Where’s the open map data?

One of the first people I talked to when I was at WhereCamp several weeks ago was a guy from GeoCommons. Now this is the kind of thing that I get excited about - people putting up virtual warehouses to encourage people to store open data. In this case, geo-coded data.

Of course, one of the first things I did was look for geo-coded data on wine appellations. Unfortunately, there’s nothing there. In fact, I’ve looked high and low for open-licensed geo data for US wine appellations, with no luck. (Yes, Vestra has this info for sale. But if we buy it, we can’t share it, right?) If Mapovino has to code this ourselves, then it’s going to set us back a little bit. In the end, our aim would be to then publish the kml / geo-coded data on… GeoCommons, for example.

The appellation data itself is publicly available from several federal sources (here, for example). The challenge is that the appellations are defined in natural language, and according to USGS maps, not latitude / longitude. So there’s some translation work that needs to happen. There are a few different ways of taking this descriptive data and turning it into KML files (my first idea involves using the hiking software Topo, but that’s another story) - but it will require a human and many hours.

In the end, even emails to the TTB (the wing of the ATF that focuses on non-terrorist related activities) and the USGS have turned up empty handed - they all pointed me to the narrative description files I’ve found before.

So it looks like we’re gonna need an intern and some USGS maps. Know someone who wants to trade drawing skills for some wine?

Technorati Tags: mapovino, af83

Robert Mondavi: 1913-2008

Big news in the wine world - Robert Mondavi died today at 94. Say waht you want about Mondavi wines, he helped put Napa on the map. And helped slowly (ever so slowly) turn wine drinking in the US from elite and expensive activity to simple populist pleasure. From the Wine Spectator:

“To promote the marriage of food and wine, Mondavi and his wife,
Margrit Biever Mondavi, created the “Great Chefs” programs at their
Oakville winery in the 1970s. Each year, they hosted influential
culinary masters, such as Julia Child and Paul Bocuse, to cook and
experiment with different food and wine pairings.

But rather than limit wine to fine dining, Mondavi championed making
it a part of everyday life and of a healthy lifestyle. When wine came
under attack in the 1980s, Mondavi was a vocal critic of anti-alcohol
campaigns and advocated research into the benefits of moderate
consumption of wine.”

Great wine podcasts - and great geek cheat sheet

In researching the basics of U.S. wine and terroir for Mapovino, I’ve come across a few good resources for interested beginners. And so, to share the wealth:

• Napa Valley Wine Radio: Despite the elevator jazz and fireside-smooth feel of this podcast, it has some gems of fundamental information. I’ve been looking for a good guide to “Decision-making in the course of wine-making” (a useful tool to use on Mapovino to compare differences among wine-makers?), so I appreciated Episode 61 - Winemaking 101. Yes, it’s a beginner’s overview, but it does point out step by step what decisions a winemaker will make that can affect the outcome of the wine. And then, perhaps more relevant to Mapovino, Episode 63 - The Napa Valley AVA.
• Twisted Oak Winery: I’ve never tried their wines, but their “cheat sheet” (pdf) is not only helpful to understand their wines, but to understand some of the “wine geek” numbers that get thrown around a lot by people fascinated by such things (residual sugar, brix, etc)
• Grape Radio: Grape Radio has a ton of great content. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of the trio’s banter (but then again I prefer the foul-language and insult-laden diatribes of LUG Radio, so who am I to say anything?). That doesn’t stop me from recommending them as a great resource - and if you’re at all interested in Pinot Noir, you should listen to their recording of this lengthy Pinot Noir seminar with Allen Meadows. Whether you know very little and are curious, or you are well-versed in Burgundy wines, this is an incredible font of knowledge and history.

Medlock Ames, Alexander Valley, Sonoma

I just came back from visiting Medlock Ames, a winery farm in Alexander Valley, in Sonoma. I first heard about them at last year’s Wine 2.0 event, although they are anything but high-tech - in all the right ways. I was visiting to get some pictures and basic data to use as a test for a small Mapovino demo we are hosting next week, and Medlock Ames is a great example of the kind of geographically specific, sustainable winery that we want to showcase.

At first glance, Medlock Ames is well within a trend sweeping many wineries: a sustainably farmed, organic vineyard that has adopted a lot of biodynamic practices to boot. In an oft-repeated reasoning among adopters of biodynamic grape-growing, Ames Morison, grape grower and winemaker for the the winery, said that he wasn’t sure exactly how biodynamic improved things, but it did - the results tended to be better than just using conventional organic farming methods.

Wait, I just said “conventional organic.” Wow, see how far along this road we’ve already travelled, where simply “organic” is still not enough?

In any case, Ames does pay attention to every piece of the ecosystem. Like any good father, he was up the entire night previous to my visit, monitoring the overnight cold snap that was hitting the region to make sure his new leaf buds didn’t freeze.

But that’s to be expected from a premium grape grower. So also, these days, are the owl boxes that act as IPM to reduce mice and other vineyard pests; clover and native Californian grasses acting as cover crop to refuel the soil with nitrogen; solar panels to reduce dependence on fuel. This kind of attention to sustainable farming practices is certainly not ubiquitous, but becoming more and more common among the vineyards of Napa and particularly Sonoma.

But using a horse and plough? That’s a commitment, one of many made at Medlock Ames. How about the fact that they use less than half of their land for grape-growing, keeping the rest as natural habitat? Ames pointed out that it’s not altruistic - it actually helps maintain pest control, promotes animals and plants that are beneficial to the health of the vines, and in general supports the entire winery’s “health.” I also guessed, judging from some of the superlative wines I’ve had from the south of France that always hint of fennel, that the wildness of Medlock-Ames imparts a distinct character on the wines (Ames pointed out that, in a similar fashion, Heitz’ “Martha’s Vineyard” has a hint of eucalyptus.)

And Medlock Ames is certainly wild. They use sheep to act as natural weed-whackers, but have recently had some “predator problems.” I guessed a coyote. Ames responded that it was probably a mountain lion because of the neck puncture wounds on the dead sheep; coyote tend to gut their prey when they kill it.

Huh? This winemaker can identify predators by they way they’ve killed sheep? I felt like I was on a vineyard safari. And that’s when it really hit me - Medlock Ames is really a farm that produces, amongst other things, superb wine. When I mentioned this, Ames related the story from “An Omnivore’s Dilemma” where the dairy farmer actually identifies himself as a grass farmer, because that’s at the root of everything else he produces. Ames feels similarly about Medlock Ames.

To complete the safari feel of the tour, I pulled out my camera to capture some brief glimpses of the new small-bred cows they are now testing out to keep weeds and grasses down. These cows, bred in Australia to be heartier eaters across a wider range of environments, are also a bigger match for coyotes or mountain lions than sheep. I could hardly imagine them ambling among the fragile-looking vines, but apparently they do fine as long as it’s not right during the new leaf bud.

Medlock-Ames produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, a rosé (only available to club members) and a Bordeaux blend called “Red”. You can get their wines online, or from Bi-Rite Market and Castro Village Wine Company in San Francisco.

Technorati Tags: medlockames, mapovino

Mapovino: Google-mapping and social-networking and wikipedia-ing

It’s very difficult to describe what we are aiming for with the Mapovino project without getting caught up in Web2.0 buzzword bingo; or, going the other route, being so pretentious that it’s we’re sooo different that we shun any words that sound vaguely like the “read-write web”. Sigh. Below are my best thoughts in words so far….

(We’re having a demo and wine-tasting in San Francisco soon. Contact me if you’re interested!)
————————————–

Mapovino is a wine-mapping website incorporating GoogleMaps to showcase geographically distinct wines and the stories behind these wines.

Mapovino is interactive:

• Users can add comments, photos, link to maps in their blogs, and even add blog links on the map.

Mapovino is encyclopedic:

• It will pull wine and geography information from Wikipedia and other public information sources. This secondary user-generated content further enables users to interact with Mapovino.

Mapovino is information and referral:

• Mapovino will not sell wines; instead, it will point to where to find the wine in stores and restaurants.

Mapovino will be driven by wine fans, helped by Mapovino staff:

• Producers will not have the burden entering information about their wines and vineyards - fans of their wines can help input that information. Mapovino staff will highlight producers, and post in-depth articles and interviews. Producers can control their own entries, but do not have to do anything specific for their wines to appear on the site.

Mapovino is in development:

• To be part of the conversation, please email “greg.beuthin” in front of “@af83.com”

Technorati Tags: mapovino, af83, terroir

Back to the Source - Yoga and Terroir is back!

My wife Amanda Dates is hosting her second yoga and terroir retreat (a quick look at the first one here). We spend a weekend up in Marin, visiting farms and eating locally procured food cooked by fantastic home-chef extraordinaire, Russ King - book-ended every day by yoga in a yurt, overlooking the Pacific Ocean!

More details on the retreat on Amanda’s yoga website.

Good stuff from Vinography

I’ve not always agreed with Alder at Vinography, particularly around his views on wine as a product vs. wine as a cultural tradition (the latter being a very European- and grower-centric view).  That doesn’t mean I don’t read and enjoy his very popular and in-depth blog.  I just wanted to give a quick nod on two posts I read recently that had me giving the thumbs-up:

• Wine and food pairing - It’s a sham.  Yes, I happen to agree.  Some wine work better than others, for sure, but the current fear of mis-matching wines is way overboard….
• Wine and the recession - Something I’ve been thinking about as I see my favorite daily drinking wines go up several dollars in price over two years (and when some of my favorites started at $10 from Kermit Lynch, that’s a big percentage increase….)

Technorati Tags: vinography

2 Guys Uncorked - and a question for Mapovino

I really like 2 Guys Uncorked for a couple of reasons:

• It’s populist.  It’s meant to be populist.  They only (for now) review wines from Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.  They have a reason behind their philosophy, and in the end I appreciate it.  I can easily find stuff I too have tried without needing to dig too obscurely.  And it’s great for people just getting into wines.
• The site is built on Drupal.  Thumbs up.  Nuff said.
• They have a map.  Cool!

Wait a sec.  This is where it falls apart a bit for me (but that doesn’t have to negate the rest of the project).  How meaningful is a map “locating” Charles Shaw (”Two Buck Chuck”) in Modesto, the wine producer’s headquarters?  That wine is actually an amalgam of cheap surpluses gathered from around the state every year.  (On the plus side, I love the fact that they publish the pictures of the labels….)

Mapovino would - of course - identify wines that had some sort of geographic claim.  How specific that is, is something we’re still figuring out.  Thankfully, the U.S. has a system of regional appellations, so it’s not too controversial, but even calling something “Sonoma” (like “Loire” in France) can mean almost next to nothing - Sonoma wines can be Cabs, Merlots, Zins, Rhone blends, Pinots, any sort of white, etc - not to mention the actual style of the resulting wine.  OK, we can guess fruit-forward and higher alcohol, but then again, maybe not…..

But 2 Guys Uncorked raises a question for the Mapovino project:  Are regional-specific wines from, for example, Sonoma appellations like Dry Creek Valley going to be too expensive and out-of-reach for beginning wine enthusiasts or those without deeper pockets?  I can’t think of a single wine that comes from a specific vineyard in Napa or Sonoma that is under $30.  That’s a lot of money to spend per bottle for someone wanting to “learn” about how geography can affect wines.  We don’t want Mapovino to be elitist…..

(Obligatory Drupal nod:  See you at DrupalCon?  If so, ping me via my Drupal page.)

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So long, Davis Bynum, and thanks for all the wine

My wife Amanda and I were up visiting Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (whose site is built on Drupal - natch) and decided to take the long route and pass by some of our favorite wineries, including Davis Bynum.

I’ve long liked the the Russian River / Alexander Valley / Dry Creek area of Sonoma.  Compared to the other side of the ridge, it’s more laid back, quieter, and you get meet people closer to the actual winemaking source in the tasting rooms here.

Davis Bynum has been a favorite for a number of reasons.  They produce great wines, for a start.  I’d heard the tasting-room folks tell the story that Bynum was one of the originators of the Meritage blend - say it like an American, for it’s not a French word at all - which is a US standards-based version of a Bordeaux blend; well, he’s not mentioned in the online history books, but Bynum’s Meritage has been a favorite among my friends for years.

And on one visit, while a bunch of us were outside enjoying their small picnic spot, a tall young guy with a dirty t-shirt and shorts named Ryan asked us if we wanted to see the permaculture garden “up top.”  We said of course, and got an intimate tour of an amazing permaculture experiment on the ridge above the winery that was entirely supported by Davis Bynum’s sustainable agriculture beliefs and practices.

So Amanda and I were confused on this trip when we saw the Davis Bynum sign replaced by River Bend Ranch wines.  Turns out, we’re late on the uptake - Davis Bynum sold his wine brand to family winery Rodney Strong last fall.  In a strange lateral move, Strong bought the existing stock, brand name, and got Davis on as a consultant - but did not buy any existing vineyards or the facility, which continued to produce wines under the River Bend Ranch label - and has just recently been sold to a Canadian family.

I don’t know if my reaction is as strong as Robert Simpson’s, so far the only other blogger I’ve found who has an opinion (one other neutral mention, to be fair).  Back at the winery, they seemed to think there was more going over to Strong than just a brand name - I got the impression Bynum bought as many grapes as he grew, so perhaps Strong didn’t feel the need to invest in Bynum’s own plantings?

In any case, when we were there, the winery was having a fire sale brought on by the sale of the facility - cases of River Bend Ranch Syrah for less than $40.  Not quite my favorite, since it’s a hotter and fruity American style, but who can complain at $3 a bottle?

We got to meet Mr Bynum himself, who was very friendly and generous with his time.  I lamented the fact that we could no longer buy a Davis Bynum Meritage there (they are not allowed to sell any DB-brand stock) - but in the tasting room they had some old stock they were tasting, so we stuck around and tried a 2002 Meritage, and a bottle of his 1996 Meritage (excellent).  It was past closing time, and I guess I had made enough lamentations about the wine, because as a parting shot, they gave us a “gift” of one of the tasting room bottles of Davis Bynum Meritage.  Perhaps one of the last bottles of it’s type to ever to leave the building.

As fate has it, the next day was my birthday, so we celebrated with this 2002 Davis Bynum Meritage.  Thanks, Mr Bynum.

Technorati Tags: davisbynum, wine, rodneystrong

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Wine Stories

I’m far more interested in wine stories than wine reviews, and I wonder how many people share this feeling. (Wine blogger Pim apparently does, and points to a couple of good wine storytellers.) In fact, I’m pretty terrible at identifying and describing particular elements in the aroma and flavor of a particular wine, which is probably why I so much prefer to tell a long and involved story about a particular wine than try to review it out of context. 

Don’t get me wrong - I can pick out differences between wines, and can appreciate excellent wines that are not within my preferred “taste”; but accurately describing them in wine taster terms is beyond me (and completely frustrating for my friends).  I usually end up with some bizarre colorful comparison, such as recently “This one feels like a sword - light, thin but strong; and this one a bat - heavy and … heavy, big, hits you over the head…”

This touches on what Jancis Robinson describes as the difference between wine reviewers and wine writers.  (Given my scant record, I don’t put myself in either category).  Of course, most wine bloggers are a mix of the two:  they admit that their preferred memories of wine are very contextual - there’s a story that went along with the act of drinking that wine; but they still write tons of reviews, which seems to be the de-facto activity of wine bloggers.  I personally skip over almost all of the reviews and head for the stories.  I mean, I usually don’t buy a bottle of wine without some sort of personal connection to it, however tenuous. 

I’ve ruminated on this for a while, somehow feeling a little less assured in my wine experience since I not only was disinterested in reading wine reviews, but personally had a harder time defining all the tiny elements of a wine’s “nose and mouth”.

I ruminate still, but what brought this whole thing to a head to me was the sheer joy I had while reading a Port story that says nothing about the objective qualities of the port, but everything about the experience.  From a yoga teacher who doesn’t usually write about wine (and nod to Amanda for pointing this my way.)

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