Terroir Event in Picton

Astrid Young — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:54:11 -0400

Hope you'll all think about attending the annual Terroir event in Prince Edward County. It's organized by the Prince Edward County Winegrowers Association, and i will be conducting a seminar on Oak Aging in conjunction with The Carriage House Cooperage. It should be interesting and informative and lots of fun - look for the blind tasting booth where you can test out your new knowledge on oak aging and qualify to win a prize!

The show will take place on May 16 2009 (Saturday).

Go to http://www.thecountywines.com/ for details!

A Question of Value (Regarding County Wine in Particular)

Astrid Young — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:48:39 -0400

    A colleague asked me an interesting question the other day. She asked “why is (local winery name here)’s wine so much more expensive than everyone else’s?” the answer is so much more complicated than you might think – and in framing my response I kept it relevant to the supplier at hand, however, it is a good question overall, and one that doesn’t always relate to quality.
   The answer I was required to give to her went like this: “(They) are overpriced. They’ve always priced themselves over and above what they ought to, but they are our neighbors, so politically it’s important to support them. In reality, that particular wine would be great if it was five dollars less per bottle.”
It doesn’t take much to change perspective on value, when value for the dollar is all you expect. The wine itself, it’s good. Some of it quite good, but it would be better if it was priced less aggressively. I consider this particular instance to be more one of narcissism than any qualitative calculation.
   If everyone could understand what it takes to produce a bottle of wine, most wine would be well over most people’s budget. So let’s start there – we know it’s labor intensive. But look at what you, the consumer, can get for your hard-earned buck: for less than twenty dollars, sometimes even less than ten dollars, you can get a decently made, nicely packaged bottle of wine that will not offend anybody. Maybe from Australia, maybe from Spain, sometimes even from California. Hey, if you can get a decent bottle of wine from California for under fifteen dollars, then why can’t a good bottle of local wine offer up some competition?
   Of all the things one needs to consider when pricing their wine, the most cost-intense is oak. Is it oak aged? Is it barrel aged? Then it’s going to cost more, by proxy. Even oak chips and staves cost money. Barrels cost more. New barrels especially. Some cost more than others, but add to that the time involved in oak aging. Time which is being spent resting in barrel instead of bringing home the bacon. Tax is still paid on wine in barrel, space is being used to store them. Your wine is now paying rent. Wine-makers need to tend to the wine, stirring, racking, blending, various lab processes. It all goes on the tab.
    When its time is through, it’s time to put it all together. Better wines tend to require higher quality packaging. Good glass, capsules, closures (Stelvin screw caps are more costly than poor quality cork, by the way), labeling, and then perhaps even submission to VQA, which is another great expense, but often necessary if one wants to sell their wines to restaurants. Non-VQA wines are taxed at the rate of forty eight percent (taxes paid by the producer), while VQA wines only pay two percent. Hardly seems fair when a winery may only be producing two thousand cases a year.
Then comes marketing: to LCBO or not to LCBO – simply to get it on the shelves where you, the consumer, can eventually ‘discover’ the wines – this can be the most costly effort of all, with some marketing initiatives costing in excess of thirty thousand dollars, and all that only if your sales people have effectively hand-marketed the product to land in a hundred or so stores. The ‘Go-To-Market’ program, which allows small producers to direct market their wines to specific stores (up to thirty) still requires that the producer deliver its own product directly to those stores.
    All these things considered, it’s remarkable that we have wines in the County which cost less than fifteen dollars a bottle. Not only that, the wines are mostly outstanding, which makes it easy to recognize value. There are exceptions, however, which is how this whole discussion started. There are plenty of wines over the twenty-dollar mark that deserve to be there, but an equal number of wines in that price range that do not. It doesn’t make them bad wines, but it doesn’t exactly inspire my enthusiasm, either.
    Bottom line, if you love the wine, then it’s all been worth it. Therein lies the value.

Sunday Diners Part I

Astrid Young — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:41:54 -0500

As I sit here, I have to tell you - I just finished writing about 2200 words into this darn thing and as I hit 'submit' this magical thing happened - my entire article disappeared. I am chagrined. And not just slightly frustrated. I was going to pack it in, and just sulk for a while, watch a little American Idol and feel sorry for myself, but instead I decided to re-arrange some of my wine boxes, and decided in the process that I should just cut the crap, crack a bottle and give this another go.

So here I sit, with a lovely glass of Pinot Noir from Byron, Santa Maria Valley 2005. It's awesome. I am summarily inspired. In my last, unsuccessful attempt at an upload here, I'd waxed philosophical about the recession and how it was affecting the hospitality industry. But that's pretty depressing, all in all. So toss that. Far be it for me to bring my dark cloud of doom down upon you all. And things aren't really that bad. Yet. I mean, I'm not a wine rep, and that's a blessing. However ... during the past few months, which have been an incredibly busy time for me (hence you have not seen my scribblings in these pages, but that too will change) I have come to isolate and identify a species which we are all familiar with, but not concerned enough with to lend to it a name. Having had recurring encounters in the restaurant with said species, I have taken it upon myself to dub them "Sunday Diners" (read that like 'Sunday Drivers' and you'll get the gist) and here are the various ways in which you can recognize one:

1. Orders their steak well done, without fail.

2. Deer in the headlights kind of look on entry

3. Pronounces Table d'hote like "taybel duh hotte"

4. Doesn't know what a rosti is, but when explained would prefer a baked potato 'with everything'

5. Asks for prices with taxes included

6. Is miffed due to lack of ranch dressing

7. Only went out because of a birthday/anniversary/valentines day/mothers' day/etc.

What do I surmise from these clues? number one, that I'll probably walk with a solid 10% tip, and that it won't be an easy one. Number two, no matter how experienced I am as a purveyor of fine food and drink, I will forever be viewed by the Sunday Diner as a paeon, a plebian, a servile creature. There is nothing worse than being condescended to by those who know not. And though, as an SD, you may be completely and utterly ignorant of this, you are actually on the losing end of this deal. Karmically, and for the sake of your cultured soul, I am here to offer some observations and perhaps some advice.

I'm not saying that all nasty people are Sunday Diners, nor that all SD's are nasty. There are plenty of cultured folk who enjoy the easy prey of a fine dining server, as it is common knowledge among them that they can get away with it and they do so with impunity. SD's on the other hand tend to give themselves away as those who a. never dine out b. can't really fathom what good or bad service is and c. aren't prepared to pay for either.

Now, there are ways to avoid being labeled a Sunday Diner, and I'm going to go through a few points so you might have an easier time of it on your next bistro, casual fine dining or other fine dining adventure.

1. You have a gift certificate, let's say for $150. The balance of your bill, above and beyond the GC is $22. Here's what you should do: You tip on the amount that you would have paid on the entire bill, not just on the $22. Your server (and the kitchen for that matter) has spent as much time on you as they have on another table paying full pop. One cannot live on what you think is appropriate. $3 for that fine meal? how is that fair?

2. Tipping in general has a baseline of 15% in today's standards. This is calculated before tax. On groups of 8 or more, most restaurants will charge an auto-grat of 17%. It's a good guideline, but if you feel you've had great service, it's plenty okay to give more. Servers remember good tippers. They also remember bad ones. (Not that you'll be back, though, right?)

3. If you can't afford to go out, don't go out. If you're scrambling for enough dough to cover, you're probably not having a good time. And neither will we. Your uncomfortableness makes us extremely uncomfortable, apprehensive and wondering if you're about to go 'Coco Lezzone', if you know what I mean. Do us all a favor and stay home. Or go get pizza or something.

4. If I personally come to the table, sell you a bottle of wine, open, decant, pour, and generally schmooze you up, you are being treated special. You are special. Do you know why? It's likely because your server thought it'd be a good idea, would be nice for you, or whatever. And I don't take tips from my servers. The whole thing happened because of the server's good idea to send me over, so you should reward them. For making you feel special.

5. Sitting at the bar, or only ordering wine or drinks is not an excuse to not tip. I don't know who thinks it's okay that the bartender only gets 10%, but I'm here to tell you that despite all the fancy schmancy stuff he/she can do with a cocktail, and in spite of all the witticisms and good humor, your poor bartender makes about half of what a server on the floor does. And often they have a good deal more experience and responsibility. Take care of them, they take care of you. Nuff said.

6. Word up: most diners in general don't know this, but word to all you SD's out there too: most servers and bartenders have to tip out to the house at the end of the night. All the folks on the floor, like the hostess maybe, or the busser/food runner, and the slaves in the kitchen that don't get tipped directly, depend on the server for a measly crumb of a tip at the end of a long and grueling night of you sending your lamb chops back because you swear they're not lamb chops - and so, if you stiff the server on the tip, they have to pay out of their own pocket to cover the percentage they're responsible for. Often the tip-out is based on their sales and not their tips, so think on the fact that if you stiff on the tip, it comes out of their pocket.

7. If the wine you ordered comes, and you taste it, approve it and subsequently drink it, we have your unwritten signature on a contract - you have to pay for it. This is why we so patiently wait for your approval: is the wine good for you, sir? very good then. In this case, even if you change your mind, do it before you've finished the whole bottle. Once the wine is gone, there can be no negotiation, no outrage at the bill when it comes. It is your responsibility as a diner and imbiber to eat and drink not only within your means, but taking care to spend your hard-earned cash on something you will enjoy. To argue that an Ontario Pinot Noir is not as good as a Burgundy or Californian, after one has consumed the wine in its entirety, is moot. You may be right, all things being subjective, but you did order it. Off the list. With full knowledge of its cost. And to top it all off, you're embarassing your wife. This incident and its ensuing frustration on your part is absolutely not a good reason to stiff the server on the tip. This was your fault, learn from it.

8. Tapas are small plates, like appetizers. You're supposed to order a few, and share. Please don't complain about the portions. Hint: if it costs $9 it's probably not a main course.

9. 'A la Carte' means dishes come as described, and you need to choose your own sides. This is a good thing! it means that you get exactly what you want on the plate, and nothing you don't want. The selections are priced lower because of this. Don't get upset, you can have anything you want, any way you want it. A la Carte spells FREEDOM for you. Don't knock it!

and finally ...

10. It never ceases to amaze me how cheap menus attract cheap people. Promotions like Summerlicious and Winterlicious (and Countylicious) are meant to make some restaurants more accessible to more people. What I find is that we end up with a room full of SD's that - in the words of legendary bluesman Robert Johnson - 'can't be satisfied but just can't keep from trying' and at the end of the night, oh the carnage! It's not enough that they're getting a cheap meal at a fancy place, but they have to bring their uncontrollable children, request special menus that are not in the offing, steal things from the ladies room, and cut a general swathe of destruction during their entire seating, and to top it all off, yes, leave a SOLID 10% for a server who has to wait the next seating just to clean up the mess. Where is the justice in that? How would you feel if we came to your house and displayed similar behavior?

There's an old adage that says that bad tippers have their own place in hell. That could be true, and I'm not saying that all service merits peak generosity on all occasions, but I think folks could do well to avoid these situations by availing themselves of a few modern conveniences, one being the internet. Check out where you're going, and try to be approriate. Menus are generally posted, and even if they're not current, then at least you can probably get an idea of how much you should expect to pay, and what the facilities are like. If you must take your children with you, try to train them to be considerate, polite and courteous in the dining room. Take enough money with you. Read menu descriptions. Engage your server. Enjoy the experience. And if for some reason you don't enjoy - please say something, but don't be unreasonable. If we can fix it, we will.

Of course, there's not much another glass of this 2005 Byron won't fix.

By the way, don't forget to pick up a copy of Style at Home, the February issue. Conrad Ejbich interviewed me for a little article on sommeliers, along with MS John Szabo.

in vino veritas ...

Quinte Happenings (news flash: this includes Prince Edward County)

Astrid Young — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:53:02 -0500

Greetings from a chillier, quieter paradise in the wine country landscape ...

Here in the County, every year is an evolution.

When I first moved here, six years (almost to the day) ago, it didn't hold quite the allure that it does today. The cat was still in the bag. I, myself, had never heard of the County, having been suddenly yanked from my Calistogan Napa Valley existenz, as it were (please note the Cronenberg reference there, as i meant it) by a Man I thought was going to make it all worthwhile.

The winters were cruel and yet wistfully compelling. I portrayed the eternally thin- blooded Californian, decrying natural selection and its implications. Ultimately, I was a survivor, and thus was required to overcome. The County itself was what saved me, and it is the reason I am still here, after the Man has moved on. I think what really convinced me to stay was that I never had to go looking for reasons why. The Man told me that this is where he wanted to live out his life, and I found peace in it. Even though, six years ago, it was a very different County. Even though the amenities at the time were severely truncated. Even though the wine and its industry here was in its relative infancy, I got it. And ultimately, 'it' got me.

I'll write more about my history in the County, my friends in the trade, the growth of our food and wine industry, and all the various bits of debauchery that make it memorable. I promise I will ... but in the meantime, and being mindful of the blog format ... I'll get to the point here:

There Is Stuff Happening Here You Should Check Out Now or Soon.

Firstly: Countylicious!

Those of you local to Toronto can relate to the 'licous' modus operendi. Same schtick: Many restaurants offering prix fixe menus for a limited time. We're on til November 22, and I myself am manning the wheel at the Devonshire Inn On The Lake, in Wellington. It's an eight room Inn, part of Ontario's Finest Inns, but you probably won't get a weekend reservation between now and the end of the promotion. However, there are lots of wine-related packages to be had outside of Countylicious. If you can manage to make it to the County to try one of the fine restaurants which are participating during the time of this initiative, please drop in and have a little hang. My wine list at the Devonshire is 100% County, and I am committed to it. Three years ago I wouldn't have been able to do this, but these days the problem is more one of - whose wine do I list? Yes, it's gotten that good. exciting days, indeed. You can find a list of participating restaurants at www.countylicous.ca and if you're looking for accomodation, here's a link: http://www.pec.on.ca/pec_yellowpages/yellowpages.php3?category=32

Secondly: Wine Nights at Capers in Belleville

Capers Brasserie and Wine Bar has been my baby for three years now. We've won Wine Spectator awards, and David Lawrason has openly declared that I have the best wine list between Toronto and Montreal (go ahead - check me on that, I dare you!)
Every Thursday, Capers will be presenting themed wine nights, where our new chef Jeffrey Camacho (formerly Sous Chef at Hillebrand Restaurant in Niagara) will present regional tasting menus, and I will be on hand featuring wines in flights from the featured region. It's exciting for me, as I will be pouring wines from our extensive 500+ selection wine list that would not normally be featured by the glass. This Thursday, November 13, we will be featuring Bordeaux. The possibilities are too many to mention, so I urge you to come and visit, and be wowed by what we can bring. I apologise for the short notice on this ... but if you miss the first one, be sure to plan for a future Thursday ... I will keep you posted on the details.

In the meantime, I hope these yummy details keep you interested. Please stay tuned!

If you are looking for more details on me, check out my website:

www.Bonvinavendre.com

where my motto is: we do the thinking, YOU do the drinking!
http://bonvinavendre.com

in vino veritas ...

Expecting to be cured of all ills by Viognier

Astrid Young — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 13:52:46 -0400

I just returned from a 5 day wine trip up through the Okanagan Valley, where i had chance to meet some very interesting people, taste some fantastic wines and eat in way too many restaurants along the way. My traveling partner, Pops, held down the driving while i tasted as many wines as i could on our short visit. The whole trip merits its own article, but I felt this was particularly blog-worthy:

On Black Sage Road, just outside of Oliver, at the south end of the Valley, is where many of the Okanagan's best wines are made and grown. I had a list of the places I most wanted to visit, and so Pops drove me between them, interrupting every once in a while to state the obvious, for which he has a remarkable knack. First up, Quinta Ferreira, owned by one John Ferreira, whose parents immigrated to BC in 1960, working as farm laborers until such time as they managed their own crops. John was driving the tractor by age seven. After purchasing the property they converted the desert sage scrub to orchards, and eventually vineyards. As we drove up to the tasting room/winery/house (stacked in that order one behind another) I recognize John from a photo in one of the wine guides. Here was the owner himself, up to his elbows in pomace, and he waves at us that he'll be right in.

The tasting room is empty, and i realize he's running the whole show this day. Obviously in the middle of crush, pomace and miscellaneous grape debris litters the crush pad (also the driveway to his house) and both the press and the destemmer look in need of a good power wash. The wasps are having a field day.

I tasted the wines, all very good - the Chardonnay, a gold medal winner, was a favorite, as was the merlot, which featured delightful notes of brown sugar and chocolate on the finish, and a big, chewy frame to support it.

"The only wine I cannot taste you on is the Viognier, I only have eighteen bottles left."

I've already observed that many wineries are sold out of their niche wines - hard to find a Viognier, a Zinfandel, or even too many Pinot Noirs. Coming a week after the regions' grape and wine festival, many places are very limited as to what they had left, and some, like Black Hills (sadly), were closed altogether. I picked up a lot of Pinot Noirs, untasted due to low inventory - so, thinks i, if it's almost gone, it's gotta be good ... more on that another day ...

But the Viognier always intrigues me, and I ask John how long he's been making it.

"This is my second vintage only, it was kind of an experiment, and a mistake at the same time."

"A mistake?"

"A good mistake! It cures sickness!" John boasts, "it cures heartburn, headaches and sinus conditions!"

Now that's interesting ...

"One day, a lady comes in and she says, 'John, I love white wine, but it always gives me heartburn. I'm always searching for one that won't. What can you pour for me?' and I say, try the Chardonnay, and i pour this for her, and two minutes later she says 'oh, my heartburn is terrible! what else have you got?' and I thought if it gives you heartburn why don't you try red? and she says 'no no, I only like white wine.' so I taste her on a couple more, and the heartburn is still bad. anyway, other people are coming in to the tasting room, and I'm pouring some viognier for them, and I pour some for her too, while i go take care of my other customers. after a minute, she says to me, 'John, it's a miracle - my heartburn is cured!' It's completely gone, and she buys a case of wine.
"a couple of months later, a couple is in the store, and the man is tasting some wines, and he hands a taste of teh Viognier to his wife, who says, 'i can't drink anything, i have a bad headache all day.' But he insists, says 'just try it,' and she does. and what do you know? her headache was cured!
"Then, one day a doctor and his wife come in, and he's tasting, she's tasting, but she doesn't much like wine, she says, because it makes her sinuses clog up."

well ... you can fill in the blanks on the rest there. It's a miracle wine. i had to buy a couple of bottles. Besides, i like Viognier, in all its myriad textures and styles. In California, they barrel ferment it, to soften the searing acidity that it picks up being such an early ripener. I love the highly textured, richly layered condrieu's when i can afford one. and even a simple, crisp table style viognier like Lurton makes from Languedoc negociant grapes, can be a stunner on the right day. When i returned home from BC, the first thing i did was to crack a bottle of Viognier - not the Quinta Ferreira, but a well-chilled bottle of a Chilean from Mont Gras, a powerful rocket-fuel style, late harvested and fermented dry to a boozy 15.5% abv. I drank the Mont Gras, and i thought about how if Chardonnay can kill e-coli and salmonella on contact*, then why can't this nectar cure stuff too? mind you, there wasn't a heap of crutches, canes and wheelchairs outside the Ferreira tasting room door, but maybe they get hauled off somewhere else.

The next morning i was surprised at the nasty, hazy little hangover i had from said Viognier. Perhaps they're not all created equal after all. I am planning to cure this headache with the Quinta Ferreira a little later. Then we'll see how miraculous it really is ...

*ref: Drink to Your Health and Pour Some on the Counter, Too

Posted: Tuesday, November 05, 2002 on Winespectator.com

Parker Rising

Astrid Young — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:12:18 -0400

It's a funny thing, what Robert Parker does to people. Winemakers quake in their Blundies, consumers become defensive about their vintages. He is the grail of winos everywhere, the ultimate connection for the well-connected in our trade.

I had an email from a friend and associate of mine, the sales and marketing director for a County winery. She had met a gentleman at an LCBO tasting of their wines who said he knew me. Said gentleman also purported to be well connected to Robert Parker and offered as he would like to taste Bob on these fine County wines. My friend asked if I knew this guy, and could he possibly be on the level? I said, sure, why not. I'd not known Bob to spend any significant time in Canada, but anything's possible. I then went on to tell her a Parker story of my own:

First, a little background: i lived for some time in Calistoga, in the northern tip of Napa Valley. I ran a wine shop there called All Seasons, and also the wine program in the attached resto. This wine shop is a bit of an enigma in itself, as some years before I came along, it was run by one John Wetlaufer (subsequent partner of Helen Turley and also partner in Marcassin, one of the most sought-after and precious wines from California). After John came Margaux Singleton, who eventually left All Seasons to open her own shop across the road. Margaux and I were acquainted, of course, both being on the same page in Valley wine history ... but not friends, per se. There was some animosity between my employers and her, so I found it best to stay out of the mix. Anyway, that's all ancient history now, as I moved to Prince Edward County some six years ago, and there I reside at the moment. So ... a couple of years ago I get an email from Margaux, asking a small favor. She would like me to put up some backstage passes for Robert Parker for Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit, a two day concert that takes place yearly in Mountainview, California. (more background here for those of you who didn't know, Neil is my brother). Now, anyone who knows Robert Parker knows he's a HUGE fan of Neil's. They've met before, backstage at the Bridge show. Neil refers to him as Bob The Wine Guy. So I thought, sure, that's no big deal. Margaux told me he was going with his wife and a couple from Germany, and she wanted it to be a surprise. 'No problemo,' sez I, and proceeded to call Neil's management to put in the request.

'He's already got tickets, I just want to put up some VIP passes for him and his party,' to which i was informed that Parker was already taken care of. Seems a wine rep in LA (may he remain nameless) had purchased ten tickets and had acquired passes on the auspices that he was bringing Bob The Wine Guy. I said, are you sure? That didn't exactly sound like the scenario I'd been painted by Margaux, and I knew for a FACT that she was friendly with Bob going way back, back to the early days of Colgin, one of the original Napa Valley 'cult' cabs. 'Oh yes, don't worry.' I'm told, 'Robert Parker is already being taken care of.' Not one to question the powers that be, I left it at that ... however, i did give Margaux some extra info, just in case something happened. I gave her the name of the production manager of the show, and said if there was a problem, Bob was to go speak directly to him. Taken care of, with backup, thinks I. Of course, I'm not going to the show myself, I'm in Canada. No way for me to check on these things directly.
The show goes on ... and I receive a rather nasty message from Margaux stating that there were no passes for Bob, and she was very disappointed. What could I do? I told her the story, and passed along the name of the LA wine rep for her to take a strip of hide off of. Seems she didn't pass along the production manager info to Bob, so even though there was a contingency plan for him, he simply never made the connection. Oh well, there will be other Bridge shows.

Back to the story I started ... about this guy promising a Parker tasting for an absolutely lovely Prince Edward County chardonnay ... my friend comes back with this, after I recount my Parker story above:

"Yeah he said the whole schpeel about wanting to take him backstage to
your brothers concert in December and that he was meeting with him in a few
weeks....I don't want to get our hopes up but man a review would boost
our sales! I really hate braggers and he went on and on and on about the only
brands and vintages of wine he drinks bla bla bla ..."

So the picture I'm getting is that Bob is probably flying up to see the Neil show in December, and this guy knows him well enough to at least share some vino. My first thought was, could this be the same wine rep? naw, probably not, but scary familiar. Ultimately, it appears that winos in the know, know the way to Bob's heart is through my brother. And that's such a comfort, isn't it? I mean, that it has nothing to do with wine at all.

Note to Robert Parker, if you're listening: I can get you where you want to be.
Stay tuned ...

In Vino Veritas ...