Merry Christmas everyone! There is no snow on the ground, but there was certainly a refreshing cold snap, reminding us that winter had arrived. Christmas Eve is a busy day in the wine department as people make their wine-purchasing decisions. I love it because I get a lot of questions about what goes best with whatever it is, they decided to serve for Christmas dinner. This year, it ranged from Prime Rib, of course, to turkey, ham, duck and lamb. What are you serving for Christmas dinner? I put up an Episode on my YouTube channel called “Prime Time Reds,” which focused on wines to serve with a roast (prime rib). The cool thing about that episode is that I discovered a couple of reds that were stellar and under twenty bucks. If you get a chance, you might want to check it out.
Speaking of my YouTube channel, when the Seattle Times put a comment from a reader about me in the Pacific NW insert, which I mentioned in the last Bits & Bobs, it boosted the subscribers to my YouTube channel by 60 in one day. That’s incredible! As of today, I’m at nine-hundred-three, only ninety-seven away from one thousand subscribers. One thousand is the magic number. When I hit a thousand, they monetize my channel and start paying me. I take my channel seriously and it would be nice to see a paycheck for the work I put into it. I love reviewing wines for all of you and finding the best bang for the buck, which saves you and me money. I have a reputation for finding gems in wine that do not break the bank and I don’t intend on changing my course in that regard.
I will be shooting a sparkling wine episode which should go live on Tuesday. I also intend to write a simple but informative article in this blog, on the different methods for producing sparkling wine. Methode Champenoise, charmat and pet nat. I’m super curious about all the different pet nat style wines that I’ve come across lately. As I’ve mentioned, I believe that category will grow in 2024.
As always, I’m looking for ideas for episodes on my YouTube channel. One that I am looking forward to shooting, is another episode about aging inexpensive wines. The last one I shot on this subject was about three years ago and it continues to get a lot of views. The new episode will be, “Can budget wines improve with age?” I will again expound on the places in the world where you can find lesser-priced wines that may have the ability to improve with age. I will also explain the necessary components in a wine that gives it the ability to get better over time. I’ve been experimenting with this for years. My cellar is filled with wines that are under twenty bucks that have been aging for eight years or more. I will be diving into my cellar soon to choose the wines for the new episode. The fun part is finding out how they are developing. There could be a few surprises. One never knows until the cork comes out.
Tomorrow, I will reveal my 2024 “Winery Of The Year.” I had a nice interview over the phone with the winemaker and he is excited to have this distinction. This winery doesn’t produce a lot of different wines, but what they do put out there is special. It is a very difficult decision for me to make because there are so many great wineries out there. What I look for, is a winery that puts out quality wine at a fair price. There are great wines being produced, but they are out of reach price-wise for a lot of consumers. I look forward to focusing on the wines from this winery and also making the trek over the mountains to interview the winemaker for my YouTube channel.
Cheers!
Stan The Wine Man
