June 25th, 2010
In case you had any doubt that Wine is the ultimate universal drink of the 21st century, appealing to every demographic, no matter one’s: age, race, religion or nationality, whether you’re short or tall, team Edward or team Jacob. You need to look no further than the sport of NASCAR!… Until recently, I’ve never been much of a fan, up until a few weeks ago I’ve never even seen a race. To me, it was like watching televised traffic. But, now I’m hooked. There is no denying the power and profit the wine business has infused into the sport over the last few years, bringing along the potential to introduce wine to a fan base not exactly synonymous with vino. But, many NASCAR fans are trading in the moonshine for the Merlot. Now-a-days, in the grandstands, it’s just as easy for a fan to buy Pinot as it is to buy Pabst. A recent Nielsen Sports survey shows wine consumption among NASCAR fans is up 22% year to year. Even some of the sports biggest stars are on board. Jeff Gordon, has been working with a vineyard and a winemaker in Calistoga, Calif., producing Carneros Chardonnay, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Merlot under his own “Jeff Gordon Collection Label”. And this is just the beginning.
Just recently the founder of NASCAR, Raymond Parks, died. He was 96 and became acquainted with fast cars while transporting moonshine over the back roads of his home state of Georgia. He went on to become a bootlegger during Prohibition… Obviously, a man with a love for speed and spirits. I wonder what Mr. Parks would think about his drivers starting their engines and after the race popping their corks.
Judy Beardsall
Johnny Russo
Tags: Jeff Gordon, johnny russo, Judy Beardsall, NASCAR, Raymond Parks, wine
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May 20th, 2010
Greek wine?… Whoopa!… In the past two decades, Greece has undergone a revolution in winemaking. High quality wines are being made by a new generation of Greek wine producers determined to make their mark abroad as I witnessed first hand last Monday at Chef Anito Lo’s “Annisa” restaurant during a wine trade lunch given by VOS Selections. This is a boutique importer and passionate promoter of interesting wines from small Greek producers who are stepping onto the modern stage with ancient vines, whether it be a Kir-Yanni, Akakies Rose or Tselepos Mantinia… Bravo to the bravery of championing ancient wine varietals that, with a little practice can be pronounced and with no practice can be drunk with great pleasure… Whoopa!
Judy Beardsall
Johnny Russo
www.JudyBeardsall.com
Tags: Anita Lo, Annisa, Greece, Judy Beardsall, VOS selections, wine
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April 29th, 2010
As I have done for many years, I spent the last week of March in the Bordeaux region of France tasting the new wines from barrel samples at the legendary chateaux including Lafite, Margaux, Mouton, to name a few. This is an annual ritual where buyers from the wine trade and members of the press are invited to taste and evaluate the wines before they are offered for sale as futures. The 2009 bordeaux are uniformly well made and in some cases outstanding – one should never generalize about a vintage because within any vintage there are underachievers as well as superstars, such as Haut Brion and Chateau Yquem. As far as buying a vintage en primeur, there are complex reasons to take a position or not. What I can say is that , depending on the prices for the top wines when they are released in the coming days. I will certainly advise my collector clients to acquire a number of these gems.
The Far East Factor is the new element in this Futures Campaign. This will be the first great vintage where the potential demand from China will play out and the Chinese are expected to step up to become players in the Bordeaux Futures Market. This will affect pricing and availability.
Expect that fierce demand for this 2009 vintage will lift prices for previous vintages of top wines.
Judy Beardsall
Johnny Russo
www.JudyBeardsall.com
Tags: bordeaux, futures, Judy Beardsall
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April 9th, 2010
When ordering a bottle of wine at a restaurant, make sure you check the cork. Always make sure what is branded on the cork matches what is printed on the wine label.
About a year ago, I was having dinner at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant in New York. After I ordered off the wine list, the waiter opened the bottle somewhere out of sight. When he came back and started to pour the wine, I asked to see the cork. He looked at me and sarcastically said “Oh, you want to see the cork, do you? We‘ll then I guess I‘ll have to fish it out of the trash, because that‘s where I put it”. He continued pouring, expecting me to drop the subject, but I quickly fired back “Well you gotta do what you gotta do. Now, get me the cork out of the trash, you might be able to find it next to your tip.” A bit taken back, he left and came back 10 minutes later with a cork in a small cardboard gift box(which I still have) – a snotty move. The bottle must always be open in front of you, otherwise there is no way to know if it was a bottle opened earlier. Now Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant is closed, the waiter never got his tip, but the cork lives on.
One of my pet peeves is cork sniffing, which is nothing more than a theatrical flourish!
The importance of cork sniffing to determine the quality of the wine is one of those often repeated wine myths, which, like most tales, spring from an arcane bit of truth. Sniffing the cork tells you nothing about the wine.
Only the most knowledgeable and highly trained specialists in the field of oenology can detect a possible taint on the cork – the effect of a cork mold – which could potentially affect a wine’s taste, and then only sometimes. This is not a skill anyone other than such a wine expert can genuinely perform.
So, discounting the rare experts, if you’re at a restaurant and the waiter or the server smells the cork, you’re witnessing affectation in action. If you’re at a dinner party, and your host sniffs the cork and actually makes a remark about how great the aroma is…you know better!
Judy Beardsall
Johnny Russo
www.JudyBeardsall.com
www.AnandaWine.com
Tags: cork, Gordon Ramsay, johnny russo, Judy Beardsall, wine
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