Grocery Wine » Red

John’s Blend Cabernet Sauvignon

Phil — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 05:54:13 +0000

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 wearing shoes instead of flip flops. Luckily, they had a very nice jacket available for me, which although it was three sizes too big, definitely lent an air of respectability to Amy and I, which was needed since all of the other patrons were old enough to be our parents.

Now that we were dressed up we realized we would have to take our dining selections and most importantly our wine selection up a notch. “Waiter! Please send over the sommelier!” The sommelier turned out to be a very cool guy who had recently returned from a tasting trip to Australia. “Australian cabs are where it’s at! And by the way, I know a tailor who can help you out with that jacket…”

The John’s Blend Cabernet Sauvignon was selected so we rolled up our sleeves (literally in my case) and got to work. Again, two words: wow! Some hints of chocolate and mint were unexpected but awesome. Overall, extremely smooth and drinkable and a great pairing with our steaks. The restaurant’s price was $80, which definitely puts it outside our standard price range, but since I’d already got a free jacket out of the meal we felt like we could splurge.

I have no idea where this might be available here in the states (other than at select members only restaurants) but if you spot it somewhere please let us know. Even at $80 I would buy it again in a heartbeat!

Burgers and Wine – Grilling and Grapes

Phil — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:04:46 +0000

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!

Cabernet Sauvignons (from “Burgers and Red Wine for July Fourth” by Laurie Woolever at Wine Spectator)

COLUMBIA CREST Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley Grand Estates $11
CHATEAU STE. MICHELLE Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley $16
RANCHO ZABACO Cabernet Sauvignon California Dancing Bull Winemaker’s Reserve $12
BOGLE Cabernet Sauvignon California $11

Two White Options (from “Cooking Up a Fourth of July Feast” by Laurie Woolever at Wine Spectator)
HOGUE Pinot Grigio Columbia Valley $9
GEYSER PEAK Sauvignon Blanc California $12

Review: Menage a Trois Red Wine – What’s in a name?

Phil — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:53:45 +0000

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!):

Phil: “Hey, when I get home let’s try that Menage a Trois.”
Amy: “In your dreams!”
Phil: “No seriously, it’s been a long day and what better way to relax? I heard it’s great!”
Amy: “Oh yeah? From who?”
Phil: “Some guy at the grocery store.”
Amy: “You’ve been drinking haven’t you?”

With that I went ahead and clarified that I was talking about the Menage a Trois Red Wine from Napa Valley’s Folie A Deux Winery. I never did get Amy to tell me what she thought I was talking about

Alright, enough with the innuendos here’s the scoop on the Menage a Trois Red Wine. To be frank the name is the best thing about this relatively cheap wine (Under $10 on sale at Safeway or Vons). Being a blend of California Zinfandel, Merlot, and Cabernet I expected something hearty. Unfortunately the end result was thin and lifeless.

Despite the unimpressive wine, I’m tempted to buy it again for the sole purpose of serving it to guests. Imagine people’s reactions when you call for their attention and say “Who would like a little Menage a Trois before dinner?”

Review: Firefly Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon – Worth a try?

Phil — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:16:24 +0000

Firefly Ridge wines have become fairly popular over the course of the last six months and so when it went on sale at Vons I was eager to try it and write up a review. As it turns out the most interesting aspect of this California Cabernet Sauvignon is that it is named “Firefly Ridge” and as far as I know there are no fireflies in California (although virtually every kid growing up here wishes there were). The Firefly Cabernet is just “okay”. It’s drinkable – don’t throw it out if you already have a bottle – but seeing how it isn’t particularly cheap there are quite a few other cabs out there that warrant more attention than this one.

Interested in a better option? Take a look at some of the other wines we’ve reviewed from Safeway/Vons by clicking here.

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: Edmeades Zinfandel – Buy It!

Phil — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:36:12 +0000

Like an old friend you can count on in a pinch, we turned to the Edmeades Zinfandel after the Rijckaert Chardonnay debacle. This California wine has become our favorite zin of late, the one which all other zins are being judged by. Very tasty and goes with any meal we’ve throw at it (confession: after the kids were in bed there was still some left and we wanted to watch a DVD, and you can’t watch a movie without popcorn right? Orville Redenbacher Movie Theater Butter + Zin = Yum!). At $14 this Costco wine is definitely money well spent, especially if you like Zinfandel.

Note: As usual the industry big wigs are following our lead. Food And Wine reviewed the Edmeades zin and named it their #1 zin for under $20 (never mind the fact their article is from 2008 and this review is from mid 2009, I swear they copied us!) . You can read their take as well as see their other winners here.

Also of note: If you can’t buy Edmeades at your local grocery or Costco you can buy it directly from them at their website www.edmeades.com.