The KensWineGuide.com Tasting Panel blindly tasted 17 distinctive Pinot Noirs.  Most of the major Pinot producing regions were represented.  The only exception was there were no submissions from Oregon.  Pinot Noir is a funny grape.  It’s difficult to grow and difficult to make.  It is also made in “many” different styles - perhaps that is due to the varied growing regions and terroirs or just the grape’s temperament.  Like the grape, it seems our Tasting Panel is equally finicky. The Tasting Panel frequently has varying opinions about the wines and their styles when discussing Pinot Noir - more than any other grape it seems.  There certainly was a lack of consensus most of the time that evening.  However, there was one wine that did capture everyone’s attention.  It also won by a landslide, garnering an Excellent score of 93.375.  Which Pinot garnered such support?  It was the 2005 Bianchi “Signature Selection” $25 from the Garey Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley of California.  Why did this Pinot stand out so much?  I think the consensus was that it had something for everyone and a lot of those somethings.  It was smooth as silk and that was very appealing.  It had a very inviting spicy strawberry bouquet.  It was complex and had delicious lush cherry flavors.  It had soft tannins that just ran on and on.  It was just special.  It was the kind of wine that made you yearn for more.  Unfortunately for us, the bottle was empty very quickly.  This wine’s scores varied between 96 as the highest score and 89 as the lowest score.  Eight other panelists scored it between 94 and 91.  This wine was impressive!

On the whole, we recommended 13 of 17 of the Pinots.  However, the remaining 12 recommended wines all scored Very Good.  None of these submissions received consistently high scores from the panel judges needed to achieve the Very Good+ level or to reach the Excellent status that the Bianchi achieved.  Which wines were the best of the rest we tried?  Our second place finisher was the 2005 Donum Estate $65 from Carneros, CA.  This wine scored an 88.31.  Donum is the high end bottling from the folks who make Robert Stemmler wines.  They are a very well known specialty Pinot producer.  They consistently perform very well and this offering reflects that.  This wine was very smooth and well balanced with spicy plum like flavors.  Our third place finisher was from Talley Vineyards.  Talley is another premier Pinot producer.  They are based in the Arroyo Grande Valley of California.  This year they submitted their 2005 Pinot from the “Stone Corral Vineyard” $50 from the Edna Valley.  This Pinot scored an 88.125.  This wine was well balanced, rich, and concentrated.  It finished with soft tannins that made it food friendly and would pair it perfectly with a pork tenderloin with a brown sage sauce.

Our 4^th place finisher was a newcomer for us.  It was from Cima Collina in Monterey.  Their 2005 “Chula Vina” Pinot Noir $20 was very well received and scored very consistently from all the panel members.  Their final score was 88.125 as well.  This medium bodied wine was well balanced and driven by its strawberry like flavors with a touch of spicy raspberry as well.  It was tasty and appealing.  In 5^th place was the always Very Good 2005 Goldeneye $55 from Anderson Valley, CA.  This youthful wine scored an 88.07.  It displays spicy black cherry flavors with hints of oak.  This wine’s acidity held it back for a few panelists, but on the whole it was very well liked.  Our 6^th place finisher was Goldeneye’s sister wine the 2006 “Migration.” This wine also hails from Anderson Valley in CA.  This wine scored an even 88.0 from the panel.  Given the $32 retail price it’s a better deal than the Goldeneye right now.  This wine was smooth, well balanced, and highlighted by its sweet cherry like flavors.  Another good value wine was 7^th place finisher.  This wine was the 2006 Wild Horse Pinot $25 from California’s Central Coast.  This wine was also very appealing to the panel as they scored it an 88.0.  This wine was straight forward, but it was smooth, soft, well balanced and had very tasty cherry flavors.  It was a very food friendly option to consider with Chicken Parmagianna. 

The other recommended Pinots were as follows:

#8 2005 Marimar “Dona Margarita Vineyard” (Sonoma Coast, CA) $45 (87.875)

#9 2005 Gundlach Bundschu ”Rhinefarm” (Sonoma Valley, CA) $38 (87.875)

#10 2005 Ventana Vineyard (Arroyo Seco, CA) $28 (87.875)

#11 2006 Handley Cellars (Mendocino, CA) $25 (87.625)

#12 2006 Blind Trail (Central Otago, NZ) $23 (87.56)

#13 2005 Marimar Estate ”Don Miquel Vineyard” (Russian River Valley, CA) $42 (87.19)

We also had some late submissions arrive, which we tried with a smaller Tasting Panel later in the week.  The clear cut winners from those submissions were the two Pinots submitted by Ken Volk Vineyards.  The 2005 “Santa Barbara County” $24 offering was our favorite garnering a Very Good+ score from our mini Tasting Panel.  We scored this wine a 90.0.  We also liked his 2005 “Sierra Madre” offering $36.  We scored this wine an 88.0 Very Good.  I also tried the 2005 William Seylem Pinot from Russian River Valley $60.  This wine was also Very Good and easy going.  This Pinot will appeal to those who like restraint in their Pinots.  I called it a “white wine drinkers” Pinot.

Finally, there is two Pinot’s that stood out to me at this years NYC Wine Expo.  The first is a fine example of the excellent 2005 vintage in Burgundy.  It was the 2005 Michel Picard Pinot Noir “St. Aubin 1er Cru Le Charmois”.  I rated this wine a Very Good+.    The other wine was the wonderful 2006 Laetitia Winery “Les Galets” Pinot Noir.  This wines was smooth as silk, well balanced, and has wonderful spicy strawberry flavors. This beauty will pair perfectly with grilled salmon drizzled with a lemon butter sauce.

In summary, we found most of the Pinots submitted and reviewed to be very satisfying and Very Good.  We found one outstanding wine that we all agreed was the unanimous winner.  Pinot is a funny grape that makes so many different styles of wine so it shouldn’t surprise me or you that we would get so many different opinions of the wines.  Until next month.  Cheers - Ken 

Comments(0)

On February 29^ththe KensWineGuide.com Tasting Panel met to review Italian red wine varietals.  We broke the tasting into 3 distinct groups.  We reviewed 5 Chianti Classicos and recommended 3 of them.  Then we tried 9 Barberas.  From that group we recommended 7 of them.  In a 3^rd mini tasting, we reviewed some Italian reds made from indigenous grapes or blends.  We recommended 3 of those wines.

All 3 of the Chiantis that we recommended received a score of Very Good.  The one that we found most interesting and likable was the 2005 Badia a Coltibuono Chianti Classico “Selezione RS” $17.  This wine was medium bodied, nicely balanced, and very food friendly.  The other good news is that it is only $17 and they made a lot of it.  The panel scored this wine 88.0 (Very Good).  The other two wines that we recommended was the 2003 Colognole Chianti Rufina (87.38) $15 & the 2005 Badia a Coltibuono Chianti Classico (87.0) $23.  Although not in this tasting, we recently tried and reviewed the 2005 Querciabella “Chianti Classico” for $29.  We highly recommend this wine and scored it Very Good+.

In the second half of the tasting we explored one of my favorite Italian grapes, Barbera.  As mentioned above, we tried 9 and recommended 7 of them as Very Good or better.  Two of them qualified as Very Good+.  So which wine won?  The winner was the 2005 Vietti “Scarrone” from Barbera D’Alba $37.  The panel scored this wine 91.75.  This wine was clearly our winner.  It nearly won by 2 whole points.  This wine is well balanced and complex.  It delivers very concentrated and delicious blueberry flavors.  The panel could not say enough good things about it.  They were pairing it with Châteaubriand and Steak Diane.  The runner up was not exactly shabby.  The 2005 Sottimano “Pairolero” Barbera D’Alba $32 scored an even 90.0.  This wine shows concentrated dusty blackberry flavors with hints of dark chocolate and oak.  Again the panel felt passionate about how this wine would pair so nicely with Veal Marsala or a grilled Angus burger with mushrooms and Swiss cheese.

From there we had a little bit of a surprise with that little bird from Renwood flying into 3^rd place with their 2005 “Amador County” Barbera $23.  This wine was very different than those from Italy but showed how diverse the grape can be.  The panel was a bit mesmerized by this wine from the start.  I’m not sure if it was the raspberry bouquet with hints of spearmint, almonds, and toffee or the distinguishly different juicy cherry flavors with notes of spearmint and vanilla.  This is a wine you must try to find and enjoy.  We really liked it and scored it 89.0.

The other recommended Barbaras were as follows:

#4 2006 Villa Guida “Suri” Barbera d’Asti $13 (88.75)

#5 2004 Vietti “Tri Vigne” Barbera d’Alba $21 (88.5)

#6 2005 Boroli “Quattro Fratelli” Barbera d’Alba $16 (87.25)

#7 2005 Marchesi di Gresi Barbera d’Asti $17 (87.0)

In the mini tasting of indigenous Italian red grape wines and other Italian red blends we tried 9 wines and recommended 3 of them as Very Good.  Many of the wines that we did not recommend were Good, but just not Very Good.  All three of the recommended options are good bargains.  My favorite was the 2006 Masi “Bonacosta Valpolicella Classico.” $15.  If you are looking for an enjoyable everyday Italian red this wine offers you a terrific value option.  This wine from Valpolicella is made from 70% Corvina, 25% Rondinella, & 5% Molinara.  This quaffer displays very tasty black cherry flavors with slight hints of oak.  We would pair this very food friendly wine with lasagna, spaghetti with meatballs, and even pizza.  The panel scored this wine (88.5) Very Good.

 The next wine we recommended was the 2006 Cusumano “Benuara” $15. This wine was made with 70% Nero D’Avola & 30% Syrah.  It has good acidity and displays concentrated and lush spicy cherry and fig like flavors with some hints of dark chocolate.  The panel really enjoyed this wine and scored it an (88) Very Good.  Finally, we recommended the 2004 Feudi Di San Marzano “Primitivo” $11 from Puglia.  On the palate, this wine is round, easy to drink, with palate coating black current flavors with hints of black raspberry and oak.  The panel felt this wine was a great deal and would pair nicely with beef stew.  We scored this wine (87.5) Very Good.

As you can see, we found a lot of interesting red wines made from Italian varietals.  Many of them were bargains.  We definitely suggest that you try them and see for yourself.  Finally, if you are into some higher end options, you should try some of the new release 2001 Amarones from Masi that we just reviewed and a 2004 Tuscan blend of Sangiovese and Merlot from Sette Ponti that we enjoyed as well.  We look forward to covering Italian Reds again next year.

Enjoy & Cheers.  Ken

Comments(0)

The KensWineGuide.com Tasting Panel recently tasted 19 Syrah and Shiraz wines. The tasting was blind and we had 11 panelists including Kara Kukall, Beverage Manager from Legal Sea Foods. In the end, the panel recommended 15 of 19 of the wines submitted. Of the 15 recommended, 5 scored over 89 points and received a Very Good + score from the panel. Overall, this evening was one of the best tastings of the year based upon the quality of the wines. In a secondary tasting a week later a small panel reviewed 7 additional Syrahs, recommending 3 of them.

The winning wine rocked our panel! It was the Michael and David Phillips 2005 “Earthquake” Syrah $28 from Lodi, CA. This wine won the tasting with a 90.19 score. The wine was full bodied, well balanced, had a dry mouth feel, and displayed juicy blackberry flavors along with some anise, chocolate covered raisins, and honey.  Overall the panel was quite impressed with this wine and a little surprised when it was unveiled. Hats off to the folks at Michael & David. They have been producing lots of Very Good to Excellent wines for the last few years.

Our runner up was one of my favorite Syrahs for the last few vintages. The 2004 Spring Mountain Syrah $50 is a stunning wine. This wine finished with a score of 89.62.  It opens with a wonderfully inviting jammy boysenberry bouquet with scents of pipe tobacco and smoked wood.  I could smell this wine all night.  This wine is a very big Syrah and would appeal mostly to those who like and enjoy an extracted style.  Our third place wine came from down under. The 2005 De Lesio “Kristina” Shiraz  $50 scored an 89.54.  This wine was smooth as silk, well balanced, packed with juicy blackberry and grape flavors with a dash of black pepper.  This well made wine from the McLaren Vale, in Australia is worth the investment and the panel thought it would pair nicely with with a filet mignon from Grill 23.  Our 4th place wine was a bit of a shocker. The 2003 Zaca Mesa Syrah from Santa Ynez, CA $22 was showing very nicely and scored 89.50. This wine was smooth and juicy.  It was very well liked by the panel. It is quite a bargain and it showed up its big brother on this evening.  In 5th place we return to down under. This time the Barossa Valley chimes in with the value priced 2006 Charles Cimicky “Trumps” Shiraz  $20. This wine seems to show very well every year. The panel scored this wine a 89.33.  It has tasty jammy black cherry flavors with hints of chocolate and clove.  Even better is that there is a lot of it and it’s a bargain for $20.

The next 10 wines all scored a Very Good from that panel and included some real bargains. The 6th place finisher is from a winery that has been performing pretty well over the last year. The 2003 Stonehedge “Terroir Select” $18 from Mendocino finished with an 88.79.   This medium bodied wine has delicate blackberry flavors.  The panel thought this would pair nicely with a hearty beef stew.  Kara pegged it for the  ”Everything Tuna” from Legal Sea Foods.  The next wine was probably the best deal of the evening.  The 2004 Renwood “Red Label” Syrah is an absolute steal at $12 per bottle.  We immediately added it to our “Practical Party Case” list on the website.

The remainder of our recommendations is as follows:
#8 2005 Tintara Shiraz from McLaren Vale, Aust. $18 (88.50)
#9 2005 Kaesler “Stonehorse” Shiraz from Barrosa Valley, Aust. $30 (88.50)
#10 2005 Passing Cloud “Reserve” Shiraz from Bendigo, Aust. $30 (88.31)
#11 2004 Columbia Winery Syrah from Columbia Valley, WA $15 (88.06)
#12 2005 Water Wheel Shiraz from Bendigo, Aust. $18 (88.00)
#13 2006 Epsilon Shiraz from Barossa Valley, Aust. $25 (87.75)
#14 2005 Rudi Schultz Syrah from Stellenbosch, S. Africa $37 (87.56)
#15 2004 Zaca Mesa “Black Bear Block” Syrah from Santa Ynez, CA $55 (87.0)

In the Second Tasting we recommended the 3 wines listed below.  The 2004 Opolo stood out as the best option receiving a Very Good + score from the Panel.

#1 2004 Opolo Syrah from Paso Robles, CA $24 (89.50)
#2 2006 Langmeil “Valley Floor” Shiraz from Barossa Valley, Aust. $26 (88.25)
#3 2005 Ventana Vineyards Syrah from Arroyo Seco, CA $18 (88.0)

Finally, there is one other wine I want to mention.  This wine was not included because it included a little Viognier.  I personally love that style and really enjoyed this wine.  You should definitely go out of your way to try the 2006 Black Chook  from South Australia.  For $18 I think the wine is a steal.  I scored it Very Good +.  As you can see there are lots of great Syrah and Shiraz offering on the Market.  Many good deals as well.  Have fun enjoying them!!  We did. 

 Cheers, Ken & the KWG Tasting Panel

Comments(1)

I don’t know about you but I try a lot of wine and dirty a lot of wine glasses.  As a result, my biggest frustration is that I can never seem to get my glasses as clean as a fine restaurant.  I’ve tried everything over the years, but I finally found the answer in my favorite Christmas gift from last year.  The gift was the Riedel large microfiber crystal cloth. It was back ordered for a while so I didn’t get it under the tree. It was worth the wait. These cloths are amazing. They absorb all the excess water like magic.  No paper towel streaks or foggy glasses ever again. No lint left from cotton cloths. The bottom line is my Riedel Glasses have never looked better. As you know there is nothing better than a crystal clear glass the next time you want to try your favorite wine. Here is the best part. These cloths are very inexpensive. You can get them from Amazon for only $12.80. Enjoy - Ken

Comments(0)

Valentine’s Day is a time for lovers to share a romantic dinner together with delicious food and wine. The exact history of Valentine’s Day and its patron saint is a bit of a mystery dating back to ancient times. We do know that Valentine’s Day today is a fun holiday associated with celebrating romantic love. Couples express their love for each other by sending Valentine’s Day cards, giving gifts of chocolate, or flowers, and enjoying a romantic dinner together with their favorite food and wine!

We share some great wine and food pairings as suggestions for your special dinner. These romantic dinners are being offered by some terrific New England restaurants. The exact food and wine pairing may not be offered on your favorite restaurant menu or even on your home cooked menu. The idea here is to take some time before February 14^th and plan ahead to include some Very Good wine with your special meal. You would probably rather spend your candlelight dinner gazing into your lover’s eyes, rather than laboring over the thick wine list passed to you by the Sommelier. For a complete list of tips on how to preplan your restaurant wine selections, click here.

As Valentine’s Day is a special occasion, this romantic dinner calls for a cork-popping Champagne toast to begin the evening. I strongly suggest an offering that is special and will start the evening off right. A “can’t miss” sparkling wine selection is the NV Charles Heidsieck “Brut Reserve.” This Champagne is a terrific choice that is certain to enhance the evening and set the romantic mood.

This Valentine’s Day we thought it would be fun to pair wines with food from some of the best restaurants in New England. We inquired and were lucky enough to get a “sneak peak” at the Valentine’s Day menu from the Mountain View Grand Resort and Spa in Whitefield, New Hampshire. We picked one entrée option from their Valentine’s Day menu. For each part of these meals, you could order either a white or a red wine to go with the meal according to your preference. We will give you a few wine suggestions below. The entrée we chose is the Cochon et Crevette which consists of an Herb Marinated Pork Tenderloin with a Maple Apple Demi Sauce and Maine Lobster Cake and Citrus Shrimp. It is accompanied by a chef’s selection of starch and vegetables.

Below are three wine selections to pair with the meals above. Of the three, the Pinot Noir probably goes best with most of the menu options above. I also like an easy going Syrah for the tenderloin and a solid Sauvignon Blanc for the seafood. One of our favorite Pinot Noir selections is the 2005 Hartford Court “Land’s Edge Vineyards” Pinot Noir. I think it would pair nicely with the richness of the lobster cake or the maple apple sauce. If you prefer Syrah, I suggest an easy going option like the 2006 Water Wheel Shiraz. For you white wine lovers, I suggest the 2006 Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc. This wine would greatly complement either meal.

Our second restaurant menu “sneak peak” is “The Spiced Pear” at The Chanler in Newport, Rhode Island. Chef Ketchum has assembled a five coarse meal enhanced by several Aphrodisiacs. His opening course is broiled Wellfleet Oysters with Smoked Bacon, Wilted Spinach and Meyer Lemon Hollandaise Sauce. For this delicious meal I suggest the Heidsieck Champagne as noted above. The second course is Nantucket Bay Scallops served with a fricassee of baby mushrooms, butternut squash, and celery root puree sauce perigeux. For this you can continue with the champagne or move on to a Tuscan Red like the 2004 Sette Ponti “Crognolo.” This Sangiovese and Merlot blend will really complement the mushrooms and transition nicely into the Kobe beef option in the third course. The first half of the third course is Butter Braised European Turbot (flatfish) with a Parsnip Mousseline. For this pairing I suggest a Chardonnay such as the 2006 Artesa “Carneros” Chardonnay. The second half of the third course is a Kobe Beef Oxtail with a “Bone Marrow Bordelaise”. Again, you could stick with the “Crognolo” or try the 2004 Stonehedge Winery “Terroir Select - Pallini Ranch” Petite Sirah. It you wanted to top off the evening with a high end suggestion, you might want to try the 2004 Darioush “Signature” Cabernet Sauvignon which is another fine choice.

For dessert we are going to suggest a couple of wines. We like the Fritz 2006 “Late Harvest” Zinfandel. This wine goes particularly well with Chocolate covered cherries, strawberries, and lovers. We are also a big fan of many of the 2005 dessert Rieslings from Germany. Try the 2005 Dr. Loosen “Wehlener Sonnenuhr - Auslese.” This will go particularly well with a Cheese and Green Apple plate or Cr譥 br?ute;e.

Ken

Comments(0)

Zinfandel is known to many as America’s red wine grape. Many Americans will celebrate this heralded grape at the ZAP Wine Festival in San Francisco at the end of this month. We decided to give you a sneak peek of some of these Zins. On Friday, January 4th the Ken’s Wine Guide Tasting Panel held our annual Zin review. Over the course of the evening we tasted 17 Zins blindly and recommended 10 as Very Good. In a follow-up mini session we reviewed 8 additional Zins and recommended 3. The primary tasting reminded us of the Pinot Noir tasting from this past summer. The styles were plentiful. So were the opinions of the panelists. It was really hard to build a consensus and award big scores. It seemed the panel was split on many wines. As a result, none of the wines qualified as Excellent or Very Good +. One panelist summed it up like this, “We had a lot of Very Good wines tonight. However, no wine stood out as being the clear winner.” Everyone left wanting me to forward them the results as soon as I compiled them.

All the submissions were from California. We had most of the classic Zinfandel regions represented. Most of the submissions were from the 2005 vintage. We had two 2006 entries and two 2004 entries. The 2004 vintage was a vintage known for its ripe and jammy profile. While the 2005 Zins have a reputation of being more reserved and elegant. Given that our winner came from the 2004 vintage, perhaps that ripeness allowed our winning wine to stand out amongst the crowd of 2005 Zins.

Our winner was the Renwood 2004 “Old Vine” $20 from Amador County. The panel scored this wine (88.6) This wine stood out as quite flavorful, smooth, and well balanced. It finished dry, showed fine tannins, and had good length. After the unveiling, it became obvious that the 2004 vintage is starting to really come into its own now and this “Old Vine” option from Renwood is a terrific representation of where that vintage is right now.

Our second place finisher roared across the finish line from an up and coming winery that is attracting a motorcycle enthusiast focused audience. These motorcycle enthusiasts, turned vintners, believe that the motorcycle lifestyle is about freedom and enjoying life. They express this in their wines and themes. V-Twin Vineyards has submitted 3 wines to us in the last 2 years and so far we have recommended all of them. The 2005 “Sonoma County” Zin $24 was recommended with a score of (88.5). It was described by the panel as round, velvety, easy to drink, and has pleasant jammy cherry flavors.

Our third and fourth place wines were a virtual tie. The 2005 Turley “Ueberroth Vineyard” Zin $48 from Paso Robles finished with a score of (88.38). The wine was described as a full bodied wine that was very smooth, intense, in balance, and packed with spicy and sweet blackberry flavors with a hint of vanilla. The other wine that scored an (88.38) was the 2005 Carol Shelton “Monga Zin” $23 from the Lopez Vineyard in Cucamonga Valley. The panel felt this wine displayed a classic Zinfandel style. It has good balance, a soft mouth feel, and is smooth. The flavor profile is cherry with dashes of cinnamon and pepper. This wine is made from organic grapes.

The remainder of our recommendations is as follows:
#5 2005 V-Twin “Poker Run” Zin from Sonoma, CA $24 (88.13)
#6 2004 Renwood “Grandperé Zin from Amador County, CA $35 (88.00)
#7 2005 Carol Shelton “Wild Thing” Zin from Mendocino, CA $28 (88.00)
#8 2005 Four Vines “Dusi Vineyard” Zin from Paso Robles, CA $33 (87.88)
#9 2005 Opolo “Reserve” Zin from Paso Robles, CA $38 (87.75)
#10 2005 Fritz “Barrel Select Estate Reserve” Zin from Dry Creek Valley, CA $40 (87.25)
From supplemental tasting:
#11 2005 Opolo “Mountain Zinfandel” from Paso Robles, CA $26 (87.0)
#12 2005 Estancia “Keyes Canyon Ranches” Zin from Paso Robles, CA $12 (86.75)

Also from our supplemental tasting we enjoyed the 2006 Fritz “Late Harvest Zinfandel” from Dry Creek Valley, CA $35. We scored this wine (88.75) points. It is well balanced, smooth, viscous, nicely sweet, with pleasant berry flavors. We felt this wine would pair very nicely with many desserts. Particularly strawberries dipped in chocolate.

Finally, we also suggest that you explore some other Zins that we tried earlier in the year. Ravenswood, Four Vines, and Dashe Cellars have some terrific 2005 Zinfandels that we highly recommend you explore.

Cheers - Ken

Comments(0)

What is your New Year’s resolution? Mine is to keep my wine cellar current and not wait too long to pull my cellar wines. One of the biggest myths I hear is that all wine gets better with age. That is simply not true. Most wine is intended to be consumed within five years of its vintage date. Two years for most white wines is ideal. Most people don’t adhere to these rules and store their everyday wine a little too long.
I frequently tell this story. I think Karen MacNeil wrote it. If you put a Hyundai in the garage for 10 years it does not turn into a Mercedes. Instead, you just end up with a dusty Hyundai.

So the first thing you should know is that only about 10% of all wine produced is intended to be stored long term in a wine cellar. Once you have identified those wines, (See our Collectible Wines) you should make sure that you are properly storing them. In general, proper storing conditions are cool (55-58 degrees), dark, humid, and still. If you do all those things right, then you should be all set to drink your special wines when they are ready.

However, since most people may not have the right storing conditions or the most elite wines in their cellar, they tend to leave the wines they are storing in the cellar too long. So what to do? You need to start pulling them sooner. I know the excuses. Maybe they are too expensive for the moment. Maybe it’s the last bottle? Maybe you are just too busy tasting hundreds of wine for KensWineGuide.com and you tend to ignore the gems you left in your cellar. Well that’s my excuse, what yours? So as my New Year’s resolution, I have decided to make up special occasions and pull more gems out of my wine cellar before they go past their prime. I even created a little trick and some rules.

Two times per year, I look at the wines in my cellar and establish a reasonable drink date. For those wines that have to be pulled within six months, I put a piece of masking tape on the neck. This makes it easier for me to quickly identify the options that need my attention soon. The other option is to use bottle tags like these.

Here are a couple of my other rules. Zins & Merlots, in general, are at their best within their first five years of the vintage. (There are always exceptions, i.e. Rosenblum Zins and Pride Mountain Merlots tend to have enough structure to go longer.) But you need to know your wines. You need to set reasonable drink dates. Don’t wait too long. Your goal is to want the tannins to smooth out, but you also don’t want to lose the fruit and the other great qualities you enjoyed when you bought the wine. Cabs, Syrah/Shiraz, and Petite Sirah tend to age gracefully, but I tend to keep them under 10 years. Pinot Noir is just so fickle. Each wine is so different. I tend to like smooth and silky Pinots that offer instant gratification. Cellaring them a long time is not going to improve them but maybe it will reduce the tannin a bit. I tend to keep them 3 to 6 years in the cellar. Those are my rules, you need to establish yours to meet your tastes and your goals for the wine.

In conclusion, you need to know your wine celler. Know your wines. Bag the excuses and find a good reason to pull a wine from your wine cellar in the New Year. Your investment is worth too much to have them go past their prime and not be enjoyed at their peak.

Cheers,
Ken

Comments(0)

In November the Ken’s Wine Guide Tasting Panel tried 16 sparkling wines and Champagne. We wanted to make some recommendations for New Year’s Eve and other festive holiday celebrations. Of the 16 wines we tried, we recommended 7. Our winner was bit of a surprise. The panel decided that a little sweetness was preferred. They recommended the Non Vintage Domaine Ste. Michelle “Frizzante” $12 as their first choice. The panel appreciated the wine’s balance, creaminess, and how easy it is to consume and enjoy. The group as a whole thought this wine could be a good aperitif or dessert wine. The panel scored this wine Very Good (89.3).

The second place finisher was more traditional in style and was my favorite choice of the evening. The 2000 Gloria Ferrer “Royal Cuvée - Brut” $30 was elegant, well balanced, and was quite tasty. The panel scored this wine Very Good with a score of 88. I scored it a couple of points higher than that. Our third place finisher was our only true Champagne entry. The NV Duval Leroy � Brut $25 scored a Very Good (87.5) from the panel.

Our fourth place finisher was our favorite Rosé. The Non Vintage Gloria Ferrer “Brut de Noirs” $16 was a solid sparkler and liked by a majority of the panel. This wine scored a Very Good (87.5). If you have never tried a Sparkling Rosé this would be a terrific one to try. This would also be a nice option as an opening wine for your Christmas dinner. Our 5th place finisher was the 2004 Schramberg “Blanc de Blanc’s” $35. This sparkler made from all Chardonnay was liked by many on the panel and received a Very Good (87.4) score from the panel.

Other recommended Sparkling Wines:
#6 Torley NV “Charmont Rosé” from Hungary $10 (87.4) (Very Good - Sweet)
#7 Martha Clara NV “Brut” $22 from the North Fork of Long Island, NY (87.0) (Very Good)

We hope you enjoy one of these sparklers at your New Year’s Eve celebration. We look forward to reviewing more wines and sharing our recommendations with you in the New Year. Thanks for reading KensWineGuide.com.

Cheers,

Ken

Comments(0)

Wine enthusiasts are always looking for interesting wines to share with family and friends, but getting those bottles from point A to point B has become increasingly difficult given today’s tight carry-on restrictions. What’s a wine country traveler to do?

By now we all know the drill. We can wrap the bottle in clothing and hope it doesn’t break en route, or we decide it’s not worth the risk and go home empty-handed.

I recently came across an innovative new product aimed at taking the frustration out of traveling with wine. Called BottleWise Duo, it bills itself as a wine travel bag. But unlike bulky hard-sided carriers, the Duo is made of Cordura fabric so it’s nice and compact and it is easy to pack in your suitcase as you head off to wine country. It looks similar to a messenger-style bag, so you can use it as an everyday tote, but the real value comes from the two removable, padded bottle pouches. Each pouch holds a standard 750 ml bottle and is lined with a re-sealable heavy-duty liquid-tight liner bag that will safeguard luggage contents if a bottle ever breaks.

To protect your bottles for air travel, all you need to do is unsnap the pouches from the carrying shell. Place a bottle in each pouch, seal the liner bag closed, and zip the pouch shut. If space permits, you can place the fully assembled bag into your luggage. According to BottleWise, most people prefer to unsnap the pouches as it provides a more even weight distribution and flexibility in packing. The company says the pouches are thoroughly tested to withstand the rigors of baggage handling, and they stand behind it with an unconditional guarantee. If you are ever dissatisfied with the performance of your BottleWise bag, they will replace it free of charge, or give you your money back. No exceptions. No questions asked. The bags are made in the USA.

It’s not often I get this excited about a wine accessory, but the BottleWise Duo is one of those products that makes you say ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ So if you are looking for a truly unique and useful holiday gift this season, I’d recommend you check out BottleWise. They’re offering a 15% discount to Ken’s Wine Guide readers for a limited time. Just go to BottleWise.com to order. Enter promo code KWG when prompted.

Cheers!
Ken

Comments(0)