Here is another great article from VinePair.com on what to do when the waiter or sommelier give you the cork from that bottle of wine you ordered in a restaurant. This could save some anxiety and embarrassment.
BATH ANYONE?
WINE IN ICELAND – NOT SO MUCH
We just finished a 3-day layover in Reykjavik, Iceland, a no-cost option from Iceland Air. We were returning to the states from Europe, and Iceland Air had great fares and the stay-over option, so we opted for that.
Iceland is an amazingly beautiful and desolate place – a volcanic island with very few trees and most of the vegetation is moss on the black lava rock that is just about everywhere. That said, there are some amazing sights to see – here are a few photos.
In Reykjavik, the capital, there is an amazing food scene with great restaurants featuring inventive culinary dishes using local fare (fish and some game) and imported goodies, too. Unfortunately, the wine scene is not so good. This shouldn’t come as a surprise – remote island, small population, EU tariffs and regulations, etc. Many restaurants have wine list, and some of them are even decent in terms of quality and variety, but the prices are astronomical. A U.S. Dollar = 130 Icelandic Krona, so below, a bottle of Piccini Brunello costs $125.00; a bottle of Berringer Zinfandel costs $60.00. Not terrible, but very high. Icelandic Beer, which is excellent, is a much better value.
So, I highly recommend Iceland for a short stay-over (not the ideal place for a long vacation unless you love isolation and have a lot of $$ for food and beverages), but plan on drinking the wonderful Icelandic Beers most or all of the time.
A GEM IN ST. EMILION – CHATEAU GUILBEAU
We arranged a visit to Chateau Guibeau (LINK) through a friend who is doing academic research on the vineyard and winery. After some pleasant email exchanges with Brigitte Destouet Bourlon and her husband, Eric, the co-owners, we visited last Thursday. Eric focuses on the vineyards, Brigitte on the marketing, and they collaborate on the wine making. The vineyard is actually the combination of properties of two families united in marriage a couple of generations ago, Chateau Guibeau and Guibot The Fourvieille. Wines are made under both labels today.
Located in the St. Emilion (LINK), area, the property and its chateau overlook a beautiful valley and Puisseguin, the village below.
The vineyard of 41 hectares (101 acres), planted with Merlot (75%), Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon is located in the town of Puisseguin (LINK), in the Bordeaux Region.
We walked around the beautiful grounds, toured the barrel room and the wine making areas, with the vast fermentation vats, did some tasting, then got a tour of the vineyard with Eric. They have been converting to a fully-organic vineyard over the past five years, and have their first vintages under that regimen produced. This required quite a bit more work for them in the vineyards, but they feel that it is worth it for environmental and health reasons.
The wines that they produce at the Chateau are all reds – mostly Merlot, as it the case with most Right Bank producers in Bordeaux. The blends vary from year to year, but normally have at least 70% Merlot with lesser amounts of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Their 2012 Chateau Guibeau (LINK) blend is 80-10-10.
The Chateau Gibeau that we tasted, the 2012, shows great promise – it has a good balance, moderate tannins, a nice sense of dark fruit and a hint of minerality. It should improve with age. The 2008 Chateau Guibot La Fourvielle Puisseguin Saint-Emilion (LINK) was a revelation. This 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc beauty is rich with dark fruit, moderate tannins and acidity, and an underlying minerality that strikes both the nose and the palate in a very nice way. This wine should age well, but is ready to drink now. We bought several bottles to bring to the states, but two have disappeared so far on our journey home.
There is also a guest house to rent on the Chateau property – here is the (LINK).
This is a very good house, doing very good things – look for their wines and visit when you are in Bordeaux.
IN BORDEAUX – LE WINE BAR
Le Wine Bar in Bordeaux, is always at or near the rankings of best wine bars in Bordeaux. There are a number of reasons for this, but Giancarlo is the main one – the co-owner and host is a raconteur about all things wine.
I visited Le Wine Bar tonight to talk about bringing some tour groups in for a special evening during the next year. I met with Ginacarlo Savini and Emmanuel Cadei, the owners to discuss our options. Ginacarlo handles the wine and the front of the house duties and Emmanuel handles the kitchen and all things food. We came to an agreement and our entire Bordeaux and Paris Tour Packages will be announced soon.
After our meeting, I stayed around to spend some time talking with Giancarlo and sampling some wines and some of the food. I started with a glass of 2011 Chateau Beauregard, a Pomerol red blend. Very nice, smooth and excellent with the Charcuterie and Fromage Plate served up by Emmanuel. Now, the food at Le Wine Bar, basically, appetizers and platters of meats and cheeses, lean heavily to the Italian, as that is Giancarlo’s heritage.
Le Wine Bar is not a high-end fancy place. It is very down-to-earth, and features less expensive wines for the most part. But, when you look at the bottle list, it is a different story. A wide range of wines from both the Old Word and the New World are available, and at good prices.
So for my second glass (and for the third) of wine, I asked Giancarlo to give me something that he enjoys. He opened a bottle of 2012 Bevilo Toscano, a Tuscan Bordeaux-style blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. An amazing wine (apparently not available in the US) with very up-front fruit and medium tannins. Very velvety on the mouth with a long finish. The wine was noticeably better with the Italian Charcuterie and Cheese than the Bordeaux was. Coincidence?
If you are coming to Bordeaux, put Le Wine Bar on your list. Or, you can join us on our upcoming wine tours and visit Giancarlo and Emmanuel with us. More information coming in June!
CLOS PEPE ESTATE WINES WILL BE MADE NO MORE
In an announcement to his mailing list and via his website, Wes Hagen, Vineyard Manager and Winemaker at Clos Pepe Estates in the Santa Rita Hills AVA, announced that the vineyard and operations have been leased to Hall/Walt Wines of Saint Helena, CA. (LINK TO WEB PAGE)
The 2014 Vintage will be the last for Clos Pepe Estate Wines and for their secondary label, Axis Mundi. Wes Hagen and his wife will move from the vineyard property and he will be looking for other opportunities in the Central Coast of California.
I have been a particular fan of Wes Hagen, his wines, his wine making, and his personality and depth of knowledge about all things wine. He is as much a philosopher as a wine maker. He has been a pioneer in the Burgundian style so prevalent in the Santa Rita Hills, and a leader in establishing the AVA designation there.
Clos Pepe Estate Wines will be missed.
BORDEAUX – ARE THE WINES READY TO DRINK?
Dorianne and I are in Bordeaux for eleven nights, both to enjoy this Mecca of great wine, and to begin the process of setting up some wine tours here to begin in November.
After a couple of nights, I am surprised that there is a similar issue with restaurant wine lists here that I have found in the US – many of the Bordeaux’s listed are not ready to drink! Note that we have not been to any top of the line restaurants, but still, we are IN Bordeaux!
We will be researching this further, beginning at lunch today at Le Noailles, a favorite spot. More later!
6 WEEKS IN SPAIN – SUMMING UP
Our trip to Spain has been a wonderful experience. Madrid, Seville, Jerez, Cordoba, Sitges, and Barcelona – each unique and each an expression of the overall Spanish culture and way of life. And the wines! We stayed mostly in AirBnB.com (LINK) apartments with a couple of hotels for shorter stays. We walked almost everywhere and used the trains and busses – we only had a rental car for one week.
We began with five days in Madrid, the capital and one of Europe’s great cities. We stayed near the old town and the Palau Real (Royal Palace), where there were a variety of restaurants, bars, cafes, and clubs. Madrid also has the high-end nightlife of a major city, although things are still a bit depressed here as the overall economy struggles to recover from the recession that hit Spain particularly hard. That said, it is a magnificent place to visit and we will surely return for a longer stay. The Prado Museum is among the very best in the world.
Tapas is the king of food in Spain, and since the recession, these small plates of nearly infinite variety have moved from the status of late afternoon or late night snack to the evening’s repast. The variety and quality of Tapas at the many small tapas bars and cafes is simply astounding. And there is inexpensive and very good wine everywhere! During our stay in Spain, we probably averaged 2 euros a “copa” or glass. On most wine lists in the tapas bars, ALL of the wines were under 20 euros a bottle (and the dollar and euro are currently nearly at par)! So a Tapas dinner for two – three to five plates and two to three glasses of wine each – was almost always under 20 euros. This was true everywhere we went. There are more expensive places to eat, but the vast majority of food establishments in Spain are very, very reasonable.
After five days in Madrid, it was onto the Renfe High Speed Train for a nice ride down to Seville (Sevilla), the largest city in southern Spain’s Andalusia area. Seville is a gem of a city with a great history and a bustling food and wine scene. It is a home of Flamenco, and we saw some amazing shows while in town. We stayed for 3 1/2 weeks in an AirBnB.com apartment near the center of the old town. We were literally surrounded with history and the hustle and bustle of a busy city.We explored the city’s Tapas bars, the Arabian Spas, the Mercados (markets), along with the many historical and religious sites. We could have stayed longer. The people are amazingly welcoming, very proud of their city and their culture. We met many locals through our AirBnb host.
While in Seville, we did side trips. One was a weekend in Jerez, the center of Andalusian Sherry production. Jerez is like a mini Seville with a historical city center, but with numerous Bodegas where Sherry is produced and Tabacons, bars where Sherry is served out of the cask and where, frequently, Flamenco shows are staged. It is also home to the Royal Andalusian Horse Training Center, which we visited for a performance.
After Seville, we flew to Barcelona’s Airport (BCN), but did not go right to Barcelona. We rented a car and went south a bit to Sitges, a wonderful Mediterranean Beach Community. Sitges reminds me of the French Riviera, only it has sandy beaches and that amazingly inexpensive Spanishn food and wine. We stayed at a beachfront hotel for seven nights and explored the food and wine scene a bit. Sitges is near the Penedès D.O. (LINK) wine region. You can read about our winery visits there here (LINK) and here (LINK). Sitges was relaxing and enjoyable.
Then it was on to Barcelona for the final week in Spain. This was my third visit to this wonderful city. Part of the reason that we came was that both Dorianne and I were presenting at a conference at the ESADE Business School (LINK) on Spirituality and Creativity in Management. We still managed to squeeze in some wonderful food and wine, though. Also, Barcelona is home to all things Gaudi – that’s Antoni Gaudi (LINK), the genius visionary architect and designer. We stayed a bit out of the city near the FC Barcelona Stadium, which was a great choice.
So Spain has cast its spell on me once again. It is with mixed feelings that we depart for France tomorrow, as much as I love France. Spain was hit hard by the financial collapse, but it is coming back gracefully, as far as I can see. And Spanish Wines – tintos, blancos, cavas, and Sherrys – are among the best values in the world today. So go to your local store and ask for something Spanish and then make a few small plates at home and sit back and savor the culture that brought us so much and continues to do so.
Some photos from our trip.
OUT OF THE WAY TAPAS BAR WITH A CERTIFIED SUMILLER (SOMMELIER)!
We are in Barcelona for a week to do two things: to attend a Spirituality and Creativity in Management Conference (SCM2015) at ESADE Business School and, well, to be in Barcelona. We are staying a bit out of town to be near the campus (which is very close to the FC Barcelona Stadium) but otherwise, a fairly nondescript area.
We had been going toward the Barri Gotic (LINK) to eat, but the other day, we decided to check out something close to our AirBnb apartment. The hosts recommended El Cóm (LINK), a very small and very ordinary looking tapas bar two blocks away. So we went with another couple, friends from France who are attending the conference.
We get there and look at the menu and are told that the place is closing in half an hour. The menu looks good, so we order and we speak to the “waiter” about wine. He lights up. Now, he is speaking Spanish and my wife is somewhat conversant and one of our French friends is less so, and me, I’ve got Mexican restaurant Spanish, so nothing there.
Dorianne asks about an Albarinõ, which is listed on the menu as not available. The “waiter” tells us that the vintage has run out, and then leaves. He returns with six bottles of vino blanco, then leaves and comes back with one more. At this point, we inquire a bit more deeply (noticing the many wine bottles around the restaurant in prominent places). It turns out that our “waiter” is Josep Valiente, Sumiller (Sommelier), a certified wine expert. Now I am paying attention.
He describes each bottle (most of which we do not understand). I spot a Godello (LINK) varietal on one of the bottles, and, having just read about that varietal, I ask for that bottle. Josep opens it and we are transported to white wine heaven. It is a 2012 Bodegas A Coroa Lias Godello, from Valdeorras, Spain (LINK).
A beautifully crafted wine that is balanced, buttery, well structured, yet very very smooth. Hints of pear and spice with a nice floral nose and a smooth finish.
Josep came over with his smartphone and showed us photos of a vineyard he is growing in the area. He said that he is growing several varietals. I showed him photos of our wine co-op (LINK) in California.
Oh, and the food was amazing. Oh, and we stayed for an hour and a half. Oh, and we are going back on Sunday.
It is a wonderul wine.
FREIXENET CAVA (Sparkling Wine) – THE GOOD STUFF
During our recent visit to the Penedès DO near Barcelona, we also visited the legendary Cava producer, Freixenet (LINK). Known in America mostly as a producer of very cheap sparkling wine suitable for college parties and sports celebrations (where most of the wine is shot out of the bottle), it is often hard for U.S. consumers to imagine high-end Freixenet Cavas. But that is what we had during our visit to the winery.
Cava (LINK) is the Spanish sparkling wine, similar in processing to French Champagne, but using different grapes and the name “Cava” is not limited to a specific geographic region or appellation. The primary grapes used in Cava are:
- Macabeu (white)
- Parellada (white)
- Xarel·lo (white)
Other grapes:
- Chardonnay (white)
- Pinot Noir (red)
- Garnacha (red)
- Monastrell (red)
Freixenet uses the first three almost exclusively.
We did not do a tour of the extensive facility (90 million bottles per year) in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia. We went right to the tasting room, after wandering around a bit and seeing some of the marketing vehicles the winery has used over the years and some of the “art” on display in the main building.
The tasting room is in the 3rd floor of a large production building that has a large gift shop on the first floor where you can get your “inexpensive” black bottle of Freixenet that you remember from your formative years, along with lots of other things. The tasting room is large and well appointed – and handled a tour group of about 50 young people easily while we were there.
We opted to taste four wines from the Cuevèe Prestige Collection, their higher end cavas, and one, the Brut Nature Reserva 2009, that is the favorite of the locals in Spain. Now, Dorianne is more of a sparkling wine fan than I am, and she was the driving force behind our visit – having many fond, if foggy, memories of evenings where that black bottle played a role. But I was game, so we tasted.
We began with the Trepat 2013, a Blanc de noirs” style cava, that is a single vineyard wine – rare in this business. The wine was sharp, tart, and had a very strong degree of carbonation. This would be a great wine with a ripe cheese.
Next, we tasted the Cuvèe DS 2007 Gran Reserva, using Macabeo, Xarel•lo and Parellada grapes. It is only produced when the harvest is very good. This wine was more balanced than the Trepat and had a nice sense of fruit and not too much sugar.
Then, the Brut Nature Reserva 2009, the cava that sells the best in Spain (according to the tasting room staff). The wine is only produced in certain years. It is a smooth and well-crafted cava that would accompany a meal of fish or chicken, or, well, just about anything.
Next, the Riserva Real, a non-vintage cava, made in the Champagne style, meaning a blend of vintages. This cava, like some of the others, is aged in chestnut barrels. This wine was very nicely crafted, with a hint of minerality on the nose and a very smooth mouthfeel. Fruit and spice. A really nice sparkling wine.
Finally, the CASA SALA Brut Nature, Gran Reserva 2005, the highest priced wine we tasted. This wine was similar to the Riserva Real, but not quite as well balanced. The wine is produced at the original properly of the family (The Casa Sala’s) via manual harvest, pressed in a wine press from the Champagne region that is more than 150 years old, fermentation with native yeast, and wine decanting and maintenance by gravity, without using pumps. This brut nature has no dosage and is reminiscent of the traditional cavas of 50 years ago. Two traditional grape varieties are used for the blend, Xarel•lo and Parellada, and their percentages in the cuvée change from year to year.
If you come to the Barcelona region, a visit to the Pendedès DO is worth your while. I would say that the better cavas of Spain can take a seat beside most French Champagnes, and, like most Spanish wines, they are a great value.
Jim Lockard On Wine 