Oregon Wine Information Blog

8:25 AM

2008 - Wine Shop

The Best Articles on Wine Shop

Join the Club: Wine Clubs


One of the best ways to get access to great, and sometimes less accessible, wines is to join a wine club. These clubs are free to join and can result in you enjoying a greater variety of wines. Whether retailer operated, or direct through the winery, wine clubs will enhance your wine drinking pleasure.

The first consideration for most consumers is price. Just know that there are a range of wine clubs to meet most consumer tastes and budgets. Being in a wine club does not necessitate spending big money. As an example K&L Wine Merchants in San Francisco has a wine club that will ship you 2 bottles of wine per month for $17.95. For that price you have the advantage of knowledgeable experts picking out wines that they feel represent excellent value.

At the other end of the range is Vintners Collective in Napa. Their wine club, the Collectors Club, ships 8 bottles of wine 5 times per year for $290 per shipment. This wine club specializes in smaller production wineries (generally under 1200 cases per year) with whom they have excellent relationships. The result is wine from vintners that you will likely not see on the shelf of your local wine retailer.

Another consideration is whether to go with a winery direct club vs. a retailer. Ideally, budgets permitting, we recommend both clubs that are owned and operated by the winery and clubs that are run by retailers. We like the idea of getting a preferred spot on one of our favorite wineries distribution lists in addition to the variety that the retail club offers. As an example, let?s look at Justin Vineyards and Winery. This Central Coast maker of excellent red and white wine has a few different wine clubs. They offer a choice of red only or white only or mixed cases and will give you access to wines that disappear quite quickly. As an example we recently received a shipment containing one of our favorites, Justin Justification. This wine was sold out even prior to the wine shipment. So in this case only wine club members had an opportunity to receive this great wine which was available only in limited supply.

In the case of a retailer wine club, we like the idea of knowledgeable experts selecting great wines that have excellent value. Most times these are wines that would never appear on our radar no matter how much we read to keep up. Retail wine clubs often have connections with wineries that provide exceptional values. As in example K&L Wines recently offered a 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon from a well respected Napa producer for under $35. This same wine at the winery was $100. We like the idea of being able to buy an outstanding vintage, 1997, from an outstanding vintner at a most fair price. The case outlined here would not be possible outside of the wine club.

Before committing to a wine club make sure you understand the frequency of the shipments and the length of the commitment. Some clubs welcome your membership on an annual basis and will ship four times per year. Other clubs will accommodate monthly membership, frequently with a minimum number of months. Choose the club that best fits both your budget and your consumption. If you have limited storage space and your frequency of delivery is too high from too many clubs?..well you may have a great problem!

Additional perks of wine clubs often include: free shipping (depending on the state), discounts on retail purchases and/or future wine purchases, first access to newly released wine, admission to special events reserved for wine club patrons, complementary wine tasting, and discounts at local hotels, inns or restaurants.

Wine clubs present beginners and collectors access to great wines, selected by professionals, at a host of price points that will only enhance your wine experience.

R. Adam Shore writes about California Wines from a consumer point of view. A collector of California Cabernet and a resident of the Golden State he has assembled hand selected articles about wine. They are cellared at California Wine Articles. Also visit Physical Fitness Articles to read important articles that will assist you in burning away those new Wine Club calories!



Another short Wine Shop review

Join the Club: Wine Clubs


One of the best ways to get access to great, and sometimes less accessible, wines is to join a wine club. These clubs are free to join and can result ...


Click Here to Read More About Wine ...

Wine Shop Items For Viewing

Chateau Canon


"An amber edge to this wine's dark garnet/ruby color suggests approaching maturity. A fragrant, sweet nose of minerals, cherry jam, smoke, earth, cedar, and vanilla is enticing. Medium to full-bodied, with fabulously sweet fruit, a viscous texture, yet vibrant underlying acidity as well as surprising tannin and length, this is the greatest Chateau Canon produced over the last thirty years. Anticipated maturity: now-2015" This Bordeaux from France is a great gift for dry red wine lovers. Wine home delivery. RP - 94 (Subject to Availability). CAN82 CAN82


Price: 209.99 USD



Wine Shop in the news

Wine and beer reviews in Eagle County (Vail Daily)

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:31:12 PDT
This is a high-tannin red, no doubt about it. But after the first wrinkled nose and with a modicum of patience, this Oregon Cab settled down into a nice sipper and one that went quite well with my latest pasta creation.

Red grapes 'are wonder cure for high blood pressure and cholesterol' (Daily Mail)

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:35:11 PDT
Red grapes are more than just the source for the world’s finest wine - the fruits themselves are a wonder cure against heart attacks, according to new research.

Classic Ice-Cream Sandwiches

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:36:15 PDT
You like ice creams? Or do you like sandwiches. What if you get a combo of both which satisfies your appetite. You can’t cook? Or you too lazy to get married? Eureka, Eureka!! Just make a proper use of your kitchen and get ready to impress everyone. Imagine having ice-cream with red wine with your wife avoiding scorching hotel expenses.

Red Wine removal from carpet

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:48:27 PDT
Red wine removal for residents of Portland Oregon and Vancouver Washington

Red Wine Compound may be Key to Fountain of Youth

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:41:01 PDT
A compound of Red Wine that has become of particular importance is called "Resveratrol". Researchers found that with this compound, we may be able to increase the quality of life by providing heart benefits, stronger bones, and preventing eye cataracts. Now, the aging process has been shown to have slowed in lab tests with mice.

I Love Italian Wine And Food - Reviewing The Reds

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 02:39:06 PDT
I recently finished a wine tour of Italy’s twenty administrative regions, briefly describing each region prior to tasting a representative wine with food, and at least one imported Italian cheese.

How badly does beer sabotage weight loss

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:06:39 PDT
Basically beer is high in calories....and does other strange things to your health that have never really been fully documented.Why not switch to red wine (lots of anti-oxidants) or white wine. Or any other low calorie alchohol (alcopops have too much sugar).


Chianti Classico
Wine Bottle

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8:25 AM

08/21/08 - Napa Valley

The Best Articles on Napa Valley

I Love French Wine and Food - Beaujolais Nouveau


This article treats one of the world?s most successful marketing campaigns ? the French red wine that arrives just in time for Thanksgiving, Beaujolais Nouveau. At one minute past midnight on the third Thursday in November, this wine is released for sale. Talk about market share, in the next 24 hours over one million cases will be sold. During the coming year, consumers all over the world will buy more than 65 million bottles. There will be about 4 million bottles exported to the United States, and 7 million to Japan and to Germany. About seven hundred thousand bottles will be exported to Italy, which makes a similar wine, Vino Novello, reviewed in our article I Love Italian Wine and Food ? Vino Novello (New Wine).

What is exactly is new wine, whether Beaujolais Nouveau, Vino Novello, or some other, similar product? New wine is the first of the harvest, released in early November. The exact date depends on the country. New wines are produced by a special method, carbonic maceration, in which whole grapes ferment in stainless steel tanks, often reaching a temperature of 25 to 30 degrees Centigrade (77 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit). This process lasts for about 5 to 20 days, and may be followed by crushing the grapes, which then undergo traditional fermentation for a few days. The exact procedure varies from one winemaker to another, but the ensuing wine is virtually tannin free. The lack of tannins implies a short shelf life. While you don?t have to drink the wine immediately, most people finish the season by Easter. Actually, in the best vintages Beaujolais Nouveau can last until the following year?s crop. In theory you could drink Beaujolais Nouveau all year long. Take my advice, don?t.

New wines are usually colored bright red or violet. They tend to be fruity, tasting of cherry, strawberry, raspberry, banana, and freshly squeezed grapes, depending on the grape variety used, the production method, and the area in which the grapes are grown. Detractors talk about bubble gum, lollipops, nail polish, and jello. Many feel that new wine tastes of grape juice with alcohol. One thing is certain, if you don?t like a given new wine, don?t store it away to try it again in two years. It won?t improve with time.

Let me present a few tidbits of information before reviewing one of the best Beaujolais Nouveau wines. This wine comes from Beaujolais region of southeastern France and is made from the Gamay grape, which was kicked out of the world-famous, neighboring Burgundy region in 1395. By law, all the grapes in the Beaujolais region must be picked by hand. Champagne is the only other region of France that forbids mechanical harvesting. While Beaujolais Nouveau was first regulated in 1938, it dates back to ancient times when a somewhat similar wine was produced for slaves. History does not record their reaction. Let?s take a look at mine.

Wine Reviewed Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Villages Nouveau 2006 12.5% about $13

I bought this bottle the day after the release of the 2006 Beaujolais Nouveau (November 16, 2006). It was the most expensive, and presumably the best, of all the new wines available.

Beaujolais Villages Nouveau comes from the Gamay grape variety grown in the Beaujolais region of southwestern France. Gamay grapes contain virtually no tannins, and so many white wine lovers feel at home with them. The wine is considered quite fruity and easy to drink. Unlike some of its inferior competitors, it did not smell of nail polish.

My first pairing of this wine involved chicken in a honey, garlic, and soy sauce. The wine was not very flavorful, but during the course of the meal its flavors increased somewhat. Unfortunately the dominant flavor was bubble gum, but there was a light taste of black fruit.

The next meal involved hamburgers accompanied by potatoes, Moroccan style carrots (spicy, the major spice was cumin), and a spicy tomato and red pepper salsa. The spicy food brought out the wine?s fruitiness. In particular, the wine?s acidity was a good match for the salsa?s acidity.

Then I tried this wine with kube, or kibbe, a Middle-Eastern specialty, balls of ground rice filled with ground meat. They were cooked overnight with potatoes in a somewhat spicy sauce. The wine still smelled of bubble gum after a few days. It didn?t add much to the meal, but did get a bit more expressive as it warmed up. (By the way, it was not overchilled.) It went rather well with fresh pineapple, but didn?t add anything to the other dessert of thin almond and pistachio biscuits.

I didn?t have any French cheeses to accompany the wine, so I had to settle for Italian cheeses. Asiago cheese is nutty-flavored, fairly strong cheese from northeastern Italy. In its presence the wine was moderately fruity. This Beaujolais Nouveau was pleasant but a bit thin in the face of a somewhat overripe Pecorino Toscano from the Tuscany region of Italy.

Final verdict. For many years I have not been a fan of new wines. I taste them every year, and am always willing to change my mind. This overpriced Beaujolais Nouveau gave me no reason to budge an inch. As we said every September (or earlier) when our baseball team was eliminated from the pennant race, wait ?til next year.

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. His wine website is http://www.theworldwidewine.com



Napa Valley and More

I Love French Wine and Food - Beaujolais Nouveau


This article treats one of the world?s most successful marketing campaigns ? the French red wine that arrives just in time for Thanksgiving, Beaujolai...


Click Here to Read More About Wine ...

Napa Valley Products we recommend

Chateau Clinet - Pomerol


"Another extraordinary wine made in a backward vin de garde style, the 1995 Chateau Clinet Pomerol represents the essence of Pomerol. The blackberry, cassis liqueur-like fruit of this French dry red wine is awesome. The color is saturated black/purple, and the wine extremely full-bodied and powerful with layers of glycerin-imbued fruit, massive richness, plenty of licorice, blackberry, and cassis flavors, full body, and a thick, unctuous texture. This is a dense, impressive offering from administrator Jean-Michel Arcaute. This Bordeaux should continue to improve for another 10-25 years. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2025." Great gift! RP - 96 (Subject to Availability) CLI95 CLI95


Price: 273.99 USD



Napa Valley in the news

Red Wine Compound may be Key to Fountain of Youth

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:41:01 PDT
A compound of Red Wine that has become of particular importance is called "Resveratrol". Researchers found that with this compound, we may be able to increase the quality of life by providing heart benefits, stronger bones, and preventing eye cataracts. Now, the aging process has been shown to have slowed in lab tests with mice.

I Love Italian Wine And Food - Reviewing The Reds

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 02:39:06 PDT
I recently finished a wine tour of Italy’s twenty administrative regions, briefly describing each region prior to tasting a representative wine with food, and at least one imported Italian cheese.

How badly does beer sabotage weight loss

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:06:39 PDT
Basically beer is high in calories....and does other strange things to your health that have never really been fully documented.Why not switch to red wine (lots of anti-oxidants) or white wine. Or any other low calorie alchohol (alcopops have too much sugar).

Moss Wood Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River, 2005

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:30:49 PDT
This is a beautiful red wine. It's an essay in elegance and harmony: the flavours build on the palate the more you sip and the wine continues to give more, whereas many modern reds pall rapidly.

Red Wine: The Romantic Wine

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 00:11:26 PDT
Is wine just an alcoholic beverage made by the fermentation of grapes? No, wine is that essential quotient for the perfect evening with loved ones, memorable candlelight dinners, romantic getaways, of poetry and dreams.

Little Tokyo maid cafe serves up fantasy - Los Angeles Times

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:07:30 PDT
At Tapas & Wine Bar C, women dressed as French maids bring drinks with names such as Red Silk Panties and Mistress.


Wine Pairing
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