Monthly Archive for June, 2009

Wine of the Week – Bonneau Wines, 2005 Zinfandel, Shenandoah Valley ($22)

June 29, 2009 filed in Wine.
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06Zin-bottleWine of the Week!

Bonneau Wines, 2005 Zinfandel, Shenandoah Valley
$22/Bottle or $238/case (10% case discount)
Member Price = $19.80/bottle or $225/case (15% discount)

This wine was included in our June shipment to members of our sampling program “Maya’s Collectible Selections”.

It hails from the warm reaches of the Shenandoah Valley (between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite) in hot Amador County. This region is home to lots of big, fruity, “Monster” Zins, whose alcohol can exceed 16%.

This wine runs counter to that stereotype. It swims upstream. Marches to a different drummer, and a number of other hackneyed expressions that don’t come immediately to my fingertips at the moment. It enjoys an elegant body and a moderate 14.1% alcohol level with hints of fresh cracked black pepper that make this versatile wine – equally pleasing at the cocktail hour or the dinner hour.

A Classic Zinfandel With Pleasant Surprises!
For one, winemaker John Bambury has crafted that rare California Zinfandel that works well with food (recipe suggestion). The wine shows a beautiful dark fruit profile topped by a filigree of red raspberries and the tell-tale Zinfandel markers – mouth-watering wafts of dark licorice and fresh ground pepper.

From an old historic Sonoma family, this wine reminds me of the Zins I fell in love with in the 80’s. Pop the cork and drink a piece of history!

Just 420 cases produced.

Bonneau Wines, 2005 Zinfandel, Shenandoah Valley
$22/Bottle or $238/case (10% case discount)
Member Price = $19.80/bottle or $225/case (15% discount)

Happy MerchantCheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com

Quote of the Day
“To the sun that warmed the vineyards.
To the juice that turned to wine.
To the host who cracked the bottle,
and made it yours and mine!”

~ Unknown

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Wine of the Week – Peay Vineyard's 2006 Syrah "La Bruma"

June 23, 2009 filed in Wine.
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2006labruma1Today’s featured wine is named La Bruma (The Fog) after the frequent morning mists that cover the Pacific Coast where the Peay’s vines call home.

The winemaker – Vanessa Wong – says this wine has less pepper than the 2005, which I find surprising, since the pepper notes are what registered most in my taste memory.  They remind me of the peppery Syrah-based wines of Provence, only without the rough-hewn nature of those delicious but brawny wines. The wine is delightful, and will really kick butt if left in a dark, cool place for another half decade or so, if you have such a place and the will power to use it.

Look for floral notes sitting atop pie spices and warm, dusty blackberries. A bit of Beef Jerky and smoked ham (or is it Asian pork ribs?) on the palate, and a dark fruit and peppery finish that lasts for several minutes. The scuttlebutt in the industry is that there is more Syrah available for sale than the market can bear, particularly if the wine is priced over $30.  If that’s true, it’s only becaue more of them don’t taste like this one.  This is a wine you’ll enjoy getting to know.

Try the La Bruma Syrah with this recipe for Lamb Meatballs.

475 cases produced.

happy-merchant1Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant

P.S. I selected this wine for our Grand Cru members’ June shipment, and paired it with a recipe for Savory Lamb Meatballs.  For your very own copy, email me at dave@davethewinemerchant.com

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Funny Wine Video – Murphy Goode's "Really Goode Job" Contest

June 23, 2009 filed in Current Affairs, Food and Drink and Wine.
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The year 1994 was a big one for me.  I had just moved to the Bay Area from the Midwest, and living on the doorstep to the wine country allowed me to spend each glorious weekend scouting out ever more delightful tasting experiences.  In those days I pursued such forays for fun instead of profit, as I do today, though that profit thing is stubbornly elusive!

These weekend forays became sanity saviors.  During the week, the craft I plied was database marketing, and my employer was a financial services company.  Not one deemed “too big to fail”, but one large enough to have a very old boy network.  In the midst of that dreary suit-and-bad-tie society was a bright spot named Annie Sammis.  Intelligent.  Stylish. Funny. Hip.

Click to view video. Then "Vote for Annie!"

Click to view video. Then "Vote for Annie!"

Of her many redeeming features, perhaps my favorite was her love of the fermented grape.  In the 15 years since our careers parted ways, she has secured her place in the high-tech advertising hall of fame.  And now she’s throwing her famed marketing hat into the ring at Murphy Goode Winery, sponsor of the “Really Goode Job” contest. Here is Annie’s entry, out of which I think you’ll get a really “goode” kick.  (Note, as with Lay’s potato chips, you’ll find it difficult to stop after watching just one!  Fortunately, you can vote for all those you like)

Social Media & The Wine Industry
With this contest, I think Murphy Goode has struck on a brilliant piece of viral marketing.  By announcing that they will pay the winning entrant $100K in exchange for six month’s work as their social media guru (details here), they have obtained far more than $100K worth of public relations awareness.  Plus they’ll get a highly skilled marketer to boot, and will have given that individual a huge boost in awareness to be leveraged.

So far, almost 1,000 people have submitted their 60-second video application. Just as with the popular American Idol TV show, the quality of entrants is highly inconsistent.  Some are even painful to watch.  But thankfully, part of Murphy Goode’s decision has been left up to those of us in the universal wine community.  Your vote counts!

I’ve said for some time now that the wine industry has embraced  social media faster and more effectively than any other consumer goods industry.  They just seem to get it!  And while the pace of change and development is enough to make my head spin from time to time, I’m glad to be in the mix.  It is an interesting time to be a marketer.

happy-merchantCheers!  (And, vote for Annie!)
Dave the Wine Merchant

P.S. See her out-takes on You-Tube!

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Don't Buy Wine for Father's Day!

June 9, 2009 filed in Current Affairs and Wine.
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Stand up against the commercialization of Father’s Day!

fathers-dayIt’s now officially out of hand – Cafe Press claims custom T-shirts are the prefect gift for Dads, while Hog Island proposes oysters as the preferred path to proper Papa appreciation.  Square Trade tells you to buy him a warranty, for God’s sake!   Starbuck’s pushes Dad’s coffee, and I’m sure you’ve received dozens of offers to buy wine for Father’s Day.

Who needs one more voice in this cacophony?  Not me.  And since my wines (and postings) appeal to independent thinkers, I’m suggesting some fun alternative celebrations for the month of June:

Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com
866-746-7293

Quote of the Day
“My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard.  Mother would come out and say, ‘You’re tearing up the grass.’   ‘We’re not raising grass,’ Dad would reply.  ‘We’re raising boys.’”

~ Harmon Killebrew, American League Slugger.  (June 29th, 1936 – ?)

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Wine Merchant Honors Koko Taylor

June 4, 2009 filed in Current Affairs, Dave's Journal and Uncategorized.
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kokotaylor2006Famed blues singer, Koko Taylor, died yesterday from complications following surgery.  She was 81.

Why am I writing about this in a wine blog?  Because she is part of a great, wine-fueled memory of mine.

It was in the late 80′s, a time which found me living in Chicago, my love of wine growing faster than a teenager.  After an extended night of wine sipping in one of Chicago’s many great restaurants (Cabernet from Conn Creek, as I recall), this wine sipper and his friends descended on a blues bar.  Koko Taylor was already part-way through her first set when we arrived.

We stepped into a packed house, so we naturally scanned the back of the dark hall for empty seats.  We saw a few (none of them together of course) and just as we started towards them I saw four seats – all together – on the far end of the front row. Musterring our Cabernet-fueled courage (though admittedly, this was the late 80′s, and the octane was not what it is today) the four of us excused our way past each person in the row, passing directly in front of Ms. Taylor’s massive presence.

Which did not go unnoticed.  And after bringing it home, she called me out, saying “If you want to take over my stage, you have to sing with me on this next song, it’s a little something I made famous called ‘Wang Dang Doodle’“.  She wanted me to sing in call-and-response to her “All night long” refrain (play video below, to remember this song as it SHOULD be remembered – without my contribution!).

Now, for those unfamiliar with my so-called singing, let’s just say that I’m no pro.  In fact, I’ve had several shower heads break in protest. The best thing my mother could ever say about my singing is “Well son, at least you have volume!”

Maybe that’s why, as the great Koko Taylor handed me a microphone, all my Cabernet courage drained away.  My response to her “All night long” refrain was the most feeble, timid, off-key response anyone could ever imagine.  And boy did Ms. Taylor let me have it with some good-natured ribbing after the song was over.

Koko, wherever you are, I thank you for the memory.

Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com
866-746-7293

Quote of the Day
“”Blues means what milk does to a baby. Blues is what the spirit is to the minister. We sing the blues because our hearts have been hurt, our souls have been disturbed.”

~ Alberta Hunter, 1895-1984.  Blues singer, songwriter, nurse.

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Travel With Wine, Not Honey

June 2, 2009 filed in Dave's Journal, Food and Drink, Travel and Wine.
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baggage-claim“I think that’s your bag, honey!” she said.

“It’s not the last one off the plane?  Yay!” I said

“I’ll get it” she said.

“Thanks” I said.

“I hope the wine’s OK” she said.

“It always is” I said.

“(Grunting) Got it!” she said.”

“Daddy it’s all sticky” the little she said.

“Something must have leaked onto it in the hold” I said.

“I just hope it’s not the honey we bought.” she said

“No way.” I said, knowing in my heart she was right.

honey-dew-2Next to several bottles of wine, I’d packed two jars of honey.   It was special honey, from bees who make their living pollinating plants in Spain’s fertile Montsant region.  (Actually, I doubt whether bees respect appellational boundaries, so some of their pollinating likely took place in the neighboring Priorat DOC/DOQ.  Blessed little trespassers!)

During my years of travel to foreign wine lands, I’ve always brought samples safely home by wrapping them in excess clothing and then snugly  tucking them inside my checked luggage (article here).

But not this time – the photo at right shows the honey-clad suitcase after unpacking the sticky mess. You should’a seen the clothes.

Up to now, I’d had a 100% success rate in bringing home wine samples unscathed.  So, why were the odds Gods working against me this time?  Before you abandon hope of using this (usually) reliable technique, you may want to consider two refinements to the basic technique:

  1. I packed so lightly, saving room for my eagerly anticipated wine booty, there was insufficient clothing to adequately wrap the honey jars.  Your goal is to prevent movement of the bottles, especially when your bag is mishandled.  If need be, recruit partially empty rolls of toilet paper and stuff them into your empty spaces.
  2. Three bottles of our wine were housed in a wooden box from Clos de L’Obac, and it was contact with the corner of this box that broke the honey pot.  Despite the attractiveness of wooden wine boxes, I recommend mustering your restraint and leaving them at your hotel, IF you plan to transport other breakables in the same bag.

All in all, I am still a confident supporter of this (usually) reliable technique, and continue to recommend its use for safely returning with wine samples intact.

It's hard work, but somebody's gotta do it

Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com
866-746-7293

Quote of the Day

“”The only reason for being a bee is to make honey… and the only reason for making honey is so I can eat it.”
~ Winnie the Pooh From ‘House at Pooh Corner’ by A.A. Milne

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