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    Friday, November 7, 2008

    Wines that will change a life...



    I never really can justify a bottle of wine that cost more than $80 because, quite frankly, I can’t appreciate it yet. My palate, not to mention my wallet, does not have the “chops” it takes to distinguish these wines from my usual $15-$40 “school night” drinkers. But, while catching up on my WLTV episodes, Gary mentioned a wine that I thought maybe someday I could justify buying...



    Gordon L. Holmes, a Wall Street publisher turned wine maker, and Lookout Ridge has gathered an amazing team of wine makers who are producing top-notch wines for a cause worth admiration: wheelchairs. That’s right, for every bottle of wine you buy from them, they donate the profits to Wine for Wheels, an organization that is dedicated to provide wheelchairs to people who can’t afford them.

    Their dream-team cast of wine makers includes Andy Erickson, the wine maker at Screaming Eagle, Greg La Folette, from Tandem, Cathy Corison, Richard Arrowood, Aaron Pott, and so many more prestigious names.

    The winery also delivers a personalized certificate with a photograph of the person your donation went to with the bottles of wine that you buy. Holmes realized the importance of having a wheelchair his wife developed a rare form of debilitating multiple sclerosis.

    Here’s a bit from an article at Bloomberg.com that was written in Febuary that sums up the deal:
    By 2000, Holmes was planting vineyards and hired top winemaker Greg La Follette to help him make wine from purchased grapes. Four years later he met California real-estate developer and philanthropist Ken Behring, who started the Wheelchair Foundation. That chance encounter and his wife's situation inspired his Wine for Wheels effort.


    ``The first time we distributed wheelchairs, in Mexico, I saw how one could instantly change someone's life,'' he says. ``I picked up a little boy whose dad was wheeling him in a wheelbarrow and sat him in a wheelchair. The look on his face now that he could get around by himself -- wow.''

    Holmes, a self-confessed Type A personality, manages his own investment portfolio and also publishes three online newsletters on precious metals and energy.

    ``My uranium stocks have gone up 1,000 percent since 2001,'' he says. He leverages his financial connections to promote Wine for Wheels. Next week, when he attends a mining conference in Toronto, he'll take wine. Not to make money, he says, but to get on the 25,000 attendees' charity lists.

    The winemakers he approached for his project were quick to sign on.
    ``Within 20 minutes of talking to Gordon, I was in,'' Erickson tells me later. ``I've traveled in South America and Asia and seen people with no legs living in boxes, trying to get around on skateboards. My wife and I were looking for some way to give something back.''

    That is the beauty of wine- it’s not hardcore capitalism, it’s not all about the finance and profits, numbers and figures. Wine is about passion, love and companionship. It’s good to see such a talented group of people not only give to their love of wine, but give back to the community. To these philanthropists, they aren’t just trying to make money; they are trying to give to people who deserve more. They are trying to give back dignity, independence and faith. To a winemaker, there could be no greater reward.

    I know the packages are pricey, but take a look anyway: http://www.lookoutridge.com/lookoutridge/page/wine-for-wheels.jsp

    Cheers to you,
    -Tatum

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    Thursday, November 6, 2008

    Not "broadbanding" wine anytime soon...

    Barack Obama’s website stated that he “believes America should lead the world in broadband penetration and internet access.” John McCain also believes that everyone, no matter rich or poor, should have internet access. I, and I'm sure you do to, rely on the internet tremendously to get every-day activities done. I have convinced myself that without a computer, my life could not function. Besides that point, we are seeing the information revolution, where everything will be instant, better and faster. All this is due to the incredible medium which is the internet.

    Let me state something painfully obvious; the internet has become common place for the world. Without second thought, we turn to it to optimize, automate and enhance our lives, everything from communication to entertainment. So, it comes to no surprise that the marketplace has shifted from the traditional brick-and-mortar mom-and-pop shops to the web.

    But as we slowly see wine consumers, culture and attention go “Web 2.0,” I’m not convinced that the wine world will see its shift to the virtual tasting room too soon…
    Being a Vayniac, I have seen how Gary has turned his father’s local liquor store into Wine Library, a nationally known brand. He owes, and gives, a lot of his credit to Web 2.0. Numerous other companies have started up on the web to sell wine as well: Winebid.com, Wine Woot, Winestillsoldout.com, the list continues. Things will heat up when multi-million-dollar internet conglomerate, Amazon.com, begins their process to sell wine through their site. These are all good things; we consumers have power to choose, to dictate and to explore far more varieties of sources than ever. From California to France, buyers can find great values and immensely amazing selections with tremendous availability. We can get tasting notes in an instant, share information on blogs and forums and make less pressured, more educated buying decisions.

    If you’ve notice, these are all benefits. I have not listed many problems or criticism to wine going online, because quite frankly, I prefer it. I believe that it is the future, but this future certainly is not within our near future. One simple reason I believe this is because we are human beings. Okay, yes, another painfully obvious statement, but as human beings we need company and experience. We observe patterns, solve problems and learn from our experience, which accumulates into knowledge that becomes wisdom. You drink a lot of wine, you buy a lot of bottles and you will accumulate Wine wisdom. We need company; this is why online social networking has become such a phenomenon, because we can keep and search for friends in more ways than ever before. We want to spend time with each other, our instincts need it. This is why we host wine parties, tasting, and conventions. This is why wine will never be exclusively “broad-banded,” if you will, because it requires that human element to exist.

    Because of this need for human interaction, we will not shift our buying practices to the internet completely. Without local wine stores, there would be no wine sales people. Wine people are as much of a part of our “wine collection” as the bottles themselves. How many of us have a special connection with at least one person who deals with trying to get you to buy wine? They tell us the latest trends, they pull out the super-primo stuff when you stop in and they enjoy selling wine to you; but that’s not something you can do without knowing a person’s tastes, style and character. Automated processes have very limited solutions to this because it can’t “get to know” anything, it can only dictate. A good wine person does not dictate what a “good buy is,” they recommend it and tailor it to the consumer. A wine recommendation is based on personal connection, not algorithms.
    I will always go out to the LWS to browse the aisles, look through the bargain bin and pick up that bottle. I want to go chat about wine news and knowledge, I want to feel the bottle, have those special samples. Broadbanding wines will lose that human element.

    And who is to say that because something is cheaper and more abundant that we will abandon local wine stores? Because I can stream almost any movie for free on my computer doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a date out to the theaters, or just because I can order food online from almost anywhere does not mean I won’t go enjoy some company at a nice restaurant. In this way, no matter how fast, efficient and connected we become via the internet, the human element will also rule our instincts to be with each other share the company and celebrate friendship.

    Cheers to you,
    -Tatum
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    Saturday, November 1, 2008

    Brunello sticks to their roots...

    As many winos may have heard in the news recently, an upcoming vote on the fate of Brunello di Montalcino drew to an end today, and I have the results, thanks to a subscription to vinowire... (You should get it, it's free!)If some readers don't know what I'm saying then let me give it to you in a nutshell:Brunello di Montalcino, a prestigous wine region in Italy, must be made of 100% sangiovese grapes. Around eight months ago, fake "Brunello" blends (read: not 100% sangiovese) were being sold as BdM- This was bad for Italy and bad for brunello. Some wine makers said they wanted to change strict, Italian DOC and DOCG wine laws to allow blends; this will help tailor the taste of BdM to foreign (read: majority American public) consumers who are not used to a power palate-boxer such as brunello.

    So, here are the voting results:

    Proposition 1- Are you in favor of changing the ampelographic (the study of identification and classification of grapevines) basis for Brunello di Montalcino? 662 voted NO, 30 voted YES

    Proposition 2- Are you in favor of changing the ampelographic basis for Rosso di Montalcino? 540 voted NO, 162 voted YES

    Proposition 3- Are you in favor of changing any other appellation rules? (yields, allowing the use of concentrated rectifiede must) 474 voted NO, 278 voted YES

    Proposition 4- Are you in favor of grouping all appellations into a single "Montalcino" appellation? (Except for Sant' Antimo.) 684 voted NO, 6 voted YES

    Proposition 5- Are you in favor of grouping all other appellations into a single "Montalcino" appellation? (Except for Brunello di Montalcino.) 572 voted NO, 118 voted YES

    So as we may see in these results, it seems that wine makers stay proud and true to their traditions. Even though changing some of these DOC/DOCG laws may help business and harvest, the prestige of Bdm and all Montalcino's wine regions are more important than financial gain.

    So next time some aristocratic, wannabe flaunts some expensive bottle at you, or you take a punch to the tongue from a truly bold and powerful brunello, thank the Italian wine makers; for keeping their class, sticking by their convictions and protecting traditions.

    Cheers!
    -Tatum
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