In days past there was a regular monthly occurrence called “Wine Blogging Wednesday” when wine bloggers from around the world would all write about a common theme.  There was also a “host” to the event who would write up a summary of all the participants so that you could go to one place to find all the contributions to that theme.  It was a fun time of collaboration, community and sharing.  I was fortunate enough to participate in a few of these events and I’ve even hosted one.  But as time passed, somehow the event fell into obscurity.

My read on the dissolution of Wine Blogging Wednesday is that the organizers just got busy and burned out on organizing it.  Although there were still people interested in participating, in fact there was a lot of interest, nobody wanted to “steal” the idea even though the originators had lost energy for it.  So, it fizzled.  I also theorize that the rise of Twitter and Facebook were part of the fall of WBW since a big part of WBW was the community factor and social media replaced that community activity.  But all of that is just speculation.

And so, today Wine Blogging Wednesday returns thanks to our gracious hosts Ryan and Gabriella at Catavino.  The theme for this return of WBW is Spanish wines, and Ryan and Gabriella have challenged participants to find something that we’ve never had before.

First, I’ll confess that I didn’t put as much time into preparing for this one as I did in the old days.  I used to spend days hunting down something that I thought would be really unique for these challenges.  But life has just been busy for me lately and I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare.  And while I was tempted to just right a review of a garnacha/tempranillo blend and pretend I didn’t notice the rules of the challenge, I lucked out.  When I searched through the wines I had on-hand, I just happened to have a verdejo… and it just so happens that this is the first verdejo that I’ve tasted.  That’s one more entry for my Wine Century Club application — which I can’t believe I haven’t finished yet.

Verdejo is a white wine varietal that produces light, fresh wine similar to sauvignon blanc.  While most verdejo is grown in the Rueda region in Spain, the Tapeña Verdejo is from the “Tierra de Castilla”, outside of the D.O. system.

The bottle I happed to have is from the 2008 vintage, which you can still find on the market in some locations.  But the 2009 has also been released, so you may find a different vintage if you go looking for this.

The nose of this wine at first glance is similar to a sauvignon blanc, but with less intensity and not quite as tropical as many SBs.  The aromas are like lemon drenched pears and peaches with a wisp of nuttiness weaving through it.  The palate has plenty of crisp apple and pear flavors with reasonable concentration and sufficient acidity.  It finishes with a touch of lime.  This is a really nice, light wine that would go well with a light fish.

If you like sauvignon blanc, this is worth a try for something different.

Wine: Tapeña
Variety: Verdejo
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 86
Price: $10.00

Find Tapeña Verdejo with Snooth

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

There is a thing that wine bloggers do each month called Wine Blogging Wednesday and today is the 67th time this event has occurred.  It’s a day when numerous wine bloggers from around the world all write about the same thing.  There is always a “host” for Wine Blogging Wednesday who picks the theme and afterward writes a roundup of all the contributions.  The host for today is Joe Roberts from 1winedude.com and the theme is “Seeing Red for the First Time.”  The idea of this theme is to write about what wine you would recommend to someone who only drinks white wines, but would like to try a red.

I actually didn’t have to think long on this theme, because I’ve been in that exact situation.  I met a couple at a party a few months ago and, of course, we got into a discussion about wine.  When they found out about what I do, they asked me for a similar recommendation.  The guy in that couple preferred white wine but wanted to find some reds that he would like too, so he asked me where to start.  It wasn’t really “red for the first time” but it was someone trying to find a red wine that would appeal to someone with a preference for white wines.

I actually didn’t have an answer right off the top of my head, I had to probe a little.  “Why don’t you like red wine?” I asked.

“It’s too dry.  It makes my tongue feel like cotton.” was his response.  Aha!  It’s the tannins that don’t appeal to him, I thought.  I didn’t want to send him to a sweet red wine, as part of the goal was to find a wine that they both would enjoy (and she was a red wine fan).  But I did want to find a young, fruit-forward wine without a lot of tannins.  And I knew they wanted something inexpensive.  Cheap Garnacha (or Grenache) from Spain is my answer!

Garnacha is an interesting wine that can actually take on a variety of characteristics, depending on the appellation and the winemaker.  Sometimes it can be rather bold and spicy (which I really like), but the cheap stuff tends to be simple, fruit-forward and tasty.

So in order to pitch in to Wine Blogging Wednesday, AND do a review (like we normally do here) I looked through my wine samples for some Garnacha.  There was only one bottle of Garnacha there, and so that’s my pick for today, Tapeña.  Due to the fact that I only had one—and I knew what it was—this wine was not tasted blind.

Unlike many Spanish wine, Tapeña does not come from a DO-certified appellation, but is from several appellations outside the DO system.  One thing this does for the wine is keep the price cheap… but it’s still a yummy wine.

The nose is really vibrant, with loads of fresh fruit aromas like cherry, strawberry and raspberry.  There’s also a fabulous vanilla fragrance that brightens the aromas and makes this wine more interesting.  The palate has plenty of ripe fruit without being an overly sweet fruit bomb.  Cherry, blackberry and strawberry flavors do a tango with your taste buds, and a touch of spice gives it a fun finish.  The bottom line is that I like this wine.

Wine: Tapeña Garnacha
Variety: Grenache
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 88
Price: $10.00

Find Tapeña Garnacha with Snooth

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

There’s a thing that wine bloggers do called “Wine Blogging Wednesday.”  It’s an event that happens once every month… usually on a Wednesday. The idea is that several wine bloggers all write about the same topic that day.  Then there’s a host, who summarizes the collective thoughts and points you to all the writers for that theme.  I used to participate in it every month, but I haven’t done so for the past six months or so.  It’s good to get back in it today.

The host this month is Michelle, the author of My Wine Education.  And her theme is “Snow Day Wine,” which I interpret as meaning we should write about a wine we would want to drink on a day when we’re snowed in at home.

To me, being snowed in is a time when I want some comfort foods, which for me means Italian.  Yep, if it’s cold and ugly outside I crave baked mostaccioli or gnocchi with homemade marinara sauce.  And I want a good Chianti or Sangiovese to go with it.  In order to give this another twist, I decided to pick a Californian Sangiovese rather than an Italian.

To be honest, I generally would prefer an Italian Sangiovese over a Californian one due to the acidity and aromatics I expect from the Italian ones.  They go great with food and I just find them interesting.  Those I’ve had from California tend to be much more fruit-forward and less aromatic.

So, I pour a glass of 2007 Luna Vineyards, Napa Valley Sangiovese and I’m pleasantly surprised.  While it’s definitely a “new world” style of wine and very different from an old-world, Italian Sangiovese , it’s still really good.

It’s spicy on the nose, with cloves, white pepper, red raspberry, black cherry and an ever-so-slight barnyard.  The palate is big and full of ripe fruit, like juicy raspberry, black cherry, currant and plum.  A little bit of dark chocolate shows up mid-palate and it finishes with a black cherry flavor that lasts and lasts.  It doesn’t have the acidity you would find in most Italian Sangiovese and is more fruit-forward, making it clearly a “new world” wine.  The tannins are perfect for drinking now.  While it’s not what I would typically look for in a Sangiovese (i.e. old world style) it’s still a very enjoyable wine.

The suggested retail price is $25.00, which is slightly higher than we typically go here, but I expect you could find it for less if you shop around.  When I work the rating numbers on it, I get an 89-point-something.  But hey, it’s a snow day… let’s round up and give this one a 90.

Wine: Luna Vineyards Sangiovese
Variety: Sangiovese
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 14.1%
Rating: 90
Price: $25.00

Find Luna Vineyards Sangiovese with Snooth

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

This review is different from any other wine review on this site.  In fact, it’s not even a review as much as it is an experiment.  It’s not about introducing you to a new wine.  It’s about experiencing music with a wine and seeing what effect it has.

For those who don’t know, there are hundreds of wine bloggers like me, around the world, and several of them take part in a monthly event called Wine Blogging Wednesday.  It’s a time when we all write about the same topic and give our own spin on it.  And this month our spin is taking a different twist as we explore how music impacts the taste of wine.  As always, there is a host for the event who will summarize all the contributions to help you find and enjoy them all.  And the lucky host is Katie Pizzuto at Gonzo Gastronomy.

I do see a relationship between wine and music, so the idea of this concept didn’t seem outlandish to me.  But I usually think about music and wine a different way.  I process smells and tastes in my mind in a similar way to sounds.  When I taste a wine I mentally relate the characteristics to pitch, tone and harmony just as I would for music.  For example, a spicy note or acidity in a wine might make me think of a high pitch note, while dark fruit is more in the bass range.  And the combination of aromas and scents could be dissonant (off balance) or harmonious (well balanced).

While I process wine in a way that’s related to music, I have never done wine pairings with music.  And although the idea didn’t seem outlandish, I did have a bit of skepticism.  Part of me thinks that if I think a wine is great, it will be great no matter what music is playing.  I was surprised with the differences I noticed with the wine as I went through some different music.  I did notice a profound difference.  That said, I still am skeptical that you can do wine/music pairings, beyond personal pairings, given how personal preference influences musical tastes much more dramatically than wine tastes in my opinion.  I suppose a larger experiment would need to be done with several individuals, tasting the same wine and listening to the same music to prove if musical pairings are consistent among individuals.

I decided to revisit an old favorite wine along with some old favorite tunes for this experiment. The wine I chose is the 2005 André Brunel Cuvée Sabrine, my top pick from a series on Cotes du Rhone last fall.  After posting the review I was disappointed that the shop where I had purchased had run out, but thanks to an e-mail from a helpful reader I learned that the importer still had the wine in their warehouse, so I gave a heads up to the shop and they restocked it.  I’m glad to enjoy another bottle of this wine.

The first artist I thought of with this wine was John Coltrane.  I used to be a big Coltrane nut.  Before the Internet sucked all the culture out of my life I would listen to Coltrane, read some Charles Bukowski or Richard Brautigan and sip on some cheap, but good wine (well, good for my standards at the time).  I popped in Coltrane Jazz and it immediately clicked.  The smokey jazz pulled out a smokey and velvety quality in the wine.  Now, that album is one of the more mainstream and approachable ones from Coltrane, who was very experimental at times.  I switched over to a chaotic experimental jazz song called Tranesonic from the Stellar Regions album and the acidity in the wine became more pronounced to me—in fact, uncomfortably so.  Although I like the experimental jazz from Coltrane, this wine isn’t a match for it.  It goes much better with his smoother, classic jazz.

I next switched to some drum and bass music from my favorite techno artist Luke Vibert.  You probably have never heard of him, but I assure you he is a master at generating awesome beats, perfect for “kicking it.”  Vibert has put out music under several different names and I went back to one of his earlier works under the Plug name with an album called Drum’n'Bass for Papa, which has some outstanding breakbeat riffs.  This music brought me back to some of the smokey and velvety notes I was getting from the mellow Coltrane, but also spice and a wisp of bright red raspberry comes to life with this pairing.  This is the point at which this review became challenging… once I started riffing to Plug I didn’t want to move beyond it, but rather wanted to keep enjoying this wine along with it.  But I must move on, in the name of good blogging.  And so, I put the music into shuffle to see what came up.

Did I mention that my musical taste is all over the map?  There’s a lot of old punk, rock, jazz, metal and techno in my collection.  The next one surprised me, Bad Brains, Sailin’ On, an outstanding punk classic, totally rocks with this wine.  The fruit flavors seemed to really pop with this song.

Next on the music shuffle is a band called At the Drive-in.  The song Honest to a Fault from the El Gran Orgo album gave me a sense that the tannins were a bit overpowering.

Descendents, Get the Time from their Enjoy! album seemed to have no impact on the flavors.  The wine took on all the characteristics as it had in my original review.  That makes you wonder if I was listening to this when I first tasted it, well that’s highly unlikely as I normally take tasting notes in silence… it helps me concentrate.

Tool, Jimmy from Aenima was next and the wine seemed sour and bitter.

firehose, is one of my favorite bands of all time.  The length of the wine became pronounced as I listened to Brave Captain from their debut album Ragin’, Full-On.  It could just be that I’ve been sampling this wine for an hour now and the flavors are settling in on my palate.  There’s a subtle strawberry note in this wine and it’s lingering on the finish as I listen to this song… and I really like it.

Frank Zappa, Son of Mr. Green Genes from Hot Rats gave the wine a bitter characteristic.

Ween, Demon Sweat from The Pod showed a combination of smoky, fruity, slightly bitter.

OK.  I could go on forever with this.  Get me listening to music and drinking wine and you’re in for a long spiel.  I guess I have learned from this experiment that music can have a dramatic influence on your tasting experience with a wine.  More dramatic than I anticipated.  Give this experiment a try for yourself and have fun with it.

Today is my favorite day of the month, Wine Blogging Wednesday.  It’s one day each month when wine bloggers around the world all blog about a common theme.  Today the official theme is North Versus South, which is intended to be a theme that gives bloggers some latitude with how they bring it to life.  My version on this theme is Chile Versus California.  You may recall the Wine Blogging Wednesday I hosted a few months ago highlighting affordable red wines from Chile.  Speaking of hosts, I should mention that  Rémy at The Wine Case is the host of this month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday and will be posting a summary of all the blogs that participate.

I have an affinity for Chilean wines and Californian wines, so I found the idea of this head to head challenge quite interesting.  And the results surprised me.  In short, Chile kicked California’s bootie in many ways… but not every way.

The challenge included both red and white wines.  One Sauvignon Blanc from Lake County, California versus one from Casablanca Valley in Chile; and two Merlots from Alexander Valley, California versus two from Colchagua Valley, Chile.

The tasting for this challenge was done blind and included a tasting panel to get reactions from average consumers—who almost unanimously preferred the Chilean wines.  I also challenged everyone to blindly pick which they thought were Californian versus Chilean and most participants—myself included—got this wrong with the Merlot.  The Chilean Merlot was big, fruit-forward and very tasty and I was sure that it was characteristic of Alexandar Valley Merlot, but I was wrong.

While the the Chilean Merlots had somewhat of a “shock and awe” effect with how big and juicy they are, at least one from California I found to be very good and more elegant than the Chilean challengers—although definitely not as powerful.

Here are the results.  While I’ve included a couple comments from other tasters, these reflect my tasting notes and ratings.

Hess Lake County Sauvignon Blanc (California)

The nose is a classic Sauvignon Blanc with green pepper and loads of tropical fruit aromas such as pineapple, melon and lime.  The palate falls off a bit in terms of fruit, compared to the nose.  The palate is mostly citrus and while the acid is definitely noticeable it doesn’t really have the crisp acidity I expect from a SB.  It seems like they softened this with malolactic fermentation and I’m wishing that they hadn’t.  One taster called it a “Sauvignon Blanc for someone who prefers Chardonnay.”

Wine: Hess
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 84
Price: $9.59

Errazuriz Estate Sauvignon Blanc (Chile)

This is distinctly different from the Hess.  The nose is predominantly grassy with a floral/pollen aroma complemented with melon, banana and flinty mineral.  Spend some time exploring the bouquet on this wine as it seems to evolve and get much more interesting as it opens up.  The palate has much more of the crisp acidity I want from a SB, compared to the Hess.  The dominant flavors are citrus and it evolves on your palate into granny smith apple and honeydew melon with a nice long finish.

Wine: Errazuriz Estate
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 88
Price: $15.00

Goode-Ready Alexandar Valley Merlot (California)

The aromas on this Merlot are interesting, but it falls off on the palate.  The nose has a rather spicy, red raspberry, plum and cedar aromas.  It’s an enjoyable bouquet, but the palate is rather thin.  It has mostly plum, pine and very subtle blackberry.  There’s not a lot of fruit in this Merlot.  The tannins are good, but in general the palate is a little off balance.

Wine: Murphy-Goode, Goode-Ready
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2004
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 81
Price: $11.99

Montes Classic Series Merlot (Chile)

There’s nothing subtle about this Merlot, the nose is big, full and fruity.  There are mineral, cinnamon, plum and blackberry aromas making an interesting and complex bouquet.  The palate is very good, with lots of plum and blackberry.  It has great mouth feel, with full flavor and silky tannins.  The finish is long and brings some cocoa characteristics.

A friend of mine analogizes Cabernet Sauvignon to a chiseled, muscular guy, and Merlot to a round/rotund guy.  This particular Merlot seems to have both the muscles and the fat.  It’s a very good Merlot and was a favorite for a few tasters.

Wine: Montes Classic Series
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 88
Price: $12.00

MontGras Reserva Merlot (Chile)

I really need to start taking pictures of these bottles before I get wine all over them.

Smoky smokiness is the first thing I noticed about this wine.  Plum and bacon may be the best way to describe the bouquet.  There is also some cassis.  The palate is full of abundant ripe fruit.  It is very well structured.   It finishes a little quicker than the Montes, but is still quite good.  The tannins are rich, giving this a nice mouth feel also.  It’s a very good wine.

Wine: MontGras Reserva Merlot
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 87
Price: $11.99

Alexander Valley Vineyards Merlot (California)

This is a fantastic Merlot.  It’s structured and interesting.  The nose is very perfumey and brings lots of intensity.  It has aromas of clove, violets, dark cherry and raspberry.  The palate is full and concentrated, with abundant ripe cherry and raspberry, along with some licorice and black pepper.  The tannins are silky smooth and the acid is good.  There is a lot of depth and character to this wine and it will definitely go down as one of my favorites.

It’s not a big as either of the Chilean wines, but I found it to be more elegant.  While the Chilean wine had a lot more fruit, this one features more floral and herbal tones that make it interesting—not just big.

Wine: Alexander Valley Vineyards
Variety: Merlot
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 89
Price: $15.99

Once each month, wine bloggers around the world all write about a common theme.  It happens on a Wednesday and is called Wine Blogging Wednesday.  Today is the 54th installment of this event and the theme is “A Passion for Piedmont” (i.e. wines from the Piedmont region in Italy).  Dozens of bloggers will write up their thoughts on wines from Piedmont today, and then in a few days the host of this month’s event, McDuff’s Food & Wine Trail, will post a summary of it all with links out to everyone’s contribution so that you can find—and read—them all.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of wine from Piedmont is Barolo, an outstanding wine made from the Nebbiolo grape.  To me, Barolo is the most majestic and enjoyable red wine around.  It also tends to be quite pricey… much more pricey than we can afford with our $20 per bottle limit on Cheap Wine Ratings.  And so, I had to choose some wines other than Barolo in order to stay true to the principles of affordability this website is all about.  I ended up choosing three wines to try, a Barbera, a Dolcetto and a Gattinara.

This month I did something a little different.  I picked up three different bottles of Piedmont wines and in addition to taking my own notes, I shared them with some colleagues from my day job after work one day and got thier impressions as well.  They were shy about describing the wines (or perhaps just not as geeky as me) but I did find their preferences to be interesting.

Beni di Batasiolo – Barbera d’Alba

Barbera is considered one of the “lesser” red wine varieties in Piedmont—along with Dolcetto.  But don’t let that label steer you away because you can find some very nice wines made from Barbera at much more affordable prices than other wines from this region.  In fact this bottle was only $10.

Barbera is known for having a high level of acidity, which can be particularly pronounced when the wine is fermented in stainless steel rather than oak.  This particular Barbera was oaked, which softened the acidity but the aromas and flavors don’t indicate that it was heavily oaked.

By the way, the “d’Alba” part of the name is a regional designation.  Alba is a town in the Piedmont region and that’s all that means.

The nose on this wine is fairly tight at first, but give it a few minutes to open up.  It’s not very fruit forward—which is typical for a Barbera.  Cedar, loads of mushroom and light cherry aromas make up the bouquet.  There is moderate fruit on the palate, with mostly cherry flavors.  It has soft tannins and near perfect acidity. The length and aftertaste are both great.  In general it’s fairly simple and soft wine that will easily pair with foods.

For the most part this is a varietally correct wine.  It lacks a little bit of intensity and complexity, which is why my score came in at an 85.  But it’s a very enjoyable wine.  In fact, this was the crowd favorite with most of those who tried it with me.  And at only $10, it’s a budget favorite too.

Wine: Beni di Batasiolo
Variety: Barbera
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 85
Price: $9.99

Find Beni di Batasiolo Barbera with Snooth

Elio Altare – Dolcetto d’Alba

Similar to Barbera, Dolcetto is considered one of the “lesser” grape varieties from this region… lesser to Nebbiolo is really what that means. Dolcetto is a grape that ripens early and produces a wine that is best consumed young, and for these reasons it is often a second variety grown by Nebbiolo producers.  Growers are able to harvest these grapes before the Nebbiolo is ripe and winemakers are able to sell these wines without the aging required by Nebbiolo-based wines.

The name, Dolcetto, means “little sweet one” and although I wouldn’t classify this as a sweet wine it is a lot more fruit forward than the Barbera.  Dolcetto also tends to be less acidic and more tannic than Barbera.

The Elio Altare winery started as a family farm and winery when Giuseppe Altare purchased it in 1948.  In the mid-1970′s and at the age of 26, Elio Altare began to change the winemaking techniques based on knowledge he gained in other winemaking regions, such as Burgundy.  Today the winery is still a family run operation and is producing some outstanding wines—this being one of them.

The first thing you’ll notice about this wine is a dark, inky purple color.  There’s loads of intensity on the nose, which is a bit smoky and complex with tar, blueberry, prune, vanilla and licorice.  The palate is filled with abundant ripe fruit.  Lots of blueberry, plum, black cherry and pepper.  Silky tannins and an outstanding finish make this a very enjoyable wine.

Although I thought this was very much varietally correct and an outstanding wine, it wasn’t the crowd favorite.  Many of those I shared this wine with found it to be too big for their palates, but if you like big wines this is a good one.

Wine: Elio Altare
Variety: Dolcetto
Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 90
Price: $17.69

Find Elio Altare Dolcetto with Snooth

Travaglini Giancarlo – Gattinara

Like Barolo and Barbaresco, this wine is produced from the Nebbiolo grape, but it is classified as Gattinara based on the region where it is produced.  One of the things I like about this wine is that you can enjoy the characteristics of a Nebbiolo-based wine at a more affordable price than most Barolo and Barbaresco—although you can find some rather pricey Gattinara too.

Travaglini is probably the best known producer of Gattinara and they produce a few different labels of it, this one being the most affordable.  The bottle for this wine was a crowd pleaser and a couple folks commented that they would buy this just for the bottle.  Travaglini claims that the bottle shape serves a purpose too, to hold the sediment in the bottle when you pour the wine.

The nose of this wine is spicy and interesting.  It’s very smoky, with cinammon, raisin and pencil shavings.  The palate is rich and well balanced, with dried cherry, raisin, black pepper.  Velvety tannins lead into a long finish.

To me, this is a great wine and I could drink it any day.

Wine: Travaglini Giancarlo
Variety: Gattinara
Vintage: 2002
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 89
Price: $19.91

I have a few quick notes for you tonight on some upcoming wine events.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #53

You may recall that I was the host for the last Wine Blogging Wednesday, just a few weeks ago, when we featured value red wines from Chile.  The next installment of this monthly event will be hosted by El Bloggo Torcido, the official blog from Twisted Oak Winery.  The theme this month is Wine for Breakfast.  The challenge is to pair a white or red wine with a breakfast dish.  Sparkling wines, dessert wines and wine cocktails are not allowed.

As much as I love wine, I’ve never had it with breakfast.  So, this will be a first for me and may be the springboard for a dark and ugly future.  But check back here next Wednesday to find my breakfast wine selection and check El Bloggo Torcido for the summary from all the contributors.

Cincinnati International Wine Festival

Preparations are underway for the biggest annual wine event in Cincinnati, which happens March 12-14 this year.  It’s a great event and a wonderful opportunity to sample from a huge selection of wines.  I recommend getting a hotel room downtown so that you can walk to your room after the event (as you’ll probably be in no condition to drive).  Hotels are offering special rates for the event.  Tickets are on sale now.

Local Cincinnati Wine Tastings

Many of the local wine shops stopped doing tastings over the holidays because they were just too busy with holiday business.  They are starting back up again, so get out and discover some new wines.  Our friends at Liquor Direct contacted me this week to let me know that they are starting up again this Friday and Saturday.  They are one of my favorite stops, since they not only pick some good wines but tend to keep the prices down to where a frugal guy like myself wants them to be.  And this weekend they are featuring value wines! What more could I ask for?

And of course you can always check My Wine Education.  This is wine blog written by another friend of mine in the Cincinnati area and she keeps a Cincinnati Wine Events calendar on her site where you can always find out what wine events are happening.

Cheers!

One of my favorite things at Cheap Wine Ratings is the summary posts, where I can give you a list of wines that have been tried to help you find some great new wines at prices that won’t cause you to break the bank.  The contributions are in for Wine Blogging Wednesday #52 and altogether we had 34 participants (myself included).

I think the results show that there are a lot of enjoyable and inexpensive wines coming from Chile.  I saw particular excitement about Carménère, a grape variety that is thriving in Chile.  Many of the reviews were positive—there were a few disappointments, but that’s to be expected with wines in this price range.  Overall, I’m thrilled with the quantity of positive reviews and I think you’ll find a lot of good wines to add you your shopping list while going trhough the reviews.

I usually rank wines in the summaries I post, but with so many different contributors, with different evaluation methods it’s impossible to rank the results by numbers.  Instead I’ve grouped them by what looks like good, mediocre and disappointing.  If you think I put your review in the wrong category, just drop me a note.  Also, please let me know if I missed anyone.

The Good

Let’s start out with some Cabernet Sauvignon.  Typically this is not the first wine you’d pick in a tasting lineup, but since this is virtual we can go crazy!

• First time Wine Blogging Wednesday participant The Wine Predator brought two bottles to the table, the 2006 Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon “Alexandre” (about $20) and the 2006 Santa Rita Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (about $10).  It sounds like both wines were good, and the Casa Lapostolle edged out the Santa Rita.
• William at Wine for Newbies tried the 2007 Rayun Cabernet Sauvignon and gave it a “doggone close to a 90″ score.  At a mere $10, this sounds like a great bargain.
• Michelle and Kevin at My Wine Education enjoyed the 2006 Veramonte Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva for about $10 and reflected on the 2008 Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc that we had enjoyed recently.
• John at Anything Wine gave a favorable review of the 2006 Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon which he found for about $15.
• At Chronic Negress, you’ll find yet another good review for the 2006 Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon.
• Jim at Music & Wine enjoyed the 2007 Miguel Torres Tormenta Cabernet Sauvignon for a very affordable $12.

Next up, let’s try some Merlot.

• Dan from Bibendum joined us as another first-timer to share his thoughts on the 2007 Valdivieso Merlot Reserva, which sounds like a good one.
• Joe at 1 Wine Dude provided an outstanding list of 5 reasons why Chilean wine kicks ass.  And says that for $8, the Concha y Toro Xplorador Merlot is “damn good.”
• Erika at StrumErika shared her thoughts on another good Chilean Merlot, the 2004 Viña Ventisquero Reserva.

We had only one Pinot Noir in the mix, but it comes from the head wine buyer at one of my favorite local wine shops.

• Kevin at Under the Grape Tree tried the 2007 Cona Sur Organic Pinot Noir for $9.49, which he has added to his list of favorite entry-level Pinots.

Malbec often makes people think of Argentina, but we had a number of Malbec tasting from Chile for this event.

• The Winesleuth went for the 2006 De Martino Single Vineyard Malbec and gave it a glowing review, suggesting that Chile might even do Malbec better than Argentina.
• Vinagoth, The WIne Barbarian, said that the $10, 2007 Viu Manent Secreto Malbec “blew the doors off” a $40+ Napa Cab.  He also has several other Chilean wine reviews on his site he’s another advocate for finding good wines right in the price range of Cheap Wine Ratings.
• The Bubble Brothers in Ireland tried the 2005 La Fortuna Malbec for €11.50 and had some good things to say about it including tasting notes in the form of a car ride analogy.

Syrah also mad an appearance.

• Richard at The Passionate Foodie enjoyed the 2006 Montes Syrah Alpha for $16.99, which as he points out is primarily Syrah but has 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Viognier.

Let’s not forget the red blends.

• Rémy at The Wine Case, for the most part, enjoyed the 2006 Cono Sur Organic Cabernet/Carménère Blend.
• Thea, the Wine Brat at Luscious Lushes’s Blog, enjoyed the 2005 Nomad Red Blend.  And of course, I enjoyed the 2004 Nomad.

The most popular variety in this tasting was Carménère, so let’s check out all the options.

• Katie at Gonzo Gastronomy used Wine Blogging Wednesday as an opportunity to challenge readers to try some little-known varieties of wine.  For this event she tried the 2006 Viu Manent Carménère Reserva, which it sounds like she enjoyed.
• Deb at Good Wine Under $20 tried the 2005 Viña Cono Sur Carménère and gave it an excellent QPR rating.
• Lenn at Lenndevours, and founder of Wine Blogging Wednesday, also tried the Viña Cono Sur Carménère but went with the 2007.  While it wasn’t his “cup of tea” he thought that lovers of soft, fruity reds would enjoy it.
• Sonadora, the Wannabe Wino, found an affordable and enjoyable everyday wine in the 2006 Casa Silva Reserva Carménére for $13.99. And she earns extra points for using a coupon to save a couple extra dollars.
• Tim at Winecast also got on the Carménère bus and gave a positive review to the 2006 Casa Silva Gran Reserva Carménére.
• At Drink What You Like they tried three Chilean wines.  The 2006 Casa Silva Carménère Reserva got a thumbs up, but they weren’t as impressed with the 2006 BrisAndes Cabernet Sauvignon or the 2005 De Martino Cabernet Sauvignon.  Since the Carménère was the top pick, I listed this contribution in that section.
• Matt at A Good Time with Wine also brought three wines to the party—clearly he knows how to have a good time with wine.  The wines included the 2007 Anakena Carménère, the 2006 Anakena Single Vineyard Carménère and the 2007 Morande Pionero Carménère.  He thought all of them were quite enjoyable, particularly for under $10.
• At Spittoon, the 2008 MontGras Carmenere Reserva, which cost £5.39, scored an 88/100.
  

The “Meh”

There were a few reviews that sounded like the wine was OK, but nothing outstanding.

• At Recently Consumed the 2006 Veo Grande Cabernet Sauvignon got a so-so review.
• Dale at Drinks Are On Me also enjoyed the Montes Syrah Alpha and didn’t go gah-gah over it, but found it quite drinkable.
• Kori at Wine Peeps tried two bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon.  She tried the 2006 Calina Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva and the 2006 Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon. Both of which she characterized as decent sippers, with great QPR (both under $10) although not as big as Cabs traditionally are.  It sounds like the Calina edged out the Los Vascos by a nose (no pun intended).
• Greg at The Cab Franco Files was a bit disappointed with the 2004 Maquis Lien.  He found that it would have been a good wine for a few dollars less than the $14 he paid.  But he gets extra points for being the only participant to include a Venn diagram as a part of his review.
• Bloviatrix was underwhelmed by the 2006 Viña Chocalan Carménère Selección Maipo Valley, despite the fact that it scored a 90 in Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate.
• At Vinomadic the review of 2006 Ventura Carménère sounded mediocre, although the post was the most poetic of all contributions.

The Disappointing

• Ribbie at Ribbie’s Weblog joined us for his first Wine Blogging Wednesday and assembled a panel of tasters, including two native Chileans, to try the 2006 Veramonte Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva.  Unfortunately, they found this one not to be an ideal pick.
• David at 2 Days per Bottle tried the 2005 Viña Santa Rita Carménère 120 and his recommendation is to run away from this one.
• Alex at Eating Leeds tried the 2008 Casa Roca Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, which she found to be a disappointing fruit bomb.

Other Contributions

Robert at Wine Post participated but did not add a review due to a conflict of interest… Robert is a PR representative for Wines of Chile.  Rather than a review, he offered some facts about Chilean wine.

Thank you to all who participated.  I can’t wait to try some of these wines.  Next time you go wine shopping, try something from Chile.  I think your palate and your wallet will both be pleased.  Cheers!

Today is Wine Blogging Wednesday #52 and I am honored to be the host.  For those who don’t know, Wine Blogging Wednesday is a monthly event when wine bloggers from around the world all write about a common theme.  It was all started 51 months ago by Lenn Thompson at Lenndevours with the help of a handful of wine bloggers who were blogging back then — and some of them are still at it today.  I first discovered Wine Blogging Wednesday about two years ago when I was making plans to launch this blog.  From the get go I wanted to be a part of Wine Blogging Wednesday and for me it is a “coming of age” moment to be the host.

The theme this month is Value Reds from Chile.  The criteria is simple: Write about a red wine from Chile that costs $20 US or less.  Some argue that I set the price limit too high, but $20 is the limit I adhere to on this site and even though that was the upper limit, I challenged participants to try to find a real bargain if they could.  Another challenge I put out there was to find a red wine from one of the lesser known regions of Chile.

Since I put the challenge out there to find something from a lesser known region I felt obligated to meet the challenge myself.  And it was quite a challenge.  I went from one wine shop to another looking at all the red wines from Chile and on every one all I saw was Aconcagua, Casablanca, Colchagua, and Maipo — some the most well known wine regions in Chile.  After much searching I finally found one with grapes from Bío Bío, Nomad 2004.  Well, at least 2% of the grapes in this wine come from Bío Bío.  So I guess you could say that I barely met the challenge.

I also find it interesting that this is a 2004 with grapes from Bío Bío, as that was a particularly rainy year in that region, which posed challenges for producers.

Nomad was produced by Corpora, a producer with a number of vineyards throughout Chile—including significant properties in Bío Bío.  The winemaker was T.J. Evans, who spent three years working in Chile but is now at Domaine Carneros in Napa, CA.  This wine appears to be somewhat of a special project by Evans as it combines grapes sourced from a number of regions in Chile.  It’s 75% Cabernet Sauvignon from Maipo Valley, 16% Syrah from Cachapoal, 7% Carmenere from Maipo and 2% Malbec from Bío Bío.  I don’t expect you’ll come across much of this wine as only 1,100 cases were produced.

A deep, almost opaque crimson color is the first clue that this is going to be a rather big wine.  There is good intensity in the nose with a nice balance of earthiness and fruitiness.  Blackberry, plum, tar, leather and subtle mint is the best way I can describe the bouquet.  The palate is fairly big, but it’s not overly big as I thought it may be from the aromas. It has abundant ripe fruit with blackberry, cherry and plum flavors.  And there’s a bit of cocoa on the finish.  There’s a slight bitterness from the tannins, which is my only real complaint.  Overall, it’s a decent wine for the price.  It’s good, but not one that makes the “I need to give a bottle of this to all my friends” list.

Wine: Nomad
Variety: Red Blend
Vintage: 2004
Alcohol: 13.7%
Rating: 87
Price: $13.99

Check back here in a few days when I’ll have a summary of all the participants of todays Wine Blogging Wednesday so that you can discover more Chilean wines and more great wine bloggers.  Cheers!

I am happy to announce and proud to be the host of the 52nd installment of Wine Blogging Wednesday.  If you are new to Wine Blogging Wednesday and don’t know what it’s about, it’s one day each month when wine bloggers from around the world all write about a common theme.  Lenn Thompson at Lenndevours started it all back in 2004 and it’s still going strong.

And our theme for December 2008 is Value Reds from Chile!  The rules are any red wine from Chile for $20 or less.  If you can find a really good one for closer to $10, better yet.

As anyone who has visited this site knows, I love a great deal.  Don’t we all?  Well… Chile is a region that I’ve become more and more interested in for great wines at reasonable prices.

Back in the early 1990′s I had my first experience with Chilean wine and it was a horrible experience.  I swore off all Chilean wine for years.  But late last year I started trying Chilean wine again and I was amazed with what I found.

Since the early 90′s Chile has been undergoing a wine revival.  Improvements in winemaking practices and knowledge have both grown significantly in the past 15 years and it’s showing in the quality of their wines.  This first drew wide public attention in 2004 at a now famous blind tasting in Berlin where 36 highly regarded European wine journalists, writers and buyers gave top honors to two Chilean wines: Viñedo Chadwick 2000 and Seña 2001.  Now while you won’t find these two wines on the bargain shelf, they do represent the improvements in quality coming from Chile in general.

Chile is sometimes referred to as a viticultural paradise.  I’ve heard some people refer to Colchagua Valley as the next Napa Valley due to the geography.  In reality, there is quite a bit of diversity in Chile’s wine making regions.  The Pacific coastline runs the length of the country.  Coastal hills lead into the Central Valley and the Andes boarder the east side of the valley, creating a variety of conditions.

The various climates, geography and governmental distinctions result in several regional designations.  Most wines that you’re likely to find will be from Aconcagua, Cachapoal, Casablanca, Colchagua, Curicó, Maipo and Maule.  But you’ll get extra points if you bring a wine to this event from one of the lesser known regions such as Bío Bío, Elqui, Itata, Limarí, Malleco or San Antonio.

Many of the red wines from Chile are big and bold!  Some argue that they are too big, but that is changing and we’re seeing more variety and experimentation with wine styles in recent years.  Most of what you’ll find in the value wine category will be Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenere and Syrah.  You may also find some Pinot Noir and Malbec.  Other red varieties are being produced, but mostly on an experimental basis.

The Details

If you want to participate, just pick your Chilean red wine to review and write it up on Wednesday, December 10.  Then send an e-mail with a link to your review to wbw@cheapwineratings.com.  If you don’t have a blog but want to participate why not start a blog?  It’s free and easy to get started at http://wordpress.com or http://www.blogger.com.

More Info

If you want to do your homework on Chilean wine, here are a few resources.

• Wikipedia on Chilean Wine
• Harvest reports, history and more at Wines of Chile
• Chilean wine regions on ChileDiscover
• New York Sun article on Chilean Wine
• Food and Wine Magazine on Chile’s Wine Visionaries