July 2009

This is the summer that reflects the changes in our national habits. We are consuming less gas and drinking more beer. We are texting more and visiting less. We are staying put. We are not going on that dream vacation. Instead, we are enjoying staycations, those fun filled events in your own backyard around a leaky garden hose and a smoky grill. Others might splurge and drive over to the municipal pool for a $5 frozen Snickers and a communal dip in the yellowy waters with the neighbors’ kids. Not even the rich are traveling but to maintain the landscaping in their scattered summer homes.
Last century opulence is a fond memory, it’s OK now to enjoy life without the Black Amex, but the new chic is to do so without any penalty to pleasure or palate. Sancerre is the wine to buy if you are still using your black Amex. Reiully from Henri Beurdin is the wine to buy if you are using cash. Not so much cash, either, compared to Sancerre. Reiully is Loire Valley wine; that means it’s a summer wine. Henri Beurdin’s Reiully is a complex flavor wheel of muted summer fruits; peaches, green melon, ripe apricot and a respite of citrus flavored acids. In London, ‘26 American’ will buy a bottle of Henri’s Reiully. In Cleveland, we have made it possible for our retailers to both stay in business and sell Reiully for $16.99. Finally, Reiully has its day in the sun, after being overshadowed by its high zoot neighbor Sancerre for decades.
The folks in London refer to bragging as “washing one’s own clean linen in public.” I am here to air some dirty laundry. For most wine fans, finding a new Cotes-du-Rhone is news indeed. Especially when they find a ten dollar cotes-du-rhone with some character, some spice, some naughtiness, and some nice. La Vieux Lavoir has all that and the $9.99 price and yes it does translate “dirty laundry”. In the wine world I hear people saying things about wine that don’t exist but sound like they might. Pepper, wet dog, and varnish are but a few, but darn if that myth of pepper and wet dog isn’t hinted at in La Vieux Lavoir. Pepper is a standard toss off description of Cotes-du-Rhone that is so ubiquitous it has lost its meaning. This one has it. Wet dog of course is a flaw, unless it is your wet dog that has had all its shots, but in this Cotes-du-Rhone it is subtle, attractive, and mixes well with the lavender and blackberry flavors so prevalent in a good Rhone wine. La Vieux Lavoir is a must have everyday quaff. It isn’t seasonal. It is a universal go to wine that blends with most foods and all occasions.
The Rhone Valley produces wines that aren’t so serious too. Fizz is a clear ruby colored sparkler from the Rhone Valley that is made from the same venerable grapes of Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Cote-Rotie. Not too sweet, not too dry, Fizz is the Goldilocks choice of bubbly for summer fun, a $14.99 sparkler for the 4th of July.
As importers, we are tempted to import only the finest wines from Europe. There is a collective groan (we know who we are) whenever a market wine, a gadget wine, or a value wine comes in, no matter how well chosen it may be. But wine is something that is bought with trust, and when you look at the round intertwines of the globe and the grape orbited by the words European Wine Imports Inc., you know you are getting the best value. Our logo is our bond of quality, a value that can’t be bought with mere money.