Monday Wine Headlines: Great sushi tasting and homemade blends, Foodandwineblog to go digital, Great Grapes in Annapolis this coming weekend.

Sunday July 20, 2008 - Sushi and Wine Tasting: Yesterday’s sushi and wine tasting was more of a sushi and wine “filling.” Our group of 9 overtook a portion of Yamato Sushi in Timonium (review coming soon) for 3 hours of drinking, eating and story telling. We begin as a quiet group, with edamame, seaweed salad and a bottle of Sparkling wine from the Loire. We finished as a more vocal crowd, having devoured platters of raw fish, 9 bottles of wine from the Loire Valley (some very good wines), including a few homemade blends at the end of the night (which were surprisingly good) - pics can be found here. If you missed out on this month’s tasting, no worries, I’m already planning August. Look for something the week of August 18-25, involving grilled steaks and maybe, just maybe at our house again!

HD Camcorder Has Arrived!: Filming has begun for a new feature on this website to include wine tastings, food and wine pairings, restaurant reviews, winemaker and chef interviews, and more. Guest stars will include many familiar faces, winemakers, and more. Stay tuned over the next few weeks for the first release (once I figure out how to get my computer to recognize the camera!).

Great Grapes in Annapolis: As “Shar” pointed out in our forums, this coming weekend is the “Great Grapes” festival in Annapolis, MD. Hundreds of amazing wines will be poured over the two day event and many local and national winemakers and distributors will be on hand. For more information see the Great Grapes website.

RedWineBuzz wine Survey: To help out a good friend in the wine industry, please check out and complete this survey.

Monday, 7/14/08: Chefs and Wine Recap, Wines for Bastille Day, A few spots left for this weeks tasting!

Baltimore Chef and Wine Experience a Success: The 2008 Baltimore Chef and Wine Experience has come and passed. Dozens of food, wine and other related exhibits were on display for eating, tasting, reading and learning. Both national and local celebrities and chefs were on hand, as well as a couple Master Sommeliers, all sharing their recipes and experiences with those in attendance. The packed event was highlighted by talks given by television star and food writer and critic Ted Allen (my new close friend, see above!). I had a chance to meet Ted during the “VIP” tasting (which was crowded!)- a very down-to-earth, nice guy who definitely loves good food and wine. More on this event in the next few days while I recover my notes (from a husky mishap!) and put the pictures and film together.

What are you drinking this Bastille Day? French toast for breakfast with a French Roast coffee. French fries for lunch. Ladies walking around with French twists in there hair…what’s going on here? Ah! Today is Fête Nationale (”National Celebration”), the day on which the French celebrate the storming of the Bastille which took place on July 14, 1789. I hear it has something to do with the French independence or revolution or something. Whatever it is, it’s a great reason to open a French wine! So join me tonight in drinking a nice Bordeaux as we salute the republic of France!

A few spots left for this Sunday’s Wine Club Tasting- Sushi and Wine! So what are you waiting for? Go here to RSVP!

Brief News: Monday July 7, 2008: Greg’s Pig Roast with TJ’s beer, Brunello allowed into the US, Baltimore events!

Our resident beer guy roasts a pig and makes Thomas Jefferson’s beer: This past Friday, July 4th, Greg B spent half of his day cleaning, dressing, salting, garlicking and roasting a pig. His “Jefferson Beer”, having spent months in the making, was ready for consumption and was a great pairing with the salty pork. What Greg didn’t mention in his great recap is that he and I tried roasted pig brain for the first time. Lucky for us, there were over 200 bottles of his various homemade beers on hand to wash it down! Don’t foget to keep an eye on “Greg’s Corner” to follow his journey through beer and wine making, whole-animal roasting, and internet blogging!

Brunello gets it’s groove back: After months of controversy surrounding Brunello di Montalcino (more here), Decanter.com reports that Italian Authorites have “guaranteed” that all Brunello being exported to the US meets the standards set by Italian wine law and Brunello di Montalcino DOCG regulations. Though 2002/03 weren’t good vintages in Montalcino, this is good news for Brunello lovers as it’s nearing time for the highly praised 2004’s to go on pre-sale!

Things of note in Baltimore this week (find out more on Localwineevents.com):

Jul 07, 2008 (Mon) - Jul 10, 2008 (Thu)Aperitivo Hour and $10 Pasta at Sotto Sopra

Jul 07, 2008 (Mon)Monday Nights 1/2 off bottled wines at Sotto Sorpa Restaurant

Jul 07, 2008 (Mon)Monday is Neighborhood Night at AIDA Bistro: All Pastas Specially Priced

Jul 08, 2008 (Tue)Dinner with Daniela - 4 Course Italian Home Cooked Dinner

Jul 13, 2008 (Sunday): Baltimore Chefs and Wine Experience: A must if you are available on Sunday!

Tuesday Food and Wine Headlines: No more tomatoes at McDonald’s, New Maryland vineyard, Another Italian wine grape being investigated.

A Mc-BLT has just become a Mc-BL. McDonald’s announced that due to concerns over the possibility of salmonella contamination on its fresh produce, it will no longer include freshed sliced tomatoes on it’s sandwiches. Others, such as Giant Eagle supermarkets in Pittsburgh or many Winn-Dixie Stores will also be pulling potentially tainted tomatoes from the shelves. Grape tomatoes will continue to be used in McDonald’s salads but many people will be missing out on what was perhaps the only healthy aspect to the sandwiches of McDonald’s: lycopene-rich tomato slices. Just another reason to avoid fast food!  (Photo from Bruce Marlin TM through WIkipediaCommons).

Maryland’s newest and largest vineyard. The Baltimore sun reported that a new Maryland vineyard and winery is nearing completion in the Appalachian foothills of Western Maryland. Richard Siebert and his Knob Hall Winery will become the largest vineyard in Maryland, totaling some 60 acres when it’s all planted in early 2009. Located on 175 acres of his family farm, Knob Hall will hope to put out 30,000 gallons of high quality juice with the help of winemaker John Levenberg. While I have yet to find any Maryland wine all that inspiring, some of the wines of Maryland’s 24 vineyards are good to pretty good. Hopefully as local interest in wines goes up and winemaking technology continues to improve, so will the wines of our great state.

Not so noble after all? In the wake of allegations that some Brunello di Montalcino producers have been using other grape varietals than the Sangiovese clone known as Brunello in their prized wines another wine scandal has surfaced. Decanter.com is reporting that Italian wine authorities are now investigating the possibility that some producers of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano are also guilty. Currently only two producers are being investigated, according to the article. While these wines are made from Sangiovese, as well as other local grapes, the wine in question may have used grapes from other wine regions in Italy making these wines possible frauds.

Tuesday Wine Headlines: Illinoisans ship wine, Hong Kong auction brings in serious dough, Beckam buys wife Napa winery,

Special Interests Overpower The People: Illinoisans Lose the Right to Buy Wine Online: It’s all over the internet and newspapers: Special interest groups in Illinois, through $6,300,000.00 in donations to politicians, have overturned the states policies on shipping wines from both wineries and out of state retailers. In a move that cripples the right to a free market, residents will no longer be able to find rare wines or good deals thanks to a lobby of greedy wholesalers and distributors. Further, there will be a limit imposed on how much wine one individual can receive from any out-of-state winery. What happened to the part of the constitution that says “States may not enact laws that burden out-of-state producers or shippers simply to give a competitive advantage to in-state businesses.” I guess this doesn’t apply to situations in which flip-flopping politicians will cater to whoever has the biggest checkbook. There is a reason Chicago is called the “windy city” and it has little to do with the weather. Read more

Fire in Santa Cruz, Parker likes inexpensive wine, wholesalers triumph over the people in Illinois

Fire in The Santa Cruz Mountains
Fellow blogger and Wine Spectator Forumite Dave Tong is reporting updates on a fire that has broken out in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Dave reports “Most recent reports are that 2,000 acres are affected and the fire is out of control. The area is dotted with homes; many people have been evacuated. As far as I can see the nearest winery is Windy Oaks, a couple of miles to the south east.” For updates, check out his blog.
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May 16th, 2008 - Robert Mondavi Day

Today the wine world lost one of it’s most loved and influential members. Robert Mondavi died at the age of 94 in his Napa Valley home. Mondavi launched his own wine label at the age of 52 back in 1966. He aimed to produce high quality wines at a time when the US was just beginning to open up to the idea of fine wine. Into his late eighties and even early nineties, Mondavi spent his days traveling the world promoting American wines. Further, in more recent years, Mondavi was well known for his philanthropy and contributions to American wine education.

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The passing of a legand: At age 94 Robert Mondavi has died

Today the American wine industry has lost one of the one of it’s grandfathers, pioneers, and good friends as Robert Mondavi died this morning at 3:00 AM PST. Perhaps the most influential man in American wine history, Robert Mondavi was well known around the world for producing some of the best wines in the United States over the last 50 years. He was regarded as “a visionary winemaker and brilliant marketer” by Wine Spectator’s James Laube. Laube went on to note that “[Mondavi was] Outspoken, energetic and charismatic.” For more reading on Mondavi’s life, see the Wikipedia Entry, or if you have a subscription, read the outstanding piece by James Laube in the Wine Spectator.

Funeral services are currently being arranged.

More on the Brunello saga…

For the past two months some producers of Brunello di Montalcino, one of the premier wines in the world, have been investigated for blending their Brunello (100% Sangiovese-based wines) with Cabernet and Merlot. Amidst these allegations, the United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has stepped in to ensure that the wines that reach our dinner tables are the real thing. Decanter Magazine is reporting that imports of Brunello into the United States may be delayed beginning June 9, 2008.

From Decanter: “Francesco Marone Cinzano, president of the trade body, the Brunello Consorzio, said… ‘Starting on 9 June, the US will block all Brunello imports unless the wine is accompanied by laboratory analysis proving that the wine is pure Sangiovese.”

I understand regulations on producers to ensure that Brunello is in fact 100% Sangiovese, but is this level of control necessary? Is it really feasible to ask this of all 200 or so producers that export wines to the US? What do you think: has it gone too far, or is this an important step in preserving the tradition and integrity of one of the worlds most amazing wines?

Image: Taken in Montalcino of an Enoteca on one of the main roads into town.

Flavored Malt Beverages ARE NOT BEER! Score one for the good guys.

You may remember my reporting on the “Definition of Beer” bill that I sat in on last month in the Maryland State Senate. This topic deals with the classification of “Flavored Malt Beverages” as “Beer” versus “Spirits” or other classifications. This has implications on tax law as well as who is allowed to sell these “Alcopops” (as they are also referred to.

I, as well as state attorney general Gansler, am totally against this change in the classification of FMB’s to “beer” (again read the previous post). Unfortunately, our representatives voted in favor of the wholesalers/distributors to classify these “alcopops” as “beer” (take a look at tax records to see how much money lobbyists contributed to our representatives campaigns in the last few years…it’s sickening).

But, wait, good news!: The Baltimore Sun (and our friends at Vinotrip) reported that on Wednesday, Governor Martin O’Malley came through, delaying the signing of the bill as he considers the repercussions of such legislation. Now might be a good time to contact your local legislature or send a letter to the Governor to let him know that we citizens of Maryland won’t stand for FMB’s being classified as beer.

More Maryland Liquor Law: Define “BEER!”

Advertisement: Beer For A Year Purchase beer mixes for a year and receive seasonal shipments (4 times a year) of your favorite beer mixes & Booster.

While waiting for the hearing on SB-616, Kim and I sat in on the hearings of other bills on the docket. These ranged from SB-675 which sought to outline voting districts in Carroll county to SB837 which proposed to allow for wine sales at a new retail complex in Prince George’s County. These bills weren’t very exciting, but one other bill was actually quite interesting and I think exemplifies the difficulty of licensing and lawmaking when it comes to alcoholic beverages. (Image from wikipedia)

At face value, Senate Bill 745 seems quite straightforward. Senator Colburn proposed the bill to acknowledge that by definition, Flavored Malt Beverages (FMBs) such as Jack Daniels coolers should be classified as “beer” for wholesale licensing and retail distribution purposes. Seems easy enough, right? Beer and FMBs have similar alcohol content, are sold together on store shelves, and both are carbonated, light alcoholic beverages. In the present system, FMB’s are defined as “distilled spirits” yet taxed at the rate of beer which is $0.09 per gallon. In contrast, “distilled spirits” are taxed at $1.50 per gallon. Why FMB’s aren’t currently taxed at the rate of spirits (which they are defined as) is beyond me. Regardless, this new bill would protect FMB’s by saying they are “beer” and maintain their tax rate (and licensing) at the current “beer” level.
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SB-616: Maryland Direct Shippers Bill - Update from Annapolis: No resolution today!

If you ever thought about spending 6 hours in a senate hearing without eating anything before hand, let me tell you…DON’T! Kim and I just sat through what was actually an interesting afternoon before the Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee. We heard about some interesting bills before the senate, including a “definition of beer” bill that I’ll review at some other time. For now, we’re sitting at a wine bar on Main St. in downtown Annapolis, enjoying a glass of wine, waiting for food, and eavesdropping on a few of the opponents arguments of the bill sitting two tables over!

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Today’s News: Amazon.com to sell wine (oh boy), Maryland senate meets tomorrow on wine shipping bill

Amazon.Com steps into the wine market

Internet retail mogul Amazon.com has recently announced that they will enter the online wine sales market. Their partner-in-crime and newest affiliate is the online wine retailer Wine.Com. Yes, the same Wine.Com that performed its own sting operation last year by ordering wine from competitors websites and having it shipped to states where the action was illegal (read about it here). So maybe it’s not a new partner in crime as if it were crime, Wine.Com would turn themselves in!

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Maryland Wine Shipping Bill - UPDATE!

A good source (user John Fones) posting on the Mark Squires Bulletin Board was able to attend the hearing yesterday and posted an update here: Maryland Considers…
Summary of his findings:

•  The hearing was a draw.
•  Proponents for the bill had a better arguement, but poorly executed.
• Opponents presented a weaker argument, but well executed.
• The Comptroller of Maryland is for the bill.

All that is left to do is be patient and wait for the vote…it still doesn’t look great, but perhaps a few committee members will change their mind.

Happy President’s Day - Now let us Marylander’s order wine online!

In just a few hours the House Economic Matters Committee will meet to discuss the fate of HB1260 (better known to us Maryland wine consumers as the bill that will make buying wine online legal) If accepted into law, the bill will benefit  Maryland wineries by allowing easier export of wines to other states, while benefiting consumers by giving them the freedom to purchase wine online from out of state retailers and wineries. If you missed my previous posts on the subject and want to learn more, check out these links:

• http://foodandwineblog.com/?p=304
• http://foodandwineblog.com/?p=320

Look for an update on today’s meeting to be posted here as soon as I hear anything.

MD Wine Shipping Bill

It looks like a hearing will be held on February 18, 2008 at 1:00 PM to discuss the MD Wine Bill. If the bill (read the bill here) is passed into law, we Marylanders will be allowed to order wine online and have it shipped to our homes. This would be great for those of us that can’t find wines we want on the shelves of our local wine shops, or for those wines that are available by mailing lists only.

The deadline less than a week away means we have little time to write our congressmen and congresswomen showing our support for the bill. As pointed out by “Irwin” on the Wine Spectator forums, you can write a letter using the following:

From the WS Forums:
If you are motivated to write a letter in support of the Md. wine bill, which is either HB-1260, or SB 616, you could write to:
Del. Tom Hucker
House of Delegates
Suite 220
6 Bladen Blvd
Annapolis, MD 21401
ATTN: Maria Topper
tom.hucker@house.state.md.us
If you email an attachment in “Word”, it will be sent to the Senate committee.
The House committee is “Economic Matters” and has scheduled a hearing on 2/18 at 1PM. Letters should be received by them prior to that.

Also, as Irwin points out: “It costs nothing to express your opinion”

Finally: Thanks to Chris from the forums for this information:

Here is the link to the senate version:
http://mlis.state.md.us/2008RS/billfile/sb0616.htm

Here is the link to the house version:
http://mlis.state.md.us/2008RS/billfile/hb1260.htm

Here is a link to contact your local legislators:
http://mdelect.net/electedofficials/

Another great link provided by Tom Wark, of the SWRA:

http://capwiz.com/freegrapes/issues/alert/?alertid=10980121

Wine Direct Shipping Bill Introduced This Week in Maryland

As you Marylanders know, it’s difficult to buy wine online in this state. Those of us who are lucky enough to have friends in D.C. can at least have it shipped to their addresses (thanks Francis), but many people do not have that luxury. Therefore many people miss out on great deals online, as well the opportunity to try wines from small producers all across the United States.

With the passing of a new bill that is going to be announced this week, known as the Raskin/Hucker Bill, Marylanders would be permitted to have wine shipped direclty to their residence. This bill is long overdue and I urge everyone to contact their local congressmen and congresswomen to make sure they are aware of how importnat this bill to their constituents. With a strong grassroots effort, led by betterbeerandwinelaws.org, we can make a difference and get this bill through the house and have a new law enacted to defend our rights as wine consumers. You can find out who your elected officials are and how to contact them here as well as donate money to the cause here: Donations

Thanks to HWT (a new friend from the MD - Cru Offlines) to pointing this out to us!

Drunk and out of wine without a ride? Jump on your lawn mower..this Michigander did!

So a 49 year old man from Adrian, Michigan (an hour from where I grew up) decided that after drinking two bottles of wine, he needed four more.  With his wife gone to work with their car, Frank Kozumplik decided to take the next best thing, his riding mower.

After driving the mower more than two miles to a local liquor store, Mr. Kozumplik bought four bottles of wine and began making his way home when he was picked up by the Adrian police.  With a BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) nearly 3 times the legal limit, Mr. Kozumplik was arrested for drunk driving and taken to jail.

Read more here: Police: Drunk drove mower down street…

Hey Wine.Com - Didn’t anyone ever tell you that no one likes a snitch?

I have lived in Baltimore for 4 years now and in that time I had managed to never have seen an episode of HBO’s highly acclaimed series The Wire. In its fifth season, The Wire is set in Baltimore and is based on the struggles of the Baltimore Police Department with drug dealers and murderers. It is shot on location throughout the city of Baltimore and the surrounding areas. Well last week Kim and I borrowed the first season DVD’s from our friend David Battani and spent the next few days working our way through each episode. Without getting too much into it, the show is quite entertaining and highly recommended. We’re going to start watching season 2 this week as our Direct TV is out (AGAIN!) and it’s been fun to actually watch movies, something we rarely do.

So I bet your wondering what any of this has to do with food and wine, or Wine.Com? Well there is a common code among the drug dealers and gangsters in The Wire that is in fact very real in the city of Baltimore, if you snitch (turn someone in, tell on someone for committing a crime) you get what’s coming to you (two years ago there was a real life video released about this topic among those involved in illegal activity that made the point, here’s an article on it - the no-snitch campaign).

Apparently Wine.Com CEO Richard Bergsund doesn’t watch The Wire.

Over the last week it has been reported by many news sources and confirmed by Mr. Bergsund that Wine.Com was involved in their own little sting operation (Great investigative reporting by Adler at www.vinography.com for breaking this story). Wine.Com had been ordering wines from competitor online retailers (29 to be exact) and having them delivered to the Wine.Com warehouses which were in states that prohibited online wine purchases. Those retailers that did ship wine illegally (including retailers from nine different states) were then reported. Basically, they were setting up the little guy and turning them in for illegal activity. Classy.

Wine.Com contends that it was merely looking out for it’s consumers and the other law-abiding online retailers. Known for significantly higher prices than most other retailers, Wine.Com is trying to rid itself of its competition, forcing consumers to pay premium prices for wine. This hasn’t gone over very well with the general wine public (see Wine Spectator Forums, Vinography, or Fermentation).

I am strongly in agreenence with the masses that wine shipping laws are ridiculous. Here in Maryland, we can’t order wines online. Heck, we can’t go to the grocery store and buy a bottle of wine to have with our dinner (this is a whole other topic!). All this because of the greed and political contributions of the wine wholesalers.

A few other interesting facts:

• Wine.Com is not a member of the Specialty Wine Retailers Association (SWRA) which is the only organized effort directly supporting retailers’ right to ship to consumers nationwide.
• A report has recently been published by the SWRA that shows that wine and spirits wholesalers have given more than $50 million to politicians in the last 7 years (2000-2006). This is an absurd amount of money - all to reduce the availability and increase the prices of wine on the consumer-end.

I’d like to make the point that I am in no way advocating the breaking of the law to ship wine illegally into states where it is forbidden. My position is that Wine.Com should not have taken it into their own hands to act as police on this matter. If they were genuinely concerned for the well being of other reatailers and most importantly, the consumer, they could have taken many different approaches including donating money to the SWRA to help lobby for new wine shipping laws. I would never order wine from Wine.Com because of their ridiculous pricing but if I did, I wouldn’t any more! Mind your own business Wine.Com and quit trying to ruin it for everyone else. In the end, you’re only hurting the consumer.

In the end, the negative PR that this is causing for Wine.Com will end up hurting them as far as consumers are concerned. Why support a retailer who is making it more difficult and more expensive for us consumers to get the products we seek? I guess a snitch deserves what they get!

Finally, what can you, the wine consumer do to help out? Well “Tom Cole”, a member of the Vinography and MarkSquires discussion on the topic has suggested that we consumers work together to raise money to help the SWRA and get these laws changed? What a concept! People taking laws into their own hands and working to get their politicians to recognize what’s best for the people, not the corporations! I commend you on this idea, Mr. Cole and join you (just made a small donation) and ask our visitors to join you as well:

http://www.specialtywineretailers.org/donate.html

At age 48, Austrian Winemaker Alois Kracher Passes Away

Chemist turned winemaker, Alois Kracher, Jr died during the early morning hours on Wednesday, December 5, 2007 from complications due to cancer. Mr. Kracher is best known for his sweet wines, of which his amazing work with the 1991 vintage caught the acclaim of wine critics around the world. He was awarded “White Wine Maker of the Year at London’s International Wine Challenge on six different occassions. Today the wine world has lost a great winemaker and friend.

The Kracher estate is located in the Burgenland region of eastern Austria.

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