05/21/2013
05/20/2013
Old World vs. New World in More Ways than just the Wine
In the increasingly close quarters of our global village, Europe is responsible for bringing at least three different substantive and prodigious professional wine journals to market over the last several years. Each is written by a ‘Who’s Who’ of wine experts. Meanwhile, stateside, the U.S. has experienced an explosion of pithiness with amateur wine writers writing online.
This juxtaposition becomes relevant after reading a recent post titled, “Are wine blogs going tabloid” by professional wine critic and writer Steve Heimoff. In his brief post, with a decidedly American point of view, Heimoff summarizes his thoughts with the rhetorical query, “Why do certain bloggers revert to sensationalist stories that don’t, in the long run, matter?”
Good question. The easy conclusion suggests that controversy and hyperbolically bombastic articles lead to attention and traffic.
Certainly, two recent books that I’ve been reading bear out this discouraging notion: Newsjacking: How to Inject Your Ideas into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage and Celebrity, Inc.
Both books cover similar ground in examining how brands can subvert the 24-hour news cycle for business benefit and how the 24-hour news cycle has been subverted by celebrities using easy technology while leading our news culture into tabloidesque territory.
When considered with Heimoff’s point, it is an easy deduction to suggest that 1 + 1 does in fact equal 2 – the sensational does sell and, by proxy, online amateur wine writers are a reflection of our larger media culture.
However, in suggesting this, there is at least one bigger contextual point being missed as well as a caveat. First, it’s an exclusive view that doesn’t take in the totality of the global wine media village and second, while sensationalism may sell, the lascivious isn’t always what’s shared.
No, it seems our schadenfreude and more primal instincts are kept private, while our shock and awe comes to the fore, at least according to one study.
The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania recently examined the most emailed articles on the New York Times web site in March of this year (link initiates a PDF download), looking for the triggers for what causes somebody to share an article, what makes one thing more viral than another?
Their conclusion? Positive content is more viral than negative content, but both, in general, are driven by “activation” – the notion that high arousal (emotive pleasure or outrage) drives shareable content. According to the research abstract:
Content that evokes either positive (awe) or negative (anger or anxiety) emotions characterized by activation (i.e. high arousal) is more viral. Content that evokes deactivating emotion (sadness) is less viral. These results hold (dominance) for how surprising, interesting, or practically useful content is, as well as external drivers of attention.
This brings us back to my earlier mention regarding the European wine journals that have come to market in recent years. Simply, they’re an antidote to the U.S. proclivity for the vapid.
The World of Fine Wine, the family of Fine Wine magazines based in Helsinki and Tong based in Belgium all represent an Old World counterpoint to what can be deemed as the extemporaneous and superfluous coming from the New World.
As Tong publisher Filip Verheyden notes in the Tong manifesto (link initiates a PDF download) :
We live in times of “instant” gratification. If we want to talk to someone, we pick up our mobile phone wherever we happen to be. If we want to know something, we click an internet button. We’re going at 200 km per hour.
What we seem to forget in this race against time is the trustworthiness of this quickly-acquired knowledge, and that is something we have to find out for ourselves. But who takes the time to do it?
…The articles that appear in Tong demand the reader’s attention. You can’t read them fast and put them away; you have to take the time to understand. I’d say it takes an evening to read and think about each article. These are not issues to put in the recycling bin. Even after five years or more, each will continue to convey the essence of its theme…
The World of Fine Wine and Fine Wine magazine are both similarly endowed with length and verve.
My takeaway based on the Wharton research and the stunning dichotomy between what we’re seeing in the U.S. vs. European wine content is two-fold:
1) The sometimes sensational aspect of online wine writers, especially domestically, should heed the research and focus their pot-stirring ways on matters that provoke an emotional response from readers, ideally with a positive consequence – like HR 1161 for example instead of tired, lame attempted zingers aimed at Robert Parker.
2) In addition to a legacy sensibility about the nature and style of wine, the Old World is also drawing a culturally defining line in the sand in how they view and report on wine – it’s with substance, permanence and integrity.
The conclusion is anything but. However, as the world becomes a smaller place and the U.S. and our wine media becomes a part of the world chorus, losing lead vocal, I would hate for our place in the gallery to be rendered completely voiceless based on a lack of substance which is the seeming trajectory that we’re on.
It’s just a thought…
If you’re interested in seeing an example of Tong’s long-form think pieces, you can see examples here, here and here.
Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/old_world_vs._new_world_in_more_ways_than_just_the_wine/
What does Chef Cindy Pawlcyn keep stocked in her personal pantry?
Late last year we caught up with acclaimed chef Cindy Pawlcyn to talk about the dining scene here in the valley and her latest venture, CP’s.
In the second part of our interview we got a bit more personal in an attempt to better understand the woman behind the success.
Q: What do you imagine yourself doing if you were not a chef/restaurateur?
Pawlcyn: I’d be a veterinarian or an organic farmer.
Q: What’s your favorite time of year in the Napa Valley (winter, spring, summer or fall) and why?
Pawlcyn: It’s tied. Fall is so beautiful with the excitement of harvest and the seasonal changes in the foods available. But I also love the light of spring and all the fresh, baby vegetables showing up.
Q: What are five things you always keep stocked in your personal pantry?
Pawlcyn: I always have sea salt, soy sauce, miso, black pepper, and of course, wine.
Thank you Chef!
You can find details on all of Pawlcyn’s cookbooks, including her newest “Cindy’s Supper Club”, on her website.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheCorkBoard/~3/greacdb0ph8/
Old World vs. New World in More Ways than just the Wine
In the increasingly close quarters of our global village, Europe is responsible for bringing at least three different substantive and prodigious professional wine journals to market over the last several years. Each is written by a ‘Who’s Who’ of wine experts. Meanwhile, stateside, the U.S. has experienced an explosion of pithiness with amateur wine writers writing online.
This juxtaposition becomes relevant after reading a recent post titled, “Are wine blogs going tabloid” by professional wine critic and writer Steve Heimoff. In his brief post, with a decidedly American point of view, Heimoff summarizes his thoughts with the rhetorical query, “Why do certain bloggers revert to sensationalist stories that don’t, in the long run, matter?”
Good question. The easy conclusion suggests that controversy and hyperbolically bombastic articles lead to attention and traffic.
Certainly, two recent books that I’ve been reading bear out this discouraging notion: Newsjacking: How to Inject Your Ideas into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage and Celebrity, Inc.
Both books cover similar ground in examining how brands can subvert the 24-hour news cycle for business benefit and how the 24-hour news cycle has been subverted by celebrities using easy technology while leading our news culture into tabloidesque territory.
When considered with Heimoff’s point, it is an easy deduction to suggest that 1 + 1 does in fact equal 2 – the sensational does sell and, by proxy, online amateur wine writers are a reflection of our larger media culture.
However, in suggesting this, there is at least one bigger contextual point being missed as well as a caveat. First, it’s an exclusive view that doesn’t take in the totality of the global wine media village and second, while sensationalism may sell, the lascivious isn’t always what’s shared.
No, it seems our schadenfreude and more primal instincts are kept private, while our shock and awe comes to the fore, at least according to one study.
The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania recently examined the most emailed articles on the New York Times web site in March of this year (link initiates a PDF download), looking for the triggers for what causes somebody to share an article, what makes one thing more viral than another?
Their conclusion? Positive content is more viral than negative content, but both, in general, are driven by “activation” – the notion that high arousal (emotive pleasure or outrage) drives shareable content. According to the research abstract:
Content that evokes either positive (awe) or negative (anger or anxiety) emotions characterized by activation (i.e. high arousal) is more viral. Content that evokes deactivating emotion (sadness) is less viral. These results hold (dominance) for how surprising, interesting, or practically useful content is, as well as external drivers of attention.
This brings us back to my earlier mention regarding the European wine journals that have come to market in recent years. Simply, they’re an antidote to the U.S. proclivity for the vapid.
The World of Fine Wine, the family of Fine Wine magazines based in Helsinki and Tong based in Belgium all represent an Old World counterpoint to what can be deemed as the extemporaneous and superfluous coming from the New World.
As Tong publisher Filip Verheyden notes in the Tong manifesto (link initiates a PDF download) :
We live in times of “instant” gratification. If we want to talk to someone, we pick up our mobile phone wherever we happen to be. If we want to know something, we click an internet button. We’re going at 200 km per hour.
What we seem to forget in this race against time is the trustworthiness of this quickly-acquired knowledge, and that is something we have to find out for ourselves. But who takes the time to do it?
…The articles that appear in Tong demand the reader’s attention. You can’t read them fast and put them away; you have to take the time to understand. I’d say it takes an evening to read and think about each article. These are not issues to put in the recycling bin. Even after five years or more, each will continue to convey the essence of its theme…
The World of Fine Wine and Fine Wine magazine are both similarly endowed with length and verve.
My takeaway based on the Wharton research and the stunning dichotomy between what we’re seeing in the U.S. vs. European wine content is two-fold:
1) The sometimes sensational aspect of online wine writers, especially domestically, should heed the research and focus their pot-stirring ways on matters that provoke an emotional response from readers, ideally with a positive consequence – like HR 1161 for example instead of tired, lame attempted zingers aimed at Robert Parker.
2) In addition to a legacy sensibility about the nature and style of wine, the Old World is also drawing a culturally defining line in the sand in how they view and report on wine – it’s with substance, permanence and integrity.
The conclusion is anything but. However, as the world becomes a smaller place and the U.S. and our wine media becomes a part of the world chorus, losing lead vocal, I would hate for our place in the gallery to be rendered completely voiceless based on a lack of substance which is the seeming trajectory that we’re on.
It’s just a thought…
If you’re interested in seeing an example of Tong’s long-form think pieces, you can see examples here, here and here.
Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/old_world_vs._new_world_in_more_ways_than_just_the_wine/
Giraffe Manor in Kenya: Where Guests Live Among World's Tallest Creatures (with video)
For those seeking a truly exotic, once-in-a-lifetime Out of Africa-type experience, Giraffe Manor may be just the place. Here, guests enjoy the unique chance to interact with its resident herd of Rothschild Giraffe, a rare breed which is among the world's tallest creatures. Guests have the unparalleled experience of the giraffes, with the animals vying for guests' attention at the breakfast table, the front door and even at the bedroom window. Giraffe Manor is located in 12 acres of private land only 20 kilometers from Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. It is set within 140 acres of indigenous forest.
Guests interact with the giraffes throughout the day. Breakfast is served in the sun room, with its enormous windows flung open to welcome the giraffe that come and join you. Dinner is a cosy affair as the drawing room fire is lit and guests and managers gather for evening drinks. You can either chose to have a candlelit hosted meal in the dramatic wood paneled dining room or at your own table under the stars surrounded by the glow created by lanterns and candles on the terrace.
Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Video
Giraffe Manor in Kenya: Where Guests Live Among World's Tallest Creatures (with video) originally appeared on Luxist on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 09:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: http://www.luxist.com/2011/03/09/giraffe-manor-in-kenya-where-guests-live-among-worlds-tallest/
Three New Villazzo VillaHotel Openings In Aspen
VillaHotel Natasha
Villazzo VillaHotels is one component of Villazzo, the boutique villa company well-known in the US and Europe, partly because it is one of the most expensive, and luxurious, and also because it is modeled on a unique hybrid, combining the boutique hotel and villa models into one. The Villazzo VillaHotel serves celebrities and their entourages, diplomats and their families and extended families, and the like. According to President and CEO Christian Jagodzinski, those who also use Villazzo VillaHotel services are large families, or smaller families who plan multi-family reunions.
The Villazzo VillaHotel are large villas, with multiple bedrooms, ususally also with game rooms, workout facilities, pools, home theatre rooms, with boutique hotel staffs to serve the needs of each Villa guest. The VillaHotel staff includes a resort manager, personal butler, a bellboy, chefs and servers, bartenders, child care specialists and masseuses. None of the staff actually sleeps at the property; so guests have complete privacy.
Two years ago, I stayed at one of the smaller Villazzo VillaHotels in Florida and found it an exceptional experience. The food prepared by the chef was great, the peace of the villas was outstanding, and the limo driver was always ready to take me wherever I needed to go. It was on par and often above the best destination clubs and private residences clubs I have ever sampled.
Miami and Saint Tropez, are two high end destinations where Villazzo VillaHotels can be experienced, and recently Aspen, Colorado has been added to the list. Last month, Villazzo opened three new Villazzo VillaHotels, as well as an office to serve clients and their needs in a personal, high-touch way. There are three new VillaHotels, listed below. More images of the three VillaHotels are on page two of this post.
The first is VillaHotel Natasha, pictured above.
Located just 10 minutes from Aspen, the 11,000 square foot VillaHotel Natasha offers a private luxury ski resort, in a mountain contemporary style. It is a 5 bedroom, 8 bathroom lodge-inspired Aspen luxury villa, featuring a large heated deck on the second level accessible to all of the bedrooms and looks out onto the 4.5 acres of private land. Inside, VillaHotel Natasha offers large living and dining areas with vaulted ceilings, roaring fireplaces, and panoramic windows, as well as a home theatre, billiard room, gourmet kitchen and wine cellar. There is also a heated indoor pool and elevator to all floors. VillaHotel Natasha sleeps 12. Pricing ranges from $10,200 to $19,700 per night, depending on season.
Continue reading Three New Villazzo VillaHotel Openings In Aspen
Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, By Design
Three New Villazzo VillaHotel Openings In Aspen originally appeared on Luxist on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: http://www.luxist.com/2011/03/01/three-new-villazzo-villahotel-openings-in-aspen/
The Most Sublime Spatburgunders in all of Germany - Henrik Mobitz's first US offer!
At the time I met Henrik Mobitz at his lovely condo in Freiburg, I had been trying to taste and sell his Pinot Noirs for a while. It always just never worked out. Lars Carlberg, who has the best subscription Mosel site out there, is the man who introduced me to Henrik Mobitz via e-mail and arranged for me and my business partner to meet him this past summer. I had heard from so many sources that these were the best Spatburgunders that Baden, and possibly all of Germany, had to offer.Today I am super excited to offer the 2011 Koepfle Spatburgunder for $39.99 (I could sell this for $60 easily, maybe more, it is that great.) I have a very limited amount of this and this is the only shot till the 2012 arrives. This wine has all of the characteristics that drive people to spend hundreds of dollars a bottle on Burgundy.
There is a story here and that story begins with the brilliant, inquisitive and multi-talented Henrik Mobitz. It started in 1996 when he made his first wine in a 10 liter glass ballon in the bathroom. He made his first Pinot in 2000.
Henrik is not a full time winemaker. His estate is a passion project and he adamantly told me he will never ever get bigger than his current production. That production is 2,000 bottles. That covers 4-5 wines per vintage. There is Pinot, Gewurz and a Weissburgunder. These are ridiculously small amounts for a normal importer, but for Fass Selections this is perfect. It makes sense for us. This has all the trappings of a potential cult wine. Pinot Noir, uber small production and extremely high quality. Don't you want to get in on the ground floor? At times in wine retail history, DRC, Jayer, Dujac, Petrus and Lafleur all went for normal prices.
Henrik has a day job working for a pharmaceutical company. He works in drug design and medicinal chemistry to develop new modalities against cancer and other diseases that have very high medical need. Henrik tells me he has trouble not to sneak in alcoholic moieties into the cpd's he designs. Sounds like some serious chemistry humor there.
At night though, Henrik tends to his vines in Freiburg, which is one of the more beautiful areas of Baden. He sources grapes from four vineyards: Koepfle, Kanzell, Steinberg and Kapelle. When I met Henrik, we immediately took a drive to his vineyards. It is about a 20-25 minute drive from his house. I must say, this is an amazing setup he has and I definitely had some major envy. The perfect escape after a long hard day curing cancer.
Henrik is not a farmer. This is important to know as he brings a fine wine background to his winemaking. Not a fine wine background in making wine but in drinking it. Freiburg is a three hour drive from Burgundy and Henrik went and still goes often. The man knows his Burgundy. The man also knows his California Pinot and his Pinots are like a hypothetical blend of both, but still with a profound sense of place that is unmistakably Germany. In one word. Distinctive. That is what I look for in wine. Henrik's Pinots have distinction in spades.
His vineyards are beautiful. I mean, head-spinning, breathtakingly beautiful. His rows are so well tended too and his 2012's on the vine looked and tasted great. Comparing his vines to a neighbor's vines is day and night. There is a Tim Frohlich sense of order in his parcels. If I have ever looked at vines and grapes and knew the wine was going to be killer, this was that time.
Before we left the vineyards Henrik took us to the top of the Koepfle vineyard and behind a row of vines heirloom tomatoes were growing. Henrik picked them for the dinner he and his lovely wife cooked for us. Wine and heirloom tomatoes from the same vineyard. Was I in heaven? Nope. Baden. But damn close.
Please reply to this E-Mail by Friday, March 29 at 7 PM EST with your orders. After that I cannot accept any more orders.
This wine will very likely be allocated - I can't confirm orders until Friday.
When I travel to Europe my absolute favorite place to be is in the vineyards. It brings me an inner peace like nothing else. After an hour in Henrik's vineyards we drove back to his house to taste the wines and have a meal.
Henrik is very outspoken and opinionated about almost everything so naturally we got along. Germans are usually very well behaved and very reserved and almost disturbingly polite and by the book. Henrik's opinions were refreshing. Not only was he a brilliant winemaker, but I could also tell that he was going to be a friend. It's always nice to work with friends.
Now the wines were poured into the requisite Zalto wine glasses and we were off. It was obvious from the first sniff and swirl that we were in rarefied air. I think I sniffed the 2011 Koepfle Pinot Noir for around 20 minutes before I took a sip. The nose is a panoply of spice. Like a bazaar. The purity was absurd. This was like top flight red Burg. So much nuance, so much complexity. The palate was just heavenly. Built like a brick house but oh so elegant and juicy. The finish lasts and lasts and the precision is phenomenal.
What struck me about this wine was how it was so different from most of the Baden/Wurrtemberg Pinots I had tasted recently at the giant GG tasting in Wiesbaden. Okay, scratch different. Better. Leaps and bounds better. I asked Henrik why and his answer was candidly brilliant. He said that in his belief, there can be no great Pinot made without high risk and freedom in the cellar (hands-off!). But as all Pinot lovers know, the reward is certainly worth the risk as great Pinot is a holy grail amongst most wine lovers. He continued that German winemaking tends to be based on fear and the need to control and the resultant wines are dull, flabby, over-oaked, over-extracted and hot. The worst ones are like caricatures of Pinot Noir.
Henrik Mobitz draws his inspiration to make Pinot Noir from Burgundy and California and that is why he decided to go ahead and take the plunge and indulge his passion. The wine world is a better place because of that and the world is a better place because of Henrik's day job.
These wines will arrive in the Fall.
Please reply to this E-Mail by Friday March 29th at 9 PM EST with your orders. After that I cannot accept any more orders.
If I could please ask you to hit reply and send me your billing and shipping addresses along with your order if you are a first time customer. My phone number is 917-912-4355 and you can reach me to give me your CC #'s (we prefer not to receive credit card numbers over E-Mail). You will have an invoice within 72 hours after the offer ends.
2011 Henrik Mobitz Koepfle Pinot Noir (Limited) - $39.99 ($233.94 6/pack) (Limited)
2011 Henrik Mobitz Koepfle Pinot Noir MAGNUM - $79.99 (Limited)
anikacervis
Enjoy your wine with fine food
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