WBW 74 Wrap-up: 39 Sparkling Values

This is my fifth time hosting Wine Blogging Wednesday, our monthly virtual tasting event, but my enthusiasm has not diminished with the passage of time. In fact, since bringing back the event from hiatus it looks like the idea might be picking up some steam judging from the entires this month. While many of the [...]

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WBW 76: Barossa Boomerang

Not too long ago I drank quite a bit of Australian wine, particularly Shiraz. Given that this grape, also known as Syrah, expresses greatness in the Barossa Valley I could not pass an opportunity to revisit this region for this months’ Wine Blogging Wednesday. Our host, Adam from Wine Zag, proposed we look for any [...]

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Last Call for Scoop the Spectator 2012 Entries

It's been a fun couple weeks seeing the entries pour in for Scoop the Spectator 2012.

A well-timed post by @EvanDawson over on Palate Press -- In Defense of the Wine Spectator Top 100 -- discusses the Top 100 list and has some interesting data on price increases for the winning wine.

the Wine of the Year does indeed see a sharp increase in price. Over the past decade, the average release price for the Wine of the Year was $67.60; the current average price is now $172.50. That?s an increase of 155%. But if we discard the past two winners, the Kosta Browne 2009 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and the Saxum James Berry 2007 Paso Robles, the price increase falls to 95%.
Dawson goes on to note that the price hike generally evaporates for the next vintage of the winning wine and that the price increases trail off quickly as you go down the Top 10.
How about the rest of the top ten? Turns out only the runner up wine sees much of a spike in price soon after the list comes out. The average release price for the runner-up wines was $68; today you can get those wines for an average of $100.50 per bottle, an increase of nearly 48%. The 10th-ranked wine has seen a price increase of 22%, which is not nothing, but not exorbitant in the higher-end wine market.
The piece goes on to mention our Scoop the Spectator contest and notes that you all have successfully predicted the winner each year the contest has been run.
Now, I used to think the entire concept of a Top 100 list was silly. This year, mine was the first guess on Dwyer?s site. As Dwyer explains, his contest is designed to help consumers. 
?The fundamental motivation for knowing the winning wine ahead of time is to provide an opportunity to buy that wine before the street price goes up,? Dwyer told me. How do you know that you can get the winning wine based on Dwyer?s contest? Well, so far, Dwyer?s contestants have sniffed out the winner in advance.
Have one of you guessed the winner already? I think so.

The Wine Spectator reveal starts Wednesday (pushed back a couple days by Hurricane Sandy). We'll keep the contest deadline tonight - November 9th, 2012 at 11:59 pm Eastern.

While you're waiting, jump on Grapes the Wine Co's wine offer email list. Despite being without power at home and at the store he's still been pounding the offers, with a particular focus on 2010 Rhone (How Could it Not Be 2010 Rhone?). Gotta love it.

Subscribe to the WWP for commentary as the wines are revealed next week

Thanks again to all who have entered. And good luck!

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Good News Spreads Fast

Word on the winners of the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition is spreading like wild fire! A preview tasting for the media last week in Beverly Hills has generated a lot of buzz that we are really excited about! Take a look at some more posts: http://gastronomy-101.blogspot.com/2009/06/event-la-wine-competition-preview-... http://thirstyinla.com/2009/06/19/2009-la-wine-spirits-competition/ http://lablips.dailyradar.com/story/los_angeles_international_wine_and_spirit... http://www.womenwine.com/posts/journals/18487-winners-of-the-2009-la-internat...

Source: http://blogs.fairplex.com/blog/wine/?p=90

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Who Needs a Sale When You Have Empire Wine?

Editor's Note: This site recently reached 700 subscribers! Thanks so much for following along - it means so much to me that so many of you find this kind of wine info useful. If you're not subscribed with an RSS Reader -or- signed up for email notifications of new posts you can sign up here.

I stopped and visited New York Retailer Empire Wine last summer on our way to vacation in Michigan. What an operation. Located within a large strip mall, I never would have thought to stop in if I wasn't aware of their reputation online. I couldn't believe the volume of wine they were pushing through their registers on a summery Friday afternoon.

One thing I want this site to be about is helping friends find better wine values. Part of that is finding outstanding retailers who sell wine on razor thin margins. As I'm writing this I'm imagining co-workers and cousins looking for specific retailers to order from, and specific wines to get started with. I think 6 or 12 of the wines below would make a great stash of wines for the holiday season.

With deals swirling around this weekend I thought it would be a good opportunity to peruse their selection and make a few recommendations:

  1. Cakebread Cellars Zinfandel 2010 $23.95
    $23 for what's sure to be a delicious red from Cakebread? Sold.
  2. Failla 'Sonoma Coast' Pinot Noir 2011 $31.95
    Great producer. Love the ~$30 price point for high quality California Pinot Noir.
  3. Snowden 'The Ranch' Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 $37.95
    Not the prettiest label in the world but this one over delivers for its price point.
  4. O'Shaughnessy 'Howell Mtn.' Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 $74.95
    Bumps the price up a bit over the Cakebread/Caymus/Silver Oak ~$60 level, but it's worth the splurge.
  5. Beaurenard 'Boisrenard' Chateauneuf du Pape 2010 $69.95
    97WS, great vintage. Getting harder to find these 2010s.
  6. Soter 'North Valley' Pinot Noir 2009 $24.95
    Soter's a great producer and I'm looking to try more 2009 Oregon Pinots before they disappear.
  7. Marcel Lapierre Morgon 2011 $23.95
    People love this producer and I'm hearing good things this 2011 Cru Beaujolais.
  8. Belle Glos 'Meiomi' Pinot Noir 2011 $15.93
    Stunningly low price, even when shipping costs are included.
  9. Educated Guess Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 $16.95
    Tasty fruit forward Napa Cab at a great price.
  10. Ridge Vineyards 'Estate' Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 $34.95
    Hard to go wrong with Ridge and priced in the mid-$30s this is a nice value.
  11. Bodegas Volver 'Tarima Hill' Monastrell 2009 $8.95
    I always like including a bargain Spanish Monastrell to round out a case. Original referral on this one came from The Capital Grille. Big and bold.
  12. Bodegas Borsao Tinto 2011 $5.95
    Robert Parker called this "Possibly the single greatest dry red wine value in the world" and rated it 90 points. Plug this into the WWP QPR Calculator (what's that?) and you get 3.36: Very Good Value. I've enjoyed other Borsao wines before and I'd bet this one is good too. What do you have to lose at this price point?
Wine Retailers: Do you have an e-commerce site I can peruse and build up a similar list? Drop me an email and let me know.

I'd love it if you subscribed to The Wellesley Wine Press to receive email notifications of new posts. I'm working on some great stuff in the coming weeks.

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More New Wines from Tablas Creek Vineyard

Hey, we got some new wines to try from Tablas Creek Vineyard, and guess what? They?re really good!!! (Like we haven?t been saying that for how many years now??) Here are our impressions, starting with one that we’ve never had previously. (Click images to enlarge.) 2011 Tablas Creek Vineyard Vermentino Paso Robles, 100% Vermentino, 13.1% [...]

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