VINEgeek

I received this bottle as a sample provided by the winery. Producer: Story Winery (these guys own the www.zin.com domain, so they’re serious about Zin) Grapes: 100% Zinfandel Appellation: Shenandoah Valley, an AVA within the Sierra Foothills appellation. Officially called “California-Shenandoah Valley” to distinguish it from Virginia’s “Shenandoah Valley” AVA). Gold Rush country. Vintage: 2006 [...]

I only became aware of this Spanish wine region back in July from Eric Asimov’s terrific article in the New York Times. Take a few minutes to click through and read it. Go on. I’ll wait here. Ok, pretty cool, huh? Remote/undiscovered wine region. Indigenous grapes. Ancient wine-making tradition. Dramatic terrain. Winemakers who care about [...]

I’m still sort of tip-toeing into this Mourvèdre Monday series. I’m saving the big guns for later in the year and I’m sticking with a bargain Spanish bottle again this week. This one got 90 points from Parker and Tanzer, so let’s check it out. Producer: Casa Castillo Grapes: 100% Monastrell (Mourvèdre) Appellation: Jumilla (DO, Spain) [...]

The wines in my last two posts have had what I’ll call mashup names: Petite Petit – a blend of Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot Mo Zin –  a blend of Mourvèdre and Zinfandel, plus others (though it’s not clear if the Mo really stands for Mourvèdre or not. They also have a Mo Jo without [...]

Michael~David Winery Petite Petit 2007 Lodi This wine was a press sample provided by Michael~David Winery. Which came first the name or the wine? That’s what I wonder when see that this wine is called Petite Petit for it’s combination of Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot (and oddball blend to be sure). Clever name, but [...]

This is the 2nd installment of Mourvèdre Monday. I’ll be posting a review of a Mourvèdre-based wine every Monday in 2010. The first post can be found here. I picked this bottle up due to the unusual blend of grapes. Mourvèdre is traditionally blended with Grenache and/or Syrah in France and Australia. Combining it with Zin [...]

Producer: Bodega Flechas de los Andes (partnership between Baron Benjamin de Rothschild and Mr. Laurent Dassault) Grapes: Malbec (can’t confirm it’s 100%) Appellation: Mendoza (Argentina) Vineyards: no info Winemaking: The wine spent 14 months in a mix new French oak, 2nd year French oak and stainless steel (1/3 each). Alcohol: 14.5% Price: $14.99 at Costco [...]

I always feel a little guilty when I buy a wine from Cameron Hughes and their ilk. If you aren’t familiar with the model, Cameron Hughes calls itself a “modern international negociant.” Negociant is French for “Man Without Dirt”. OK, I just made that up. But a negociant owns no vineyards and buys up various “lots” [...]

Just after the New Year, I decided to make 2010 ‘The Year of Mourvèdre‘ for VINEgeek and pledged to institute Mourvèdre Mondays. For this, the first installment, I didn’t want to begin with a top-dog wine (Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape, for example), mostly because I didn’t want the rest of the year to seem like a letdown. [...]

This is the 5th installment of VINEgeek’s Oddball Wine of the Week. Click here for links to each wine in the series. Quattro Mani [toh-kai] 2007 Producer: Well, the brand is Quattro Mani, which is a label from Domaine Select Wine Estates, an importer. But the wine is made by Ales Kristancic of Movia. Grapes: 100% [...]