BITS & BOBS

Once again, we are approaching two of the year’s most extensive food and wine holidays. Thanksgiving and Christmas are big food holidays and for many, this means busting out many bottles of wine for the meals and parties that will be thrown during the next month and a half. I’ve turned the corner on my thinking about the wines to uncork for the holiday meals. Make it easy on yourselves; drink the wines that you like. I read a very well-written article about this subject, and I agreed totally with their conclusions. You may read a lot of advice about the right wines to pair with a turkey dinner, duck, or prime rib. For instance, you may hear that Riesling and Gewurztraminer are the perfect white wines to accompany the traditional Thanksgiving fare. But what if you don’t like those wines? Then, don’t serve them. If you like Chardonnay or Pinot Gris, then drink those. If you serve a wine you don’t like, it could dampen your enjoyment of the meal. If you have many people over for dinner, open a few different types of wine and let your company choose what they want. In my experience (no doubt you’ve experienced this as well) most of the people you invite don’t give a rip about the matching of the wines to the food. They just want to enjoy the food, drink wine, socialize and have fun with family and friends. So, don’t stress yourself out worrying about the right wines to buy….Drink what you like. Period.

Of course, this does not mean I won’t give a few suggestions. I know some folks who like a little guidance. I plan to keep it as easy and inexpensive as possible. I will be shooting an episode on my YouTube channel this week, featuring some of my choices, so stay tuned. My options are simple: a balanced Sauvignon Blanc for white and a Pinot Noir or Zinfandel for reds. I’ve discovered a couple of Italian Primitivos (Zinfandel) that could fit the bill for a very reasonable price. Whatever you decide, make it something you’re comfortable with. As usual, I’ve been searching out wines that deliver for under twenty bucks. Quite a few choices will fit this category in my department. I know some of you will want a sparkling wine to have around. If you like Prosecco, buy that. If you like Cava, buy that. Rose’ bubbles work well, but they tend to be a bit more expensive. I gravitate towards Cava myself because you get pretty decent quality at a great price. There are bubbles that I like that are alcohol-free if you want to keep the alcohol consumption down a bit. Once again, I will preach from the rooftop…. Buy and pour what you feel comfortable with and don’t stress about it.

After our trip to Crete, I encountered many people who were surprised that I found some great wines from this country. Let’s face it: Many people think that Retsina is the wine of Greece. Greece has one of the oldest wine histories in the world. Dionysus is the Greek god of wine, and his counterpart is Bacchus from Italy. Wine has been a part of Greek culture for centuries and they have come a long way in wine quality and production methods. I will continue to focus on Greek wines in my upcoming YouTube episodes. I’m very excited to record a blind tasting of Xinomavro and Nebbiolo. I could not believe how closely these two varietals are. Xinomavro is one of the main red grapes of Greece, and it is on all the restaurant menus. When I ordered it, I was pleasantly surprised at how much it resembled Barbaresco, an Italian red made from the Nebbiolo grape. It will be interesting to see if I can tell the difference between the two in a blind format. I hope I get it right, watch to see if I sink or swim.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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BITS & BOBS

One of the more interesting things about the wine world is the narrow window most wine drinkers are willing to venture out with their palates. On my YouTube channel, if I post anything about Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon, I get a lot of views. When I go down the unusual varietal road, the views are a lot less. Now, you would think that just viewing something is hardly challenging your palate horizons. Why is it that people avoid watching something if their not familiar with the subject? Isn’t it true that we should all keep on learning? That’s what keeps our minds sharp. My wife loves to challenge me with new information. She is constantly reading out loud about things that she finds interesting, hoping that I will join in the discussion. Most times I do, but I have been guilty of avoiding the discussion, especially when I’m feeling mentally lazy. Believe it or not, I get a bit upset with myself when I do this. If, you are one of those people that say to yourself, “why watch a video about Assyrtiko from Greece? I have no interest in something like that.” Yet, you are a wine drinker. Does that make any sense? There are thousands of grape varietals out there and hundreds that you might find absolutely stunning if you were to give them a chance. Let’s make a goal to not be mentally lazy when it comes to wine. Learn, learn and learn more! I’m not asking you to be a Somm, just an informed wine drinker with a broad palate preference.

I recently perused the latest release of the Wine Enthusiast. The article discussed wines that would age well in your cellar. They had a list of one-hundred wines. I was a bit disturbed by the suggestions. Most of them were from fifty-dollars to two-hundred dollars, with many over the three-hundred-dollar mark. If you have that kind of money to spend on wines for your cellar stock, knock yourselves out. I’m sure there’s a lot out there that can afford such luxuries. I myself, do not have that kind of cash. In fact, the percentage of people who can buy the wines in the aforementioned list is very small. I pride myself in finding wines that will age in your cellar that sell for less than fifty bucks. If you follow me on YouTube, you know what I am talking about. One of my most watched episodes is entitled...”Can you age inexpensive wines.” It’s a subject other than Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon that people are very interested in. Why? The ones who can afford the ultra-premium wines are a tiny percentage of the wine drinkers in the world. However, there is hope for the rest of us. There are many wines available that will age nicely and will not drain your wallet. Stick with me, that’s what I’m all about!

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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BITS & BOBS

Our trip to Greece made a deep impression on Susie and me. We both loved Crete, especially Chania and Plaka. The food is excellent and the people are very friendly. Yes, they speak English quite well, albeit with a strong Greek accent. We are already talking about going there again in the future. Although I am familiar with some of the wines from this ancient wine-producing country, I came to appreciate more about what they do there in terms of wine. Assyrtiko is the dominant white grape in Greece, and it is on all the restaurant wine menus. One of the more respected red grapes is Xinomavro, which means the black sour. It is so Nebbiolo-like, it’s uncanny. I will focus on some of Greece’s wines on my YouTube channel. You should check out my latest, which features four whites, one being a Retsina.

One thing I have been ruminating on lately is the dangers of taking favors from distributors or wineries in exchange for our time. I’m small potatoes on YouTube compared to some of the top wine YouTubers. So, I have not been offered trips or the like from distributors or wineries in hopes that I will give their products airtime on my channel. The pitfalls of this are apparent. Could I stay subjective if someone paid for a trip for me to go to a big wine event or even to another country? That is a challenging situation, but I get it. It can be expensive to take some of these trips, so if one is offered to have the expenses covered, why not? I’m not saying that one shouldn’t accept such offers; all I’m saying is that if you do, you’d better do some serious soul-searching. I accepted a trip to Europe sponsored by a winery a long time ago. It ate me up inside when I wrote articles about the trip, worried that I was being as transparent and honest as possible. I enjoyed the experience and even interviewed the guide on my YouTube channel. Would I accept an offer like that again? Only after some serious soul-searching!

I’m in a nice place as a YouTuber and writer. The company I work for is willing to help me out with material for my channel and my blog. They support my travels and want to know what I experienced there. In most cases, Susie and I pay our way, which is fine by me. Because Kings Market (the company I work for) is a good customer for our wine distributors, the people who sell to me are willing to provide samples to help with some of my YouTube episodes. They know I will be brutally honest and I believe they appreciate that, even though it means they will not benefit from sales. Some of them watch my channel more than others. I want to give a quick shout-out to Kris from Winebow! He watches most of my episodes and often asks me what I need regarding wine for upcoming shoots. He is always coming up with ideas for me to explore to improve my channel. This, even though in a few cases, I have been quite critical of some of the wines he has provided me for an episode. However, he was quick to remind me that I really liked one of the wines he provided and asked me if I would like to bring it into the store. I appreciate that kind of support from my team of distributors.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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STAN’S PICK FOR NOVEMBER ’24

I will say it over and over again: Spain produces some of the best wines under fifteen bucks! So many of my picks have come from this country that I’ve lost count. November features one of the biggest food and wine holidays of the year, only rivaled by Christmas. With Thanksgiving coming soon, I had to keep in mind finding a wine that would pair well with turkey dinner and make an excellent everyday choice. When Max from Dickerson Distributing came by with a crap-ton of wines to try to help me find a pick for November, this one stood out as the close-to-perfect red that fit the abovementioned parameters.

Non-Vintage Vega Barcelona Red (85% Tempranillo, 15% Syrah) Spain … $11.

Raspberries, cherries and bittersweet chocolate on the nose. Polished tannins support notes of chocolate, cherries and black raspberries. The wine intensifies on the mid-palate, balanced by fresh acidity. There is a hit of spice on the finish that lingers. This baby has the stuffing to go with food, but not in the least overpowering. Good balance of fruit, tannins and acidity. This baby is meant to drink now and would be a good choice with Thanksgiving at a great price. It is a “10” in the delicious category, making it a big-time crowd-pleaser. This could easily be a staple at my table for an everyday red, especially at this price. (C+/B-)

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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