Tag Archives: $10 wine

Tom Paxton and a Bottle of Wine

 

Tom Paxton has been skewering the American conscience with such wit and precision for so long that he makes the Wine Curmudgeon jealous. One day, I hope I can come close to something like "Yuppies in the Sky" and its haunting refrain, "condos for sale, condos to buy."

Until then, while I redouble my Kickstarter efforts for The Cheap Wine Book, enjoy this, one of the Paxton classics (courtesy of AMSDConcerts on YouTube). Don't think he's too concerned about scores or wine talk, do you?

And Kickstarter? We're 53 percent funded with 11 days to go, which means it's crunch time. Pass the links along to anyone who might be interested:

? The Q&A explaining how Kickstarter works.

? The Kickstarter link.

? What the book is.

 

 

Cheap Wine Book cover mockup

Wine curmugeon book 2013Pretty spiffy, no? And a tip o' the Curmudgeon's fedora to designer Jynette Neal.

Having said that, we're still running behind –47 percent funded with a little less than two weeks ago. But that's not an insurmountable gap. Because, as noted in this Q and A, Kickstarter is all or nothing, and I probably won't be able to do the book without the Kickstarter money.


Please send this link around, and we can make up the difference in no time.

Wine of the week: Thorny Rose Sauvignon Blanc 2011

ss_tr_img_bottle-sauvblancNew Zealand sauvignon blancs were all the rage in the couple of years before I started the blog. One of them, Cloudy Bay, even got big scores from the Winestream Media, something that almost never happens to sauvignon blancs.

Since then, they ?ve mostly faded into the store shelf and have become just another wine to buy. I ?m not quite sure why; the fickle consumer, perhaps, who moved on to something else?

So I was surprised to see the Thorny Rose ($9, purchased, 13.5%), apparently a new label from Big Wine ?s Constellation Brands. Who is doing new sauvignon blancs these days?

Be glad they ?re doing this one. I expected another tepid grocery store New Zealand sauvignon blanc, with lots of sort of grapefruity fruit and not much else. Instead, I tasted lots of real grapefruit, as well as a tiny bit of tropical fruit in the middle and even an attempt at a finish. This is not a one-flavor wine by any means. (Though, if you click on the link to the wine, be warned: The copy reads as if it was written by someone my age trying to appeal to someone in their 20s.)

Serve it chilled with roast or grilled chicken or boiled or grilled seafood, and don ?t forget how much sauvignon blanc likes garlic and parsley.

Update: The Wine Curmudgeon’s Guide to Cheap Wine

We ?re about one-third through the funding period, and not quite one-third funded. How can you help? Click this link or the widget in the upper left corner of the blog. That will take you to the Kickstarter site, where you can pledge as little as $25 to help publish the book — and get a copy, too.

The reception around the cyber-ether has been terrific. Said The Dallas Morning News: "… Jeff is one of our most trusted local voices on
wine. I love his curmudgeonly style. But behind that gruff posturing,
he knows exactly what he ?s talking about." I did an interview with Lynn Krielow at iWineRadio, and she was just as nice.

Plus this. And this. And even this. As one backer wrote to her friends, "This is going to be the best way to get the word out to everyone
about how wine should really be appreciated."

Finally, because there has been some confusion about Kickstarter and how it works, a quick Q and A:

? What happens if you don ?t get enough money through Kickstarter? I probably won't be able to write the book. Kickstarter is all or nothing; if I don ?t raise the $8,000, I don ?t get any money.

? How does this pledge thing work? You pledge money, and you ?re billed through your Amazon account (because, of course, everyone has an Amazon account in the 21st century). If I don ?t raise the $8,000, then you aren ?t billed.

? What ?s with the premiums? It ?s just like public television. Pledge a certain amount and get a gift. If you pledge $25, you get a copy of the ebook and a copy of the second edition of the ebook when it comes out. That ?s a fine deal, since the ebook will cost $9.95. Plus, there are pledge levels up to $500, with premiums that are even better (hint, hint).

? So all I ?m doing is buying the book before publication? Exactly. How painful is that, given that everyone reading this will buy the book anyway?

Wine of the week: Faustino 2010

Rioja ? red wine made with the tempranillo grape from the Rioja region of Spain ? has long been one of the world ?s great wine values. The simplest Riojas, called crianza, are everyday wines that usually deliver tremendous quality for $10. That more of us don ?t know about them is one of the many things that make the Wine Curmudgeon so cranky.

Bodegas Faustino, which has been making wine in Spain for 150 years, has long been known for its wines with Roman numerals ? Faustino I, Faustino V, and Faustino VII. This Faustino ($10, purchased, 13%) is part of its ?modern reds ? line ? a term that usually makes me run screaming into the night, hinting as it does of merlot blended into the mix, winemaking alchemy to produce sweet fruit, and lots of fake oak.

Happily, this ?modern red ? is terrific basic Rioja, with everything as it should be. Look for cherry fruit, bright acidity, earthiness and that wonderfully funky Rioja aroma. The only thing that seemed modern about it was better winemaking ? no off flavors or smells, which can sometimes happen with old-style Rioja.

You can serve this with almost anything except a white cream sauce, which is one of the great strengths of Rioja. It ?s especially fine with bean dishes.

Writing is easy

Doonesbury

Garry Trudeau, though a cartoonist, understands this writing thing. It’s especially applicable during Cheap Wine Book Month. We’re one-quarter of the way toward getting The Wine Curmudgeon’s Guide to Cheap Wine funded through Kickstarter, and I’ll have a longer update on Thursday.

How can you join the fun? Click on the link above or the widget in the upper left. That will take you to the Kickstarter site, where you can pledge as little as $25 — and get a copy of the ebook, too. Hopefully, we can get the book funded before the deadline, so I can focus on Trudeau’s four times a day bit. The other thing to keep in mind? If the book isn’t funded through Kickstarter, I probably won’t be able to do it.

 

Wine of the week: Line 39 Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Line 39 sauvingon blancHere ?s today ?s metaphysical question: Is Cecchetti Wine Company, which makes Line 39, an artisan producer because it ?s family-owned, or part of evil Big Wine because its owners once worked for the company that makes Pepperwood Grove, about as $7 a grocery store wine as it gets?

Sometimes, we make wine harder than it needs to be.

The question we should be asking ?What does the wine taste like And. as I noted for the 2009, the 2010 Line 39 ($10, purchased, 13.5%) is ?more than I expected. ?

It ?s also interestingly different from the ?09, with less fruit and more California grassy-ness (the smell of a freshly mowed lawn that is a hallmark of a certain kind of California sauvignon blanc). Look for some lime zest and a sort of slate finish ? all clean and crisp. This is nicely done wine that, if it not quite $10 Hall of Fame quality, is the sort of thing to keep chilled around the house so it ?s handy when you feel like a glass.