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Beaulieu Vineyards 2004 Napa Valley Zinfandel I?ve always had a soft spot for Zinfandel. It?s a vividly dark purple grape that unfortunately sees most of its utility in pedestrian, sweet ?white? Zins of miscellaneous and anonymous vintage. White zin made from this dark grape, but the juice is not fermented with the skins. It is the quintessential non-wine-drinker?s wine, the base for summer spritzers and the refuge of someone who?d rather be drinking an alcopop. When treated well, however, the Zinfandel grape produces big, burly, fruit
BV Muscat de Beaulieu Desert Wine Proud of You BV Muscat de Beaulieu Dessert Wine accompanied by 12 chocolate foiled rosebuds in a box. Check Prices at Cheese and Wine Unlimited
Cheese & Wine Tasting at Le Beaulieu Restaurant - Bangkok I had the great pleasure last evening to attend a French cheese tasting with over 60 varieties spread out on tables in the bar and restaurant of Le Beaulieu, and of course, inevitably, the odd glass of wine, which flowed like water! This is the third in a series of French cheese tastings at Herve Frerard?s restaurant on the ground floor of the Sofitel Residence on Soi nineteen. As usual, this tasting was well populated in spite of torrential rain and a 2500 baht ticket (well worth it). On the
Well I agree. There are many so so Pinots out there. I expect to pay $40.00 on up for a good American Pinot noir, though there are some exceptions. Look for Gary Farrell from the Russian River area of Sonoma and from the Southern Central Coast area, try Sanford, Fiddlehead Cellars, Foley even the Hitching Post's "Cork Dancer" and their top of the line Pinot "Highliner", Foxen also makes a great Pinot noir.
Look for vineyard specific Pinots also like Santa Maria's Bien Nacido vineyard. They produce grapes for Foxen, Hitching Post and quite a few other top Pinot producers in the Central Coast and in the napa Sonoma area.
There are actually so many really good Pinots out there right now it's hard for me so sometime make a decision. Good luck with your hunt. That is half the fun! Michael
The growing sense of optimism over the 2008 vintage in Oregon has spilled over the edge of the fermenter into outright excitement. Veteran winemakers throughout the Willamette Valley are letting their enthusiasm for this vintage show now that almost all their fruit is harvested. Here are some comments on the 2008 vintage from some of Oregon’s most important winemakers.
Brian O’Donnell owner and winemaker of the one of Oregon’s finest estates Belle Pente describes 2008 this way, “In terms of my impression of the harvest, I’m really excited! We brought in 10 tons October 1st that is now done, and these are some of the most delicious young wines I’ve ever tasted! The chemistry on the stuff we picked later is a little bizarre, but with a few tweaks it should be fine….we’re planning to let fermentation run a little hotter than normal and do longer than normal post-fermentation maceration to try and “burn” some of the obvious fruitiness out of the wines to let the site characteristics show thru better. But frankly, I think we’ve got a tiger by the tail, and she’s wild and sassy and will take a lot of good (and lucky) winemaking decisions to get the best out of her.”
Few growers and winemakers have the depth of experience possessed by David Adelsheim one of the true founders and pioneers of the Oregon wine industry. About this vintage he comments, “Another weird year. Three weeks late, rain in July and August, and still we saw the beginnings of drought stress in some sites. We starting picking on Sep 29th and finished this past week on Oct 18th. A third of our Pinot noir was picked by Oct 3rd; during the next 10 days (which were damp) we picked only a few lots of white grapes; everything else was picked in the final six hectic days. And the quality is looking pretty grand. It will need to be – our crop levels were off by 30% compared to 2007”
Jerry Murray winemaker and vineyard manager of highly regarded Patton Valley Vineyards says of 2008, “The harvest has looked great. We pulled in the last of our fruit yesterday. Considering the way the season started out, late bud break and all, mother nature has given us exactly what we needed to not just to avoid a disaster but to really ripen fruit in a way that should make some amazing wines, true pinot. The chemistry of the grapes has been just about perfect, great acidity, moderate alcohol, great color and phenolic development. As a winemaker you hope for this sort of vintage every year but I would be surprised if you get more than a handful in a lifetime. All that is left is to see the quality through to bottle. It is very exciting.”
Top: Vines at the Belle Pente estate vineyard change color. Below: Harvest in Tony Soter’s Mineral Springs Vineyard
I found a really great site for custom wine racks. I found wineracks.com and I absolutely cannot decide which design I like best. They have a selection of smaller capacity wine racks that can store three to forty eight bottles of wine.
Wineracks.com has wine racks in both wood and metal. I?ve found several that suit my current needs and several that I wish my needs would suit! Some of the different styles are just simple stackable racks that assemble without tools. There are other wine racks that are elegant, solid oak racks with tabletop and stemware storage.
The twelve bottle modular wine racks are made of pine and can be configured in many different ways. There are kits available to add and expand these wine racks. Wineracks.com has this item listed for $22.50.
The Cha Cha Wine Racks sold by wineracks.com are made of colored plastic. They snap together with clips and come in four colors. The colors that the components for these wine racks come in are orange, light blue, green and white. Each color is sold separately for $22.50.
I was particularly taken with the Lisbon wall wine racks. They are black wooden wine racks that hold both bottles and stemware. Wineracks.com has the Lisbon wall wine racks listed for $69.00.
I am pretty sure that I do not want the Accordia wine racks that wineracks.com have for sale. My mother had one that looked like this when I was growing up and I always thought that it was ugly. I much prefer any other style.
The Bali fifteen bottle wine racks were inspired by contemporary Indonesian style. I like the wavy look of these wine racks. The price for the Bali wine racks is $96.00. These come in a natural color. There are also twelve bottle Bali wine racks that are $72.00 in either crimson color or black.
I do believe that my favorite wine racks have to be the cellar cubes. Wineracks.com has the cellar cubes in both unfinished Pine and Mahogany. The Mahogany cellar cubes sell for $59.95 and the Pine cellar cubes sell for $34.95. These wine racks require simple assembly and the holes are pre-drilled and the hardware is provided.
Càspita! This is post 1001. I put up #1000 yesterday but I was on a bus or in a Starbucks so I didn't realize I'd passed that milestone. Wow. What sticktuitiveness or risible vanity, I'm not sure which. Both probably. It's taken a lot out of me at times to write this blog, as in late 2006 and almost all of 2007, annus horribilis # 7 of my life. See, this is what I looked like when I began mondosapore: Photo: Yours truly & an early fanThe first Wine Bloggers...
Anyone who?s read Blanc de Noir for long knows we?re both huge fans of Italian wines. There?s just something about the diversity, quality, and sheer fun factor of Italian wines ? whether it?s a casual summer patio sipper or a robust vintage to accompany a big, festive dinner or one of the meditative Amarones that are still way up there on our list of favourites.
So when BC Wine Appreciation Society decided to add a couple of Italian wines to an educational tasting scheduled just prior to the 2008 Playhouse International Wine Festival ? the theme country for this year?s festival was, after all, Italy ? Frank and our illustrious BCWAS leader, Tim Ellison, decided to add a twist to the event. How about putting up a couple of Italian wines with the usual BC vintages? Frank, however, took the concept one step farther.
Here?s the deal. From BC: three sparklers, four Pinot Grigios, two Pinot Noirs, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Merlot. From Italy: three Chiantis ? just three and all from Frescobaldi, one of Italy?s most respected winemakers (multi-generations shown above).
Here?s the catch. The Chiantis were bottled in 2004, 1982, and 1975. No, it?s not a typo. The last two came from the collection of Italian wines Frank recently acquired ? one of those fantastic opportunities that come about from being in the right place and the right time and having way more patience than most when it comes to negotiating.
Alas, on the night of the event, Frank was sick with flu, but you can bet eyes went wide as people realized what he?d sent.
The 2004 was, pretty much as expected, dark purple with lots of fruit and tannins that were more ?in your face? than makes for a good sipping wine unless you?re eating. But truth is, few people spent much time with that particular wine since they were all eager to try the two older offerings.
Immediately apparent was the change in colour ? now tawny with a much larger rim than the 2004. Controversy was plentiful and several people found neither one was ?quite my thing? as one member put it in an attempt to be diplomatic. The level of oxidization, especially in the 1975, caused raised eyebrows among half the folks there. It was virtually unanimous that the ?82 needs to be drunk now and the ?75 is clearly a bit past its prime ? although not a soul suggested it should be tossed.
However wide ranging the evening?s opinions were, one thing we all did agree on. These are wines made with love and benefit from patience.
Frank?s Tasting Notes: Castello di Nipozzano Riserva 1982 This wine has aged well, probably because it is a Riserva. After more than a quarter of a century there?s still lots of fruit left ? black cherry and dark fruits with a note of white truffles in the background. The tannins have smoothed right out so they are now a little silky, and the finish is fairly long. This wine shows just how well age can improve a Chianti. Alcohol 12.5%. All the bottles for both these wines are numbered ? I have 10 left, all around 84,960 series out of 293,600 bottles produced in 1982.
Castello di Nipozzano Chianti Rufina 1975 Sadly just a little past its prime but still drinkable as the acidity has helped this one hold up. Wide orange rim, brick red colour. Truffles leave sherry undertones. This vintage has shown a lot of bottle variation ? the fruit showed up a little more in this one than the first one we tried. Alcohol 12.7%. The last bottle I have left is number 74324 of 80,000 bottles produced.
India does indeed have a wine industry. It is still nascent at this point, but it is certainly promising. I have tried a Zinfandel that was passable, although it suffered from poor storage, a red Pinot blend that was simple but decent, and a Cab/Shiraz that was very good.
The Cab/Shiraz came from Grover Vineyards which is associated with the Bordeaux wine star, Michelle Rolland, and it showed.
As with China, another country that has had little modern wine experience, India will probably find early success with joint ventures with those from more traditional wine producing regions.
Again, like China, the local population has little to no expectation of what wine should taste like, or in some cases even exactly what wine is. The local wine store we went into actually had no wine. They probably just liked the sound of it on their sign. Our hosts where we are staying have never tasted any wine, and one of our friends asked if it was similar to Tequila. The restaurant we went to last night was decorated with wine motifs, but did not actually have any wine for sale. A decent Riesling would have been a great addition to the meal.
Dry reds remain the wine of choice among those who fancy themselves to be wine lovers, but considering the spicy foods and the difficulty in learning to enjoy something truly foreign, it is probably the slightly sweet wines that will first win over the population here. We saw a program on local TV that featured Grover Vineyards, and the host was unnecessarily apologetic about the residual sugar in the Sauvignon Blanc only to gush about the dry red.
Once more drawing a parallel to China which has a much more mature wine industry, one of the largest hurdles will always be price, but those with ability to afford luxuries always turn to wine first as a status symbol, and eventually for the pure love of it. The attitude towards wine, even among those that have never tried any sort seems to bear this out.
I think it is no coincidence that a country's wine evolution so closely resembles an individual's. It may take a decade or more, but the love of wine is sure to be part of India's culture eventually.
Assuming I can actually find another bottle of wine or three, I will bring you further updates.
During a two-day visit to the Mendocino coast we visited Café Beaujolais (Mendocino), Le Rendezvous (Ft. Bragg) and the Mosswood Cafe (Boonville). We particularly enjoyed Café Beaujolais.
2005 Ponzi Pinot Noir The 2005 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley offers toasty cherry and strawberry aromas leading to a medium-bodied, structured wine with spicy flavors and a slightly tannic finish. Drink this tasty Pinot Noir over the next 4-6 years. Ponzi Vineyards began in 1974 making them one of Oregon?s pioneers. Dick and Nancy Ponzi, the founders, remain very much involved although winemaking duties were turned over to daughter Luisa in 1993. In addition to remaining a reference point for Oregon Pinot Noir, the winery fashions excellent wines from Italian varietals including Arneis and Dolcetto in honor of their heritage. Not yet released. Tel. (503) 628-1227; www.ponziwines.com Rating: 89 Estimated Cost: $29-$40
It seems appropriate that the mythical figure of the phoenix should enter my imagination when searching for metaphors that could describe the variable fortunes of Verdejo throughout Spain's history. Wine production in general suffered during particularly crippling plague outbreaks, the Moorish Invasions, Reconquista, Wars of Succession and more recently under Franco, among several other trials. Not unlike the development and refinement of viticulture in Burgundy and the Rheingau, however, Verdejo cultivation in the Iberian Peninsula has distinct monastic roots. This is not by coincidence either, as the Castillian countryside, including the more important towns such as Segovia, Ávila and Valladolid gave Europe culturally transcendent figures such as Sts. Juan of the Cross and Teresa of Ávila.
Famous saints aside, the Sanz family has been involved extensively since the revitalization initiated in the region since the 1970?s and 1980?s, along the likes of larger houses such as Marqués de Riscal. Rueda wines, having achieved D.O. status around that time, in 1980, allow for Verdejo to be blended with other local and international white varietals. Sanz produces another (orange label) Con Class Rueda, which represents this type of blend, though I personally find the 100% Verdejo much more exciting and interesting.
I?m quite thrilled that consumers in export markets are now able to find stand-alone bottles of Castillian Verdejo from resurgent Spanish D.O.?s such as Rueda. Along with the producers? adoption of a more updated, state-of-the-art approach towards regional varieties that the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX) people are striving to convey to foreign markets, I find it altogether more noteworthy to see the producers? attitudes themselves skewing towards their own tastes when it comes to the fork in the road that producing for said markets represents. The producer wonders: "What balance do we strike between what we believe regional, indigenous varieties such as Verdejo can achieve, and what North Americans or say, the Chinese and Japanese markets prefer in terms of taste and style?"
Argentines like myself are keenly aware of these issues, particularly when contemplating our neighbors from across the mountain range. The progressive viticultural methodologies and embrace of technology in and of themselves are assets that ultimately yield no rewards if utilized to please foreign sensibilities only. Heavy investment and updated production methods, in this case, however, have done well by Rueda producers?really well in fact. Wines like my pick for this week?s recommendation strike the balance needed to please all palates as well as embody the regional pride that has become a winning formula for many Italian and Portuguese producers (Vinho Regional and IGT appellation schemes, respectively). These artisan producers craft impressive wines where the regional varieties play center-stage roles, and more importantly, in which the style of the wine?s expression is crisp, delicious and sincere?pleasing to local and open-minded foreign palates alike.
My notes follow for the 2006 Con Class Verdejo Rueda D.O. by Sitios de Bodega:
This fine Rueda shows through as a clear lemon hue in the glass. The nose is pronounced and clean, staying true to the nature of this aromatic varietal, with green treefruit (green apple and pear), lively citrus, fresh grass, slight minerality, spice and floral hints. Don?t be fooled by the nose, this wine is from Castille and not Marlborough. Bearing in mind its aromatic profile, though, I?m not at all surprised that wines like this Verdejo are often blended with Sauvignon Blanc. Palate-wise, this one packs a serious amount of flavor into a pale, unassuming little transparent lemon appearance, with thick glycerin and ripe green apple slashed through with intense, lime-citrus acidity. The perfumey floral and grassy fumes here are not to be taken lightly, as they mimic an Altoids-like strength and shoot up behind the nasal passages and subsequently haunt the afterbreath. The lovely finish sticks around quite a bit, with added minerality, warm spice and a grassy angle of pear-green apple flavors lingering in the afterbreath. My last impression that I?d like to convey would be to think twice before pairing this beautiful, personality-packed Verdejo with a crab dish or some other white meat that doesn?t intrinsically hold up much in the way of concentrated flavor.
Prior to my arrival on the Peninsula, my experience with wild mushrooms were both infrequent and rather tame. Having lived in Illinois, New Mexico, Colorado and Minnesota, my knowledge of mushrooms solely consisted of cute little button white mushrooms bought in the grocery store that had a slightly sweet flavor eaten raw, and when cooked, seemed to absorb any of the stronger flavors surrounding it. However, truth be told, both Illinois and Minnesota are renowned for their wild mushrooms. Every November, festivals are celebrated across the Midwest, with avid mushroom lovers coming in droves to hunt Sheepheads, Stumpers (or Honey Mushrooms), Goldentops, and Morel mushrooms, among many others. And although I have very fond memories of picking forest berries, my family was never keen on scavenging for fungi. Granted, my four year stint in Japanese restaurants exposed me to a wider range of exotic mushrooms including: Shitake, Maitake, Bunashimeji, Nametaki, Hiratake, and a long stringy snow white mushroom with a wee little head, Enoki, but nothing as compared to the variety you can scrounge up here in Catalunya, Spain.
Come fall, as humidity sits upon our valley like a thick wet blanket, fruit stands come alive with various plastic containers filled with exotic mushrooms. Many of these mushrooms are so incredible ugly that your wondering if your local vender isn’t trying to pull over your eyes, selling you something more fitting for your compost heap than your evening meal. Tófona Negra, or the Black Trumpet, is one of the most frightening looking buggers you’ve ever laid your eyes on. Black as charcoal, with polygonal warts, grooved longitudinally, the Black Trumpet’s inside, or gleba (word of the day), is born snow white in color, and through its maturation turns a dark reddish hue and eventually, jet black. However, this is rich and aromatic mushroom needs only a small piece to infuse any dish with its flavor.
Another common mushroom used in Catalan cuisines at this time of the year is the Rovelló. This funky dusty reddish-orange mushroom can be identified by its small forest green stains in concentric rings that alternate from light to dark in hue. The cap is also rather unusual, as its wide and concave, as if it never fully finished its development. These are meaty and delicious mushrooms that pair well, according to my Catalan fruit vender, with the Llenega mushrooms, a fat white stemmed mushroom with a small stocky black cap. ?Having put both of them into a cherry tomato, spinach and red pepper risotto sprinkled with cured manchego cheese, I’d have to agree with him. It was absolutely mouth watering, but I warn you, the Llenega mushrooms were covered 4 cm thick in white mold the following day. Why? I have zero idea, but my neighbors felt I overreacted when I threw them away saying, “Gabriella, just wash it off with a little water and put them in the refrigerator to stay fresh.” With the exception of placing mushrooms in the refrigerator, Ryan agreed with their consensus, but after seeing such a dramatic change in one evening, I feared for my for my poor stomach, which is anything but ironclad.
Speaking of potentially live altering mushrooms, let’s chat about mushrooms you should not eat no matter how funky and exotic they may appear to you. Although I’ve never noticed these toxic balls of fungi in the wild, I did receive a nice little lecture a few weeks ago at the “Bolets de Catalunya” festival. By chance, while walking down the Rambla Catalunya to the Boqueria Market, I passed twelve 6ft long tables in an enormous rectangle filled with mushrooms. Each mushroom sat infront of a small white sign sharing its various names in Latin, Catalan, etc; history; taxonomy; and I kid you not, level of toxicity. One skull and bones sign is enough for me to stay away for any mushroom, but 3 back to back has be running for the hills.
That said, you know the classic mushroom we all drew as a kid with its big cherry red cap with small white spores on it? Yeah, don’t eat that one, because depending on the quantities, you’ll either be hallucinating for a long while, or you’ll be on your way to the hospital. Called the Amanita muscaria, or “fly agaric”, this is not one you want to bring home and cook up for your sweetie. Nor would I attempt to eat the Ou del Diable, or Devil’s egg. From a 10-20 cm long thick white stem shoots out a medium sized teardrop head of white or gray color. Trust me, you can’t miss this mushroom, as its phallic structure and rather unappealing color doesn’t make you want to uproot it for a spontaneous picnic in the forest.
So what should you take away from this? If you can plan a visit to Spain during the mushroom, I highly suggest it. There are festivals all over Catalunya from the end of September to the beginning of November, where restaurants will even dedicate an entire meal, dessert and all, to wild mushrooms. Additionally, wines from Catalunya are a wonderful pairing with mushrooms. Whether you choose a crisp, lively Cava to a rich buttery Chardonnay, you won’t be disappointed.
If you’re interested in learning more mushrooms, while picking up a few Catalan words, head over our local mushroom site. I’ll go over some of the terms listed in the header, so that you may peruse pictures at your leisure to know what is, and is not, toxic to eat in Catalunya.
Tots els Bolets = All Mushrooms Bolets + Apreciats = Bolets Toxícs = Toxic Mushrooms Fires de Bolets = Mushroom Festivals Rutes Boletaires = Mushroom Routes Receptes = Recipes (I’ll check these out in the near future and report back!) Guias = Mushroom Guides El Bolet = The Mushroom (Great page providing you the vocabulary to describe a mushroom…in Catalan
PS: Ryan here. I had a chance to play with some mushrooms recently when Gabriella and I decided to make a mushroom tart of sorts. Here’s the general recipe off the top of my head:
Take a half an onion and saute it in some olive oil, the more the better! When it starts to get soft, toss in enough mushrooms (assorted wild ones) to make your tart. As they are cooking, roll out a few of squares of filo dough and make two round circles that fit in a pie tin, or cazuela. Pre-bake the bottom filo crust for a few minutes in a pre-heated oven at 200C or until brown. Remove the pan and allow it to cool. As the mushrooms are starting to wilt in the pan, toss in a 1/4 cup of Tawny Port, some black pepper and salt to taste. When the moisture is almost gone, empty the mushroom mix onto the bottom crust and cover it with the second piece of filo. In the oven, after sprinkling grated Parmesan cheese over the top of the tart, cook until nice and brown. That’s it! The results:
My first selection for these troubled times is the second most popular wine reviewed here by pageviews, the Petite Sirah by Crane Lake. This label is made by Bronco Wine Company who also produce the Charles Shaw brand for Trader Joe’s. Crane Lake is offered to independent retailers and typically sells for a couple dollars more than the more famous “2-buck Chuck.” Another difference is that more than just the typical varieties are offered, including this Petite Sirah and even a Sangiovese.
Petite Sirah is a good variety to look for in value wines these days as it flies a bit below the radar of most consumers. Many of the best examples can be found for less than $20 a bottle but I was interested in what you could get for $4. I picked up the 2004 vintage a while back but did not review it was a bad bottle, but I was able to track down the 2005 vintage for this tasting.
Tasting Notes:
Crane Lake, Petite Sirah 2005 ($4) - Dark purple-black color with aromas of blueberry compote and white pepper. Simple and juicy blueberry and plum flavors with some black pepper finishing with plush tannins and good acidity. Clean and surprisingly varietally correct.
Composite cork closure 12.5% ABV Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Big News! Okay, I was trying to keep this one under wraps but it seems a few people have already found out and, well what better place to announce it than here right?
As of August 7th I will be back at the Wine Warehouse full time drinking for my living. I am very excited and can't wait to get back in the game.
Also My friend Andi got a new job at the O'Henry Hotel and I wish her mucho success in all of her endeavors. I will miss her.
Although I spend a reasonable amount of time (how much is reasonable?) thinking about which wine to enjoy with a meal, quite often I'll find that even if it's not perfect it is still entirely serviceable and rather than wail hysterically while tipping the bottle down my throat, I can enjoy both food and wine while making a mental note to try something else next time.
But then, when you most want to find just the thing to do justice to the efforts of the chef, you go and make an absolute clanger. Of course it is also about doing justice to the effort that has gone into the production of the wine so showing it off in the most flattering company is desirous in absolute propotion to the amount of effort it is to procure a bottle and how lovingly you cherish it.
I haven't gone too far out of my way to scout out the perfect steak to show off my £5.49 Argentinian Cabernet Sauvignon. Although they would be more laidback company than some, more intricate, menus.
Had the most wonderful meal a couple of nights ago courtesy of a former Masterchef contestant. We kicked off the evening with some Champagne Drappier Brut Carte d'Or NV. A very biscuity nose with a fresh, light and clean apple palate with a broad, creamy bottom layer with an enthusiatic but not overwhelming mousse and very decent length.
The first course was mushroom ravioli in a wild mushroom (girasol) broth in which the woodland flavours sang out in operatic fashion. We matched that with a Louis Latour, Domaine de Valmoissine Pinot Noir 2002 from Provence. Very light crimson this was correct and tasty. Already quite evolved but still lots of fruit, just not the concentration I'd hoped for. Made a great pairing with the mushrooms though and the lightness and acidity in the wine lifted the earthy tones and richness of the ravioli.
The fabulously elaborate meal continued with roast duck cooked in red wine with cherry sauce. For the duck I had brought along a Feytit Clinet 2000 from Pomerol having enjoyed right bank Bordeaux with duck on many previous occasions. Here though the intensity and sweetness of the cherries and the reduction glaze reduced this otherwise rather lovely wine to thin, metallic, short nastiness. Really very sad!
We tried opening an Eldridge Blue Chip Shiraz 2003 from Clare Valley in South Australia, which alone was sweet, unctuous and jammy but this too couldn't take on the cherries.
Which came first - the cherry or the Feytit Clinet? They both lost that night. Tant pis...learn from mistakes. Next time before rummaging through the cellar, I'll ask for an exact breakdown of the recipes from my host - NO, not really! This is just for fun.
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM). Started by First Lady Betty Ford, a breast cancer survivor herself, and her daughter Susan in 1985, NBCAM has made great strides both by increasing early detection of this disease and erasing the stigma that was once attached to it.
A number of pink ribbon products are promoted during October with a portion of the proceeds going to help eradicate breast cancer. One that's particularly attractive for wine lovers is this wine opener and wine glass set from The Wine Enthusiast. The set includes two Riedel Vinum Pink Rose Wine Glasses and the all-in-one lever style Pink Rabbit Corkscrew Kit. Fifteen percent of Riedel's proceeds are being donated to the Living Beyond Breast Cancer Foundation. Five percent of Metrokane's proceeds are being donated to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
To learn more about NBCAM and to download a variety of free material, visit the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Web site.
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I was glancing at the Winetastic archives the other day and realised that the blog will have existed for three years as of today. Happy birthday to us? The real question of course is which wine to open in celebration…
With the worldwide financial crisis in full swing, it’s a time a lot of wine lovers will be looking to dial back their wine budgets a bit. From my informal polling on Twitter, most are drinking the same amount of wine but less expensive selections are gaining in popularity.
With that in mind, I’m launching a new feature I’m calling “Wines For Recessionary Times.”
That doesn’t always mean cheap wines but we will start there and explore the most extreme values in all price tiers. I’m talking about the $10 wines that give $25 wines a run for their money. Also those $30 wines that make you shake your head and wonder what they were thinking charging $75 a bottle for a similar wine. Or those auction finds that you want to keep to yourself so you can buy more before they are sold out. And wines you can buy for less than $50 A CASE.
So stay tuned as I look for wines that you would guess are 2 or 3 times more expensive than they actually are. This should be a fun project but let’s hope it’s short lived and not necessary this time next year.
What’s your favorite extreme value wine?
[07/16/2006, 18:30]
The good wines of the small big companies. The Malbec 2004 Marguery Family
"FAMILY MARGUERY" elaborates his wines in the locality of Cross of Stone, Mendoza, into Republic Argentina .
"Exclusively we are compromised by the production of wines of high quality "enologica" by means of the use of the last technological advances and in limited items. Our grapes come from ancient vineyards strictly selected of the localities of Uco's Valley (Mendoza - Argentina) seeking to express the peculiar characteristics of every "terroirs", says Marguery.
This wineries of Argentina was founded in the 2000 year. " We look for wines of good concentration, complex and expressive, for it and consistent with our vision, we work in this respect from the vineyard. Everything there speaks about the care and the dedication that we have with our plants wineries. There helps us very much the height that they have on the level of the sea (1.100mts.), the desert conditions of the climate, the poverty of the soil, the thermal extent, that is to say all conditions that favor the ideal development of the Malbec ".
Tecnorati
My 
With the worldwide financial crisis in full swing, it’s a time a lot of wine lovers will be looking to dial back their wine budgets a bit. From my informal polling on Twitter, most are drinking the same amount of wine but less expensive selections are gaining in popularity.
