Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

Ridge Buchignani Ranch Carignane (Sonoma County) 2001

An old vine blend of 99% carignane and 1% zinfandel. Why bother with 1% zin, you ask? I wondered the same thing, but Paul Draper knows a lot more about winemaking than either one of us does, so let's just move on, shall we? A rather deep purple shading out to ruby-red at the rim. Is there the slightest touch of brick on the outermost rim? Maybe. A very modest nose suggesting only some generic berry. In contrast, the palate is intensely flavored of chocolate covered cherries with a vegetal overtone to the finish. Marked acidity (very puckery). The alcohol (14.3%) stands out on the finish, as well, making the finish a bit hot and rustic. I find carignane a modest wine with much to be modest about, but this is a very passable mid-week wine. Lacks the stuffing for the cellar, so drink up. BTW, this is one of Ridge's Advance Tasting Program wines. It's a great club for lovers of zinfandel and, increasingly, Rhone-style wines. The ATP wines generally aren't available in stores, but are sold only through the club. Grade: B-

Sokolov on sommeliers—And a blogocontroversy update

Raymond Sokolov in today's WSJ (sub. req'd):

Speaking for an increasingly beleaguered group not represented at the bargaining table (namely the folks who sit at restaurant tables and pay the outrageous tabs), I say "Down with sommeliers!" They are part of an insufferable tradition of pretentious overstaffing in luxury restaurants, which only adds to the expense, not the enjoyment of a meal. Oh yes, there are exceptions, serious experts who really do help you through the pages of a wine list filled with unfamiliar labels and lead you to a few sleepers of value amid the $500 bottles of old treasures. But for most people hoping to find a bottle, any bottle not shamelessly pegged at triple the retail price, the sommelier is just another marketing hurdle in the way of sensible dining out.

Amen, brother. Restaurant wine service in this country stinks, with few exceptions. Red wines too warm, white wines too cold. Tiny glasses. Waiters who refill your glass (to the top) without asking. Gouging price markups. Outrageous corkage fees. And pretentious twits with a tastevin. UPDATE: The Cogitator writes:

Wine is overpriced in restaurants. It is served to American standards in America (ice cold whites, overfull glasses - larger than life, red served in tiny narrow glasses). In less than the finest establishments the wine list is less than stellar. None of this is news. When it comes to wine in restaurants, you get what you pay for, and the best wines and wine service are almost universally found at the restaurants serving the best food. And this is the way it is the world over. So in short, I don't really see what the good professor is complaining about, you have to set your expectations for wine service at the level of the restaurant you are visiting. Sounds like a case of 'sour grapes' to me

Sounds like defeatism to me. Why do we put up with it? Wine drinkers of the world unite. You have nothing to lose but your liver! Find the restaurants in your locale that have the best wine service and patronize them. If you encounter lousy wine service, politely let the management know why you were disappointed. Sure you'll come off as a pretentious wine snob, but so what? Embrace your inner snob. On a serious note, there was a very helpful arti le in the LA Times recently, which claims:

Happily, a number of restaurants offer well-selected wines that are terrific with ... ethnic and other favorites. There are even bargain lists at steakhouses and French restaurants. The trick is knowing where to find them.

The article then lists a number of such places in LA. I look forward to the day when the Times moves this article to its pay-only site, so that only those of us who had the good sense to download a copy will know where to look. In your locale, once you find such places, keep going back. And spread the word just enough to keep them in business, without making it impossible to get a reservation. (Jeez, my inner economist is coming out in spades right now.) UPDATE2: By the by, I own the Bernstein book and recommend it strongly. Be warned, however, it is not a serious guide to either wine or even wine snobbery. Instead, it is humor (sort of like the Official Preppy Handbook, if your memory goes back that far). Having said that, the humor works because Bernstein really is quite knowledgeable.

Schramsberg Blanc de Noirs Late Disgorged (California) 1990

A tasty blanc de noirs sparkling wine predominately from pinot noir. Served it with the good wife's delicious veal fricassee, for which it made a fabulous match. It retained enough pinot noir stuffing to stand up to the meat, while the bubbles scrubbed the cream sauce off the palate. A lovely golden color, with a hint of salmon, but not a rose (let alone a red). Exactly what you want from a blanc de noirs -- a white wine from red grapes. Tiny bubbles. On both the nose and the palate, the wine's age has caused the fruit to subside while the long lees aging typical of a late disgorged sparkling wine has accentuated the yeast autolysis flavors. Creamy texture, with soft bubbles, but good acidity and a touch of sweetness. Buttered toast, baked apples, roasted almonds, hazelnuts, creme brulee, orange blossoms, and a hint of indeterminate citrus. It is the texture that is the dominant sensory impression, however. Scrubbing bubbles in cream is the only way to describe it, but hardly does it justice. The entry is all about creaminess, while the finish provides the scrubbing effect. Very impressive. Grade: A

Qupe Los Olivos Cuvee (Santa Ynez Valley) 2000

A Rhone Ranger blend of 55% syrah, 27% mourvedre, 18% grenache. A deep blue-ish/purple that is almost black. Strong nose of candied fruits, smoke, white pepper, and violets. On the palate, a tasty mix of plums, cherries, vanilla, with a gamy undertone. Not a wine for the cellar, it is drinking quite nicely right now. Grade: B

Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Old Tawny Port NV

A fine tawny port, if not quite up to the standard of Dow's 10 year old. Suitably light in depth, although rather toward the red end of the spectrum for tawny port. A lovely color in any event. Bright and clear. A rich, surprisingly grapey nose. Fruity rather than nutty, albeit with an overlay of vanilla and caramel. Sweet but not cloying, due to a good core of acid. Dark fruits, walnuts, caramel, and dried orange peel on the palate. The finish lasts and lasts. Recommended, but go with Dow if you have a choice. Grade: B

Newton Claret (Napa Valley) 1999

Excellent -- highly recommended. Newton is a consistently reliable red wine house. Technically, the Claret is one of their second wines. Yet, in 1999, it produced a wine of exceptional quality at a remarkably reasonable price (less than $20 in LA). While this wine likely is dominated by merlot, the blend clearly includes cabernet sauvignon and, especially, cabernet franc. A medium purple shading through ruby to red at the rim. A reticent nose, which hints of red currants and olives, that gradually opens with breathing. Deep classic merlot/cabernet flavors that tend lean slightly to the herbal/olive end of the spectrum, but with notes of spices and dark berries. (The olive/herbal flavor components are why I suspect there is a fair bit of cab franc in the blend. Although I would not be surprised by that flavor profile in a Sonoma cab sauvignon, I would not expect it in a Napa CS.) A graceful wine that will age well to at least the end of the decade. Grade: A

Ridge York Creek Late Picked Zinfandel (Spring Mountain) 1999

I am probably the wrong person to be reviewing this wine. I am not a fan of late harvest zinfandel. Even at their best, I find them the ogres of wine. They are big, hot, high alcohol wines that age gracelessly. This Ridge zin, unfortunately, is far from a good example of the type. Very high alcohol with modest residual sugar (about 1%). Sweet enough to cloy, but not sweet enough to use as a dessert wine. Earthy and funky flavors dominate both the nose and palate, with a strong element of sweaty saddle leather. Brett contamination? Drinkable (just) but not enjoyable. An oddity, given Ridge's status as one of the great zinfandel houses. N.B.: The Wine Bork reviewers liked it a lot better than I did, but even they concluded that it was "not our cup of tea." Grade: C-

Arrowood Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma County) 1998

Arrowood long has been one of the great Sonoma wineries, although it is now part of the Mondavi empire. As the Wine Spectator recently documented, the Mondavi wines have been slipping lately. Fortunately, longtime master winemaker Richard Arrowood remains in charge at his eponymous winery. 1998 was not a very good year for California (WS vintage chart), but some decent wines were made anyway and the Arrowood is among them. This '98 cabernet actually is a blend of all 5 major Bordeaux varieties, although dominated (>90%) by cabernet sauvignon. Grade: B The color is a medium-to-deep mulberry shading to ruby. The nose offers a strong mix of prunes, cassis, black cherries, and allspice, with an odd but pleasing hint of walnut. The palate is framed by firm but polished tannins on both the entry and, especially, the finish. The finish lingers pleasantly but somewhat astringently, reflecting its still tannic core. I get dark cherries, black currants, and mint. The good wife thought plums, cherries, and eucalyptus. (In non-blind tastings, I only pick up eucalyptus in Napa cabs, which is the argument for blind tasting. One sees only what one expects to see.) It's not going to last forever, but it's defintely got another 5 years ahead of it, maybe even a bit more. Recommended.