When it comes to recycling most people don't think of the wine cork. Usually people either save them as mementos, turn them into trivets, bulletin boards or in one rare case a suit, or the simply place them back into the wine bottle and toss the bottle in the recycling bin. FOr personal consumption it's perhaps not that big an issue but when you are talking about restaurants and wine tasting rooms, that can be a lot of corks. ReCork America is a new recycling program sponsored by Amorim, a Portuguese cork manufacturer. The project began as a pilot program in Oregon is in place in many San Francisco businesses and restaurants and is spreading into Napa Valley, the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena recently came onboard. The plan is to eventually take cork recycling nationwide. Used corks can be recycled and remade into floor tiles, insulation, gardening products and more. According to an article in the Napa Valley Register, the biggest problem is logistics, if it takes more energy to pick up the corks than it negates the worth of the recycling. So far, this has been a grassroots program with people getting the word out and working to gather corks to deliver to collection centers as well as starting to brainstorm new uses for the recycled cork. For more information, visit the ReCork America website.Posts with tag wine
ReCork America, Wine Cork Recycling Gets Organized
When it comes to recycling most people don't think of the wine cork. Usually people either save them as mementos, turn them into trivets, bulletin boards or in one rare case a suit, or the simply place them back into the wine bottle and toss the bottle in the recycling bin. FOr personal consumption it's perhaps not that big an issue but when you are talking about restaurants and wine tasting rooms, that can be a lot of corks. ReCork America is a new recycling program sponsored by Amorim, a Portuguese cork manufacturer. The project began as a pilot program in Oregon is in place in many San Francisco businesses and restaurants and is spreading into Napa Valley, the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena recently came onboard. The plan is to eventually take cork recycling nationwide. Used corks can be recycled and remade into floor tiles, insulation, gardening products and more. According to an article in the Napa Valley Register, the biggest problem is logistics, if it takes more energy to pick up the corks than it negates the worth of the recycling. So far, this has been a grassroots program with people getting the word out and working to gather corks to deliver to collection centers as well as starting to brainstorm new uses for the recycled cork. For more information, visit the ReCork America website.Foursight Wines, A Winemaking Family Gets Hands On
I'm far too lazy to have my own winery but I love stories of small family-owned wineries. Foursight Wines is a new Anderson Valley family owned and operated winery producing just a few hundred cases of cool-climate Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc each year. Foursight Wines is a collaboration between two generations of the Charles family: Bill and Nancy - local winegrowers - their daughter, Kristy (the executive director of the Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association), and her fiancé, Joe Webb (a Sonoma State Wine Business graduate, currently working with Londer Vineyards). That's Kristy and Joe hard at work in the picture on the right. The name refers to the four people behind the wine as well as to four generations that have lived and worked on the same land which has in the past been a timber mill, farmland, grazing land for livestock, and now a winery. The 2006 Charles Vineyard Pinot Noir was hand-harvested from the family vineyard and sells for $46 (425 cases produced). The 2007 Anderson Valley Sauvignon Blanc came from the Ferrington Vineyard and was made in 100% stainless steel and sells for $20, (189 cases produced). All vineyard work is done by the family, with help only during pruning and harvest. A tasting room is in the works and should be open in fall 2008, for now the wines can be ordered at the winery website.
2005 Brother Timothy Mont La Salle Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
This week will mark the release of the 2005 edition of the Brother Timothy Mont La Salle Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. The wine benefits the Lasallian Education Fund (LEF), the West Coast Educational Foundation of the De La Salle Christian Brothers. This is the second release of this wine created to honor a grand icon of California's wine industry. The collectible wine is crafted by The Hess Collection Winery and for the first time, this wine was made from a tiny, single vineyard using the Mont La Salle Vineyard estate grapes grown at the site of the original Christian Brothers winery where Brother Timothy worked as cellar master for more than 50 years. The wine is a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec and 5% Petit Verdot and has rich cherry and plum flavors. It was aged for 18 months in French oak.The 2005 Brother Timothy Mont La Salle Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon will release on May 15, 2008 at a reception held at Wilson Daniels Ltd. and retails for $94 per 750-mL ($194 per 1.5 liter).Approximately 100 cases were made, including a number of large-format bottles. Pre-sale orders, which will receive a 10% pre-release discount, will be taken by phone and by mail May 1 – June 15, 2008. All proceeds benefit the Lasallian Education Fund, the fundraising arm of Lasallian schools located in the District of San Francisco, which exists to serve low-income families who do not have access to a quality education. Currently, some 10,000 students in four western states are benefiting from education in the tradition of the De La Salle Christian Brothers.
Robert Parker Pans 2007 Bordeaux Vintage
Bordeaux chateaux are starting to release their prices for the 2007 vintage but there is already bad news. The emperor of wine, famed wine critic Robert Parker has slammed the latest vintage handing out low scores and branding the vintage as overpriced. Wine buyers often look to Parker's scores to see if they should buy wine futures which are sold two years before a vintage's release. In his vintage review titled "2007 Bordeaux: Who Will Buy Them and at What Price?" he has basically told buyers not to bother unless prices are lowered dramatically.
The news is devastating for some Bordeaux producers for whom Parker's scores may mean less sales. Certainly his advice carries considerable weight and may influence wine dealers not to purchase simply because they are afraid they won't be able to sell to wine collectors in the long run. Should any one man have this much power?
Parker gave only three of his coveted 100 point scores this year and all three were for whites, Chateau Pape Clement white and Haut-Brion, were both marked 96-100, and Chateau Climens, a sweet white tasted by Parker's British sidekick Neal Martin, got 98-100. Even Bordeaux's top five, first growth wines didn't even hit 95 with Chateau Margaux earning a 92-94, Chateau Haut-Brion a 91-94, and Mouton-Rothschild a 90-94. Chateau Lafite and Chateau Latour both got a 90-93.
Wine Trails Not Just For California Anymore
Recently the Alabama Wine Trail opened to some controversy. The winery trail, which offers a map to the state's eight wineries has run afoul of a Baptist group which is against the promotion of alcohol. Wineries are driving increased tourism to unlikely places. While California is still the top wine tourism stop in the U.S. and Oregon and Washington are quickly gaining ground, the rest of the country is also working hard to lure wine tourists. With travel expenses running higher and higher, these destinations might be more appealing to those looking for a shorter trip closer to home. New York's Finger Lakes region has a number of different wine trails but some other winery trails are located in Iowa, Indiana and Virgina. Check out our gallery below for a look at wine trails around the country.
Gallery: Wine Trails
A Ducati For Your Taste Buds
Italian motorcycle company Ducati has a wide variety of licensees, just check out our gallery below for a few, but they have now joined with a winemaker. Desmorosso is a Ducati's first licensed wine which is created with the Le Pignole winery. The first wine is the Desmorosso 2006, a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 10% Carmenere grapes. The grapes come from hillside vineyards in the Colli Berici area, Municipalities of Brendola and Arcugnano. It is only available in six bottle packs which sells for 168 euros (around $260).[via BallerHouse]
Gallery: For the Love of Ducati
Flavours of the World Wine Tasting Event
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Ordinarily I cover wine events in the U.S. but this event n London caught my eye. Estates & Wines, the Moët Hennessy Wine Division (part of the LVMH) will be hosting a new wine event to showcase their collection of "New World" wines. The inaugural 'Discover the Flavours of the World' will take place in London on May 14, 2008 at Il Bottaccio, Grosvenor Place, Belgravia, London, UK . It will feature LVMH brands including Cloudy Bay from New Zealand and its sister winery Cape Mentelle in Australia; Australian sparkling wine Green Point; Terrazas de los Andes from Argentina which plants specific plants at the optimal altitude; Cheval des Andes also in Argentina; and Napa Valley's Newton winery which is a new addition to the LVMH portfolio. I had no idea LVMH had so many New World labels. A limited number of free tickets are available, and can be reserved when ordering a special case of Moët Hennessy wines (£60 for a case of six bottles, plus p&p in the UK) of either Terrazas de los Andes Reserva Malbec 2006 or Terrazas de los Andes Reserva Chardonnay 2006. Alternatively, tickets can be purchased for £60. For further information, to purchase a case and ticket, please contact Rosalyn.LANE@mhuk.co.uk.
Historic Champagne Sale in New York
Attention champagne and wine collectors: on April 25th at 6pm at Cru Restaurant on Fifth Street in New York there's going to be an auction of vintage Champagne and rare wines dating back as far as the 1800s. The bottles are from the collection of real estate collector Robert Rosania and will include names like Krug, Dom Perignon, Bollinger, Cristal, and Roederer to name just a few. The total collection going up for auction includes 1,346 bottles, 303 magnums, and 11 jeros of Champagne. No word on why Rosania is looking to sell these valuables other than he's looking to "share these discoveries with others."
Heidi Barrett Joins Fantseca
One of the most respected names in winemaking, Heidi Barrett, has announced her first new project since leaving the famed Screaming Eagle, she will be working with Fantesca Estate & Winery. Barrett, called the "The First Lady of Wine" by the "emperor of wine" critic Robert Parker, Jr., is the only winemaker ever to have received five perfect scores from the top wine critics in the country.
We've covered Fantesca for their Adopt A Grape project before, which offers an inside look at winemaking through a series of films. They will be capturing the entire growing season with bi-monthly high definition films. Heidi Barrett, Vineyard Manager Jim Barbour and owners Susan and Duane Hoff will take the viewer from bud break through harvest on adopt a grape. Visitors can also adopt a grape from one of Fantesca's seven vineyard blocks following it in films, photos, and written updates.
In the Wine Business? Why You Might Want To Sell Soon
If you are looking to sell the family winery you might want to think about doing it soon. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports that a recent study indicates that between 500 and 1,000 family-owned wineries in California, Oregon and Washington could be sold in the coming years. The major reasons for this mass sell-off is that the next generation is either unwilling or unprepared to take the reins from their winemaking parents.
Financier Bill Price, a vineyard owner and co-founder of Texas Pacific Group ttold a wine conference in Santa Rosa on Wednesday that if they want to sell they should do it soon. He cited a study conducted by Silicon Valley Bank which showed that 88 percent of wineries in the United States were founded after 1975. Over half of those surveyed, 51 percent, were planning to transition ownership of their business in the next ten years but 45 percent of those said they don't have any one willing to take over. This function of our Baby Boomer culture could lead to a a cycle in which early sellers will get premium prices but those sellers in the heart of the cycle when everyone is selling will have trouble getting their top price and may have to wait until the end of the cycle when the supply plummets and prices start to rise again.
CLIF Bar Wines
CLIF Bar & Company, mostly known for organic and healthful CLIF bars and LUNA bars, is now in the wine business too. Based in Napa Valley their aim is to make high quality wines that remind people to slow down and enjoy life in a way that respects the earth. Sarah Gott joined their team last year as the resident winemaker, and all of their wines are sourced from Napa Valley and the North Coast with an eye towards organic and sustainable farming practices. Prices range from $12.50-$35.
Gallery: CLIF Bar Wine Labels
Village Called 'Champagne' Fights For Its Name
A small town in Switzerland is fighting to be able to do something most town's take for granted: put its name on its wine bottles. Despite the fact that the village has been in existence for over 1000 years, and has been producing wine since at least as far back as The Middle Ages, there's a ban in place keeping the town name of 'Champagne' from appearing on its wine and food labels. A deal struck back in 2004 between the European Union and Switzerland (in order to protect the French wine-producing region of the same name) is to blame, and as a result the poor town of 713 residents has been experiencing steady drops in sales and may even lose jobs in the future. The residents are fighting it, but so far to no avail. Poor Champagne.
Cook with the Chef at Villa Mangiacane
In beautiful Tuscany sits Villa Mangiacane, a hotel that in addition to beautiful scenery and luxury sleep accommodations offers its own wine, olive oil, and now cooking classes.
As part of the "Flavours of Chianti" package you're treated the first night to a 4 course candlelit dinner prepared by Mangiacane's acclaimed Chef Massimo Bocus, which prepares you for the following day's cooking lesson with the Chef and a Villa Mangiacane wine and olive oil tasting. Among other treats (like cooking aprons, daily spa access, and fresh fruit in your room) you'll also get a Tuscan Cookbook and a bottle of Villa Mangiacane Chianti. €1270-€2450
Gallery: Villa Mangiacane
Mundo Gay, A Spanish Wine for the Gay Community
While the idea of a wine titled Gay World struck me as an April Fool's joke at first it turns out that Mundo Gay is a new wine from Ribera del Duero that is meant to honor the gay community. The wine is produced by Bodegas y Viñedos Robeal in Spain's Roa de Duero. Gay marriage has now been introduced in Spain and according to Mundo Gay spokesman Fernando Martín, the wine is meant to open the minds of those in the small argricultural area of Ribera del Duero. The wine is from 100% Tempranillo grapes and sells for 20 euros a bottle.[via Decanter]
Magrez Plans Mt. Fuji Wine
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about wine baron Bernard Magrez's recent wine moves, selling off estates in Bordeaux and picking up more land in Chile. Now in a move that is really intriguing, he as picked up a vineyard on the slopes of Mount Fuji in Japan. This makes Magrez the first French wine player to set up shop in the country. He has purchased a small six hectare domain (close to 15 acres). He plans to produce a high-end white wine. Magrez owns 35 vineyards on four continents.
