Have you ever had something you should have paid more attention to until it was too late? It was always there so you just didn’t give it as much attention as you should have. I mean, you knew it was there, you enjoyed it,but just never thought it was going anywhere.
I was knocked off my feet last week by an unexpected tragedy in our family. My Brother in Law was found on his living room floor, gone at the age of 45! Now I’m missing something that I loved and should have payed more attention to. Let me tell you a little about my Brother in Law, “BIL” for the purposes of this blog.
Mark was a bigger than life person, always the center of attention at any occasion. You know the type, have fun will carry. You had a party, invite Mark and you were sure to have notices the next day. Of course the first time we met things weren’t so cozy. I was dating his only sister, his only sibling. The one person in life that he loved beyond all others and the only person in life he was afraid of disappointing. So we hit it off 21 years ago much like Israel and Palestine. But that was as it should be I suppose. It was not so long that we came to understand one another and because his Sister’s happiness was paramount he accepted the fact I was going to be around a while. So 21 years of holidays later he is gone. Funny it doesn’t sound right when I say it, but that’s the point, it never will. (Click Continued to Read More)
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Some are afraid of failing in search of their dreams. I have little doubt that the seeking of one’s dreams can turn into just that, a search! Locked away in your brain, never to see the light of day. Why? Because connecting that bridge with reality is easier said than done. Or maybe you’re more like me than you care to admit. But you got married, had instant responsibility, and you took the conservative path, the prudent route and buried those dreams even further. For my part I have always been a little irresponsible. It also took a while to get to the place where I enjoy going to work each day. I can remember looking through the cushions trying to find some loose coins for a gallon of milk. But I would never have gotten where I am if not always believing that dreams lived are the greatest of what life has to offer. By the way, dreams don’t have to be monetary gains, they can be just doing what makes you happy and still etching out a living.
Too many of us are told, “That’s nut’s. You’re way out of your league.” The greatest teachers in your life encouraged you to set goals, to reach for your dream. They are the ones that encourage you, “work hard”, they say, to achieve what you want. I have seen too many friends stuck in relationships that are debilitating. Talented men and women never using their God given talents to live those thoughts instead of talking about them. It would be akin to Bruce Springsteen without a guitar, or Rembrandt without a brush because someone else stopped you from trying. Remember life is that series of choices and can be tough enough without trying to blame others for your decisions. If you’re stuck in a funk, then make a change before it’s really too late.
My father was a talented person. I loved him more than anything. He provided for us and was always proud of what we accomplished. He encouraged us to do more! Dad died, retired from a factory job that he hated, not knowing how to get out, especially with five mouths to feed. But I have seen how great he was with his hands, the things he could build and the enjoyment that came with it! It just never occurred to him he might have had another path to follow. (Click Continued to Read More)
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There are really only a few grapes that are considered by the collecting community to be “worthy”, so to speak. They include Cabernet, Pinot, Syrah, Chardonnay, Grenache, Sauvignon Blanc, Nebbiolo to name a few of the few. Give these so called experts a look at the only grape we claim to be our own, Zinfandel, and they would just as soon drink beer. It’s even had a ripple effect on those up and coming wine collectors, wine drinkers, and winemakers. They want to be accepted in the hierarchy of the elite and admitting they like Zin would mean facing instant ridicule. Thrown out of the club never to be taken seriously again, the court jester your only title. No one dare do that to someone that has been in the club and has a voice because he or she is unafraid to admit they like Zin. I know because I am that person!
I remember the rise of Zinfandel in the capable hands of people like Paul Drapper and Burt William. These wines were full bodied fruit bombs with beautiful acids and long finishes. They lingered on the palate and were much more enjoyable to drink early on than a Cabernet. But they were made with much less alcohol than they are today. Like many wines, they are made so over ripe it’s hard to recognize what I recall from the purity of this varietal.
I was sitting with one of the best known winemakers from one of the best known labels of Zinfandel at dinner several years ago. This was during the Zin rush and after the “picking late” crowd came into power. I noticed the alcohol on the bottle as 17.2% and mentioned it was really high. He looked over at me and said without missing a beat, “Greg, that wine is really over 19% Alc..” I have said it time and again. When we get too ripe and out of balance we lose what the grape is supposed to taste like. This is true for all varieties, not just Zinfandel. (Click Continued to Read More)
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Today I venture away from humans and far from wine to one of my other loves, dogs! Yes, that four legged, tail wagging, chewing, pooping machine. They always give more than they take. Have you ever been around the proud owner of a dog opining about the virtues of their dog and especially the breed? It could be Paris and her pug or Martha and her chows. Maybe you have a Marley type or Underdog himself. If you’re a dog person, the breed matters little. It’s the return that sets the dog apart.
I’ve been asked what’s it like living with big dogs. Would I recommend them for families with small children, do they chew, do they drool and so on. First my answer is I love big dogs. Hell, I named Ambullneo after the breed. In a day when both parents work, you come home and the kids are pissed at you, the wife is pissed at you but the dog always loves you. So he got top billing! I’m simple enough, I give credit where credit is due, and I have been pissed at the dog several times but he’s never been pissed at me.
Can we say the same for our kids and spouses? I think not! Big dogs eat more, poop bigger, drool some, and destroy more. But on the other side they are as gracious and giving a creature as you would ever want in your life. They protect without the training, in that they just have to show up to alarm a stranger. If the kids are playing outside and someone comes to the gate, who do you think is the first there? Yes that person delivering a package, delivering the mail or if he’s there to do harm, they all take a step back when 160 pounds of grunting black thunder comes a calling. But that’s the magic he’s as friendly as the grand parents coming to see the kids, but he or she doesn’t have a clue. It’s enough to give any sane person pause. (Click Continued to Read More)
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Here’s the deal, blogs are normally opinions of the writer. They should be convincing and sprinkled with good old fashion facts that are easily verifiable. But opinion is just that, opinion. And claiming to be a self confessed prophet is ridiculous. I do have strong beliefs honed from experience but most of you do also and your evaluations should be equally considered. But if we engage in civil discord then I’ve done my job. For engagement can only heighten our awareness of the subject and bring us closer to understanding.
Today I am diving into one of the more controversial subjects in the business. You’ve seen labels promoting and claiming the art of bio dynamic farming or bio dynamic vineyards. Let me start by saying I believe what some farmers a thousand years ago believed, that planting and harvesting around the bio rhythms of the earth and moon work. I believe we should add as little to the soil in the way of chemicals as we can. But I also believe a farmer has the right to save his crop and his vineyard if spraying is all that’s left. Bio dynamic farming is all about being in touch with the Earth and its different stages…to only use organic sprays, to plant at the right phase of the moon, to bury a horn in the ground. I admire those who go through this painfully hard method of farming. It’s not only financially exhausting but physically difficult as well. But there’s a big difference between bio farming and bio vineyards and the latter is claimed way too often, even by some certified producers. (Click Continued to Read More)
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So, here’s a story that’s rather funny, at least to me. I had already started my trek into fine wine and was in search of every allocated item that could be found. I had not settled on any particular varietal at this point because the whole thing was still new and anything hard to find or with a score, I had to try. Remember , you’re dealing with a kid from New Jersey whose first encounter with a great bottle propelled him into a frenzy of sorts. The year was 1987 and the place was Yorba Linda, California, more specifically Casa de Liquor. I go into the store and ask the person if he has any 1985 Heintz Martha’s Vineyard or 1985 Caymus Special Selection. He eyed me for a minute and realized I must be another score whore. Sorry, that’s the word used back then, unfiltered my friends.
As we got to talking I found out he was born on the east coast, a Philly Boy, and we hit it off from the start. I was 32 years old buying Bordeaux and California Cabernet – not bad, hey? Yes, making some good decisions allowed me the luxury and so I was trying to corner the market on these highly allocated items. Sounds funny since I drink about two bottles of cabernet a year now. But back then I was loose and fancy free. So this gentleman named William reached under the counter and I walked out with what I thought was akin to finding a buried treasure, three bottles each. William and his wife Sheila became great friends of Jana and I so much so that he is the Godfather of one of my children. Life is funny but it was Bill who invited me to a wine dinner at an old restaurant called Rembrandt’s. I met another great friend that year, Bernie Gordon, but that’s for another blog. So, at this dinner while drinking some Cabernet, Bill asked me if I had ever tasted a D.R.C.? I said ,”Nope. But those are nice letters. What does it mean?” Bill went on to explain Domain de la Romanee Conti from Burgundy! (Click Continued to Read More)
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Disliking the pomp and circumstance of wine has set me up as an outsider. I’m one who refuses to believe that wine was made for royalty and only royalty have the right to it’s magical equations and definitions. Yes, I hate elitists and those that won’t share what they know, the person who believes he or she has some divine right to this information because somehow they’ve earned it. However, if you do only one thing to enhance your wine experience, then invest in some decent stemware even at the risk of looking like a pompous ass!
Why? Because they work, that’s why. I have tried most major producers of glasses and believe the stemware of Riedel works as good or better then any others. George Riedel is a very interesting man and he and his son Max run Riedel as their grandfathers had before them. With focus on quality and detail, all of their upper line are hand blown to perfection. I know both men, have been to Max’s pad in New York and have had George over to my home. I can attest to their dedication but this is not an article about them. It’s about maximizing your enjoyment. Riedel, from time to time, puts on a tasting of stemware. That’s to say they match their glasses against others and show you why they work. I went through this tasting and was somewhat skeptical at first. I left the tasting convinced that a glass is as important as the wine it holds.
Have you ever been to a great restaurant and the food is great, the company’s great, the atmosphere’s great. You order what you know to be a great bottle of wine and then they serve it in a clunker of a glass or a glass so small that as soon as you try to move the wine around to release it’s bouquet it flies over the side. What a bummer! I have also found that you really don’t need a Chardonnay Glass, a Cabernet Glass and a Burgundy glass. I know this because I bought them all. But my glass of choice almost 100% of the time is the Sommelier Series Burgundy Glass from Riedel. This glass, designed by George’s father, has been the Grand Cru of tasting glasses for more then half a century. You can go to our web site, punch reviews or store and see a picture of this glass. But you will have to endure my mug also! Now I do use a champagne glass from time to time because I like the bubbles. But when I don’t care about the bubbles then I use the Burgundy glass. (Click Continued to Read More)
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Remember that old adage? Too much of a good thing becomes bad. Yes, these days it’s not just limited to drinking. It’s too much milk, too much meat, too much salt, too much, too much! I’ve never subscribed to such babel since as soon as you’re following the latest wisdom dug up from a limited sampling at some accredited college done by some undergraduate students, they’ll tell you “Oops! “We were wrong.” I tend to listen less these days and act out a lot! However, there are times when it comes to wine that too much is well, too much! This is not a random sampling. We have thousands of years and unlimited subjects in the form of bottles to prove our theory.
What happens to a wine from the first sip you take to the last you swallow? Better asked is why is the last sip so much different and usually so much better then the first? Air, that’s what. Good old oxygen creating that terrible after effect, oxidation.
Too much of anything is bad. But just enough of something can be good. Example: we need plenty of clean water to survive, and so does every other living thing. But water, as important as it is, can turn stagnate, rancid and become the most destructive force known to man. It can spread disease at an alarming rate, turn from life giving to a pure heartless killer. A breeder of death from itself and the creatures that nest within. We also need oxygen to survive and to grow, to become a mature person and so does wine. But if oxygen were pure, would it be good over a long period of time? (Click Continued to Read More)
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I’ve heard many refer to myself and other winemakers as artists. I’ve never gotten my mind around this concept. Me, an artist? The same man who can’t play an instrument but loves music, and singing especially in the shower. Me, who’s only drawings worth a damn were stick men while I was doodling in school. No, an artist is a little too much for me to handle. I will write of a true artist in a future blog but for now let’s just say it’s a stretch when talking of myself.
However, blending is an art! It sounds contradicting but its how my feeble brain works. Putting together a cuvee or a vineyard wine of high quality is very difficult. Remember my blog post called “wines are not created equally”? Most producers take what they have from a certain Vintage or certain Vineyard and throw it all in a tank and presto, they have wine. No, that’s not how the great wines are put together. The quality producers agonize over the blending process trying to come up with the best combination. Some blend for consistency such as champagne houses in their non vintage wines. They will, on a regular basis, blend two, three or more vintages together to achieve what they call their house style. No easy task, believe me.
We blend our flagship wine Bulldog to be consistent from vintage to vintage. Of course this is limited to wine from one vintage but there is a thread were looking for, a moniker, so to speak, that makes it recognizable as such. A vineyard wine is all from the same vineyard. Bulldog is not, so it’s even harder to blend. All of our wines, however, start with the same premise: blend the best wine possible no matter the sacrifice. So step one is blind tasting each and every barrel, scoring that barrel on its quality from every sensation we can muster. The noise the mid palate, the finish, the complexity,(how many flavors are present), the balance, the balance, the balance! No I’m not repeating myself. We, meaning myself and my staff, try to execute our plan to the best of our abilities. Not unlike the preparation for a football game. Now this might sound a little “off” but I am also looking for an emotional response to the wine. Please save the hankies but when you get it right it’s, well, euphoric! (Click Continued to Read More)
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I have been roundly criticized by some in the wine world for our bottle prices. I can’t answer all (one on one) because they hit and run. Theyll post something on a blog and make a comment then move on to bash someone else. You don’t have to be uneducated to be ignorant. In fact, the word was not meant to be used in a negative manner. Its definition (the lack of knowledge) is just that. I’m ignorant in many things. I can’t perform brain surgery, can’t play guitar, can’t even hack into someone else’s computer hell, I have enough problems just turning mine on. So, I’m Ignorant but not uneducated. The thing is, I try not to pretend I’m an expert and speak from authority of matters I know nothing of. Why then, is it alright to out of hand say, “That costs too much” without trying to understand first? But many, without even trying a bottle, write a note on some wine forum saying, “Thats overpriced”, or “I’m tired of someone coming into the market with another high priced wine. I don’t doubt there are many wines that don’t support the price tag. Its sometimes hard to navigate the mine fields full of con men and women claiming one thing but delivering another. We are not that; I can promise you. I have big shoulders and can certainly take the criticism as long as youve tasted the wine and then rejected it. But out of hand comments are ignorant! And just for the record, Lafite, Latour, Leroy and Romanee Conti are by their standards overpriced and in some cases 10-50 times the bottle price we ask. But are they really? I have tasted them in multi vintages and can speak with authority! The real question is can you?
Why are our wines priced the way they are? Here’s a short list of reasons for those that need further clarification. (Click Continued to Read More)
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I went into winemaking because I really believed we could do it better. I’m not a visionary as some of my dear friends are but I do believe there is an absence of passion in the winemaking community. I would never begrudge a person who wants to make their own wine but if it’s just to start a business and make money then I have some advice. There is little money in it so do something else! And if it’s to just start a business and you have no passion then I would pass. Making wine is hard work and it doesn’t stop at harvest. Without the passion and without the knowledge of great wine you’re just another person in the room and we have plenty of those. I am not trying to be harsh, just calling it as I see it!
Now as it pertains to winemaking and alcohol levels, let’s throw in some facts! I believe, as many do, that you get more from less when it pertains to sugar levels in grapes: more fruit flavors, much more expressive and expansive on the palate, a full spectrum of flavors from the lighter red fruits to the darker purple, more in the way of earth, floral aspects, minerality, colas, soy, anise and so on. When you pick at higher brix (the measurement of sugar) and higher Ph levels, you will produce wine with higher alcohol. Remember the basic chemistry here, yeast eats sugar and produces alcohol. The more sugar then obviously the more alc… With riper fruit you get into riper flavors and eliminate many of the subtle more delicate ones from the mix. Yes you can rehydrate (the adding of water to lower the sugar) this most certainly will work in reducing the finished alc. However, it will not retrieve what was lost in the phenolic. You can’t wash away the ripe flavor; it’s already too late. This is at the very core of what’s going wrong out there. (Click Continued to Read More)
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In between my bloviating about things I think I know about, I like to throw in personal interest stories of characters and friends found through wine. Yes, wine has this great ability to lead you into rooms with extraordinary people you would otherwise not be invited. So wine, besides being the greatest of beverages, can act as a doorway to a world maybe unknown to you…To a place of higher thinking, and experiences that otherwise would be foreign, never to have entered one’s life. The truth is, many great people love wine and they sometimes even accept you as a friend. Let me tell you a story of such an encounter and friendship.
I found myself in Napa Valley a few years back (yes, I know people in Cabernet land) with some friends at a table in St Helena. There were six of us total as I remember it and knew most everyone. I will not mention all who were there because this article is focused on just a single encounter. The interesting part of this is, I was there to hire a new Distributor in another state, while a dear friend who was with me works for the same company I was, well…firing. It’s easy to misunderstand or misread a room when you don’t have all the facts but the person I am writing about did not like me very much after our first meeting, and that’s somewhat putting it mildly. He thought me to be too harsh letting my distributor go and at the same time hiring the other. It was not until some time later that he realized all was well in the world and I was not that big of a jerk. The great power of wine won the day and it’s influence prevailed to give me, without me knowing, a second chance. Got to love a liquid that acts at times like an ambassador. This gentleman (which I will reveal soon) loved our wines and figured the hell with me because the wine was much more important. So he accepted an invitation to our humble little winery and the rest is history. (Click Continued to Read More)
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Yes, I had a tease in my last posting so I might as well get it off my chest. But please, read between the lines because this is not a negative article. It’s just factual!
What am I talking about? Well, my beloved Burgundy. What else? There are few people on this planet that have consumed more Red and White Burgundy then yours truly. Partly because I was lucky and partly because of my drinking habits. All roads lead to Burgundy is how the old saying goes. It certainly did in my case. It’s the wine that inspires me even today and it was the inspiration for launching my own label. I hope you all remember this first paragraph but if it’s only a sentence you absorb then it should be the next one. The greatest wine experiences I have ever had and the greatest wines I have ever tasted come from the Cote d’ Or, that magical place more commonly known as Burgundy.
Now that you know my true feelings, why not consider a few not talked about facts and answer this question before we explore them together: Is Burgundy the greatest place on earth to grow Pinot Noir and Chardonnay? I have pondered this question over and over and I come to the same conclusion: NO! Why, then, after my comments on how great the wines can be, would I have the gall to make such a statement? Because it’s true. (Click Continued to Read More)
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If you’ve learned anything from my blogs, you would know by now that I’m not a great writer. In fact, if any of my high school teachers knew I was writing anything, they would probably roll over and die. Come to think of it, they’re more than likely all dead by now! So, if there’s a word you’re unclear about, or a small spelling error you’re uncertain about, it’s not you it’s me.
If there’s one place on the planet that would be the last I would visit, it would be Italy! The people, the landscape, the food and the wine… Yes, this is my favorite place on Earth outside of home. I can talk of most areas of Italy since I have been there so many times. But, I want to narrow this to a special place in my heart called, Barbaresco, a small A.V.A. in the great region of the Piemonte – always in the shadow of Barolo which is much better known. It may not be for everyone, unless you want great wine, people, and a quiet peaceful, almost surreal, view of the world, food that will make you drool and a town as old as you can imagine. I won’t give you a history lesson or talk about the Romans and such things. Instead I want to move forward to 1859 when a great family called Gaja started making wine in the area.
I will again fast forward because, although the history is fascinating, my life’s experiences are what I choose to put in to words. And as there were many Gaja’s the one I know and the one I am proud to call a friend is the Greatest Gaja of all, Angelo! To understand this man from a small town of say 600 or so people is to love him. He has been credited with many firsts in a region that was slow to change over the centuries. Understanding tradition in the old world is half the battle to appreciate what he has accomplished. In a place some would say was lost in time, Angelo refused to be locked into a box. He knew there was a better way and single handedly put this small town on the wine world map. Imagine a town of 600 or so on the world stage! I could stop here but I won’t. (Click Continued to Read More)
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I knew sooner or later I would have to take on this subject. Since I have talked about it for years, I guess it’s time to lay it on the line. If a poll were taken amongst those considered to be some of the country’s most well known winemakers, most would not even consider using stems or the rackus of the grape cluster in their fermentations. They have little in the way of knowledge and are appalled at such heresy. If you asked someone what they think of D.R.C., that’s Domaine de la Romanee Conti, the holy grail of Pinot Noir from Burgundy, they would say, “It’s great.” But many have never even tasted that wine or Domaine Leroy, Dujac and the like. If they had tasted these world renowned wines they would say, “WOW! These wines are amazing – so complex! Some of the best I’ve ever tasted.” But tell them those great wines were made with stem inclusion (for years and centuries in DRC’s case) and they look dumbfounded.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from drinking great wine, then moving to making it is: you have to know what great wine is before you can pretend you’re one. Let’s put it another way. How can you make a great wine if all you’ve ever tasted in your life is mediocrity? If there was only one wine on the planet then that would be what wine was supposed to be! But thank goodness there’s not. It’s easy to say out of hand, “I don’t like stems” without realizing you might have a glass of wine in your hand that has been made that way and you’re enjoying the heck out of it. For those who have children: remember your child saying I don’t like that before he or she ever lifted up the fork? I rest my case. (Click Continued to Read More)
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