Wine Club Insider back with you.

Rain, Rain, go away, come again another year…

Another day of substandard temps, buckets of rain and overcast here in the northwest. Our summers and falls are marvelous, but Spring kind of sucks until the rain ends… they give us just enough nice days so we don’t move away, but then the next wave of storms comes through, and our drought worries ease for another year!

One good thing is that it’s great for the grapes, though! Wet spring, long, hot, dry summer… maybe that’s why Columbia Valley fruit is getting such a great reputation!

In doing my normal weekly tromp around the cyber-vineyards of the Internet, I came across a new (to me, at least) site called “The Wine Society” out of England.  www.thewinesociety.com

Founded in 1874, it is reputed to be the World’s oldest wine club, and their stated goal is to introduce people to some of the world’s great wines at a fair price.

The way they work their membership is that you actually buy a share in the WIne Society for $60-ish (40 British pounds) and it is good for a lifetime, with no pressure to buy.

Even though shipping to the US isn’t an easy option, there are still plenty of other reasons to join, especially if you want a great wine education or have the option of travelling to the UK or to France at all…

Their wine list is over 800 deep, stuffed full of some of the great treasures from the US, Europe, Australia and beyond. They have a great online library, and if you live in England, they will deliver your wines with their own vans!

They also have several tastings, controlled storage for their members, and a nice futures program. They also have retail outlets in England and France if you “just have to have it today.”

I’m actually thinking about joining just for the extras, and picking up my wine when I next get there… and if I can’t bring it back with me, I guess I’ll just be forced to drink it with a nice piece of cheese and some fresh bread out in the English countryside… could be worse, I guess.

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider out

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Wine Club Insider back with you!

It appears my predictions of the final demise of old man winter were a bit pre-mature, and did nothing but stir him up, as went from a nice mid 70’s on Monday-Tuesday, to the current conditions, which include a temp of 35, blustery wind, and an inch of new snow (!) on the ground. I apologize, and will keep my mouth shut from now on. Is it just me, or is anyone else looking forward to the shift into summer mode?

Have you noticed if your wine tastes change as the weather gets warmer? I continue to like reds anytime, but I do find I drink more whites and roses in the warmer weather… anyone else?

All Whining (as opposed to “wineing,” which never goes out of style!) aside, I have a nice site to recommend to you.

I was cruising the Web yesterday, and came across a new-to-me site called Bottlenotes at www.bottlenotes.com. At first I was struck by the “cleanliness” of the site… crisp, bright colors, easy to navigate, but as I puttered around, I was impressed with the wide variety of information they offered; they had everything from comprehensive tasting notes and reviews, easily navigable by price, varietal, winery etc, as well as access to their own podcasts featuring such notables as Jack Cakebread, Pete Mondavi jr., etc.

They have a nice feature called “Winecylopedia,” which is a pretty extensive collection of wine info, and they also have “The Daily Sip,” which is, as they describe it, like a cross between “Daily Candy,” and “US Weekly” for the wine industry.

Aside from all of these little perks, they also offer some really fun wine clubs, and their “hook,” so to speak, is that they will completely customize your wine club to your tastes, budget, schedule etc.

They have 9 offerings, including the Explorer’s Wine Club, which is pretty much the standard “get started for $25″ club, and they also have the obligatory Intermediate wine club (The perhaps less than originally named “Connoisseurs Club”) and a high end offering called ”Limited Addictions” (nice name!) wine club, which features pretty high end, rare products such as Gaja, Pavie etc.

From there, they start to get cool, though…

They have a seasonal wine club, which is also customizeable, so you can choose Rhone in the spring, Napa cabs in the fall, etc.

Perhaps the coolest wine clubs they offer are the smallest…

They have a “Jet Setters,” which is a  tour of the world’s wines, they have a “Dinner party in a box” club, which provides all the wines for before, during and after a dinner party (a neat idea, really!), “Pop,” a champagne and sparkling club, a Kosher club for those looking for something beyond Manischewitz (who knew?), and a new Sake club, with some premium sakes on the menu.

All in all, a pretty nice stop on the web, and I’d recommend you check them out for the extras, as well as the interesting wine clubs.

Until next time,

Cheers!

Wine Club Insider out.

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Wine Club Insider back, yet again!

I hope you all had a great weekend… I was out camping, but somehow :managed” to stow a bottle of Rombauer Zin and a bottle of Katherin Hills Cab in the pack for the trip… oh, the sacrifices I make for the team!

There’s something about drinking a nice wine along the bank of the river by a campfire that just increases the enjoyment, somehow.

I was doing a little wine buying from one of my favorite establishments, Dean and Deluca - www.deandeluca.com - and while chatting with their wine consultant, she mentioned that I should check out their new wine clubs… intrigued, I hopped on line, and lo and behold, not only do they have wine clubs, they have FIVE wine clubs. Now, so what, you’re probably thinking, but in the spirit of all things D & D, they haven’t gone the “normal” route…

The main thing that makes them different is that four of the clubs each have their own full-time wine steward (one of them does two), and they custom design the programs to your needs. Okay, but that’s not THAT cool, you say…

Ahhh, it gets better! Yes, they have the “regular” “Great Introductions” club at $60/month, and an “Artisan” club at $100 for those little known gems, oh, and the “Great Comparisons” club that looks at regional wines from around the world at $150… wait, you say… STILL not that impressed? Seen it before, you say?

Possibly, though not done this well, I would suggest, but from here they go into pretty uncharted territory.

Their 4th club is called the “Cult” club, and with the resources that only a shop like D&D could manage, they offer, for $1000/quarter, at least three of the world’s rarest wines, and I’m talking BIG names… they asked me not to mention them by name, as the makeup changes, but trust me, these are Big Names!

The 5th club is the “Cellar Rarities,” which takes it a step further… for the 50 lucky members, and only $300/month, they offer you the rarest of the rare, and again, though I’m only speaking, um, hypothetically, think Maya, Harlan, etc…

One of the advantages D&D has is their buying power and their reputation, and now, they have provided a chance for some of us to share it with them through their great wine clubs. Check them out!

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider out.

Australian Wine, Bordeaux, California Wine, Fine Wine, French Wine, International Wine, Red Wine, USA Wine, Vineyards, Vintage Wine, Wine Cellar, Wine Club, Wine Club Gift, Wine Education, Wine Lovers, Wine Reviews, Wine Tasting Dean and Deluca, Della Valle Maya, great wines, Harlan, rare wines, wine clubs

Wine Club Insider back again…

Maybe spring is finally on it’s way, though the only real clue is that it’s raining a ton, instead of snowing…

One of the neat things about this time of year is that the “young” wine - the fresh whites and fruity wines from the ‘08 vintage are starting to come out, and of course, you can always buy the futures in the Grand Crus for the next few years…

Another cool trend we’re starting to see is an - admittedly slight - shift toward being a greener industry…

For example, Boisset, the second-largest producer of Beaujolais Nouveau, bottled its entire 2008 harvest in plastic bottles.

The lightweight PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles drastically cut shipping costs without affecting the young Gamay wine inside and created packaging that was “absolutely recyclable,” according to a company spokesman.

Now, there are certainly other (myself included) that don’t think the wine industry has developed more than a green tint yet, despite the rise in the number of biodynamic and organic wineries internationally.

PET bottles are only at the very leading edge, but there are huge hurdles still left to climb, including the wineries shipping their wines in wooden crates. The number of wooden crates that are opened at warehouses and stores is incredible. Some of them weigh nine pounds, just for the case!. If they were serious about the green trend, the wineries would forget the wood and ship in recycled corrugated cardboard.

This isn’t even touching the entire cork issue, which is going to come to a head soon as supply and disease (not to mention the improving effectiveness of synthetic cork and screw caps, which are making huge inroads, even in higher end Australian wines).

I’m optimistic that our indusrty will start developing a cure to the serious case of “traditionitis” they are suffering from (mind you, it is brought on by us, the consumers!) and get on the environmentally friendlier bandwagon…

Yes, we may have to get used to our favorite vino coming in a plastic bottle (I can deal with that easily) and using a screw cap (a tougher sell for many, despite the inevitable “corking” that is going to occur in your bottles), and know that we are doing our part… a great excuse to drink more wine, if you ask me!

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider out.

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Wine Club Insider back, yet again!

Well, it’s the middle of winter, but wine is the gift that keeps on giving! I just got my Pepperbridge Wine Club shipment - www.pepperbridge.com- three bottles of their famous Seven Hills Vineyard Cab, and had to try one, even as young as it is. Let me tell you, if you haven’t tried Pepperbridge, you’re missing out! This Walla Walla winery is among the best I’ve tasted, vintage in and vintage out… between Seven Hills (rated as one of the best USA vineyards) and their Pepperbridge Vineyard, they have the foundation and terroir to make some of the best reds in the USA, and they do. Awesome!

Well now, we’ve touched on some of the world famous red wine grapes… let’s look at the top two whites of Bordeaux:

By far the largest planted and popular white wine is… NOT Chardonnay! That’s right! Especially in France, Chard runs a distant fourth or even fifth, behind Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Ugni Blanc (also called Trebbiano - the most popular white wine world wide, though it is very close with the Spanish-based white wine Airen) abd Muscadelle.

Sauignon Blanc is one of the true indigenous grapes of France, and gets its name from the words “Sauvage” (wild) and “Blanc” (white), and is a green skinned white grape, often described as “crisp,” “elegant” and “fresh.” It can range in taste from somewhat grassy to almost tropical and fruity, and makes wines ranging from dry to the very sweet dessert wines of Barsac and Sauternes.

The Sauv Blancs of New Zealand have risen to prominence as some of the world’s best, and it is grown almost everywhere.

Semillon (pronounced SEM -ee-on) is another famous white wine grape, and the wine it produces range from the very dry Bordeaux Blanc, to the sticky sweet, world famous dessert wines of Sauterne, made famous by Chateau d Y’quem. For the sweet varieties, it is exposed to Botrytis Cinerea, or “Noble Rot,” which basically turns it in to a giant raisin. d’Yquem’s website is at http://www.yquem.fr/yquem.php?lang=uk, and it is truly one of the most spectacular wines in the world, and one of my all time favorites. I actually plan to do an entire posting on this magnificent winery sometime soon… I mean, there aren’t that many wineries that still have verticals back to 1860 in perfect condition!

Back to talk about Chard tomorrow!

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider out.

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Wine Club Insider back again!

I’ve had a couple of the most “administratively intense” days I’ve had in years the past couple of days… 4 meetings, three conference calls, 40 or more phone calls, and 20 hours working on a new website… I’m SO ready to get out for a run or a snowshoe tomorrow!

I waited until this evening to open a bottle, but when I did, what a treat! I kind of randomly grabbed a bottle tonight, and came up with a 2003 V. Sattui Howell Mountain Zinfandel. Wow! What a wine!

That glorious first sniff and first sip… deep, currant, jam… did I mention deep? This is a BIG wine, but is perfect for drinking. the tannins have mellowed out, leaving the fruit and the flavor; the essence of a great Zin. Ahh… the day’s looking up!   www.vsattui.com

Okay, let’s finish off the “Big 6″ Bordeaux varietals…

After Cab Saus, Merlot and Cab Franc, the remaining three types tale off quickly in terms of volume.

Petite Verdot, possibly a predecessor of Cab Sauv, is principally used in the classic blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in the Medoc - it’s home region. When it does ripen, it is added in small amounts to add tannin, colour and flavour to the blend. It’s growing a bit in the New World, and seems to be a little more dependable in its ripening. Some vintners have made nice “PVs”, but it is still more commonly used for stiffening up Cab Sauvs.

Malbec is a thin skinned grape that, in Bordeaux, is used mainly for blending, especially in making the famous “Claret” blend. It was taken over seas, and has found a home in South America, in particular Mendoza in Argentina, where the extra heat helps it ripen. Argentinian Malbecs are likely the best in the world, and can be quite exquisite.

The final varietal is Carmenere. One of the most ancient varietals, it is, surprisingly, almost gone from France, though some still remains in the Medoc. Like it’s cousin Malbec, it has found a home in South America, this time in Chile.

Carmenère wine has a deep red color and aromas found in red fruits, spices and berries. The tannins are gentler and softer than those in Cab Sauv, and is normally considered a medium body wine. Although mostly used as a blending grape, an increasing number of wineries do bottle a pure Carmenère which, when produced from grapes at optimal ripeness, imparts a cherry-like, fruity flavor.Of the ones I’ve had, the best ones were younger rather than not.

It is also making a real impact in some other regions, notably the Walla Walla area in Washington. Isenhower - www.isenhowercellars.com - makes a nice Carmenere for their wine club members.

Okay… tomorrow, we’ll move out of France for a bit and see what else is out there!

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider out.

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Wine Club Insider back with you.

Celebrated a beautiful mid-winter day here today, with temps in the mid-forties (almost balmy!), sunny and no wind. Celebrating a beautiful mid-winter evening with a glass of Mission Hill “Oculus,” a WONDERFUL Bordeaux-style blend made with 20% Cab Franc from Canada…  www.missionhillwinery.com. This is a beautiful wine. Deep, rich and succulent, it’s a real treasure.

Coincidentally, today is Cab Franc day… Used often as a blending wine, it’s a bit lighter than Cab Sauv, and lends a bit of pepper and finesses to other wines.

Cab Franc is one of the real foundations of Bordeaux wine. It’s the parent of both Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and is written of back almost 300 years. It’s a bright red wine that is gaining immense popularity in cooler climates, including Canada. In the past couple of years, more and more vintners are trying to make pure Cab Francs, with increasing success. There is precedent, as Chateau Cheval Blanc of French wine fame is almost a pure Cab Franc. As a matter of fact, it’s the main grape from the Loire Valley.

There are some very nice Cab Francs being mae by Del Dotto, Crocker & Starr, Robert Sinskey, Vineyard 29, Arger-Martucci, Barrister and Rubicon. Maybe the best among, however, are the Cabernet Francs from Lang & Reed, a small St. Helena operation that grows only Cab Franc! Talk about putting your beliefs in the line! In most years, they have both an early release, their North Coast, and a reserve release, their Premier Etage. The North Coast Cabernet Franc is usually bottled in June, and the winery will produce less than 3,000 cases of the 2006 vintage.

In Canada, one of the best Cab Francs I’ve ever tasted is by Pillitteri vineyards, located on the Niagara Peninsula. Firm tannins, long lasting finish… a serious wine for sure.

Now, I must apologize… I said that Paul Giamatti drank a bottle of Merlot in the final scene of Sideways, but I went back and watched it, and was laughing part way through, because not only did he dish Merlot, he dished Cab Franc throughout as well, and the wine he consumed with passion at the end was a Cheval Blanc - a Cab Franc!

Cheers!

Wine Club Insider out!

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Wine Club Insider back with you.

Just got back from a triathlon club meeting… I’m aiming for a 70.3 (1/2 Ironman) in a couple of months, and was actually presenting some stuff tonight… great fun, good fitness, and it justifies the wine as a “training aide…”

It’s coincidental that we’re talking about Merlot today… I got to try the VERY nice 1999 Willard Family Merlot from Caterina Winery - www.caterinawinery.com - that I mentioned last week… it was even better than the last time I tasted it a year or so ago, and looks to have another 5 years or so until its prime… wow, what a nice wine!

Merlot is the other Grand Daddy of red wine grapes, or should I say “Grand Pere?” The other key Bordeaux grape, it is also, like Cab Sauv, an offspring of Cab Franc, and predates the Cab Sauv by a few years.

Merlot is a more medium bodied wine, and ripens earlier than Cab Sauv. It also blends very well, making it uber-popular with wine makers world wide.

The movie “Sideways,” for all its quirky charm, and heaped with blessings from the Pinot Noir industry, did many wine drinkers world wide with lead character Paul Giamatti’s irrational dislike for Merlot. One of the bits of ironic humor was in the final scene when he sits at the table in the diner to drink his treasured bottle of French Bordeaux… which ends up being a Merlot!

Yes, two of the world’s most famous, rare and expensive wines are both close to 100% Merlot…  Petrus (around $3000/bottle for futures) and Le Pin (even more than that!) are both Merlots.

Merlot is also going to be the number one red wine grape (again) by the end of 2009, it looks like, surpassing Cab Sauv.

Merlot is often used to add body and softness to the oft-harsher Cab Sauv, and is grown most everywhere Cab Sauv is, though tends to do better in the cooler areas of the AVAs where it doesn’t ripen quite so early. It is the largest varietal in France, and is becoming more and more popular world wide. In the USA, it is hugely popular in Napa, and is making greater inroads in the Pacific Northwest, where wineries such as Leonetti, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Isenhower, and yes, Caterina are making notable and praiseworthy wines.

Myself, I love it. A great Merlot is a joy to drink… softer somehow than other reds, often “fleshy,” and filled with flavors of currant and plum, two of my favorite tastes in wine.

So, put whatever prejudices you might have aside, and take up a glass of good Merlot and join the rest of the world in appreciating this grand old grape! There might even be a Merlot wine club out there somewhere… hmmm…

Back tomorrow with Cab Franc, another of my favorites!

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider out.

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Wine Club Insider back again!

I don’t know about you, but every once in a while, it’s nice to have one of those “not-leave-the-house” kind of days, and today was one of ‘em! I actually spent 20 straight hours working on a new web site I’ve been developing, while my wife worked on her projects right beside me. On Sunday, besides the football, you also get a great run of 80s and 90s movies, as well as episodes of one of my favorites; the Thirsty Traveler! If you haven’t seen it, it’s a great show! www.thirstytraveler.tv

Canadian Kevin Brauch has one of the greatest jobs in the world: he travels from country to country investigating, learning about and - quite liberally - sampling the various types of alcoholic beverages they produce! Man, I wish I’d thought of that gig!

Anyway, yesterday, we started talking about the various wine making grape varietals, and what better place to start then the “Big 6″ Bordeaux blend varietals.

As I mentioned, virtually all Bordeaux wines are blends, and to bear the Bordeaux label, they must be made from one of the 6 grapes so blessed: Cab Sauv, Merlot, Cab Franc, Petite Verdot, Malbec and Carmenere.

Let’s start with the two Big Boys of the bunch, Cab Sauv and Merlot… first the Cab Sauv, and tomorrow, Merlot.

Cabernet Sauvignon, while often thought of as the grandaddy of red wines, is actually relatively new on the block. It is a hybrid of the Cab Franc (hence the “Cabernet” part) and Sauvignon Blanc - yes, the white grape (thus the Sauvignon!), and was developed in France in the 17th century.

Until the 90s, when it was surpassed by merlot, it was the largest cultivated wine grape in the world, and has found a home everywhere from Canada’s Okanogan Valley to Lebanon’s Beqqa Valley, and from California to Australia, and parts in between. The berries are thick skinned, fairly resistant to frost, and easily grown, especially when compared to something like Pinot Noir. It’s also a fairly consistent grape in terms of character, making it easy to develop year after year.

Many of the top Bordeaux wines are Cab or Cab-Merlot based, and its popularity in the New World (California, mostly) has led to the development of the “Cult” wine phenomenon of certain California Cab houses, for good and bad.

Hey, we’re just getting started! I’ll be back tomorrow with Merlot!

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider out!

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Wine Club Insider back!

Got a chance to get out and do a great five hour long snowshoe trip up Boulder Basin today with a couple of friends. There was over 10 feet of snow at the top of the peak as we stopped for a quick Jet Boil meal. On one of our real mountain climbs last summer, we took wine up in Nalgene bottles for dinner, but I forgot today, so I had to wait until I got home… there’s not much better than a nice glass of wine after a great day outside in the snow!

Well, to business…

We’ve talked about dozens of wine clubs, several different wines and wineries, but we haven’t really taken much time to talk about the specific wine varietals and grapes that make up our favorite beverage!

For the next few days, I’d love to chat a bit about some specific grapes, and the wines made from them, but today, just some basic grape info…

All red wine is made from red grapes (which can be black or purple as well). White wines can also be made from red wine grapes, though there are plenty of good white grapes to choose from.

In all, there are more than 400(!) varieties of wine grapes grown around the world. Who knew? Yup… I bet if I polled 100 people, the majority couldn’t name twenty… A couple of years ago, I probably couldn’t have, though I’m getting better.

One good site to look at for info on the various “cultivars” (the correct name, though “varietals” has taken on such everyday familiarity that it’s unlikely to change anytime soon) is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_grape_varieties#Red_grapes

Now, the Bordeaux grapes that everyone has heard about are Merlot (the number one red grape in France, and likely the number one red grape world wide by the end of the year, no matter what “Sideways” says), Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, Malbec and Carmenere. Almost all Bordeaux wines are blends of these six grapes, usually with Merlot or Cab Sauv as the majority. There are none that I could find that use all six, though several used four.

There are also several popular “New World” grapes, such as Zinfandel, which is also named “Primitivo,” Syrah (or Shiraz, if you’re from Down Under), Petite Sirah, which isn’t related to Syrah, Sangiovese and Temperanillo, big Mediterranean grapes (ever hear of Chianti or Rioja?)

On top of that, we’ve got to look at the labels, and the (sometimes silly!) laws and rules that govern our passion!

Okay… we’re off and running! I’ll see you tomorrow!

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider out.

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