Tag Archives: Tastings

Bargain wines big winners in a new book whose testers tried 6,000 glasses of wine

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On a lark, I’ve been know to select a wine by the welcoming contour of the bottle in my hand.

Or when a fantastic label design meets my eye.

Sometimes I like what I get.

Sometimes not.

But the point is, after tasting, I know what I like.

Or so I think.

When the wine stars align in a particular way and I decide to splurge on the product of some otherwise fiscally forbidding region of France or Italy, does the price help make up my mind about its likeableness a bit?

Am I sometimes duped by a particular vineyard’s celebrity status into discerning a deliciousness I could have more affordably found in Two-Buck Chuck?

Several recent articles (including at The New York Times and Newsweek) explore the labyrinthine psychology of wine appreciation.

They come in the wake of a new book, The Wine Trials, that boasts of uncovering “100 wines under $15 that outscored $50-$150 wines in brown-bag blind tastings.”

Those results are based on tastings of more than 6,000 glasses of wine by 500 wine experts and everyday wine drinkers, according to the book publisher. Press kit examples:

  • Two-thirds of tasters preferred a $12 Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut, a Washington State sparkling wine, to a $150 Dom Pérignon Champagne; a six-dollar Vinho Verde from Portugal beat out a $40 California Chardonnay and a $50 1er Cru white Burgundy.

Other picks from the book:

  • Aveleda Vinho Verde, Portugal, $6
  • La Vieille Ferme Rouge, Perrin & Fils, France, $8
  • Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand, $13

These findings shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to alert readers of Wine News Review, home of the aptly named fairly frugal affordability index.

As I say in the About page concerning the guiding principle of this blog: “Even some of the world’s top experts acknowledge, wine doesn’t have to be pricey to be good.”

Scientists, too, have chimed in.

A California Institute of Technology study earlier this year — plumbing the exotic field of neuroeconomics, the subconscious appeal of expensive stuff — found that people report a greater enjoyment of wine if they think it costs more.

Turns out, that’s no big surprise either, in wine circles, at least, according to this Times Online article:

Rupert Wollheim, a master of wine who runs ripegrapes.co.uk, an online wine retailer, said that the response described by [the study] was well known in the wine business.

He said: ‘Price is just one of the elements, but if you served the same wine in better glasses or a grander environment, that would also make people think the very same wine was better.’

USA TODAY‘s Jerry Shriver decided to put the tester to the test. He tried 10 wines blind. And then he tried the same wines with the labels visible.

Interestingly, he discovered that his top three favorite wines were the same from both tastings (including this affordable pick: 2007 Georges Duboeuf Clos des Quatre Vents, Fleurie, Beaujolais, France, about $12).

Which reminds me of an observation in one of my previous postings: Just as Duke Ellington opined about the quality of music (“If it sounds good, it is good”), the same could also be said about wine.

If it tastes good, it is good.

Even if it’s inexpensive!

Want to find a perfectly priced bottle of wine? Give the Smarter Wine Search a try.

New and notable wine headlines, including tales of ‘juiced’ wine tourists

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Handpicked wine stories from across the Web…

Getting juiced at wine tastings
“California vintners aim to cork the problem of limos and tour buses bringing partyers to their venues.”

Australian wines sell for $130,000
Barossa Valley Ares Shiraz, Aphrodite Cabernet Sauvignon and Aerope Grenache — that’s right, just three bottles — from Australia’s Two Hands Wines.

Two-Buck Chuck ain’t that bad
Another wine reviewer discovers an age-old truth, and serves up a little backgrounder on the Charles Shaw legend.

More on the Befuddlement of Liquor Laws
In case you didn’t get the message from the earlier, aptly named ‘Befuddlement of Liquor Laws’ story.

Drink No Wine Before IT’S Time
Reflections on encountering old friends, late-night rituals and selecting the right wine at the right time.

Sure, Screw Caps Are Fine—But on My Wines?
“Am I a dinosaur? Should I be on the lookout for tar pits? Anyone? Anyone?”

Why Do Wines Go On Sale?
Finally, somebody asks. And somebody answers.

Thirsty for more news? Follow up by digging into continuously updated feeds from national and international news outlets:

  • 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 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.

The ultimate guide to holiday wines, featuring top bargains from top experts

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Holidays were made for wine. Or is it the other way ’round?

One thing we can all agree on, though, is that picking the right wine during this festive season is essential.

You need to come up with a wine that pairs well with the food being served, that doesn’t cost more than you care to spend and that delivers the kind of flavors you favor. And perhaps most important of all, stands the test of that irksome relative or dinner guest who presumes to be a wine expert.

Unless you’re in the habit of bringing along an indentured sommelier when you visit a wine shop, you may find yourself pounding the aisles in a ferment, so to speak, trying to divine the astrology of bottle shapes and label artistry.

No need.

All the wine stars are on the Web, and I’m here to point a few of them out, with a constellation of recommendations and top-wine lists to light your way.

The trick is to do a little homework before going shopping. Jot down the names of bottles that interest you. Or better still, make some printouts. If your local shop doesn’t have a specific wine, ask for something similar.

Let’s start off with an amazing competition held by the Beverage Testing Institute. More than  400 international and domestic wines were tasted blind by sommeliers and retailers to come up with bargain winners in the aptly named 2007 World Value Wine Challenge.

Categories ranged from under $8, $10 and under, $15 and under and $20 and under, along with some exceptional value and special award winners. Everything from whites and reds to rosé and dessert wines.

“These wines will hold their own with wines two and three times the price … choices for holiday parties and gifts; seek them out and save your money for other holiday treats,” say the wise men and women of the Institute.

Next, let’s head over to Food & Wine, where the Holiday Wine Survival Guide: Ideal Party Wines serves up several very affordable picks ($10-$12).

At The Wall Street Journal, Dorothy J. Gaiter And John Brecher decant their Top Wine Bargains of 2007:

The world right now is awash in wine as country after country, from Austria to Uruguay, improves its winemaking and seeks to compete in the international marketplace.

We went back over our blind tastings for 2007 to see how many wines that cost $10.99 or less rated Very Good or better. There were nine.

If all these bargains don’t tempt you, you’ll find some higher-end selections at Wine Spectator, including Sauternes, Ports and exquisite-sounding sparkling varieties, along with suggestions for a buffet menu to accompany them.

if you’re up for some even pricier numbers for your celebrations, two favorite reviewers, Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg at The Washington Post, serve up Just the Stuff for Roasts and Reveling. Most of the picks are $40 and up, although there a couple in the $20s.

As Page and Dornenburg say, “It’s the perfect time to raise a toast to the roast — and to splurge a little.” In other words, this is the season to perhaps let the Wine News Review fairly frugal affordability index hibernate.

But whatever you do, treat your wine with loving care, Page and Dornenburg advise:

The medium- to full-bodied wines that grace your table this season need time to breathe before being served. Some of the reds we recommend this week benefited from being open for 40 minutes or more. Pour the wine into a decanter or, if you don’t have one, into wineglasses to expose more of the wine to air, which will help to open up and round out its flavors.

Happy holidays!

For some camaraderie with that salmon, head to a local wine bar

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Wine is good. Wine with food is even better. And the best place to enjoy both may not be the usual restaurant setting but your local wine bar.

Case in point: the Idylwood Grill and Wine Bar, tucked away in a suburban Washington, D.C., strip mall that gives a newcomer little hint of the feast that awaits inside.

Hedi Ben-Abdallah toasts patrons at his Idylwood Grill and Wine Bar. By Denny Gainer
Hedi Ben-Abdallah toasts patrons at his Idylwood Grill and Wine Bar.
Photo by Denny Gainer

A few friends and I recently paid a visit there to sample the wines (the list offers 108 choices, many by the glass) and discovered a gem of a place where fine food, delicious wines and camaraderie embrace. 

If you have the impression that food might just be an afterthought at an eatery that bills itself as a wine bar, you’ve obviously never tasted Idylwood’s exquisite grilled salmon with hearts of artichoke, gnocchi and pesto sauce.

Then there’s the atmosphere. A good wine bar is designed to delight the wine-aficionado’s eye as well as the palate. The Idlywood’s warm Mediterranean decor with its ubiquitous wine racks, for example, enhances the pleasure of whatever vintage you’re sipping.

Most important perhaps is the appreciation you gain for a particular wine when it’s not served by someone whom you think merely read a blurb about it somewhere but instead, like Idlywood partners Hedi Ben-Abdallah and Marco Escudero, can rattle off multiple reasons why they’re recommending it, including the characteristics of soil and climate that impart a special flavor or aroma. As our discussion got more spirited, they even joined in the conversation and tasting, uncorking a couple of their own favorites.

Which brings me to another point—one other appealing advantage of a wine bar is that it seems to promote highly creative conversations about the wine you’re drinking.

As it did with the member of our group who described three Pinot Noirs as having the qualities of different types of lovers. To him, a Les Jamelles 2005 from France’s Côte d’Or was a “one night stand” and a Jezebal 2006 from Oregon was “easy to get comfortable with,” but the Argentine Luigi Bosca Reserva 2005 “takes you places” that reveal why one has a lover in the first place.

For me, either one would have made a yummy complement to the salmon. Whether it was the power of my friend’s suggestion or the wine’s velvety smoothness, my favorite turned out to be the Luigi Bosca, too.

Another companion, on the other hand, raved about the Les Jamelles’ “complex and elegant” fruit tones and noted that the aromas improved ever so nicely the more it breathed. Then, getting with the program, he added: “Not a woman of mystery—playful.” 

At a hotel restaurant, by comparison, chances are the discussion would probably have included an appreciative nod to the wine (sadly, picked from a list with far fewer selections) but dwelt mostly on such relatively mundane topics as one’s 401K, some sports team’s woes or the latest home improvement project.

Thanks to the Web, it’s fairly easy to explore the terroir, so to speak, of wine bars in your area. As a first step, this blog’s custom map provides a user-friendly way to pin down local establishments. Other helpful sources for reviews are Yelp and the wine forum at Chowhound.

Give a wine bar a try next time you’re in a dining-out mood. Not all wine bars are created equal. But you might get lucky and find a fun-and-festive equivalent of Idylwood in your neighborhood. 

As for vinothekid, this may be my first wine bar visit blogging for Wine News Review, but it definitely won’t be the last. And how about you? If you’ve found a wine bar you like, share it by posting a comment below.

Intrepid wine blogger goes to ‘school’

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Total Wine Tasting TableWriting a wine blog, of course, requires drinking wine. Not necessarily in large quantities, but enough to learn more and more about the varieties that different wine-growing regions produce, their distinguishing features, and how to enhance your enjoyment of them.

Saturdays have now become a school day for me, thanks to the local Total Wine & More shop, part of a group of wine superstores in seven states that boast about 8,000 types of wines on their shelves. I visited the one near me for a public “Tasting Table” to try some of them out.

I’m picturing this as a kind of virtual university, if they keep letting me back. And the best part is there’s no tuition and no pre-enrollment exam. Believe it or not, you merely have to walk through the door to be treated to a half-dozen or more free selections, a refreshing oasis away from the weekend lawn-mowing, shopping, cleaning, etc., even though it’s only a couple small swallows per selection.

Each week features a different theme. This time it was German and Austrian picks, which appeared to be hits with the several customers of various ages who formed a very convivial sort of classroom around the wine table.

My favorite was the Winzer Krems Gruner Veltliner, (2005; $13.99) a highly popular Austrian white with a citrus-laced freshness that’s surprisingly dry if you’re expecting a Riesling kind of response. Makes you think about cooking up a Wiener schnitzel just for the occasion.

As a bonus, not only are the drinks free but so, too, is a 443-page store-branded “Guide to Wine” that helps you dig into the background of the bottles you like.

You learn, for example, that Austrian whites have become the “darlings” of Manhattan’s best restaurants lately, converting loyal Chardonnay drinkers with their bracing elegance and intoxicating finishes.

And then you find this description that seems to have been the notes from a mind-reading session about what you just drank: “Big but never heavy, forceful but not overbearing, they are like drinking liquid crystal.”

The guide helps your appreciation further with a section on Enhancing Your Enjoyment, offering some down-to-earth guidelines to judge a wine through such factors as color, aroma and flavor intensity. And it’s clearly aimed at non-snobs, as illustrated by this tidbit:

“The prevailing myth that one must dedicate his or her life to ardent study of wine prior to being allowed an opinion on matters of taste and evaluation of wines is simply not true. It is not necessary to spend years in a dank cellar, hunched over vintage charts, studying the fermentation process by candlelight while possessing an encyclopedic knowledge of every wine producer in the world in order to participate in a conversation about wine.”

Amen.

Regrettably, the guidebook doesn’t appear to be available on the Total Wine website. (I’d link to it if it were.)

But as the spirit of that book would proclaim, you don’t have to be an expert, or a blogger, for that matter, to take advantage of wine tastings, even if there’s no superstore nearby. Many more-modest wine shops welcome in patrons for samplings.

John Adlum ChardonnayDuring a recent vacation in Chincoteague, VA, that I blogged in a previous article, I dropped by the mom-and-popish Wine Cheese and More shop for a tasting hosted by the Williamsburg Winery (you may be pleasantly greeted with some classical music if you click on the site).

Four wines were featured there, with my pet being the John Adlum Chardonnay (2005; $13.99). It had a clean, pleasant hint of grapefruit and a feel of French oak in the finish, though I had a hard time sensing the touch of hay that the store’s proprietor detected. Wine Spectator, reviewing the 2004 vintage, gave it an 86 rating and called it, “Clean, with modest toast giving way to fresh apple and melon hints. Nice, crisp finish.”

Check out the usual directories or local newspapers to find a wine shop near you that throws tastings. Or try out my own Google-powered map, designed expressly to help locate neighborhood wine bars and shops anywhere in the country.

My other homegrown tool, what I call All-In-One Wine Search, serves up the latest reports about wine bars and tastings from leading news sites and blogs. You can also type “festival” in the search box, along with your location, to scope out possible wine festivals in your area.

And remember, non-experts are more than welcomed at these things. Hey, this is only my second posting and I already feel like a grad student.