The first week of the New Year is the slowest one for restaurants. We eat out then to show support and take advantage of the lower crowd levels. We also wanted to ring in the year with a toast to one of our all-time favorite wine makers Tony Coturri. We made our way to Kuma Inn on Manhattan’s Lower East Side with two bottles of Coturri in hand, a 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon from Bollens Vineyards and a 2007 Barbera from Testa Vineyards, both from California’s Mendocino County.
Kuma Inn is BYOB and enables one to pair away with abandon… what a joy. They serve Asian tapas, small plates of great food. The inspiration behind it is chef King Phojanakong, who worked with both David Bouley and Daniel Boulud. His mother is Filipino and his father Thai so fusion is in his DNA. We started out with a chuka salad; mixed seaweed, sesame and chilies and a plate of grilled baby octopus with pickled bamboo shoots. We opened the Barbera first. It was deeply luscious, fruity without any sweetness, ruby red and smoky. There was a perfect balance of acid and tannins that gave a silky mouth feel. The wine drank ripe and mature yet I think it could age for several more years. The consensus at the table was that the octopus was one of the best octopus dishes ever tasted, in any ethnicity; Spanish, Italian or Japanese. Soft and succulent, grilled to perfection with dense flavors of a balsamic reduction. The pickled shoots counterpointed the smooth flesh with a crunchy texture. There was joy in our mouths and smiles at our table as we experienced the tapas. Meanwhile the Coturri kept opening up with each minute and each bite.
Next, we chose three dishes: a Pancit bihon – stir-fried noodles with port sausage, bean sprouts and carrots, a pan roasted ocean scallops with bacon kalamansi and sake and finally sautéed tofu with Thai basil and wood ear mushrooms in spicy soy mirin. Out of control best describes this course and the Coturri Cab. Clean strong fruit greets you, then a rich smooth tar and leather feel rests on the tongue. A round smoky richness lingers too. Frankly by this time the dinner evolved (or degenerated depending on your point of view) into a series of sips and chews accompanied by grunts and hums of joy.
The food here is exquisite. I had lunch four days later at the justly acclaimed Momofuku and honestly the food at Kumma Inn is equal. The tastes and flavors are bold, innovative and utterly competent in their execution. The ingredients come together perfectly and the sauces are exquisite. This is a cash only second story joint. Ringing in the New Year with Tony Coturri and King Phojanakong augers well for drinking and eating in the coming decade.
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Posted
by Jonathan Russo
on Dec 30, 2009
in Editorials
This last decade in wine has been one of polarization – two trains speeding down the rails with different destinations in mind. The world of branded image-driven corporate wine got bigger. The top brands consolidated their stranglehold at the distribution and retail level. Mega corporations with thousands of employees pressed and sold billions of gallons of wine. Deeply discounted, and priced to equal the quality, they succeeded in taming what was once a Wild West show of growers and distributors. Like the formally fragmented radio industry, they consolidated into a Top 40 format that produced the same soulless sound from Maine to Oregon. Internationally, as well, corporate wine made inroads against the marketing-challenged small producer.
We’ve seen a world standardization of taste profiles, like Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon, become uniform from Chile to Australia. Globalization has meant uniformity; less surprise, more predictability. The Lifetime Achievement and Man of the Year awards given out by the leading wine magazines tell the story. They reward the successful corporate consolidator, the man who now has 40 brands and a 50% market share in his portfolio. These magazines feature the pesticide polluter, the industrial farmer and those indifferent to the earth and farm workers. It is all about efficiency and success measured in cases and cash. You can see their photos in black tie at all the big hotel galas – the big wine press rewarding its enablers.
In a revolt born of disgust and sorrow, the Organic, Biodynamic and Natural wine movement has risen to challenge these practices. Starting with the farmers themselves, they have chosen to grow grapes without poisoning the earth. A few more have chosen to ferment and blend and bottle without adding false ingredients and flavors. And a few more have decided to make a business out of this and distribute these wines to the world.
The world of real wine has not yet tipped, but the next decade may see that happen. As the world of food and wine continues to receive scrutiny that exposes its toxic downside, you can be sure more and more wine drinkers will want to know what is in their glass; how it was grown, how it was made. The rate of conversation to healthy farming is astonishing. It is the thing to do in New Zealand and Sonoma, in the Loire and Lebanon. Wine has always been an artisinal product. It should not be hard for it to return to its roots.
For the next decade I raise a glass to the continued success of everyone in the real wine world; the farmers, wine makers, distributors wine shops, wine bars and restaurants. You are all part of an organic chain, a process that is developing and growing alongside the artisanal food movement. Yet it’s all in the drinking and there too, the real wine world has succeeded, most of its wine is simply delicious. Thanks again.
There are also many people to thank for their help at Organic Wine Journal. All our writers, contributors and photographers. Those that have helped promote and publicize OWJ and those that have supported us with advertising. It is still a complete labor of love. As the decade is almost decanted, it’s time to peer into the sediment and see what is left to be poured into the next decade. We want to thank our readers who have spent the last few years believing that wine should heal, not harm, the planet.
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Posted
by Jonathan Russo
on Dec 7, 2009
in Features
To understand Israel’s Tishbi Winery, it helps to know the history of winemaking in Napa and Sonoma. California’s wineries were started in the last quarter of the 19th century by visionary European immigrants, hard-working farmers. They grew grapes they were familiar with in the “old country” and prospered slowly; enduring droughts, market disruptions (prohibition), changing tastes and a flood of imported wine.
The strongest, like Mondavi, Sebastiani and Seghesio, have thrived, becoming billion dollar brands. They ship millions of cases, have hundreds of thousands of visitors traipsing through their beautiful architectural-statement wineries and have added restaurants and additional income generators like olive oil and catering.
Tishbi’s history parallels some of the above. Founded in the 1880’s by Lithuanian immigrants, and backed by Baron Edmund de Rothschild, they cultivated unused land in northern Israel, near the cooling Mediterranean Sea. Think Pacific Ocean breezes. The business has metamorphosed as time has passed. Initially all of the grapes were sold into a cooperative. When Jonathan, the current patriarch, took over, he decided the future was in quality, so he ripped out the Alicante and started to grow Cabernet and Chardonnay. It turned out that the soil was perfect for growing a wide variety of high quality grapes and the original 62 acres now produce award-winning wines. His vision was prescient because in 1984, the coop went bankrupt.
Success has created expansion and there are now four other vineyard locations, including one in the Negev desert. There, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon are grown using innovative irrigation techniques that are literally making the desert bloom. In the more traditional Israeli grape-growing regions of the Galilee, as well as the Judean Hills south of Jerusalem, eight other varietals including Viognier, Cabernet Franc, and Pinot Noir are cultivated. Roughly 85,000 cases are made, a third of which are exported to everywhere from the U.S. to Brazil and Hong Kong.
There are 18 Tishbi wines made in 4 groupings, each indicative of a quality. They also make “Domecq Trophy” brandy as well as two desert wines, olive oil, honey, and jellies and preserves. Artisinal bread is baked on the premises and served with lunch.
Like many California wineries, this one is multi-generational. The patriarch today is Jonathan. His grandparents started the winery. Today his wife Nili manages the visitor center and retail shop and his son Golan is his “right hand” as well as the wine and bread maker. Another son Michael is in the field as cultivator, while a daughter Oshra is marketing manager as well as managing the café and making a line of fine foods.
Care for the land is utmost in the Tishbis’ minds. They are passionate about not harming the soil and so do not use pesticides, fungicides or herbicides in the growing of their grapes. “I believe the soil has enough power to make wine without fertilizers, and I don’t need quantity, just quality,” Jonathan told us. Dry irrigation methods which use 20% as much water as regular methods, severely restrict yields and produce intense concentrations of flavor as well as leaving room for the sun to find its way onto the grape clusters eliminating the need for fungicides. “In Golan they do it by the book. If it’s Friday, it must be pesticide day. At Tishbi, we’re low-tech. The grapes tell us what to do, not a computer.”
Israel is not in the E.U., so organic certification is a difficult matter. It’s questionable as to whether it would be worth the effort to become certified as neither the U.S. nor the E.U would recognize it. Talking to Jonathan, it was clear that his family’s land practices were part of a very deep commitment and not something he needed to advertise.
There are other organic wineries in Israel and we learned that it is fast becoming the way to go amongst a new generation of wine makers. If they are all as successful as Tishbi, Israeli wine has a bright future ahead of it.
TASTING NOTES:
Tishbi Estate, Pinot Noir, 2006.
Very unique. Not your grandfather’s pinot, an acquired taste. Highly acidic. Not a lot of fruit. Tishbi says, “mocha and coffee bean, thyme, delicate and elegant.” Our tasting notes weren’t the same, so we leave it to you.
Tishbi Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006.
Just what you want. Great balance. Lush, rich, full with fruit. Chocolate. 1 year in oak. Delicious. Tishbi says, “plum, raspberry, cassis, vanilla. Velvety texture, slightly sweet.” We agree.
Jonathan Tishbi Special Reserve, 2004.
Smoky. The leather is so prominent that even a wine novice can detect it. Deep, flavorful. A desert grant cru. It deserves the name ‘special.’ 2 years in oak. Tishbi nailed it by saying, “complex, rich and full body, purple hues with stone fruits, violets, herbs, nuances of dark chocolate.” Even Gary Vaynerchuk raves about this beauty, ranking it #4 in the world. Multi-award winner.
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Posted
by Jonathan Russo
on Oct 28, 2009
in Features
I love this restaurant. One of Keith McNally’s first successes, it’s been a fixture in New York’s Tribeca for 29 years. I lived four blocks away from 1975-1985 during a wild and crazy time in New York so it’s a real trip down memory lane just to step in the place. Odeon is now owned by Keith’s ex-wife Lynn, and she seems to have the joint still jumping. It was all there: the lighting, the ambiance, and the downtown vibe. We stepped in for dinner the other night and had to wait at the bar as the crowds kept flowing in.
Shown to a table and given the wine list, I am pleased to report that Odeon, for all it’s venerable age, is totally cutting edge. They do something that so many find hard to do – they tell you which wines are organic and biodynamic.
Under Pinot Noir and Gamay they have three organic and one biodynamic selection, including a Moulin A Vent Les Trois Roches, Beaujolais 2007 France. You can also choose from two organic Rhones or a Merlot from Bordeaux, Fronsac Chateau La Vielle Cure, 2004. Sadly, of the 6 Italians there are no organics, but they do have two choices from Chile and Argentina.
That isn’t so hard, is it? Rather than guessing, summoning a Sommelier or having to memorize a list of producers, Odeon simply tells you what is organic and biodynamic. They even put it in bold letters.
The price points for these wines are in the middle of their conventional counterparts, so it’s clear that organic and biodynamic doesn’t have to cost more. It’s also great that they don’t segregate organic and biodynamic into their own section, and keep them with their proper regions and varietals.
This is the way we think it should be done: low-key, informative, not in your face. Just helpful. Thanks Odeon, and I plan to keep coming for another 29 years.
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Posted
by Jonathan Russo
on Oct 4, 2009
in Editorials
According to the Associated Press, congress has granted $350 million in aid to struggling milk producers. It seems there is an oversupply of milk, and the price paid to farmers is so low they are losing money on every gallon sold, hence the needed rescue by taxpayers.
What wasn’t written about is how the farmers got into this mess. I think we know one cause. It’s an instructive lesson in biotech-farming, cellular manipulation, and the agri-industrial complex. Scientists and marketing executives at Monsanto figured out that by dosing cows with the growth hormone rBHT they would produce more milk. Never mind that this unnatural state of being may be uncomfortable or harmful to the cows. Never mind that the consequences of hormone manipulation may cause lasting harm to the animal or serious side effects. Never mind that the residue may poison the consumer. Their only goal is increased profits for the company, regardless of what it does to nature.
Across thousands of farm house tables, and corporate board rooms, the dollar signs flash. “Wow, increased milk production. More milk from the same cow. We’re gonna be rich.” The decision to buy hormones from Monsanto and manipulate milk production is easy.
Multiply this idiocy by the number of cows and, voila, you have an increase in the supply of milk that is evidently unsustainable. Consumption of milk is actually falling due to vastly larger soda marketing budgets. Add on a recession and stretched food budgets and taxpayers come to the rescue.
Like everything else in corporate America, decisions are make in the vacuum of what profits them in short term. Individuals, including farmers, do the same. No one is focused on the collective long-term consequences until it all ends up in the dump of bad ideas and white flags. Free enterprise for corporations and farmers until they need the “socialists” to bail them all out.
What’s next? There is already a glut of cheap low quality wine in the world. For years the Europeans have been buying up billions of gallons of the stuff and either dumping it down a drain or turning it into vinegar. When modern science can increase yields greater than the market can absorb them, a karmic imbalance occurs.
Learning from the lessons of the milk world, we may be faced with something similar in the world of wine. One of the ways to prevent imbalances is to return to the roots of farming; natural, organic and biodynamic. Yields that the earth intended for that particular grape in that particular place. It is doubtful that the taxpayers of Australia, Chile or South Africa will be interested in paying grape growers for nothing. If we all just drank true terroir wines grown carefully in places intended for grapes, we could cure in advance the next liquid oversupply. Cute names and clever graphics developed by gigantic marketing corporations with huge ad budgets can only mask the coming glut of low quality wine. Après that, le deluge.
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Posted
by Jonathan Russo
on Sep 9, 2009
in Features
A Tale Of Three Rosés
One of life’s unfortunate characteristics is limited choices. In August one cannot lounge about in St. Tropez and hike Oregon’s Cascade Mountains at the same time. Bicyclists must choose to go touring or trail riding. People lucky enough to have a horse or a boat know that there are other horses and other boats that would greatly increase their enjoyment of the sport.
Thankfully with wine you can have it all. Take the three rosés that graced our table in just one week. They covered a range of tastes, bodies and hues that made summer meals enjoyable and memorable.
We first had a 2005 Chateau De Roquefort, from Cotes De Provence. This Biodynamic beauty is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Carignan and Clairette. We were told on the label that it was hand made between September 12th and October 4th.
The very pale straw color of this rosé is unique; it is lighter in hue than even a Domaine Ott. Yet the refreshment was intense, very light and bright flavors of lemon and lime with a subtle bouquet of strawberries. The spice notes were there and probably came from the Cinsault. There was a local field blend quality to this wine and we could imagine the proprietor and the workers having a glass after a hot harvest day. We chose to accompany this wine with some fresh goat cheese and local oysters. The pairing was perfect as the delicate flavors of the wine allowed the food flavors to remain clear and bright. We love this wine nice and cold with simple food.
Next we had a local to us rosé from Shinn Estate Vineyards on the North Fork of Long Island, a mere 80 miles from Manhattan. Shinn is almost biodynamic. They are trying to do everything right in a very difficult wine-growing region. When they have to intervene to save the crop they do so with natural alternatives. They have an almost Napa style winery with a B&B and a catering kitchen.
Their 2008 rosé is a blend of 25% Cabernet Franc and 75% Merlot. We agree with the tasting notes on the label that the wine has aromas and flavors of strawberry, raspberry and watermelon. Shinn has made this one “bone dry” and “squeaky clean.” We tasted a little peach fruit too. This wine accompanied a pasta and pesto meal and was a perfect choice. The basil was grown within a few miles of the Shinn Vineyard so there was pairing in the DNA. What we loved about the two dishes (accompanied by a field salad and artisanal bread) was the clear flavors of food and drink, which facilitated the enjoyment of both. The “bone dry” rosé left no lingering sweet taste on the on the tongue so that the salad and pasta remained distinctive. Overlooking the water at a summer table groaning with local food and wine had a true taste of terroir. Thank you Shinn Estate for this lovely rosé.
Lastly, but not least, we opened a 2007 Yorkville Cellars Rosé De Franc made from organically grown grapes in California’s Mendocino county. This is beautiful farm country and one of the epicenters of organic and biodynamic winemaking in the new world. The vineyard is a small family operation and the Wallo family of Yorkville (population 145) invites all to come and have a “picnic under the shady oaks.”
This is a delicious wine. The darkest hue of rosé of the three and the fullest in body. The intense ruby color and viscous body were made to stand out. We tasted earth and fruit and straw and smoke. The cool nights and warm days of Mendocino put the grapes thru changes that clearly strengthen their flavors. Interestingly and by coincidence we had this wine with a Cioppino, a legendary San Francisco fish stew. San Fran is only a hundred miles south of Yorkville. The pairing was a total success. The strong well crafted wine and the bold flavors of clams, mussels and fennel worked so well. A lesser wine would have been overwhelmed and a lighter food might have been too, but in reverse. We think this wine should be drunk with hearty food or just by itself. The rich red color of the Cioppino and the rich red hue of the rosé gave the table a glow not easily forgotten.
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Posted
by Jonathan Russo
on Aug 10, 2009
in Editorials
The recent announcement that Wal-Mart will be evaluating the environmental impact of the products sold in its stores was more than a little weird. As the biggest of the big box stores worldwide, a merchant that made “we sell for less” the gold standard in retailing, this new obsession with “sustainability” and “traceability” gave us real pause.
Wal-Mart’s track record as a steward of decency is, to put it mildly, thin. They have been forced to settle court cases on employee overtime issues, gender discrimination and have ongoing inquiries with states over taxation and with environmentalists over new sites. They alone are the single largest party responsible for the transfer of dollars to China and the rise of the Yuan as a global currency. Their stance on labor organizing is well known. Many have blamed the demise of Main Street on their predatory pricing policies. We could go on.
But what caught our eye at is that someone very, very high up at Wal-Mart thinks the public wants to know what is the karma behind the products they buy to wear, use and eat. We agree. Our thesis of “responsible hedonism” and the “ethics of luxury and the luxury of ethics” have always stood for learning what is behind the wines we drink. We have always asked: How was this wine made? How were the vines nurtured? What were the field workers exposed to? What was added in the vintning process? What was the energy profile in the making and storage?
We have always thought this was an important part of the enjoyment of the beverage, and now so does Wal-Mart. This could be huge because this retailer touches the very core of America and, increasingly, the world’s shoppers. When they start demanding from their suppliers proof of sustainability, what comes next? Will they list the pesticides, herbicides and fungicides that are used? Will they reveal water usage per acre? When it comes to wine, will we be told the levels of these chemicals found on their vineyard laborers skins?
This door is a very hard one to close. Back to the stores themselves: We can see the rise of outside graders who will analyze the economic impact of Wal-Mart on small towns and suburban counties. We could see sending monitors to the countless Chinese factories churning out all the low price stuff. Anyone want to guess what they would find in terms of environmental and labor issues? Yet, all in all it’s a good thing because these proposed little profiles on the shelf next to the product will be a constant reminder that what is behind the product can be as important as the product itself. If it backfires, that will be a good thing too because it will force them to reform or abandon the plan in an embarrassing retreat. If it works, it could force everyone else to stop hiding behind sexy, clever ad campaigns and low prices and tell us what we’re really buying and drinking.
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Posted
by Jonathan Russo
on Jul 20, 2009
in Features
Organic grape grower and vintner Gunther Di Giovanna came to New York this week with his wines for a tasting at ‘inoteca Vino e Cucina in the Lower East Side. Articulate, and poised and clearly devoted to organic growing, Gunther shared six of his vintages. ‘inoteca brought out plates of Italian cheese, salami, spreads and breads as well as organic olive oil from Gunther’s Sicilian farm.
First up was a 2008 Grillo. This uncommon white grape was fruity with a well-balanced acid profile, and a nicely rounded body. It had a bit of a Chardonnay profile in terms of color and density.
Next was a 2007 Grecanico. This was lighter and a bit more fruity. It was lovely and clean and very well balanced. At 12.5% alcohol, it was more than a “summer thirst quencher” but less than a serious wine that would be paired with, say, lobster.
Our third taste was a beautiful 2008 Gerbino Rosé from another uncommon grape, Nerello Mascalese. Gunther was like a proud father when he spoke of this wine, which is fermented in the vat as a rosé, rather than being a blend of red and white wines. He really likes its soft, round quality and clean fresh fruity flavors. He says it goes well with sushi and pizza. As Sicilian weather varies so little from year to year, the vintages do not vary greatly either. We found it an easy-to-like-rose with just enough body to make it interesting.
Next came the reds. We tasted his 2006 Poggionotte Nero d’Avola while Gunther explained he was trying to express the grape without manipulation or oaking. He loves this Sicilian mainstay varietal and wants his wine to be bold and clean. We agree and our notes were all favorable: elegant, soft, and complex were characteristics observed. This is his terroir wine.
He then poured his “market to the world” wine, a 2007 Gerbino Rosso. It is a field blend of 35% cab, 35% merlot 15% syrah and 15% nero d’avola. It was fine and, being organic, delighted us to think that he was providing an easy-drinking answer to conventional wines being sold at this price point ($12). He told us every winery needs one of these for the mass market or “a wine bar.”
His true baby came last, the second use of the Nerello Mascalese grape, this time as a red. This is a rich, well structured, very dense wine. Hints of spices like cinnamon came through, along with the flavor of blackberries. The strength of the wine was tempered by its smoothness and was clearly in oak long enough to reduce the tannin spikes. We really liked this wine and imagined ourselves in a wintry season watching a fire while eating a smoked meat plate or a bowl of pasta with a meat ragu.
Gunther is a modern man who has always been an organic grower, as the Italians say “da sempre.” He is a great spokesperson for his island and his vineyards and added so much to the enjoyment of his wines. The attendees, an attractive young crowd of downtowners, seemed to agree.
The event was under the direction of Joe Denton, co-owner of ‘inoteca. Read our interview with Joe here.
Photo of Gunther Di Giovanna by Suzannah B. Troy.
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