STAN’S PICK FOR APRIL ’24

Posted on April 22, 2024 by Stan The Wine Man

Okay, it’s the twenty-second of the month, and I realized I hadn’t shared my “Pick Of The Month.” Shame on me. However, as late as it is, I need to let you know about this wine!

For those of you who have discovered the wine known as Amarone, produced in northeast Italy, this wine is for you, or anyone else who likes rich, balanced reds with well-integrated acidity. I would call this wine a poor man’s Amarone. The base grape is Corvina, which is used in the production of Amarone. The only difference is in the production of the wine. When producing Amarone, the grapes are dried on racks for up to three months before being pressed, making for a very concentrated wine. With this wine, the grapes are dried on the vine before harvesting. The concentration is not quite as intense, but you still get some of that richness. Going this route is not as costly either, meaning the retail price is far less. The bottom line is that you get a great wine for a fraction of the price.

2018 Cantine Di Ora Amicone Red (Veneto, Italy)… $14.

Aromas of blackberries, cherries, red flowers, licorice, and hints of vanilla and chocolate. Dried cherries on the palate, joined by notes of fig, red flowers, and a kiss of bittersweet chocolate. Sweet tannins, balanced by nicely integrated acidity. Baking spices come out on the finish, mingling with the dried cherry and fig notes, with just a pinch of tobacco joining the palate party. This is a lot of wine for the money!

B+/A-

Also, they recently changed the name of the wine to Amicale, but it is the same juice (kind of weird if you ask me).

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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BITS & BOBS

Posted on April 15, 2024 by Stan The Wine Man

One of the reasons I started this segment was the idea that if I put somewhat random thoughts on a page, it would make it easier to complete the task of doing it weekly. I have been on a roll for sure, but rest assured, it is never easy. For instance, I am finding it very difficult to string something together this morning.

There’s a big tasting event coming to the island tomorrow. One of the distributors makes it a point to bring their wares to the island every year. I have to say, I love these events and it’s especially nice when they bring them to me (and everyone else of course). This is where I can pick and choose what table I want to go, to try the wines presented. I find a lot of gems at these events and they find their way into my department. I used to take copious notes until I realized it limits how many wines I get to taste. I’ve come up with a new strategy which I will employ for the first time at this event. One of my weaknesses is being able to remember details about certain wines that I’ve tasted. That’s why I write down detailed tasting notes. However, with this new method, I should be able to find a happy medium. I’ll see how it works.

I’m twenty-six subscribers away from my goal of one thousand on my YouTube Channel. What’s interesting to me is how many peopel make promises to me of reaching out to others to subscribe to my channel. I’ve come to the point where I just acknowledge their offer and I don’t get my hopes up. I’m proud of the fact that I haven’t bought any followers. I’m doing it organically. I think the quality of my episodes has improved over the years. I especially like the improvement of my interviews. I’ve watched my interview with Ashley Trout a few times and I don’t even like to listen to myself. However, I’ve been trying to employ some of the methods of interviewing that I’ve been learning from other great interviewers. I believe it’s paying off. One of my favorites is Larry King. Although he died a couple of years ago, his interviews live on and I often watch them to learn from his methods. The key is to listen and respond to what they are saying. Have an outline in your head but be willing to go with the flow. I have a great one lined up for tomorrow and I hope it goes well. Keith Johnson from Elevens Imports is going to join me for an interview. He has a knack for finding great wines to import, many of which I have brought into my department. The guy exudes energy and a passion for the wine world. He will be a great guest for my channel.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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BITS & BOBS

Posted on April 8, 2024 by Stan The Wine Man

This past week has been quite eventful. I took my wife to the airport, so she could catch the plane to the U.K. and hang with her friends (I’m quite sure she would put that differently). I had a private tasting event at someone’s home on Saturday which was very fun. I offer myself up for these events when certain groups are trying to raise money for a good cause. Folks at the auctions bid on a night of wine tasting and learning with Stan The Wine Man. I’ve conducted several of these tastings over the years and people have a blast.

A lot of times I do a blind tasting challenge. However, at the behest of the couple who won the bid for the private tasting (I think this is their third) that I did this past Saturday, It was a more instructional tasting where I showed them what to look for as they tasted that would indicate a well-made wine. I helped them to identify certain characteristics in each varietal. They asked me questions as we went along and I did my best to answer them. After that, I bagged two sets of wine. The challenge was for them to identify the most expensive of the two and as a bonus to guess the alcohol content. I had prize bottles of wine for the top two tasters. I have to say, that it was a very good time and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and I think they learned a lot. It inspired me to come up with some different angles for these types of tastings. I know I have two on the auction blocks coming up. I really like it when the folks who win the bid, follow through by setting up a time for me to entertain and instruct them. Believe it or not, many of the winning bidders never contact me to set things up.

Speaking of entertaining and educating, I am up to nine hundred and seventy YouTube subscribers. This means, I am only thirty away from a goal I’ve had for a long time. One Thousand! One thing I need to learn, is how to do thumbnails that will attract more viewers to my episodes. I haven’t a clue how to do them and that is simply because I haven’t taken the time to learn how to make them. Most people are attracted to visual content. An interesting thumbnail (the picture introducing my episodes) will inspire people to click on it and watch my content. I’ve known this for a while, but haven’t had the time to learn the skill of making thumbnails. If any of my homies out there who are reading this can help me, there may be a bottle or two in it for you.

As I think I’ve mentioned, I am going to be spending some time shooting episodes featuring obscure wine grape varietals. The first will feature some interesting white grapes. The fact that seventy-five percent of the wines consumed in the U.S. are spread over only four varietals, blows my mind. From a wine geeks standpoint, that’s outlandish. Something needs to been done and I’m on a mission to get people to expand their palate experiences. A sneak peek into what I’m going to be reviewing. Have you heard of the grape Inzolia? I was recently introduced to this varietal and it is out of this world good. That is just one of the wines I will be featuring in the next episode. I hope you get a chance to watch and I hope you are inspired to try new things.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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BITS & BOBS

Posted on April 1, 2024 by Stan The Wine Man

My wife is off to her homeland tomorrow. I’ll miss her of course, but I’m glad she will be spending time with her friends and doing the things she loves. I hope to get some things done at home while she’s gone. That includes shooting as many YouTube episodes as I can fit in. Some of the advice I’ve been given from fellow YouTubers is to have a back-up of episodes. A few in the bank so to speak. That way, if something happens and I’m not able to record an episode, I have something ready to go.

When I interviewed Ashley Trout, owner and winemaker at Brook & Bull, she made an interesting comment. She pointed out that seventy-five percent of the wines consumed in the U.S. are spread between only three varietals. Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris with Pinot Noir not far behind. That’s a crazy statistic if you think about it. There are literally thousands of grapes out there used to make wine, yet only three are focused on by most consumers. When I look at my set in the wine department, I can somewhat attest to that stat. The Chard and Cab sections are the largest of them all. If you combine domestic Pinot Gris with Pinot Grigio from Italy, that is quite a large section as well. You have to have a good selection of what people are looking for.

However, people who know me, know that I encourage my customers to expand their palate horizons. The aforementioned statistic has inspired me to focus on obscure wine grapes in my upcoming YouTube episodes. I already have three lined up for a YouTube shoot. Three whites, one made from the grape Inzolia, one from Ribolla Gialla and one made from the grape Hondarrabi Zuri. It will be interesting to talk about these varietals that not many have heard of. One of them I am very familiar with and I love it! Make sure you don’t miss the upcoming episodes. I think they will inspire you to try something new. There are so many great wines out there that consumers will never have a chance to taste if they don’t take that brave step of trying something different. Let me help you expand your palate experiences, that is a passion of mine and I love helping you find gems that don’t necessarily cost a lot of money. Let’s get pumped up to make this a year of exploration into the many great wines of the world.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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