Pennywise Chardonnay

Hello Wine Lovers!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there! To all you do, let's tip a glass of Champagne to them! When you think about motherhood is there anything on this great big beautiful earth that is more important? I can't think of anything! Everyday should be Mother's Day! Call your Mother!

Today's entry, Pennywise Chardonnay is available for, steady... $7.99 a bottle at Wind Discount Center! Not too long ago I reviewed their Pinot Noir which was also very good. This wine you will find aromas of honeysuckle, fresh orchard peaches and jasmine. It has a complex finish for a wine of this price point with a touch of French oak.It is a blend of Chardonnay, Viognier and Chennin Blanc. Pair this wine with grilled salmon over mango salsa, jasmine rice and bok choy. It would also go nicely with a cold shrimp salad with tropical fruits. A nice wine for all the Mother's!

Cheers!

J

Hello Wine Lovers! After writing my last entry about wine fraud and such it got me to think about wine tasting in general. I asked myself if a wine's cost and status help determine what it tastes like? But before I get into all that (you know how sometimes I can get wordy) today's wine pick is a easy to find Chardonnay from Sonoma County, Chateau St Jean. Available at Binny's for $9.99 and worth every penny! You will find this wine to be a classic Sonoma County Chardonnay, meaning it displays bright aromas of lemon and notes of toasted hazelnut. This wine has a subtle elegance with a nice, soft, lingering finish. With warm weather just around the corner, this is a perfect patio wine! Now this is where I get wordy... does a $90 bottle of wine taste better than a $10 bottle of wine? One would think the answer would be a big fat YES! In many cases, I believe it is the expectation, and not the wine itself. In other words, the marketing for a particular wine, or it's reputation, force you to think it tastes better! I have hosted many a dinner party where I served the wine in brown bags and was quite (or should I say pleasantly) surprised with the outcome. Let's talk about a Champagne that I am sure you are all familiar with, Dom Perignon. It sells for, let's say $150 in round numbers. Another I'm quite sure you are also familiar with is Domaine Ste Michelle, a Sparkling wine from Washington State that sells for around $12. Now, this is where it gets interesting. According to the book The Wine Trials, 41 out 62 tasters, in a blind tasting, preferred the Ste Michelle! Does this mean you are wasting your $138 on the Dom? When you think about it in these terms, yes! Marketing has become what the old winemaker used to be. The winemaker would make his/her wines to express what the vineyard had given them, tell you straight up, price it fairly, and sell it to the public. Now, in my opinion, the new "winemaker" is the marketing department. Make the wine any old way and we will sell the public on a "lifestyle" add a sexy woman to the ad, show celebrities drinking the wine, and charge higher prices so the public will think they must have it! When a wine company spends more on marketing than making the wine, in the long run, the consumer will lose! The moral of the story, drink what you like, buy what you can afford, but be true to your taste, not your ego! Cheers! J

Wine Fraud

Hello Wine Lovers!
A dear friend called me this week and after taking care of business he stated he heard on the radio an article relating to wine fraud in restaurants. He suggested I write my weekly blog about this growing phenomenon and after a little thought... here it is!Wikipedia defines wine fraud as a form of fraud in which wines are sold to a customer illicitly, usually having the customer spend more money than the product is worth, or causing sickness due to harmful chemicals being mixed into the wine. As wine is technically defined as the product of fermented grape juice, the term "wine fraud" can be used to describe the adulteration of wine by substances that are not related to grapes. This can refer to the use of coloring agents such as elderberry juice, or flavorings such as cinnamon and ginger. While some varieties of wine can naturally have deep, dark color and flavor notes of spices due to the presence of various phenolic compounds found in the skin of the grapes, the use of additives in order to artificially create these characteristics is generally frowned upon in the wine world. In recent years, much attention has been focused on the label fraud, where counterfeit labels from cult wines and other rare and expensive wines are affixed to bottles of less expensive wine and then resold. Wine fraud can involve less expensive wines if they are sold in large volumes. Wine Spectator noted that some experts suspect that as much as 5% of the wine sold in secondary markets could be counterfeit. There has been a good number of books written on wine fraud and my favorite is Billionaire's Vinegar about the Thomas Jefferson bottles. But most of the so called :wine fraud" is centered around collector wines and not everyday wines you purchase at the store or your local watering hole or restaurant. There has been some talk of certain restaurateurs putting inexpensive wines in more expensive bottles and re-corking them... or adding wine to a 1/2 full bottle. When served a wine, or you open one at home, look at the cork. More and more producers are using corks with labels because it is harder to "fake" a cork. The bottom line is this, as with everything, there seems to always be someone that has to come along and start a revolution of theft and fraud and the wine industry is no exception. I'm quite sure this will grow in the US to more and more everyday wines! Purchase from a reputable shop and buy from the same shop as much as possible so you build a relationship with them. If you do feel you have purchased a fraudulent wine and you have a good relationship with the shop, I'm quite sure they will stand up and do the right thing.
Books on fraud:“The Winemasters” by Nicholas Faith (1978), a terrific history of a Bordeaux wine trade. That was followed by “Wine Scandal” by Fritz Hallgarten (1986), “Wine Snobbery,” by Andrew Barr (1988), and “Is This the Wine You Ordered, Sir?” by Christopher Fielden (1989). Each book refers to various scandals in all areas of the wine trade.
Cheers!
J

Lagar de Robla Premium 2008

Hello Wine Lovers!
Let's talk Spain! There are more and more great value wines coming out of Spain than you can shake a stick at! These wines are food friendly, complex, fun, well made, easy to find and easy on the pocket book! Spain has over 2.9 million acres planted—making it the most widely planted wine producing nation, but it is the third largest producer of wine in the world, the largest being France followed by Italy. This is due, in part, to the very low yields and wide spacing of the old vines planted on the dry, infertile soil found in many Spanish wine regions. The country is ninth in worldwide consumptions with Spaniards drinking, on average, 10.06 gallons (38 liters) a year. The country has an abundance of native grape varieties, with over 400 varieties planted throughout Spain though 80 percent of the country's wine production is from only 20 grapes—including Tempranillo, Albariño, Garnacha, Palomino, Airen, Macabeo, Parellada, Xarel·lo, Cariñena and Monastrell. In Spain, winemakers often use the Spanish word elaborar (to elaborate) rather than fabricar (to produce/make) when describing the Spanish winemaking philosophy. This relates to the view that the winemaker acts as more of a nurturer of the grapes and wine rather than as a producer.
Now that's out of the way... the wine for today is Lagar de Robla Premium 2008. The first thing you will notice when you pour this into your glass is the beautiful, dark color, almost black. This is a relatively unknown, Mencia is the grape, and it is thought to be a relative of Cabernet Franc. It shows red berry fruits, pepper notes, medium soft tannins and a nice smooth finish. Really a great wine for the $9.99 you will shell out for this beauty at the Wine Discount Center. Buy this and impress your friends!
Cheers!
J

Segura Viudas Cava

Hello Wine Lovers!

It is a Sunday, and to me that is always a day to have at least one glass of sparkling wine! A day of rest and relaxation, to reflect, to enjoy, to stop and smell the roses! Why champagne you ask? Pour a glass of sparkling wine into a flute and watch the bubbles rise to the top... and if that alone doesn't tell you, then call me crazy. Champagne tickles your tongue and your taste buds. It makes you feel happy just looking at it. Think how many times you lift a glass of champagne to toast or celebrate something special. Birthday, wedding (I have one coming up, my daughter is getting married soon), anniversary, new job, new baby, the list goes on and on! Which brings me back to Sunday, a celebration of the week at end!

Today's choice is a Cava from Spain, Segura Viudas Brut. A classic wine with notes of apple and citrus with a mouthful of complexity for a wine at this price point. It was rated 19 out of 100 "Best Buys". "Segura Viudas’ entry level Cava, the Non-Vintage Brut Reserva offers up a pleasant perfume of yeast notes, biscuit, and green apple. It is a straightforward, lively, slightly off-dry bubbly that is a good value for drinking over the next 12–18 months."- The Wine Advocate Magazine, May 2011. Words of Robert Parker, and he is a tough critic.

Get in your car, head to Binny's pick up a few bottles of this little number, head back home, ice it down... and take it easy! Enjoy life! This will only set you back, are you ready for this, $6.99 a bottle!

Cheers!

J

Illinois Winery?

Hello Wine Lovers!

I know the title of today's entry is more than likely making you think twice... an Illinois Winery that is worthy of a blog entry you ask? Not that there are not Illinois wineries that make decent wine, Lyndfred is one and you can't leave Galena Cellars off the list. But this particular winery makes you feel just like you are in Napa Valley California! It is called Aquaviva Winery located in Maple Park Illinois. A winemaker once asked me how to make a million dollars in the wine business? I said I did not necessarily know the answer. He went on to say "Start with 7 million" We both had a good laugh but in the end, it really is not too terribly far off! This place is one of those places! Go to http://www.aquavivawinery.com/ and you will immediately know what I am talking about! It is absolutely beautiful! It is located off Rt 38 in Maple Park which is just this side of De Kalb. Well worth the drive.
Acquaviva’s 40-acre vineyard estate produces many grape varietals all suited to sustain and thrive through the turbulent Midwest seasons. These grapes include Prairie Star, Brianna, Chardonel, Marechal Fosh, and Frontenac, among other Illinois favorites. The winery is state of the art as well as the attached restaurant. As I stated earlier in this entry, you think you are in Napa. The wines are somewhat typical for Illinois wines, and what I mean by that is they are on the sweet side and lack complexity, typical of the varieties that grow here in Illinois. There are a couple of red wines that are notable, well made but lack the depth of wines from other regions.

The restaurant has a wonderful outdoor patio that overlooks some of the property. Off in the distance is railroad tracks and the occasional freight train that rumbles by adds to the charm and reminds you are in the Midwest. The food is well made and the chef uses a lot of local fresh ingredients to tantalize your taste buds.

The wines are well made, the food is good and the experience is wonderful. I recommend you make this a little day trip with your honey, have lunch, taste a little wine and take in what Illinois has to offer!

Cheers!

J

Cuvee de Pena

Hello Wine Lovers!
I know you are going to find this very hard to believe... but I just finished a 30 day sabbatical with no alcohol! You're asking yourself, why would anyone want to do that? Good point! But the point was simply to make sure I could, to reassure myself that I was the one in control. At the end of it all, I discovered I was the one in control, but I also discovered how much I miss a glass of wine with food. I ate the same things, cooked some wonderful meals, shared exquisite meals with my lovely Bride,food just didn't taste the same to me without wine... period! Which leads me to another issue, the hangover. In all my years of partaking in the grape, I have rarely been hungover. I am about to share my secret...H20. A simple, yet very important, key to not feeling like crap in the morning. I don't know bout you but for me, I don't have the time to feel like crap anytime, let alone in the morning!
I had a "light bulb" moment in Italy a good number of years ago. I am in Florence having dinner with friends that lived there and I could not help but notice how much wine they consumed. I consumed approximately the same amount but could barely function the next day when the Italians got up early and went to work as if nothing crossed their lips! So, the next evening, we are out to dinner again, (I was recovered by dinner time) and I asked my friends what their secret was. Their answer was as basic as it could be... drink the same amount of water as you do wine and you will be fine. Of course I'm thinking they're crazy and they just don't want to share their little secret, but I figured what did I have to lose. That particular evening I drank a glass of water between every glass of wine I consumed. And guess what? I awoke pain free! I am here to tell you, I have not been "bit by the dog" since that fateful night! Just for the fun of it I googled "hangover" and next is what I found:•The ethanol contained in alcoholic beverages has a dehydrating effect which causes headaches, dry mouth and tiredness. This effect can be lessened by drinking plenty of water before and throughout your night of drinking. I rest my case.
Now on to the wine. Cuvee de Pena, 2009 Vin de Pays, from the small village Cases de Pena in the Roussillon region in Southern France. This wine is made up if 40% Grenache, 40% Syrah and 20% Carignan and sells for $8.99 at the Wine Discount Center. It is imported by Hand Selections whom have a great reputation for importing great value wines from France for under $10. This one is no exception! You will find this wine to be medium-bodied with black cherries, spice and a slightly smoky note on the finish. It has enough tannins to say it is serious and yet has a nice smooth silky finish. I believe you will find this wine to be a remarkable value.

Cheers!
J