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September 17, 2019 The Crusher Petite Sirah 2016
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The StoryThe Crusher Petite Sirah is 82% Petite Sirah and then smaller percentages of Syrah, Tempranillo, Malbec, Merlot, and Zinfandel sourced mainly from 2 vineyards, one in the Clarksburg AVA and another in the Lodi AVA, both areas have good growing conditions for Petite Sirah. The Crusher line of wines is one of Don Sebastiani and Sons brand of wines. The Sebastiani family have been in the wine business in Sonoma for over 100 years, with Don Sebastiani and Sons representing the 3rd generation and Don and Sons being the 4th generation. Petite Sirah is a cross between the Syrah grape and an obscure grape called Peloursin created in the mid-1800s by a French Botanist named Durif. The grape never caught on in France but does quite well in the US and Australia. In California, it is used in countless drink-it-now Red blends and is often added to Zinfandel.Petite Sirah is a rich, spicy, dark-colored, bold wine. With the Crusher, this Red was aged for 10 months in a mix of French, Hungarian, and American oak barrels. French and Hungarian oak is the species, just grown in different areas, American oak is a different species with a wider grain structure and flavor profile. Hungarian oak is less expensive than French oak but offers similar flavors to the wine and is a smart choice for value wine. American oak with its more open grain can give more oak influence in a shorter period of time, which can be useful in wine in this price range (I found it for $9.99 on sale). The alcohol content is 13.5%.The Tasting NotesThe color is just barely see-thru raspberry jam red. The nose is slightly smokey, kind of dark and brooding, there are red berries, baking spice, soft herbs, bitter dark chocolate, and ripe strawberry. This is a rich, jammy Red, but still balanced, I think a delicate hand made this wine. It starts with ripe black cherry, spice, chocolate powder, and a light touch of pepper. The mid-palate shows tart cranberry, a little vanilla, sharp orange zest, a salty sensation, and a late hit of sweet blueberry. The wine has tannins (so many don't nowadays), they are sweet and don't bite, but they are part of the mix. The finish is soft but sticks around awhile.The Summary * The Crusher Petite Sirah 2016 is a very tasty Red, Wine Enthusiast gave it 90 points and you can find it for around ten bucks. * France's loss is California's gain, this Petite Sirah is a solid, delicious wine.
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8 min
September 12, 2019 Domaine de La Noblaie Chinon Goutte de Rosé 2018
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The StoryThe Domaine de La Noblaie Chinon Goutte de Rose' 2018 is a Rose' of Cabernet Franc sourced from 2 Estate hillside vineyards in the Chinon district of the Loire Valley in west-central France. The vineyards have been certified organic since 2005 and Domaine de La Noblaie has been worked by the family for four generations. Chinon is known for Cabernet Franc for Red wine and Chenin Blanc for White wine. This Rose' is imported by European Cellars, a large and well-respected importer. I found this small production Rose' on-sale for $9.99 and while it probably is not available all over the US similar Estate Rose' should be on the shelves of a store near you.A Rose' is a Red wine with little or no grape skin contact and since the tannins and other chemical components are contained in the skin, flavors that are masked by those elements can be exposed. Most Rose' in this price range is unoaked, so there is little to get in the way of the actual grape juice flavors. Rose', in a sense, is the flip side of Red wine. The grapes used for the Goutte de Rose' are handpicked, they make several passes thru the vineyards to only choose the grapes that are at the ideal ripeness. Natural yeast is used for fermentation meaning that the yeast that floats in the air and sticks to the grape skins is the yeast that starts fermentation. This Rose' is aged for four months in stainless steel tanks and the alcohol content is 13.5%.The Tasting NotesThe color is pink with an orange tint. The nose is fresh, bright, and spicey, dried strawberry, melon, apple, candy spice, and a slight mineral edge. This is a dry Rose', with a solid structure and interesting flavors. It starts with a mix of both sour and ripe red berries, a splash of pepper, a little bit of cream, and spice. The mid-palate offers a salty sensation, between the cream and the salt I would think this Rose' was aged "on-lees" (dead yeast left in the tank with the wine and stirred from time to time), with a finish of soft, but tart cranberry. The acidity is almost lip-smacking (which I like), but not quite.The Summary * With everybody in the wine business making Rose' nowadays, it is nice to sample a Rose' from a French area that has long been known for Rose'. This is a Rose' with texture and personality. * Cab Franc is dark and intense as red wine and drinking its flipside is a revelation, it is bright, varied, still intense, but in a very different way. For 10 bucks the Domaine de La Noblaie Chinon Goutte de Rose' 2018 is a delight.
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9 min
September 09, 2019 Caretaker Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir 2017
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The StoryThe Caretaker Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir 2017 is a $9.99 Trader Joe's exclusive produced for TJ's by the Central Coast Wine Warehouse. They are a full-service wine company that makes contract wine and brand wine, is a certified sustainable facility and own some of the finest vineyards in the Central Coast AVA. The Santa Maria Valley is the northernmost AVA in the Santa Barbara County AVA of Southern California. Santa Barbara is located about 100 miles north of Los Angeles and would have too hot a climate for growing Pinot Noir except for some luck with geography. Santa Barbara is situated on ground that juts out into the Pacific Ocean, so there is Ocean to the north and Ocean to the south. Santa Maria Valley has full access to the Pacific Ocean breezes which bring cool evenings and morning fog. Santa Barbara is also where the movie "Sideways" (which started a Pinot Noir craze) took place.The Central Coast Wine Warehouse has been making wine for TJ's for years, CWF reviewed a 2009 vintage of a Caretaker wine and I am sure they made other brands before that. The back label is exceptional for a contract wine (a contract wine is one that is produced specifically for a store or restaurant) it actually shows useable information. Clones are very important to Pinot Noir, and 9 different Pinot clones were used in the making of this wine, the growing season was long, late February to mid-October and French oak was used. Most contract wines offer no information, but here there are technical notes and tasting notes. The alcohol content is 13.9%.The Tasting NotesThe color is a see-thru garnet red. The nose is bright cherries, herbs, mushroom, pepper, and spice. This is a fruit-forward Pinot Noir with a velvety mouthfeel. It tastes of cherry (of course), a nice rough edge from herbs, a splash of black pepper, and soft exotic spice. The mid-palate adds raspberry, orange zest, and sour cranberry. The tannins are sweet and the acidity is well balanced. The finish is quite lengthy.The Summary * The Caretaker Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir 2017 is a solid value-priced Pinot. Remember when stores such as TJ's contracts a producer to make an exclusive wine, they have price advantages a retail wine does not have. A contract wine reduces the middle-man costs which can lower the price by several dollars. * The Caretaker is a fruit-forward Pinot, but not Meiomi fruit-forward and has a nice balance between soft smooth fruit and interesting rough edges.
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7 min
September 07, 2019 Let’s Talk About Cheap Wine – Bubbly Podcast
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The StoryDave talks about one of his favorite categories of value-priced wines...Bubbly. When folks want to splurge of expensive Bubbles they buy Champagne, that leaves all the other Sparkling wines competing in a more value-oriented price range. Wines from all other the world, that would be glad to charge you more if they could, but no, you only spend top dollar on Champagne. There are Sparkling wines form great growing regions that cost much less than you think and taste far above their selling price.
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11 min
September 01, 2019 Cline Estate Sonoma Coast Syrah 2017
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The StoryThe Cline Estate Sonoma Coast Syrah 2017 is 100% Syrah sourced from two Cline Estate vineyards in the Petaluma Gap AVA inside the Sonoma Coast Ava that is also located inside the Sonoma County AVA in Northern California. Cline Cellars is a family-owned vineyard and winery founded in 1982 and was one of the original members of the Rhone Rangers. Most California wineries take their inspiration from Bordeaux (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc) or Burgundy (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir). The Rhone Rangers were an organization of winemakers following the lead of the Rhone Valley (Syrah, Grenache, and other French grapes). The Petaluma Gap is located just 25 miles north of San Francisco and is a gap in the coastal mountain range that allows cool Pacific Ocean winds flow into the valleys and hillsides. The winds provide the vineyards the condition for a long, steady growing season.This Syrah was fermented with natural yeast, that is the yeast that floats naturally in the air and clings to the grape skins, they don't need commercial processed yeast. The wine was aged on medium toast French oak with 40% of the oak new, 60% used oak. I am not using the word "barrel" here since the technical notes do not mention oak barrels, but the wording strongly suggests oak barrels, rather than other methods. This is a wine that lists for $14 and I found on sale for $9.99. This is interesting since one of the main differences between a $10 wine and a $25 dollar wine is the $25 wine more likely uses estate fruit, most of which are sourced from a well regarded AVA and is produced by a family-owned winery rather than a Brand wine. The Cline Estate Sonoma Coast Syrah checks off almost all of the boxes for the more expensive wine, yet is a very affordable price. The alcohol content is 14.5%.The Tasting NotesThe color is a deep, dark, opaque purple. The nose is rich, intense, and spicy, there is black pepper, a generous dose of spice, chocolate brownies, blueberry, smoke off the BBQ grill, and orange zest. This Syrah has smooth fruit and plenty of spice to give a smooth/rough contrast. It starts with blueberry, molasses, licorice, black pepper, and spice, this is not a shy Syrah. The mid-palate brings raspberry, a slight and welcome pull from the tannins, a soothing creamy sensation, and a hint of milk chocolate. The acidity is well-balanced, for pairing the usual BBQ, hamburger, pizza thing comes to mind, but this drinks very well.The Summary * This isn't scientific, more observations from 11 years of doing a value-priced wine review website. hen a value-priced wine uses 100% of a certain grape they are telling you that they are using very good grapes. There is absolutely nothing wrong with adding 5% of this and 10% of that to wine anything to improve the final outcome is much appreciated. But when you see 100% of a single grape varietal, take notice. * Shiraz/Syrah from Australia was one of the first wines to catch my notice all those long years ago and when Australian Shiraz started to fade I never found a US Syrah to take its place. I wish I knew about Cline Estate Sonoma Coast Syrah 2017 earlier. I think its really good.
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8 min
August 29, 2019 Let’s Talk About Cheap Wine- Rhone Valley
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The StoryLet's Talk About Cheap Wine- Rhone Valley PodcastDave talks about the wines of the Southern Rhone Valley in Southeastern France specifically and affordable French wines generally. The Rhone Valley features Red wines that blend Grenache and Syrah together along with a handful of other approved grapes, Mourvedre being the most prominent. While there are expensive wine regions in the Rhone Valley, the regular Rhone VAlley and Rhone Village wines are excellent. If you want to find the best cheap wine learn to love Grenache because there are plenty of Grenache-based value-priced wines in southeast France and northeast Spain that deliver a great of bang for the buck. we talk about finding Rhone wines in your local wine shops and tips for figuring out which wines deliver.
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18 min
August 22, 2019 Let’s Talk About Cheap Wine – Chardonnay Podcast
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The Story Of The PodcastDave talks about why Chardonnay is different from other White wine grapes in this price range. Mainly, Chardonnay can be simple or it can be complicated. Chardonnay can go thru varing percentages of several winemaking processes that will greatly affect the overall taste and texture. There is the oak program, or maybe no oak or something inbetween. There is malolactc fermentatation, on lees, and the diiferences in grape selction. No 2 wineries do the exact same process, which makes Chardonnay complicated.
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15 min
August 13, 2019 Let’s Talk About Cheap Wine Part #2
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Let's Talk About Cheap Wine Part #2Dave rambles on in the 2nd edition about what the different categories of wine are. Plus, how to get the most out of Box Wine. We talk about cheap, everyday wine from Spain and making Sangria. How to decipher the Trader Joe's Reserve wines, which are great bargains and which are just interesting (they usually are well worth drinking). And do some research, Google the wines you are interested in buying and check out their websites, what they tell about the wines and what they don't tell are important. Learn how to read between the lines.
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20 min
August 08, 2019 Let’s Talk About Cheap Wine Part #1 Podcast
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Let's Talk About Cheap Wine Part #1 Podcast - Dave talks about what is cheap wine? It is actually or at least was the #3 Google search term for wine. Internet slang, kind of like searching for cheap 4K TVs, or cheap hotel, or cheap airfare.
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18 min
August 02, 2019 Freakshow Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
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The StoryThe Freakshow Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon, along with a small amount of Petit Sirah, is sourced from a Michael & David Winery estate vineyard in Lodi AVA of California's Central Valley. Michael and David are the Phillips brothers and their family has farmed in Lodi since the 1850s. Most of the West Coast grape-growing regions are located along the Pacific Coast, from Oregon to California, with Lodi being one of the few exceptions. Lodi is south and east of Napa, with the vineyards located in the river deltas that stem from the San Pablo Bay (the Northern portion of the San Francisco Bay). This unique geographic feature funnels cool air and morning fog into an area that under different conditions would not be suitable to grow wine grapes. That is not to say this is now a cool weather region, the tasting notes indicate it was a great growing vintage because the temperature only went over 100 degrees eight times. It can get hot during the summer if the nights are significantly cooler and the morning fog delays the days soaring temperatures.This Cabernet Sauvignon was aged in 40% new French oak barrels and 60% neutral barrels for 12 months. A typical wine barrel can be used for 4 or 5 vintages before it no longer passes oak influence and flavors into the wine, at that point, it is considered neutral. It is often a complex math problem for the winemaker to achieve the desired amount of oak for a particular wine, 25% new, 30% one use, 40% 3rd use, and 5% neutral is the sort of thing they do to dial in just the right amount. So, if neutral barrels don't impart any flavor, why use them? A winemaker told me that when they age the wine in stainless steel tanks no air (oxygen) can get to the wine, but with an oak barrel a tiny amount of air can seep in and that small amount of air interacts with the wine. The wine aged in a barrel is slightly different than wine aged in stainless steel and with wine, small differences mean a lot. The alcohol content is 14.5%.The Tasting NotesThe color is garnet red with black highlights. The nose is sweet blueberry, extracted blackberry, light baking spice, black cherry, dark chocolate, menthol, and vanilla. The Cabernet has a soft, but chewy mouthfeel, the rounded flavors are upfront and the tart flavors on the mid-palate. It starts with blackberry, black pepper, licorice, tart cherry, chocolate powder, and plum. The mid-palate adds cranberry, spice (with a little bite), creamy blueberry, orange zest, and cinnamon. The tannins are smooth and the acidity allows all the flavors (and there is a lot of flavors) to unfold. The finish is surprisingly mild and subtle but does last.The Summary * Yes, Lodi is primarily known for Zinfandel, but I think it provides great value for drink-it-now Cabernet Sauvignon. Yes, it is riper than Napa, Sonoma, and Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon, but Lodi Cabs sure do taste good. * The Freakshow Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon is a delicious estate-grown Cab at a value price. I found it for $15 on sale and that is a bargain for estate fruit, French oak, and a top-quality winery.
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9 min

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