Passione di vita

Value in the south

2011-02-26T08:43:00.000-08:00

The southern Italian wine scene had a reputation. It wasnt good. Once known for bland, overripe high volume table wine slugged down by the masses, these days something new is afoot. Increasing individuality and quality is sweeping across the southern end of the boot like a tidal wave. Producers are learning to control ripeness, producing wines of sweet red fruits, laden with fresh acid and minerality. These wines often have exuberant character that will appeal to almost any wine drinker. These wines can be hard to quantify because of the complexities of microclimates in the south of italy, and the inherent wild rugged and untamed aspect of the sun scorched landscape. I often find crossover with the rhone valley in the south of Italy, but with a little fresher acid profile if done correctly. Increasingly merlot, cabernet and international varietes are making their way into flashy oppulent blends that incorporate the indigenous varieties. Some wines such as Basilicatas aglianico del vuture are 100 percent varietal, while its Puglian neighbor will utilize grapes such a malvasia nero, negromaro, and even montepulciano that are foreign to most casual wine drinkers. Throw some noma di fantasia labeling in the mix and it can be hard to keep it all straight...but this is besides the point. The dynamism and complexities of southern italian wine, from the mineral drenched nero grown high on volcanic soils in sicilia to the robust aglianico grown in basilicata gives options to an increasingly adventurous wine consumer.

Within the last 5 years, many wine regions, including most of southern Italy, that were once considered behind the curve or lost at sea are making strides to produce wines that are brandable and quality focused. What is causing this surge in quality across the world? Perhaps the devaluation of land relative to the major regions makes it an attractive target for investment and innovation, or perhaps a few stubborn individuals who see their land in a different light than others have pioneered the way so that others can follow. In reality its both, leadership and investment opportunity, that is driving obscure wine regions to increase quality and create brand and value in the wine world. As quality increases in these regions the quality/price bar rises and options increase for the everyday wine consumer on a budget. There is no better time to be a wine drinker than now.

Here are some southern italian stand outs.

Macarico Aglianico Del Vulture 2007 (93+)

This wine is loaded with rich dark ripe fruits, glycerol and acid and tannin to back it up. Drenched with dark tones of earth chocolate and fruit, this long balanced wine is one of my favorities from the south.

Occhipinti Frappato 2008

The grape is Frappato. which does well on the sun baked hillsides. High elevations, volcanic soils and a female touch make an undeniably sexy and elegant wine…With a translucency reminiscent of pinot noir I raise the wine to my lips, it is sweet baked red fruits, herbs, flowers, wild game, pepper, and a refreshing acidity to balance it all. This reminds me of the rhone and parts of it even remind me of musar, and I love it. For more on Occupinti, http://personalwinebuyer.com/2009/07/03 ... -igt-2006/

Tasca d'Almerita Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 (90)

Great ripe wine with a nice balance of pyrazine and ripe fruits. Fine tannins medium acid and rich ripe red fruits...not the deepest or most complex wine but wonderfully balances..Just a pleasure to drink.

Some others, Score only

2007 Donnafugata tancredi (92)

2007 Tasca d'Almerita Rosso del conte (92)

Drink well!

Wine, by the sip

2011-01-20T15:01:00.001-08:00

The last few days I have been giving some thought to wine education. Very few people endeavor into the world of wine beyond the shallow end of the pool. To many, wine can be intimidating. Few subjects are broader, more complex, in flux, and subjective than wine is. At first glance these are good reasons to be scared, but there is one key word that differentiates wine from normal knowledge acquisition. SUBJECTIVITY.

With every new vintage and new wine, new knowledge comes into play. If the masters of wine dont know it all, no one can. This is for good reason. There is magic, mystery and the unknown in wine. Its what makes it so beautiful. Therefore, gaining knowledge about wine must be a personal and passionate endeavor meant to enrich your, and only your, wine experiences. Not knowing one small detail about a wine does not make it taste any different, but endeavoring to know some things about a wine can make the experience more enriching. Like anything else, you get from wine what you put into it. The remedy lies in accepting wine education as a personal lifelong journey.

First, I think the stigma that surrounds wine needs to be addressed . The view that wine is a luxury item, destined only for the upper classes and special occasions, needs to be washed away. With every passing vintage more and more regions produce great wine at all price points. The access to great wine expands with every passing day. Wine can add a dimension of incredible beauty to life for all people. It has been said that wine is life and life happens every day.

Back to the real question, how do we get from A to B when it comes to wine knowledge. Many react by reading the myriad of books that will tell you every fact you might want to know about wine, but what is that knowledge worth? If it doesn't relate to your personal tasting experience of the wine or region at hand, its useless. After all wine is sensory and much of the knowledge surrounding wine is related to the transmission of one year, one vineyard, one fermentation and what that translates to us as individuals when we drink it. This poses the question, how do we make learning wine effortless and effective?

The solution is threefold. First, when you drink a wine make an effort to remember the varietal, vintage, region and producer. Before long a map of the wine world begins to appear and the puzzle pieces begin to fit together. You begin to remember that cabernet is made in chile, california and bordeaux because you have drank wines from there. Points of reference develop and the contrast within the world of wine begins to appear. Your personal journey around this map will lead into far more depth in some regions than others, but this will be YOUR journey, into wines YOU are passionate about. After all we learn the most when we pursue what we love. Secondly, read and research in a targeted way that is focused around the wines you are drinking at that time. If you perceive differences from what you read, trust yourself. Third, challenge yourself to drink from more regions and varietals than what you normally do. This will ensure that you are coming into new knowledge and reference points on a continual basis. If these three rules are followed the world of wine become clear sooner than you ever thought.

With your increased wine knowledge, you will be payed you back many times over. That dinner pairing or daily purchase is no longer a guess but a personal journey of discovery..you begin to understand your tastes and watch them evolve. With wine knowledge comes more intimacy with each glass of wine, more of a personal connection with the grape, region and producer. At this point the wine is giving back to you.

Wine knowledge is not a destination but rather a journey. Take in wine information by the sip, in your own style and remember, its just wine.

New Years, New Challenges

2010-12-31T12:49:00.001-08:00

So what did you promise yourself last year? Did you accomplish it?

Last year I told myself that I would do two things. The first had to do with finding direction. This was the theme of 2010. It was an exploration to what lies at the root of who I am. This involved training as hard as I could to prepare for this season, so that I could find where my heart was in regard to sliding and my future....I love sliding and I always will, but it seems that as I come into 2011 I have found my answer.

I need a new environment, I need new challenges, I need new people, I need new loves, I need new passions, I need to ramp things up a notch and execute.

Your past experiences prepare you for your future and the key is to keep the ball rolling. Its like a snowball, as it rolls down the hill it picks up more and more snow ( experience ) and speeds up...it rolls easier and easier, faster and faster....this is life. Keep the compound effect going.

I am no longer challenged in my current state, I need to enter an existence where true failure is more of an option, where I am challenged like a vine in a marginal climate to produce the finest fruit...Game on.

My second resolution for last year was to teach myself italian. I spent every blank moment of the last year studying Italian and I am making great progress, so much so that I should be very comfortable when I arrive in Italy in September for harvest.

So what are my resolutions for 2011??? First I need a few glasses of Cabernet and then ill give it some thought :)

All of my best

Caleb

Barolo Trip, Episode 2, Monfortino for breakfast

2010-12-25T07:39:00.000-08:00

Monfortino for Breakfast

How often in your life have you awoke to a breakfast of Barolo? I know it sounds odd, but stay with me...drinking young tannic barolo is actually quite satisfying at 900am. Fueled by Italian moca and a few eggs the situation actually feels quite natural. Darting and weaving up the hill to Monforte from Alba, the glistening sun contrasting the dark sleeping vineyards with the snow capped alps in the distance, life seems pretty good. When im in wine country this is what I do. Tour from sun up to sun down. Dart from producer to producer in search of knowledge, passion and just enough wine to keep a slight grin on my face.

My first Barolo breakfast involved none other than the famous Roberto Conterno, the producer of the famous Barolo, Monfortino. This was my second visit to the estate. I pulled off the main road in Monforte darting through a narrow alleyway down the hill to the cantina. I approached the wrought iron gate with the call box and stated my name. The gate promptly but slowly creaked open. Erica who hosted Joe and I on our last visit was here to greet me again. As I passed into the brick tasting room we caught up on the changes in our lives, including sport, business and relationships as we waited for Roberto.

This connection with guests is something I find very special within Piedmont. You are never just a number in a tasting room, you are always forming a friendship with either the family or the winemaker. Piedmont is a place of humility and acceptance. Sometimes you feel as if it is hidden behind the somewhat conservative and austere outward demeanor, but with one display of passion, knowledge or inquisitiveness towards the wines of the region and the doors of hospitality fly open like no where else in the world. I asked Fabio Conterno of Conterno Fantino about this and he responded this is who we are, and it is also our way of marketing our wines to the world. This hospitality allows us to differentiate our wines from the other wine regions of the world.

Roberto entered the room grinning cheek to cheek, far more expressive than during our last visit, and what unfolded next was reflective of his mood. Perhaps during our last visit his demeanor was more stoic because that is the way the Piedmontese are at first encounter, or perhaps it was because I was living with his first cousin, I am not sure. But to see an animated and jovial Roberto set the mood for a great tasting. I was hoping this was a sign there would be Monfortino involved, but only time would tell.

Roberto handed me a beautiful long stemmed Riedel Burgundy glass as we descended into the meticulously clean cellar. We started with Cascina Francia Barbera 2009 vs his new vineyard acquisition/bottling, Cereretta Barbera 2009, both out of Botti.

2009 was a warmer and more humid vintage during the summer months than 2008, which benefits the earlier ripening varieties of Barbera and Dolcetto. The later ripening nebbiolo relies more on the next few weeks as it needs a long cool fall to mature to full phenolic ripeness and resulting balance of acid and tannin. In 2009, the nebbiolo vineyards where vineyard managers controlled yields produced spectacular wines as the heat/humidity encouraged the vines to produce a lot of fruit requiring a strong green harvest and canopy management strategy. If the manager controlled yields early in the summer, the vine subsequently produced the right amount of fruit despite the intense growing conditions. Once the fruit was set, luckily the fall cooperated by bringing the necessary freshness to the wines.

2009 Cascina Francia Barbera- Very juicy black and red fruits. Reminds me of an extracted form of normal barbera fruit, but not a result of winery work but limited vineyard yields. There is a depth and complexity to this barbera that I do not find in other barberas. Finishes +30 seconds with multiple layers of complexity. 92-93.

2009 Cerretta Barbera- Out of barrel the cerretta is equal in quality to the Cascina Francia, but with a more exuberant and fruit forward personality. While you had to dig into the depth of the Cascina Francia, this is far more forward about who it is. 92-93

Roberto and I spoke back and forth in English and Italian. His English was notably better than our last visit, and my Italian, virtually non existent last time, was passable. We proceeded to the other side of the barrel room where 2007 Cascina Francia awaited us. 2007 was a vintage in Piedmont that new drinkers of Nebbiolo will love. In virtually every bottling I had, the tannin was no higher than medium, and the fruit extract was through the roof. Personally I think the vintage is not a classic vintage as the complex aromas that make up classic nebbiolo aromatic profiles were lost in the heat of the vintage. That being said, I do believe this vintage will be a very important vintage for new drinkers of nebbiolo as well as the American market in general as it offers the extract and accessibility that so many people want.

2007 Cascina Francia Barolo- I was a bit taken aback when I tasted this in how monochromatic and fruit focused the nose was. Ive never had a Cascina Francia like this. Sure this is still in tank, but this wine was so exuberant, I had a hard time believing it was Roberto’s. Medium tannin at best and just under med + acid. 91-92. Side note on 2007 Barolo- During my entire trip I struggled to find any Baroli that would not drink great right on release.

Switching back to English, a smile slowly emerged from the corner of Robertos mouth as he asked, “ do you want to drink some Monfortino?” My response was not necessary. We headed to a non descript barrel across the room, simply labeled Nebbiolo d’Alba. All of the barrels of Nebbiolo were labeled this way, no matter what they were destined to be in bottle, as the DOCG board had not yet tasted the wine to certify it as “Barolo.”

I have had Monfortino once before (1999) I knew what I was in for in regard to barrel tasting. When I had the 1999 it was not even close to ready. These wines wouldn’t be a. finished or b. as expressive as they are with age. The first pour of the 2004 confirmed that. I first took note of the balance of the wine, which was impeccable, fruit/tannin/acid were all in perfect proportion to one another. In addition the finish went on for minutes. I would get caught up in conversation with Roberto and then realize I was still tasting something new in this wine. This was a great lesson in what the longest lived Barolos from storied vintages taste like when young. The structure of this wine is hard to see through if you are looking for flavors, but the balance and length are there from the start. With age comes the fine ethereal aromas and emergence of fruit that traditional Barolo can bring.

2004 Monfortino -Incredible length, with a core of PURE licourice, mineral, plum, spices and cherry fruit. The purity here aligns with the forward and pure profile of other 2004s that I have tasted. This is drinking better out of barrel than the 99 out of bottle at this point. There is amazing structure here as well which will certainly allow the pure fruit to come forward as it peels back over the years. The flavor profile of this wine is almost delicate The balance is incredible here. Sweet Tannins should make this accessible for most of its life. Mind blowing length. As the wine finished it kept surprising me with new flavors around every corner. 97-100

After a lengthy discussion about Monfortino, the vineyard location and peculiarities of the vineyard, we smiled again and noting my preference for classic Italian nebbiolo vintages said, lets go taste the 2006. Monfortino is a selection of vines set within the Cascina Francia vineyard that have the best exposition and age characteristics. I have to say that out of the last 8 vintages of Barolo, the 2006 is the most exciting vintage I have tried to date. These are large scaled classic Barolos with huge tannin and acid, but very rarely did I encounter any angles to these wines as big as they were. They were structurally huge but had fruit concentration to match…these wines will take time but they are incredibly balanced and will drink well for a very long time.

2006 Monfortino- Huge internal structural balance, Perfect harmony, but massive relative to the acid and tannin in the 04. Fruit is a bit less forward here, but there is a weight and concentration that is there to balance with the acid and tannin. Seems like the fruit isn’t showing itself yet. Perhaps this is more normal for monfortino out of barrel as the 04 could have been more expressive due to either age and/or vintage character. This wine being younger struck me us “unfinished” more so than the 2004. 95-100

At the conclusion of our enlightening conversation we headed upstairs to try a finished Monfortino. Something I was not expecting. Breakfast was tasting pretty good at this point. The wine we would try was the 2002 Monfortino, and there is a story worth telling behind this wine. It is said that there are only bad wines not bad vintages and this rings true in this instance. This is Robertos favorite vintage of Monfortino along with the 1958. In 2002 this was the only wine that Roberto produced. Roberto decanted and warmed the bottle as our conversation continued. Regarding the production of Monfortino and the vintages it is produced in, Roberto said, “Monfortino is only made when it can produce what drinkers or Monfortino expect” When he says this he is referring to traditional vintages that can allow Monfortino to age gracefully over a very long period of time in a very classical/traditional way. To Roberto with Nebbiolo there is a loss of varietal character when you treat it with modern technique. His maceration times and botti use are his tools in expressing the true essence of nebbiolo from Cascina Francia. With every vintage, his goal is to express nebbiolo in as pure a way as possible. His traditionalism seemed to me a reflection of the man and the traditions he comes from, but it never struck me as stubborn or irrational at any point. There was always a reason for everything they do. I have encountered this across Piedmont along the entire spectrum of production styles. This creates more quality options for more consumers at every point along the curve. Roberto noted that Monfortino will be produced in 2004, 2006, 2008, Not sure about 2009 and definitely in 2010.

The story of 2002 Monfortino is a story or luck, an anomaly within the greater Barolo area that year. The 2002 vintage was marked by massive hail damage and constant rain, a nightmare for growers across Europe. Roberto started with a very heavy green harvest early in the season which set a very limited amount of fruit so that the plants focused on ripening a very small amount of fruit. With a little luck the hail, while decimating everything around them missed cascina francia. The low yields that were set coupled with luck set the stage for a great final two months of the growing season. For producers who had green harvested intensly and gotten lucky by missing the hail they had something to work with! Roberto refers to the 2002 as power in its pure state, something I found quite true of the wine.

2002 Monfortino- Deep color with a very expressive bouquet of licorice, plum, spices, sotto bosco and truffle. Enter with a beautiful unfolding of layers of flavor, building like a symphony to the finish. Strangely extracted in nature, soft in texture and accessible at this point, but maintaining a weight common of traditional Barolo. 96+ pts

We finished out visit speaking of balance, barrique, closing periods, the typical conversations between visitors and Barolo producers. Roberto and I spoke of sport, his cousin Niccola with whom I was staying and my passion to one day work in these hills. Perhaps someday I will participate in a vintage of Monfortino.

As I finished my visit I reflected on Roberto, and it struck me that he is a man of tradition, and while he acknowledges the quality of other wines around the world, Monforte seems to be his world. When pressed to talk about his favorite regions and wines outside of Piedmont, Robertos response was much more muted and local than many other winemakers who speak of burgundy or champagne with excitement. There is a grace and nuance to Roberto that seems to represent both the man and his wines.

As I stepped out into the cold Piedmont air, stopping momentarily as I exited the cellars, I took in the panorama of alps that encircled me. In Piedmont these mountains are always looming, always commanding a gaze and the respect that they deserve quite similar to the people that work these lands.

Barolo Trip, Episode 1, Luca Roagna, Mad Genius.

2010-12-22T08:49:00.000-08:00

Twisting and turning among the crisp fresh air of the Langhe evening, the crunching of the Fiat punto tires on the gravel crackle like shattering ice, their sound a metaphor for the cold freshness of the air. We dart down a small road, following the rusted out sign pointing to Roagna, Zigging, Zagging and abruptly stopping in front of a traditional aged Langhe farmhouse/winery. A sliver of light emerges from the parting of large cellar doors, the madman cracks his head through, capped in beanie standing 5’6’’ his shadow makes him appear larger.

We enter the orange light of the madmans lair, tentatively placing one foot ahead of the other as steel fermentation tanks tower above like monsters. We turn into the bottle storage room to a small table lined with a dozen unlabeled bottles and spreads of raw filet (carne cruda), Salsiccia (raw veal sausage), bresaola, prosciutto, tomme and gorgonzola. At least if the madman takes me captive I will not go for wanting in the wine and food department.

Luca Roagna is the madmans name. In attendance are Niccolo Drocco, Francesco Reva and myself. I was warned about the amount of alcohol that would be consumed on this night. This is boys night, Barbaresco style, and there would be no stopping the forward momentum once I stepped into the lair. Luca darts around the cellar lining up cases of wine for chairs. The orchestra commences and the wine flows, ravenous men dive into the raw and primal food. Dolcetto, Barbera, Barbaresco……

Luca races through the barbera and dolcetto with breakneck pace, perhaps a metaphor for the role of barbera and dolcetto in the area. For the most part simple wines drank with food, leaving the focus to the people and atmosphere rather than the wine itself.

Luca views wine bottles differently than most. For Luca a 750ml represents a half bottle, a magnum a full bottle and so on. His glass pours reflect that. The echoing words, just one more glass, suddenly strike terror into me as I realize the quantity of wine being consumed. After all I have to be somewhat responsible. I have some serious appointments tomorrow…How do I stop the madness? We aren’t even into the Barbarescos yet….Do I want to stop the madness? I give in, ill figure it out on the fly. Luca also pours wine differently than most, his calloused thumb caps the bottle as it is flipped inverted, the thumb taken away, the sound of rushing wine splashing into a pinot glass like Victoria falls. “Basta Luca, Basta!!!!” The wine continues into the glass until a third of the 750 is gone…im not sure Luca even considers this a glass.

As we proceed I begin to speak with Luca about the wine and I begin to see a stroke of genious through the insanity that is his external veneer. He has passion and reasoning for everything he does even if the atmosphere does not make it feel so. His answers are clear, precise and illuminating even through the gallons of wine flowing in all directions. They are interspersed with boys night metaphors about monte fico, and what he called the mountain of pussy, a sexual reference which I am still struggling to comprehend, yet all I can recall is how absolutely hilarious it was in the moment…im sure it made sense with the clarity that wine can bring.

Luca darts from the table yelling, “palate cleanser.” Luca returns with Francois Boulard Mailly Brut Nature. He pulls out a flimsy black steak knife, you know, the cheap kind you get in applebees…..pow, Luca sabers the bottle. Im thinking it could be magic, but then again the night before I saw a bottle of sparkling arneis sabred with the base of a wine glass…I decide to believe what I see. We begin to speak of his passions outside of Piedmont. Luca has a passion for natural producers, female producers and those who bring elegance to a wine. Often one can tell a lot about a winemaker by what they drink from other regions and why they drink it…I am beginning to see with more clarity the genius of Luca Roagna. The champagne, wonderful, texture, crispness, aromatics…fantastic…just a glass…

The next wine was a bit of a revelation for me 2009 La Guerrerie by Thierry puzelet. Malbec (cot) and gamay from the Touraine section of the Loire. As Luca describes Thierry he seems to have a bit of reverence for the man, he uses the word crazy and madman, but for Luca this is a compliment. I want to meet this man, I struggle to imagine someone who Luca views crazy. Perhaps Luca thinks im crazy for traveling all the way from America to drink his wine? Who knows. I want to hang out with Luca and Theirry TOGETHER. Theirry pioneers against the French authorities and uses very little sulfur in his wines…This wine is insanely good. 93pts. ( For more on Thierry Puzelet, http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/20080224_1 )

Next in line, Occhipinti il Frappato, from Sicily, a land as wild and untamed as Luca himself. Now we see Luca’s passion for the elegance a female touch can bring to a wine… this is made by a female winemaker he tells me. The grape is Frappato. which does well on the sun baked hillsides. High elevations, volcanic soils and a female touch make an undeniably sexy and elegant wine…With a translucency reminiscent of pinot noir I raise the wine to my lips, it is sweet baked red fruits, herbs, flowers, wild game, pepper, and a refreshing acidity to balance it all. This reminds me of the rhone and parts of it even remind me of musar, and I love it. For more on Occupinti, http://personalwinebuyer.com/2009/07/03/arianna-occhipinti-il-frappato-sicilia-igt-2006/

Forward we march, and by this point I am gravely concerned for our ability to survive let alone get back to Alba. Luca made a strict rule, no dumping barbaresco, barbera and dolcetto sure, but now its after the fact….. I start waiting until Luca turns away or leaves the room…I don’t dump the wine out, I simply transfer it to his glass J He doesn’t seem to notice and if he does he doesn’t seem to mind.

2001 Crichet Paje, this is a monopole vineyard for Luca, entirely owned and entirely and expression of his family. This wine spends 8 years in big barrels before it is released and it is gorgeous. This wine has gorgeous sweet tannins, loads of fruit and layers of complexity with only 1200 bottles produced. Incredible. 94pts. I drink all of the wine…I ask Luca how these wines age and before I can blink he high hurdles 6 cases of wine into a dusty corner of the cellar. He emerges with a dusty bottle and says 1988. I scream, “bastardo!” “Che cazzo fai!” In a good way of course. This wine hits the glass, it is soft gentle fruit, truffle, rose, and earth…there is only a hint of oxidation which blows off within 5 minutes. The best +20 year old nebbiolo I have had. 95pts.

Lucas eyes light up as he has an audience, I glance at Niccola scared for my life but strangely ok with the direction this mad genius is taking me…Niccola screams, “Luca, Basta” but to closed ears.

1966 de Bartoli Passito from sicily. almond, caramel, nuts, spice, meats, stink, volatility…layer after layer of neverending flavor. WOW. 96 pts.

More, More, More….. Basta, Luca, Basta! 2003 infantido vintage port, Luca pours, and I physically stop him from pouring more….he relinquishes….thank god. I sip my port that needs to sit open for another two weeks…

Francesco suggests it is time for an initiation…to what you might ask? Alcol-gym is a pretty major thing in the Alba region. Almost everyone I spoke with recognized it. Alcol-gym is exactly what it sounds like, drunk people working out. This is only a metaphor, a symbolic act that represents the fact that good life is staying in shape, playing sports and enjoying alcohol….whether you enjoy them at the same time or apart is up to you.

Buried amongst cardboard shipping containers and bottles was an old bench press bar and two flimsy racks holding it up..The alcol-gym session was beginning, rep after rep of manly benchpress was pushed out fueled by the sheer power of barbaresco. Niccola, who is also a skeleton athlete on the Italian team, set the mark at 50 kgs for 54 reps, I followed with 60 reps at 50 kgs….after all I had a reputation to keep up. After this intense and very random bench press session I was inducted into alcol-gym and the crazy but genius night had come to a close..to the shattering sounds of lucas glass against a weight plate….no one seemed to care or barely notice besides a few chuckles.

Luca invited me to stay to pop more corks, as the other two guys had to get back for work the next morning. I was tempted to stay but thought about the consequences. If this was my last night in Barbaresco, perhaps, but I had two more days. The next morning I awoke fresh as ever ready for a 900 am Barolo breakfast at Bartolo Mascarello. Im pretty sure there is the magical genius in the wines of the madman, Luca Roagna.

What is the future for the US wine market?

2010-12-03T01:58:00.001-08:00

Wine in the USA is undergoing a fundamental change. We are in a formational time of rapid development. But what will a mature US wine market look like when wine becomes part of America’s cultural fabric? Which parts of the market will resemble Europe, Asia, or South America, and which parts will be uniquely American? In each society wine is at a different point in evolution and serves different roles.

With the excitement surrounding wine in the USA at this moment it is hard to picture what the market will look like 10 years down the road. With the explosive growth, and relative recession proof behavior of wine as an asset and a consumable over the last few years, a new wine equilibrium in America is being found. The resilience of this product to the downward market trends is a good sign that wine is here to stay in America and that there is momentum to the movement. When we add the influence that the internet is having on the wine scene, we end up with something that is evolving at the speed of light. Right now the American wine market is on the steepest part of the exponential growth curve that occurs with new developing markets and trends. At this point, every passing moment brings about huge changes. In (x) number of years, the wine market will saturate and find equilibrium. The pace of change will slow down making entry and impact on the market more difficult.

To get an idea of what a mature US wine market might look like we can look to Europe for hints. In Europe, wine is much more established as a foundational part of every day life. The question is, is this a product of the wine culture of Europeans, the time during which wine became part of society, or simply a product of the relative maturity of the markets? The answer most likely lies in all three.

The European market is naturally heavily Eurocentric due to the proximity of so many great wine regions literally hours away as well as hundreds of years of wine culture centered around the classic wine regions. Wine here has been a part of society for thousands of years and was even preferred to water for sanitary reasons! The European wine scene certainly provides options to its consumers, but with less ferocity than its new world counterparts. This is because the wine culture has matured around certain wines and regions, and for all but recent history the wines of Europe were the only real show in town.

Now lets contrast Europe’s eurocentrism with America's young and undeveloped wine scene. Brazen, adventurous, demanding of options as consumers, there are no limits to Americans "wine scope." Wine as a central part of life is just starting to become part of American cultural fabric. There is no tradition for Americans to fall back on. I argue that the American wine scene is flat as Thomas Friedman put it. New pinot from Chile for 8 bucks? Sure ill try that and if its better than that pinot made in California im drinking now, well ill take a case and tell people how X producer in Chile is making better than Y producer in California for 5 times less! I imagine in time the American wine scene will mature, but wherever it ends up it will certainly be uniquely American and vastly different from what we have seen with other countries. I see consumers that will have more of a willingness to expand into new wine regions, or to try things that are firmly outside the mainstream. Americans are known for this sense of adventure and yearning for the unknown. I see this sense of adventure as a positive for the future of wine in America. Consumers will have a broader base of knowledge and more options for being more and more satisfied with each dollar they spend on wine.

Where the USA wine scene is headed is anyone’s guess, but the best guess as to the future lies in the wine markets of other nations with a uniquely American twist.

Symphony of Perfection

2010-11-22T09:44:00.000-08:00

This past week, on an unassuming Wednesday, I decided to drive to Buffalo. Spurred on by a toothache (Joe is a dentist) and a need for some fine wine, I headed west. Every visit to Joe’s is spectacular. He simply will not have it any other way. The wines will show well, and if they don’t, Joe just keeps popping corks until they start to hit on all cylinders. Not only would I bask in the Vinous depths of Joe’s cellar and tasting room, but this time my Friend a fellow sommelier Scott Waller would enter in this world with me.

I arrived at the dental office for a quick check up on some tooth sensitivity. Joe quickly diagnosed small vertical cracks in my teeth that were not normal for my age. I knew the explanation before Joe could blurt it out. It is easily explained by years of prolonged 5G force applications as I rip down ice covered tracks and the intense weight training involved. “ No big deal,” replies Joe, just a quick coating of this magic liquid and a switch to sensodyne toothpaste and I would be back to normal.

As we left the office Joe turned to me and said something he only says every few visits. “Were gonna get stupid tonight.” When Joe says this I don’t know exactly what wines he has in store, Just that the mood, time and people are in perfect alignment for something BIG. As we entered premier Joe charged the reserve room with a sense of purpose. There was no wandering around the isles pointing out what’s drinking well at 20 bucks. This man was on a mission. With the store manager and mysef clinging to his heels like dogs following their master, Joe charged the back wall where 3 wines sat side by side. Joe glances at me and I at him, staring at us are the big 3. La Landonne, La Mouline and La Turque, the greatest syrah based wines in the world, if not the single greatest wines in the world. Joe asks a simple question, “what would you like to drink tonight?” I reply, “that’s kind of an unfair question Joe, how do you pick between the 3?” Joe responds, “lets complete your tri-fecta.” Having had the 1998 La Landonne (Cote Brune, 100% Syrah) and scoring it 100pts and the 1999 La Mouline ( Cote Blonde 89% Syrah, 11% Viognier) and scoring it 99 points, the 2000 La Turque ( Cote Brune, Single vineyard Lieu dit) was the next wine in line.

Arriving at Joe’s house, we enter the cellar and line evenings bottles up in order of progression. The salumi, bread and cheese are passed, olive oil and balsamic poured and we are off to the races. The evening’s guests are layed out below and would each deserve discussion if not for one wine and its performance the Casanova Di Neri Brunello Di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova.

1998 Pichon Baron Pauillac (94 pts)

1999 Andersons Conn Valley Reserve (88pts)

2001 Setti Ponti Oreno (90 pts)

2001 Sierra Cantabria Rioja (93pts)

2007 Cervio Sant Antimo Cabernet (91+ pts)

2004 Veglio Barolo (90pts)

2003 Collazzi (98pts)

2001 Sandrone Le Vigne Barolo (95 pts)

2000 La Turque (96pts)

2001 Casanova Di Neri Brunello Di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova (100 pts)

2003 Rieussec Sauternes (93 pts)

As you can see there was a personal 100 point wine in the mix. These experiences do not happen often, and when they do you count yourself blessed for having one of the most rare and sought after experiences in wine. The point of this article is not to talk about the differences in Turque, Mouline and Landonne or to speak of Sandrone’s modern styled baroli. While a night of wines like these would otherwise demand thoughts regarding these topics, when perfection occurs, you bow to it. For wine that is perfect, perfect attention is demanded.

It is time. Joe has been waiting, watching this wine with anticipation, Constantly nosing the wine, as if coming into first contact with a new lover. He pushes it back in the tasting order. I know that something special is coming, I wait and ponder over the La Turque. I fully expected the Casanova Di Neri to come first, but Joe’s in a weird mood tonight. There is magic in the air, the kind of magic that I have been lucky enough to experience on countless random weekdays in Buffalo, New York. Finally the wine enters the glass and my nose quickly follows. Leather, cured meats, balsamic, ink, chocolate, umami, iron, dark black fruits sing their praises together. They are deep, they are dark and they are brooding. They are Tuscan, deeply planted in an past time and way of life. But yet this is Sangiovese Grosso in all of its modern glory, slathered in Barrique but still aromatically true to the essence of the grape and place. The wine enters my mouth, it is indescribably silky in texture, layers after layer of flavor, depth and complexity. The progression of this wine makes me think of a black river with immense depth and power. Layer after layer of flavor attacks me from different angles. I need but one sip to enjoy minutes of alternating flavors and experiences. The wine has enveloped me in its world. For the time being I am wrapped in its perfection. Perhaps not unlike the rare perfect runs in the sport of skeleton where every twist of the track is taken in absolute perfection, melding together to produce an unparalleled and indescribable experience of pure acceleration. The world and people around me cease to exist. Small conversations persist but I am unaware. It is hard to imagine fermented grape juice being able to bring this much pleasure. Perfect wine gives you no choice but to call it perfect, there is no room for fault, there are never questions about a deficiency in any part of the wine….aromatics, length, flavor, complexity, texture, development. This wine gave me no choice but to recognize it as perfect and for that no more words are necessary, it will always hold a special place in my heart.

Creating an atmosphere where the wine can speak

2010-11-14T14:50:00.001-08:00

To start the conversation I would like you to come along with me to my great friend and wine teacher, Joe Gallo’s house. As you cross the threshold into Joe’s house you are swept away to another land. Perhaps it could be Rome, Montalcino or even Barolo. Wait a second, turn on that Josh Groban song….ok, now you can continue…. The reality is far more jarring, you are in Buffalo, NY, but you would never know it in this vinous and culinary refuge. Joe’s house is one of the FEW places in the world that can totally encompass me, sweep me off of my feet and remove thoughts of EVERYTHING else in the world.

As you walk in towards the tasting room, brick walls line a small bistro with shelves full of wine glasses sparkling like diamonds on a beautiful woman’s neck. The scent of espresso lightly fills the air, and the soft light caresses you as Joe gets one of the first bottles of the night. Joe returns with a beautiful decanter full of wine having hidden its bottle hidden in the other room. We start with blind tasting in the bistro. A neutral look at a wine that serves as a palate calibration as well as test of wine chops for those involved. As I warm up with the wine, I go through the steps of blind tasting and eventually pin down the wine. “Rioja”, I answer. ”Joe, you’re not going to trick me into thinking this is Bordeaux again, the alcohol and acid are a touch too high.” You can see a joy in Joe as his passion has not only been put into his house, but into sharing his knowledge and domain with others. The successes of his students are his successes as a teacher. As we pass through black drapes into the dark tasting room, a long table set with 6 Riedel stems awaits each position. 6 bottles of wine stand next to one another on the table behind Joe, each hoping to be the wine of the night. Soft orange salt rock candles cast dancing beams of orange light that refract off the crystal in every direction, seemingly daccing with the rich mahogany and tuscan beiges that adorn the room. Plates of cured meats, bread and hard cheese sit paired with the best olive oil and balsamics to be found. Sculptures and small fountains adorn the upper levels of the wall around the room. Every detail has been accounted for. At the far end of the room is a beautiful glowing wine cellar set behind double doors, above which glass sculptures of vines set between the panels stand as ambassadors to the treasures that lie within. The cellar, built just large enough to hold about as much wine as a man could drink in a 5-6 years at a pace of a bottle a day is not the focus. Although the cellar is stunning, the focus of the design lies on the room where the wine will be consumed.

Objectivity and Subjectivity

Now lets take a detour from our romantic walk through Joe’s cellar and talk about objectivity in regard to the enjoyment of wine. Wine is, for the most, part an objective experience. The objective parts of wine include, texture, length, aromatic intensity, aromatic complexity, flavor intensity, flavor complexity, acid, alcohol, tannin, color, concentration and balance. These are real physical attributes of a wine, which are all quantifiable. Perhaps you will find people arguing over relative differences in one of these things, but the reality is that they are drinking the same wine. There is a right and a wrong. What’s going on in situations like these is a difference in perception, and yes that means someone is wrong (oftentimes its me when tasting with Joe!). Another way to validate objectivity in wine is through the process of blind tasting, which would not be possible if there were not concrete elements of a wine that tell of their place and method of production.

I know you want to get back to Joe’s cellar but before we do we need to move on to the counter point of objectivity, subjectivity. What is subjective in wine? Certainly the way in which we describe what we smell and taste is subjective. When you inhale, the aromatic compounds travel to your brain and from here your brain plays a game of association. For example if you have never smelled a black currant, but have had a black cherry you are very likely to describe a wine that smells of black currant as black cherry. There is no wrong here. It is simply our way of relating a wine to something we associate it with. Im not done with subjectivity yet but lets get back to wine cellar.

A pinot bowl lies in front of you, filled with garnet colored 2001 Sandrone Le Vigne Barolo. You swirl the wine, aromas of tar, roses, cherry, truffle and cinnamon demand your attention. The subjective aromas and their emotional impact on you are the focus of your attention in this room. The low light brings comfort as you sit in your warm sweater in the cool cellar. The wine is speaking to you, set amidst an atmosphere where IT is the focus. Bocelli hits a note and all is right in the world. STOP!

So far we have described a wine experience as it should be, now lets take the same wine, same glass, now were in your kitchen, competing aromas of food being cooked, Bocelli took a break, and your kids are screaming. Does the wine taste the same, Does it smell the same? Maybe, but probably not, it is still the same wine though, you’re just not able to listen to it. What changed? The environment. The wine is no longer the focus.

I believe that we are prone to environmental responses when it comes to the enjoyment of wine. There is never complete objectivity or control over our perception of a wine. Perhaps you had a bad day, or have a cold you can barely notice. All of these things affect our enjoyment of a wine on an subconscious level. They are the surprises and fluctuations of life and are for the most part uncontrollable.

So what can we consistently control to maximize the enjoyment of a wine through increasing our perception of the objective and subjective elements of a wine? The answer as you have guessed is the environment in which it is drank in. People spend thousands of dollars on wine and wine cellars, and far too few spend the money creating the optimal environment to drink the wine. By creating proper environments to enjoy wine, we need to increase our ability to be receptive to the wine. After all you just spent $50,000 on wine. As Joe famously said, “listen to the wine for it is the only one who knows what it is saying.” And what better way to do that than to hand it a megaphone.

Measuring Success

2010-11-13T09:52:00.000-08:00

Im currently sitting in Salt Lake City airport after a very long two weeks of sliding, with some very big lows and some highs to match. It has me thinking, how do you define progress in achieving goal? We toil away, hour after hour, in pursuit of a passion. In my case, I lift endless amounts of weight, run sprints, sand runners etc. all for the pursuit of excellence in the sport of skeleton ( if you are not working towards your passion I would suggest making a change in life) The work either brings us to our goal or we fall short of our expectations. But is it this simple?

Looking back on the last two weeks, the first was one of the toughest weeks of sliding I have ever gone through. I prepared all summer for the season and was physically prepared, but my problems came in the form of sled setup and sliding errors. I slid very fast in initial training, but raced very poorly. For a few days I was really down on myself. During the next week I set a plan to fix all of the issues I had in team trials. I systematically attacked each weakness that led to the poor result and by the end of the second week, had one of the most productive sliding weeks of my life. Its only when we are truly challenged at the edge of our limitations that progress is made and sometimes it takes having your face pushed in the mud to realize what needs work.

I observe many results focused individuals in the athletic world that surrounds me. There is a sense of hyper-focus on medals within this community. People attach attach their identity to their results which makes the highs higher and the lows lower. While it is tempting to forget about a poor result, there is a proper response to failure. I have always loved failure. If failure is responded to properly it is yourbest friend. It will teach you more than you would ever learn during success. While results have to be the gauge by which we measure ourselves, I believe there is more to the story. As we head down this road of self improvement, we improve ourselves in ways unseen even to ourselves, and even unrelated to the task at hand. The challenges of today are molding us for a tomorrow we may not fully understand what that picture looks like. In this way the process is more important than the result.

Ill look to continue this process based momentum next week in Lake Placid, before I leave for Intercontinental Cup tour in Europe on Novemeber 21st.

Perfection and Wine

2010-11-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

When you think of the words perfect and wine, what do you think of? Most people identify this with 100 point wines. These are wines that stand atop the world of wine. In human terms, they are comparable to the Einstein’s and Mozart’s. They are the exception to the rule. They include the likes of La Landonne, Latour, Insignia and Romanee Conti. They share immeasurable complexity, length, texture, aroma, flavor and make it hard to believe that a mere grape could produce something so transformative. Their presence in the mouth makes it hard to believe there is anything else that exists in the world at that moment. These wines come from highly specific terroirs, where grape is matched perfectly to site, where the human hand has acted as the perfect compliment to relay the perfect essence of the wine to the consumer. The perfect wines of the world are a minority, a product of unique circumstance and abilities, just as the Einstein’s and Mozart’s of our world are. But how do the masses experience this type of perfection in wine? Unfortunately, it requires enormous financial outlay beyond the reach of most.

The question for the rest of us is, are there other ways to experience perfection in wine? Can we find a way to match the sheer power of the 100 point wine experience?

I believe the answer is yes! Some of my most poignant experiences with wine were not the La Landonne and Latour’s of the world. They were perfect “moments” with wine. They involved a 92 point barbera, Josh Groban, egg noodles, a sage and butter sauce and good friends or a perfectly seared rib eye steak enjoyed in the comfort of a beautiful woman with a 90 point Malbec. While I have been lucky enough to experience perfect 100 point wines, where the wine commands total attention, the perfect “moments” where wine serves a supporting role can be just as powerful. Whatever the moment manifests itself as, the wine flows, the food simmers and passion burns. Caring, genuine conversation flows as minds escape the everyday to loftier purposes. Here, as wine plays the supporting role it weaves in and out of the conversation of friends and lovers. It is the lubrication to the experience. It allows us to let go just enough to let the perfect imperfection of our lives to be just enough for us in that moment. We don’t have to be Mozart to be part of something that is just as powerful. Not every wine can be perfect, but every wine can serve a perfect role.

Switching Gears In Life

2010-10-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

The question I have on my mind these days is when do you let go of a good thing to pursue something better without fully knowing what that better thing looks like? You know there is another passion within you that is tugging at your soul, but how to get to it? How do you let go of your current passion, something that defines a large part of you, something that is comfortable, something that you love? At what point do you stop growing because you arent being challenged enough in that current state? At what point do you let go? You could be missing the next phase in your life...when and how do you make the change? These are certainly not easy questions.

These are the questions I face as I look beyond my career as a skeleton athlete. I am lucky to have a passion that I love just as much as my sport and that is wine. There is a special place in the world of wine that holds my soul and it is Barolo Italy. This is a truly special place in the world of wine that combines a unique combination of people, food, wine and passion that I have never seen duplicated in all of my travels. This is a place I MUST live for a portion of my life. When I choose to let go of sliding I will be headed to Italy to start a life that I know very little about, except that I will be doing what I love in a place that I love. For now my abilities and passion lie with sliding as an athlete, but as time continues I see a part of myself growing, and it is growing quickly, that yearns for something new. A new place, new people, new stimuli, new life. Every day my spare time is filled with reading about wine and teaching myself italian. I guess thats all we can do. PREPARE. Not just for what is in front of us now but for the other directions that we feel ourselves being pulled. If we are not preparing ahead of time for the next stage we might just miss it. HONEST introspection is critical. It will take faith, risk and planning. Follow your heart. Easier said than done.

My competitive nature and love for the sport of skeleton will make my eventual departure from the sport difficult, but paying attention to my heart will tell me when the time comes to switch gears. When I make this decision there will come a time every year when the feelings and scents of the cold air that usher on the sliding season will undoubtedly stir my emotions. And as the vines sleep I will feel a nostalgia for what was the last chapter of my life....and if im lucky it will signal a time to return to that world and coach other skeleton athletes to pass on the knowledge that I gained over the years. For even if you make a drastic change in direction in life you take with you what you left, whether you remain a part of that world or not. It is a part of you and will remain so forever.

2010-01-25T14:13:00.000-08:00

As I get ready to return home from my Olympic season, thoughts of friends, experiences, and memories overwhelm me with emotion. The smallest things bring me to tears as I think of the magnitude of the life I have lived so far. The contrast of disappointment with the beauty of the life I live. Why was I so lucky to have this experience for the last 14 years of my life? I feel truly blessed. As my mind wandered I thought about home as I read Adirondack Life on the plane. I thought about how diverse the culture of the Adirondacks is and how much it still means to me after 14 years of traveling around the world. The richness of the Adirondack experience, the layered complexity of the existence. The remarkably unique behaviors of the people who live there and the activities they pursue, the opportunities for creativity that lie before them in the vast Adirondack landscape. The stories, the adventure of past years. While the Adirondacks are becoming more trendy these days as well as being outfitted with modern luxury, they are so vast that they should never lose their character. If the uniqueness of Adirondack life has given way to such a complex and interesting brand of people, I have to believe s that the richness of life all across the world goes mostly unseen if it has taken me 26 years to only scratch the surface of the Adirondack park. The little nuances of lifestyle, the stories that sprout and the culture of these places are based on the local environment, history, tradition etc. I think about how complex America must really be, how much we miss when we zoom by the freeway, when we don’t engage people, when we stop at mcdonalds instead of the local diner. The world is a very rich tapestry with layers of color and complexity and this seems to be why I have been so drawn to exploring it, as well as blessed to have the opportunity to do so.

2009-12-26T11:46:00.000-08:00

A little recap of the trip to Mosel wine country before tour started this year.

Stokes and I arrived in Frankfurt at 700 am with the normal feelings of jet lag, dazed, confused and not really sure where my place on this earth was. Luckily this is a transition I’m used to making. After stokes and I successfully procured our luggage we hopped into our 9 passenger Mercedes bus and took off onto the autobahn hoping that a day of inspiration in wine country would be just the remedy we needed.
The first trip on the Autobahn every year is as big of an adjustment as the jet lag. You think you’re going fast and then your passed by a 7 series bmw doing 200 kph. Before you know it you’re up to speed and it becomes a little more normal but the first time back is always a shock. The drive into the Mosel river valley from Frankfurt is fairly uninspiring, that is until you reach the switchback roads that drop directly down to the Mosel through some of the steepest vineyards in Europe. At our first switchback we could see thick fog blanketing the town of Traben in the river valley below, as a vineyard plummeted off to the right side of our car. What a welcoming sight.
Our hotel was on the waterfront in Traben, perfectly situated and one of the nicer hotels I have stayed at in Europe. Our room was extremely spacious by European standards, with two floors and a deep soak tub. I took a shower to rinse myself of the days travel, followed by a 45 minute nap that was extremely difficult to wake from, before our 100 appointment at Markus Molitor.
Our drive out of Traben gave us a great idea as to what Mosel is about, perfectly sandwiched towns along the river, abutted by towering vineyards to the rear, oxbow turns in the river and what felt like a very gentle way of life. The blue slate in the vineyards was so intense that during this time of year, without leaf cover, the soil appears blue. Like Cote Rotie, you can tell that there is substance to the people that handwork these vineyards, simply by looking in awe at the ruggedness of the vineyards.
I arrived at the Molitor estate only to find it under construction. I met Markus Molitor, who was in the middle of a meal with his wife, and he kindly redirected us to the temporary tasting house in the town of Zeltingen, two kilometers away. After zigging and zagging through the tight streets of Zeltingen we arrived at the Molitor offices to taste some wines. Naturally, my jet lag limited my attention span, but I managed to take quite a bit away from the visit. Molitor is a very large winery by mosel standards. Our guide told us that Molitor makes over 50 different wines. I was struck by the flexibility and individualism that is allowed under the German wine law, more so than its old world counterparts with their “DOC” restrictions. The control that the winemakers have on when to harvest and what to produce varies so much from vineyard to vineyard and producer to producer. One year a vintner might produce a kabinett from a vineyard and the next year that same vineyard might produce auslese, it all depends on the vintage and what nature gives them. It also gives the winemaker a lot of flexibility to tell the consumer about his vineyards terroir through his decisions on when to pick and what to produce. In Mosel there is a lot of single vineyard desgination, the terroirs are unique and demand individual representation. I also noticed a lot of varying vineyard orientations, something that was strange to me being so in touch with piedmont where most nebbiolo vineyards are planted south-southeast. Riesling classifications (from kabinett to TBA) are done by must weight, or density of liquid (sugar concentration) so within a category, say auslese, you can have a huge variation of must weights within the range that defines auslese, as well as the resulting sweetness based on how long fermentation is carried out. Sometimes you will see stars that will indicate the level of must weight within the range. A few producers, including Molitor do this to help their consumers.
We tasted through 8 or so wines, with varying levels of sweetness. Urziger Wurzgarden, Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, etc etc. All wines were very strong examples of mosel Riesling with some pushing 93-94 points. I did not take many notes here as my attention was limited by the incredible exhaustion I was feeling.
After our trip to Molitor, it was off to a pizzeria for a late lunch as we tried to tackle the challenge of not falling asleep too early. 800 rolled around and I was struggling, stokes suggested we hit the town to try and stay up a little longer. From our hotel we could see a neon sign, which turned out to be the only disco in 50 km. I hesitantly followed Stokes into the night. We sat down and had some drinks, greeted by the pungent scent of cigarette smoke that seems to cling to some European bars, despite recent rules to ban smoking. It was a slow night at the disco, but we immediately began chatting with a German kid named Chris. Chris was the dj here, but he also worked selling Audis, this was just his hobby. He grew up in the area and was very welcoming to Stokes and I. Eventually we met his friends as well. We passed the evening drinking and talking about all the things you talk about with someone from another country that you meet for the first time, ways of life, families, hobbies, oddities of each culture etc. Before we knew it we had stayed up far longer than we thought was possible, thanks to new friends and new culture. We made plans to meet up the following night.
The following morning I awoke early to a beautiful morning. The tranquility of the Mosel flowing by our hotel was too much for me to resist, so I threw on my spandex and set out on a run. I stepped out the door of the hotel only to be broadsided by the smell of fresh baked croissants and other German breakfast delicacies. I fought the temptation and headed down to the Mosel where there was a perfectly paved bike path. The path was lined with small houses, almost Hansel and Gretel like, with wood piles stacked to perfection as only Europeans do. After each bend in the river new olfactory surprises greeted me, the steep blue slopes of the vineyards, swans passing time by effortlessly floating down the mosel, an old lady walking her small dog, greeting me with “guten morgen”. This run was sensory overload and I loved every moment of it in the still peace of a Mosel River morning.
After getting my blood flowing we headed off for a day in Bernkastel. We wandered the beautiful Christmas markets, a sensory overload that every human being should experience. I took some photos, but quickly became bored and needed some enological inspiration. I spotted a gluhwein stand. Gluhwein is normally red, but here in Mosel it was white, made from Riesling. Quite tasty might I add. Stokes and I sat down to sip our Gluhwein and take in the sights when a small blue pellet clanked off of the bench. We looked up and two small German boys were shooting at us, nervously poking their heads out from the edge of window when they realized we had spotted them. We managed to cast half joking, half threatening looks at them each time they poked their heads out to prevent further assault. As I looked down I saw pellets everywhere, this was obviously sport for them, one that I envied being too old and mature to partake….well I guess that is debatable.
We felt the urge to head into the vineyards that tower over Bernkastel. We wandered up through the streets until we broke out above Bernkastel into blue sky and vineyards. The view was stunning, the sweep of mountains that followed the Mosel’s oxbow turns, the bustling city below us, castles on distant horizons, vineyards on almost every slope. I headed up into the vineyards to check out the famous blue slate soil. Stokes and I had a bit of a touristy photograph session as the beauty was absolutely stunning. As we headed back into the city I counted myself blessed to be here.
After our descent into the city, we continued on across the bridge over the Mosel to the wine museum. The museum was well appointed with self service interactive displays that covered all of the facets of the region and Riesling production one could imagine. It seemed like part of the museum was closed as it was the slow season, but the interactive displays were enough for me. After acquainting ourselves with the region, we then headed over to the enotec where one can taste up to 150 rieslings in season. There were only 50 or so for us on this day, but I figured it would do. The basement of the building houses large metal racks that ran down two corridors that must have been 150 feet long. On each rack was the producer information, pictures, background information etc. In front of each rack was an open bottle of each producer. To gain entry you pay 5 euros for your glass. The wines are all self service and there were a few groups of people who were clearly taking advantage of the Riesling glut! I tasted through most of the 50 or so available wines, quickly becoming bored with the kabinett section. I generally enjoy these with food rather than on their own which is why I was having a hard time tasting through so many kabinetts. My Riesling sweet spot is something with balanced sweetness and a little more tropical essence as well as that racy acidity to balance.
We headed over to the next corridor where the spatlase and auslese wines were hanging out so I could get my fix. I tasted the first two and clearly we were on the right track. As I proceeded through the room I noticed a lot of empty bottles to my dismay. I then looked to the corner and a group of 8 or so had staked out the room for what had to have been a very long time, because most bottles were empty and they were smashed! Not bad for 5 euro! Shortly after a staff member came through opening more bottles. I tasted through all of the wines. I was still quite jet lagged so my attention and record keeping was not what they normally are. Rather I was just trying to get a feel for the styles and terroir differences between the vineyards. Finally I looked at stokes as we seemed to share the same target, the Zeltinger Sonnenuhr auslese from molitor. We were both on the same page, tasting time was over and drinking time was now. We grabbed the bottle and sat back and enjoyed the 93 pt wine ( my palate). The auslese and spatlese levels from Molitor are wonderfully rich and tropical with bracing acidity and deep aromatics. These wines age beautifully as well. It was a treat to spend the afternoon with this bottle in musty cave under Bernkastel.
We headed back to traben to meet up with our friends that we had met the first night. Michael picked us up and we headed to Chris’s house for homemade pizza. Chris lives in a beautiful apartment that looks over the mosel from a perch high on the west side of the river. We started out with some kabinett Riesling, passing the time chatting about video games and the differences in movies in America and Germany. It turns out that the titles of many movies we would find common get changed for foreign markets…interesting and funny because the translation back to English can be hilarious. I popped a special bottling from molitor, 2004 vintage, and poured it to all at the table. The young lady picked up her glass, and at the same time I looked at stokes, thinking the wine was corked, she pronounced that the wine was corked and that it was too bad. All I was thinking was “that was hot”. I guess women with acute wine sensory abilities are my thing! I complimented her on her wine tasting abilities, but she shrugged it off saying that her family was in wine and saying everyone here knows about wine. We had a great evening and headed off to the disco for more entertainment. The evening passed with dancing and merriment. I felt weird drinking Riesling in a club, but hey, when in Rome! Our time in Mosel came to a close in the same way it started, partying the night away. In the morning we would head off to winterberg for the start of tour.

Headed to Vancouver

2009-11-02T15:33:00.000-08:00

Im headed off to Vancouver tomorrow night to get my first look at the Olympic track. Im looking forward to good look at what has become the fastest and most dangerous track in the world. Im flying into seattle and driving up to save $. I hear it is a beautiful drive and I am looking forward to it. Ill update everyone when I get there!

Conclusion of Team Trials

2009-10-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

Our four race team trials series has concluded and we are now into our season. Team trials were a very mixed experience for me. I had problems in Lake Placid which is usually my stronghold and slid well in park city which is normally more of a challenge for me. My first race in Lake Placid was a solid 3rd place, but was followed by a freak 5th place after I made a very big mistake in curve 4, which cost me a half second on my first run. I placed in 4th both races in park city, which numerically is not the position I want, but I was very close to the fastest sleds, more so than in the past, as these two races were incredibly close. On a more positive note all of my summer training has paid off big time. I am the fastest I have ever been, as I set a personal best in Park City on the start at 4.87. I am currently staying on the west coast until I leave for the intercontinental cup on november 19th, which starts in Winterberg Germany. I will be doing some sliding and alot of physical preparation for the Intercontinetal cup. With both the world cup and intercontinental cup teams named, the next step in the selection process begins. We will have 7 international races before the jan 20 date when the Olympic team is named. On this date the points that everyone has earned will be added up and the top 2 or 3 ( depending on how we perform as a team) will go to the olympics. Im headed up to Whistler to the Olympic track on the 3rd of November to get a good look at the track to prepare for later in the season. I hope all is well with everyone.

Caleb

Olympic trials start in 2 days

2009-10-12T16:28:00.000-07:00

Its been a great week and change of sliding here in Lake Placid. Tomorrow is the last official training session before the races on Wednesday and Thursday. Last week was dominated by wet weather around 50 degrees which is not conducive to fast ice. As a result we had a pretty slow track until Sunday when the weather cleared and dropped down to 30 degrees. On Sunday the track sped up almost 4 seconds which made sliding alot more fun! Kudos to the track crew at Mt Van Hoevenberg for getting the track in such great shape and dealing with all the bad weather!

My training in the last week has been very methodical. I have been testing alot of equipment and working on the track a section at a time. It came together fairly well today, but I still need to fix the middle section of the track tomorrow, before Wednesdays race. My starts have been very fast so far. So fast that they have been consistently faster than what I pushed in the race last year! That is a result of a great summer of training and preparation.

Occasionally I will think about all the years I have been training for this moment. Its been a beautiful experience no matter how it turns out. I am trying to keep that out of my mind to decrease the pressure on me. I generally handle high pressure situations very well and this week will be no different. I have a plan and a series of steps that will lead to success, they key is to execute and dont get in your own way!

“I can't control my destiny, I trust my soul, my only goal is just to be. There's only now, there's only here. Give in to love or live in fear. No other path, no other way. No day but today.”

One Last Weekend

2009-10-02T16:08:00.000-07:00

Here we are, headed into the final weekend before sliding starts. I stopped by the track today to see how the icing of the track was going. Ive never seen it look so good so early. The track easilly has an inch to an inch and a half of ice and looked mostly bump free. It was beautiful being up on Mt Van Hoevenberg, with millions of different shades of yellow, red and orange that coat the mountain side this time of year. I was feeling the excitement of a child as I walked up and down the track. I am going to spend this weekend reflecting, preparing the final equipment changes that I need, and getting some rest before the 3 week marathon of sliding hits us on Monday. Ill keep you posted as soon as we get on ice. I am going to enjoy a few glasses of wine this weekend as well. I have a 2004 Turley Moore Vineyard Zinfandel on tap for this weekend as well as a Vajra Moscato d'Asti. Ill post on those when I have them. Ciao!

An Unplanned Personal Best

2009-09-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

Today I woke up with no intention of testing my cleans, but it was just one of those days where I felt good. I had 6 sets of 2 reps in clean on the program. I came in at 120kgs, did 3 sets at 120 then went 122.5, 125, 130. After the 5th set I looked at Jason and said im going for it. I felt good, had some good motivation and let it fly. I nailed 140 kg on my 14th rep over 120 kg's. which means my real max is probably 142.5-145 if I was fresher. Either way its a huge personal best and thats why we work so hard. Its all about making yourself the best you can be. Im excited for sliding. Ive prepared myself as best I can, now all I have to do is let it happen! P.S. Snow in Lake Placid today!

2009-09-27T18:04:00.000-07:00

This weekend was truly special. I flew out to Joe's with Duncan, Delphine and Cornelia Winter for the final wine hurrah of the summer. Before we took off on Saturday morning I attended my godson and nephews baptism. Hes so cute! Following the baptism I met Duncan at the Lake Clear airport where I waited patiently for his piper to drop down onto the runway from the clouds. I have never been in a small plane before and before I knew it I was in the copilot position. I actually flew for a good hour and half between the two days. As we shot down the runway in Lake Clear duncan surprised me by telling me to pull back on the yoke and before I knew it I had the plane in the air. As we gained altitude I looked down on the mountains I grew up in, it was a truly new, peaceful and exciting experience. It was as if I was being taken back to childhood, when a new experience fills you with so much wonder and excitement that you barely can contain yourself. I really seemed to forget about all my problems when I was behind the controls. It was liberating, peaceful and enlightening. I asked a couple hundred questions of Duncan about the controls and their purposes. I learned alot about flying and now I understand what the addiction is all about! I would love to own a small private plane in the future. AMAZING.

The legendary hospitality of Joe Gallo came through once again. Dinner was amazing, calamari with a plum sauce and filets over grilled portabella, roasted red peppers, seared sea scallops and a blue cheese and herb sauce. The wines were even more amazing. 1990 pichon longueville baron, 2004 Richebourg, and 1999 la Mouline to name a few. Between the Richebourg and the Mouline, I sat entranced in my wine glasses for the entire evening. These wines commanded respect and were truly rare experiences. I have never seen a wine change so much over the course of the night as the Richebourg did. The scents were so haunting, ethereal and primal. It was a beautiful experience. I scored the wine 98 pts. The Mouline was out of this world. I maintain that the LaLa wines made bu guigal in cote rotie are the greatest wines in the world. The Mouline was so graceful and elegant compared to the Landonne which I have had in the past and tends to be more brooding. One common thread between the two was the way the wines carry themselves. They are some of the most intensely flavored wines I have come across but they carry themselves with such amazing balance that they almost come off as weightless. They are truly special and I count myself lucky to have experienced the Mouline and Landonne. I scored the Mouline 99pts and scored the 1998 Landonne 100 pts when I had it last christmas. La Turque is the only one of the LaLa's I have yet to try.

Back at it tomorrow. Things are really gearing up and the season is upon us. I will keep you all posted in the weeks to come as sliding and team selection races continue.

4 weeks out

2009-09-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

Its amazing how fast the season comes along, we are two weeks away from sliding and 4 weeks from our first team selection races. The leaves have begun to change in lake placid. For me there is no better time of year. It is not only beautiful but represents a very exciting time for me as it is time to put all of the hours of hard summer training into effect on the ice. A week ago we had our second push camp in calgary and it went great. I pushed another personal best and solidified my start technique. My biggest gains this summer have come from flexibility, biomechanical work and a lot of work in sports medicine to really understand my body and what I need to get myself to be my best. A big thanks to peter toohey and jason hartman for all the help they gave me with my physical preparation. I'm currently waiting in jfk airport for my flight to albany.I went out west to visit a friend and clear my mind. I'm ready for this fall. The combie test is tomorrow (physical testing) ill report back w results!

GREAT week in Calgary

2009-08-15T18:46:00.000-07:00

What an amazing push camp in Calgary. It went exactly as planned. I am really excited to return in september. I pushed almost a tenth faster than I did last year. I executed my plan and had almost none of the typical problems I have had in the past. I feel like im on the edge of a whole new world. Thanks to everyone who has stood behind me. Now lets make this thing happen. Back to LP on Monday for 3 more week of training before returning to calgary.

first calgary push camp

2009-08-11T08:42:00.001-07:00

The fact that its time to go to Calgary for push camp is reminding me of one thing and one thing only. US Team Trials, one of our most important two week stretches of the year is rapidly approaching. So far the summer has gone almost exactly as planned. I have made big gains in my flexibility and biomechanical work already. Im hoping that the transition from pushing on the summer time push track in lake placid to the ice in Calgary goes very smoothly this week.

This weekend we had a great wine weekend hosted by my friend Duncan Winter. We had a wonderful wine cellar dinner on Friday night followed by a rhone tasting on Saturday night. It was really great to see a lot of my friends together over food and wine who had never met before. Wines power to bring people together is just another reason why I love it.

I am now in Calgary and getting ready for the first push session today. Ill report back and let everyone know how it goes!

LP Wine Weekend

2009-08-02T07:59:00.000-07:00

This upcoming weekend is the Lake Placid Wine Weekend for me and some of my good friends. We are kicking things off with a dinner at Lake Placid Lodge on Friday night and an educational Rhone tasting on saturday that I will be leading at my friend Duncan Winters house. Big thanks to Duncan for hosting the weekend!

On Sunday I will be leaving to Calgary for our first push camp. I am well prepared and exactly where I want to be with my training at this point in the year. Its so exciting knowing that we will be on ice in a little over two months!

I had a really nice Nebbiolo made my Jim Clendenen in California. I bought this wine when Scott and I were out there three years ago. It is the best Nebbiolo I have had outside of italy. Heres the TN.

2001 Clendenen Nebbiolo "Bricco Buon Natale" Bien Nacido

A much better effort than the 00, On point nebbiolo aromatics of orange spice, cherry, nutmeg, bright florals, tar and hints of meat. This wine shows on a hint of lushness that suggests CA, just slightly lower acid than what you would expect from italy nebbs, but its still mouth gushing med + acidity though. slightly over medium tannin. oranges cinnamon and cherry make up the flavor prodile. medium + length finish. Very nice. Best nebb I have had outside of italy. 91pts

2000 Clendenen Nebbiolo

Pomegranate in nature with some mushroom. A very moderate expression of tar red cherry and tannin. texturally very easy to drink, but has alot of holes. 84-85 for me, but right up to 89 with food. The food really filled the gaps and made this wine long, fruity and pleasant. 85pts

Training Update

2009-07-21T10:23:00.001-07:00

Summer is well underway here in the Adirondacks although you wouldn't know by the weather. So far training is going just as I would like it to. I am making alot of progress with my weak points, including flexibility and biomechanics. Work is going full tilt which is always a challenge as it is very physically demanding. Add 30 hrs of training to 30 hrs of work and you have a pretty exhausting week. For the next few weeks I will really be focusing on fine tuning my push on the Lake Placid push track before our August push camp in Calgary. The season is coming quickly and right now all im focused on is making the most out of every day, ensuring that I am properly prepared for the US team trials in the fall. Gotta run!

Summer Training

2009-06-09T16:44:00.000-07:00

Its been nice to be back home for a summer of training. Ive spent the last 3 years living in california during the summer months and that experience has heightened my Adirondack experience this spring. My eyes were constantly drawn to the light green vivid colors that took over the barren landscape this spring..every flower, every color grabbed my attention...The beauty and full blown emergence of life in the Adirondack spring stands in stark contrast the desert like conditions in San Diego.

So far training is going very well. I feel a bit more mature this year in terms of my training management. In years past I followed a cookie cutter approach that wasnt personalized enough for me, mostly my fault. Now I am taking the time to train to my weaknesses rather than my strengths and I am already seeing results.

I wanted to shoot off into some quick thoughts about wine. I currently have a bottle of wine called Clos Du Cardinale from Comte Peraldi open. This bottle was hand delivered to me in Lake Placid by my good friend Gregory St Genies, a French skeleton slider. Gregory and I share in vinous activity throughout the season. It is a nice break from our often one dimensional sport dominated lives. This wine comes from Corsica where his father currently lives. It is something that is close to Greg, a wine that he regaled me with tales of. Greg and I have a trip to France planned next year after the season, but it amazes me that I can experience something so local and revealing about where he is from in a bottle thousands of miles away. Wine that has been made with respect has this way of telling you "its" story, also the story of its people. During our season greg was toting around corsican charcuterie that we would enjoy during the evenings..it was intense, burnt in flavor, funky, wrapped in intestine and with very little work one can imagine the corsican landscape with one taste of these charcuteries. This wine is exactly that, a unique niche wine that reflects its sense of place so clearly that when one drinks it they know that it is one of a kind. As I drink it I can see the lifestyle of living in the burnt corsican landscape under the intense mediterranean sun. I can see gregs father Merry enjoying a sunset while sipping comte peraldi and enjoying corsican charcuterie alongside fresh seafood from the mediterranean. This bottle was just opened and it is slowly revealing itself...perhaps I opened it too young..im not sure as I dont know much about the sciacharello grape or this wine, but this bottle isnt about that, its about enjoying it in the moment and toasting to a good friend and his father who remind me that life is more than sport. The people who can be our fiercest competitors on the track, can be some of our best friends in life.

Tasting Note- 2006 Comte Peraldi Clos Du Cardinale

Light ruby color.
Unqiue aromatics of charcuterie, tar, orange, garrigue, roasted nuts, faint vanilla, pepper, red fruits, like no other wine I have smelled. In the mouth this is very silky and surprisingly intense with a very pure core of cherry fruit, dried orange, cinnamon, and minerality. Tangy acidity, but full throttle alcohol that is barely contained...seemingly remniscent of corsican culture. Extremely long finish...we are talking one minute plus here.
93pts CS

VinHomeTastings

2009-04-27T18:02:00.000-07:00

Check out www.vinhometastings.com and let me know if your interested in doing an event. They are fun, informative and the perfect addition to any party!

My trip to barolo

2009-03-24T10:20:00.000-07:00

Before I head off to Italy on Thursday I wanted to post something I wrote during my last trip to Barolo during January.

The day started with a little sleeping in only to wake up to a dreary rain. We headed off up the la morra hill swinging by annunziata to renatto ratti. They were not able to receive us so we continued up the hill to la morra where we parked and took in the limited view during the raging snow storm. We walked around la morra a bit and hit the enoteca where we sampled a dolcetto and barolo to get the palates warmed up for the day. The alleyways in these hilltop castle based towns are beautiful. You really can get a sense of the slower pace of life here. Alba is a busy place but when your in the communes you feel a million miles away. I had sent emails over the weekend to manzone, cavallotto and sandrone and as we walked around la morra I received confirmation from manzone and cavallotto for 1 and 3 o'clock appts respectively. We still had some time to burn so we scooted down the hill to barolo where we stopped by the castle that houses the enoteca. Unfortunately it was closed until the 31st, a common theme of our time here. We had snagged two pizzas to go the night before at this old italian couples joint and we brought them along for a cold lunch. We headed across into the serallunga valley for our first stop in monforte. The snow was absolutely dumping, something the wine makers had indicated hadn't happened with the type of regularity It had been in a long time. ( There was over 7 feet in sestriere where I was competing) we ducked inside a little coffee-bar slash enoteca on the side of the road to take refuge. The walls were lined with bottles of wine with a great cappucino bar set to the side on one wall. I ordered a glass of barolo for 4 euro while I parused the list, with a 5 dollar increase in price for drinking the wines there. Back dated vintages to 1990, strong producers across the board, and ohhh the prices.....mostly below us cost. I glanced up to the wall and saw a label that calls to me, luciano sandrone cannubi boschis....I looked to the list....1999-80 euro, 2000-80 euros, 2001-80 euros, 2003-80 euros.....could it be I asked myself, I quickly snapped to the 2004 section and my eyes got as wide as a building. The girls were watching me seeing me barely able to contain my excitement, both made funny comments about me being a kid in a candy shop. There it was sandrone cannubi 2004 80 euros, appx 95 to 100 bucks. This wine costs over 200 in the states, with high end estimates at 500 a bottle. I asked the owner how many he had. He brought out a 6 pack. I took 4 because that was all I could get home as I already travel with a couple hundred pounds of luggage. I snagged the wood box too. With my wine-gasming complete we headed back into the wintry mess to make our way to manzone.

I pulled into the manzone estate and waited for a few minutes as we were a bit early. Mauro manzone, giovannis 23 year old son who has been in oenology school since the age of 14 greeted us. It was nice to hang with him, his english was great and I could relate to his youthful passion and exuberance. I think annie and kimber liked it as well. There was no pressure on them, we were hanging with a family. Giovanni who speaks no english made us feel as welcome as he could while mauro prepared the room. Immediately they gave us photo albums showing the generations of family, including giovanni as a kid. They explained the difference in piemonte before 1980, how it wasn't always about wine and for that matter nebbiolo. Barbera and dolcetto were the major players before that. In translation giovanni explained how grateful he was for the change as it seemed to have transformed him from a very poor man to a wealthy man. The one thing I noticed was the dirt under his fingers, it made me smile on the inside. We got down to the wines with mauro starting us on the way with a dolcetto. It was a very basic rendition as almost all are with wonderful inner sweetness and purity. These are great for basic foods...you know, lunch time wines. Next we moved on to the barbera 2006 la serra. This is a single vineyard wine with a great pure core of sweetness, clean barbera acid and a little tannic structure to back it all up. Again a wine to drink at any moment of the day. The barolo showed well in a similar vein of purity and accesibility with the most interesting wine being one that is not imported anywhere. The langhe rosserto 2007 was a beautiful white wine made of an indigenous variety whose name escapes me. This was serious white wine with length structure and the ability to age.

Mauro took us downstairs through the blizzard to the new area of the winery that was under construction. It was beautiful. We shot down underground to the barrel room and their new callar carved into the ground. At one end was a cave filled with water a little surprise they found while digging. Now they have a cave wine cellar that's almost 120 feet long with a underground pond at one end, pretty cool! Manzone is using about 30 percent new oak in the barolos and more in some of the more basic wines. So these guys are tweeners, a little modern and a little traditional. Both manzones were adamant about expressing their terroir and making wines of purity and accessibility and place. Mauro also loved the aspect of small producers and their stories and indicated he hoped to go to napa to visit some small producers that I think reminded him of himself. At every step of the way mauro indicated the his care and attention to detail in his wines. He even let the girls label some wines as they were begining to bottle. As we left we purchased some wines for our next two weeks in austria and germany as the selection can be a little rough. I then tried the 2004 gramolere, a wine that had been opened for 10 days, not a sign of oxidation. Amazing, beautiful and complex...still. Mauro commented that with barolo the longer it stays open the more ageable they tend to be as a rough rule....something giuseppe cavallotto remarked on later. Giuseppe would later comment that there are barolos out there that are made to be amazing aromatically in the first half hour, after which they quickly fall apart. Something I have experienced with joe on some bottles of cascina luisin. He says they do this because of the critics...back to manzone....across the board these are fresh pure ripe wines and I think they are great wines to get people into barolo as they are accessible yet true to barolo and their place. We left with a gracie mille and I autographed my skeleton card, as did the girls which excited mauro. I left him my contact as he said he will be doing some traveling to new york soon. I told him I would welcome him if possible and if all else failed hopefully see him at the skurnik tasting in new york. Mauro is the new face of his family, 23 years old, fluent in english, educated in the modern wine world, including business. A stark contrast to his fathers poor begininngs. I'm sure giovanni is very proud of his well spoken son as he is a wonderful ambassador for the winery. This seems to be a theme in piemonte. Its about family and I prefer that to the corporate styled places.

Off to cavallotto heading down greasy piemonte swtichbacks toward castiglione falletto. We pulled into cavallotto 15 minutes late where giuseppe quickly escorted us inside. An older generation than mauro, giuseppe was a bit worn by work looking as if he had just came in from the vineyards. With his work sweater and winter tuque. Intensely humble and soft spoken he escorted us to the cellars to look at their barrels. All slovenian botti of different sizes...no new oak here. Cavallotto clings to the traditional style. I immediately engaged giuseppe asking him fairly intricate questions about vineyard locations and why they are where they are, why dolcetto is planted here and barbera there,indicating my love and passion for all wines In piemonte.We Talked about the botti and why he likes to use them and how he plans to integrate the new botti to maintain consistency in his wines.. I wanted giuseppe to know I share a love for his passion so that he did not hold anything back. Over the course of 3 hours we sat and talked. His unique perspective as one of the few remaining true traditionalists came through. I told him immediately about my deal on the sandrone which he recognized and said it was a great find. He also stated that this modernist made the best wine in barolo. As soon as he indicated he had room in his world for two kinds of barolo I explained to him that I love nebbiolo no matter the method as long as the wines were balanced. He indicated that many modern nebbiolos are great to drink in their early life but said he did not think they age well. he stated that the oak seems to fall away and the wines end up unbalanced if not drank early, something that aligns with my experience with these modernists. He acknowledged that when young these wines are great. I told giuseppe that I buy and enjoy both. The modernists I will drink young, as I am patient for the traditionalists in my cellar. As we talked more about traditional barolo, Giuseppe highlighted the importance of a lack of oxygen in the process of making nebbiolo due to the ease of oxidation with this variety and said that many of the 2000s are oxidized at this point. A unique thing about cavallotto is that all the grapes are on site so they rarely sit out for long. He noted that in hot vintages getting the nebbiolo in quick enough is a big challenge. Because of the thin skins any punctures or lag time to the cellar can start a fermentation, which is a big problem. Producing nebbiolo is a very oxygen free process which is not true of all wines in the world. He didn't seem to care for the hot vintages much. Over and over giuseppe said you need to know the producer you need to know the method...he hammered this point down as the only way to know what a bottle of barolo will do. He explained that the hottest vintage was 03, I told him I did not care for these as they are very hard, I did tell him that one of the only 03s I've liked is the monprivato from mascarello. I could literally see the monprivato vineyard from the tasting room, a unique surprise given that I had brought it up without knowing where it was. It lies next to cavallottos vignolo vineyard. Giuseppe began to explain to me that in the west side of barolo there is a lot of sand which creates a problem in hot vintages as it bakes the wines and forces their hand to harvest too soon. He continued, on the east side of barolo there is more clay in the soil, this helps cool with vines because it creates an ability to humidify the vines with the water it holds. Boschis is around 70 percent clay while vignolo is like monprivato with even more clay. He said it made sense that the 03 monprivato drank so well. He indicated that 00 was a warm vintage as well but not as warm as 03 and also included 01 in the warm camp. He said in the warm vintages you must know the producer. He gave 04 a pass and said everyone made good wine in 04 it was so consistent with a touch of rain before harvest which freshened the wines. He indicated 05 wasn't great but good and that the wines have good aromatics but he didn't seem to think the palates matched the nose. Early drinkers he said. I had never had the vignolo bottling before and boy did it show, it was a 2000 and my favorite out of the 04 boschis, 01 vigna san giuseppe that sat in front of me. It was great to see what the clay soil did in a hot vintage. He said the critics prefer boschis but he prefers vignolo. I agreed and I love boschis. During this process he brought out a plate of the best parmesean I've had, salt crunchies galore. He explained that you cannot buy this anywhere, you must go to the location, aged 5 years he said. It was heaven and paired the best with the young, concentrated and tannic 2004 boschis.

As giuseppe continued to explain traditional barolo he explained that the most important development in traditional barolo is what happens in the bottle. He called it a second evolution and quickly stated that it is very hard to tell or predict this evolution and that the critics don't seem to have a grip on it when it comes to the traditionalists. Over the course of the conversation he also indicated his frustration with critics tasting nebbiolo so fast and without enough attention although he seemed to accept it as he understood their hectic schedules and the sheer volume of wines they taste per day. Either way it wasn't a service to the wine. The greatest complement I received over the course of the conversation was when giusepe said I can see your passion for barolo, you are an expert and know more than many journalists who sit in your seat. I blushed, what a compliment. The conversation drifted on as it seems neither us nor giuseppe wanted to leave as if we were the negatives and positives of a magnet. The girls were transfixed with the wines each grappling with the haunting aromatics coming out of the 3 glass barolo comparison, each comparing tannin acid and aromatics, as I gave them something to think about with each passing minute. It almost seemed as if giuseppe and I continued in technical conversation while the girls were doing what joeg and I normally do, drift away in the moment of the wine. Kimber is new to wine but had asked me more questions in the last few weeks with me than most do, so she clearly has an interest in the technical aspects of wine. On the other hand my girlfriend annie has drank a lot of high quality wine with me over the years only to give me an occasional ooo this is good or I don't like it. I've never seen her get lost in a wine....until then....annie seemed almost giddy at the aromatics and tastes of her wines....she finally said I think I understand why you get the way you do about wine. I looked at her tasting notes, she had written to die for, this smells amazing, and smells beautiful. I'm not sure why but I think she has always viewed wine with a stigma. With the gentleness of mauro and giusepe and the amazing surroundings and clear passion of these two men I think she finally let her guard down and let the wine take her away. This was special for me, because she has had these wines before from my cellar...she didn't know it though until after. The only force strong enough to pull our experience apart was the hunger that was tugging at our stomachs. I signed an autograph card for giuseppe and gave him some pins to put along side his usa curling pins from when they visited. He was so excited. We indicated the wines we wanted to buy and he went to get them. On his return he sat back at the table. He made a comment that he would be the last generation, at least of the traditionalists. He said no one wants to do the work, all the younger kids want to do is go to the disco and drink beer. He almost indicated that the traditional method is dying and that something new is replacing it. It saddened us. As I tried to give him my credit card for the wine he refused to take it, stating the first time is free for you, I know you will appreciate them and that is what matters. As we got in the car he rushed to give us all a cavallotto corkscrew and a detailed map of castiglione falletto, its very hard to find these he said but they are the most detailed. We wisked off into the night all with a new perspective about wine and life.

Is Spring Coming?

2009-03-05T08:56:00.000-08:00

It sure doesn't feel like it here in Lake Placid, but boy am I ready for it. Its been a while since I posted here and its mostly because I haven't had the energy to do so this year. Its been a year of the unexpected, with many twists and turns. As I reflect back on this year it may have not only been my most difficult year but my most valuable year to date. I came into this year with my eye on one race, world championships in Lake Placid at the end of the year. My qualification for this race did not work out...I guess thats racing, sometimes it just doesn't work out like you plan. This last week during the world championships I spent my time coaching rather than competing, something that was difficult as well as cleansing for my mind. Giving back to other sliders is one of the few things that brings happiness amidst failure in the sliding world. I find it to be very enjoyable, even though it is incredibly difficult. I believe that through coaching others you can learn quite a bit yourself at the same time, in that sense I took some good things from last week. I will continue to maintain that coaching is far more difficult and taxing than being an athlete! I also got to spend some time with friends and enjoy some good wines, and anyone who knows me knows how much that means to me!

This year tested me in many ways, some races ( mostly in europe during the second half) I saw and got more out of myself as a slider than I have in a long time. I finally have full confidence in my start and have a strong handle on what it takes to be fast at the start. This was one of my biggest successes of the year. I got to the point of full confidence on many of my shaky european tracks which is also huge going into next year. This year I really had to push my focus to the bigger picture and to next year rather than the individual races in front of me. In essence I never walked away from one situation without taking something positive or learning something new from it.

Im still weighing how long I will slide for, but I am treating this olympic year like it is my last. Doing everything that makes me happy, training at 100 percent, and creating a situation where I can allow all that I have learned in my career to come out for a peak next year, this is my focus. I have also decided to stay in Lake Placid training for the summer, rather than San Diego. With Home Depot dropping their USOC sponsorship I have little reason to go to San Diego to work. I will stay home with friends and family and enjoy a spectacular Adirondack summer of friends and training.

I hope all is well with everyone.

Perfection In Wine That Isnt 100 PTS

2008-11-04T11:59:00.000-08:00

This will be my first wine post as I havent had much mental energy, or tasting time over the last month to post on wine, but last night I had a wine that I wanted to share with everyone as it reminded me of why I love wine.

There are certainly great varieties and locations in the world that produce mind boggling 100 wines, Hermitages, Bordeaux, Burgundy, the list goes on and on, but there are other wines that do not score 100 pts, they are as good as they can be in that they do not have any flaws. They may not be as lofty or awe inspiring as they great wines of the world, but they can bring just as much joy. I love wines like this because they are a)cheaper and b) have no discernable flaws. There is such joy in drinking them as they dont require you to see flaws in them. They are perfect in their element. You could have a great wine, lets say a classic 96 point priorat, but its missing 4 points because of lets say a little too much back end alcohol....Although its an amazing and technically scored higher than the flawless 90 pts wine it still has a flaw. I always love it when i get the flawless wines that are as good as they can be. These wines remind me of people, they are the average person doing their very best in life, they may not be a movie star, but they are flawless in their own right. While the 100 pt wine is the gold medal in the Olympics, the flawless 90 pt wine is a victory in a developmental race. There is joy to be had in both. There is joy to be had every day.

Here is the note on the wine that inspired me

2005 Giacamo Conterno Barbera D'Alba Cascina Francia

93 points: Medium Intensity Ruby color w a faint black cast and very little rim variation.

1 hour decant

The Nose is immediately remniscent of the fruit meeting the earth. What a primal and but majestic nose, free run cherry-rasp juice, tar, crushed purple flowers, a custard like sweetness in the background. I think of rich fertile soil when I smell this. Soft but fresh on palate with a pure blackberry compote that layers immediately to tertiary complexity of fall leaves, loam, faint hints of saddle leather and finally returning with a beautiful sweet but also tart cherry finish...the purity of the fruit is allowed to speak here and I'm so excited about that. This wine is all encompassing in the mouth, and oh so long, low + tannin, med + acid, med concentration, med - alcohol.....93pts

and I will add that this wine changed dramatically at the 3 hr point, gaining alot more depth and rusticity moving away from the femine aspects of the wine earlier into lots of smoke, tar, minerals and dark fruits on the nose and palate. Towards the end I almost got some northern rhone-hermitage "esque" elements in this wine

best barbera i have ever had.

http://archives.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20081026/news_1s26digest.html

2008-10-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

A little love from my adopted home of SD in the link above.

This week in park city we are going to be preparing for this weekends Americas Cup. now that the stress of selection races is over I will be stepping back, testing runners and working on things that will create success for me on the first half of world cup. I am absolutely exhausted right now though! Sunday we head back to Lake Placid for two weeks of preparatory training and runner testing.

My 5th Consecutive World Cup Team!

2008-10-25T09:21:00.000-07:00

As i sit here writing this im absolutely exhausted and thats only after 3 races out of 4. Luckily our selection policy for the world cup team drops one race, so if your first 3 races are great it is possible to have secured a world cup spot by the 3rd race if the rest of the field cannot catch your point total. This was the case for me yesterday as I secured my spot.

Although yesterdays race runs were by no means good, they were enough to land me into 3rd place. I had one large error on each run which hampered my final result, but I was happy with what I learned from the race. There is another race tonight which I will most likely race in, although it means nothing to the final result. I am excited to now refocus on the world cups starting in November and to work diligently at improving my start, which seems to finally be coming around not only in my times but in my understanding and execution of the biomechanics of the start.

This week has been great, we got a little lucky and got upgraded here at the Westgate resort at the Canyons in Park City, where we are staying and have had a great week. Lots of luxury and good food, something essential after being at the Lake Placid OTC for so long. For the next week I will be here in Park City racing in the America's Cup here, and then returning to Lake Placid after that for a few weeks of preparatory training for the first half of the world cup circuit in Europe. Im really looking forward to it!

A win on day 2

2008-10-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

Eric and I tied to the hundredth of a second today in race two. Ill write more later but here in the press release for now.

http://usocpressbox.org/

click on the link that says pikus pace smashes track record, dated 10.17.08

Team Trials Have Begun, Race 1- 2nd Place

2008-10-16T12:18:00.000-07:00

It has been an intense few weeks of preparation for team trials with a few minor hiccups in the overall plan due to a few minor injuries, some inclement weather that shut down the track and other normal distractions. Overall my plan for performing this fall worked out very well and I am satisfied with todays race 1 result of 2nd place here on my home track. The race was very tight. Eric Bernotas edged me out by a .10 of a second for the gold. He is a great teammate and a pleasure to compete against. My other teammates, Kyle Tress, Matt Antoine, Stokes Aitken and John Daly also contributed to a great day of racing as they all had very good runs which pushed me to do my best. The highlights of today were my very strong start times (although I still have more to give) and the way I executed my plan for the incliment weather that was thrown at us. It was well over 50 degrees and pouring rain. Thankfully Lake Placid is an entirely covered track. Although not everything was in alignment in regard to my equipment and the ice temp today, I did what I needed to do to get the job done. It was a very positive note to start the 2008-2009 season on. I made some major changes to my start technique in September and have been working diligently since then to make in my norm. It is finally falling into the right place at the right time. Im excited and will update you on Race 2 tomorrow. The weather will be cold and clear, the perfect weather for my style of sliding!

15M personal best

2008-09-23T08:51:00.000-07:00

Today I did some impromptu testing in my 15m sprint and had a personal best of 2.27s , .03 s faster than my previous best, 2.30s . This also happened after a very hard triple workout yesterday. Its a great time for me and is very encouraging that things are where they need to be!

A small injury and some very cold weather.

2008-09-18T16:05:00.000-07:00

So tonight the temperatures are supposed to drop into the 20's!!!! Good news for us, now we only need mother nature to cooperate for another month! I had a small injury, just a 2 day thing. I was doing my monday workout and although i didn't notice it at the time i put by back into a pretty good spasm, but as im sitting here writing this it seems to be getting better quickly. I didnt miss any workouts so its no big deal, but these times are good opportunities to learn about my body and how to fix it when these things happen.

On a side note I had some great pushes wednesday despite my pain. Im really focusing on finding a mental que that allows my biomechanics to happen naturally without thought, and I think i've found it. Im really excited to pound this into my head with repetition in the coming weeks before team trials.

Saturday night we are having a nice bbq and bonfire at my parents with some vino from my cellar. Ill probably get into some barolos, super tuscans and maybe some Chateauneufs. Its always fun to have the team down and get out of the training center and the mindset that goes along with it. These crisp Adirondack nights are perfect for it!

2008-09-10T13:48:00.000-07:00

Well im back in Lake Placid. My cross country journey with Annie was a success. Im finding every year that its really important to take your time. The damage that is done to the body when driving that distance in 3-4 days is too much. The first day I was back in the Lake Placid, the fall air set in, crisp, clean and biting with an unmistakable smell. I stopped in at the bobsled track and there are numerous improvements which will undoubtedly make the sliding facility even better. There is a new finish house for the timing systems along with new roofs over the start area. All of these improvements will help us have better and fairer races less affected by mother natures curve balls.

On a training note things are going very well. With the help of my teammate Jon Daly I have really started to make some progress with my start. The momentum from Calgary seems to be moving forward and should result in some great results this fall when I Peak for team trials. The season is coming so fast....We start to slide October 5th, potentially earlier....tick tock tick tock.

calgary push camp and xc drive

2008-09-02T15:02:00.000-07:00

Well here I am, in the midst of my biannual reminder of how big this country actually is. Annie and I are currently passing from nebraska into iowa, on our trip back to NY in preparation for the winter season. Every time I make this drive it blows me away how much open space there is in America.

Priceline is my new best friend, you can get 50 percent off on almost any hotel and it sure has been helpful on these long trips.

Last week we had our calgary push camp, where we practice our push starts in an indoor refrigerated facility. It was a great week and I took more than 50 starts over the 5 days. At first it was very difficult to make the adaptation to running on ice pushing a sled compared to the higher friction improvisational things I do during the summer. It was very clear to me that I am the fastest I have been in my life. I was within two one hundredths of my 2006 olympic year personal best even with being as uncomfortable as I was with the adjustment from the track to the ice.With Every push session I became more efficient in my starts and more comfortable on the ice, finally feeling good during my last push session. The uncomfortable transition to ice is something that happens every year and is exacerbated by the fact that the us does not have its own push track to utilize year round. If the usoc and usbsf want to do the one crucial thing to help the usa win more medals in bobsled and skeleton it needs to get an iced push track on us soil. Overall the camp was great and I am looking forward to solidifying my technique in the weeks that come.

I will arrive in lake placid on the 6th of sept and am looking forward to the fall air, the training, and seeing my family. This is the best part of the year for me.

2008-08-16T19:46:00.000-07:00

Check out this San Diego Union Tribune article I was interviewed for....

He painted a good picture of the training center right now, although we dont run with out sleds, we push them while they are on the ice....ahh ice sports in southern cali :)

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080816/news_1n16cvcenter.html

Why I compete

2008-08-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am, my first blog post.....what to write about? i was thinking my first post should be something that defines me, something that is at the core of who i am, and then it popped into my head, a discussion between my sports psychologist about why I compete.

Its a question that had an immediate albeit easy answer....the normal ...to do my best...to win medals..but he wanted me to go deeper. The answer was still simple but its power is what defines me as this view gives me not only a passion to commit to my sport and work for the grandest of stages, but to face any challenge of my life.

As im watching the Olympics tonight, Rhaj Bavsar, a US gymnast is telling his story. His story and his dilemma mirrors my answers to Jim's question. Here Rhaj stands at the Biejing olympics, unexpectedly, after he thought his career was over. In the years that preceded his unexpected appearance tonight in the Olympics he felt a lack of a true definition of self as his life moved away from sport. What Rhaj realized that fixed his dilemma was a personal view of himself, a realization that who he was as a top gymnastics athlete is something much bigger than his athletic "self". Once Rhaj saw his life as bigger than athletics he no longer struggled, and as he and his teammates put on an edgy and gutsy team qualification I cant help but think that his change of mindset is part of not only his success but his teams.

My answer to Jim's question mirror's Rhaj's revelation.

At the heart of the Olympic journey is the innate belief that our potential has yet to be fufilled. From this wellspring of belief in ourselves comes a lifelong journey of fulfilling that potential. it applies not only to the athletic realm, but to all aspects of our lives. It is what hooked me from my earliest years as a slider. It is defined by what is best in all human beings. Dreams, commitment, passion, dedication and triumph over adversity. The effects of these experiences leave is with something greater than out athletic pursuits, they help define who we are at our core. It is something we cary into every arena of our life, inspiring and uplifting along the way. This is the real expansive power of the Olympics. It is the collective power of the people that we inspire, to have the courage to embark on their own journey, seeking what is best within themselves and in their own ways emboldening others. We are all worthy to stand on the grandest of stages. This is the true power of the Olympics. This is why I compete.