Tag Archives: holiday wine

Wine of the week: Fattoria La Valentina Cerasuolo 2010

The wine of the week, which usually posts on Wednesday, runs today because of the July 4 holiday. The blog's schedule will return to normal next week.

Fattoria La Valentina Cerasuolo The Wine Curmudgeon is criticized regularly because I have standards. Just because a wine is cheap does not mean it doesn't have to be well made and varietally correct. Or, as my pal Tim McNally put it the other day: "There are cheap wines, and they have a place. Then there are wines that are made cheaply, and they don't have a place at all."

The La Valentina ($7, purchased) is firmly and unequivically one of the former. In a perfect world, whenever someone sends me a tart email or leaves a snide comment on the blog about my insistence that a California appellation, cute label and too much fruit does not make a quality wine, I would pour them a glass of this.

This is a surprisingly complex rose made from the montepulciano grape in the Abruzzi region, east of Rome (and not to be confused with the Montepulciano region of Tuscany, home to many high-priced wines). It's not just refreshing, but offers some zip and crispness. Look for strawberry fruit and even a bit of citrus finish.

It's a perfect porch wine, and will go with almost anything you can think of for a July 4 picnic. Highly recommended, and candidate for the 2013 $10 Hall of Fame.

More about Fourth of July wine:
? Fourth of July wine 2012 
? Wine of the week: Louis Tete Beaujolais-Villages 2010
? Wine of the week: Luc Pirlet Pinot Noir Barriques Reserve 2010

Fourth of July wine 2012

Some suggestions and a few thoughts about wine with your July 4 celebration next week, whether backyard barbeque or fireworks watching party (the latter with bubbly, of course):

? We ?re in porch wine territory this time of year: lighter wines with lower alcohol, and that includes reds. Drinking a tannic, high alcohol wine when it ?s pushing 100 isn ?t pleasurable (unless you ?re a wine masochist).

? Did someone say bubbly? We ?re celebrating a birthday, aren ?t we? Miquel Pons Cava Brut Nature NV ($15, purchased) is a Spanish sparkler that ?s soft and generous, with sweet lemon fruit and bubbles that won’t quit.

? Fontana Candida Frascati Superiore ($10, sample) is an Italian white that was a big deal a decade or more ago, and then fell on hard times. This vintage is much better made than it was then, with a fresher, more clean approach, very crisp lemon, and an almost orange tea aroma. Just 12 1/2 percent alcohol.

? When in doubt, go Falesco ? the Assisi Rosso 2009 ($16, purchased), in this case. This Italian red blend is a step up from the producer ?s wonderful $10 Vitiano line, with an herbal aroma and soft red fruit. But it ?s sturdy enough for red wine occasions, including Fourth of July burgers, steak and brisket.

? Regional wine is always a July 4 staple, and Dr. Konstantin Frank Dry Riesling 2010 ($15, purchased) is a regional wine with decent national distribution. Look for candied lemon and the fresh, crisp acidity that New York state rieslings are famous for. And, as nice as this wine is, it’s not nearly the best New York riesling available.

More about Fourth of July wine:

? Fourth of July wine 2011
? Fourth of July wine 2010
? Wine of the week: Louis Tete Beaujolais-Villages 2010
? Wine of the week: Luc Pirlet Pinot Noir Barriques Reserve 2010

Father’s Day wine 2012

Father's Day wine 2012
Yes, son, wine is a great Father’s Day present

What, you don ?t think wine and Father ?s Day are a good fit? Then you don ?t know all of the dads that I know, since they find wine a fine gift at any time. Whatever you do, though, keep our wine gift-giving guidelines in mind — “Don’t buy someone wine that you think they should like; buy them what they will like.”

These suggestions should get you started:

? Hey Mambo Sultry Red ($12, sample): Red California table wine that deserves better than its hokey back label. Simple, basic, and fulfilling, with enough black fruit to be noticeable, but not so much that it tastes like a juice box. Pair with grilled sausages, and don ?t be afraid to chill it a little.

? Bodega Amalaya Tinto ($17, sample): Much better than than I thought it would be, with sweet cherry fruit that was more bright than stewed (which can be a problem with Argentine malbecs). It was still soft, but pleasantly so. A terrific barbecue wine.

? Lucien Albrecht Cremant d ?Alsace Brut Rose NV ($17, sample): The decline in the euro means this sparkling wine may return to more affordable territory, which is worth waiting for. Crisp and bubbly and refreshing, with subtle cranberry and cherry fruit and just the thing for a hot summer Sunday.

More about Father ?s Day wine:
? Father’s Day wine 2011
? Father’s Day wine 2010
? Wine of the week: Cellar No. 8 Eight
? Wine of the week: Villa Maria Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon

Cartoon courtesy nanozero87 via OpenClipArt, using a Creative Commons license

Memorial Day and rose 2012

Memorial Day and rose 2012The Wine Curmudgeon appreciates his readers and visitors more than they will ever know. Without you, I ?d have to get a real job, where I would probably not be allowed to drink wine.

Having said that, I must bring up one of your few failings: You don ?t much like rose. No rose review has ever been a top 10 annual post, and they barely crack the top 50.

I especially pondered that question preparing for this post, the blog ?s fifth annual rose extravaganza. And I can ?t come up with a good reason. Rose is cheap. It ?s better made than ever before. It ?s food friendly. You can put an ice cube in it. What more do you need from a wine?

After the jump, the basics about roses and this year ?s recommendations:

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Mother’s Day wine 2012

Mother's Day wine

Doesn't Mom deserve wine for Mother's Day?

Buy Mom wine for Mother's Day. She'll appreciate it. Right, Mom? Or, failing that, buy her wine for Mother's Day brunch. Whatever you do, though, keep our wine gift-giving guidelines in mind — "Don't buy someone wine that you think they should like; buy them what they will like."

These suggestions should get you started:

? Bonterra Viognier 2010 ($14, sample): Easily the best California viognier I've had in years (yes, damning with faint praise, but praise nonetheless), with crisp, clean apricot fruit. A little oily, which was interesting, and a decent finish. If it was cheaper, it's probably in the $10 Hall of Fame.

? Local wine: We tasted wines from a dozen or so states at our recent DrinkLocalWine conference, and there is plenty of quality and value out there. If you're in Colorado, try the Guy Drew riesling 2010 ($16, sample), with lemongrass, a lot of acid, and a fair amount of residual sugar that is barely noticeable because of all the acid. Excellent example of terroir and high altitude grapes. Not in Colorado? Ask for a recommendation for your Other 47 state in the comments or send me an ">" target="_blank">email.

? Toad Hollow Risque NV ($16, sample): Sparkling wine that takes sparkling wine to a place it doesn't often go. Sweet? Yes, but not just to be sweet, but as a style. And there are plenty of bubbles to balance the sweetness. It was a favorite of the late Todd Williams, who ran Toad Hollow and always told a good story about this wine.

More about Mother's Day wine:
? Mother's Day wine 2011
? Mother's Day wine 2010
? Wine of the week: Luc Pirlet Pinot Noir 2009
? Wine review: Cline Cellars Cool Climate Syrah 2010

Cartoon courtesy Gerald_G via OpenClipArt, using a Creative Commons license

Wine review: Mandolin Syrah 2009

image from www.mandolinwines.com

This is a good news and bad news wine. The good news is that it’s a tremendous value, another Mandolin wine that is much better than its price. The bad news? Availability, of course. It’s not sold in the Dallas area, and its Texas distributor is small with limited capabilities. And, given the way the wine world works, if that happens in a market as important as this one, that means the Mandolin is likely to be difficult to find elsewhere.

Which is wrong. The syrah ($10, sample) is a wine that deserves to be in lots and lots of stores. It’s impressive — balanced and varietally correct, with just enough berry fruit to be fruity but not to be annoying. In this, there is acid to balance the fruit, which almost never happens with this style of wine, as well as a touch of oak and even some tannins, both of which provide even more balance.

Which, again, are two items that are rarely done well in wine from this part of California that costs $10. There is either way too much oak, to cover up a flaw or to give it a fake-y chocolate taste, or no tannins, to make the wine “smooth” and to appeal to people who don’t like red wine. In fact, one reason why I don’t drink much of this kind of wine is that it doesn’t taste like wine, but something designed by a focus group.

Serve this wine on its own or with a weekend or holiday meal featuring beef or roast chicken (and yes, even for the holiday that must not be named). Highly recommended, and a candidate for the 2013 $10 Hall of Fame.

Valentine’s Day Wine 2012

The Wine Curmudgeon does not like the holiday that must not be named. The reasons aren't important; chalk it up to my natural crankiness, and leave it at that. Because of this, I have traditionally vacillated about whether to do a post for this holiday.

This year, you get one. Yes, I know, the last thing one expects from me is inconsistency, but that's the effect that the holiday that must not be named has on me. More, after the jump:

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