Thursday, August 26, 2010

Great French Videos about wine on You Tube and short list of funny wine names available in the market

Since it appeared in 2005, and even more since it was bought by Google in 2006, "You Tube" has always been a treasure grove of videos where you can find pretty much everything on every subject, from the very bad and ugly to the very good and extremely entertaining.

Like anyone else, I'm pretty hooked to "You Tube" to search for all kind of things, especially Videos of Cartoons for my son. Yet, lately, I found myself searching for wine stuff and found quite a bunch of very entertaining and educative stuff.

Following my previous post on "Let's drink some Natural Fucking Wine!" (by Dalforno) that you can find at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UXlL0FIF9Q&feature=player_embedded#


I invite you to click on the following links, where you will find little video sketches from the iconic French comedy group of people who call themselves "Les Deschiens". They have been around for quite some time now, but their sketches are as funny as ever.

They surely didn't loose their touch, especially when it comes to portraying local rural French people and their rustic environment. But the best part of it is surely the unforgettable-classic "Gibolin", the multi-purpose miracle drink invented by "Les Deschiens", which they use as often as they can in most of their sketches. Hilarious!!!

Unfortunately, "Les Deschiens" sketches are not, or should I said rarely, in English (although they use some Franglais sometimes and some rare ones are in English), but for those of you who understand French or simply like to be amused by comedians making fun of all of situations in short sketches (even if you don't understand everything or anything), "Les Deschiens" will surely be fun and entertaining.

It may not be your everyday humor or somewhat may be too French for some of you, in any case I loved them and I think that you should discover them too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxdl8oZlcZk (Les Deschiens - "Le Gout du Vin")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1kNRwZIVOU (Les Deschiens - "Americain")

Check out for some more videos at "You Tube" and search for "Les Deschiens" followed by the word "Vin"


You might as well like the following video about "Le Vin de Merde" (understand the "shitty wine"), which refers to a brand from the Languedoc recently out of the mind of a winemaker and a restaurateur to promote and restore the right image of the Languedoc wines that were for the longest time considerate as "shitty wines" (that's what they say) coming from an ocean of vines planted all along the Mediteranean Sea.

Fortunately for us, the wines from the Languedoc and the Roussillon (often forgotten in the equation but really good and tasty too), have experience an exceptional renaissance for the past 10 years, and soaring sales in the US markets helped revamp their image greatly.

Unfortunately, for us French, the French wine amateurs in this particular video, who are evidently French rural rustic locals (understand French Redneck, bad teeth, greasy air, no-taste, poor education, somewhat closed-minded, etc...), are definitely not delivering the usual French Glamour and sophisticated classicism that some people think France is all about. And, in my opinion, they are also somewhat too close to an obvious reality of the French everyday life and local entertaining in a Bar of the Languedoc. As I said far for the Glamour of Travel Chanel shows.

However, just click on the following link and judge by yourself how far the French went with their "Vin de Merde":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdiylRB3ybw&feature=fvw


Before the French and some other European countries, Australian and Californian were the kings of odd, daring brand names for their wines. Here is a list of the 130+ most well known brands that you can find around (of course there are many more than that and new brands and wine labels are now abounding the market). Winemakers and producers will invent just about anything to market new products and to attract the ever growing younger crowd of amateurs around the planet.

Back to the list partly taken and edited from Peter F May's great website at http://www.winelabels.org

  • 7 Deadly Zins
  • Adventures of Zinskey
  • African Legend Amber Forever
  • Arrogant Frog
  • Ballet of Angels
  • Bearitage Behrens & Hitchcock "Fat Boy"
  • Benito Mussolini Big Ass Cab
  • Big House Big Mamma's
  • Big Yellow Cab Bitch Grenache
  • Blasted Church
  • Bloody Good White
  • Bonny Doon "Le Cigare Volant" (French for flying cigar)
  • Bored Doe
  • Bullamakanka
  • Bulls Blood
  • Bully Hill
  • Ca de Solo Camp
  • Cape Maidens
  • Cardinal Zin
  • Cat's Leap
  • Cataclysm
  • Cats Pee on a Gooseberry Bush
  • Ceci n'est pas un Carignan
  • Century Selection
  • Chardonalien
  • Chat-en-Oeuf
  • Chateau Potelle "VGS" zinfandel ("Very Good Shit")
  • Cleavage Creek
  • Cletrac Tractors
  • Dances on your Palate
  • Devil Head
  • Dogs Bollocks
  • Dynamite
  • Elephant on a Tightrope
  • Eye of the Toad
  • Fat Bastard
  • Festival of Clowns
  • Fiat Door
  • Flying Pig
  • Frogs Piss
  • Frog's leap
  • Full Monte
  • George Best Goat Roti
  • Goats do Roam
  • Grand Lancy FC
  • Grape Brain
  • Greenwich Millennium
  • Grenashe
  • Gridiron Cuvee
  • H.W.B
  • Hair of Dingo
  • Happy Camper
  • Hastfield's fuse
  • Houghton's White Burgundy
  • Ideal with Friends
  • Il Piscatore
  • Italian Job
  • Kenwood Kissed
  • Kiwi Cuvee
  • Lazy Lizard
  • Le Vin de Merde
  • Les Amoureux
  • Loring "Hungry Like the Llama" Pinot noir
  • Love my Goat
  • Luxters Dessert
  • Mad Housewife
  • Marge'n'Tina
  • Marilyn Merlot
  • Martinelli "Jackass Hill" zinfandel
  • Menage a Trois
  • Mollydooker "The Boxer", "Carnival of Love"
  • Naked Grapes
  • Naked Vine
  • Old Git
  • Old Tart
  • OOPS
  • Original Z Paddarotti Party
  • Pignoletto
  • Prosperity
  • Ptomaine des Blageurs
  • Recall Red
  • Red Car "Shake Rattle & Roll" Syrah Red
  • Rude Boy
  • Rude Girl
  • Santa's Reserve
  • Scraping the Barrel
  • Screw Kapa
  • Napa Shoofly
  • Shushiwine
  • Silly Mid On
  • SinZin
  • Smoking Parrot
  • Spatzendreck
  • St Columbas College
  • Stu Pedasso
  • Stump Jump
  • Sweet Pigs (Cochon Mignon)
  • T'ej
  • Ten Degrees
  • Therapy
  • Three Choirs
  • Tiny Bubbles
  • Tolley White Valley
  • Tumbling Tractor
  • Two Frogs
  • Under the Table
  • Unpronounceable Grape
  • Up a Gum Tree
  • Utter Bastard
  • Vampire Merlot
  • Van Der Table
  • Van Rouge
  • Vin d'Glace
  • Werhmacht Reserve
  • What the Dickens
  • White Pointer
  • White Trash
  • Zig Zag Zin
  • Zind
  • Zondernaam

Enjoy,

Ledom du Vin

Step into the Green! Drink more Biodynamic, Biologique and Organic wines (and spirits and food) from sustainable culture and respect the environment! Support the right causes for the Planet and all the people suffering all around the globe! Also follow projects and products from the Fair Trade, an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries obtain better trading conditions and promote sustainability. Also support 1% for the Planet, an alliance of businesses that donate at least 1% of their annual revenues to environmental organizations worldwide.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Remember your grandfather's ways, stories and recipes? I do, and they are always sweet memories! Especially, his Escargots à la vinaigrette!!!


In memory of my beloved grandfather and his Escargots à la vinaigrette!

The culinary world is fascinating! Surely as fascinating as the wine world for me... Like behind the label of a wine, the concept of a dish encompasses the work of men, culture, traditions, geography, history, topography, climatology, chemistry, biology and most other aspects of the natural life in general, all of these combined with time and patience.

As I like to say, our ancestors and even the recent ones (I’m talking about my late grandfather generation), knew how to take the time to properly craft things with their hands and recognize the natural signs of Mother Nature. They put their heart, skill, knowledge and patience in everything they were doing. They were aiming for quality, longevity and practicality.

It was a form of art to see them master all these effective and precise movements to create, craft or/and produce. Things were mostly useful and had a function to obtain a result that was essential in their everyday life. Yet nobody can get away from human nature, we always will have to go further no matter what, isn’t it? It seems that we are unsatisfied by nature.

Nowadays, everything goes way too fast and because our behavior of the last 60 years (since the end of World War II) obliges us to come back to greener methods in order to save our planet and all its living creatures (including us), we are now somewhat more diligently following a calendar of things to do at the right time, at earth pace. It is one of the reasons why in these very critical and transitional times, we are going back to more natural and organic oriented ways.

Now faced with somewhat irreversible situations, people are very slowly starting to comprehend that we’ve been rushing without measuring the bad consequences of our actions on our surroundings and environment. Therefore, they are more inclined to slow down a little and listen a bit more than usual (although I’m not so sure if they are willing to change their bad habits that easily…).

People have given names to things that were part of the natural everyday life of our ancestors. Natural has become “Organic”, “Biodynamic”, “sustainable”, “Lutte Raisonnée”, “recycling”, etc… while it was the way of everyday life before, but was somehow abandoned or forgotten for decades, it has fortunately come back in the past 10-15 years, yet unfortunately it was a necessity to clean up the mess, not to continue tradition.

Using organic ways with astrological science and proper management of the soil and surrounding nature, the biodynamic methods in agriculture and viticulture also follow a calendar of ancient tasks to be done at a given time.

These tasks have been studied and gathered from our ancestor’s methods by recent searchers like Rudolf Steiner (a recommended read “Agriculture: Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture,”) at the beginning of the 20th century, but they existed long before and their efficiency was the result of the amount of knowledge passed on from generations.

It is something that we tend to forget more and more. Yes, we have improved the technology for the better in science and medicine, which is a very good thing, but regarding the agriculture, ancient techniques and methods are back in fashion for their less harmful nature preserving ways.

However, before all that, our ancestors knew when they should plant certain things at certain periods because of the position and influence of the moon, the stars, and the seasons. They also approximately knew, probably more accurately than our televised forecasts, if it will rain or freeze or snow just by looking at the sky and paying close attention to their environment and the behavior of the plants and vegetables in their gardens, orchards and backyards.

It is one of these indefinitely stored moments of my memory of the ancient time and the time spent with my grandfather that I would like to share with you to relive it.

As you may have understood it by now, my maternal grandfather was an important figure in my life, almost like a father figure, a man who unconsciously taught me a lot about my love for wine, people, nature and life in general.

He wasn’t a funny guy, often lonely but never alone. He was a character, someone with presence and charisma, loved by his family and entourage. He was a man of earth, down to earth, practical and genial at the same time. Hard and tough, yet gentle and open minded, with a big heart and always living his door open for whom ever would like to come and enter his home to pay a visit, to talk or eat or drink or just spend some time to share the day, and mostly all the above.

His garden surrounded his house, or let’s say that his house was in the middle of his garden. Living alone, when he retired and the vines at my mother’s house were uprooted more than 20 years ago, his garden became his passion. It is where he concentrated most of his days from the minute the rooster crowed at the break of down to the last minute of the sunset. He was living at farm pace.



This garden was a treasure grove of numerous fruits (pear, apple, cherry, kiwi, lemon, orange, fig, strawberry, blackberry, prune and tomato), countless vegetables (salad, bean, carrot, artichoke, pumpkin, potato, celery, melon, endives, radish, cabbage, etc..), and all sort of plants and herbs (rose, thyme, rosemary, laurel, parsley, cilantro, mint, etc..). He even had numerous rabbits and hens, plus a dog, two cats, some golden fishes in an old pound that he built himself with an old tractor wheel as a frame for the concrete basin next to his old water well.



He was even making his own wine, his own preserve of fruit and vegetable, his own amazing paté, and his own eau-de-vie de fruit and cognac in his immense cellar, which contained, despite a few barrels and an alembic, all sorts of antic furniture and old objects from a 1930 American Hoover (the brand) to a collection of 1970’s moped and even a “Peugeot Triporteur TN 55” from 1957 (that he actually offered me for my 18th birthday and which is identical to the picture bellow). A real collector Alibaba cave!




In short, he had everything at home and grew everything organically by recycling and making his own fertilizer. He was doing everything himself. A winemaker and self-taught countryside man in harmony with his surrounding with a near perfect understanding with Mother Nature. If I could I wish I could be like him. Sometimes I feel that it is in me, dormant and unused… oh well, may be one day.

What I forget to tell you is that he was at time also farming “Escargots”. The escargots of my grandfather remain to this day one of my favorite memories of him and what I used to eat at his house quite a few times a year.

At certain period of the year, during or after a rainy day (like today, it is pouring out there tonight in New York), escargots (or snails in English) were abundant in the shrub wall surrounding his garden and he was a joy to harvest them with him. Of course, too young and impatient to make the difference, I was putting all the ones that I found in a linen bag; and of course he used to curse at me saying that I will never go anywhere or do anything of myself, if I wasn’t more careful and more focus to what I was doing. He didn’t say that in a bad way, he was just trying to aware me that I was becoming like the other kids of my generation: too distracted with lack of attention and patience, and misplaced motivation and attitude.

So in his presence, I used to keep a low profile and slow down, not take my time necessarily but be more efficient and attentive, to try to understand his way, his views and opinions that I valued immensely.

For example, and that is why I started this post by saying: “The culinary world is fascinating!” because, as my grandfather was often saying, in the culinary world and especially in the English language, the name of the meat his not or rarely the same as the name of the animal it comes from: a pig’s meat is pork; a caw’s meat is beef; a calf’s meat is veal; a hen’s meat is chicken; etc…

Yet, there is always something that was intriguing my grandfather (and myself by the same occasion): Why the British and the American, who usually hate calling their food by the regular name of the animal it came from, because they do not like the image of eating a cow, a pig or an hen, continue in restaurant to call snails, “Escargots”?…. Well for the same reason, it is because for them eating a slimy and disgusting snail is a totally different experience than eating the succulent and eclectic “Escargots” a la Française.




Once collected from my grandfather garden, him and I sorted them through one more time to only keep the best with a decent size and from a certain category (Helix Aspersa is the one you should look for), leaving the small and undesirable to continue their journey amongst the salads and the shrub walls.

Hastily, I was genuinely asking: Are we going to cook them today? And once again, I was once again verbally reprimanded for my lack of patience and my ignorance. You have to understand that topping the fact that he knew pretty much everything about everything in his garden, he spent most of his youth reading books and more especially the house’s dictionary and encyclopedia as a past time growing in a poor rural family during war time.

Even only two generation later and countless hours listening to his stories, I have difficulties to imagine how it really was when he was young. Few of us can, I think, things and people especially have changed so much since the Second World War.

So the answer was NO, we won’t cook them today, we will have to wait until they are ready. Like a winemaker nurtures his vines and watches the ripening grapes until the perfect moment for the harvest, my grandfather was putting all the escargots in a closed wooden box with a diamond shape metallic mesh netting at the bottom, with holes small enough to keep the snail inside for about 3-4 weeks before we could eat them.



Nowadays, you go to your local gourmet supermarket and you most likely will find seasoned snails in a frozen carton box, ready to be cooked in your oven or your microwave.

But at my grandfather’s house, it will have been a sacrilege to eat them that way. No, no, we had to wait, nurture them, to feed them salad leafs for 3-4 weeks to purge them and prepare them for a family Sunday feast. You see, snails gorge on pretty much any leafs in nature, but salad leafs give them better taste and clean their inside, ensuring any toxins or impurities are out of their bodies. This cleanses them, ensuring any toxins or impurities are out of their bodies. So patiently I waited, mesmerized by how such a little innocent animal could devour those leafs with such verocity.

Once well fed and ready for the casserole, we stopped nourishing them for 2-3 days, for them to evacuate their excrement. Then we harvested dozens of them from the box to put them in the kitchen sink where we washed them one last time to clean them from any debris and dirt residues.

Most restaurants serve them “à la persillade”, a concoction based with parsley (Persil), garlic, salt and pepper mixed with oil in which you bake the snail, usually the most traditional way. But at “Papi’s house”, we used to call my grandfather “Papi” but most people and neighbors used to named him “Mr. Henri”, we were boiling the escargots in water with herbs, a touch of oil, salt and pepper, garlic and parsley, and even a touch of wine sometime. It was fun and interactive because, while boiling the snails reject murky foam that needed to be removed as often as possible, although my grandfather didn’t see it as a problem when he was cooking them for himself, he was doing it or having me remove it when it was for the family Sunday lunches.

The escargots were ready as soon as the foam ceased to appear at the top of the boiling water. In most houses, the snails would have been transferred in a proper dish, but at Papi’s house there were no “chi-chi” for anything, it was the countryside for god sake! No needs for the mundane snobbery of the city people supposedly more civilized ways! No, no, we just emptied the casserole from the dirty water and put the casserole directly on the table! A touch of mustard vinaigrette and a little pick to dig out the snails from their shells, Et Voila! What a blast and what a feast! Artisanal, rustic and earthy and complex and immensely flavorful, the way I like it!




Like for the wine that I buy, these escargots, even cooked, were still endlessly conversing with my taste buds and excited them by coating my tongue and palate with seamless pleasurable and unforgettable sensations and memories.

This tale of my Papi’s escargots is one of the innumerable fantastic memories that I have from all the precious moments that I spent with my grandfather until he passed away in August last year. Rest in peace Papi (or should I say Mr. Henri), I will never forget you and will always try to be a better man. Promises, I will work on it. This post was for you where ever you are.

Next time, may be I will tell you about how he cured his own leg of “Jambon” Bayonne style or how he was making his paté or fruit preserve, but knowing myself, it will surely take another long post to share the experience…

Enjoy!

Ledom du Vin

Step into the Green! Drink more Biodynamic, Biologique and Organic wines (and spirits and food) from sustainable culture and respect the environment! Support the right causes for the Planet and all the people suffering all around the globe! Also follow projects and products from the Fair Trade, an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries obtain better trading conditions and promote sustainability. Also support 1% for the Planet, an alliance of businesses that donate at least 1% of their annual revenues to environmental organizations worldwide.

Friday, August 20, 2010

2009 Alto Tierruca Pinot Noir Reserva Lontue Valley Chile

Alto Tierruca Pinot Noir Reserva Lontue Valley Chile

I couldn't find much information about it and Monsieur Touton the Importer / Distributor doesn't seem to have any website. However, as always, I will find more info even if I have to phone the winery (it wouldn't be the first time that I'm doing such a crazy thing). Yet I will complete this post with region comments and info soon.

However, to get back to the wine, I love this little wine. It is a quaffer, quite simple yet attractive and balanced, fresh and juicy. At roughly $9.99 dollars on the shelf, it is a steal!



Alto Tierruca Pinot Noir Reserva Lontue Valley Chile
Suggested retail price $7-$10
Imported / Distributed by Monsieur Touton

In the glass, it shows an extremely clear, pale ruby color with low intensity and discreet slightly pink reflects. On the nose, the Alto Tierruca Pinot Noir Reserva offers freshly crushed cherry and red berry notes intermingled with light floral earthy notes. The palate has a mineral touch intermingled with lively cherry and earthy flavors. The finish is clean, fresh and simple yet balanced, nicely expanding and focus ‘til the end. This wine is a perfect crowd pleaser. Love it. Enjoy each sip of it as an aperitif or with appetizers, hors d'oeuvres, fresh cucumber and feta salads, goat cheese, grilled fish and poultry and Asian cuisine.

Enjoy!

LeDom du Vin

Step into the Green! Drink more Biodynamic, Biologique and Organic wines (and spirits and food) from sustainable culture and respect the environment! Support the right causes for the Planet and all the people suffering all around the globe! Also follow projects and products from the Fair Trade, an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries obtain better trading conditions and promote sustainability. Also support 1% for the Planet, an alliance of businesses that donate at least 1% of their annual revenues to environmental organizations worldwide.

NV Broadbent Vinho Verde Portugal: a summer favorite!

NV Broadbent Vinho Verde Portugal

This wine is imported by Broadbent Selections, one of the best importers in the US market despite a rather small portfolio yet filled with tremendously mouthwatering wines and ports. In the wine industry, the Broadbent have been pioneer in both European and American market and became inspiration to other younger importers for discovering and importing some of the finest small family owned wineries from around the world. As an example, Chateau Musar, one of the stellar wineries of the Bekaa valley in Lebanon, was first imported by the Broadbent family which greatly contributed to their success.

Vinho Verde, the most popular white wine from Portugal, is a deliciously refreshing, light wine with gentle spritz. “Verde”, meaning “green” refers to the hints of lime color. Broadbent Vinho Verde is one of the only Vinho Verde imported on a refrigerated container. The result is the freshest tasting Vinho Verde on the market. An ideal warm weather wine, excellent for lunch and picnics, this wine is equally as lovely as an evening aperitif. It makes a brilliant pairing with any fish, shell fish and poultry. "Is the world’s greatest pairing for a Caesar salad" according to wine writer Jordan MacKay. The label was painted by Alice, the niece, of Bartholomew Broadbent, when she was four (below).



NV Broadbent Vinho Verde Portugal
Suggested retail price $8-$11
Imported / Distributed by Broadbent Selections in NYC

A blend of 50% Loureiro, 40% Trajadura and 10% Pedernã [aka Arinto], this is a classic Vinho Verde and undoubtedly one of the best out there. In the glass it shows a very pale quasi-transparent yellow color with green reflects. The nose is clean and refreshing. The palate is light, dry and lively with a slight spritz that makes it feel airy and extremely versatile. The revitalizing acidity and the tiny bubbles contribute to a fun and enjoyable experience for the taste buds. Love it! Perfect summery wine; don’t go without it on picnic and party. This Vinho Verde has been for the past 3 years our best selling summer white wine and we can get enough of it. It is really delicious!

Enjoy!

LeDom du Vin

Info partly taken and edited from the importer website at www.broadbent.com

Step into the Green! Drink more Biodynamic, Biologique and Organic wines (and spirits and food) from sustainable culture and respect the environment! Support the right causes for the Planet and all the people suffering all around the globe! Also follow projects and products from the Fair Trade, an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries obtain better trading conditions and promote sustainability. Also support 1% for the Planet, an alliance of businesses that donate at least 1% of their annual revenues to environmental organizations worldwide.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Cave Cooperative & St. Michael-Eppan / San Michele Appiano Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Italy

Cave Cooperative / Wine Cooperative

Cave Cooperatives have always existed and will continue to exist for a while, for the simple and good reasons that not everybody has the mean or the will or even the financial backbone to grow the vines, vinify the grapes and bottle at the property.

Already in the Roman time, wine cooperatives were the easiest way for grape growers to get quick returns from their crop. The grapes were sold per quantity or/and weight and their value depended only on the grape varieties, the trends or/and the quality of the harvested grapes. Once out of their hands the growers could go back home with decent money in their pocket to be able to live for a little while and take care of their family and vines. Other people made the wine and pretty much only the higher classes of the Roman society were able to drink the best of what could be made. Remember that wine was inherent to their way of living, their culture and their festivities. At that time, the rest of the lower quality wine was often flavored with sugar, spice and herbs and stock into amphorae for different purposes and often reserved for the populace.

During the Middle Ages, things didn’t change much. The Roman high society was replaced by the feudalistic ways of the kings and queens. The growers became serfs and the monks became winemakers, and only the king and queen’s entourages were able to really taste the delectable juice produced by their subjects. Yet, here again, the serfs were bringing their crop to the churches and cloisters, which were often, used as local wine cooperatives. The lowest quality wines were still consumed by "le peuple et les gueux” when ever possible.

By the 18th and more especially the 19th century, society somewhat evolved in more civilized ways, yet people and mentality didn’t change and money once again redefined classes. Therefore, it was still the highest in the hierarchy that could (and still can) only afford to drink the best and most refined wines around. Yet cooperative were still quite strong and omnipresent, and were producing most of the wines at the time. Rare were the families that could afford to take care of everything themselves.

Moreover, ageing wine at the property cellar for long period of time was quite exclusive to bigger properties and cooperative with cellar or warehouse; and bottling at the property was a concept that didn't appear until after the second World War, in the 1950s, and wasn't firmly established in most European estates until the late 1970s - mid 1980s.

For these two reasons, cooperatives were very important and have always (even now) had their place on the highest step of the viticulture ladder, way before small growers and producers. They were the saviors of many growers but also small producers, which if their harvest wasn't as good as expected, were selling part of their grapes to the local cooperatives too, to avoid losing their entire crop and the money of the vintage.

Nowadays, cooperatives, which were once so popular and useful to the rich and powerful, tend to be denigrated by the wine snobs and “Bourgeois - Nouveau Riche” owners of the late 20th and beginning of 21st century. It is almost like if they forgot about the past and what they used to represent for the previous generations.

I remember! My late grandfather used to make his own wine for a while but after he uprooted the vineyards when I was about 9-10 years old, he was rarely buying his wine from the local producers, he used to go to the local cooperative where he used to sell some of the grapes from the vines that he tended himself in his younger days. Cooperatives were bringing a sentiment of hope and tradition to my grandfather generation and the generation before that. But the wine “pontes” (important men in old French) of our time don’t even recognize them as local treasure droves that have help some of the most well-known regions to become what they are now.

In my opinion, they will always remain sanctuaries of the traditional winemaking time (that wasn't even so long ago) and of the unity that used to exist amongst growers and producers.

Fortunately for us, regular people, wine cooperatives have experienced an extraordinary renaissance since their bad image years that lasted pretty much up until the mid 1990s. They are memories of the past that are (more than ever, especially in this economy) once again fashionable. Over the last 10-15 years, (here again, and more than ever), with the remaining passionate and the coming of younger bloods eager to succeed and produce their best, cooperatives blew the dust on their logo, transformed or refreshed their label, cleaned their cellars and invested in new technology and marketing to compete and offer world class wines that can easily rival some of the best names out there.

That is the case of St. Michael-Eppan, a south Tyrolean wine cooperative that has been producing outstanding wines at very reasonable price for years and deserves a bit more attention.


St. Michael-Eppan / San Michele Appiano


St. Michael-Eppan, locally known as San Michele Appiano Soc.Agr.Coop. (which stands for Società Agricola Cooperativa), is a huge wine cooperative located in Appiano, on the wine route bordering the “Mount Penegal” (Monte Penegal), about 10 kilometers southwest of Bolzano, in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy (central northern Italy, neighboring Austria).

San Michele-Appiano winery, which is the old farmhouses of 350 members (growers and producers), is located on the alpine foothill of mount Penegal, at the heart of the impressive vineyard landscape of the South Tyrolean Oltradige region (Alto Adige), with vineyards scattered among the surrounding sunny slopes.

It is the vines growing in these hills and valleys that give the region its unique features and its inhabitants have written their histories into their wine: stories that speak of pristine rural traditions and courageous visions.

Like a fortress the San Michele-Appiano winery towers above the South Tyrolean wine route. Founded in 1907, the winery has come to be one of the largest and most successful wine businesses of Südtirol and, indeed, of Italy. The renowned winery’s members are passionately dedicated to their task and deeply respectful of the gifts of Nature. Numerous international awards testify to the unrivalled success of their unremitting search for quality.

Hans Terzer, chief wine maker of the “San Michele brotherhood“ and widely renowned wine wizard has unerringly paved the way to high quality. Today, the vaulted cellars of the hundred-year-old building store a wide variety of first-class white and red wines, modern labels and time-tested classic wines alike, which are sold to more than 30 countries worldwide.

Their average annual production is approximately 2,600,000 bottles, of which 2/3 are 750ml and 1/3 is 1-liter bottles. Red wines account for 46% of the production and white wines for the remaining 54%. La Schiava represents the lion’s share of their grape varieties; also the red wines, however, such as Lagrein, Cabernet and Merlot, but above all Pinot Noir, are playing an increasingly important role in our range of wines.

Their Pinot Blanc undoubtedly plays a prominent role among the white wines (accounting for 23% of the total production). The vineyards in Eppan and immediate surroundings are the best for the production of this exceptional wine. Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris grape varieties yield great wines too. Müller Thurgau, Riesling and Moscato Giallo also perform well here.

Nearly 9 years ago, when I first arrived in New York, I discovered their Pinot Grigio from the classic label, their entry-level range sold under the name of St.Michael-Eppan, and felt in love with the wine. I have been selling countless amount of this wine since then and still now I can say that it remains one of my favorites Pinot Grigio in the US market.



2009 St. Michael-Eppan Pinot Grigio Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Italy
Suggested retail price $12-$15
Imported / Distributed by Martin Scott in NYC

Made with 100% Pinot Grigio grapes from vineyards planted around Appiano and Caldaro, this wine, which after fermentation underwent partial malolactic fermentation to add creaminess and soften the acidity, was entirely vinified in stainless steel tanks, before bottling.

The 2009 vintage, which was across the board in Europe a “Hot” vintage literally and metaphorically, produced warmer, fatter style of wine than usual, with somewhat the similar ripeness profile and characteristic as 2003 and 2005. Yet the 2009 St. Michael-Eppan Pinot Grigio succeed to keep its freshness and zestiness enhanced by great minerality.

In the glass, it shows a pale straw yellow color with light green reflects. The nose is clean, light, fresh and aromatic, boasting rich yellow fruit aromas, mostly pears and citrus with inviting mineral notes. On the palate, this crisp, light to medium bodied white possesses an excellent balance and the combination of the acidity with the minerality gives this wine strength and structure. It is dry and smooth on the palate with a pleasant and inviting persistent finish. It will nicely complement summery salad, grilled or baked fish, but also cold cut chicken or turkey, hummus and Mediterranean specialties.


Their classic range, sold under St. Michael-Eppan label, offers great value for money wines, and this Pinot Grigio is definitely a great example of the high quality that the winery aims for to satisfy its customers.

Another wine that I like a lot from this classic range is their Lagrein, a lesser-known red grape variety that produces beautiful, light, earthy red wine that could be compared with both Pinot Noir and Gamay.



2008 St Michael-Eppan Lagrein Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Italy
Suggested retail price $14-$17
Imported / Distributed by Martin Scott in NYC

“Lagrein is a red wine grape variety native to the valleys of northern Italy in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region, north of Bolzano, near the border with Austria. Along with Marzemino, it is a descendant of Teroldego, and related to Syrah, Pinot noir and Dureza. The name suggests its origins lie in the Lagarina valley of Trentino. It was mentioned as early as in the 17th century, in records of the Muri Benedictine monastery near Bolzano.” -Wikipedia

Made with 100% Lagrein, also called Lagrein Scuro, this wine was crafted from vineyards planted at Gries, a small area of west Bolzano. The grapes were harvested early October from vines tended in both Pergola and Guyot methods. They were fermented in stainless steel tanks before being aged in large wooden casks (probably Slavonian oak).

The 2008 St. Michael-Eppan Lagrein offers a bright ruby-red color of medium to light intensity. The nose is clean, fresh and mineral with vivid aromas of freshly crushed ripe red cherry and other red berries with earthy and mineral notes. The expanding palate is medium bodied and well-rounded with delightful red fruit flavors intermingled with refreshing acidity, cleansing minerality and integrated tannins. The structured and focus finish is quite long and invited for another glass.

This Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol indigenous grape variety has grown exponentially in the mind of the American consumers over the last 3-5 years, yet it remains fairly unknown and wine retailers still considerate it as a niche. However, if Pinot Noir and Gamay don’t excite you anymore and you need something new, Lagrein is the way to go. A great summer wine, light, versatile and gentle yet intriguing and layered enough to trigger your interest and amuse your taste buds. I love it.

Enjoy!

LeDom du Vin

Info about the winery partly taken and edited from the winery website at www.stmichael.it

Step into the Green! Drink more Biodynamic, Biologique and Organic wines (and spirits and food) from sustainable culture and respect the environment! Support the right causes for the Planet and all the people suffering all around the globe! Also follow projects and products from the Fair Trade, an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries obtain better trading conditions and promote sustainability. Also support 1% for the Planet, an alliance of businesses that donate at least 1% of their annual revenues to environmental organizations worldwide.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

2007 Marcato “Barattaro” Noir Veneto Central Northern Italy


Marcato “Barattaro” Noir Veneto Central Northern Italy

Following a previous article that I wrote about Marcato, here is another wine from this Veneto winery that I would like to introduce to you.

Azienda Agricola Marcato is an old family run winery located near the village of Roncà, about 35 kilometers east of Verona, in the alpine foothills of the Verona province of Veneto. With great west-south exposure, the winery has vineyards located on both the flat land of the Alpone valley and the sloppy Berici hills.

The history of the winery started a bit more than 110 years ago, when Francesco Marcato bought the first 3 hectares of vines near Roncá. The family first started has vine grower, selling their grapes to the local cooperative, like many other at that time. After a few years, they expanded the vineyard, the family grew and the marriage of the son Giuseppe started a new generation of grape growers and winemakers.

By 1969, the first bottled of Soave and Recioto di Soave were bottled and sold. Marcato estate expanded even more with the constant addition of new vineyards up until 1991, when they bought a new land in the Berici hills where the family now produces most of their premium red wines made with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Tocai Rosso.

In this area between the towns of Vicenza and Verona, Marcato now owns about 60 hectares (150 acres), of which 50 hectares (125 acres) are planted with vineyards. It also buys grapes from another 25 hectares (62,5 acres) of vineyards belonging to selected local grape growers.

In total, the yearly yield is around 600 tons of grapes from the various DOC areas of: Soave Colli Scaligeri, Soave Classico, Monti Lessini Durello and Colli Berici for a production of 4000 hectoliters of wine. Garganega, Trebbiano di Soave, Durella, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are grown in the vineyards around the villages of Roncà, Montecchia di Crosara, Monteforte d’Alpone and Soave. The red grapes Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Tocai Rosso are grown on the Hills of Sarego and Grancona in the Berici Hills.

The vinification is sited around the hill west of Roncà, on the Via Prandi, where the company has the vinery, which covers a total surface of 7.000 squared meters (0.7 hectares or 1.7 acres). The estate is divided in the various departments including the crusher, the drier room “Appassitoio”, the fermentation room for the red and white wines, and the production of the sparkling wines both with Charmat Method and Champenoise Method in the caves of the winery. It also encompasses the barrels room, the bottling line hall and a conditioned warehouse for storage.

Having full control of the production of all of their wines at the same place offers the winery to maintain high quality and great consistency one vintage after another. The difference of vineyard’s soil types and microclimate only comforts their aptitude to produce very eclectic complex wines.

Like for many other wine regions around the world, a visit to Veneto’s vineyard is the only way to fully understand the symbiosis between each natural element (exposure, soils, microclimate, rainfall, altitude, percentage of the slope, natural drainage, etc…) and how, when combined with each other, they can result such interesting wines.



2007 Marcato “Barattaro” Noir Veneto central northern Italy
Suggested retail price $16-$19
Imported/Distributed by Noble House Wines in NYC

Product only during the best vintages, when the sun and weather are temperate, with climatic conditions not too humid, Marcatto Barattaro Noir is made from 100% Pinot Noir grown in the Alpone valley and sold under Veneto IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica). It was crafted at the Barattaro estate, hence the name. It was first fermented in stainless steel tanks, before spending about 9 months in new French oak and then 16 months in large 4,000 liters Moldavian oak casks. The previous vintage was 2004.

An elegant and fresh 100% Pinot Noir from the Barattaro estate in Veneto, this approachable medium-to-light bodied red offers fruity red cherry aromas with a touch of oak, great acidity and earthy terroir-driven fruit flavors. Aged in both French and Moldavian oak, it boasts clean red berry flavors exploding on the mid-palate, supported by silky tannins and nice acidity lingering into the crisp cherry finish. A versatile pairing wine that works well with everything from chicken to lighter meats to creamy cheeses.

Overall, an intriguing wine that grew in me on a more positive way after a bit of opening and was even better the second day. The reason is that, surprisingly enough, I felt a light fizzy sensation when I first opened it. I left my glass aside for a few minutes and still felt the strange sensation when I tried another sip of it. I though to myself that may be it was one of those wines that deserve a few minutes in the fridge due to its acidity and slight fizzy attitude. I drank another glass of it and left the rest of the bottle for the next day. To my surprise, I found it better the next day. Obviously, the fizz was gone and it was more rounded on the edges, offering a silkier palate and a more pleasant experience overall.

Enjoy!

LeDom du Vin

Info partly taken and edited from the winery website at www.marcatovini.it

Step into the Green! Drink more Biodynamic, Biologique and Organic wines (and spirits and food) from sustainable culture and respect the environment! Support the right causes for the Planet and all the people suffering all around the globe! Also follow projects and products from the Fair Trade, an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries obtain better trading conditions and promote sustainability. Also support 1% for the Planet, an alliance of businesses that donate at least 1% of their annual revenues to environmental organizations worldwide.

Galicia & 2009 Ladera Sagrada Castelo do Papa Godello Valdeorras Spain

Galicia Northwestern part of Spain

Although Spain is massively known for its ocean of Tempranillo, Garnacha and Monastrell based red wines; this beautiful country also offers a wide array of tasteful white wines.

To name a few of my favorites, I highly recommend you to discover the delightful, crisp and slightly fizzy Txakoli from the Basque country made with the ever difficult to remember Hondarribi Zuria grape; the Sauvignon-like style of the Rueda made with Verdejo; the still undiscovered white Rioja made with Viura; and the light and refreshing Penedès and Ampurda-Costa Brava whites made from various grapes like: Garnacha Blanca, Macabeo, Moscatel, Xarel-lo, Chardonnay and even Gewürztraminer.

If you really enjoy white wines, you will find some of the most refreshing and exquisite whites Spain has to offer all along the coast from Donastia-San Sebastian in the Basque country to Santiago de Compostella and Pontevedra on the western shores of Galicia, the greenest northwestern region of Spain.

One of the most famous and now firmly established on the US ground is a light, crisp and racy wine made predominantly from the Albariño grape variety in the region of Rias Baixas. While the different sub-zones (within Rias Baixas) express subtle differences, the wines all share a number of characteristics. Boasting a pale golden lemon color, they are all crisp, elegant and fresh. Bone-dry and aromatic, these wines are packed with flavors of white peach, apricot, melon, pineapple, mango and honeysuckle. They have good natural acidity, mineral overtones, and are medium-bodied with moderate alcohol, usually about 12%.

Rias Baixas have been selling fantastically over the last 10-15 years and in the meantime wineries burgeoned to favor the demand and increase the different styles. Although sold all year long, being so versatile, light and vivid, Rias Baixas Albariño slowly became a prime choice to complement summer aperitif, lunch and dinner.

Further east, a few kilometers far from the Atlantic coast and Rias Baixas, is located a lesser known appellation called Ribeiro, also producing interesting whites but also some reds. White wine represents about 80% of the wine produced, and is most produced with the Treixadura variety, which is native to the area. Other authorized white varieties mostly used for Galician whites are: Albariño, Godello, Torrontés, Loureira, Macabeo and Albillo.

Even further east, nestled between Ribeiro to the west, Ribeira Sacra to the north and Bierzo, its Castilla Y Leon counterpart to the east, the Valdeorras appellation resides as the bridge guardian between the two ancient kingdoms, at the easternmost boundaries of Galicia.

Valdeorras, whose name means “Valley of Gold”, may have been the first grape growing and wine-producing region in Galicia. After the ancient Romans had finished mining the area for gold, they planted vines and the wines produced were mentioned in several inscriptions in Latin.

Remember that we need to be eternally grateful to the Romans for spreading their knowledge and experience of viticulture everywhere they went. Already existing centuries before them and improved by the Egyptians and the Greeks, the domestic wine culture has we know it today as really started and rapidly expanded with them.

Did you ever realize that the Roman's Empire extended only to countries where they could grow vines and make wines? No? Well check again, it seems that viticulture and wine were so much part of their everyday drinking and culinary culture and festivities, that it will have been useless for them to invade a country where they couldn’t produce the delectable juice.

And in fact, if you study a Roman Empire map, they didn't... They pretty much occupied all the best wine-growing European areas, which encompasses all the countries around the Mediterranean Sea, and also logically conquered the "cradle of all wine" around the Caspian Sea and in Mesopotamia, but also all the northern part of Africa! Think about it…

However, let’s go back to Galicia and Valdeorras. Like many wine regions in Europe, Valdeorras saw a decline of wine production during the Middle Ages where only monks and locals were really committed to viticulture and cultivation of the Godello grape, which, once strongly planted, was slowly denigrated and replaced by Palomino. Here again like most of European appellations, the region had to wait until the 19th century to experience a true renaissance.

Yet the Phylloxera, which devastated most European vineyards between late 1860 and mid 1930, left the Valdeorras region on its knees and the Godello grape almost forgotten.

It is only in the 20th century, after generations of trials and experiences, around the 70s, that the native Godello white grape variety was reinvigorated and became the focus and pride of the Valdeorras region. Consequently as a reward for its efforts to maintain high quality and consistency within a characteristic and defined environment, climate and delimited area, the region was elevated to the rank of appellation in 1977, becoming Valdeorras DO (Denominación de Origen or Denominación de Orixe in Galician).

Nowadays, Valdeorras DO produces mainly red based with Garnacha Tintorera and the white Palomino grape. Yet for the past 10-15 years, Bierzo’s pride, the Mencìa red grape, and Godello, Valdeorras recurring white grape, have made a stronger impression and have gain ground in the US market due to the fruity and easy drinking red and complex, mineral and extremely food friendly white wines, that they respectively produce.

It is in this up-and-coming region that Ladera Sagrada produces Castelo do Papa Godello. After Bodegas Godeval, which has always been one of my favorite Valdeorras winery, I’d like to share with you this newfound Godello based wine.


Ladera Sagrada Castelo do Papa Valdeorras Spain

Founded in 1920, Ladera Sagrada is a winery located in the mountain town of Larouco, about 90 kilometers east of Ourense in Galicia, nestled at 1749 feet of altitude (about 534 meters).

The owner, Jose Sotos, possesses about 62 acres (25 hectares) of vineyards planted with Godello and Mencía grapes. Jose Sotos and Albino Fernandez, his vineyard manager and assistant winemaker make 2 wines: “Castelo do Papa Godello” and “Castelo do Papa Mencía” (Castelo do Papa means “Castle of the Pope”).

Although, more inland than Rias Baixas and Ribeiro, Valdeorras benefits of an Atlantic climate, with average temperatures from April to October of 57.2 º F (among the lowest temperatures in Spain) and about 13 inches of rainfall which is quite low for this area.

The high altitude and the cool temperatures provide a longer ripening period, which results in more aromatic, more mineral and fresher wines. Its low level of rainfall helps the grape by preventing night frost produced by rain-humidity.

The mountainous soil is composed of slate stone, granite and thin clay layered in its topsoil and subsoil. This soil profile is poor in organic matter yielding 6 pounds (2.5 kg) of grapes per vine, compare to the average of 17 pounds (7.5 kg) per vine in Valdeorras.

The granite and slate soil surface warms up during the day, releasing and thus providing heat to the roots at night when temperatures are cooler, which helps the grapes to keep ripening. Its lower yields result in more concentrated grapes providing more flavor intensity to the wines made by Jose Sotos.

The success of the wines produced by Ladera Sagrada and crafted by Jose Sotos, is a combination of: the balance between the different soils and microclimate, allowing for fresh, intense Godello and Mencía wines; and the fact that it a family run winery which give more control over the quality of grapes and the resulting wines. It is also coming from the fact that Papa Godello doesn’t undergo malolactic fermentation achieving consequently greater aromatic expression and freshness. Yet the remaining key factor is surely one of the most important: 90% of the vines are 25+ year old, which confers great complexity and depth to the wines.



Ladera Sagrada Castelo do Papa Godello Valdeorras Spain
Suggested retail price $14-17
Imported / Distributed by Olé Imports in NYC

The 2009 Castelo do Papa was crafted with 100% old vines Godello (25+ years) vinified in stainless steel tanks, with no malolactic fermentation. Approximately 1,800 cases were made, with roughly half sent to the US market.

2009 was across the board, like 2005 and 2003, both literally and metaphorically, a very “hot” vintage in Europe. In my opinion, it produced fatter, more opulent wines, which for some regions and producers translated more into over-ripeness and predominance of alcohol than complexity or refinement. Yet here again, this is a discussion that will take more than a post to discuss…

As a result of the hotness of the 2009 vintage, the 2009 Castelo do Papa Godello is fatter and rounder than I though it will be, with more fruit weight and soft edges rather than the usual fresh and racy Godello whites that I previously tasted, especially the 2006 and 2007 vintages.

This 2009 Castelo do Papa Godello is really aromatic, almost tropical, with pineapple, mango and lime notes accentuated by firm minerals and herbal hints. The expanding palate is quite fat and full yet really clean and intriguing, showing great coating minerality, adding more dimension to the pineapple, yellow fruit juice and lemon zest flavors. Fairly bright and juicy with a good amount of oily glycerin, the long finish possesses enough acidity to balance the layers of pear, pineapple, citrus and light buttered rounded notes. It has tremendous complexity and generous mouth-feel for the price. The fatness is surely due to the 2009 vintage, but also to the old vines factor and may be the fact that this wine may have spent a bit of time on its lees before bottling.

Overall, even without Malolactic fermentation, it feels really rounded and soft. I like this wine quite a bit, but I need to admit that previous vintage like 2007 corresponded more to my palate due to higher acidity and freshness with brighter fruit and purer minerality sensation. Yet it remains a great value and a go to food friendly wine. Pair it with fish in sauce or grilled. Its fatness allows it to complement more complex dishes with white meat and poultry cooked in a Mediterranean style with garlic, herbs and mixed vegetables.

Enjoy!

Ledom du Vin

Info about the winery partly taken and edited from the importer website at www.oleimports.com

Info about Rias Baixas partly taken and edited from the DO website at www.riasbaixaswines.com

Step into the Green! Drink more Biodynamic, Biologique and Organic wines (and spirits and food) from sustainable culture and respect the environment! Support the right causes for the Planet and all the people suffering all around the globe! Also follow projects and products from the Fair Trade, an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries obtain better trading conditions and promote sustainability. Also support 1% for the Planet, an alliance of businesses that donate at least 1% of their annual revenues to environmental organizations worldwide.

Interesting Natural Wine explanation....via YouTube

A colleague just sent me a cool and interesting link about "Natural Wine", while there is a bit of cursing here and there, it is informative and pretty accurate, in a raw way, or should I say Natural way...

It is called "Let's drink some Natural Fucking Wine!" (by Dalforno)

Click the following link to watch it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UXlL0FIF9Q&feature=player_embedded#

Enjoy!

Ledom du Vin

Step into the Green! Drink more Biodynamic, Biologique and Organic wines (and spirits and food) from sustainable culture and respect the environment! Support the right causes for the Planet and all the people suffering all around the globe! Also follow projects and products from the Fair Trade, an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries obtain better trading conditions and promote sustainability. Also support 1% for the Planet, an alliance of businesses that donate at least 1% of their annual revenues to environmental organizations worldwide.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Shipping wine from New York retailers to out of state customers

Lately, while working on updating the shipping page of our website, I realized that there is no valuable information whatsoever regarding the laws about shipping wine from New York Wine & Spirits retailers to customers in other states.

There are plenty of info about wineries, what they can do and where they can ship (especially from California) but nothing really about New York wine retailers.

The only, somewhat, informative writing that I could find was from a "Wine Spectator.com" articles dated from 2005 (you can always read it at http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/Shipping-Laws-State-by-State_1049).

The article is a bit outdated and quite a few things have change since then, yet it will give you somewhat of an idea about the permitted, limited and prohibited states.

After searching "Google" in many ways with many different combination of words and even by consulting the website of "The New York State Liquor Authority" website at http://www.abc.state.ny.us/; I couldn't find the answer to my question:

What are the prohibited states for New York retailers to ship wine to for out of state customers?

By law, New York retailers can NOT ship Spirits out of state and FedEx and UPS can only deliver wine to certain states.

You see, in the United States of America, the different states are far from being united in many ways. Each state has is own laws and regulations, and barely none of them interact with each-other. Being still a gray area, it is therefore difficult to really know what are the states that are NOT "dry" (as we say in the trade). Even in New York, they are still trying to enforce laws that seem to date from post-prohibition time in the 30s. I think it is about time to realize that we are in the 21th century and things need to change for the better.

In my opinion, instead of state regulated laws, we should have federal laws that will resume once and for all this weird situation. As always, it might not please and will surely not be in the interest of some people and probably upset a lot of them, but I think in some ways it will be better. But this too long of a discussion to be handle in one post....

After searching the internet and the many New York wine retailers websites, I draw a list of what I think are the states that are open to receive wine shipments from New York wine retailers for customers out of state. This list may not be the most accurate, and I'm eager to receive any comments to make it more accurate for all the wine buyers and wine retailers like me that have been asking themselves the same questions.

Please find below a list of states which are legal to ship to for New York retailers. If you reside or wish to receive a shipment in a state that is not allowed to receive alcoholic beverages, should contact a member of the sales team at your favorite Wine shop (in our case www.HeightsChateau.com) to make alternative arrangements.

Here is a list of the open or non "Dry" States, New York wine retailers you can ship to:
  • Arizona (AZ),
  • California (CA),
  • Colorado (CO),
  • Connecticut (CT),
  • District of Columbia (DC),
  • Hawaii (HI),
  • Idaho (ID),
  • Illinois (IL) (?),
  • Iowa (IA),
  • Minnesota (MN),
  • Missouri (MO),
  • Nebraska (NE),
  • Nevada (NV),
  • New Mexico (NM),
  • New Jersey (NJ) (?),
  • New York (NY),
  • North Dakota (ND),
  • Ohio (OH),
  • Oregon (OR),
  • South Carolina (SC),
  • South Dakota (SD),
  • Texas (TX),
  • Vermont (VT),
  • Washington (WA),
  • West Virginia (WV),
  • Wisconsin (WI),
  • Wyoming (WY).

New York wine retailers can NOT ship to the following states for legal reasons and individual internal state laws:
  • Alabama (AL),
  • Alaska (AK),
  • Arkansas (AR),
  • Delaware (DE),
  • Florida (FL),
  • Georgia (GA),
  • Illinois (IL) (?),
  • Indiana (IN),
  • Kansas (KS),
  • Kentucky (KY),
  • Maine (ME),
  • Montana (MT),
  • New Hampshire (NH),
  • Louisiana (LA),
  • Massachusetts (MA),
  • Maryland (MD),
  • Michigan (MI),
  • Mississippi (MS),
  • North Carolina (NC),
  • Oklahoma (OK),
  • Pennsylvania (PA),
  • Rhode Island (RI),
  • Tennessee (TN),
  • Utah (UT)
  • and Virginia (VA).

I hope that you will find these two lists useful. If I made some mistakes, do not hesitate to send me comments to make it more accurate. Thank you.

Enjoy!

LeDom du Vin

Step into the Green! Drink more Biodynamic, Biologique and Organic wines (and spirits and food) from sustainable culture and respect the environment! Support the right causes for the Planet and all the people suffering all around the globe! Also follow projects and products from the Fair Trade, an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries obtain better trading conditions and promote sustainability. Also support 1% for the Planet, an alliance of businesses that donate at least 1% of their annual revenues to environmental organizations worldwide.