Amusing Musings From the Wine Road

Sideways Wine Club Fall Selections

Every two months our subscribers receive two hand-picked wines.  On the back of our notes about the wine, winery and Winemaker they find recipes that showcase each wine selection.  Here are the six wines selected for our three October shipments.  These wines are now available in our online store - enjoy!

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Miles Pinot Selections ($70/shipment)
"All pinot, all the time"  Click Here to join.

"Miles Selection" #1) Barham Mendelsohn '04 Pinot, $42
A nice blackberry note adds depth and complexity to this wine's ample cherriosity. I love its aromatic suggestion of warm, moist country earth. This wine begs for lamb or mushrooms or anything with truffle oil, fresh herbs and a sauce that compliments its fruit. Juicy, balanced, full of ripe n' lively fruit; it has an extended, creamy finish despite showing a tannic firmness that tells me it will age nicely for years to come.  This wine is produced by famed Winemaker Jim Clendenen, of Au Bon Climat fame, and features the same clones used in his own Le Bon Climat pinot noir.

Food Pairing
This wine was paired with a recipe for grilled pork chops with dried cherries and pearl onions in a balsamic reduction.  Serve beside truffle-oil mashed potatoes and happiness is near at hand.  Want to receive our wine and recipes on a regular basis?  Click Here to subscribe to Miles' Pinot Selections!

"Miles Selection" #2) Imagine Wine, '05 Reserve Pinot, Santa Rita Hills $35
This is a new winery for us, and one that has proven popular at the Tastes of the Valleys wine bar.  This wine is their first pinot born of the esteemed Santa Rita Hills appelation, and it is true to type, with the elegant pinot characteristics one finds in this coolest of Santa Barbara appelations.  SRH pinots tend to be complex, layered and prone to evolve over the course of the evening.   Click Here to purchase.

Food Pairing
This wine was paired with a recipe for Veal Scallopine Marsala with Prosciutto.  Want to receive our wine and recipes on a regular basis?  Click Here to subscribe to Miles' Pinot Selections!

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Maya's Selections ($50)
Subscribers receive one white and one red that reward cellaring, but are enjoyable now. Click Here to subscribe to the "Maya's Selections" sampling program.

"Maya's Selection" #1) William James 2004 Roussanne  $24
Roussanne (roo SAHN), as with the other white varietals of the Rhône (Viognier and Marsanne), is similar to Chardonnay in only one way – they all tend to be full of body. A tad Zaftig, one might say. Rubenesque. This wine is no exception.  Unlike Chardonnay, however, this wine reveals pear, honey and a hint of mango flavors in the mouth and nose that would turn your average chardonnay Verde with envy. Fermenting and aging in 100% French oak barrels and allowing complete malolactic fermentation adds to the rich and smooth mouthfeel.  Click Here to purchase this wine.

Food Pairing
This lush white wine was paired with a chicken Caesar salad, whose sharp garlic is easily handled by this rich, complex wine.  Want more wines and recipes?  Click Here to subscribe to "Maya's Selections" sampler program.

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"Maya's Selection" #2) Clos Mimi 2005 Syrah "Petite Rousse" $22 

I selected this wine knowing it would be controversial.  It is different than most California Syrah - earthier, less bright fruit but with surprising depths of complexity.  An amazing food wine (click here for info on great food wines) at a great price, but as a cocktail wine unlikely to dominate the discussion.  Nonetheless, this is one of my favorite wines for the foods of fall.  Just try a bottle, I think you'll be back for more.  Click Here to purchase.

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Food Pairing

I complimented the deep dark flavors of this wine with a tea-smoked duck recipe that you really should try at home!  Want our wines and recipes on a regular basis?  Click here to subscribe to Maya's Selections.

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"Jack's Selections" ($30)
In the movie "Sideways", Jack was the character who enjoyed a wine's social aspect more than its esoteric qualities.  In that vein, the crowd-pleasing wines selected for this sampling program are meant for immediate enjoyment.  Click Here to subscribe.

"Jack's Selection" #1) Nada Roja 2006 Sauvignon Blanc $16   Fresh, inviting aromas of melon, grapefruit, and spring blossoms lured me to take a sip, and then my my taste buds were tantalized with flirtatious flavors of stone fruits and grapefruit.  Its body is as lean as a supermodel (albeit a well-fed one), its crisp acidity making my mouth water for more. As one would expect, its finish is clean and crisp but not short, lingering fondly like the memory of an old friend after a short visit.  Only 500 cases produced.  Click Here to purchase.

Food Suggestions
Club members received this wine paired with a recipe for Shrimp, grapefruit and avocado salad.  Also pairs well with Thanksgiving dinner.  Want a regular dose of our wine and recipes?  Click Here to subscribe to the "Jack's Selections" sampling program.

Jack's Selection #2) Turchi 2005 Syrah, Santa Barbara County $14
Ever hear of the “black fruit and smoky charms” of a Côtes du Rhone?  This wine expresses it in spades, along with a healthy mouthful of minerality.  This wine evolves over the course of the evening, and is definitely a food wine, not a cocktail wine.  The first surprise this bottle offers is the extent of its deep, rich and smoky flavors (look for crushed blackberries & cherries, toasty earthiness and a hint of bacon-fat). Its second surprise is its most affordable tariff - just $15.

Food Suggestion
Club members received this wine paired with a recipe for Charred Eggplant Salad.  Want more of our wine and recipe recommendations?  Subscribe to Jack's Selections here, and receive them every two months.

Cheers!
Dave Chambers, Wine Merchant

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Why Contrarians Find the Best Food Wines

I might as well get this out of the way right now.  I am a big fan of wines that compliment food.  I believe wine and food to be natural partners, each enhancing the other and enabling a higher level of enjoyment.  But not all wines are good food wines, some are simply better as cocktails.  So what makes a good food wine?

How To Buy Good Food Wines

There are a handful of things I keep in mind when selecting a wine to compliment a meal.  What follows is my four-point shopping list for food wines.  [Note: Since you can't taste most wines before buying them, I've found it helpful to find a good wine merchant who can identify wines that meet these criteria!]

1. Seek Low Alcohol - high alcohol levels (above 14.5%) are an unfortunate side-affect of today's popular wine style.  For a great food match, ignore popular styles and swim upstream until you find wines that are naturally low in alcohol.  Not coincidentally, such wines are often naturally high in acidity, which makes your mouth water - an essential condition for tasting and enjoying your food.  Excessive alcohol leaves the mouth feeling hot, a sensation that conflicts with most foods but particularly with spicy foods.  In addition, as alcohol takes its affect on the diner, said diner grows increasingly unable to discern flavors in either the wine or the food, and unable to drive safely home.
2. Seek Balanced, Earthy Wines - A wine's "Balance" refers to the interplay between its fruit, acid (structure), alcohol, oak, and tannin (astringency).  In a well-balanced wine each element contributes aromas and flavors without any one being dominant - like a perfect quintet.  I like to add two more elements that help a wine compliment food - the characteristics of earth and vegetation.  And since many recipes feature the earthy flavors of spices, mushrooms and vegetables, wines with these flavors extend a nice bridge between the food and the wine.
3. A Minimum of Oak! - Gobs of fruit and oak make for high scores these days.  They also make a wine that is best tasted by itself (the same way most wine writers taste when assigning their scores.)  But the oak that seemed so pleasant during the cocktail hour will overpower your food when that same wine is brought to the table.  if you want a wine that goes well with your meal, ignore the scores!
4. What Are You Serving? - So you've found a wine that has low alcohol, earthy aromas, balanced oak, good acidity and an affordable price.  But you're not quite home just yet.  Don't forget to tell your wine merchant what you are serving and how it is prepared!  A fish that begs for a crisp white wine when poached might argue for Rose when grilled or stewed.

A note about being a contrarian.  While you may win kudos among wine geeks for serving wines with big scores, there is a price to pay.  Wines with big scores tend to be in short supply, which means they cost more.  And since they don't compliment food as well, the wise and frugal gourmet is well served by avoiding the high scoring wines and spending the savings on superior ingredients!

Recommended Wine

Most of the wines I include in our portfolio are food friendly, with some notable exceptions for the cocktail set.  But here is a new food-friendly wine I recently added - the Foppoli 2006 Estate Chardonnay, Russian River Valley $35.  This wine is completely unoaked, and rewards the nose with refreshing floral aromas of orange blossom, citrus peel and the slightest hint of earthy minerals.  For the taste buds, it comes through with a pleasant light middle-weight mouthfeel and flavors of grapefruit and melon.  Foppoli Vineyards provided Russian River Chardonnay grapes to some fairly hoity toity wineries.  This is their first estate wine produced since prohibition.  Enjoy this wine with shrimp and avocado salads, any fruits of the sea, Chicken or Turkey, and lighter, low-fat meats such pork or veal most anyway.  Though i can think of better wines for Barbecue, this versatile wine serves commendably well unless the sauce is particularly vinegary!

Cheers!

Dave Chambers, Wine Merchant

Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

Today's Quote (from the Fantesca Winery website):

“Fish, to taste good, must swim three times. Once in Water, Once in butter, and once in wine.”

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Hamburger Wines?

In today's news from the AP there was a news item about a man who won ten grand for eating 103 small hamburgers in 8 minutes.  That comes to $97 per burger, which is a pretty fair wage, I would say, especially since the cost of the burger probably wasn't deducted.  The competition was sponsored by the Krystal Company, operator of the Krystal Hamburger chain.

This is the sort of news that makes Slow Food members groan almost as loudly as the winner likely did.  I have been accused of being a food snob on one or two occasions, an accusation I deny.  In fact, just between you and me, I enjoy the occasional burger, though I prefer the ones I make at home to those from the fast food world.  But in a pinch on the road, as Julia Childs used to say, "Where else are you going to eat?"

Whether cooked at home or a restaurant, burgers are here to stay.  And sometimes we even want a wine to go with them.  So here is my take on which wines go best with burgers.  First of all, I like red wine with my burgers.  And I like wines that don't fight the sweetness of the ketchup and special sauces but is sufficiently tannic to stand up to the fat of the meat and cheese.  Here are some candidates to provide a beef respite in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, after which Turkey (the bird, not the country) leads the race through the end of the year.

Burger Wines

Heron Wines, 2004 Pinot Noir $11.99 Our budget entry offers an earthiness that complements burgers, especially those with mushrooms.

Buttonwood Farms, 2004 "The Infant" Cabernet Franc, $15  A light wine that I recommend serving just slightly chilled (about 20 minutes in the refrigerator should do the trick).  Perfect for those who just can't bring themselves to drink anything with their burger that isn't cold.

L'Uvaggio di Giacomo, 2004 Barbera $16  The drool-inducing dark berry fruit in this wine invites  burgers to the table.  And it tips the scale as a medium-weight wine largely due to its refreshing acidity that helps prepare your mouth for the next juicy bite.  I like this one with my cheeseburger.

Vita Nova 2002 Sangiovese, Stolpman Vineyard $18  Yes, I do like the Italian varietals with my burgers.  And while $18 is pushing the limit of what most people want to spend for a burger wine, this one is worth every penny.  Less than a case remaining.

Now go grab a box of napkins and get your burgers on the grill.

Cheers,

Dave Chambers, Wine Merchant

Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

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Today's Quote is from Calvin Trillin:

"Anybody who doesn't think that the best hamburger joint in the whole world is in their home town is a sissy"

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First Metal Woods, now Plastic Glassware?

Maybe it was inspired by my midlife crisis.  Maybe I was attempting to replicate the success of young Max Riedel's stemless O-series of wine glassware.  Or perhaps it was simple thirst.  Whatever it was, it led to the discovery of a great emergency wine glass.

If your vacation car looks anything like ours, it quickly contains several pounds of vacation detritus, much of which consists of empty water bottles.  These can be handy when you're in a pinch, a position in which we often found ourselves while in France, as our hunger struck at very inconvenient times.  Invariably, our bodies thought it was time to eat 45 minutes after every restaurant, boulangerie, charcuterie and fromagerie had closed.  WHEN you decide to visit the Loire, you'll have a much more enjoyable trip if you quickly orient your body clock to the schedules of these fun and fundamental merchants.

But back to those plastic bottles.  Their bottoms are easily severed from the tops using such handy devices as the serrated blade of the corkscrew kindly given to you by the ever-cheerful, English-speaking Phillipe at La Cave des Vigneron's de Saumur (see photo). After keeping him half an hour past closing.  After buying only six bottles when he was hoping to sell that many cases.  And when even those measly six bottles, added to your other recent vinous discoveries, tip you over the maximum holding capacity of your baggage, offering another excuse to buy yet one more piece of luggage to be added to the neat mountain of unused bags patiently awaiting your homecoming.  If bags could only say "I told you so", these would.

So this serrated foil cutter on your donated corkscrew makes quick-but-messy work of your water bottle, transforming it into the crude piece of emergency glassware being deftly demonstrated in the top photo.  The wise sip cautiously.

But for those desiring glassware which can actually enhance a Picnic Rosé, you can't do better than the Riedel "O" series, available here (about $20 for set of two) - I recommend the Riesling series for your Rosé.  Speaking of which, we've made it easy to pick up a few bottles of Rosé - perhaps the perfect wine for your Thanksgiving table - at considerable savings...

1. L'Uvaggio di Giacomo, 2006 Barbera Rosato, (was $12, now $10.80!) - One of the best Rosatos this side of Italy.  Winemaker Jim Moore consistently produces the best Italian varietals in the U.S.  But just because it's roots are Italian doesn't mean it isn't a perfect solution for your American Thanksgiving - this food-friendly wine goes as well with everything on the traditional table, and many of the more exotic additions that have recently become popular.

2. Ortman Family Vineyards, Syrah Rosé 2005  (was $16, now $12.80!) - One of the young Central Coast's rarities - a second generation winery.  And the Ortman family continues to impress us with the quality of their Rhône varietals.  This Syrah-based blush wine is no exception!

3. Tudor Wines, the Radog 2005 Rhône-Style Rosé  (Was $16, now $12.99!) - Talented Dan Tudor is the man behind this alluring wine.  Nothing goes better with a leftover turkey sandwich!

Incidentally, that same serrated foil cutter serves less well as a cheese knife.  But sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

Cheers!

Dave Chambers, Wine Merchant

Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

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Mussels Marinières - the Heaven Express

One of my favorite meals during our recent stay in the Loire Valley was a simple lunch at a streetside cafe in Tours. I will not soon forget the meal of mussels, crisp french fries, a fresh baguette and a cool glass of local Chenin Blanc. The combination brought me closer to heaven than I probably deserve.

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The Loire Valley Wine Trio

This wine trio ($44 - a Buttonwood Sauvignon Blanc, a Chenin Blanc from Dan Gehrs, and a J. Wilkes Pinot Blanc) was one of the first things I put together when I got home.  Technically, Pinot Blanc is Alsatian, but it is a kindred spirit, and pairs well with the recipe I present below as well as others I plan to share.  When paired well, these wines can provide the same slice of Tours-streetside nirvana.  So pull a cork on one of these wines, splash some into your glass, then add some fresh-shucked oysters or steam some mussels (recipe below) and you too shall experience an hour of pure happiness.

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Moules Marinières with Lardon

Moules Marinières are also known as "Sailor's mussels" or "Mariner's mussels." This basic dish consists of fresh mussels delicately steamed in white wine with garlic, parsley, butter, onion and cream sauce.  The addition of lardons was a unique twist, adding a smokiness that permeates the dish.  This smokiness, as well as the small amount of cream added to the juice, suggests that this dish pairs more nicely with a fuller-bodied wine such as the Chenin Blanc or the Pinot Blanc from today's recommended trio.  Leave out the lardons and the Sauvignon Blanc is on equal terms.  Leave out the cream and the Sauvignon Blanc shines!

Be sure to have a good baguette (more than you think you'll need) to dip into the delectable sauce and juices once your mussels are gone. Mussel veterans eat by using an empty mussel shell as a pincer to pick the remaining mussels from their shells - a fun way to eat with your fingers!

Ingredients (serves 2 as a main course, 4 as an opening course)

• 2+ Lbs of fresh, live mussels
• 1/2 Pound thick bacon or pancetta, cubed
• 2 cloves of chopped garlic
• 1 finely chopped shallot
• 5 fl oz (1 glass) of dry white wine
• 2 Tbsp Butter
• 1 large handful of finely chopped parsley
• 4 tbsp of cream
• salt and pepper

Procedure
Clean, debeard and rinse the mussels several times in cold running water. Discard any that do not snap shut when tapped and set the rest aside in a colander. Cook the lardons in the bottom of a wide, deep pot until crispy but not burned. Remove, drain on paper towel. Leaving one Tbsp of fat, add enough butter to equal 2 Tbsp total, then add the chopped shallot and garlic. Cook for a few minutes on a medium heat until the shallots have softened.

Add the white wine and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add mussels and cover, cooking on a high heat for several minutes. Gently shake the pan several times during cooking to redistribute the mussels. It is best to remove the mussels one by one as they open, placing them in a colander with a bowl underneath to catch the juices - liquid gold. Again, discard any mussels that have remained tightly shut.

Return the lardons to the liquid and boil until reduced by half. Stir in the cream and parsley. Taste the sauce and add salt or pepper to taste. Transfer the mussels to a large bowl, pour the reduced liquid over the mussels, and serve immediately. Pair with any of these three wines and you'll agree that happiness is at hand.

Cheers!

Dave Chambers, Wine Merchant

Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

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Touring the Santa Barbara Wine Country (Guest Author Andrew Wang)

Tuesday, October 9th.  [During my absence in the Loire, guest author Andrew Wang offers this excellent posting.  Andrew also writes regularly for Travel Reward Credit Card, Wine Making Supplies, International Travel Medical Insurance Guide.  ~Dave]

When Father Junipero Serra planted the first grapevine cuttings in Santa Barbara County in 1782 he could scarcely have been aware of the potential of the land. The same can be said of the generations that followed him. It was only in the 1980s that the first recognition came of the area’s unique potential.

It was then realized that the Santa Barbara County was blessed with the right soil, the right amount of sunshine and the right temperature to grow grapes. Vineyard masters and wine makers descended on this glorious Californian land, bounded by Santa Ynez to the south and the San Rafaels to the north, to plant yards and yards of world-class grape vines. The result: Santa Barbara is now known as America’s wine country.

Today a drive through Santa Barbara County is any wine lover’s dream. Over 100 wineries operate in this area, and more are setting up shop. There is also a great deal of experimentation going on as new winemakers join the party. Tasting rooms dot this beautiful County, where visitors can taste some of the best wines being produced in America.

The County itself has been divided in three clear zones (AVAs): the Santa Ynez Valley, the Santa Rita Hills, and the Santa Maria Valley. Each zone has its own, unique climate. The Santa Ynez Valley, which is the largest, is home to more than 50 wineries and scores of grape growers. It is slightly warm, as its eastern parts are a little removed from the ocean.

The Santa Rita Hills are much cooler because they are fed by a cool ocean breeze that also brings in fog. This area is ideal for growing grapes like syrah, pinot noir and chardonnay. The Santa Maria Valley is the coolest. It is windy and often foggy and has a climate that is almost like Burgundy, the French home of pinot noir and chardonnay grapes.

Some of the most well known vineyards in Santa Barbara Country are Sanford & Benedict Vineyard, Bien Nacido, Babcock Vineyards, and Byron Vineyard and Winery. Besides this, winemaking giants Beringer, Robert Mondavi and Kendall-Jackson have major vineyard holdings in Santa Barbara.

Perhaps best known for its Pinot Noir, the County also produces some of the most exotic grapes in the world. These include Syrah, Petite Syrah (aka Petite Sirah), Sauvignon Blanc, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Viognier, Rousanne and Marsanne as well as Riesling, Dornfelder and Tocai Friulano.

The fame of the County has grown with the shooting of the Hollywood film Sideways in 2004. Hundreds of tourists now descend on Kalyra Winery, where the film’s sassy star, Stephanie (played by Sandra Oh), was pouring wine. Other stops for these tourists are Los Olivos Café & Wine Merchant, Hitching Post II, cellar at Firestone and Foxen tasting room. In fact, this trail has come to be known as the "Sideways tour" which ends well if you finish your day at Solvang's Tastes of the Valleys wine bar, where they feature the wines of the Sideways Wine Club.

Visitors can also time their visit to coincide with the wine country’s two annual bashes. The first one is Vintners' Festival and is held in April. The second one is called the Celebration of Harvest, and is held in October. Both are marked by days of wild dancing, crush parties, dining and merrymaking.

Andrew Wang

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About the Author

Andrew Wang lives in Seattle area.   He writes for the following blogs: Travel Reward Credit Card, Wine Making Supplies, International Travel Medical Insurance Guide

That's it for this week and I am outta here!

This space is going silent for a while.  My family and I are spending some time in the Loire Valley, thanks to Superwife, whose first choice would have been somewhere in Africa or Asia.  You see, before I got married my goal was to spend vacations in one of the globe's best winegrowing regions.  Immersion in the local food and wine is the best way to expand one's appreciation and understanding.  And love.

But Superwife made this a conditional concession - we could tour the Loire as long as I was not running off to every internet cafe to post new articles, process orders, manage club members or any of the other duties I take on as Chief Cook and Bottle Washer at SidewaysWineClub.com.  Don't worry, orders will be filled almost as quickly as we are known for, and I'll come back home with a plethora of posting possibilities.

I'll be back in touch later this month, after processing our club orders on the 16th.  Meanwhile - pop the cork on a bottle of Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc or Cabernet Franc for me, and I'll raise a toast in your direction.

Cheers,

Dave Chambers, Wine Merchant

Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

Today's Quote is from Oscar Wilde

Too much work, and no vacation,
Deserves at least a small libation.
So hail! my friends, and raise your glasses,
Work's the curse of the drinking classes.
~ (I wishe he'd known about www.sidewayswineclub.com!)

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Sideways adds two new wines & three old favorites!

I'm excited about the addition of five great new wines.  Two of them are new to our portfolio, while the other three are the current vintage of customer favorites.  All are wonderful wines for your fall table!

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 Andrew Murray Vineyard, 2005 Espérance (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) $22  Last year's vintage of Espérance was a favorite at the Tastes of the Valleys wine bar, so I've brought in a small amount of the current vintage for fans of the Andrew Murray style. 

Inviting notes of ripe berries, a cherry-vanilla reduction sauce, and dusty spice with a pleasant hint of smoke and violets on the finish.  Buy It Here

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Andrew Murray Vineyard, 2005 Grenache, $30  This is a new wine for us.  It was produced in very limited quantities, so we were pleased to acquire some of it.  We liked this wine when we tasted it and loved it later on when paired with dinner.  Look for the usual Grenache exuberance - gregarious fruit with enough earthiness to keep it from being a caricature.  You won't find this anywhere esle!

Buy It Here

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L'uvaggio Di Giacomo, 2004 Barbera, Lodi (New Label) $16  Back by popular demand!  Made by famed Winemaker Jim Moore, this wine's refreshing acidity and lush red fruit (and its affordable price!) make it a great every-day wine. Complements a wide variety of dishes! 

I am not alone in my love of Jim's wines, hear it from W. Blake Gray of the S.F. Chronicle's Wine section... "His Barbera, Vermentino and Arneis are among the best of their kind in the U.S."

Buy It Here

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L'uvaggio Di Giacomo, 2006 Arneis, Schatz Vineyard, Lodi, $18  Another new wine (under an old label!)  This is a medium-bodied, complex white wine that happens to have a great affinity for all things garlic.  Try it with a simple appetizer course of roasted garlic spread on baguette, or with shrimp scampi or grilled fish or poultry or...

Buy It Here

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 Labyrinth 2005 Pinot Noir, Bien Nacido Vineyard, $31  Put this wine in a blind taste test and identify it by its refreshingly elegant structure and its tart cherry.  Winemaker Ariki Hill makes one of my favorite Central Coast pinots, and at this price, it is an incredible value - one of the two least expensive wines from that vineyard by about $9.  Drinking well know, this wine will reward a few years of dark and quiet repose, for those who appreciate the wonders of bottle bouquet.

Buy It Here

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BTW, I will be gone from Wed, 10/3 - Tuesday 10/16 to study the wines and foods of the Loire Valley.  I will not be available by phone or email during most of that time, but rest assured your orders will be processed once or twice each week during my absence.  And I'll have lots of tales to tell upon our return!

 

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Today's Quote is from Roland Barthes

"Other countries drink to get drunk, and this is accepted by everyone; in France, drunkenness is a consequence, never an intention. A drink is felt as the spinning out of a pleasure, not as the necessary cause of an effect which is sought: wine is not only a philtre, it is also the leisurely act of drinking."

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