Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Sensory Analysis Day 2

After a day filled with tasting wine and spitting it out to identify it's characteristics but not get drunk a couple of my classmates and I stopped in at V Sattui for some wine tasting. I was quite surprised that what I feel is a tourist trap had a couple of very nice wines including a sauvignon blanc that is not on the tasting list.

What was interesting was the tasting room guy that we spoke with. He was a friendly if not patronizing dude who declared "it's the end of the day so all the wines are open for tasting". Bonus. He managed to put his foot in his mouth when he said the wrong thing after observing my classmate spit his wine sample in the spit bucket. "90% of the alcohol is absorbed in the mouth so spitting makes no difference" our jovial server declared. Open mouth, insert foot I say.

Had he thought about the audience that he spent a bit of time mocking when he saw my name tag from the CIA I think he would have been more careful with his comments because it was clear to us after a full day of tasting had we not spit we would have not made it to V Sattui in the first place.

The proper pronunciation of Reidel is REE-DULL not RYE-DELL. Those south orange county folks think they are so smart and yet they have miss pronounced it all along. And the main reason you think that your wine tastes better in your Bordeaux Bowl is just because you think so . The Reidel folks are smart marketers and talked the public into believing a specific glass must go with a specific wine. As long as the glass you use has curved in sides to allow swirling it is a fine wine glass. So drink up bitches!

Some fun facts:
All red wines go through a process known as Malolactic Fermentation (MLF) which comes from the fatty acids in the lies (the skins, pits, stems of the grapes) which create a softer creamier wine with enhanced aromatics. Most whites do not go through this with the exception of chardonnay which is frequently known for it's oakey silky butter qualities.

In California it's illegal to add sugar to wine. This is not the case in other wine regions. You can however add sweet grape juice to a mash to sweeten up the mix. Sometimes a winemaker will stop a tank from fermenting out all the sugar to use it for sweetening up the other tanks.

Phenolics are chemical compounds in the pulp, seeds, and skins of grapes that affect the color, taste, and mouthfeel of a wine. Anthorocyanins give color characteristics and Catechins give bitterness and astringency. Astringency is the feeling of drying out of your mouth because catechins bind up your saliva and it takes some time for your mouth to recover.

We finished the night off at PRESS in St Helena a restaurant owned by Leslie Rudd who is one of primary reasons (if not the primary reason) the wine school at the CIA exists. The food was quite good. I had a Kobe Burger that was huge (I only finished half of it) cooked medium rare with some Swiss Gruyere cheese and lots of fresh veggies. Accompanied by a plate full of the best fries in Napa prepared with garlic and herbs. At $18 it is a bargin for Napa.

Hungry? HA!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Is it my nose or power of suggestion?

Toward the end of the first day of the two day class on Sensory Analysis I asked instructor John Buechsenstein this question: "If I smell a wine initially but don't smell liquorish and then after someone else in the class identifies it I can smell it on the next whiff, is it power of suggestion or am I really smelling it?" John's response is that he would side with the conclusion that I have actually smelled the liquorish and it's not just my mind playing tricks on me.

I have to admit that I still struggle with sensory analysis as I put a wine under my nose and I say to myself, "that's a cab" or "that's a chard" not "I smell baked cherries" or "I get essence of oak & vanilla" but I am getting more in tune with the deal. After two days under the expert tutelage of John B I can finally understand the process a wine professional goes through to reach the point where he can blind taste a wine and identify the varietal, region, age, and winery. Understanding the process is one thing but getting to the point where you can do it good enough to be a master takes years because there are so many wines to study and classify.

The first day of sensory analysis included the identification of flaws in wine. It's what you are supposed to identify when the sommelier pours you a sample of the bottle you've ordered. That and if the wine has turned to vinegar. There are six identified flaws that can exist in wine for one reason or another.
  1. Oxidized - When oxygen is allowed to get into the wine in the bottle or it is exposed to heat it can get a stale aroma. I smelled an almost pine nut aroma in the sample we had.
  2. Volatile Acidity - Again caused by oxidation but results in a smell like nail polish remover, model glue, vinegar.
  3. Hydrogen Sulfide - The smell of rotten eggs/sulfur which can occur in the wine making process.
  4. Brettanomyces - A band-aid, medicinal and some times menthol smell that can be treated as a positive or negative aspect of the wine. Some call this "the french disease" since in small occurrences can give the aroma of truffles which is often a noteworthy distinguishing trait of french wines and some french chefs. A little goes a long way
  5. Corked (TCA) - A musty smell that reminds me of a half dry towel that was used after leaving a chlorinated pool. Most often this is blamed on a bad cork that has introduced mold into the wine. This can also occur in the barrel. TCA is short for 2,4,6 trichloroanisole a chemical compound that causes cork taint.
  6. Sulfites - Like the smell of a struck match. Sulfites are used as an anti-oxidant in wine and can naturally occur in grapes. Not to be confused with sulfides, sulfites in unacceptable levels can mask other odors

The are many pleasant odors in wine, whites can have a number of aromatics:
  • Isoamyl Acetate - banana aromas
  • Terpenes - floral aromas
  • Thiols - grapefruit, pineapple, passion fruit, fresh sweat, cat pee
  • Pyrozine - herbal aromas of green olive, bell pepper, asparagus often a characteristic of sauvignon blanc
  • Diacetyl - Buttery, oak aromas resulting from malolactic fermentation a trademark of oak barrelled Chardonnay.
Red Wine notes:
  • Aromas of strawberry and pencil shavings are an indicator of Pinot Noir
  • Cool climate reds can offer a black/white pepper smell whereas hot climate reds will give off more of a baking spicy attribute like cinnamon and nutmeg

Monday, July 20, 2009

Professional Wine Service

Christie Dufault a frequent CIA instructor and a member of the wine team at rn74 (named after the main route through Burgundy) spent the day showing us the array of tools she has to perform the responsibilities of a sommelier.

For the most part I didn't get much from this day of corkscrews. I have opened a lot of bottles of wine and I may not be the best but I get the job done. More important was the knowledge that Christie gave us regarding what it means to be in the service profession. I, as most of my classmates, am not sure what area of the wine industry I want to work in and Christie's knowledge helped me to realize that I probably don't want to be a sommelier. The reason for this is that the job is often times more about being "in service" and less about teaching people about wine. It's more about opening and presenting bottles than it is about describing what's in the bottle and how it makes you feel.

She did give us the lowdown on decanting and demonstrated the process.
There are 5 reasons for decanting wine:
1. To prevent sediment from going into the glass. Sediment is the harmless byproduct of the wine making process and can consist of any or all of the following: skins, pits, stems, or yeast sells.
2. Aeration of the wine. Many wines benefit from aeration (mixing oxygen into the wine to bring out the flavor) and decanting can be an effect way of doing this.
3. Temperature - Moving a wine around inside a decanter can bring it up to a warmer temperature that will improve the tastes that can be hidden if it's too cold.
4. Appreciation - Being able to show the wine in a clear decanter to appreciate it's colors
5. Showmanship/Presentation

I asked what wine would not benefit from decanting and the answer is some older wines that have a delicate aroma that could be killed by too much motion. I have to admit that I am not happy with this response. I also asked if sommelier's get a cut of bottle sales and Christie said that all restaurants are different and the way it usually works is that there are sales goals established that when reached mean bonuses to the sommeliers.

Recommended Reading:
Sales & Service for the Wine Professional - Brian Julian
The Art of Decanting - Sandy Jordan
Sommelier Journal

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Wine Tasting Weekend

Let me just say that being a wine student living in Napa has it's privileges, but the cost is not getting to see your wife everyday. This weekend I had the treat of a visit from Nina and though it was brief it was definitely appreciated.

Friday Night we visited Rutherford Grill (in the city of Rutherford go figure). This place reminds one of the Houston's chain in style but the wine list is far superior if you know what to look for. Fortunately a Sommelier taught me about German wines and I found a nice Werner Kabinett. A delightful white wine with many layers and a pervading sweetness that went perfect with the jalapeno chesse dip we ordered as an appetizer. I followed this up with a glass of a curious red wine called "The Prisoner" which is a blend of predominantly syrah, zinfandel and cabernet sauvignon and went great with the terrific burger I ordered. Cooked to order this burger had the perfect combination of toppings including onion, tomato, lettuce, and relish that reminded me of the old time burgers I ate as a child. Quite delicious.

Saturday we visited Franciscan, Folie a Deux/Napa Cellars, Chandon, and the highlight of the trip a stop at Grgich Hills Estate. Mike Grgich is the famous winemaker who crafted the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay from the famous Paris tastings of 1976 where Napa wines were picked over French wines in a blind tasting. Despite his age (86) Mike is still sharp as a tack and has his power over the ladies. It was truely an honor to meet him.

We also visited the Oxbow Market to pick up some nice cheeses and duck terrine. We enjoyed these Sunday afternoon with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon and some Epi Baguette from Bouchon Bakery.

Monday it's back to class...

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Wine Immersion - The Business of Wine

As the first week of the Wine Immersion program ends I am inspired by the things I have a learned and the people I have met. There is so much growth potential in the wine industry and in a time when economic decline has hurt so many businesses, sales of wine has continued to increase. Drowning your sorrows? Perhaps, but it is clear that wine is accepted as an affordable luxury.

Just a few concepts from the last three days:
The marketing of wine is all about the P's. Product, Promotion, Price, Placement, and Presentation. You must establish a distinct brand that sets yourself apart from the other 250,000 wine SKU's out there. In a world where many vintners are creating handcrafted wines, produced by small family farms, sourced from select vineyards it's important that your wine have a story that draws the customer. Based on a number of factors including the region your grapes are grown you need to determine the correct price point of your wine. The placement of your wine on the shelf is also key to it getting purchased. Ideally you want the wine to be at an easy to access level and on the right of other notable wines. Since the majority of people are right handed you want your wine in a place where it can be reached without the customer having to reach across his/her body. A lot of thought should be put into how the bottle is presented. If your wine is at a high price point (over $100) you should consider using a heavy bottle that is more substantial in the hands as it gives the customer the impression of value. If your wine is at a lower price point it may make more sense to use cheaper glass to keep the cost of goods down.

If you are considering running a winery you should grow the grapes to produce the wine that the market wants and not the produce the wine you "like". The secret to success in the wine industry, much like every other business, is to sell your product at a really good profit.

It is important to establish a connection with the consumer. This is accomplished by creating a story related to the wine that will take the consumer to a place that is significant to them. The better the story, the better the connection the more your brand will stand out among others.

There are six categories of wine buyers:
Enthusiasts - What does the wine I purchase say about me?
Image Seeker - A collector who buys wine to say he owns it and not to drink it
Savvy Shopper - Always looking for a good deal
Traditionalist - If wine is good it's probably French and expensive
Satisfied Sipper - Loves the taste of a good wine
Overwhelmed - In store has no idea what to choose

The dynamic speakers who entertained and enlightened us:
Elliot Stern of The Sorting Table and East Oakville Exposure Winery
Barbara Insel of Stonebridge Reasearch
Paul Wagner of Balzac Communications
Matt Wood a "Direct to Consumer" guru formerly of Francisan now Exec VP of 1-800-Flowers

The business ideas I have are rushing through my brain at light speed but I need to focus as I am still weeks away from completing my wine education and I have a lot of studying to do.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Wine Immersion Day 1 - Orientation

My class consists of 23 people that come from many walks of life and have various things they are looking to get out of this program. There are some retirees, some kids fresh from college, a couple people who like me are looking for a new career, a McDonald's franchise owner and the son of one of the CIA instructors.

The Orientation was lead by Paul Dray, Associate Director, Professional Wine Studies a mild mannered charismatic gentleman with assists by Kate Thorsen, Coordinator, Professional Wine Studies who completed the program last summer and landed a job at the CIA shortly thereafter. Providing a general overview of the facility and CIA policies was the direction of this session but it was derailed by a very interesting and informative guest speaker from the Napa Valley Vintners Association(NVVA).

Terry Hall is the communications director for the NVVA and he spoke of what makes Napa Valley a special place. How Napa became an agricultural reserve in 1969 with the goal of producing the best crops possible despite the traffic through St Helena as a result of the two lane highway clogged by trucks full of grapes. In 1890 there were 140 wineries in Napa Valley, due to disease, prohibition, economics and other factors the number dwindled to 25 by 1969. Following the commitment to agriculture and the goal of branding the region of Napa as the place that produces the best wines the area today is home to 350 wineries.

A collegiate atmosphere where oft times you will see representatives of different wineries pouring samples of each others wines at vintner functions all with the same primary goal of making Napa the premier source for wine. Though Napa is responsible for only 4% of the wine produced in California it is responsible for 34% of the economic impact of wines produced. This is because the region is so well respected. It is in the branding (pioneered by the late Robert Mondavi) of the region that made Napa such a strong economic powerhouse.

Ever thought that it was rude when a winery requires an appointment to come taste their wines? This is actually mandated by law which requires that a certain percentage of wineries handle tastings in the this manner. There is currently only one Napa winery that is not a member of the NVVA and that is Charles Krug.

I enjoyed Terry's lecture and wished there were time for questions but we had to move on with the orientation. We toured the CIA which took us to the various classrooms we will be using, to the test kitchen where we will eat lunch, and the barrel room that charts the history of the region. All in prepartion for the big day tomorrow when CLASS BEGINS!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Oahu 2 - The catharsis

Saturday Morning we ventured to the farmers market near Diamond Head . This was a great place with more great food including Portuguese sausage, fried green tomatoes and a refreshing concoction of lime juice, ginger, pineapple juice and mint. I don’t know what they called it but I will definitely return here the next time I am on Oahu .


Saturday Afternoon we visited the Bishop Museum where a lot of the history of Hawaii and its people can be found. In the hall dedicated to war they broke down the various pacific islanders into groups to describe how they are different and why they would go to war. Some would war to capture territory others to eat the opponent to gain their power. The Hawaiians would war to maintain control which explains a lot about my family as we are all control freaks. This had me laughing the rest of the day.


Saturday Night we had dinner with an old friend of mine and his family. It was so cool to see them and to spend time with them however brief it seemed. Times like this are like a magnet for me pulling me back to Oahu . I know we would be happy here if we could figure out how to relocate. Fortunately my friend on Oahu is a real

estate mogul so he has the tools to hook us up with a great place for a good price. I just need to figure out what I will do for a living.



Sunday was the big day. One of the primary reasons we came to Hawaii was to scatter the ashes of my dear departed Mom. She was a great and caring lady who would do just about anything to make sure the people she loved were happy. We scheduled the scattering for 11am so a quick breakfast we were on our way to the Pali. Nina and I were a bit late and got a Facebook comment as a result. My brother and his blackberry, always breaking the news before the other networks get a chance! I think the scattering couldn’t have gone better. There was even a bit of comedy as it seems that ashes had so many identification cards on them to verify that these were in fact my mother's ashes. There was one on the wrapping of the box, one on the box, one attached to the outside of the bag that held the ashes and finally a fourth in the bag with the ashes. Talk about attention to detail.


We went to one of my aunt Frances favorite dimsum places in Chinatown for lunch and wandered the streets checking out the little shops. About half way though our tour I had to go BAD so I wandered into another dim sum place and asked for the key to the bathroom in the hall outside. The guy inside was counting his money in the register and said "find the key". I said "where is it?" he said "FIND IT!!" and I asked where I should look for it and he said "AROUND!" I think he was upset because I wasn't a paying customer. I asked another

worker there and he pointed to a table which had the key (and just in time might I add). In the stall I snapped this picture. And I thought Hawaii was a liberal state.


Sunday night we walked over to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel where my brother was staying so we could carpool to dinner with the relatives. On the way I got a call from my uncle Paul, he is still the goofy dude I remember from childhood who introduced me to The Doors & The Police. He sounded good and said he hoped we could get together on the next visit (as our time was running out). As we proceeded I saw what had been described to me as "the concrete jungle that is Waikiki". The entire area north of the hotels that line the beach has been developed like "Anytown, USA". There were chain restaurants, coffee shops, discount stores, all the places that you find in a stroll down the main drag in downtown Pasadena or Brea, etc. In addition I found the Famous Amos cookie shop (now known as Chip & Cookie) at the Royal Hawaiian shopping center and bought some of my favorites from childhood like the butterscotch chip cookies as I regalied the shop keeper with stories of my Dad taking me the Famous Amos in Hollywood after visits to the Directors Guild Theater. He probably didn't care but humored me.


We met my brother and Cari at there hotel and checked out their room at the Royal Hawaiian. The hotel is quite grand with some amazing views. Each room has a hand carved door and gave me the feel of old Hawaii. Thou their room was small it was ornately decorated and comfortable. It's clear that staying at the Royal Hawaiian is a unique experience. We met the Aunties for dinner and lots of good conversation.


Monday morning Nina and met Auntie Ipo and Katherine at the Waioli Tea Room for lunch. It was a light refreshing break from the heavy local foods I had enjoyed. We discussed plans for future visits including attending Katherine's graduation next June. Too soon we had to head to the airport for our flight to Maui.


A couple notes on Oahu:

Despite the concrete jungle this place is still a great place to visit.

Side Street Inn is a must stop for food.

Avoid renting from Alamo if possible as it can take HOURS to get your car



Saturday, July 04, 2009

Jet Blue You Suck

I rarely travel for business therefore I usually don't have a tight schedule when I arrive somewhere. Yesterday was one exception. Since I am moving to Napa temporarily I needed to check out various rental properties. I had a very organized and detailed schedule of appts to see various homes away from home. Jet Blue screwed the whole thing up.

The flight was scheduled to depart at 9:06am from lovely Long Beach Airport and my first hint that things would go bad was when I noticed on the boarding pass that boarding time was 9:10am. I estimated that the flight was about 30 minutes to an hour late and I patted myself on the back for having put an hour buffer into my schedule for just such an occasion. We sat in the terminal and it was confirmed our flight was delayed and the new departure time was 10:36. A little more of a delay than I hoped but still acceptable.

At 8:45 they told us that the flight was coming from San Francisco and that it required a part and that the new scheduled departure time was 12:46. What is the deal with 6's? Why wasn't the time 12:45 or even 1pm? They never leave exactly when they are scheduled. Perhaps one of the Jet Blue staff likes 6's. Maybe that person has three of them tattooed on his scalp? Maybe he's the anti-christ? But that's not a nice thing to say (inside joke).

My schedule was now blown out of the water. I was stressed. I was pissed. I tried to find alternates but the Jet Blue people said there was none. I thought of taking the car I parked and driving to Napa but I was already committed to this flight and the agent didn't know what the refund policy from Jet Blue was for delays. Shouldn't she know this? Jet Blue You Suck.

About an hour later they told us that a different plane from Oakland was coming to pick us up after it stopped in SF to pick up passengers that were stranded by the mechanical issue. An hour after that they said the flight was on the way and that the reason for the delay was because the flight crew that was supposed to come and pick us up in the first place had been flying too long without a rest and Jet Blue needed to get a new crew. I think airlines should stop lying to their customers and tell us the problem and how they are going to fix it upfront.

So I waited and waited and finally at 12:20pm the plane arrived, at last I would get to San Francisco International Airport. The plane left Long Beach at about 1:05pm and arrived in SFO by 2pm. After landing we taxied to a spot where the plane stopped because there was another plane in the way. A Cathy Pacific 747 that they were having trouble communicating with. Perhaps they were using the wrong hailing frequency Uhura?

So we sat and sat and more than 30 minutes later they found a different gate for us to park, such ineptitude. Did they not know in SFO that our flight was 4 hours late? Did they not know that there were passengers on this flight who needed to meet a cruise ship? What about the woman that had a job interview at 3:30? What about me? What about Raven?

After we left the plane we walked a rather long distance to baggage claim and then had to take a train to car rental (which was the last stop of course). If we had rented from Alamo I would probably be still waiting for the car as I type this but since we rented from National it was not too long before we had a car and hit the road.

Originally I planned to be in Napa at 12:30. We arrived at the first rental at 5:30. The agent was not too happy since she had to wait all day for us but it wasn't our fault Jet Blue sucks. Once we explained she was a little more understanding. I kept in touch with everyone as the schedule changed but I was pretty powerless to affect it. We didn't make it to the last place until after 7pm and I apologized to the owner on the phone. She didn't hide her anger at me for being so delayed. I completely understand her frustration, I was frustrated too as I had a number of properties on my list that I didn't make it to at all. Jet Blue You Suck.

Had I been at a restaurant and received such bad service I would have gotten my meal for free. But Jet Blue offered us nothing. Nothing for the inconvenience of missing appointments, nothing for the stress, nothing for the added expense that we incurred to the late arrival in Napa. Our original plan was to rent the car for the afternoon take it back to the airport after looking at the rental property and then take BART from the airport to our hotel. By the time we got to the airport last night it as near 11pm and it seemed not a desirable choice to take the subway at such an hour so we took a $60 cab ride. We lost most of our day waiting for Jet Blue and due to Jet Blue's incompetence.

Jet Blue You Suck