Wine Spectator by Lindsay Calhoun

WINE S P E C T A T O R

American Whiskey A

R T

Jan 31 - Feb 29, 2012

Wh i s k e ys Reviewed

Classic Cocktails pg 14 $5.95 US

Wine 2011:

The Year In Review pg 28

Chocolate

(for Wine Lovers) pg 21

The American Image Courtosey of the Wort Hog Blog

American whiskeyBourbon and its cousins rye whiskey and Tennessee whiskey-has returned in strength from a long exile. It’s a rags-to-riches and all-the-way-around-again story.

Contents Jan. 31 - Feb. 29,2012

Vol. 36, No. 14

Bourbon and Beyond

Coctails

Padma Lakshmi

Year in Review: 2011

From its frontier roots in 18th-century Pennsylvania, American whiskey has grown to encompass a varitey of styles and flavors. How whiskey became part of American culture, and where it’s headed. • Lew Bryson

Five classic recipes, and their modern interpretations. • Jack Bettridge

An interview with the Top Chef host • MaryAnn Worbiec

Wine sales are growing, along with prices and quality. • Mitch Frank

Wh i s k e y I s s u e “Like it or not, California wine has become, for an evergrowing number of American wine drinkers, the stylistic (and flavor) yardstick by which all other wines, from all other places, are measured.” -MattKramer, Page 40

Zac Burris

Features Jan. 31 - Feb. 29,2012

4 5

Vol. 36, No. 14

Auction Burgundy Steals the Show • Peter D. Meltzer

People Fighting Fake Bordeaux • Suzanne Mustacich

Dining

Business

Chocolate for Wine Lovers • Owen Dugan

Mondavi House Sells • James Laube

Science How Whiskey is Made • Lew Bryson

Auctions

Burgundy Steals the Show Bordeaux may be toppled as the premire blue-chip collectible Peter D. Meltzer

Website members can check the latest auction highlights and track prices for more than 10,000 collectable wines in our Auction Price Database.

At recent auctions conducted by the major commercial auction houses, expensive rare Burgundy has become the star of the salesroom, despite major volatility in world financial markets. “While Bordeaux prices have moderated in recent months, Burgundy has taken off,” said Hart Davis Hart CEO Paul Hart. “Lafite was the world’s hottest label earlier in the year, but it now appears that [Domaine de la Romanée Conti] may hold that title,” Hart said. “Six of the top 10 lots exceeding the high estimate at our Oct. 29 auction were either DRC assortment cases, RomanéeConti, or La Tâche.” Hart’s remarks were echoed by John Kapon, CEO of Acker Merrall & Condit, who on Nov. 4 and 5 sold a staggering 14,000 bottles of Burgundy in Hong Kong (on the heels of a 7,000-bottle offering in New York on Oct. 29) from the famed collection of Don Stott, a former Wall Street specialist. According to Kapon, “The enthusiastic market response attests to the robust demand for the very best Burgundies both in Hong Kong and New York. The results also prove that Chinese wine lovers have diversified their taste in wine ap4

preciation and collecting. It just goes to show how much the market can still develop and grow in Asia, and why I keep saying this is just the beginning. Bordeaux will always be the king of the fine-wine market due to quantity, but it is nice to see its queen recognized accordingly.” As a category, the 102 Burgundy listingtracked by the Wine Spectator Auction Index (which includes auctions in the United States only) rose 16.42 percent from the third quarter of 2010 until the third quarter of 2011. Many wines fared even better. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti 1996 was up 114 percent to average $13,310 per bottle, G. Roumier Bonnes Mares 1985 was up 90 percent to average $2,681 per bottle and Joseph Drouhin Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche 1996 was up 41 percent, averaging $462 per bottle. There are a number of reasons behind Burgundy’s escalating popularity. Limited supply contributes to Burgundy’s appeal. According to Sotheby’s Wine CEO Jamie Ritchie, “The quantities of great Burgundies on offer are so small that we never get much to sell. By value, in 2010, only 17 percent of the wines we auctioned were from Burgundy. The realization that these wines are extremely

scarce has created a newfound appetite.” Why has there been such a significant outpouring of major Burgundy consignments over the past year? Apart from the appreciation factor, Nashville übercollector Tom Black says most of the collectors he knows who have had large cellars are downsizing. “The owner of Zachys 5,000-bottle Burgundy consignment this past October told me he just had too much wine he would never drink,” Black said. “I know how he feels. I think the recent trend is both a change in taste, in life and in needs.” On Feb. 12, Poster Auctions International, the New York auctioneer of original graphic posters, will hold its first auction dedicated entirely to food- and wine-related vintage posters, offering more than 400 unique and diverse lots celebrating the many facets of wine, spirits and the culinary arts. Though the oldest poster in the collection dates to about 1880 (when color lithographic advertisements were beginning to gain immense popularity), most are dated between 1889 and 1931, with the youngest poster being from 1978. The posters will be on view, free to the public, at Poster Auctions International’s showroom in New York Jan. 28-Feb. 11.

Wine Legends Buy House

People

Mondavi house sale increases Napa presence James Laube

Boisset and Gallo bought the property for less than its 13.9 million dollar asking price.

The house Robert Mondavi called home has new owners, and, fittingly, they are major players in the wine business. Jean-Charles Boisset and Gina Gallo bought the 11,500-square-foot home in the Stags Leap District in November, Wine Spectator learned in an exclusive, for an offer below the $13.9 million asking price. The purchase signals that they intend to make an even bigger footprint in Napa Valley. Boisset and Gallo play major roles at two of the world’s largest wine companies. Gallo is granddaughter of Julio Gallo and head winemaker of one of the largest producers in the world. While E.&J. Gallo is headquartered in Modesto, Calif., its fine wines operations, where Gina is based, have been located in Sonoma since the 1980s. The company also owns Louis M. Martini and William Hill wineries in Napa and is releasing a Napa Cabernet under the Gallo Signature Series label with Gina’s name on it. Boisset is president of Boisset Family Estates, France’s third largest wine company. Boisset’s father built the firm by producing value wines, but in recent years Boisset has acquired several premium wine brands, particularly in California. It owns Napa’s Raymond Vineyard, where Boisset’s American headquarters are situated, along with Buena Vista and DeLoach in Sonoma, and Lockwood Vineyard in Monterey.

Gina and Jean-Charles tied the knot in 2009, and the couple celebrated the birth of twins in 2011. Robert Mondavi passed away in 2008, and his children put the 55-acre property on the market in 2010, listing it at $25 million. It was bad timing for the real estate market, and the realtor announced a sealed bid auction last October with a reserve price of $13.9 million. The reserve was not met, but the realtor said there were two strong bids. Soon afterward, a deal was signed. There was plenty of speculation up and down the valley about who had bought the house and at what price. While Gallo and Boisset are excited about their luxurious new home, they had hoped to keep it a private matter. It would have been hard to keep a lid on this story though, given interest in the Mondavi house. The sellers, Mondavi’s three children, signed a confidentiality agreement. Yet apparently the pool man who worked at the former Mondavi home was unaware of the agreement and revealed the purchasers. Boisset confirmed to Wine Spectator that he and his wife were the new owners. The couple has not said whether the house will be their primary residence. Located atop a knoll between Silverado Trail and Yountville, the

home was designed in 1979 by Cliff May, the architect behind Robert Mondavi Winery. It has a large wine cellar and a 50-foot swimming pool in the living room, complete with a retractable roof, along with a guesthouse, two tennis courts and room for 2 acres of vines. Both Tim and Michael Mondavi live nearby, making the hilltop area-known as Wappo Hillhome to Mondavi, Mondavi, Gallo and Boisset. Boisset is president of Boisset Family Estates of Burgundy, France and St. Helena. France’s third largest wine group, Boisset Family Estates also owns Buena Vista winery and a number of other California wineries. Boisset and winemaker Gina Gallo, granddaughter of wine legend Julio Gallo, were married in 2009. The couple have since had twin daughters. “I’m not sure,” Boisset said. He declined to elaborate further on the purchase.Mondavi died in 2008. His heirs originally advertised the house for sale in May 2010 for $25 million and then listed for auction in October with bids starting at $13.9 million. The 11,800 square-foot, knoll-top estate is located in the Stags Leap district on the floor of the Napa Valley, south of Yountville. It was designed by architect Cliff May in 1979. May also designed the Mission-style Mondavi winery in the 1960s.

Make

Ame

Fi v e c l a s s i c c o c k ta i l s s h o w American whiskey in a new l i g h t. By Jack Bettridge

Mine

rican

Everyone’s entitled to their particular whisky nationalism, be it Scotch, Irish, Canadian, even Japanese or Indian-

when drinking neat, that is. But when mixed drinks are the order, one superpower looms above all others at the whiskey bar: American. Even if the marriage lacked a historical endorsement (invented in America, the first cocktails were born of domestic whiskey) it would still be true. American straight whiskeys-Bourbon, rye and Tennessee sour mash, all made with new, charred-oak barrels-bring deep, sweet, bold flavors that stand up to, yet play well with, nearly any sweetener, liqueur, aperitif or bitters they are likely to encounter. Fruit juices and fruit proper are also welcome to join these versatile whiskeys. Hence the long list of classic cocktails that enjoy their support: the Old-Fashioned, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Sazerac, Mint Julep, Whiskey Sour, Ward Eight, Rock and Rye. Furthermore, straight whiskeys swim well in the deep end. They won’t drown in highballs made with all manner of effervescence, from club soda to ginger ale, bitter lemon to cola (for the sake of argument, we’ll ignore quinine water). What’s more, whiskey character survives so well when mixed that each cocktail can be reborn by simply calling a different brand. Certain American whiskey formulations stand out enough from the crowd of mixed drinks that they have become timeless, yet ever-evolving-and they’re a ball to make and drink. Image Courtesy of Bacardi

Manhattan

Overstating the importance of the Manhattan is a tall order. The original Vermouth-and-spirits cocktail spawned a sea change in drinking. Then came not only formulaic variations-Martini (with gin or vodka), Rob Roy (with Scotch), Metropolitan (with brandy)-but also a tide of other aperitifs and liqueurs mixed with spirits. Moreover, no drink is better named for a place. The tug-of-war between manic energy and consummate sophistication that drives the New York City borough also suffuses the cocktail. A compact mix that vibrates with dozens of flavors, it reinvents itself each time a new whiskey or aperitif enters. Incarnated as a rye drink around 1870, it’s now typically made with Bourbon, and even Canadian whisky is a pretender to the throne. The drink thrives in every regime. The key is to think out spirit-to-aperitif ratio based on brands Fine-tuning happens when you jigger with mixing Vermouths, but the great debate is: stirred or shaken? The former renders a clearer drink. The latter will chill the cocktail more effectively, but creates a slight froth and even miniature ice crystals. The less traditional, shaken version was the choice of both Bart Simpson and The Thin Man’s Nick Charles (his to a fox-trot rhythm). You can also dispense with the pitcher and shaker altogether and mix it on the rocks in an Old-Fashioned glass or, as Marilyn Monroe did to great effect in Some Like It Hot, in a hot water bottle.

The Basic Manhattan  The whiskey-Vermouth proportion is only a guideline. Take it up to 5:1 if you want. Rule of thumb: Use more whiskey when it’s sweeter or lowproof; less when it has spice, a bite or high-proof.

Perfected Manhattanites  The drink becomes a Perfect Manhattan when sweet and dry Vermouth are mixed.

2 ounces Bourbon or straight rye whiskey

1/2 ounce sweet Vermouth

1 ounce sweet Vermouth

1/2 ounce dry Vermouth (or substitute the sweet and dry Vermouth with

2 dashes orange bitters

1 ounce dry Vermouth alone)

1 maraschino cherry

2 dashes Angostura bitters

2 ounces Bourbon or straight rye whiskey

Pour whiskey, Vermouth and bitters over ice in a shaker or pitcher. Shake 1 lemon twist or stir. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the cherry. Pour whiskey, Vermouth and bitters over ice in a shaker or pitcher. Shake or stir. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the lemon twist.

Image Courtesy of Jameson

Old Fashioned

Drinkers have called for Old-Fashioneds at the bar since at least the 1880s, but the name is a throwback to something far older: the original Whiskey Cocktail. During the rococo post-Civil War era of drinking, bartenders fell to bombarding concoctions with syrups, cordials and fruit juices. Patrons who favored a return to a less bumptious cocktail would ask for their drink served the old-fashioned way: a simple mix of spirit, sugar and bitters. Unless another spirit was called, whiskey was the assumed base. The Old-Fashioned was refashioned, with added fruit and a specific penchant for Bourbon. The addition of plant pulp would have purists protesting for years to come, but the new version stuck. The OldFashioned has enjoyed many cultural references, from Huck Finn describing it to Don Draper demonstrating it on Mad Men. The best, however, comes in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, when Jim Backus, as a besotted pilot, asks nonflier Buddy Hackett to take the controls so he can make “an Old-Fashioned the old-fashioned way.” Hackett worriedly replies, “What if something happens?” To which Backus says, “What can happen to an Old-Fashioned?” Apparently a lot.

The Old-Fashioned Whiskey Coctail  The classic.

The New Old-Fashioned  The way people really drink it.

2 ounces American whiskey

1 teaspoon simple syrup or 1 sugar cube

2 dashes bitters

1 maraschino cherry

1 lemon twist

1 orange slice

Pour the whiskey, syrup and bitters over large ice cubes in an Old-Fashioned glass. Stir well. Top with the lemon twist (if you’re not a purist).

2 ounces Bourbon Seltzer water (optional)

Image Courtesy of PR Web

Place the syrup, bitters, cherry and orange in an Old-Fashioned glass, and muddle to a paste. Add large ice cubes and the Bourbon. Stir well. Variations include experimenting with fruit (lemon and lime, of course, or even pineapple) and leaving out the muddling step. Add seltzer water if you want fizz.

“Prepare to hear

Purists

Sazerac

American whiskey played the usurper in this seminal cocktail. The embryonic Sazeracconceived in New Orleans’ Vieux Carré in the 1840s-joined France’s Cognac with Peychaud’s bitters. But it was little more than a tincture, with sugar and spirits to help the medicinal-tasting bitters go down. The drink came into its own when the Civil War and phylloxera conspired against brandy imports. Spicy local rye was a logical replacement, and a burst of absinthe jazzed it up and kept it French. Printed recipes surfaced after absinthe was outlawed, calling for anise-flavored pastis and leaving Peychaud’s as the only original part of the prescription. The enlightened 21st century gives us the return of absinthe, a bustling rye revival and enough brilliant Cognac to try every permutation. As New Orleans’ official cocktail, Sazerac is forever linked with the town and characters such as Huey Long and Tennessee Williams. In a way it’s a shame, as the drink does travel well. (O. Henry brought it to New York when he installed himself there.) Oddly, it gets a lot of play with fictional spies. W.E.B. Griffin’s Cletus Frade of the OSS took them with oysters. When James Bond visits New Orleans in Live and Let Die, CIA sidekick Felix Leiter goads the consummate Brit into sampling the local tipple, asking, “Where is your sense of adventure?” Indeed!

The Sazerac  This drink has evolved so much that it’s hard now to call any version authentic. For old time’s sake, try it at least once with Cognac in place of rye.

The Heritic’s Sazerac  iThis is definitely not authentic. Prepare to hear purists rolling over in their graves.

1/2 teaspoon absinthe or pastis

1 sugar cube

1 sugar cube  2 ounces straight rye whiskey  4 dashes Peychaud’s bitters  1 lemon twist Coat an Old-Fashioned glass with absinthe. Pour the excess absinthe back in the bottle, and place the glass in the freezer. Muddle the sugar cube with a little water in a mixing glass. Add some ice cubes, the whiskey and bitters to the mixing glass. Stir. Retrieve the glass from the freezer, and strain the contents of the mixing glass into the Old-Fashioned glass. Twist the lemon over the glass, and use for garnish or discard.

1/2 teaspoon absinthe or pastis  2 ounces Bourbon  2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters  2 dashes Angostura bitters  1 lemon twist Coat an Old-Fashioned glass with absinthe. Pour the excess absinthe back in the bottle, and place the glass in the freezer. Muddle the sugar cube with a little water in a mixing glass. Add some ice cubes, the whiskey and bitters to the mixing glass. Stir. Retrieve the glass from the freezer, and strain the contents of the mixing glass into the Old-Fashioned glass. Twist the lemon over the glass, and use for garnish. Photo by Nathan Katran

rolling over in their graves.”

Whiskey Sour

The great libation theorist David Embury posited in his opus The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks (1948) that cocktails break down into two basic groups: aromatic and sour. The number of great cocktails made with spirits informed by citrus juice-from Daiquiris and Collins to Greyhounds and Screwdrivers-supports the imperfect logic. And the Whiskey Sour is one of the earliest-and best. It dates to the 1870s and may have been invented with lime. But leave that fruit, as well as orange and grapefruit, to mix with other spirits. Lemon is perfect for tarting up whiskey. To put bells on this drink, try herbs (see below). Like its sister, the Daiquiri, the Whiskey Sour is often offered over crushed ice. Some would attack the Sour as rather wimpy (in The Seven Year Itch, Richard Sherman suggests it’s a breakfast drink). But when Raymond Chandler puts one in the hands of heavy Moose Malloy (the name explains it all) in Farewell, My Lovely, the hard-bitten private dick Philip Marlowe doesn’t flinch. It’s the likes of J.A. Konrath’s police detective Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels who make the drink suspect by using Whiskey Sour Again, the proportions are a guideline. Embury liked his with seven parts whiskey. You may too.

Herbal Sour  Heathens trick out a Sour with lime or orange juice, but try herbs instead, maybe even from your own garden.

1/2 ounce simple syrup

1 ounce simple syrup

1 ounce fresh lemon juice

6 sprigs tarragon or basil

2 ounces Bourbon or straight rye

1 ounce fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon egg white (optional)

2 ounces Bourbon or straight rye

1 maraschino cherry

1 lemon slice

Combine syrup, lemon juice and whiskey over ice in a shaker glass. Shake for

In a saucepan, heat the simple syrup with the herb leaves over low heat.

15 seconds. To achieve a fizzy froth, add the egg white and shake until your arms tire, then shake some more. Pour in a cocktail glass. Garnish with the

Crush the leaves with a muddler as you stir. Filter through a julep strainer. Put the syrup in a mixing glass, and add the lemon juice, whiskey and ice. Shake for 15 seconds. Pour into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the cherry and lemon slice.

Image Courtesy of NiPic

Mint Julep The quintessential event drink is the Mint Julep, always conjuring an image of the Kentucky Derby, Southern belles, frosty silver cups and audacious millinery. But the drink goes down well wherever mint grows, and whatever the sport or dress code. This quaff layers bracing aromas, whiskey’s bite and soothing sugar all on a bed of ice chips. Originally Juleps raced with any manner of spirit, but Bourbon eventually got the inside track with its corn-based sweetness. The only points left to argue are sugar source, cooling device and vessel type. Dissolved simple syrup (boiled sugar and water) mixes better than granular types. While crushed ice is usually contraindicated, it’s perfect here as it melts quickly and cuts the unmitigated alcohol dose. Silver or pewter cups are traditional, but short, chimney-shaped highball glasses equipped with short straws do just as well at funneling the mint bouquet to the nose. Kentucky’s Henry Clay made Juleps a national panic when he brought them to Washington, D.C., in the 1850s, but Southerners had already long mythologized-and argued over-them (see the trays of Juleps served throughout the movie Jezebel). Among the points of agreement below the Mason-Dixon line: Juleps confound Yankees and are made with corn spirits. H.L Mencken’s rye-based attempts were scorned by columnist Irvin S. Cobb as putting “scorpions in a baby’s bed.”

Mint Julep  The Kentucky Derby Classic.

Mint Julito  Zesty lime juice has this drink mirroring the rum-based Mojito.

1 dozen mint leaves 1

1 dozen mint leaves

tablespoon simple syrup

1 tablespoon simple syrup

2 dashes Angostura bitters

2 ounces Bourbon Place the intended serving vessels in the freezer at least half an hour before post time. Combine half the leaves with the syrup and bitters in a mixing glass. Gently muddle (crushed leaves reveal a bitter side). Add the whiskey, and muddle some more, while stirring. Retrieve the glasses from the freezer. Fill them with crushed ice, and pour the mixture in. Garnish the mouth of the glass with the remaining mint. Serve with napkins.

1 ounce fresh lime juice  2 ounces Bourbon Place the intended serving vessels in the freezer at least half an hour before post time. Combine half the leaves with the syrup, bitters and lime juice in a mixing glass. Gently muddle (crushed leaves reveal a bitter side). Add the whiskey, and muddle some more, while stirring. Retrieve the glasses from the freezer. Fill them with crushed ice, and pour the mixture in. Garnish the mouth of the glass with the remaining mint. Serve with napkins. Image Courtesy of Remy Martin

Homemade for the Holiday

Dining

Master baking with chocolate for this Valentine’s Day Owen Dugan

Don’t forget the wine; may we suggest Port?

This year, skip the fussy mail-order and get in the kitchen. If the end result lacks professional flourishes, it also adds something the pros cannot: love. Isn’t that what it’s all about? Two common kitchen fears are soufflés and candy thermometers. How many sitcom plotlines have hinged on a soufflé falling because someone forgot to tiptoe past the kitchen? And clipping a thermometer to a pot? To cook sugar? C’mon, thermometers are for roasts. But the soufflé is a great simple technique-and mastering it will allow you to impress not only at dessert but with savory dishes too. The basic idea is that egg whites will give it volume as it bakes, while the yolks and whatever else you add give it flavor. Serve it immediately, with or without a few fresh berries, a dollop of jam, or even a spoonful of the leftover ganache on top. The straight chocolate flavor and delicate texture pair well with fruit, so pour a Port, preferably a fruity one. Caramels are a great Valentine’s Day treat for a couple of reasons. They’re designed to coat your mouth and carry flavor for a long time; as with soufflés, they can support a range of flavors. And your friends will not believe you made candy. They are pretty sweet, but the slightly burnt sugar and deep chocolate flavors mitigate that. Look to those darker flavors in the wine match, and try a Pedro Ximénez Sherry. A thimble full of that

with a plate of these makes a nice bedtime snack. A couple of warnings: Be extremely careful making the caramel. It takes a while to melt, but goes from done to burnt in a trice. And if you have not tried these techniques before be sure to do a practice run before the big day. Faultless Chocolate Soufflé 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 3⁄4 cup Dark Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows) 1/2 cup heavy cream 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder 5 large eggs, separated 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Brush the bottom and sides of eight (4- to 6-ounce) soufflé dishes with melted butter, and sprinkle with sugar. Arrange the prepared dishes on a baking sheet. 2. Melt the ganache in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water. 3. In another saucepan, bring the cream to a boil over medium-high heat. As soon as the cream boils, remove the pan from the heat. Add the melted ganache and cocoa powder and stir well. Set aside to cool to lukewarm. 4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with

the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until firm peaks form, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla, and beat for about 1 minute longer to fully incorporate. Set aside. 5. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate mixture and whisk well. Gently fold in the egg whites. Immediately fill the soufflé dishes to the rim and level the surface with a metal spatula. 6. Bake the soufflés on the baking sheet for 12 to 15 minutes. When you open the oven door, do so slowly and just peek inside. Close it quickly, but as gently as you can. Serve immediately. Makes 8 individual soufflés. Chocolate-Flavored Dark Chocolate Ganache 1/2 cup plus 2 tbs water 3 tbs light corn syrup 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa poweder dash of salt 10 0z bittersweet chocolate, chopped 1. In a heavy saucepan, bring the water, corn syrup, cocoa powder and salt to a boil over medium-high heat. Whisk until blended. Remove the pan from the heat. 2. Immediately add the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Set aside for about 1 hour to cool completely, whisking every 15 minutes or so to keep the ganache emulsified. 3. Transfer the ganache to a glass container.

What Padma

Lakshmi Pours The Top Chef host talks global cuisine, wine and hosting tips By MaryAnn Worbiec

P adma Lakshmi is perhaps best known as the Emmy-nominated

host and judge of Bravo’s Top Chef, but she’s also an actress, model, award-winning cookbook author and wine lover. Winebased recipes make appearances in her two cookbooks, Easy Exotic (Miramax Books, 1999), and Tangy, Tart, Hot & Sweet (Weinstein Books, 2007), which feature globally-inspired cuisine, including recipes from her native South India. Lakshmi has strong opinions about what bottles to open with the finished dishes on the table, and she recently teamed up with Napa’s Sterling Vineyards in a contest to find “the ultimate host” this fall. She spoke with Wine Spectator about her goto wines, how to pick the right wine for a crowd and perfect pairings.

Padma Lakshimi is an award winning host in every sense of the word.

Image Compliments of adweek.com

“I like to stick it i in the oven and

let it go low a n d s l o w.” Wine Spectator: Do you like to cook with wine?

Padma Lakshmi: People don’t use wine

“People first, food to fit the people, and then the wine to fit the food.”

in food enough. I think it’s great to cook with the taste of the wine. A lot of people use leftover wine in their dishes, and the alcohol burns off and that’s fine. But when cooking at lower temperature, the wine matters. My favorite dessert is to take beautifully ripe peaches and poach them in some red wine with a couple cinnamon sticks and cloves.

is trying to lose those last 10 pounds. Being a good host means catering to the guest list. That person loves my kumquat chutney, so I’ll put that on the scallops.

Wine Spectator:Your recipes feature ingredients that some find difficult to pair with wine, like curry and cilantro. How do you approach these pairings?

Wine Spectator: Do you have a favor-

Padma Lakshmi: I think any good sommelier worth his salt would tell you what I’m about to tell you: When pairing wines with food, you want to complement the notes in the food, or contrast them.

Padma

Wine Spectator:Do you collect wines,

ite food-and-wine pairing?

Lakshmi: I make brisket wrapped in bacon a lot in the winter. I stick it in the oven and let it go low and slow. It’s so juicy and yummy, and I like to serve it with a deep red wine, like a big Bordeaux.

or buy them to enjoy right away?

Padma Lakshmi: Both. I don’t buy wines

to collect, although I have been given wine as presents. Cheval-Blanc, Latour, Lafite— those kinds of high-end wines. Those are treats, and I’ve certainly been the happy recipient of those.

Wine Spectator: What is your strategy for pairing food and wine?

Padma Lakshmi: I believe it should be

in this order: people first, food to fit the people, and then the wine to fit the food. I always start any aspect of planning with the guest list. I make sure it’s a balance of interesting people. I look at them and decide what to cook. Let’s say Ralph doesn’t like spicy food, Jane eats red meat and Chloe

Wine Spectator: Do you have a go-to wine?

Padma Lakshmi: I’d say Sancerre. I gravitate

Image Compliments of TorontoLife Magazine

toward everyday dry, crisp wines. In the winter, it would be Chianti. But I try to be as exploratory as I can be.

Business

Fighting Fake Bordeaux France strikes back against Chinese-made wine Suzanne Mustacich

Bordeaux is not a protected geographic indication in China

There’s no law to stop Chinese wineries from producing “Bordeaux,” but the French are trying to change that. Fake bottles of Lafite-Rothschild grab headlines, but according to Bordeaux’s wine trade council, only a small portion of wine fraud involves counterfeit labels of real châteaus. A much bigger worry for Bordeaux is wine labeled with fictitious châteaus using Bordeaux AOCs. But Bordeaux has little recourse against these Chinese-made Bordeauxs, because Bordeaux is not a protected geographic indication (GI) in China. China bought 42 million bottles of Bordeaux last year, and the Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB) believes Chinese consumers could be buying more if every time they reached for Bordeaux they were getting the real thing. “Graves Pomerol,” “Château Margot,” “Chatreal Latour, Bordeaux”-all are fakes on the Chinese market that are easy to spot if you know Bordeaux, but not so easy if you’re a Mandarinspeaking customs inspector with little knowledge of wine. Last March, the CIVB took a member of the EU Trade Commission on a fact-finding mission to China, meeting with Chinese officials. China signed a cooperation agreement with the CIVB, and sent their investigators to wine school. 26

“This way they know what to look for,” said Christophe Chateau, of the CIVB. “They recognize the appellations and realize that you can’t make Champagne in Bordeaux.” The trained inspectors will have an app-SmartBordeaux-on their mobile phones, so they can quickly determine the authenticity of a label. “But these actions won’t have a dissuasive effect if the appellation ‘Bordeaux’ is not recognized as a geographical indication on Chinese soil,” said CIVB president Georges Haushalter. So last spring, Bordeaux increased pressure on the Chinese to recognize Bordeaux as a GI. While CIVB officials admit that they can’t completely stop fraud in China, they hope to win GI protection in 2012. In the meantime, the CIVB is asking winegrowers to protect themselves by copyrighting their brand in China. It costs between $800 and $1,100-a lot for smaller producers-but can prove invaluable. “If you want to change your distributor, and your distributor has copyrighted your wine brand, which they do, then he owns it in China-not you,” said Chateau. “I tell them: It doesn’t matter if your family has owned the château for 150 years. Whoever copyrights the brand first, owns it.” Master of Wine Jeannie Cho Lee could tell instantly when she tasted fake wine at a Hong Kong dinner party.

“Just from colour and the nose, once you taste it, it was confirmation that it wasn’t the genuine wine,” she said. But not everyone possesses Lee’s acumen. China’s booming appetite for fine wine in recent years has fueled a rampant counterfeit market that industry insiders fear could be turning local buyers off. “What we’re seeing across the country is a proliferation of knock-offs and copycats and outright counterfeit as the imported wine industry really explodes in this market,” said Ian Ford of Summergate Fine Wines in Shanghai, adding that counterfeiters are taking advantage of inexperienced Chinese consumers. China has become the world’s fifth-largest consumer of wine, ahead of Britain, according to an International Wine and Spirit Research study. It forecasts 54 percent growth from 2011 to 2015 -the equivalent of a billion more bottles. That means supply and demand in the Chinese market can have a significant impact on global prices. The cost of high-end wines was down more than 20 percent year-on-year in late February, according to the Liv-ex 50 Index, which tracks Bordeaux wines. The plunge has been attributed to a range of factors, including a pull-back following a strong surge in prices and market turmoil in Europe.

From Grain to Bottle

Science

Making whiskey (the American way) Lew Bryson

Website members can check the latest auction highlights and track prices for more than 10,000 collectable wines in our Auction Price Database.

Step 1: SET UP

Locate your distillery near a steady source of calcium-rich, iron-free water; yeast loves calcium, and iron in the water makes foul-tasting whiskey. The limestone strata under the ground in Kentucky are a natural aquifer for such water (though some distillers simply use filtered city water, with equally good results). Step 2: FORMULATE Choose your grains. Governmental regulations define types of whiskey in part by grain recipe-what distillers call the “mashbill.” Bourbon must be made from at least 51 percent corn; rye whiskey with a similar proportion of rye. In practice, the dominant grain in a mashbill is usually closer to 70 percent; the specific proportion makes a significant difference in flavor. Mashbills also include small amounts of two other grains. Malt is almost always added to provide enzymes that promote the conversion of grain starch into sugars. Rye is typically used in Bourbon; wheat is also popular, as it brings smoothness. Rye whiskeys typically contain corn and malt. Step 3: GRIND AND COOK The grains are coarsely ground-separately-in a mill, and the corn is cooked to release the starches. Step 4: MASHING The grist of corn and small grains is mixed with water in about a 1:5 ratio, creating the mash, which is then heated to around 140° F, activating the enzymes in the malt. The mash is held at that temperature as the enzymes convert the starches to sugars, then the entire mash, unfiltered, is cooled and pumped to the fermentorsThe fermentor will contain about twothirds fresh, “sweet” mash and one-third sour mash.

Step 5: FERMENTATION Yeast is added to the mash, and converts the sugars to alcohol and carbon dioxide, which bubbles away. The sour mash addition lowers the pH of the total mash, which makes the yeast work more efficiently and consistently. After three to five days, fermentation is complete, and the mash, now called “distiller’s beer” and at between 8 percent and 18 percent alcohol, is pumped to the column stills; again, unfiltered, chunks and all. Step 6: DISTILLATION Nearly all Bourbon is made on column stills.The column still is a tall metal cylinder, approximately 4 feet across and 30 feet tall. Inside, there are perforated plates about every 15 inches. The beer enters near the top and drips down; steam enters at the bottom and moves up. As the steam heats the beer, the alcohol is vaporized and carried to the top by the steam. The mash solids flow to the bottom and are pumped out; some of this “stillage” is sent back to be used as sour mash, the rest is dried for animal feed. The vapor is condensed, and the spirit, now at about 140 proof (or 70 percent alcohol, and at this point called “low wines”), is sent to the doubler, essentially a classic copper pot still. Regulations require that the distillate be no more than 80 percent alcohol after this final distillation step. STEP 7: BARREL AGING Oak is the wood legally required for barrels; usually, white oak. The trees are cut, shaped into rough billets, and allowed to air-dry and age. The aging breaks down undesirable flavors in the oak and brings out the vanilla flavors. The billets are shaped, assembled into barrels, then steamed and bent into

shape. Before the heads are put on, the insides of the barrels are subjected to open flame; this charring creates charcoal and a “red layer” of caramelized sugars and other flavor compounds in the wood (it’s also another regulatory requirement, as is using new barrels only). The heads are placed, the bunghole is drilled, and the barrel is pressure-tested. The spirit is cut with water to barreling proof (regulations state a maximum of 125 proof, but some distillers go as low as 112) and entered into the barrels. (At this point, Tennessee whiskey must go through the Lincoln County Process: filtration through 10 feet of sugar maple charcoal and a wool blanket prior to going into barrel. Let it mature. The most exacting aging regulations in American whiskey are reserved for the designation “straight whiskey” (used with Bourbon and other mashbills). Such whiskeys must be aged in new, charred oak barrels and for a minimum of two years. However, most of this class enjoys at least four years of aging; those that don’t must state their lesser age on the label. Barrels rest in warehouses on wooden racks, called “ricks.” Warehouses (“rickhouses”) vary from single-story buildings to multitiered behemoths. Most have timber frames with metal cladding. Some are brick, and a few still stone. Most American whiskey is aged in Kentucky or Tennessee. STEP 8: BOTTLING The whiskey is screened to take out chunks of char, then chill-filtered to remove proteins that could cause a harmless cloudiness in the bottle. Then it is cut with water to bottling proof-regulations require a minimum of 80 proof and forbid any addition of color or flavor-and packaged.

T h e Ye a r I n Wi n e

2 0

1 1

In Review By Mitch Frank

Image Courtesy of Wallpaper Vortex

While the economy remains a question mark, wine sales are growing and prices are going up.

Fortunately, so is quality.

Image Courtesy of Wallpaper Vortex

At the start of 2012, the No. 1 word in the Spectator, wine sales grew 1.7 percent year? And most importantly, what does it wine industry is uncertainty. A year ago, by volume last year. That’s compared mean for you the consumer? An analysis there was a lot of optimism that the worst with 1.3 percent in 2010 and 0.4 percent of Wine Spectator’s 2011 tastings reveals of the recession was behind us, but now in the dark days of 2008. It’s not stellar, that wine quality continues to be high. it seems that global ecoWine Spectator editors nomic recovery is going tasted 15,857 wines last How Much Does 90 Cost? to be slow and filled with year. (That number does The average price for a wine that Wine Spectator awareded 90 points or more in 2011 plenty of potential minenot include reviews of ranged from $44 for Washington to $123 for Bordeaux. $125 fields. barrel samples of unfinIn late 2010, Chris Adished wines and retroams, managing director spective flights of older of Sherry-Lehmann, one vintages.) Of those of New York’s top retail- $100 new releases, 5,417 of ers, was excited to see the wines, or 34 perChampagne selling again. cent, scored 90 points He thought it promised or higher on the Wine $75 a robust 2011. But his Spectator 100-point overall sales slumped in scale, up from 30 perJuly, when Congress and cent in 2010. An imthe president clashed pressive 32 percent $50 over raising the debt earned outstanding ratceiling. Business picked ings (90 to 94 points) up again in the fall, only and 2 percent earned to slow down as Europe classic marks (95 points $25 grappled with its own or higher). financial crises. “There’s Prices remain reasona lot of uncertainty still able. Among the wines out there,” says Adams. Wine Spectator award0 Most of his customers ed 90 or more points Washington Italy California Burgundy Bordeaux are affluent, and every last year, the average hiccup in the stock marprice was $68, almost ket seems to hurt his business. “Things but it’s steady growth. If Impact’s projec- identical to that for the category in 2010. are stuck.”And yet, despite all the hur- tions hold, the United States will be the While some wineries have raised what dles, Americans are drinking more wine. world’s largest wine market by the end of they charge on high-end wines, there Consumption continues to go up as more this year. “I look at the long term,” says have been few increases on wines priced and more Boomers, Gen Xers and Mil- Bill Terlato, president and CEO of Terla- less than $30. But prices won’t stay low lennials discover wine and make it part to Wine Group. “And I see all age groups forever.While we don’t have a crystal ball, of their daily lives. According to Impact embracing wine. I see 30 years of robust what follows are our best projections for Databank, a sister publication of Wine growth.” So where will wine go in the next this uncertain year.

Gather ye bargains where ye may

When Joe Gallo talks about expansion, people listen. In November, the president of E.&J. Gallo spoke at a grapegrowers convention in Fresno, Calif., and announced that his company was hoping to sign long-term contracts with growers in an effort to lock in a supply of 10,000 acres of vineyards. He said the wine industry was on an upswing and he wanted his company to be able to handle hundreds of thousands of tons of additional grapes each harvest. During the boom of the ‘90s and the solid growth of the past decade, wineries around the globe planted more vines. When the recession hit, there was suddenly an excess of wine. That was good news for consumers, as wineries were desperate to sell. Wholesalers were eager to move inventory quickly. A lot of good-quality juice was offered at bargain prices. New online retailersflash sites-sprang up, touting deals. The sites send out regular e-mails offering customers wines at a deep discount for a limited time-30 percent, 50 percent, sometimes 70 percent off. Those days may soon be over. “There is no excess of wine anymore,” says Terlato. “There’s going to be a shortage in the next three years. [During the recession,] a lot of wineries needed to move inventory to stay afloat. Now they need to raise prices so they can invest long-term.” Some producers have already raised prices. If one of your favorite wines is selling for less than it did in 2007, now might be the time to buy a case. Before the recession, the industry’s favorite phrase was “trading up.” People were steadily The Champagne & Prosecco Economy increasing the amount of money they were willing to pay for a bottle of wine. During the worst of the recession, trading down took over. Wines over $20 wouldn’t sell, except for a few highly sought collectibles. Today, higher-priced wines are selling again. According to the Nielsen company, sales of table wines priced at $20 and up per bottle grew 11.6 percent between November 2010 and November 2011, outperforming all other price segments. Sales of wines priced $9 or less, the big winners in 2008 and 2009, grew 1.5 percent. Sales of imported wines have started to grow again. But that doesn’t mean people are spending freely. Leading retailers report that affluent customers are making big purchases, but they’re still holding back on what they pay for wines for daily consumption. Daniel Posner, owner of Grapes the Wine Company in White Plains, N.Y., found that the average price of a bottle he sells is $25. Before the recession, it was closer to $35. What’s more, customers are more demanding on value. “When a customer asks, ‘How much is this?’ and I say, ‘$30,’ they reply ‘I can get it for $26.50 down the road or online.’ My margin is already reduced. What can I do?” Even at the top price points, collectors are looking for more bang for their buck. “The 2010 futures campaign took the air out of classifiedgrowth sales for Bordeaux,” says Adams. Wealthy wine lovers were willing to put up big bucks for 2009 futures, but when the 2010 wines were priced even higher, many bowed out. Adams says some of his longtime Bordeaux collectors are shifting their attention to collectible Italian wines.

If one of your favorite wines is selling for less than it did in 2007, Prosecco? Champagne? Both!

Millions 3.0 of Cases

Italian sparkling wine imports, led by Prosecco, boomed as the recession began, while Champagne suffered. Now both

2.5

Italian Sparkling Wine

2.0

Champagne

1.5

1.0

0.5

0 2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Image Courtesy of Wine for Beginners.com

now might be the time buy a case.” Rating The Year In Wine

Percentage of total wines rated by point category. For the full list of wines visit our online site. 52%

50-79 32%

80-84 85-89 90-94 95-100

13% 1% 2%

Flash sites aren’t going away, but they are growing up Call it the Champagne-and-Prosecco economy. In 2008, during the worst economic times, Champagne sales slumped worldwide. There was even talk of delaying a planned expansion of the appellation. Meanwhile, Prosecco imports from Italy to the United States surged more than 114 percent from 2005. With excess inventory gone and wineries raising prices, will all those flash sites offering steep discounts disappear? Traditional retailers argue that the sites are unsustainable. “There have always been wines that were overpriced and could be discounted,” says Posner. “But the flash sites are now selling new releases. To me, it doesn’t seem like a very healthy way to do business.” But there are a lot of small wineries who find it hard to gain widespread distribution these days. “I don’t know how little guys can do it sometimes because they have a lot of clutter to break through in distribution,” says Sam Bronfman, managing partner at Bacchus Capital Management, a private equity fund that invests in wineries. “It’s really hard at the really small level.” To those producers, a flash site provides a great way to get in front of customers’ eyeballs. They’re offering wines people won’t necessarily find at their local retailer. And some of the newer sites are stressing big discounts less and quality more. (Web-savvy retailers like Posner and Garagiste’s Jon Rimmerman do the same thing in daily e-mail pitches.) People’s Wine Market touts that it only sources wine from “small, artisan” producers. Vitis.com claims its wines are vetted by three Masters of Wine. These are just like any other retailer pitching a new wine to a customer.

Value lives in washinton The question is how these new retailers make their business model sustainable. Is it possible to start each day with a sales pitch saying a wine is the new, greatest, best thing? “I feel like there hasn’t been a hot new value region since Argentina, in 2008,” says Posner. It’s true that during the boom times, it felt like a new or unheralded wine region emerged each week. In recent years, the bargains have remained much the same-New Zealand, Argentina, Beaujolais’ very good 2009 vintage. While Washington state is not new, and its wines comes at multiple price points, our numbers suggest they’re undervalued. Last year, we tasted 722 wines from the Evergreen State, encompassing everything from small-production Cabernet Sauvignon to value blends. An impressive 359 of the wines, or 50 percent, scored 90 points or higher, while another 47 percent scored very good. The average price of a 90+ wine? $44. France continued to lead in total reviews, accounting for 4,455 wines in 2011, followed by California and Italy. Washington and Argentina overtook Spain and Germany for fourth and fifth places, respectively. In all, we tasted wines from 26 countries and 14 states. As we have done in recent years, we open our wine-keeping books and reveal the results of the past year in wine. The chart on page 101 represents the regional and varietal categories we cover, and shows a breakdown of the number of wines that fell into each of the score categories on our 100-point scale. (For more detailed information on our ratings and methods, see “About the Buying Guide,” page 110.) Every wine we formally review is tasted blind, given a score and a tasting note.

Featured Region

Whiskey Country

4 10 9

1 23 7

Ur b a n Bo u r bo n Tr ail

Ke ntu c ky bo u r bo n Fe s ti val

Telephone (502) 875-9331 Website www.bourboncountry.com

Telephone (800) 638-4877 Website www.kybourbonfestival.com

O s c a r Getz M u s eu m o f Whis key H is to ry

B u f fa l o Tr ac e

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11 4 N . Fif t h S t ., B ard s tow n , Ky. Telephone (502) 348-2999 Website www.kybourbonfestival.com 1 1 3 Gr eat Bu ff al o Trace , Fr a nkf o r t , Ky. Telephone (800) 654-8471 Website www.buffalotrace.com

Jack Daniel’s

182 Lynch bu rg Hi g h way, Lynch bu rg , Te nn. Telephone (931) 759-6357 Website www.jackdaniels.com

George A. D ick el

19 50 Ca s cad e Hol low Road , Tu llah om a, Te nn. Telephone (931) 857-4110 Website www.jackdaniels.com

Heaven Hill

Bou rbon He ri ta g e Ce nte r, 13 11 Gi lke y Ru n Road , Bard s town, Ky. Telephone (502) 337-1000 Website www.heavenhill.com

8 9

Make r’s M a rk

3 3 50 Bur ks Spr ing Ro ad, Lore tto , Ky. Telephone (270) 865-2099 Website www.makersmark.com

Wild Turk e y

1525 Ty r o ne Ro ad, Lawr enbur g, Ky. Telephone (502) 839-4544 Website www.wildturkey.com

10 Woo dford R e se rv e

7855 McCr acken Pike, Vers ai l le s, Ky. Telephone (859) 879-1812 Website www.woodfordreserve.com

we enjoy wine to the way wine is packaged as inpiration for Wine Spectator, so we as a magazine can embody all that we as enthusiasts enjoy about wine. My wish is that you as readers will enjoy our new appearace as much as I enjoyed designing it. Wine is about taking a monment to enjoy the finer things in life, and I hope that you feel the same about Wine Spectator. Pour yourself a glass of wine and enjoy.

Lindsay Calhoun

Editor’s Letter When creating this issue of Wine Spectator I found myself, of course, dwelling on wine. Not just wine in the sense of the drink itself, but he true meaning of wine. The deep connection we feel as collectors, enthusiasts, and industry members for this drink that has been a part of the lives of mankind for millennia. Why is it that we take such joy in discovering and experiencing new wines, such pride in displaying the bottles of rare finds, and of course, the sense of togetherness I feel as I share a glass with friends and loved ones? After much thought, I have come to the conclusion that (for me at least) the answer is tradition. The feeling of being a part of something that my parents and grandparents and their parents were also a part of, the idea that even the process of winemaking prides itself in its history. Tradition is a fundamental part of the wine experience. Taste preferences and labels may change, but the wine inside the bottle will always remain a part of the tradition. It is my mission at Wine Spectator to embody this idea. It is my goal that you, as readers, will find joy in discovering new wines through our recommendations, the pride of displaying us in your homes, and feel connected with us as we share our love of wine. I am hence changing our appearance to reflect this revelation. Our new image will now reflect the culture of wine, the longstanding history and connection we feel when we drink wine. Though our tradition of quality articles, relevent collector’s information and professional tasting notes will remain unchanged, our “label” will focus not only on good design but draw it’s inspiration from wine itself. I will now look at everything from the way