Spanish Reds like this don’t come along every day.

Luzon 2007
Jumilla Red Wine
Denominación de Origen: Jumilla
Bottled by Bodegas Luzon, S.L.
14% Alc by Vol

This is one you should try when you see it where you buy fine wines. Expect to pay between $7 and $10 for a bottle. You’ll love it.

I was talking with a wine representative around Christmas time and I told him what I liked and asked if he had any suggestions. This is always a risky question, since I did not know him for longer than five minutes but I was curious what he might pick out that I should buy.

He recommended that I try the Spanish Luzon 2007. He told me that it was one he liked and that I might like it too.

The Luzon winery is located about 220 miles (350 km) southeast of Madrid in the valley of La Hoya de la Carrasca. It is a family owned winery that is comprised of approximately 220 acres (90 hectares).

The area is surrounded by low mountains and the climate is comprised of warm days and cool nights. This combination provides balance and structure to the grapes. The terrior or soil is chalky mixed with gravel which provides good drainage but also holds what little rain the area has in the soil mixture.

When I opened the wine, I was surprised that the cork did not show a great deal of age on the part of the cork that was exposed to the wine. It had the look of a cork that was just put in the bottle not too long ago.

The color of the grape in the glass was a deep purple, which reminded me of Welsh’s Grape Jelly. Swirling the wine around in my glass, the wine had a very fruity smell, almost like blackberry. It was very pleasant.

The bottle tag at the liquor store said that it was a Monastrell-Syrah blend. The bottle label did not indicate this at all. The label just stated that was Jumilla Red Wine.

Although this review is about the 2007, I read that the 2008 is also excellent. The Luzon is 65% Monastrell and 35% Syrah and could be kept in your cellar for 2 or 3 years. I know that mine will not last that long.

On my way home this past week, I was not going any where near where I bought my first bottle of Luzon at Christmas. So I stopped in a fairly large liquor store to see if they might have it. I ran into a guy that I used to work with back in my restaurant days. He and I opened a little restaurant – I worked as a waiter for lunch and an occassionly dinner shift and he was the cashier.

We’ve kept in touch over the years. He asked me what I was looking for and I told him. “We have it on sale for $6.99. This is one awesome wine that no one knows anything about. It is a HUGE secret and look at the price!!” I tried to get a case but they only had 9 bottles. And it was the 2007 and I had been buying the 2006 in the past. But they both tasted the same to me.

You really need to see if you can get this wine where you live. I do not think you will be disappointed. I had it recently with steak and it was excellent!!

I went to the doctor about three weeks ago, and I had to fill out an annual questionnaire about lifestyle, activity, hobbies, etc. I am sure you have filled out these before.

Several of the questions went like this: Do you drink? What kind of alcohol do you consume? How many glasses of wine? How many nights per week? More on the weekends than during the week? How long does a bottle of wine last? Red, White or Rose’? American or foreign? Etc, Etc.

I left it all blank. All of it depended on the week, what was happening in our life, lots of things. We usually have wine three or four nights a week. We have some on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at a minimum. Sometimes on Saturday we have wine or not. It depends on the meal and what is going on.

We have salmon every Wednesday night and usually have a glass of red with our meal. About ½ of the time, we will only have one glass and save the rest of the bottle. On Friday, we have salmon again and we usually finish off the rest of the red that we opened for Wednesday.

We usually have baked chicken on Sundays, and we usually have a glass, maybe two, of white with dinner. It just depends on the Sunday. We might have a small glass of Sauvignon Blanc on Sunday afternoon around 3:30 or 4:00. Then when we sit down for dinner at 6:00 we will usually finish off the bottle with a glass and a half with the meal. Some Sundays, it is just one glass.

During the week it’s a toss-up. We might have a glass on Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday or not. We don’t have a rigid schedule. And we don’t keep a chart of when we have it or when we don’t. Last Thursday we had a pitcher of margaritas, with chili and chips. Thursday was “one” of those days.

The correct answer to the question on the form was really, “None of your business!” I knew the purpose of the questions. But there are so many mixed reviews of what is the proper amount of alcohol to have, by age, by sex, by health conditions, etc. that I did not feel like filling it out. So I didn’t.

Does it really matter? I know two guys who see cardiologists who practice in the same office. One guy’s doctor tells him that he has no alcohol restrictions. The other guy’s doc, tells him “No alcohol!” Different docs, same office or practice, and they do not agree on what is best as a standard. The standard is, “It depends.”

So do I drink a lot of wine? I don’t think so. You are a grown up. You can decide for yourself if you drink a lot of wine or not.

Want to share tips, advice, and opinions? Why not leave a comment at the end of this article and let other readers know.

Until next time, let me know what is on your mind, and how you are doing, O.K.?

Jim Fortune
The Wine Sleuth

You can follow me on Twitter, by clicking here

Have you ever wondered how you could build a wine cellar in the basement?  And what if you don’t have a basement? What about insulation, lighting, humidity, and all of the other problems that a cellar brings?

I have mine in a spare room on the north side of my house. I maintain the temperature at 55 degrees all the time with the help of an air conditioner I have for the summer. It works out pretty well, considering it is sitting in my spare bedroom.

I just wish I had this book when I started to build my cellar. O.K. my cellar is not in the cellar, but you get the idea. This book will tell you where to build your cellar. This could be a insulated cupboard under the stairs, a spare closet, a temperature controlled wine cabinet or a fully constructed basement wine cellar. Find out what solution will work best for you.

My first wine cellar was in a crawl space. It was humid in the crawl space year round and it kept the corks from drying out and becoming brittle. The wine racks I bought were metal and held about 8 cases of wine per rack. I bought three racks, because they were cheaper if I bought three instead of one or two.

Check out this book to see if it will meet your wine cellar needs. You can either click the book above or you can Click Here! Your purchase is covered with a 60 day money back guarantee.  It would be worth giving it a try.

Want to share tips, advice, and opinions?  Why not comment on this article and let other readers know.

Until next time, let me know what is on your mind, and how you are doing, O.K.? 

Jim Fortune, The Wine Sleuth

Heidsiech & Co Monopole Blue Top Champagne Brut
17 Av de Champagne, Eperany
12% Alcohol by Volume

A picture of the bottle can be found here:
Heidsieck & Co Blue Top

I started my champagne journey by going to the local liquor store nearest my house. I like to support the local folks if I can. I went in and they said, “Can I help you?” I said I was looking for champagne and wanted to get some ideas for a dinner party I was plannning. First bottle off the shelf, the clerk shows the price very proudly. It was $16.99. I asked if it was champagne. “Yeah.” I didn’t even look at it. I just nodded my head. “What else do you have?”

“We have this one. It’s New Mexico champagne.” Uh huh. “What else do you have?” After looking at ten bottles of sparkling and not seeing any champagne from Champagne, I said thank you and left. I went to my favorite wine retailer who has a wine shop downtown and I went inside. There she was and because I had not been in there in a while, she came over and asked, “What can I show you?” I said I was looking for champagne and wanted to get some for a dinner party.” “You mean sparkling?” I looked at her with “the look” and said, “Yes, I want sparkling from Champagne.”

She started laughing. Erin, my wine retailer, and I are still developing our relationship and she told me that she gets a lot of people in her shop that are looking for champagne and are really looking for sparkling. I smiled and told her that I wanted the real stuff. We enjoyed a good laugh and she asked how much did I want to spend?

We are having six people for dinner and their idea of champagne is sparkling. I did not want to pay $50 a bottle. So I gave her a range of $30 to $40. She went right over to the Heidsiech & Co Monopole Blue Top. “You need to try this.” It was $36.99. She went on to tell me all the numbers it had and who said it was good and what magazine gave it good marks and I held up my hand for her to stop.

“Do you like it?”, I asked. She said yes. “Give me three bottles.” I’ve known Erin for eleven years and while she does not have the exact taste for wine that I have, she comes pretty close. What she likes, I usually like. So I trust her judgment – except when it comes to Bordeaux. We do not see eye to eye on that one.

I noticed that the wine does not have a vintage and she tells me that it’s a blend. She goes on to say that non-vintage champagnes are often better than vintage wines. She tells me that when the champagne is blended using different years the consumer has the advantage of several years of good champagne blending and not just one year.

This champagne has a nice straw color with lots of bubbles. I taste a bit of apple or maybe it is citrus. The taste fools me because it is not distinct or pronounced. It is there, but just a tad. There is another taste that I can only describe as terrior. I am not sure if it is a mineral or a slight nut taste, but it reminds me of earth. The champagne is very easy on the palate and smooth on the finish. I think it is yummy.

My guests note that it is not like Asti. They think it is dry and needs something. I suggest pumpkin pie or some apple pie and the conversation moves to something else. The Blue Top Champagne went very well with our dinner of turkey. We like to make turkey even if it is not Thanksgiving. It also does well with dessert (I had it with the apple pie) and it would have probably been a good aperitif before dinner.

I do not bother to tell my guests that this brand of champagne was established in 1785 and the winery’s Blue Top Champagne was the official champagne aboard the Titanic. Had I mentioned the Titanic, I know the conversation would have turned to Kate and Leonardo. I wasn’t in the mood for that conversation. I just sat back and enjoyed another sip.

I am thinking you can find it online for around $30 or maybe less. See what you think and drop me a line if you like it or not. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Don’t forget to comment on this article.

When I was a younger, about the age you are right now, my wine glasses were 4 ounce jelly jars. I used to buy jams and jelly in these jars that had lids that you would need to pry off with a bottle opener. The jar had no decoration on the outer face and the glass was very clear. I was always very careful to gently pry the cover off so I could reuse the metal lid several times.

All of the table glasses we had when I was growing up, as a boy, were originally jam or jelly jars in the 8 or 12 ounce size. My mother used to get her “glasses” this way, so I guess it was just something I picked up. When I was single and got out on my own, I would see these jars at Safeway, and I decided that I would start my glass collection.

When I emptied the jam or jelly, I would wash out the jar and put it on the shelf in the kitchen. People would come over and ask where the glasses were for beer or water or whatever and when I told them, they would always look at the jelly jars and ask, “What are these?” “Those are the wine glasses”, I used to say.

It wasn’t until I went to Italy the first time back in 1999 that I saw the 4 ounce jars again sitting on the tables and being used for wine. They were called wine tumblers. Fancy that. I really like the Riedel tumblers, like these:

These are much better than my old jelly glasses. You know, I gradually broke all but two of the jelly jars and the company that sold them went out of business, so I needed to find a replacement. I turned to Riedel for special occasions. I also had a part time job in college at a restaurant supply store and they sold cheap wine glasses by the case. I got three cases. These lasted for a long time and when I was no longer in college and my collection was getting down, I was on the prowl for more wine glasses.

I went back to Riedel glasses since they seemed to be “the” wine glass to have. I only got six glasses since a case was over $100 and a little too rich for me at that time. (And still is.) These were very nice glasses but they also broke very easily. Pretty soon I was back out looking for wine glasses.

I went into Pier 1 and found a nice wine glass. It was sturdy, low to the table so it would not tip, and fairly thick. I bought 12 for about $1.50 each.

When I was the Wine Editor for Bella Online, I purchased two magnum Riedel glasses for $9.50 each. They have a nice bowl, a not too long stem and a solid base. We do all of our tasting and wine reviews using these two wine glasses.

I have had them for about four months now and so far so good. They are made of glass however. So they are a little more durable than the crystal Riedels I had earlier.

Get two or four glasses. Use them for sipping, tasting and testing. Get a cheap dozen at Pier 1 for everyday use and when friends come over to check out your cellar.

Want to share tips, advice, and opinions? Why not comment on this article and let other readers know.

Until next time, let me know what is on your mind, and how you are doing, O.K.?

While I am not one of them, there are many people who will say that they know everything there is to know about wines. Unfortunately unless you are a wine aficionado, a wine grower or an expert in wine tasting you will have a very limited idea of the many differences that are present in wines. This is alright as many of us just drink the various wines that we have without thinking any further. To help us learn more about wines we can take a small class I call Your First Wine Class – Wine 101.

This class will just touch on a few ideas in wines. To get more information I would suggest you visit wineries and ask questions from the winery tour guides, look for the information that you require on the internet, read some books on wine tasting and other wine subjects. A good first book, that is still in print is one by Jancis Robinson. You can get a copy at Barnes & Noble or any fine bookseller.

These are just introductions into the many differences that you will find as you sample different wines.

In Wine 101 the first thing that you will have to understand is that red wines have a different taste from white wines and you will need to taste both of these to learn the various differences. Once you have learned this fact you will need to purchase a few white wines and a few red wines so you can conduct your own Wine 101 tasting class.

If you have purchased wine in the past, and you always get the same brand, branch out and try something different. If you buy California, buy a few wines from Spain, Italy or Argentina. If, for example, you decide to buy from Argentina, get two reds and two whites.

The next step in the tasting of the wine is to pour some wine into a glass. Depending on the wine, you may need to let it breathe for 30 or 60 minutes. If you are unsure about this step, ask the wine merchant where you buy the wine about letting it breathe. Swirl the wine in the glass so that the wine and all of the substances in the wine have a chance to meld. You will need to hold the wine up to the light and see how long it takes for the leg of the wine to pour back into the bottom of the glass. The legs of the wine will tell you about the quality of the wine.

The next stage in Wine 101 is the nose. In other words, you need to smell the wine. Here you will need to first take a quick sniff. From this sniff you should try and identify the various flavors that may be present in the wine. Once you have decided what these flavors might be, you should swirl the wine once more so that everything is once again thoroughly mixed together.

You must be prepared to step into the next part of Wine 101. This is where you will take a small sip of the wine, hold it for a few minutes and savor all of the flavors. When these flavors are present in your mouth the wine should be allowed to slide into your waiting throat. Now savor the full taste of your glass of wine.

Jim Fortune – The Wine Sleuth

Put away your cameras!! It’s not what you think. Think minimalist. No oak, no malolactic fermentation, nothing added. Just pure Chardonnay. Sounds dangerous, but please let me explain.

One of the questions I get from time to time is about wines that are available without a strong oak flavor or smell. After researching this on and off for the past six months, I have come across the phrase naked wines. Naked Chardonnay, for example, is a term given to Chardonnay that is made without oak or much of anything else for that matter.

The grapes are harvested, and after the fruit is pressed, it is allowed to settle for a few days. Once it is processed it is put into stainless steel vessels, and the clusters are allowed to stay on the lees as long as possible. Unlike oak barrels, the stainless does not allow any air to come in contact with the wine. Because there is no oak used in the wine making to mask off flavors, the fruit must be at its prime at harvest. There is no malolactic fermentation either. The malolactic fermentation is what gives the Chardonnay the buttery taste. When I did the phone interview with Dennis Martin from Fetzer, we spent some time talking about malolactic fermentation and the buttery taste that most Chardonnay has. It was an interesting conversation. So the absence of this fermentation process is part of the naked process. The result is a wine that will tend to be more crisp and sharp. Also, with the absence of the malolactic fermentation, the resulting wine maintains the natural acid balance. For some, this might mean a little more acid in the wine.

I have not tasted Naked Chardonnay yet, but from what I read the taste tends to be more on the citrus side, like lime and lemon flavors and also has hints of green apple. Because the winemaker does not introduce any oak in the fermentation or aging process, this is where it gets the Chardonnay the sharp, crisp taste.

You might want to try a bottle, and there are several value wineries that have Naked Chardonnay for sale. One is “Four Wines Chardonnay – Santa Barbara County Naked 2006. Click on the link that says, “Find Where to Buy Four Vines Wines Locally”. This will bring you to a search page where you can select your state and see where to get it. I checked where I buy wines on the web and they have the 2006 for $11.99 plus shipping, but that may not be representative of the rest of the country.

Another vineyard that has a Naked Chardonnay is Snoqualamie Vineyards. The Snoqualamie Naked Chardonnay is from the 2006 vintage and it is produced from 100% organically grown grapes from Washington State. Snoqualamie also has a Naked Riesling and a Naked Gerwurztraminer. These wines are also organic. They refer people to buy locally and have a retailer directory by state. I have seen prices on the web for the Snoqualamie wines that range from $7.99 to $14.99, so you will have to check out the prices in your area.

I’m going to get Naked – Chardonnay that is – and report back to you on my findings.

Jim Fortune – The Wine Sleuth