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 yet again!

With the dinner party and hosting season just over, I finally had the entire day to work on putting Christmas away today… 10 hours later, we’re back to at least a semblance of normality!

I’m always a bit sad on “Put Away Day,” as the holidays are truly my favorite time of year… We have a 12 foot tree, big toy soldiers by the door, twinklie lights all over… plus, it means that friends, family and guests will be around, and we’ll get to experience some great wine together!

My wife and I have our little traditions; we watch “Love Actually” while setting up, and usually, “High Fidelity” on Put Away Day, but she was at our other business today, so instead I got a chance to listen to a bunch of new CDs I received: the new Willie Nelson-Wynton Marsalis “Two men with the Blues” is awesome!

I’m hoping to get to another of our wine club wineries this weekend: Caterina Cellars in Spokane – www.caterinawinery.com – is located just north of the river in the old Broadview Dairy building, and has been making wine since 1993. Monica Meglasson is the winemaker, and is doing a great job.

They make Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Viognier and Riesling, in a boutique style, and have a wide range of wines, from the very affordable “Artistic Affordable Blends,” all the way up to the (still affordable) single vineyard beauties from some of the Columbia Valley’s best vineyards, including DeBrul, Willard Family, and other Columbia AVAs.

One of their highlight vintages was 1999, where their Merlots and Cabs truly shone. I have had close to a case of each, and it just gets better with age! they are both amazing wines! Luckily, this weekend, they are having a Library tasting of the 1999s, complete with chocolate, cheese, music and a great sale.

One this we love is that they have tapas, food, panini and live music every weekend, and the winery is really quaint… one of our favorites. They have a nice wine club as well, with quarterly offerings of white, red or mixed, and we haven’t been disappointed yet.

Look them up on line, or, if you’re in the northwest, try to stop in this weekend… you won’t regret it!

Wine Club Insider out!

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Wine Club Insider back!

One of the cool web sites I frequent on at least a weekly basis is www.winezap.com.

Winezap is kind of like a little community where you can actually get to “know” your online “neighbors” as you rate/discuss/argue about wine.

So, every week or so, I get an email in my regular box about the latest wines that have been rated by their distinguished panel of experts…

I think that having a few folks with respected, or at least educated palates can give us a basic groundwork to at least discuss wine, so I appreciate their efforts.

Some of the wines I received reviews on tonight were (and the reviewer):

Bordeaux, Burgundy, California Wine, Chardonnay, Fine Wine, French Wine, International Wine, Italian Wine, Pinot Noir, Red Wine, Shiraz, Sparkling Wine, USA Wine, Vintage Wine, White Wine, Wine Cellar, Wine Club, Wine Club Gift, Wine Education, Wine Lovers, Wine Reviews, Wine Tasting Wine Club, Wine Club Gift, Wine Reviews, winezap.com

Wine club Insider back!

We’ve done a lot of talking about different wine clubs, and, yes, the choices are almost endless, with a variety of wines and prices almost to match.

But what about if you want to really purchase an investment-quality wine? Where do you look?

There are several high end wine auctions, ranging from “reasonable,” to “you need six figures just to look at the catalogue.” Seriously. There are wine auctions-public(ish), and private-that cater to those where money isn’t an issue.

If you’re looking for “cult” wines, or aged, classic, rare vintages, these are the places to start looking. If it is or was in a wine bottle, especially if it’s rare, there’s a good chance you can find it with a little looking.

Hart Davis Hart wine company – www.hdhwine.com – offers fine and rare wines.

Edward Roberts International – www.eriwine.com – concentrates on traditional live auctions, and their choices are awesome!

Bonhams – www.bonhams.com – is another top seller.

Of course, there are always Sotheby’s, Christies and Zacchy’s, if you prefer the champagne and caviar set!

Now, if you want to privately drop some REAL change, you might want to see if you can get yourself an invite to the “Angry Men,” which are a group of billionaire wine collectors who buy and sell wine in such quantities and such quality that it will make your head spin!

There’s a great article in Men’s Vogue that kind of explains their game… http://www.mensvogue.com/food/cellar/articles/2008/09/billionaire-winos?currentPage=3

Check it out!

Now, if you’re more of a regular joe, but still are looking for some classic wines, I’d recommend you check out www.vinvinwine.com, which is the website of VinVin Wine. Paul collects some of the best wines anywhere, and offers them at fair prices. Here’s a sample from their latest mailing:

So, as you can see, while it might not be ’45 Mouton, I’d love to have any of these grace my cellar!

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider out

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Wine Club Insider back.

Two days into the new year, and I’ve found two great wine clubs for you to look at!

Yesterday we talked about 4 seasons wine club, and today I’d like to share “My Wines Direct” with you.

My Wines Direct is located at www.mywinesdirect.com, and they have a wide variety of choices, including three month or six month subscriptions of three bottles of red, white or mixed every month.

• Baco Gran Reserva Pinot Noir 2006 (1 bottle)
• Finca El Retiro Barrica Syrah 2006 (1 bottle)
• Orrando Merlot 2007 (1 bottle)

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Wine Club Insider back for another year!

Welcome to 2009, and what better way to start than with a great new find!

4 Seasons WIne Club (www.4seasonswine.com) has a quality wine club, featuring a few unique features.

Every three months (once every season!), you will receive an entire case of wine, either all-white, all-red or mixed for only $129.95, which works out to less than $11/bottle.

A couple of the other cool features are that they allow you to skip a season or two, and pick back up when you’re ready. They also send you out a preview of next season’s shipment when you get your current one, which is not that common.

Another of the cool things is that if you join soon, either for yourself, or as a wine club gift, you’ll receive a very nice sommelier’s cork screw, complete with wooden display case. A $49 value, yours as a gift.

Perhaps the coolest part right now is that if you sign up now, you will get your entire first case for only $69.99, or $6/bottle!

Yup. An entire case for under $70! That’s hard to beat under any circumstances!

www.4seasonswine.comalso features a very good wine shop, where you can shop by varietal (kind of grape), type (red, white, sparkling, etc), country or price.

They have a terrific selection ranging in price from a few dollars to more than a hundred. In the Dessert section, for example, they have several different ages of port, great late harvests, Tokaji Aszu, one of the world’s greatest wines, and even some outstanding German Eiswein.

Under the “Reds” type, you’ll find choices ranging from an everyday drinking merlot, up to futres for the supposedly esquisite 2005 Mouton Rothschild at only $831/bottle… a steal! Now that’s a “Wine of the Month” selection you don’t see everyday!

Interested in a specific country? You can’t go wrong. In the USA section, for example, you can even buy a magnum of Araujo ‘Eisele’ vineyard Cab for a mere $484! Try to find one of those around town!

Again, check out 4 Seasons Wine club… I think you’ll be impressed!

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider out

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Wine Club Insider here on New Years Eve 2008!

What better time than New Years Eve to talk about champagne and the other fine bubblys from around the world!

Personally, I found champagne to be an acquired taste. I wasn’t an instant fan, and since my only previous experience with sparkling wine (and I hate to even admit this!) was with such fine vintages as Cold Duck and Baby Duck (as much as I love them, my parents were obviously connoisseurs… not!).

I tried a few of the less expensive (read: “cheap”) so called champagnes, and much the same as drinking your regular “plonk” still wine, it didn’t blow my skirt up, so to speak. But then… ahhh. At the Millenium New Year, I opened a bottle of 1992 Dom Perignon, and I tell you, my eyes were opened!

Though some folks might say that Dom is over-priced/over-rated, I think it is still a great bottle of bubbles, and the ’92 was really awesome.

Okay… I’d seen the light, and now the search was on. Over the next couple of years, though it still wasn’t my top priority, I certainly tried my fair share of sparkles, enjoying many. By the way, www.1-800-wineofthemonthclub.com has a pretty nice club for $49.99/month for two bottle.

Okay… here are some of the snazzy champagnes I loved besides the famous “Dom”:

~ Domaine Merriwether (Oregon): Beautiful, soft champagne. One of the best I’ve ever had, especially for the price.

~ Champagne Duval-Leroy: Nice, beautiful bottle, good depth.

~ Taittinger Domaine Carneros Brut: Velvety. About $20

~ Paul Chenau Brut: This Cava is a Very nice Spanish addition.

~ Mumm’s “Millenium Cuvee:” Excellent. Produced for wine club members for the New Years 1999.

~ Domaine Chandon “Etoille Rose:” This unique wine is a Chard-Pinot Noir blend that is one of my favorites from the marvelous Napa house owned in part by the legendary Moet Chandon.

And now, probably my two faves of the past year or so:

~ Schramsberg “Cremant Demi-sec:” Cremant means “creamy,” and this demi-sec is a sweeter, softer wine using the rare “Flora” grape (a combination of the Semillon and the Gewurtz).

And possibly my favorite champagne ever…

~ Scramsberg “J. Schram:” served at White House dinners, consistently wins taste tests against Europe’s best, this vintage wine from perhaps the USA’s best champagne house is also one of my favorite wines ever. A bit pricey at $100, I could easily drink this every day, but will have to settle for tonight at midnight!

Schramsberg is found at www.schramsberg.com, and you’d be well served to give them a try!

I wish you all the best of the season, and hope you have a safe and happy celebration tonight. Blessings to all of you for a healthy and prosperous 2009, and may all your gifts be wine club gifts!

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider out for 2008!

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Hey, everyone! Wine Club Insider back with you.

Yesterday, we started talking about one of my favorite wines; Port. Now, some folks haven’t had the pleasure, or perhaps have been a bit afraid to give it a try, thinking that it is going to be too sweet/cloying/wierd.

I would like to tell you that despite what preconceptions you might have, port is a real wine. As a matter of fact, when Wine Spectator released their Top Ten Wines of the Decade for the Nineties, no less than three were ports, including numero uno (Smith Woodhouse). www.smithwoodhouse.com

Port, to further our discussion, can be one of the most well constructed, deep, and character filled wines made, and at 18 – 20% alcohol, lasts for years with a little care, even if opened! (check out www.winepreserve.com for their private preserve product). True vintage wines may actually have to be aged a decade or three before they reach their peak.

I have a couple of favorite port sites amongst the hundreds of choices. The first is www.portwine.com, which is a unique kind of club, as it really is a club! You sign up, and it’s basically a fraternity of port enthusiasts, who arrange tastings, trips, tours and education, without actually selling any wine directly. It is very informative, and offers lots of chances to interact with other port lovers.

www.thevintageportsite.com is another great educational site with information about everything port since 1900 basically, including tasting notes, winemakers notes and auction prices for every year since the turn of the LAST century!

www.intowine.com/portvin.html is another cool tool that actually features a chart that tells you about the character of the wines, as well as what to do with them… hold, drink, pour down the sink… almost a must have to enjoy the great ports that you’re going to add to your wine cellar!

Having a great port decanter and port glasses also makes the whole port drinking experience more enjoyable. You should also try a glass with a nice piece of Stilton, and even try some chocolate with a good tawny… try THAT with a Cab!

Until next time,

Wine Club Insider out.

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Wine Club Insider back on a snowy December 27th, and I’m trying a different font here today… what do you think?

As I mentioned, port wine is one of my favorite vices… We actually have 93 different ports on our wine list, ranging from aged vintages, to tawny’s, Cloheitas, LBVs (Late Bottled Vintages), white ports and many more.

There’s little that finishes off a great meal than a glass of port, and I try to do my best to support the port industry, if you know what I mean…

Here’s a bit about how port is made:

For starters, all true port (often called Porto, to distinguish it from the many other port-style wines around the world) comes from a relatively small area in Portugal, centered around the Duoro river and the town of Oporto.

Using several different black grape varieties, the most important of which is Touriga Nacional, the wine is racked into barrels containing brandy about half way through fermentation, which kills the yeast. Besides leaving the wine sweet, this also fortifies the wine to 20% alcohol.

There are several grades of port, starting at the rare and expensive Vintage Port, which is aged in the barrel for only two years, and then placed in the traditional opaque black bottles for as many as 5 or 6 decades, or even longer. Vintage port is only produced in exceptional years, so is quite rare. The sugars, tannins and high alcohol will preserve it almost indefinitely… at least as long as you will have the patience for!

Vintage port is always ruby, and contains a rich sediment which should be strained or decanted away before serving. It is interesting to note that several of the top wines from the last century were ports. Great ports can run between $60 and $600 per bottle or more, depending on the vintage and the age. Smith Woodhouse, Grahmas, Taylor Fladgate, Churchills, Cockburns, Delaforce, Dows, Feist, Fonseca and Warres are just a few of the great port houses.

Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) are aged longer in wood, throwing much of their sediment. They are much more affordable, usually ranging in the $18 – 30 range, and are great bargains.

Tawny port is port aged in barrels for a long time (from 10 to 50 years!) and then bottled just prior to release. It turns a light tawny or caramel brown, and are delightful. They range from $24 – 150/bottle. Tawny port goes great with chocolate!

Ruby port is a blend of vintages aged for 2 – 3 years, and can be a real bargain.

Many other countries make port-style wines, using the traditional port grapes or even other varietals such as zinfandel, cabernet, petite syrah and more. Australia makes several award winning tawny ports. Ports can also be mixed with other flavors such as Vanilla and chocolate. Deco and Knipprath cellars (Spokane) make excellent chocolate ports. I would be hard pressed to name something better than a glass of good port and a small wedge of English Stilton cheese after dinner, or even FOR dinner!

Okay… tomorrow, I’m going to tell you about a very unique port wine club that I think you’ll enjoy!

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider

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Wine Club Insider here, slaving away on Christmas Day trying to make your holiday a little brighter!

I hope everyone had a safe, happy and meaningful Christmas, and I hope that at least some of your gifts were wine club gifts!

The last of our “Top Ten” lists is a list of blends, or Meritage (pronounced like “heritage,” by the way) wines.

Generally Cabernet Sauvignon based, these are some seriously good wines! Again, it is by no means an exhaustive list, but it’s pretty good. I stayed away from the ultra old, rare Bordeaux blends, as we covered them in some detail yesterday, and also, I wanted to list wines that you could still buy. In most cases, I didn’t list a vintage, as being blends, they are almost always good!

Okay, here we go…

10) Arbor Crest Dionysus. www.arborcrest.com. Located in Spokane, Washington, Arbor Crest uses Columbia Valley Cab, Merlot and Cab Franc to make this hefty blend. About $45/bottle.

9) Dominus. www.dominusestate.com. The product of famed Petrus winemaker Christian Mouiex, it is a Bordeaux style blend from the famous Napanook Vineyard in Napa. About $100/bottle

Martin Ray Napa Valley “Synthesis.” www.Martinray-winery.com. Actually a blend of several great Napa vineyard cabs, this is pretty heady stuff! About $75/bottle. Their Legacy Club Wine Club is also really good!

7) Geyser Peak Reserve Alexandre Meritage. www.geyserpeak.com. Their top of the line blend, it is smooth as silk! I love this wine!

6) David Coffaro “Block 4.”www.coffaro.com. An unusual blend of 50% Zinfandel, 25% Petite Sirah, 5% Pelourisin, 5% Carignan, 5% Syrah, 10% other varietals. They only make about 300 cases, and this is a shocker! Amazing fruit for only $32.bottle!

5) Pend d’Oreille “L’OEuvre.” www.powine.com. L’OEuvre means “work of art” in French, and this blend of Cab Sauv, Merlot, Malbec and Cab France lives up to its name! The winery is located in beautiful Sandpoint, Idaho. About $29/bottle.

4) Jarvis “Lake William.” www.jarviswinery.com. A great blend from one of my favorite wineries. Runs about $65/bottle, if you can get it, and it’s a delight! I recently served it at a wine dinner, and the guests raved!

3) Opus One. www.opusonewinery.com. Located in one of Napa’s most majestic wineries, this proprietary Bordeaux style blend is the quintessential Meritage. Runs about $150/bottle, and is as well-crafted wine as you’ll find!

2) Montes Alpha “M.” From chile’s famed Colchagua Valley, this blend is awesome, especially the 2001, if you can find it! About $75/bottle.

1) Phelps “Insignia.” www.jpvwines.com. From Joseph Phelps great winery, this Cab Sauv, Petit Verdot and Malbec blend exemplifies everything that’s right about California wine making. Even at $140/bottle, it’s a steal for the quality and pure bliss of a good blend!

There you go, folks! Hope you enjoyed the quick trip through the blends! I wish you all the best on this joyous day, and I hope you take a moment to treasure your loved ones and give thanks for your many blessings!

Cheers!

Wine Club Insider

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