Favorite Beverages Vol. 7

As of late, I've really been getting into wine. I think the process and agricultural aspects make it such an interesting product, because you literally get different things from year to year, even in the most successful wines. Probably my favorite part of wine though, is that it goes great with good conversation. Whether with Kristine or our friends The Fountains, a good bottle of red is the icing on the cake of a tasty dinner, a plate of cheese, a good story, or a cheesy story. Now, as I've said before, I am NO expert...and I basically just like things because I think they tast good. I'm not tasting all these crazy flavors in wine yet, and I often differ in preferance on what some experts like/don't like, but I do take their suggestions to heart and have found a few wines that I LOVE in the process. For now, I'll focus on one wine that I liked (but was not suggested) and one that I was suggested (via a wine blog) and didn't like at all.

La Crema 2003 Pinot Noir

I was out in LA a couple weeks ago for the better part of that week on a shoot for some commercials w/ the ad agency I work for (The Richards Group). While on production, you definately get your fair share of good food, and happily...wine. We had an amazing dinner the first night, but it was at the hotel that I found a glass of pinot that I really liked. The wine list at our hotel (Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica) wasn't that impressive, but the wines they did have were pretty good. The La Crema was their Pinot, and I loved it. Definately had the light, cherry aspects you get in most pinots, but just came accross very silky in the mouth. It was great, and I ordered it again the following night. There wasn't much going on in the nose for me, but then again, I'm still new to the "smelling" part. Overall, if you see a bottle available in a store, I bet it's pretty affordable. It was around $40 at the hotel, and was $9 by the glass I think (?). Anyway, I'd say well worth it and on the Stevo rating scale, it gets a 90.

Las Rocas 2004 Garnacha

I saw this wine tasted on Winelibrary TV a few weeks ago and have been trying to get my hands on it for a while, because it was given an 89+ and is super cheap (7 BONES). I finally found it at our local wine store (sorry Gary, for not buying it on winelibrary.com, but I wanted it right then) and it was $8.99 which is still a great deal for a wine rated at just under 90 points. Anyway. So we took this wine over to our friends', The Hiltons, place. We had a great dinner with them, but I was honestly really disappointed with the wine. The nose was very unattractive, and the fruit in the juice just tasted fake to me. Very much like a cheap Chianti that I would get out of the table wine at The Olive Garden. Just wasn't what I wanted, or expected at all. I'd have to give this wine an 85 because I just wouldn't want to drink it again.

TV.WINELIBRARY.COM
So my favorite online site right now is BY FAR tv.winelibrary.com. Gary Vaynerchuk is not only educational about wine, but he makes it really interesting and digestible for someone who's just getting into wine. So many wine blogs, or people that are into wine for that matter, are so stuffy and elitist about what they drink, but Gary makes it fun. You should definately check him out (see the link to the right) and watch a couple episodes...including the tasting episode where he eats different fruits, dirt, tastes a sweaty sock and bites into a jalapeno before washing it down with Crystal. Besides all of this, you can click on links to wines that you'd like to try and then order them from winelibrary.com. The delivery was really quick for my first order, and I'm just really impressed with their business. Oh, BTW....he is objective, and will HAMMER wines that he doesn't like....even if they sell them.