Mediterranean sunlight colors the Surmeli Hotel

Surmeli Hotel Adana is situated in the heart of the traditional city of Adana in Turkey where the bright Mediterranean sunlight kisses the city atmosphere and rejuvenates the guests to explore the world of culture and commerce of the area. The grand hotel houses 159 highly decorated havens where comfort and luxury excels the desire [...]

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Luxury Gift Baskets

Every year with Uncorked Ventures Matt and I want to make improvements in both the way we handle our business (the processes involved) as well as the offerings we have. On the wine, simply continuing to grow our customer base as well as continuing to build relationships with wineries and vineyard owners will do the [...]

Source: http://winewithmark.info/archives/651

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It?s Time For Radical Simplification of Old World Wine Labeling

I’m a traditionalist but also a realist. And I think now is the time to shake up the centuries old wine labeling and classification systems that have stood as a barrier to selling many Old World wines to American consumers. Case in point is Germany where a tradition of bad Middle Ages typography continues on [...]

It’s Time For Radical Simplification of Old World Wine Labeling originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

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Napa Valley Travelers Beware ? Harvest is near

The most exciting and rewarding time of the year in the Napa Valley wine country, and for that matter all of wine country, is harvest time. This is what every winemaker, vineyard manager, and winery owner awaits throughout the vineyard year. Continue reading

Source: http://www.winecountrygetaways.com/napablog/napa-valley-travelers-beware-harvest-is-near/

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Value Alert: 2009 Balletto Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

The road to discovering new wine producers can take many directions. I usually have at least a dozen wines on my mental shopping list - a combination of recommendations from friends on Twitter, things I've read on blogs, tips from friends in real life, offers from retailers, and favorable ratings from wine publications. It typically takes months for me to hear a recommendation, seek a wine out, procure it, taste it, and write something up about. But I recently discovered a wine and completed the whole cycle in just a week.

To kick off Restaurant Week Boston we visited Sorrelina. It was our first time there and I thought it was fantastic: Elegant & serene but with a lively atmosphere. Impeccable service. Outstanding food. 4.5/5 stars. Enjoyed it very much.

That said, the mark-up on the wine was pretty aggressive. The table next to us ordered a $140 bottle of Groth Cabernet that's readily available at retail for $39.99. I think I've even seen it for $34.99. $210 for a bottle of '07 Orenellia...too bad it was a half bottle.

But restaurants almost always use wine as a profit center - nothing new there. I chose to go the by-the-glass route. I probably should have gone with something from Italy (Sorrelina is a modern Italian restaurant) but I just wanted to some wine with whatever I might order. I went for a glass of 2009 Balletto Pinot Noir for $14.

In the context of the tranquil environment, beautiful stemware, and ideal serving temperature I thoroughly enjoyed the wine. I took note of the producer and thought to check whether I could track it down at retail. I did a search on Wine-Searcher.com (the gold standard for finding wine online) and it turned up a retailer who said they had it for less than $20. That's the good news.

The bad news it was only available at Select Liquors - a retailer I've had bad luck with. I've tried ordering wines from them at least a couple other times and they've never fulfilled for one reason or another. However, after a couple days I received an email saying my wine was ready for pick-up.

Select Liquors is situated within Bazaar on Cambridge - a funky but evidently well-regarded (according to Yelp reviews) Russian grocery in Allston. I had a hard time finding someone who spoke English to direct me to where I could get my wine. I showed my ID at the register and that was that. I had my 2 bottles of Balletto and I was on my way.

Drinking it later that night during family pizza night (Old School this week for those keeping score) something occurred to me. The atmosphere in which I tasted the wine the first time couldn't have been much more different. And I have to say - although it was still outstanding the second time I did like it more the first.

In many ways a bottle of wine is a commodity. The effort that goes into preparing it in a restaurant pales in comparison to the Lobster Gnocchi we had at Sorrelina (which was amazing by the way). But when you factor in the overall experience and the resulting discovery of great wines that can occur it's a bit easier to swallow the high markups we see in restaurants.

2009 Balletto Vineyards Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
13.9% Alcohol
4,004 Cases Produced
Release Price: $24

Rich but not overripe. Black cherry and cola notes. A little rough around the edges (mildly astringent, which may improve with time) but there's so much right here it's hard not to love. Really nice wine.

90/100 WWP: Outstanding

Winery Website
CellarTracker
Wine-Searcher

Question of the Day: 
What's your strategy for dealing with overpriced wine in restaurants?


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Deal Alert: $35 for $70 from Wine.com

Quick one for you today:
Eversave is offering $70 worth of wine from Wine.com for $35 

Note that as with previous offers they've run, the voucher cannot be applied towards shipping nor tax. On the positive side of things, wine.com can ship to Massachusetts -and- we don't have tax on alcohol here.

To amortize the cost of shipping across more purchases I bought their Steward Ship program last year. It's kind of like Amazon Prime where you pay once for all your shipping for the year. They ran a special on it for $25 last year and the shipping can be extended to gifts as well.

Hit the comments below to share some tips on the best deals they have right now. I went for 2 bottles of the 2008 Belle Glos Las Alturas Pinot Noir for $34.99/btl. More on that wine in this California v. Oregon Pinot Noir showdown.

Offer ends Friday June 17th, 2011.


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/Ci7_ObYAa0Q/deal-alert-35-for-70-from-winecom.html

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Aristocratic De Luxe services for the guests at Cornelia De Luxe

The shore of the coastal strip of Belek houses the water paradise, Cornelia De Luxe with its unique architecture of the five storey main building along with its Garden Hotel area and the Private Villa. The beach hotel stands 35 km away from the beautiful and peaceful Antalya. The hotel building offers you the pristine [...]

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