Halloween Wine

Have you ever bought a bottle of wine simply because of the label? You have absolutely no knowledge of what is on the inside and probably don't care because the label speaks to you or to a specific occasion. I had a pumpkin carving party last night and someone brought a bottle of "Trick" wine! What a perfect gift for a Halloween Party!

I found out that Trick is bottled exclusively for World Market. It's a red table wine and it goes well with the pizza! That's about all I have for you on this one. It wont knock your socks off but for $8 it is a GREAT bottle to bring to your Halloween Parties this weekend.

Bye Bye Bitch

I was so disappointed to learn this week that one of my favorite fun winemakers is out of business, Grateful Palate Airwines. The company not only produced good affordable wine but it was some of the most cleverly packaged. 

The Boarding Pass Shiraz had a label that looked like an actual boarding pass complete with a luggage tag around the neck and directions on how to enjoy the ride (or consumption) on the back.  

Perhaps the bottle that got the most attention was the Bitch Grenache. The word Bitch was in lovely, black script writing across a light pink label. Appropriately enough it came in a screw cap. The wine was a bit spicy with fruit on the finish…the “Bitch” was tasty. But she’s gone. I know there are bottles of both out there somewhere so be sure to buy them if you happen to run across any! Oh, and pick one up for me too!!

French-"Down Under" Style

It was so nice after a long day of jury duty this week to be greeted by friends tasting a selection of wines from Torbreck. Torbreck is a forest in Scotland where David Powell worked as a Lumberjack before he started producing wine in Australia.

Powell is big on the Barossa Valley but also favors the traditional French winemaking practices of the Northern and Southern Rhône valleys. So here comes a great marriage of old world and new world!

The 2009 Saignee Rose resembles the bone dry Rosés of Provence. It is made from old vine Mataro grapes (you may know the grape better as its French counterpart, Mourvedre). This is another great Florida wine! Serve it chilled with seafood and you've got a hit! It will cost you around $20.

The same grape, Mataro, comes alive in an entirely different way in The Pict 2006! The grapes come from a single vineyard and have been aged to produce a wine that smells like leather and spice and tastes earthy, chocolaty, minerally and tannic. WOW! This wine will age nicely! It will cost you between $145-$160!

I wondered what the name meant so I got online and found The Picts were a tribe of fierce warriors and the first people to inhabit Scotland. The wine is made from Mataro, one of the founding varieties planted in the Barossa. Powell calls it, "A truly rich, wild and untamed wine, enough to satiate a Pictish warrior."

One more Torbreck wine not to miss is the '06 Run Rig. It is deliciously aromatic with lots of layers of flavor. For some reason I'm having trouble reading my tasting notes but there is no mistaking the giant star I put beside it!! This is a big boy! It will run you close to $200!

Viva Italia!

I was recently asked why I like Italian wines, after all they are so foreign! When I say foreign I mean more than just from another country. They are hard to get a grasp on with more than 1000 varietals from dozens of regions. I like Italian wines because they are food wines! No coincidence here but I also like Italian cuisine!

Last night I was invited to taste the Italian wines in Kobrand and Republic National's portfolio. I was in heaven drinking everything from a delicous white Gavi to the king of big reds, Sassicaia!

The '09 Michele Chiarlo Gavi was full of zest and minerals. Gavi is from the Piemonte region and is actually made from the Cortese grape (remember that "foreign" statement made earlier). Another fun white I found was an '08 Campo al Mare, Vermentino di Toscana. The Vermentino was blended with a touch of Sauvignon Blanc to give it a nice crispy finish! Both wines are moderately priced under $20.

There were just way too many outstanding reds to mention and my better judgement says save it for Viva Italia Blog Part II. For once I will listen!