I Love Frog's Leap (Yes, Even More)
Ah, Frog's Leap, how I adore thee. Sure, I've written about how much I liked this winery the first time I went there last year, but now I have even more reasons to gush like an idiot. For one, they don't charge for their tastings and tours, which I erroneously thought were $10 when I wrote about them last year. They make you attend one on a schedule and no, you can't have the tasting without the tour, but they do not charge. They also give you healthy pours and are willing to top you off at any point you might need it.
Our tour guide was a bit irreverent and we had to hear the founder's name a bit more than way too much, but she was fine and even borderlined on funny at points, but just borderlined. It was great to learn more about the winery, since I just thought they made great wines. As it turns out, they solar power the place, geo-thermally cool it (pipes 200 feet underground), organically (and damned near biodynamically) farm it, employ their "seasonal" workers full time with full benefits, as well as dry farm the grapes. For those unfamiliar, dry farming is using no irrigation. Most everyone in Napa does use irrigation which is part of the reason the wines are so idiotically high in alcohol because they are able to keep them on the vine longer. At Frog's Leap, they're forced to harvest when the grapes and weather say it's time, which means that they have a lot lower sugar and thus, less alcohol in the finished wine. Why would you want less alcohol you might ask? Simple, you get more flavor and just more betterness. Plus, you can enjoy a lot more delicious wine instead of just one glass of a Zinfandel that might be 19% these days from other wineries. I mean, when you think about it, that's nearly a 40 proof wine, which is kinda nasty. With Frog's Leap, you don't get that.
Naturally, the wines aren't super cheap. They're lower in price than a lot of other wineries in Napa that I think aren't nearly as good. They are also damnable because there is simply no way you are going to get out of Frog's Leap without buying something. Hell, even their Merlot is good. I am going to run with the assumption that this is why they don't charge for tastings.
27 08 2008 0 comments
Tags: california, napa, smell my cork, wine
Hey Napa Valley, Perhaps a Reality Check?
Napa Valley confounds me as to how it is able to change so radically from year to year. It's not so much that there are new things popping up, but more that the price of the place keeps going up at an alarming pace. My last visit there was a touch over a year ago. It seemed to be the case that wine tastings generally ran about $5 minimum and up to $12 maximum with some rare $25 tastings like at Rubicon. This latest visit over the weekend showed that tasting fees have just about doubled. Finding a $5 flight seems nearly impossible and attached to that is the fact that you don't even get to keep the glasses anymore, which wasn't something that drove me to taste at a winery, but at least it was something.
Don't get me wrong, but I do completely agree with having some kind of tasting fee. Back in the days when there were no tasting fees, it was nuts. People got thoroughly tossed and were pretty much just mooching wine up there. The fees keep this in check to some degree, but as we saw there still are accidents along the treacherous Highway 29. But it has to be said that at some point the tasting fees are just out of hand. For $15, you maybe get around 2 dl or a half glass of wine after finishing all the tastes; maybe. It's actually getting to be cheaper to go to a wine bar outside the area to try new wines, which doesn't make any sense when you're tasting at the source.
Time and again, I keep thinking that the wineries should band together to create a shuttle bus that picks people up at the Vallejo ferry terminal to a) cut down on road traffic b) cut down on drunk drivers and c) promote the valley more in an environmental manner. But, when I look at how much these guys rake in, like V. Sattui whose wine is crap and yet manages to sell 100,000+ cases just out of his winery, I understand why Napa doesn't take on a shuttle project. And this is what it really comes down to: greed. Of course, this is starting to bite back at the wineries.
Whereas San Francisco is flooded with tourists, all of the folks I asked up in Napa said that their receipts were down. All the Europeans coming to the City aren't making the rounds up to Napa. Perhaps it is time for that shuttle after all? But, a lot of the folks up there were hoping that locals would come back more because of high fuel costs, except that we aren't because to go and spend $10 on average to taste wines and then spend $35+ on a bottle of wine is not tenable. I know that this is going to be my only trip for the year.
While I don't know for certain, we might actually start to see some changes with how Napa does business. The wine market is flooded with tons of wines these days and good wines too, like those from Spain. There are tons of other options in this area including Sonoma Valley, Alexander Valley, and Paso Robles. The latter of these has some of the best priced California wines I've had in some time. Who knows though, as Napa Valley has massive brand recognition and folks bound to amble up and back to there for some time to come, unless gas continues to be more properly priced.
26 08 2008 2 comments
Tags: california, napa, smell my cork, tourism, wine
Maybe a Day Stay in Sopron. Maybe More. Maybe Wine?
As far as small, enjoyable towns go, Sopron (pronounced Show-prone) has to be one of the more enjoyable places I've visited in quite some time. Having just come from Brno, the immediate reaction would be to compare it to that town, but that would be a misnomer as Sopron is quite different. In size, it's a town of about 70,000, which makes it closer to other cities I've visited like Varaždin than a place like Brno.
It's history dates back to Roman times (and I mean, what in the southern half of Europe doesn't seem to date back to Roman times, huh?) and it was in about the 12th century where the town became more important when they built the Fire Tower that stands at the top of the old town. In 1921, they earned their status as the "most loyal Hungarian town" when, as they were technically part of Austria, in a referendum, 65% of the residents voted to be with Hungary. We knew that before we went there and already liked them for this fact.
The history and nationality issues show in the town. It's a lovely old town that is easily walked in a day or so if one is to meander the scattered bits of the old wall as well as go to the top of the fire tower, which give a great and revealingly solitary view of the town. As for interaction with the residents, if you don't speak Hungarian or German, things get a bit dicey. On more than one occasion when we asked if someone spoke English, they would say what they had just said in German, again, but in a much slower German that to some degree actually worked to get the point across.
Once done with the old town, we discovered that there are a few more nooks and crannies to the town as well. When you go up above the "top" of the old town there is a neighborhood with curious houses, wandering streets, and an church. If you're lucky like we were, you'll see a flock of Japanese tourists there with you, photographing like mad. All in all, various parts of the town reminded me a great deal of the hills about Sarajevo although "hills" are an exaggeration since the landscape is mild and rolling.
The landscape of the area is quite good for one big thing though, which is wine growing. That would be the main reason I'd recommend for anyone to stay longer than a day. There does happen to be a good wine bar at the top of the old town where you can sample just about everything that the region has to offer. But of course, the best thing to do is to see the wineries themselves and if one is a red wine lover, one is in luck as that's about all they grow in these region. They can't really grow whites due to the Tokaji region in the east domination that market. We managed to pop in a visit to Pfneiszl who are a couple of sisters from a winemaking family that are doing some great things with 27 hectares (67 acres in metric-so-scary-land) of vineyards their family got back from Hungary after de-collectivization. This I'll write about more on Blue Danube where I do most wine writings these days.
So to sum up: Sopron good, guidebooks don't sell it enough, not a lot of tourists, good food, good wine, quiet, and good train connections to Vienna and Budapest. If you're in the area, check it out. Just bring your German language with you.
06 07 2008 0 comments
Tags: hungary, smell my cork, sopron, the europe, wine
Be a Wine Bar and only a Wine Bar
I'm heading to Europe tomorrow and it's a funny thing over there in that there are no wine bars. There are cafes that serve wine and beer and whatever else. The concept of just a wine bar is quite unnecessary. You just drink wine when you're out or you drink beer. No need to be all uppity about it.
San Francisco could learn something from this as the concept of the wine bar is simply out of control. I mean, I love 'em; these wine bars. I love wine and I love having the ability to go out and have good wine at a bar instead of having to pay $8 for a glass of wine from a $4 Trader Joe's bottle like how it used to be five years ago. But, people seem to have gotten addicted to a good thing and have made it the new, "it" venue. So naturally along with this comes perversion of the original intent.
We have now seen an overabundant use of the word, "and" so that some place that is actually something else can get in on the wine bar vibe by being something like, "Restaurant and Wine Bar" or "Wine Bar and Massage Parlor", the former example being just the least bit more common. And while this would be fine if there was a wine bar component to these places, it's just shoddy marketing glitz that might lure in a sucker or two. To illustrate my point, here are a few examples of "Wine Bars" as listed on Yelp:
Amelie - Yes, it's a wine bar, but it's a pretty rotten scene. Just a lot of striped shirts crowding the joint at any given moment.
William Cross Wine Merchants & Wine Bar - A good example of the overused 'and'. This is a wine store and not a wine bar.
The Hidden Vine - Pure wine bar. It's changed owners in the last couple of months, so we'll see how things go.
Yield Wine Bar - Another pure wine bar. The staff are quite helpful and the selection is okay, but the hard floors make it pretty noisy and it's really, really far away in the Dogpatch.
Hotel Biron - Another example of only a wine bar. It's a decent place, but as it gets crowded, any sense of intimacy goes away and the crowd gets pretty tough to deal with.
Swirl on Castro - Another one of the wine stores trying to pose as a wine bar. yeah, there's a "bar" in the back, but you aren't going to sit around and sip here. Plus it closes at 9. What bar closes at 9?
Cafe Meuse - Nearly a wine bar and nearly not. It's straddling a tough line that they should walk one way or the other on and be just be a wine bar or just be a small restaurant.
Nua Restaurant & Wine Bar - The guys who run it are cool and they have a very good wine list, but really, they are purely a restaurant. Sitting around drinking wine in there feels like you've forgotten to order your main course.
Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant - There will be people sitting around sipping wine sometimes, but this is really a store.
Bacchus Wine Bar - Super cool, but super small. If you're one of the lucky 12 people at the bar that it seems the place can hold at any one time, then count yourself lucky. Definitely a pure wine bar.
The Alembic - I have no idea how this Haight bar is in the list of wine bars. It's just a bar bar that has some additional wine. If you want to go this route, then I'd recommend Rye on Geary which has a decent wine selection surprising.
Eos Restaurant & Wine Bar - Ha ha, nice try. Just a restaurant.
Dell'Uva - Hmm, I guess it's something of a wine bar, but it's like a sport wine bar. I hate to say it, but it's probably more of a wine bar than Nua across the street, but I'd choose Nua any day.
1550 Hyde Cafe & Wine Bar - Again, just a restaurant.
Bar Tartine - Wha? You gotta be kidding me. Restaurant.
Cav Wine Bar and Kitchen - A wine bar that steps deeply in to be a scene place that is more restaurant. Still, they have a very interesting wine list.
Bacar Restaurant & Wine Salon - Restaurant and a big one at that.
Nectar Wine Lounge - Definitely a wine bar and pretty descent despite being in the Marina.
District - Yeah, it's a massive wine bar, but no where anyone I know would want to go. Just a meat market that serves wine.
Cafe Royale - I happen to quite like Royale, but it is leaning much more towards being just a local joint than wine bar, but I agree the case could be made for calling it a wine bar, especially if they punch up their wine selection a great deal.
London Wine Bar - An old school spot that is definitely a wine bar, but not one that's high on my list as their wine selection isn't tremendously amazing.
Annie's Bistro - This is a restaurant and this classification is so ridiculous, there must be some mistake here.
So, that's a shot list and while you may or may not agree with my opinion, you can see that the wine bar phenomenon is pretty widespread across San Francisco. In one day, I am going to look forward to having a 1€ glass of wine in Madrid and any number of cute bars and cafes.
13 04 2008 0 comments
Tags: san francisco, scene, smell my cork, wine
Salvaging a Lazy Sunday with the Marina
Waking up at 11 in the morning is rarely good. While it doesn't always infer that you've done ill will to your body or wallet the night before, it kind of stunts the day to some degree. It's not fair to the day of course, but the highly underrated hobby of sleep is given a chance to catch up with life.
Such was the case yesterday. It was a pathetic, slow, mumbling start to the day. It was further lumbered down by a jaunt to the gym for some brief de-fatting. Then, after realizing that I'd done little more than write two emails the whole day, I remembered that I was going to an art opening at 5 in the ever-so-blonde Marina. These sort of things bring out the 80 year old man in me. I always like to have something to show at the end of any day. Even if it's going to the cafe on the corner to chat with friends for a couple of hours, it's still more than grousing around in my slippers and having, "Took a shower after lunch at 4PM. Feel clean for dinner now." be my main action item of the day.
So, without feeling much momentum, #1 Fan and I took a walk up to the Marina. It ended up being quite a nice day out, as many of my fellow San Franciscans had discovered.
It's weird when you start to drift in to the Marina Ghetto. Everybody does indeed get a lot more white and blonde (whether fake or real, but mostly the former) and I start seeing less hoodies, ironic t-shirts, and hip facial hair and more clothes that look like they're from the Gap or Tommy Hilfiger, although I wouldn't know as I don't shop there. I was unhappy.
Being in this super fantastic mood, we slipped in to Nectar. This was interesting and surprising. First off, the lack of baseball caps and conversations starting along the lines of, "Ah man, that's awesome. Donkey punch. Cool!" or "Omigod. Omigod. Oh! My! God! Donkey punch?" were not to be found, at least while we were there. The wine bar was plush and kick back. The seats were welcoming to asses that had walked two miles to get there. Much appreciated.
Oh, I should mention that we were there for a show by Hilary Williams. She's a hip local artist specializing in prints and paintings whose work we've gotten to like a great deal to the point where we even commissioned her to make a print for us. Her show is going on there for awhile yet and is a great splash of her recent works. If you happen to be in the Marina for some reason (um, maybe to shop at uh...? I don't know) swing by and enjoy it.
Naturally after downing far too much good wine, we were hurting for sustenance. Pulling ourselves together, we stepped out, ready to hike around and find somewhere to eat, only to go right next door to Nectar for, Bistro Aix. Not expecting much, we were incredibly surprised to find good food at good prices with good service. We weren't frowned upon at all, like can happen at so many restaurants because the host gives you attitude due to their thinking they are someone important standing behind the podium and walking people to a table. But no, Aix is a tasty place. I'm sure it can get loud as the bar crowd moves in there, but while we were there, it was a great mix.
Obviously, this gleaming moment of Marina bliss starting to tarnish a little as the night got later and more people showed up playing in to all the stereotypes of the area that one could imagine. Thankfully we were walking out of there before too many polo shirts were buying too many princesses too many drinks to get them to stop talking and move in the direction of a bed. While the mating of the BMWed crowd can be amusing, we were quite happy to be back at home having made something of our day (beyond the 4PM shower) and then returning to our little neighborhood clinging on to the edge of Nob Hill.
16 03 2008 0 comments
Tags: san francisco, smell my cork
Wine is as Precious as Metals
Obviously, wine can cost a fortune, but usually is doesn't have to. After all, a great many of us know Two Buck Chuck and find it can be tolerable at times (usually after you've had a $20 bottle to start). I find that there is a great deal of satisfaction in finding a $5 that's really good though. Of course, it can be equally satisfying to drink the $100 a bottle level of wine and just enjoy it like I did the one and only time I had a bottle of Rubicon from Rubicon Winery.
I do have a bit issue in drinking expensive wine because while it tastes great and is incredibly enjoyable at the time you drink it, there is always the cost hangover from it, which is why we currently have a bottle of sweet wine sitting the fridge, waiting for the right moment to drink. I might add that this is a 200ml bottle (about 1/4 of a normal bottle) of wine. I love sweet wine, having gained a real appreciation for it in Spain last year and this is a bottle from my cousin's neighbor at Vehovar, which is a great little winery in Slovenia. So why does it sit around? Cost and the fact we simply can't replace it once it's gone, that's why.
Okay, so this bottle is 40 Euros for 200ml.
That makes it 200 Euros for 1 liter.
There is $1.51 to 1 Euro at the moment, so that makes it $302 a liter.
There are 33.8 ounces to the liter, so this is $8.93 per ounce.
This is a bit less than half the cost of silver per ounce, which, if this wine were a metal would make it a precious metal in my book. So, while it's nowhere as expensive as gold per ounce, you can see my hesitation in drinking it as it will be the most expensive wine I've ever had once I do drink it.
While this gives me pause and I've already tasted the wine before, at some point soon the plunge will just be taken to down it because it was after all a gift and I'm just starting to be a bit Dutch at this point in not drinking it yet.
28 02 2008 0 comments
Tags: smell my cork, the europe, wine
My Top 5 Croatian Whites for 2007
Fresh on the tail of my Top 5 Croatian Reds, I thought it would be timely to mention my favorite whites for the year. While solidly a red drinker, I was shown the glory of being that is the white wine in the Mediterranean, where even the Chardonnay tastes good (no idea what they do to crap it up in California). These may not be whites for white lovers, but at the very least, they're damned fine wines:
5. Pošip Čara - Marko Polo
Pošip is the primary grape of Korčula and for a reason. They do it very well there. Even though this is from a large producer, it's still a very tasty and mild white that can be enjoyed anytime despite the cheesy name.
4. Demian - Malvazija
In the south of Istria, they make mighty fine wines, despite the shafting they get from the establishment. This is a solid example of the whites made here.
3. Kozlović - Malvazija
Way up in the north of Istria, they're making whites like this that are crisp, sweet, delicious and perfect. This is one that you can get in the US and worth every penny it may cost.
2. Zigante - Vero
An Istrian maker who have this barrique version of the standard Malvazija that is a perfectly balanced wine.
1. Bibich - Lučica
Heaven in a bottle and from an area that isn't known so much for its whites like Istria. It's a blend of several whites in the area including one called Debit. The newest vintage that's just been bottled is flat out incredible and as far as I've heard, already sold out!
31 08 2007 0 comments
Tags: croatia, my top 5, smell my cork, the europe, wine
My Top 5 Croatian Reds for 2007
There's been a lot of wine drinking in Croatia this year for me and after two months, sampling the entire coastal productions, I have a really good idea of what I like and what I don't like. The title of this post really gives away the meaning, so I just wanted to share with all the rest of you my favorite reds coming out of Croatia this year:
5. Kiriđija - Dingač
An older fellow on Pejlešac, he makes a very good and deep Plavac Mali grown in the Dingač region of that peninsula.
4. Demian - Barrique
The only Istrian member to the group because while I haven't tried every wine from Istria, this is a mighty fine vintage of Terran.
3. Bibich - Mantra
A finely crafted wine. The newest vintage blows away all previous editions.
2. Baković - Plavac Murvica
A real surprise, since I tasted the wine so long after meeting the maker. I call it the 'perfect plavac'.
1 (tied). Zlatan Plenković - Zlatan Plavac Grand Cru
I don't know what wine could knock this out the number one spot and I suspect it will be there for some time to come. It's a beautiful Plavac Mali that is barrel-aged to be one of the tastiest wines in the country. Try and find it if it doesn't sell out before you can.
1 (tied). Svirče - Ivan Dolac Eko
Brilliant, just like the Grand Cru and it makes sense, seeing as how they're maybe 15 kilometers from each other on the same island. This wine has all the sophistication of the Grand Cru, but in different ways that let it be just as tasty a Plavac Mali, while being its own wine.
30 08 2007 0 comments
Tags: croatia, my top 5, smell my cork, the europe, wine
The Movia Wine Bar in Ljubljana, Slovenia
I had something of a fond past with the Movia Wine Bar. It was a welcome little glass (or two) of wine on a rainy night in 2006. It was a wine maker that I thought well of and enjoyed the wines of. This has all come crashing down in sad ways upon my latest visit to the wine bar.
Maybe I had my expectations too high, but it really was the same place. The interior was exactly as I remember and there was even the same guy serving wine. It just seems that this spot must be something of a trophy piece for Aleš Kristančič and company. Something that they run at a loss just to keep the Movia name out there. Because, I can't see how having six people in there on a Friday night can keep them in business. Yes, that's all that there were, just six of us. Ah yes and one very snooty, rude, abrupt, arrogant guy running the place.
It was this guy that really started to ruin the place for me. Upon walking in, he wanted to choose our wine for us. He said, "Just tell me what you like" instead of telling us what some of the overblown names for the blends meant in terms of the wine varietals in them. He seemed like he couldn't be bothered to actually serve us. He spent any moment where he wasn't pouring in the back room of the place and when pried about details on the wines, the answers were dismissive single words. I didn't understand his problem, but it seemed we were to get the brunt of his angst.
Then there were the wines. I don't know what's happened to Movia, but the wines I had this year seriously dropped in any depth over what I had last year. They're to the point of flavorless. Those who get paid much more than I to write about wine would probably say that I'm missing the subtleties to which I say no, you're imagining those. I think what I'm drinking is the fact that Movia is more afraid of not having a vintage for a year and will harvest the grapes too early to make sure that there is a harvest as opposed to waiting until the optimum time for harvest in order to ensure that there is enough sun on the vines. Either that, or he is showing some form of insecurity in the wines because he is running out of gimmicks. No, I don't want to go from reds to whites in a flight just because it's different. I don't care if my champagne is opened under water because... I don't know why. And lastly, I don't care if the wine is aged for five years before selling because that is the minimum it can be aged before being released. If the damned thing is ready for bottling in three months, bottle it! Wine isn't about gimmicks, it's about tasting good. Leave the gimmicks for beer makers in the US.
But, above and beyond all this, there was the annoyance at the wine bar of being overcharged 25% on our bill and then getting hassled by the guy at the bar. He claimed that we were reading an old menu, a menu he had given us. This isn't our problem, it's his and making us feel like we're the offenders is outrageous. I can see why friends in Ljubljana don't go there. That was my last time as well and I recommend it to be avoided by anyone else who likes wine. There is another bar further down Stari Trg that seems to be lacking the pretension that I'll definitely need to try the next time I'm in Ljubljana. Or, if anyone else goes there, let me know how it.
24 08 2007 0 comments
Tags: ljubljana, slovenia, smell my cork, the europe, wine
Međimurje is Super Kickback
Never under any circumstances should Međimurje in the far north of Croatia be confused with Međugorje in the far south of Bosnia Herzegovina. One is religious tourist hell, the other is a refuge from all the business of modern life going the wrong direction. Naturally, it's Međimurje that I find to be bliss.
It's an area of Croatia that is the same landscape as that of Slovenia to the west. It sits in a nice little wedge right at the borders of Hungary and Slovenia and for some reason, there is always something cool about border area people. The borders they currently enjoy were never really all that static until the 20th century, so they are people that are from previous generations of those who really learned how to go with the flow and be okay with whomever's flag was flying on whatever day.
Then there is the land. There are these lumping, rolling hills that are impeccable and perfect with their long farms running along them in varying rows. There is no trash on the road, dead cars on the lawn, or unkempt areas. The people take care of this land and because there have been very few immigrations to the area, these are the same people that have been doing it for centuries. Each till in the earth has probably been done a thousand times before.
Lastly, there is naturally, the wine. While they next to no reds in the area, they do make quite good whites. There is in fact the Horvat-Hudin winery up there. The grandfather of the family had no sons, thus the gradual name change. My relation to this people goes back at least seven or eight generations and is difficult to find because of that, but we visited them when we were there and they are lovely people.
Admittedly, there is little to do in the Međimurje, which is why I like it so much. It's a great place to unplug, unwind, and just relax. This and some local hot springs are the reason that a good number of spas have started opening up there as well. So, it will be interesting to so how the area progresses over the next few years. Given that Croatia seems hellbent on only putting tourism money in to the coast; I think it will stay quite relaxed for some time to come.
07 08 2007 0 comments
Tags: croatia, medimurje, smell my cork, the europe, wine
