West Side Wine

For the second straight year, WSW has its very own rosé. Our dear friend and winemaker par excellence, Tony Coturri, makes it for us, and this year’s vintage is simply amazing. In February we went out to his winery atop Sonoma Mountain to choose our cuvée from approximately 12 different different cuvées. Each cuvée has a different cepage or blend, and some are made with just one varietal. It’s kind of difficult to choose at this point in their development, because they’re still fermenting, hence evolving.

After much tasting one Saturday afternoon, and going back and forth and forth and back, we chose #11, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. It was very pale, fizzy, and slightly sweet. Something about it just spoke to us.

Five months later it arrived as a big, bold, dark beauty, with tons of ripe red berry and cherry fruit, barely resembling a rosé, but tasting definitely like a rosé. It is simply a “wow”.  (And organic/biodynamic too.) If there ever was the consummate barbeque wine, this is it. And it seems that everyone is in agreement. Five cases have already disappeared, and we hope our barrel (20 cases) makes it through the summer. Personally, I’d like a little left over for later in the year, because rosés and Thanksgiving are a marriage made in heaven. And contrary to some peoples’ opinion, I think they can age very well.

So, get it while it’s hot (out there) or if you’re like me, put a few away for those cold winter nights and cozy meals. It works!

We retailers get a lot of e-mails, as you can imagine, from people trying to sell us stuff, as well as folks who want to buy wine from us. Every so often we get these e-mails (in broken or at the least very bad English) from someone looking to buy insane quantities of the most expensive champagnes in the world. The big three are Dom Perignon, Roederer Crystal and Ace of Spades (one I know nothing about except that it’s expensive.) The drill goes like this: they want to buy at least 5 cases of each, give us a credit card via email (obviously stolen) and then have us fed-ex the stuff to them somewhere.  I don’t know where because I never get that far. Click, and into the trash the e-mail goes.

Today I received the best request yet. Those same champagnes were requested, etc. etc., but the e-mail was signed Jesse James. Well, at least this time you admitted it. Good luck with that, Jesse, whoever you are.

Talking Natural WIne

If you haven’t had a chance to check it out (or didn’t even know about it), I’m featured on the Jenny & Francois website this month. I was given the opportunity to mouth off about natural wines, and what those wines mean to me and my business. I think the interview turned out really well. They did a great job. I need to also thank Jenny & François again for introducing me to the wonderful world of natural wines about 6 or 7 years ago. The kids walked into my store one day, wheeling a large bag of natural goodies, and I haven’t looked back since. I’ve built my inventory around them, and never regretted doing so. So, thanks J&L, and keep up the good work.

And do check out their website.  Well done and informative.

Not a day goes by without at least a couple of questions from folks about the dreaded Mr. Sulfite. He’s been blamed for everything from headaches to impotence, and it’s just not fair. So today I thought I’d share with you an e-mail I received from one of my distributors, which succinctly and completely addresses what sulfites are, and what they can or can’t do to you. I was relieved to see that everything I’ve been telling you guys about sulfites is accurate. So “phew.” We were right.

I hope that you take five minutes to check this information out. It goes a long way to clearing up a lot of misconceptions.

Cheers!

Being from San Francisco, Ellen is a SF Giant fan. So when we heard that the Giants were going to be in town playing the Mets, we jumped on it. Stub Hub came to the rescue with two ducats for the Thursday day game.

Now, being a die-hard Yankee fan, I have never been to Citifield. So this was going to be an experience. And it was.

I want to make it clear — this is a very nice ballpark. Intimate, yet still open and accessible. But soon it became apparent that this was a very different ballpark. Did you know that wine bars and gluten-free foods are part of baseball? I did not know that. Nor did I know that a ballpark could be so immaculately clean, including the men’s room, which had (among other things) WARM running water with which to wash your hands. Everything at the venue was so
white and sparkly, including the fans. Where was I? Cincinnati? Seattle? St. Louis?  I could’ve been, because I also didn’t have any interest in what was happening out on the field. But I did know that we took the #7 train out there, not an airplane, so we must have still been in New York, I guess.

But the most important thing is that we had a lot of fun and laughs taking in all that was happening around us. And for what it’s worth, the home team did beat the World Champions. We all need to shake things up more often, and this did it for me.  So, let’s go Mets!  Just kidding.

No,  not that motherfucker. But while I’m on the subject, it has been a good May for the good guys. First, we have to hand it to the Navy Seals for a job extremely well done on May 1st.  I know it probably isn’t nice to celebrate a death, but in this case it is completely appropriate as far as I’m concerned. It  couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. I only hope that the fish don’t get sick feeding on his worthless corpse.

That being said, and on a much cheerier note, May 3rd brought about another, very different victory for a very good guy. Our friend Yul Vasquez got a well deserved Tony nomination for his performance in The Motherfucker With The Hat.  He is outstanding as cousin Julio, and has been richly rewarded with not only this nomination, but also The Drama Desk and Outer Critics folks, as well. Go see for yourself, and treat yourself to a really wonderful night of theater. Three of the five cast members received nominations as did the play itself for Best Play, along with the director and the scenic design. So it’s not just me saying it’s great.

So far so good for May 2011.  Let’s keep it up.

Tony, Francois Ecot, and Olivier

Sometimes I can get so all-consumed with the travails of having a store and running a retail business (read My Korean Deli), that I lose sight of the real joys of being in the wine business. This week was a wonderful reminder of that, as Ellen and I joined a “summit” of two biodynamic winemakers, one from France the other from California, atop Sonoma Mountain in Glen Ellen, California. At Coturri Winery, Tony Coturri and Olivier Cousin (from Anjou in the Loire Valley) spent the week getting to know each other while sharing their perspectives and knowledge of the art of growing grapes and making natural wines (despite the language barrier.) A genuine bond and friendship was formed between two very like personalities. It was a joy to watch, and I was proud to have had a hand in making this happen.

The real fun began with the roasting of a pig and a feast to match all feasts (thank you Charlene), joined by vintage Coturri masterpieces brought out from the depths of his cave, including a 1964 (that’s 47 years ago, folks) Petit Syrah that was one of the first wines Tony and his dad made together. It was vibrant, lively and simply fantastic. Tony was showing off, as well he should, and it was a pleasure to be the beneficiary of his prowess. Ellen and I were reminded of a similar experience at Olivier’s home a few years ago, when he opened a 1959 Cabernet Franc that was his grandfather’s final vintage. We love it that winemaker’s love to show off.

Charlene making magic while Nic "helps"

Anyway, the visit ended with hugs, double kisses and promises of “let’s do this at my place in France”.  Ah, yes. The day to day headaches of a business are always there, but it only takes one unforgettable evening to make them all go away.  Thanks and merci Tony and Olvier.  A bientot!

The Terrier Family at Rouge Tomate

You know that feeling, when you think you’re at the top of your game. You’ve honed your skills and your confidence is at its all-time high. Then you discover someone who makes you feel like you’re amateur night. You think you’re a good writer, then you read Jonathan Franzen or Ian McEwan. You think you’re getting to be pretty good at photography, and you discover Ansel Adams or Henri Cartier-Bresson. Good at the piano?  Brubeck will bury you.

Well my bubble burst yesterday when I reconnected with Pascaline Lepeltier, the sommelier at Rouge Tomate. Not only is she personable and normal (I have that part kind of that down) but she has the most extraordinary palate and wine knowledge known to man (or woman.)

We had the privilege of being taken to lunch at Rouge Tomate by winemakers Magali and Dominique Terrier of the wonderful Deux Anes in Corbiere, who we housed for a week while they were here with their two adorable sons, Leo and Jules. for natural winemakers’ week. Pascaline is good friends with them, and she immediately took over as our host. I couldn’t wait to revisit her wine list, as she is considered one of the great sommeliers in the world. I was gratified that not only did I recognize a lot of the wines, but I also sell a good number of them at WSW.

But as we spoke and I got to know her better, I realized that I am no Franzen or Bresson or Brubeck. Pascaline not only lives wine, she has that “gift” that few are given for their chosen field. And no matter how hard I study and how much I learn, I don’t know that I’ll ever be a Pascaline.

But that’s the fun of it. You never know.

We were watching the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show the other night with our pals Tillie and Bau. (Yes, they actually were watching.) We always try to catch the judging of the breeds of dogs we have owned, although we’ve only owned one and a half breeds.  Lucy was a half

Lucy

Bearded Collie/ half Labrador, and since she’s been gone we’ve had a bunch of knuckleheaded English Labrador Retrievers come into our lives via Guide Dog Foundation.

So, there we were, rooting for the Beardie in the Herding Group and the Labrador in the Sporting Group. The Beardie runs around with this beautiful flowing coat, looks great, wins his group and goes off to the finals. Then comes the Sporting Group finals.  They show all of the contestants, and when it comes to the

Bau and Tillie

Labrador, David Frye (the commentator) chuckles and says, “Who doesn’t love a Lab?”

Well apparently everyone does, but not enough for Labs to win their group, no less ever win Best In Show. The dog gets no respect. They are the nicest, sweetest, kindest, lovingest dogs there are, BUT just not prize-worthy. They don’t have hair shaved off their butt, they don’t have long flowing locks, they don’t have poofy hair balls on their head, so they just don’t cut it. The fact of the matter is that they’re gorgeous (and smart), not to mention cute and playful until the day they die. But nooo, not good enough for those judges who look for the flash, the pizazz, the haircut. The New York Times even did a piece on just this subject, with Lab owners just shrugging their shoulders and saying, “Wadda ya gonna do?”

The Wine Guy

Well, we can’t do much but just say, “Wait until next year.”  But if history is any judge, we’ll be saying that every year. Labradors are the number one dog in AKC registrations every year, but prize-worthy?  NEVER!  Talk about no respect, no respect at all.  I guess what they say about nice guys is true.

Cheers to the Labs in my life.

When I bought West Side Wine, over 11 years ago, I got rid of 99% of the garbage that was on the shelves. But there were a couple of things that were considered “untouchables”— wines that were just too popular around the neighborhood to toss. Over the years I’ve been slowly weeding out those wines, replacing them with better values and more interesting options.

This week the final and most untouchable of untouchables was finally booted. Veuve Clicquot is a mass produced champagne owned by the the international conglomerate LVMH. It is heavily marketed, hence very popular. EVERYONE knows VC. Hence, I just couldn’t get rid of it, but I always felt guilty because, in my opinion, it isn’t very good. And so there it stood on my shelves, for better or worse. Until this week, when I received a shipment and found out that the distributor was playing games with the pricing.  And that’s when I finally decided enough was enough. I had the cases picked up, never to darken my doors again.

I’m taking this as a golden opportunity to completely revamp my bubbles, and go “grower”. “Grower”  is a term for champagnes that are made by people who grow their own grapes and make their own champagnes. As opposed to the VC’s of the world—and there are many—which are basically factories that buy grapes and churn out tons of bubbles, seriously compromising quality.

So now I have many, new, wonderful, delicious, organic (if not biodynamic) champagnes that you probably haven’t heard of, but are simply so far superior to the so-called name brands. “Household” names like Moncuit, Chartogne-Taillot, A. Margaine, Camille Saves and Laissaigne.

Don’t panic when you don’t see the old familiar orange label on our shelf. You’re in much better hands with one of these gorgeous new kids on the block.  Cheers!