Online Fine Wine Auctions

The 2008 American Wine Blog Award Winners were announced today and I’m pleased to report The Wine Collector won in the category of Best Wine Business Blog.  Thanks for your support.

When I started writing this blog in 2006 (see Launch of The Wine Collector), I did not foresee writing as much about wine business issues as I have done.  However, wine collecting is all about buying fine wine and the context in which one does that is fundamentally affected by a whole range of business factors affecting retailing trends, global demand, regulatory changes with shipping and foreign duties, wine authentication, investment trends, and more.

I look forward to continuing to write on issues facing wine collectors and the wine business.  The process of thinking through a blog topic is actually quite helpful to my “day job” running Vinfolio and one I thoroughly enjoy doing.   Should you have topics to suggest for The Wine Collector, please feel to email me at steve@vinfolio.com. 

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If you happen to fit the profile in the Venn Diagram shown below, something pretty cool is coming. That’s right, all 13 of you! Watch this space.

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Tom Wark’s 2008 Wine Blog Awards winners were announced today. Tom does a great thing each year highlighting wine blogging and helping to push it into the mainstream of wine media.
There’s been a bit of backlash this year for some reason though, and anonymous blogger overoaked does a fantastic job of skewering both Tom, the [...]

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Get a move on, wine fiend - this’ll only be up until Wednesday night. Look for an all-new, all-awesome deal come Thursday morning. 

Now wait just a consarned minute here. Something’s gotta be afoot. Sure, Dusted Valley Winery’s Boomtown lineup was recently named one of the “Value Brands of the Year” by Wine and Spirits, but this value seems a little too, uh, valuable. Three bottles of this high-quality
Washington stuff for this piddling pittance of a price? What’s the
story, Lori?

Litigation, that’s what. It seems the sharp, snappy label on the 2004 Stomp Cabernet Sauvignon (Boomtown’s predecessor) was just a little too similar to another, well-established, deep-pocketed winery’s label.
We’re talking about the kind of outfit that keeps a trademark attorney
on staff just waiting to pounce on the likes of Dusted Valley. They
made their displeasure known. But rather than get into a scuffle they
probably can’t win, Dusted Valley decided that steep discounts were the
better part of valor. They turned to Wine.Woot to help them unload all
this Stomp Cab before it becomes a bigger issue.

So not only
will you receive a graceful, enticing Cab laden with bright fruit,
earth, and olive aromas; flavors of cherry, currant, and mineral; and a
lingering, toasty, sweet finish – you’ll also get a bonafide contraband
collectible. Pair it with grilled dry-rubbed ribeye or a blue
cheeseburger for a barely-legal outlaw’s repast. Intellectual property
disputes never tasted so good.

The other two bottles aren’t
in legal trouble, except maybe as accessories. They’re just along for
kicks. Bringing together some of the Evergreen State’s top vineyards
for a wild co-ferment of Syrah and Viognier, the 2006 Dusted Valley
Stained Tooth Syrah fills the air and the glass with cherry,
blackberry, and currant flavors. Don’t be surprised if you catch a hint
of herbs, smoke, or cracked black pepper, too. It’ll be worth every
stain on your teeth.

They take their Merlot seriously up
Washington way, and they don’t take kindly to watered-down weaklings.
Just set your tongue to the 2004 Boomtown Merlot Columbia Valley, a
dark, rich, downright burly Merlot that delivers dark berry fruit,
plum, earth, and creamy oak. If you’ve got any seared duck breast with
plum demiglaze laying around, you’ve just found the perfect companion
for it.

It’s too bad Dusted Valley has to jettison the
Stomp! label over some legal shenanigans, but pardon us for not
shedding too many tears. A swell deal on three solid Washington wines
does wonders in the consolation department. Still, it’s probably a good
thing Dusted Valley didn’t go with their original concept for naming
that wine: Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse Cabernet.

2006 Dusted Valley Stained Tooth Syrah

• Blend: 86% Syrah & 6.5% Viognier (Co-ferment)+, 5.0% Mourvedre, 2.5%Grenache
• Vineyard Sources: Lonesome Springs Ranch, Alder Ridge, Smasne Family, Les Collines, Art DenHoed Vineyard
• Total Acidity: 0.61 grams/100ml
• pH: 3.7
• Alcohol: 14.5%
• Oak Program: 30 % New French and American Oak
• Production: 933 Cases

2004 Boomtown Merlot Columbia Valley

• Blend:93% Merlot, 2.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.5% Malbec, 2.0% Cabernet Franc
• Total Acidity0.58 grams/100ml
• pH: 3.68
• Alcohol: 13.9%
• Oak Program: 50% New Oak: Blend of French, American, and Hungarian oak.

2004 Stomp! Cabernet Sauvignon

• Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet Franc
• Vineyard Sources: Seven Vineyards in the Columbia Valley
• Total Acidity: 0..57 grams/100ml
• pH: 3.8
• Alcohol: 14.4%
• Oak Program:Barrel aged in 75% new French, American, Eastern European and Russian Oak for 18 months

Rules and restrictions:

• Wine sold by winery (or a retailer in your state where necessary)
• You must be 21 or older to order
• Whoever receives the package must be 21 or older
• If you’re drunk when the package shows up, you will not be allowed to receive it
• Wine cannot be delivered to a P.O. Box
• We highly recommend you use a business address as your shipping address

Thanks to stick-in-the-mud buzzkilling state legislators, wine may only be delivered to the following states:

• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• District Of Columbia
• Florida
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oregon
• Texas
• Virginia
• Washington
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

If your state’s not on the list, you’re out of luck… for now. Keep up with the ever-changing laws over at ShipCompliantBlog.com, and/or sound the alarms with your state assembly person through FreeTheGrapes.org. Meanwhile, all Federal, state and local laws are complied with in providing this wine.

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While the basic economics of supply and demand affect pricing of any good, for items marketed globally such as fine wine, significant shifts in currency values in major markets will take their toll.

“Cannot take it any longer” 

Yesterday, Reuters ran a story titled Burgundy wine prices hiked in U.S. due to weak dollar (read it, it’s short).  Prices are being raised 10%-20% in the U.S. (the second biggest Burgundy market after Britain) as “they cannot take it any longer.”

Burgundy demand is also high (see Burgundy exports to hit all-time high and my prior post, A leading indicator of higher Burgundy prices).  Therefore, if the U.S. market balks at higher prices, the wine will simply be sold elsewhere.

Just how much as the dollar weakened?

The dollar has depreciated 19.6% against the Euro since the beginning of 2007 and 26.5% since January 2004.  Given that the dollar fell 10.7% against the Euro in 2007, its decline in Q1 2008 has accelerated. 

The broader impact of the weak dollar on wine prices

• Domestic wine will become better values relative to imported wine (although certain items used in making some domestic wines such as French oak barrels have increased dramatically in price).
• Domestic U.S. retailers will increase their efforts to sell wine abroad.  See my post from earlier this week, Vinfolio to open Hong Kong operations.
• Foreign buying in the U.S. will increase (including European wines being sold back into Europe).
• Foreign investment in the U.S. wine industry should rise.

Bottom line: Fine wine prices are set globally and are on an upward trend given that rising demand is outpacing new supply (see Why fine wine prices will keep rising).  Fundamental shifts in currency values will cause supply to shift to other markets as well as new opportunities for those paying attention and able to operate globally.

P.S.    Today is the last day to vote for this blog in the 2008 American Wine Blog Awards.  Read about it and vote. 

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Ho Ho Ho Chi Zin, MLF is Gonna Win - Thu. Mar. 13, 2008

I wasted this ad-lib on Lynda the other day as she was removing chromatography paper from the developer jar – she’s way too young to remember the Viet Nam War.  Malo-lactic fermentation (MLF) is the conversion of malic acid (named after apples) to lactic acid (named after milk).  This process lowers the acidity and raises the pH, making wine slightly less tart.  MLF is carried out by lactic acid bacteria, usually Oenococcus oeni.  Byproducts of MLF often include diacetyl, a major component of the aroma of butter, which typically is metabolized by yeast but can be left in the wine, intentionally or not, by using ML bacteria strains that produce lots of diacetyl and by racking the wine immediately upon completion of MLF.

MLF can be a real pain.  We inoculate all our wines for MLF except Sauvignon Blanc, some Roussanne and the Rosé.   Inoculation takes place after primary fermentation, and the bacteria usually grow and work very slowly in what is a very hostile environment for all life forms (low pH, high alcohol, no sugar, no oxygen, low temperatures).  Sometimes MLF doesn’t finish until well into spring.  This is worrisome because we don’t add SO2 or rack the wines or bring them to cellar temperature until MLF is complete because all of these activities will inhibit ML even more.  Without SO2 the wines are more susceptible to spoilage, both microbial and non-microbial, so there is risk.  It is possible to inoculate for MLF during primary (yeast) fermentation, when there are more nutrients available, but there is a very real risk of stuck fermentation due to competition with the yeast.  I got stung badly once, and it was enough to get me to abandon early MLF inoculation.  Aside from lowering acid levels, which may or may not be a good thing, MLF serves several functions.  You can get buttery aromas if desired, and other secondary flavor and texture contributions, it makes your wine more resistant to growth of spoilage organisms by consuming nutrients, and you don’t have to worry about MLF in bottle.  MLF in bottle is never good; it results in cloudy, spritzy, often stinky (cheese/sauerkraut) wine.

Is There a Distributor in the House? - Tue. Mar. 25, 2008

Thanks to Bhodilee for the topic – he asked (somewhere in w00tland, but I can’t find it) how one goes about finding a distributor.  If anybody can answer that they could make a lot of money.  Over the last two or three decades there has been consolidation amongst medium to large size distributors while there has been a huge concurrent increase in the number of wine brands sold in the United States, both foreign and domestic.  During that time the United States has become the number one wine consuming country in the world, and a greater variety of French, Italian and Spanish wines is being sold here than ever before.  Wines from Australia, Chile and Argentina were virtually unknown in the U.S. 25 years ago, to say nothing of New Zealand, Portugal, Austria…  Between actual “brick and mortar” wineries and alternating proprietor brands (like Ty Caton or Muscardini Cellars wines that we have made) there are now almost 2000 bonded wineries in California alone.  Large wine companies have created multiple brands such as Gallo’s Dancing Bull, Anapamu, MacMurray Ranch, Frei Bros., Turning Leaf, Barefoot, Red Bicyclette, Black Swan, Ecco Domani, etc. etc. in order to claim a larger portion of retail shelf space.  All this brand inflation makes it very hard to get wines reviewed by Parker or the Spectator and even more difficult to find distribution

So far all I’ve done here is complain why it is increasingly difficult to find distributors.  I’ve poured wine at various trade events, made cold calls, used recommendations and intros from various contacts, even hired a national marketing company for two years (at 10% commission on gross sales), all with fairly minimal results.  Over the years Wellington wines have been distributed in 24 states.  We currently have distribution in twelve states plus California, with highly varied results.  Three of the states are hardly worth the effort of maintaining licenses and filing reports.  Of the remainder, two states (Missouri and Ohio) are responsible for over 50% of our wholesale business.  I am currently in various stages of discussion with distributors in three other states – it’s kind of an ongoing process.  The biggest markets (California, Florida, New York and Texas) are the toughest.  We have yet to find the right company in FL, we lost our NY distributor post 9/11 and our TX distributor closed shop in the mid 90’s.  Our greatest success has been with small, relatively young companies that have sought us out rather than vice versa.

Thanks again to Bhodilee and keep the suggestions coming.  I promise there won’t be a long a gap before my next column.  Things are getting busy, but there’s a lot to write and talk about this time of year. 

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I live in Santa Rosa, the largest city in Sonoma County. In culinary terms, Sonoma is rightly considered a backwater of Napa and San Francisco, though it’s been making some progress lately. But what we lack in high-end places, with notable exceptions like Cyrus, we make up in real food, like pizza. [...]

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Yuck. Too ripe, too much charred oak, too plonky. Oh, well, at least it’s a screwcapper, which means it’s less likely to spill in the fridge while waiting to find its true purpose in life as the base of a red wine sauce. UPDATE: No sauce for this wine after all. I tried it the [...]

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A new company, eProvenance, just launched with a holistic solution for verifying a wine’s provenance (defined as “authenticity, traceability, and knowledge of storage temperatures”). Read the press release.

Implementation challenges 

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You don’t think of Oregon for Bordeaux varietals, but the Southern part of the state is much warmer of than the famed Willamette Valley and the rest of Oregon’s Pinot Noir country in the north. Today’s wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc from the Rougue Valley near Medford. [...]

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Vinfolio is taking immediate steps to launch its first international operations in Hong Kong by Fall 2008.  See today’s press release.  Here are a few factors which drove the decision:

• The demand for fine wine has been growing steadily in the region and we expect it to continue.
• The recent elimination of wine duties in Hong Kong provided a further catalyst and, over time, will create pressure for other countries to cut duties, too.
• Hong Kong offers an attractive business environment and excellent location from which to serve neighboring geographies, especially mainland China.
• The weak U.S. dollar is stimulating more Asian buyers to focus on the U.S. market to buy their fine wine.
• Additional wine storage services are needed to support the arrival of wine historically stored outside Hong Kong.  Vinfolio’s experience in running a full-service storage facility in San Francisco combined with our VinCellar online cellar management software create competitive differentiation for our services.

Next steps

I will be in Hong Kong again from April 8-11 to begin exploring warehouse and office locations.  In addition, we’ll start searching for a Managing Director/General Manager hire.

Bottom line: The fine wine business is global and Vinfolio’s operations need to mirror the market to maximize our opportunities.  This is no doubt only the first step in the globalization of our business.

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First blossoms of spring
The more you drink, the better
The flowers will look

Those hearty reds got you
through the winter. Hunkered down in the cold, you wrapped their heavy,
comforting flavors around you like a bearskin sleeping bag. They warmed
your insides and delivered a smackdown on Jack Frost. But what now,
with spring here? The sun’s staying out longer. Tiny, tentative shoots
of green are on the trees. The Chicago Cubs have not yet been
eliminated from World Series contention. Isn’t it time for something a
little lighter – lighter in color, lighter in flavor, lighter in
disposition?

The sparrow returns
Spirals with joy through the air
Is it drunk, or what?

Let Epiphany hop on down your
bunny trail. Hippity, hoppity, exquisite springtime flavor’s on its
way. Winemaker Eli Parker, who has overseen winemaking at Fess Parker
Winery for years, started Epiphany to let him craft small lots of more
esoteric offerings than usually appear under the Fess Parker label.
This diverse trio has one thing in common: all three possess a
sparkling, refreshing quality perfect for springtime. OK, and they’re
all made from grapes. And they all come in bottles. So that’s three
things they have in common.

Dig, little chipmunk
Unearth the nuts you hid – wait:
Do chipmunks do that?

There’s the distinctive
Epiphany 2006 “Inspiration”, a white blend of Roussanne, Marsanne,
Viognier, and Grenache Blanc. It entices nostril and tongue alike with
notes of Asian pear, jasmine, apricot, guava, nectarine, honeydew,
beeswax, and vanilla. There’s the Epiphany 2006 Rodney’s Vineyard
Grenache Rosé, with aromatics as beautiful as its lovely deep-pink
color. Strawberry, cherry, watermelon…if wine was Jolly Ranchers, it’d
taste like this. And there’s also the Epiphany 2006 Goodchild Vineyard
Pinot Gris. In January, its brightly acidic flavors of light citrus,
melon, apricot, and pear would have seemed a cruel mockery. But the
March palate is only too ready for it. And with reason: the 2004 and
2005 vintages both scored 90 points from Wine Enthusiast.

I’ve had just about
Enough of this winter crap
You know what I mean?

So as you emerge, dazed and
starving, from your igloo, reach for this Epiphany three-pack. These
wines glisten like sunshine on snowmelt, soar like a kite in the March
breeze, and surprise like an over-the-hill free-agent pitcher who wins
a spot in the rotation.

Walking in a glade
Of young violets, I had
Three Epiphanies

Epiphany 2006 “Inspiration”

• Vineyard Sources: 50% from Camp 4 Vineyard in Santa Ynez & 50% from Rodney’s Vineyard in Santa Ynez.
• Barrel Aging: 10 months in 1 year old & neutral barrels
• Alcohol: 14.7%
• T.A.: 0.585 g/100ml
• p.H.: 3.56
• Production: 224 cases
• Composition: 35% Roussanne, 15% Marsanne, 35% Viognier, and 15% Grenache Blanc.

Epiphany 2006 Rodney’s Vineyard Grenache Rosé

• VINEYARD SOURCES: 100% FROM RODNEY’S VINEYARD IN THE SANTA YNEZ VALLEY
• BARREL AGING: 71% BARREL FERMENTED AND AGED IN FRENCH & AMERICAN OAK FOR 5 MONTHS; 29% STAINLESS STEEL FERMENTED AND AGED FOR 5 MONTHS
• ALCOHOL: 13.8% ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
• T.A.: .502G/100ML P.H.: 3.57
• PRODUCTION: 807 CASES
• COMPOSITION: 100% GRENACHE NOIR

Epiphany 2006 Goodchild Vineyard Pinot Gris

• VINEYARD SOURCES: 95% FROM GOODCHILD VINEYARD IN THE SANTA MARIA VALLEY & 5% FROM ASHLEY’S VINEYARD IN THE SANTA RITA HILLS
  
• BARREL AGING: 70% STAINLESS STEEL TANK FERMENTED AND AGED FOR 6 MONTHS; 30% BARREL FERMENTED AND AGED IN NEUTRAL FRENCH OAK FOR 6 MONTHS
• ALCOHOL: 14.7% ALCOHOL BY VOLUME
• T.A.: .963G/100ML
• P.H.: 3.46
• PRODUCTION: 592 CASES
• COMPOSITION: 100% PINOT GRIS
• HARVEST DATE: SEPT. 22ND & OCT. 11TH
• COOPERAGE: Francois Freres, Lafitte
• BRIX: 24.5 – 25.4
• 2005 Vintage 90 Points Wine Enthusiast
• 2004 Vintage 90 Points Wine Enthusiast

Rules and restrictions:

• Wine sold by winery (or a retailer in your state where necessary)
• You must be 21 or older to order
• Whoever receives the package must be 21 or older
• If you’re drunk when the package shows up, you will not be allowed to receive it
• Wine cannot be delivered to a P.O. Box
• We highly recommend you use a business address as your shipping address

Thanks to stick-in-the-mud buzzkilling state legislators, wine may only be delivered to the following states:

• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• District Of Columbia
• Florida
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Louisiana
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oregon
• South Carolina
• Texas
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

If your state’s not on the list, you’re out of luck… for now. Keep up with the ever-changing laws over at ShipCompliantBlog.com, and/or sound the alarms with your state assembly person through FreeTheGrapes.org. Meanwhile, all Federal, state and local laws are complied with in providing this wine.

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This past Thursday I headed up I-80 to Davis to attend RAVE 2008. There were a number of cool presentations, but the final talk of the day by Dr. Mark Matthews was by far the most provocative.
Matthews covered a lot of ground in his talk, which was an overview of the research he had conducted [...]

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I’m pleased to report that The Wine Collector blog was just named as one of four finalists in the following two categories of the 2008 American Wine Blog Awards (see all finalists):

• Best Single Subject Wine Blog
• Best Wine Business Blog

Last year, this blog won the first category.  The second category is new but fits closely with many of the topics I cover.

If you enjoy this blog, please take a minute to vote for it in both categories (questions 2 and 7 on the 8-question ballot).

CLICK HERE TO VOTE.

Note that voting starts today, March 21, and runs through midnight (PST) on Friday, March 28th, so don’t delay.  You can only vote once.

I would encourage you to check out all of the blogs and vote in other categories as they are all worth reading regularly.

Thanks for your support. 

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Buying wine involves a certain degree of trust by the customer in his/her wine retailer. 

A quick definition of “trust”

As succinctly described in The nature of trust from the Slow Leadership blog, “trust” boils down to four key elements:

1. Meeting obligations to protect others’ interests (not just your own)
2. Acting with honesty and integrity
3. Openness
4. Keeping promises

Applying the elements of trust to wine retailers

Here are 10 ways wine retailers can develop that trust and the resulting higher sales derived from it: 

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Napa’s played out. Sonoma’s gentrified. Been there, drank that,
bought the $35 t-shirt. Adventurous wine explorers these days look to
rugged Amador County. Esteemed winemaker Scott Harvey figured it out
way back in 1978 – when he hasn’t been crafting award-winning Cabernets
for Napa-based Folie a Deux, he’s been wrestling approachable,
food-friendly wines from the Amador County earth, much like the
prospectors of the California Gold Rush before him except that Scott’s
gold is in liquid form.

So if you’re looking for unspoiled
wine territory, for a locale you can name-drop to impress your friends,
for a glimpse back at what Napa and Sonoma were like before they went
upscale, meet Amador County:

• If you look at it just the right way on a map, Amador County looks like a wine glass turned on its side. This makes Sacramento and San Joaquin counties the wine stains spreading out over the Golden State carpet.
• A grade school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia was recently named after Amador County resident Sadie Thompson.
• Zinfandel is the most commonly-grown varietal in Amador County, and Scott Harvey’s 2005 Zinfandel “Mountain Select” and 2005 Zinfandel “Old Vine” each express the distinctive terroir in different ways.
• The granite soils give 2005 Mountain Select the characteristic Amador County earthiness and full body. Lively and luscious, its bay leaf, allspice, and cherry cola flavors bring a rounded complexity to grilled meat, chicken, pizza, pasta, or burgers.
• The 2005 Old Vine, on the other hand, is more balanced in the Old World fashion. Fruit, French oak, structural tannins, and medium alcohol unite into a rugged symphony of pure pleasure, like a jug band playing Mozart. Flavors include deep raspberry, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, curry, and leather. Adjectives include wonderful, resplendent, gorgeous, and heart-stopping.
• Amador County is known as “the Heart of the Mother Lode” for its historic role in the California Gold Rush. We don’t recommend striking out with a burro, pick, and pan these days, though. The 49ers pretty much got it all.
• Richard Escamilla brings 31 years of experience in the carpet and flooring industry to his position on the Amador County Board of Supervisors.
• While the rapidly rising AVA is known for its Zinfandel, Scott Harvey’s true passion, Barbera, is also making its presence felt. Scott Harvey 2005 Barbera “Mountain Select” is as comfortable in higher altitudes as a mountain goat, and likes food as much as anything out of Italy this side of Dom DeLuise. Black cherry, cola, red licorice, and menthol flavors unite in a veritable candy counter of wine pleasure.
• Unlike its neighbor Calaveras County, Amador County has never produced a truly world-class jumping frog.
• The letters in “Amador County” can be rearranged to form a variety of fascinating anagrams, including “Macaroon Duty”, “A Nomad Outcry”, “Racy Tuna Doom”, “You Damn Actor”, and “Mourn Taco Day”.

That’s
Amador County for you. Maybe you can’t jump on the first bus there.
Maybe you can’t visit the place. But what’s to stop you from tasting it?

Scott Harvey Wines 2005 Zinfandel “Mountain Select”

• Appellation: Amador County
• Vineyard Source:
  55% from the Steinberg Vineyard in Fiddletown
  45% from the Bowman Vineyard (31 years old), Shenandoah Valley of Amador County.
• Blend: 100% Amador County Zinfandel
• Alcohol: 14.5%
• pH: 3.58
• RS: Dry <.2%
• Release Date: March 2008
• Cooperage: 19 months in French Oak
• Cases Produced: 881 cases

Scott Harvey Wines 2005 Zinfandel “Old Vine”

• Appellation: Amador County
• Vineyard Source:
  17% DeMille Vineyard, “81 Year Old Vines”,
  83% Bowman Vineyard “32 Year Old Vines”
• Blend: 100% Shenandoah Valley, Amador County Zinfandel.
• Alcohol: 14.5%
• pH: 3.58
• RS: <.2%
• Release Date: 7/01/07
• Cooperage: 19 months in French Oak
• Cases Produced: 1297 cases

Scott Harvey Wines 2005 Barbera “Mountain Select”

• Appellation: Amador County
• Vineyard Source:
  45% Spinetta Vineyard Shenandoah Valley
  31% Manby Vineyard Shenandoah Valley
  24% York Vineyard Fiddleown.
• Blend: 96% Barbera and 24% Syrah100% Amador County
• Alcohol: 14.5%
• PH: 3.55
• RS: <.2%
• Cooperage: 19 months in French OakRelease
• Date: 07-01-07
• Cases Produced: 1034 cases

Rules and restrictions:

• Wine sold by winery (or a retailer in your state where necessary)
• You must be 21 or older to order
• Whoever receives the package must be 21 or older
• If you’re drunk when the package shows up, you will not be allowed to receive it
• Wine cannot be delivered to a P.O. Box
• We highly recommend you use a business address as your shipping address

Thanks to stick-in-the-mud buzzkilling state legislators, wine may only be delivered to the following states:

• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• District Of Columbia
• Florida
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Louisiana
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oregon
• South Carolina
• Texas
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

If your state’s not on the list, you’re out of luck… for now. Keep up with the ever-changing laws over at ShipCompliantBlog.com, and/or sound the alarms with your state assembly person through FreeTheGrapes.org. Meanwhile, all Federal, state and local laws are complied with in providing this wine.

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Pleasant, but about as aromatic and complex as this stuff:

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With such a surfeit of inexpensive but overripe, over-oaked Syrah that is indistinguishable from other red wines, this wine is terrifically refreshing. Yes, it’s on the ripe side too, but not too much, and yes, it has its share of oak, but it’s in balance and wraps around the fruit, and there’s a sense of [...]

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Do you like Rombauer Chardonnay? Me, I don’t, not so much. It’s a big, fat, oaky, butterscotchy fruit bomb of a Chardonnay that is just not my thing. And yet, when I worked in restaurants, I must have sold a couple pallets of the stuff, because it delivers a heck of [...]

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We have a split decision on this cognac at our house. I feel that it’s a little simple and light-bodied for a cognac, but that it does fit Colonel Potter’s description of a good brandy in that there are not enough O’s in “smooth” to describe the overall flavor and finish. Mrs. [...]

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