Levi, of Vin Collections, was over a few weeks back to the winery looking through some of older wines books. He pulled out The Treasury of American Wine from 1971 and read us the following quote:

Some day I'd like to see a winery picketed - not by Cesar Chavez but by a consumer saying, "You've taken all the character out of your cabernet."
The Treasury of American Wine, Norman Chroman, Crown Publishers, 1971

One often hears how wines are too similar tasting - without character these days due to the late harvest or winemaker's desire to please influential critics. I guess this is nothing new.

Over a conversation filled with lots of wine, I mentioned that we got our 08 Isabel's Cuvee Grenache Gris Rose right. Our companion asked what that meant which caused me to pause and think about it. It means a few things:

• We picked at the right moment for our desired outcome - ripe but not to ripe.
  
• We managed the light smoke taint - taking the wine of the gross lees before barreling down.
  
• We knew how to provide the right environment for the wine to develop in without intervention. Barrels kept at around 70 degrees. Lees stirred only a few times.
  
• The wine, the yeast and the bacteria did their part in barrel.
  

I think the result are spectacular. It always amazes me how grapes and a little SO2 can make such a wonderful product.

Last night, thanks to a lovely friend, we tasted numerous Italian wines. Three stuck out in my mind for different reasons:

• Zuani vigne 2007, DOC Collio Bianco Zuani Societa Agricola. A lovely white that had an incredible nose that really appealed to me. The wine is a blend of TocaiFriuliano, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc.
  
• Rosso del Saprano 2005, IGT Sicilia, Palari. A blend of Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio, Nocera, and Galatena from the slopes of Mt Etna. The wine showed finesse, elegance yet an earthly roughness on the edges. Pepper, cloves, dried thyme and dark cherries. We have a bottle or two of Faro, another wine made by Palari, that I am now tempted to open.
  
• Acinatico 2004, DOC Recioto della Valpolicella Classico, Stefano Accordini. Mocha, port and dark cherries. Round and soft yet lovely. Great way to end the night.
  

I would love to spend more time tasting Italian wines...

We had dinner with Sacha Verhange of Eno Wines on Saturday night along with his lovely wife and daughter. Over dinner, we enjoyed several interesting wines that are worth noting.

2006 Saint-Joseph, Rene-Jean Dard et Francois Ribo. Probably the most fascinating wine we had all night. It reminded me of a good Cote-Rotie as well as the wines of Raymond Trollat. I would guess that it was fermented with stems. I wasn't able to confirm my guess looking around on the web so who knows. I did find out that they release a Syrah in the spring following harvest - I would love to give it a try and will look for it. You can read a bit more about them at: http://www.wineterroirs.com/2004/06/dard_ribo.html The winemakers trained in Beaune so it was the perfect match for our other wines.

2000 Gevrey-Chambertin, Hubert Lignier. I really liked this wine - spicy and minerally. The balance was nearly perfect and reminded me what I really like in wine. Balanced and not over the top. I don't know anything about it and don't even know when/where we got it.

1999 Chambertin, Trapet Pere & Fils. Last time we opened a bottle of this, we were totally disappointed. This time, it was singing. Lots of dark fruit with a silky texture. We bought this bottle at the domaine when we were first dating. Grandmère Trapet led us around - we didn't speak a word of French and she, not a word of English. That said, we had a wonderful time as she told us about Napoleon's love of Chambertin and her love of Tracey's nail polish. The wine brought us back to that moment which made it nearly perfect.

A great evening and wonderful wines!

In a recent post on Proof, Iain Gately describes his hang over cure (which I won't ever try) and the struggle to explain in Spanish that he was not a sloppy drunk the night before...

When I fell into bed with my partner I was happy: inebriated yes, wasted, no. Squiffy rather than sloshed, trashed or flayed.
Besotted - Etymologically, That Is

According to the post, Benjamin Franklin published common phrases for describing a drunk in 1736. I am going to try and use "He's Eat a Toad & half for Breakfast" as soon as possible.

Natural wine making is a hard concept to explain and many of our fellow wine makers get offended by the mere mention of.

Vinopis, a french winemaker's blog, recently posted two very interesting South Africa ads for Avondale winery. The ads try to explain, in an eye catching manner, why they make wine au naturel.

We plan our own ad campaign with naked yeast photos.