New World and Napa Valley

So..... The first blog post about wine.

One of the things that I will talk about right now to get it out of the way is that we as an American consumer will almost, and I say almost always go look for the California cabernet before a left bank, Bordeaux from St. Julien. Or even a Merlot from Napa, before a Merlot from Pomerol. Why? Because the average wine drinker, just doesn't know what to look for in French wines. Years ago, when the California wine industry started to boom, the winemakers and winery owners came up with this profound idea. Put the name of the grape varietal on the label.

Well, now there are rules and regualtions to that, and every country has thier own. We will get into specifics as we work on each country in coming blog posts. For California, the minimum is 75% of the the said varietal in order for the label to contain the sole varietal name of the wine.

In Napa Valley specifically, producers were originally known in the 70's for the creation of these big, bold Zinfandels from the very old vines that were planted there. They deemed Zin as the varietal of California. And to this day you don't see it anywhere else. However, in the late 80's and into the early 90's producers started pulling up these old gnarly vines of Zin and replanting with Cabernet Sauvignon. Today, producers are making a name for themselves with big, bold, chewy Cabernets. I mean look at this Screaming Eagle, one of the most sought after "cult wines" of all time is Cabernet. So with all that being said Cabernet has been the king of Napa Valley for some time now.

Moving into other new world countries and regions, we address Argentina. Argentina is mountainous, and hot, and dry. And you would think NOTHING would grow there right? WRONG, Argentina grows and produces one of the oldest grape varietals known today.... Malbec. Originally grown France, Malbec has made quite a name for itself in Argentina. The reason for this is because Malbec's vines have the ability to withstand all that rough, ragged climate. The Malbec vine, like many others will grow in gravelly soil. It will work it's roots down as deep into the ground as it needs to, to find it's water source. But the funny thing about the malbec grape is that it can grow on a cliff, with rocky dry soil and produce some of the best wine we can find today.

Some questions I am asked quite often are, why is it that Argentina, and Chile, and South Africa can make wine so cheaply? And, how is it SO good? Well the answer to that is simple, Argentina, is NEW WORLD, and I mean new... Argentina has really only made a name for itself in the past 10-15 years. And believe me, the prices are slowly creeping upward. But the cost to plant in Argentina is a fraction of the cost that it is here in the states, and in France. See, today growers and landowners know that there is high value to the land they own in Napa and elsewhere. 40 and 50 years ago it wasn't that way. Because California and the likes where pretty much untapped potential.

Today, some of the wines that come out of Napa, Sonoma, Santa Ynez and more are some of the best wines based on varietal in the world. Oregon and Washington have crept into the picture with respective varietals that thrive. Oregon is producing some of the best Pinot Noir on the planet rivaling Burgundy believe it or not. And Washington too is producing some Cabernet Francs, Cabernet Sauvignons and so on that are so unique, that you won't find a taste like it anywhere else!

So, what I am saying to you is this... Check out Washington, Argentina, Oregon, and tell me what you think. I wanna know, really!!! You know what? In the future here, we will taste these wines together, head to head on USTREAM and I'll tell you what I think. I can't wait to hear what you think!

So to that I say....
enjoy your friends, enjoy your family, enjoy life and the wines your drink from day to day. But enjoy the wines responsibly!