Little James! (Basket Press Wine)

The Wine:  Recently, I happened upon a new wine shop and needless to say: there is an inverse relationship between the dolla’s in my bank account and finding new, fun wines to try.  I have several wines to review, but the first one that comes to mind was a delicious 100% Grenache bottle called, “The Little James Press Basket.”  If you don’t think I bought it simply based on its label, you are mistaken.  However, my choice was validated as I was checking out!  The wine seller (puns do not work well in text)– explained that this vintner is trying to increase their appeal to the cheap-wine-buyer market (nope, I was not offended).   He explained that while the 450 year old Chateau de Saint-Cosme Rhone producer offers several $100, high-scoring wines, they are achieving the lower price and improving their overall wine process! (win win)  The secret? The Vintner is mixing his vintages!  In each bottle you get a taste of the last 20-30 years of wine, right in your bottle!  10% of every vintage is barreled and then placed into the wine the next year.

The Place: This is made in the Languedoc region in Southern France, which is easily the largest region in terms of vineyards, and the region in which a majority of France’s cheap bulk wines are being made. A lot of the wine in Languedoc is considered (and labeled) “Vin de Pays d’Oc” (aka: Table Wine). However, because they are not bound to as many rules as the rest of France i.e. Burgundy, Bordeaux, Loire–  they can be much more innovative.

The Name: The Little James’ Basket Press is a 100% basket-pressed wine. The basket press was the first type of mechanized wine press to be developed, and its basic design has not changed over the last 1000 years.  Not sure what that is exactly? For your reference– a modern wine barrel press: 

The taste: Delicious! It’s not heavy and yet not jammy or fruit forward either.  Grenache is a sturdy Rhone grape, with a little terroir (ok, dirt) taste through the sip-start to finish.  The whole taste of this one is what I like to say is “purple”– you can taste and smell dark fruit- like blackberry and cherry with a little bit of smoke and dirt.

All in all, it’s an impressive wine that would pair with a variety of foods– from some cheese and baguette to roasted vegetables.  I could probably manage to drink it on its own, too 🙂

JuliaUncorked says: 8/10!  For only $14? Very hard to beat!  I hesitate to write that because I’ve read it’s hard to find

Uno Mas more please! Review: Cotes du Rhone Villages “Khayyam”‘

I was lucky enough to enjoy a wonderful bottle of red the other night with my roommate from college on her birthday! I brought the bottle for HER technically, but you all know better than to think I wouldn’t insist on perhaps trying a little myself… The bottle came from one of my favorite wine shops: Dave’s Fresh Pasta in Davis Square, Somerville. I truly adore this place for many reasons: wine, chocolate, beet salad (best in town), meats, cheeses pretty much anything you could really need in life, they serve. However, I can’t lie, this isn’t the place to go on the cheap. The shop carries the best, unique treats, from sandwiches to homemade pastas, they’ve got the a most UNIQUE selection around, which is quite true of their wine selection as well.  That means… they don’t really sell to the under $12 per bottle crowd. If you’re looking for a birthday present for someone who loves wine though… this is ideal! (HINT HINT, my birthday is coming up….) Haha.

These are the college roommates: I’m so lucky 3/4 of us enjoyed this bottle together because we live THAT close!  #notreadytobeonmyown 🙂

Fine Wine Experience!

Last weekend, I was very fortunate to be hosted by my boss and his wife at their lovely home on Cape Cod.

Some icing on the cake is that my boss is a connoisseur and collector of excellent, unique wines from around the world.  See, I told you: I’m one lucky girl.  We tasted several incredible bottles over the course of an evening that included a cocktail hour, appetizers, salad and dinner!  The night was capped off with a fantastic video of a classic jazz concert from Pittsburgh (my home town! and the same band that played my mom’s wedding!).  And, if you know me at all, you know that a night of (excellent) wine, shrimp and jazz is probably one of the best nights I could enjoy.  The quality of the wine made the evening all the more unique and celebratory!  (Especially unique as the “aging” I have come to know is more like that in the comic –>)

When life delivers wine…

You drink it!  There are certainly drawbacks to being in the office until, say, 9pm.  Sure.  However, I can tell you there is hardly a  situation not improved with a bottle of wine.  Ergo, late in the evening, whilst hard at work, my coworker and I decided that wine would be a fun addition to the work at hand.  Going to GET wine wasn’t really an option- no local wine shop and hey, we had WORK to do!  Enter: foodler.com.  Enter: search term “wine.”  Enter: resounding shout of joy by julia, “WHAT?!  We can get wine delivered!”

The Art of de Cant

I’ve never been a big “decanter.”  I mean that as loosely as possible; I literally don’t own a decanter.  But my recent experience has me thinking of making a purchase.  I opened a bottle of 2006 Bonterra Syrah.  It probably should have been opened a while ago honestly.  It’s been collecting a little dust in my mom’s wine collection.  But, hey, that’s what she brings me home for.  So, voila! Daytime vacation drinking!  I’m drinking while typing, so this should make for a good post… 

Terra Rosa, on the Cape!

This summer I was lucky enough to spend a wonderful weekend on the Cape and in Rhode Island.  I got to try several wines over the weekend and more importantly, I got to attend the Newport jazz festival!  If you don’t know this about me… wine + jazz = happiest me.  (Oh, also my other favorite Jazz made an appearance… see below).  Because it was delicious and enjoyed amidst a beautiful Cape evening, I’m focusing this review on Terra Rosa- a delicious Malbec from Argentina.

I’m going to make this short and sweet… the pics tell the best story anyway.

Grazie, Graziano!

Long time, no blog!  I haven’t found the time to blog in a while, but that does not mean I haven’t been “researching” plenty (read: drinking delicious wines on regular occasion).  I’m going to try to do a few posts to catch up a bit.  So… the subsequent reviews will be from summer/fall 2010 events.  Luckily, my friends have obliged and joined me for the fun.  So- first up!?  Graziano- a Zinfandel from Mendocino, California!

Honoring the World Cup! (with wine, of course)

Recently, I decided to try a South African wine, in part to honor the World Cup that I understand many people have enjoyed.  Not exactly my cup of tea for TV sports?  But that’s alright, I appreciate the game’s athleticism and, ahem, aesthetic qualities.

Without further ado, allow me to introduce the bold….  Goats do Roam Red 2008. Just an editorial note, because it’s hilarious… this is actually a word play on “Cotes du Rhone,” as the vineyard uses a blend of Rhône varieties such as Shiraz, Cinsaut, Carignan and Mourvèdre with a dash of local Pinotage.  The Goats do Roam vineyard now claims a history about an old herd of goats actually selecting the grapes for the first bottles…  I’ll let you decide what to believe.

Cake!

Cakey Wine, what could be better?

Layer Cake Malbec wine, that is…  This is supposed to be a wine blog, after all.  My most sincere apologies for not updating in many a moon.  I’ve been traveling- I have a Sauvignon to blog about, a bottle of Sake and a few others up my sleeve before my BIG TRIP to Italy, which I’ll also be posting about.  Early and often, I hope.  In any event, I’m going to start with my review of the Layer Cake 2008 Malbec, which I sincerely enjoyed!