AnuvaBlog

Sometimes you just have to go back to the basics. Friends, food, wine.

So we invited over some people, pulled out some of our wines and had a relaxing and lovely evening. One of the greatest things about wine is its ability to be talked about and at the same time talked over.

To illustrate: the evening began with many questions about our wines and our wine club (like what is Don Juan? How did Anuva start? What does the word Anuva mean? etc.) and then progressed into a conversation over many different things, the most notable of which, in my mind, is powers of ten.

Most of you I’m sure know that powers of a number, mathematically, indicate that that number is multiplied with itself the number of times of the power. For example 10^4=10×10x10×10, or 7^3=7×7x7. The importance here is that when talking of powers of 10, once passing 2 powers of 10 or so, a human’s ability to really comprehend how big those numbers are loses touch with reality. (To exemplify this, try laying out 10 paperclips (10^1), then 100 (10^2), then 1000 (10^3). It’s very easy to write the number 10^3 but much less easy to really grasp how much that number really means).

This subject came up in relation to Alan Greenspan’s book The Age of Turbulence. In the book, Greenspan talks about how he was happy to learn that the U.S. Government used the same notation on their financial documents as the big companies that he worked for in his private consulting business. On these documents, when a figure listed as “$0.1″, this was to indicate $100,000,000. The reason for this is simply to save paper. Writing all those zeros takes up a lot of room and also.

But more importantly, this indicates, in my mind, a very big problem with how people like Greenspan, and other central bankers, view as significant figures (definition here). If people like him use 0.1 to denote 100 Million, and then 0.01 to denote 10 Million, etc., they are completely out of touch with reality. What I mean by out of touch with reality, is that since 0.1=100 Million Dollars, and 1.0= 1 Billion Dollars, and since the vast majority of the figures they are going to be dealing with would look something like “10.4″, or “16.75″, or “1.245″ at the most, this means that they do not care about anything in the 100’s of thousands of dollars (and perhaps in the Millions as well since I don’t know if they carry their figures to 3 decimal places).

As we drank our wine, we pondered what it would be like to have 100’s of thousands of dollars not be important on the financial documents of the people making the most important financial decisions in the world. I do understand, of course, that the 100’s of Billions of dollars that they deal with are much more important than the 100’s of thousands that I deal with , but I can’t help but think how much the way they simply write the numbers could affect their thinking. $100,000 could feed a lot of people, buy a lot of books or clothes, or provide other forms of care for people in need.

This is where wine took us last night.

Wine evolves and wine can also be evolved. When wine comes into contact with oxygen, it oxygenates. Scientifically speaking, this means that there is a process of a loss of electrons (definition of oxygenation) to more electronegative (molecules/chemicals that want electrons) compounds that seek them out due to uneven distributions of charge. These electrically imbalanced molecules seek to balance themselves and achieve a lower “energy state” (think of energy state as the volatility or reactivity level of a substance).

Practically speaking, swirling wine (and thus putting into contact with more oxygen) does, in fact, make the wine evolve or “open (in winespeak)”. I would like to attempt to coin a new phrase in the syntax of winespeak: “evolved wine”.

Evolved wines are wines that change in decidedly favorable ways when in contact for oxygen for “normal” periods of time and that will age favorable over several/many years.

All wine does change when it comes into contact with oxygen. But only quality wines react in a truly favorable manner to oxygen for any length of time (say an hour or more or after being decanted). Table wine, will lose it’s aroma (if it ever had any) and certainly not evolve in a favorable way over the course of an hour or more. Table wine, the longer it is exposed to oxygen will become less and less drinkable, and more and more acidic (like vinegar).

Evolved wines, however, will open very nicely, expressing its secondary and tertiary characteristics in lovely layered ways. I will call these wines “evolved” because they are capable of evolving and should be allowed to evolve. They need at least 15-30 minutes of contact with oxygen after opening to open up and express themselves fully. Their evolution, as caused by the reaction with oxygen, may take on various forms, allowing for distinctly different and better, more complex qualitative characteristics (mouthfeel, flavors, aromas, etc.).

Evolved wines will also be wines that can age for longer and will age gracefully. Not all wines are meant to be stored in a cellar for years on end. This is a common misconception, that somehow older wine means better wine. Not true. If a wine has the qualities to stand up to the micro-oxygenation process that occurs during aging (and other processes as well that are still being studied) it will evolve in good ways. French wines are famous for this. Most wines in general should not be aged at all. I’m talking about table wine here. Most evolved wines from Argentina should not be aged for more than about 10-15 years, as the beauty of Argentine wines is that they can be made to be very expressive, full, and favorable at very young ages.

In contrast, most young French wines are very harsh, tannic and barely drinkable. But this is also what makes them age well over 30 or more years.

Inspiration for this post derives from a New York Times article (that Frank from Sugar and Spice was so good to post about) in which the controversy over teaching evolution in schools in Florida is discussed. Here is an excerpt:

“He [Mr. Campbell] started with Mickey Mouse.

On the projector, Mr. Campbell placed slides of the cartoon icon: one at his skinny genesis in 1928; one from his 1940 turn as the impish Sorcerer’s Apprentice; and another of the rounded, ingratiating charmer of Mouse Club fame.

“How,” he asked his students, “has Mickey changed?”

Natives of Disney World’s home state, they waved their hands and called out answers.

“His tail gets shorter,” Bryce volunteered.

“Bigger eyes!” someone else shouted.

“He looks happier,” one girl observed. “And cuter.”

Mr. Campbell smiled. “Mickey evolved,” he said. “And Mickey gets cuter because Walt Disney makes more money that way. That is ‘selection.’ ”

Later, he would get to the touchier part, about how the minute changes in organisms that drive biological change arise spontaneously, without direction. And how a struggle for existence among naturally varying individuals has helped to generate every species, living and extinct, on the planet.”

This excerpt and my brief, superficial discussion here of the evolution of wine and evolved wine clearly warrants more dialogue as one of the clear questions implied in this discussion is how much life or personality a wine can have and how that relates to aging, oxygenation, storage, and overall enjoyment.

I await your comments.

I will admit that this is a bit of a sore subject for me, as I am in the business of shipping wine, but I have not yet met a single American who has attended one of my wine tastings who doesn’t cringe when they realize that they live in a state that does not permit direct to consumer shipping of wine.

They stand and look at me flabbergasted, as if I had something to do with the fact that they can’t simply go on the internet and buy the wine they prefer. An article here in the Citizen’s Voice gives great insight into why these direct shipping bans exist (someone thinks that they will not be getting their money), and the ridiculousness of that:

“There is nothing complicated about allowing consumers to buy the wine they prefer over the Internet and having it shipped, while still ensuring compliance with state tax and underage drinking laws. Most other states have figured it out, but the Politburo that runs Pennsylvania’s booze monopoly prefers to treat it as indecipherable rocket science.

According to the Wine Institute, 81 percent of all adult Americans have access to their preferred brands over the Internet. Pennsylvanians are a large chunk of the other 19 percent.

And make no mistake, this truly is a matter of choice. The Wine Institute says that 40,000 to 50,000 domestic labels, and another 40,000 to 50,000 imported labels, are available for sale in the United States each year. Well, the United States excluding Pennsylvania, where the state monopoly has 3,024 listed varieties and about 22,000 others that can be ordered through the state system — about 25 percent of the variety available to other Americans, often at better prices.

Several courts have found that states cannot simply forbid shipments of out-of-state wines, if they allow shipments of wines produced in-state — a little matter known as interstate commerce.

Here’s how a pending bill in Pennsylvania would purport to have the state comply. Consumers could order from a winery, but the shipment would have to go to the state Liquor Control Board, which would then deliver it for a fee. Orders could be made only to wineries that produce 80,000 gallons a year or less, which fits the description of most wineries inside Pennsylvania.

That, of course, is ridiculous. Of 19 “control” states, those where the state government controls varying degrees of the business, 12 allow direct shipments to consumers. None of those states is as “controlled” as Pennsylvania. But New Hampshire, with state-controlled sales, allows direct shipments. It requires shippers to use licensed interstate carriers, for the shipments to be clearly labeled, and for adults to sign the receipts. Consumers get the products they want. The state gets its cut. Cheers.

Rather than forever guarding its own interests, the PLCB should find a way to accommodate consumers who aren’t satisfied with its selection and service. And the Legislature should do far better than trying to convert the PLCB into a delivery service, an enterprise that requires a far greater degree of urgency than the agency is likely to muster.”This article was published Thursday, August 28th, 2008.

It is too bad that ultimately, the consumer is always the one who gets hurt in situations where massive, rich distributors, or other entities that hold onto monopolies are unwilling to change, adapt and overcome new circumstances that will make everyone better off.

I have been through the Cafayate region and its surrounding twice to visit various Bodegas (wineries) and I find the region resembles something out of a Salvador Dalí painting.

Besides my watch nearly melting onto my wrist, this desolate, arid landscape stretches infinitely into the horizon. Traveling by bus between wineries and through much of the outskirts of the region (all the way until La Paz, Bolivia actually, stopping in Uyuni to see the truly spectacular Salar de Uyuni–the world’s largest salt flat–and other high desert locales) I kept thinking to myself, “How do people live here?” In reality, the people of the region–much more “indigenous” looking, short and dark than the very European looking Porteños–have very little to live on besides llama meat, products made from llama wool, and a few specialized types of high desert corn that grow there. Besides that, the only thing that grows is grapes.

For grape-growing, and especially for Torrontés grapes, no better region in the world exists. At 2000+ meters altitude (over 6000 feet–as high as Timerbline Lodge for you Portlanders out there) the diurnal temperature differential is enormous, it never rains yet water sources are close, and the soil makes the grapes work hard. Some very interesting Malbec comes out of that region as well.

Here is what Matt Kramer, a wine writer for various publications has to say about one particular malbec:

One of the pesky things about wine is all the names: grape varieties, producers, regions, districts, brands and so on. No sooner do you feel that, finally, you have a grip on one slippery subject than another unfamiliar appears. Here’s one more: Cafayate Valley.

Never heard of it? You will, I promise. Located in northern Argentina, the valley is the source of some of Argentina’s best wines, especially (but not exclusively) malbec.

Cafayate Valley has some of the world’s highest-elevation vineyards, typically at 5,500 feet. (In comparison, a high elevation vineyard in California is 1,500 to 2,200 feet.) Such an elevation guarantees diurnal temperature extremes, where afternoon temperatures plummet at night, typically from the mid-80s during the day to the mid-50s at night. This preserves acidity, which would otherwise “bake out” during warm nights.

The valley sees little rain (three to six inches a year) and tremendous sunshine. Surrounded by the Andes Mountains, the vineyards are irrigated thanks to ample water from mountain snowpacks.

What matters is what you find in the glass. In the case of Cuma Malbec 2007 from Michel Torino Estate, you’ll discover a startlingly fine red wine delivering not just the expected plum and black currant flavors but an unexpected measure of earthy, almost medicinal notes that may derive from the zone’s rocky soils. One thing is clear: What you’re tasting is no simple “pure fruit” play. There’s a dimension that comes from the site itself, not just the grape.

Because the Cafayate Valley is so dry, it lends itself easily to organic vineyard practices (no molds or rot that plague winegrowers in humid or wet locales that require sprays). Michel Torino Estate, with 1,500 acres of vines, is committed to organically grown grapes, with Cuma 2007 made entirely from certified organic grapes.

Cuma, by the way, means “clean and pure” in the language of the Aymara, who occupied the high elevations of northern Argentina before the Incas.

This is impressive, dimensional, even eye-opening red wine of considerable subtlety, finesse and refinement.Click here for the whole article that was published in The Oregonian on August 17, 2008.

As many of you may have read in the news last week, Wine Spectator has gotten caught with their pants down a bit. Pretty much at their ankles.

Robin Goldstein, author of The Wine Trials–a book that critiques the wine industry’s own methods of wine criticism, publicity, ratings, advertising and pricing–sent in an entry to apply for Wine Spectator’s “award for excellence” for restaurants and his Osteria L’Intrepido restaurant in Milan, Italy won.

The enormous, gargantuan problem with this, however, is that his restaurant does not exist. Oops!

Besides the obvious problem of not doing their homework–and perhaps worse than giving an award to a restaurant that doesn’t exist–is the fact that Wine Spectator itself had berated many of the wines that Goldstein put on his phantom list. I quote the Chicago Tribune article: “[the wine list includes the] 1993 Amarone Classico Gioe S. Sofia, which the magazine once likened to ‘paint thinner and nail varnish.’” Another wine that was included on the list was described by Wine Spectator as “earthy, swampy, gamy, harsh and tannic. ” So not only does Wine Spectator give out bogus awards, but they give awards to wines lists that include wines for which they have given terrible reviews. Oops squared.

As if that weren’t enough, Wine Spectator charges each applicant a $250 fee to “apply” for the award. They get roughly 4500 applicants per year. Let’s do the math: 4500 x 250 = 1.125 million dollars.

So let me get this straight, ostensibly the most prestigious, auspicious and well-known wine publication in the world not only gives out awards to entities that do not exist but they clearly do not check to see if those entities carry products that they have already declared in print to be inferior, flawed or distasteful and at the same time they make millions of dollars doing it?

What is unnerving to me is that our new publicist and I wanted desperately to find a way to put our product into WS. How can I now, as the sole full-time defender of my product, consciously make the decision to go after publicity in WS? The answer is that I cannot.

What wine goes well with the pure competition, grace and nerve racking drama of the Olympics?

Malbec, malbec, malbec. Why? It’s my favorite.

Being a former swimmer at the University of Southern California myself, I find that for approximately 2 weeks every 4 years I spend an inordinate amount of time in front of the television living vicariously through the U.S. Olympic Teams in nearly every sport.

Living in Buenos Aires, Argentina for this period of time has its advantages and disadvantages. Mostly, I miss U.S. team stuff and I get to see Argentina team stuff as well as other nation’s team’s that I wouldn’t normally see.

But tonight takes the cake for my frustration. Tonight, TyC sports (cable sports channel in Argentina) was hyping its “comprehensive coverage” of the Olympics, especially swimming, starting at 10pm local time. When I tuned in, guess what, they were showing soccer, with no end in sight since the beginning of the second half had just begun. By 10:15, realizing I had been duped, I nearly got in a cab to head to TyC headquarters to burn it down.

So as I flipped back around 10:30, just to check to see if they had, ahem, began the coverage they said they were going to do, I see Michael Phelps celebrating, out of breath, having just won his 7th and historic gold in the 100 fly.

What just happened? And then, all of a sudden, it switches back to soccer!

Wow.

At that point I needed a drink. Good thing Argentine Malbecs are known for their high alcohol content.

Having a glass of house wine brings memories of my trips through Italy and France, where house wine is the most common wine ordered on all menus. The anticipation and mystery of drinking an unknown brand and unknown varietal can be both overwhelming and wonderful for wine professionals. I for one, normally look for a wine that suites my mood or the food I’m having at the time. Perusing and studying the list wherever I go is a must. But last night, when I saw vino “de la casa”, I thought, “time for a break.”

A feeling of relief came over me. Instead of increasing my expectations for an expressive varietal, concentrated blend, or young fruit forward wine, my expectations subsided. Wine became a drink, a beverage and not some nectar of the Gods. And surprisingly, it was great!! I didn’t worry about the glass I drank out of, swirling, sniffing or swishing. I just had a glass of wine, and found that in one of wine’s purest forms–table wine–there is still much pleasure to be derived.

Anuva prides itself on selecting ultra-premium micro-produced wines. But this wine lover will also leave room for simplicity, home and relaxation.