2012 Tres Picos: One of Wine Advocate’s Best Value Wines for 2013!
I love Grenache. It is a wine from many different continents and provides great pleasure for an everyday wine. It can also be so well done as to provide great depth of flavor and structure. This is a varietal I find myself turning to frequently as it can be bright and fruity (typical flavors of strawberry and raspberries, when young) and will not overpower a lighter meal like chicken. (Apparently, Californians eat a lot of chicken – Giada De Laurentiis said this the other day as I was watching the “food network.”)
Grenache is grown in Spain, the Southern Rhone of France (it’s included in the blend in Chateauneuf-du-Pape), Australia, Coastal Central California, and Northern California. I have bottles in my cellar from all of these regions, and they all have their own special nuance.
Ann Kraemer: An Artist in the Vineyard in Amador County
Talk to any winemaker, and he or she will tell you that wine is made in the vineyard. Some will say that 80% or more of what you taste in the bottle is actually crafted in the vineyard. There is much work involved in having the grapes ready to be picked, and many factors influence the quality of the crop itself. Imagine the attention that must be given to such things as cover crops, the orientation of the vines to sunlight, the time on the vine, water, the weight of the canopy, the distance between the rows, the number and quality of the grape clusters, and on and on. Much goes into the individual management of the vines and vineyard. It’s in the vineyard where the science and artistry of great wine begins. And it’s in her Shake Ridge vineyard in Amador County where you’ll find Ann Kraemer.
Need Some Stocking Stuffers? Good Scoring Wines at Reasonable Prices
I stopped into the local CVS drugstore to pick up a few things and couldn’t help but notice that the two customers in front of me were buying a magnum of red wine. I couldn’t see the label through the bag, but I was curious to know the price and paid attention to the checker as he told them the amount. $9.95 was the bill, and I wondered what that wine would taste like. I can only imagine what one would taste from a magnum of wine for less than $10. What that reaffirmed for me is the need for modestly priced bottles with great structure and taste that translates to great value.
So, with the holidays approaching, I thought it would be good to offer some recommendations that are well-priced, value wines with large productions that, hopefully, you can find.
Great Buys from the Northwest
Many have heard of Screaming Eagle or Bryant Family Wines. Both of those bottles most recent release price for a 750 ml bottle are $850 and $800 respectively. (That is the regular bottle you buy – not a magnum.) When one loves wine and has unlimited resources, that may be the way to go. Yet even those are outpaced by the recently released bubbly described below in a review in Wine Spectator Insider. I saw this price and figured it would be a long while before I would have the occasion to spend that type of money on champagne! I really am trying to envision an event befitting the price. I will ponder that one.
For those of us with more moderate tastes, it’s good to know that our friends in the Pacific Northwest offer some fine wines that will fit your everyday needs. I wanted to share a few with you, so you could be on the look out for these selections. The case productions are large enough that they may make it to many markets across the U.S. I frequently find great buys with quality to spare from vintners in the Northwest. Personally, I’m on the look-out for Zero One, which looks quite enticing.
Malbec — A Great Value Wine
Dining out can be a great experience with food and friends. In a restaurant, the challenge can be finding an excellent wine that is well-crafted and ready, but which won’t break the bank. We all know that while food margins may be small, the margins on wine can be quite big. Some restaurants may charge twice the retail cost — sometimes more. What then is a good choice in those situations??
A good option many times is Malbec. It’s grown in France (the grape’s birthplace is in Bordeaux), Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and Argentina. It’s growing in popularity, and South America is leading the way in production and quality. At its best, perhaps in Argentina, it has a dark purple color and violet aromas. It has been described as lush, with a rich fruit flavor and a soothing, ripe tannic structure.
Exploring Wines with the Wine Consultant: A Special Place in Sacramento
If you want to get better, more informed, and have a richer and deeper experience of anything – you need a coach or a mentor. In my pursuit of wine knowledge, that person for me is Eric Stumpf. Eric and his wife, Renee, own a wine store in Citrus Heights, CA called “The Wine Consultant.” Eric has a vast knowledge and appreciation for wine. He has over 20 years experience and has traveled much of the world visiting wineries and meeting with wine makers, and then he shares his experience with his customers.
I first walked into his store about nine years ago, having just moved to Sacramento from Kansas City and in search of a fine wine connection. I have been visiting his store ever since. I would venture to say that there are few in the area who know more about wine than Eric. He has been a trusted advisor for me to grow and expand my palate and understanding of wine. What he knows is remarkable, and he’s willing to educate and share.
Good Wine Buy – a Northern California Cabernet for $30.00!
Here’s a low-priced Cabernet from Sonoma — it’s the 2010 Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet, and it’s priced at just $30. This AVA is only seven miles north of Calistoga; and, if you drive north from there, you might not realize that you’ve left Napa Valley. The tannic structure on this wine is such that, if you drink it now, it will be best with food or appetizers or decanted. The production is large enough that it should be available in many outlets, and it’s a value worth pursuing and a bottle worth aging. You could buy three bottles and drink one now, one a year from now, and one down the road. The 2009 vintage of this wine made Wine Spectators’ top 100 list. Will this one make it? I dare not say, but maybe.
Just a note about Wine Spectator’s top 100 list. There are specific criteria that the magazine uses to determine what is worthy of the list. Specifically, they consider, of course, wines that are well crafted; but they also consider wines that are well priced and have a certain level of production. Kudos to them, because it would be a shame to highlight only expensive, limited production wines.
What?? A “Ball Buster”??
Forgive me. I had no intention of offending anyone with the title of this post, but this is a wine that caught my eye for the obvious reason. I was traveling, as I do frequently, and I was shopping for wine for dinner. Out of necessity, I have a list of fine wine shops throughout the country. One of those stores is Lukas Liquor in Overland Park, Kansas. I was in Kansas City for a few days recently and had a chance to have a nice dinner at J. Alexander’s. One of the best aspects of this restaurant is that there is NO corkage fee.
So, before dinner, I stopped at Lukas and was exploring the Australian section. This label caught my eye. “What the heck,” I thought, “It’s only a $16.00 experiment.” I knew that one of the advantages of Shiraz from Australia is that it can be drunk young.
The Ball Buster was a perfect accompaniment to my dinner.
Storing Wine Over the Refrigerator or Stove? Oh, No!
All of us have specific preferences for temperature and sunlight. I have mine: It’s a temperature of above 60 degrees with an ample amount of blue sky and not too much moisture (rain, that is). (Hmmm, that sounds like a good argument for living in California…) I discovered my preference while living in the frozen tundra of Minneapolis for several years!
My point is that, just like people have preferences for their “ideal climate,” wine also has its “ideal climate.” If you’ve visited wineries, toured their facilities, and walked through the caves, you can see that the winery is built for temperature control, even if electricity is lost. You’ve likely heard the number “55 degrees” as an ideal temperature for storing wine. Well, it’s all about controlling the reaction in the barrel or the bottle. A bottle of wine will turn to vinegar left to its own devices and open to air.
$9.99, Really??
Many times people ask me what my favorite wine is. My thoughtful response: “It comes in a bottle.” I have grown to appreciate many different varietals and blends. I credit this to the fine art of wine making. There is much to explore and appreciate in any well-crafted wine. This is not a shot at box wines – some are actually well done and can provide good values. (We can talk about that in a later blog – maybe.) Yet my preference runs to those that come bottled.
One varietal for me that fits many dinner menus of light fare is Grenache. It’s not as well known as a stand-alone wine, although many wine makers will use it in a blend; and it’s the heart of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. For me, Grenache is more textured and has more tannic structure than Pinot Noir, and I like it all by itself. Many times, a young Grenache is full of strawberry and raspberry flavors with some dusty undertones.
Let me share a story….