Pinotblogger: the Capozzi Winery blog

Eric Asimov writes about Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in his latest post, and relates some of the astronomical prices DRC wines are commanding in New York ($2400 a bottle). The site he links to for information on DRC is interesting and well written, though the author falls prey to some remarkable anthropomorphic hyperbole, even by French standards.

…there is something magical about it…so succinct and refined in its youth, with an bewitching poise that masks its inherent power. After a decade… [they] begin to show their splendor, to conjure up their mystical qualities, their poise intact, complex and mercurial. Some…have to make an effort to impress: great…Conti simply purrs with sophistication and joie-de-vivre. I believe the word banded around of “effortless”.

In an article titled “Talking About Wine” published in the journal Language, Prof. Adrienne Lehrer conducted a structural analysis of the wine vocabulary used by experts and concluded that people talk about wine because they are uncertain of their perception of reality. Talking about wine helps people compare their experience with others perceptions of reality in an attempt to objectify the experience. He says that talking about wine also makes us more likely to remember the experience, something I agree with wholeheartedly.

But what to make of descriptions of wine that read “succinct and refined…with…bewitching poise that masks inherent power?” Lehrer isn’t much help, but he ends his paper with this:

My study of wine words has shown that people do not apply words to things in the same way. Is the domain of wine-discussion an unusual one, or is it fairly typical of speakers’ application of words? If the latter is the case, then speakers probably do not communicate with each other nearly as well as they think they do, since they usually have no way of knowing that others apply words differently. But perhaps they communicate well enough for their purposes, even without knowing.

Do we communicate “well enough” about wine without knowing? I’m not so sure. When I read the description above it didn’t remind me of any wine I’ve ever tasted (sadly a DRC is not among them). Instead it reminded me of my Labrador, Chai (French for cellar), pictured above. As you can tell from the photo, he is the picture of refinement and poise, and he certainly makes no effort to impress. One is simply impressed naturally.

If you wonder where such panache comes from, like fine wine, it’s all in the breeding. We purchased Chai from an upstate New York breeder with impeccable credentials.
Moonlit Labradors is a fantastic breeder and I can’t say enough good things about owners Susan and John Bennington. Just have a look at their questionnaire to get a feel for the rigorous screening process prospective owners must go through to obtain one of their pampered pups.

Candace and I were talking a few nights ago, and we decided we want little Jackson to grow up with a Lab his own age. So naturally, given the lineage we are dealing with, what with the splendor and mystical qualities inherent in the bloodline, we’ve chosen to name our new pup Conti.

I think the French will approve.

EDIT: It seems that I wasn’t the only one blogging on “wine words” tonight. By some cosmic coincidence Anonymous Jeff Lefevere over at Good Grape has some choice words for an overly specific wine reviewer.