Pacific Rim For Only $2.99
Cost Plus World Market, one of our favorite places to go for good wines at great prices, has the 2008 Pacific Rim Sweet Riesling and the 2007 Pacific Rim Dry Riesling for $7.99 per bottle.
A rebate form attached to the bottle offers a $10 rebate when you buy two bottles, so if you fill it out properly you're only paying $2.99 plus tax for each.
Pay attention to the terms and dates of the rebate. For this particular offer, you'll need to fill out the rebate form, write the UPC numbers from the bottles on the original receipt, and include the receipt.
Pacific Rim is a winery owned by Randall Grahm. Randall's other winery is, of course, Bonny Doon.
Happy Savings!
Abadia Retuerta at Costco
I'm slowly working on an article about my visit to three wineries in the Ribera del Duero. Therefore, it was a nice surprise to see a bottle from one of the wineries I visited at my local Costco.
The wine is the 2006 Abadia Retuerta Seleccion Especial. It's priced at $15.99 at the Goleta (near Santa Barbara) Costco. I'm guessing they probably have it at all the Costcos that sell wine, or at least all the California Costcos but I don't know for sure.
Readers of this blog will remember Abadia Retuerta's sales manager, Alvaro, who was kind enough to share some of his favorite wines from the Wine Future show floor.
Champagne Specials
Speaking of great holiday buys, the only thing better than a bottle of champagne is a bottle of champagne and two free flutes.
Earlier this year Cost Plus World Market had Perrier Jouet with two glasses for $36.99. I went back a few days ago and it was gone. But today I saw it as Costco for $29.99. Rejoice!
On The Wine Future Floor
I'm having a great time at Wine Future in Rioja, Spain. It's the second and final day of the conference. I'm writing this up from the cafe in the basement, which I wish I'd discovered earlier.
There is a show floor where they are pouring wines from all around the world.
There are too many wines for me to try them all so I've asked Alvaro from Abadia Retuerta to help me by highlighting some of his favorites:
Frontaura Reserva 2005
Fine wood, great dark fruit background on a firm but gentle structure
Dominio de Valdepusa Petit Verdot 2004
Stands out for its singularity and ripeness
Finca Garbet 2006
An architecturally fantastic fresh wine made by great winemaker Delfi Sanahuja
Dr. Loosen
And the fantastic wines from Dr. Loosen... what "sweet terroir" wines!
Now for my favorites:
Domaine de la Coume du Roy, Maury, 1925
Yesterday it was whispered in my ear by Carlos de "corks can do no wrong" Jesus, that the South of France "delegation" was pouring a wine from 1925.
I found it yesterday, and it was good, but not great. I chalked it up mainly to having been too warm.
Today I tried it again - not having the opportunity to drink wines from 1925 all the time - and it was incredible, even though it was the same temperature. Sweet and wonderful, with a complexity that could only come after eighty or so years of aging.
The person manning the booth admitted that yesterday's bottle had been bad. Such is the danger of buying an eighty year bottle of wine. Especially since the retail cost must be, in this case, around $450 (a bargain, by the way, if you get a good bottle!)
Dr. Loosen Wehlner Sonnenuhr, Riesling Kabinett, 2008
Let me second Alvaro's recommendation for Dr. Loosen. You really, really have to like sweet wines to appreciate this one. Luckily I do! It's just on the edge of too sweet, but for me never becomes too cloying. Awesome!
Cartillo de Maetierra, Riesling, 2009.
These guys are bringing a "white revolution" to the Rioja. Including what they say is the first Riesling ever to be grown in Rioja. It's really good, and seems like a natural for the region. Would be a great wine to start any meal with. Just a hint of sweetness, and a bit of acidity, both in balance. It should be on the market in March of 2010, but I'm not sure if it will make the United States. 4000 Bottles. Around $10.
Terrunyo, Concha y Toro, Carmenere, 2006
I tasted every single wine in the Chilean booth (okay, so there were only six or so - not much of a hardship). This was my favorite wine in the booth. A very good demonstration of the beauty that is Carmenere.
The lower end Caremeneres from Concha y Toro are something that I often have over dinner at my house. It's always nice to have a higher end one to see just what this grape is capable of. And at around $30 it's still a bargain.
Seppeltsfield
The rather amazing Lisa Perrotti-Brown was nice enough to point out the Seppeltsfield booth to me yesterday, but I didn't taste them because I wanted to be fresh for the Robert Parker tasting later that day.
Today I got to them and they were as impressive as Lisa had hinted at. In particular I loved their port, made up of a bit of each vintage from 1878 onwards. Around $300.
And then there is the 1909. Named after the vintage the bottle contains, it is thick, wonderful, and nuanced as only a 100 year old wine can be. Primarily Mourvedre with perhaps a bit of Grenache and Shiraz. Around $300 for a very small bottle or $1000 for a larger one.
How Would You Improve 1000 Corks?
I'm in Portugal attending the European Wine Bloggers Conference. One of the primary themes of the conference is learning from your readers/users.
I'm also, coincidentally, planning what features to add to 1000 Corks in 2010. I feel like we've done a good job building out a stable platform in 2009, and that should allow us to add some great new features.
So, what features do you want added to 1000 Corks? What would you like us to improve?
Get Advice From Michel Rolland For Free
Vines of Mendoza is having a live conference call with Michel Rolland on October 27 at noon (EST).
This is your chance to ask any question you want to the guy who the New York Times characterized as "the world's most famous wine consultant - perhaps the world's only famous wine consultant."
Get the details here and then sign up.
Speaking of which, if you've always wanted to own your own small South American vineyard (and come on, who hasn't?) you'll want to talk to Vines of Mendoza about their private vineyard estates.
Just think about how much fun it will be at your next cocktail party to talk about how great your harvest was this year; and how thankful you are for the advice that Michel gave you!
Wine Trip To Spain
This is just a quick note to thank everyone for the Spain Trip.
I'll be attending the WineFuture conference. The organizers have graciously allowed me to fly in two weeks early so I can also attend the European Wine Bloggers' Conference.
I have so much more to post about this, but, unfortunately, this week is quite a busy one for me. I'm finishing up a consulting project for a client through my boutique firm The Penguin and The Python and moving to Santa Barbara.
After I unpack next week I'll have much more to post about my plans. In the meantime if you have any suggestions as to what to see in Spain and Portugal, please add a comment!
Don Melchor
Dan Green, special correspondent for 1000 Corks
"Creosote. It reminds me of the smell of Creosote". Thus began Christopher Hoel's description of his tasting of my beloved Don Melchor 2003 at the French Laundry.
I had cherished the bottle since purchasing it in Chile several years ago after it appeared as number four on the Wine Spectator Top 100 List of 2006. Don Melchor and I went way back…back to 1994 when I first visited Chile as a college student on an exchange program and my parents and I visited the Concha y Toro winery that makes Don Melchor.
At the time, my budget couldn't afford it; I was limited to $7 a bottle "late harvest" whites, which, by the way, tasted terrific to a twenty-one year old.
The sommelier's words initially pained me but he went on…"It has a wonderful earthy quality and is so young. I can't believe how dark the color is. This wine is a superb example of what a Chilean red should taste like." Whew, I felt redeemed.
Don Melchor is Concha y Toro's flagship red, a wine known for its big bouquet, full body and consistency. Year in and year out Don delivers. Several years ago, it was a fantastic value at about $35/bottle. I remember seeing it at Trader Joe's at the time.
Now, alas, its recent success among wine critics has led its winemaker to raise prices - it now will set you back around $55-60/bottle at Costco. But to my mind it still delivers on every penny.
It's a wine that is not for the faint of heart. It is tannic and full-bodied, best served with a bife de chorizo or some other choice cut of red meat. It is a deep and vibrant red. But for me it is the perfect example of what a high-class South American wine should be.
Don Melchor is a wine very much worth cherishing during a special meal with friends or family. And, even at current prices, a wine that continues to deliver good value.
Bonny Doon
When I think of Santa Cruz I don't normally think about wine. That is a shame because there are more than fifty wineries located in the greater Santa Cruz area, and they are doing some really interesting things.
Leading the pack is Bonny Doon. In 2006 they went from producing over 400,000 cases a year to 35,000 cases a year by selling off their Big House and Cardinal Zin labels. This allowed Randall Grahm, the founder and winemaker, to return to making wines he was passionate about.
Randall has a new 220 acre property in the San Juan Bautista area where he will be making wine in an "old-fangled no water way", trying to manipulate grapes as little as possible.
The great thing about Bonny Doon is the varietals they use: Sagrantino, Rousanne, Grenache, Dolcetto and many, many more you don't normally associate with California wines. Apparently they once had a wine called "tutti frutti", which was made up of more than 100 varietals.
I had a chance to try their wines at their annual wine maker dinner.
The most intriguing wine of the night was their 2004 Ca' del Solo Nebbiolo, made...
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