Sideways

Aside from a few witty remarks, an eloquent speech about why "we like Pinot" and Sandra Oh, whom I love as an actress, this movie bites. It isn't about wine, especially not really about Pinot Noir. And the ending

Yeah, that's how they end it, it just drops off of the face of the freakin' earth. As far as movies go, this was a D+, I'm giving it credit for having Pinot in it. It'd be at most a D- if the wine in question was Cab, or even Malbec.

Everyone said it was all about Pinot, hilarious, and most importantly they said it brought great attention to Pinot. Oh and how many morons have been in the tasting room saying they learned so much about Pinot. My gawd, I will never look at those people the same way again, you can get more info about pinot on the back of a bottle of rose!

What a waste of time.

Mmmm Foch

This is my cat Mmmm Foch. Her real name is Marechal Foch, but we call her Mmmm. Some times I call her Marechal. My husband calls her Miracle Fock, Fochy, and my absolute favorite, Fochizle. Mostly we just call her Mmmm.

She's three, likes sliding on our wood floor, and responds to "Mmmm." Oh and she drinks wine, I dont give her much, a little goes a long way! Just thought I'd share.

Wine Varietal: Marechal Foch

So this is not my favorite varietal. However, my favorite wine is a Marechal Foch from Purple Cow Vineyards in Forest Grove, Oregon. (From here out I will refer to this wine as Mmmm Foch.) They are a small winery I have mentioned before several times and probably will again, and again. They made 1 barrel of Mmmm Foch in 2006 from estate grown grapes. It is amazing. There will be no 2007 as there wasn't a full barrel's worth of Mmmm Foch. I'm heart broken, but have been promised there will be an '08 of this fabulous wine!!!

Brief background of Mmmm Foch: Pronounced mar-esh-shall fosh. Named after the French Marshal Ferdinand Foch. It was developed in Alsace, France and believed to be a hybrid crossing of Goldriesling ( a cross of Riesling and Courtiller Musque) and a Vitis riparia / Vitis rupestris cross. It is an early ripening and cold hardy varietal that is very disease resistant. They have small berries, so the birds love them too. It is used to add color to other varietals including Pinot Noir. It has a strong acidity most years and can range from aromas of black fruits all the way to mocha, coffee, and vanilla bean (Wikipedia 2008).

I have not had many Mmmm Foch wines produced through out the world. It is very common in Canada because of the cold and disease resistance. It is growing in popularity in Oregon for the same reasons. We just has a wonderful 12 inches drop on my house. Many wineries had more than 2 feet on their roofs. It was awesome to drive up to Archery Summit this past weekend to see the vines in all their winter glory. They may have been freezing, but they were gorgeous.

The only Mmmm Foch I can recommend at this time is Purple Cow Vineyard's 2006.

Other wineries that are working with Mmmm Foch include Ankeny, Honeywood, Starling Lane, Chateau Lorane, and Amity. None of which I have tried so I can not comment on theirs. But all of which I have heard of and have good things of their wines in general. I will be looking into who has Mmmm Foch elsewhere as I am now curious about this wine varietal. Nothing compares to that in your backyard, and unless you're in Oregon, you probably can't get Purple Cow's. That, and they may have a case or two left of the 28 they started with, and they don't have previous vintages either.

Good Luck finding this great varietal, it isn't very popular. There are so many options, but if you ever see an Mmmm Foch on the menu, give it a try, you may get hooked, you may find it's not for you. But how will you know unless you try? Like I said when I started this blog, this isn't my favorite varietal of wine. And as a rule I like more Pinots than I do Mmmm Fochs, maybe that's because I haven't had the opportunity to try more wineries Mmmm Fochs, I just don't know yet. But I'm trying.

The next blog will be about my new cat Mmmm Foch...

Buying wine at the Winery vs. Bottle Shops

I will be right up front and summarize this prattle for you. I prefer to buy my wine at the winery, or from wineries I have been to.

When I go to a wine bar or bottle shop, I never know enough about the wines to actually feel confident making a purchase. I like to see the winery and get all the details about the wine. I don't know how many bottle shops I've been to that can't give me much detail about any of the wines I'm looking at. I like to know so much, maybe I just like to be annoying, but I wanna know more than can ever fit on the back label. Plus, if you read my "about me" paragraph you'll note that I hate the stare down when I go into bottle shops.

When I go to the winery, the history, the terrior, the service, all places into how much I enjoy the wine. When I have a great experience, the next time I drink wine from that trip I get all warm and fuzzy. The opposite is true too, but I usually don't buy wine from a winery I have a bad experience from, and they are few and far between.

Have you ever asked a winery for the detailed notes on a wine? They are awesome, they usually include the details about the vineyards, how closely planted are the vines, how were the grapes harvested, when was harvest started and completed, how long were the grapes in a cold soak, was there a post fermentation maceration, etc. All that on top of the tasting notes really enhances my education of the wine I'm drinking. (NOTE: I'm an Oregon Foodie, I like to learn while I drink.) I can taste so much more than I used to because I am associating different things I wouldn't know buying just another bottle of wine. And what's better than having a whole story about the wine you've paired with the meal you're serving your new in laws.

And all of these details go into the value of a wine, not just the price the value. I can buy a $48 bottle of wine at the store and assume a 40% or more inflation over wholesale. I can go to a wine shop and assume 25% or more. I can go to a winery and buy a $48 bottle and know that all of that money, inflated or not, goes to keeping the little guy alive.

Anyway, I have never seen a bottle shop have in depth details or great stories about how the wine, the facility, or just the people pouring your wine came to be so delightful. Also, there are so many wineries that have little or no wine in distribution.

Not everyone can find the wines they like in their very own backyard, but if you get the chance, or love a wine from far far away...join the club. No really, join their wine club and get their wines directly from them, usually there is a membership discount and cool people to chat with about a common interest. Even if it's just by email.

I'm married!!!

I just got married yesterday, Saturday, December 13, 2008. I wanted to share with you the vino with which we celebrated.

With dinner we served Purple Cow 2006 Muscat & 2006 Chardonnay, and Archery Summit 2006 Premier Cuvee.

For the "champagne" toast we had David Hill NV Brut Sparkling Wine.

We purchased local and delicious wines that would pair well with our meal. We had Line Caught Coho Salmon & Buffalo Tenderloin. Our cake was cherry chip with a maraschino cherry glaze filling and cream cheese filling. It was a divine meal and the wine pair well with everything. Hope my guests had as fun drinking the wine as I did pairing it well with the dinner we served them.

Cheers!

Critter Labels

"You'll sell 25% more wine if there is an animal on your label." This is a quote I heard in a marketing class. That quote rings true in the grocery store I think. I've bought a few of them myself. I think about 1 in 5 labels in the grocery store has a pet on it. The first bottle I bought on my 21st birthday had 2 chickens on it. They are cute and don't look as intimidating as some labels might. Some are funny to see in the store too. It seems like Little Penguin is catering to soccer moms, you know let the kiddies pick their favorite critter for dinner. My gawd, it comes in a juice box with a penguin on it, what kid wouldn't want to grab that off the shelf. And who doesn't recognize the kangaroo. Yellow Tail might as well be the only Aussie brand of wine to some, it's the only Aussie wine my friends recognize immediately (I'm working on them, I promise).

I think if something has a plastic critter label, it is very accessible, and probably drinkable, but lacking complexity and probably much in the way of deliciousness. These are what I call 'Grey's Anatomy wines.' Wine you drink when you're really focused on something else, like a great drama, a festive party, or just getting inebriated cheaply. I think the animal cheapens the price much like a screw cap can. It just doesn't scream wine, it screams grape juice with a touch of alcohol. Hopefully these wines make people more comfortable with the idea of drinking wine with meals and when entertaining so that they can ease into those hoytier toytier looking wines.

If you're at the grocery store and want to try the google eyed, card playing 3 Blind Moose or the line drawings of Dog House.

Please note: I think there is a way to have a bunny on your label and it be classy, Scott Paul did it.

Cellaring Wines

I have heard that somewhere between 90-99% of wines should not be aged. They are for drinking and enjoying within a year. To me, this seems true. I wouldn't age most of what I see in the grocery store, although that is changing as I just saw Adelsheim at Fred Meyer's the other day and I would lay some of their stuff down.

I would say that a lot of wine doesn't age. By that I mean that although it's getting older, it isn't getting better, or maybe not changing in anyway, good or bad. There is so much wine at the grocery store, these wines do not have the same demographic as those you purchase at the grocery store. I said I found an Adelsheim Pinot Noir at Fred's, well it's really their lowest end Pinot, not a bad pinot, but the least expensive and drinking well now.

Why would you go to the store to pick up dinner for tonight or later this week and get wine for 3 years from now. You're needing, and wanting, something that will pair well with this meal, NOW. It's not a good idea for all wine sold to need aging. These wines are bread and butter for the vino industry. And in such an impatient society, we need some instant gratification wine too. Don't get me wrong, I have 8 cases of wine that I guess you'd have to say I'm aging as I don't have the liver for consuming them all now, and I am ever collecting (oops!).

But what is aging but hoping and praying? Is that wine incurring interest? It better be. If you lay down a wine, aren't you hoping you get 6% per year? I hope that wine is becoming more interesting, I have so much riding on this theory myself. (haha, you like that metaphor - great in a recession huh ;) )

I age wine. I have my little wine fridge for my Pinots, some Cabs & Syrahs are there too. Not to mention my bitty fridge that holds my eisweins (properly pronounced ice vines in German, but usually called Ice Wines). Although my collection will never be up for auction at Christie's, I hope my friends and I will have some great stories to share about that wine we bought when we had so many hopes and dreams.

A suggestion: if you want to lay down a wine, even one from the grocery store email the producer. They will be able to tell you their recommendation for aging. Even Willamette Valley Wines and Gallo have some longevity. And if you don't refuse wine because of it's closure, you'll be fine with screw caps left for 1/2 decade whether it cost $150 or $1.50.

Bottom line: I like to lay down wine. I think there is a great chance you'll have an enjoyable wine for years to come whether you buy it at the grocery store or a winery, but most wine is to be drank young. If stored properly, or at least not upright on a window ledge or next to the stove, you'll have good or better wine, well, hopefully just not worse wine.