{"id":42,"date":"2011-03-07T19:09:00","date_gmt":"2011-03-07T19:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/?p=42"},"modified":"2011-03-07T19:09:00","modified_gmt":"2011-03-07T19:09:00","slug":"my-contribution-to-the-worlds-wine-lexicon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/?p=42","title":{"rendered":"My contribution to the world\u2019s wine lexicon"},"content":{"rendered":"

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One of the hallmarks Your West Coast Oenophile<\/b> is striving to establish for the wine program at Sostevinobile<\/b><\/font> is untainted objectivity in selecting the wines we will feature, both at our wine bar and through our retail operations. Over the 2\u00bd years that I have been relentlessly developing the wine program, I have made numerous new friends, strengthened old acquaintances, and been extended enormous generosity everywhere I\u2019ve traveled. But I cannot allow the pull of personal relationships to influence our decisions, insuring that our clientele knows that we are offering them the best wines we can source, week in and week out, based solely on a rigorous methodology for evaluation (more on this in a later posting)<\/i>.
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This process of selection, however, is based on a bias I have articulated many times: that the quality and variety of wines found on the West Coast makes for a superior wine program that is comprehensive in its scope and that delivers wines of sufficient, if not exceptional, value. Toward this end, I am constantly willing to challenge my own hypothesis and sample a wide array of the imported wines Sostevinobile<\/b><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font> eschews. 
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Recently, I returned for another pre-auction tasting with Wine Gavel<\/a> at Ame<\/a> restaurant in San Francisco. Admittedly, this is a realm in which I have scant exposure and have little ability to assess the quality of the event, apart from the criteria outlined in their event program. After all, the mere notion of wine collecting baffles me. Unlike something like numismatics or philately or other accumulations of memorabilia, the only way a wine collector can fully enjoy his acquisition is to obliterate its value. On the other hand, if the collector does not consume the wine, the whole exercise seems like a thankless pursuit. <\/div>\n

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As with last year\u2019s event that I attended, Wine Gavel poured a number of well-aged French vintages, including a handful of Premiers Crus<\/font><\/font>, from their own vaults. Several of these had been polished off before I arrived, but those that I did manage to taste ranged from lackluster to near dreadful, at least when standing on their own merits (vs. pairing with food)<\/i>. Maybe these particular wines came from off vintages. Maybe previous owners had stored them improperly. In any case, I was once again duly unimpressed with such highly-touted labels.<\/div>\n

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Shortly after, I partook in a late night tasting of French wines at Prospect. Here, the Robert Kacher Selections<\/a> and our host, the Henry Wine Group<\/a>, brought out a number of more moderate selections from the Loire Valley, Alsace, C\u00f4tes du Gascogne, Burgundy, Corbi\u00e8res, Costi\u00e8<\/font><\/font><\/font>res de N\u00eemes, and the Rh\u00f4ne Valley. Nearly all these wines listed at <$20\/bottle wholesale, many even less than $10, while the represented AOCs ranged from the rigid strictures of Bourgogne and Ch\u00e2teauneuf du Pape to the unfettered blends found in the minor regions. As I found with the Bordeaux tasting I had attended earlier this year, an enormous gulf exists between the top echelon (Premier Cru houses in Bordeaux, Grand Cru vineyards in Burgundy) <\/i>and those from the lower tiers in those appellations that issue such rankings. 
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Here\u2019s the gist of what I ascertained at this tasting. The lower end white and red Burgundies (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir)<\/i> poured here could hardly be said to give Oregon or Santa Barbara a run for their money. The range of Sauvignon Blanc expressions, including the Sancerres, mostly seemed pleasant, if unremarkable. The dessert bottlings never failed to please, while I must concede that the West Coast is still catching up to France in its capacity to offer as broad a selection of noteworthy, mid-range sparkling wines as the proliferation of Cr\u00e9mants and Champagnes they produce.<\/font><\/font><\/div>\n

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My investigations into West Coast viticulture are by no means near complete or comprehensive, but as yet, I have not found a varietal bottling of Aligot\u00e9 or a straight Ugni Blanc here. Seldom -seen Carignan played a more prominent role in a number of the French wines, including the 2008 Domaine Sainte Eug\u00e9nie Le Clos Vin de Pays d’Hauterive<\/b> and its sibling 2007 Domaine Sainte Eug\u00e9nie Corbi\u00e8res Rouge<\/b>, two highly impressive wines, given their sub-$9 price tag, while the premium Font du Michelle Ch\u00e2teauneuf du Pape \u00c9tienne<\/b> proved well-worth the price it commands. But, in spite these exceptions, the selection of French wines overall failed to sway me from my contention that the omission of imports diminishes the wine program I am building.<\/font><\/font><\/div>\n

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Some wines can be so restrained or overly acidic that they simply cannot function on their own merits. To call such wines \u201cfood mandatory\u201d seems appropriate, as their need for complementary pairings cries out:
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