Are You a Hipster Who Drinks Wine?

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Chamisal Vineyards, Unoaked Chardoney, 2009, reg. $18 on sale for $14.99

Chamisal is the first vineyard planted in the Edna valley appellation in California. It also is is unfortuntely the first one to go out of business too at least until 2008 when it was restarted in 2008 with fantastic results. This is an unoaked chardonnay, light, refreshing and, fruit driven. It is a delight to drink. A fantastic value at $18, at $14.99 it's a steal.

And We Are Back

Rich The Wine Wizard has magically returned.

Moderate drinking, especially wine, associated with better cognitive function

It's settled then.

Metacognition And Strawberry Jam

Sometimes analyzing why you like something interferes with your ability to like it. I expect it works the same for wine.

The End of History

Brewdog has made a 55% alcohol "End of History" beer. They made 12 bottles at $800 each. They, of course, have sold out. Interestingly, it's served in a dead squirrel for some reason. And as to why it's called "End of History" I'll let them explain:

The End of History: The name derives from the famous work of philosopher Francis Fukuyama, this is to beer what democracy is to history. Fukuyama defined history as the evolution of the political system and traced this through the ages until we got the Western Democratic paradigm. For Fukuyama this was the end point of man’s political evolution and consequently the end of history. The beer is the last high abv beer we are going to brew, the end point of our research into how far the can push the boundaries of extreme brewing, the end of beer.

Stirrings Liqueur $12.99

Stirrings the company that produces my favorite drink mixers. Unlike almost all other mixers Stirrings actually uses real juice. I've literally have had customers who prided themselves on squeezing their own limes give it all up once they've tried Stirrings mixers. But now they've have decided to expand their brand with a new line of liqueurs. A very new line of liqueurs. As in-- "not only can't I find any mention of them on the Stirrings website I can't even find a mention of them on the whole internet"--new. But I know they exist they are in the store, I'm selling them. And I've tasted them, which is actually the important part because just like they're mixes they make the liqueurs with real fruit. Something that is unheard of at this price. I realize this post is starting to sound like a press release for Stirrings but I can't help it. It's not my fault that using real fruit rather than flavorings to make liqueur much more complex with brighter flavors and makes better mixed drinks.

Stirrings Liqueurs

Triple Sec---Aggressive orange zest flavor.

Pomegranate---Taste like fresh pomegranate juice.

Peach---Ever tasted a ripe peach from the tree? Like that.

Ginger--Spicy and tangy. I'm already imagining what kind of drinks to make with it.

Espresso---Rich dark coffee. I rarely get real espresso with this much flavor.

Apple---Granny Smith to be exact, it actually makes an Appletini seem like a good idea.

A Bit Off Topic

One of my odder hobbies is reading about ancient history. Recently, I've been listening to a lecture series on Europe in the Late Antiquity/Early Middle Ages, specifically the Goths. Not the mopey black-clad teenagers but the fur-clad German tribe that ravaged the Balkans in the third century. Now I already knew that Roman writers complained incessantly about how bad the Goths smelled but I always chalked it up to the standard Roman contempt for the non-urbanized who don't have access to baths. I might owe those Roman writers an apology (not that they'll care, being dead and all), because the Goths liked intricate hairstyles. And their preferred hairstyling product? Butter. Rancid butter. No bathing and rancid butter for hair gel? Yeah, I think the Romans might have been justified in their complaints.

Hugl Weine, Gruner Veltliner 2009 $10.99 (liter bottle)***

People have started to come into the store and ask for an Austrian varietal, Gruner Veltiners. At least I think that's what they are doing most of the pronunciation is a little iffy. This German varietal tends to be pronounced along the lines of, "groo...uhh...grooirvleti...huh...?" which can be difficult to differentiate from people trying to say Gewerstraminer "guh ..I mean...gehvreets..um..?" Not that I'm critizising of course, german words tend to be quite long and always seem to be missing a few vowels somewhere and frankly not only can I not figure out how to type the "U" with an umlaut in "Gruner" I'm not quite sure what an umlaut is supposed to indicate (yes I know, it's the Internet and I could just look it up...so I did). Anyway, I think we are all going to have a lot of practice pronouncing "Gruner Veltliner" (grooner velt-leener) because this a fantastically refreshing white wine at a lubriciously low prices. Case in point--Hugl Weine Gruner Veltliner 2009. The first thing you notice is that the wine bottle looks funny--kinda big and it is. Unlike most other places in the world wine tends to show up in liter bottles I don't know why. but $10.99 would be great price for 750ml, for 1 liter it's insane. This wine is a full bodied and crisp white wine with a mineral base and lots of delicate citrus and tropical fruit notes.***

Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Hops

And more.

Mader, Pinot Blanc, 2009, $15.99 ****

Admit it, you have not spent a lot of time thinking about Pinot Blanc. Even though it's been around for a little less than forever. And it is one of the grapes that can show up in Champagne blends. But it's true it doesn't come out as a varietal in the U.S. too often. It ends up getting swamped by oceans of Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio on the market. And that's unfortunate because Pinot Blanc can make a really nice little. Especially from Alsace (kinda like the German part of France--the cuisine involves an awful lot of pork in sausage form) which is where this lovely wine from Mader is from. It's got a rich, almost Chardonnay mouth feel but without losing the crisp refreshing feeling and citrus fruit you get from a good Sauvignon Blanc balanced with lots of soft tropical fruit notes all together lovely and really over-delivers for the price. If you've never had a Pinot Blanc before this is a great place to start. ****

Update: If you look closely at the picture you might notice that it is a bottle of Reisling and not Pinot Blanc. That's because the wine is so obscure I couldn't find a decent picture on the internet. Of course I find no one else knowing about what a good wine this to be part of the fun.

Black Forest Devil

A brand new distributor just showed up the other day. I love small, new distributors because they always have some sort of oddball interesting products that have never been in Maryland before. In this case we are talking about "Black Forest Devil" a traditional German liqueur from a family guarded 200 year recipe of 40 herbs actually from Germany's Black Forest. I guess the importer is hoping that if one traditional German herbal schnapps could be a huge hit in the US (that would be Jagermiester) maybe another one could too. there's even a traditional way to drink it. Set it on fire. Really. You're supposed fill glass (all the way to the brim to keep the rim from getting hot) and then light it (it's 102 proof), once you blow it out the the aroma is supposed to intensify. We only got it in yesterday and we have already sold quite a bit, granted, so far only to employees. But if the enthusiasm of our employees is any guide I am quite confidant that one day will sell it to an actual customer.

Vodka Snobs Are Not Crazy

Not completely crazy anyway. They seem to be responding to the different combinations of ethanol hydrates. "Even in the absence of 'taste' in the traditional sense, vodka drinkers could express preference for a particular structure." Good to know.

Brew Dog Paradox Macallan $13/12oz*****

I'm reposting this because we only have two bottles left if you want to try it now is the time.

There was just one case left in Maryland. Just one. So we bought it. Without ever tasting it. Simply because it was Brew Dog. And then...we tasted it. It's an Imperial Stout aged six months in whisky casks. Not in just any whisky casks but Macallan single malt whisky casks from 1987 that had previously used to age sherry. Wow, just wow. The beer is rich and thick and it almost has the mouth feel of port. for those who were wondering, yes you can taste the Macalan. Let me rephrase that, YOU CAN TASTE THE MACALLAN!! It is without a doubt the most interesting and different beer I have ever tasted in my life. If you are a beer nerd, this is the beer you need to taste before you die. If you are not a beer nerd it's worth becoming one so you can learn to appreciate this extraordinary work of art.

So What Are You Waiting For?

Way back in the year 2000 (which was either the last year of the 20th century or the first year of the 21rst, depending on who you ask) Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher who wrote the Wall Street Journal's wine column got tired of hearing people with a fantastic (and expensive) bottle of wine somewhere in their house refuse to open until an undefined "special occasion" that never seemed to arrive. So they did exactly what you would do in that situation--they created their own holiday. "Open That Bottle Of Wine Night", where the "special occasion" would be opening that wine. They scheduled it for the last Saturday night in February (which means of course that we missed it--but hey, I've only been doing this blog for less that two, weeks cut me some slack). It's a great idea but I don't think it goes far enough, every night is open that bottle of wine night. Hmm, maybe that goes a bit too far--not that I'd be averse to everybody buying a bottle of Duckhorn Vineyards Three Palm Vineyard Merlot 2001 $99 (one of my favorite wines in the world) every night after work, especially if they bought it from me, but what I mean is that people a messing up the price value ratio when they are talking about wine.

Say you you and three or four friends meet a bar or restaurant for couple of drinks to sit around and talk. Each one of you can easily spend 10 or 20 bucks on two or three glasses of wine or mixed drinks. for that kind of money you guys could have bought a bottle Duckhorn and sat around in someone's living room talking with your friends and drinking the best wine any of you have every tasted. Heck for less than $15 dollars per person you could try Chimney Rock Napa Cab. The purpose of wine (kinda like life) is to create memories. And aren't you going to create better memories at someones house drinking a spectacular wine then sitting in some booth somewhere drinking generic beer and eating chicken wings underneath a stuffed moose head that's wearing sunglasses? Well aren't you. So what are you waiting for?

By the way, I am aware that I'm not a disinterested observer in this as I am actually selling the wine we're talking about. But seriously, how many times have you balked at buying a $15 bottle of wine and the next day paid $10 dollars for a glass of wine at a restaurant? Add it up, I think my point will remain valid.

Sbragia Home Ranch Chardonay 2008 $25.99****

Whoa...is this ever a good California Chard. I mean really good. Most California wineries are moving away from the old fashioned oaky style that so many people complain about. But not Sbragia. For a while there is seemed like wineries were competing to see who could make the oakiest, most syrupy, most unbalanced Chardonnay. And people got sick of it and so wineries started changing styles. Well. Sbragia reminds us why that nonsense started--why lesser wineries started too much oak. They were trying to get the opulence, honey and honeysuckle flavors. The difference is those other wineries fail at it while Sbragia succeeds magnificently. 92 points Wine Enthusiast, 92 points Wine News, 92 points Wine Spectator. On sale for $20.99.

Maker's Mark Announces Their First New Product in 50+ Years

I can't wait.

What's New

It's Friday again and we are doing our weekly Friday wine tasting and this Friday we have brand new wines to taste:

Shaya Old Vine Verdejo 2009 $14.99, 90pts. WA---A traditional Spanish white with refreshing minerality and dry fruit notes making this a perfect summer wine.

Botani Moscatel Seco 2008 $17.99, 90pts. W&S---The Moscatel (also known as Muscat) is a grape you may have heard of and tried but only as a sweet desert wine. Botani is not that wine. Oh, it has residual sugar but instead of being sweet it translates into a heavy mouth feel but with reserved citrus notes and a wonder spiciness that lends itself pairing with food wonderfully.

Venta Morales Tempranillo $9.99---An pleasantly inexpensive Tempranillo from Spain (La Mancha to be exact) rich, ripe, and what I like to call "gulpable"---order a pizza, pour it into a water glass and have a great great evening.

Tarima Monastrell $9.99---Did I say pleasantly inexpensive? Well, Tarima is insanely inexpensive. Because this wine is AWESOME. If you've never had a Monestrell (and you should have had a Monastrell before because I push Jaun Gil ($17.99 91pts. WA) on just about anyone that comes into the store. Tarima is just a good and only $9.99! Dark violet notes rich chocolate and one of the best price to value ratios in the store.

Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Ale 1pt 9.4oz. $11.99 ***

The New York Time had an article the other day about a new trend in craft brewing under the headline "Sour Beer is Risky Business, Starting with the Name" This, just two weeks after I brought in a Flemish Sour Ale that I was just blown away by (Ladies and Gentlemen it is official,...I am a trend-setter). Of all the Sour Ale's I have Monk's Cafe is without a doubt the best. Admittedly, of all the Sour Ale's I have tasted Monk's Cafe is without a doubt the only one I've tasted. Still, having tasted Monk's I am really excited to taste my next one. This just a great and unique style of beer.

Now I'm going to have to pause a moment and agree with the NYT that the word "sour" is problematic when trying to sell this beer to Americans who have never heard of, much less tried the style before. Were I the PR flack for the world brewing industry I might advise them to use the word "tart" instead. But since that isn't a real job much less on I am qualified for I guess we are stuck with "Sour". But anyway "sour" is the traditional word in Belgium and Monk's Cafe is a traditional Belgian ale. Did I mention I was blown away by it? A blend of old and young ales light bodied with an amazing apple cider vinegar aroma and long, very refreshing, sweet and sour (I mean "tart") finish. If you are a beer nerd, TRY THIS BEER.

The Pickleback Cont.

Okay, I'm back and I tried a Pickleback. And it's......not bad. In fact it's actually almost...pretty darn good and really surprisingly (if oddly) refreshing. I tried first the way it was invented as a shot bourbon with a shot of pickle juice as a chaser (also known as a "back", hence the name). Now normally when I drink whiskey neat I do not bother with chasers, first I tend to avoid what is know as "rot gut" so I don't want to obscure the flavors of good spirits and second, I am also quite good at drinking "rot gut" so the whole chaser thing is unnecessary (What can I say? Practice makes perfect). But in the cause of science I changed my normal pattern.

The pickle juice was surprisingly enjoyable, and the salt and herbs of the juice complemented the wood flavors of the bourbon very well. And if I found myself in funky bar in Brooklyn (where it seems to have been invented) I could see myself having quite a few of these. But as I said I'm not much on chasers but, like Max Watman, I do like the occasional cocktail and that's what I was interested in. Max calls it Bourbon and Brine but quite frankly I think Pickleback is such a cool name that I'm just going to keep using it to refer to the mixed drink too (Max is not the boss of me!).

So, here's my recipe:

two parts...bourbon

one part..pickle juice

on the rocks

fantastic

Okay, it's not going to be my new favorite cocktail. But it sure as heck is not going to be my last one either. Try it. You will be surprised how much you like it. And how refreshing it is. This is definitely going into my Summer cocktail rotation.