Wine Trends

Pinot Noir, Merlot and the Sidways Effect
American's used to be obsessed with easy drinking Merlot, then came Sideways and all of a sudden Pinot Noir was king and an elite and finiky grape was suddenly an industrial product. I've listened to and literally dozens of wine bloggers and professionals complaining about this phenomenon. I thought I'd chime in on this one. I have often maligned Merlot and extolled the virtues of Pinot, but I think that being more specific is in order. Merlot is one of the great grapes, it produces some of the worlds best wines, especially in its home on the right bank of Bordeaux. What Miles didn't like about Merlot wasn't the grape, but that Merlot with its soft tannins and bright fruity flavors is very user friendly and was the tool of an entire generation of industrial wine producers making economy plunk. Frankly, more often than not you won't call quality Merlot by its varietal name, but by its appellation name (like St. Emilion). Now, the new to wine public has be taught that asking for Merlot is a mark of philistinism and that Pinot was a "quality" grape. Now, soft tannin and easy drinking Pinot is being produced in industrial quantities and in this form is no closer Miles' beloved Pinots than the industrial bulk Merlot he disliked was from his prized '61 Cheval Blanc, a Merlot from St. Emilion.

Screw Caps, Plastic Stoppers and Corks
I was listening to a series of episodes of graperadio (a great show if you don't already listen), in which they were discussing the merits and concerns of alternatives to traditional cork. The issue is of course that TCA, a chemical taint found in cork which utterly destroys wine and by some estimates occurs in up to 1 in 12 bottles. I myself have encountered 5 bottles ruined by cork taint in the last few months. Wine makers are using a variety of cork alternatives the most common of which are screw-caps, plastic corks and glass stoppers.
Lets start with an unmitigated endorsement: when it comes to white wines and wines meant to be drunk within 5 years screw-caps are fantastic. While I doubt that wines will age as well with screw-caps (as they don't allow for micro-oxidation), But for 99% of the wine we drink, I'm all for it. That being said, I'm very opposed to plastic "corks" and I just don't understand the glass blockers.

Emerging Wine Regions
As I'm sure I've made clear, I am an outspoken proponent of terroir driven old world wines over offerings from newer wine regions. It should be no suprise then that the "new" wine regions that excite me aren't actually "new", just newly improved or just newly available. On top of my list is Portugal, a country who produces the very best values in wine today (Look for Douro, Dao, Vinho Verde and Alentejo). I am also excited about the increasingly available wines of southern France (Languedoc-Roussillon, Minervois, Fitou, Bandol, to name a few appellations), Austria (Wachau Riesling and Gruner Veltliner. Also, some of the satellite appellations of Bordeaux are bringing some serious value over the last few vintages, but they are diamonds in the rough and usually take some research to find. To be fair to the new world, I've been very impressed with some more serious wines from Australia and some deadly brilliant wines from Washington and Oregon.

Ratings, Tasting Notes and Reviews
With wine being a total mystery to many, and bottles representing a sizeable investment, it is no wonder that we cling so tightly to the scores of a handful of critics. The problem is, that they don't necessarily like what we like and their ratings hold such sway that they literally have market impact which influences the way wine is made. Still, people are so eager to nab cheap wines with 90+ scores that even old-school writers like Steven Tanzer have been forced into using the 100 scale. I've learned the hard way that I don't always agree with the critics, particularly Robert Parker who I find totally undependable for my personal tastes. Tasting notes are much more useful, though they only represent a wine at one moment of time and can change totally when decanted or left overnight. From my South of France tasting, the Fitou completely transformed over the course of several hours from reeking of strong manure and smoke to smelling like stewed tomatoes and plums. So, in conclusion, read the critics because they know a lot, but trust your own palete, and don't be afraid to like wine they don't, or not like wine they do. If you like it, its good.

California Chardonnay
It's official, thin is in. Fading away are flabby, buttery and oak laden (malolactic fermentation, oak chips and over-ripe fruit) California Chardonnays and coming in are a new vanguard of acid backed, mineral-driven yet distinctively ripe fruity wine. It may be time to start considering California Chardonnay, but I'm not willing to pay Napa's prices.

My wine smells like dirt
With more and more people drinking wine all the time (wine has replaced beer as America's favorite beverage), new wine drinkers preferences hold a larger sway over the style of wine produced. That means that wine makers are trying their hardest to make wine that tastes more like fruit and less like dirt. The problem is, I like dirt. I like the smells of asparagus, iron, tobacco, manure, stinky cheese, herbs, green peppers and yes good old fashioned soil. These earth and mineral flavors, found in perfect balance are what makes great wine. I firmly believe that starving vines grown precariously on the edge of disaster where the lows are dismal and but the highs are unimaginably brilliant. So please, embrace subtly, let your wine take you somewhere you weren't expecting, and that is of course, where it comes from.