In the last post, the Vintage Wine Club listed their favorite white wine bargains for the holidays so this post is all about our favorite bargain reds. As we described previously, the Vintage Wine Club members are daily wine drinkers and constantly span the wine departments and wine stores for bargain wines. We know our prices and our wines. When we find a great bargain we share it with others and post it on Good Cheap Vino.
Wine Information
Bargain White Wines for the Holidays
Last Sunday’s S.F. Chronicle had an article devoted to good wines under $15. The buyers at Cost Plus, BevMo, and Spencer & Daniel’s touted their favorite bargain wines. That gave me the idea to post some of the favorite bargain wines of the Vintage Wine Club. This is a club of seven members who have been meeting regularly for years to discover the ultimate in wine bargains. Each of us is a daily wine drinker and we constantly scan the shelves for bargain wines. When we find something good we share it with each others. Here is our list of top white wines. Next post, the reds.
Harvest and Fall Colors Update
By the end of this month, the 2009 grape harvest will be 99 percent over. The last grapes to be picked this month are usually Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. The reports from vineyards managers, winemakers, and winery owners indicate that this will be an exceptional vintage. Nature has been kind to grapes this year. Last year frost and forest fires took their toll on many vineyards. This recent rainstorm should be okay for the thick-skinned Cabernet grapes that had not been harvested prior to the rain. This will certainly be a fun harvest to follow from now until the bottles hit the shelves.
One interesting note about this year’s harvest, some growers were not able to sell their grapes to their usual customers and many have been forced to let the grapes hang on the vine and drop on their own. The last thing wineries want in this economy is a grape glut. Word is that some wineries skipped this vintage altogether because they still had large wine inventories.
Argentine Wines in San Francisco
It was just this past March that we visited Argentina and this wine tasting event at the Regency Center in San Francisco brought back many memories of our wonderful trip. We quickly found the Tapiz table where we were surprised to see none other than the owner of the winery, Patricia Ortiz, pouring her wines. She mentioned that she had read our blog about our stay at her wine lodge, the Club Tapiz, and our visit to the Tapiz winery. Her warmth and friendliness is so typical of the Argentine people.
To us, the Malbec wines of Argentina are easy-drinking wines and I am convinced that it must be very difficult to make a bad Malbec in Mendoza. I can also say the same for Malbec Rosés and the white, fragrant Torrontes wine from the Salta region. We don’t see too many of the Rosé wines in the U.S. but I can guarantee that you will like these more than any domestic Rosé wines. One thing that surprised us at this tasting was the number of wineries producing other varietals. We tasted Chardonnay, Viognier, Char/Viognier, Pinot Grigio, Syrah, Cabernet, Bonarda, and even a little Pinot Noir.
Lou Preston Wine Man of Many Talents
We always enjoy a visit to Preston Vineyards, but this time our visit was more special than usual. We had the pleasure of meeting and taking a tour with Lou Preston. Lou’s story began 40 years ago when Lou and his wife Susan purchased their property in the Dry Creek Valley. They slowly grew their winery and vineyards, producing some 25,000 cases of wine. In the year 2000, they decided that big is not necessarily a good thing. They began to “grow down”their winery and today produce 8000 cases of wine, and farm and live a lifestyle that is environmentally in tune with their farmland.
Navarra Wine Tasting Event Palace Hotel
What better venue for a wine tasting than the Palace Hotel in San Francisco? That is where some 15 of Spain’s Navarra wineries poured their wines for the trade and media on September 9th. We live on the Peninsula so it was an easy 30-minute BART ride from Millbrae to the Montgomery Street station in S.F. where we walked a half block to the Palace to taste the wines of Navarra.
Navarra is one of Spain’s lesser-known official wine regions, Denominacion de Origen or D.O. for short. It is located at on the French border north of Spain’s world-renowned Rioja wine region. The Navarra region is best known for the “Running of the Bulls”each year in the city of Pamplona. The wineries of Navarra would prefer that they be known more for their wines than for the bulls.
Life on Limerick Lane in Russian River Wine Country
We are renting the Santarini House on Limerick Lane very near the town of Healdsburg. Limerick Lane is a small country road that is only about two miles in distance. Meitz, Christie, Christopher Creek, and Limerick Lane wineries are located on this beautiful vineyard-lined country road. Limerick Lane runs into Old Redwood Highway and on this road are located the wineries of Foppiano, Acorn, Rodney Strong, and J Vineyards, all within 2 miles of one another.
This area of wine country is at the northern end of the Russian River Valley AVA. It is a little warmer at this end of the AVA so you find less Pinot Noir growing here than you will find farther south. Pinot Noir is the grape that has made the Russian River Valley a notable AVA. On Limerick Lane there are mostly Zinfandel vineyards but you’ll find some Chardonnay, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Sirah.
Grocery Outlet Part Two
I’ve tasted all the wines I purchased at the Grocery Outlet, so I am now ready to make some comments and evaluations about searching for the ultimate wine bargain at these stores. In my first blog post on the Grocery Outlet, I explained how the store buys wine from wineries and distributors and what types of people shop there for wine.
There are Wineries in Morgan Hill, CA
You may have heard of Clos LaChance Winery but how about Castillos’s, Guglielmo, Leal, Martin Ranch, Kirgin, Fernwood or Sycamore Creek? Mostly likely not, but these are the names of wineries that make their home in the Morgan Hill area. There are many more than this, but these wineries were pouring at a fundraising event we attended this past weekend. The event was hosted by the Chiala Family and proceeds will benefit the creation of a new Urgent Care Center in Morgan Hill. It was a lively celebration of fine art, food and wine.
Morgan Hill is just south of the city of San Jose and almost everyone drives through Morgan Hill on Highway 101 on their way south to Gilroy and Monterey, or north to San Jose and San Francisco. For wine country lovers, this is a spot you might think about visiting.
Grocery Outlet – Treasure Hunting for Wine
Hey all you wine treasure hunters. Have you been to the Grocery Outlet in search of the ultimate wine bargain? There are 133 Grocery Outlet stores across six western states. If you are near one, think about going in and checking out the wine department. You will be rather amazed at the variety of wine … Read more