Tuesday, August 25, 2009

PROBLEM WITH A BOTTLE
Michel - at the end of June we purchased a case of wines on sale. We
have loved each and every one of them with one exception... the Mas de
Janiny Syrah, 2005. We have really enjoyed this wine in the past and
included 3 bottles in our case. The first bottle was just fine but
the both of the last two have been not even drinkable - the cork was
very colored and the wine actually fizzed upon pouring. Needless to
say we were really disappointed! Not sure what your refund policy is
but I see you have a Barbera still on clearance.... we also had two
bottles of that in our order which have been wonderful and some
chardonnay would also be an acceptable substitute. Thanks for
bringing great organic wines to the world!

- Anna
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Hello Anna,

Happy to hear about your satisfaction! Unfortunately your experience with this vintage of Janiny Syrah has been common. This wine has encountered a sad fate which we nor the producer can understand. Since we are always trying to put a minimum of sulfites it is probable that the level was just too low this time and that the wine did not stabilize and refermented in the bottle. It is an illustration of the difficulty of bringing low sulfites wines to market. A problem like that can be devastating to both the producer and the distributor.
Therefore we pulled the '05 out of the Catalog as soon as we understood there was a problem. In the meantime the '06 has just arrived in the warehouse.
We can refund you or send you the 2 bottles you mentioned. Usually we don't do that because of the shipping costs. Would you consider taking a credit for a next order to be more (eco)logical/nomical?
DrMic

Monday, August 24, 2009

Good morning Dr. Michel,

Just to let you know that I have a copy of your brochure, it was included with my first order of organic wines from you. It also includes information on “Storing Wines.”
Although my dwelling/condo is an apartment-type building, my place is air-conditioned. I have the wine stored on its side and will let it rest from at least 5 to 10 days. It was an excellent buy and I am glad to have had a chance to purchase and have it sent and delivered in excellent condition.

Thanks again for the opportunity,

Ciao, Pauline
HOW LONG TO KEEP WINES?

Can you help me? I am most definitely not a wine expert. However I love the organic wines you offer. I would like to take advantage of the 'angel' discount for the Bousquette wines but I will not be using them until November (Thanksgiving). Can I keep them that long? I do not have a wine cellar/frig/etc.
thank you
Denise
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Hi Denise,
Don’t worry about these wines, they will last probably several more years! The Rosé is the only one you would want to drink earlier as it would simply lose the quality of freshness typical to these wines. But even this one will be fine in a year (we’re still selling the 07). Actually the Veronique 07 is probably a bit young and will only be better in a few months. 4 to 6 years after harvest year is the average optimum time for these wines. Provided the temperature of your cupboard does not jump up and down you are taking no risk!

Sincerely

Michel

Monday, August 10, 2009

ALLERGIC REACTION TO SULFITES?

Hi Michel,

I read your article on sulfites with interest.
I recently drank a brand of white wine (Pinot Grigio) that I had never tried before (though I have tried several others). I had a severe allergic reaction - my tongue swelled and I had to be rushed to the emergency room.

There was no other change in my diet and I have never had an allergic reaction to anything before. Is it possible that brand has an unusually high sulfite content?

Thanks,
John
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Hi John,

White wines in general contain more sulfites than reds because of the need to preserve color and freshness. Even organically grown contain around 80ppm (max 100 by law). However conventional wines have less restrictions and could go up to 160. It all depends on the bottling conditions and nothing except a chemical analysis will tell you the exact content. Also aside from the total sulfites content, it is the active part that is important because it is the one responsible for the chemical activity and therefore your own reaction. This is never mentioned so you could conceivably with the same amount of total sulfites for instance 100ppm have an active level of a few ppm up to 30 or 40ppm which would explain why one wine would not create any problem and an apparently similar one trigger a big reaction!
Not very reassuring for you I guess. However when one is sensitive to sulfites a high content is generally easy to spot thanks to the smell or by tasting a very tiny amount. Have you been aware of that?

Generally speaking if you have been able to drink most wines you should be completely safe with organically grown wines which have a maximum allowed content of 100ppm. For the past 30 years we have had countless customers satisfied with our products. Only extreme allergy sufferers need to stay away from anything having touched the allergen they are sensitive to.

DrMic
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Hi Dr. Mic,

Thanks for the information.
I *did* notice that the wine tasted "funny."

I never had a reaction before and I never had that wine before, so I didn't know strange/different = danger. Now I do.

Thanks,
John