Beaujolais is arguably the best value in red wine right now and Lyle has an excellent list here to back up this claim.

via Rockss and Fruit

“For me, as my cellar can attest to, there is no more consistently delicious and over-performing wine in Beaujolais” originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

As is often the case, Steve Heimoff has posted a “think piece” on his blog today. And judging by the relatively few comments at the time I write this most readers are just doing that; thinking. His post is on authenticity in wine and how difficult and subjective it is to define. In the end, Steve gives no answers on the subject but does get one thinking about what makes a wine “authentic”.

To me authenticity starts with the intent of the winemaker and what the site and vineyard manager has provided her or him to work with. Can you make authentic Syrah in Napa Valley? Perhaps but other sites might be more suited to growing the grape. Should anything be added to the crushed grapes to make an “authentic wine”? Some would argue no, but denying scientific advances is similar to not using modern medicine to avoid fatal illness. The issue is loaded with traditional, cultural and political nuances.

No discussion of wine authenticity should lack the obvious mention of low intervention or so-called “natural wine“. My own preference in my single quasi-commercial winemaking venture to date used as few processes as was possible in a shared winemaking facility like Crushpad in Dog Patch. Yes, yeast was inoculated as conducting a native yeast ferment, which was my preference, was not recommended within a winery with dozens, if not hundreds, of other fermentations taking place. Yes, enzymes and a minimal dose of sulfur were used on the must but after pressing only regular stirring of the lees was applied and the wine was only racked once after several months in barrel (it is a Roussanne/Marsanne blend).

Is this not a “natural, authentic” wine? Some would argue one or all of the three additives used makes this wine somehow makes it un-natural and less authentic. A few others might argue that trucking the grapes several hundred miles in a refrigerated container is also unauthentic but that’s another story.

My point is what is authentic wine is highly debatable. What is not is a sea of industrial wines sold that not only use modern science to produce clean wines but also techniques that make the resulting product softer and more approachable (think micro-oxygenation, mega-purple and other such processes or additives here). That doesn’t mean the wine is not better for all the manipulation but what is left is not an authentic representation of the site and grapes harvested that year.

But that’s just my opinion, and as Dennis Miller used to say, I could be wrong.

What Makes A Wine “Authentic”? originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

As with anything you eat or drink, moderation and common sense, not prohibition, often makes the most sense.

via The Telegraph

“A glass of wine a day will not harm your baby and may actually be good for a child’s development, researchers have found” originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Short but insightful interview.

via Forbes

The Steve Jobs Of Wine: Winemaker Paul Hobbs originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Good weekend reading from Will Lyons.

via WSJ

“Germany produces some of the best dry white wine in the world frequently sold at very affordable prices” originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Private Preserve has been my choice for years.

via Wired

Wired Tests Wine Preservation Systems, Picks Correct Winner originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Back in the day, I participated in April Fools pranks with posts that hopefully brought a smile to the face of the reader. But after one such post fell flat, even garnering angry comments years later, I decided to hang it up. Face it, wine is not that funny to begin with and most wine blog readers don’t expect satirical posts even once a year (unless all your posts are satirical).

I was reminded of this Monday when I read a mildly funny post from Alder at Vinography but the best prank post was from John Mariani over at Bloomberg. Only it appears to not have been a prank post. I think, anyway.

My confusion began when I first saw the story tweeted by Dr. Vino as a prank so that might have influenced the context of my first reading. Starting with true facts, the hallmark of the best April Fools pranks, it gets increasing strident and ridiculous. But like my ill-fated Charles Shaw post referenced above the joke was just too subtle and it launched some earnest posts in defense of Washington State wines.

As I write this, I have not been able to figure out if this was a Fools’ Day post or not. It seems like it could be a serious critique of selected Washington State wines as those reviewed actually do exist despite long-winded and somewhat fanciful naming conventions. And I guess the cynic in me could just chalk this up to link-bait, engineered to be controversial and provoke such reaction. But I think it’s funnier as a prank. And until the author comments here to clarify, I’m going with that.

The Perils of Posting On April Fools’ Day originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Reality TV is all the rage these days but I rarely watch this genre outside of a few cooking competition shows like Top Chef or Masterchef. But I have been hooked this year by ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’. The show’s premise is simple; entrepreneurs pitch their products to a panel of well known investors (‘sharks’) such as Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Daymond John, and Lori Greiner. Sometimes the entrepreneurs fall flat, other times they walk away after some interest, but most times they arrive at some sort of deal trading investment for equity in their company.

Wine products have surprisingly been featured a couple times this season but the most interesting was an invention called ‘Wine Balloon’ (later changed to ‘Air Cork‘) that preserves wine with a patented balloon system. Inventor Eric Corti was clearly nervous pitching the panel of sharks but did well enough to garner two offers from Kevin O’Leary and the combined team of Mark Cuban and QVC host Lori Greiner. It was clear that Corti didn’t like the strings attached to O’Leary’s offer to license the invention to a third party for marketing but was surprised when Greiner offered $500,000 for the entire company. Cuban joined the offer which grew to $600,000 but demanded an immediate response. Corti didn’t act fast enough but accepted their final offer of $400,000 for his invention. At the time of the show I thought Corti made the wrong choice as $200,000 of value had been taken off the table in under 2 minutes. And Wine Balloon seemed like a novel idea that might see wide distribution in winery tasting rooms and wine stores (although the reviews on Amazon currently are not encouraging).

So it was good to see an update to this story last week at Wines & Vines. After due diligence, Corti and his partner walked away from the deal and worked on building their business. And it appears to have worked with sales reported at 15,000 units a month. Using the cost of goods disclosed during the show of $6.50 that makes over $260,000 of gross profit a month or $3.1 million annually. It’s good to see an entrepreneur stand his ground and make something work as it was clear during the show that Corti really believed in his invention.

If you want to see the episode of Shark Tank it is available to Hulu Plus subscribers here (season 3, episode 4). Corti’s pitch starts the second dot from the end on the timeline.

via Wines & Vines

Wine In The ‘Shark Tank’ originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Nice theme for summer. Join us June 20th.

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• Source: WordPress
• Via: Drink What You Like

I’m delighted to announce that I am hosting Wine Blogging Wednesday #78 on Wednesday, June 20th. WBW78 will mark my second time hosting this monthly virtual wine event. Our theme for this month will be a grape that is near and dear to my palate — Viognier.

Read more at: drinkwhatyoulike.wordpress.com

Viognier Theme for WBW78 originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

China pivots to Burgundy.

• 
• Source: Theatlantic
• Via: The Atlantic

Thankfully, the wine market’s sour turn could also just be a sign of changing tastes. Eighty-six of the 100 bottles Liv-ex tracks are Bordeaux, the traditional king of fine wine. But as the Financial Times wrote in May, recent auctions suggest that Hong Kong buyers, perhaps spurred by the rampant counterfeiting of top Bordeaux, are branching out to wines from other regions, especially Burgundy labels such as Domaine de la Romanee-Conti.

Read more at: www.theatlantic.com

“Lafite is out, Conti is in.” originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Almost all of us don’t treat blogging as a business. And those few who do find building a community around a wine blog very, very difficult. Without hundreds of thousands of pageviews a month, advertising on blogs of any topic is not a viable business.

• 
• Source: Typepad
• Via: FERMENTATION

There are are a grand total of 46 real Wine Bloggers listed in the VOCUS media database, one of the largest and heaviest used media databases among publicists in the U.S. Of those, only 4 have a “readership” number attached to the entry, and all four are inaccurate representations of the monthly visitors to the blog.

Now, I know there are more than 46 wine bloggers in the U.S. I know that there are more than 4 that have a decent readership. What this lack of bloggers in the VOCUS Media Database tells me and what the inaccuracy of the readership numbers for those blogs tells me is this: PROFESSIONAL PUBLICISTS CARE VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF WINE BLOGGERS AND THEIR AUDIENCE.

Read more at: fermentation.typepad.com

The Real Reason Wine Bloggers Are Not Relevant To Advertisers originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Not too long ago I drank quite a bit of Australian wine, particularly Shiraz. Given that this grape, also known as Syrah, expresses greatness in the Barossa Valley I could not pass an opportunity to revisit this region for this months’ Wine Blogging Wednesday. Our host, Adam from Wine Zag, proposed we look for any wine from Australia’s Barossa Valley but for me only Shiraz would do, much the same way only Cabernet would do for Napa Valley. One other limitation was to choose a wine for $30 USD or less. I’m well aquatinted with great values from Barossa but have not tasted any lately so I was a little concerned as I entered my local wine store to explore the options available this week.

The main reason for my exile from Barossa and most of the wines of Australia of late has been value. There are many great wines made in Australia but far fewer under $30 than in the past (at least it seems to me). Some of this is due to shipping costs; some of this is due to exchange rates. Today the best bang for the (American) buck comes from the Iberian peninsula or lesser known parts of Italy and France. Even California, Washington State and Oregon are bringing the value in these recessionary times. But there still are some producers who are managing to bring the value from Barossa even today.

One of those is Schild Estate, a family run winery in Barossa that over delivers value if judged by the wine I tasted this evening. Established in 1952, this winery produces a range of wines but with an emphasis on Shiraz. And after tasting their entry level Shiraz today, I can see why they lavish so much attention on the variety. It is because it’s delicious.

Tasting Notes:

Schild Estate Wines, Shiraz, Barossa 2009 ($18) – Dark purple in color with aromas of cherry, plum, bacon, and black licorice. Round in the mouth with concentrated blackberry, plum and black pepper flavors finishing with savory tannins. A very nice expression of Aussie Shiraz at a stunning price.

14.5% ABV
Screw cap closure
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Score: 90

Thanks go to Adam for hosting this month and for provoking me to taste a Barossa wine and blog about it. Stay tuned for next months edition of our global virtual tasting to be announced soon.

WBW 76: Barossa Boomerang originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

A-List wine critics are the celebrities of the wine geek but we don’t get a chance to learn much about them. Just Google for interviews of Robert Parker or James Laube and you will see very little outside of promotional stuff.

But Antonio Galloni of The Wine Advocate seems to be more open and has been interviewed by Grape Radio and now Steve Heimoff. Steve is himself a noted critic from The Wine Enthusiast so he knows the questions to ask. And his three part interview with Mr. Galloni goes deeper into the lifestyle of a wine critic than anything else I have seen to date. Everything from blind tasting to dental cleaning schedules are covered and I was surprised more than once while reading the series.

The link below goes to the first part. I would suggest you carve out a half hour and read all three parts together. Really fascinating stuff that I will pick up again in a future post.

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• Source: Steveheimoff

It was a real treat to run into Antonio Galloni at last Friday’s Vintage Retrospective Tasting at the Rudd Center of the Culinary Institute of America, in St. Helena. I asked Antonio if he wouldn’t mind my interviewing him, and he kindly agreed, for which I am grateful.

Read more at: www.steveheimoff.com

The Lifestyle of An A-List Wine Critic originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Although I was an avid and longtime reader of Dottie Gaiter and John Brecher’s weekly Wall Street Journal wine column, I never have participated in Open That Bottle Night (OTBN). Started in 2000, the event was created as an excuse to open a special wine that remains for whatever reason languishing in your cellar. I have had several candidates for such treatment but when the last Saturday in February arrived I never thought to actually open one of these long forgotten bottles.

That was until this past weekend when I saw someone mention the event on Twitter and decided to take action. The bottle in question is a 1989 Acacia Vineyard Carneros Brut sparkling wine “recently disgorged”. The recently disgorged style was developed by Bollenger in 1961 for their 1952 Bollinger Grande Année. The extra bottle age before the yeast is removed and the final dosage is added gives the wine additional flavor and complexity. And by disgorging the yeast late, the wine also retains more freshness and fruit than if the bottle was aged after disgorgement. Since I received the bottle of Acacia as part of their wine club shipment in 2005 or 2006, I assume the wine was left for a decade or more on the lees in bottle.

Since 1989 is the year of my daughter’s birth, I assumed we would open the bottle a couple years ago as part of her 21st birthday celebration. For one reason or another the bottle remained in the cellar and so I naturally assumed the worst as I plucked the bottle from the rack. I’ve had my share of over the hill wines. Most of the time those blasted plastic corks are to blame but other times it’s simply a bottle left far past it’s proper drinking window. For those of us with collections, this happens more often than you might expect but the Great Recession has greatly depleted my cellar and so these bottles are now much easier to spot. This particular Acacia Brut was a perfect choice for OTBN as there was the chance of magic. I’ve had their sparkling wines before after extended aging and enjoyed them and the promise of a wine disgorged only 8 years ago or so made me optimistic as I eased the cork from the bottle with a satisfying pop.

Pouring the wine in the flute showed a still vigorous bead of fine bubbles through a rich golden yellow color. Since it was still on the light golden side, somewhat like apple juice, I thought that perhaps there might be something left to this wine. All of these hopes were dashed when I lifted the flute to my nose and got the unmistakable whiff of oxidized wine. But there was still some yeasty bread notes, citrus and almond  there so I took a sip over my sink thinking it would most likely be immediately spit out. But the flavors are still actually pretty nice. Some Sherry-like oxidative elements to be sure but also lemon and some green apple flavors that finish clean with bright acidity. The yeast had certainly left it’s mark in palate weight and complexity, as well, with a pleasant nuttiness on the long finish. Overall, the wine has clearly seen better days but is still interesting even with the somewhat off-putting aromas.

Three days later I have another glass siting in front of me as I finish this post. No, this is not a great wine but enjoyable none the less, and I’m quite happy Open That Bottle Night presented an excuse to try it. Otherwise, I’m sure it would have just gone down the drain in 5 or 6 more years. So if you have a long forgotten bottle collecting dust, get a corkscrew and see what you have there. You might just get lucky and discover something interesting.

CellarTracker listing

OTBN 13: A Night of Regret & Discovery originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Jeff Lefevere and I return to review the top wine stories of the past month including tongue-twisting wine names, a disturbing wine manifesto, trends in wine marketing, the stellar 2009 Bordeaux vintage and much more.

Hosts: Tim Elliott and Jeff Lefevere

Topics

• If the wine is hard to pronounce, is it worth more?
• Has wine lost it’s romance?
• The Slow Wine movement
• 2009 Bordeaux: vintage of the century?
• Will drinking too much wine give you cancer?
• Million Dollar Day for WinesTilSoldOut.com
• Wine’s 2011 Report Card
• Moet Hennessy aims for super-premium red wine from China
• Are Americans’ Tastes Changing?
• Wine discounting trends
• Randall Grahm and The State of the Modest Winery
• Follow-up on QR codes from last month

Events

• 2012 New York Wine Expo: March 2-4, New York City
• 2012 World of Pinot Noir Tasting: March 2-3, Shell Beach, CA
• Paso Robles Wine Country’s 2012 Zinfandel Festival, March 17, 2012
• Wine Blogging Wednesday 75, Single Vineyard, March 21st
• Rhone Rangers, San Francisco, March 24-25
• For events near you check out Local Wine Events

Links discussed on the show

• Consumers pay more for tongue-twisting wines 
• If the wine is hard to pronounce, is it worth more? 
• Wine’s Decline 
• Wine: Is The Romance Gone?
• Slow wine: eco-gastronomy creeps to the fermented grape
• Suckling Hails ’09 Bordeaux “Best Ever”
• Consumers urged to count units
• Two glasses of wine a day ‘triples mouth cancer risk’
• WOW: The ‘Woot of Wine’ Just Had A Million-Dollar Day
• The state of the wine market, 2012 
• Wine’s 2011 Report Card
• Consumer Wine Trends: Overall Consumption Up
• Moet Hennessy aims for super-premium red wine from China
• The Low Alcohol Craze Goes Overboard 
• The debate about high alcohol sometimes verges on insanity 
• Are Americans’ Tastes Changing?
• BERGER: A preference toward lower-alcohol wines?
• Wine Discounting Likely to Continue
• Doon to Earth (Redux) 
• Wine & The Connected Consumer

This podcast is brought to you by audible.com – get a FREE audiobook download at www.audibletrial.com/winecast
Feedback: thismonthinwine@gmail.com
Copyright 2012 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed under Creative Commons.

TMiW 2 – The Tastes They Are A-Changin’ originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Randall Grahm is one of the true characters of the American wine scene. A self-styled terroirist, intuitive branding genius and all around eccentric, Grahm has taken his Bonny Doon Vineyard on quite a ride over nearly the past 30 years. After setting out in 1983 to make great Pinot Noir in California, Grahm was drawn to Rhône varieties — long before it was cool — and blazed an innovative trail. Years past and the winery continued to grow particularly at the entry level with the ubiquitous Big House brand. But being a terroir driven vintner who presides over blending sessions in industrial wineries can’t be a lot of fun. So in 2006 Grahm sold the Big House brand to The Wine Group and spun off Pacific Rim into it’s own business with outside partners.

Photo via Twitter

By his own admission Grahm has downsized his once considerable enterprise by a factor of ten and the business model of a modest winery today is a lot different than when he got started. Today the consumer has more tools to help them choose a wine in the store using smartphones and apps like Hello Vino. Social networks such as Twitter and Facebook can connect friends from Barstow to Barcelona in near real time for instant recommendations. And wine distributors, who used to be the winery’s “feet on the street”, have become nothing more than extensions of the sales force for large volume brands like Gallo, Kendall-Jackson and, somewhat ironically in this context, The Wine Group.

It appears Mr. Grahm is well aware of the current realities in the wine market and his own transformation from selling mostly through distribution to mostly direct to consumer after reading a very revealing post on his blog earlier this week. I have the opportunity in my day job to have frank conversations about the wine business but none of these surface here as they are off the record. Seeing similar issues presented in a long-form post on a winery blog is most refreshing and frankly breathtaking. I’m sure there is a bit of added drama at play here and the Dooniverse is not really on the edge of ruin but if it is that would be most distressing. The wine world with Randall Grahm and Bonny Doon in it is much better than the reverse.

So in the spirit of a friend lending a helping hand I offer the following unsolicited ideas for Mr. Grahm and his team to ponder:

Get social - Dude, you have over 350,000 Twitter followers! No other vintner is even close. Use it occasionally to sell your wine. I’d probably also figure out how to convert some of those followers to Facebook Page likes, too (only 5,000 there now). I know you have a social media strategy and do better than most in the wine business but a bit more wood behind this arrow would pay off handsomely at the very least in positive word of mouth.

Embrace Video - Unlike a lot of winery owners you have a rich story to tell with passion and nuance. Use video to get more of your story onto the social web to get some of those Milleninals exposed to your brand. You are sort of dabbling at this now; commit to a regular schedule.

Open A Bay Area Tasting Room - Hate to say it but Santa Cruz is kind of out of the way for many to get exposed to Bonny Doon wines. I’d take my hospitality closer to the customer and look for a space in San Francisco (SoMa, Dogpatch, Haight, etc.).

Ditch That Flash Website - I mean it’s 2012 and a lot of folks have iPads. All of that cute animation can be done in HTML 5.

Spruce Up The Wines - This is the least important on the list but one that deserves some consideration. I have to admit aside from the occasional bottle of Le Cigare Volant I have not tasted through your lineup in a while but a peek at CellarTracker reveals some improvement can be made. These days a $25 wine better taste like a $35 or $40 wine or people will buy alternatives that over-perform their price point.

Hope this helps, Sir. Let us know how it goes.

Wine & The Connected Consumer originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

When I first got started on Twitter I had high hopes of posting frequent reviews there but it never really worked out. It was partially due to the 140 character limit but the transient nature of the medium ultimately kept me only reviewing wines there as part of an organized Twitter live tasting.

But with Pinterest, I think I have found the perfect place to post reviews directly from my log. Each will be linked to the winery ecommerce shop when available. For now I’ll be posting a couple of reviews each day until I reach the end of my tasting log for wines I liked. Some of these might be covered again here as part of full review but you can see my raw notes on Pinterest first.

And you don’t have to be on Pinterest to see the notes, just click on the link below.

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• Source: Pinterest

Pinterest is an online pinboard.Organize and share things you love.

Read more at: pinterest.com

Follow My Wine Reviews on Pinterest originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

This is my fifth time hosting Wine Blogging Wednesday, our monthly virtual tasting event, but my enthusiasm has not diminished with the passage of time. In fact, since bringing back the event from hiatus it looks like the idea might be picking up some steam judging from the entires this month. While many of the bloggers are new, some of the WBW stalwarts from the past also returned.

The first post came in a week early from Dave at Toledo Wines and Vines. His choice of a Louis Bouillot Crement de Bourgogne ($18) in celebration of the New York Giants Superbowl win got the tasting off to a fine start.

Another early entry was posted by Jasmine at the Knitting 40 shades of green blog. It’s aways good to see a new perspective from outside the wine blog circle on WBW and Jasmine did not disappoint with a nice review of Barboursville Brut ($17) from Virginia.

Roddy from Sentir le Bouchon! in the UK was next with non-vintage Condesa Blanca Cava (£7/$11) which he enjoyed quite a bit.

Next was the VA Wine Diva reviewing not a wine from her home state but the always dependable Gruet Winery non-vintage blanc de noirs ($15).

Alleigh from A Glass After Work was the second to blog a sparkler from Gruet Winery, their non-vintage Brut ($14). From her review it looks like this will not be the last bottle from this reliable New Mexico producer.

Wine Blogging Wednesday founder Lenn Thompson from New York Cork Report was next with a review of Happy Bitch Wines “Happy Bitch” NV Rose ($12.50). This wine is a blend of 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay from the Finger Lakes region of New York with a bit of sparkle added.

Next to post was Xandria from the BrixChicks blog, the first of three there (thanks Ladies!). She selected a Jean-Louis Denois Brut “Tradition” ($15) from France’s Languedoc. From her review, this K&L exclusive seems like a no-brainer for Bay Area or online value seekers.

The first multi-bottle entry was next from Ben at Colorado Wine Press. First of the three wines tasted was Gruet Winery Brut Rosé ($15) which was preferred over the others. Next up was Trevisiol Prosecco, Extra Dry which didn’t impress. The final wine as Domaine Chandon, Brut Classic which fared better than the Prosecco but didn’t measure up to the New Mexico sparkler.

Girl Meets Glass was next with Fleuraison Blanc de Blancs ($12). Made from Spanish base wine, it is trucked north to the Languedoc where secondary fermentation and bottling takes place. The resulting wine is delicate and might be best used for sparkling wine cocktails.

Next was Bob at 2001 Bottles – A Wine Odyssey who posted a lengthy article covering the non-vintage Evans & Tate “Zamphire” ($21) from Australia and 8th Generation “Confidence” 2010 ($22.50) from Canada’s British Columbia province. While both wines used the bulk process to add the bubbles, BC’s Confidence proved the winner in the flavor department.

Lisa from Wine Muse was next with Pizzini Brachetto 2010 ($17) a Muscato-like sparkler made from the Brachetto grape in the state of Victoria in Australia. The off-dry frizzante-style rose was a hit.

Liza from BrixChicks posted a review of the reliable Napa Valley sparkling wine from Mumm, their Napa Cuvee M ($18). The wine is another winner from this respected Champagne house who has been making sparkling wine in California for 26 years.

Thea from Luscious Lushes was next with a trio of sparklers from California and New Zealand. First up was Trader Joe’s non-vintage North Coast Sparkling Wine ($10) which sounded pretty nice for the price. Next she reviewed the reliable sparking standby from Roederer Estate ($17). And finally tasted Quartz Reef Method Traditionalle NV ($22) from New Zealand. Going for extra credit, Thea blogs another 3 wines in the honorable mention category from Mumm Napa ($15), Gruet ($14) and Gloria Ferrer ($16).

My post was next with another Trader Joe’s exclusive their Albero Brut Cava ($8) which I though was a good crowd pleaser for any celebration.

Shannon from Grape Occasions reviewed the trendy Villa Jolanda Moscato Rosé ($10) and was pleasantly surprised by the off-dry sparkler.

Posting next was Michael from Undertaking Wine with a Long Island selection, the Palmer Vineyards non-vintage Special Reserve Brut ($20). And from his review it sounds like another good option for New Yorkers.

The final post of the night was a blow-out by BrixChicks Liza and Heidi who hosted a tasting of 10 sparkling wines. The standouts where the non-vintage Gruet Blanc de Noirs ($14), non-vintage Piper Hiedsieck Champagne Brut ($15) and 2008 Taltarni “Taché” ($20) but check out their entire post for some entertaining tasting notes including aromas reminiscent of Bath and Body Works.

Posting on Wine Blogging Thursday was Gwendolyn from Wine Predator with pairings of 4 wines with various dishes. Although all the wines seemed to work with their dishes, the Trader Joe’s Blason du Bourgogne Brut Rose, Cremant de Bourgogne ($12) seemed like best wine of the quartet.

Update (I missed a post): The Wine Compass blog posted a review of Yellow Tail Bubbles ($10) which was deemed a good value.

So that concludes the seventy-fourth edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday. Overall, 19 bloggers tasted 39 wines from 8 countries. With only a few repeats there are over 30 solid choices for everyday sparkling wine.

Next month look for Joe from 1WineDude to take Wine Blogging Wednesday in a totally different direction which he will announce early next week.

WBW 74 by the numbers

Bloggers: 19
Wines Tasted: 39
Countries Represented: 8
Least Expensive: $8 – Albero Brut Cava
Most Expensive: $22.50 – 8th Generation “Confidence” 2010

WBW 74 Wrap-up: 39 Sparkling Values originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

There was a news item last week that got me started on a long-ish post about who really determines wine styles; critics, winemakers or consumers. Long post short, I think ultimately consumers determine wine styles but it takes a bit of time for the industry to respond.

That’s what makes this Decanter story so interesting. Not only do consumers in the U.S. and Europe prefer lower alcohol wines but in China, “…91% of drinkers saying their desired level would be 8.5-10.5% by volume.”

There is no doubt China will play a very large role in the international wine trade and their influence is already noticeable in some sectors. Will this lead to lower alcohol wines? I think it will.

• 
• Source: Decanter

The alcohol content of wine is the major priority of wine drinkers across three continents, new research shows. In research commissioned by German wine trade fair Prowein, analysts Wine Intelligence canvassed 1000 regular wine drinkers in the US, China, Germany and the UK.

Read more at: www.decanter.com

Will China’s Influence Lead To Lower Alcohol Wines? originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Sparkling wine is thought of by most American’s as a luxury to be consumed on special occasions like weddings, graduations and New Year’s eve parties. And that’s a shame since sparkling wine is so versatile at the table, pairing with a wide variety of food, made all over the world and available at every price point. Perhaps it’s just too difficult for most wine consumers to get their heads around this wine as the best examples tend to be delicate and acidic with yeasty minerality that takes some getting used to. But the rewards are worth the effort to really get to know, and love, sparkling wine as it brightens up even the most challenging day.

This is the 5th time I’ve hosted Wine Blogging Wednesday and I’d like to write my theme was calculated to take advantage of the bubbly consumed yesterday for Valentine’s Day. It actually had more to do with my desire to find some new values in sparkling wine to enjoy this spring and summer where I intend to drink (and blog) a bottle each week. I chose the $25 price point to keep the wine selections inclusive of the entire world knowing this might be a challenge, but doable, even in Champagne. But it was the under $10 price point that most interested me since this means “everyday” to most of us.

So my search took me to Trader Joe’s, the value grocery store that has a reputation as a decent place to find wine values. While TJ’s might not deliver great wine values since they became the house of Two Buck Chuck, their sparking wine selection is still pretty solid. So after looking at their Crement de Bourgogne choices I have had, and enjoyed before, I picked up a Cava for just $7.99 as my choice tonight.

Albero Brut Cava ($8) is an exclusive of Trader Joe’s here in the U.S. made by Bogedas Iranzo, the oldest Spanish winery dating back some 677 years. Before you think Christoper Columbus drank sparkling wine from this estate, a quick aside to the history of bubbly.

Although wine with bubbles has existed since antiquity as a by-product of fermentation, it was only until glass blowing technology could withstand the pressure in the bottle before this style really emerged. Counter to the legend that this wine emerged in Champagne from the cellar of monk Dom Pérignon, sparkling wine was actually first made on purpose in Italy in 1622. But it was glass blowing technology developed in England in 1662 that made this country the true founder of sparkling wine almost 80 years before Dom Pérignon first drank “stars”.

Cava is the name given to sparkling wine made in Spain. It mostly comes from the Penedès region in Catalonia, just south of Barcelona. Like in Champagne only certain grapes are allowed in Cava but until recently these have only been native Spanish varieties. Keeping it old school, the Albero Brut Cava is a blend of Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo.

The wine is golden straw color with a medium bead of fine bubbles that dissipate quickly in the glass. It has green apple, stone and baking bread aromas. Bright apple and citrus flavors finishing dry with hint of minerality and nice acidity on the finish. A nice crowd pleasing sparkler at a good price.

11.5% ABV
Natural cork closure
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Thanks go to Wine Blogging Wednesday founder Lenn Thompson for asking me to host again. I’m looking forward to next month already.

WBW 74: Value Sparkling Wine originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.