The Search for the Perfect Bottle of Wine

Whether your a consumer, restauranteur or wine retailer you're always on the search for the perfect bottle of wine, well I'm here to tell you like Santa Claus & the Easter Bunny, it doesn't exist. Whether I was selling wine to consumers or wine buyers I've come across many who spend way to much time looking, tasting & researching for that perfect bottle. What I find interesting is many are those who are looking in the under $10 price point. With wine being subjective, everybody has their opinion on what a wine should be and what perfection is. I remember working with one restauranteur who was looking for a Pinot Noir for his by the glass list for months and tasted him on almost every one in my portfolio, and after he tasted with me and other sales people he finally made a decision. Fortunately for me it was one I showed him. Another was still considering a $6.50 bottle of red for over 6 weeks, that they had already mentioned they liked. Searching for the perfect wine is the motivation for many consumers & buyers.

Nowadays there are is an ocean wine on the market from all over the globe, and more on the way, so it's no wonder that people think that perfection is somewhere out there a drift. So for those of you that are on the search, just keep in mind it's not the destination but the journey.

2008 Flowers Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

Started in 1989 by transplanted east coasters Walt & Joan Flowers fulfilling their dream, have made Flowers Winery into a staple on the northern California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir scene. From high a top their vineyards in Sonoma, Walt & Joan and their team, make wine from estate vineyards, Flowers Ranch and Camp Meeting Ridge and other vineyards from throughout the Sonoma Coast.

Using several different clones the 2008 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is light in color, yet bold on the palate. Aged in French oak and coming mostly from Flowers estate vineyards it's made in a Burgundian style, as it has good toasty oak and good fruit, along with mild tannins it offers balance and complexity. Leather and spice make for a nice finish. This wine will be at it's best in the short term. Pairs well with roasted meats and salmon. 13.8% Retails about $45.

Wines for the Holiday Season

As the holiday season starts one of the hardest decisions people are going to make is "What wine should we drink with.....". This post will give you a quick ides of what to look for at your favorite wine retailer.

Pinot Noirs is a versatile grape that will go well with turkey, ham and and all the fixings. Oregon, California or the Burgundy region of France are the ones to look for. You'll want a well balanced Pinot that can stand up to all you will be enjoying them with. Expect to pay about $20 for a good, solid Pinot Noir.

Beaujolais is another red wine that works well with holiday meals. Made from the Gamay grape from the Burgundy region of France, Beaujolais is lighter and fruitier than Pinot Noir. Beaujolais Nouveau is released on the 3rd Thursday of November and is from the most recent harvest and is a celebration of the harvest. Beaujolais should run less than $20 and Nouveau should be less than $12.

For the white wine drinkers at the table a Riesling works well. A Riesling from Australia, California or Germany would drink well. The crisp acidity & the mild fruit offer a great combination and should compliment your meal. Again find one that is well balanced. You can find a good Riesling for less than $18

Batlle of the under $10 Pinot Noirs

As I was cruising the aisles at Trader Joe's last weekend, I found myself looking at some wines and wondering "Russian River pinot noir for $8.99, really". Yes, I know there's a grape glut and the economy has gone south, so grapes and juice can be bought for less than a gallon of milk, but I had to wonder, is it any good? Under normal circumstances(good economy & balance of supply and demand for grapes) conventional wisdom says that pinots noirs under $12 usually aren't very good. Why you ask, well pinot noir grapes are thin skinned and need to be handled w/ care and it's a very finicky grape and a bit harder to turn into wine. Why that is I don't know, ask a winemaker. So a friend and I doubled back and picked up a couple of bottles to see if it we could do a price to quality comparison.

1st wine we tasted was the 06 Mission Point from Central Coast. Probably one of, if not the oldest of pinots on the shelf this pinot seemed like the vines were to young or harvested to early. Stemy and green on the palate, the fruit component was dry and there was to much wood. This wine was out of balance and actually got returned for something else. 1 cork of out 5.

Then we tasted the 08 Hamilton -Stevens Russian River which had a good nose, soft & spicy on the palate, it had good fruit. A well balanced wine and hard to beat for $9.
3 1/2 corks out of 5.

Both wines cost is $8.99. So in the end it's buyer beware, sometimes you do need to spend a bit more for certain quality expectations or if you're looking for a easy drinking $9 they are possible to find, but you may have to taste a few to find them.