Shopping for that perfect bottle of Gift Wine…

It is a season of hope and light at this time of the year. We (here in the United States) have concluded a bloody political season and are beginning to move on with thoughts of happy children and visions of sugar plums in our head. I’ve seen a shift from people seeking the perfect $10 bottle of wine as a hostess gift to wanting something really special for their best friends and family members.

While I pride myself in our selection of great wines, I still want to make certain you get a value for your dollar. Most of our shelf space remains under $35 per bottle of great wine. When you’re selecting a wine for a gift, I want to make a few suggestions that will help you help your wine merchant assist you in the process:

1)    Sweet wines have sugar in them and are “sticky sweet”, Dry-Fruit driven wines have a lot of fruity flavors, but are clean and fresh feeling in the mouth, and Dry-Spicy wines tend to have more oak and tannic characteristics and often are better for food pairing than as a sipping wine.

2)    Does the recipient of the gift Drink more Red, or White Wine?

3)    Do they usually drink the wine with food, or simply with a good glass?

4)    What dollar value do you want to stay beneath in your purchase per bottle?

5)    Do they have a sense of adventure, or like to stay inside the comfort zones they have established?

With those 5 simple questions, we small wine merchants can reach out and grab a couple of bottle for you to select from with a pretty good ratio of success in pleasing you and the person you’re giving that special bottle of wine to!

Wine: Grayson Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

Grayson Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

We are always looking for that $15.00 bottle of wine that drinks like the $50.00 wine, and once in a long while we strike gold! Grayson Cellars is a small, family owned operation out of NAPA, California with a remarkable winemaker by the name if Larry Levin. Larry has quite a list of labels under his belt where he has made wine and has brought the best of those skills with him to Grayson Cellars where they produce some of the highest quality wines at the most affordable price points you’re going to find anywhere.

The winemaker’s notes on the Grayson Cellars’ Cabernet Sauvignon is (in my opinion) somewhat understated as it reads: “This Cabernet shows a dark, ruby color with a rich nose of ripe, dark cherries and blackberries. Its full bodied mouth feel leads to a lingering finish of toasted French oak.”

For me, I agree with the color and aromas, but find the fore of the palate rich with a vanilla spice dancing with dark cherries, back berries, black currants, and light cassis lingering through the mid-palate into a velvety rich, cocoa laden, silky finish mingled with bright pepper and spice.

While I find this wine luxurious and smooth enough to enjoy with nothing but a glass, it pairs beautifully with tons of foods as well. I personally find it a perfect pairing with quail stuffed with acorn squash roasted over an open fire with a side of bitter greens with light garlic butter.

At a retail price of $12.99, why not enjoy a pair of bottles instead of one and share with friends!

Grayson Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine: Napa Cellars Syrah; RSV

Napa Cellars Syrah, rsv

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and it is time we start thinking about that special dinner and evening. I’ll try to post some recipes for the dinner next week, but the wine is what is on my mind at the moment. Whenever I think of romance and love, I think of a great American Syrah!

Many people shy away from a syrah due to the fact that it is an intense, powerful wine- and they are correct in that being characteristic of a syrah. However, there are a lot of things in life that are powerful and intense that they profess not only to enjoy but seek out. Hence, when you think of syrah, think of sex in a bottle to pair with the right meal giving you a great night!

Napa Cellars was founded with the concept of making varietal proper wines year after year. Their Dyer Vineyards Reserve Syrah is just that! When pulling the cork you’re going to discover an explosion if jammy, dark fruit aromas filling the air with hints of pepper on the nose. Pouring the wine into the glass, the deep velvety violet color . Both the vision and aromas of the wine do nothing less than make your mouth water in anticipation for the gentle first passionate kiss with this exotic fruit!

As the wine caresses the fore of your tongue, the jammy explosion of blueberry,
blackberry, cola, and violets seem to swell building into a crescendo to the mid-pallet of the tongue where it seems your mouth is going to explode from the wonderful juice explosion you’re experiencing. Just as you don’t think you can handle anymore, you’ve worked the wine to the back of your tongue and you swallow and that warm intensity you just experienced reverses and and  the warm sensation intensifies as it feels your mouth is shrinking back to normal size and the wonders of the passionate flavors seep out of your cheeks and gums concentrating on the center of the tongue where a second bigger explosion takes place replacing the brilliant fruit with spices and the desire for more wine.

Don’t believe me? Get a bottle of this elixir and put a little passion in your Valentine’s Day!