RobsWineReview.com

Today Dr. Vino encourages us this Nov. 20 to bypass the Beaujolais Nouveau and grab some local wine instead.  One, because of the carbon foot print of transporting all of that wine so fast around the globe and, two, because just about any wine (even local wine) tends to be better than sub-par Gamay.

I have to agree. The novelty the Beaujolais Nouveau is great and fun, but  I’ve never been crazy about the wine.  I’ve usually though that it was just because I didn’t have access to the good stuff or maybe because the French only exported the cheap crap, but that’s not the case.

Last year a good regular customer at WineStyles special ordered a case from a producer I can’t remember right now and allowed the staff to taste one of the bottles.  Her and her husband spend a majority of their retirement years taking cooking and wine tours all throughout Europe and have been there for Beaujolais Nouveau Day several times and told us that  it was exactly what she expected.

The entire group gave a collective, “ehhh, whatever.”

Speaking of drinking locally, here’s a post that I did for the launch of DrinkLocalWine.com.

I was looking through some saved links and articles and rediscovered this gem from about a month ago. LINK

Even though it was all over the wine blogoshpere, I didn’t blog about it and can therefore legally resurrect it.

However, now rereading this article at this time, in light of all of the recent global economic woes, I found it in a very different light. For starters, the article talks about an organization trying outside-the-box marketing tactics due to an ever-changing demographic and marketplace. And, then there’s also a link in the side bar to an editorial criticizing British Prime Minister Gordon Brown about the so-called socialist takeover of the banking system, complete with a photoshopped picture of GB in a Soviet military uniform.

Now, what does this all have to do wine and my wine blog where I’m just supposed to write about a really cool accidental food pairing or take 450 words to rave about a Cabernet blend from some obscure part of Sonoma County that’s really just relabeled bulk juice so it can be sold for $10 more in specialty stores? A lot, actually.

It got me thinking about the future of the industry and how it will change the way I am able to (or not be able to) enjoy my favorite glass of vino in years to come.

Some thoughts

As more and more product comes on the market and technology pushes the overall quality higher with more parity between wine makers and vineyards, wineries and their marketing agents will have to get extremely creative to stand out from the crowd and earn wallet share. As a result more money will be spent on getting our attention rather than putting good fruit juice in the bottle.

Government agencies and their regulatory arms will grow and grow and seek out new industries to micro-manage. Wine will definitely be on the short list as there are plenty of tax revenues at stake and it can all be cloaked under the umbrella of public health.

As a result, I feel that the average wine buyer will eventually benefit since more competition means lower prices and government intervention (I’m sorry to say) does result in more and consistent information for the consumer.

While I don’t want to see calories or sodium content on the back of my wine bottles, I would, however, like to see few $20 91 point Burgundies rolling around the wine shop.

Oh, and Russian wine sucks too.

Thoughts????

Over the past few years we have seen a rash of new vineyards and wineries pop up all over the Commonwealth of Virginia. This summer it seemed every day there was an email from a meet up group or a wine club announcing a road trip to attend the grand opening of one of these said wineries. Unfortunately, work and family kept us from attending any of these get-togethers, but it got us thinking, “Let’s feature a different Virginia winery every month at the stores and give people a chance to taste and buy these wines without having to embark on a full day road trip.”

Side note for new readers: My wife is manager of WineStyles, a wine store with locations in South Riding (Chantilly) and Fairlakes (Fairfax) that focuses on affordable ($10-$25) wines from all around the world.

So, which winery to feature first? That decision was easily made when one of the distributors popped in unannounced with some bottles from a “new” winery that they had just picked up, Pollak.

Now my wife, Charlotte, only got to try two of the wines, the Estate Chardonnay and the Merlot, and I did not get to try any of them at all. Hardly the basis for a monthly feature, right? Therefore, as part of our due diligence and dedication to finding new and interesting top-quality wines for the stores, we gave up a Sunday for a road trip to Charlottesville to tour the winery and taste the wines.

Only about two and half hours from Dulles Airport, Pollak is an easy drive from the DC metro area. Also, there are plenty of other wineries in and around the area, so it makes a perfect day trip.

The first thing you notice upon entering the estate are the lush and thick vines right up on the entrance from road coupled with the gorgeous mountain backdrop. Then at the end of the gravel road sits the magnificent winery and tasting room with a tremendous welcoming charm. The tasting room itself sports an open, yet warm and cozy feeling with breathtaking views of the nearby lake. The staff is super-friendly and extremely knowledgeable about the wines and the winemaking process.
And if that wasn’t enough…….then come the wines.

Now, at the time we visited in September, Pollak had only been open to the public for about four months and with an annual production of only 5,000 cases, I have to be honest, I was expecting a lot of very vegetal and raw young wines. Absolutely 100% not the case. All of the wines were mature, well-structured and certainly on par with anything else on our store shelves from the west coast.

This, my friends, is the future of Virginia wine. It’s wine that tastes like wine should with reasonable prices and good availability outside of the winery.

Here are the tasting notes:

2007 Pinot Gris – Bright with pronounced citrus notes with a very dry and refreshing finish and just the right amount of sweetness.

2007 Viognier – Lots of apricot, peach and lime zest with cinnamon, ginger and floral notes on the mid-palate and a tingly lingering finish.
2007 Estate Chardonnay – Very much like a Chablis with a little more creaminess and just a touch of toasted oak and honeysuckle.

2007 Chardonnay – made with sourced fruit, this is the only non-estate wine. It is medium bodied with a very bright and tangy mouthfeel and wonderful floral aromas.
2007 Rose’ – Fresh and dry with very light and delicate notes of rose petals and white pepper. This would go great with the Thanksgiving turkey.

2006 Cabernet Franc – Medium to full bodied with abundant flavors of black pepper and rich ripe red fruit. This is what Cab Franc should taste like. No green peppers, no fresh cut grass, nothing, but great Cab Franc that I would put toe-to-toe with anything from Lodi or the Central Coast at the same price point.

2006 Merlot – Smokey with coco powder and rich ripe plums. Exactly what Merlot should be. A solid wine from such young vines in an extremely fickle climate.

2005 Meritage – Medium bodied with lots of black cherries and a velvety finish.

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon – Very young tasting and simple, but very good.

Here’s a slide show with pictures from out tour:

Here’s a post that I did right after the trip with pictures from Veritas Winery as well.

Overall, the trip to Pollak is certainly worth the drive. The wine, the view and the people make for a truly remarkable experience.
Of course, if you can’t make it down there in the near future, come on by WineStyles in South Riding on October, 10th between 1 and 7 to try the wines yourself.

What Virginia wineries do recommend that I go to for future reviews?

Shoot me an email at robhagman@robswinerveiw.com or leave a comment.

DrinkLocalWine.com is the Wine2.0 answer to get non-west coast wine some media attention. It’s a group of bloggers from around the country with a passion for their local wine. There’s bloggers from Illinois, Texas and Arizona, just to name a few.

And yours truely, Rob Hagman of RobsWineReview.com will be reporting on Virginia Wine. The report will be on Monday the 6th and I’ll have the full write-up on Pollak Winery.

To get warmed up, check out the pictures from the trip here.

I’m usually late to the party on these things and I’ll probably get a dozen emails or so saying, “Duh?, you haven’t heard of that one yet?”, but I found a great resource for locating the the top blogs on a specific subject, even wine.

The site is alltop.com and the wine section is wine.alltop.com

Three great things I love about alltop.com

It lists the “top” blogs per category as well as the title to thier last five posts.

It actually has a “wine” sections. Not food, not cooking, not food and wine, but WINE, so all the blogs listed are definitively wine blogs.

It has categories for just about everything and it is fun to go searching on other subjects.

Two things that I don’t like:

There are some pay sites on there like WineSpectator.com and eRobertParker.com and you can’t read the full blog post if you are not a subscriber.

I’m not really sure what their criteria is for selecting the blogs that are up there, although they all seem to be top notch wine blogs.

What resources to you use to find new an interesting blogs? Email me at rob@robswinereview.com or just leave a comment.

Starting next month, WineStyles (the store my wife manages) will begin featuring a different Virgina wine for the entire month. October will feature Pollak. So we loaded up the crew, headed down south and along with Pollak, we hit Veritas and Blue Mountain Brewer.

I’ll do be doing a post complete with tasting notes, ect., on our trip on October 6th, for DrinkLocalWine.com as well as another feature for the WineStyles tasting (More about both of those later), but I just wanted to share some pictures to wet the appetite.

There’s been rumblings about this for quite some time now, but it’s been mostly speculation within the blogosphere and no one really knew what to make of it.

After quickly perusing the wine blog feeds in my Google Reader earlier this week it is not only confirmed, but making tidal waves across the traditional media and industry publications.

The round up:

Reuters Article

Vinfolio with a great break down of the facts and the winners and losers.

Mutineer Magazine article.

My own take:
Ever since the repeal of prohibition, various entities have tried to get state governments to ease and standardize wine shipping laws and do away with the regulatory snake pit that keeps consumers from getting a hold of wines that may or may not be distributed in their neck of the woods. Many of these efforts have failed miserably because they have simply lacked the money and muscle to go toe-to-toe with large distributors, grocery chains and big-box retailers and lobby the legislatures to enact major changes.

Well, that’s all going to change. Amazon.com, due to it’s sheer size, aggressive nature and online marketing prowess can and will pick off statutes one by one that stand in their way. It won’t happen over night, but it will happen. As of now, it looks, like they’ll be able to ship to 26 states. Make that 50 plus DC in no time at all with a major disruptions in the three tier system as well know it. Hooray!

So, what’s your take on this?

Hold tight folks.  Sorry for not posting over the weekend.  We were away for a funeral and did not have internet access.

Also, I’m going to be making a few changes around here.  This blog is going to be more DC/NOVA central.  I’m going to concentrate on local events, local wines, but still have something for folks outside the beltway.

Stay tuned.

–Rob

Ok, so head down the wine aisle of you local mega-mart with non-existent customer service and look on the back label of any of the big-batch domestic red wines (usually about 90% of the stock), especially Merlot or Cab under $15.00, and you’ll see, “Pairs well with meat dishes and pizza”, on the back label. OMG WTF!!!

News Flash:

This is how Madison Avenue sees you at home, actually trying to expertly pair a $15 of 82ish point Cab with a Meat Lover’s special, like it was a $200 Burgundy with the roast duck at Les Halles.

Reality Flash:

When it’s pizza night, all wine goes well with it. Weather it’s frozen pizza with Vinho Verde or Caymus with Pizza Margharita from a wood-fired oven from that trend modern restaurant downtown, it all goes well.

However, I/we accidentally stumbled on a pairing that actually works, and works quite well.

Two Saturdays ago at South Riding’s last outdoor concert of the season, we got Domino’s and pulled a Cab off of the wine rack that a distributor had dropped off to us last week to evaluate. Not expecting liquid gold, we struck it. Eureka!!!

The Wine: 2003 Pietra Santa Cabernet Sauvignon, Cienega Valley . Smokey, dark, peppery with rich black cherry and notes of chocolate. Very complex and good on it’s own.

The Pairing: Domino’s hand-tossed pepperoni with crushed red pepper flakes.

Now the pepper flakes make this pairing. They add the spice and the boldness to stand up to the richness of this wine. Along with the pepperoni, this dish brings out characteristics in the wine that I did not notice while sipping the wine alone. All-in-all, it was a great time with the cool damp evening and the top-notch live reggae music. This was a great pairing for those among us on rather tight budgets.

I’m sure we’ll bring this one into the store and it should be in the low-to-mid $20’s.

This article is kind of funny, but really helpful if you are ever caught without a corkscrew.

What crazy devices have you employed in order to get into a bottle vino? And how much cork ended up in the bottle?