Category:Regional wine

Local food and local wine

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

One of the handicaps that regional wine has faced over the past several years is that it has not been embraced by the regional food movement. Locavore has become a key term in the foodie and chef vocabulary, but locapour (with several notable exceptions) has been missing from the discussion. And, when local wine advocates like Todd Kliman point out this discrepancy, they take a lot of abuse.

Which is why I was so glad to hear Kent Rathbun — yes, that Kent Rathbun — plug local wine during our chat at the State Fair of Texas yesterday. Local wine, he said, is a part of the local food movement, just like local tomatoes and local cheese. It's not local wine and local food; it's local, and it's all part of the same process.

His advice? Consumers need to try local wine with the same enthusiasm that they try other local products. The quality is good, he said, and getting better. And you know what you're missing until you try it.

Regional wine and terroir

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Don't be scared by the headline. All it means is that regional wine isn't supposed to taste like it comes from Napa or Bordeaux.

Best yet, it's a video! Yes, the Wine Curmudgeon has entered the YouTube phase of his career (and you'll notice the link on the upper right side of the page, just below the banner). This was shot during the Kerrville Wine and Music Festival, and the video quality and sound are quite good. The camera wandered a bit, though, which shows that one should never let people who drink use a camera. But, aside from that, I explain why regional wine should reflect the region where it's from. The handsome fellow on my right is John Bratcher, the other wine guy.

And can I get another Squirrel Award for my straw hat?

 

Texas wine at the State Fair of Texas

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

The 110th State Fair of Texas starts next week, and Texas wine and the Wine Curmudgeon will be there. The Texas Wine Garden is an integral part of the 24-day event (well, maybe not quite as integral as corny dogs), and I'll be on hand to interview Texas winemakers, wine personalities, chefs and sommeliers. We'll talk about Texas wine, taste Texas wine, and even give away a few items.

We've lined up some impressive names — Paula Lambert, one of the top cheesemakers in the world, to discuss cheese and wine pairings; chef Joel Harloff of the re-opened Green Room; master sommelier James Tidwell, long a proponent of Texas wine; and Jim and Vicki White, who run the Savor Dallas wine and food festival.

The schedule is here (it will open in a spreadsheet you can view or download). If you're in the Dallas area between Sept. 24 and Oct. 17, stop by and say hello. I'll be at the fair on the days colored in light blue. John Bratcher, the other Wine Guy, will be there on the days colored in what the computer calls light cyan.

Kerrville wine and music festival

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Seven things I learned at the Kerrville Wine and Music Festival:

1. I don't have the hips to wear a tie-dye man skirt. Though my legs are probably good enough.

2. Cowboy boots and short skirts are a particularly Texas fashion statement.

3. Two days of listening to music made by people who love what they're doing makes even the Wine Curmudgeon a little less cranky.

4. It's very difficult to drive five miles an hour. Very, very difficult.

5. All of the acts were terrific — and some were even better than that, including The Marshall Ford Swing Band, Chet O'Keefe, Andrew Delaney, and a pickup band featuring Anthony DaCosta, John Elliott and Raina Rose.

6. The Kerrville wine seminar audiences are fantastic. They pay attention, they ask good questions, and they want to learn about regional wine. It's one of the few places I speak where the audience breaks into loud cheers when you tell them that it's OK to drink what they like, even if what they like is regional wine.

7. Brennan Vineyards makes outstanding Texas syrah, and the 2007 is no exception (and, at $17, is a fair value). It has found the sweet spot between Rhone, Californian and Australian syrahs. Open the bottle 20 or 30 minutes before you drink it, and it will surprise you with its depth and complexity.

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Local chefs and local wine

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Many of us were skeptical earlier this year when the National Restaurant Association reported that U.S. chefs had identified local wine as one of the top restaurant trends in 2010. Or, as I noted at the time, “it remains to be seen if the chefs who have taken up regional wine in the survey will do so in their restaurants.”

Well, son of a gun, they may actually be doing it.

The wine program for this year’s State Fair of Texas, which starts in three weeks, will feature a series of interviews with Texas winemakers, wine personalities, grape growers, sommeliers, and writers. John Bratcher (the Other Wine Guy) and I, who are putting the program together, wanted to include local chefs. But we weren’t sure how receptive they would be. Turns out very receptive — no one has said no, and we may be getting one of the biggest chefs in the country. We’ll have the final lineup next week, and it will be posted on the State Fair Web site.

Obviously, some of the chefs’ enthusiasm is because they’ll be getting good publicity. And some of them know John and I, and want to help us out. But for the most part, the enthusiasm is because they believe in local wine. Or, as Joel Harloff, the chef at the re-born Green Room told me, “Anything I can do to help I’ll do. Just let me know.”

It’s not news that regional wine matters. What is news is that the people who can make a difference in helping regional wine gain acceptance are doing just that.

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Wine quality: Can it be regulated?

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

One of the most pressing issues facing the regional wine business, especially as it grows in popularity, is maintaining quality. Making 3,000 cases a wine of year is much easier than making 50,000 cases, a problem that any business in any field faces when it grows quickly. In addition, regional wine must deal with the grand metaphysical question of its existence: If a regional producer makes wine with grapes that aren't from the region, is it still regional wine?

Complicating matters even more is that the two questions are related. If business is so good that you need to make more wine, and California grapes are so cheap (which they are, thanks to the recession), then why not make your regional wine with California grapes? Who will be the wiser?

This is something that Russ Kane addressed over the weekend on his Vintage Texas blog, calling for the creation of a Texas Wine Quality Alliance to give Texas wines a Good Housekeeping seal of approval. It is not a new idea; wineries in other states, including Pennsylvania, have considered something similar. And there is much to be said for the proposal, since poor quality and regional wine made with non-regional grapes are among the biggest problems facing the regional wine business.

But it's an idea that probably won't work. Read why, after the jump:

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