In their September 2006 issue Wine Spectator reported the following:
Château Bousquette Tradition 2002: 86 Pts
Supple red with moccha, plum and wild berry flavors, with hoisin sauce and Asian spice on the finish. Drink now. 5,000 cases made.
[Anybody knows what hoisin sauce is ?]

La Famille de Janiny 2002: 90 Pts
Powerful, focused red, with firm, supple tannins and load of plum, smoke, meat and spice flavors. Really hums on the finish, with mineral, savory herb and Asian spice notes. Syrah. Drink now through 2010. 1,000 cases made.

Domaine de Clairac, Marsanne 2003: 89 Pts
lively white with spiced butter and ripe pear flavors with some interesting mint and cardamom notes. Rich, smoky finish. Drink now. 300 cases made. K.M.

Bill Waring, another wine columnist out of Las Vegas, a city known for its high standards for wine and food, has written a full article on organic wines which you can read in full HERE.
He is himself a chef teaching wine appreciation to other chefs around the country so I suppose we can call him an expert!
Here are some of his comments:

Domaine de Clairac Marsanne 2003: "When we tasted it we found a straw-color with a pleasant nose of violets. We tasted pleasant mineral- flinty characteristics with lemon-grass. As it warmed up it became a little spicier which gave it a new dimension. It paired well with brie and cranberries and with a jicama/papaya salad."

Château Bousquette 2001:
"We found a huge taste with up-front dried fruit and substantial pepper with a deep red color. The tannins were smooth and very enjoyable. This is made from organically grown grapes and has held its character very well. A very good value."

Mas de Janiny Cabernet Sauvignon 2002:
"We found a full beginning with lingering soft tannins. A rich ruby color with substantial 'legs'. In the beginning we tasted cherry, smoky and a full nose. As it opened up we found a little anise and charred wood. A finish with a slight clove flavor. We had this with a garlicky butter sauce with escargot and crusty bread. We liked it a lot."

Château de la Fessardière Muscadet No Added Sulfites 2004:
"I am not a fan of some acidic whites and prefer more of the 'new world' style. Having said that, I found this wine to be crisp and clean without some of the heavy citrus flavors. I consider this wine a 'real keeper' for those times I want a clean refreshing white wine."

To celebrate these positive reviews and allow you to appreciate how accurate they are I have bundled these wines together in 2 packs:

REVIEW1 brings you one bottle each of these remarkable wines for less than their combined price at $119 AND you pay NO SHIPPING CHARGE!

Even better, REVIEW2 doubles the offer so you can give one bottle away to your best friend or keep it for a second tasting, still pay NO SHIPPING CHARGE, SAVE $13 on the bottles AND receive a $20 gift certificate that you can send to the person of your choice (except yourself!)! All that for $229 only! How's that for a deal?

Just like Polar Bears seeing their world litterally melting under their paws, we are collectively not doing any better with the resources of the Globe!

For the past 15 years a group has been evaluating the day of the year when we have eaten all the resources renewed and available for that year.

After that tipping point we are starting to use resources that are not being replenished, eating our 'capital' so to speak, to live a little longer at the same level of comfort. Not surprisingly, while the calculation was close to balance when they started, in a few short years we are entering the red zone sooner and sooner every year.

2006 is logically the worst year yet, showing that we collectively entered 'in the red' on October 9th! At that rate it is easy to grasp that our 'capital' is going to melt away as inexorably as the icecap for the Polar Bear!

Let's do something! Standing still is not an option, we must individually and collectively reduce drastically our energy consumption, alter our free spending habits toward the Earth resources and pressure the 'deciders' to favor all measures to conserve them. Let's reuse, replace, recycle whenever possible and support all people and businesses who implement policies and procedures that can in the long run save our butts!

Jacqueline André, the woman behind our fabulous Châteauneuf-du-Pape 98, our most expensive wine and arguably the best!

This year at Millésime Bio I tasted her 2000 vintage. I was stunned! It took me several minutes to gather myself as this wine was so profound it simply made me cry in front of the table! I stood there, overwhelmed by the richness, the elegance, the complexity and the class of this masterpiece! Bravo, Jacqueline!
[It will be available at Christmas]

From Eryn, Emily, Jana and others:
"How do you train your palate to recognize the different flavors in a wine?"
Dr Mic:
Like you say, it is a training. The way to discern more and more subtle aromas in wine is through exposing your nose to as many pure perfumes and scents as you can. There are some training kits available with dozens of flower essences, fruit concentrates, vegetal and animal extracts that you can play with. Do you know that a "nose" (name given to the person whose specialty is to create perfumes) has a collection of hundreds of these fragrances and practices smelling and recognizing them just like a musician goes through his routine basic practice every single day? Practice makes perfect as the saying goes! If you can accurately determine the nature of the individual scent under your nose (and a few dozens will do for most wines) you will then train yourself to discern them when they are present in various degrees in a glass of wine. And then it becomes fun and exciting to realize that different varietals (types of grapes) tend to present the same characters, that aging decreasses some flavors while increasing others, that vintages and locations will bring forth specific aromas because the plants are indeed living a different life every year.

The more you learn, the more you can enjoy, just like with music, dance and every other art! So let your nose guide you! Smell anything that you dare to. If you walk in nature, smell the bark of trees, the moss, the earth, the little flowers, taste the wild berries, munch on different parts of fruits, herbs, veggies, spices; smell leather, tobacco, vanilla, wood; put your tongue on different materials, discover like a baby and expose your senses to the richness of flavors around you, you'll be surprised!

From Joyce:
Question: "What is considered to be a better way to bottled wines? Cork or screw top?"
Dr Mic:
Ahh! Great question to debate! There is a sentimentality attached to the cork and the ceremony of pulling it out that will never be matched by the banality of a screwcap! But we were attached to our LPs 45 and 33, weren't we? And to a number of other things that we thought we'd never go without. If the debate was purely technical there is no doubt that we'd be using screwcaps for 90% of our wines already but we are talking of a major industry shift, with habits, machines and systems in place that will be harder to change than pressing CDs instead of LPs.

Two obvious advantages of the screwcap are the total avoidance of tainted wine (the famous cork taste is not the only trouble), which can and does ruin a sizable percentage of bottles and the ease of opening and closing back a bottle without a tool. No other modern industry or consumer would tolerate the 5% rate of bad products that is commonly considered average! One could even wonder if that is not a reason for the decreasing consumption of wine in the traditional countries. After all, who wants to pay (more and more) and not be sure of the quality of the product he/she buys?

From Jackie:
"What is the average price you should spend on a bottle of wine when you want to host a wine tasting party?"
Dr Mic:
Mmm! Let's see: Under $8 your chance of finding a decent wine is minimal, simply because it has to be industrial to reach the store at that price. Unless the merchant found a great deal purchasing to a distressed property, a close out or a wine not up to the standards of a great winery but still excellent, you should avoid that category.

Between $8 and $15, you can find a ton of pleasant wines, from good to real good, perfect for everyday consumption and enjoyable with food but with no outstanding characteristics most probably.

For the purpose of wine tasting, look between $15 and $30 for wines with enough personality, authenticity, sense of terroir to educate your crowd about varietals or regional wines in a way that will be fun and not bank breaking! If you go beyond that, well, don't forget to invite me!

Even as we pay homage to wine, to its cultural and spiritual significance as well as to its many pleasing qualities for mind and body alike let's not forget the overwhelming importance and fantastic characteristics of the simple yet indispensable Pure Water!

If you haven't heard yet of the work of Dr Emoto, go visit his website and learn how water is the recipient and messenger of our thoughts, emotions and energy level. Among all its fabulous properties water is the universal messenger, the carrier of whatever state of mind or heart we infuse it with. Dr Emoto makes the brilliant demonstration that no action nor thought goes unnoticed in Nature and that we create (meaning we affect the world around us) through the pure power of our vibration, of the thoughts and feelings that we harbor inside.

The picture shown above represents a water crystal carrying the message "Happiness". Isn't it beautiful?

Dr Emoto's work brings a sense of awe at the workings of Nature, a sense of responsibility for every word we utter and a sense of power to reverse the trends that we have set in motion (see above!). With this knowledge intelligently applied we truly have the means to regain control on the effects we've had on our environment, our world and our life!

For those of you who live in southern California, Dr Emoto offers a workshop this October 24 jointly with a brilliant music composer. Go see him!

We love to help you make your choice. Call us with your special needs, we will do the best to satisfy them.
Real people are just a phone call away at
1-888-326-9463! (888-ECO-WINE)

Dr Mic
Wine Selection

Veronique Raskin
President

Organic Wine Company
415-256-8882