Category: Uncategorized

Another Mile High Club?

American Airlines’ announcement that it will sell wines through its Flagship Cellars program made the business news circuit. It must have been a slow day, as even CNN andFox Business picked it up as if it were a big deal. 

Well, this is neither big nor all that newsworthy. It is just another subscription box sales pitch. And no, a laid off flight attendant or crew member is not likely to personally deliver the wine to your door.

The Flagship Cellars Wine Program is powered by vinesse which has been in the wine subscription box business since 1993. 

Furthermore, for many years vinesse which is headquartered in Southern California,  has been fulfilling wine clubs for not only American Airlines but also for Delta and United Airlines before this announcement. Indeed, vinesse also goes by the name of American Cellars Wine Club.

The one real bit of news is that the quality level of wines in American’s Flagship Cellars is a big step up from vinesse’s usual selection. I regularly receive teaser offers from vinesse for 6 bottles for $29.99, but once you get past the teaser, the wines are not that exceptional nor are they bargains by any means. Vinesse also powered the NRA’s wine club. Make of that what you will.

The short list from American’s Flagship Cellars consists of real wines, not private brands. It offers Chardonnays from Trefethen and MacRostie and Truchard and a couple of good Oregon Pinot Noirs. There’s a Hall Merlot and the Jaboulet Beaume de Venise is quite unusual. Most  other reds are above average in quality. But the Champagnes are wonderful. Both Deutz and Moutard are among my all-time FAVS.

So the deal is if you subscribe, you get miles as well as wine. A three-bottle monthly subscription costs $100. 

If not a member, you can buy a case and it will ship free. And that’s my strong suggestion.

Go to http://www.vinesse.com/afc

If you see a favorite in the list at a reasonable price,  go for it and buy a case with free shipping.

However, this “news story” does raise a few questions.

 First, does anyone need miles this badly? Maybe these are the best wines served during some flights, but where are the wines being stored since the pandemic reduced flights and drinking during a flight?

Does American Airlines really have a sommelier leading a team that tastes 2000 wines a year? If so that’s not many wines and yes, I’d take the job without the team.

Finally, is pushing a wine club to unload wine really an innovative response to falling revenues? One business report said American estimated this program will add $40,000-$50,000 during the first quarter. Woopie!

If that’s the best you can do, why not donate the wines to some worthy cause or charity wine auction for first responders?

Not that would truly qualify as a breaking news story. 

Four from Foursight

Foursight Wines, an Anderson Valley superstar, is offering an unbeatable 4 pack for the holidays. 

Enjoy these great wines and support a family owned winery.

https://www.foursightwines.com/2020-holiday-sampler/

 2018 Sauvignon Blanc (almost sold out!)

 2019 Vin Gris of Pinot Noir (rosé)

 2018 Zero New Oak Pinot Noir (new release)

 2018 Charles Vineyard Pinot Noir (new release)

I’m a longtime fan of the distinctive Sauvignon Blanc, loaded with flavors and beautifully balanced.

The 2018 Charles Vineyard Pinot Noir is simply one of the best from Anderson Valley.

And what a terrific opportunity to enjoy and talk about 3 styles of Pinot Noir, all from the family owned Charles Vineyard. 

Bet you never tasted a high quality but unoaked Pinot. Here’s your chance.

Act fast!

and consider joining the club.

Thank me later

Great Wine Deals to Kiss 2020 Goodbye

Clos LaChance Vineyard’s end of the year sale is big.

Savings up to 60% on some wines.

50% on most.

Sale will continue until December 31st.

Clos LaChance from Santa Clara Valley is best known to wines lovers in nearby Silicon Valley.

Located outside of Morgan Hill, the winery has a popular club and is normally packed on weekends with live music.

It is also family owned, and its 150 acre vineyard is beautiful and well-established.

As a frequent visitor, I’ve tasted most of their wines, bought quite a few and given several high ratings.

From this sale, I recommend the following:

Grenache Reserve: from vines adjacent to the winery. $18 a bottle, half off.

Monterey Chardonnay: brisk and versatile. A deal at $10

22 Pirates Red Blend: winemaker’s best red from Rhone varieties and is oak aged. A high end wine, offered by the case. $150 a case.

dont hesitate go to:

http://www.clos.com

Unbeatable Deal on Award Winning Wines

Top This: Great Wines at 50% Discount

Terrific opportunity to get to know Navarro Vineyards which is family owned and hauls away Gold Medals at every wine competition.

Navarro’s six-bottle Black Friday Sampler is only available through Monday, November 30, or until the sampler is sold out. The six wines in this sampler, three Chardonnay and three Pinot Noir, have earned a total of seventeen Gold or Silver medals in major wine competitions. 

The 2017 Chardonnay, Mendocino was awarded 94 points by http://www.winereviewonline.com

2016 Pinot Noir, Méthode à l’Ancienne, Unfiltered  is another winner, one of the finest examples of Anderson Valley Pinot.

The sampler is being offered for $88.50, a savings of $88.50! There is a limit of one sampler per household. However, you can also add six bottles of any Navarro wine or non-alcoholic juice of your choice and the twelve bottles will qualify for One-Cent shipping.

online at www.NavarroWine.com or you are welcome to phone us toll-free at 1-800-537-9463 or 707-895-3686 between 8-6 PST weekdays, 8-5 PST weekends. If you prefer, reach us by email at sales@NavarroWine.com 

A Worthy List of Cellar Worthy Wines

 Bravo Oldtimer Wine Pub

The Wine Enthusiast magazine, an oldie for sure, just released its list of the Top 100 Cellar Worthy wines. A great timely list to help re-stock your cellars.

https://www.winemag.com

These are my top ten reasons why this list is a must read for today’s non-snobby, open-minded wine drinker.

  1. The list is fascinating in its choices because the wines are not the usual predictable big names. And it is not pimping (too much) to advertisers. Only the top ranked Antinori was predictable along with Biondi-Santi Brunello and, yes, Dominus. The La Jota mention may be a bone thrown to the Jackson Family.
  2. It gets you out of the cult Cabernet rut. The number 2 most cellar worthy wine is a Syrah, not Cabernet or Bordeaux. And it was Terre Rouge’s Ascent from Sierra Foothills which, BTW, I’ve been praising for years.  Betz Family Syrah is also an excellent choice.

3. Not based on price: The list includes many nicely priced wines, about half priced below $75.

4. It reminds us white wines can age:  The selections include the Tablas Creek Esprit Blanc, a Copain Anderson Valley Chardonnay, a German Riesling, and a Pinot Gris from Alsace. Another Bravo for that daring choice.

5. It lists quite a few wines from Oregon and Washington. Kudos for including a Merlot from Walla Walla, home to some of the best Merlot around. Intriguing mention of Horsepower Syrah from Walla Walla which I’ll try to find.

6. Not Napa Valley driven: It lists very few Napa wines, but does have the Heitz Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet and a Mayacamas Chardonnay.

7. A few wines are downright discoveries and bargains such as the Buty Semillon-Sauvignon from Washington for $25 and a 2017 Cahors for $24. Biggest discovery of all may be the Halcon “Esquisto” Red Yorkville Highlands.

8. Great choices of Pinot Noir from Central Otago, Alsace, and Oregon. There’s even a German Pinot Noir.

9. Sparkling wines as age-worthy? Of course, but great to see Roederer’s Hermitage from Mendocino getting full recognition along with Bollinger and Cliquot.

10. Excellent choices of 2017 Bordeaux: the Chateau Carbonnieux is the 4th best and priced at $45. Right, no Petrus, no chateau Margaux. No hyping of the latest vintage for another bravo.

Join An Exclusive Club?

2015 Brasas Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 95 points

Available only to club members, this Cabernet got this frugal, non-joiner’s attention.

Unlike many club “exclusives,” this one is not a leftover or a teaser. It was not made in tiny quantities. It is beautifully finished. The complete deal!

It is a true 95 point quality Cabernet.

It is from Palmaz Vineyards, an ultra-high tech family winery in Southern Napa. A blend of Cabernet and Malbec, this 2015 is concentrated with lovely ripe fruit and refined oak notes. It was aged in new oak, but shows restraint, silky tannins and flavors that unfold ever so slowly. Multi-layered, beautifully structured, it is more like a Bordeaux than your typical pricey, juicy Napa Cab. This one sells to member for $115. Sightly over 1,000 cases were made. 

Mia Klein, a super winemaker with a special knack for Cabernet, is the consultant.

The family also owns a cattle ranch which explains the Gaucho image on the label. And they sell products other than wine, meaning steaks and stuff.

Check out www.palmazvineyards.com or  www.brasasclub.com

Full disclosures:

My source: gift from a family member.

I’m not an affilate on a commission or looking for a freebie.

If I weren’t such a cheap SOB, I’d join this club.

Over and Under Albarino

Wine Discovery of the Week

The 2019 Abacela Winery Albarino is an over-achiever in many ways. It offers the desirable aromas of ripe apricot and tangerine with some citrus. All very fresh and lively.

But the flavors are rich and complex with hints of honeysuckle and spice. Yet, and this is the added bonus, it finishes with the expected tang and zest you associate with Albarino.

Though it has been making first-class wines from Spanish varieties for 25 years, Abacela flies under the radar, mainly enjoying a hard-earned reputation among local wine lovers in Southern Oregon. It is in the Umpqua Valley which ironically led the way in the Oregon wine revival.

If you are tired of simple commercial Pinot Grigio or find most Sauvignon Blancs a little too grassy and thin, you might consider or re-consider Albarino.

And begin with this one from Abacela which sells it direct to consumers. It is priced around $20. I bought this one at Margo’s Wine Bar in Medford for $16.99.

Heads Up! The first End of Summer Wine Sale

 See the full list at www.wineexpress.com for today’s sale.

It begins with a 2016 Bordeaux for $7.47 which is 75% below retail

There’s also the 2015 Napa Cellars V Collection Pinot Noit 50% off.

After checking out the sale items, look at the other featured wines. You’ll find great wines like Caymus Special Select Cabernet and Heitz Martha’s Vineyard Cab, wines rarely offered online.

Read the following detailed review to see why we selected wineexpress.com  as the best website for High-end wines in 2020:

BEST FOR HIGH END, Luxury Wines

winexpress.com tries to balance “value and service” which suggests it is neither a giant warehouse nor a down-and-dirty discount site.  It is the exclusive online wine shop partner of The Wine Enthusiast catalog and website. So it is well-financed and has an excellent facility for storage and shipping.

So far in 2020, it has risen to the occasion and has picked up many once allocated wines from California and has vastly improved its high-end imported selections.

It really leads the field in upgrading to big-named wines like Gaja, Dominus, Sassicaia, Shafer, Caymus Special Select, and, yes Perrier-Jouet and Dom…all slightly discounted with the Sassicaia 25% below retail. 

I’ve not yet seen anyone else offer Phelps Insignia or Cakebread’s Reserve Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon. And recently it secured an allotment of the luxury Corton-Charlemagne from Louis Latour and a 2017 Puligny Montrachet, Les Folatieres.”  

Add the Pahlmeyer Merlot and Chardonnay to the recent offerings and the point is clear: wineexpress.com is getting first dibs on many wines once exclusive to top restaurants and/or sold direct from the winery.

The site works through the usual sorting procedures with click on searches by variety, price and region. It also offers several wine club options and gift packages.

One special touch is a series of videos taking you through tastings that are conducted by Josh Farrell, its Wine Director.

He often runs through the daily wine special which can then be purchased. He is one excellent swirler, BTW, and he encourages decanting and/or aerating young wine.

You can learn a lot about judging wine by watching a few of his videos.

And it continues to offer several good value wines under $20.

But overall,  this online site sticks to the high road ($50 and up) and allows some wriggle room for choices within each category.

A Personal Wine Shopper’s One Stop Shopping Plan

 

In this era of online shopping and home deliveries, we all tend to prefer one stop shopping. It is simply easier, less annoying and frustrating. And studying several websites and going over lists will only add a little more stress to daily living. We dont need that.

If you share these beliefs, then allow me to share where I would go online for one-stop wine shopping. Since my choice may surprise you, let me explain my reasoning. 

First, I prefer more than bargain wines, I want wines with some excitement and sizzle. Small production, distinctive wines, not wines or brands owned by giants like Gallo and Treasury which will always be available.

I also look for wines that before discounts, I would normally find way over my budget.

And right now, I am going all out to take advantage of the temporary market which has many restaurants unable to take showcase wines allocated to them. 

For instance today the Flowers 2016 Sonoma Coast, Seaview Ridge Pinot Noir is offered at $55, but it retails for $80 and is usually on wine lists for around $125.

As for timing, I’m looking for more lively, refreshing wines to drink over the summer, not blockbusters or age-worthy monsters.

So, here’s this weekend’s shopping list for one-stop wine shopping. Within a monthly wine budget of $250, I would buy 3 bottles each of the following:

2019 Private Property by Caraccioli, Rosé Santa Lucia Highlands, $14.00

2017 Le P’tit Paysan, Chardonnay Jack’s Hill Monterey, $14.00

2018 Cotes du Rhone, Domaine L’Abbe Dine, $15.00

2018 Brassfield Estate Malbec, Volcanic Ridge $18.00

2018 Tank Garage Winery Fast Machine Red Blend Sierra Foothills $20.00

So, there you have it.

And, yes I expect most have not heard about these wines. These are all limited production wines normally sold direct and/or destined for restaurant wine lists.

The lovely Rose is from a region famous for Pinot noir. The racey Chardonnay is a single vineyard version made by Ian Brand, noted sommelier. The Rhone is made by a famous winemaker. The pure, balanced Malbec is from Lake County which is known for red wines, and Tank Garage in Calistoga was on its way to becoming a hot wine destination for the in crowd. 

You can find these wines at  www.invino.com which is based in Napa County.

Any Disclaimers? 

None. I’m not an influencer auditioning for free samples. I’m not an affiliate working on a commission. I have no personal relationship with anyone at invino.com. 

Next week, new selections.

I drink wines and I know things.

 

 

 

4 Cult Wine Wannabes Now Available Online

 

Restaurant trophy wines are now surfacing in the online wine world. Wines like Dominus, Silver Oak, and Caymus Cabernet are being offered nationally at slightly discounted prices. You could always find these wines at a few select retail outlets if you looked hard enough.

But when I saw today’s offer from www.invino.com, lots of thoughts came together.

The wine is 2017 Domaine Santa Duc,  Habemus Papam, Châteauneuf du Pape, priced at $42. The announcement mentioned it had 15 cases available. 

This fabulous Santa Duc Chateauneuf, a personal favorite, is often a highlight on many upscale restaurant lists. My theory is that 5 restaurants had to decline the usual 3 case order. So a wholesaler turned to the invino folks.

A few minutes later, the winespies.com daily offer came in with another Heidi Barrett wine. This time it was from Amuse Bouche which has a cult-like, well-deserved reputation built over 20 vintages. The winery’s other label is Vin Perdu. It too is a wine list super-star conveying special status on the restaurant or sommelier.

Both wines are from 2017, meaning current release, not old stock.

Not to be outgunned, lastbottlewines.com is selling a 2017 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon from Stewart Cellars. Yes, 2017 is the current vintage. And yes, Stewart is on many Napa wine lists and also sells from its cozy tasting room in tourist-oriented Yountville. At $30 a bottle, half off, this is another stellar deal. 

Stewart is relatively new, but with Paul Hobbs as a consultant it was on a course to join the cult Cab circle until recent events.

And the clincher, vivino.com struck a deal to sell another near cult wine:

Erikson & Caradin 2018 Ivy & Thistle Cabernet Sauvignon, Atlas Peak.

In only its third vintage, this wine was selling for about $125. But vivino has it for $39.99.

Think of me as your personal wine shopper.

Now go shop!