Tag Archives: $10 wine

Mini-reviews 50: Famaey, The Other, Jekel, Velho

Reviews of wines that don ?t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the final Friday of each month.

? Ch teau Famaey Ros 2012 ($10, purchased, 12.5%): French rose famous because so many women say, “I want a dress that color.” But also fruity (strawberry, but not too much) and very pleasant. Consistent from vintage to vintage, and always a value.

? The Other Red 2010 ($10, purchased, 13.8%): Long-time favorite that was stunningly disappointing. This vintage was little more than just another Lodi red blend with lots of sweetish red fruit in the back and not much else. Sadly, a tarted up wine.

? Jekel Riesling 2011 ($16, sample, 12.5%): Surprisingly ordinary white that ?s not cheap and not very riesling-like ? just sugar water sweetness and missing almost any riesling varietal character like lemon or oiliness.

? Monte Velho White 2011 ($8, sample, 13.5%): Still clean, fresh and fruity (green apple?) despite being a previous vintage. But this is a heavier style of wine that needs food and probably something more substantial than a summer salad.

Wine of the week: Domaine des Cassagnoles 2012

55084LA friend read the manuscript for the cheap wine book and said he had a fairly big question: ?Why aren ?t there any wine recommendations Because, of course, all wine books have to have wine recommendations.

The Cassagnoles ($10, purchased, 12%) helps answer his question: It ?s the quintessential cheap white wine ? professionally made and interesting, yet simple enough to appeal to people who are scared of wine and who don ?t want to spend a lot of money for something that they don ?t know.

It ?s produced in the wonderfully white grape and citrus style that defines Gascon white wine, and is made with grapes that don ?t show up too many other places ? one-half colombard, with ugni blanc and gros manseng filling out the blend. It ?s fresh and bright and lively and the bottle is gone before you know it. Wine for weeknight dinners doesn’t get much better than this. That’s why it’s in the $10 Hall of Fame and should stay there for a long while.

But what happens if I recommend it in the book, and a reader can ?t find it locally? Or buys an older vintage, which is worn out and off-putting? Or buys the wine one year when it isn ?t well done, which is possible given the vagaries of the wine business and that the book probably won ?t be updated every year with new recommendations. They ?ll fire off an angry email.

That ?s why the book is about the process of cheap wine ? its history, why cheap wine is possible, what makes a quality cheap wine, and how to find one. Then the reader won ?t be complaining. He or she will will be too busy drinking great cheap wine they found themselves, like the Cassagnoles. What more could I ask for?

What’s new with pinot grigo?

What's new with pinot grigo?
It’s simple in taste and cheap in price; hence the American love of pinot grigio.

Quite a lot actually, as a story I wrote for the Beverage Media trade magazine explains. This is not to say that pinot grigio itself has changed much. It remains a cheap, simple white wine preferred by women of a certain age, and the mostly Italian imports that dominate the category sell millions and millions of cases without much of an effort.

Rather, there is an on-going campaign by producers and importers to get Americans to look differently at pinot grigio, whether it ?s Oregon and California pinot gris such as J, which a little more expensive and has more fruit, or Italian wines in the $12 to $15 range like Bollini and Alois Lageder.

The story ?s highlights, after the jump:

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Wine of the week: Yellow + Blue Chardonnay 2011

P66907110The Yellow + Blue boxed wines have long been among the Wine Curmudgeon ?s favorites ? cheap, well-made, and aimed at wine drinkers who want a quality product without any fuss.

Retailers have not always shared that enthusiasm. The wines come in a 1-liter juice box with plastic screwcap, which is terrific for consumers but problematic for retailers. Stores, after all, are built with shelves designed for 750-milliliter bottles. So the wines, if the retailer carries them at all ( ?Boxed wine? We don ?t need no stinkin ? boxed wine ?), get shunted to the back of the store, out of sight and out of mind.

That ?s too bad. The Yellow + Blue rose, torrontes, and sauvignon blanc are top notch, and each has been in the $10 Hall of Fame at one time or another. The chardonnay ($10, purchased, 13.5%), though not quite as well done as the best Yellow + Blue wines, may be an even more impressive achievement.

That ?s because the grapes come from Lodi in California, hardly the lodestone of chardonnay and a region that out tankerloads of flabby and almost sweet versions of the varietal. Yellow + Blue impresario Matt Cain, though, has made a wine with pleasant tropical fruit and a bit of a pithy finish that tastes like chardonnay. That ?s not easy to do, given what he was working with in Lodi.

This is the kind of well-priced and professional wine that we need to see more of from California. Now all we have to do is to convince retailers it ?s worth carrying.

Vinho verde review 2013

vinho verde review 2013The damnedest thing happened when the Wine Curmudgeon went vinho verde shopping this year. The wines, usually around $5 or $6, weren ?t that cheap. Most were about $8, and one cost $11 ? a price that seemed to defeat vinho verde ?s purpose.

That ?s because vinho verde, a Portuguese white wine that ?s actually kind of green, is supposed to be an inexpensive, simple wine served ice cold ? with an ice cube, even. It ?s made for hot summer days and it starts to wear out around the time the kids go back to school in September. It ?s slightly sweet with lime or green apple fruit and very low alcohol, plus some fizz ? more like club soda than sparkling wine. You buy it, drink it, and forget about it.

Why anyone thinks they can get more than $10 for vinho verde is beyond me. Are you listening, Broadbent?

Most vinho verde is made by a handful of companies, which they sell to retailers under a variety of labels. This year, the Sonalto ($6, purchased, 9%) was about as good as vinho verde gets — fresh, limey and effervescent, without too much sweetness or the warm beer taste that is sometimes a problem. You may see the same wine called Santola; both have a crab on the label.

For more on vinho verde:
? Vinho verde review 2012
? Vinho verde review 2011
? Vinho verde review 2010

Cheap wine book update: 1 chapter to go

The next to last chapter, ?How to buy cheap wine: The basics ? was sent to the editor this morning. All that ?s left to write is the final chapter, ?How to buy cheap wine: Advanced course, ? flesh out the winespeak dictionary, and fine-tune several short essays that will serve as appendices. That will include a very clever bit about wine labels (because, of course, no sense in false modesty when I ?m plugging the book)..

Which means we ?re on schedule for publication around Labor Day. Which also means that will be when the Wine Curmudgeon hits the road to promote the book. I already have three events scheduled ? the Kerrville wine and music festival over Labor Day weekend, Grapefest in Grapevine, Texas, a couple of weeks later, and the American Wine Society annual conference in Sandusky, Ohio, in early November. That one will be fun ? talking and tasting about cheap wine.

Those of you who pledged on Kickstarter will receive your premiums as soon as possible after publication. The book will also be for sale on the blog, as well as the usual on-line suspects. If you want to talk about an appearance, or have any other questions, including the Kickstarter premiums, send me an email.

Fourth of July wine 2013

Fourth of July wine 2013
I’m drinking a less alcoholic, less tannic red wine because it’s hot out. But I can’t show my face, because that’s not a manly wine choice.

It ?s hot. It ?s sticky. So how many of you will drink the biggest, most tannic, most alcoholic red wine possible to celebrate July 4?

Which, of course, is fine with the Wine Curmudgeon, since I believe that everyone should drink what they want, and rules be damned. But, if you don ?t mind a suggestion, live dangerously. Try something lighter and, dare I say, more pleasurable ? a porch wine, even. Because the only thing I ask is that wine drinkers be willing to try something different.

Which leads to these suggestion, after the jump:

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