SWIRL: Let
SWIRL: 7-Eleven expands its list of propriet
SWIRL: Buying cheap wine in a supermarket might be everyone’s cup of tea, so to speak, but The Guardian has a useful guide on how to increase your odds of getting a decent bargain bottle. Among the advice: avoid “funny” labels, look for “private brands” and try less popular grape varieties such as chenin blanc and grenache “before people catch on.”
ess planning to serve or recommend – from wine styles to regions to individual bottles? A set of email queries prompted a quick response and a broad range of possibilities, which included wines from California, Oregon, Washington, many parts of France as well as Italy, Austria, Germany and Chile. If one theme emerged, it is this: when it comes to Thanksgiving, there are very few rules about wine. Like the stuffing or the gravy, everyone’s tastes and preferences are going to be different. I would add (and the responses largely bear this out) that the wines, whether red or white, will work best when they are on the leaner and less alcoholic side. Beyond that, my friends seemed to gravitate toward wines with finesse and individuality, as you’re about to see.As I noted here last month, France’s South West region offer a range of original wines at affordable prices, and one that especially stood out for me in a broad recent tasting of the wines was a red from the Gaillac appellation, just north of Toulouse. D
In fact, South West has lived and struggled for years in the shadow of its famous neighbor to the north. For about $12 or so, Domaine Rotier’s Gaillac offers far more interest than most Bordeaux you’ll find at this price, with a real sense of place, or terroir. The wine is a blend of duras and braucol (also known as fer servadou), which are two indigenous varieties, and syrah, grown on gravelly soils near the surface and ancient marls below. Aging is without oak, which gives the wine a fresh fruitiness that I really enjoyed. In fact, Domaine Rotier’s Web site says that “wines from this terroir are not cellaring wines, they are at their best when drunk as young wines.” For red meats, duck and game. Alcohol is 13.5 percent. Received as a press sample.
SWIRL: Lot 18 is a new wine and specialty food Web site that matches its members with producers offering small quantities of their products at substantial discounts. Membership is by invitation only, and members can invite others to join the site. Lot 18’s founders are Philip James, founder of Snooth, and Kevin Fortuna, a technology entrepreneur. The well-designed site includes appraisals by established wine publications and by Lot 18’s own reviewers. So far, the offerings have focused on California wines. Flat rate shipping is $9.99. Lot 18 completed a $3 million round of venture funding last week. Mashable.com has a profile of the site.
One of the best sweet dessert wine values out there has to be Pacific Rim’s 2007 Vin de Glaciere Riesling from Washington stat
The Pacific Rim wine, from the Selenium Vineyard in Washington’s Yakima Valley, was a superb accompaniment, providing a refreshing lift that counterbalanced the sweetness. Orange is the dominant note, joined by orange peel, honey and lime with a high level of underlying acidity that made it effortless to drink and a perfect companion to the apple pie. Alcohol is a modest 10.5 percent. With demand among our friends now high for more dessert wine, I opened a second bottle, the aforementioned California wine. Though perhaps more complex, it was also more syrupy than the Pacific Rim and lacked the riesling’s refreshing zip. It was also considerably higher in alcohol and would have been better with fois gras or other rich foods. Pacific Rim’s Web site has some interesting notes on how the wine is made. The winery, by the way, makes a range of rieslings from dry to sweet and has developed a useful “riesling scale” that makes it easier to classify ripeness level in the wines. Received as a press sample.
On eastern Long Island, ,where I spend a good deal of time, one of the most anticipated autumn events is the opening of the scallop season, which took place this past week. The area is famous for its Peconic Bay scallops – small, sweet and succulent and among the most delectable foods you will ever eat. Men on small boats are seen slowly plying the waters of the bay at this time of year, happily tolerating the wind and the cold as they comb the bottom with their
Alas, we bought a pound of them the other night at our local fish market, and while the price, $17, might seem high, it actually suggests that there are plenty of scallops out there right now. The price will inevitably rise through the season, which lasts through the winter, and in scarce years I have seen them for almost twice as much. Although they lend themselves to all kinds of recipes, they need almost no enhancement, and I like simply rolling them in flour and sautéing them in olive oil and butter until they are lightly golden, which is exactly what I did the other night.
As for the wine (white, of course), this is a case where a little oak will work wonders, complementing the slightly nutty quality of the scallops. After tasting several California chardonnays, the clear standout was Clos du Val’s 2006 Napa Valley Reserve Chardonnay. This is decidedly not one of those buttery California chardonnays that some people like. Rather, it was a model of restrained elegance, as most of Clos du Val’s wines are. With a few years of bottle age, the melding of fruit and oak was seamless. Pear and green apple tastes were joined by subtle notes of vanilla, orange peel and cinnamon. There was also a nice mineral quality that reminded me of Burgundy. Alcohol is listed at a moderate 14.1 percent. With the scallops, I couldn’t have asked for a better match or a more memorable first dinner of the season. The wine, which was released some time ago, is listed in only a couple of stores on wine-searcher.com for about $43-$45. For me, the lesson here is in the value of letting good chardonnays age for a couple of years before drinking them. Received as a press sample.
SWIRL: For the record, the San Francisco Giants poured, or 
SWIRL: Wine PR and marketing firm Benson Marketing rolls out “Mission Control,” a social media program for wine and spirits producers that want to extend their brands through Facebook, Twitter and other sites. Cost: $1,500 a month.
SWIRL: Here’s something I didn’t realize. Tunisian wines, which have a French influence, are now being exported to the United States. Wine Enthusiast interviews a New York-based importer who is promoting them.
SWIRL: Bill Daley of the Chicago Tribune bids farewell to wine writing with some final thoughts on the experience and some last tips for wine lovers.
Oregon's Erath Winery, which used to be known as Knudsen Erath, is one of the Willamette Valley's iconic brands, having been 
This is a superb value at $14, far more interesting than many California wines you'll find at this price. Crisp and complex with lime, white peach and floral notes, it will be a classy and refreshing accompaniment at the Thanksgiving table with its mouth-tingling acidity and will also match well with fish, chicken and pork dishes. But as I tasted it over several nights I kept going back to the Thanksgiving theme and how this one will work so well as an easy-to-drink but interesting wash-down wine, at a price that will make it easy to pour it generously to your guests.
