Many wineries are coming out with their new wine releases. I have been joining more winery "clubs" lately. Although you start receiving many bottles from the same winery, the wines can be impressive. I am a sucker for free shipping so wineries that provide free shipping jump to the top of my list. Of course the wines need to be great.
Municipal Wines has free shipping on orders over $100 and I can't emphasize enough how good their wines are. We opened up a bottle of their Cinsault the other day. Never before had a 100% Cinsault wine and the wine was great. Light, flavorful and just great flavor. Vinous has discovered this winery and gave the Cinsault a 92.
Denner also has free shipping if you join their club for 12 bottles a year. The wines are expensive $40 to $75 range but the quality is impressive and the critics are raving about their wines. Interestingly their new releases from 2017 and 2018 are lower in alcohol than previous releases. Have just received the new wines but have no tried them yet but will write about them in the next few months.
What I love about wine is the different flavors and styles. These days I am liking, lighter and flavorful wines with acid/ tannins that keep it lively as you drink. I don't like different types of wines just to be different. They need to be good different. Next time you are in a restaurant look for a good value that may be different from what you normally drink.Good wine lists can be trusted for new and unfamiliar wines. The wines you want to search out are ones that are made by winemakers using grapes and their winemaking skills. Today too many wines are made like a chemistry experiment. Same as food. I look for restaurants serving food from fresh ingredients and cooked by someone who knows what they are doing. Watch a Gordon Ramsey show to see the shortcuts and craziness that goes on in many restaurants that we might consider "good" local spots.
Good food is not cheap, neither is good wine. We need to pay a fair price for a better product. I live in an expensive part of the world. Local food and wine is not going to be cheap.We all must compromise at times but my compromise is to cook and eat at home. An average bottle of wine in a restaurant can be $30 to $60. Yet we can drink great $20 -$25 wines at home. A great local free range chicken can cost $12-$15 but how much do you spend on chicken if you have it in a restaurant. I can great free range local beef for $20 per pound for boneless strip steaks. What does a good steak cost in a top steak restaurant. You can see the idea.
Recently had a chance to eat at Del Posto in NYC for a second time. They had a benefit dinner for the wild fire damage in Australia. Lots of Australian wines and creative food. Many guest chefs cooked the food. We found that the dishes did not go well together and as often happens the appetizers were the best things of the evening. Also found that Australia and Tasmania make some wonderful sparkling wines.
NV Ninth Island Sparkling Pipers River Chardonnay Blend, Chardonnay;
2013 Clover Hill Vintage Release Brut Northern Tasmania Champagne Blend The Australian white wines were too oaky for my tastes and the reds were not impressive.
Recently tried 2016 Produttori del Barbaresco which is made from the Nebbiolo grape from Piemonte, Italy about $35. The wine is young but has great fruit and smooth tannins. Everyone enjoyed the wine. Year in and year out this wine is usually very good. Barbarescos are the softer side of Nebbiolo as compared to Barolos. Although drinking them side by side it can be difficult to ascertain the difference. The grapes are grown in the same general area, Piemonte, but in distinct towns and vineyards. Nebbiolo is a very difficult grape to grow and it can be very tannic. The wines generally need a long time to develop. There have been some very good vintages over the last few years. 2013 is a vintage to buy at this time if you can find the wines. While Barolos and Barbarescos can get pricey, I see a number of good entry level wines in the $25 to $35 range. Also do not buy cheap Barolos as it will be waste of money.
