Wine Crush

For Sauvignon Blanc Lovers

2009-04-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most popular white wines made from green-skinned grapes, which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. It is now widely cultivated in France, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, California, and South America, producing a crisp, dry, and refreshing white varietal wine. Depending on the climate, the flavor ranges from aggressively grassy to sweetly tropical. It is usually consumed young since it doesn't particularly benefit from aging. Sauvignon Blanc should be served slightly chilled and pairs with fish or cheese, particularly Chevre. Also, it is one of the few wines that go well with sushi.

For those Sauvignon Blanc Lovers, here are my wine crushes:

1) Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc 2007 - This lush and inviting Sauvignon Blanc combines a rich, creamy mouthfeel with bright acidity and a long, refreshing finish. The aroma brings together appealing elements of Meyer lemon, grapefruit, orange blossom and peach nectar, with hints of honeysuckle and graham crackers. On the palate, tropical flavors of pineapple and mango are complemented by layers of citrus, peach and ginger spice. (On sale at Wines.com for $28.41 a bottle and $321.46 per case with free shipping).

2) Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc 2007 - Fragrant and complex, with a refreshing burst of lime, guava, grapefruit and grass flavors. Wet stone, passion fruit and oyster shell accents add interest, with bright acidity highlighting the vivid finish. An outstanding Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. (On sale at Wines.com for $15.89 and $187.78 with free shipping).

3) Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc 2007 - Winemaker Mike Dobrovic, is known as South Africa’s‘Mr Sauvignon Blanc’, and for good reason. The flavour of this internationally renowned wine is a beautiful balance between cool and ripe, pale straw with a green tinge. The 2001 Sauvignon Blanc has massive fruit content, being packed with guava, lemon and passion fruit – yet maintaining its complex character of grassiness and nettle. (On sale at Wines.com for $19.99 a bottle and $227.46 per case with free shipping).

Frank Family Zinfandel Napa Valley 2006

2009-04-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

My wine crush of the day is:

Frank Family Zinfandel Napa Valley 2006 - Brilliant crimson color. Aromas of black pie, dried cherries, pink peppercorns and a hint of lily of the valley. Richness emerges as layers of juicy raspberry, spiced pluot compote, and sweet smoky BBQ sauce are exposed. Lavish and round; loaded with ripe briar berries and stone fruit, finishes deep and rich. 91% Zinfandel, 6% Petite Sirah, 3% Syrah, 15 months maturation in 35% new french oak and 65% once and twice filled french oak barrels. A big wine with 15% alcohol which is beautifully integrated into the wine of berries and spice. Try with roasted pork loin stuffed with your favorite fruit--blackberries? Or a huge all-meat pizza.

- On sale at Wines.com for $34.69 a bottle and $349 per case with free shipping.

Patz & Hall Chardonnay Napa Valley 2007

2009-04-14T11:07:00.000-07:00

My wine crush of the day is:

Patz & Hall Chardonnay Napa Valley 2007 - The 2007 vintage of Patz & Hall's Napa Valley Chardonnay is certainly the most favorable to me than the higher end Zio Tony or Hyde Vineyard (which are still awesome), simply because of access and price point. The combination of fruit sourced from Carneros & Atlas Peak, which leads me on by taunting my taste buds with citrus fruit and spice with a hint of grandma's applie pie finishing out with a clean texture and finesse. A luscious Chardonnay with great persistence and harmony of flavors. Doesn't get much better. Pairs with grilled red snapper topped with fresh crabmeat.

- On sale at Wines.com for $32.99 a bottle and $388.00 per case with free shipping.

Hollywood & Vine 2480 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2006

2009-04-14T10:54:00.001-07:00

My wine crush of the day is:

Hollywood & Vine 2480 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2006 - Owned by producer Bruce Orosz and actor Doug Barr, this wine has a fabulous presentation. The Chardonnay has been my favorite, but with the advent of the 2006 Cabernet, it's a horse race. Much more forward than the 2005 vintage that still needs another year of aging. This wine is unbelievably ready to drink now, has a beautiful structure and a rich texture on the palate. Great fruit, ample tannins (but the tender kind), and has a beautiful balance of all components with a long, persistent finish. First growth quality for 1/6th of the price! Pairs with beef tenderloin with a Cabernet reduction sauce.

- On sale at Wines.com for $81.85 a bottle and $936 per case with free shipping.

For Syrah Lovers

2009-03-03T11:52:00.000-08:00

What comes to mind when you think about Shiraz? A dark powerful wine filled with a tannic burst of fruit, vanilla, and pepper. Recent DNA testing determined that it's likely a genetic ancestor of the Dureza and Mondeuse Blance grapes, thick dark skinned grapes rarely used in wines today.

Eventually, Syrah developed in the Northern Rhone Valley nurturing on the granite based soils, resistant to the climate of the Burgundy region in France and used as the key ingredient in delicious blends such as Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Hermitage. Also, there is a theory out there that Syrah originated in Shiraz, Iran where they produced Shirazi wine. By the mid 1840's Syrah made its way to Australia and quickly dominated with its thick skin thriving in the sun. Today, the prominent Shiraz regions remain the Rhone Valley, Southern Australia and some smaller production areas globally.

For those Syrah lovers, my wine crushes are:

1) 2005 Septima Syrah from Argentina, Mendoza - Dark chocolate mocha, a hair of mint, and notes of earth and leather lining the mouth with velvet tannins and a full body finish. At $12.99, it's a big wine that will certainly make you wis you bought a case;

2) Peter Lehmann's Clancy's from Australia, Barossa Valley - A variety of dark fruits are proffered with black cherry and plum predominating. The spice palate is shot through with everything from allspice to white pepper. For $15.99, it really over-delivers at it's modest price point;

3) 2006 Groom Barossa Valley Shiraz by Daryl Groom, the former winemaker for Pensfold Grange - Nice fruit forward wine with hints of anise, pepper, blackberries and a touch of vanilla. For $34.99, this is one of the best Australian Shiraz we have tasted in years.

Clos de Los Siete

2009-02-23T11:52:00.000-08:00

Argentina is an up and coming wine region in South America. The Mendoza region is the largest winemaking region in Argentina, with around 370,000 acres of vines. Clos de Los Siete is an oasis comprised of seven vineyards in the foothills of the Andes, south of Mendoza.

I raise my glass to the manager of the winery, Michel Rolland who helped develop the Bordeaux influenced wine region. Rolland, a famed wine consultant to Chateau Pavie-Macquin, put together a group of Bordeaux wine families to invest in vineyards in the ANdes foothills south of Mendoza.

My wine crush of the day is: the 2007 Clos de Los Siete is a superb blend of 48% Malbec, 28% Merlot, 12% Syrah, and 12% Cabernet Sauvingnon, offering up a bouquet of toasty oak, violets, mineral, black currant, blueberry, and black cherry. Ripe, sweet, and seamless, it admirably hides its tannin under all the fruit. It is a 90+ point and $17 on sale at wines.com. This price is quite modest, as it drinks better than most $50 blends.

Resveratrol, Procyanidins and Sirtuins

2009-02-21T19:02:00.000-08:00

Now most of us know that the feeding worms enormous amounts of resveratrol (an antioxidant found mostly in red wine), not only extends their live dramatically, but also increases their activity level, etc. The only problem seems to be that to obtain the same amount of resveratrol for a human, it would take several cases of wine or more per day!

Next, we hear that a study was done suggesting that procyanidins in primarily red wine are possibly even more important antioxidants that reserveratrol because they are the more active polyphenols in red wine, so the amount of preocyanidins in a glass or two might be enough to help.

To confuse the issue to the point of saying -- what? The latest information suggests that the reasons that both work so well is that both activate a family of enzymes called sirtuins, which are the real age-extenders/ activity enhancers. Have fun googling the three words in the title. - Denman Moody

Personal Wine's Core Benefit Paradigm

2009-02-21T17:37:00.000-08:00

Every business school in America teaches that a successful business must continually spend 10-15% of it's annual gross on adverting - spreading the word about the company and it's products or services! This fact is ubiquitous and a core foundation in any successful business plan.

Every successful business executive and entrepreneur is at least aware of this fundamental law of business. However, many don't necessarily tie together the fact that company-branded gifts and amenities actually serve the company in more than one capacity.

That is, they are now more like business cards, post cards, calendars, brochures, commercials or billboards - only, you can actually drink them and share them with friends. Instead of being thrown away with the junk mail, company-branded and personalized bottles of wine migrate to the kitchen table, the wine cellar, or even better, right into a wine glass.

This paradigm demonstrates why Personal Wine is the perfect choice for thanking clients, distributing party or banquet favors, celebrating company milestones and much more. Every bottle acts as a classy-vehicle for expressing gratitude and for expanding brand awareness simultaneously.

It's literally a win-win; which can be so hard to find in todays business climate. Why not choose a strategy that can't loose: use Personal Wine as a vehicle to both build your brand and celebrate client relationships at the same time!

Ten Rules-of-Thumb for Food and Wine Pairing

2009-02-21T16:59:00.000-08:00

1. If you are taking wine as a gift to a dinner party, don't worry about matching the wine to the food unless you have been requested to do so and have enough information about what is being served to make an informed choice. Just bring a good wine. Match the quality of food and wine. A grand dinner party with multiple courses of elaborately prepared dishes deserve a better wine than hamburgers on the grill with chips in a bag.

2. When you're serving more than one wine at a meal, it is customary to serve lighter wines before full-bodied ones. Dry wines should be served before sweet wines unless a sweet flavored dish is served early in the meal. In that case match the sweet dish with a similarly sweet wine. Lower alcohol wines should be served before high alcohol wines.

3. Balance flavor intensity. Pair light-bodied wines with lighter foods and fuller-bodied wines with heartier, more flavorful, richer and fattier dishes.

4. Consider how the food is prepared. Delicately flavored foods, poached or steamed, pair with delicate wines. It is easier to pair wines with more flavorfully prepared foods, braised, roasted or sauteed. Pair the wine with the sauce, seasoning or dominant flavor of the dish.

5. Match flavors. An earthy Pinot Noir goes well with mushroom soup and the grapefruit/ citrus tasted of Sauvignon Blancs goes with fish for the same reason that lemon does.

6. Balance sweetness. An earthy Pinot Noir goes well with food that is sweeter than the wine, although I do like chocolate with Cabernet Sauvignon. I also like chocolate with good dark beer.

7. Consider pairing opposites. Very hot or spicy foods, that some Thai dishes, or hot curries for example, often work best with sweet desert wines. Opposing flavors can play off eachother, creating new flavor sensations and cleansing the palate.

8. Match by geographic location. Regional foods and wines, having developed together over time, often have a natural affinity for each other.

9. Pair wine and cheese. In some European countries the best wine is reserved for the cheese course. Red wines go well with mild to sharp cheese. Pungent and intensely flavored cheese is better with a sweeter wine. Goat cheeses pair well with dry white wine, while milder cheeses pair best with fruiter red wines. Soft cheese like the like the Camembert and Brie, if not over ripe, pair well with just about any red wine including Cabernet, Zinfandel and Red Burgundy.

10. Adjust food to better pair with the wine. Sweetness in a dish will increase the awareness of bitterness and astringency in wine, making it appear drier, stronger and less fruity. High amounts of acidity in food will decrease awareness of sourness in wine and making it taste richer and mellower, sweet wine will taste sweeter. Bitter favors in food increase the perception of bitter, tannic elements in wine. Sourness and salt in food suppress bitter taste in wine. Salt in food can tone down the bitterness and astringency of wine and may make sweet wines taste sweeter.