Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Quintessa Winery

Quintessa Winery was purchased in 1989 as 280 undeveloped acres in Rutherford by the Chilean vintners Agustin and Valeria Huneeus. The property includes a lake, five hills, 26 different vineyard blocks and a wine cave.  It is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon (129 acres), Merlot (26 acres), Cabernet Franc (7 acres)  and 4 acres each of Petit Verdot and Carmenere.  The winery was opened in 2002 and employs organic and biodynamic farming.  The setting is very beautiful and the wines are outstanding, making it an exceptionally pleasant winery to visit.


Quintessa winery


Quintessa is located on the west side of Silverado Trail north of Rutherford Cross Rd.  and is first viewed as a crescent shaped building on a hill. They specialize in a premium Cabernet Sauvignon  that is made in a Bordeaux blend style. The tasting and tour is offered three times a day by appointment only and costs $65.  The Cabs you will taste, however, are three to four vintages that retail at $145 a bottle and are paired with gourmet cheese and crackers, all presented after a very interesting and personal tour.  Because of the quality of the wines and the very intimate and personalized tour and tasting, the fee is not at all unreasonable.


Quintessa vineyard


Our tour began with a walk up the hill that overlooks the vineyards.  It was a very lovely view and our excellent host, Laura,  brought some Sauvignon Blanc ("Illumination" at $40) to taste at the top.  This was followed by a cellar tour with a walk through the wine caves and a close up observation of the harvest that included the destemming and sorting of Merlot grapes.  The tasting was inside the building at a private tasting table reserved just for our party and included a packet of written material with photographs and a special individualized greeting for us.  The artisanal cheese pairing included pepato sheep's milk cheese from Petaluma, Seascape goat and cow's milk cheese from Paso Robles and Wagon Wheel cow's milk cheese from Petaluma.  The wines included the 2009, 2008 and 2006 Quintessa but we were also provided with a tasting of the 2007 Quintessa.


Quintessa wine cave


The 2009 Quintessa ($145) was Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot.  It saw 20 months on French oak, 85% of that new oak.  It was still very young, although not at all difficult to approach.  I got mostly red plum on the nose with red cherry on the palate along with some spice and vanilla.  It was very well balanced and integrated with interlaced tannins.  Although it was very drinkable, it should improve with some age.  The 2008 Quintessa ($145) was more mature and quite nice.  In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot this one has Cabernet Franc and Carmenere.  It saw 19 months on 85% new French oak.  This was more lush and silky than the younger 2009.  Again I got plum on the nose with black cherry and vanilla on the palate along with very nice tannins.  I thought it had an especially nice, long finish.  

Large oak barrels


We had the option of tasting the 2006 or 2007 next and we both chose the 2007, even though we knew what a great year for Napa Valley Cabs this was and how it would probably be the best of the vertical.  The 2007  Quintessa ($155 but not available by single bottle) had Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet France and Carmenere but no Petit Verdot. It had an intense and interesting aroma of dark fruit with some spice.  On the palate it was full bodied but very well balanced with great integrated tannins, plenty of ripe cherry and blackberry with good complexity and a long finish.  Although it was delightfully ripe, it was definitely not overripe or overdone.  It was lush but also had some delicacy.  It is one of the finest Cabs in Napa Valley, and I suspect it would be rated in the 93 to 95 range by most critics.  It is damn good and very drinkable now.  I expected the 2006 to be anticlimactic but I did remember liking the 2006 Marston Family Cab even better than their stellar 2007 so remained open minded about it.  The 2006 Quintessa ($155) had a lighter nose than their 2007. It was well balanced, smooth with good fruit and excellent structure. I noticed it did not have any Cab Franc in it, unlike the 2007.  I would not rate it quite as high as the 2007 but preferred it to the 2008.  Because the 2007 was not available in individual 750ml bottles, we opted to purchase the 2006 instead.


Lounge


Quintessa offers a premium tour and paired tasting of some excellent Cabs.  Regular tourists or inexperienced wine drinkers will probably want to avoid the tasting fee and wines in this price range, but if you are serious about Cabs and are willing to spend  a little more to taste and purchase them, then you will probably love the tour, tasting and wines at Quintessa; I know we did.  Much thanks to Mary Thomas for inviting us.
Concrete barrel from France



Quintessa Winery
1601 Silverado Trail
Rutherford, CA 94573
(707) 967-1601
Date of visit: September 26, 2012

Destemming

Grape destemming & sorting

Stainless steel tanks

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Honig Vineyard and Winery

Honig Vineyard and Winery is a smaller, family owned winery that is well worth visiting.  In 1964 Louis Honig purchased a 68 acre ranch in Rutherford and planted Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc.  He sold his grapes to other wineries, although after his death his family produced several hundred cases of their own Sauvignon Blanc as a tribute to Louis. In 1984 his grandson, Michael Honig, took over the winery and began producing Sauvignon Blanc. By 1987 they produced their first Cabernet Sauvignon.  Honig Vineyard and Winery continues to produce only two varietals and are a certified California sustainable winegrower.  Tastings are by appointment and are very reasonable priced $10 which is credited toward each $25 purchase. It is a great place to visit, especially on a nice day when you can sit outside on the patio.


Tasting on the patio


We visited on a lovely September day and were offered the option of tasting indoors at a tasting table our outdoors on the patio that was surrounded by trees and vineyards.  We chose the patio, of course, and, as you can see by the photos, it was a very lovely setting.  Our host was very friendly, adding to the overall experience which was very relaxing and pleasant.


Vineyard

Our first tasting was the Cabernet Sauvignon rose.  I usually pass on tasting roses but this was a lovely, sunny rose sort of day and Honig makes such good wines I tried it.  It was very dry, light but with good acid.  It is well done for this sort of wine.  The next wine was their Honig 2011 Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc ($27).  This is from 100% estate grapes and only 800 cases were produced. It has 30% MLF and 30% of it sees six months in new French oak.  After a very pleasant grapefruit aroma, the wine has mostly lemon and grapefruit on the palate with some herbaceousness.  It is a drier, crisp SB that is somewhat restrained in its fruit, emphasizing instead some minerality and oak. You will not confuse this for a New Zealand SB.  It's quite nice and has a fairly long , crisp finish. The Honig 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($40) was next. They produce about 8,000 cases a year of this.  It is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petite Verdot and sees 17 months in American oak.  I got some red cherry and raspberry on the nose with bright red cherry on the palate.  It had decent acid with good integrated tannins and a medium finish.  This Cab is very drinkable now.  It is noted on the Tasting Menu that this Cab received 90 points from the Wine Enthusiast and 92 points from the Wine Spectator.  Our favorite, though, was the impressive Honig 2007 Campbell Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ($75) that received 94 points from the Wine Enthusiast.  Only about 450 cases of this are produced each year.  It had a substantial black cherry nose with lush black cherry, blackberry and spices on the palate, with good tannins and a long finish.  This is an excellent Cab and well worth the $75.  It is a bigger Cab than their other one but quite drinkable now.  Campbell Vineyard is located on the west side of the Rutherford Bench.  The final tasting was the Honig 2010 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc ($60).  This was a rich dessert wine that had enough acid to balance the sweetness.  I got mostly peach and honey on the palate with evident botrytis.  I'd recommend tasting this even if you are not especially fond of dessert wines.  At least you will know what a good one tastes like.


Vineyard

We enjoyed all of the wines we tasted at Honig but especially the Honig 2007 Campbell Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Our visit to Honig was a very pleasant one, and we enthusiastically recommend visiting them.  If you do visit, try to go on a day when you can sit outdoors on the patio. 



Grapevines



850 Rutherford Rd.
Rutherford, CA 94573
(707)963-5618
Date of Visit: September 19, 2012



Indoor tasting table



Entry to tasting room


Tasting room

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Van Der Heyden Vineyards & Winery

Van Der Heyden Vineyards & Winery is a very unusual, unique and oddly eccentric winery that offers some great desert wines and a very nice Syrah.  But be forewarned that you will either really love this winery for its authenticity, character and delicious wines, or you will not like it because it is too funky.  You won't, however, ever forget your visit there.


Duck, turtle & wino crossing



Entry sign

The grounds and tasting room look like something out of a Monty Python movie or what you might encounter in the backwoods of the Ozarks. All that is missing is an outhouse and moonshine still.  If you are turned off by rustic settings, then just skip Van Der Heyden and go to Darioush down the road where they have very good wines along with opulence and splendor. (I like Darioush, and you should go there. The last time we visited I actually took a photo of the gentlemen’s room it was so luxurious.) But please don’t go to Van Der Heyden and expect it to be similar.  If you want to be really adventurous, then go to Darioush first, try their wines and pistachios, visit their restrooms, take some photos (even the restrooms are photgenic) and then head over to Van Der Heyden to enjoy the contrast.

Driveway to winery

Van Der Heyden is famous for their Late Harvest Cabernet Sauvignon. I’m not into desert wines, although I have had friends who were and I’ve tasted many of the finest in the world, including Chateau d’Yquem and aged German Trockenbeerenausleses.  I tend to skip many California desert wines because I find them too one-dimensional, lacking the interesting complexity of great French Sauternes or German or Austrian late harvest Rieslings. They tend to be overly sweet and flabby, without enough acid or fruit and frequently without botrytis. (Port style wines are another story, and I do like a number of California “ports.”)


Tasting room on left

Van Der Heyden Vineyard is located across from the Soda Canyon grocery store on Silverado Trail and Andre Van Der Heyden and his family have been living there since 1977.  They make as many as 30 different wines, all in extremely limited amounts.  Most notable is a late harvest Cabernet Sauvignon, the only regular production late harvest Cab in the world.  Other wineries have tried to make it but apparently without success.  Andre Van Der Heyden figured out how to do it. For a mere $10 and a reservation, you can get to sample some. (I think you may obtain a reservation with very short notice.)  You will then get to have your tasting in the most unusual tasting room you are ever likely to encounter.

Tasting room


Our tasting began with the Van Der Heyden 2006 Syrah at $60.  It had a lot of character with great Syrah fruit that was not overly done.  No fruit bomb here.  It had good black pepper on the nose (very pronounced) and palate and was in a style I just love.  Sometimes you will get pepper in a Petite Sirah or Zinfandel, although not as often as in the past. Some Syrahs have it, too, and I find it most welcome.  Both of us really enjoyed this Syrah!  The Van Der Heyden 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon ($65?) was also very nice.  It is well balanced and had a very good finish.  But the wine we had come there to purchase was the late harvest Cabernet Sauvignon, which is sold in half bottles, full bottles or magnums.  My friend’s brother-in-law in Southern California fell in love with this late harvest Cab so we were purchasing some for him since Van Der Heyden wines are so difficult to find.  We sampled the Van Der Heyden 2004 Late Harvest Cabernet Sauvignon and it was quite interesting and very nice indeed.  If I’ve ever tasted a late harvest cab in the past, I don’t remember it.  I also tried the Van Der Heyden 2007 Late Harvest Chardonnay which sells for $40 a half bottle.  It had a voluptuous honey nose and was very well balanced.  I liked it as well as the late harvest Cab, although it is very different.  What blew me away, however, was the Van Der Heyden 2002 Late Harvest Semillon that sells for $125 a half bottle.  Although this did not have the lively acid that some French Sauternes have, I found it well balanced.  This 2002 Late Harvest Semillon is one of the finest late harvest California wines I've tasted in recent years.  It is the sort of wine I think of when I hear the phrase, “nectar of the gods.”

Art exhibit

Andre Van Der Heyden was, by the way, our host and full of anecdotes and humor. If you guess one of his riddles, you might get an extra taste, but if you fail, then you have to hear another riddle. Andre emmigrated from the Netherlands as a teenager and you can still hear some Dutch in his pronunciations. We were also introduced to one of their friendly rescue dogs and a rescue cat. I'm not sure where all the ducks and turtles were but there were crossing signs for them.




Tasting room ceiling

Van Der Heyden Vineyards makes some fantastic desert wines, and their other wines are well worth exploring, especially the Syrah.  It is a very unusual and fun place to experience and we look forward to a return visit.

Parking lot


4057 Silverado Trail
Napa, CA 94558
707-257-0130
Date of visit: September 12, 2012

Cakebread Cellars


Cakebread Cellars is a very well known Napa Valley winery that began in 1972 when the Cakebread family purchased 22 acres in Rutherford.  Jack Cakebread, who studied with Ansel Adams, had come up from Oakland to take photos of Napa Valley and mentioned he would some day like to own a vineyard. When he returned home, he received a phone call from some friends who wanted to sell the property and immediately returned to Rutherford to make an offer. Today they own 13 sites with the newest site being in Anderson Valley.  Of their 982 acres, 460 are planted.  Cakebread wines are very popular and are found frequently in restaurants.  Appointments are required for tastings or tours, and many additional events are held at the winery.  Cakebread Cellars is a very lovely place to visit and provides a delightful setting at which to enjoy their lovely wines.

Cakebread Cellars sign
Unlike most tastings where you stand at a bar or sit at a table, at Cakebread Cellars you begin your tasting at the entry and then join a small group to walk from table to table in the lovely courtyard where a different wine is available at each table.  Our host, Bob, was very amiable and informative.

Front entry

Our first sample was the Cakebread Cellars 2011 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc.  It had a very pronounced and lovely aroma of melon.  Smooth and well balanced on the palate, it was mostly grapefruit, melon and citrus.  It had good crispness but the acid was not at all pronounced, making this SB less austere than some and quite drinkable without food.  It also had a good finish.  At only $24, this is one of the better Napa Valley Sauvignon Blancs and a very good deal.  The Cakebread 2010 Napa Valley Chardonnay sells for $37.  It does not receive any malolactic conversion and spends eight months on French oak.  After a fairly light melon nose, the wines presents itself on the palate as a full bodied Chardonnay, mostly melon and apple,  that is well balanced with none of the excessive butter or oak that some Chards receive at other wineries. It was very pleasant. This was followed by the Cakebread Reserve 2009 Chardonnay from Carneros at $55.  The Reserve had a more pronounced and complex aroma of apple, citrus and minerals.  It too was full bodied with a very nice mouth feel but a creamier texture with more minerality. This, again, sees no malolactic conversion and is in French oak for 15 months. Both Chards were quite good, but the creamy mouthfeel and minerality of the Reserve won me over. Either Chard should pair really well with food and would be great choices at a restaurant.

Courtyard with tasting tables

Our red wines began with the pleasant 2009 Cakebread Napa Valley Merlot which sells for $54.  After some cherry on the nose, it presented with the lush fruit that one expects in a good Merlot but was better structured than many Merlots, with well-integrated tannins.  It is both fresh and lush with mostly black cherry and ripe plum.  It is very drinkable now.  The Cakebread 2008 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon at $60 was next, and it was a very good Cab that is extremely drinkable now.  In addition to the Cab, it has 7% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec.  It sees 20 months in French oak, with 42% of this in new oak.  With some cherry on the nose and black cherry on the palate, the wine is very well balanced with plenty of sumptuous fruit but good interlaced tannins and structure.  I’m sure it will improve somewhat with age, but this Cab is very pleasantly drinkable right now. After sampling this Cab, I thought the final tasting, the Cakebread 2009 Napa Valley Syrah at $55, would be anticlimactic, but this was not the case.  We both enjoyed this wonderful Syrah as much as the Cab. The color is gorgeous.  Be sure to hold this one up to the light. Although this is a lush Syrah, it is not excessively fruit forward, as are some Syrahs.  I got a lot of ripe blackberry on the palate with good tannins with only minimal spice and no black pepper. The finish is quite nice.  We both really liked this Syrah.  Again, it will age but is very drinkable now.  Each of the Cakebread varietals we tasted avoided any extremes, seemed very food friendly and was solid, well-crafted wine that will not need to be cellared.  I kept thinking what great choices they would make in a restaurant, being very nice, highly drinkable now and avoiding extremes. I would love to have tried the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, the Vinehill Cab and the Howell Mountain Cab but these were not part of our tasting.


One of the tasting tables


Cakebread Cellars
8300 St. Helena Highway
Rutherford, CA 94573
707-963-5221
Date of visit: September 12, 2012



One of the gardens



Greeting table in tasting room

Tasting table in vineyard
Entrance to tasting room

Monday, September 10, 2012

Wine books


Most wine books I’ve read over the years are now outdated.  I remember a fun paperback I had in the early 1970s that described wines from all over the world and rated recent releases.  It was especially useful for California wines, and I carried it with me to wine stores and would check off wines I tried and then make notes.  It would be way out of date today, but I do wonder what was the name of this old friend.  (Any ideas?) Matt Kramer's Making Sense of California Wines is a well written, interesting book but it was published in 1992 and has lost most of its relevance.  For the past 40 years, I’ve tasted and purchased mostly California wines, especially Napa Valley.  Although I love wines from other areas, especially red and white Burgundies, I just haven’t studied them that much.  Here are some recommended, fairly recent, wine books that are either universal reference books or relate to Napa Valley wines.  I’d love to hear from others on recommendations, especially for the many wine growing regions I know less well.

A Companion to California Wine: An Encyclopedia of Wine and Winemaking from the Mission Period to the Present-Charles L. Sullivan, 1998, I read this front to cover but it is better used as a reference book. Getting to be outdated but still interesting.
A Moveable Thirst: Tales and Tastes from a Season in Napa Wine Country-Kushman and Beal, 2007.  Rather dated but a fun romp through Napa Valley as two wine lovers visit 141 Napa Valley wineries.
A Wine Journey Along the Russian River-Steve Heimoff, 2005, Well written and interesting.  A real labor of love. Reads almost like a travelogue and really gets in to what Russian River is about. Anything by Heimoff is worth reading.  His blog is also very interesting.  Another of my favorite wine writers.
California Wine Country: A Sunset Field Guide-2007, Another tourist or visitor guide that is somewhat similar to Frommer’s but not as out of date.
California Wine for Dummies-McCarthy and Ewing-Mulligan, 2009, Not that bad but more for beginners.
Dreamers of the Valley: A Portrait of the Napa Valley-Cheryll Aimee Barron, 1995, An interesting and very well written book about some of the history and key figures in the Valley. Still relevant.  Barron is an excellent writer.
Frommer’s Portable California Wine Country-Erika Lenkert, 2004, A simple, very basic guide for visitors but dated. There is a 2010 edition with a different title, but I have not read it.
Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book 2011-Surely everyone who is into wines is familiar with this guidebook.  I enjoy picking up new copies every few years.
Insiders’ Guide to California Wine Country-Doppenberg, 2009 edition, More along the lines of the Sunset Field Guide and Frommer’s  and okay as far as very simple visitor guide books go.
Matt Kramer On Wine: A Matchless Collection of Columns, Essays and Observations by America’s Most Original and Lucid Wine Writer, 2010.  A fascinating book that is hard to put down.  Matt Kramer is an exceptionally good writer. Excellent.  Matt Kramer is probably my favorite wine writer, and this is one of my all time favorite books.  A must read!
Matt Kramer’s New California Wine: Making Sense of Napa Valley, Sonoma, Central Coast and Beyond-2004. This is getting dated but is still worth reading and has interesting comments on many wineries that are still in operation and the significant changes that happened in the 1990s. Kramer is always interesting.
Napa Valley: The Land, the Wine, the People-Charles O’Rear, Mostly photos but enjoyable to look through.
New Classic Winemakers of California: Conversations with Steve Heimoff, 2008, I found this interesting because I like to hear what winemakers have to say.  Heimoff is an excellent interviewer and one of my favorite wine writers.
Oxford Companion to Wine-Jancis Robinson, 2006, I read this front to cover last year and will use it in the future as a reference encyclopedia. Essential reading. Buy it!
The 30 Second Wine Advisor-Robin Garr, 2007, For the beginner but okay if you want something very simple.
The Concise World Atlas of Wine-Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson, 2009 edition, Another one I read front to cover last year even though it is more of a reference book.  Fascinating maps and descriptions of wine regions around the world. Classic.  Buy it!
The Finest Wines of California-Stephen Brook, 2011, This highlights only certain wineries and many will wonder why their favorite is not described.  But it is a good guide to California wines and wineries with many photos and decent write ups.  Essential reading if you love California wines.
The New Connoisseurs’ Guidebook to California Wine and Wineries-Charles E. Olken and Joseph Furstenthal, 2010, A fairly up to date description of many significant California wineries, I usually enjoy anything by Olken.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Music and Wine: Pairing


Music and Wine
Most of us probably already think of specific wines going well with certain music.  The first time I became aware of music and wine complementing each other was in college back in 1968 when I was at a professor’s home and she had a recording of Bach transcriptions by the guitarist, Andre Segovia.  We were drinking a Portuguese rose with a very lovely nose.  I believe it was called Costa del Sol.  Back then, many of us drank Mateus, Lancers, etc. and thought Paul Masson was a premium wine. I remember thinking that the wine went well with the music. Because I was more interested in music than wine, I purchased the record and only recently found a CD replacement.  It is still one of my favorite recordings, and I’m certain the association with wine had some effect. This was my first experience of thinking that wine went well with the music. 

The next time I remember an experience of wine with music was in 1973 when I bought my first audio system.  I often came home after work, poured a glass of wine and put on some music.  I don’t remember what I was drinking, but it was some innocuous white wine like a Chenin Blanc.  I was playing some dramatic piano music, Liszt transcriptions of opera pieces, and remember that the wine did not seem to go well with the music. 

The third experience was the most educational and actually involved an attempt to pair wine with the music.  In 1978, when in graduate school, I often took a Saturday night break by going to a French restaurant that became a nightclub after dinner with live jazz.  The music was played by The Gabe Baltazar Quartet.  I went there frequently and often shared a bottle of wine with a friend.  I distinctly remember trying to find a wine that went well with the music.  Although I drank mostly red wines at home, I would order white wines, dry, lively wines similar to Alsatian Pinot Blancs.  That is what went well for me with the music.  Since then, whenever I’ve been at a jazz nightclub, I’ve tried to chose a wine to complement the music.  At most classical concerts, wine is not available.  But in Napa that sometimes happens.

For nearly 30 years, we have lived in Napa where the wineries often have concerts and where music is almost as much of wine drinking as food is.  There are music concerts at Mondavi, Domain Chandon and other wineries. Then there are Music in the Vineyards and various wine cave concerts.  Napa Valley Opera House  offers wine before the performances and at intermission. Silo's , a local jazz club serving premium wines, is noted for "Pairing great wine with great music." I’m still waiting to learn of a winery that offers a wine, food and music pairing at their tastings.  It is so obvious; it must be happening somewhere.

At home, I listen to many hours of classical music and jazz and sometimes have a glass of wine while listening, especially if a friend is over.  Many people probably do the same thing.  How many of us would listen to Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde while drinking a rose?  Would we listen to Ravel’s Jeux D’eau and open a big Napa Cab?  Obviously not.  I once thought of composers in terms of being varietal wines, but the music of composers is too diverse and varietals can have quite a range of styles also.  But individual pieces of music do seem to pair better with certain wines.  I’ve never compiled a list of wines that complement musical works, but one could easily do so. Wine and music go so well together.  I’d love to hear from others regarding your thoughts and experiences of music and wine complementing each other.

Wine Pairing with Music
We pair wine with food, events, weather, seasons, company, etc., so why not pair wine with music? There is actually a fair amount of information about this on the Internet, and there is even an annual convention of wine and music pairing. Here are a some links if you are interested:

Wine paired with music at a winery:

4th Annual Wine and Music Pairing:

Music alters the taste of wine:

Music to drink wine by:

Blog article:

Comment on Chateau Montelena webpage “Music Pairing with Wines?”

Wine and music pairings:

Wine and classical composers:

Wine Spectator article Pairing Wine and Music:

Matching music and wine: What Music Makes Your Wine Taste Better?


Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Music and Wine: Why Critics are Helpful


Why Bach in “Bach to Bacchus”?
Back in the late 1990s, because of my passion for classical music, I created and monitored several classical music lists, meeting many classical musicians and composers while learning more about music. Eventually I either closed the lists or passed them on to others to manage.  When creating a blog to document our winery visits, “Bach to Bacchus” was the name that occurred because I had gone from classical music lists to a wine blog. I also inserted in the blog introduction, “Possible musings about wine and classical music.”  Here is the first “musing.” I’m not sure if it will be the only one.

Audiophiles and Oenophiles
I love classical music so have had to endure reading audiophile magazines and shopping for audio equipment.  (Of course, there is no replacing live concerts.)  When I need an audio component I read various magazines and reviews by audio critics, prepare a list of what sounds interesting to listen to and venture out to audio stores to examine or hear the equipment I might want to purchase.  Audio speakers sound different depending on when you hear them, where you hear them, the size of the room, how you feel at the time, the associated equipment, the music being played, plus many other physical and subjective variables. I weed out the components I don't like and listen at more length or audition at home the equipment I like best.  Wine tasting for me is somewhat similar to shopping for audio speakers, except that my list is either of wineries to visit or wines to try.

Tasting wine is even more complicated, though, because of the complex chemistry of the wine and the taster.  There can be variability from bottle to bottle, especially if it is an older wine.  The temperature of the wine is a major factor.  What you pair with the wine or what you had to eat in the past hour or two can make a significant difference.  Another very important factor is how long the wine has been exposed to air.  Even if everyone is drinking the same wine at the same time and has previously eaten the same food, every person’s sense of smell and taste is different. 

Listening or Tasting: Why Experience Matters
One extremely important factor with tasting wine is the number of years, the frequency and the variability in the types of wines and varietals a person has tasted.  Some people have been drinking wine for many years but mostly the same varietal or only wines from a specific region or in a limited price range.  How a wines tastes to a person will vary depending on the amount and diversity of the person’s past experience and exposure to wines. Reading about wine, taking aroma classes or tasting classes and other educational components will add to the experience.

The more you have been exposed to music or wine, the more you will notice differences and the more these differences will matter to you.  I once loaned five different recordings of a Beethoven piano concerto to a friend, per his request, and he could not tell them apart.  He simply had not listened to enough classical music and was not familiar enough with this concerto.  For others, these five performances sound extremely different from each other even if we don’t agree on which is our favorite.

In a similar way, one cannot expect a person who has had little exposure to wines to be able to discriminate as well between certain wines. There are some persons who have incredible senses of smell and taste and can notice things that most others cannot.  But the main factor in wine tasting is the experience of the taster.  Without sufficient exposure to wines, a person really cannot recognize some of the differences between certain wines anymore than a person who has been rarely exposed to opera could have strong preferences between different performances of the opera.  The more you are exposed to something, the more you will be able to discern differences and have preferences.  It is not magic, just experience and effort.

Music Critics and Wine Critics
Another comparison can be made between music critics and wine critics.  In classical music, for example, critics generally agree on the sound quality of a recording or the acoustic properties of a certain concert hall.  There is usually agreement on the tempii, the amount of deviation from the score, the dynamic range and other variables in a performance.  Whether one likes a performance is much more subjective.

I have favorite classical music critics, with whom I often agree, and also have favorite wine critics with whom I have a similar taste and preference in wines.  I will still read other wine critics, but I do so knowing his or her preferences.  But agreeing with a critic is only a small part of the picture.

As with all types of criticism, there are critics who are such good writers and so knowledgeable, that reading them is informative and pleasurable even if one does not share the same taste. Steve Heimoff and Matt Kramer, for example, are wine writers/critics that many of us enjoy reading even if our tastes are dissimilar. These talented writers offer us a great opportunity to learn more and to think more clearly and critically regardless of their personal preferences.

In every field, it seems that critics are often criticized. (Look at the letters to the editor in the classical music magazine Fanfare.)  Sometimes it is an informed disagreement.  Sometimes critics are maligned or even dismissed as a group, however.  This is usually done by those who have very limited knowledge of the subject or those who do not expend sufficient effort to familiarize themselves with the preferences and views of individual critics.  Ratings and reviews are more helpful if the person reading them has some understanding of the subject and the writer. This applies whether we are discussing movies, art, music, literature, wine, food, consumer goods or any other subject. I personally find many critics to be very helpful toward learning more about a subject and for assisting  in making better informed decisions about what to purchase, listen to, drink, watch, read, etc.   I love to read critics who write well and share information, even if I don’t agree with their personal preferences.  I find wine critics to be just as useful as music or film critics and sometimes enjoy reading well-written and informative books or articles almost as much as I love to taste great wine or listen to Bach.