Funny story about Merlot

[detlef]

So, perhaps among the best kept secrets in the wine world is how effing tasty Washington State Merlots can be. The vast majority of them are nothing like the one-dimensional crap that flooded the market and ruined the reputation of this grape everywhere. Culminating, of course, with the movie Sideways.

 

As an aside, I should also point out that, rather ironically, Pinot Noir is quickly going down that exact path and I'm being inundated with absolute crap masquerading as Pinot on a constant basis. Meanwhile, those quixotic souls who've stuck by Merlot are producing some really nice juice. I digress.

 

We can't sell Merlot to save our lives here despite any efforts I make to remind people of essentially what I just said above. None the less, I can't help myself when someone puts a taste in front of me of something really good at a great price. This is the story of my latest attempt. There's an entry level label that is a joint venture of some good winemakers in Washington called Independent Producers that makes some tasty juice from organic grapes, really cheap. The Merlot was tasty so I tried again. Not a effing glass sold for days on end. Maybe 2 or so.

 

So, I took a look at the label. It's kind of funky in this sort of antiqued way and it actually doesn't say Merlot on the front. Screw it, I started calling it Independent Producers Red and just described the wine without mentioning varietals. Just how it smelled, how it tasted, etc.

 

That was two days ago and we've sold a half a case since. Not surprisingly, everyone loves it.

[detlef]

Ask your wine rep to help with a wine tasting at your restaurant. Promote the event. Big success. My wife periodically does that for her clients and they always get a good turn out.

 

To help people try Merlot at other times, strike up a conversation about that movie and say, "You know that 40 year old bottle of wine that the main character was saving for a special occassion? Yeah, it has a significant amount of Merlot in it! It's a private joke in the industry, haha."

Yep, I'm aware of the inside joke about the Cheval Blanc. Pretty funny. We do wine dinners twice a month and similar things like that. Pretty fun, actually. Oddly, because of the silly level to which this whole Merlot thing has gotten, I've put a bunch of effort into the grape and always to rave reviews once they actually taste it. Next time they're in though...

 

One of my reps says that his retail accounts don't have nearly the problem moving it as his restaurants. His theory is that people like and and don't mind buying it at the register, but still feel embarrassed to order it in front of friends at restaurants. Sort of lame, I know, but it actually makes a ton of sense.

[twiley]

The only merlot I drink is Petrus.

 

I kid.

 

That damn movie killed Pinot Noir. The market is over saturated with bad pinot now - quite a few of those bad producers are even blending it and still calling it a Pinot. Unreal.

 

ETA: I like Merlot but then again I have a broad palette and try and drink everything out there.

Edited March 19, 2009 by twiley

[detlef]

I actually like Merlot a lot more than Pinot. I'd rather have a good Merlot than a great Pinot. I'm probably Palestinian (I know it's Philistine )

OK, now you're just talking silly.

 

Right now, when I can get really nice, single vineyard Merlot from top areas for about the same price as Appellation level Pinot that's OK but nothing better? I might lean that way if money's an object. However, you just can't beat Pinot when it's great. Not by a long shot.

Edited March 19, 2009 by detlef

[detlef]

In a somewhat related story, renaming our Asian Sangria to "HR Puff'n'Stuff vs Witchiepoo Cage Match" has not has such great results.

[CaP'N GRuNGe]

I'm not a big wine drinker and have only tried Merlot probably 3-4 times. Never did care for it. Now mind you it was the cheap stuff like Beringer et al probably. I think my favorite wine is Reisling, but again, I drink very very little wine.

[twiley]

I'm not a big wine drinker and have only tried Merlot probably 3-4 times. Never did care for it. Now mind you it was the cheap stuff like Beringer et al probably. I think my favorite wine is Reisling, but again, I drink very very little wine.

Riesling IMO is the true pure varietal. It's all about the grape when they produce Riesling so you really get a chance to taste a wine without any outside influences such as oak, secondary fermentation, maloactic fermentation, addition of yeasts, etc. It's a great wine to explore throughout the world because it's a reflection of the soil, weather, and winemaker.

 

Mind you, you'll need to get your hands on decent producers from each country/region but it's great to taste and compare the differences, you'll go all over the taste spectrum - oily to crisp, peppery to fruity, tropical fruits to stone fruits, etc...the list goes on.

 

Big fan of Rieslings and their diversity by region.

[detlef]

Riesling IMO is the true pure varietal. It's all about the grape when they produce Riesling so you really get a chance to taste a wine without any outside influences such as oak, secondary fermentation, maloactic fermentation, addition of yeasts, etc. It's a great wine to explore throughout the world because it's a reflection of the soil, weather, and winemaker.

 

Mind you, you'll need to get your hands on decent producers from each country/region but it's great to taste and compare the differences, you'll go all over the taste spectrum - oily to crisp, peppery to fruity, tropical fruits to stone fruits, etc...the list goes on.

 

Big fan of Rieslings and their diversity by region.

Just sold a bottle of Max Richter Single Vineyard Riesling Spatelese 1990 tonight. Amazingly enough, this was a library selection from the winery that was just released this year so it's bright and crisp despite being nearly 20 years old. Really stunning. All the petroleum nuance that you get from an old Riesling but so fresh you'd swear it was current vintage. Even the color doesn't show a hint of brown, just this brilliant greenish gold. It's like the stuff has been in cryovac or something.

[twiley]

Just sold a bottle of Max Richter Single Vineyard Riesling Spatelese 1990 tonight. Amazingly enough, this was a library selection from the winery that was just released this year so it's bright and crisp despite being nearly 20 years old. Really stunning. All the petroleum nuance that you get from an old Riesling but so fresh you'd swear it was current vintage. Even the color doesn't show a hint of brown, just this brilliant greenish gold. It's like the stuff has been in cryovac or something.

Awesome!

 

It took a little while for me to get use to the petrol but now I welcome it. Did a blind tasting about a month ago and that was a key identifier for me.

[BeeR]

people like and and don't mind buying it at the register, but still feel embarrassed to order it in front of friends at restaurants. Sort of lame, I know

 

Extremely lame ie the pretentiousness and social posturing that so often accompanies wine IMO. A good Merlot is a good wine. This isn't Boones Farm we're talking about.

 

PS I like Reislings too, although it seems too easy for them to be too sweet sometimes. Likewise Gewurztraminers, at least many of those I've tried.

Edited March 30, 2009 by BeeR

[bpwallace49]

Been a wine geek ever since I got into the industry over 10 years ago. I am taking the level 2 exam for the Court of Master Sommeliers next year and I have high hopes after getting 12 out of 17 blind tastings corrct for level one.

 

Merlot can be some of greatest wine made, but the ceiling for a spectacular Pinor Noir it MUCH higher.

 

Pinot is more of a risk/reward wine where Merlot can be capable of greatness, but is a more broad spectrum wine where you know what to expect, IMO.

[Puddy]

Blame Carhartt

[twiley]

Been a wine geek ever since I got into the industry over 10 years ago. I am taking the level 2 exam for the Court of Master Sommeliers next year and I have high hopes after getting 12 out of 17 blind tastings corrct for level one.

 

Merlot can be some of greatest wine made, but the ceiling for a spectacular Pinor Noir it MUCH higher.

 

Pinot is more of a risk/reward wine where Merlot can be capable of greatness, but is a more broad spectrum wine where you know what to expect, IMO.

 

I'm still trying to decide on when I should take my level 1.

[bpwallace49]

for those of you who have taken or are going to take the test... why? Personal, professional?

 

My wife is going to take the master som and if she passes, her company will send on a trip to CA. If she passes with exceptional marks, she gets a free trip to New Zeland! I've thought about taking the level one for fun, but free time, ugh.

 

Is your wife taking the level one or the final?

 

If it is the final, she will be one of only 160 some people to ever acheive that level and can write her own ticket in the wine world.

 

Level one, she needs to hit the books ASAP and learn a LOT of German terms. US wines take less than 3 hours our of a 3 day staudy period.

[twiley]

Is your wife taking the level one or the final?

 

If it is the final, she will be one of only 160 some people to ever acheive that level and can write her own ticket in the wine world.

 

Level one, she needs to hit the books ASAP and learn a LOT of German terms. US wines take less than 3 hours our of a 3 day staudy period.

Good info here, what school is she getting her certification out of? CMS has 4 levels with master being the final one which is by invite only and damn near impossible to pass. The ISG is structured differently - they lump the foundation course into a 3 month course typically 1 day a week and it's roughly 7 hours long. After passing that one you take the sommelier diploma course.

 

If it's the CMS level one then they have the course books on the site. Read them ALL.

[bpwallace49]

I don't have info about school, but she's not taking a class/course. Self-study, then test. She informed me that it's level 3, not the master's level.

 

I'm not disagreeing with what y'all say, cuz I'm fairly ignorant except what my wife tells/teaches me, but I have to imagine that there's more than 160 Master Somms, cuz in this district (greater Denver area) alone, I believe there are five Master Somms on her team (25 people) and that's just distribution (doesn't include suppliers). I believe some of her clients are Master Somms too, so that's at maybe a dozen in this area alone... and it's not like we're NY, Chicago, LA, etc.

 

All the best restaurants that we've been to have a master somm on staff.

 

I'd be interested in knowing from Bier how many are in the Vail area, cuz that's some money up there.

 

Umm . . . they may be Sommeliers but no way they are MASTER sommeliers. They may be certified as a MOW (master of wine) but as you can see through the website, it is one of the most difficult certifications to acheive. The top of the heap in the wine world is through the Court of Master Sommeliers, anything else is a wannabe . . .

 

See the following website for more info . . .

 

 

http://www.mastersommeliers.org/about

[twiley]

I don't have info about school, but she's not taking a class/course. Self-study, then test. She informed me that it's level 3, not the master's level.

 

I'm not disagreeing with what y'all say, cuz I'm fairly ignorant except what my wife tells/teaches me, but I have to imagine that there's more than 160 Master Somms, cuz in this district (greater Denver area) alone, I believe there are five Master Somms on her team (25 people) and that's just distribution (doesn't include suppliers). I believe some of her clients are Master Somms too, so that's at maybe a dozen in this area alone... and it's not like we're NY, Chicago, LA, etc.

 

All the best restaurants that we've been to have a master somm on staff.

 

I'd be interested in knowing from Bier how many are in the Vail area, cuz that's some money up there.

Uh yeah, I'd probably look into where that certification is coming from. The CMS exam to become a master is serious business and they don't exactly hand those things out like that. Check out the link provided already. CMS or ISG are the certifications to go through.

 

Here are the masters in Colorado, which are quite a few:

 

Wayne Belding, Boulder, CO

Sally Mohr, Boulder, CO

Jay Fletcher, Aspen, CO

Damon Ornowski, Carbondale, CO

Richard Betts, Boulder, CO

Bobby Stuckey, Boulder, CO

Doug Krenik, Littleton, CO

Nate Ready, Boulder, CO

Brett Zimmerman, Boulder, CO

Sean Razee, Edwards, CO

Jonathan Pullis, Aspen, CO

Edited April 9, 2009 by twiley

[detlef]

Uh yeah, I'd probably look into where that certification is coming from. The CMS exam to become a master is serious business and they don't exactly hand those things out like that. Check out the link provided already. CMS or ISG are the certifications to go through.

 

Here are the masters in Colorado, which are quite a few:

 

Wayne Belding, Boulder, CO

Sally Mohr, Boulder, CO

Jay Fletcher, Aspen, CO

Damon Ornowski, Carbondale, CO

Richard Betts, Boulder, CO

Bobby Stuckey, Boulder, CO

Doug Krenik, Littleton, CO

Nate Ready, Boulder, CO

Brett Zimmerman, Boulder, CO

Sean Razee, Edwards, CO

Jonathan Pullis, Aspen, CO

Dude partnered up with an art collector and stared a label Betts and Scholls. Damned good juice. They actually make Hermitage with JL Chave's juice that is amazing. We sell the Blanc.