Many will remember the pink bubbly from Portugal that launched a whole generation of wine drinkers in the USA in post World War II America.  Sales reached their peak in the 1960s-1970s when you could buy the stuff practically anywhere.  Their distinct bottles became the candle holders on the tables of blue collar as well as white collar workers and for a time these opposite ends of the cultural spectrum shared a common love, pink wine. 

The fad faded but the wine still remains in the market.  For many it is an alternative to White Zinfandel which is actually pink.  And it continues to hold its small band of followers who prefer its fresh, crispy, slightly sweet bubbly nature, especially during hot weather.

I have written before that the largest single market for wine in the USA is the generic “white wine” served in bars to ladies.  For some time this was chablis which was replaced by white chardonnay which about 10 years ago was replaced by pinot grigio usually from Italy.  The new twist in this market is the entry of “vinho verde” from Portugal which is a light, slightly sparkling, crisp wine that chills well.  It would appear that the largest sector of the wine market, that sold to ladies in bars, is moving back to a light, fresh, crisp, bubbly wine from Portugal.

Who says fads do not repeat themsevles?

So what has this to do with wine?  First, the quantity consumed is of prodigious proportions.  Second, the traditional attire for San Fermin is white shirt, white trousers, red sash and, most importantly, a red neckerchief.   For real “Pamplonicos” this outfit starts out white but ends up a royal purple from spilled wine, mostly misguided shots  from a “bota,” the leather bag for carrying the wine with a spigot that must be aimed right at the open mouth. Anyone who survives with plain white has obviously not understood what the party is all about.

I usually take newcomers with me.  Most refuse to do the run.  But those who do have more fun and take away an unforgettable experience.  This time I had two Spanish friends of a friend and two of one´s young sons.  They had a great time but did not do the run.  They did, however, take photos of me.  One told me later that when I swerved to avoid some runners who had fallen I stuck my fanny right in front of a bull.  Fortunately the bull and I were so oblivious to each other neither took offense and he ran on by. 

Two years ago I met three young Americans in the “encierro” which means the enclosed run.  I asked it they had run before, they said no, and could I give them some advice.  I tried to explain what to do but they finally asked if they could run with me.  I told them to stay at my side and when I said “go,” run full tilt to the next plaza 30 yards away where they would turn left as the bulls ran to the right.  I then showed them scratch marks on the wall beside us which I said were left by people trying to claw their way up the wall to avoid the bulls and a long cut in the wall which I said was left by a bull who tried to gore the building.  By then they were suitably petrified and I reiterated my instruction to stick with me until I told them to run.

Now the correct way to run is to stand on the side, not in the middle of the street, until the bulls are alongside you.  Then dash madly “with the bulls” for maybe 15 seconds when they leave you in their wake as they charge full steam ahead at twice the speed of man.  My young American friends stood bravely next to me as the herd of six bulls and six steers accompanied by hundreds of runners with fear on their faces and wings on their feet came right alongside in a street, maybe 20 feet wide, filled with cows and people.  I yelled, “GO,” as  we were swept up in the mad dash.  Thirty seconds later we were in the plaza congratulating each other on a successful run,, i.e. no one got hurt.

But more than the bulls and wine, the San Fermin festival is a true street party.  There are none of the private parties of Carnival or Mardi Gras or the Sevilla Fair.  Everyone is out in the streets and plazas singing, dancing, drinking and making merry.  You need no entrance ticket or invitation.  You just come, put on a red neckerchief and join in an exhilarating party. 

Oh, my white outfit is in the laundry but I fear no amount of bleach will erase the purple this year.

Following San Fermin I will visit a winery in La Mancha, the fiercely hot, high plain made famous by “Don Quixote.”  And while hot in summer, it is bone cold in winter.  It is also the site of the largest production of wine in the country, although it is much less known in the USA than is Ribero del Duero or Rioja or probably any other production area in Spain.  And the main grape used is the lowly Airen grape, which, while lacking any prestige, is the most produced grape in Spain. 

Like Don Quixote I am on a quest.  When ”bellying up” to a bar in the USA the man usually orders a beer, while the lady orders a white wine.  25 years ago that white wine was Chablis.  It was replaced by Chardonnay and now the choice is Pinot Grigio.   Nothing wrong with this pleasant, innocuous wine.  But I find that a good bottle of San Pelligrino sparkling water has more character and taste than Pinot Grigio.  

So my search for a wine that, like these popular choices, offers the same qualities, i.e. light or low alcohol, fruity,  low acidity, and competitive price,  but, unlike Pinot Grigio, offers some character and taste.  I have found that the larger wineries in La Mancha have worked minor miracles with the Airen grape and are now producing some brilliant white wines with it that I believe could replace Pinot Grigio. 

So after running with the bulls, I will be visiting a very large winery, 25 million liters a year, to see if we can work out a strategy to move Pinot Grigio out of the bars in the USA to make way for the new Airen whites.

I visited La Mancha recently in search of some new wines to bring to the US market.   I started my wine import business 12 years ago with a wine from La Mancha that after importing it found that it came from what is now Spain’s largest wine company, Felix Solis.  I am one of the few people in the USA who understand what this region can provide. 

Until 20 years ago La Mancha was dismissed by any serious wine lover as the producer of cheap wine for the thousands of bars in Madrid.  But the wineries have turned their considerable assets, funds, lands and knowledge, to producing finer wines with grapes from other regions.  I started with a tempranillo grape wine that was essentially a prestigious label from a mass wine maker.  Many others have followed this lead.

But my latest trip was sparked by a wine made from the lowly Airen grape, the stuff of the cheap wines.  When I first tried it at a show in San Francisco, CA I was amazed.  Somehow the maker had crafted a wine for the US palate.  It had “Made for the USA” all over it.  I visited the maker in La Mancha where I complemented him on his wine.  He replied that it is their best seller and is doing very well in Spain and several other markets in Europe. 

We are now negotiating its introduction in the US market where I am sure it will be equally well received.  It compares well with other whites, including the very good Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand.  And it will retail at less than $8 a bottle.  In short, we have a wine from La Mancha that could very well reach the “impossible dream” of a white wine with humble origins selling well in the USA.

This was a feast worthy of the ancient Roman emperors.  We began at 2 pm and ended at just short of 9 pm!  There were eight dishes served with complementary wines before the main course, the capon.  A small scallop popular with “Gallegos,” the people of Northwest Spain, from whence came General Franco, was perhaps the most exotic starter.  But all were truly gastronomic delights. 

The head of the “Cofradia,” a cherubic Spaniard in his late 70´s broke into the festivities at one point to extol the virtues of the “Capon de Villalba.”   It seems that after turning him into a capon, which our host explained in disturbing detail, the bird is placed in a cage where he is forced fed croquettes, whose recipes are closely guarded secrets of each producer, to fatten the bird.   To maintain a perfect bird he is sacrificed by inserting a needle into his brain via the roof of his mouth. The process is geared to bringing the capon to market at Christmas when it, rather than a turkey or goose, is a highly prized  main dish. 

Our host explained that capons are produced throughout Spain but those of Villalba, a town in “Galicia,” the Northwest part of the country, are reknowned as being the best.  He founded the “Cofradia”s to promote the bird both in Spain and abroad.  It is also designed to promote all of Villalba´s cuisine and wines.

Following the eight courses we were treated to the entry of the capon, the focal point of the meal.  What a sight!  It was at least three times the size of any capon I have ever seen, and capon was a favorite dish of my mother, at least the size of a large tom turkey.  In spite of its giant proportions the meat of the bird was truly succulent and fully up to its advance billing.  It was served with three sauces, one of forest berries, one of apple and one made with the juice of the bird. 

While we were treated to outstanding wines with each course, including the capon, dessert was followed by generous pourings of the host´s favorite single malt Scotch.  By then it was 8:30 pm and after many goodbyes and a tad of Scotch more we left at 9 pm.

A bacchanal of lavish proportions that I have only encountered in Spain.   This wine business is really fun.

One quickly realizes that with so many wines, literally thousands from California alone, not to mention other states and imported wines, it is very hard for any one wine to actually reach the shelf of your local wine shop.  Even such big shops as Total Wines cannot carry more than 1500 wines.  So how do so many wineries manage to stay in business?

The answer lies in wine tourism.  All of the wineries I visited offered visits to the winery, tastings and other events, even  including amusement rides for kids, to attract aficionados touring the area to their farms.  And the roads are filled with these fans looking for their favorite label or new discoveries. 

When one comes to the winery he is treated to a brief tour of the facility and then a tasting.  At the tasting he is encouraged to buy what he likes and most come away with a bottle or two or a case.  The visitor is also urged to join the winery’s club that offers price discounts on the wines and other services.  Typically a club member will also buy a series of selections of wines sent by the winery periodically.  All clubs also offer special events at the winery, usually an annual harvest party.

The wineries compete with each other to present a special experience to the visitors.  Some have elaborate gardens, some very attractive tasting rooms, some very informative presentations on making wine and some, as I mentioned above, amusement rides for kids. 

The wineries usually establish themselves on a “Wine Trail” that leads from one winery to another who have banded together to attract more visitors than they would on their own.  The Napa Valley trail was the first one and it is the model for all others. 

And while the “Wine Trails” were invented in California, they now exist in many other states.  Last year I followed two “Trails” in Texas. 

I always told my staff when I had the wine importing business ten years ago that we were in the entertainment business, not the beverage business.  Our wines were meant for people having dinner parties for friends or at restaurants, not everyday drinking.  It is now clear that entertainment is an even larger part of the wine business, with wine tourism leading the way to exploring and discovering new wines.

One might ask how did Madeira become so popular?   The answer lies in the fact that starting with Columbus, Spanish ships made their last stop before crossing the Atlantic going west in the Canary Islands to load up with provisions while Portuguese ships stopped in Madeira or one of Portugal’s other islands in the Atlantic.  One of these provisions was wine, thus Madeira wine was regularly brought to the early colonies. 

On his first voyage of discovery Columbus made his last stop the island of Gomera in the Canaries.  The island had only been conquered by Spain the year before his historic trip in 1492 which parallels the fact that his trip coincided with the conquest of the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, Granada. 

We had a Norwegian au pair for our daughters when we lived in South Africa.  She taught them that the great viking explorers Eric the Red and Lief the Lucky had actually first “discovered” America.   When they asked me about this I replied that, “Yes they discovered America but then they lost it, so Columbus had to find it again 400 years later.”  

Somewhere along the way Madeira wine fell out of favor or rather became an infrequent wine choice relegated to that category of wines known as “dessert wines.”  Probably the most popular dessert wine today is “ice wine” which apparently originated in Germany.  The key factor in making this wine is to pick the grapes after the first frost has served to concentrate the sugar in the grapes.  I find the “ice wine” made in Ontario, Canada to perhaps be the best on the market today.

Of course most people know that other Portuguese dessert wine staple, Port wine.  This wine is named for the city of Oporto in northern Portugal from which it was first shipped to England by English wine makers who settled in Portugal.  In fact the wine company with which I am now working to bring their wines to the US market was started by a pair of brothers from England who settled in the Oporto area in 1820 to make Port wine.

The Reynolds family moved from Porto to the Alentejo region of Portugal to make, not wine, but the corks for the wine bottles.  Alentejo is part of the area straddling the border between Portugal and Estremadura in Spain from where most corks come.  The Reynolds boys essentially became speculators in corks since the cork trees take about 7-10 years to grow the thick bark from which cork is made.  They bought the future production of the cork farmers at today’s price for future delivery. 

The cork growing area is also suited to growing several of the unique Portuguese grapes so the Reynolds family in 1850 added wine production to their flourishing business.  Today the winery produces very carefully made wines that represent the best examples of wine from Alentejo.

I say carefully made since they use the “chateau method” for making the wine.  The essential difference is that they do not press the grapes to extact the juice to ferment in large vats.  Instead they throw the entire grapes into the vats, which in this case are not stainless steel but made of French oak, the same French oak used to make the casks in which the wine is aged.  The grapes are circulated from bottom to top and in the process press each other as they ferment. 

This fermentation of the entire grape and the use of French oak fermentation vats give Reynolds wines their distinct qualities and tastes.  The special process also makes them a bit more expensive to make so they are destined to a special market.  We have launched the wines in the Tampa Bay area and we are doing well at bringing this special wine to the American public.

One could say we are taking the American public back to our colonial roots. Perhaps one could even say we are bringing a “revolutionary” wine to the market.

The French are the paradigm for how to make wine.  They have elevated the making of wine from a cottage industry to heights of pure magic.  Proof is that most French wines are blends which demand complete knowledge of available materials, i.e. grapes.  They adjust the blends according to the quality of the various harvests of the year. 

The fly in my theory is wine from Burgundy, France.  I was surprised to learn that the great Burgundies, which many consider to be the “greatest of the great,” are made almost exclusively of pinot noir grapes, a grape that is very hard to use.  Again, however, the French show their magic by producing outstanding wine from this hard to use grape. 

I recently had the chance to try a top Burgundy.  After my first sip I proclaimed, “This is real wine!”  A fantastic nectar that was clean, clear, full of fruit and had a beautiful finish.   When one imbibes a wine like that he almost wants to not try another again.  The only times I recall a similar feeling was after tasting  a rich Chardonnay from Australia and our main wine import from Spain.  And the Australian and Spanish greats paled in comparison to the Burgundy. Of course different tastes dictate that the Burgundy is not the only wine sold.

In spite of its obvious prestige, I have never imported French wine.  There are too many already laboring in this vineyard (pun intended).  But if I did, I would be looking for something new and unusual from Bordeaux.  As far as I am concerned, the winemakers in that region offer the greatest attempts at pushing the limits of good wines.  In fact, I tell people that, if they are having a dinner for others or ordering a wine for a group at a restaurant, they will not go wrong selecting the most modestly priced Bordeaux to serve. 

Okay, okay Leo, so what French wine do I buy?  My two suggestions here are first, if you ever see a French wine made from Cabernet Franc grapes, either totally or mostly, buy it.  While Cabernet Franc is a standard grape used in French blends, it is rarely used exclusively or predominantly in making a wine.  A real sleeper.  Second, I recommend Mouton Cadet in the 1.5 liter bottle.  This reliable standard offers great quality to price value.  And you should be able to buy it at your shop, since it is reputedly the most widely sold wine in the world. 

For those of you living in the Washington DC area and want to learn about great French wines, please visit Silesia Liquors in Silesia, Maryland.  I went to high school with the Tilch boys who created this landmark wine shop, but only learned in later life that they were the most knowledgeable purveyors of fine French wine in the area, perhaps on the entire East Coast.

As a wine merchant I have read hundreds of wine labels and at times written them.  I have also written ”shelf talkers,” which are the brief  descriptions of wines that hang under the wines on the shelf, waxing poetically about the wines.  Hyperbole only begins to describe the excesses to which these paeans to the wines go, rapture may be more descriptive.  Thus there can be no excess in writing these.  Good taste does provide some limits on what one writes.  But you cannot be too creative in coming up with essentially a verbal replacement for the one sure way to pick a good wine, taste it.

So I say to my friend Don, please continue to come up with your daring, imarginative, and, most importantly, humerous wine labels.  I will certainly keep them in mind for use with my wines.

There is a time honored way to “taste” a wine. You carefully pour a bit of wine in the glass, swish it around, stare at the “legs” or moisture left on the sides of the glass as the liquid falls to the bottom, sniff the contents, sip it, swish it around in your mouth and then spit it out since you do not want to overload on wine too soon. While all of this has a reason, the “legs” tell alot about the substance of the wine, light wines leave little and heavier wines leave lots, swishing it around your mouth allows the wine to fill your palate, and so on, the crucial test is the smell when you sniff the wine.

Why the smell? Easy, as I have said you have an almost infinite range of smells to attribute to the wine. And even more important, the smell is what tells your brain the difference between one wine and another. I can differentiate between truly great wine and good wine from the smell alone. I can also spot bad wine from the smell alone, thus saving my stomach from unpleasant surprises. Really expert wine people can tell everything about a wine from the smell alone.

So why taste the wine? This is to confirm your general impressions of the wine and insure that your sense of smell is not deceiving you. To sum it up, your nose will tell what wine you want to drink, your taste will confirm your decision.

How many elements can you smell in a wine? In presenting wines to groups I use the same terms familiar to anyone who has attended a wine seance - fruity, fresh, aged, oaked, plum, cherry, citron, grass, vanilla, cinnamon, leather, tobacco and more. All of these are smells , not tastes. I go on to point out that, no matter what aromas they may sense, the wines being presented are made only from grapes. Yes, there are wines made from other fruits, but I only deal in grape wines.

I remember once being on a buying trip with a group of wine merchants from the USA touring some wineries in Spain courtesy of the wine makers. Here we were on an all expense paid trip to Spain where we went from one winery to another drinking great wine and eating fantastic food. Tough job but someone has to do it.

We stopped in the town of Rueda where we met with some dozen wine makers. After a briefing the dozen or so of we wine importers went one maker to another’s exhibit sampling their wines. Rueda specializes in white wine so almost all the wine offered was white made from two grapes used there, the Viura and the Verdejo. I smelled and then tasted one wine which I immediately said smelled and tasted of bananas. Knowing that I was the “newcomer” to the business, all the other importers immediately began to explain that what I smelled and tasted had nothing to do with bananas. They went on to say that I was influenced by the barrels used to store the wine or other factors.

I bought the wine and imported it into the USA where I dubbed it the “banana” wine. My staff and all our clients used to smile about my mistake. However, while writing sample notes to put on the bottle for its presentation at a wine show I reread the notes from the winery. The winery said, “while we use traditional methods to produce our wine, we also incorporate some new techniques. For example we use banana yeast.” There it was, they used “banana” yeast to ferment the wine and I had detected this subtle note. I was correct in my initial and continuing impression of the wine. From then on no one questioned my ability to determine the quality and characteristics of wine. I subsequently learned that the “banana” yeast was not made from bananas, but when used to ferment wines, produced a banana aroma.

So in finding your wine of choice, follow your nose.