Grocery Wine » Champagne/Sparkling

Review: Roederer Estate Brut Champagne

Phil — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:41:34 +0000

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 of Cristal is of no concern for you and I ($300 a bottle? Well shoot, just give me the whole case!) this great California wine is a bit cheaper slipping in at $20 at Costco and on sale at Safeway (aka Vons) for $20.83. Roederer is a long time favorite of ours and we were thrilled to find it becoming more readily available. We rushed home from the store and tossed it in the freezer to quickly chill it (a little research reveals this is a terrible idea but hey it worked for us). The question then became how long do we need to leave it in there for. Amy was the first to crack, at the 40 minute mark she suggested we take it out.

“What if it’s not cold enough yet?” I asked.

She responded, “Then I’ll say: It even tastes good warm!”

Lucky for us it was plenty cold and we didn’t have to test the taste of tepid Champagne.

Top 5 Grocery Wines for the Week

Phil — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:11:50 +0000

It’s Friday and what better way to celebrate than by swinging by the grocery store on your way home and picking up a bottle or five of wine. Listed below are our picks for the week.

Champagne – Gloria Ferrer (on sale $15.98 at Safeway / Vons until 6/10)
Chardonnay – Bogle (on sale $8.98 at Safeway / Vons until 6/24)
Sauvignon Blanc – Dry Creek Vineyard (available at Safeway / Vons)
Cabernet Sauvignon – BV (on sale $7.76 at Safeway / Vons until 6/10)
Zinfandel – Edmeades (Costco)

Review: Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut Champagne – Buy It!

Phil — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:56:08 +0000

Mmmm, my taste buds are watering just thinking about Gloria Ferrer champagne. It’s one of our all time favorite grocery store finds (and occasionally makes an appearance at Costco). Always under $20 and we’ve snagged it on sale at Vons for under $15. It’s a delicious sparkling wine which is such a good deal we have no qualms breaking it out for even the most minor celebrations. Listed below are four of the reasons we’ve used to break out the bubbly:

1. We’ve survived another day in this insane economy! Let’s celebrate!

2. Prohibition has been over since 1933! Let’s celebrate!

3. Said to a significant other while serving the champagne and looking deep into his/her eyes: “What’s the occasion? The fact that you an I are here together is reason enough for me to celebrate.” Note: this is most effective the first time it’s used. I once tried it four days in a row and it seemed to have diminishing returns (although Amy never did turn down the champagne…)

4. And my all time favorite which you can feel free to use in a pinch: Hooray! We have a bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge! Let’s celebrate!

And just to get this out of the way: Gloria Ferrer is technically a California “sparkling wine” not champagne. The good people of the French province of Champagne have waged a serious and expensive effort to make sure everyone is aware champagne can only come from Champagne and who am I to thumb my nose at the French and intentionally call Gloria Ferrer champagne?

(Hey Frenchies: Gloria Ferrer champagne, champagne champagne! Ha! Ha! Ha!)

Update: Turns out we’re not the only ones who love this. Wine Spectator gave this a 90 point rating back in 2006. The Gloria Ferrer site lists some of their other accolades: www.gloriaferrer.com