Randall Grahm on Terroir #3

While I found the recent comments made by Randall Grahm on terroir compelling ( Randall Grahm on Terroir #1 and Randall Grahm on Terroir #2), you can’t help but be struck by the distance between Grahm’s commentary, which I agree with, and the results of his winemaking, which I don’t. While he talks a good game, it is well known that the wines of Bonny Doon no longer have any relationship to his wines of the early 80’s. Bonny Doon today is nothing more or less than an industrial wine producer, just like Mondavi or Kendall Jackson.

Bill Zacharkiw recently brought to my attention an outstanding anonymous post on his Caveman’s Wine Blog in response to his provocative post on Biodynamics. This excellent post and thread is well worth your reading and below you will find an excerpt from the long and thoughtful comments of “anonymous” on the topic of Randall Grahm and biodynamics.

 Is it Doonsday for US Biodynamics?
Randall Grahm’s Faustian deal

"Bonny Doon Vineyard, run by the irrepressible Randall Grahm, now produces nearly 400,000 cases of wine, yet it continues to cultivate an image of a small, boutique winery. Some of the wine world’s most innovative packaging is created by this estate, but, as I have written before, the quality in the bottle has declined from Bonny Doon’s glory years (in the mid-eighties) when Grahm was both a pioneer and a committed Rhone Ranger revolutionary. It now appears to be all about image and high production, resulting in somewhat innocuous offerings." - Robert Parker, June 2005

Over the past couple of years, Randall has been at a crossroads. He suffered with a rare bone infection, his estate vineyards died off, he was involved in a lawsuit for smuggling in “suit case cuttings” from France by Caymus Winery, and he has openly admitted to succumbing to “seditious winemaking legerdemain” ie., making bad wine passable by using dubious techniques in the cellar.

Now in a move that has some in the “real wine” movement worried, Grahm the Santa Cruz marketing wiz behind the bulk juice winery Bonny Doon - is taking up the mantel of Biodynamic. He recently lectured on the subject at UC Davis Viticultural program called Terroir and is now holding himself out to his wine professional colleagues that he is now a born-again Anthroposophist – “fighting for the soul of wine”.

What is Biodynamic wine?…

Read the full text of this compelling post on The Caveman’s Wine Blog at the link below.

The Caveman’s Wine Blog.

Hacking Wine Spectator: Full Access!

Can it be true? Not that I would recommend this, of course.

Winexpression » Blog Archive » NEW - Hacking Wine Spectator: Full Access!.

Becks & Posh: How to Trim an Artichoke

.Becks & Posh: How to Trim an Artichoke.

Napa Cabbage and Grape Slaw

* 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
* 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1 teaspoon sesame oil
* 1 teaspoon grated ginger
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
* 2 teaspoons hot water
* 1 lb. Napa Cabbage, finely shredded
* 1 red onion, sliced
* 1 carrot, shredded
* 2 cups seedless green grapes, halved
* 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds

In a medium glass mixing bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, lemon juice, olive oil, sesame oils, ginger, sugar, pepper and water. Cover with saran wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

In a large glass bowl, mix together the cabbage, onion, carrot, and grapes. Pour over the soy sauce mixture and toss.

When you serve the slaw, top with sesame seeds.

Serves 4-6

From:

Accidental Hedonist - Napa Cabbage and Grape Slaw.

Potato Pancake Halibut and Arugula Salad

Potato Pancake Halibut and Arugula Salad

serves 4
1 shallot chopped
2 tsp coarse salt
1 tbsp cracked pepper
1 tsp chopped dried thyme
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 bay leaf, crumbled
2 tbsp olive oil
Four 6 oz halibut fillets
Potato Pancakes:
2 medium potatoes shredded
1 slightly beaten eggs
1 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup onion chopped
Mix all ingredients together, pan fry in oil 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown. Makes 4 nice potato pancakes.
Arugula Salad:
1 bunch arugula
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Combine shallot, salt, pepper, thyme, garlic, bay leaf and 1 tbsp olive oil. Spread over fish and marinate for 30 minutes. To make salad, place arugula in a bowl. Whisk together vinegar, mustard and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss dressing with arugula. Place on four individual plates. Heat remaining olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add fish, skin side down. Sauté for 2 minutes, cover with lid, reduce heat to medium-low and cook 8 minutes longer or until fish is firm to the touch and white juices are beginning to appear. Remove skin and place fish on top of potato pancake and arugula salad on serving plates.

From:

Sara’s Kitchen.

Small Pleasures

Small pleasures are a lovely part of enjoying wine. Pretty little wines that don’t cost much, but deliver pleasure and enhance a Monday night dinner. Tonight with an all Oregon omelette with Tillamook Cheddar and Apple Orchard Smoked Ham from McMinnville, a charming little bottle of Bordeaux provided just such a moment. Running somewhere around $10, this is the type of Bordeaux ignored by the American press and public. However, I found it disarming with my dinner for its clean flavors, medium body and obviously regional character: this could be nothing but a Bordeaux. This is exactly the type of wine it is hard to find at this price point from New World producers as the Australians are so often just too fruity and the American wines are just too characterless to provide such a nice counterpoint to a meal.

Tonight’s wine was the 2004 Chateau les Bordelaises, a plain AOC Bordeaux from Dominque and Jean-Louis Pointet and it is a charmer to anyone who loves the angular character of a true Bordeaux. I don’t expect lovers of Yellowtail and Mondavi will understand why I find this wine so delightful, but here is a wine with no pretense, yet plenty of terroir and enough character to actually make you think for just a second before taking another bite.

(Recommended by Doug Salthouse at SmartBuy wines in New Jersey) 

Iron Wine Critic

I suggested American Wine Idol and now Dave Brookes of the Vinosense Blog is proposing The Iron Wine Critic. I think we have a whole new television season ready to go for wine buffs. Check out Dave’s pilot and his excellent blog at the link below.

Vinosense » Iron Wine Critic.

American Wine Idol

The brouhaha over the botched attempt to recreate the Paris tasting of 1976, where Steve Spurrier pitted some California wines against some of France’s best and low-and-behold; the California wines won, shows how far we have sunk when it comes to appreciating wine. American bloggers are raging against what they see as the cowardly French, while ignoring the ego battles between the Americans.

We have finally reduced wine to a competition instead of a pleasure. Why not go all the way?

Fox Network should be working on what will be a hot new reality show: American Wine Idol. The formula is set already. You’ll need three celebrity judges just like the current American Idol show. I would propose the following three:

• For the sharp tongued Simon Cowell slot: Pierre Rovani
• For Paula Abdul’s role:  Andrea Immer Robinson
• For the affable Randy Jackson’s spot: we’re still looking for the wine critic to fill this role

Then, just like the singers, you bring the winemakers out on stage, whose wines are then tasted and ripped apart on national television by our celebrity panel. At the end, the viewers vote on which winemakers are given the boot. Finally, the winning wine gets a national distribution deal as a wine by the glass at all the Four Seasons Hotels and a guaranteed 95 point or higher score in The Wine Spectator for the next five vintages.

This is the direction we are taking wine appreciation. While everyone is bemoaning the fact that this contest was not recreated, they should be really asking themselves if this is how they want wines to be judged?

While hearing that great gentleman of wine, Michael Broadbent, speak at a seminar last summer, I was particularly struck by one of his comments. He recounted a conversation with the owner of Chateau Haut Brion, who was complaining of how wines are rated these days. That gentleman noted that he made his wine to go with food; not Chateau Latour. It’s true, we have become more obsessed with how wines taste with other wines than how they taste with the food on our plates.

Wine, Funny?

Humor is often all to rare when it comes to the snobby (yes I too confess to wine snobbery) world of wine. Jeff Lefevere of The Good Grape Blog (link below), is doing us all a favor by mixing in some of his own cartoons into his wine blog. Below you’ll find one of his recent efforts and I recommend frequent visits to his blog to see his latest work. I hope to see some of his cartoons in some of our print media wine publications, but perhaps they take themselves too seriously or maybe just lack a sense of humor. Fortunately for us, Jeff does have a sense of humor.

 Good Grape: A Wine Manifesto: New World.

Soffritto-Mirepoix-Sofrito

Through the haze of jet-lagged sleep the aromas would wake me and lift my tired, but still hungry body to the lunch table. Normally we would arrive at the airport at 7 a.m. and then go straight to bed for a few hours sleep when we reached my in-laws house just northwest of Milano. As lunchtime approached a fragrance would slowly grow and expand throughout the house and before you know it my nose would set off the alarm clock in my stomach.

That fragrance was created by my father-in-law, Aldo, cooking his soffritto as he began to prepare for lunch. Soffritto is that simple combination of sautéed aromatic vegetables that is the basis of a seemingly endless list of Italian dishes. Everything from pasta sauces to ravioli filling to Brasato al Barolo has at its heart a fragrant and flavorful soffritto.
The basic soffritto is equal amounts of chopped celery, carrots and onions slowly cooked in butter or olive oil so they release their flavors and aromatics into the ingredients that are then added. The trick is the temperature of the pan: too cool and you just poach the vegetables in the oil — too hot and you start to caramelize the vegetables. In France they call it mirepoix and in Spain sofrito, but whatever you call this process of cooking aromatic vegetables in fat to create a foundation of flavors for a dish, it is a basic element of good cooking in every cuisine: both for amateurs and professionals.

The word soffritto is a conjugation of the Italian verb soffriggere, or to fry lightly, which is an accurate description. A good soffritto needs a little attention from the cook. A trip to the wine cellar while the vegetables are cooking can result in a burned soffritto. Expect to devote an attentive 10 to 15 minutes to cooking your vegetables. They do not need constant attention and stirring, but they do want a watchful eye. You will know you have it right by the mouthwatering aromas that fill your house.

Soffritto is about flavors. If you buy bland, old vegetables you will get a bland soffritto. Go out of your way to get the freshest most flavorful vegetables available. While carrots, onions and celery are the holy trinity of soffritto, there are as many variations as there are vegetables. Garlic often makes an appearance in southern Italian dishes. Some soffritti include pancetta or other meats in the preparation. In classic risotto recipes, onions stand alone as the soffritto. Remember soffritto is a technique and a concept in flavoring not a specific recipe. Try the recipes below and then get creative. Each serves six as a main course and eight to ten as a first course.

Spaghetti con Pomodori e Soffritto
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped.
2 large stalks celery with leaves, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1- 28 oz. can excellent quality crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. thick spaghetti (avoid very thin spaghetti)
Sea salt
Grana Padano or Parmignano Reggiano cheese for grating

Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat and add celery, onions and carrots. Sauté the vegetables gently for about ten minutes until just before they began to brown, then add sugar and cook for one minute more. Add canned tomatoes and mix well. Cover and slowly simmer for thirty minutes stirring often. Salt to taste.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 heaping tablespoon of salt for every two quarts of water. When the water returns to a boil add the pasta and cook until not quite done.

Bring the heat under the pan with the sauce to high and drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the pan and gently mix the pasta and the sauce. Continue cooking until the pasta is done.

Serve immediately with grated cheese on the side.

Penne con Ragu alla Varano Borghi
1 lb. ground sirloin
1 sweet Italian sausage, skin removed and chopped coarsely
2 large carrots peeled and chopped
1 large onion chopped
2 large celery stalks with leaves, chopped
1- 28 oz. can excellent quality crushed tomatoes
a piece of lemon peel
1 bay leaf
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ lb. unsalted butter
1 cup red wine
1 cup beef or chicken broth
Grana Padano or Parmignano Reggiano cheese for grating
1 lb. penne pasta


Heat and melt the butter in a heavy tall-sided pan over medium heat and add celery, onions and carrots. Sauté the vegetables gently for about ten to fifteen minutes until just before they began to brown then add the ground sirloin and sausage, cook for several minutes more. Add canned tomatoes, wine, broth and mix well. Add bay leaf and lemon peel. Add salt and pepper to taste. Loosely cover and slowly simmer for thirty minutes, then cover tightly and simmer on very low heat for 3 hours stirring often.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 heaping tablespoon of salt for every two quarts of water. When the water returns to a boil add the pasta and cook until not quite done.

Bring the heat under the pan with the sauce to high and drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the pan and gently mix the pasta and the sauce. Continue cooking until the pasta is done.

Serve immediately with the grated cheese on the side.

Looking for Love In All the Wrong Places

I’m trying. I keep buying. It’s just not happening.

The harder I try to love Zind Humbrecht, the more frustrated I get. My latest ZinDebacle was the 2003 Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl: a wine without a place or purpose other than to prove how much extract you can concentrate into a dry (kind-of) white wine.

The 56 bucks I shelled out for this wine may be the greatest white wine bargain of all time if you consider the flavor delivered per Dollar. Here is that “bang-for-the-buck” we keep hearing about, for there may be plenty of bang here if you expose this wine to open flame. Clocking in at 16% alcohol (and I would not be surprised if it was higher) you risk an explosion if you drink this Pinot Gris while smoking – although it would match a good cigar better than a good meal. Seemingly inspired by the wretched excesses of a Fellini movie, this wine is to food what Roma is to movies.

What do you do with a 16% alcohol dry white wine? The answer is; you got me. I tried and tried to love this wine, which I consumed over a two week period with every type of meal and cheese you can imagine. It did not go with anything: including itself. That big burn in my throat would never go away and I had to force myself to go beyond a quarter of a glass. In fact, the better part of my last three glasses of this wine were tossed into the grass. Yes, I find it that undrinkable.

I poured the last quarter of the bottle down the drain tonight. I give up – Zind Humbrecht is beyond me and the food I eat. What is the point of a wine that does not compliment a meal?

The Forum is Back!

The Wine Camp Blog Forum is back up-and-running! You can access the forum with the link at the upper right of each page of Wine Camp. Thanks for your patience as I worked out a few technical issues.

I.G.T. - Indicazione Geografica Tipica

"IGT!"

"Gesundheit."

No that wasn’t a sneeze, it was I.G.T. or Indicazione Geografica Tipica: the new wine classification introduced in 1992 as part of a general reorganization of the D.O.C. (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) Italian wine law. I.G.T. was to be a new controlled quality level just below the D.O.C. to create a home for wines that, for many reasons, did not met the D.O.C. requirements, but had regional character.

Predictably, the introduction of the I.G.T. has been a mere sneeze as far as consumers are concerned — and a great example of a bureaucratic shell game.

The creation of I.G.T. was made necessary by the inadequacies of the D.O.C. regulations and by the widespread revolt against them by many famous and politically powerful wine producers. These producers were being forced to give their top wines, often internationally styled ones that did not follow D.O.C. rules, the lowly Vino da Tavola (table wine) designation.

Vino da Tavola had been the catch-all category for everyday wines until the super-Tuscan revolution hit Chianti and Maremma. Famous wines like Le Pergole Torte, Tignanello, and Sassicaia, which did not meet D.O.C. requirements, had to compete internationally against the world’s finest wines with this common name on their labels. To further confuse the matter, the phrase "table wine" in the US is a legal designation set by the government to denote all wines of less than 14.5% alcohol.

The end result is that I.G.T. has basically replaced the Vino da Tavola category for exported wines and does not provide much more of a guarantee of quality than Vino da Tavola did. Aa-choo!

There are oceans of "Veneto I.G.T." wine arriving in the USA now so let’s look at those regulations. The wines can be white, red, or rose produced in lightly sparking or novella (new) style. There are 39 permitted grape varieties and the grapes can come from any of 7 provinces. Pretty demanding requirements, right? So now exceptional wines made by great Veneto producers like Anselmi and Inama still carry the same designation as bulk wines made at the cooperatives. Exactly the same situation as before.

To be fair the I.G.T. regulations are more stringent than those for Vino da Tavola and they do restrict the wine named to be at least of a defined region, while Vino da Tavolo could be produced from wines produced anywhere in Italy — and sometimes Italy seemed to mean the borders of the Roman Empire. However, the reality of the situation is that I.G.T. is a shallow marketing tool: a fancier name for almost the same thing.

I.G.T. wines are basically divided into three groups, all labeled the same: industrial grade, good solid country wines, and hyper-expensive superstars (sometimes they are only hyper-expensive). You can’t tell the players without a scorecard. Unfortunately, price is the first giveaway. When you see an I.G.T. wine at $50.00 you have a pretty good idea it is not in the industrial grade category. But sorry, no guarantees.

For anyone unfamiliar with the best estates the best reference point is still the importer or a passionate retailer. For instance, Neil Empson offers Monte Antico, a reliable value in I.G.T. Toscano. What makes this wine reliable is the Empson name on the bottle. This same is true also for a wine like Castel di Salve, Santi Medici, Salento I.G.T. imported by Vin Divino, another very reliable importer. There are many poor Salento I.G.T. and Toscano I.G.T. wines, but when selected by a dedicated importer you have a much better chance of finding a good wine, and a good value.

Italian wine law is bursting at the seams from its own rich diet. Italy is overwhelmed by excellent wines, but they just don’t fit well into the few categories and the constrictions of D.O.C.G., D.O.C. and I.G.T.

"IGT!"

"Gesundheit."

Barolo Bussia Dardi La Rose, Poderi Colla, Monforte d'Alba, 1999

Bright scarlet/ruby with hints of garnet. Translucent. Smoky, smoky, dried porcini aromas slowly open into tart raspberry fruit. Closed and intense on the palate with layers of flavors: mushrooms, leather, cherry, raspberry. The finish is concentrated long and very tannic. Truly an outstanding classic Barolo destined for long-term greatness. One of the wines of the vintage.

Barolo , Cavallotto Bricco Boschis, Castiglione Falletto, 1996

Bright, translucent ruby with just a touch of orange at the edge. Explosive, earthy smoky aromas with a touch of underlying caramelized rasaspberries and a hint of Graham’s 20 year-old Tawny Port. Exceptionally complex. On the palate it is at first lean and tannic, but this is a façade as the wine soon broadens into layer upon layer of complexity. Bitter chocolate and bitter cherry flavors lead into a long warm earthy finish. Try to keep this one at least until its tenth birthday. If you must drink it now decant it for at least three hours before serving. Traditionally made Barolo wines have a unique blend of aromas and flavors they make them among the most interesting wines in the world. No simple black fruit references here, but all sorts of one-of-a-kind sensations. Dried roses and leather are the classic ones and they are certainly there, but add to this mushrooms, truffles and a certain wildness.

Barolo, Einaudi, 1978

I thought this wine would never come around. I was right. Brilliant light scarlet with orange overtones, translucent. Funky, earthy-mushroom-leather-rose aromas. Hint of varnish when first opened but it mostly blows off. It even smells tannic. Hard and lean on the palate but the flavors are expansive but decidedly not fruity. Almost a tawny port like fruit - 10 year old Graham’s without the sugar. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore. What can I say - I enjoyed it. Drinking this wine is like touching a piece of history.

Barolo, Fontanafredda, La Rosa, Serralunga d'Alba, 1999

Bright ruby/scarlet with just the lightest hint of orange. The aromas are an exotic mix of ripe dark fruits and leather and dried porcini mushrooms. Smoky ripe plums show in the nose and on the palate with layers of dusty burnt cherries and bitter oranges followed by firm, hard tannins that are somehow surprisingly round in their intensity. The finish is restrained by its intense tannins, but the powerful complex fruit flavors are already starting to show through. Tasted over a four day period and the wine was still fresh and showing now oxidation on the forth day. Definitely a wine for long-term cellaring.

Barbaresco Bric Balin, Moccagatta, 1999

Bright deep scarlet. Very oaky first impressions on the nose, underlying smoky plumy fruit. Oak also apparent throughout the palate. Firm, somewhat astringent fruit is made more astringent by wood tannins. Under the fruit and wood tannins ripe plumy fruit struggle to keep up. Not a good first impression. I would prefer to see less oaky astringency overlying the already tannic nebbiolo from a fine vintage. Still overall a first class serious effort at the modern style. Not recommended for barrique haters.

Barbaresco Palazzina, Montaribaldi, 2000

Amazingly generous for such a young wine. Bright ruby with garnet hints. Round and ripe in the nose. Deep plums, with and underlying bitter wild cherry and a hint of orange. Underneath is a clear earthy nebbiolo varietal note. Rich and lean at the same time. Start out big and sweet then implodes into tannin. The finish is long and complex and although this wine is not nearly ready paired with intensely flavor foods like fatty, charred American steak it can be consumed now with pleasure

Barbaresco Roncoglie, Poderi Colla, 2000

Ruby with garnet hints. Translucent. Quite ripe even a hint overripe. Sweet plum, spicy with earthy hints. Floral with violet hints. Round and ripe on the palate with quite a tinge of very ripe fruit. Dark canned cherries and raspberries followed by very apparent but well integrated tannins. Should mature somewhat more quickly than usual.