Champagne for Dummies

Champagne for Dummies was my second wine book purchase. I’d just finished reading the Champagne section in Karen McNeil’s The Wine Bible and wanted to find out more on Champagne and sparkling wine in general. I ordered it in 2005 and still refer to it this day. Yes, it is 10 years old and could use an updating, but I still find it very useful. If you are at all interested in the premier region for sparkling wine, I recommend finding a copy (you can’t buy it direct from Amazon anymore) and adding it to your library.

The book is broken down into 8 parts, as we’ll discuss below. I recommend you read it front to back the first time, even if you are an experienced Champagne drinker. After that, it will be handy just for reference or if you are stuck in a Champagne rut and want to prompt yourself into trying something new. Granted, recommendations on vintage wines won’t really hold, but it is still fun to browse through and read Ed’s opinions on various producers’ offerings.

Part I: What is Champagne? A two chapter section that covers the basics, along with a chapter on the legendary monk, Dom Pérignon. You’ll find out more about myths surrounding the monk, along with a list of his contributions to Champagne. The same chapter also includes brief reviews of the various widows of Champagne, something the region has a notoriety for generating.

Part II: The Magic of Bubbles These two chapters cover the process behind making Champagne, along with the grapes and the various sub-regions of Champagne. I love the hand drawn maps, which remind me of Hugh MacLeod’s style. His stuff is A W E S O M E.

Part III: Styles of Champagne Three chapters describing all the different styles (what else?) of Champagne. I’ll bet a lot of folks don’t realize just how many different variants in Champagne / sparkling wine there really are. First, we’ve got the whole non-vintage thing (which is weird since they really are multi-vintage, but oh well) going on, but there are vintage wines as well. Those are the ones made in the best years, though you will find some houses make them in “off” years because they happened to have a good year. That or they needed some extra dough. Then we have the color parade: blanc de blancs (white from whites), blanc de noirs (white from black…the French refer to red grapes as black) which are really rare in Champagne, but more common in other sparkling wine regions, and rosé. Those all come in vintage and non-vintage. We also have the varying degrees of sweetness, with brut being the most common, but not the only one. There is (in order from driest to sweetest) Brut Zero, Extra Brut, Brut, Extra Dry, Sec, Demi-sec and Doux. I’ve never seen Doux in this country, but you can find all the others, with Sec being the hardest to find. Oh yeah, the degrees of sweetness cross borders, though its a lot more civil than border disputes in the geo-political world. On a final note, there are some single-vineyard Champagnes as well, but they are super expensive and rarely seen on retailer shelves.

Part IV: The Great Champagne Houses Ed runs through what are in his opinion the Top 25 houses producing wine in Champagne. Remember, this book was published in 1999 and like all things wine, one person’s opinion. A very informed opinion at that. This is the section I still like to refer to, just to see what Ed has to say and which are his favorites from each house.

Part V: Buying, Storing, and Serving Champagne Four chapters on the aforementioned topics, along with some food pairing suggestions and a final chapter on tips for touring the region.

Part VI: Other Sparkling Wines One chapter covers the domestics, another the rest of the world. You could make a whole book on the various parts of the world which make sparkling wine and the different grapes and styles they make. In my quest, I’ve discovered all sorts of places here in the good ol’ USA that are making sparkling wine. So far I’ve found them in 9 states, though I’m sure there are many others I’ve just not been able to uncover and may never taste thanks to all our wonky distribution laws. I’ve also discovered Brazil and Georgia (the country, though we do have one produced here in our state as well) make sparkling wines, two places I wasn’t aware of until last year.

Part VII: The part of Tens Two chapters where Ed answers the 10 most common questions regarding Champagne and exposes ten myths about Champagne.

Part VIII: Appendixes A list of commonly used descriptors, a directory of houses and notes on older Champagne vintages.

Overall, I’ve found this one of my more referred to books. I do have a new book that I’ll review later in the year which covers Champagne exclusively, but this book is still a must have for any sparkling wine fan. You’ll learn all the basics, be exposed to some things you might not know and will have a solid foundation for beginning or advancing your appreciation of Champagne and sparkling wines from around the world.

Have a great Thursday! (I’ve been sick with a terrible head cold this week, hence the lack of wine tasting notes)

Gary Vaynerchuk finally meets Atlanta Wine Guy!

Gary Vaynerchuk was in Atlanta last night, promoting himself and his book, Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion from 6PM to 8PM at the Cost Plus World Market on Piedmont Road in Buckhead. In case you missed it, here is my review from a few months ago.

I’m not sure of the crowd size that showed up, but my guess would be somewhere between 125 and 150 and again, I wasn’t really trying that hard to gauge crowd size. I got there earlier than expected and while I wasn’t first in line, I was in the first 5. While we were waiting, I got to talk to a few folks whom I’m sure I’ll stay in contact with or at least, I’d like to think we will. I met Ben Love (whom I must also thank for taking the photo), Jeff Herring, a nice lady who was with Jeff (so sorry I forgot your name…please email or Tweet me so I can update this!) and Eddie, the real estate / DJ who was first in line. Also in attendance were Taryn Pisaneschi, Joe and Ed.

Gary signed books for about an hour, so I waited patiently in line for the talk with Q&A that was to follow. I spoke with Ben about his love of gadgets (he had a Blackberry, iPhone, iPod Nano, Sony vidcam and a MacBook Pro on him), what he did and what he hoped to do. Smart guy. We also chit chatted about assorted other topics and I forget who asked, but someone wanted to know my opinion on the Top 10 Douchebags of Social Media. I’m not a hater, I’m a lover, so I just said I didn’t care for folks (and I don’t) who use Twitter to gather followers and do nothing but self-promotion. If you have software that follows me and then unfollows me if I don’t follow you back, you got my nomination for his list.

So, Gary signed the books and spoke at length about how humble and thankful he was for everyone turning out. He gave his remarks and then opened it up to the Question & Answer session, where folks asked about a wide variety of topics. I don’t have any audio or video of the event, so everything I’m about to write is summary and drawn from memory. If anyone reading this has something to amend, please email me and I’ll do so. I think my memory serves me accurately in terms of providing the flavor of Gary’s answers and if I don’t write about something, it means I probably don’t quite remember it well enough to justify writing it. These topics are in no particular order.

Up and coming wine regions

South Africa: With the attention coming to South Africa’s as host of the 2010 World Cup, Gary felt there would be some marketing done at retail and online emphasizing their wines. When I took WSET classes a few years ago, my teacher Ophelia Santos mentioned the same thing. She thought their investment in new technology and long history of wine making would bring them to the forefront, it would just take at least 10 years or so. Be on the lookout for Pinotage and Chenin Blanc. I of course am keeping an eye out on their sparkling wines and want to know, what will the winning team celebrate with?

Sparkling wine from Brazil: 25% of Brazil’s wine production is sparkling wine. I’ve had one and for $14.99, it was really good, with a very classic taste and no sign of sweetness whatsoever. Gary said you combine Brazil’s reputation as a party place, mix it with a product (sparkling wine) known as the celebratory beverage, mix in the 2016 Summer Olympic games and there is opportunity abounds. See, this guy knows his schtuff and is always looking forward.

Baja and Mexico: I don’t remember much else (I just updated this) beyond these areas.

College

If you are going to be a doctor or some sort of professional where you require training, go for it. If you want to be an entrepreneur or in business, you may want to look elsewhere. He mentioned sitting in on some social media courses at really big time name schools and said the academics don’t live it, so how can they possibly understand it, let alone teach it? He also made note of the fact a lot of IT students were going for a semester or two and then dropping out, hooking up with local tech companies / start-ups to get their careers started. Internships were a more positive experience in his eyes, since you could go to work somewhere for free (versus paying to attend college) and in 90 days learn a lot more than you could at college. Again, if you want to crack open chests, be an engineer or architect, college is an awesome choice, but otherwise Gary wasn’t too keen on it. I think he was intimating college could be an industry that collapses under its own weight and become replaced by other more compact, intense forms of education that cost a lot less.

Hunger

I don’t think this was really a particular topic, but someone asked what Gary’s advice would be for someone starting with zero, versus a million dollar business that you grow into a multi-million dollar business. (Assumed reference to the fact Gary took over a brick & mortar store that was started by his father). Gary said you have to be hungry and not in it for the money. If you have to work a job to pay bills, work a lower paying one with less demands, allowing you to spend more time on building your brand / business. Eat Ramen noodles. Live with your parents. Don’t buy everything you want or think you need, only stick to the basics. Have roommates to split the bills with. Be satisfied with less in the short run so that you can have everything you want in the long. That was the general jist of the answer as I perceived it. Gary doesn’t say it will be easy or fast and that most folks won’t become millionaires or the next Oprah, but that you can make a good or better than you have now living and be a lot happier doing it. He is out to buy the New York Jets, so he has an end goal that will require a lot of money, but you shouldn’t focus on the money (unless you too wish to buy a professional sports team).

Three tiered alcohol distribution system

I asked the question if there was anything that would topple the system. Gary said no, we are stuck with it. He actually said the system of 3 tiers (winery -> distributor -> retailer -> consumer) was a primary reason he was even doing what he was doing. Without it, he may very well have stayed in wine retail. He said it was a form of communism and that all the talent was being driven out because of the stifling of competition. Talent doesn’t like to be stifled, so it leaves. He said once Amazon decided to bow out, he felt there was no chance of the the system ever changing.

World’s smartest entrepreneur

Gary said he felt Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, was probably the smartest businessman / entrepreneur in the world, even more so than Steve Jobs of Apple. He though their purchase of Zappos.com was brilliant and proved that lowest price doesn’t always win. Customers do value service and are willing to pay for it more often than they aren’t.

Books

Someone asked Gary about his experiences on the book signing tour and if they’d met any good authors. He said he doesn’t really read and he has only read like 3 books in his entire life. One was about Joe Namath and I forget the other two he mentioned. As for most memorable book signing experience, he mentioned being asked to sign a girl’s boobs and meeting a baseball player (I don’t recall the name) whom Gary had on his fantasy baseball team for 2 years were amongst the more memorable experiences. He also mentioned that at one signing, there were only 7 or so people in attendance, so he really got to sit down and know them and that that too was a really cool experience.

Miscellaneous

Here are some other snippets that I remember:

• He recommended the Riondo Prosecco when someone wanted to know what wine we should buy at Cost Plus.
• He called Ben’s wife to make apologies for Ben being out and not at home. She didn’t answer, so Gary left a voicemail while Ben was taping. It was pretty funny actually.
• He only cursed a couple of times, which is really rare. There was a little kid in the audience and Gary was trying his hardest to be respectful. I think he said shit maybe 2 or 3 times, so really quite mild compared to what you usually hear.
• He shook hands and took photos with everyone. He asked everyone how they were doing. If he isn’t the real deal and genuine, then go ahead and give him a star on the Hollywood walk of fame for the world’s greatest acting job.
• He plans on going right up to 999 episodes of Wine Library and then calling it quits, always leaving the unicorn of the 1000th episode to be chased. That or he’ll quit the same day as Oprah.
• He was drinking root beer and coffee. Didn’t he mention somewhere about doing a book on root beer or doing  a new root beer a day for all of 2010?
• You can “Google that”. A phrase he repeated when it came to learning things. He didn’t want folks to be intimidated or get caught up in the basics, saying you can Google just about anything and learn it pretty quick from someone else who is more than happy to teach you or has already put up all the content you’ll need.

Well, that about wraps it up. I’m sure there is a lot I am missing, but hey, I covered what I could. I can always do updates or rely on folks who attended to amend via comments.

Check out my friend Ed’s post on the book signing. He’s got video too!

Tim Goleman, whom I’m not familiar with, also posted about the event.

Ben Love posted video of the event.

Hope you have an awesome day and if you like what I’m doing, you know that I please ask to pass it along to your friends. The tool just below this makes it real easy to do so.

Haiku
Gary V thunder
Atlanta crowd embraces
Resolute we are

If you are passionate about anything, get this book.

If you know someone who is passionate about something (to the point of being annoying), buy them this book.

For those who’ve never heard of Gary Vaynerchuk, words can do no justice. You can view lots of videos of him, some of them reviewing wine, some of them talking about social media and personal branding. I urge you to check out his first video wine blog and then compare it to his latest videos. Just be warned, his later videos, especially when talking about personal branding and social media, are how shall we say this, often peppered with colorful language. I lived in NY for six years, so a few f-bombs don’t get to me, but some may find him offensive. Don’t let that deter you from listening to the core of his message.

Of Gary’s many charms, his most valuable and appealing is his transparency and honesty. He has blasted well known and well-rated wines that he sells, along with introducing people to new wines, including lesser known regions and varietals. His biggest thing is “trust your own palate”, of which there are no truer words spoke in wine critic circles. Granted, I love it when people tell me they love a wine that I recommend or drool over, but it doesn’t bother me when people say they didn’t care for it either. Wine is personal. End of story. If you find someone, a critic, a blogger, a friend, with whom your palate aligns, great! If you always agree with them, then I’d say that is a bit weird. Even my mentor, whose palate I aligned with quite well, wasn’t 100% the same as me in terms of wine likes. The world in general just doesn’t work this way.

So, Gary’s book Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion is a whirlwind account of his business background and philosophy. Some could say Gary is part personal cheerleader ala Anthony Robbins. I wouldn’t argue with that. If you aren’t pumped up by watching Gary, that is fine. Some might find his use of foul language offensive. So be it. I wouldn’t be surprised if some people warned you to “not drink the kool-aid” when it comes to Gary. Hell, I said the same thing regarding others, believing they had nothing new to offer and were merely another case of The Emperor’s New Clothes and were just trying to part folks from their hard earned dollars. To me, Gary is different because he has built one business and used it to launch several others. He’s not blowing smoke up your @$$, he’s been in the trenches. Actually, he’s the one digging them.

We all have our own personal take on authors, celebrities or anyone in the public eye. Me, I like Gary. Reading this book was definitely a call to distinguish myself and follow my passion for sparkling wines. What will happen with this is quest / project is still to be seen, but if nothing else, I will definitely learn something from it and that is never a bad thing.

The book is relatively short at 141 1/2 pages, including what I imagine to be the world’s shortest chapter, though I’m not sure about that. What it lacks in length it makes up for in intensity and what is the old adage, quality not quantity. You will get a brief history of Gary’s early business days as a budding baseball card selling entrepreneur, then a blueprint for how you can use social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr to create a personal brand / business and how to #crush it. He scatters examples and ideas throughout the book, such that there is no idea or business that can’t benefit more than the cost of the book. If you want a summary, get thyself to the bookstore and turn to pages 135-137, which is a checklist we can all use. Then, buy the book.

Will this book save or build your business? No, but it won’t hurt any business owner / manager to read it. There are more than enough gems to justify the purchase price of less than $12 (at least, that is the online price). You should also consider this hybrid version, which blends 17 video shorts and the book in an online version with links to resources. A great alternative for the person who doesn’t like books and prefers to read everything on their computer. I see all books going this route some day, both fiction and non-fiction. Don’t doubt that eBook readers like the Kindle, Nook and something from Apple (I can’t see them sitting out on this one) will someday incorporate the videos into the reading, blending video, text and hyperlinks into a new segment of entertainment.

Will this book make you a million dollars? No, but it could get you started on the path towards building a brand / business where you can make a living at something you love versus something you hate. Maybe you’ll make more money. Maybe you’ll make less, but save the difference on fewer doctor, therapy and prescription bills since your stress levels may / should subside. The success is up to you. Remember, you can’t steal second base without taking your foot off of first.

Gary is honest and tells you like it is, you aren’t going to become rich overnight. It takes hard work. Tons of it. And when you are tired and can’t do anymore, you can pick up this book or watch a video of his and get re-energized. I know that is what I do.

Gary is not a/ my / your savior, but he has something to say and you should pay attention because he’s living the dream and helping others to do the same. Yes, I know he’s out to make a buck and buying this book enriches his pockets, but who isn’t trying to line their own pockets with some cha-ching? I feel Gary is genuine and is doing what he loves and I’m ready for the next book, which I hope will be more about personal branding and not just Crushing It, but how to plant the seeds and spread the passion. Gary V is the Johnny Appleseed of Personal Branding. I’ve no idea where to put that thought, so here is as good a place as any.

Thanks Gary. I appreciate what you are doing and not just what you did for me personally by publishing this book, but for every entrepreneur / business owner / human being who reads your book and starts to get it and say, thank you.

If believing in Gary is drinking the Kool-Aid, can I have a refill?

Actually, make mine a double.

I am not trained as a sommelier, having gone the W.S.E.T. route for my wine education.While our training did include some information on wine and food pairing, it wasn’t as comprehensive as that sommeliers go through. In retail, a very common question is food pairing and wine or beverage, since there are certain foods that just go better with something else. This book came out just as I was beginning my retail career and it was the most referenced resource I had and still have. While I always went with my own gut and training, there were times I’d either check myself or was hit with a pairing challenge where I wanted some assistance.

“The flavor of a food almost always reveals the quality of a wine and exalts it. In turn, the quality of a wine complements the pleasure of a food and spiritualizes it.”

- Luigi “Gino” Veronelli, wine critic (1926 – 2004)

For anyone who is a food or wine lover, I cannot recommend this book enough. It is beautiful to look through, with a nice collection of photographs that serve to break up the text. It is extremely well designed as a reference guide, with one chapter organized by food type, the next by beverage. The typography also works as a very simple key, with four different levels of recommendation, based on the opinions of assorted sommeliers and beverage experts. Those with bolded capital letters and an asterisk are holy grail combinations, considered classic and almost always a sure fire hit. Think chèvre and Sancerre or Cabernet Sauvignon (especially right-bank Bordeaux) and roasted lamb.

Before you get to the meat of the book, you really should read all the great information before that, broken up into 4 easy to read and highly informative chapters. Chapter 1 is entitled 1+1 = 3, which gives a brief introduction in the beauty and wonder of food and wine / beverage pairing. It references the concept of how the whole can become greater than the sum of the parts, evoking the mystical aligning of the stars when you have those combinations where everything just clicks and tastes ethereal. The next 3 chapters will further your education, providing you with a great set of points to keep in mind when deciding what your going to drink. Always keep in mind, to drink what you like is the most overriding of principles, but be open to trying new things.

The heart and soul of the book are in chapters 5 & 6, organized as I mentioned above, one where you look up the food first, the other where you look up the beverage. The food section is really quite comprehensive and has some endearing quirky selections, including my favorite, White Castle hamburgers. You’ll also find entries like “When In Doubt” or even the esoteric “Bagna Cauda”, which is Italian garlic aïoli with vegetables. Basically, it is more comprehensive and will give you plenty of ideas.

The search by beverage chapter is just as comprehensive, starting with a quick section on styles (e.g. fruity, high-tannin, light-bodied) and then by names. While the book focuses on wine, there are sections on tea, beer, sake and assorted spirits. I’m sure someone will or should do a book with more focus on beer, as the quality and quantity of artisinal breweries has exploded in recent years, with no signs of slowing down. You’ll find wines listed by varietal and region, with a brief description that expands your knowledge if something is unfamiliar.

Sprinkled throughout both sections you’ll find assorted quotes from the various people whose opinions make up the “answers” to the book’s title. You should definitely read through all these, as they provide extra little insights. You’ll also find a section entitled AVOID in certain areas, such as seafood and tomatoes under Oktoberfest beer. This can be just as useful as the recommended wines.

The concluding chapters cover some more fun stuff, including pairing menus from some top American restaurants and then a Best on the Best, where some of the beverage experts provide their list of dessert island wines. I think of it as the Mr. Roarke wish list.

In conclusion, this is a must own book for every wine lover and should be at every retail store, since it provides a great study guide and is just plain fun to read. It serves to remind or prompt you to try some new things, look at alternative selections and expand your taste portfolio. You never know, you may discover your own holy grail.

P.S. You can use the wheel of recommended products located to your left and scroll to the link which will take you to Amazon if you should decide to purchase this for yourself or that hard to buy for wine geek in your life.