Top 5 Underdog Wine Varieties

There are a lot of wine grapes that don’t get their due but there are five that I think should get some more respect. And I’m going to do something about it by not just pointing them out here but also reviewing wines made from these grapes on the blog and podcast. The wine world [...]

Top 5 Underdog Wine Varieties originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

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Hip hop somms, deforestation, Presidential dining ? sipped & spit

SIPPED/NOT SIPPED: Presidential wine President Obama dined at restaurant Daniel in NYC last night. Wine director Daniel Johnnes (pictured above, right) tweeted that the wine selections would include Sandhi Chardonnay made by his friend sommelier Raj Parr. He tweeted: “Sandhi means alliance. What could be better?” But chef Boulud himself joined the discussion: ” Sorry [...]

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Deal Alert: $35 for $70 from Wine.com

Quick one for you today:
Eversave is offering $70 worth of wine from Wine.com for $35 

Note that as with previous offers they've run, the voucher cannot be applied towards shipping nor tax. On the positive side of things, wine.com can ship to Massachusetts -and- we don't have tax on alcohol here.

To amortize the cost of shipping across more purchases I bought their Steward Ship program last year. It's kind of like Amazon Prime where you pay once for all your shipping for the year. They ran a special on it for $25 last year and the shipping can be extended to gifts as well.

Hit the comments below to share some tips on the best deals they have right now. I went for 2 bottles of the 2008 Belle Glos Las Alturas Pinot Noir for $34.99/btl. More on that wine in this California v. Oregon Pinot Noir showdown.

Offer ends Friday June 17th, 2011.


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Five from Stepping Stone

We?ve enjoyed pretty much everything that our friends at Cornerstone Cellars in Napa Valley have sent us to sample over the past few years, from both their flagship Cornerstone label and their second, Stepping Stone. Recently, we took possession of five of the current Stepping Stone offerings, and tried them over a series of evenings. [...]

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Is it ?Game on? in the Wine World?

Lord help the wine traditionalists if it is true: Technology entrepreneur Seth Preibatsch suggests that the next decade of digital innovation will be about the, “Game Layer.”

The “Game Layer,” is a dynamic that was introduced to the wine world last week when, within a day of each other, VinTank, a Napa-based digital consultancy, and Snooth Media each announced their own spin on the new, new thing in digital – game-like elements as a part of the wine + online experience; a sort of Farmville meets educational “Atta boy.”

If the announcements didn’t register with you mentally, you’re in good company:  Neither press release (here and here) passed the “30 Second Rule”—the law of the PR jungle that says if it’s not understandable in 30 seconds it can’t be that important.  Yet, it’s hardly the fault of VinTank or Snooth—it’s just that people are still getting their heads around QR codes and aren’t ready for a potential game-changer (no pun intended) on the order of the, “Game Layer.” However, these developments bear watching even if we’re a good 18 months out from broader awareness.

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To date, your experience with online games is probably stratified into three categories:

Xbox, PlayStation or Nintendo

A glancing familiarity with World of Warcraft (and the pale, sunken-eyed souls who play it)

The annoyance of Farmville or Mafia Wars on Facebook (Initiated by the kid you never talked to in high school who inexplicably friended you up and now spams your email inbox with Farmville crap)

What’s emerging beyond that (and social networking), driven by the growth of digital marketing and smart phones in the mobile space, is the incorporation of elements of gaming into our daily interactions and information consumption.

To understand this, it’s helpful to understand some of the terminology:

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Game Layer: An opaque term that Preibatsch, the precocious 22-year old founder of a tech company called SCVNGR, uses to define the next wave of innovation this decade, a philosophy that he thinks is far more revolutionary (and he is far more apt to profit from) than the previous decade that was marked by the, “Social Layer” i.e. social networking.  The “Game Layer” suggests that all of our interactions (what we do and why we do it) can be influenced by game mechanics.

Game Mechanics / Game Dynamics:  The universal law(s) that is inherent in gameplay – from Old Maid to Monopoly to online.  This story lists 47 game dynamics that SCVNGR follows in its client efforts.

Game Theory (from Answers.com): A mathematical method of decision-making in which a competitive situation is analyzed to determine the optimal course of action for an interested party, often used in political, economic, and military planning. 

Both the VinTank program (called VinPass) and the Snooth program (called Wine Rack) are similar in nature and use a “Game Layer” on top of digital wine activity incorporating “Game Mechanics”—offering badges and other digital ephemera-based incentives for performing activities like writing tasting notes or demonstrating knowledge.

As an aside, now is a good time to note that the clichéd saying about Generation Y parental coddling and, “Everybody gets a trophy” is no longer the province of youth soccer leagues.  Ahem.

VinPass’ program is chiefly sponsored by the Wines of France and is multi-platform.  This means that users at various wine social networking sites like Winelog.net and wine mobile applications like Drync can “unlock” digital badges based on drinking and writing tasting notes related to French wines like Beaujolais, Champagne and wines from regions like the Loire Valley.  Additional, real world incentives can be achieved, as well – discounts on purchases of event tickets and such.

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Wine Rack by Snooth appears to be a more fully realized program upon launch and offers digital “trophies” to users who read, take quizzes, taste and rate wines at Snooth.com.  Their program launches with title sponsorship from Terlato Wines International.  Similar to VinPass, users (in an undefined way) can earn tangible rewards like access to tastings and offers from retailers.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about these so-called, “Game mechanics” embedded into otherwise normal digital wine activities. 

Wine and digital engagement, in all of its variations, can act as a great democratizing counter-balance against the historical empiricism of the wine elite. However, progress wrought over the last five to six years has a great opportunity to step backwards if game-like elements take hold.  A game, inherently, is a zero-sum proposition:  there are winner and there are losers.  Wine has seen enough of that, no?  I wait with bated breath to hear the first braggart that has accumulated 30 digital trophies who then takes to his high horse …

In addition, there’s a seedy underbelly with these “Game mechanics” that isn’t quite simpatico with privacy issues.  When Snooth co-founder and CTO Mark Angelillo says the Wine Rack idea was borne out of the notion of, “Give(ing) users a better idea of how they were learning and growing with wine, how they were getting interested in the product and how they were progressing through playing with wine data” my first thought wasn’t, “This is a user benefit” it was, “This is a marketing benefit”—as in: Wouldn’t wine marketers love to buy this sort of information.

Another sore point is that the education a user obtains from reading and going through quizzes on these sites doesn’t have any tangible value.  Wouldn’t an inordinate amount of time spent earning a badge be so much more useful if it mapped to a baseline knowledge marker on an actual wine certification?  Why, yes, it would.

Despite these initial misgivings, it’s hard to slow down the digital zeitgeist and all indications point to the “Game Layer” and “Game Mechanics” becoming a much more significant and present part of our lives and digital engagement.

If you’re the sort that views life like a competitive chess match, you’re in luck.  If you’re an accidental tourist in life who avoids conflict and competition while seeking respite in the calming waters of the wine world, well, maybe there will be a “Trophy” for that in the Game of Wine.  

Additional Information
Ed. Note:  Preibatsch has the platform to get in front of the so-called “Game Layer” revolution, but McGonigal has the cred.

- TED speech by Seth Preibatsch
- TED speech by Jane McGonigal, Ph.D and author of, “Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World”
- Games People Play: Game Theory in Life, Business, and Beyond by The Great Courses

Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/is_it_game_on_in_the_wine_world/

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Mas Des Dames, Rose, Coteaux Du Languedoc 2009

Outside here in Minnesota it’s in the mid 20′s Fahrenheit with a thick snowpack. It is far from springtime here but a bit of spring can be had here inside a bottle of dry rosé. Every spring and summer I resolve to drink more rosé but for one reason or another rarely do. So I [...]

Mas Des Dames, Rose, Coteaux Du Languedoc 2009 originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

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Tasting Report: 2008 Denner The Dirt Worshipper

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The most notable "buy" indicators coming out of Wine Spectator the past six months have been for big Rhône-styled reds from Paso Robles, California.

The 2007 Saxum James Berry Vineyard Paso Robles was named the Wine Spectator Wine of the Year for 2010. With a $67 release point and a 98 point rating it would seem to be one to seek out. But it was sold almost entirely via mailing list and combined with a 100 point score from Robert Parker (calling it "utter perfection") it was never really in play unless you were on the mailing list. It sells north of $300 at auction these days.

But just behind this wine were a fleet of 95+ pointers from other winemakers in Paso Robles. Some of the names were vaguely familiar - Booker, Jaffurs, Justin. Others I'd never heard of like Herman Story, Epoch, and Torrin. I always enjoy Spectator's pieces featuring up and coming producers. Like this article by MaryAnn Worobiec highlighting seven up and coming Paso Robles producers (subscription required).

Articles like this have provided me with a way of becoming familiar with winemakers when they're small enough to handle customer interactions themselves, their mailing lists are open, and best of all their prices are relatively low. None of these high scoring wines carry a release price more than $100 and many sell for $50 or less. Compare this with Napa and Paso Robles is a value play.

Back in 2007 a similar article about 12 Hot New California Pinot Noir Producers turned me on to Clary Ranch, Zepaltas, and Black Kite. As I look back at that list now - guess which name is there? Rhys! It was right there in front of me for 4 years and I didn't make the connection until just now.  Amazing.

When the 2008 vintage of Paso Robles wines came to market two caught my eye for their quality to price ratio: The 2008 Herman Story Nuts & Bolts (95WS/$36) and the 2008 Denner The Dirt Worshipper (97WS/$45).

My efforts to find some of the Herman Story weren't fruitful (though reading their website is time well spent). I was able to obtain a half-case of the Denner directly from the winery.

The Spectator article identifies Denner as the epicenter of the west Paso wine scene. They produce grapes purchased by other producers like Epoch and Torrin and they also produce wines with their own label. Rob and Marilyn Denner own over 100 acres in Paso Robles and 25-year-old (!) Anthony Yount is their winemaker.

I cracked open one of the The Dirt Worshippers last night. It was a winner. 

What they said:

The Dirt Worshipper is a wine whose sole focus is the expression of cool climate terroir through a Syrah medium. This wine is a blend of 42% Syrah from the frigid, coastal Bassetti Vineyard near Cambria, 53% Denner Estate Syrah from the coolest, latest ripening blocks, and 5% Denner Estate Viognier to perfume this beastly hedonistic wine. Please enjoy! (from the back label)

This hedonistic beauty has upfront aromas of sarsaparilla, vanilla bean and black raspberries. Undertones of eucalyptus and white pepper come through on second emanation. Coffee crusted steak, huckleberry compote and dried Provencial herbs pioneer a precise finish with chalky tannins and great length. 95% Syrah, 5% Viognier. (from winery website) 

What I thought:

2008 Denner The Dirt Worshipper
95% Syrah 5% Viognier
15.6% alcohol
810 cases produced

A massive wine with a silty, muddy appearance. Aromatically complex with dried blueberries, bacon cooking on a Saturday morning, and white pepper. Stunning depth and density. High alcohol and I had some concerns about it being overripe. But it keeps thing under control and I enjoyed it.

Hard to stop drinking. Quite nice. 

93/100 WWP: Outstanding 

Outlook:

Based on this experience I'm looking forward to trying more wines from Paso Robles. The 2008 Dirt Worshipper is selling for north of $100 at auction now but the 2009s are coming to market at attainable price points. I'd recommend checking a couple of them out if the style sounds at all appealing to you.

Question of the Day: What do you think of big Paso Robles reds? Is this the next big category in California wine?


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