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Wine and Jazz Blogs
Information, Please!
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
Len Napolitano - Wineologist
There's a movement in wine labeling towards including on back labels all the ingredients that go into the making of wine--besides grapes and the addition of sulfites as a preservative. It's not yet a legal requirement but if it does one day become law it would mean that anything that comes in contact with the wine during the winemaking process would be indicated on the label. For example, it's not uncommon to use egg whites for the fining process of wine, which essentially removes excess solids, like tannins, from wine. Even though the egg whites do not go into the wine per se, they technically are in contact with wine and would be included on the label. I think this is a mistake and would lead to confusion among consumers.
One thing that I do expect to see on the back labels of bottles with a unique name that does not indicate the grapes that make up the wine--usually a blended wine of several grapes--is a list of the grapes that make up the wine. A breakdown of each grape by percentage is the ideal information for me when it comes to back labels. As for a description of what the wine tastes like, this is less useful, although I am not against it. It's just that some of the descriptions can be too vague, or broad.
To me, the most useless back label is the one that talks about the history of the winery or the owners, or a story about how the vineyard was started a century ago and has been found to be perfect for growing pinot noir, or chardonnay, or whatever. And then, it leaves out any mention of the grapes! How is a consumer supposed to know what to expect? Is he or she expected to buy an unfamiliar wine based on just the name of the producer or the design if the label or the story of the owners who immigrated from Italy?
As wine consumers become more wine knowledgeable, I think they grow more curious about the making of the wine they are about to buy. I don't think it's necessary to tell them that egg whites were used to clarify the wine but I do think that as a minimum they deserve to know what grapes were used and in what proportions. That's a trend I would be happy to see.
There's a movement in wine labeling towards including on back labels all the ingredients that go into the making of wine--besides grapes and the addition of sulfites as a preservative. It's not yet a legal requirement but if it does one day become law it would mean that anything that comes in contact with the wine during the winemaking process would be indicated on the label. For example, it's not uncommon to use egg whites for the fining process of wine, which essentially removes excess solids, like tannins, from wine. Even though the egg whites do not go into the wine per se, they technically are in contact with wine and would be included on the label. I think this is a mistake and would lead to confusion among consumers.
One thing that I do expect to see on the back labels of bottles with a unique name that does not indicate the grapes that make up the wine--usually a blended wine of several grapes--is a list of the grapes that make up the wine. A breakdown of each grape by percentage is the ideal information for me when it comes to back labels. As for a description of what the wine tastes like, this is less useful, although I am not against it. It's just that some of the descriptions can be too vague, or broad.
To me, the most useless back label is the one that talks about the history of the winery or the owners, or a story about how the vineyard was started a century ago and has been found to be perfect for growing pinot noir, or chardonnay, or whatever. And then, it leaves out any mention of the grapes! How is a consumer supposed to know what to expect? Is he or she expected to buy an unfamiliar wine based on just the name of the producer or the design if the label or the story of the owners who immigrated from Italy?
As wine consumers become more wine knowledgeable, I think they grow more curious about the making of the wine they are about to buy. I don't think it's necessary to tell them that egg whites were used to clarify the wine but I do think that as a minimum they deserve to know what grapes were used and in what proportions. That's a trend I would be happy to see.
Tuesday Night Jazz Jams at Café Cordiale!
Monday, March 8th, 2010
Jonathan Widran - Jazzologist
Whether your preference is smooth or straight ahead jazz—or a mix of both—there’s no place better on the planet to live than Southern California and particularly, Los Angeles. We’re lucky to live in a place where so many great musicians dwell, because you just never know…on nights when they’re not on the road or playing large venues, they might just stop in and have fun at a club down the street. Right now, that’s happening every week in March at Café Cordiale in Sherman Oaks at the Tuesday Night Jam hosted by and featuring one of contemporary jazz's top trumpet/flugelhorn star (who is not Chris Botti.)
Great jazz clubs have come and gone but Cordiale has endured for well over ten years, showcasing everything from acoustic music to fusion to dance/R&B every Wednesday-Saturday. If the goal with the first jam March 1 was to increase business on Tuesdays, it worked—the packed restaurant heard the trumpet great (again, not Chris Botti), keyboardist Gregg Karukas, guitarist Craig Sharmat, upright bassist Dan Lutz and drum great Rayford Griffin tear it up, “trade fours” and solo to their heart’s content on a mix of classics (Clifford Brown’s “Joy Spring”) and funked up originals by the trumpet great (for the last time, not Chris Botti), Karukas and Sharmat.
The San Fernando Valley resident trumpet great's intention is to invite musician friends to bring their axes, sit in and play musical chairs, taking over at different intervals for the guys who started the set. The impromptu second lineup included bassist Freddie Washington, drummer Sergio Gonzalez, guitarist Randy Jacobs and flugelhorn player TC Hudson. These cats blew even harder than the first lineup because they focused on real bebop on the Rodgers & Hart classic “Have You Met Miss Jones?” and Freddie Hubbard’s “Mr. Clean.”
Folks who only know these great local musicians for their headlining and side work in smooth jazz need to experience them in this down home, no holds barred, improvisation heavy setting. It’s a real eye and ear opener. Café Cordiale (www.cafecordiale.com) will feature the jam every Tuesday in March, so come on down if you’re in the area. Best of all, there’s no cover!
Whether your preference is smooth or straight ahead jazz—or a mix of both—there’s no place better on the planet to live than Southern California and particularly, Los Angeles. We’re lucky to live in a place where so many great musicians dwell, because you just never know…on nights when they’re not on the road or playing large venues, they might just stop in and have fun at a club down the street. Right now, that’s happening every week in March at Café Cordiale in Sherman Oaks at the Tuesday Night Jam hosted by and featuring one of contemporary jazz's top trumpet/flugelhorn star (who is not Chris Botti.)
Great jazz clubs have come and gone but Cordiale has endured for well over ten years, showcasing everything from acoustic music to fusion to dance/R&B every Wednesday-Saturday. If the goal with the first jam March 1 was to increase business on Tuesdays, it worked—the packed restaurant heard the trumpet great (again, not Chris Botti), keyboardist Gregg Karukas, guitarist Craig Sharmat, upright bassist Dan Lutz and drum great Rayford Griffin tear it up, “trade fours” and solo to their heart’s content on a mix of classics (Clifford Brown’s “Joy Spring”) and funked up originals by the trumpet great (for the last time, not Chris Botti), Karukas and Sharmat.
The San Fernando Valley resident trumpet great's intention is to invite musician friends to bring their axes, sit in and play musical chairs, taking over at different intervals for the guys who started the set. The impromptu second lineup included bassist Freddie Washington, drummer Sergio Gonzalez, guitarist Randy Jacobs and flugelhorn player TC Hudson. These cats blew even harder than the first lineup because they focused on real bebop on the Rodgers & Hart classic “Have You Met Miss Jones?” and Freddie Hubbard’s “Mr. Clean.”
Folks who only know these great local musicians for their headlining and side work in smooth jazz need to experience them in this down home, no holds barred, improvisation heavy setting. It’s a real eye and ear opener. Café Cordiale (www.cafecordiale.com) will feature the jam every Tuesday in March, so come on down if you’re in the area. Best of all, there’s no cover!
Recession Hits Wineries While Earthquake Hit Chile
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
Len Napolitano - Wineologist
If you are someone or know someone who dreams one day of living the life of a glamorous winery owner, economic conditions today are making that dream more possible than ever before. More and more wineries are being forced into foreclosure and are priced at record low levels. But so far, there hasn't been a rush of winery buying. Seems like many sellers still are holding out, trying to get as much as possible, while buyers are being cautious.
In the meantime, wine sales are being turned upside down. Just a couple of years ago, high-end wines, priced at $20 and up were on the rise and showing no signs of letting up. Today, inventories of these high priced wine are growing as wine consumers have reacted to the poor economy with a conversion to the $12 per bottle-and-under category. And it is happening in droves. The high-end producer is hurting. They are relying more on direct-to-consumer selling, through tasting rooms and social media sites like Facebook, to improve profits. But, when all these efforts fail to keep them afloat, they start to think about getting out.
Two friends were in Argentina when the earthquake hit Chile and they said they felt the ground shake in Mendoza, Argentina. They had been in Chile the previous week and just missed the earthquake by a couple of days. Reports from the wine industry media say that harvest in Chile was just days away from beginning when the quake hit (the southern hemisphere has their harvest season directly inverse on the calendar of ours). Any wine that was in barrel was lost when barrels fell off shaking racks and spilled their valuable contents. Reports are coming in that the smell of wine is present in areas where lost wine has been pouring into the street. People Tweeting from Chile have reported seeing some wineries devastated and some completely intact.
If you are someone or know someone who dreams one day of living the life of a glamorous winery owner, economic conditions today are making that dream more possible than ever before. More and more wineries are being forced into foreclosure and are priced at record low levels. But so far, there hasn't been a rush of winery buying. Seems like many sellers still are holding out, trying to get as much as possible, while buyers are being cautious.
In the meantime, wine sales are being turned upside down. Just a couple of years ago, high-end wines, priced at $20 and up were on the rise and showing no signs of letting up. Today, inventories of these high priced wine are growing as wine consumers have reacted to the poor economy with a conversion to the $12 per bottle-and-under category. And it is happening in droves. The high-end producer is hurting. They are relying more on direct-to-consumer selling, through tasting rooms and social media sites like Facebook, to improve profits. But, when all these efforts fail to keep them afloat, they start to think about getting out.
Two friends were in Argentina when the earthquake hit Chile and they said they felt the ground shake in Mendoza, Argentina. They had been in Chile the previous week and just missed the earthquake by a couple of days. Reports from the wine industry media say that harvest in Chile was just days away from beginning when the quake hit (the southern hemisphere has their harvest season directly inverse on the calendar of ours). Any wine that was in barrel was lost when barrels fell off shaking racks and spilled their valuable contents. Reports are coming in that the smell of wine is present in areas where lost wine has been pouring into the street. People Tweeting from Chile have reported seeing some wineries devastated and some completely intact.
