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Winebits 832: AI, higher taxes, counterfeit wine

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Robot typing at keyboard
“Who says I can’t write a wine review as well as a human?”

This week’s wine news: Our jobs are safe from AI, plus a call for higher booze taxes and yet another high-end wine theft

• “Our jobs are safe”: This is the sort of “Aren’t I clever writer” story that I usually ignore, full of bad jokes and worse puns and that wanders around the point. But since it’s about AI and chatbots and all the rest, it’s worth mentioning. The gist, as near as I can tell, is that anyone who works in the “drinks” business won’t be replaced by smarmy computers, since the computers aren’t as good at our jobs as we are. Although, and again, it’s difficult to tell, the “drinks” business does want to replace us with a smarmy computer since we cost more money.

• Higher taxes: The news that the World Health Organization is calling for higher taxes on alcohol isn’t new, but I wanted to mention it because WHO has lumped wine, spirits, and beer with the Big Gulp. It wants higher taxes on soft drinks, too. Which, if you think about it, is brilliant marketing. There is nothing redeeming — culturally, socially, or health-wise — about sugary soft drinks, so the proposal implies that wine and the rest in moderation are just as evil and terrible for us, even though there is no evidence that is true. Is it any wonder the neo-Prohibitionists have the wine business on the run?

• More fake wine: Chinese authorities have dismantled an elaborate fake wine operation in Beijing that counterfeited specific vintages of high-end wine on demand. Reports vino-joy.com: The group would purchase empty high-end wine bottles for as much as RMB 500 each (US$70.5), fill them with wines costing around RMB 300 and sell them for more than RMB 1,000 a bottle. That’s a nearly 90 percent discount over what the wines should cost. The story says police were surprised that the gang would take advance orders for the fake wines, “a significant departure from traditional mass production of counterfeit wines.”

Mini-reviews 174: The final edition

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

cashier at wine store
“What are we going to do without any more snarky mini-reviews to read?”

Reviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. It always ran on the fourth Friday of each month — which makes this the last one.

• Domaine Lafage Tessellae Old Vines 2018 ($10, purchased, 14.5%): Even after all these years, wine can still surprise me. This French red — surprisingly available — is just not drinkable, but enjoyable and interesting. Balanced, spicy, not quite jammy, red fruit, and even some herbs, with tannins pushed to the back. And not hot. Imported by European Cellars

• Château Nicot Blanc 2022 ($12, purchased, 13.%): There’s nothing really wrong with this; it’s a decent example of a cheap white Bordeaux (sauvignon blanc and muscadelle, and the latter adds a little spice). But is it worth buying again? Imported by Frederick Wildman & Sons

• Louis Jadot Mâcon-Villages 2022 ($11, purchased, 12.5%) Wine is in big trouble when a producer likes Jadot makes a boring, almost plonky French chardonnay that isn’t worth $11. Imported by Kobrand

• Collequieto Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2021 ($10, purchased, 13.5%): Fairly typical Italian red from the Montepluciano d’Abruzzo region, which means sour cherry but with a little more in the way of tannins. Not as well done as other red d’Abruzzos, but still ready for spaghetti and meatballs. Imported by F&B Wine Imports

Photo: “cashier at wine store” by Consumerist Dot Com is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Christmas wine 2023

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

christmas wine 2020
Yes, this is the last time you’ll have to see this picture in the Christmas wine post.

Four recommendations for Christmas wine 2023

For the final time, the blog’s Christmas wine suggestions, whether for a last minute gift, something to drink when you just want a glass over the next couple of weeks, or for a holiday dinner. Keep our wine gift giving tips in mind — and don’t overlook the blog’s 2023 holiday gift guide.

These wines will get you started:

• Riondo Prosecco NV ($10, purchased, 11%): Italian bubbly is simple but surprisingly enjoyable — much better than I thought it would be. Lots and lots of bubbles, some vaguely tropical fruit, and not especially sweet. Imported by Terlato Wines International

• Falesco Est! Est!! Est!!! 2021 ($12, purchased, 12.5%): This Italian white is a long-time blog favorite, and especially when it cost $8. It tasted has it always has — tart lemon fruit, one-note, and simple, but always fun. Imported by Heritage Collection 

• Perrin & Fils Côtes du Rhône Reserve 2020 ($12, purchased, 14%): This French red is a fairly typical inexpensive Cotes du Rhone (lots of syrah and heavier in the mouth), but mostly balanced with a bit of spice and the requisite amount of black fruit. Imported by Vineyard Brands

• Stemmari Rosato 2021 ($8, purchased, 12%): Italian pink from Sicily made with with the nero d’avola grape. Much going on here for $8; a bit savory, with a bit of berry fruit, and almost stony. Highly recommended. Imported by Prestige Wine Imports

More about Christmas wine:
• Christmas wine 2022
• Christmas wine 2021
• Christmas wine 2020
• Wine of the week: The Curator Red 2021
• Expensive wine 169: Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

Photo: “guardian of wine” by marcostetter is marked with CC PDM 1.0

Wine of the week: Monte Antico Toscana 2019

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

monte_antico_bottle
Monte Antico Toscana 2019/$9-$16

This Italian red blend offers quality and value for just $10

This Italian red wine used to show up around Dallas for as little as $5 a bottle, and though it’s not that cheap anymore, it’s still $10 in much of the country.

In other words, just kind of quality cheap wine we have celebrated for almost 17 years on the blog,

This vintage of the Monte Antico Toscana ($10, purchased, 13%) remains an example of the classic, everyday bottle of Italian red wine. About the only thing missing from this sangiovese blend (for those of us of a certain age, of course) is the wicker basket.

Look for sour cherry fruit, but it’s also a bright, almost fresh wine, despite its age, and the tannins are pushed way, way back. This vintage, which is the current one, seems to have a bit more depth than the last one I tasted, which was likely the 2016. There was also a 2018, though I didn’t see it in Dallas.

Highly recommended, and just the thing for takeout pizza when the holiday crush gets overwhelming.

Imported by Empson USA

 

Winebits 831: Wine surveys, postal service wine delivery, Mike Grgch

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Two old-time newspaper reporters talking
“Who cares if the survey is legit? Just run it!”

This week’s wine news: A wine survey that really isn’t, plus letting the postal service deliver wine and Mke Grgich dies

• Always ask first: This survey, commissioned by a wine accessories product company, offers to explain all that is troubling the wine business: “At what age do Americans hit their moderation era?” Because then we can figure out how and when to market to them. And, of course, it really doesn’t. In this case, it’s not even the sponsor that’s the problem, as it is with so many of these “social media”-style surveys. Rather, the survey doesn’t define moderation, but presents it as some great, ethereal goal that we all strive for. Sigh. is it any wonder I worry about the future of the wine business?

• Postal service wine: Alex Koral, a long-time friend of the blog, pushes to let the U.S. Postal Service deliver wine. This is something the WC has long advocated, not only because the postal service needs the money, but because it will provide much-needed competition to FedEx and UPS. Koral does identify a potential legal issue, since the post office is a federal agency and each state has its own alcohol shipping laws. How does the post office apply for a state license to deliver wine?

• Mike Grigch: Mike Grgich, one of the great winemakers in U.S. history, died last week. He was 100. Grgich, whose self-named Napa winery is an institution, was the winemaker for the 1973 Chateau Montelena chardonnay that was one of the winners at the Judgment of Paris, the 1976 blind tasting in Paris that established California as one of the world’s great wine regions.

Expensive wine 175: Val de Mer Cremant de Bourgogne Blanc (No Dosage) NV

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Vale de Mer cremant bttle
Val de Mer Cremant de Bourgogne Blanc (No Dosage) NV/$21-$25

This French sparkler is about as different from the typical $60 bubbly as possible

What better bottle to use for the blog’s final expensive wine post than this one? It’s purposely made to taste unlike the typical, overpriced Champagne; it’s not especially expensive given sparkling prices; and it got a crummy score on the blog’s unofficial wine inventory app.

In other words, there’s more for the rest of us to enjoy.

The difference between the Val de Mer Cremant de Bourgogne Blanc (No Dosage) NV ($24, purchased, 12%) and Champagne (other than region) is that sugar (called the dosage) isn’t added to the fermented still wine to spur on the second fermentation and soften the bubbly’s acidity. There’s a more complete explanation here, though the subject can get past technical.

For our purposes, it’s enough to know that leaving the dosage out makes a tauter, more dry wine than even really nice $100 Champagnes, which can have a hint of residual sugar. Yes, even this one.

In the case of the Val de Mer, leaving out the dosage produces a wine where the chardonnay really shows off and that is oh so bone dry. So it tastes very little like this Champagne. Which, of course, is the point — and the reason for the crummy scores.

Not that it matters to the WC. This wine has gorgeous, tight bubbles, lots of apple fruit (with a bit of lemon tucked in the back), and what one tasting note calls chalky minerality. It’s an amazing wine; highly recommended and a steal at this price.

Imported by T. Elenteny Imports

 

It’s a Wonderful Wine Life 2023

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

One last time: The WC’s holiday wine traditions, video and literary

I wrote three Christmas parodies during the blog’s run —  my take on “It’s a Wonderful Life,”  as well as A Wine Curmudgeon Christmas Carol and ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas: The cheap wine version. Needless to say, all are brilliant. And I should add that Eddie Murphy recently told Jimmy Kimmell he loves “It’s a Wonderful Life,” so I can only hope Eddie — and his pal, Dick Cavett — will like my version, too.

The video is the WC’s quintessential holiday wine advice video, made with the incomparable Michael Sansolo for the Private Label Manufacturers Association. This was supposed to be a series, but then the pandemic happened and my work with the association came to an end. Ah, but we came so close to making the WC a YouTube star.

The original video post ran here. The video is age-restricted, since it’s about alcohol, but click the link to watch it on YouTube.