Monthly Archive for July, 2006

Friday, July 28, 2006.  I’m on my way up Anderson Valley for the 24th annual California Wine Tasting Championships.  My wife has kindly offered to drive so I can blog for as long as my laptop battery holds out.  Last year was my first year of participation, and was honored to have lost in the final round to two winemakers and a distributor.

The format is challenging – an unknown wine is poured into your glass and you have four minutes to determine the following:
• The grape variety (all wines are varietal wines, with at least 75% of the dominant variety) 6points
• Extra Credit (only granted IF the correct varietal is identified)
   o It’s region (3 points)
   o It’s vintage (1 point)
   o It’s producer (2 points)

Guess the wrong grape varietal, and you lose all points you may have earned for that wine! Contestants taste 8 wines per round.

This year I’ve talked to some of my industry friends into competing, one of whom rented a van to transport their entire staff to the competition!  This adds an extra element of pressure, of course.  And while I’m glad my friends are participating, it does add an element of stress to the competition. 

I don’t know about you, but my palate goes through periods of being really stupid.  It just flat won’t work.  Such periods don’t last long – a couple hours at the most.  When blind tasting, this is akin to instant defeat.

Unbeknownst to my wife, I’d stopped by Safeway and dropped a whopping $45 on seven practice wines.  She was kind enough to wrap them and pour them for me to practice with in preparation of tomorrow’s event.  I have to say, I did horribly.  And worse yet, I thought I’d done very well until the wine’s identities were revealed.  I went to bed in a restless mood, clearly dreading tomorrow.

Next – Saturday’s competition…

Nine years ago, when I attended my first annual conference of the Society of Wine Educators, I sat next to a white-haired veteran who had helped found the event, some 20+ years before.  He asked me what I thought of the organization and I replied "I think it is a great source for detailed information that is of interest to a small percentage of wine drinkers, but I think its primary mission should be to educate the masses, to make wine a part of every night’s meal for the average American". 

I was summarily dismissed as a heathen, a young turk who simply didn’t understand the discipline of the religious order that was fine wine.

So it was with a certain amount of quiet glee that I listened to the this year’s keynote speaker (Paul Wagner of Balzac Communications) as he outlined why SWE and most premium wine companies "Have it all wrong".  The best quote from his talk?  "For most people, drinking wine with a Sommelier is like making love to a sex therapist – pleasure is surpassed by the overriding fear that they are not doing something right, that they don’t know some critical technique.  Love should not be made with a manual in one hand, and wine should not be enjoyed that way either."

That was just one of the amusing tidbits from last week’s marathon event.  Here are more selected highlights for those not able to attend:

• The amazing phenomenon of "yellow tail" almost did not occur.  Owner Bill Deutsch originally nixed the label design featuring the now famous kangaroo, but his son (an heir apparent) Peter talked him out of it.  That was five years and about 15 million cases ago.  The label launched the "Critter Wine" craze, the most successful labels in the fighting varietals category, and the wines most popular among the 20-something market.
• "Most wine classes do not appeal to today’s market – it’s like we’re trying to teach Mah Jong in a Video Games marketplace"…
• "We talk about wine in terms that are way too technical!  If a friend of yours asked about someone they’re interested in dating – would you respond with "she’s a carbon-based life form, 68% water with a pH of…?"  That’s what we’re doing with wine.  As with people, we want to know a Wine through descriptoins and stories….
• Wine is a reflection of the culture that produced it…
• Overheard at the bar in the Eugene Hilton – "What are the three dominant trellising methods used in the Duoro?"… "What does IBU stand for?"… "What does VSP stand for?"… Turns out Master Sommelier Tim Gaiser was holding court, describing some questions from a recent exam for young sommeliers…
• "Global warming is threatening Spain’s $2.4 Billion wine industry, forcing vineyards into cooler regions in the Pyrenees"…
• "Global warming is made up by the media and the Liberals and scientists who want more research grants"…
• Wine is rapidly becoming a part of American culture, with the number of wineries doubling since 2000.  Wine is now produced in all 50 states and is beginning to have an impact on rural life like no other agricultural product ever has – people don’t drive out to the country to go to a Corn Tasting Room.  That is why the U.S. wine industry is gaining such political clout.  Even in states where it is a small industry, it’s like the talking dog – it’s not WHAT it says, but that it says ANYTHING at all…
• Taking the keynote speaker’s message to heart, Jennifer Rosen makes wine education enjoyable and accessible, despite having an impressive palate and storehouse of knowledge, albeit with a racy edge that pushes the envelope of her more timid readers.  Her preview of her upcoming book "The Cork Jester’s Guide to Wine" began with "When I got my last divorce, I took a vow of promiscuity."  Her latest book reports, among other things, the answers she has received from winemakers around the globe to her question "How is wine like sex?"

More to come…

Dave Chambers, Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com