AnuvaBlog

Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, the couple behind the “Tastings” column in the Wall Street Journal discuss great value wines, in particularly the Malbec and Torrontés.

Check out the program here.

(Photo Source: NPR.org)

As Thanksgiving approaches later this week, everyone seems to be putting out their must-drink wine list. However, it was really refreshing to see a post on Vinography (one of the more well read wine blogs around) today about how there is no such thing as the perfect wine for Thanksgiving. It may just be the case that all these lists are products of editorial calendar requirements and may actually have very little to do with there being really approrpriate Thanksgiving wines. Alder writes:

“Most people’s Thanksgiving meals, even the most modest of them, are a vast cornucopia of flavors so diverse, contrary, and strong, and people eat them in such different combinations at different times that the idea of finding ‘a’ wine to match with the meal is a ridiculous proposition. “

I have always said that good goes with good well. So as long as you’re sitting down to a good meal with good company (even if that does include cousin Bobby…), then it doesn’t matter if you open something rich, full and oaky like the 2004 Don Juan Reserve Blend or something much more fruit forward and puckering like the 2007 Naiara Malbec as you long as you enjoy it. Or you could open both and decide for yourself which goes better with your turkey and stuffing…

Happy TDay from Anuva Vinos!

While the world market rumble and tumble, wine seems to be getting all the better. So if you’re looking for a place to put that hard earned investment cash, wine just might be a good bet (click here for the full article):

With the stock market as volatile as it is, more and more people are finding that investing in items is preferable to investing in companies. The primary commodities investors look for are art and wine – and those two are doing quite well while many other investments are failing around them.

While world stock markets have foundered, Liv-Ex, the London-based wine exchange, has seen a 40 per cent increase in its index this year.

“More and more people are looking at wine as an asset class, discovering it is uncorrelated to bonds and equities,” said Andrew della Casa, a director at the London-based Wine Investment Fund.

It’s sample tasting time at Anuva, and we had 8 Malbecs yesterday, most from the high desert region of Salta, near the Bolivian border. Unfortunately, we were highly disappointed with yesterdays showing. Most were medicinal (overly so), undeveloped and unexpressive. Some were downright flawed. But this is the process that we so nobly suffer through at Anuva in order to bring you the best of the undiscovered wines of Argentina.

What included at this tasting a group of Chardonnay, that several winemakers/wineries insisted we try and were pleasantly surprised with one in particular. Urraca oaked Chardonnay is one Chardonnay that I might consider putting into the wine club. I always hesitate to put Chardonnay(or Cab-Sav for that matter) into the club as they are two varitals that are produced in enormous quantities in other regions of the world.

But this buttery-as-hell Chardonnay was really quite enjoyable. As full as a white wine can get, with a supple texture and oozing butter aromas and buttery taste (along with some green apple and a nice dancing feel on the palate), we were quite pleased with this wine.

We shall see if it becomes the first Chardonnay varietal to make it into the club.

Such a hideous time in the marketplace has not occurred since the Great Depression. Indeed, many an expert and novice alike predict the likelihood of dire economic conditions. What is interesting is that investment in vintage wine and first growth wine is up.

Could this be a real way to invest your money in a time where every investments seems risky and uncertain? It certainly seems possible.

www.liv-ex.com has a wine market index that includes many of the most historically sought after brands. The index us up 9.5% since the beginning of the year and 7.1% year-on-year. Seems like a good time to invest.

People see the words “Reserve” and “Grand Reserve” printed on wine labels all the time. Anuva also has many wines that are designated with these titles. But what does that really mean?

The only way to really compare a reserve wine to another wine is to compare the wines that one winery makes. For example, one should compare Cavagnaro Malbec to Cavagnaro Reserve Malbec when attempting to discern relative quality. The reason for this is that each winery uses the word reserve in its own way. This term, in fact, is completely overused in the wine industry, as many huge wineries will simply put the word reserve or “Vintner’s Reserve” on every single bottle of the lowest quality wine they produce. This is simply a marketing tactic and in this instance the word reserve means nothing.

Many wineries have now started using the term “grand reserve”, “icon wines” or “flagship wines”to denote their higher level productions because the word reserve by itself is so overused. Another term that has been used often is “cuvée” but this is more of a “special batch” or a particular vat that the winemaker has noticed is superior to the rest of his wine of that vintage. The key again, though, is to compare this to the “normal” wine that that winery produces. If no “normal” counterpart exists that costs less than the “reserve” or “cuvée” of a particular winery, be careful, it’s probably a marketing tactic only.

Originally, however, the term was used to denote wines of special quality that the winemaker would “reserve” for further aging or for a special occasion rather than put directly on the market. The most important part of making any wine is of course, the grapes. Reserve quality grapes must be of lower yield, higher density (in sugars, tannins, acid and polyphenols–i.e. the stuff that makes good wine) than their “introductory line”, “entrance line”, or “classic line” counterparts.

Higher quality grapes are harder to grow and must be managed more carefully. They also make wines that stand up to oak aging better, and thus are usually given more time in oak, new oak especially, since this will add complexity and other favorable characteristics. Many over-oaked wines that are deemed reserve or grand reserve by their makers,  are made with grapes of insufficient quality to stand up to oak and result in wines where one feels like one is chewing on wood instead of drinking a luscious, complex wine.

Another typical characteristic of true reserve wines is that after oak aging they will be left to age in the bottle for sometimes up to several years before being released to the market.

Clearly, the difficulty and rarity in growing/harvesting of higher quality grapes and the costs involved in barreling and aging drive the price of reserve wines up. But remember, price has nothing to do with quality directly. I have tried many a famous wine that costs well above 100 dollars retail that has not only disappointed me, but come in behind wines that cost 1/3 of the price in blind tastings.

Needless to say that the king of determining wine quality, ultimately, is you and you alone. Ignoring what the label says and doing blind tastings is the only true way to determine your preferences. So compare the classics to the reserves to the grand reserves to the cuvées  and see what you find.

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.

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.

Sommeliers come in all shapes and sizes. Most sommeliers at restaurants will have been in charge or at least had a major part of the creation of the wine list and therefore know that list intimately. But this also means that they will tend to be tied to the wine they have put on their list. Understandable since they are trying to sell you wine for your dinner.

In Buenos Aires, Argentina, though, this means that all of the wine will be from Argentina. Not unusual in a protectionist country. In Argentina, foreign wine hardly exists except for at the most posh of restaurants (like 3) and wine shops (literally 3). A sommelier in Argentina, therefore, and especially in Buenos Aires, will be recommending Argentine wine. Funny, that’s what I recommend.

But since wine is all about taste its good to know what you like and how to communicate that idea to the sommelier. If you like fruit forward, young malbecs, then about 50% of all wines made in Argentina will appeal to you. If you like more herbaceous, tannic wines, and actually know what that means, then a sommelier should have no trouble picking one from his list.

Why not start with the basics, though, which is probably what the sommelier will do anyway? Red or white, price range, regional preference, varietal preference. After narrowing this down then, the sommelier will usually try to push you into a slightly higher price range since s/he will work inevitably on commission.

A sommelier must  always ask what you are eating because  food combining is an art, and the sommelier should have designed his/her list around the food at the restaurant.

The same goes for buying at a wine shop. Narrow the choice of wine down by region, price, varietal, characteristics and food combining and you’re good to go.

My first question when I approach a winery to sample their wine for potential purchase is “Do you have a blend?” The tendency to make 100% varietals is all too common especially in the new world. It can actually be quite amusing to see some of these wineries lists of wines they make–extensive, well marketed, different price points–to find that they do not have a single blend or sometimes even bi-varietal.

Take this classic example: a winery will have their varietal chardonnay, viognier, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, syrah, malbec, merlot and cabernet. Not only that but they will have what they do best–say syrah, cabernet and malbec–in reserve and grand reserve levels as well. Theoretically this means higher quality grapes were used but usually just means that more oak was used.  It seems obvious to me that a blend would be a natural, normal, logical progression of such an incredible number of varietals under one roof.

But alas, many wineries have fallen prey to marketing and lack of interest….

It seems to me that the biggest reason that wineries focus on varietals is because of sales and marketing. It is easier for consumers to understand what a merlot is as opposed to a Don Juan or a Cuatro Primos. That would involve turning around the bottle and reading the label to find out what is in it, if the varietals used are even listed. Not only that but it would involve a decision making process where, instead of comparing one varietal wine to the same varietal–ostensibly a direct comparison–one has to compare the types of wine involved as well. All of a sudden the decision making process just got a lot harder. Wineries at times worry about confusing the consumer and therefore stay away from blending.

But what worries me is that blends are simply gorgeous and are what truly represent a winemaker’s talent. It takes a deep knowledge of the characteristics of one’s wine to create a better blended wine than the varietals with which one started. Not to mentions countless hours of experimentation.

So hats off to the winemakers who have faith that the final consumer will want to take that leap and try that complex blend that keeps on giving.