Wine Crush Blog

I count among my friends a very talented writer named Steve Heimoff, whose name many of you will recognize form the pages of Wine Enthusiast, where Steve is the West Coast editor covering the wines of California for the magazine.

Steve and I have developed a solid foundation for friendship, I think, based on mutual respect – they guy can taste, and he can certainly write.  Steve pens a great (independent) blog, where he recently wrote about a conundrum that’s been on his mind as a wine taster/reviewer:

“No one person can taste everything. So, if you’re a critic like I am, is it better for your palate to taste just wines from superior growing regions, or to at least try to taste everything, until the quantity of incoming becomes impossible?”

Steve raises an interesting point – one that touches on the bond between someone who reviews and writes about wines and the people who trust the reviews from that person.  Depending on what you’re looking for, you may trust reviewers like Steve specifically because that person has tasted some of the best wines in the region they cover.  But the other side of the coin is important as well – if you don’t taste a lot of the crappy plonk, your idea of the best might not be quite up to snuff.  Just for the record, I’ve found Steve’s tastes in California wine to be very similar to my own, and I trust his palate without any reservation.

But there’s another aspect to Steve’s question, I think, which is this: California is a big place when it comes to winemaking, and it can be tough to venture outside of the norm when tasting wines that show best from CA.

What I mean is, it’s easy for those familiar with CA wine – especially CA winemakers themselves – to  sort of judge everything with respect to the CA style.  Steve knows his wine and he likely has little fear of that impacting his reviews.  But as for less experienced tasters… well, they should take heed.

I’ve talked to many a CA winemaker who looked at me as if I had three heads when I described their wines as “big & juicy.”  Often I’ve needed to clarify my opinion for them: their wines might not be big and juicy when compared to wines from CA, but they sure seem that way when compared to wines from the East Coast or from Europe – both of which influence the stylistic preferences of wine consumers on the Eastern seaboard.

The point is that not only is it important to taste a large variety of wines, t it might be even more important for those in CA to taste a larger variety of wines, especially given the volume of similarly-styled wines made in CA.

In other words: Off with the CA wine goggles!

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Cheers!

Joe Roberts is a Certified Specialist of Wine and author of the award-winning 1WineDude.com wine blog. You can learn to taste wine the same way he did by checking out his tasting guide.

The ’05 Gargiulo Money Road Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon

First off, I have to mention that Garguilo has one of the nicest physical bottles I’ve ever handled. It feels good in the hand, it’s nice and thick, and has NO physical flaw. Let’s just say it’s not photo-shy. I feel like I’m going on and on about this, but to me, it really makes a difference. I photograph wine often and many of them have slight warping, dimples, and tapering, but this Garguilo has the straightest lines I’ve seen in a long time. It’s a testament to the care that goes into the wine, and this well-casted glass has already won me over before I’ve even finished decanting it.

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When it comes down to it, the glass IS quite important.  If you have ever drank a light-struck (or as the French would say goût de lumière, ”taste of light”) wine you will agree. It tastes like a moldy rag. That’s why cellars are DARK, wonderful places. Interestingly enough, todayWineBusiness.com has linked an article about the new “Green” champagne bottles and how the insignificantly lighter (7%) bottles are actually under examination to see if they affect the taste/quality of the Champagne.

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The wine has finally decanted (2 hours) so onwards to the actual tasting. This is my first time tasting the 2005 Money Road Ranch, and I must say, Garguilo not only has perfected its bottle, but this Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the finest in Napa. The wine exhibits a deep red color accented with a light orange hue at the rim, one of my favorite characteristics of great wine. The deep, full-bodied aroma gives preview of the firm tannins and high acidity of this vintage and has some of the finest and longest legs I’ve ever seen. (Not surprising for a 14.5% ABV wine.) Where most Cabernets pride themselves on their oaky and bold taste, the Garguilo embodies a complexity of flavors, from the initial fruity structure with hints of berries and plums to a spicy, yet smooth finish that lingers on the palate. Great to drink now, and will only mature and strengthen with age.

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PersonalWine.com (our sister company) has a couple cases left!  If your interested  they can make you one with your very own a personalized label for $74! (Featured on Good Moring America,  The View, ABC News, & Maxim Magazine)

Here’s a list of the most ridiculous/funny wine accessories!

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Zebra High Heel Wine Bottle Holder

Great for those “Girls nights!” Or for a re-gift, because wow those are repulsive.

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The Hip Rider: wine glass holder

Not too sure this would work..I predict a ton of ruined clothes. They state ” freeing hands at a party”…but lets be honest if you wore this you probably wouldn’t have any friends..to party with.

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The Wine Rack

The site quotes: “Now you can turn an A cup in to double Ds AND sport your favorite beverage for yourself and your friends! ” <—Tacky, tacky, tacky…but hey it prob feels more real than silicon.

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The Wine Cap

Zach doing his thing at the reveal of Hangover 2. This hat looks like it has bad news written all over it, much like most sequels.

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Finger Food Ring

Mood rings were popular when I was a kid, now I must upgrage to look more sophisticated.

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The Woozie

Their website does a great job of presenting this as normal… But…it seems pretty redneck to me. Maybe I just have to try it..just like catfish noodling.

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Single Serve Wine

Now this is actually something I could get down with. Shipping these bad boys just seems impossible though.

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The “Wine” Mug

For the insecure wine drinker. Sad.

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Oh theres many more, but that’s all I could handle in one sitting. Thought I’d keep it light in preparation for #Cabernet Day tomorrow.

Cheers.

I found this iphone app this weekend when searching for wine in the app store. Thought I’d review it, because it was a Good find.

Nat Decants (www.nataliemaclean.com) iPhone App Review

I opened this app and was greeted with the “Pairings” page. It looked polished so I decided to dive in and see the power under the hood. I first chose a Bordeaux and it listed a variety of beef centered dishes. It does not give you recipes but just tells you what might be good (the recipes are located in a different place). Next I chose a Merlot and to my surprise the listed foods were completely different and all over the cultural gambit (impressed). I even saw a pairing of  white wine with weiner schnitzel of all things.    You can also pick a type of food and get the appropriate varietal to drink with it. This feature is interesting but I do think its use is limited. The other features overshadow this feature for sure.

Another feature of the app is the ability to search extensively  for different Wine Reviews. You can search by wine, winery, region, score, and even food matches. The free reviews are straight forward and to the point. Some of them were quite funny and entertaining as well…but I wish they were a bitttt longer. Here’s a example review:

“Big ole bounteous chardonnay with lovely notes of butter, peaches, and pears.”

Now on the “Cellar” tab. This was my favorite part and something I could see myself using frequently. The idea behind the cellar is that you log wines that you have tried with your personal notes so its perfect for me because I try so many different wines and have a bad memory. I can open this up and be instantly reminded “Ohhh not good” or “Yumm, buy again SOON!”

This app is chalked full of features. It links to Natalie MacLean‘s BLOG, which is full of goodies, her BOOK…

(Which I haven’t read yet. But I must make a shout out to Rick Bakas, because I just recieved his book in the mail and it is GREAT! Check it out! Quick Bites, 75 Savory Tips for Social Media Success)

…and it even has funny wine quotes:

“I made wine out of raisins so I wouldn’t have to wait for it to age.” -Wright HAhAHA

For staying connected(since it is a phone app) it connects to twitter, facebook, and you can even search for contact and background information for a wine you try.

If this wasn’t enough there are also tons and tons of great recipes. I was impressed with this app and will actually use it after this review.

To get more information follow her on twitter: @NatalieMacLean or go to  http://www.nataliemaclean.com/mobileapp/ or watch this video.

Received this in an email on Friday and thought I’d share it with you! A light hearted Monday blog post for your enjoyment.

“A Real Man”

A real man is a woman’s best friend. He will

never stand her up and never let her down.

He will reassure her when she feels insecure

and comfort her after a bad day.

He will inspire her to do things she never

thought she could do; to live without fear

and forget regret. He will enable her to

express her deepest emotions and give in to

her most intimate desires. He will make sure

she always feels as though she’s the most

beautiful woman in the room and will enable

her to be the most confident, sexy,

seductive and invincible.

No wait… sorry…

I’m thinking of WINE.

It’s WINE that does all that.

Never mind.

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Anyways thought I’d remind you that Thursday is #Cabernet Day.

“Celebrate the king of grapes on ALL social media sites. This is going to be an all-day virtual and in-person event.”

Thursday, September 2nd.

Use the #Cabernet hash tag when posting on Facebook, Foursquare, Gowalla, Twitter, blogs and all the other sites you hang out on.  Search the hash tag on social sites to see what other wine drinkers are saying.  You’ll be able to connect and chat with other Cab drinkers around the world. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet dominated blends are welcome!

We are going to be tasting a Gargiulo Cab 2005. Hope to see you there! (via @winescom, our Facebook, and WineCrushBlog.com)

At the risk of appearing like a comment troll, I found myself compelled to talk about today’s topic after reading a comment late last week on an article published on the Seattle Times website by Wine Enthusiast editor Paul Gregutt.

Paul’s column deals with the difficulty in ascertaining the age-worthiness of a wine, especially when that wine is from a region that by Old World wine standards is still cutting its teeth – regions like the Pacific Northwest, where Paul lives and where he has covered the wine scene for quite some time.

Now, the comment on Paul’s article is acerbic, but that’s not what compelled me to write about it.  First, the comment itself:

“Another pathetic waste of space. Retire already. You give no insight into how more revered wine critics have some innate ability to predict the prime drinking window of many red wines. “Best from 2015-2020,” “drink now-2012″…you stated NOTHING SUBSTANTIAL on how you merit-less wine critics arrive at such conclusions. No wonder Washington wines do not get more main-stage respect…the state has no credentialed wine critic.”

Aside from the misguided notion that Paul is not a credentialed wine critic (he wrote the book on the subject of Washington wine – no, seriously, he literally wrote the book), the commenter in this case has gone seriously off the rails when s/he states that “more revered wine critics have some innate ability to predict the prime drinking window of many red wines.”

See, the thing is, no wine critic worth his or her salt (revered or otherwise) would agree with the statement that one need posses an innate ability in order to asses any aspects of a wine’s quality whatsoever.

The formula for being to determine a wine’s age-worthiness, its value for money, its overall quality, typicity, or any other aspect is actually quite simple to state, but extremely difficult to put into proactice: hard work, passion, dedication, and (above all else) experience.

Last time I checked, hard work, passion, dedication, and experience were not birthrights; they are earned.  They are time’s gift to those who put true blood, sweat, tears and joy into their personal journey of exploring wine for all of its wonder and deep magic.  While genetics might play a part in terms of defining the parameters of how well your olfactory senses and taste buds work, they no more impart a magical talent of wine critique than they impart the ability to translate Germanic poetry into Russian.

Wine appreciation is learned, and just about anyone can do it – which doesn’t mean that they will do it, because at times it is hard work (though the perks are at times amazing).  The great thing about wine appreciation is that it’s open to anyone, and it will accept you at whatever level of dedication you feel comfortable investing into it.

Don’t let the naysayers fool you.  The last thing you should worry about if you’re thinking about “getting into” wine is whether or not you need to have superpowers to be able to do it!

Cheers!

Joe Roberts is a Certified Specialist of Wine and author of the award-winning 1WineDude.com wine blog.