Posts belonging to Category Nebbiolo



Happy Holidays New Year and Vaccine

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JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS (OK – WE BLEW BY TURKEY DAY).

STILL IN TIME FOR XMAS AND THE NEW YEAR. LET’S DRINK, THINK AND CHAT ABOUT WINE.

Welcome to my friendly little wine blog new readers. Make sure you sign up as a subscriber so our super sophisticated will notify when there are new posts. In our 15th year (??). There is no cost to follow. No push ads or special discounts. Just the occasional post about anything on my mind that is somehow related to wine. Guest columns are welcome. Like the snickerdoodle recipe near the end! Click on the URL links to learn more.

The lineup for this post includes (i) Bota Box Wine (ii) the biannual delivery from Lyle Fass and (iii) FOUR wines tasted recently; all most likely from Fass.

Bota Box Wine https://www.botabox.com/global/wines.html. tBoW has not tasted this product. I can tell you it is wine in a 3 Liter box (ed. the big one). This is the Pinot Grigio. We Bota_3LPG_500mlPG_GroupShot-winewould taste this one. It is hard to mess up Pinot Grigio which is a grape we favor anyway. Jim Moore of Uvaggio has made a fab bottle forever with Lodi grapes. There is also a Cab and a Chard which tBoW would not taste anyway as he prefers (I am tBoW in case you wondering) other red and white grapes (long standing readers and accomplished wine snobs may weigh in here).

CHECK OUT 4 REASONS WHY ONE SHOULD BUY BOXED WINE (NOTE: this is not from the Bota site!):

“So, why is boxed wine better? [Link to article here https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/shopping-all/the-best-boxed-wines-to-buy-instead-of-bottles-in-2020/ar-BBYAYfS]

(1) “For starters, when you uncork a bottle of wine, you have around a week until it spoils.” [tBoW: in my house if a bottle is open the next day that would be remarkable.]

(2) “Box wine comes in a sealed vacuum bag that can be stored in the fridge or cabinet long as six weeks! Bottles have certain restrictions and stack a lot less easily than boxes.” [tBoW: this is twooo…that is why if you really love wine you install a wine cellar or buy a mega-cooler “refrigerantus” like Dotore. Long time reader and contributor KrisB just stores Fass deliveries in an extra bedroom…his kids sleep in the garage – it’s heated!]].

(3) “Another huge factor in favor of boxed wine is the environmental impact. It’s easy to assume that glass is the answer. But, once you add into the equation the cork, the bottle’s seal, the cardboard boxes for packaging and the emissions caused by shipping heavy bottles around the world, it’s not quite as straightforward as you may have once assumed.” [tBoW: Gotta admit this makes sense. Of course we prefer to buy wines at one of tBoW’s fave shops like Hi Time in Costa Mesa or Woodland Hills Wine Co in Woodland Hills. When it is necessary to use a stopper overnight we have finally found the perfect device that is air-retardant (look it up you moron) and it costs ~$5. Merry Xmas.]

(4) Finally, as boxed wine becomes more popular, the time has come to reassess its reputation. [tBoW: Maybe that time has come. Looking forward to my first spalsh of wine form the Bota Box! Pinot Grigio please.]

Wow. These past 90 days have been a real slog. And now tBoW is on complete domestic shutdown. Happy wife….uh….better stop right here right now!2008 Renato Motalli Valtellina Superiore - Valgella Le Urscele - CellarTracker

tBoW has covered the newest generation of wine importers, shippers and direct sellers; in particular John Rimmerman of Garagiste and Lyle Fass of Fass Wine Selections. After years buying from Garagiste tBoW switched to Fass. Both deliver price, quality and selection that fits the palates and budgets of the usual gang of idiots [clazzy reference to Mad Magazine] that read tBoW. #1 son sent the tout so we took it. Both ship twice a year when temps protect the wine instead of ruining it. But when the boxes arrive…it’s good to have a cellar..or an extra bedroom. Here are a few quick reviews.

2013 Valtellina Superiore Le Urscele $20s?:100% Nebbiolo from AltoPiemonte which is north of Milan, full of small vineyards and local winemakers all the way to the Alpine foothills. If there is a downside…well…this was where the first major COVID outbreak was in Europe. Other than that the region is at hte top of tBoW’s must visit wine tours. And this wine delivered exactly what we like. Lightweight viscosity (the fluid), simply delicious. Read about Valtellina here. A picture of Valtellina vineyards at top of this post!

2015 PinMongeard-Mugneret Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2015ot Noir Mongeard-Mugneret $26: This is Pinot Noir from Burgundy (extremely high-snob French wine). Once you get a flavor for Burgundy you will never drink any other Pinot Noir. I have heard long-time reader Ikorb say “I will never drink any wine other than Burgundy.” What a snob! Truth is Burgundy is a very fussy grape that grows best in the Burgundy region of France. It is extremely popular among the cogonoscenti (French for wine snobs) for good reason. Once can purchase inexpensive Burgundy such as this bottle ($26 is cheap Burg). Note the term “pinot noir” on the label. Somewhat like seeing POTUS #45 with the word “moron” nearby. The risk with buying “inexpensive” Burgundy is you will probabVendita vino online su VINOalToP, Enoteca online specializzata su Alto Piemonte e Nebbiololy wonder if for another $15 you coulda had the real stuff. Fortunately, tBoW has a hedge. He bought the producer Mongeard [blahblahblah]. Knowing the quality producers – and the quality importers – are good safeguards. What did it taste like? Burgundy has two critical flavors: (1) sweet like strawberries even cherries, or (2) feral commonly referred to as”barnyard.” Ask yourself what you always find in the barnyard. Especially where the critters wander. Nuff said. That is an acquired taste. This was on the cherry side.

2013 Lessona La Badina 13% $25: Let the website speak. “Ermido brought back to life the wine yards from the wild wood. Nowadays the wine yards are run by his daughters Linda and Sara. La Badina is a niche production. Only 1.2 acres of wine yards in a natural amphitheater protected from the winds on a ground made of sandy marine soil.” Oh yeh. Mr. and MRs tBoW would visit in a heartbeat. The wine is balanced, delicate and sinewy – not muscle bound, more like the guy on the ice dancing duo. In control and strong enough to lift my palate.

2004 Carl Schmitt-Wagner Longuícher Maxímíner Herrenberg Riesling Spätlese | Vivino2004 Karl Schmitt-Wagner Longuicher Maximiner Herrenberg Riesling Auslese 11.5% $14: Fourteen bucks? Now that is value. Why you ask. Because German wines are the hands down best bargains with the greatest price-quality ratio in the world. People just do not understand. These wines are very flexible. KrisB will have to write a brief post (very busy man). Dott-in-Law who don’t ever let wine pass her lips LOVED this one. Not sure where we got it. Guessing Fass. Auslese wines can be quite unctuous when young. This wine had melted down into a golden snickerdoodle. The wine was lightweight, diaphanous, gossamer even [tBoW easy lookup]. She loved and was reluctant to share at all. If you punch up tBoW on your phone she will greet you in her Santa Elf hat! Here is what Parker wrote about the 2007: An intriguing, kaleidoscopic nose of cumin, toasted squash seeds, peanut brittle, lime, mint, and yellow plum preserves… OMG. Do not try to describe wine like this by yourself or with other people…unless you are wearing padded clothing.

Have yourself a merry merry Christmas and a Hoppy Noo Yeer. Look for another post before the New Year.

 

I was looking for Xmas jazz video…tough search! I did find a great one for New Year or any time.

 

 

Outta Gas. Pandemic Fatigue. Only Wine Can Save Us Now.

HOW MUCH PANDEMIC CAN A PERSON TAKE?

EXCUSE ME IF I AM THINKING OF ONLY MYSELF…WHO AM I THE PRESIDENT?

Let’s get political. Trump is a M-O-R-O-N. It is truly amazing that such a dummy could end up the LEADER of a nation…any nation. But the USA? His stupidity is boundless. His narcissism is so transparent it is “beautiful.” Glad I got that out. Let’s talk about wines. I reserve the right to return to this topic.

Mrs tBoW advised I have to slow down with the online wine purchases. There are several plum choices: Woodland Hills Wine is my local go-to. They have pickup out back. I’ve been in that store so often I could walk in blindfolded – with mask and gloves of course – and find my way to their best buys. Besides David Russell is the Burg Whisperer. Quality is his middle name. I bought some Huet sparkling wine from David in the past 6 weeks. Huet is a major Alsatian producer which means this is made with Chenin Blanc. Yeh. No chard or pinot.

2016 Huet Petillant Brut $28: 14% Golden color, thick on sight. Ripe green apples (yes you can have ripe green apples!), clove, viscous. Masculine wine. If Brad Pitt was a sparkling wine…Robert Mitchum for the TMC fans. David Russel of WHW pushed out it out near $20.

2017 Domaine Audebert et fils Bourgeil $20: 100% Cab Franc rose! Yummmeeee. You might think lotta body. Nope. You might think lotta flavors. Nope. Delicate in a masculine way. 12.5%. OMG. Jeff Welburn imported this wine. Hi Jeff!! Jeff is a very decent person who knows his wines and can be trusted. Nuff said. Congrats to Jeff and Wine Agencies Inc.

2018 Ginglinger-Fix Riesling Vielles Vignes 12.5%. $20. The Krisses love Riesling wines including those from Alsace which is the center of every war between Le Bosch and Les Francais. None of which is apparent in the wines. Alsatian Rieslings do seem different than German or Austrian. For tBoW it is about the delicacy. Maybe Viennese (and near regional) Rieslings are operatic even stuffy, while German Rieslings show power and finesse. Or maybe that is too much stereotyping. This wine is delicious, a titanic food wine and a repeat buy.

2012 Il Chiosse Gattinara Terre Vulcaniche 14%. Mrs. tBoW upbraided tBoW with the latest credit card statement. Slow down pal. This Fass selection is another example of what happens when tBoW encounters an importer who is 75% matched in palate. Same is true for Desert Wine Shop…Fass is a direct importer and we like what he likes. This is Alto Piemonte – a region which tBoW personally discovered and uncovered to the world for value and quality. AltoP [ed. cognoscenti wine speak] blends Nebbiolo with native varietals unlike Baroli wines which went to single varietals to sell into the USA market [ed. undrinkable since 2000]. This wine is a monster. Deep and impenetrable [ed. but not like VP Pence cannot be penetrated or would not ever be penetrated – never mind]. Hmmm. I wonder what “vulcaniche” means? Maybe grown in volcanic soil? Ya think? Needs minimum 3 years to round out. Even longer. Hell we cannot wait. That is why we must buy wines that drink on a more human SARS2 timetable. I left this bottle open overnight and it was still brawny and stout. Yeh. Gone now.

Feeling better now. I feel like I can take off my mask and gloves. Be careful and stay healthy. Please.

Bet you haven’t seen this Corona parody song.

Wine Enlightenment is a THING!!

 

Hume! Smith! Carlyle! Siegel? Blair! The greatest minds of the Scottish Enlightenment all loved Spatburgunder!

Mr Story is a notable thinker in his own write. He has been giving thought to a delicate topic; guidelines for regulating wine purchases. I am confident tBoW speaks for many when he says buying wine is an impulsive act. Count sellers among that group. The general impression is that people who buy wine as a “hobby” are compulsive idiots who disdain the self control they otherwise widely practice in their lives. I am speaking of clinicians, dentists, $$ investors, high school teachers, attorneys, movie folks and professors. BY contrast, actors, dentists and politicians are undisciplined folks driven by base amoral impulses.

It seems timely that tBoW publishes the following testamento. Reflecetions follow.

[STORY BEGINS HERE] Greetings, blog recipients! It has been awhile since I – Mr. Story – have gathered my thoughts and carefully crafted them into a fine delicious blend for you, my dearest readers, for light sipping and enlightenment. Following the Storied Tasting of 2019 there was much to reflect on. I am ready to be back on the blog to share my wisdom with you! Now, I come to the next crossroads. What do I discuss on the blog? Yes, rumor has it that the Best of Wines is a wine blog, but methinks there is more to life than wine. So how about we discuss money. Wait, how about we discuss wine AND money! Brilliant. [ed. now tBoW is paying attention].

Did you know that millions of Americans are drinking their way into debt? Yes, I said it! It’s quite a terrible thing. As Dave Ramsey says “adults delay pleasure. Children do what feels good.” I guess there are a bunch of “children” over 21 running around and drinking their brains out instead of putting their money into mutual funds or saving to buy a house. They go to the bottle because it “feels good” in the moment.

I am not saying get rid of wine altogether, no, no! What I am recommending is putting together a monthly wine budget to ensure that your wine spending doesn’t get out of control. Yes, create two of them. One monthly wine budget for bottles of wine at home and the other for purchasing glasses of wine outside of the home… at a restaurant, for example. For the more adventurous, you may want to create a third annual budget for wine tastings and outings. The important thing here is to have a budget and to follow it. Every time you buy wine, keep the receipt and put them all into a wine glass [ed. tBoW suggests using the glasses “given away” at tasting rooms.]. Keep a piece of paper near the wine glass or track the expense category of WINE in your favorite budgeting app. I use Dave Ramsey’s Every Dollar App and it works great. While we are talking about Dave, no, you shouldn’t be buying wine with a credit card or going into debt for it. It’s not worth it.

Here’s the thing. You probably have no idea how much you are spending on wine. Let me introduce you to some numbers and math to do the explaining here.

[ed. tBoW reviews value wine in midst of Story’s thoughts] 2016 Chateau Bonneau Haut Medoc $25 altho we probably got it for less. Review is sourced from Vivino Dark garnet. Smoky vanilla and cedar, touch medicinal. Cherry, woody red currants and a hint of ash. Decent length with a slight tickle of woody tannins. Perfectly mature now, but decant to avoid sediment. 🌟86 pts – good QPR. tBoW recalls he liked this wine mucho esp for a Cab blend. Best thing about the Vivion review is the “good Quality-Price Ratio – QPR.” 86 points means N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Back to the Story story.]

For the at-home-drinker: Online wine retailer Vivino reports that the average bottle of red wine costs $15.66. If you drink 1 bottle a week, you are spending roughly $814.32 per year. 2 bottles a week brings you to $1,628.64 per year. See why we recommend wines $25 and under on this blog now, right? Imagine if you were buying $50 bottles to try to impress your friends and doing so twice a week? That would be costing you $5,200 per year! Yikes!

According to the Wine Market Council, millennials and boomers are most at risk for drinking up their paychecks. They found that 42% of all wine in the United States is sold to millennials. Boomers however, account for a slightly smaller portion of the U.S. population but are more heavy wine drinkers than millennials.

[ed. tBoW reviews value wine in the middle of Story’s thoughts: 2009 Ghemme Terre Moreniche Ill Chiosso 13% unclear on price altho guessing $25. Lyle Fass offer and buy. Only ONE review of this wine on Vivino. What makes AltoP wines so terrific is they are blended! Unlike most Baroli. Did not locate many Altopiemonte wines on Vivino. Guessing because the region is too far off the beaten path. The wine was spectacular. We would buy again in a heartbeat faster than Mahomes can deliver a heater 20 years downfield throwing across his body. We MUST have an Altopiemonte & Spatburgunder tasting in the Spring! Mr Story will be there I am sure.]

Interesting stuff. Read this blog and get the good deals. Make your wine budgets, two or three depending on your relationship with wine. [END OF STORY!]

Thank you Mr. Story. My reflections follow from a Boomer palate…okay? (1) I cannot believe I am pimping for Dave Ramsey and getting zilch in return. (2) My dental surgeon reviews wines for Vivino which is a populist website that rates wines on a five point scale that is actually 40 points using a single decimal point between 1 and 4.9. I give them credit for rejecting the ABSURD and USELESS marketing tool…100 point scale. (3) I respect Mr Story’s POV. (4) Not a chance I will budget anything including golf clubs. Keep in mind tBoW is an old boomer fart. Wait until Dotore weighs in. Or IGTY aka IWTYT. I leave it to Story contempos Glass Jar, KrisB and Ikorb to share their views which is unlikely given their compulsive Millenial work ethic.

I have an idea. Let’s drink some value wines with a decent price-quality ratio…and post up here!

It was the Glass Jar’s time to shine with the dough and the sauce!

Bounce back. Stay true to yourself. Follow your dreams.
Words spoken at his university commencement. Small solace when you lose your first job after college at a pizzeria.
The Glass Jar has always wanted to work at a pizza restaurant. Soon as he graduated university he signed up at his local pizzeria in LA. “I applied at several spots and heard nothing. I did find work at a private school and produced a feature film. I finally got the pizzeria job back home in New England. “

“The man who owned the pizzeria needed extra help in the kitchen. I was very candid. I had never worked in a kitchen but I had no doubt this was where I belonged. He took a chance. My first shift was the weekend. My job was putting pizzas in boxes, then cutting pizzas into slices, then organizing the boxes for customers.”[ed. MrStory: LeanSixSigma can compare waste created cutting pizza slices vs. crushing grapes].

“Things could get busy. I felt very comfortable. I would be making a little pocket money. Most importantly, I was giving back to the pizza community which had done so much for my personal growth. Dozens of families would be eating pizza sliced by the Glass Jar. If it were not for me, these families would be arguing over how to slice the pizza. I would drive home after a night in the kitchen knowing I could be driving by households positively affected by my pizza slices. After years of reading history books and following the news, one could only dream of the kind of impact the Glass Jar had with his pizza slicer.”

“My pizza dreams came to a quick conclusion after the weekend; crushed with one text. No job no more for me at the pizzeria.”
Review wines break.

2011 Travaglini Gattinara Tre Vigne $40ish: tBoW favorite wine region is north of Milan near the Alpine foothills. Elevation and coolness delivers medium light weight wines made from Nebbiolo and indigenous grapes. Travaglini is the most recognizable label and bottle shaped like a melting wax guitar. Travaglini is 100% Nebbiolo which tends to flatten the flavor profile. No harm done the wines are dependable, if not exciting, like Beaulieu Vineyard cabs. The entry level is Tre Vigne Gattinara at The Glass Jar is not one to fret very long. The Glass Jar is a bounce back fellow as young millenials are wont to be. There are much better altapiemonte wines to be had at this price.

2014 Nervi Gattinara $30 more or less: Check Eataly for availability with Giacomo. This is superb Alto Piemonte. Giacomo Conterno [one of the kings of Barolo to the south] purchased this winery, the oldest in Alto Piemonte. That is an endorsement from the highest source. We have tasted multiple vintages, most recently the 2008 out of mag. Balanced like a UCLA gymnast, “velvet glove” power which it is delicate at the same time having strength. Peerless. Much better investment of time and $$.

The Glass Jar is presently working in a new job somewhere in the Southeast. Instead of flipping pizzas he will be flipping House seats.

[ed. Mr Story shares some wisdom] It must have been tough to bounce back from this defeat. Jobs and opportunities may present themselves, even though you may not have the desired experience. One’s work ethic and character may be enough to get a job others would consider out of reach. Character, convictions, and reliability are forever minuscule when compared to “experience about the pizza.” The Glass Jar has experience “about the wine” because he generously contributes to The Best of Wines blog. It is the restaurant’s loss and our gain. We might have featured the place on this very blog.

Check out the Swingingest Pie Flippers Ever – Louis Prima and Keely Smith.

Today Is My Birthday – Take Me to Eataly!

True…all true. Today tBoW is old beyond belief. But so are many others. Some whom I know very well.
Such as IGTY and Dotoré. And Jim Moore.

It seems timely to share shit one knows on one’s 69th year in action. This does not include the saigneé method for making rosé wines.


We do know this…..

Pink wines are delicious wines. Summertime is the obvious season for enjoying rosé wines. We will not go further and insist they should be enjoyed in any season. In fact, they should not. Panks are built for summer, my birthday is at the start of summer so please indulge. Read how rosés are made!

A recent pair of wines purchased in the Eataly Wine shop run by Jack aka Giacomo are produced by La Kiuva. There is a red and a rosé. Both are fabulous.  Both are very nicely priced as is the case with so many Italian wines at Jack’s Eataly wine shop on the second floor in Century City. The Eataly is now tBoW’s go-to wine shop for Italian wines. Great selection and very fair prices.

The red La Kiuva is a Nebbiolo blend from Alto Piemonte; precisely just east in Valtellina. Red wines from this region, along with reds from Sicily and Sardinia, rule the roost [ed. fill the cellar?] in the tBoW household. When we saw there was a La Kiuva rosé as well naturally we had to purchase. Turns out that were good decisions. Both proved to be outstanding.

Both meet the preferred flavor profile for wines: high acid, not fleshy at all, lean, acidic [ed. you already said that], with enough fruit to balance with food…you could not get further from a heavy hitter 97 plus points Napa red.

One more thing tBoW is certain of in his 69th year…Jim Moore aka the “Original Giacomo” is very possibly the world’s greatest winemaker. Easily the best in Napa and easily the best working with Lodi juice which he practically pioneered. His wines have good acidic content; are friendly, lovely and balanced. His wines are f***ing interesting and delicious. The kind Mrs. tBoW does not want to share. I am not kidding.

So far we have guzzled Jim’s Cinsualt Rose, Vermentino (his most “popular”) and the 2015 Zinfandel radix vinea. We are also making a dent in the mixed case we picked up at Eataly.

I know. NO WAY tBoW drank – much less purchased – a zin. Look up radix vinea. On his website. The 2015 is sold out. I will be buying the 2016. Check out his label website, Buy his wines. I recently purchased a mixed case of everything.

Iggy Pop is tBoW’s favorite pop singer and performer. In fact, I told my kindt when they were young and would believe anything I said that they should listen to The Ig and watch his videos if they want to grasp the world’s greatest rock and roll performer; probably the o-n-l-y TRUE rock and roller…e-v-e-r.

See for yourself. I wonder what Jim thinks about the Ig.