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When people find out that I enjoy cheap wine enough to devote a website to it, they usually ask me if I have been to Trader Joe’s. My response, until last week, has always been “No, not yet”.
Well, I finally caved and took a trip to Detroit, the nearest Trader Joe’s location for me here in Lansing. Ann Arbor might actually be closer, but as an MSU Spartan, I try to stay out of there.
I’d like to preface this review of Charles Shaw Cabernet with a synopsis of Trader Joe’s. If you have one near you, go there. If not for the wine, then for the thousands of food items that pack the small market. I spent 80 dollars, which sounds like a bit much especially for me. I ended up leaving with 2 cases of wine and enough food for a week. Fresh mozzarella, fresh gnocchi, fresh salsa (notice a pattern?), Guacamole chips, Trader Joe’s Marinara, soups, veggies…. I was in heaven. They have got all kinds of cheeses, breads, meats, micro-brewed beers, and their wine selection was out of this world. What a great store!
Trader Joe’s is the exclusive retailer of Charles Shaw Wines, better known to most as “Two-buck Chuck”. In California these wines sell for $1.99, which is just amazing. Here in Michigan, though, the price was $2.99.
Did we like it? Was it worth the trip?
Hell yes it was! For 3 dollars, I don’t think it could have been any better. The Cabernet was great. At first, I found it to be a little sweet, but looking back, I was actually enjoying the salsa with the wine, which probably wasn’t a great combination. Along with the Cab, I also purchased some of the Shiraz, Merlot, and Chardonnay (reviews coming soon).
Congrats to Two-Buck-Chuck and Trader Joe’s for achieving the highest rating available here on Cheap Wine Reviews. Hats off to you!
Rating: 10/10 Price: $2.99 Place of PurchaseTrader Joe’s
I am on my way to visit the vineyards of Thailand. I have already learned about some of the many challenges they face, but now I will learn how they are overcoming them.
Growing grapes in the tropics takes a different approach than in the temperate climes. Vines do not get a chance to achieve dormancy, they grow vigorously all year round. This leads to the "Two Seasons, one Crop" approach, which means that there is only one harvest, even though there could conceivably be two. This increases the quality of the grapes, since the vine does not have to produce fruit twice.
Then there is the rain. This is a monsoon climate, and when it rains, it pours, for months. Wet leaves rot and this would not at all be a suitable time for producing fruit beneath a leafy canopy. And so, harvest takes place in the winter. We are not below the Equator, so harvesting in February and March means growing during the dark months. This has a direct effect on the amount of photosynthesis the vines can achieve.
High water tables in at least one of the vineyards we have visited so far, necessitate rather drastic soil management. A moisture barrier has to be placed 15 feet down, and then stones, in this case slate, is used to fill in the hole, greatly increasing the drainage potential of the vineyards. This keeps the water from rising too far, while allowing surface rains and irrigation to trickle down, nourishing the roots.
Heat is also a major concern, not only in the vineyard, but in the winery. I have tried some wine that tastes as if it may have been made in conditions that were inappropriately hot, but herein lies the rub. Was the wine damaged during production, or transportation and storage?
No matter how careful the wine producers are, the transportation and storage conditions, or more properly, the lack of them, spells disaster for much of the wine. Restaurants and stores often have no refrigeration for the wines, and even if they did, the truck the wine was delivered in may well not.
The heat is also problematic for making wines which contain residual sugar. Those I have visited with blame the heat for restarting fermentation in the bottle, or in many cases the "bag in a box" bladder. I personally think that better sterile filtering practices could make such wines possible, but I will learn more as I visit more wineries in the next few days.
Why the emphasis on wines with RS? The food. Spicy chiles are not easy to pair with wine, and while many producers insist their dry reds go well with the foods, I can't help but point out that I prefer slightly sweet whites with spicy food.
With many thanks to the Thai Wine Association who have invited me to tour their member wineries, I am off to explore and learn about the Thai wine industry. A full report will be coming to a blog near you next week.
Amazon.com, the online purveyor of books, apparel, and just about everything else, has announced its plans to enter the wine sales business. Beginning as early as mid-October, the online retailer will offer a selection of more than 300 wines from all over the United States to customers in 26 states. The company indicates that the selection will represent a wide cross-section of US producers, not just wineries in California, Oregon, and Washington State.
Shipping and taxes, as ever with online wine sales, will likely be an issue. Amazon says that customers of the Amazon Prime service (which carries a $79 annual fee) will get free shipping. Still, it's an intriguing development.
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Marking the first anniversary of the 24 hour drinking licence laws, a 'rescue remedy' called Dink has been released.
It is supposed to mitigate the ill-effects of binge-drinking with ingredients that mop up free radicals produced by the liver when it is processing alcohol. It is also cheap and readily available.
It is being marketed to "people who like to get merry". Presumably because they feel it is unwise to market it to people who like to get smashed out of their skulls every Friday night and throw up partially digested burgers on street corners. I think we know who it is actually aimed at.
I must admit that my first thought was "great idea", sounds so useful. But while I'm no Catholic I do think the pain of hang-overs is justly deserved and should reflect any excess. The sparkle generated by a few drinks with friends too easily degenerates into boorishness and incapacity beyond a certain point. There are very few elegant drunks.
And aren't we supposed to be cutting down binge drinking, as a society? We need a cultural shift that comes collectively - social evolution if you like, of the kind we've seen with smoking, drink driving and wearing seat belts.
Most Friday-nighters, though by no means all, are young people with their whole lives ahead of them and of course there is a natural protective urge to want them to stay healthy. The price that many of them pay for their excesses can be heart-breaking. Blaming them as being responsible for their own actions is ridiculous if the message they absorb is that getting really drunk and doing stupid things is clever and/or funny.
And now we are giving them the tools to avoid hangovers. I like drinking and sometimes I drink more than I should, but I also know that my body hates it when I do. It's a natural defense mechanism to show us our limits and should not be overlooked as a preventative.
If we no longer have any medical consequences we will push our bodies over the limit as a matter of course. But often the real trauma of binge drinking is the wider physical and emotional damage caused by violence, bravado, promiscuity or recklessness . Can we develop a pill for that too?
[07/18/2006, 15:19]
Michel Rolland, the most influential enologist of the world : " 75 % of the Chilean wines is green "
The most important and polemic flying winemaker of the world does not agree with the commentary of the Chilean critics who say that the wines are falling down in a style "On I mature". In sole right, it conversed with "Revista del Campo" of his acid vision of the enology and of the specializing journalism.
Au Jardin Les Amis (”The Friends, In the Garden”) is situated in the tranquil Singapore Botanic Gardens, on the second level of an 1920s home. We were seated on a glass enclosed balcony with a relaxing view of the gardens. It is a wonderful setting and was a great place to spend some time on my last day in Singapore.
The service was attentive, professional and was invisible except when needed. The food was very good, it wasn’t innovative - but with clean, elegant and pleasing flavour profiles it was memorable for the taste and technique. I have read that this venue can have good and bad days, and I think this must have been a good day as everything seemed to go well.
Like Iggy’s, the price was more than fair - the meal consisted of an amuse bouche, an entree, consommé, main course, dessert, les mignardises and coffee and cost $52 AUD (including 7% GST and a mandatory 10% service charge) per person plus wine. I guess when every corner of the city has wonderful (and cheap) food, you have to be fair to stay alive.
The wine;
The wine list is extensive and full of very special bottles, as well as being generally well above my budget!
Donnhoff Oberhauser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett 2006 (Nahe, Germany) - 8.5% alcohol - Donnhoff is very quickly heading toward the top of my favourite Riesling producer list. This had aromas of sea salt, pears, tea leaves and mandarin. Delicate and long on the palate, there is some lovely fruit sweetness balanced by superb acidity. Lovely drinking now, but will age well over the next 10 years. 91/100
Bonneau Du Martray Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 1992 (Burgundy, France) 375ml - 13% alcohol - Golden straw coloured. Butter, sesame, toast and honey aromas on the nose. Rich and creamy mouthfeel, with enough acid to keep the palate from being flabby. Very good length and texture. Drink now and over the next couple of years. 91/100
The food;
Prawn with Basil and Berry Foam with Apple juice
Cougette blossom stuffed with crab meat
Hon maguro with horseradish and roasted sesame dressing
Vine ripened tomato consomme with basil
Lightly smoked ocean trout with apple and fennel salad
Roasted flank steak and braised oxtail in red wine with seasonal vegetables
Don't miss this opportunity to peek behind the cellar door and taste the wines of 2008 long before their release!
Visit Lodi Wine Country for an amazing weekend of wine tasting, educational activities, chef demonstrations, barrel sampling, blending seminars, winemaking contests and food pairings! Meander from winery to winery to experience all that Lodi Wine Country has to offer!
40 Lodi wineries are poised to make this pre-holiday event memorable! Take the "First Sip" of Lodi's 2008 vintage wines straight from the barrel. Enjoy the fruits of our vintner's labor. Help to celebrate the end of another successful harvest!
Take advantage of advance ticket prices! For $35 each, a ticket grants you two days featuring the best of Lodi Wine Country! Click here for Ticket link to make your purchase today!
Château Palmer derives its English name from Charles Palmer (1777-1851), a former Mayor of the spa town of Bath and Member of Parliament, who rose to the rank of General during the Napoleonic period. A gentleman, officer, and aide-de-camp of the Prince of Wales, Charles Palmer apparently fell under the spell of Bordeaux as well as the charms of a beautiful widow, Marie de Gascq, who convinced him to buy her Château de Gascq estate. From 1816 to 1831, Palmer bought additional land and buildings in the communes of Cantenac, Issan, and Margaux, and by 1830 the property covered 163 hectares, including 82 hectares of vines. Ultimately, the good life did him in financially, and he was forced to sell his magnificent Médoc estate. Purchased in 1853, brothers Isaac and Emile Péreire and their descendents had the château built in 1856, and thereafter battled oidium and phylloxera, survived the Franco-Prussian war, and made it through the First World War, only to succumb to the economic crisis of the 1930s which forced them in turn to also sell the estate. Château Palmer was purchased by several families of Bordeaux, English, and Dutch extraction (the Sichel, Mähler-Besse, Ginestet, and Miailhe families) in 1938, and continues to be owned by its descendants.
Château Palmer’s terroir dates from the Quaternary period, when gravel slowly accumulated on the Left Bank of the Gironde, pushed by the Dordogne and carried along by the Garonne. The two rivers meet a few kilometers downstream from Ch. Palmer to form the Gironde estuary. Among their current 52 hectares of vines, Ch. Palmer has a large percentage of Merlot, almost the same amount of Cabernet Sauvignon, and a small percentage of Petit Verdot. Here in Margaux, the vines are planted on gravely rises several meters thick, consisting of brittle black lydite, white and yellow quartz, quartzite mottled with black, green or blue, and white chalcedony. In an effort to help the vine roots sink deep into the gravelly soil, they till the soil regularly. They also maintain a very high vine density - 10,000 vines per hectare - in order to increase competition between the vines and encourage this deep rooting.
Join us as we talk with Thomas Duroux, CEO of Château Palmer since July 2004, about Ch. Palmer’s fascinating history, along with its vineyards and wines.
Enjoy the subtle juiciness of this dry version, with flavors of orange marmalade, chamomile, honey and sea salt. This has good intensity and focus, but also the overall elegance of a well put together wine. Smoky finish. Drink now through 2023. 1,000 cases made.
Although the Oregon Pinot Gris Harvest is a little later this year than vineyard managers would like, good weather has ensured that this year's crop should be outstanding. The rule in Oregon has been that the even years (2004, 2006, etc...) are better than the odd years (2005, 2007), and it look as though the grapes will prove that theory right again.
A virtually rain-free summer with warm temperatures has slowly given the vines enough heat units to produce healthy fruit. There has been a lack of extended periods of moisture, or any other destructive types of weather. Last year's harvest was noticeably unfavorable, with several weeks of bad weather in September and October.
I happened to finish two things about the same time last week. The first Wine Bloggers Conference and a book, The Billionaire’s Vinegar. This was perhaps a coincidence as I did not find time to read a word at the conference. Drinking trumped reading in Santa Rosa that weekend, but I finished the book a few days later. It’s hard to think of a greater contrast between the event I attended and the events and people in the book.
The Wine Bloggers Conference was defined by an almost innocent enthusiasm and love for wine, while The Billionaire’s Vinegar represents The Dark Side of wine. You cannot be help but be stuck by the ugly greed, arrogance and ignorance of the wealthy posers chasing “great wine” in this book. It’s one of those plots were there is no protagonist, they’re all bad guys. I highly recommend this book as it’s a great story based around the excesses and greed of big time collectors who were sold faked old wines and were just too greedy and had such massive egos they couldn’t taste the obvious.
One thing this book proves is that we are all too human in our abilities and no one can escape the trap of letting labels affect our perceptions. I’ll be the first to admit if someone told me I was getting a glass of 1787 Lafite purchased by Thomas Jefferson my esthetic distance would be right out the window. The trouble with the arrogant bastards in this book is that they thought that their palates were so great they could rise above human frailty. I can only guess they got stupid after they made their money, not before. The tacky glitz, excess and greed surrounding the elaborate tasting events described in the book cannot be overstated. What is perhaps most disconcerting is the attendance at these events of those that consider themselves wine “journalists” Certainly, attending such extravagant events gratis would not be acceptable under even the loosest code of journalistic ethics. It was clear to these writers that they would not be invited back if they offered even a hint of criticism in their reports. Rave reviews were the price of next year’s admission and they were always invited back. It’s hard to be critical after enough foie gras and caviar.
The recent first ever Wine Bloggers Conference in America (there was one a few months before in Europe) painted a very different picture. The jaded arrogance that blinds so many established wine writers these days was replaced by the refreshing enthusiasm of the wine bloggers that descended on the Flamenco Hotel in Santa Rosa. Surrounded by the beauty and wonderful wines of Sonoma over 150 new media wine writers gathered to explore their emerging genre. The energy brought to my mind Gracie Slick and the Jefferson Airplane welcoming the dawn at Woodstock, “It’s a new dawn…” said Gracie before the band roared into that hippie political anthem, Volunteers.
Every blogger that attended was there on their own dime as no one is make a living from wine blogging yet. Everyone was there because of their passion for wine. They are truly volunteers and the generous spirit of this group stuck out starkly to the outrageously expensive, competitive and ego driven wine world documented in The Billionaire’s Vinegar.
While there are many wonderful examples of wine bloggers making a difference I can’t help to pick out Deb Harkness, better known as Dr. Debs, who has created a blog called Good Wines Under $20. For what I hope are obvious reasons I won’t describe what Deb’s blog is about. Deb’s day job is as a college professor, but by night she’s a consumer activist seeking out great wines at great prices for her readers. Yet what is even more impressive about her is her deep commitment to a personal standard of ethics. While most mainstream wine writers are mostly concerned about what others will think of them when it comes to ethics, Dr. Debs, and many bloggers like her are concerned what they think of themselves. Their ethics are in their hearts. Their not in it for the money or glamour tastings, but out of a sincere love of food and wine. At the end of the day only self respect and personal pride can make ethics a reality. Deb and many bloggers like her are setting a new standard.
I’m well aware that I was one of the old guys at the Wine Bloggers Conference and most of my compatriots there were well under forty, but the energy and spirit there reminded me of an earlier time, before when some of them were born, when we thought we could change the world. The conference gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, that the pointy world of wine writing today can be brought down. Power to the bloggers.
It’s a new dawn for wine writing. Good morning people.
Visit BusinessWeek.com for an interesting article on wine web sites, including Bottletalk. There is also a slideshow walking you through seven different wine web sites, explaining how they work and who is behind them.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Fat Bastard wines are doing their part to cure this disease by donating 25 cents for every bottle sold in restaurants and retail stores, up to $75,000. This is the sixth year the company has run this program and to date, they have donated more than $250,000 to breast cancer research.
During October, Fat Bastard wines will be easy to spot on the shelf. They'll have a pink ribbon necker with an attached pin for consumers to wear. Fat Bastard's wine collection includes Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Rose, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
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Those of us living here know it's been positively FREEZING the past few days in San Francisco, but little did we know it's actually been SNOWING in wine country. Check out these pics of soon-to-be-opened, Gold-LEED certified winery (word has it it'll be the only one in Cali), Cade. A new venture from the PlumpJack Group (Go Gavin & fam!), Cade is slated to open its eco-friendly doors to invitation-only guests beginning in March 2009. Their PR team sent me these snaps of snow that fell on the gorgeous winery earlier today, and I just had to share. Clearly, the Juan Carlos Fernandez/Lail Group-designed facility - which is being billed as "one of the architectural showplaces of Northern California's wine country" by PlumpJack's PR machine - is a stunner. Can't wait to check it out myself - albeit in better weather.
Our reviews mark the 5th edition of the Wine Book Club, and the last meeting for 2008--because no one is going to post a review between Christmas and New Year's Eve, are they? So it's all the more fitting that we mark the end of 2008 and the end of the Bush administration with a book dedicated to helping us understand the complicated political journey that wine takes from grape to glass.
We had some Wine Book Club veterans and some first-timers, too. So here is a roundup of some of their thoughts.
First time Wine Book Club participant Jim Eastman from the blog Music and Wine praised Colman's accessible style, noting that "it managed to keep me engaged without fail through the whole book. Eastman's main criticism of the book was he felt it was a little too short to cover such a broad-ranging topic in so few pages. Jim wanted more--"A little extra depth and perspective" was the way he put it--which I can tell you from personal experience is the kind of criticism an author can live with. When a reader wants more, that's a good thing.
Another first time WBC participant, Frank Morgan from the blog Drink What YOU Like, described the book as "academic and thorough." Frank found the Colman's coverage of the topic "fascinating," and while he did sometimes get "lost in the details a couple of times," the book changed the way he "looked at a glass of wine." My favorite line in Frank's review was saved for the end: "My major takeaway from Wine Politics is an increased sense of appreciation for the small wine guy and the crap they go through just to produce and sell wine to me!"
Christianne from the blog Christianne Uncorked (also a first time WBC participant) found the book was "PACKED with information about wine, history, and politics," but she sometimes found that the organization left her feeling a bit "distracted." She particularly would have liked more of Colman's informal writing and less of the formal academic style.
Taste B from Smells Like Grape added her two cents on the book, saying that it was a "breath of fresh air" given the other books she's reading for an academic course at the moment. What she most enjoyed about the book was that is wasn't just a rehash of things she already knew about wine. Instead, Colman "weaves together many observable and oft discussed conditions in the wine industry with little-known catalysts to form some pretty stark revelations."
Wine Book Club veteran Kori from the Wine Peeps made it clear that this was not the book for you if you were looking for "basic wine information or for a recommendation on what bottle of wine to drink tonight." However, "a lot of information is packed into this relatively short 148-page read," and Kori found the message thought provoking. "If you really want to know why you can?t buy a bottle of wine you fell in love with on a recent trip to California and have it shipped to your home," Kori recommends you pick up this book and learn why.
Richard the Passionate Foodie, another WBC veteran, recommends this well-written book to "those who are more passionate about wine, who enjoy learning about more than grape varieties and wine regions." While it may not appeal to the novice, Richard feels that wine lovers will appreciateColman's "measured and neutral stance" on his more controversial topics, where he presents arguments for both sides of troubling questions.
Thanks to Tyler Colman, our own Dr. Vino, for writing this excellent book which really did convince me that any drinkable wine produced in this country is a miracle, given the laws that stand in the way of winemakers and consumers. And thanks to all the participants this month.
The next edition of the book club will be announced in early December, and reviews will be due in late January--so stay tuned for another year of the Wine Book Club.
Best Deal Magazines is currently offering "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wine" as a downloadable version for free. The guide is currently off of print in bound form, but is loaded with good advice on how to select, taste, and collect wine. Although aimed at the beginning wine lover, there's sure to be something of interest to the experienced sipper also.
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September 14th, 2007 is the Great Canadian Head Shave organized by the Terry Fox Foundation. In order to help raise awareness and much-needed funds for cancer research, Tidings editor-in-chief, Aldo Parise has decided to do his part. He will be...
While British Columbia is fast-becoming known for its emerging wine regions ? the Okanagan Valley, Vancouver Island and Vancouver Lower Mainland ? only oenophile insiders know that many BC wineries have a secret weapon: they operate fabulous restaurants and bistros...
A bunch of us went to the workshop of the new Sondheim musical drama at the Public Theatre. ("The Roadshow".) Most of our group liked it though they didn't love it. I was rolling my eyes after the first three minutes -- typical Sondheim, blah blah. Some of the actors were terrific but the material struck me as -- what? Archetypal? Is that a nice word for cliche? I'm accused of not loving the theatre...
I like writing about imports but it always frustrates me how limited they are (in terms of availability) and generally how expensive. As a reviewer it can feel like I’m spending a lot of time writing for a very, very small number of people. When a box of affordable imports from Australian retailer Vintage Cellars came in though I jumped at it; this is more like it. Vintage Cellars has put a lot of time and energy into its quaffable import range in recent years and it shows. These wines are generally good, available and not expensive. Tasting through them was like a quick trip around the world. There are a couple of real bargains here.
A combination cited as a classic food and wine combination is Munster cheese with Gewürztraminer. But how many people sit down to a meal of just cheese? What I'm after is a main meal dish.
Ruling out Gewurz with Chinese or Thai dishes (a combination I've never found remotely enjoyable) a recipe sent with a bottle of Espiritu de Chile Gewürztraminer sounded at once interesting, autumnal and tasty.
The wine itself is not hugely expensive (around a fiver) but works well as a mid-week slurp and did work deliciously well with the food - a Thai-Spiced Chicken Salad.
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Espiritu de Chile Gewürztraminer, 2007, Central Valley, Chile. Price: £4.99 [More: Adegga / Snooth]
A pleasant nose - hints of violets, limes and roses with similar flavours on the palate only more focused and noticeable. Hints of sweetness balance the wine but this is not a full in-yer-face Gewurz some can verge on the soapy, almost violent in intensity and spicy sweetness. This does have a little of the rose and ginger coupled with a suspicion of strawberries but, as expected for a humbly priced wine, is quite gentle and more subtle.
With the food: Despite the generous dollop of Thai Chili Paste the salad is not overly spicy (in the heat-hot spectrum) it still has a decent level of background heat but not enough to dampen the taste buds and, in turn, ruin the wine. Pear and apple flavours appear in the wine leading to the question should the dish have a little sliced pear added for additional autumnal flavours (not terribly Thai I suppose. Mind you is Savoy cabbage?)
Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 86/100 [3.25 out of 5]
Duck pâté and Foie Gras (although I find this too rich a combination, especially if the wine is of the sweeter style) do work well with Gewurztraminer.
Nicely layered with warm fig sauce, mocha, crushed raspberry and boysenberry fruit and a long, dark, spice- and espresso-tinged finish. Powerful but balanced. Should age nicely. Best from 2009 through 2012. 3,500 cases made.
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