Sure, it's another cheesy end of year wrap-up post.
But you know what?
I dig these recaps - call it a guilty pleasure. It sure beats writing an entire new post and trying to come up with compelling content (hey, it's the end of the year... I'm tired, man!).
Actually, there was nothing easy about compiling the list that I'm about to give to you, and I'm sure the inclusions and omissions will piss some people off somewhere. That isn't my intention, and this is not a best-of list by any stretch of the imagination.
The following presents my Top 10 Most Interesting Wines of 2008.
It is NOT a list of the best wines released in 2008. It is a list of wines that I tasted in 2008, and found the most interesting this year. They are presented with a synopsis of my tasting notes, and my reflections on why they were included in the list. Some of them I bought, some of them were media samples, others were tasted at events. No one gets special treatment once the pen hits the notebook that logs my tastings.
The list is not based on scores or any other numerical rating. The wines were chosen based on my tasting notes from all of the wines that I tasted and recorded in 2008. Bear in mind that I am not employed as a wine critic, and I do not taste thousands of wines per year. I did, however, taste well over 400 wines in 2008, which I think is probably more than the average bear. I will leave it to you whether or not the Lush designation is applicable in this context (I did spit... sometimes... at least twice...).
What I'm hoping to do here is clue you into something unique, different, or of exceptional quality for the price - as I see it in the wine world. Hopefully you will find it useful. Anyway, without further ado, here they are...
10) 2006 Benton-Lane "First Class" Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley): Layers of strawberry jam, cherry cola & vanilla. Pure heaven with salmon cakes.
I agonized over the #10 spot in this list - as you can imagine, there were about 50 wines that could have gone into this first slot. I went with the Benton-Lane because,well, it surprised me. It surprised me in that it was one of the biggest, heftiest Willamette's I've had in terms of structure, but still managed to exude a definite sense of place. Balance, baby, balance.
9) 2005 Opus One (Oakville): Supple, hedonistic & built for long haul. Mint leaf & spices floating over black fruit suggest great things to come.
Was the inclusion of this wine a reflection on my tour of Opus this year, and my frank and detailed discussions with their staff? Well.... duh. Of course it is (despite the fact that one visiting intern thought that I was Gary Vaynerchuk... I had the same reaction as you: "Uhm... What?!!??").
And that's okay, because wine is an experience and is influenced by the circumstances under which we drink it. But this wine is no slouch, and it had one of the best senses of balance I've tasted in a long time - between Old World & New World styles, between primary fruit and secondary aromas, and between early accessibility & ageing potential.
8) 2002 Penns Woods Ameritage Reserve (PA): Bord'x style blend from PA. YES, IT'S FROM PA. Fig, prune, cedar, probably their best vintage ever.
Anyone following 1WD will NOT be surprised by the inclusion of this one. This wine, for me, helped to redefine not only what PA wine is capable of, but what East Coast wine is capable of, and how well some areas of the U.S. can implement an Old World style of wine.
7) 2004 Sonoma-Cutrer "Les Pierres" (Sonoma Valley): When isn't it a pleasure? Flint, lemon curd, citrus peel, roses, apples, cream. I could go on.
I'm including this wine in my list because I'm astounded at Sonoma-Cutrer's consistency. This is probably my favorite U.S. Chardonnay, and to date is still my favorite Chard. globally, and I'm actually more partial to the Chablis style so if you can figure that one out please explain it to me so I don't feel as though I'm going insane. Anyway, this wine has never disappointed me, and the `04 peels away layer after layer of complexity as you drink it.
6) 2001 Hugel Gewurztraminer Vendage Tardive (Alsace): Viscous, loads of citrus, lychee, & autumn leaves. Holy Hannah it's good! But not cheap.
As a wine geek, I like to think that I can appreciate a wine made for wine geeks. And this, my friends, is a wine geek's viscous dream. I have a sweet tooth, and while this wine certainly delivers in its touch of sweetness, the slam dunk is how the sweetness and acidity are balanced by the intense fruit and the funk-a-junk-funkiness. It's the kind of wine that makes some people say "Hmm... I'm not too sure about this one...," but has the wine geeks licking their lips in delight. Score!
5) 2003 Vinoptima Gewurztraminer (Ormond, NZ): Yowza! Oil, lemons, honey, orange blossoms, spice. I could sniff this stuff for *days*...!
You know that you're liking a wine when you realize, after 7 or 8 minutes of smelling it, that you love it but you've yet to even take your first sip. There is nothing shy about this Gewurz, and the only downside is that the booze might knock you out before you've gotten enough of this wine. Best dry Gewurz. I've tasted all year. And yes, that's two Gewurz's in a row. On purpose.
4) NV Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle (Champagne): Like fresh-baked almond bread with honey. A minor triumph of grace & strength. Excellent stuff.
I tasted this wine at an industry event, and it stood out for me above dozens & dozens of other wines that I tasted that night. Powerful, but graceful as well, it's like... it's like seeing a tamed pet panther wearing a diamond-studded collar. You're not sure how they did it, but you're damn interested!
3) 2005 Le Premier Pas Domaine Le Pas de l'Escalette (Cot. du Languedoc): Harmonious blend of S. Rhone grapes. French red without the shackles.
What do you get when you lift the AOC burden of varietals, blend percentages, and vinification and viticulture techniques from French winemakers? In the case of this wine, you get as much creativity as any New World wine, with a deliciously well-integrated result. Hey! France!! Give Us Free!!!
2) 2005 Volta Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): 1st vintage, limited run from Howell Mtn. fruit. Lush as all get-out, with lazer-focused tannins.
I have a soft-spot for Volta this year. They're fans of the blog. They're nice peeps. And I was the first to ever review their wine in the media. They've since gone on to accumulate an impressive array of accolades from palates much better and more influential than mine. And they deserve it, because this wine is a tour de force of just how good Howell Mountain fruit can be when you treat it right. To get it that right on the first try is quite an achievement.
And now... the #1 most interesting wine that I've tasted in 2008... (drumroll ensues)...
1) 1999 Gutzler Vintage Riesling Sekt Extra Brut (Rheinhessen): Stellar trad. method bubbly with peach, apricot, & non-stop creamy yeastiness.
No, it's not a typographical error. Yes, I did actually mean to list a sparkling German Riesling as my #1 most interesting wine tasted in 2008. Yes, I am sober as I type this.
No other wine in 2008 threw me for quite as high arcing of a loop as this one. What this wine did was prove to me beyond a doubt that Riesling is the noblest of all white wine grape varietals, with a purity of expression that, in the right hands, has the capacity to shine through in any format, whether it be dry, sweet, still, or bubbly. In the words of my main man Michael Broadbent:"German wine-lovers may place Riesling first, but I place it second (to Cabernet Sauvignon) in the hierarchy of noble grape varieties. Like Cabernet Sauvignon, it has consistent strength of character which shows through even after transplanting."
Number two, with a bullet!
There you have it. Now, back to my frantic holiday madness...
Cheers!
(images: 1WineDude.com, wineaccess.com, binendswine.com)
The Dude's Top 10 Most Interesting Wines of 2008
10 Free Wine Web Resources You Probably Aren't Using
We're all short on cash in these times of recess -er, I mean, economic challenge. So the Dude has compiled a list of his 10 favorite wine resources on the web. All of them FREE. Each one will cost you exactly $0.00 to use. Bumpkis. Nada. Goose-eggs.
You can thank me later, by clicking the "Make a Donation" button on the Left and sending me some cash. Oh... uhm... wait a second... never mind...
Anyway, chances are that even if you're an experienced wine geek, you probably are not using some of these gems. I've found them to be extremely useful, or helpful in a pinch, and in some cases downright indispensable. Hopefully you'll find them valuable as well (look at it this way - you're almost guaranteed to at least get what you paid for `em!)...
Wine & Health: Wondering if putting back those wines is putting years on your life ahead of your time? Wonder no more - the Professional Friends of Wine have compiled a wealth of wine health information in their Wine Health 101 Section.
Cheers!
(images: freefoto.com, ox.ac.uk, thelanguagemenu.com)
1WineDude's Top 10 Budget Wine Picks
(images: piperreport.com, amazon.com, storeappeal.com)
It is with much trepidation that I publish this post.
Not that I don't enjoy giving wine advice. I love it, acutally.
I especially love when people tell me that they truly enjoyed a wine that I recommended to them. When I hear that those wines opened people up to new culinary and epicurean levels of enjoyment, I am one very happy wine dude.
It's just that I prefer to give this advice one-on-one, and tailor it to an individual's or business' specific needs. Once I publish this sort of stuff in one way or another, I invariably get flamed from people who feel that I snuffed/ignored/disrespected their favorite budget wine pick.
BUT... you folks keep asking me for it, so I'm gonna bite the bullet and go ahead and give you -
To make the cut, the wine needs to a) have a decent enough amount of production / distribution that most people won't have a difficult time finding it, b) offer a consistent level of quality bang-for-the-buck, & c) cost less than $20 USD. The wines are offered in no particular order. Where I have previously reviewed the wine on twitter, I've included a link to the 'mini-review.'Whites
- Smoking Loon Viognier (CA) - Good varietal character, a nice into. to a Chardonnay alternative if you're willing to branch out.
- Hess Chardonnay (CA) - Not too oaky & well put-together.
- Chateau Ste. Michele Gewürztraminer (WA) - Consistently yummy. Mini-review
- Salmon Run Riesling (NY) - Contains some of the best aspects of this underrated varietal, at a low price.
- Quinta da Aveleda Vinho Verde Branco (Portugal) - Improbably cheap, with nice spritz and refreshing fruit. Mini-review
Reds
- Banfi Centine (Italy) - "Super Tuscan" type blend for the rest of us. Mini-review
- Ravenswood Old Vine Lodi Zinfandel (CA) - Dark and jammed with fruit. Mini-review
- Firesteed Pinot Noir (OR) - An elegant introduction to OR Pinot.
- Misterio Malbec (Argentina) - Black as tar and tasty. Mini-review
- Francis Coppola Diamond Claret (CA) - Accessible Bordeaux-style blend at a fair price. Mini-review
The more astute readers out there will already have noted that the vasy majority of these wines are made in the USA. To be honest, the list would more accurately be titled "DUDE'S TOP 10 BUDGET WINE PICKS IF YOU LIVE IN THE U.S." There are only 3 non-USA producers in my list, representing (in order of appearance) Portugal, Italy, & Argentina.The reason for this is twofold:
1) I live in the U.S., so I'm giving you what are good budget picks available to me, and
2) Aussie, NZ, German, French, and Spanish wines are not currently offering particularly good value for money in the U.S. (my opinion). The ones that do are notoriously difficult to locate (which usually ends up driving up their prices eventually anyway).
I'd like to think that this could be a bit of a wake-up call to budget importers and producers from those countries who want to succeed in the huge U.S. wine consumer market... but my Google Analytics reports suggest that I don't yet have that kind of influence on the world's wine blogging readership :-).
Cheers!
The Top 10 Wine Books You Really Need (How To Become a Wine Geek - Part I)
This post is the first in a three-part series where Dude will give you a 'wine insider's' take on how to seriously up your 'wine geek' knowledge (and hone your overall wine-tasting skills along with your "impress your party goers" wine profile).
When this Dude gives in-home wine tastings, probably the most frequently asked question is "How can I learn more about wine?" As Lao-tzu once said, "The Great Way is Easy" and he may have well been talking about obtaining wine knowledge, because Dude has been there and he can tell you that all it takes is three things:
- An open mind
- Patience
- More Patience
I usually recommend a three-step program, which I will cover individually in three posts (counting this as #1, with the others to follow relatively shortly):
- Read (see below)
- Taste
- Be Bold
The Top 10 Wine Books You Really Need
For Beginners
1. Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine by Mark Oldman
The book I wish I'd had as budding a wine novice. Mark Oldman provides what might be the best and most well-paced (not to mention most practical) wine introduction book on the market. As a beginner, you will not be disappointed.2. Wine for Dummies by Ed McCarthy & Mary Ewing-Mulligan
THE starting point for your induction into the world of wine. I know the brother of one of the authors, both of whom really, really, really know their stuff.3. How To Taste by Jancis Robinson
Great reading for the beginner who wants to learn more about how to enjoy wine, all done in an open and not-so-stuffy style. The important thing about this book is the emphasis on how to taste wine, which (as we will explore in Dude's next post), is the single most important skill you can build to up your wine IQ.Intermediate
4. The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil
A mighty tome of accessible wine knowledge, with excellent primers on the wine regions of the world for the beginner wine enthusiast, but also with tons of detail for the advancing wine geek as well. A fantastic achievement and a book that will prove to be a valuable resource for years to come (I still refer back to my tattered copy).5. Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book
Updated every year, this book packs a ridiculous amount of handy wine information into an impossibly small amount of space. The abbreviations take some getting used to, but once you have them down you will wonder how you even wandered into a wine store without the handy reviews. It's also a great reference to have in the kitchen when trying to match up wine styles with dinner.6. The New Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia by Tom Stevenson
A reference that is so handy, I destroyed the binding on my copy within weeks from overuse! I know both wine fans and wine industry pros that use this book, and it's handy - and accessible enough - for both. Plus, Tom does not hold back his opinions on developments in the world's wine regions and in the progress towards top quality from each area's most important wines - not watered-down, and therefore entertaining as well as informative.Advanced
7. The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson & Jancis Robinson
A beautiful coffee-table sized book for the budding wine geek, it's an essential reference for those interested in increasing their detailed knowledge of where their favorites wines come from and why that plays such an important part in why those wines taste they way that they do.8. The Oxford Companion to Wine by Jancis Robinson
This weighty tome is *the* wine reference book for the wine geek and wine professional. Not exactly easy to read in bed, but when you find yourself absolutely needing to know what terms like Recioto mean, you need this book. Also handy for finding interesting wine blog topics (and by the time you're ready for this book, you will probably have your own wine blog...).9. Wine Report (Annual) by Tom Stevenson
Another reference updated annually, this one is for the wine professional (or only the most serious of wine geeks). A great read for finding out what's new and noteworthy in the world's major wine regions and the industry in general.Essential at Every Level
10. Your Very Own Wine Journal
You need your own wine journal to capture your reactions to wines that you taste, build an understanding of what you like (and dislike), and sharpen up your wine tasting vocabulary. The importance of this will get explored in my next post - but for now, just trust the Dude and get yourself a wine journal! (dude recommends the Little Black Wine Book).
The bad news - The whole kit & kaboodle will set you back about $150 - $175. So buy 'em in stages (don't worry, none of these are likely to go out of print anytime too soon).
The very good news is that the general state of wine writing - much like the general state of wine itself - has never been better, so you will get your moolah's worth. Long-time, prolific, and talented writers like Jancis Robinson, as well as a multitude of fine bloggers, are contributing accessible and well-written wine knowledge. Come on in - the water is fine!
