Wine Information Archives - Page 11 of 12

In Search of California Wine Bargains

by Joe Becerra

We are always on the prowl to find delicious wines under $20. Lately, we have been finding an amazing number of wines at under $15. I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts the astonishing number of excellent tasting wines from Argentina, Chile, and Spain that are selling at bargain prices. I think we are going to begin finding many California wines in this category in the coming months.

California wineries do a lot of bottling around this time of the year and if they have a large inventory left from the previous vintage, they are going to want to “dump”this wine onto the market to make room for their latest vintage.

More on Dry Creek Valley, The Trip Planner, & Robert Mondavi Summer Concerts

by Joe Becerra

We recently blogged about Montemaggiore and Quivira wineries, two biodynamic wineries in the Dry Creek Valley. There are at least four other wineries practicing sustainable and organic farming in the Dry Creek Valley. If you are interested in touring the sustainable wineries of the Dry Creek Valley, I have outlined a suggested two-day tour of these wineries on WineCountryGetaways.com. One thing that is very nice about visiting wineries in the Dry Creek Valley is that most of the wineries are small and family-owned. If you visit during the week, you might even find the winemaker or owner in the tasting room.

Argentine Wine Exports Soar in U.S.

by Joe Becerra

We have been back from our Argentina wine tour about four weeks, and ever since we have been looking for Argentine wines at all our local wine stores. The good news is that the these wines are easy to find and it looks as though we will have many more Argentine wines to choose from in the coming months.

I just received the May issue of Wine Business Monthly with an article on the immergence of Argentina Malbec wine in the U.S. The exports of Malbec to the United States increased 61% in 2008. The demand in the U.S. is growing rapidly largely due to the quality price ratio. Labor is cheap in Argentina, the dollar is strong compared to the Argentine pesos, and consequently you can find many outstanding Argentine Malbec wines under $20.

Spanish Pantry Wine Tasting in San Francisco

by Joe Becerra

If you read our blogs you know that we recently returned from Argentina and Chile and are very impressed with the overall quality of their wines. We were also in Spain in 2007 and also enjoyed the Spanish wines and seek them out as often as we can. On Wednesday, we attended the Spanish Pantry, an exhibit of Spanish wine and food at the old Federal Reserve building in San Francisco on Battery Street near the Embarcadero.

This is the third year in a row for the Spanish Pantry event in San Francisco. The event is designed to showcase Spanish wineries and Spanish food companies. Most of the wineries and food companies are there to find importers or direct sales contacts. We attended to learn more about Spanish wines and to discover wineries that we might add to our Spanish Wine Country website. There were 33 wineries present and between the two of us we managed to hit each table and taste a number of wines.

More Argentine and Chilean Wine Recommendations

by Joe Becerra

We have been back from our wine trip to Argentina and Chile two weeks but it seems that our wine palates are still in the mode for Argentine and Chilean wines. We tried a couple of Sonoma Zinfandels and a Sonoma Syrah and it was remarkable how spicy and peppery these wines tasted compared to the Argentine and Chilean wines we had been tasting on the tour.

Last week we shopped at Trader Joe’s, Costco, BevMo and Weimax in Burlingame in search of more Argentine and Chilean wines. We purchase several different labels and had to opportunity to try some with guests over the weekend. All of the wines we purchased were under $16. The big winners were the 2005 Montes Syrah at Costco for $15.99 and the 2007 DoÃ±a Paula Malbec for $9.99, also at Costco. These are both terrific wines and we are not the only ones to think so. The Wine Spectator gives the Montes Syrah 91 points and Parker gives the DoÃ±a Paula a 90-point rating. We also like the clean and fresh taste of the Tapiz Chardonnay that we picked up at the BevMo 5-cent sale for less than nine bucks. I see the price is now $11.99 now that the sale is over.

Our Argentine and Chilean Wine Recommendations

by Joe Becerra

These are the favorite wines of our trip and ones that you can purchase in many stores and online. All of these wines have character and structure and will give you much enjoyment when served with food.

Bodega Salentein (Argentina)

Bodega Salentein is a new and exciting winery. They are growing grapes at 5000 feet in the Valle de Uco at the base of the Andes Mountains. These wines are excellent and can be found online and in the San Francisco Bay Area for around $15 to $17.

Reserve Chardonnay
Sauvignon Blanc
Reserve Malbec
Pinot Noir

Catena Zapata (Argentina)

The top of the line Catena wines are very expensive but their lower line of wines are very good wine values.

Alamos Malbec – $9
Alamos Chardonnay – $9
Catena Malbec — $15 to $18
Catena Cabernet – $15 to $18

Trione Vineyards & Winery The Old Nervo Winery

by Joe Becerra

Trione Vineyards & Winery opened just a few months ago on the site of the old Nervo Winery. A new modern winery was built complete with a very elaborate tasting room. The landmark of the Trione Winery is the “Old Stone Building”that once was the Nervo Winery. The structure has been a familiar sight for years and can be easily spotted by drivers on Highway 101 between Healdsburg and Geyserville. Thankfully, the Trione Family preserved the structure and restored it to its glory days. Frank Nervo Jr. had the stone building constructed in 1908 and used the building to make some wonderful wines. The Nervo Family sold the historic building and adjacent tasting room in the 1970’s to a conglomerate wine group that housed Canyon Road wines until the Trione Family purchased the property for their winery.

Peña Ridge Winery Opens Tasting Room in Geyserville

by Joe Becerra

Last week we attended the grand opening of the Peña Ridge Winery’s tasting room in Geyserville. Peña Ridge is a small 600-to-1000 case production winery owned by the Piccetti Family. The family owns vineyards on Bradford Mountain in the Dry Creek Valley and for years have been farming and selling their grapes to local wineries. A few years back the family decided it was time to get into the wine business and use their finest grapes to make Peña Ridge wines. John Piccetti, along with consultant winemaker Kerry Damskey, have teamed up to make some amazingly good wines. The wine is custom crushed at Everett Ridge winery.

John Piccetti, Kerry Damskey, and Nicole Piccetti

Geyserville New Wine Town in Sonoma’s Russian River Region

by Joe Becerra

This little town of 2500 people with a three-block business area has suddenly become a chic wine destination. The town has four wine tasting rooms, two fabulous restaurants, and a handful of unique shops. Geyserville runs along the Russian River and is located in the heart of the Alexander Valley wine region. Just over the hill to the west a couple of miles is the Dry Creek Valley wine region. There are at least twenty wineries within easy driving distance of the town. What more could a wine lover ask for in a wine town?

Two Aroma Wine Gadgets That Work

by Joe Becerra

At the Wine Blogger Conference we were given a free tote bag with all sorts of goodies inside, one of which was an intriguing gadget with the name of Vino Chapeau. What was inside this little case? By coincidence, at the closing luncheon, I sat next to the inventor and owner of Vino Chapeau, Randy Cunningham. Randy is an engineer, a wine judge, and he calls himself a “burgeoning winemaker.” Randy showed our table how to use the device, which he also calls a wine concentrator. You place the top over the wineglass and swirl the wine for five seconds. Then you wait ten seconds and slide the plastic, exposing about half the glass and smell. Wham, the aroma is definitely intensified. I tried it several times at home and the gadget really works. Randy does not expect one to use this every time you open a bottle of wine. The idea is to use it to educate yourself, using the device so you can begin to learn many of the subtle aromas in wine.