Italy Bound Arrivederci

Italy bound, I am in route to Italy, so what better than to re-visit some of my older posts. The posts that started it all…The Wine-Phabet: “A” is for Aglianico and “N” is for Nebbiolo.  Can you believe I have never been to Italy?  It is the “wine country” and I have never set foot there.  My step-father who just passed away this past holiday was Italian.  Actually Italian-American.  His father and mother came to the USA as an Italian immigrants. His father worked in the insurance business in San Diego for fishing boats. His mother was a pianist and loved Italian operas.  I heard many stories about Italy.  I tasted many wines from Italy.  As an Art major, I studied many pieces of Italian art.  I have been through Holland, France, Spain, the Americas, Asia and Australia; but never Italy!  Finally!  I am Italy bound!

Below are two of my favorite posts in reference to Italy.  The Wine-Phabet started with Italy. I still remember the comments from my staff when I first posted it.  It was refreshing to hear that they had actually read it.  When I started the Wine-Phabet it got a sense of direction of where I wanted this blog to go.  At first people told me I should write about all the wines I get to taste, but that felt like work to me.  I wanted to have fun, I wanted to make fun.  The Wine-Phabet allowed me to teach, joke around and strike people’s nerves.  I always love striking nerves in the discussion section of my wine groups on Linkedin.  Some people take wine way too seriously.  The Aglianico post was fun in that I got to personify grapes and wines.  It eventually led to love letters to grapes, Dr. Seuss of wine and interviews with dead celebrities.

The second post comes at the wrong time.  I never watched the fight and I don’t think I can watch Anderson Silva go out like that.  The letter “N” was de voted to Nebbiolo, the king of grapes and I compared it to Anderson Silva from the UFC, who at the time was the king of the ring.  Since he broke his leg in two, that reign came to end.  I still regard him as the king.  I just hope that nothing ever happens to Nebbiolo.  This trip I will be in Tuscany and Piedmont, so I won’t be tasting Aglianico, but I am looking forward to drinking a lot of Nebbiolo!

I am sure that when I return I’ll have some other Italian wine bit to write.  But now I got to go and catch my flight.  “Gate 25 is boarding for Milan”.  Ooohh, I just got a chill.  Ci vediamo più tardi.

Oh Campania! Italy’s finest region of the south is home to the Aglianico grape.  One might want to address him as Signore Aglianico, because it is best to approach him with age. His wines are not for the weary at heart.  Signore Aglianico is rustic, grippy and masculine!  He is thick skinned and if not nurtured properly, he can be a miss-behaved outright bully.  Signore Aglianico as a young boy might come across as a problem child, but put him in “time out”  in a bottle and watch him mellow out.  He tastes of black fruit, tobacco leaf, black tea and comes with a  double spine backbone.  Approach him with care, let him chill before you engage and his ill tempered youthfulness gives way to beautiful floral aromas.

Nebbiolo is the champ of all middleweight grapes in Italy!  This is a bold statement and I bet the Brunello producers in Tuscany would disagree.  But put them against each other in a death match and there is no doubt that a Barolo would outlast, out muscle and be ready to take on another grape at the end of the blood bath.  A great analogy would be like putting Anderson Silva, the UFC middleweight title holder (Nebbiolo) and Michael Bisbing (Sangiovese) in the Octagon.  Sangiovese’s mouth would stop running when Nebbiolo’s technique and experience outclassed his opponent.

Nebbiolo’s home is Piedmont, one of the larger wine growing regions of Italy.  It is located in the Northwestern part of Italy.  If you were putting on the boot (map of Italy), Piedmont is located right around where you would tie the bow to your laces.  Nebbiolo’s most admired wines are those of Barolo and Barbaresco.  The greatest influence in this region are the wines of Burgundy.  They are made with, only one variety and made to last.

The greatest misconception of Nebbiolo is that it is a big, full-bodied wine.  The only thing big about Nebbiolo is its tannins.  Other than that it is light in color and expresses more herbal and earth notes than fruit.  Like Anderson Silva, you would think that to be the champ in the  185lb division, you would have to be muscular, strong and somewhat of a bruiser.  But Anderson is wiry, quick and smart.

What makes Nebbiolo the champ?  His wines are elegant yet they have structure due to the tannic backbone.  The aromas are of potpourri and herbs such as fennel and star anise.  The flavors are of leather and tobacco.  The wines come across as dark but they are not BIG!  These are wines of intensity without the alcohol, and are long lasting.  These are the characteristics of a true Champ!  There will always be someone else to come by and take his title, but for now Nebbiolo will rule the red grape division of Italy.

The Little Drummer Boy Plays On Riedel

I have sung the Little Drummer Boy to my kids for years now.  It is the bedtime lullaby that guarantees lights out.  While I was singing it this evening to my daughter, I decided to change the lyrics.  Something has bothered me for a while.  One of the restaurants in my company is a wine oriented establishment.  When we opened the restaurant, our intention was to serve the house wine in small glasses similar to what you might be served in Spain.  The intention was to keep the wine approachable and get back to the root, drinking the stuff without getting all gaga goo goo over it.  The only problem is that we also serve wines that call for a proper wine glass.

Call me a snob, I don’t care.  I am a believer.  It’s not the size of the wine that matters, it’s all about the glass.  I think that if you drink wine out of the proper glass the wine will express itself the way its intended to.  Drink Pinot Noir from a pint glass and then drink the same Pinot Noir from a Burgundy glass and tell me if there is a difference.  Absolutely there is a difference.  The beer guys know it.  I “real” beer guy does not drink a Belgium beer from a pint but from a glass shaped like a Pinot Noir glass.  If you have not sat through a Riedel wine glass seminar, I urge you to do so.  It is uncanny how the same wine served in a different vessel really changes.

As I lay next to my daughter this evening, singing the words to the Little Drummer boy, I was thinking about how people have sent wine back at the restaurant served in a squatty “water-glass”.  Maybe the wine is bad?  If so I better change the list.  But maybe it’s just the glass.  So here it is, the song that drove my daughter into a deep slumber.  I have a feeling her dreams will be a bit confusing tonight.

The Little Drummer Boy Plays on Riedel

Come they told me Pa rum pum pum pum
Taste this wine for me
Pa rum pum pum pum
Something’s wrong with it
Pa rum pum pum pum
I don’t enjoy it
Pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum

What do you think
Pa rum pum pum pum
Is it gone

Crazy lady  Pa rum pum pum pum
The wine is perfectly fine
Pa rum pum pum pum
There’s nothing wrong with it
Pa rum pum pum pum
It taste sound and fit
Pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum

Let me see your glass
Pa rum pum pum pum
Oh how dumb

I should have known Pa rum pum pum pum
Your glass is not Riedel
Pa rum pum pum pum
I shared my glass with her
Pa rum pum pum pum
I shared my wine with her
Pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum

Then she smiled at me
Pa rum pum pum pum
That wine taste yum

Judging Wine at the Sommelier Challenge, What do Somms Really Think?

Another year, another wine competition.  This time I was judging wine at the Sommelier Challenge hosted by the man who puts on the most organized wine competitions, Robert Whitley.   This competition brings sommeliers from across the country for the painful task of judging wine.  Well, at least that is what I tell my boss, it was a difficult and painful task but the job had to get done.  As we all know, wine is fun, no matter if we’re discriminating for a wine list, drinking at a dinner party or judging $10 Pinot Grigio.  What I really enjoy about this competition is getting together with peers and spending two days grueling over flights of wines from all over the world.

Do you ever wonder what sommeliers talk about when we get together?   Here is a quick look at what we talked about over lunch the first day.  Contrary to what you’d expect, wine was not much of the conversation, just the ice breaker.  We share our restaurant horror stories.  We talked about corkage fees and complained about why guests just don’t understand how much time and work it takes to open and serve 12 bottles of your wine for free, while we neglect other guests.  But after the ranting and raving about our jobs on the floor, we talked about beer!  Yes. beer!  So the first thing I did when I got home the first day after judging a dozen Moscatos was open an Anchor Steam.   I plan to talk a lot about beer in an upcoming post, so stay tuned.

As for the Sommelier Challenge it was all good times.  We tasted 900 hundred wines from the most obscure backwoods regions in America to the top vineyards of the world.  My fellow judge was Jennifer Foucher, a sommelier from Washington D.C..  Together we flew through our flights.  There was no arguing, no your wrong, I’m right.  We just disagreed and were happy to disagree.  I liked tasting with Jennifer because we pretty much based our results on instinct and first impression.  If the wine was not good, it wasn’t good and was not up for debate.  If she or I liked a wine, then good, we liked the wines.  Plain and simple.  I think we gave out two platinum awards all day.  I always look forward to the sweepstakes round to see what the other judges deemed as platinum.  To see the rules and how the medals are awarded see one of my old posts.

Every judge brings a different palate and a different point of view.  That is why wine lists are so diverse.  When you get us all in one room it is fun to see us interact.  I really enjoy meeting new people and seeing some old friends.  This year we had Master Sommelier Bob Bath from the Culinary Institute in Napa.  He was at the forefront of the beer conversation.  I look forward to drinking beers with him one day.  Also from the Culinary Institute in Napa was Tracey Dutton, who at lunch admitted her love of vodka.  We also had out-of-town judges, Michael Scaffidi from Washington D.C., Andre Mack the man behind Mouton Noir Wines in all his get-up.  An old friend from San Francisco, Eugenio Jardim formerly of Jardiniere was there spreading his contagious laughter with fellow San Francisco-ite Rob Renteria from La Folie.  Stupid me, I introduce myself to Rob and the entire time I think I’m talking to winemaker Oscar Renteria, sorry Rob.  It was also a pleasure to see ex-San Diegan Ted Glennon who is now stomping on grapes in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  The other outside judge who cannot be forgotten, the philosopher, George Skorka who is the only other person that can challenge Eugenio for the most boisterous laughter and loves to share his philosophy about wine tasting, consciousness and why Pinotage is great.  David Furer, wine journalist and sommelier shared his expertise, maybe we’ll hear about his experience on his blog.

From close to home, Lisa Redwine the pillar behind the Marine room and the Shores in La Jolla, led the charge for higher corkage fees.  It is always good to see her.  Chuy Galvin is also a staple at the Sommelier Challenge, we actually went the same high school.  Who would have thought, two Catholic Mexican boys becoming somms.  And then there was the motley bunch from my Monday tasting group, the forever studying and always in a great mood Brian Donegan, formerly from Market in Solana Beach.  Tami Wong, the golden palate from our group who nailed a ’03 Verdejo a few weeks back, was here to put her palate to work.  My good friend Paul Kirkorian, the veteran, sat a few tables down and stuck his nose deep into every one of his glasses.  Every person here is an all-star, down to earth and their medals should mean a lot to the receiving wineries.  Judging wine can get exhausting, but the experience is quite enjoyable.

So what do sommeliers do after judging hundreds of wines over two days?  Well this year, thanks to Brian Donegan we drank 1940 vintage Pernod.  I am a Absinthe fanatic, and this was the perfect closure to a long weekend.  Thanks Brian!

Now for the winners!  After selecting by a show of hands which wines were the best in their class we selected several winners.  The best Sparkling wine went to Moet Chandon 1993 Grand Vintages, it was up against Ferrari Perle Italian Sparkling and Domaine Carneros Rose Cuvee de la Pompadour.  I awarded the Platinum award to the Ferrari the day before, and I still believe it was better than the Moet Chandon, but my colleagues didn’t agree.  In fact, they they went so far as to give Moet Chandon the coveted award of the BEST IN SHOW.

The top white wine was given to Dr. Konstantian Frank Riesling from the Finger Lakes in New York.  I preferred this over the Moet Chandon.  The best rose went to a local San Diego winery out of Temecula, Faulkner.  Good on you!  The best red honors were shared by the Gabbiano Chianti Classico Riserva and the Black Stallion Estate Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa.  The $27.99 bottle of Cabernet beat out the Black Stallion Bordeaux Blend which sells for $175.  Unsurprisingly, the best dessert wine went to Inniskillin Riesling Ice Wine from Canada.  Again, I thought this wine was more complex and interesting than the winning Champagne, but not enough people agreed with me.  Congratulations to the winners, well deserved.   I look forward to doing it again next year.

What They Were Drinking in Mission Hills?

Last year I went with the family to listen to music at the park in Coronado.  I was amazed to see so many people drinking wine.  My curiosity drove me to walk around and take a peak at what they were drinking.  Coronado is a well to-do community made up of military families and retirees.  One would expect them to have expensive wine choices.  This past Friday, my neighborhood, Mission Hills had a concert in the park.  My kids had the bright idea of making soap and selling it at the park.  My children are 5 and 7 years old so as you could imagine, selling soap was an easy task.  Who really needs home-made soap?  Apparently, the residents of Mission Hills do, they sold out.

As we walked from blanket to blanket selling soap and giving out golden tickets which invited special customers to the soap factory, I noticed that everyone had a bottle of wine.  This was perfect, they had a buzz going, how could they refuse a 5 and 7-year-old selling home-made soaps.  Again my curiosity led me to investigate what the people of Mission Hills were drinking.

I grew up in Mission Hills and have seen it change over the past 30 years.  Mission hills sits on the hills overlooking  Old Town.  It was on of the oldest neighborhoods in San Diego.  Many of the homes are national landmarks.   When I was a kid, the neighborhood had many retirees and families.  In the 1990-2000’s many of these families moved out and an influx of new money came in.  What used to be a well-off neighborhood lined with station wagons and mini vans was now lined with Porsche convertibles and Lexus SUVs.  Young professionals replaced the earlier inhabitants.  The houses became more modern and extravagant.  Long gone were the swing sets in the back yards, they had become replaced with man caves and built-in outdoor kitchens.  When the economy took a dip, many moved away.  Those that remained, married and started having children.  We have come full circle and now the neighborhood roads are once again lined with min-vans…but no more station wagons.

Today Mission Hills has a similar demographic to Coronado, minus the retirees.  It is a well-off family driven neighborhood.  Today the houses here easily start at a million dollars.  So of course, as we were selling soap to willing customers, I had to see what they were drinking in Mission Hills.  Naturally, no one was dipping into their prized wine cellar and pulling out Mouton to listen to big band music in the park.  They had gone to the local wine shop or supermarket and picked out wines that were already chilled and ready to drink.

Just for the record I too was engaging in the libations and was walking around with a bottle of Spy Valley Pinot Noir Rose.  I tell you this because it was my “in” with some of the people.  When I approached some people, they were apprehensive to show what they were drinking.  Their first thought was, “is he a police?”  When they realized that my kids were selling soap and I had a cup filled with wine in my hand they felt a more at easy.  However, the moment I asked to snap a picture, many started to make excuses.  “Oh well we just it bought it at the store” or “We liked the label.”  They said this to make certain that I knew that they had better taste than what they were actually drinking.  I just smiled at them and said, “don’t worry, I’m drinking pink wine.”  This put them at easy and allowed me to snap the pic.

So here is what they were drinking in Mission Hills on a Friday afternoon in the park.  Do any of these brands look familiar?  Personally I was impressed to see some Spanish Cava and Rioja in some of the glasses.  Although there were plenty of “supermarket” wines, there were also some fun and interesting ones.  I think next time I will bring extra bottles with me and share some Brazilian, Greek and Slovenian wines with my neighbors.  I’d love to get their opinion.

When should you return the wine in a restaurant?

The question, “what do you do when a guest wants to return the wine”, came up in a recent twitter conversation on #WineChat a few weeks ago.  The real question was, “what do you do when a guest says the wine is corked?”  My answer was simple, take it back.  “What if the wine is not corked?” The answer again was, “Take it back”.   This led me to think more about the many times I am at the table doing the wine presentation and anticipating the guests reaction.  I know there are times when the guest tastes the wine and I see that they are not too pleased, but hold back from saying anything.  There are also times when the guest already has it in his mind to return the wine.  I’d like to share my opinion of when a guest should return the wine.

There are two typical scenarios.  The first is the guest looks over the list and selects his/her own wine without help of the server or sommelier.  The other is when the server or sommelier suggest a wine to the guest.

Lets take the first scenario, the guest picks his/her own wine.  In this situation it is assumed that the guest knows what he/she is looking for and picks a wine which he/she is familiar.  The guest tastes the wine and the wine is not as fruity, not as sweet, not as dry, not as tannic; it’s not what they expected.  The guest then decides to return it.  That is a No-No.  If the wine does not have a fault, (something we will address later) then he/she should keep the wine.  The wine should only be returned is the wine is faulty.  Just because the wine doesn’t taste as you thought it might, you do not have the right to return it.  If you would like that right, then buy insurance and ask for a recommendation.

Now lets take scenario number two, purchasing insurance, where the server or sommelier recommends a wine based on the guests preference.  The guest says I want a dry red wine, with soft tannins and fruity.  The server then recommends a young Cabernet from Howell Mt because he remembers the sommelier praising it.  However, upon tasting the wine, it’s obviously not soft and fruity.  At this point, the guest has every (more…)