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Seattle Post-Intelligencer Awards Wine List of the Year
What type of name is that anyhow for a newspaper? The Post-Intelligencer? In these here parts, we call our newspapers simpler things, like The Times, The News, The Post.
Despite the name of the newspaper, all our congratulations to Shawn Mead for putting together the awarded top list. Her restaurant will soon be throwing a giant Muscadet and Oysters dinner, featuring six different vintages of L d'Or Muscadets from the legendary Pierre Luneau. I'm not sure what the legend is, but I know it exists.
Here's what the Post-Intelligencer had to say:
Wine List of the Year: Campagne and Cafe Campagne
A great wine list isn't about how large it is or how many of the glam-vin cult wines it can boast. Nor is it about overeducated cork dorks performing parlor tricks tableside. Rather, it's about how carefully the wines are selected and how well they go with the food on the menu. It's about service and glassware and pricing and how knowledgeable and passionate the staff is. It's about how fresh and innovative and up-to-date the list is and how willing the person writing it is to take risks to provide a unique dining experience for the customer.
This is how I would describe the wine list at the French country restaurant Campagne and its casual little brother, Cafe Campagne, located downstairs: The list at this Pike Place Market restaurant may seem a bit esoteric at first glance, but it is filled with treasures and opportunities to expand your palate. Wine director Shawn Mead says she is "delighted by these peculiar little wines and I want to introduce people to them."
While most restaurants have a phobia for pink wine, Mead offered 13 by the glass last summer delighting those who put their trust in her. Thirty to 40 of the 150 wines on her list can be ordered by the glass. She also offers a bimonthly wine feature that focuses on a specially selected group of wines. This month the feature is five small estate-bottled wines from Champagne. "I look for small producers who are attached to the land and who are going it on their own," she says. "Like us."
Iraq Poll as of Monday Morning
345 For An Invasion
267 Against an Invasion
47 Undecided
One poll respondant suggested an invasion of my wine cellar in France as an alternative course of action. This would work if you like Gaillac Primeur.
Early Poll Results
It being Saturday evening, voting is light:
47 Wine Industry Members Favor American Intervention in Iraq
38 Wine Industry Members Oppose American Intervention in Iraq
12 are undecided
Remember to vote once and vote twice.
Poll: Does the Wine Industry Favor an Invasion of Iraq?
I often wonder if all those wine industrialists out there are right-wing, left-wine or just plain moderates.
Here's your chance. Send me an e-mail with your answer to the above question. I will tally all answers and report back here on Wednesday morning.
I don't want this discussed in the comments sections. If you want to discuss the methodology of this poll, that is acceptable. But this web space will not become a debating ground on American foreign policy. All attempts will be deleted.
I have set-up a special e-mail box for this poll. Vote once, vote twice at:
The Wine Industry Takes a Stand!
The final results will be sent to New York Senator Charles "Chuck" Schumer, who the late Senator Alfonse d'Amato once described as a 'putz.'
Two Pieces of Startling News!
1. We are sold out of André Iché's Les Hérétiques 2001!
2. Gil Hodges is not in the Hall of Fame and Gary Carter just got elected!
Another Retail Wine Schnook Brought to Justice!
Click Here to Read About Retailer Caught Taking Hugh Profits on California Cult Cabs!
Will I See You in Angers?
In between arguing with the support staff of my best distributor, I've been organizing this year's venture to the Loire Valley. Every year, since 1969, Louis/Dressner Selections has been taking a prestigious group of American wholesalers, retailers, restaurateurs and hangers-on to the Loire to taste a lot of Muscadet.
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One of the highlights this year will be the 50th anniversary special at the Domaine du Closel. Yes, we will be drinking a 1952, yes we will be drinking a 1971. The above picture is from the Closel Cam, which shows older vintages in the cellar.
Contact me by e-mail if you are joining the group.
Only Three Spaces Left for Friday's All-Day Poulsardathon!
First of all, Happy New Year to all of you!
I've been shocked by the overwhelming response to the All-Day Poulsardathon Event. Only three more spaces remain.
Be certain to e-mail me quickly.
Don't Miss the Post New Year's 2000 Poulsard Open House
Incredibly, we have imported a new vintage of Arbois Poulsard from Pierre Overnoy. Long-time readers will remember how the 1993 Vintage took the internet by store.
The 2000 is strangely clean, fruity and delicious. And you can taste the wine this Friday!
It will be an all-day Poulsardathon at the Louis/Dressner office, from 3:00 pm until the end of the evening. Don't miss this opportunity to taste the 2000 Poulsard!
Reservations are required. Please contact me by e-mail to reserve a place. Spouses and significant others are welcome.
The guy with the clown avatar on the erobertparker board is already on the waiting list!
Moderate Wine Consumption Linked to Lower Risk of Dementia, Study Finds
The Wine Spectator reports:
"Drinking one to two glasses of wine per day may help prevent the development of dementia, more so than any other form of alcohol, according to a team of researchers based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their findings hint that chemical compounds found in wine, but not in beer or spirits, may be responsible for this beneficial effect."
Clearly, the Danish researchers don't know the geeks, wine writers and wine business types that I know!
I'm feverishly working on my Top 100 list and want to apologize to the readership for my recent lack of participation and leadership in this forum.
I fear that my struggle to fight dementia might be leading to rampant depression, a usual by-product of anti-dementia activity.
Another Great Tasting at the Minetta Café
The Minetta Café, located in New York's historic Greenwich Village, often hosts The Brad Kane Tasting Group. I have been privileged to attend many of these tastings, but I thought last night's was the best of the lot.
Brad's theme was wines from 1928 and the pours (accompanied by the delicious cuisine from the Minetta's magic kitchen) included:
1928 Montrose
1928 VCC
1928 Clos Fourtet
1928 Capbern
1928 Cos
1928 DDC
1928 Pichon
1928 Rouget
1928 Ducru
1928 Beychevelle
1928 Gruaud-Larose Bethmann
1928 Gruaud-Larose Sarget
1928 Haut Bailly
1928 Brane Cantenac
1928 Palmer
1928 Las Cases
1928 Leoville Poyferre
1928 Rieussac
What an event!
All my thanks to Brad for all the hard work that went into planning and pulling this off!
Seattle Post Picks Best Wine Shop of the Year!
Of course, it was the Whole Foods Market run by the fabulous Melanie Mann.
Here's what the paper said:
The most innovative wine shop in the city is in the back corner of a chain grocery store. Unlike the produce department of the Whole Foods Market on Northeast 64th Street, where carrots and lettuce are displayed with military exactness, the aisles in the wine department are formed by boxes of wines stacked chest high, the top boxes cut open to make a casual display. On each display you can read the personal tasting notes of the person who selected it.
Unlike most grocery stores (and many wine shops) you will not find 5-liter boxes of cheap wine or even the current high scoring darlings of the wine press. Instead you will find the well-thought-out selections of wine buyer Melanie Mann and her staff of three. The wines are mostly from France and mostly from small, family-owned producers who grow the grapes and make the wines, frequently in minuscule amounts.
Often these producers have a powerful connection to their land. Mann's strict criteria for selecting a wine reflect not only her buying philosophy but also the basic wants of most consumers. "I want to be fascinated by a wine," says Mann. "I want it to have immediate appeal and I want it to be overwhelming for the price."
Editor's Note: It is unclear for me if the award was just for Seattle or for the entire nation.
Down with the Viticole-Industrial Complex!
My thanks to Jeff Connell, the buyer at Astor Wines in New York for coining this phrase.
It's a lovely sentiment for the coming new year, don't you think?
Kind of like the people united will never be defeated!
(Then again, when one thinks about it, the people united are almost always being being defeated by more powerful forces. But who cares, Down With the Viticole-Industrial Complex!)
Site Software Purged of Virus
We have been able to totally clean-up the attack that took place yesteday.
The offending party has had their IP address blocked. While I am not at liberty to point fingers, under advisement of our attorneys, the origin of the attack appears to have been a manufacturer of synthetic corks.
Go figure!
Site Attacked by Virus
We're still trying to figure out what happened, but this site was attacked by a virus late this afternoon. Every grape variety name and proper noun was changed to a zoological reference. The virus appeares to have been launched through the comments section of this site.
Unfortunately, we will have to be closing down the comments section until the technical support team can figure out what happened. I used to deal with Jim, but the blog software company's new technical support team is in India. I spoke with them today, they have a convenient 800 phone number, and they tell me they are on the verge of a solution.
National Wine & Liquor Wholesaler's Association Calls for Resignation of Trent Lott!
While I have disagreed with their positions on inter-state shipping and their defense of every crazy aspect of the three-tier system, I have to salute my colleaues at the National Wine & Liquor Wholesaler's Association (the NWLWA) for taking a clearcut stand against Trent Lott. The NWLWA went on record today as calling for Lott's immediate resignation.
In an unrelated development, they have named Cimicky 2000 Barossa Shiraz Daylight Chamber as both the Wine of the Year as well as the Brand Identity Marketing Gimmic of the Year.
I Sold Some Guy an Australian Shiraz!
I was hanging around Chambers Street Wines yesterday, kind of helping out during the Christmas rush.
A customer came in looking for an Australian Shiraz for $15.00. I accompanied the fellow over to the Australian Section of the store where I found a Cimicky 2000 Barossa Shiraz Daylight Chamber for $14.99. God only knows what's in that bottle!
I put the bottle in my hand, gave it to the customer, told him it was delicious, walked him to the cashier, watched him pay for the bottle (privately noting his AMEX number), and then opened the door for him as he happily left the store.
How can I look my children straight in their eyes?
Leading 10 Top List from Leading Boston Retailer
Received late tonight after I watched the overly-sentimental ending to Steve Spielberg's otherwise excellent Taken on the Sci-Fi network
I, Guy Gonflage having defeated the Master Retailer Exam declare myself eligible to rate the wines of Louis-Dressner-McKenna for 2002.
10. 1999 Bourgogne Rouge Paul Pernot
9. 2001 Sancerre Thomas-Labaille
8. 2000 Muscadet 'Eden' Pepiere
7. Ruby Porto Infantado
6. 2000 Vacqueyras Clos Caveau
5. 2000 Chinon 'Domaine' Baudry
4. 2001 Sauvignon/Cabernet Clos Roche Blanche
3. 2001 Beaujolais Blanc/Rouge Brun
2. 2001 Muscadet Pepiere
1. 2001 Bourgeuil 'Trinch' Breton
1* 1999 Hermitage Texier
I say that if a wine is going to be First* it must be a First*. By now everyone knows that Texier purchased the wine from Guigal saved the best for this bottling and then divided it into three lots and sold them to Chapoutier, Meffre and Kermit Lynch.
That's a lot of negocianting.
Congratulations Eric and also congratulations to Pierre and Catherine for sharing this great prize.