PHOTOS OF THE WEEK
Here's a nice photo of a vineyard worker in France's Burgundy who is replacing
some dead vines with new plants.
Sometimes a vineyard will simply be uprooted entirely and replanted, but that
means no grape production for a few years and of course that can be a big loss
of revenue for a winery. Sporadic vine replacement allows them to continue
producing wine without a drastic drop in production.
Some might bring in a particular clonal selection while others will propagate
from their old vines (and this is called Massal Selection).
You might see the term "Old Vines" on a wine label to indicate,
hopefully, the wine was made from a venerable vineyard. This is not always
the case, though...a consumer might expect an Old Vines' bottling to come from
50+ year old vineyards. We recall tasting two wines from a winery and they
told us the young vines were about 6 years old. We tasted the "old
vines" wine and found it to be weak, so we asked "How old are the 'old
vines,' 20 years?"
"No, they're 12 years of age." was the response.
So, there is no regulation of this terminology and we hope, when paying a
premium price for an Old Vines wine, that this translates to greater intensity
and higher quality, but that's not always the case.
You might find the term "Heritage Clone" on a label and this is a nod
in the direction of an "Old Vines" bottling, but does not necessarily
indicate a higher level of quality or greater complexity in a wine.
We recall a conversation with some vintners who were considering ripping out a
vineyard that was a bit more than a hundred years of age.
We treasure old vines, but as these often produce smaller crops, the economics
may be challenging to the winery or vineyard owner.
"You can't plant old vines" we told the winemaker.
But I think his business partner was more swayed by the financial side of
wine-growing and they did remove those venerable vines.
Of course, when evaluating a wine, our job is to pay attention to the contents
of the bottle.
We look for good quality, first and foremost.
But there are many places where the marketing and packaging take precedence over
the wine in the glass.
That's why, dear reader, we always suggest finding yourself a good wine
merchant.
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We hope you had a pleasant holiday this past week.
We had skipped the usual Thanksgiving festivities in 2020, but we managed to
participate in a small gathering with a few friends this year.
It seemed to us as though this was the case in many households...there were no
sales of big quantities for giant parties in 2021, but certainly more people
were setting the table and having family or close friends for a little wining
and dining.
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An especially good French White Burgundy is worthy of calling to your attention.
It's made by a young winemaker, Justin Girardin, from vines in the village of
Santenay, an area neighboring the famed Chassagne-Montrachet.
Happily the wine, while of top quality, commands a more modest price than its
famous neighbor.
This is just $29.99/bottle and displays appley, stony notes and a hint of oak.
Elena Walch and her two daughters are making some remarkably good wines in
the Alto Adige of Italy.
This Lagrein is gorgeous and has the charm of a good Pinot Noir and can also
match your Turkey Dinner.
$19.99.
It's open for tasting, too, by the way. $2/pour.
The 2019 New Clairvaux Tempranillo is another nice choice...it comes from Tehama
County north of Red Bluff!
You'll find lots of red berry fruit and just a hint of oak here...It's a
surprisingly delightful wine.
From Italy's Valtellina region in Lombardia we have a stellar white blend which
includes Incrocio Manzoni and Nebbiolo that's vinified as a white wine.
The backbone of this are Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
$39.99
As long as we are suggesting Italian white blends, the Alto Adige white called
"Stoan" is a grand wine, as well.
Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Pinot Bianco and a drop of Traminer...$35.99
Our blind-tasting last week featured a flight of dry German Rieslings and the
two least costly wines fared well.
The bargain of the tasting was this entry-level dry Riesling made by Schloss
Vollrads in the Rheingau.
It's called Volratz and we have some bottles in the shop (and more coming during
the week) at $21.99!
Who says there's no affordable Burgundy?
Sale-priced at $19.99, this Givry from Danjean-Berthoux is remarkably good.
Your dinner guests will be impressed to see a French Burgundy and surely when
they taste this, they'll suspect you paid a small fortune for the wine.
The 2019 Saddleback Zinfandel is a delicious, gentle red from old vineyards in
Napa.
And Saddleback has an old winemaker, too: our friend Nils Venge!
$48 at the winery...Sale priced at $39.99.
Berries and spice and everything nice...gentle enough to pair with Roasted
Turkey.
OPEN FOR TASTING PRESENTLY
From Italy's Umbria, we brought in a remarkable dry white made of a particular
type of Trebbiano which is quite different from the bland versions one
encounters in Tuscany and Abruzzo. It's called Trebbiano Spoletino and
this one, made by Giampaolo Tabarrini.
The nose is a bit quiet or shy, but the flavors are exuberantly exotic with
notes of mango and papaya.
This goes for $21.99...worthy of accompanying a seafood risotto or crab dishes.
The winner of that Modestly-Priced Pinot Noir tasting is now in stock.
Sale priced at $19.99, a few of the tasters have reserved some bottles.
One of our wine-judging colleagues tells us she's not surprised to see this wine
faring well.
It took a Gold Medal in a judging she organizes.
We have seen a wave of customers buying a bottle or two to take for a test-drive
and now they've coming back for 6's and 12's!
Domaine Rimbert's "Beaujolais-Styled" Cinsault arrived last week.
$16.99.
He calls it Cousin Oscar.
The "legend" is that Oscar is quite the lady's man.
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Monday through Saturday until 5:45pm.
We're totally enchanted by the raspberryish Tempranillo from the New Clairvaux
winery in California's Tehama County.
$2/taste.
Elena Walch made a splendid 2020 vintage Lagrein...Deliciously cherryish and
gentle like a Pinot Noir.
We have a terrific dry Riesling from Germany's Von Winning winery in Deidesheim
along with a Sonoma Coast Pinot from Anthill Farms.
There's a 2018 Merlot from Peju that's surprisingly good and specially priced.
"TASTES" are roughly a two-ounce pour and priced 10% the retail price
of the bottle, so that Gewurz is $3.70/taste and the Cabernet goes for a mere five
bucks. The Barolo is $5.00 for a pour.
And there's a terrific, fruity German wine made of the Scheurebe grape...$2.20
for that.
CLICK HERE
to see what wines are offered for tasting presently.
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When you think of Moselle wine, you probably expect it to be German, no?
But here's a delightful French white from the Château de Vaux.
It's about 86 miles northwest of the wine roads of Alsace and 72 miles southwest
of the German Mosel village of Bernkastel.
About half the blend is Auxerrois with Pinot Gris, Müller-Thurgau and a drop of
Gewurztraminer.
Mildly floral, crisp, dry and light, yet flavorful...$19.99.
The French Moselle region comprised 6000 hectares in the early 1900s, but
dwindled down to a mere 2 hectares in 1970!
Today there are some hectares of vineyards and the region is on the rebound
thanks, in large part, to this estate in Vaux.
We've routinely been tasting new wines...looking for good value and wines which
over-perform for their price.
This classic Spanish Albariño is crisply acidic and snappy...perfect as a
cocktail white or pair it
with some seafood.
$19.99
Here's an absolutely delicious Spanish white. 2020 Vintage.
Verdejo from the Rueda region.
Brilliantly citrusy, dry and crisp...
And it's a mere $13.99!
We asked the winery rep from Peju if they hired a new winemaker as this 2018
Merlot does not resemble wines we've tasted from Peju over the past
decade. He laughed and explained the second generation of the Peju family
is running the place and "dad" is retired.
The resulting wines are pretty darned good and this Merlot is a standout.
$60 at the winery. We have it for far less. Stop by and see.
It's also available in the Tasting Room for $3.50/pour.
Our monthly tasting group this past week surveyed 2017 and 2018 Chianti
Classico wines.
The first place wine was $45 and blended with Cabernet Sauvignon (we ranked it
6th out of 8, but these guys love Napa Cabernet and Bordeaux, so it is
understandable they preferred that particular wine).
Finishing a mere one point behind the top wine was this 2018 Paneretta. It
is 85% Sangiovese and the rest is Canaiolo and Colorino, typical Tuscan
varieties.
We brought some in as we're sale-tagging it for $19.99 and it's a good
introduction to Tuscan Sangiovese.
If you missed the Croatian wine from the Toreta winery last year, we just
received our second shipment of this year's terrific dry white made on the
island of Korcula of the Posip grape.
Last year we had the entry level bottling but this vintage, 2020, we were more
impressed by the fancier bottling (20% of the wine is matured in neutral
cooperage for a few months to give it a shade more body.
The sales rep told us they have plenty to last well throughout the year and two
weeks after getting our first order we asked for more and were told they are
almost sold out!
$21.99
The most thrilling wine we tasted this past week was from Antonella Corda, a
terrific vintner in Italy's Sardegna region.
It's made of the somewhat obscure Nuragus grape, a variety that's overshadowed
to some degree by Vermentino.
But the 2020 vintage from Corda is a stellar, snappy dry white wine, showing
some notes of citrus and lime with a stony, minerally note reminiscent of
Chablis or Sancerre.
We noticed one web site offers this for $45 a bottle while another is more
reasonably priced at $28.
Our price is a mere $19.99.
Don't miss it!
We were pleasantly surprised by the drinkability and charm of the Tre Monti
Sangiovese called Campo di Mezzo.
It's from Emilia-Romagna, just a short drive southeast of Bologna. No
oak. No Cabernet. No Merlot.
Just pure, unadulterated Sangiovese.
Sale price is $14.99.
Two weeks ago we splurged on a bottle of the 2007 Terlan Pinot Bianco.
They call it "Rarity," as the wine is matured on the spent yeast for
about ten years in stainless steel after its year, or so, in large wooden
vats. The wine retails for close to $200 a bottle and it was very good.
A few days later we opened a few bottles of Italian whites, including this
"Terlaner" from the Terlan winery. It's predominantly Pinot
Bianco with a bit of Chardonnay and a drop of Sauvignon Blanc. It was the
best white of that tasting. The apple and pear fruit of the Pinot Bianco
takes center stage...no oak coming through here.
Damned good and it stood up to our Artichoke Risotto, too.
$26.99
OPEN FOR TASTING PRESENTLY
Ercole Barbera comes from Italy's Piemonte region.
It's an economical bottling intended for "by the glass" service in a
restaurant where they can charge customers $8-$10 a pour. It's in a liter
sized bottle...just $15.99! Smooth, medium bodied and easy to drink.
People who've purchased their first bottle are now returning for an encore.
That Cabernet we mentioned winning (by a wide margin) a recent blind-tasting
arrived.
It's the 2018 Titus Napa Cabernet. The winery price is $62, while our
sale-price is $49.99.
It's a big, dark, purple-colored wine with black fruits, cassis, berries and
some sweet oak notes.
One customer who purchased a bottle on our recommendation last week, called the
following day and asked for a case!
Yes, it's that good.
OPEN FOR TASTING PRESENTLY
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A Weimax shopper and parent of a Roosevelt Elementary School student sent us
a screenshot of an online
"Teddy Talk" where a student was explaining the importance of
supporting community businesses and "shopping local."
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Ellen
had her picture on the front page of the New Year's weekend Daily Journal, a local
newspaper here in San Mateo County.
They did a story about holiday sales of wines and liquors, so we were mentioned
(and quoted) in that.
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The store is fully stocked...lots of good value bottlings and numerous
"fancy" wines, too.
Stop by and we can give you a little tour...Socially Distant, of course...Don't
forget a face mask!
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This car is "corked"!!!
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GIFT CARDS AVAILABLE...
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Had a nice mention in the Wall
Street Journal's 2016 story about wine store signage:
CLICK
HERE
The Most recent mention, September of 2017, is this one...Things Wine Shop
Owners Detest...
CLICK
HERE
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Australian Wine Writer Jim McMahon wrote
a nice article published on the web site of the New South Wales Teachers
Federation.
CLICK
HERE
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Did you see the article in the local newspaper, by the way?
CLICK
HERE.
It was printed
just before New Year's Eve...
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"Quality first" is our mantra.
