January 31, 2010

2006 Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio

Plain and simple, this wine is a classic. And I'm not sure why its taken me so long to actually write about it. Its refreshing, its food-friendly, its Italian, and its one of the leading import wines in the United States - a top pick by many of the nation's top restaurants.

Combined with its pale straw color, this Pinot Grigio offers a clean, fruitful fragrance with a more dryness than sweetness. It even has a little tang to it. 'Nuff said.

Where to Buy: BevMo
Cost: $20/bottle


January 30, 2010

2006 Kuhl Riesling

We know the Germans are known for their sweets... after who doesn't love a Haribo gummy bear? Or even a Haribo Shake (invented by me during a trip to Berlin - includes Sprite, Vodka, and Haribos sunk at the bottom, mmm!)

Along the same line (but the big kid version), is this Reisling. It's refreshing and perfect with a meal or as a stand alone. It offers a very floral bouquet with citrus flavors that will tingle your mouth and your nose. Its crisp flavors of lime, honey and slate balance out its acidity and will leave a lingering finish of both fruit and stone on your tongue.

Suggestion: Be bold and try it with an Asian-fusion inspired meal. It's eclective qualities will balance nicely with the flavors and spices.

Where to Buy: Wine Chateau

Cost: $11/bottle

January 29, 2010

2006 St. Supery Virtu

This popular Cali vineyard (obviously a fav of mine, too) is know for its blends of classic Bordeaux grape varieties, and this particular meritage white blends Sauvignon Blanc with Semillion. While is a bit fuller bodied for a white, you'll definitely score a few hint of mouthwatering fruits, like peaches and nectarines, and maybe a little taste of oak. Overall, its a very balanced wine that pairs nicely with spicy food.

Suggestion: Prep some tapas and invite a few friends over. Virtu is a great alternative to sugary margaritas on Mexican night!

Where to Buy: St. Supery

Cost: $28/bottle

January 28, 2010

BUZZWORTHY: WineChap - they pick, you drink!

Like discovering a beautifully aged bottle of Bordeaux or an inexpensive diamond in the rough, comparable is the excitement of uncovering a new resource that does all the "dirty work" of beveraging for you. Enter WineChap, a new online resource developed by two boozie Brits - Boo Murphy and Tom Harrow - that delivers real-time news and reviews of wine lists for New York City restaurants, based on value, variety and character. They do the work, all you do is drink the glass.

We had the opportunity to sit down with Talia Baiocchi and pick her brain about all things wine, and of course all the site's offerings, from events and private tastings to tourism services and iPhone apps.

Q: Tell us about the concept behind WineChap. Did it evolve from a personal desire to have this information at your own fingertips?

Boo Murphy is the former VogueUK.com food writer and Tom Harrow is a well-known importer and frequent contributor to "More Intelligent Life" (The Economist). Being the experienced drinkers/diners that both of them are, they are constantly harassed by friends to make wine list recommendations at restaurants. So, both of them, in a moment of great wisdom and clarity, decided to turn it into a business. Now, following the original UK launch in March 09, we are in both Hong Kong, and of course, NYC. Q: How do you go about finding the information shown on your site? We are lucky enough to have great resources throughout the industry that contribute research. Of course, much of the information is critical review and blogging which is largely organic and a product of experience. Q: Do you only consider higher-end restaurants, or can we find budget deals too? Of course! We cover a great variety of lists on the site. By no means are they all high-end – in fact, the great majority are not. We’ve found that the mid-level lists at, say, restaurants like Bar Henry and Maialino generally are the most interesting and personality driven. Of course, value is one of the most important factors in determining the merit of a wine list – high end or not. It can be relative (e.g. for a restaurant of its caliber Eleven Madison Park has a good number of garage sale items) or those that represent value even out of context.

*Talia just wrote a blog post on the 6 greatest value wine lists in the city and the wines worth visiting for, which you can check out here.

Q: Can you provide some tips on choosing a great wine? Use your sommelier! They are there to guide you through the--often daunting--food pairing process and in most cases, they don’t bite. Be open-minded. Some of the great value wines in the world can be obscure and a bit challenging, but if you are open to traveling outside your comfort zone you’re more likely to score. The greatest trend is the frequency with which we are seeing obscure varietals and small production artisan wines from the Loire Valley, Jura, Friuli, etc. It is the golden age for the adventurer.

Q: Tell us more about some of the extra services you provide in addition to the advice on wine lists.

Premier Crew is something that we are all excited about. Chiefly, the service will provide our members with a personal wine buyer. Not only will we advise on cellar building and everyday buying, but we are an objective source that is able to use our relationships to procure wines from a variety of different retailers. Aside from buying, as a member you essentially have access to the physical version of the information you find on WineChap. We are there to recommend wines over the phone and call the restaurant ahead of time to make sure all wines are prepared before the member arrives. Members also receive access to exclusive events and can attend events open to all WineChap Chums at discounted pricing. This is just the tip of the iceberg – as our services evolve, Premier Crew members will always have priority access to everything we offer through the site.

Additionally, our iPhone app is an excellent tool that is truly useable. We are working on improving the current version and have been exploring the Droid and Blackberry to develop compatible apps for those devices as well.

Q: Can you provide some tips on choosing a great wine? Use your sommelier! They are there to guide you through the--often daunting--food pairing process and in most cases, they don’t bite. Be open-minded. Some of the great value wines in the world can be obscure and a bit challenging, but if you are open to traveling outside your comfort zone you’re more likely to score. The greatest trend is the frequency with which we are seeing obscure varietals and small production artisan wines from the Loire Valley, Jura, Friuli, etc. It is the golden age for the adventurer. Q: Any plans for WineChap lists for other cities? How about globally? Yes, certainly. The next city we plan to tackle in the US is Los Angeles and we are aiming to do so within the calendar year. Globally, we have our sights set on the Southern Hemisphere (Australia, specifically).

January 13, 2010

2005 Clos Poggiale Vin De Corse Red

There's no doubt I'm an avid Robert Skalli fan - from the inexpensive Fortant to the Californian St. Supery - I've rarely been disappointed. And to my delight, the Clos Poggiale brand lives up to this reputation, too.

Clos Poggiale, meaning "High Point" hosts its vineyard on the east coast of Corsica. Perched on a small hill, this vineyard yields quality grapes due to the generous sunlight and heat and couples with the coolness of its neighboring mountains.

Clos Poggiale Red is made with 100% organic soil inputs and combines two grape varieties, Syrah and Sangiovese. Partially matured in french oak barrel, you'll notice both a woody overlay to its otherwise fruit base, with raspberries playing a big part on the mouth. Its fuller body helps balance out its dynamic attributes, while its nose is more complex offering both fruit and floral forwardness.


January 12, 2010

Indaba 2009 Chenin Blanc

It's amazing how much you can procrastinate at your hobby when real life picks up its pace! And indeed it has for me - not just from a work or social perspective, but also from the fitness side of things (hey, its a new year right?)

For those who don't know, I'm in the midst of training for my first half-marathon *insert encouragement here* so a lot of my "homework" time has been replaced with running, which is not to say that I've been slacking in my beveraging duties. In fact, most runners would probably shame be for my behavior, but alas, this is why I am (and will always be) Lil' Miss WinoBee.

With that being said, I haven't had time to share all the gloriousness of wines that have come into my life as of late, so consider this my plea to get back on track (and then maybe hit the real track like I should be!)

To take the lead, I'm actually going with an inexpensive white my roommate picked up the other night. Now, one must understand that my roommate is not what you call, mmm, a certified lush, like myself - but when I saw her down this bottle all by herself, I knew it had to be special.

Indaba is the Zulu word for "a meeting of the minds." This brand was created as a celebration of the democratization process in South Africa and this '09 Chenin Blanc easily conveys that spirit. It offers great balance, with crisp acidity and tropical/citrus fruit flavors. For $8/bottle, it will definitely make your mouth water.

I'm more of a crisp, white drinker in summer, but this offered me a refreshing change to the substantial and bold reds I've been filling my days this winter.

And even better, a portion of this wine's proceeds support a scholarship for formerly disfranchised South Africans who are interested in wine-related careers. Talk about spreading the buzz!

January 3, 2010

BUZZWORTHY: Learn the Vine Online

Happy New Year WinoBees! If you're sitting at your computer reading this post, I'm assuming you might have a slight hangover alongside it. The bubbly was like aflow last night, but despite your pounding headache and need to thrust back Gatorade, you may be reminiscing about the amazing year its been and how much you've learned about your palette. You're also likely searching high and low for that one New Year's resolution thats not such a pain. And you may even have an itch to learn more about vino-vino, so why not make 2010 the year to do it!

In the rat-race that consumes our nation, often times its hard to find a balance between business and pleasure (trust me, I've learned the hard way). But for the budding oenophile, this balance is about to arrive because in 2010, Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) will introduce the first digital format class for its Intermediate Certificate wine course. This course is ideal for those who have always been interested in learning the broad fundamentals of wine, like we WinoBees, but have found ourselves unable to adjust to a pre-set schedule or sit down classroom.

Available through the International Wine Center (IWC) in New York City, the WSET certificate allows students the ease, week-by-week, to review lessons and materials and ultimatley the options to earn the internationally recognized WSET Intermediate Certificate.

For more information, go to http://www.internationalwinecenter.com/. The fee for the course (including course materials, exam, tax and registration fee) is $428. Courses are scheduled for Feb. 5, March 11, April 9, May 13, and June 4.