Wine

Plus, a Texan happy to have wine on his boots, a Santa Barbara wine label dispute ends amicably enough, and the ups and downs of Brooklyn's Great GoogaMooga

In the Wine Atlas of Australia & New Zealand (HarperCollins, 1998), James Halliday refers to Kay Brothers in McLaren Vale as a “traditional winery with a rich history and some priceless old vines.” As far as history is concerned, the winery was established in 1890 by brothers Herbert and Frederick Kay (pictured on many of the labels) and is the oldest estate in McLaren Vale still owned by the founding family. Winemaker now is Herbert’s grandson Colin Kay, who uses traditional methods and in fact employs the winery’s original basket press and open-top fermenters. “Priceless old vines” refers to the estate vineyard’s Block 6, planted in 1892 and still producing shiraz grapes that are bottled separately as the property’s flagship wine. As for me, these are the sorts of wines and the kind of family estate that are a joy to write about, because they embody a heritage and an adherence to old-fashioned methods, and they evince no desire to be all things to all people. These Kay Brothers wines from 2010 were tasted in Chicago on May 15, 2013. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ The entry-level wine at this estate is the Kay Brothers Hillside Shiraz 2010, McLaren Vale. The color is very dark ruby, almost black in the center and with an intense violet rim. Despite the portent of that depth of hue, this is not a heavily extracted wine and is impressive for an impeccable sense of balance, especially in the sway dusty tannins against vibrant acidity and a dynamic graphite element. Fruit shines though, with a bright array of ripe and slightly macerated black and red currants, blackberries and blueberries fostered by earthy touches of leather and briers and hints of cloves and sandalwood, lavender, bitter chocolate and dried thyme, all of these aspects beautifully proportioned and poised. 14.5 percent alcohol. Drink now through 2017 to 2020. Excellent. About $35. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Next is the Kay Brothers Basket Pressed Shiraz 2010, McLaren Vale, a wine derived from the estate’s Amery Vineyard; it spent 18 months in American, French and Bulgarian oak barrels. The color is dark ruby with a vivid magenta cast; aromas of ripe black currants, blackberries and mulberries are deeply infused with cloves and allspice and some wild spicy and floral note, as well as graphite-tinged touches of briers and brambles, making for a lively and engaging bouquet. On the palate, this wine is pure and intense, downright lovely in its lucid spicy black fruit qualities but also a little chiseled and flinty, more faceted than rounded, so while every element is balanced and harmonious, the emphasis lies in a somewhat sculpted structural character. I don’t mean that this nature is a flaw, in fact far from it; I love the crystalline, scintillating approach that bolsters the wine’s ripe fruit with its slightly Olympian — yet thoroughly drinkable — personality. 14.5 percent alcohol. Now through 2018 to ’22. Excellent. About $45. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Third in this trio is the Kay Brothers Amery Block 6 Shiraz 2010, McLaren Vale. Of the original 12 acres of Block 6, planted in 1892, only four acres remain. The wine aged 20 months in American oak barrels. The color is dark ruby that sports magnificent depth and clarity, while the complete package is wrapped in the paradoxical yet totally complementary qualities of rigor and allure; my first note: “just beautiful.” While the wine’s sense of dimension — its breadth and depth of tannin and mineral elements. its profound acidity and longevity on the palate — feels immense, it does not diminish the finely-etched details of fruit and flowers and spice that lend the aspect that

There are winemakers who make great wine. There are winemakers who advance the discourse on wine. It's not often that you get to offer wines from a winemaker that does both. It's even rarer when the wines are affordable enough for everyone to drink them. Today is one of those days when it all comes together.For those of you who don't know, I almost never offer American wine. This isn't because I don't think that good wine can be made in the United States but because I feel that most wine made in the States is not as good as European wine at the same price points. I taste hundreds of American wines but very few get over my bar for offering them to customers. So when I offer an American wine, I hope that you believe me when I say that it's worth drinking, even for Europhiles. I'm thrilled to be offering 2 wines today. The 2010 Cowan Cellars Bennet Valley Syrah "Moevani Vineyard" is a revelation for as little as $21.99 on a 6-pack. This wine is grown on steep slopes and made using traditional European techniques (no late harvesting or heavy oaking). The result is a wine with delicious fruit, savory Rhone gamey overtones and terrific balancing acidity. It can be drunk with food but also has the complexity that allows the wine geek to ponder it over the course of an evening. The wine can be drunk young but will also benefit from medium-term aging.The 2012 Cowan Cellars Pinot Noir Rose for as little as $12.99 on a 6-pack is an incredible wine. It has terrific, vivid Pinot Noir fruit to go with the traditional rose minerality. The quality is on a par with $20-$30 French roses but I'm offering it at a low price so that people buy 6-12 bottles.This e-mail could really be a short story or a novella as I have so much to say on so many subjects that could be covered in this e-mail. I will try and keep it short but I might go full bore on you If anybody is deserving of lavish praise it is the one, the only Florida Jim. Florida Jim, as I referenced in the headline is a force of good on the internet and ALWAYS has been. He is the antithesis to the Mao Tse Dong-style wine bulletin board bully. Never in the history of the wine internet has there been a man with such grace, such aplomb, such insight and such a calming effect on everyone he has interacted with. And Jim Cowan, known affectionately as Florida Jim, has finally taken the plunge and makes wine in California. Of course it is delicious. Of course it is authentic. I mean, look who is making the wines. Here is more about Jim, in his own words.That is why it just seems like such a natural fit for Florida Jim's wines from his estate Cowan Cellars, to be sold by me. Jim used to literally carpet bomb the internet with his tasting notes across, what seemed like 15 wine bulletin boards. E-Bob, Wine Therapy then Wine Disorder, West Coast Wine.net, Robin Garr's board and even more obscure boards I am sure I have never heard of. Jim was always the calming influence among much, sometimes, aggressive debates on everything and anything about the wine world. If you never have been on a wine bulletin board it does not take much for a discussion to get heated. But it's the same on most bulletin boards. I have a friend who is an occupational therapist for autistic children and the board he is on gets nasty. I have a sister who used to ride horses in competitions all over the US and horse boards were some of the nastiest stuff I have ever seen. Maybe that's why there is such a thing as Godwin's Law.Today I am offering two California wines from Cowan Cellars, that in my opinion are what California should be making at these price points but usually fails to. It's a damn shame as some of the best wines I have ever had in my life have been from California. Jim, when we chatted, told me he is trying to make European style wines (cool climate, moderate ripeness, high acidity, earthy/mineral wines with finesse and sense of place) in California. I laughed because I was booted off Robert Parker's

A news item in time for travel season: You might remember that last year France passed a law requiring two breathalyzers in each car–including rentals–at all times. The French were shocked to discover that the law passed as the result of a bare-knuckles practice known as “le lobbying.” Well, in case you had breathalyzers on your packing list for France this summer, you can take them off because the French breathalyzer law was suspended back in January. Meanwhile, in other news in the Department of Blood Alcohol Content, the National Transportation Safety Board here has recommended reducing the BAC from the current 0.08% to 0.05%. I haven’t read up enough on the recommendation to know if it would reduce the 10,000+ alcohol-related fatalities in the US, a tragically high figure. Intuitively, it seems the answer would be yes since four beers at 5% abv in a 90-minute period for a 180-pound male does seem like taking onboard way too much before getting behind the wheel. What do you say? At any rate, the lack of response from the wine industry has been surprising. Other industry groups, such as the Alcohol Beverage Institute and the National Restaurant Association, predictably lambasted the proposal. At any rate, we know that the policy decision won’t be influenced by lobbying… The post French breathalyzer law suspended appeared first on Dr Vino's wine blog.

A review of the Louis de Sacy Brut Rose Champagne and the Talisker 25 year old Single Malt Scotch Whisky bottled in 2005. By Joshua E. London and Lou Marmon Washington Jewish Week  May 15, 2013 We recently had some reasons to rejoice and, as our readers would expect, there were a few bottles opened with family and friends. With a wide range of excellent wines available at all price levels, choosing the best celebratory wines was a bit of a challenge. We started by considering a few wines stashed away for “special occasions” including a couple of vintages of the Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon, several wines from Domaine du Castel, Capcanes and Adir as well as some kosher Bordeaux wines. We then looked at some of our favorites from the past year from Golan Heights, Hagafen, Recanati and Dalton. After much contemplation, we ended up opening a bottle of sparkling wine. Sure, it is a bit of a cliche. And we have long bemoaned the tendency to save sparklers for merely special occasions. Their variable flavor profiles range from sweet to bone dry, from light to full-bodied and from fruit forward to more restrained – all of which make sparklers some of the world’s most food-friendly wines. Since we enjoy sparkling wines throughout the year (try a “blanc de blanc” with an omelet), it seemed okay to pop open an exceptional one to celebrate our blessings. The Louis de Sacy Brut Rose Champagne is produced by a family that has farmed grapes since the 1600s. The winery is named after a distant renowned relative whose bewigged portrait serves as its logo. This non-vintage, gracious and elegant wine opens with strawberry, cherry and floral aromas. The complex frame of spice, green apple and raspberry is accented with minerals, hazelnuts, citrus and blackberries and leads into a bright, long and satisfying finish. Spirits-wise, we had the same dilemma: what to crack open for that special occasion? The immediate answer is, really, anything that underscores that notion of “special” or “distinguished” will service nicely for the moment. So, really, anything that is not your usual libation. If you rarely drink a l’chaim, then having one marks the occasion as special. (Though if you rarely drink a l’chaim, you are probably NOT still reading this.) As we’ve said a great many times before, greater expense does not necessarily translate into better distilled spirits. The higher price-tag does, however, constitute a distinguishing or even elevating characteristic to the spirit, if for no other reason than that the price tag means neither you nor your guests are likely to drink such a whisky all the time. Expense, thus, can instantly convey special status to your beverage simply because the cost takes it out of the sphere of normal or usual. Sometimes the price tag is all about marketing (such as with the more expensive Macallan single malt Scotch whiskies-these are uniformly good whiskies, sometimes even great whiskies, but they are marketed as “luxury” whiskies and priced accordingly). Sometimes the price tag is high to cover the high costs bringing the beverage to market, such as the production or importation of rare spirits or spirits from far away places. If you shop wisely, the high price tag will acquire you something truly special in every sense. Single cask single malt whiskies, for example, are usually the best way to spend a few extra bucks when it comes to whisky. As we’ve noted before, absolutely fantastic single cask, single malts, with minimal marketing nonsense, can be had from the membership-based Scotch Malt Whisky Society (smwsa.com) and from the membership-based Jewish Whisky Company’s Single Cask Nation (singlecasknation.com). In this particular instance, one of us had an addition to the family. As Judaism is simultaneously a family-centered as well as belief-centered religion, a simcha for one Jew is a celebratio

The next gen of frozen cocktails moves well beyond the margarita machine. It’s time to treat yourself to this delicious deep-freeze trend.

Eat light and stay cool this summer with this chilled English pea-and-fava-bean soup with Dungeness crab salad.

craig.camp posted a photo:

We’re almost there… just another seven weeks or so to go until Baby P 2013 comes into this world. She’s been so active in Tracie P’s belly that sometimes we feel like she’s already here! I’m certainly not the one who does the heavy lifting at our house these days: Tracie P is such a great mother and a mother-to-be (again), diligently regulating her diet so that she can maximize nutrition in these last months when it becomes challenging for expecting mothers to consume all the calories she needs. In seven weeks or so, the world is going to change for little Georgia P, now seventeen months old. She really doesn’t know what’s about to happen but she loves to kiss and blow raspberries on her mommy’s pancione. After my trip to NYC a few weeks ago, I’m officially grounded for the duration and it’s been wonderful to take over more of the shopping and cooking duties (and it’s SO great not to have to travel). We’re so excited for Georgia P to have a little sister but we’ve also been enjoying these last months as a family of three, with our lives centered on a precious, beautiful, sweet little girl, who’s always ready to share a kiss, a hug, and a smile. They are my tender grapes. And as tough as it can be to get up at 3 a.m. to change a diaper or soothe a teething toddler, my life has never been so rich… I love them so much… Thanks to everyone for the notes of support and the thoughts and wishes! They mean so much to us. Thanks for sharing our joy…

A curious blend of 65% Shiraz, 20% Nebbiolo and 15% Primitivo, and to quote the great Reeves & Mortimer – “I don’t know how it works, but it does!”.