Ireland and Bordeaux

Nick Stephens at the Bordeaux Undiscovered blog has a great post about the ties between Ireland and Bordeaux:

Wine flowed back to Ireland from these families and in the 18th century it was said that Ireland 'flowed with wine as much as the land of Canaan with milk'. For instance in 1740, 1,000 caskets of wine were supplied from Bordeaux to England and 4,000 to Ireland. The tradition continues today with Irishmen at the helm of several chateaux: Tony Ryan at Chateau Lascombes, Lochlann Quinn at Chateau de Fieuzal and Terry Cross at Chateau de La Ligne.

You might be surprised to know that three First Growths have Irish connections. In the 1780s and 1790s Château Margaux was run by Richard and Christopher Gernon from Drogheda, Co. Louth. Other Irish families who held leases on the property over the next 15 years included the MacCarthy brothers from Cork, the Johnston family from Armagh, the Barton family from Kildare and the Fosters from Dublin.

It is absolutely worth reading the whole post. One of the things that struck me while I was in Bordeaux was the diversity of backgrounds of the people there. Obviously, the fact that Bordeaux has always been an important port town had a lot to do with it, but it seemed every Chateau I went to had a story about someone from Ireland, England, Denmark or another European country having owned the property at some point.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wine on the Rocks Interview with Thomas Duroux

Thomas Duroux is the CEO of Chateau Palmer, one of the most well-known wines of the Medoc region in Bordeaux.

Wine on the Rocks has a good interview up with Duroux. In the 5 minute segment, Duroux talks about the blending process, the 2009 Bordeaux vintage and the importance of En Primeurs.

Air-Paq

Dr. Vino writes about a new (at least to me) method forshipping wine:

When I opened the box, there was no Styrofoam. There weren't any cardboard inserts. Instead, each bottle was wrapped in an inflatable plastic sleeve. It was the first time I'd seen this.

The company is Air-Paq and they have a pretty cool video:

Brane-Cantenac on Pardon that Vine

I always worry that people will think I spend too much talking about how great Chateau Brane Cantenac is. But, I am not the only one. Chris Riccobono, from Pardon that Vine feels the same way. You can watch the video on his site

He even got to taste their 2009 vintage, which was recently blended.

Collective Brands in Wine

Evelyne Resnick, author of Wine Brands (great book) has a blog post about promoting collective brands:

One of the most interesting challenges for a wine marketer is promoting a collective brand. Champagne was certainly the most successful example of such a strategy: it is now synonymous with party, special occasion and pleasure. Unfortunately we know it backfired: consumers don't see Champagne as an everyday drink but more as the special drink open for a specific event. High prices, down economy and depressed consumers halted the trend.

The second side effect of this collective promotion was the emergence of a few internationally recognized brands and a lot of brands left in the shadow of the leaders. That's at least what a lot of smaller Champagne producers complained about. It's the case also in other areas where an umbrella brand is carried to the front. But is it really the case? Wasn't there a missing step in the Champagne smaller producers' strategy?

I see two different ways this type of collective branding occurs. The first occurs in homogenous regions like Champagne and Bordeaux, where the style of wine is similar across all producers. In this case, I think Bordeaux has actually done a better job of marketing its brand then Champagne has.

While I agree with Evelyne that Champagne has done a great job of associating itself with special occasions. I think Bordeaux has done a better job of associating itself with good wine. of course, like Champagne, it is has also come to be associated with expensive wines. Hopefully that will change with campaigns like Enjoy Bordeaux that highlight some of the more affordable Bordeaux wines while still focusing on the quality of those wines.

But, I also see the collective branding in emerging wine regions. For example, Loudoun County has its DC's Wine Country Campaign, the Winegrowers of the Grand River Valley in Ohio have Ohio Wines, Love at First Sip, and Georgian Wines have the Georgian Wine House.

These efforts are different because they aren't marketing a style of wine, instead the focus is on the region. All of these regions boast wine producers with a variety of types and styles of wine. I think this makes it hard to associate these regions with a type of wine, instead they work as a destination, or a new region to explore.

Richard Geoffroy's Blog

If you have ever wanted to know more about how the most famous Champagne in the world is made, now you can. Richard Geoffroy, Chef de Cave at Dom Perignon has started his own blog.

Blogger and SFTP

Blogger is apparently shedding their SFTP service, which is how this blog is published. At this point I am not sure how it is going to impact this blog, but it seems like a good time to initiate a redesign. I've maintained the same look and feel for over 4 years and I think it is time for something new.

If you are a designer familiar with Blogger templates and would like some work e-mail at the address to the right,

Restaurant Wine Bottle Presentation

This article has gotten a lot of attention on Twitter over the last couple of days. Specifically:

How long has it been since you ordered a glass of wine in a restaurant and had your server bring the bottle to your table, pour a little for you to taste and then finish pouring your glass as you watched?

If you think the practice is disappearing, you're right.

For me, its been about 3 hours (I know you are seeing this post at 6:55 on the 26th, but I wrote it the night before). I just don't see this practice disappearing at the places I drink. Is this something you all are seeing?

On the Cost of Classified Bordeaux Wines

Lindsay Morriss is a very good young writer based out of Bordeaux. She has an article on the Cork'd website about the cost of Classified Bordeaux wines. She makes some excellent point, most notably that most Bordeaux wines are actually quite affordable. But, the classified growths will always be more expensive because:

However, looking ahead, basic supply and demand factors virtually guarantee that the region's Grand Cru wines will continue to fetch high prices. The supply is static - government regulation ensures that vineyards don't overproduce in order to maintain high quality. Globally, demand is actually rising, with new markets emerging in China, Russia and beyond. Couple this with a great image and reduced wine tariffs (just look at Hong Kong) and you've got your answer to the original question..basic supply and demand.

A very good article.

The Ethics of Twitter

Barbara at Seattle Wine Gal has an interesting post on the ethics of tweeting about wine received gratis from a producer. From the post:

Is there a way of doing Social Media Marketing to it’s fullest extent without giving free products in exchange for online recognition? Is this ethical? Am I being bribed, or simply offered a great chance to taste wine and let other know what I think?

She asks some excellent questions, and questions that have become important to people who blog about wine. I don't have any answers, but I encourage you all to check out her comments and weigh in.

Dr Vino's Wine Person of the Decade

Dr Vino is running a poll where you can vote for wine person of the decade. The list includes such wine notables as: John Casella, Fred Franzia, Paul Giamatti, Robert Parker, and Gary Vaynerchuk. Oddly, it does not include Randy.

Sip, Swirl, Snark

Another useful Virginia wine blog is Sip, Swirl, Snark. They do a great job of talking about Virginia wineries...check them out!

A World Without Robert Parker

Randy, at the Wine Whore Blog asks an interesting question: What would the world be like without Robert Parker?.

There are two ways to interpret this question, each interpretation has a different answer.

If the question is asking: what if Robert Parker retired today and no longer did wine reviews? Then I am not sure how much of an impact that would have. I think there would be a fracturing of wine criticisms, because it is doubtful that anyone would be able to fill the role he does.

Think of it like late night talk shows. When Johnny Carson was on the air, he was the undisputed king. When he retired and Jay Leno took over, there was a fracturing and now you have Jay, David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel. I think you would see the same thing in wine, each of the competitors to Robert Parker would step up, but none would truly replace him. Which would give wineries some freedom to make the wine the way they are now, because one of the many critics out there would like the wine...and they could still publish high scores.

A more interesting interpretation of the question is: What if Robert Parker had decided to become a cellist?

Robert Parker has had a huge impact on the wine industry not just in the United States, but around the world. To the point that wines with a high concentration of fruit and lots of alcohol are considered "Parkerized" -- because that is the style he likes. Would Oregon Pinot Noir enjoy the popularity it does right now without Robert Parker? More fundamentally, would Pinot Noir enjoy the popularity it has right now without Robert Parker? Would Bordeaux wines be as popular as they are in the United States without Robert Parker? Would every guy/gal with a strong opinion on wine and a website think they were qualified to be a critic?

Some argue that Robert Parker has fundamentally changed the wine industry. Had he decided to become a cellist, would someone have stepped in and been able to do the same thing?

I don't think so.

The Other 46

Another blog to keep an eye on: The Other 46 tracks Bryan's visits and tastings through wine states that are not California, Washington, Oregon and New York. It is a very good read, check him out.

Decanted

Meghan and Tim have started a wine blog called Decanted. I really like the way they lay out their reviews and they have an eclectic taste in wine, check them out.

Terroir

Jaime Goode has a useful post on Terroir. This really is one of the more interesting topics in wine. Trying to determine how environmental factors will affect the character of the grape, and of the wine itself is an important part of the planning process in winemaking.

Wine and Cheese Pairing

Kevin Zraly has a good post on wine and cheese pairings with some really good specific pairings.

Bordeaux Wine Resources

I am going to Bordeaux the first week in September. I've decided to eschew the group tours in favor of making my own arrangements. This should give me more time to spend at each Chateau, enabling me to talk to the winemakers and hopefully getting a tour of each one I visit.

I've been looking around for Bordeaux travel resources and found a few that have been really helpful. I have really enjoyed the guides at Wine Travel Guides, the information at New Bordeaux has also been invaluable. Finally, I found a really good Bordeaux travel guide called CitySpots Bordeaux.

So, what do all of these things have in common? Jane Anson either wrote or contributed to them. That means Jane Anson is my favorite Bordeaux wine writer :).

Thunevin Blog

Jean-Luc Thunevin, original winemaker at Marojallia Margaux has his own blog. Its worth a read :).

Barrel Oak Blog

Since it appears I am in a writing slump again, you should read Brian's Barrel Oak Winery blog...just make sure you come back here :)

Charles Curtis on Wine and Food Pairing

Over at Petrossian they have an interview with Charles Curtis about wine and food pairing. Its a quick read and worth checking out, but the I think the best line is toward the end of the interview:

If you are a sommelier, you think of a dish: what is the dominant element in that dish, and what type of wine does that relate to, and of that, what looks really good on the list in front of you.

So...uhh..I'm a top 100 wine blogger? I'll hve to take two month hiatuses more often :).

I've added this blog to the Facebook blog network. If you have a Facebook account, I would appreciate it if you could click the link to the right and verify that I won this blog -- or something like that (not sure how this whole thing works).

That's the last of the Seattle/Alaska posts...which means I am only two months behind :).

Hey, Dr. Vino wrote a book. You can pre-order it now, it is scheduled to be released on November 11th.

Ok, the whole dogs thing is a little weird, but another Virginia wine blogger who is hitting all of the right wineries and makes her own wine...I gotta add the link.

Cool, I am famous - thanks to Amanda (who has a great blog that everyone who eats out in DC should read) for indulging me.

This is my 300th post. These 300 posts have occurred over almost 2 and half years of writing (yes, I am aware for some people, 300 posts is a week's worth of blogging ;)) and drinking. Its amazing as I look back over the time how much has changed, and yet how much as remained constant, that's one of the reasons I love wine :). And, hopefully, like a good wine, my writing only improves over time.

I've made some minor changes to the site. I've removed some blogs that haven't updated in a while and expanded the winery section. While I am rearranging, if you have a blog you want me to link to, just drop me a note.

I am sure you all have have heard the story that Amazon may start selling wine. Others have posted analysis of this, so I won't. But I was curious about this line:

'The US wine market is around $25bn, and only a small percentage is purchased online,' Bergsund said. 'There is plenty of room for Amazon as well as specialty retailers like wine.com.'

I know I may be an anomaly, but I purchase almost as much wine online as I do at retail locations or wineries. I'd be curious to know what percentage of wine sales are done online.

Speaking of Amazon and Winecast, I like the idea of Wine Book Club and picked up the book, I'll post my review as soon as it is done.

Finally, speaking of Amazon and wine books, local author Miles Lambert-Gocs has written a book entitled Desert Island Wines. It is a series of essays about wine, many of them look to be very funny. I'll let you know all know what I think after I have read it

Some Bordeaux videos to keep you busy today, because who wants to work the day after the Superbowl. The English version of the site is a little rough, but the videos there are good as well. In the meantime, you may want to take Buck 65's advice and "Been thinking about brushing up on my french."

Happy belated New Year! I know its been a while and my apologies. I have been sick and not really up to drinking wine, and a wine blog with no wine doesn't really work :). I'll make it up to you over the next couple of days, I pomise.

Unfortunately for us, Leah has moved from DC to San Francisco. The good news is she is keeping up the good blogging work at Slow Food, Taste Life. Check it out.

I know me complaining about lack of postings seems a tad...shall we say...hypocritical, but I really enjoyed the postings at Carolyn Crow's Wine Virgin and I hope she posts again soon.

I promise the second round of my Indianapolis trip is coming soon. In the meantime check out Sonadora and Leah for thoughts on last night's wine club happy hour at Piola. I'll post more tonight.

Pat sent me a link to this post about the Virginia Wine license plate finally coming to fruition. You can order it from the Virginia Winery Association.

While I am plugging other blogs, check out John's Anything Wine