Posts belonging to Category Cinsault



CHEERS FROM WINE-EXOTIC NEW ENGLAND!

DISCOVERY!! HIDDEN WINE SHOP IN CAMBRIDGE MASSACHUSETTS

 The Shop | Porter Square Wine & Spirits

Porter Square Wine & Spirits in Cambridge MA

When we used to travel to DC or NYC or other points east…

tBoW always was on the hunt for local wine shops with selections unavailable in LA…

That joy has abated certainly with the COVID pox on travel and the absence of a job that requires such.

What job requires travel anymore?

No problem there are plenty of great and special wine stores in LA/SoCal. And we can relive the joy of “wine store hunt” discovery through tBoW contributors.

Guest Editor today is the Field Maus who hails from Connecticut or Massachusetts. Call it New England. He wants to tell the tBoW readers about a splendid wine shop in Cambridge MA. Please notice there are multiple links to sites that give more depth to Maus’ wine fetishes which are always of interest to readers. Do click on the links! tBoW will embellish post notes.
“You will find Porter Square Wine and Spirits, a small shop in Cambridge Mass that is crammed with hundreds of wines you never see anywhere, from grapes you’ve never known, and bottles sizes you’ve forgotten about…”
Val d'Aosta | Natural landmarks, Wine region, Aosta

Valle d’Aosta above Alto Piemonte

Cave des Onze Communes Vallee d'Aoste Mayolet, ... | prices, stores,  tasting notes and market dataMy first time in the store I was somewhat rushed, but I managed to find a red from Valle d’Aoste, a sparsely populated area above Piedmont. RARE. I’ve only seen them online, and the one I purchased a few years back was memorable, so I took a flier on this $23 bottle. Made from a grape called Mayolet, it tasted a bit like gamay, maybe? Very light, would go with anything. Fun, but not a re-buy. Would love if anyone poured me a glass, tho.

My second time there, I repurchased two bottles of Manincor ‘der Keil from what may be the world’s loveliest wine region: Sudtirol. 100% schiava, this comes from Lago di Caldaro, one of Oz Clarke’s favorite sources. Imagine a lighter, chocolately pinot noir with a bit of BLT. $23 as well, and worth every penny.

First-Taste Guide to Alto Adige Schiava | Learn Wine | Opening a Bottle

Sudtirol borders Austria and Italy above Venice

On a slightly more conventional note, also picked up two bottles of Bergerie Anjou Blanc from Pierres Girard. Why? ‘Cause it’s made with chenin blanc, and this is demi-sec. The versatile chenin reaches its highest potential when it’s on the vine into the month of October. This will last longer than me, by the way. $21.
In Mass, the retail sticker includes tax. Delightful. Cheers from New England, Maus.”
Quite a bit to UNPACK. tBoW has been waiting for a chance to use that premier term strongly favored by newscasters. Now that is gone.
Wine shop discoveries are one of the delights of being a wine snob…and I use that designation in the most irreverent sense. Finding your palate – learning what flavors you like and which grapes deliver those delights – is the the first important lesson in tasting and enjoying wine. Maus likes white wine grapes associated with the Rhone. These include Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Rousanne, perhaps even Viognier [ed. endorse all except yuk on viognier]. He also likes wines from regions off the beaten path, roads less traveled, especially in countries he has visited on numerous occasions. He often eschews the standard and highly touted regions preferring the less fahionable and “sellable.” Agreed.
tBoW has written repeatedly about his favorite shops where staff can discern my flavor profile (strawberries, cherries, kiwi…think of fruits you like) and price point ($U20 but willing to go to $30 if all criteria are met with exception) and low alcohol level…sub 14% down to 11% (especially for pink wines in the summertime).
Schiava grape meets all criteria of interest. tBoW has had a few and never been disappointed. Color is quit light for a “red”; alcohol is low at 12% even lower; and costs are chained to the $20 level. tBoW is on the fence with Chenin Blanc. I have tasted quite from the Loire and other regions near. Flavor is too sweet from my palate. Makes a highly desirable dessert wine. Note both are relatively light wines from mountain regions on either side of northern Italy.
All in all Maus always has something of great interest to share when it comes to wine. Did I mention he’s a huge Dodger fan? We all have our flaws.
Be sure to search for other posts by Maus on tBoW. Here are a couple.
As for what job requires travel? The wine business abounds with traveling wine hunters. In fact a great wines strategy for choosing unusual, affordable and downright interesting wine if to BUY THE PRODUCER. Here is a great piece on this approach.
CANNED HEAT “ON THE ROAD AGAIN”

What Is Wine? Who Wants to Know? A Primer for Getting Started.

It’s a good time to leave the cave.

 

Before heading into the next COVID trough…let’s buy and drink some wine!

tBoW has been drinking copious bottles of wine during the p-a-n-d-e-mic. Why not? Wine is an indoor sport that takes some know how and the will to carry on. Even during COVID.

Contributing writer/editor Field Maus left a mysterious message. “Hey! I’m in a wine shop in [east coast burg] and it’s tiny and it’s filled with bottles from all the places we’ve never been and there are a ton of wines I never heard of so I bought a bunch.”

Message to Maus::::::hell yeah. Send label fotos and tasting notes. Maybe include some maps with wine bottles that mark the nation-region. Wine touring off the common path is tons ‘a fun.

Goffing pal Mighty Mike Daig-Known [symbolized at top] is “getting into wine.” He understands domestic big names are mostly crap. He recognizes tBoW is a terrific source for learning more about what is in the bottle and which bottles to buy. Mike makes his purchases at Trader Joes and Costco. tBoW TRUTH #1: Costco is good; TJs not so good.

SOLUTION: Find a local fine wine shop you can trust long as they are not fullapoo and try selling you overpriced trophy wines. Many premium wine shops like Woodland Hills Wine Co have a rack with discounted wines. When you are in Costa Mesa you should stop in Hi Time [ed. ask for Patti] and buy a case of mixed wines between $10 and $20. These wines are not loss leaders or closeouts from some distributor. They are the ten to twenty dollar bottles from under-publicized regions like Chile, Languedoc, Alsace….

WHAT ABOUT COSTCO? There are some really good wines at Costco but how do you know which to buy?

RULES FOR BUYING WINE AT COSTCO: (1) Never buy “special wines” like the double mags of Napa Bombast Special Reserve or stupidly priced singles in plastic displays. (2) Find the bottle that stands out like a guy with orange hair in the White House. Last time tBoW was there it was obvious which bottle fit this mold. It was Austrian. DING. It had a screw top. DING. The label was unintelligible with words like Gruner Veltliner (native Austrian white wine grape). And it was $12. DING DING DING. That’s the winner. And it was excellent served chilled while in the spa.

Let’s get to the wine reviews.

Mike has been told Spanish sparkling wine is pretty good and can also be a good deal. Raventos Blanc (~$23) is a Spanish Cava that is good as or better than any champagne or domestic sparkler. tBoW posted on it here. The only problem it is tough to find. When I find it I buy at least six bottles. Also in pink!

What about Chardonnay? Mike is not a fan “no matter how cold it is served.” tBoW agrees. There are so many other white wines that are far more interesting. Here is one sold under the Gelsons label which they named “Mayfair.” Price is ~$14; blend is 61% Marsanne, 29% Viognier and 10% Rousanne. The wine is made by Doug Margerum who makes wines under his own Margerum label. Doug’s winery is located outside Santa Barbara. Doug is an excellent winemaker covered several times in tBoW. The white wine grapes come from the Rhone region. Made as single wines they suck. Most single grape wines suck. Wines should be blended….with regional varietals as has been practiced for centuries.

Summertime is for pink wines aka “rozays.” We have tasted many. Drink them chilled down. Here are a few bottles with busted corks.

2019 Les Gris from La Ferme Rouge 13% is from an estate in Morocco. Forgot what is tasted like. Watermelon with a little spine which means it was a bit firm and with good acid. Looks like the pinks are made from Cinsault (versatile red Mediterranean grape) and Grenache (as before). Would buy again. $14.

2019 Chateau Saint Eulalie Printemps d’Eulalie 14.5%. Minervois is a town in the un-sexy part of Southern France. This is southwest of Provence which is too sexy for tBoW. Do a search on this blog about the Languedoc. Wines that are so far under table dogs lap them up. This is a masculine wine that is not pretty. It is high acid and somewhat bracing. Look at the alcohol %. Like a round of goff with Mike D.

2019 Schlosskellerei Gobelsburg Cistercien 12%. Glad I bought two bottles. Everything I love in Austrian wines: high acid and bright fruit. $13.

2018 Juliette La Sangliere 12.5%. Pretty petty pretty. Delicate. Gentle. Seductive. Would get more of this. $12.

The only thing to figure out is how to buy wines like these. Plenty of guidance can be found on The Best of Wines dot com. Use our super slick search engine. G’head. Memo to Mike. Next time I get strokes. Click below on tBoW posts on buying and evluating wines.

Buying Wine: Our Favorite LA Shops

Forced and Unforced Wine Errors.

Wine Geeks Speak

and now…Miss Peggy Lee reflects on drinking wine and pandemics…

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.

Chemistry Kismet Karma: Orange & Black Win(e) Brand

getcher Kismet righcheer!

Joe Kismet Don’t Panik!

Break up the Jints!The World Serious champs beat the odds and won again. Pandas everywhere are chewing extra bamboo stalks. San Fran the City will make a ton of $$ under the guise of a celebration parade. For the forelorn in Blue [ed. Royals right tBoW?] it’s a long wait for April, another unbearably long summer and, gottvilling, another shot at 3 pennants (division, league, series).

Things are looking up for Los Doyers who bought a new “President of Baseball Ops” who is not old-school. We wonder if Andrew Friedman watched the series. Here is what he would have seen. Chemistry! Royals and Jints play like a team woven together sub-atomically. Karma! Things went their way when they could not have. What makes luck break your way? Will driven by a group mind [ed. like a mindset? NO! Never use that word in front of me]. Try Kismet! There is a term with meaning. If karma is luck then kismet is GOOD LUCK. Very good luck. Mr. Friedman should consider how to create chemistry with strategic trades. Get rid of the pouters and goofballs. Bring in steady hands with a record of winning and who do not seek center stage all the freakin’ time. The good breaks will follow.

HALLOWEEN WINES right? Real horror show my droogies!

Montille-2010WEB2010 Deux Montille Pouilly-Fuissé En Vergisson $32: Tastes like steel fermented chardonnay. Firm backbone. Hard. Oh it is steel fermented chardonnay. Well why didn’t you say so. Tastes like french Chardonnay. Mrs. tBoW is charmed, Says Old World white grapes have more distinctive flavors than do reds. She continues: reds are less nuanced. They fold into each other. This wine has lichi green flavors. From the Mâconnais, a Burgundian value region. Biodynamic and organically grown and produced by pedigreed Burgundians. 13.%

Ouled-ThalebRoseWEB2013 Ouled Thaleb Rosé Morocco $14 (Wine Country in Long Beach): Who would not want to taste this? Made in Morocco, colonized by France, across the Gibraltar from Spain, sophisticated nation. They grow vinifera and make wines on this estate ten miles from the ocean since 1923. The blend is 60% Syrah, 30% Grenache and 10% Cinsault. Bright acid, red orange color. Tastes just like what we would expect from Languedoc. Fermented in stainless steel tanks. The AOG is Zenata. Exotic. Brought to us by Nomadic Distributions. Cool! Had this with ersters at L&E Oyster Bar in Silverlake while Jints were getting crushed game six 10 zip. Fab diversion. Here is some splashy news on the brand. U20 alert! 13%

Here are a few Haloween costume ideas with a bit of the old ultraviolence.

Jim Gaffigan weighs in on the lighter side of All Hallows Eve. What about a Jim Gaffigan costume?

Wine Reviews Bold As Love

still rainin' still dreamin'

still rainin’ still dreamin’

This heat wave have sapped tBoW’s strength. It is all we can do to pull corks and take notes. Nowatisane? reguscichard11WEBSo here they are. Fortunately, all wines tasted were deliciously notable.

2011 Regusci Chardonnay Stags Leap District Mary’s Cuvee $40 online: The power of an AVA in full glory! Stags Leap baby. Regusci is about as down home as it gets in Napa and especially Stags Leap. Authentic Napa juice. Some might say “legit.” Purchased at the winery couple years back. We raved about the Burgundian nature then. Poop. This is pure California Chardonnay juice. CorbRose13WEBGets 14 mos American oak. Serve it cold. Bracing feral flavors. If I was up there I am sure I would buy this bottle again. 14.2%

2013 Château Ollieux Romanis Corbières Rosé $16: Cuts through the spicy tuna poke. Good match. Acid and fruit makes a formidable combo. Melon flavor but what kind? Must be tangelo [ed. uh, not a melon]. Corbieres is Cab Franc country. This is 28% Cinsault and 35% Grenache Gris 35%. cambiata12WEBYes. We think the balance of 37% is Grenache Noir. Love the Languedoc. Must return soon! U20 alert.

2012 Cambíata Albariño Monterey $18: Not like a New World wine. Honeydew melon rind flavor. Bit of clove [ed. he stole that]. Perfect on a late summer evening outside. Label says “Albariño: Bold As Love.” Cool. Jimi. Another U20 winna. 14.5%

At 2:49 of this revered and underrated Hendrix composition he takes off on a riff that makes me misty every time every time every time I hear it.