Maine's wine, spirit makers on the prowl

• From McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

CAMDEN, ME -- Maine wine and spirit makers face an uphill battle to win market share, but they are welcoming the challenge.

C.C. Peet of Cellardoor Winery in Lincolnville, Steve Linne of Blacksmiths Winery in South Casco, Bob Bartlett of Bartlett's Winery in Gouldsboro and Bob Harkins of Cold River Vodka in Freeport detailed the challenges of the wine and spirit business during a panel discussion ... at the 4th annual Maine Fare celebration.

Maine Fare's goal is to assist in preserving, protecting and sharing Maine's culinary history and resources. The event highlighted Maine products through panel discussions, tastings, exhibits and samplings. The wine and spirit panel was moderated by Jack Scully of Belfast's Easterly Wine.

All agreed that the key thing they have working for them is the Maine brand. Whether marketing wine or spirits, having a product that is made in Maine makes it easier to attract buyers.

"There is a tremendous loyalty to Maine-made and -grown foods," Scully said. "The possibility for growth in the wine and spirit field is terrific. I think the growth of Maine products both inside the state and outside the state has great potential."

All three vintners said that because wine has a certain "snob factor," it's difficult to convince buyers that wines made of blueberries and other fruits can match up with grape wines from France or California. Bartlett, who has been in the business more than 30 years, said some wine drinkers are reluctant to sample his wines simply because they are made from fruit. He said working with restaurants individually is one way of overcoming that problem.

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Christie's looking to '21' for bigger numbers

NEW YORK, NY -- A stash of Prohibition-era wines from a secret cellar in New York's legendary '21' Club will be part of a selection going up for auction Saturday at Christie's International in Manhattan.

There were 640 bottles in the cellar, according to Charles Curtis, Christie’s head of North American wine sales, including rare Bordeaux and Burgundy selections.

The auction will be held at Christie's, 20 Rockefeller Center.

The company is betting that the slightly improved economy will bring up prices for fine wines. Last fall, prices dropped by as much as half, which Christie's said was the company's worst experience ever. Prices at auction are generally 10 to 20% lower than last year's best, according to Lix-ex, the London electronic wine exchange.

Among the other highlights are six bottles of 1999 Musigny, Vieilles Vignes from the famous estate of Comte Georges De Vogüé, packed in the original wooden case (estimate: $2,200-3,000); three bottles of newly-released Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s La Tâche – Vintage 2006 (estimate: $1,500-2,000); a dozen bottles of 2001 Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, packed in the original carton (estimate: $2,400-3,200); and a case of 1998 Barbaresco from Santo Stefano di Nieve (estimate: $1,000-1,500).

Go here for a detailed list of wines scheduled to be up for bids.

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A celebri-quote: Ricky Gervais

• British actor/comedian/producer Ricky Gervais ("The Office," "Extras") was interviewed by Bon Appétit magazine about alcohol, food and other things in his life.

Q: Any favorite indulgences?

A: Here's the bottom line. Cheese, wine and Champagne are amazing. Salt and chocolate are amazing. It's not rocket science. We're mammals -- we like fat, salt and alcohol. Mammals love alcohol.

You know, drunkenness occurs the same in animals as in adults, from mammals down to insects. Antelopes eat fermented apples and go down to the watering hole the next day and they're hung over.

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Lakewood's wine a NY product from start to finish

In the world of spirits, when one refers to an oak barrel it usually means American white oak or French Limousin oak. At Lakewood Vineyards on Seneca Lake, winemaker Chris Stamp is sticking to his own backyard.

Stamp (right) has begun aging his Chardonnay in 59-gallon barrels, built by coopers in Pennsylvania from New York State oak.

“It has produced an extremely nice Chardonnay,” Stamp told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. “We’ve had a consistent run of gold medals.”

As the newspaper reported, "Stamp’s original intent was to better capture the regional terroir by using locally sourced wood for his barrels. 'Where’s the sense of place if you’re using French oak barrels?' he says. After floating the idea in 2002, Stamp patiently waited -- three years -- for the barrels to be cured and seasoned before phasing them in. Lakewood ... now relies on this backyard bonanza for half of its Chardonnay vintage.. ... Stamp notes a more 'delicate' character imparted by our climate’s tighter-grain oaks'."

Dr. Frank Stamp founded the vineyard in 1951, leaving his dentistry practice in Maryland to do so. He bought Lakewood Farm, a rundown peach and apple orchard, and the next spring began planting grapes. The family grew commercial grapes only until 1988 when Monty Stamp (Frank's son), his wife, Beverly, and their children pressed the grapes for their first wine vintage.

Chris Stamp was raised on Lakewood Farm and went on to study food science and chemistry with the goal of becoming a winemaker. He graduated in 1983 and went on to work for Plane's Cayuga Vineyards, a pioneer winery on Cayuga Lake, then worked as a research and extension associate for the wine industry in Ohio. When Lakewood Vineyards winery opened, he returned to the family farm and has been winemaker for each of its vintages.

Lakewood Vineyards is located at 4024 State Road 14, Watkins Glen. It is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Phone: (607) 535-9252.

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World's oldest bartender retiring

• From the Associated Press

WEST VIEW, Pa. — Only minutes after Prohibition died in 1933, Angelo Cammarata, 19, served a 10-cent bottle of Fort Pitt beer to a customer in his father's neighborhood grocery.

Ever since, except for a 30-month hitch during World War II, the son of Italian immigrants has been tending bar and serving drinks. Guinness World Records dubbed him the longest-serving bartender a decade ago, and he's earned induction into Jim Beam's Bartender Hall of Fame and numerous other honors.

Now 95, he's calling it quits.

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Midwest gets nation's largest AVA

You may not know the wine appellation "Upper Mississippi River Valley" now, but watch for it on wine labels at your favorite purveyor in the coming months.

It is the newest federally-approved American Viticulture Area (AVA) -- and the nation's largest, cutting through 29,914 square miles of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa. The largest AVA had been the 26,000-square-mile Ohio River Valley.

The new designation comes as a response to wine and agriculture officials from the four states petitioned the U.S. Alcohol Tobacco and Tax and Trade Bureau, which designates AVAs, such as Napa and Finger Lakes.

The new region works as a specific geographic area, a necessary criterium, because, unlike much of the flat plains of the Midwest, the Upper Mississippi River Valley is covered with steep slopes and well-drained soil required to grow premium grapes, usually various hybrids since the harsh winters wreak havoc on less hardy grapes as cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay.

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Illinois alcohol taxes set to soar

Consumers in Illinois will be hit with the largest alcohol tax increase in state history come September 1. Oh, and many suppliers also plan to rase the prices of their products as well.

It reminds me of the situation a Canadian distillery official told me about during a visit to his operation a few years ago when the subject of high prices of adult beverages in his country came up.

"Why don't you find many Canadian alcoholics?" he asked. "Because no one makes enough money to be one."

In Illinois, the excise tax on alcohol is paid to the state by the manufacturer or distributor. According to the state's Department of Revenue, consumers can expect to see the tax on a six-pack of beer go up by 25% (from 10.4 cents to 13 cents), the tax on a bottle of wine go up 86% (from 13 cents to 28 cents), and the tax on a fifth of distilled spirits 90% (from 90 cents to $1.71).

That all is based on current prices. Once supplier price hikes are figured in, consumers probably will be paying about $3 more for a 1.75-liter bottle of spirits and $1 or more extra for a bottle of wine.

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Hormone Management Chart

Men, studies have shown that one's happiness-in-a-relationship factor can be improved by double-clicking on the chart below and memorizing its contents.



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They still exist???

A 136-year-old organization, gathered in Wichita, KS, this week for its annual convention, has found something current to complain about.

It's the Women's Christian Temperance Union, the same all-female organization that helped push through Prohibition back in 1919.

Their complaint? President Barack Obama’s suds summit with the Harvard prof and the local cop involved in a recent dustup that immediately became a cause celebre for people who love to play the race card -- from either side.

Bunny Galladora (honest), WCTU media director, said the meeting sent the wrong message because “alcohol and conflicts are not a good combination.”

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Whinnying for wine

Celebrity endorsements of wines and spirits are one thing, but do people really want to sip something endorsed by a horse?

This isn’t just any old horse, of course, of course. It’s the famous three-year-old filly Rachel Alexandra.

Kendall-Jackson Winery announced Tuesday that a limited edition of wines honoring the horse will be ready for the holiday season. K-J plans to produce and bottle 300 cases of the wines. Each bottle will bear the horse’s image.

Actually, we should have seen this sort of marketing gimmick coming. Kendall-Jackson co-owners Jess Jackson and wife Barbara Banke bought the filly in in May after she won the Kentucky Oaks by 20 1/4 lengths.

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IW&SC wine/spirits results are in

What event involves 10 weeks of blind tasting by 70 industry experts from around the globe evaluating light and fortified wines from 33 different countries across Europe, Asia, the U.S. and Canada?

If you said the International Wine & Spirits Competition you'd be right. The UK-based global event has wrapped up its Northern Hemisphere wine and spirits judging, with the Southern Hemisphere's products to be judged later in the year.

The judges awarded 102 gold medals, a number that represents just 3% of the entries.

Riesling enjoyed a resounding return with Germany taking 12 Gold medals, predominantly for this grape variety. France, Italy and Spain were the highest scoring countries judged by total medals won. New entries came from Turkey, Tunisia, Thailand, South Korea and Montenegro, with the latter plus Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden being the only four countries to win medals for each entry from their country.

Go here for the results, available by category, from the IWSC.

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Belhurst is NY's label & package champ

Belhurst Winery wound up as the best of the best in the 2009 New York State Wine Label & Packaging Competition.

The Geneva winery was awarded "Best in Show" for its cabernet franc, which had won the "Traditional" class title followed by its Carrie wine, and its Dry Rosé took "People's Choice" honors.

The competition was held at Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion State Historic Park in Canandaigua, and was sanctioned by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. The entries were on display at Sonnenberg since May, and ballots cast by visitors throughout that period determiend the "People's Choice" award.

The full list of award winners, by category:

Best in Show: Belhurst Winery Cabernet Franc.

People’s Choice Award: Belhurst Winery Dry Rosé.

Traditional: Belhurst Winery Cabernet Franc, winner; Hunt Country Vineyards Alchemy, honorable mention.

Natural/Nature: Arcadian Estate Winery 2 Roads Chardonnay, winner; Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars Salmon Run Chardonnay, honorable mention.

Art Illustration: Fox Run Vineyards Arctic Fox, winner; Atwater Vineyards Stonebridge Red, honorable mention.

Innovative: Belhurst Winery Dry Rosé, winner; Belhurst Winery Carrie, honorable mention.

Contemporary: Miles Wine Cellars, winner; Miles Wine Cellars Call Me A Cab, honorable mention.

Wine Label Series: Ventosa Vineyards Cabernet Franc/Pinot Noir/Tocai, winner; Adirondack Winery Autumn Brilliance, honorable mention.

Restaurateurs fight PA wine boutiques plan

• From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- It could end up being a case of sour grapes for some Philadelphia restaurateurs.

A small but vocal group, mostly of Center City restaurant owners, is organizing against a Liquor Control Board plan to open wine boutiques in gourmet groceries.

Among other concerns, those in the group worry that the proposal will siphon off customers and give the high-end food shops -- selected by the LCB -- an unfair advantage.

"I feel like the state is trying to sell houses when they make tractor-trailers. It's not their job to play with the culinary landscape of an area," said Jason Evenchik, owner of Vintage Wine Bar & Bistro, 129 South 13th Street.

Evenchik has joined with the owners of more than 50 establishments, most in Philadelphia, who have formed Restaurants for Fair Competition. They are asking the state Senate to derail the plan. The House has approved the legislation.

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Going against the grain -- and the grape

William M. Dowd photo

Pairing wines and foods can sometimes be a puzzling process for those who don't do it very often. Or, when the foods are widely disparate and only one or two wines are desired.

Sometimes guesswork is as good as anything until you find what most pleases your palate. I usually advise going against the conventional wisdom of white with fish and poultry, red with beef and pork.

That came home to me once again when I was one in a party of four meeting recently for dinner at the restaurant Dale Miller two blocks from the stately Capitol building in downtown Albany, NY. The restaurant has an excellent wine list, and my assigned task was to decide on what one wine to drink with appetizers and entrees that ranged from a vegetable sampler to beef carpaccio to scallops to beef tenderloin.

I ended up selecting a 2006 Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon Puente Alto from Chile's Maipo Valley, a rich, fruity bold wine that a good cab should be, one that held its own against the beef dishes but had enough subtlety and delicacy of finish to complement the scallops and vegetables without overwhelming either dish.

In the same week, I had to come up with a pair of wines for a dinner party for eight -- meaning a lot of different personal tastes -- for which I'd cooked a three-course Mexican menu.

This time I was in control of the menu, unlike at the aforementioned restaurant, so I could be more precise with what was needed to complement a wide-ranging dinner.

Starters were guacamole and a pico de gallo salsa, followed by tortas de cangrejo (lump Pacific crab cakes on a bed of micro-greens, dotted with a coarse mustard-mayo sauce).

Entrees were a carne de cerdo machado (herb-rubbed, oven roasted pork tenderloins, accompanied by a sauce of fresh cream, raisins, apricots, white wine and beef and chicken stocks) and estefado de pollo y tomatillo (a savory light stew of herbed chicken stock, thickened with a butter roux and studded with diced green tomatillos, yellow bell peppers, scallions, shallots, cilantro, served with brown basmati rice).

Dessert was a simple banana sauté in a sauce of rum, brown sugar and fresh orange juice.

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Electronically pairing wine and food

• From the Reuters news agency

Don't know which wine to have with a pepperoni pizza? There's an app for that -- as well as websites and Twitter.

The number of ways to discover the most suitable wine for a particular dish can be as overwhelming as walking into a large wine shop.

More than a dozen apps claiming to be the equivalent of a sommelier in your pocket are available for iPhones and iPods. And there are others for the BlackBerry and other mobile devices.

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Time for a down-to-Earth 'Moonwalk'

Monday, July 20, will mark the 40th anniversary of astronaut Neil Armstrong’s historic walk on the moon.

The publicity mill at Grand Marnier is making sure everyone remembers its liqueur was part of the first cocktail Armstrong and his crew enjoyed upon their return to Earth in 1969.

The cocktail, called the “Moonwalk,” was created by Joe Gilmore, who was the head barman at the Savoy Hotel in London. Here is the recipe:

1 part Grand Marnier
1 part fresh grapefruit juice
2 dashes rosewater
Moët & Chandon Champagne

Shake ingredients well and strain into a wine glass. Top off with Moët & Chandon.

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New winery in an old brewery

For people who like both wine and beer in equal measure, Mansfield, OH, has the perfect recycling project to brag about.

Cypress Hill Winery has just opened in a former brewery.

Gary and Janice Jones and Rick and Carol Taylor are the owners and operators of the new enterprise, located at the rear of 37 East Fourth Street in the former Wooden Pony brewery.

They have been making wine informally for more than a dozen years, but as they got serious and began competing in Cleveland area amateur winemaking contests their skills expanded. Last year their 2006 zinfandel won best-in-show honors.

They now are licensed to sell their wines, once made in the Taylors' wine cellar, thus the need for expanded facilities. They are offering four different wines -- syrah, barbara, zinfandel (seen above) and cabernet sauvignon. All are made from 2007 California grapes and are barrel matured for at least one year.

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PA wine vending machine plan on hold

A Canadian wine-vending kiosk

You really do have to pay attention 24/7 in this fast-changing world.

One example:

• A Google headline on July 8:

Pennsylvania governor supportive of self-serve wine kiosks

• A Google headline on July 9:

Pennsylvania governor put stop to wine kiosk plan

So, which is it?

Both, as it turns out. Gov. Ed Rendell's office says he still supports the theory of selling wine via vending machines in grocery stores, but he has decided to temporarily put the state Liquor Control Board plan on hold.

He says he wants to see if the technology really works. No timetable has been announced, and no word on how one does this without giving it a trial run.

The idea is that the wine kiosks would scan a buyer's driver's license and use face recognition technology to verify the picture matches the buyer. The devices also would include a breath detector to make sure buyers are not inebriated.

The Liquor Control Board said the kiosks will be monitored by remote video and can cancel sales.

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Long Island wine country in a growth spurt

• From Newsday

Recession or not, a new crop of wineries, tasting rooms, vineyards and wines is making its way to Long Island wine country this season, suggesting that the business of sipping may not only defy but thrive in tough economic times.

From the planned September opening in Southold of a 10,000-square-foot tasting room and winery called Sparkling Pointe devoted exclusively to sparkling wines to a quaint red tasting shed across the road called One Woman Wines & Vineyards, Long Island will play host to nearly a dozen new winemaking operations over a one-year period, pushing the total to more than 60.

The "newcomers" include some stalwarts in the business. Just this week, Jason Damianos, the winemaker of Pindar Vineyards fame, plans to open a two-story, 5,500-square-foot winery and tasting room called Jason's Vineyard in Jamesport. His plans preceded the economic downturn, Damianos said. But financial changes since then actually have helped, because interest rates are down. "I'm hoping they stay low," he said.

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Law breaking tastes good in New York

If you're a New York resident who orders wine online from retailers outside the state, you also are a criminal, according to a federal appeals court decision handed down this week.

A Second Circuit Court of Appeals panel unanimously ruled that New York State's law permitting in-state retailers to ship wine directly to consumers but forbidding out-of-state retailers from doing the same is constitutional and within the state's rights under the 21st Amendment.

However, it is doubtful the ruling will mean much. Online sales are notoriously difficult to track and most retailers simply ignore the rules.

The ruling upheld a 2007 district court decision (Arnold's Wines Inc. v. Boyle). In it, an Indiana store and two New York consumers sued to overturn the state law. Their argument is that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the 2005 case of Granholm v. Heald, which bans states from discriminating between in-state and out-of-state wineries, also applies to wine retailers. The district judge dismissed the case and the Court of Appeals has now concurred with that decision.

The case is just one of several in the battle between retailers and wholesalers. Since the Supreme Court handed down the Granholm decision, suits and countersuits on both sides of the debate have popped up around the country.

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