With Thanksgiving having just passed by, the wine-drinking world has also seen the release of the 2008 Beaujolais Nouveau wines. Experienced drinkers each have their own take on this well-marketed, commodity wine made from the Gamay varietal. Being an intermediate wine drinker (that’s right – I’m no longer a beginner!) who’s been paying attention to wine for nearly a year, I was anxious to try one of these wines that has the reputation of being more fun than fine.

When I went shopping for one here in my temporary home of Morgantown, WV, the local grocery store had only two available. One of the two was the Labouré-Roi Beaujolais Nouveau 2008 ($11). It was packaged in a plastic bottle with a screw-top, so I just had to pick it up – since one of our main topics is low-impact wine. As a bonus, one tree is planted for every bottle sold of Labouré-Roi Beaujolais Nouveau 2008. [click to continue…]

I am continuing my slow walk toward membership in the De Long Wine Century Club. This weekend, I shared a bottle of 2006 Statti Calabria Gaglioppo ($23) outdoors at Mandola’s Italian Market in Austin. This wine is made from the Gaglioppo grape, which was light and refreshing, with plenty of fruit and a little spicy mint to boot. Modest acid and 12.5% alcohol make this a perfect drink for a fall Sunday afternoon.

My wife was so impressed that I am going to buy a few bottles to keep at the house. Once again, the De Long challenge has led me to try a grape varietal that would not necessarily have made its way into my glass, and I am a happier wine drinker for it. [click to continue…]

True craftsmanship is in the details, and for me, Michelle Obama’s announcement that the future First Pooch will be a rescue dog is, while not the furthest reaching, perhaps the most fine-tuned detail of a campaign truly run to perfection. They are a family that walks the walk.

In fact, I took the opportunity offered by a brief pause in the geyser of joyful tears running down my face today to google the issue of the Obama puppy, simply to verify my instinct that the Obamas would choose to adopt a dog in need rather than support the shameful practice of breeding living things with the intent that they be paraded around in celebrities’ designer purses.

And indeed, it was true; once again in this past 24 hours I experienced the wholly forgotten sensation of vindication. Lord, I could get used to this! But I digress… [click to continue…]

Yesterday we participated in the Wine Bloggers Conference speed tasting event. Every five minutes, a new pourer would come around, introduce his/her wine, and pour a taste for the table. We had five minutes to taste it, talk about it, and then write down our impressions of the wine. We tasted 13 wines, and our reviews are below.

Clos la Chance 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon – At 14.5% alcohol, this wine has lots of medium-fine tannins and is spicy and dark, with heavy extraction due to cold soaking, pour-overs, and extended maceration – that is, it is “Parker-processed.” It is estate grown, and at $30, it is a big American Cab, priced about right, but lacking the complexity of the “best” California cabs. ($30) [click to continue…]

Neil has a new Texas winery review up for Flat Creek Estate Winery in the Texas Hill Country. His review is very favorable, and we just wanted to recommend Flat Creek Estate as a winery that is helping push the quality of Texas wines forward.

Flat Creek Estate is located on 20 acres in Marble Falls, and it is owned by Madelyn and Rick Naber. When Neil went, Flat Creek was pouring nine wines, and of the six wines that were made with all Texas grown grapes, he reviewed these:

• Flat Creek Estate 2007 Muscato Blanco
• Flat Creek Estate 2006 Shiraz
• Flat Creek Estate 2006 Super Texan

Our more dedicated readers may know that I’ve promised to taste wines from West Virginia and Virginia, while temporarily living in West Virginia for work. I’m not too worried about trying the various wines I can find from Virginia. There are about 135 wineries there, and they’ve been making wine since the days of Jefferson, so there are bound to be a few good ones.

With West Virginian wines, however, I’ve been a little nervous. I mean, the state is known for moonshine (of which I have been promised a taste). And looking in the local Kroger (which is touted as the largest in the US by my temporary roomie), I became even more nervous. About half of the twenty or so bottles of West Virginian wines were country wines, made from berries — not the best sign for a burgeoning wine snob such as myself. [click to continue…]

Restaurant wine lists can be extremely confusing with long lists of wines that you know nothing about — in fact, many of the wines you cannot even pronounce. When the waiter comes to offer assistance, you realize that he or she does not know anymore about the wine list than you do. At this point, what do you do? If you happen to be dining at a restaurant that uses a progressive wine list, you may be able to gracefully find a way out of this situation all by yourself. Progressive wine lists are arranged in a specific way, making it easier to know something about the wines on the list without tasting it yourself.

First of all, the wines on a progressive wine list are grouped by varietal. So all the wines made mostly from Cabernet Sauvignon are listed together, Chardonnays are listed together, and so on. Within each type of wine, the wines at the top of the list have the lightest body. As you go down the list, the wines become more full bodied and generally more expensive. Adding body to wine costs money. [click to continue…]

As someone who is against the large-scale corporate take over of anything, in particular wine, I find myself on thin ice. I have been to CostCo three times. The first two were part business – I wanted to see what they charged for wine, and part personal – I wanted to save money on my food bill. I didn’t notice their house brand wine on my first visit, and I intentionally overlooked it on my second trip.

On my third visit, however, I decided to give one a try. The placard beside the wine said that the Wine Enthusiast Magazine had scored the wine a 90. I normally have reservations about the reliability of most mass-produced wine review services and mass-produced wines, but curiosity was guiding my hand. [click to continue…]

Probably like yourself, I’ve been feeling like my money just isn’t going as far as it used to. With a weak dollar and high oil prices, I’ve been looking for wines that I can afford to buy and still enjoy. This has been a necessary quest for me, because let’s just be honest, I don’t have any intention of not drinking wine.

We’ve reviewed a fair number of cheap but tasty wines in our Wine Reviews section, but I thought I’d list out some of our favorites for easy reading. If you have your own list of go-to value wines, please tell us about them in the comments section – we’re always looking for more. [click to continue…]

In my quest to taste 100 varietals and join De Long Wine Century Club, I have earned a few more grapes – the first being Castelao. This grape was provided by Michael when he brought by a bottle of JP Azeitao NV Vinho Tinto. This inexpensive Portuguese wine is made from 85% Castelao, 7.5% Tempranillo, and 7.5% Syrah. Full of black pepper, red fruit, and plenty of acid, this is a good Monday night wine that would go great with a cheeseburger, and afterwards, you could say you’ve tasted a wine made from the Castelao grape. [click to continue…]