Tag Archives: holiday wine

new year's sparklng wine 2018

Winebits 314: Sparkling wine for New Year’s

Suggestions for New Year’s bubbly from around the cyber-ether:

? Dave McIntyre of the Washington Post has almost every possibility covered, from Greek sparkling wine (who knew there was any) to more conventional — if pricey — suggestions. The Deutz Rose Brut is terrific wine, and that Dave got to an interview with the legendary Maximilian Riedel of wine glass fame when he tasted it makes the experience all that much more fun. And that Dave wants to argue with Riedel about wines glasses — I can only hope to be invited to watch.

? Jon Bonne at the San Francisco Chronicle discusses the state of American sparkling wine, and his assessment is intelligent and evenhanded — including his comments that “sweet wines are getting sweeter and more market-driven.” Among his suggestions: an Iron Horse, one of my choices for a celebration if the cheap wine book ever makes a lot of money, and Gloria Ferrer, perhaps the best value bubbly in California.

? George Yatchisin recommends California sparklers on the KCET television website, and I include his choices for three reasons. First, one of them is Schramsberg, which may be the best bubbly house in the United States and always delivers something worth drinking. Second, because KCET is the public television station in Los Angeles, and how many public TV stations do wine writing? And third, because there are no prices listed for the wines. Damn, that’s impressive, to be able to write about wine and not care how much it costs.

new year's sparklng wine 2018

New Year’s sparkling wine 2013

Call it champagne with small c (but not in front of a European), Champagne with a capital C, bubbles, or any of its other synonyms — sparkling wine deserves to be served more than at dinner on Dec. 31, for a toast at midnight, or at brunch on Jan. 1.

The good news is that it is. Bubbly has never been better made or more affordable; call it the revolution in sparkling wine. What else do you need to know for the occasion? The Champagne and sparkling wine glossary is here, and you can check out the sparkling wine category for even more ideas. 

• I’m still trying to make sense of Prosecco, the Italian sparkling wine that has become hugely popular over the past year. It’s usually sweeter than cava, California sparkling, or Champagne, and since it’s made differently, the bubbles aren’t as tight. Price can also be a problem, since there are some $15 Proseccos that taste like fizzy 7-Up. Having said that, the widely available Mionetto ($13, sample, 11%) is a safe bet — not so much sweetness that it overwhelms, with a little green apple fruit and decent bubbles.

• Regular visitors here know that Spain’s cava is one of the great cheap wines of all time, and that it’s almost impossible to go wrong no matter what you buy. The Dibon Rose ($10, purchased, 11.5%) may be even more enjoyable than the Dibon Brut, which is headed to the $10 Hall of Fame. Look for strawberry and orange peel, plus a little yeastiness. All in all, an amazing value.

• Sparkling is made throughout the world, including Oregon, where Argyle does a terrific job. The 2010 Brut Rose ($50, sample, 12.5%) is no exception, with lots of tart cranberry fruit, wonderfully crisp bubbles, and a long, clean finish. Yes, it’s expensive, but it’s exceptionally well made. Weltevrede’s The Ring Blanc de Blanc Brut 2009 ($23, sample, 11.5%) is a high-quality South African sparkler that offers value along with subdued lemon fruit and refreshing acidity, perfect for a New Year’s Day brunch. And don’t overlook New York’s Chateau Frank Brut 2006 ($24, sample, 12%) — a lovely, fresh, and fruity wine from one of the state’s premier winemakers. There is even caramel and vanilla, just like Champagne, as well as almost tropical fruit.

More about New Year’s sparkling wine:
• New Year’s sparkling wine 2012
• New Year’s sparkling wine 2011
• Expensive wine 50: Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Brut NV
• Wine of the week: Gruet Brut NV

Christmas wine 2015

Christmas wine 2013 and a few more gift suggestions

A combination post this year, for everyone caught short by the truncated holiday shopping season or who may have been iced in: Wine suggestions for the holiday next week, plus a couple of additional gift ideas. And anyone who wants an autographed copy of the cheap wine book needs to order from the website by Friday afternoon for holiday delivery:

? Red wine: Hedges Family Estate Red Mountain 2011 ($25, sample, 13.5%), one of the best wines I’ve tasted this year and which deserved more than the passing mention it got on the blog in September. This is a classic Washington state red blend with rich, black fruit and where the Washington state syrah stands out. Highly recommended, and a fine value at this price.

? White wine: The Domaine Weinbach Riesling Schlossberg Cuv e Th o 2011 ($30, sample, 13.5%) was the highlight of an Alsatian riesling Twitter tasting this summer. It’s a complex wine with the requisite varietal character (some oiliness, lemon fruit) but still quite pleasant to drink in a way that some high-end Alsatian rieslings, which try to cram everything in, aren’t.

? Sparkling wine: Poema Brut NV ($10, purchased, 11.5%), another excellent cava in both price and quality (and a tip ‘o the Curmudgeon’s fedora to reader James Phillips for suggesting it). Look for tight bubbles, very crisp golden delicious apple fruit, and even a little brioche, a yeast-like flavor that usually shows up only in Champagne.

? Wine book: The New California Wine, $35, by Jon Bonne, the wine editor for the San Francisco Chronicle. Bonne is one of the two or three best wine critics in the U.S., and his analysis of California wine — good and bad — is usually spot on. This is a great gift for anyone who wonders why California wine is so wonderful, except when it isn’t, and how the isn’t happens as often as it does.

? Wine glasses: Schott Zwiesel Tritan Forte, about $10 each. These are among the best so-called unbreakable crystal glasses, and crystal does make a difference. How unbreakable is unbreakable? Given my propensity for falling down more often than I plan, I can vouch for their sturdiness. They do break, but you have to make an effort.

More about Christmas wine and gifts:
? Holiday wine gift guide 2013
? Christmas wine 2012
? Wine of the week: King Estate Pinot Gris 2012
? Wine of the week: Dibon Brut Reserve NV
? Wine of the week: Hardys Nottage Hill Pinot Noir 2012

Christmas wine 2016

Holiday wine gift guide 2013

The Wine Curmudgeon didn’t think there was a need for this year’s holiday gift guide. After all, what else could anyone want to give other than the cheap wine book?

But when I asked around, I was stunned to find out that this was not the case. The consensus: “Jeff, there are more things in the wine world than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Or something like that.

So, after the jump, gift suggestions, as well as the all-important gift guidelines: Continue reading →

Wine of the week: Ch teau de Campuget rose 2012

Wine of the week: Ch teau de Campuget rose 2012The Wine Curmudgeon is putting his keyboard where his metrics are. If rose is really undergoing a resurgence, then this post should be a hit with visitors and not end up in the cyber-ether wasteland where most of my rose reviews go.

And why not? The Campuget ($10, purchased, 13%) is an exceptional rose, especially for the price, made with syrah from the Rhone region of France. Best yet, it’s the kind of wine you can drink all day during Thanksgiving — tasty, fresh, relatively low in alcohol, and something that will pair with almost anything the holiday dishes up (pun sort of intended).

This is a traditional French rose, which means a little cranberry fruit and that the wine is as dry as the proverbial martini. It was exactly what I was hoping for when I bought it. Highly recommended, and a candidate for the 2014 $10 Hall of Fame.

Winebits 309: Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving wine advice from around the cyber-ether, but not including the site that said picking the wrong wines would ruin the Thanksgiving meal. I guess I need to send that person a copy of the cheap wine book.

? The always tasteful Ray Isle at Food & Wine, with two roses — yes, two, and bless you, Ray — and nothing that costs more than $20. My favorite suggestion is the Adami Garb l Prosecco ($15), which he notes is direr than most Proseccos.

? Eric Asimov at the New York Times: “No matter how much you decide to spend on wine, serving myriad sweet and savory foods to a large group is no time to fuss about matching particular bottles with individual flavors; it ?s pointless.” Plus, none of the suggestions costs more than $25, and he says it’s OK if you don’t want to spend that much. Is it any wonder he’s the best wine writer in the U.S.? My favorite suggestion? New York’s Fox Run cabernet franc, made by the very talented Peter Bell.

? How about wines from American winemaking families for this most of American of holidays, suggests Katie Kelley Bell at Forbes? This is not the usual trendy California lineup, either, but includes choices from Virginia and the Pacific Northwest. Her choices are a little pricey, like the Gundlach-Bundschu merlot, but almost all are wines worth drinking.

Expensive wine 56: Torbreck The Steading 2009

steadingOne of the surprises when I wrote this year’s holiday wine trends post was the resurgence in Australian wine. The Aussies have been down for so long, and seemed to have so far to go to come back, that it was one of the last things that I expected.

Yet, on reflection, I’ve seen evidence of that over the past year, on both the low (Yalumba’s $10 wines) and high ends (the d’Arenberg Dead Arm). These are wines that acknowledge the excesses of the past but have found a way to make Australian wine that tastes not like someone thinks it should, but as it should, given the terroir the country’s winemakers have to work with.

The most recent example is The Steading ($38, sample, 15%), a shiraz that mostly lives up to the hype on the winery website: “The Steading is perhaps the most important wine within the Torbreck portfolio. …” It’s powerful, but not offensively so, as was the style in the past when 15 percent shirazes didn’t care what they tasted like as long as they were 15 percent shirazes.

It’s a dark, earthy and peppery wine, and thorougly intriguing. Missing was the blast of black fruit that I expected, but it was still fruity (blackberry?), as a wine of this kind should be. And, though the label says 15 percent alcohol, it didn’t taste like it. This is a a big wine that needs food, and would not be out of place at most holiday tables.