This article ran in The Daily Beast last August and is required reading for anyone shopping in the “2 for $10″ bins.  Most of us can occasionally indulge in a hot dog and conveniently compartmentalize the knowledge that they are made of all sorts of mystery meats and fillers long enough to enjoy a few bites.  Well, you may also be able to do that quaffing the cheap wines, but somewhere in your brain, you should have the facts on what’s really going down the hatch…

Do you know what you were really drinking last night?

The dirty secret about wine is that it frequently contains wood chips, chemicals, and something called Mega Purple…

Most wine bought in the United States cost less than $10 a bottle. Of that price, the winery makes less than $2. A large chunk of that goes to pay for the glass, the labels, and the corks. Another chunk goes to paying for the winery staff, another goes toward taxes… you get the idea. To make any sort of profit, the winemaker has to buy low-quality grapes in bulk and mass-produce the stuff.

Sign at Cobb Vineyards re winemaking--could also refer to wine drinking

Beware what’s in your glass…

If you don’t have time to read the whole article by writer Keith Wallace, founder of the Wine School of Philadelphia,  the moral of the story is this:  If you want to stay away from overly manipulated wine, you may have to change your buying habits.

First, keep your hands out of the bargain bins: Those bottles are there for a reason.

Second, start buying more European wines. Despite the few horror stories, Europeans have much stricter regulations on wine additives than the U.S. or Australia.

Ironically, some of the best retail wine bargains are from France and Italy.  The standards of agriculture, quality of viticulture and generations of experience often yield a superior product at a given price point than their international counterparts.  Not insignificantly, many old producers farm organically and biodynamically.  Do you want mystery meat or a grass-fed all-beef frank?  Do you want a $10 bottle of organic Pecorino or a $5 wood-chip flavored chardonnay?  You decide.

Napa Cadi

When traveling, it’s not unusual to wonder what it would be like to live somewhere else, especially if that place is particularly horrible or desirable.  Not surprisingly, when I’m in wine country (which is decidedly desirable), I often wonder what it would be like to live there and I savor any glimpse into the Napa lifestyle.

In the wine trade, a visit to wine country can be punishing, ie  six tasting appointments a day.  Beginning with barrel tasting at 9am (followed by a tour of the vineyard, the tank room, the cave, the tasting room, repeat) and culminating in a lavish dinner of too much food and wine–the day is long.  Multiply that times 7 and you get serious fatigue and more than a few pounds in the course of a week.  My Napa Valley lifestyle would definitely not include six wine appointments a day and would only involve barrel tasting once I had my own winery.  What it would include is some of the amazing food that we have had and which contributes greatly to the quality of life there, as well as weekly mud baths and lots of time hanging with friends and friends’ dogs.

Sunshine Grocery

I would base myself in Yountville, central to Napa town and Calistoga, for easy access to restaurants and shops.  Imagine arising every morning and heading to  Thomas (French Laundry) Keller’s  Bouchon Bakery in Yountville for a pistachio brioche…Shopping every day at the Sunshine Foods market in St. Helena—choosing which loaf of fresh baked bread and selecting a local olive oil to go with.  For lunch, I would have a BLT from Oakville Grocery every other day, because on the even days, I would be at Taylor’s Refresher for shrimp tacos or a tex-mex burger.  That is, except for Fridays, where I might join the boys—Ray Coursen, John Arns, Herb Lamb—for a bite & bottle at Mustard’s or Redd.  I might even have to have that BLT for breakfast occasionally, in order to fit in all these good places to eat.

Lunch at Taylor's Refresher, St Helena

More often than not, nights would be spent at Bottega (in Yountville), rather than the French Laundry.  Not because it’s the best food, but because it’s the most comfortable—and I might not be alone in that assessment, because the place is always packed.  Not, however, in an elbow to elbow way, but in an every-table-is-full way that lets you know Michael Chiarello has hit upon the perfect formula of good food and cozy atmosphere—and on a grand scale, which is hard to pull off in such a big place.  Another indication of Chiarello’s brilliance is that he only marks up the wines the slightest bit and charges a nominal corkage.  Genious!  One can enjoy top Napa wines for not much over retail, or, if you’re a winemaker, bring your own to share with friends.

Lunching, spa-ing, sharing wine with friends–that is my idea of Napa: Unplugged.  As we move into our busy season on Nantucket, doesn’t that sound appealing?!

For inspirational images of the characters that make up the real Napa Valley, check out Bill Tucker’s book, NAPA:  Behind the Bottle.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/42404405@N06/

Mark & I with Denis Toner of the Nantucket Wine Fest, and Ray Coursen of Elyse, at Bottega

David Hirsch

David Hirsch in vineyard

Lunch with David and Jasmine Hirsch

The Nantucket Wine Festival Who’s Who:  Alex Gambal, Bertrand Ambroise, Michel Anglada, John Arns, Alis Arrowood, Beaux Freres, Jack Bittner of Cliff Lede and Franz Hill, Chateau d’Esclans, Donelan, Ray Coursen of Elyse, Kristine Ashe Vineyards, Sean Larkin of Larkin, Jack Larkin & Tinknocker, Hall, Hirsch, Hourglass, Jordan, Justin Baldwin of Justin, Carissa Mondavi, Miner Family, Eric Munson of Dancing Bear Cellars, Jorge Ordonez of Fine Estates from Spain, Damaris Colhoun of Landmark, Martin Estate, Michael & Fiona Ragg of Mischief and Mayhem, Pride Mountain, Regan Wines, Comte Philippe & Beatrice Senard, Robert Sinskey, Bill ‘DANCING BEAR’ Bishop of Steele & Shooting Star, Tariquet, Dominique Demarville of Veuve Clicquot, Villa Sparina, Wishing Tree…

These are but a few of the all-star cast that is the 2010 Nantucket Wine Festival, but they, in particular, are near and dear to our hearts.  Some of them you hear about a lot, others fly under the radar.  Most, we sell their wines;  some, we just admire.  All will contribute to a stellar 4-day wine experience–I know, because I’ve spent time with almost all of them!

Just this winter, I was in Sonoma, lunching with David Hirsch and his daughter, Jasmine, at their new home on the rugged Sonoma Coast.  It is a 2+ hour drive from Sonoma, over hill and dale, and thus, we named it “Outward Bound” day.  It was a treat hanging with David, a pioneer of this appellation.  Hirsch makes pure, Burgundian-style Pinot Noir and sells his grapes to others such as Littorai, Failla and Siduri.  His Saturday seminar on “The True Sonoma Coast” will be very worthwhile.

Lunch with the Arrowoods

We (meaning Denis Toner of the Nantucket Wine Festival, our friend David Kuhn, Mark Donato and I) also lunched with Alis & Dick Arrowood of Arrowood and Amapola Creek in Glen Ellen.  The Arrowoods are a true wine country success story, in that they built up their label Arrowood, sold to Kendall Jackson (who retained Dick as winemaker), and now they’ve started a boutique label, Amapola Creek.

Ray Coursen & Kristine Ashe

We had dinner with Ray Coursen (Elyse) at Michael Chiarello’s Bottega in Yountville and again enjoyed his company at a winter feast in his home with veteran winemakers Sandy Belcher and John Arns, plus newbie Kristine Ashe.  On other nights, we dined with the Donelan Family team at Cyrus in Healdsburg and had a glass of wine with Carissa Mondavi of Continuum.

I’ve visited many beautiful properties, large and small, and having some of these wineries come to Nantucket brings back wonderful memories.  The vineyards and state–of-the-art caves at Hourglass and Hall are stunning and Justin is by far the most luxurious winery to spend the night in (except for, perhaps, Jordan!).  Pride Mountain is also a special property–Its high elevation, straddling Napa and Sonoma Counties offers terrific views and yields tremendous wines.  And in November, we’ll be back in Beaune to see old friends like Alex Gambal, Michel Anglada and the Senards.

With Michel Anglada at La Ferme de Rolle in Burgundy

Several luminaries I have had the pleasure of hosting at currentVintage.  Eric Munson, Jorge Ordonez and Robert Sinskey have all done store tastings in the past, and this year, we welcome Michael & Fiona Ragg of Mischief & Mayhem and Dominique Demarville, Cellarmaster of Veuve Clicquot.  The Raggs have the distinction of being British winemakers in Burgundy and Demarville made history as the youngest champagne Cellarmaster ever at age 36.

I am such a fan of Bertrand Ambroise and Jack Bittner that I selected the Ambroise Cremant and a Zinfandel from Franz Hill for a spring dinner pairing in a recent issue of Nantucket Today.  Jack is the General Manager of Cliff Lede (where all the parcels are named after rock bands and albums, eg Dark Side of the Moon) and Franz Hill is his own project.  Wines from Shooting Star, Wishing Tree and Domaine de Tariquet are among the value gems of the currentVintage wine collection.

Yes, it’s an all-star cast–Don’t miss these wineries and winemakers at the NWF next week…!

Alex Gambal

Alex Gambal is a festival favorite–As an American in Burgundy, he seems sort of like a hometown hero, even though he’s from D.C.  Here is a bit on Alex from a previous cV Lifestyle post:

http://currentvintage.com/blog/2009/09/27/alex-elyse-a-love-story/

Napa dinner with Kristine Ashe, Ray Coursen, John Arns & Elisabeth English

Ray Coursen of Elyse Winery is another NWF regular and was also featured in the above post.  Ray was deservingly honored as NWF Luminary of the Year in 2009.  I had a couple of excellent dinners with Ray in Yountville this winter, including this fun evening with fellow winemakers Kristine Ashe, maker of Entre Nous and John Arns, maker of outstanding cabs from Arns Winery .

Tasting Amapola Creek wines with Alis & Richard Arrowood

Elisabeth at Cyrus with winemaker Tyler Thomas and Tripp and Joe Donelan of Donelan Family Wines

Eric Munson of Dancing Bear Cellars & Eos with Andy Peay of Peay Vineyards at currentVintage

Elisabeth with Jorge Ordonez (Founder, Fine Estates from Spain) at currentVintage

http://currentvintage.com/blog/2009/09/17/ode-to-jorge/

Hourglass vineyards

Sean Larkin of Larkin Wines

http://currentvintage.com/blog/2009/05/27/six-degrees-to-sean-larkin/

Luxurious suite at Jordan Winery

Amapola plates 2

Amapola plates 1