*Is Rioja’s consejo regulador missing a trick by not incorporating this terrible lizard into its marketing campaigns?
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While browsing a compendium of dinosaurs last night (yes, I know it was Valentine’s – so what?) I came across this guy – Riojasaurus (“Rioja lizard”).

It would be nice to report that this 10 metre tall herbivorous reptile was so-called as it lived in northern Spain, existed on a diet of tempranillo, garnacha, and mazuelo grapes (supplemented with a little graciano in good years), and communicated in deafening roars to its peers the organoleptic qualities of these grapes.

That story would be just too good.

No, they named it Riojasaurus as its bones were discovered in the Argentinean province of La Rioja. North of the more well-known and important Mendoza, La Rioja is nonetheless a significant wine region, growing muscat of Alexandria (I have this vine at home on my north-facing decking and it does brutally) and torrontés.

Bubble Brothers’ own Las Olas Torrontés, Las Olas Malbec, and La Puerta Alta bonarda and malbec, come from Famatina Valley, a sub-region of La Rioja province.

Anyway, encouraged by my unearthing of riojasaurus (45 years after it was first discovered), I went searching for more dinosaurs-with-wine-appellation-themed-names.

No success there, unfortunately, even if I did manage to locate two kooky dinosaurs called, Pantydraco (!), and Irritator (really).

*In between passing regulation banning misshapen vegetables, the eating of your pet horse, and children under eight inflating balloons without adult supervision ♆, the EU finds time to clean up and improve organic wine law.

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Anyone working in wine should be familiar with the conversation where you explain to the customer who has asked for ‘organic wine’ that there isn’t really any such thing: “You can have ‘wine made from organically-grown grapes’ but the wine itself, legally, cannot be called organic.”

I know that’s too much education for most people but I say it only because they will normally wonder why the supposedly-organic wine I’ve given them doesn’t seem to trumpet that fact very much on the label.

Anyway, the good news is that the EU has just agreed new rules that will bring ‘organic wine’ into existence, and that will permit it to be labelled and marketed as such. (Read Brussels’ actual presser here). The new regulations, which apply from this year’s harvest, will help Europe’s wines compete on international markets – most New World countries allow ‘organic wine’ on labels.

In terms of sulphites – which is the thing that consumers mostly care about (as far as I can tell) in the organic / conventional discourse – organic wines will have a maximum sulphite level 0f 100mg / litre for red wine (versus 150mg for conventional) and 150mg for white and rosé wine (versus 200mg) ✝. A significant difference, certainly, but it may be discomfiting news for organics-inclined wine shoppers that dreaded sulphites cannot be avoided even in organic wine.

Enough of that law but still on organic wine, and branching off slightly: sometimes when folk request organic wine and you offer something that doesn’t even say ‘wine made from organically-grown grapes’ (as clunky a labelling term as you’ll find, if you exclude some of France’s appellation names), the explanation goes something like, “Oh, the estate is organic alright; it’s just that they haven’t chosen to get certification as they want to retain flexibility in the case of poor vintage conditions.”

Meaning that if, say, there are severe hailstone storms in June (which damage the berries), followed by wet, humid weather (which means probable and widespread rot), to not use any ‘treatments’ (many of which are banned in organics) would mean a disastrous harvest of lousy grapes.

Anyway, so some producers kind of practice organic viticulture because they think it gives better grapes (in good years anyway) but they eschew certification as they don’t want the handcuffs it would bring (of course, certification costs money too!).

But while reading Jamie Goode’s new-ish book, ‘Authentic Wine‘, recently I discovered another important reason why wineries often opt not to go down the certification route even though, to all intents and purposes, they are practicing organic wine making – the word ‘organic’ on a wine label doesn’t attract a consumer premium!

All things being equal, the organic Rioja cannot hope to sell for more than the conventional Rioja. Contrast this with other foods and beverages – organic milk is maybe 20% dearer than its antibiotics-laced non-organic fellow; chickens can be had for €5 in the supermarket (albeit at a hidden cost of terrible cruelty) but you can expect little change out of €20 for an organic one.

It makes sense to avoid a certification fee if you’re not going to recoup this investment in a higher price for your product.

Would you pay more for organic wine? Why not?

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*Eugène Meyer Pinot Gris 2010 (Alsace, France) (*wine made from organically-grown grapes) -> Joyful, exuberant style featuring syrupy, stone-fruit cocktail and a lick of honey. Full bodied and off-dry (i.e. a touch of sweetness), with a slight spritz adding to the fun. -> €19.50 in Bubble Brothers

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♆ See The Huffington Post’s ‘Top 5: Weird EU laws’.

✝ A lower level of added sulphites is allowed in red wines because reds have more natural protection from oxidation (etc.) because of their tannins and anthocyanins. Whites and rosé’s lack these and so need more protection. In addition, whites often contain more residual sugar than reds, and so need the added stabilisation that extra sulphites confer. Whites usually have a lower PH level (i.e. are more acidic) than reds, which is one stability advantage they have vis-a-vis reds, but this acidity isn’t enough to overcome their other ‘deficiencies’.

Case deals (email paul@bubblebrothers.com or phone 021-431-6000 to order)

1. Langi Shiraz 2004: Harrods sells it for £55, we sell it for €40. But buy it by the 6-pack now for just €25 a bottle – or €150 for a 6-pack (including free delivery).

2. Erik Banti Le Spiaggiole 2004. Tuscan Bordeaux blend – Reduced from €29 to €18 on 6-pack cases – so €108 all in (including free delivery).

3. Half cases for Valentines can be found here.

White

Caballero Verdejo (Rueda, Spain) €8.50 €7.50
Billi Billi Pinot Grigio (Victoria, Australia) €13.50 €8.50
Inspiracion Rueda (Spain) €10.50 €8.50
Guy Allion Chardonnay (Loire, France) €12 €10
Baronnie de Sabran, Côtes du Rhône (France) €11.50 €10
Nidastore Verdicchio (Marches, Italy) €13 €10
Grand Prébois white (France; organic) €12 €10
Lalande Beaujolais Blanc (Burgundy) €18 €12
Lalande Mâcon-Chaintré (Burgundy) €18.50 €12
Yering Station Chardonnay (Yarra Valley, Australia) €20 €12
Brightwater Sauvignon Blanc (Nelson, New Zealand) €18 €15
Mount Langi Ghiran Riesling (Grampians, Australia) €20 €15
Pio Cesare Gavi (Piedmont, Italy) €20 €15

Red

Lambrusco (Emilia-Romagna, Italy) €10 €7.50
Primalba Sangiovese di Romagna (ER, Italy) €10 €8.50
La Poira Touraine Malbec (Loire, France) €12 €10
Les Parcs Touraine Pinot Noir (Loire, France) €13 €10
Goedverwacht Triangle (Bordeaux blend) (Robertson, South Africa) €13 €10
Le Grand Prébois rouge (France; organic) €12 €10
Sinfarosa Primitivo di Manduria (Puglia, Italy) €13.50 €10
Xanadu Next of Kin Shiraz / NoK Cabernet (Margaret River, Australia) €14 €10
Caciara Sangiovese di Romagna (ER, Italy) €16 €12
Maison Fleurie Juliénas (Beaujolais, France) €16.50 €12
Martinez Corta Rioja Crianza AND semi-crianza (Spain) €14 €12

Rosé

Zerioli pink Pinot Grigio (Italy) €10 €5
Cosechero Rosado (Spain) €8.50 €7.50
Crane (South Africa) €10 €7.50
Colle del Madorlo (Sicily) €12 €10
Veuve de Vernay (France; sparkling) €16.50 €15

Sparkling

La Fornarina Prosecco Spumante (Italy) €17.50 €15
Veuve de Vernay (white and pink) (France) €16.50 €15
Pellar Sparkling Ice Cuvée (Canada) €29 €25

Sweet
Mas Amiel Mini Maury (red; Maury, France) €15 €12

Château Jouclary, Cuvée Tradition, AC Cabardès 2009 -> €12 from Bubble Brothers, and from our trade customers.

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Cabardès is a red and rosé (well, just a little pink) appellation in Languedoc-Roussillon.

One of France’s younger appellations, gaining its status only in 1999, its requirement to blend Atlantic (merlot, cabernet sauvignon) and Mediterranean (grenache, syrah) grape varieties is unusual – France’s only such appellation. Others may do it but only in Cabardès is it required (it can be as skewed as 99:1 in either direction though, oddly).

Anyway, as wine regions go, Cabardès is one of the easiest for Irish wine lovers to visit, being located only a very short distance from Carcassonne, which Ryanair – ‘Europe’s Favourite Airline’ (or something) – flies regularly to from Dublin and Cork.

Cabardès is teensy compared with nearby Minervois and Corbieres – good goods in small packages?

‘Cuvée Tradition‘ (60% merlot, 20% grenache, and 20% syrah) is our entry-level Cabardès from Château Jouclary, a bona fide favourite with both customers and Bubble Brothers staff, and a best-seller. Supple, rich and soft, it is medium bodied, modest of alcohol (13%) and tannins, and bursting with flavours of Autumn blackberries, plum jam, and grilled meat – plus a little interesting farmyard / horse action. Unique, must-try stuff. Buy here.

*If rapper ‘Drake’ thought that featuring moscato in his songs would burnish his street cred, he was mistaken.
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I’m sure you must have seen the recent article, ‘Bulk wine inventory hits 12-year low’, in the North Bay Business Journal. But you may not have read all the way to the end where this unlikely paragraph lay:

***Sales of moscato [in the US] … soared 213% in the last months of 2011 … The core buyers are African American … A possible reason for that popularity is that the variety has been mentioned in rap music.***

What? Hardcore rappers are spitting rhymes about moscato these days? Sweet, grapey, mass-market, cheap moscato?

I did some desk research and, from looking at the first page of Google results, it seems that Canadian rapper (!?) ‘Drake’ (pictured) is the one mainly responsible for it all. His song, ‘Do it now’, features the jubilant line,

‘it’s a celebration clap clap bravo, lobster shrimp and a glass of a moscato.’

Few (except maybe moscato sellers) seem happy about Mr. Drake’s move into the world of wine endorsement.

Poor Food & Wine blog complains that ‘moscato is quickly becoming the reigning ghetto juice’ and goes on to warn the wine’s new fans, ‘Note to fake thugs: stop taking pics with bottles of Sutter Home moscato … it’s actually cheaper than a gallon of milk … You will look like a d**k to anyone who knows anything about wine.’

Gil Kulers, meanwhile, points out that ‘moscato does not go with lobster and shrimp and ranks among the last choices for a celebratory drink.’ The second point is unfair as, whatever about Sutter Home’s un-fizzy moscato, a Moscato d’Asti, or even a basic Asti, would be lovely at most celebrations.

Lastly, in ‘The Moscato-ization of black America‘ the author asks, “How did we manage to make the consumption of dessert wine hood?”

In fairness to Mr. Drake – and in refreshing contrast to his peers in the high-rolling hip-hop world – he is at least promoting a wine that his fans are able to afford.

And for anyone questioning Mr. Drake’s personal toughness for name-checking what’s a pretty feminine, flowery wine style, he later boasts in the same track of reckless moscato-binge-drinking: “Finished the whole bottle and we gonna do it big like this!”

Street!
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p.s. Bubble Brothers will be listing a Moscato d’Asti later in the year but in the meantime if you would like to be more ghetto in your drinking you could do worse than try our Perrin Muscat Beaumes de Venise – a fortified, dessert muscat from the southern Rhone; ideal with a lemon meringue, or just on its own chilling in your crib with your crew.

ONE THING THAT IRRITATES independent wine shops here in Ireland is wine writers (some more than others) giving excessive attention to big, cheap wine brands (invariably from supermarkets), while neglecting quirkier, more authentic, generally pricier bottles (from independents, of course).

Most of these journalists have significant experience in the wine trade, wine qualifications, and/or long years of writing on the subject. They obviously have great affection for the grape, and knowledge of the myriad forms in which it comes. It seems unlikely that they are drinking ‘Santa Rita 120′ or ‘Hardy’s Crest’ (no disrespect to these) at home themselves. So why are they not using their privileged platform to talk about more interesting wines (‘interesting’ as defined by independents!), and helping the little guy at the same time?

Before Christmas I was speaking to someone in the trade about a conversation he had had with a particular wine journalist here. Their frank and open discussion had stemmed from carping by the merchant to the hack over his apparent love affair with wines from Tesco, Lidl and other places that are anathema to independents.

The writer, to give him his dues, addressed the charges head on and gave a spirited defence of his reviewing behaviour. He said (reasonably) that he covers mostly supermarket wines so as to make his contribution relevant to as many people as possible.

He said also that big supermarkets are ‘good at PR’: they hold press tastings, they deliver wine to TV and radio stations (though I’m pretty sure most independents would be happy to do that too). At the time of the exchange (last November), this guy hadn’t had ‘a single communication from an independent in 2011′. Of those who had held tastings, not one had sent him an invitation; none had sent him samples during the year.

It’s a two way-street – if independents don’t invite me to their tastings or send me samples how can I review their wines?

Bubble Brothers was guilty of ignoring journalists in 2011 and being surprised when its lovely wines inspired only a few column inches (in the second half of the year the only ones we noticed were Blake Creedon featuring our organic pinot blanc and Perrin Côtes du Rhône, and John Wilson our Mas Amiel). So chief amongst our 2012 New Year’s resolutions is one to develop closer relations with Ireland’s esteemed wine writers. It’s just January 19th and already we’ve boxed up and sent off pairs of bottles to three different ‘key opinion formers’ (one of these, Lar Veale / Sour Grapes, has already written his review), with more to follow in February.

Anyway, back to the debate in question and another issue that arose was the relentless media focus on dirt-cheap wines when ‘everyone’ knows that once you drop down to €5 and €6 a bottle you are really just paying for glass, transport, tax etc, and that the value of the wine itself is negligible? ‘Well’, the writer said, ‘the average bottle price is €7 these days – most ordinary people are interested only in sub-ten euro’. The market for wines above that, though it exists, is ‘sadly small’, he said. Write for your readers, in other words.

Again, you can’t really fault the logic, though the question does arise as to whether it is the wine writer’s job to simply follow the market – or to lead it.

Does global warming – which seems to be still an issue despite no one talking about it since western economies tanked – sound the death knell for icewine production?

Well … no – icewine is actually pretty straightforward to make artificially. You can probably guess how they do it?

‘Cryo-extraction‘ /’cryo-concentration‘ is what specialists call it – you would probably just say ‘freezing’. But instead of the grapes being frozen ‘naturally’ on the vine, their pressed must / juice – or sometimes the grapes themselves – are simply chilled until they start to freeze. After watery ice crystals are filtered out the remaining juice is concentrated and high in sugar – as per icewine au naturel. Though a controversial technique, it doesn’t seem to have any adverse effect on quality.

Indeed, celebrity producer Chateau d’Yquem in Sauternes (whose 2003 costs €340 here), has been using cryoextraction (in trickier vintages) since the 1980s and it doesn’t seem to have harmed its wine or reputation.

One benefit to producers of using cryoextraction is that they can control the quantity and quality of icewine that is made: the lower the temperature they set, the less wine is produced but the more luscious it is – and vice-versa. With ‘proper’ icewine, by contrast, wineries are at the mercy of cruel, capricious ‘mother nature’ – who wants that?

One of our own icewine suppliers, Peller Estates Winery (Canada), has been lucky this season: for one evening temperatures plummeted to -10 degrees, enabling them to harvest most of their icewine grapes (one more decent freeze this winter will get the rest). We retail Peller’s naturally-made icewines at between €38 and €60 per half bottle (depending on the grape and style – see here for the range).

Meanwhile, our other icewine partner – Brightwater Estate (New Zealand) – has opted not to take chances with nature and instead makes its icewine using cryoextraction, as above. Because there is less risk, less waste, and less labour, the Nelson-based winery is able to sell its produce at a much friendlier price – so we can peddle it at just €15 per 375ml.

Normally I would be a fan of more ‘natural’ wines but I’m not so sure it matters here – can a grape tell the difference between -8 degrees out in a field and -8 degrees in a big fridge? I doubt it.

At the bottom of its homepage, there are Twitter and Facebook buttons crossed out, and the following message pops up if you hover over them.

“After a lot of thought we have decided not to use Facebook or Twitter. We like longer conversations and for them to be personal, not public. If we did it, it would be because it is a fashion and not because our heart is in it, and that doesn’t feel right. So please email, or much better come and see us.”

[*Felton winemaker Blair Walter, above - clearly too busy actually living life to waste time tweeting about it.]

A statement like the one above seems unthinkable in an age where businesses are inundated every day with advice from all quarters on the crucial importance of social media to commercial success, and where fuddy-duddy firms who opt not to bother are as good as laughed at (if they are noticed at all).

And social media is apparently for every industry too, not just ‘sexy’ ones like media and (ahem) wine. Plumbers – think you don’t need a Facebook page? Wake up! – create one today or watch your business flap impotently and crash like a one-winged pterodactyl!

We at Bubble Brothers haven’t been as brave / foolhardy as our Kiwi friends in throwing out the social media bathwater / baby. We have this blog (views modest but increasing, sometimes), a reasonably successful Twitter account (almost 1,700 followers, and regular interactions – is that success?), a far more sluggish Facebook page (‘Likes’, if they happen at all, come from staff members), a moribund Linked-In account (no one currently at the company really knows what to do with it), and a dormant YouTube channel that we promise to resurrect before the next full moon (or the one after that).

But if the ultimate business purpose of social media activity is to bring in dollars (and it is of course) we could probably do just as well quitting the lot and switching the hours spent ‘doing’ it to something else. Like the shoddy e-marketers we are, we haven’t accurately quantified the sales all our beavering away online generates but what we can say is that the figure (whatever it is) is dwarfed by that for sales unrelated to digital toil.

Obviously this is just our own experience. You don’t need to look very hard for examples of companies whose social media marketing does appear to be paying its way. But the area seems to be something of a dark art, and I think that more companies are wasting their time online than not.

Back to Felton Road and its owners’ Twitter / Facebook position seems to be more philosophical than financial – but they probably surmised too that abstaining from daily tweeting and status updating wouldn’t hurt their bottom line very much. And that it’d be two less things to worry about.

With their in-demand wines fetching between €30 and €60 a bottle here in Ireland, it seems as though their policy of only communicating with people in person over tea and biscuits (or over pinot and lamb, I suppose) is paying off.

What do you think – is social media just a load of trash?

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p.s. It was Gavin Quinney, owner of Bordeaux estate Chateau Bauduc, whose comment directed me to Felton Road’s website.

p.p.s. We don’t sell Felton Road, but our Brightwater Nelson Pinot Noir is currently reduced to €20 from €23 on our website.

An elderly man asked last week, “I have a silly question for you: I was told ‘Claret’ wine is good – have you heard of it and do you sell any?“

I had heard of it alright, and Bubble Brothers (and every wine merchant worthy of the name) sells at least a few types, ‘Claret’ being, simply, ‘Red Bordeaux’ – the world’s most famous wine, blended from cabernet sauvignon, merlot (which so many customers profess to dislike these days), and cabernet franc (plus a couple of other less important grapes).

‘Claret’ is used mostly by the English – and I think that any Irish person or American who tries it out risks sounding affected. And even if they manage to carry it off (if they’re ‘old money’, maybe), the person they’re speaking to may not know what ‘claret’ is. Just say, ‘Bordeaux’.

The term ‘Claret’ dates from medieval times when Bordeaux’s red wines (which were so pale back then as a result of a very short fermentation – 2 days – that they were more like today’s rosé wines) were exported to England and known as ‘Clairet’. By the start of the eighteenth century then, the wines had improved (deeper colour, barrel aged) and were known as ‘New French Clarets’.

The rest is history!

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p.s. There are a few terms then that seem similar to ‘Claret’ but in fact refer to something else. Watch out for these banana skins:

(1) Clarete: Spanish term for a wine halfway between rosé and red. Though illegal to use on the label (thanks, EU!), it is sometimes still seen as a descriptive term.

(2) Clarinet: A type of woodwind musical instrument.

(3) Clairette de Die: White sparkling wine appellation (Rhone) where the grapes clairette and muscat are used. The wine pre-dates Champagne.

(4) Clairet: These days ‘clairet’ is reserved for the dark pink wines that are a speciality of Bordeaux. The appellation is ‘Bordeaux Clairet’ and the wines should be drunk off the bottling line.

(5) Clairette: A so-so white grape, prone to oxidation, used in south of France blends. Often used as a synonym for other grapes (e.g. ugni blanc, bourboulenc) too.

Irish readers may have read something in a newspaper – or seen something on a television programme – about the Irish VAT rate having increased from 21% to 23% on New Year’s Day.

When it comes to buying wine though, this unsettling news need not concern you, as Bubble Brothers has decided to absorb the pernicious hike and not increase its wine prices.

The jump wouldn’t have made a massive difference to the shelf price of the typical wine anyway but – as one of our competitors never tires of saying – “Every little helps.”

Anyway, if you feel like beating the system, please click here.