California Wine Month meets the "Official" Wine of California

Time is running out to celebrate “California Wine Month” (yep, I’m a little late since it started 24 days ago…). With that in mind, why not celebrate the “almost” Official Wine Grape of California, Zinfandel. In 2006, then-Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have declared Zinfandel the “official” grape of California. His reasoning was that it would be ‘wrong’ to single out just one varietal. In some respects, he’s correct as Cabernet is incredibly popular and well-regarded dating back to the “Judgment of Paris” in 1976 (which scored CA Cab’s on par or better than top Bordeaux wine—Sacre bleu!), not to mention all the Chardonnay produced there. However, I feel that Zinfandel is very deserving as it has a very special place in the history of wine in California—as well as the United States!

In 1829, “Zinfendel” was imported from Europe to a nursery in New York. From there, it was sold in Massachusetts. Zinfandel made its way West thanks to the Gold Rush of the mid 1800’s. Zinfandel’s origins are believed to be based on Italian grape Primitivo or even two different Croatian grapes, Crljenak Kaštelanski and one called Tribidrag. Regardless of the grape names, scientists have confirmed through DNA testing that Zinfandel and Primitivo are the same. By 1878 Zin was the most popular varietal planted/produced during California’s first wine boom. Like Europe, most California vineyards were destroyed in the late 1800’s when the phylloxera epidemic took over. Luckily some Zinfandel vines survived because they were isolated or planted on resistant rootstock. In 1900 most vineyards were replanted, with Zin being the most common varietal—until the 70s’.

We blame a lot on the 70’s—fashion, disco, big hair. One thing to add to that list? White Zinfandel. I do blast White Zin a lot due to its bubble gum flavor and that crazy pink color but there are 2 major things that White Zin managed to do: one was to save Zin as a financially viable grape, as many were plowing their vineyards to plant suddenly popular Cabernet and Merlot, so White Zin saved many vineyards due to its popularity. The second thing? Honestly, it introduced wine to the masses. Dare I say that White Zin is a gateway wine? No, I’m not making the ‘smoking pot leads to heroin use’ analogy, I am simply saying that if someone tries ANY wine (and likes it) and continues to ‘explore’ wine, that is awesome, even if it is white zinfandel leading the way!

A white zin drinker may not change their ways, but they may try another “sweet-ish” wine like Riesling or Moscato. From there they may try a dry white, such as Sauvignon Blanc or even Chardonnay. What’s next? Well, maybe they will continue to ‘think pink’ and try a rosé as the process is similar (leave the skins on the juice to impart more color but MUCH less residual sugar). From there? How about a nice Pinot Noir to start, then onward to Zinfandel, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. By the way, all of this was a nice ‘stair step’ list of ‘from light to heavy’ wines; give that a shot and see how your exploration goes!

But back to Zinfandel, probably my favorite. Why? While it does have a high alcohol content, the fruit makes the wine very approachable. In fact, you can easily sip Zin solo but when you add food, it’s not so overpowering like many heavy tannin wines like Cabernet. It’s as if Zinfandel was made for another great American pastime—grilling! BBQ is yummy with Zin, spicy foods too. So while “California Wine Month” comes to a close, we are just about knee deep in tailgating season so why not bring a little Zin to your next event? No, not the girly pink stuff; be manly and grab one of the 3 R’s (Ravenswood, Rosenblum and Ridge), which represent some of the best-known Zinfandel producers/pioneers). Each of the first two have inexpensive entry-level wines (Vintner’s Blend and Vintner’s Cuvee come to mind). From there, try some of the Ravenswood ‘County’ Series—you’ll be amazed by the differences between their Napa, Sonoma, Lodi and Amador county designates! All three make excellent single-vineyard wines (perhaps I’ll discuss the differences between “California”, County/Region and Vineyard designations next time) but the price rises (base Zin’s start around $8-10; County wines $15 to 20 and single-vineyards are $20-50+).

There are also a lot of Zin-blends out there (nicknamed ‘kitchen sink’ blends as they have many varietals, typically Zin and syrah-based). But again, there are many different producers and many different regions as listed in the ‘county’ designates above (don’t forget awesome Paso Robles juice!). So give Zinfandel the respect it deserves—even the pink stuff, albeit begrudgingly… Let me know your thoughts and share your Zin adventures with me! Cheers, Bo

Just say no to wine snobbery

I received a marketing email from one of those review websites talking about wine shops, wine bars, etc. It listed several of their favorite local wine shops/wine bars/restaurants and gave a few details about some of them. Most of the reviewer comments referenced a desire to learn about wine and lauded their shop/wine bar/restaurant for not being pretentious or 'snobby'. As you've caught from most if not all of my posts as it relates to wine snobbery, THAT'S WHAT WINE IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT DAMMIT! Wine is meant to be approachable and enjoyable--not 'I'm so smart that I can tell that this wine came from an east-facing slope on a mountainside in Sonoma County'. (don't laugh--there are people out that who can tell that stuff and it's pretty darn cool and amazing!). Let me flesh that out a bit, actually. While a true sommelier should have an incredible grasp on wine and of all things wine, the average consumer just wants something yummy to drink and/or go with their meal. ME TOO! If you go somewhere and they don't know what they are serving (and don't give you help/ideas) it's time to move on--find a place where the servers have PASSION for their food and drink!

A friend recently took us to one of ATL's high-end steakhouses. The wine list was on an iPad and obviously was incredibly broad and would have been in a very thick binder if printed. For most people, that would be fear-inducing and would commonly result in either a blind pick of something that sounded familiar or a selection of something they did know about but was very pricey (take "Silver Oak" as an example--nothing against it, as it is a great wine, but like KJ Chard, it's just a well-known wine that gets tossed about as 'incredible' among people with deep pockets and 'some' knowledge of wine--there I go, being a snob). The thing about wine is to try things. Maybe it's not the best time to experiment when facing a $50-75 bottle at a restaurant but go to your local shop or liquor store (or even grocery/warehouse club!) and see what's out there. Yes, you'll find a ton of cheap blends with colorful labels (a favorite of mine being Apothic Red for around $8 or $9) and some silly 'critter wines' (e.g. wine labels with some animal on it meant to make it seem 'cute' so you will buy it. Not my typical choice). By the way, I'm sure if I had asked, I know the staff at that steakhouse would have helped me if I was clueless-don't EVER be afraid to ask for help; most servers LOVE to share their favorites and most sommeliers love to share their ideas as well! Again, if not, vote with your wallet and go somewhere else next time!

Do you drink white wine? Try something other than Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio. I wax poetic about Viognier; try a Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc--you don't have to spend a ton but try to focus on a specific GRAPE varietal. Ditto for reds--if you like Merlot, try a Cabernet; if those make you happy, you may love Syrah or (my favorite) Zinfandel. What about a lighter red like Pinot Noir or something funky like Monastrell/Mourvedre? Temperanillo? Once you decide you like a particular varietal then explore regions or countries and experiment some more. So now you have some CHOICES out there.

Once you get the varietal figured out (e.g. I love Sauvignon Blanc), as noted, when you dig around you may realize how much you like a certain style (California SB can be a bit 'buttery' (unfortunately!) while New Zealand's are more crisp and acidic (hooray!) as they should be). SO if you like the crisp style of New Zealand (such as Marlborough region), the next time you see a wine list with a Sauv Blanc from that area you can feel confident in ordering it even if you have not heard of the producer. Same thing with reds; a Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley in California (or Carneros) is a great region--the more you try, the more you learn and then that list becomes much less scary.

Wine is meant to be enjoyed. I think of it as a journey--we've all had horror-show vacations; the same can happen with wine but if it's bad, you can send it back. If you hate it, you can try something else. It's all temporary and there will always be another glass or bottle out there! As 'the man' says: Stay thirsty my friends!

A new fave, and it's "Hot to Trot"!

No horsing around: 14 Hands "Hot to Trot" blend is a winner! I picked some up at Sam's Club last week and found it to be a yummy, fruit-forward blend. What a great deal I thought for just over $10!


THEN I saw an old flyer from Bullock's and it's only $8.97 per bottle! Time to stock up a bit! Click HERE for a data sheet from the vineyard and click HERE to find Bullock's (Sandy Plains in East Cobb and off Barrett Parkway, east of I-75. This is a perfect BBQ wine (yes, I actually recommended something OTHER than a ZIN!) and will be great for your Summer parties. ENJOY!

Snob or Sale?

I get accused of being a wine snob. Au contraire, mon frere! While I do love wine, my perception of a wine snob would be someone who would turn their nose up at the inexpensive beauties that I tend to recommend. Sure, I'd love to drink something like Orin Swift's "The Prisoner" all the time, but I can't drop over $30 per bottle of wine. Even a "deal" like an email I received for a Mollydooker wine for around $20 doesn't help--that's just too high for my wallet these days. So am I a wine snob? Hardly! I do like yummy wines though; I just tend to buy more bargains--it's like 'hunting"--I love to find a great wine at an inexpensive price! So let's go shopping!

As noted before I love blends. I received a flyer from Bullocks (East Cobb/Woodstock) and found Apothic Red to be $7.97! Other winners include Monte Antico Rosso (a blend of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet) is $8.97 (the 2006 was rated at 90 points per Wine Spectator), La Crema Pinot Noir is $15.97 (yep, that's 'high' but it's touch and go finding a 'cheap' Pinot out there that's as solid as La Crema). Finally, Ravenswood Vintner's Blend is a low $6.27. I know many other top retailers like Tower and Total Wine have similar pricing; get out there and shop!

But that's all red wine, and it's hot out there! You can also find a good value on Estancia Chardonnay at Bullocks ($7.97) and Brancott Sauvignon Blanc for $6.97 (look for any Sauv. Blanc from "Marlborough" in New Zealand and you can't go wrong). Pinot Grigio is a nice, crisp option as well and "Kris" Pinot Grigio is under $10 there too. Why not try something different? Other wines that beg to be left in the ice bucket can be found from Spain (Albarino) Viognier (Rhone or Central Coast/CA), and Argentina's Torrantes, as mentioned in Gil Kuler's most recent AJC article.

One quickie about wine glasses--yes, I can be a wine glass snob; check my previous posts about Riedel. Suffice it to say that I hate going to restaurants that have crappy glasses. One thing that can hurt you more than a cheap glass is a smelly glass! I've talked about this before--I have several types of glasses, from stems I bought for $5 at Cost Plus World Market (excellent!) to the same 'style' (e.g. for the same varietal of wine) that was given to me (Riedel's "Sommelier Series" that retails for almost $100 per glass!)--all the glasses are in a glass-front cabinet in the kitchen. EVERY time I pull out a glass, if I don't rinse the glass, it smells like the cabinet! If it wasn't rinsed well, it may also smell like soap. All I'm saying is that the glass should be clean, dry and not have residual odors. As over half of your wine experience is based on what you smell (yep, even over the taste itself!) you really need to do this before serving your wine! Give it a shot-take 2 glasses, rinse/clean one and try the wine out of both--you may be surprised at the difference between the two!

Here we go again: HR 1161

So this article popped up on my radar this morning. Sounds like they are trying to dump of alcohol regulation to the States. On the surface, that sounds like a good thing but in all reality (as shown by our weak Republican leaders in the Georgia Senate) the local interests (Christian Coalition, Wholesalers and Distributors) will use their influence (and money) to line the pockets (AGAIN) of the Regulated Beverage Committee and the Consumer will LOSE. We need to be able to order wine from whatever source we choose--consumer friendly laws should be the focus, not further limits to competition! But then again that's just my 2 cents as a Centrist/Libertarian.

Oh SNAP! Must-see video : )

Hopefully this is the CHEAP WINE section! What a shame; all that lovely vino tossed onto the floor in this EPIC FAIL! CLICK HERE to watch the video. Don't let this happen to YOU! Cheers, Bo

Coolest wine ad EVER

As you know, I love Zinfandel. Enjoy this awesome ad: CLICK HERE! (Worth watching even if you hate wine, etc.)

"Cowardly Republicans" in Georgia

This posting by Neal Boortz is right on. Our Georgia Republican representatives are afraid of their special interest groups--the Christian Coalition. We have an out of date law on the books; it's time to give me (a voter, citizen, etc.) a chance to vote on the issue. Do I have enough wine around the house? Sure (i.e. I don't need to go buy anything on Sunday). Do I want the CHOICE to be able to purchase it (when we do our grocery/warehouse club shopping--typically on Sunday)? YES. Heck, at this stage, I'd like a shot at being able to VOTE to buy on Sunday. Right now, the elected officials are too chicken$hit to let the law pass, and put it on the ballot for us (Georgia residents) to vote yay or nay. Shame on you, elected officials! What next? Will you run away from Unions? Oh wait--those goons protect the Democrats (just ask Wisconsin and Ohio--and look how great those state balance sheets are looking, but I digress). LET ME VOTE on this issue!

More fun with ZIN

I love the style of this article--maybe it's the 'user friendly' style of Zinfandel that makes me such a fan. Yes, there are many cheap 'fruit bomb' zins out there (and some pricey ones too) but the awesome single-vineyard selections from Ravenswood, Rosenblum or Ridge (the three R's!) are 'benchmark' wines. Give Zin a chance; it's one of the most food-friendly wines out there! Cheers, Bo

Open That Bottle Night 2011

Heard of this event? Have you ever saved 'something' for a "special occasion" and found that the opportunity had come and gone (or was missed completely)? While I do have one bottle that is set aside for a special occasion that will continue to be saved (until January 3, 2021 to be exact) I do have some other bottles that need to be dusted off and consumed in the name of "Open That Bottle Night". Read this press release and learn more about OTBN 2011! What's in YOUR cellar? : ) Wine is a living creature--if you keep it too long it may turn into very expensive vinegar so go ahead--Open That Bottle this February 26th! Cheers!

Another HR 5034 Rant

Another article against HR 5034. More money going to Congress, big surprise there! Let's make this go away, shall we? Contact YOUR Congressman and say NO, this won't do...

The A-list (+ one!)

I love wine (DUH) and you know I love a good deal (also DUH). Today I offer three wines that start with the letter "A" (oh great, now I hear the voice of Grover in my head...). In an earlier blog posting I talked about finding a great deal on a yummy wine called Aconga. The blend is 80% Malbec and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2009 evidently scored 85 points from Wine Enthusiast magazine. The best thing? With your Kroger Plus card, the price is only $3.99 (though it's only $3.88 at the Mcfarland/Hwy.9 Kroger in Alpharetta)! One thing to note, however, there seems to be a limited supply of this wine so you better stock up quickly!

My second A-wine is actually called A by Acacia. Like many other producers, Acacia has several different product lines. Their single-vineyard products are their finest (and most expensive), but you can find the more reasonably priced "A" line in stores and restaurants. Their Pinot is great (around $20) but I love the A by Acacia "Red Blend" (much lower-priced, at around $10 to 12) as it is a Syrah based wine. You won't find it everywhere but it is worth looking for (or trying at restaurants).

My 3rd (and favorite of the 3!) A-list wine is called Apothic Red. I also blogged about this one previously (as did Gil Kulers with the AJC) and I can't get enough of it! Excellent fruit, but not a full-on, in-your-face 'fruit bomb'. Apothic LOVES spicy foods and is widely available ($8.73 at Sam's, around $8.50 at Tower and even Kroger had it for under $9 a few weeks ago!). Syrah and Zin? YUM!


Bonus wine--a week or two ago I was in the Alpharetta Costco, wandering through the wine aisle. A nice blend caught my eye--a bordeaux blend with 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Cabernet Franc and the final 33% Merlot. As the price was $15, I thought what the heck, I'll buy it (really, you had me at 33% cab franc). You may have read this old blog post about friends in the wine biz (and my 'heroes'), so you know how happy I was when I saw the names on the back of the bottle--Highway 12 Vineyards was co-founded by the guy who gave me my first job in the wine industry, Paul Giusto. Check out their website and try the wine--the winemaker is Michael Sebastiani (bet you've heard that last name before?) who I also worked with at Viansa ages ago. Kudos to them; the wine was awesome as well! Cheers!

A new inexpensive fave-Apothic Red

As you know, I am always a fan of a fun blend at a good price--especially if it has something to do with Zin or Syrah! How about one that has zin, syrah AND merlot? It's funny, I had read about this wine AFTER buying it, but BEFORE drinking it. Well, finally had it the night before last and it ROCKS! Gil Kulers is totally on the money-two thumbs up--way up! Check it out online using this link. Cheers, Bo

(by the way--Gil's article said $14; I found it at Sam's Club for $8.73!)

More on HR 5034

Read this article NOW and contact your local congressman NOW... The article makes it clear WHY this bill is a bad idea for YOUR Freedom of Choice!

More on CARE

This law should NOT pass! Write your Congressman today! See this article to understand what I'm talking about. Another article hits the same issue from a different angle. Contact your Congressional representative TODAY and say NO to this act!

Great offer at Total Wine & More through Sept. 11

While I love Total Wine & More I am always annoyed that they don't offer discounts on mixed cases (i.e. you do get a discount on a case of a single wine, but not on a 'mix' of wines). Well, I just got an email today that you can mix a 6-pack of wines and get 10% off! They have many fun wines for you to try (recent faves include the "Kitchen Sink" red blend for around $9 and Grand Pacific Red "Heritage Blend" (petite verdot, sangiovese and cabernet franc) for around $8). SO get out there and get shopping! I am betting this is a test for them to see if it will bump sales; let's show them that it's time to do this more often! Mix away!

It's all in the GLASS

Most of my emails focus on what is IN your glass, but this one will focus on the not so obvious--the glass itself. I have long been a Riedel wine glass fan and have glassware to match many of our favorite wine varietals. If you go to Riedel's website, you will see they have hundreds of choices at many different price points. The 4 types we have are the "Wine" series (glass, machine made, avg. retail would be around $10) the "Vinum" series (lead crystal, machine made, average retail of around $20) the "O" series (stemless, glass, probably $20 or so for 2?) and finally the "Sommelier" series, which are hand-blown lead crystal and can cost over $80 each! What's the big deal? PLENTY!
As noted in the past, we have only 5 primary taste 'senses' (salty, bitter, sweet, sour and "umami", which can loosely be translated as 'protein'). While we're not as proficient as Spike the wonderdog at smelling, we humans can pick up over 10,000 nuances of smell. Again you ask, what does that matter? To truly enjoy the wine (and specific attributes of a particular varietal) a wine glass can 'make or break' a wine. Take your favorite red wine (or a white wine that's not too cold) and put it in a drinking glass, a cheap wine glass, one of those silly Waterford crystal wine glasses you got for a wedding gift (pretty, but useless) and take a sip from each. If your last glass happened to be a nice stem (Riedel is nice, but try Cost Plus World Market for some inexpensive clones) you will be blown away at the difference! If you have different shaped wine glasses, take it a step forward-a cabernet glass is usually upright and tapered, a pinot noir glass is more rounded with a big bowl. If you tried the cabernet in both glasses you may be surprised how much better it is in the true cabernet glass versus the big bowled pinot. All I can say is TRY IT and you will be amazed! Go for the proper shape and no heavy 'rim' around the glass (think of that rim as a 'speed bump' messing up the flavors).
Final shot-what is the achilles heel of this entire exercise? How clean is that glass? If you store glasses in a cabinet, top down or over a stove, you will not get the full effect of the wine. Make sure to rinse the glasses prior to drinking them as you will smell less of the wine but more of where it was stored, such as the 'wood' of the cabinet (or grease if over the stove). Try smelling the empty glass 1st or put a bit of wine in the glass--you may see what I mean. Then rinse it out and try again and you will smell the wine, not the cabinet! Too much soap residue can ruin your wine experience as well. Cheers!

Again, I'm not the only one.

This article talks about Cheap Wines and how that is becoming the new norm in wine shops. At the end of the day, there ARE a ton of 'good' wines for inexpensive prices. Stick around; I'll share what I find for ya! Cheers, Bo

Good and Cheap!

Can't come up with a better subject line than that... As you have no doubt noticed, I am not afraid to try a cheap wine. Caveat: I do tend to stay away from cutesy, hyped or 'overly marketed' wines, like "Critter" wines (wines that have a cute animal on the label to get stupid people to buy the wine based on the label alone). And have also noted that I don't always buy wines in the grocery unless I know it's a good price (typically on a wine I already know). So here's an end-cap with a Malbec blend at Kroger, marked down to $3.99 from $8.99 (got to love that Kroger Plus Card!). I think to myself, "Why not?" Well, it is actually pretty yummy! The wine label didn't look cheap and silly and it came from Mendoza in Argentina so its 'particulars' were solid, so for $3.99 it appeared to be a great deal. The wine is called Aconga and is an 80% Malbec 20% Cabernet blend. It drinks pretty well for a 2009, which I would have thought too young. If your local Kroger has this wine (at this price) I'd recommend buying several bottles--perfect BBQ or grilling wine (an easy-drinker as well). Cheers! Bo

Another tale from the darkside...

Okay, I have a confession, actually a couple of confessions. I bought an animal wine. Yep, a bottle of wine with a small animal on the label; designed to be chosen by a consumer who may or may not know about wine (but they think it's cute and buy it). The other confession? I bought wine at Wal-Mart. Yes, THE Wal-Mart. Let me explain...!

So I'm in my local Super Wal-Mart looking for a few simple items for our garage sale--Julia wanted to sell lemonade so I picked up a jar with a spigot, some ice and lemonade mix. Let me tell you, it's hard to find the *&%$ lemonade mix at our Super Wal-Mart--I even ran into a friend who was likewise looking for drink mix! Regardless, in my search for lemonade I buzzed down the wine aisle (quelle surprise?) as I'm apt to do, and found some familiar/common brands (no, I didn't expect a 'deep' selection and no, I didn't find it).

What I did find was a wine for around $5 that I figured 'what the heck' and bought. You ready for it? Lucky Duck Malbec--it didn't even have a vintage on it (guess that would have cost more?). I enjoy Malbecs from Argentina and the price was right and to be honest, I thought it was quite yummy! SO, if you're looking for an inexpensive red wine (and you're at Wal-Mart!) give it a shot! Look for the yellow duck on the label and consider yourself the lucky (and thrifty) one! Cheers, Bo