What Is Clean Wine?

We have a new wine bar in Sebastopol. Region wine bar will specialize in pouring small production wines using self-serve wine machines.

Cameron Diaz and Katherine Power have entered the celebrity wine business. Their wine brand Avaline, is entering a crowded market place. Years of consolidation by alcohol producers and wholesalers, uncertainty due to an ongoing trade war and now a pandemic makes one consider their market timing. However the ladies may be filling a void by marketing their product as a “clean wine”.

Danny Meyer has hit the play button and is rehiring staff and slowly reopening his restaurants. The challenges of the pandemic have caused him to re-examine his policies on tipping though. With over 20,000 restaurants currently out of business in the U.S. Danny has plans to survive the fallout and still bring about equity within the ranks of the restaurant business.

Dan Berger pens a nice article on the drawbacks of vintage charts. When I first started learning about wine I always carried a vintage chart in my wallet. How about you? Do vintage charts help you make buying decisions on wine?

Bill and I discuss these items and more in this week's addition of VinoWeek. Thanks to everyone for listening. Cheers!

Our wine recommendation this week is the 2015 Domaine de Compostelle. Domaine de Compostelle is the second wine for Chateau La Cabanne. The estate in the past has had a reputation of under-performing considering its neighbors are Chateau Clinet and Chateau Trontanoy. In 2010 a big fire destroyed most of the vat room and all of the 2008 vintage. This allowed the owners the Estager family to outfit the Chateau with state of the art equipment, vats and cooperage. Things appear to be on the upswing as the 2015 Compostelle is a wonderful wine. The blend is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. After fermentation the wine is aged for fourteen months in 50% new french oak barrels while the balance is aged in second and third use barrels.

Drinking extremely well right now Compostelle is medium to full bodied. The nose shows violets, red berries, currants and plums with a touch of earthiness. On the palate its fresh and crisp displaying an all too pleasing touch of cocoa covered cherries. It’s young but the tannins are already well integrated. Good Pomerol is never cheap, there’s just not enough of it to go around. Here you have a Pomerol from a good vintage, that’s still available at a fair price. $40 alc 14.5 Buy it here.

Drinking Extremely Well Right Now