Hola Vino! (ole!)

In a moment of weakness, the Winedaddy fell victim to that ever popular wave of hype and decided to buy into some of the South American hoopla, literally. As I previously posted, I bought a ton of wine from Zachys recently and decided to take a stab at some of the big, meaty, juicy, reds from our southern neighbors that I have been reading so much about. Much to my surprise, Spain is not actually a South American country. It actually sits squarely on the edge of the European continent and though they DO speak Spanish there, like they do in South America, I was surprised to find out that it is not technically considered a South American wine. So how did this one particular Spanish blend end up in my case? Oh, right. I'm really beginning to love Spanish wine these days and couldn't resist throwing a few bottles into the mix.

I give you now, a brief and very unscientific comparison of two wines, both from Spanish speaking countries, yet very different in style. Go figure.

Catena Malbec: Mendoza 2005 ($17.99)

This wine has had a good deal of praise lately. It's been sited on various "Top Lists" of 2006 and at this price point, I understand why. I brought this wine to a get together recently and was pleasantly surprised to see that our hosts had already opened a bottle of wine before we arrived. The best part is that they too were serving a Malbec from South America so I was excited to compare the two. Unfortunately, in my excitement to watch the Winedaughter run around in her tutu and "Fairies Rock" t-shirt, I neglected to jot down the name of the wine we drank first.

In any event, I took a few notes on the Catena and can tell you that this wine is extremely accessible. At first whiff though, there is an underlying hint of steak and grilled meat. Seriously...it's a little beefy. Upon further investigation (i.e. "first sip"), this wine opens up a good deal and shows very nice ripe fruits with not a ton of that fake oak-like thing that many of the more "economical" wines from South America seem to do. I will definitely buy more of this at some point.

Cellar Can Blau Montant 2005 ($15.99)

Much like the Catena Malbec, much had been written about this wine so I couldn't resist (besides, it has a killer label, complete with hologramesque diamonds). El Parker gave this particular Spanish blend 90 points and for a wine under $20, I bought 2 bottles sight unseen. (I know, I'm a sucker for points). From what I gathered, it's a blend of Southern Rohne grapes, namely, Carignan, Syrah, and Grenache. There is a tiny bit of the traditional French Syrah characteristics showing through on this wine. It is a very tight wine with a little black olive and mineral characteristics that you get from the traditional French Syrahs. The other varietals, however, round this wine out and give it a really nice structure and a bit of spice that really helps make this quite complex. I wasn't knocked over by this wine but will definitely wait a year or so before opening the other bottle to see if some time brings out anything new.

All in all, it was a good week for the Spanish speaking wines. No if you'll excuse me, there are some grilled meats and tapas that need my help.

Peconic PS

Just a quick follow up on my recent post about Peconic Bay Winery and their award winning Merlot. The kind folks at the winery have sent my a bottle of the 2001 Oregon Hills Merlot to prove to me (and the world really) how good NY State Wines can be. I am happy to say it arrived safely to Winedaddy Industries World Wide HQ INC and it is sitting in a comfortable 55 degrees in the Ole Winefridge as we speak.

Many thanks to Cynthia from Peconic Bay for the support (and the traffic to the blog) and I promise to report back after I've had a chance to try the Oregon Hills.

Who knew my love of wine would shower me with admiration, affection, and fermented grape juice? God Bless the Internet.

The Mother Load

Let's get something straight here...the Winedaddy didn't win the lottery nor did he get promoted. There was no last will and testament of a long lost uncle leaving a huge chunk of change and no, I didn't just save a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico.

But our good 'ol friends, Zachys Wine and Liquor, were having one of their Humongo, Get it while it's HOT, HOT, HOT sales and I caved. Yes. I'm ashamed to say that while I steadily fight the urge to splurge (and spend the Winefamily's hard earned money on a case of wine from a huge internet juggernaut like Zachys), they just made it to damn enticing not too.

They were offering a big sale on tons of bottles (most were from their 2nd Annual Wine Spectator Predictions List) and we were low on the sub-$20 bottles in our collection, (or as we like to call them, "everyday wines.") So I bit the bullet, pointed my pointer in their general direction and off we went.

I did some old standbys (Los Vascos and Montes Alpha), some huge cult offerings (Joel Gott Zin), and favorite varietal (Aglianico del Vulture). But I also did some research and recalled a few articles recently listing a whole bunch of South American and Spanish wines that are big bangs for the buck and since the Winefamily is desperately trying to initiate phase 2 of the Family Expansion Project, I wanted to keep costs low but taste high. And here's how.

Thanks to my friends at Zachys and the wonderful discounts they offer, all of the wines I purchased were under $20. Some were even under the $10 (God Bless you Los Vascos). My average price per bottle was around $12. It's a beautiful thing. More than half are completely sight unseen although based on some great press, I'm really excited to try them and report back on what I find.

I know you're all dying to see this latest collection of goodies so here they are. In order of appearance (L to R) this is what we'll be sampling over the next few weeks:

'01 Santa Ema Catalina Rapel Valley ($15.99)
'03 Bisceglia Aglianico del Vulture Terre di Vulcano ($12.99)
'05 Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon ($7.99 x2)
'06 Joel Gott Zinfandel ($14.99 x2)
'05 Can Blau ($17.99 x2)
'05 Catena Malbec ($18.99)
'04 Vetus ($14.99)
'05 Arrocal ($10.99)
'05 Montes Alpha ($14.99)

Now, some of these I've already reviewed and clearly like since I'm buying them again. But most of these will be new experiences and I definitely plan on giving you my 2 cents along the way. (of course, it's more like 8.375 per CENT but who's counting.

Cheers.

Strong Island

I had a huge lunch yesterday. The WineBoss (aka, the WineDude), convinced me to order skewers of marinated chicken over some hedonistically good rice from an establishment known as the Afghan Kebab House #1. (NB...there's a long story about the history of the "#1" which I will save for my next blog, Ethnicfooddaddy, but I digress). The meal came with bread that tasted like the crust of a Pizza Hut pan pizza (trust me, it's been at least 20 years since I ate Pizza Hut but i still remember the crust tasting like it had just jumped out of the mega deep fryer). Bottom line is that i was stuffed. So much so that after my usual 7p glass of wine after the WineToddler had her dinner, I wasn't so much into the whole food thing so I kept on drinking.


So what was the whole point of that entirely uninteresting set up...? Well, what I was drinking knocked my socks off and was so good (sans meal) that I just kept drinking (along with some help from wives and neighbors) and by 9:15p I realized that I had still no appetite and the bottle I had just opened was almost gone. It was a Tuesday night. It was that good.


So what, you might ask, was so delicious? How about the Peconic Bay Winery, 2001 Merlot. That's right...home-grown wine (and a Merlot too)

So, remember back a few months when I told you about my annual trek to the North Fork of Long Island, NY to tour the increasingly hyped wineries? This was the last bottle I purchased and quite honestly, even AFTER they told me that this particular 2001 Merlot had won some awards, I didn't think much about it b/c I had consumed enough prior to that point that my palette had been severely numbed. I also didn't think much about it since I generally don't buy into hype and trust me, Long Island is getting the hype. Lettie Teague has a nice article in this month's Food and Wine basically making the same point but nowhere did she mention Peconic Bay. She should have.

But I forged on and opened up the bottle that I promised in my previous post that I was going to hold off on for a few years. Yeah, well, we know how that goes. Thankfully, I threw caution into the wind because the high tannins that I had recalled had really mellowed out and what showed through was a really wonderful and velvety smooth wine. There is not a ton of fruit in this wine but what is there, blackberries, ripe cherries, etc. really come through. The acidity is tempered by some nice spice and the wine definitely opened up a considerable amount after being opened an hour or so.

According to the Peconic Bay website, they are sold out of the 2001 Merlot but seem to be offering a new 2001 Reserve Merlot/Cab blend from a region called "Oregon Hills." Here's a description:

2001 Merlot Oregon Hills Reserve Winemaker Notes: This blend consists of 75% 2001 Merlot and 25% 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is an example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. The Merlot contributes soft plum, chocolate and smooth tannins. The Cabernet lends the wine upfront blackberry aromas and enhances the length of the finish. The combination of these two yields a third significant character that I associate with "roundness". The perception is that the wine if full and supple. There are no holes in the palate. This is an excellent food wine. I would pair it with a sirloin steak in Portobello reduction sauce using some of this wine as the base.


Glad to see that the winemaker isn't too specific on his choice of food pairings??? but regardless, it sounds like a wonderful wine. I'm looking forward to getting home tonight to polish off that last glass. You can bet I'm going to plan the WineFamily's next trek out east so I can pick up some more hype in a bottle.

OPA!!!!

Friday night was a good night. The Winedaddy settled in at home after a painfully dull work week and looked forward to an excuse to pop some corks and eat some good food (aka "looked forward to having some friends over for dinner) I was feeling a little Ebony and Ivory so I decided to go with a white wine during the simple cheese course to start and a hearty red wine with the rustic chicken dish that was our main. (i won't bore you with the silly nuances of the menu but let's just say there was lots of garlic, some convection roasting going on, and a pumpkin bread pudding just chilling in the fridge waiting to be baked).

So what to drink. I opened the fridge to get a glass of water (yes, the Winedaddy drinks non-alcoholic fluids from time to time) and noticed a bottle of white that had been chilling on the door for a few weeks. It was a bottle of white wine that the Winesis' and Winebro-in-law brought back from Santorini on their honeymoon. I gotta say, I know as much about Greek viticulture as much as Arizona Diamondbacks fans know about Baseball, but man, this was one great wine.


According to the Producer's notes, on the Sigalas website, the wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks (hooray! no oak), and has a good deal of citrus (mostly lemon) notes. Yup...pretty much sums it up. What struck me about this wine was how crisp and acidic it was on the first sip but it quickly mellows out in the mouth and rounds out with some great green apple and citrus notes that just dissolve away at the end. It was a great wine to drink with some salty manchego cheese that I served and cut through the fig spread that was there to pair with the cheese as well. It just made me realize that even as the temps finally start to act their age and tell us that it actually is fall, we can all still enjoy a nice refreshing white wine from a place known for goats and feta cheese after all. It made me go dig up the October '06 Food and Wine that had an article about the best wine makers in Greece. I'm definitely going to try a few of these.

All in all, the winesis' really did us a solid. Too bad the only US importer is in Atlanta, GA.

The Return of Winedaddy

OK...so maybe it's October but we here at Winedaddy Industries Inc. want to apologize to all 3 of you reading this for our extended Summer hiatus. To make it up to you, we are offering you a chance to read about a sensational Italian varietal, homegrown in the Napa Valley, and continued musings on life, through the prism of a wineglass.

All you have to do is sit tight and wait for our next post...FREE...for you, oh friends of the Winedaddy.

(in other words, sorry I took a break but we'll be back soon with new posting and renewed sense of purpose that should hopefully yield multiple posts on a more regular basis).

In the meantime, here's a great video of a dude who probably used a bottle of wine or two to wash down whatever hallucinogenic substance is pulsing through his Euroveins at this very moment.

Enjoy

Wines to Wed With

So the Winesister is gettin' hitched. HOO-RAY. We are all happy in the Winefamily and extended Winefamily because the soon-to-be WineBrother-in-Law is a good guy and one who enjoys the occasional cocktail now and then. As for me, I'm just happy to get out the city for a long weekend and celebrate with friends, family, food, and of course, wine.

So it came as no surprise that I received a phone call from the Winepops last night which went something like this:

WinePops (WP): "Son. It's your father. I need your help."

WineDaddy (WD): "What up dawg?"

WP: "I need the WineDaddy's help picking out wines for the WineDaughter's wedding"

WD: "That's a big favor yo but don't sweat it...I got your back."

WP: "Cool my main man. I'll hit you back. Peaceout"

WD: "Word"

(alright, maybe that was a bit paraphrased but the bottom line is that he needed my help). So of course, I spent the better part of last night, this morning on the treadmill (got keep the heart healthy you know?), and then lunch in front of the work computer thinking of the ultimate Wedding Wine List.

Without further ado, I present to you the first ever Official Winedaddy Approved List of Wedding Wines. (keep in mind this is for a mass audience and a specific price point so don't get all worked up if some heavy hitters aren't on this list. Also keep in mind that some of these you may have seen if you've been with me since the genesis of the Winedaddy...also keep in mind that parenthesis are great because you can have a really long run on sentence but it's ok because it's in a parenthesis.)

Here's the original text. Feel free to copy and paste and pass it off to friends and family like you wrote it. I won't tell.

Reds

J. Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet (Paso Robles) (approx $17): Really fantastic Cabernet that's always a crowd pleaser. Not too overpowering but not to wimpy. Big fan. Big fan.

Esser Cellars Merlot: 2005 (approx $10): I was turned onto their wines by a great article a few months back that gave the best wines under $10. I was very skeptical at first but we drank it with some friends are also wine snobs and everyone really enjoyed it. It's a nice companion to the J. Lohr but is great for people who no zero about wines.

Masi Campofiorin Rosso del Veronese IGT (approx $13): I'm a huge Italian wine snob so I had to pick at least one vino for this list. This is a Valpolicella from the northern Italian region known as the Veneto. Masi is one of the oldest producers of this type of wine and they consistent ally kick ass with this wine. It's on the sweeter, thicker end of things but everyone who I've ever poured it for loves it. I wrote a review of it back on the old blog.

Alternate Reds

Ravenswood Vintners Blend: (approx $9.99): Perennially voted one of the best wines under $10 and wildly available just about anywhere. It's a Zinfandel blend from one of the best producers of Zinfandel in America. (sidebar: Zinfandel is one of the few grapes in the world that is purely an American grape which is kind of cool in a patriotic sort of way). It pairs with just about every grilled meat and fish you can throw on a barbecue. It's just not that inspired of a choice which is why it's an alternate. Another review of mine can be found here.

HRM Rex Goliath 47 Pound Rooster Pinot Noir: (around $10). It's a mouthful to pronounce but a decent Pinot Noir given the fact that it's $10 (most good American Pinots start around $25). This was one of the Food and Wine 10 Best under $10 and I really enjoyed it.

Bodegas Borsao Tres Picos Garancha: ($14). This is an excellent Granache from Spain that is really wonderful with just about any food and is pretty easy to find. It was voted by Robert Parker one of the best value wines out there. Here's his review:

"This remarkably hedonistic wine has been a perennial best buy in the pages of this journal. The 2005 Tres Picos Granacha is purple-colored with a cherry-scented nose that roars from the glass. It is intensely fruity, with terrific depth and concentration, oodles of sweet fruit, and terrific length. This wine, which can be likened to cherry pie in a glass, is an awesome value. Drink it over the next 1-2 years."

Mollydooker "The Boxer" Shiraz (approx $20). If there are "Wine Rock Stars," the people who make this wine are like royalty. They make one of the most hyped wines I've ever had (and own 6 bottles of) but it costs $75 a bottle and is impossible to find. This is from the same general area but much cheaper and more accessible. It's an incredibly fruit-forward Australian Shiraz that is really just amazing (and the WineBrother-in-Law will love their label designs…check 'em out: http://www.buymollydooker.com/MollydookerBoxer.aspx

Whites

Botromagno Gravina 2005 (approx $10). Another 10 Best Under $10 and is one of the Winedaddy House favorite Whites. It's a really light, crisp wine from Puglia in Italy (the heel) and is very similar to a Sauvignon Blanc. It should sell for twice as much but is a great value.

D'Arnberg 2005 Olive Grove Chardonnay (McLaren Vale Australia): (approx $16) These guys make some of the highest rated Aussie wines out there. I hate Chardonnay but I love this wine as it's just really smooth and delicious. It's perennially voted one of the top whites from Australia.

Bethel Heights Oregon Pinot Gris 2006 ($14): By far my favorite white wine from the U.S. IT's a really light but floral white wine that goes with almost anything. I can't recommend this wine enough. (if you can't find this, Ponzi makes one that's just as good from the same region).

Alternate Whites

Baron Lafite Rothschild Los Vascos Chardonnay (Colchuga Valley Chile) ($11) From the famed Rothschild family of France comes this excellent value Chardonnay from their only vineyard outside of France. Chilean Wines are up there as some of the world's best these days. This is widely available and really tasty.

Amisfield Pinot Gris (New Zealand): ($25). By far the best white I've had in years. Seriously. This is an incredible wine but probably too high of a price point to buy in bulk.

Chehalem (any of their white wines): This is one of the vineyards we visited in Oregon when we were out there and an Winepops fav. Probably tough to get lots of their wines and not cheap but just thought I'd throw it out there.

There you have it. It's not scientific. It's not comprehensive. It's just a simple union of Reds and Whites that ends up in harmonious bliss. Think of it as my metaphor for a happy life.

Back in 5 Minutes

Alright, maybe it's been a while since my last post. Sorry. I have a family. And a day job. But the good news is that I've been drinking lots of tasty wines over the last month and have been taking copious notes.

So sit tight Winesters, I'll be back in the proverbial "5 minutes" and when I do return to unlock the store, you all get free admission. Promise.

Would the Winedaddy lie to you?

Let's Get Ready to Grill and Chill

Hello Winefolk. (insert comment here about not posting for a loooong time). I'll keep this one short and sweet...or spicy...or bold.

Grilling season is fast approaching and even though the closest thing to a grill that I have is a small plastic electric thing that's big enough for 1 burger at a time and is made by a former boxer, I am always looking for some big spicy reds to compliment food from the grill. Luckily, I enjoyed a really fantastic red recently which was under $20. Needless to say that the winewallet was quite happy.

Montes Alpha Syrah '04 ($15.99)

This is a big red from a well know Chilean producer and is, from what I gather, in it's prime for drinking. A friend of mine picked up a bottle for me after a recommendation from a store clerk at a random wine store on Long Island (NY). Not one to just throw caution into the wind, I figured it couldn't be a total disaster at only $16 so I said, "sure, pick up a bottle for me." It took several weeks before either of us remembered that he actually had this bottle and then it was still a few weeks more before I even remembered it was hiding on my wine rack. I wasn't expecting much from this bottle but was pleasantly surprised upon the first sip.

It definitely has that all encompassing black cherry taste that you would expect from a syrah but since I'm not that familiar with Chilean syrahs, I was pleasantly surprised to also find a good deal of spice and body to this wine that reminded me of some of my favorite California Zins. If the Foreman could actually make room for a nice hangar steak, I'd definitely want to wash it down with this wine. In the meantime, I'll just stick to a veggie burger and a bottle of Rolling Rock.

The Nose Knows

Once again, the Winedaddy was on the road for his day job. I'll spare you the details but I spent 2 days in Montgomery, Alabama (a state not known for their advances in viticulture). That was the bad news. The good news was that my head cold that had been plaguing me for over a week was, well, still plaguing me. Why was that "good news?" It meant that I couldn't taste a single thing and thus, wasn't missing out on any of my regular wine drinking.

It got me thinking on how important, actually, how crucial your sense of smell is when tasting wine. This isn't a new concept by any stretch of the imagination but without having a head cold for almost 2 years, and with my wine intake increasing exponentially over those 2 years, I really never had the reason to think about the role of scent in wine consumption.

There really is no wrong or right way to describe wines. If you like something and it smells like cotton candy to you, then it smells like cotton candy. Conversely, if you think a wine smells like an elephant to you, then it smells like an elephant (that's how the Winewife likes to describe some earthy wines that we drink). Somewhere, someone, created a "tool" called the Wine Wheel. (actually, it was developed by a UC Davis professor, Anne C. Noble back in 1990 to better describe the scents associated with wine). Since then, there has been much written and discussed about how to smell and taste wine. Most of it is garbage in my humble opinion but I did stumble across the "Online Wine Tasting Course" from the Wine Lovers Page that I found really well written and informative without being too snobby.

But back to the wheel. Personally...I think the wheel is a huge gimmick. I don't need a colorful disc to tell me what a wine smells and tastes like. I need some good cheese, a nice baguette, and some clear sinuses.

Stick a Fork In It

I don't know about the rest of the world, but the Winedaddy has been hearing a refrain lately. It goes something like this: "The North Fork of Long Island (NY), is making really outstanding wines and is one of the biggest up and coming wine regions in the US." Now, of course that's a paraphrase to the audio recording in my head but it seems like everyone in these parts are talking about the North Fork these days. The good news is that all this chatter actually has some merritt to it. There really are some outstanding wineries out there and seeing is I have Wine-In-Laws who own a house just south of where all the action is, I've actually been able to taste some of this hype. Here are two standouts that I've had recently (and surprisingly, both are varietals that I almost always steer clear of).

Osprey's Dominion Regina Maris Chardonnay (NV) $10

That's right, I said it. The "C" word. Normally, my palette never veers in the direction of Chardonnay. It's not that I look down upon it, nor do I consider myself a wine-snob who won't drink Chardonnay or Merlot (i.e. the stuff that the masses like to consume), it's just that my tastes usually gravitate towards the more acidic or more crisp end of the spectrum for whites and the heavier, more spicy end of the spectrum for reds. The Regina Maris Chardonnay was an enigma.

A few weeks back, I stopped into Osprey's Dominion to pick up a bottle of their Cabernet Franc which I've had before and liked very much. It was March and the tasting room was dead. Just me and the Wine Father-in-Law. We felt badly for the nice lady behind the counter who said it was her first day on the job. She said "You really should try the Regina Maris Chardonnay. It's my favorite." Now usually when someone tells me to try their "favorite Chardonnay" I politely decline but since it was a Saturday (and Saturday's are meant for drinking), I obliged. What I tasted was amazing.

This wine does NOT taste like a Chardonnay. In fact, the Winelady brought it to my attention that this wine is more like an Italian Vin Santo (dessert wine) than it is like a Chardonnay. It's very thick and has a distinct caramel and raisin aroma to it that really comes through when you taste it. The only unfortunate thing about it is that we opened it to drink with some Wild Cod that we were cooking up and it just didn't pair well with that. It is much better on it's own, with some nice salty cheese as an aperitif. For $10, it's well worth picking up a few bottles.

Peconic Bay Winery Merlot 2001 $26

When the nice man at the winery said "You should try our 2001 Merlot, it was voted Best Merlot in NY State," my first thought was that they must have a tone of this stuff leftover and are looking to unload it on unsuspecting customers. The last time I checked, NY State was better known for it's bagels and smoked fishes than it is for it's Merlot. But onward we went and paid our $2 for a taste at NY's Merlot of Merlots. Surprisingly, it was really good.

High in tannins but also high flavor, this is definitely a powerful Merlot. There are some really nice cedar notes in this wine, as well as good spice and a little bit of fruit. Since the tannins are quite high, I'm going to hold off on opening my bottle for a few years but if this site is still around and/or the Internet is still allowing guys like me to ramble on about wine, then I promise to write a post about it. Until then, enjoy your weekends.

Over the Hump...Sort of

My apologies, Winereaders. I have a cold. The Winechild finally decided she wanted to share something with her daddy and gave me the head cold that she has been harboring for the last week or so. Needless to say I haven't been drinking much wine or wine related beverages (beer), but before my head felt like it was immersed in a bucket of murky water, I do recall drinking a notable wine that I felt compelled to share with you.

As some of you may recall, I set out on a quest to drink all 10 of the Food and Wine 10 Best for $10 or Less a few months ago. It was a tough gig but with the love and support of the Winelady, I set out on the challenge. Some have been duds. Some have been wonderful. Some, were just hard to find. Until now.

I was doing some "work" for my day job in upstate New York and seeing is I spent the better part of 4 years up there learning how to be a well-rounded thinker, I thought I would make a quick pitstop in the town I called home for 4 years, Saratoga Springs. The town has changed a lot since my college days and while some of the additions to town (Eddie Bauer and Borders Books) are a bit of an eyesore, some of the additions were truly an upgrade. One such upgrade was the wine annex of the fantastic specialty food store, Putnam Market. (sidebar...the store's tagline is great: "The Best Specialty Food Store Between Manhattan and Montreal") They had some great bottles here. (Mollydooker COL was represented to the fullest...I guess the residents of Saratoga didn't get the memo on how good this wine is).

Off in a corner, in small wooden box was a dozen or so bottles that peaked my interest. I couldn't figure out why or how I knew the name but when I saw the $9.99 price tag, the bells started ringing. It was the very Grenache/Shiraz by Aussie producer, d'Arnberg called The Stump Jump. And it was one of 2 bottles on the F&W list that I could not locate (it was also one of the wines that a fellow reader, the Pinot Princess, on my old site highly recommended). Of course, at the $9.99 price tag, 2 bottles miraculously fell into my shopping cart (along with a bottle of Mollydooker Two Left Feet), and off I went, back to NYC to unscrew the twist-off top and get a taste of a cheap wine with a big following. Here are my tasting notes (well, at least what I can remember of it pre-head cold funk).

Don't expect a huge fruit bomb type of wine like you'd get from a Mollydooker but I was impressed with how much fruit really is in this wine. The color is that inky black that you'd expect from an Aussie Grenache/Shiraz but then you taste it and realize that at $9.99 you aren't going to be blown away by this wine. What you will get is a lot of spice and very little tannins but it was a bit thin for my blood and didn't really have the complexity that I look for in wines. Granted, I was drinking this wine with some sushi and very spicy wasabi but since the weather is finally getting nicer here in the Northeast, I'm hoping to try it with some grilled meats in the not too distant future. Let's just hope I can actually breath by the time I get around to the other bottle.

No Wimpy Posts

Greetings! Sorry about the absence but the Winedaddy has been curled up in the fetal position under his desk in major bread withdrawal since last Monday. I mean, come on! It ain't easy enjoying wine when you can't properly eat cheese and some crusty baguette to accompany it. But I've managed and seeing the finish line to the Matzoh Marathon in sight. In the meantime, I spent the better part of this past week reacquainting with an old friend and felt it was my duty to let the winedaddy reading public about him (or her...well, it's a Zinfandel so probably a him, but then again, women can definitely be spicy, so maybe it's a her?)

Ravenswood. It's a popular name. It's a popular wine. It's also possibly the first wine I ever had that made me realize there was more to life than just microbrews and house chardonnay. (insert wavy lines here and "flashback" music). The year was 1998 and the month was October. The young Winedaddy and his new Winegirlfriend (now the Winewife and Winemommy), took a trip to the California Wine Country. I knew little about wine but in the months leading up to the trip, I bought several books, including "Sip by Sip" a fabulous book by Michael Bonadies (the one time and possibly still wine director for the Deniro/Neiporent food empire known as the Myriad Restaurant Group).

I read it cover to cover and loved his easy going, unpretentious approach to learning about wines. It was my bible as we toured the wine country in search of new varietals I had never tried, including the grape that is native to California and basically put Napa and Sonoma on the map, Zinfandel.

I'm not talking about White Zin, the appalling "wine" that is actually popular in this country (thank you North Dakota!), I'm talking about the dark, thick, spicy stuff that grows in abundance in Sonoma. And no one does an approachable, affordable Zin better than Ravenswood in my humble opinion. It was the very first tour I ever had at a winery and I learned and loved every minute of it. (I still have my t-shirt that says "Maximize Polyphenolic Extraction" that I purchased on that trip.) To this day, I still think they make some of the best Zinfandels on the planet. Like their ubiquitous, Vintners Blend.

Ravenswood Vintners Blend Zinfandel (various vintages) $9.99 (approx)

This is my kind of wine. Cheap, strong, spicy, approachable. There's a reason Ravenswood has adopted the slogan "No Wimpy Wines." This is not a kind gentle Merlot or a soft, fruit-forward Pinot Noir. This is a take-no-prisoners, in your face Zinfandel, that actually goes down rather smooth for such a spicy wine. What I like most is how consistent this wine is from year to year and how you always know what you are going to get when you buy a bottle. Trust me, there's a reason accolade upon accolade has been bestowed on this wine. I just wish I hadn't forgotten about it while I stocked up on all the other stuff that's cluttering the Winedaddy's apartment at the present time. There's simply no more room in the wine fridge (or bank account) to bring a few bottles in from the cold. In due time old friend. In due time.

Holy Wine!

In honor of the first full day of Passover, the Winedaddy felt it was necessary to shed some light on what exactly makes a Kosher wine, well, Kosher and why it's so hard to find one worth drinking.

As with any topic in Judaism, the notion of what makes a wine Kosher is a topic for debate. Of course, there can't just be a simple one sentence answer that explains everything but in the interest of keeping things simple here on the site, I'll break it down to what I think is a fairly simple explanation. A wine is only considered Kosher if it a) is produced and bottled under strict Rabbinical supervision and b) the people who are actually handling the grapes and the entire process must be Sabbath-observant Jews. This means that from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday (or on any major religious holiday), no part of the wine making process is allowed to happen (unless of course that process is malolactic fermentation, which last time I checked is a process that only Mother Nature can handle).

To take it one step further, there is also a process called Mevushal which allows for Kosher wine to be handled by non-observant Jews (i.e. sold in stores, served in restaurants who employee non-Jews, etc.). Mevushal is a process in which the wine is briefly heated to a boiling point and then cooled before the fermentation process happens. This basically kills off certain bacteria and ensures that a wine will remain Kosher. While some argue that this process can actually enhance the color and hue of a wine, it unfortunately kills off bacteria that may actually be helpful in the aging of fine wines.

So, what does this mean for you, oh Kosher wine seeking individual? (that would be the Winedaddy for 2 nights a year...the first and second nights of Passover). It means that it's hard to find decent Kosher wines because let's face it, they are not widely produced. Unless you live in a city like New York and Jerusalem with a hefty Kosher population, you ain't walking into your local supermarket and finding a Kosher wine worth dropping some shekels on. Until now.

Chateau Yon Figeac. This is a wine estate in Bordeaux that produces some really outstanding wines for their price range. I first heard about this wine when a colleague of the Winefather's snatched up a few cases of their Grand Cru Classe St. Emilion from the famous 2000 vintage. We were told it was a real steal and worth buying to cellar for 10-15 years. So that's what we did. Only later did I find out that these guys also make a Kosher wine that will rival many non-Kosher wines. If you doubt the Winedaddy, here's what Mr. Parker had to say about this estate (translated from their website mind you):

"I advise to the amateurs to follow closely this vineyard, which operated a remarkable reversal these last years, and that can provide relatively large quantities. He could eventually stand out as one of the best affair of the appellation."

I have yet to taste this wine but know several people who have and they unanimously agree that it exhibits the classic Bordeaux style of Merlot: Fruit forward and thick with a long finish.

The bottom line here is that for around $35, your going to be much better off with this wine than lots of the offering from other French houses. It's also a nice way to impress your Grandma Pearl or your Uncle Moshe who will probably be thankful you brought something to the Seder other than macaroons or a bottle of Manischewitz. Trust me, you'll be doing a Mitzvah. L'Chiam!

Gris Lightning

It's not quite summer yet (hell, it's not quite spring yet either) but it's never too early to start thinking about what you plan to drink. For the Winedaddy, summer means beer and wine in this order (1. wine. 2. beer. 3. wine or beer).

In preparation of that time of year when the sun actually shines and you can take your children outside without first having to bundle them up like they will be spending the winter at McMurdo Station, I thought I'd shed some light on the mystery that surrounds Pinot Grigio.

Go to any middle of the road event (wedding, bar mitzvah, Uncle Jerry's 60th Birthday party) and you're bound to have a choice of red or white. Inevitably, the red wine is almost always a Merlot and the white wine is usually a chardonnay or a pinot grigio. It's not that this is a bad thing it's just that pinot grigio is not usually looked upon as a "Connoisseur's Wine" or one that you would seek out. But thanks to the combined efforts of Marketers and Vintners, there is actually some merritt to this mass produced wine.

The Italians and the Americans (and Italian Americans I'm guessing) call this wine Pinot Grigio. And it's a popular one. According to some research that the Winedaddy did, Pinot Grigio is poised to be America's 4th most popular varietal behind the dreaded (dare I say it), White Zinfandel. But what if you saw 2 bottles of wine on a table, looking remarkably similar but one was named Pinot Gris and the other, Pinot Grigio. Wouldn't you be intrigued to try the fancier sounding Pinot Gris? I would...and I have. Without getting too deep into the history of this grape, I'll give you some insight into the fact that Pinot Gris is basically a white version of Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir is a noble wine right? Then why shouldn't Pinot Gris get the same due as it's darker more seductive cousin. And to prove it, go out and do some market research of your own. Here are 2 excellent examples of what a popular grape in the hands of a skilled vintner can yield.

Amisfield Pinot Gris '05 $24.99

From New Zealand (a place the Winedaddy WILL get to one of these days), comes this magnificent find (the winery looks exactly like what you'd expect from a winery in New Zealand). I recently tasted this at Union Square Wines in manhattan from the clever Enomatic Wine system I once told you about back in the day. This wine has everything you could want from a white wine. It's crisp but not too acidic. It's fruity and floral but doesn't smell or taste like a flower shop. I finishes clean and doesn't leave any unpleasant taste. It's just good. Ok, so maybe it does have a screw top, but that's actually a good thing. It means the liquid gold inside won't spoil or fall victim to that nasty bacteria that can turn a good wine bad...really bad.

Bethel Heights Pinot Gris '05 $14.99

If the $25 is too much for you to spend on the Amisfield (that's the cost of 2 tickets and a soda to see a terrible summer blockbuster by the way...and that WILL leave a bad taste in your mouth), I highly recommend the Bethel Heights Pinot Gris. From the Willamette Valley in Oregon, comes this really nice refreshing wine. It's similar to the Amisfield but is just slightly drier, lighter, and actually has a the littlest bit of fizz to it. It's extremely clean and will pair well with just about any fish or light pasta dish. It's also from the good 'ol USA and is easily available all over the country.

One HEEL of a White

Yikes. Sorry about the pun there. The Winedaddy is just excited. He's excited because his good pal, Los Vascos has found a mate. That's right. The red house wine in the Winefamily's living room has just found its soul mate and she's a beaut. For those of you scratching your heads wondering what I'm talking about, I'll direct you to my early posting about the wine that me and the Winewife refer to as our "house wine." It's that fantastically spicy Chilen Cab made by those affable French vintners, the Rotschild family. To me, it's the best deal under $10 you can find

Until, that sexy Italian named Gravina came along. (wow, i just called wine "sexy"...i gotta get out more).

Brotomagno Gravina DOC '03 $9.99 (really!)

Some of you may recall my ongoing experiment with the Food and Wine Magazine's 10 Best Under $10. I vowed to try all 10. The Gravina was number 5 (or was it number 6? or 4?). Whatever it was, it was so far the highlight of this list. It's a beautifully crisp wine from the Italian heel of Puglia in the DOC known as Gravina. From what I gather, the traditional southern Italian grape of Malvasia is well represented here but a larger portion of this wine is the Greco grape. Whatever that means to you, what you need to know is that this is what a white wine wine should be. It's a beautiful light yellow almost green color and has wonderful floral notes right off the bat. When you taste it, it's crisp and acidic without leaving skid marks on your tongue on the way down. I found a great in-depth profile on this wine from The Wine Lovers page where you can find a lot more detail than you probably need but some good links and interesting observations.

The distributor, Winebow (one of my favorites), has some decent info on the page about this producer, including some of the many accolades it has received and what a great bargain this wine is. They suggest pairing it with shellfish or oysters or even Asian cuisine. Me....? I drank it several nights in a row with some great cheeses from Gourmet Garage in Manhattan where any cheese you buy is a good one. If all goes according to plan, however, I should be enjoying this wine at the wedding of the Winesister and the future Mr. Winebrother-in-law's wedding this summer. It's good to be the family Sommollier.

Uncorking My Newest Vintage

Ciao Winefriends. The fine folks at Blogger.com have allowed me to set up shop for a while and thanks to a much better user-interface (how about that phrase huh?), this will be the new home for the forseeable future. So grab a glass, cut off a hunk of some stinky cheese, and take off the shoes because this winedaddy is in the building.

I'll be back shortly with a new post (still working on the hangover from the Moving In party I threw myself).

In the meantime, here's a link to my postings in their old home in the event you want to re-live the magic.