Sips: From Portugal, Herdade da Comporta Red 2007

Recommended. Red berry fruit and some blueberry emerge as this wine from the Peninsula de Setubal region on the central Atlantic coast opens up. There’s a big oak influence and muscular tannins, which demand red meat. The fruit is concentrated, accented by a powdery cinnamon note.  A blend of 40 percent aragonez (tempranillo), 40 percent alicante bouschet, 10 percent touriga franca and 10 percent trincadeira. Alcohol is 13.5 percent. Decant one to two hours before drinking. I enjoyed it with a smoky steak grilled in the fireplace. Imported by Value Vines, North Caldwell, New Jersey. Received as a press sample.

del.icio.us Tags: Portuguese wines,Portuguese reds,Herdade da Comporta Red,Edward Deitch,Value Vines,Peninsula de Setubal

Sips: Celebrity wines, for better or worse

Do celebrities make better wines? Would you be more likely to buy a wine if a celebrity were associated with it? I explore these questions in my column this week on MSNBC.com. The occasion is Drew Barrymore's debut in the wine business and the release of her first wine, a pinot grigio. How does it stack up? I put it to the (taste) test and take a look at some of the actors, athletes and other celebrities who have been bitten by the wine bug. Click here to read.

Swirls: The ultimate dumb wine story pitch

Like most wine writers, I often receive dozens of story proposals a day. They range from those that are well-conceived and researched and convey an understanding of the wines being represented and my own interests, to those that are little more than blast emails replete with gushing descriptions and elaborate, company-supplied “tasting notes.”

Then there is the pitch I got recently from Savona Communications inviting me to what was billed as “Behind-the-Scenes Media Day” at the Ultimate Wine Challenge. The Challenge is is an annual event here in New York in which a panel of judges, some of whom are professional acquaintances of mine, come up with scores for wines entered (at a fee of $95 each) and tasting notes that can be used by wineries, importers, wholesalers and others to market their products to the public. The Challenge separates itself from most other competitions by awarding scores instead of medals.

The media day pitch would include the chance to “meet the judges, taste a flight of wines yourself and rate them as any of our judges do.” Not only that but I would be able to “ask questions about how and why Ultimate Wine Challenge does not give ubiquitous medals but a hard and fast score. And what this means to the brands that participate and ultimately the consumer who makes the purchase.”

You begin to see what I mean about this being a dumb pitch. But then it gets even dumber: “I would love for you to come and see what this wine competition is all about and talk to you about the story that could come of it – like what it means for brands to receive numbered ratings and tasting notes from the judges (vs. medals) and how they can use the results to market their brands.  We know no one has the budget to go out and buy 30 different red wines to see which one tastes best, right?  So let the Challenge do the work for you.”

Okay. First, any PR person who has any familiarity with my work over the last decade knows that, in probably close to 1,000 wine articles, videos and blog posts and 500 Tweets, I have never put a score on a wine, preferring to describe why I think a wine is worth drinking. (I did just recently conduct a small experiment on this blog with “rating” wines as “good,” “fair,” etc. but found it rather unsatisfying. Does anyone really want to read about mediocre wines?) Since I don’t score wines myself, why would I want to waste my time watching other critics do it?

As for “what it means for brands to receive numbered ratings and tasting notes from the judges” and how they can be used to market their brands, let’s see. Could it be that wine scores and tasting notes can actually be used to – sell wine? Sarcasm aside, this was an altogether stupid pitch about a competition that celebrates wine scoring and, in doing so, promotes the over-simplifying of wine for those selling it and buying it.

One of the challenges the wine business faces is getting people to develop a greater understanding of and appreciation for the great diversity of wines available in this country. If you’ve ever had a conversation about unfamiliar wines with a passionate and knowledgeable retailer, then you know how stimulating and educational the experience can be. You’ll also find this passion on occasion in original notes displayed by wine sellers, whether in their stores or on their websites. All of this does, however, require knowledge and time, for which scores and other shortcuts can be conveniently substituted.

But I, for one, am looking for a more (not less) personalized, authentic and memorable experience in finding wines I might want to try. And so for my invitation to “media day” at the Ultimate Wine Challenge, I think I’ll pass.

del.icio.us Tags: Wine competitions,Ultimate Wine Challenge,Wine scores,Wine scoring,Wine medals,Wine marketing,Wine news,Wine sales,Wine retailers,Edward Deitch,Wine judging,Tasting notes,Wine tasting notes,Savona Communications

Sips: Chardonnays that come alive when blended, plus a southern French “classic”

In case you missed my current “Weekend Wines” column on MSNBC.com, I’m linking here to my piece on Domaine du Tariquet and how this winery in southwest France is making some exciting chardonnay-based blends. They’re good examples of what a large, commercial winery can do in the $10-$15 range. After I  wrote about these wines, I also tasted Tariquet’s 2010 Classic, a zippy blend of colombard and ugni blanc, which remains a top under-$10 quaffing white that is a must-have for warm-weather drinking and for fish and shellfish. Rating: VERY GOOD. Imported by Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, DC. Wines received as press samples.

del.icio.us Tags: Domaine du Tariquet Classic White,Domaine du Tariquet,French white wines,Southwest France wines,Robert Kacher Selections,Edward Deitch,French wine values,Wines for fish

Quick Sips: 2009 Naked Earth Red, Vin dePays d’Oc

“Organic” has become a strong marketing tool, and the top of the label on this $12 red blend from Languedoc trumpets the fact that the wine is “made with organically grown grapes.” Desipte a dumbed-down approach – the wine’s origin is described as “South of France” -- this is a decent blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, grenache and carignan. There’s good tannic structure to support the black cherry and blueberry tastes, which lead to a milk-chocolaty finish. I can see it being served in those smaller bottles on flights, in coach, from the U.S. to France. Rating: GOOD. Imported by Vinum International, Napa, California. Received as a press sample.

del.icio.us Tags: Naked Earth Red,Languedoc red wines,Vin de Pays d'Oc,Edward Deitch,Airline wine,French red wines,French red blends,Vinum International,Organic wines,French organic wines

Quick Sips: Picket Fence 2010 Russian River Pinot Noir

Finding standout California pinot noir under $20 is a real challenge, and this $18 wine proves the point. Oak is heavy handed here and dominates the equation, providing spice, as the back label suggests, but barely permitting a cherry note to come through. Generic. Rating: FAIR. Received as a press sample.

del.icio.us Tags: Picket Fence Pinot Noir,Edwad Deitch,Russian River Valley pinot noir,Sonoma pinot noir,Wines under $20,California pinot noir

This just in ...

Given the magnitude of this, I thought I'd get it out right away, just as I received it.

***

BECKMEN VINEYARDS WINEGROWER STEVE BECKMEN
IS A DIRECT DESCENDENT OF DIONYSUS

Beckmen also confirmed as the inventor of Grenache.

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – April 1, 2012 – Beckmen Vineyards is
pleased to announce that after extensive genealogical research, it has
established that Winegrower Steve Beckmen is a direct descendent of
Dionysus, the Greek god of the grape harvest, winemaking, wine, ecstasy
and ritual madness. The winery has also confirmed that Beckmen invented
Grenache. In fact, Steve, Moses and Rudolph Steiner personally planted
Beckmen’s acclaimed, biodynamic-certified Purisima Mountain Vineyard,
which is widely recognized as the greatest vineyard ever planted by the
hands of man, prophet and Austrian anthroposophist.

Swirls: A wine guide takes a leap and does away with scores and ratings

I’m just catching up with a newly released guide to Italian wines called “Slow Wine 2012: A Year in the Life of Italy’s Vineyards and Wines,” which marks the debut of an English-language edition of this reference. The guide, which covers 3,000 wines produced by 400 cellars, is notable for a number of reasons. Not only does it describe the people, vineyards and wines involved with each property, it also lists the use of fertilizers, plant protection and weed control practices, yeasts (native or selected), grape sources (estate or purchased) and whether a winery has organic or biodynamic certification.

Beyond this important information, the “Slow Wine” guide is notable for how it rates wines, which, with this edition, has fundamentally changed. “We have abandoned the very easy-to-understand, but ultimately trivializing, method of awarding points and sought to look beyond the glass,” the editors announce in the introduction. Obviously, they say, the wines reviewed are of excellent quality “but for us it is equally important to describe the vineyard and vinification methods used to create these top-flight products.

“And so,” they say, “we have opted for a new mode of communication – telling the story of the wine.” While this may not be revolutionary, it is refreshing not to see scores or stars or what have you alongside the wines listed. The concise, half-page narratives about each property are generally well-written and translated. Without ratings or scores, there won’t be much appeal here for those importers,wholesalers, retailers and consumers for whom a number is what matters most. But it’s good for those of us who appreciate the narrative of a wine and getting to know how and by whom it is made.

“What matters is wine’s soul,” the editors write. “That is why we have adopted new assessment criteria including respect for the environment, the countryside and territorial identify, relatively complicated issues that have demanded, and continue to demand, a quality leap from wine lovers, critics and producers.”

“Slow Wine” deserves a good deal of credit for elevating the wine conversation. Published by Slow Food Editore, $25.

del.icio.us Tags: Slow Wine 2012,Edward Deitch,Italian wines,Wine guides,Italian wine guides,Wine scores,Wine ratings,Slow Food Editore,Organic wines,Biodynamic wines