Black Friday in the Online Wine Shopping World

 An Up-to-date Report:

Amazon is disappointingly focused elsewhere; same old wine deals.

www.getwineonline.com is better with 10-40% discounts and coupons.

Laithwaite offered a special case of red wines, mostly heavy-duty reds.

And www.lastbottlewines.com will likely offer a surprise or two in its flash sales before this day is over.

But the major Black Friday breaking news is that the big boy, http://www.wine.com, came through in a big way.

The today-only offer at wine.com is an extra 10% off and free shipping for a case.

My tip for exploring the lists of white and red wines, is sort by SAVINGS.

Dont be bamboozled or distracted by that “Popular Sellers” category which always seem to start out with high-priced wines.

And if you truly want a deal, dont sort by the 90 points or more ratings.

My search was for excellent wines priced at least 25% below average retail before that extra 10% was applied.

Looking very carefully at wines below $20 a bottle, we zoomed in on these ten money-saving deals:

2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Los Vascos, Colchagua Valley, $9.99

2012 Chardonnay Mercer, Columbia Valley, $10.69

2013 Chardonnay Benziger Family, Sonoma County $10.99

2014 Garnacha Torres 5G, $11.99

2013 Shannon Ridge Wrangler Red, Lake County, $12.99

2012 Casa Santos Lima Confidencial Reserve Red, Portugal  $12.99

2015 Pinot Gris, “J” Russian River, $14.99

2015 Chardonnay Reserve, Frei, Russian River, $15.99

2014  Cabernet Sauvignon Catena, Argentina $17.99

2014 Gewurztraminer Trimbach, Alsace, $19.99

Too Good to Be True?

As we approach Black Friday and prepare for Cyber Monday, deals are coming at us from every direction.

And now, not to be ignored, the over two dozen online wine merchants I track daily are also trying to cash in on this crazy time.

One deal so far seems exceptional.

The Offer:

“From now through Black Friday only, firstleafclub.com is offering 3 rare, high-quality wines, each $30 a bottle at retail, in this special deal for only $5 a bottle!

2012 Kita Grenache, Santa Ynez Valley

2014 Moniker Pinot Noir, Mendocino

2015 Ultima Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Reserva, Chile

For a limited time only, you can get these three award-winning wines for just $19.95 (including shipping) as your introduction to the Firstleaf wine club! “

My Take:

Putting aside the award-winning and “rare wine” fluff, this offer is almost too good to be true.

The Grenache and Pinot are very good wines from real wineries.

Kita is a family-owned winery that made less than 300 cases of the attractive Grenache. Moniker is a new line of wines from the well-known Parducci Winery in Mendocino County.

Hard to go wrong with a Chilean Cab for $5.00.

Free shipping makes this a super deal.

For insider information and a detailed review of first leaf wine merchant click here: www.bestonlinewineshopping.com

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.

Harvest Time In St. Emilion

Enjoying a beautiful, warm sunny Sunday in St. Emilion. The tiny streets are crowded with tourists from everywhere making it more difficult than ever to find a parking place. And although the wine bars and restaurants are packed and the noise level is high, the surrounding cellars and vineyard areas are quiet.

No tractors are bumping along the numerous roads rushing from vineyard to cellar and spilling red juice along the roads as they were last week in the Languedoc region to the South.

In St. Emilion growers are playng that annual and risky waiting game as they hope for sustained warm, dry October weather to yield another miracle and make 2016 a surprising following act to 2015.

A noisy thunderstorm blew through here late last Friday dropping considerable rain for about 2 hours.

But Saturday was dry with slight breezes to dry things. Dark clouds were visible in the distance until the skies cleared in the early evening. The waiting game was on.

A few raindrops fell the week before. But this is France and nobody panics when rain arrives during the harvest season. Not here, at least. One grower suggested the vines would benefit from the rain so long as the thin-skinned Merlot grapes didn’t begin to split open from the added moisture. That would be a disaster because Merlot plays a starring role in St. Emilion wines.

But the red grapes are hanging, looking ripe and juicy to the untrained eye. The vines are still green, looking healthy. That’s an old Merlot vine carrying a small crop in our photo.

Merlot will be the first variety harvested. Possibly later in the week. Then the two Cabernets with Malbec and Petit Verdot coming in  to end the harvest.

Meanwhile, the waiting continues.