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Wine Clubs Supply You With Your Wine of the Month Of all the great wine clubs you could join, this is the one you need to check out. Why? The selection. The convenience. The great tastes. Everything that makes a club wonderful is what you will find here. Try a great wine of the month each month and don?t worry about trying to choose something while you?re standing in a wine store. Just pick from your computer and forget about it. They will come to you, and you will know that they are of the highest quality in taste and value.
Wine Gift And Chilean Wines? No Problem. How would you like to be sure you?re going to have a great wine gift each and every time you need one? Join a wine club and order them by mail. You can choose them from the comfort of your own home, instead of having to make a snap decision, which guarantees you will try what you really want to try. How about some great Chilean wines, or something from California?
Gold Medal Wine For A Wine of the Month Club When you sign up to receive bottlesof wine from Gold Medal Wine, you are signing up for something good. No more grocery store guesswork. Sit down with the online catalogue and put some real thought into what you actually want to have at your table. You won?t be rushed and you won?t be trying to get home to dinner. You?ll have a clear head when you join a wine of the month club. You?ll find things you truly enjoy.
Perfect gift you believe it Christmas is around the corner already? Gosh- where did November go? Well- that means we need to start wrapping for Christmas presents. If you are unsure what to give to a special friend, I strongly suggest to check out wine of the month club. This is a perfect gift to a person or couple who has everything. I am getting this to a dear friend who loves wine and it so perfect since she?s out of state.
Understanding The Wine Trade Agreement Between European And U.S. Wineries The Wine Trade Agreement Between European And U.S. Wineries Many wine lovers living in the United States don?t realize the work that goes into getting a bottle of European wine into local stores and vice versa. This article shows some issues that have been overcome by U.S. and European winemakers that allow both of their wines to be sold in each other?s countries. ¶ Posted 26 November 2008 ? Kent Campbell § Politics ? Comments (0) ° Tagged: wine clubs, wine of the month club
A Winemaker?s Philosophy on The Art of Wine Making Winemaker?s Philosophy on The Art of Wine Making Though he went to school to learn the science of winemaking, he says that scientific wine is clean, but it lacks character, and that making wine with tons of character is where the art of winemaking comes in. ¶ Posted 25 November 2008 ? Kent Campbell § Food and Drink ? Comments (0) ° Tagged: monthly wine clubs, wine club, wine clubs, wine of the month club
A Wine Lover?s Guide to California?s Bargetto Winery Wine Lover?s Guide to California?s Bargetto Winery The history of California wineries is often as flavorful as the wine itself. In an interview with John Bargetto, a third generation owner and operator of Santa Cruz?s Bargetto Winery, shares some of the winery?s colorful history. ¶ Posted 21 November 2008 ? Kent Campbell § Food and Drink ? Comments (0) ° Tagged: monthly wine clubs, wine club, wine clubs, wine of the month clubs
Imported Fine Wines And An American Wine Club You have a lot of choice when it comes to having wines sent to your home. You can get imported fine wines if that is what you?re into. Be adventurous and you can try all kinds of tastes from many different countries?Italy, France, Australia and more. But if you like you can join an American wine club instead, because we can definitely stand up to the Europeans when it comes to crafting the grape.
For The Holidays Try A Wine Gift From A California Winery A wine gift is one of the best things that you can do to show your appreciation to someone who has invited you into their home for an evening of socializing or networking. Since you probably can?t visit your favorite California winery on a regular basis, why not have wines delivered to your door? It will be a lot of fun for you and your friends. This is a great way to find new wines and enjoy the old standards.
Best Wines of the Month Every Month Joining Gold Medal Wine will allow you to taste some serious Platinum Series wines and your wine knowledge will be all the better for it. Many times when we want to increase our horizons we go in gung ho for a while and then forget as life once again takes over. But if you sign up to receive wines of the month regularly at your home then tasting new flavors will become a natural part of your life.
Wine of the Month Clubs And Wine Gifts For The Holidays There are plenty of wine of the month clubs out there, but Gold Medal Wine is the one you should join. They have such a great selection of all types of wines, you just can?t beat them. And they are also a good source, not only for bottles for yourself and your family, but for wine gifts for your friends and acquaintances. Try them out now and enjoy great tastes you have yet to imagine.
International Wine Clubs Get You Ready For Holiday Entertaining If you like trying wines from different countries then you should check out some international wine clubs. You should check out Gold Medal Wine, which is one of the best ways to get wine sent to you. A French wine club may be the thing for you if you have a particular fondness for wines from that area. But there are other types of clubs as well. You can tailor it to your taste, or to what you are ready to try.
California Wineries And An Australian Wine Club California wineries produce some truly stunning flavors. However, you may not be in a position to frequent them. But you can enjoy the fruits of their labor so to speak by having bottles from their stores sent to you on a regular basis. This is true for wineries all over the world. If that is the sort of thing that you like, you can join an Australian wine club or a club featuring wines from anywhere in the world.
Wine of the Month Club Or A California Wine Club There is simply nothing better than joining a wine of the month club. It?s like Christmas every few weeks. And it?s fun to wait and see what will show up at your door and to try new tastes or know you?re going to have some top-quality bottles to give as gifts. Some people choose to join a specific club, like a California wine club or some other type, if they are crazy about a particular region.
International Wine Club Just A Click Away Joining an international wine club could be just the thing to take your enjoyment of the grape to the next level. That is, if you like to taste from different regions. There are all kinds of clubs you can join, including California wine clubs. There are plenty of people who really enjoy wines from a particular region and want to focus on that. You can have what you want, and that?s what these clubs are about.
Award Winning Wine From An Italian Wine Club Do not deprive yourself of award winning wine any longer. Sure, it can be intimidating to shell out money on top notch wines that you don?t know personally, especially when you?re in a store with little time. But if you join something like an Italian wine club, then you will get to choose your bottles in the comfort of your own home and have them sent to you very conveniently.
Get Your Wine of the Month From A Wine Club If you are interested in trying out different tastes, either for yourself or to share with friends, then the best and most convenient way to do that is by joining a wine club. Gold Medal Wine will set you up with bottles on a regular basis, so you can just sit down once and not think about it again until they arrive at your door. Your wine of the month will also be a wonderful treat for you to look forward to again and again.
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Italy Wine/Argentina Wine Italian wine is good wine, but you may not like everything from there, so you need a mechanism to taste regularly from countries and regions that interest you. An international wine club is one of the best ways to do that, because you can get bottles sent to you without having to be constantly searching for wines to try. Want to try Argentina wine, or the product of any country out there? Gold Medal Wine is the way to do it.
Ready Yourself For The Winter With A Wine Of The Month Club California Chardonnay Here in the northern United States, we are looking at winter soon. While that means many things, we know we?ll be holed up in the house for quite a while. The perfect thing for gray days and skies is a pleasing glass of wine and fire in the fireplace. Our wine of the month club helps us out by shipping 1 red and 1 white each month. These are not generic wines, but special boutique wines with low production yet high ratings above 85. Perhaps a crisp light California Chardonnay or full bodied Cal
Not something you read about much are the wines of Laithwaites, despite being one of the largest wine retailers in the UK. They offer wines under the laithwaites brand, The Sunday Times Wine Club, Direct Wines and the Nectar Wine Club amongst others. They delivered a mammoth 56 million bottles of wine across the UK during the last 12 months.
A little tasting a few weeks back (I'm falling behind with my note writing!), in the high Victorian Gothic splendours of Oxford Town Hall (such a welcome change from having to trundle all the way to the metropolis), offered a just under 30 wines from the companies range.
A vast majority of the wines offered are own label - just a smattering from well known names (Cloudy Bay, Royal Tokaji, Hunters for example) appear on their list. The company owns a Chateau in Bordeaux where many staff are sent to learn the intercacies of wine making. Visiting a vineyard and winery is an amazing experience and really brings home the connection between land and final product.
Shame then that the Laithwaite Sauvignon Blanc (£7.89) from this estate, Chateau La Clarière was one of the worst wines available at the tasting. Perhaps they should send me a bottle to try for the girls running the tasting were hugely enthused by it and their experiences of visiting the estate, but my notes read slightly over extracted, harsh nose, sharp acidic finish.
But other drinks were more palatable:
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Alessandro Gallici Prosecco Brut, NV, Vino Spumante, Italy. Price: £8.89 [More: Adegga / Snooth] Gentle nose, vibrant fizz (like you were expecting something else?), frothy, fun. Tranch of peachy, appley, fruit. Good price. Alcohol 11.5%.
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Royal Tokaji Dry Furmint, 2006, Hungary. Price: £10.69 [More: Adegga / Snooth] An unusual wine with which to tempt the masses; I imagine trying is the best way to sell this (there was a wine club tasting, with the same wines as offered to me occurring simultaneously in an adjacent room) . No nose but an interesting array of flavours on the palate - clean, minerally, citrus, slightly honeyed, apricoty.
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Rocky Rombola Rosé, 2008, New South Wales, Australia Price: £6.29 [More: Adegga / Snooth] Delicious looking colour, vibrant. Very Aussie in style, ripe fruit, full, good price. A freshness and vibrancy (that were lacking in a couple of other rosés at the tasting). Along with the fruitiness there is a nice, sharp berry edge on the finish. Alcohol 13%. £6.29.
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Gran Valle de Niebla Pinot Noir, 2007, Rapel, Chile Price: £9.15 [More on Adegga / Snooth] From the reliable Cono Sur stable. Easy drinking, soft, but over-priced. Alcohol 13.5%.
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Stony Creek Tarrango Shiraz, 2006, Big Rivers, Fleurieu & Gundagai, Australia Price: £7.39 [More on Adegga / Snooth] An interesting blend (70% Tarrango, 30% Shiraz) Light and fruity almost pinot in style. Tarrango on the nose, Syrah on the finish. Offers a juicy softness. Alcohol 13%. £7.39.
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Tenca Tree Shiraz , 2007, Central Valley, Chile Price: £6.29 [More on Adegga / Snooth] Deep,almost opaque in colour. Good blackberry spiced nose and decent spicy finish. Commercial,soft but nice expression. Alcohol 13%.
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: San Floriano Ripasso, 2005, Valpolicella Classico Superiore, Italy Price: £11.39 [More on Adegga / Snooth] The best red of the tasting - lovely palate, and rich, expressive nose. Plenty of tannins, concentration and ripe, stewed fruit. Good length. Alcohol 13.5%.
Review0.3 Cider Tasting Note: Cidre Artisanal Le Brun Brut, NV, Cidre de Bretagne, France Price: £4.29 Not really a cider fan but this is rather nice - not 'dirty; as some ciders can be on the nose, not to alcoholic either (which is the normal region I dislike cider). Alcohol 5.5%. Sweetish fruit, dry finish £4.29.
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Miranda Golden Botrytis, NV, Riverina, Australia Price: £11.15 half bottle [More: Adegga / Snooth] A mix of Riverina Semillon and King Valley Riesling. Fresh, treacle and orange syrup nose. Rich, full, sweet, mouth-filling, ripe and good complexity for the price. Alcohol 10%.
Many years ago I was interviewed for a job at Laithwaites essentially writing the (prodigiously large and frequent) mailing material; much to their loss I didn't get the job!
I?m quite excited; this is the first time I?m posting for Wine Blogging Wednesday. This was originally started by Lenn Thompson and is now in its 51st edition, hosted by Joe Roberts at 1WineDude. The theme is “Baked Goods and Madeirized wines?.
Allow me to digress a bit. In the early seventies, the end-of-empire centrifuge was up to full speed and about to fling my parents out. In the nick of time, I was conceived. It all happened on an idyllic, but not quite palm-fringed island off the Portuguese coast - as in the Portuguese Overseas Province of Moçambique coast.
Anyway, Rhodesia, spittoon distance from the Moçambique border was where we lived. Some of the first words I ever heard, in uterus no doubt, were Portuguese. Some of my mother?s relations even took it one step further and lived in Moçambique - for three generations. So it?s no surprise that I feel a warm affection for all things Portuguese and Mozambican (note the post-colonial spelling change). My favourite meal has always been ?Churrasco do Frango? with Piri Piri. I must admit this affection did not extend to Portuguese wine at first, but that little fault was corrected in due course. There can be no better place to start appreciation of Portuguese wines than with a glass or two of Madeira wine, which I love to drink when I can get my hands on it.
Fast forward to September 2004, my first visit to Madeira, when we descended on the island for my cousin?s wedding. Of all places, he and his bride had met in Mozambique. If you haven?t been to Madeira, then I can?t recommend it enough. It?s beautiful, fascinating and sometimes hair-raising, especially on the way in and out. The airport is built into the side of a mountain and the runway juts out either end like some kind of oversized sea-side pier.
Madeira, like Porto, Jerez and Marsala has long been famous for its fortified wines and similarly the British have never been far from the action. There were many Anglo sounding names in the Madeira trade but these have mostly folded into ?The Madeira Wine Company?, now controlled by the Symingtons of Porto fame, along with the Blandy family (old Madeira hands).
Madeira wines are pretty much bullet-proof, which once made them popular in the southern United States, where they survived the summer temperatures intact. The bullet-proofing is due to the heat treatment Madeira wines receive, before ageing quietly in the normal way. The best wines are left in pipes (Madeira barrels are called pipes) outside in the sun, but most Madeira is treated in an ?estufa?, a hot-house, where the pipes are heated up to for the required length of time, which can be months. The cheapest wines are warmed up in something like a heated swimming pool. The process is called ?estufagem? and is designed to mimic what happened when pipes were loaded onto tall ships and sailed around the world via the tropics. Estufagem makes Madeira wines very stable, they can last over a century in bottle, and once opened are good for a month or even longer; it also means Madeira wines are ?Baked Goods?!
The wines I am drinking today are by Henriques & Henriques. The Rainwater and the Sercial 10 year old. Despite the proximity, sourcing Madeira in southern Spain is surprisingly difficult so I had to go shopping in Gibraltar at the wine merchant “Anglo-Hispano“, who have a great selection of international wines. Both these wines are at the dry end of the Madeira styles and would make great aperitifs, or perhaps go well with a mild and slightly salty cheese. I was hoping to also get a bottle of rich, sweet Malmsey but beggars can?t be choosers. There was none on sale and there is the annoying duty-free allowance of only two bottles when coming back into Spain.
By the way, this Madeira Wine Guide by Dr Wolf Peter Reutter is a great resource for anyone interested in knowing more.
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.
Welcome to the 5th Edition of the Wine Book Club, the online book club for wine lovers who also like to read. I'm the host for this month's event, and for my theme I was inspired by the season. What better way to celebrate September and October than to read a book written by a genuine PhD (September is back to school month) about wine and politics (we are in the midst of an election)? This idea was even more appealing given that the author may be better known to those of you who read wine blogs as Dr. Vino, the award-winning wine blogger.
Colman's book compares the way that politics has shaped wine culture in France and America. One of the most striking things about the story he tells here is that, along with politics, there are two other "P"s that have played an equally active a role in determining what you drink: phylloxera, the louse that destroyed grape vines all over the world in the 1870s; and Robert Parker, the critic who began telling us what we should drink in the 1970s. Phylloxera, it turns out, led to such a collapse in the worldwide wine business that it opened the door to greater governmental control and intervention as people sought to limit fraud, graft, corruption, and lost income. And Parker helped people to wade through seas of indifferent wine with misleading labels at a time when Americans were still drinking like it was Prohibition and they'd rather mainline the hard stuff than drink a glass of wine with dinner. The ripples he sent out from his one-man business in Monkton, Maryland in the 1970s now threaten to engulf us in wave after wave of homogeneous wine made to please Parker's influential palate.
I consider myself reasonably knowledgeable about wine history, but I was surprised again and again by the nuggets of historical lore and sharp analysis that Colman includes here. Lately, I've been wondering why we don't buy wine in bulk here in the US like they do virtually everywhere else in the world. Turns out it's due to a combination of Prohibiton (and the resulting patchwork of legislation) and something called the Office of Price Administration that was established in World War II. Until then, wine was shipped in tanker trucks and on the rails to 1500 bottling facilities studded all over the country. And thus the enormous carbon footprint of wine began!
Colman's message is sobering, even though his book is a delight to read with its clear prose and fluid style. The bottom line is this: when money, egos, and bureaucracy collide--as they do in the wine business--it becomes almost impossible to do what is best for consumers, the environment, and the winemakers themselves. With everybody taking a cut in wine sales, from the bottle makers to the distributors to the retailers to the government, it really is astonishing that anyone bothers to make wine at all. And in case you're thinking the situation is better in France, let me assure you it isn't--it's just different.
If you enjoy Colman's blog, you are in for a treat since this book is written in the same direct, engaging style as his blog posts. The book has great graphic features (like a comparison of how politics shapes French and American wine blog labels) and informative sidebars that offer the reader opportunities to pause and consider the issues from a fresh perspective.
I highly recommend this book, especially if you find yourself wondering why you don't know what grape is in a French bottle of wine, or why it is that an American wine is labeled "Cabernet Sauvignon" when 25% of the grapes in it are Syrah. The answer to both questions is simple. Wine Politics. After reading this book, you'll never think about the relationship between the two in the same way again.
Tyler Colman's Wine Politics: How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters, and Critics Influence the Wines We Drink was published by the University of California Press, who sent a copy of the book to me for review. It retails for $27.50, but you can buy it on Amazon.com for $18.15.
If you are participating in this month's online club, please leave comments and/or links to your own posts below. You can also leave links at the Wine Book Club site, or on our mirror site on Shelfari.
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.
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