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Off to the Loire Valley!
Coinciding with Josh Rosenberg's trip to the Loire, Denyse and I will cross France today and sleep in Chavignol.
As usual, Buster, Denyse and I will be staying at Georges LePrêtre's, famed Musée du Miel.
This is a deluxe private residence on two floors which is right next to LePrêtrés honey musuem. This fascinating multi-level visual experience takes us behind the scenes of the honey industry and shows nature in all its splendor.
The museum is only open for private showings, but don't miss this attraction when you are in the Sancerre region.
Global Warming Officially Over!
Thank goodness for the Kyoto Agreements and all the efforts made by the industrial countries to save the earth!
The past few summers in Poil Rouge have been horribly hot from late May though September.
This year, we've been freezing every day and I actually put the radiator on in our kitchen on Thursday. This is how things used to be before we started polluting the environment. In general, it would often remain cold here in Southern Burgundy until July 14th. At that time, given it is the French national holiday, the weather would warm-up.
It is great to be back on track and we are looking forward to a string of lower alcohol and balanced harvests in the years to come.
Josh Rosenberg to Leave His Children in South Orange, New Jersey While He Tours the Loire Valley
Mr. Rosenberg will be leaving tomorrow and unfortunately it won't be possible to have both Charlie and Poe just the group on the Polaner tour of the Loire Valley.
These moments of family separation are always difficult on everyone, but we are sure that the bonds between father and sons will only be stronger when Josh returns to South Orange.
Josh Rosenberg -- Up Close and Personal
While the viticultural sector of the Loire Valley prepares for Josh Rosenberg's visit next week, along with 16 other members of Polaner Selections, many of my readers have asked me for more information about Josh's background.
Josh Rosenberg is 34-years-old and was born, raised and still lives in the South Orange district of New Jersey. Mr. Rosenberg's father was a well-known wine lover and collector and Josh quickly learned to love wine. He still maintains the cellar and collection that his father built and where many great wines were laid away, taking over after his father passed away in 2001.
It only seemed natural for Josh to attend Cornell Hotel School, where he graduated with a degree in beverage management.
After college, Mr. Rosenberg traveled extensively through the wine regions of the world. He visited France numerous times, along with Australia, Italy, Spain, American wine areas, Germany and Austria.
He then worked for Gallo Wines as a starting position and pounded the pavement of Manhattan selling wine. Next was a five year stint at the New York Wine Warehouse, one of the great wine ships of New York, which specializes in fine wines for collectors and connisseurs.
For the past four years, Mr. Rosenberg has been working as a salesperson for Polaner Selections, a company which wholesales Eric Solomon Selections, along with Louis/Dressner Selections wines in New York and New Jersey.
Mr. Rosenberg is delighted to be returning to the Touraine. As a high school student, he participated in a total immersion program to learn French and spent months with a family in Tours. He developed a love for the region and an appetite for rillons.
Josh has been married with Caryn Rosenberg for eight years and they have two young children (5 1/2 and 2 1/2 years old). In addition to the children, they are also the proud owners of a Prius automobile, which is some sort of hybrid vehicle which respects the environment.
Josh Rosenberg to Tour the Loire Valley!
Legendary wine industry salesperson, Josh Rosenberg of Polaner Selections in New York/New Jersey, will be touring the Loire Valley next week and visiting numerous vignerons.
Mr. Rosenberg will be joined by 16 other salespeople and senior management members of Polaner Selections.
We hope to see Mr. Rosenberg during his trip and hope he enjoys his stay in the Loire -- both personally and professionally.
Vinexpo 2007!
Vinexpo has become a launching pad for counter-Vinexpo tastings organized outside of the official show. For four days we hopped from one great tasting to another, all of which had nothing to do with the official proceedings.
The anti-Vinexpo world of vignerons doing real work in real vineyards and making real wine might be small, but there is a lot of energy and a lot of great wine being made.
Denyse and I actually went to the actual Vinexpo for three hours and twenty-five minutes to remind ourselves how depressing the big wine world is, it all its industrial splendor.
It was worse than I imagined!
New Cuvée Buster Unearthed near Ingersheim!
We visited Laurent Barth in Bennwihr yesterday and came across a barrel of Alsace Pinot Noir which was vinified as a white wine. The wine is not yet finished and is weeks from being bottled, but it will soon join the glorious pantheon of Cuvée Busters.
Only 300 bottles of this beauty will be available so you would do well to reserve now. No one has pricing and no one is certain we will sell them this wine. This should not stop you from rushing to your local retailer to grab some bottles. Unfortunately, they will only sell you three bottles and there will be various tie-ins with merchandise they are having trouble moving that the retailers bought from our competitors.
The wine has sublime aromatics and you feel like you're sipping an Alsatian fruit brandy, as if the wine has somehow distilled the Pinot Noir grape into a perfume. It will probably have a light rosé color, but then again it might not.
Can this be the future of Pinot Noir?
Barth is a young guy who has only made two vintages, having recently taken his family's vines out of the local cooperative. The guy is doing great work and it was heart-breaking to tour his vineyard sites in Bennwihr, where a catastrophic hailstorm last week touched over 1000 hectares of vines and literally destroyed 150 hectares. Laurent has nothing left on his vines for 2007, a year that looked to have considerable promise. His vines appear to be the victim of a deliberate scorched earth policy!
Even though the wine industry is doing everything it can to industrialize and process wine, nature still holds all the power. This horrible storm will take a terrible toll on the farmers who work the land touched by the hail.
Of course, there will be other vintages and other harvests. The 2006s, a very difficult year, tasted great because Laurent eliminated nearly 40% of the crop in the fields during the harvest. After tasting, Laurent took us out to eat at a great resturant in nearby Ingersheim that I heartily recommed to my readers. Even to my nonreaders.
The restaurant is the Taverne Alsacienne and the cooking by Philippe Gugenbuhl was great Alsatian cuisine. M. Gugenbuhl was gracious enough to serve us blind a bottle of Henst Gewurztraminer Grand Cru 1993 from Josmeyer which he took from his personal cellar. The wine was dry but absolutely luscious, even thought it was from a minor vintage here in Alsace. There were some telltale signs of a Gewurz, but note of petrol and nuts with great complexity and charm. Plus, it was delicious!
You need reservations to get into the restaurant and you can contact them by phone at 03 89 27 08 41 or fax them at 03 89 80 89 75. They don't have a web site and are not preparing an IPodCast for the IPhone which will be introduced on July 1st.
The restaurant management will ask IPhone users to turn off their ringers during their meal, as a courtesy to their fellow diners.
Violent Thunderstorms Disrupt Vinexpo!
Denyse and I got horribly wet, my PocketPC fell to the ground and broke, and we tasted lots of great wines at Chateau Moulin Pey-Labrie.
I have been writing all my tasting notes on my IPAQ 4700 Pocket PC for the past four years. Poof, in one brutal fall, punctuated by a violent bolt of thunder it was on the ground, submerged in water and with a broken screen.
I have no choice but to go to a Bureau Tabac this morning and buy a memo pad and a pen and to start writing tasting notes like in the olden days before we all wore IPODS during all our waking hours.
I tasted lots of great wines yesterday and found several new producers. Unfortunately, the data was all destroyed when my IPAQ fell to the ground.
I suppose I will have to buy a replacement, but do I buy another PocketPC or do I buy an integrated phone/PocketPC? This question will haunt me for the rest of Vinexpo.
Off to Glamorous Vinexpo!
The wine world's biggest event starts on Sunday and Denyse and I will be there!
Vinexpo!
We can't wait. Unfortunately, Buster will not be able to go with us and we have to leave him tomorrow morning at a kennel in the ancient/lost town of Messé-sur-Grosne. I'm not sure how we found this kennel, but they have a sterling reputation here in the Mâconnais.
We then drive 6 1/2 hours to Bordeaux, where the charming Colette and André Texier will be putting us up. Coincidentally, they are the parents of Eric Texier the vigneron/winemaker/négociant/paysan.
I've attended Vinexpo for the past 16 years, or maybe 18, or maybe 14. I can't remember. This year, I will have the privilege of attending Vinexpo without actually setting foot at the conference.
All the best vignerons have organized satellite tastings, what we like to all offs in France, and nearly 40 of our vignerons will be in attendence at various shows. Then again, maybe it is only nearly 30.
There will be lots of other great vignerons at these shows and there is always the hope we'll meet someone new and exciting.
So, we have four packed days, starting Sunday, of whirlwind tastings and glamorous events. Even Elin McCoy and Alice Feiring are rumored to be attending this year!
Kevin McKenna to Lead Louis/Dressner Tasting in New Canaan, Connecticut on Saturday, June 16th
That's right! Kevin McKenna, a partner at Louis/Dressner, will be doing a tasting at Francos Wine in New Canaan.
According to the store's press release:
Louis/Dressner Imports is not really Louis/Dressner Imports. It is really Louis/Dressner/McKenna Imports. We're not sure why Kevin's name is constantly omitted and we certainly want him to feel as important as both Denyse Louis and Joe Dressner. Anyhow, Kevin McKenna, is a pretty sharp wine counter-culturist and he has a lot to offer.
All the above is certainly true and Kevin is consumer friendly, unlike Denyse and I, so you should really make this tasting.
The tasting begins at 1:00 pm.
The store asks that men attending the tasting wear plaid pants.
The store also asks women attending to wear plaid pants, in somewhat brighter colors than what the men will be wearing.
Return to Poil Rouge!
Denyse and I are off on Sunday to beautiful Poil Rouge. Poil Rouge is a hamlet in charming St-Gengoux-de-Scissé, strategically located in the Northern Mâconnais. The locals describe the Poil Rougien life style as being awesome!
The Famous Louis/Dressner Compound in Poil Rouge Sud
It always takes us a while to get set-up. There are cobwebs (in French, they call this toiles d'araignée, mouse nests (in French, they call this un nid de souris, dust (in French, they call this poussiére), house repairs (bricolage) and lots of mosquitoes (moustiques) to keep us busy during the first few days.
We have to set up home and then go to Vinexpo and rub shoulders with all the wine industry bigshots who convene in Bordeaux every two years.
It is kind of like leading a double life. The French countryside remains IPOD free and there is a whole other culture there. Believe it or not, I'm the only person in Poil Rouge with a Blog!
Vinexpo Fever!
Vinexpo is coming!
This enormous wine exhibition will be held on June 17th through June 22nd in Bordeaux and tens of thousands of wine industry bigshots will be attending.
I plan on joining them, although this year I will go to Vinexpo but manage not to enter the grounds of the show even once. There are a range of satellite tastings with real wines and real vignerons going on nearly every day. Denyse Louis will be joining me, but unfortunately we will have to leave our dog Buster in a kennel in Messey-sur-Grosne, which is conveniently located near our family compound in Poil Rouge.
My e-mail box is sagging with the hundreds of solicitations from wine industry bigshots to come meet them in Bordeaux and to taste their wines. My spam filters are working overtime.
For instance, I just received the following solicitation:
These nice people, who look to be having the time of their lives, are looking for distributors. They offer a compelling package:
"We seek distributors who realize that a family history and a brand name that is easy to pronounce and remember is thus easier to promote and sell. We offer a full service export and marketing department with all promotional items....We want to work with people who will distribute a brand that can grow with their clients needs while supporting the traditional sector.”
Frankly, it is a tempting offer.
Wine Subversion!
Eric Asimov of The New York Times just wrote an article on wine geeks which is truthful, mentions many of my good friends and is personally flattering.
What will be next....a Lettie Teague feature in Food & Wine Magazine?
It is an indication of how far all our marginal chattering has gone that this article made its way into print. The David Lillies and Mike Wheelers and Arnaud Erharts and SF Joes and Robert Callahans and Eddie Wrinkermans and a whole cast of supporting characters have gotten a range of delicious wines into the hands of so many people thirsting for authenticity and so tired of spoofdom. And while Eric Asimov cannot credit himself, his column and blog have been a great aid to the entire movement.
I suggest we all go out today and buy a bottle of crappy industrial wine and celebrate all the choice we now have! Alternatively, we could buy something which is smoky, with vanilla overtones and is redolent of something-or-other.
A Tasting Note!
One of the wines our company sells recently received a wonderful review from a major wine publication. The wine also got good points!
The reviewer wrote:
Bold aromas of ginger, cardamom and honey, but the palate is bone-dry and bracingly firm, with dried papaya, peach and apricot fruit followed by a long, fine, minerally finish.
I can't say I would have written the same note. What I find odd is no one else has written an even approximatively close description of this wine.
How can this be? If this tasting note methodology, finding evocative traces in fruits and foods, is helpful, then certainly it would be repetitively reproduced by competent tasters.
This never seems to be the case unless the wine is so obviously manipulated that it only presents monolithic aromas and flavours (I should note, I enjoy using British spellings whenever possible).
A much more useful form of wine criticism, it seems to me, would be to ask Lyle Fass at Chambers Street to put together a 12 pack for you.
Don't Miss the 2008 Polaner Trade Tasting!
Twenty-One of our growers will be attending at this trade-only event.
The projected date is April 15th.
Don't Miss Exciting Surprise Guest at Chambers Street Tasting Tomorrow, June 2nd!
You'll be shocked to find out who will be there when the tasting begins at 4 pm!
There will also be a great range of new wines you'll want to sample. Why buy them when we are pouring them for free?
Behind the Scenes at the Wine Importer's Blog!
A lot of readers contact me to find out how they can get into the glamorous Wine Importer Blogging profession.
I've decided to put together an instructional video which shows all the painstaking work that makes this site work.
Just click to:
You Too Can Become a Wine Importer Blogger!
A Big Thank You to Dr. Aubrey Claudius Galloway
It seems like only yesterday, but seven years ago today I had quadruple bypass surgery under the skilled hands of New York University Medical Center's Dr. Aubrey Claudius Gallloway.
Since then, our firm has imported 4.732 cases of Romorantin, 3,272 cases of Pineau d'Aunis, 338 cases of Grignolino, 462 cases of Poulsard and 84,323 cases of Les Hérétiques (made from the Carignan grape in the Minervois).
The surgery was rather traumatic but things turned out well afterward. I had several spiritual revelations before, during and immediately after the surgery which have greatly changed my life. Since this is not a spiritual blog, I will not go into detail here, but readers might want to consult my spiritual blog for more information:
Discovering Our Lord and Becoming a Better Wine Importer Through Quadruple Bypass Surgery
Pictured below is the actual surgery:
I had hoped to have a live cam cast, but the NYU administration reneged on a prior commitment as I was being wheeled into the surgical theater. What a lost opportunity!
Of course, in those days we didn't have podcasts and my heart is filled with regret when I think of the marvelous podcast I could have made out of my surgery. All told, I was on the operating table for five hours and thirty-eight minutes and I would have had to find capable compression software to get the entire surgery on an IPOD, but I'm sure it could have been done without sacrificing the graphics quality.
I need to thank some people. Foremost, my wife Denyse Louis and my kids (who wish to be anonymous because there is nothing more embarassing than having a father who writes a blog) and my parents, Sam and Irene Dressner. I'd also like to thank Kevin McKenna, my partner, who kept our business running during and after my convalescence (and who wrote a bitter letter to NYU complaining about the thwarted cam cast of the surgery). I'd also like to thank my dog Buster who went out of his mind with joy when I finally returned from the hospital. Lastly, I'd like to thank Céline Mantovani, my niece in France, who took care of me in Poil Rouge as I recovered.
This is an embarrassing column to write, but try having quadruple bypass surgery and you'll see....every so often you get sentimental.
The other advantage of having had quadruple bypass surgery is that I milk my surgery for every little advantage I can get. In particular, I ask to board airplanes with passengers needing special assistance, given my heart condition, so that I can get on the flight before the teeming masses fight to get to their seats and stuff their oversized luggage into the overhead storage bins.
I'd be able to afford business class if only we sold more Poulsard.