Posts belonging to Category Value Value Value

If you ever need to just recharge the old D cells you ought to consider Lake Tahoe. A world class alpine lake right here in California – or at least half of it is in California. The attractions include unmovable mountains with snatches of snow, boats bobbing in the lake, and long slow days doing whatever seems most unimportant. Wine also helps. In the afternoon and the evening. Coffee in the AM. Wine reviews follow in a minute. (more…)

What we like about summertime is dining al fresco when the temps are in the 70s, the grill is hot, cobs are roasting and sausages are cooking…and the corks are getting pulled.

You never know what will turn up on the table. It is just a great time to match something fresh with something familiar. Here is a run down of some recent wines tasted in the tBoW laboratory. (more…)

Some of the better wines tasted recently. Ain’t summer grand?

2007 Bera Canelli Moscato d’Asti $15 (?): A Louis/Dressner Selection which almost always bodes well. This bottle was left over from summer 2009 in tBoW’s cellar and from 2008 on the store shelf! In other words, a Moscato d’Asti ain’t supposed to go past its release summer and here we have one two seasons over the limit. At three years old it was showing plenty of flavors of peaches and ripe pear juice. Light weight, delicate spritz and at this alcohol level don’t we have to get the current release? Delicious. 5% (more…)

Who knew Argentina has a Promotion Centre in Los Angeles. Consul Adjunto Jose Cafiero sent out invitations to the right people who showed up on a lovely early fall late afternoon to check. Sr. Cafiero promoted six Mendoza wineries that would love to be represented in Los Angeles. All they need is an importer and/or distributor.
tBoW documented a March 2008 Argentina trip that left a powerful impression of the wonderful and abundant wines, the perfect growing (more…)

As summer dissolves into the hottest week of the season, the wine menu starts to get just a little sketchy. As if the sky was whispering “dude – you’ve lost your focus” any and everything seems to show up on the table. At the back end of a strong streak that began with clear focus (Moscati, Rosé and Beaujolais) and inspired adventure (the Riesling tasting) we are closing up shop on a wailing summer with a potpourri of ennitingoze; a grab bag of inspired picks, accidental finds, and other strenj items. (more…)

Winemakers are somewhat like doctors. There is a lot of talent in the pool but the great ones are uncommon and especially hard to find because there aren’t any bad winemakers. Think about it. Who ever says “I have a horrible doctor” or “she is an awful winemaker”. There ain’t no sech animal. [ed. here is a doctor right now who knows the difference - and where he belongs - in front of Kenneth-Crawford "winery" in Buellton]
Family docs (like big house winemakers) are never stars. We need them and value them but all we are looking for is reliability over time, no diagnostic mistakes, and the ability to make a good referral when one is needed. The grind-it-out primary care guy keeps the whole thing going but the specialists are the stars. In wine their equivalent is the boutique winemaker. If you ever needed a surgeon or a specialist, then you will recognize how everybody you know wants to send you to their knee guy or shoulder cutter who is always “the best” in his field. How do you really know? How can every specialist – or every boutique winemaker – be the best? (more…)

Jim Morrison sang “Strange days have found us. Strange days have tracked us down. They’re going to destroy our casual joys<. Can we use his gravesite as metaphor for the 2008/9 economic collapse? His fevered fans have trashed his grave like our fevered wall streeters trashed…you get the point. I hope we all listen to his moody lyrics and act with the anger he showed singing. Troubled rock stars are a cliché today. We can only hope boom-to-bust traders, AIG executives and hedge fund managers will become tired clichés tomorrow. I can foresee a new era of celebreality shows that replace the Bad Girls Club; maybe Broke Brokers and Bad Bankers, or TARP Traders; re-enact the hey-day of unbounded greed and self-interest. Thursdays at 9:00 on the WB. Strange days have come!!
Yeh!! (more…)

Mouse delivers a new outstanding Field Report covering a couple of Italian varietals tBoW would have never have heard of had he not recently visited San Francisco (a kind of New York and Boston West…but better) where he left with the sneaking suspicion the unusual and unfamiliar wines he sampled were probably found easily on the East Coast.
Since my last report graced this website in June, wifey and I have been submerged in a cauldron of very reasonably priced offerings. Today I offer three fond memories, along with a show stopper that accompanied last night’s Hommard l’Americaine. (more…)

The Best of Wines has a simple objective: finding, tasting and praising the best wines that are under $20. Sounds easy enough. But, as an old pal used to love to say…it ain’t easy!!
tBoW is not lost in his own world of wine. We have perspective. We know there is a national election, state budget crisis and US economic meltdow with enough special considerations and odd balls to keep a fleet of experts, commentators, strategists, economists, lobbyists, legislators and the general voting public in an uproar for months. (more…)

My pal with the hollow wooden leg Ronnie the Worker Bee says “Stevie…can you get me a case of mixed red all under $15?” Hmm. Let me think…
I love a challenge and I have such confidence in my local vendor Woodland Hills Wine Co (new website with super search engine!) – even though my favorite sales guy has gone and left us (good news – he is opening his own “shop and dine” joint) – that I gladly agree to put it together. [ed. Credit winedoctor for posting simple instructive maps of Burgundy including this one] (more…)