Armagnac Vieil Sempe YO Armagnac XO Lauboude NV Croix de Salle Armagnac Domaine du Peyrot Alter Ego de Palmer
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Holy sh*t: Australia approves laxative agent in wine
Australian wines have gained huge market share over the past few decades. But nobody has accused them of dumping. Until now. The Australian government has approved the addition of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, which has “has long been prized by the medical world for its anti-bulking and laxative properties.” The cellulose gum prevents crystallization and cloudiness [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/GuSC/~3/wFexitLX4_M/
Croizet Bages d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Agassac d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Aiguilhe Dame de Montrose d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Angludet
Reminder: WBW 71 Is This Week!
It seems like is was just a few days ago that I announced the next edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday but it has been nearly 3 weeks. So just a friendly reminder that WBW 71, “Rhones Not From The Rh�ne,” is in just two days. And it’s easy to participate; just pick up a wine [...]
Reminder: WBW 71 Is This Week! originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/P5Lljfs40TQ/
Clos l\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Eglise Clos Puy Arnaud Corbin Cos d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Estournel Couspaude
Wine is a thread running through our lives
Last evening I participated in a Twitter tasting of Bordeaux wines. One of the producers in the tasting had acted in a short film and a link to it was tweeted out. I bookmarked the link and returned to it today for a look mostly out of curiosity and was pleasantly surprised with what I [...]
Wine is a thread running through our lives originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/6PHDOANp8FA/
La Tour Martillac Labegorce Zede Lafite Rothschild Lafleur Lafleur Gazin Pomerol
Good Grape Goes on Hiatus
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” said a very wise John Lennon and that’s exactly what has happened with me. My life has kept apace, even as I’ve made plans to be a respected wine writer.
By most standards, 2011 has been a very good year. I was a three-time finalist in the Wine Blog Awards, earning notice in the Best Overall Wine Blog, Best Industry Blog and Best Writing categories. I started contributing a wine column to Forbes.com. This site was named the 2nd most influential blog (and most influential wine blog) out of 4,000 blogs in a 2011 Wine, Beer and Spirits study by eCairn, a software company specializing in community and influencer marketing. I was a panelist at Vino2011 in New York City, I won a scholarship to the Wine Writer’s Symposium in Napa Valley, and I turned down enough worldwide wine trip offers to fill a two-month calendar.
Yet, wine writing has exacted a toll. I approach anything I do with a zeal and fervor that ensures me the success that I want and I’ve treated my wine writing as a full-time second job, to go alongside the job that I already have that requires 50 + hours a week.
Balance isn’t something that I’ve ever been very good at—possessed of an unassuming mien, a Midwestern work ethic, and a mental make-up whereby I cast myself as the underdog means that I am continually trying to prove something to myself, often times at the expense of real, true priorities.
Even more challenging is the fact that my standards for myself have been raised even as I’ve honed my writing chops. Instead of figuring out a system to find time shortcuts, the amount of time it takes for me to write has become more deliberate and expansive while my interest in writing has become more professional in nature – less blogging and more credible journalism requiring more work to exceed the bar that I’ve set for myself.
The net result of this, after full-time job plus wine writing, is the rest of my life has received scant attention for nearly seven years and I’ve created a nearly untenable situation for myself, a set of internal expectations that I can’t live up to, requiring a time commitment that I can’t manage.
However, most importantly, the expectations and time commitments that I have assigned to my wine writing isn’t fair to the other people in my life – notably, my incredibly supportive wife, Lindsay. She has been a saint the past six years, my blogging encompassing nearly the entire duration of our 6.5 year marriage. But, she is long overdue a vested husband and partner, something that I haven’t been good at for a long, long time.
I’ll be around the Internets – commenting on wine blogs, doing the Twitter thing, staying connected on Facebook and I’ll probably start engaging more actively on CellarTracker and on the WineBerserkers message board, but I’m taking a hiatus from wine writing to recalibrate and re-prioritize how I spend my time, shifting my time to the things that are the most important to me: The only woman I’ve ever loved and the family I want to have with her.
Jeff
Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/good_grape_goes_on_hiatus/
Barde Haut Baronat Mouton Baron Philippe Batailley Beau Sejour Becot Beau Site
Field Notes from a Wine Life ? Power Structure Edition
Odds and ends from a life lived through the prism of the wine glass…
Naked Wine and Occupy Wall Street
It’s not hard to notice the parallels between the natural wine movement and Occupy Wall Street - both are valid causes sorely lacking coherence and a rallying point that would move them from fringe head-scratcher to mainstream momentum.
• Natural wine is about purity of wine expression—shepherding grapes grown without chemicals to the bottle with as little human manipulation as possible, representing the place where they came from in the process.
• Occupy Wall Street is about re-calibrating the world’s best economic system – capitalism—to preserve the middle-class, the labor force that has allowed the U.S. to create the most productive economy in the world.
Neither movement represents fringe radicalism as some would have you believe. I look at both as being valid inflection points and, at their core, about keeping a balance between big and small, allowing every man and woman an equal opportunity at pursuing success around their particular truth.
What reasonable person would deny the validity of either if not clouded by confusion?
One idea well-conceived and well-communicated can change the world, but, unfortunately, both the natural wine movement and Occupy Wall Street are prevaricating from their essential truth, rendering them both toothless and feckless.
No need to crib from Che Guevara, but appealing to base logic and the common denominator would do both movements some good.
Just one man’s opinion…
On the Aussies, Redux
A few weeks back, I noted how the Australian wine industry was poised for a rebound in public perception due in part to two things happening in concert – public backlash to Yellow Tail wine, what I call the, “Derision Decision,” and an unspoken coalition of influencers recognizing Australia’s artisanal wine production – the antithesis of Yellow Tail. I cited recent sympathetic mentions from Jay McInerney in the Wall Street Journal and Dan Berger, wine writing’s current patriarch, as proof points.
You can add to the list of sympathetic mentions about artisanal Australia with recent mentions from Jancis Robinson and James Suckling.
Don’t sleep on Australia. It’s making a comeback slowly, but surely in public perception.
Tim Mondavi and Wine Spectator
Thomas Matthews, the Executive Editor for Wine Spectator magazine (WS), has commented on my site a few times. Each of these instances has been to protect or project Wine Spectator around its editorial goals.
Good on Thomas for not being afraid to get in the ring. Certainly, WS takes its fair share of shots from the wine chatterati, mostly with grace and aplomb.
Lest I cast myself as anything but objective, I should note that James Laube’s article on Tim Mondavi and Continuum in the current issue of WS (November 15th issue) is everything right about what mainstream wine media can offer wine consumers that online wine writing (mostly) doesn’t –long-form, depth, first-person access and an effort that takes weeks and not hours.
Laube’s piece is excellent - well-written and balanced; acknowledgement thereof is in order.
Besides the Wine
Jordan winery has two wines – a Cabernet and Chardonnay, but they really have a triumvirate in terms of things to buy. Jordan focuses on food and wine as being partners at the table and, to that end, any purchase from Jordan should also include their olive oil. Wow!
The Jordan olive oil makes Trader Joe’s EVOO seem like Two Buck Chuck, comparatively speaking. A little whole wheat Barilla pasta, some homemade pesto using the Jordan olive oil and some artisan bread in five minutes a day and you’re assuredly living the good life. The rub is I wouldn’t pour the round Jordan Chard with the pesto, probably a Sauvignon Blanc, but don’t let that dissuade you from picking up their olive oil – it’s good stuff.
Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/field_notes_from_a_wine_life_power_structure_edition/
Cheval Blanc (Damaged Label) Cissac Citran Clarence Haut Brion Clerc Milon
Orson Welles, in his cups
“Ahhhhhh, the French!… Champagne…” The outtakes of this Orson Welles ad make the rounds periodically, with this one racking up 854,000 views thus far. And, yes, it is funny when you turn on the outrageously bad closed captioning…
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/GuSC/~3/ImHETFF8M5o/
Grand Puy Lacoste Gruaud Larose Guadet Guadet Saint Julien Haut Bages Liberal
If the Euro melts down, would euro wine go up?
Although markets have rallied this week, the collapse of the euro is the topic du jour. Mike Steinberger talked with some players in European wine and found that none had a particular plan for handling a collapse. Fair enough: such a cataclysmic event would hold lots of uncertainty and dislocation. And we all know what [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/GuSC/~3/kfbIBV6Qn9Q/
d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Aiguilhe Dame de Montrose d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Angludet d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Armailhac De Chevalier
Friday, December 30, 2011
Field Notes from a Wine Life ? Media Edition
Odds and ends from a life lived through the prism of the wine glass…
Rex Pickett
If you’re not reading Rex Pickett’s (author of Sideways and Vertical) blog, you are officially remiss.
Pickett is a gifted writer who cranks out perfectly incubated long-form posts with turns of phrase that are both wry and rich, offering insight into the machinations of publishing, film and stage that few culture vultures grasp.
Pickett recently wrote an extensive (3900 word) post on the reasons why a film sequel to Sideways (directed by Alexander Payne) would not be made from Vertical, Pickett’s book sequel. In doing so, Pickett offered a discursive meditation on Payne’s artistic pathos and the factors that may be playing into Vertical’s stall on the way to celluloid.
Unfortunately, Pickett removed the post after re-publishing a second version that deleted much of the armchair psychologist rumination he originally channeled from Payne’s psyche. An email inquiry to Pickett on why he removed the post (in either iteration) has gone unanswered.
If I were a muckraker, I would publish the post because Pickett’s deletion of the post from his site did not delete the post from RSS feed readers like Bloglines or Google Reader. But, I’m not a muckraker…
Hopefully, Pickett will revisit the topic in a manner that is less confessional and more elucidation because it was worth the extended read time. Until then you can read the other posts on his site and gain tremendous insight into the vicissitudes of the publishing process, what the afterglow is like after capturing the cultural zeitgeist and how he’s helping bring Sideways to the theatre with a stage version.
It’s definitely recommended reading.
A Discovery of Witches
While we’re on the topic of books and authors (and with Halloween around the corner), a reinforcing mention goes to Deb Harkness of Good Wine Under $20. Earlier this year a little book she wrote called, “A Discovery of Witches” was published and immediately shot up the best sellers lists. The movie rights were acquired this summer by Warner Bros, likely securing Harkness’ financial future in the process.
While I read fiction infrequently (the last fiction book being Vertical by Rex Pickett), those that I know who can tell the difference between kindling and a classic call A Discovery of Witches “mad genius.”
Any conversation about a wine blogger doing good should begin with Deb Harkness who is now dabbling in rarified air. Pick up her book if you haven’t yet.
Bargain Wine Books
There’s little doubt, in the prolonged US economic malaise we’re experiencing, that “value wine” and “bargain wine” are hot topics. Heck, an entire channel of business has been defined with “Flash” wine sale sites. Given that, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a couple of wine books would be published with this specific focus.
What is a surprise is that the books are authored by wine writers with real chops engaged in offering a deeper narrative than the slapdash compendiums of wine lists that has passed muster in years gone by.
Just in time for the holidays, Natalie MacLean has Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest for the World’s Best Bargain Wines publishing on November 1st and George Taber, a wine writer on a tear with his fourth book in six years, has A Toast to Bargain Wines: How Innovators, Iconoclasts, and Winemaking Revolutionaries Are Changing the Way the World Drinks publishing on November 15th.
An Idea worth Duplicating?
Celebrity deaths come in threes and new wine ideas come in twos.
We’ve seen this duplicative market entry in recent years with winery reservation systems CellarPass and VinoVisit and now we’re seeing it with quasi-wine search engines.
WineMatch and VinoMatch are both in the early stages of launch purporting to help a consumer match their likes with wines they might enjoy.
Meh. The problem with these sites isn’t that consumers don’t need help finding a wine they like, the problem is that most wine consumers don’t understand what kind of wine they like. Yes, it’s the tannins that dry the back of the mouth and its residual sugar that makes that K-J so delectable…
By the time consumers figure out their likes and dislikes graduating beyond the “go-to,” they don’t care about having somebody help them “match” their wines to their tastes because they’re on their own adventure.
It’s just my opinion, but these sites face looooong odds of finding consumer success and short of the slick willy seduction that happens with some wineries who haven’t been bitten and as such aren’t twice shy, they won’t find *any* success. But, I’ve been wrong before, at least once.
Pictures and Pithiness
While we’re on the topic of online wine services, I’m not sure whether I should be happy or aghast that I’ve been a habitué of the online wine scene for long enough to see a derivative – it’s like watching a remake of the movie Footloose when I was saw the original in the theatre.
There’s a new wine site called TasteJive that takes the concept of a wine blog called Chateau Petrogasm, popular in 2007 and 2008, to new heights.
Around the premise that a picture is worth a thousand words even if that picture has nothing to do with wine, they have created a site that provides nothing but visual metaphors with a 140 character description for finding wines you might like.
I loved the idea of Chateau Petrogasm, I like the idea of a perfectly crafted 140 character slug, but I’m very uncertain about the community aspect of TasteJive—the users who control the uploading of pictures and descriptions.
As noted mid-20th century photographer Diane Arbus said, “A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know.”
Not exactly a recipe for success in bumping into a wine.
Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/field_notes_from_a_wine_life_media_edition/
Charmail Chasse Spleen Chateau Hermitage St Emilion Chauvin Cheval Blanc
Thank You From the Bottom of My Heart
I’m sitting here in my new home office with a fresh perspective and a touch of the misties, as in misty-eyes.� Rich and I have been moved into the place for just over a month and it has made a huge difference in how we feel about things.� I now recognize that we were both [...]
Source: http://familylovewine.wordpress.com/2010/08/13/thank-you-from-the-bottom-of-my-heart/
Clinet Clos Cantenac Clos de l\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Oratoire Clos de Sarpe Clos des Jacobins
Summer Hill Country Photos
About a year ago I started a Facebook group with the same name as my Blog. I posted a few photos from our summer vacation down in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. I will be posting more here soon and on my Flickr photo page. If your on Facebook would love to have you […]
Source: http://thegrapesaroundtexas.com/2011/07/10/summer-hill-country-photos/
La Mission Haut Brion La Reserve du Generale La Tour Figeac La Tour Haut Brion La Tour Martillac
Eight New Wines from Argentina
Recently, our friends at Vineyard Brands sent us samples from three Argentine producers whose wines they have introduced into the U.S. market. All eight of these proved to be some of the most enjoyable selections we?ve tried from South America in some time, and we would recommend any and all of them. Included here with [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gangofpour/uncZ/~3/ock_kScg3WM/eight-new-wines-from-argentina
Couvent des Jacobins Croix de Labrie Croizet Bages d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Agassac d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Aiguilhe
Canonica A Cerreto Sandiavolo 2004
I just had this lovely Italian wine the other day. It's a so called SuperTuscan so its made of other grapes that the local Sangiovese. The Canonica A Cerreto Sandiavolo 2004 is made of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese. Canonica A Cerreto is located in the heart of the Chianti Classico area in the town of Castelnuovo near Sienna. They also make traditional Chianti Classico but this one is their top wine only produced in the best vintages.
Source: http://www.wine4freaks.com/46/canonica-a-cerreto-sandiavolo-2004/
Pavie Macquin Pavillon Rouge du Margaux Pinot Noir Cabernet Sauvinon Wine and Cheese
Wine Event Announces Winners
The winners of the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition were announced June 10 at a media roll-out in Los Angeles. Find the winners here.
Source: http://blogs.fairplex.com/blog/wine/?p=110
La Croix du Casse La Fleur Cardinale La Fleur de Bouard La Fleur de Gay La Gaffeliere
Value Alert: 2007 Betts & Scholl Grenache "The O.G"
What impressed me most about Jobs was his ability to innovate in so many domains and across so many unique products. His ability to give people a sense of childlike wonder made people feel like with technology - anything is possible.
Rest in peace, Steve. You are and will be missed.
Ever since I tasted this wine at the 2011 Wine Spectator Grand Tour in Boston (review) I've had an eye out for it. After tasting through some amazing but drying wines at the event from Bordeaux and Barolo, Mike O'Connell Jr from Upper Falls Liquors suggested I check out the 2006 Betts & Scholl "The O.G." Grenache. His recommendation was on the money.
I know what you're thinking...a $29 "value" from Australia? Why spend more than $10 in the region for a 90 point wine? Right?
There are so many ultra-ripe fruit bombs and otherwise high priced stewy disasters coming out of the region - it makes me hesitant to plop down more than $15/btl. However, this wine breaks the mold for what I've come to know of Australian wine, which has been mostly Shiraz.
Betts & Scholl is a unique producer. I wasn't aware until doing some research that they're not necessarily Australian producers. They're a partnership between US-based Master Sommelier Richard Betts and collector Dennis Scholl. Betts described their 2001 bottling as a "warm climate analogy of Pinot Noir" on Wine Library TV in 2007. I totally get that.
In addition to Australia, they produce other red and white wines from California and France ranging from $29-$79. The O.G. stands for "Original Grenche" (I was thinking Original Gangster) but they also make a $49 Australian Grenche called "The Cronique". If you get the sense these guys listened to a lot of rap music in the early 90s you might be right. Word has it they named it The Cronique because it was hard to stop drinking and Andre Young (Dr. Dre) was one of the first customers to pick up a case. Interesting stuff.
Here are my notes on the 2007 Barossa Grenache:
2007 Betts & Scholl The O.G. Grenache Barossa Valley
$29 Release Price
14.5% Alcohol
1,300 Cases Produced
As light as a domestic Pinot Noir visually, but it packs a flavorful punch. Raspberries and strawberries atop vegetal notes aromatically. Surprisingly dense on the palate given its visual transparency. Flavors of sweet spice (cinnamon?), black cherries, and just a touch of heat (14.5% alcohol). Quite luscious. I like it. I really like it.
92/100 WWP: Oustanding
CellarTracker
Wine-Searcher
Winery website
Highly recommended viewing:
Richard Betts on Wine Library TV (vintage! Back from 2007)
Purchased at The Urban Grape in Chestnut Hill, MA.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Deal Alert: 93 WS $15 Spanish Red
It might be lost in the excitement surrounding the highly acclaimed 2009 California Pinot Noir vintage, but if you look on page 87 of the October 15, 2011 issue of Wine Spectator you'll see a round up of Top Wines from Spain.
In the midst of a number of wines rated 93 points, wedged in between a $200 Numanthia-Termes and a $250 Bodegas Roda is the 2004 Bodegas Resalte de Penafiel Ribera del Duero de Restia Crianza Selected Harvest at $15.
What do I know about this wine? Nothing. But I know where to buy it.
While I was trying to track the wine down I received an email from The Spirit Shoppe (a WWP advertsier) offering it at a fair price. I asked owner Devin Vollmer what was up with this wine? Why was a 2004 just being rated? He answered on their Facebook page that most Crianza is cellared for 2 years (so 09s are being released for the most part) but this wine was just arriving in the states.
CellarTracker
Wine-Searcher
As of now The Spirit Shoppe is the only place in the country I see offering this wine. It's $18.69 per bottle with free shipping in MA if you buy a mixed case of wine. Check out their assortment of 09 CdPs, CdRs, and domestic Pinot Noir to round out a case:
Buy this wine online at The Spirit Shoppe
Question of the Day: Have you tried this wine or other vintages?
Lafite Rothschild Lafleur Lafleur Gazin Pomerol Lafon Rochet Lagrange
Best 2009 California Pinot Noirs Under $30
I truly enjoyed reading through this Pinot Noir issue in particular. There's something unmatchable about taking a break from staring at the computer monitor and thumbing through glossy pages while enjoying a glass of wine. The issues arrive with higher frequency this time of year, covering the most interesting categories for the upcoming holiday buying season, so it's a great time to subscribe.
You can even use airline miles (here's how) and once you have a print subscription you can get an online subscription for 50% off. I constantly refer to their ratings database. Not just for the scores but for production levels, prices, and historical rating trends for a given winery.
But the thing I like best about the magazine is how it turns me on to new producers.
If we look at the top rated 2009 California Pinot Noirs they've rated so far, cap the price at $30, and sort based on the WWP QPR (what's that?) we find a select group of wines:
| Price | Rating | WWP QPR | |
| Loring Pinot Noir Russian River Valley | $29 | 93 | 2.07 |
| Loring Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands | $29 | 93 | 2.07 |
| Siduri Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands | $29 | 92 | 1.64 |
| Chasseur Pinot Noir Sonoma County | $30 | 92 | 1.59 |
| Alta Maria Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley | $28 | 91 | 1.35 |
| Siduri Pinot Noir Russian River Valley | $29 | 91 | 1.30 |
| Siduri Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast | $29 | 91 | 1.30 |
| Laguna Ridge Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast | $20 | 89 | 1.19 |
| Sarapo Pinot Noir Carneros-Sonoma County Donato | $20 | 89 | 1.19 |
I touched on Loring and Siduri in my prior post. I consider them to be cornerstones of value in California Pinot Noir and once we get past them we see a few names that might not be as familiar.
First - Chasseur. Their $30, 92 point 2009 Sonoma County Pinot Noir is one to seek out. I've tried two bottles of the wine and each time I've been impressed (91-92 points). The CellarTracker median for this wine is currently 90.5. They produced 562 cases of the 2009 Sonoma County and distribute to the east coast so there is still an opportunity to buy this wine at retail. I bought mine at Grapes the Wine Co in White Plains, NY (review of the store here - I think he still has some). Consult Wine-Searcher for retailers with availability near you.
Strangely, it's hard to get excited about 89 point rated wines (c'mon, admit it - it is). But given the $20 price point of the last two wines on the list they're worth discussing:
Laguna Ridge is a second label from Lynmar who produces Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from (mostly) the Russian River Valley in Sonoma. Lynmar's Pinots range in price between $40 and $120 and Spectator rated their 2009s between 88 and 94 points. 492 cases of the 2009 Laguna Ridge Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir were produced. No CellarTracker ratings yet. Scarce availability at retail so far.
Sarapo resells small lots of wine from artisan wineries. It's run by Eric Kent's winemakers and deals mostly in the grape varieties Eric Kent is known for: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah. The 89 point 2009 Sarapo Pinot Noir Carneros-Sonoma County Donato can be found at retail for $19.99 and eligible for mixed case discounts which would bring it down to $16.99 or so. One to consider on the more affordable end of the spectrum. There's even some availability in Massachusetts.
Conclusion
While there are a few new names to discover here, we haven't seen any mindbending QPRs revealed - at least not yet. It's been mostly a "get what you pay for" vintage as notable for the highly regarded producers who were snubbed (more on that another time perhaps) as it was for the reliable producers who delivered great wines in a great vintage.
That doesn't mean it's a bad vintage to buy from - far from it. It just means that for the most part we'll have to pay $25 and up to get an outstanding bottle of California Pinot Noir.
But that doesn't mean there's not a few gems out there Spectator didn't rate. Or that we just don't agree on. Check back later this week and I'll share my tasting notes for the 25+ 2009 California Pinot Noirs I've tried so far. I think there'll be some gems in there worth discovering.
Click here to subscribe to the Wellesley Wine Press
Question of the Day: What are some of your favorite affordable California Pinot Noir producers?
Lagrange Lalande Borie Lanessan Langoa Barton Larcis Ducasse
WBW 71 Wrap-up: (Mostly) New World Rhones
It has been nearly three years since I last hosted Wine Blogging Wednesday but my choice of theme was easy. Wines made from Rh�ne varieties are among my personal favorites and I was hoping to learn about many more new wines from participants this month. There were 25 bloggers posting reviews from all over the [...]
WBW 71 Wrap-up: (Mostly) New World Rhones originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/BXdQNlLxMqM/
Armagnac Baron de Lustrac Armagnac Baron de Sigognac Armagnac Baron de Sigognac ans Armagnac Chateau de Laubade NV Armagnac Clos des Saveurs
Honest Cooking: A Digital Food & Wine Magazine
On Monday of this week a new online food and wine magazine, Honest Cooking,�launched. An�audacious�experiment in group blogging led by�Kalle Bergman, the site features the writing of over 50 food and wine writers from around the globe. And I am pleased to be a small part of the staff, writing a few posts each week [...]
Honest Cooking: A Digital Food & Wine Magazine originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/89ZRARMmnnE/
Ride Wine & Dine Event this Friday at The Boston Harbor Hotel
The event is sponsored by The Martignetti Companies (the wine and spirits distributor) and The Boston Harbor Hotel and includes food and wine from around the world along with a silent auction of wine and live entertainment. Here's the schedule:
Champagne Reception & Registration
7:00-9:00pm
International Wine & Food Tasting
Silent Auction Bidding
9:00pm
Close of Silent Auction
Begin Live Auction
9:30-11:00-pm
Music & Dancing
I attended the event last year so let me know if you have any questions on the format. The International Tasting consisted of about 6 different stations offering food and wine pairings from countries like France, Italy, etc.
The silent auction offers an opportunity to bid on an assortment of individual bottles and curated lots from around the world - all of which are available to take home that night. I noticed that famous brands tended to attract high bids while lesser known (but probably higher quality) wines could be had at attractive price points.Towards the end of the silent auction I noticed fellow hard core wine geek deal hounds lurking around the table lording over the items they had their eye on. My bid $425 on this lot of Napa Cab was eclipsed at just the last moment but I did manage to score a signed magnum of 2007 O'Shaughnessy Cab for $150.
Over the last 7 years the event has raised more than $750,000 to fight cancer. Their goal is to raise more than $200,000 for the third year in a row.
Tickets cost $160 and are available online and at the door.
For more information visit: http://pmcwinebenefit.org
Pape Clement Patache d\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Aux Pavie Pavie Decesse Pavie Macquin
Poll: How much do you tip for wine service?
A friend and I were talking about this - I thought I'd put it up here for discussion and a poll.
You and a friend are out at a restaurant. Let's say it's just a regular restuarant - not a wine bar. You order $100 worth of food and a $100 bottle of wine. The service is good. Solid. How much do you tip? Specifically - do you tip differently for wine service than food service in a restuarant?
Does it depend on the quality of the wine service? If they pour your $100 prize into cheap little water glasses on the table vs. presenting large clean high quality stemware does it make a difference?
How about if it's BYOB? You bring the wine and to justify the (say) $25 corkage fee you bring a really nice one. $100 retail. It would be $250+ if it were on the wine list at the restaurant. Do you pay more for someone to pour your own expensive wine than if it was a $10 bottle?
Tell us what you think. Answer the poll below and if you'd like to describe why leave a comment below.
Thanks for your thoughts!
(if you're viewing this blog post via email or in a feed reader and the poll doesn't appear try viewing this page directly in a web browser)
You and a friend are out at a restaurant. Let's say it's just a regular restuarant - not a wine bar. You order $100 worth of food and a $100 bottle of wine. The service is good. Solid. How much do you tip? Specifically - do you tip differently for wine service than food service in a restuarant?
Does it depend on the quality of the wine service? If they pour your $100 prize into cheap little water glasses on the table vs. presenting large clean high quality stemware does it make a difference?
How about if it's BYOB? You bring the wine and to justify the (say) $25 corkage fee you bring a really nice one. $100 retail. It would be $250+ if it were on the wine list at the restaurant. Do you pay more for someone to pour your own expensive wine than if it was a $10 bottle?
Tell us what you think. Answer the poll below and if you'd like to describe why leave a comment below.
Thanks for your thoughts!
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Wednesday, December 28, 2011
European Wine Bloggers Conference Begins October 14, 2011
This evening we set off to Italy for the European Bloggers Conference IV. We are very excited because the agenda of conference sessions and wine country excursions are ?molto fantastico.? We can only wonder how we will be able to manage the consumptions of so much fine wine and food that the Italian wine consortiums have in store for the 216 wine bloggers that will attend this amazing wine soiree. The conference headquarters are in Brescia, Italy, which is situated in the heart of the Franciacorta wine territory, notably known for its fabulous sparkling wine. Continue reading
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Changing critic, changing styles?
With yesterday’s announcement from Robert Parker that Jay Miller will be leaving The Wine Advocate, five wine regions will be getting new reviewers for the publication. David Schildknecht is a thoughtful, erudite, thorough reviewer with a tremendous knowledge of the regions he covers. The one time I met him, he held forth on not only [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/GuSC/~3/_AOW9AxHcWM/
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Scoop the Spectator and Win a Kindle Fire
This year we're playing for a Kindle Fire ($199 value!) sponsored by New York wine retailer Grapes the Wine Company.
Here are the Rules:
- Submit your guess as a comment on this blog post.
- One guess per person.
- The first person to guess a specific wine "owns" that wine as their entry. Subsequent guesses of the same wine aren't useful so look at the previous comments before submitting your entry.
- If nobody guesses the 2011 Wine Spectator Wine of Year, the guess with the highest position on the list will win the prize.
- Not that they'd try, but Wine Spectator editors aren't allowed to enter. And if you have inside information please don't spoil the fun for others by entering. But if you do know please E-mail me and let me know. ;)
- Since the Kindle Fire is US-only at this point, a winning entry from outside the U.S. will receive a $199 Amazon.com gift card.
- Quality (represented by score)
- Value (reflected by release price)
- Availability (measured by cases made or imported)
- An X-factor we call excitement.
But no equation determines the final selections: These choices reflect our editors? judgment and passion about the wines we tasted.
The year before, the 95WS/$27 2005 Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley Reserve was more in line with what I think makes Spectator's Wine of the Year interesting. The wine was widely available at warehouse clubs in the high $20s prior to the announcement and now sells for over $100 at auction.
To be successful, I think you need to have a sense for what category the publication would like to make a statement about. After the Saxum announcement heavy coverage came out about Paso Robles, and Saxum seemed to capture the essence of what's going on in the region. With the Columbia Crest Reserve the sentiment seemed to be value.
What will they choose this year? 2009 California Pinot Noir? (best vintage evar!) 2006 Brunello? Bordeaux (2005) and Chateauneuf (2007) seem to be in a lull until 2009/2010. Napa Cab hit a peak in 2007 and didn't make the cut last year. Is there a new region they might like to highlight?
The thing is - and sometimes this is forgotten when crunching the numbers - the wine needs to stand up to the scrutiny of all the Spectator editors. Not just the person covering the region. That's where I think there's some merit in tracking down wines in the Spectator Top 10. They tend to be pretty darn good wines if you can get your hands on them.
Interesting side note: Last year's winner went on to do some freelance writing for Wine Spectator. Demonstrate your savvy here and you could work your way into a wine writing job in the big leagues!
Ready, set, GO! Leave your entry below as a comment.
Drop me an email (wellesleywinepress@gmail.com) or hit me up on Twitter (@RobertDwyer) if you have any questions.
And let's let Grapes the Wine Company's Daniel Posner know we appreciate his making this contest more interesting by signing up for his mailing list (he offers some amazing deals) and/or giving him a shout-out on Twitter (@grapestwc).
Contest closes Friday, November 11th at 11:59 pm Eastern.
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