Category: Buying Tips & Tools

Reds

If you prefer red wines for your Thanksgiving weekend, there is great news.

Forget Black Friday hype, I’ve checked out the major wine sellers and saw reds all over.

The best online sale today , by far, is from http://www.wineexpress.com which is offering dozens of reds at discounts ranging from 20%-60%.

Free shipping is offered on orders of $99 or more.

When trying to select the best wine for turkey, I bypass Cabernet and Zinfandel and look to Pinot Noir and other reds, especially Rioja.

So, for what it may be worth, here are my top picks from wineexpress.com

2010  Reserva 2010 Bodegas Montecillo, $10.97, deeply discounted and captures the best of Rioja.

2014 Director’s Cut Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, $21.97. This is a star from Coppola’s new line of wines. Smooth and sleek.

For more about wineexpress.com and its reliability see my detailed review and rating at

www.bestonlinewineshopping.com

Reverse Snobbery

If Champagne is the ultimate snob wine, then here is my candidate for the ultimate reverse snobbery.

Maybe you should sit down first.

The best under $20 bottle of bubbly is a real Champagne. And it is the Kirkland Brut sold at every Costco. It is authentic is every detail…grape varieties, bottled within the region, and, yes, taste.

Sorry snobs, but it truly smells and tastes like Champagne with persistent, tiny bubbles, yeasty overtones and good balance, The most remarkable thing is that it displays Champagne’s typical yeast aged complexity.

There is no Cava and especially no Prosecco that comes close. You will likely find more fruit in California bubbly priced below $20, but not the typical and lovely Champagne character.

Try it over the holidays.

November Wine Sales Kick Off

The November online wine blitz began on a high level as 2020wines.com announced its special web only deals.  And if you love Syrah, you will go crazy wild over the offerings from 2020 Wine Merchants.

2020’s new list includes just about all of the cult Syrahs and most other high scorers. Topping the list is Saxum, even the normally impossible to find 2007 Saxum, Booker Vineyard which will set you back $245. And, BTW, that’s 35% below the full retail price.

Happily, most of the November specials are discounted an average of 25%.

That includes the Epoque Syrah which along with Alban is a personal favorite. Epoque’s 09 Syrah Blend “Ingenuity” is one wine that is truly close to perfection.

The 2020 list continues as a who’s who in the world of Syrah with vintages from  Roar, Paul Lato, Lagier-Meredith’s Mount Veeder, Novy, Carlisle “Cardiac,” and the JC Cellars Rockpile Vineyard.

From the exciting region of Walla Walla, you can check out the 07 Tyrus-Evan Syrah, a Wine Spectator favorite.

If you want to explore a rising star, then consider the 09 Olson-Ogden Syrah, recently discovered by Connoisseurs’ Guide. Only 172 cases were made, and the bottle price at 2020 is $39.00.

2020wines.com was rated one of the best sites for wine collectors by www.bestonlinewineshopping.com  For a detailed review, click on“Best sites for collectors”

November News and Noise in the Online Wine World

1.e-Bay Wine added 38 new wines this week. Included were wines from several Jackson Family properties: Cambria, Freemark Abbey, La Crema, Kendall-Jackson and Champs du Reves. All except for Champ de Reves Anderson Valley Pinot Noir are widely available.

e-Bay also offered five new 6 or 12 bottle packages with a Thanksgiving theme. Grgich Hills  outstanding Chardonnay was in most packs. Free shipping on all with discounts averaging 30%.

The case billed as “The Ultimate Thanksgiving” package featuring 6 varietals is high quality and a good value.

The most notable new wine offered by e-Bay is the 2014 Siduri Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, for $162.00 a case. This is a super deal for a delicious Pinot.

2. National Geographic Magazine introduced its “Wines of the World” sale through Travelzoo. The offering–an assorted case of either red or white wines, with 3 “free” Malbec bottles thrown in. This 15 bottle offer was priced at $89 with 6 free gift bags and shipping included.

The deal is that “Every three months, you will be notified about a new National Geographic Wines of the World club selection and will automatically receive your next case unless you request otherwise. There are no obligations, and you’re free to skip as many cases as you like or cancel your membership anytime at no cost.”

Deal or no Deal? Well, honestly, there was nothing in the wines listed that elevated this Wine Club over others.  Still, $6 a bottle is a decent price for ordinary, everyday wines.

The Wall Street Journal wine club still offers the most exciting wine selection.

3. Biggest WOW!

went to www.napacabs.com

Despite the name this online store is based in southern CA where the owners also run a retail store, tasting room and restaurant.

It turned heads, not by its location but by offering two wines from Heidi Barrett’s own brand.

2013 La Sirena ‘Pirate TreasuRed’ $59.95

2013 La Sirena Grenache $39.95

The first is her super blend of 7 varieties, and like the limited production Grenache, plays to rave reviews. Both Napa wines from this exceptional winemaker are rarely available beyond the mailing list.  Free shipping for a case, and you can mix and match.

4. Good to Know

“Americans are buying more wine than ever without going to a wine store. Direct-to-consumer sales increased 66 percent from 2010 to 2015, with 4.3 million cases valued at nearly $2 billion shipped directly from wineries to consumers last year.”

With Massachusetts, the nation’s seventh largest market for wine, open for direct shipping, 90% of the American population located in 42 states can with some limitations receive direct shipments of wine from bonded wineries.

ShipCompliant estimates that outside wineries will ship $73 million in wine to The Bay State by 2018, rising to nearly $105 million by 2023.

5. Silliest Wine Description Spotted this Week

As seen on www.wineaccess.com

“The Puig-Parahy 2011 Cotes du Roussillon Georges – a bit more Syrah than usual blended into its Carignan and Grenache – is intriguingly and delightfully scented with Ceylon tea, ripe elderberry and blueberry, accompanied by striking intimations of shrimp shell reduction in its combination of sweet-saline savor and tincture of iodine. A nutty, piquant, and positively vegetal note of Swiss chard adds to the stimulation of a juicy, vivacious, mouthwatering, and remarkably mineral palate presence and finish. Look for this extraordinary value to perform superbly at table through at least 2016. (The 2010 “Georges,” incidentally, had taken on a slightly reductive and animal aura when I tasted it form bottle but still exhibited the dynamic on which I commented in issue 195 and all-in-all performed at the lower end of the projection I published there.)” – David Schildknecht, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

6. From an interview with Michael Mondavi:

“The United States is the number one wine consumer in the world,” Mondavi says. “We have about three-hundred and fifteen million cases of wine a year that are consumed in the United States, and it’s growing nicely. It’s interesting, the lower priced wines – below $5 a bottle – are shrinking by about two to three percent a year. The wines from $5 to $10 dollars are growing slightly. But then, from $10 to $20, are growing just under double digits, they’re growing beautifully. So, people are trading up to better quality wines. And you don’t have to break the bank to enjoy a delicious bottle of wine today.”

Rating eBay’s New Wine Dept.

 

The highly anticipated expansion of eBay into online wine sales took place a few months ago. This was in fact the second major effort to ramp up eBay Wine, so it seemed timely to look closely at what eBay now has to offer wine lovers.

Through a partnership with mobile app Drync and its retail partners, eBay Wine greatly increased its wine focus and now claims it is able to deliver wine to 45 of the 50 US states.

The Drync-eBay platform offers real inventory from large and small retailers throughout the US. So none of the pay now, and take delivery sometime in the future stuff which is far too common in this online world.

But that real inventory situation applies primarily to the Drync partners.

And according to Decanter Magazine,  eBay has stepped up its presence in wine by joining forces with mail order merchant Laithwaite’s in the UK. “eBay said that ‘a wide selection’ of Laithwaite’s red, white, rosé and sparkling wines, plus mixed cases, were now available on its UK site. That brings its total number of wine listings to more than 3,500.”

That all sounded like this time around eBay was ready to blow away the online competition, so I subscribed to see how the planned  attack would unfold.

And waited for a few days.  Every now and then subscribers are notified of new wine matches which range from 30 to 48 in number. The emphasis is on either 6 or 12 bottle deals with free shipping.

What’s new is that many of the featured wines are presented by a company called “The Wine Spies” which has been in business since 2007. It says it is not a retail outlet and offers new wines to eBay in the 20-60% discount range. This partner is based in Sonoma County and there are probably other similar retail partners in other states.

Today on eBay there are 36 wines offered by The Wine Spies, mainly from California.  Napa Valley is well-represented. And most are well-known , mainstream names such as Grgich Hills, Beringer, Flora Springs, Clos Pegase, Frank Family, St. Supery, and Saddleback. Hahn Family Central Coast Pinot was another match, and an Aussie Chardonnay was the only import when I last checked.

Except for Saddleback’s Albarino which I tasted last month and is wonderful,  the offerings are mainstream varietals from Cabernet to Zinfandel. So for those who like to stay within their comfort zone, these wines are from reliable wine producers.

With free shipping on six bottles or more and discounts of 25% or more, the deals are more than decent.

So, the new eBay wine section has improved, but in an oddly limited way. Continue reading “Rating eBay’s New Wine Dept.”

Buying Wines in France

Ever wonder how the French, who consume 4 times more wine per capita than we do, buy  wine?  One logical answer is that since they tend to visit the market every day to buy food, wine is available for purchase at even the smallest grocery store in the smallest village.

Good guess but when they want to replenish their cellars with enough wine to get them through the fall and winter month and also stock up on long-aging wines, they go another route: the “Foire aux Vins” provided by the major markets. 

Each year over the last week of September and the first week of October, the giant supermarkets, Carrefour, Auchan, Leclerc, and Super U, put on a super sale of wines from all parts of France and other regions.

Each “Foire” or Wine Fair organizes a large number of wines to be sold at discounted prices with an additional discount to club members that carry over to all wines.

During a recent visit, our wine-loving friends in Bordeaux invited us to join them at a special tasting at a Leclerc to kick off its “Foire aux Vins.” Crowds lined up before the doors opened at 8:30 pm to get a chance to sample wines from 36 different producers and to have first dibs at all wines up for sale.

This is France and of course there was food. Excellent finger food and they never ran out. The seasoned veterans headed directly to the oyster bar to go with the glass of Champagne, and then located the fois gras table before turning their full attention to the wines.

Now, if you are thinking there’s nothing to wash these down but ordinary supermarket wine, you would be blown away

by the overall quality. Sure, there were many under $5 bottles but the pleasant surprise was the number of beautifully made white and red wines for under $10.  

Two personal favorites in the tasting were the 2014 Ch. Verriere Bordeaux Superieur and 2014 Chateau Pitray, wonderful red wines for about $6.25. The latter is from the Cote de Castillon, one of several  Bordeaux sub-regions that Americans should get to know better. There’s also Bergerac for red and white wine, but that’s another story.

Many of the famous Bordeaux chateaux offer second label wines in off years. And, as expected, there were several second labels like the 2011 Petit Cheval from Cheval Blanc for $160 and the 2013 Carillon D’Angelus for about $60. My indifference to second label Bordeaux was more or less reinforced.

The biggest surprise of all was the number of high-end, high-priced wines on the shelves. The superstars that caught my eye were the 2012 Chateau Palmer ($250), 2011 Chateau Haut Brion ($460) and 2011 Chateau Lynch-Bages ($100). So not every bottle of fabled Bordeaux is exported to the US or China as some may believe.

The wide variety of wines at discounted prices, the food, and the festive mood converged to produce the desired results: supermarket carts were loaded with wine boxes and cash registers were busy over the next few hours.  It was amazing to see how many cases could be stuffed into one shopping cart.

The check-out lines were long, and we had to wait to find an empty cart. Once located, it too was filled up with a few bottles. Well, make that quite a few bottles.

When in France, do as the French do. And we did.

5 Best Values for Labor Day

2014 Hahn Winery Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands,, $19.99, 30% discount.

This is the SLH Pinot (not the Central Coast), and it is every bit as good as the 2013 that played to rave reviews. Maybe better.

Dark cherry-plum fruit, smooth, with lovely silky texture. Hahn is one of the best these days for great value. Available from: www.wine.com

2014 Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc, South Africa, $ 11.39, 30% discount.

Bright citrus, mango  fruit and lively flavors are delivered in a fresh and refreshing style. Like the better wines from South Africa, this Sauvignon also has its own distinct, and very pleasant character. Available from: www.getwineonline.com

2014 Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, 1,000 ml bottle, $79.97, free shipping on 6.

No need to describe the wine except to say it is classic Caymus Cabernet which will age very well.

But this bottle contains 1 liter or 25% more than the standard bottle. As such, a decent deal. Available from: www.wiredforwines.com

2013 Luna Merlot, Napa Valley, black label, $13.99 (60% off) with free shipping on six.

This top of the line Merlot from Luna showcases classic herbs and berries with the telltale Merlot rich, smooth texture. Available from http://www.wineaccess.com

2012 Quivira Vineyards Syrah, Dry Creek Valley, $18.99, 40% off with free shipping on 6.

This big, spicy Syrah is back to help start this week. If you love Syrah, this is for you.

Available from: www.vivino.com

Are Wine Corporations People Too?

A recent article on Forbes.com caught my attention: ”How Wineries are Getting Sold and Still Keeping their Soul.”  Unfortunately,  The author tip-toes around this timely subject by asking what two sommeliers think of the subject and then turning to the CEO of Jackson Family Wines for the company’s talking points and a stock photo.

Since many online wine merchants pitch their sales through narratives and background stories, what happens when a family winery is bought by a large company or multi-national corporation is a crucial piece of information.  The subject merits more than a puff piece from Forbes.

After being sold, does the winery remain true to the original philosophy, vision or whatever, or does it increase its production to become a totally different, unrecognizable winery?

Or, as often happens, does it simply morph into a brand.

For wine consumers, the distinction between a real winery and a brand or virtual winery is key. Brand building is the way the business world works…just ask Trump. But in the wine business, there is a clear distinction to be made between brand building for a wine producer and a brand that is nothing but a brand.

Charles Shaw is a brand.  The original Chuck Shaw, the Annapolis graduate who founded the Napa winery which no longer exists, has nothing to do with “two buck chuck”wines. Similarly, Lyeth today is another brand whose current wines have no connection to the founding family, the winery and vineyards which are now part of Silver Oak.

A few weeks ago www.wineexpress.com went through the Lyeth history to sell a new Lyeth wine which, incidentally was cheaper at Trader Joe’s. And www.wineaccess.com often goes way out of its way trying to tie in irrelevant history to a current brand.

Now back to the Forbes piece.  As Bill McIver, who founded Matanzas Creek in 1977, posted on the Forbes Forum: “I seriously doubt that the style of any wine from a winery sold to a large company remains the same.  In my opinion it is totally absurd to believe that any multi-million gallon producer would continue the cost required to make superior wine. Today Matanzas Creek wine is not even made in our 50,000 case facility. It is made in a 500,000 manufacturing plant in Alexander Valley. Meanwhile the expensive stainless steel tanks and winemaking facility is idle and Matanzas Creek Winery building is used only as a tasting room that consumer believe is a real operating winery.”

Clearly, Matanzas Creek which was bought by Jackson Family bears little resemblance to the original,. Now with production greatly expanded, and the winemakers dismissed after the sale, one could say it has lost its soul. Few would argue that Arrowood Winery without Dick Arrowood, and Murphy-Goode without a Murphy or a Goode on the scene have also changed since being purchased by Jackson Family.

Other companies  go to extremes to alter the winery’s image after buying it. Anyone who ever met Walt and Roy Raymond, kind and down-to-earth founders of Raymond Vineyards in Napa Valley, must wonder what they now think of Raymond Vineyards under the ownership of J.C. Boisset. Production has expanded, and the tasting room has been redesigned so that one room seems more like the interior of a bordello (see the accompanying photo).  Sure Raymond is now pet friendly… but does seem to have lost its soul.

To be fair, today’s Arrowood Cabernets are fine, the Murphy-Goode Fume is a good by the glass restaurant wine, and the Matanzas Creek Sauvignon is okay at Costco’s current price.

In the Forbes article, the author concludes, “But when these business marriages are done right, the potential for both parties to benefit, as well as consumers, is tremendous.”  The question that should be raised is: “have these so-called marriages ever actually resulted in real benefits all-around?”

Maybe. But not often. The Louis Martini winery, in my mind anyway, seems to be on the upswing under Gallo ownership. Is that because Michael Martini is still involved and now has the tools he needs?

And across the board, I’m happy to say that Sebastiani wines are doing well under Foley ownership. The recent vintage of Sebastiani Barbera, the pride of the Sebastianis, is absolutely terrific.

But most morph into brands cranking out more wines that line the shelves of supermarkets and chain stores.

Good Wines, Good Neighbors

Attention all wine lovers: Here’s a genuine “insider tip” about two fabulous wine collections soon to be available. Why am I alerting others? Well, stupid me, I truly believe that wine is something meant to be shared.

And maybe I’m hoping to be invited to share a bottle by the new owners.

So hoarders, brand collectors who never enjoy the wine in their cellars but display them on tours, and hedonists who babble on about how great a wine was that they drank last night, and tell you about its point scores… this tip isn’t for you.

But back to my insider tips. The first collection is a 24-bottle vertical of Chateau de Beaucastel featuring the best vintages from 1978 to 2010. Yes, the great Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

Collection #2 is another 24 bottle vertical, this time of the Joseph Phelps Insignia, 1990-2013.

While both verticals contain the best vintages what brings us to the “insider tip” is the provenance of these wines. They have been cellared under truly ideal conditions and the older vintages have been babied over all the years.

The labels are all in excellent conditions and the level of fill is high on all bottle, confirming the perfect cellaring.

I know these things because the owners are my neighbors, and like the best of neighbors, they share fine wines. Yes, the 78 Beaucastel is alive and well, and you can enjoy the other great like the 83, 89, 90, 95, 97, 2001 and on and on.

As a longtime Chateauneuf-du-Pape fan who visited Beaucastel and other estates, I’ve tasted and enjoyed an ungodly number of CNP and can verify that the finest vintages are included in this collection.

Not to be overshadowed, only the finest vintages are included in the Insignias. I’m not teasing…it too has all of the great, long-lasting vintages of Insignia from 90, 94, 95, 97,2000, 02, and on and on. The just released 2013 Insignia is a perfect finale.

So now you are asking, “Where are these too-good-to-be-true wine collections available?” The answer is they will be headliners at a charity wine auction on September 10th. Winesong is the auction held on the Mendocino Coast town of Ft. Bragg. You don’t have to be present to bid.

Check out www.winesong.org

And yes, full disclosure, I was closely involved in this auction, but have not been since 2010.

Winesong benefits the Mendocino Coast District Hospital.

A Crash Course in Flash Sales

Hold onto your hat or whatever may blow in the wind, because on Tuesday, July 19th, WTSO (Wines ‘til Sold Out) is conducting its day-long marathon for wines priced at $19.99.

The kick-off is 8:00 am, East Coast time. A new wine will be for sale every 15 minutes or sooner. 

 

To sweeten the deal, they are offering free shipping with no minimum purchases and they will store your purchases for free, should there be concerns about high temperatures.

You can follow the sales online at www.wtso.com, download the app, or use your twitter account for notifications.

So, are you ready for some Flash sales?

If you are a newbie at this, it can be a bit unnerving with the time pressure. But if curious, this could be like a crash course in flash sales. You can be a spectator or a player.

I’ve followed WTSO for about 4 years and reviewed its 1,359 offers over the last 10 months to get a feel for what might be up for sale. At $19.99, there were a few exceptional deals, most were decent enough, and there were some wines I wouldn’t want if they were given to me.

Overall, the best deals were wines from the Rhone Valley, off-brand Champagne, Tuscany, and Australia, along with Pinot Noir and Zins from California.

If you are game and ready to tune into to this upcoming marathon, we are happy to offer a little pre-game advice and pep talk along with a game plan. Go to 

www.bestonlinewineshopping.com