I bought this bottle last fall in Oregon at a Fred Meyer (We also found several Louis/Dressner wines there so they must be doing something right). grocery store on a whim and it sat around here in London until recently (I swear a Blaufränkisch would have been consumed months earlier). It was a very pleasant surprise and my first taste of wines from Kiona Vineyards. I’ll be sure to look out for more of them this summer when we return to Oregon.

2002 Kiona Lemberger Columbia Valley, Washington State 13%

Medium ruby red with edge beginning to go brick

Black Currant, blackberry, light spice, very elegant nose. bit of oak/vanilla peaking through and a little peaty smokiness. Very interesting. . .

Med to Light bodied black currant anics, med tannins, Dr. Pepper-like finish.

Very good, very suprising and a great value (aprox. $12) for such an elegant wine Find this wine.

Besides the name, I don’t think Kiona is doing itself any favors with its label. The glittery Vegas showgirl look makes it seem cheap and dated and a little sad. “Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl. . . ” Their 2003 has a more tasteful label but I don’t think tasteful is what you need, especially if you’re up against the 3 second rule. Why not just use the Bull thing and go for all those Red Bull hipsters? Especially since they have many other more interesting labels for their wines.

Domaine Viret is in Saint-Maurice, a village in the Southern Rhone that’s allowed to use its name on Côte du Rhône Villages. Their practice of Cosmoculture is singular in the winemaking world. What is Cosmoculture and where does it stand in relation to other agricultural practices? Here’s a list – in increasing order of intensity – to help explain:

Industrial Farming – The soil is an inert medium to be cleansed with herbicides, pesticides and nourished with chemical fertilizers. Germs, insects and bacteria are regarded as scary and must be completely eradicated. Hydroponics is the natural extension of this way of thinking: “can’t we just eliminate the dirty soil?” Monty Waldin, in his book Biodynamic Wines estimates that 142 grams (approx. 5 oz.) of synthetic chemicals are used each year on a typical industrial vineyard per bottle of wine produced!

Lutte Raisonée – Lutte Raisonée is literally “reasoned struggle.” It is a way of low impact farming that doesn’t have the regulatory restraints of Organic or Biodynamic. It’s a new, increasingly popular method that’s explained in detail in Jamie Goode’s excellent new book, Wine Science.

Organic Farming – The soil, plants, animals and environment are considered part of an ecosystem. This ecosystem is to be held in balance without the use of synthetic herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers. Also considered the “old fashioned” method — the way agriculture has been practiced for virtually all of its history outside of the 20th century. Many European vineyards practice organic farming without saying so on the label.

Biodynamic Farming – Biodynamic agriculture is a further development of organic practices that were developed by Rudolph Steiner in the 1920′s. In a very small nutshell, Steiner was an Austrian Philosopher who believed that society was being eroded by technology; his teachings on agriculture, education, etc. emphasized the spiritual or mystical forces he regarded necessary to all life. It Considers the soil, plants, animals and really everything as living and sentient beings. This is point where Steiner’s teachings come in and where most people start to think of crackpots and zealots. One thing that is hard to dispute is the intense amount of care put into growing and making these wines.

Cosmoculture – As far as I know, the only practitioner of Cosmoculture is Domaine Viret. Cosmoculture is based on the exchanges between cosmic and telluric energies, a return to ancient culture and civilizations (Maya, INCA) on the forgotten ancestral principals of La Geobiologie, La Radionique, Le Balisage planetaire, and La Memoire de l’eau. This is, of course, why one distributor gives their wines a 4 straightjackets rating.

To find out more about Cosmoculure, Denyse Louis of Louis/Dressner Imports (their US importer) has written an excellent essay about the practise at Viret and Thor Iverson has written a thoughtful article on the vineyard and its wines.

When we visited Viret in fall 2003, at the suggestion of Denyse, we had wild anticipation about visiting a real cult winery (as in operated by a cult). We were mildly disappointed to find winemaker Philippe Viret very sane indeed but were very happy to sample their unique and exceptionally good wines. Wait – sane? here I am holding my son Leo over the giant illuminated crystals at the center of the winery while Philippe looks on! There seems to be something other worldly in their wines that’s hard to categorize (much like Chateau Musar, which is from an altogether different winemaking planet, Lebanon).

2001 Les Colonnades

Dark, slightly cloudy garnet, or as expected from an unfiltered, unfined wine.

Extremely aromatic, floral, leathery and perfumed with notes of violet, blackberry, chocolate and coffee. It seems that they are, like Musar managing low levels of faults like brett and VA.

Chewy, meaty and full bodied with slightly rustic tannins. Highly acidic with a bit too much alcohol (wow – 15%!) An enjoyable long savoury/spicy finish.

Very good but a bit too much alcohol.

A ready drinking cuvée of Domaine Viret rouge called “Cosmic” made for the US market is imported by Louis/Dressner and is available in NYC and many states for $17.00.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

WINE PATROL DECLARES WAR ON EXPENSIVE RESTAURANT WINE

New WinePAL® Program Allows Consumers to Fight Back

SONOMA, California (March 20, 2006)—The Wine Patrol, a beloved fixture of Wine Country in the 1990s, has remerged to lead the fight against high-priced wine in restaurants. The Wine Patrol was notorious for bringing a sense of humor to the wine business and pulling wonderful stunts like hijacking the Napa Valley Wine Train. Their new WinePAL® program requires that restaurants use a portion of their wine lists to present excellent wines at value prices to accommodate people who love wine but break into a sweat when ordering a $70 bottle. The ingenious WinePAL program actually deputizes consumers and gives them an active roll in lowering prices.

Lance Cutler, a local Wine Patrol Commander says, “We’re not looking to go to war on this. In fact, we desperately want a negotiated peace.” Cutler explains that dining in restaurants is one of society’s grand pleasures, but for many there is no fine dining without good wine. “When the average wine bottle on a list costs more than your dinner, when you have to decide between a bottle of wine and your kid’s dentist appointment, it makes it financially difficult to enjoy your dining experience.”

According to Cutler, most restaurants price their wines at 2½ to 3 times what they pay for them. If they buy a bottle for $20, that bottle will be priced between $50–$60 on their list. Given our current distribution system, the winery that produced that $20 bottle of wine was lucky to receive $12 for it. The winery had to grow or purchase the grapes, produce the wine, barrel age it and bottle it. They had to pay for label design, bottles, corks, and capsules. They stored the wine, shipped it, sold it and billed it. Somehow, the wineries make enough profit selling that bottle for $12 to stay in business and grow.

“The restaurant wants to make $40–$50 profit for that same bottle of wine just to open it and pour it into a glass,” exclaims Cutler. “That’s a wine crime.”

The Wine Patrol thinks that every restaurant wine list should have at least one fine wine under $30 in every category. They think it is reasonable to insist that at least 10 percent of the list is under $30. They prefer that there be no corkage fee, but if there is, keep it at $10 per bottle or less. For each bottle purchased from the list corkage for at least one bottle should be waived. The Wine Patrol would like to know who is purchasing the wine, so they know who to congratulate or who to blame. They’d like to see creativity, selection and value in the wine-by-the-glass programs.

The Wine Patrol is recruiting deputies to help spread the word to restaurants. Deputies will have identification cards depicting the Wine Patrol logo and their status as deputies. Deputies will also have cards they can leave in restaurants that direct the wine buyers to the website where they can see the requirements for achieving WinePAL certification. When dining at a fine restaurant, but one with wine prices in the stratosphere, deputies would simply leave a card when they pay the bill.

“I know this sounds a little silly,” Cutler admits, “but believe me, if we get enough deputies to leave enough cards, restaurant owners will listen. We can change the way wine is sold in restaurants.”

People who want to enlist as Wine Patrol deputies or who are looking for more information on the Wine Patrol and the WinePAL program should visit www.winepatrol.com.

I first found out about Bucklin Vineyards on Uber wine blogger Tom Wark’s FERMENTATION. He took these photographs recently, which is remarkable since I imagine him to be at the computer most of the time. He’s a force of nature, writing at least one article a day, all well written with a heavy dose of opinion and humor. If you haven’t checked out FERMENTATION yet, I suggest you do so NOW – judging by Tom’s picture on the masthead it looks like he may just kick your ass if you don’t.

Wednesday: A 2004 Château d’Oupia Minervois Rouge (Carignan 60%, Syrah 30% and Grenache 10%) with all its peppery rich berry fruit and garrigue tumbling around hit the spot with take-in hamburgers in the hotel room.

Thursday: Lunch is at the French Culinary Institute. It’s always an amazing bargain at $24 pre fixe 3 courses plus $15 wine pairing. The wines are all understudies but shine in the pairings, as they would in the made for Musical FAME! A 2004 Weingut Kruger-Rumpf Munsterer Rheinberg Riesling Kabinett, dry and steely, matches grilled sardines. The 1998 Les Hauts de Pontet-Canet Paulliac (Cabernet Sauvignon 60%, Merlot 33%, Cabernet Franc 5%, Petit Verdot 2%) which is the 2nd wine from the 5th growth Bordeaux (a 10th growth?) is at its peak and really outstanding with lamb. A 2001 La Chapelle de Lafaurie-Peyraguey Sauternes (Semillon 90%, Savignon Blanc 5%, Muscadelle 5%) is pleasantly apricotty and works well with the bitter-sweet rhubarb tart.

I feel like Brillat-Savarin as we’re seated at Danny Meyer’s The Modern just 3 hours later.

Dinner: Alsace inspired cusisne with a naturally heavily Alsace wine list. I need help immediately otherwise I’ll just order a Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile or something completely randon. Stéphane Colling, Modern’s wine director suggests 2002 Domaine Weinbach Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg Cuvée Sainte Catherine, over a dry wine mainly because “we will be able to go in more directions with it.” Huh? It’s a wonderful wine, lightly sweet peach mineral slight parafin/diesel with the opulent softness that says were in Alsace and not Germany.

Our table goes with the tasting menu with wine pairings, which answers the “more directions – huh?” 2005 Giardini Arimei Reciotto (Biancolella, Forastera, San Lunardo, Uva Rilla, Coglionara – all indigenous Campanian grape varieties that I wouldn’t recognize in a dark alley let alone broad daylight). Stéphane assures us that it’s a recioto-like wine made from the Fiano Grape. It is an unusual but perfect choice for the fois gras that accompanied it and shows that a quite intense (16%) wine that would usually be pair much later with a cheese course can work right away. I stop with notes and we continue with masterful pairs of courses with Gewurtz, Erbaluce, Sancerre, Super Tuscan (Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot), Calif. Cabernet Sauvignon. Wow!

Friday: The Wine Century Club Dinner. My liver isn’t exactly ready but what the hell. Robin Garr has a better synopsis here: click. All wines were masterfully selected by Jamie Wolff of Chambers Street Wines (the finest selection anywhere, a must!) A sparling 2004 Thierry Puzelat Vin Pétillalnt de France Pétillant Naturel Non Dosé (Chenin Blanc) starts things off with a bang and a writhing dance and sabering from Jenifer “Chotzi” Rosen. The first course is paired with two whites, a 2002 Cazin Cour-Cheverny(Romorantin) a highly acidic love it or hate it from the Loire (love it) and a Giuseppe Fanti 2003 Trentino Nosiola (Nosiola) a beautiful elegant aromatic lovely what is it? I may have guessed Albarino. The second course, which for most people is a big steak frites, is paired with reds: Grosjean Frères 2003 Vallée D’Aoste Torrette Valle d’Aosta,(Petit Rouge 70% with 30% Pinot Noir, Dolcetto, Fumin, Vien de Nus, and Neyret) an extremely weird very pale buttery red
and a 2003 Tavijn Barbera D’Asti (Barbera) dense wonderful bitter cherries. This was all on a blind tasting and 2 out of 4 was the best score for guessing the grape variety. I know I couldn’t have done better.

Saturday: 2004 Tramin Trentino Sauvignon Blanc, and two papal wines 2002 Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (Sangiovese 85%, Canaiolo 10%, Mammolo 5%) and 2001 Domaine La Roquette Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rouge (Grenache 70%, Syrah 20%, Mourvedre 10%).

Friday: Lunch is at the wine geek friendly Landmarc in Tribeca. We’re all having burgers with a ’98 Leoville Barton but no! They’re out of it so under pressure I choose a 2003 Mas de Daumas Gassac Rouge (Cabernet Sauvignon 80% with 20% Malbec, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Tannat, Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo, Grenache, Tempranillo, Voskehat, Kontorni, Salte, and Saperavi) which was dumber than me for selecting it. It needs another decade or two. . .

41 varieties isn’t too hard to do, albeit many in trace amounts!

Is that Robin Garr? The haircut, eyeglasses and expression all look authentic but I’m not entirely convinced about the risqué pose. It just doesn’t seem to be his bag, baby! In fact, we’re almost certain that this photo is a hoax and are currently looking for the source of this blasphemous blight on the blogsphere!

Yes, it’s the Wine Century Club’s own lovely and zany Jennifer “Chotzi” Rosen posing with the official Wine Century Club Tastevin. At last year’s Inagural Dinner she treated everyone to an incredible stream of consciousness interpretive wine dance . Rumor has it that she’s bringing her Champagne Saber this year. Watch out fair bottles of bubbly!

Just as the world of wine grapes is ever increasing, the club is also expanding rapidly. It began with 33 and now has 109 members form all over the world, including Finland, Georgia (USA and former USSR), Germany, Spain and Brazil. At the present rate of growth (330%) the club will surpass the readership of the Wine Advocate in five years and the population of China in just 12 years. Part of this growth was fueled by the introduction of the first local chapter of the Wine Century Club – Vino Cellars 100 – in Williamsburg, VA. Thanks to Heather Hatcher (Chapter President), Bill Bean (Chapter VP) and Paul Luchsinger (Chapter Secretary) and all its members for their initiative in what should be the first of many local chapters.

*Dzhani and Ehrenfelser are both wine grape varieties. Buttafuoco is an Italian blend of 25-65% Barbera, 25-65% Croatina, and up to 45% Uva rara and/or Ughetta and/or Pinot Nero.

I can imagine that most of the other Rhone-style wines will be from new world regions, especially given the vast choice now available in California. This one goes the other direction on the timeline, to an ancient, pre-Rhone region, the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. The 1991 Château Musar Rouge I tasted is blend of the Rhone variety Cinsaut, along with the Bordeaux biggie Cabernet Sauvignon and the Laguedoc workhorse Carignan (which is also a minor Rhone variety). It may also contain a little Syrah and Mourvèdre. Musar doesn’t publish the exact proportions but the Rouge is predominantly Cinsaut and Cabernet Sauvignon with a lesser amount of Carignan.

All self-respecting wine geeks should try Château Musar at least once. Not just because of its unique character but also the historical significance and oddness of its region. The Phoenicians introduced viticulture to the Bekaa Valley 6,000 years ago; it was so renowned for its wines that the Romans erected a temple in honor of Bacchus there in 150 AD. The Bekaa Valley is also one of the most dangerous areas in the world and a hot-bed of regional conflict, especially so during Lebanon’s Civil War. Even while dealing with such non-Napa pests as mortars and shelling, production was only interrupted in 1976 and 1984. The valley is currently controlled by Hezbollah and winemaker Serge Hochar describes Lebanese winemaking in one word: chaos. I could go on and on, but it’s already been said much better by Andrew Jeffords in this article in Decanter.

1991 Château Musar Rouge

Perfectly aged Bordeaux look-alike, lipid medium/pale brick red with pronounced orange-tinged rim.

Fairly intense, unique and complex; leathery, berries, blackcurrants with a bit of volatile acidity and vague perfume. A friend once said that the perfume is the same as the winemaker Serge’s cologne, but since I don’t know what brand he wears, I can’t verify this point!

Very smooth well integrated tannins and acidity, almost fruity cassis liquor with a very leathery mid-palate, smooth long finish. There is a bit of volatile acidity and I imagine the leather notes to be from Brettanomyces, which means there are two perfectly integrated “faults.”

Unique, well-made and fascinating, Château Musar has a huge and loyal following in the UK and is readily available here. In the US it’s not so well know although it is imported by Broadbent Selections.

£19.50 ($33.86) at Arthur Purchase & Son, Chichester, UK