Novellum Chardonnay- yum!

OK so Novellum, what I knew as an OK mid range Chardonnay, after sitting open for 24 hours in a random ice bucket, becomes an unoaked wonderful buttery goodness! Seriously, run out and get some, its awesome. It ranges between 9-12 a bottle, it is a drink now or hold for 2-5 years, it is a nice deep golden color. Tastes of Apple Pie, a tiny bit of gasoline (not bad, I promise you!) earth, and fresh rain. really really good.

I can't believe I haven't posted in so long., I think I have tried 70 wines since I last wrote. I have a TON of writing to do!

The Do Not buy list

I'll be updating this over time, but I figured I could save some people the trouble by just listing some icky wines that I have tasted lately. These wines are available at your local grocery store.

Duplin Carolina Scuppernong
This wine is made in North Carolina so I picked up a bottle just to be somewhat "Local"- and I'd never heard of Scuppernong. Its a local muscat grape which is known more for dessert wine. Well, to be honest I couldn't finish the bottle, even with loads of ice in it. It tasted like drinking liquefied grape jelly. Or thinned out honey--- it didn't taste like wine, more like an alcoholic syrup.

Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough, New Zealand
I've really enjoyed Sauvignon Blanc lately thanks to my father and mother, who started getting to know it when they moved to South Carolina. I've been drinking a lot more white wine since it's SO hot! This wine though, which I picked up at the grocery store for $6, really tasted like bubbly lighter fluid. I got through the bottle because I was thirsty and I was having some cheese and crackers to tone it down, but it literally burned my tongue. Sorry!

Now working in the wine industry!~

Can I just say how incredibly nice it is to have a job doing something that you actually love! I recently was hired at a small-ish wine shop that always has tons and tons of events and tastings going on and it is incredibly fun! I get to use my (limited but growing) wine knowledge, my love of Belgian beers and even some French! There is nothing like getting paid to drink/taste on the clock!

Long term I would like to work as a distributor/account rep type person on commission. For now, I've got my foot in the door and I can "study" for the next couple of years. I should FINALLY get this blog fully up and running since now I will have no excuse. The last night I worked I tasted 4 wines and I haven't posted about them yet. Back to work!

Book Review: The Saucy Sisters' guide to Wine

I purchased this book by Barbara Nowak and Beverly Wichman a couple of years ago to read on vacation but never got the chance to do so. I finally sat down last week and got through it in less than a weekend.

The book is well organized and is an easy read. It starts with an introduction to wine, gets into some varietals, accessories, champagne, entertaining, ordering wine in a restaurant and the health benefits of wine.

If you are looking for in depth information, you won't find it here. If you are looking for a basic book that gives an overall perspective, including wine pairings for popcorn and Goldfish, then by all means pick up this book! You'll be laughing and smiling at the stories- especially if you are a single woman.

The only concern I had about the books credibility is their unending focus on Champagne for everything. I guess if you are in love with the tiny bubbles it won't bother you, but I found it a bit annoying and it took away from some of the more interesting parts of the book.

The biggest rave I have is that it makes a good attempt to explain the French labeling systems for their wine (which is mind-boggling confusing) and also offers a good pronunciation guide for many wines, including a good crack at Gewurztraminer.

Overall, I'd give this book a solid 3.5 stars out of 5. If you can pick it up for under $12 I'd say you'll get your money's worth!

Georges DuBoeuf does it again! 2004 Beaujolais and other ramblings

So- I have a love/hate relationship with GD (henceforth my nickname for Georges DuBoeuf) wines. They tend to taste great and are relatively inexpensive- but EVERYONE knows about it, so why should I bother posting?

Well, I hated the 2003 release. BUT I saw the 2004 on sale for $5.49 a bottle and I had to give it a try.

And I tried it.....

and then......

went back and bought 8 more bottles!

You see, we have a wine refrigerator, courtesy of my father, who loves wine as much, no more, than I do and so for Christmas one year he gave us one that holds over 30 bottles. For a newly married couple in a small apartment on a small income, it was a luxury.

You see, in college, my "Wine Cellar" was a cardboard box that I kept hidden on a top shelf of the pantry in my apartment so that my roommates wouldn't stumble in home drunk and decide that they needed one last drink before passing out. It also kept *me* from the wine. I still retain one bottle from those days, a 1998 chateauneuf.

So I digress. Anyway, I don't post often, because when I see something I like , I buy a case or 2 of it and throw them in my fancy fridge and Kevin and I drink it down slowly (or not so) slowly. After my last Fusee posting I think I ended up buying 4 or 5 cases. Couple of red, couple of white. Then once the fridge gets kind of sad and empty again, I go on a buying binge of at least a case.

The 8 or so bottles of GD Beaujolais were in my last wine run, along with a 1996 Crimean Port- interesting, some Penfold's, a French organic wine that I brought to a party, but I drank too much beer so I never got to taste or comment on it, some other random port, probably Taylor Fladgate Tawny, some Ravenswood, and God only knows what else....

Having 3 kids 3 and under will:
1. Seriously limit your ability to blog, or read other people's blogs.
2. Severely increase your desire to drink
3. Cause you to forget what it is you had to drink recently that was so good.

So-
why go get some GD 2004 Beaujolais Villages?
It is light, fruity and goes with almost anything. I have had it at my wine fridge temperature- it I remember it is at 58, at room temperature and chilled, and it has tasted great... And it is a great wine to give to someone who doesn't typically like red wine, as it is light bodied and simple.

The going price seems to be $7.99, but I have purchased all of mine on sale at $5.49 in New York.

A long absence, with good reason

Well, I haven't blogged, in, um, well, let's see- months! How embarassing.

I must attribute my absence to 2 main reasons:

1. A major major home renovation- including a new home for our wine cabinet!
2. Spending all free cash flow on the house and not on wine. Cheap beer and Fusee have been our only major consumptions over the past few months.

I'll attempt to begin posting more often again. This also means that I must drink more, which is never a problem in my book!

Fusee Syrah 2003

I've bought this wine several times before and for $6, it is a great everyday wine. Now, on sale for $3.99 as it was yesterday, it is case worthy! So I picked up another dozen bottles. Fusee goes down so smoothly. It has hints of raspberries, blackberries, and dark chocolate. The taste is not overpowering. We paired it with steak but it could easily go with Mexican food as well.

I tihnk some people tend to stay away from buyer-blenders and that is too bad. Don Sebastiani and Sons make a great wine without going through the trouble of growing their own grapes. As Negociants they can pick up oddball lots of less-popular grapes and mix up some very interesting blends.

So far I have had the Syrah and the Chardonnay. If you have expensive taste on a minuscule budget go ahead and pick up a bottle. Don't worry about the screwcap either! That just means you can drink it anywhere!