Hello Fellow Wine Lovers,
Read this morning about a new twist on the "red wine with beef" classic that made me chuckle. It is from an article out of Canada where a farmer is trying to cash in on the gourmet beef market by feeding his cattle red wine!
Here is a link to the story from CTV Calgary: http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100824/bc_wine_cows_100824/20100824/?hub=CalgaryHome
"A cattle farm in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley trying to cash in on the gourmet beef market by feeding its cows red wine has been handed some sour grapes from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The CFIA has put a cork in the idea of feeding the Cabernet-heavy blend of Okanagan wine to cows, saying the liquid is just fine for humans to consume, just not bovines.
Farmers Darrel Timm and Janice Ravndahl at Sezmu Farms in Kelowna feed their animals one "cow-sized" glass of B.C. red wine every day until slaughter, the equivalent of a large bottle every day. They say it makes the most succulent and tender AAA steak they've ever tasted.
But the CFIA is telling the farm that even though all the ingredients in the wine are on its approved feeding list individually, the actual wine is not."
Apparently, in reading futher, there could be some health benefits to this process with the wine possibly reducing bacteria in the cattle, and "Feeding animals alcohol to enhance their flavour is a popular and legal process in other countries, including Japan and Germany, where cows and pigs are finished with beer"
Something to think about when enjoying your next steak. And if you need help pairing a good wine with that steak, check out the "Shop Our Products" section on my web site; www.scottswinetaste.com. We have a terrific new Fog Zinfandel and Fog Nebbiolo that will match up with any meat you're grilling!
Have a grape week.
Scott Bigelow
Independent Wine Consultant - WineShop At Home
(925) 648-1316
scott.winetaste@sbcglobal.net
Hello Fellow Wine Lovers,
Hope you're enjoying the last bit of summer vacation before school starts for most next week (if you don't have kids in school then you get an extended summer break until mid-Sept. ;-).
I've noticed in the stores and on restaurant menus that it is heirloom tomato season, which I love to enjoy simply with some mozzarella cheese, basil and balamic vineger, but what wine to drink with it?
First choice: drink whatever you like.
Second choice: If you want to try and pair a wine to go nicely with heirloom tomatoes then I would suggest a nice Rose, preferrably one based on Syrah, Grenache or Pinot Noir. If you want a red instead of a rose then I'd reach for a Pinot Noir or Syrah first, preferrably one with lower alcohol (under 15%, and possibly under 14.5% if you can find one).
If you want to skip the tomatoes and go straight for a nice red wine, maybe to BBQ with over Labor Day weekend then I'll suggest our newly released FOG Zinfandel and Nebbiolo. They're terrific and you can learn about them on my web site or from my monthly e-newsletter (e-mail me for a copy).
Have a grape week.
Cheers!
Scott Bigelow
Independent Wine Consultant - WineShop At Home
(925) 648-1316
scott.winetaste@sbcglobal.net
Hello Fellow Wine Lovers,
In case you aren't aware, one of the best wine tasting experiences, outside of a WineShop At Tasting of course, is the Family Winemakers Tasting in San Francisco. It happens every August and is an opportunity for you to try some fantastic wines, many you may have never heard of, as well as some new varietals.
This years' tasting is on August 22, from 3:00 - 6:00 PM at the Fort Mason Festival Pavilion, and I highly recommend you attend this unique tasting experience. Yes, it can get crowded, but it isn't as bad as ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates & Producers) in January.
Here's a link to the tasting web site fopr mroe information: http://www.familywinemakers.org/tastings/tastings.cfm
If you cannot make the Family Winemakers tasting but still want to have a wine tasting experience that you can share with your family, friends, clients and/or co-workers then give me a call and we can find a date that I can bring the wine country to you!
Cheers!
Scott Bigelow
(925) 648-1316
Independent Wine Consultant
WineShop At Home
Hello Fellow Wine Lovers,
A friend of mine just shared a video I thought you might enjoy, especially if you find yourself with a bottle of wine (non-screw cap), but no corkscrew.
I've done something similar back in my days of first discovering wine, utilizing a telephone pole, but this video is a lot simpler.
Of course, you can get a terrific corkscrew wiht the best foil cutter I've come across from my web site under "Shop Our Products" and selecting "Wine Accessories".
http://www.wimp.com/wineshoe/
I hope you enjoy the video and have a grape weekend. I look forward ot sharing some wine with you and your friends soon.
Cheers!
Scott Bigelow
Independent Wine Consultant
WineShop At Home
(925) 648-1316
This wine has a bit of a pale straw color, good acidity, and definite citrus notes, but is it a Sauvignon Blanc or a Pniot Grigio? You won't know until we unwrap the bottle.
A Blind Wine Tasting is a really fun way for you and up to 11 friends to experience the wine country lifestyle in the comfort of your own home or office. We'll have an entertaining and educational time sampling 5 wines, pairing them with cheese, fruit and chocolate all for just $59!
I'd love to bring the wine country to you this summer. You can call me for details or go to my web site for more information.
Cheers!
Scott Bigelow
Independent Wine Consultant
WineShop At Home
(925) 648-1316
Scott’s Fun Wine Facts
Largest Wine Bottle Ever?
Wine has been stored in bottles for centuries, but it wasn’t until the 1800’s when glass blowing techniques improved that it was adopted as the main storage vessel for wine. And the 750 ml bottle wasn’t really established as the “standard” bottle size until the late 1970’s.
While 750 ml may be the average wine bottle size today, wine still comes in many different size bottles, from the Split (187.5 ml, about 1 glass) to the Methuselah (8 liters, 6 bottles) and beyond.
Do you know what the largest wine bottle ever produced is?
130 Liters (over 45 gallons of wine)! That translates into 1,200 glasses! It is 4.5 feet tall and 4.5 feet around. It was commissioned by Morton’s Steak House for their 25th anniversary. You’d have to have a big party to enjoy that bottle.
WineShop At Home doesn’t have a bottle of wine quite that size, but we do have some fun, special bottles of wine that you can get to celebrate a special occasion; like your own anniversary, graduation, Father’s Day, wedding, and more.
How about a Double Magnum (4 bottles of wine in one) with your own label on it?
Wine Double Magnums say "I Love You" Big Time. Twice the size of a magnum, holding 3.0 liters of one of our classic reds (4 standard bottles); this big guy is a knock out! Add your dad's high school graduation picture, fifth grade baseball pose or a picture of you two together for a very special gift that says you care in a big, big way.
A personalized double magnum is normally $199, but we’re offering a special 25% discount off our Personalized Double Magnums for a short time.
Now you can get your own special large fromat bottle of our Talmage Cellars Cabernet for just $145.99!
Call or e-mail for details. Depending on your label, your wine can ship within a couple of days so there’s plenty of time to get one as a graduation gift, Father’s Day present, family gathering or business celebration.
Have a grape week.
Cheers!
Scott Bigelow
Independent Wine Consultant
WineShop At Home
(925) 648-1316
Scott.winetaste@sbcglobal.net
Scott's Fun Wine Facts
You know that wine comes from grape vines, but have you ever wondered how many grapes actually go into a 750 ml bottle of wine?
The answer is approximately 600 grapes!
Of course, it depends a little on the grape varietal; some varietals produce larger grapes than others, and the vintage; the weather in some years produces larger grapes than in other years. The dryer the growing season typically the smaller, and more concentrated the grapes will be.
Would you like to share about 3,000 grapes with your friends for only $49?
WineShop At Home tasting samplers consist of 5 bottles of wine you can share with up to 16 people, and through June 30 it is only $49 to order your tasting sampler.
Call or e-mail me for more details as some restrictions do apply.
Have a grape week!
Cheers!
Scott Bigelow
Independent Wine Consultant
WineShop At Home
(925) 648-1316
scott.winetaste@sbcglobal.net
New Wine Arrivals The Big Cats Are Back: Celebrating Nature. Serving up two great EVO wines as well as serving National Geographic at the same time. Our special partnership will provide $1 for each bottle ordered at a Wine Tasting, or from a Wine Consultant’s personal website, to help protect these special animals.. For more information on our partnership with National Geographic, click here to view the flyer.
EVO 2006 North Coast Cabernet Franc
This 2008 EVO North Coast Cabernet Franc has aromas of cherry, wet leather, and moist tobacco with hints of spicy jalapeno and kiwi. The flavors are a ripe combination of the aromas with smooth acidity and mild tannin. The mouth-feel is medium to heavy with a nice roundness in the long fruit centric finish. Enjoy this wine with roasted pork chops, artichokes with aioli, portabella mushrooms or morbier cheese.
The Florida Panther numbered fewer than 50 individuals less than 50 years ago. Thanks to incredible conservation efforts, their numbers are now in the hundreds.
A portion of the proceeds from each bottle of the North Coast Cabernet Franc goes to support the National Geographic Big Cats Initiative. If you would like to learn more about how you can help, please visit www.nationalgeographic.com/bigcats.
This 2009 EVO Clarksburg Albariño has aromas of fresh peach, pear, apple and gardenia with hints of orange peel and lemon. Flavors and mouth-feel are light and refreshing with crisp acidity and a pleasing smoothness. The finish is slightly tart but long and enjoyable. Enjoy this wine with halibut prepared with citrus, egg salad, acorn squash or mozzarella cheese.
Ocelots, unlike many other cats, spend a lot of time in or near water. They are good swimmers.
A portion of the proceeds from each bottle of the EVO Clarksburg Albariño goes to support the National Geographic Big Cats Initiative. If you would like to learn more about how you can help, please visit www.nationalgeographic.com/bigcats.
You can try these wines and others by hosting a wine tasting at your home or office for you and your friends or purchase them directly from my web site: www.scottswinetaste.com
I look forward to sharing the wine country experience with you soon.
Cheers!
Scott Bigelow
Independent Wine Consultant
WineShop At Home
(925) 648-1316
Scott.winetaste@sbcglobal.net
Meritage - is a term used by some makers of Bordeaux blended wines instead of just calling a wine a Red or White Table Wine.
What is a Bordeaux Blend? It's a wine, either red or white, made from blending at least two of the traditional grapes gown in the Bordeaux region of France. For reds, these grapes are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. For the whites, it's Suavignon Blanc, Semillion, and Muscadelle.
You can blend however many of the Bordeaux grapes you like (red and white separate though) to get the desired wine you're looking for. The only real mandate is that you can't have more than 90% of any one grape to call it a Meritage. Also, if you are producing a Meritage you'll need to join the Meritage Association, which was started in 1988. www.meritagewine.org
OK, so you're going to make or buy a Meritage wine, but is it a "Meritidge" or a "Meritaj"? Officially, it is a "Meritidge", like "Heritage". The term combines “merit,” reflecting the quality of the grapes, with “heritage,” which recognizes the centuries-old tradition of blending. But keep in mind, there aren't any "Meritage Police" so if you prefer ----ouncing it like "Meritaj" go right ahead.
WineShop At Home annually releases our De Beaumont Red & White Meritage wines, usually in the fall, and I will encourage you to try them when the next vintage comes out.
While not a Meritage, we have just released our newest wine from one of the "Noble" Bordeaux varietals; Cabernet Franc.
Introducing EVO Cabernet Franc: This 2008 EVO North Coast Cabernet Franc has aromas of cherry, wet leather, and moist tobacco with hints of spicy jalapeno and kiwi. The flavors are a ripe combination of the aromas with smooth acidity and mild tannin. The mouth-feel is medium to heavy with a nice roundness in the long fruit centric finish. And it's just $23.
You can enjoy this wine and at the same time help save some wild animals through EVO's partnership with the National Geographic Foundation's Big Cats Initiative. Read more about this and order this great wine on my web site: www.scottswinetaste.com (click on "Wine Brands" on my home page for mroe information on the EVO brand).
I look forward to sharing this wine with you soon.
Cheers!
Scott Bigelow
Independent Wine Consultant
WineShop At Home
(925) 648-1316
scott.winetaste@sbcglobal.net
Dear Wine Lover:
Imagine being able to enjoy the wine country with family and friends from the comfort of your own home!
WineShop at Home™ provides that exact opportunity. We specialize in bringing the wine country to you through guided, in-home wine tastings, along with food pairing ideas direct from the wine country.
An in-home wine tasting is a fun way to get friends and family together for a relaxed afternoon or evening while enjoying a selection of handcrafted, limited production wines. It's a fun "try before you buy" experience.
The tasting lasts approximately 1 1/2 hours, and provides a chance for you and your guests to try 5 wonderful wines and spend some fun time together.
Our wine tastings are typically good for up to 16 people, but it is ok to have just 6-8 if you prefer. All you need to do to move forward is schedule a date and time with me, invite your guests, provide some light appetizers like cheese, crackers and fruit, and sit back and relax – and let me bring the wine country to you.
There is a small fee to cover the costs of the wine, which we offset with gifts and discounts for hosting the wine tasting party. Since the wines are not available in stores we make them available for guests to order after the tasting.
I look forward to sharing the wine country with you soon.
Cheers!
Scott Bigelow
925-648-1316 - call me to reserve your party!
These sandy beaches and long, warm nights will soon give way to golden leaves crunching beneath our feet and fall’s first chill. Now is the time to take the last sips of summer with simple home entertaining that is easy on the host and easy on the wallet.
Send Out the Invites:
The promise of glasses overflowing with wine is always a winner. If you’re pressed for time or don’t want to bother with the snail mail, go to www.evite.com to create a great invitation that includes your theme (wine of course has got to be center stage). To make it extra easy on yourself, invite each guest to bring a dozen of their favorite appetizers. Easy on them. Easy on you. Fun to share, compare and trade recipes of favorites.
Pick The Perfect Spot:
Take the party outdoors and take advantage of the late afternoon or early evening. When twilight comes the magic truly begins. Go for lots of candles – from simple votives floating in a bowl to tapers placed in your best crystal or silver (yeah, remember those wedding gifts? Or, the gift from Aunt Edna tucked away in the closet. Bring them out and let them shine up the night).
Set the Mood:
Here’s the deal. A great party track can make your event memorable. They’ll be humming those tunes long after they’ve said goodnight. Put your DJ face on and create your playlist, download your favorites and let the music soar. Here are some suggestions for a large outdoor gathering : "A Minha Menina" by Os Mutantes, "The Noise of Carpet” by Stereolab, "Lebanese Blonde" by Thievery Corporation, "Dance with Me" by Nouvelle Vague, "Let me Down Easy" by Bettye LaVette, “Summer Wind” by Frank Sinatra, “Blue in Green” by Miles Davis and “Harvest Moon” by Neil Young.
Pop the Cork:
Chill the white in a large bucket of ice (pouring water into the ice makes it easy to push the bottles down for a better chill), pop the cork on the reds and you’re good to go. Arrange wine stems on top of a bar, table or tray and let guests help themselves. Pitchers, or decanters of still or sparkling water (toss in a sliced lemon if you choose) make a nice touch. Add non-alcoholic beverages to the offering so there’s something for everyone. Enjoy the season’s finale with family and friends. Toast to their health, their joy, their happiness. The memories will last all winter long.
Greetings fellow wine lovers; It’s On!
You would usually associate the harvest with fall, which actually doesn’t officially begin for another 5+ weeks. However, the grape harvest usually begins in early to mid-August unless it is an unseasonably cool summer, and the thermometer on my back porch has touched 100 or more numerous times this summer so it is by no means unseasonably cool.
North Coast Pinot Noir is being brought in from the vineyards, and other varietals and locations are soon to follow. Of course, harvest will most likely continue for another two months before all the grapes have been picked throughout the various AVA’s of California, and possibly longer depending on the weather.
But if you’re a wine lover…it’s the most wonderful time of the year!
To celebrate, I suggest you invite me and some of your friends over for a private wine tasting in the comfort of your own home. Or you can pop the cork on one of your own personalized wines to celebrate harvest and the ending of the recession. You can do this with our Talmage Cellars Chardonnay, Merlot or Cabernet; mix and match a case or get a case of each with your own picture on it or use our photo library to create your label.
Find out more about the personalized wine program and in-home tastings on my web site; www.scottswinetaste.com or give me a call.
THE TIME IS NOW!
Do you enjoy wine? Have you ever wanted to learn more about it and share it with others while having a lot of fun, traveling and earning extra money?
Here are some great reasons to become a
Wine Consultant with WineShop At Home right now:
-
New enhanced and more lucrative compensation plan – now pays up to 44%
-
Join us in the Mayan Riviera for our 2010 Dream Vacation Incentive Trip
-
Get ready for extra holiday cash, from our busiest time of the year
-
Join friends and family and follow your passion, while learning about wine
Join the wine revolution today!
Call me at (925) 648-1316 or e-mail me at scott.winetaste@sbcglobal.net for more information or come to the "First Thursday" meeting in Danville next week, Thurs., Aug. 6 beginning at 6:45 PM to learn more about WineShop At Home as a business opportunity, meet other consultants and try our wines.
I look forward to sharing the wine country with you soon.
Cheers!
At a lot of my wine tastings, people usually ask me about the correct serving temperature of wine. I can only answer this in a general sense because everyone’s tastes are different.
With the hot weather we just had last weekend though I heard many people talk about enjoying white wine or beer because of the heat, and very few mentioned having red wine. Given a choice, I almost always want to have red wine over white regardless of the temperature, but others may not enjoy the reds on a hot day because the heat takes away from the fruit of the wine, leaving mostly the tannins and acid.
So should you forego red wine on a hot day or have to wait until the sun goes down and the temperature drops? No, I don’t think you should, but what do you do to counteract the heat? Put your red wine in the refrigerator.
What, red wine in the fridge? I thought red wines were supposed to be served at room temperature?
Generally they are, but there’s nothing wrong with cooling down your red wines on a hot or even warm day. In fact, since the average temperature in most of our “rooms” in this area is probably near or above 70 degrees I suggest you cool down your red wines before serving them on an average day not just a hot one.
I think a good serving temperature for red wines is generally in the mid-60’s range so go ahead and experiment a little and put your Cabernet, Merlot, Grenache, Zin, etc. in the refrigerator or the ice bucket for 10 minutes before popping the cork and see how you like it. Let the wine warm up a bit and try it again and you can determine which way you prefer your red wines.
Continue the experiment with different varietals and see if you prefer one varietal cooler than another or if you like them at your room temperature instead of mine, but don’t put off red wines just because the sun is shining a little hotter. After all, more red wines will go with your BBQ meats than white wines, and this is a prime BBQ weekend.
Cheers!
Scott Bigelow
Independent Wine Consultant
WineShop At Home
(925) 648-1316
Join me for some fun, laughs, and great food and wine at the Wheelchair Foundation's
7th Annual Kentucky Derby - Churchill Downs West
This Saturday, May 2nd, Wine for Wheels brings the Kentucky Derby to the West Coast for a very fun and entertaining Kentucky Derby - Churchill Downs West Party.
It's a great experience for a wonderful cause....and now it's only $50 per person by advanced donation.
For a Kentucky Derby flier - click here
To Purchase Tickets online - click here
Party Starts 1:00 o' clock - Three o'clock Post Time
Mint Julep with Official collectible glass
Lunch and Champagne will be served
Special Guest Wineries
Kentucky Derby Races
Woman's Hat Contest - (The winner will receive a Tiffany Silver horseshoe pendant necklace)
Silent & live Auction & Raffle
Live Dixieland Music & Dancing to DJ afterward
Fifty Dollars per Person
or
Seventy-five Dollars at the Door
Contact me if you have any questions about this event.
Hope to see you there.
Cheers!
Scott
Hello Fellow Wine Lovers,
Today’s class is on decanting! I suggest reading it over a nice glass of wine…from WineShop At Home of course!
I get a number of questions about decanting wines at my tastings, and if you have some too maybe this will help answer them.
This past weekend I did a couple of wine tastings that included a Lake County Cabernet. I've had this wine before and naturally decanted it for close to an hour since it is a very young cabernet; however, on Friday night I did not decant it for the tasting I was doing since I only had one decanter and used it for WineShop At Home's 2006 De Beaumont Red Meritage instead.
The tasting notes for the Cabernet say cherry pie, which I got, rhubarb (which I remember from my short time in New Jersey as a kid and eating it from my neighbor's yard), plum and…cilantro! That last one was really evident without the wine being decanted, and it was too much for some of the guests. The wine tasting I was a part of on Saturday night also had this wine in the sampler, and this time it was decanted for an hour and because of that it was much more balanced, with only slight hints of cilantro if you were looking for it.
OK, I've talked about decanting a very young wine, but the benefits go the other way too. Last November I opened a bottle of 1989 Joseph Phelps Insignia that I was fortunate to get back when it was only $45, not the $200+ it goes for these days.
Anyway, 1989 wasn’t the best year for Cabernet, and I did not expect much from this wine since it was quite old and not from the best year. Once opened, my assumptions were confirmed…at first, but after 20-30 minutes the wine began to show a little fruit. It still wasn’t great, but drinkable for some of the people I was with. We moved on to other wines and sort of wrote off the Insignia, but 2-3 hours later one of my friends decided to retry it, and was very surprised, as were we all after pouring some more for ourselves and realizing the wine just needed some time to open up, and in fact turned out to be very good and worth the wait.
Here are a few reasons from Dan Berger writing in Appellation America last month why decanting may now be more necessary than ever before:
"First off, grapes are being picked later than ever, leading to higher alcohols on average. This is true for all wine, and leads to fatter, richer textures.
Secondly, such later picking produces wines with lower acidity (and consequently higher pH levels), which leads to even softer tastes. Yes, California wine makers usually add acid to help balance their wines, but under some conditions, adding acid does not lead to a lower pH (needed for better balance and more stability), and thus many such wines remain rather flabby.
Thirdly, wine is being released earlier than ever before. It used to be that Cabernets stayed in the barrel for at least two years, often longer, and then had two more years in the winery before being released. In the 1970s, it was routine to wait four full years before a wine was released. Sometimes the time frame was longer than that.
In the last few years, that time frame has been trimmed by 25-40 percent; we are seeing Cabernet Sauvignons at three years and even less..."
I recently saw a comment form someone in the UK saying decanting wasn't really necessary anymore because of all the fining and filtering being done at wineries nowadays, thereby not having much sediment at all to worry about when aging wines. You decant a wine for far more reasons than to just catch some of the sediment. You decant it to improve the overall taste and complexity of the wine, which in turn enhances your enjoyment of the wine.
OK, so you’ve decanted the wine and really enjoyed it, but you didn’t finish it and you know it won’t last all that long in a decanter; what do you do?
Use a funnel and pour the wine back into the bottle and seal it with a VacuVin Wine Saver or Private Preserve spray to prolong the wine for a few days, and up to a week with the Private Preserve spray.
If you don’t have a decanter, WineShop At Home offers a great one as part of our Artisan 5 Star stemware. You can get one through my web site, www.scottswinetaste.com, and click on the “our Products” tab and select “Stemware”.
However you choose to enjoy wine, please do so responsibly.
Cheers!
