Your Moment of Zin.

Under the influence of  loyal readers, Jared expressing his love for Folie a Deux, and Tom claiming he was "going back to Zins" (and Pinots), I ended up with 4 bottles of Zinfandel in my little wine fridge. Such problems. I managed to get through them all the past 2 weeks for your enjoyment.


Zin #1:

Folie a Deux 2008 Zinfandel ($13.99)

This was the first of the four that I tried. As I wrote earlier, I agree with the Total Wine guy who called it "Safe." This seems like the type of wine you could find at a restaurant and order by the glass for $8 and be happy. There's nothing not to like, but there's also a little lacking in the creativity department. Maybe I was influenced by its popularity and the Total Wine guy's comment. I'd like to revisit this.

Grade: B / Beth's Grade: B+


Zin #2:

Sobon Estate 2009 Old Vine Zinfandel ($11.99)


Zin #2 would've had Randy Jackson yelping about "A hot one tonight, America!" This was awesome.  From the first sip, BAM, blasted with a balanced barrage of berry: raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, boysenberry  (ok, I don't know what boysenberries taste like), and no, I'm not confusing this bottle with my Jamba Juice go-to, "Banana Berry."

I almost destroyed this wine by pairing it with pulled pork that I had drenched in sweet & spicy BBQ sauce. Horrible pairing. But before dinner, then after dinner, and into the evening, it was "lights out."

So much fruit up front and so smooth on the finish. For $12? Highway robbery.

Grade: A- / Beth's Grade: A


Zin #3:

Courtney Benham, 2008, Zinfandel ($11.99)


Thankfully for Benham's sake, we didn't drink much of her wine Saturday night after a couple of  cocktails at Brooke Becker's 5th birthday party. Maybe it was the beer or perhaps vodka lemonades that left me unimpressed as I used this as a chaser for a Trader Joe's frozen pizza.

I gave it a second run tonight (Monday) at dinner, and it was much better. We had cheese ravioli with baked cauliflower, sage, and olive oil. A very mild dinner, and it went well with it. As Beth put it, a lot of "peppery cherry." It was a little more bold and slightly less smooth than the other 3 Zins, but still worth the price.

Grade: B- / Beth's Grade: B



Zin #4:

Montoya 2009 Old Vine Zinfandel ($9.99)


I cracked this tonight as well for a side-by-side comparison to the Courtney Benham. This was really good.  I thought it was a more cherry than berry, but every bit as smooth as the Sobon. For under $10, this was very impressive.


Grade: B+ / Beth: A-


To recap, we (ok, I) went 4 for 4, and I, too am going back to Zins. Chianti may be dead to me.
The rankings:
1. Sobon
2. Montoya
3. Folie a Deux
4. Courtney Benham

All In On Chianti

The Lineup: 

I think I was hoping to have an eye-opening experience and my world of eating Italian food would never be the same. Turns out, I like my old world Italian food just fine the way it was. At Total Wine, with the in-laws soon to be out,  I decided to dabble in a few "nicer" Chiantis. I don't think I'd ever paid more than $8 for a bottle, so perhaps I was missing out on something?

Viticcio 2008 Chianti Classico ($19.99)
Wine Spectator rating: 91 Points


We cracked this a few nights ago to go along with Marie's Veal Scallopini. Prior to dinner I found it to be big, bold and tart. It did settle down a bit, and was better with food, but the tartness was there throughout. Maybe a bottle like this needed to sit in a cellar for a few years? Either way, I wasn't too impressed with the wine. The food was awesome though.

Grade: C- / Beth's Grade: C / Joe Cacia's Grade: B+ "for sure."

Viticcio 2006 Chianti Classico Riserva ($23.99)
Wine Spectator rating: 93 Points


Tonight's bottle was 2 years older, 2 points higher, $4 more and a "Riserva." I had really high hopes when I bought it, but those expectations were tempered after the let down of the '08 bottle. This bottle was to enhance Marie's Chicken Cacciatore. Again, Marie's cooking stole the show and the wine was less than stellar.  This was slightly smoother, and a little less tart than the '08, but really nothing to write home about. Maybe I shouldn't have tried 2 wines from the same winemaker? Nonetheless, I think I'm done with Chianti for the time being.

Grade: C / Beth's Grade: C+ / Joe Cacia's Grade: B+

The Godfatha. And Godmotha.

The best part of our evening in Carlsbad with the Jansen's is not that I'm not out of commission hung over today. That's the second best thing. The best was us asking them and them accepting to be the Godparents of Keira June. Remember, you heard it here first. Again, the 2nd best thing is that I feel fine today, which rarely happens after a Carlsbad evening. Third best thing was the food (apps and main course), followed by the wine.

Let's dissect the 4th best thing of Saturday night, shall we?

(If anyone knows how to get these 2 pictures side-by-side, please let me know. K, Thx.)

Tom's such a good host, we had these 2 bottles side-by-side, complete with printed tasting notes for a blind tasting. He also rolled out 3 appetizers to go with it: cheese, tuna tar-tar, and margarita pizza.

AIX 2007 Red Blend from Washington ($28.99)


Robert Parker 92 points


This was a blend of 61% Syrah, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Mourvedre and 1% Cinsault.

Without a doubt, the better of the 2 appetizer wines. It had a nice nose. A lot of flavor, at times maybe too much and a really long finish. It changed quite a bit from the time we opened it until it was gone. We all liked it best with the pizza.

Overall, a very interesting and different wine. I don't think it's worth the $29 price tag though.

Grade: B- / Beth's Grade: B+

The other bottle in the side-by-side blind tasting:                                                                                         

Ludovicus 2009 Red Blend from Spain                                                                                  Wine Advocate rating: 88 points                                                                                           sorry about the weird formatting!                                                                                                                This is a blend of 35% Grenache , 30% Temperanillo, 25% Syrah and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.                                                                         

I was hopeful this wine would deliver. I thought it had a similar blend to Purple Tooth award winner Papa Luna. I've also had some luck with Grenache as of late. This bottle never really came through. I thought it had a great earthy, cherry nose. It had a lot of peppery flavors going on but finished really dry. It changed with each food we tried with it, but again, never got great. 

Grade: C / Beth's Grade: Doesn't remember

Dr. Heidemanns Bergweiler 2009 Riesling Spatlese ($32.99)

Wine Spectator rating: 95 Points

Warning! Rieslings in all price ranges are sweet!

Ok, Tom told me he wanted to pair white wine with spicy Indian food. I knew I wanted to get a Riesling to balance the spice with a sweeter wine. I also knew that Tom and Meg weren't big fans of the sweet stuff. So I found this at Total Wine with a 95 point tag hanging on it. I've never seen a wine rated that high. Yes $33 was more than I planned on spending, but I decided if there ever was a time to go big on a Riesling, the time was now. Tom and Meg are special people.

I've been fortunate enough a few times to have had Dom Perignon without paying for it. Despite it being over $80 more than what I would pay for Champagne, it still tastes like Champagne. Good, clean and crisp, but still Champagne. The thing that separates Dom from other Champagnes to me is that it sort of disappears. Poof. Gone. 

This was really crisp, really clean, really light. The $8-10 bottles I usually get seem more syrupy than this. And like Dom, it disappeared. Poof. Gone. I loved that. Meg thought it reminded her of "flat pop." I won't tell Dr. Heidemanns Bergwiler that. Tom, Meg and Beth all thought it was too sweet, but I thought it paired really well with the spicy food.  

In the end though, it's still Riesling. The best I've ever had, but still Riesling.

Grade: A / Beth's Grade: B+

The Safety Dance

Folie a Deux 2008 Zinfandel ($13.99)


My buddy Jarred (the guy who called a few days ago from the grocery store sending me into Thursday's tizzy) has been saying for a while that Menage A Trois is his cheap go-to bottle. Then Thursday night I get a text from him saying that this bottle, Folie a Deux, from the same winemaker, is making a push for he and his wife's favorite wine. I'm interested, but skeptical. I have snobby, grocery store thoughts racing through my head.

Friday I stopped by Total Wine on my way home from work.  Two days ago at Stater Brother's I was looking for 1 bottle to stand out. Now, I'm on the Zin aisle with over 100 bottles calling my name. I'm feeling good. I found the Folie a Deux just as a staff member walks up to see if I need help. I asked for his 2 cents and he said, "We sell a lot of it," then added, "it's a safe pick." Not sure what to make of "safe."

A few hours later, we opened the bottle. Nothing like fresh wine with dinner!

Even before reading the back label, I noted cherry on the nose. The first sip did not impress. It burned going down (like Tamarack) and stung my nose a little bit. I'm not sure what that was all about though because it only happened on that initial sip. Maybe something I had eaten earlier? Anyway, after that sip, I found it to be really pleasant. Very nice fruit flavor. Not quite as much of peppery pop as I'd prefer in a Zin, but it was very kind, with a super smooth finish.

Thinking back on the Total Wine guy's "safe" comment, I think I get it and agree. It would be hard not to like this bottle.


Grade: B / Beth's Grade: B+

Jack Handy Hijacked My Keyboard

I had an eye opening conversation with one of my one's of readers last night. While standing in the wine section of his local grocery store in Texas, he decided to use his "Human App," and called me for a quick suggestion on what to buy. Nothing eye opening yet, I know. Hang with me a second. After finishing our short conversation, to which I was of no help, I realized a few things:

1. The few people that read this blog do so because:
a. they know me and are being supportive
b. they like the way that I write
c. I signed them up to receive blog post e-mails without their consent
d. they may possibly get an opinion  on wine that they can apply while purchasing.
Probably not so much on the last one. I'm making very little connection to my audience. I decided I was going to make an effort to connect by stopping by Stater Brothers on my way home today for a few popular, easy to find bottles that all 8 of you could find and throw my opinion around. But that led me to...

2. I don't like to buy wine from the grocery store. Even though I'm here in California, which I've learned typically has a much bigger wine selection than other states, said selection usually sucks.  

Ever go to the Kwik E Mart for beer to take to someone's house, stare through the glass, realize their only interesting choice is Bud Light Lime and walk out with a 12 pack of something you're not too happy about? I feel like wine sections of grocery stores are similar, we're just not as familiar with the brands. For example, did you know Gallo sells wines under 18 different labels? Thanks to Wikipedia, we all do now.

I know very little about the food & beverage industry, so my take on it could be way off, but here goes. I feel like for a wine maker to get his/her product shelf space in a major grocery store chain, they need to make a lot of wine, spend a lot of money on marketing, and the stars must align. Works for some, 40% of wine sold in the U.S. is out of a grocery store. I tried Stater Brothers wine section today with the best of intentions. What I saw was cheesy labels on the bottom: Barefoot, Dancing Bull, Smoking Loon, Gnarly Head. Trendy/clubby labels in the middle: One Hope, SKN, 337 (am I in Vegas?). Fancy cursive font/chateau labels on top. No write ups, nothing helpful, just a shot in the dark based on a label and a price tag.

My point of all of this is that I feel much more confident with my purchases and more satisfied with what I've consumed since I got away from buying wine from the same place I buy yogurt and tooth paste. A big wine store may have the feel of being more expensive, the option to buy more expensive bottles is there, but I've found once you move on from the yellow "Bonus Buy" tags of the grocery store, it's not much of price difference, if any at all. Rather than picking up a bottle or 3 with the groceries, which, I admit, is very convenient, I now make one trip to the wine store and get a case (at least), which usually comes with a 10% discount. My success rate on quality wines has gone way up.

I now pay more attention to things like where and when the wine was made, and how it was rated, than the catchy label slapped on the bottle by someone from Gallo. This led me to...

3. Last year I somehow got on the topic of "salsa" with my students. I asked how many of their families make their own and all but 2 kids raised their hand. They looked at me in shock when I told them I buy it. They looked at me in disgust when I told them I buy Pace. Last night I concluded, they were/are salsa snobs. They cared way too much about quality and knew that what the grocery store offered wasn't good enough.

I don't have a wine cellar. I don't collect bottles. I don't have enough money to always buy what I really want. But, if they're salsa snobs, I most definitely am a wine snob.

That's enough thought for one night,

Cheers!

France on a curve

Chateau De Nages ($12.99) Red Rhone Wine
Wine Enthusiast rating: 90 points (I think)


Maybe you've noticed, I've been on a bit of an international gem quest kick. The past few months, I had some success with bottles from Spain, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand to name a few. One place that I just can't seem to wrap my head around is France. They make so much wine there. It all seems to be highly rated. Pick up a Wine Spectator and half the magazine seems to be dedicated to the country. What am I missing? Do I need to take out a small loan to get a really enjoyable bottle from there? Do we grade them on a curve? And why do I keep trying things from there when I've never been super happy with anything I've bought?

This was a blend of Granache and Syrah, two grapes that I like. I know it was rated, pretty sure a 90, but don't hold me to that. I admit, it wasn't bad. It wasn't offensive. I just didn't think there was anything special about it. It was a little bland initially, got a bit better with dinner, but always seemed a little dry, which the bottle described as a "long finish with soft tannins."

Can anybody steer me in the right French direction or should I just be steered away from that section?

Grade: C

Blah. That's not what I was looking for.

Vasco Sassetti 2010 Sangiovese ($11.99)


So the bald guy, who usually steers me in a new and interesting direction at Total Wine guided me to this when I asked for something to go with red sauce. This was the first and only bottle he grabbed. He seemed confident, he's been good to me before. Now, full disclosure, last week was a tough week and the "red sauce" was not Beth's sauce in fact it was Stouffer's lasagna. Shhh, I don't want to be kicked out of the family). So, would it have been any better had we paired it with a quality  sauce? Had my wife slaved in the kitchen for hours, would this have been lights out awesome? I'm going to go in the opposite direction and say it would have ruined a lot of hard work and destroyed the meal.

I'm not ready to give up on Sangiovese. I think I've had a few that I've enjoyed, but this was tart and dry. Not a good combo for my palate.


Grade: D-

Yes, all Spanish wines know each other

Tres Picos 2009 Garnacha ($13.99)
Wine Enthusiast rating: 92 points


While at ASU, I spent a lot of time and probably too much money at Four Peaks Brewery. Now that I've aged like a poor bottle of Chardonnay, I've discovered Tres Picos. Is there a 2 Peak Scotch out there for me when I hit 45?

I found Tres Picos in the Spain section of Hi Times right next to the remaining bottles of summer award winning Papa Luna. It was $3 less and rated 2 points higher. Possible steal? You bet. I know I shouldn't compare it to Papa Luna, which is a blend; I wouldn't compare a Napa wine to a Sonoma just because they're both from California, or assume all girls from New Jersey act like Snookie. But they're both from Spain! Same section of the store! Both delicious!

In my weak attempt to research the growing regions of Spain, I think I've come to realize that I like stuff from Rias Baizas, the northwest corner of the country, better than the more popular Rioja  region which produces a lot of Tempernillo. I think.

This bottle had a really nice, fruity pop. A lot going on, yet not out of control. The fruit to me was more berry, or jammy than the dark cherry flavors that I also love. At first I thought it finished a little dry. So I was thinking, ok, better flavor than Papa Luna, but drier finish. But once we had it with dinner (pollo asada) the dryness went away and it finished wonderfully. After dinner it turned into a sip, swallow, savor, tilt my head back and feel time stand still sort of wine. Really good stuff.


Grade: A-

Summer School Awards - 2011

As the sun sets on my summer vacation, I thought it necessary (ok, not at all necessary, but fun) to recognize the success of a few special 750ml glass bottles that I've had the pleasure to consume these past 2 months.

I realize a lot of things must happen for a cluster of grapes on a vine to make its way to my mouth, and though I'd like to think all winemakers have the best intentions and take pride in their end product, not all bottles are created equal. There were many bottles that made the Honor Roll, but only the best of the best get called to the stage for the photo op.

I should also note that without countless stops to the local butcher shop, 2 tanks of propane and invites & visits from the greatest friends in the world, none of this would be possible.

Boys and girls, The Summer School Awards of 2011!

This award, "The Little Engine That Could," goes to the summer's overachiever. A wine that delivered time and time again at a steal of a price that anybody on a wine budget like mine should be will appreciate.

And the winner is, at $5.99 a bottle:

The next award, "The Kermit":

I know "going green" isn't quite as cool as pumped up kicks these days, but it's still cool enough to be appreciated. This award, "The Kermit," would have Dr. King's head spinning as it's judged solely on skin color. If it were judged on it's inside, the "White" award or anything of the sort would not be cool or very PC. So, we'll give this greened skin award to my favorite white wine of the summer.

Every other white I tried this summer fell into two categories: really good, or really boring. This wine was deliciously refreshing, yet managed to be unique. It also helps to have Robert Parker in its corner saying, "All of the Crios wines are phenomenal values worth buying by the case."

The landslide winner is:

Next up, "The Donger":

This award goes to the bottle from a foreign land. It had super stiff competition from the Malbecs of Mendoza, Argentina, Sauvignon Blancs from Marlborough, New Zealand, and Spanish Riojas. But on multiple occasions, it yankied my wankie.

This summer's winner goes to the Spanish blend of Old Vine Granacha (75%), Shiraz (20%) and Montastrell (5%):

Up next, "The Seals":

This award goes to the wine that, like the Seals, doesn't quite add up, but then again, I guess it does. You take a look at Heidi Klum and see a supermodel. Then you see her husband, Seal, and see a guy that must be really sweet. She couldn't have married him for "Kiss From a Rose," could she? Yet, when you see this semi-superpower Hollywood couple, they seem to work. "The Seals"award goes to a tremendous wine that drinks like a supermodel, yet is head scratchingly priced like a guy that's really nice on the inside.

Coming in at $12.99, Peter Lehmann's Clancy's, a blend of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

The final award of the summer, "The Billy Madison":

Not because it's not going to age well. Not that at all. Have you tried watching an Adam Sandler movie lately? Don't. I'm embarrassed to say I thought they were funny. Anyway, as you know, Billy was a little too large for his classroom competition. With all of the bottles sampled this summer, one bottle stood out like Billy playing dodgeball with 3rd graders. Not that all the other bottles were 3rd graders, but it was just that better than everything else on the playground.

The "Billy Madison" goes to:

Cheers! 

The Unbalanced Lineup

The Graber's came over tonight. We had an awesome time, great conversation, kids playing together, fabulous food, (we served our summertime staple of seared Ahi and crab stuffed mushrooms), and pretty fantastic wine. T.J. brought the DuMol Syrah, and I thought I'd revisit Balance since I thought it went so well with this meal 5 weeks ago.

DuMol 2006 Syrah ($59.99)
94 points: Wine Spectator, 93 points: Robert Parker


We opened this first and it blew the doors off the place from the get go. After the first sip I had a, "I wish I could drink wine like this everyday" feeling. This was a fantastic wine. It was earthy, smokey, peppery, yet silky smooth. Wow. Some good wines dissolve/disappear, some wines burn all the way down. This one seemed to hang around for a while letting us enjoy the experience even longer.


Grade: A

UFR: balance 2007 Red Field Blend ($17.99)


"It's not your fault."
Look at me. Listen to me..."It's not your fault."

Balance was the unfortunate wingman to the super model tonight. It's a really nice wine. Really nice. But tonight, DuMol was Giselle and Balance was the cute girl at The Blue Beet on a Thursday night. I still feel Balance is a nice buy, but UFR (upon further review), I can't give it the A- I gave it a few weeks ago.

UFR Grade: B

Mueller? Mueller!

Mueller 2007 Zinfandel - Old Vine ($23.99)
Wine Spectator: 92 Points, Wine & Spirits: 93 points


Iv'e been off the Zin kick for quite some time. I think the reason for my Zin hiatus is that I was, both literally and figuratively, getting burned by $8 bottles. For me, bad zin burns going down and overpowers the food I'd pair it with. I don't think it's a good value varietal. Like Pinot, you gotta spend a little to get the good stuff.

So, I dipped my toe in the water last week at Total Wine and picked up a bottle. I wasn't looking to dispute my theory; I wanted to get a good one. I saw this for $24 with high numbers, (my eyes are so drawn to rating tags it's disturbing) figured I had the $5 off coupon going for me, plus a strong recommendation from Tom who had put a bottle in his cart, so I went for it.

I'd like to thank winemaker, Robert Mueller for his unintentional compliment. On the back of the bottle he writes, "Over the years professional wine writers have described our wines as supple, polished, rich and complex." That's EXACTLY what I was gonna say! This was a nice wine.

We had it with chicken breasts stuffed with bread and herb from El Toro Meats. The food didn't really do the wine any favors. The boobs were just ok. So if you're keeping score of stuffed items from El Toro at home, that's 1 great (crab stuffed mushrooms) and 2 don't bothers (chicken breast, and twice baked potatoes). Back the the wine: It had a great earthy, smokey, tobaccoey, coffee nose. Super flavorful from the first sip, dark cherry, plum, maybe cinnamon?, then finished really smoothly. Damn, I really wish I had picked up steaks instead.

Grade: A-

UFR - Papa Luna

Papa Luna 2007 ($16.99)


So I went back to Hi Times last week, mainly to get another bottle of Papa Luna. I happened to pick up a few other bottles along the way, but I was curious to see if I still felt the same about this bottle as I did 6 weeks ago. So, UFR, upon further review, I maintain the notion that this is still an awesome bottle that I wish I had more of.

I initially gave this bottle an A, which was very generous. Ok, too generous. But this Spanish blend of Old Vine Granacha (75%), Shiraz (20%), and Montastrell (5%) was money. It was very cherry on the nose, but still picked up that earthiness that I'm guessing came from the Shiraz. The wine changed quite a bit through the meal (El Toro Carne Asada and grilled veggie salad, our summer staple). It was solid on its own, solid with the grilled veggies in the salad, then stepped it up after a piece of carne with a little heat, yet still smooth enough to not burn. This bottle really made the meal. Really nice cherry flavor, very smooth finish.

When I walked out of Hi Times there were only 10 bottles left. I wish I had bought more. It was that good.

Oh, forgot to mention, this had a 90 point rating from Wine Enthusiast. 

UFR Grade: A-

Solid Malbec, Great Price

Andeluna 2009 Malbec ($9.99) Mendoza, Argentina


Winemaker, Silvio Alberto writes on the back of the bottle to, "Please enjoy this wine with our best wishes." I can say confidently that we did. This was a great pick up, especially for the price, from Hi Times.

It was a bigger Malbec. It had a dark, inky color. It had a great nose, though I'm not sure I picked up the "black currant," "cassis" or "lavender." I did agree with the "lush flavors" noted on the back of the bottle. It had a lot going on, yet it was balanced. It had a bit of spice, which before dinner seemed "smokey" and after dinner seemed to have a bit of a burn. Nothing to worry about though. This was a really, really nice bottle for under $10.


Grade: B