Qorkz Book Club - Godforsaken Grapes

Godforsaken Grapes by Jason Wilson, Harry N. Abrams, publisher, April 24, 2018.

Having been in the wine blogging biz (for lack of a better term) for about a decade, I was aware of the rant by Robert Parker that was the underlying event that led to this book. In the chummy confines of wine bloggery it was met as an assault. Mr. Parker had managed to make an attack on natural wine (wines that are produced with no interference from the producer such as sulfites, yeast innoculations or filtering), low alcohol wine and then those wines produced from what he referred to as “godforsaken grapes”.

What is a “godforsaken grape”? Think about it this way, most American wine drinkers have only tasted about 20 or so varietals, most of those related to French noble grapes. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc. The reality is that there are over 1,300 wine grape varieties world wide. In Parkers world, anything he doesn’t think matters doesn’t. And worse? Shouldn’t.

This book looks at some of those grapes in places off the beaten path and the efforts being made to keep them alive. Ultimately, this story is for wine geeks who love the stories about discovery of this weird fruit, the geography of where to find them and why they are so diverse and the incredibly varied vocabulary needed to keep up with it all.

I will admit that I binged this book in two sessions while driving to see my daughter for a belated birthday/Superbowl get together. It is an easy listen, particularly if you have an adventurous palate that has tried more than 20 wine varietals. I think I have tasted about 250 at this point.

As for Parker’s assertion:

"...they would have you believe some godforsaken grapes that, in hundreds and hundreds of years of viticulture, wine consumption, etc., have never gotten traction because they are rarely of interest (such as Trousseau, Savagnin, Grand Noir, Negrette, Lignan Blanc, Peloursin, Auban, Calet, Fongoneu and Blaufrankisch) can produce wines (in truth, rarely palatable unless lost in a larger blend) that consumers should be beating a path to buy and drink.

Are these grapes terrible? NO. In some cases they have been isolated, are ancient or picky. Sometimes they have been crowded out of the market place by the grapes of more powerful people (I’m looking at you Eleanor of Aquitaine!) Or crushed by disease such as phylloxera. They are becoming increasingly rare in a world that is eager to make fortunes in the wine industry by kowtowing to critics like Parker and for consumers who have decided that Cabernet Sauvignon is the only thing worth drinking.

Do I like a big Cab? Sure. All the time? Not so much. Nothing makes me sadder than seeing a Greek Chardonnay, a grape that Socrates would never have tasted because that grape just didn’t come from there. I like to consider a connection to Homer’s “Wine dark sea,” when I drink Greek wine because it is history, climate, location, agriculture and viticulture in a bottle.

Here’s the thing. Drink what you like. Ultimately, if the Greek Chardonnay makes you happy? Στην υγειά σας! Enjoy it and I will keep my opinions (largely) to myself. But in return, let me enjoy the history and geography that comes with my godforsaken grapes. I might even share.

February 6th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Massachusetts ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1788.  It is home to the Southeast New England and Martha’s Vineyard viticultural areas.

• Isabella Beeton, author of Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management died in 1865.  Her book included all elements of household management including, the manufacture or wine, beer, cordials and cocktails.

• The Malvasia di Cagliari DOC was created in 1979

• Feast day of St. Amandus, patron saint of beer brewers, innkeepers, vintners, merchants and the Boy Scouts.

February 5th -This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• In 1206 King John orders Ralph the Miller to let Richard de Redvers have two tuns of wine that the king had bought.

• In 1680, the Town of Irvine payed 8 Pounds 3 shilling 8d for “8 pints of claret wine two ounces of tobacco and eight pypes” to honor Granaries sons burial day.

• Wine in the Word: An inquiry concerning the wine Christ made, the wine of the supper,etc. was an address given by Abraham Coles before the Woman's Christian temperance union of Plainfield, N. J., 

• The silent film, Liebfraumilch was released in 1929.  It starred Livio Pavanelli and Henny Porten.

• The French have a saying, « À sainte Agathe va à ta vigne, si ce n'est pour y travailler, au moins pour y déjeuner. » which translates (loosely to "To St. Agatha go to your vineyard, if not to work there, at least to have lunch there.”

February 4th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Samuel Pepys reports going to the Nag’s Head Tavern with several old acquaintances and drank a bottle of sack (Sherry) with them in 1664.  The term “sack” comes from the Spanish “saca” which means extraction from a Solera.

• Carl Michael Bellman, a Swedish composer, musician, poet, and songwriter was born in 1740.  He is best known for Freedman’s songs and Freedman’s epistles which included themes of pleasure, drunkenness and sex.

• The Alsace - Klevener of Heiligenstein AOC was created in 1997 Rose of Savignin is a permitted grape for this region.

• It is the feast day of St. John de Britto, a Portuguese Jesuit missionary to India who evangelized by adopting the dress and diet of the the people by abstaining from all  meat products and wine. 

February 3rd - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• In 1468 Johannes Gutenberg died. He invented the method of printing from moveable type. One of the important innovations in his method was a new press, similar to the screw presses used in winemaking.

• Samuel Pepys reports in his diary that he went out with this cousin Roger to Priors, a Rhenish wine-house and had a “pint or two of wine and a dish of anchovies in1660.

• Woodrow Wilson died in 1924.  He was President at the beginning of Prohibition, which restricted the SALE of alcohol but not the consumption.  At the end of his term as president, Wilson had his wine collection moved to his new residence.

• The father of Washington State wines, Dr. Walter J. Clore died this day in 2003.

February 2nd - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• "Wein, Weib und Gesang" ("Wine, Women and Song"), Op.333 by Johann Strauss II was performed for the first time in 1869.

• Teinturier Mâle grapes that had been grown from the J.T. Doyle, Experimental Plot in Cupertino were checked for the last time in 1891.  The wine was bright, with good color, no bouquet, slight acetic smell, and of fair quality.”  (It was reared with electricity in April and had deteriorated since then.)

• Tom Smothers of the Smothers Brothers was born in 1937.  He owns Remick Ridge Vineyards in Sonoma.

• Spain's Méntrida DO and Ribeiro DO was created in 1976.

• New Mexico's Middle Rio Grande Valley AVA was published in the Code of Federal Regulations  in 1988.

February 1st - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

•  "He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored" The Battle Hymn of the Republic is first published in 1862.

• In 1888, New York City Excise Board Commissioner revoked licenses for individuals with licenses to sell beer, ale and wine for selling “spirituous liquors”.

• The California Agricultural Experiment Station reports that the wine from Ploussard grapes from J.T. Doyle’s experimental plot in Cupertino was checked.  The lees were found to contain much lactic ferment in 1890.

• It is the feast day of Saint Tryphon. He was from Campsada in Phrygia (Turkey) and is the Eastern Orthodox patron saint of gardeners and winegrowers. His head is located in the Cathedral of St. Tryphon in Kotor, Montenegro.

January 31st - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• The Boston Gazette in 1737 advertised that James Bowdoin had the richest good Canary wines for sale at 8 Shillings per gallon.

• Celebrating the conclusion of the American Revolution in 1778, William Ross, an Innkeeper in Lancaster, PA, hosted a party for 100, including General Mifflin, which included a cold collation, wine, punch and sweet cakes. The party lasted until 4 am on February 1st.

• The Economist reported that the UK imported 1,338,535 gallons of wine in the month ending January 31, 1875.

• Theodor Heuss, the first President of West Germany was born in Brackenheim in 1884.  Brackenheim is a the largest wine growing community in Baden-Württemberg.

• St. John Bosco died in 1888.  During his youth he worked at the vineyard of Louis Moglia to earn month for his education.

January 30th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• A Parisian Ordonnance of 1330, forbade the mixing of two wines together; no wine-seller was to give a false name to a wine, or to give a wrong description of its age ; the penalty was confiscation of the wine and a fine.

• Georg Friedrich Margrave von Baden-Durlach was born in 1573.  He founded an exchange bank in Upper Baden which was supposed to organize the wine and grain trade.

• Peter II of Russia died in 1730.  One of his early governesses was the wife of a Dutch vintner.

• Salvador Dalí married Elena Ivanovna Diakonova, better known as Gala in 1934. He later created a wine book, The Wines of Gala, as well as a cookbook, The Dinners of Gala in her honor.

January 29th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin a Swiss American politician and diplomat and a member of Thomas Jefferson’s cabinet.  He was also owner of Friendship Hill in Western Pennsylvania where Gallatin operated a glassworks, gun factory, sawmilll, gristmilll, winery, distillery and boat yard.

• California's San Lucas AVA was designated in 1987.

• New Mexico's Middle Rio Grande Valley AVA was designated in 1988.

• Spain's Binissalem-Mallorca DO was created in 1991.

January 28th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Charles VI of France almost dies during the Bal des Ardents in 1393.  During the celebration the King and five other nobles performed a charivari dance dressed as wild animals.  They were set ablaze accidentally by the King’s brother, the Duke of Orleans.  The only other noble to survive (besides the King) jumped into a vat of wine to save himself.

• Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, known most often as just Colette was born in 1873.  Many of her books describe food and wine including Gigi and the Claudine stories.

• English writer and critic, George Saintsbury, author of Notes on a Cellar-Book died in 1933.

• The Rossese di Dolceacqua DOC was created in 1972.

• California's Napa Valley AVA was designated in 1981.

• The French have a saying, « Si on ne l'a pas fait pour sainte Geneviève, c'est à la saint Charlemagne qu'on met la vigne à sève. » which translates (loosely) to "If it has not been done for Saint Genevieve, it is to Saint Charlemagne that the vineyard is put to the sap.”

January 27th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Dante Alighieri is exiled from Florence.  In exile he wrote his masterpiece, The Divine Comedy.  In his vision of hell, gluttons and drunkards are fed to Cerebus in the third level.

• Shah Abbas I of Persia was born in 1571.  There are paintings of the Shah being handed wine to drink despite Islams prohibitions against it.

• In 1659, Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town, produced the first known wine in South Africa.

• California's Stags Leap District AVA was designated in 1989.

January 25th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Francis I of France was crowned in 1515.  He undertook many construction projections, including the Chateau at Fontainebleau which included a fountain that  sprayed watered wine.

• The State of Maine in 1871 revised their weights and measures to include a bushel, half bushel, peck, half peck, ale quart, wine gallon, wine half gallon, wine quart, wine pint, wine half pint, and wine gill.

• Maria Louise Ramé died in 1908.  The grand-daughter or a wine merchant, she was an English novelist better known as Ouida.

• French Football star, David Ginola was born in 1967.  He is in partnership with the Coste Brulade co-op at Puget-Ville in the Côtes de Provence in the Coste Brulade winery.

• “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” by Marvin Gaye was the number one song in 1969.

January 24th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Pope Stephen IV died in 817.  Under Stephen, the Frankish clergy was reformed requiring men and women be housed in separated convents, which were to hold community property jointly.  He also regulated how much food and wine they could consume.

• Peter IV of Aragon was crowned King of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca and County of Barcelona in 1336. He once had a friendly dispute with his Jewish physician about why Jewish people were not allowed to drink kosher wine touched by a Christian.  The Doctor had water brought to wash the king’s feet which he then drank to prove that impurity was not the reason for the prohibition.

• Spain's Tierra del Vino de Zamora DO was created in 2008.

• It is the feast day of St. Cadoc.  At his baptism a holy well that flowed milk and wine appeared. He is the patron saint of Glamorgan; Llancarfan; famine victims; deafness; and glandular disorders.

January 23rd - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Mary Randolph, author of the cookbook, The Virginia House-Wife; Or, Methodical Cook died in 1828.  She includes recipes for currant wine and mead and included recipes that included wine.  Mary Randolph and her husband lived in a house in Richmond called Moldavia that was later owned by Edgar Allen Poe.

• The Menetou-Salon AOC was named in 1959.

• California's Clarksburg AVA and Virginia's Monticello AVA were designated in 1984.

• California's Sonoma Mountain AVA was designated in 1985.

• Salvador Dali dies in 1989.  The surrealist artist created a wine book, The Wines of Gala, as well as a cookbook, The Dinners of Gala. (Gala was his wife).

• Oregon's Rogue Valley AVA was designated in 1991.

January 22nd - This Date in Wine History

DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Mark Logico, U.S. Navy/Released

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• George Gordon Byron, known as Lord Byron was born in 1788. He used a skull found at Newstead Abbey as a wine cup. He wrote the poem Lines Inscribed Upon a Cup Formed from a Skull.

• Antonio Todde was born in1889.  A Sardinian shepherd, he is known for saying, "Just love your brother and drink a good glass of red wine every day".

• Alexandrina Victoria, known later as Queen Victoria died in 1901.  She was known for enjoying a mix of claret and whisky.

• Food Network star, Guy Fieri was born in 1968.  He is owner of Hunt & Ryde Winery.

• California's Atlas Peak AVA was designated in 1992.

• Feast day of Saint Vincent of Saragossa, patron saint of vintners.

January 21st - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Pope Paschal II died in 1118.  During his reign he appointed a Bishop to oversee the territories of Greenland and Vinland (Newfoundland)

• Jefferson Davis resigned from the United States Senate.  A step before becoming the President of the Confederacy.  He was a participant in the  West Point Eggnog riot.  He escaped punishment.

• Esther Lachmann, known as La Païva died in 1884. A courtesan, she had a bathroom at her Hôtel de la Païva, that had three taps, one for water, milk and champagne for bathing.

• Thomas Munson, the American horticulturist who's work with grape rootstock led to phylloxera-resistant stocks died in 1913

• It is the feast day of St. Agnes of Rome.  She is the patron saint of crops and gardeners as well as Girl Scouts.

• Happy Babinden!  This Russian, Bulgarian and Serbian holiday celebrates midwifery and includes Young Mother’s Feast which includes grilled chicken and wine.

January 20th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Enoch L. Johnson was born in 1883.  He was an Atlantic City political and crime boss who was quoted as saying, “We have whisky, wine, women, song and slot machines. I won't deny it and I won't apologize for it. If the majority of the people didn't want them they wouldn't be profitable and they would not exist. The fact that they do exist proves to me that the people want them.”  He was fictionalized in Boardwalk Empire as the character, Nucky Thompson.

• Baron Philippe de Rothschild died in 1988.

• California's San Francisco Bay AVA was designated in 1999.

• The owner of Trump Winery, Donald J. Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States in 2017.

January 19th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Byzantine Emperor, Michael III was born in 840.  Known as The Drunkard, he was assassinated while sleeping after a drinking bout.

• Jean-Baptiste Troppmann was executed in 1870.  He poisoned his counterfeiting partner with wine and prussic acid.  He later killed the family of his partner-in-crime.

• Alexander Woollcott, drama critic, essayist, playwright, editor, actor, radio personality and member of the Algonquin Round Table was born in 1887.   He starred in the play, “Wine of Choice” at the Guild Theater (now the August Wilson Theater).

• Spain's Monterrei DO was designated in 1996.

January 18th - This Date in Wine History

Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

• Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town and produced the first known wine in South Africa died in 1677.

• Messrs. Bouchard, père et fils report to Bonfort’s Wine and Spirit Circular in 1890 about the quality of the new Burgundy which is said to be their best in years.

• Hermann Müller, a Swiss botanist and oenologist created the Müller-Thurgau varietal in 1882 died in 1927.

• Oregon's McMinnville AVA was designated in 2005.