New Orleans Drinks (weekly column):
Cork and Bottle uncorks custom wine

New Orleans Times-Picayune
June 11, 2010

[ link ]


On Thursday, Cork and Bottle (3700 Orleans Ave.) was slated to unveil the 2008 "There's No Place Like Home" syrah, the Mid-City shop's first custom-made wine. Not even owner Jon Smith is sure that it's a wise business decision.

Pasted Graphic
"It's actually a pretty foolish thing," Smith said. "This process started in July 2008 and we're realizing it two years later. That's a long investment for an independent wine shop."
Smith, though, is confident in the quality of his wine.

"It's very old world," he said. "A good syrah has predominant flavors of white pepper, bacon fat, maybe even a little earthy asphalt component in the background. But all good syrah also has a dark, rich raspberry-type fruit."

Smith collaborated with his old friend Paul Hoffman, a California winemaker. The two selected the grapes from Sonoma's Stage Gulf vineyard, decided when to pick them and oversaw the process from fermentation to blending. Smith traveled to California four times to check on the wine.

"We made this wine in a very real sense of the word," he said. "This is anything but a vanity label."

After creating his first wine, Smith has even more respect for winemakers.

"I didn't realize what a worrisome process it is," he said. "I didn't realize the extent that making good wine is really an art form."

Now Smith must rely on his skills as a retailer. He has 198 cases of syrah to sell at $24.99 a bottle.


Retrieved from Lexis-Nexis on June 18, 2010.