Learn How To Easily Find Wines Of $50 Quality For $10 Or Less. Impress Friends With Your Expanded Wine Knowledge. Eliminate Your Dependence On Wine Salespeople. And Take The Hassle Out Of Buying Wine.
Earn $6.17 / Sale! %75 Commission! The Ultimate Resource For Anyone Who Wants To Learn How To Make Outstanding Wines & Spirits From Their Very Own Home!
I am sure you are tired of me cooing over Hunt Country Vineyards. Since the mid-1980s, when I first discovered them at Union Square Park, in New York City, I have been fascinated by them. But my admiration for them comes from my respect for their improved quality over the years, and their incredible growth, both of which are a great example of what one can accomplish in east coast wine.
At the Goold's Apple Fest I had the opportunity to chat with Art, but a few days later my lap top crashed, and my photos and videos were seemingly lost. Now recovered, I have the photos, but not the video. And I can file my report.
I tasted several of their red wines, and was very, very impressed.
Meritage 2006 - A blend of Cab Sav, Cab Frabc, and Merlot. Aged 14 months in French oak, flavors. Very nice!
Merlot 2006 - Beautiful hints of vanilla has strong cherry and pepper. Very, very nice!
Alchemy - A combination of Franc, Cab Sav, and Noiret. Big black cherry flavors. Some hint of spice. Not too much oak. Very nice. A great food wine.
Here's a picture of Art and Donna Pinell, also of Hunt Country.
These are wonderful reds. Art and Hunt Country are hoping to lay to rest the myth that the Finger Lakes should stick to Reisling....and these reds definitively prove fine red wines can be made in the Finger Lakes region too!
Yesterday, at an event for the local farmers and winemakers, there were a few Texas wines at the tables. One particularly appealed, insofar as it corresponded with what I have been thinking about in terms of what American terroir is.
First the wine. Cabernet Sauvignon from the High Plains of the Texas Panhandle. High acid. Very High. Almost to the point of being volatile. Naturally. Tender tannins. Harry Waugh of Latour would have loooved it. A creamy, almost uncanny, balance. I talked to the winemaker about the wine and related an earlier tasting of grapes from the same vineyard, but made by a different winemaker. The earlier wine had been taken through Reverse Osmosis almost to the point of stripping certain fleshy parts of the wine out, making the acidity factor even more stark. The earlier winemaker told me he had done that (R.O.) because the wine naturally had this aspect of what some folks would recognize as volatile acidity and he tried to ?work it out.? It didn?t work for him and in the process he removed some of the buttresses that held the wine up, resulting in a wine that tasted as if it had had plastic surgery that had gone bad. Fortunately the second winemaker knew what the characteristic of the vineyard was and didn?t fight it, but rather let nature be. I don?t even like Cabernet for the most part, but this was a lovely drink.
Which is a very long introduction to something I have been talking about to wine folks across the country lately. This idea of American terroir.
It started with thoughts about California terroir (where I lived for half my life, growing up there) and feeling something in my environment before I knew the terms. In those many trips from Southern to Northern California going back to school and stopping in Templeton or Paso Robles, Gilroy or the many little vineyard plots along the way, I would taste a Zinfandel or a Charbono and note something that seemed oddly familiar. Something I couldn?t quite pinpoint. But it was concrete. Real.
I know there are critics who think "California wine" is big and bold and ripe and, well, immense. And other than those creeping levels of alcohol, I really am having a hard time understanding what their frame of reference is. Certainly not from growing up drinking the wines of Italy. Or France. Or Virginia, for that matter.
Yesterday, I also went into a natural foods café and ordered a glass of carrot and celery juice. As I was drinking it, I was really enjoying the earthiness of the carrots, the nervous edge of the celery. It was a perfect drink, and it had tons of terroir from the organically grown produce. A chap behind the counter said I should try it next time with a little apple juice. As I was walking outside in what seemed like a perfect California day (in Texas) I thought to myself, ?That would make it fruity.? I didn?t want more fruit. I enjoyed the balance of the fruit with the muddiness of the carrots and the salty-spicy green quality of the celery. It didn?t need to be manipulated with sugar from the apples to make it more pleasurable.
Take a handsome woman. Or man. Lets say someone from Croatia. Or Louisiana. In their natural state, some of us prefer that to a more enhanced look. Some like breasts that aren?t enormously out of proportion. Or lips that don?t look like that got into a fight with Sugar Ray Leonard. Muscles that look healthy, but not menacing. Many of us like wine like that.
A few weeks ago, while in the Maremma, I tasted fresh Merlot grape juice before it started fermenting. It was direct, fresh. The fruit was there but it wasn?t hulky. Maybe that it was pre-oak, pre-malolactic and pre-spinning cones, that attracted me to the promise of the wine to come. Just like the carrot-celery juice. It was standing there in front of you, pure and natural. Senza manovra.
I think California gets a bad rap. From folks who think they know what California wine is. And from winemakers who have mistaken their winemaking hats with their deity hats. I know when I talk to some of my winemaker friends like Robert Pellegrini, how they seethe when people try to reinvent "California wine", as if with one swipe of the sword it can all be commandeered. In the meantime, folks like him have their wines downgraded by the critics in favor of more voluptuous wines with a hedonistic bent. Pave paradise to put up a parking lot. And a tram.
I hear you, Bob. I too, remember the promise of California. And that seems to be a forgotten promise in today?s menagerie of players along the coast, from the numb and number corporate-crunching wine machines to the post-mid-life crisis wine lifestyle gazillionares.
Last February I went up to Stony Hill at the invitation of Peter McCrea. It was the Napa of my childhood, still as I remembered it in the beginning. The wines were a pleasant 12 ˝%. There was no overpowering weight of wood. Acidity was healthy, bracing. The taste of the earth was present. That is how I see terroir in America.
And as America seems to be at a turning point, wouldn?t it be a great time for all of us to put down our preconceptions about what we think California wine is, or should be, and just ?let the sunshine in??
Hot on the heels of the sensational success of the 'World's Greatest Book Of Useless Information', the Official Useless Information Society bring you another essential compendium of everything you never needed but always wanted to know., Reference ; Curiosities & Wonders, The Best Book of Useless Information Ever
As Seen on Ellens 12 Days of Giveaways & Good Morning America The pocket-size electronic talking Wine Master offers a sleek and slim design easy control panel and over 10 000 wine and spirits reviews ratings and suggested retail prices at your fingertips. The newest version of the Wine Master is the most essential wine tool you can own. Bring along with you to wine shops and restaurants and never make another wine buying mistake again. Requires 2-AAA batteries (not included). Over 10 000 wine and spirits reviews ratings (100 pt. scale) and suggested retail prices from Wine Enthusiast Magazine Food and wine pairing guide Digital display screen with back-light and compressed text functions Talking navigation with on/off Type Varietal Winery or Vintage search option Handsome non-zipper black case Wine Master is a mighty wizard that gives you mastery over the most serious wine shop clerks and sommeliers. Brushed aluminum with chrome accents. The Wine Enthusiast 2008 Wine Buying Guide is also available. Size: 4-3/4'H x 3'W NOTE: The information included in the Wine Master is based on the reviews and ratings conducted by The Wine Enthusiast Magazine. For the 2008 edition we added 10 425 reviews. Therefore if you look at a review of a 2002 Caymus in 2007 and in 2008 the review will be the same. Since we cannot review all the wines produced in a year some wines may not appear with a newer year review which does not mean that the wine is discontinued but just that particular vintage (year) was not reviewed.
General Information Product Name: Radeon HD 2600XT Graphics Card Package Type: Retail Product Model: HD 2600XT Manufacturer: Sapphire, Inc Manufacturer Website Address: www.sapphiretech.com Manufacturer Part Number: 100220L Product Type: Graphics Card Technical Information API Support: DirectX 10.0 OpenGL 2.0 Graphics Resolution: 2048 x 1536 Analog Maximum 2560 x 1600 Dual Link DVI Maximum Monitor Support: 2 Shader Model: 4.0 RAMDAC: Dual 400MHz Platform Support: PC HDCP Support: Yes Signaling Type: Digital Analog Host Interface: PCI Express x16 Video Features: *ATI Avivo HD Video and Display Platform *Avivo Video Post Processor Multi-GPU Technology: CrossFire Processor & Chipset Processor Speed: 800MHz Stream Processors: 120 Chipset: ATi Radeon HD 2600XT Memory Memory Technology: GDDR4 SDRAM Standard Memory: 256MB Bus Width: 128bit Interfaces/Ports Interfaces/Ports: 1 x TV Out 2 x DVI Miscellaneous Additional Information: *HDMI with 5.1 surround sound audio *390 million transistors on 65nm fabrication process
Aerates wine faster with an extra-wide base. The Riedel Ultra Wine Decanter offers a modern design in crystal while creating maximum breathing room for your wine. Made of 24% lead crystal the wine decanter has a broad base that allows the wine to aerate and release flavors and aromas which enhance the attributes of your wine. Decanting wines (particularly old wines) just before serving ensures clarity and true color while preventing any sediments from interfering with the wine-drinking experience. Decanting young wines gives it a chance to open up and tame overpowering tannins and fruit flavors. Pair the Riedel Ultra Wine Decanter with our large wine decanter glass stopper. Size: 8-3/8'H 45-3/8 oz.
Style Squared! 14K white gold is adorned with glittering white Diamonds in a very contemporary cube design. The Diamonds are round in shape, SI2 clarity, H-I color and weigh .50 Carat Total Weight. This ring measures approximately 3/8 inch in width (at the widest point) and is available in sizes 6, 7 and 8. Wear as a stand-alone band, a wedding band or create your unique look with the stackable ring style. See our complete collection of stackable rings in our Stackable Rings Department. The 14K Yellow Gold version, number (DI-R-721-13) and 14K Rose (pink) Gold version, number (DI-R-719-13) are also available.