Musings

Petite Sirahs and All That Jazz

Submitted by Clark Smith on

 

What serendipity. Jo Diaz had cooked up on her own an idea about pairing the jazz piano and bluesy vocals of Alacia Van with a pile of Petite Sirahs, and invited me along without any notion of the work I’ve done on the subject. It was her notion that we could pair each of the 15 wines with a different selection.

I told her this wasn’t likely to work. Either we would see no good pairings at all, or there would be groups of emotional modalities which would cluster around one song or another.

Wine and Music Day at Hess Collection

Submitted by Clark Smith on

Monday was a truly remarkable day organized by Jo and Jose Diaz of PS I Love You and well recounted by Ken Paxton's Reign of Terroir. My own account has been delayed by the necessity of a redeye flight to Charlotte immediately thereafter and a combination of intensely working the market and being jetlagged out of my mind ever since.

Don’t Get Fresh With Me

Submitted by Clark Smith on

 

When I teach, I like to ask for responses from the class, to get them thinking actively. This doesn’t always go so well, but the one query they never have trouble with is “What’s the Prime Directive for white wine?”

“Fresh.” They get it every time.

Yet wine can be and often is too fresh. Even the most flowery, delicate sauvignon blanc needs a little time to emerge. And I defy anyone to show me a rosé that isn’t better in year two than in year one – I include White Zin in this.

Vintage, Schmintage

Submitted by Clark Smith on

Clark:

What can one stand to gain by making multivintage/nonvintage blends?
What are the pitfalls and drawbacks of multivintage/nonvintage blends?

Arthur Z. Przebinda
Founder and Publisher
redwinebuzz.com

Arthur:

The truth? Let me get on my hobbyhorse. Removing the constraint of vintage purity gives the winemaker more freedom to blend for consistency, complexity and balance. Thus non-vintage wines are without exception a superior product and a better deal for the consumer.

Organic, Natural or Sustainable?

Submitted by Clark Smith on

Clark,

I have a technical question about my wine list that I hope you can help me with.

A winemaker says he does not spray any chemicals on his grapes and says he is "natural without compromises". But he uses copper and sulphur, as well as treatments based on propolis. So I'm not sure if he would be organic or natural or sustainable. Can you give me some guidance? He's in Italy, not the US by the way.

Thanks,
Michael

Dear MIchael:

Three Tier System in a Nutshell

Submitted by Clark Smith on

Here at last is a two minute video which captures the essence of wine's distribution network in the U.S. as it malfunctions in a down economy. Also the funniest video I ever saw.

The simple truth of this situation explains why the channels of access for the 150,000+ wines on the market need to go beyond the 2,000 shelf positions in even a very large store. The system is choked with crap.

Lees Character

Submitted by Clark Smith on

 

Dude, the smoke in that Faux Chablis just sends me. You say it's yeast autolysis. I've stirred a lot of yeast, but I never got THAT! Is there a secret combination of elements? Or maybe I didn't stir often enough long enough?

Mark:

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