For Those Foodie Friends of Ours
By Tom Luther
Foodie Editor
Wine & Spirits Magazine Poll names top 10 wine brands
And the winner is….Cakebread Cellars. The most popular wine brands in America’s restaurants were rated in the 17th annual Wine & Spirits Magazine poll. The next most popular are (2-10): Sonoma-Cutrer, Kendall-Jackson, Silver Oak, Jordon, Duckhorn, Stag’s Leap, Caymus, Santa Margherita, Rombauer.
The new entries to the top ten are Caymus, Duckhorn, and Rombauer, replacing Robert Mondavi, Franciscan Oakville Estate and Chateau Ste. Michelle. Cakebread was no. 2 last year behind Windsor’s Sonoma-Cutrer. This year the two wineries switched places.
Among varietals, Pinot Noir “officially entered the big leagues” with a jump from 10.2 percent of last year’s most popular wines to an unprecedented 14 percent, according to the report. Merlot dropped to 6.5 percent of wines ordered in restaurants, its lowest showing since 1991. This represents a lower share than Sauvignon Blanc at 6.9 percent. Chardonnay also declined to 16.2 percent from 24.8 percent only five years ago.
Red wines account for 61 percent of the most popular wines in this year’s poll, showing the growing trend of a maturing consumer marketplace. French wine is back, after several years of political incorrectness, rising 2 percent to a 16 percent share of the most popular wines in restaurants. Although 9 out of the top 10 brands are from California, U.S. wines’ share dropped 2 percent this year to 56 percent, down from 66 percent five years ago.
California’s oldest family-owned winery connection to 100th anniversary of SF Quake of 1906
The Bundschu family of Gundlach Bundschu Winery will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire by retracing the path of events that shaped the course of their family's business and lives. California's oldest family-owned winery, commemorates the100th anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco Quake on April 18th, 2006.
Founded in 1858, the thriving Gundlach Bundschu Wine Co. was headquartered in San Francisco, and enjoyed a reputation for producing high-quality wines from its Rhinefarm Vineyard in Sonoma. The 320-acre estate vineyard was christened Rhinefarm by Jacob Gundlach, who started the winery with son-in-law Charles Bundschu. This remarkable site at the base of the Mayacamas Mountain Range is located at the crossroads of the Sonoma Valley, Carneros and Napa Valley appellations.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake and subsequent fire that struck on April 18th, 1906 consumed nearly 1 million gallons of wine, offices, the warehouse as well as the family home on Telegraph Hill, one of San Francisco’s most fashionable neighborhoods. Charles Bundschu's firsthand account offers a rare glimpse of the disaster
The events of those four days were captured in devastating detail and eloquence in the letters of second-generation patriarch and poet Charles Bundschu upon reaching the safety of Sonoma five days later. Their livelihood destroyed, Gundlach Bundschu as they knew it was gone forever. Fortunately the family had Rhinefarm, where they made their home and harvested their 49th vintage just months after the disaster, something they have now done for 148 consecutive years.
The fifth, sixth and seventh generations of the Bundschu family will gather at 5:13 am to join the public ceremony at Lotta's Fountain, marking the exact time of the quake. Then the family will walk to key sites as they retrace the path of events and read from the historic family letters.
In one passage of his letters, Charles Bundschu explains that he had invited two friends staying at the Palace Hotel to dinner with the German Consul; a gathering that obviously never took place. In the evening, the family will honor that invitation 100 years late, hosting an intimate dinner at the Palace where the guest of honor will be the current German Consul General.
The Bundschu Family's story captured in this collection of letters is one of the few firsthand accounts of the earthquake still in existence today. "This is such an important part of my family's history, and also the history of San Francisco," says Jeff Bundschu, president and sixth-generation vintner of Gundlach Bundschu. "It was a pivotal moment for all of us. Much of who we are today, as a family, a business and a community, can be traced back to 5:13 that morning."
Another amazing story in the world of food and beverage. We are truly fortunate to be so inspired by our passions as foodies, aren’t we? Do you have an amazing story to tell? I am collecting foodie stories into an anthology. Please email me if you have an interesting story to tell.
Join the Wine Patrol – make a stand against high-priced wines in restaurants.
Here is another story with a connection to Gundlach Bundschu. The Wine Patrol, led by Lance Cutler, a former winemaker for Gundlach Bundschu Winery in Sonoma is rallying consumers to fight against high priced wine lists, in a low key kind of way. The Wine Patrol is a “revolutionary, clandestine organization” based in Sonoma.
The Patrol’s new WinePal program wants restaurants to use a portion of their wine lists to present excellent wines at value prices. “We’re not going to war on this,” Cutler says. “In fact, we want a negotiated peace. Most restaurants price their wines at 2.5 to 3 times what they pay for them. If a restaurant buys a bottle for $20, that bottle will be priced between $50 to $60 on its list. With the current system of distribution, the winery that produced that bottle of wine might receive $12 for it.
The Wine Patrol thinks every restaurant wine list should have at least one fine wine under $30 in every category, and at least 10 percent of the list should be under $30. The Wine Patrol is recruiting deputies to spread the word to restaurants. Deputies will have identification cards depicting the Wine Patrol logo and their status as deputies.
When dining at a fine restaurant with wine prices in the straosphere, deputies would leave a card that reads in part, “Unfortunately, the prices on your wine list makes us question whether we can afford to come back soon.”
To enlist as a deputy or for more information on the WinePal program, visit winepatrol.com. This issue will always be a controversy in the foodie world.
“Omnivore’s Dilemma” dinner, discussion/fundraiser for Slow Food
Foodies will have an opportunity to join best-selling author and former Harpers Magazine executive-editor, Michael Pollan for a Slow Food Wine Country dinner and discussion of his new book "Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals." The event will be held on Sunday, April 30th, from 5pm to 8pm at the Silverado Brewing Company, 3020 St. Helena Highway (Hwy #29) in St Helena, and will feature handcrafted beers, Napa Valley wines and a wonderful meal. The dinner discussion will focus on local vs. organic food procurement, the increasing challenges of industrial foods, and the important philosophical alternative of the Slow Food movement. All proceeds will benefit the Slow Food Terra Madre sustainable-agricultural conference in Turin, Italy in the fall, and to underwrite the travel for Mexican farmers and producers to Terra Madre. "The Omnivore's Dilemma" will be available for signing and purchase.
Advance ticket sales are required and the cost is $70 per person, including tip and tax. Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets. Call 1-800-838-3006 or visit (www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4151). There is $2.74 ticket processing fee. Questions can be addressed to Chris Carpenter at Christopher.Carpenter@lokoya.com
The good news about chocolate, coffee, salad dressing, nuts, beer and wine
Chocolate – it's sweet, creamy, decadent, loaded with calories, and oh so good for you? Experts have long known that dark chocolate contains heart-healthy substances, known as polyphenol flavonoids. Recent research shows that these substances directly help to improve the functioning of the endothelium, a layer of cells in arteries (including those in the heart) that prevents plaque buildup and protects against high blood pressure.
After 16 volunteers each munched a 3.5-oz bar of extra dark chocolate, ultrasound scans revealed better blood flow for the next 3 hours, a study from Athens Medical School found. Other research suggests that eating 3 oz of dark chocolate per day could lower blood pressure. Where do I sign up for this research?
Coffee – you've probably heard that you should switch from coffee to green tea in order to save your heart and prevent cancer. If you've always thought "yuck" when you heard such advice, you'll love this news. Research shows that coffee may contain healing antioxidants as well, preventing colon cancer, diabetes, and Parkinson's disease. An alkaloid in coffee may even prevent cavities!
Studies also show that drinking coffee helps reduce muscle soreness and improves stamina – (if you have high blood pressure, avoid coffee before exercise.) Finally, contrary to popular belief, coffee won't leave you parched--provided you don't overdo it. One study found that people who drink fewer than three 5-oz cups a day experience absolutely no diuretic effect.
Fatty Salad Dressing – feeling proud of your commitment to fat-free salad dressing? Reconsider. New research has found that none of the lycopene or alpha- or beta-carotene that fight cancer and heart disease is absorbed from salads with fat-free dressing. Only slightly more is absorbed with reduced-fat dressing; the most is absorbed with full-fat dressing.
Nuts, (one of my favorites) – are high in calories and fat, yet they contain a good, heart-healthy fat. More important, the form of vitamin E (gamma-tocopherol) found in nuts and plant seeds--but not in most supplements--may slow the growth of cancer cells.
In a study at Purdue University, researchers found that gamma-tocopherol inhibited human prostate and lung cancer cell division in the lab, while leaving healthy cells alone. It's too soon to say how much gamma-tocopherol humans need, but now there's one more reason to munch on walnuts and pecans.
Wine and Beer, another one of my favorites (in moderation) can actually be very good for your health. One alcoholic drink a day may cut your risk of heart attack, clot-caused strokes, diabetes, insulin resistance, and some types of dementia. One drink equals 5 oz of wine, 12 oz of beer, or 1 1⁄2 oz of an 80-proof spirit.
For best disease protection, choose either red wine or dark beer. Resveratrol, a compound found in the skins of red grapes (and consequently red wine), blocks a key protein that cancer cells need to survive; without it, they starve to death, University of Virginia researchers found. The scientists dosed human cancer cells with resveratrol at a level approximating the amount of the compound they'd be exposed to inside a human body.
Darker beer is richer in healthy plant chemicals called polyphenols; in some research, it stopped platelets--the building blocks of clots--from sticking together in the blood of all six dogs that drank it. Light-colored beer fed to six other dogs blocked clots in only two. University of Wisconsin Medical School scientists say it may be the polyphenols, not the alcohol, that account for beer's apparent ability to help reduce heart disease risk in dog's best friend.
For more information on the research that created this report visit Prevention.com. Foodies have healthy hearts as well as big hearts. No wonder we have so much fun.