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Following Wines Til Sold Out – Anything Goes Marathon, September 2015
It was a while since I posted one of these, but when I saw the announcement for the Wine Til Sold Out “Anything Goes” marathon, somehow I felt inclined to collect the data and create this post. As nobody has time to constantly watch all the wines been offered, the table below presents all (I hope) wines which were included in the marathon, so you can ponder at your own leisure – sorry, that might lead to some regrets too, but I can’t help you with that.
The fact that I didn’t do this in a while shows in the quality of data below, unfortunately – quite a bit of information is missing. I had to recreate the script, and the computer went to sleep right in a middle of a data collection and I lost it all on the wake up. But I hope you will still find it useful as limited as it is. You can see below the prices, the ratings and at what time the wines were offered and for how long they lasted.
Without further ado, here is the table with all the wines offered during marathon (including super-beauty double Barolo package offered right after). If you took part in the marathon, I’m curious to know what you got. And if you missed some wines – well, you can rant in that comments space below. Happy Wine Wednesday and cheers!
Here is the guide to the rating abbreviations (this list is ever inclusive – not all of them are used below): WS – Wine Spectator, WA – Wine Advocate, ST – Steven Tanzer, WE – Wine Enthusiast, WRO – Wine Review Online, W&S – Wine and Spirits, JS – James Suckling, RP – Robert Parker, JHN – Jonathan H. Newman, D – Decanter Magazine, rating goes in stars ( 5 stars is max), JH – James Halliday, TRR – The Rhone Report, BH – Burghound, IWR – International Wine Report, TLC – The Library Collection, PR – Pinot Report, TWN – The Wine News, LM – Luca Maroni, Sn – Snooth.com.
| Time | Wine | Rating | MSRP | Price | %off |
| 12:00a | Giacosa Barbaresco Santo Stefano 2005/2007 2-Pack | WA95, ST95 | $520.00 | $199.99 | 62% |
| 11:45p | Sullivan Vineyards Rutherford Estate 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon | JHN93 | $70.00 | $29.99 | 57% |
| 11:29p | Podere la Regola ‘La Regola’ Super Tuscan IGT Red Blend 2008 | WA93 | $46.00 | $22.99 | 50% |
| 11:13p | Achaval-Ferrer ‘Finca Mirador’ Mendoza Malbec 2008 | WA96, 93WS | $150.00 | $59.99 | 60% |
| 11:00p | Col d’Orcia ‘Il Veltro’ Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2008 | $50.00 | $23.99 | 52% | |
| 10:44p | Clarendon Hills ‘Liandra Vineyard’ Clarendon Syrah 2007 | JH95 | $85.00 | $33.99 | 60% |
| 10:35p | Casalvento ‘Janus’ Toscana 2011 Half Bottle (375.00ml) | JS93 | $60.00 | $19.99 | 67% |
| 10:20p | Giacomo Borgogno et Figli Barolo Riserva DOCG 2004 Special Edition | JS93 | $110.00 | $39.99 | 64% |
| 10:06p | Chateau Luchey-Halde Pessac-Leognan Red Blend 2009 | IWR92+ | $95.00 | $29.99 | 68% |
| 9:50p | Philippe LeClerc Gevrey-Chambertin Les Champeaux 1er Cru 2011 | JHN92 | $120.00 | $49.99 | 58% |
| 9:36p | Champagne Tendil & Lombardi Cuvee Rose NV | WS90 | $69.00 | $29.99 | 57% |
| 9:30p | Domaine de Beaurenard Chateauneuf-du-Pape Boisrenard 2011 | WS93 | $75.00 | $39.99 | 47% |
| 9:15p | Eagles Trace Winery Estate Grown Napa Valley Merlot 2007 | $45.00 | $22.99 | 49% | |
| 9:00p | Barolo 2009 Single Vineyard Cru Ciabot Berton Roggeri | WRO94, JS93 | $90.00 | $32.99 | 63% |
| 8:45p | Marques del Puerto Bentus Reserva 2005 | WE92 | $60.00 | $19.99 | 67% |
| 8:36p | Rancho Zabaco Monte ‘Toreador’ 2010 Rosso Vineyard Sonoma Valley Zinfandel | WA93 | $60.00 | $26.99 | 55% |
| 8:23p | La Esquina Torrontes 2014 | $22.00 | $9.99 | 55% | |
| 8:09p | Corte Campagnola Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Gli Archi 2004 | WE92 | $54.99 | $29.99 | 45% |
| 8:00p | Krutz Family Cellars Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2011 | $74.00 | $39.99 | 47% | |
| 7:49p | Lisini 2009 Brunello di Montalcino 93 rating and 53% | IWR93, WS91 | $78.00 | $36.99 | 53% |
| 7:34p | Sancerre 2013 ‘Les 7 Hommes ‘ 100% Sauvignon Blanc By Cherrier Pere & Fils | IWR90+ | $39.00 | $17.99 | 54% |
| 7:26p | Quinta Seara d’Ordens Vintage Port 2011 | WE92 | $90.00 | $37.99 | 58% |
| 7:16p | Colle Lungo Campo Cerchi Chianti Classico Riserva 2006 | $50.00 | $24.99 | 50% | |
| 7:04p | Domaine du Grand Tinel Chateauneuf du Pape 2012 | WS91, WA91 | $60.00 | $26.99 | 55% |
| 6:52p | Robert Young Estate Winery ‘Red Winery Road’ Chardonnay 2013 | $35.00 | $17.99 | 49% | |
| 6:41p | Piper Heidsieck Champagne Brut Rose Sauvage NV | WRO93, WS92 | $69.99 | $39.99 | 43% |
| 6:31p | Tempranillo ‘Valnuevo’ Toro 2006 Bodegas y Vinedos Tardencuba | WA93+ | $70.00 | $39.99 | 43% |
| 6:23p | Eagles Trace Wines ‘Latitude 38’ Estate Grown Napa Valley Red Blend 2011 | $85.00 | $34.99 | 59% | |
| 6:12p | Gaston and Pierre Ravaut Aloxe-Corton Vieilles Vignes 2009 Cote de Beaune | WS90 | $70.00 | $35.99 | 49% |
| 5:58p | Citille di Sopra ‘Poggio Ronconi’ Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2010 | JS97 | $95.00 | $46.99 | 51% |
| 5:50p | Encantado Rutherford 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon | $50.00 | $22.99 | 54% | |
| 5:38p | Ernest Meurgey-Perron Meursault Premier Cru White Burgundy 2013 | JHN92 | $100.00 | $39.99 | 60% |
| 5:24p | Champagne Philippe Prie Cuvee Archange NV | WS92 | $95.00 | $34.99 | 63% |
| 5:15p | Mendoza Vineyards Gran Reserva Malbec 2011 | WA92 | $60.00 | $19.99 | 67% |
| 4:58p | Fontanafredda ‘Varej’ Barbera Piedmont DOC 2013 | $17.99 | $9.99 | 44% | |
| 4:48p | Champagne Henri Abele Rose NV | WS91 | $55.00 | $27.99 | 49% |
| 4:42p | Long Meadow Ranch Rutherford 2013 Reserve Red Blend | JHN93 | $100.00 | $29.99 | 70% |
| 4:36p | Antolini ‘Moropio’ Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2010 | WE93 | $79.00 | $27.99 | 65% |
| 4:22p | Domaine Roger Sabon Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Prestige 2011 | WS93, WA93 | $80.00 | $39.99 | 50% |
| 4:16p | Sojourn Cellars ‘Campbell Ranch Vineyard’ Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2012 | PR94 | $45.00 | $39.99 | 11% |
| 4:08p | Fattoria Scopone Brunello di Montalcino ‘Olivare’ DOCG 2010 | JS95 | $80.00 | $36.99 | 54% |
| 3:56p | Super Tuscan ‘Marchesale’ Terre del Marchesato Toscana IGT 2007 | WE94 | $80.00 | $33.99 | 58% |
| 3:44p | Ribera del Duero 2009 ‘Antonio Izquierdo’ Vendimia Seleccionada Bodegas Izquiredo | WA93 | $120.00 | $45.99 | 62% |
| 3:28p | Keating Wines ‘Buchignani Vineyard’ Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel 2012 | WE91 | $35.00 | $19.99 | 43% |
| 3:14p | Burgess Cellars ‘Library Release’ Napa Valley 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon | $150.00 | $89.99 | 40% | |
| 3:11p | Antonin Rodet Macon-Ige ‘Le Chaillou’ Chardonnay 2011 | JHN91 | $35.00 | $14.99 | 57% |
| 2:55p | Domaine Louis Cheze Cuvee ‘Anges’ Saint-Joseph AOC Syrah 2007 | WS93 | $75.00 | $29.99 | 60% |
| 2:42p | Sullivan Vineyards Rutherford Estate 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon | JHN93 | $70.00 | $29.99 | 57% |
| 2:29p | Bodegas Bioenos Gorys Crespiello 2010 91 rating and 72% | WA91 | $100.00 | $27.99 | 72% |
| 2:18p | Fontanafredda ‘Lazzarito’ Vigna La Delizia Barolo DOCG 1999 | WA92 | $170.00 | $49.99 | 71% |
| 2:08p | Guillaume Baptiste ‘L’Evidence’ 2014 Pouilly-Fume | JHN91+ | $35.00 | $15.99 | 54% |
| 1:58p | Pannier Egerie Champagne 2002 | WE92 | $100.00 | $39.99 | 60% |
| 1:52p | Casalvento Vineyards and Winery Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG 2010 | 94 | 47% | ||
| 1:46p | C. Donatiello Winery Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2012 | 92 | 56% | ||
| 1:34p | Eagles Trace ‘Latitude 38’ Estate Grown Napa Valley Red Blend 2009 | 51% | |||
| 1:26p | Chateau Moulin de la Rose Saint-Julien 2008 | WE92 | 59% | ||
| 1:16p | Clarendon Hills ‘Blewitt Springs’ Clarendon Grenache 2007 | 93 | 46% | ||
| 1:08p | Valentina Cubi ‘Morar’ 2008 Amarone della Valpolicella | 93 | 59% | ||
| 1:01p | Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford 2012 | 94 | 43% | ||
| 12:50p | Tenimenti Soprani Barolo DOCG 2010 | 56% | |||
| 12:37p | Jamieson Ranch Vineyards ‘Reata’ 2012 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir | 92 | 56% | ||
| 12:24p | Buoncristiani Family Winery ‘O.P.C.’ Napa Valley 2010 Proprietary Red Blend | 92 | 40% | ||
| 12:16p | Loacker Corte Pavone Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2008 | 93 | 59% | ||
| 12:09p | H. Blin Champagne Brut NV | 91 | 59% | ||
| 11:50a | Maroon Winery Spring Mountain District Reserve 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon | 50% | |||
| 11:39a | Prosecco Bosco dei Cirmioli Veneto NV | 50% | |||
| 11:24a | Lisini 2009 Brunello di Montalcino | 93 | 53% | ||
| 11:16a | Vintage Port Wine and Soul ‘Pintas’ 2011 | 96 | 38% | ||
| 11:07a | Gran Reserva Rioja 2001 Bodegas Lar de Paula Gran Baroja | 90 | 47% | ||
| 11:02a | Encantado 2012 Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon | 62% | |||
| 10:55a | Joseph Mellot Vigne de la Demoiselle Sancerre Rose 2014 | 44% | |||
| 10:47a | Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco DOCG 2005 | 50% | |||
| 10:41a | Pinot Noir Premier Cru Beaune Perrieres 2007 Maison Louis Latour | 90 | 57% | ||
| 10:26a | Champagne Veuve Doussot Brut Rose NV 100% Pinot Noir | 90 | 63% | ||
| 10:17a | Robert Stemmler Winery Estate Grown Carneros Pinot Noir 2011 | 91 | 55% | ||
| 10:08a | Groth Vineyards and Winery Reserve 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon | 94 | 36% | ||
| 9:53a | Barolo DOCG Cascina Adelaide ‘Fossati’ 2008 | WS93 | $125.00 | $39.99 | 68% |
| 9:44a | Domaine Roger Sabon Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Prestige 2008 | 93 | 63% | ||
| 9:34a | Sancerre 100% Sauvignon Blanc Vieilles Vignes 2012 Domaine Raimbault | 91 | 62% | ||
| 9:29a | Cru du Rhone Gigondas Vieilles Vignes 2011 Domaine du Grand Montmirail | 91 | 64% | ||
| 9:22a | Casa Brancaia ‘Ilatraia’ 2009 Maremma Toscana IGT | 94 | 56% | ||
| 9:15a | Beaulieu Vineyard ‘Tapestry’ Napa Valley Reserve Red Blend 2011 | 54% | |||
| 9:00a | Piper-Heidsieck Vintage Brut 2006 | 92 | 33% |
Wednesday’s Meritage – Critic on Criticism, #MWWC19 Reminder, Wine and Food Festivals Abound, Allegrini Wine Dinner and more
Meritage Time!
First, I want to bring to your attention an interesting article by none less than Jancis Robinson, who wrote a very interesting piece called “Jancis Robinson on wine experts versus amateurs“, recently published in Financial Times. In the article, she is talking about the challenges professional wine critics face in today’s world, where literally everyone have an opinion about wines, and not afraid to share it. Definitely worth a few minutes of your time.
Next up – a Monthly Wine Writing Challenge Number 19 (#MWWC19) reminder – there is less than a week left in the current challenge (last day is September 14th), and if I’m not mistaken, there were very few submissions so far. I understand that theme is challenging – “Choice” can mean all and nothing at the same time – but this is why it is a challenge, and this is why your participation is required! If this can be a source of inspiration, here is the link to my own mumbling on the subject – I’m sure you can do better. Write up, people!
Now, last weekend of September might be challenging for the food and wine lovers, as multiple events will be competing for your time and attention:
Greenwich Wine and Food Festival 2015, presented by Serendipity, will take place September 23-26 in Greenwich, Connecticut – lots of celebrities, Food Network Chefs, wine, food contests and more are in the program. Here is the link for detailed information, tickets and more.
The 10th annual Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival will take place on September 25-27, 2015 at The Elms, Rosecliff & Marble House mansions in Newport, Rhode Island. Food& Wine Magazine will be hosting the festivities, and there is a very long list of celebrities and celebrity chefs who will be in attendance there – Martha Stewart, Jacques Pepin and many others will be present, so you can expect lots of delicious food, great wines and fun time. Here is the link for detailed information.
Georgian Food and Wine Festival should take place in New York City on September 25-27 at Chelsea Markets. At this point, this is all information I have – I can’t even give you a link – but just in case, if you are in New York city, see if a visit to Chelsea Markets will fit into your schedule – this will be a free event and I’m sure you will not regret making it.
Now, a bit more of a local event, but on Tuesday, September 15th, Vespa restaurant in Westport, Connecticut, will be hosting an Allegrini wine dinner, where 5 different wines from Allegrini & Poggio al Tesoro estates will be paired with the dishes specially created by the Chef David White. Allegrini is well known producer our of Veneto in Italy (so yes, there will be Amarone on the list), and they also own Poggio al Tesoro vineyards in Tuscany. To get full information about the dinner and to reserve your spot, please visit Vespa Westport web site.
And the last one for today: WTSO, the best of the best in the world of the value wines, will conduct their famous “Anything Goes” Marathon on Monday, September 21st, starting at 9 AM US Eastern time. Wines will be offered in a rapid succession, new wines will be advertised only through the Twitter (no emails and no App notifications), no minimums to buy to get free shipping. But you better have all your information ready, as wines will be flying. If you are not already doing so, you might want to follow WTSO on Twitter. Happy hunting!
And this is all I have for you for today. The glass is empty, but the refill is on the way. Cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, WTSO Fall Cheapskate Marathon, Costco Wines and more
Meritage time!
Let’s start with the answer to the wine quiz #116: Harvest Time.
This quiz was dedicated to harvests and vintages, and as usual, contained 5 different questions.
Here are the questions, now with the answers:
Q1: Which one is missing:
1928, 1945, …, 1959, 1961, 1982
A1: 1947. The years above represent some of the best vintages in Bordeaux.
Q2: What is common between Vega Sicilia Unico, La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904, Chateau d”Yquem Grand Vin and Giacomo Conterno Monfortino Riserva Barolo?
A2: All of the wines above are made only in the best years – they are not produced every year no matter what.
Q3: This sweet wine is one of the most prized wines in the world, and it had been produced only 3 times in the 21st century – 2000, 2003 and 2011. Do you know what wine this might be?
A3: Quinta do Noval Vintage Nacional Port. This Port in not only vintage, but it is also produced only in the exceptional years, without any regards to the Vintage declaration by IVDP. This port was produced only 3 times over the last 14 years.
Q4: Below is the list of some of the exceptionally good vintage years for this red wine – do you know what wine that might be?
1948, 1955, 1964, 1982, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2004
A4: Rioja. The telltale sign here are the 2001 and 2004 vintages, which were generally not the amazing years in most of the other regions, but exceptional in Rioja.
Q5: This wine was released for the first time in 1978, at the age of 100 years. It continues to be released every year since that time, always at the age of 100 years. Do you know what wine this might be and which country produces it?
A5: Seppeltsfield Seppelt Para 100 Year Old Tawny Port.
When it comes to the results, once again, the participation was rather low. But – this was a difficult quiz, so I think 4 correct answers out of 5 is a very good performance, thus we have a winner –oenophilogical, who gets the prize of unlimited bragging rights. Well done!
Now, to the interesting stuff around the vine and the web!
WTSO is on it again – the Cheapskate Marathon. Tuesday, October 14th, starting at 6 AM Eastern in the morning until midnight, the rules are usual – one wine at a time, offered for 15 minutes or until sold out, prices are from $7.99 to $18.99, 4 bottles minimum to get free shipping, no notifications of any sort except twitter. Yes, you know the drill. Happy hunting!
Do you ever buy wines at Coscto? Actually Coscto is the biggest alcohol retailer in US, with the 2013 sales totaling $3.1B, about 50% of which are wine sales. I thought you might be interested to read this interview with Annette Alvarez-Peters, an assistant GM for mechanizing, to learn what sells, what doesn’t sell at Costco, and what the future holds.
Next up – one of my favorite subjects for W’M – wine in numbers. Wine Market Council, a non-profit association, released the research about wine drinkers in the US, just in time for holidays. According to the research, out of the 230 million of adults in US (drinking age adults it is), 35% don’t drink any alcohol at all (if you ask me, I think at least 10% is lying, but never mind that statement). Another 21% drink alcohol, but not wine (pour souls), and only 44% drink wine. Those 44% are divided into two groups – 15% drink wine more than once a week (yay!), and 29% drink wine occasionally. There are more numbers in the research, of course, but I will leave it up to you to explore.
Last one for today is about nanotechnologies. Okay, fine. Wine and nanotechnologies. As reported by Dr. Vino, scientists in Denmark are working on the electronic tongue, which will take the difficult task of analyzing wine upon itself, and you will be left with the like/don’t like results, and of course, the rating which will make Robert Parker green with envy. Anyway, I will let you be the judge of it.
And we are done here. The glass is empty – but the refill is on its way! Cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, WTSO Marathon, Dangers of Twits, Natural Wines Commotion
Meritage Time!
Of course we are staring with the answer to the weekly wine quiz #109, where you were supposed to identify 8 wines by the image on top of the bottle cap or a capsule. Below are the pictures, now with the answers:
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- 1. Casa Bianchi (Argentina)
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- 2. Emilio Moro (Spain)
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- 3. PEJU (California)
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- 4. Dominio de Pingus PSI (Spain)
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- 5. Andrew Murray (California)
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- 6. Chamonix (South Africa)
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- 7. Cairdean Vineyards (California)
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- 8. Zaca Mesa (California)
While nobody was able to identify all 8 wines, Zak (no web site) did an excellent job identifying 6 out of 8 wine tops, so he is definitely the winner of this round and gets the unlimited bragging rights! I also want to acknowledge wineandhistory, who correctly identified PEJU wine. I’m also glad to say that a number of people said that they will start paying more attention to the bottle tops, which makes it all more fun.
Now, to the interesting news around the web and the vine!
First, the WTSO is on it again – Summer Cheapskate Marathon is coming to the browser next to you on Tuesday, July 29th. Starting at 6 am Eastern time, the new wines will be offered in the $7.99 to $18.99 range every 15 minutes or sooner if the offered wine will sell out. All wines are offered in the quantity of 4 bottles or more to get the free shipping. The marathon will finish at 11:59 pm Eastern time.
Next up is an interesting post by W. Blake Gray. I made a number of attempts to come up with a clever abstract for his blog post; instead, I just have to explain why I think it worth a few minutes of your time. In the article, W. Blake Gray explains how two of his short posts on twitter led to the angry rebuttal from the Cellar Tracker founder, Eric Levine, with the declaration of “wine snob” being literally slapped on W. Blake Gray’s face (yes, as a figure of speech – no bodily harm took place). Twitter is a dangerous medium – the condensed format requires lots of careful attention to what one is saying – and viral potential of any twit making huge waves should always be taken into account… Anyway, read it for yourself, including the comments, and if you will, let me know what you think.
What do you think of natural wine? Yes, I know that the term itself is somewhat controversial. But, considering that the wine is a form of art, I only see it as one of the styles, which is perfectly valid alongside of many others. However, it seems that a lot of wine professionals don’t see it like that. First was an article by Bruce Palling, called “Is there anything natural about raw wine“. Jamie Goode, a winner of the Best Overall Wine Blog Award at WBC14, responded to this article on his blog, in the post called “Comments on Bruce Palling’s anti-natural wine article“. Then Steve Heimoff jumped in with “I weigh in on Jamie Goode’s post on “natural wine””, and even Matt Kramer couldn’t stand aside and wrote the post called “When Did Wine Become So Partisan?“. If anything, I’m definitely siding with Matt Kramer and his question – I don’t understand why the opinions about wine, which is an extremely, extremely subjective in terms of “good and bad”, should be so fiercely antagonistic. If someone doesn’t like the taste of Australian Shiraz, does it mean that Australia should stop making Shiraz? And if the answer is “of course not”, then I don’t understand why natural wine should be any different. Anyway, I suggest you will spend a few minutes of your time reading those articles – and don’t forget to read the comments.
And we are done for today. The glass is empty – but the refill is on the way. Cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, #MWWC6 Vote, WTSO Marathon, Shoe as a Corkscrew
Meritage time!
Let’s start with the answer for the wine quiz #88, What Is It? In the quiz, you were given a picture with wine (alcohol) related object, and you were supposed to explain what this object is for and how it is supposed to be used.
Below is the quiz picture with two additional pictures, which together should give you a good idea of what and how:
This tiny hammer is packaged with every bottle of Beluga Vodka Gold Line – hammer is intended to be used to break the wax seal on top of the bottle and brush should be used to clean up all the small pieces of wax.
This quiz had a number of comments with the answer, but pretty much for the first time I remember running these quizzes, many people referred to one of the previous answers as a correct one, instead of providing their own answer. This creates an interesting challenge in announcing the winner. Nevertheless, the winners of this quiz are Misha and Emil, and Patty of Bota and The Beast, Julian of VinoInLove, Trace Lee Karner and Suzanne of apuginthekitchen are all getting a “supporting winner” title. Well done!
Now, to the interesting stuff around the vine and the web!
First, the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge #6 with the theme of “Mystery”, hosted by Jeff a.k.a. The Drunken Cyclist, has concluded with the record number of participants (25). Now it is time to vote for your favorite post (actually, you can vote for up to three) – for all rules and regulations please refer to Jeff’s post here.
WTSO is doing it again! Mark your calendars – Tuesday, January 28th, starting 6 AM Eastern – you better be glued to your computer, or you are risking to miss out on hundreds of great deals! WTSO marathon (a Cheapskate Marathon) will be taking place with all the usual rules: all the wines are priced in $7.99 to $18.99, no e-mail announcements, all new wines are announced on twitter and only on twitter, new wines are offered every 15 minutes or sooner if the previous wine is sold out. Happy hunting!
Last interesting item I want to bring to your attention is a video about using the shoe as a wine opener in the crisis – okay, not really a crisis, but if you have a bottle of wine, and you want to drink it, your date is getting impatient – and there is no corkscrew in site – does that constitute a crisis in your book? Well, shoe is to the rescue! You can read about using the shoe as a bottle opener in the Dr. Vino’s blog, where he also offers a collection of cork screw errr shoe-opener videos – here is the link.
And we are done here. The glass is empty – but the refill is on its way! Cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Economics of Wine Collecting, Wine in Numbers, WTSO Marathon, and more
Meritage Time!
Today we don’t have the quiz to talk about, so let’s get right to the interesting stuff around the vine and web.
An interesting article by Mike Veseth, who writes an excellent Wine Economist blog, is on the subject of wine collecting. Mike just started writing a new column for Wine Searcher online wine magazine, analyzing the world of wine collecting. While the article is pretty technical, it still makes a thought-provoking read, whether you are the wine collector or not.
W. Blake Gray published interesting numbers regarding volume of wine imported into the United States from different countries. Which country do you think is a number one importer? And then which country will take lead if you will disregard “big brands”? Check it out here.
Believe it or not, but the Wine Til Sold Out (WTSO) is doing it again! Free up some space in your cellars, and get ready for next Tuesday, September 10th – WTSO Cheapskate Marathon is coming! The rules have not changed – starting 6 AM Eastern time, WTSO will be offering new wines every 15 minutes or sooner if sold out. The only notification mechanism is Twitter (no e-mails), all the wines are priced in $7.99 – $18.99 range, free ground shipping on the orders of 4 or more. Marathon will continue until 11 PM Eastern time. Featured wines will include (among many others) Maroon Cabernet 2010, 2009 Red Blend from Shadowood, 2010 Valley Gate Chardonnay, Diamond Ridge Pinot Noir, Redheads Moonlight Cabernet, Sacoya Sauvignon Blanc. Make sure your account has all the right information ready, as the wines will be gone in a blink…
Steve Heimoff ponders at an interesting question – what will happen with the wine writing going forward? While he doesn’t offer any radical predictions, I’m sure many of you have the same question in mind from time to time. Check it out for yourself.
Last but no least – an article by Alder Yarrow talks about name protection gone too far. As you might know, the new Apple iPhone line will include new colors, one of them being champagne. Now the Interprofessional Committee for Champagne Wine (ICCW) is now getting concerned with Apple’s use of the word Champagne as a color descriptor and wants to have them stopped. Talk about complete waste of money and lawyers not having anything better to do…
And I think we are done here. Happy Rosh Hashanah to those who celebrates, and happy Wine Wednesday to all of you! Until the next time – cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, OTBN, WTSO Marathon and more
Meritage Time!
Let’s start from the answer for the Wine Quiz #47, Frost and Grapes. The quiz was about Icewines, and you had to answer four questions in that quiz:
1. Briefly explain what Icewines are, including required conditions for harvesting of the grapes.
2. Which country is the biggest producer of the Icewine? As a bonus question, narrow it down to the specific region in that country.
3. Name two most popular white grape varieties for production of the Icewine.
4. Name the winery which pioneered Icewines made from the red grapes. Name that grape as well.
I’m happy to report that Wine and History, VinoInLove and The Winegetter all correctly answered first three questions (quick recap: Icewine is made out of the grapes which freeze on the vine and temperature reaching -7C or -8C depending on the region; leading Icewine world producing region is Canada, and then Ontario produces about 70% of Icewine in Canada ; Riesling and Vidal are two of the most popular white grape varietals used for Icewine).
With question #4, I dug myself a hole I promised not to get into many times before – all the questions about “pioneers” and “firsts” have lots of competing claims and no conclusive and confident assessments from the trustworthy sources. Thus the pioneering portion of the question will be left outside of assessing results of this quiz, and we will only take the grape variety, which is Cabernet Franc. Just as a side note, based on my search, the pioneering winery is either Pelee Island or Inniskillin – you can find 2002 Inniskillin Cabernet Franc Icewine still available for purchase via Wine-Searcher, and 2002 Pelee Island Cabernet Franc won gold medal at one of the wine competitions in France according to the article on Wines Of Canada website.
And it means that both Wine and History and VinoInLove are the winners of the Wine Quiz #47 and they get unlimited bragging rights as a prize.
Now, to the news! First and foremost, OTBN is coming up very soon. Who knows what OTBN stands for, please raise your hands! Duh, I can’t see your hands. Okay, never mind. OTBN stands for “Open That Bottle Night”, and it is a special event created by Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, a couple who wrote Wall Street Journal’s Tastings column for 12 years ( their column was my main reason to subscribe to The Journal – ever since they stopped writing it at the end of 2009, it never was the same). They started the OTBN events in the year 2000 with the purpose of giving people the reason to open that special bottle they had being holding onto. OTBN always takes place at the last Saturday in February. Thus this year OTBN will be falling on Saturday, February 23rd – and here is a great article from the Palate Press, talking about John and Dottie’s love story of 40 years and OTBN still going strong. Whatever your plans are for the February 23rd, don’t forget to open that special bottle, and either leave a comment or write your own blog post about that special experience.
Now, value wine lovers, rejoice, and make room in your cellars (whatever you call “the cellar”) – WTSO Cheapskate Wednesday will be taking place on February 20th – get ready to go a bit crazy, if you want to put your hands on the good stuff. During last Cheapskate event WTSO sold 90+ different wines, in the total quantity of more than 72,000 bottles during the 18 hours – some of the wines only lasted one minute or so. Here are couple of most important points, taken from WTSO announcement:
- Cheapskate Wednesday will run from 6am to midnight Eastern Time.
- We will be posting offers every 15 minutes (or sooner if an item sells out).
- Every item will be priced from $7.99 to $18.99
- The only method of notification for EVERY item will be Twitter
Set your alarm clock and practice your mouse and keyboard skills, you will need them. Also make sure you have all the ordering information (including CC number) on file with WTSO – I didn’t, and I lost a few interesting wines while I was typing in my information.
And now for the “local news” – I will be on vacation next week! Which means that:
- there will be no weekly wine quiz for the next two Saturdays
- I will miss the Cheapskate Marathon
- I will miss the OTBN event – so I will have to do my personal OTBN at one of the upcoming Saturdays
- I (most likely) will not be able to reply to your comments and comment on your posts
- But you will probably still see some posts from me, considering that scheduling will work well in WordPress
That’s all I have for you for today. The glass is empty. Until the next time – cheers!
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