I was given the opportunity to sample the newly released 2007 Concannon “Conservancy” Petite Sirah, and by the third sip of this Petite Sirah I thought that my mind was made up.  I was leaning more in the direction of “Nope…”  My reasoning was pretty simple – it didn’t Wow my taste buds.  It seemed a bit soft, unconvincing, and way too short on the finish.  I personally thought that this “stand alone” juice was better suited in a blended wine and not bold enough to stand on its own two feet.  So I stuck the cork back in it and moved onto another wine that evening.

Two nights went by and as I was getting ready to make dinner, I spotted the bottle of Concannon Petite Sirah on my kitchen counter.  As I glanced at the label, I noticed that it read: 

“Pairs as well with barbequed chicken as your favorite lamb recipe.” 

MMM…lamb!  Ok, so I didn’t have any lamb in the house, but I did have chicken and decided to fire up the grill.  While grilling up dinner, I thought…maybe this wine just needs some food to go with it.

Guess what?  Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

On this night, the 2007 Concannon “Conservancy” Petite Sirah was expressing big black cherry flavors and nice spice that I didn’t pick up on night #1.  Yup…the folks at Concannon know their Petite Sirah.   I only wished that I’d taken notice of this nice little tip on the first night.  The third night, along with a little extra breathing time, and some barbecue chicken proved to me that it was much better than “just ok.”  I just needed to follow the directions provided on the back label!

3 Stars out of 4.
(SRP $15 US)

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Life in the box is emerging and growing for lots of reasons:

• “The box” system reduces packaging waste by 92% and carbon emissions by 55%.
• By eliminating glass bottles, corks and closures – it reduces packaging and shipping costs.  In turn, this savings can then be passed along to customers.
• Consumers can receive the equivalent of four bottles of wine for the price of three in a nifty little 3L wine cask (i.e. bag–in-box).
• This packaging also allows your vino to stay fresh for up 6 weeks after opening.

Sounds great, right?  There’s only one little problem standing in the way of progress:  Too many wine drinkers are still of the mindset that wine that comes in a box is pure plonk!

I have to admit, I have been on the fence with my thoughts on box wine.  My box wine tasting experiences have been rather hit or miss.  While doing my best to keep an open mind, I recently had the opportunity to sample the 2008 Monthaven Winery Chardonnay from California’s Monterey County Central Coast.  Admittedly, I’m not the biggest fan of California Chardonnay.  Uh oh – do you see where this might be going?  However, to my pleasure and surprise, Monthaven Winery winemaker, Jeff Yamamoto did a fabulous job of allowing the natural tropical fruit flavors of this wine to shine through, while keeping that all too familiar Big California Oak trademark in check, to make a very pleasing and agreeable everyday wine.

This particular Chardonnay and all of the wines in this collection, come in a convenient 3 liter box system that’s called the Octavin Home Wine Bar.  This wine bar stores (20) five-ounce glasses of wine and keeps it fresh for up to six weeks after opening.   The 2008 Monthaven Winery Chardonnay is being distributed nationally with a SRP of $23.99. 

It’s a no-brainer folks – for what works out to be about 6 bucks a bottle, there’s plenty to like here.  If you’re an everyday white wine drinker that prefers a Chardonnay with a little less oak, often found in comparable or pricier offerings, then this is the box for you!

3 Stars out of 4. 

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After two lackluster experiences last year with Casarsa Pinot Grigio/Blanc Blend and Killer Juice Cabernet Sauvignon, I was asking myself that very question.  It sure seemed to me the stigma that box wines are cheap and of lesser quality than traditional bottled wine was holding as true today as it has in the past.

Believe you me – I wanna show some love for the box for lots of reasons:

1.) It’s supposed to stay fresh for up to 4 weeks after opening.

2.) The cool little tap is pretty nifty and very convenient.

3.) The eco-friendly component:  It’s recyclable, takes far less energy to produce and transport, reducing the carbon footprint by 50% versus glass bottles.

But in the end, if this bag and cardboard alternative to bottled wine doesn’t taste as good, does it really matter?

I was curious to take another stab at this box wine thing after a wine buddy of mine, who is accustomed to spending $20 per 750ml, became a loyal imbiber of this box.  I was even more curious after learning that this box wine was a two-time blind tasting finalist in, “The Wine Trials 2010“.  Ok then – Bring on the Black Box!

The Verdict:  The 2008 Black Box Cabernet Sauvignon is by far the best tasting box wine that I’ve ever tried.  For what works out to be about $5 per 750ml of juice, you’re getting a fairly decent dose of red berry and peppery flavors that’ll make you think that you’re drinking a more expensive bottled California Cab.  It’s a good, all-purpose, inexpensive red that most wine drinkers will enjoy – especially those that still think that good wine and cardboard box are not to be mentioned together in the same sentence.  Go out and try it for yourself – you just might get turned onto a box wine like I did!

Finally, I must mention that this box was a generous sample given to me by the Holden Family the day before my family and I were trapped in our house for 2 days after a blizzard dumped two feet of snow.  My sanity remaining in check during this time was due in large part to this glorious box of wine.  Holdens – Many thanks for your contribution towards our survival of the Blizzard of 2010!

WineLife365 Rating: 3-Stars

From: California
Price: $19.99 (Box = 4 750ml bottles!)

]]> http://www.winelife365.com/black-box-cabernet-sauvignon/feed/ 10 http://www.winelife365.com/wine-garage-red-wine-blend-b1/ http://www.winelife365.com/wine-garage-red-wine-blend-b1/#comments Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:43:19 +0000 Mark http://www.winelife365.com/?p=5978 This one’s for you, Casey!

A while ago, a dear friend of mine came walking through our front door carrying a big jug of wine in her hand, called Wine Garage.  I thought to myself, “Holy crap, she’s either homeless and never told us, or she’s smoked way too much Christmas Weed?!”  I wanted to say, “CHILD PLEASE!  Have you done lost your wine-soaked mind comin’ up in here with that jug-o-wine?!” 

After getting my wine snooty-side under control, I made my way closer to the jug to get a good look at its rather simple and generic looking label – it read, “Wine Garage Red Wine Blend B1″.  I’ve seen and tried a lot of jug wines, but this jug was completely foreign to me.  Besides that, what did the “Red Wine Blend B1” actually mean?

After doing a little Google search on Wine Garage, here’s what I discovered about this jug wine that sat squarely in the middle of our dinner table just waiting to be opened:

The Wine Garage store is actually housed in a former gas station/tire shop just south of Calistoga, California’s main street. The Wine Garage has approximately 200 different wines available for purchase.  They seek out and personally visit small wineries throughout the Napa Valley and other wine regions in California such as Lodi, Paso Robles, Amador and Mendocino looking for what they feel are hidden gems.  Another interesting snippet, is that they actually “pump” the wines that go into their half-gallon glass jugs with specially designed gas station nozzles.

The Wine Garage offers up two different jug blends to choose from:
1. The “B1”, (the one we tried) is a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet, Carmenere, Merlot and Petite Verdot.

2. The other jug is a Rhone-style blend consisting of Syrah, Zinfandel, Grenache, Mourvedre and Petite Syrah.

I’m gonna be completely honest and straight to the point about the “B1” red blend:  There were four of us that night that drank this jug to its last glorious drop, and out of the four only one said, “it’s ok”, while the rest of us thought it was hands down the best damn jug wine that we ever had the pleasure of sucking down.

Grab a jug of Wine Garage, round up a few close friends, and reminisce about the good old blotto days when the jug of choice was Riunite Lambrusco!  In the immortal words of Chad Ocho Cinco, “Just cause you got money, don’t mean you gotta spend it!”

WineLife365 Rating: 3-Stars

From: California
Price: $29.99 (1/2 gallon!)

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Price:  $9.99

Bare-knuckle boxing is recognized as the first form of boxing, and it involved two competitors fighting one another without the use of boxing gloves or any other padding on their hands.  During this era in boxing, John Lawrence Sullivan, who was nicknamed the “Boston Strong Boy”, was considered by most historians and boxing experts as the first ever US Heavyweight Champion of “gloved” boxing and also as the last heavyweight champion of “bare-knuckle” boxing.

Seeing this John Sullivan inspired label enticed me to go ahead and purchase it to taste what this “Heavyweight Red” was made of.  After only a few seconds into the first round with this supposed heavyweight, that is comprised of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Syrah and 10%, I quickly found out that this heavyweight had nothing more than a “glass chin”, in boxing speak.

Light, fruity, weak and hollow on its follow through makes this red blend a more formidable match in the Lightweight Division.  Unfortunately, in the 750ml and under $10 category this “Heavyweight Red” just doesn’t compete!

I award the “Heavyweight Red” 1 Star out of 4.  There’s a lot more blood, sweat and tears that need to go inside this bottle in order for it to live up to the legendary heavyweight status of its label .  

WineLife365 Rating: 1-Star 

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