Odd Bacchus

Sparkling wine is always a welcome gift. I recently fell in love with this Keush Origins Brut from Armenia that I found at In Fine Spirits

I once held a party for a milestone birthday, and in contrast to the current fashion for “presence is present enough,” I requested actual presents. I had just started this blog, and I wanted some unusual wines. But I knew people needed a little more guidance than that. So I was very specific.

I said to please go into a wine shop, go up to a clerk and tell them exactly this: “Hello. I have a friend who writes a blog about unusual wines, and he has a birthday. He asked me to come into a wine shop, and ask an employee to help me find an unusual wine that costs $15 or less. Could you help me pick something out that he’ll like?”

It sounds simple, doesn’t it? And yet only perhaps two or three people actually did what I requested. The rest quailed in apparent terror at the thought of going to a wine shop and speaking with someone, and so they brought vodka or wine-themed napkins or, in one case, a corkscrew.

A corkscrew? Are you f’ing kidding me? I have a wine blog. What do you think I’ve been using to open the bottles I’ve been reviewing? My teeth?

I mentioned this story recently to a therapist friend of mine, and bursting into laughter, she exclaimed, “No one is ever going to buy you wine!” But why, I asked, since that’s the only thing I requested, and I told people exactly what to do? “Ha ha! It doesn’t matter! They’re afraid they’ll get it wrong, and then you’ll judge them and shame them.” Oh dear.

Of course. I was bumping up against the deathless stereotype of the obnoxious French sommelier who looks down on anyone who doesn’t know their Yellow Tail from their Yquem. Many civilians (non-wine geeks) seem to think that anyone passionate about the nitty-gritty of wine might be like that horrible person. And certainly, I’ve met the occasional blowhard at the Wine Bloggers Conference — sorry, Wine Media Conference — that is more interested in tooting his own vinous horn (it’s almost always a him) than in connecting with his fellow wine writers. That attitude comes from a place of fear and lack of self-esteem (see here for more on that). Remember that fact, should you ever encounter this unfortunate sort of person.

Few wine geeks I know, however, resemble anything like that archetypal French sommelier. We’re just people passionately interested in wine, and we want to try lots of new, delicious bottlings.

I have enough corkscrews.

So let’s make a deal. Because wine geeks are, in fact, ridiculously easy to shop for. We just want wine. Not wine accessories, not wine-themed merchandise… just wine.

Here’s how to pick out the perfect wine:

Go to a wine shop — not a grocery store — find an employee, and say something like the following: “Hi, I’m shopping for my friend who loves wine, and he/she is especially interested in _________. I’d like to spend about _______. Do you have anything like that?”

I understand that it’s scary — it must be, judging by what happened at that birthday party — but 99.9% of wine shop employees and owners will love to hear you say something like that, because it makes you easy to help. It’s in their interest to be friendly, rather than judgmental. (Though, of course, you do occasionally get a bad apple.) Don’t worry if your budget isn’t very high. Most wine shops carry bottles at a wide range of prices. In Fine Spirits, one of my favorite wine shops in Chicago, has some perfectly lovely bottles for around $10. And if you’re not willing to spend that on your friend, perhaps you shouldn’t bother getting them a gift at all.

If you don’t know what kind of wine your friend enjoys, ask their significant other, or if that doesn’t work, just get some sparkling wine. Almost everyone likes sparkling wine. If your friend doesn’t, feel free to tell them that Odd Bacchus thinks they’re weird.

And wine geeks! Your part of the bargain is that you will not, under any circumstances, make judgmental noises about a wine that someone has given you. Even if someone gives you something rather less than exciting, you can always turn it into sangria or, if the season is right, Feuerzangenbowle. If we want people to be unafraid to give us wine, we have to make it safe for people to do so. If we act judgmental about a wine gift, verbally or non-verbally, we’re telling the person who gave us the wine that they did something wrong, and being told you’re wrong feels terrible. Wine, it’s easy for us to forget, is kind of scary for a lot of people. That fear is irrational, yes, but it’s real nevertheless.

So do we all have a deal?

Merry Christmas, everyone! Here’s my Christmas list: Wine. Happy shopping!

I love it when someone reaches back into history for inspiration, and resurrects a wine or spirit that has been “lost” for years. A while back I wrote about how Robert Cooper of Charles Jacquin et Cie reintroduced Crème Yvette, and I’m proud to say that my article about some sparkling red Gevery-Chambertin, made in the style of a long-forgotten Burgundian AOC, won me a Millésima Blog Award.

So it was with no small measure of delight that I sat down, with my cohost Liz Barrett, to interview Champagne maker Delphine Vesselle of Champagne Jean Vesselle. First, she produces Grower Champagne, which means that she makes Champagne from grapes grown in her own vineyards. Most Champagne labels, including almost all the famous ones like Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Krug, blend grapes from across the region to make their sparkling wines. Vesselle has full control of her grapes, from spring pruning through to harvest, pressing and fermentation.

Second, Vesselle produces a now-unusual style of Champagne called Oeil de Perdrix. Once common in and around the Pinot Noir-rich town of Bouzy, home to Champagne Jean Vesselle, Oeil de Perdrix translates as “eye of a partridge,” the color of which this amber Champagne apparently resembles. What makes Oeil de Perdrix different from a standard rosé is that the latter results from purposeful skin contact at the time of pressing in the winery. Oeil de Perdrix happens more en route from the vineyard. Bouzy’s warmer sites can really ripen Pinot Noir, and if the grapes are ripe enough when picked, they gently press themselves and start to macerate before they even make it to the winery. Hence the orangey tinge that’s not quite a rosé.

Early in the 20th century, big Champagne houses decided they wanted Champagne that was either rosé or not, not something in between, and so Oeil de Perdrix fell out of favor. It was Delphine Vesselle’s father who resurrected the style, as she relates in the interview. And my word, it is absolutely delicious.

You can watch our interview with the charming and very funny Delphine Vesselle here, filmed at the headquarters of Chicago importer and distributor H2Vino:

And to learn more about Grower Champagne, check out my articles about it here and here. If you want to impress a wine lover this season, Grower Champagne is a perfect gift!

Move over, Google Maps. Yes, you got me through my Croatian road trip, but another app has stolen my heart. I discovered Wine Game when I checked into this year’s Wine Bloggers Conference. My cursory glance at the promotional materials on the sign-in table turned to keen interest when I saw the words “blind tasting” and “game.” Blind tasting is one of my favorite challenges, so much so that my friend Liz and I started a web series about it.

Fortunately, Wine Game investor Dorian Patchin was also attending the conference. We took time to film a quick round of Wine Game with him, in order to learn about the app and show off our blind-tasting talents (I’m afraid I accomplished the former goal more so than the latter.) He selected two bottles for us to try, and my goodness, he did seem to enjoy it when we struggled. But in spite of the struggles, or perhaps because of them, we had a sensational time playing Wine Game.

The app is free, so it’s a great way to organize a blind-tasting party with your friends. Who doesn’t love a good drinking game? And for you Luddites without smart phones, you can use a web-based version as well. Here’s how it works!

If you liked this Name That Wine video, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel! Subscribers are clearly superior human beings.

Having fun at Speed Blogging.

Complaints about Speed Blogging seem to be more common than usual this year, though it’s always been a bit of a controversial event at the Wine Bloggers Conference. Speed Blogging is, simply put, controlled chaos.

The organizers like to call it “Speed dating for wine,” which is a fairly apt description, except that each winery has a five-minute date with a table of 10 bloggers, not just one. When that five minutes is up, they move on to the next table, and we bloggers receive our next “date,” ready or not.

As I described in my previous post, there tends to be a lot of shouting. “What’s the retail price?” What’s your Twitter handle?” “Who are you? What? The winemaker? Spell your name. I said SPELL YOUR NAME.” This is not the genteel, vaguely aristocratic atmosphere most people picture when they hear the words “wine tasting.”

People complain that this format doesn’t do justice to the wines, that it’s impossible to taste and listen and take notes and take photographs in the allotted time, and basically that this isn’t they way they usually taste wine.

Fiddlesticks. Unless you’re in a seminar setting, most wine tastings are louder and more chaotic than people — even wine professionals — seem to realize. A walk-around tasting, the most common wine-tasting format, tends to be crowded and noisy. Tasters jostle to get to the most popular tables, pourers are trying to talk about the wines — often several at once — and everyone is sharing tasting notes and impressions with each other. Even a very hotsy-totsy “Silent Tasting” I once attended in Bordeaux was surprisingly loud.

It’s far more common to be surrounded by distractions while wine tasting than not, unless you prefer to drink at home alone, of course. Speed Blogging has helped me to focus on a wine and form an impression of it quickly, in spite of what’s happening around me. It’s an important skill that’s served me well over the years.

And so, to the white wines. Whites aren’t nearly as popular to produce in Washington as reds, but the ones they do make tend to be quite good. There was only one wine I really didn’t care for in this round of Speed Tasting, and it came from elsewhere.

2015 Gård Vintners Roussanne: Washington winemaker Aryn Morell told us that this Rhône variety tends to be “oily and full, and there’s no reason to hide that.” And he does not. This Roussanne has heft! I love it. Pear/apple fruit, balanced oak and cream, lightening into acids, white-pepper spice and a touch of eucalyptus freshness… It’s right up my alley. This Norwegian-owned winery made its first vintage just 12 years ago in 2006, but they know what they’re doing. A great deal for $24.

2017 Otis Kenyon Wine Roussanne: Like the Gård, this Roussanne comes from the Lawrence Vineyards, but it’s a very different wine. It has a more savory aroma, rather than fresh and heady. “Our Roussanne is definitely meant to be crisp,” owner Muriel Kenyon explained. It had cool and clean pink-lady apple fruit, and focused acids that, interestingly, had a darker feel than the Gård’s. Excellent balance. This is your summer Roussanne, and the Gård is your winter Roussanne. Another very fine buy at $23.

Consternation is the most common Speed Blogging facial expression.

2016 L’Ecole No. 41 Semillon Columbia Valley: Winemaker Marty Clubb was in the middle of his 36th harvest when he poured this Semillon for us. Talk about dividing your focus! I’m very glad he took time out to present his wine, a Bordeaux-style blend of 76% Semillon and 14% Sauvignon Blanc. It had an unexpected and enjoyable note of rosemary in the aroma, and lightly honeyed fruit followed by white-pepper spice and a dry finish. It was clear how this sort of wine can become Sauternes. Clubb told is that “Semillon is the most underappreciated white grape on the planet,” and I’m inclined to agree (though Furmint is also up there). This is an absolute steal for $15.

2018 Peter Yealands Sauvignon Blanc:  One sniff gave this wine away as a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. “It’s like you’re mowing a lawn in a lime orchard,” exclaimed Aspiring Wino Jeff Colden. I also noticed a little b.o. funk in there as it warmed and opened, adding interest. It’s a very fresh and bright and juicy wine, but it’s a bit of a grass and grapefruit bomb for my taste. You won’t catch me spending $20 on a bottle any time soon, but if you like grassy New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, this wine won’t disappoint.

2017 Desert Wind “Heritage Series” Chardonnay:  Desert Wind purchased a vineyard parcel on a south-facing hillside of Washington’s famous Wahluke Slope in the 1990s, and I guess the 1990s means “heritage” nowadays? Yikes. In any case, this wine kept me in suspense. It started very creamy, and it felt at first like it was totally unbalanced. But then, just before all was lost, some focused acids and a perk of white pepper kicked in, followed by a touch of tannin on the finish, drying the tongue. Would I buy it for $28? I just might.

Go Uruguay!

2017 Bodega Bouza Albariño: An Albariño from Uruguay! Now we’re talking. “I think this is one of the whites with the best potential in Uruguay,” the presenter said as she poured. The family of the winery’s owner was from Galicia in Spain, the original home of Albariño. They brought back cuttings and planted them in Uruguay 18 years ago. The wine had dry herbs on nose, with straw and something surprisingly dark underneath. A very appealing and unusual aroma! But when you drink it, it’s bright, with broad granny smith apple acids, some serious freshness, and a delightful mineral note on the finish. An excellent value at $20!

2017 Hard Roe to Hoe Dry Riesling: Who would have guessed that the innocent-looking rowboat depicted on the label of this wine was a Lake Chelan shuttle service from Lucerne to a brothel? The winery tasting room has a bordello theme, “so keep in mind, it’s not kid friendly,” we were warned. I quite liked the unexpected note of butterscotch in this Washington Riesling’s aroma, with some freshness giving it a lift. It tasted of ripe appley fruit, balanced with lots of sharp, focused spice and prickly acids. If you think all Riesling is sweet, try this one — there is nothing sweet about it, except perhaps for a whisper of a butterscotch deep in the finish. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a bottle for $19.

2016 Rodney Strong Vineyards Chalk Hill Chardonnay: This California Chardonnay comes from Chalk Hill, part of the larger Russian River Valley AVA (Chalk Hill has volcanic ash soils distinct from rest of the AVA). It moved from lush fruit — creamy pear and peach — to ample spice and a lift of freshness. And did I mention oak? OAK. There’s a bunch of it. That won’t please everyone, but since the wine ends spicy and fresh, it felt balanced, and I quite enjoyed it. I would love to try it with food. The price tag of $22 seems about right.

2016 Cadaretta SBS: Oak-phobes should try this wine instead, aged entirely in stainless steel. A blend of 67% Sauvignon Blanc and 33% Semillon, it also has no malolactic fermentation, which means you also won’t find much creaminess. This wine is the only white this Washington winery makes, so it had better be good, right? And it was. It had a fresh, warmly spicy aroma, along with an ample citrus note. The wine was delicate and perfumed, with a grounding savory note and a lift of bright, focused acids at the end. Wow, it’s a real value at $23! I would have guessed it was some sort of Alsatian something or other.

2016 Frank Family Vineyards Carneros Chardonnay: Made from Napa’s Lewis Vineyard, this Chardonnay presented lots of fresh hay and straw in the aroma, along with some overripe apple. Big ripe apple flavors moved gracefully to acids to oak to white pepper spice, to some freshness and minerality on the ringing finish. It’s pricey at $38, but it’s still a real value. A great finish to Speed Blogging!

For more Speed Blogging action, check out this post about the reds!