Wine Wholesalers Spend $3.7 Million On Hypocrisy

It was reported today that the Wine & Spirit Wholesalers of America have contributed $3.7 Million to the effort to kill the an alcohol distribution reform initiative in Washington State. Initiative 1183, if passed, would get the state out of...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FermentationTheDailyWineBlog/~3/dLAHOoYHGLc/wine-wholesalers-spend-37-million-on-hypocrisy.html

Noureen DeWulf Olivia Munn Olivia Wilde Padma Lakshmi

Bewildered with the cool breeze of the Atlantic Ocean in W South Beach Hotel & Residences

Architectural dynamism and artistic vision have been fused together to set the creative atmosphere of W South Beach Hotel & Residences. This is the perfect location for guests to enjoy the rare experience of being so close to the legendary Atlantic Ocean while enjoying the comfort and luxury of a sky touching retreat on the [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vagablond/ysSN/~3/_Wn7dAV8pVo/

Melissa George Melissa Howard Melissa Joan Hart Melissa Rycroft

2009 Carlisle Sonoma County Syrah: Best QPR Ever?

Just when I was thinking "Hey it's been a while since Wine Spectator gave us a high QPR wine to chase after" they dropped a doozy on us yesterday. The 2009 Carlisle Sonoma County Syrah received a 97 point rating - and retails for just $25. Carlisle mailing list members were offered the wine for an even more incredible $19.50.

Carlisle produces Zinfandel and red Rhone varietal wines out of Sonoma. They've been cranking out high QPR wines for a while now so the name is familiar to wine deal hounds.

It's been a while since I fired up the wwpQPR calculator (what's that?) but I thought this might be the best QPR I've ever heard of. Using a baseline price of $30 (the point at which it is relatively easy to find 90 point domestic Syrah) the wwpQPR gives us a 6.05: Outstanding Value. I think that might indeed be the best value I've ever heard of.

Where to Buy

Well, that's the problem. With only 391 cases produced and mailing list that's been on to their reasonably priced high quality wines for a while this one is going to be tough. A quick wine-searcher.com search turns up a few retailers that claimed to have had it for $25 or under -- but when you click through it's all sold out.

Based on past experience with wines like these, we'll see the wine quickly evaporate at retail especially under $40. The wine will be available at high mark-up at some retailers and will be available on auction sites for $50 and up. At that point, it kind of wrecks the QPR. At $50 it's a 3.02 on the wwpQPR: Very Good. Still a nice value but not one to break your neck over.

What to Do Next

Jump on their mailing list. The pattern is clear with Carlisle - they're producing wines attaining incredibly high scores and they're holding the line on price. Sounds like the perfect mailing list to be a part of. Be prepared for a wait: I signed up a few years ago and haven't gotten an allocation.

Next, scour around wine-searcher looking for back vintages and other bottlings from Carlisle. This bodes well for their 2009 offerings and I hear their 2006s were also amazing.

It's interesting to watch the CellarTracker reviews come in for a wine like this. Prior to the Spectator rating coming out yesterday, the ratings are about what you'd expect for a $25 wine from Carlisle: 90-93 points. A note published yesterday after the Spectator rating came out? 95 points.

I've discussed this pheonomenon with friends before -- how CellarTracker is an excellent resource to consult when deciding whether to take advantage of a wine deal. But there is often a high rating/price correlation on CellarTracker since most regular wine enthusiasts like us taste non-blind. Throw in a little 97-point Wine Spectator bias and it often pulls the CellarTracker ratings up a bit.

Definitely a topic for further discussion. I'd love it if you subscribed to the site so we can continue the conversation.

And consider subscribing to Wine Spectator. You can even use airline miles if you'd like.

Question of the Day: Have you seen this wine available at retail? Any tips for buying this wine or similar offerings from Carlisle in the open market?


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/TvRPZqdvWv4/2009-carlisle-sonoma-county-syrah-best.html

Kelly Monaco Kelly Ripa Kelly Rowland Kerry Suseck

Summer Hill Country Photos

  About a year ago I started a Facebook group with the same name as my Blog.  I posted a few photos from our summer vacation down in the beautiful Texas Hill Country.  I will be posting more here soon and on my Flickr photo page.  If your on Facebook would love to have you […]

Source: http://thegrapesaroundtexas.com/2011/07/10/summer-hill-country-photos/

Sarah Wynter Scarlett Chorvat Scarlett Johansson Selita Ebanks

A TCA Mystery

We?ve had a very odd, but interesting experience this week. The telling takes a few turns, but stick with me here, it?ll all makes sense at the end, or will it?? During the course having new water pipes installed in our basement, I had to empty out all the wine that we keep in our [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gangofpour/uncZ/~3/u9xrmwarYd4/tca-mystery

Maggie Grace Maggie Gyllenhaal Majandra Delfino Malia Jones

The best bottles are the quickest emptied: Mugnier edition

The best bottles are the quickest emptied. But you knew that. Last week, I made my wife a birthday dinner. But before I started covering the kitchen counter and, inadvertently, the floor and my clothes with flour to make fresh pasta, I popped open a bottle of slightly chilled Mugnier Clos de la Marechale 2007. [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/GuSC/~3/tqD2dOMcktk/

Rachel McAdams Rachel Nichols Rachel Perry Rachel Weisz