SAME OLD

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There are a couple of people reading this blog ....... hold on. I'd better rephrase that or you'll get the wrong idea .... a couple of readers of this popular blog have, on their own blogs (don't bother), written about their choice of wine plonk being  'cleanskins'. Oh, here you go, here's a link to a previous post I wrote about one of them: HERE

Cleanskins, as you know was a term coined back in the late 1990s to cover the wines that retailers were selling on winemakers behalf when winemakers couldn't sell their wines easily and did not want to invest in labels and packaging. Here a re a couple of posts I wrote on this a while ago:

CLEANSKINS

CLEANSKINS 2

Those two jokers I mentioned, being late adopters, take pride in their 'discovery' of a cheaper way to drink their favourite tipple - plonk, little realising that the ship has sailed and 'cleanskins' are now just part of the marketing mix and not fantastic bargains.

OK, "more fool them you might think" but you need to have an understanding of their naivety.

They are naive.

They celebrate the fact that they buy 'cleanskin' wines little realising the the 'cleanskin' that they buy is just another wine brand - with a bloody label on it. Sheesh!

Here's a close up of a LABEL!

What more can I say?

YOU JUST CAN'T HELP SOME PEOPLE

 

A regular reader ... sorry, a reader of this blog said in a comment a while ago that he feels like a connoisseur. I don't know what he planned to do with that connoisseur if he found one - the mind boggles.

Richard of Richard's Bass Bag drinks a lot of wine - a lot of wine - but it seems that quantity doesn't equate with quality.

Oops - wrong image

Here you go.

I've tried to point him in the right direction over the years but his default setting overrides my suggestions for good chardonnays.

Wine tasting protocols just don't register with him even if he goes through the motions:

I had a look at some of his recent posts to see if there's been any improvement but no, he seems to just drink the same old thing, his usual brand - Cleanskin:

The only other wine he mentioned was one he found behind a bookshelf. It must be years old and long past its best That reminds me of something .....

Oh wekk, at least he's contributing to the wine statistics.

CRACK A TUBE

 It's been a while since I've posted but it's been even longer since the wine industry has done anything new or innovative that excites me.

Not long ago there was a flurry of activity on production of no or low alcohol wines and alternative packaging but this hasn't progressed very far at all.

There are more reduced alcohol wines available but these are still in the aromatic varietals that I don't like. Offer me a decent reduced alcohol pinot noir, rose or chardonnay and I'll buy it but, to date, there are none.

Why is this? It's not as if the technology isn't there - it comes down to will.  Most producers simply can't be arsed to invest in this, to them, tiny segment of the market and prefer to pump out full alcohol wines to meet their (current) markets.

Twenty years ago I was researching and trialling some low and zero alcohol products, both wine and synthetic wine substitutes as I could see what the opportunity would be in the future. The stick-in-the mud people I worked with had no vision in this and gave little support to my project. When I left the company it wasn't pursued and, to date, that company still hasn't done anything significant in this area and is being gazumped by the likes of Giesen,  Brancott Estate and Forrest.

I'm excited by the experimentation going into vine development whereby, instead of picking unripe grapes, fully ripened grapes that will give a lower alcohol yield are being propagated. If these provide full or near to varietal flavour then I'll definitely be a buyer but, to date there are only a few people trialling this and the big companies with the big funds aren't bothering. Luddites.

This is interesting reading but is four years old and I'm unaware of any commercial breakthroughs:

LOW ALCOHOL WINE - VITICULTURE

As regards packaging innovation almost all companies are still using 'traditional' 750ml wine bottles and ignoring the potential market in 375ml and other packaging forms like cans. Safe linings for aluminium cans for wines have been developed but scaredy-cat executives of the major companies haven't got the balls to give them a go. Again - they just look at their current markets and not future ones. A paradigm shift is required here and, when it does happen, many will be on the back foot.

I'll be happy to buy most of my wines in 375ml bottle format even though the per ml cost is higher (larger production runs will reduce costs and subsequent prices though) and definitely would buy wine in 200ml or 330ml cans when the more serious varietals are used other than the current aromatic and cheaper quality wines.

Like this but better quality

THREE THINGS THAT CAN GO WRONG WITH A BOTTLE OF WHITE WINE

Hello all.

I've been off-line for a long time but have been called back in 'to the office' to inform you of the three things that can go wrong with a bottle of white wine.

I know, I know - this does seem to be beneath the capabilities of a wine guy but an old drunk a guy I know who is getting very old and becoming confused asked me this. It is serious as he's resorted to drinking cleanskin chardonnay in the mistaken belief that he's getting better value for money. I guess that it makes it easier for him to order wines now that his memory is going.

He should remember the post I wrote with him in mind a few years ago. The post is named CLEANSKINS 2  from December 4th 2017 and can be found on The WINE GUY site: 

http://nzwineguy.blogspot.com/

For some reason I can't paste the link directly. It might be because I'm using the lap top and not the main computer in the study.

Anyway - what are the three things that can go wrong with a bottle of white wine?


1. It might not be big enough. 

White wines used to come in 700ml bottles, especially German white wines which were the most popular. As wine consumption, worldwide increased and wine production expanded, 750ml bottles became the norm. In recent years with 'baby boomers' leading the charge in conspicuous spending and alcohol consumption, the 750ml size bottle isn't big enough. There is a requirement for 1 litre bottles and even 1500ml bottles. Look out for these - it will save you from having to go back to the cupboard or down to the wine cellar which, at your likely age, is dangerous.

2. It might not be any good.

Going by the wine choices of the Wainuiomartians and Moeraites who frequent this blog it's likely that wine selection is coming from the on-special stacked displays in Pak 'n' Save or from the bottom shelf of superettes. It must be said that the shiny, purple and pink labels might attract your eye faster but it does not mean that the wine will be any good.

3. It might be a cleanskin.

It's important for you to now go to the 'Search This Blog' or 'Blog Archive' function to the right of the home screen of The Wine Guy to find that post I mentioned to find out why you should not buy cleanskin wines.

There - those are the three things that can go wrong with a bottle of white wine. I trustr that this was helpful.

OONAPHILIA

 There's news of a wannabe wine writer on the scene. Here's a link to a blog that is announcing it: HERE

I don't know what his wine blog will be called or by what name he will go under but I assume that it will be something like 'The Vulgar Vieille Vigne' or 'Too Uncouth for Vermouth".

I guess in his new blog profile he will use appropriate words like:

• Dirty
• Flabby
• Full-bodied
• Buttery
• Acidic
• Barnyard
• Earthy and,
• Tight.

I'll wait to see and then might place a link on this blog.

THANK YOU LANSON

 

In the past I've complained about the esoteric date codes printed on the back labels of wines and beers.

METHODE IN MY MADNESS

These are designed to obfuscate and you need to be in, or have been in the drinks industry to decipher them most times.

When it comes to Fino Sherry, beer and Champagne the date of packaging, or disgorgement for Champagne is critical.

We opened a Lanson Black Label Champagne yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I noted on the back label that Lanson is sensibly writing:

• The blend % of grape varietals
• The number of crus (selections) used
• How long the wine was aged before disgorgement
• The year (2016) that the base material came from
• The % of base wine used
• The disgorgement date

This is good information. Thanks Lanson. it's the first time that  I've noticed this and I must check with Champagnes I buy in the future. I definitely will be favouring Champagne Lanson.

BLAST FROM THE PAST

 A good friend gave me a bottle of Veuve Cliquot NV Champagne for my birthday which, as one of my favourite NV marques, will go down very nicely thank you.

She also have me a bottle of Banrock Station sparkling shiraz that'd been sitting in their cellar for years. They know that we have (have had) a liking for Australian sparkling shiraz with E&E and Leasingham being top favourites over the years before they were discounted as a result of Constellation's takeover - ripping, stripping and bastardising of BRL Hardy brands - like the British, Spanish, French and Portuguese empires did to far flung countries for centuries.

The wine was given out of interest as she doubted that it would be any good. She couldn't remember when they bought it but I guess that it was probably  before 2006 making it at least 16 years old. Banrock Station, at the time was owned by Constellation along with Barossa Valley Estates (E&E brand) and Leasingham and while at the budget end of the market, winemaking input came from BRL Hardy/Constellation with their world class sparkling winemaking team led by Ed Carr.

I said to 'Her Indoors' after we'd bowled a bottle of Bollinger Rose that I'd got in for my birthday (which is still 2 days away but we couldn't wait) that, while we wait for the lasagne to cook we could check out the Banrock Station.

The Bollinger was pretty good I must say - savoury and complex with a long finish. My only complaint is that the bottle went down so bloody fast hence needing another glass of bubbles.

Bubbles? The Banrock Station sparkling shiraz didn't deliver these but, to be fair, E&E, Leasingham, Great Western and the few, very few, others that braved this style never gave us bubbles other than a kind of fluffy mousse. 'Her Indoors' and I recently discovered another Australian sparkling shiraz - Rockford sparkling shiraz - that was like a lesser E&E but supply has been limited. We'd kind of given up on drinking this style of wine again which used to be a Christmas Dinner staple.

I opened the Banrock Station wine not expecting a 'pop' which I didn't get but neither did I get silence. There was a little squeak which wasn't as ostentatious as the 'bang' of note in wine circles according to this old joke:

.... I couldn't find it on-line but it goes like this:

A wine expert is demonstrating to a group of 'wine enthusiasts' from the Moera and Wainuiomata Wine club on how to open a bottle of Champagne.

Expert: "You grip the cork and twist the bottle. As the cork exits the bottle you should hear a hissing sound like the sound of a satisfied woman."

The expert attempts to do this but the cork leaves the bottle with a resounding *BANG*.

Wag from the audience: "I know her."

I poured the wine into two glasses making sure that 'Her Indoors' tried hers first. 

"It's fine she said" which surprised me and prompted me to try mine. The wine had deep, dark red colour with only slight browning at the edges. It had a bit of spritz still which freshened the palate showing nice fruity flavours. To be honest it was damned good and the bottle age - over 18 years - seemed to have improved what was otherwise a simple wine made for early drinking. I note that this has been long discontinued but, in the UK a few years ago loyal followers of it petitioned Constellation to bring it back.

They didn't.