Ronga’s Rant

Chilean wines have been like the Anchorman to Wedding Crashers in past years. However, if you delve into these wines, you’ll find some real treasures that will have you annoying your closest friends with all the chatter.

This country was hit by a major earthquake on February 27, 2009 and two aftershocks just recently which all shook the wine industry. As far as wine, 125 million liters were lost – think barrels splitting and bottles breaking. This cost the wineries $250 million in wine but the total amount on the industry is not yet known. And how about the actual vineyards? Chile was well up to structural code but there was some damage to irrigation systems within the wineries and to some of the winery workers’ homes. That being said, the Chilean culture is a prideful one and while the earthquake shook the ground, it didn’t shake their spirit.

Fred Dexheimer, Master Sommelier says they will “pull together against the elements and pull the fruit in with a ‘whatever it takes’ attitude this harvest. Their unity was already quite strong before but I see it being even stronger now.” With the Chilean wine harvest already underway, there is a need for a team like culture more than ever.

“There is so much discovery and diversity going on there, it is impossible to describe it all because it is happening on all cylinders; from extreme terroir hunting in coastal and mountainous regions to much improved vineyard management to many extremely positive changes in the winemaking regiments.  It’s pretty exciting and now is a great time to support these amazing wines!” says Fred. A climate that ranges from arid to icy cool, certain grapes can really thrive here. Mountainous peaks and fertile valleys, winemakers are often dependent on the terroir for making a stellar wine. Don’t act like you’re not impressed…

When it comes to Chile, remember the C’s —  Carmenere, Cabernet, Chardonnay (although it grows many other varietals as well,) these babies are sure to please the palate, just like Ron Burgundy’s pant pleats. Fun fact? Up until recently, many of the wines branded as and believed to be Merlot are actually Camenere!

At least for now, there should not be an impact on the U.S. market, so drink up peeps. Chilean wines are the new black. And by that I mean … they are the new black. So swipe these quality, value wines while you can get ‘em and help support the Chilean wine industry. And remember, stay classy Chile. We’re behind you.

Suggestions for those 3 C’s:

http://corkd.com/wine/view/101951-2006-de-martino-alto-de-piedra-carmenere

http://corkd.com/wine/view/75502-2008-root-1-cabernet-sauvignon

http://corkd.com/wine/view/74957-2007-veramonte-reserva-chardonnay

Well heck. Throughout the last month a handful of winemakers have commented “I read your blog, really great post – I liked the one about xyz”. Me: huh? You read my blog? Ok, so I feel like a schmuck since it’s been a decade from the last post. I assumed it was just my mom on the other end.

Content is a funny thing. I learned through writing HBS essays to cut ever unnecessary word possible otherwise I wouldn’t make the word limit, thus be DQ’d. (disqualified, not win a blizzard from Dairy Queen). That means you actually have to spend time thinking and writing and not slop 1000 words together to try to get your point across. Someone who is great at this is my boss/partner Gary Vaynerchuk. He’s able to do this 2 – 3 minute videos on his vlog. It may look like much time doesn’t go into it. However, my theory is that it is stream of consciousness, much like this post, but that days, weeks, months of experience lead him up to talking about that topic. Something just triggers a neuron where all the pieces suddenly fit together and he does his video about it. What’s great? He doesn’t say a single word more than he needs to. What’s important about this is that it captures the American attention span perfectly…which is indefinitely short. Just face it… we are an I WANT AN OOMPA LOOMPA NOW society.

Brings me to wine. We purchase to drink not save (talking about the masses…you wine geeks And myself for that matter.) I recently purchased a 2005 Chateau Lynch-Bages. One of my favorites wine verticals and I have not yet had the ‘05. I understand I could lay this sucker down for ten plus years. But I’m excited about, do not have wine storage as I live in a one bedroom apartment and I am not a collector. I am a consumer. So why did I drop $90 on a bottle of wine when I could have picked up 9 bottles of value wine? Well, it’s a good question. There is something about this wine that brings me back to when I tasted the ‘87, the ‘82 and the people I tasted it with. I plan to share this ‘05 because wine is an adventure, a journey and about memories. It’s not always about the best value. It’s about trying new things and having memorable experiences.

Everyone has their opinions and will infer them onto you for as long as you live. Don’t get me wrong, this has its merits. When it comes to wine, however, listen to the experts, but trust your instincts, and do what you please. Because life, just sometimes, has to be about pleasure, doesn’t it? I mean, who wouldn’t want an oompa loompa.

I had a marvelous dinner last night at Cookshop, catching up with my friend from my investment banking days. We are both working for ourselves now and truly love what we do. Over fried hominy (delicious!), we deliberated on how difficult we find it to tear ourselves away from our work. When you have so much personally invested in your work, “balance” becomes more challenging yet much more important to incorporate into everyday life. We also reminisced about a day (six years ago) when Anuj appeared in my cube after an investment banking VP on a project exclaimed:

“We have an infinite amount of work to do & a limited amount of time to do it in.”

Kill me. At the time, I remember Anuj laughing and going to start in on the work; I, on the other hand, was fresh meat, and terrified by the thought. Nowadays, I have an infinite amount of work which excites me and the prospects keep me driven and reassured that we have indeed created a business model that works at Cork’d. But there I go again ranting about something unrelated to wine…

The point of the story above is this: Anuj and I were enjoying a bottle of wine while talking & laughing over dinner. He always defers to me when choosing wine which I love which means I get to order something I haven’t tried before. We depleted a 2007 Muscadet Sevre et Maine “Sur Lie” Domaine de la Tourmaline made with the Melon de Bourgogne varietal.  I use this wine for illustrative purposes, to expatiate upon tasting, reviewing and scoring wines…and what might happen with the subjectivity of ratings.

Scenario UNO – You drink this wine alone on your couch. Yeah, I said it. And I do it. SO? Here’s the thing. You have no one to discuss the wine with, you’re likely not deep in conversation (except in your own MIND). Similar to seeing a thought provoking movie, you want someone to discuss with afterward, otherwise it’s not as fulfilling. This wine is fine, but that is all…it is wine, it’s in a glass. Perhaps you have it with a salad, do some work while you eat. You think about it, review it on Cork’d, but of course. You may rate it 86 points.

Scenario DOS – You imbibe this baby with a dear friend over dinner (my experience over the weekend). Mesmeric conversation not only about the wine but also about life, politics and relationships ensue giving this wine new life. You are feeling good about life, about yourself and having a remarkable time as you sip. You feel satisfied as you both agree on the backbone of this wine and debate about particular flavors. You score this sucker 88 points – see my review here.

Scenario TRES – You drink the wine with the winemaker at a restaurant. He visually brings you to the vineyard, telling you the history of the terroir, the vines, the labor that goes into the very bottle you are consuming. You hear his story, learn about his family and his passion for wine. You taste his sweat in the glass. After this encounter, you dig this wine, give it a 90.

Scenario QUATRO – Now… for the kicker! You go to Loire Valley, sojourn on the vineyard, see the vines, tour the cave with the winemaker. Feasting on an incredible meal with the most interesting people who live life the way it should be, you taste the wine again. Conversation is flowing and ever engaging. You are the life of the party and have never felt so good. You are influenced by how much everyone loves the wine. You give this baby a 92.

In my world, I often meet with the producers or folks in the industry and taste the fruits of their labor. I’m not naïve to think that knowing the winemaker and drinking his or her wine has no effect on scoring the wine. However, can I do it objectively? I’d like to think so…but relationships are powerful. The human connection is moving… and sometimes has subconscious implications.  Moreover, when it comes to wine “objective” doesn’t exist. However, I often rate wines on Cork’d right in front of winemakers and have no problem scoring a wine sub-90 points with my honest thoughts. Nothing against the person or the wine. My palate simply doesn’t LOVE the wine…doesn’t mean you won’t.

Just food for thought… or wine for reflection, as I like to say. Score a wine how you will. Just be AWARE of the surrounding situation and embrace it. Better yet, note it (in your review or tasting notes if you take them) so others know how to interpret your score.

MUCH LOVE to you all because human interactions and connections influence our thoughts and almost everything we do.

This is what I am, this is what I’m doing.

Cork’d.

Tomorrow, maybe I’ll come up for air. Because lately all it’s been is wine. And frankly a girl has got to breath. Maybe sleep and eat too. But one cannot sustain on wine alone, unless those health resveratrol rumors are true then heck, I’ve found the fountain of youth and I’ll live until the end of time with the way I’m sipping.

So here’s the thing, I made a promise in my last post and by golly I will hold true to that and tell you about my resto-sommelier binge in the city that never sleeps. I certainly didn’t. While my next post will be dated and I’ll have some catch up to do, I’ll at least be satisfying one person out there by following up from the last one. Umm… me. Duh. We’re all selfish son of a guns and I’d feel guilty as heck if I left it lingering. Not to mention the copious notes/reviews I took on the wines I tried (71 Petrus anyone? Not like that ever happens to me). So YOU will hear about it.

But in the mean time (by which I mean the next 24 hours), I live, breath and drink Cork’d. So go there, tell me what you think. http://corkd.com/

Your Drinking Buddy,
Ronga

Today at 4pm I venture into the big city on a tour of the best restaurants with wine friend, Enrique Ibanez. He will introduce me to the top sommeliers and I hope to try some very good wines. More importantly…what could be more important than wine, you ask? Conversation. I hope to learn from these somms. Just as I expect I will learn from this entire experience. Wine can truly take on new forms and taste completely differentl when shared with others and when there is a story told around it. Some people (hopefully those I’ll meet tonight) have a special gift for explaining and breaking down wine into words that make the wine so truly enjoyable it is truly spectacular.

As Corkd does not (yet) have a mobile app, plan on me taking note of each wine I taste and reviewing them later on Cork’d. This is a PROMISE.

However, I must admit…I’m a little scared. Not about wine being intimidating and interacting with folks more knowledgeable than me. I’m the first to admit when I don’t know something. Here’s the thing: we start at 4pm, before the somms are busy. We’ll hit five or so places….wait til after the rush is over, then hit five or so more places. Have you done the math? That is a lot of wine!

The key is not to drink a full glass (at least in my world… and my body size , just a taste (2+ oz) so you can fully appreciate everything the next wine has to offer. . Enrique may by on a different playing field, however.

I will write about this NYC restaurant tour, of course, in my next post and tell you all about my experience and if I… eh.. I mean “it” lived up to all I had hoped.  Two hours til GO TIME.

There is NOT a one size fits all model – not for life, for business, success, even clothes (yes Michael Stars, I’m talking to you…but oh how I LOVE your clothes). There are so many different ways to “make it” in life and while I think it’s important to listen to those you admire, you have to stay true to yourself. Make mistakes on your own, learn from them and become the person God intended you to be <please trust that I will relate this to wine>

This is why I was so partial towards the learning model at Harvard Business School. With the case method, there were no lecturers telling you how to do things or what is right and what is wrong. Remember, life is not black and white. We learned via discussion. Ninety of us would peruse a case on Jack Welch, for example, and his management style, then take it into the classroom and have a heated debate and a truly riveting conversation about different approaches one might take in his situation. Go figure, all 90 of us don’t agree on how to handle a situation: whether it’s a software implementation, running a country, or raising VC money. Even more interesting, we all come at it from a different angle and none of us is “right.” Each ONE of us has a different background –ethnicity aside, we were all raised by someone (or not) who had extreme influence in the way we turned out as individuals. I believe our values, ideals, and perceptions were very much set before adulthood. Now, I believe these can be changed…but keep in mind someone else had loose control for almost 1.5 decades. It takes times to undo that programming.

Now, onto wine. And more specifically the palate. What is so awesome about the palate is that we are all blessed with different ones. Thank GOD. Can you imagine if we all tasted the same thing and all liked the same things? B-O-R-I-N-G. What I see, smell and taste in a wine, I hope, is different than what you will get from that same wine. Why? Well it fosters conversation for starters.

Just the other night I threw a little wine shindig for my Corkd and Vaynermedia colleagues. While I was sniffing the wine trying to pinpoint an unidentifiable scent (frustrating as heck!), Vaynermedia’s Sam (who, I think, found his calling a wine sommelier) picked up on pineapple. Which led me to what I couldn’t pick up on – pina colada. The wine, Graffigna Centenario Pinot Grigio, was just ok. But it did take me to a tropical island where I envisioned myself lying on a beach with a fruity cocktail in hand (oh & cocktail accessorized with pineapple pink umbrella).

Drinking wine with others is great for this reason – because you can pick up on things you may not have otherwise. On the contrary, I often like to see/smell/taste the wine before anyone says anything so I don’t have any preconceived notions in my head. I don’t want to force myself to smell or taste something. Like in life, go with your gut, trust your own instincts. Don’t just take someone else’s opinion and make it your own.  This can be difficult when you don’t feel well-versed on a subject such as wine. But you can always listen to others, discuss, ask questions, then decide for yourself. You can do this with life, worldly issues (spanning from politics to philosophy), AND with wine. Be open-minded and in the end, just be you. And have faith in YOU.