I forgot to mention in yesterday’s posting about the exclusive discount offer from Hill Family Estate the extra savings…
In addition to the 15% discount offered exclusively to Deep Red Cellar customers, you get a 10% discount for ordering a case of any wine with Hill Family Estate. That means a generous 25% discount on this great balanced red wine (mixed cases excluded).
Don’t wait….order your case today!
I am re-posting the below write up on Napa Valley’s “Barrel Blend” wine because the good folks of Hill Family Estate have offered a DISCOUNT exclusively for Deep Red Cellar customers!
15% Discount on a case of Hill Family Estate “Barrel Blend” wine.
Go directly to www.hillfamilyestate.com and put BB15 in the “offer code” section during check out.
This is being offered exclusively for you, the customers of Deep Red Cellar.
I have some good news! I have found a really good wine that does not taste like it was made for every wine drinker on the planet. You may think that is NOT good news, but I say it is. After living in Italy for 3 years, I came home to America to find most of the “everyday drinking” wines tasting the same – all geared toward ease of drinking but lacking in complexity and finish. But alas, I have stumbled on a really great everyday wine that has some depth to it.
I was happy to see a new wine store in my town called Wine Styles. They carry many reasonably priced bottles of wine, have a monthly wine club and offer special events like tastings, pairings, etc. It was about day 3 of being in town that my husband and I walked into this store to purchase some wine (afterall, a hotel room with no wine is not really a hotel room at all). I was signing us up for the wine club, and my husband started talking with one of the employees. Turns out, the employee was professional surfer, Kyle Knox, who just happens to have a passion for wine. So much so, in fact, that he teamed up with Hill Family Estate to make his signature “Barrel Blend” wine (the pun is intended).
I bought a bottle to try and was very impressed. Gone was the overly fruit forward taste that had drained me of all hope in finding reasonably priced, reasonably complex California wine. This wine is really good. It is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Sounds enticing doesn’t it – a great blending of varietals. This wine is all about balance. Hill Family Estate winemaker Alison Doran puts it best: ”The nose has a great ‘wow’ factor – unmistakably Napa in its elegance, but with an earthy blackberry and vanilla appeal that really makes you want to take a sip. And the palate is lovely, balanced, seductive and interesting, with plushy berry fruit and vanilla scented oak playing backup on tannins.”
Maybe it’s just me, but I also tasted plum. Whatever the case, this wine will be coming home with me often. I may not drink it literally everyday (retails for about $20 a bottle) but as often as I crave a balanced, interesting wine.
My husband brought me a couple bottles of Pinot Noir back from a recent trip he took to Vancouver, British Columbia. And if you’re thinking it, you’re right…..he is a good man.
I have to say, I’ve not heard much hype about Pinot Noirs from Canada (or any for that matter) but was hopeful as I’ve tasted a few good wines from our northern friends and a spectacular Merlot not so long ago.
I opened the first of two bottles – a screw cap which I love. I think all wineries should switch to this method. Of course, that would eliminate any reason to pull out the snappy wine openers we love to use (my favorite is a “Laguiole” corkscrew made of olive wood). The wine, 2008 Road 13 Pinot Noir, and I couldn’t wait to try it. I was intrigued by the description on the bottle. It said “This light colored, light bodied wine has a silky texture and pleasing complexity…Pinot Noir, not Merlot under a Pinot Noir label.”
I definitely noticed the beautiful pale, red color but the aroma was unspectacular and the taste about the same. I did not taste any of the complexity the description referred to but that could be because it needed more time in the bottle. While looking for words to describe it, I came up empty - it was uninspiring, flat and unpleasing. The first time I drank it, I woke up with a headache – something that really doesn’t happen to me when I drink wine. I wrote it off as a coincidence but the second night, I poured a glass with dinner and woke up with yet another headache. I ended up tossing the rest of the bottle which is a rare event in my world.
I am not going to say the good folks of Road 13 do not make good wine. Maybe they do but this particular tasting has made me a little more skeptical about that second bottle of Canadian Pinot Noir sitting in my wine cellar.
Now here is an interesting way to open a bottle of wine (complements of YouTube – who else)!
I was just curious enough to try this myself. After studying the video I gave it a try but my bottle just wouldn’t open. I thought maybe for some peculiar reason it was because I was trying to open a white wine. So I went back to my wine stash and this time grabbed not only a red, but a French red thinking maybe the French bottle their wine specifically so it can be opened with a shoe. Maybe they often have reason to use their shoe instead of a simply adequate wine opener. After this attempt, I was left in the same place I was after attempting to open the white wine…only now I have two bottles of wine who have lost their foil and are waiting to be uncorked. If you succeed, please tell me your secret.
Wow has this wine gotten great reviews from the Wine Access customers! Phrases like: ”…wonderful balance from the first fruit to the long finish.” “…the best cabernet I have ever tasted.” ”This made my dinner party a huge success.” ”…enjoyed by novices as well as experts.”
The Crane Ranch Vineyard Cabernet has had a great track record raising eyebrows and pleasing palates with the 2005 and 2006 vintages and now the best yet, 2007 vintage. The tasting notes make it highly enticing!
The price is almost as enticing as the wine. New release price: $40. Today, just $22.99/bottle on cases. Shipping included on 4 bottles or more.
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2007 Crane Ranch Brodatious for as little as $22.99 on cases with shipping included! You save 43%!
(just click the above link to purchase)
I was roaming the streets of Montalcino on a very blustery, cold January day when I stopped in a restaurant for lunch. As I settled into the warmth of the restaurant I discovered something spectacular. At a nearby table the waiter was pouring a glass of wine for a customer using the coolest gadget I’d ever seen! It attached to the wine bottle much like a cork stopper but had an almost Medusa like contraption coming out of it which worked like a mini decanter! That is when I first laid eyes on the “Centellino.”
The “Centellino” decants, oxidizes and pours the perfect portion of wine. The official “Centellino” website (www.centellino.it) explains the process: ”The wine during its flow down into the “amphora” spreads on the walls and frees all its flavors and organoleptic properties.” If for some reason you don’t finish the bottle, leave the “Centellino” in the bottle for unaltered preservation until your next glass. It is a patented design hand-made by blown glass in Italy. Amazing I thought – what a brilliant invention!
Much to my surprise and delight I found one of those nifty gadgets for sale later in the afternoon at an Enoteca as I was buying bottles of Brunello di Montalcino and Super Tuscans. Without a second thought I purchased one for myself and absolutely love it. It works like a charm and is uniquely lovely stirring up conversation at the dinner table.
If you think for a moment that I would let you in on this awesome toy without a chance to own one for yourself then you don’t know me very well. I just happen to have the “Centellino” in my store. You can easily shop for it under “nifty gadgets” or click on this link: Centellino Areadivino Wine Aerator & Decanter.
By the way, this would be a great Father’s Day gift! 
FATHER’S DAY is June 20…why not skip the boring tie this year, and get him something he’ll really love. Shop great hidden gem wines from small vineyards at a great value from MyWinesDirect.com. What more could you ask for?
I know you’re thinking it…go ahead and splurge on yourself too. I am sure you deserve it!
Here’s a few specials to take advantage of – just click on the link to start shopping:
FATHER’S DAY
Shop our Father’s Day Gift Collection and Save $5, plus FREE Shipping. Use Coupon Code ADAD5.
BEST DEAL
LAST MINUTE SHOPPERS OR HARD TO BUY FOR DADS
DON’T FORGET THE COLLEGE GRADUATES
I have some good news! I have found a really good wine that does not taste like it was made for every wine drinker on the planet. You may think that is NOT good news, but I say it is. After living in Italy for 3 years, I came home to America to find most of the “everyday drinking” wines tasting the same – all geared toward ease of drinking but lacking in complexity and finish. But alas, I have stumbled on a really great everyday wine that has some depth to it.
I was happy to see a new wine store in my town called Wine Styles. They carry many reasonably priced bottles of wine, have a monthly wine club and offer special events like tastings, pairings, etc. It was about day 3 of being in town that my husband and I walked into this store to purchase some wine (afterall, a hotel room with no wine is not really a hotel room at all). I was signing us up for the wine club, and my husband started talking with one of the employees. Turns out, the employee was professional surfer, Kyle Knox, who just happens to have a passion for wine. So much so, in fact, that he teamed up with Hill Family Estate to make his signature “Barrel Blend” wine (the pun is intended).
I bought a bottle to try and was very impressed. Gone was the overly fruit forward taste that had drained me of all hope in finding reasonably priced, reasonably complex California wine. This wine is really good. It is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Sounds enticing doesn’t it – a great blending of varietals. This wine is all about balance. Hill Family Estate winemaker Alison Doran puts it best: ”The nose has a great ‘wow’ factor – unmistakably Napa in its elegance, but with an earthy blackberry and vanilla appeal that really makes you want to take a sip. And the palate is lovely, balanced, seductive and interesting, with plushy berry fruit and vanilla scented oak playing backup on tannins.”
Maybe it’s just me, but I also tasted plum. Whatever the case, this wine will be coming home with me often. I may not drink it literally everyday (retails for about $20 a bottle) but as often as I crave a balanced, interesting wine.
I don’t think I’ve ever given a wine special two days in a row but when this came across my path, I just couldn’t help myself from sharing!
2006 Anselmo Vigne Cabernet Sauvignon Veloce Napa Valley
Steve Simi took great care in planning for this great wine. He chose vineyards that sit on a 5-acre eastern hillside at the southern edge of Stags Leap and trimmed the yields to less than 3 tons per acre. The result is an elegant, deep purple cabernet sauvignon. Only 400 cases were produced from Steve’s pristine hillside so take advantage of this opportunity while it’s still available!
Interested in purchasing? Click here: WineAccess.com Deals of the Day!
| Tasting Notes from the WineAccess Travel Log 2006 Anselmo Vigne Cabernet Sauvignon Veloce Napa Valley “Deep purple color to the edge. Bright fresh, lush aromas of currants and violet. Rich on the attack, with fine fruit delineation. Excellent depth of flavor, slowly unfolding (even weightier on Day 2), melting into a finely honed finish. Tannins are present, but ripe, beautifully integrated, helping to balance out all the rich cassis fruit. Drink now for its Stags Leap hedonism or age for up to 7 years.” |
Here is a Pinot Noir that sounds divine. The fruit is purchased by the arce as opposed to the ton so the farming is highly customized. The wine has been described as a perfect mesh of California style and the highly coveted Vosne Romanee style in France – just no way to go wrong. In addition, the 2007 vintage is believed to have had the perfect growing season. This is a good aging wine; however, if drinking now, decant for an hour or two before consumption.
Interested in purchasing? Click here: 2007 Pinot Noir Dutton Ranch Russian River Valley ST 90 for $29.99 today at WineAccess.com
| Tasting Notes (compliments of Wine Access) 2007 Dutton-Goldfield Pinot Noir Dutton Ranch Russian River Valley
“Bright ruby color to the edge. Explosive aromas of wild cherry and red fruits, finely layers. Rich and vibrant on the palate with a slowly unfolding, deep red fruit kernel. Air is this wine’s friend. After two hours in a carafe, more weight, more intensity, filling out. Excellent, firm, finely honed finish, speaking for a nice long stay in bottle. Drink now for the wild cherry explosiveness or age for up to 7 years.” |
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