Wine News Review

Category: Feature Story

  • Weekend wine list — experts’ picks: From crisp Viognier to Veltliner

    Comparing the picks: A survey of recent selections from top wine experts. Whenever there’s an option, I highlight the more-affordable wines, focusing on possible choices for weekend purchases. Check their websites for full descriptions and other picks:

    2006 Anakena Single Vineyard Viognier Rapel Valley, Chile:
    Natalie MacLean — “crisp, well-balanced Viognier,” her best value white. $15.95

    2005 Jekel Pinot Noir, Monterey County, Calif.:
    Jerry Shriver — “beautiful, soft and light sipper,” not to mention: “Love, love, love this price.” $15

    Casa Silva 2005 Carmenère Los Lingues Estate:
    Robert Parker — “superb aromatic array” with lots of structure. $7

    Domäne Wachau (Freie Weingärtner) ‘Terrassen; Federspiel’ 2006 (Wachau):
    Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher — “simply couldn’t believe” the price for for this “fascinating and fine” Austrian Grüner Veltliner. $11.99

    2006 J Pinot Gris (J Vineyards and Winery in the Russian River Valley of California’s Sonoma County):
    Edward Deitch — “lush and beautiful,” with notes of pear, white peach and strawberry. $20

    Gruet Brut NV New Mexico:
    Jancis Robinson — “refreshingly zesty and dry,” tastes as though it should cost at least twice its price. $13-$15

    2006 Cono Sur Casablanca Valley Sauvignon Blanc:
    Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg — “a perfect match of soft, creamy flavors, making it difficult to tell where the oyster ends and the wine begins.” $12

    2004 Benziger Family Winery Sonoma County Merlot:
    Olivia Wu — “easy to like and easy to drink … it hits all the right Merlot notes” $19

    Nothing tempting? Or maybe just not available at the local wine shop? Try browsing the latest wine reports from this custom collection of hundreds of news websites — filtered for bargains, continuously updated, and quick and easy to scan:

    • Reds (from Beaujolais to Zinfandel)
    • Whites (from Chablis to Sauvignon Blanc).

    To hit closer to home, try WNR’s Advanced Wine Search tool and see what wine finds local columnists and wine experts may be writing about in your area. Once there, just type in your city and state (within quotation marks, as in, “Napa, California”), to get results ranked by relevance.

    Or dig into some perennial standbys at SFGate.com’s Top 100 Wines of 2006, the Top 100 of 2006 list (PDF download) from Wine Spectator and the list of 50 Wines You Can Always Trust from Food & Wine.

    Attracted to a bottle that’s advertised in the local paper or sitting on the local wine store shelf?

    Do a little background research with Wine Enthusiast’s free, searchable Wine Buying Guide—either with a specific name or by types and price. For a little extra info, try Robert Parker’s handy Vintage Chart. Or see what the online wine community says about it with the search tools at cork’d, snooth or Wine Log.

    Once you’ve selected the wine, you naturally want to decide what to eat with it. For some savvy guidance, try Natalie MacLean’s Wine & Food Matcher, which boasts a database of 360,000 wine-food pairings.

    The Web is about community. So take a moment to comment about your experience with a particular wine — to help steer others to or away from it. And of course, have a great weekend!

  • Non-guilty pleasures dept: Evidence of wine’s health benefits mounts

    This is the story about how a young doctor learned an amusing lesson from a patient, who would be me.

    It happened several years ago, when I went for an annual checkup. My regular doctor was busy, so a young assistant saw me. Before the breathing and the stethoscoping started, we sat together for the usual health-related Q&A. The conversation got interesting when we came to the part about what substances I ingest. It went something like this:

    Doctor: Do you take any illegal drugs?

    Me: No.

    Doctor: Do you drink alcohol?

    Me: Yes.

    At that point, he stopped writing on his clipboard and looked at me inquisitively.

    Me: I like to drink wine with dinner. I guess I picked that up from my father.

    Doctor: How is your father?

    Me: He’s dead.

    Doctor (looking like he was ready to pounce): And how old was he?

    Me: Ninety-three.

    Realizing there was little to pounce on, the doctor said something akin to, “Oh,” and then proceeded to the remaining questions.

    I can’t say whether or not wine contributed to my father’s longevity. But in the years that have followed that medical checkup, there have been a variety of reports about wine’s health benefits, leading me to suspect the young doctor probably doesn’t look so askance any more when a patient admits to wine drinking.

    The evidence of wine’s salutary effect continues to mount.

    Hippocrates, father of medicine, as envisioned by a Byzantine artist.
    Hippocrates, father of medicine, as envisioned by a Byzantine artist.

    From: University of Virginia Health Sciences Library

    The latest report is a review published today of the book “The Red Wine Diet” by scientist Roger Corder, “who insists that drinking red wine regularly is good for just about everything that might ail you, including heart disease, diabetes and dementia.”

    A cardiovascular expert and professor of therapeutics at London’s William Harvey Research Institute, Corder doesn’t deny the destructiveness of alcohol abuse. But he extols the value of moderate wine use, drawing on his own research and historical documentation, including writings of the likes of the 5th century B.C. Greek physician Hippocrates, who prescribed wine as an antiseptic and remedy for other ailments.

    Corder, according to the report, even recommends specific wines, including: “Malbec Riserva from Altos Las Hormigas in Argentina, Chateau Montaiguillon and especially those French wines made with tannat grapes in Madiran. The best U.S. wines rated are Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Reserve from California and Matthew Cellars Red from Washington state.”

    Earlier this month, Britain’s Times Online reported that patients suffering from a rare disease would be among the first to try a new drug based on the “magic ingredient” in red wine.

    The chemical “could lead to a whole family of new drugs with powerful effects against the diseases of ageing,” the report said, adding that a version of the chemical is being tried in India for use against diabetes, “and newer versions hundreds of times more powerful are in the pipeline.”

    In February, Dutch researchers told the American Heart Association’s 47th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention that “drinking a little alcohol every day, especially wine, may be associated with an increase in life expectancy,” according to the meeting reports: 

    “The researchers found that a light intake of alcohol (on average less than one glass per day) was associated with a lower rate of cardiovascular death and death from all causes. When compared to spirits and beer, consumption of small amounts of wine, about a half a glass a day, was associated with the lowest levels of all-cause and cardiovascular deaths.”

    Who knows whether other findings someday will rebut these reports? But for the time being at least, you shouldn’t feel intimidated telling your physician about your fondness for wine. He may even approve.

     

  • Weekend wine list — experts’ picks: From Cotes du Rhone to Mendocino

    Comparing the faves: A survey of recent selections from respected wine experts. Whenever there’s an option, I highlight their more-affordable picks. Check out their websites for background and other picks:

    2006 Anakena Single Vineyard Viognier Rapel Valley, Chile:
    Natalie MacLean dubs it the best value among her recent white-wine selections, a “gorgeous Viognier!” $15.95

    2005 Jean-Luc Colombo Les Abeilles Cotes du Rhone:
    Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg describe this as slightly lighter than California pinot noir, with “more earthiness than fruit.” $10

    Saint André de Figuière “Cuvée Valerie” Côtes de Provence 2006:
    Dave McIntyre finds in it a “sunny, rejuvenating acidity and slight, enticingly herbaceous flavor.” $14

    2006 Husch Sauvignon Blanc, Mendocino, Calif.:
    Jerry Shriver describes it as “crisp and focused,” with melon and grapefruit flavors that should make it “perfect for Indian summer sipping.” About $13

    2006 Castello Banfi San Angelo Pinot Grigio:
    Peter M. Gianotti calls it a “refreshing Tuscan, with citrus notes.” $20

    Nothing tempting? Or just not available at the local wine shop?

    Dig into some perennial standbys at SFGate.com’s Top 100 Wines of 2006, the Top 100 of 2006 list (PDF download) from Wine Spectator and the list of 50 Wines You Can Always Trust from Food & Wine.

    Attracted to a bottle that’s advertised in the local paper or sitting on the local wine store shelf?

    Do a little background research with Wine Enthusiast’s free, searchable Wine Buying Guide—either with a specific name or by types and price. For a little extra info, try Robert Parker’s handy Vintage Chart. Or see what the online wine community says about it with the search tools at cork’d, snooth or Wine Log.

    Once you’ve selected the wine, you naturally want to decide what to eat with it. For some savvy guidance, try Natalie MacLean’s Wine & Food Matcher, which boasts a database of 360,000 wine-food pairings.

    Feel free to share your experiences. And of course, enjoy!

     

  • Web sips: Wine headlines, 9/13/07

    Handpicked stories from across the Web…

    Have wine experts forgotten the virtues of white wine?
    Wine diva Jancis Robinson declares: “Dry white wine can be every bit as ‘serious’ as red.” Makes you thirsty just reading about it.

    French launch carton of wine with a straw
    Sacré bleu! Will it take this junk-food approach to win over France’s declining wine youth market? “…more amusing,” declares a straw-enamored 21-year-old Parisian.

    No wine? Wine not?
    And yet stateside, wine is making a comeback among college students. “I think it’s more social because you’re not down chugging beer, you’re able to sip,” says an observant Tulsa, Okla., college junior.

    Snobless Sipping Where a Glassful Is Just a Glassful
    Pay an intoxicating visit to San Francisco’s eclectic wine-bar scene.

    Napa couple shares wine profits with the children of fallen soldiers
    “No matter how you feel about the war (in Iraq), it’s about the kids.”

    Patterning itself after the home of France’s classic Pinot Noir, the Willamette Valley is becoming a wine country destination unto itself
    If this mouth-watering review of wines and wineries doesn’t get you packing to Oregon, nothing will.

    Montepulciano high and low
    The 30 Second Wine Advisor explains the differences in these far-apart Italian reds. Valuable info next time you’ve got a rib-eye ready for the barbecue.

    Thirsty for more news? Follow up this serving of new and notable headlines by digging into continuously updated feeds from national and international news outlets: The focus is on red and white wine bargains.

     

  • An interview with Natalie MacLean: Why wine and the Web make a perfect match

     

    “Wine is bottled poetry.”
    — Robert Louis Stevenson

     

    Lucky for me, Red, White and Drunk All Over by Natalie MacLean was one of the first books I picked up when I started thinking about doing a wine blog.

    For MacLean, writing about wine is not an academic exercise, a parsing of the chemical responses upon the tongue, a conjugation of fruit groups or a diagram of geographical factors. Important though they are to figuring out how and why certain flavors and aromas play out on the senses, those elements alone are a flat description of a particular wine’s character.

    Natalie MacLean
    Natalie MacLean, named the World’s Best Drink Writer at the World Food Media Awards, has won four James Beard Journalism Awards, including the MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award.

    As MacLean explains in the chapter “The Making of a Wine Lover,” what really counts — what adds depth to the description — is “the way a glass of wine makes me feel.” Like the liveliness that infuses a thirst-quenching vintage, the book’s sensual dimension makes the act of learning and writing about wine seem like great fun to a would-be blogger.

    The book was encouraging in a couple other ways, too.

    First of all, there’s MacLean’s confidence-enhancing personal story — how one of today’s superstars in the field stumbled her way through an introductory tasting course but would eventually learn enough to securely hold her own in the presence of the fiercely opinionated French wine figure Lalou Bize-Leroy, known as “La Tigresse,” who makes it a point to openly scoff at wine writers.

    Last but not least is the example MacLean set in launching her own website, Nat Decants, and thereby demonstrating what a perfect match wine and the Internet make. The site features regularly updated wine picks, instructive articles, access to a monthly free electronic newsletter (with 75,000 subscribers) and a Wine & Food Matcher boasting a database of 360,000 wine-food pairings.

    Thanks to the Web, it has never been easier to become knowledgeable about wine and to connect with others who share an interest in it, as MacLean notes in her book.

    This article itself is proof of Web’s connection-building power. Imagine my surprise when, out of the blue, I got an e-mail message from MacLean thanking me for quoting her review of a Babich sauvignon blanc in one of my posts. Like any self-respecting blogger, I immediately asked her for an interview, to help flesh out some of the thoughts from her book about the relationship between the Web and the world of wine. Here’s our e-mail Q&A:

    VTK: What’s been the Web’s main impact on the wine consumer and producer?

    NM: The web has helped to democratize wine: There’s so much information online that anyone anywhere can learn about it. It’s also helped wine lovers who share a passion to “meet” through chat groups, forums and blogs.

    VTK: How has it affected your work and personal discoveries about wine?

    NM: The Internet helps tremendously when I’m researching an obscure subject. As well, I often ask the subscribers to my free e-newsletter for their help.

    VTK: With so many brands, varieties and vintages available through the Internet, it may at times feel a little bewildering for the average consumer. What should they do to make the best choices and take full advantage of all the information out there?

    NM: I think that consumers still need to find someone to trust as their guide. Just as they might follow a particular columnist in their local paper, they might also try finding a website or blogger whose taste they share.

    VTK: Why did you decide to create a website?

    NM: To connect more immediately with my readers in a way I can’t do through print. They hit reply and instantly let me know what they think of what I’ve written.

    VTK: What’s been your experience so far, in terms of audience engagement, personal satisfaction and other return for the time and effort? Any anecdotes you can share?

    NM: There’s nothing more satisfying than being connected online with my readers. Writing is a lonely job and they often sustain me through their comments and e-mails. One particular note stands out: A gentleman who is blind in Chicago subscribes to my newsletter. His computer reads it aloud to him. He’s hoping to become a sommelier.

    VTK: What wine-related sites are your favorites?

    NM: I like wine-searcher.com for finding wines and their prices. I also enjoy following the stories and blog of the New York Times columnist Eric Asimov at nytimes.com.