Vintage Assessments Home Page

Archive of National Post Articles

Sign-up Now!

Get all the evaluations for the February  Release
Subscribe to Vintage Assessments today by Clicking Here
This not-for-profit website is dedicated to the discerning reader!

The reader asks
Why are the LCBO shelves empty?

© Michael Vaughan 2003
National Post Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist
 Saturday, January 18, 2003

Yes, you’ve got mail. The e-mailbag is often riddled with questions from avid readers. When I recently said that a wine’s colour should not be used in scoring its quality, I was asked “how come every book out there says colour counts?’

colour blind

The point is that colour should not be permitted to make a inferior smelling/tasting wine score more highly than one which isn’t quite as good. Of course, in many cases colour is an important indicator of quality. The trouble is that different grapes and vilification procedures will produce wines with vastly different hues and intensities and, unfortunately, there is no guarantee that more colour means better.

One of my favourite grape varieties, for instance, is Pinot Noir. It will never have the depth of colour as say the Cabernet Sauvignon grape of Bordeaux, because unlike Cab, Pinot Noir has white juice. That’s why you can often find Pinot Noir in Champagne. Its red grape skins are the key. Just like making a cup of tea, the crushed skins are steeped in the juice (a process known as maceration) and voilá red wine.

It would be wrong to award a Pinot Noir a lower score than say a Cab because it doesn’t have the same depth of red. While longer maceration and/or higher temperature will increase colour, it can also damage flavours. So rather than muddy the waters by scoring colour, I simply describe it (much more useful than a number) and go on to evaluate the things that really count.

what, when and how

Other questions focus on the “what, when and how” I taste. First, let me confess that tasting 10,000 plus wines a year is a definite grind. However, unlike the poor movie reviewer who has to sit through three or four films a day, I don’t have to spend two hours evaluating something that doesn’t cut the mustard. Nevertheless, spending some four hours twice a week shuffling around a lab tasting 70-plus wines at a time is no joy either.

An occasional sip of bottled water will clear the palate - but food breaks are never taken because it effects concentration. Just like the professional athlete who trains daily, it takes years to develop one’s sensibilities making these tasting marathons really work - definitely not for beginners or even most amateurs. Unfortunately, wine tasting has yet to qualify as an Olympic sport.

I prefer to taste mid-morning when my taste buds are fresh. I always use the same ISO tasting glass (discussed in this column a few weeks ago) because I need consistent notes. As for cleaning my palate, many are surprised that I rarely need to rinse my mouth. Nor do I “clean” my glass with tap water. Chlorine is a worse polluter than the tiny remnant drop of the last wine. This miniscule amount, by the way, has virtually no impact on the following wine, unless you are changing styles. I always rinse my glass, for instance, when going from a robust red to a white.

best wine destinations 

Best wine destination is another recurring reader question. It is difficult to address because so much depends upon one’s personal interest and discretionary income. It was easier in the past - in 1965 I spent three months touring European vineyards on a shoestring budget. In those days I slept on the trains using my two-month pass and could easily find a room in Paris for under $10 a night!

Today, it is big bucks - so start at home. Once you have toured our local vineyards (and those of the Finger Lakes), my next suggestion would be the Okanagan Valley, especially if there is an Air Canada seat saver fare in September during the Fall wine festival.

Personally, I love the Pacific northwest, especially in the summer. Washington and Oregon are terrific fly-drive destinations with great wines and stunning scenery. Of course, California has lots to offer. Even the pricey, crowded Napa Valley is a must-visit destination. Keep in mind that Sonoma, Mendocino, etc. are equally exciting, especially with their lower prices.

Of all the regions visited, each with their own special appeal, New Zealand is at the top of the list. Exactly two years ago I spent ten wondrous days exploring the scenic roads in search of the world’s finest Pinot Noir. In comparison to the US dollar and euro, the Canadian buck still means something in kiwi land. It is the last frontier of reasonably unblemished travel and its wines have a brightness that is hard to find anywhere else. If you want more, check out vintagedestinations.ca

lcbo empty shelf blues

“Why are there so many empty shelves?” is another question/complaint. All those bare LCBO shelves aren’t pretty. It’s tragic that wines sit in the LCBO warehouse for months before getting released. This along with all those hidden “in-store discoveries” (only visible on my website) make matters worse.

Take today’s wine recommendation. Wine agency Philippe Dandurand took exception with my pre-Christmas comment that Cabernet Sauvignon would not go with turkey. When a bottle of their “soon-to-be-released” California Cab arrived last month, I got this ‘go forth and multiply’ sort of feeling. So challenged and armed with several bottles, I did my blind turkey-wine taste-off. Low and behold I discovered they were right.

Beringer’s Stone Cellars 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon ($13.95 - general list #606798) has a tangy-creamy texture combined with crisp ripe plum and black cherry fruit flavours that linger perfectly on the palate. Winemaker Mary Sullivan’s brilliant decision to blend in 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Syrah has given it distinctive flavours that really work. Unfortunately, the LCBO refuses to reveal when it and its companion, the pear-infused Stone Cellars 2001 Chardonnay will be released. And so they sit, forlorn in the warehouse while the shelves are empty. 

Isn’t it bad enough that head office is forcing local store managers to reduce inventory to virtually nothing, meaning constant store stock outs? Apparently, one store manager was threatened with a photograph taken with the store’s “excess” inventory. It gets worse. With no store inventory, head office has cut back on store staffing. Who cares about all that high cost per square foot unused rear store storage space? The LCBO’s “as long as we have something on the shelf, the customer will buy it” philosophy makes me sick.

 

Vintages February 2003 Release
To see the complete list of upcoming products click here
(sorted by date of release). It includes the number of cases, which wines were presented by the LCBO, our agent ID for every product, as well as, special unannounced In Store Discoveries” for January.
You can also see it sorted by agent
click here  

 

Check out the
January 2003 InStore Discovery


Subscribe to Vintage Assessments Today
Click Here

 

Copyright Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada 2004
Prior written permission is required for any form of reproduction
 (electronic or other wise) and or quotation.
Contact Michael Vaughan at
mbv@total.net