1 Bottle/2 Meals – A Great Value Cabernet Sauvignon From South America

This is a guest post by a fellow blogger I follow, Renee Keele.  She writes a blog entitled  Wine A Bit…you’ll feel better  Her blog is about food and wine with an Arizona twist.  One of the series she featured in 2011 that I enjoyed was called “1 bottle/2 meals”, wherein she would feature a…

San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition announces 2012 Top Wines

The 2012 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (“SFCWC”) has announced their top wines for 2012 in the Sparkling, White, Blush, Red, and Dessert categories.  Gloria Ferrer and Barnard Griffin were  back to back winners in the Sparkling Wine and Blush (Rosé) categories respectively. Sparkling – Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards 2006 Carneros Blanc de Blancs Sparkling…

T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like…Elyssia Pinot Noir Brut Cava

Elyssia is separate label produced by Freixenet (pronounced ‘fresh-eh-NET) one of the largest producers of sparkling wine in the world.  You may know Freixenet from their ubiquitous black Cordon Negro Cava, which is the #1 imported sparkling wine in the world. This Cava is different in that none of the grapes used in the traditional…

T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like….NV Gruet Brut Blanc de Noirs

This week’s sparkler is produced by Gruet Winery, which is based in New Mexico.  New Mexico isn’t exactly top of wine when it comes to wine, much less sparkling wines, but Gruet’s lineup of non-vintage wines are very compelling as value plays.  They produce vintage, and non-vintage sparkling wine, along with still wines. Gruet was…