2015, The best of 2014, What is an "inexpensive" wine, Wine Tasting

The best of 2014

My favorite wine experience of the year was  "dinner with friends". I cook and we share wines from all over the world. It is really special to able to taste and compare a number of excellent wines. I find it fascinating to compare different wines and I think that it the only way to really determine the comparative worth of individual wines. When you drink one wine it can taste great but when compared to other wines you might not like it as much. I also like to cook for a crowd as I can make many interesting dishes.

On the other hand I need a substantial taste to have a decent opinion on a wine. Big wine tastings are not my cup of tea. About 7-8 bottles among 10 people is ideal. 4 bottles among 4 people is also good but we usually won't finish all the wine.

Atlantic City  We like the Borgata and  the restaurants there. The fact that the ocean and beach are part of AC makes it special. Great Pho is icing on the cake.

Anguilla If you love the beach, great swimming conditions, quiet, good food, great hotels and ease of getting there, then Anguilla is the place. You can't go wrong at The Viceroy, Cuisinart or the Allamanda Beach Club.

Cru Beaujolais -  Love these wines. Fleurie, Morgon, and Brouilly. 2011 was a good year. 2012 is not bad.

Domaine Drouhin Oregon - Love their wines. Visit the winery if you get a chance.

On the Town If you are in NYC or going there very reasonably priced tickets are available. (like $79 for the orchestra). You will love Hildy. Bernstein, Comden and Green and Robbins, Wow!

NJ Seafood The best.

Interesting Article

Lettie Teague had another interesting column in the http://www.wsj.com/articles/flute-glasses-for-champagne-lose-some-fizz-1420764962?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB12274156626456164535504580387494125957292.html  WSJ this week. The column is on the trend of not using flute glasses for Champagne in restaurants. Somms are using regular wine glasses to bring out the real flavor of Champagne. So precious! Champagne is great in flute glasses. What is old is new since there are not too many combinations of things. Before flute glasses Champagne was served in wider flatter glasses. I like flute glasses for wine. I also happen to love to play the flute. Jethro Tull.

Breaking news - What is an inexpensive wine?

The NY Times wine columnist Eric Asimov tweeted that he had found a good inexpensive Pinot Noir for $24. When I responded that when did $24 become "inexpensive" I was taken to task by Mr Asimov and a number of other tweeters.  I realize that it is very hard to find a Pinot Noir that is good for under $25 to $30 but does that make $24 inexpensive.What do you think? Wine is a universal drink not reserved for the affluent. As you know from reading this blog, it is possible to find good wines for under $15 although I agree that it is difficult to resist buying wines that are priced higher. See my next topic for confirmation.

Wine Tasting

My son set up a wine tasting for me. He blind folded me and then let me taste 7 wines with no clues. I correctly identified 2 wines as white and 5 as red. I correctly identified the best wine as a Bordeaux blend (Chateau Suau 2009 $17) and I thought that the wine tasted similar to another wine. It turned out that he had given me the same wine twice. I found 1 wine disgusting. It was a kosher Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile that had cost $5 but recommended by someone at the WL. However I found a white wine (Chardonnay) and red wine(Merlot) OK with scores of 86 and they turned out to be $3 Trader Joe wines. They were quite drinkable but did not taste like the grape on the bottle.

The experience confirmed that I know something about wine - I can tell red from white - but also showed how the price of a wine might influence our judgement. Would I have liked the Trader Joe wines if I knew what they were before tasting?

Wine Spectator Year in Review

The Wine Spectator gave a recap of their year of reviews. They rated an a very large percentage of wines 85 and above. More next time.

Wine of the Week

Melville 2012 Pinot Noir $30. 14% Alcohol. Try a bottle. Balanced and delicious. This is one PN that does not taste like cough syrup.

Enjoy!