I’ve been on more than my share of flights this summer, both domestic and international, and one thing that bugs me is how poor wine service has become on airlines.

Yea, I know, there is some pretty decent juice poured in business and first class, but I’m talking about the bottles served for $5 in coach. In my recent experience none of the wines on offer are worth the money and I tend to drink ice water on flights as a result.

It would seem to me that this is an interesting marketing opportunity for wine brands of a certain scale or brands known for consistent quality and value. Since bottling for airlines requires a special line out of reach for most small to medium wineries, only larger production brands tend to play here. Some are obviously using this as a way to expose their brand to new customers as about half the time the wines presented to me are from unfamiliar wineries (mostly from the southern hemisphere for some reason).

But what if someone like Cameron Hughes bottled some larger lots or a special blend just for airlines? They could change the wines over time to expose customers to something better than the average fighting varietal now most common. On the back label they could tell their direct marketing story.

I’d definitely fork over $5 for this kind of juice any day.

The growth of dry rose has been one of the trends of 2007 and Cameron Hughes gets into the fray with this Spanish rose. Made by saignee, where juice is drawn off the fermenting red wine to concentrate it’s flavors, this wine is a bit darker than normal for a rose (or “rosado” as the Spanish call them). But everything else is exactly what you want this time of year to pair with grilled chicken or salad. A podcast interview with Cameron Hughes will be released shortly.

Cameron Hughes, Lot 37, Grenache Rose, Campo de Borja 2006 ($10) - Clear ruby in color, a shade or two darker than normal for rose. Generous aromas of strawberry and grapefruit. Fresh and crisp in the mouth with strawberry and watermelon flavors finishing bone dry with good acidity. A very nice example of Spanish rose for a bargain price (I found this at Costco for $8.99 in Northern California).

14% ABV
Stelvin closure
Score: 87
Rating:

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I worked in Napa last week and drove past some of the most well known vineyards loaded with fruit almost ready for harvest. I also drove past vineyards south of the city of Napa that appear to be setup for machine harvesting and are across the road from a lumberyard and tool rental place. This got me thinking about the differences in wines and what separates great wine from just well made, clean wine.

How much of this difference is due to the decisions of winemakers in the cellar and how much is due to the vineyard practices and place they are grown?

Terroir has long been part of the mythology of wine marketing. But is there really a difference between Cabernet grown at Martha’s Vineyard and the vineyards in American Canyon? Would we be able to taste the difference if both vineyards were made into wine by Heidi Barrett?

From my experience I’d say yes, but it would be interesting to see what some of the best winemakers would make from more humbly grown grapes. Alas, I don’t ever think we will see this in reality but it’s interesting to see what folks like August Briggs are doing at Castle Rock and his eponymous winery.

In the end, place matters but how much is open for debate. As with all luxury goods, scarcity and reputation drives wine prices but quality can be another story altogether.

As WBW founder Lenn gets back in shape to finish the summary of our last event, the good Dr. Vino has prescribed indigenous grape varieties for the next round on September 12.

Many native grapes are made into interesting wines and Tyler has asked us to pass on the “Big 6″ from France and focus on more obscure wines. Italy would seem to be a good place to look for interesting indigenous grapes but I might stay closer to home and focus on hybrid grapes developed at the University of Minnesota.

Join us next month and pick a wine to blog yourself. All it takes is a couple of minutes to sign-up at the new Wine Blogging Wednesday blog and you can post there when you are ready.

After almost three years of podcasting and blogging about wine, it’s time I try my hand at making some.

I’m pleased to announce my new side project in collaboration with the folks at Crushpad: Roussanne 2007.

Yep, I’m going to make a couple barrels, perhaps a bit more depending on demand, of one of the great white grapes of the Rhone, Roussanne. And not just any Roussanne, but grapes grown in the Westerly Vineyard (now known as McGinley) in Santa Ynez’s Happy Canyon area. This is just north of where I grew up and it will be great to get back to my roots and explore what it means to be a winemaker again.

Although I have never mentioned it here, I have made wine over several vintages. My first efforts were from canned concentrates in the mid-1980’s which ended in wines that mostly were poured down the drain. Undeterred, I continued my quest in the obscure vineyards of Oregon, Wisconsin with two vintages of Marshall Foch, Leon Millot, Dechaunac, Aurore and Seyval Blanc. These wines proved to be much more drinkable with some actually quite quaffable. But they were not what I was looking for so I stopped with the 1990 vintage. Although I later moved near the Finger Lakes in New York, I was never tempted to restart my winemaking until I could make wines from vitis vinifera grapes grown in my home state of California.

This vintage my wish has been granted and I will make Roussanne, perhaps blended with other Rhone whites, and podcast and blog the experience with you.

And you can directly participate by joining my Crushnet group and being on my advisory committee. Not only will you help me make all the decisions for this wine from fermentation procedures to aging to labeling, but you’ll also get a one-case allocation of this rare wine. A maximum of 70 members will have the chance to taste this wine in barrel and in the bottle.

Just sign up at Crushnet and then search for the Winecast group and join. Shortly thereafter I’ll approve your membership and you’ll be in for a great ride.

So who’s in?

$14
13% ABV
Synthetic cork closure
Score: 86
Rating:

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Note: This review is in response to Andrew’s email call to wine bloggers to emulate the style of Chateau Petrogasm, a Zen-like wine blog who reviews wine with a single image. I decided to start with something simple here and will graduate to a more difficult to decode review in a few days.

Photo by Sas Van Veen

For listeners who want to stay up with the latest podcasts while traveling, I’ve setup a new iPhone-friendly page and have put a new button to it on the right sidebar.

Since I don’t have an iPhone yet, I hope it works as advertised; let me know… A trip to my local AT&T or Apple Store is in my immediate future to see how it works on the real thing.

Our monthly virtual tasting event turns three today with founder Lenn Thompson from LENNDEVOURS again hosting. Lenn’s theme of “Naked” Chardonnay is perfect for this time of year when the heat of summer has us drinking more fruity white wines. But Chardonnay is most often found with some oak aging so finding a non-oaked wine takes a bit of investigation although some producers are labeling their wines as “unwooded”, “no-oak” or even “naked.”

Chardonnay is a delicate grape that is easily dominated by other varietals through blending or, more often, with the addition of French oak. Mostly identified with the great white wines from France’s Burgundy region, Chardonnay can be made in a number of styles depending upon the techniques used by the winemaker. If they are looking for a soft, buttery style, malolactic fermentation (a.k.a. “ML”) is used. For creaminess in the mid-palate and finish, lees aging is done. And to add toast, vanilla and a bit more complexity in the aromatics, barrel fermentation and/or oak aging is added. The default style in California Chardonnay is oaked — some say too heavily — but things are changing in this regard.

My personal preference in Chardonnay is a light touch of oak or no oak at all. My favorites come from France’s Chablis area when fruit, minerality and acidity are center stage and oak is most often in the background or not used at all. So I immediately thought of Chablis when Lenn announced this theme but didn’t have a chance to visit some of the Twin Cities’ urban wine stores to buy a bottle. The wine selected here was chosen from the very few in stock that seemed to be unoaked from their label description and I confirmed this by visiting the winery website where oak is not mentioned in any of the marketing materials. If you are using expensive oak barrels, or even chips, in your Chardonnay you will mention this in the winemaker notes. And the aroma and flavor profile here is consistent with a stainless-only approach.

Hess Collection, Chardonnay, Monterey 2005 ($11) - This 100% Chardonnay features grapes grown in the cooler Monterey AVA in California. The color is a very pale straw with with a tinge of green. Lean citrus and pear aromas with a hint of nuttiness. Simple pear and pineapple flavors finishing clean and soft. An easy drinking quaffer and good value.

13.5% ABV

Synthetic cork closure

Score: 85

Rating:

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Thanks once again to Lenn for three great years of Wine Blogging Wednesday. I’m sure we will see a lot of great values this time out and a good turnout given the availability of un-oaked Chardonnay these days. Let’s hope this style becomes a trend in the broader market.

I received an email today from Family Winemakers of California regarding their tasting in San Francisco August 19th and 20th. Attendees have until this Friday at midnight Pacific time to purchase tickets. Just visit their website and look for the “ticket sales” link to order yours.

I have never attended this tasting but will be there this year on both the public (Aug. 19th) and trade (Aug. 20th) days. But I will not be attending as a wine blogger and podcaster but as a member of a participating winery pouring behind our table. If you plan to be there, be sure to look for me in the “G” section. Email me for more direct instructions on my whereabouts

Hoping to see some of my fellow wine bloggers and local readers/listeners there. Maybe there will be some additional bottles below the table; who can tell?