Moore Brothers Blog: wine

Paolo’s Pentagon

wine David Moore

Paolo DeMarchi is one of the most important wine producers in Italy. He is one of a handful of thoughtful growers who were key "inventors" of modern Chianti. Imagine the challenge of redefining a very old (and at the time, sleepy) wine region. Most wine sold here had to be sold in wicker-basket-bottles because novelty trumped quality. To this day, there are those who think of Chianti as thin, skeletal wine, with a handy empty bottle, useful for holding a candle. But in the seventies, when Paolo came of age, he and a few others recognized that the entire area had to be reorganized with a view towards quality over quantity. Just as important, there had to be a respect for tradition, or else the raison d'être would disappear–there would be nothing distinctive about the wines, and the wine-producing economy risked collapse. We often speak about “Old World” wines as being an encapsulation, if you will, of a small region's cultural, and agricultural evolution; less “product”

Biodynamics and Sparkling Wine:

learn Greg Moore

Sophie, Maxime, and Geneviève Barmès in the Clos Sand (photo: Greg Moore) The late François Barmès wholeheartedly embraced the Austrian philosopher Rudolph Steiner’s belief in the interdependence of the forces of life, earth, and the cosmos. So in 1995, in order to undo the damage caused by decades of chemically dependent viticulture, he began the transformation of his vineyards to biodynamics. One of the first principles of biodynamics is the belief that the farm is a self-contained living entity, which gives rise to the rule that a biodynamic farmer may add no organic substance to a product of his farm; if that organic substance did not itself grow within the boundaries of the same biodynamic farm. Which means that the “Champagne Method” isn’t an option in producing biodynamic sparkling wine, because it requires the addition of sugar to a tank of dry wine just before bottling (needless to say, beets and sugar cane don’t grow on the chalk soils of Champagne, or pink sandstone

Industrial Wine - Allowable Chemicals

wine David Moore

polyoxyethylene 40 monostearate…looks appetizing… The following is offered without a whole lot of comment–well, here and there I may have added a comment. This is a by no means comprehensive list of ATF approved chemicals and processes allowed in U.S. "industrial" wine production: polyoxyethylene 40 monostearate (I think that's what the formula above is about. I'll have to ask Greg's daughter. She knows these things) dimethyldicarbonate diacetyl (gives your cheap Chardonnay its "buttery" flavor - and Orville Redenbacher popcorn its flavor) silicon dioxide dimethylpoly-siloxane sorbitan  monostearategyceryl mono-oleategyceral dioleate (nothin' says "love" like an oleate, and a DI-OLEATE is even more special) copper sulfate calcium carbonate ascorbic acid  erythorbic acid ammonium phosphate [mono- and dibasic] (I prefer the mono, but, you know, thats just "how I roll") gum arabic dimethyl dicarbonate catalase ce

Say It With Me Now...

wine David Moore

Pacherenc du Vic-Bihl Sec from Château Viella – and a perfect pairing It had been been a long time since we’d been able to bring in one of the great white wines of the Southwest of France. We missed them, but Alain Bortolussi at Château Viella finally had enough for us to bring in a small amount of his dry, (say it with me now), Pacherenc du Vic-Bihl. If you’ve never experienced wine like this, it’s a revelation. The most important indigenous white grapes of the Southwest in appellations such as Pacherenc, Irouleguy, and Jurançon include Gros Manseng, Arrufiat, and Petit Manseng, all grown to varying degrees depending on local preferences. They are a “Basque” tradition.

Visiting Corzano e Paterno

wine David Moore

The sun had just set. Fireflies coming out. The nightime shadows not quite overtaking the view. Evening in San Pancrazio, staying at the Corzano e Paterno agriturismo.The sheep are still speaking to one another in the fields. My wife's arms around me. Life is good. If you’re heading to Tuscany, stay here. Fall in love again. - DM

Free Wine Preservation Kit!

wine David Moore

The free wine preservation kit Yessiree bob! Your own FREE WINE PRESERVATION KIT right here! No kidding. After all these years, these empty (and resealable) glass bottles are the best way I've found to preserve wine. Ideally, you want to fill them to the brim before sealing, and I recommend you slap a quick label on, so you know what you've got in the fridge. The glass, resealable 10oz. club soda bottles are particularly helpful (we'll probably see a spike in sales at Wegman’s:), but I've used all manner, including empty Orangina bottles. I also get the empty green bottles with corks at places like Sur la Table, but I'd bet they're somewhere on amazon (what isn’t available there). These will keep your wine fresh (in the fridge – for a week or so), and beat anything else, including expensive “inert gas” kits and Vacu-Vins (which pull out more than just oxygen). Just fill 'em to the brim and seal them up. Best of all, they're free to use over and over. -DM

Moore Brothers Wine Region Maps

wine David Moore

It only took years, but we've finally figured out how to make our maps available. You'll find us referring to these maps all the time when we tell the stories and histories of the evolution of wine in the “Old World.” For ten years we’d been asked to make them available to our customers for purchase, but they were too expensive to print at the custom sizes seen in our stores. With the advent of print-on-demand services that could print and even frame these maps, I re-designed them to print at two sizes: Large (36" X 24"), and Small (16" X 24") in partnership with FineArtsAmerica. You'll find the maps  here at FineArtsAmerica.

Robert Ampeau

greg Greg Moore

Robert Ampeau in 2003 (photo: Greg Moore) Robert Ampeau was a legendary figure, and an admired colleague of the most important producers in Burgundy, including Aubert de Villaine, Lalou Bize-Leroy, Dominique Lafon, and Hubert de Montille, whose cellars all contain Ampeau wine. Ruth Reichl, the last Editor-in Chief of Gourmet magazine, recorded the impression that Ampeau made on other producers in her 1998 memoir, Tender at the Bone, in which she recorded her visit to the Volnay producer Hubert de Montille, accompanied by the wine merchant, Kermit Lynch. Kermit had brought along a bottle of one of Ampeau’s wines (label removed) “to see what he really thinks.” “There is sunlight in the glass,” de Montille said finally, “much sunlight. It is from a very good year…what can it be?” When Kermit told him what it was, de Montille cried, “But I have this wine in my cellar!” He turned eagerly to Kermit and asked, “Did Ampeau sell

Minerality - Explained

history David Moore

Xavier Vignon Minerality is a “hot topic” in wine these days, but not many people involved in the discussion are as well grounded in the “facts,” as Xavier Vignon - one of the southern Rhône's most important oenologists. As a consultant to over three hundred producers in and around Châteauneuf-du-Pape, he's had a hand in hundreds of “90+ point-wines" from the area. Xavier's work as a physical chemist, geologist, agronomist, and oenologist, has given him an expert view on what drives “minerality” in wine, and how it works. His lab runs millions of samples on wine every year, measuring mineral content down to parts per million, where, as he says, “it's where the magic is.” This is over eight minutes, but well worth it, if you'd like to understand what “minerality” is all about.

Don't Try This At Home

history David Moore

I've got to hand it to my brother, Greg. He's very brave allowing his daughter Kate to film him as he drives a tractor for the first time. Jochen Ratzenberger Sr. was plowing a new vineyard site in Bacharach, and invited Greg to take the tractor home. Fortunately all have a good sense of humor…