Wine News Review

Category: Feature Story

  • Weekend wine bargains: from a “luxurious burger wine” to some must-try Ports

    Comparing the picks: A survey of recent selections from popular wine experts, spotlighting bargains and best values.

    2006 Obikwa Sauvignon Blanc Stellenbosch, South Africa:
    Natalie MacLean — a “vibrant, refreshing” wine with aromas of lime, gooseberry and grapefruit. “An excellent value.” $9.15

    2004 R Collection Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley:
    Jerry Shriver — “full-bodied yet drinkable, the oak is present but not dominant … a luxurious burger wine.” $19

    Delta Vineyards, Delta Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Marlborough:
    Jancis Robinson — “a very attractive combination of distinctive, top-quality, ripe Marlborough fruit and a gentle subtlety that almost hid an underlying minerality and elegant persistence.” £9.99

    1986 Delaforce Colheita Tawny Porto:
    Lynne Char Bennett — somewhat above the famed Wine News Review fairly frugal affordability index, but you get what you pay for: “almost Madeira-like nose is lifted with the perfume of white flowers … with perfect texture and balance.” $33

    Cockburn’s Ten Year Old Tawny Port:
    Jay McInerney — speaking of Ports, here’s a “great way to end a meal or a night,” and  “if you’re thinking of a chocolate dessert, this might be a good accompaniment.” $26.99

    Mastroberardino’s Greco di Tufo “NovaSerra”:
    Edward Deitch — “elegant and sophisticated” with “beautiful fruit.” It’s “light enough for casual sipping while far more distinctive and complex than many more familiar whites.” Interesting enough. $24

    Tip: Print out this list and bring it to you local wine shop — even if a specific favorite isn’t available, ask the salesperson to recommend something similar. Or try browsing the latest wine reports from this custom collection of hundreds of news websites — filtered for bargains, continuously updated, and quick and easy to scan:

    • Reds (from Beaujolais to Zinfandel)
    • Whites (from Chablis to Sauvignon Blanc)
    • Organic (red, white, in between)

    To hit closer to home, try WNR’s Smarter Wine Search tool and see what wine finds local columnists and wine experts may be writing about in your area. Once there, just type in your city and state (within quotation marks, as in, “Napa, California”), to get results ranked by relevance.

    Or dig into some perennial standbys at SFGate.com’s Top 100 Wines of 2006, the Top 100 of 2006 list (PDF download) from Wine Spectator and the list of 50 Wines You Can Always Trust from Food & Wine.

    Attracted to a bottle that’s advertised in the local paper or sitting on the local wine store shelf?

    Do a little background research with Wine Enthusiast’s free, searchable Wine Buying Guide — either with a specific name or by types and price. For a little extra info, try Robert Parker’s handy Vintage Chart. Or see what the online wine community says about it with the search tools at cork’d, snooth or Wine Log.

    Once you’ve selected the wine, you naturally want to decide what to eat with it. For some savvy guidance, try Natalie MacLean’s Wine & Food Matcher, which boasts a database of 360,000 wine-food pairings.

    The Web is about community. So take a moment to comment about your experience with a particular wine — to help steer others to or away from it. And of course, have a great weekend!

  • Wine ratings illustrate that we live in an ‘impatient age,’ but wine can set us free

    There is a pure pleasure that comes from wine.

    Something elemental.

    Essential.

    A delight that transcends the nomenclature of ratings that the wine-powers-that-be may have ascribed to a particular bottle.

    Ninety-something this or eighty-something that — what does it really mean?

    It means, according to Tom Wark at the Fermentation blog, that we are an “impatient age.”

    A “very” impatient age, as British wine diva Jancis Robinson is aptly quoted as saying: “Wine doesn’t submit very happily to scores, but I realize people making buying decisions are in a hurry … We live in a very impatient age.”

    Wark gives us some serious pause, and not only in the sphere of wine, as he explores the implications of someone with the eminence of Robinson succumbing (though “reluctantly”) to the numerical prerequisites of scores, at least on her website. Wark asks:

    Why are we all so impatient that we would devour numbers describing wine, rather than words; that we would devour crispy nuggets rather than appreciate the aroma that wafts out of an oven that slowly roasts a squab? Is time that short? Is there so much to do with work and kids and friends and the house and soccer practice and meetings and blogs that just getting a chance to run down the numbers in the latest magazine or deciding whether its spicy mustard or ranch sauce is enough to satisfy us?

    Wark’s article is a really nice read. With a glass of wine. If you have the time.

  • Web sips: New and notable wine headlines, topped off by a Top 100 list

    Top 100 Wines
    The San Francisco Chronicle serves up a keeper. The list spotlights a wide range of reds and whites, with bubblies and dessert wines thrown in for good measure. Print this one out.

    Raising a Glass to (Almost) Organic Wine
    Deciding on whether to go with a red or white gets a little more complicated. “Now the question is whether the wine should also be green.”

    With wine database, you’re not alone
    Speaking of wine selection, here’s a technology (and a pretty pricey one at that) that tries to come to the rescue of hapless wine buyers. If you’re willing to scan.

    Students Pop the Cork at Wine Tasting
    A Harvard education offers new benefits with a four-hour course covering 21 wines.

    Thirsty for more news? Follow up by digging into continuously updated feeds from national and international news outlets: The focus is on red, white and organic wine bargains.

  • Need help picking a Thanksgiving wine? These top experts make it easy

    You haven’t yet decided what Thanksgiving wine to serve. Or you’re unsure about the selections you’ve made. And time is short.

    The anxiety!

    At The Washington Post, wine writers Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg know full well the pressures we’re under choosing wines for this annual feast.

    “Even avid wine lovers can be struck with a temporary case of oenophobia — fear of wine — around Thanksgiving,” they say, with the wisdom of being award-winning wine authors. “The prospect of choosing a bottle that will please all of your guests and complement all of your dishes can perplex the most confident holiday host.”

    But don’t despair. There’s a rich bounty of tips and picks across the Web, just waiting to be harvested.

    Page and Dornenburg, for example, serve up a batch of ideas “to help calm any oenophobic tendencies.”

    Among their several selections, a couple that caught my eye were the Australian sparkling Shiraz “bursting with berries and bubbles” and the Napa Valley Merlot that’s sure to come alive “with impressive blackberry and tart cherry flavors.”

    Meanwhile, at epicurious, Natalie MacLean follows up on her earlier suggestions for Thanksgiving pairings with a list of “10 Top Thanksgiving Wines,” ranging from a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and a German Riesling to a French Pinot Noir and an Italian Valpolicella.

    All chosen because they’re “generous, juicy, fruit-forward wines that will both moisten the turkey and complement many of the side dishes on the table.”

    Several full Thanksgiving menus accompany wine selections at Bon Appétit, leaving little guesswork about what goes along with everything from a country-style menu to a vegetarian feast.

    For example, the Prosper Maufoux 2005 Beaujolais, Burgundy, a “food-friendly” wine boasting “plum and cherry flavors” seems a nicely priced country crowd-pleaser at $12.

    Even Martha Stewart has some advice — a pocketbook-pleasing tidbit from bygone years: “Mid-priced is best. It’s not necessary to splurge on wine for Thanksgiving. That’s because the traditional menu has a lot of sweet elements, such as cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes, that aren’t flattering to complex and subtle wine. A well-made wine with more straightforward character will likely taste better.”

    And the best advice of all comes from Page and Dornenburg: “After all is said and done, don’t sweat it. Thanksgiving ultimately is not about the wine, but about being grateful for the love of those you’re with.”

    Let’s drink to that.

  • Weekend wine bargains: Thanksgiving edition, experts pick reds and whites

    Comparing the picks: A special survey of Thanksgiving selections from popular wine experts and publications.

    The spotlight in on bargains and best values ranging from an Italian bubbly to an “Old Vines” Beaujolais (with a couple California favorites to boot).

     

    2006 Chardonnay, Justin Vineyards & Winery, Calif. Between $15 and $20
    2006 Beaujolais “Old Vines” Jean-Paul Brun, France $14
    Edward Deitch — Both red and white wines pair well with a Thanksgiving feast. “But which reds and which whites? That’s a somewhat tougher question…” This two-part series examines both, including the two picks listed here and several others in the linked stories: Part 1, whites. Part 2, reds.

    Bisol 2005 Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Crede Brut, Italy
    Dr. Vino — A bubbly for starters. This dry Prosecco has been a sure hit at Dr. Vino’s wine classes. Along with other selections as the meal progresses. $15

    Rodney Strong Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2001, Sonoma County, Calif.
    Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher — The two Wall Street Journal wine writers serve up some favorites for the CBS News Saturday Early Show. $13

    2004 or 2005 Zind Humbrecht Pinot d’Alsace, France
    The Dallas Morning News — This Thanksgiving wine-tasting panel’s favorite … “rich and slightly honeyed, with intriguing spice notes.” One of several listed. $14

    Tip: Print out this list and bring it to you local wine shop — even if a specific favorite isn’t available, ask the salesperson to recommend something similar. Or try browsing the latest wine reports from this custom collection of hundreds of news websites — filtered for bargains, continuously updated, and quick and easy to scan:

    • Reds (from Beaujolais to Zinfandel)
    • Whites (from Chablis to Sauvignon Blanc)
    • Organic (red, white, in between)

    To hit closer to home, try WNR’s Advanced Wine Search tool and see what wine finds local columnists and wine experts may be writing about in your area. Once there, just type in your city and state (within quotation marks, as in, “Napa, California”), to get results ranked by relevance.

    Or dig into some perennial standbys at SFGate.com’s Top 100 Wines of 2006, the Top 100 of 2006 list (PDF download) from Wine Spectator and the list of 50 Wines You Can Always Trust from Food & Wine.

    Attracted to a bottle that’s advertised in the local paper or sitting on the local wine store shelf?

    Do a little background research with Wine Enthusiast’s free, searchable Wine Buying Guide—either with a specific name or by types and price. For a little extra info, try Robert Parker’s handy Vintage Chart. Or see what the online wine community says about it with the search tools at cork’d, snooth or Wine Log.

    Once you’ve selected the wine, you naturally want to decide what to eat with it. For some savvy guidance, try Natalie MacLean’s Wine & Food Matcher, which boasts a database of 360,000 wine-food pairings.

    The Web is about community. So take a moment to comment about your experience with a particular wine — to help steer others to or away from it. And of course, have a great weekend!