Gary V investigates the enigmatic Zinfandel grape with submissions from 4 different appellations in California
Pages
Posts Feed:
Beaujolais: A Wonderful Wine Gift
March 9, 2010 – 10:28 pm
For more wine reviews from wsj’s resident wine tasters, go to www.wsj.com/video. When it comes to the perfect gift for the wine lover in your life, wsj’s Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher have an idea that might shake things up — a mixed case of beaujolais wine. (Nov. 6)
DAVID LIVET Moon Crew Meribel
March 9, 2010 – 10:24 pm
What could we say ? DAVID LIVET is one of the most versatile,freakish,dominate,strong riders We’ve ever had the pleasure to work with,and he just gets better like a fine french red wine. He’s a MOON CREW member (the MERIBEL team of pros riders). He uses to ride in the MOON PARK (the MERIBEL snowpark). see you on WWW.MOONSTUFF.NET
$30 Range Oregon Pinot Noir Tasting – Episode #496
March 9, 2010 – 8:19 pm
The $30 price tag affords you some really interesting wines from Oregon. The Pinot Noir grape has thrived in this Pacific North West State and today Gary Vaynerchuk puts 3 of the wines up for battle!
New Robert Parker scored wines! – Episode #84
March 9, 2010 – 7:54 pm
With the new edition of Wine Advocate out, Gary today tastes and gives his review on five highly rated wines. Watch to see how these five stack up to Gary’s review and see if he agrees with the Wine Advocate rating. More viewer questions answered and a new QOD.
Advice for Looking at Vineyard Properties
March 9, 2010 – 6:35 pm
Decide what grapes you intend to plant.
The details of your ideal land will greatly depend on the specific grapes you plan on growing. Before beginning your search you should research your favorite grapes so you have know what criteria to look for.
Look for sloped sites.
Grapevines need excellent drainage to flourish. If their roots are soaked in water they won’t produce good grapes and could even die. Ideally your vines should be located on a southeast to southwest facing slope so their leaves can soak up as much sunlight as possible.
Make sure there is ample sunshine.
To fully ripen, grapes need sufficient heat during the growing season. Wine grapes need at least 1,400 hours of annual sunlight during the growing season to ripen properly. This is also causes grapes to mature faster thus increasing the quality of the wine
Avoid areas with excess rain.
The amount of rainfall a region receives has a large impact on the type and quality of the grapes and wine produced. A very wet summer can induce harmful mildew in a vineyard. Additionally, precipitation shortly before harvest may dilute sugar levels and adversely affect the finished wine, thus the climate must be right. However, vines need no less than 22 annual inches of precipitation to survive. As usual, balance is critical.
Look for land with deep soil.
Most great wines are produced from grapes grown in deep, well-drained soils. Soil depth helps determine how deep a vine’s roots can grow. Vines will not grow well in gray, shoddy subsoil.
Check neighboring foliage.
Nearby trees can produce bothersome shade along with dozens of other problems. Nearby trees can also rob soil of needed moisture and may even contain wild grape vines that carry diseases and insects.
Test the soil’s nutrients
When you have narrowed your site selection, it’s a good idea to take soil samples and have them tested. This extra step will reveal the soil’s nutrient and acidity levels. Your county extension office can usually refer you to a testing facility and will make recommendations other recommendations about your soil.
Rim Rock Ranch is located just minutes from Napa on the quiet side of the wine country. Our vineyard properties have the cleanest air in California!
Petite Sirah/Syrah – Get Special Offer
March 9, 2010 – 5:48 pm
If you happen to be looking for that one store you can reckon on, to take attention of all of your wine shopping involves, Nick’s wine corner is the spot for you. Boasting a tremendous ambit of wine labels, Nick’s wine corner has it all. If you happen to gain a thorough liking for Petite Sirah or Syrah wines, you can be sure enough to ensure galore first-rate labels at Nick’s wine corner. Another fringe benefit of purchasing Petite Sirah or Syrah wines from Nick’s wine corner, is that you will have a bargain price, which others can seldom touch. At Nick’s wine corner, you will detect an gorgeous option of Petite Sirah and Syrah wines to choose from, and more often than not you are likely to obtain exactly what you are awaiting for.
And if you like Petite Sirah and Syrah wines, you will absolutely passion this one, the 2005 Adelaida Cellars Version Proprietary Red Glen rose Vineyard Paso, putting up an excellent mix of Syrah that will leave you beaming. This is a intricate wine that has many strata to it; the wines scents take on those of cherries, fig, plum, forest floor, earth and underbrush, to establish it that unflawed proportionality. This is a grand blending of Syrah, and involves to be to the full enjoyed over the ensuing five to six years. The 2005 Adelaida Red Glen Rose is defiantly one fine brew, and if you like classic Syrah blends, this has to be the perfectible wine for you to take home.
Are you more into the Spanish way of Petite Sirah and Syrah? Better, in that case you will not mind testing out the 2005 Bodegas Hijos De Juan Gil Juan Gil Jumilla. This is one wine that is precisely a simplified and well equilibrated Spanish treat. The Bodegas Hijos has a relatively modern vogue, but at the same time, the smell of leather, and notes of game are what maintain it well flushed and established. This wine is drastically red, and comes together with a preferably lush consistency. Chocolate, kirsch, black berry and cola flavors are what make up for its flavors.
Purchasing Petite Sirah and Syrah wines online can be simplified if you receive already premeditated out what type of uniformity you are expecting for, or perhaps which texture of wine you favor, and so on. That can build the selection operation merely a quiet smoother for you. At Nick’s wine corner, you will besides be competent to checkout the trendy issues from your most blue-eyed wine tags, so you are considerably alive and up to speed. At Nick’s wine corner you can also receive advantage of the many price reductions and sales on offer. Such as the twenty percent off on this 2005 Luca Syrah Altos De Mendoza, thanks to the winter sale at Nick’s wine corner. This specific Luca is comfortably strong and thick, full of plum, fruitcake, licorice and raisin flavors. An highly charming wine, that is somewhat chewy to lend to the experience, and the echo of raisin’s are what predominate till the finish of the notion.
Buy Petit syrah (sirah?) get a tremendous taste available at http://www.nickswinecorner.com
I Love Kosher Wine – A Sauvignon Blanc From New Zealand
March 9, 2010 – 5:48 pm
In recent years New Zealand has become a real success story for wine. Not all that long ago they were making wine from virtually unknown grapes such as Isabella, which isn’t even a member of the wine grape family. Now their signature grape, Sauvignon Blanc, has stole a lot of France’s thunder. New Zealand’s Sauvignon Blanc wines are prized the world over, and are quite distinctive.
The wine reviewed below comes from the South Island wine region of Marlborough, the country’s most famous wine area; one particularly known for its Sauvignon Blancs. Unusual for New Zealand, this wine is Kosher. It has been flash-pasteurized; the technical word is Mevushal, which means that observant Jews consider it to be Kosher, no matter who serves it. Once upon a time Mevushal meant boiled wine, a process virtually destroying its taste and eliminating its use in pagan rituals. The presently used flash pasteurization process is much more gentle. As you’ll see, the wine reviewed below is certainly not tasteless.
OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All the wines that we taste and review were purchased at the full retail price.
Wine Reviewed Goose Bay Sauvignon Blanc K/P 2007 13.0% Alcohol About $20.00
Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. Tasting Note: Pale yellow colored, the nose shows intense aromas of sweet pea pods and passion fruit. Medium to full-bodied, flavorful tropical fruit and gooseberry flavors with pea pod on the finish, which is zesty. Serving Suggestion: Pan-fried fatty white fish with tropical fruit salsa. And now for my review.
The first sips tasted of pea pods. The wine was a bit unctuous. The first food pairing involved a sweet and sour commercially barbecued chicken breast accompanied by potatoes roasted in chicken fat and a salad (more of a salsa) consisting of tomatoes, tomato puree, sweet pimento, hot peppers, and vegetable oil. I noted a good balance of crisp acidity and sweetness. The acidity intensified somewhat with the roasted potatoes, doing a good job of cleansing the palate. On the other hand the wine was weak when paired with the salad.
The second pairing involved an omelet. The wine’s acidity was crisp and refreshing but I am getting tired of the pea pod taste and smell. The accompanying grape tomatoes removed the offending taste but there wasn’t all that much flavor left.
The final meal centered around meatless lasagna containing tomatoes, peas, cottage cheese, and sliced olives topped with mozzarella cheese. The wine finally succeeded in shaking off that pea pod taste; it displayed bright acidity but not a lot of fruit. I finished with a light cheesecake with a graham cracker crust. I think it may have been the sugar that brought back the pea pods.
I finished with the cheese pairings. With a Provolone there was something in the background, probably grapefruit. Then I went to an Emmenthaler (Swiss) but even with this high-quality, flavorful (nutty) cheese the familiar, undesired taste came back.
Final verdict. It doesn’t happen very often but one taste managed to ruin everything. Actually, I am not at all sure that even without those pea pods I would buy this wine again. There are so many great New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. But this is hardly one of them. If you want Kosher wine, there are a lot of other choices in a variety of price ranges. Keep posted. I’ll be reviewing more of them.
Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten computer and Internet books, but really prefers fine Italian or other wine, with good food and company. He loves teaching computer classes at an Ontario French-language community college. His global wine website www.theworldwidewine.com features a weekly review of $10 wines and new sections writing about and tasting organic and kosher wines. His Italian travel website is www.travelitalytravel.com .
About Chardonnay
March 9, 2010 – 5:48 pm
The most popular white wine grape that is found around the world is the Chardonnay grape. It is a green skinned variety of grape that is believed to originate in the Burgundy wine region of France but has since spread throughout the world. It is often seen as a rite of passsage into the international wine market when new and developing wine regions grow Chardonnay. The flavor, as well as the aroma will often depend on where the wine is made as well as the processing methods used. Chardonnay is a versatile grape and remains a major type to this day. Chardonnay grape is used to make white Burgundy along with a lesser known grape known as Aligote. White Burgundy is also another popular wine.
Chardonnay grapes are very neutral. Many of the flavors that are associated with it are influenced by oak, as well as terroir. French and American Chardonnay are among the most preferred white wines as well as the richest and most complex ones. In the United States, some very fine Chardonnay wines come from the Napa Valley in California, and the Columbia Valley in Washington.
The grapes are very malleable, reflecting the terroir, the characteristics of the climate, soil, and other factors that go into growing the grapes. Because of this, a Columbia Valley Chardonnay will be different than one from France. Even within a small viticultural area, the differences between grapes grown in one vineyard and another may be very noticeable.
The grapes ripen early, which can cause some issues. These grapes, since they develop early can be easily damaged by springtime frost. In some regions, the vines are pruned just before they flower, which delays the flowering for up to two weeks. Because of the grapes ripening early, they thrive in regions with a short growing season. Upon ripening, the chardonnay grapes will quickly lose their acidity, making harvesting time crucial.
Chardonnay grapes are a result of the extinct Croatian Blanc and Pinot grape and is aged using oak barrels. These barrels bring out the vanilla flavor that the wine is known for. Bottles can also be used to age and ferment the wine but it will not age as well as red wine under the same circumstance.
Chardonnay is best served chilled and has the potential to be served with a diverse spectrum of verious food types due to it’s wide range of syles. A Chardonnay from Washington state tend to pair well with tomato based dishes as well as dished using sweet onion due to the wine maintaining more acidity in it’s character. Earthy dishes, such as mushroom soup or aged cheese, pair very well with an older and a more mellow Chardonnay. Chardonnay is most commonly paired with chicken, turkey and other white meats.
Other than making white Burgandy, Chardonnay grapes are also used for making Champagne as well as other types of sparkling wines. Remaining as one of the most widely-planted grape varieties, Chardonnay has over 400,000 acres worldwide. Chardonnay can also be found in any wine or alcohol store and can make a great addition to any meal.
Visit Wine Country Guide to learn more about wine and wine growing regions.
How to Choose the Right Wine Glasses?
March 9, 2010 – 4:27 pm
Only a wine enthusiast can understand the importance of wine glass ware. The quality of glassware can greatly enhance the wine experience from bad to good or vice versa. Bowl, stem and foot are the three parts that make up a wine glass. You have to choose wisely, while purchasing a wine glass, as the shape and quality of the glass reflect upon the quality of the wine. It is widely believed that people give more attention to the glasses than to the wine. These days the wine glass has emerged as a status symbol, just like Rolls Royce is in the world of automobiles. Before using a wine glass, one must know the correct way of handling a glass. The wine glass is one of the most delicate pieces of stemware. As there are different kinds of wine, so are the proper ways of handling each of them when in a wine glass. The most common way of holding a wine glass is by its stem, which should be tucked in between the fingers. A wine glass in never held from the bowl (except with red wine) because when the bowl of the glass comes in contact with the skin, the body heat gets transferred to the wine and slowly erodes the aroma and the taste.
The materials of a wine glass are equally important, because they have an affect on the temperature of the wine almost instantaneously. Drinking from a wine glass made from fused or cut glass, isn’t a pleasurable experience. The reason being, that such types of glasses interfere with the flavor of the wine, as well as create a rough thick lip (part of the glass where the wine is sipped from). However, glasses made from blown glass are widely accepted by casual wine drinkers, as its lip is slim and smooth. Another material used in the manufacturing of wine glasses is ‘Lead Glass.’ The result is a high quality wine glass, which is cherished by the elite of the wine drinking community.
Another factor that affects the quality of a wine glass is its shape. The shape of the wine glass preserves the wine’s aroma as well as its taste. The shape also helps position the glass in the most optimum way, so as to direct the flow of the wine in a suitable manner. Gulping or taking big sips from a glass of wine is considered atrocious. A very important part of a wine glass is the ’stem’. When holding a wine glass, its always the stem of the glass that should come in contact with the hands. This prevents warming of the wine due to body heat. The stem also prevents smothering of the bowl with fingerprints, thus keeping the texture of the bowl intact.
In all, there are three types of wine glasses:
Red Wine Glasses: The characteristics of a red wine glass are its round shape and a wider bowl. In case of the red wine, a person can hold the glass by its bowl, because the red wine is always served at room temperature. Therefore, there is no risk of the wine getting spoiled.
White Wine Glasses: These glasses are a bit narrower than the red wine glasses, so as to retain the wine’s temperature. They also have a slightly straightened sides.
Champagne Flutes: Commonly known as champagne glasses, they are very slim in size and have a long stem with tall narrow bowl at the top. Champagne is often sparkly (due to the presence of carbon-di-oxide) in appearance and in order to preserve this characteristic and prevent it from dissipating they have tall, narrow bowl. These types of glasses or flutes are used on special occasions only, like weddings, award ceremonies and black tie events.
Always remember, wine glasses are equally importantly as the wine they serve. It’s an intricate ballet of style, taste and panache. A wine glass has the capability to change the entire experience of wine tasting. An impeccable wine has to be served in an exquisite wine glass.
This article has been written by an expert at Greatest Wine Glass (http://www.greatestwineglass.com). Greatest Wine Glasses are known for their customised wine glasses. Check out their introductory offer online at http://www.greatestwineglass.com/
