If you haven't found a favorite wine shop (or liquor store) here are a couple tips to help you find a good place to do your wine shopping.
* Knowledgeable staff (this is especially important if you're just starting out)
* Good wine selection (not necessarily LARGE). A nice selection of red and white varietals, imports and domestics from California, Oregon, Washington) Also, good price variety.
* Current vintages (whites within past 2 years, reds past 3 years)
Keep in mind you don't have to find "your shop" on the first visit. You're not only shopping for wine, but a wine shop as well. Shop around, check-out new places even if they're not the most convenient. You can always have your favorite, plus your go-to shop that's closest to home or most convenient.
Happy shopping!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Wine Library TV
Hey sports fans! I'd like to introduce you to one of my all time favorite wine people on the web (who happens to be a BIG NY JETS fan)! Meet Gary Vaynerchuk (Vay-ner-chuk)as he introduces himself at the beginning of each video segment - The Thunder Show - on his website Wine Library TV
An internet wine marketing pioneer with a great talent for presenting wine in a fun, informative approach, Gary makes wine less intimidating for people. Apparently, I'm not the only one to have taken notice of this enthusiastic, passionate, entertaining wine guy. Through the power of social media on the Internet, he's drawing 850,000 followers on Twitter, 31,000 fans on Facebook and 90,000 daily viewers to his wine tasting video blog. Gary was also awarded a 2009 Wine Star Award from Wine Enthusiast magazine as Innovator of The Year.
If you're a casual wine drinker or total wine geek, there's plenty of interesting topics and wines in 800+ video sessions. If nothing else, when was the last time you saw a guy spit wine into a New York Jets bucket?
An internet wine marketing pioneer with a great talent for presenting wine in a fun, informative approach, Gary makes wine less intimidating for people. Apparently, I'm not the only one to have taken notice of this enthusiastic, passionate, entertaining wine guy. Through the power of social media on the Internet, he's drawing 850,000 followers on Twitter, 31,000 fans on Facebook and 90,000 daily viewers to his wine tasting video blog. Gary was also awarded a 2009 Wine Star Award from Wine Enthusiast magazine as Innovator of The Year.
If you're a casual wine drinker or total wine geek, there's plenty of interesting topics and wines in 800+ video sessions. If nothing else, when was the last time you saw a guy spit wine into a New York Jets bucket?
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Drinking Wine in 2010 - Looking Forward
There are so many nice, interesting wines available out there that I suggest that for 2010 wine drinkers resolve to try new wines. In my previous post there's some basics but also a few affordable off-beat options (eg, white Bordeaux, red blends, Cava).
Here's a few other interesting suggestions to expand your palate in 2010:
Reds
Bonarda - often from Argentina
Cotes-du-Rhone - French Syrah, Grenache blends
Spanish Tempranillo, Garnacha, Syrah (or blends)
Bargain Italians
Weird and wild varietals like Tannat - Don Rodolfo from Argentina has one
Whites
Torrontes - Argentina
Dry Riesling
Value French blends that use varietals like Picpoul, Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne
Gruner Veltliner - Austria
Gewurtztraminer - Alsace, California
In addition to these suggested wines, here's a few shopping suggestions:
Pick-up something new each time you shop-in addition to your usual "house wine", find something in your price range you've never had before.
Consult the staff at your liquor store or wine shop. If they run out of suggestions, start going somewhere else.
Cheers to 2010!
Here's a few other interesting suggestions to expand your palate in 2010:
Reds
Bonarda - often from Argentina
Cotes-du-Rhone - French Syrah, Grenache blends
Spanish Tempranillo, Garnacha, Syrah (or blends)
Bargain Italians
Weird and wild varietals like Tannat - Don Rodolfo from Argentina has one
Whites
Torrontes - Argentina
Dry Riesling
Value French blends that use varietals like Picpoul, Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne
Gruner Veltliner - Austria
Gewurtztraminer - Alsace, California
In addition to these suggested wines, here's a few shopping suggestions:
Pick-up something new each time you shop-in addition to your usual "house wine", find something in your price range you've never had before.
Consult the staff at your liquor store or wine shop. If they run out of suggestions, start going somewhere else.
Cheers to 2010!
Holiday Wines - A Look Back
We survived the Holidays and I stayed true to my blog profile by enjoying lots of food and wine (and beer) with friends and family. Without going into boring little details about certain wines, I'd like to list the variety of wines that we shared (keep in mind, over the past 2 weeks). They were all nice and it was great to enjoy such a wide variety - a good example of how easy it can be to find and drink new and different wines!
Reds
2 different Merlots, 2 different Cabs, 3 different Pinot Noirs, Montepulciano D'Abruzzo, 3 different red blends, Syrah/Petite Sirah blend - "Relentless" from Shafer (yum!), Brunello di Montalcino, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, 2 different Malbecs
Whites
3 different Chardonnays, Sauvignon Blanc, White Bordeaux
Bubbles
Spanish Cava, Asti Spumante, French Sparkling from Savoie region - Trocodero Brut, prosecco
Wow, that's a lot of different wines - but did I mention the friends and family? We certainly didn't get bored with the same old wines - and my wine tip of the day is that in 2010 my wine loving friends and family continue this trend.
Reds
2 different Merlots, 2 different Cabs, 3 different Pinot Noirs, Montepulciano D'Abruzzo, 3 different red blends, Syrah/Petite Sirah blend - "Relentless" from Shafer (yum!), Brunello di Montalcino, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, 2 different Malbecs
Whites
3 different Chardonnays, Sauvignon Blanc, White Bordeaux
Bubbles
Spanish Cava, Asti Spumante, French Sparkling from Savoie region - Trocodero Brut, prosecco
Wow, that's a lot of different wines - but did I mention the friends and family? We certainly didn't get bored with the same old wines - and my wine tip of the day is that in 2010 my wine loving friends and family continue this trend.
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