“So, uh, would you mind coming over here and taking a look at our wine rack?” they said, after we had spent an hour catching up over bagels on a rainy day. And so I wandered around the corner into their dining room to find a couple small wine racks and a small wine fridge and an expectant and somewhat embarrassed silence as they waited for me to offer a verdict.

This sort of thing happens all the time to me, as it likely does to most anyone who is known amongst their friends as “the guy/gal that knows about wine.” And especially when close friends are asking, it’s something I take pleasure in.

Though along the same lines, it’s definitely much more fulfilling than answering the e-mails I get every month saying “I found this bottle of _________ in my attic. Is it worth anything?” To those people I can almost always only say: “probably not, just open it up and drink it.” But when friends lead me to their stash and ask me to tell them what I think, it’s a much more intimate experience, and can be a lot of fun, especially because they usually don’t harbor some fantasy of the wine version of Antiques Roadshow where they suddenly discover themselves the proud owner of a $30,000 bottle of wine.

This past week was a particularly great example of this kind of request, and what fun it can be helping someone root through their “collection.” In the case of our friends, whose house I was at for the first time, their collection consisted mostly of wine that their aging parents had given to them without ceremony or information other than that they thought the wine would have a better chance of being drunk at their kids’ place than in their own cellar, where it would likely go completely untouched.

Basically, our friends wanted to know of the fifty or so bottles that they had the sorts of things that most people want to know when they ask me this sort of question:

1. Did they have anything particularly good or special, or anything that happened to be worth a lot of money?
2. Was there anything they ought to just throw out?
3. What the hell was some of this stuff?

While some of my more illustrious friends in the wine industry actually get paid to answer such questions in huge, dark, dusty cellars (either before the wine gets sold at auction or for insurance claims after some sort of disaster like a flood) I am content (and probably only competent) to play consultant and treasure hunter on a smaller scale such as with the motley crew of wine bottles I found before me on Wednesday.

The Good Stuff
There were a couple of really great wines. In fact, the best wines I have ever encountered in the house and collection of folks who professed to know very little about what they had on their hands. I think there were six or seven bottles of 1993 Dom Perignon, and a pristine bottle of 1983 Krug Clos de Mesnil Champagne, which sells at auction these days for around $800. We all had a good laugh when the couple sheepishly recalled that they might have drunk one of the ‘83 Krugs unknowingly last Chirstmas, but remembered thinking that it was awful good at the time. I told them they ought to just repeat that performance sometime soon!

Someone had also gone on a little spree and purchased most of a case of a 2000 Bordeaux Cru Bourgeois whose name has slipped my mind at the moment. I told them that provided it hadn’t been cooked at some time in the past by bad storage, these 9 or so remaining bottles were likely to be tasty and could be drunk periodically starting now with anything from frozen pizza to a nice steak dinner out on the town the next time they had a date night away from the kids.

Interestingly they also had a couple bottles of 1989 Huet Vouvray Moulleux, which I told them were probably near indestructible and would be fun to open if they wanted something a little sweet to drink before or after dinner sometime, or with some spicier Chinese food.

There were one or two assorted Rieslings, a couple of nice looking 2001 Louis Latour Puligny-Montrachets, and some 1996 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernets, which also looked quite tasty.

The Bad Stuff:
Then there were the eight bottles of 1990 Stony Hill Chardonnay, and the six or so bottles of another mid-90s California Chardonnay that were looking quite deep golden in color through their glass. My advice on these wines was to definitely open one and try it, and if it tasted good, then start drinking them at every possible occasion. If it tasted bad, then well, consider trashing the lot, as these were inexpensive wines that weren’t necessarily built to age.

The I Certainly Have No Clue Stuff
A couple bottles of mid 90’s Sauternes from some producer I had never heard of. Five or six individual, random bottles of American wine from elsewhere: Riesling from Michigan, a white blend from Virginia, something from North Carolina, I think. Stuff I had never heard of, for sure, and wouldn’t know the first thing about. And the only advice on these was simply to try them, and celebrate if it was something good or open a different bottle if it tasted like crap.

As I rooted around in the wine fridge and pulled things off the wire racks, my hosts gave nervous chuckles and exclamations of surprise and amazement when I told them about some of the good finds there. Mostly, they expressed a frustration at not knowing what they had or really what they ought to do with it.

I see this sort of analysis paralysis all the time with wine lovers, especially those that have inherited wine, or simply built up random collections over time without paying much attention to it. Folks seem to have this fear of opening bottles — a fear that is some multi-faceted combination of not wanting to open up a treasure, not knowing when things are supposedly “ready” to drink, and not really wanting to learn that bottles are spoiled or dead.

I do my best, as I did with my friends, to always emphasize to people in these situations that wine is meant to be drunk, not treated like art or jewels. With a collection like theirs, under the kinds of circumstances they got it (in particular without knowing exactly how it had been stored for its entire life) there was little hope of selling even the really good bottles to anyone. Without good provenance (and with only a few bottles) the effort to unload them and the uncertain prospects of much return means that such wines just need to be opened and consumed.

By the time we wandered back out into the rain, I think I had them convinced to open the Krug on Friday night with their parents. I hope it tastes fabulous.

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Anyone can give a bottle of wine, and it’s a thoughtful gift. But how about something more “complementary”? Give wine and something edible to go with it

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Happy New Year! Greeting 2011 with something fizzy and something good to eat raises a question: Does sparkling wine go with … steak?

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I had high hopes for Chinese wine. And I still do, to a certain extent. But I can’t say I’m surprised by the latest news that the government is shutting down some wineries and pulling wine from the shelves after finding a whole lot of faked, adulterated, and chemically altered wine on the market.

I’ve heard rumors of such practices from various people in the wine industry, many of whom scratch their heads when they compare the amount of wine on the market with the amount of acreage under cultivation in China. The two don’t add up. Add to that the ambitious and sometimes reckless drive for growth at all costs (Chinese Milk Powder anyone?), and this sort of thing was bound to happen eventually.

I had my first Chinese wine several years ago, when it appeared, irresistibly on a wine list at a wine bar I happened to drop in to in LA. There it was, a Chinese Cabernet Sauvignon, calling to me, as all unfamiliar and exotic wines do. I had to try it, and I was very pleasantly surprised at just how good it was.

After trying a lot of other Chinese wines it remains the best example I’ve had, and has always given me hope that China would emerge after a few decades of work, as a competent and productive wine region on the world stage.

This latest news, which includes the detention of six individuals and the shuttering of thirty wineries in conjunction with experts suggesting that some of the wines were potentially harboring carcinogenic chemicals, is an unfortunate blow to an industry very much in its infancy.

Having said that, however, it certainly won’t be a bad thing for consumers or the industry as a whole to have a little more scrutiny and controls in place to make sure what comes out of Changli province is both genuine and drinkable.

Read the full story.

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When you wind your way up to the east out of the little village of Fuisse in the Mâconnais region of southern Burgundy, you should take time to look back over your shoulder at the beautiful little church with its plot of vines, and the hillside skating back up behind it to the west. The narrow road will curve around the shoulder of the hill (atop which sits what has long been called the “faerie woods”) and if you bear to the left, you will quickly find yourself in the little village of Chaintré, the home of many men bearing the last name Cornin.

And at least two of them are currently making wine, as I accidentally found out as we drove up a driveway and bounded out of the car enthusiastically to find a bemused Vincent Cornin, who politely told us that we were probably looking for his cousin Dominique, and sent us on our way a bit farther down the hill.

This wasn’t the last time I made such a mistake in my travels in Burgundy, where brothers and cousins with the same last name proliferate a sometimes confusing plenitude of domaines with common family names.

Needless to say I eventually made it to the little winery out back behind the stone farmhouse of Dominique Cornin and his son, Romain, to taste their tiny production of wines and to admire their beautiful horses, which sometimes join them in the fields, though only for fun (plowing with horses takes too long, explained Dominique).

Dominique Cornin represents the fourth generation of farmers named Cornin in the village of Chaintré. His father tended vines, and his grandfather tended vines but sold his wines to the cooperative, and his great grandfather grew vines along with many more things. Dominique began working in the fields and in the cellar when he was young, and took over completely from his father in 1983.

Cornin, like many vignerons in Fuissé, farms dozens of small vineyard plots in and around his village. For a long time, the vineyards have been farmed organically, but Cornin’s vineyards were not certified organic (Agriculture Biologique) until 2009, and for several years have been practicing most of the biodynamic regimen on their vineyards, including the use of most of the preparations and the lunar calendar.

When asked about their motivation for being organic and biodynamic, 23-year-old Romain Cornin, explained: “My great-grandfather died when my grandfather was only 16. The same is true for my father’s cousin Vincent up the road. They were the first generation to use all the new chemicals in the vineyards, and we are convinced that is what made them sick. Now we have no interest in such chemicals. And really, we don’t need them.”

Romain is very involved in the winemaking, and if all goes according to plan, he’ll be taking over duties as winemaker in five years, his father suggested with a smile. For now, they jointly manage their small production of around 5400 cases of wine, all hand harvested and carefully guided through its slow fermentations with natural yeasts, and careful rackings at the new moon. Cornin uses very little oak at all in his winemaking, and almost none of it new. Most wines are fermented in steel and aged in large cement vats, or a combination of vats and used oak barrels.

The terroir that the Cornins (and everyone else in the region) farm is built around a singular characteristic: Limestone. Fuissé marks the end of the great limestone shelf that lies under most of the heart of Burgundy, and the village of Chaintré itself sits on the site of an old limestone quarry. The soils are often no deeper than 20 centimeters, and then from there the roots of the vines strive downwards into solid limestone, seeking the fissures and weaknesses in the stone.

From this shallow soil and its calcareous rock, Cornin coaxes delicate wines that I highly recommend seeking out, especially for those who are interested in tasting rocks in their wines. Sadly only a small amount of Cornin’s wine makes it to the USA. He is seeking better representation.

TASTING NOTES:

2008 Dominique Cornin Mâcon-Chaintré, Burgundy
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of honey, ripe apples, and wet stones. In the mouth it has a wonderful texture and bright acidity that clasps flavors of wet stone and lemon zest which ride airily into the finish. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $19. Click to buy.

2008 Dominique Cornin Mâcon-Chanes “Serreudieres,” Burgundy
Pale gold in color, this wine smells of wet leaves, wet stone, and the tangy scent of green apples. In the mouth the wine offers green apple flavors mixed with a wet stone minerality. Nice acidity. Score: around 8.5.

2008 Dominique Cornin Saint Véran
Pale gold in color, this wine smells of cold cream and lemon pastry cream. In the mouth it is broad and rich with a silky texture and flavors of cold cream, lemon curd, and the wonderful aroma of wet leaves on the long finish. Nicely balanced, good acidity. Made from 60-year-old vines. Score: around 9.

2008 Dominique Cornin Pouilly-Fuissé
Pale yellow gold in color, this wine smells of yellow flowers, lemon zest, and a crisp mineral aroma. IN the mouth the wine has fantastic acidity and very nice balance between the crystalline mineral qualities of the wine and a nice chamomile and citrus pith flavor. The finish is 100% wet stone. Made entirely in stainless steel. Score: around 9. Cost: $23 Click to buy.

2008 Dominique Cornin Pouilly-Fuissé “Les Chevriers”
Pale yellow gold in color, this wine has just a hint of butter on the nose, but mostly a wonderful sweet lemon scent. In the mouth the wine is classic lemon, lemon zest, and wet stones through a long floral finish. Nicely balanced and delicious. Made in larger, old demi-muid oak barrels that are a “pain” to use according to Cornin. Score: around 9.

2008 Dominique Cornin Pouilly-Fuissé “Clos Reyssie”
Pale gold in color, this wine has a nose that combines a wonderful floral quality with rich buttercream and lemon curd aromas. In the mouth the wine comes across instantly as graceful, and quite complex, with flavors of lemon curd, tart grapefruit, and a sappy spiciness that is hard to pin down. Fantastic acids, and great length. Excellent. Score: between 9 and 9.5.

2009 Dominique Cornin Beaujolais Blanc
Pale gold in color, this wine has a nose of appley, yeasty aromas with hints of lemon. In the mouth the wine also has a yeasty aspect, with flavors of apple, lemon, and wet stones, but the yeasty quality detracts a little from these more appealing flavors. Simple. Score: around 8.

2009 Dominique Cornin Mâcon-Chaintré
Palest gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon and wet stones with a hint of the tart tanginess of green apple skin. In the mouth the wine offers green apple, and grassy lemon and grapefruit zest flavors tied to a mineral backbone. Score: around 8.5.

2009 Dominique Cornin Mâcon-Chanes
Pale yellow gold in color, this wine has a nose of lemon zest and drier aromas of parchment or autumn leaves. In the mouth the wine (somewhat remarkably) also tastes of dried autumn leaves, with a soft pomelo and lemon quality that floats above wet stone minerality. Good acidity. Score: around 8.5.

2009 Dominique Cornin Saint Véran
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of dried apples and wet stones. In the mouth a mix of mineral, dried grapefruit rind, and grapefruit juice mixes with a hint of dried leaves. Very interesting flavors mix and swirl with good acidity and linger nicely on the palate. Score: between 8.5 and 9.

2009 Dominique Cornin Pouilly-Fuissé
Pale green gold in color, this wine smells of wet slate and candied lemon rind. In the mouth flavors of lemon rind, wet leaves, and stones mix with a nice delicacy. Filigreed acidity contributes to the minerality of this wine which lingers through the finish. Score: around 9.

More: continued here

When you wind your way up to the east out of the little village of Fuisse in the Mâconnais region of southern Burgundy, you should take time to look back over your shoulder at the beautiful little church with its plot of vines, and the hillside skating back up behind it to the west. The narrow road will curve around the shoulder of the hill (atop which sits what has long been called the “faerie woods”) and if you bear to the left, you will quickly find yourself in the little village of Chaintré, the home of many men bearing the last name Cornin.

And at least two of them are currently making wine, as I accidentally found out as we drove up a driveway and bounded out of the car enthusiastically to find a bemused Vincent Cornin, who politely told us that we were probably looking for his cousin Dominique, and sent us on our way a bit farther down the hill.

This wasn’t the last time I made such a mistake in my travels in Burgundy, where brothers and cousins with the same last name proliferate a sometimes confusing plenitude of domaines with common family names.

Needless to say I eventually made it to the little winery out back behind the stone farmhouse of Dominique Cornin and his son, Romain, to taste their tiny production of wines and to admire their beautiful horses, which sometimes join them in the fields, though only for fun (plowing with horses takes too long, explained Dominique).

Dominique Cornin represents the fourth generation of farmers named Cornin in the village of Chaintré. His father tended vines, and his grandfather tended vines but sold his wines to the cooperative, and his great grandfather grew vines along with many more things. Dominique began working in the fields and in the cellar when he was young, and took over completely from his father in 1983.

Cornin, like many vignerons in Fuissé, farms dozens of small vineyard plots in and around his village. For a long time, the vineyards have been farmed organically, but Cornin’s vineyards were not certified organic (Agriculture Biologique) until 2009, and for several years have been practicing most of the biodynamic regimen on their vineyards, including the use of most of the preparations and the lunar calendar.

When asked about their motivation for being organic and biodynamic, 23-year-old Romain Cornin, explained: “My great-grandfather died when my grandfather was only 16. The same is true for my father’s cousin Vincent up the road. They were the first generation to use all the new chemicals in the vineyards, and we are convinced that is what made them sick. Now we have no interest in such chemicals. And really, we don’t need them.”

Romain is very involved in the winemaking, and if all goes according to plan, he’ll be taking over duties as winemaker in five years, his father suggested with a smile. For now, they jointly manage their small production of around 5400 cases of wine, all hand harvested and carefully guided through its slow fermentations with natural yeasts, and careful rackings at the new moon. Cornin uses very little oak at all in his winemaking, and almost none of it new. Most wines are fermented in steel and aged in large cement vats, or a combination of vats and used oak barrels.

The terroir that the Cornins (and everyone else in the region) farm is built around a singular characteristic: Limestone. Fuissé marks the end of the great limestone shelf that lies under most of the heart of Burgundy, and the village of Chaintré itself sits on the site of an old limestone quarry. The soils are often no deeper than 20 centimeters, and then from there the roots of the vines strive downwards into solid limestone, seeking the fissures and weaknesses in the stone.

From this shallow soil and its calcareous rock, Cornin coaxes delicate wines that I highly recommend seeking out, especially for those who are interested in tasting rocks in their wines. Sadly only a small amount of Cornin’s wine makes it to the USA. He is seeking better representation.

TASTING NOTES:

2008 Dominique Cornin Mâcon-Chaintré, Burgundy
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of honey, ripe apples, and wet stones. In the mouth it has a wonderful texture and bright acidity that clasps flavors of wet stone and lemon zest which ride airily into the finish. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $19. Click to buy.

2008 Dominique Cornin Mâcon-Chanes “Serreudieres,” Burgundy
Pale gold in color, this wine smells of wet leaves, wet stone, and the tangy scent of green apples. In the mouth the wine offers green apple flavors mixed with a wet stone minerality. Nice acidity. Score: around 8.5.

2008 Dominique Cornin Saint Véran
Pale gold in color, this wine smells of cold cream and lemon pastry cream. In the mouth it is broad and rich with a silky texture and flavors of cold cream, lemon curd, and the wonderful aroma of wet leaves on the long finish. Nicely balanced, good acidity. Made from 60-year-old vines. Score: around 9.

2008 Dominique Cornin Pouilly-Fuissé
Pale yellow gold in color, this wine smells of yellow flowers, lemon zest, and a crisp mineral aroma. IN the mouth the wine has fantastic acidity and very nice balance between the crystalline mineral qualities of the wine and a nice chamomile and citrus pith flavor. The finish is 100% wet stone. Made entirely in stainless steel. Score: around 9. Cost: $23 Click to buy.

2008 Dominique Cornin Pouilly-Fuissé “Les Chevriers”
Pale yellow gold in color, this wine has just a hint of butter on the nose, but mostly a wonderful sweet lemon scent. In the mouth the wine is classic lemon, lemon zest, and wet stones through a long floral finish. Nicely balanced and delicious. Made in larger, old demi-muid oak barrels that are a “pain” to use according to Cornin. Score: around 9.

2008 Dominique Cornin Pouilly-Fuissé “Clos Reyssie”
Pale gold in color, this wine has a nose that combines a wonderful floral quality with rich buttercream and lemon curd aromas. In the mouth the wine comes across instantly as graceful, and quite complex, with flavors of lemon curd, tart grapefruit, and a sappy spiciness that is hard to pin down. Fantastic acids, and great length. Excellent. Score: between 9 and 9.5.

2009 Dominique Cornin Beaujolais Blanc
Pale gold in color, this wine has a nose of appley, yeasty aromas with hints of lemon. In the mouth the wine also has a yeasty aspect, with flavors of apple, lemon, and wet stones, but the yeasty quality detracts a little from these more appealing flavors. Simple. Score: around 8.

2009 Dominique Cornin Mâcon-Chaintré
Palest gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon and wet stones with a hint of the tart tanginess of green apple skin. In the mouth the wine offers green apple, and grassy lemon and grapefruit zest flavors tied to a mineral backbone. Score: around 8.5.

2009 Dominique Cornin Mâcon-Chanes
Pale yellow gold in color, this wine has a nose of lemon zest and drier aromas of parchment or autumn leaves. In the mouth the wine (somewhat remarkably) also tastes of dried autumn leaves, with a soft pomelo and lemon quality that floats above wet stone minerality. Good acidity. Score: around 8.5.

2009 Dominique Cornin Saint Véran
Pale gold in the glass, this wine smells of dried apples and wet stones. In the mouth a mix of mineral, dried grapefruit rind, and grapefruit juice mixes with a hint of dried leaves. Very interesting flavors mix and swirl with good acidity and linger nicely on the palate. Score: between 8.5 and 9.

2009 Dominique Cornin Pouilly-Fuissé
Pale green gold in color, this wine smells of wet slate and candied lemon rind. In the mouth flavors of lemon rind, wet leaves, and stones mix with a nice delicacy. Filigreed acidity contributes to the minerality of this wine which lingers through the finish. Score: around 9.

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Fresh from tasting a pretty good Puligny-Montrachet, I set out to find a White Burgundy that might replicate some of the pleasure without duplicating the price.

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The dinner tab was $750, including a $500 wine. Do you tip 20 percent on the full amount?

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