VARIETAL(S): Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon
REGION: Napa Valley, California
PRICE: $15
Lovely, light and oh-so-summery, this sauvignon blanc shines. It is a pale golden yellow with bright citrus scents accentuated by a palate that is soft, yet crisp with ripe melon and golden apple flavors. Just when you think you've got it all figured out, stand by for the palate cleansing citrus and a clean stony finish. It s so easy to drink I found myself slurping a little. Great on its own, but even more lovely with light seafood fare.
I probably wouldn't pay full price for it, but luckily I found mine on sale at a local market. If you can't find it locally, you can find it here: Silverado Sauvignon Blanc
While it is certainly a novel idea, I'm not sure the wine handbag (or wine in a box that looks like a handbag) is the wave of the future. A little too kitchy for my taste--though I am a rose fanatic--and I'm sure I would not settle on White Grenache as my rose of choice. A resounding, YIKES! But check it out for yourselves:
This package won best design and packaging prize at the 2008 Drink Business awards, for its clutch-style handbag box. Now perhaps I am just not the right kind of woman, but I found the strapline "White Grenache - loved by women almost as much as they love their handbags", a tad condescending. "Appealing directly to the rosé wine consumer" - does the love of rosé equal a love of handbags? Apparently so; according to Tesco, where it is being sold, the package has been "incredibly successful". Posted on TheDieline by Natasha Chetiyawardana
Maybe I should say, "crazy for the fox." I have four new wines to bring you, but I don't want to hit you all at once so I'm going to split them into pairs. I really want you to remember these wines and relish them as much as I have relished tasting them. So when you have a minute, check out KitFox Vineyards. They're a small California property but it is remarkably evident, they have big heart.
The Vogel family have been farming the land for four generations (nuts before wine) and have the unique distinction of being the sole producers in the upstart Salado Creek AVA. And they seem to possess the requisite passion for growing the grapes as well as turning them into wine -- stunning wine, but more on that later.
I'll be honest, I was a little nervous -- I really wanted to like the wines because I like their story. I'm a sucker for a strong family business. Add to that the classic and upscale bottle styling and a cheeky marketing campaign and I'm drawn in before the first glass is poured. So what happens if the wines are mediocre? It happens. I've seen it before. Great packaging, great story, okay wine. As I hinted above, that is not the case here. They sent me four wines to try and I followed up with a little light reading and the best part of this gig, lots of tasting. Tune in for Part 2.
This is as super-smooth an Italian as I've ever encountered--and that includes a few close encounters while vacationing in northern Italy one summer. Ripe, round plum and berry notes accentuated with a subtle nudge of black pepper and spice. It is a natural match for tuscan pot roast, but I like it with thin crust pizza as well. This is a great find for lovers of Italian (wines, of course) and a beautiful value-priced Barbera. I found it at Costco for $10 but you can also find it here: Fontanafredda Briccotondo Barbera.
p.s. If you're into ratings, this baby made the Wine Spectator Top 100 2007 and was given a whopping 90 points.
Days of Wine and Roses is one film not to watch if you are melancholic by nature, as this tale of middle-class alcoholism rings very true. Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick are the besotted couple who find that life is not always fun when viewed through rosé-colored glasses.
Here's our take - it's Summer and a nice old movie mixed with a little wine could be just the thing for tonight.
VARIETAL: Cabernet Sauvignon
REGION: Napa, California
PRICE: $11
In general, I dig what the folks at Vinum Cellars have going on. Slightly irreverant brand personality, but backed up by solid fruit and stellar winemaking. The resulting wines are what we're all about: lovingly crafted and easy on the pocketbook. That said, I don't LOVE the 2006 Rose. It is bright and crisp with decent berry notes and hint of watermelon. But it is not as layered as previous vintages that I so relished summers past. It is perfectly fine, certainly OKAY, just not as great as I remember and even a little hot on the finish. I picked mine up at World Market, but if you don't have one near you, it is also available on Wine.com.
Now is the time to thank Dad for all of his of love and support--and for some, perhaps a thank you for imparting his years of wine wisdom. Here are some of our picks to help you do just that.
Our picks fromAmazon: Metrokane Wine Pourer with Stopper$5 Serve wine with a touch of elegance. The Velvet wine pourer pours smoothly without drips and the stopper seals wine air-tight. Both pieces have an easy-grip velvet finish.
The World Atlas of Wine$32 Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson once again combine their unrivalled talents to enhance this masterpiece of wine knowledge. 48 extra pages, including 17 new color illustrations, 20 new maps, and double page spreads and full-page photos in the atlas section for maximum visual impact. It's an essential addition to every wine lover's or professional's library.
Oster Electric Wine Opener$22 At the touch of a button, the Oster Wine Opener easily opens up to 30 bottles on a single charge. The stylish and ergonomically designed soft-grip handle will fit into the palm of your hand for a firm grip. Also includes a foil cutter to remove wine seals and a recharging base for convenience.
Vacu Vin WineMaster Corkscrew$45 Throw out those old corkscrews and replace them with this revolutionary one. Using it is simple. Place the Corkscrew over the top of the bottle; the built-in bottle grip will hold the bottle tightly. With both hands, gently move the handles up and down; the specially-coated spiral will easily insert into the cork and then extract it. Includes a foil cutter and a 2-year guarantee.
FromWine Enthusiast : Gearshift Bottle Stopper$15 Win the race against oxidation with this "5-speed" stopper! The rubber seal around the stainless steel gearshift with cherry wood knob ensures a tight fit on your wine bottle---and a fast way to lock in freshness. The ideal gift for the wine-loving car buff!
Personal Wine Curator Wine Cellar Software$25 Indispensable to managing your wine cellar, this wine cellar software catalogs your collection with impressive details. You're able to categorize your wines up to 500 sub-regions. You're alerted when your cellared wines have reached maturity and match each wine to over 7,500 food pairing suggestions.
Clef du Vin Pocket Wine Tasting Tool$130 Mature young wine instantly. When dipped into wine, the patented metal alloy on the tip replicates the aging process, softening the tannins in young wines and improving their taste.
Gift of Wine Boxed Sets $39 - $275 Quick, easy and always appreciated, high quality wine gifts have been a Wine Messenger trademark for over a decade. Perfect for the holidays and great year-round! Giving a gift is quick and easy, simply: Select from among our range of premade gift sets; or Select your own wines and gift box them at checkout.
Wine of the Month Subscription $27 - $79 per month A wonderful way to explore the world of boutique wines. Every month our Tasting Panel selects their two favorite bottles. Available in three price categories: Silver, Gold and Platinum. You are guaranteed great selections.
Eco-Friendly Wine Packaging - French Rabbit Tetra Paks
For most people these days, Earth Day isn't just a once a year event. Even folks in the wine industry are becoming more eco-conscious in a number of ways. For wine producers, eco friendly packaging can mean cheaper to produce and cheaper to ship. For us, it means more wine for less money and ultimately less waste.
Making French Rabbit's New Eco-Smart Wine Bottle How Boisset Family Estates, the third-largest French winery, launched an eco-smart alternative to the wine bottle that's remaking the industry. by Alissa Walker
U.S. wine consumption topped 300 million cases in 2007, an all-time high. The largest growth is among 21-to-31-year-olds and in $12 to $15 bottles. In fact, 70% of all wine is drunk on the day it's purchased. Boisset Family Estates sought to capitalize on this casual wine trend with French Rabbit, and for marketing and environmental reasons, "we wanted to break the tradition of presenting wine in a glass bottle," says Jean Charles Boisset, president.
Boisset chose "Tetra Pak," an aluminum-coated paperboard known for its versatility. (Everything from orange juice to soup is packaged in it.) The recyclable material is superior to glass in protecting wine from oxidation, and its thinner walls let wine chill more quickly.
Early mock-ups played with a variety of off-the-shelf Tetra Pak options, including the Tetra Brik, often used for soy milk, Boisset decided on an "octagonal one-liter" shape, a radical departure from typically dowdy bag-in-box wines. Jean Charles also liked its rounded, ergonomic qualities. "I really liked the way it felt to hold and pour out," he says.
The Tetra Pak French Rabbits arrive at stores in branded, recyclable cardboard boxes that can be used to build "distinctive displays," eliminating the need for additional, bulky point-of-scale elements. This spring, Boisset launched four-packs of "single-serving" French Rabbit to promote the wine as picnic friendly.
Boisset introduced French Rabbit in Canada in 2005 and then the United States in late 2006. It toured the country, holding blind taste tests with wine journalists, who've given the vino high marks. Consumers have too, buying more than 4.5 million French Rabbits in Tetra Pak in North America (the company also sells glass-bottle versions, so as to offer a choice). And the industry has noticed. "Over 70 wineries have launched the Tetra Pak wine since our launch," Jean Charles says.
Check out the full piece in the June 2008 issue of Fast Company
VARIETAL: Chardonnay
REGION: Burgundy, France
PRICE: $11
This was sort of a last-minute buy at Whole Foods. People coming for dinner. Flounder in parchment already in the oven and I had only a bottle of rose and a bottle of albarino chilled. Not a disaster if you're having friends over. But alas we were expecting a picky relative, so off to the market. I figured you can't really go wrong with a decent white burgundy--generally pleasing to even picky palates and a good match for the fish. Not wanting to spend a lot of $$, I chose the Cave de Lugny. I was pretty familiar with other Cave de Lugny wines so I gave it a shot. Lovely scents of golden apple, pear and citrus were enticing, but there was no pay-off. I found this wine a little thin and flat, almost watery. And though it did exhibit nice, clean, distinctly Burgundian minerality, there was not much else to balance it out. I even let it warm up a bit thinking it might be too cold. Nothing helped. But I am not (yet) convinced that the problem is the wine. Next time I'll buy one off the shelf and chill it myself. Perhaps it lingered in the store's refrigerated case a bit too long? I'll let you know. In the meantime, do try to buy whites that are un-chilled and chill them yourself. Or if the store has one, use the instant chiller.
VARIETAL: Malbec
REGION: Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza Argentina
PRICE: $11
Now this is an interesting concept -- buy surplus wine from purportedly high-end producers in all the major wine regions and sell it under one label, exclusively to Costco. My curiosity was certainly piqued when I was read the sell sheet for the Cameron Hughes Malbec, but I had my doubts as I am a little uncomfortable trying mysteriously sourced--as well as private label--wines. Part of my personal enjoyment of a wine is learning about the producer.
But I digress. You want to know what this juice is all about and I will tell you: it is not bad. I know, a little underwhelming, but frankly so is the wine. I LOVE malbec and am quite familiar with the varietal in all of its incarnations, but the style of this one just isn't quite what I was hoping for. It is quite aromatic and I did enjoy the ripe dark berry scents. However I found it a little too fruit forward for my taste. I like a malbec that shows great fruit as well as firm tannins and interesting spice. The Lot 51, to me was much more stylistically akin to an Aussie Shiraz. Again, not bad but not what I was expecting.
I will be investigating the other Cameron Hughes offerings at Costco so stay tuned.
If I could save wine in a box. . . Wine Cube Sauvignon Blanc 2006
Why is it that when I am in Target, things, all sorts of cheap things look cooler. I go in to buy laundry detergent and come out with new clothes, a set of unbreakable dishes for outdoor entertaining and a box of wine. A what? A book on wine? No, you heard me. A box of wine. A box of Wine Cube Sauvingon Blanc to be exact. I didn't know it at the time, but further investigation revealed that this particular California sauvignon blanc is made by Trinchero Family Estates. So I figured it was a crap shoot when I poured the first glass. Could be a hideously bitter glass of swill (a la Sutter Home) or it could the great wine find of the century - a real vinous coup. All I know was it was white, it was wine (in theory) and the bag-in-a-box contained 4 bottles for about $15.
As it happens, it was neither hideous nor outstanding. Rather, it was surprisingly okay. Bright, crisp and grassy with soft melon and apple notes. Not much of a finish, but for what amounted to $4 or so a bottle I found it pretty darn decent. AND it tasted exactly the same on day 25 as it did on day one. I would definitely serve this at parties (great for big shindigs and backyard BBQs) and most definitely would serve it to that certain set of friends who enjoy any wine you set before them. Of course, in shame I would probably put it in a carafe . . . but you won't tell, will you?
Tired of paying too much for mediocre wine? Now one South African producer asks you to pay what you think it is worth. The tactic seems to be working. He is simultaneously strengthening his customer base while boosting sales. Check out this bit from the May 22 SpringWise:
What works for alternative rock music, might also work for wine. You may remember how Radiohead got the world's attention when it let listeners download its album In Rainbows, asking them to pay whatever price they thought the music was worth. Sales of the album reached USD 10 million. Since then others have tried the pay-what-you-like marketing technique, including Paste magazine, which we featured in October.
South African BLANKbottle has gone a step further. The boutique winemaker's founder, Pieter Walser, sent 20 cases of its latest premium white wine Moment of Silence to loyal customers on consignment, asking them to evaluate the wine and then pay him what they thought it was worth. They paid up to ZAR 90 per bottle (USD 11.80 / EUR 7.50), and the average price came to ZAR 50. Since BLANKbottle aims to exceed customers' quality vs. price expectations, the wine went on sale to the public at a price of ZAR 40.
Walser, for his part, got a high return on the wine he risked in the venture. In addition to the publicity he garnered, he determined a new product's price point based on the actual purchasing decisions made by the winery's best customers. Feedback that's likely to be more valuable than the opinions volunteered by focus groups or market research experts. And by involving them in such a fundamental business decision, he no doubt increased brand loyalty among the winery's core customer base. One to try out with your own best customers! (Spotted by: Bruce Gourley)
Steak is probably one of the easiest things to grill. . . a little pepper, generous salt, other spices or marinade if you desire, and a good sear makes for an easy and infinitely enjoyable meal. Red meat is also pretty simple to pair with wine so you have a lot more room to play around. Pretty much any big bold red will complement a hearty steak.
A pretty traditional pairing would be a big cab. A cabernet sauvignon, or a cab blend, will have the structure and fortitude to cut through the protein and fat. I like the Cousino Macul because it is big and dusty with the darker berry fruit flavors as well as dried fruit, sweet tobacco and saddle leather aromas. Totally warm and inviting. Cousino Macul Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 $11 Opaque purple in colour, this Estate Cabernet offers aromatics of ripe blackberries, plum, herbs and cacao. Medium in body and light tannin, it captures the essence of Maipo Valley fruit. In the mouth, the flavors continue the blackberry-blueberry themes with hints of cassis and black olives. Its lingering finish echoes the black fruits and ends on a tangy cherry brightness. With time in the glass, this Cabernet unfolds beautifully, suggesting it can be enjoyed in its youth or cellared for 2 to 5 years. (from Wine.com)
My personal favorite with red meat (at least my cheap and fun fave) is malbec. One of the five Bordeaux blending grapes, Malbec is widely planted varietal in Argentina and is served with just about every type of meat you can imagine. The style is a little more loose and round than a cabernet, but still maintains a good bit of structure and spice to balance it out. Gascon Malbec 2006 $12 This wine is made by blending Malbec from the three best growing areas in Mendoza. In these areas, the grapes develop sweet tannins, intense fruit and good acidity/sugar balance, combining the characteristics of each area. Red purple color. Intense black fruits and red plum aromas. Smooth and concentrated tannins in the mouth. (from Wine.com)
If you're feeling a little adventurous, check out a pinotage. It is the signature grape of South Africa and a cross between cinsault (a Rhone blending grape) and pinot noir. What you get is a totally original flavor that has nice cherry and red berry fruit flavors and aromas from the pinot, but is laced with twinges of cut herbs, smoke and roasted meat. Often when you first open the bottle is smells oddly antiseptic and a little like a band-aid, but if you give a few minutes to open up, you're in for an interesting wine experience. A natural match for meat. Beyerskloof Pinotage 2005 $12 A medium to full bodied pinotage with a deep red colour. A complex Pinotage with plum and red berry flavours well integrated with the oak aromas. A balanced wine that could be enjoyed now or age in the bottle for a few years longer. In summer to go with seafood or light meat dishes. It also goes well with any red meat, pasta and spicy food. (from Beyerskloof)
You, or someone you love can soon be making your own super-swanky wine, at home, in your own personal super-swanky winery. Check out this uber-cool apparatus:
If you have a trust fund and dear old dad likes wine, and I mean really likes wine, here is the perfect father's day gift. The Winepod lets dad become his own winemaker with his own personal fermentation chamber.
The chamber itself is 4-feet tall and needs less than 4 square feet of space. The device has sensors and uses wireless technology to connect to a software application on a PC called the WineCoach. WineCoach walks users through the fermentation process and when it detects problems it tells users how to fix them.
Winepod can produce one fermentation every 30 days with each one producing four cases of wine with 48 750ml bottles total. Users can order the grapes directly from the Winepod maker and they are shipped de-stemmed and frozen for freshness. Users wanting to use their own grapes can get them lab certified to ensure fermentation. The Winepod itself is a whopping $4,499, add the bottling kit, grapes, and accessories and it will cost you $5999, thrown in a 30L French oak wine barrel and you will need $6349. (by Shane McGlaun)
Silverado Miller Ranch Sauvignon Blanc 2006
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