Pulling The Cork

I Got The Right Temperature For Your Wine

I recently had some family over for the July 4th holiday and as usual I shared wine from my cellar with them.  My family enjoys wine but does not share my obsession passion for wine.  While they love and appreciate the wine I share with them their interest level pretty much ends with the pure drinking enjoyment of the wine. 

That is really what it is all about, right?  It is only us oenophiles that take this to extremes I suppose. 

This time around they asked me many questions about wine and one of many interesting questions centered around proper storage and serving temperature.  They noticed that I was serving the white wine much warmer and the reds much warmer (and in one case colder) then they were used to.  You see, like most wine consumers they often drink their white wines right out of the refrigerator and their reds either too cold (sometimes with ice cubes in it) or the dreaded catch all but completely wrong "room temperature".  In the case of my Father In-Law he likes to put ice cubes in his red wine to knock down what he calls the "chalky" feeling.  More on that in a minute.

After a short explanation I decided to conduct an example experiment with Viognier and Cabernet Sauvignon serving them at 3 different temperature ranges - too cold, ideal and too warm.  It was really cool to see their noses and palates have an epiphany.  It was obvious to them that serving temperature mattered and their enjoyment of the wine became greatly enhanced as a result of getting the temperature correct. 

From this conversation and experiment I decided to write a post on the right temperature to serve wine.  There is a lot of information floating around the internet about serving temperature so I am sure PTC is not the only source.  The information I want to share with you is based on my self education and real world experience with tasting different varietals at different temperatures.  We'll provide you with an easy to use chart at the end of this post that should make it easier.  Oh, and we'll also provide you with some good dance hall reggae music that talks about temperature to make you move your body. 

Oe-no-phile On The 2006 Can Blau Montsant

At Pulling The Cork we believe the best wine is the kind of wine you drink and the kind of wine you love.  Sure, we review, taste and talk about wines but we know everyone's palate is different and unique.  While we have tasted thousands of wines, and written tasting notes on most of them, getting multiple opinions and perspectives on a wine is key to a better and more comprehensive understanding of what the wine is all about.  It's not as good as tasting and drinking it yourself but it's a decent substitute if you can't.

Our good friend (and future cohort on another wine project) Ryan Reichert (from the wine blog oe-no-phile) recently tasted and talked about the 2006 Cellers Can Blau Montsant we reviewed a short time ago. 

We wanted to point you in the direction of his post so you can read his perspective on the same wine and consider it in context with our review back on July 10, 2009. 

We think reading many reviews of a wine from diverse tasters of various experience levels is a great way to get a pretty good understanding of the wine.  The best way, of course, is to taste and drink the wine yourself and drink wines of different varietals from many different places in the world.  That is the best way to train your palate and learn about wine. 

Taste, taste, taste!

Can New Movie Bring Merlot Back From Sideways Slide?

"I am NOT drinking any F&*$#ing Merlot!" - Miles in Sideways

And with these 7 words Merlot went sideways among most American wine consumers.  Movies can be powerful influencers when it comes to human behavior and without question these words changed the perception of Merlot in America.  While I like the movie Sideways very much I really dislike how it maligned Merlot...and Cabernet Franc for that matter.  I intend to write a post in the near future on Merlot so I won't go into detail here but the bottom line is Merlot gets a bad rap for sure. 

A new movie titled Merlove may just help Merlot get out of it's sideways slide.  Here is some info on the movie direct from it's site:

Merlove is a documentary celebrating Merlot wine in response to the movie Sideways...The bottom line is good wine is good wine and bad wine is bad wine, but that should not stop the adventure. The message of Merlove is that no single grape varietal should be singled out as superior or inferior to others. Enjoy as we interweave documentary style filmmaking with the animation of a bottle of Merlot wine named “Merlove” who must find a way to fill itself with love when aimlessly tossed into the ocean of mediocre Merlot wine.

We want people to know that Merlot is ready to be loved again by all and remember that every vintage has a new story to tell...

So, pop open a bottle of Merlot you like, give it a short decant and enjoy this trailer.  You might just be helping Merlot experience a revival.

The Wine Neophyte Experiment - Blind Tasting 2 Cabernet

I have always wondered if two neophytes to wine could tell the difference between really great wine and really good wine.  In a blind tasting would they choose, as their favorite, the wine that is widely regarded as one of the best or the wine that is a decent wine for the buck?

My opportunity to perform such an experiment occurred on July 4th weekend when my Father In-Law and Brother In-Law were in town for a visit.  I have done guided wine tastings with them before but their wine knowledge and experience is, to say it nicely, limited.  For example, Dad sometimes puts energy drinks and ice cubes in his red wine to, as he says, "cut down the chalkiness".

Now that you know the wine experience baseline of who is involved let me set this up for you.  Two wines were randomly chosen from my cellar by someone not involved in the tasting.  The only guidelines given to the chooser were:

1. The wine should be California Cabernet Sauvignon within two vintages of one another.

2. Use the Cellartracker community average scores to determine quality and be sure there is enough of a spread in average score to ensure a difference but not so much as to be easy.

3. The differential in price had to be more than $50.  In the interest of full disclosure I was told, priot to the tasting, that one was over $100 a bottle and one was around $11.99 a bottle. 

Each wine would be wrapped in aluminum foil and labeled A and B and each would be decanted for the same amount of time.  This video is a bit longer than I would normally like at 12 minutes so I broke it into two parts both available below.  I cut a ton of it out in the interest of time but couldn't cut anymore without losing substance...and some humorous moments.  If you just want to see the tasting notes they are below the vids.  So those are the rules and here is the video of the blind tasting.

Ok, just to make sure I clear something up.  I tasted these wine's blind and at the end the two wines were a surprise to me.  I was told, as noted above, that one wine was above $100 and clearly I mispoke when I said the Robert Mondavi was over $100 a bottle.  As I went back and checked what I paid and the current value I discovered I was clearly wrong.  I paid $95.99 a bottle and the average selling price according to Winebid.com is $91.09 at the time of this writing. 

Here are the tasting notes. 

WINE A - 2004 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve California, Napa Valley
Decanted for 1 1/2 hours for video tasting and decanted an additional 2 hours for a total decant of 3 1/2 hours prior to tasting again and writing tasting notes. Dark and dense deep purple with some ruby on the edge. An intense nose, filling the room and my nose with gobs and gobs of rich and juicy dark fruits, like walking through the dark fruit section of a high end grocer - ripe blackberry and black cherries with oak and chocolate. On the palate it was bursting with more of the dark fruit, blackberry, dark cherry, currant and plums with some spice, oak and vanilla. I also got a touch of mint. It had a long and delicious finish that just kept going and going.  Very well integrated and smooth tannins that give the fruit lots of backbone and a nice splash of acidity to liven it up. This is an elegant, well balanced and complex Cabernet - really what California Cabernet is all about. It is drinking incredibly well right now but the structure is in place for another 5 to 10 years of ageing I think. Robert Mondavi's memory and legacy live in this bottle. Wow what a wine! $95.99 retail.  50+5+14+18+9=96 pts.

WINE B - 2006 Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles - California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Decanted for 1 1/2 hours prior to video tasting and decanted an additional 2 hours for a total decant of 3 1/2 hours prior to tasting again and writing tasting notes.  Deep garnet with some reddish hues. Even after the long decant this was very tight and resisting. The nose was holding back but there was some Bordeaux style funk, red fruits and green vegetal aromas.  Medium bodied on the palate with more red fruit, plum, spice and smoke. The tannins were very forward and rough but there was some decent fruit structure and acidity in place. This may get better with some age, though I am not convinced of it, but right now the tannins are just way overpowering and a bit bitter. It could just be that it is such a baby and very tight.  I thought it would get better with 3 1/2 hours of air time but that thinking didn't come true.  It needs a ton more air time or a minimum of 3 more years of age to even find out if this could be something. $11.99 retail.  50+5+11+13+7=86 pts.

Bottom line, the best wine is the kind of wine you like and the kind of wine you drink regardless of price or pedigree.  Drink what you will!

Let us know if you have a suggestion for a tasting or a blind tasting and we will do our best to do it. 

Have you ever done a blind tasting?  If so, what has been your experience?

If you haven't done one and you would like to now, go ahead and record it and we'll post it here on PTC. 

Say Anything But Be Authentic Like Lloyd Dobler

Originally posted at www.bearingfruitconsulting.com.  It seemed to have some relevance to the wine blog community in terms of a discussion on authenticity in your blogs and writing.  Here it is. 

Maybe I didn't really know you. Maybe you were just a mirage. Maybe the world is full of food and sex and spectacle and we're all just hurling towards an apocalypse, in which case it's not your fault... ~ Lloyd Dobler

One of my favorite movies of all time is Say Anything and Lloyd Dobler, played by my favorite actor John Cusack, is my movie character hero.  Why?  Well there are many reasons but I love Lloyd because he is so transparent, honest and authentic.  He didn't hold back and he said what he meant.  That is just Lloyd.  Very few films have ever tried to be as smart, genuine, funny and authentic as Say Anything.  If you haven't seen it you really need to check it out.  It is genius!

There has been a lot of chatter in the blogosphere, social media world and the wine community on what it means to be authentic and have authenticity which got me thinking about Lloyd Dobler again.  With the explosion of social media it can often be a difficult chore to decide who you follow, put your trust into and whether or not those people behind the social media curtain really are who they appear to be.  If they aren't who they appear to be does that impact or change how valuable or important what they say and do is to you? 

This is especially true when it comes to wine reviews, wine information and general talk about wine.  It becomes a more relevent topic in light of the recent smack talk from wine critics against wine bloggers and some non-conference agenda chats about authenticity I heard about from people I know who attended the The Winebloggers Conference. 

The other day on recruitingblogs.com Maren Hogan organized a free for all discussion on authenticity and whether or not authenticity is even important.  In case you missed it, when I am not Pulling The Cork my daytime gig is as a recruiting strategy consultant.  It was lively and entertaining but I am not sure there was much consensus at the end of the day.  That is perfectly fine by the way as the mere "beating up" of ideas on this topic was well worth the investment of my time and I am sure the others who participated would agree. 

I don't claim to have this nailed down and I certainly don't believe I am completely firm yet on what it is to be authentic or demonstrate authenticity.  That doesn't even take into account the issue of whether or not authenticity is important.  That disclaimer aside I decided to offer some of my thoughts, which are still congealing, on this topic.

Sour Grapes? Wine Critics Smack Talking Wine Bloggers

I was a football player in high school and college and I always loved a little smack talk.  There is nothing like a little smack back and forth with opponents to ignite the competitive fire and mentally prepare for a Saturday afternoon battle.   

There has been some smack talk going on between wine critics and wine bloggers lately.  As a newbie wine blogger (but not new to blogging - I have a rather successful blog in the recruiting space) I wanted to offer a few thoughts and observations on the brou-ha-ha.  As a newbie my perspective is either unique or I haven't been around long enough to know what I am talking about.  You decide.   

First, some background for context.  Recent "smack" from wine critics Anthony Dias Blue and Robert Parker railing against wine bloggers has gotten plenty of attention and, to be honest, their "smack" has me a bit puzzled.  It's all well documented by Joe Roberts of 1WineDude here and here.  Joe provides meaningful, insightful and intelligent "smack" on the wine critics tantrums so do read it if you haven't already.  I am not going to regurgitate all the information here because you can read it but two quotes from Blue and Parker need to be placed here for a little context (bold added to highlight the smack). 

From Anthony Dias Blue

“And who are these bloggers anyway and, more important, what is their motivation? It would be comforting to find that they are altruistic wine lovers who see their purpose as bringing insight and valuable information to like-minded consumers. But the image that presents itself is of bitter, carping gadflies who, as they stare into their computer screens and contemplate their dreary day jobs, let their resentment and sense of personal failure take shape as vicious attacks on the established critical media.”

From Robert Parker

"When I was in the Rhône Valley in early September, several French newspapers came out with stories about the deplorable quality of the 2008 Bordeaux vintage. These pre-harvest reports resonated in other areas of the world press, as well as on those notorious blogs that can be authored by anybody who can string a noun and verb together, and by many who can’t.

“It did not take me long to realize that the 2008 vintage was dramatically better than I had expected… When you look at all the facts (not the rumor-mongering from irresponsible bloggers)

Here are my thoughts, the thoughts of a newbie wine blogger, if you care to know:

Corked The Movie - Invoking The Spirit Of Spinal Tap

Came across this a while back but with this wine mockumentary gaining some momentum and set for wider release (I believe) in August I thought I would share it here.

Corked is a movie that, in the genre of This Is Spinal Tap and Best In Show, ridicules and mocks the world of wine.  To me I am not sure you can beat Spinal Tap for this genre of movie but the makers of Corked (@corkedthemovie for the Twitterati) are certainly doing their best.  Oliver Styles at Decanter.com profiles the cast of characters:

Characters in the film include Jerry, the independent winemaker ('eventually, I'll be the hospitality host – if I ever get a tasting room'), the marketing boss ('I certainly don't have to drink wine to sell wine'), Donald, the PR director of a large winery ('this is our provincial Italian courtyard - many people feel it evokes Tuscany...I like to think of it as a French chateau') and Dane, a vineyard manager with a 120dB bird scarer. 

Dane is looking like a scene stealer in this film but you know how misleading trailers can be.  While the trailer looks hysterical PTC is hoping this isn't all there is to Corked as is so often the case with movie trailers.   For your viewing pleasure, here is the trailer!

2007 Melville Viognier Estate Verna's

I have always really enjoyed the aromatic and uniqe flavor profile of Viognier in the summer so when this one from Melville was recommended to me by someone I trust I jumped all over it. 

That someone I trust is Mike Supple (@supplewine for the Twitterati) from SuppleWine.  His website is awesome and he is full of great knowledge and insight while being a bit edgy, fun and down to earth.  Besides, his last name is Supple and that term is so often used to describe some wines he surely must know what he is talking about right?  Pulling The Cork is a fan so go there - after you read and watch this of course! 

Mike recommended this to me back in his days with J.J. Buckley and then as now, if Mike recommends a wine I usually buy it because he believes in what he puts his name on and doesn't try to just push wine at me.  I trust his judgement and his palate. 

I have had this on two occassions previously but decided to give it a go here on video a little over a year after bottling.  According to Cellartracker's Drinking Window/Drinkability Report feature it needs to be consumed pretty quickly now as it may be at its peak or on the downside of its life.  All of the details about the region, climate/terroir, winery, winemaker and wine is after the video and as I have said previously a tasting note just isn't in proper context without this information so please check it out.  Also, my written tasting notes on this wine are at the end of this post.  

State Of The Wine Industry 2009-2010 From Silicon Valley Bank

When I first became passionate about wine a little over 15 years ago it was pretty much all about just tasting, drinking and enjoying wine.  It was awesome to learn from others, improve my palate, try unique wines from all over the world and generally just absorb all I could about wine. 

While my nose, palate and appreciation for wine improved I knew very little about the business behind the amazing wine I was experiencing.  To be honest, I probably still don't know very much about the business but In recent years I have begun to really try and invest more time in the business side of the wine industry and I have even had the opportunity to consult with a few wine producers as it relates to acquiring and retaining talent (I am a recruiting strategy consultant by profession). 

It is so awesome to combine your profession with your passions!

Silicon Valley Bank annually issues a State of the Wine Industry report and the 2009-2010 report was issued on May 1, 2009.  Yeah I know your thinking old news, surely most everyone who likely reads this has seen or heard about this report.  It took me until now to finally read it cover to cover and I wanted to share it.  It is an absolute must read for those in the wine business and anyone who has a passion for wine. 

The author is Rob McMillan, EVP and founder of SVB's wine division, and it is incredibly insightful, well written and shows an enormous amount of foresight as it relates to the American wine industry.  There is a cacophony of noise around the poor economies impact on the wine industry and most of it is just speculation and outright guess work from people who are not in the know.  Rob is in the know. 

SVB is one of the largest lenders to the U.S. wine industry (their winery and vineyard clients in the major wine making regions of the U.S.A number into the 300's) and therefore has access to information, data, business plans and strategies of those who actually have to execute and deliver results.  Bottom line is, if you care about wine, the U.S. wine industry and business in general you need to listen what Rob is saying. 

I am not going to insult your intelligence or pretend to know more than I do - you can read the report through the link above to really imbibe on all it has to offer.  But, if you just want a quick overview of the Good News / Bad News - taken directly from the Executive Summary of the report, it is after the jump. 

Wine Video - Matthew Skinner and Gordon Ramsey

Came across this 2007 video on YouTube today and had a chuckle.  Matt Skinner, fairly well known international wine writer, consultant and educator, appears in this video with the Chef Gordon Ramsey.  Ramsey gives Skinner some wines to taste blind to see if he can identify the wine, the quality and the price.  Skinner hits homeruns on the first two, 2003 Blue Nun under $9 US per bottle (in '07) and the near perfect scoring (according to wine critics) 1998 Penfolds Grange at around $814 US per bottle (in '07), only to finish off declaring the third bottle "may be corked"  saying he would pay "30-40 quid", or $48-$65US. 

That bottle?  A 1992 Pétrus that, at the time of this video in 2007, was around $1,628 US.  Enjoy!