"winemakers" news and stories

The latest wine trend to hit the restaurant scene? Sommeliers getting out of the cellar -- and into a winery. They are spending time in vineyards and wine-production facilities with a goal of developing a wine label; in some cases these wines will be (or already are!) poured exclusively at their restaurant.

For instance, Brian Duncan, a sommelier at Chicago's Bin 36, paired up with Hahn Family Wines' winemaker Adam LaZarre. Keeping Bin 36's food menu in mind, the two worked in tandem on blending and crafting the wines at this Monterey, Calif., winery (despite the Central Coast location, fruit is sourced from all over California). The list of 15 Bin 36 wines is a mix of reds and whites, including 2009 Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc with fruit from Mauritson Vineyards (we've actually sipped this winery's Sauvignon Blanc a couple vintages past and it knocked our socks off) and two proprietary red-wine blends (2005 and 2006 vintages).

At least two Colorado restaurants have tapped into the trend. Master Sommelier Richard Betts -- who until 2008 was the wine director at Montagna inside The Little Nell Hotel -- wanted to take this Aspen place up a notch. He snagged a business partner, Dennis Scholl, and now the two have a line of wines under the label Betts & Scholl, with selections containing grapes from Australia, California and France. Wines can be ordered via the web site, BettsandScholl.com.

Two fairly common wine terms are "varietal" and "blend." A varietal wine is one made primarily of one type of grape, like Chardonnay, Zinfandel or Pinot Noir. A blended wine is a combination of different types of wine, designed to enhance certain flavors, rather than a certain grape. Another word that gets thrown around a lot is "vintage," which refers to the year that the grapes were produced. Judging from the location of the winery and the vintage, wine connoisseurs can pinpoint their favorite wines based upon the quality of the harvest that year.

Since 1972, winemakers in the US have been allowed to add up to 5% of one vintage to another vintage wine and still tag it the the year of the latter. Under this standard, a 2004 wine could have up to 5% of 2001 added to it, for example. This standard was increased to 15% a few weeks ago. It was done to "give greater flexibility to domestic winemakers in blending wine to better suit consumer tastes" and the Wine Institute noted that adding older, more mature wines to younger wines would help in "improving taste appeal and quality perception." Countries in the EU, as well as Australia and New Zealand, already have this 15% standard, while countries like Chile and South Africa allow up to 25%.

Some areas in the US, prestigious American Viticultural Areas, will still be using the 95% standard, if they blend with older vintages at all. 

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