The 3 Words Every Wine Consumer Wants to Hear

photo courtesy of Paul Goyette

A colleague of mine, who’s an intelligent and affable guy who knows plenty about wine, spends a lot of time with customers patiently listing the attributes of the wines for sale.  He waxes poetic using vivid descriptions like, honey-dipped rocks, bruised apples, dusty plum compote, raspberries rolled in crushed granite, and pepper skin to describe the wines’ flavors.  He’s enthusiastic, he’s creative, he knows the wines very well, but in the midst of all that talk of fruit and rocks, he often forgets to say the three little words that every customer wants to hear, “this is good.”

That’s right.  It’s that simple, and that complicated.  And, it doesn’t just apply to wine.

Ever logged onto Yelp to find a mechanic or hairdresser?  Taken a look at TripAdvisor before booking that hotel on the beach in Maui?  Read an Amazon review before deciding whether or not to drop $250 for the new Kindle?  You’re not alone.  In fact, you’re one of millions.  TripAdvisor alone has about 12 million unique visitors each month.  The reason why is easy enough to intuit.  We’re looking for a guarantee of quality before we spend our hard-earned cash on a hotel room, a book, or a bottle of wine, and what better way to find out if something is worth our money than to go to the source(s) — people who have already experienced the product we are considering and can tell us whether or not their experience was a good one.  Which begs the question, don’t these people need to be experts in hotel rooms, books, or bottles of wine in order for their opinions to have real merit?  The answer is, no.  At least according to James Surowiecki, the New Yorker staff writer behind the “Financial Page” column and author of the book The Wisdom of Crowds.  His theory is that a large group of people with some knowledge is smarter than a small group of “experts.”

Mr. Surowiecki’s position is good news for wine blogs like Palate Press, which taps a large number of bloggers/columnists for content, and for sites like CellarTracker, which allow users to view a multitude of wine reviews, opinions, and scores both from other users and from mainstream “experts.”  Obviously, given the popularity of user reviews and the fact that the web makes them very easy to access and share, the notion that a group is smarter than the experts is not very good news for established wine critics like the ubiquitous Robert Parker.  But, it also seems to indicate that those wine blogs which amount to little more than post after post of wine reviews by a single author aren’t necessarily the way to go either.

If Mr. Surowiecki is correct and groups are smarter than experts, will shelftalkers bearing an excerpted description and numbered score from RP or WS become a thing of the past?  Will the traditional wine review, whether in print or online, live on in the future?  Will there be a place for wine experts at all?

Maybe the definition of what’s good is for all of us to decide.

Read ‘Em And Drink: Posts of the Week

In case you missed them, a handful of my favorite drinks posts from this week.

First Growth by the Flight – A tasting bar that serves first growths? Yes, please!  According to Decanter.com it’s now possible to sample Margaux, Lafite, Cheval Blanc, Ausone and all the other left and right bank heavy hitters (sans Petrus and Le Pin) at the newly opened wine bar/shop hybrid, the Wine Gallery.  Only problem?  It’s in Bordeaux…so you probably won’t be dropping in this weekend, but it’s still kind of awesome.

Fun facts on Fizz — To find out why hangovers from bubbly are so wicked, how many bubbles are really in that bottle of Champers, and the proper way to store your sparklers, scroll about halfway down this post from My Wine Education.

Pink Is the New Red – “Is it wrong to drink rosé wine in winter?” is Victoria Moore’s quickly answered (in the first sentence, no less!) title question in this UK Guardian article after my own heart.  Read this if you’re looking for encouragement to keep slugging the pink stuff even as the mercury drops.

A Blogger Promotes..a Wine Magazine?  After all the blogs vs. traditional media brouhaha, it’s refreshing to see the tables turned at Good Grape where this week Jeff Lefevere promoted an honest-to-goodness, hard copy wine magazine called Sommelier Journal, written by wine professionals for wine professionals.  Sounds pretty interesting…

We Love Millenials, Really! – Over at Palate Press, Beth Elderkin exposes the wine world’s dirty little secret, ageism against young wine drinkers, in her article “Too Young For Wine?”  It’s an enlightening read, especially given the number of studies and articles published in the mainstream press touting Millenials as the future of the wine business.

Why Wine Gadgets Are Totally Unnecessary

Admittedly, I am a minimalist.  I drive a 15 year-old car; I do not wear makeup on a regular basis; I prefer all the surfaces in my house to be free of knicknacks; and I am generally opposed to the idea of collecting things.  It follows then that I should be wary of wine gadgets.  Just so happens that I am.

Over the years, I have been given a few wine gadgets as gifts — one of those decanters with the really wide base, a Rabbit corkscrew, handblown glass bottle stoppers, etc. – and I’ve found all of them to be more trouble than they’re worth.  The decanter was impossible to clean, requiring special brushes and silver beads (sold separately, of course) for the purpose.  The Rabbit killed a couple of softer corks and broke entirely when I inadvertantly used it on a synthetic one.  The glass stoppers while very pretty were pretty much useless when it came to storing an open bottle in the fridge, given that they made it too tall to fit in anywhere.

Several months ago, after fielding a bunch of  Vinturi related questions from customers and friends (and having more or less no idea what the Vinturi was during said fielding), I went to the source of all things wine gadetry, the Wine Enthusiast catalog, where I learned that the Vinturi is a contraption that aerates wine as you pour through it.  Silly me, I thought this was easily accomplished by using a decanter, but apparently (according to the Vinturi people) decanting is ”time consuming, cumbersome, and inconvenient“.  Considering that both require the same action of the participant (i.e. that you pour the wine into them) I’m not sure how one can be more time consuming or inconvenient than the other.  But, I digress.

The Wine Enthusiast catalog overflows with things I never knew I needed, and definitely don’t want like a push button corkscrew, a hand blown decanter that looks like a swan, something called the Chef du Vin pocket wine tasting tool that instantly softens tannins the moment it’s dipped into wine, an aerating pewter wine funnel, and my favorite, the Giant White Wine Stem Cooler, which is essentially an ice bucket in the shape of a three foot tall wine glass.

For me, drinking wine is a simple, humble (and sometimes humbling) act, one whose pleasure can only be diminished by such embellishments.  To enjoy wine you only need your palate, your curiousity and three simple tools:  a double-hinged corkscrew, an ah-so (for older bottles), and a simple upright decanter.  For those of you who can’t live without the gadgets — more power to you, and the multi-million dollar industry you’re supporting.  As for me, I’ll stay low-tech and drink my wine the way god intended.  From bottle to glass with no Vinturi in between.

Is There Any Reason to Join a Newspaper Wine Club?

Wine club membership has its privileges… sort of.  Winery wine clubs are built almost entirely upon the benefits model with members enjoying perks like complimentary tastings, access to special bottlings, members-only events, discounts on wine and merchandise, opportunities to meet the winemaker or proprietor, etc.  These privileges make members feel special — like a part of the family in some cases –  and foster loyalty to the brand.  Now that a growing number of newspapers and magazines are getting into the wine club game, I’m curious as to whether or not the benefits model of belonging will translate.  Will the New York Times Wine Club, which is affiliated with the paper in name (and revenue) only, inspire the same kind of devotion as a winery’s club that is from a specific place where members can go visit and see the vines and meet some of the real people behind the wine?  My guess is no, but then again maybe it doesn’t matter.

What newspaper wine clubs are selling to their members is variety.  Precisely because they are not wineries, newspaper clubs can promote a variety of wines and brands from all over the world.  This is undoubtedly an advantage at a time when wine is more common on American dinner tables than ever before.  Many drinkers are now as familiar with Malbec as they are with Merlot.  Rather than sticking with just one varietal or one brand, more people want to experiment, and newspaper wine clubs are offering the opportunity for their members to do just that.

The problem, however, is the manner in which the wines are chosen, and by whom.  None of the wines offered in any of the major newspapers’ clubs are chosen by members of its editorial staff, rather the decision making is outsourced to a company that specializes in wine club sales.  From a journalistic ethics standpoint this makes sense.  A newspaper that runs a wine column cannot ask its editorial staff to choose wines for its wine club, lest they be accused of favoritism or collusion.  This is a pretty straightforward concept.  But, the concept is not equally applied.  The New York Times Wine Club is not called the Global Wine Company’s Wine Club for a reason.  The wine club’s marketers want your thought process to go something like this:  “Oh, the New York Times has a wine club.  I like their wine column.  That Eric Asimov writes about some cool wines, so I bet their club will be pretty good.”  In essence, newspapers are trading on the very thing they are not giving wine club members:  wines chosen by their wine columnists.

Assuming members know this, and they might not unless they read the very fine print, what then are the benefits of joining a newspaper wine club, and what differentiates one from another?  Here is a brief breakdown of the wine clubs offered by the New York Times, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal:

New York Times

What you get: 6 bottles per month of boutique wines from around the world, tasting notes, recipes, and related wine, food, and travel articles.  Guaranteed replacement of any bottle you don’t enjoy.
Cost of per year: Sampler level = $1,080 plus shipping; Reserve level = $2,160 plus shipping
Number of bottles per year: 72
Average cost per bottle: Sampler level = $15; Reserve level = $30
Wines chosen by: Global Wine Company

USA Today

What you get: 6 bottles per quarter of primarily good value wine, each shipment contains one “featured wine”, tasting notes, region and varietal information, and pairing recipes.  Members receive 10% off reorders.
Cost of membership per year: $327.92, including shipping.
Number of bottles per year: 24
Average cost per bottle: $11.66
Wines chosen by: My Wines Direct – a team of “experts” choose an initial group of wines for consideration, and the final selection is made by USA Today reader tasting panels.

Wall Street Journal

What you get: 12 bottles per quarter, plus an optional special holiday case, members receive the list of wines in advance and can opt out of any shipment, tasting notes, serving suggestions, and a refund for any bottle you find unsatisfactory.
Cost of membership per year: $559.96 or $699.95 if you opt for the special holiday case, plus shipping and tax
Number of bottles per year: 48 or 60 with holiday option
Average cost per bottle: $12.50
Wines Chosen by: Lionstone Sonoma

With the exception of the USA Today reader tasting panels, the wine selection process is completely outsourced erasing any link between the paper’s wine coverage (a potential reason for joining) and its club.  Across the board it seems that what’s being offered here is relative value and variety.  Many small local wine shops have clubs that offer these benefits, too.  Join one of those and you’ll receive wines hand selected by staff members who will be there the next time you want to drop in and talk about them.  It seems to me that the major benefit of newspaper wine clubs is revenue for the newspaper.  Tasting notes and pairing suggestions just aren’t dynamic enough to inspire loyalty or create excitement.  The first paper that differentiates itself by offering personal service, enhanced benefits like tasting seminars or winery access, and finds a way to put a name and a face behind its club might have some staying power, but for now there’s just not enough substance to justify joining one.

Ms. Drinkwell’s Top 5: Shoulder Season Wines

Welcome to shoulder season, that moment between the lows and the highs.  It’s a term used almost exclusively by the travel industry, but I don’t see why it can’t also be used in the context of wine.  In fact, it seems to fit quite nicely given that the wine industry is also a cyclical one with (usually) predictable high and low periods.  Wine sales are traditionally at their lowest during the summer months and peak during the November and December holiday season, which means that now, in October, we’re in the lull.

What’s so great about shoulder season is that it makes you think differently.  Ever dream of Christmas in Hawaii?  So does everybody else.  It’s as common as going into a wine store on New Year’s Eve and declaring that you want a bottle of Champagne.  Everybody wants Zinfandel and Pinot Noir on Thanksgiving and Beaujolais Nouveau on the third Thursday in November.  They want big, impressive (but not too expensive this year) California reds to wow friends or clients during the month of December.  In wine and in travel, it seems that everybody wants the same thing at the same time, often dictated by the weather or the holidays.  But, what if, as now, there is not discernable weather pattern to guide you, no big holiday to prepare for?  What do you drink?  And where in the world do you go to find it?

Below are five shoulder season suggestions from wine roads less traveled that are both budget friendly (all under $20) and perfect for milder weather.  Welcome to the delicious in-between!
* Importer, where applicable, and approximate retail price in parentheses.

2008 Quinto do Alqueve, Ribatejo, Portugal (Robert Kacher Selections, $12)

So many Rhône varieties, so little time… and so much money.  I’m often disappointed by white Rhône because for all its heady aroma, it’s often flabby and overpriced.  This Portugese pour made from Fernão Pires is from the Ribatejo region, which lies about 40 miles north of Lisbon.  A superior stunt double for the French stuff in terms of quality and price, it offers a nose redolent of dried apricot and linden blossom.   It’s chiffon-soft mouthfeel is at first ripe with pineapple and mango but finishes a squeeze of meyer lemon juice to give it just the right amout of zip.

2008 Cor Cellars Alba Cor, Columbia Gorge, WA ($17)

Not only is the Columbia River Gorge (the natural border between Oregon and Washinton), well,  gorgeous, it also produces some mighty fine wine, like this 52% Pinot Gris, 48% Gewürztraminer blend.  It’s lychee and rose petal aromas give way to full bodied flavors of clementine and dried nectarine that are stopped just short of sweetness by a backbone of mouthwatering acidity.

2007 Domaine de la Pepière La Pépiè Côt, VdP de Jardin, France (Louis/Dressner Selections, $16)

A Malbec by any other name would never taste like this.  Marc Ollivier’s very natural (only natural yeasts, no sterile filtration) Malbec, which goes by the alias Côt in the Loire Valley, is an elegant take on the variety.  One you’d never expect if your only experience has been in the form of brawny Argentine versions or even the inky, earthy offerings of Cahors.  No, here in the Garden of France Malbec is treated delicately and the finished product is a nearly clear garnet stunner that’s much more elegant than its drunken chicken label might imply.  Each pour brims with black raspberries, bing cherries, and violets.  Can’t get much lovelier than that.

2008 Palmina Dolcetto, Santa Barbara County, CA ($16.50)

I admit that I have not traditionally been a fan of the Cal-Ital movement, primarily because I have found time and time again that Cali wines labeled as Sangiovese or Barbera are more or less unrecognizable as their stated varieties.  They have no character.  Thankfully, there are a handful of producers like Palmina, who are dedicated to upping the ante in the Cal-Ital game and are doing so with integrity and offering good quality at fair prices.  During shoulder season I like their Dolcetto, a friendly, easygoing wine filled with spicy cherry, rhubarb, and plum flavors that shows the characteristic Italian brightness (i.e. the acidity hasn’t gone down the tubes in favor of squeezing out extra gooey fruit).  Tasty and true.

2006 Bibich Riserva, North Dalmatia, Croatia (Blue Danube Wine Co., $18)

This blend of three grapes — Lasin, Plavina, and Babic – drinks like a lusty, dusty spiced Dry Creek Zin poured into a lithe dancer’s body.  There’s a lot of muscle here but it’s lean, meaning this wine’s berry spiced intensity is discovered slowly, one sip at a time, not in a single knock out punch.  A perfect red to ease you into heartier glasses come winter.

Want to Name our Wine? Become a Fan.

What do you do when you want some social media love?  Announce a contest to name one of your wines, hire Guy Kawaski co-founder of Alltop.com to judge it, and make becoming a Facebook Fan of the winery a requirement to enter the contest.  All of which Olson Ogden Wines is doing right now in a contest which runs through October 15.  The winner will receive a case of said wine, which is to be an under $20 ”straightforward, easy drinking, and fruit forward, uncomplicated red wine that may be made up of multiple varietals including Syrah, Grenache, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet” and recognition on the label itself.  The catch? entrants must be 21 (of course) and submissions are only accepted on the winery’s Facebook Fan Page.

As of right now, Olsen Ogden has 552 fans on its Facebook page.  How many will they rack up by October 15th?  And, what will this social media stunt ultimately do for their brand?

Overheard at the Bar

Where:  Lingba, San Francisco

“So where do you tend bar?”

Bartender’s response to a customer who ordered Fernet Branca with a ginger back.

San Franciscans consume about 35% of all the Fernet Branca sold in the U.S.

Want to know why?  Find out here.

Napa Valley: Easy to Hate, But Not Hard to Love

There are many reasons to hate Napa Valley: the perpetual traffic jam that is highway 29; Costco sized tasting rooms full-to-bursting with tipsy tourists elbowing each other on the way to the bar; insultingly high tasting fees. ($30 for one 1 oz. pour!?  Not for me, thanks.) In fact, just last week, Steve Heimoff referred to the Valley as a “Disney-fied mecca” in one of his posts, echoing Randall Grahm’s sentiment in his new book Been Doon So Long in which he refers to Napa Valley as “the adult theme park.” 

I can’t say that I disagree with these sentiments.  In fact, when I am asked by out of town guests to host them on a Napa Valley wine tour there is much internal groaning and dread on my part, but a funny thing happens when I get there, I am absolutely jaw-dropped by the beauty of the place.  Every single time.  A visit to Napa Valley can be enchanting whether it’s your first visit or your 51st –  if you choose to look at it with a glass half full mentality.  Here are a few classics you can learn to love again, promise: 

Robert Mondavi Winery – Yep, I’m going there (literally and figuratively).  Why?  Because it’s extraordinarily gorgeous.  Whether it’s your first time or not, drinking in the view of the To Kalon vineyard topped by a piece of wedgewood blue sky through the archway at the front of Mondavi’s mission style complex is undeniably breathtaking.  This is the quintessential Napa Valley experience, for without Robert Mondavi the tasting room and perhaps Napa Valley as we know it may not exist today.  Instead of lamenting how big and crowded and corporate it’s all become, why not bring a sandwich and have an impromptu picnic here while you watch all the giddy tourists go by?  (Whether or not you taste the wine is completely up to you.)

Heitz Cellar – Among the most well-respected Cab producers in Napa Valley, Heitz’s low-key tasting room is an oasis of calm among the chaos of Highway 29.  Those who overlook this winery in favor of its flashier neighbors (and there are many) miss out on one of the most relaxed, laid-back tasting room experiences in the valley.  In addition to the usual suspects, Heitz also offers some unusual ones for tasting, Grignolino and Petite Verdot among them.  Did I mention it’s free?  Yes, you can taste some good, very good, even excellent wines here any day of the week without dropping a dime on the experience.  Who says you can’t get something for nothing?

Mumm Napa - With one of the most informative tours on the production of sparkling wine to be had for free and without an appointment, Mumm offers a very good opportunity to get a little winemaking education.  I have taken many guests here and each has remarked on how much they enjoyed this particular experience and how much they learned at Mumm.  Plus, a sparkling wine pit stop is a refreshing change of pace from the onslaught of big, brawny Cabs that inevitably fill a Napa Valley day.  Okay, the wine tchochkes in the gift shop and the Santana Brut are a little ridiculous, but they’ll quickly fade from memory after someone brings you a glass of bubbly – Mumm has no tasting bar, only table service — while you enjoy the picturesque vineyard view.

Silverado Trail - I have been to Napa Valley many times for no other purpose than to drive this road, which runs parallel to the much more crowded and much less scenic, Highway 29.  Built in 1852, it was the first permanent road to connect Napa to Calistoga to the north.  Today, there are more than 40 wineries along the Silverado Trail, but most are nestled discreetly into the lush oaks and pines that line the road or tucked into small hillsides, making this drive feel much more bucolic and relaxing than a slog along stark 29 to the west.  Here, you still see hand printed signs advertising “goats for sale” and the occasional entrepreuer selling homemade pine cone wreaths from the back of a truck on the side of the road.  Driving Silverado feels a little like the Napa Valley of so many years ago, the one many of us long for but find increasingly difficult to recognize.

There are many experiences in Napa Valley worth having again.  What’s chronicled here are perhaps the most obvious, which are often the most overlooked.  But, what about the others:  the obscure, the odd, the unique, the unexpected?  They’re out there, even in a place as overrun with tourism as Napa Valley.  It’s all about setting out to find them.

What Not To Do in a Tasting Room

Don't do this either.

I have worked behind the bar in three different tasting rooms (in two different California AVAs) off and on for the past seven years.  During that time I have poured wine for a vast cross-section of humanity: wine enthusiasts, seriously moneyed collectors, tourists, famous chefs, bachelorettes in sparkly veils, sommeliers, 21st birthday celebrants, wine writers, foreigners who don’t speak a word of English, and The Dude (a.k.a. Jeff Bridges)…

Along the way I’ve learned a lot about wine, which was my original goal, but I’ve also learned more than I expect to about the behavior of the people who come to taste it.  I believe wine tasting represents a social contract between the taster, the tasting room staff, and the other patrons.  In the spirit of a better tasting room experience for all, I have put together a few guidelines I like to call What Not To Do in a Tasting Room:

1. Do not bring your children. Children do not like to go wine tasting.  They get bored, which may lead to one or more of the following:  running, crying, breaking things, or generally annoying the adult patrons.  I have seen a mother set up a large array of blankets and toys for her child on the floor of one not especially large tasting room on a crowded Saturday and then proceed to tell other guests they couldn’t stand there because it was her son’s play area.  I have seen another mother begin to set up a makeshift changing table on the tasting room bar.  (She was politely directed to a restroom.)  I have seen far too many parents blithely let their children run around large, unfamiliar vineyards unsupervised.  Moral of the story – tasting rooms and children don’t mix.  Hire a babysitter.

2. Do not pour your own wine. The Alcohol Beverage Control board frowns upon this.  A winery could face stiff penalties for “allowing” such behavior.  Be considerate.  There is a reason why tasting rooms are not self-service.  If you would like another pour of something, or feel you are not receiving prompt service, politely inform a staff member.

3. Do not show up three minutes before closing and expect to enjoy a leisurely tasting. Tasting rooms typically have their hours of operation clearly posted.  If it’s three minutes to five, and a winery closes at five, and you know it takes at least 15 minutes to taste a few wines, it stands to reason that you don’t have time to taste.  Please respect the math, and the fact that there is a lot of behind the scenes work to be done at the end of the day.  Most of this work cannot be completed while guests are still in the tasting room.  I always offer a quick and complimentary pour or two, along with a polite reminder that it’s closing time, to late arriving guests.

4. Do not rinse your glass with water between every pour. The notion that you must rinse between each wine is misguided.  Tasting lists are generally arranged from the lightest to fullest bodied selections, meaning that subsequent pours will be heavier than their predecessors, rendering rinsing unnecessary.  Additionally, rinsing with water actually dilutes the next wine, meaning that it won’t show well as it could.  If you taste out of order, wish to retaste an earlier selection, or simply feel uncomfortable not rinsing with anything, please ask for a small rinse with wine or a new glass.

5. Do not treat the cracker bowl, breadstick jar, or what have you as your own personal buffet. Eat a nice breakfast or lunch beforehand.  Bring picnic supplies with you, but do not stuff your face with every last breadstick and free cracker you can find.  In addition to being unattractive, this is selfish.  Other guests might want a breadstick, too.  Be thoughtful of others and leave some behind.

6. Do not ask for a to-go cup of wine. Duh.  This is illegal.  (And, yes, I really had someone ask for this.  Twice.)

Thunder, Lightning, Elbling

Two things happened last week:  there was a thunderstorm in San Francisco, and I tasted 2008 Matthias Dostert Elbling Trocken Nitteler Leiterchen.  These two events were unrelated.  They did not even take place on the same day, yet they are inextricably linked in my mind.  Here’s why.

I am not a collector of things.  I do not have shelves full of tchotchkes or closets stuffed with shoes.  I do, however, collect wine.  I collect wine for the experience of drinking it, not of holding onto it (a skill at which I do not excel), and for me the quirkier the drinking experience, the more I am interested in having it.  Which is why I could not pass up the opportunity to taste Matthias Dostert’s Elbling.

Elbling is a white variety that grows primarily in the southern Mosel Valley in Germany (although it can also be found in Luxembourg) on the chalky, sandy soils that Riesling does not prefer.  At last count there were 583 hectares, or about 1,400 acres, of Elbling planted in Germany, making it number 23 on Germany’s depth chart, ranking behind Huxelrebe and a couple of spots ahead of Sauvignon Blanc.  Elbling’s low must-weights and high acidity make it the perfect base for the sparkling wine labeled as Mosel Sekt, for which it is most often used.  It is one of those grapes that Jancis Robinson doesn’t have much enthusiasm for, describing it as being “distinguished for its searing acidity” in the Oxford Companion to Wine.  And about that she’s right, of course.  The Dostert Elbling lit up my palate like the grand finale of a Fourth of July fireworks display, but there was something very pure about it too, like biting into a vibrant and perfectly ripe Frog Hollow peach.  There in the glass was the essence of summertime with all its sultry innocence.

Now, about the thunderstorm.  I live in San Francisco but, like many, I am not from here.  I was born and raised in the South, and as a consequence I miss summer thunderstorms, a rarity on the west coast.  Last Friday night, however, I was awakened mid-dream by the crack of a lightning strike.  It was a pleasant surprise, and I realize now, a metaphor for why I taste wine the way I do.  I am enamored of quirky varieties like Elbling because I crave the rush that comes from delving into unknown territory.  The road to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, etc. is long and well-marked.  Not so with Elbling and grapes of its ilk.  For me, experiencing the quirkier side of wine satisfies my curious nature (for a bit), and holds out the hope of rediscovering the awe I felt when I discovered wine in the first place — the flash of brilliance I never knew was coming, but came to love.

The storm was a loud one, a window-shaker, and wholly unexpected.  The best kind.