Notes from the Wine Bin…

The lure of the wood wine bins.  Its like a car accident- you just have to take a peek to see what’s in it, no matter how ugly it may be.  Have you ever stopped to see if there are any good deals in there or are you one of those people that is embarrassed to be pawing through those “cheapy” bottles?  Don’t worry my friends, I was one of them.  But I’m here to save you all and share with you my recent discoveries while perusing through the wood bins.

First, we have the three new bins up in front of the lotto machine.  Believe me when I say that these are not “cheapy” bottles.  First, we have the Lamoreaux Landing Semi-Dry Riesling from Seneca Lake.  This isn’t an old vintage either folks, its a 2009 and its on sale at 2 for $14.  Yeah, pick your chin up from the floor now.  It got 87 points in the Wine Spectator and has aromas of tangerines and honeydew melons.  YUM!

Second is “The Crusher” Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 from California and is one of the staff favorites.  You can save $6 a bottle and seeing how finding a quality cabernet for under $15 (let alone $20) is hard, we suggest snatching this up and trying it for yourself with a nice grilled steak!

Third, is the Marques de Caceres Rioja Crianza 2005.  You can enjoy saving $6 a bottle on this Spanish gem while its in the bin up front!  When I was stocking this one earlier today up front, the staff literally started jumping up and down when they saw it was in there and the price it was at.  Can you tell we love wine here?  Its got a little touch of vanilla on the nose, well-integrated tannins and a silky finish.  If your unfamiliar with this Spanish Rioja, its made from the Tempranillo grape. This should be drinking quite lovely right now.

Fourth wine is a $3.99’er.  That’s right folks, we grabbed a little Carta Vieja Sauvignon Blanc from the $3.99 bin, chilled it down (not too much to mask the flavors) and gave it a whirl.  Would I say its the BEST Sauvignon Blanc I’ve ever had?  Um, no.  It’s a little light, but it still has nice Sauvignon Blanc qualities.  Is it worth $3.99?  Absolutely,  I would definitely recommend getting a splinter trying to reach into the bin to find a bottle. 🙂

 

Wild on Riesling!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cPA47Lacb4&feature=player_embedded   

I thought I would do a different kind of blog entry today, seeing how I’m going viral!  No, no, I’m not sick.  I’ve just got the Riesling fever!  That’s right, its Riesling Festival time again on Lakeshore Drive in Canandaigua!  There is no better grape to celebrate in the Finger Lakes than our flagship grape.  The Daily Messenger asked about filming a fun “how-to” video on Riesling and of course being as “shy” as I am, I declined at first.  But after a few glasses of liquid courage, I decided to give it a go. Now, I’m not going to talk all about Riesling in my blog here, I want you watch my super-fun video instead!  I did want to point out a few things though because after watching the video, I discovered a lot of things were edited out.  Like what my favorite Rieslings were (I suppose I did too much name dropping!), and a lot of general Riesling information that would have ended up being repeated in the “Top 5 things you should know about Riesling” article my video is attached to.  Plus, the video would have been about 10 minutes long, and unless your sipping a nice glass of vino, you may not want to sit all the way through that…

So, to let you know what wine I’m talking about when I’m swirling, smelling and sipping, its the Eagle Crest Dry Riesling.  This Riesling is to die for, is probably the best I’ve had and it’s a screw cap wine.  I talk a little about screw caps and synthetics but unfortunately that’s edited out also.

I also talk about packaging and how its changing for Riesling (again, didn’t make the final cut). You’ll find it bottled in mag (1.5L) bottles now (I suggest the Wagner Riesling) and I talk a bit about the new Glenora Astra Pouch Trestle Creek Riesling.  Good news for fans of the Astra Pouch, Glenora is coming out with a Chardonnay this fall!  The Riesling is doing incredibly well here at Ryan’s, can’t wait to sample the Chard!!

Enjoy the video, let me know what you think!  Here’s a link to the messenger-post article: http://www.mpnnow.com/features/x897605194/Five-things-to-know-about-Riesling

And, thanks for the props to my blog messenger-post!!