FEATURE STORY
Beverage diversity is a good thing.
By Evan Goldstein
Just as food is augmenting
the revenue stream at the bar, beverages
are also significantly contributing to
revenue intake at the dinner table. For
this reason it’s important to examine the
roles drinks play in the dining room, a
recent public challenge to my beverage
philosophy, and the ways in which you
can maximize the sipping potential in
your establishment.
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Riesling Renaissance
By Rob Costantino
Rumors of a Riesling revival have been swirling around
the domestic restaurant scene for years. Doubtless, Riesling-loving sommeliers have encouraged the buzz for their favorite noble white. But it has been a soaring demand for Riesling from American consumers (a growth of more than 25 percent in 2006, according to A. C. Nielsen data) that has prompted an uptick in interest among producers and growers in the United States and Canada. The quality and variety of North American Riesling are rising. With a clear marketing message, Rieslings from this part of the
world could grace more restaurant wine lists and win
over mainstream diners.
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Running of the Bellum in New England
Beginning June 26, the Mezze Restaurant Group, headquartered in Williamstown, Massachusetts, will host the Running of the Bellum, a series of wine-tasting events including a line of artisanal wines from Yecal, Spain. Each pour will be accompanied by tasting notes, and a special chef's menu will complement the wine flight with all items crafted in tapas style.
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Brian Duncan Launches National Wine Brand
Brian Duncan, wine director of Chicago's award-winning BIN 36 Restaurant, Wine Bar & Market, and a leader in the wine world debuted the 2005 vintage of BIN 36 Wines, a new national wine brand produced in partnership with Hahn Estates vineyard in Monterey, California.
BIN 36 Wines bear the BIN 36 name on their labels and carry its mission statement: Drink Wine. Live Well. Have Fun. The line includes 2005 Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot as well as a proprietary red called D&S. They are already being poured in some of America's most celebrated restaurants, including Blackbird, Custom House, and Naha in Chicago; The Modern, Tabla, and Tribeca Grill in New York City; and Celadon in Napa, California.
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California to Recognize "Green" Wine Award Winners
Seventh Assembly District Representative Noreen Evans, chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Wine, and second District Senator Patricia Wiggins, chair of the Senate Select Committee on Wine issued a California State Legislature Certificate of Recognition to all winners of the International Green Wine Competition.
The competition, held May 5 in Santa Rosa, California, was the first and only competition devoted to recognizing and awarding outstanding wines made from "green" grapes.
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BIN 36 Partner to be Named Chicago Wine Director of the Year
Wine Director/Partner Brian Duncan of BIN 36, a forerunner on the Chicago wine bar scene, was honored with the First Annual Chicago Wine Director of the Year Award from the Gourmet Wine Cellar, presented by Gourmet magazine. Duncan accepted the award at the Gourmet Wine Cellar, held May 15 at the Field Museum.
"I am so honored to be selected as the first recipient of this award, especially considering the wealth of talent we have in the Chicago wine world," said Duncan. "It has always been my philosophy that wine shouldn't be about memorizing vintage charts and technical terminology, but about enjoyment, and that to enjoy wine people need only trust their instincts about what they like to drink. I've made it my mission, since opening BIN 36 more than eight years ago, to expose people to new and exciting wines and to arm them with a personal curiosity about all the great wines that are out there, waiting to be discovered!"
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An Analysis of Bordeaux Wine Ratings, 1970-2005: Implications for the Existing Classification of the Médoc and Graves
The French châteaux producing Bordeaux wines were classified in 1855, creating a taxonomy that continues in force to the present day. The authors of this report analyzed the ratings of vintages from 1970 to 2005 from three popular rating sources providing a lens into the status of that 1855 Classification. Their conclusion is that an update to the rating system is in order. While the authors believe it is unlikely that the classification will be changed, they believe that a new classification that they propose can help guide wine purchase decisions of the restaurant industry.
Read the Complete Report
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Dellie Rex's Tasting Notes
Explore Dellie's recent tasting travels at Uncorked!, NECI's student wine club, where they held a comparative tasting of Bordeaux reds. Dellie also shares with us a tasting of Chenin Blanc and Gewurztaminer in Boston with a wine club that has been ongoing for 26 years! She then reviews some Spanish wines that were featured in a seminar by Master of Wine and the Master Sommelier Doug Frost at the 2008 Santé Restaurant Symposium.
Read her notes.
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Parker: Stay Away from Bordeaux
Wine critic Robert Parker has caused quite a bit of commotion, telling buyers to stay away from Bordeaux's 2007 vintage unless owners cut prices, according to the New York Sun.
Parker did say some of the wines were "seductive and fruit-forward," but was also quoted as saying, "There is unquestionably little need to buy these wines as futures unless dramatic price reductions occur," and also noted that some of the wines were "thin and green."
Chris Adams, executive vice president of New York-based wine broker Sherry-Lehmann, said that he felt Parker's marks "were right on. . . . The wines are going to be delicious to drink right away, but it is a vintage that is not going to be a good one for collectors if the wines are not priced right." Another broker, however, said that some of Parker's scores "are really unjust." Benoit Ricaus Dussarget claimed that "a score in the 70s for a good Bordeaux is crazy," and concluded by saying, "[Parker] has assassinated some of the wines."
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Five California Wineries Return Home
Despite the recent move toward consolidation of the US wine industry, New York-based Constellation Brands Inc. made a recent sale that returns the ownership of five well-known California wine brands to a Healdsburg, California-based company.
In early June, Ascentia Wine Estates purchased Geyser Peak, Atlas Peak, Buena Vista Carneros, Garry Farrell Winery, and XYZin as part of a $209 million deal, which also included Washington properties Columbia Winery and Covey Run. "The best part of this for me," said Ascentia Chief Executive Jim DeBonis, "our home base is going to be in Healdsburg. That's where I live as well."
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
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from the may 2008 issue of santé magazine |
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UP & COMING: Desmond "Desi" Echavarrie
Extended Coverage and Interview
Conduct a Google search on Desmond "Desi" Echavarrie, and you'll be bombarded with articles about the young sommelier's achievements, awards, and praises from diners. At just 26 years old, Echavarrie has already tapped into resources and accolades coveted by many seasoned professionals. In 2004 he was named Best Young Sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers. That same year he took the gold at the Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs, a Chaine des Rotisseurs competition open to just ten sommeliers from across the country.
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The Wines of France: The Essential Guide for Savvy Shoppers
Jacqueline Friedrich
Ten Speed Press
While all pocket-sized wine guides are marketed to consumers, they do serve as on-the-ready reference resources for over-extended beverage managers and sommeliers. When it comes to French wines, there is no better guide than The Wines of France, The Essential Guide for Savvy Shoppers. The subtitle may suggest a consumer-centric treatment, but Friedrich’s book contains a wealth of knowledge garnered over the years by a consummate wine authority and writer. This smart volume, organized by wine region in ten chapters, is filled with razor-sharp insights and with Friedrich as mentor, restaurant buyers can’t miss choosing stellar French wines for their lists.
Buy at amazon.com >> At Home in the Vineyards
Susan Sokol Blosser
University of California Press
Blosser's personal memoir paints a brilliant history of the birth, growth, and current state of the Willamette Valley wine industry simply by chronicling her life, which was inextricably linked to the forming of a friendly wine community among wine pioneers and like-minded farmers; the shaping of land-use and wine laws; the creation of the Oregon Wine Advisory Board; the International Pinot Noir Celebration, and Oregon Pinot Camp; and the establishment of sub-appellations. Her keen insights, razor-sharp memory, and honest reporting bring her---and the Willamette Valley's---story into living color. Anyone who has experienced the wit, charm, and intelligence of Susan Sokol Blosser first-hand will recognize her clear voice that rings through the book's pages. For those who have not met the author in person, her book serves as a wonderful introduction.
Buy at amazon.com >> Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2007: 30th Edition
Hugh Johnson
Mitchell Beazley
The world's largest selling wine book has been updated for 2007. Summing up 30 years of wine illumination and criticism can't be all that easy, but Johnson doffs his cap to California for launching the varietal revolution and acknowledges that the wines of Greece, Sicily, and Georgia have yet to be fully discovered. This cordial and open-minded man whose books have inspired many a wine pro hasn't lost his critical edge; he takes to task the problem of increasing alcohol levels in his Agenda 2007 introduction. A Selection For 2007 includes recommendations for Exploring Riesling, Quirky Southern Hemisphere, Discovering Sherry, and Organic and Biodynamic. Coverage of Australia and Germany is both detailed and filled with real personality. On the other hand, the book provides more space for France than other countries to the point of giving Bordeaux its own section while allowing others in France, such as Champagne, to suffer. And East of the Rockies takes up more space than the total of Canada. But these are very minor quibbles. If there's only one book you give to your novice wine-drinking friends to introduce them to the subject, make this the one. The perfect stocking stuffer.
Buy at amazon.com >> Perfect Pairings
Evan Goldstein, MS
University of California
This magnificent, well-organized presentation of Goldstein's ideas about wine-food matching is an indispensable reference. The book's subtitle, A Master Sommelier's Practical Advice for Partnering Wine with Food, is wholly appropriate, as Goldstein presents basic keys to understanding wine and food, as well as lucid charts that perfectly complement his insightful prose.
Buy at amazon.com >>
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