Basic Juice - the wine blog for my generation

Old Wine Bloggers Never Die, They Just Write for the Gazette

For those who have been around the wine blog-o-sphere for a few years, the Caveman's blog was a gem.  Bill Z. offered world class wine knowledge with a down-to-earth attitude.  Like many blogs (this one included) the Caveman posted less regularly, and then poof!  it became frozen in time (kind of like Han Solo in Empire). 

Well, my pal Bill, the Caveman, is back and writing for the Montreal Gazette.  It's good to see his voice is being appreciated by those lucky folks in Quebec.

"It was my first evening back working the floor as a sommelier. I was invigorated after an exceptional week touring and tasting wine in France's Languedoc-Roussillon.
My second table that night was a couple from France, so I started going on and on about the place, even recommending to them one of my favourite wines from the region. They looked at me and said, "Yes, it's beautiful there, but we would never drink their wines."

Read the rest of the column here.

Good on ya Bill!

(Aww Bill you look like Big Parks!)

Juice Crew Update

Robin, our most on-the-ball Juice Crew member reports on our evolving, 'mighty brick' (AKA Juice Crew Red).

"Hello All,

I finally got down to the new CP digs a few weeks ago to taste our barrel. I asked Kian to join me since he was at the blending fest and had a good sense of what we were sorta kinda looking for. I also got to take a sample home so I could let it sit in a glass for awhile to open up.

The wine is coming along nicely. It still needs more time, but it will be nice and drinkable. I was surprised how mature the fruit tasted, with a touch of licorice or fennel. At first I thought it tasted possibly overripe, prune-ish or oxydized, but I came back to it after an hour and it's like a top layer of alcohol had blown off it and it mellowed into a really pleasant wine. Not sure what that bodes for the finished product, but it's what I observed.

I thought with so much granache it would be far lighter and brighter, but the Eaglepoint grenache is so robust. It has some nice body and I don't think it needs any extra oak more than it's getting now from the Zebra barrel. It'll pick up a little more in the next 5-6 months before bottling, and that should be plenty for this wine.

So all and all, the blend has resulted in what we wanted - a rich rhone style wine with some backbone. The different varietals playing nicely in the sandbox. Great dark color, long sexy legs and built to party.

Beau tells me he's working on wine label design (editor's note: Yeah - any fancy-schmancy designers in the hizzouse?), which is the next major project.

Meanwhile, harvest is on the horizon and I'm wondering if I'll join in any barrels again this year. Let me know if you guys know of any good groups to join. I wanted to make a super-tuscan (Sangiovese with some Cab) but don't know if I can get enough interest for a barrel. Anyone here maybe interested?

Have a good one,
Robin"

Thanks for the update Robin!  We're all excited about the prospect of our Mighty Brick evolving into a Mighty-tasty Brick.

Basic Juice Top Ten

Yellow Tail wine's recent ad campaign displays this slogan: "Have you spotted it?"  Through a secret source, I have smuggled the top ten rejected ad slogans, out of YT HQ.  I think a few of these were definite winners..

From the Home Office in Beaver, Utah..

Top 10 Rejected Yellow Tail Wine Slogans

10. Plonk* 'R' Us

9. Yellow Tail - Because we gotta glut of wine, and you Yanks will drink anything with a cute critter on the bottle

8. Our label is in English

7. Throw a 'roo on the barbie

6. We sell most wine before its time

5. Cheaper than a gallon of gas

4. Now with Mega-Purple!

3. Not French, like what those lefty-liberal-tree-hugging-gay-hugging-readin-writin-feminazi-Prius-
drivin-wine-snob-commies drink!

2. Pairs exceptionally well with the McRib

1. A nutritious part of this healthy breakfast

*"Plonk" is also used in British English as slang for cheap, low-quality wine (from the French word "blanc" for white wine)

Technorati Tags: top ten, wine, yellow tail wine

Moric Ist Da

"Moric is Here."

Run, don't walk, to find these astoundingly unique wines by Roland Velich.

Last spring, I chatted with Roland and his brother Heinz.  My conversation and tasting of their wines wrought this little piece of wine writing:

Velich Seewinkel Wild

Near the southeastern shore of Lake Neusiedl lies a wine region called Seewinkel. As far as European winemaking locations go, it's a fairly wild place.  Seewinkel is dotted with numerous small lakes lying in alkaline depressions.  In fact, some of the lakes contain salty water, while others evaporate entirely during hot summer months.  Strong gusts of wind blow across low vegetation and wide open sky.  There are also herds of cattle dotting the landscape.  This ruminant, which has been herded in the region for centuries, looks like something along the lines of a longhorn-water buffalo hybrid.  This is the atypical landscape in which the Velich family produces some of Austria's best dry white and dessert wines.

Continue reading Velich Seewinkel Wild

Last Call for the Juice Crew

Attention fellow Basic Juicers!

The end of the year is fast approaching and our inaugural Juice Crew Red barrel still has a few lonely cases up for adoption.  If you've hemmed-n-hawed, or otherwise been a little reticent in committing to our Rhone blend, think about this: Crushpad will be featured in next week's Fortune magazine, and as such, all Crushpad wines are likely to become insanely popular.  Who knows, someday your bottle of JCR could go for mucho dinero on eBay.  But why would you want to sell this extra tasty Grenache-Petit Sirah-Syrah?  Grab a case, put it away and taste a bottle every year for the next 12 years.  Don't delay, sidle up to the Juice Crew today.  Simply visit Crushnet (Crushpad's online community), find the Juice Crew, join up and/or request 1 or more case allocations at $216-a-pop.

Phat Pheast

Blah blah blah what wine to serve with your turkey blah blah.

There is always something annoying about wine opi to the turkey-centric thanksgiving dinner.  Take a step back and think for a moment:

Just what exactly does turkey taste like?

If we’re talking industrial, DD-breasted birds from Butterball, I think the best flavor descriptors are either a) watery, faintly poultry-like or b) dry, faintly poultry-like.  What this means from a wine perspective is this: Damn near any wine will be fine with most turkey.  Bring me an heritage gobbler, and then we can really talk wine & turkey pairing.  However, for the best Thanksgiving wine experience, I suggest focusing on the sides. 

Here is a handy-dandy list of suggested wine-to-side-dish pairings:

• Stuffing (traditional/Stove-Top style): Young, crisp Pinot Noir or Alsatian Riesling
• Stuffing (low country-style with sausage and sage): Chianti or California white Rhone blend
• Butter/buttermilk mashed potatoes + brown gravy: Cava, Cremant, Barbera d’Asti or d’Alba
• Roasted sweet potatoes (not yams): Beaujolais Cru, Tempranillo (e.g. Rioja from Spain)
• Candied yams: Superfruity California Merlot, Australian Shiraz
• Cornbread & butter: Young, un-oaked Chardonnay
• Jell-O Salad: tapwater, Mountain Dew

Finally, a good rule of thumb for Thanksgiving imbibing is, “When in doubt, go light, fruity and/or bubbly.”

Three wines that will be on my Turkey Day table:

1. Segura Viudas Aria Brut Nature, NV ($10)
2. Domaine Weinbach Riesling Cuvee Theo, 2004 ($30)
3. Georg Breuer Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir), 2004 ($20) [German Pinot Noir - give it a try!]

Tell me what wines will be lubricating your feast of thanks tomorrow.

Good, Green Karma

From the annals of good, green karma:

The Grove Mill winery in Marlborough, NZ has taken environmental commitment to a new level with CarboNZero® certification. The winery has released the world’s first CarboNZero® wines, which are also among the world’s first carbon-neutral consumer products.

Grove Mill has challenged itself to address its impact on climate change from carbon dioxide emissions as a result of the growing, winemaking and shipping of its wines.

Actually, this is more than just good karma, it is an example to other wineries, and other producers of consumer products, that being green makes good business sense.  Put this way: the next time I'm in the market for New Zealand wine, I'll be hunting for Grove Mill (imported by Palm Bay Imports).

More on CarboNZero here.

Here Comes the Syrah

Our Eaglepoint Juice Crew blend is already looking mighty fine.  The chaps at Crushpad/net sent some photos (click to enlarge) of our back-up singers - Syrah and Petit Sirah.  Just harvested and oh-so-lovely.

Joining the Juice Crew is just like adopting a highway - except you'll get the chance to drink Juice Crew red, while you one should never drink anything found whilst cleaning up a highway.  But other than that, it's the same.

Technorati Tags: crushpad, wine

Juice Crew Plan

Robin, The Basic Juice Crew's winemaking liaison, brings us news from Eaglepoint:

"The wine plan is now updated online. Eaglepoint grapes started coming in today.  They will be sorting/crushing the [Petit Sirah] and Syrah today, Friday & Saturday. If anyone is interested in rolling up sleeves on the Syrah, Friday afternoon or Sat am might be a good time.  Unless we make an appointment, however, there are no promises and they'll just keep moving the stuff through until it's done.

Grenache is coming in next week. I scheduled an appt to sort for next friday, 27th at 6pm.  Anyone around to join me?

The winemaking plan:  Please take a look (view Basic Juice Crew's 'Winemaking Status' on Crushnet).  I was interested in the blending process so I thought I'd share what I learned today about how we'll do this at Crushpad.  Basically since we are doing a blend, it will be "crushpad" wine until December. Until then, they'll process the Syrah, PS and Grenach pretty much they way they think they want to do it for anyone who wants to blend with these wines.  The winemaking plan reflects their plan for whole berry/crushed for each varietal at this point.  At press it will all be put into neutral oak barrels until December.

Then around December we get to decide how much of which blend we want, and into what kind of barrel.  Kian (CP winemaker dude) was thinking we might want to do more Syrah - but that is because the Syrah came in today.

We have all but 11 10 cases allocated, right Beau?  My experience from last year is it was hard to get anyone involved after crush - so now is the time to rally more people!

If you can't be there live next Friday, see if you can tune in via the crushpad cam."

Thanks Robin!

If you want to be a part of this winemaking odyssey, visit Crushnet and join the Basic Juice Crew.  We want you to crush wit' us.

Featured Crew

The Basic Juice Crew is Crushnet's (from Crushpad) featured wine group this week.  Check it out and come crush with us.

WBW Reminder

A reminder to get your entries ready for next week's WBW#26, "Where's Wino."

How does "Where's Wino?" work?  Read on.

Gather round ye fans & friends of WineBloggingWednesday.  Boy, do I have a theme for you!  WBW#26 is going to be affectionately named, "Where's Wino?"  And, no, you don't have to try and locate me - thanks for asking.  Rather, #26 will take us on a worldwide wine adventure.  Here's how its going down..

Technorati Tags: wine, wine pairing

Hot Topic

1. White wine doesn't necessarily need to be chilled.  In fact, over-chilling is all too common.  Discuss. (the Juice)
2. Great-tasting, value-priced wine-in-a-box is a splendid idea - and those smart Spanish vintners are just the senors/senoras to deliver squared wine.  Discuss. (dr. vino)
3. Wine blogs only write about obscure wines that most wine lovers have no hope of finding.  Thus, they are irrelevant.  Discuss (vinography; fermentation)
4. Grape Radio is the kickassingest podcast around as evidenced by its receipt of the 'Podcast of the Year' award at the Podcast & Portable Media Expo.  Discuss. (hat tip WW)
5. The song Obsession by Animotion is the perfect example of 80s pop music videos.  Discuss. (youtube)

Finally a T/F question:  I can neither dance nor rhyme, can I still make wine with the Juice Crew?  Answer: T, homey, T.

WBW#26: Where's Wino?

Gather round ye fans & friends of WineBloggingWednesday.  Boy, do I have a theme for you!  WBW#26 is going to be affectionately named, "Where's Wino?"  And, no, you don't have to try and locate me - thanks for asking.  Rather, #26 will take us on a worldwide wine adventure.  Here's how its going down..

I. By Wednesday, October 11th, sample a wine from one of the following areas:

White Wine - New York, Oregon or Italy
Red Wine - Washington, Spain or France

II. Write up a description of the wine.  This could take the form of a tasting note (for the wine geeks).  Alternatively, if you fancy yourself a wine drinker/enjoyer rather than a wine geek, write up a description of the wine that includes the color, scents, flavors, amount of alcohol, what food you had it with, if you liked it, what kind of tree it would be if it were a tree, etc.

III.  Email (don't post in comments) your wine tasting note/description to me [beau {aT} basicjuice {d0t} com] along with the wine's name & origin.

IV.  On October 11th (or thereabouts) I'll post the wine descriptions sans name & origin.

V.  During the following week all WBW participants are invited to guess as to the origins of each of the submitted wines.  S/he who gets the most correct wins a prize valued at......drumroll........Twenty-damn-Dollars!  In the event of a tie, I'll come up with a few wine trivia smackdown questions to decide the grand prize winner.

FAQ

1. Do I have to submit a red and white wine?  No - simply select one wine - red or white - from one of the areas listed above (e.g. a Chardonnay from Long Island, a Merlot from Washington, a Spanish Rioja, etc.).
2. This sounds difficult.  Do I have to be a wine expert to participate?  No - you won't be judged on how you write about your wine.  I'm simply interested in doing something different, and fun, for WBW.
3. What's the prize?  Since some of you (including me) live in ultra-puritanical repressive regions of the world, the prize is not wine.  However, the prize is something that anyone, anywhere will be able to use (and use happily).
4. Other questions?  Submit them in the comments section

Technorati Tags: wine blogging wednesday, wine

Oaked Blanc

Question: Can Sauvignon Blanc survive the intense, small French oak barrique treatment?
Answer: Sometimes.

All The News That's Fit To Paste

page 1

The Reformers Have It 
BRUSSELS, Belgium European Union farm ministers on Monday said they overwhelmingly support a profound reform of the continent's wine industry to tackle overproduction and increasing global competition (Int' Herald Trib).

Guiness - Watch Your O'Back
Figures compiled by the Wine Development Board of Ireland show that the wine market is growing by approximately 4% per year, at a time when other European markets are contracting (Irish Examiner).

Americans, Drink Up.  Those Stem Cells Aren't Coming Any Time Soon
NEW YORK, Sept. 18 --  York researchers have found that moderate red-wine consumption in a form of Cabernet Sauvignon may help reduce the incidence of Alzheimer's disease (UPI).

Make Al Happy.  Use Green(er) Glass
The Waste & Resources Action Programme is teaming up with British Glass in an effort to encourage importers, producers and retailers to ship their wine into the UK in bulk and then bottle it domestically using lightweight bottles (Edie News).

page 2

Chateau Fargo Anyone?
BUFFALO (AP) - Steve Hogen says most people think North Dakota is too cold for wine production. He used to think the same thing.  "When we were asked if we had thought about growing grapes, our initial reaction was, 'You've got to be nuts, this is North Dakota,'" Hogen said (Bismarck Trib.).

Better Wine Through Chemistry.  Courtesy - The American Chemical Society
SAN FRANCISCO — This city is a short stagger from the nation's winemaking heart, a geography lesson not lost on the chemists who flocked here recently with scientific papers and theories on how to take some of the guesswork out of grape growing and winemaking (AP).

Wine Marketing is Too High to be Popular (wha..?)
Most wines are publicized in high-end brand way, and the price is much higher than common beer and spirit. So, the common people are not used to drinking wine.  Wine is a healthy drink that contains many nutrition elements, which is worthy to be publicized. Judging from the current situation, wine had been not established the consumption market in a popular style (wines-info, China).

Technorati Tags: wine

Get Down w/The Juice Crew

Admit it.  You fantasize about being a vineyard baron.  Each morning you wake up, survey your vineyards; then step down to the cellar and greet the barrels of fermenting wine.  Your Rhone blend - spiced with a touch of Petit Sirah - has turned California's wine society upside down.  You've out-maneuvered the movers and shakers to produce the most sought-after wine in all the land.

Then you wake up and remember its garbage day.  No more winemaking fantasies.  The drudgery of life is calling.

Don't despair, the Basic Juice Crew* is here!  B.Juice has teamed up with the fine folks at Crushpad to make those dreams of winemaking glamour a reality.  I would like to offer 25 of you the chance to help me produce the inaugural vintage of Basic Juice Red (BJR - we can work on a catchier name later), a 3-varietal blend (Grenache, Syrah, Petit Sirah) from the Eaglepoint vineyard in Mendocino, Northern California.  If you can commit to purchasing one case of wine (at ~$18/bottle) then you'll be able to participate in producing a barrel-full of blog-powered wine.  As part of The Juice Crew you'll be able to:

• Sample various combinations of our 3-varietal blend with a Crushpad blending kit.
• Create a name for our wine (Basic Juice Red isn't going to cut it)
• Work with our very own graphic designer (that would be you, Ms. Pizzuto) to come up with the wine world's most unique label design (no pressure).
• Review the wine and pair it with your own recipe to be published in our Basic Juice Red Wiki (again, the name will change).

So what say ye, fellow winos err, wine enthusiasts?  Drop me a line to reserve your spot in The Juice Crew.  Space is limited to 25.

Here's how to join the crew:

1. Visit Crushnet and register (free, painless, etc., etc.)
2. Select 'Groups' and in the description field, type: basic juice crew
3. Click 'find groups'
4. Once you've found us, click, 'join this group'
5. Voila! You're now down with the Juice Crew

And to those of you who are podcastophiles and fans of the custom crush concept, check out this interview with Crushpad prez, Michael Brill (via Cellar Rat).

*apologies (& much respect) to the original Juice Crew)

 

Technorati Tags: california wine, crushpad, grenache, syrah

The Wine Decider

Several times a day, you might hear me mutter something like this:  "Stupid #$%@ Utah liquor laws @#$@ what the @#$%&!"  Indeed, one could pull out an entire head of perfectly good hair by obsessing about the inanity and strictness of this state's alcohol laws.

But these laws protect the children!  If by, "protecting the children" you mean raking in fat cash, then yeah - the state DABC is really, really, really protecting kids from evils of the demon drink.  To wit, last year's profit (not revenue) was a cool $47 million.   

The lone bright spot within the morass of Utah's liquor monopoly is the state's wine selection.  Sadly, there aren't great sales or case discounts.  However, the diversity and breadth of Salt Lake City's wine collection will stand up to any mid-sized metro area not named Portland.  For example, a Sherry lover like myself can easily find a Manzanilla or Fino.  Icewine from Austria, Germany or Canada?  Check.  Burgundy & Bordeaux?  Check again.  Out-of-state guests I've brought into Salt Lake's downtown wine shop are always impressed by the selection.

Our good wine fortune is due to the palate of one man - the state wine coordinator, Brett Clifford (pictured, at right).  Some refer to Brett as the 'Wine Czar.'  Indeed, not a single wine hits Utah shelves without the approval of Mr. Clifford's palate.  In fact, Utah is the only full-control state that employs someone like Brett.  I've seen wines come and go.  Usually when I inquire as to why the current vintage of a particular wine isn't available, the response is, "Brett didn't think the new vintage was worth the price."

Naturally, many of us independent-minded wine lovers might debate the merits of hitching an entire wine-drinking population to a single person's palate.  Fortunately, Brett's palate is broad as evidenced by the collection.  Yesterday, I sat down for a short interview with Mr. Clifford.  We discussed his history with the Utah DABC, changes in liquor laws and a few of his favorite wine regions.  Download the interview (mp3) here.

Technorati Tags: podcast, utah, wine, wine laws

ATTN Wine Bloggers: Get Twisted

Dear Fellow, uh, Winos:

Have you always dreamed of doing your best Robert Parker impression?  Jeff at Twisted Oak Winery has offered to provide samples for you to review.  Exercise your palates and evaluate a TO wine.

Technorati Tags: california wine, wine review

Do You ABV?

I've been reading The Scotch Blog - Kevin Erskine's super Scotch site - for a while. A few months ago he asked me to write a series on Sherry, as a number of whisky producers use retired Sherry barrels in which to age their Scotch. 

After a few back-and-forths, we discovered we had more in common than our love of alco-bevs - we had a similar view on how to write about these beverages.

After a while we decided that it would be interesting to form a loose coalition of independent sites who write passionality about wine & spirits. Today, we proudly announce the launch of The ABV network.

Members of ABV retain their independence, and continue to write in their own inimitable style.  However by joining forces, we hope to be able to offer a network of sites, which will cover the spectrum of dining, Scotch, wine, etc. - all with compelling voices.

Read our press release here.

Technorati Tags: ad network, network, scotch, wine

(wine) Lent in September

Who's up for a month's-worth of wine lent?  From 9/13 to 10/13 I challenge all you pious wine lovers out there to abstain from:

Pinot Noir
Merlot
Cabernet Sauvignon
Zinfandel
Syrah
Riesling
Sauvignon Blanc
Chardonnay
Pinot Gris/Grigio
Viognier

Still with me?  Great.  By 'abstain from' I mean any of the varietals listed above cannot comprise more than 50% of your selected wine.  So, for example, you could drink a Rhone blend from California that contained 30% Carignane, 25% Mourvedre and 45% Zin and Syrah.  However, a white with 60% Sauvignon Blanc and 40% Semillon would be right out (sinner!).

The point of this little exercise is to expose ourselves to as many lesser-known wines as possible.  If you're down with me, drop a comment and keep us all informed as to what you discover over the course of the month.  I'm looking forward to surprising discoveries!

[update] A few grape varietals to seek out during your lenting

• Carbernet Franc
• Carignane
• Carmenere
• Cinsault
• Nebbiolo
• Pinot Meunier
• Rousanne
• Marsanne
• Muscat
• Furmint
• Pinot Blanc
• Pedro Ximenez (it can be found as a dry white!)
• & many, many, more

Get searching!

Survey Sez

Robo-sommeliers and shelf-talkers be damned!  According to last week's poll (n = 45), 53% of you receive wine buying advice from real, live people.  33% take the advice of your wine shop's friendly salesperson, and 20% get help from a pal. 

Question:  Think of the last bottle of wine you purchased. Which of the following factors most influenced your decision to dole out dough for vino?

I appreciate the candor of the 8.9% and 11.1% of respondents who buy based on label prettiness and 'eenie, meenie', respectively.  And to the 8.9% who get their wine ideas from blogs:  May Bacchus bless ye.

Are there any other sources of your wine-buying assistance not listed in the poll?

Technorati Tags: wine

I call BS

Dear Ms. Thompson:

You are SO full of it.  Sheesh.

Love,

Basic Juice

PS - How much are the big wine & spirits distributors paying you to pimp/lie for 'em?

PPS - It's bad karma to lie.

PPPS - You look like you could use a drink...hey-o!

Need More Juice?

I'm confident there is at least one person in blogland who can't get enough of Basic Juice (hopefully, other than family members).  As you know, I go coo-coo for Austrian wine.  However, I didn't want Basic Juice to become Einfacher Saft.  So, the nice folks at Winemonger Talk invited me to drop by every so often and yodel the praises of Austrian wine.  If the mood, or weather strikes you, head on over and check out the latest, Autumn Anticipation with a special appearance by some of my favorite Stephencooks creations.

Technorati Tags: austrian wine, wine

Friday Splash

A few interesting wine splashes from the Web for a Friday afternoon/evening.

• Luxe hotel in Oregon wine country.  Good idea or is this the first step in pricing people not named 'Hilton' out of the area?
• Global warming and the Aussie wine industry - adapt or..
• Stop thief! My question is, "what wine pairs well with drumsticks and chocolate milk?"
• That was fast.  China's first wine culture museum opened.
• Speaking of China...it seems the country doesn't take too kindly to over-sulphered wine.
• Uhh, attention Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the concept of barrique-ageing isn't exactly winemaking's hottest trend.
• El Bloggo Torcido - Twisted Oak Winery's blog.  Behold; a winery that gets blogging.

Bonus music video youtube madness: The Kaiser Chiefs predict a riot (which would be quite dangerous considering the band appears to be playing in front of a bunch of fans wielding pillows.  Duck!).

Salad Fork. Forehead. Jab (repeat).

via Vinography:

The top 10 wines ordered in American restaurants in 2005:

1. Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay
2. Beringer Vineyards White Zinfandel
3. Cavit Pinot Grigio
4. Sutter Home White Zinfandel
5. Inglenook Chablis
6. Woodbridge Chardonnay
7. Franzia Winetaps Vintner Select White Zinfandel
8. Yellow Tail Chardonnay
9. Yellow Tail Shiraz
10. Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio

Salad fork. Forehead. Jab. Jab. Jab.

oy. Winetaps Vintner Select White Zinfandel?  Could you tell me exactly who this vintner is and what makes her/his white Zinfandel 'select'?

Midday Splash

A few interesting wine splashes 'round the Web.

• Pimp your (or a friend's) blog at Fermentation.
• $1.50 wine vs. $13 wine: Could you taste the difference?
• Don't be burned (or gagged) by aroma defects.
• Tarantulas on a trail! Oh, and some wine too.
• Damned lies & statistics (or as we say 'round these parts, "suh-tist-icks.")

Bonus funny: Hot-pockets! (extra credit [or pity] to the soul brave enough to buy, eat and pair a wine to these culinary atrocities)

Some Facts About White Zinfandel

A few facts about the White Zinfandel grape* that I learned while reading the Wine Enpsychlopedia...don't dispute me! 

• White Zinfandel is a hybrid vine created from a crossing of Zinfandel and Frankenberry.
• This grape supplies 55% RDA of Vitamin C.
• White Zinfandel vines only grow in schist-loem-sand-clay soils.
• If you purchase vintage White Zin, make sure it is from an odd year.  Even year vintages tend to be poor.
• Wines made from White Zinfandel pair exceptionally well with cotton candy or salt water taffy or steak tartare.
• White Zinfandel is best served at room temperature.
• Fine restaurants often keep White Zin on hand, but you must specifically ask for it, as Sommeliers are known to serve it only to diners 'in the know.'
• The largest export market for White Zinfandel is, surprisingly, Bordeaux, France. 

*There's no such grape.  White Zin is actually blush wine made primarily from red grapes - Zinfandel among them.  It is often 'sexed' up with aromatic white grapes such as Muscat or Riesling.  Bob Trinchero of Sutter Home winery was the first to produce a wine labeled 'White Zinfandel.'  This pink creation is responsible for Sutter Home going from medium-sized producer (25k cases in 1980) to behemoth (1.5 million cases in 1986).  Nowadays, most White Zinfandel is produced from grapes grown in the vast jug wine pond that is California's Central Valley.

[inspired by Patton O.'s bit, "A few facts about.."]

Technorati Tags: humor, wine, white zinfandel

BJI: Xtra Snark Edition

Basic Juice Intelligencer
8 Aug 2006
Good/Bad Combo Edition

*test pattern*test pattern*test pattern*test pattern*

How to start a wine cellar (step one: contract OCD)

Boost your wine's attraction! (note: using magnets, rare earths, or reciting the 'squibldy-doo' incantation DO NOT improve craptastic wine.  PS - I don't care if the inventor is an MD and MW; he's full of schist)

Pheeewww.  We can all drink vodka again. "..One of the worst crises in the entire history of the industry is over, just days before vodka disappeared from store shelves.." (note to self: Don't take, or appear to take, vodka away from Russian consumers)

Disney + Wine - a match made in the 4th zone of the 9th circle of hell

Extra! Extra! Wine writing is full of cliches

Wine & dine your way to romance (and after one or two of these six-course, four-wine meals; treat yourself to a colonic)

Technorati Tags: snark, wine

Basic Juice Turns 2

Two years ago today I started this little popsicle wine stand.  How about a few numbers?

1,485 - number of comments
1,096 - number of posts
114 - wine-friendly recipes
79 - pet photos
55 - Extraordinarily creative (I put the "um" in humble)  full-length wine articles
13 - posts by guest authors
10 - number of times the word "zing" used as an adjective
4 - number of Greek wines reviewed
3 - wine raps (How you like me now?, WR2: Electric Boogaloo, Asti is dope!)
2 - pieces on bitters (Amaretto, Nostrum Remedium)
1 - use of the word "manure" in a positive way (you've got a "ma" and a "newer" - it's really quite a nice word)

I'm asking my fellow bloggers and readers to help me celebrate today.  What wine would you recommend for a 2-year blogiversary?

Technorati Tags: blog anniversary, wine

A is for..

Asshat  ass-hat ( sht ) n. 1.  One who threatens legal action over a less-than-stellar wine review by a well-qualified wine critic.  2.  See also Graeme Miller, wines of

Technorati Tags: australia, graeme miller, wine

The Live Austrian Wine Adventure

In partnership with the good folks at Austria Tourism, Winemonger and Wines from Austria, Basic Juice broadcasted live from Austria's wine country during May and June.  And when I say broadcast, I mean broaaad-cast:  I published over 50 of my experiences with the unique & diverse wines of Austria.  I also served up the dish on Austrian cuisine, and posted dozens of snapshots from the countryside.  But wait, there's more.  I also interviewed a number of the unique personalities on the Austrian wine scene, such as Michael Moosbrugger, Johannes Hirsch and Eva & Guenther Mueller.  These interviews were podcast in part through the audio wizardry of Winecast.  My goal was to make you feel as if you sat in the passenger seat with me while we explored the Austrian countryside.  Read some of the highlights of the Adventure.  Oh, and visit a few of the gracious LAWA sponsors by clicking through their ads on the right.

Styria - southern Austria
Wohlmuth: Simply Elegant
Harkamp Has It
The Disciples of Glass
Manfred is Out of the Office

Burgenland - eastern Austria
Birgit's Burgund-land
Kollwentz: Full Throttle
They Call Themselves the Rusters
Seewinkel Wild
Martin's Mantras

Wachau - central Austria, along the Danube
Smaragd Samplings
Special F.X.
Behind 2 Stars

Kremstal - central Austria, along the Danube
Wine City/Wine People
Nigl's Sonoma

Kamptal - central Austria, along the Danube
Temple of Wine
Hirsch-y Kiss

Thermenregion - just south of Vienna
Baths of the Rich & Famous

Random Austrian Fun
G'spritzter: The Hi Temp Solution
It's Spanish to Me
The Flea Cooks
Melk Abbey
Kaffee Bitte!

Technorati Tags: austria, austrian wine, live austrian wine adventure

The Lebanon

With news of the conflagration in the middle east between Israel and Lebanon (and, heaven forbid, Syria and Iran), I pondered what I know about Lebanon. 
Much of my Lebanese knowledge comes from my love of Chateau Musar.  Musar's red was one of the first truly unique wines I ever sampled.  Much has been written about this wine estate.

But, really, what do I know about Lebanon?

For starters, the Lebanese village of Qana may have been the location of my favorite miracle, water-into-wine, as related in the  Gospel of John.  The British formerly referred to the country as, "The Lebanon" - reflecting a Semitic description of the region as, "The White" (as in the white capped Mount Lebanon)
 
Who are the Lebanese?
Aside from aqueos-oeno transmorgifications, There are a lot of interesting things about Lebanon.  This country, with a population of 3.5 million people is home to a fairly diverse demographic mix of people.  The population of Lebanon is comprised of Muslims (60%), Christians (40%) and Druze (grouped with the 60% Muslims).  The Druze practice a religion, which developed out of Islam, and incorporates influences from Gnosticism, Christianity and Greek philosophy.

Lebanese Food
In addition to demographic diversity, through the ages, Lebanon has served as a crossroads for Africa, Asia and Europe.  As a result, Lebanese cuisine offers a diverse collection of foods - many seasoned with exotic spices.  Taste a little Lebanon with a these recipes:

Baba Ganoush
Kibbeh
Maneesh
Mujaddara
Kofta

Back to the Beqaa
Speaking of Lebanese food, much of the country's food is grown/raised in the Bekaa/Beqaa Valley.  This valley represents about 40% of Lebanon's arable land.  The northern end of the valley is used for livestock grazing, while the southern end is planted in wheat, corn, veggies, and, of course, vineyards.  Lebanese grapes are grown around the town of Zahle - described as Lebanon's, "City of Wine and Poetry."  A number of wineries are located in Zahle: Chateau Ksara, Chateau Nakad, Clos St. Thomas, Domaine Wardy and Massaya Winery.

Drink to Peace
The only Lebanese wines widely available in North America are from Chateau Musar.  Musar's flagship red is simply labeled, "Chateau Musar."  Depending on vintage, this wine is a blend from some or all of the following varietals: Cabernet, Cinsault, Carignan, Syrah, Mourvedre and Merlot.  This wine often offers up scents of cedar, cigarbox, baked fruit and meat.  Musar's white wine is equally as unique.  This wine is often slightly oxidized during the winemaking process.  The result is a white wine with notes of smoke, nuts and herbs.  If you happen to get lucky, you may even track down Musar's Rosé - a Cinsault-based wine.  For west-coasters, find Chateau Musar wine here.  If you're on the east-coast, search for them here (search using 'musar' as the key word).  Once you buy a bottle or two of Lebanese wine, pop one open and drink (& pray) for peace.

To see/learn more about Lebanon, visit discoverlebanon.com

Technorati Tags: lebanese history, lebanon, wine

Coturri Time Capsule

(Editor's note: This is part of a series of posts by guest authors, who are fellow bloggers or Basic Juice readers.  If you are new to wine blogging, host a blog out in the remote reaches of wineblogistan, a wine maker or you're simply someone who enjoys writing about food & wine; contact me with a post proposal, and we'll see if we can't introduce the world to your handiwork.)

Guest Athor: Paul White of Coturri Winery (California)

1964 Coturri Petite Sirah
Sonoma Mountain, CA

An elixir, two-score in age – and rates five stars for its rich deep enticing flavor and lusty texture.  The first time I tried this wine I was totally unprepared and had no point of reference - it was after all a wine as almost as old as me - it was eccentric and special and unlike any other liquid I’d ever tasted.
It is a dark mauve with brick hues along the edges – the wine side of the cork had a constellation of twinkling tartaric crystals – and it dropped an inch of wine diamond sediment. The bottle had tarry deposits splotched & tattooed into the sides of the glass.

A hypnotic scent- old cigar box - saw dust on the floor of a butcher shop - freshly turned earth - protein notes like food - I swirled and left my nose in the glass for a couple of minutes before I tasted it - savoring the moment and trying to identify other aromas – pungent incense burning at a gypsy bizarre - no - but something like that – exotic and expressive - freshly crushed black cherry cola nut. It triggered memories of the 1964 Worlds Fair in Queens, NY – mint leaf, pencil shavings, fruit rollups and flower pedals.  Each time I swirled my glass and took another sniff it changed ever so much, offering up nuances I missed before. I loved it and still hadn’t tasted it yet.

Afraid that the smell of the wine was going to be the best part I let it linger - but when I did taste it was silky round and pure.  It was full bodied and still had a ton of fruit - pleasing ultra ripe flavors of dark plums and blackberry liqueur and great balance.  A 40 year old - unsulfited petite sirah - it continued to evolve for several hours and kept me in a trance. It was still going strong.

This is the first time Tony Coturri made wine - in 1964 when he was 14 years old under the direction of his father - Harry -Red- Coturri and his grand father Enrico - who was then approaching 80 years old

Sauvignon Smackdown