Vias Imports

This was my first visit to any Vias Imports event. Even though they self-distribute their products in NY and NJ, I had never been contacted by anyone from their firm in the past and therefore had neither tasted or purchased anything. I have seen a number of their items in NY restaurants and stores, so I was curious to see what they had to offer.

Again, the tasting was held at the Marriott Marquis, though in a smaller room. As I made my way around the room I was finding that most of the wines were of middling quality. Very little really got me excited though I will give them credit for showing some unusual varietals and appelations.

As Vias offered nothing more than cheese and bread, I left early so as to pickup some Dolin vermouth at Astor Wine and then obtain a late lunch. It was a humid day and the skies were dense with a heavy feeling rainy mist. This was very uncomfortable, so I made it to a new Mediterranean restaurant near Gramercy Square. However, it was way too warm in there and the wine selections by the glass looked pretty boring.

Luckily, Gramercy Tavern was next door and I settled in there for a lunch of carrot and calamari salad and a Plymouth and Dolin martini. The salad which I had ordered before has become a favorite of mine. Thin strips of carrot and squid in a refreshing lemon vinaigrette and garnished with pinenuts. I also had another appetizer of fish croquettes with heirloom green beans and arugula paired with a glass of Baudry Chinon rose. The croquette was perfectly crispy and crunchy, but the internal texture was on the dry side. Would not likely to order that again. Having visited Baudry in the Loire recently, I couldn’t resist this rose of cabernet franc. Light, pale and refreshing.

Lauber on Times Square

Lauber Imports puts on a grand tasting event in an enormous space at the Marriott Marquis right on Times Square pretty much featuring their total portfolio. They are also noted for putting out a nice spread of food, though the lamb chops were noticeably absent this year, no doubt in a measure to cut costs.

Since being bought by a major distributor, Lauber has become more mainstream in their section. The main reason I wanted to attend was not so much to find exciting new labels, but to revisit with some popular brands and to stay in touch with what the masses are drinking. Amongst the pleasant surprises were the Henriot Champagne with its delightful crisp texture and mellow, balanced finish. A new table of Loire wines from Guy Saget were exceptional. Bright, delicious sauvignon blancs and a Muscadet.

Many of the popular brand names that proliferate corporate restaurants were there, including Jos. Phelps and Jordan. Neither offered interesting wines, either because they were overwhelming or because they were poor values or both.

I found that I munched on enough appetizers that I decided to skip any in-town meal and caught the express train home.

Wines of Portugal

April 1st was the annual tasting event for Wine of Portugal put on by Vini Portugal, a trade consortium promoting Portuguese wines. The setting was Cipriani 42nd Street, a banquet facility located in a once grand bank lobby. There was an exceptional table of appetizers set up on one side. A lot of marinated seafood and quality breads. I had a quick taste of marinated squid and scallops, roast peppers and a tuna tartare shaped like a meatball, before the tasting, but didn’t have time for a re-visit.


It wasn’t too long ago that I disfavored wines from Portugal as they were often over-ripe and tasted of cooked fruit. But just as Spain has greatly modernized and improved their wine, so has Portugal. These wines are now one of my top choices for quality for value wines. The biggest challenge is the wines are made from unrecognizable grapes, but once customers try them, they sell.

David Bowler Wines

The spring trade tasting event for David Bowler wines took place at Tribeca Grill on March 24th. This is one of the better suppliers though it was disappointing to learn right away that they no longer carry wines from Peter Weygandt, one of the top importers in this country. Not to worry though. Shortly after this tasting they had a major coop in taking Louis/Dressner imports from Polaner Selections.

Some of the winners were a Domaine du Tabatu “Camprigou” in St-Chinian (Languedoc), a producer I don’t recall seeing before. A red wine of expressive aromatics, perfect balance of texture, delicate red berry fruit and spice and a good value. Another star was the Le Rocher des Violettes “Cuvee Touche-Mitaine" from the village of Mont-Louis (a chenin blanc cousin of Vouvray on the opposite shore of the Loire). This is a dry, mineral driven style I’m seeing more of (and liking) as opposed to the more common demi-sec styles. Excellent, versatile wine that would retail for under $20.

Polaner at Gotham Hall

This tasting was hosted by New York based Polaner Selections and has been one of my most important suppliers of quality and value wines. Not made up of recognizable brand names, but truly authentic wines of character. I always look forward to their trade tasting event, especially since they only do one annually as opposed to others which will have one in spring and fall each year. Held in Gotham Hall, once a grand bank lobby, it is also one of the more attractive settings.

In addition to their own imports, they also distribute wines from two top level importers. Eric Solomon, based out of North Carolina has an exceptional Spanish and French book. Among these is the Sitios de Bodega “Con Class” Rueda, a top selling under $10 white wine from the Castilla y Leon region of Spain made mostly from the Verdejo grape.

The wines from importer Louis/Dressner and its principal, Joe Dressner, are my favorites. Mostly French, and with a large representation of my favorite wine region, the Loire Valley.

One of my favorites from his portfolio and probably the most consumed white wine by myself over the last twelve months is the Muscadet “Clos de Briords” from Domaine Pepiere. Delicious on its own and fantastic with seafood, this is the quintessential fish wine. Bone dry with citrus and the mineral essence of wet stones.

Having forgot to bring my NYC Metro pass, the chose to dine within a reasonable walking distance and walked from Broadway and 36th to B’way and 20th to Gramercy Tavern. There I started with the Merguez sausage with chick peas and Swiss chard, almond and harissa for which I paired with a cool fizzy glass of dry, red Lambrusco.

For mains I had simple pan-roasted chicken with parsnips and carrots. Their chicken is so tender and delicate. Good stuff. I had a Cuvee Pif from Clos Roche Blanche in Touraine. This is made from Cot (malbec) and Cabernet Franc and is named after the owner’s border collie mix. Pif essentially translates to nose.

Photo of Pif and the newly uninvited Seccotine the cat

in the cave at Clos Roche Blanche in 2008

Re-Summit

Back again to the offices of Wildman, this time for a presentation of their German portfolio and along with Austrian wines from Monika Caha and Francois Baur, a family run winery in Alsace.

Baur was represented by Virginie Baur of the 9th generation, the daughter of the current winemaker, Pierre Baur. I first met Virginie when their wines were first being imported to the US in 2000 and I was acting sommelier at Brasserie Perrier. I laso had the chance to visit at their home in Turckheim. I was thoroughly impressed with the wines then and continue to be. A true representation of Alsace style.

Monika Caha has been importing wines through Wildman for about three years. A native of Austria, she displays true passions for the Austrian wines in her portfolio and they are very good. The gruner veltliner grape has become one of my favorite food wines as well as for sipping on the patio. She also had an interesting dry, aromatic muscat and a flinty, tangy sauvignon. The reds have never been better. Too often they can be over extracted and flabby, but her samples of zweigelt and the blaufrankisch had terrific texture and balanced wild brier scented blue fruits.

The German portfolio was focused on the more drier styles. While German wines are associated with sweet wines, the preferred style in Germany is decidedly drier and that is a message they are trying to get out to the public here.

Across the board, these were very good wines. Riesling is enjoying a great deal of popularity today. People need to get better acquainted with the drier styles which are more versatile and better quality.

Jenny & Francois at the Smith's

This is my fourth year of attending Jenny’s events and I am happy to have been a part of her tasting from the beginning as I have seen her portfolio grow from a group of largely eclectic and funky wine to a collection of some of the most interesting wines on the market.

Jenny’s portfolio focuses on natural and organic wines, mostly from France where she had spent a lot of time and where her partner is from and France is where the natural wine movement is strongest, particularly the Loire and southern France.

The first Jenny tasting that I attended was made up mostly of funky, off-tasting wines. Clearly many in her group had not yet perfected the art of working with natural wines. But it has gotten progressively better with each event.

One of my favorites from this tasting was the new label from Vincent Careme in Vouvray, a chenin blanc village in the Loire Valley. These were some of the most interesting Vouvray’s I’ve ever had. Highly aromatic with lemon curd, beeswax and mineral with a mouthfilling, mellow texture and long finish.

Another exciting newcomer was a sparkling wine from Burgundy by Catherine and Dominique Derain. Dominique Derain is a barrelmaker and decided to try his hand in winemaking. He met his wife in winemaking school in Beaune. Normally, sparkling Burgundy would be made from the locally renowned grapes chardonnay and pinot noir. Derain uses the locally accepted, but obscure aligote which is associated with cheap wine bar whites often mixed with cassis to make a Kir Royale cocktail. This is just another example of what can happen when a lowly grape is lovingly attended to.

This had a really unique and mellow mousse with flavors of treefruits, light spice and a tangy, lemony finish. Despite Dominique’s background as a barrelmaker (cooper), he uses no new oak. The production is so small that his may become hard to get is a New York restaurant takes a stand on this. Hope not.

Wine Summit in Summit

Today I made it to my first trade tasting of the calendar year at the Summit, NJ office of importer Frederick Wildman for sampling of their 2008 Burgundy portfolio. This was the third consecutive year for me at this event. I arrive at the office at exactly the start time of 12 noon. Another monster snow storm is expected to hit in the afternoon, just like their 2008 event, and I hope to make it through all wines and get out.

Ten years ago when I was working at The Wine Club in San Francisco, I was tasting, selling and regularly buying for my own meal pairings, a great deal of Burgundy. Back then the dollar was even with the Euro and the wines were more affordable. It’s a different story now. Today, for me, it’s all about trying to find Burgundies that offer good value for the price and that is not easy. On top of that, the 2008 vintage is expecting to be challenging, especially for the reds.

By and large, the Wildman Burgundy portfolio is filled with familiar names, but generally lacking wines from the large negocient houses that I prefer to avoid. I’m not looking for mass-market, but for some originality.

As expected, the reds were indeed difficult. It was interesting to hear the pleads from a couple of producers to essentially taste with an open mind. More like to play with our mind and convince ourselves that they are not so impressive.

While there were some worthy ones, they usually didn’t stand up to the quality/price ratio test. I’m sure there are retailers and restaurants with customers willing to buy regardless – be it for the love of the name or for lack of concern for price – but for me, a value oriented buyer, there are limited choices.

The whites, however, were quite nice, especially the Vincent portfolio which were judged by myself as best of the tasting. Vincent and their other label, Chateau Fuisse, were true character wines. When I was younger, the name Pouilly-Fuisse, the best known area in the Macon region of Burgundy, was synonymous with white French wine at restaurants. Over time, I felt that they were often over-valued and usually didn’t recommend them. But on the heels of expensive Burgundies from the Cote d’Or and California chardonnay, they have never been better.

Classically, the whites (chardonnay) from Macon have lean, crisp yet palatable acids with scents of wet stone, crisp apple-pear fruit with a touch of tangy lemon. The effect of barrel aging is typically negligible, at most a whiff of fresh wood and its spices. Delightful food wines or just to be sociable with company. And prices were reasonable.

The other whites, from the Cote d’Or, were as a group showing bright, clean acid as opposed to an overly tart green apple acid form challenging vintages or producers. The fruits tasted ripe and focused and the finish was elegant. Now about those prices. Whoa.

By the way, I made it home just as flakes were falling – so there will be another story.