Category: Uncategorized

Martha Serves Up A Great Wine Deal

Yes, we are talking about THE Martha Stewart.

Working with a major online wine company named the wine insiders, the offer is the “Martha Stewart Collection.”

Dont go to her site, for this offer:

Go to  www.wi-wine.com/martha

Six bottles for $29.99 or $4.99 a bottle, with free shipping.

You can order 6 reds, or 6 whites, or a mix of  3 and 3.

I am familiar with wine insiders and the company is reputable and the wines are not bad at all for the $4.99 price. Most of its other wines are much more expensive.

My suggestion:

Go with the mix of red and whites..

Or if you like Chardonnay, go with the whites which include a very good Chardonnay

Other info:

No further obligations, no commitments

Free gift of a corkscrew

Reality Check:

Are they hand-selected, artisan wines rated 93 points made by real wineries: do you believe in Santa?

Did Martha taste her way through hundreds of wines to select these 12 offered: probably NOT, but she may have tasted the 12 finalists.

Are the wines medal winners? Yes, but that means very, very little these days.

But at $4.99 a bottle they pair well with a little baloney.

I’m sure Martha also has a Baloney Collection.

 

Think Rhone Style Wines this Holiday

Worry no more about which wines to serve with typical holiday fare and your fussy  family.

Sure, you’ll have to deal with your family, but

Your wine selection problems will be solved with these two whites and 2 reds from

bonnydoonvineyards.com

Includes 1 bottle each of the following Thanksgiving classics:

  • 2013 Syrah “Le Pousseur”
  • 2011 Le Cigare Volant Réserve “en bonbonne”
  • 2016 Vin Gris de Cigare Réserve
  • 2015 Le Cigare Blanc

The price is very good:

$109 Four-pack

(Regularly $149)

More info should you want to join:

Wine Club Member price: $92.65

Go to www.bonnydoonvineyards.com

Best Wines for Thanksgiving?

Want to try something different and be a little adventurous this year?

Forget about the fruity Chardonnay and the wimpy Pinot Grigio. Neither goes well with the stuffed bird. And don’t drag out your favorite full-bodied reds as the easy out.

This year, if you want to be creative with your wine choices, we found the perfect solution online.

And if you act before November 12th, shipping direct to your door is free.

King Estate, an Oregon pioneer, is offering a terrific three-bottle package of limited production, highly versatile wines that will please everyone and make you look like you spent days researching the subject.

Yes, the solution is three wines to take you and your guests through the entire feast.

King Estate Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris are highly rated and stand at the top of their class. 

The dry Estate Gewurztraminer will surprise and please everyone and spark conversation about its pronunciation.

Check out this 3 bottle Thanksgiving package at http://www.kingestate.com  or call 1-800-884-4441

Go to http://www.winereviewonline.com for more buying wines online tips

Wine Sale Alert

Best Fall Sale this Week

With free shipping on select wines www.wtso.com is one to check out.

Act fast because a few sold out within hours.

Still available is an excellent Chardonnay: 2014 Cuvaison Estate Carneros, $15.99

And an excellent red: 2014 Chateau Hoyot Reserve Cotes de Bordeaux, $13.99

Another super Chardonnay with free shipping on 4: 2014 Iron Horse Estate Chardonnay, $16.99

Learn more about wtso at http://www.bestonlinewineshopping.com

 

Heads up for a Wine Sale Well-worth Exploring

  • When: October 16 through the 19th.

  • Offered by: vintage wine estates

  • Website:www. vintagewineestates.com

  • Look for daily updates and special offers

  • The deal: over 150 wines offered, with discounts as high as 50%

  • Shipping: free on all case orders (12 bottles)

Background on vintage wine estates:

This company has been acquiring wineries over the last decade and now owns over a dozen real wineries and brands.

The top names are B.R. Cohn, Clos Pegase, Swanson, and Sonoma Coast Vineyards.

Its private labels and brands are best ignored such as Purple Cowboy and Pro-mis-Q-ous.

And it is also responsible for the Game of Thrones wines which are frequently sold on E-Bay.

Here are two teasers of what will be included in this sale

  • 2015 BR Cohn Silver label Cabernet Sauvignon, $15 (usually $25)
  • 2014 Viansa Sonoma Coast  Pinot Noir Reserve for $27 (usually $45)

Insider information:

Though no fan of global wine companies, I am comfortable with this one…so far.

To date, the parent company has maintained the integrity of wineries such as BR Cohn, Swanson, Clos Pegase, Sonoma Coast and Firesteed.

A few wines from Both Swanson and Clos Pegase have been hyped and discounted at vivino, so this is not the one and only online sale opportunity.

Before buying any wine, check out the price at www.winesearcher.com to se if you are getting a genuine deal

Partial listing:

Vintage Wine Estates is a group of winery estates and brands that include Clos Pegase, Cosentino Winery, Girard Winery, B.R. Cohn Winery, Swanson Vineyards, Viansa Sonoma, Windsor Vineyards, Cameron Hughes, Firesteed, Tamarack Cellars, Cartlidge & Browne, Sonoma Coast Vineyards, Middle Sister, Tall Dark Stranger, Pro-mis-Q-ous, Monogamy, Girl & Dragon, Purple Cowboy and a number of exclusive wine brands. 

Time to Harvest Great Wine Deals

The first major online September wine sale is at www.cawineclub.com   

And is a wonderful way to kick off the harvest season.

And stock up on all types of wine because this sale turns out to be a bargain hunter’s paradise with excellent wines from real wineries.

Take advantage of terrific discounts, a few over 50% off.

And the sale includes $1 shipping on 6 or 12 bottles. Shipping a case normally runs $38-40.

Check out this exciting “Harvest Wine Sale” which ends on September 30, 2018.  Prices listed are per bottle.

My top 5 Great Value picks under $15

2016 Cambria Monterey Chardonnay  $8.99

2013 Tangent Grenache Blanc Edna Valley $9.99

2013 Zaca Mesa Syrah Santa Ynez $12.99

2014 Kieu Hoang Cabernet Sauvignon Napa $11.99

2016 Clos LaChance Central Coast Red $13.99

Top Scoring Wine

94 points, (tasted at the winery 23 August)

2016 Clos LaChance Central Coast Red $13.99

Combines Merlot, Cabernet, Malbec and Petit Verdot from home vyd in Santa Clara and nearby estate vineyards.

Crafted in a smooth, rich classy style. Classic blackberry, tea leaf, spicy aromas and flavors with light touch of oak. Serve this Meritage red to your snobby Napa Valley friends and they will think it is a $100 bottle.

Drink now or age this one for a few years This is the old Clos LaChance label that is being replaced next vintage which might explain the exceptional deal.

Best of the Rest under $50

2015 Morgan Winery Pinot Noir, Double L, Santa Lucia Highlands $38.

This is the top of the line and is fabulous Pinot at any price.

See more at www.cawineclub.com

Check out more online deals and honest, detailed reviews of wine clubs at

www.bestonlinewineshopping.com

International Pinot Noir Day!

Those 6 or 12 bottle sets of wine deals organized around some theme are best ignored. They are featured by most of those wine clubs sending wines 3 or 4 times a year.

The wines are most likely being unloaded for good reason and usually are not much of a deal at any price.

In my coverage of the top 20 online wine sellers, I routinely suggest wine lovers with any brains avoid these themed deals like the plague or a STD.

Well, one 6 bottle set came along that includes excellent wines at an attractive price. 

And yes, this is International Pinot Noir Day!

The theme is “6 Pinots from our Favorite Growing Regions.”

From wineaccess.com which selected 6 excellent Pinots from top vintages.

the price of $149, shipping included, is excellent.

The Pinots are from Scribe (Sonoma Valley), Bernardus (Santa Lucia Highlands) Withers Hill, (Dundee, Oregon), Domaine de la Cote (Santa Rita Hills) Karo-Kahn (Carneros)  and Solena Estate (Willamette Valley).

The website:

www.wineaccess.com

 

Thinking About Buying 2015 Bordeaux: Start Here

 

Yes, 2015 is an excellent vintage for most of Bordeaux. I was there during the early harvesting.

The vine in the close-up photo is Merlot at Chateau Monbousquet a few days before the harvest. The best winemakers have sorting devices (often people) that remove the raisined grapes prior to fermentation, in case you were curious.

And yes, 90+ scores are so plentiful as reviewers went crazy when the wines were sampled early on. So there’s little meaningful guidance if you go by the scores.

My buying strategy is to prefer the 2015s from St. Emilion by a slight margin. The growing season favored Merlot which made St. Emilion and, of course, Pomerol, the hit of the year.

www.wine.com just announced its first big offering of the 2015s. No discounts but plenty of choices and shipping options. This is a major, well-established, and reliable seller. See my detailed review at http://www.bestonlinewineshopping.com

My focus, as always, is on wines that are authentic, true to their region, can be enjoyed over the next few years and represent excellent value.

My top 5 picks of 2015 Bordeaux under $35.00 at http://www.wine.com:

Chateau de France, Pessac $24.99

Château Haut Brisson, St. Emilion $31.99

Tour Saint Christophe, St. Emilion $34.99

Château Cantemerle, Haut Medoc $34.99

Château Fombrouge, St. Emilion $34.99

A Cool Pinot Noir Event for You

The International Pinot Noir Celebration in Oregon got underway this past week, and it is one of the best wine events held anywhere. It is also a popular one that sells out early.

For those Pinot lovers who were not enjoying copious quantities of Pinot in the heat at McMinnville, the festival’s headquarters, don’t feel left out.

Remain inside by the air conditioner and check out the exciting Pinot sales festival at this site:

www.invino.com

They call it the “Pinot Palooza Wine Shop.” I call it a terrific opportunity to experiment with Pinots from around the world.

Most are priced below $25 a bottle.

Look over the list and you might discover an exciting new to-you growing region for your favorite and so sensitive to climate, Pinot Noir.

 Once a trip to New Zealand to review Sauvignon Blanc, I fell in love with kiwi Pinot Noir in general and those from Central Otago in particular.

So you can always expect to learn something when tasting Pinots from different places.

Here are the regions represented in the Palooza package:

Russian River, Sonoma Coast, Anderson Valley, Bennett Valley, Central Otago, the Willamette Valley and, of course, Burgundy. There is even a German and a Loire Valley Pinot to challenge the true Pinot fan.

Here are my top 5 recommendations:

  • 2014 Waipara Hills, Central Otago, NZ, $13.99
  • 2013 Champs de Reves, Anderson Valley, $24.99
  • 2013 Frostwatch, Bennett Valley, $19.99
  • 2014 Cardwell Hills, Willamette Valley $14.99
  • 2014 Banshee Sonoma Coast, $54.99

There are other good Pinots, so scroll through the entire list.

For a detailed review of http://www.invino.com, go to my website:

http://www.bestonlinewineshopping.com

 

Top Online Wine Retailers Compete Over Memorial Weekend: Winners and Also-Rans

 

For online wine sellers, Memorial Weekend is like the first stage of the Triple Crown, with Fathers Day and July 4th to follow.

And as the long Memorial Weekend was unfolding, there was a lot of hyping and prancing around before the race began.

The dust is now settling leaving a couple of questions.

Which websites were better at it than others?

Which ones made a serious effort to offer new wines and attractive prices?

While everyone else was at the beach, tweeting, or walking the dog over the long weekend, we were following the major wine sites to identify the real winners.

Here are the top 3 Memorial weekend wine studs:

1.www.invino.com

According to handicapper Jimmy the Grape, this was the pre-event favorite. After an early technical glitch out of the gate, this site hit its stride and by the final turn, it never looked back to emerge as the top choice.

The usual offerings were greatly expanded and the discounts ranged from 25% to 70%.

It augmented its outstanding roster of under the radar wines from the West Coast  with wines from Meyer Family, Goosecross, Ravenswood and Talisman Pinot Noir,

Imports were led by a super French Rose and 2013 Meursault Rouge, Pierre Matrot, Cote d’Or,  $19.99.

 

  1. www.wiredforwine.com

A real longshot, wiredforwines was a strong finisher with an impressive array of white wines and sparkling wines. Especially liked the 2016 Toutigeac Bordeaux Blanc at $13.99 and a 2016 Rioja for $12.97. Nicely priced Sancerre and Rias Baixas are tempting deals. For high-end fare, hard to beat the

2016 Arnot-Roberts Watson Chardonnay, Napa Valley.

Owned by self-proclaimed foodies operating of New Jersey, this site has come to life recently. Best on imported wines. Look for good deals in the Under $20 category and check out its Most Popular sellers.

  1. (Photo finish too close to call)

www.winespies.com

Sure, the spy thing is silly for wine though it works (for now) for Trump.This remains a go-to site if you love Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Sonoma County. But it manages to pick up a hidden gem or two from Napa. Recent offering of the Secret Rows Sauvignon Blanc for $14.99 confirms this is a much-improved site for high quality wines at lovely prices.

This may seem surprising but this site recently shows exceptional versatility with good deals on McLaren Vale Grenache, a Paso Robles Syrah at 50% off and Phelps Chardonnay.

3.

www.cawineclub.com

One of the oldest online wine sellers, the California Wine Club was a sentimental favorite viewed as a real workhorse. But while others were saying “Stock up here and Save,” this club was letting the super deals speak for themselves. Specializing in small, family owned California wineries, it stretched Memorial Day offers through June 16 and offered a huge list of wines at 25% below the already discounted prices.

By adding $1 case shipping, it came from way back in the pack to finish a strong third. The following are our favorite wines to stock up now and save big:

  • 2016 Castoro Cellars Estate Viognier, Paso Robles $9.00
  • 2012 Zaca Mesa Z Cuvee, Santa Ynez, $12.75
  • 2013 Bien Nacido Vineyards Syrah, Santa Maria Valley $40
  • 2014 Talley Vineyards Pinot Noir, Rincon Vyd, $32.
  • 2015 Talley Vineyards Estate Chardonnay, $34

The rest of the pack:

http://www.vivino.com.com showed well and made a late move with a deeply discounted Steltzner Cabernet and a Howell Mountain Merlot. But why so many heavy reds weighing it down as June approaches? And it really needs to tamp down the batshit hype and maybe not associate every wine somehow with a winemaker who once made a 100 point wine. Or say every wine is rated over 95 points by somebody

www.cinderellawine.com

Solid for discounted Italian and Spanish wines. From Chianti Classico to the Super Tuscans, this site beats most others for both selection and discounted prices. But otherwise limited offerings from other prime regions.

Enjoyed a decent weekend with specials on imported Roses. Good discounts and shipping options.

www.wineaccess.com

Rapidly improving but did not break away from the pack this week. Best for CA wines from limited production wineries. But also featured several first-rate French wines from Burgundy and Southern Rhone over the weekend.

Added hard to find wines such as the Scribe Pinot Noir,Tor Chardonnay and  Vermillion from Keplinger.

Not all wines are discounted, this is more like a specialty online wine shop.

www.getwineonline.com  

Proved itself once again as the site for stocking up on cases of quality wines to enjoy on an everyday basis. The list of wines under $20 set the stage this weekend.

www.garigistewine.com

Totally eccentric, with often brilliant selection of imports, this site devoted the weekend to offers of “mystery” wines. They were inexpensive, but seemed like a silly waste of time.

www.wine.com

This very complete and reliable site with decent discounts didn’t come up with anything unusual or exciting other than adding a 10% discount