Store shelves seem to be lined with large selections of wine at and around $10. The challenge at that price point is getting a wine that provides more interest than grape flavored alcohol, thin fruit taste, poor aroma, or big woody oak to hide inferior quality juice. With beer, it’s pretty safe to assume that most light beers have certain flavors. The majority of main line beer has distinct tastes that register in our memory. With so many wine labels on the shelves, selecting one can be pretty hit and miss.
I believe the $10 price point is pretty status quo for the daily drinking wino on a budget and the occasional wine sipper. Therefore it is important to have a list of trustworthy labels that can be counted on to deliver.
The Under $10 Wine Team
In early 2010 I began the mission of fielding a team of wine players that could score at parties, hit it out of the park for value, and be trusted to step to the plate in most any situation. The rules were that each wine had to be purchased for $10 or less (sales, club discounts, bulk discounts were considered). Wines showed up to spring training and specially scheduled tryouts to show their stuff for the coaches. Each was vying for a coveted spot on the 12 man roster of 9 starters and 3 reserves. While legal issues (state distribution) kept us from trying out every player referred to us, we made every effort to select players who are widely available. After reviewing the scouting reports and film, I am pleased to reveal the 2010 “Under $10 Wine Team.” I’ve included the coach’s summary, roster position, and stats for each player. Links to the full scouting report are included for your reference. Many of these players’ tryouts were filmed. Enjoy the footage and make a note of the jersey (label) so you can get an autograph next time you are in the store.
The Stuff: 93% Syrah, 3% Petite Sirah, 3% Grenache, 1% other red; Paso Robles AVA; 14 months in 25% new French and American oak; 13.4%ABV
The Swirl: Cloudy deep purple color that presents about 80% opaque.
The Sniff: Aromas of boysenberry, toasted almonds, and dark red fruit on the nose. Very aromatic and full with subtle notes of campfire.
The Sip: Medium bodied Syrah that is slightly thin on the front but opens up nicely to dark red fruit, hints of smoke and a beautiful long velvet finish. An easy sipping Syrah that will have you wanting more.
The Score: Retail is $15 but I scored this wine for only $10. At that price this well balanced, nicely flavored Syrah. 3+/5
The Stuff: 95% Chardonnay, 4% Semillon, and 1% Gewurtraminer that was fermented in 90% stainless steel and 10% in barrel (4 months in new French and American); Partial malolactic fermentation; 15% abv; 19,665 cases produced; all Desert Wind Vineyard fruit
The Swirl: Great golden yellow tone with a slight creamy quality
The Sniff: An abundance of tropical flower and fruit with a good amount of heat as well.
The Sip: Good rich mouth-feel without feeling flabby and fat. I really appreciate the fruit components of pear and pineapple along with other topical flavors. Everything is going well for this duck until the finish which is slightly stinging due to the alcohol.
The Score: At only $10, this is a crazy value because the wine has some great aroma, flavor, acidity and minerality. The only misfortune is the heat on the finish. Pair this wine with food to compensate for the alcohol (preferably something sweet or rich). 3/5
The Stuff: 100% California Zinfandel from various sourced vineyards. Synthetic cork enclosure
The Swirl: Deep dark opaque plum, slightly cloudy with hints of ruby and garnet. Strong legs indicating high residual sugar.
The Sniff: Good strong nose that leads with strawberry, vanilla, tobacco and cocoa
The Sip: The wine was slightly disappointing as it came across as one-dimensional. The nose was a tease and the palate did not deliver. After two hours in glass, the flavor profile did open up. One dimensional is not bad, just not super interesting.
The Score: You won’t go wrong getting this wine and the predictable taste may score well with beginning wine drinkers. 3+/5
The Stuff: 100% organically grown Sauv Blanc from the San Antonio Valley; 13.5%abv; screwcap
The Swirl: Very pale yellow green color
The Sniff: Very tight on the nose with only slight floral blossom and citrus present
The Sip: What was lacking on the aroma comes out to gently play on the palate. The Cono Sur is what you would expect from a traditional Sauv Blanc. Tropical fruit, pineapple, good minerality. Wine blogger, winefoot, described this wine as a grassfield creamsickle. I couldn’t agree more.
The Score: At $10-13, this classic presentation of Sauv Blanc showcases the potential of this Chilean variety.4/5
2007 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon (WA)
The Stuff: Columbia Valley, 85% Merlot, 7% Syrah, 5% Cab Fanc, 3% Cab Sauv; 13.5%ABV, aged 14 months in a combination of new French and American oak.
The Swirl: Dark cherry color with moderate translucence and thin outer edge
The Sniff: Modest cocoa and oak on the nose with hints of cherry and tobacco
The Sip: Dark cherry blackberry on the mid palate with a nice smooth finish of cocoa. A hint of spice jumps through that makes this a decent Merlot for the money. Nothing is intense and everything is subdued.
The Stuff: 100% Washington Merlot, 10 months in oak, 13.8% ABV
The Swirl: Mildly translucent with ruby red undertones. A pretty wine
The Sniff: Smooth dark chocolate with cherry and oak. I would imagine this would be the aroma an Umpa Lumpa would smell in the chocolate river (if cherries were involved too).
The Sip: The sip is slightly thin on the front that opens up to a nice moderate fruit – still cherries. Definitely a chocolate covered cherry Merlot.
The Score: At only $12 (sometimes under $10) A trustworthy wine for the money. Good sipper the thin front and single dimension leave the score lower. 3/5
The Stuff: 100% Estate Lemberger from Red Mountain AVA Kiona Vineyards
The Swirl: A dark strawberry color that was about 50% translucent. Muted jewel tones
The Sniff: Bright strawberry and cherry with moderate earthiness and minerality
The Sip: A sweet wash of cherry, vanilla and some cola flavors. The wine is sweet and soft with more substance on the back end with some spice and tannin
The Score: An incredible value for a wine that provides a variety of flavor. 4/5
The Bench Players and Reserves2008 Gozzo Malbec (Argentina)
The Stuff: 100% Malbec from Mendozza Argentina; 6 months in new French oak, 14.2%ABV
The Swirl:Beautiful rich purple with hints of bright amethyst around the edges. Light seems to dance off the glass.
The Sniff: Hints of woody evergreen that make way for bright red fruits and subtle spice. Slightly under-ripe red fruit comes out as well.
The Sip: Great big gobs of red berry wash across your tongue and give way to subtle blueberry undertones. The mid-palate is a little fleeting but the back end structure is no push over. Medium body and good finish make this a very pleasant value.
The Score: At $10, I would buy this wine again. Perfect burger or pizza wine. The wine presents enough layers of flavor to be mistaken for twice the price. 3/5
The Swirl: Very light, typical Pinot, with slight rusty brown tone, extremely translucent
The Sniff: I get a woodiness on this wine (and it’s not the naked lady) along with a bright candied cherry. Pretty good nose for the price of the wine. Earthy funk that is found on a lot of Pinot
The Sip: A good cherry candy cola flavor with slight earthy dirt on the mid-palate. The finish is slightly off balanced with some bitterness.
The Swirl: Very very dark plum, completely opaque, nice legs indicating some stronger residual sugar
The Sniff: Once again a restrained aroma profile. Some dark cherry, dark blackberry fruit and a hint of spice trying to come through
The Sip: Wholly wow, this is a big wine. There is some decent fruit on the front end which is immediately attacked by the strong tannin on the back end. This wine needs food! I look forward to pairing it with some BBQ, spicy pork, or a steak.
The Score: At only $10 this is a big wine with some big back end structure.I would definitely consider this for a future purchase to pair with food. 3+/5
For the last several months, wines have been making their way to the field in the hopes of being called up to the big time. Each wine gets time in the cages and time on the field to show their stuff. To qualify the wine must be widely distributed (within my local area), and purchased for under $10. The competition has been fierce and we are nearing the end of tryouts before finalizing the team. The scouts tell me that the final roster will be published in the next few days.
Why tryouts? Why under $10? In my opinion, this is the most volatile price range for quality. It is also a common price range that non wine snobs shop in. The need for quality trusted wines under $10 is there. While 40+ wines have tried out for the team, most have struck out and been sent back to the minor leagues. Soon, you’ll have a team of nine starters and three alternates that you can bring to the table without fear!
The Baseball Predictions
Prior to opening day, I made my pre-season predictions regarding the MLB season.
AL Predictions / Current Standings
East: Prediction Red Sox / Actual: Yankees (but there is still hope)
Central: Prediction Twins / Actual White Sox (Twins 3.5 games out)
West: Prediction Texas / Actual Texas
Wild Card: Prediction Mariners / Actual Tampa Bay (sadly Mariners have cashed in their chips)
The Swirl: Very light pale, nearly clear with a hint of beautiful honey highlights
The Sniff: Taken by surprise with the abundant perfume, sweet honey, peach and lychee fruit. A fantastic aroma that keeps you coming back for one more sniff before you sip.
The Sip: Not knowing the blend, I would have pegged this for a Riesling. The distinctive Riesling / Gewurz flavors come through but are contrasted with a nice mouth coating of the Chardonnay and the floral components to the Viognier. The wine is amazingly complex for the price point and delivers great off dry sweetness balanced by medium acidity.
The Score: At only $15 retail, this is an amazing value. I love the nice subtle honey flavors that balance well with the wet stone minerality. I score this wine a solid 3+/5
Sadly the Waterbrook Melange was disqualified from the Under $10 Team for being overpriced. At the time of tryouts, it was assumed that this wine could be purchased for $10. Upon further investigation the officials have declared Melange Blanc intelligible for consideration.
2008 Gozzo Malbec $10
The Stuff: 100% Malbec from Mendozza Argentina; 6 months in new French oak, 14.2%ABV
The Swirl:Beautiful rich purple with hints of bright amethyst around the edges. Light seems to dance off the glass.
The Sniff: Hints of woody evergreen that make way for bright red fruits and subtle spice. Slightly under-ripe red fruit comes out as well.
The Sip: Great big gobs of red berry wash across your tongue and give way to subtle blueberry undertones. The mid-palate is a little fleeting but the back end structure is no push over. Medium body and good finish make this a very pleasant value.
The Score: At $10, I would buy this wine again. Perfect burger or pizza wine. The wine presents enough layers of flavor to be mistaken for twice the price. Easily score this wine a 3/5
2008 J.Lohr Estate Syrah $10
The Stuff: 93% Syrah, 3% Petite Sirah, 3% Grenache, 1% other red; Paso Robles AVA; 14 months in 25% new French and American oak; 13.4%ABV
The Swirl: Cloudy deep purple color that presents about 80% opaque.
The Sniff: Aromas of boysenberry, toasted almonds, and dark red fruit on the nose. Very aromatic and full with subtle notes of campfire.
The Sip: Medium bodied Syrah that is slightly thin on the front but opens up nicely to dark red fruit, hints of smoke and a beautiful long velvet finish. An easy sipping Syrah that will have you wanting more.
The Score: Retail is $15 but I scored this wine for only $10. At that price this well balanced, nicely flavored Syrah scores a 3+/5 and will be a definite re-buy.
Red wine goes great with grilling! Burgers, dogs, sausage, steak…most of the common summertime grilling treats are screaming for big full bodied red wine. Do you want to break out your 78’ Cabernet or 100 year old vine Zinfandel when the wine will probably end up in a red plastic cup? Life may be too short to drink bad wine, but there are times when good value wine is needed! We can’t drink $175 bottles of Opus One every night can we?
These are the wines for you. Three Zin, under Ten ($10). They won’t break the bank, but are they drinkable? To explore the value in the “all American varietal,” we venture to the place where the grape gained prominence…California. With 10% of California’s crop planted to Zinfandel (sadly most used for sugary sweet White Zinfandel), the big bold red grape can provide powerful fruit and a sassy spice that work well for BBQ (and pizza).
The NectarView
2006 XYZin Zinfandel
The Stuff: 100% Zinfandel from various California vineyards; aged in new and used American, French and Hungarian oak barrels for 10 months; 14.3%ABV; 23,000 cases produced
The Swirl: A presentation of plum colored cola with browning occurring toward the edges.
The Sniff: Semi-sour raspberry aromas laced with hints of lavender and cloves
The Sip: The XYZin has some moderately complex layers of flavor that open up nicely to include a dark strawberry, baking spice and cocoa. Reminiscent of a canned strawberry pie filling with hints of sour berry. Good finish with a lingering flavor of pepper spice and nutmeg.
The Score: Retail on this wine is $16 for the newer vintages, picked up the 06 for $10 at a local wine store. At that price the XYZin is good value that competes well with other value priced Zinfandel from Cline, Dancing Bull, and Seven Deadly Zins. 3/5
The Stuff: Wine maker David George showcases his 100% California Zinfandel in a ready to drink now 3L Octavin Home Wine Bar. The wine is said to stay fresh for up to six weeks in the patent pending bladder; 13.5% ABV; 20,000 cases produced.
The Swirl: Dark inky plum color that is about 80% opaque. Wine seems thin in viscosity and has watery edges.
The Sniff: Very restrained nose with subtle aroma of dried cherry
The Sip: A somewhat thin presentation of dark berry fruits on the palate. The mouth feel seems round without being flabby. A single dimension wine that is neither off nor dynamic. Lacking in layers of fruit but balanced in flavor and finish.
The Score: Coming in at $6 per “bottle” the BOHO is certainly a drinkable wine when in need of a larger quantity. If you’re headed camping, having a wedding, or throwing a party, the BOHO Zin would do well to satisfy the average wine drinker. 3-/5
The Stuff: 78% Zinfandel, 8% Primitivo, 7% Merlot and 7% Petite Sirah from Mendocino and Lake County; Aged 10 months in 15% new oak (combination of American, French and Hungarian); 13.8%ABV
The Swirl: Medium dark plum with slight brightness of cherries. The wine is about 60% opaque
The Sniff: Medium aromas of blueberry and cocoa are initially present with a mild presentation of black pepper
The Sip: The Dynamite Zinfandel is new world jam flavors of blackberry and dark cherry fruits. A subtle woody evergreen tree pokes through that reminds me of Christmas. This wine has a good firm grip on the back end and would hold up well to a BBQ steak or spicy burger.
The Score: At $10, the Dynamite Zin is a fair value but doesn’t hold up as well against other California Zin in this price range. 3-/5
You remember that game you played as a kid, duck duck goose? Some of you may have played it with your four year old just the other night. This wine review has nothing to do with that game, but it did come to mind when I received the wine for review. The other thing that I think of when I look at Duck Pond Cellars label is that old Nintendo game, Duck Hunt. Could be the ducks on the label, but I wanted to get out the grey plastic pistol and fire away.
Duck Pond Cellars is located in Dundee, Oregon. I previously reviewed their 2007 Red Blend (which was a crazy value) and their 2007 Syrah (which wasn’t a personal favorite). One thing is sure, Duck Pond is shooting for some crazy values that are way more than child’s play (see how I brought back the two references from earlier, nice eh).
For this review, I decided the wine needed to make the 400 mile trek back to Oregon. The ducks longed to fly in their native land, so I packed them along during our Memorial Day weekend trip to Portland. The Oregon/Washington connection is strong with Duck Pond as all the grapes used for these wines were sourced from sister winery/vineyard Desert Wind in the Wahluke Slope AVA. Just like real ducks, these grapes fly south at harvest to prepare for their fermentation and storage.
The NectarView
2007 Duck Pond Cellars Chardonnay
The Stuff: 95% Chardonnay, 4% Semillon, and 1% Gewurtraminer that was fermented in 90% stainless steel and 10% in barrel (4 months in new French and American); Partial malolactic fermentation; 15% abv; 19,665 cases produced; all Desert Wind Vineyard fruit
The Swirl: Great golden yellow tone with a slight creamy quality
The Sniff: An abundance of tropical flower and fruit with a good amount of heat as well.
The Sip: Good rich mouth-feel without feeling flabby and fat. I really appreciate the fruit components of pear and pineapple along with other topical flavors. Everything is going well for this duck until the finish which is slightly stinging due to the alcohol.
The Score: At only $10, this is a crazy value because the wine has some great aroma, flavor, acidity and minerality. The only misfortune is the heat on the finish. Pair this wine with food to compensate for the alcohol (preferably something sweet or rich). I score it a 3 out of 5.
The Stuff: 89% Merlot and 11% Cab Franc from Desert Wind Vineyard; Aged 14 months in 20% French and 80% American oak barrels; 14.5% abv; 12,721 cases produced
The Swirl: Deep rich purple color with about 70% opacity. Slightly watered down at the edges.
The Sniff: Good strong components of dark berries, leather, and wood. The American oak is prevalent but not attacking. Nice to get a good nose at this price point
The Sip: The fruit flavors are fun and rich but they don’t hang and play very long. They fly the next and make way for a pleasant velvet milk chocolate mid palate with a better than average structure on the back end.
The Score: At $10, this is a definite recommend. The wine is pleasing, and although slightly over oaked, it has some very nice fruit flavors and aroma that will make a good value drinking experience. I score this wine a 3+ out of 5
The 2005 Duck Pond Cellars Merlot doesn’t have any formal reviews on Cellar Tracker. It makes a strong showing to be considered for the Under $10 Value Team, but will have to ride the bench due to tough competition from Charles Smith’s Velvet Devil.
2007 Duck Pond Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon
The Stuff: 85% Cabernet, 8% Merlot and 7% Syrah from Desert Wind and Sacagawea Vineyards; aged in a combination of French and American oak; 14.5%ABV; 5824 cases produced.
The Swirl: A thick muddy jammy purple that reminds me of a dark stormy sunset. The wine is about 90% opaque.
The Sniff: Dark berry, gamey meat aromas, leather and stone. The nose is intriguing and throws me off from a traditional Cabernet, not in a bad way.
The Sip: The mouth feel of the wine is a slight disappointment from the nose. The fruit elements are not strong and the expected spice and depth is not there. The wine is not off in flavor but only provides glimpses of what it could be. I would liken this to being the little brother who only played little league where the big kids moved on to the pros.
The Score: While there is nothing off putting about the wine and it would make a great addition to any table to be paired with summer grillin’ or light pasta, I score it a 3 (out of 5) because of the lack of anything that stands out. Only $12 retail.
Finding good trustworthy wine under $10 can be a challenge. Some people question my reasons for pursuing this series. I believe people need help in this range. Generally speaking wine over a certain price is going to be well made. They may have different characteristics but there is a higher percentage of quality wine. Wine under $20 has become more attainable as well. I believe there are more people out there that are looking under $10 for daily drinkers. Economic conditions should not keep people from enjoying wine. The challenge is finding trustworthy wine that, while not exceptional, is drinkable with good flavor.
This brings me to my challenge. Every few weeks I try out new wine in the hope to field a team of nine starters and a few subs. Each team should be stocked with key reds (Cab, Zin, Merlot, Syrah) key whites (Sauv Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, Sparkling) and some alternates (other miscellaneous grapes). Below is the nearly complete team.
Additional Tryouts
At this rate the Seattle Mariners should win about 47 games this year. For those that don’t know, that’s bad…very, very bad. It’s no secret that along with opening weeks of Football season, April is my favorite time of year. For us Spokane folk we finally start to see warmer weather, the snow has melted and all the brown is replaced with green grass and budding flowers. Crockpot dinners transform to grilling and hanging out on the deck. Steak, burgers and hot dogs become a regular part of the nightly routine, and the calming voice of Dave Niehaus invades the kitchen (he’s the voice of the Seattle Mariners for those who don’t know).
Today’s tryouts include a mystery Cabernet Sauvignon, A well known Syrah, and a controversial Pinot Noir.
NV Distant Bay Cabernet Sauvignon
This wine began as a mystery and ended as a disappointment. The investigation started with a brand that some of my blog friends and I did not recognize. The label mentions being made in Patterson, WA. The main winery in Patterson is Columbia Crest (a Chateau St. Michelle company). Sean Sullivan and I were chatting about it on Twitter and the next morning I woke up to an email that solved the mystery. A retired librarian named Don had been watching our tweets and decided to do some research. He discovered an old Chateau St. Michelle web site referencing the brand and buried deep within the current web site you can find some older tech sheets. Mystery solved!
The Stuff: 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cab Franc from Columbia Valley, 13.5% abv – The guess is that it’s an off brand to dump some excess or inferior juice without tarnishing the main brands.
The Swirl: Very light in comparison to most Cabs. Watery toward edges, leathery plum color
The Sniff: Not very aromatic. The heat of the alcohol comes through toward the end with some moderate oaky cherries
The Sip: Earthy cherries with hints of white pepper. Not overly flavorful but no off flavors either. Very little tannin and low acidity
The Score: At only $7, this is not a terrible wine but there are other wines out there for $10 that perform much better. I score this 2 out of 5 and send it back to single A ball to work on its form.
The Stuff: 96.3% Syrah and 3.7% other reds, aged 11 months in French and American oak, 13.5%abv, 5900 cases produced
The Swirl: Dull thin plum color
The Sniff: Moderate nose with hints of oaky vanilla and only a whiff of dark berry fruits. Very little spice or fruit as you would expect from a Syrah (even a lower priced Syrah)
The Sip: Very hollow on the palate with only hints of fruit. A mellow mouth fell with a smooth finish that trails off quickly.
The Score: At $12 retail, I score this 2 out of five. While there is nothing wrong with this wine, it doesn’t provide much to make it stand out even at $10.
With a label that is banned in Alabama due to the naked lady artwork I had high hopes for this wine. Who couldn’t use more naked ladies in their life? Web Site
The Stuff: 100% California Pinot Noir, 13.9%abv
The Swirl: Very light, typical Pinot, with slight rusty brown tone, extremely translucent
The Sniff: I get a woodiness on this wine (and it’s not the naked lady) along with a bright candied cherry. Pretty good nose for the price of the wine. Earthy funk that is found on a lot of Pinot
The Sip: A good cherry candy cola flavor with slight earthy dirt on the mid-palate. The finish is slightly off balanced with some bitterness.
The Score: At just $11 this wine scores a 3 minus out of 5. A pretty good Pinot Noir for the price considering that most under $20 are suspect
I’m always looking for good under $10 (on sale counts) recommendations. I carry around a rec’s book when I head to the store. If I can find it, I’ll buy it and feature it on a future episode. Leave a comment.
Side Note Addendum
After reviewing game film, I decided to add the Cycles Gladiator Pinot Noir to the bench with the potential to become the starting Pinot Noir. Other considerations brought in the 2006 Kiona Winery Lemberger. At $12, this wine is a little over budget but with the collective bargaining agreement and revenue sharing I decided to up the budget to bring this wine in as the starting pitcher. Here is my Cellar Tracker review.
My previous Under $10 Tryout featured my American League MLB predictions. Below are the National League predictions for the 2010 season. Disagree? Bitch and share in the comments J
For a night, Merlot was king. The grape that got turned upside down in the movie Sideways was back on top for two hours in March. This event, and others similar to it, proves to me once and for all that Twitter and other Social Media has changed the way we can do business and effect change.
Before I get into the analysis of the Twitter metrics for the night I must give thanks to the group that pulled it together. I may have been the face behind a lot of posts, videos and tweets, but without these amazing ambassadors of Washington Wine, this event would have fallen far short of its potential. The following twitter personalities were on board from the beginning – @SeattleWineGal – @WAWineReport – @Catie – @WineBeerWA – @WineeYak – @YakimaValley – @Shonoa425 – @wbcorbust – @nwwineandre – and @lunabeanmedia. These are the people who are deserving of the praise.
The Promotion and Media
#WAMerlot gained a massive groundswell about 2 weeks prior to the event. More than 100 wineries, restaurants, wine bars, wine stores, and even hotels from New Jersey to Wisconsin to Phoenix to Seattle got on board! The event was featured in the Spokesman Review, Walla Walla Union Bulletin, and even National Public Radio. Promotion continued through other wine writers like SuppleWine, WineFoot, Oregon Wine Blog, Wine Harlots, Wino Magazine, Sip With Me, Wine-Ophelia, Vinotology, Weekly Wine Journal, Cork’d and so many more (so sorry if I forgot to mention you). One highlight for me was the Gary Vaynerchuk Wine Library TV #WAMerlot episode. In fact, leading up to and after the event there were over 75 blog posts that referenced the event from wine reviews to social media reporting.
The Results and Analysis
I don’t have fancy Twitter analytics. I know they exist. I know there are programs that can determine the overall reach, brand impressions, etc – I don’t have those (if I get them, I’ll update this post). Here is what I do know. The event rocked the wine world!
Twitter rock stars like @ChrisPirillo (Social Media persona) and @nansen (Seattle politics) joined in during the evening. Between them they have nearly 300,000 followers.
Wineries and businesses having events had anywhere from zero to more than 30 people in attendance. From preliminary returns average attendance ran about 10. If my 6th grade math serves me right, 100 locations x 10 people average is approximately 1000 people.
Tweets were observed from Europe, Australia, Asia (China), and North America (Canada, Mexico, and USA) – 4 out of 7 continents.
#WAMerlot was a trending topic in Seattle (#1 and #2 at times) and was in the top 15 of trending topics on Twitter during the evening.
Web site www.wthashtag.com tracked almost 2000 tweets by nearly 500 tweeters.
Total brand reach was well into the millions
Potential bottle consumption of Washington Merlot for the night is between 2000-3000 bottles
While attending Taste Washington, I was continually thanked by dozens of wineries that participated in the event. True test – we’ve been asked to do it again.
People had fun. People drank some effin’ Merlot!
The NectarView
While I spent the evening traveling to four locations in Spokane, I felt it important to give a formal review to the wineries who sent me samples (bottle shots below)
2007 Hogue Cellars Merlot
The Stuff: 99% Merlot and 1% Syrah, Columbia Valley, 31,606 cases produced, 13.9%ABV
The Swirl: Moderatly cloudy and slightly translucent. Dark cherry tones leaning toward a plum color
The Sniff: Fairly tight on the nose at first but opens up to cherry, dust, and cocoa
The Sip: A little thin on the front and thick fruit flavors on the mid palate. The wine is singular in dimension (dark cherry fruit) and provides a good sipping experience.
The Score: At $9-$10, you won’t blow anyone away with this selection, but it will suffice as a standby everyday drinker. Some wines in this Hogue family can be hit or miss, but this Merlot is a good trusty label. I score it a 3 minus (out of 5)
Cellar Tracker Scores: No scores on the 07 vintage, but the 05 and 06 scores range between 77 – 87 (median 85)
2006 Fielding Hills Merlot
The Stuff: Single vineyard Wahluke Slope AVA, 80% Merlot 11% Cab 9% Syrah, aged 19 months in 77% new oak, 14.3%abv, 163 cases
The Swirl: Dark plum with beautiful jewel tones toward the edges. Mostly opaque
The Sniff: Overwhelming aromas of cherry, smoke, and hints of spicy bacon. Amazed at how aroma profile changes as it comes through the nose.
The Sip: A mouthful of joy! The black cherry fruit skips across your tongue and then transforms into undertones of smooth violet perfume, that then release themselves to cocoa flavors. The acidic finish brings a nice wash across the back of the mouth as the finish lingers for eternity.
The Score: At $36, I score this wine a 4+ (out of 5) and would easily buy it again and again. The balance between complexity, flavor, and drinkability are impeccable.
The Stuff: 75% Merlot, 15% Cab Sauv, 7% Cab Franc, 3% Petit Verdot, Aged 20 months in 80% new oak, 2005 cases, 14.7%abv
The Swirl: Dark, dark, dark. Looks like the midnight sky with some hints of purple.
The Sniff: Once you get past the tree hugging oak, some big blackberry fruit springs forth. A small shot of spice shoots out too.
The Sip: Intense and immense are the words that come to mind. A concentration of fruit with enough acidity to not make you think fruit bomb. The oak flavors are more subdued on the palate and some nice tannins firm up the back end. Still a young wine but provides intense flavor with 60 second finish
The Score: At $45-$55 I score this wine a 4 (out of 5) – lowered slightly because of the price. An incredibly well made wine for those that want an intense Merlot experience. I would think laying this down for 5 years would reveal a supurb wine for the future.
In early 2010 I began the mission of fielding a team of wine players that could score at parties, hit it out of the park for value, and be trusted to step to the plate in most any situation. The rules were that each wine had to be purchased for $10 or less (sales, club discounts, bulk discounts were considered). Wines showed up to spring training and specially scheduled tryouts to show their stuff for the coaches. Each was vying for a coveted spot on the 12 man roster of 9 starters and 3 reserves. While legal issues (state distribution) kept us from trying out every player referred to us, we made every effort to select players who are widely available. After reviewing the scouting reports and film, I am pleased to reveal the 2010 “Under $10 Wine Team.” I’ve included the coach’s summary, roster position, and stats for each player. Links to the full scouting report are included for your reference. Many of these players’ tryouts were filmed. Enjoy the footage and make a note of the jersey (label) so you can get an autograph next time you are in the store.
With a label that is banned in Alabama due to the naked lady artwork I had high hopes for this wine. Who couldn’t use more naked ladies in their life? 
