Two Little Rock restaurants had lawsuits filed against them last week as Little Rock’s Advertising and Promotion Commission stepped up efforts to collect taxes dating back to 2005. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Northwest Edition)
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Julie over at D-Magazine is doing a live-blogging feed, for more information. She’s even got a Quicktime dance video of the Master Sommeliers in action. Too much going on to put it all down right now. Ray Wylie Hubbard, Shiner Bock, ribs, cobbler and dancin’. See some pix after the jump.
Original post by Alfonso Cevola
The birth of a wine region is a fascinating thing to watch, and I’m sure an even more fascinating process to be a part of. Much of the wine that we drink comes from regions that have been established anywhere from decades to centuries ago, but the quest for great wine and great places to grow it (not to mention the changing whims of the global climate) means that there are always new frontiers when it comes to wine growing.
All new wine regions begin the same — with a pioneering spirit and a hell of a lot of determination. Someone decides that a certain place is the right spot to grow wine grapes, and they stake a lot of sweat and money on whatever knowledge they’ve got backing up that decision, whether it be a hunch, or a GIS enabled geologic survey.
Eventually, the initial prospector may be joined by others, especially if he or she manages to survive and produce a product that doesn’t suck.
For a time, these early farmers and winemakers operate out of sheer passion and determination. They need no more organization than their own collegiality or happenstance might offer. It is enough that they are growing and making wine in the place they dream of doing so.
But with enough success, and enough producers, questions of legitimacy and marketability inevitably arise. That is to say, eventually, it seems to make sense to make the wine region “official” and to use its name as a way of distinguishing the wine grown in that region, from wine grown elsewhere. At the very least, it makes sense to agree on a name for this place that everyone can use. At the most, it may make sense to establish rules and regulations that determine the quality and nature of the wine made in the region.
But when exactly does it make sense to do this? In the case of new regions emerging within or alongside existing ones, there are legislative answers to this question already.
But when the region is entirely new, this question gets very interesting. The winemakers of Guadalupe Valley and the Mexican government are currently wrestling with the issues surrounding this question at this very moment.
The Government of the State of Baja has suggested that the fledgling wine region adopt regional appellations and a set of regulations along the lines of the Denomination of Origin laws in Spain, Italy, or France.
It’s easy to see how the region could benefit from such laws. They add credibility to any wines that carry the designation on the label, and the wines can be marketed to the world under specific regional names, with guarantees of quality. In short, such regulations could help increase prices and demand for Guadalupe Valley wines.
On the other hand, say many of the vintners, no one has any idea what the boundaries of the region should be, what the wine regulations ought to require or forbid, or how to measure the quality of this new region’s wines.
And frankly, they have a point. We wine lovers are so used to the codified traditions of our global wine regions. We know that Brunello is required to be 100% Sangiovese, and that Burgundy must be 100% Pinot Noir, but at some point people had to decide that this was so. Of course, those decision makers had many decades (or more) of winemaking traditions to back up their regulations.
Who is going to decide what the permitted grape varieties are in the Guadalupe Valley? And more importantly how on earth could someone decide that so early in the region’s evolution as a wine locality? And what is the definition of quality in a region where only in the last couple of years have global critics even suggested that there might be high quality grapes being grown there? These are tough questions, and scary ones to contemplate a bureaucrat or some other ministry official forcing on a burgeoning wine region.
For now it may be best to simply make the geographic region more official, and wait for the perspective of some history to guide more definite judgments about what will make for great Mexican wine.
Original post by Alfonso Cevola
For the last 18 or so hours, and for some people it may still be so, Vinography has been deader than a doornail, thanks to a botched network upgrade by my hosting provider. I’m sorry for the inconvenience, and I thank you for your patience. This is only the third or fourth time Vinography has gone down in about 5 years, so while it’s incredibly annoying, I’m trying to keep it in perspective.
The irony of this downtime is that just two days ago I upgraded my Movable Type installation to the new release which dramatically improved the performance of the site for you, my readers. In particular, I know many of you have suffered through waits of 30 seconds to sometimes 3 or 4 minutes when posting comments to the site. This performance problem has now been resolved, and comments post in just a few seconds now, which is a huge relief to me and hopefully to you as well.
Thanks for your continued readership. I now return you to regularly scheduled programming.
Original post by Alfonso Cevola
Beneficiaries of a state program for the blind operate concession stands and cafes in state and federal buildings across New York.
Original post by Yahoo! News Search Results for Cafes
Niko Partners’ Analysis of the $20 Billion Internet Café Industry Outlines Key Findings of Particular Significance to Interactive Entertainment Market
Original post by Yahoo! News Search Results for Cafes
Heritage plays out in many ways in the Napa Valley. There are only a few remaining families that have been farming in the valley since Prohibition, and even those that have tenures lasting more than three decades are increasingly being supplanted by new blood or corporate interests.
Some of those families that have left the valley after decades often move on to other enterprises after cashing out on their vineyard investments. However, it’s tough to abandon Napa Valley once you’ve lived and loved there for so long.
Winemaker Justin Meyer moved his family to the Anderson Valley in 1999 after more than 35 years of making wine in Napa Valley with a vision of producing world-class Port-style wine and establishing a family estate that could be carried on by future generations. Despite this move, the family never truly left Napa, as it continued (and still continues) to farm the same vineyard that in some ways is responsible for the fate of the entire Meyer clan.
Justin Meyer was one of the great icons of the modern California wine industry and one of its greatest success stories. Meyer thought he was destined for a life of prayer and service when he joined the Christian Brothers religious order in the late 1950’s, but a twist of fate led to him being sent to work at the order’s winery in Napa in 1964. That fateful move was the beginning of a forty-year career in the wine industry. After working for several years at Christian Brothers with the famous Brother Timothy, he left the order to marry a woman named Bonny that he had fallen in love with, and with literally a dollar to his name, he co-founded a little winery that he and partner Ray Duncan decided to call Silver Oak. The rest, as they say, is history. Justin spent 28 years at Silver Oak and built it into one of the world’s most sought-after wine brands.
During that time, Meyer, who was a lover of Port, purchased some bulk tawny port on the market and started to make small batches of the stuff under a new label: Meyer Family Cellars. The port was for friends and family, and was also sold in small quantities at the Silver Oak winery to those in the know.
During this time, Meyer raised a family with Bonny, whose name was also applied to a piece of vineyard land adjacent to Conn Creek that Meyer purchased for his wife in 1974.
From an early age, this couple’s son Matt Meyer knew that he wanted to be a winemaker and winegrower like his father. Unlike in his father’s day, the way to do that was pretty straightforward for Matt, who went to U.C. Davis for a degree in Viticulture, and then began working immediately with his father on turning the family winery into something more than just a little port hobby.
The family purchased vineyards in the Yorkville Highlands in 1999 and planted Syrah. Justin Meyer passed away in 2002, leaving the winery under the direction of Matt and his new wife, Karen, a winemaker whom he met while working a harvest in New Zealand in 2004. While their primary focus was growing a business and a brand in the Yorkville highlands, the family took special care to maintain the vineyard from which Meyer had made some of the most famous single vineyard wines for Silver Oak (and for Napa Valley) for more than a decade (1979-1991).
As Meyer Family Cellars gradually settled into a working rhythm and predictable operations, the family decided that the time had come to produce a wine that would honor in equal parts Justin and his wife Bonny — him with a world-class Cabernet, her with the honor of being its namesake. Bonny’s Vineyard last produced a wine in 1991. Since then the family continued to farm it, and completely replanted the vineyard in 1999, making the first harvest of new fruit and inaugurating this project in 2003, the first time that the vineyard has produced a wine in 12 years.
Harvested in mid-September (notably early for Oakville) the grapes for this wine were selected from small bunches of even smaller berries, and destemmed before being crushed. After a day of soaking at cold temperatures to extract color and flavors from the skins, the grapes and juice began fermentation which lasted 10 days before the wine was pressed. It completed its primary and then secondary fermentations in stainless steel before being moved to 100% new American Oak barrels where it aged for a lengthy 34 months before bottling. During that time it was racked once a year (the process where the wine is carefully poured off the sediments that have accumulated in the barrel). The wine was not fined, but was filtered before bottling.
If the pedigree of this wine is not enough to pique a wine lovers interest, two salient facts about its winemaking should gain the attention of those serious about California Cabernet. The first is the daring choice to age the wine in only American Oak, a practice which is increasingly rare in California, and even more so in Napa Valley. The second is the fact that this wine weighs in at only 13.19% alcohol, which, like the choice of oak, is neither good nor bad in itself, but is certainly even more uncommon for Napa Cabernet.
Which brings me to the bottom line on this wine. Those looking for a wine that defies the stereotypes of Napa Cabernet while at the same time upholding its reputation for being some of the tastiest wine on the planet shouldn’t miss their chance to experience the first example of what will likely be a highly sought after wine.
Full disclosure: I received this wine as a press sample.
Tasting Notes:
Dark garnet in the glass, this wine has a nose of luxurious chocolate and cherry aromas. In the mouth it is nothing short of gorgeous. Beautifully smooth and lithe on the tongue, the wine swirls with great acidity that carries flavors of cherry, mint, chocolate, cedar and tobacco across the palate in several waves of pleasurable, layered flavors. The finish soars off the back of the palate effortlessly and endlessly. An incredibly impressive first release that Justin Meyer could not help but be proud of.
Food Pairing:
This wine epitomizes the concept of delicate strength, which means it’s rich enough for grilled lamb on rosemary skewers, but not likely to overwhelm more subtle dishes either. A very nice food wine.
Overall Score: Between 9 and 9.5
How Much?: $135
This wine is being released on August 31st in limited quantities, and I believe it will likely only be available to members of the winery’s mailing list. You can sign up on their web site to purchase up to three bottles.
Original post by Alfonso Cevola
Some time back, when I was invited to Sicily to evaluate some vineyard projects, a few of us were sitting around the midnight table with passito and amaro. Next thing you know, we grabbed a few hours of sleep and then piled in a large van and headed towards the volcano. It was our homage to Burning Man, and what was waiting for us wasn’t what we had expected.
A few weeks ago I tasted through a portfolio of wines and was interested in the Etna Rosso from Terre Nere. The last time I had had it was at the Fatty Crab with Regina Scrambling and my gal Kim and it paired beautifully with the exotic plates that filled our table. Nerello, once again I was encountering the little phantom grape that I first got to know in my youth.
Nerello and Frappato are my two favorite red wine grapes from Sicily. Zibibbo and Malvasia in the uber-elixer versions also influence me. And of course the particular Marsala wines from masters like De Bartoli complete the opera for this Sicilian-swayed soul. But back to the fire on the mountain.
I am so much a Western Islander, influenced by the Palermo-Trapani-Corleone triangle. On the east coast, from Messina to Noto, it’s another world.
We arose early, drank a bitter espresso and some almond cakes and headed to watch the sun rise on Etna. It was September, and the harvest was in full-swing. Along the small roads cluttered with vines, the early morning heat lit up the highway with the perfume of the harvest. And though this was a harsh environment, the time and the place had come to an agreement, a permanent cease-fire for getting along with each other. Survival allowed for a softening of the onslaught, and the Sicilians were the recipients of the bounty of their captors, once again.
So remote, so undesirable, is this area, that during the war life proceeded pretty well much as it had for centuries. People on the mountain had a larger adversary, the fire within. Nazis and Fascists and Allies were little distraction from the ongoing conflict against Mt. Etna.
To be able to grow anything, to gather a harvest, is an annual miracle that has been taking place for thousands of years. Here is where Nerello and the lovers of the fire grape reach for their remedy.
The older the vine is the more issue from a kind of sortilege by the earth. Not in quantity but in power and potency.
Here is where the Greeks claimed a goddess, Aetna, by Zeus, the mother of Palici, worshiped for centuries by the ancient Siculi tribes. Now we drink wine from glasses instead of blood from skulls. It is much better for everyone.
Another tale has it that the older vines are the ancestors who have settled down and have become immortal. And in order to live forever they must produce wine from the extreme hillsides surrounding the summit. Nowadays, the terrain, while challenging, is experiencing a renaissance in interest for these wines. The immortals stretch and wake from their slumbers.
The wines are astringent, not too heavy, red but not morbidly so, and can match well with exotic food or staple fare. There is something about wine from this area of Sicily that has many of us excited.
One from our group proclaimed, ”Etna Rosso is the opposite of Gruner Veltiner, but equally fascinating are both wines to the same people.” I can see that. Etna is fire and passion, yes, but also order, controlled chaos from the bowels of Hades. After a day scrounging along the rim, waiting for the sunset, I felt another piece of the Sicilian puzzle slip in place. It was beginning to make sense in this extreme landscape. We are an accident of the cosmos, all of it. And that is cause for celebration. Music, fire, drums, wine, alchemy, life.
Original post by Alfonso Cevola
Forget the Euro and the price of oil, the mergers and the strategic joint ventures, let us venture back towards reality. Italy, vineyards, grapes, fresh food. The life you’ve dreamed.
All through the year these pages divulge personal ardor for things Italian, some real and some imagined. But there comes a time when it just doesn’t matter which is which. What we are dealing with, here and now, is the awareness of an Italy that transcends time and space. I’m sure there are cynics lurking around the dark corners of some Chinon soaked bar, just waiting to pounce on another man’s dreams. Those people are dead to themselves. I say, dream and live, and live the dream.
Abruzzo in the summer of 2008 is looking like the archetypical pastoral Italy of the 1970’s, the 1740’s, of hundreds or thousands of years ago, or sometime in the future. It is timeless beauty. There’s no reason to shun it or criticize those who love it for its own sake. Look, even if you never make it to Italy, you can still reap the joys of the harvest of the heart. The fool in the corner is kicking a cat and spitting out blood, and then expects us to revere his bleak judgments, because it is contrary and has a gravitas that is attention seeking. But the blind old man is living alone in his tree house in a sunless country. Look around you, sunflowers don’t grow in hell.
I am in awe of my Italian friends who live this way, an everyday occurrence. Along with that there is a fecundity in the air, the soil, the bounty. This is no accident. This is no illusion; there is no corporate nudge moving things along in a timeline to become the biggest, the best, the longest, the hardest. It is all in a flow of collaborative providence.
Do you ever wonder, if you are somehow involved in the world of wine, whether it be in a restaurant or a wine store, or as a salesperson in a distributorship or as a rep for an importer, why sometimes the wine runs out?
I am more surprised that it doesn’t run out more often. We bully and bloviate over some contessa who deigns to swim in the sea for a month or more, as if our mission statements or business plans were so much more important. I remember the story of the Italian Prince and his magic cellar and just stop. Inside, the word “cancel” pops up, my mantra which interrupts the chatty little monkey running around my brain. Who in the hell are we in America to say what the Italians should or shouldn’t do?
The wine will come when it comes, just like the tomatoes and the figs. If not, there is a McDonald’s down the avenue. Go, get your fill.
And if you truly can follow the advise of Mr. Thoreau and “live the life you’ve dreamed,” then this doesn’t seem so odd, so pie-in-the-sky. The disparager in the darkness cannot tempt you to drink his bitter drink of vinegar and bile. He’s invisible, has no secrets, no leverage.
“Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still.” Another Thoreau insight. Italy is full of the meat of life, filled with the marrow of passion, grab a rib and hold on. There is only one life; there is no time left to kill.
Thanks for the photos from Jeff and Audree Miller
Original post by Alfonso Cevola
Serious wine lovers in the San Francisco Bay area get several opportunities each year to indulge their passions for wine. Large, themed tastings like the ZAP Zinfandel Festival or the recent Pinot Days are great opportunities to get a sense of a certain varietal and the quality of the recent vintage in California and events like the upcoming Family Winemakers are an opportunity to taste wines from smaller producers.
It is quite rare, however, despite the nearness of the appellation and the saturation of wine in the Bay Area, for consumers to get the opportunity to get an in-depth or comprehensive look at the wines of Napa Valley. Perhaps it’s just because Napa wines don’t need much marketing help, or perhaps it’s because the Napa Valley Vintners association exhausts itself with its two major events each year, but there just isn’t a real good opportunity for members of the public to survey the breadth and depth of wines from the Napa valley.
Unless, that is, you happen to be a member of the Napa Valley Wine Library Association.
The Wine Library is just what it sounds like: a library with books about wine. Started in the early Sixties by a group of winery owners that realized the irony of having a public library in the heart of Napa Valley that possessed virtually no literature or resources about wine, the library association was built on donations of money and books from Napa’s wine families over four decades. Now occupying a special section of the St. Helena public library and even owning a small vineyard out behind the building, the Wine Library Association is a membership organization that gives its members access to these materials, some of which are rare and historic, as well as to annual tasting events.
Each year the organization hosts a two part event: On Saturday they offer a full day seminar on a specific topic, often a certain AVA or certain varietal, and then on Sunday they offer a tasting event showcasing a specific varietal as represented by hundreds of wineries in the valley.
This year’s event will feature an all-day seminar on August 23rd at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena focused on “White Winemaking — Techniques and Trends”, in which prominent winemakers and vineyard managers from Charles Krug, Robert Mondavi, Spencer Roloson, Stony Hill, and Louis. M Martini discuss the current state of white wine making in Napa Valley.
On Sunday the 24th, over 100 wineries will pour their recent vintages of white wines in the grove at the Silverado Country Club. Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Marsanne, Vermentino, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Grigio, Roussanne, Albariño, Viognier and more will be on offer.
“That’s all well and good,” you may be saying, “but this is a members-only event and I’m not a member of the Napa Valley Wine Library Association.” That’s true. But a check for $60 sent in advance, or a check for $85 on the day of the tasting will do the trick. Membership is available on the spot, and covers the tasting plus any others that you choose to go to for the rest of the year. If you’d like to attend the seminar on the 23rd, there is an additional cost of $150.
Sound like a steal? It is. Unless you’re a member of the trade that attends Premiere Napa Valley, or someone willing to pay in the hundreds or even thousands for a package at the annual Auction Napa Valley, there is generally no other way to get the opportunity to taste so many Napa Valley wineries in a single setting. If you’re serious about learning more about Napa wines, especially if you’re interested in some of the less famous wines of the valley, this is an event you don’t want to miss. I’ve provided an initial list of the wineries scheduled to pour at the bottom of this post organized by the varietal they’ll be showcasing.
Napa Valley Wine Library Association Member Tasting
Sunday August 24th
Silverado Resort and Country Club
1600 Atlas Peak Road
Napa, California 94558
707-257-0200
Annual membership dues for the Association are $60, or $85 if purchased at the door. Only checks and cash will be accepted, I believe, so stop at an ATM or bring your checkbook. Additional details on how to get membership in advance and on the event can be found on the Association’s web site. Please note that the location for the Saturday event is the Greystone Castle in St. Helena
My usual tips for such outdoor public tastings apply: wear loose fitting but dark colored clothing (but keep in mind that it may be very warm for the outdoor tasting). Eat a good meal before going and drink lots of water while tasting. Decide in advance which wineries you would like to visit, and make sure to spit rather than swallow the wine to make sure you get a chance to enjoy (and remember) a number of wines.
The wineries and the varietals currently scheduled to pour are as follows:
Albariño
Mahoney
Chardonnay
El Molino
Fleury Estate
Forman
Grgich Hills
Hendry
Hyde de Villaine (HdV)
Jocelyn Lonen
Keenan
Kongsgaard
Long Vineyards
Mayacamas
Monticello
Muir’s Legacy
Northfield
O’Brien
Patz & Hall
PEJU
Pine Ridge
Pride
Prix
Richard Partridge
Rombauer
Rutherford Ranch
Saddleback
St. Clement
Saintsbury
Sedna
Stags’ Leap Winery
Stony Hill
Swanson
The Hess Collection
The Terraces
Trefethen
Truchard
Tulocay
ZD
Chenin Blanc
Ballentine
Casa Nuestra
Gewürtztraminer
Madonna Estate
Stony Hill
Marsanne
Krupp Brothers
Moscato Canelli
Robert Pecota
Muscato Azul
La Sirena
Pinot Blanc
Saddleback
Pinot Grigio
Madonna Estate
Pinot Gris
Hendry
Riesling
Casa Nuestra
Prix
Stony Hill
Trefethen
Rousanne
Prix
Truchard
Sauvignon Blanc
Broman
Cakebread
Carrefour
Crocker & Starr
Duckhorn
Ehlers Estate
Emmolo
Frog’s Leap
Green and Red
Hall
Heitz
Hill Family
Honig
Jericho Canyon
Joseph Phelps
Long Meadow Ranch
Markham
PEJU
Rios
Rutherford Grove
Rutherford Ranch
St. Supery
Silverado Vineyards
Spring Mountain
Teaderman
Vinoce
Vermentino
Mahoney
Viognier
Saddleback
Seps
Spencer Roloson
Stags’ Leap Winery
Proprietary Blends
Ceja, Vino de Casa
Hill Family, Carly’s Cuvée
Krupp Brothers, Black Bart’s Bride
Prix
Robert Mondavi, Fumé Blanc
Robert Sinskey, Abraxas
St. Supéry, Vertú
Schramsberg, Blanc de Blancs
Venge, Bianco Spettro
Original post by Alfonso Cevola