Terrace View - Wine and Microbes

Did you see Nicholas Wade's recent article in the  November 25 NY Times about wine and microbes?

If you did, you might be as perplexed as I was. The basic idea expressed here is that researchers in the US have scientifically determined that specific fungi and bacteria that grow on the skins of grapes can have a determining factor in terms of how a wine smells and tastes. Furthermore, these characteristics can be specific to region and can help to prove the French concept of terroir.

One of the researchers actually said this, "The reason I love this study is that it starts to walk down a path to something we could actually measure," Dr. Mills said. "There are high-end courses on terroir, which I think are bunk. Someone has to prove that something about terroir makes it to the bottle, and no one has done that yet."

 

Really? Terroir is bunk? Winemakers, wine lovers, and scientists in California are just coming around to the idea that every little factor involved in the vineyard and the winemaking process counts? That this still has to be proven? Doesn't the fact that Chablis and Meursault taste completely different from each other while also showing regional traits, even down to the specific vineyard, count for anything? What about winemakers who don't manipulate and filter, and use the yeasts, bacteria, and fungi on the grapes to their advantage, making beautiful individual wines by having a natural fermentation? What about the winemakers who have mold on the ceilings of their caves and will not remove it? Do we have to have a definitive study of the mold? Of course not, because these winemakers know that the personalities of the wines living in those caves for years, or even decades, will be shaped in part from that unique environment.

 

This is what makes wines different, honest, and totally interesting. What's next? Will wine supply companies offer prefabricated wine additive kits where you can order Hermitage or Barolo microbes? I'm always disappointed when some winemakers feel that they have to control everything. Why do we have to measure everything in order to believe it? I can see that works by Picasso and Dali are different, I don't have to put a paint sample under an electron microscope. 

 

With wine, one can taste it. 

Cheers,

Michael

Terrace View - Thanksgiving 2013

For wine pairings, Thanksgiving is famously challenging. It's not that wine doesn't go with turkey, it's that with such a large meal and with so many different dishes most folks aren't sure which way to go. Add to that the many guests and family members with various tastes and choosing the right wine can be even more confusing. My simple strategy is to serve several wines that are food flexible and non-fatiguing. Here are some ideas that can help to make your holiday meal more successful.


Favorite Thanksgiving Reds - My favorite reds for a Thanksgiving meal are pinot noir and gamay. These wines tend to be lighter in body with good acidity. That means that they will go with a wide range of foods and can have a nice palate cleansing effect, functioning in a similar way as cranberry sauce. If you'd like to have an American wine for this American Holiday consider Atwater Pinot Noir from the Finger Lakes or a nice affordable California pinot like Beau Pere Pinot Noir. For gamay look to France for good Beaujolais.

More Reds - Other reds to consider are medium bodied without too much oak aging. Good choices are barbera, zweigelt, and Bordeaux if it's an a style that not too heavy and extracted.

Whites - For whites I like to go full-bodied. It's a good occasion to try white Rhône varietals either from the US, France, or Australia. An earthy grüner veltliner is also a nice choice as is unoaked chardonnay.

Apple Cider - This is a great choice and nicely historical, hard cider was a significant beverage in colonial America. Try one of the dry ciders from West County like the Pippin or Catamount Hill Orchard or one of our Spanish offerings. 

Wine for the Family Fringes - This holiday meal is one in which you'll likely have some people consuming wine that don't typically drink it. It my family it could be someone like my aunt or grandmother. In these cases I like to offer something that's easy to drink, and a little sweetness doesn't hurt. Try one of our fun sparkling wines like the dry and fruity 50º Sekt Rosé or the sublimely sweet Bartucci Bugey-Cerdon.

During Thanksgiving week we'll make thinks easy by having some of our favorite choices stacked on the floor so don't worry about remembering all this stuff.  As always, if you have any questions just ask!

Happy Thanksgiving,
Michael

Terrace View - My Wine is Bad! What to do?

So you arrive home with your newly purchased bottle of wine, pull the cork or twist off the cap, pour a little in your wine glass (which is completely clean and dry, of course!), swirl, have a whiff and a sip and then... ooh my... you think "something's wrong with this, what do I do?"

Well, you can call us, the number of course is 718-768-2291, and we can give you some info. If you have the energy, you can put your shoes back on and return the bottle. We will pretty much always exchange the bottle for you, excepting some special circumstances. You just need to return the bottle and the wine to us if you think it is off, sorry as we can't do exchanges for empty bottles.

In a practical sense it's also good to know what can go bad with a bottle of wine so here are some of the things that can happen.

The wine is corked - It's true, a small percentage of wines are ruined by a chemical in the cork called TCA. If this happens there will be a smell akin to old, wet, musty cardboard. What to do? Return the wine to us and we'll give you another bottle. Another bottle from the same case is usually works out just fine. You don't even have to return it right away, in the next few days is okay but if you wait awhile it's good to have a receipt with you because we might not remember the original sale.

Reduction - This happens to a wine which has been for a long time in an environment that has an absence of oxygen. The best way I can describe a reductive smell is that it comes off as dirty and excessively sulfurous, like a mineral spring, or burnt rubber. What to do? In many cases the reduction is just in the nose and the problem is solved by oxygen so either decant the wine or pour a decent amount into a few glasses, swirl vigorously, and wait 15 to 20 minutes to see if the smell goes away. If the wine is severely reductive the palate will be affected as well so if the wine doesn't smell and taste better after some time and you are unhappy, return the wine to us. 

Volatile Acidity - Called "VA", it's caused by bacteria in the wine creating acetic acid. This is a normal part of fermentation and we notice VA when it's excessive in a wine. For VA you can think acetone, so the aromas are similar to shoe polish or nail polish remover. What to do? Unlike the two previous conditions, aeration or exchanging one bottle for another won't solve the problem, all the wines from that bottling production will have VA. It's subjective and kind of a personal threshold thing, one person may really dislike the wine and another may think it's interesting. I don't think we consistently sell any wines that have excessive VA so it's not a big problem, although you may encounter one at some other shop or restaurant.

One more thing, remember my joke in the beginning about your wine glass being completely clean and dry? There's truth here. If your glasses have been sitting in your cabinet for a long time they will pick up a "cabinet smell" which will ruin the nose of your wine. You might think those stems are clean but they are not. Before using a glass, give it a quick whiff, it should have no aroma. If it does you can quickly clean the glass with dish soap and rinse with hot water. Remember to let the glasses cool before you use them. Alternately, if the glasses are relatively clean, just leave them out on the counter until there is no odor.

I hope all this helps!

Cheers,
Michael

Terrace View - Good Bordeaux

Bordeaux as a wine region is very large, producing about 700 million bottles of wine a year, and with all that wine in the market, it's hard to generalize. One thing to realize is that Bordeaux works on many different levels and knowing this can help you find good wines to drink.

First off, know that for most of the last 100 years and until only recently, Bordeaux dominated the wine trade here in the US. When I started drinking wine regularly as a college student, and even when I first moved to NYC, Bordeaux was the predominant wine in the stores and on restaurant lists. Things have changed. The top tier wines, like the famous First Growths, have become super luxury items and are so expensive that only very wealthy collectors and investors purchase them. For the others, the small or "petit chateau", their presence in the market has dropped as we have seen an explosion of new choices, especially in the last 20 years. Some of those are wines from other regions in France, like the Loire and the Languedoc, and more importantly there are many more wine choices from other countries like Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and Chile, to name a few. In addition, the prices on a lot of these wines are very friendly so the competition for customers drinking everyday bottles is fierce.

Still, there is a lot of Bordeaux out there that is worthy of purchasing. If you are not familiar with the grape varietals, the red wines are almost always a blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot in some form, with cabernet franc playing a supporting role, and you'll find the use of small percentages of malbec and petit verdot in some. The classic style of red Bordeaux is a bit out of fashion right now, so much so that I asked my friend Stuart Randall, a Bordeaux lover who also happens to be one of the owners of Bayfield Importing, why he enjoys drinking Bordeaux frequently:

"Something about the taste, the combination of the earthiness with fruit character that I find particularly attractive. I enjoy the complexity and find myself contemplating the length and aftertaste in my mouth every time I drink them, in a particularly enjoyable way. I appreciate the many subtleties they convey. Because of the climate, Bordeaux wines are rarely overripe or "hot", meaning the alcohol is in check and there is usually great acid balance. The ones I tend to drink do not have excessive tannins yet are dry with ample fruit, but not overly fruity. As with most wines, I look for balance, richness, complexity and character without them being overbearing. The taste of Bordeaux does not become wearisome over the course of the bottle, and in many cases, the wines evolve in the glass as they are being consumed. A huge plus is that they are great food wines and tend to complement dishes rather than overpower them.... Contrary to many people's opinion, there is lots of great value in Bordeaux with plenty of options that sell for between $10-$20 retail. I haven't found any other region yet that can emulate the taste character of these wines which is what gives them their appeal."

I think Stuart's correct. Generally most good value Bordeaux is medium bodied and round on the palate with moderate acidity, the cherry and plum fruit is mellow and subdued, and along with cedar and cigarbox overtones, a subtle earthiness and herbaceousness can emerge. As I said this is a classic style of red wine, known to the British as "claret", but not considered so "exciting" in the present wine world.

If you are an avid cook, good pairings for red Bordeaux are red meats, roast chicken (even better with root vegetables) some fish, and legumes. A simple dish of lentils, with onions, potatoes and carrots works very well. Red Bordeaux is usually not my wine for pizza or pasta with tomato sauce, and likewise I also stay away from it with fairly spicy dishes. In her book "Mastering The Art of French Cooking", Julia Child frequently recommends various Bordeaux and her suggestions are spot on, not just with the food pairings but also in mentioning dishes that work with the specific regional distinctions within Bordeaux.

As for those distinctions, there is a river that splits the area (the Gironde) and in the wine biz we refer to the wines on either side as being "left bank" (usually but not always more cabernet sauvignon) or "right bank" (usually but not always more merlot and cabernet franc). Beyond that it gets more involved so if you'd like more information just ask us.

Don't forget too the white wines from Bordeaux, the grapes for these are sémillon, sauvignon blanc, and muscadelle. These wines are delicious and generally overlooked. We have a small but very nice selection of them. Don't miss out!

Cheers,
Michael

Wine Geek 101 - What's Brett?

Remember George Brett? He's the first ballot Hall of Fame third baseman for the Kansas City Royals who almost hit .400 in 1980. Well, he was great but unfortunately this blog post is not about him.

It's about brettanomyces, don't worry about pronouncing it, just say "brett". Brett is a type of yeast occasionally found on grapes and then in a finished wine. We typically will see brett in organic, biodynamic, and the so-called "natural wines". That's because all the bacteria hasn't been killed off by large doses of sulfur and filtration. When brett is present in a wine it gives a certain flavor which can be described as earthy "barnyard". For me one of the giveaways is also a kind of telltale chestnut or hazelnut lingering in the finish.

The real issue with brett is that it can occur in varying degrees in a wine. For me personally, a little bit of brett can enhance earthiness in a wine, add a complex savory note, and give a nice sense of character. I find that preferable to the mass produced, sanitized wines made with laboratory yeasts, filtered, flavored with oak chips, and manipulated with additives to conform to a certain "recipe" for a wine. That being said, if there's too much brett then the wine has gone too far for me in a stinky, feral way. I also find that wines with too much brett don't drink well over a period of a few days, they actually get "brettier", if that's a word. Another argument is that overly "bretted" wines obscure their terroir instead of highlighting it. Nuances from the vineyard site can be overshadowed by the brett flavor.  If you want to have that uber-geek discussion with me then you'll have to mention it in person sometime when your shopping.

So is brett a defect? I think yes, albeit sometimes a good one, and I'm sure you can find differing opinions about this from folks in the wine business. As always, every wine is different and if you have any questions about a specific wine just ask. As a sidenote, brett is also encountered in beer brewing. If you'd like to see more on that click here. Where do you fall in on the brett scale? Try some new wines and find out!

Cheers,
Michael