JUSTIN Food & Wine Blog

JUST Ask Joe - Reader Mailbag

Each Monday, I post a reader submitted question along with my answer. Have a question of your own? Ask it in the comments section below.

I’m available to answer specific food and wine questions; questions about varieties, vintages, styles, sequences, and regions; aeration, ageability and equipment. Please try to avoid open ended or distracting questions about how to build a wine cellar, how to collect, how to become a Master Sommelier, how to get in the business, etc.

I am looking for a wine storage system for my home. The unit would be located in my garage, so it does not have to be pretty, nor does it need a glass door (which I assume decreases the energy efficiency). I think that I would be happy with something in the four to five case range. Any suggestions?

-Paul

I am unfortunately not an expert when it comes to home wine storage units. (Personally, I rent a cooled and humidified 30 case locker in Chicago!) When I was at Charlie Trotter's and other fine restaurants with extensive programs, we would insulate, cool, and humidify entire rooms, rather than use home-type units.

That said, I think you have a good idea to get a bare-bones, non-decorative unit. I am sure there are commercial storage units just as there are commercial stoves and freezers and so on. The key is efficiency, as you say, and security of the gaskets, etc. I am not informed enough on brands or systems though--so a review of Wine Enthusiast and the like is in order for both of us!

JUST Ask Joe - Reader Mailbag

Each Monday, I post a reader submitted question along with my answer. Have a question of your own? Ask it in the comments section below. I’m available to answer specific food and wine questions; questions about varieties, vintages, styles, sequences, and regions; aeration, ageability and equipment. Please try to avoid open ended or distracting questions about how to build a wine cellar, how to collect, how to become a Master Sommelier, how to get in the business, etc.

Why do some inexpensive wines give one a headache while higher end wines do not? We recently experienced the phenomenon at a banquet where the Cabernet that was served wasn't particularly harsh to the palate, but resulted in a pounding headache a short time after the dinner. We did not drink to excess. I had two glasses and my husband had one.
JUSTIN wines are phenomenal! Thanks for your great work and thanks in advance for considering my question.

-Susan

I don't think I can fully answer your question. There are many factors that can contribute to various discomforts, and wine may or may not be the culprit. Of course, alcohol is a key component of wine, and one of the prominent reasons we drink it. It also can have variable effects, depending on a myriad of other conditions. Tiredness, latent illness, allergies, food, other beverages--all can compound the effect of wine, cheap or expensive.

I will say this: better, more expensive wines go through less processing and manipulations than large-production commercial ones, and probably have fewer "enhancements" that can ensure consistency in simpler wines. Such elements as sulfur, fining agents, and grape musts are more common in less expensive wines, especially whites. The manufacturing and distribution process requires this.

But that said, you can develop a whale of a hangover from drinking a $200 cabernet or Bordeaux, just as you might with a $3.00 merlot. But it will feel like you've earned it in luxury.

JUST Ask Joe - Reader Mailbag

Each Monday, I post a reader submitted question along with my answer. Have a question of your own? Ask it in the comments section below. I’m available to answer specific food and wine questions; questions about varieties, vintages, styles, sequences, and regions; aeration, ageability and equipment. Please try to avoid open ended or distracting questions about how to build a wine cellar, how to collect, how to become a Master Sommelier, how to get in the business, etc.

I have every vintage of ISOSCELES dating back to the 1996 vintage. When should I drink these vintages? Have I missed the peak for the ’96 and ’97? Would you recommend doing a vertical tasting, or drinking each bottle on its own?

-David

Your '97 is still a very young and vibrant wine. My guess is that the '96 is right there, ready to drink, and so you should enjoy it now through 2012. We build Isosceles to mature gracefully over a 10-20 year period. Vintages behave variably, of course, and I would guess that as they come to the 10 year mark the less intense vintages (e.g. '98, '00, '03) should be consumed, while the more extracted vintages (e.g. '97, '01, '02, '05) should continue to develop.

I would not necessarily wish to taste the wines in one single event. Enjoy them over a series of dinners perhaps. But vertical tastings are for academic and not pleasurable purposes, in my view.

JUST Ask Joe - Reader Mailbag

Each Monday, I post a reader submitted question along with my answer. Have a question of your own? Ask it in the comments section below. I’m available to answer specific food and wine questions; questions about varieties, vintages, styles, sequences, and regions; aeration, ageability and equipment. Please try to avoid open ended or distracting questions about how to build a wine cellar, how to collect, how to become a Master Sommelier, how to get in the business, etc.

I am a long time member of the JUSTIN Wine Society. We are partial to all reds. We have just purchased a small wine storage unit that holds about 60 bottles. What temperature do you recommend we keep the red wine at?

-Thomas

For long-term storage, typically we recommend 55-60 degrees F. But a unit that you're drawing from regularly for dinnertime wine, which is what it sounds like you have, I would keep it at 65. And if you can make sure you are managing humidity, which should be above 60% consistently so that corks don't dry out.

JUST Ask Joe - Reader Mailbag

Each Monday, I post a reader submitted question along with my answer. Have a question of your own? Ask it in the comments section below. I’m available to answer specific food and wine questions; questions about varieties, vintages, styles, sequences, and regions; aeration, ageability and equipment. Please try to avoid open ended or distracting questions about how to build a wine cellar, how to collect, how to become a Master Sommelier, how to get in the business, etc.

How much longer can I cellar my 97 Isosceles Reserves? The book says a couple more years, could it be longer as well? Thanks for your help!

-Dana, Society Member since 1994

It should be fabulous right now, but I believe you can hold it another 4-6 years without any downturn in flavor or aroma. It's a classic year for us, and should be sensational.

JUST Ask Joe - Reader Mailbag

Each Monday, I post a reader submitted question along with my answer. Have a question of your own? Ask it in the comments section below. I’m available to answer specific food and wine questions; questions about varieties, vintages, styles, sequences, and regions; aeration, ageability and equipment. Please try to avoid open ended or distracting questions about how to build a wine cellar, how to collect, how to become a Master Sommelier, how to get in the business, etc.

This question is a bit from the outfield, but I can't seem to get anything but opinions all over the board. In addition to JUSTIN wines, I love Champagne. Several years ago I purchased a Magnum of 1985 Veuve Cliquot Rose for a Nevada Ballet fundraiser. Interestingly, my wife received the same magnum as a major birthday gift from our wine loving friends. When properly cellared, do you have any idea how long really good Champagne tends to last?

-Brad

I love Champagne too, and so do Justin and Debby Baldwin! Unfortunately it's not a style we can make very well in a warm climate region like Paso Robles, so we leave it to the experts.

Your bottle sounds wonderful. You have three things in your favor: one, the wine is from a superb house, Clicquot. Two, the vintage is an excellent one, among the top three of the '80s. Three, it is in magnum format. IF you have kept the wine cool all these years, it should be splendid, still quite effervescent, and a lovely coral/salmon hue that I find most attractive. Fruit character in Rose Champagne changes dramatically over time, and a 20+ year wine will be smoky and Burgundy-like in the nose rather than lightly red-berry aromaed. But that is all to the good.

In general, vintage Champagne, from great vintages especially, can mature for decades. I have had 40 year-old Champagne that is still quite lively and could go another 20 years. I have also encountered, alas, younger wines that have not made it, usually because of heat or too much moving around. I would not advise holding non-vintage Champagne any longer than three years after purchase--its multi-vintage nature ensures that it is ready upon release.

Cheers!

JUST Ask Joe - Reader Mailbag

We’re starting a new blog feature! Each Monday, I will post a reader submitted question along with my answer. Have a question of your own? Ask it in the comments section below. I’m available to answer specific food and wine questions; questions about varieties, vintages, styles, sequences, and regions; aeration, ageability and equipment. Please try to avoid open ended or distracting questions about how to build a wine cellar, how to collect, how to become a Master Sommelier, how to get in the business, etc.

I have ‘02, ’03, ’04, and ‘05 ISOSCELES Reserve in my cellar. I would like to do a vertical tasting of ’02 – ‘05 and would like any ideas you have regarding appropriate food for the occasion.

-Allan

While all the Reserves you list are young and still powerful wines, they build in stature from older to younger. You will find that intensity and tannin levels vary: '02 is becoming slightly more secondary (earth, dried flowers, leather) in its aromas with bottle age, and is not so fruit-driven now. '03 is very generous and the least tannic of the four; '04 is very densely black-fruit driven, and still opaque, very tannic. You will find the greatest fruit intensity and range in the '05; it is also the most tannic, naturally, as a new release.

So that is the order I would serve them in: old to young. As for food, in a tasting where the wines are the highlight, keep it fairly simple: a prime rib roast, or a roast leg of lamb, or an array of cow's-milk aged cheeses will set off the flavors of the wines.

I hope this is helpful, and enjoy the wines!