Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I have been hearing from several sources how good the 2007 vintage was in Spain. They are calling it the best in 30 years. I always take this with a grain of salt. Wine makers tend to be in love with their latest vintage. Then the wines started to come in and the fact is, they are delicious.


One of the tasty ones I have had is Nekeas El Chapparral Grenache. This wine comes from the Jumilla region of Spain. This wine has a bright ruby color. It has an extremely rich nose with wisps of black raspberry, plum and flowers. You call this wine juicy, with a hint of pepper on the palate. The wine finishes with red and dark berry flavors. If you like big, bold, red wines you will love this wine.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

So, you are going to order a pizza tonight and you want a wine to go with it. What is a good pizza wine? It is a red wine, with a nice fruity character (we all now people like this, but I am talking about wine). You want a little bit of tannins and a little bit of acidity; these factors will let the flavor of the wine cut through to the palate. You also are having pizza, not exactly breaking the bank on dinner, so obviously you don’t want to spend a fortune on the wine.

Anyway, here are a couple of choices. First up, is Rutherford Ranch Zinfandel, this is a quintessential pizza wine. Zinfandel has a cherry/berry flavor profile. The Rutherford Ranch is a well rounded, even supple wine, but there is enough oomph (oomph is a technical wine term) to it, so it can stand up to a pepperoni pizza. Track it down should cost you about $15 bucks.


Another winner is the Bogle Petite Syrah. The Bogle wines have always been a favorite of mine. The wines are full and fruity (you expect me to make a crack here don’t you?) and the prices are great. The Petite Syrah is no different, it begins with a raspberry character then segues (segues for those who are products of the California school system, means to move into or through) (now calm down, this is just a crack at a good friend who is a teacher. I know he gets this e-mail, so I am just having a little fun) (Of course I know other teachers get this e-mail so I guess there goes those sales) into a rich texture and smooth and pleasing finish. This wine will go down easy. And priced at around ten bucks it will be easy on the wallet. It is probably cheaper then your pizza!

Cheaper will be very good in 2009!