BITS & BOBS

Posted on June 8, 2020 by Stan The Wine Man

I saw the funniest thing the other day. I went to the courthouse in town to get new tabs for my truck. They had a board near the door that declared. “Essential business only.” Now, I was under the assumption that almost anything conducted in a courthouse is essential. Am I wrong? So, I walk in and find the corridor to the licensing department is cordoned off. One of the employees told me to go online to get my tabs and if I wanted something at the courthouse I needed to make an appointment. She was a bit abrupt, but I could handle it. I walked away laughing, because a couple of days earlier I saw her in the store I work at shopping for her groceries. Point of this story? I guess we at the grocery store (deemed essential) and other businesses that are now open around town that are not essential, are not as special as the folks at the courthouse who by the way, get their paychecks from our tax dollars. There are more customers in line at any given time in the grocery store than there will be all day at the courthouse (sans the courtroom). Open your doors, please!

I have been getting my hands on some wines for the store that normally do not come my way. Turley, Quilceda Creek, Kosta Browne etc. Because restaurants have been closed for so long, which is another story and somewhat sad, wine distributors are looking to move product that is normally deemed “restaurant only.” It would be nice if wine distributors held some wines for retail shops like mine so we can get them every year. Sadly that is not how things work in the wine world and for now, I am going to take advantage of this opportunity to get some gems in the store for our customers.

There are two wines that I am particularly stoked about this year. One is a Frappato/Nerello Mascalese blend from Sicily. The other is a Grenache/Syrah blend from southern France. Both are outstanding in totally different ways. If you want to find out more about them, check out my latest YouTube episode where I feature both of them. There is another red that is on my radar that will most likely be featured on my YouTube channel made from an obscure grape called Susumaniello, only grown in the Salento region of Italy. Stay tuned for that.

From now until the end of the year is when I start focusing on wines for my “Top Forty Wines Under Twenty Bucks” list I put out every December. The three aforementioned wines are on the top of the list for now. If the vintage changes, I will have to re-taste them to see if they still qualify. As most of you know, I hate putting wines on a list and the consumer can’t go out and buy a bottle because that vintage is sold out. It makes my job a bit tougher, but I feel it necessary to only put wines on the Top Forty list that are available for purchase. Especially in the top ten.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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FRIDAY’S FIVE

Posted on June 5, 2020 by Stan The Wine Man

In a week’s time, I taste a boatload of wine (seriously). A lot of my friends think I’m lucky. Well, they’re right and I wouldn’t give this job up for the world. The only thing that makes my job hard, is my feeling of responsibility to taste the samples given to me as quickly as possible and to put my reviews either in my Moleskine, on my YouTube channel (Stan The Wine Man TV), or on Stanthewineman.com. Here for your reading pleasure, are five wines that I have reviewed in my Moleskine (good or bad), this past week.

2017 Saintsbury Chardonnay (Carneros, CA)… $23.

Apples and pears on the nose with a touch of butter and butterscotch. Lemon and apple notes front to finish on the palate, joined by butter and butterscotch notes and a good dose of oak. There is a nice spine of acidity that gives it a freshness and balance. It dances lightly on the palate with good flavors and a long finish. (B)

2018 Olianas Canonau Di Sardegna (Sardinia, Italy)… ?

Aromas of crushed red brick meets blackberries, plums and strawberries, with a little earth and powdered chocolate thrown in. Dry and somewhat chalky tannins on the palate that support notes of red flowers, chocolate, black olive, blackberries and strawberries. Light bodied with solid flavors and clean. Red flower notes expand on the mid-palate into the dry, long finish where a hit of raspberries comes through. Not super complex, but well made. (C+/B-)

2015 Borsao Berola (Campo De Borja, Spain)… $15.

Aromas of dark cherries, bark, red flowers with a little beet and strawberry action. Dark cherries on the palate all day with a big dose of black and white pepper. Dark red flower notes join the fruit that expands on the mid-palate into the finish where tobacco notes join the palate party. The tannins show up with a little attitude on the back-end. Good balance and complexity. The fruit tries to go big but is held in check. 70% Garnacha, 20% Syrah, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon (B-/B)

2018 Bonny Doon Vineyards Le Cigare Volant “Cuvee Oumuamua (Monterey County, CA)… $17.

Quite stinky on the nose with notes of burnt wood, strawberries and blackberries. Underripe strawberries and blackberries on the palate with soft tannins and balanced acidity. The underripe fruit is prominent with a hit of licorice on the mid-palate. Tobacco notes join up on the finish. 52% Grenache, 35% Cinsault, 13% Syrah (C+/B-)

2019 Ponga Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough New Zealand)… $12.

Grape seeds and white grapefruit on the nose with a hit of thyme. Grapefruit and grapefruit pith on the palate, joined by kiwi and lemon backed by solid, balanced acidity. Kiwi notes hit big-time on the mid-palate into a dry finish that is almost mouth-puckering. Talk about a great white to go with Shellfish at a decent price. (B-/B)

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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BITS & BOBS

Posted on June 1, 2020 by Stan The Wine Man

I pulled off my first virtual tasting event on Zoom earlier in May. Trey Busch, owner and wine maker at Sleight Of Hand Cellars did an awesome job presenting his wines and the wines themselves were stellar. The Cab Franc Rose’ was dry and delicious with some herbal notes thrown in. My favorite of the bunch was the Archimage. It’s a Bordeaux style red blend that comes as close to Bordeaux as you can in the new world. The 2016 is drinking great now, but will improve over the next 10-15 years. It’s not cheap, but it’s worth the investment. It was so nice to get together on Zoom with my wine group after a two month recess. Everyone who participated thought it was a fun and educational experience. Now, it’s on to June where Rob Griffin will join us on Zoom. This will be Rob’s fourth time addressing my wine group. It was like pulling teeth to get him to the island the first time. Now he loves doing it. I’m sure he’ll miss coming to our island, but at least he will have another chance to share his knowledge and wines with us in a virtual way.

I had a slight hiccup on my YouTube channel and missed an entire week putting up a new episode. I can’t figure out how it happened, because I have been consistent of late. I’m experiencing a lot of traction with my channel and I hope to hit 300 followers soon. If you could help me out with this I would appreciate it. My recent episodes include a review of Bordeaux Blancs (the other sort of Sauvignon Blanc) and a review of Barbera which I believe makes a fantastic wine for BBQ. I really enjoy teaching a bit about the wine world and finding wines that are worth the money. As I keep doing the episodes, I am trying to improve the quality. I would like any kind of feedback you can give me to help improve my channel.

We have a lot of crazy going on around us right now. It has to be the most surreal start to a year that I have ever seen. I can remember sneaking in a tasting event at the Mullis Center in March, just before everything started to bust loose. Now here we are going into June with people all around me wearing masks and trying to practice “Social Distancing” a term I am beginning to loathe. I think when this is all over we should start practicing “Social Smothering” just to get back in the practice of getting close to our fellow humans again. One of the toughest aspects of all this is trying the recognize the person behind the mask. I can’t tell you how many times someone has said “hello Stan” to me and I had no idea who it was. Once I started chatting with them it occurred to me who was behind the mask. It’s been going on long enough now that I can identify many of my mask-wearing friends.

I have two favorite wines right now that I can’t get enough of. One is a Frapatto/Nerello Mascalese blend from Italy, the other is a Syrah Grenache blend from France. They are both under twenty bucks and are sure to land in my “Top Forty Under Twenty Bucks” list I put out at the end of the year. Keep your eyes open for an article or two I am planning to write about the aforementioned wines. If you live on San Juan Island and would like to try them, stop by the store and I will show you the where to find them. I don’t often buy the same wine over and over again, but I can’t help myself this time, they are that good.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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BITS & BOBS

Posted on May 11, 2020 by Stan The Wine Man

We are living in strange times, my friends. I go to work (thankfully) and the first thing I do is put a mask over my face. I take a walk around the store and ninety percent of the customers are wearing masks. All the employees are donning the same gear, some with gloves. The masks I understand since the Coronavirus is spread by spittle or touching. However, when I see someone wearing the same pair of gloves all day, how can that be good? There’s a simple trick that will keep you safe without wearing gloves. It’s called “washing your hands.” I have never heard any of the experts suggest the wearing of gloves. Many times I’ve listened to them speak of the importance of hand sanitizer and handwashing with handwashing emphasized over and over. It’s amazing how effective it is. Not only will it protect you from Covid-19, but it will also protect you from things like the common cold, and the flu. If there is one thing that comes out of this whole Covid-19 mess, I hope it is better hygiene.

I’m happy to see people going back to bubbles. When the virus started spreading throughout the world and made it our way, I wrote that sparkling wine sales were sagging. In the last couple of weeks, sales of bubbles are picking up at a brisk pace. I literally got wiped out at the store this Mother’s Day weekend. I had quite a bit in back stock, but it evidently wasn’t enough. I’m not talking the cheap stuff either. Folks were going for it! That’s a good sign to me, because it means that people are feeling like celebrating! Hope reigns eternal and I think that many of us are seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

My wife Susie and I are eager to start traveling once again. We have been talking seriously about making our way to South Africa again, perhaps in 2021. Both of us fell in love with that part of the world when we traveled there a couple of years ago. Not only is it a beautiful part of the world, the people are friendly, the wine is fantastic and the food is amazing! It is a big country, and we saw just a fraction of it. So much more to explore. We stayed in Cape Town and traveled east, making our way to a game reserve where we had the chance to see elephants, giraffes, lions and hippos, along with many other wild animals. It is something we will never forget. This time we would like to venture north of Capetown and check out wine country there. We will have to make a trip to Constantia again and also make our way up to Swartland where they make some incredible wines. Of course, we will check out the west coast and enjoy some relaxation together. Susie is a huge supporter of my career, but I don’t want to make any trip we take all about wine. That is one of the many reasons we are so good together.

This Thursday will be the first time I conduct a wine tasting event over the internet. Trey Busch from Sleight Of Hand Cellars will present his wines to my group over Zoom. I am putting together sample packs, so they can join along in tasting and talking about the wines. My group will also have a chance to buy a couple of wines that are not in the sample pack. It will be interesting to see how it goes. However, this approach will never take the place of our normal gatherings each month. Once I get the green light to have a group tasting, we will be back at the Mullis Center. For now, creativity is important and I may have to take the Zoom approach for a couple of months, I will give you a report on my next Bits & Bobs.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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