Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog

Cheese & Wine Mongering in Glen Ellen

I hope this post doesn't come off as bragging. I hope it comes off as thankful homage to my hometown.

This past weekend was by far one of the best I"ve spent in some time. I didn't leave my hometown, Glen Ellen. Rather, I reveled in its special attractions and was reminded that Glen Ellen is more than just a wine country village. It's a sybarite's retreat.

Without leaving town this weekend, I visited a cheesemonger, a chocolatier, a seller of fresh vegetables and herbs, and olive oil producer and a "deli" no New Yorker would recognize. It was in every way sensory overload of the best sort. And it got me appreciating the notion of the Culinary Vacation.

This is the term I would hope folk visiting Sonoma County and Napa Valley should adopt when visiting these regions where wine is the star. On a purely climatological and agricultural plane, it makes sense that where grapes grow fine you're likely to find other fine locally grown products. But what's the deal with finding a superb chocolatier? A Cheesemonger that likely ranks among the best in the country. An olive oil producer that is responsible for some of the most highly regarded bottlings in America?

The answer is obvious: People who live among a community of winemaking artisans and visitors who travel to a place where consumption of wine is the raison d'etre are likely to be people looking for even a culinary experience that transcends the ordinary. Hence, this place will attract those willing to provide these folk with what they are looking for. It makes for a "culinary community" and that unique spot on the globe that can called a "culinary destination."

How does my little town of Glen Ellen stack up? First you have to consider that this town holds only about 3000 folk, many of them sequestered up in the hills surrounding the main village and residential areas. The town lands smack dab in the middle of the Sonoma Valley in a part called the "banana belt, meaning it's generally a bit warmer in this narrower part of the Sonoma Valley. It's not a tourist destination. We have perhaps 100 hotel/B&B rooms here. And, the town is off the main road (highway 12) that runs through the famed Sonoma Valley.

Yet still it supports, for example, a number of culinary destinations. Consider Raymond & Co Cheesemongers. I visited this little shop for the first time on Friday and Saturday as I prepared for a dinner party. You will not find here cheeses that can be found in the best markets. What they sell are micro-produced cheeses from around the globe. In many cases they are the only importers of the cheese to America. In other cases they are micro-produced cheeses from across the United States, like the remarkable "Brie" I purchased from a small Georgia cheesemaker. The owner talks to customers about things like herbage and goats, about proper aging techniques, about the exact right moment to consume cheese about the need to expand his own aging room. We are talking fanatic here. I bought three cheeses for the cheese course of the dinner party. Despite my heroic culinary efforts on the other three courses, the cheeses were by far the star of the show.

The next stop on Saturday was the new chocolatier in Glen Ellen. Their specialty is truffles, about 15 different sorts. All made onsite. They only use a combination of Vahlrona and Scharffenberger chocolate to produce these luscious morsels. But what the hell is a chocolatier of this quality doing in the little town of Glen Ellen? While I care about this question, I'm more concerned that they stay.

To pick up the tomatoes for the Bread & Tomato salad I headed off to Oak Hill. It's still a bit of a secret. Located off highway 12 in an old red barn, Oak Hill grows tons of veggies, herbs and flowers. Much is sold wholesale. But inside the red barn they sell the finest produce in the land, most picked no more than hours before they land in the hands of customers. The tomatoes I bought were sweet with a hint of acid. The were quartered and combined with cubed then olive oil infused and toasted Italian country bread and mixed with chopped garlic, fresh basil (from my garden) olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Culinary destinations and culinary vacations are will continue to grow in popularity, this a result of the growing trend toward homegrown, local culinary creations and the expansion of wine industries across the country in states not normally associated with wine production. It will grow a the demand for the organically produced increases.

The Dinner Party was great fun, due mainly to the guests as the success of any Dinner party is dependent upon. However, for the host the part was great fun on another level. It gave me the opportunity to drive around my town and enjoy the amazing array of culinary resources this little town has inspired and that will keep me here until I can't take it any longer and just fall down dead from too many years of pleasure.

Looking For a Few Good Wine PR Types

Over at the day job side of my life, we are looking to fill out our database of Wine PR types.

In essence we are looking for folk who have some experience in wine public relations or some experience in PR/marketing/communications and a knowledge of wine that might recommend them as potential independent contractors or even, down the road, as hires.

Here's the kind of person we want to talk to:

-You can write, write well, and write fairly quickly.

-You are familiar with the wine industry, particularly the California wine industry.

-You known intuitively why it's not a good idea to call a wine writer and ask, "Did you get the unsolicited wine sample we sent for XYZ Winery?"

-You are able to look a client in the eyes and tell them, "that's a bad idea".

-You know the difference between "Intriguing", "fascinating" and "commonplace".

-You have the capacity to become authentically giddy when a client succeeds at something.

-You appreciate the upside and side effects of the disability known as "Winegeekosis".

-You are able to confidently pick up the phone, call wine writers and editors and explain without fear exactly how the world will end on a particular date.

-At best, you may have some experience in wine public relations, but not necessarily a lot.

-You have no problem working as an independent contractor, rather than as an employee.

-Computers and the Internet are your friend.

I got into the wine public relations business directly after receiving an MA. I thought I had the talent and skills to work in PR and I knew a bit about wine, but not much. I got a chance to work as an independent contractor at an agency specializing in wine.

We aren't looking for someone like that, but with an itsy bit more experience.

Maybe you work in a winery tasting room. Maybe you've have a low level position in a PR/communications firm or some other communications firm. Maybe you've worked in wine retail or in restaurants. Perhaps you are already an independent contractor who's just starting up your consultancy or you are scraping by. Maybe you are a wine blogger or food blogger with an obscene amount of wine knowledge and moxie and have thought about getting into PR or the wine industry.

If you think you fit the bill, E-MAIL ME. Send me your resume. Contact me. Make me think about you. You know someone like this? Send them a link to this post.

Wark Communications is a Boutique Wine PR Firm. We provide communication and design services to small and medium-sized companies in and around the wine industry. We work long hours. We go to wine tastings. We read an obscene amount of wine related materials. We listen to our clients and the media. We lay down in the road for our clients. We are looking to fill our our database of potential independent contractor types who have wine knowledge, the ability to learn, and the willingness to lie down in the road for clients.

Carlo Rossi Jug Wine: Making Me Smile

I've been saving this post for today because it really is a "Friday-kind-of-blog-post" subject.

I think I've discovered my favorite winery website: Carlo Rossi.

You will likely recall Carlo Rossi from your youth or from the grocery store or drug store aisle where you got to pick up your margarita mix. Carlo Rossi is a jug wine producer owned by E and J Gallo. They put wine in big 4 liter jugs.

They produce wines like "Paisano", "Rhine", "Chablis", "Sangria" "Burgundy", and "Vin Gris". They have descriptions of all their wines on the web site but for the life of me I can't tell the difference between the wines from their descriptions. But then, that's the point.

These guys have their tongues so deeply embedded in their cheek that the entire dimple has been erased.

The highlight of the site must be the "My Furniture" page. Here we learn how to make stereo speakers, chandeliers, coffee tables and shelves....all out of of empty Carlo Rossi jugs. Every item includes schematics for their construction. Some items require many people to help construct because you need to drink LOTS of Carlo Rossi wines to have the jugs necessary to create these unique...."furniture items".

I'm prepared to believe that I won't enjoy Carlo Rossi wines because my palate has evolved since I began stealing these types of Jug wines from my parent's garage when I was 18 and drinking them on a deserted golf course at night with my buddies.

That said, I swear to God I'm tempted to make one of these pieces of furniture. And what gets me is I can't quite lay my finger on the reason why. I do know that the Carlo Rossi website is pretty brilliant stuff. It doesn't serve to sell wine. It doesn't convince me I might actually like the wine. and it tells me next to nothing about the wine. However, it does make me smile. And sometimes, when your business doesn't depend at all on offering enlightening material on its website, provoking a smile is a job very well done.

"Fixing" The Wine Sales Results?

The Hypergigantitholic (that's a technical term in the wine industry meaning "BIG") wine company known a Constellation seems to find itself in a bit of an embarrassing situation down in Australia.

According to reports, in an attempt to influence sales trials at a dining chain that was testing the popularity of a couple Constellation brands before adding them to their list, Constellation told their employees to go to these restaurants and buy the wine in order to "maximize volumes" during the 8-week trial.

Word of this maneuver got out when emails asking employees to buy a bottle a week at the chain then bill it back to the company were leaked:

""We would implore each of you to participate in this activity as it is vitally important that we maximise volumes during the remainder of the trial period. Line managers, as leaders of our business, can you ensure your direct reports are aware of this and are participating to ensure Constellation Europe is awarded this lucrative contract. There is now two weeks remaining of the trial and it is key that we pull through every bottle of Constellation wine … to see us over the line."

Constellation claims it was actually undertaking a "mystery customer exercise" just to see how the wine was being presented during the trial period.

For the sake of argument, because we don't have ALL the facts, that Constellation's request of its employees to go buy the wine was actually an attempt to influence volume figures during the eight week trial.

Is any one surprised that this sort of thing happens? I wouldn't be.

A rather benign example of this sort of thing happening is what takes place at charity wine auctions. I can report first-hand knowledge of "consortiums" of buyers coming together, financed by a winery, to assure the winery's lot at the auction goes for VERY HIGH prices in order to garner prestige from the high price at which the wine sells. Now, while somewhat unethical, this doesn't compare to what Constellation is accused of, but it speak to the notion that fixing results is a part of business.

Should Wine Critics Be Sued?

I suspect THIS STORY will be picked up around the wine blogosphere. If it isn't it should be.

It appears that an Australian winery, perturbed that a wine blogger's poor review of their wines shows up high in the search engines, had threatened legal action against the blogger.

I was made aware about this turn of events through an email sent to me, and many others I believe, by the folk at Wine Life Today. They were highlighting a post on the subject by Tim over at Winecast.net.

The story is pretty simple. The Blog Appellation Australia posted unflattering reviews of Graeme Miller wines back in February. About a week ago, the proprietor of Appellation Australia received word from Graeme Miller that unless the posts were removed they would take legal action. (the episode and commentary is described here) Graeme Miller's complaint about the reviews boiled down to this:

"They are serving to absolutely denigrate our wines and our reputation and they have created the most embarrassing and distressing situations where we have lost business. A wine critic is expected to express opinion, but not to denigrate. You need to understand the impact that you are having and may have on others as well."

The review of the Graeme Miller wines were hardly denigrating. However, I really don't think that's what they meant to say. What they probably meant was what followed: The reviews resulted in an "embarrassing and distressing situation" and that the reviews have an impact.

Graeme Miller is absolutely correct in this assessment of the Appellation Australia reviews. In fact, I suspect the hope of any wine reviewer or critic is that their evaluation of wines will have an impact. That's sort of the point, isn't it?

I don't review wines at FERMENTATION so the idea that those who do might find themselves in legal trouble doesn't really effect me. That said, I have some opinions on the role of the wine critic. Also, being in wine PR, I'm actively involved in soliciting reviews from wine critics and reviewers around the country. I also have something of a stake in seeing our clients' wines reviewed and, hopefully, reviewed well.

So, first, the idea that a wine critic might be at legal risk if they publish a poor review of a wine I don't think is a notion that has ever been tested directly. And I'm unaware of any legal precedent that suggests published reviewers and critics, of any craft, can somehow be held liable for the reaction of those who read their reviews, good, poor or otherwise. So, let's dismiss Graeme Miller's original threats against Appellation Australia as an unfortunate and poorly constructed response to the kind of frustration that often occurs among wine producers upon reading a poor review of their wine.

Second, this episode brings up the issue of whether or not a wine critic SHOULD publish poor reviews of wine. I think clearly such reviews can play a positive role in the consumer's life. But more important, poor reviews also remind us that critics can easily ball into the role of cheerleader if they abandon the publication of poor reviewers. Yet, there is also the issue of how the critic sees their purpose. Perhaps they merely want to turn on their readers to the good stuff since there are so many wines out there that it is enough to point to the good ones. In my book, a wine critic can't avoid the publishing of poor reviewers forever. Yet, to focus on them is a bit morbid.

Third, if you are a winery that is going to submit your wines for review, to anyone, you should not have any expectation that any resulting reviews will always be positive.    If you do, you will be disappointed.

Graeme Miller needs some good public relations help. Or perhaps a good slapping about the head would do. The idea that his threat to Appellation Australia would not be made public is so far removed from the reality of Internet age as to defy explanation. One of the most important things to learn when it comes to marketing, public relations and the Internet age is that many times the best strategy is to simply say nothing. This advice seems so elementary to me that I am amazed that I get paid to give it at times.

So, if you are a wine blogger, don't look at this episode with trepidation and consider not posting your reviews of average or poor wines. Consider the benefit to your readers of posting too many of them.

If you are a winery, learn to keep your mouth shut when it needs shutting

Great Winery Blogging: La Gramiere

Amy Lillard produces what I think might be the most entertaining winery blog on the Internet.

There's nothing really ground breaking about her "La Gramiere" Blog. But it is entertaining as hell. I think what makes it so is that in her posts you can actually read a sub plot of real giddiness.

Amy and her Husband Matt recently bought a vineyard in the Rhone and set about making wine. Her blog chronicles their introduction, as it were, to the world of the French wine industry, growing grapes with a passion and making wine...from harvest to buying bottles.

It's all pretty mundane stuff...unless you are doing it yourself and excited about it...if not a little anxious. Amy's blog posts highlight all these things in the couples journey to becoming vignerons.

Indicative of the real excitement and giddiness that comes though in Amy's La Gramiere blog is THIS POST about seeing her Rose being poured and consumed by a customer in a local restaurant. She describes the experience this way:

"On Saturday night as we sat at Terroirs with Matt's brother Brian and his wife Jenn, we kept saying, "Ooh look, they're drinking it! Oh, and over there too!"  It was pretty funny, kind of like watching your kids at the school play, glowing with pride as they come out on stage..."

I can absolutely understand what they mean. More important. I wanted to be them.

Amy is apparently a busy Gal. After all, she has a winery  and vineyard to tend to. It must be because of this that she doesn't post nearly enough to satisfy my desire to live vicariously through her and Matt's experiences. But I'll live.

There are some really wonderful winery-run blogs out there. This is one of them.

France to Winery: "You're Third Rate"

Can you imagine the Federal Govt. or a state government in the United States refering to a winery as "Third Rate"?

This is the job of wine critics, isn't it? Yet it France it appears that such character assassination is the purview of government.

The French want to put a six lane highway and a TGV line through Bordeaux to make the trip from Spain to Northern France quicker. However, in doing so they are going to have to go through some pretty nice vineyard land. They considering a route that jets through either the Haut-Medoc region or through Margaux.

If the new roads go through Haut-Medoc it will apparently lead to the destruction of Chateau Cantemerle. As you might imagine this doesn't make the owners all that happy. Yet, according to a story in the First Post, the response of the government is the following:

"the French government dismisses it, and other affected properties, as "third-rate", and thus not worth preserving."

OUCH!!!!

Chateau Cantemerle has a history that dates back to the Middle Ages. It is a Fifth Growth Grand Cru Classe estate. Yet, it is "third rate" and not worth preserving.

OUCH!!!

If this comment were made by a government official in California they would be condemned, tossed into the fires then sued. Though I've spent a good deal of time in France, spent a lot of time around French folk, and even married one some time ago, I still don't understand how this kind of comment could be uttered by a French Govt. official...even if the wine was third rate.

Expectations of Averageness

Expectations! 

They can "do in" a wine or elevate it to heights we never expected. But sometimes our expectations for a wine are met so perfectly that there can be no lamenting, no elation...just acknowledgment of what we expected. Personally, I prefer to be elated or disappointed by a wine.

This was driven home this past weekend as I broke open a couple bottles of wine:

1996 Rochioli Reserve Sauvignon Blanc (Russian River Valley)
1996 Mondavi To-Kalon I Block Fume Blanc (Napa Valley)

Ten year old Sauvignon Blancs.

My expectation for these wines was that while they would be drinkable, they would not necessary be mind blowing in any way. I expected they would have lost their fruit, but retained much of their acidity. I expected that they would throw of interesting secondary aromas and flavors that fell into the realm of coconut, old hay, caramel, and maybe a little lychee nut or unripe mango.

This is exactly what I got.

My partner that night, an unabashed advocate of fruit forward, silky powerhouse wines couldn't figure out why he'd ever want to drink these wines after a decade in the bottle. My suggestion that they would be magnificent with a bit of Flan fell on deaf ears. However, my contention about this possible pairing pushed him (out of pride of his opinion?) to go to his cellar and pull out a recently released late harvest wine to demonstrate exactly what would go well with Flan.

The Rochioli had held up better than the Mondavi. It showed a bit more fruit, more acid and experienced less oxidation. I suspect there are ten year-old Sauvignon Blancs out there that have held up better than these two, both of which were considered at the time among the best California SBs produced. I'll be looking for those other well-aged SBs and I'll bring only moderate expectations to their consumption. It's the prudent thing to do. One the one hand, It's likely my moderate expectations that the wines will be average. But on the chance that they really soar, I'll have the opportunity to revel in something far beyond what I expected. Which is really what I like about trying these older wines that are not expected to be great.

French Wine Branding...Of course.

The New York Time's Eric Pfanner has an interesting story today about a French wine company apparently doing something extraordinary for a French wine company: Branding!

The story has become a fairly familiar one: The French, having trouble competing with competition from new world wineries and their own tradition, must do something to revive their franchise as the premier producers of wine in the world.

The person behind the new French Branding Experiment is Pierre Courbon, the director of international marketing for a new brand being called Chamarre, which will be on sale in America in large amounts later in the year. M. Courbon has something interesting to say:

“Wine increasingly is becoming a consumer good, not a cultural exception,” said Pierre Courbon, international marketing director at OVS, a French company that was created to sell a new wine brand, Chamarré, which it intends to go head to head with consumer favorites from Australia, California, Chile and elsewhere. “Beer, spirits, vegetables, dairy products and even bread is branded. Why not wine?"

It turns out the French have had no problem at all branding their wine products. Sure some have done better than others. But if the French need a homegrown example of branding in the wine industry all they really need to do is look to the Champagne producers.

Is there another category of wine in the world that been made more successful via branding than Champagne? The various large Champagne houses (think Roederer, Mumm, Veuve, etc) are among the most successful branding agents in the entire wine business.

With a multi-million dollar marketing budget in store for Chamarre it's likely that we will all become familiar with the new brand fairly soon.

Does anyone really think the French won't eventually overcome their natural disadvantages and start competing with the New World industries that are tossing out low priced wines? I don't. Of course they will. They have no choice really.

The Science & Marketing of Wine & Slurpees

What wine do you drink when it's 115 degrees?

That was the official high temperature in the Wark Family backyard yesterday, and the record high for my life.

The answer is not wine. Believe me, you're sluggish enough without putting any alcohol in your body.

The correct answer to what you drink is obviously The SLURPEE.

Now, when it comes to Slurpees, I'm a "Cola" kind of guy when it comes to Slurpees. It has a refreshing "bite" that gets you on the back of the palate with a flavoring that seems to match affect that freezing slushiness has on your palate. I've always been a "cola" imbiber when it comes to one of my favorite drinks. But a few years ago the flavor was not longer "cola". It was "Pepsi" flavored. That's OK because really, it just tasted like "cola" anyway.

But did you know that today Slurpees have contracted with the likes of Hawaiian Punch, Sobe, Sprite and Mountain Dew to help market their Slurpee flavors? As I watched that icy goodness flow into my cup yesterday this licensing of well known flavors to help sell an already famous branded product I got an idea:

Why not "Sprite Wine" or "Hawaiian Punch Pinot Noir" or "Sobe Sauvignon Blanc"?

It occurs to me the licensing of flavors in the pursuit of new wines just hasn't happened. We've had other wine based drinks like Wine Coolers and Arbor Mist and the like. But no one has utilized the power of brands to create a new kind of wine. We might get some flack from those convinced we are marketing alcohol to children or teens, but that charge, will uncomfortable, clearly wouldn't stick.

I don't know. Maybe the heat got to me yesterday and as I write this at 8:00am and the temperature is already 81 degrees outside and getting ready to head toward 110, I'm just not in my head.

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That said, I want to offer you my best "Slurpee Tip"

The amount of air that comes into your Slurpee cup along with the Slurpee when you pull that magic handle is pretty significant. You are in effect paying for lots of air along with your Slurpee. If you want to get more Slurpee than air you must do this....

1)Fill the Slurpee cup about an inch from the top of the cup with your favorite flavor.

2) Walk away from the Slurpee machine and get a straw.

3) Start stirring the Slurpee then gently pound the bottom of the cup on the counter.

4) Repeat this process about ten times until the air in the Slurpee mix pushed out and the Slurpee comes together in a thicker mix. You should now have just over half a cup of Slurpee, rather than nearly a full one and more room to pour in more of that cool icy concoction.

5) Return to the Slurpee machine and add more Slurpee. You can repeat the process but due to the concentrated nature of the Slurpee you've already created you won't gain much more room. But, you'll gain some. So Repeat the process.

6) Put the domed Slurpee Cup with the opening on top on to your Cup and fill it with Slurpee to the top of the dome.

If you do this correctly you will have obtained almost twice as much Slurpee Happiness than if you just filled up your cup.