Impressions of Washington: Riesling

People in and around wine often ask each other 'what was the wine that did it for you?' The question implies that most wine enthusiasts can remember one specific wine that took their breath away and instantly converted them from an interested wine drinker to a wine devotee. They remember the day they went from an ordinary consumer to a person that is almost committed to the stuff in a way others consider to be bizarre, obsessive, or even slightly obscene. Many people can name that wine without any thought. They remember the awakening that occurred by being exposed to such complexity, such structure, such depth of flavor in one single glass. For them it was an experience that literally had a lasting impact on how they define pleasure.

I have not had this epiphany wine. I'm not sure this wine exists in my future either. I don't know if I am less emotional than the folks who had a conversion moment or if my pursuit of wine was such a calculated path that I eliminated the possibility of a life-changing encounter. But I may have just experienced my answer to this question nonetheless. My recent trip to Washington, and corresponding grand scale exposure to the wines coming out of Washington State, have served to drastically deepen my appreciation for this substance. To be brought into contact with the people, the land, the diversity, and the excellence of Washington wine in such a concentrated experience has absolutely taught me that I have not even scratched the surface of what wine exploration can offer as a hobby and a passion. What follows is the first of many impressions I have of what Washington is doing in wine right now. Each Impressions of Washington post is written with much respect for the people who are bringing great things from the land and grapes.

Washington Riesling:

Riesling is on the rise in the US and Washington, and well it should be. Washington state has a wonderful diversity of terroir to chose from when planting vineyards, offering riesling multiple locations to develop wonderful minerality and ripe fruit that maintains sharp acidity. People are buying riesling because they are correctly discovering that it is not always the flabby sweet stuff that domestic riesling has tended towards in the past, but instead a diverse offering that pairs amazingly well with many foods and is generally sold for under $20 a bottle.

The rieslings I tasted in Washington showed a wide range of styles and quality. The vast majority were beautifully aromatic, full of peach, stone fruits, citrus, and minerality and had brilliant acidity that kept them from being cloying despite their residual sugar levels. Some however still suffered from riesling flaws including aromas reminiscent of rubber, or a lack of acidity that made the wine seem syrupy or supremely uninteresting. Of the dozen or so rieslings that I tried these stood out as absolutely exemplary:

Nefarious Cellars 2009 Riesling Stone's Throw Vineyards - This is a slightly off-dry example made with all estate fruit grown at Nefarious' Pateros vineyards. Nefarious Cellars is a young winery located in the newest Washington AVA Lake Chelan, and the beautifully minerality matched with slightly sweet citrus of this wine shows why this area and its growing number of wineries deserve their unique identity. This bottle is available from the winery for $17.99.


2008 Eroica Riesling - Produced for the last 10 years as a partnership between Chateau Ste. Michelle and the infamous Dr. Loosen of German riesling producing fame, this wine is often upheld as a pinnacle of domestic riesling. Showing amazing crispness and a flavor profile and acidity that literally makes your mouth water, the Eroica riesling screams for a spicy Asian dish that it can literally cut through and enhance. Available widely for under $20, I believe this is the domestic riesling that can be used to convince any doubter what this grape is capable of.

Alexandria Nicole 2008 Late Harvest Riesling - Produced with fruit from the renowned Horse Heaven Hills along the Columbia River this riesling offered the best nose of any of the Washington rieslings tasted. If you love the petrol and apple nose of a great German riesling then this is the wine for you. As labeled, this wine has high residual sugar but has such beautiful balancing acidity and mineral notes in the flavor profile that it comes across as crisp, refreshing, and absolutely delicious. Priced at $16 from the winery this is the hands down must buy of Washington riesling (especially if you think that sweet can not be complex and refined).

Riesling has and will continue to be one of Washington wine's greatest successes. Washington wine is often highlighted for its acidity and balance and while there are a few disappointing exceptions their rieslings generally display this brilliantly. The wines noted above will always exist as a piece of my answer to the question 'what wine did it for you?' So here I ask, what was your moment?

Photos from Wine Bloggers Conference 2010

Here are a few photos from the event itself. This week has been incredibly fun, incredibly overwhelming, and will take a little processing for me when I get home. However, I have lots of things about Washington, wine, and the people of wine (be it producers, bloggers, industry) that I want to explore and write about in the future. Overall it has been a great experience and a huge thank you goes to the organizers of the event and to the people of Washington wine for enthusiastically hosting and sharing. Enjoy the photos and expect some discussion of Washington and highlights of the wine in the weeks or months to come.

The vineyards of Cougar Crest winery, who shared with us all about vineyard management in the harsh weather that Walla Walla can have. They also poured an awesome Cabernet Franc.

The winemakers from Skylite Cellars, Smasne Cellars, and Riverhaven Cellars gave us an outstanding lineup of syrahs that showcased Eastern Washington.

The barrels holding Pepper Bridge Winery's great merlot and cabernet sauvignon juice. They provided us a lunch and tour to cap off Saturday afternoon.

While I'm ready to go home this has been a wonderful experience, and hope that it will make The Vino File better, as it certainly has inspired me to excellence in this pursuit.

The WBC or Bust Bus - Day 2 Quincy, Yakima, and Walla Walla

Another brilliant day put together by Marcus Pape of WineCHATr.com and a whole host of amazing Washington wine and tourism industry folks. The contributions that wineries and hotels made in order for this two-day whirlwind tour of Washington wine to come together are almost overwhelming. You will hear more about some of the juice and personalities along the way over the next several weeks, but for today I just want to share a few pictures of what is going on:

A room with a view, thanks to the Renaissance Hotel in Seattle for the beautiful stay

Just pulling into Eastern Washington, Cave B Winery offered us a beautiful setting for our first tasting of the day. Highlights include Boudreax Cellars and Col Solare.

They knew we were coming at Prosser Village in the Yakima Valley, and welcomed us with a great walk around tasting. Highlights for me included Gilbert Cellars and Barnard Griffin

Finally arrived in Walla Walla. These vineyards are from Walla Walla Vintners who provided us some an amazing pizza dinner (think proscutio and fried egg in a wood burning oven, and you'll just be getting warmed up)

This two-day bus tour has been an amazing experience, with some great people and some wonderful food and wine. A HUGE amount of thanks go out to all involved. You may very well have outshown the conference itself, but I guess we will see over the next three days. More to come...

The WBC or Bust Bus - Day 1 Woodinville and Seattle

Wow, after an absolute whirlwind Day 1 on the WBC or Bust bus tour of Washington wine I am up bright and early. I'm not sure if it is out of excitement, if I just got enough rest, or if I am awakened by the caffeine headache that kicked in yesterday afternoon (in my mad rush to Seattle I had NO coffee yesterday which is unheard of for me).

But for you that means I can give you a quick peek into what this insanely entertaining trip looks like so far. Here are some pictures from Wednesday's shenanigans, and remember that we haven't headed over the mountains or hooked up with the 288 other bloggers yet!

Breakfast (well for me it was) Amazing Asian tastes with a flight of riesling

Grand tasting of Woodinville (NW Totem Cellars up front, Betz Family Winery behind)

Partial lineup for the Winemakers Dinner (riesling, chardonnay, rose not shown)

Yeah, maybe overwhelming, maybe a marathon, and certainly indulgent I would say that Washington Wine is showing us a great time. There will be many future posts on some specifics about what we are seeing, tasting, and learning. I hope these few shots whet your appetite.

Off to Washington

A couple of months ago I mentioned that I was attending the Wine Blogger's Conference in Walla Walla, WA and a pre-conference excursion called WBC or Bust for which I was selected to participate. The weeks have flown by, and as you read this I am on my way north for these events. I will try to post throughout the proceedings, but I really have no idea what to expect in terms of access, time lines, and all those factors that must align in order to produce a blog post. Also, if you follow me on Twitter you should know that I have some possibly inappropriate psychological resistance to purchasing a smart phone, so I won't be tweeting my way through the conference. There may be a couple tweets here and there when I can connect my laptop.

Here is the high-level schedule or where we will be, and what we will be doing. Whether the posts are produced now or as follow ups over the next couple of weeks you can certainly expect some content on these two events, and some further exposure to WA wine coming up on The Vino File.

Wednesday June 23 - I will arise early in the morning and make my way to downtown Seattle where I will meet up with 11 other thirsty bloggers and the WBC or Bust bus. We will spend the morning in Woodinville tasting the wines of the great producers located here (like Chateau Ste. Michelle), followed by lunch at Willows Lodge and a return trip to Seattle. In Seattle we will check into hotels and then experience a who's-who winemakers dinner at the award winning Waterfront Seafood Grill.

Thursday June 24 - Up early and onto a bus (for the sake of incentive respectfully referred to as a chartered coach) for a trip over the mountains to a brunch along the Columbia River Gorge in which we will experience the wines of some of Washington's smaller AVA's. Primed for the day (who doesn't like a nice syrah at 10 am?) we head to lunch at DuBrul Vineyards and then a grand Yakima Valley tasting with local winemakers. That evening we will finally pull into Walla Walla where we will be met with a pizza and wine social with local vintners there. My only problem with this day is that while I can selectively sip and spit the wine to avoid outrageous drunkenness, I am not sure what to do about all of the food being offered to avoid gout.

Friday June 25 - The conference begins Friday morning with a taco trucks of Walla Walla lunch and several of the local wineries and sponsoring wineries pouring tastes as we register and get situated. The afternoon is full of speakers, sessions, and the announcement of the Wine Blogger Awards. Finally we will have a live blogging, speed dating, white wine tasting, round robin event of which I am thoroughly intimidated and a sponsored dinner (hmmm, more food and wine). The after party Friday night involves all of the tasting rooms in downtown Walla Walla staying open late for a 'walkabout' Here's hoping everyone is still walking....

Saturday June 26 - Another day of 'conferencing' includes a couple of break out sessions, and a trip to a local vineyard for tasting and meeting some of the local vintners. This trip sounds great in that a bunch of buses will be outside and where each is headed no one knows. We are to just hop on a bus and go where ever it takes us. Saturday night before dinner we get to speed date the red wines followed by more dinner, and an albarino sponsored after party. I've never been to a party sponsored by a grape before.

Sunday June 27 - The conference wraps up with a couple of more breakout sessions, and hopefully an announcement that WBC2011 will be coming to Paso Robles next summer. Then for me it is back on the WBC or Bust bus for a quick trip back to Seattle. I believe the bus is stopping off for some sponsored lunch and wine tasting but by this time I think my pupils will be red, and my stomach thoroughly distended.

This is truly going to be a whirlwind trip full of fun, learning, meeting some great people, and avoiding my slight trepidations of introversion. At this point I am packed and headed out the door with a spit cup, a note book, a camera, and an open mind. I hope to bring you some interesting content as I meet the people of the wine blogosphere and the wines of Washington.

Match #4 TVF World Cup of Wine: Italy vs. New Zealand

The soccer match today appears to be as obvious as the wine matchup. I'm saying that the powerhouse Italian team should have no problems with the New Zealand team that is ranked WAY below them. Also, to compare a country that brings us Barolo, Montepulcian, Chianti, and Amarone to a country that is certainly respected for its sauvignon blanc and pinot noir, but does not have the history and the gravitas behind it necessarily, seems unfair. But remember two things here, one New Zealand and Italy are entering this match both with a tie in their opening match, and on the wine side this head-to-head has to be at the $20 and under level. At this level New Zealand might have more to offer, as Italy is not necessarily known for its value offerings (think thin sangiovese served in wicker baskets...) Let us see.

Representing New Zealand I chose a Torrent Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2008 from Nelson. While Nelson is not Marlborough, this wine retails for around $10 and allows New Zealand to show what it can do in other regions. The wine is a straw yellow, with a bit of a golden hue that is not as typical of sauvignon blanc. The nose is inticing with some slate minerality, lots of citrus, and a underlying hint of tropical fruit. The wine drinks quite dry with some minerality, bitter citrus reminescent of grapefruit rind, and some of that New Zealand fresh grass that would be disappointing if not present.

For Italy I found a Corte all Flora Rosso di Montepulciano. Made up of 95% prugnolo gentile (local term for sangiovese) and 5% colorino the wine is a deep scarlet fading to ruby red at the edges of the glass. The nearly translucent wine gives off aromas of dried sage and herbs, raspberries, baking spices, and a distinct sense of home baked bread. In the mouth it is quite rustic and rocky. There is some red fruit up front, but it becomes very herbal across the middle and finishes slightly sour and mouth drying. It is a medium bodied wine with decent structure, but is certainly an old world wine that for me needs food.

I enjoyed both wines, and certainly went into the matchup expecting Italy to win easily. In the end the New Zealand sauvignon blanc was delicious and refreshing:

Torrent Bay - 3/5

The Italian wine was a bit more complicated, and while it was enjoyable I think I expected more from it. Tasting the wine the next day I enjoyed it more, as the wine had mellowed slightly and was not quite as rustic and herbal, offering slightly more fruit to make it feel more balanced. In the end, despite my desire to never end in a tie this wine also scored:

Corte all Flora - 3/5

So our first tie (which in this soccer match is not likely), lets watch and find out if it is indeed predictive of the match result.

Match #3 TVF World Cup of Wine: US v. Slovenia

Wow, the pressure to pick one wine to represent the U.S. feels a bit overwhelming. To choose one wine to pair against the absolute only wine from Slovenia that I could find in all of California just seems ripe with opportunity to manipulate. Do I want the U.S. to win or lose this competition, because I could certainly find a known winner or a known loser with the parameters of this contest. So I just chose something I had that was at the front of my cellar without too much scrutiny, and I chose it long before I tasted the Slovenia wine so I had no idea how things would end up.

Today's match between my Americans and the Slovenians is of utmost important to both teams. Slovenia is leading in Group C due to the US v England tie match. But our team is briming with confidence due to the same. We must win the match in order to be set up for a 2nd round advancement, and in reality based on how we played against England it should be no problem. It does not mean that Slovenia should be written off, they will be brining the enthusiasm from their first ever World Cup victory late last week right into the match.

Representing Slovenia I selected the only wine I could find, Crnko Jarenincan 2009. This white wine is almost equal parts riesling, chardonnay, and sauvignon blanc, and comes in a 1L bottle with a soda cap being used as the closure system. The nose has little elements of each grape, but overall gives off a stinky feet and cheese funk that I thought would blow off but does not. There is also a bit of talc powder that sits right on top of the strong pineapple and tropical fruit. The wine drinks better than it smells with lots of pineapple and lemon and a decent dose of acid that would make the wine quite drinkable if paired with some spicy food (the wine should be in the background).

For the U.S. I had a bottle of Villa Mt. Eden Grand Reserve Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard 2007. This wine is currently selling for around $13, and I am assuming that I just got lucky to find where it is being liquidated, as fruit from Bien Nacido Vineyard rarely sells for under $20. The wine is a very pretty bright translucent red, and has a typical pinot noir nose of cherries and spice, a bit of musty earth and underripe strawberries. There is a touch of heat but overall it has a pleasant if subtle nose. The wine itself is quite light bodied with a soft mouthfeel, mild red fruit and lots of Pinot spice. It ends with just a touch of heat and a bit of toasty oak. However, for the price point this is one of the better pinots that I have drunk recently.

In the end I would buy the pinot over and over again, and while the alcohol was not perfectly integrated (14.2%) it was a nice pinot for the price. The US wine gets 3/5. The Slovenian wine was really not something I would buy or drink again. The aroma was unpleasant and the tastes were typical and lackluster. The Slovenians get 2.5/5. In the end the wines line up with exactly what I expect to happen in the match, a victory for the US!!

Match #2 TVF World Cup of Wine: Portugal v. itself

Ah Group G, the only group in the first round of the World Cup that does not have two countries producing wine that is readily available in California. Portugal was not a problem, but Brazil, Cote d'Ivoire, and Korea DPR are just not offering up the grape juice in my immediate area. So Portugal gets a win by forfeit. That does not indicate that today's match between Portugal and Cote d'Ivoire will not be exciting. Africa, besides hosting this year, is also out to prove that their rise in the international soccer arena is legitimate, and they might just be able to beat the inconsistent Portugese team.

To represent the Portugese I selected a JM Fonseca Twin Vines Vinho Verde 2008. This bottle retails for around $7 (what, I gotta save money when it is an automatic win) and is only 9.5% abv. Made of the traditional louriero, and trajadura grapes, this wine was a very pale green, almost looking completely transparent in the bottle. It did not offer much on the nose, maybe a hint of apple, and something reminiscent of a lemon sweet tart. The palette was very light and crisp, slightly effervescent, with just faint citrus flavors, a bit of apple juice, and a tart minerally finish. Any flavors the wine did offer up were incredibly delicate and faint, and the wine almost came across as soda water with a splash of lime.

It was not an unpleasant wine by any means but it was remarkably unremarkable. I did not enjoy the wine any more than I might enjoy a Perrier on a hot day. Vinho verdes are meant to be drunk young, and their hints of fruit and freshness are what make them attractive and refreshing wines, but this one lacked flavor in a big way. The wine gets a score of 2.5/5 and is a complete pass as far as I'm concerned. In the end Portugal is quite lucky to be in Group G where there is no competition for them in the World Cup of Wine. Let's see whether this is also true for them in today's match.

Match #1 TFV World Cup of Wine: Germany v. Australia

This match may come down to focus versus heart. Germany certainly has the expectation to come out victorious, but no one is writing off Australia. The Europeans are bringing a young team this year, but this program is known to be the most consistent and focused program year after after year. However the Australians are playing in their 2nd consecutive finals and have an outstanding and experienced keeper. They will need to use their stars Tim Cahill and Josh Kennedy to score, because Germany will certainly be doing so.

What wine better represents the focus and consistency of Germany than riesling. I selected a Winegut Max Ferd. Richter 2007 Piesporter Michelsberg Riesling, which retails for around $12. This wine had a nice lime and apple nose with petrol and slate elements that screamed riesling, very appealing actually. It drank of apple, some citrus, and a wash of crushed minerals. As it warmed up it gave off more lemon and a touch of bitter lemon rind, that again was quite pleasant. It was a very delicious and appealing wine, but had one flaw. It absolutely lacked the acid that generally accompanies the finish of a quality German riesling and gives it that intense focus.

For a wine that represents the heart of Australia you must go with a Barossa Shiraz. Representing Australia in this category I selected Thorn Clarke Shotfire Barossa Shiraz 2008 which retails for around $18. With a dark black core this wine gives off aromas of blueberries, leather, vanilla and spice, and a bit of smoke. The nose is quite complex and really smells great. It is quite full-bodied and drinks of dark fruit up front, some oaky vanilla across the mid-palette, and a spiced tobacco finish. But then at the end a huge dollop of oak overtakes the wine and for me sends this wine into a bit of a disjointed spiral.

The outcome: These wines were selected to display the focus of Germany and the heart of Australia. They both were delicious and enjoyable, with slight flaws that kept them from being amazing. In the end their scores come down to this:

German riesling - 3 out 5

Australian shiraz - 3.5 out of 5

The Australians pulled off this match up with a wine that may have been a little overoaked for my palette but overall showed a complexity and profile that was quite good. The German wine, while a recommended buy for the price and definitely something I would drink again, lacked the final push to put it into 'great' territory.

In this first match up for TVF's World Cup of Wine the contest goes to Australia. Next up is Portugal with a win by forfeit on Tuesday (but still a nice little vino verde to discuss).

TVF's World Cup of Wine 2010

My life gets really busy between now and the end of the Wine Blogger's Conference at the end of this month in Walla Walla, WA. So it is decidedly convenient that the FIFA World Cup is kicking off this week in South Africa, and so many great wine producing countries are going to be represented in games over the coming weeks. Here on the blog I have selected a match from each Group in which I will taste a wine from the participating countries head-to-head. I will then keep track of the wine matchup's ability to predict the soccer game's winner. The selected matches are:

June 13 - Australia v. Germany

June 15 - Portugal gets an automatic win as Brazil, Korea, and Ivory Coast give me problems in procuring a suitable competitor

June 18 - US v. Slovenia

June 20 - Italy v. New Zealand

June 22 - Argentina v. Greece

June 22 - South Africa v. France

June 25 - Chile v. Spain

A couple of ground rules that are likely to be broken as I see fit:

- all wines will retail for under $20 (Slovenia might give me a problem but I'm researching)

- no complaining about which wine is selected to represent a country, this is just for fun

- this is not going to be done blind

- I don't care if you don't think it is fair to judge a riesling against a pinotage

- I will recruit guest judges based solely on who is at my house when I open the bottles, and I will not disclose this

- all wines will receive a score from me alone, based on my existing rating scale, and this score will be used to determine the winner

- in the case of a tie, the tie stands

Any suggestions on what wines should compete should come soon. I'm headed around town this weekend to get the competitors (I have to write these early and schedule them to post while I'm traveling through WA).

Don't like soccer? Think this is a cheap and easy excuse to avoid coming up with creative content? I promise if you play along, or do something similar you will find it fun and maybe even get caught up in the worldwide excitement that surrounds the event (the World Cup, not the Vino File Wine Cup). As I always say, 'may the country with the best value wine that happens to end up in my cart and show well against another random wine' win.

Proving Them Wrong With a High Alcohol Syrah

The story: Last week I took issue with some of the points that Eric Asimov was making about domestic syrah and its sales stagnation (or slight decline). In summation it was argued that the big, high alcohol, extracted syrahs that do not show varietal distinction are what are ruining the grape. You can read my post for my full argument, but the discussion sent me to my stash for a syrah that rang in at over 14% to see if it was offensive to me in some way. See I aspire to be a wine geek, but I just keep enjoying things that I'm not supposed to enjoy. I don't mind a little oak in my wine, I don't mind a lot of fruit once in awhile, and I even still buy Australian wines. There are wines I do NOT like, but they tend to be missing something like structure, acid, or flavor. Give me a little out of place spice, funk, or blueberry pie now and then and I won't complain. I'm not sure exactly where that leaves me, but this week it left me with a bottle of Napa Valley syrah that I thoroughly enjoyed. I guess I'll drink these wines outside of the clubhouse and then come inside for some more valid restrained wines.

The wine: The Marelle 2005 Syrah Napa Valley was included in a shipment from The Wine Garage that I received recently. Winemaker Ashley Heisey uses her love for northern Rhone syrah, and her experience with ripe tannic fruit in Napa (she has worked for Mondavi, Opus One, and Far Niente) to make the purest expression of syrah that combines Old World restraint with New World texture. She searched for cool climate vineyards and focuses on this grape alone. The wine poured a dark opaque purple core that faded to raspberry red edges. The nose gave up some sweet dark berry liquer, a bit of dusty earth, red hot cinnamon candy spice, and some gamey meat. As it opened up there were more herbal notes that got a bit medicinal. The wine offered dark fruits up front, with some restrained spice across the mid-palette. The finish was more smoked meat and olives, and framed by soft tannins, had a nice length.

The verdict: I picked the wine out of the pile because at 14.5% I thought it might fall into the fruit bomb, extracted category. I thought I would still enjoy it, however, and have to hide myself in shame from the wine trend police. However, the wine was truly restrained and indicative of a cool climate syrah, with just the right touch of fruit. I really liked the wine and give it a 3.5/5. This wine sells for $39 from the winery.

Not All Whites Are For Summer Sipping

The story: The weather in California has been very strange this spring. We have had more rain and cool days here in L.A. than normal, and almost seemed to skip spring altogether. All of a sudden over Memorial Day weekend summer arrived. Lucky for us we had an invitation to sit around the pool at a friend's vacation home in Palm Springs, so I grabbed the white wines that I had (I tend to not have a lot on hand) and headed out. It was hot, but there was no agenda so we ate, slept, cooked, and vegged out.


A complicated wine, no matter how well made and delicious it is probably not meant to be brought out in this environment. This wine was delicious and well made but complex, minerally, and not exactly refreshing in 95 degree sun. While we should have saved it for the inside, air-conditioned, seafood dinner this wine was still very worthwhile and one of my favorites that I have tasted this month.

The wine: Nessa Albariño 2008 offers a nose of lemonade, crushed seashell minerals, delicate white flower, with a touch of honey and almond. It has a very floral almost perfume like palette, with some marzipan and honey across the mid-palette and almost bitter minerality that is distinct and delicious rather than off-putting.


The verdict: I really liked this wine a lot and found that the acid and slight salinity kept the perfumed flavors in check. However I will warn you that most of my easy-drinking friends who prefer more fruity and less complex wines did not enjoy this. As for the wines quality it gets a 3.5 out of 5, and a recommended buy at around $15. Both previous vintages have scores ranging from 88 to 92 (92 is from Tanzer for 2007).

Understanding My Blog Traffic

I had an interesting experience this week when someone on a 'wine deal of the day' website referenced The Vino File. The site was wine.woot.com and the forum was not particularly active, but a user posted a link to my post on Calcareous Vineyard, as there was a Calcareous Red 3-pack on offer. I logged on to check my stats later in the day and was very surprised to see nearly triple the average traffic that I generally see.

It was interesting to watch as hundreds of hits accumulated, sent from this forum. The hits would generally be single page views with an occassional view of my 'About' page and a prompt exit. I spoke with the sales manager later in the week and was glad that my honest opinion of the wines may have helped drive some sales, but the experience made me think about a few facts regarding new wine blogs.

- This one reference drove WAY more traffic to my blog than any mentions for my WBC or Bust win, or guest blogging on other sites.

- While the blog has increased in traffic every week since its inception in late January, most of this repeat traffic is a small group of folks who are specifically interested in ongoing wine discussion.

- This type of traffic was really from consumers and the patterns of their usage of the blog were very different from my average hits.

So there really isn't much to say about this other than I find it very interesting to realize that wine blogs as a 'daily read' are probably not of interest to the vast majority of the public. Case in point I can infer that today's post will probably not get hit by even the most innocent Google search, or casual reader. In defining the purpose of each post, whether to entertain or inform your regular readers or drive even more traffic to your blog (egotistical much?) the only way to get on most consumer's radar is to talk about a specific topic (pairing, glassware) or wine (Perrin et Fils Gigondas) and wait for the hits. And you do never know when something you write on here might pop back up and have a true impact on the sale of the blood and sweat from someone you've never met.

Other bloggers - what posts have you seen get a surprising amount of traffic?

Blog readers - what types of posts actually engage you versus get a quick glance?

But Why is Syrah Plunging?

In the New York Times wine blog The Pour, on Tuesday Eric Asimov wrote about the rapidly plunging sales numbers for domestic syrah. The article outlines how syrah grew in plantings throughout the mid-90's with many people anticipating it would become the great alternative to cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Some syrahs were produced that were restrained and displayed the meaty, olive and herbal characteristics of the great Rhones, and other New World styled syrahs began to be produced that were more indicative of Australian shiraz with high alcohol content, tons of fruit, and less varietal distinction. The article is quite clear that exact numerical tracking of syrah's decline is very difficult but anecdotally it is widely accepted to be rapidly falling. However the majority of the article indicates that it is precisely the trend towards indistinct, fruity, bombastic syrah that led to the decline. The argument continues to imply that the restrained Northern Rhone emulating syrahs are the only hope for domestic syrah to remain successful.

I would never try to argue that syrah sales are not in decline, or that syrah has effectively materialized to be the success that many winemakers were hoping for. But I would like to take issue with the premises presented in the article. I am a big domestic syrah fan, and even agree that the more restrained styles displayed by folks like Bob Lindquist of Qupe and Randall Graham of Bonny Doon are what good syrah is all about. But this article takes the popular line against the 'New World-ification' of wines and without any numbers to back it up blames the demise of American syrah on this ill-fated style. It is very common and easy right now to ride the trend against high alcohol, less fruit, and away from the big wines that were garnering critical acclaim just a few years ago. I am fairly new to all of this, but recognize that it is a very popular and easy opinion to espouse. It is an angle that is likely to be accepted by the majority of the people who spend time thinking about and discussing wine. But what evidence is there to back it up?

The article ends with a list of 10 domestic syrah producers who are bucking the 'fruit bomb' trend in their production. And I must say that this list is a great list of must try syrahs. But I think the article blended two valid points with no way to confirm the connection. It is true that syrah sales are in rapid decent (beyond those of other grapes) and it is also true that restrained syrah offers complexity and distinction that can be lost in bigger, fruity versions. But to out of hand say that the less complex (and currently less trendy) syrahs are the reason for the decline seems fallacious and a little bit lazy.

So why is syrah in decline? Why did it never rise to the popularity that many predicted 15 years ago? If the NY Times can't get numbers to back up their points I certainly can't. But I can tell you from my experience, and I hang out primarily with people who do not think about wine frequently, it is simply because people do not really know what syrah is or should be. They know about cabernet and chardonnay because they're alive and occassionally go to restaurants and the grocery store. They know about malbec because they can try a decent version at many bars and restaurants for under $10 a glass. They know about pinot noir because of the often mentioned film references and associated marketing. But how would they know about syrah? Decent examples of domestic syrah are not household names, and not generally under $20. French versions of syrah are never bottled with the varietal name, Australians call it shiraz, so non-wine people who despite our judgement still make the majority of wine purchases, are just not familiar or comfortable with it. I know everyone fears the globalization of fruit bombs and the Parker-style wine, and maybe they should. But come on, it is not to blame for all trends, dips, and turns throughout the wine consuming market.

That is my estimation, and I'm sticking to it. Thoughts?

Come on Lodi, Prove Me Wrong

The story: I'm skeptical about Lodi. With normal high temperatures in July and August reaching the upper 90's, no apparent coastal influence, and a reputation as just another town in California's lackluster Central Valley, I'm concerned. Just so I'm clear I do not think the Central Valley as a whole is lackluster (who doesn't love Kettleman City?), but as a grape growing region it primarily fuels the jug wines that used to be hidden in my Evangelical college dorm room's closet. At the same time I'm fascinated by Lodi and seeking out information to prove my skepticism wrong. I know there are some good zinfandels coming out of the region, but as they begin to market themselves as an emerging wine region can they succeed? At what point does marketing end and established reputation take over? I have inquired about Lodi's emergence out of the 'jug wine' reputation and into the distinctive and reputable AVA status with both the Lodi Woodbridge Winegrape Commission, and a couple of smaller boutique wineries directly. I have not heard anything back. Now I clearly recognize that me, and this blog, are of no importance to the people who are working very hard in Lodi and believe in what they are doing. But I would love to get a little insight into what they are doing and share that information here, if anyone up there is interested. I am absolutely open to the idea that Lodi is on the rise, doing some interesting and innovative things, and has some validity as an equal part of California's vast quality wine producing reputation. I just want to see and experience this before I will completely buy it. Unfortunately the example of Lodi wine that I found locally (I purposely did not get a zinfandel) only furthered my concerns.

The wine: 337 Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, pours a dark black opaque with just hints of purple hues. It has an inky nose full of very ripe blackberry jam and just a hint of smoked meats. The first thing I taste is a fake oaky vanilla, almost like vanilla extract, and then just tons of blackberries and blueberries. In combination the wine almost tastes like an inexpensive blueberry ice cream. The finish is medium in length, with a touch of spice but has no substantial tannin structure and comes off as incredibly flabby. Overall it is way overdone, and feels a little bit fake.

The verdict: I hated this wine, it almost made me mad. It made me mad because I know that this wine is available in large production and it does Lodi no favors. It perpetuates the reputation of the fruit being too hot, too large of yields, and just flabby, fruity, and simple. It is widely available in grocery stores (and elsewhere) for about $11-$13. I give it a 2 out of 5. That said, there are people who will like this wine simply because it tastes like artificial blueberry ice cream, so it may have its place as your party's 5th bottle of wine with friends who don't care much about wine.

Now that this is behind us, folks in Lodi I want to believe, I want to be converted. Point me in the right direction and I will gladly seek it out and report back. If Lodi comes down as a place only for zinfandel and stale John Fogerty references I am also okay with that, but I'm rooting for a rise of the underdog type of story so help me believe.