Wine Advice
April 22, 2008
Organic Wine Primer - Red & White and Green All Over
In honor of Earth Day, I have been scouring all of my reference materials as well as a ridiculous number of online sources in search of a Reader's Digest condensation of the ins and outs of organic wines. The fact is, finding a good "organic" bottle has become a confusing and stressful affair as labeling and certification requirements have changed what wines are truly considered organic versus ones made from organic grapes or biodynamically farmed. Personally I prefer the latter two categories as they produce much more drinkable and durable wines. If you want a straightforward resource that marries relevant factual information with great advice, check out this primer from The Organic Wine Company:
What is Organic Wine?
Following the recent creation by the USDA of a National Organic Program, an organic wine is now defined as "a wine made from organically grown grapes and without any added sulfites". By this unfortunate restriction, the vast majority of what you and I have been calling organic wines must now be referred to as "wines made from organic grapes" (or organically grown grapes), as they are allowed to contain up to 100 ppm of added sulfites.
While we support the effort of some winemakers to explore avenues to eliminate the use of sulfur dioxide, the truth is that wines without added sulfites are very few in number and very unstable in quality, giving the public a negative perception of what an Organic wine can be! The wine industry has therefore the dubious honor of being the only one that cannot call its product "organic" even though it is made with more than 95% of organic components. [With the higher permissible level of 100ppm SO2 present in the wine, the percentage is still 99.99% organic!].
This is detrimental to the winegrowers who seek to market a consistently drinkable product and yet are discriminated against in an absolutely unprecedented way. It is also confusing to consumers and merchants alike who did not need more categories to confuse them! Moreover, a wine without sulfites should not be equated with an organic wine, since it is quite possible to make a sulfite-free wine with conventional (non organic) grapes.
The excessive attention given to this matter is perfect to distract the public from much more important issues like soil depletion and erosion, water pollution, loss of biodiversity, ecological impact, resistance to pests, chemical dependence, and product standardization to name just a few!
In all cases, however, an independent body of certification, itself duly accredited by the almighty USDA, has the responsibility to control each winegrower, once or twice a year, to verify his adherence to the standards for organic farming, now internationally recognized. The fundamental idea behind organic wine is that making wine from grapes grown without chemical fertilizers, weed killers, insecticides, and other synthetic chemicals is better both for the planet AND for the wine drinker because all of these things can damage the soil and the plant, and can end up in the wine as residue.
There is no doubt that growing under organic conditions protects the environment and the people that work in the vineyards from the adverse effects of pesticides, herbicides and insecticides. Organic is more than simply a way of farming. It is also a philosophy. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said "We did not inherit the Earth from our forefathers, we are borrowing it from our descendants."
How does Conventional Winemaking differ from Organic Winemaking?
In the cellar, "organic" suggests minimal processing and no use of chemical additives. Organic winemakers pay particular attention to three factors: the use of yeasts, the filtration/fining method, and the use of sulfur dioxide. The need for cultured yeasts in organic winemaking is reduced by the farming practice itself, for wild yeasts remain present, unperturbed by weed killers or insecticides. Therefore their use is limited to difficult weather conditions which would threaten the harvest. The physical treatment of the wine (like filtering and fining) is kept to a minimum. However temperature control during the winemaking process is widely used since it is only a physical process.
Minimizing the use of sulfur dioxide as an antioxidant is stringently observed. It's rather difficult to make a wine that will keep well without adding at least some additional sulfites to those naturally produced. This is particularly true of white wines, which ferment apart from grape skins. Red wines ferment with juice and skins together, providing them not only with their color but with various tannins, a natural preservative.
All of the wines imported by Organic Wine Company are "Certified Organic" by ECOCERT or BIOFRANC and contain only a minimal amount of sulfur dioxide.
After educating yourself, if you like what you read, check out the Organic Wine Company wine club. As organic wine clubs go they are quite reasonable. You get three bottles (red only or mixed) for $49.99 per month.
Images and content from The Organic Wine Company
Find the Latest Wines at Wine.com
April 16, 2008
The World Atlas of Wine
If you're looking for an atlas on wine - there is only one that we know of - The World Atlas of Wine. Hailed by critics worldwide as “extraordinary” and “irreplaceable,” there are few volumes that have had as monumental an impact in their field as Hugh Johnson’s The World Atlas of Wine: sales have exceeded four million copies, and it is now published in thirteen languages. It’s a truly incomparable book, and an essential addition to every wine lover’s or professional’s library.
At The World Atlas of Wine: Completely Revised and Updated
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January 16, 2008
Windows on the World Complete Wine Course 2008
We've been looking for some good wine advice lately, and our Amazon search uncovered a book we're going to order immediately. It's called the
Windows on the World Complete Wine Course, an ongoing series that has been updated for 2008. We've read some good things about the course, and for the price it seems to offer a huge wealth of information that'd be useful for the novice and intermediate alike. We likes what we sees in the following review:
Windows on the World Complete Wine Course is simply the bestselling wine book in North America—it’s a classic. The 2007 edition alone has sold over 100,000 copies and reorders continue to pour in. Along with the expanded text that has made last year’s update so successful, the 2008 revision will include a special 16-page supplement on “How to Taste Wine,” taken directly from Kevin’s world-famous class. This new material will include more than 100 wines that Zraly selects for his students to taste, along with the tasting sheet they use for their evaluations.
Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: 2008 Edition
December 19, 2007
7 Perfect Last Minute Wines
There is no ego at CFW we know when someone has done a great story and needs to be heard. We also know enough to not re-invent the wheel. Our friends over at Martini Groove have done a round up of 7 inexpensive wines for the holidays.
'Tis the season to support friends in their pursuit of a good drink. Check this list out, and enjoy!
November 14, 2007
Cheap Fun Wines Holiday Gift Guide 2007
With vacations, family dinners, parties and endless gift giving on the horizon it's time to look at all the possibilities wine creates on the holidays. No other time of the year lends itself so completely to wine. 
As the toasts fly, beer and Jägermeister just don't cut it. How can you drink Nanna's health with a shot? And I think it's only in my family that a bottle of Jameson's is brought to dinner parties. Every time you show up at someone's house this holiday season, you should have a bottle of wine in a gift bag, or adorned with a bow.
The CFW crew has spent the last year looking for great wines and great wine accessories. This guide puts them all together to streamline your shopping experience. All of this stuff has been tested by, or on, the interns and has passed with flying colors. Remember folks, this is just the first installment, more great wine gift ideas will be added as we get closer to happy time. So folks, let's get buying and let's get drinking with a little homage to Billy Joel!
Continue reading: "Cheap Fun Wines Holiday Gift Guide 2007"
November 13, 2007
Day at a Spa Wine Gift Basket
The holidays are coming, so why not think of the special Chardonnay-lover in your life with a gift basket that says "you deserve to be pampered"? Just think - you get all the good karma of sending them to a spa at a fraction of the cost, and they might even share their wine with you if you play your cards right. How can you go wrong?
Includes:
* Chardonnay
* Chardonnay foaming bath gel
* Gentle shower gel
* Soothing body lotion
* Relaxing Chardonnay bath salts
* Fragrant French milled soaps
* Chardonnay biscuits
* Key lime cookies
Day at Spa Gift Basket
October 29, 2007
John Cleese - Wine for the Confused (2004)
When I was seven, yes seven, my father had me watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The French knight made me laugh because had produced the greatest fart noises I had heard. That French knight has made me laugh in a dozen movies and TV shows over the years. Whether he was standing in a stream, sputtering to his wife as an innkeeper, or fawning over Jamie Lee Curtis, he has had a comic power unmatched in our time. I speak, of course, of John Cleese.
To my delight, I have recently seen Wine for the Confused. This humorous documentary is an introduction to wine and the wine world that could only come from Cleese. It’s very tongue-in-cheek and very good. Check it out on amazon for only $15.00. Learn, laugh and drink.
John Cleese - Wine for the Confused
August 22, 2007
The Red Wine Diet
Looks like those jackals over at Liquor Snob have beaten us to the punch again - they've discovered the perfect diet, and it involves wine. We're not big ones for dieting around here, as our straining waistbands will attest, but here's an eating plan we think we could stick to.
In a landmark study, Roger Corder revealed that compounds called procyanidins are the key components of wine for preventing illness. Now, in The Red Wine Diet, he argues that drinking the right kinds of red wine and eating procyanidin-rich foods such as dark chocolate, apples, and berries can help us live to a ripe old age-while enjoying all the pleasures of life.
via
Liquor Snob
August 6, 2007
Are You a Label Whore?
Who'd a thunk it, but it turns out the wine "tastes" of more amateur drinkers might have less to do with the quality of the wine than with the quality of the label. Wired has covered some research on how people react to wines, and while we're not sure the sample sizes are enough to make them statistically valid, it's still interesting stuff.
The researchers gave 41 diners at an Illinois restaurant a free glass of Cabernet Sauvignon along with their $24 prix-fixe French meal. They told half the recipients that the wine came from Noah's Winery in California; the other half were told that the wine came from Noah's Winery in North Dakota.
Drinkers of the "California" vintage said both the wine and the food tasted better, and were more likely to make return reservations.
at
Wired
August 1, 2007
Snooth Wine Database
We're always looking for good wine recommendations (who isn't, really?) and we may have found our tool of choice in Snooth. It's an online wine database that claims to have the largest number of wine ratings around, which is enough to allay our concerns about the strange name.
Snooth's the world's largest vino-database -- a burgeoning repository of 300,000+ wines, all meticulously sorted, categorized, tagged, and rated by sommeliers/enthusiasts/compulsive raters. To keep this boozy trove from becoming unwieldy, the site offers almost infinitely tweakable search results based on price, vintage, region, varietals, or flavor: crisp, spicy, earthy, rich, even the Colonel-matic "good with fried chicken".
Snooth [via
Thrillist]
July 26, 2007
Screw Caps Are All Right
Found a great story on the use of screw caps on red wine bottles. With some great struggle some folks have finally learned to accept whites (wines you typically open and enjoy on the sooner side) in screw cap bottles, but there's still some hesitation in terms of red. People say you're more likely to lay away your reds, which is why they don't like screw tops. We're saying the screw caps work as well or better than corks, which can dry out.
Our two cents? The future is here, baby, so get with it.
Read the article at Seattle Times
July 24, 2007
Can You Say Sexy Sommeliers?
Want some cheesecake with your wine at your next function or cocktail party? It might be time to look into hiring a Sexy Sommelier, the service that will supply wine and the aforementioned sexpots to liven up the festivities (actual 'sommelier' pictured). We're not sure what their qualifications are, but do you really care?
Looks like it's time to throw together a little get-together of 12 to 400 people...anyone care to help us brainstorm a reason?
via Thrillist and Martini Groove (thanks Kevin)
July 13, 2007
How to Enjoy Summer Wines
We found a good piece on how to differentiate wines to drink during the summer that we thought we'd share with our devoted readers. At first we thought it was just basic stuff, then we noticed it was a five page article instead of just one. Plus, we liked the angle of finding the exact right wine for a family barbecue or sultry sunset.
As picnic season starts, it's a good time to find wines to accompany grilled foods and sandwiches. White wines match most summer food, as do roses. Red wines bring out the flavors of grilled or barbecued beef or pork. All are good year-round of course, but some match summer evenings as if they were made for each other.
From
Helium
July 12, 2007
Taste Wine Like an Expert
We've found an article with some great ideas on how to train yourself to taste a variety of wines. We splurged on a fancy wine essence kit
, but you can get the same results with things you have at home. Check out the items below and see if you can guess which wines they're associated with; click on to the story to find out.
1st glass: 5 drops of canned pineapple juice and a small 10mm slice of banana
2nd glass: 5 drops of the brine of canned asparagus
3rd glass: 1 tsp of melted butter
4th glass: 1 tsp of strawberry jam
5th glass: 2-3 grains of ground black pepper
6th glass: a tiny piece of green bell pepper/capsicum
From
The Star Online
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Simonsig Chenin Blanc 2007
