Tag Archives: wine advice

Ask the WC 38: More about negative reviews, inflation, availability

Two middle age business workers giving high five
“Thank you, Supreme Court. No more WC making fun of us!”

This edition of Ask the WC: More about negative reviews, inflation and cheap wine prices, and more laments about availability

Because the customers always have questions, and the Wine Curmudgeon has answers in this irregular feature. You can Ask the Wine Curmudgeon a wine-related question by clicking here.

Dear Wine Curmudgeon:
A serious question, after reading about negative reviews on the blog. Aren’t you afraid someone is going to sue you?
Curious reader

Dear Curious:
The Supreme Court heard arguments recently on a case that may end my negative reviews, as well as the various parodies I do on the blog. The court will rule, probably in June, whether commercial products are protected from satire, despite the free speech protections in the Constitution. Frankly, I’m aghast the case got this far, and it speaks to the corporate capitalism that’s so pervasive in our culture and that making money is more important than individuals. How anyone can rationally argue that this dog toy affects Jack Daniels’ image in any way is beyond me.  If the court rules in favor of Jack Daniels, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it did, then I will stop the parodies and probably the negative reviews. The toy’s legal quandary is not exactly the same as that of a journalist, but I can’t afford to defend a lawsuit to make that point.

•

Hey WC:
What are cheap wine prices doing with all this inflation?
Buys lots of cheap wine

Dear Buys:
Mostly what I’ve seen are prices up a couple of bucks, so a $10 wine is now $12 and a $12 wine is $14 or 15. Having said that, there is still a lot retail discounting going on. So, if the heyday of the $10 bottle is gone, we’re not paying that much more. Now, this analysis doesn’t include the various producers who are raising prices for no reason than to raise prices. But, thanks to any possible Supreme Court decisions, I don’t want to say what I think of that.

•

Hi, Wine Curmudgeon:
Is availability getting any better these days, after the pandemic and all of that?
Trying to find your wines

Dear Trying:
I think so. But, as always, I can’t guarantee it. Just know the blog’s guidelines: A decent independent wine shop in a good-sized city should be able to get almost all of the wines I recommend on the blog.

Photo: Krakenimages via Unsplash

More Ask the WC:
• Ask the WC 37: Blog future, negative reviews, California rain
• Ask the WC 36: Restaurant wine, holiday wine, past vintages
• Ask the WC 35: Kroger merger, Fred Franzia, AVAs

Wine of the week: MAN Chenin Blanc 2021

MAN Chenin Blanc bottle
MAN Chenin Blanc 2021/$7-$12

Once more, South Africa’s MAN chenin blanc reminds us that cheap doesn’t always mean crummy

There are some wines that I drink, vintage after vintage, that don’t necessarily win awards, aren’t 90-pointed by the Winestream Media, and are mostly ignored by the wine geeks. They include this wine and this wine, as well as my beloved Tariquet, and I drink them because they offer value and quality. What other reason is there?

The MAN Chenin Blanc 2021 ($10, purchased, 13%)  is one of those wines. This vintage is not as impressive as the 2019, which won the Turner award in 2021, but it’s exactly what great $10 wine should be. That is: Worth much, much more than it costs, does justice to its varietal (or varietals), and doesn’t insult the intelligence of those of us who drink it.

This vintage of the MAN has lemon fruit and a certain stoniess associated with chenin blanc. It’s not sweet or even especially smoooth, but bone dry and speaks to South African chenin blanc. The only thing missing that was in the Turner wine is a little bit of something in the middle. and which turned a good wine into a great wine.

Chill this, drink it on its own or with roast chicken, and be glad that cheap wine can still be this well done.

Imported by Vineyard Brands

Ask the WC 37: Blog future, negative reviews, California rain

Mexican bandit
“Blog? Yes, we want the stinkin’ blog!”

This edition of Ask the WC: Will the blog continue, plus questions about negative reviews and all that rain in California

Because the customers always have questions, and the Wine Curmudgeon has answers in this irregular feature. You can Ask the Wine Curmudgeon a wine-related question by clicking here.

Hi, WC:
Are you going to keep doing the blog? I read all the stories on here about how people don’t drink wine anymore and I’m wondering if it’s worth your time to keep writing the blog.
Long-time reader

Dear Long-time:
That’s a fair question, and one I’ve thought about a lot over the past couple of years. In the end though, I always decide to keep going. Yes, it is more difficult to keep going s wine becomes less popular — who wants to write about something that fewer people are interested in? But, thanks to the Substack model, I’m making money; more last year in fact, than in the previous year and much, much more than I made in all the time the blog was free. So keep those subscriptions coming.

•

Hola, Wine Curmudgeon:
Your negative reviews are hysterical — how do you think of that stuff? And why don’t you write more of them?
Still laughing

Dear Laughing:
Thanks for the kind words. Some of the review you mention even I like, and I am pretty hard on myself. Having said that, I don’t do more for a couple of reasons. First, any publicity is good publicity, and crummy wines don’t deserve any publicity. Second, I much prefer writing about wines worth buying.

•

Dear Wine Curmudgeon:
You haven’t written anything about all of the rain in California this winter. Is that good or bad for wine?
All about the weather

Dear Weather:
It depends on who you ask. I talked to one very small grower, and he was thrilled to death. But given that so much of the rain flooded and then ran off every which way. it will be more difficult to say on a larger scale. One report said the rain helped, but there is still a long way to go.

More Ask the WC:
• Ask the WC 36: Restaurant wine, holiday wine, past vintages
• Ask the WC 35: Kroger merger, Fred Franzia, AVAs
• Ask the WC 34: Wine prices, wine and health, Ukraine

It’s a Wonderful Wine Life 2022

The WC rolls out the holiday traditions, both video and literary

What does one acquire after writing the blog for 15 holiday seasons? Holiday tradition, of course. So enjoy:

• The video is the WC’s epic holiday wine advice video, made with the legendary Michael Sansolo for the Private Label Manufacturers Association. This was supposed to be a series, but then the pandemic happened. The original post ran here. The video is age-restricted, since it’s about alcohol, but click the link to watch it on YouTube.

• The WC’s take on “It’s a Wonderful Life” — not quite as wonderful as the original, but it has its moments. And, no, my version of “White Christmas” isn’t coming any time soon.

• The first two holiday parodies — A Wine Curmudgeon Christmas Carol and ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas: The cheap wine version. Frankly, pretty classic stuff.

Holiday wine gift guide 2022

wine racks at a storeThe Wine Curmudgeon’s holiday wine gift guide 2022 — value, value, and more value

Once again this year, the WC received the same sort of news releases for holiday season wine gifts — lots of overpriced items that hardly anyone actually needs. That means you, Yeti wine cooler.  Plus, and as always, lots and lots of plus for the Coravin opener, which begs the question: How many Coravins does one person have to have?

Which doesn’t those of us much good who want quality and value, as well as a gift we will enjoy. Which brings us to the blog’s 2022 holiday wine gift guide. As always, keep the blog’s wine gift buying guidelines in mind:

• Give the gift of the blog, and save the WC from all that Substack subscription advice.  One year of the newsletter at 20 percent off, just $56. Click this link to send a gift subscription. Use the email address of the person getting the subscription where it asks for an email, add a credit card, and they’ll get the $10 Hall of Fame, the Cheap Wine of the Year, and all of the rest — plus the rants and analysis that have made the blog what it is.

• Windows on the World, 35th edition ($21): There are probably a trillion wine books, including mine (which is almost out of print). But the Zraly is almost certainly the best overall look at wine and how to make sense of it. I own a couple of editions, and it has been the textbook for most of the college wine classes I have taught. And if it seems like I recommend it regularly, that’s because it’s that good.

• The Language of Yes Syrah 2020 ($40, sample, 13.9%) is a collaboration between Randall Grahm, who is about as iconoclast as wine gets, and E&J Gallo, which isn’t. Ever. In any way. Hence, it’s an interesting and well-made wine that doesn’t taste particularly a Randall Grahm wine, and especially a syrah. Remember this? Instead, it’s less meaty, but fruitier (black fruits) and more rich. And, because it is what it is, it has received high praise from the Winestream Media. That’s something that doesn’t always happen with Grahm wines.

• Yes, wine glasses seem sort of cliched — until yours break and you need new ones And then they’re expensive and confusing.  But a company called made-in has quality glasses — four red and four white for $69.

Photo:”More Wine Racks” by Didriks is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

More holiday wine gift guides:
• Holiday wine gift guide 2021
• Holiday wine gift guide 2020
• Holiday wine gift guide 2019

The blog’s holiday, 2023 Hall of Fame, and Cheap Wine of the Year schedule

woman with wine glass
“Perfect. … now I know what to give my friends for the holidays — the WC.”

The 2023 $10 Hall of Fame and Cheap Wine of the Year are just a month away — and the blog makes a fine holiday gift

The WC is already hard at work reviewing tasting notes and deciding which wines to sip again in the quest for the 2022 Hall of Fame and Cheap Wine of the Year. As always, your suggestions are welcome.

The blog’s schedule for the rest of the year includes:

• Christmas and New Year’s wine ideas on Dec. 22 and Dec. 29.

• The always popular Do it Yourself wine resolutions on Jan. 5.

• The 2023 $10 Hall of Fame will make its 16th appearance on Jan. 13, and the 2023 Cheap Wine of the Year will post on Jan. 12. As always, email me with suggestions for either or leave them in the comments. Eligibility rules are here. Keep in mind the wine should cost less than $12 or $13, should be generally available, and can’t be a private label sold exclusively by one retailer.

And, of course, how could it be a holiday season without a WC plug for the cheap wine book and a 12-month subscription to the blog (discounted, of course)?

Photo: Matilda Wormwood via Pexels

Ask the WC 36: Restaurant wine, holiday wine, past vintages

people in barThis edition of Ask the WC: Restaurant wine prices keep going up, plus questions about holiday wine and past vintages

Because the customers always have questions, and the Wine Curmudgeon has answers in this irregular feature. You can Ask the Wine Curmudgeon a wine-related question by clicking here.

Dear Wine Curmudgeon:
I went out to dinner with some friends at a high-end steakhouse, and I couldn’t believe the prices. How about $100 for a glass of wine? What’s going on there?
Chapped off

Dear Chapped:
I guess the restaurant wine business, faced with building its business back after the pandemic, decided to do it at one fell swoop with lots of high prices. I warned them about this (and took some flak for it), but it’s not all the different from the restaurant wine model before the pandemic. The irony, as one wine marketer told me the other day, is that many restaurants are still sitting on lots of wine left from before the pandemic. Meanwhile, business still hasn’t rebounded completely, so you’d think they’d be more reasonable about prices. In which case, apparently, you’d be wrong.

•

Hi, Jeff:
Do you ever get tired writing about holiday wine? I’ve been reading your site for a while, and it seems like having to do the same stories every year would wear you out?
Just curious

Dear Curious:
You ask a question that used to drive newspaper food editors crazy in the old days (and may still do so — I haven’t talked to many in a while). How do you write what is essentially the same story every year and keep it interesting? I’m lucky that I’m just doing wine suggestions, which is far less difficult than finding a way to explain turkey roasting in a new and inventive way each holiday.

•

Hey, WC:
You mention past vintages a lot. What does that mean?
New reader

Dear New:
Past, or previous, vintages are exactly that — everything that isn’t the current vintage. So if the current vintage is 2021, then 2020, 2019, and so forth are past vintages. That’s one way to tell the health of the wine business; if you see a lot of past vintages on shelves, then there is a lot of unsold wine in warehouses and in inventory. And that’s not a good thing, since it means a lot of wine is not being sold.

Photo: Marcus Herzberg via Pexels

More Ask the WC:
• Ask the WC 35: Kroger merger, Fred Franzia, AVAs
• Ask the WC 34: Wine prices, wine and health, Ukraine
• Ask the WC 33: Wine consumption, bad wine, Earth Day