Wine Spectator makes a Pinot Noir its No. 1

The winning wine.

Wine Spectator magazine has selected a California Pinot Noir as its "Wine of the Year" for 2011.

The Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2009 was chosen from among the more than 16,000 wines reviewed in blind tastings this year.

"Part of Kosta Browne's appeal is its unique history," explains Marvin R. Shanken, editor and publisher of Wine Spectator. "This small Sonoma winery was founded just over a decade ago by two waiters who pooled their tips so they could make wine.

"Since 2002, Dan Kosta and Michael Browne have made 66 wines that have earned 90 points or higher -- though they don't own a single vine and make wine in a rented warehouse. In 2009, the greatest vintage yet for California Pinot, the team made 11 outstanding Pinots, including our Wine of the Year for 2011, which scored 95 points and was released at $52."

The full list of the Top 100 will be published in the December 31-January 15, 2012, issue of the magazine, available on newsstands beginning December. 6.

Meanwhile, we can reveal the top 10 selections:

1. Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2009 (95 points, $52, 5,818 cases made)

2. Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Kathryn Hall 2008 (96 points, $90, 2,450 cases made)

3. Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux Clos du Bourg Premiere Trie 2009 (96 points, $69, 760 cases made)

4. Campogiovanni Brunello di Montalcino 2006 (96 points, $50, 7,000 cases made)

5. Dehlinger Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 2008 (95 points, $50, 1,050 cases made)

6. Baer Ursa Columbia Valley 2008 (95 points, $35, 1,095 cases made)

7. Quinta do Vallado Touriga Nacional Douro 2008 (95 points, $55, 2,188 cases made)

8. Domenico Clerico Barolo Ciabot Mentin Ginestra 2006 (96 points, $90, 1,500 cases made)

9. Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage La Guiraude 2009 (94 points, $55, 650 cases made)

10. Chateau de St.-Cosme Gigondas Valbelle 2009 (94 points, $58, 1,175 cases made)

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Yao's first wine to aid 2 charities

The entrepreneur and his charity wine.

Meet the latest celebrity who hopes success in the wine business is a slam dunk.

Yao Ming, 31, the pro basketball star forced into retirement last summer because of lingering injuries, has a 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon produced by his own Yao Family Wines company.

“Basketball gave me the opportunity to live in the United States and discover many wonderful things in America. Now I look forward to bringing great wines from California back to the Chinese people,” Yao said in a statement.

There are only 1,200 bottles of this particular wine. The wine is to be auctioned this Sunday at a starting price of US$9,429 as a fundraiser for the Special Olympics and for the Shanghai Special Care Foundation, a charity for special-needs children.

Yao is a global ambassador for the Special Olympics. He also is involved in variety of philanthropic work through his Yao Ming Foundation. His winery is located in California's Napa Valley.

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NY, California lead Wine Society competition

ROCHESTER -- Twenty-one wines, two-thirds of them from New York and California producers, earned double-gold honors in the recwnt American Wine Society competition held here.

To earn double gold, a wine must be unanimously selected by the judges on the panel initially tasting it.

Double gold winners are listed on the chart below. To access the full list of winners in all levels -- gold, silver and bronze -- click here.



The American Wine Society is the oldest and largest consumer-based wine organization in the country, It is for anyone interested in wine and wants to learn more about it. Its mission is the "appreciation of wine through education" and its membership includes wine lovers from novice to expert, amateur and professional winemakers, and people in all aspects of the wine trade. It has 120 chapters with members in 41 states.

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Picking THE holiday wines from memory

A lineup of sauternes wines.

When I was growing up, wine was something served in our house only on holidays. Cocktails were the order of the day, and to this moment they remain my preference. But, when it comes to mealtimes, I delight in pairing wines and foods. I find the variety available in these days of global cuisine makes it less of a chore than it had been long ago.

The first "holiday wine" I recall being poured at our dinner table was a chilled sauternes, a French sweet wine from the Sauternais region of Bordeaux. I didn't know it was a blend of Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle grapes that have been affected by Botrytis cinerea -- also known as "noble rot" -- that causes the grapes to contract and concentrate their juice to raise the flavor level. I did know it tasted great with turkey.

As I grew older, my tastes ran toward drier wines, a fairly natural progression that has led me to regularly imbibe Rieslings, the Alsatian style white that has become a huge seller in the U.S. There are several varieties of Riesling, from dry to semi-dry to sweet to ice wine. Its vintage-after-vintage improvement has helped it reach elite status at domestic and international wine competitions in a comparatively short time.

The strong consumer acceptance of Rieslings has come as Finger Lakes Rieslings have taken the lead in quality and consistency. Australia's Canberra International Riesling Challenge is arguably the top such competition in the world. Sheldrake Point, a Finger Lakes stalwart, in October saw its 2010 Riesling Ice Wine win the "USA Perpetual Trophy for Best American Riesling," just a year after its 2008 Late Harvest Riesling was named "Best Sweet Wine in the World" at the same event.

Another Finger Lakes winemaker, Dr. Konstantin Frank, took home "Best Varietal" honors in the prestigious International Eastern Wine Competition with its 2008 Riesling, Bunch Select Late Harvest.

But, lest we think Rieslings are the only good picks to go with such a mish-mash of flavors and textures for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals as turkey or ham, root vegetables or green beans, roasted yams or mashed potatoes, apple sauce or cranberry sauce, pumpkin or lemon meringue pies ... Think again.

There are several other wines that trace their heritage to the same Alsace region that over the years has belonged first to France, then to Germany, then back to France, and so on, and have become standards in U.S. vineyards, particularly in New York, Oregon, Washington, Virginia and Texas. They all share a clean bite, can range from sweet to bone dry, and work well with a variety of foods so common to our holiday tables. A few examples:

Gewurtztraminer -- Very Riesling-like, but spicier and something that will stand up to herb-infused birds, stuffing and the like.

Pinot Gris -- Especially good as a first-course wine with citrusy or even creamy salad dressings, or with cheese platters.

Zinfandel -- This is a key building block in California's wine industry and has been for more than a century and a half. It originally appeared in Croatia but has become a New World darling. It is available in every shade from pure white to golden yellow to pink to reddish hues. Goes great with virtually any kind of meat and isn't so robust it overpowers lighter side dishes.

When it comes to the after-dinner drink, here we get into the realm of individual preference. There are no wrongs or rights. Everything from a syrupy Frangelico liqueur to a less viscous port wine will work, often depending upon the ethnicity of the imbiber and what customs the household observes.

And, of course, there always is sauternes. Really? Yes, the more mature vintages that tend toward a heavier viscosity make excellent postprandial treats. Ah yes, I remember it well.

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A beer drinker's guide to holiday Champagne

From the "Dowd On Drinks" archives, updated:

Flash forward to December 26. There you sit, in your latest ugly Christmas sweater that already has a splotch of holiday gravy on the front, wondering how to avoid looking like a schlub when you uncork the champagne you've been assigned to purchase for the next family inquisition commonly known as New Year's Eve.

You like your bubbly, of course, if it says Bud Lite on the label. What do you know about that frou-frou French stuff, and who wants to spend that kind of money on something that tickles your nose and tastes sour anyway?

If you know champagne is French, you may be farther ahead than you realize. The rest is a simple matter of getting educated. Quickly. So, let's take you back in time to just before Thanksgiving 2011 -- like today, maybe. Sit up straight and pay attention.

True champagne comes from the Champagne region in the northeastern part of France which jealously protects the name "Champagne'' worldwide. That's why the phrases "Champagne style'' and "methode champenoise'' appear on a lot of non-French labels. (See how much you've learned already?)

Champagne doesn't taste sour. Crappy Champagne does. However, it does have quite a range from tart to sweet.

There is something called "liqueur d'expedition'' which is used to top off bottles after the sediment has been removed. Because it contains varying amounts of sugar and some reserve wine, the sweetness of the finished product will vary and determines the style of the Champagne.

The most common style is brut -- there is an extra or ultra brut, but you'll rarely see it, especially in the U.S. Brut has 0 to 15 grams of sugar per liter. Then comes extra sec with 12-20 grams, sec at 17-35, demi-sec at 35-50, doux at more than 50 and also extremely rare. You're usually dealing with brut style in this country, and it's a versatile wine for meals, desserts or just quaffing.

Champagne prices range all over the place, such as $15-$22 for a palatable low-end wine to $30-$60 for the better ones without having to sell your first-born to pay for even more expensive ones. My favorites are Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin ($39.95) and Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Brut ($30) among the affordable imports and Chateau Frank 2000 Blanc de Noirs from the Finger Lakes ($29.99) among the "methode champenoise'' domestics.

What should determine the price is what's in the bottle. A non-vintage wine, usually denoted by the letters NV on the label instead of a vintage year, is a blend from several different years. Vintage wines are produced from a single year. Most Champagne houses will designate a vintage only if they think the grape crop from that year was special. Otherwise, they blend their product to meet a certain standard. Vintages are more expensive.

Some of the other top-tier French Champagnes are Taittinger, Moet et Chandon, Bollinger, Cristal, Pol Roger and Dom Perignon. The French-owned Roederer Estate winery in California also produces some nice bubblies.

Champagnes do not have to be golden, as the movies would have you believe. There are Champagnes ranging in color from nearly white to deep gold to rose or bright pink. It all depends on the manufacturing process.

There are Champagnes made entirely from black grapes (blanc de noir) such as pinot noir and pinot meunier and Champagnes made entirely from white grapes (blanc de blanc) such as chardonnay. The rose wines are made by allowing a little more contact with the red grape skins than usual or, in a few cases, even introducing a touch of red wine to the process.

Champagne is best served as cold as you can get it without putting it in the freezer, although that can be strictly a matter of individual taste. The coldness helps maintain the bubbles after opening.

And, speaking of opening, a bad job of doing that can ruin the whole thing. Just keep a few things in mind:

• Remove the wire cage and foil covering the cork.

• Point the bottle away from everyone, including yourself. It is under tremendous pressure, so it can be a dangerous missile.

• Put a dish towel over the top of the bottle and, with your hand under the towel, grasp the cork firmly.

• Hold the cork steady and turn the bottle. The cork will slowly disengage.

• When the cork comes out, keep the towel over the bottle opening for a moment to preserve the gas and the Champagne.

• Pour into Champagne flutes and enjoy.

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In court of public opinion, Champagne reigns

Marlene Dietrich quaffs Champagne.

The French are a people long known for their skills with food and drink. They often are observed, when anything French isn't praised highly enough for them, to fly into fits of pique. Pique, a French word by way of Latin meaning anger, annoyance, conniption, snit. All aptly descriptive.

Take Champagne, for example. The lovely bubblies made in that region of northern France have, by most laws even beyond La Belle France, been ascertained as the only true Champagne. Made anywhere else and they are mere pretenders to the throne.

Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992), the influential German-born movie star (shown above in a 1959 Paris restaurant), wrote that she loved Champagne because "It gives the impression that it is Sunday and that the best days will soon be upon us.''

Today's wine world largely goes along with the legal aspects as well as that attitude toward Champagne, but it is not a recent conceit. Throughout history the world has known of the French reverence for the wine. Even an Austrian like Johann Strauss the Younger kept it as a major part of his opera "Die Fledermaus'' ("The Bat'') which he adapted from the French vaudeville production "Le Reveillon'' in 1874. In the finale, all sing in praise of Champagne, the king of all the wines.

The French Enlightenment philosopher Francois-Marie Arouet de Voltaire, writing in 1736, noted "the sparkling froth of these fresh wines is the sparkling image of us, the French.''

The French master of fiction Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) said he always put a glass of Champagne beside his inkwell to give his pen a sparkling inspiration.

So, here we are mere days from that hideously commercialized, yet still nice to have, holiday known as Thanksgiving Day, and just beyond it we have Christmas and New Year's Eve. Days when Champagne enters into the consciousness of many who ignore it the rest of the year.

I was never impressed by the recent years' wave of anti-French sentiment that resulted in such foolishness as "Freedom fries,'' but I do advocate -- as a longtime journalist and defender of free speech in all situations -- saying that Champagne is recherche, French for excellent, delicious, discriminating, pleasing, splendid, superb. All aptly descriptive.

Tomorrow, I'll be presenting, in time for all those aforementioned holidays, my annual guide, "A beer drinker's guide to holiday champagne." See you then.

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Mmmm, wine from a polluted canal area

Joseph Mariano

BROOKLYN, NY -- New vineyards and wineries keep popping up around New York State with great regularity. So, not every venture is a major news item. This one is different.

Joseph Mariano, 73, a Brooklyn resident who has been an amateur winemaker since 1994, is cultivating a 50-foot grapevine a few blocks from the Gowanus Canal, widely regarded as one of the world's most polluted waterways. Thus, the local water table is very suspect.

From it, he has produced a wine he calls Vinum Nostrum, Latin for "our wine," a product he says is totally safe to drink.

You can get more details on his project from an interview with the New York Post.

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UK inventor comes up with paper wine bottle

The recyclable paper wine bottle.

I recently reported on my Spirits Notebook blog details of a new product -- Scotch whisky in a can. Today, it's wine in a paper bottle.

No, not a paper bag, a la homeless winos. This is an actual paper bottle, called GreenBottle. It's trumpeted as the world's first such wine package.

GreenBottle is the brainchild of Suffolk, England, inventor Martin Myerscough who based it on a paper milk bottle he created and that has sold 100,000 units since it went on sale in the UK earlier this year.

The wine bottle combines a paper outer layer and a thin plastic lining. The idea is to have a recyclable container rather than fill up landfills with empty bottles.

GreenBottle is in the process of holding talks with supermarkets and wine producers with an eye toward making the paper contaienrs available to consumers as early as next year.

Myerscough told the UK Press Association, "The best thing about GreenBottle is that consumers just get it. We've found that if you offer them the choice of a paper bottle or a plastic one they'll choose paper every time. ... All you would need to do [to recycle] is rip out the plastic lining and put the paper outer-casing in the bin or on the compost heap."

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NZ ratcheting up its U.S. market push

A vineyard in the Marlborough region.

• From The Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch.com

CHRISTCHURCH -- New Zealand believes it has the 21st Century palate figured out. The New Zealand winemakers’ flagship export -- Marlborough sauvignon blanc -- has blossomed over the last two decades. Now it is pushing the fresh white to find greater favor in high-growth markets.

The industry wants to double the value of its US$877 million wine exports by 2020. Deeper penetration into North America and China are crucial to achieving that goal.

“Our No. 1 market focus is the United States,” said Philip Gregan, chief executive of New Zealand Winegrowers. “Stylistically, we are in the right place to meet expectations of what wine should taste like in a modern lifestyle.”

Gregan says Americans “love New Zealand, even if they haven’t been here.” He hopes that hook -- combined with the unique taste of Kiwi wines -- is enough tighten its grip on the world’s biggest wine consumer.

But, saddled with a high dollar, market-access barriers and uncertainty over evolving Asian wine appetites, the tiny island nation faces stiff headwinds as it seeks to expand its global presence.

[Go here for the full story.]

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China's increasing thirst attracting foreign wine

• From The Associated Press

HONG KONG -- As growth slows in their traditional markets winemakers from around the world are eager to tap demand in China, but industry players say the increased competition and a lack of wine-drinking culture mean it won't be easy money.

Thousands of people attending a major wine and spirits trade fair here last week sipped and spat countless vintages made by producers ranging from boutique vineyards in New Zealand to famed chateaux from France's Bordeaux region. Others were in town to attend a wine conference that featured speakers including Hollywood director [and California winemaker] Francis Ford Coppola.

Many are keen to get a foothold in China's wine market, which has taken off in recent years, particularly at the high end, as newly-wealthy collectors splurge for bottles of fine French wines at auctions in Hong Kong. The southern Chinese city abolished wine import duties in 2008 in a bid to become a regional wine center and imports surged by nearly 60 percent in the first nine months of 2011 to $940 million. ...

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• Year's biggest wine auction nets $14.5 million in Hong Kong.

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China is the world's fastest growing market for still light wine and is forecast this year to overtake Britain as the fifth biggest market, according to a September report by UK-based International Wine and Spirit Research. The report forecast that China's wine consumption will double to 250 million 12-bottle cases by 2016, from 125 million in 2010.

[Go here for the full story.]

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