Now Serving 500 Wines by-the-glass!

I had to respond to a critical review of our wine bar last week mentioning that we didn't have a "great selection" of wines by-the-glass.

This is essentially what I wrote, but I thought it worthwhile to talk about on my blog for education's sake...

Any establishment that has more than 20 bottles of wine by-the-glass is playing games to be able to make money on those wines and to get them into your glass. The only problem is, they don't care about "when" those wines hit your glass. Only, that they eventually will. And, many of them, or most, if we're being honest, don't give a shit about "how" those wines show once they hit your glass. Heck, one of my competitors once served me a glass of Pinot on a Tuesday that was opened on Thursday. When I asked the owner -- not a server -- to smell the wine, he couldn't tell that the wine was oxidized beyond enjoyment.

Many of these places will very gently put the cork in the bottle, with about 2/3 of the cork still outside the bottle, and simply leave them on the counter over night(s) until they sell. Some may stick those bottles in the refrigerator, bringing them out every day in hopes of selling them (warm/cold/warm/cold). Some still have paid tens of thousands of dollars for machines that continuously pump inert gas into the bottles to ward off oxygen, enemy #1 of wine. They're trying to steal another day of use at your expense.

It doesn't even have to be a place with 20+ wines on the menu. It could be your favorite corner bar with six wines on the menu to satisfy the occasional customer who doesn't want a car bomb or a pint of Blue Moon. There's a place in East Village that I love, but I'd never order wine there -- they keep all of it in a commercial fridge at 38 degrees!

In any case, if you're not going to sell the wines the day you open them, and they're truly not going to hold up until day #2 (which the vast majority won't), then these establishments are either selling you wine that is already "gone" or they are selling you wines which are not showing the way the winemaker or Mother Nature intended for you to taste them.

In the case of the latter, think about it. The wine is aged in barrel/bottle (likely) in a controlled fashion until ready for release. The enclosure type (cork, screw cap, etc.) has a pretty predictable role in the aging of the wine. Once you open a wine, it begins its pretty quick degradation into oxidized grape juice. You can slow that down by keeping oxygen, light, and heat away from it, but at this point, it becomes something different than what the winemaker wanted to show you. Those wine bars popping up with machines are showing you these types of wines: wines with a bit of softening from initial open, then you not only are not getting the freshest just-out-of-the-bottle flavors (because oxygen has softened the flavors between the time the enclosure is opened and the time the inert gas starts pumping into the sealed bottle), but you are getting an almost "mummified" version of that wine with no predictable aging, but rather, kind of a state of suspended youth, in a place somewhere between "fresh" and "dead."

I believe that having a glass or bottle of wine is a journey that you take. It's an implicit contract of sorts, between you & Mother Nature. When you start to prolong the life of a bottle of wine, you start to see different things, most likely not intended, than you would if you simply open a bottle, have four glasses, and then recycle the bottle. Remember that Stephen King novel called Pet Cemetery? If you don't, the theme was that if your pet (or friend) dies, take them to this special cemetery & they'll come back to life, only slightly different. In the novel, they become homicidal. I'm not saying these wines will try to kill you, but why take the chance? ;)

That is why we don't have more than 15 wines on our list at any time. 75% of the wines we sell would not last to Day #2, and so those wines go home with the owners, employees, or they go down the drain at night's end. The other 25% that do last to Day #2 may in fact be better with some oxygen, and we'll tell you in detail why that is. Heck, we'll even pour you a new bottle versus Day #2's bottle so you can see for yourself.

As I said to our reviewer referencing us not having a "great selection" of wines: I'd rather showcase 15 wines that show as well as they possibly could, than to sell 50 wines living on borrowed time: flat & soft, and without all that Mother Nature has put into those grapes. I believe we owe it to the folks who work their butts off working the land, gently processing the fruit, and then waiting for those wines to mature to the point that they're ready to be shared with the rest of the world.

You can decide for yourself. Swing by tomorrow night (Thursday, Feb. 3rd.) & I'll pour you, for free, a Napa Cab that was opened immediately versus one a few days old kept on gas, and one kept in a fridge. You tell me what experience you'd rather have.

/mike

Recession Proof Wines

While the politicians and policy makers figure out how to fix the economy, it should already be quite apparent to everyone that times are a bit tighter than normal. Of course you don't want to stop drinking your favorite wines, beers, and cocktails, but you'll need to be a bit more shrewd in order to help offset the rising costs all around you.

One of my favorite adages about wine is from Napoleon: "In victory, you deserve Champagne, in defeat, you need it." Therefore, with the spirit of that saying, you either need wine more now than ever, or you deserve it. Or both. Let's talk about some of the best values out there right now.

Everyone has their favorite producers, but I like to empower my friends & guests to start thinking in terms of "region" & "varietal." That is, once you know for example that you like Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara, but not so much from Santa Monica, you'll begin to unlock the treasure trove of wineries waiting for you to discover.

I am defining a wine value as a wine that retails in the $8 - $15 range.

I'll say right now that if you're looking for value from California, you are going to be sorely underwhelmed. Land prices, insurance prices, distribution margins, and a host of other factors conspire to keep the wines from our state at a pretty high baseline price. I would say that for most of what is coming from a defined AVA in the state, not from a more generic appellation such as Central Coast or California, those wines are priced north of $20 -- not the value that we are looking for. There are some anomalies: Paso Robles puts out some nice blends in the $15 range. Same with Amador & Lodi up near the Sierras. Lots of Italian heritage means plenty of Zinfandel, Barbera, and Sangiovese. Actually, anytime you follow the Italians as they made their way around the globe, you will almost always find some great wines with some great values.

Probably the best place in the world for value right now is Argentina. I'm sure you all know that Malbec is the adopted red grape of Argentina, but have you ventured out to taste the incredible Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Charbono from there? How about the incredibly aromatic and refreshing Torrontes? You'll easily find incredible wines in this price point. And lest you think that this is some johnny-come-lately wine region, you should realize that they've been making fine wine down there for far longer than we have here in America.

Chile also offers an incredible bang-for-the-buck, with the star varietals being Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Carmenere. Chilean wines have a distinct "funkiness" to them (for lack of a better word) -- almost a weed or wet earth nose. Some people love this funkiness. I would just decant the wine a bit and enjoy the incredible fruit & structure left behind. And, if we're talking "funkiness," I'd be remiss to not mention South African wines. Chenin Blanc is what they do best, but the Shiraz and other reds are incredible values if you can find them. And decant them -- to take off that funkiness. Pinotage is the premier grape down there, but I find it to be almost always awful.

Moving more to the old world, Spain and the south of France are still pumping out incredible values that defy the Euro/Dollar conversion. Tempranillo is found in almost all regions in Spain, and you really can't go wrong with it. From the meaty & dried fruit versions in Rioja, to the huge lipsmacking bombs coming out of La Mancha & Ribera del Duero. Wine values from France, you say? Sure! Once you get outside the Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, and Alsace regions, many incredible values show themselves. The Languedoc region in the south of France is the world's largest growing region (700,000 acres). They produce everything from Chardonnay to Syrah there, and the nice thing for American consumers is that the wines typically are labelled by varietal so you know what you are getting -- no Little Orphan Annie decoder ring needed. These wines are frequently sub $10, so take the time to explore what is available. One of my "go to" wines before I was in the business was a simple Cotes du Rhone. While the press really loves the wines of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Hermitage, and other notable sub-appellations of the Rhone, very similar aromas & flavors can be had for under $10 from the more generic Cotes du Rhone appellation. This region is where Grenache & Syrah marry into something so wonderfully flavorful and sublime, but with enough character to stand up to most food dishes.

In fact, if you're looking for a magical dinner under $20 for you & your sweetheart, swing by BevMo or Trader Joes for a CDR, and use the rest of the money to buy mussels & french bread. Steam the mussels over some of the wine with some shallot & garlic, and use the bread to enjoy the remainder of the broth. You'll be transported to a French cafe without the hassles of passports & Euro conversions.

Of course, there's plenty of other great stuff out there from the likes of Australia and Italy, but we'll talk more about those next month.

You can absolutely find & enjoy some incredible wines without letting your wine budget go the way of the gas budget. Cheers!