Bonny Doon is in my house!

John on Wine – Bonny Doon is in my house!

This piece originally ran as a wine column in the Ukiah Daily Journal newspaper on Thursday, December 10, 2015

One of my favorite wineries is Bonny Doon, and one of my favorite winemakers is Bonny Doon owner Randall Grahm. Years ago, I traveled 42 California Counties with wine books and accessories for the Wine Appreciation Guild, and regularly I would visit all of the wineries and tasting rooms on the Santa Clara side of the Santa Cruz mountains, head over to Santa Cruz and grab a hotel for the night, so my first visit at 10:00 am the next morning would be at 10 Pine Flats Road, up the mountain off Hwy 1, into forests, to make the tasting room of Bonny Doon my day’s first visit, and to taste the new releases. I love Bonny Doon!

I was sent a review copy of Randall Grahm’s book, “Been Doon So Long, a Randall Grahm Vinthology,” by Amy Cleary, of the book’s publisher, U.C. Press, and wrote a glowing review, because I loved the book, for my online wine blog, johnonwine.com, in February 2010 (wow, I was shocked to find, looking back, that I’ve been writing about wine for more than six years). Randall Grahm included review excerpts in his marketing of the book, and the book appeared in my December 2010 list of top Christmas gifts for the wine lover in your life.

I revere Randall Grahm, he is an iconoclast, an original Rhone Ranger, and a man almost completely divorced from convention, yet dedicated to stellar wine. His labels are created by artists, and a signed and framed reproduction of one hangs in my home. I was thrilled to accept a recent email offer from Randall to have him send some of his wines to me for me to taste. For me, that’s hitting the big time as a wine writer, and an incredible honor.

Margaret Pedroni is one of my favorite people. Margaret worked two doors down from my McFadden tasting room, and was the manager for both Weibel and Ray’s Station, before heading over the mountain to become the National Brand Manager for Knez wines in the Anderson Valley…where I am headed soon. Margaret recently sat for the introductory Sommelier exam, passed, and was awarded her red pin from the Guild of Sommeliers.  I invited Margaret to join me for a tasting of these wines, and our combined notes follow.

2010 Sparkling Albariño $36  – label by Grady McFerrin

Appearance: brilliant pale gold deep straw, slight reflective quality, volatile effervescence, great bubble structure, nice mousse; nose: dry caramel, fig, honey, cantaloupe melon, light moist hibiscus; medium full weight mouth feel, heavier and darker full fruited that classic Champagne grape variety based sparkling wine. Notable acidity providing structure; mouth: lemon-lime, grapefruit, ripe guava, herb; finish: long, graham (Grahm?) cracker and honeycomb notes.
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2013 Le Cigare Blanc Réserve $45 – label by Chuck House

55% Rousanne, 26% Grenache Blanc, 19% Picpoul Blanc white blend.

Appearance: clear pale gold medium straw, very clear rim, bright medium clarity; nose: dense, deep, but muted. Honey, dried white rose, herb, white peach, vanilla, reduced pear, bruised nectarine, waxy floral white gardenia; balanced acidity with warm fruit notes; mouth: salty wet rock minerality, savory butter, pear, stone fruit, candied honeycomb, flint; finish: a touch short, cherry pit note
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2014 Cuvée “R” Grenache $48 – label by Gary Taxali

Appearance: semi translucent light garnet cranberry rose color, light rim variation; nose: sexy, strawberry jam, strawberry pie complete with buttery crust, ripe cherry, light violet, candied rose petal confection, cardamom spice, slight watermelon; medium light bodied with favorable acidity to fruit; mouth: fruit forward, strawberry, bright cherry, rhubarb, watermelon, a little stemmy, dried herb blend; finish: long tapering notes of herbal rhubarb and sweet tart candied fruit. I enjoyed this wine greatly, as I love both Grenache and strawberries.
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2014 Cinsaut Counoise $35 – label by Grady McFerrin

Cinsault 67% Counoise 33%

Appearance: Clear, bright light garnet rose, clear at rim, reflective; nose: seductive cocoa dusted cherry, strawberry, clove, vanilla, tiny bit of exciting gamy animal funk, nuance of rose, a light cola; level acidity, balance, with fruit, structured body; mouth: mineral, red ripe strawberry fruit, toffee, dried Italian oregano herb, raspberry, red currant, spice; finish: long with candied red fruit notes. Great acidity, great food wine; a truly delicious wine that will appeal to lovers of Syrah or Pinot Noir, sharing some characteristics with each. For both Margaret and me, this was our favorite wine of the six tasted.
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2012 Syrah “Le Pousseur” $26 – label by Bascove

Appearance: dark, deep ruby, purple burgundy violet color; nose: the aromatics leapt out of the glass when inspecting for color. Dark plum, licorice, dark berry fruit, oak, gamy wet leather, Chinese 5 spice, floral, dusty bramble berry, mint undertone; tannins are noticeably evident, but soft. The wine is dry, astringent. Could benefit from being cellared for a couple of years; mouth: black cherry, ripe plum, blackberry, dark shading to blueberry, herb, pepper, spice, floral; finish: herbal eucalyptus and spice dark fruit.
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2011 Le Cigare Volant Réserve $79 – label by Chuck House

37% Mourvedre, 34% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 9% Cinsault red blend

Appearance: lovely deep red ruby garnet with little rim variation; nose: multi-noted! Plush, strawberry, cherry, rhubarb, herb, violet, dried rose, spice, leather licorice, and it just keeps going, note after note; evident acid to fruit balance; a touch astringent but not overly so, owing perhaps to a cooler vintage; mouth: strawberry, cherry, briny cranberry, raspberry, stem, crushed stone, herb, rose, mint; finish: tapering sweet reduced red strawberry, cherry, berry, and oak; this wine would pair beautifully with flavorful game meat, like venison.
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This was an incredibly enjoyable tasting experience, made more so by sharing it with a friend, and I urge you to seek out, buy, and enjoy the 2014 Bonny Doon Cinsaut Counoise, a perfect wine to introduce you to the vinous talents of Randall Grahm.

For more information about Bonny Doon, or to order wine, visit http://www.bonnydoonvineyard.com.

 

Book Reports

John On Wine ­ – Book Reports

Originally published on October 17, 2013 in the Ukiah daily Journal by John Cesano

I love wine. I love books. I don’t always love wine books. Wine books can be so dry as to be boring, or rely so strongly on the reader having a rich knowledge of wine that it can alienate most folks.

Let me share a few wine books that I do love, each for a different reason: The first hasn’t even been released yet. Wine Business Case Studies – Thirteen Cases from the Real World of Wine Business Management, published by the Wine Appreciation Guild is due out in November this year, and will be available at the Sonoma State University book store.

I was bemoaning the public’s love for corks, when screw caps are a superior closure for wine bottles and Elliott Mackey, one of the top wine book publishers in the country, sent me an advance copy of a case study that looked at corks vs. screw caps from a business perspective: The Great Cork Debate 2012: Cork Stages a Comeback, written by Tom Atkin and Duane DoveI knew, from talking to several distributors and retailers, that if all other things are equal then a wine bottle under cork sells faster than a bottle under screw cap. This isn’t the article to address wine closures, but the case study Elliott sent over from the upcoming book was thoughtful, well researched and compelling.

While I was grateful for the advance peek at the great cork debate case study, I was surprised and thrilled to find that Elliott had also sent a case study titled Dark Horse Ranch Vineyard – A Mendocino County, California, Biodynamic Winemaker Explores Future Directions, written by Liz Thach, PhD, MW, Sonoma State University Wine Business Institute.

I am a big fan of Paul Dolan and his Dark Horse Ranch Vineyard. I have contemplated writing a tasting room review of Truett-Hurst in Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley, even though I focus on inland Mendocino wineries and vineyards, because Paul Dolan is an owner and has spread his biodynamic farming ethos to Truett Hurst.

This is a text book, a collection of case studies and is meant to explore a variety of subjects that students in a university level wine business program would benefit in exploring. Definitely not for everyone, I loved the advance look and will be picking up a copy upon release.

The second book is a wine book with broader appeal for folks who love Mendocino County wine. Mendocino Roots & Ridges ­ Wine Notes From America’s Greenest Wine Region, written by Heidi Cusick Dickerson with photography by Tom Liden, is a phenomenal wine book, lushly gorgeous in both writing and photographic art.

Heidi Cusick Dickerson wrote a weekly wine column here in The Ukiah Daily Journal before I did and reading her columns, I was always impressed with her ability to paint a picture with words, a picture so well defined that I would want to visit the subject of her piece so I could experience the beauty she shared each week. I have no problem admitting that Heidi is a better writer than I am, and her work set the bar for quality I try to attain.

Tom Liden, similarly, is spectacularly skilled in his ability. As a professional photographer in wine country, many of the images he has captured tell a story that words alone could not do justice to.

Together, Heidi and Tom, in Mendocino Roots & Ridges, combine words and photographic art to give readers a rich sense of what makes scores of Mendocino County’s wineries so special. My copy is autographed by both Heidi and Tom, and if you were looking for a perfect wine book to present as a gift to a friend, there are a number of autographed copies available at the McFadden Farm stand & Tasting Room in Hopland. The price is an incredibly reasonable $29.95.

The final book I wanted to share with you is for wine geeks like me: Been Doon So Long, A Randall Grahm Vinthology. Randall Graham is the genius, iconoclast, mad man owner and winemaker of Bonny Doon – one of my absolute favorite wineries.

In support of his brand, Randall wrote satirical pieces for his winery newsletter. Been Doon So Long is a collection of some of the best satirical pieces written by Randall over the years.

Included are brilliantly executed parodies of notable literary works including Don Quixote, Catcher in the Rye, and A Clockwork Orange. Each parody allows Randall to comment on the wine industry, and often pokes fun and sometimes derision at a host of subjects within the industry.

In the book’s center, at its core, is the book’s masterwork, a parody of Dante’s Divine Comedy. In Da Vino Commedia: The Vinferno, there are nearly 60 pages with beautiful illustrations by Alex Gross, Randall tells the tale of being taken “doon” through the nine circles of wine hell. After pointing out the sins of the industry in fullness, Randall writes of being made to face his own sins and a desire to save himself from mortal zin, um sin.

Filled with zingy references to pompous personages and elite estates, this book is a little insider-ish; but even a wine non-geek will appreciate the skill behind the turns of phrase, even if not fully appreciating the target of Randall’s barb. That’s it, three great books. This weekend, attend Hopland Passport; next weekend, pick up a book.

 

These are a few of my favorite (wine) things…

Here are a dozen possible wine gifts for the holidays; call ’em John’s dirty dozen, or John’s twelve gifts for the twelve days of Christmas, or whatever you want. They are presented in no particular order. If you click on the name, you will be taken to a webpage where you can find out more about the product, or order the item. Cheers!

Vindel X Glass

21 oz., Set of 4,

Sale Price $10.72

Available from the Wine Hardware Stores, Napa, Sonoma, Walnut Creeek, South San Francisco and online. Wine glasses without the stem means no broken glass stems and fewer accidents as sweeping hands (I’m Italian and there are lots of sweeping hands in a family conversation) move above these stem free wine bowls. Nice shape, nice size, nice weight, nice glasses. GREAT price, buy 8 or 12 at this price.

Vinturi

Wine Aerator

1 at $39.95, 2 or more at $29.95 each

Available at the Wine Hardware Stores and online. I have written in wonder as just opened, closed nose, not ready to drink bottles are transformed by this amazing little device. Just hold it over your glass, pour your wine from the bottle through this aerator, the wine bubbles, burbles, breathes, and in just seconds the wine in your glass is drinkable, open, enjoyable. I am skeptical of gizmos and gadgets, but this is an amazing wine tool for the impatient.

Forge de Laguiole Rosewood Handle Corkscrew

$160

Available at the Wine Hardware Stores and online. In Laguiole France there is a Forge, the Forge de Laguiole, and artisans produce the most amazing cutlery and corkscrews in the world. There are a number of folks who sell knock off junk from Thiers France or Asia with a Laguiole name. IWA (International Wine Accessories) tried to pass off just such a mass produced cheap knock off using video of hand crafting from the Forge to sell their inferior items – some people believe lies and deception are just marketing tools in service of sales. Not inexpensive, but heirloom quality, hand crafted corkscrews from the Forge de Laguiole run from $160 to over $200, and are the ultimate gift for the wine connoisseur in your life.

Private Preserve

$9.59

Available online and in better wine shops. This magical gas in a can is heavier than oxygen and doesn’t so much displace all of the oxygen laden air in an opened bottle of wine as it sinks below the oxygen laden air and blankets the wine from oxygen, protecting and preserving wine (and oils and vinegars) between glasses. Keeps wines yummy, keeps oils from going rancid and vinegars from going musty.

Sideways

$11.99

Available online, and possibly the sale table at Blockbuster. A lot of wine folks mock this movie, and it interesting to note (if you are a wine geek) that the featured character Miles’ treasured Cheval Blanc often possesses a considerable percentage of Merlot, a varietal which Miles detests. That said, I love this movie. There is one passage that brings tears to my eyes, for what I think is a beautiful expression of the wonder of wine. Walk in the Clouds and Bottle Shock together don’t reach the greatness of this best wine movie ever.

The Corker

$10-$17.95

Available online (sort of) and at art and craft shows. This is the best bottle stopper ever. One size fits all. No flavor transfer bottle to bottle. Easy to Use. Wines don’t leak on their side in the fridge. Champagnes (and two liter sodas) stay bubbly upright in the fridge. Oils and vinegars stay yummy longer. Break it by accident, or through clumsy mishap, and they fix it for free. I often pair this with Private Preserve (above) for long term storage of liquids with great effect. Online is difficult because these guys are on the road all the time, and because their website sucks. Best thing to do is find the Corkers you want online, over 100 decorative images can be seen online, and send an email directly to Fred, the cork boss. Let him know the corks you want, he’ll send you a quote, you send him credit card info, he sends you cork; weird, but it works, as they don’t really have operators standing by, bins of separated corks, item numbers, or a shipping department. They are old school crafters and artists in a studio. Corkerguy@aol.com is Fred’s email to get the ball rolling.

Been Doon So Long

$29.35

Available directly from the author through the book’s website. You can even get signed, first edition, copies of the book. I was lucky enough to get a review copy of this book just before I was going to buy it, unexpected, unsought, but incredibly welcome. This was, far and away, my favorite book of the year, and I read a ton. I reviewed this book earlier this year, and simply gushed with praise. The author, Randall Grahm, is a winemaker I revere, and a brilliant writer who used his prodigious writing skills in marketing service of his wines. This book is a collection of those writings, a greatest hits if you will. Parody, satire, wit and a reinvention of literature’s most famous works. This book brought me great joy. I imagine anyone who loves wine, literature, or ideally both will cherish this book.

Wine Shield

$5.95/6 pack

$29.95/50 pack

Available from the Wine Hardware Stores and online. This is one of the quirkiest, oddest, yet brilliant and effective wine preservation concepts ever. Each individual package contains one flexible plastic floating disc, self adjusting for interior bottle width, that can be inserted into a bottle and floats on the surface of the wine protecting the wine from oxidation. Great for a stocking stuffer, I reviewed these positively this year in an earlier article and think they are great for packing away in a suitcase for traveling wine lovers – perfect for wines in the hotel room.

Wine country flavored Oils and Vinegars

$10-$125

Available from Tres Classique and online. Wineries typically have olive trees and make and sell olive oil, because the harvest, press, and bottling schedule is complementary for wine making operations. Many wineries produce and sell their own oils and vinegars. Terra Savia and Saracina are two of my favorite local wineries producing olive oils. There is a company in wine country that doesn’t make wine, but concentrates strictly on the most delicious gourmet flavored oils and vinegars. I have purchased cases and cases and given away dozens of bottles over the years, often paired with a Corker above, and everyone has loved them. From individual bottles of Lemon Splash, aged Balsamic and Truffle infused oil to gift boxes containing an assortment of delicious treats, Tres Classique is a wine country favorite of mine.

Vivid Wine Decanter

47 oz

$39.95

Available from Wine Enthusiast online. Face it, most people don’t have a decanter, and although largely unnecessary, they are cool. This one is a great size, shape and price. Winner, winner, duck with cherry reduction dinner.

Modularack

$15.97-$300

Available from Wine Hardware Stores and online. These are a cool, at home, solution for wine bottle storage. These precut wood pieces can be fit together to make a freestanding wine rack, and as your wine collection grows you can just add more levels. The Wine Steward, a great wine shop in Pleasanton California, uses double deep Modularack with optional display topper wine storage and display in their store in a richly handsome manner.

Tickets to 2011 ZAP Zinfandel Tasting

Jan 29, 2011 Grand Zinfandel Tasting $70

Jan 27, 2011 Good Eats & Zinfandel Pairing, Jan 28, 2011 Flights, Jan 28, 2011 Evening With The Winemakers Dinner, and the Jan 29, 2011 Grand Zinfandel Tasting $500

Available online. Almost a year ago, back in January, I wrote some pretty good pieces (modesty and humility are overrated – no one wrote a better recap) about attending three of the four tasting events. Each event was incredible. I grew up with Zinfandel, it is one of my favorite wine varietals, and the ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates and Producers) Zinfandel Festival is one of my favorite events each year. Tickets to the Grand Zinfandel Tasting is a must, but if you are fortunate enough to be well off, go for full immersion and buy tickets for all four events.

Thanks for perusing my 2010 list of 12 favorite wine related gifts for this holiday season. Any, or all, would make great gifts for a wine lover. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and feel the touch of Christmas spirit and cheer.

Disclosure: I worked for Wine Appreciation Guild (Wine Hardware Stores are WAG’s retail outlets), sold The Wine Steward their floor racks, sold Corkers for Fred, and applied to market ethically for VWE (parent company of IWA).

 

Getting Doon with Been Doon So Long

In October 2006, I took my then nine year old son Charlie to the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA to experience Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon performed by Roger Waters, principal lyricist, founding member, bass player and co-lead vocalist of Pink Floyd.

Roger Waters injected politics into his concert, performing Leaving Beirut, a musical retelling of being taken in by an Arab family in Lebanon when a younger, poorer, Waters was caught hitchhiking in a torrential downpour. The song included strong criticism of President George W. Bush and his choice to bring war to Iraq. Waters also wrote political messages on a lighter than air inflatable pig that was carried from the stage into the audience and (unlawfully) released. Messages on our pig included “Habeas Corpus Matters A Lot” “Impeach Bush Now” and “Vote Nov. 2nd””

Waters’ messages of peace over war, human rights over torture and illegal imprisonment, and disapproval of our involvement in the war in Iraq was met with general approval in Mountain View, although I did hear a few people complain about paying to be lectured to and not liking it. Several East cost performances of Leaving Beirut were met with even greater displeasure. In all cases, jeers were turned to cheers as Leaving Beirut was followed by Sheep from the Pink Floyd album Animals – the irony lost on most.

During the war in Vietnam, Rock music was a vehicle for political expression, and years later Waters again used it to marry the power of words, music, and crowd. Compared to the near endless supply of mindless pop acts dancing through lip synched performances featuring auto-tuned recordings, I was grateful for Waters’ artistry and ability to move and educate me.

I can almost hear you asking, “so, four paragraphs about music John, what does this have to do with wine?” Thanks for asking.

I received a copy of Been Doon So Long, a Randall Grahm Vinthology, by Randall Grahm.

A couple of quick notes; I revere Randall Grahm, I was three days away from buying this book when it was delivered to my door for me to read and review courtesy of Amy Cleary of UC Press. When I worked selling wine books and wine accessories for the Wine Appreciation Guild, I used to arrange my sales trips to allow me to wake up in Santa Cruz so I could enjoy Bonny Doon wines at their tasting room for breakfast.

Randall Grahm is the owner and Winemaker of Bonny Doon Vineyard. Randall Grahm and Bonny Doon are nearly synonymous, so inextricably are the two linked for wine lovers. Randall Grahm became well known as one of the pioneers of Rhone varietal wines in California (Cinsault, Grenache, Mouvedre, Marsanne, Roussane, Viognier), and was at least equally well known for his mold breakingly unique wine labels (Chuck House, Ralph Steadman). Grahm found additional substantial success with relatively obscure Italian varietals.

Fortunately for anyone who loves wine, literature, and wine literature, Randall Grahm is also famous for his marketing prowess, which included  his writings in a Bonny Doon Newsletter. While the Bonny Doon Newsletter was intended to aid the mercantile, to promote and sell the wine, the Newsletter became more ambitious, educating and sharing Grahm’s point of view.

Randall Grahm’s writings for the Newsletter were not limited to mere articles alone, or pre-blog blog entries in print medium; they included brilliantly executed parodies of notable literary works including Don Quixote, Catcher in the Rye, and A Clockwork Orange. Couched inside of each parody, Grahm commented on notions Doon-ian, and often poked fun and sometimes derision at a host of subjects enological or viticultural satirically. Grahm also parodied literary poets like Ginsberg in poesy, and popular song lyrics – including Have a Cigar from Roger Waters of Pink Floyd.

Been Doon So Long is a collection of these writings from the newsletter, as well as articles, speeches and essays. Sure to please his many fans, and educate a legion of new ones, Randall Grahm has also written a wonderful review on the history of his many wine labels.

The quality of literary playfulness, genius, makes this work of literary parody a great literary work in its own right.

In the book’s center, at its core, is the book’s masterwork, a parody of Dante’s Divine Comedy. In  Da Vino Commedia: The Vinferno, over nearly 60 pages with beautiful illustrations by Alex Gross, Grahm tells the tale of being taken “doon” through the nine circles of wine hell. After pointing out the sins of the industry in fullness, Grahm writes of being made to face his own sins and a desire to save himself from mortal zin, um sin.

As Grahm has grown older, he has grown wiser, and Grahm has reconsidered his priorities. A young daughter Amelie and a health scare have caused Grahm to focus his energy; his spiritual path has seen him divest himself of over 2/3rds of his labels and decrease his case production to less than 10% of Doon’s previous output. He writes with passion about wanting to make honest wines that represent the place they come from, that have Terroir.

In an effort to achieve his goal of producing wines with Terroir, Randall Grahm is moving his wine operations from Santa Cruz to San Juan Bautista to grow grapes in the limestone rich soil, perhaps from seed, without irrigation or trellising, dry farmed and head grown; he wants to make Rhone and Italian varietals , wild and profoundly original, complex and emotionally resonant of the land itself.

In addition to Randall Grahm’s passionate views on Terroir, Grahm opines on the superiority of a screw cap to a cork as a bottle closure, the general banality of California Chardonnay, the adult theme park that is the Napa Valley with its focus on lifestyle instead of life, and his abhorrence of point scores for wine (they are fixed, reductionist while wine is living, ever changing).

Randall Grahm’s incredible grasp of the esoteric, his depth of wine knowledge, his passion for grape growing, his literary bent, and sheer talent brought together in Been Doon So Long caused me to feel unadulterated awe as I read his words, to shake my head in admiration (and a touch of NV) at his writing skill. More than once, reading in a public place, as I came upon a particularly naughty passage, I burst out in laughter causing those around me to seek the cause.

Randall Grahm fights the fights, going against the grain, doing things the hard way, in an effort to make something special. I have always loved that he makes un-boring wines. Doing things Grahm’s way has meant having to write messages on an inflatable pig – or the Doonian equivalent. Newsletters, Radio, interviews, meet the winemaker dinners, anything and everything in service of educating a public unfamiliar with Bonny Doon’s unfamiliar wines. I like wine with a message. Grahm’s wines are message laden beverages – communicating unusual varietals, unique techniques used to produce them, visually artistic labels, and the wealth of information printed on them ; similarly his book is filled with messages, sometimes stuffed into satire, and further wrapped in the cloak of parody, or song, or poesy. Delectable, complex, textured, dense and filling.

Been Doon So Long, A Randall Grahm Vinthology is not Wine For Dummies; but if you have someone in your life who loves wine or literature, or in a perfect world loves both, this book would make an incredible gift that will be appreciated greatly.

I read over 100 wine books while working as a wine seller and marketer, while working for wine book publisher the Wine Appreciation Guild, and as a consumer and lover of wine. Simply put; I have never enjoyed a book on wine as much as I enjoyed Randall Grahm’s Been Doon So Long.

DISCLOSURE: I received Been Doon So Long, A Randall Grahm Vinthology as a sample from Amy Cleary at UC Press. My love of the book Been Doon So Long is in no way linked to how I came to receive the book.

 

How about an inexpensive wine preservation device that works?

In the past, stainless steel wine tanks for fermentation and storage of wines required Nitrogen gas be pumped into the headspace between the surface of the wine and the interior top of the tank to blanket the wine from oxygen, and special gas outflow venting.

David Coleman, eccentric genius winemaker and founder, with his wife Ayn, of Adler Fels Winery, is credited with inventing the adjustable top fermentation tank while at Chateau St. Jean in the 70’s.

Coleman’s tank lid design allowed for variable volume of wine to be fermented or stored without harmful oxygen in the headspace. Coleman felt that pumping Nitrogen into the tank was rougher on the wine than necessary.

David Coleman’s tank design featured a lid that was lowered down the inside of an open top wine tank and held in place on top of the wine surface by means of a chain and pulley system.

The next major innovation in stainless steel tanks was the floating lid. Amity Vineyards claims the first wine tanks with a floating lid in 1981.

Like Coleman’s original adjustable top fermentation tank, the floating top tanks allow variable capacity without exposing the wine contained inside to air and oxygen via a tank lid that can be lowered by means of a chain and pulley system onto the surface of the wine, then sealed against the tank sides my inflating a tube contained within the lid’s side. The main improvement comes from a lid that floats and does not require a chain from the lid to a structure above the tank to hold the lid in place on the surface of the wine.

Recently, I unfavorably reviewed the Vacu-vin wine saver wine preservation pump and stopper system. The Vacu-vin was shown not to work over and over again in laboratories, did not maintain wine flavors any better than the old cork in blind tastings, led to wines suffering an aroma stripped nose, and didn’t maintain the marginal partial vacuum created. The product was a complete and total failure.

In response to my Vacu-vin evaluation and review, Shannon Essa, who I worked with at the Wine Appreciation Guild, asked me if I was familiar with Wine Preserva, and offered to send a couple of samples for me to test. Elliott Mackey of the Wine Appreciation Guild did the sending, but my thanks go to both Elliott and Shannon.

Made in Melbourne, Australia by inventor Barry Rees, the Wine Preserva is a flexible disc that floats on the surface of wine in a bottle. The makers claim of Wine Preserva claim its use protects wine from air and oxygen in between glasses, lengthening the time that a wine may be enjoyed, up to five days.

Available in packs of 6 or 50, each Wine Preserva comes in its own protective packaging. The protective individual Wine Preserva wrapper can be opened in the center of the top and bottom, and a fork provided in the 6 or 50 pack can be used to move the Wine Preserva from its wrapper into the wine bottle to be protected.

It took me three bottles to develop a proficiency, I was not initially deft getting the Wine Preserva into the bottle from the wrapper without touching the disc with my fingers. I am not the most graceful or patient person, but I have mastered the action required.

Here’s a link to a “how to” video:

http://www.winepreserva.com/howitworks.html

The disc is a circular clear plastic disc. the center utilizes bubble wrap type bubbles to ensure floatation, and the outer edge is radial cut to provide a flanged adjustable surface allowing one Wine Preserva to fit a variety of different bottles.

I bought some inexpensive wine from the grocery store to use to test the Wine Preserva. I opened twin bottles of a 2008 FoxBrook Cabernet Sauvignon, California, made by Bronco in Ceres, CA. Although the same price as Charles Shaw, $1.99, I can not say it was as good.

The wine at opening was a bright burgundy red in color, and showed youth. The nose had notes of dusty cocoa and dark blackberry fruit. The wine was light, thin, with a little tannin and was a little green with not quite ripe blackberry and cherry flavors in the mouth, with a plummy finish. with 12.5 alc, it was wine, it was unremarkable, it was not bad, it just was not particularly good either, it had no wow. After getting baseline tasting notes upon opening, I poured 1 cup from each of the two bottles (which i used to marinate a pair of tri tip roasts). I inserted a Wine preserva disc into one of the bottles, and put the original cork back in each bottle. I stored both wines in the back corner of a dark closet for 96 hours.

I opened a bottle of 2008 Rodney Strong state Vineyards Russian River Valley pinot Noir, Sonoma County, $13.48. Having tasted the FoxBrook made me want to taste a wine I liked. A deep garnet in color, this wine had quite a bit more body and complexity. 14.4 % alc, it had a nice round rich mouthfeel, medium bodied, spice, cherry and rose petal and pefume nose, floral rose, herb and spice, leading to oooh candy cherry in the mouth, and a long lingering tapering finish. I did pick up some green notes of youth, and will happily go back to the 2007 vintage and let the 2008 age a bit more.

I had one glass of the Rodney strong Pinot, and put a Wine Preserva into this bottle as well – for a full 5 days.

Okay here’s the results:

After 4 days, the FoxBrook Cabernet protected by the Wine Preserva disc had maintained the dusty cocoa and fruit nose, and there was still fruit evident in the mouth. The Foxbrook Cab sealed with the cork alone was nothing, the nose was lighter and the mouth was spent and off putting, making me want to wipe my tongue off.

After 5 days, the Rodney Strong Pinot was still drinkable, the aroma and flavors maintained and still present and lively.

Available at the Wine Hardware stores in Sonoma, Walnut Creek, St. Helena, and South San Francisco, or online at http://winehardware.com/ for $5.99 for a 6 pack or $29.99 for a 50 pack; I can report they work as advertised and add only $0.60 – $1.00 to the price of a bottle of wine while allowing the wine to be enjoyed at a maintained drinkable quality for days. While many people laughingly say, “I always finnish the bottle,” this is a great and inexpensive tool for those who drink more for flavor than effect. Wine doesn’t come with a funnel to aid in immediate consumption for a reason; and Wine Preserva allows the 6th glass in a bottle to taste like the first glass in a bottle, days after the wine is opened, at an additional cost of just $0.10 – $0.17 per glass for home use.

The Wine Preserva is a simple, elegant, logical wine preservation device. It works in a wine bottle exactly like a floating lid works on a stainless steel wine fermentation and storage tank.

“Greenies” will appreciate that Wine Preserva is both recyclable and biodegradable, and can be left in the bottle, and does not alter a bottle’s recyclability. Packaging materials are made from recyclable paper and plastic as well.

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Yesterday, the mailman brought a sample copy of Randall Grahm’s book “Been Doon So Long.” Thanks to Amy Cleary at UC Press; as I revere Randall Grahm, I will be getting into this beautiful book very soon.

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Disclosure: the Wine Preserva discs evaluated in this review were provided by the Wine Appreciation Guild.

It is silly, but the FTC requires these ridiculous disclosures by online wine writers at the risk of an $11,000 fine. I am not required to make the same disclosure if this article appears in traditional print media. This week, it was suggested that Gwyneth Paltrow does not have to disclose gifts she writes about in her online blog, because celebrities can’t be bothered to keep track of all their gifts. It appears the rules only apply to online writers who do not make money or have fame.

I am not paid to evaluate or review anything sent to me, I do not benefit from sales of anything I recommend. If I received a sample, and didn’t like it, I probably wouldn’t write about it. If I receive a sample and I do like it, you’ll probably read about it.

No promises, no guarantees, full disclosure. Greater transparency, and I think honesty, than most wine publications that take money from the people they review. I’ll try never to violate the trust I ask you to place in me when you read a review or evaluation from me.