celebrate the finer things in life

Ok.

We need to talk about it, don’t we?

I know, I know.

It’s been too long since our last post. More than 90 days!

Look, there’s no excuse.

People always say life gets too busy, and it does, but at the end of the day we’re either committed to this wine blog or we’re not. (We are, by the way, I just re-upped my domain for at least another year!)

Though I have to admit, as much as I thought I was going to be this ultra wine nerd/student with an unwavering passion for wine, I definitely took a deep exhale after passing my WSET lvl.2 exam this September.

All I can say is I’m sorry, and we’ll do better.

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The good news, however, is that wine has still been very much a part of my life, and I’m excited to share those experiences with you in time.

And after tasting so many different wines over these past few weeks months, it was hard to settle down on one to write about. So, to get “back in the lab” this month I thought I’d talk about my sporadic gathering of friends, the finer things club. These friends help keep me energized about wine, and I thought elaborating on this monthly (or so) gathering could not only give you some additional insight into my wine life but also provide some simple “do’s” and “don’ts” if you ever wanted to host your own.

it’s dangerous to go alone!

Like most things I’m passionate about, this club was inspired by a movie. More specifically, the documentary Sour Grapes.

If you’ve never seen it, which I highly recommend that you do (currently available on SommTV btw), it’s a documentary about counterfeit wines, and one person who had the entire high-end wine industry fooled. Which, is an interesting topic in and of itself, but let’s not get off track.

In the documentary, one of the main “characters” was a film director named Jefery Levy who was part of this wine club called “The Angry Men.”

Why angry?

Well, the name comes from a very simple concept.

The best way to taste high-end wine(s) is in a group setting because there’s simply safety in numbers. After all, you’re not likely going to drink a $5,000 bottle of wine by yourself, but you might open one up if you’re hosting a group of close friends for a special occasion. The members of this group continually found themselves angry after going to wine dinner after wine dinner, bringing a very nice bottle to share, and having other guests bring, well… not the same level shall we say kindly.

Whereas the people in this group had what’s called “F*ck You Money,” and were bringing 1961 Romanee-Conti, to a wine party (a bottle that retails for about the same price as a Honda Civic), I’m sure you’ve experienced this at some level, where you might bring, say a $50 bottle of wine you’re really excited about, and the rest of the dinner is drinking Butter Chardonnay. (not that there’s anything wrong with oak!)

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So the angry men decided to band together to taste fine wine because they simply didn’t want to be angry anymore.

This concept, coupled with my obsession for blind tasting and a somewhat natural propensity to be a part of fraternal organizations, led to the creation of my own “Angry Men” club called The Finer Things Club.

Is this name directly ripped off of the Finer Things Club from The Office?

Yes.

Do we drink entirely too much wine each time and regret it the next day?

Yes.

Is this just another excuse to get drunk with your friends who may or may not have Peter Pan syndrome?

...Yes

version 1.0

For our first meeting, we blinded two varieties from two very distinct and famous regions in a classic “old world” vs. “new world” type of matchup. I chose Sauvignon Blanc (shocker) from Malborough, New Zealand, and put it side-by-side with a Sancerre (France). We also looked at Cabernet Franc from one of my favorite producers The Terraces in Rutherford, CA (Napa), and compared it to one from Chinon in the Loire Valley (also France), that’s known for producing world-class Cab Franc.

New Zealand Sauv Blanc can be over the top, which I love, but I found the 2019 White Haven vintage to be particularly awesome (it also inspired me to write my first blog post about it!).

It somehow found this great balance of elevated acidity with omega ripe fruit. Whenever it had that meyer lemon or citrus punch in the mouth, it simultaneously had a “softer” stone fruit and tropical fruit character to keep you wanting more, all surrounded with a grassy herbaceousness to help it stay true to its terroir. Whereas the Sancerre was much more linear, more focused, and had great tension in the wine, all good things in and of itself, but at the end of the day it was more reserved, the fruit was a little shyer. Both were (and are) perfect wines for summer and are classic examples of the old world vs. the new.

However, the Terraces 2016 Cab Franc was the showstopper that evening. Just an absolutely lovely wine all around, and I was proud to have that bottle showcase the high-quality wine-making they produce. 2016 must have been a fantastic vintage for Rutherford because the fruit shined through big time. 40% new French oak rounded out what was a fantastic example of ultra-ripe purple and red fruits (black cherry, blackberry, raspberry, plum, etc.) with enough body and complex minerality to keep it from being just a straight-up juice bomb.

the first rule of wine club

So look, if you’re going to host your own wine club, wine night, etc. (which I heartily co-sign), there are three key suggestions I have that you should keep in mind.

#1 - The focus should be on the wine.

If you’re not into blind tasting, that’s ok it just makes me sad, but at least pick special wines that you want to share with your friends or family. Don’t just serve your grocery store go-tos or your proverbial “Tuesday night” wine. Pick something that has meaning behind it. Maybe it’s a producer you want to try that you’ve heard good things about. Maybe it’s a nice bottle that you don’t want to open by yourself. Maybe you’ve never had Furmint or Verdicchio and you want to see what all the wine shop hipsters are fussing about. Either way, the focus is on the wine.

(I actually think our first rule is the host gets to decide the location and attire, but don’t quote me on that).

#2 Try to be serious when you host.

What do I mean by serious? It’s more the ambiance than anything. If you want to go through “the grid” with your guests that’s awesome, but at the very least, you want to have proper glassware cleaned and polished (nothing worse than having wine poured for you in a funky glass). Set something up as if you were hosting an event at a fancy restaurant. You want to have the right environment set for a fun evening, absolutely, this doesn’t mean you need to be stuffy about it, but don’t pour your guests wine into the free beer cup you got from DC101 Kegs and Eggs from back in 2008.

#3 Bonus wine will get you into trouble

Look, it’s inevitable. After a few glasses of wine, people get excited, the night goes on, and you think to yourself, you know what, we should open up that bottle of _______. I tell you this speaking from experience. “Bonus” wine, or wine that’s served “after” the wines on the proverbial tasting menu = hangover city. From there, things get sloppy. Now that may or may not be the scene you’re going for, but just, please… for me, tread lightly my friends.

-Dustin

PS - If you’re a visual learner and are wondering “what does a “Finer Things” event look like?,” it can look a little something like this:

photo from our inaugural meeting, notice the charcuterie and champagne #finerthingsinlife