Two words on this one: wow!  Alright, disclosure time: 1. “wow” is not two words.  2.  This isn’t really a grocery wine (unless your local grocery store is in an extremely well heeled area of Australia).  We managed to obtain a babysitter awhile back and while sniffing around for a new restaurant to try out I came across a reference to a members only club in downtown San Diego.  On a whim, I picked up the phone and asked if I could come in for dinner.  After bouncing around to a few people on the phone the director of member services agreed to leave some guest passes for us with the hostess.  Sweet!  When we arrived, I was surprised to discover a jacket was required.  Huh?  Listen, you might think this makes sense what with the members only thing but this is San Diego.  Dressing up here means Keep reading »

Last night I arrived home to find a bottle of Francis Ford Coppola Ivory Label Cabernet Sauvignon breathing on the counter.  I’ve been curious to try the Coppola wines, wondering if Coppola’s star power was the main selling point or if there is actually something there.  Since they’re not particularly cheap (averaging $15-$20) I’ve always opted for an alternative.  But since Amy did the grocery shopping, price is no object (thank goodness the really expensive stuff is locked in a glass case!).  So, after tasting the wine independently Keep reading »

We’d seen the J. Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet on a few wine lists at local restaurants so getting it on sale at Vons for under $12 seemed like a no brainer.  We pulled the cork and Keep reading »

“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.”  -James Dent

We’ve got a couple of requirements for wine on a summer afternoon: cold, refreshing, unfussy and in our glass.  As the day winds down We’re not interested in seeing how a wine’s “bouquet matures”.  We’re more concerned with seeing how it helps a great afternoon mature into a great evening. Keep reading »

Just came across an easy wine tip for serving wine at the right temperature: “Twenty minutes before dinner, you take the white wine out of the fridge, and put the red wine in.” says Ursula Hermacinski, a wine auctioneer formerly of Christie’s.  I’ve heard from a number of sources that most people serve their red wine too warm and their whites too cold.  According to those in the know reds should be served at “cellar temperature” or approximately 65 degrees.  Since most of our wine cellar’s are still in the planning stages (I just can’t decide what color marble coordinates best with the chandeliers!) our reds are usually served at room temperature.  Conversely, we serve most white’s straight out of the fridge which is considered to be so cold it blunts some of the flavors.  Thanks to Borracha’s Wine Blog for this handy tip!

(And thanks to “Say Anything” for being an awesome movie and providing the perfect title for this post!)

In our house the 4th of July means burgers will be hitting the grill.  With that decided we can devote all of our energy to determining what wines to have with dinner.  Usually, I’d stay up late for months trying to come up with the perfect pairing for our burgers (not really), tasting thousands of wines (I wish), eating hundreds of burgers (no comment).  This year though my fine friends over at Wine Spectator agreed to my request to write a couple of articles on the subject (I actually never spoke with them but I was thinking about it and then the articles were there so I still say it was my idea).  Included on their list of wines for the 4th are a few grocery store staples which you should have no trouble finding at the local Safeway, Kroger, Vons, Ralphs, etc.  Best of all there are a number of relatively cheap wines on the list with reds ranging in price from $11-$16 and whites from $9-$12.  Listed below are our picks from the Wine Spectator articles.  Enjoy and happy 4th! Keep reading »

I’ll just start this off by saying, I’m known for my child like innocence, and I wouldn’t dare use the name of this wine to attempt to lure Amy into a conversation which might throw her off balance.  With that disclaimer here’s how a recent phone call went (totally innocent! I swear!): Keep reading »

Alright, it’s not exactly related to the “grocery” part of this site but we came across a one sentence reference to this incident, became intrigued and did a little research.  Here’s the story:
In 1989, a New York wine merchant was asked to sell an extremely rare and sought after wine on consignment.  The asking price?  $519,750!  The wine, a 1787 Chateau Margaux, a bottling which would be in demand by collectors in any circumstance, had additional value due to a set of initials engraved in the glass. Keep reading »

Do you usually drink Cristal Champagne but darn it the grocery store doesn’t carry it?  Never fear!  Both Costco and Vons currently have the excellent Roederer Estate Brut Champagne (technically, a sparkling wine) which is made by the same family that makes Cristal.  And although the price Keep reading »