win February 2005

win@thebarn.com

3 participants
15 discussions

[wine] Brian's Brdx Bash at Bobino (CORRECTION)

by Jim L. Ellingson

Greetings, OOOOPS.... We're going to Bobino, to check out the new chef. Thanks for the correctors and the responders.... Cheers, Jim ----- Forwarded message from "Jim L. Ellingson" <jellings(a)me.umn.edu> ----- X-MessageWall-Score: 0 (smtp-relay.enet.umn.edu) Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 14:02:12 -0600 From: "Jim L. Ellingson" <jellings(a)me.umn.edu> To: wine(a)thebarn.com Subject: [wine] Brian's Bordeaux Bash at Erte Greetings, A quick correction. The 510/La Belle Vie deal is far from done. 510 will most likely remain open until a new tenant is found. LBVie says they are looking at "several Mpls locations." This week, we're trying to pull Brian back into the group. So we're doing Bordeaux wines at BOBINO , 6:30 on Thursday. Sparkling/white/ringer/dessert wines always welcome. Bobino 222 E. Henne 612-623-3301 Note that the meters are no longer "Free after 6:00". Rates vary. Who: (mostly guesses) Wine Pro Bob Wine Pro Lori Betsy Russ Bill Janet Nicolai Karin Jim Brian Big S sale starts soon/tomorrow (3/1 [vip] - 3/19). Thomas Liq sale starts today. Aurora in Chaska starts today (?). Cheers Jim -- ------------------------------ * * Dr. James Lee Ellingson, Adjunct Professor jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651 XXX XXXX * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *

20 years, 9 months

[wine] Brian's Bordeaux Bash at Erte

by Jim L. Ellingson

Greetings, A quick correction. The 510/La Belle Vie deal is far from done. 510 will most likely remain open until a new tenant is found. LBVie says they are looking at "several Mpls locations." This week, we're trying to pull Brian back into the group. So we're doing Bordeaux wines at Erte, 6:30 on Thursday. Sparkling/white/ringer/dessert wines always welcome. Erte Restaurant. 329 13 Ave NE, Mpls 55413 612-623-4211 Who: (mostly guesses) Wine Pro Bob Wine Pro Lori Betsy Russ Nicolai Karin Jim Brian Big S sale starts soon/tomorrow (3/1 [vip] - 3/19). Thomas Liq sale starts today. Aurora in Chaska starts today (?). Cheers Jim Harvest report form the Wine Enthusiast. France It.s been a return to normal, a classic year. French growers have breathed a sigh of relief that this vintage did not mirror the excesses of 2003. In Burgundy, "it was crazy," says Michel Laroche in Chablis. "We were harvesting one month later this year than in 2003." As to quality, "the reds from the C�te de Nuits will be astonishing," says Fr�d�ric Drouhin of Maison Joseph Drouhin, "while the whites from Chassagne-Montrachet are excellent." In Bordeaux, the huge quantity of fruit caused problems. Some vineyards were never harvested because there was no room in the cellars. Producers who severely cut the quantities in August have made reds with deep color, tannins, acidity and structure. Overall, the Merlot has been the success, with great wines out of Pomerol and Saint-Emilion. Cabernets were caught in the weather change in early October. The Rh�ne.s harvest was smaller than usual. The successes have been with the whites in the north (Condrieu and Hermitage Blanc) and with concentrated reds in Ch�teauneuf-du-Pape. Champagne and Alsace both had a great harvest. For Champagne, "it was one of those rare years when abundance and ripe grapes came together for an exceptional harvest," says Jean-Baptiste L�caillon of Champagne Roederer. In Alsace, the harvest brought out the aromatic characters of its grapes, especially Gew�ztraminer, Sylvaner and Pinot Gris. For the Loire, the year has been more mixed. In the Muscadet region, rain nearly ruined the harvest. Chenin Blanc in Vouvray and Sauvignon Blanc in Sancerre have fared better, and 2004 is an average to good year. Few sweet wines will be produced. .Roger Voss -- ------------------------------ * * Dr. James Lee Ellingson, Adjunct Professor jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651 XXX XXXX * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *

20 years, 9 months

[wine] TN Pinots 2-17-2005 and Bubblies 2-21-2005

by Russell McCandless

Herewith notes from dinner Thursday night of last week, apparently our last dinner at 510 (alas), and from a very good sparkling wine tasting at Solo Vino this past Monday night. Pinots at 510 - 2/17/2005 W1 - fresh fruit, floral notes, and plenty of oak on an attractive nose; full, round and fruity chardonnay midpalate; clean mineral finish, excellent quality. 1999 Rully (blanc), Bouchard Pere & Fils. W2 - fresh citric acid nose suggests NZ; full, clean and acidic midpalate, focused flavor continues right thru the finish, is there an extremely faint off odor or is that my imagination, very good though. 2003 Pinot Gris, Adelsheim. (Oregon; I failed to note the specific appellation, if any.) W3 - oak and mineral spirits on nose; soft, flavorful, chardonnay taste strongly suggests wine #1 but lacks that wine's structure and minerality, alcohol showing on finish. 2002 Bourgogne (blanc), Roulot. W4 - deep brownish gold; a touch maderised on the nose but not unattractive; midpalate is over the hill though, wine is too old. 1992 Pinot Gris, Eyrie Vineyard. (Again, not sure if there was an appellation more specific than Oregon. This wine wasn't dead yet, and must have been very fine quality in its youth.) W5 - (bubbly) 1995 Royal Cuvee, Gloria Ferrer, Carneros. 1.1 - forthcoming autumnal nose, interestingly funky, midpalate of smoothly structured spicy unsweet fruit, lovely if lightweight finish, an outstanding start to the line-up of red wines. 2000 Groote Post Pinot Noir, Coastal Region (South Africa). Personally selected and imported by Betsy! 1.2 - brownish and not 100% clear; small maply nose suggests inexpensive Bourgogne to me; herbal vegetal midpalate, cooked finish. 1989 Reserve Pinot Noir, Eyrie Vineyard, Willamette Valley. (A distinguished producer, but 1989 was just an OK vintage in Oregon, and it's asking a lot for the wine to show well at age fifteen plus.) 1.3 - cooked, dirty, alcoholic nose; midpalate much better, unsweet fruit, tannic; finish is decently fruity, it's a reasonably attractive lightweight but to my personal taste this lacks pinot character. 1998 Bourgogne, Jean-Marc Boillot. 1.4 - corked. 2.1 - cloudy; sharpish reduced nose; initial mouth impression is a closed up wine, solidly midweight, fruit coming up as the wine is held in the mouth; disappears on the finish, though. 2000 Edmeades Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley. (Age four and a half can be very awkward; if you have more, perhaps it should be retasted a year from this Fall?) 2.2 - brilliant light to medium color; bashful nose; lovely mouthfeel but no flavor, can't find the fruit here, closed up?? 1999 Mark West Pinot Noir, Sonoma County. (Retasted toward the end of the next flight, this wine had improved substantially with air.) 2.3 - dark color; sizable nose emphasizing the black fruit end of the spectrum, a touch cooked; tastes similar to nose; the cooked flavor prominent on the finish. 2002 Bourgogne, Mugneret-Gibourg. (This one improved a lot with air too, although air emphasized the alcohol as well as bringing the flavors into better balance.) 2.4 - dark color; bashful nose; full, smooth and fruity midpalate; aromatic finish with considerable fruit; very tasty if not outstandingly varietal. 2000 Bethel Heights Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley. 3.1 - Coca Cola nose, including the carbonation; plenty of oak; reductive cola and red fruit taste, very long though. 2002 Nuits St Georges 1er Cru, Les Damodes, Lechenaut. (Retasted at the end of the evening, the wine had changed a great deal, mostly for the better. In principle, this wine should age well into the two thousand teens, and it seems to have been quite heavily sulfured at bottling to protect it on its journey through time.) 3.2 - extremely dark; weird sharp pruney nose; sweet fruit and oak; young wine, needs time, pretty disjointed tonight. 2002 August Briggs Pinot Meunier, Napa Valley. (The nose is less strange once you know it's not pinot noir, but this needs at least a year to settle down.) 3.3 - sharp red fruit nose; taste similar to the nose, quite tannic; OK finish; not special. 2002 Bourgogne, Pillot. 3.4 - very dark, cloudy; smells of dark fruits and earth; full, surprisingly sweet midpalate, smooth and tasty finish; very old world sort of flavor despite the sweet oak. 1997 Morey St Denis, Lechenaut. 4.1 - dark color; big alcoholic sweet dark fruit nose; structured red fruit midpalate, quite different from the nose, light to midweight, aromatically forthcoming finish, very long, attractively medicinal, this is quite good. 1997 Cameron "Arley's Leap" Pinot Noir, Abbey Ridge vineyard, Willamette Valley. (A triumph in this indifferent vintage.) 4.2 - extremely dark; outsize raspberry sherbet nose, big full sweet midpalate, intriguing vegetal tones and herbs; warmly aromatic and forceful finish, long, excellent quality, delicious tonight. 1998 Argyle "Nuthouse" Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley. 4.3 - quite dark; smells bretty and acetic, is this bottle off? 1996 Cote de Beaune-Villages, Leroy. Bubbly Tasting at Zander - Solo Vino, 2-21-2005 The wines were tasted nonblind and accompanied by excellent goat cheese, strawberries and crackers - thus, tasting conditions were most pleasant but nonrigorous. Tasting notes are relative to the wines' price points and, more than likely, relative to my preconceived expectations of their quality. Some notes are phrased in uncomplimentary ways, but all wines were sound and attractive with the exception of one corked bottle that was swiftly identified and, one may hope, shipped to Wine Spectator senior editor James Suckling to recognize his continuing advocacy of bark corks. Prices stated are Solo Vino's quoted discount prices for those attending the tasting. Wholesaler is Wine Company on all these wines. 1999 Marques de Gelida Brut Cava. Fabulous brown sugar nose; full midpalate, distinctly Cava, rather sweet but dosage is well balanced by the wine's acid structure; great finesse for Cava; this is excellent. Not nearly as good if you let it warm up, however. 35% macabeo, 30% xarel-lo, 20% parellada, 15% chardonnay. The 2000 vintage was announced in the paperwork, but the 1999 was actually poured; probably Wine Co is in process of switching over. $8.49; good value. NV Baumard Brut Cremant de Loire, Carte Turquoise. Clean but shy nose (too cold at first), showing a freshly acidic quality with anise notes as it warmed; attractively structured midpalate; finishes on the rough and short side. Chenin blanc and cabernet franc. $15.99. NV Col Vetoraz Prosecco Superiore di Cartizze. Micro-production prosecco from a tiny appellation; who knew there was such a thing? Powerful, extremely floral yummy prosecco nose; midpalate full, balanced and delicious, with major fresh ripe pear notes arriving late and continuing through an extremely long finish. $25.99. Champagne that costs two and a half times normal vintage brut tends to taste like something rather different, but this tastes like normal prosecco with the flavor volume turned way up. 2000 Iron Horse Classic Vintage Brut, Green Valley, Sonoma County. Sizable nose emphasizing the chardonnay; a full, round, structured midpalate emphasizing the pinot, very dry, rather severe; forceful finish; much more approachable in its youth than was the 1999 version of the same wine. Tastes nothing like Champagne, but very good quality. 60% pinot noir, 40% chardonnay. $26.99. NV Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Premier Cru. Rather dilute floral aroma and flavor; based on the washed-out 2001 vintage?? Decent but way short of this producer's better versions of this wine. 40% pinot noir, 40% meunier, 20% chardonnay. $30.49, since the dollar's in the dumper. NV Jean-Noel Haton Brut Rose. Plenty of SO2 but that should go away with a little time in bottle; midpalate impression is that it lacks structure and dosage is on the high side; good length; impression is that I've had better rose from Haton, but the SO2 from the recent disgorgement may be killing the fruit a bit. 30% chardonnay, 35% meunier, 25% pinot noir, plus 10% pinot noir as red wine. $27.99. Needs retasting in a few months. Incidentally, we shared the current release of Haton's regular (white) NV brut Champagne with friends on Valentine's Day and it was extremely pleasant, the best such wine I've had from this producer. NV Alain Robert Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Selection, Grand Cru. Intriguing raw meat nose, fantastically structured attack, sweet midpalate with the reserve wines clearly in evidence, tremendous finesse, runaway truck aromatic finish. Essence of Le Mesnil Champagne. Outstanding. $45.49 and worth it. 1998 Veuve Clicquot Vintage Reserve. Attractively full floral nose despite plenty of SO2 being in evidence, some anise; full and structured, lacks the fruit of the 1996, good though; transition (to finish) rough, dosage obvious, needs time, strongly acidic finish a good sign for further aging, good quality overall. Rather disjointed at the moment. $56.49. 60% pinot noir, 10% meunier, 30% chardonnay. NV Krug Grande Cuvee. (New labels.) Freshly acidic and very large nose; massively citric midpalate tasting strongly of Avize tangerine; on the transition, total finesse to the point of delicacy, the wine seems to disappear without being swallowed, combined with huge flavor authority, the wine gets bigger and bigger for many tens of seconds after it leaves the mouth, extraordinary. No real aroma or flavor trace of the oak, nor of the reserve wines; this will get better for years in the bottle. $142.99. Hard to suggest actually buying it at this price, but not irrational to do so. Krug is Krug. NV Veuve Clicquot Demi-Sec. Most attractively fruity sweet Champagne aroma. Not tasted, since we were going on to dinner. $42.49. 40% pinot noir, 40% meunier, 20% chardonnay.

20 years, 9 months

[wine] Taking a week off.

by Jim L. Ellingson

Greetings, The group isn't meeting this week. Some folks are going to I Nonni aka Buon Giorno for a dinner. Others are doing presale tastings. Liq. Depot sale starts today. Free tasting from 5 to 7. Big S pre sale tasting is at the Milenium Hotel, 12xx Nicolet Mall. Spotlight is $65, starts at 5:30 Regular is $35, starts at 7:00. Lots of local rest. news. 510 will be closing, will be the new home of La Bel Vie... Parasole will be running an uptown fish place in the "Prime/Tonic" location. Stella's Fish Cafe and Prestige Oyster Bar.... The SF Gate Chronicle did a piece on Merlot today, since merlot is no longer cool and since everyone else is running a piece on the Sideways phenom. Bang for the buck goes to the top rated Sebastiani 2000 Sonoma Merlot. They de-classified the 2000 Cab w/ makes up 15% of the '00 merlot. "Varietals that we normally eschew" have made for some very interesting tastings in the past. Maybe a Merlot night could be fun. maybe.... Cheers, Jim Top 10 California Merlots - W. Blake Gray Thursday, February 24, 2005 California has 58 counties, and Merlot is commercially grown in 45 of them, according to the Wine Institute. Nobody keeps records on how many wineries in the state make Merlot, but the Wine Institute says it's in the hundreds. I didn't taste all of them, but I did taste all of the stars. I consulted with sommeliers and read media reports before rounding up California's most esteemed Merlots to sample. From that exalted group, I present this list of the 10 best California Merlots. It's possible that a small producer who was not included among the more than 100 wines sampled for this list is making a superior Merlot. But if you've heard good things about such a Merlot, I probably did, too, and tasted it. The rankings are purely my own, and personal tastes vary. I want Merlot to taste like Merlot: good fruit, gentle tannins, complex but easy to drink. I like Merlot's occasional chocolatey flavors, and I like the tang of tobacco some Merlots develop after they spend an hour or so open. And just because it says Merlot on the label doesn't mean it has to be meek. As you can see from my notes, many of California's best Merlots are full- bodied, with rich flavors and intense aromas. Gripping tannins, on the other hand, are a big turnoff in this varietal. One press release for a $34 Merlot started with: "Big and fruit forward, this wine will appeal to even the most diehard Cabernet drinker." If I want a Cabernet Sauvignon, I'll buy one -- there's no shortage. Some of these Merlots are very limited in production and may already be allocated to mailing-list customers. Your best chance of tasting them is in restaurants. Contact the wineries for information, as they often have a list of stores and restaurants that stock their wines.. 1. 2000 Sebastiani Sonoma County Merlot ($15) -- Delicious wine that's exactly what a Merlot should be. Nice aroma of dark cherry, chocolate, vanilla and black plum with hints of bacon and sage. Very smooth, sensuous mouthfeel, with rich flavors of blueberry, vanilla, black plum and cocoa bean. Develops a lingering tobacco tang with air. Gentle throughout the medium-length finish. Part of the reason this wine is so wonderful is that Sebastiani declassified its estate Cabernet Sauvignon production in 2000 because of rains that hit after the Merlot grapes were harvested; that usually exalted Cab makes up about 15 percent of this wine. 2. 2001 Duckhorn Vineyards Estate Grown Napa Valley Merlot ($80) -- Complex aroma of cherry, blackberry, lavender, coffee, graphite, cola, brick and milk chocolate. Initially tastes of cherry, red plum and tobacco with some milk chocolate and licorice; nice balance of acidity and very smooth tannins. After 30 minutes, violet flavors come out and the finish lengthens; licorice taste is stronger after an hour. The best of several excellent Duckhorn Merlots. 3. 2002 Lewis Cellars Napa Valley Merlot ($50) -- Rich aromas of juicy cherry, violet, roasted almond, vanilla and baked chocolate/raspberry tart. Juicy cherry and blackberry flavors with somewhat firm initial tannins that soften on mid-palate. Hints of chocolate and violet. Elegant. Less than 200 cases made from a small vineyard on Pritchard Hill. 4. 2001 Artesa Napa Valley Merlot ($20) -- Appealing aromas of blackberry pie, chocolate, vanilla, cola, black plum and cigar box. Flavors of blackberry and tobacco, with some leather and a hint of chocolate. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and strong acidity, but nicely balanced. Medium-long finish. 5. 2002 Pride Mountain Vineyards Napa County/Sonoma County Merlot ($52) - - Aromas of blackberry, violet, milk chocolate, orange peel and coffee. Juicy and complex on the palate, with blueberry, violet, coffee and milk chocolate. Tobacco flavor increases with air. Soft but recognizable tannins; medium-long finish. Winemaker Bob Foley says the aromas are partly the result of California laurel trees that grow throughout the vineyard atop Spring Mountain. The Napa/Sonoma county line cuts through the vineyard, hence the unusual dual appellation. 6. 2001 Hartwell Vineyards Stags Leap District Merlot ($65) -- A big, complex wine, with aromas of black cherry, blackberry, sage, rosemary, white pepper, green bell pepper and raw meat. A wall of black fruit and black fruit- scented tobacco on the palate with black licorice and black pepper. Firmer tannins than some, but well integrated. Medium-long finish. About 500 cases made by Robert Mondavi's next-door neighbors. 7. 2002 Duckhorn Vineyards Napa Valley Merlot ($45) -- Aromas of ripe cherry, leather, tobacco, milk chocolate and violet. Flavors of ripe cherry with some leather and tobacco on mid-palate. Plush tannins. Cherry flavor deepens on medium-length finish. 8. 2001 Geyser Peak Reserve Knights Valley Merlot ($41) -- This wine rewards patience. Dense, intense aroma of horse sweat, graphite, brick, barnyard, chocolate, sage and some blackberry. Initially acidic, with red currant and raspberry on the palate; tannins are subdued. After an hour, it opens, revealing juicy raspberry, violet, milk chocolate and lavender. The longer you sip it, the more it grows on you. 9. 2001 Merryvale Reserve Napa Valley Merlot ($32) -- Aromas of ripe raspberry, cherry, violet, milk chocolate, leather and cherry tobacco. Mature entry of leather; cherry and raspberry build mid-palate, with hint of milk chocolate. Very smooth tannins. Bright fruit and violet on medium-long finish. 10. 2002 Blackstone Napa Valley Merlot ($17) -- Solid, likable wine from a winery that made its name with Merlot. Dark cherry, rich dark chocolate and vanilla with hints of herb and forest floor on the nose. Somewhat shy blackberry/cherry flavor with black currant and a little milk chocolate. Nice acidity. All blackberry fruit on the medium-length finish. Page F - 6 URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/02/24/WIGGQBFGBF1.DTL �2005 San Francisco Chronicle -- ------------------------------ * * Dr. James Lee Ellingson, Adjunct Professor jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651 XXX XXXX * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *

20 years, 9 months

[wine] 1 in 12 bottles is corked.

by Jim L. Ellingson

Cork taint found in 8 percent of wine bottles - Cyril Penn Thursday, January 27, 2005 One out of every dozen cork-sealed wine bottles judged during the 2004 Macquarie Bank Sydney Royal Wine Show was affected by trichloroanisole -- better known as TCA -- according to results released ahead of the 2005 judging, set to begin next week. TCA occurs in wood materials such as cork and is the unpleasant-smelling compound associated with "corked" wine. The study was carried out for the first time during show judging in February 2004. The 2,161 wines judged formed the sample for the research. White wine under cork was particularly vulnerable, with 9.68 percent of white wines affected by TCA. The study found: -- 82.1 percent of all entries were presented under cork -- 8.45 percent of cork-sealed wines were affected by TCA -- 9.68 percent of dry white wines under cork were affected by TCA -- 7.86 percent of red wines under cork were affected by TCA -- 14.95 percent of all entries were sealed under screw cap -- 1.48 percent of all entries were sealed under plastic cork A 25-member panel of judges chaired by Brian Croser, founder of Petaluma winery in Piccadilly, South Australia, assesses about 180 wines per day. Each judge tastes approximately 540 wines. N.Y. direct shipping proposed: New York Gov. George Pataki's budget proposal, a draft of which was released last week, includes good and bad news for wineries outside the Empire State. Pataki is proposing language that, if adopted by the state legislature, would legalize interstate direct shipments of wine, but also proposes a wine excise tax hike, with a portion of the money ($3.5 million) earmarked to promote New York wineries. The proposed budget would raise the wine tax from $0.05 to $0.28 per liter, projected to raise an additional $37.7 million in 2005-2006. Pataki proposed making New York a reciprocal direct-shipping state a year ago, but the proposal went nowhere. If the proposal flies this time, New York will become the 27th state to pass legalized direct shipping. New York, the nation's second-largest wine-consuming state and third-largest wine-producing state, allows in-state wineries to ship directly to consumers but not out-of- state wineries. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering whether the Constitution forbids states like New York from discriminating in favor of their own businesses. Arrowood, Byron for sale: Constellation Brands, the mega-wine company that purchased Robert Mondavi Corp. late last year for $1.36 billion, is going ahead with the sale of Arrowood Vineyards and Winery and Byron. Mondavi put the wineries up for sale prior to the merger with Constellation as part of a plan to divest luxury properties and concentrate on "lifestyle" brands. Industry sources told Wine Business Insider that both wineries are expected to go to a single bidder and that a deal appears close involving investors connected with Legacy Estates, the group that owns Freemark Abbey winery in St. Helena. "We're in the process of selling Arrowood and Byron but we never disclose details of transactions that are in the process of being negotiated," said Mike Martin, a spokesman for Constellation. Richard Arrowood, who at one point hoped to regain control of the eponymous Glen Ellen winery he founded in 1986, declined to discuss the transaction other than to say he is likely to continue in his role as "winemaster" when it closes. Byron winemaker Ken Brown could not be reached for comment. Brown founded Byron in 1984 and was named winemaker and general manager when Mondavi purchased the winery in 1990. Legacy Estates chief executive Calvin Sidhu did not return calls seeking comment. Roche files Chapter 11: Roche Carneros Estate Winery last week filed a Chapter 11 reorganization petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Rosa. The filing follows the termination of an escrow for the sale by the Roche family of 1,650 acres of unimproved property. Joseph Roche said the $15.25 million sale would have paid all of the secured and unsecured debt. The Roche family intends to retain ownership of the Sonoma winery facility and 925 acres of land, including 125 acres of vineyard. The winery remains open for business as usual. "Like many wineries, we began an expansion program in the late 1990s. The stock market decline in March of 2001, followed by the terrorist attacks on 9/11, had a significant impact on our business," Roche said. "As a result, we needed to sell some of our holdings to pay off the debt we had incurred to fund the expansion. Filing the Chapter 11 will give us more time to complete a sale or sales that will pay off all creditors." Scheid builds winery: Scheid Vineyards plans to break ground next month on a new winery facility to be located at its vineyard headquarters just off U. S. Highway 101 on Hobson Avenue near Greenfield. The winery will make wine on a custom-crush basis for other producers, and will have the capacity to annually process about 10,000 tons of grapes, though plans call for eventually expanding it to process 25,000 tons. The first phase of the project is expected to require an investment of $18 million to $20 million. The zoning administrator of Monterey County has approved a use permit for the project but building and other permits are still needed. In 2004, Scheid Vineyards processed more than 6,000 tons of its own grapes into wine using third-party winery facilities, both within and outside Monterey County. Much of the wine grapes grown in the county are shipped out of the area for processing, and Scheid executives see a need for additional local winemaking capacity. Scheid Vineyards operates approximately 5,600 acres of vineyards, mostly in Monterey. It sells in bulk to wineries and makes small lots under its own label. Who's who and where: Sterling Vineyards named Mike Westrick vice president of winemaking, responsible for leading the Sterling winemaking team and overseeing wine production. Prior to Sterling, Westrick held the position of winemaker for Solaris, a wine brand launched by Sterling corporate parent Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines last year. Westrick replaces Rob Hunter, who left the winery to work on other projects. Before joining Diageo, Westrick spent 12 years at Stonestreet Winery, where he became head winemaker in 1996. John Levenberg has joined Bedell Cellars in Long Island, N.Y. as associate winemaker. Levenberg was previously associate winemaker for Paul Hobbs Winery in Sebastopol. Wine Business Insider is produced by Wine Business Communications, Inc., which also publishes Wine Business Monthly and Wine Business Online (winebusiness.com) E-mail Cyril Penn at wine(a)sfchronicle.com. Page F - 2 URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/01/27/WIGP7B0EOG1.DTL -- ------------------------------ * * Dr. James Lee Ellingson, Adjunct Professor jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651 XXX XXXX * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *

20 years, 9 months

[wine] Pinot at 510 tonight

by Jim L. Ellingson

Mostly an update: Thanks to all who replied. 12 people, 10 pours. PLEASE pour carefuly so that everyone gets a reasonably sized, reasonably clear/clean/sediment_free pour: Cheers, Jim ----- Forwarded message from "Jim L. Ellingson" <jellings(a)me.umn.edu> ----- Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2005 11:34:35 -0600 From: "Jim L. Ellingson" <jellings(a)me.umn.edu> To: wine(a)thebarn.com Subject: [wine] Any Pinot from Any Where at 510 Greetings, Many thanks to Warren and Ruth. A most excellent time. This week, we're going to the 510 for Pinot. Any Pinot from anywhere. Pinot blanc/gris/grigio/noir/etc. From OR or CA or Burgundy... Should be fun. 510 Groveland Yes: Russ/Sue McCandles Betsy Lori Brgndy Dave Turan Jim/Louise Annette S. Bill S. Karin Nicolai Brgndy Bob Regrets: Warren/Ruth Fred/Kim The reservation is for 10 people (we're at 9, can/will update w/ the 510 on Thursday.) We can accomodate 10 pours in Pinot/Burgundy glasses (we're at 7 so far). I'm willing to act as "Steward du jour". Since Bob's out of town, please contact me, or someone els e who's active on the list, if you plan to join us on Thursday. My work phone is 763 494 1907. I've included Russ's notes from last December's Brgndy affair, as well as an article on the DNA mapping of cats. Cheers, Jim The 510 Restaurant 510 Groveland Ave MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55403 Phone: 612-874-6440 February 16, 2005 WINES OF THE TIMES Poetry and Attitude, Pinot Noir's Paradox By ERIC ASIMOV NO other wine conjures up poetic descriptions like pinot noir; no other wine forges as direct a path to the soul. If a wine could make a person cry, it would have to be a pinot noir. A wine like this is bound to have a pretty big mystique, and pinot noir wears its like a rap star wears gold. It's a femme fatale. It's a temperamental artist. It's very sensitive. There are times when the Dining section's wine panel would like to say to pinot noir, "Snap out of it!" But then we catch ourselves; our task requires us to taste these unruly wines, not to discipline them. Sometimes the act of choosing wines to taste does not even require logic; we simply make arbitrary decisions. Such was the case when we decided recently to sample some pinot noirs from New Zealand in the company of pinot noirs from the central coast of California, a big stretch that reaches from San Francisco Bay south to Santa Barbara County. Why the central coast? Without being scientific about it, we simply wanted to compare the New Zealand pinots with a selection of American pinots. We could have chosen the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County, or the Anderson Valley in Mendocino County, but instead we decided on the central coast, for no better reason than that it had been a while since we had tasted a selection of these wines. Not that any specific conclusions would have been possible. The central coast is too big an area, with too many different sites - terroirs, if you don't mind - to draw any conclusions from the 12 California bottles we sampled. The same goes for New Zealand. Our 12 bottles perhaps did not adequately reckon with its selection of grape-growing sites. But the tasting was nonetheless illuminating because the general comparison, between New Zealand and California, was fascinating. Florence Fabricant and I were joined by two guests, William Sherer, sommelier at Atelier, and David Gordon, wine director at TriBeCa Grill, and we all went into the tasting believing that, for the most part, we would be able to tell the New Zealand pinots from the California pinots. In California, known for its sunny warmth, the challenge for pinot growers, assuming the soil and other variables are correct, has been to find sites that are cool enough to ripen the grapes evenly so that acidity will balance the sweetness. Too often California pinots cannot find this balance, and the result is a cloyingly sweet, syrupy wine or a hot, overly alcoholic wine. In New Zealand, generally speaking, growers face the opposite challenge, just as in Burgundy, the world's benchmark for pinot noir. Having rejected most of New Zealand's northern island as too hot, pinot noir planters have concentrated in the cooler southern island, where warm days balance cold nights. When the balance is right and the grapes ripen sufficiently, sweetness harmonizes with acidity. Unbalanced, the wines tend to be acerbic. I can hear the wines pouting again. As it turned out, our guesses in the blind tasting were pretty accurate. The too-sweet, too-big wines tended to be from California; the too-thin, too-tart wines tended to be from New Zealand. In the middle were the wines we liked best; again and again balance was the key. Foremost among them was our top wine, the 2001 Peregrine from the Central Otago region of New Zealand, which, at $24, was also our best value. The Peregrine was one of the few wines with some complexity, with aromas and flavors that shaded beyond the obvious, and it demonstrates that the New Zealand pinot noir growers are on the right track. While some decent pinot comes from Marlborough to the north, and from Martinborough on the southernmost part of the North Island, Central Otago, the most southerly wine region in the world, is where they have staked their claim for pinot noir. We tasted three pinots from Central Otago, and all made the list. An '02 Mount Difficulty was actually sweet enough that Mr. Gordon said it had achieved California-style ripeness, but its acidity was sufficient to make it harmonious. An '01 Mount Maude was unusually earthy - Mr. Sherer called it Burgundian - and though it seemed a bit disjointed, Mr. Gordon said it had a lot of potential. The California wines approached the balancing point from the opposite end. Too many were what Ms. Fabricant called "fruit baskets." To my mind they often lacked structure, that is, a spine of acidity or tannin that would give the wine a beginning, a middle and an end. The ones we liked, though, offered up a few angles on which to hang their lush fruit. The '02 Morgan, from Rosella's Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands, had acidity worthy of the New Zealand wines, while the '02 Au Bon Climat from the Santa Maria Valley showed excellent balance and finesse, as did an '02 Tantara, from a neighboring winery to Au Bon Climat. One wine that completely divided the panel was the 2000 Calera, from the Jensen Vineyard on Mount Harlan in the Gabilan range east of Salinas. Caleras always need more time than most California pinots to develop, but I feel they have more character than most and are worth the wait. The two of us who liked it best would have placed it higher up the list. The other two would have dropped it completely. It was the sort of at-loggerheads situation that pinot noirs seem to delight in creating. But then, things are never easy when it comes to pinot noir. Tasting Report: New Zealand to California and Back Again BEST VALUE Peregrine Central Otago New Zealand 2001 $24 *** Complex and balanced, with layers of fruit, truffle and mint flavors; improved in the glass. (Empson U.S.A., Alexandria, Va.) Morgan Santa Lucia Highlands Rosella's Vineyard 2002 $38 *** Aromas of licorice, cherry and mint; sweetness balanced by good acidity. Au Bon Climat Santa Maria Valley La Bauge au-Dessus 2002 $33 *** Juicy fruit and lingering flavors; a wine with finesse and structure. Tantara Santa Maria Valley 2002 $32 ** 1/2 Lots of cherry and mint flavor yet well-etched and graceful. Koura Bay Marlborough New Zealand Blue Duck 2002 $30 ** 1/2 Earthy, light-bodied, balanced and elegant with lingering flavors and a touch of complexity. (Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, Pa.) Mt. Difficulty Central Otago 2002 $30 ** 1/2 Mistaken for a California wine; sweet fruit balanced by good acidity. (Grape Expectations Wine Imports, Raleigh, N.C.) Highfield Marlborough New Zealand 2000 $27 ** 1/2 Light-bodied and lightly tart, with sour cherry, menthol and mineral flavors. (Via Pacifica Imports, Sebastopol, Ca.) Belle Glos Santa Maria Valley Clark & Telephone Vineyard 2002 $39 ** 1/2 Thick California-style texture, but not too sweet; lingering dark fruit flavors. Mt. Maude Central Otago New Zealand 2001 $30 ** Earthy and a bit rustic, with persistent mineral flavors (American Estates, Philadelphia) Calera Mt. Harlan Jensen Vineyard 2000 $50 ** Angular and tannic, with complexity and structure; panel divided. ----- End forwarded message ----- -- ------------------------------ * * Dr. James Lee Ellingson, Adjunct Professor jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651 XXX XXXX * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *

20 years, 9 months

[wine] Any Pinot from Any Where at 510

by Jim L. Ellingson

Greetings, Many thanks to Warren and Ruth. A most excellent time. This week, we're going to the 510 for Pinot. Any Pinot from anywhere. Pinot blanc/gris/grigio/noir/etc. From OR or CA or Burgundy... Should be fun. 510 Groveland Yes: Russ/Sue McCandles Betsy Lori Dave Turan Jim/Louise Annette Bill S. The reservation is for 10 people (we're at 9, can/will update w/ the 510 on Thursday.) We can accomodate 10 pours in Pinot/Burgundy glasses (we're at 7 so far). I'm willing to act as "Steward du jour". Since Bob's out of town, please contact me, or someone els e who's active on the list, if you plan to join us on Thursday. My work phone is 763 494 1907. I've included Russ's notes from last December's Brgndy affair, as well as an article on the DNA mapping of cats. Cheers, Jim The 510 Restaurant 510 Groveland Ave MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55403 Phone: 612-874-6440 W1: sharp/thin on nose, full and smoky midpalate, thins out on finish. Ballot-Millot, 2002 Bourgogne Chardonnay. W2: rich oaky chardonnay nose, midpalate lacks structure, pedigreed white Burgundy flavor, finish emphatically alcoholic, pretty good though. Verget, 2002 Saint-Veran "Vigne de St-Claude." W3: excellent smoky nose suggestive of Chablis, midpalate lacks structure, interesting and attractive tasting wine but lacks W2's flavor distinction, finishes with good length but only fair power. Mestre-Michelot, 1999 Bourgogne Chardonnay. W4: amylic licorice nose, OK midpalate, citric finish, lacks interest. Bouchard Pere & Fils, 2002 Puligny-Montrachet. (Highly disappointing, if this was a representative bottle.) W5: mute nose with SO2 showing, big sweet citric and characteristically chardonnay midpalate, touch unconcentrated but tasty, good length, nice wine. Joseph Drouhin, 2002 Beaune 1er Cru, Clos des Mouches. (Still needs some time.) 1.1: young looking; small but round and rather new world pinot nose, astringent and medicinal mouth entry, tannic, decent fruit and structure, some alcohol showing and short on fruit at the finish, good wine though. Antonin Rodet, 1998 Bourgogne Pinot Noir, Vieilles Vignes. 1.2: lighter young color; pure but bashful nose; lacks concentration but OK fruit, some tannin; aromatic finish, more attractive tonight than 1.1 but generally a smaller wine. Louis Auguste, 2002 Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits. 1.3: color suggests more age; very reticent nose of spice, licorice, acid; full-smooth mouth entry, medicinal fruit; quite alcoholic on finish, shortish too. Pierre de Champvigne, 1996 Mercurey 1er Cru, Clos Voyen (Chevaliers de Tastevin bottling). (Some doubt expressed at table about whether this was a perfect bottle, although of course this is pretty old Mercurey.) 1.4: deep red, sizeable pure nose with the alcohol showing, big spicy alcoholic wine in the mouth, some tannin, lots of structure, big aromatic finish is the best feature, lacks length though. Mestre-Michelot, 2002 Santenay 1er Cru, Gravieres. 2.1: full purple; rich and meaty nose; full and smooth, lots of fruit without much sweetness, focused and true; finishes as it tastes, some alcohol but considerable finesse, excellent length, extremely good bottle. Vincent Girardin, 2001 Santenay 1er Cru, Gravieres. (This has put on weight since release and was showing very attractively tonight.) 2.2: medium to light red, nose medicinal but characterful, smooth mouthfeel but still tannic, midpalate lacks fruit, at an awkward age? The wine has presence all the way thru to the finish but seems to be sleeping? Jean-Jacques Girard, 2002 Savigny-les-Beaune. (Needs retasting. As a 2002, probably not "asleep" in the sense of what wines often do around their fourth year, but could be suffering from shipping shock or some such.) 2.3: medium red, color showing some age; very reticent nose; hard, medicinal, peppery, lacks fruit in this company, big wine though; in this company, no finish. Rene Engel, 1999 Vosne-Romanee. (This one, on the other hand, may well have been asleep. Good producer, fine vintage.) 2.4: dark red; sizeable cola nose, big astringent, medicinal unsweet fruit in the mouth, really good, moderately aromatic finish with more sweetness showing, decent length, could use time, this is very good. Maurice Ecard, 2001 Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru, Narbantons. (This one has REALLY put on weight since release.) 3.1: light red, lovely if not large sweet nose, smells of pure young red berry fruit; smooth midpalate, lots of darker fruits, tannic at the back end, highly aromatic finish, lovely wine, extra long. Bouchard Pere & Fils, 2002 Beaune 1er Cru, "Beaune du Chateau." (Reportedly available at Surdyk's priced in mid-$20s; remarkable value at that sort of price.) 3.2: dark color showing some age, distinguished maturing nose, mineral and vegetal components in addition to the fruit; smooth, smoky midpalate with BIG fruit, vegetal tastes following thru from the nose, very well structured; big aromatic and alcoholically hot finish, still needs some time. Joseph Roty, 1995 Gevrey-Chambertin, Cuvee de Champs-Chenys. 3.3: quite dark; big tarry nose; some lack of concentration and fruit but the flavor is distinctive; some tannin left but seems mature, power and length not all one could wish for. Faiveley, 1990 Beaune 1er Cru, Champs-Pimont. 3.4: dark color, sizeable nose still mostly primary, midweight in the mouth, balanced, smooth and pure, very attractive, minerals and tar with the fruit, flavor almost suggests nebbiolo, dark red cherry, touch of alcohol showing; excitingly smooth transition to finish, sweet and aromatic, good length, this is excellent. Bertagna, 1995 Vougeot 1er Cru, Clos de la Perriere. (Reported to be currently available at Haskell's. Caveat emptor.) February 15, 2005 With Genetic Mapping, Cats' Mysteries Will Be Unraveled By NICHOLAS BAKALAR Genetically speaking, every dog has already had its day. In 2003, a standard poodle named Shadow became the first canine to have his genome mapped, and in 2004 a boxer, Tasha, became the second. Now scientists are turning their attention to the genome of the domestic cat, and it is Cinnamon's turn to donate a blood sample. Cinnamon is not just any cat. She comes from a carefully bred colony at the University of Missouri, and her lineage can be traced back for decades. Scientists therefore know exactly what they are getting when they look at her DNA. Researchers hope to have the cat genome mapped by the end of the year - perhaps as soon as this summer - and when the job is done, humans will be the ones to benefit. Americans own (or serve) more than 60 million cats, spend over $4 billion a year on cat food and are so dedicated to feline health care that their veterinarians have identified more than 250 genetic diseases and hundreds of infectious agents that afflict them. But the genome will usher in a world of knowledge with immediate practical application, not only for veterinarians and cat owners, but for geneticists, zoologists and conservationists as well. When the National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, chose the cat as one of the select group of species to have their genomes mapped, it conferred no small honor. It will cost $5.5 million to do the job, said a spokesman for the health institutes, and though the project will produce a map that is far less detailed than that of the human genome, scientists firmly believe it is worth every penny. The sequencing is being carried out under contract with Agencourt Bioscience Corporation, a biotechnology firm in Beverly, Mass., which was started five years ago by scientists originally involved in the Human Genome Project. The cat genome is large, and even though automated equipment is used at every step, sequencing it is labor intensive; more than 100 people are involved in one way or another in the project. The raw material - Cinnamon's DNA - is delivered to Agencourt by the N.I.H. Then the work begins, essentially a process of chopping up the DNA into tiny usable pieces in a process called library construction, and then putting it all back together to create the map. Producing a usable first draft sequence takes about nine months. The Cat Genome Project was announced along with plans to sequence the genomes of eight other mammals: the elephant, the orangutan, the shrew, the hedgehog, the guinea pig, the tenrec, the armadillo and the rabbit. Each new genome map adds something to the understanding of the human genome, but the cat was chosen, among other reasons, for its importance as a medical model in studying human disease. "The genes on the cat chromosome and the human chromosome correspond to each other like two strings of beads made of different colors," said Dr. Stephen J. O'Brien, chief of the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity of the National Cancer Institute, adding that cats have "the same genes, one after another, strung together across every chromosome." This resemblance means that many of the cat's genetic diseases are inherited exactly the same way as genetic illnesses in humans. Diabetes, hemophilia and lupus, for example, have precise genetic homologues in cats. Cat retroviruses, like those that cause feline leukemia and feline sarcoma, although slightly different in their gene structure from the human versions, produce lesions that look almost identical to human cancers. Perhaps even more significant, feline immunodeficiency virus, or F.I.V., resembles H.I.V. so closely that it follows the same progression that, untreated, leads to the wasting syndrome of AIDS in humans. It is the only known naturally occurring AIDS syndrome in any nonhuman species, and provides a perfect model for studying the progression of the disease. Cats also get feline versions of many other human infectious diseases, including rotavirus, poxvirus, herpes, Q-fever, chlamydiosis and dozens more. On top of that, they are resistant to anthrax infection, a fact of considerable interest to scientists. Once the genome is mapped, said Dr. O'Brien, "research on feline stem cells will blossom, along with gene therapy applications." Zoologists and wildlife managers are just as eager as medical researchers to start using the completed cat genome. The domestic cat is the only one of the 37 species in its family that is not either threatened or endangered. Yet despite their rapidly shrinking territory, and their limited genetic diversity within species, wild cats endure on every continent except Australia and Antarctica, at the top of the food chain wherever they live. "The free-ranging species are survivors," Dr. O'Brien said. "Cheetahs, for example, get infected with F.I.V., but they don't get sick," though no one knows why. On the other hand, wild cats can become infected for reasons that are just as mysterious. This happened in 1994 when the canine distemper virus, which normally infects only dogs, suddenly jumped to lions. Wildlife managers watched, appalled, as the virus swept through the population, killing one-third of the lions in the Serengeti ecosystem in only nine months. Zoologists want to know what explains these evolved genetic defenses and susceptibilities. The genomes of the domestic cat and its wild relatives are almost identical, and the genetic information developed for the domestic cat will apply widely to all the species in its genus. "The full genome," Dr. O'Brien said, "will empower people with tools to discover innate disease defenses, recognize pathogens and other threats and assess the present status and future of these species." Cats were probably first domesticated about 6,000 years ago, making them much newer guests in the human household than dogs or barnyard animals, which have lived with humans for almost twice as long. Yet they are the domestic animal closest to our hearts in more ways than one. "At least from a genomic perspective," Dr. O'Brien said, "cats share a striking ancient affinity with humankind." ----- End forwarded message ----- -- ------------------------------ * * Dr. James Lee Ellingson, Adjunct Professor jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651 XXX XXXX * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *

20 years, 9 months

[wine] TN Pot Roast Wines Chez Gregory 2-10-2005

by Russell McCandless

Pot Roast Wines Chez Gregory - 2/10/2005 Outstanding pot roast and trimmings, a perfect fruit tray in midwinter, fine cheeses, wonderful desserts, a lot of good wines, entertainment courtesy of Simone and Ozzie. Thanks to Warren and Ruth for their hospitality, and to all who contributed to the feast! W1 - bashful fresh fruit nose, more forthcoming as the wine warmed; floral midpalate, quite concentrated, good flavor, balanced structure, honeyed finish, tropical fruit undertones, viognier? This is tasty! Hawley, 2003 Viognier, Sonoma and Placer Counties. (Good example; nearly everything one likes about viognier while avoiding any tendency to get syrupy and/or too tropical.) W2 - deep gold, bashful nose, sweet and soft mouth entry, possibly Riesling or gewurz, some alcohol showing, floral finish with some sugar. Sweeter than what I would call "off dry," although perhaps not an out-and-out dessert wine. Barmes Buecher, 2001 Pinot d'Alsace (AOC Alsace). W3 - very light color; freshly acidic and floral nose with faint peach tones; chenin blanc sort of flavor, might be a Loire wine from one of the two recent hot vintages, plenty of fresh fruit, finishes as it tastes, uncomplicated but attractive, good length. Wine could be better than one's initial impressions, difficult to taste such a bracingly acidic white right behind the sweet Alsatian wine. Reynolds, 2004 Sauvignon Blanc, South Australia. (Quite a good fresh, dry sauvignon blanc, especially if one prefers fruit-driven SB's to the grassy-vegetal types.) 1.1 - medium purple; nose of sweet oak and dark fruits, touch of alcohol showing, could be cab but no special varietal distinction; round, sweet and moderately tannic midpalate, finishes smoothly if without real authority, tasty and attractive though. Pine Ridge, 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford, Napa Valley. (A Bordeaux blend of roughly 80% cabernet sauvignon, plus several other grapes. This improved with air for about an hour, then went maply. There's no rush, but remaining bottles should probably be consumed in the reasonably near future.) 1.2 - purple, lighter than wine 1, nose of sour and earthy black fruits, syrah? Flavor much more in the red fruit spectrum than the nose, finish lacks force, sound but small, perhaps Cotes du Rhone? Pine Ridge, 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford, Napa Valley. (Didn't even get the continent right. Utterly dissimilar to its big brother from the much better 1999 vintage. Again, a Bordeaux blend.) 1.3 - red, not 100% clear, spritz? Leather and meat nose, reduced red fruit taste, finishes as it tastes, lacks force. Villadoria, 1997 Bricco Magno. (Not sure what part of Italy this was from; label was inscrutable.) 2.1 - medium purple; smells of earth, oak, and cabernet fruit; mouth entry initially smooth, then astringent, red fruits, menthol tones, good aromatic finish, a decent, attractive Bordeaux type. 1996 Chateau Bernadotte, AOC Haut-Medoc. 2.2 - medium to dark purple; pretty, sweet shiraz type nose; smooth and sweet, well structured though, alcohol showing, finishes as it tastes, could wish for more length and power at the end. McDowell, 2002 Syrah, California. 2.3 - dark purple; quite an alcoholic nose, cabernet fruit, bell pepper and wood, smells like it's a big wine; smooth mouth entry, burnt wood, very ripe to overripe black fruits, finish is the best feature, tastes as though it still needs time. Truchard, 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Carneros. 3.1 - inky; big sweet meaty nose, considerable alcohol and oak, in the mouth a huge sweet ozzie shiraz, quite tannic, peppery, finish lacks the thundering power of the midpalate but quite long. This was excellent with the dessert, even the chocolate ice cream. Yangarra, 2002 Shiraz, McLaren Vale. 3.2 - dark purple; very large cabernet nose, blackcurrants and cedar; full and flavorful midpalate, an aristocratic Bordeaux flavor with considerable size, ultra smooth finish, lots of fruit, especially red currant, very long. Such a large wine that I expected it to finish with obvious alcohol or other rough edges, but it was like silk. Unusually fine. Merryvale, 1999 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley. 3.3 - dark-brilliant, faintly orange edge; aromatically floral nose, blackberry and asphalt, could this be nebbiolo?? Smooth mouth entry, then very structured, huge fruit as it smells, quite complex, lots of different flavors and aromas here, alcohol showing, tannic young-tasting wine, graceful for its size, finishes warmly aromatic and extremely long. 1993 Viader, Napa Valley (60% cabernet sauvignon, 40% cabernet franc).

20 years, 9 months

[wine] new email address for Janet Swenson @ Vinifera Minnesota

by Janet Swenson

Hello - my email address viniferamn(a)mindspring.com has been changed to mn(a)viniferadistributing.com Janet

20 years, 9 months

[wine] Pot Roast Reds, Sausy Whites at Chez Gregory

by Jim L. Ellingson

Mostly an update and a second review of the Freedom Food Book. Guest list is at 9, as far as I know. C, J ----- Forwarded message from "Jim L. Ellingson" <jellings(a)me.umn.edu> ----- Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2005 17:05:12 -0600 From: "Jim L. Ellingson" <jellings(a)me.umn.edu> To: wine(a)thebarn.com Subject: Pot Roast Reds, Sassy Whites at Chez Gregory User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.4i Greetings, Thanks to Russ for posting his tasting notes. We have an invitation to Chez Gregory. Limit is 10 for this sit down dinner. Wine styles are Sassy Whites... (aka anything interesting.) and Big, Hearty Reds. I don't recall the full list, but am thinking it was along the lines of: Cab/Brdx Blends Spanish Shiraz/Syrah The "white" and "desert" options are always open. "Hearty Burgundy" didn't make the list, but you've only your reputation to lose.... ditto the Romanian Pinot. Warren, Ruth Gregory 651-698-5337 2139 Randolph wrcgregory(a)qwest.net Who/What Bob Cheeses Warren/Ruth hosts/Pot Roasts. Jim/Louise Breads/Salad Russ Betsy Desert?? Lori Desert ?? Annette Fruit That's 10 so anyone else is on the waiting list... February 9, 2005 Something to Chew On: Frenchwomen Eat Smart By ELAINE SCIOLINO Paris THE CROISSANT looked golden-brown and flaky, but one bite was enough. Mireille Guiliano declared it "disgusting." The waiter apologized. The regular croissant vendor wasn't baking. But Ms. Guiliano, the author of the best seller "French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure" (Alfred A. Knopf, 2005), was not about to waste all those calories on a second-rate bread product. "Life is too short to drink bad wine and to eat bad food," she said. "This is all about fooling yourself." Self-deception and sensuality are the secrets of how to eat well and stay slim, according to Ms. Guiliano's bonbon of a book. In her world, Frenchwomen instinctively understand the centrality of food as a tool of seduction. And seduction, she writes, "figures prominently in the Frenchwoman's sense of herself." To that end, Frenchwomen eat small portions. They eat whatever they want - even chocolate - but certainly not every day. They use ultrafresh ingredients and avoid processed foods. They drink a lot of water, but never take wine without food. Frenchwomen are never too busy to go food shopping several times a week or to make their own yogurt from scratch. They are never too cash-strapped to buy farm-fresh items from open-air markets. They never eat in front of the television or standing up. They eat slowly, savor every bite and make dining a ritual - using all five senses and enjoying multicourse meals on separate plates. "In the United States, everyone is always in a rush," she said. "People have to realize how great it is to be for hours around the table. Except for the bed in the bedroom, the table is the only place where you connect." Parenthood is no excuse for inaction. "People say they are busy with three young kids," said Ms. Guiliano, who does not have children. "Well, there are choices to be made. Maybe you can't watch your reality show for 20 minutes." And Frenchwomen never say diet. "I hate the word 'diet,' " she said. "It's all about deprivation. All the women I meet who are on a diet are unhappy and grumpy and boring." Ms. Guiliano, 58, uses her own happy history to prove her thesis. The 5-foot-3-inch, 112-pound Frenchwoman gorged on brownies and cookies as an exchange student in Massachusetts in the 1960's and gained 20 pounds. She gained 10 more upon her return to France, shedding them all after a doctor taught her about moderation. She created Clicquot Inc., the American subsidiary of Champagne Veuve Clicquot, and now serves as its chairwoman. She and her husband, Edward Guiliano, the president of the New York Institute of Technology, divide their time between New York and Paris. They can squeeze 150 guests into their duplex in the West Village for dinner. They grow blueberries, tomatoes and fresh herbs on the smaller of its two terraces. Their pied-�-terre in the chicest part of the Sixth Arrondissement of Paris is much more modest, accommodating only four comfortably for dinner. Their small family house in Dix Hills on Long Island is home to 4,000 bottles of their wine collection. The book is a confection that she whipped up (complete with favorite recipes) over summer and fall weekends. "It was very easy," she said. "There was no research." Indeed, Ms. Guiliano's message can be found in just about any women's magazine or nutritionist's booklet. And she acknowledges that it is by no means a comprehensive analysis of French eating and drinking habits. She does not address the role of genetics in a woman's weight or the fact that a large segment of Frenchwomen seem naturally smaller-boned, smaller-hipped and less cellulite-laden than many other Westerners. She does not deal with the fact that obesity is growing at an alarming rate throughout France, although it is still at much lower levels than in the United States. Or that takeout and fast-food restaurants have proliferated in France in the past 25 years. (McDonald's in France is more profitable than in any other country in Europe). When questioned, she confesses that Frenchwomen with bad eating habits and excess adipose do exist. "There are plenty of Frenchwomen who are fat," she acknowledges. "But all of my friends are like me." On one level, Ms. Guiliano exudes the je ne sais quoi of that certain type of Frenchwoman who seems effortlessly slim, elegant and serene. She wears her newly found fame as effortlessly as her Armani trousers, Ferragamo pumps, Revillon mink coat and Louis Vuitton handbag. She giggles as she lets it slip that she always wears sexy (but comfortable) lingerie that she would never entrust to a maid to launder. She boasts that some American men who have read her book have written to say, "You're my kind of woman." But there is a steely discipline behind her pleasure-loving approach. One of the main goals of staying slim is to remain appealing to men, and that is hard work. No matter that decades of feminism have taught women to think and act for themselves. "A Frenchman wants his wife to be very elegant, very thin," she said. "It's never said, except in the silence. There is pressure. A woman works on herself." An advance team from "Oprah" recently spent a day in Ms. Guiliano's Paris apartment watching her make homemade yogurt and prepare her now famous "Magical Leek Soup," which is eaten and drunk exclusively for an entire weekend to purge the body before the adventure with pleasure dining begins. "There have been predictions that there will be a leek shortage in America!" she exclaimed, adding, "People are telling me that I have changed their lives." She is also being celebrated in the French press. "If Americans refuse to take the advice of French in diplomatic matters, they seem clearly open to dietary advice," wrote the popular French daily Le Parisien about her book. Le Figaro calls her "the Pasionaria of eating well." Ms. Guiliano said that she has been showered with offers to be the host of a television cooking or lifestyle show and to write a sequel about other secret habits of Frenchwomen. American designers have suggested that she wear their dresses to the Oscars, and there is talk of a movie, she said. Champagne Veuve Clicquot is reveling in her success, and is promoting its Champagne at some of her public appearances. LVMH, its parent company, by contrast, has not even sent a congratulatory note, she said. Even though the book has been translated into 11 languages, no French publisher has signed it, but she said a number of them are negotiating. "The French are afraid to take risks," Ms. Guiliano said. "They philosophize all day long and at the end of the day, there are no decisions." So it is not surprising that her love of French food and respect for French eating habits does not extend to the French work ethic. "I could have never done all this in France," she said. "France is a class society. They kill you if you want to be an entrepreneur here. I would get an ulcer in three weeks." -- ------------------------------ * * Dr. James Lee Ellingson, Adjunct Professor jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651 XXX XXXX * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *

20 years, 9 months

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