BITS & BOBS

Posted on February 10, 2020 by Stan The Wine Man

Valentine’s Day will soon be here and for some reason, I think it is a waste of time to talk about wines for that day. Why? First of all, it’s about the person you are buying the wine for. If they don’t like bubbles then don’t buy bubbles just because some wine person suggests it. Chocolate is always a big hit, but why add insult to injury buying a Port to go along with it. At this point in your relationship, you probably know what your partner likes, so buy that for them. If they like Cab, go to your local wine shop and get a suggestion on a good Cab. It is too huge a brushstroke for me to cover. so I don’t go there. I hope you don’t mind.

At the end of 2019, I released my list of top forty wines under twenty bucks. What I usually do after releasing that list is buy the top five to see if I was spot on, or whacked. This time I have to say that I was spot on! Especially my number one pick, a Dolcetto from the Dogliani region of Piedmont. The 2017 Pecchenino San Luigi Dolcetto is stellar. I bought a bottle and tried it again and was blown away. For fifteen bucks it knocks it out of the park. I bought six more bottles immediately and as I am writing this, there are only three left. I’m trying to be careful with my stock, but it is tough. It only gets better as it is opened. I try to spread it out over three days because on the third day it really shows its stuff. I’m running out at the store, so you know I’m going to buy a few more before it’s gone.

I’m working very hard to finish an article I am writing about Kevin Jusilla who is the owner of Kukkula Winery in Paso Robles. I had lunch with him in Seattle and we tried his wines and talked about his journey into the wine world and how he got where he is now, a winemaker and owner of a winery. It’s a great story and his wines are amazing. I intend to post the story both here and on my Blue Collar Wine Guy blog on the P.I. site. I think you will find it quite interesting. Stay tuned.

I had the opportunity to interview Tim Clark for my YouTube channel. Tim works for Dickerson Distributing and sells wine to me at the store. He is fairly new at the job and the point of the interview is to talk about his progression as a wine salesperson. He has been in the hospitality industry for a while but it was on the restaurant side as both a server and bartender. It’s very interesting to hear his story on the difference between the two careers and the challenges he faces. It will be up on my channel Wednesday, so I hope you check it out. We had a great time doing the interview and talking about wine afterward.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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FRIDAY’S FIVE

Posted on February 7, 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 right here on Stanthewineman.com. Here for your reading pleasure, are five wines that I have reviewed in my Moleskine (good or bad), this past week.

2016 Catena “Vista Flores” Malbec (Mendoza, Argentina)… $13.

Aromas of black plums and boysenberries, with hits of violets, tobacco and roasted meats. Ripe plum and boysenberry notes on the front of the palate blended with notes of tobacco, violets and a pinch of vanilla. Baking spice notes creep in on the mid-palate into the finish where white pepper joins the palate party. Good acidity that is well-integrated. A touch thin on the finish. (C+/B-)

2016 Ghostblock Cabernet Sauvignon (Oakville, CA)… $75.

Deep dark currant notes on the nose with hints of dark flowers and blackberries. Caramel and currant notes all day on the palate, supported by edgy, soft tannins. Baking spices show up on the mid-palate leading into the long finish where tobacco notes sneak in. Good structure and nicely integrated acidity that keeps it fresh. (B-/B)

2016 Quivira Vineyards “Black Boar” Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley (Sonoma County, CA)… $43.

Thyme and currants on the nose, with a slight hit of mint and red flowers. Fresh acidity and solid tannins support currant and herbal notes on the palate. The fruit notes expand on the mid-palate with a hit of black raspberry into the finish where the tannins have some serious grip action. Spice and white pepper notes linger on the warm finish. Not your typical jammy style Zin, this baby has good structure and great potential. I would lay it down a couple of years to let it get to know itself. (B+/A-)

2018 Cantine Europa “Sensale” Nero D’Avola ( Terra Siciliane, Italy)… $12.

Aromas of plums, rhubarb, blackberries, a kiss of meat marinade, orange peel and earth. Red plums on the palate with an underbelly of cranberries, orange peel and blueberries. The fruit notes have sweetness on the mid-palate that is held in check by mouth-watering acidity that lifts the wine in the mouth. Mineral notes sneak in on the fresh finish. This baby screams for pizza, lasagna or a blue cheeseburger. (C+/B-)

2017 Chateau Pajzos Furmint (Tokaji, Hungary)… $13.

Aromas of apple, peaches, sweet figs and orange blossom. Oranges, apples and melon on the palate with a touch of peach in the background. Solid acidity that gives it a tartness on the bone-dry, citrus-driven finish. Oysters anyone? (B-)

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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FRIDAY’S FIVE

Posted on January 17, 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 right here on Stanthewineman.com. Here for your reading pleasure, are five wines that I have reviewed in my Moleskine (good or bad), this past week.

2016 Three Of Cups “La Monde” Malbec Cameron Ridge Vineyards (Columbia Valley, WA)… $15.

Aromas of crushed red brick and chocolate-covered cherries with a splash of red flowers and licorice. There is a solid core of acidity that dominates the palate. Notes of sour cherry and red flowers up-front. Licorice notes sneak in on the mid-palate into the finish joined by tart raspberry and cranberry notes with a kiss of minerals. A little tang action on the back-end. This baby needs food. (C)

2015 Brian Carter Cellars “Corrida” Red (Columbia Valley, WA)… $36.

Toasted currants on the nose with a burnt wood element coming through and a splash of dark cherries. Charred wood and currants on the palate with an undertow of dark cherries on soft tannins that have an edge to them. There is a sweet element that hits on the mid-palate into the finish where there is a kiss of tangerine and a whole lot of charred wood. Nice balance and smacks of old world in style. Would match up nicely with smoked meats. 63% Tempranillo, 18% Graciano, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Garnacha (B-/B)

2017 Sineann Gruner Veltliner Pear Blossom Vineyard (Columbia Gorge, WA)… $20.

Pears and rubber boot on the nose with a splash of apple. Sweet pears and apples on the front of the palate, morphing into lemon citrus notes with petrol hit on the mid-palate. Bone dry citrus-driven finish that is a touch thin. (C+/B-)

2018 Claude Riffault Sancerre Les Boucauds (Loire, France)… $27.

Aromas of pear with a splash of lemon and apple. Boatloads of crushed rock and slate on the palate with white flower and apple notes hiding underneath. The apple notes are sweet on the mid-palate leading into a soft finish. Good acidity that is balanced and well-integrated. (B)

2017 Whoa Nelly Wines Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley, OR)… $17.

Strawberries and cherries on the nose with a splash of cola and hints of Asian spices and coffee beans. Ripe cherry notes on the palate that are somewhat thin with a touch of earth and cola underneath. Simple and on the sweet side, this baby is overpriced for what you get. (D+/C-)

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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BITS & BOBS

Posted on January 13, 2020 by Stan The Wine Man

I’m sad the Seahawks couldn’t get past the Packers to make it to the NFC Championship game. However, they lost their top two running backs prior to the playoffs, so to get as far as they did is awesome. It was fun to get Lynch back, and he did have quite an impact in the red zone. You can’t win a championship without your best running backs even as good as Wilson is. It was a great season and I look forward to next year. Metcalf will be fun to watch as he matures. The tandem of Lockett and Metcalf should give Russell Wilson a powerful arsenal in the future. I only hope that Schneider and Pete concentrate on beefing up the offensive line in the off-season.

Susie and I are planning our next trip to Europe and it’s looking like the south of France. I have always wanted to visit the Rhone Valley where some of my favorite wines come from. A stop in Bandol wouldn’t hurt my feelings at all. It’s fun to start reaching out to wineries in those areas and planning visits. I can see a ton of material for my YouTube channel as well as my blogs coming out of this trip. We are just in the planning stages right now and as things develop, I will keep you in the loop.

My number one goal for 2020 is to finish my book. I think I’ve shared this before. I have been working on a memoir about my career in the wine world and how I developed as a wine specialist and writer. Long ago, I thought of a title for the book and I have worked on it sporadically throughout the past few years. Now is the time to focus my energy on finishing what I started a long time ago. I believe the appeal will be my blue-collar approach to the wine business and wine itself. I have long been repulsed by wine snobbery and the shrowd of mystery and elitism some try to make the wine world into. A lot of people are afraid to even talk about wine because they feel unqualified. It’s a beverage for Christ’s sake and it should be treated as such. I think movies like Somm are good because they get people excited about the wine world, but I also think it can intimidate some folks when they try to digest all there is to know about the subject. Hopefully the book I am writing will put things into perspective and make it a fun subject for the average consumer to talk about.

Susie is encouraging me to make a compilation of Bits & Bobs and put that into book form. I think it is a great idea, especially since it is already written. I will be giving that some serious thought in 2020 as well. I also need to work on a look into the future for this coming year. What trends in the wine world do I see coming? I have a lot to share, so look for that article coming out shortly.

I want to thank all of you who are supporting my YouTube channel. It means so much to me and I am very excited to implement some new ideas for this coming year. Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel, I love to watch my audience grow.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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