Recent wines

2 wines that I've recently drank and enjoyed:

Here is an interesting varietal called Lagrein that is a native of northern Italy. this bottle cost less than $20 at Bristol Farms supermarket and had very interesting flavors. It was a great match for the duck tacos I ate with it.

http://www.kellerei-kurtatsch.it/pdf/eng/klassik/Lagrein_eng.pdf

Kaz Huzzah:

One of my favorite wineries is a very small winery called Kaz. They claim to be the smallest winery open to the public. I like that there slogan is that there is no harm in experimenting and they are not afraid to ignore what is normally deemed not acceptable and make their own rules. This wine has equal parts Mouvedre, Grenache, Syrah, Tannat and Counoise. it was easy to drink and would go well with many different meals.

http://www.kazwinery.com/wines_huzzah.php

Cheers,

BC

Good Wine Deals

Wine Deals

Everyone is looking for a deal and wine-drinkers are no exception. So how can you find a good wine for less than $20. Here are a couple rules I use when looking for a good wine that won’t break the bank.

1. Look in unfamiliar areas

As a scientist when analyzing my data I try to be objective as possible. Even though I hope the data looks a certain way (hey I’m human), I am objective even when the data proves my hypothesis is wrong. I say this because everyone has preconceived notions about what to expect. What does this have to do with wine? Well, because wine drinkers expect certain wines from specific areas are supposed to taste good, they are able to charge more for their wines. On the other hand, wineries from areas not as popular can’t charge as much because they won’t sell at the higher price. Why? Because people don’t have the lofty, preconceived ideas as those wines compared to wines produced in the more established areas.

Thus, one way to find deals is to look in places that are not known for making great wines. Some places are: Austria, Portugal, Greece, Chile and certain regions of Spain. In the US, look for wines from states not known for wines such as Michigan, Virginia and even New Mexico.

2. Look for unfamiliar grapes

For the same reason as stated above it is hard to charge high prices for unknown grapes that are not Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and other well known grapes. Some grapes that are less common which I like are carmenere, dolcetto, blaufrankisch and petite syrah for red and verdelho, gruner veltliner and torrontes for whites. Plus, most rose mines are great bargains.

Here are some of my favorite bargain wines

For reds

1. Apaltagua carmenere from Chile
2. Paul Lehrner zweigelt from Austria
3. Pecchenino dolcetto di Dogliani from Italy
4. Vinedo de la Vientos tannat from Uruguay
5. La Posta bonarda from Argentina

For whites

1. Basa rueda from Spain
2. Mollydooker verdelho from Australia
3. Susanna Balbo torrontes from Argentina
4. Chateau Grand Traverse riesling from Michigan
5. Robertson The ruins, a blend of chardonnay, verdelho and viognier from South Africa

Why do I like wine?

So I thought I would start this blog off with why I like wine in the first place. There are many ways, but I thought I would narrow it down to my top three.

1. I like to learn

I’m a scientist. That means many things to many people, but to me it means a couple things: I like to do research and gain as much knowledge as I can about a subject and I like to experiment and try things that have never been attempted. Wine has fulfilled both of those points for me. One person can never learn everything about wine, but I definitely enjoy learning as much as I can bout the different regions and varietals that encompass the world of wine. Also the making of wine is basically botany as the vine grows and afterwards the fermentation process is a combination of microbiology and organic chemistry, which is right up my alley as a scientist.

Also every time I pour a glass of wine I learn something new. It could be a wine from a new varietal, region, vintage or winery that I’ve never had before. It may be something I’ve had but for some reason it tastes differently than I remember due to increased aging or a new food combination.

I’ll never forget one day I was in a wine shop in Sevilla, Spain and the lady recommended a wine and she only described it as “The wine will make you think.” By that she meant the wine had new and interesting combinations of aromas and flavors that were very unusual and man was she right!! The wines that I remember most are the ones that I feel like I’ve learned something new from and made me think.

2. Wines are usually grown in beautiful places.

I like to travel so that I can experience a new region and all that it has to offer. It may just be me but wines are grown in some pretty awesome places. I have visited wine regions in California, Michigan, Spain, and Italy. These places not only had great wine, but they also had unique food cultures, beautiful scenery and friendly people (probably because they were all drinking wine like we were). I’ve found over the past few years that when I am looking for a vacation I try and find a local winery to see what they are growing (did you know that wine is produced in all 50 states?). So the next time you are on vacations try and see what wineries are open for tastings!

3. I like to explore

This is similar to number 1 in that I think it comes from my personality as a curious scientist. I not only enjoy learning new things, but I enjoy the pursuit of the knowledge. As a kid I liked the pursuit of a rare baseball card or comic book that nobody else knew about, and now that has transferred into my love of wine. I am always looking for new and interesting varietals, regions, techniques, and winemakers that expand my knowledge of wine.

I am creating this blog to bring some of knowledge and love of wine to the public, and I hope the reader enjoys it as much as I will writing for it.

I hope you enjoy the journey.

Cheers,

BC