Wine Club Insider back with you…

I’m sitting at one of my favorite restaurants, watching the BCS championship game (I wrote this last night! ) and sipping a great glass of Taylor Fladgate 2000 LBV port… VERY nice! Tons of fruit, lots of character… when Ruby is done right, it’s my favorite style of port!

Well, yesterday, I mentioned the Wine Rebel in my post, and I thought that to be fair, I had to share a bit more about the “wild man of wine!”

Craig Renaud, better known as the Wine Rebel – www.winerebel.net- on first glance, is truly not your typical wine guy… he’s funny, loud, has full sleeve tattoos, rides a Harley and espouses a whole new philosophy on rating and “judging” wine…

Craig has long been one of the top wine brokers in California, and has probably tasted as much if not more wine than most critics in our country. He’s widely recognized as one of the best in the California wine industry, and now has made huge inroads in the Columbia Valley/Walla Walla (Napa North?) area as well.

Now, this big, burly guy may initially come off as brash, but his mission – and his expertise – is two fold, and well supported: 1) Much wine (and MUCH French wine) is over priced, and sometimes underwhelming, and 2) that some critics have turned many wine drinkers into lemmings…

“Without a doubt, (Robert) Parker is the number one world renowned wine critic. This fact is readily acknowledged and accepted by the majority of those involved in the wine industry and also proclaimed by Parker himself. My concern and disappointment with Mr. Parker and his influence over the world’s wine industry is his ability to turn such a large number of wine drinkers into lemmings, blindly following his 100 point rating system…”says the Wine Rebel.

I would add that I’m not sure that I can tell the difference between a 96 and a 97 for example… (I’m sure I’ve never tasted “hints of underbrush and road tar” in my wine, but then I’ve never claimed that I have that “talented” a pallet…)

Wine Rebel is more of “Love it, like it, it’s okay, so so, yuck” kind of guy, and for me – and, I think, possibly many “average” drinkers – in many ways, it makes sense, especially for my everyday drinking.

Anyway, the Rebel has a great, funny, irreverent and educational manual out called “Great American Wine – The Wine Rebel’s Guide.” You can get it off the website, and it’s terrific to have, even if just for the history and education portion! Check it out!!

Cheers,

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.

As the snow/slush/sleet continues to fall here in the Northwest, adding to the five feet we’ve already accumulated, I’m sitting in front of a fire, sipping on a glass of Corbett Canyon Reserve left over from New Years Eve… I’ve got to tell you that for an inexpensive wine, it’s pretty tasty! It’s a Central Valley product from Ripon, California, and as is becoming the norm, it’s hard to get a bad bottle of wine from California…

I think that the vintners from California have gotten so smart and do such a good job with their properties, and with their actual crafting of the wine that even “cheap” California wine is darn good, especially when compared with the product from a decade ago, or with similar priced wines from many other regions and nations. Go Left Coast!

Here are a couple of other wine clubs for you to consider:

The Wine Insiders (hey, I like the name!) at www.wineinsiders.com offers three choices of level (pretty normal) but also offer 3, 6 & 12 month options, with wine club gifts starting at $89, and ranging up to over $500 for a 12 month Connoisseur’s Club membership.

Their top level club is pretty substantial, with great options, including some nice Barolos and California Pinot Noirs.

www.winegiftclub.comis another online provider with a great selection of services. While their actual wine clubs are a bit limited, they make up for it by providing a great choice of seasonal gifts, including champagne, wine gift baskets, wine and food baskets, etc. You can choose your price, as well as your products, and they custom build your basket for you and ship them out. Right now, they’re getting geared up for Valentine’s Day, so check them out and be ready for the big day! (C’mon… don’t miss this one, guys… even if she says she doesn’t want anything, we know better… you’ll seldom go wrong from being too romantic, or spoiling her too much!)

Hope it helps, and I’ll be back tomorrow.

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider out.

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Wine Club Insider here, yet again!

We’re already six days into 2009! Where’s the time going? It was a funny holiday season with Christmas and New Years on Thursdays… it seems like we haven’t been able to get anything done for two weeks, but it has seemed to extend the holiday out a bit, that’s for sure!

I’d love to introduce you to K&L Wine Merchants. www.klwines.com.

They are a longstanding operation, having been in the wine business since 1976. One of the advantages of that kind of longevity is that you can develop some great relationships with wineries, wine brokers and negociants world wide, enabling them to offer some great wines at good deals.

Because of this, K&L offer five different wine clubs for you to choose from, and they certainly offer an above average selection of wines.

They’ve been well regarded by the media, including the Wall Street Journal, and even Food and Wine Magazine:

“Serious wine lovers have been turning to this California retailer for more than 30 years. K&L’s wine buyers not only hunt down the best from nearly every region in the world, but also sell hundreds of direct-import wines at great prices. The Web site shows real-time inventory of just how many bottles of, say, 2004 Domaines Schlumberger Saering Grand CruRiesling ($20) are still available. Tip: Direct-import sparkling wines include terrific bargains such as Tarlant Brut Zéro Champagne”
Food & Wine (June 2007)

At first glance, their wine clubs have the standardish levels, such as “Best Buy,” “Premium” and “Signature,” but the selections are pretty amazing… here are some of the choices from recent Signature shipments:

• 2005 Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva

• Blanquette de Limoux, Antech “Cuvée Francoise”

• 2000 Coufran, Haut-Médoc

• 2006 Antinori Vermentino Guado al Tasso

• 2005 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Chante Cigale “Vieilles Vignes”

• 1994 Burgess Cellars “Vintage Selection” Cabernet Sauvignon

• 1995 Burgess Cellars “Vintage Selection” Cabernet Sauvignon

Now, they also offer a couple of non-standard options, including a Champagne club for $69.95/shipment, and a “Club Italiano,” which offers a nice selection of Italian wines.

Lastly, the thing that really sets K&L apart is their “Personal Sommelier” service, which allows you talk to an expert, and custom design your wine club experience. If you want three, four bottles, and you want to spend a certain amount, they’ll hook you up and custom fit a package for you.

They’re based out of California, so if you’re out of CA you don’t pay tax either. Check them out!

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider out!

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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!

Last night, four of us went to a surprise birthday party for a friend at the wonderful Coeur d’ Alene Resort, one of the world’s greatest hotels: www.cdaresort.com. The party was held in a private room off of Beverley’s, the exquisite fine dining room on the resort’s 7th floor that overlooks beautiful Lake Coeur d’ Alene. As an aside, Beverley’s has one of the world’s greatest wine cellars and wine lists, with over 2000 labels in one of the most beautiful displays I have ever seen.

At the party, another of the guests started waxing poetic about a small(ish) winery in Paso Robles, California named Four Vines Winery, or “4V.” They can be found at www.fourvines.com, and their website is as eclectic and interesting as their wines!

Started by Christian Tietje, who quickly partnered with Susan A Mahler (“SAM”), they started out to create a great old vine Zinfandel winery. Well, not only did they succeed, they also managed to create an amazing no oak Chardonnay, named “Naked.”

They were producing 14,000 cases, but were getting swamped by the work load, so they invited friend and financier Bill Grant to join them. A couple of years later, bingo, they were at 40,000 cases, and were creating a “cult,” not only because of their wines, but because of the whole attitude and image of their winery: edgy, eclectic (I know, I know… I said that already, but it’s true!) and irreverent.

Most importantly, their wines are great!

Besides their Chard, they over five Zins, named “The Biker,” “The Maverick,” “The Sophisticate,” a wine club member’s only Zin from Dusi Vienyard, and a Zin Cuvee.

They do also offer a nice wine club, called “Incident,” which sends out three shipments of their wines each year. When you sign up, you commit to a one year term (three shipments) but that doesn’t look like a struggle!

They also offer two killer Syrah’s, and this is only under the “normal” part of their list! They also have a section entitled “Freak Show,” where they have such things as a inky, black Petite Sirah (not related to the regular Syrah, BTW… it is a completely separate varietal!), a Temperanillo blend, and two unusual blends named “Anarchy” and “The Peasant,” which contain such interesting pairings as Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and even Counnoise!

To top it off, they get my vote because they also make two different ports – a Zin port and a Syrah port! Ahhh… my kind of place!

I can’t wait to visit on my next trip to central California! It looks like a great place to spend an hour or six!

Cheers!

Wine Club Insider out!

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Wine Club Insider back with you on January 3rd, 2009! Where did the time go? It seems like barely a year ago and we were welcoming in 2008…

I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year’s eve celebration. Ours was very nice, aside from the five FEET of snow we have, which limited parking to our party a bit. Still, we had a great day of paintball, fireworks, hot tub, good food, and, or course, good wine!

For our midnight celebratory toast, we cracked a nice bottle of Roederer champagne, which is, I must say, as good as the reviews say it is! Crisp, light, but with a body not at all common amongst many champagnes.

Today, I would like to revisit a site we touched on a few weeks ago:

Gold Medal Wine Club, at www.goldmedalwine.com, is one of the better wine clubs, I would have to say, and certainly has one of the larger selections, with 5 main choices, including their Pinot Noir club.

The reason I’m mentioning them again is that they have launched several new features that are pretty interesting.

They have a spot where you can answer some questions about wine and earn a discount, as well as they have a taster’s blog, where you can compare notes about the wine club offerings. They also offer free greeting cards, and are currently sponsoring a trip to Portugal contest.

One of the neatest features is that they offer a “live chat” opportunity, where you can actually chat with someone right now about the various wines.

You can also get upto 45% off winery-direct reorders, which can really add up when you find a wine you like.

On that note, when you find a great wine that you like, it’s not a bad idea, space permitting, to buy a case, if you have the chance, and the price is right. Wine is a growing thing, and you can never be sure what next year’s vintage will bring. If you find something you like, and you can get 45% off, like from Gold Medal WIne club, then buy a  case, and enjoy!

Overall, some nice upgrades to the Gold Medal WIne Club site, so check it out.

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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