Tag Archives: Burgundy

Winebits 292: Wine lists, Burgundy, torrontes

? No, no, no: The Italian Wine Guy parses a new restaurant wine list and finds it lacking ? for the same reasons so many restaurant wine lists fail. ?What it all boils down to is this: making a commitment to being an ambassador for good tasting wines, whether they be from Italy or California or anywhere in the world. Forget what you think your clients are looking for. They are looking for a good time. ? Why is it that so few restaurants, regardless of concept or price, understand this? Or, as I write in The Cheap Wine Book (maybe about a month away): ?Restaurant bosses would never treat a chicken breast the way they treat a bottle of wine, because they know no one would eat an overpriced piece of poor quality chicken that has gone off. But they think nothing of doing this with wine. ?

? Poor, poor Burgundy: Who knew that the French wine region, home of some of the world ?s best pinot noir and chardonnay, had something in common with west Texas? Violent hailstorms, which regularly devastate the Texas grape crop, reportedly caused catastrophic damage in parts of Burgundy this month, and as much as 90 percent of the vines were damaged. I wonder: Does this mean we ?ll be seeing For Sale in Burgundy Only wines from the 2013 vintage? (Sorry. That ?s a very wine geeky joke, but I couldn ?t help myself. Explanation here.)

? Argentina ?s white grape: How important is torrontes, the often sweet white wine made with the grape of the same name, to the Argentine wine business? How about crucial? The country exports 99 percent of the torrontes it makes, according to a recent report, and exports increased 48 percent between 2009 and 2012. Amazingly, given the grape ?s popularity in the U.S., it ?s only the sixth best seller in Argentina, behind even syrah and muscat.

Wine of the week: Francois Labet Cremant de Bourgogne Brut NV

105455Summer is squishing us here in Dallas, and we ?ve been on either side of 100 degrees for a month or so. So what does the Wine Curmudgeon do when the air conditioner runs all day and the sun hurts to even look at? Break open the bubbly, of course.

In this case, a cremant from Burgundy. I ?ve always enjoyed sparking wines from that part of France, since it produces some of the best chardonnay in the world and quality chardonnay is a key to great ? and expensive — Champagne. Burgundian cremant (the French term for sparkling wine made outside of Champagne) provides quality for a fraction of what Champagne costs.

The Labet ($15, purchased) comes from the same family that owns Chateau de La Tour, a top-notch producer that can trace its wine lineage back to the 15th century. This is not Champagne ? it ?s a little more austere (the review in the link calls it rustic, which I like), but that doesn ?t mean it ?s not an outstanding chardonnay-based cremant. Look for some apple, wonderful bubbles and even a bit of caramel in the back. It ?s more sophisticated and a step up from most cava, and is a great value at this price. Highly recommended.

Winebits 234: Internet alcohol, Burgundy, Ray Bradbury

? British on-line booze ban? A report has called for the government to crack down on on-line liquor sales in the United Kingdom, reports the Harpers trade publication. The author told the magazine that traditional retailers were doing such a good job in preventing underage drinking that more teens and pre-teens were turning to on-line retailers to buy alcohol. This study follows in the wake of a U.S. report that found much the same thing here, and called for stronger state and federal laws to prevent underage purchases.

? More affordable Burgundy? Regular visitors here know that the Wine Curmudgeon has long lamented the high cost of wine from the French region of Burgundy, and especially red Burgundy, perhaps the world ?s best pinot noir.  That may be changing, thanks to new a appellation law that changes the way the old AOC, entry level wines were made. This may well help producers to make better and more affordable wine, reports Shanken News Daily. That ?s the goal, anyway. Whether it actually happens is something far too complicated to predict, given the French winemaking mindset.

? Ray Bradbury: Someone else found Ray Bradbury ?s death worth noting on a wine blog. Wrote Paul Mabry at Vintank, who once briefly met Bradbury: ?I watched mesmerized by the man whose books I ?d devoured through my childhood. He spoke as passionately and as effortlessly as it felt reading his writing. At the end, on his way out of the chateau, I was allowed to shake his hand. I offered him a clumsy letter that I had taken three weeks to write thanking him. When I handed him the letter he softly touched my face and said, ?Do great things, son, do great things. ? ?