The Wine Camp Blog

It’s Wine Blogging Wednesday and hosts Erin and Michelle of The Grape Juice Blog have chosen the letter “S”, with a tip of the hat to Sesame Street, as the topic of the day. Immediately I thought of one of today’s hottest wine topics: Spoofulation.

Alice Feiring rages against the machine. Natural wines are the only wines. The problem is, of course, is that no one agrees on what natural wines are. There are natural, organic, biodynamic and sustainable growers and winemakers, but not one definition of what is natural wine exits. Except, of course, for Alice’s and she is sure she is right. The term that has arisen to describe over-manipulated wines is spoofulation, but is spoofulation the opposite of Alice’s version of natural wines? I don’t think so. There are many wines that would not meet Alice’s requirements that are clearly not spoofulated.

What is spoofulation? That now ingrained term, to me, more than anything else, refers to wines of excess: excessive concentration, excessive oak, excessive alcohol and minimal terroir and varietal character. Spoofulated wines are wines that could come from anywhere and any variety. By my definition that does not mean that un-spoofulated wines have to be “natural” or “organic” or “biodynamic”, but without a doubt it appears to help. The reason I say they don’t have to be any of those things is because I have tasted many wines over the decades that not only did not employ these disciplines. but never heard of them. There are many wines from the 60’s that are pretty damn good and I assure you they never thought of such things. They worked with what they had and what they knew and used things in their vineyards that would cause outrage today.

Spoofulation, much like the Supreme Court’s definition of pornography, is something I know when I taste it. Spoofulated wines throw balance over the side in a headlong pursuit of points. It is an approach I can understand as wine producers have to make a living like any other farmer. Points from the Pontiffs sell wines to hoards of consumers who drink wine more often without food than with it. The point of spoofulated wines is to grab enough attention in a ten second taste to get a good review and to prevent the consumer from having any more thoughts about the wine, so they can return to their conversation. Spoofulation cannot be defined as “big wines” or “high alcohol wines” or anything other than wines that erase any individual character in pursuit of the lowest common denominator. Spoofulation is to wine what religion was to Karl Marx.

Spoofulation is so much a part of today’s wine vocabulary that a debate has begun on the etymology of the term. Joe Dressner, the importer, whose portfolio is spoofulated wine-free, recently reported on the birth of the term spoofulation on his blog, The Wine Importer, where he recounts the debate over how the word was coined by Harmon Skurnik of the extraordinary importer and distributor Michael Skurnik Wines in New York and Michael Wheeler, formerly of Michael Skurnik Wines and now of that extraordinary importer and distributor in New York, Polaner Selections. Please be prepared to keep your tongue firmly in your cheek as you read this post.

In the last few years we have welcomed a new word beginning with the letter “S” into our wine vocabulary. Now we have to work on defining it.

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Image above from Appellation America

Host Andrew Barrow of Spittoon has posted the wrap-up for the 42nd Edition of Wine Blog Wednesday. His challenging topic of describing an Italian red wine using only seven words produced over 50 entries from wine blogs around the world. The results are not only fun, but thought provoking.

Check out the entire list using this link. 

The task for this Wine Blog Wednesday seemed daunting to a wordy writer like me. This month's host Andrew Barrow at Spittoon proposed we comment on an Italian red wine using only seven words. At first I thought this difficult, but then, when I thought of my ultimate compliment for a wine, it suddenly became easy!

Barbera d’Alba, Marcarini, Ciabot Camerano, 2005

A wine I could drink every day.

This month’s host, Alder Yarrow of Vinography has assembled and posted August’s roundup featuring no less than 27 bloggers from around the globe commenting on Loire white wines. Many thanks to Alder for hosting. You can find the roundup by following this link to Vinography: http://www.vinography.com/archives/2006/08/wine_blogging_wednesday_24_rou.html

I was thrilled when Alder Yarrow of Vinography, this month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday host, selected white Loire wines as the topic for WBW #24. After all, these are some of my very favorite wines. For example there are the stunning wines from producers like Domaine de la Pépière and Luneau-Papin in Muscadet or the Coteaux-du-Layon & Quarts-de-Chaume from Château Pierre-Bise and the Anjou from Mark Angéli of Domaine de la Sansonnière or the Savennières from Domaine du Closel and the Sancerre la Garenne from Fernand Girard.

As gorgeous as these wines are they are relatively obscure to most wine consumers, which is a sad fact as Muscadet is easily the best value white wine available. The Loire makes wines from a long list of grape varietals thought of as second class by the average wine buyer. Chenin blanc, caberent franc, sauvignon blanc, melon (muscadet), gamay, côt (malbec) just don’t seem as regal as chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and pinot noir to most wine drinkers and, for that matter, most wine writers. On top of that, names like Coteaux-du-Layon and Savennières don’t make good sound bites for marketers. This means not many Americans are pulling corks from bottles of Loire wines and this is truly a shame.

All the producers listed above make extraordinary wines, but they also have one other thing in common - they are all imported by Louis/Dressner. If you want to drink an exceptional white (or red or rosé for that matter) Loire wine you don’t have to remember any unfamiliar place names, you only have to look for the Louis/Dressner label on the bottle and you are guaranteed to find an outstanding wine that perfectly reflects the character of the place it was grown.

Last evening I immensely enjoyed a Louis/Dressner selection, 2005 Domaine de la Pépière Muscadet, Clos des Briords, a single vineyard wine produced from old vines. This wine was nothing short of exceptional with an almost electric minerality and precision. While certainly drinkable now, those who can wait a few years will be well rewarded. By the way, this exciting wine put me back a whopping $10.99.

Joe Dressner, famed internet personality and partner in Louis/Dressner, is as intense and focused as this Muscadet and has assembled the finest portfolio of Loire wines available in the USA. Anyone seeking to experience these wines at their best should seek out his selections. Incidentally, his wines from other French regions are equally compelling. 

On my last trip to New York I ordered a bottle of  2002 Savennières from Domaine du Closel. After a confused look from my waiter, it took them about a half hour to find the bottle at the back of the cooler. Apparently it had been a while since anyone ordered a bottle. It was delicous and a relative bargain, but it looks like Joe has a lot more missionary work to do before Savennières becomes a household name.

This month’s host for Wine Blogging Wednesday, Joel Vincent of Vivi’s Wine Journal has posted the round-up of this month’s topic, Barbecue wines. The range of dishes and wines is truly exciting and creative so be sure to check out Wine Blogging Wednesday #23 at:

http://www.vivisjournal.com/vivis_wine_notes/2006/07/wbw23_round_up_.html#more 

 Thanks to Joel for hosting this month!

The years I spent living in Italy changed my concept of Barbecue forever and so my take on this Wine Blogging Wednesday topic takes a decidedly un-American twist. My version of Barbecue now brings up the vision of my friend Massimo sweating over a very smoky fire of real wood instead of charcoal, sipping on a big bottle of Becks and rapidly turning the fresh fish on the grill. While every smoky bit of seafood he tossed on the big platters was delicious, for me nothing could beat the rich, oily taste of the fresh anchovies and sardines.

Massimo marinates them briefly in extra virgin olive oil, onions, lemon and rosemary before tossing them over the hot, smoky fire for just a few moments per side. The results quickly made me forget ribs and burgers. Fortunately for me, in the USA Oriental fish shops are a good source of fresh anchovies and sardines - at least if you ask for them.

While crisp Oregon pinot gris is certainly a great choice for these little beauties, I usually find myself going back to the zesty Italian whites I would have shared with Massimo on such an occasion. While you want plenty of acidity to balance their richness, you also need a bit of body to match their full flavor. This year  a bottle of 2004 Cesani Vernaccia di San Gimignano (imported by the ever reliable Montecastelli) was the perfect foil. With a firm backbone of acidity expanding into  round, mineral, almond and fresh pear aromas and flavors,  this is no simple tourist San Gimignano white, but a wine that will grab your attention - at least until you pop the next anchovy into your mouth.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #22 host Tim Elliot of Wine Cast, the excellent wine podcast site, has posted his wrap-up of this month’s event. The topic of WBW #22 was red wines under 12.5% alcohol. While to some that may appear to be a challenging quest, by the results it was easy to find nice wines if you drink French wine.

You can find Tim’s synopisis of WBW #22 at his website from the link below:

http://winecast.net/?p=400 

 You can read my contribution to WBW #22 from the link below:

http://winecamp.squarespace.com/journal/2006/6/13/tiny-dancer-wbw-22.html 

It was haunting. Mysteriously darting here and there while all my senses reached hungrily out for each nuance, chasing them like glints of light radiating from a gem. A cloud of delicate sensations ran through my brain then lofted away. Nothing overwhelmed me, but its teasing, tempting and almost impish personality became addicting. I found myself coming back to it night after night as there was something so compelling about its vulnerable, yet soaring complexity. Like a seemingly weightless ballet dancer, every move floated through my senses.

There’s a pretty good chance you’ll hate it, or won’t get it, but I find myself pulling the cork from a bottle of this wine several times a week because I have found few wines so satisfying at the dinner table.

The wine: 2004 Beaujolais, L’Ancien, Vielles Vignes, Terres Dorees from Jean-Paul Brun. Just writing about this wine makes me salivate.

It’s not big. It’s not powerful. It’s not pointy. It is simply delicious. No juicy-fruity Duboeuf here, but a wine with a strangely powerful delicacy. The bouquet entices not attacks and on the palate it dances, challenging your palate to follow its lead - if you have the time and inclination. Considering the under $15 price tag, a wine that can lead your senses in so many directions is a staggering bargain.

Never passing 12% alcohol and produced without manipulation, the delicacy of such a wine is sure to disappoint palates trained on the hyper-extracted and manipulated wines of today, but if you are getting a little bored with indistinguishable wines from unidentifiable places, maybe, just maybe, you can open your palate and mind to something new. Actually, it’s not new; it’s very, very old. We all just forgot.

Beaujolais , L’Ancien, Vielles Vignes, Terres Dorees is imported by Louis/Dressner