Or should I say dinrkonomics?
Who knew there was an Am. Assoc. of Wine Economists?
Cheers,
Jim
DECEMBER 16, 2010, 10:30 AM
Freakonomics Radio: Do More Expensive Wines Taste Better?
By STEPHEN J. DUBNER
Photo: Geoffrey Fairchild
Podcast Freakonomics Radio
Do More Expensive Wines Taste Better?: They should! It.s a cardinal rule: more expensive items are supposed to be qualitatively better than their cheaper versions.
Download/Subscribe at iTunes »
Subscribe to RSS feed
Listen Now
The latest Freakonomics Radio podcast is called .Do More Expensive Wines Taste Better?. (You can download/subscribe at iTunes, get the RSS feed or listen live via the link in box at right.)
When you take a sip of Cabernet, what are you tasting? The grape? The tannins? The oak barrel? Or the price?
Believe it or not, the most dominant flavor may be the dollars. Thanks to the work of some intrepid and wine-obsessed economists (yes, there is an American Association of Wine Economists), we are starting to gain a new understanding of the relationship between wine, critics and consumers.
One of these researchers is Robin Goldstein, whose paper detailing more than 6,000 blind tastings reaches the conclusion that .individuals who are unaware of the price do not derive more enjoyment from more expensive wine..
So why do we pay so much attention to critics and connoisseurs who tell us otherwise?
That.s the question we set out to answer in this podcast. Along the way, you.ll hear details about Goldstein.s research as well as the story of how his .restaurant. in Milan, Osteria L.Intrepido, won an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator magazine. (Not how you think!)
Also featured: Steve Levitt, who admits his palate is .underdeveloped,. describing a wine-tasting stunt he pulled on his elders at Harvard.s Society of Fellows.
Also, you.ll hear from wine broker Brian DiMarco (featured in the forthcoming documentary Escaping Robert Parker) who pulled a stunt of his own on his very wine-savvy employees. DiMarco also walks us through the mechanics of the wine-purchase business, and describes how price is often a far-too-powerful signal to our taste buds.
A couple of very interesting interviews didn.t make the podcast but are worth a mention here. One was with the noted Princeton economist (and wine buff) Orley Ashenfelter*, who spoke about our general overreliance on experts, whether they.re in the wine field or far beyond:
I mean, S&P, Moody.s, Fitch, these people all rated securities that apparently completely tanked. So there.s obviously something in the demand for expertise, the imprimatur, which is not really about the fact that they do a good job. By the way, those organizations are not transparent either, just as the Wine Spectator isn.t. So there.s some similarity here that I think probably gives us a little insight into things that are much broader than wine and food.
The other interview was with George Taber, author of the fascinating book Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting That Revolutionized Wine. He recalled the moment he realized that even the most sophisticated wine experts can have feet of clay:
And there was just one classic moment when one of the French judges by the name of Raymond Oliver, who was the owner of the Le Grand Vefour restaurant, he had a television show on food in France, he was a big thing in French wine and food circles. He had a white wine in front of him. He looked at the white wine, then he held it up to a light to look at the color very closely. Then he took a sip of it. Then he held it up again. Then he said in French, .Ah, back to France.. And I looked down at my scorecard and he.d just tasted the 1972 Freemark Abbey Chardonnay.
Wishing you the happiest of holiday seasons, and urging you to spend $15 instead of $50 on your next bottle of wine. Go ahead, take the money you save and blow it on the lottery.
* You can hear Ashenfelter in a related Marketplace piece that aired recently.
Stephen J. Dubner is an author and journalist who lives in New York City. Follow @freakonomics on Twitter.
Do More Expensive Wines Taste Better?
Evidence from a Large Sample of Blind Tastings
Robin Goldstein
.
, Johan Almenberg
.
, Anna Dreber
.
,
John W. Emerson
.
, Alexis Herschkowitsch
.
, and Jacob Katz
.
April 18, 2008
Abstract. Individuals who are unaware of the price do not derive more
enjoyment from more expensive wine. In a sample of more than 6,000 blind
tastings, we find that the correlation between price and overall rating is small
and negative, suggesting that individuals on average enjoy more expensive
wines slightly less. For individuals with wine training, however, we find
indications of a positive relationship between price and enjoyment. Our results
are robust to the inclusion of individual fixed effects, and are not driven by
outliers: when omitting the top and bottom deciles of the price distribution, our
qualitative results are strengthened, and the statistical significance is improved
further. Our results indicate that both the prices of wines and wine
recommendations by experts may be poor guides for non-expert wine
consumers.
--
------------------------------
* Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu *
* mobile : 651/645-0753 *
* Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *
* james(a)brewingnews.com James.Ellingson(a)StThomas.edu *
FYI/FYE
December 7, 2010
Alluring Burgundies in Low Places
By ERIC ASIMOV
SIMPLY uttering the word Burgundy conjures up storied names that have beguiled wine lovers for centuries: Chambertin and La T�che, Le Montrachet and Musigny. These wines can cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars. The memories, it must be said, are priceless.
Yet the word Burgundy just as easily suggests humble Bourgogne. In the grand hierarchical scheme of Burgundy.s appellation system, bottles simply labeled Bourgogne represent the lowest forms of the region.s pinot noir and chardonnay. They generally run $15 to $35, though occasionally are quite a bit more.
Theoretically, at least, they would offer generic expressions of Burgundy, possessing few of the distinctive characteristics that shape and define the more narrowly drawn appellations. This might suggest that these wines are best ignored.
Yet, as the British wine authority Hugh Johnson so aptly puts it, .Do not despise.. If the memories they produce are not exactly inestimable, the wines can thoroughly satisfy and be an excellent introduction to Burgundy.s charms.
On the top rung of the ladder of Burgundy.s appellation hierarchy are the grand cru vineyards, like Le Montrachet and Musigny, signifying the finest, most distinctive terroirs. On the lowest rung is Bourgogne, indicating wines made from grapes that can come from anywhere within the boundaries of Burgundy.
In theory, the lowliest grand cru or even village wine should always be better than the best Bourgogne. But the hierarchy is simply a measure of potential. In practice, the rule in Burgundy and just about everywhere else is producer, producer, producer.
Bourgognes from top producers can be superb. I.ve had captivating ones from Leroy, Michel Lafarge and Coche-Dury, and the Bourgognes of Henri Jayer are legendary, even more so now that they are no longer produced. Still, Bourgognes, whether red or white, rarely have the extra dimensions of pleasure and insight that come from putting aromas and flavors together with particular plots of earth. The appellation system, in the end, has a great deal of logic to it.
Often, the desirability of Bourgogne wines comes down to the usual price-to-value ratio. What are you getting for the money? In a recent tasting, the Dining section.s wine panel sought answers by sampling 20 bottles of Bourgogne from the 2008 vintage . 10 white and 10 red. Florence Fabricant and I were joined by Michael Madrigale, the sommelier at Bar Boulud, and Juliette Pope, wine director at Gramercy Tavern.
The 2008 vintage was an odd one, reminiscent of decades past when cool weather and rain made ripening difficult. Even 25 years ago, the vintage might have been a washout, but vastly improved viticulture and cellar work not only salvaged a decent but small crop, but also resulted in wines that can be quite good.
Nonetheless, we found a pronounced difference in quality between the reds and the whites, with the disclaimer that any generalizations are based on an admittedly small sample. The whites seemed both fresh and rich, displaying the purity and minerality that one seeks in white Burgundy. We would even be happy to drink the five whites that did not make our list.
The reds, on the other hand, were less consistent. Our favorites were attractive, with sweet red fruit, well-integrated oak, and mineral and herbal flavors. On the other end were weedy, seemingly under-ripe wines with none of the pleasure of the lower-end whites. All the reds, and the whites, too, showed plenty of acidity. The trick, for the reds at least, was achieving enough body and fruit for balance.
For his part, Michael said he found just what he had hoped for in the wines: .They showed the characteristics of the vintage. That.s all I really want.. Speaking of the reds, he noted the high acidity and under-ripe flavors. .I don.t want to taste manipulations to make them more palatable,. he added. .These are real wines..
That attitude might seem a bit academic, but that.s one of the beauties of Burgundy. You want wines that are true not only to their terroirs, but also to their vintages. Nonetheless, you must choose carefully among the reds if you want pleasure as well.
Juliette was a little easier on the reds than Florence or I was, though she conceded she had a soft spot for them. Speaking of both the reds and whites, she said: .They were true to type and terroir, with a purity of fruit and minerality. They.re refreshing and great for the table..
Certainly that was true of our top wines. Our No. 1 white, from the reliably excellent Jean-Philippe Fichet, was fresh and vibrant, with just enough richness to suggest the grapes had come from the C�te-de-Beaune rather than the M�connais. Our No. 2 white, from Beno�t Ente, was tense and tightly coiled, with pure fruit and mineral flavors. They are not inexpensive at $27 and $32, but as good, young white Burgundies they seemed to me to offer excellent value.
Nonetheless, our best value white at $18 was our No. 3 bottle, from Thierry & Pascale Matrot, which, if it did not have the energy of the Fichet or Ente, did not lack for savory flavors.
Among the reds, our best value at $17 was also our favorite, the Billard-Gonnet Vieilles Vignes, a textbook red Burgundy, with pure, sweet red fruit along with a touch of herbal and mineral flavors for complexity.s sake. Both our No. 2, G�rard Mugneret, and No. 3, Virgile Lignier-Michelot, showed more intensity of flavor, but lacked the finesse and balance of the Billard-Gonnet. These top reds, too, are good values and worth seeking out.
By the way, our very pleasing No. 4 red came from Domaine Roulot, a superb producer better known for its whites. Somehow, we missed the Roulot Bourgogne blanc in our tasting, But I highly recommend that wine as well.
While I said Bourgognes represented the lowest form of the region.s pinot noir and chardonnay wines, it is possible to go even lower on the appellation hierarchy. Those would be the blends: Bourgogne Passetoutgrains, pinot noir with gamay; Bourgogne Aligot�, generally aligot� with chardonnay, and Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire, a blend with many possibilities.
Even with these appellations of low esteem, the producer counts greatly. I recently drank a 2006 Bourgogne Aligot� from Domaine Leroy, one of the best producers in Burgundy. The wine? Surprisingly rich, pleasantly complex, absolutely delicious.
Tasting Report
WHITES
Jean-Philippe Fichet, $27, *** �
Bourgogne Vieilles Vignes 2008
Fresh, vibrant and delicious with rich texture and balanced, lingering mineral flavors. (A Rare Wine Company Selection/Vieux Vins, Vineburg, Calif.)
Beno�t Ente, $32, ***
Bourgogne 2008
Tightly coiled and pure with fresh flavors of apples, minerals and oak. (A Becky Wasserman Selection/U.S.A. Wine Imports, New York)
BEST VALUE
Thierry & Pascale Matrot, $18, ** �
Bourgogne 2008
Lean and firm with savory aromas of lemon, herbs and minerals. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, Ala.)
Joseph Faiveley, $17, ** �
Bourgogne 2008
Well-knit with long, lingering flavors of herbs, citrus and earth. (Wilson-Daniels, St. Helena, Calif.)
Bernard Moreau & Fils, $27, ** �
Bourgogne 2008
Racy and round with flavors of hazelnut, citrus and apples. (The Sorting Table, Napa, Calif.)
REDS
BEST VALUE
Billard-Gonnet, $17, ***
Bourgogne Vieilles Vignes 2008
Aromas and flavors of sweet red fruit, herbs, flowers and minerals. (Vintage Trading, New York)
G�rard Mugneret, $25, ** �
Bourgogne 2008
Aromas of earthy red fruit, silky texture and prominent acidity. (A Becky Wasserman Selection/Polaner Selections, Mount Kisco, N.Y.)
Virgile Lignier-Michelot, $23, ** �
Bourgogne 2008
Intense fruit flavors with cinnamon and mineral accents. (A Becky Wasserman Selection/Polaner Selections, Mount Kisco, N.Y.)
Domaine Roulot, $30, ** �
Bourgogne 2008
Flavors of red fruit, herbs and dried flowers with plenty of acidity. (Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, Calif.)
Marchand Fr�res, $17, ** �
Bourgogne Vieilles Vignes 2008
Full-bodied with lingering flavors of red fruit and more than a touch of oak. (Margate Wines and Spirits, Atlantic City, N.J.)
Greetings,
Louise and I are celibrating birthdays soon.
Any interest in brunch on Sunday? Sparkling and other brunch worthy wines.
It appears La Fougasse (at Sofitel) is no more.
Brunch at Al Vento may be an option, is about half the price ($14 w/ a bottomless mimosa!).
http://www.alventorestaurant.com/content/brunch
Open to other options.
Cheers,
Jim
--
------------------------------
* Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu *
* mobile : 651/645-0753 *
* Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *
* james(a)brewingnews.com James.Ellingson(a)StThomas.edu *
Robert M. Parker, Jr. is the "star" of a satirical French comic book
describing itself as "l'Anti-Guide Parker," whose title translates as:
"Robert Parker - the Seven Deadly Sins." Details at Alder Yarrow's
excellent blog:
http://www.vinography.com/archives/2010/11/robert_m_parker_jr_the_cartoon.ht
ml
Jancis Robinson reports average prices at the Hospices de Beaune auction up
12.5% over 2009, Asian participation in the market and the relatively small
2010 crop being apparent factors. United States registered buyers accounted
for just 1.6% of purchases:
http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a20101122.html
Especially for those who enjoy malbec, NY Times ran a recent article on
Mendoza as a wine tourism destination, "Argentina's Napa Valley":
http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/travel/21Mendoza.html?scp=1
<http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/travel/21Mendoza.html?scp=1&sq=argenti
na%20napa%20valley&st=cse> &sq=argentina%20napa%20valley&st=cse
Our friends Mike Dombrow and Ken Liss of Lake Wine & Spirits, recently
featured on heavytable.com, are hosting a December 8 grand opening party,
6:00-9:00 pm. You may already have received Mike's e-mail on the subject,
but if not, and if you're interested in going, you should contact him
(dirty(a)visi.com) for an invitation. (Do get an invitation; he says it's
officially not open to the public.)
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Word to the wise re an interesting item on Jancis Robinson's site today:
http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a20101117.html
It may be that not too many of us buy at a level (cru classe Bordeaux, etc.)
that would tend to attract cold callers, bogus or otherwise. But any time
we part with our money before taking physical possession of the wine, we
need to consider the identity, reputation and track record of the merchant
we're dealing with.
Happy Thanksgiving to all -
Russ
Hopefully, this works better than the first try.
Subject:
FW: My new medicine cabinet in the kitchen
Disease
Wine
Daily dose
Allergies
Médoc
1 glass
Anemia
Graves
4 glass
Sinus problems
German Riesling
1 bottle
Bronchitis
Bourgogne or Bordeaux
( + sugar and cinnamon )
3 cups
Constipation
Anjou Blanc or Vouvray
4 glass
Coronary arteries
Chateauneuf-du-Pape or Gigondas
4 glass
Diarrhea
Beaujolais Nouveau
4 glass
Fever
Champagne Sec
1 bottle
Heart
Burgogne Rouge,
esp. Santenay
2 glass
Uric acid gout
Sancerre, Pouilly Fume
4 glass
Hypertension
Alsatian Gewurtztraminer
4 glass
Menopause
Saint Emilion
4 glass
Depression
Grand Cru Bourgogne
4 glass
Obesity
Côte de Nuits
4 glass
Obesity
Rosé de Provence
1 bottle
Rheumatism
Champagne Brut
4 glass
Excessive weight loss
Côte de Beaune
4 glass
=
=
Please Note: The information in this E-mail
message is confidential information intended only for the use of the
individual named above. If you, the reader of this message, are not the
intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you should not further
disseminate, distribute, or forward this E-mail message. If you have received
this E-mail in error, please notify the sender. Thank you. GRINNELL MUTUAL
REINSURANCE COMPANY
FYI-
October 18, 2010
Proposed Law Would Limit Interstate Wine Shipping
By ERIC ASIMOV
SEATTLE
IT.S just one more anonymous warehouse here in a mundane industrial district, but within its humble walls lie 23,000 temperature- and humidity-controlled square feet of Garagiste, one of the quirkiest, least-known retail treasures in the wine world. Least-known, that is, unless you are one of the 127,000 or so people who receive daily e-mails offering a trove of unusual bottles, described in beguiling detail by Jon Rimmerman, Garagiste.s founder and owner and guru of the wine disenfranchised.
Those e-mails beckon with obscure Bordeaux like Le Dé de Lamery, which, Mr. Rimmerman said, recalls Bordeaux before it became a corporate product; singular Sardinian wines from visionary producers like Dettori; and even new-school Washington State cabernets that may not exemplify Mr. Rimmerman.s decidedly Old World tastes but are fine values and good examples of the Washington style.
It may sound like any other independent wine shop, but more than 99 percent of Garagiste.s business comes through Internet orders, Mr. Rimmerman says, and more than 70 percent of its sales are shipped directly to buyers in other states.
Garagiste has plenty of customers in places like New York City and San Francisco. But for those who live in less-well-served areas of the country, Garagiste and other retail operations that do big Internet business, like K & L Wine Merchants in California and Zachys in Scarsdale, N.Y., are lifelines to the world.s wonderful diversity of wines.
Yet as welcome as these lifelines are, they may be threatened by a bill introduced earlier this year before the House of Representatives, the Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act of 2010, or H.R. 5034, which has the potential to severely restrict direct interstate shipping of wine by retailers. Direct sales from wineries could be threatened, too, although the current language of the bill appears to focus more directly on retailers.
Proponents, including beer and wine wholesalers, say that that is not the intention of the bill, which would make it far more difficult for wineries and retailers to challenge state laws in the federal courts. Instead, they say, it would merely reaffirm the authority of the states to regulate alcohol sales, and diminish the authority of federal courts, which they say have been confusing and inconsistent. They also suggest that they are trying to prevent minors from illegally obtaining alcohol.
Opponents, however, including wine and beer producers, retail shops and importers, assert that states already have ample regulatory authority. They say the bill is meant to protect beer and wine wholesalers, who have been cut out of the loop by the rise of direct sales. Wholesalers have set their well-financed lobby to work for the bill and have liberally doled out campaign contributions to supporters.
Without getting too technical, the heart of the legal issue is the conflict between the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, which repealed Prohibition and gave the states the right to regulate alcohol sales, and the commerce clause of the Constitution, which gives the federal government the power to regulate commerce between the states.
Three fairly recent developments have coalesced to force this arcane and confusing corner of the law into an emotionally charged spotlight.
First is the sheer quantity of fascinating but little-known wines from around the world that are now on the market, and the growing number of Americans who want to drink them.
Add to that the rise of Internet commerce, which almost overnight expanded retail choices far beyond local grocery stores and wine shops. Finally, there came a 2005 Supreme Court decision that struck down arbitrary state bans on interstate shipments from wineries to consumers.
These developments threatened the position of wholesale distributors who, in the three-tier system governing the sale of alcoholic beverages, buy from producers and then sell to retailers.
Mr. Rimmerman, 44, whose piercing olive-green eyes are framed by salt-and-pepper curls and long sideburns, set up Garagiste in a tiny office back in 1995, when Internet commerce was in its infancy. His first e-mails went to perhaps 30 people. As Garagiste grew, he said, he wanted to make sure that it was on firm legal ground, so he presented his plan to sell wines around the country to the Washington State Liquor Control Board.
.They said, .We think it.s all right, as long as you collect sales tax in-state,. . Mr. Rimmerman recalled. .They compared it to sending shirts across state lines..
And so Garagiste grew by word of mouth, building its base of ardent fans drawn by Mr. Rimmerman.s discoveries; his spirited, enthusiastic prose; his insistence on selling only one wine at a time, via e-mail, and shipping orders just twice a year, in the fall and the spring, to minimize harmful exposure to heat or cold.
States clearly already have the right to prohibit shipments of wine from out of state, so long as they also prohibit shipments originating within the state. Garagiste indicates on its Web site, garagistewine.com, the 33 states it will ship to and the onesit will not.
.It.s a negative step for commerce,. Mr. Rimmerman said of the House bill, .a broad-based threat to Americans. right to freedom of choice..
Wholesalers argue that they are not acting to protect their own financial position but the rights of states.
.Our main concern is making sure states can continue to effectively regulate alcohol and maintain the system that serves the public well by balancing competition with an orderly market,. said Rebecca Spicer, a spokeswoman for the National Beer Wholesalers Association.
The bill, though, which is unlikely to come up for a vote until next year, would clearly mean a narrowing of choices for consumers.
For his part, Mr. Rimmerman is considering contingency plans. For example, he is considering applying for retail licenses in other states so he can essentially distribute wines to himself, and sell to customers in those states.
.It.s easier to deal in guns than in wine,. he said.
--
------------------------------
* 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 *
* james(a)brewingnews.com James.Ellingson(a)StThomas.edu *
Sorry Bob,
None of these are ten bucks.
Cheers,
Jim
October 12, 2010
Zinfandel Steps Back From the Abyss
By ERIC ASIMOV
Correction Appended
SAD to say, I don.t drink much zinfandel these days. That wasn.t always the case. When I first awakened to the joys of wine back in the 1980s, I was excited about zinfandel. All right, I was excited about any wine, but zinfandel in particular intrigued me. It was full of gorgeous fruit, yet rarely too tannic or too sweet. The grape was singular, grown almost nowhere but in California. It was pure pleasure, and I remember enjoying many wonderful bottles with friends.
Yet tastes evolve, and wine styles do, too. As much as I gravitated away from the fruitiness of zinfandel, I think zinfandels veered away from me in the 1990s, becoming for the most part huge, dense, powerful monsters, pushing past 16 percent alcohol and overwhelming any food in their paths.
Zinfandel became a wine of obligation rather than a wine of choice. Rarely did wine authorities recommend zinfandel because it went well with, say, spareribs or turkey. No, they said to drink zinfandel because you should drink an all-American wine on Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July. That advice always struck me as silly. Unless you want to take a swift nose dive into oblivion, the last wine you want to drink through a long day of feasting and family is some high-octane blockbuster.
But, as I said, wine styles evolve. Might zinfandel, like other American red wines, be taking a few tentative steps back from the portlike abyss?
It may be too early to say that with real authority, but after the wine panel recently tasted 20 bottles of Sonoma zinfandel, I can say that we found more balanced, lively wines than any of us were expecting. For the tasting, Florence Fabricant and I were joined by Harriet Lembeck, a longtime wine educator in New York, and Charles Puglia, a sommelier at Jean Georges.
This isn.t to say that we encountered no oaky, extreme beasts. We did, and certainly, a significant group of people enjoy this style. But where once zinfandels could safely be categorized as either colossuses or what was politely termed .claret style,. a continuum now exists, with many wines occupying the middle ground.
.I was pleasantly surprised by how many wines were restrained, refreshing and had good acidity,. said Charles, who, for the record, doesn.t serve many zins from his post at Jean Georges but said that he enjoys them nonetheless.
The more restrained style was best exemplified by our No. 1 zinfandel, the 2007 Porter Creek Old Vine, a graceful, lively, complex wine. Since you asked, the Porter Creek was listed at 14.7 percent alcohol, which even those who appreciate lower-alcohol wines concede is something of a sweet spot for zinfandels. It.s difficult to produce good zinfandel below 14 percent without manipulations, although our No. 3 wine, the 2007 Nalle Dry Creek Valley, clocked in at 13.8 percent, the lowest in the tasting. It was graceful yet well flavored and lacked nothing, except for unbridled power and amplitude.
When a wine is well balanced, though, alcohol does not stand out. Our No. 2 bottle, the 2008 Seghesio Old Vine, was pure, fresh and peppery. Clearly, it was a big wine, yet none of us were aware of just how big it was: 15.5 percent. It wore its size extremely well.
Nonetheless, my preference is almost always for less alcohol, if only so I can drink more wine without feeling its effects too quickly. I wouldn.t presume to tell a winemaker how to make a wine, but it is a factor when I decide what to buy and drink.
Of course, not every wine is as well proportioned as the Seghesio. The difference between its 15.5 percent and the 15.8 percent of our No. 9 wine, the 2007 Gamba Old Vine from the Russian River Valley, may not seem great. But the Gamba, made in a sweeter, jammier style, was overwhelming by comparison. It.s a well-made wine, and many people like this style, but it.s not for me.
Zinfandel is made all over California, yet it is most closely identified with Sonoma County and, more specifically, Dry Creek Valley, a beautiful area of green hills and twisting roads northwest of Healdsburg. We might well have chosen to taste zinfandels only from Dry Creek Valley, yet that would have meant ignoring Alexander Valley, Russian River Valley, Sonoma Valley and Rockpile, an appellation established in 2002 on the northwest edge of Dry Creek Valley. Each of these regions is a source of noteworthy zins.
Imagine our surprise when three of our top four wines, and five of our top 10, were labeled Sonoma County, a catchall term used most often when the grapes from two or more appellations are blended. This may belie the usual assumption that the more narrowly defined the source of the grapes, the better the wine ought to be.
The county appellation wines also tend to be less expensive. Our best value, the juicy, exuberant 2007 Old Vine Sonoma County from Ravenswood, was $15, about half the price of Ravenswood.s single-vineyard zinfandels.
By the way, Ridge, one of the great names in Sonoma zinfandel, made our list, although with a fairly little-known bottle. Its 2008 East Bench, a new Ridge vineyard in Dry Creek Valley, was lively, balanced and pleasing. But fans of Ridge are far more familiar with its zinfandels from Lytton Springs in Dry Creek Valley and Geyserville in Alexander Valley. Neither of these was in our tasting.
How can that be? Well, both of these wines are traditional field blends. That is, the zinfandel vines were planted with other complementary grapes, like petite sirah, carignan and mourvèe. While the wines are predominantly zinfandel, they don.t always reach the 75 percent threshold mandated in California for a wine to carry a varietal label. In the most recent vintage, neither the Lytton Springs nor the Geyserville met that requirement, so we did not include them. Call us fussy, but at least we.re consistent.
Tasting Report
Porter Creek Sonoma County, $35, *** ½
Zinfandel Old Vine 2007
Lively, complex, graceful and full, with aromas and flavors of mint, berry and minerals.
Seghesio Sonoma County, $30, *** ½
Zinfandel Old Vine 2008
Big, pure and lively, with peppery berry and earthy, minty accents.
Nalle Dry Creek Valley, $29, ***
Zinfandel 2007
Graceful and well balanced, with spicy wild berry and a touch of oak.
BEST VALUE
Ravenswood Sonoma County, $15, ** ½
Zinfandel Old Vine 2007
Exuberant, juicy and dense; powerful yet balanced.
Williams Selyem Russian River Valley, $72, ** ½
Feeney Vineyard Zinfandel 2008
Dark, dense and opulent with a rich, silky texture.
Ridge Dry Creek Valley, $22, ** ½
East Bench Zinfandel 2008
Lively and pleasant, with pretty aromas of spices and berries.
St. Francis Sonoma County, $20, ** ½
Zinfandel Old Vines 2007
Fleshy, with well-integrated flavors of berries, anise and earth.
Murphy Goode Sonoma County, $18, **
Zinfandel Liar's Dice 2007
Fresh, with aromas of dark fruit, earth and plenty of oak.
Gamba Russian River Valley, $45, **
Gamba Estate Vineyard Zinfandel Old Vine 2007
Huge and almost overwhelming, with mouthfuls of jammy fruit.
Rosenblum Rockpile, $40, **
Rockpile Road Vineyard Zinfandel 2006
Rich, full and dense, with baked, jammy fruit.
Correction: October 13, 2010
An earlier version of this article had an inaccurate description of federal law on labeling alcohol content of wine. It also misstated how high the alcohol content of the Nalle could be and how low the alcohol content of the Porter Creek could be.
--
------------------------------
* 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 *
* james(a)brewingnews.com James.Ellingson(a)StThomas.edu *
Dear friends of the vine:
It's time to Howl and Wine!
Save the date --- incredible evening ahead on SATURDAY OCTOBER 30TH at Kallsen Manor aka "The Palace Club" (1906 Palace Avenue, Saint Paul MN 55105 --- map here).
It's time for another wine party ... who needs employment to have a good time???? Not me! 6:30pm start, going deep into the evening for all you restaurant folks. Rules: bring a good to great bottle of wine to share with friends and (if you wish) something simple to nosh on (cheese, charcuterie, bread, anything finger-oriented). Costumes are optional, but we hope to see many Robert Parker, James Laube, and Jancis Robinson look-alikes in the crowd (maybe even a Jack Farrell or two -- find your bowties). Live it up!!!
We will have a ghoulish blind tasting area, lots of snacks and water, a bonfire in the backyard, and the vinyl spinning in the garage ... dress appropriately. Get a sitter ... this will be the "big kids" night out before you fuss over the little kids on Sunday.
Please reply to THIS address to RSVP (party(a)jasonkallsen.com) Note: this is NOT my normal address so don't save it as such. I'm using this email address only to keep the party RSVP's straight.
Hope to see you Saturday the 30th. I'll be sending a follow up reminder only to those that RSVP.
Jason Kallsen
