Spooky Wine News To Scare You!

I was in a meeting today, and in the theme of Halloween the meeting was “scary things happening in business”. The subject of wine didn’t come up in the meeting, although I often daydream of wine. Thus, my mind wandered into some of the strange and spooky things that I’ve heard have happened in the wine industry lately.

First, the story that has me really freaked out this Halloween. On, or around September 15th of this year someone drove out to a Red Mountain vineyard and stole 1.25 tons of Morvedre grapes. Disappeared! Vanished!! Right into thin air.

I want to drive up there and check to see if there are crop circles up on the Grand Reve vineyard. Who in the heck could literally steal $4000 worth of grapes right off of one of the most visible hills in Eastern Washington and have nobody see it?

This is not a small amount of grapes. At least one very large, full pickup truck would have had to have driven up, taken a few hours, and driven back down and away with this pile of grapes dripping on the pavement behind. I’m thinking this is not really possible. There are way too many nosy neighbors up on that hill. Not to mention that this would have taken a fairly substantial team of educated enologist thieves to pull it off.

My hypothesis is that the aliens took them. You see, Morvedre is among one of the rarer grapes grown in this region. Not just anybody has a block of Morvedre sitting around in their back yard.

The aliens must have turned off their lights and hovered quietly into the fields. Their little alien tentacles picked the grapes really fast, and when one of the neighbors went to check out the situation the aliens smacked them against the head with a “forget this” stick.

After the grapes were loaded into the spaceship the little buggers took them back to their galaxy. Who knows? They probably even have Bigfoot stomping them right now as we speak!

All kidding aside, this is a really spooky situation when you think that there is some idiot out there thinking that they are going to get away with making several barrels of stolen Mourvedre. You better hope for their sake that the aliens really did steal it.

Another fantastic and spooky real story that is going on in vineyards here in the region this fall is botrytis cinerea. A fungus that has attached to a number of grapes in the region and is trying to destroy the crop before it can be picked.

Botrytis is a gray mold that attacks the grapes and greatly affects the flavors. It pretty much makes them look like zombie grapes, with a whiteish powdery mildew texture that grows around them, coating them and making them look…moldy.

Growers have been picking as fast as possible to beat the “rot”, although many vineyards were hit very hard. According to one grower in the upper Yakima Valley that I spoke with, most of the Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay in the region has been hard hit. Good luck getting a good cheap white blend next year folks!

The good news about Botrytis oozing off the grapes around here is that the late harvest wine drinkers will be happy to know that they will have plenty to sip on soon. That mold gives Late Harvest and Ice Wines their glorious flavors.

Take A Trip to France Without Leaving Town

Usually I’m a pretty simple guy who is more than willing to eat the local fare and enjoy local wines. I’m really not much into imported stuff. After all, it’s been pretty much proven that we here in the northwest produce wines just as good as any country or region on this great planet.

However, there are times when I just want to get away and try something different. It could have been the rains or the freezing frost outside on the ground the other night. But, for some reason I was really in the mood for a good Cotes Du Rhone. I went down into my closet and pulled out a good one.

Now, this may sound really fancy, but all it means is that the wine is from the Rhone “AOC” of France. “AOC” means the same as “AVA” in the U.S., which means that the wine is from a legally determined area that is determined by the government of that country.

When I say that I drank a Cotes Du Rhone it could mean red, rose’, or white. In this case, which is usually the case, I am speaking about a red wine.

What I love about Cotes Du Rhone red wines is that they are made out of some of my favorite grapes. The red grapes grown in the Rhone River region of France are primarily Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Counoise, and Cinsault. Fantastic grapes, bold and rich in color and texture, that finish smooth and velvety with fine light tannins. These grapes all produce juices that are deep ruby red in color.

The Cotes Du Rhone region is quite laid back. They are very relaxed in their business methods, as well as their cooperative farming lifestyles. Few wineries in the region actually produce wine from grape to bottle. That would be too much work. Most produce smaller lots and allow merchants to provide the marketing and distribution of their wines outside the winery. Only a few produce “mis en bouteille au domaine” which means bottled on premise.

The bottle that I enjoyed this evening was a Domaine de Couron. It is one of the larger vintners in the Rhone. Located at the Saint Marcel d’ Ardeche commune in Southeastern France, the wine is grown, picked, fermented, and bottled on site. It is 60% Grenache, and 40% Syrah.

Pouring the wine from the bottle, it comes out a deep ruby red into the glass. The nose is veggie and lightly sulfur initially, but turns into aromas of bing cherries. On the palate the wine opens with a combination of plums, cherries, and canned green beans. It finishes soft and round, with a slight lack of tannin.

Another Cote Du Rhone that I regularly enjoy is Pont D’ Avignon, a vintner that was recently purchased by the Gallo family. Very affordable, and very tasty, I suggest trying this wine when you want a soft, supple, red other than a Pinot Noir. Once again, not very sophisticated, but it is reasonably priced and a lot of fun. Both it, and the Couron, are priced in the under $15 range.

So, when you are tired of drinking the local stuff, I suggest you try a Cotes Du’ Rhone. There are several available locally. Give one a try!