Certainly I’d had good wine before, and I definitely preferred it as my libation of choice with a meal.  Outside of restaurants, however, I’d been primarily a beer drinker because I could not only wrap my head around beer, I could afford it.  I had no idea what Williams Selyem was that night and, if the wallop of flavor were any indicator, I was pretty damn sure it was a winery producing a product well outside my price range.  Arriving home and doing a bit of googling, however, I found a bottle at Brown Derby, in Springfield, MO, for $55.  While I realize that’s not cheap by any means, it was significantly less than I’d anticipated, and I immediately purchased it and two other bottles of Williams Selyem Zinfandel to tuck away into my cellar (AKA the cool/dark corner of my basement).

The slippery slope of oenophilia had landed and, where once I was a guy that simply knew he liked wine more than beer but felt he couldn’t afford it, I quickly became a guy that reads a dozen wine blogs a day and voraciously clamors for information.  Which brings us, windingly, to my poorly written point: One of those posts was written by Stephen Schenkenberg on stlmag.com about his favorite wine books and websites.  It’s a good list but, as a newcomer to this world of wine, I thought I’d offer up a newbie’s perspective (which you can read here in it’s shiny-new polite form, or as an stlmag comment in it’s original, several glasses in, grammatically incorrect–but possibly more entertaining–form)

Books
Oldman’s Guide to Outsmarting Wine: 108 Ingenious Shortcuts to Navigate the World of Wine with Confidence and Style – Mark Oldman
The “For Dummies” book without the word “dummy” on the cover.

Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: 2009 Edition – Kevin Zraly
Every edition is always a great primer for people that don’t know a thing about wine.  I read it when I was 21 and I read a newer edition again when I was 31.

The Oxford Companion to Wine, 3rd Edition – Jancis Robinson
This is the tomb once you decide you’re into wine.  You’re not going to sit down and read this baby, but you’ll reference it like mad as points of interest crop up in your journey to wine enlightenment.

World Atlas of Wine – Hugh Johnson, Jancis Robinson
You read the Oxford Companion, and now you need to have some good maps so you have a better idea about just where your favorite 100% Northern Rhone syrah came from.

Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia: Fourth Edition, Revised – Tom Stevenson
Because you need an opinion that isn’t Jancis Robinson’s

Websites

cellartracker.com
Not only will you keep track of your increasing collection on this site, you can see who also rated your favorite wines high and cross reference it with other favorites of theirs you haven’t had.  It’s a great way to guarantee success.

vinography.com
Sure this guy’s often rating highly priced wines, but his biographies of winemakers and descriptions of vineyards keep me coming back for more even if I can’t always afford them–or even track them down.

drvino.com
Tyler Colman’s blog.  This is one of the more laid back wine blogs I’ve run across while still spewing forth a walloping wealth of information.  He’s also the guy who’s always calling it like it is and I get the impression he’s the guy the big wine dogs love to hate.

winespectator.com
Only for the forums which are infinitely more active then cellartracker’s–though they’re largely filled with point whores.

erobertparker.com
Only because Parker and Jay Miller’s tastes seem to be similar to mine.  When they score a wine big, I generally like it.  So the tip here is: find a reviewer whose opinion you actually approve of and read them.  A 100 point wine from a critic whose tastes varies wildly from your own serves you absolutely no purpose.

Note: I now know, by the way, that Williams Selyem should really be written Williams-Selyem as it was a winery founded by Ed Selyem and Burt Williams in the early eighties, and later sold (to John and Kathe Dyson) in the late nineties.  Whatever the case, it’s delicious, and I’m eagerly awaiting my first mailing list shipment proving the point that sometimes a down economy can, actually, get  you something…

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Ah Ha! A Newbie’s Wine List or: How I Managed to Post Twice in One Day

Though it is subject to change, the menu is after the jump.

Farmers’ Dinner, featuring Berger Bluff Farm

Monday, August 31, 2009 at 6:30

Eggplant Fritters

Farm Egg & Potato Tortilla with Romesco

Gran Vinum “Nessa” Albarino, Rias Biaxas, Spain 2008

Summer Tomato Salad, House Made Ricotta

Amiral Dubroca Blanc, Bordeaux, France 2007

Terrine of Local Trout, Horseradish Cream

Domaine de la Louvetrie, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Sur Lie, France 2007

Standing Rib Roast of Hinkebein Pork with Rosemary, Peach Compote, Corn Griddle Cakes

Bouchard Père & Fils Rouge, Bourgogne, France 2006

Spice Souffle with Apple Compote

$65 per person, does not include tax or gratuity

Call Atlas Restaurant for reservations – 367-6800

Post from stlbites.com

Event: Farmers’ Dinner at Atlas, August 31

That makes the June 25 Riedel tasting event at The Wine & Cheese Place all the more enticing as you’ll not only get to sample four wines in four pieces of their Vinum XL stemware to see if there’s truly a difference first hand, you’ll get to take those babies home. As the class is just $50, that’s like getting a $70 discount.

Full details and sign up info can be found at The Wine & Cheese Place’s blog, but the glasses are the Riedel Vinum XL Sauvignon Blanc, Montrachet, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet.

Post from stlbites.com

Event: Riedel Tasting June 25

For those of you interested in learning more, the full letter in which former owner Jack Hafner broke the news to his customers can be found in Wine Lover’s post.

Note: I’m friends with Jeff and I’m excited about this news.  I did, however, tell him not to go fucking it up.  I’m sorry, but that’s what I told him.

Post from stlbites.com

33 Wine Bar is Officially Sold, Finally

Mount Pleasant Winery’s farmers plant the final rows of Pinot Noir at Campo de los Vientos.

And here’s the full press release:

MOUNT PLEASANT WINERY PLANTS THE REGION’S “UNGROWABLE” GRAPE
After More Than a Decade, Missouri Winery Plans to Produce Pinot Noir
Despite the belief that Missouri is not suitable to grow Pinot Noir and Mount Pleasant Winery’s past trials in growing this finicky grape, the winery has reason to believe they can successfully produce Pinot Noir, the most difficult wine grape to grow. After an incredibly wet spring, the winery was finally able to plant its Pinot Noir vines the week of June 23, 2008. Growing Pinot Noir is an experimental, specialized five-year investment for the winery.

“Growing Pinot Noir may be a challenge, but I believe it is worth the risk,” said Chuck Dressel, president of the winery. “Pinot Noir is the diva of the grape world. However, I have confidence in our vineyard crews, winemaking personnel and the growing site.”

Pinot Noir’s very specific growing requirements include warm days and cool nights. Missouri’s sweltering summer climate and freezing winters have long been deemed unsuitable to produce a successful Pinot Noir crop.

When Mount Pleasant Winery produced Pinot Noir in the early nineties, Dressel believed it was one of the best wines they had ever produced. Yet, as many predicted with Pinot Noir in Missouri, the crop lasted only a few years. The freeze in the winter of ‘96 wiped out the crop. Since then, Mount Pleasant has searched for an ideal place to grow Pinot Noir in the Augusta American Viticulture Area.

After more than a decade, the winery has found the ideal spot to grow the fastidious grape. They call the site Campo de los Vientos. It is on a very high hill with great sun exposure and a wonderful air current. The excellent location, combined with changing weather patterns, makes Mount Pleasant’s winemakers very optimistic for producing a delicious Pinot Noir.

“Campo de los Vientos sits above the morning dew that settles into the valley and never seems to get the ‘mugginess’ that St. Louis knows so well,” said Dressel. “Due to the lack of humidity up on the field, we can get the desirably cooler nights that can really make a difference during the ripening season.”

Mount Pleasant is the largest Missouri winery to practice sustainable viticulture, an integrated system of wine grape growing that is economically viable, socially supportive and ecologically sound. Because of Mount Pleasant’s sustainable practices, the winery is counting on the soil having better nutrient levels and better water holding capacity to help the vines survive.

“I guess you could call us rebels,” said Mark Baehmann, vice president of winemaking & vineyard operations. “Some may say it can’t be done, but we believe we can grow a great Pinot Noir.”

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Interesting News