Joe Riley

I think that Zin is the way to go. Uniquely American. Petite Syrah (or Sirah) is known in France as Duriff and isn't widely grown, but it is there. Go with a Ridge.

Zora, that's an awesome story When Stag's Leap Winery Petite Syrah is on, baby it is ON! All too often it's on restaurant allocation but we get a bit of it from time to time. Incidentally, my sister has bought me a subscription to CGCW for almost 20 years now I think. I like the way they review, and Paul Forrester, the General Manager of Bonny Doon Vineyards one told me precisely how Olken and Singer go about their reviewing process. In short, it is VERY thorough and involves tasting over the course of an entire evening and retasting each wine at least twice, including with food. If they are high on a wine, it is usually very credible. If they are not, it is usually with very good reason, but their COMMENTS are much more important than their star system, and one really misses out if they just look to see if a wine got 1, 2 or 3 stars. The comments are invaluable.

Raisa, I know exactly what you mean. One birthday several years ago, I had the pleasure of Todd Gray making me a special dinner at Equinox. One of the dishes was a black truffle torte stuffed with fois gras, and they paired it with a Maculan Torcolato dessert wine. Now, I was no stranger to dessert wines, but this qualifies as possibly one of the greatest wine/food pairings I could ever possibly imagine. I'm talking total "wine-gasm" here. It was absolute heaven. I STILL haven't made it to 2941 yet either :-(

Mark, one of my greatest culinary regrets is that I never once was in the position to enjoy a dinner at Jean Louis. In its heydey, JL was well beyond my means and by the time I could actually consider making a dinner reservation there, it had rung down the curtains for the last time. You got to enjoy wines that weren't just great, they were legendary, historical triumphs. What wonderful moments those must have been. Great post!

Bravo, Joe! That was a lovely post. You practically made me feel as though I was there. I envy you your trip.

Please, Zora - call me Joe, we're all friends here, right? :-) I appreciate your taking the time to answer my questions. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm truly not trying to challenge you to make a point or do anything else in this thread, really. If anything, I'm attempting to better understand the buying habits of knowledgeable wine consumers, that's all. Joe H hardly represents my "worst nightmare", and I'm not trying to "quash any trends with persuasive rhetoric". I'd like to think that I'm merely pointing out the positive aspects of traditional wine retail, since they seem to take a bit of a bashing here, as well as point out that there are trade-offs in every aspect of commerce. 95% of my business is telephone deliver and events. Most of my non-catering and corporate customers don't have the time, nor want to have to TAKE the time to do in-depth Internet shopping and research, they have other interests which occupy their time. They'd rather place themselves into the hands of a trusted professional and I'm pleased when they choose me to help them. If I've offended you or come across as hostile, please forgive me, it was never my intention - I don't post "angry". Inflection, timber and nuance can get misconstrued on message boards. I'm merely trying to be earnest, and Don seems to prefer that threads not get "chatty", so I'm doing my best to comply with his wishes. Since it seems that you've made the tour of many local wine establishments, I invite you to drop by sometime and just check us out. Have a meal at Chef Geoff's next door or shop at Balducci's and make an afternoon of it. You don't have to buy anything (though I'd be willing to make it worth your while :-) but you might be surprised at what we have to offer. Not a challenge, just a friendly invitation. Take it for what it is worth. I won't be offended if you don't.

It occured to me today that one of the moments that I truly find rewarding in my job is when I can help a customer to discover what I call that "Ah-ha!" moment, that moment where someone tastes a new type of wine, or takes a chance on a wine that they've never heard of before and has that little vinous epiphany where a door that they never knew existed opens for them, and a gorgeous ray of elightened understanding comes through and they say to themselves, "Damn, this is really great stuff!" (or words to that effect). We've all had them. Maybe it was the first great red Burgundy that you drank, or some Rhône wine that turned your head, or a truly majestic Riesling that took your breath away. Someone just posted the other day about a 1900 Margaux and a 1961 Latour tasted with friends at Marcel's (please forgive me, I don't have their name handy, but it was a great post). I can remember my first Austrian white wines, and some 1996 German Rieslings and Chablis that electrified every synapse in my brain. I'd like to see some folks post about their own favorite "Ah-ha!" moments with wine. This shouldn't be a thread about bragging or (*shudder*) "wine-upmanship", but simply some personal reminiscences of some wine drinking experiences that allowed for a personal wine epiphany, reminding you just why you enjoy the wine experience so much. Tell me some of yours and I'll tell you some of mine

As usual, I'm impressed by what my collegue in wine retail, David Raines, has to say. I've mentioned previously that he appreciates being reprinted as long as it is in it's entirety (of course) The Gordon's Daily Flash: Monday January 30, 2006 I don't believe I've ever featured Richard's Wild Irish Rose, but in point of fact RWIR is the world's most successful wine. It was the kernal from which grew what is now known as Constellation Brands, the world's largest drinks company. Constellation is the company that recently bought the Robert Mondavi Winery, so in a very real sense, Richard's Wild Irish Rose is now proprietor of the winery that put Napa Valley, and with it the entire American quality wine industry, on the map. Oy! Constellation has also been in the (trade) news lately for a survey they funded on the way consumers, American consumers at least, approach wine. What they found was that: * 12% are knowlegeable about wine * 20% feel wine enhances their image * 15% are looking for value and are willing to work a little to find it * 16% will only consider wines hallowed by long tradition * 14% will drink any wine at all and be perfectly happy with it, and * 23% are "completely overwhelmed" You would think that knowing all that would be a great help to all of us in the trade. But I think we've already been doing well with the knowlegable consumers, the value conscious consumers and the traditionalists. And I'm not sure what we can do to attract the image conscious without alienating the value seekers. Of course there are more OF the image conscious consumers than there are of value seekers. But since I've always been a value seeker myself, it's hard to imagine turning my back on my own tribe. Which leaves us with the overwhelmed as a potential source of additional sales. As I understand it these are people who have never cared about wine or bothered to learn anything about it. They don't go into a wine store except the day before Thanksgiving, the day before Christmas, and the day before they have dinner with the boss. On second thought, I don't think their three bottles a year are going to make that much difference to us, either. So I guess we'll have to continue catering to those of you already with us, those of you who know wine, know the relative values of different wines, and enjoy the thought that you're making a connection with a long and lovingly advanced tradition every time you drink a wine that honestly expresses its physical and cultural origins. If you DO know someone who's overwhelmed by it all, though, send them our way. We'll try to take care of them the same way we take care of you. -David Raines

That's an excellent point. There are scores (pardon the pun) of wines that escape the notice of the wine press because they are too esoteric or considered "nitch" marketing. How many great U.S. wine importers have to choose not to import certain wines because, as much as they may love them, they realize the cruel reality of the marketplace will render them all but unsaleable. JParrot, have you ever had the Jacques Puffeney wines from Arbois? He is THE guy in Arbois, and someone whom Neal Rosenthal feels a special kinship with. His wines are truly wonderful and lovely, but completely outside the personal flavor paradigms of most U.S. wine drinkers, even those who profess a preference for French wines. I love them, but I only have one wine in stock, and only a couple of customers that I know of who are interested in them. It's a pity. I really love the wines and wish I could sell more of them.

Seems to me that last year, it was held in March. I could be mistaken. Two years ago it was at the very end of February.

I'm sorry Joe, but were you responding to me? It looks as though you were addressing that post directly towards me, but I wasn't sure. My post previous to yours was asking an honest question of Zora, I'd truly like to know the answer to it. If that system works for you, more power to you. I think that there's room for everybody. I've shopped online before, and if you know precisely what you're looking for, it can be quite a boon. Even you must admit though, that it can be fraught with peril. Where is your wine being stored before it is shipped? How is the shipper treating it? Is it sitting on some loading dock somewhere in the sun being baked? What if it gets the Samsonite treatment, is your order insured? Unless some shippers have changed their policies, wine is not insured. The Internet store doesn't offer virtual tasting, do they? So many stores have tastings where you can decide for yourself on the spot if you want that wine. And you're fooling yourself if you think that Congress is done with the issue of sales tax on Internet shipments. I forsee a day when every online merchant will be required to collect all sales taxes per jurisdiction. Right now, I am in the process of working with some good customers on their 2001 Brunello pre-orders. Do the Internet wine shops have pre-arrival offerings that you can secure pre-arrival wines with? You say, "Rather than complain, take the oportunity to go after this market."? I'm not complaining. There will ALWAYS be a significant portion of the marketplace that puts a premium on service vs. potential savings - heck, there are personal shoppers, for goodness sake - and we are here to help them.

That's excellent news, Zora. Glad to hear it. I do have to ask you this though: What is your recourse if any of your wines are corked or otherwise flawed? Or if you just plain don't like something that you ordered? Are you forced to write it off as a trade-off for the price you paid? If you'd purchased them from a retailer such as myself, I would, of course, immediately credit you or swap out the bad bottles, or otherwise find a way to satisfy you.

I think there's an unmined nugget of inspiration here. How would it be if restaurants took the following approach: Create a wine list with a reasonable retail-style mark-up, and proclaim that wine service includes the cost of the bottle plus, say, $20 (or $25, whatever) for the service and the stemware. I think that this would cause people to order more expensive wines, the thought being, "Well, if we're already paying $X for the service, we ought to at least treat ourselves to better wine", right? This way, the restaurant has made a reasonable profit on the wine, and the service is taken care of in a consistent manner. I think that this could work because I, for one, don't order wine in a restaurant that I would drink every day, I look for special wines or ones that I'm curious about. You go out to a restaurant to order food that you can't experience at home, so it just stands to reason that you should order wine that you wouldn't have at home, either. If the staff is particularly excited about a wine, then it's worth taking the chance. Terry Theise once wrote (paraphrasing here) that he ordered at a restaurant and his waiter exclaimed that he had a wine that would be "killer" with that dish. Terry didn't even hesitate to ask what it was, he simply said, "Send it!". It's an admittedly gonzo approach to food and wine pairing, but if you're in for adventure and fun, it can be quite the eye-opener, and I enjoy having my horizons broadened by the restaurant experience.

Good Lord, what an evening! They say that timing is everything, and you certainly showed how rewarding good timing can be! You WALKED from Corduroy to the Four Seasons? That's a heck of a hike, and after a full meal, too. I'd have taken a taxi in a heartbeat. I'd have given a significant body part to taste that '61 Latour. The idea of the 1900 Margaux is fascinating, and it's wonderful to know that it held up so well, but I'm not sure how well I could really "enjoy" it, as I have no frame of reference for wines that ancient. I think my overal impression would have been one of simple relief that A) It wasn't corked and that it wasn't dead. Thanks for sharing this incredible experience.

Today's sous-chefs, chefs-de-cuisine, chefs-de-partee et. al. are tomorrow's executive chefs. In a well-regarded restaurant, I feel confident that the meal I'm ordering is as the executive chef envisioned. It's really fun, however, to get to know some of these folks and allow them to experiment with you, try out their own variations. The chefs who get completely excited and want to set their culinary passions loose for your benefit are people to keep an eye on and take advantage of their generosity of spirit. I'm every chef's dream diner. I've been properly educated by professional restaurant friends of mine as to what really goes on in the kitchen, how the flow of a busy evening unfolds, and I have almost boundless patience because I understand how it all works. I am also sympathetic to the feelings of service workers who are expected to be "on" at all times. I also tip well - a minimum of 20%, and I would really have to be pushed to my breaking point to do less than that. I'm happy with almost anything that is presented to me because I'm always curious about foods that I'm unfamiliar with, and since I can't cook, I'm really just awfully pleased to get a superior meal cooked for me. It is my worst indulgence, but such a pleasant one.

Nice report Dean - many thanks for your insightful observations. I'll put your analysis to good use. Yeah, we're getting inundated with offerings for the 2001's right now. I have to rely upon some people I know who are fair and give me the straight analysis of the vintage, since this will be an extremely press-driven vintage and many wines will only be available to me on a pre-sell basis. In other words, I won't get to taste many of them. If this vintage is anything like 1997, then they will mostly sell themselves, but I'd prefer wines from a style like 1996. I await the sober analysis of people whom I've trusted in the past.

I knew that I liked you for a reason. Now I remember why

Kudos for doing some research. You're correct, there can be a disparity between what they have planted and what is actually used in any given year's blend. It mostly depends upon which ripens best, and when, and if excess rain played any part that year.

Not quite. The vineyards of Cheval Blanc are planted thusly: Merlot 39%, Cabernet Franc 57%, Malbec 3%, Cabernet Sauvignon 1% And the character of Miles in "Sideways" didn't shoot himself in the foot with that line, the only real contradiction is when he and his friend are at the winery with the character played by Sandra Oh pouring Cabernet Franc for them. He disparages Cabernet Franc in that scene, which is ironic given his love of Cheval Blanc and the prized bottle of the '61 in his collection. (since this isn't a film board, I won't take issue with your assessment of "Sideways" as a "over-exposed and ghastly movie" here, except to say that I thought that it was so originally-written and well-made that I was surprised that it got noticed at all, it was such a small film that grew legs. Great performances by all and superb writing. But that's just my $0.02) In Mile's defense though, there are oceans of mediocre, confectionary, over-cropped Merlot on the market, and I think that this was his primary objection in the film, he simply didn't want to be subjected to that. That seemingly throw-away line did indeed have an impact on Merlot sales for a time afterward, but I think that it will be forgotten after a while, a passing fad. I no longer seem to encounter customers who are embarassed to ask for it. I applaud that it took something like a Hollywood film to expose Pinot Noir for the lovely wine that it can be, though it has resulted in some embarassing shortages. Sure, there is great Merlot to be found from a variety of places. Italy, the south of France as you mentioned, even New Zealand. I've had good ones from South Africa and Argentina. There are some good California and Washington State Merlots also. No, it's neigh well impossible to find a substitute for Petrus, but delicious examples exist nonetheless. Too many good ones to list here. I remember several years ago speaking with Paul Forrester, the General manager of Bonny Doon Vineyards. He was decrying the fact that they's lost their source for Grenache fruit for their Clos de Gilroy bottling. The vineyard owner, in Hecker Pass, had replanted the vineyard to Merlot, a phenomenon that Paul referred to as "merlonoma" . I think the Merlot problem in the U.S. will take a few more years to resolve itself, for vines to reach a certain age and for some producers to focus more on quality than quantity.

No, just seconding what jparrot said. North Berkley isn't someone that I'd want to buy from because of their business practices. I think that they do more harm than good, and "their" bottlings are not nearly as interesting or true to character as the same wines via someone such as Peter Vezan, who is non-interventionist. Perhaps the cork was faulty. To answer your question, corks don't have to say anything on them. "Mis en bouteille a la propriete" is pretty standard for wineries that practice estate bottling.

The Twenty Rows "The Grappler" is a favorite of mine, too. It is simply awesome, and I love his description of it. I'm surprised that Sonoma can offer the Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage by the glass. I thought our supplier was out of it. Probably has some on restaurant hold. I think they should have mentioned what Black Salt does with their mini carafes of wine in two sizes.

I know that at auctions, old Bordeaux bottles are valued by numerous criteria including but not limited to the following: The condition of the label. The precise fill of the bottle (low shoulder, high shoulder, etc...) The condition of the foil. If the seller can provide an original bill of sale, or even some proof that the wine was stored in ideal conditions, that helps determine the value too. In the instance of my '65 B.V. Private Reserve, I know K&L's reputation for purchasing old cellars, and being that they are in San Francisco (i.e. only an hour or so south of where the wine originally came from) I surmised that the bottle had probably never left California and wouldn't have been purchased by K&L unless they were satisfied that it was worth selling. It's a gamble, to be sure, but I was lucky that my gamble paid off. At my store, we simply don't have the facility for properly storing and aging bottles properly. It's just a matter of space and our needs and focus. If you want to see a truly lovely little cellar in a wine shop, I encourage you to visit Mr. Mike Tilch at Silesia Liquors, near Ft. Washington, MD. What they have in their temperature-controlled facility is wonderful put it pales next to what Mike keeps at his own home. Mike has even been known to refuse to sell certain bottles because "they're not ready yet" He's a great guy and worthy of everyone's patronage.

"So, Mr. Rockwell, I hope you brought some for EVERYONE in the class?" What a rewarding experience, Don. Kinda restores your faith in wine collecting, doesn't it? That sort of thing always reminds me why I got into this in the first place. The oldest bottle that I ever opened for myself was a 1965 Beaulieu Vineyards "George de latour" Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. It was on the occasion of my 25th birthday in 1990. I'd sent away for that bottle from K&L wines in San Francisco, and had it overnighted to me the month before. I stood that bottle up for two solid weeks in an old bar refridgerator that I'd set to its warmest setting (55 degrees) and on my birthday I decanted it to within an inch from the bottom of the bottle. I poured out the rest into another glass and it looked like 30 weight motor oil, but it smelled like heaven. That bottling, which was 100% Cabernet Sauvignon back in those days, was sublime. A great Cabernet from a very good California Cabernet vintage and a testamony to winemaker André Tchelistcheff. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

After I perfect my own race of atomic supermen for world domination, I plan upon creating a machine to send wine into the future to age it and then retrieve it in it's newly aged state. It is incumbent on the Bush administration to not allow us to fall behind in accelerated wine aging technology. We cannot allow a WAT gap with the Japanese! The race is on!

Depending upon how you want to use it, I'm sure that there are programs written for Excel which allow you to input and customize your own criteria (i.e. Name, vintage date, drink from 2004-2012, etc..) Nothing comes immediately to mind, though. I'm far too lazy myself. I go with the old "shove Bordeaux into the back of the cellar and put more immediate drinking wines up front" method