Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog

On my Thursday Wine Mind

On my Thursday mind...

 

"It's like using an ATM"
Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board spokesperson Stacy Witalec on the new "Wine Kiosks" spreading to various grocery stores in the state

Well, not really, unless you have taken an automated breathalyzer test by blowing into the ATM prior to retrieving your 20s. The absurdity of the PA wine kiosks that force you to look through a little window at the wine bottle, stare into a camera, hope the person looking at your stare into the camera back at the PA Liquor Control Board offices is awake, then blowing into a breathalyzer before getting a single bottle of wine is matched only by the PA politicians who think this is called "customer convenience.

"2010 was the worst grape harvest in recent memory, with financial losses possibly setting new records in the county."
Santa Rosa Press Democrat

This has to be the most depressing wine news I've read all year. The story goes on to explain the massive losses Sonoma County growers are going to take on this year's harvest, marred by moldy grapes early, sunburn and moldy grapes lake. Look for great wines to be make from the early ripeners.

 

 

"Hear the latest news surrounding the controversial H.R. 5034."
ShipCompliant

If you aren't aware of the current status of HR 5034, ShipCompliant, the industry's top compliance services company is putting on a virtual seminar on November 8 that will address the state of HR 5034 and other compliance issues. It's a "must attend" event for those looking to stay informed. I think what you'll hear Wine Institutes's legal/political guru Steve Gross say is that HR 5034 will be coming back in January with a vengeance.

"McLane has the infrastructure in place (trucks, warehouses, distribution contacts) to quickly expand into the liquor business if it can find wholesalers willing to sell"
Fredericksburg.com

McLane's is a multi-state food distribution company with large warehouses in numerous states and is owned by cash-flush Birkshire Hathaway. Having just purchased Horizon in Tennessee and before that distributors in Georgia and North Carolina, it may appear that the Southern Wine & Spirits has an important new competitor. Look for Southern to go looking for acquisition targets in response. Oh, goody!!

"Biodynamics is a hoax and deserves the same level of respect we give witchcraft."
Stu Smith, Smith-Madrone, Via Wall Street Journal

Stu Smith's "Biodynamics is a Hoax" blog is exactly the kind of single-topic, well-written, controversial wine blog that makes people (a small, but important number) stand up and take notice and event advances the discussion. In this case, Jay McInerney of the Wall Street Journal took notice and uplifted the blog's profile, not to mention the discussion. Well done, Stu! Well done, Jay! (however, why isn't Smith's blog LINKED to in the WSJ article??

"Efforts to force out-of-state wineries to pay Iowa taxes will cost Iowa wine retailers since it is now illegal for them to deliver to homes."
FOX-18, Iowa

Woops!! Iowa's new direct shipping law is written in a way the prohibits Iowa retailers from shipping wine to Iowans, something they could do before the change in the law. Wanna know what happened? Lawmakers wanted to continue to keep Iowa consumers from being able to buy from out-of-state retailers so didn't include any mention of retailers in their new direct shipping law. Now the Iowa Liquor officials say Iowa retailers aren't covered by the law. Again...Woops. Question: Will, when the law is fixed, Iowa violate the U.S. Constitution by giving in-state wine retailers the right to ship, but prohibit out of state retailers the same right. I say let Iowa consumers buy from in-state and out-of-state retailers, get out-of-state retailers to pay sales tax to the state and increase funding to the Iowa Alcohol Beverages Division with the the proceeds.

Wine Reforms, State Power and Blackmailers

The battled over H.R. 5034, the bill in Congress being pushed exclusively by beer and wine middlemen, has resulted in some misconceptions and misunderstandings regarding the state of alcohol regulation in America, the meaning of the Constitution and just who is pushing for change.

DEREGULATION vs. REFORM
Wholesalers have been consistent in their messaging over the past year or so. They argue that elements of the American alcohol industry want to "deregulate" the sale and distribution of alcohol and have wanted to do so for many years. Why the state-mandated middlemen would offer up such blatant lies such as this is understandable. "Deregulation" where alcohol is concerned is a scary idea. It suggest a free-for-all in the sale and distribution of alcohol.

But of course no one is suggesting that the sale of alcohol be "deregulated". Even in Washington State, where Initiative 1100 would create major changes, deregulation isn't the issue. Nor do the calls to allow direct shipment of wine to consumers amount to "Deregulation".

What we are talking about here is REFORM. And the basic structure of the American alcohol regulatory system is in desperate need of reform. That basic structure was created 75 years ago when Prohibition ended. A few things have changed since then. Not the least of these changes are Americans enthusiastically adopting wine, the monumental increase in the number of wines in the American marketplace, the revolution in logistics and shipping, the emergence of instant communications and information distribution via the Internet, and the monumental consolidation at the state-mandated wholesale tier of the alcohol industry. Wholesalers act as though nothing has changed since 1933.

Wholesalers, who are the state-mandated bottleneck in the distribution system, conspire to assure that no reform occurs and call any changes "deregulation" as a way to scare and dupe the lawmakers that oversee alcohol regulations in the states and at the federal level. Personally, I don't think lawmakers are as stupid as the wholesalers give them credit for being by asking them to believe that simple, small reforms amount to "deregulation". I think lawmakers understand perfectly that wholesalers are trading in hyperbole in order to protect their own financial interests.

Simple reforms to the state-based alcohol regulatory systems are necessary in order to promote entrepreneurship, innovation, consumer access to products and to assure states are able to collect all the alcohol taxes they have a right to. But deregulation? No one wants it.

STATE vs. FEDERAL POWER
Another misconception and misunderstanding that has been promoted in the midst of the HR 5034 battle is the degree of power states supposedly have with regard to alcohol regulations. Again, the wholesalers would have us believe that the states were given carte blanche control over alcohol regulations as a result of the 21st Amendment.

The history of the 21st Amendment that ended Prohibition is very complex. The meaning of the 2nd paragraph of this amendment is mixed up with earlier laws and acts of Congress. But what is absolutely clear is that the 21st Amendment does not trump the rest of the U.S. Constitution. According to the wholesalers' interpretation of the 21st Amendment, a state has the power to prohibit women, African-Americans and senior citizens from owning liquor stores just as they have the power to discriminate against out-of-state businesses because, they argue, the 21st Amendment gave the states total and complete control over the sale and distribution of alcohol.

This is of course absolutely incorrect. The 21st Amendment did nothing of the sort. The 21st Amendment did two things: 1) End national Prohibition and 2) gives those states that sought to remain dry the constitutional right to protect that decision.

With HR 5034, wholesalers have attempted to convince Congress that it was always the intent of Congress going back decades to allow the states to do whatever they want with regard to alcohol. HR 5034 would in fact allow states far more power to regulate alcohol to the point of actually stripping parts of the industry of their vital protection from discrimination under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution—a move so radical that it has only happened one other time in the history of the United States when the Insurance industry was stripped of its Constitutional protection against discrimination by the states in interstate commerce.

BLACKMAILERS vs. BLACKMAILERS
None other than the president of the Wine & Spirit Wholesalers Association, Craig Wolf, has recently argued that the various lawsuits that have challenged discriminatory alcohol regulations in different states amount to blackmail on the part of the litigants. In a recent interview with Kane's Beverage News, Wolf argued those filing lawsuits against states are "blackmailing" them by virtue of the fact that if the litigants win, the states have to pay legal fees to the winners so wouldn't it just be easier to cave in to what those suing the state want and avoid potentially paying millions in legal fees.

What this means, of course, is that Wolf's own wholesaler members are Blackmailers. Wholesalers, like vintners, brewers and retailers, have challenged state laws they didn't like or found burdensome or discriminatory, and have sued states where residency requirements keep wholesalers from opening up new branches in those states. Interestingly, when Wolf and the Beer Wholesalers argue that these lawsuits are terrible and hurting the states, they never mention that their own members have sued states too.

THE TAKEAWAY...?

1. It's "Reform", Not Deregulation
2. The Power of States to Regulate Alcohol is Not Unlimited
3. Wholesalers Are Blackmailers Too.

The Harvest Ended in Napa/Sonoma this Weekend

First things first: No, "Napa Valley" and "Sonoma County" and the "North Coast" can not together nor separately appropriately be described as singular weather zones. Put another way, grapes grown on the valley floor in the Yountville region of Napa and grapes grown near the top of Spring Mountain in Napa Valley are likely to have experienced differing weather conditions throughout the year. The same can be said for Alexander Valley and the Sonoma/Carneros region.

That said, the harvest in Napa Valley and Sonoma County officially ended with the considerable rain the areas received over the weekend. Any grapes left on the vine here with hopes they might hop up a few more brix are probably mush by now.

Yesterday I drove up and down the valley on Highway 29. Along the way I did see some grapes still hanging on the vine and being pelted with rain. Down the Oak Knoll area and just south of Rutherford one could see those poor little berries hanging low, saturated with water.

The 2010 vintage will go down as a very tough year or growers. The story I heard over and over was this one: Earlier on in the season, as cold weather persisted, growers started to see mold inhabit their bunches in a fairly considerable way. Some sprayed others didn't, most likely in order to keep their organic certification. But both organic and non organic growers also followed the tack of pulling leaves to let air flow through. Unfortunately, just as the growers were finished pulling leaves, the area got a spectacular blast of heat...massive heat. Three or four days of it. This in turn, due to the leaves having been pulled, let to lots of sunburn.

The upshot is a smaller crop than normal. In some cases and in some vineyards it will be a considerably smaller crop.

Quality? We'll have to wait and see. What does seem likely is that many grapes will have been picked at lower brix (lower sugars) than normal in many vineyards. This was a year where you really wanted to be growing grapes at a higher elevation where more sunshine was available earlier in the year.

Will this be another 1989, a generally bad year in the North Coast area of California? I can't say. I'm not close enough to enough growers to get a good indication of the quality of the harvest.

But I think what we can say with some assurance is that this won't be a typical "California" year with big, huge, ripe wines across the board. It's tempting to ask if this is a good thing for those who enjoy more balanced, less exuberant wines. But I won't ask this for the simple reason that even if this is such a year, it won't convince most California growers to pursue more balanced wines in the future. Only a call by the tastemakers (critics, sommeliers, retailers and "Super Core" wine drinkers) can make tht happen.

For another, more informed, take on the end of the Harvest, see Jim Barbour's recent blog post.

Comfort and The Ranking of Wine Blogs

I like neatly ordered lists. I'm not a control freak, but I find a certain amount of order in all things to be comforting.

Bringing order to the emerged world of wine blogs has been a topic of conversation with many of my PR colleagues. We only want to know what a blogger's audience size is, what they write about and, if possible, a little bit about the demographics of their audience. Is that too much to ask?

In the PBW (Pre-Blog-World), this kind of information was easy to come by for magazines, newspapers, television and radio. It was all neatly measured by third parties and presented to marketers and PR folks for our consideration, particularly if we have advertsing money to spend.

Wine blogs are a different animal, yet marketers and PR folks still want to known who draws the most eyeballs, what those eyeballs do for a living and, if possible, whether or not those eyeballs are old enough to need glasses.

Here are three Wine Blog/Site Ranking Systems that attempt to quantify the "Popularity" of Wine Blogs. Are they accurate? I don't know. I don't really care. I just like a little order in my life.

A LA WINE.COM's Most Popular Wine Blog Rankings

WIKIO's Top Wine Blogs

CELLARER's Most Popular Wine Sites

 

Wine Politics and the Emperor's New Clothes

In two weeks Washington State voters will decide the fate of the state's three tier system. This vote is the most consequential initiative concerning alcohol regulations any state in America has put to the voters many years.

The money in opposition to what is called Initiative 1100 comes from beer and wine wholesalers...across the country, not merely in Washington State.

Why do America's alcohol wholesalers oppose Initiative 1100? Very simply because it is an example of leveling the playing field and withdrawing the wholesalers many state-mandated protections folded into the three tier system that allow them to control the alcohol distribution system and guarantee themselves income earned by virtue of their place in the three tier system, not their performance or value.

What does Initiative 1100 do?

1. Takes the state out of the business of being the retailer of spirits through state stores

2. Gives private wine and beer retailers the right to sell spirits

3. Allow retailers and restaurants to buy spirits, beer and wine directly from producers, going around wholesalers

4. Allow volume discounts from producers to retailers/restaurants

5. Eliminate price controls

6. Allow retailers to warehouse their inventory and distribute it themselves to their various stores

7. Allow retailers to buy on credit

Alcohol wholesalers don't want any of this because it removes laws and restrictions that help wholesalers unnecessarily dominate the sale and distribution of alcohol. But their real fear is that these kind of sensible, consumer friendly, market-friendly reforms might spread to other states.

Recently at the Beer Wholesalers of America's National Convention in Illinios, the Wholesalers Chairman, Mitch Watkins called the move in Washington "a real and immediate threat". He's right. It is a threat to the kind of hacker's high handicap the wholesalers have been granted by the states.

Wholesalers make a lot of noise about just wanting to "protect" a system that "protects consumers" and "has for more than 75 years". Don't believe it for a second. That kind of rhetoric, if true, would represent the first time that an commercial industry supported something not because it benefits them but supposedly benefits others. The argument is similar to what the wholesalers have said about H.R. 5034, a bill in Congress that would prevent challenges to unconstitutionally discriminatory alcohol laws. Wholesalers argue that they've spent millions of dollars to pass this law because states need to be protect from lawsuits challenging their alcohol laws. In what imaginary universe have private companies decided that their primary mission is to protect the state from lawsuits? The wholesalers use doublespeak. Plain and simple.

What's weird is at their conventions and meetings the wholesalers themselves sit and listen to their own representatives tell them that the emperor is sporting some amazing new duds while they know full well he's completely naked. And they sit there and nod their heads approvingly. There's a name for sitting and listening approvingly to lies.

To-date, the anti-Initiative 1100 campaign has raised over $8 million, most of it from alcohol wholesalers around the country and with more than $2.4 million form the Beer Wholesalers of America an the Beer Institute alone. Recently the Wine & Spirit Wholesalers of America have thrown over $250,000 in the effort to kill reform in Washington State though an organization ridiculously named, "People for Responsible Liquor Law".

If Initiative 1100 passes a variety of things will come to pass:

1. Consumers will have greater choice in their alcoholic beverages

2. Consumers will see lower prices for alcoholic beverages

3. Retailers will be freer to source product from a wider array of suppliers, allowing them to better serve their customers

4. The alcohol distribution system will become a fairer and more just system

With any luck, Initiative 1100 will pass in Washington State and will be followed up with similar initiatives in other states where the emperor is declared to have no clothes.

Pinot On The River...And My Life As A Non-Smoker

Pinot On The River, the great Pinot-centric even that takes place in the Russian River Valley next weekend, holds great importance for me.

Almost exactly one year ago I attended the 2009 Pinot On the Rivers Sunday Tasting at Rodney Strong Vineyards on the same day I decided to quit smoking. The array of Pinots at the tasting was so compelling it helped me forget the withdrawals I was having, for at least a time, and put me on the road to a life without cigarettes. I'll be going again this year, free of withdrawals, free of cigarettes, free of smoker's breath and ready to taste with a clean palate.

The Sunday Tasting, featuring more than 100 wineries, is truly a great way to access hundreds of Pinots you may have never tasted or even heard of. It takes place on the lawn at Rodney Strong Vineyards again this year and it costs $85. I recommend it highly.

Among the wineries that have confirmed to pour at the tasting this year are:

Alfaro Family Vineyards
Alma Rosa Winery
Alysian
Ancien Wines
Arista Winery
Artesa Winery
Athair Winery
Aubin Cellars
August West
Auteur
Belle Glos
Benovia Winery
Benziger Family Winery
Breggo Cellars
Buena Vista Carneros
C. Donatiello Winery
Calicaro
Capiaux Cellars
Cartograph
Cima Collina
Claypool Cellars
Clouds Rest Vineyard
Couloir Wines
David Bruce Winery
Davis Bynum
De Loach Vineyards
Demuth Winery
DuNah Winery
Dunstan Wines
Eric Kent Wine Cellars
Etude Wines
Expression Wines
Failla
Fort Ross Vineyard
Foursight
Freeman Vineyard & Winery
Freestone Vineyards
Fulcrum Wines
Gary Farrell Vineyards & Winery
George Wine Company
Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards
Gracianna
Gundlach Bundschu Winery
Hahn Family Wines
Halleck Vineyard
Heart O' The Mountain
Hop Kiln Winery - HKG
J Vineyards & Winery
Kanzler Vineyards
Keefer Ranch Wines
Ketcham Estate
Kokomo Winery
Kosta Browne Wines
La Follette Wines
La Rochelle Winery
Laetitia Vineyard &Winery
Landmark Vineyards
Landy Family Vineyards
Littorai Wines
MacPhail
MacRostie
Mahoney Vineyards
Mark West
Matrix Winery
McIntyre Vineyards
Meiomi Wines
Merry Edwards Winery
Morgan Winery
Moshin Vineyard
Mueller Winery
Nalle Winery
Nicholson Ranch Winery
Orsi Papale Estate Wines
Pali Wine Company
Papapietro Perry Winery
Patz & Hall Wine Co.
Pfendler Vineyards
Pillow Rd. Vineyard
Roadhouse Winery
Roar Wines
Rodney Strong Vineyards
Roessler Cellars
Romililly Wines
Russian Hill Estate
Sequana Vineyards
Sierra Madre Vineyard
Small Vines Wines
Sojourn Cellars
Talisman Wines
Terlato Vineyards
Taz
Trecini
The Donum Estate
The Line Wines
Three Sticks
Topel
TR Elliott
Vergari Wines
WesMar Winery
Willowbrook Cellars
Wrath

Forgive me for not linking all the wineries in this post. The event would be over before I'm done.

Come out and look for me at the tasting. I'll be the one not smoking!

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"Booze Dollars" vs. "Dope Dollars"

Beer, spirits and wine compete with one another, as industries, for the nation's "Booze Market". What these three products have in common with one another are many. Fermentation. Alcohol as a component. Socializing as a byproduct. Differentiation based on taste. Highly regulated rules of sales, distribution and consumption.

And...they also all have in common the primary effect of using them: inebriation. They are mind altering.

So is Marijuana. And based on the polls I'm reading there is a high likelihood that beer, wine and spirit will have marijuana as a competitor after the November 2nd election when Proposition 19 legalizes the growth, possession, sale and consumption of marijuana in California.

What I'm wondering is this: In a world when the sale and consumption of Marijuana is legal, will the booze industry have to deal with he possibility that consumers will switch from booze to marijuana? Will "Booze Dollars" be lost to "Dope Dollars"?

It strikes me that beer and spirits have more to fear from Marijuana's legalization than wine does. The fact is, beer and spirits are used more often and more directly as an inebriation vehicle than is wine. Wine has the benefit of being understood less as a means to altering the mind than it is a cultural and traditional artifact that we associate with celebration, good living, and the culinary arts. Marijuana is a much more purely an inebriation vehicle.

In my experience, one does not wonder what strain of dope they will serve and smoke with Brie or cured meats. And while this consideration has, in recent years, crossed the mind of spirit and beer drinkers, it is not nearly as common to consider pairings when determining how to use bourbon or Malt liquor.

It's no surprise, then, that the California Beer & Beverage Distributors have come out against Proposition 19. They claim they are not against the legalization of pot in principle, but rather that Proposition 19 is badly written. I don't believe them because I know they are smart, I know they spend money to protect their financial interests and I know that beer will lose sales to dope. And so do they.

I'm also interested in two other things: How will legal marijuana be marketed and how will some in the wine industry choose to treat this new addition to the world of consumption?

I have my doubts that the California Alcohol Beverage Control agency, who will likely be regulating the sale and distribution of dope, will allow marijuana sellers anything like the kind of freedom that wineries and retailers possess in marketing wine. But imagine for a moment the kind of marketing we will see if the freedom to differentiate dope is allowed? How will that happen?

By Taste.
By terroir
By place of origin
By lifestyle contribution
By Cult of Personality.

But what about by the "EFFECT" of the product. Clearly different strains of marijuana produce different types of "buzz". Softer, higher, longer, shorter, harder, clearer....etc, etc, etc. And consumers WILL want to know which strain will produce which kind of buzz. They'll want to know what to expect from a toke or two. Will the potency of the strain be indicated on the package? In advertising? This is the first thing I'd consider in creating a marketing campaign for the stuff. In fact, I'd argue that not allowing this form of marketing would be irresponsible.

And which will be the first winery to say their wine goes well with dope? Which will be the first to suggest a clean and citrusy Chenin Blanc be paired with a hit of Indica or Sativa?

The American Wine Consumer Survey

The goal is to launch a true wine consumer advocacy organization. And we are working on creating just such a robust, active and relevant organization. You can indicate your interest by joining the American Wine Consumer FACEBOOK Page that currently has over 1000 supporters.

HOWEVER, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE LEARN MORE ABOUT WINE CONSMERS AND THEIR NEEDS.

So, I'd ask you to click the following link and take

The American Wine Consumer Survey

Please forward the link (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YQ2MS7R) to your wine consuming friends also. It is imperative that we have as solid an understanding of wine consumers and their needs in order to create an organization that fully serves the unique needs of the American wine consumer.

THANK YOU!
...The management

Beer Wholesalers Spend $3 million Trying to Control Alcohol Market

The National Beer Wholesalers of America, the folks that brought you H.R. 5034 in an attempt to keep America's alcohol distribution system humming along at a 1933 pace and who, if they had their way, would see all direct shipping and all winery self distribution to retailers and restaurants banned, are moving up in the world.

The Wall Street Journal reports that during the current 2010 election cycle the National Beer Wholesalers of America (NBWA) are the 4th largest corporate political donors in the United States of America. They moved up from 5th place during the 2008 election cycle. During the current election cycle, the NBWA has contributed $2,495,000 to candidates for Congress, splitting their contributions nearly evenly between Democrats and Republicans. (FollowTheMoney.org puts them at more than $2.6 million). The NBWA has spent more than the Teamsters Union, The National Association of Bankers, the National Association of Relators, The American Federation of Teachers, the Machinists/Aerospace Workers Union and The Carpenters and Joiners Union. Pretty heavy hitters all and all with far more members and individuals represented.

What does this tell me? Well, to begin with it tells me that the Beer Wholesalers could never have gotten anyone in Congress to listen to them whine about needing protection, let alone get a bill introduced into Congress and hearings held, if it all depended on the merits of their case.

It also explains to me why wholesalers continue to control consumer access to alcohol in this country, even though they clearly have no conception of what consumers want or need.

But there's more information. The leading recipient of Beer Wholesaler money was....wait for it...Rep. John Conyers, Democrat from Michigan, who chairs the Judiciary Committee where the Beer Wholesalers Protection Act (also known as H.R. 5034) was heard in committee. Representative Conyers received $56,700 from the beer wholesalers PAC. That's $44,200 more than the next most flush recipient.

But wait, there's more. During this same period, the NBWA has spent $420,000 lobbying Congress and the federal government, employing more than 40 registered lobbyists to do so. The only thing we know they haven't spent a lot of money on is public relations, given the fact that their primary objective—passing H.R. 5034—has been universally panned as mere protectionism by anyone and everyone in the media.

But consider this...The other major supporter of H.R. 5034 is the Wine & Spirit Wholesalers of America. They have spent $1.1 million on campaign contributions this election cycle.  Combined with the NBWA that's more than $3,500,000 that can be attributed to consumer purchasing wine, beer and spirits that has been used to try to keep consumers from accessing the wines they want, to try to keep producers of alcohol from keeping more of the money they earn from producing the stuff, and to try to prevent retailers from filling consumers' orders of wine via the Internet that consumers couldn't get filled in their local retail outlet because wholesalers won't bring the wines in and offer them.

If you are wondering how much the two primary wine producing associations (Wine Institutet of America and Wine America) spent on campaign contributions this year, here you go: $182,000.

The ugly part of all this is that the only reason wholesaler can gin up this kind of cash to buy laws is because the three tier system gives them the kind of protection that keeps them from truly having to compete for the business they are now granted by the states who maintain the three tier system.

And what happens at the state level where campaign contributions are concerned? According to FollowTheMoney.org, during 2009 and 2010, beer wholesaler associations have contributed more than $3,000,000 to campaigns of politicians running for state office.

The end result? Wine consumers who only want fair and well regulated access to wine, but are too often shut out of simply ordering a bottle of wine from a winery or a retailer, are outgunned by wholesalers who make billions of dollars off the backs of consumers.

That's one reason I know that the American Wine Consumer Coalition is necessary.

Things To Do In Napa #2: Fried Doughy Love

The density of culinary delights that exist in the Napa Valley creates the kind of attraction that foodies have to this region that might be compared to the way matter gets sucked into a black hole. The culinarily inclined simply can't resist the pull of this valley.

I mentioned one such example of culinary decadence in an earlier post. The doughnut holes produced at Solbar located on the grounds of the sumptuous Solage Spa and Resort located just south of Calistoga provides a second example of something that makes foodies crawl up into a fetal position and rock back and forth.

These little pieces of fried doughy love are a staple at Solbar, a beautiful restaurant I retreated to last night with the lovely Kathy and two great friends. In addition to harboring a GREAT Wine Program, Solbar delivers a fantastic menu of creative an comfortable food. But I've yet to get through an appetizer or an entree at this place without being interrupted with the thought of the Doughnut Holes arriving at the table later in the meal.

The Solbar Doughnut Holes come to the table in a simple basket, accompanied by some sort of sauce. Sometimes it's a chocolate sauce. Last time it was a sort of creme anglais. The accompanying sauce, while always tasty (particularly when consumed with a spoon), tends in my view to get in the way of the remarkable lightness, airiness and perfectly arrayed grains of sugar distributed around the holes that make these little items the fetal curl-inducing experience that they are.

I almost always hold the first one in my hand (they are about an inch and a half in diameter) and bite it in half. But that's a head fake toward propriety. The next one always gets popped in my mouth whole in order to get the full experience. These little balls, once enveloped by my palate, seem to pause to distribute their goodness, then melt away, as though teasing me to take in another the way the residual effects of heroin pull on an addict who is just nearly finished coming down from their last fix.

Napa Valley is indeed a culinary Nirvana. Clearly it has developed into such a thing by virtue of its concentration on wine production that sucks within its borders the foodies among us looking to fulfill their desire to indulge in the hedonism of the palate.

But it is the individual experiences of the palate, like this Fried Doughy Pieces of Love that Solbar pushes, that people talk about when they recount their Napa Valley food experiences.