2023

We are privileged to live in a wine time that surpasses all of history for quality, consistency, and availability. Wines that would have evoked drooling admiration a half century ago now are available in quantity for $20 or less at your neighborhood supermarket.

If you are looking for something to criticize about that, wine critics unearthed a criticism: Too much wine tastes the same. Good, but the same. Potentially boring, especially if you are a prolific wine drinker (as wine critics tend to be).

It has been a trend for a while. Red blends and lower-price pinot noir are tailored to a pre-determined, focus-group tested taste profile that can be scaled to up to a million bottles a year. The product fills the niche that was filled by “table wine” produced in California’s Central Valley or France’s Languedoc-Roussillon in the past. Those regions, dismissed as producing a sea of plonk by wine critics in the past, now achieve quality. Who knew or anticipated?

Grape growers upped their game. Wine makers gamed production techniques. Mother Nature delivered global warming so grapes could get riper and once-cooler regions that struggled could join the wine parade. Today, the Central Valley and Languedoc-Roussillon—and more—contribute tanker-truck loads of juice to make wines we would have applauded back in the day.

Critics must find something to criticize, so we make snarky comments about how this is a smooth, very drinkable wine, but tastes the same as a dozen others. That can be a valid kvetch from someone paid to taste multiple wines a day and then write something snappy about each one, but it is not the world where most wine drinkers dwell.

You may enjoy wine at a special meal, or many times a week, or on occasion with your mah-jongg or book club. When you do, you want something affordable, available, predictable, palate pleasing. A whole lot of winemakers are scrambling to please you.

As you become more sophisticated about wine, you may find smaller production, single vineyard, more expensive, harder to obtain wines can offer exceptional depth and complexity. Delight in your good fortune.

On the other hand, if you love that million-bottle simulacrum of pinot noir or red blend, enjoy away without guilt or hesitation. Wine is joy and pleasure, not a contest. Whatever you enjoy is good wine for you.

Last round: Simply going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car mechanic. Just saying. Wine time.

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Wente Clone made California chardonnay 5-10-2023

If you enjoy California chardonnay, you likely have Charles Wente and his children to thank for it.

Wente came to America in the 19th century. Upon arrival, he learned how to make wine from famed vintner Charles Krug. In 1883, he established a 47-acre estate and winery in the Livermore Valley, 45 miles east of San Francisco.

In 1908, Wente planted the first chardonnay vines in the valley. In 1912, Charles’s son, Ernest, a UC–Davis student, convinced his father to import chardonnay cuttings from a well-known vine nursery in France. Ernest picked vines that showed the best health and the best flavors, grafted them together, then continued to propagate and improve them.

Very early Wente photo

Ernest propagated vines differently than others. While many selected for yields—the higher the better—Ernest focused on vines with very concentrated flavor and abundantly fruity berries. Flavor took precedence over yield.

Historical Wente photo

The decision paid off. Ultimately, Wente developed the “Wente Clone” variety of chardonnay vines. Chardonnay makes up more than half of white wine acres in California, and more than 75% of all California chardonnay comes from the Wente Clone.

Today, Wente Vineyards, is the oldest continuously-operated, family-owned winery in the country. Wente enjoys the honor of being continuously-operated because they produced sacramental wines during Prohibition. After repeal of the Volstead Act, Ernest and his brother, Herman, released the nation’s first varietally-labeled chardonnay in 1936.

Others have built on the Wente foundation, but all acknowledge the Wente Clone is the basis of California-style chardonnay. Bold. Full-flavored. Fruit-driven. The concentrated juice also is well-suited for the use of new oak, a technique often used. California chards now come oaked and unoaked, and with and without malolactic fermentation. Doesn’t matter. Almost all the chardonnay grapes used to make the wine trace their lineage back to Charles Wente and his son Ernest.

Tasting notes

• Wente Vineyards Riva Ranch Chardonnay, Arroyo Seco, Monterey 2021: Smooth, rich. Excellent ripe, delicious fruit. $17-21 Link to my review

• Stags’ Leap Winery Chardonnay Napa Valley 2020: Impressive complexity, depth in oak-and-butter genre of Cali chards. Done with elegance and style. Very smooth, rich, fresh, clean. $20-28 Link to my review

• Textbook Chardonnay Napa Valley The Pey Family 2021: Pey family set out to make Napa wines that were “textbook Napa wines;” And this fits that definition. $22-27 Link to my review

• Gary Farrell Russian River Selection Chardonnay 2018: Fresh, tasty, silky-creamy, smooth, graceful. Nice equilibrium of superb fruit, acidity, oak nuances. Made with Wente Clone. $30-35 Link to my review

Last round: What do you call a duck that breaks into people’s houses? A robber ducky. Quak—wine time.

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Mother’s Day 5-3-2023

May is the Mother’s Day month in the United States.

The argument easily can be made that every day should be Mother’s Day. Mothers are, after all, absolutely essential to the survival of our species. But we especially celebrate moms and grandmoms and mother figures Sunday, May 14. To give you plenty of time to prepare, suggestions on Mother’s Day wine.

Women drink wine. Surveys indicate women consume around 60 percent of the wine in the U.S. and easily drink more wine than they drink beer or spirits. You know your mother best, but the odds are good she will appreciate wine on her special day.

Women are better wine tasters according to numerous studies. Women in childbearing years are significantly more sensitive to odors than pre-pubescent girls and post-menopausal women. Women of childbearing age can identify smells at concentrations up to 11 orders of magnitude better than men. No matter their age, women smell and sip better on average than men.

Studies also show men and women experience wine differently. Much of that is tied to a woman’s more nuanced ability to smell, plus more flavor receptors on their tongues. Women tend to note greater distinctions between wines and pick up a wider array of flavors. Women have an easier time picking up bitter notes than men, which may explain why women tilt—slightly—to enjoying sweeter wines. On the flip side, while men may miss subtle notes, they are more likely to have a positive experience with any wine they taste.

Women’s wine tasting ability improves more with practice and study than the same regimen with men. More men than women are sommeliers and wine professionals, but that speaks to old prejudices and boys club proclivities rather than the skills of women.

Fortunately, the wine world is changing. It is no longer shocking for a woman to be the head winemaker, manager, or winery owner. That is an additional something to celebrate on May 14.

Tasting notes

• Vilarnau Rosé Delicat Brut Reserva NV: Elegant, balanced, red-fruit-driven delight, especially at this price point. Fresh, crisp, fun, fruity, bracing acidity. $12-15 Link to my review

• Don Olegario Albarino, Rias Baixas 2019: Impressive complexity. Classic expression of a grape consistently earning respect. $19-22 Link to my review

• Stoller Family Estate Pinot Noir Rosé, Willamette Valley 2022: Generous, delicate fruit with a charming balance of texture, acidity, and light body. $24-28

Last round: My grandmother is more than 80 years old and still doesn’t need glasses. She drinks her wine right out of the bottle.

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Wine myths 4-26-2023

Wine can be complicated—hardly a dumbfounding revelation. It does explain why there are some false rules about wine. Let’s bust some myths.

• Champagne is only for weddings, New Year’s, and special occasions.

While Champagne may be above your pay grade as an everyday drinker, Champagne—and sparkling wine in general—is one of the most versatile wines. It goes with almost every food. It is appropriate before, during, and after a meal. It almost always elevates the tenor of a gathering.

And—against conventional wisdom—it can be argued it should not be the choice for weddings and New Year’s because those typically are boisterous affairs where the focus is on partying, not deep appreciation of a beverage. Spanish cava or Italian prosecco is more affordable and still delivers inhibition-lifting fun.

Save expensive Champagne for intimate special occasions. Your wedding anniversary, landing that new job, or an intimate evening with someone you love.

• Holding a wine glass by the bowl heats the wine.

Well, yes, but not enough to significantly influence enjoyment depending on how long you hold the glass. When you hold a glass for a significant period of time, the warmth of your hand and the ambient temperature will warm the wine. It is unlikely to ruin the wine. Holding by the bowl does leave oil from your skin on the glass, which negatively impacts visual appreciation.

Holding the glass by the stem or foot is a more refined method of securing your goblet, but it is not unforgivably gauche to hold by the bowl. Do whatever you want. Wine exists to be enjoyed. You are not striving to earn a gold star from Miss Manners. You are striving to enjoy wine time with friends.

• The more expensive, the better the wine.

Sure, the higher the cost the more likely the wine quality. But certainly not always, and the average person may not discern the difference between a good wine and a very good wine. Do the math. Would you rather have a very good wine that costs $120 or four bottles of good wine that cost $30 a bottle. In broad terms, $15-25 can get you a delicious wine and $25-35 may get you a wine a click better.

In any event, it is gauche to brag about the cost of the bottle you are pouring.

Last round: The police told me they would arrest me if I kept telling bad jokes. I stopped because I was scared I would end up in the punitentiary. Wine time.

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I inadvertently failed to attach the podcast on the original posting.

This includes the podcast.

Mass production vs great wine 4-19-2023

The wine world divides into two camps: factory wines and distinct wines. That artificial division is black and white while the wine world is grey; it is simplistic and annoys those who recognize nuance. But the paradigm works in broad stroke terms. Let’s explore.

People drink wine for a cacophony of reasons. Weekend pleasure. Midweek indulgence. Social lubricant at a function. Means to clutch the next rung on a social ladder.

When we buy wine, we confront an existential fork in the wine road. Factory wine—made in the millions to sate a specific, focus-group-determined wine profile. Find it in your grocery store. Not spectacular, but usually dead-center-perfect for what you expect.

Or you can secure a distinct, non-factory wine seldom carried in grocery stores. When you find it, pull the cork to see what you got.

Factory wine is security. Predictable. Readily available. Reasonably priced, sort of.

Non-factory wine is none of those things—although reasonable pricing can sneak in, especially with Southern Hemisphere wines. Non-factory wines often are the product of relatively small acreage and the toil of a family, often for generations, especially in the Old World.

Factory wines promise you predictable, market-tested flavors. Non-factory wines offer you adventure and the chance to soar above the clouds while the factory wines are flapping their wings to clear the tree tops.

This column is not some despairing ramble. There are mega-wineries that have divisions producing extraordinary, terroir-driven, vintage-correct wines. Bravo Gallo, Constellation, The Wine Group, Treasury Wine Estate, and Viña Concha y Toro. But each of them also produces a vast lake of factory wines. This is how they got to be among the world’s largest winemakers.

I enjoy factory wines. I review them favorably for what they are. “Delicious” and “easy drinking” are descriptors I often use.

And, then, there are the distinct wines. Often relatively small production by multi-generations of wine makers, but there are examples from divisions of mega-wineries, too. Distinct wines taste the place—terroir. They may have marginal imperfections—if art is perfect, it is bland. Pull cork and embrace surprise on the palate. Adventure is one big reason wine is wonderful.

Tasting notes:

• Symington Family Estates Quinta da Fonte Souto Portalegre Branco, Alentejo DOC 2020: rich with pleasing depth. Round, smooth, impressive length. $18-25 Link to my review

• Bonterra The McNab, McNab Ranch Vineyard, Mendocino County 2020: bold, smooth, approachable. Flagship of organic and biodynamic-focused Bonterra. $52-60 Link to my review

Last round: I told my doctor I hurt my hand opening French sparkling wine. He told me it was only sham pain.

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Wine and Mexican food 4-12-2023

Beer or margarita is the knee-jerk response to alcohol pairing with Mexican and Tex-Mex food. All well and good, but wine can be in the conversation, too.

OK, big tannic red wines don’t play well with Mexican fare, but there are a host of wines that snuggle nicely with corn, beans, chilies, spices, beef, and pork. Rule of thumb: lighter reds, Spanish and Portuguese wines, rosés, sparkling wines all offer delicious possibilities.

© Tomas Castelazo, www.tomascastelazo.com / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Here are some popular dishes and suggested wine pairings:

• Chicken or beef fajitas with tomato salsa. Tempranillo, zinfandel. Medium reds with plenty of fruitiness more than hold their own with savory chicken, beef, peppers, and onions. Avoid reds with big tannins because they do not mesh with spiciness.

• Tamales. Pinot noir, beaujolais, cabernet franc. Light-body reds will play well with the slow-cooked pork filling; earthiness complements the dense masa exterior.

• Chili con carne. Carménère, zinfandel, GSM blend. Bold flavors and green pepper notes of the wine complement the hearty stew. Carménère, especially from Chile, is an outstanding pairing.

• Chips with salsa. Sangiovese, Chianti, Nero d’Avola. Tomatoes are at the heart of both Italian and Mexican cuisine; these three Italian wines go well with tomato-based salsa.

• Quesadillas. Chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, riesling. A crisp wine with high acidity will cut through the heaviness of the melted cheese. The minerality in the wines works well with the onions and the tortilla.

Tasting notes

• Gillmore Mariposa Rosado de Pais 2021: Fresh, soft, faint red fruits; excellent acidity; very approachable. Superb value. $5-10 Link to my review

• Albert Bichot Horizon de Bichot Chardonnay 2020: Languedoc chard drinks like more expensive chards from tonier regions. $15-18 Link to my review

• Koyle Gran Reserva Carménère 2019: Silky in the mouth, delicious. Avoids green, herbaceous notes carménère sometimes brings. $15-18 Link to my review

• Gérard Bertrand An 825 Crémant de Limoux Brut Rosé 2020: Light, refreshing splendid example of affordable quality sparkling. $17-20 Link to my review

• Jean-Paul Brun Domaine des Terres Dorées Beaujolais “Le Rosé d’Folie” 2021: Delicate, delicious Beaujolais from a multi-honored maker. $19 Link to my review

• La Crema Monterey Pinot Noir 2020: Admirably consistent; classic winery delivers California pinot noir that punches above its weight. $19-23 Link to my review

• Concha y Toro Marques de Casa Concha Pinot Noir, Limari Valley, Chile 2019: Fresh, tasty; fruit leads the way. Excellent QPR. $22-25 Link to my review

• Beronia Gran Reserva Rioja 2013: Old-vine expression of mostly tempranillo. Evolves into easy drinking, rich red. $30-35 Link to my review

Last round: A Mexican magician tells the audience he will disappear on the count of three. He says, ‘Uno, dos…” and poof! He disappeared without a tres. Wine time.

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