Dave McIntyre's WineLine

Drink Local Wine Conference Opens

The First Ever DrinkLocalWine.com Conference opened Friday night in Dallas, with a gala dinner at Le Cordon Bleu. About 40 participants (more are expected at Saturday’s sessions) enjoyed seared scallops, roast chicken breast, flatiron steak and a decadent choco-chocolate dessert, all paired with some of the best wines of Texas.

I can hear you saying, “The best wines of Texas???” Well – yeah! Texas has nearly 180 wineries, and while the wines may not get far outside the state, some of them are indeed quite good. I was particularly taken by the Brennan Vineyards 2008 Viognier – classically styled, not in the floral manner – and its 2006 Syrah, a kickass red that had impeccable balance and a hint of the bacon fat aromas of the Northern Rhone. Flat Creek’s “Super Texan” sangiovese-based blend was also excellent – the 2008, bottled just Wednesday so not yet showing all its stuff. McPherson Cellars also poured a delicious Rhone-style red made from grenache and mourvedre.

There were some non-Texan wines, too. Doug Caskey of Colorado brought a delightful Boulder Creek Syrah, and Richard Leahy brought something from Indiana that I forgot to write down - it was a dry white in the traminette vein - flowery and intensely aromatic. Delish. And the Michael Shaps 2005 Petit Verdot from Virginia impressed several of the tasters who were lucky enough to snag a sip with what this Bordeaux grape can do in the Old Dominion.

There will be more on Saturday, as local  wine enthusiasts, writers and bloggers from Colorado, Maryland, Virginia, New York, Georgia, Missouri and other states get all geeky about what’s going on “around here.”

And don’t forget the Texas Twitter Tasteoff! You can follow the events on Twitter at #DLW09 …

Photo: The Cordon Bleu Chefs put on a culinary show to do Texas proud.

Bruce Here's in Charge of the Sheep Dip

When I posted yesterday’s defense of my wine pricing on The Washington Post Food section’s blog, several commenters rallied to my defense. Their support is much appreciated. But I couldn’t leave one comment, from someone called “sheepherder,” on the Internet without a challenge. Not so much because sheepherder would like to herd me into oblivion, but because the criticism leveled is so wrong and ill-informed that I could not leave it alone.

Here’s is sheepherder’s lament:

Mr Mcintyre should be shown the door at the WP. He reviews are wrose than his predecessors and don't hold a candle to Ben's.

If the WP keeps him he needs to concentrate more on VA and MD wines and throw in East Coast wines for good measure. At least one column a month should concentrate on local wines only. You have more than enough material for 3 local wine columns a month and tastings. With all hoopola over eating local the Food section of the WP needs to get with it and concentrate on local wines along with local produce, local cheese and local meat especially locally raised lamb! And lets not forget the stock dogs that work local livestock. Nothing beats watching a a good herding dog moving 500+ sheep and lambs on beautiful spring morning with fog just lifting.

Posted by: sheepherder | May 28, 2009 7:26 AM | Report abuse

(Sheepherder was referring in his nostalgia to Ben Giliberti, who wrote the Post wine column for 20 years and rarely, if ever, wrote about local wines. I believe this is the first published comment I’ve seen since I took over the column last October wishing for the old days. Some sort of milestone, I guess.)

And here is my reply, posted on Sunday, as soon as I saw the comment:

Oh, Sheepherder, wake up and smell the sheep dip. I've written more about local wines in my eight months with the Post than anyone ever has, including Ben (who doesn't like local wines, by the way). Remember my recent column on Virginia Viognier? My column about local wines in October (and my creation - with a friend - of the DrinkLocalWine.com Web site and "Regional Wine Week")? Or that I recommended Virginia wines for Thanksgiving, including them along with wines from elsewhere because they are good enough not to be treated as novelty items anymore? I reported on Jim Law's shift to lighter bottles at Linden, and I included Virginia in my recent column on US Sauvignon Blanc. Did you see Mary Jordan's fine piece about Virginia wines wowing the British vinoscenti at the recent London International Wine Fair? It was published merely ONE DAY before you posted your comment. Who do you think alerted her that Virginia wineries were coming to London?

You have seen plenty of coverage of local wines and the local wine scene in my columns - and you will continue to, if you pay attention.

Thanks for reading - and thanks to everyone else for the kind words and support. I appreciate all feedback, including negative (as long as it's justified, which sheepherder's complaint is not.)

Cheers,
Dave Mc

Posted by: DaveMcIntyre | May 31, 2009 12:43 PM | Report abuse

And here are the columns I’ve written for The Washington Post since I took over the wine column last October 1 that either feature or mention local or regional wines:

October 8: Local Vintner’s Grow Respect

October 15: Some Rules Are Made to Be Broken (I have to fix this link – a Virginia wine was featured in a column on unusual blends.)

November 19: The Annual Puzzle of What to Pour (Virginia wines included in Thanksgiving wine recommendations.)

December 24: When it Pays to Be a Lightweight (Linden Vineyards featured in discussion of wineries switching to lighter bottles.)

January 7: How to Put Riesling Fears to Rest (New York and Canadian Riesling featured.)

April 1: A Grape Virginia Vintners Can Love

May 13: Sauvignon Blanc’s American Makeover (Virginia Sauvignon Blancs touted.)

And one extra:

May 27: Virginia Makes Wines? Yes, and London Likes Them (By Post London Correspondent Mary Jordan. Unfortunately, I was unable to go to London for the International Wine Fair, but I did alert Mary to the idea of a fun story that would resonate back home, and she did a terrific job. I hope she got to taste the wines!)

Warning! A Threat to Regional Wine!

Disturbing news came in my e-mail today, courtesy of an article in the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat & Chronicle. New York Gov. Patterson, trying to cope with the economic downturn and a rising state budget deficit, is proposing to eliminate funding for the New York Wine and Grape Foundation. The state executive branch currently provides $1 million per year to the foundation, an amount matched by industry. The legislature contributes $1.8 million.

Jim Tresize, the foundation's director, told the paper that the proposed cuts could mean the end of the foundation's promotional efforts on behalf of the state's wine industry.

Trezise said if the proposal becomes law, the foundation would have to shut down its efforts to push juice, wines and wine trails — industries he said have a $3.4 billion impact.

Wine lovers around the country should be alarmed at this. Why?

As Jeff Siegel, aka "The Wine Curmudgeon" and my co-conspirator in creating DrinkLocalWine.com, wrote to me: "If they get cut – and they’re one of the most important – everyone will get cut."

State governments around the country are facing severe budget crises and will have to make painful cuts in services and support to various industries. That is an unfortunate fact of life. Gov. Patterson is also proposing to increase New York's excise tax on wine from 18.9 cents per gallon to 51 cents. That's a matter of maybe, oh, a quarter per bottle of wine? If even that? No biggie, there.

But cutting the foundation budget could have a lasting negative impact. Tresize, whom I've met several times over the years, is probably the most forceful advocate of regional wine in the United States. Sure, his job is to promote New York wines. But in doing so he has brought attention to the rise of regional wine throughout the country. He serves as a judge at wine competitions from coast to coast and is a tireless promoter of Wine America, the national winery trade association. His foundation helps sponsor viticulture reseach at Cornell University - one of the nation's leading viticultural programs - which benefits wineries all over.

The foundation also sponsors an annual Governor's Cup competition to crown New York's best wine. I had the pleasure of judging once a few years ago when one of the regular judges canceled at the last minute. I was impressed not only by the quality of the wines but by the professional and efficient way Tresize managed the competition. I've begged him to invite me back, but the regular judges don't give up their seats easily - the wines are that good, and the event is that fun.

I've written several articles about New York wines over the years, most notably for The San Francisco Chronicle just after the 2005 Supreme Court decision prompted the state to allow direct shipping to consumers. I don't know how much wine New York sold as a result, but the article would not have been possible without Tresize's help in getting word out to wineries that I needed samples and interviews.

New York wines are finally creeping onto shelves in the D.C. area. Not a whole lot of impact yet, but I suspect they owe a great deal of their presence to Jim Tresize.

Jeff Siegel is right. If New York ends its support for its wine industry as a result of the financial crisis, other states may follow its example. Virginia's wine industry would not be as successful as it is today if it did not have state support. Richmond cut off that support a few years ago and closed the state office that was analogous to the N.Y. foundation, only to restore it on a more modest scale later. I haven't had time yet to research how other states may or may not support their wine industries. But whatever support they give - that means product improvement, market expansion, jobs, revenues, and tax income for the state.

I don't know what we wine lovers can do to stop this, given the economic circumstances. And most comments posted on the Democrat & Chronicle article were in favor of severing state funding for the foundation.

But we can at least call attention to the threat this poses to the growth of regional wine - in New York and elsewhere.

And we can contact Gov. Patterson to voice our support - from across the country - for the New York Wine & Grape Foundation.

Happy Birthday, Wine Curmudgeon!

The Wine Curmudgeon celebrated a birthday this past weekend.

Not the Curmudgeon himself, Jeff Siegel, the Dallas-based wine columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, but the Wine Curmudgeon blog. Jeff started it a year ago, and it has become a daily read - and a daily delight - for me from the very beginning.

Jeff and I met three years ago on a wine junket to Chile. As we swirled, sniffed and spit our way through the Colchagua, Maipo, Aconchagua and Casablanca valleys, I came to appreciate Jeff's straight-shooting attitude about wine. He would cock his hat, and a skeptical eye, at any statement that smelt of pretense or marketing hype. Forget the shtick, just show him the wine. It better be good, and it better be cheap.

This honesty shows through in his daily posts on The Wine Curmudgeon. Jeff constantly searches for contenders to his $10 Wine Hall of Fame, and he throws literary darts at anyone who would try to convince us to pay more than a wine is worth. He even lampooned himself, describing the delightful travails of a wine writer who flits from lunch with a winemaker to two trade tastings and a wine education class in a (not-so-typical) day's work.

Jeff is also an untiring champion of local wines. He is probably the country's leading journalistic authority on Texas wines - I know, sound the trumpets! - and he was my co-instigator on DrinkLocalWine.com and "Regional Wine Week," last month's effort to gather wine writers and bloggers across the U.S. and Canada to write about wines "from around here." (It was a great success, Jeff tells me - he's much better at tracking Internet hits than I am.)

Jeff and I may never agree on the virtues of Norton, but we agree on a lot. Happy Birthday, Wine Curmudgeon! Here's to many more years of good reading!

Eat Local? Drink Local!

Regional Wine Week has been a resounding success so far, with hundreds of readers visiting DrinkLocalWine.com to discover   the wonderful variety of wines being produced today in the United States and Canada.

Tonight, my column inThe Washington Post highlighted this effort, along with some emerging trends in Virginia and Maryland wine. Virginia is developing its own wonderful expression of Chardonnay, and Jim Law's Linden Vineyards is a prime example. Petit Verdot is gaining favor as a potential rival to Cabernet Franc as the Old Dominion's premier red grape. Michael Shaps produces the state's best. And surprise! Virginia may be on the verge of a breakthrough in producing sparkling wines of great character. Kluge Estate is in the vanguard, especially with its lovely 2004 Rosé.

In Maryland, Black Ankle Vineyards is rewriting the book, winning acclaim and medals with its debut wines even before the winery opened for business (just this last week!). Elk Run continues to impress with a delightful, floral Gewürztraminer, while Boordy Vineyards, an historically important winery for its promotion of French-American hybrid grape varieties, produces a sprightly Vidal.

Remember - Wine Country isn't just California anymore!

Regional Wine Week is Underway!

Regional Wine Week may not change the way we think about wine or life, but if it prompts readers to give a little more thought to their local wines for dinner - and not just as novelties to be purchased once a year at a festival - then it will have been a success.

RWW is underway now at DrinkLocalWine.com, a modest little Web site conceived by Jeff Siegel, "The Wine Curmudgeon," and myself. You won't find much content there, just two brief manifestos by Jeff and me, plus links to a host of writers around the United States and Canada who are writing this week about wines "from around here" - wherever "here" might happen to be for them.

If you go to the site now, you can click to Charmian Christie's evocative post on the fruit wines of Niagara. You can also find Rob Hagman's treatise on Pollak Vineyards, which he calls "the future of Virginia," as well as Richard Leahy's account of a 20-year retrospective tasting of Virginia's best, held last week in Richmond to mark the 20th anniversary of Virginia Wine Month. The Old Dominion is developing a successful wine tradition, and we've got it on DrinkLocalWine.com.

You'll also find Richard Leahy's account of Tierce Riesling, a cooperative effort by three wineries in the Finger Lakes to develop a terroir-based style of Riesling. It's a grape this region has long been noted for, but one that has struggled to develop a consistent style and flavor profile. Tierce is on the cutting edge.

Regional Wine Week includes some major wine writers from top publications. Sandra Silfven has already posted on the Detroit News Web site about her favorite wines from Michigan and Ohio. On Thursday, Gil Kulers will report on the emerging wines of Georgia in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Scott Greenberg will profile Maryland's Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyards in the DC Examiner. On Wednesday, I will highlight emerging trends in Virginia and Maryland in The Washington Post. Later this month (editorial schedules being what they are), Bill Daley will report on Illinois wines in the Chicago Tribune and Lou Marmon will feature some Maryland wines in his column for the Gazette papers in the DC area.

I hope you'll revisit DrinkLocalWine.com throughout the week as we post new links to posts about Colorado, Arizona, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York - and somewhere near you.

Got Wine? It's not just from California anymore.

Regional Wine Week Begins October 6!

The Eat Local movement is going mainstream, with farmers markets cropping up and grocery stores hawking produce “from around here.” But most of us - unless we live on the West Coast - don’t tend to wash down our local food with local wine. Although wine is now produced in all 50 states, local wine remains a novelty, something to be sipped on an annual excursion to a wine festival or a mercy purchase from a weekend trip to the country.

This should change. Local wines are not only more numerous than before, but they are also getting better in quality. That’s why I’m helping organize “Regional Wine Week,” a project involving wine writers in newspapers and on the Internet who will write about some of their favorite wines “from around here” during the week of October 6.

During Regional Wine Week, you will be able to read about the best wines from places like Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. Plus North Carolina’s Yadkin Valley, the mountains of northern Georgia, and Ohio and Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Arizona. Ontario will also be represented in our effort.

Beginning October 6, participating writers will post to their blogs or devote their Internet newsletters or newspaper columns to their favorite regional wines. You will be able to follow these posts through DrinkLocalWine.com, a Web site that will serve as a clearinghouse of sorts to link to the various writers. The site is currently under development but should be up and running well in advance of October 6.

My partner in this effort is Jeff Siegel, wine columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and a blogger who styles himself “The Wine Curmudgeon.” Whenever Jeff travels, he searches store shelves and wine lists for local wines. All too often, his search is in vain. Regional Wine Week is our effort to call attention to the best wines in our regions.

So tune in and log on beginning October 6. Who knows, you might find a new favorite winery near you, and maybe even some new favorite wine writers.