The Golden Oak
One of my favorite features of Northern California vineyards are the majestic oaks that shade many of them, breaking the regularity of the vine rows with their grand reaches -- Alder Yarrow

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Public tasting events are one of the chief ways such wine regions are producing this visibility. These events are not only a lot of fun to go to, they are a wonderful education. While visiting the region is the best way to understand the wines, not everyone has the time, the energy, or the means to visit many of California's wine regions. Even those who do can't visit more than five or six wineries in a day's tasting. But at these large tastings, the curious consumer can taste the efforts of twenty, fifty, or a hundred different wineries, and very quickly get a read on a specific region.

Which brings me to the little tasting going on in about a week at Postrio Restaurant here in San Francisco. Twenty-four wineries from El Dorado County, a small AVA nestled into the Sierra Foothills, will be coming to San Francisco to showcase their wares.

This very manageable tasting offers the opportunity to taste some excellent Zinfandel, among other things, from some of California's off-the-radar producers. If I wasn't going to be out of town, I'd definitely be there to calibrate my palate on the good, bad, and otherwise of this little wine region.

The tasting will include passed hors d'oeuvres like Moroccan braised short ribs, proscuitto-wrapped squab and hamachi crudo, as well as live Jazz. Classy!

Wineries that will be pouring include:

Auriga Wine Cellars
Boeger Winery
Busby Cellars
Cedarville Vineyards
Chateau Rodin
Colibri Ridge Winery & Vineyards
Crystal Basin Cellars
David Girard Vineyards
Fenton Herriott Vineyards
Fitzpatrick Winery & Lodge
Gold Hill Vineyard
Granite Springs Vineyards
Holly's Hill Vineyards
Latcham Vineyards
Lava Cap Winery
Madroña Vineyards
Miraflores Winery
Mount Aukum Winery
Narrow Gate Vineyards
Perry Creek Vineyards
Sierra Oaks Estates
Sierra Vista Vineyards & Winery
Single Leaf Vineyards & Winery
Windwalker Vineyard

El Dorado Winery Association Tasting
Saturday March 20, 2010
2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Postrio Restaurant at the Prescott Hotel
545 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94108

Tickets for the event are $38 per person and should be purchased in advance online.

My usual tips for such tastings apply: get a good night's sleep, drink lots of water, don't taste on an empty stomach, wear dark clothes, and spit if you want to learn anything.

Congratulations on your purchase of Empire Distributing, and roughly 25% of the wine and spirits distribution business in Georgia and North Carolina that came with it. And welcome to the wine and spirits world -- we need more enlightened business people in this industry.

I can't say that I've followed your career with precision, but I've read a decent amount about you, and try to read the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report every year. After all, I'm one of your shareholders, and I learn a lot from you and Charlie Munger.

In everything I've read, you strike me as someone who appreciates fairness, competition, and above all, the power of the marketplace to improve everyone's situation if it is left alone to work well. Given the choice between heavy handed regulation and deregulation, you strike me as a deregulation kind of guy, especially when it frees consumers to vote with their dollars.

I'm sure it hasn't escaped you that the wine and spirits distribution marketplace that you just bought into is seriously screwed up. For instance, we can start with the fact that you can't get any more than 25% of the market share in Georgia because of their particular state liquor franchise laws -- regardless of whether you offer better products, better service, and better prices to your customers.

Likewise you'll find yourself hobbled as you move into other states, and completely prevented from moving into others, thanks to state-run monopolies on liquor distribution, sweetheart deals that are designed to keep out competition, and all manner of regulations that will keep you from being able to serve wine and spirits drinkers that would certainly like to broaden their horizons and have access to different kinds of products that you might offer.

Of course, those facts can't have escaped you any more than the fact that in the past 20 years we've gone from roughly 7000 different wine and spirits distributors in this country to only 700. I'm not sure whether that was part of the growth potential you saw in Empire when you picked it up this week, but I imagine it factors in somewhere.

So let me get to the point. I think you now have the opportunity, and the obligation, to get on board with those of us who think the time has come to throw out the prohibition-era, antiquated laws we've got on the books and put something rational in place that benefits both consumers and business owners like yourself.

In short, I urge you to renounce membership to the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, and instead support the efforts of those like Free the Grapes and the SWRA who are trying to turn this country into a real wine and spirits marketplace. We need a marketplace where companies can compete to meet consumer demands without meddling by state bureaucracies and cronyism. We need businesses more interested in growing the overall market, than using scare tactics and BS to protect their little slices of it.

All the analysts say that with this purchase you're betting on the Millennials as the largest wine drinking generation in decades. That seems like a pretty good bet to me. And since these young wine drinkers are more interested in a diverse, wide range of products and services, I hope you'll join those of us who want to expand choice and buying opportunities in the market.

Raising my glass to you,

Alder Yarrow

Recently I've been watching with fascination as the mainstream press does its usual unraveling of some recently released research results focused on wine drinking in women and weight gain. Specifically, I've been giggling at the complete lack of understanding we seem to have of the difference between correlation and causation, combined with the creative liberties of headline writing:

Moderate Drinking 'Can Keep Women Slim': The Chosun Ilbo

Glass of wine may keep women from gaining weight: New York Daily News

Bottoms up for skinnier bottoms: Independent

Women Who Consume Alcohol Gain Less Weight: Study: Huffington Post (blog)

A drink a day could help keep the pounds away: Globe and Mail

Cheers, Ladies! A Drink A Day May Keep the Pounds Away: ABC News

Moderate Drinking Linked to Weight Control: WebMD

Red Wine Lessens Obesity Risks In Females: Oneindia

Moderate drinking may curb pounds on women: Boston Herald

Women who drink moderately less likely to gain weight: USA Today

Glass Of Red Wine A Day May Keep Pounds At Bay: NPR (blog)

Study: Women who drink are less likely to gain weight: CNN

Study: Women who drink moderately tend to gain less weight in midlife: Los Angeles Times

Study: Women Who Drink Tend to Be Thinner: TIME

Why a glass a day WILL keep the doctor away...: Daily Mail

Women who drink more gain less weight: Washington Post (blog)

Alcohol 'can help women stay slim': The Press Association

Women who drink wine gain less weight?: Toronto Sun

Light Drinking Might Help Keep Women Slim: BusinessWeek

Wine may help women keep weight in check: Reuters

Moderate drinkers gained less weight than abstainers: Boston Globe (blog)

A tipple a day keeps obesity at bay: study: AFP

Women who drink wine 'less likely to gain weight': BBC News

Women who drink gain less weight than teetotallers: CTV.ca

Cheers! Wine refines the waist: Herald Sun

Wine isn't fattening, ladies!: Hindustan Times

Red wine drinkers 'gain less weight': Ireland Online

Wine doesn't make women fat, report claims: Telegraph.co.uk

Female wine drinkers at lower obesity risk: Times of India

Drink up girls: wine isn't fattening: Times Online

Wine: The new weight-loss miracle?: The Week Magazine

Wine Doesn't Make You Fat: That's Fit

Cocktails ward off the bulge: Science News

Light-to-Moderate Drinking Keeps Women Slim?: ShortNews.com

Alcohol & Weight Gain In Women: NewsChannel 9 WSYR

Regular and Sensible Alcohol Intake can Curb Obesity: Recent Study: eYugoslavia.com

Red alert: A few glasses of wine are good for your hips: CultureMap

Study shows women can control weight with alcohol: Examiner.com

Drink wine for slim waistline: ABH News

Women Drinkers Less Likely To Gain Weight: Visit Bulgaria

Another addition to Moderate Drinking Benefits: Weight Control: NY Breaking News.com

Moderate Drinking Could Control Weight: Tech Jackal

Daily Buzz: Want to Stay Thin? Have a Drink.: Woman's Day (blog)

Occasional drinking may help women keep weight down: 6abc.com

Study: Some Drinking Women Less Likely To Gain Weight: Ozarks First

How could boozing help you lose weight?: New Scientist (blog)

Female Drinkers Less Likely To Gain Weight: WBAL Baltimore

Females Who Drink Moderately, Gain Less Weight: Study: TopNews United States

Study: Women who drink some may weigh less: WHDH-TV

Study Shows Women Who Drink Wine Lose Weight: Portfolio.com (blog)

Drinking alcohol prevents overweight/obesity?: Food Consumer

Moderate drinking keeps women slim--study: The Money Times

Wine isn't fattening for women, study finds: decanter.com

Female Moderate Drinkers Gain Less Weight Over the Years: TestCountry.com (blog)

Drinking Alcohol May Keep You Slim: dBTechno

Alcohol Keeps the Weight Away: ToTheCenter.com (blog)

Light To Moderate Drinking Linked To Less Weight Gain In Middle Aged Women: Medical News Today

Womens' obesity risks lowered with daily drinks, study finds: McClatchy Washington Bureau

Alcohol May Help With Weight Control: FitSugar.com (blog)

Women Who Drink Moderately Gain Less Weight Than Abstainers, Study Shows: AHN | All Headline News

Wine Does Not Lead To Obesity, Research Reported: TopNews United States

Lose Weight...By Drinking Wine?: CNM News Network

Moderate alcohol link to less weight gain: Irish Health

Wine consumption reduces fat accumulation in females: TopNews

Female wine drinkers have lower obesity risk: Celebrities With Diseases

Drinking Alcohol Can Slow Weight Gain In Women: Best Syndication

Wine Keeps Women Slim, Study - Red or White Diet?: National Ledger

Moderate Drinkers Gain Less Weight, but Not Advised for Diet Plan: eMaxHealth

To your health! Women who drink red wine less likely to get fat: Examiner.com

Women who drink: Investor's Business Daily

Women Who Drink Gain Less Weight: Bru Direct

Drinking Alcohol May Help Women Stay Thin: AOL News

Women Who Are Moderate Drinkers May Gain Less Weight Than Those That Are Sober: BETTER Health Research

Study Finds Women Who Drink Wine Gain Less Weight: WDIV Detroit

Red wine may help women shed pounds: 14WFIE.com

Drinking Wine May Help Women Keep Their Figure: eFitnessNow

Alcohol can affect woman's ability to lose weight: ABC7Chicago.com

Alcohol May Help Fight Weight Gain In Women: Wine Spectator

Women Who Drink Gain Less Weight: PsychCentral.com

How to Lose Weight While Drinking: Tonic

Wine and women's weight: NHS Choices

Study Finds Wine Won't Make Women Fat: RedOrbit

Women Who Drink Moderately Seem to Gain Less Weight: CalorieLab Calorie Counter News

Women Who Drink Moderately May Gain Less Weight than Non-Drinkers: The Ledger (blog)

Moderate Drinking in Women Linked to Less Weight Gain: Medscape

Study: Red Wine Keeps Pounds Off: myGLOSS

Women Who Drink Gain Less Weight: New York Times (blog)

Wine 'unlikely to make women gain weight': Netdoctor

More good news for wine drinkers: The Economic Voice

Less weight gain by moderate-drinking women: CBC.ca

Laughable. Strange. Scary. I don't know who said it, but it's true that a little bit of information can be dangerous.

Professor Magali Delmas and PhD candidate Laura E. Grant conducted an analysis of 13,426 wines from 1,495 California wineries for eight consecutive vintages from 1998 to 2005. The two tracked correlations between the scores of the wines, their prices, whether they were made from certified organically grown grapes, and whether the wineries broadcast their organic certification on the label.

An overview of the study published last week in Science Daily suggests they found some very interesting results. Wines made with organic grapes during the time period they studied scored higher in the Wine Spectator by a point, on average, than wines made with conventional grapes. Whether this means, in fact, that organic wines taste better is open to some debate, but the statistics seem quite clear.

Perhaps the more interesting finding, however arose when the researchers looked at the price of those wines that were "eco labeled" and those that were not. The wines that chose to prominently display their certified organic status sold for 7% less than those that didn't. The prices used to define this gap were the suggested retail prices published alongside the scores in Wine Spectator magazine.

Assuming you believe in the economic principle that prices are set in the marketplace and reflect supply and demand, the conclusion you might draw here is that there is a significant negative value to labeling your wines as organic. Meaning, in short, that consumers don't want to pay as much for wines labeled as such.

Economists are often let of the hook, understandably, for explaining exactly why things are the way they are. Exactly why an eco-label is a penalty rather than a plus hasn't been determined, but I think some of it may have to do with the residual damage that early organic wines did to consumer perceptions when they hit the market in the 1980s. Many of these wines were very poorly made, and then their quality was further compromised by the lack of added sulfur dioxide, which meant that many consumers opened their bottles to find the wine fermenting for a third time. A rash of lousy wines prominently labeled as organic created a sweeping set of negative connotations that apparently the wine industry nor the American consumer has yet to leave behind.

For now, the right approach as an organic winemaker seems clear. Farm your grapes organically to make better wines, but for heaven's sake, don't tell your customers.

The study summarized in Science Daily was originally published about two years ago as a working paper by the American Association of Wine Economists.

None of us makes a living tapping away in our respective little corners of the internet, so, apart from the enthusiasm of our individual readers, such awards are among the few bits of official validation we receive for our efforts.

If you enjoy Vinography, I'd be pleased to receive your vote -- as would any of the other nominees you feel inclined to support. Unfortunately in order to vote you need to register with your e-mail address, but thankfully I believe the registration includes the option to opt out of further e-mails from Saveur.

The voting is open until April 2nd and the winners will be announced on April 5th. Please be sure to check out the food blogs that are also up for awards, as the list contains some of the best out there.

Thanks for your support.

For those unfamiliar with the Gambero Rosso, it is essentially an organization focused on the promotion and evaluation of Italian food and wine. Each year the organization publishes a guide by the same name. The Gambero Rosso is the Italian Wine bible, and in my experience, it is the most thorough and high-quality guide to any wine region that exists in the world. The guide covers a dizzying 14,000+ wines each year from the incredibly diverse regions of Italy.

Each year the Gambero Rosso guide awards one, two, or three "Bicchieri" (or "glasses") to wines of exceptional character and quality. From tens of thousands, there are usually a couple of hundred Tre Bicchieri wines, and every Spring Gambero Rosso brings many of them to San Francisco for the media and the trade to taste.

While I don't love all the wines at this tasting, I am constantly amazed by the quality and individuality of these wines. I leave the tasting every year pining for many of these wines, and wishing I had the means to add them to my collection, though invariably, there are always some fantastic $15 wines that are easy to seek out and find. It's quite a contrast to attend this tasting merely a week or two after tasting 200 barrel samples of Napa Cabernet. Comparing Napa Valley to the whole of Italy is quite unfair, of course, but the adjacency of the two tastings definitely provides the opportunity to reflect on how narrow an experience one would have if they only drank wines from Napa.

This year I was particularly taken by a number of 2005 Barolos which are hitting the market after the much vaunted 2004 vintage and not getting the attention they deserve, in my opinion. I also fell head over heels in love with yet another wine from the flanks of the volcano -- my next trip to Italy absolutely must include a pilgrimage to Etna.

Without further ado, here's what I thought of these wines.

Whites

2008 Cantina Termeno A. A. Gewürztraminer Nussbaumer, Alto Adige. $45
Pale gold in the glass, this wine has a beautifully fragrant nose of classic rose petal aromas. In the mouth it is rich and silky in texture with flavors of rose petals, orange blossom water, and a mixed bouquet of flowers that rise through an incredible finish. Click to buy.

2008 Donnafugata Passito di Pantelleria Ben Rye, Sicilia. $25
Medium gold in the glass, this wine has a nose of freshly cut cedar and orange blossoms. In the mouth it is thick and sweet but with bright acidity that buoys flavors of candied orange peel, honey, and white flowers through a beautiful finish. Wow.

2007 Livon Braide Alte, Friuli Venezia Giulia. $45
Pale blonde in color, this wine has a wonderful nose of green melon and floral aromas. In the mouth it offers rich silky textured flavors of star fruit, cucumber, and delicate white flowers that linger in a very long finish. The foundation of the wine is a deep rainwater minerality that is faint but persistent. Excellent.

WHITE WINES SCORING BETWEEN 9 AND 9.5

2008 Marisa Cuomo Costa d'Amalfi Fiorduva, Campania. $42
Pale gold in the glass, this wine has a nose of peachy and vanilla aromas. In the mouth it is zingy and floral with orange zest and rose petal flavors, which morph to more citrus notes in the very long, clean finish. Delectable.

2008 Venica & Venica Collio Sauvignon Ronco delle Mele, Friuli Venezia Giulia. $40
Palest gold in color, this wine practically explodes out of the glass with what may be the most incredibly floral set of aromas I've ever smelled on a wine. In the mouth it offers an incredibly delicate bouquet of mixed white flowers, from Lilly of the Valley to jasmine, all doused with rainwater and fresh green apple juice. An altogether disarming and beautiful wine. Click to buy.

NV Nino Franco Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Brut Rustico, Veneto. $18. Click to buy.
2000 Ferrari Trento Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore Brut, Trentino. $70.

WHITE WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 9
2007 La Vis/Valle di Cembra  Ritratto Bianco, Trentino. $16
2008 Cantina Produttori San Michele Appiano A. A. Sauvignon St.Valentin, Alto Adige. $45
2006 Cantina Terlano A. A.Terlano Pinot Bianco Vorberg is., Alto Adige. $30
2008 Cantine Lunae Bosoni     Colli di Luni Vermentino Cavagino, Liguria. $??
2008 I Campi Soave Cl. Campo Vulcano, Veneto. $25
2005 Il Mosnel Franciacorta Satèn, Lombardia. $??
2007 Jermann Vintage Tunina, Friuli Venezia Giulia. $50
2008 Nino Franco Valdobbiadene Grave di Stecca Brut, Veneto. $28
2008 Planeta  Cometa, Sicilia. $??
2006 Terre Cortesi Conero Vign. Del Parco Riserva, Marche. $??
2007 Villa Sparina Gavi del Comune di Gavi Monterotondo, Piemonte. $50
2008 Volpe Pasini COF Pinot Bianco Zuc di Volpe, Friuli Venezia Giulia. $32

WHITE WINES SCORING BETWEEN 8.5 AND 9
2007 Ca' Rugate Recioto di Soave La Perlara, Veneto. $??
2008 Cantine Lunae Bosoni Colli di Luni Vermentino Etichetta Lunae Nera, Liguria. $??
2007 Cusumano  Sàgana, Sicilia. $20
2007 Gioacchino Garofoli  Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Cl. Sup. Podium, Marche. $20
2008 Ottella Lugana Sup. Molceo, Veneto. $16
2008 Pietracupa  Greco di Tufo, Campania. $25
2008 Prà Soave Cl. Monte Grande, Veneto. $30
2006 Terre Cortesi Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Cl. V. Novali Ris., Marche. $??

WHITE WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 8.5
2008 Ca' Rugate Soave Cl. Monte Fiorentine, Veneto. $23
2002 Cesarini Sforza Trento Aquila Reale Brut Ris., Trentino. $90
2004 Guido Berlucchi & C. Franciacorta Brut Extrême Palazzo Lana, Lombardia. ?
2007 Ottella Lugana Sup. Molceo, Veneto. $25
2006 Perticaia Montefalco Sagrantino, Umbria. $50
2007 Sergio Mottura Latour a Civitella, Lazio. $18
2008 Sergio Mottura Grechetto Poggio della Costa, Lazio. $18
2008 Tenute Sella & Mosca  Vermentino di Gallura Monteoro, Sardegna. $??
2008 Vitivinicola Broglia Gavi del Comune di Gavi Bruno Broglia, Piemonte. $36

WHITE WINES SCORING BETWEEN 8 AND 8.5
2005 F.lli Giorgi OP Pinot Nero Brut Cl. 1870, Lombardia. $??
2002 Cavit Trento Altemasi Graal Brut Ris., Trentino. $49

Reds

2005 Batasiolo Barolo Boscareto, Piemonte. $75
Light ruby in the glass this wine has a wonderfully floral nose of dried flowers, herbs, and redcurrants. In the mouth it offers redcurrant and raspberry flavors that mix with dried flowers. You could call the wine delicate but for the muscular tannins that underlie the gorgeous fruit and floral qualities that linger with excellent balance in the finish.

2004 Elvio Cogno Barolo V. Elena, Piemonte. $110
Light ruby in color, this wine has an incredibly aromatic nose of cherry and cedar aromas with hints of the floral. In the mouth it is beautifully juicy with cherry, leather, cedar and redcurrant fruit supported by firm, leathery tannins and enlivened with great acidity. The wine finishes long and airy. Outstanding.

2007 Palari Faro Palari, Sicilia. $65
Light ruby in color, this wine has a nearly otherworldly nose of dried flowers and a perfect summer's day, with an underlying brightness of fruit. In the mouth it is nothing short of stunning, with near perfect balance and acidity cradling delicate flavors of redcurrant, cherry, and again that heavenly floral quality. The faintest of tannins give some grip and body to the wine, and they have an incredible sweet aroma to them that is quite unlike any other wine I've had. Remarkable and compelling.

2005 Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Cl., Veneto. $60
Dark garnet in color, this wine has a rich beautiful nose of violets and cassis fruit. In the mouth the wine offers the light sweetness of dried cherry fruit with rich chocolate covered cherry cordials and violets. The wine has an incredibly long finish that incorporates hints of spices. Stunning.

2004 Palari Faro Palaro, Sicilia. $n/a.

RED WINES SCORING BETWEEN 9 AND 9.5
2005 Castellare di Castellina I Sodi di San Niccolò, Toscana. $70
2005 Marchesi di Barolo Barolo Sarmassa, Piemonte.
2006 Allegrini Dedicato a Walter, Veneto. $120
2006 Barone Ricasoli Chianti Cl. Castello di Brolio, Toscana. $58
2005 Batasiolo Barolo Cerequio, Piemonte. $75
2005 Ettore Germano Barolo Cerretta, Piemonte. $80
2007 Fattoria Carpineta Fontalpino Do Ut Des, Toscana. $35
2006 Fattoria di  Felsina Fontalloro, Toscana. $??
2007 Fattoria Petrolo Galatrona, Toscana. $120
2001 Fontanafredda Barolo Lazzarito V. La Delizia, Piemonte. $110
2004 Giancarlo Travaglini Gattinara Ris., Piemonte. $??
2006 Isole e Olena Cepparello, Toscana. $70
2005 Malvirà Roero Renesio Ris., Piemonte. $60
2004 Masi Amarone della Valpolicella Cl. Campolongo di Torbe, Veneto. $120
2006 Michele Chiarlo Barbera d'Asti Sup. La Nizza Court, Piemonte. $55
2004 Oddero Barolo Mondoca di Bussia Soprana, Piemonte. $60
2007 Palari  Rosso del Soprano, Sicilia. $35
2005 Pio Cesare Barolo Ornato, Piemonte. $109
2006 Podere Le Berne Nobile di Montepulciano, Toscana. $33
2006 Podere Sapaio Bolgheri Sapaio Sup., Toscana. $45
2005 Prunotto Barolo Bussia, Piemonte. $90
2004 San Giorgio Brunello di Montalcino Ugolforte, Toscana. $65
2006 Velenosi  Rosso Piceno Sup. Roggio del Filare, Marche. $54
2005 Vietti Barolo Lazzarito, Piemonte. $150

RED WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 9
2005 Allegrini Amarone della Valpolicella Cl., Veneto. $90
2006 Benanti Etna Rosso Serra della Contessa , Sicilia. $??
2005 Brezza & Figli Giacomo Barolo Sarmassa, Piemonte. $75
2006 Ca' del Baio Barbaresco Asili, Piemonte. $??
2007 Cantele    Amativo, Puglia. $??
2007 Castello Monaci   Artas, Puglia. $35
2006 Donnafugata Contessa Entellina Milleunanotte, Sicilia. $90
2006 Fattoria Colle Allodole Montefalco Sagrantino Colleallodole, Umbria. $90
2006 Feudi della Medusa  Gerione , Sardegna. $80
2007 Feudo Maccari  Saia, Sicilia. $??
2004 Fontanafredda Barolo Lazzarito V. La Delizia, Piemonte. $110
2005 G. D. Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole, Piemonte. $??
2007 Giovanni Almondo Roero Bric Valdiana, Piemonte. $55
2007 Guerrieri Rizzardi Valpolicella Cl. Sup. Ripasso Poiega, Veneto. $??
2006 Melini Chianti Cl. La Selvanella Ris., Toscana. $25
2005 Michele Chiarlo Barolo Cerequio, Piemonte. $99
2006 Nino Negri Valtellina Sfursat, Lombardia. $45
2006 Nino Negri Valtellina Sfursat 5 Stelle, Lombardia. $70
2006 Pelissero Barbaresco Vanotu, Piemonte. $65
2007 Pietradolce  Etna Rosso Archineri, Sicilia. $35
2007 Rocca di Frassinello Baffo Nero, Toscana. n/a
2006 Serafini & Vidotto Montello e Colli Asolani Il Rosso dell'Abazia, Veneto. $60
2006 Tenuta Mazzolino  OP Pinot Nero Noir, Lombardia. $??
2006 Tenuta Olim Bauda Barbera d'Asti Sup. Nizza, Piemonte. $40
2006 Tenuta San Guido Bolgheri Sassicaia, Toscana. $150
2007 Tormaresca  Masseria Maime, Puglia. $40
2006 Valle Reale  Montepulciano d'Abruzzo San Calisto, Abruzzo. $38

RED WINES SCORING BETWEEN 8.5 AND 9
2006 Antinori Tignanello, Toscana. $95
2004 Antonelli - San Marco Montefalco Sagrantino Chiusa di Pannone, Umbria. $??
2006 Argentiera Bolgheri Sup. Argentiera, Toscana. $??
2007 Barone Ricasoli Chianti Cl. Brolio, Toscana. $22
2006 Barone Ricasoli Casalferro, Toscana. $51
2005 Benanti Il Drappo, Sicilia. $??
2004 Canalicchio - Franco Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino, Toscana. $??
2006 Cantine Lunae Bosoni     Colli di Luni Rosso Niccolo V, Liguria. $??
2006 Castello di Cigognola  OP Barbera Castello di Cigognola, Lombardia. $??
2006 Cesarini Sforza Chianti Cl. Villa Cafaggio Ris., Toscana. $28
2005 Còlpetrone Montefalco Sagrantino Gold, Umbria. $85
2006 Conti Zecca   Nero, Puglia. $??
2007 Di Majo Norante Molise Aglianico Contado Ris., Molise. $18
2006 Famiglia Cecchi Coevo, Toscana. $60
2007 Feudi del Pisciotto  Nero d'Avola Versace, Sicilia. $33
2004 Greppone Mazzi - Tenimenti Ruffino Brunello di Montalcino, Toscana. $75
2007 Librandi Cirò Rosso Duca Sanfelice Ris., Calabria. $23
2004 MezzaCorona  Teroldego Rotaliano Nos Ris., Trentino. $39
2006 Nino Negri Valtellina Superiore Mazer, Lombardia. $35
2004 Podere La Fortuna Brunello di Montalcino, Toscana. $??
2006 Poliziano Nobile di Montepulciano Asinone, Toscana. $??
2006 San Patrignano  Colli di Rimini Cabernet Montepirolo, Emila Romagna. $??
2006 Tenuta La Fuga Nozzole, Toscana. $??
2007 Tenuta San Guido Guidalberto, Toscana. $40
2005 Tenuta Sant'Antonio Amarone della Valpolicella Campo dei Gigli, Veneto. $125
2007 Terre del Principe Centomoggia, Campania. $??
2006 Umani Ronchi  Pelago, Marche. $99
2006 Umani Ronchi  Conero Cumaro Riserva, Marche. $52
2006 Villa Medoro  Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Colline Teramane Adrano, Abruzzo. $??

RED WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 8.5
2006 Cantina Convento Muri-Gries A. A. Lagrein Abtei Ris., Alto Adige. $??
2007 Castello di Cigognola  Barbera Dodicidodici, Lombardia. $??
2008 Ermete Medici & Figli Reggiano Lambrusco Concerto, Emila Romagna. $21
2005 Guerrieri Rizzardi Amarone della Valpolicella Cl. Villa Rizzardi, Veneto. $??
2007 Tasca d'Almerita  Cabernet Sauvignon, Sicilia. $70
2004 Tenuta La Fuga Brunello di Montalcino, Toscana. $65
2006 Tenuta La Fuga Cabreo il Borgo, Toscana. $50
2004 Tenute Sella & Mosca Alghero Marchese di Villamarina, Sardegna. $??
2006 Villa Vignamaggio Vignamaggio, Toscana. $97

RED WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 8
2007 Bricco Maiolica Diano d'Alba Sup. Sörì Bricco Maiolica, Piemonte. $??

Wine writers love Jake Lorenzo's stuff; many wish they could write like him, or more precisely, get away with writing like he does. It's not so much the sheer literary quality of Jake's "mostly true stories of the wine business," the book's subtitle; it's the vantage point and the audacity.

Jake Lorenzo is the rare wine writer who views the wine world from inside the industry, not as an outside observer dispensing judgments and scores. Better yet, he freely admits that he and his friends love to get hammered--common enough among wine writers, but rarely the subject of one essay after another. This book will not tell you which vintages of what Barolos to invest in, but it may well make you want to get ripped.

Compounding the fun, Jake is a man of mystery on two levels. He's a "wine detective," looking into what's really going on under the surface and why things work the way they do. But he's also a fiction, a nom de vin for Lance Cutler, a veteran Sonoma winemaker (including a long stretch at Gundlach-Bundschu) and wine writer (often for technical- trade magazines). Jake's "mostly true tales" involve not only his family and various true-life wine industry folks but his imaginary eating-and-drinking buddy Chuy Palacios, chef/owner of the Burrito Palace, and Dr. Iggy Calamari, a certifiably mad scientist and inventor of the wine-powered heart pacemaker.

See why the rest of us wish we had Jake's/Lance's gig?

The 60 or so short pieces that make up this collection, Jake's third, originally appeared in Wine Business Monthly, for which Lance also writes techie winemaking articles. The book is dedicated to "cellar rats and wine salesmen," without whom "there is no wine business." Several pieces celebrate the endless hard work that goes into harvesting, crushing, fermenting, pressing, barreling and bottling hundreds of thousands of tons of grapes every year; the sheer manual labor of winemaking often escapes the folks whose hardest job is handling obdurate corks. Several pieces revolve around rants against high wine prices and extravagant restaurant markups.

Jake really gets going when he's popping corks and sitting down to eat. Several gargantuan eating and drinking marathons are recounted in loving detail. One piece is a kind of ode to the three-hour lunch; another furnishes the Burrito Palace Emergency Preparedness Basic Provisions Kit, which includes, among many other things, masa flour, pinto beans, Bombay Sapphire gin, Centinela Reposado tequila, rendered duck fat, canned escargot, and two changes of underwear.

After all the bouts of wretched excess, Jake ends up with more hangovers than a Philip Marlowe detective. Jake's wine consumption may help explain why one particular essay about the exploits of a transcontinental society of hedonists shows up twice, in two different sections of the book, under two titles. It's a good enough read, and certainly creative editing.

Few topics fit the conventional wine writing mold. Several are set in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the devastation of New Orleans; Oscar Peterson's piano wizardry gets mentioned more than once. Unexpected or far-fetched analogies drive many of the pieces; my favorite was the association between ballplayers pumped up on BALCO steroids and the claims of biodynamic farming.

Continued Surveillance won't help with your studies for that Master of Wine exam. But it could convince you to adopt the motto that appears on the home page of the Wine Patrol Press website: "Two bottles a day, that's all I ask."

Continued Surveillance: Mostly True Stories of the Wine Business is available exclusively through Wine Patrol Press; email jake@winepatrol.com or call Wine Patrol Press directly at (707) 996-5730.

Tim Patterson writes for several wine magazines, blogs at Blind Muscat's Cellarbook, and co-edits the Vinography book review section.

Unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries about an hour into the session (it ran about 15 minutes longer) so apologies for the abrupt ending.

TIPS FOR VIEWING:

When you click the frame below you'll be taken to a streaming media site that hosts the video (sorry, no embedding capabilities ).

The site gives you the option to watch in HD or SD (standard definition). If you have a DSL or slower connection, I recommend switching to SD to watch.

Feel free to add your comments or questions below !

Consequently, whenever I do come across something that comes close, I feel almost obligated to share the find. It's been some time since I visited the wines made under the brand TAZ, but a couple of bottles arrived recently and went into the tasting lineup and they showed extremely well.

TAZ is one of the many wine brands that are part of wine and spirits conglomerate Fosters USA. Originally a part of the Beringer-Blass portfolio, it has been subsumed, like many others, in the wave of consolidation that has swept through the California wine world in the last five or ten years.

The wine brand is named after winegrower Bob "Taz" Steinhauer, who earned the nickname due to his resemblance to a certain cartoon character. Despite being part of one of the world's largest wine corporations, the TAZ brand is operated with a certain degree of independence. The wine continues to be made out of a winemaking cooperative in Santa Barbara, under the guidance of winemaker Natasha Boffman, who took over from the original winemaker John Priest in 2005. Boffman's prior credits include winemaking stints at Stags' Leap and Meridian Vineyards as well as some time spent down under in Australia's Coonawarra region.

The winery produces several wines from Santa Barbara County, Steinhauer's stomping grounds, with a special emphasis on Pinot Noir from several sites, including Steinhauer's most well known property, the Fiddlestix vineyard (which sites next to the well known Sanford and Benedict vineyards).

This particular wine is made from fruit from the North Canyon Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley, as well as the Fiddlestix vineyard in Santa Rita Hills. After destemming and fermentation, the wine is aged in French oak barrels of which about 25% are new.

Full disclosure: I received this wine as a press sample.

Tasting Notes:
Light to medium garnet in color, this wine has a nose of sweet cranberry fruit. In the mouth it is beautifully soft and juicy with cranberry and raspberry flavors that stay lively thanks to good acidity and very judicious oak. Not incredibly complex, but hard to dislike in all its bouncy juiciness. Delicious.

Food Pairing:
This wine showcases its fruit beautifully, and will complement anything earthy and savory I think. I'd love to drink it with mini chicken pot pies with bacon and marjoram.

Overall Score: between 8.5 and 9

How Much?: $17

This wine is available for purchase on the Internet.

But look a little closer, and you might start to get the idea that this isn't just any wine. For starters, the bottle is somewhat unusual, resembling something you might see in Germany or Austria. Indeed, it would be easy to mistake this wine as coming from the Alsace region of France for that reason.

A slightly more studied glance at the label will reveal, however, that this wine hails not from Alsace, but from... Chateau-Grillet, which happens to be the name of both the winery, and the AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée), or appellation, where the wine is made.

This place, the winery that provides its name, and the wine produced there are part of one of the more unique stories in French wine. Just ask Thomas Jefferson, who played hooky from his diplomatic duties while in France in order to make a detour to the winery and it's 9 acres of vineyards and the little white wine that even then was regarded as one of the best in the world.

Just a few kilometers south of the village of Condrieu in the Northern Rhone valley lies the hamlet of Verin, backed up against some granite hills that have been worried at for millennia by the nearby Rhone river. Carved out of those hills, in steeply terraced rows, sits a small amphitheater of grape vines. People have been growing grapes in this spot as far back as Roman times. Presumably someone knows exactly when, but at some point someone figured out that the friable, sandy granitic soil was perfect for growing Viognier, the primary white grape of Condrieu, the wine region within which Chateau-Grillet sits.

Surrounded by the vineyards of Condrieu, Chateau-Grillet is its own separate appellation, and at 3.5 hectares, one of France's smallest, and also one of the few that are farmed and owned by a single producer. Since the time that Jefferson visited in the late 18th Century, Chateau-Grillet has been owned by a single family whose modern day descendants, the Neyret-Gachet family, currently display their name on the label.

Chateau-Grillet is both Condrieu and it is not. Like the larger region in which it sits, the wine is made with 100% Viognier grapes, but both the qualities of the wine, as well as its making are different than its neighbors.

To start with, the estate has some pretty old vines, averaging about 40-years-old across the vineyard, some of which have been bearing fruit since before the Chateau-Grillet appellation was officially sanctioned in 1936. Like the rest of Condrieu, but perhaps even more thanks to vine age and very nutrient-poor soils, Chateau-Grillet's yields are miniscule.

Needless to say, the fruit is harvested painstakingly by hand, and carefully destemmed and crushed. From there it is fermented and then aged in old oak casks for well over a year before being bottled. This cask aging is a significant departure from the relatively insignificant aging that most Condrieu gets, and is no doubt partially responsible for the character difference between Chateau-Grillet and those wines. Chateau-Grillet does not have the explosive intense aromatics of Condrieu, nor quite the intense honeyed fruit flavors. More reserved in character, Chateau-Grillet also tends to be longer lived than its neighbors.

Only roughly 2000 cases of wine are produced each year, to a demand that far outstrips the estate's supply. It is one of those wines slavishly cherished by those who love the white wines of the Rhone, though thankfully with less fanfare and cash than the red wines of the region. Consequently it is not impossible to find, nor prohibitively expensive to buy, considering it is one of the wine world's treasures.

Tasting Notes:
Pal gold in the glass, this wine has an electrifying smell of lemon... cocaine. Something ethereal and intense and distinctly lemony, but not exactly of this world, so to speak. On the palate the wine has a gorgeous, silky, texture and the viscous weight that often accompanies Viognier. The magic of this wine comes from its fantastic balance between a creamy lemon curd and lemongrass-scented richness and a bright crystalline acidity that hang in a taut balance that resonates through a long finish. The barest hint of peachiness peeks through this citrus matrix as a reminder that this is indeed Viognier. This interplay between fruit and mineral, lushness and crispness simply just makes you want to drink more, and more, and more. Which I highly recommend you do.

Food Pairing:
This wine will match an incredible array of foods, from shellfish to starch to salads. I drank this recently with cold antipasti plates and found it a stunning match with grilled octopus salad.

Overall Score: around 9.5

How Much?: $85

This wine is available for purchase on the Internet.

This year, as every year, 200 member wineries each crafted a unique auction lot of wine that in most cases represents the very best wine that they are capable of producing. Some bottle five or ten cases of wine from their best barrel and some make a unique blend from their two best vineyard blocks. No matter what their composition, each auction lot must be a unique wine that will never be available anywhere else, and implicitly, it must be as good as possible, to ultimately fetch the highest price.

So what's the good in me tasting wines that neither you nor I will ever get a chance to taste again, let alone purchase one day? As I swoon over some of these wines, I often ask myself the same question.

Some of these wines can actually be purchased by the public, though they require persistence to track down, plus a cavalier attitude towards the price of wine. When the 5 cases of Shafer Sunspot Vineyard Cabernet that sold for $37,000 last Saturday eventually get sold, I shudder to think what the price per bottle will be. The event web site lists the buyer of each lot and their contact information if anyone really is interested in finding one of these wines.

Many of the lots are spoken for well before the gavel falls -- purchased by wine retailers and brokers who essentially take orders (and bundles of cash) from their best customers, and then show up to invest, as if they are managing a wine hedge fund.

For the rest of us, apart from offering a ringside view on the uppermost echelon of California wine buying, the Premiere Napa Valley auction provides three main insights:

1. The measure of demand strength for the luxury end of the Napa wine industry
2. A gauge of the quality of wine that a large number of Napa producers can make when they really try
3. A broad sense of the qualities of a particular vintage -- in this case, 2008

I attend every year for these insights, along with the fantastic food and laid-back camaraderie that accompanies the event.

This year's event was a marked contrast to last year's, which came hard on the heels of the recession. The room was packed, the energy high, and the bidding enthusiastic, if somewhat less extravagant than in years past. However, while the highest price that any lot fetched was $37,000, many of the final prices were higher on average than in many past years. This translated into auction proceeds of almost $2 Million, a significant jump from last year's $1.5 million, and slightly lower than the $2.2 million raised in 2008 before the stock market crash. It can be dangerous to extrapolate anything about the larger wine economy from the bubble-like world of Napa, but that didn't keep the optimism out of the room, nor the spring out of many steps. In general, it felt like a recovery.

As for the 2008 vintage in Napa, the best word to describe it is: massive. The wines are huge, brawny, and rich, but the best maintain a good acidity and balance that will make them truly tremendous by the time they are release 2 years from now. Some wines suffer from extremely aggressive tannins, though they are on the whole much smoother tannins than in 2006. My sense is that well balanced wines from this vintage, like 2007, will age extremely well.

The Premiere barrel tasting is quite a marathon, especially for a guy like me who sets out to taste literally every single one of the 200 wines on offer. I have to work my ass off in order to get through them all. This year, I tasted all but one. When I first got to Anomaly Vineyards' barrel they weren't yet pouring, so I skipped them and forgot to go back. Oops.

Despite being a several-hour-slog through a lot of big wines, I really enjoy the opportunity to sample fabulous work of 200 master craftsmen and women. This year included some real highlights, including another phenomenal late-disgorged sparkling wine from Schramsberg, the still cloudy late harvest Sauvignon Blanc from Honig, and several Cabernets and Bordeaux blends, including the stellar offering from Spottswoode. And while I can't get my hands on any of these specific wines, having tasted "the best they can produce" I am always reminded which labels to look out for as I'm in search of great reds from Napa.

WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 9.5
2008 Barnett Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District
2008 Cardinale Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley
2008 Chateau Boswell Winery "The Fourth Estate" Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2008 Corison Winery "Premiere Reserve" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 HALL "Sacrashe Vineyard - Block 2" Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2009 Honig Vineyard & Winery Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, Rutherford
2008 Hourglass "36-24-36" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 J. Davies Vineyards "Jack's Block, 96 Vines" Cabernet Sauvignon, Diamond Mountain District
2008 Lang & Reed Wine Company "Parcel 33" Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley
2008 Larkmead Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Lewis Cellars "Premiere Blend" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 PlumpJack Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2007 Porter Family Vineyards "Duet" Red Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Schrader "Double Diamond Turbo X" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
1994 Schramsberg Vineyards "1994 Reserve - Late Disgorged" Sparkling Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Spottswoode Estate Vineyard & Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
2008 Spring Mountain Vineyard "Vertical Gobelet Vines" Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District
2008 Staglin Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 Venge Vineyards "Family Reserve, Oakville" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
NV ZD Wines "Petit Abacus" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

WINES SCORING BETWEEN 9 AND 9.5
2007 Astrale e Terra Syrah, Atlas Peak
2008 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 Blackbird Vineyards Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley
2008 BOND "Quella" Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley
2008 Cain Vineyard & Winery "Francois' Pick" Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District
2008 Carter Cellars "Envy" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Clark-Claudon Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Cliff Lede Vineyards "Let It Be Layla" Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2008 Coho "SummitVine Ranch Upper Block" Cabernet Sauvignon, Diamond Mountain District
2008 Coup De Foudre Winery "Upper/Lower Valley Love Blend" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Darioush Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Diamond Terrace "Two Mountains" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Domaine Chandon "Barrel Select" Pinot Meunier, Los Carneros
2008 Duckhorn Vineyards "Three Palms Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Ehlers Estate "The Geomancer" Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
2008 Fantesca Estate & Winery "Tastes Like a First Kiss" Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District
2008 Farella-Park Vineyards "Terrace Reserve" Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley
2008 Gargiulo Vineyards "OVX Estate Blend" Meritage, Oakville
2008 Gemstone "Essence of Gemstone" Cabernet Sauvignon, Yountville
2008 Girard Winery "Mountain Cuvee" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2007 Hestan Vineyards "Stephanie Selection" Red Table Wine, Napa Valley
2009 Hill Family Estate Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, Los Carneros
2008 Howell at the Moon "Knoll Vineyard Clone 4" Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain
2008 Husic Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2008 Jones Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Joseph Phelps Vineyards "Backus Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2008 Kuleto Estate "El Coyote" Red Wine, Napa Valley
2008 La Jota Vineyard Co. Red Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Ladera Vineyards "Two Mountains" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Livingston Moffett Wines Cabernet Sauvignon, Yountville
2008 Martin Estate "Premiere Row" Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 Mi Sueño Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Newton Vineyard "Piece of the Puzzle" Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District
2008 O'Shaughnessy Estate Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain
2008 Ovid Napa Valley "Block 1A" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2007 Page Wine Cellars "Your Personal Stash" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2007 Parallel Napa Valley "Two Hills" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 PEJU "P.S. We Love Rutherford" Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 Pillar Rock Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2008 Pride Mountain Vineyards "Premiere Napa Valley Cuvee" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Realm Cellars "Premiere Cuvee" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Reynolds Family Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2008 Rocca Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Yountville
2009 Saintsbury "Brown Ranch" Pinot Noir, Los Carneros
2008 Seavey Vineyard Red Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Shafer Vineyards "Sunspot Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2008 Signorello Estate "Big Rock Cuvee" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Silverado Vineyards "SOLO, Double Block" Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2008 Sodaro Estate Winery Petit Verdot, Napa Valley
2008 Stags' Leap Winery "Ne Cede Malis Estate-Grown Field Blend" Petite Syrah, Stags Leap District
2008 Sterling Vineyards "Three Palms Vineyard" Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley
2008 Swanson Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Switchback Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Terra Valentine "Fleur De Lys" Cabernet Franc, Spring Mountain District
2007 Tom Eddy Winery "Block One Plus" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 TOR Kenward Family Wines Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2008 Tuck Beckstoffer Wines Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 White Rock Vineyards Petit Verdot, Napa Valley

WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 9
2008 Amuse Bouche Winery Merlot, Napa Valley
2009 Arietta "A-grec" Semillon, Napa Valley
2008 Ashe Family Vineyards "One Acre" Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2008 Barlow Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Behrens Family Winery "Cemetery Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Bennett Lane "Calistoga Appellation Lot" Cabernet Sauvignon, Calistoga
2008 Beringer Vineyards "Mountain to Valley" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Black Coyote Chateau Cabernet Sauvignon, Atlas Peak
2008 Bravante Vineyards Red Table Wine, Howell Mountain
2008 Buoncristiani Family Winery "Fratelli Fervor - Stagecoach Vineyard" Malbec, Napa Valley
2008 Cakebread Cellars Red Table Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Chappellet Winery and Vineyard "Heaven on the Hill" Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley
2008 Chateau Montelena Winery "Montelena Estate G Block Old Vine Finale" Cabernet Sauvignon, Calistoga
2008 Cimarossa "Poppy Flats" Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain
2008 Conn Creek Winery "Lucky 13" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Continuum Red Table Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Cornerstone Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain
2008 Dyer Vineyard Cabernet Franc, Diamond Mountain District
2008 Elyse Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Etude "Vine Hill Ranch" Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2008 Far Niente "Martin Stelling Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2008 Fontanella Family Winery Merlot, Mount Veeder
2008 Frank Family Vineyards "Winston Hill Block 5 (Heart Block)" Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 Frazier Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2009 Frias Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District
2008 Grgich Hills Estate "Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon" Cabernet Sauvignon, Yountville
2008 Groth Vineyards & Winery "Core Blend" Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2008 Hess Collection Winery, The Cabernet Sauvignon, Mount Veeder
2008 Hewitt Vineyard "Unique Hewitt Vineyard Blend with Petit Verdot" Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2007 Hopper Creek Winery "Proprietor's Private Estate Reserve" Cabernet Sauvignon, Yountville
2008 John Anthony Cabernet Sauvignon, Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley
2008 Keenan Winery "Tribute Part 3: Grand Classique" Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District
2008 Krupp Brothers "Two Bald Heads Cuvee" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Meander "The Twist" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Miner Family Vineyards Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley
2008 Monticello Vineyards "Yewell Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
2008 Mount Veeder Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Mount Veeder
2008 Nickel & Nickel Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 O'Brien Estate Cabernet Franc, Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley
2007 O'Neill Vosti Estates "3x3" Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
2008 Oberon Wines "Hillside Reserve, Michael Mondavi Family Selection" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Paradigm Winery Cabernet Franc, Oakville
2008 Paraduxx Red Wine, Howell Mountain
2008 Raymond Vineyard & Cellar "The Final, Final" Red Table Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Renteria Wines "Vintner's Cuvée" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Revana Family Vineyard "Premiere Cuvee" Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
2008 Rombauer Vineyards "Proprietors Reserve Stice Lane" Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
2008 Round Pond Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 Rubicon Estate "Estate Clone 29" Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 Rutherford Hill Winery "Premiere Blend" Red Table Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Schlein Vineyard "Schlein Vineyard Special Cuvee" Bordeaux Blend, Oakville
2009 Snowden Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley
2008 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars "The Alchemist" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Tetra "ARTET" Red Table Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Thirteen Appellations Red Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Tierra Roja Vineyards "Katharine's Blend" Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2009 Truchard Vineyards Pinot Noir, Los Carneros
2008 Viader Vineyards & Winery "Roaring Twenties" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Vineyard 29 "The St. Helena Special" Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
2008 Volker Eisele Family Estate Bordeaux Blend, Chiles Valley District
2008 von Strasser Winery "Rudy's Choice" Cabernet Sauvignon, Diamond Mountain District

WINES SCORING BETWEEN 8.5 AND 9
2008 Alpha Omega "Proprietary Red Wine" Red Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Ardente Winery "Organic" Cabernet Sauvignon, Atlas Peak
2008 Atalon Winery "W.S. Keyes Vineyard" Merlot, Howell Mountain
2008 Barbour Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2009 Bouchaine Vineyards "Auction Select Best Barrel" Pinot Noir, Napa Valley
2008 CADE Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain
2008 Clos Pegase "Tenma Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2009 Coquerel Family Wine Estates Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley
2008 Emblem Wines "Michael Mondavi Family Selection" Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 Faust "A Faustian Bargain" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Frog's Leap "Galleron Vineyard" Petite Sirah, Rutherford
2009 Gamble Family Vineyards "Gamble Vineyard" Sauvignon Blanc, Yountville
2008 Ghost Block Bordeaux Blend, Yountville
2008 Judd's Hill "Friends at Harvest / Lot 15" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Juslyn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District
2008 Kenefick Ranch Winery Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley
2008 Lail Vineyards "Henry" Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley
2008 Larkin Wines "Pritchard Hill" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Long Meadow Ranch Winery "Spice Rack" Petite Sirah, Rutherford
2008 Louis M. Martini Winery "Premiere 254" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2009 Madonna Estate "Barrel Selection" Pinot Noir, Los Carneros
2008 Merryvale Vineyards "St. Helena Estate" Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
2008 Moone-Tsai Vineyards "Caldwell Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Oakville East Wine Company Red Table Wine, Oakville
2008 Oakville Ranch Vineyards "The Queen" Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2007 Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2007 Paoletti Estates Winery Malbec, Napa Valley
2009 Pine Ridge Vineyards "5 x 5" Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley
2008 Robert Craig Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain
2008 Robert Mondavi Winery "To Kalon Vineyard, Monastery Block" Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2008 ROY Estate "Voix Basse (a whisper)" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Sequoia Grove Vineyards "She Walks in Beauty" Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley
2008 Silver Oak Cellars "A Tale of Two Ranches" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Soñador Cellars "Dream Weaver" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2009 Spelletich Cellars "Premiere Pinot" Pinot Noir, Napa Valley
2008 St. Clement Vineyards "Armstrong Ranch" Cabernet Sauvignon, Diamond Mountain District
2008 St. Supery Vineyards & Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 Steltzner Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2008 Summers Estate Wines Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Terlato Family Vineyards "Premiere Assemblage" Red Table Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Trinchero Napa Valley "East to West Mountain Cabernet Cuvee" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Turnbull Wine Cellars "Courage" Cabernet Franc, Oakville
2008 Twomey Cellars "SCR" Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley
2008 Vineyard 7 & 8 "Collaboration" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 VinRoc Wine Caves "Koko's Block" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 William Hill Estate Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Zahtila Vineyards Zinfandel, Calistoga

WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 8.5
2008 Ahnfeldt Wines "Quid Pro Quo IV" Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley
2008 Antica Napa Valley - Antinori Family Wine Estate "Ante Up in '08" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2007 Boeschen Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
2008 Chimney Rock Winery "Tomahawk Vineyard, Premiere Cuvée" Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2008 Clos Du Val Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2008 David Arthur Vineyards "Prima Annata" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Freemark Abbey "York Creek Cabernet" Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District
2008 Harris Estate Vineyards "Melange Magique" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Hendry "Vintner's Barrel Selection" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 JAX Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Work Vineyard "Napa Valley Reserve" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Trefethen Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley

Those who spend time in wine circles know a lot about the "threat" to posed to natural cork producers by the proliferation of alternative closures. In the face of shrinking market share and demand for their product (read: threat to their income streams) they've been striking back with a multi-pronged offensive, covering every base from carbon footprints to endangered species protection to the sheer lack of romance in a screwcap.

Who knew that the glass bottle industry was under such an equally imminent and pernicious threat? But of course, if you think about it, the reality is quite dire. Glass bottles are at least indirectly responsible for the biggest component of wine's carbon footprint: heavy glass bottles require a lot of fossil fuel to move around the planet.

Everyone in the wine business that has half a brain has been looking to reduce their carbon footprint, if only to be able to tell their prospective customers that they are, and for many that means moving to lighter glass bottles that contain less.... glass.

That, combined with mainstream wine consumers' resurgence in interest in more environmentally friendly and convenient packaging like bag-in-box and Tetra-Pak (think: kids juice cartons) must have the glass industry a little rattled. Or would that be "shattered?"

Enter WineLovesGlass.Com, where you can subject yourself to the desperate public relations pleas of an industry scrambling to regain some market share. Or perhaps less cynically, an industry trying to convince people that glass isn't all that environmentally problematic. Witness the fabulously named "Truth in Packaging" or "Benefits of Glass" sections of the site, where in neatly composed prose you can learn that glass is superior in every way to every packaging method ever invented, or ever to be invented.

Now I'm no carbon footprint, environmental, or materials scientist, so I can't critique the claims they're making on the web site on those fronts, but I have to chortle at how glass bottles are compared with bag-in-box packaging: "Boxed wine is also not hermetically sealed, drastically limiting its shelf life. Wine in glass on the other can be preserved for any amount of time - allowing you to drink the wine of your choice days, months or even years after it's been purchased."

Um, where to begin? How about with the definition of hermetically, which means airtight, and which doesn't describe a single bottle of wine ever made, considering they all come with a big hole in the top that is normally sealed (and almost never hermetically) with something that the glass industry doesn't produce at all. Not to mention the fact that no one ever attempts to age wines sold in boxes, and that for the average wine consumer, a bag-in-box wine will last them much longer than wine in an opened bottle, because the (ahem) vacuum-sealed bags reduce the wine's exposure to oxygen.

I don't doubt that many of the facts and figures leveled in service of defending the glass bottle on this web site are true, from glass' ability to be recycled completely, to the amount of energy required to produce a bottle. But couched in ridiculously patronizing language like "Glass vs. Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET/Plastic): It's a Matter of Safety" or "Glass vs. Multi-Layer Cartons: It's a Matter of Responsibility" underneath animated montages of happy, beautiful, appropriately multi-ethnic people enjoying wine from bottles? Excuse me while I throw up a little in my mouth.

This web site is a complete waste of money in my opinion, no matter how much fun some PR firm and design agency had making it. A huge swath of wine consumers would never buy wine in alternative packaging because none of the wines they want to drink come in such containers. A whole other segment of the population have tried wines in alternative packaging and come to the justified conclusion that 99% of the wines that come in such packaging are positively awful. And then there are the rest of the folks that are content to buy wine in boxes and bags and cans, half of whose minds can't be changed and the other half of whom Fred Franzia's Two Buck Chuck convinced to switch to wine in glass bottles anyway because they feel all "upscale" while doing it.

How about pouring this money into research to reduce the environmental impact of glass manufacture and recycling even further? How about funding some hot-shit materials scientists to come up with lighter, stronger glass that can weigh less but still look solid enough to be used by the classiest wines who want to maintain their image but reduce their carbon footprint? Or best yet, start lobbying the wine industry to use those nifty glass stoppers that I think are the best thing to happen to the wine industry in a long time, and the potential long-term replacement to cork (if there ever will be such a thing).

Like the campaign against the use of Champagne on American wine labels I lambasted last week, this is yet another example of an industry thinking defensively instead of creatively.

In past years I've been able to blog a bit more in the course of the event, but this year I found myself using spare time to catch up on other things, so here are some of the highlights from this year's event.

What Wine Writers Need to Know about Winemaking
We were joined by Jeff Morgan, winemaker for, among other things, the kosher red wine Covenant. Jeff also has "done time" as a wine writer for the Wine Spectator and other outlets, so he seemed quite appropriate as a speaker. Unfortunately given only 45 minutes to cover a lot of ground, Jeff took us through the mechanics and chemistry of winemaking until several somewhat controversial statements resulted in a flurry of questions and debate that ate up the rest of his time.

The first thing Jeff maintained was that approximately 80% of California winemakers "water back" a practice that involves adding water to the juice prior to fermentation as a means of lowering the alcohol of the final wine. This practice was so common, he maintained, that journalists needn't even bother to ask winemakers whether they did it or not.

Jeff also suggested that acidulation (the addition of tartaric acid) was nearly as common in all but a few of the coolest growing regions of California. He also went on to make points about the use of sulfur dioxide in winemaking or at least in bottling (important, he said for keeping wines from being "naturally awful"), and the current dance of yields, hang-time, and brix levels for the ripening of fruit.

Several members of the crowd brought up the question of alcohol levels and whether watering back was really just treating the symptom of a larger malaise and that's where the debate got lively. Unfortunately we ran out of time before clear arguments could be made on either side.

The Evolution of the Tasting Note
Eric Asimov, chief wine critic for the New York Times, and Karen MacNeil, author of The Wine Bible, presided over another interesting session focused on both the theory and practice of writing tasting notes. Eric introduced the session as a continuation of his talk last year which he entitled The Tyranny of the Tasting Note.

Here's a summary transcript of his opening remarks.

"My point last year was that tasting notes were not merely comical, they are pernicious. They are the dominant mode of talking about wine in our culture. People read and hear tasting notes as they get into wine and think that they are the way they should talk about wine. But by focusing on enumerating every last flavor and aroma, tasting notes reduce wine to something certain, definable, and clinical. And wine is not so easily defined.

The more we know about wine, the more we find out it is highly subjective, contextual, and mysterious. Tasting notes tend to rip out mystery that is at the heart of a wine and replaces it with unambiguous solidity.

The tasting note way of talking or thinking about wine produces the kind of anxiety that pervades the culture of wine in America. People who drink wine casually and read tasting notes that include esoteric and definite flavors and aromas they don't themselves experience think that there is something wrong with them. They chalk it up to their lack of experience, but not without a great deal of anxiety that ultimately prevents them from appreciating wine as it is meant to be appreciated.

Those few who manage to get past this anxiety and move on to real excitement about wine assume that tasting notes are the way to talk about wine, because that's the dominant paradigm.

We absolutely need to describe wine to our readers. But I want to contrast the absolute definite specificity that you see in typical kinds of tasting notes, with the kind of note that I think is much more effective. Yesterday Frances [author Frances Mayes, the keynote speaker for the conference] called a wine "fruit basket fresh" yesterday. That communicates so much. You don't have to know the specific flavor involved, yet you have a sense of the wine.

My thought in talking about wine and describing wines, is not to come up with a litany of flavors and aromas. But come up with characteristics that you say directly or to which you make allusions. Convey style, convey intent and convey achievement. People need to know what they're going to get themselves into when they open a bottle, they don't need an effort to pin down every last flavor in the wine. List characteristics rather than ingredients.

Before we start tasting wine, I want to distinguish between public tasting notes and private tasting notes. I'm talking about the notes we publish. As writers or wine lovers we also write notes to ourselves to remind us what we're tasting, and to remember wines later on. For the purpose of a mnemonic device it doesn't matter what you're writing -- whatever works for you is fine. But the private modes of communication that help you relive or remember the wine don't work for public consumption. This is an effort to think again about how we describe wine and what it is we are going to communicate to readers."

Karen MacNeil reminded us of the history of wine writing, and then treated us to a reading of one of the most amusingly convoluted and erudite tasting notes I've ever heard in my life, which was so complex I was not able to follow it enough to write it down.

The rest of the session was spent actually tasting wine blind and writing tasting notes which were shared and discussed. Some people took Eric's suggestion of metaphor quite literally. The session got amusing as silk thongs and velvet condoms made appearances as descriptors. I'm not sure, however, if that is what Eric was getting at.

The Recession and What it Means for Wine
One of the most interesting presentations at the conference was given by Vic Motto, CEO of Global Wine Partners. He offered an extremely articulate argument for the notion that the sky is not, in fact, falling.

I'm sure I can't do full justice to the many detailed points of his argument, but I can try to boil it down. He essentially wanted to convey that while these are certainly tough times at the moment, the wine industry in the United States is poised for significant growth in the future thanks to the inexorable and unchangeable nature of demographics. The single greatest guarantee of the successful future of the industry is the Millennial generation, a generation characterized by its size (70 million of them, 50% of which are just entering their 20s) and the cultural desire to drink differently than the parent generation (which means wine, not beer and spirits, at a rate twice any generation in modern history).

Combine this unavoidable train full of wine drinkers hurtling down the tracks with the increasing availability of channels to purchase wine and the ever widening selection of what is available as well as the increasing interest in lifestyle in general (with wine a big part of defining one's lifestyle) and you've got a recipe for a big wine boom.

And that is just in the united states. According to Motto, 1.2 billion people have been added to the global middle class in the last 20 years, and in another 20 years, a full 50% of the globe will be considered middle class in terms of their consumption habits and wealth levels. If the evidence from China is any indication, this middle class will have a very strong interest in wine.

In short, there's light at the end of the tunnel for sure, we're just not sure how long the tunnel is.

Ethics and Income Streams for Wine Writers
Steve Heimoff of the Wine Enthusiast led a very interesting panel discussion that devolved into a larger group discussion on ethics for wine writers. The conversation was wide-ranging, and covered samples, transparency, relationships to PR and industry, junkets/press trips, advertising, and reputation, among other things.

His panelists were Michael Bauer, executive Food and Wine editor for the San Francisco, Chronicle; Heather John, Sr. Editor at Bon Appetit Magazine and blogger at The Foodinista; and Thomas Ulrich, a contributing writer for Wines & Vines Magazine and professor of Journalism at San Jose State University.

Ethics seem to be an endless source of lively conversations among wine writers, for reasons I can't entirely fathom, and this panel did not prove otherwise. The most interesting aspects of the discussion for me came from Heather John, who, after suggesting she might need to go into the Witness Protection Program, served up the following bomb:

Wine writers have some of the worst reputations for bad ethics in the business.

She went on to explain that she knows a lot of people in the PR industry, and they constantly complain (or salaciously dish) about wine writers and their bad behavior. The kinds of things involved included requesting multiple bottles of samples; asking for free meals or free wine in restaurants; attending a free dinner and ordering the most expensive wine on the list; asking for the keys to winery guest houses or for free lodging; hitting on publicists; bad mouthing wineries to publicists; and in one particular case, threatening to write negative stories about a PR person's clients unless they footed the bill for a trip the writer wanted to go on.

When asked whether the main offenders were print journalists or bloggers, she said print journalists without hesitation (I cheered). She went on to say, however, that in her experience and in the experience of her friends in PR, the two areas that bloggers seem to abuse are samples and what she called "seat warming." -- the practice of attending every press luncheon, dinner, or other free food function possible.

Michael Bauer offered an interesting point relative to the respective ethics of traditional and new media writers as the session closed. He suggested that print journalists borrow the reputation of their masthead, while bloggers have to earn their reputations as they go. I thought this was quite elegantly phrased as well as profoundly accurate.

Sadly the session ran out of time before we could have a discussion of the recent FTC rulings on the ethics of free samples, which I would have liked to hear the group discuss. Many of the "traditional" media wine writers I talked with at the conference were really appalled at the double standard in the ruling.

* * *

And there you have it. You can find additional coverage of the Symposium, including some of the sessions I did not attend at Steve Heimoff's blog, OneWineDude.Com, AWineStory.Com, and at On The Wine Trail in Italy.

Wine Country Sunset
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