A Cabernet for $20? Yes!
For many people, Cabernet is king. It is one of the “go to wines” for many, yet finding one that is well-crafted for less than $30 can be a challenge. As you can imagine, I read many articles and reviews and found this value bottle mentioned in my reading. This comes from Antonio Galloni, who used to be associated with and reviewed wine for the Wine Advocate. More recently, Galloni started his own publication called Vinous, which is solely web-based. I follow him and appreciate his palate and his views.
Below is a bargain worth pursuing. I have not tasted it; but I think for that price, it is a fun adventure.
Chardonnay, Please…
The top-selling white wine in the United States today is Chardonnay. There are many good reasons for that — it is an easy-going, pleasant, fruity, sometimes creamy, and sometimes spicy wine. With all that going on, it hits the right spot on many, many palates. In the beginning of my exploration of wine, my favorite one was Kendall Jackson Chardonnay. It was lush and approachable at any time. As it turns out, today it is the number one selling Chardonnay in the country.
Chardonnay is grown in many places in the world. Major plantings are found in California, Australia, Burgundy, and Languedoc-Roussillon in France. As you can imagine, these very different climates provide varied growing seasons and temperatures. Chardonnay will deliver a serviceable wine whether grown in a colder climate or a warmer climate, as evidenced by the vast array of growing regions. It will deliver entry-level wines that are easy drinking to the greatest white, the Grand Crus of Burgundy. (Yes, Chardonnay is the grape also known as White Burgundy.) Because of the wide variety of growing climates, Chardonnay becomes a great vehicle to express terroir and a great canvas for the winemaker.
Zinfandel: Two Excellent Wineries
Zinfandel is widespread and well-known in California. In fact, a legislator in the Golden State once tried to have this lovely grape established as the state grape. While that effort failed, the value and quality of the varietal lives on. Its lighter tannic structure and jammy expression are perfect for many occasions. It produces big rich and luscious styles of red wines where the price point is always welcome.
I have found two excellent wineries that consistently deliver in quality and character with Zinfandel. They may be hard to find, yet I want to share them with you, so if you find them on a wine list or in a local store – do not hesitate. They are wines to enjoy that offer great fruit and depth. Below are excerpts from Wine Spectator describing recent releases from both of these wineries. I have bottles in my cellar from both wineries and have never been disappointed.
A Brief Price Comparison
I will admit it, I am a Napa Valley fan. Even as a child, my parents took us to picnics in the Valley with my mom’s Australian Club friends. I enjoyed the beauty early on. I first tasted the fine wine from this region as a very young adult. Oh, that would be age 21! So I do have a long history and respect for the area and a fine appreciation for the wines produced.
The Napa Valley has taken some criticism though for the price wineries charge for a bottle of wine. I understand and appreciate that, for many, it can seem a bit rich for a bottle of cabernet to cost $75 or more. Yet there are reasons. We can start with the cost of land itself. The Napa Valley is highly regulated as to how much acreage can be planted to grape vines. There are strong policies to protect the valley from erosion on hillsides, so vineyard owners aren’t allowed to plant on a certain degree of slope. There are many regulations that affect the land itself; and the cost will go up from there when we start to add in the labor prices, materials and so on.
What I do not hear a lot of is complaints about the cost of wine from other countries. Just recently, I was reading Wine Spectator and learning about hot new releases. The following caught my eye.
Gems from “Down Under”
The holidays have passed — hopefully filled with good times, family and friends that warmed the season. Presents are unwrapped, put away; and, if you have young children, they could even be broken by now! With the season passed, what would be really good is to find great drinking wine that doesn’t cost a lot.
Well, here are a couple of Australian go-to wines from Mollydooker that are in wide distribution and – in my estimation – deliver a great bang for the buck. I have been drinking Mollydooker wines since the very first vintage in 2007. One is a Shiraz (called Syrah in the US, but it’s the same grape) and the other a Cabernet. These descriptors and ratings are from Wine Spectator.
The Time of Year to Sparkle
The approaching New Year brings many opportunities to celebrate. It is routinely a time to remember the friends and experiences that make a year memorable. It is a time to reminisce and savor the accomplishments of the year gone by, as well as to usher in the possibility of the coming year. What will you create? What will be the mark and moments of 2015?
Celebrations, as such, are frequently accompanied by sparkling wines. Although most commonly and collectively referred to as “Champagne,” all that bubbles is not that. Champagne itself is made from grapes solely from the region in France named Champagne. Yes, it is a specific region that owns that name. The effervescence is accomplished through secondary fermentation in the bottle. The winemakers in Champagne also use specific grapes (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Munier). Many believe the French have mastered the craft, and the bottles may be expensive (and worth it).
Older Wines Need to be Laid Down…
My mother told me that if you can’t say something nice, say nothing at all. I usually abide by that statement and yet sometimes… I was in a wine store the other day (imagine that) and was picking up a prize for a wine tasting party. I could not help myself – I had to browse the aisles and see what gems there might be on the shelf. I was a bit disturbed to see some older wines standing up. An example was a 2006 wine called La Serena Syrah – there were nine bottles, all standing at attention. The challenge for you, the consumer, is not knowing where and how these bottles were held for the last six years (many wines are not released from the winery until about two years after the harvest year). This wine costs about $60 and should be resting on its side to reach you and your glass in the best possible condition.
Chappellet Winery on Pritchard Hill: Come for the Wine and Stay for the View
Just recently, I visited Chappellet Winery. Chappellet is located high on Pritchard Hill and was the second winery to make its home there. This winery is truly a family affair, as the Chappellets have resided and grown vines here since 1967. They are most known for their cabernets, which have great depth and concentration.
Pritchard Hill is situated in the Vaca Mountains, which are on the eastern side of Napa Valley and have elevations of 700-2,000 feet. This height allows the vines early morning sun with more moderate temperatures. For the grapes, it provides a wonderful environment to develop deep flavors. For us – it is a setting that provides great views.
Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2014
It is that time of the year again when Wine Spectator announces and lists its top 100 wines of the year! Movies have their Emmys, sports have their Espys, music has its Grammys, and so on. Such is the “case” for wine (pun intended). Remember that this is not an industry announcement, but an evaluation of a magazine with seasoned and experienced tasters making their judgments – so there is some credence to their assessments. This is what Wine Spectator states about their list:
Biale’s Black Chicken: This Bird Can Party!
Zinfandel can be many things; yet, for me, it was once a little known varietal. I did not appreciate its multitude of expressions. Well, that was before Biale’s Black Chicken. I remember the bottle and that vintage where I first met this party animal, and I’ve been a fan ever since.
It was the 2004 Biale Black Chicken. Previously, I had dismissed Zinfandel as a big fruity wine with a single note. It all changed when I met this bird. It was amazingly fresh; there was depth of flavor and a degree of complexity and richness I had not discovered before in this varietal. I kept buying it vintage after vintage and sharing the gem with my friends. Trust me, I sold a lot of this wine – no commission – just the pleasure of knowing my friends were enjoying a great wine with a modest price.