WineLife365

Archive for November, 2009

From: Adelaide Hills, Australia

Price: $40 marked down to $19.99 “Last Call”

Most so-called wine experts will tell you that nearly 95% of the wines made nowadays are meant to be consumed within one to three years of their labels’ “born-on-date”, or vintage.  Unfortunately for wine collectors, that doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for options (or error!) when making their selections.  Otherwise, a mouthful of dissatisfaction will be swallowed after they have waited patiently for greatness to occur.

I recently stumbled across the 2004 Longview Vineyard Black Crow Nebbiolo at one of my familiar stomping grounds.  This wine originally retailed for around $40-$45 back in its hey day.   However, the last remaining bottles that sat on the shelf collecting dust over the last few years were just marked “Last Call” and slashed down to $19.99 to make room for new product.  I decided to pick up a bottle to see if this baby still had some mojo left in its tank, or if I would find out that it was marked down because the sun had set on this Aussie red.

After sitting on this wine for about two months, I finally popped the cork.  What this wine unveiled completely caught me by surprise.  To start, this red wine is not your usual Aussie specimen (i.e., Shiraz/Syrah, whatever you like to call it).  This wine is made with 100% Nebbiolo grapes.  Nebbiolo grapes have been grown and used for centuries to produce fine wines in Northern Italy, and recently many Australian growers have started working with this noble grape because of its drought resistant capabilities.  To this point, Australia’s drought problems have been well publicized in the news over the past years; and as a result, Shiraz plantings have not faired well at all.  However, Nebbiolo has proven to be much more tolerant to the heat and lack of water and has adapted very well to its new surroundings.

The back label of this particular wine offers would be buyers this cellar note:

“No other red wine rewards cellaring than a great Nebbiolo, the high tannin and acid of this wine ensures it will develop more complex qualities with careful cellaring of 5-10 years”.

After tasting this wine over a 4 night span, I’d say that the peeps at Longview Vineyard certainly know their wine.  This wine is still so very young.  On the first night, I could barely drink this brawny beast.  By night two, it had calmed down a bit, but it was still ornery.  By the third night, maraschino cherries, dry herbs, and black pepper were beginning to show through.  And finally on night 4, it had surrendered and was approachable.

The 2004 Longview Vineyard Black Crow Nebbiolo was reminiscent of a 25 year old tawny port wine to me.  It bursts with big fruit, spices, and nut flavors, and really socks you with the cedar.  The alcohol content is listed at 14.7%.  I mention this, because it tasted extremely hot on my palate, just like an aged port wine.  Additionally, this wine received 18 months in 2-3 year old French barriques prior to being bottled.

If you’re looking for a bruiser of a red wine that you can “forget about” for say 5-7 years at least, this $20 gem is a good bet for all you cellar rats!      

Love to cook?  Here’s an interesting and interactive cooking event that is going on now at Caesars in Atlantic City, NJ:

“Taste of Emeril’s” Audience Participation Cooking Challenge

Caesars Atlantic City is giving everyone the opportunity to step into Emeril Lagasse’s Kitchen.  “Taste of Emeril’s” is a fast-paced, intriguing, and often hilarious food competition and cooking demonstration, where  guests have an opportunity to win great prizes including chances to experience the finest restaurants at Caesars Atlantic City and The Pier Shops.   This culinary action, hosted by Food Network’s Marc Summers of ”Unwrapped”, pits audience members against one another, as they compete for top spots as assistant chefs. Emeril will welcome guests and assist competitors via on-screen video.

“Taste of Emeril’s” debuted at Caesars Circus Maximus Theatre on October 21^st, and will  be running to November 12th.  Just an FYI - Members of the audience will need to pay close attention because you never know… anyone may be called to the stage to see how his or her culinary skills measure up.

You can check it out on Sunday, Tuesday, or Wednesday at 2 p.m. and Thursdays at 7 p.m. There will be additional shows on Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7 at 7 p.m. Tickets for “Taste of Emeril’s Cooking Challenge” are on sale now for $35.  Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster by calling 800-736-1420 or online at TicketMaster.

From: South Africa

Price: $8.79

Full Disclosure:  I openly admit that I am personally not a big fan of most red wines from South Africa, especially Pinotage.  Why my beef with South African red wines you ask?  Because most that I’ve tasted over the years are just way too smoky for my liking.  So many that I’ve tried have made me feel as if I was smoking the wine rather than drinking them.  And since I refrain from smoking cigarettes and other peace pipe offerings, I’d also prefer not consuming any nicotine in my liquid libation just the same.

But on this occasion, I had a pre-op plan before heading down that all too familiar smoky mountain, South African road.  To be on the safe side, before opening up the 16 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon, I slapped on a nicotine patch just in case this South African red was ready to deal me a generous amount of smoky tobacco flavors that would bring back memories of my grandfather’s beloved Red Man chewing tobacco and one little boy eager to try a pinch, and afterwards turning green inside and out.

So with my patch in place, I was ready to give this red wine a worry-free whirl.

Thank goodness for the pre-plan, because the 2006 16 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon screamed smoky!  I was greeted with a decent punch of sweet cherry tobacco, cedar, and dark fruit that left me feeling a little green like my childhood experience.  Needless to say, the 2006 16 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon was not for me.  But if you don’t personally mind a shot of nicotine in your gut, I mean glass, then this red wine might be palatable to your taste buds.

I award the 2006 16 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon 2 stars out of 4.  I realize now that the “smoky factor” is a common and “natural” trait found in most South African red wines – especially Pinotage.  Unfortunately, that cherry tobacco cigar box flavor just doesn’t sit right with me.

WineLife365 Rating: 2-Star

Last week, Amazon.com made the decision to close up shop on its much anticipated online wine program even before its unveiling.  After preparing for more than two years for its inaugural launch, both the Wall Street Journal and Winebusiness.com have each reported that all of the affiliate winery partners that were expected to participate in the company’s pilot program each received an e-mail communication from Amazon stating that it has decided “not to resume shipping”.

The correspondence further stated:

“As you know, we [Amazon.com] were excited to work with you to build the Amazon Wine business…For that reason, this was a very tough choice for us…Many of you took the time and leap of faith to really support us.”

According to both articles, the logistics of launching the company’s wine pilot program turned out to be a regulatory nightmare that ultimately proved too difficult for the online retailing giant to overcome. 

In addition, The Wall Street Journal’s report further indicated that the end of the program may have been related to financial troubles that plagued its partner New Vine Logistics, which was to be in charge of handling all of the shipping arrangements for Amazon. Over this past summer, New Vine Logistics suspended operations amid financial concerns, but then later received a new investment from Inertia Beverage Group.

In the end, this was an unfortunate premature closure to a market segment that Amazon.com was obviously very excited about tapping into.  But it was also a disappointing blow dealt to many wine consumers who are still not able to legally choose how they wish to purchase wine, just like any other consumer product that can be purchased over the internet. To this point, until there is a revision made to Section 2 of the 21^st Amendment, many wine consumers will have to continue to buy their wine the old fashioned way!