Q: “What’s the deal with that wine you featured in our club months ago?  We hid it under our bed and forgot about it.  Now we need to know what it cost, what to serve it with, and how to get more of it!”

A: Easy.  From my homepage (www.DaveTheWineMerchant.com), click the “Blog” link and select the category “wine”.  Then use the search box (look!  I’ts hanging out up there in the top left corner right now!) to find the wine you’re after.   Just type the vintage and the producer and you should find what you’re after (ex. “2006 Arcadian”).

Q: “I keep a notebook with all your notes and recipes from each shipment, but I can’t find the ones that go with (this wine). Before I pull the cork, what should I pair with it?  Is there an easy recipe for it?”

A: Another easy one!  From my homepage, click the “Recipe” link and use the search box to find my recommended pairing.

Q: I just found these great _(insert seasonal ingredient here!) at the farmer’s market!  What can I make with them and what wine should I pair with it?

A: Same as above – go to my recipe blog and use the search box to type in your ingredient, or the season, or just about anything you can think of.  Go ahead – give it a try!

Do you like this new format?  Hate it??  I look forward to your comments, below!

Cheers!
Dave
www.DaveTheWineMerchant.com

866-746-7293

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My Two Pinot Selections

June, 2010 (Summary Listing)

1. Staete Landt, 2007 Pinot Noir, New Zealand (Marlborough).  $32 (member price starts at $28.80) (Buy it/Rate it Here)
2. Adelsheim, 2007 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley. $31 (member price starts at $27.90)  (Buy it/Rate it Here)

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My First Pinot Selection

for June, 2010 (Join Here)

Staete Landt, 2007 Pinot Noir, New Zealand (Marlborough)

Buy it/Rate it Here $32 (member price starts at $28.80)

Classic New Zealand pinot noir – strawberries, ripe black cherries, violets and earthy complexity!

When the Dutch Sea Captain Abel Tasman discovered New Zealand in 1642, he named it “Staete Landt”, which roughly means “Land discovered in honor of the Dutch Republic”. Today the name lends itself very nicely to this winery, founded and run by Netherland natives (and spouses) Ruud Maasdam and Dorien Vermaas.

I met Dorien at a large tasting, where her wines were among my favorites. I’ve brought two of their wines into my portfolio – their Sauvignon Blanc and their Pinot Noir – both of which were found to be classic examples of the New Zealand style and terroir.

If there was one way for me to describe this winery, I would have to say they are fanatics. Every element of winegrowing is considered, and the process selected depends entirely upon what is best for that particular combination of terroir, root stock, clone, the vintage conditions, and the separate picking. Each plot is harvested separately, then treated separately, from the yeast selection, to the de-stemming/crushing/pressing decisions, to the barrel/tank/cask selection… the number of decisions involved in the production of each wine are truly amazing, and frankly, I don’t know how these wines can be priced as low as they are!

Winemaker’s Tasting Notes
This Pinot Noir beautifully expresses the terroir of the clay-layered soils in the Staete Landt vineyard. It is elegant and multi-layered, complex with powerful, spicy, and fruit-driven tannins. Aromas of strawberries and ripe black cherries with violets and earthy complexity.

On the palate this is a full-bodied Pinot Noir with elegant tannins and a lingering spicy finish of cloves, bay leaves and game. This wine will repay cellaring for three to five years.

Buy it/Rate it Here$32 (member price starts at $28.80)

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My Final Pinot Selection

for June, 2010 (Join Here)

Adelsheim, 2007 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley

Buy it/Rate it Here $31 (member price starts at $27.90)

“One of Oregon’s Best Pinots” ~ Wine Spectator

I am an unabashed fan of great pinot from Oregon.  But you see, that’s the problem, many of them fail to attain such heights.  And those that do tend to run into the $50 neighborhood.  But this wine provides luscious pinot pleasure at an amazingly affordable price.  I advise members of my sampler program to pop the cork tonight and if you like it, to check back soon – I don’t anticipate my inventory will last long!

Winery Comments – “Our objective with this Pinot noir is to produce a classic, intense, and elegant wine that pairs well with the foods we like to eat. By blending the diverse flavors and textures of multiple vineyards, clones and elevations, we produce a rich, supple and focused wine that typifies what Pinot noir can achieve in the northern Willamette Valley.”

Tasting Notes – This was the first and the last wine I tasted during a recent tasting.  I marked it so highly the first time, I had to go back and check again to see whether I like it after tasting a roomful of other selections.  I did.  Look for aromas of black and red fruits (black cherries and raspberries, specifically), a touch of sweet pie spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice) and very subtle traces of black pepper.  The tannins are still firm, softening with each month it lies in wait for an unsuspecting cork screw.

Food Pairing - Hey, it’s pinot!  Pinot goes with everything, right?  Well, almost, but this wine’s modest 12.8% alcohol and friendly

Drinking well now, will improve for years.  The winemaker tells me he expects this wine to peak between 2015 and 2019, based on how it tastes now relative to past Adelsheim wines he’s traced through the years.  Optimal storage temperature is 55-60° F, and optimal serving temperature 60 – 65° F (about 30 – 45 minutes in the fridge will suffice if you’re lacking a cellar of your own).

The Adelsheim, 2007 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley

Buy it/Rate it Here $31 (member price starts at $27.90)

Because when the wine merchant weighs 80 pounds less than the wine on the hand truck, the wine wins…

Fortunately, we lost only six of the 84 bottles that fell.  But as I watched the wine trickle down the storm drain, before I had the guts to assess the damage, I thought one of this month’s wine clubs might be postponed until I could get the funds for more wine!

Thank God for narrow escapes.  Club members can now count on successful delivery of their wine next week!

Cheers!
Dave
www.DaveTheWineMerchant.com

Whew!  Some good news arrived over the weekend, in the form of a report stating U.S. wine consumption eked out another increase again in 2009, continuing our hitting streak into its sixteenth straight year.  If my memory serves correctly, this is the first time such sustained growth has occurred in our 233 year history as a nation.  So why was last year so painful for so many of us in the wine industry?

So before we break out the party hats and pop corks on bottles of bubbly, let’s put these findings in perspective. Here are some highlights from this weekend’s report:

— 2009 marked the 16th straight year of growth in wine sales, up 0.6% over 2008.

— Wine sales have shifted from on-premise (restaurant) to retail stores (especially grocery stores) as consumers increasingly choose to dine in, but still want wine.

— Consumers are buying less expensive wine,  which will have a long-term effect on the market.  (emphasis is mine)

— Direct sales to consumers at tasting rooms, or through wine clubs and the Internet, are gaining in popularity.  (emphasis is mine)

First, let me calm the fears of anyone who might think America is becoming a nation of drunkards.  The average American adult consumes less than one case of wine every year – that’s less than a bottle of wine per month, for those who appreciate math subtitles.  That puts our population at #18 on the chart of per-capita wine consumption, in case you’re keeping track at home.

And while I’m pleased to hear  that wine drinkers are buying more from wine clubs (like mine!) and online stores (like mine!), my bet is that most wine club purchases are occurring directly from the winery, where club membership recruitment is far more effective than in most retail stores, despite the greater access to quality of the latter distribution channel.

In addition, the less expensive wines that enjoy an inordinate share of the consumption growth (1.1% for this sector vs. 0.6% overall) are the exclusive domain of large physical stores (Grocery, big box stores, discounters, etc.) , since shipping expenses run as much as the cost of the wine.  I believe this trend will develop in two ways.  First, one portion of those drinking less expensive wines will continue to do so for the rest of their drinking days.  But another, probably far smaller group, will find the aromas and flavors of inexpensive wines to be limited and predictable and far too similar.  This is the group that will grow into upscale wine drinkers in years to come.

Now, how do I get hold of those folks, begin a conversation, and stay in business until they see the light???  hmmmm.

Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
866-746-7293

Quote of the Day
“WINE, n. Fermented grape-juice.  Known to the Women’s Christian Union as “liquor,” sometimes as “rum.” Wine, madam, is God’s next best gift to man.”
~ Ambrose Bierce, American Wag, Writer, and Journalist (1842-1914)

Cheers, Dave

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Hi Dave,

Last night my wife Dani had her Mah Jong group of ladies over and nearly opened my newly purchased 2006 Kosta Browne Gary’s Vineyard SLH Pinot for them. Thank god I got home when I did to stop her and to explain they were not KB worthy as lovely as they were. Instead though, I opened up two bottles: 2006 Molnar Family Poseidon’s Vineyard, Carneros and the 2007 Sojourn’s Sonoma Coast.

They may not have been Kosta Browne’s, but they were very intriguing wines all on their own worthy of enjoying.

I popped the Molnar and I got a little heat initially but crisp fruit quickly opened up on the mid palate and some nice spices on the back. I even detected a touch of some barnyard funk. This was a fusion of Burgundy meeting Northern California. A very good mah jong wine. Although I did not play, I was governing the wine pours to make sure our guests were enjoying themselves.

Then came the Sojourn. That’s when the game turned in my wife’s favor. This one was like drinking silk velvet from Lyon, France. Pure smooth delivery. The nose gave a little forest floor but an opulent delivery of bright raspberries mixed with subtle acidity exploded in my mouth that sang in perfect tune and harmony together.

This was the one that took their minds off of their games (except for my wife who remained focused). This was a perfect hustling wine for home court advantage. We were a great team together.

Thanks again for the wonderful selection of choices.

Best,
Seth Pariser

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Note, I am not a fan of Kosta Browne – a pinot on steroids. Not all grape varietals were born to be body builders, though many enjoy that style. In fact, this week’s news indicates that MANY people disagree with my tasting notes on Kosta Browne – they just reported selling the winery to the Vincraft Group for $40 million.  That sales figure is many times the amount of successful, comparably sized wineries, so their wine style must appeal to a lot of people other than me.  But I say, try both styles and  Viva la difference!

Cheers,
Dave the Wine merchant

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)

Cheers!
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