Riesling is one of those grapes that can’t seem to shake its reputation. Most people assume it’s an almost syrupy sweet white wine best paired with good conversation, severely spicy dishes, and nothing else. The Furst’s 2009 Riesling seeks to change all of that. Furst is about $12.99 a bottle and from the Alsace region…
Read More
When tasting a new wine, I always try to go through the standard approach: look at the wine, swirl the wine without ejecting it from your glass, stick your nose in and smell, sip (of course), and hopefully savor the after taste. For this Syrah, I wish I had paid more attention after swirling…
Read MoreThe 2010 Chateau Pesquie Terrasses is a blend of 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah from vineyards in the Cotes du Ventoux region of the Rhone Valley in France. The Cotes du Ventoux is where the Alps meet the Mediterranean. The wine is unfiltered and unfined, which means all the dead yeast and grape residue are…
Read MoreThe Domaine Lafond Cotes du Rhone Rouge is a blend of 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah sourced from two vineyards in the Southern Rhone Valley. Since French wines are all about “terroir” (the effects the weather and the soil have on the wine), one vineyard was rocky with clay soil and the other was sandy…
Read MoreThe 2006 The Furst Pinot Noir is 100% Pinot Noir sourced from vineyards from the Kayersburg/Kintzheim region in the Alsace AOC of France. Alsace has been fought over by France and Germany for centuries and has been a part of Germany as often as it has been a part of France. They have been growing…
Read MoreThe 2009 Mouton Cadet Bordeaux Rouge is sourced from multiple vineyards (Rothschild has contracts with 450 different grape growers throughout Bordeaux), all Bordeaux Red wines are blends, this one consists of 65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc. The wine is aged in large stainless steel vats (no oak) for 6 to 10 months….
Read MoreThe 2009 Les Charmes Macon-Lugny Chardonnay is sourced from a single vineyard (the Les Charmes vineyard) in the Maconnais region in south Burgundy, France. The wine is produced by Cave de Lugny, which is a cooperative of 250 winegrowers who produce about half of the wine made in Maconnais. The vineyard where the Les Charmes…
Read MoreThe 2010 La Croix de Bila-Haut is a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Carignane sourced from vineyards in the Roussillon area of the Languedoc-Roussillon growing region. This is an IGT designated wine (the new term for Vin de Pays wines) which indicates that the wine does not conform to the rules of the Languedoc-Roussillon. The…
Read MoreThis Chardonnay is part of a new line of 13 world wines that explore the essential grape varieties of each country of origin, delivering top quality wines at a great price ($9.99). The Malbec is from Argentina, the Merlot is from California, the Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from New Zealand and this Chardonnay is produced in…
Read MoreThe 2007 Saint-Hilaire Grand Cuvee is a Sparkling wine estate grown and bottled in the Blanquette de Limoux AOC located in the Languedoc in southwest France. In 1531, Sparkling wine/Champagne was first produced by the monks at the Abbey Saint-Hilaire, Dom Perignon wasn’t born until 1638, so Champagne was not invented in Champagne. The Sparkling…
Read MoreThe Pierre Sparr Cremant Brut Rose’ is 100% Pinot Noir sourced from vineyards near the villages of Molsheim, Kintzheim and Sigolsheim in the Alsace Region of France. First fermentation takes place in steel tanks for 6 months, then second fermentation (adding bubbles) takes place inside each individual bottle, Methode Champagne, for 18 months. Wine and…
Read MoreThe Chateau Labrande Cahors is 75% Malbec, 20% Merlot and 5% Tannat sourced from the Lot region of the Cahors AOC in Southwest France. In Cahors, the Malbec grape is known as Auxerrois and the Malbec grapes grown in Argentina, while taken from France, are smaller in overall size and grow in smaller clusters. The…
Read MoreThe 2008 Manuel Olivier Bourgogne Pinot Noir is sourced from grapes grown in the Cotes de Nuits sub-region of Burgundy, France. This is the entry level Pinot Noir for Manuel Olivier, an up and coming Burgundy winemaker. The label says, “Mis en Bouteille par Manuel Olivier”,(meaning bottled by Manuel Olivier, not grown by) which indicates…
Read MoreThe 2010 Domaine d’Andezon is a blend of 90% Syrah (40+ year old vines) and 10% Grenache (60+ year old vines) sourced from a co-op located south of Chateauneuf du Pape in the Cote du Rhone region in France. This is a wine put together and imported by Eric Solomon. The wine is aged in…
Read MoreBlason du Bourgogne Cremant De Bourgogne Brut Reserve is composed of 60% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay, 10% Gamay and 10% Aligote sourced from the Cremant de Bourgogne AOC in Burgundy, France. This Sparkling wine is made in the traditional method, which is normally referred to as Methode Champenoise, a process where the second fermentation (this…
Read MoreA lovely representation of Right Bank Bordeaux by the glass. Essentially declassified St. Emilion grapes, we have a blend of Merlot (70%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%) and Cabernet Franc (10%). The resulting juice is light in body, elegant in style, and definitively old world in character. At first look we have a delicate garnet hue with…
Read MoreThe 2009 Chateau Auguste Merlot is something of a rarity for Bordeaux Red wines, it is a 100% single varietal Merlot and most Bordeaux wines are blends. Chateau Auguste is located south of St.-Emilion (Right Bank), which is primarily a Merlot and a little Cabernet Franc growing area. The Chateau Auguste vineyards are certified organic…
Read MoreThe 2010 Perrin Nature Cotes du Rhone is 95% Grenache and 5% Syrah sourced from a single certified (ECOCERT) organic vineyard located outside the village of Tulette near Domaine de Guarrigon in the Cotes du Rhone AOC of the Rhone Valley, France. A traditionally made wine that is aged in both stainless steel tanks and…
Read MoreThe Domaine Sainte-Eugenie Le Clos (translates to “enclosed field or vineyard”) is a blend of 45% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Carignan and 20% Grenache grown in Estate vineyards in the Corbieres AOC in the Languedoc, near the Mediterranean Sea in France. For some reason the Le Clos does not conform with the rules and…
Read MoreA Trader Joe’s exclusive, a $4.49, Sparkling Wine imported from somewhere in France. The term Blanc de Blancs normally indicates that the Bubbly was made from Chardonnay grapes, but the back label only mentions “white grapes,” which in France could also mean Chenin Blanc (Cremant de Loire) or Mauzac (Blanquette de Limoux) grapes. A Brut…
Read MoreThe 2009 Georges Duboeuf Cru Beaujolais Brouilly is 100% Gamay sourced from vineyards near the village of Brouilly in the Beaujolais AOC of Burgundy, France. Cru Beaujolais wines are sourced from one the 10 best designated villages in the Beaujolais district. The Cru Beaujolais is a young fruit forward wine and is not aged in…
Read MoreThe 2009 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages is 100% Gamay sourced from the Beaujolais AOC of Burgundy, France. The 2009 vintage is said to be the best vintage for Beaujolais in the last 50 years. There are different classifications of Beaujolais, the first is labeled Beaujolais and is sourced from all over the AOC. The second classification is Beaujolais-Villages…
Read MoreThe 2009 Domaine de Gournier is 100% Estate grown Chardonnay located in the hills overlooking the town of Nimes in the Rhone Valley, but outside the borders of the Costieres de Nimes AOC. Since this was not grown inside a AOC designated growing area, the wine is referred to as a Vin de Pays des Cevennes (translates…
Read MoreThe 2009 Armand Roux Verdillac Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc– Trader Joe’s $7.99. In Bordeaux, the blanc or white wine is primarily Sauvignon Blanc blended with Semillon, in past vintages the Verdillac Sauvignon Blanc was a mostly Sauvignon Blanc with a smaller percentage of Semillon. This is a negociant wine, which Bordeaux Estate grew the grapes or produced…
Read MoreThe 2010 Domaine Les Aphillanthes Cote-du-Rhone Rose’ is a blend of 60% Cinsault, 20% Grenache, 15% Counoise (a Rhone red grape used in blends) and 5% Mourvedre sourced from Estate bio-dynamic vineyards in the Southern Rhone Valley in France. A Rose’ is red wine grapes made in a white wine style, the grape skins are…
Read More
