After several months of non-participation, I was looking forward to tasting a wine for the latest WBW, hosted this month by Michelle at www.wine-girl.net. The theme this time around is Snow Day. Hmmm….Being a Los Angeles native, I don’t even know what a snow day is. I mean, I’ve read about it in books and seen it in the movies…

I guess these last three days would be LA’s version of a snow day. Dark, foreboding clouds, rain; heavy at times, gusty winds. I was forced to put on a light sweater and I found myself reaching for a raincoat. Wait, I think I just heard thunder. Someone just opened the door for a moment and a little gust of wind came in. Brrrr. The photo above should give you an idea of how rough it got yesterday afternoon.

I mean, who am I kidding, us thin-skinned Angelinos are pretty sensitive to even slight variations in temperature, so I’m probably being more sincere than you think when I say that it feels like winter time right now. So when I was compelled to open a bottle of big, comfy Priorat last night, I realized that this was the bottle that would be my snow day wine.

Admittedly, I’m big on Spanish wines right now. I feel like they deliver big for a reasonable price (this wine was under $20). But I digress…

As I said, it’s a big, comfy wine, the kind I’d curl up by the fire with; the flames warming me on the outside and the wine warming me on the inside. The wine I speak of is the 2005 Cellers Capafons Oso “Sirsell” Priorat. Just looking into the glass revealed a dark, heavy wine, and as soon as I brought it to my nose I was hit with aromas of black currant and sweet spices (the kind I smell when the kitchen is warm and my wife is baking something sweet and rich). I took a swig and my mouth was instantly warmed up by blackberries, plums and spices o-plenty. And despite my initial statement of this one being ‘big’, it also had an elegance to it; decent length and a nice finish. No surprise that this one has a lot going on: it’s a blend of 25% Grenache, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon , 25% Merlot, 15% Mazuelo and 10% Syrah… all from the slopes of Priorat.

But most important on this coldest of LA days (it’s in the low 50’s), this wine makes me feel warm inside. This most certainly is a good wine for a snow day.

…that’s right, with the hustle and bustle of holiday travel and whatnot, we thought we’d use the three active days of this week (Monday-Wednesday) to relive three of our favorite webisodes.  Enjoy…

“It’s nice to bring a bottle of wine when you head out on your summer picnics and parties, but we don’t always want to bring along the bottle. For starters, it can weigh your basket down and it also means using a full bottle. We spied a great way to bring opened bottles of wine anywhere you want, while keeping them safe and airtight…”

See the full post at Apartment Therapy/ The Kitchn

I know, it’s crazy talk, but it happens every now and again.

My business often requires me to do the obligatory client dinner and/or ‘drinks’ during the week.  It’s pretty standard fare actually.  And 9 times out of 10, I peruse the wine list and order a glass.

There are a few exceptions;  Dodger games for example.  I think they actually sell a by-the-glass red and white wine at the concession stands at Dodger stadium, but nothing to write home about.  And to be honest, when you’re sitting in the stands eating a Dodger dog, there’s really only one beverage that’s appropriate.

I couldn’t believe my ears.   I went through several emotional stages… I was angry, hurt, sad.  I thought about running for the door and never coming back.  I thought about moving to Mexico (I’m not sure what good that would have done, but the thought entered my mind).    Finally, I had to accept.  I simply had no choice.  I reluctantly ordered a mixed drink, the old favorite in my pre-wine days, ‘crown and soda’.

Crown Royal is a Canadian blended whisky- mixed with some soda water over rocks, it’s a refreshing little cocktail.  But it’s been years since I’ve regularly enjoyed a ‘crown and soda’.

And I didn’t really enjoy it last night either.  I gave my glass a swirl… no aromas, just the clinking of ice cubes.  I brought the glass to my nose, the bubbles tickled my nose… I took a sip….  Yep, tasted like crown and soda.  No tannins.  No structure.  No complexity.  No fun.

It’s amazing how a few years of wine has made me such a creature of habit.   Anytime I go to a dinner or ‘drinks’, I look forward to going through the wine list and picking out wine for myself and anyone else in the party that wants a glass.  I cross my fingers and hope that I’ll perhaps discover a new wine, and discuss the wine with the people I’m with.

With a mixed drink in front of me, none of the above is on the agenda.

Needless to say, I did not order a second cocktail.  I had ice water, and I chewed on my ice cubes, which you can not do with a glass of wine…

As I was writing yesterday’s post about the fantastic Pinot from Scott Paul Wines, I was reminded of the fact that these award-winning Pinot’s (good scores from Wine Spectator and Robert Parker), were sealed with a screw-top!   And this is a guy who has some pretty deep Burgundy-influenced philosophies on wine-making and grape growing.    Click here to read his thoughts on his choice of bottle closure.  Food for thought….

Do you like to spend as much money on a bottle of wine as you would on a car?  Then this list is for you!  No, these wines aren’t stored in diamond covered gold bottles and they won’t extend your life, but they will cost you a few hundred dollars per sip.  It’s hard to tell which (if any) of these wines are most deserving of their price tag, but it begs the question: What is the largest amount of money you would be willing to spend on a bottle of wine? Check out the list here, and let us know in the comments your feelings on outrageously expensive wine.

That’s right kids… The WineExpedition team is on the road for a quick trip to Napa and Sonoma this weekend.  We’ll do our best (wifi willing) to update you on our whereabouts and adventures.  Cheers!

In case you haven’t heard… we’ve had a little nip and tuck here at WineExpedition.com.  If you’re reading this now we hope you’ve caught on, but we wanted to blast out the news to our Twitter friends and RSS followers.  So raise a glass and join us as we toast our new look…. Open it up!

It’s spring time, and if you’ve cleaned your closet and feel that you’re in need of some new T-Shirts, have no fear; WineExpedition has some great suggestions for you.

There’s the “Got Wine” Shirt pictured above which is sure to get a chuckle, available here at the Blue Mountain Winery’s website.

Another crowd pleaser is the “I Drink Wine By The Box” shirt, available here at Look At Me Shirts.

Noisebot.com has the simillarly themed “I heart boxed wine” design, available in a t-shirt, hoodie or tote bag depending on your individual needs.

Choice Shirts has the “It’s Wine Thirty” shirt, if you like to remind everyone that it’s time for a glass of wine whenever you show up.

Two choices at WetDog.com, “Kiss me, I taste like wine” and “I Drink Wine Because the Voices In My Head Tell me to” are definitely in my list of top five wine shirts in the world…

If your shopping for a new T-shirt for your dog, then you should stop by Wine-Fi.com, where you can get several clever shirts for your pooch, including “I heart champagne”, “Sherry Rocks”, “I heart boxed wine” and the classic “I’m not drinking and F’in Merlot”.

Finally, for the intellectual wine parties you’ll be attending, you’ll be sure to get lots of thumb’s ups with the classic “Albert Wine-Stein” shirt, available at FunWineGifts.com. The tag-line is one which I live by: Drink a few glasses and become a genius…

Have a great weekend.

After years of watching movies the old-fashioned way, we decided to take the plunge and sign up for Netflix. What does that have to do with wine you ask?  Read on…

Well first of all, when I’m able to sit down and watch a movie at home, I generally do so with glass in hand.  And until recently, those movies were DVD rentals, pay-per-views, or recorded on the DVR.  Now with Netflix in the house, we’ve been getting the little white and red envelopes at the house.  But here’s where it gets interesting.

Last week, I thought to myself out-loud, “Gee, I need to check out that movie Bottleshock…”.  Fifteen seconds later it was cued up and ready to watch via wi-fi and the X-Box 360.  In High-Definition no less!  I’m not really into playing video games, but this instant movie thing that X-Box has going with Netflix is going to make it an anchor in our living room.

So I kicked off my shoes, poured a glass, pushed play on the X-Box and sat down to watch Bottleshock.  I had heard mixed reviews from folks, somebody told me “it’s not as good as Sideways“.  First of all, there’s room in the world for more than one wine movie, and second of all Sideways would have been a great movie whether it took place on a wine tasting trip or a fishing trip.  Wine really was more of the setting, whereas in Bottleshock, the wine is really a main character of the film.

The film is based on the 1976 blind tasting in Paris in which California wines took the first prize over the French.  Shot in Napa and Sonoma, the film stars Alan Rickman as the British wine merchant Steven Spurrier, who organized the tasting, Bill Pullman as Jim Barrett, the owner of Chateau Montelena (whose ‘73 Chardonnay won the competition), and Chris Pine as Jim’s son Bo Barrett.

A surprising omission was winemaker Mike Grgich, (of modern-day Grgich Hills fame) who actually made the winning Chardonnay.  (You can check out our WE webisodes shot at Grgich Hills here). Instead they focus on Grgich’s assistant Gustavo Brambila (played by Freddy Rodriguez), the son of a field hand who today has his own winery, the Gustavo Thrace Winery.

I admit that the movie romanticized the wine industry a bit and played up the innocence of the ‘wine folk in California in the 70’s’ in order to make the story a little more dramatic, and there were times when it was a tad corny.

Bottom Line:  I loved it. Maybe it’s because I romanticize the wine industry in my head.  Maybe it’s because the cinematography was beautiful, capturing California wine country in all of it’s glory.  Maybe it’s because I couldn’t help but get caught up in the underdog story of the little California winery that could.

I think at the end of the day, the movie’s huge charm far outweighs it’s tiny flaws.   The message of the film is sort of the same as ours here at WineExpedition.com:   Wine is exciting…  It’s an adventure…  It’s something to be passionate about, and that there are really cool folks behind each and every bottle that have that passion.

It certainly made me want to pour another glass, and it makes me want to visit Chateau Montelana and meet Bo Barrett in person.  (I’m sure I’ll be the first one to walk in and say “Dude!  I loved you in Bottleshock!”)  By the way, the music is great:  “China Grove” and “Listen to the Music” from the Doobie Brothers are a nice soundtrack to the sweeping views of California wine country.

If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out when you have a chance.  It’s available on Netflix…

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