Wine for Real People

A wine blog for the rest of us

Patz and Hall Chardonnay

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Patz and Hall Charddonay

Patz & Hall Chardonnay 2013- $30

Five Word Summary: Great value, crowd pleasing Chard.

This wine is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes from the Sonoma Coast AVA.

Northern California is world famous for their high qualiity wine, partcularly Chardonnay. It’s the #1 planted white grape in the region. With so many quality vineyards trying to stand out from the crowd, the style of Chardonnay produced here is more reminicent of a butter bomb infused with heavy oak than Chardonnay. In many circles, New World style Chardonnay are very polarizing. Either you love them for the intensity and bold flavor profile, or you hate them because they are too cloying and overwhelming on the palate.

My answer? Turn to Sonoma, my friend.

Though the region may not as well-known as neighboring Napa, many feel that Sonoma wines have a variety and palate that is not found there. A little more delicate and refined, I find that Sonoma Chards provide more balance and tend to be a better value. Think New World style with a little more elegance and restraint.

In a region known to produce some really high quality Chards the 2013 Patz and Hall Sonoma Coast Chardonnay is, in my opionion, one of the best values coming from this region.

What does it taste like and what kind of value can you expect from this bottle? Read on the find out.

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Joseph Phelps Insignia

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Joseph Phelps Insignia 2011- $225.00Insignia

Five Word Summary: Delicious, but Expensive Cabernet Blend

Insignia is a red blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Petit Verdot, 4% Malbec, 2% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc from Napa Valley.

Joseph Phelps is one of the iconic wineries in Napa Valley. They’re known for their Cabernet Sauvignon and the Insignia blend is their flagship (and most expensive) bottle. Insignia is also one of the most hyped and talked about wines in Northern California. Depending on who you ask, this bottle is either the nectar of the gods, or just another over-priced and over-hyped Napa Cab. Either way, Joseph Phelps Insignia is a wine that has become a status-symbol in many circles.

What does it taste like, and more importantly, does it live up the the hype and $225 price tag? Read on to find out.

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Late Harvest Wine- What’s that Mean?

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Have you ever noticed those slender bottles at the end of the wine aisle and wondered what they are? Maybe you’ve even picked up a bottle late_harvest_wine_bottle_and_labeland noticed it says Late Harvest Riesling or Late Harvest Zinfandel. What does that mean and how what makes them so special? Read on to learn more about the sweet, sweet world of late harvest wines!

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Ceretto, “Blange” Langhe Arneis

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Ceretto ”Blange” Langhe Arneis- $22Arneis

Five Word Summary: Easy drinking, clean and zippy.

This wine is made from 100% Arneis grapes from Piedmont, Italy. Arneis is a little known white grape that is grown in a region known almost exclusively for their red wines. This is a little gem of a white wine coming from this Italian region.

The soil that the grapes are grown in is clay and sand, which gives off a really delicious minerality that this wine is known for. This wine is clean and refreshing with lots of crisp stone fruit and citrus. This is a really easy-drinking wine that can be enjoyed by itself or with a meal. The refreshing palate makes this a great option before dinner or just a casual glass or two with friends.

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Decoding French Wine Labels

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Decoding French Wine
Let’s face it. There’s nothing more intimidating than walking through aisles and aisles of French wine and trying to select a bottle. We all know that France is the unudisputed king of the wine world- home to some of the most legendary chateaus in history. Yet when it comes to understanding which to select from all the options, most of us aren’t astute enough to translate what’s in the bottle and if it’s any good. The labels are completely in French, the bottles look dramatic, and some cost a lot of money. It’s no wonder French wine is so intimidating!

Most people get so discouraged that they never even consider French wine because they think they’ll never understand it. This post will show you that there’s no need to be intimidated. In fact, understanding French wine is simple once you know how to read the label.

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Norton Malbec Reserva 2011

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Norton Malbec Reserva 2011- $16Norton Reserva Malbec 2011

This wine is made from 100% Malbec grapes from Mendoza, Argentina.

I’ll let you in on a little secret…. Argentinean Malbec is my secret weapon. Whenever I need to open a bottle for unexpected company at home or order wine at a restaurant and need an inexpensive bottle (but don’t want to look like a cheapskate!) I reach for Malbec from Argentina. It’s fruit forward, pairs great with virtually any meal, and is always a crowd pleaser (especially for those that are new to wine).

Malbec from Argentina is also one of the best value wines on the market. You can consistently reach for nearly any bottle in the $9-$25 range and get a wine that’s deep, dark, rich, and full of berry flavor yet surprisingly full of finesse and not too heavy.

This Norton Malbec Reserva is, in my opinion, the best value of any Malbec coming out of this region.

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Churchill Estates Douro

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2011 Churchill Estates Douro- $17

Churchill Estates Douro

Single guys should jump all over this wine.

This wine from Portugal is a blend of 3 different grapes-

40% Touriga Nacional, 30% Touriga Franca and 30% Tinta Roriz.

Portugal is often overlooked as a top wine region on the world stage. It doesn’t get the same love that France, Italy, Germany and Napa get, but Portugal is an incredible wine growing region that grows some very different grapes. It’s for this reason that I really enjoy serving wines from Portugal. While everyone else is pouring the same boring Chards and Cabs, I like to uncork something different and interesting like this bottle.

This wine is perfect for that. This is a red blend that tastes like an elegant $75 wine, but at $17, it’s an absolute steal!

 

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Decanting- What’s That Mean?

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Ever see one of these and wonder what it is? It looks like someone took a vase and poured wine in to it! What the heck are they and what is it for?

You may already know that that vase is actually a wine decanter, but what is it used for?decanter

Wine decanters come in different shapes and sizes and are used to help the process of exposing wine to oxygen before it’s consumed. This is called decanting and is sometimes called “letting the wine breathe”.

Why decant a wine?

Some bigger, more tannic wines are a little harsh when they’re first opened. Remember, it’s been tightly sealed in that bottle for years and now it’s exposed to the outside world. Having a sip immediately wouldn’t do it justice. About an hour after being exposed to oxygen it starts to mellow out.

That’s right, wine actually will taste better once it’s exposed to oxygen. The nasty tannins are more tamed. You’ll start to notice more layers to the flavor and more complex aromas.

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Vinturi Wine Aerator- Make Any Bottle Taste $20 Better

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One if the most popular wine accessories on the market are wine aerators. They claim to improve the taste of any wine instantly and fully decant it in seconds instead of hours.Vinturi

In case you missed my post about decanting, you can find it here.

Decanting is a process of exposing the wine to oxygen which softens the taste and brings out additional, complex flavors. This is also referred to as “letting the wine breathe”. Simply put, wine tastes its best once it’s been exposed to air for awhile.

The old school way of doing this is to pour the bottle into a decanter, like this one, and let it sit there for an hour or two to achieve it’s maximum potential. The wide bowl of a decanter is designed to give the wine maximum surface area, exposing it oxygen the old school way. You’ll see this a lot at most high end restaurants that serve expensive wine.

Now there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the old school way (I have a number of decanters and use them from time to time) but most of us don’t want to wait an hour every night before we can enjoy our wine! There’s a shortcut to almost everything and decanting is no different. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the “decanting hack”!

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Pyrazines- What’s that Mean?

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When wine geeks get together and analyze wines, you’ll often hear them talking about pyrazines. Just last week I was at a tasting when one of  the members swirled his glass, took a sip, gave a condescending glance at the wine and smugly declared, “Hmmm…. I can’t tell if I enjoy this Sauvigon Blanc because I find that the pyrazines are overwhelming my palate.”

As soon as I hear a sentence like that, my wine snob radar starts going off! It’s one of those terms that people like to use to lord their wine knowledge over others. While it may sound intimidating, it’s actually quite easy to understand.

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