Dan Berger: The collapse of cabernetby Dan Berger | Posted: Friday, January 22, 2010 12:00 amefault font sizeFor more than a decade, I have hoped for a miracle. Then last week I realized the worst: Cabernet sauvignon has changed so appreciably that I fear we’ll never see it in the way we once did.Cabernet has undergone a makeover that has, probably forever, made it little more than a parody of itself, entering a realm that 20 years ago I never would have believed.Today, California cabernet is a virtual wine, made to be consumed as an aperitif and as young as possible. A long book could be devoted to this sad tale of decline. What follows is a brief look at the collapse of what once was California’s most prized possession.First, let’s look back on what cabernet used to be. It was dry red wine. It was aged in oak not for oaky flavor, but for maturity and complexity. It was modest in alcohol – 12.5 percent for the vast majority; a few
“over-the-top” wines reached 13.5 percent.Also, it was designed to be aged a little bit, and a few a lot longer. When very young, the wines were tannic and needed taming. I still have some 1970s cabs in the cellar that are in great shape.Moreover, once the wines got some bottle age and a bit of bouquet, they went nicely with food. Since they had good acid levels, food was a near necessity, and the list included steaks, chops, stews, roasted chicken, game and more.What we have today, mainly at the $30-and-above price point, are wines that are the near antithesis of this: high in alcohol (almost nothing of supposed quality is less than 14.5 percent; some are 16 percent), very low acid levels (which almost guarantees that the wines won’t age well), and actual residual sugar in many.This is wine that some reviewers say smells like chocolate, mocha, smoke and roasted nuts. These aren’t aromas derived from fruit; they come from the smoked oak barrels
in which the wines were aged, clearly an idea that was never at play decades ago.The most telling — and damaging — aspect of today’s cabernets is what I hear from wine makers, and always off the record. The phrasing may differ, but the sentiment is the same: “I may make cabernet, but I don’t drink it any more.”I got an e-mail from Napa Valley wine maker George Vierra, who wrote, “We just opened a bottle of 1980 Vichon Eisele Vineyards Cabernet, 12.5percent alcohol. It had good color; fruity and herby nose, medium body, touch of astringency, correctly balanced, very long finish. I have a few more. Went great with leg of lamb.”Minutes later came an e-mail from Christian Miller, a wine marketing researcher: “We had a 1991 Simi regular Cab yesterday that had aged beautifully. It would be fascinating to do a tasting of 10 or 20 year old flagship wines vs. ‘secondary’ wines to see which are aging better, although you might have to wait a
few years to incorporate the full effect of the winemaking changes of recent years.”I was a judge at the San Francisco Chronicle wine competition last week and one flight of 60 cabernets was utterly disappointing: almost all were huge, ungainly red wines that had no aroma I ascribe to cabernet. And these oafs had no food compatibility whatever.The fact that today’s cabs don’t work with food prompted me to suggest that maybe they’d go with chocolate, to which a wine writing colleague argued, “What?! And ruin good chocolate?”There are complicated reasons for this turnabout, but the bottom line is that we may have lost cabernet for all time. I can’t drink them young; I can’t imagine they will age well, and I cannot figure out why so many people are still buying them.Is it political correctness? It certainly can’t be for the reasons we adored the grape and the wine decades ago. Have today’s consumers all been brainwashed?Sure, a few
elegant cabernets are still being made, but they are so rare as to be on a list of endangered species. (Curiously, some are reasonably priced, and probably because they don’t smell like chocolate.)I hear rumors that wine makers are trying to cut back on alcohols. But we are locked in to a system that calls for this sort of mediocrity. And in some ways, the current situation is really laughable since the more you pay for a wine, the more likely it is to be weird and unlike cabernet.P.S. Is there any connection to the decline in cabernet style and the dramatically increased sales of pinot noir?
Greetings,
This is my last week w/o the tyranny of having to lecture at 8 a.m. 5x/week.
So would like to organize a wine dinner somewhere for this Thursday, 1/28.
Will need to decide by early tomorrow so as to get all the pieces in place.
Any interest in:
First Course and Pinot??
Risotto and Piedmont
Al Vento and open Italian
Open to other venues (S. Mpls) and other pariings.
JD at Strip Club would like to see us back there. Thinking big reds, e.g. Cabs or
We're also up for ngon, but need to stay on this side of the river this week.
Please pop me a note asap. Critical mass is 6. Limit is 10 or 12.
Cheers,
Jim
----- Forwarded message from Alicia Anderson <sauternes76(a)gmail.com> -----
In-Reply-To: <6a3e13921001241449j7d08f63dm28139096539f7759(a)mail.gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 16:52:53 -0600
Subject: Fwd: [Fwd: February 25th Oceanaire]
From: Alicia Anderson <sauternes76(a)gmail.com>
To: Joyce Hegstrom <jhegstro(a)umn.edu>
Cc: russellmccandless(a)frontiernet.net, k9ladysue(a)aol.com,
Betsy.Kremser(a)co.anoka.mn.us, rudelius(a)umn.edu, tedcarm(a)hotmail.com,
jellings(a)me.umn.edu, l.ames(a)juno.com
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Sorry I forgot to attach this to everyone else!!!!
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Alicia Anderson <sauternes76(a)gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Jan 24, 2010 at 4:49 PM
Subject: Re: [Fwd: February 25th Oceanaire]
To: Joyce Hegstrom <jhegstro(a)umn.edu>
Hi Bubbles,
I'm glad you're having a good time in AZ. Sorry to hear about the
misfortunes at Oceanaire. Here are some ideas for locations. If you want I
can investigate or if you have contacts, just let me know
Minneapolis
Vincent's - Friend
Cafe 28 - know owner
Clancey's Meats & Fish (Do private events in the back room, might be a
special dinner?) -Kristin, owner
Restaurant Alma ? Love them, haven't eaten there in years
Saffron ? Fab.
Stella's Fish Cafe ? May have a contact there
Cafe Maude - they have a party room across the street
Grand Cafe - eat there for breakfast all the time
First Course - John knows the owner
Toast Wine Bar and Cafe - Good friends, best pizza in town
Sushi? I don't recall if we have done that before.
Something in NE?
St. Paul
Chianti Grill (I am friends with the Chief of Operations)
Strip Club - only eaten there once, was fab
Ngon Cafe (I really liked that place)
I don't know this isn't a complete list, but just some ideas. Get back to me
when you can...
Cheers,
Alicia
On Sun, Jan 24, 2010 at 10:32 AM, Joyce Hegstrom <jhegstro(a)umn.edu> wrote:
>
>
> -------- Original Message -------- Subject: February 25th Oceanaire Date:
> Sun, 24 Jan 2010 10:31:57 -0600 From: Joyce Hegstrom <jhegstro(a)umn.edu><jhegstro(a)umn.edu> To:
> russellmccandless(a)frontiernet.net <russellmccandless(a)frontiernet.net><russellmccandless(a)frontiernet.net>,
> Gageby <k9ladysue(a)aol.com> <k9ladysue(a)aol.com>, Betsy Kremser
> <Betsy.Kremser(a)co.anoka.mn.us> <Betsy.Kremser(a)co.anoka.mn.us>, William
> Rudelius-1 <rudelius(a)umn.edu> <rudelius(a)umn.edu>, Theodore Trampe
> <tedcarm(a)hotmail.com> <tedcarm(a)hotmail.com>, Jim L. Ellingson
> <jellings(a)me.umn.edu> <jellings(a)me.umn.edu>, Alicia Anderson,
> l.ames(a)juno.com <l.ames(a)juno.com> <l.ames(a)juno.com>
>
> Greetings from Sunny (Finally!) Arizona
>
>
> I just received an e-mail from Kyle McCleary at Oceanaire. He informed
> me that he will be leaving his position February 6th. Dang!!!!
>
> So, the dinner is off. Unfortunately, I don't know any of the other
> chefs working there who I could possibly reschedule with who would want
> to "throw food at us."
>
>
> Sorry!
>
>
> Joyce
>
>
>
----- End forwarded message -----
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* Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu *
* University of Minnesota, mobile : 651/645-0753 *
* Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *
FYI/FYE. What's not to like?
Expect these wine trends for the new decade
Jon BonnéSunday, January 10, 2010
Water wise: Frog's Leap winemaker John Williams dry farms...
There's not much doubt about what has defined wine culture over the past 10 years. Pinot Noir's debutante moment, the surge of sommeliers, the critter label. Riesling and pink Champagne and screwcaps. But the fact that you're quite likely reading this on a computer screen is a giveaway. The Internet reigns.
What about the next 10 years? The Teens (Tens? Tweens?) will be an era without excuses. We're in a bold time for wine in America. More wine is being consumed than ever before - nearly 3 gallons per U.S. adult in 2008, according to data from the Beverage Information Group.
There's something else: a lot of newly minted wine drinkers who grew up with wine-drinking parents. Wine marketing expert John Gillespie of Wine Opinions sees a parallel with the latter round of Boomers, who propelled wine forward in the 1970s: "Of the 70 million millennials (people born in the late 20th century) in the United States, there are still something like 20 million who are not yet 21."
Dizzyingly, we have choices from around the world - and that will continue even amid a global wine glut. But en route to the era of Chinese Merlot, here are five themes that I think will define the new decade.
1. Retailers resurgent. There was a time when your local wine merchant was a top source of buying advice. That time is back. In part, this is the rise of wine boutiques that curate rather than cast a wide net - whether it's Ruby Wine or Biondivino in San Francisco, or even California Wine Merchants in New York - which makes for a shopping experience you can't get at a big box. Yes, scores will still sell wine and, yes, so will Costco and Walmart.
But retailers have never been more knowledgeable or less snooty (makes a big difference); as in-store tastings and a culture of service become more important, wine shopping is becoming an experience to enjoy, not to rush through. That doesn't mean online shopping is going anywhere, but its current limitations (witness Amazon.com's abortive attempts at wine sales) underscore that buying wine isn't like buying a flat-screen. We want to see and touch.
2. Sustainability grows teeth. While the wine industry is virtually choking on eco-buzzwords right now, expect to see real regulation (self- and bureaucratic) that gives backbone to the claims. Next week the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance will unveil a third-party audit system. Expect it to become something like the Green Building Council's LEED certification for architecture: a consumer-friendly means of benchmarking.
Beyond organics and biodynamics, expect water to become the next blazing issue (We began talking about it awhile ago: sfgate.com/ZJAN) In California and elsewhere, there won't be enough of it. Because vines need relatively little compared to, say, spinach, the next question is: How much less can we be using?
And after a decade of synthetic corks (hopefully left behind in the Aughts) and screwcaps (here to stay, happily) the next packing revolution will be in the bottle itself. Not just by using plastic bottles or bag-in-boxes, but by using lighter and less glass. It's already happening.
3. Brands get serious. With a few exceptions, critter labels and their x-treme offspring are being shuffled off to history. Their replacements - attitude labels (Wily Jack, anyone?) - are a mixed bag. On the label, at least, classy is back; look no further than BevMo's breakout hit Challis Lane. Returning to that rising tide of millennials, the keyword is authenticity. They want it. Now more than ever, there are labels under $20 (the new magic price point) that deliver by looking serious but not dull.
4. The rise of pro-am reviewing. Forget blogs. With social media throwing its weight around (see my thoughts last year on Twitter: sfgate.com/ZJAO) whose reviews will really move markets?
Journalism has been gnashing out the balance of professional and amateur realms for years. Wine criticism is headed for the same. Anyone can hand out an 88 or 92, but if you think your number flood will replace Robert Parker's, you need to suck back a few more RP94s. Yet the Web is increasingly providing ways to mesh these realms - notably with sites like Cellartracker, which I'll be circling back to soon. That's enormously powerful.
5. Less is more. Less alcohol (the numbers are already leveling off), less wood flavors, less tinkering. Some of this is a change in taste: more clear fruit than wood, brighter flavors that go with dinner, wines from around the world that fit this bill.
But there's another lesson to be drawn from the recession: Simple winemaking is also less expensive. And all caveats aside about denting the brand - less expensive means more wine sold.
Jon Bonnés The Chronicle's wine editor. Find him at jbonne(a)sfchronicle.com or twitter.com/jbonne.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/10/FD471BDTLN.DTL
This article appeared on page K - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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* Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu *
* University of Minnesota, mobile : 651/645-0753 *
* Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *
Interesting idea:
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Hello,
We will be having a wine tasting at the restaurant here are the details:
Join us Monday, January 25th at 7:00 p.m. at the Citizen Cafe, located
at 2403 East 38th Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55406, for another
fabulous food and wine event. Hosted by internationally known wine
importer Annette Peters from World Class Wines, this journey will take
us through Italy and France as Annette talks about a side of the
business few get to learn of: the "A-ha!" moment of tasting something
incredible followed by the pursuit of the winemaker, negotiations of
contracts, and the physical shipping of wine from remote outposts to
local retailers.
You will sample seven wines, which will be discounted 10% at McDonald's
Liquor and Fine Wine Store, 5010-34th Avenue South, Minneapolis,
Minnesota, 55417. Served family-style will be four delicious foods
prepared by Chef Michael MacKay.
To register, please pre-pay $25.00 by coming into the Citizen Cafe, or
by calling them at 612-729-1122 with a credit card.
Feel free to call McDonald's wine buyer Michael Hennessy at 612-721-6686
with any questions or myself at 612-729-1122.
We hope to see you there!
Seaen MacKay
Citizen Cafe
