T O O RDER M ORE F EA T URED W INES C ALL 1-800-823-5527 T ODAY ! Volume 23 Number 10 The ©Vinesse Wine Club 2015 The SKU 25382 GrThe Officiala NewslepTTer fOrevine ViiNesse wiiNe club MeMbers SPOOKY SPECIAL EDITION • Scary Bottle Holders • Porto, Portugal • Transylvania Wine • Corks vs. Screw Tops G E T Y OUR D AILY D OSE O F W INE N E W S A T http://blog.vinesse.com 2 • The Grapevine • Visit vinesse.com OUR MISSION: To uncover and bring you wine gems from around the world, which you’re ediTOr’s JOurNal not likely to discover on your own, and which enhance your wine enjoyment. YOUR GRAPEVINE TEAM: The Great Cork Debate Intrepid Wine Enthusiast, Chief Taster and Winehound: By Robert Johnson Martin Stewart t is a very long word — way too long for Scrabble: Chief Operating Officer (aka “The Buck Stops Here”): I trichloroanisole. I was not all that good in chemistry Lawrence D. Dutra class, so I won’t even try to pronounce it. Editor: Robert Johnson Let’s just agree to were simply trying Wine Steward: call it TCA, okay? to impress their Katie Montgomery TCA is the fellow diners The Grapevine is published by Vinesse, chemical primarily with their wine 822 Hampshire Road, Suite E, Westlake responsible for “knowledge.” Village, CA 91361; 1-800-823-5527. Copyright by Vinesse, LLC. Printed in USA. cork taint in wines. Today, more No responsibility is assumed for loss or When we perceive screw caps are damage to unsolicited materials. mustiness or a being used than moldy aroma in a ever before, Be good to the planet wine, it’s said to largely because be “corked,” and more wines are RECYCLE the culprit is the being made for presence of TCA in the cork used to immediate enjoyment than ever before. seal the bottle. With such wines, it makes better CHARTER MEMBER During the 1980s, cork taint became business sense to seal the bottles with BENEFITS: such a problem — some estimated a nearly infallible closure. The Grapevine Newsletter that one bottle in 20 could be But for wines that are intended to be infected — that winery owners and cellared for several years, most vintners Premium wine selections at winemakers began experimenting with still prefer corks because, unlike screw members-only prices Stelvin closures, generically referred caps, cork allows a minute amount of Wine tasting as a participant to as screw caps. When a bottle was oxygen inside the bottle. Too much on VINESSE’s Gold Medal opened, the traditional “pop” sound oxygen would cause the wine to age Award Panel was replaced with a “crackle.” more quickly than intended; a little bit Complimentary subscription One of the reasons cited for the of oxygen promotes slow aging, giving to VINESSE’s Cyber Circle move to screw caps was the simple the wine time to evolve and reach its Community assertion that no other industry full potential. Random giveaways of wine would accept a 5% failure rate with Now, the closure is selected based and accessories its products or services. Beyond that, upon what the winemaker hopes to Wine Finders Reward — wine consumers were becoming more achieve with wine. identify a future wine selection sophisticated, and with sophistication What does the future hold? If I had to and earn a reward can come a more persnickety attitude. guess, we’ll be seeing still more Stelvin Perfectly matched recipes for Restaurateurs would tell stories of closures and fewer corks. A new featured wine selections diners refusing bottles — perfectly generation of wine drinkers doesn’t Complimentary wine tasting good bottles — because the wine care about the tradition of the cork; inside was corked. In reality, they they just want great-tasting wines. Visit vinesse.com • The Grapevine • 3 Drought Causes Some to Consider Dry Farming ry farming has been a choice for D California grape growers through most of California’s wine history But given the ongoing drought in the state, and its severity, it’s becoming more of a necessity. Dry farming basically means that a grower depends only on the rain that Mother Nature provides as a source of water for the grapevines. It’s a perfectly logical approach to farming in areas that typically receive a good deal of rain, such as Washington state, but it can create challenges style, ultra-sweet, almost Port-like wines — which are in drier states such as California — and those challenges much harder to sell than dry but fruit-forward table wines. intensify when drought conditions exist for an extended Stuart Smith, one-half of the brother winemaking team period of time. at Napa Valley’s Smith-Madrone winery for four-and-a-half Why is dry farming used at all? Many growers and decades, had perhaps the best description of the current winemakers believe (and scientific evidence bears it harvest season. out) that a lack of water stresses the vines, and stressed Smith told Eric Asimov of the New York Times: “It’s been vines produce berries that are smaller and, thus, more a normally bizarre year.” concentrated in aromas and flavors. Because wines with In other words, if it isn’t an extended drought, it’s too ultra-ripe flavors have been the preferred style in recent much rain from El Niño. Rare is the absolutely perfect years, all of this has been seen as a positive. growing season, and grape growers and winemakers have But there comes a point when a lack of water leads not to adapt all the time. just to smaller, more concentrated berries, but to raisins. For some, during an extended drought, that means And that limits the winemaking possibilities to late harvest- considering the possibility of dry farming. THE ONE THAT STARTED IT ALL! • Hand-crafted gems produced by little known or small estates • Limited-production bottlings • Under-the-radar wines you won’t find in supermarkets EACH SHIPMENT INCLUDES: WINE COLOR MIX: Reds, Whites, or Both — Your Choice! • 6 bottles from all over the wine world FREQUENCY: Monthly • Detailed Tasting Notes for each featured wine PRICE: Only $12-$15 average per bottle plus shipping To learn more about this Club, call 800-823-5527 or visit www.Vinesse.com 4 • The Grapevine • Visit vinesse.com Koehler Winery: A Place to Get Away From It All ÉLEVANT SOCIETY™ IT’S NOT FOR EVERYONE. IS IT FOR YOU? Vinesse created the Élevant Society to meet members’ demands for super-premium wines. While virtually all members of the original American Cellars Wine Club aron Spelling was one of the most prolific producers of were very satisfied with their Aprograms in television history. monthly selections, some His long resumé of programs in superb fruit had been well documented wanted more, and they which he had a hand includes “The as among the best in the Santa Ynez were willing to pay for it. Mod Squad,” “The Rookies,” “Charlie’s Valley. Angels,” “Beverly Hills 90210,” “The Once the Koehlers recognized that Love Boat,” “7th Heaven,” “Charmed,” some of the best wines in the valley “Jane’s House” and “Sunset Beach.” were being produced with grapes EACH ÉLEVANT SOCIETY Like many people involved in the harvested from their vineyards, they SHIPMENT INCLUDES: hustle and bustle of Hollywood, resolved to launch their own winery • 2 or 4 bottles — your choice — Spelling needed a place to get away and tasting room. Drawing on their from it all. For some, the small own entrepreneurial experience, of super-premium wines, mostly communities of Ventura County, just the Koehlers’ mission was to create big and bold red varieties or north of California’s San Fernando a world-class winery committed to blends Valley, were far enough away. Others making premium wines at affordable • Detailed Tasting Notes for each trekked still farther north to Santa prices. And today, Koehler Winery is featured wine Barbara. And a handful — including celebrated as one of the most popular Michael Jackson and James Garner — headed even farther north to the Santa Ynez Valley. That, too, was where FREQUENCY: Spelling headed to relax. Today, Koehler Winery sits on a Approximately Monthly spectacularly beautiful 100-acre estate, surrounded by rolling hills and a small PRICE: riparian stream that gently nestles its $85.99 average per way throughout the property. And shipment including shipping the estate’s storied history includes ownership by Aaron Spelling. It was during this period, more than To learn more about 40 years ago, that the vineyard on the property was expanded to its current this Club, call 800-823-5527 67 acres. And by the time the property or visit www.Vinesse.com was acquired by the Koehler family in 1997, the estate’s bountiful vines and Visit vinesse.com • The Grapevine • 5 200-year-old oak trees. Here guests may enjoy a more private picnic experience while delighting in the tranquil scenery. & Adjacent to the tasting room, guests can relax and picnic at the harvest tables, shaded under a canopy of 130-year-old THE Fastest-groWING olive trees. Just a short CLUB IN VINESSE walk leads to the deck, HISTORY! which is surrounded by a year-round display A club for people who enjoy and beautiful stops on the Foxen of blooming wild flowers. The deck is a touch of sweetness in perfect for sipping wines while relaxing Canyon Wine Trail. their wines. Winemaker Colin Murphy and on the lounge furniture. Vineyard Manager Felipe Hernandez The winery offers a “Signature Wines that are lighter in style, — one of the most skilled and Flight” of six wines for a $10 fee, and a sometimes sparkle, knowledgeable vineyard managers “Premium Flight” of six other wines for occasionally blush, and are in Central California — collaborate $15.