Apothic Inferno: A Little Wine, A Little Whisky

categories: Booze, Wine

Apothic Inferno

California Red Wine Blend, aged for 60 days in Whiskey Barrels: Set your TasteBuds ENFUEGO

You know when you’re at the checkout counter and you throw a candy bar in your basket just because? Well, my total impulse buy happened in the wine aisle at TJ’s last weekend. Fire-laden label aside, I read the words “aged in whiskey barrels,” and was immediately intrigued. Now I know this isn’t a totally new concept — even Robert Mondavi has a reserve red aged in bourbon barrels. But, like I said, I was there, this was there: Monkey see, Monkey sip.

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28
Sep
2016

Louis Jadot Chablis 2014

categories: Booze, Wine

Let’s talk Chablis! Chablis (a Chardonnay dominant wine region) is the most northern part of France’s famed Burgundy region. Although summers in this area can be hot, winters are long, harsh, and often bring frost well into the month of May — something vineyard workers often have to battle. But, because of these cool climates, the Chardonnay grapes yield more acidity and less fruit-forward characteristics.

Chablis is on the east edge of the Paris Basin, where soil dates back over180 million years ago to the Upper Jurassic period. The vineyard soil type is predominantly calcareous (chalky and clay-like), giving the wine a very distinct minerality — what is often called “goût de pierre à fusil” (tasting of gunflint).

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07
Sep
2016

Louis Jadot Mâcon-Villages Chardonnay 2014

categories: Booze, Wine

I love fun wines — wines that surprise you with their exuberance. It’s like you can taste the excitement and a hint of the humour, of the winemaker when he was crafting his work of art. That’s Louis Jadot Mâcon-Villages Chardonnay. It’s bright, lively, fully of character and charm. It tastes like the flush fields of Burgundy, and yet simultaneously like Cali’s summer sun. Hello Jadot and Cheers to you!

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17
Aug
2016

Notorious PINK Grenache Rosé

categories: Booze, Wine

Can you say “impulse buy?” It was my birthday, I was stocking up on wine at (three guesses) Safeway, and my favorite color is pink. So — why wouldn’t I pick up a bottle of wine mysteriously labeled “Notorious Pink”?

Ok, let’s get something clear. My favorite color is pink, and I do like a good rosé, and I might be a bit of a girly girl (sometimes), but I do not like girly-sweet wine. So, being the somewhat knowledgeable wine drinker that I am, I did read where this was (France) from and what it was made from (Grenache), and noted that the color wasn’t cotton candy pink (side note: I do not like cotton candy). So, I used my deductive reasoning that aside from the cutesy name — this is a real wine a real wine lover can enjoy. (BTW I was right…)

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05
Aug
2016

Rhone Style Red: 2014 Leverage Acceleration

categories: Booze, Wine

I’m beginning to have a new appreciation for the Paso Robles AVA and that may be because I’ve found a new wine love: Rhone-style wines. I went to this year’s Rhone Ranger seminar and tasting, as well as the Paso Robles seminar and tasting, and what I’ve learned is that the Paso Robles AVA most mimics the terroir and climate of the French AVAs known to produce Bordeaux and Rhone.

Well, it was at the Rhone Rangers seminar where I first met Jason DiFrancesco of Leverage Wines who introduced me to a great line-up of his productions — everything from a “Big Boy” Rose to a soft and supple Grenache. So when he kindly gifted me some of his newest releases for sampling and reviewing, I knew I was in for a treat.