Unfiltered

A Vice-Presidential winery visit, a Doobie Brothers bottling and a Century Club for enophiles

Posted: March 23, 2005

• Vice President Dick Cheney took time out last weekend from promoting an overhaul of Social Security to tour Clos Pegase winery in Napa Valley with his wife, granddaughter and friends. While his visit to the location was kept undisclosed until the last minute, it was hard not to notice that something big was up, as an advance team of Secret Service agents spent three days combing the Calistoga winery and setting up the details. Apparently, this was only Cheney's second visit to a California winery; he had been to Sterling Vineyards some 15 years earlier. Clos Pegase co-owner Jan Shrem gave the VP a tour of the Michael Graves-designed winery and its caves, explained the process and history of winemaking and hosted a tasting of Clos Pegase wines, including its Cabernet. But Cheney remains more the consummate politician than a wine nut; when asked what types of wines he prefers, he replied, "I like them all." Nor does his opinion sway with popular-culture trends--while Cheney told Shrem that he saw the Pinot-centric film Sideways, he noted that he particularly likes Merlot.

• Doobies Do Wine: In memory of their late drummer Keith Knudsen, who died of pneumonia in February, the Doobie Brothers are making wine with their longtime manager, vintner Bruce Cohn of Sonoma's B.R. Cohn winery. The rock legends' inaugural release--B.R. Cohn Doobie Red Sonoma County 2002 (82 points)--is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The wine is sold in three-packs (priced at $96), which each bottle displaying artwork from the Doobies' first three albums: The Doobie Brothers, The Captain and Me and Toulouse Street. Proceeds will be donated to the National Veterans Foundation, one of Knudsen's favorite charities. The Doobies plan to release three new bottles each year for the next four years.

• Ever drunk an Assyrtiko, a Bourboulenc or a Xarel-lo? Then the Wine Century Club might be for you. To join the elite new group, you have to have tried at least 100 different grape varieties--anything from Aglianico to Zweigelt. Deborah and Steve De Long, creators of De Long's Wine Grape Varietal Table, an educational tool that resembles the periodic table of elements, founded the club to promote "the many unsung grape varieties used to make wine" and meet like-minded people. The first meeting was held in Manhattan on March 16 at Lo Scalco restaurant, where a five-course dinner was paired with wines such as Ocone Falanghina del Taburno 2003 and a Nusserhof Südtiroler Lagrein Riserva 2000. These seem practically commonplace compared to some of the really obscure varieties listed on the application form, which is downloadable from www.delongwine.com/century.html. So far, 32 people have earned membership. Though the application works on the honor system, the fine print notes: "Should you lie, may the wrath of Bacchus curse your palate."

The new LaTour: Kimpton chairman Tom LaTour is serving his own wine to hotel guests.

• Guests at Kimpton hotels may notice there's a new LaTour bottling out, but it's not from Bordeaux. Tom LaTour, chairman and CEO of the Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants group, owner of boutique properties such as Hotel Monaco in San Francisco and 70 Park Avenue Hotel in Manhattan, is now making his own boutique wine. LaTour, who has been growing grapes and doing home winemaking since 1990, has started producing his own label from his 25-acre vineyard on Mount Veeder in Napa Valley. LaTour's friend, well-known Napa winemaker and former Indy 500 racer Randy Lewis, assisted with the first two vintages, the recently released 2003 LaTour Chardonnay Napa Valley and the 2002 Chardonnay (88 points, $29). But the wine doesn't stop there. In the future, LaTour will be releasing a Mount Veeder Syrah, a Pinot Noir from Oregon's Willamette Valley and a Cabernet from Washington's Walla Walla appellation, where he recently purchased 10 acres. For now, LaTour's Chardonnay can occasionally be found at the complimentary evening wine receptions held at each Kimpton hotel. "It's a crossover between what I do for a living and what I do for fun," he says. "It's great to be able to offer something you made with your own hands."