Wine For Novices

Belly Up to the Bar

 By Dan Perkins
One of the great joys of drinking wine is its ability to connect people and assist in making new friends. We all know wine can break down inhibitions (often to a fault) and help make the most mousy of introverts become as gregarious as used cars salesmen. Somewhere in the middle of these extremes is the fine art of moderation, which if you travel into the wine county for a day of tasting, seems to be mostly lost these days. Here’s a true example of what I mean...

The movie “Sideways” shows a scene where Paul Giamatti takes the spit bucket, full of discarded wine, and pours it on his head because the tasting room attendant wouldn’t fill his glass. The tasting room where that scene was filmed happens to be the Andrew Murray tasting room in Los Olivos, California. I have known and followed Andrew through his career while crafting fine Rhone style wines since his early days so we visit often. A couple of years ago I noticed they started putting shredded straw in the spit buckets. Since this was new, I asked why? Answer: Ever since the movie, “Sideways,” Pinot Noir and Santa Barbara County wines became extremely popular and so elevated tourism to the area’s wineries and tasting rooms. Consequently, after some folks had visited a few and had a few they would recognize the tasting room in the movie and want to “reenact” the scene... After this occurred several times, they devised this method of keeping the wine in the spit bucket.

So, if you are so inclined to go wine tasting any time soon here are a few pointers.

1. Be respectful! Yes, the employees of the tasting room are there to serve you but don’t be like an American tourist on vacation. Be polite and understanding. Don’t muscle your way up to the bar between other guests and be aware you might be taking up too much space and keeping others from joining in the fun. A little consideration for others goes a long way when in the tasting room.

2. Don’t feel obligated to buy. They have poured you really nice wine, in fact they opened a special bottle for you to try; does that mean you have to purchase that wine or a case of it? Not really, if fact, know what to buy. Unless the winery is small (boutique = less than 3000 cases) there is a good chance you can find it locally and for less than winery retail. But some wines are only offered at the winery... know which ones and buy a couple if you like them that much and after taking them home and you still like them that much; order by phone or online. But buying chardonnay from Mondavi for $20 is silly when you can find it at any grocery store for $13... even tasting room attendants know this!

3. Feel free to share tastes. Most tasting rooms now charge a fee to taste. Some can be pricey and may include the glass as part of the fee. Because most of these wineries give generous pours just say, “We’ll share.” No problem and it’s completely acceptable! (tip: ladies please remove lipstick)

4. Drink plenty of water. Wine is a diuretic. You must drink water to offset what you’ll lose in the process. This will also help keep you from getting a headache and other hangover symptoms.

5. Know something about the wine/winery/winemaker. The people who are pouring you the wine are proud of their wine, property, tasting room, winemaker, etc. So, having a little knowledge ahead of time shows you’re interested in the same things they are. And if you try to learn something while you are there this speaks volumes of your intent for being there. Don’t be afraid to ask for a tasting sheet and pen, take notes and asks questions... This will also give the people at the winery the ever-so-slight idea that you may actually be there for something other than getting buzzed. With this new found knowledge they might actually pay you a little more attention than the guy next to you slurring his words.

6. Don’t act like you know more than the tasting room attendant. This one can be a little frustration for me... like the time the guy behind the counter kept referring to their proprietary blend (meritage) as a merh-eh-tahsz. I kept wanting to correct him... “It’s meritage as in heritage, which is a compound word merit, as in quality and heritage as in tradition!” But again this goes back to respect... the last thing you need in a tasting room is a Cliff Claven spouting off insignificant facts. Why? It’s downright annoying!

7. Don’t rush the bar at the end of the day! Walking into a tasting room at 4:55 is not like walking into the bank with a couple of minutes before closing time. If you come running into the tasting room just at closing time there’s a good chance you’ll be banned socially for life from the winery... oh, yeah they’ll take your money but also take your picture and put it in a secret book somewhere that gets around to other wineries branding you as “drinkers!” another term used for “They don’t care about our wine they only want to get drunk.” I can’t tell you how many times I would be having a nice conversation at the end of the day (and at the end of our visit because we gave ourselves enough time) with the tasting room attendant when a group of drunk, loudmouths would walk in demanding red carpet treatment. Please give yourself enough time and be respectful of other people’s time!

8. Spit and pour! You don’t realize just how much wine you can consume in a day of “tasting.” So, go ahead, take a good sized sip, swirl, trill, and spit politely into a cup or the spit bucket by picking it up and expectorating down the side (spitting in a full bucket can literally “backfire” on you.)

9. Don’t wear perfume or cologne!!! Arrgh! This is the worst. Quite frankly I want to pick up on the subtle tones of cassis and cherry coming from an $80 bottle of Cabernet not get knocked out by the overwhelming presence of your $23 bottle of Aramis.

10. Stay off the beaten path. Yes, Highway 29 is the place to go for legendary wines like Mondavi, Cakebread, Franciscan, Beringer and Heitz Cellars. But why go where everyone else goes and be treated like another head of cattle passing through the herd, when you can go to Goosecross, Havens, Pride and Miner Family, just to name a few. They’re only a couple of minutes off the main highway and you’ll experience better wines, with quieter tasting rooms with staff who enjoy the fact you’re there and the possibility of someone saying... “Hey, come on and bring your glass. We got something special in the barrel that’s tasting really nice right now!”

Cheers!

Size Matters

 By Dan Perkins

So, you go into a restaurant and notice a few bottles of wine on display but realize they must be for show because you've never been able to find bottles that size in your local wine shop. But the bottles you see, which are the size of small surface to air missiles, are actual wine bottles.

Over the years, starting from a tradition in France, wine makers have been putting their precious juice in multiple size bottles for various reasons. For instance, wine will tend to age better in larger bottles. While the optimal size of bottle is debated, it is impractical, if not unattainable when you consider the need for temperature control and expense of a bottle that holds a case of wine or more. But lately, restaurants are trending to offer half bottles on the wine list giving patrons an opportunity to sample multiple wines with different courses during dinner.

Although you most likely understand the "standard" bottle is a 750ml glass container for wine, you may be surprised to know there are 12 different sizes of bottles and each have their own names to identify them... most of which tend to come from the Bible and no one seems to really know the origin or selection of the names.

First you have: Bottle (I know fancy huh?), as described above.
Next: Half Bottle, 375ml.
Smallest yet: Split or Pony sometimes referred to as Picolo size can vary.
Going larger: Magnum: 1.5 liters = two bottles  
Double Magnum/Jeroboam: 3 liters = 4 bottles
Jeroboam/Rheoboam: 4.5 to 5 liters = 6 to 6.5 bottles
Imperial/Methuselah: 6 liters = 8 bottles
Salmanazar: 9 liters = 12 bottles or a case of wine
Balthazar: 12 liters = 16 bottles
Nebuchadnezzar: 15 liters = 20 bottles
Melchior/Solomon: 18 liters = 24 bottles or 2 cases of wine
Goliath/Primat: 27 liters = 36 bottles or 3 cases of wine!

Now you may be wondering why are there two names for some of the sizes? Other than the small bottle format, the difference refers to whether the wine is still or sparkling wine. The first name applies to the Bordeaux region of still wine while the second applies to Champagne where the bubbly derives.

If you're wondering if I've ever had a wine from a larger bottle the answer is yes... I've had my fair share of wines in Magnum and Double Magnum bottles... but one day we sampled some wine taken from a Nebuchadnezzar. Here's the story!

A man in Napa Valley had a significant wine collection which included a Nebuchadnezzar of vintage Cabernet but was unable to cellar it due to its size so he kept it out for display... that was until a bored grandchild decided to see what happens if you push on the cork! Because this wasn't noticed for some time the owner decided the amount of oxidation exposure to the wine did not warrant re-corking and took it to the winery for them to pour in exchange for anything they would offer (He got a new case of wine). Excited to have such an opportunity, the tasting room staff proudly displayed the bottle and offered their guests a rare sample of a great wine from a bottle few ever get a chance to crack open... er, shall I say "push" open.

Magnums are easily found and many larger format bottles can be purchased directly from the wineries themselves. However, these can be very expensive as most require special handling and usually come with hand painted or lazer etched lables... but the bottles, as the wine itself, can be beautiful piece of art!

Cheers!

Wine Makes the Heart Grow Stronger

by Dan Perkins

You may have heard the news that drinking wine, especially red wine is good for your health. I’m not a doctor and will not try to give the scientific reasons why but what I do know, as an athlete; wine has its benefits!

In 1991, 60 Minutes aired a segment exploring the health benefits of wine consumption in France deeming this phenomenon the “French Paradox.” Four years later they aired a second segment, which appeared to validate with stronger evidence in support of wine consumption as a health benefit. Kim Marcus, a contributor to Wine Spectator Magazine, wrote in their December 15, 1995 issue; “After the first French Paradox episode aired in November 1991 the consumption of red wine shot up in the United States, and it has yet to dip. That initial episode looked at the question of why the French, with a fairly rich and high-fat diet, had one of the lowest rates of heart diseases in the industrialized world. After interviewing two leading researchers in the field, Dr. R. Curtis Ellison of Boston University and Dr. Serge Reynaud of the French health institute INSERM, "60 Minutes" found that the determining factor appeared to be the French consumption of red wine.”

For years the French Paradox has given way to another paradox here in the US: If alcohol consumption has been linked to many health issues, such as liver disease, how could the medical community promote it? And so the debate began! The wine industry saw this as a boon, noting that wine sales shot up over 40% after the 60 Minutes report, while the medical community began to scrutinize the data. Wineries started using this new information as means to market their wines and doctors themselves, were beginning to tell their patients to begin drinking red wine. In just the past several years, further studies have linked specific components of red wine to the cause of these benefits; most notably the polyphenolic compound found almost exclusively in red wine, Resveratrol. To see how this “paradox” continues to spark debate, read this report by the Mayo Clinic HERE.

However, since it does appear more and more health professionals are succumbing to the benefits of moderate wine consumption while looking for alternatives to radical methods of curing Heart Disease, here’s something interesting I’ve recently read from Seth Baum, the founder and director of Clinical Development, VitalRemedy MD and the founder of the Foundation for Preventative and Integrative Medicine. Dr. Baum credits the red wine Pinot Noir specifically, to having higher levels of Resveratrol because the compound is produced by grapes that are stressed, most notably by fungi that typically attack in cool, damp climates. Good news for us Pinot drinkers! But even better news according to Dr. Baum, “Resveratrol is the only substance that has been found to prolong life in not only yeast, worms and fruit flies (the invertebrates), but also in some vertebrates – fish and over-fed mice.”

I don’t know about you… but for me, this is all the evidence I need to go out and buy me a case of Pinot Noir! WFN Pick for a great priced Pinot Noir is the Castle Rock Mendocino Pinot Noir. This is a blow away wine at just $10! If you can’t find it near you check it out HERE.