THE FRUGAL OENOPHILE Wine Appreciation through Education email newsletter: march 2006

In This Issue
	Reader Survey Results: Feedback on your feedback Survey Technical Notes In Other News: Wine news too weird to ignore Wine Tasting Feature: Back to Baco Toronto's EDO Restaurant

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You like me...you really like me!

For those of you who subscribed prior to February 2006, my heart-felt thanks for completing my Reader Satisfaction Survey. Your responses have reassured me that I'm on the right track and that I'm providing something of value to my readers.

I promised to share the results with you, and I hope you'll have a look at them even if you didn't have a chance to do the survey. But first, the lucky winners...

Aaron Harnett, Peter Dean, Kara Isert, Janette Baillie, and Glenn Keown will each be receiving a copy of my new book, The Frugal Oenophile's Winegrape Primer -- just as soon as I get copies from the printer. This book is another small reference work that provides capsule descriptions of more than 200 popular grape varieties, complete character profiles, food matches, and an Appellation cross-reference.

And Now, the Survey Findings
The response rate to the survey was very encouraging -- 28% of those contacted, although there were quite a few who clicked and bailed. The final response rate was 23%. The length of time readers had been subscribing ranged from "a few months" to "since the beginning". About 50% have been receiving the newsletter for 2 years or more.

Most of you -- 97% -- said "Don't change a thing". Some of the changes that were suggested forced me to go back and re-examine my mandate. Others I get to reject out of hand because they are not possible (a review of wine kits, for example). Not surprisingly, the majority of readers, 76%, are in Canada; 21% are in the US; and the remaining 3% are spread out all over the globe.

And you're reading the newsletter. 92% said that they read all or most of it. There is no single favourite area. The "feature" article and tasting summaries tied, with 24% of respondents putting them in first place. A full 9% like my opinions!

A lot of you are sending the newsletter on to other wine people, and those who don't usually added that their ISP wouldn't allow it.

What I found most interesting is that only 5.6% of you think the newsletter is too long, while 5.2% think it's too short. I'll let those people work it out amongst themselves (I personally think it's too long, probably because I have to write it.)

Is there anything about the newsletter that ticks you off?
Here too, most of you are happy with what I've chosen to include. A few people commented on my "LCBO rants". I wasn't aware I was ranting. Mostly I just report the news. Of all the wine writers who are active in Ontario, I am probably the least critical of the LCBO. However, as long as the provincial government and their liquor distribution megalith insist on systematically destroying the Ontario wine business -- at all levels -- then I will continue to call them on it.

What topics would you like to see covered in future issues?
This was an interesting section for me. A number of people asked for topics I've already covered, while asking that I not repeat anything. Here's a simple solution. I only keep the past two years active on the newsletter menu, although all the newsletters are still on-line. So try this: Go to the home page and zip down to the bottom. You will see a small box that will search the website. Type in the topic you're looking for and you will be presented with all references to that topic. For example, type in the word "cellaring" and you'll get every reference to articles on cellaring wine and wine cellars.

No one was shy about suggesting new topics or new directions. Some were truly off the wall: One adventurous reader suggested I offer wine travel. Nice thought, but I don't think my wife would let me have that much fun. Another wanted me to put his photo on it (a joke, I believe). Others, I will have to consider seriously.

About your suggestions

Provide more wine reviews
Here's where the mandate business comes in. My goal is to help people understand wine, with the aim of empowering the average wine buyer, who is too often confronted with too much or confusing or just plain wrong information. I decided at the outset that I would not include extended wine shopping lists. Besides, this would merely duplicate the efforts of a number of other wine writers who, I would venture, are better at it than I. I suggest you subscribe to Nathalie MacLean's newsletter or Wine Current, put together by veteran wine writers Rod Phillips and Vic Harradine. Both newsletters are free. If you want to get a jump on other buyers, then Wine Access's "First in Line" and Michael Vaughan's Vintages Assessments are both available at reasonable cost.

One person would like me to add agency contacts when featuring a wine. Could be done, although it's something that the individual can easily do but would add considerably to my prep time. In Ontario, drop by the OIWBSA website and use their lookup database to find the dealer for the wine in question. The LCBO website also puts agency names in their listings. (Use the wine's 6-digit code for the most effective LCBO search. I usually copy and paste these from the LCBO site to the newsletter so you won't have any surprises.)

Better Graphics & Layout
OK, I'll admit that my minimalist approach lacks glitz. Always has. I'm always leery of being flagged as SPAM, and more pictures etc. always invites this. If I can afford a redesign, maybe I will. In the meantime what you see is what you get.

Another reader asked for a PDF version of the newsletter. Still another wants to be able to select individual articles or pages to print. Both are technical extra steps that are easy enough for the reader to do. When I find an article that I want to print, I copy the text into my word processor, clean it up, and then print it. For PDFs, I use one of the many PDF converters that are available for download.

A few asked for a bit of format tweaking: table of contents, executive summaries, bullet summaries. These are doable and I'll work toward incorporating some of them.

How about a Wine of the Week Blog?
One clever reader suggested I publish my Wine of the Week as a blog. Well, I tried it and have received a wonderfully positive response. You can access the blog at tfo-wow.bogspot.com.

Too Canadian! Too International!
I'm always aware of my multi-national audience (even though the majority are in Canada) so I try to address topics with broad appeal. That's why I deal mainly with winemaking technology and concepts. They apply to all wine, no matter where it's made.

Other bits...
Food matching, winery visits, winemaker interviews, BC wines ... all good ideas and all worth following up on. Some are already on my topic list and I'll attack these as time and opportunity permit.

Technical Info

My Newsletter survey was created and managed by a service called Group Surveys from GroupMetrics. I'd looked at a number of ways to do online surveys and managed to stumble upon the Group Surveys beta test site. Well, it's fabulous. Creating and managing questions is about the easiest and most flexible I've seen, plus the survey URL they provide is short and simple. And you pay only for responses. So If you're looking for an internet survey tool, definitely give them a look.

Now a best seller!!! It's been a long haul, but my Wine Lexicon has finally crossed into that rarefied atmosphere of BEST SELLER. For anyone who's ever self published, you know how difficult it can be, especially when swimming against the current -- a low priced dictionary that fits in your pocket and that people actually read and use, vs. an expensive picture book that gathers dust. What I find most rewarding about this milestone is that sales were pushed almost exclusively by winery staff, who also own and use the book. My thanks to those of you have purchased the book and helped make this achievement possible.

In Other News...

Sure Beats a Blender
AccelaBreathe is another in what's becoming a rather long line of inexplicable wine products. Billed as an "instant wine aeration system [...] developed to insure more effective enjoyment of wine", it's little more than a laboratory stirring machine. In fact, the company has made no effort to dress it up and make it look like a cutting edge, $100-US wine product. This one gets my vote for Most Pointless Wine Gadget.

Getting Juiced after Getting Juiced
The French won't be able to buy what is said to be an over-consumption remedy. The makers of "Security Feel Better" claim that this mixture, based on artichoke juice, enables the body to metabolize alcohol at up to 6 times the normal rate. French officials fear that its use could induce people to purposely over consume with the intention of burning it off quickly before driving home. The tonic is unproven, but that won't prevent the makers from exporting it to countries that haven't banned it.

First Drugs, then Bombs and now ... Mealybugs
Yes, those clever canines with the talented noses have been drafted once again, this time to sniff out the Vine Mealybug that are a potential threat to vineyards. The bugs are nearly invisible as they do their damage, but the dogs apparently have no trouble sniffing them out. Maybe they could be trained to identify corked wines as well.

Think Pink, or White, or in Between
For those who have a morbid fear of serving a wine that's not at its ideal temperature, Mont Ventoux winery has the answer: Thermochromatic Wine Collection Varicolor Ventoux. In simpler terms, it's a new line of wines that feature "fun" package meant to attract youthful" drinkers, and bottles that include a temperature reactive symbol that turns pink when the wine is perfect for pouring Quite a good idea, really. I hope it catches on (except for the fluorescent-coloured labels part.)

In Case You Can't Locate any Artichoke Juice...
A study conducted in 2005 has now proven what we all suspected: hang-over cures don't work -- none of them. Researchers tried a wide range of hangover cures and preventatives, both commercial and traditional, and found that not one had any discernable effect on morning-after misery. One has to wonder if Security Feel Better was included in the study.

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Back to Baco

We'd been looking for an opportunity, or rather and excuse, to open a half dozen bottles of Niagara Baco Noir that we purchased at a fund-raising auction about a year ago. The significance of the assemblage was that the six bottles were sequential vintages, from 1992 through 1997. The wine had been donated by Larry Paterson, so we knew that it had been cellared properly. So, on February 25th, we finally collected enough wine fans to do the flight justice.

We had to invite Larry and his delightful wife Barb. We also had Elena Gayley-Pride from Malivoire, and her husband Stan. Terry Raynor is one of AWO's top amateur winemakers, and he brought along fellow winemaker Sean Douglas, who is co-owner of Vine Ridge Winery in Grimsby. Two long-time members of the local Opimian Society filled out the group. Daniel Speck, one of the three brothers who own Henry of Pelham, had to bow out at the last minute. (I invited Daniel because it was his wine.)

What makes a tasting like this both fun and challenging is that everyone was a seasoned taster, and therefore not likely to run screaming from the room after the eighth wine. We started with Henry of Pelham Catherine Brut sparkling wine. No slouch here: quite a bargain in classic-style bubbly. Larry followed that up with a Riesling "sekt" he made using encapsulated yeast. The big bugaboo with bottle-fermented sparkling wines is getting the gunk out of the bottle. The encapsulated yeast stays inside the capsules, looking much like a clump of fish eggs in the bottom of the bottle. It makes for easier and cleaner disgorging, plus the beads are heavy and visible enough that you can easily "pour around" them. To round out the flight of Baco, Larry brought along a 1990 vintage of the Henry of Pelham Baco and Daniel Speck sent along a 2004 Baco Reserve.

Here's how the tasting went:

Henry of Pelham Baco Noir VQA 1997: The appearance suggested some age here, but the nose was delightfully fresh, full of that dark smokiness you expect from Baco. Lighter than expected, with fresh strawberry and cherry flavours and soft tannins. Not a bad start.

Henry of Pelham Baco Noir VQA 1996: A bit of brick in the robe hinted at the age, and the nose backed that up with well-aged oak, vanilla, cedar, plum and tobacco. Again, lighter than expected, but yummy.

Henry of Pelham Baco Noir VQA 1995: This one still looked young, but was in fact rather faded. Maybe a year earlier would have been a good idea. Still, it showed ripe berry aromas under the slightly oxydized nose.

Henry of Pelham Baco Noir VQA 1994: Another youthful wine that showed tomato, oak, plums, black currant and a hint of mint. Quite juicy with black currant and cherry flavours atop mild tannins.

Henry of Pelham Baco Noir VQA 1993: Again the colour suggested youth. Rather gamey on the nose, with lots of spice, oak, plum, some prune, and a hint of lavender. Big and juicy with sweetish berry flavours -- a fabulous wine at any age.

Henry of Pelham Baco Noir VQA 1992: This one seemed very young; I would have guessed 2-3 years at most. The complex nose offered up vanilla, blackberry, pepper, bell pepper, and traces of barnyard and leather. Very fresh on the palate with strawberry/cherry flavours and light tannins. A bit on the light side, which added to its fresh personality.

Henry of Pelham Baco Noir VQA 1990: Was it the vintage? The bottle? The grape? Whatever the reason, this one had definitely crossed over. It may have been a fault of the individual bottle, or maybe Baco turns on you, like any healthy teenager. Anyway, it was fun trying.

Henry of Pelham Baco Noir Reserve VQA 2004: OK, this one is too young, and not just because of the company it was keeping. The Speck brothers have been working toward a more traditional, international style, and this is getting there. Give it another year or two.

Does Baco, a lowly hybrid, age well? You bet, but as with vinifera varieties, it's a good idea to start with high quality wine, technically correct, made with a genuine love of the grape.

(If you can find it, the 2002 release of Henry of Pelham's Baco is now on store shelves. When I tried it I was thoroughly impressed. Just be sure you get the 2002 vintage.)

EDO on Eglinton According to Barry Chaim, owner of EDO restaurant in Toronto, there are more than 700 Japanese style eateries in Toronto. And is he worried? He says no. Nor should he be if his daily offerings are up to the same standard as the dishes he and his staff served up for our Wine Writers' Circle of Canada annual post-Xmas dinner. Barry and chef Ryo Ozawa instinctively loaded us up with comfort foods -- although in other circumstances it could have been first date food, or 20th anniversary, or Valentine's food... We started with a warming array of nibblies: salted organic soy beans in the pod; crisp veggies wrapped in rice paper; "chef's special" sushi; and seared tuna with mustard-miso dressing. We scarfed these down while sipping champagne provided by Veuve Cliquot. When we finally managed to sit down to dinner, we were treated to an fabulous array of Japanese delicacies. Appetizer: Cherry-smoked Arctic Char with Red Shisso sauce "Air" Course: Edamame Chawan Mushi - steamed edamame custard with shrimp, chicken and enoki Sea Course: Akadai Tsutsumi Mushi Mozuku - scallop mousse-stuffed red snapper with Viognier sauce Land Course: Wagyu Konsai-rui Shirazu Nikomi - Braised Kobe beef with Japanese root vegetables and Shiraz sauce Dessert: Black Sesame Mousse and Green Tea Mousse I was so knocked out by the food, the atmosphere and the over-the-top friendliness of the staff that I made a point of taking the wife and kid there a few weeks later, after seeing the Blue Man group at the Panasonic Theatre in downtown Toronto. Imagine -- food that sends adults into sensual raptures and that put a big grin on the face of a 13-year old! EDO on Eglinton 484 Eglinton Ave. West Toronto, Ontario 416-322-7699 www.edosushi.com

From "The Frugal Oenophile's Lexicon of Wine Tasting Terms" Backbone Describes a "core of strength" from tannin or acids. Part of structure You can buy my Wine Lexicon and other items at my Online Store

Inspirational Quote

"Age is just a number. It's totally irrelevant unless, of course, you happen to be a bottle of wine." - Joan Collins

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