When Facebook Recommendations Go Bad.
November 9, 2011
Conundrum Red Blend 2009 from California
November 9, 2011
Grape(s)
No clue. I reached out for the winery, and their lips are staying sealed. I don’t think any of the grapes in the blend will be a huge surprise.
Facts
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Imagine my surprise walking down the aisle of the local-dirty-great-big-wine-store, when out of the corner of my eye I saw this on the shelf! I’d always heard that the Wagners (the winemaking family behind Conundrum, Caymus, Belle Glos and Mer Soleil) made a Conundrum red blend, but I’d always thought it was urban legend. I’ve been to the Caymus winery in Napa, and never seen it.
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In my opinion , this wine should have been released 2 years ago. Red blends have started to dominate retailers shelves recently, and it seems to be a price war. What’s one more label amongst the bunch? The Conundrum Red will do ok though, on the back of brand recognition.
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The Wagner Family, who currently own and operate Caymus Vineyards, have been in America since 1885. They settled in Northern California, but ended up in Napa after the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.
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From what I hear, the Conundrum Red has only been available about 2 weeks, with a fairly limited availability at restaurants and retailers. They went under the radar on it, since I haven’t read anything about the release, either!
Blue Fish Restaurant Black and Blue Champagne Tasting
November 8, 2011The Blue Fish Restaurant
3551 Saint Johns Ave
Jacksonville FL 32205
904-387-0700
Blue Fish Restaurant Black and Blue Champagne Tasting
Posted in Events | Tagged Blue Fish Restaurant, Champagne | Leave a comment //The Complexity of Wine
November 8, 2011
Wine has so many organic chemical compounds it’s considered more complex than blood serum.
Understanding Sherry, Should You Want to…
November 8, 2011
“Sherry!?!? Who the bloody hell drinks Sherry?!?!”
Well, that’s a very good question! Who does drink Sherry? The answer? Not very many people at all! Which is kind of a shame….
Being from England, drinking Sherry is almost a right of passage (saying that, it’s normally only at Christmas). I would state though, if you haven’t ever tried a good Pedro Ximenez with an aged Gouda cheese, you’re missing out! It’s been one of my few “…holy sh*t that’s good!”, wine pairing moments.
Sherry is unfortunately one of those wines that you don’t hear much about, kind of like Port; and I certainly wouldn’t consider it a trendy beverage, especially here in Florida (warm weather and all). Sherry is also a little bit of a nightmare to understand, therefore I’ve gone to all this trouble, and put together this short-and-concise guide for you!
Place (click map for a larger view)
Sherry is made in the area around Jerez de la Frontera in the region of Spain known as Andalucia. It just so happens that’s it’s also one of the oldest wine making areas in all of Spain. The name sherry itself comes from an English mispronunciation of the word Jerez [pronounced: hair-reth].
This region is famous for its white-chalky soil, known as Albariza. I don’t normally get into discussing soil types on this website, as I find it quite boring, however Albariza is kind-of an exception. The chalky nature of the soil retains rainfall throughout the winter, holding in the moisture through the drier summer months when rainfall is scarce. Without this soil type, the vineyards in this region would probably not survive at all.
Posted in News | Tagged albariza, Amontillado, Andalucia, best Sherry, Fino, Flor, Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera, Manzanilla, Oloroso, Palo Cortado, Pedro Ximenez, Sherry, Sherry wine, Spain, Understanding Sherry, what is Sherry | Leave a comment //This Week in Wine–11.6.11
November 6, 2011
A New Harvest at Chateau Changyu.
The picture to the left shows an artist’s rendering of the newly updated “Disney-esque” Chateau Changyu Baron Balboa winemaking facility, scheduled to be completed next year.
The Chinese chateau now has a combined 16,666 hectares of vineyards in Xinjiang, Ningxia, Shandong,Shaanxi, Liaoning and Beijing – a quarter of the entire grape growing area in China.
With dry weather, favorable soil conditions and 2,700 hours of annual sunshine, the area is regarded as one of the best places in the world for quality grapes [so they say]. The vineyard is irrigated by water from the snow-covered Tianshan Mountains 200 km away.
The wine from Xinjiang will have “a stronger fragrance” [their words, not mine] this year according to Cheng Guoli, chief agronomist at Changyu Pioneer Wine Co.
"Grapes from our vineyards in various regions have different flavors, so they’re used for different types of wines," Cheng said. [Errrrrmmmm, thanks Cheng, for that valuable insight.]
Click here for the full article.
My Thoughts
“It seems like it only yesterday that I was at my vacation home, close to Chateau Changyu Baron Balboa, and taking bike rides through the vineyards of Xinjiang, Ningxia, Shandong, Shaanxi, and Liaoning! Those were some wonderful times!”
Anyway, I digress……yet again……
The problem with every single one of these Chinese names is that they don’t exactly roll off the tongue, now do they? As we all know, the Chinese are very loyal to their heritage, so on the other hand, I don’t exactly see them “dumbing down” just to satisfy the West.
It’s going to be really interesting to watch what happens over the next 5+ years with Chinese wine. From a lot of what I’ve been reading, numerous sources suggest that Chinese wine will be the “next big thing”. I’m not so sure. If I was to put money on it, I don’t think China will make any serious impact. At least in my lifetime.
Loan Company to use Wine as Sole Collateral
An asset management company is offering what it claims are the world’s first pure wine investment loans.
Loan Against, an arm of Prestige Asset Finance, is offering loans of up to 70% of the value of blue-chip wines, with no other collateral required.
According to the company this is ‘the world’s first non-recourse, non-status wine investment loan, enabling private investors to buy premier crus…and other wines of distinction…’
Managing director James Constantinou said, ‘We create instant liquidity for UK and offshore-based investors who are looking to acquire fine wine at auction or through private sale.’
Spokesman Mark Fielding said the system is unique for wine because it requires no credit check, and money is advanced using the wine as sole collateral.
Loan Against will provide tax-deductible loans of between £100,000 and £10m for purchases of wines including Bordeaux First Growths, super seconds, top Right Bank wines, Sauternes, top Burgundies, Penfold’s Grange and other blue chip properties.
Loans against en primeur wines are not possible at the moment due to the ‘risky’ nature of that market, but it is something that ‘might be entertained in the future’.
Click here for the full article.
My Thoughts
Surely, it’ll only be a matter of time before some bloke wanders into the offices of Prestige Asset Finance with a case of Boone’s Farm, looking for a loan. I’d love to see the look on their faces when that happens!
Posted in News | Tagged China, Chinese Wine, Paul McCartney | Leave a comment //
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