Why the East -- and Michigan -- love Vidal
Vidal, whether dry, semi-dry or sweet, is one of the mainstay wines of the East, stretching from the Atlantic Seaboard inland to Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. In Michigan, you seldom see it bottled as a single varietal with the name "Vidal Blanc" on the label, unless it's for Ice Wine; instead, it's usually part of a blend and given a special name -- think St. Julian's wildly popular Blue Heron.
Last week, however, at the New York Wine & Food Classic, the largest state wine competition east of the Rockies, Vidal was celebrated in all its glory. The 2007 Vidal from Swedish Hill won the Governor's Cup, Best White Wine and Best Vidal.
Typically, Vidals are made sweet, but the one by Swedish Hill only had .6 percent sugar -- which meant it was basically dry.
"Vidal is a grape we are strong on," said Dave Peterson, general manager at Swedish Hill and son of winery owners Dick and Cindy Peterson, this week. "We think it has great fruit character and hints of Sauvignon Blanc as well."
Peterson zeroed in on why people love this grape so much: "It has a lot of hybrid qualities that are not unlike vinifera."
Translating that, he is referring to the fact that Vidal is a cross of Ugni Blanc and Seibel 4986, not a European vinifera grape, and it's so beautifully flavored and balanced, it can stand on its own -- it doesn't have to be blended.
According to Wikipedia, it was developed in the 1930s by the French breeder Jean Louis Vidal, whose goal was to produce vines suitable for the production of Cognac in the Charente region of France. But because of its winter hardiness, it was cultivated most extensively in Canada and the northeastern United States.
Flavors are fruity, with grapefruit and pineapple notes, and its acidity and fruit makes it perfect for sweet dessert wines.
Peterson added: "I think people think that hybrids and Native American grapes in general are best for blends, but there are exceptions -- Vidal and Traminette.
Doug Welsch, owner and winemaker at Michigan's Fenn Valley Vineyards, makes a stunning Ice Wine out of Vidal when he can. (It's the Michigan Wine of the Week coming up.) He remembers Vidal's history in Michigan: "In the late 1970s, it predated Riesling. At one time, when Len Olson left Tabor Hill as winemaker, he had a tasting of older Vidals. They were astounding. They aged like vinifera."
Another Michigan grower, Jeff Lemon of Lemon Creek Winery, told me in a past interview about the glut of Vidal in the 1980s -- when it was so widely planted that the price of the grapes plummeted and the Lemon family, who were growers not winemakers, started their own commercial winery just to use up the grapes they could not sell. Today, most of the older Vidal vineyards in Michigan have been ripped out and replanted with European varietals and other hybrids. For a while, Fenn Valley had to purchase its Vidal from out-of-state.Welsch said Vidal is easy to grow in Michigan; in fact, he said, "It grows like a weed. If you want good grapes, you have to limit the crop."
Read more about the recent New York Wine & Food Classic at uncorkny.com.Category: Wine event
Posted by Sandra Silfven on Mon, Aug 4, 2008 at 3:09 PM'Bottle Shock' debuts Aug. 6 in Metro Detroit
If you are a wine geek, and you don't know there's another wine flick coming out, you must be on Mars.
"Bottle Shock" hits Metro Detroit movie theaters Aug. 6, and reprises a half-true/half-fictional account of the the so-called "Judgment of Paris" in 1976, in which California's Chateau Montelena Chardonnay and Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon bested the French bluebloods in a tasting where the identity of the bottles was not revealed, a so-called "blind tasting." This event is credited with launching the California and New World wine industries.
British actor Alan Rickman plays British wine merchant Steven Spurrier, who conducted the tasting; Bill Pullman is Jim Barrett, owner of Chateau Montelena; and Chris Pine plays Barrett's son, the young Bo Barrett. According to early screeners in Napa Valley, the real star is the town of Calistoga, Calif. Filming took place at wineries such as Chateau Montelena, Buena Vista and Kunde.
Like the hit "Sideways," the film gives enthusiasts a "behind-the-scenes" taste of the wine business.
"Bottle Shock" debuts around Metro Detroit at the Livonia 20 in Livonia; AMC Forum, Sterling Heights; and Main Art Theatre, Royal Oak.
And by the way, there is such a thing as "bottle shock." It's not a stunning achievement, such as happened here, but rather an abnormal condition of the wine after bottling and/or transportation, which does go away.
The moniker of the event, "Judgment of Paris," was the headline on the story that appeared in Time magazine, described by editors at the time as a "filler" story, or throwaway piece.
Riesling: Sweet or Dry? Put it on the label, please
There are finally signs that Riesling is shedding its sweet, Piesporter junk-wine image. With so many new well-made Rieslings in Washington, Oregon, Michigan and New York fermented to dry levels, the Piesporter thing, in fact, is not even an issue, and the generation that lived through the Piesporter era will all be dead or have lost their memory of it pretty soon.
The issue is knowing what you are buying -- is it sweet or dry?
It's not like Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay, which by definition are always dry to some degree.
To address that issue and others, the International Riesling Federation was formed last year, and on July 27, at the Riesling Rendezvous at Chateau Ste. Michelle, the much-respected wine writer Dan Berger announced the Riesling Taste Scale.
How would you like to see key words such as Dry, Off Dry, Medium Dry, Medium Sweet or Sweet printed on the label, along with a graphic or symbol that sends that message, too?
To help winemakers determine the taste profile of their wine, Berger and his committee developed a technical chart setting out the parameters involved in the interplay of sugar, acid and pH.
Berger and federation members are only suggesting that producers do this, but it's a step that wineries should seriously consider and implement. Randall Grahm, who sold his wildly successful Bonny Doon to pack a pile of money into an all-Riesling winery named Pacific Rim in Washington, has done just that. The words "Dry" or "Sweet" appear on the front label.
As Riesling sales soar in the wake of the anything-but-Chardonnay protest, wineries need to be more informative on their labels.
This way, they won't turn off consumers who specifically want Dry or Sweet, and will be disappointed if they don't get it.
German Rieslings for generations have had label guidelines to indicate quality and sugar levels that are mandated by law. Only problem is, they're in German and complicated for outsiders to grasp.
Today, many producers outside Germany do use the word "Dry," but also "Late Harvest."
Do consumers know that "Late Harvest" is code for Sweet? It's time to tell folks that.
Category: Wine competition
Posted by Sandra Silfven on Mon, Jul 21, 2008 at 6:32 PMWineries in the East take Golds in San Francisco
The San Francisco International Wine Competition, which bills itself as the largest and most prestigious wine competition in America, recently announced its results for the 2008 contest.
Wineries east of the Rockies took two of the 12 "Best of Varietal" winners: Best Vignoles: 2007 Lucas Vineyards Finger Lakes $12; Best Cabernet Franc: 2006 Rappahannock Cellars Virginia $22. These wines also were voted Double Gold, meaning the judging panel unanimously voted it gold.
It took 45 judges three days to judge 4,240 wines from 1,205 wineries during the 28th annual competition, which was staged at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco.
Under the direction of wine and food authority Anthony Dias Blue, the competition examined wines from 23 states and 23 countries.
I combed the results and counted nine golds for the East, including two Michigan producers, St. Julian and Two Lads:
Gray Ghost Vineyards 2007 Late Harvest Vidal Blanc Adieu Virginia $23
Barboursville Vineyards 2005 Nebbiolo Reserve Virginia $35
Goose Watch Winery 2007 Traminette Finger Lakes $12
Goose Watch Winery NV Diamond Finger Lakes $9
Rappahannock Cellars 2007 Viognier Virginia $22
St. James Winery 2007 Vignoles Vintner's Select Missouri $9
St. Julian Wine Co. NV White Heron Lake Michigan Shore $9
Stone Hill Winery 2007 Vignoles Missouri $16
Two Lads Winery 2007 Pinot Grigio Old Mission Peninsula $15
It's notable that Silver medals went to three Michigan wineries: Black Star Farms 2007 Late Harvest Riesling Arcturos Old Mission Peninsula $17; Brys Estate Vineyard and Winery 2007 Riesling Old Mission Peninsula $16; and Two Lads Winery 2007 Rose of Cabernet Franc Old Mission Peninsula $17.
Category: Wine event
Posted by Sandra Silfven on Wed, Jul 16, 2008 at 10:08 PMLeft Foot Charley tastes through vertical of Rieslings
Bryan Ulbrich of Left Foot Charley Winery in Traverse City, one of Michigan's top Riesling producers, is not attending the Riesling Rendzvous with his peers at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Washington state (because he and wife Jen are awaiting the birth of their second child), but he is throwing his own Riesling event. Ulbrich, who has dominated the winner's circle at the Michigan Wine & Spirits Competition in the new millennium, will present a vertical tasting of Rieslings from 5 to 7 p.m. on July 24 t his Left Foot Charley Winery at Grand Traverse Commons. (A "vertical" tasting is the name for consecutive vintages of a single wine.)
"We are opening the last magnum of the 2004 Dry Riesling, our inaugural release," Ulbrich says. Admission is $20 and includes samples of six wines and a plate of bread, cheese, olives and fruit, with local jazz artists providing music. Tickets are $20. Space is limited. Call (231) 995-0500 for reservations.
Visit Left Foot Charley for all the details.
Category: Wine event
Posted by Sandra Silfven on Wed, Jul 9, 2008 at 11:36 AMEpicurean Classic in Traverse City draws stars of food, wine and cookbooks
The 2008 Epicurean Classic, a two-and-a-half extravaganza of cooking demonstrations, wine tastings and dinners on Grand Traverse Bay in Traverse City, Mich., is Sept. 11-13. The literary Guest of Honor will be Kim Sunee, author of "Trail of Crumbs," and the food and wine celebs will include notables such as James Beard Award winner Joyce Goldstein and Michigan chef Brian Polcyn and Master of Wine Bob Paulinski. (See the full list below.)
New this year, the organizers will offer a Day Pass for $129 to streamline registration. Catch all the details at the Web site.
Featured guests are:
Joey Altman, Food Network host, James Beard Award winner, chef and author of "Without Reservations: How to Make Bold, Creative, Flavorful Food at Home"
Joyce Goldstein, San Francisco Bay area restaurant pioneer, James Beard Award winner and chef and author of "Mediterranean Fresh: A Compendium of One-Plate Salad Meals and Mix-and-Match Dressings"
Matthew Kenney, chef/proprietor of several New York City restaurants, James Beard Rising Star Award nominee and author of "Everyday Raw"
Leonardo Curti, executive chef/co-founder, Trattoria Grappolo, Santa Ynez, Calif., and author of "Trattoria Grappolo: Simple Recipes for Traditional Italian Cuisine"
Jennifer McLagan, James Beard Award winner, author of "Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes"
Diane Morgan, author of 12 cookbooks including the newly released "Grill Everyday"
Laura Werlin, James Beard Award winner and nationally acclaimed cheese expert, and author of "Laura Werlin's Cheese Essentials"
Danyel Couet, executive chef, Michelin-starred restaurant Fredsgatan 12 in Stockholm, Sweden, and author of "The Paris Neighborhood Cookbook: Danyel Couet's Guide to the City's Ethnic Cuisines"
Raghavan Iyer, former IACP Teacher of the Year and author of "660 Curries: The Gateway to Indian Cooking"
Martha Foose, executive chef at the Viking Cooking School and author of "Screen Doors & Sweet Tea: Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook"
Wendy Rahamut, TV host of "Caribbean Flavors," consultant and author of "Modern Caribbean Cuisine"
Cree LeFavour, author of "The New Steak: Recipes for a Range of Cuts plus Savory Sides"
Don Yamauchi, recipient, America's Best New Chefs award and executive chef of Forte in Birmingham, Mich.
Brian Polcyn, chef/owner of Five Lakes Grill in Milford, Mich., author of "Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Preserving Artisan Foods," and a James Beard Award nominee
Bob Paulinski, Master of Wine and former chief wine and spirits buyer at Sam's Club
Deborah Schneider, chef and author of "Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta"
Carlyn Berghoff, chef of 17 West at the Berghoff in Chicago and author of "The Berghoff Family Cookbook"
Brian Smith, professor of Wine Studies at the Culinary Institute of America and author of "Wine Wise"
Jacquy Pfeiffer, chef/founder of The French Pastry School in Chicago
Mark Molinaro, executive chef at the New England Culinary Institute and co-author of "A Master Class: Sensational Recipes from the Chefs of the New England Culinary Institute"
Ted Reader, award-winning chef and food entertainer, and author of "Napoleon's Everyday Gourmet Grilling"
Category: Winery videos
Posted by Sandra Silfven on Mon, Jun 23, 2008 at 9:42 AMGoldeneye offers much to taste and see
Goldeneye is the name of the special Anderson Valley winery owned by the prestigious Duckhorn Wine Co. in Napa Valley. It's dedicated to cool-climate varieties like Pinot Noir in California's northern-most wine region, Mendocino County.
The 2005 Goldeneye Pinot Noir is now out in the ninth vintage, and the seriousness of this venture is obvious: intense cherry aromas and flavors, velvet tannins in the mouth, good acidity for structure and longevity.
It's still tightly wound, but gives you insight into the long life expectancy of this wine. It has the complexity to really make you stop and say, "Is this French or not?"
The grapes for this wine come from four estate vineyards planted to 19 clones and 11 rootstocks on an array of soils.
Goldeneye provides wonderful video discussions of the wines from this estate. Check out what winemake Zach Rasmuson has to say here.
Riesling sales soar as producers set meeting in Washington
Riesling is the hottest white varietal in the U.S.
During the 12-month period ending May 3, it was the fastest-growing white wine and second-fastest growing of all wine types, behind Pinot Noir, according to AC Nielsen data.
Nielsen goes on to say that sales have increased 54 percent over the past three years!
Thanks to sweet, boring Liebfraumilch, it used to be you couldn't give it away, but the popular styles today are dry, crisp and palate-cleansing, like Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc.
Chateau Ste. Michelle has been a leader in Riesling production in this country and will once again host a summit meeting, the Riesling Rendzvous, on July 27-29, with vintners and media from around the world gathering in Washington state for tastings and discussions.
Participating from this part of the U.S. are Chateau Grand Traverse and Shady Lane Cellars from Michigan; Anthony Road Winery, Fox Run, Sheldrake Point and Dr. Konstantin Frank from New York; and Unionville from New Jersey.
2 New York wineries and Chateau Ste. Michelle big winners at competition
The International Eastern Wine Competition, so named because it draws heavy participation from Eastern U.S. wineries in addition to wineries around the world, announced the results of this year's competition.
The big winners were Chateau Ste. Michelle in the state of Washington and two New York state wineries -- Casa Larga and Rooster Hill, both in the Finger Lakes.
This competition includes the "Riesling Championship," the only such contest devoted to a single varietal.
Here are the Riesling Championship winners:
Riesling Champion and Best Semi-Sweet Riesling: Chateau Ste. Michelle, 2007 Eroica Riesling, Columbia Valley (Wash.) $22
Best Dry Riesling: Chateau Ste. Michelle, 2007 Dry Riesling, Columbia Valley (Wash.) $12
Best Semi-Dry Riesling: Rooster Hill Vineyards, 2006 Riesling, Semi Dry, Finger Lakes (New York) $15.99
Best Sweet Riesling: Mission Hill Family Estate Winery, 2006 Riesling Ice Wine, Okanagan Valley (Canada) $59.99
Here are the sweepstakes winners in the International Eastern Wine Competition:
Best White Wine: Chateau Ste. Michelle, 2007 Eroica Riesling, Columbia Valley (Wash.) $22
Best Red Wine: Viansa Winery, 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, North Coast (Calif.) $21.00
Best Fruit Wine: Three Sheets/Holmberg Orchards, NV Apple Wine (Conn.) $10.99
Best Dessert Wine: Casa Larga Vineyards, 2005 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine, Finger Lakes (New York) $34.99
The competition is sponsored by Vineyard & Winery Management Magazine.
Check my Thursday wine column for showings by Michigan wineries (you'll be surprised) and those in other states in the region.
Top brands say bye-bye to glass wine jugs
If you are still buying those 3- and 4-liter glass jugs of Inglenook and Almaden, you may be in for a shock. They are being replaced by more eco-friendly Bag-in-Box packaging. The announcement was made today by The Wine Group, which purchased both brands in February from Constellation Wines U.S.
Box wines weigh significantly less than glass and require far less fuel to be transported. And you'll probably love them because they take up much less space and are easier to handle.
Just follow the directions to pinch out the packaging around the spout.
"The positive impact to the environment from making the shift to BIB packages will be huge, simply because the volume of these two brands combined account for 10 million cases of production," notes David Kent, CEO of The Wine Group.
"We believe that making this change with two such venerable brands is an important step forward for the environment and for consumers who appreciate quality, value and the lessened impact on the environment."
