High ABV, Vanilla and Oak: California is the New Focus at LENNDEVOURS
For much of this blog's five-year life, it has dominated the New York wine world, culminating with LENNDEVOURS winning the "Best Single-Subject Wine Blog" category in this years American Wine Blog Awards. I'm proud of that accomplishment and what I have built here, but I'm not one to rest on my laurels.
So, now that I've conquered New York, it's time to shift gears here at LENNDEVOURS and choose a new under-appreciated U.S. wine region to cover in-depth.
At first, I thought about exploring regions like Virginia, Texas or even Michigan wine country. Those places are all making wines worth investigating further. But in the end, I've decided to re-focus this blog's sights on perhaps the world's least talked about wines — those from California, specifically wines made in the regions that get almost no press, Napa Valley and Sonoma.
It will take me several weeks to roll out all of the planned changes here on LENNDEVOURS, but as of today, you'll notice a revamped logo, one where oak barrels are further emphasized and where the idea of wine at the dinner table is ignored. I mean really, who drinks wine with food? That's what Sunkist Orange and Mountain Dew are for.
Going forward, you will also see me move away from the 5-star rating system championed by some bloggers in favor of a new 1,000-point system that will help me better relate to my readers. You guys all know the difference between 899-point plonk and 900-point deliciousness, right? The 5-star system is just so… unsophisticated.
I will also be changing how I construct wine reviews. Instead of offering useless information like vineyard sources, the growing conditions of a particular vintage and food pairings, I'll use five or six adjectives to describe a wine and then just give you my rating. The number is what matters anyway.
Also gone are the days when I taste every wine over the course of several days, with and without food, and at (in the case of whites) at different temperatures. No one drinks wine like that in their daily lives, so why should I?
Instead, I'll pour a couple ounces into my glass and sniff, taste and spit in rapid succession… spending more longer than 45 seconds per wine. That will enable me to fully capture the wines essence and share that with you. Extraction, tannins and residual sugar will reign over nuance, balance and food-friendliness. Again, does anyone really drink wine with food?
Unfortunately, this editorial change also means that effective April 15 (I'm giving them two weeks notice), the New York wine lovers who contribute to this blog will be without positions here at LENNDEVOURS. I consider them friends and feel badly about this situation, but at the end of the day, this is a business. They prefer wines under 13.5% abv and favor riesling and cabernet franc over boozy chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon. There simply isn't room for them on a California wine blog's staff.
Starting today, I will also be selling ad space to the same
wineries that I'm writing about. I know and trust myself to never be
biased or to give them better scores — even if they threaten to pull
their ads if I don't do so.
In the end, I'm making this move because I'm keenly interested in how wines aged for 3 years in 100% new, high-toast American oak taste both now and over the next decade. I want to learn to identify the type of new oak being used based on nothing more than differing vanilla flavors — Madagascar vs. Tahiti vs. Mexico vanilla. I also want to hone my palate so that I can detect even the most subtle (2% or so) residual sugar in dry reds.
This is going to be a good shift for me and for the wines of California. Lord knows that they need someone writing about them. They are often ignored in both the mainstream media and in the marketplace. No one wants to drink them. They need a champion.
I think I can win "Best Single-Subject Wine Blog" again next year, just for a different single subject. That's my goal.
Repeat after me: I love high-alcohol wine. I love vanilla. I love oak. I love California!
I, for one, welcome our new Californian overlords.
Now stay tuned as A Dash of Bitters is retooled into A Syringe of Smack.
It looks like I will now have more time to play video games.
BTW, where is California? Is it one of those square states in the middle somewhere?
I wish you would also consider writing about those spaghetti trees in Italy - any chance?
Love the new header graphic!
Jason - It used to called “Southwest Dakota,” but people kept getting it confused with South Dakota (both states have former actors as governors — South Dakota is governed by Jean-Claude Van Damme). They have a small but growing number of wine producers led by Woodbridge, which is leading the charge to work with small yields and limited production. The capital of California is Frootbaum.
(All in good fun to our California friends. I dig all kinds of west coast wine!)
Will Alice Feiring being coming on Board as a writer then? Sounds like a perfect match!
Sounds good man, about time!
Are you also ditching the black and gold for silver and black? Or perhaps you’ll be swirling chard with 49er fans. Oy, Lenn, what got into ya!
I think it’s time you also instituted a regular column exploring the complexities and nuances of Manischewitz wines. Long overdue, wouldn’t you say?
Lenn, We plan to use all California fruit from now on. Will you still cover us?
I’m excited about the new format. But I guess I’ll have to get ALL of my wines to you before the change really takes hold. So samples of all bottled wines, as well as tank and barrel samples from every vessel. (You do have a fork lift don’t you?). Also, I’ll be sending you some cuttings from the vineyard. Just put them in some water for a few weeks, then in a nice protected place in the yard. Before you know it, you’ll be previewing our 2014 vintage. (Don’t worry, I’ll send along some instructions.)
Cheers!
David.
At least I might stand a chance of sourcing some of your recommendations on this side of the pond now. I hope you are going to specialise in all the good - cheap - pink stuff that seems to find its way over here too.
Bad idea, Lenn. California will never make it into the wine big leagues.
What that state needs is a major wine event in Paris to make people take notice but since the French have banned major wine tastings, it will never happen.
Hmmm. And the new name of your blog will be LennDETOURS? New York will miss you!
Oh wow, this really puts a damper on my plans to build a bridge over Seneca Lake to connect the East/West wine trails…anyone interested in purchasing my bridge?
cute…happy April 1st
1000 point scale?!
Come on, get with the times! Try a Trillion point scale.
I have to admit you are rarely funny but this actually was! HAHA
Speaking for the California wine industry — without authorization, of course — I can only offer my heartfelt thanks for your compassionate change of focus. If your efforts to publicize our modest efforts out here result in our gaining the tremendous market share of, say, Finger Lakes Rieslings, we’ll all have a lot to celebrate. Bravo!
Ouch man, way to rip them a new one!
I hope the goal was not to “rip them a new one”… I hope it was all in good fun, and knowing Lenn, I’m sure it was. I just hope the California folks (Blind Muscat, for example) don’t assume that we blanket-judge all west coast wine. There is a lot of outstanding wine, needless to say, coming from all parts of the west coast.
my favorite part is the three barrels on the logo. new on LENNDEVOURS: 300% new oak!
i ben drrrrinking kalifnia wine ALLLL dayyyyyyyy
rip, ritch, rockinggg….&
lEn, it had lot off alcohlo!!! MORE then NY
stay awya!