All Cognac is Brandy, but not all Cognac is created equal

Cru Wine Specialists hosted one of the most amazing tastings in our history last Tuesday, January 19th. Cru & the Veranda Lounge Wine Bar in downtown St. Cloud teamed up to bring Central Minnesota a unique and entertaining tasting event.
Aaron Davis a regional sales rep from J & M Heritage who imports the fabulous Bache-Gabrielsen (pronounced Bach-a like from the ending of Chewbacca) Cognac joined us at the Veranda for Spirits with a lot of spirit. Arron and I did a tandem tasting as we educated and entertained the audience with fabulous Cognac.
Okay, before we get too far in lets just clear up a couple of things. Cognac is simply Brandy from the Cognac region of France. Just like Champagne is sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France. Brandy is made from wine. The grapes are picked, fermented and turned in to wine. The wine is then distilled, in Cognac's case in a more difficult and less predictable Pot Still, and aged in oak barrels to become the spirit we know as Cognac. It takes 9 liters of raw wine to make one bottle of Cognac.
Okay, now that you know what Cognac is lets talk about why I like Bache some much. When the representative from Bache first approached me I was utterly intrigued. As buyer for the Veranda Lounge I pride myself in finding quality, unique products at a fair price. Bache-Gabrielsen was all that and more. One of the first points that drew me to it was its position in the market. Bache is not owned by some large parent company. It is a fourth generation, family owned producer. It is next to impossible to find a product here in the US that is not under some large conglomerate umbrella. Courvoisier, Hennessy and Martell make up the majority of the Cognac market share in the US and are all owned by large spirit, beer & wine companies. Just go to your local liquor store and check out the shelves, those three will be the main Cognacs distributed. Bache on the other hand is less common in the market, but significantly more quality in some cases.
One of the main reasons that I really like Bache is that they adulterate their Cognacs less, and sometimes not at all. It is legal for Cognac producers to add Carmel Color to their product before they bottle it. Cognac (or all Brandy for that matter) comes out of the still as a clear liquid. It is after aging in oak barrel and or adding Carmel Coloring that the spirit turns brown. If you were to look at a Bache 3 Kors (also known as VS - Very Special) versus a Courvoisier VS you would see a remarkable difference. The Bache would be lighter in color, still brown but more tan or natural almond color. The Courvoisier on the other hand would be almost a roasted almond or dark tawny color.
When a spirit is a darker brown you can tell that it has either been aged for a long time, or there has been a lot of color added. There are different degrees of age requirements in the Cognac region of France (which do not apply to the Brandy produced in the US - be advised). You may have seen captial letters on the bottle and wondered what they meant. VS (Very Special) means the Cognac has been aged for a minimum of 2 years (the youngest spirit in the blend is 2 years old). VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale) means that the spirit has been aged for a minimum of 4 years. Finally XO (Extra Old) means the spirit has been aged for a minimum of 6 years.
Going back to the VS or 3 Kors by Bache and the VS by Courvoisier, you can tell just by looking at them the Bache has had less coloring added. Bache also has a line of completely unadulterated Cognacs known at their Natur & Eleganse line. This is perfect for the Bourbon or Scotch drinkers who have never cared for Brandy or more importantly Cognac. Their VSOP really seemed to appeal to the Bourbon drinkers in the audience while the XO was what we described as a "Scotch Man's Cognac".
Beyond the fact that Bache is family owned and they use less adulteration I simply love the flavors. You can choose from their more traditional label (3 Kors, VSOP, XO Fine Champagne & XO Grand Champagne) or from their Natur & Eleganse line (VSOP & XO). Both have remarkable flavor and are aged longer than the required minimum. For example with there traditional XO Grand Champagne, the law states that it only needs to be aged for 6 years, yet they have aged theirs for 50. This is not just limited to their XO, their entire line is aged beyond the minimum. That is a commitment to quality if you ask me.
Bache is not available in many markets and for that I am sad. Go to your retailer and ask for it. When they say they have no idea what it is tell them it is imported by J & M Heritage (Click Here) out of the Midwest. Maybe that will provoke them enough to give the boys a call.
As you may know I take no money or am in no way affiliated with any of the wines or spirits I write or talk about. I firmly believe that this Cognac is outstanding and I would love to see it give the larger companies a run for their money. I am a gambler and I love the underdog, especially when it's better!

Sorry For The Delay

To my Blog readers (all three of you) I am very sorry for the delay. It has been too long since I have been on my blog. My pre new years resolution is to blog once a week (thanks Jeremy for the kick in the butt).
Quick update on what I have been doing. In October I passed my Sommelier Certification through the Court of Masters. It was wild ride and I am so glad to be done. I am pursuing my Master Sommelier Degree but am not in a hurry. I have to wait a year from October before I can even apply so I am just hanging out right now. My goal to becoming a Master is to try to finish by the time I am 30. I have 4 years and plan on finishing around 2013ish.
Of course as many of you know I have started a new company Cru Wine Specialists. It has been a journey getting it off the ground and running. Things are going well, so well that I have stepped down from my day to day responsibilities with the Veranda as the General Manager and am now only updating their wine list and training their staff.
We have grown Cru from an idea to a successful business entity in 9 short months. We are gearing up for a lot of growth in 2010 and hope to have this company really cooking by next December.
Meredith, Jack and I are well. Jack is 17 months and can jump. Sure he has the vertical of a baby elephant, but it is cool to watch. Meredith is editing and taking care of making sure I don't make any Barthisms in my publications, it so far has been working.
I am spending a lot of time writing a book and studying as well as trying to hold down the fort and start up a new business. I wouldn't be happy if I wasn't stretched thin.
Everything else is just great. The holiday season is a time of giving and quite frankly I need some receiving. We have had a great December and are looking forward to some family time.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas and I encourage you all to follow my blog in 2010. I promise I won't have 7 month lapses.
Thanks again for the support and feel free to call if you need a friend to drink with.

Salut,
Nicholas Barth
Certified Sommelier
Wine Director

What's hot this summer?

A lot of people have been asking me what is hot this summer. That is such a loaded question. I feel as though the market is being flooded with great juice and there is so little time to drink it all. I have heard people talking about "the next big region" and have often thought that I may have discovered it. Some of my classmates talk about some of the more obscure Eastern European wine regions like Bulgaria and Romania, but I don't think they are the next new popular wine producing region; yet.

Many wine distribution companies, and wine retailers for that matter put a lot of stock in South Africa a couple of years ago. It was unique to see some of these amazing French portfolios come across my desk and then at the end of the book they are loaded with obscure South African wine labels. I think that Australia made such an impact on the global market that people wanted that next big thing from south of the equator. Even major producers like Lindeman's set up shop in South Africa, but as trends seem to decline I would imagine that South Africa will soon be a small fraction of the market.

Last year the Wine Spectator came out with an article on Israeli wines, and more importantly kosher wines. Curious, I picked up a bottle and shared it with a couple of friends of mine. I thought that it screamed Pacific Northwest fruit. Coincidentally one of the friends that I was sharing it with was from the Pac Northwest and hated the wine. And don't get him started on Pac Northwest juice, he would argue that it is some of the best wine being produced domestically (so would I, but never to his face). I however knew that the region would have to be a hand sell on the wine list so I did not pick it up. I do not think that Israeli wines are the next major wine region, but it is fun to try and my friend Keith Stanhill appreciates the kosher part of the wine.

So that brings us to South America, they are producing some amazingly priced vino. A group of us deemed "The Grape Nuts" got together at my house last month and tried a dozen different labels. Chile and Argentina in particular have come a long way from the barnyard/earthy aromas that plagued their wine for many years. Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of earthy wines being produced, especially when we look at the Carmenere grape. But I have noticed that they are really trying to cater to the American palate. On top of all of that water is free and labor is cheap so they are able to produce their wine rather inexpensively. All in all I would say that South America has come a long way and I have really seen the Argentinian Malbec's taking off in this market.

For those of you that enjoy the South American wines but like to drink cool refreshing whites in the summer you must try their Torrontes grape. It has gotten a lot of press lately and I have noticed a number of retails stocking up on several labels. The Torrontes is a white grape from Argentina. It is medium to full bodied and has a nice citrus finish. We had a gentleman bring a Torrontes at our South American tasting that he paired with a Ceviche he made. I was shocked at how well the Torrontes held up to the seafood dish. The Ceviche also had a little spicy kick to it and the Torrontes really calmed it down.

As the weather gets warmer for us in the Upper Midwest I find the trend usually shifts to white wines. Even the wine drinker with the palate for the most full bodied reds needs a refreshing drink in the mid-July heat. Most big red wine drinkers switch to a Chardonnay, and the ones that love tannins (that sensation when your mouth feels like it has been wallpapered with suede and velvet) tend to gravitate towards the oaky, California Chards.

As for me when the heat hits it is time to pull out the roses. That's right, think pink. I am not talking about Beringer White Zinfandel. Rather light pink roses from Provence, France or a Chiaretto from Northern Italy. Spain has a number of dry rose producers at really affordable prices. A lot of Americans do not realize that as the heat hits Europe they do not just go for the clean, crisp whites, but they tend to enjoy the rose wines. Again, I am not referring to the sweet pink wines, I am talking about beautifully crafted red grapes that have had minimal skin contact during fermentation that resulted in a pink symphony. With flavors and aromas ranging from raspberries and strawberries, to watermelon and cherries. Plus, rose wines go well with just about any summer dish, including food from the grill.

As the summer heat hits and the humidity rises I find myself sun bathing on the patio with a great book and sunglasses enjoying a clean crisp glass of Clare Valley dry Riesling, that is right, dry Riesling. The Clare Valley in Australia make an awesome dry Riesling that reflects the acid and structure of a Sauvignon Blanc with out all of the herbal notes. However Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand has made quite an impact on the US. What began as a bunch of rich doctors, lawyers, and investors soon became a citrus packed phenomenon.

Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc really put New Zealand on the map. Cloud Bay began when a group of wealthy investors wanted to retire. They got together and bought a plot of land in New Zealand. Using money to pull out all of the stops they created a citrus explosion consisting of flavors and aromas of Grapefruit, Lemons, Limes, and Gooseberries. Then out of now where, boom, New Zealand was on the map. The prices have skyrocketed over the last 3 years with 90+ ratings for labels like Dog Point and Kim Crawford (who until last year I thought was a woman). These screw top phenomenons have made summer wine drinking a year round pleasure. I find myself still trying to find that great deal from New Zealand, as prices on Nobilo and their Icon label rise, I tend to drift more towards the New Harbor side of the scale. A good Sauvignon Blanc for a great price.

All in all I think you have to drink what makes you happy. If you like a sweet Riesling from the Mosel (which I absolutely love), drink Riesling. If you enjoy the overly buttery oaky Chardonnays of Napa (certainly a time and a place for my palate), drink Chard. I like to mix it up, there are so many great wines to taste, why stop with just one.

A rep once tried to sell me on the idea of drinking red in the summers and white in the winter. His argument was that we usually drink at home and there for our house tend to be colder in the summer due to the air conditioning, and warmer in the winter, due to the heater. I told him I don't drink in my house in the summer, I drink on the Veranda.