Joe Riley

Don, unless the Virginia wine laws have changed, it has long been true that diners in Virginia restaurants were legally allowed to re-seal the bottles that they purchased for dinner and take them home with them. Virginia restaurants never seemed to want to publicize that fact for some reason, but I shudder to think about how many half-consumed bottles of great wine have been abandoned at Virginia restaurants by ignorant diners who just assumed that removing them from the premises was verboten (though I'm sure that many restaurant staffers were the lucky recipients of such abandonments!)

Despite my aforementioned old-world bias, I feel a certain compulsion to come to the defense of Zinfandel. First and foremost, let's face it: despite viticultural evidence that it is related to the Plavac Mali grape of Croatia, and possibly even to Italy's Primativo, Zinfandel is almost uniquely American. Think of every other red wine grape of note grown for volume and profit in the United States and it has its origins in Europe. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah/Shiraz, Petite Sirah, Mourvedre, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Sangiovese, Barbera, Tempranillo... all of European origin. Sure, we have our hybrids which enjoy modest sales numbers in some areas, and all sorts of other minor varietals such as Norton, but the only one that we can claim as our major unique contribution to the wine world is Zinfandel. I've pushed Zin for years for the traditional Thanksgiving dinner because it is uniquely American and happens to go really well with that meal. It is usually a real crowd-pleaser, too, although good Pinot Noir is also a great wine match for T-Day imbibing. One of the nicest aspects of Zin is, the way that it is being made today rewards immediate drinking. I've tasted verticals of some really good labels going back over 5 years, and I find that, while some of them may KEEP well enough, they aren't IMPROVING with extended bottle age. They all seem to lose their charming fruit characteristics with time. All tasted their best within their first year of release. It didn't used to be this way. I've always heard of the great Zins from Amador County from the '70s that were tannic monsters which practically demanded extended cellar time, but I think changing tastes and the demands of the marketplace for more immediately accessible wine caused most of these growers to polish up their offerings and make them more consumer-friendly and give them broader appeal. In and of itself, this wasn't necessarily a bad development, and I'm sure that there are examples of the more rustic "hairy-chested" Zins to be found, I just haven't tasted any in years. When you take a really hard look at the great majority of Zin offerings, it's amazing that you can still buy some of the very best bottlings for under $30, and the great majority of the top bottlings are still under $40. Sure, there will always be high-demand/limited production bottlings such as the Turley wines and various others which command big prices, but compare that with the most high-demand Cabernet Sauvignons or Pinot Noirs, which are routinely exceeding the $100 mark. Ridge Montebello Cabernet, Shafer "Hillside Select", Stag's Leap Wine Cellars "Cask 23", et al, are anywhere from $125-180 on average. If you think that you don't like Zinfandel, or just want to refresh your palate memory, go out and buy a decent, inexpensive yet truly representative bottle this weekend. I'd suggest Cline's "California" bottling, Rosenblum's "Vintner's Cuvée", and Four Vine's "Old Vine Cuvée" just to name a few. (Full disclosure: my store carries all of these). There are also several excellent blends which carry a fair bit of Zinfandel in them too, such as Laurel Glen "Reds" and Marietta "Old Vine Red" and, in some years (since the blend can change radically) Ca' Del Solo "Big House Red" (from Bonny Doon Vineyards). All of those are very reasonably priced, fun to drink and uncomplicated - what more could you ask for?

Are you old enough to remember the fuss that ensued from the famous 60 Minutes broadcast of "The French Paradox"? There was actually a run on Gallo's "Hearty Burgundy" for some months after the original broadcast. HB was never a terrible wine, per se. On the infamous 100-point scale it probably merited an 80-82 at best. It was cheap and fairly dependable, if grossly misnamed.

Bingo. All I had to see was "North Berkley" and I can pretty much guess what the problem was. I've had the opportunity in the past to taste bottlings from the same estates imported by North Berkley and by Peter Vezan. Guess which bottlings were more authentic, more true to the grower's intentions, the soil and more varietally correct? There may be a certain segment of the U.S. wine drinking populace who enjoys these "special" bottlings from North Berkley, but I am most certainly not one of them. Caveat emptor, indeed.

I have an old-world bias, and I'm not afraid to admit it. I do have numerous new-world favorite growers, though.

For me, there is Ridge and then there is everybody else. Try a Ridge "Pagani Ranch" Zin and you will get what the fuss is about. I like many others: Howell Mountain, most of the Rosenblum bottlings (the Samsel Vineyard "Maggie's Reserve" is always among the best), Four Vines.... Zinfandel pairs really well with lamb dishes.

My boss attends all the retail liquor store owner meetings here in the city, and there is no question that we are responsible for collecting sales tax on all alcohol that we sell, no matter where it is going. It is a point-of-sale issue. Believe me, with all of the non-taxable items that we sell (and have to declare to the District) we've been audited by the city several times over the years. We have to collect it for them.

Who was the grower? The 1996 Chablis, especially the Grand Crus, should be aging magnificently, if properly stored. 1996 saw the highest levels of natural acidity in a generation, they were absolutely electric, whippet-racy and zippy. I hope to live long enough to see this vintage duplicated in northern Europe. If you tasted vanilla, that's a sure sign that the wine saw new oak. Rene & Vincent Dauvissat is the only grower in Chablis that I've ever seen who could pull that off successfully.

We had them, but I sold every bottle within 24 hours after I got them. Next release should be in late spring (May/June). They release twice per year, spring and fall.

I haven't seen Don's article yet, but thanks to Neal Rosenthal, I've come to the conclusion that some white Burgundy ages better than red Burgundy, but I really think that this pertains to a very certain few conscientious growers, some of whom he represents. The leaner, more minerally, style of white Burgundy has been slowly disappearing, having been replaced by the thick, gloppy, modern white Burgundy, more Californian in style, tasting more like dessert sometimes. I understand that this accounts for Ramonet's popularity, for example. Granted, if you have a very hot year and acidities are low, this kills their chances for longevity, but in the classic years, with more normal weather and the opportunity for grapes to achieve true physiological ripeness and good acidity, then you really have the potential for greatness. If you ever get to taste a white Burgundy from a Grand Cru site from a top-tier grower, with a little bit of age on it, then you will be treated to what every chardonnay-grower dreams of. It is a holy grail of sorts.

I'm convinced that Turley is a myth. Every time I've ever had it (always at someone else's expense) I've been disappointed. In the immortal words of Clara Peller, 'Where's the beef?"

For a D.C. perspective, we have to collect sales tax on any wine shipped because it is a point-of-purchase issue. Alcohol is one of the most heavily regulated consumer items, and anyone who thinks that they can avoid sales tax by having it shipped out of the area where purchased is in for a shock. If a retailer wants to not collect the sales tax, fine, but it will catch up with them if they get audited. Alcohol sales tax in the District is a SALES and USE tax. We're responsible for it no matter what. Oh, and the Costco-labeled wines just sound depressing but, hey, there have always been negociant bottlings from various sources which have been dreary so these things couldn't be any worse. Might even be drinkable. Good luck to whomever tries them.

I just had a nice email exchange with Kevin Pike, Terry Theise's sales manager, and he confirmed sonething that I'd heard about one of his growers, Gaston Chicquet: "We have a few Champagne producers who use a silicon disc to cover the bottom end of the Champagne cork—the thinking being the silicon won’t compress to be a smaller diameter than the cork and therefore the wine never actually touches the cork. Chiquet was our first producer to do it and Varnier-Fannière experimented with it also. " This struck me as one of those, "Why didn't anyone think of this before?" kind of questions. I love the idea of this. Too many Champagne bottles are corked for anyone's comfort. I post this so that consumers can be aware of this. I hope that it blossoms into a trend. Since Chicquet is a lovely little grower, that makes their Champagnes just that much more attractive to me.

I think that their Sunday brunch is nice. The last time I went, they had live music, and an incredible bloody mary bar. The worst part is the parking at the downtown location. There simply isn't any. And the lines at the Spy Museum across the street are the reason why. I can take it or leave it, though.

For Burgundy lovers, Sushi-Ko on Wisconsin Ave. is a dream come true. His prices are incredibly low for a restaurant.

Never heard of it. I appreciate the heads-up, thanks!

I'd like to start this thread to explore the wonderful world of fromage. Let's find out the best places to buy it, not only in our area, but in New York (from all accounts that I've heard, the source of the best imported cheeses in the U.S.A.) and elsewhere. Wisconsinites, feel free to extole the virtues of your state's signature comestable. Which restaurants have the best cheese plates? What are your favorites? I'll start. I've always heard that the best source for cheese in D.C. is Dean & Deluca. I know of several top city restaurants which source their own cheeses there, rather than from their regular food vendors. Agree or disagree?

**Bangs head against nearest wall...** Please tell me that they have an educated staff that is willing to tell you what they REALLY think, and don't engage in "groupthink"? I had a salesperson (actually, a rep from one of California's largest, most heavily-marketed wineries) this past week who rattled off their wines "scores" like chapter and verse to us. I wanted to scream. If those scores are so wonderful then why even bother to try us on the damned things? Don't the almighty SCORES speak for themselves? Why didn't we fall to our knees and genuflect in the direction of Monkton, MD? ARGH! That posted information on the shelves of that store could have been prepared by anyone. Did you know who prepared it? Was it a marketing company? Was it the head wine buyer? Or was it boilerplate from a publication? Maybe this is why their prices are so low. They don't have a wine staff, they have clerks who cut and paste magazine doggrel. Ask any one of these people about a particular wine and their eyes will glaze over and you'll get a blank stare, or they'll go wide with fear and anxiety. It's a trade-off, I'll grant you that: low prices and zero expertise vs. a service-oriented business who remembers your name, preferences and earns your loyalty and trust. Sorry for the late-night rant. The Redskins lost and I'm cranky.

I predict a dinner at Dino soon with lots of old Montebello Cabernet being consumed

Well, it isn't for lack of trying. When was the last time you were in? By the way, our Alsace selections right now are not what they used to be. I expect that to change this year, though. Eventually, we'll have Schoffit and Albert Mann back in, and we'll soon have Koehly. Boxler is the best guy in Alsace, we do have him. I avoid ZH like the plague, though - Olivier Humbrecht is one of the great winegrowers of the world, but their style leans towards the sweeter aspect of Alsace, plus the fact that they are SO expensive, so we just don't carry ZH. They can always be ordered, though. Our single malt selection DOES rock and roll, if I do say so myself. We probably have around 60-70 selections at any given time.

I found this at Craig's List: "Black Salt is seeking a Wine Director/Restaurant Manager" (the rest is posted in the employment thread)

Black Restaurant Group, a growing restaurant company in the Washington, DC metropolitan area is seeking a Wine Director/Restaurant Manager. This position will be based out of BlackSalt Fish Market and Restaurant in Washington, DC but will have other duties that include working in and traveling to our other three locations in Montgomery County, MD. Reliable transportation is a must. Wine Director duties include but are not limited to the following: • Fine dining restaurant manager to structure, implement and effectively run a company wine program • Serve as a dining room manager for min of 30 hours per week o Additional 25 hours per week will be spent focusing on the Wine Program, purchasing and inventory. • Complete weekly wine perpetual, verify all product is accounted for and reconcile with sales and inventory reports • Purchasing all wine, beer and liquor products o Proper storage and rotation of wine inventory • Direct contact with all wine purveyors in four restaurants • Work with GM’s to set wine lists for four restaurants with a different focus for each menu • Maintain proper inventory levels as determined by the comptroller • Oversees all bar activities, produce liquor and beer inventories on a weekly basis • Maintain and revise wine lists as needed • Structure a company training program, training manual and related seminars to include service and sales techniques, wine list information, tasting & testing o Must have excellent communication skills and the ability to teach staff & managers o Keep educational programs updated o Evaluate staff educational growth and knowledge o Implement additional training when necessary o Conduct on and off site tasting and seminars in four restaurants on a monthly basis • Report monthly to BRG on training progress, training to be implemented and dates of following training seminars. • Successful completion of the Court of Master Sommeliers Introductory Course examination is preferred. Fax resume to 301-215-6398.

Didn't know where else to post this, but this looks intriguing: http://www.slate.com/id/2133754?nav=wp Personally, I've never liked their coffee (it's always tasted "burnt" to me, I don't know how else to describe it) but I'm sure that there are lots of folks who partake of their wares regularly. Give this a try and let us know if it works!

I just got positive confirmation that Doug Mason, the wine director at Black Salt, is leaving at the end of February. He'd worked at Persimmon in Bethesda previous to this. He's a very good guy and I hope that he lands on his feet somewhere. If you happen to visit Black Salt, wish him well!

Well, I'm not worried about this problem - all of those dozens of cases of '61 Petrus that I have are fitted with Stel-Vin closures, so I don't even have to worry about them being corked. So Don - was it even Petrus that you drank? Was it any good?