Winos Anonymous

Back when I blogged (and raved) about the Right Hand Man Syrah, I received the following tweet from Peter Hunken of Black Sheep Finds: “@winosanonymous Try Hocus Pocus Syrah next time you are looking for $20 wines.”

Well, good sir, I finally did… and it was delightful (and so is your story.)

I had heard actually heard about Hocus Pocus from a friend, who kept talking up the former female sommelier at AOC Wine Bistro (Amy Christine, the other half of Black Sheep Finds- Peter is her hubs. You can read a nice little interview about their story and (more…)

My long lost winos! So much to update you on- I am now a writer for Budget Bacchus in addition to this blog (super exciting) and since getting sick 7 times since Christmas I have to get a tonsillectomy in Mid-May (not exciting.) That means I’ll be out for the count pretty much the entire month of may, so I’ve got a lot of drinking to do this month to make up for it. Let’s start with this DELISH 2005 Semler Syrah from Malibu Family Wines (yay for local wines!) Don’t be afraid of the $24 price tag on their site- I bought it at Ralph’s last night for $16.99, umkay? It’s a beautiful, juicy, mouth-filling wine with notes of black cherry and raspberry, smoke, pepper, and fig. The mouth-feel was lush and elegant- sipped beautifully on its own but would pair nicely with short ribs, steak, or even a little BBQ action (tis the season, right?) Enjoy, winos!

Photo courtesy of Three Saints Vineyards

Generally, I think that Pinot Noirs are often overrated and overpriced. Don’t get me wrong- I LOVE me some Pinot Noir, but ever since “Sideways” came out that wine has been exploited like whoa. Usually I’d rather buy a lesser-known varietal at a better price point- $15 bucks has bought me an AMAZING Monastrell, for example, but a mediocre Pinot Noir (of course I’m talking in generalities here… there are always exceptions.) For me to freak out about a Pinot Noir it’s GOT to be worth the price… and this one (more…)

Earlier this week I was back at the Whole Foods Venice wine tasting bar for the second time in 3 days, this time to take advantage of their Monday night special: 1/2 off all Enomatic pours. It’s a great deal, especially since you can eat whatever you purchase from the store while you sip on your wine and most pours are $3.99 or under to begin with.

And now I’m going to level with you: I tried A LOT of them. Rather than painstakingly go through each one, I’m going to talk about the wines that I was a huge fan of and leave out the “meh” wines… I’m also going to leave out a wine I tried that- no joke- tasted like a rubber tire.

First wine worth mentioning was a much better Carmenere than the one I tried a couple of weeks ago, though still not drink-the-whole-bottle-in-one-sitting good. It was the 2007 Terra Noble Carmenere, available for $1.99/pour and $15/bottle. It had notes of black cherry, tobacco, leather, and a nice peppery spice. It’s pretty straight forward and pretty good.

Next wine worth mentioning was (more…)

I just got back from a wonderful $12 tasting at Elvino, which has become a weekend tradition for me. Today was “A Taste of Healdsburg,” featuring 3 wines from Sonoma.

The first wine was the 2008 Longboard Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc:

It’s bright and crisp, with notes of melon, peach, and citrus with a nice minerality and acidity. Claire, who led my tasting today, described the wine as a cross between a Sancerre and a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. It doesn’t have quite the punch as my beloved New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, but I liked it a lot more than most California Sauvignon Blancs I’ve tried, which tend to be too “fruity” for my taste. The coolest part about this vineyard is the attitude of the wine-maker, Oded, who says, “Relax, it’s only frickin’ wine…enjoy it with food you like and trust nothing but your own palate.” Words to live by, folks. $18.99 at Elvino… can be found for $17. It’s a solid wine.

Next up was (more…)

Friday marked the first time I made it out to First Friday on Abbot Kinney in Venice. As its name suggests, First Friday happens the first Friday of every month  and all stores and galleries on the street stay open until 10pm and serve wine and treats. I was pumped to finally take part and get my drink on… but lo and behold it was a mob scene. This shouldn’t have been a surprise to me, but I was hungry, cranky, and very much in need of a nice glass of wine… and though I am a New Yorker, crowds stress me out- especially when they come between me and food or booze. I’m sure if I had some food in my system I would have had a blast, but that was not the case… so after bopping around a few places, Beau and I bailed and headed over to Whole Foods to grab a wine I’d tried once before and LOVED: the Juan Gil 2007 Jumilla Monastrell:

Monastrell is the Spanish version of Mourvedre, which is a principle blending grape in Rhone blends (and you know I LOOOOOOOVE Rhone blends.) Until trying this wine (more…)