wine

On April 16th -18th in New Orleans, more than 50 of the nation's top sommeliers will be on hand to pour some of the world's most sought after wines at the Independent Champagne and Sparkling Wine Invitational (ICSWI), the nation's first ever conference devoted exclusively to independently produced champagnes and sparkling wines. Industry experts will educate attendees, pouring wines produced in the grower and independent spirit ranging from the superb high-end cuvées of the Grande Marques to the terroir-driven jewels of the small producers. ICSWI sommeliers will represent cities and regions from across the nation, with restaurant representation including Per Se, The French Laundry, NYC's Eleven Madison Park, Aspen's The Little Nell, and Blue Hill at Stone Barns. All have broad wine industry experience including winemaking, retail, restaurant management and buying for private collectors.

Today, there are over 19,000 independent growers in the Champagne region, accounting for nearly 88% of all vineyard land in the region, with around 5,000 of these growers producing wine from their own grapes. These "fizz farmers" if you will are master artisans, controlling what happens on their farm every day unlike at some of the more large-scale industrial operations at the corporate labels. Worldwide, independent Sparkling Wine production includes Cava in Spain, Asti and Prosecco in Italy, Cap Classique in South Africa, Sekt in Germany and the sparkling wines of California. All together, there are thousands of champagne and sparkling wines to chose from, making the grower category ideal for authenticity, quality, value and ultimately choice. Smaller vineyards allow more site specific wines to be created for a truer reflection of terroir, and their extraordinary attention to detail is reflected in each grower's unique product.

While the broader economy tanked in 2008, then struggled through 2009, Michael Wigley's investment fund earned 32.6%. In the same period Wigley made investors money, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 10% and the median home price dropped 4.1%, according to the National Association of Realtors. Wigley doesn't run a Madoff-style Ponzi scheme. He buys and sells wine.

Is wine a good investment? "Yes is the short answer," exclaims Wigley. Wigley runs Bacchus Partners, LLC, the first and only wine investment fund in the U.S. He calls wine, "a complicated asset class that's knowledge based like art and other collectibles."

But Wigley thinks he's taken something complicated and made it simple, by developing a system to grade each wine. Developed over 25 years, the system looks at 25 different variables to forecast the likelihood of any bottle of wine increasing in value, maintaining its price or decreasing. So, for example, Wigley's grading system gives a bottle of 1982 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild an A+. Wigley says it's currently in its drinking window and he predicts it has 20 to 30 years life left in it.

When it first became available Wigley bought a bottle of 1982 Lafite for $29.77 a bottle. At the end of January 2010 he invested in more at $3,000 a bottle. He says it's still a great investment because the 50-year average for fine wine appreciation is 15% per year. That means if that $3,000 bottle of Lafite is still drinking well in 30 years it could sell for $198,635.

It's a shockingly large sum, and other wine aficionados say it's not likely to cost that much. But consider this: those bottles Wigley bought in 1983 have appreciated at 18.6% annually. As he looks for the next 1982 Lafite, Wigley's rating system considers the quality, quantity and distribution of the wine. "A wine can be great but if no one's ever had it, it's not a good investment," he says.

He points to Kitchak Cellars' 2005 Adagio, it won the Double Gold Medal at the 2008 San Francisco International Wine Competition. But it was made in small quantities. So even though it's a great wine, Wigley would not call it a good investment because only a few people have tried it and it's hard to get. Still he says, "I'll pick up a few cases for the fund on the hope it gains value."

Washington State wines have grown in popularity by leaps and bounds over the past few years. A collection, WInes of Substance highlights both the affordability and versatility of Washington varietals. The brand is a joint venture between Waters Winery and Gramercy Cellars. The wines have bold labels that look like entries from the periodic table of elements and the website picks up on that theme, allowing the user to click on each varietal to learn more (not all of the varietals are stand-alone wines). Most of the wines sell for around $20 and many of the 2008 vintages are sold out.

Wine labels can say a lot about the wine inside, and they're certainly a great opportunity for artistic and creative expression, but Oggau Estate Wine has taken wine labeling to a whole new level. The Oggau Estate in Austria produces 9 varieties of wine, all of varying ages and characteristics, and what started as simply giving each wine a face, name, and 'personality' to help the drinker identify the wine inside (younger faces equals younger, lighter wine while older faces equal more aged varieties) eventually grew into something much more complex. The wines now not only have faces, names, and personalities, but also relationships and stories with each other as they've become a family of children, parents, and grandparents. The wines have grown popular in Austria for both their quality and for the novelty of being able to collect the entire 'family clan.'

What better way to indulge your love of great wine than by scheduling a vacation around it? At Grape Camp in Sonoma County you'll learn all about how wine is made through the hands on experience of picking grapes and blending your own wine, plus learning about wine, food, and cheese pairings during gourmet meals provided by master chefs. This year the camp runs from September 27 - 29 and costs $1750 per person per couple (or $1900 for a single) and includes two nights accommodations at the Vintners Inn plus all meals, tastings, and transportation.

Via Luxury Travel Advisor

The latest Nielsen numbers show that South African wine sales have outpaced French wine in the UK for the first time ever, due to South African wine sales growing 20% while French wine sales dropped by 12%. South Africa is now ranked fourth for selling wine in the UK market.

South Africa has been producing wine for centuries but only in the last 15-20 years have exports really begun to grow. This news shows that UK (and world?) shoppers have made a significant shift and no longer 'default' to European brands. Jo Mason, UK market manager, Wines of South Africa, was quoted as saying "This is a momentous occasion for the South African wine industry."

And a bad one for the French.

South Africa is clearly excited and looks for their wine to experience even more success as tourists flock to their country for the FIFA World Cup this year.

Some embarrassing wine news came out of France this past week when a French court found 12 French winemakers guilty of running a scam that involved intentionally mislabeling wine bottles being sold to the American market. In 2008 French investigators noticed that the volume of pinot noir coming out of a certain region of the country were much higher than expected, and after a yearlong investigation it came to light that the winemakers were cutting the pinot noir with less expensive merlot and shiraz.

The wine giant E&J Gallo, who bought the wine and sold it to consumers under the Red Bicyclette label, has said that they're "deeply disappointed" by the fraud and are no longer selling Red Bicyclette to their customers.

Attention wine connoiseurs and collectors, here's a truly fun and iconic bottle to add your collection: an 18L bottle of 2006 Chateau Cheval Blanc. Measuring 75cm tall and weighting in at 25 kg, it's huge when compared to a standard 750ml bottle and holds 144 glasses of wine. Not only is it 'phenomenally rare' to have such a large bottle of wine but also, apparently, it's rare for it to be a Bordeaux variety. For those interested it will be going up for auction as part of Sotheby's Finest and Rarest Wines and Vintage Port offerings this week and is expected to go for upwards of £3,600.

Via LuxuryLaunches

If you want to get a top flight enology education, UC Davis is no longer your only choice. Cornell University has had a grape-breeding program since the late 1800s but as Wine Spectator reports, Cornell didn't create a full undergraduate enology and viticulture curriculum until the last few years. Dr. Susan Henry, the dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences who joined the school in 2000, and her husband are interested in wine and shortly after her move to the school she met several of the area's winemakers. Dr. Henry saw that there was a chance to develop a program that dealt with cooler climate enology and viticulture and could work with the growing New York wine culture.

Cornell University has opened a teaching winery near the campus and there is also a seven-acre teaching vineyard on the eastern side of Cayuga Lake. Students can also opt for internships in the region. The four-year degree program offers a small group of undergraduates a complete wine education with Ivy League cachet.

For those interested in testing out what Cornell has to offer in a less permanent way the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions offers Cornell University Viticulture and Enology Experience (CUVEE), a program on the science of grape growing and wine making that will run July 19-23, 2010. The program will include College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Viticulture and Enology Program faculty members with winery owners, vineyard managers, grape growers, winemakers, and others. Students will study viticulture and the importance of microbiology in winemaking as well as hands-on practice working vines and making wine.

Philip Stein is well known for using naturally occurring frequencies to enhance luxury products and now the technology has been applied the art of drinking wine. It can be a pain to let a freshly opened bottle of wine have the time it needs to breath and reach its optimal flavors and aroma, but with one of Philip Stein's Wine Wands you won't have to wait more than 5 minutes. Encapsulated glass jewels replicate the natural frequencies of air and oxygen and speed up the aeration process. The wands are available in full or travel sizes and come in almost any color your heart desires. $325 - $525

Via JustLuxe

I love almost all Anya Hindmarch totes and this Wine Tote is no exception. Depicting three wine illustrations in simple white on brown, this wine tote isn't just about showing off your love of wine but also about actually toting it. The interior is divided into 6 segmented compartments so you can carry a half-dozen bottles at once without risking breakage (or just the annoying clinking and clanking). It has a reinforced bottom and handles, goldtone hardware, and a the little signature embroidered bow detail top and center. Great gift for an eco-friendly wine lover who can use it as a shopping bag. $190

Many of us visit vineyards and wineries as a way to escape. We take in the sweeping, lush scenery and enjoy the aromatic, literally intoxicating fruits of the winemakers' labors. Often, we wax poetic about how serene it would be to have a vineyard of our own, but few of us ever have the means or the drive to actually do so. On a snowy evening in Minnesota, we sat down with Patti and Tom Shadick (pictured), two Minneapolis residents who own their very own vineyard in Sonoma.

Before you scoff at the notion that a married couple in the icy north could possibly have any real involvement in California grape growing, consider who these two are: two wildly successful entrepreneurs whose magnificent backyard garden transformations have been featured in the pages of many magazines, including Renovation Style and the cover of Better Homes & Gardens.

As we sat at their handsome dining room table, Tom told the story of how his Elk River, Minnesota school superintendent used to feed the schoolchildren with vegetables from a local peet bog, which he was allowed to help farm. "That's what brought us to this," he said, referencing a history in several industries including importing Wusthof knives, "I love digging in the dirt."

With that, we dove into chatting with the growers about the pleasures and pains of owning a vineyard over 2,000 miles away. The Shadicks poured us a glass of Deux Amis, a Shadick Vineyard '06 Zinfandel, which has a charming eucalyptus nose. Eucalyptus trees from the next property hang over the Deux Amis area of the vineyard.

Luxist: So, how do you operate a vineyard all the way from here in Minneapolis?

Patti Shadick: We have a vineyard management company that operates it for us.

Tom Shadick: So, we have no employees, which is ... (thumbs up). John Clendenon and Kathy, natives of the area in their mid-fifties, they have 85 employees. They have expertise in every end of the business, they own all the equipment, they take care of all the farm labor problems, everything.

PS: We just have to write them a good sized check.

TS (laughing): Every month we get a bill, and we send them a check.

A few months ago New York's famed Time Warner Center opened a new culinary club, Circle of Taste, free to join.

COT has just announced its first ticketed event -- "The Best of Beef & The Beauty of Barolo" -- a dinner to be hosted within Porter House New York's wine cellar by Chef Michael Lomanaco (shown) and Master Sommelier Roger Dagorn. All the wines will be a selection of highly-sought-after and difficult-to-acquire Barolo wines produced in limited quantities.

Erpacrife Nebbiolo Metrodo Tradicionale

Bollito Misto
Tender poached filet mignon, cotechino sausage and salsa verde
La Querciola Barolo Donna Bianca 2004 'cru Costa di Rose'

Brasato al Barolo
Homemade Pappardelle Pasta, Braised Beef Short Ribs
Scarzello Barolo 2004 'cru Sarmassa'

Arrosto di Costata
Roasted Dry Aged Prime Rib of Beef
Cascina Ebreo, Torbido VDT 2001 'Novello di Monforte'

Dessert - Torta al cioccolato alle pere
Pears with mascarpone and chocolate
Ca'de' Mandorli, Brachetto d'Acqui 2008

Dinner begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $175 per person, and the multi-course tasting menu is all-inclusive. COT members may reserve two seats. Perhaps get an early start to the Valentine's Day weekend!

Thankfully just because a person wants to be green and support recycling doesn't mean they have to compromise on style and quality. This Italian Carafe and set of wine glasses is a great example of having the best of both worlds. Handmade of recycled glass in Portland, this set is processed in an electric furnace that's powered 100% by eco-friendly wind power. No two pieces are the same but they all have the beautiful foggy white color variations and charming, slightly misshapen organic appeal. Get the carafe alone for $174, or with a set of 4 glasses for $370.

The Bollicine del Mondo is an international wine contest organized by Italy's leading wine magazine Euposia. Held at the famous restaurant Antico Bottega del Vino in Verona, Italy the contest revealed a surprise winner in the sparkling wine category. The winner this year was Nyetimber's Classic Cuvée 2003 produced in Sussex. It is probably the very first time a British wine maker has held the honors of producing the best bubbly in the world.

The contest winner was chosen in a blind taste test by a panel of winemakers, oenologists, sommeliers and journalists and beat out such established makers such as Bollinger and Louis Roederer. There were 52 entries in the category and Nyetimber was the only producer to have two wines make it into the top 17. The Nyetimber 2001 Blanc de Blancs, which was also entered, came in 12th ahead of seven of the champagnes.

Certainly there has been a growing appreciation recently of sparkling wines that are made outside the Champagne region of France. In fact, many people never have been exposed to the lovely sparkling wines that come from other countries such as Prosecco from Italy and Cava from Spain. Not only are these wines often just as good as Champagne but their price tag is significantly lower. The sparkling wines from England are no exception and retail for around £25 to £30.

Another point of interest is that the grapes used in the winning wine are grown on vines in the south of England whose soil composition is very similar to that of the Champagne region. In fact Luxist reported in 2007 that French champagne maker Roederer was investigating buying land in the very area that the winning vineyard is located. Stuart and Sandy Moss who own the vineyard specifically chose the 120 acre estate for this reason and started cultivating the three classic champagne varieties Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.