AnuvaBlog

A short boat ride from Buenos Aires sits some uncharted wine territory. Uruguay is slowly changing its reputation in the wine world or lack there of. In recent years innovations and experiments in wine have concentrated their small production into a potent little operation.

Rather than making several simple table wines for domestic consumption Uruguay aims to cultivate a boutique movement and plow its way into the wine international scene.

According to a recent article by Paola Singer  http://www.thestreet.com/author/1119526/all.html in the NY Times Uruguay wines are ready to take off. http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/travel/19next-1.html  

A few people may have tried Uruguay’s signature grape, Tannat. This hearty wine when done right offers a rich luxurious red perfect for grilled lamb. Other produces are experimenting with Sauvignon Blanc, Petit Verdot, and Merlot.

Uruguay less than 300 wineries and promotes wine tourism on their wine trail, Los Caminos del Vino. www.uruguaywinetours.com My next trip across the border might be to explore the flourishing wine scene.

A focus on limited production boutique wine sounds familiar….

 That’s right! And yeah, Anuva already has a few bottles lined up for our next in company tasting. For those interested in try Uruguay’s signature grape check out the Channarmuyo Estate Tannat in our collection. https://www.anuvawines.com/wine/tannat/chanarmuyo-estate-tannat-2006/

Evidently, consumers do not believe that the elegant glass packaging that we are all so accustomed to seeing our wine transported in has much of an environmental impact. The reason for this, ostensibly, is that glass is one of the first packaging materials that people got used to recycling, and therefore do not consider it to have an impact on the environment.

This assumption on the part of the consumer is incorrect for two reasons:

1. Recycling the glass takes energy and the creation of electrical or heat energy requires combustion of somesort (unless nuclear powered) and the combustion emits carbon into the atmosphere and perhaps other biproducts into the water system depending on the type of fuel.

2. Transporting glass bottles as opposed to transporting wine (or other products) in bulk dramatically increases carbon footprint. Imagine that on a 20 foot container, one can fit approximately 10,000 bottles, but in that same container, if shipping in bulk (flexitank–like an enormous bladder) one can fit about 25,000L. Then, in turn, bottling that wine at the destination would yield about 37,000 bottles. This is 3.7 times more efficient, an enormous difference.

A company called Glass Rite Wine in the U.K. began in 2006 with this process and ended up saving around 11,400 metric tonnes of glass from having to be recycled.

We all certainly hope that this becomes the future for the wine industry, the problem though remains that consumers think that glass is environmentally friendly and they would also rather purchase glass bottles of wine than in any other packaging. See the numbers.

The good news is that in alternative occasions: picnics, parties and consuming wine at home, consumers attitudes become more flexible.  Most people would be likely or very likely to buy wine in other forms of packaging under these circumstances. Again, see the numbers.

But the fear that wineries have is that people will reject their product based on packaging alone, and if the data is right, their fear is quite founded. Thus, consumer attitudes must change in order for producers to set aside their fear of changing to environmentally friendly packaging. How can this be done?

1. Consumers must realize that glass is NOT environmentally friendly and due to its, weight, volume, and high energy consumption to recycle, should be either modified, eliminated, or transported less to save costs and damage to the environment.

2. Consumers must realize that other forms of packaging (hello screwtops and sythetic corks!) are not going to effect 90% of the wine on the market from tasting the same way as if poured from glass. For ultra premiums, grand reserves, etc., exceptions could be made, but the glass used in those cases should still be lighter weight at the very least.

3. Producers must also invest in these new packaging forms and transportation techniques as well as educate the public on their benefits and reliability.

4. Generous support from the packaging producers would also go a long way in supporting the wine producers incorporation of new packaging.

I hope to see these types of changes going into effect sooner rather than later, as they will undoubtedly have a positive impact on all aspects of the wine industry (except bottle producers) and environment.

Barbara Keck’s astute observation that wine by the glass has not seen a price reduction where many other food and dining related items have is right on the money. This creates a conflict for me personally as a wine merchant and as one who likes to buy wine by the glass.

As a wine merchant, I have to argue for continuing to price wine per glass at the cost of the bottle. The risk for the restaurant or bar is simply too great to run losing money by opening bottles and leaving them half-full. We know that even if one invests thousands of dollars on Argon or Nitrogen gas systems, wine will not be good to serve to the public after about a week. Especially places that specialize in having extensive wine lists will put themselves at great risk if they do not cover the cost of opening bottles.

On the other hand, as a consumer I have to take issue with this strategy. This would imply that since 1 bottle serves just over 4 complete glasses, that there is a 300% markup on the price of a glass of wine. As a consumer I say HOW RIDICULOUS! Especially in tough economic times how can that be justified. Well, like I said, it is justified in the risk that the restaurant or bar is taking in opening the bottle.

Now if we want to stimulate bottle turnover in this environment of volatile markets and crises, what bars and restaurants should do is reduce their price by the bottle. Their prices now are totally unjustified as there is no risk involved on that type of purchase. When a customer buys a bottle, the restaurant is guaranteed a profit. I have seen bottles in wine bars and restos go for as high as 7 times the wholesale price. This is outrageous. Not to mention that the industry standard for restaurants is to markup about 150% from wholesale prices where retailers are only marking up 50%. This means that a 10$ bottle retail would go for about 20$ in a restaurant (this would be at about 8$ per glass).

If restaurants were to reduce their bottle prices to only a 100% markup, where their 8$ glass wine goes for 16$ instead of 20$, they may assure themselves of more turnover and at least the same profit if not more. Of course, I’ve never owned a restaurant…

According to recent articles in Wine Spectator, Old World Wines are having a tough run of it during this economic downturn. For that matter, so are the Aussies, Chileans and pretty much everyone. Except the Argentines. The world wine market contracted about 1% in 2008 with Europe taking the brunt of that as the US market increased imports. Exports from Argentina were also up tremendously at 43% in value and 34% in volume.

This speaks volumes about the value of wines from Argentina. If I had to make a prediction, it would be that Argentina becomes the leader in export volume to the U.S. and perhaps even the world since their people, land, industry and terroir are ripe for growth. Malbec as a varietal has received tremendous press and will continue to receive tremedous press as long as vintners here continue the trend toward quality without increasing their prices (by too much). Soon to follow will be more press on Torrontés and Bonarda as people recongize their quality, uniqueness, and expressiveness.

The key, however, will be not to get greedy. Too often has a wine from Argentina received great press about its value only to double its price the following year. 5 to 10 percent increases are of course justified but as soon as a 10 dollar value Malbec goes to 15, a huge amount of consumers are lost. Especially in an economic climate in which the consumer is trading down in price, and the Europeans are slashing their prices by 15-35%! Argentine producers must remember that this is their advantage, lowest labor costs, lowest land costs in the world. On top of the most consistent vintages. If they stick to what they do well–value–they will reach the summit.

This morning while taking my coffee shuffled through the news and listened to a few podcasts. I subscribe to quite a few from NPR but always make time for Garison Keillor’s News From Lake Woebgon.

In a recent addition titled “How Many Geese Does it Take to Sink a Luxury Ice Box?”Keillor mentions the scent of his breakfast’s of burnt toast at the Chatterbox Café flooded his mind with childhood memories.

His experience spoke to me. Smell is the sense most associated to memory and can trigger powerful emotions from past experiences. Check out Sarah Dowdey article How Scent Works from How Stuff Works to find out more.

I sipped my coffee and tried to think of my most powerful scent memory…

There are certain types of pungent French cheeses which remind me of the suffocating trip from Monaco to Nice trapped in a stifling bus with a ripe old hobo. 

I say the Stinky Cheese Man tale is my strongest scent memory because I feel both the negative sensation of revulsion and positive nostalgia for my travels simultaneously.

So much of wine has to do with scent and aroma, so why not memory?

Some scents can sound down right disgusting. For example the pinot noir grape has been known to smell like garbage. Yet there are some people who crave this and others who lust for a Sauvignon Blanc expressing a distinct cat-piss odor. 

Food and Wine published the article Understanding Wine: Scent & Sensibility by Daniel Patterson describing this phenomenon and its relation to wine. Remember part of the fun of learning about wine is experiencing all the unique scent combinations it can create.

We refer to the smell a wine has as the “bouquet” or the “nose.” Sometimes we say a wine has a chocolate or blackberry nose.  People often ask me if wine makers actually put blackberries or chocolate in wine.

Wine is made from grapes. There is no cocoa or aninmal secretions in wine (fingers crossed). Grapes have the natural ability to give off many different aromas and a wide range of vocabulary to explain what we are experiencing in the wine.

Many people I taste wine with have trouble pin pointing what they are smelling or are afraid of sounding like an idiot. In reality wine is subjective. If you smell a wine and instantly think of gym socks and cherry flavored Pop-Tarts, who’s to say you are wrong?

Collecting a scent memory bank can help you develop a wine vocabulary. Start smelling everything around you, the wet dog coming in from the yard, banana peels, the discount cashmere sweaters at Banana Republic. Wine nerd sites are even marketing scent memory kits. Either way when you go for the wine you can call on those scents to identify a wine’s nose.

When I experience wine I try to go beyond what I am experience technically. For example in our Durigutti Bonarda I smell vanilla, smoke, fig, rasins, and caramel.

But in my personal notes I write what sort of imagery or memory those scents create for me.

“Tawny raisin and vanilla caramel nose, whips of tobacco and fig. Think grandfather sitting in a velvet arm-chair smoking a pipe and sipping vintage port. In the mouth luscious blueberry pie a la mode. Complex with the ideal structure ideal for lamb/venison in reduction sauce”

Last Monday Anuva has its first class at Murray’s in NYC, given by Nicole Vest (me) and Taylor Cocalis.  If you live in NYC, or plan to visit and have not been to Murray’s Cheese Shop, you must go! Located at 254 Bleecker St in the West Village, this cheese shop has been around since 1940, and has expert cheese mongers to help you select the perfect blue, goat, soft, aged, you name it. They also have “virtual cheese mongers” online

What makes Murray’s so special is not only do they offer the best cheese in NYC, but they also place a large emphasis on educating their customer.  On the second floor there is a classroom that seats 24, which holds classes like Cheese 101, Cheese U Boot Camp, Honey and Cheese, and so much more.  It was at Cheese 101, where I met Taylor and we decided to join forces and teach a class on Argentine wines and their perfect cheese pairings.

We offered six wines including the Hom Espumante, Anecon Torrontes, Sin Fin Malbec, Finca La Luz Petit Verdot, Familia Mayol Cuatro Primos, and the Domados Zaino Reserve Malbec.  We paired each wine with a cheese that would compliment each other–including the Vermont Butter & Cheese Company Couple, La Tur, Jasper Hill Farm Winnemere, Cabot Clothbound Cheddar, Pecorino Foglia de Noce, and finished with the Columbus Salame Company Felino to incorporate a meat.  It seems that the Winnemere and the Sin Fin Malbec was the favorite pairing.  The Winnemere has a soft, velvety texture, with a woodsy, sweet cream flavor, that balanced perfectly with the earth hints and black fruit flavors of the Sin Fin Malbec.  The combination really made both the wine and cheese excel.  I myself loved the pairing of the Torrontes and the La Tur.  La Tur is a dense, creamy blend of cow and sheep milk, that is mild, but has an earthy, full flavor, with a lingering lactic tang.  The Torrontes, with its mild sweetness and clean finish, paired beautifully with the La Tur.  While I am writing this, my mouth is literally salivating over this pairing.

It is no question that the Hom Espumante and the Zaino Reserve Malbec were the class favorites for stand alone wine.  This was of course no suprise to me.  These wines were the perfect start and finsh to the class–light and bubbly to start, and a full well developed finish.  It was a pleasure working with Taylor, and I look forward to working with her again in the future!

“Je Ne Veux Travallier” by Pink Martini plays out of Itunes as mix of 4 perfumes fills the air. Daniel returned to the office to find Anuva’s operation invaded by the French and conquered by 4 women busily typing away on lap tops. Helene and Klervie, joined our team from Paris this week for a short internship program.

Through out the next few months the girls will be learning how Anuva runs its business and a bit more about Argentine wines.

            On Wed. Helene and Ashley set up for round II of the in-company blind tasting. Going through the wines again it was clear that some really fall apart after 24 hours and some improve greatly. Once again the Sangiovese and Cab Franc shined through.

            Ashley’s friends had a grand time teasing me when she returned home with a half case open-wine. “Very difficult job you have there,” they commented. Their commentary quickly turned to smiles and laughter when they were invited to try the wines and give their opinions. Again, the two favorites of the 6 in this informal tasting were the two winners from the two blind tastings.

            Also everyone agreed that the Callejon Del Crimen Sangiovese 2006 had very clear pomegranate taste.

            In the end Ashley wrote descriptions for Anuva’s two new wines:

Callejon Del Crimen Sangiovese Gran Vino de Finca 2006

Forbidden Fruit

Excellent balance of acidity, fruit and 12 months of hearty oak conjure imagery from mythology.  Persephone’s soft hand rests delicately in the impious clasp of Hades as he lures her into the underworld. A sinfully seductive bouquet of smoke, vanilla, and deep red fruits tantalize your senses. In the mouth intense bright fruits of pomegranates, raspberries, currants linger to keep the spring in the darkest winter.

Los Quimiles 2006 Premium Cabarnet Franc from Vinos de los Andes

Brick House

There’s no place like home. Picture a charming brick farm house, clothes on the line, freshly mowed grass, berry-pie in the window. Notes of terracotta, fresh linen, herb and dark fruits express the best of the varietal. With 22 months in French and American oak Vinos de los Andes’ dark plumy Cab Franc was built to last.  Even better with time.

This past Tuesday the Anuva team sat for an in-company tasting. We set the table with all the essential weaponry; water, glasses, crackers, note pads, pens and a giant spit bucket. We usually do this about once a month and have between 20 and 40 wines so at 21, this was a small tasting.

After uncorking 21 bottles our intern, Helen concealed their identities in numbered paper bags. Why? You have to taste blind. The only way to really judge the wine itself is to not know where it comes from and not see the bottle. Labels have an impact, appellations have an impact, varietal has an impact. I find it offensive that neither Wine Spectator nor Robert Parker and his team taste all of their wines blind. What are they afraid of? 

If wine professionals are true to their job, they will only taste blind and admit each palate is unique, variable depending on immediate influences (like what you ate, if you smoke, etc.) and is highly subjective. This would develop a trend toward truth in wine and not marketing to sell wine only.

We poured in sets of 5 sniffing, scribbling, sipping, swishing, spitting, smiling, sneering. We wait until the end of each round we exchange results. Ratings are based on bouquet, taste, mouth feel and over all expressiveness.

Many of the wines are clear and definite “no’s”. Descriptions are frank and honest. I like to be creative with my notes for example “It smells like bleach and tastes like an old boot with rotten vegetables, no”

 With quantification in mind we rate each wine on a 100 point scale.  All tastings are done blind allowing the best wines speak for themselves as we weed out the inferior stock.

             Consistency is the real goal. For one, accord between tasters “Do you concure?” sometimes tastings include two bottles of the same wine (that’s right we hated your rose, twice!) Blind tastings will even revisit wines from a previous tasting to ensure that the reactions are the same. For example two of the top rated wines from Tuesday’s tasting had also been rated highly in a previous tasting, Callejon Del Crimen Sangiovese 2006 & Los Quimiles 2006 Premium Cabarnet Franc from Vinos de los Andes.

Of the 21 we kept the top 12 to revisit the next day. Some wines can do a 180 with one day of air. And some simply are better down the drain.

When I read the recent article “How to Engage Millennials” by Kate Lavin from Wines and Vines I had to smile and think of Virginia Tech’s most popular geography professor, Dr. John Boyer.

Every semester 500 students take his wine introductory course. He can usually be found at the local wine shop, The Vintage Cellar giving advice to students or promoting his comic book/text book The Plaid Avenger. With his bright colored plaid jackets and eccentric personality John Boyer does for wine what Bill Nye did for science. 

Most people enter the class knowing a bit about Franzia and maybe a little Gallo rose. By then end of the term most are excited to try new wines and learn more about the subject. Boyer makes wine accessible to an age group the wine industry has neglected.

The article describes consumers who turned 21 around the Millennium and their spending and drinking habits. According to the article Millennials are tech savvy and have a growing interest in wine. We use Facebook, twitter and other social networking sites to learn about many different products.

The wine industry has a great opportunity to reach young consumers by facilitating different social networks like blogging and You Tube. I am all for sparking curiosity in young drinkers to explore wine. However I am leery of shameless advertising aimed to create brand loyalty through the use of loveable mascots.

Some major brands like Fat Bastard, Red Bicycle and Monkey Bay are seeing an increase in sales with this group though internet advertising. Jim Clarke’s article The Millennials Take Centerstage from Wine Review Online, points out that some wine producers take advantage of Millenials’ geographical ignorance and advertise with fetching labels. Could create a generation of drinkers interested in brands rather than terroir?

I’ll admit when I first turned 21 I took my id and bought my first bottle of wine, Toasted Head. I am fond of bears and was struck by the fire breathing beast on their cover. The curiosity was always there to try something new but the wine aisle was intimidating. In a previous post I mentioned that when you first learn about wine you panic and go for a catchy label.

It is a shame that in the US we don’t have much of a wine culture. With a whole world of wine it seems unfair that unless your parents are huge wine nerds or own a liquor shop that you learn about wine. Even then in the US there is no attention given to young drinkers.

It seems most young wine drinkers are curious but also intimidated by wine. The wine industry does not need to dumb-down wine to make it accessible to young drinkers. The goal should be to promote wine as part of everyday life with a focus on wine education. Will the focus on Millennials create an elevated wine culture in the US focused on curiosity and education or transform wine into another empty commodity?