SstarWines

11/23/2010 - 20:01 sstar: Hello!

11/23/2010 - 20:01 mwhitney: I hope this is the right page. Anyone there? - Mike

11/23/2010 - 20:01 sstar: I hope so, as well :)

11/23/2010 - 20:01 sstar: More people should come soon...

11/23/2010 - 20:02 sstar: Why Poland?

11/23/2010 - 20:03 sstar: How did you arrive to Zachowice?

11/23/2010 - 20:03 mwhitney: My wife is Polish and I have been working in the area for the last 15 years, starting as a lecturer at Politechnik Wrocławskie.

11/23/2010 - 20:03 sstar: You were lecturing English?

11/23/2010 - 20:03 mwhitney: Zachowice is the first hill south of Wrocław

11/23/2010 - 20:04 sstar: :)

11/23/2010 - 20:04 sstar: Second one is Ślęża?

11/23/2010 - 20:04 mwhitney: that is correct

11/23/2010 - 20:05 mwhitney: When you check the climate data, the south side of Slęzna is colder

11/23/2010 - 20:05 sstar: So, your choice was connected with loogking for the good place for the vineyard, or some other reasons?

11/23/2010 - 20:06 mwhitney: Looking for a good vineyard location. This is a marginal climate, site selection is very important here

11/23/2010 - 20:06 sstar: Do you believe in terroir? What you mean by marginal climate?

11/23/2010 - 20:07 mwhitney: We are not Napa valley and never will be. I believe you have to know your site or else you fail. At the beginning raising grapes in farming

11/23/2010 - 20:08 mwhitney: You have to know your microclimate and your soil. Or else you fail.

11/23/2010 - 20:08 sstar: Did you have some previous experience in winemaking?

11/23/2010 - 20:09 mwhitney: A lot all of it, all of it west coast US based. Mainly in Washington and Oregon

11/23/2010 - 20:10 mwhitney: My Uncle Willie was a filed research scientist at OSU and he has tought me a lot

11/23/2010 - 20:10 sstar: Which wines do you find best in these states?

11/23/2010 - 20:10 sstar: Hello Wesoły, nice to see you here!

11/23/2010 - 20:10 mwhitney: Lots of them. There is so much good stuff there that never reaches Europe

11/23/2010 - 20:11 sstar: I believe so, but if you would give some recommendations, what would they be?

11/23/2010 - 20:11 mwhitney: I am a big fan of the Oregon Pinot Noirs and the Cabernet of the columbia valley

11/23/2010 - 20:11 sstar: Just to recall: http://www.winnicaadoria.pl/

11/23/2010 - 20:12 sstar: Look at what we gathered in SW: Do you know

11/23/2010 - 20:12 sstar: http://www.sstarwines.pl/wina_USA

11/23/2010 - 20:13 mwhitney: You have a lot of Gallo on that list. Why is that?

11/23/2010 - 20:14 sstar: Could you comment of some of them?

11/23/2010 - 20:14 sstar: Gallo is very popular in Poland, that is why :)

11/23/2010 - 20:15 sstar: In fact it is hard to find good american wines in Europe, in Poland it is much worse!

11/23/2010 - 20:15 sstar: Coming back to Oregon. Do you know perhaps Ken Wright wines? What is your opinion?

11/23/2010 - 20:15 sstar: Hi Snsk!

11/23/2010 - 20:16 mwhitney: Ecole #41 alway has nice products. Ken Wright I do not know

11/23/2010 - 20:16 snsk: Hi, I am only observing the discussion :(

11/23/2010 - 20:16 snsk: Children at home...

11/23/2010 - 20:16 sstar: How about Randall Grahm? Far from Oregon, but...

11/23/2010 - 20:17 mwhitney: What type of wines would you like to see grown in Poland?

11/23/2010 - 20:17 sstar: Zinfandel ;)

11/23/2010 - 20:18 sstar: Truly? Most of Polish people would like to have some residual sugar in wines.

11/23/2010 - 20:18 sstar: Both in whites as in reds.

11/23/2010 - 20:18 mwhitney: I would like to see cabernet Sav. I see the same thing with the sugar issue

11/23/2010 - 20:18 mwhitney: you want red wines with sugar?

11/23/2010 - 20:19 sstar: Mosel Rieslings and Georgian Reds, do the job!

11/23/2010 - 20:19 sstar: I think so. I do not mean myself, but 90 percent of Polish would do!

11/23/2010 - 20:19 mwhitney: I agree on the Rieslings and white wines, the only red wine I like sweet is vinatge port

11/23/2010 - 20:20 sstar: But georgian reds are only slightly sweet and noble at the same time.

11/23/2010 - 20:21 sstar: These are the wines I would have if I had a wine shop.

11/23/2010 - 20:21 sstar: Apart from dry ones.

11/23/2010 - 20:21 sstar: Coming back to your wines...

11/23/2010 - 20:21 mwhitney: Yes, fire away

11/23/2010 - 20:22 sstar: What are the best ones, which ones are the ones you are particularly fond of?

11/23/2010 - 20:23 sstar: Firemen are absent. But they had their chance to taste your wines: http://www.sstarwines.pl/konkurs/node/328

11/23/2010 - 20:23 mwhitney: I am proud of everything we made in 2008. As they are a good staring point to build on

11/23/2010 - 20:23 sstar: How about 2009?

11/23/2010 - 20:24 sstar: Should be better?

11/23/2010 - 20:24 sstar: 2010? Disaster? Or you can see the light at the end off the tunnell... train approaching ;)

11/23/2010 - 20:24 mwhitney: 2009 we did not produce a vinatge, due to the fact that when we were building the winery Polish law did not allow us to

11/23/2010 - 20:25 sstar: Strange law. But it's Poland so we kind of got used to it.

11/23/2010 - 20:25 mwhitney: 2010 was actually OK, it was the worst year according to the Germans since 1979. But we had good diese control and that allowed us to pick in November

11/23/2010 - 20:26 mwhitney: 2010 will be semi sweet with higher acids

11/23/2010 - 20:26 sstar: Good idea! Perhaps some will like it more than 2008 then :)

11/23/2010 - 20:27 mwhitney: It will d appeal to the average person who like sweet wine

11/23/2010 - 20:27 sstar: Thus to most polish consumers. Good.

11/23/2010 - 20:27 sstar: Why not Gewurz? What was bad about it?

11/23/2010 - 20:28 sstar: Which other grape varieties did you try?

11/23/2010 - 20:28 mwhitney: Gewerz does not grow well at my site

11/23/2010 - 20:28 sstar: What was bad?

11/23/2010 - 20:28 mwhitney: We tried regent (i have never drank a good one) it grows good though, and CS

11/23/2010 - 20:29 sstar: Rondo?

11/23/2010 - 20:29 sstar: Blaufrankisch? Zweigelt?

11/23/2010 - 20:29 mwhitney: Gewerz produces 10% of the fruit as Riesling does at our site . Have you ever drank a good rondo?

11/23/2010 - 20:30 mwhitney: Blau. and Zweiglt are two grapes I do not have experience with

11/23/2010 - 20:30 sstar: Yes. I think some of Wesoły or from Płochockich was ok.

11/23/2010 - 20:31 mwhitney: That is great that they can pull it off

11/23/2010 - 20:31 sstar: How about sparklers?

11/23/2010 - 20:32 mwhitney: This climate would be good for sparkling, we might do it in the future

11/23/2010 - 20:32 sstar: But with which method?

11/23/2010 - 20:33 mwhitney: This is something i do not know a lot about as we did not do it when I was growing up. If we do do it we would go the trradional champagne method. No dumping bottled CO2 into white wine.

11/23/2010 - 20:34 sstar: But that's expensive!

11/23/2010 - 20:34 sstar: What are you icon wines, or favourite ones? From any place.

11/23/2010 - 20:35 mwhitney: Dude I am 43 years old I have no interest in going cheap. There is enough people doing that

11/23/2010 - 20:35 mwhitney: I am a big fan of CS from California, Washington and Chile. I iust drank a fantastic Clouds Bay Pinot Noir last moth which I really loved

11/23/2010 - 20:36 sstar: And Cab from US? Which one?

11/23/2010 - 20:37 mwhitney: Icon wines for me are Stags Leap, Grgic Hills, Chateu St. Michelle, and Columbia creast ( the klast one has to be the best bargin on the planet)

11/23/2010 - 20:37 sstar: Which is your favourite restaurant in Wrocław? Which wine shop would you recommend?

11/23/2010 - 20:37 mwhitney: Opus one is OK, the people that run the winery are first class

11/23/2010 - 20:38 mwhitney: La Scala is my favorite

11/23/2010 - 20:38 sstar: Which qualities are you looking for in the wine?

11/23/2010 - 20:39 mwhitney: Taste and how it was made

11/23/2010 - 20:39 sstar: Smell?

11/23/2010 - 20:39 mwhitney: Of course

11/23/2010 - 20:39 sstar: The most amazing/strange story connected with wine that happened to you?

11/23/2010 - 20:40 mwhitney: That we are doing what we are doing in Zachowice, this is not normal!

11/23/2010 - 20:40 sstar: True!

11/23/2010 - 20:40 sstar: :)

11/23/2010 - 20:41 sstar: Some of SstarWines users are fond of arts. Hence my question: your favourite writer, music band?

11/23/2010 - 20:41 mwhitney: Also the only place in the world that really gets the idea of Polish wine is the professionals in Napa Valley

11/23/2010 - 20:41 sstar: Why?

11/23/2010 - 20:42 mwhitney: My musical taste run the spectrim, but the closes connection is to Grunge. when I was living in Seattle during the early 90s being able of see Nirvana and pearl jam play 200 meters from my house.

11/23/2010 - 20:44 sstar: Which wine as a present would you like to receive at Christmas?

11/23/2010 - 20:44 mwhitney: Napa Vallley is the only place in the world where people think it is normal and good to produce wine in Poland, Poles look at you like you are crazy. I think it is part of the SanFrancisco/ Northern Californian creative mentality that makes people take starnge ideas and run with them. Creativelky that part of the world is inceadable

11/23/2010 - 20:45 mwhitney: for Christmas, Any good quality Riesling, chardonnay or Pinot Noir, so I can learn

11/23/2010 - 20:46 sstar: Perhaps Napa Valley people are not aware of our climate?

11/23/2010 - 20:46 mwhitney: Wrong, the also know that around the center of the country is a chalk belt

11/23/2010 - 20:47 sstar: :)

11/23/2010 - 20:47 mwhitney: I was surprised and gald to be home

11/23/2010 - 20:47 sstar: Which word in wine jargon is abused? How people should write about wine?

11/23/2010 - 20:48 mwhitney: People shoud write about wine with passion, if you like what you do you are good at it

11/23/2010 - 20:48 sstar: What would be the point when you would be happy/satisfied with your vineyard?

11/23/2010 - 20:48 mwhitney: When we start beating the Germans with our rieslings!

11/23/2010 - 20:49 sstar: And win in football ;)

11/23/2010 - 20:49 mwhitney: And when we can pull of a top quality Pinot Noir (not a rose)

11/23/2010 - 20:50 mwhitney: It would make me very very happy to see the Poles pull that off in football!

11/23/2010 - 20:50 sstar: You made a Pinot Noir, not a rose last year? How would you describe it?

11/23/2010 - 20:50 sstar: I mean 2008.

11/23/2010 - 20:51 mwhitney: A good staring point. The color was not as intense as i wanted it. But I have to work with what god gives me. I was happy that it tasted like an average burgandy

11/23/2010 - 20:51 mwhitney: These were only 3 year old plants

11/23/2010 - 20:51 sstar: Which are the worst dangers for your vineyard? Birds, mildew, anything?

11/23/2010 - 20:52 sstar: Frost?

11/23/2010 - 20:52 mwhitney: The laws here that do not allow you to spray for Szary plesz

11/23/2010 - 20:52 sstar: Szara pleśń :)

11/23/2010 - 20:52 sstar: You find it crazy?

11/23/2010 - 20:52 mwhitney: Frost we can deal with, the bigger problems are the heavy rains in June which knock off the flowers

11/23/2010 - 20:52 mwhitney: I find it more than crazy

11/23/2010 - 20:52 sstar: :)

11/23/2010 - 20:53 sstar: How did you set up the prices for your wines? Are you going to sell them to wine shops/restaurants?

11/23/2010 - 20:53 mwhitney: Let me know th next time you are in Wrocław. I would like to show you what were are doing. I will be showing my wines in Warsaw on the 7th and 8th of december

11/23/2010 - 20:54 sstar: I live (partly) in Wrocław :)

11/23/2010 - 20:54 sstar: I can visit you even tomorrow :)

11/23/2010 - 20:55 mwhitney: Come on out tomorrow. I have an inspection at 8 am - 9:30 than I am semi free

11/23/2010 - 20:55 sstar: I will not be present in Warsaw for Grand Prix MW as I understand.

11/23/2010 - 20:55 sstar: Ok. I will call you.

11/23/2010 - 20:55 mwhitney: Have you evry been to the gala? Is it any good?

11/23/2010 - 20:56 sstar: What kind of inspection? Are they reall nuisance (piss in the ass)?

11/23/2010 - 20:57 sstar: Never. But I take part in concours tasting for Gala with other members of SstarWines.

11/23/2010 - 20:57 sstar: It already took place: http://www.sstarwines.pl/konkurs/node/321

11/23/2010 - 20:58 mwhitney: Tomorrow we have to throow out 102 liters of osad winiarski (crape from the bottom of the tank) for some reason, WIJHAR wants to seee use dump it on ourcompost pile and write a report about it

11/23/2010 - 20:58 sstar: WIJHAR? What's that?

11/23/2010 - 20:59 mwhitney: Food quality inspectors. It will be our 29th inspection this year

11/23/2010 - 20:59 sstar: Is it average?

11/23/2010 - 21:00 mwhitney: Tomorrow I can show you all of the government inspection files I have. As I understand it it is normal. They never find anything bad

11/23/2010 - 21:01 sstar: Ok. Zachowice are not exactly at the road on the way to Sobótka, are they?

11/23/2010 - 21:02 mwhitney: On the road to Sobotka

11/23/2010 - 21:02 mwhitney: 2 kilometers noth of the Lotnisko Mirosławice

11/23/2010 - 21:02 sstar: And the vineyard?

11/23/2010 - 21:02 mwhitney: same place

11/23/2010 - 21:03 sstar: Once again. How did you chose the prices for your wines? They are the most expensive Polish wines compared to others: Jaworek, Płochoccy, UJ and Zbrodzice.

11/23/2010 - 21:03 mwhitney: I have a couple of kids I have to put to bed now. Does

11/23/2010 - 21:04 sstar: Ok.

11/23/2010 - 21:04 mwhitney: Gut feeling, it is not an exact science. they are selling,

11/23/2010 - 21:05 sstar: But would they still sell if they are more wine growers?

11/23/2010 - 21:05 sstar: If you prefer we can stop our chat or just hang it on?

11/23/2010 - 21:05 mwhitney: |during our first week we shipped toonly two places. Warsaw and France multiple packges.

11/23/2010 - 21:06 sstar: In Warsaw? Where one can get them?

11/23/2010 - 21:06 mwhitney: If you do not mind lets continue it tomorrow

11/23/2010 - 21:06 sstar: Ok.

11/23/2010 - 21:06 mwhitney: I would love to have more wine growers here. This is needed, and I will support anyone who asks. See you tomorrow

11/23/2010 - 21:07 sstar: Thanx for coming! See you tomorrow.

11/23/2010 - 21:07 mwhitney: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be on your chat

11/23/2010 - 21:08 sstar: For others as usual chat after chat, this time American Dream, Polish Reality: http://www.sstarwines.pl/drupal-6.10/node/330

11/23/2010 - 21:08 sstar: FIN!