Winos Anonymous

I feel as if I have been to Mecca, fellow winos. You see, ever since I was a little wino I’ve always dreamed of tasting in Sonoma and Napa Valley and though it was a very short trip, it exceeded my expectations.

Last week while visiting Beau’s family in Marin, we took a day trip up to Sonoma with my friend Meg from Carr Winery and her beau, Scot. Our first stop was a sparkling house- Gloria Ferrer. The great thing about Gloria Ferrer (aside from their yummy bubbly) is that (more…)

Last Sunday my dear friend and fellow wino, Meghan, and I took a day trip up to Santa Barbara and Los Olivos to do a little wine tasting action. First we (more…)

Well hey there, winos! Hope you’re having a great weekend. Just got back from a much-needed date night with Beau at Akasha Restaurant in Culver City (great wine list BTW) and I wanted to share with you a yummy wine I tried: The 2007 Summerland “Trio” Rhone Blend (49% Syrah, 21% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre.) It was $15/glass (bit of a splurge) and can be found between $33-$44/bottle (big splurge) but it would make a wonderful wine for a special occasion or as a gift for a lover of Rhone varietals. It’s complex, elegant, and medium bodied with a lovely long finish and notes of red fruit, cedar, and pepper.

My dear winos, Mama Wino fell ill this weekend and as such I was unable to have the lavish weekend of tastings I had planned (I even had to cancel my day trip to Santa Barbara- big sad face.) I did, however, rally to go to ONE tasting, a sparkling wine tasting at Elvino. Though I was quite the hurtin’ puppy… I dragged myself there so I wouldn’t let you or my “Champagne Whore” of a mother down (that’s her own self-appointed title, by the way- I was determined to pick out a nice bottle for her for Christmas.) There were three lovely sparkling wines (can’t call them Champagne as they are not made in the Champagne region, as you may or may not know…) You will see the word “Cremant” used in this post, and it simply means a wine made in the same painstaking, strict manner as Champagne (but again… because they aren’t produced in the region of Champagne, they can’t be called Champagne.)

First up was the Huber & Bleger Cremant d’Alsace “Brut” Rose NV from Alsace, France. It had a lovely mineral quality about it with notes of rose petals- just a really, really lovely bottle of Sparkling wine. (This is the wine I chose for my mother… I’ll have you know. So yes, I deemed it lovely enough to please the “Champagne Whore.”) It’s available starting at $21/bottle, so it won’t break the bank if there’s a special Champagne Whore in your life you’d like to give this to.

Next up was (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…)

Happy Monday, winos!

Yesterday I went on the most wonderful little day trip to Santa Barbara with wino Katie and her hubby Drew. We stopped by Carr Winery, which is conveniently located in downtown Santa Barbara.

Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?

The wine tasting area becomes a wine bar with live music Thurs, Fri, and Sat from 5pm-12am. Pretty darn hip.

We arrived at 11:30am and the drinking began shortly after that (hey, it was 5 o’clock somewhere…) Their wine tastings happen daily from (more…)

Hey winos!

Sorry it’s been a few days since my last post! One of our Austin winos, Katie, surprised me and is in town with her husband… as such I’ve been entertaining! Don’t worry, though- I plan on making up for lost blogging time. I just got back from a Syrah tasting at my new favorite wine shop, Elvino Wines on Abbot Kinney in Venice. LA-area winos, I would definitely encourage you to make it out to Venice to check out this super happening, super knowledgable store, particularly during one of their tastings. Tastings start at 5pm on Fridays and 1pm on Saturday and Sundays, during which time you can try three featured wines for $12. Often times the wines they feature are le expensive, so this is a great opportunity to try amazing wine without having to fork over the cost of a week’s worth of groceries. This particular tasting featured three Syrahs: one from Washington state, one from France, and one from California. When I first started drinking wine, I used to not be a huge fan of Syrah… it’s amazing how my tastes have changed over the years.

The first Syrah was a 2006 Saint Laurent from Washington:

The nose had plenty of black pepper, blackcurrant, and black raspberry, which all carried over into the palate, as well as a little slate. It opens up floral and as Bart (the owner of Elvino) puts it, “It’s a feminine approach to Syrah.” Elvino sold this for $21, though you can find it for $19.

Next up was the 2007 JL Chave Selection Crozes-Hermitage “Silene” from the Northern Rhone region in France:

This Syrah had a lot more earth than its Washington counterpart, which I liked. The nose had  little bit of that earthy funk, a bit more red fruit (black cherry, black raspberry), and a little pepper, which all carried over to the palate (especially the pepper) along with a long, dry finish. Elvino sells this wine for $28, though you might be able to find it at around $25 (yes, it’s a bit of a splurge for most of us, but if Syrah is your thing, this wine is worth purchasing for a special occasion.)

Finally I tried the 2007 Samsara Syrah from Santa Barbara:

I found this wine to be fresh, fruit-forward, with a little bit of earthy funk. It didn’t seem to have as much pepper as the other two Syrahs, though I liked that it was rounder, more full-bodied, and softer, with hints of chocolate. It got 93 points from Robert Parker and I found it for $29.99 at K&L. Again, I know these wines are more expensive than I’ve been featuring, but that’s the beauty of going to wine tastings: if you’re unwilling or unable to fork over the money for an entire bottle, you get an opportunity to try some amazing, high-quality wines without breaking the bank!

Tomorrow, Katie and I are driving up to Santa Barbara to do “research” aka wine tasting aka day drinking galore! Can’t wait to tell you all about our findings! Enjoy the rest of your weekend, winos!