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Drink the Good Stuff!

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Concepts in Understanding Wine: Location

In our previous post about the importance of not tasting blind, we briefly touched on the significance of knowing the region in which a wine was produced before tasting and assessing the wine. The location should give a taster clues regarding what to expect from the wine which should, in turn, help the taster review the wine in context.

We believe that a wine from Napa should taste like it is from Napa, a wine from Bordeaux should taste like it is from Bordeaux, and so on. Whether you are an educated wine consumer or at the mercy of a retail clerk or sommelier, you should have some inclination of what is going to be in a bottle of wine before you buy it and uncork it. Part of a wine's identity rests in its region of origin or else why would you decide to purchase wine from a specific region in the first place?

As an example, the climate in Napa is such that, generally speaking and in typical vintages, the Cabernets produced there are bold, full-bodied and full of ripe, rich fruit. Of course there are microclimates that cause discernible variations among the different sub-AVAs (American Viticulture Areas) and even some vineyard sites within Napa but by and large the sunny weather and long growing season help to produce wines with opulent fruit flavors.

If these typical characteristics are not evident in a Napa Valley Cabernet, a taster can conclude that, for instance, the wine is from an atypical vintage, the grapes were picked too early, or something is being done in the winery to adjust the style of wine. A wine that tastes wildly out of character for its particular region is probably fighting against the very factors that make it unique. Moreover, it is confusing to a consumer who expects wines from particular regions to adhere to the basic regional styles. This is not to say that all wine is made in a 'regional style' or that it should be. It is our job as professional wine critics to highlight the differences in wines and the reasons for those differences so that consumers can make a more educated buying decision based on what they know about their palate.

If you have tasted a number of Napa Cabs and enjoy their fruit forward and opulent style, it may be disappointing to you to taste a wine made out of the valley that is made in a very earthy, "Bordeaux style." Alternatively, if you are interested in branching out and trying different styles, it would be useful for you to know that not all Napa Cabs are made alike.

Location is just one of the pieces that make up a wine's unique character. In subsequent posts we will discuss vintage/weather and varietal character as well as winery and winemaker style in terms of evaluating wine and as a bigger part of the concept of not tasting blind.

On the importance of not tasting blind

It is important for us to discuss the general philosophy behind how we taste wine. By outlining the methods and reasons behind our critiques, our subscribers will have a better understanding of how they should weigh our reviews relative to their own palates and wine drinking experiences.

The Blind Leading the Blind

Some people are ardent proponents of the "double blind" method of tasting. For those that are unaware, this method means that the taster is kept in the dark about everything related to the wine. The taster does not know the vintage, region, winery or even the varietal being poured. Why is it “double” and not “triple” or “quadruple”? We don’t know. What we do know is that it is the stuff of James Bond movies and elitist snobbery with one participant claiming the wine to be a 1945 Mouton-Rothschild while another is insistent it is the '61 Lafite.

This method, although no doubt an entertaining cocktail trick, does not enable the taster to judge the wine by applying prior knowledge regarding typical vintage, region and varietal characteristics as well as archetypal winery style. Think of it this way. If a taster assumes that a big, juicy, fruit forward, approachable wine showing black currant and vanilla is a 2002 Napa Cabernet when it is actually a 1996 Left Bank Bordeaux, who's really "getting it wrong" here - the taster or the producer?

Leveling the Playing Field

A less stringent and we think more useful blind tasting is the so-called "single blind" tasting. In this method the taster is aware of the region, vintage and varietal of the wine, but not the winery or wineries being poured. This is obviously an attempt to avoid "winery bias". By tasting wines single blind, the intent is to avoid fawning over a critical "darling" and to judge all wines on their relative merits. Although in some ways this method does level the playing field, it is not ideal as crucial information about the wine itself is left out of the equation.

Each winery is unique and as such the wines posses a unique "style". We have witnessed firsthand, and with great interest, the way proprietors inject their personalities and philosophies into their wines. It would be a shame to not take that into consideration as it is the very soul of the wine. At the professional wine tasting level, we fail to agree with the “bias” argument because we believe that avoiding bias is accomplished at the expense of understanding what the wine is trying to say with respect to its own identity. In fact, we believe knowing the winery actually decreases bias as far as personal tastes are concerned. A taster may, for example, bestow a mediocre review on a Philip Togni wine because they sense a greenness that does not appeal to them. In reality, Philip Togni produces some very well made, well balanced wines and we have found the greenness to be an integral component of the winery’s style.

All that being said, there is a place for single blind tastings (do try this at home — it’s great fun!) and we will continue to make use of them when we it is feel beneficial to do so.

The Importance of Identity

The bottom line is that each wine is unique. We believe it is of utmost importance to taste wine with as much background information as possible in order to understand what the wine is saying. Personal character is what makes wine so special and our boots are set firmly in the camp that believes homogeneity is a bad thing. We have tasted thousands of bottles of wine from the basic to the iconic over many different vintages. We assure you that any fascination with (or aversion to) a particular winery wore off long ago. In the end, we have to ask our subscribers to trust that we are expressing our honest opinion about what is in the bottle and not what is expected of the bottle. It may take some time (and even some single blind tastings) for fledgling tasters to vilify a $200 wine while singing the praises of a $20 wine. All we can say is be brave and the self-assurance will follow.

To Be Continued...

This is the first in a series of blog posts on the subject of Bon Vivant’s wine reviewing philosophy. In later installments, we will delve into specific concepts more in more detail. Stay tuned and, please, reveal yourself and let us know what you think.

Bordeaux Varietals & Beyond

We think focus is an important concept in the wine world. One of the most intriguing things about the subject of wine is that it is constantly changing and evolving. You can't possibly be an expert on every country, region and grape variety out there. Think of it this way. Australia was but a blip on the wine screen just a few years ago and now you can't walk into a retail shop without seeing shelves and shelves of the Aussie stuff.

As you know by now if you are reading this blog, The Bon Vivant Wine Guide is focused on Bordeaux varietal wines. The main regions Bon Vivant covers are Bordeaux (naturally), California and Tuscany. The guide also covers other world regions delving into Bordeaux varietals including South Africa, Chile, Washington State, and the list goes on. We chose to focus on Bordeaux varietals because they are among the most iconic and collected wines in the world and, frankly, we really like 'em.

Variety, however, is the spice of life and that is why we will occasionally look beyond the Bordeaux varietals to bring our subscribers information filled super reports on other illustrious countries and regions such as Italy and Champagne. If you are a fan of bold Barolos, velvety Brunellos and luscious Amarones, look no further than our Italian Super Reports scheduled for May and November each year. If you prefer a good bubbly -- celebration or not -- tune in to our Champagne & Sparkling Wine Super Reports biannually in June and December.

The aim of these reports is to add value for our subscribers on subjects and wines that we are passionate and knowledgeable about. After all, we know that even those enthusiasts that are crazy about drinking and collecting Bordeaux varietal wines need to reboot the palate every once in a while!

A Fusion of Tastes from South Africa

We attended a South African wine dinner last night hosted by Cape Classics and featuring wines from De Toren among others. South Africa is producing some noteworthy Bordeaux varietal wines and Bon Vivant is always keen on keeping up with regions outside the main focus of Bordeaux, California and Tuscany.

De Toren’s story is of particular interest as they were the first to produce a South African wine to include the five Bordeaux varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. De Toren is in Stellenbosch, close to the Atlantic Ocean, which accounts for, at least in part, the successful growing of Bordeaux varietals. The first vintage of the wine, called Fusion V in a nod to the five grape varietals used in the blend, was 1999 and De Toren is now releasing the 2004 vintage.

An interesting tidbit we learned about the wine at dinner is that the final blend is not created by winemaker Albie Koch and owners Emil and Sonette Den Dulk alone but they are joined by other South African winemakers, sommeliers, and wine drinkers in an effort to come up with a an appealing assemblage of quality wine. And so they have, in Bon Vivant’s opinion. We have enjoyed every vintage we have tasted of this juicy, delicious and well-balanced wine (stay tuned for more extensive notes and grades when www.bonvivantwineguide.com launches.) Another fact we found intriguing is that when the varietals are tasted separately from barrel, the Malbec tends to be a hands-down favorite. Watch your back Argentina! Should we look forward to a varietal Malbec from South Africa in the future? No official word on that.

In a bit of news, De Toren is getting ready to release a “right bank wine” to complement the “left bank” influenced Fusion V, called Z. The wine will have a higher percentage of Merlot and Cabernet Franc and the idea is to make a rounder, fruiter wine with less tannin that is more suited to early drinking. The grapes for Z come from a separate vineyard that features soils more akin to the right bank of Bordeaux. The first vintage is 2004 and we can only hope that De Toren’s efforts pay off. We certainly look forward to raising a glass to their progress.

Oh tease me, please

As we ramp up, we want you to keep an eye on the official blog. We have lots more to come and on a more frequent update schedule to boot.

Our faithful blog readers will be privy to a whole host of wine related updates to sweeten up our dry but tasty site news and press. On top of that, look out for some extra wine info that will spill over from the site as we use our blog as a bit of a catch all.

Cheers!

So close we can taste it!

Hi faithful wine lovers, we are in the final stages of our beta test and all we can say is that the site rocks. Obviously, we are a tad biased but it is truly coming together nicely and hopefully will meet your expectations when you see it. We still have some kinks to work out (that whole winespeak vs. computerspeak communication gap) but we are right there.

We have long ago stopped guessing as to our offical launch date but we think we can say now that we are damn close.

Just a little spit and polish and off we go!