In Defense of Brix

A phenomena whose demise would not hurt our feelings: The equation of dryness with sophistication.
To use an altogether obvious analogy with food is like stopping at the main course at dinner. Sweets indeed may be a guilty pleasure, but to deny the power that sugar has on a palate is plain counter-evolutionary! OF course part of the bad rap is deserved - brought on the industry itself by cloying, one dimensional, uninspired wines concocted to please the most pedestrian of tastes. As with a great dessert the question is not merely of sweetness, but the form, shape and nuance it takes on with artful handling. Being handed a bowl-full of sugar is in no way a 'dessert' just as getting a bottle-full should satisfy any taste save that of a hummingbird.

The breadth of styles is as varied as with wines of the dry persuasion. However 'getting what you pay for' is more of a factor here. The fact that great sweet wines are a rare gift of nature, bestowed sparingly, and only in the most perfect of conditions, is at odds with an industry and buying public increasingly reluctant to leave anything up to anything as unreliable as 'nature'. Be wary of anything cheap or copious. The role call of great dessert wines is impressive, in no particular order: Banyuls, Sauternes, Cerons, Port, Madeira, Pedro Ximenez, Coteaux du Layon, Muscat de Baumes de Venise, Moscato, Tokaji (say it with me) Trockenbeerenauslese, Selection des Grains Nobles, Vins du Liquorreux, Eiswein. To name but the most prominent. Roughly they can be divided into two categories. Fortifieds, which either during (usually) or after(rarely)fermentation are, uh, fortified with some sort of neutral spirit; thus stopping the yeast dead in its tracks and leaving a healthy dose of sugar still hanging out. Port is the most well known example. The combination of residual sugar (RS as we like to call it) and bonus alcohol is what allows these wines to age almost indefinitely, in degrees from utter stability in the case of a Ruby to slow, graceful maturation in a vintage, which is one of the few wines which it is truly criminal to consume before its time, conservatively after 15 years. Densely ripe and profound in sweetness and in depth, these are and should be, a rare treat, vintages being declared on average once a decade (there were fourteen between 1900 and 2000). The other category and by far (to me) the most fascinating and mysterious are the late-harvest, aka rotten, category. Made possible by glorious organism known officially as Botrytis Cinerea, or 'pourriture noble'- noble rot. A finicky fungus whose food is the flesh of fortunate grapes in very special spots on the globe. To be fair, Hungary's Tokaji should be mentioned first, as it was allegedly discovered here, although Bordeaux's Sauternes is arguably the benchmark product of this affliction. By eating microscopic holes in the grape skin it allows for the escape of water but not just, culminating (ideally) in fabulously rich concentrated juice with endless layers of flavor and like its fortified kin, near immortality in the cellar. The most famous Sauternes of all is Chateau D'Yquem whose reputation has been established long enough that in 1855 when the classification of Bordeaux was created, they were given a special ranking, literally in a class by themselves, above 1st Growth - Great 1st Growth, and at a few hundred dollars a half bottle it damn well should be! However to learn of the lengths taken at the property to protect this status makes the price seem like a bargain, almost. A team of experienced pickers is kept on hand who well after all the dry wine harvest has been safely brought in elsewhere in the region, sets about the mind-numbingly minute process of harvesting the berries - one by perfectly rotten one. This can take up to several weeks, as no grape that has not been graced with total fuzzy coverage will be picked. Nails are surely bitten all the way along as any number of factors, most often birds and hail, can spoil the vintage- which at a house like D'Yquem means no wine will be made year. Bummer. The lesser chateaux produce perfectly respectable wines at fractional prices, with arguably ambiguous variation in quality. Doesn't mean you shouldn't try it if you have the chance. Brix by the way is the scale upon which sugar in grapes (or beer for that matter) is measured. Cheers and Sip Wisely!

Osterreich in the Haus

We are way excited to be rolling out some new selections from one of our favoritest countries ever, Austria! With the antifreeze scandal well behind us, Austria has emerged as one of the leading producers of highly crafted ultra-stylish (in a good way) wines. While the Gruner Veltliner phenomenon is still in full swing with no sign of waning enthusiasm, we thought it was time to look into what else is going on here.

A few weeks ago we were visited by a winemaker from the Burgenland region, Jost Hopler. A very engaging and mannered gentleman, Mr. Hopler brought to us some incredibly unique wines. He produces no Gruner, which, even in regions not suited to it is widely planted in a pinot noir-esque clamor to catch in on the fad. Burgenland is slightly warmer than the Neiderosterriech (North Austria) area responsible for the bulk of visible Austrian wines. The mood here seems in a way more traditional, with an emphasis on native red varietals, which in addition to having fun sounding names, make wines which have almost no point of comparison to wines made anywhere else. The Hopler 2005 Zweigelt particularly impressed us. Always interesting but not always inviting, zweigelt is a wine with a pronounced wild, gamy streak. While clearly not a Cab, or a pinot, or anything else, the Hopler Zweigelt possesses larger doses of finesse and refinement than though previously possible. A spicy red fruit driven wine with a ringing, clean acid finish is a revelation.

Austrian Pinot? That's usually the (quite reasonable) response we get when bringing up the newly released 2006 Meinklang Pinot Noir. Also hailing from the South Side, this Burgenland Red is made by a completely charming young couple, the Michlits. Justly proud of their fully self sustaining Biodynamic (see last months entry) farm/estate, the Michlits produce a range of ridiculously well made ( and ridiculously affordable) wines from native varietals as well as a few imports. Really pinot noir makes as much since here as anywhere, and in fact most of the local grapes, zweigelt, St. Laurent etc. have pinot somewhere in their lineage. A vibrant transparent cherry red gives clues to the flavors found here. A simple, well defined purity of fruit is the style here, and this wine, while clearly not a Burgundy, easily eclipses in quality some of the uninspired village level wines which move simply because their bottles bear the "B" word.

Lastly, the season is upon us in which thoughts turn slowly to roads covered with eis. One of the best ways to make it through is with the occasional sip of, what else, Eiswein! Austria is home to late-harvest guru Alois Kracher; and houseRed is home to a handful of bottles of Alois' mindblowing 2005 Kracher Eiswein Cuvee. A blend of nearly every white varietal you can think of, this is an eiswein with lots more than just super high acidity and even higher sugar. But that sounds delicious you say? You're right! So just imagine if you add to the formula endless amounts of rich fruit and nut elements and a shimmering lightness of texture. You won't want Winter to end. At least not before the Kracher runs out...

Biodynamite!

The phrase 'biodynamic'... has been making a steadily increasing presence in wine realm of late. What's the deal you ask? let me tell you what i know. It starts with organics, which as little as five years ago was most likely a source of hesitance when found on a wine label, and has today become more of a reassurance. No longer simply a marketing tool for producers who used their certification as an excuse to underperform in the quality department, it is fast becoming the rule among responsibly minded, sustainability concious winemakers. And the wines are GOOD. On to the subject at hand...

Biodynamics is a system of vineyard management which transforms the simple 'organic' ideal into a complex, holistically self-sustaining mindset. The techniques, though modern sounding in terminology, resemble more seemingly primitive, some say medieval, sensibilities; working in accord with lunar phases, burying steer horns filled with various herbs in strategic spots in the vineyard, systematic stirring of preparations in a counter-clockwise direction to increase vitality.... if it sounds like pseudo-scientific wierdness to you don't worry, you are among the majority. The question then becomes why have many of the World's most talented and respected winemakers converted to this quackery? The answer(s) are certainly complex and at points divisive. Of course we aren't here to take sides, but the results are hard to argue with. We have a significant offering of these witchy wines at the shop. Interestingly, many were neither presented to us as such, nor do they openly proclaim their status in/on their packaging or literature. This is in stark contrast to the fading 'organic' trend in which wines often featured the 'O' word nearly as prominently as anything else! This indicates there is broad skepticism (and confusion) not only among consumers, but among our peers in the trade. Ok, back to the evidence; In GENERAL, what we find with these wines is a distinct quality of vibrant minerality, and reticent fruit characteristics in comparison to their conventional cousins. We have noticed as well that the wines, rather than falling apart after a day or two after popping, actually gain complexity and appeal over the course of several days. Again, we're not here to posit ourselves as cryers for the movement, but our experiences have been clear enough for us to now actively seek (and sample) wines from biodynamic producers.

Of the field , the French are safely leading the pack. The elite of Burgundy, Alsace, and the Loire have largely converted, some with over a decade under their belts These include, famously, Domaines Leroy and Leflaive in Burgundy, and the colorful, brilliant Marcel Deiss in Alsace (whose '02 Riesling St. Hippolyte we have tiny stock of at the moment...)

In California, some of the top estates are in the process of conversion, including Joseph Phelps and Robert Sinskey. At present we are offering just around a dozen such wines. Some are officially certified, many not; the process is naturally quite lengthy and arduous. If your interest has been aroused for these New-Old Fashioned wines, stop in see if you can sniff 'em out. If not we'll be happy to give you some hints.

Sailing the Seas of Cheese

Wine & Cheese Session 2: "Kings and Queens of Fermentation" 9/27 @ houseRed

Ok, the research for this series is getting downright dangerous! Apart from the excuse it affords for tearing into multiple chunks of serious cheese at once (how else is it to be done?!), it is more alarmingly proving quite hard on the ol' cellar. And the magic can prove to be rather elusive...but not tonight. Even with a severely embattled, burger and fried dough ravaged palate, tonight's experiment, still in progress, is shaping up beautifully. The stuff they call 'Delice de Bourgogne', (from, you guessed it, Burgundy!) is a heart-stopping number that makes the adjective TRIPLE cream sound inadequate. With a texture falling between lightly whipped butter and frosting, and an intense yet supremely delicate flavor profile, you really gotta be careful with this stuff. A little research suggested spreading it on a slice of toasted baguette (which was conveniently on hand), and the advice is on the money. Far too creamy to eat by itself, and too silky to waste on some chewy un-toast, this is clearly the only way to go. Moreso than what may be obvious with some, this is one cheese that will slap you if you aren't patient (or sleepy) enough to let it come around to full-ooze room temperature. As for the wine, we are going way out on a limb and drinking a, uh, Burgundy; one I feared may have been near to (if not way) over the hill; a '95 Paul Pernot Santenay 'Bievaux' (one of those v'yds never granted 1er Cru status that everyone considers to be one anyway). The questionable provenance of this particular bottle, and the quickly disintegrating cork proved irrelevant. The color is a STUNNING (I really try not to say that) crystalline orange-tea-garnet. On the schnozz it immediately brings a focused licorice-root, and a general damp earth overtone. More than a touch of absinthe-soaked lunchmeat... Startlingly acidic - given the age - so much so that I choked on the first sip. The acidity quickly melted away, and revealed a shimmering, volatile, but still powerfully built drink. The
match-made-in-heavenness here may be somewhat in question; but when you've got two guests bringing so much depth to the conversation, I think it best to enjoy them both and be happy that they get along at all.

Labor Day Lounging

What a lovely Saturday huh? Hopefully having fun wherever you are, and hopefully with some good wine (wherever from!). Be sure to stop by and visit the houseRed crew at the Forest Park CentennialFest. We will be there all weekend, generously pouring some wines which have been tested for their ideal hot dog and elephant ear compatibility. Intrigued aren't you? Believe us, it wasn't easy, but its really the least we could do.