August 25, 2015

Summer is almost over and it's time for me to replace my refreshing whites with soothing reds; particularly, red-blends. Red-blends have become increasing popular over the past 10 years. They have the reputation of being more affordable and less "edgy" than Cabernet. The red-blends I enjoy most are much smoother and less heavy than Cabs. Still, some red-blends are wonderfully big and bold with high alcohol content, and yet their tannins aren't as bitter and overwhelming as many Cabernets. Depending on the grapes combined, red-blends are often lively, juicy and fruity. On the downside, some are also far too sweet for my liking.

Prisoner has been credited as the first breakout red-blend star in 2001. Prisoner's creator, Dave Phinney, created Prisoner more by accident than anything else. With small quantities of Cabernet, Syrah, and some old-vine Charbono grapes that he didn't know what to do with, he created a new bold, sexy taste that caught on quickly. Prisoner does not make my list because it's priced at $35 and it no longer has the rock star flavor it did years back, but it's still a red-blend to be enjoyed and the "to go to" for many red-blend lovers.

Unlike Mr. Phinney's 2001 Prisoner, today's red-blends are created with painstaking blending artistry. Many wine-makers choose not to list all of the grapes used their wine and this makes me a bit nervous. I tend to shy away from those wines. For the purpose of this review, I've only included red-blends who proudly list the grapes used. All the wines listed can be enjoyed upon opening, but being that they are young reds, by letting them breathe (aeration) for an hour or two, you will fully appreciate their delicious offerings.

Disclaimer: I love red-blends and delicious wines in general. I'm not one who uses winemaker jargon, because frankly, I'm not a winemaker or sommelier. I try to describe the wines as best I can with simple descriptions. Understanding my limitations, I have included the winemaker's notes above my reviews.

14 Hands Hot to Trot Red Blend 2012 $9
Winemaker's Notes: 
This polished red wine offers aromas of cherry, red currant and tea. Flavors of ripe berries and dark stone fruits, supported by a frame of refined tannins, give way to subtle notes of baking spice on a persistent finish. The blend is predominantly Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Tanya's Notes: A tremendous value for $9. You won't be embarrassed to take to a friend's home. The wine is loaded with aromas of blackberry and plum and a hint of spice. After sitting for a bit, it's smooth and fruity. It's a bit sweeter than my other picks, still, this simple red-blend will not disappoint your palette nor your wallet.

Bodegas Castano Solanera 2012 $14 Tanya's BEST WINE FOR THE BUCK
Winemaker's Notes: The 2012 Solanera Vinas Viejas, a blend of 70% Monastrell, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Garnacha Tintorera aged 10 months in a combination of French and American oak. Unreal Wine. For champions. For gourmets. For poets and visionaries. With a pure and elegant bouquet of cinnamon, berries, dried fruit and a mineral touch. Silky on the palate, with dried pears and raspberries harmoniously assembled. An aftertaste that defies gravity.

Tanya's Notes: This extra dry red-blend is the BEST BLEND FOR THE BUCK on this list. It could easily cost three times its asking price. This wine's wonderful aroma meets you boldly as you raise your glass to drink. It's full-bodied and complex, yet it has a velvety feel that makes you want to hold on to each sit a second longer. I let this wine breathe for two hours and I was rewarded for my patience.

Orin Swift 'F-2' French Red Blend 2012 $15
Winemaker 's notes: The non-vintage Locations F-2 is all from the 2012 vintage and is a blend of Grenache from the Roussillon, Syrah from the Rhone Valley and assorted Bordeaux varieties. A dense ruby/purple color is followed by a big, sweet kiss of licorice, black currants and camphor. Deep, full-bodied and ripe (but not over-ripe), it possesses good freshness, vibrancy and delineation as well as a juicy, in-your-face style. These wines are all meant to be drunk upon release, but enough stuffing is present that they should evolve for 4-5 years. Robert Parker, the Wine Advocate

Tanya's Notes: This red-blend reminds me most of a Cabernet that I enjoy. It is bold with a fruity aroma that becomes very spirited when you first taste. Flavors of strawberry, licorice and mocha take turns teasing your tongue. It's not as smooth as the others listed but I don't think that was the winemakers purpose. You are forced to taste and engage with this wine from start to finish. I find it a fun experience.

Ancient Peaks Renegade 2012 $19
Winemaker's Notes: The 2012 Renegade comes from our estate Margarita Vineyard on the historic Santa Margarita Ranch. From missionaries to gunslingers, roughriders to outlaws, a colorful cast of characters has traversed the ranch's rugged terrain since the 18th century. In that spirit, we have made an intensely flavored blend that pushes the envelope and resists conformity, adding an adventurous twist to our family of wines. Defiantly bold and daringly elegant--this is Renegade. This red blend, combines 71% Syrah, 24% Malbec, and 5% Petit Verdot from the ancient seabed-based vineyards just south of the town of Paso Robles.

Tanya's Notes: This blend feels like a masculine wine. Not only for men to drink, of course, but because its licorice, cocoa, and berry aroma gives it a confident, edgy sensation. This blend is not for the faint of heart, hold on to your socks and enjoy!

'La Fraternité' Red Wine 2011, $20 
Winemaker's Notes: La Fraternité pronounces bright red fruit from the moment you pull the cork. This Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah blend is a lively wine with layered aromas and flavors of strawberries, raspberries, kirsch, violets and spice. On the palate, these flavors wrap around a silky medium body with a smooth, fresh and lingering finish.

Tanya's Notes: I was on the island of St. Martin and a local sommelier told me to try GMS (Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah). I'd never heard of the blend so I tried a few. Soon I learned that the Grenache, Mouvedre and Syrah blend was somewhat of a hit or miss with me. But when I find a hit - it's a homerun. 'La Fraternité', at $20 is definitely a triple. Washington again proves why it is a leader in producing domestic red-blends. This is a fruit-packed wine loaded with aromas and flavors of cherries and plums. The subtle spice mellows out the fruitiness to create a smooth and nicely complex finish.

Franciscan Magificat Meritage $40
Tanya's Notes: I feel compelled to throw in my new favorite red-blend. It is not under $25 but if you want to treat yourself to something special, go for the 2012 Franciscan Estate Napa Valley Magnificat. The aroma is so beautiful that you are forced to take it in more than once. The fruity flavor is bold yet delicate. After breathing for two hours, its velvety nature intensifies. My only regret about this wine is that I wasn't sharing it with a friend.

Winemaker's Notes: 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec, and 2% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet in color, with a very complex nose laden with dark fruit. Rich with the flavors of plum, dried cherry, clove, cardamom, and cassis with hints of peppercorn and cocoa. Smooth entry with ripe berries and cherry. The mouthfeel is full, yet seamless, showing well-knit tannins woven into a supple and full palate. On the mid-palate, notes of cassis and sage lead to a long finish of dark fruit, toasty vanilla notes, and savory hints of tobacco and black olive. Rich and inviting.

July 26, 2015

Point #1: I don't have a favorite Champagne for less that $20! Everything with bubbles is NOT champagne. In order for a wine to be classified as champagne, it must come from the Appellation of Champagne France. My favorite champagne is Comtes De Champagne by Taittinger and it cost ..... well let's just say, well over $20.  

Also of note:  Presecco wines come from Italy and Cavas come from Spain. Sparkling wines come from all over the globe.  

It is important that you find a sparkling wine that makes you happy regardless of someone else's opinion and ratings.  The wine should have an aroma that pleases your nose, not Robert Parkers.  Only you can decide if you like your sparkling wine dry or sweet. It's up to your palate as to what fruity styles you prefer, or do you like an oaky, buttery finish. So, don't let my suggestions dictate what will ultimately be your favorite sparkling under $20, but I guarantee that you will like one in this bunch!  Sparkling wines are fun, elegant and delicious but they don't have to be expensive.  

Cheers! 

 Tanya's Top 5 wines with bubbles:

1. Gruet  $14.99 - $17.99    The Brut offers a crisp, and full-bodied sparkling wine, which has developed rich complexity and fine mousse. The allure of toasty finish from twenty-four months on tirage, is a complement to the sophisticated apple and citrus flavor.Winemaker's Note: Brilliant with ultra fine bubbles. A wonderful fine bouquet dominated by green apple and grapefruit flavors. A truly classic house style!  

2. Mumm Napa Prestige $17.99 - $19.99    Brut Prestige is Mumm Napa’s signature sparkling wine. It is a relaxed, yet elegant, wine that earns sparkling accolades from consumers and critics alike.Brut Prestige features fine bright citrus, red apple, stone fruit and creamy vanilla aromas, with hints of toast, honey and gingerbread spice. Its vibrant flavors are balanced by fine acidity and a rich, lingering finish.

3. Piper-Sonoma  $13.99 - $17.99    Piper Sonoma Brut, made of 60% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Noir and 25% Pinot Meunier, has a pale gold color, petite bubbles and delicate aromas of ripe apple, toast and peach. This sparkling wine is dry and fresh with a long elegant finish, possessing crisp citrus flavors with hints of strawberry and vanilla smoke.

4. Scharffenberger Brut $17.99 - $19.99    The wine is approximately two-thirds Chardonnay and one-third Pinot Noir. The full malolactic style adds a vanilla cream character producing a round and full-bodied wine. After approximately two years on the lees, there are notes of freshly baked bread and pastry that enhances the more fruit forward style of the wine. Finally, after several months on the cork, the wine develops caramel and hazel complexors. 

5. Bodegas Alma Negra Brut Nature  $15.99 - $19.99    The winehas Dark berryfruit, dried chrries and hints of chocolate on the nose lead to flavors of ripe berries, black cherry, cocoa and a tinge of smoke in this dense and well- balanced wine. The finish lingers with dark ripe fruit, balanced acidity and a smooth mouthfeel. 

Bonus:  Freixenet $7.99 - $11.99

When serving large groups, or when you want to enjoy a mimosa, my homerun Cava is Freixenet. Not only is the all black bottle sexy, the Cava has an exceptional, fresh, fruity style and a lingering aroma for its price point. Nothing under $10 comes close! You can get a bottle a Trader Joe's for $7.99,

July 25, 2015

Lettie Teague, currently a wine columnist for The Wall Street Journal was formally the executive wine editor Food & Wine magazine.   In 2007 she wrote about the exurbanite prices restaurants charge for wines.  As a wine lover, I too am perturbed by the ridiculous markups experienced in the vast majority of restaurants.  For that reason, when dining out, I always try wines I don’t know much about, therefore, I feel that the new experience in some way makes up for the price gouging.  

Teague's insight and research still rings true years later.  Markups are still the same and restaruters and feeding us the same excuses. Teague writes in Food & Wine*: “ Anyone with Internet access can find almost any wine and compare a restaurant price to a retail price. And the difference between the two can be substantial—sometimes the first is four or five times as much as the second. And that’s not even the full fiscal picture, since most restaurants pay wholesale, not retail prices, adding an even greater margin of profit. And even though there are lots of reasonably priced wines being made all over the world the right now, the problem of overpriced wine lists seems to be growing.

Of course, some restaurateurs say the comparison between their prices and those of a store are invalid, insisting one has nothing to do with the other. Or, as one sommelier put it, "All a retailer does is put wine on the shelf." (This particular sommelier requested anonymity; after all, he may have to buy an occasional bottle of wine in a store.) Restaurateurs argue that they do much more than just display bottles: They maintain inventories in oftentimes-expensive storage locations, support producers too small to get space on retail shelves, offer great glassware and provide an invaluable education to their customers. But at how high a cost?

Restaurant wine pricing was certainly complicated. I reviewed what I’d learned so far: First, a wine was usually marked up many times at the low end, but less so at the high end. On the other hand, an expensive wine was subject to arbitrary price hikes if the sommelier decided he didn’t want to part with the bottle. What was an amateur wine drinker to do? Was it even possible to tell if a wine list was just expensive or truly overpriced?

For me, one of the fastest ways to tell if a wine list is overpriced is by studying a restaurant’s Champagne prices. If the Champagne has been marked up many times, it’s a pretty safe bet that the rest of the wines have been, too. And it’s easy to memorize a few prices of well-known Champagnes: Most people know what a few common labels (e.g., Veuve Clicquot, Krug and Taittinger) cost at retail, and at least one of those is liable to show up on any given list.

But how much of a premium should anyone be expected to pay? How much should the care and the carrying of a particular bottle figure into the price of the wine? Not to mention the cost of the glassware or the rent? I don’t think good restaurateurs (or for that matter, good wine directors) truly believe their salaries should be tied to how many times the cost of Krug can be multiplied. And while there may be accountants to please and bills to pay, I’d rather not dine in a restaurant where it feels like those are the top priorities. And if I have to sacrifice some ambiance (or certain cities), so be it. A bottle of good Brunello, priced $15 or so above retail, is atmosphere enough for me.

(This column uses excepts from Teague original column. To read the completer article,  CLICK HERE.)