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Point/Counterpoint on the History of the Term Spoofulation
I wrote an article several weeks ago about spoofulation and modern wine.
I received a note this morning from Harmon Skurnik on the origins of the term Spoofulation. Mr. Skurnik has been gracious enough to let me print his contribution here. I am also printing the response from Michael Wheeler, who I have previously credited as the popularizer of the term.
Harmon Skurnik, along with his brother Michael Skurnik, is a partner in Michael Skurnik Wines in New York. In addition to being a distributor, they are also the national importer of Terry Thiese's German, Austrian and Champagne selections. Over a decade ago, Michael and Harmon created a new standard in wine distribution that is being followed by other companies around the country and in many ways the emergence and success of their company marked a significant break in the dominance of the wine trade by old-time liquor/wine wholesalers. See my article about Sidney Frank.
Mr. Wheeler is a former salesman at Winebow and later Michael Skurnik Wines, and is now a partner in Polaner Selections, also a distributor in New York. Doug Polaner, who founded Polaner Selections along with Tina Fischer, is also an alumnus of Skurnik wines. Polaner Selections is part of a newer wave of wine distributors, who draw on the earlier work of the Skurniks.
Point: From Harmon Skurnik
Dear Joe:
I just read your "Christmas Spooftide Carol" however - and I would like to point out some incorrect historical references that appear in the following paragraph:
"I have received many inquiries lately about the origin of the word Spoofulation. While there is some controvery about the origin of the word itself, there is little question that the popularizer of the term has been Michael Wheeler, the famed New York Wine Industry Personality. Anyhow, here goes....
Spoofulation is a form of manipulation which takes wine away from nature and into the technological world of fake extraction, fake aromatics, fake flavors, fake density, fake acidity, fake tannin levels, fake color and fake sugar levels.
Basically, fake wines."
First off, it is unquestionably true that Wheeliamo is the biggest "popularizer" of the term in recent years but he is not the originator of the term (nor the original "populizer")
Michael Wheeler (on the left) and Harmon Skurnik
The truth of the matter is that Mr. Wheels first heard the term while under the employ of Michael Skurnik Wines from the original "populizers" of the term, Michael and me. We used the term often at sales meetings, etc, but alas, it never meant "fake wine" - it seems to have morphed into that meaning but did not originally have that meaning at all.
The origin of the term is as follows (I have explained this to Wheels in the past but he finds it hard to believe, for some reason. But alas, it is true.
The Year Was 1990 (give or take two years) - my wife Lori and I were traveling through Napa Valley and we stopped upon the tasting room of Chateau Montelena...as we tasted through their wines, the pretty young girl behind the counter explained to us how Montelena's Chardonnay did not go through malolactic, and therefore retained some acidity and freshness, after which she uttered the famous words, "not like all those spoofulated Chardonnays being made in the Valley these days".
I proceeded to ask her what she meant by "spoofulated" and she explained that she meant the new (at the time) style of Chard i.e. full malolactic, ultra rich, lees-stirred, golden, extracted, low acid Chards that were just starting to be produced by the likes of Helen Turley etc (and which Parker, incidentally, had yet to discover). She was passionately defending Montelena's style of Chard, which was old fashioned (and frankly works quite well in the often torrid Napa
Valley)...
Lori and I both laughed at her term "spoofulation" and repeated the story several times on the trip. Upon returning home, Michael and I started using the term in sales meetings to refer to wines that were overoaked, overwrought in some way, or with too much "makeup" on them to really let the terroir, if there is any, to shine through. Not "fake
wines" - just misguided ones that are "underwined".
Anyway, I think Wheels latched onto the term at one of our sales meetings and started using it freely and adopted it as his own cry for "natural wines" - and, of course, that's a good thing - all of us who are the defenders of "real wine" (yes, even us, Joe) out there want to promote what's real and uncover the fakes. But "spoofulated" wines, as
defined by the originator, are not always bad. Coche-Dury's awesome Burgundies, for example, are "fully spoofulated" in my mind, but they have the material to withstand all that manipulation! And they are far
from "fake".
Thanks for listening - just wanted to clarify this piece of winedom history. LOL
Feel free to post my thoughts on your "blog" (I would if I knew how!)
Your friend and colleague, Harmon Skurnik
Counterpoint -- Mike Wheeler
Harmon:
I look forward to Joe's response and I will not argue that you brought the term to NYC...
But the word as used by the Montelana lady is of no interest for the true meaning of Spoofulated.
Until a word is recognized by the Webster or other dictionary's (even if slang) the word is open for discussion, empowerment, and most important "usage", and the use of this word you knew in Cali in 1990 is not the term in use now all over the country today, 16 years later....it has morphed, congrats to you for being an important part of history!!
Spoofulated as used by all the people I know is a term for many modern process's applications etc
These include: 200%+/- new oak, rottofermenters, micro ox, oak chips, de-acidifying, spin cone, reverse osmosis, adding nontraditional/not approved grapes to blends (for example Vallana Spanna's in the glory days, he added Aglianico but sold it as pure Nebb, aka he was one of the Great Historical Spoofalators, history has many examples of Spoofalicious Wines, like great Pinot with "Rhone/Algerian" juice added, I had a 59 Chambertin the other day that was awesome, been sitting in a cellar for over 40 years, yummy but not pure Pinot hence, Spoofulted)....also spoofed wines are wines where enzymes/yeast/flavors are added to "create" a wine etc
So yes Spoofulated wines can be Spoofulicious, some of these I know Joe would not love but he is correct that the current use of the term Spoofalted in 2000's wine jargon is as he describes...
Sidney Frank Dead
Sidney Frank, the maverick booze baron who started the super-premium liquor revolution with Grey Goose vodka, died last week in San Diego. He was 86. The cause was heart failure, according to his publicist, Sarah Zeiler. Frank was ranked No. 164 on the Forbes 400 Richest Americans list in October, with a net worth of $1.8 billion.
Sidney Frank was born in Norwich, Conn., in 1919, the son of a poor orchardman. As a kid, he often gazed at the Manhattan skyline while traveling by train to visit a cousin in Brooklyn, dreaming of making it big. In 1937, Frank convinced an admissions officer at Brown University to let him enroll based on his strong handshake. He dropped out after a year because he couldn't afford the tuition but forged some powerful friendships.
His roommate was Edward Sarnoff, son of then-RCA President David Sarnoff. Visits to the Sarnoff's lavish mansion in New York left a lasting impression. "Ed's sheets were so soft," Frank told Forbes in a June 2004 interview. "My mother used to sew flower sacks together to make sheets, so cotton sheets were a real treat. I knew I had to marry a rich girl."
After proposing six times, Frank finally convinced Louise Rosenstiel to marry him in the late 1940s. "Skippy" was the daughter of booze maven Lewis Rosenstiel, owner of Schenley Distillers, then the largest liquor distiller in the country.
Frank had a successful career with Schenly and then went out on his own to market the famous Jägermeister. In 1974, Frank stumbled on the obscure German liqueur in a New York bar. Tasting of root beer, black licorice and Vicks Formula 44, older Europeans had been drinking the stuff since 1935 for its medicinal purposes, rather than its strong buzz. At the time, Jägermeister was selling just 600 cases per year in the U.S. Seeing opportunity, Frank flew to Germany to meet then-Jäger Chief Executive Walter Sandvoss and came home with the rights to sell the drink from Maryland to Florida. Other suppliers faltered, and Frank picked up the rest of the country.
In 1986, Frank had a brilliant idea: "People love sex." He parlayed the drink's early success in southern college towns with the Jägerettes, a group of scantily clad girls who would flirt with male students and convince them to down shots of Jäger instead of Jack Daniels. Last year, sales grew to 2 million cases per year.
In 1999, he paid $2.6 million to settle sexual harassment complaints from 100 women who were among the 1,000 hired as "Jagerettes" to promoting the sweet liquor Jagermeister at parties. The company admitted no wrongdoing.
With Jägermeister established, Frank set out to create his fortune in vodka. He was convinced rich folks would pay $15 for a martini or $10 for a cosmopolitan if the drinks were mixed with the world's best vodka. He sent executives to France to create the vodka, because he believed the French create the best in everything. Grey Goose girls were tapped to sell the vodka at high-end lounges and nightclubs. Sales grew exponentially, eventually catching the eye of executives at Bacardi.
Frank eventually sold Grey Goose for something like 2 billion dollars.
His next project, tragically ended by his untimely death, was to become a wine industry titan and to do the wine industry what he did for spirits.
We mourn the passing of this industry giant, who did so much to market alcohol and spirits to the American consumer.
Who is this Woman and What is her Relationship to Natural Wine?
Answer correctly and you will receive an autographed copy of Byron Bate's biography, autographed both by the author and Byron Bates himself!
Only one entry per contestant. Louis/Dressner employees and their family members are not eligibile to participate.
Louis/Dressner Wines Get Big Points in Wine Spectator!
Yesterday, the New York Times rated two of our Muscadets as the top two Muscadets available. Of the top 10 Muscadets notated, five of them were from our firm.
Today, The Wine Spectator Insider issue was released on the internet. This is a private subscription service which gives a preview of top reviews which will go into future issues of the Wine Spectator.
Our wines received -- 93 points (and the Hot Wines Selection), 92 points (two of our wines), 91 points (3 of them) and 90 points (two of them). All these wines are from the Loire Valley and these are very high scores for Loire wines.
Some of the wines are bony, some have chives, some have sweet peas, and some have cocoa. Others have lemon curd or chamomile or mango or papaya. Yet others have toast and mocha. The highest scoring wine (the Hot Wines Selection) has a beam of green almond, fig pear tartine and green tea.
We're very appreciative of these high scores as are the vignerons who worked so hard to achieve them.
Breaking News from the Muscadet in the New York Times!
Don't miss Eric Asimov's excellent coverage of the Muscadet in today's Times.
There are pointed contributions by David Lillie of Chambers Street Wines and Chris Goodhart of Balthazar/Pastis.
NY Times on Muscadet
You need to register to get on the Times site. You can use my log-in name, VILENIN, and my password, Bukharin.
Catherine Roussel and Didier Barrouillet Win the 2005 Wine Personalities of the Year Award!
The year marks the first multiple personalities award, as we honor the two people behind the Clos Roche Blanche in the Touraine.
I met Catherine Roussel and Didier Barrouillet in 1993 at the Angers Loire Valley Fair. David Lillie (who was then the Loire Valley buyer at Garnet Wines and is now co-owner of Chambers Street) and I were looking for a Touraine and drudging from booth to booth tasting one industrial Touraine after another. God only knows how many we tasted and between the high level of sulphur and the uniform sameness of all these wines, I was getting tired. So, I approached one of our last Touraine tables and asked the smiling and charming owner if they harvested by machine and used innoculated yeasts. When she said yes, I thanked her and told her we would not be interested. Dozens of wines later we were still empty handed.
The next morning, David and I were eating breakfast at our hotel and the same woman who I had arrogantly dismissed came up to our table, once again all smiles. She told us that she had a close friend who was making exactly the type of wine we were looking for and she had talked to her about us and that we should rush to the exposition hall because they would be there first thing at 9 am ready to have us taste their wines at Booth B432.
David and I got there early, anxious to taste their wines. Catherine and Didier arrived 30 minutes late, but finally had us taste through their range of cuvées.
Yes, this was what we were looking for! Naturally made wines with consistency, honesty and precise flavors and two crazy proprietors who seemed plenty serious but also very funny, witty and engaged. David ordered an insane amount of wine and a collaboration was born.
It has been a privilege for me to know Catherine and Didier. They have worked biodynamically, organically and naturally but still keep a distance from every dogma and sect that is now splitting apart the French wine world. They have their own road, their own style and count as friends assorted idiosynchratic winemakers from all over France and various schools of viticulture and winemaking. For Catherine and Didier, the important thing is to work hard to express a terroir and in the Clos Roche Blanche they have been blessed with one of the great sites of the Loire.
Even more importantly, they have become close and dear friends.
What is remarkable about the Clos Roche Blanhe is that both Catherine and Didier had no training and no technical preparation for taking over such an estate. They learned everything on-the-job and have turned this estate into one of the most respected wine producers of the Loire Valley.
Congratulations to Catherine and Didier -- The 2005 Wine Personalities of the Year!
Denyse Louis from Louis/Dressner Selections interviewed Catherine Roussel for the following article.
The Fabulous Story of the Clos Roche Blanche, Catherine Roussel and Didier Barrouillet
The story of how Catherine’s father became a winemaker is a little complicated. Everything came from second marriages, and Catherine’s father, Jean, was adopted by his stepfather when he was nearly 30 and officially took over the estate, in 1963. Jean Roussel started working at the estate during WWII, until his death at 51 in September 1975.
Catherine’s mother, Solange, and Catherine, the older sister of the famous physicist Pierre Roussel and the younger sister of Françoise Roussel (who directs a major insurance company), decided to carry on with the estate, with the help of long-time employee René Vrillon. Catherine says it’s thanks to him that the estate survived, because neither she nor her mother had ever vinified or really led the vineyard work, although they both had long helped out when they were needed. Most of the wine was then sold to négoce, although Catherine’s father had been among the very first to bottle and sell his wine himself in the 60’s.
In 1981, sick of feeding and taking care of 20 people for a month every harvest, Catherine bought a harvesting machine. Since René was driving the machine and couldn’t be in the cellar, Didier Barrouillet, who was working for the first time at Clos Roche Blanche, took on the winemaking duties. Catherine already casually knew Didier, a Parisian, who was interested in both working the harvest and enthused about making the wine -- something he had never done before in his life.
Catherine says she has never liked making wine: it requires a lot of patience (she has none) and a meticulous nature (not her style.) The 1981 vintage was not one to remember for its excellence, but Catherine offered to create a partnership with Didier. He stayed on to work for the estate, receiving a small stipend, food and a small house in the vineyards.
In France, it is difficult to work in any field without the proper diploma, so Didier went back to school in the fall of 1982, at the age of 30, to get a baccalauréat diploma as a “jeune vigneron”. The quickest way to get a diploma was to pass a second baccalauréat, with agricultural specialization. So, while working full time, Didier studied on his own and passed the exam in 1983, and the GAEC Clos Roche Blanche was created as a formal partnership.
In his previous life, Didier was a Parisian who had passed his baccalauréat of science at 16, and gone on to special high flying math classes for two years. When time came to start engineering school, he left everything and took odd jobs, notably as a worker in a factory for 3 years. He also travelled quite extensively. His parents, an engineer and a nurse, had dreamed of being farmers themselves, but nothing predisposed Didier to becoming a winemaker (his two brothers now also live in the country, one of them working part-time at Clos Roche Blanche.)
As an aside, Catherine was 30 when she discovered that wine was a pleasurable beverage. Her main goal in life was not to be a vigneron, but to live at Clos Roche Blanche. Didier says she has roots instead of feet. Didier drank only water in 1981, and thought that wine was making people stupid. Now he barely ever drinks water.
For ten years, things went on as in the past, but Didier was dissatisfied with the wines he was making, the wines were correct, even good, but not great. When he tasted around the appellation, he was more and more tired of the uniformity of the wines from the area, he could never tell which was from what terroir or even who had made a particular wine, they were all the same to him.
In early 1992, after the terrible frost of winter 1991, their neighbor Yves Bucher offered to sell them his vineyards. Clos Roche Blanche more than doubled its surface, from 15HA1/2 to 32HA. That same year, Catherine and Didier decided to completely change their methods in the vines: they stop using herbicide and pesticides and started the conversion of all the vines to organic agriculture.
They had already abandonned the use of chemical fertilizers a few years earlier, in favor of organic compost. That was a radical and brutal decision, and the vines did not like it much. Yields dropped dramatically, the vines looked sick, shrunken, as if trying to protect themselves against this sudden aggression. Plowing a soil that has been treated for years with herbicide kills all the superficial root system that the vines use to get most of their nutrients; it takes a while for the deep root system to take over and feed the plant, and the grapes. Catherine and Didier were so convinced that there was no turning back that in 1993 they registered their estate with Ecocert, a certifying organisation that oversees organic agriculture.
The first vinification gave a happy surprise and comforted them in their new way: the indigenous yeasts, unimpeded by any pesticide and fungicide, started the alcoholic fermentation on their own strength.
After two very difficult and nerve-wracking years, they converted a portion of the vines to the stricter practices of biodynamie. The wines were getting better and better, and by 1995, they were able to bottle and sell the entire crop. By the late 90’s, the estate was down to 27HA, some vines had been sold to their friend and neighbor Michel Augé. In 2000, Catherine and Didier realized that they had too much work with 27 HA and that they would make better wines if they concentrated more on their top parcels. They also didn't want to hire someone new. They decided to sell 8HA1/2 to their Japanese importer, Junko Arai.
Didier has since started a study of useful auxilliary insect with an entomological institute in Tours, and planted all sorts of flowers and herbs among the vines. Unfortunately, the crazy hot summer 2003 killed most of the plantations (there is no irrigation in French vineyards) and what survived did not make it in 2004 and 2005, two years with a big deficit in rainfall.
There is no heir to take over the estate. Claire, now 21 and a student in sociology, is allergic to vines. But who knows?
A Christmas Spooftide Carol!
I have received many inquiries lately about the origin of the word Spoofulation. While there is some controvery about the origin of the word itself, there is little question that the popularizer of the term has been Michael Wheeler, the famed New York Wine Industry Personality. Anyhow, here goes....
Spoofulation is a form of manipulation which takes wine away from nature and into the technological world of fake extraction, fake aromatics, fake flavors, fake density, fake acidity, fake tannin levels, fake color and fake sugar levels.
Basically, fake wines.
Unfortunately, much of the debate in the wine world is over "new world" vs "old world" wines, pitting "traditionalists" against "innovators." This is simply not a productive juxtaposition as the bulk of wine in the old world which aspires to go beyond plonk, much as in the new world, is being made for marketers rather than wine lovers. We're stuck in a vicious cycle where new consumers expect wine to be spoofed, buy spoof and spoof dominates what is available. Oenologists, consultants and winemakers, who are running businesses after all, have no choice but to spoofulate or they go out of business.
Spoof or die.
Wine is becoming less a natural product and more a manufactured beverage. McSpoof. This is as true in Burgundy as it is in Oregon as it is true in Napa as it is true in Australia as it is true in the Priorat.
Those who enjoy spoof often create a straw man argument that anti-spoofers are intellectuals who don't enjoy fruit driven and hedonistic wines. Whenever I taste these "fruit driven, hedonistic" wines that I read about in the wine press, I always have to wonder which fruits people have in mind. Certainly, nothing that grows in nature, nothing that comes from the ground. Most of these fruit bombs taste more like cherry cough syrup than any fruit I've put in my mouth. I never find it hedonistic to drink wines made in this style, a style that reminds me of the type of flavored medications my mother used to make me take when I was a child with assurances that "its good for you." Snapple based on fermented grapes is not my notion of wine hedonism.
Hedonism is about pleasure and what makes wine pleasurable and fabulous for me is when there is the balance, minerality, the fruit, the acidity, the structure, the sense of place and time that makes me want to empty my glass. I find it hedonistic when wine enlarges my senses, rather than when it is molded by someone else for their notion of market utility.
It ain't old world vs. new world. It ain't intellectuals vs. hedonists. It is real wine vs. spoof.
Granted, with some regretable simplification.
So, that's why I blog, to the embarassment of my loved ones and colleagues. Since the press does not have this view of wine, I have been active on my blog and in some of the wine boards for the past five or six years and have tried to talk up and popularize this notion of wine. Blogging and wine boards have given me a forum to present these ideas.
Thank goodness.
All this being said, I have nothing against people enjoying wine I find anti-hedonistic and anti-nature. I don't stop people in the street and rip the Coca-Cola or Snapples out of their hands. Some of my best friends like manufactured "fruit bombs."
So, honestly, I don't see why the self-proclaimed hedonists are so keen to condemn wines made naturally for another sensibility. I always enjoy looking into the Robert Parker wine board, where you get the impression that Parker is a isolated voice in the wilderness being bludgeoned by powerful British wine critics. For Christ's sake (and this is the Christmas season, after all), the man wields incredible power and wants to present himself as a persecuted crusader. Similarly, many lovers of new world spoof feel they have to lash out at people who like harmonious, natural wines.
Blogging has been a way for me to get my message out there about another style of wine than what the industry, press and trade are pushing. As it turns out, there are quite a number of you out there.
Thanks for all your support and a Merry Christmas to you and all your loved ones.
And don't forget our Jewish friends out there.
Happy Chanukah!
Joe Dressner
Congratulations to Kermit Lynch!
Berkeley wine importer and merchant Kermit Lynch will be awarded the Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur by the French government at a private ceremony next year.
Established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, the award is France's highest accolade and is given primarily for military achievements, although 10 percent of the awards are now given for cultural accomplishments.
Several Americans in the food and wine trade have won this award, including Julia Child, Robert Mondavi and Robert Parker. Other Americans who have won this award include Leonard Bernstein, Josephine Baker, Duke Ellington, Gregory Peck and Ronald Reagan.
While Reagan and some of the other recipients may be questionable choices, this award is a valuable recognition of the great work Kermit has done over the years to bring great French wines to the American consumer. Kermit is a competitor and in the grand traditions of American commerce I am usually obligated to condemn his work and many of his selections. But, in truth, people like me would not be in business today without the groundbreaking work of Kermit and Robert Haas before him.
Kermit fought the fight for the small, quality vigneron before it was fashionable to do so and created a standard that companies like mine look to emulate and hopefully enrich. Most importantly, Kermit brought lots of wine to the American table which never would have made their way here without all his work. Raveneau, Chave, Tempier, Humbrecht, Joguet, Coche, Vieux Telegraphe, Thierry Allemand, Marcel Lapierre and so many others.....
Kermit richly deserves this honor and the French government should be congratulated for their choice.
I can now go back to badmouthing.....
I Just Noticed
I just noticed that Domaine de Bellivière has significantly updated their web site.
It's fabulous!
Take a look at:
It helps to read French, but great site!
Wine Importer Announces Wine Film of the Year
For Immediate Release
Joe Dressner, a part owner of Louis/Dressner Selections in New York City, announced his Wine Film of the Year today.
Eric Rohmer's My Night at Maud's was the unanimous winner.
Mr. Dressner noted: "My Night at Maud's is a brilliantly insightful and sublime meditation on adult indiscretions and the wine scene in Clermont-Ferrand. Jean-Louis Trintignant plays a chaste engineer who thinks he's met his soul mate in church, yet winds up accidentally spending the night with the seductive Maud, who is more his intellectual equal. Together with Maud and his friends, Trintignant questions the unexpected and unknowable problems of the heart, while drinking and enjoying large quantities of the fabled wine from Chanturgue"
Dressner noted the key role the film has played in popularizing the wine Chanturgue in America. This delicious gamay-based wine from the Auvergne is now being bought, sold and drunk all over America, following its popularization in Rohmer's film. "No fashionable evening is complete without bringing out a bottle of Chanturgue and sharing it with loved ones and friends," Dressner added.
My Night at Maud's narrowly beat out Sideways and Mondovino, the other major contenders.
Crush Wine Co. Names 2004 Clos Roche Blanche Cabernet The Wine of the Year
For Immediate Release
Crush Wine Co., the critically acclaimed new wine shop in midtown New York, has officially declared the Clos Roche Blanche Cabernet 2004 as The Wine of the Year.
In a statement e-mailed to the press, Wine Director Lyle Fass said:
"When national publications name their wines of the year, they are limited by one important factor: widespread availability. This leaves an ocean of small-production wines ineligible for grand awards.
When choosing the Crush Wine of the Year, I used a different set of criteria. The quality must be exceptional for the price; the wine must be a perfect expression of "terroir" (that’s to say the place and time the grapes were grown); the producer must work with respect for the grapes and the land, creating the best wine possible with the least amount of manipulation; and finally, the wine must give us that feeling of "je ne sais quoi" – one that makes our toes curl with delight – from the first sip to the last.
The Clos Roche Blanche 2004 Cabernet absolutely blew me away and is my choice for "Wine of the Year." While I have always loved their....estate in France's Loire Valley, the character and balance of this particular wine completely stunned me.
It may not have the prestige of '02 La Tache or '82 Ramonet Montrachet, but the experience of drinking it is still sublime. And since its production is so small, it wouldn't be eligible for an award from a national publication; however, I believe it deserves accolades. Made from Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon grown in Touraine, it is rich, ripe, minerally, extremely concentrated, very complex and extraordinarily balanced.
But don’t expect a gloppy highly-rated Aussie Shiraz that kills you with its gobby intensity. Rather, the Clos Roche Blance Cabernet seduces you with its purity and soul. It is the definitive expression of perfectly ripe Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon from conscientious winemakers in Touraine.
The Clos Roche Blanche Cabernet 2004 was also recently cited as one of the great wines of the 21st Century by The Loire Schnauzer.
In other Wine of the Year News, The Wine Spectator has declared Philips Insignia their Wine of the Year. According to reliable sources, it is very difficult to drink an entire glass of the stuff.
Only 3 1/2 Hours Left to the Big Chambers Street Tasting
Don't miss this gala event.
We have already put the giant Christmas tree up outside the store and the festivities are about to begin!
Only 3 1/2 hours left!
Don't Miss Tomorrow's Louis Jadot Tasting At Francos Wine Merchant in New Canaan, Connecticut!
Not only will they be serving an exciting line-up of Louis Jadot wines, but Olivier Masmondet will be there in person to serve and comment about the wines!
Olivier Masmondet, the National Sales Director of Louis Jadot
The wines will include:
2003 Pommard
2003 Gevrey-Chambertin
2003 Nuits-St-Georges
2003 Volnay
2003 Chambolle-Musigny
2003 Moulin-à-Vent
and a delicious 2003 Chassagne-Montrachet Blanc!
The tasting will start at 1 pm and run until 5 pm. New Canaan is available by automobile or the Metro North Railway.
Unfortunately, Monsieur Masmondet will not be serving any wines from the Bugey even though he is a native of that region. A wine prodigy, he studied at the Bellegarde Restaurant School at age 14! In 1988, he joined the Thonon Les Bains School, rumored to be the best restaurant school in France and was granted a sommelier degree. At 20, he became the youngest Head Sommelier in France to work for a Michelin star-rated restaurant. In 1995, he became the Chief Sommelier of the Georges Blanc in Vonnas.
Monsieur Masmondet successfully competed in numerous sommellier competitions and in 2000, he became the youngest Master Sommelier in France at age 30. The same year, he joined Maison Louis Jadot in Burgundy as Export Manager to the United States and Italy. In 2002, he joined Kobrand Corporation as sales director for Maison Louis Jadot wines in the United States.
I've never met the man, but would love to go to the tasting. In fact, I would go if I didn't already have a previous engagement.
It looks like a great event, particularly if you like Louis Jadot wines!
Mark your calendar!
Disclaimer: Louis/Dressner Selections has no relationship to Francos Wines or Louis Jadot Wines or to Kobrand Corporation or to the 2003 Burgundy vintage!
Louis/Dressner Selections Gala Tasting at Chambers Street Wines Tomorrow!
Mark your calendars!
Saturday, December 9th, from 4 pm to 7:23 pm at Chambers Street.
Wines will include:
Mayr-Nusser Blaterle (2004)
Puzelat Romo 2004
Cazin Cour-Cheverny 2002
Tue-Boeuf Buisson Pouilleux 2004
Pernot Bourgogne Chardonnay 2004
I Clivi Galea 1999
Baudry Chinon Domaine 2004
Filliatreau Saumur-Champigny la Grande Vignolle 2004
Clos Roche Blanche Pif 2004
Terres Dorees Fleurie 2004
Pernot Blagny 1er Cru La Piece sous le Bois
Esmonin Gevrey Chambertin 2003
Houillon/Overnoy Poulsard 2002
Bonajuto Barone Antonio Etna Rosso 2002
Montesecondo Chianti Classico 2003
We will also have the ceremonial lighting of the Louis/Dressner Selections Christmas Tree, along with Christmas Carolling, gifts, punches and fruit cakes.
See you then!
The New Art of Eating is Out!
Finally, a mainstream magazine with interesting articles for food and wine fans. This issue features the first part of a major work on Franche-Comté's Gruyère de Comté cheese by Ed Behr. Next issue, will feature Vin Jaune!
In other personal reading activity, I highly recommend The Concert by Albanian author Ismael Kadare. This book is a must for Enver Hoxha fans or readers of Kadar's other works like Palace of Dreams.
I was in New Canaan, Connecticut, this past weekend and noticed that everyone there is reading Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Go figure!
A Startling Admission!
I have nothing interesting to say.
I haven't had anything interesting to say in 34 years.
Secret Louis/Dressner Tasting Underway!
Our office is packed with eager buyers!
We've already sold out of several bottlings and the tasting began only 44 minutes ago.
Don't miss out....we're open all day!
Rohmeresque Sleep Deprivation
Now that we have Netflix, we no longer sleep, but spend all our evenings watching DVDs. We try to watch as many as possible so that we can mail them back quickly and get new DVDs the next day.
We're currently on a Eric Rohmerathon. I had no idea that Eric Rohmer was so prolific and had no idea that there are actually 32 separate films in the Moral Tales series. There are numerous other series left to view and I think we can go all the way through the end of January watcher Rohmer films.
I suspect you need to speak French to really enjoy these films. They are endlessly chatty and intrigued by language and everyone is married and having an affair. They are almost the American stereotype of French romantic culture.
They also go well with Grignolino!
Go figure!