New Blog!

I have a new blog Video Game Pre Orders, this blog intends to list deals for pre order on video games available on the internet. All you have to do is look in one place to see what different vendors are offering to get the special bonuses you want.

Wine, MMMM

What can I say about wine? It's delicious and healthy. Why don't I write about it? Not because I don't love it, but because circumstances don't allow me to taste enough to review it, and I just don't drink any regularly because of other life circumstances. I would love to get back into weekly tastings, but we live on the other side of town from them, so the drive once one has had some drink can be long. I enjoy wine, and I hope to make it a part of my life again in the future, until then, enjoy what you can from the reviews already in place, and drink some good wine.

Winetasting

On the topic of winetasting, which I haven't taken the time to do lately, I will be phasing in a new scoring system for my tastings. We just went to a fantastic tasting at the Colorado Mountain Winefest, where I estimate I tasted at least forty wines. Having been introduced to a new system of scoring the day before, I do say that it would have been near impossible to use the new scoring in such a setting, where judging a wine takes place in a manner of seconds and not over a longer period of time. The new scoring system is a true 20 point system, while I consider Wine Spectator's system to be 20 points as well since they consider anything under 80 to be vomitous filth, this one is going to be 0 to 20, not 80 to 100. That said, I believe the system to be the UC Davis scoring method, it judges the wine on 5 different areas. The first is 0-3 points for appearance. The second is 0-6 points for aroma and bouquet, with the third category being 0-6 points for taste and texture. I really like this because it weighs the most important parts more heavily than the somewhat less important. The final categories are 0-3 points for aftertaste and 0-2 points for overall impression. This finally gives me a scorable system to use based on my own sensory observations, not just the whim of the moment as can be sometimes done when one doesn't have a defined sytem to follow. Drink up and I shall do the same and bring you better wine reviews than ever!!

Colorado Mountain Winefest

The Colorado Mountain Winefest comes to Palisade and Grand Junction next weekend, it's the biggest wine event for all you Colorado Wine fans, be there and have a great time!

It's Summer! Let's Drink!

Well, I haven't done much wine tasting or drinking lately, so that's why very limited postings, work has been crazy busy, and so that's it. Some wines to try would be the Australian brands in a box, they have some wonderful Shiraz in a box and the price is a lot better than by the bottle, and you don't have to worry about oxidation, so you can store the wine and drink a glass or two a day and enjoy it. It's summer and time to taste wine, so drink up, have fun, and be safe!

Denver International Winefest 2006

Wine connoisseurs can swirl, smell and taste more than 360 imported and domestic wines from more than 17 countries at the 2006 Denver International Wine Festival, Nov. 2 & 4, 2006 at the Mile High Station.

Another great opportunity to taste a ton of great wine, and go on VIP Tour of front range wineries

Lulu B. Pinot Noir 2004 (France)

Purchased for $8.99 at the Cork & Cap liquor store in Ft. Lupton, Colorado, enjoyed at Bob's apartment in a solo drinking of the whole bottle.

This is one of the new French wines marketed in the new world wine style, with the Pinot Noir directly on the label. From the Lulu B. Wine website comes this quote

I am the daughter of famed French winemaker Louis Bernard, so I was lucky to grow up with a rich heritage of winemaking traditions. After studying in France, I toured the world's wine regions, seeing new vineyards, meeting new winemakers and learning new world winemaking practices.

Having satisfied my need to discover, learn and explore, I returned home to my family's estate and let my renewed motivation take over.

My Syrah, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines are a warm and sunny expression of my Southern French terroir with the best of the New World which makes them delightful, delicious and captivating.

On to the tasting! This wine has black cherry on the nose with black cherry and grape flavors on the palate. This wine is deep with some tannin and light earthiness, not overly complex. The finish is dry and tapers off nicely. Good Pinot, good value, I give it a B! I definitely want to try their other varieties.

Biaggi's

Thursday night we went out with people from Katie's work at a nice italian restaurant Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano. Wonderful place to eat, has great atmosphere, perfect lighting, wonderful walnut trim, just a great place to enjoy a good evening out with friends. I enjoyed the Chilean Sea Bass while my wife had the N.Y. Strip steak. The Bass was a wonderful choice, the steak needed A-1. I especially enjoyed the vegetables they substituted for the seared spinach, seared green beans and red peppers. The garlic mashed potatoes were wonderful too. I wouldn't recommened the steak, they didn't get the veggies or potatoes right, and the steak wasn't juicy. Biaggi's does have good Calamari Fritti (breaded fried squid), didn't even need the sauce it came with. They also have a wonderful bread to get you started while waiting for your meal, the bread is dipped in olive oil with a mix of parmesan cheeses, salt, and pepper. So, of course you want to hear about the wine. I had a glass of Vermentino, Argiolas “Costamolino”, from Italy. From the menu description "Ripe and exotic fruit with salty sea breeze-like notes. A Sardinian classic." Went very well with the Chilean Sea Bass, good white wine, I recommend it with seafood dishes or it would go well with a nice chicken or light pasta meal. Yum, Yum!

Colorado Wine Country USA

I'm starting a new wine blog dedicated exclusively to Colorado wines, I'm going to call it Colorado Wine Country USA. el Catavinos will continue it's dedication to wine in general and I will be moving all Colorado postings to the new blog, enjoy!

Hardy's Stamp of Australia South Eastern Australia Shiraz: Vintage 2004

Purchase this wine at Total Beverage in the 3.0 L box cask size for $14.98.

This is a wonderful wine! I think it needs about 5 to 10 minutes of air in the glass before you taste it, otherwise it can be a little harsh. It has a nice purple red coloring with spices and deep berries on the nose. Wonderful fruit flavors with some deep berries and just a hint of pepper, has a heavy mouthfeel. The finish is long, clean, and smooth, wonderful finisher! This wine get slightly sweeter the more air it gets, so it has a different flavor throughout your tasting. Definitely a great wine, a great buy if you want to drink wine everyday with your meals and for great health! I give it a B+! Check out the Hardy's Website.

Portuguese Douro Wine Region Celebrates 250 Years

The Portuguese Douro Wine Region is celebrating it's 250th year as the world's first demarcated wine region. The region is mostly known for Port, but also has many grapes not grown in other regions, such as tinta roriz. Read more about it here. If you're not a fan of Portuguese wine, try some tawny port for dessert and get a couple bottles of some other reds from Portugal, I'm sure you'll be pleased.

Wine and the World Cup

With the 2006 World Cup coming to a close it is interesting to note that the final four teams are some of Europes best wine producing countries. In fact the final features two of the best producers, Italy and France. Check out this story on World Cup Wines.

Grape Thoughts

"Claret is the liquor for boys, Port for me, but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy."

Samuel Johnson

Ferrari-Carano 2004 Fume Blanc

Price - $14.99 Size - 750 mL Tasted with my wife and two friends, Adam & Lori on Saturday, February 4, 2006.

This wine has a light golden color with quick legs and scents of grass and lemon on the nose, with a hint of oak. Has wonderful flavors of lemon and grass in a pleasantly smooth body. Has a most pleasing hint of oak. Nice long, clean and smooth finish at the end. Paired well with Parmesan and Gouda cheese and Napoleon Dynamite. Grade: B+

Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Discovery Tasting

Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Discovery Tasting at Appelation America is an interesting article, let's get more American terroir and wine excitement!

Wine Tasting

Since this website is primarily focused on winetasting I thought I would pass on a website with just that in mind, Local Wine Events, it's an events calendar for wine lovers, enjoy!

Wine is Fun!

"Wine is, above all, pleasure. Those who would make it ponderous make it dull. People talk about the mystery of wine, yet most don't want anything to do with mystery. They want it all there in one sniff, one taste. If you keep an open mind and take each wine on its own terms, there is a world of magic to discover."

Kermit Lynch
Adventures on the Wine Route

A Very Good Year: A Wine Book You Should Read

A Very Good Year: The Journey of a California Wine from Vine to Table. This book turned out to be a very insightful look into the culture of one winery, Ferrari-Carano Winery. The premise of this book is to follow the grape harvesting through winemaking and release of a single bottle of wine from California. Specifically the 2002 Fume Blanc from the Ferrari-Carano Winery.

I learned quite a bit about winemaking and grapegrowing, not all of the scientific specifics, but enough to help me understand and know more than I did before reading this book. Even has some insight into the business side of running a winery. The marketing guys have a tough time, I wouldn't want to be one of those guys, but I know a little bit about the kind of guy I would need in order to run a successful winery. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to find out more about running a winery, a great behind the scenes guide.

Why I'm Thankful

To see what I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving visit my other blog here.

Two Things

I just finished reading "A Very Good Year" by Mike Weiss, very good book, highly recommended if you want to know about making wine. And just last week we shared a bottle of Barolo from Italy with some friends, this was a fantastic $45 bottle of wine. I will review both in the near future. Later.

Nothing New

I hate these kind of posts, but sometimes they are necessary. I am very busy working on a new business and really don't have time to write any new reviews, and haven't found someone to write in my place, you won't be seeing anything new for a while, sorry. When things get going I will probably start posting new again. Thanks.

We've Had a Breakthrough

The Health Benefits of Wine Tasting is one of the events that helped launch this website. In fact I have a little summary on the back of my business card, the top 10 reasons to drink red wine everyday. This coming saturday August 13 part 2 of the Health Benefits of Wine Tasting is going to be held at Powers Liquor Mart.

In relation to this, one of our very regular attendees related her health breakthrough to me this past saturday. She has started drinking red wine regularly in the past couple months. That's the only thing that changed between getting blood tests done. I don't know the exact numbers, but her bad cholesterol went down, good cholesterol went up and her lipids improved. Like I mentioned all she did differently was drink a glass of red wine on a regular basis between her two tests. Congratulations to our esteemed friend who has started attending at the 2:30 tasting, and has always added very thoughtful comments about what we are tasting!

With that success in mind here's 10 Reasons to drink red wine everyday (1-3 glasses at most)

1. It's fun and it lowers stress!
2. It's filled with cancer-preventing anti-oxidants.
3. It thins the blood-preventing stroke and heart attack.
4. Increases vital mineral intake.
5. Moderate intake (1-2 glasses daily) lowers blood pressure.
6. Moderate intake improves cardiovascular health.
7. Inhibits the growth of ulcer causing bacterium.
8. Moderate wine drinkers get sick less often and for a shorter time.
9. Can improve bone density-holding off osteoporosis.
10. Raises levels of HDL (good) cholesterol while lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol-inhibiting blood clotting.

Bully Hill Riesling 2003 (New York)

Price - $9.99 Size - 750 mL - New World Wine Tasting held on Monday July 25, 2005 at the Powers Liquor Mart in Colorado Springs with Will Gillum.

If you are familiar with the state of New York this comes from the Finger Lakes region. Has a light golden color with medium quick legs. Has a sweet nose with hints of honeysuckle. When this hits your tongue it has quite a zing right away. It is very sweet but also has a nice crispness to it. Has a nice sweet finish. Not what you would expect from a riesling because it has Johnson grapes (normally used in jelly) that are like white concord. My wife thought it tasted somewhat like mead, but not in a dessert wine way. For more information visit Bully Hill Vineyards website. Grade: B+

Trevor Jones Cabernet/Merlot 1996 (Australia)

Price - $24.49 Size - 750 mL - New World Wine Tasting held on Monday July 25, 2005 at the Powers Liquor Mart in Colorado Springs with Will Gillum.

Deep burgundy coloring with medium heavy legs. Has a brown sugar and plum nose. Fruit forward flavors add a somewhat velvety body that is smooth, complex, and deep. Has a medium long finish. According to Will this wine is very typical of Napa Valley blends. I believe Will also said that he thinks this wine has already peaked and is starting to lose some of its fruit. So if you have some or get some, it might be time to drink it pretty soon. Grade: B+

Swanson Merlot 2000 (California)

Price - $23.49 Size - 750 mL - New World Wine Tasting held on Monday July 25, 2005 at the Powers Liquor Mart in Colorado Springs with Will Gillum.

Medium quick legs with a deep burgundy color. Strawberry and dark cherry on the nose. Somewhat smooth wine with a little too much tannin for me. The medium length finish gets a little bitter at the end. For more information visit Swanson Vineyards website. Grade: B

Incognito Red 2001 (California)

Price - $16.49 Size - 750 mL - New World Wine Tasting held on Monday July 25, 2005 at the Powers Liquor Mart in Colorado Springs with Will Gillum.

This is a Rhone style wine from California. Has heavy legs with a deep purple color. Deep cherry fruit nose with a hint of leather. The first thing I would say about this wine is that it is "chewy." This wine has deep flavors with hints of deep fruit, leather, tobacco and light spiciness. Would be good to enjoy with a cigar. Has a medium long finish. For more information visit Michael-David Vineyards website. Grade: A

Two Brothers Big Tattoo Red 2003 (Chile)

Price - $9.49 Size - 750 mL - New World Wine Tasting held on Monday July 25, 2005 at the Powers Liquor Mart in Colorado Springs with Will Gillum.

This is a blend of 50% Syrah and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon. Has a deep purple color with quick running legs. Has a fruity nose with big hints of raspberry. This is a deep and complex wine with good fruit, spice and some hints of pepper. Some tannic hints in this one as well. Has a medium long clean finish. For more information visit Big Tattoo Wines website. Grade: B+

Reynolds Chardonnay 2001 (Australia)

Price - $10.49 Size - 750 m L- New World Wine Tasting held on Monday July 25, 2005 at the Powers Liquor Mart in Colorado Springs with Will Gillum.

Golden amber color with quick running legs. Has a tropical fruit nose. Grapefruit and pineapple flavors with a hint of lightly flavored wood highlight this chardonnay from down under. Has a medium length finish. For more information visit Reynolds Vineyards website. Grade: B

Veramonte Chardonnay 2001 (Chile)

Price - $7.49 Size - 750 mL - New World Wine Tasting held on Monday July 25, 2005 at the Powers Liquor Mart in Colorado Springs with Will Gillum.

Golden amber color with medium quick legs. Has a melon oaky nose. Lots of American oak on this one with some tropical fruit. Has a medium length oaky finish. For more information visit Veramonte Winery website. Buy Veramonte 2003 Chardonnay . Grade: C+

Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc 2003 (New Zealand)

Price - $13.49 Size - 750 mL - New World Wine Tasting held on Monday July 25, 2005 at the Powers Liquor Mart in Colorado Springs with Will Gillum.

Light golden color with medium quick legs. It has a nice clean citrus nose. Nice flavors of citrus and melon mix to form an even flavored fuller bodied wine (for a sauvignon blanc). Has a smooth, clean, and long finish. For more information visit Kim Crawford Wines website. Buy Kim Crawford 2004 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc . Grade: B+

Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc 2002 (California)

Price - $9.49 Size - 750 mL - New World Wine Tasting held on Monday July 25, 2005 at the Powers Liquor Mart in Colorado Springs with Will Gillum.

Fermented in stainless steel. Lightly bubbly with quick legs. Light gold color with a pleasant citrus nose. Grapefruit and citrus flavors mix well in this light-bodied wine. Has a snappy dryness with a medium length clean finish. For more information visit Geyser Peak Winery website. Buy Geyser Peak 2004 Sauvignon Blanc. Grade: B+

Oregon Wines

Nathan of Wine Merchants of Colorado thrilled us today with an Oregon wine tasting. As always Oregon proved to be the most consistent in producing high quality red wines. It was well worth it. Stay tuned for reviews for Oregon and Raymond wines.

Raymond Winery

We had a good tasting this past Saturday of the Raymond Winery. I enjoyed the tastng and their offerings and will review them here shortly. I need to catch up on reviews in general, I am a few behind where I should be. This coming Saturday is going to be Oregon wine, Monday will be New World wines, and the following Saturday is going to be sparkling wines. So a lot to look forward to.

A Very Good Year: A Review In Progress

A Very Good Year: The Journey of a California Wine from Vine to Table. Just last week I was sent A Very Good Year to read and review and promote. Well I have read the first thirty pages and I like what I have read so far. The premise of this book is to follow the grape harvesting through winemaking and release of a single bottle of wine from California. Specifically the 2002 Fume Blanc from the Ferrari-Carano Winery. So far a few of the key players have been introduced and everything promises to be exciting. This should complement our research for our wine documentary. Pick up a copy today, as soon as I'm done I'll give a more in-depth review, but for now it looks to be very promising.

Tastings and Notes

Apparently I missed two tastings this past week, but my wife managed to get some notes for me. I honestly haven't even had time yet this week to look at them. I will get to them soon. As to the calendar idea, I still want to make an events calendar, but it's going to take more time to get it going, so it won't happen very soon. Til later, drink up!

Wine Across the Country

I just spent the last week in Atlanta at the Convention for my new business. A couple of us couldn't afford to fly so we drove the 23 hours straight. I noticed that there is wine and vineyards in a wide variety of states. I think Kansas may have had a winery or two near the highway at the eastern end. Missouri had free tastings at one winery right off the highway. Their vineyards were also next to the road, so that was neat. For more information visit Missouri Wines.com.

After travelling through Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee when we arrived in Georgia there was instantly a billboard for a winery. This one is The Georgia Winery. All of the wineries and tasting rooms were intriguing, but there was no time to stop.

On the way home we decided to take the southern route through Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma. I didn't see any wine signs that I remember in Mississippi or Louisiana, but that doesn't mean there aren't any active wineries in those states. In Texas I did see one or two wineries, but I think we weren't driving through the right place to see a lot more Texas wine.

Wouldn't it be fun to take a road trip where you visit wineries across the country? I think it would be a blast. I had fun just imagining what those places had to offer. Someday I will stop at them and enjoy a glass or two, or three.

Go Drink Wine, Have Fun, and Be Happy!

I will be gone this week and most likely won't have internet access, so I will leave you with a list of upcoming wine event. Thursday at Powers Liquor Mart they are having a French wine tasting at 6:00pm and 7:30pm. The wine expert is new to tastings at Powers, so this event promises to be good. Then on Saturday again at Powers Liquor Mart Small Vineyards is doing an Italian wine tasting. They always do a fantastic job, so go! That tasting is at 1:00pm and 1:30pm. Both of the Powers Liquor Mart tastings are free, so go have fun!

This coming weekend Lafayette is having a wine festival, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, starting with either a wine tasting party at 6:00pm or the wine dinner at 6:30. There is a cost to each event, so visit their website and plan accordingly. I would estimate being able to taste 15 to 20 wines an hour. There is a Gaelic Highlands festival in Canon City Friday through Sunday where you will be able to taste Holy Cross Abbeys wines and discover Celtic culture. This event also costs money, so plan what you most want to do.

Muga Prado Enea Gran Riserva 1995 (Spain)

Price - $35.99 Size - 750 mL- Spanish Wine Tasting held on Saturday June 4, 2005 at the Powers Liquor Mart in Colorado Springs with Mike "Professor" Klaus.

Gran Reserva means this one sees 7 years aging before release. In this case 5 years are on oak and 2 in the bottle. This has a deep red color with a slight brown tinge. Has heavy legs with a cherry earthy nose. Deep flavors mix with cherries to create a smooth velvety wine. Despite all the depth and flavor this wine is not overpowering. Has a long clean finish. For more information visit Muga Wines website. Buy Muga 1995 Gran Reserva Prado Enea . Grade: A+

Muga Reserva 1999 (Spain)

Price - $18.49 Size - 750 mL- Spanish Wine Tasting held on Saturday June 4, 2005 at the Powers Liquor Mart in Colorado Springs with Mike "Professor" Klaus.

The Reserva tag means this wine sees a minimum of 3 years aging before being released. This wine is a deeper red with heavy legs. Has an almost mossy nose. This wine is very smooth, slightly velvety and has nice hints of dark cherries. It's dry but not overpowering with a long good finish. For more information visit Muga Wines website. Grade: B+

Borsao Crianza Seleccion 2000 (Spain)

Price - $10.49 Size - 750 mL- Spanish Wine Tasting held on Saturday June 4, 2005 at the Powers Liquor Mart in Colorado Springs with Mike "Professor" Klaus.

The Crianza term on the label means this sees a minimum of 2 years aging before release. In this particular case it sees 10 months in French and American oak and 14 months aging in the bottle. Has heavy legs with a dark red color. Earth with a hint of light fruit on the nose. When you drink this it's BAM! It just hits you with a wall of flavor. This wine is dry, spicy, peppery and has good acidity. Has a long, smooth, and deep finish. Yum! Excellent quality for this price point. Grade: A

Telmo Rodriguez Dehesa Gago Tempranillo 2002 (Spain)

Price - $11.49 Size - 750 mL- Spanish Wine Tasting held on Saturday June 4, 2005 at the Powers Liquor Mart in Colorado Springs with Mike "Professor" Klaus.

This is actually made with a tempranillo clone called tinta de toro, it is a smaller grape with a thicker skin, should be more concentrated and tannic than regular tempranillo. This wine has a dark red coloring with slow legs. It has an earthy nose. Earthy flavors combine with raisin and some nice spiciness on the finish. This tannic wine has a medium length finish. Grade: C+

Borsao Vina Borgia Grenache 2002 (Spain)

Price - $6.49 Size - 750 mL- Spanish Wine Tasting held on Saturday June 4, 2005 at the Powers Liquor Mart in Colorado Springs with Mike "Professor" Klaus.

Has a lighter red color with medium legs. Sugary and alcoholic nose. The first thing that came to mind was dates, yeah the fruit. Besides that it is dry, sedimented, and earthy. This wine has a long finish. Good value and quality combination. Grade: B

Muga Rosado 2003 (Spain)

Price - $10.49 Size - 750 mL- Spanish Wine Tasting held on Saturday June 4, 2005 at the Powers Liquor Mart in Colorado Springs with Mike "Professor" Klaus.

This Rose is a blend of 60% Grenache, 30% Tempranillo, and 10% Viera. This has a pinkish orange color with heavy legs. Light strawberry hints on the nose. Light strawberry mixes well with fruit flavors. This dry wine has a medium-long finish that gets a touch sour at the end. For more information visit Muga Wines website. Grade: B

Nora Albarino 2002 (Spain)

Price - $14.49 Size - 750 mL- Spanish Wine Tasting held on Saturday June 4, 2005 at the Powers Liquor Mart in Colorado Springs with Mike "Professor" Klaus.

The albarino grape is related to riesling, but there is some debate as to where each was planted first. Has light bubbles and is a light gold color with medium legs. Very light nose with the slightest hint of minerals. Has light flavors with some flint flavors. Gets a little sour in the middle. It has a short clean finish which is the highlight of this wine. This wine is normally paired with the catch of the day. Grade: C+

Naia Verdejo 2002 (Spain)

Price - $11.49 Size - 750 mL- Spanish Wine Tasting held on Saturday June 4, 2005 at the Powers Liquor Mart in Colorado Springs with Mike "Professor" Klaus.

Light golden color with some light effervescence. Acidic and somewhat citrusy nose. Flavors of lime, mineral and light fruit combine in a pleasant crispy wine. Has a medium to long finish. Grade: B