Google Searches and the Good Grape Archive

I recently took a look at the search terms that people search for in Google that lead them to this site.  In doing so, I suppose it’s a good thing that I don’t pay much attention to the back-end reporting on my web site lest I turn this place into a blog focused on wine accessories and Trader Joe wines.

Below are the top seven archived posts on Good Grape from July based on Google search terms.  It also doubles as a good review of some old chestnuts from the archive, a part of the nearly 1300 posts from the last five and a half years.

Land, Brand or Label

This is a popular post from 2009 about the growth of private label wines.

This Month in Wine Advertising

Apparently, searching for, “Wine advertising campaigns” holds some interest for people.  This post from the spring of 2010 analyzes several ads from popular mainstream media.

The Quixotic Kelly Fleming Cabernet

I don’t do a lot of wine reviews, but when I focus on one wine, winery or personality it’s because I’m keen (really keen) on what they’re doing.  Kelly Fleming, a boutique producer, is an example in this interview from 2009.  A number of people search for, “Kelly Fleming wine” every month.

The Wine Wand isn’t Magic, but it is Pretty Cool!

I was as surprised as the next guy that the $300+ Phillip Stein Wine Wand actually worked in blind testing.  Apparently a lot of other people are curious, as well.  “Wine Wand” is a popular search term in this post from 2008.

2011 Wine Books:  Four to Look Forward to Reading

The last several years have been a great period of time for the wine book reader with enough quality reading to fill up a decade’s worth of poolside reading.  Folks searching for “Best wine books 2011” speaks to the abundance of quality reading available to the wine enthusiast.

Trader Joe’s:  Wine Marauder or Consumer Fraud?

“Trader Joe’s wines” seems to always be a hot topic.  Are the private label wines at TJ’s junk or gem?  I express my opinion in this piece from January, 2010.

Wine Accessory Review:  Wine Shield

Home wine preservation is an evergreen topic with perpetual interest.  I found the Wine Shield to be a great accessory for preserving wines at home for five days at a high level of quality.  Other people must be interested in the Wine Shield as well, “Wine Shield review” yields a lot of search queries.

Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/google_searches_and_the_good_grape_archive1/

Rachel Bilson Rachel Blanchard Rachel Hunter Rachel McAdams

Two Value-Play Winners From Pricey Catogories: Burgundy and Barbaresco

Buy a half-case or more at Wine Chateau and get 1/2 off shipping with code "wellesley54"
I came across an interesting story today about how a Wellesley author's father's blogging efforts "robbed" the author of his unique identity as the author of the family. The father recently retired and all he did was play golf, watch soccer, and read books. Sound pretty nice if you ask me. The point that struck a chord was that the father channeled his voracious book-a-day appetite into a unique online review format - published via a blog.

I thought to myself: I usually taste a new wine every day, why don't I write about each of them?

The reason I don't blog every day is because in spite my unrelenting efforts to triangulate professional ratings, low prices, and availability, many wines I try are just "good" or "very good" and don't seem worthy of telling people about.

I try to find interesting stories in wines and relate recommendations that are relevant and interesting. But sometimes I think I should just knock out a post and move on. This is just blogging after all.

With that in mind here are a couple of winners I came across tonight:

2007 Domaine Pierre Janny Bourgogne Blanc Echavon
About $12

The other day I was in Bin Ends picking up some 2003 Albino Rocca Brich Ronchi they had at a great price. Dan Kline asked me if I ever drink white wine. I would have enjoyed a long conversation on the subject but in the interest of time I said "not really" and left it at that.

The reality is I'm often disappointed with white wines and even if I end up liking them I don't look forward to opening them. A few months ago I stopped in and asked for a recommendation in the tricky white Burgundy category. This wine was that recommendation.

I cringed as I opened it thinking it was going to be limited aromatically. However, the wine was an absolute delight to drink. There's no way I would have pegged this as French if I tasted it blind. Such a nice tropical aromatic nose but as you taste it, it reigns in its gregarious nature. Green apples on the palate and a touch of acidity. Perhaps the best thing I liked about it was the linear enjoyable aftertaste - it avoided the quirky flavor markers so many domestic Chardonnays seem to display.

A stunning and pleasant surprise.

I've heard "If you think you found a cheap Burgundy - you probably found a cheap Burgundy." Maybe that applies mostly to reds?

Purchased at: Bin Ends Wine
91/100 WWP: Outstanding


2007 Col Dei Venti Tufo Blu Barbaresco
$31 Release Price

My interest in Barbaresco continues to evolve, and along the way I've been comparing notes for the highly regarded 2007 vintage from The Wine Advocate's Antonio Galloni and Wine Spectator's newly minted Piedmont editor Bruce Sanderson.

Galloni used to pen Piedmont Report and I've found his reviews on Italian wines to be useful. Sanderson's coverage of the region started just recently. In comparing their notes on the 2007 Pelissero Barbaresco Nubiola I found better alignment with Sanderson than Galloni however:

Where's the fruit? I realize this is super-young but I've got to favor WS's opinion over WA on this one. I think Bruce Sanderson nailed it: "Dense and austere in flavor, with a muscular structure dominating any fruit."

Compare this with Galloni's note: "caresses the palate with layers of round, sumptuous fruit. This is a more generous, enveloping style than the Tulin, and shows just an extra touch more depth. Dark red fruit, sweet spices".

Sweet spices? Sumptuous fruit? You've got to be kidding me. This wine is dark, brooding, and austere. It's more like a Barolo than a Barbaresco.

Props to Sanderson for good work in his rookie season covering Piedmont. I'll pay attention to his notes going forward.

The 2007 Col Dei Venti is a wine Spectator's Sanderson thought highly of. At 94 WS/$31 release price it's quite a QPR-bender. Even better if you can snag it for around $25.

The wine is a beauty and incredibly approachable for a young Barbaresco. It's lower in acidity with softer tannins than most Barbaresco I've tasted. It's plush and forgiving.

Flavor wise it's classic Nebbiolo. Each sip starts with light red raspberries and floral aromatics. I noted a striking aroma of Crayola crayons in an elementary school desk drawer. Quite amazing and persistent across a couple glasses. Wow - really interesting.

Purchased at: Wine Connextion 
92/100 WWP: Outstanding

So there you have it. Two outstanding wines in categories notorious for being hard to find value. 

PS That's our 4 year old in the photo above whining at the dinner table while I took the photo. It was a little bit of a rough night but in the interest of knocking a blog post out - there you have it. :)

Question of the Day: Have you had either of these wines? Let me know what you think of them in the comments if you've had them. If not - have you found any good values in Burgundy or Barbaresco lately?


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/H2e9C6aEzkg/two-value-play-winners-from-pricey.html

Kristin Cavallari Kristin Kreuk Kristy Swanson Kylie Bax

Singing Water Vineyards

  Our trip to a few weeks ago took us the little Hill Country town of Comfort, Tx Population 2,358 Singing Water was established in 1993 by Dick & Julie Holmberg. Loving the Texas Hill Country, they found a patch of land they could not pass up. Running through the property is Bruins creek. They […]

Source: http://thegrapesaroundtexas.com/2011/07/05/singing-water-vineyards/

Maggie Grace Maggie Gyllenhaal Majandra Delfino Malia Jones

Would you like a Gold or Silver with that Red or White?

Guest blogger and wine judge  Stacie Hunt offers some insight into being a judge at the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition. Stacie is a commentator on wine for National Public Radio, a Certified Sommelier (AIS), an international wine judge, educator, journalist and blogger. Everyone has his or her own idea of spring.  In the city, the [...]

Source: http://blogs.fairplex.com/blog/wine/?p=51

Luján Fernández Magdalena Wróbel Maggie Grace Maggie Gyllenhaal

Inside the Bread: Whole Foods to Open New Location in Wellesley

Whole Foods Market is set to open its new location in Wellesley on Monday - just one day after closing their 5,900 square foot location at 278 Washington St that's been open since 1980. The new store will offer 26,000 square feet of grocery goodness and perhaps more importantly, over 200 parking spaces.

After touring the new location as finishing touches were being applied this week I have a feeling Whole Foods loyalists will be pleased with the new location. And the store will likely attract shoppers who previously shopped primarily at conventional grocery stores. More on this in a moment, but first a little background about Whole Foods.

Bread & Circus

To understand Whole Foods' presence in the region we need to understand the history of the Bread & Circus chain they acquired in 1992. Whole Foods has grown through a combination of acquisition and organic growth - no pun intended - and Bread & Circus was one of their earliest purchases. Although the brand was retired long ago, stores in the region still pay homage to their Bread & Circus heritage. One of the first things I spotted in the new store was this stencil above the produce area:


The first Bread & Circus opened in Brookline in 1975. The Wellesley location opened in 1980 and over the years a total of six Bread & Circus stores operated in the region. They were somewhat similar to green line T stations in that they were situated in little pockets in neighborhoods as friendly little markets.


CEO: John Mackey

To understand Whole Foods you have to understand John Mackey. To understand Mackey you need to read two articles:

From around 2000 to 2005 I was a Whole Foods shareholder. I liked to invest in companies I was impressed with and each time I visited a Whole Foods location I saw long checkout lines and outstanding overall execution. Kind of like Chipotle these days.

Yahoo! Finance message boards were big at that time and I remember being impressed with the postings of  one the forum's consistent contributors, "rahodeb". Rahodeb would bust out compound annual growth rate statistics (CAGR) and familiarity with Whole Foods expansion plans with incredible clarity and accuracy. Here's an example of a typical posting - someone should really compile these into a book. When someone would question whether Wal-Mart's expansion into organics would threaten Whole Foods, Rahodeb would fire back that it was instead Wal-Mart that should be concerned about Whole Foods. Rahodeb would spar just enough with "liberfar" and "hog152" to make you think they were a regular message board nut job meanwhile planting seeds of doubt if you should be so foolish as to short Whole Foods stock.

It turned out Rahodeb was none other than Whole Foods CEO John Mackey. Rahodeb was an anagram for his wife Deborah. Looking back I'm glad Mackey's identity was revealed. I'd developed an inferiority complex over my inability to delve into the details of a company the way Rahodeb did and it actually made me feel better when I learned it was the CEO posting anonymously.

Still a Good Investment?


The chart above shows the performance of Whole Foods Market stock (WFM) over the past 20 years. Their largest acquisition - of Wild Oats in 2007 - came right before a precipitous dip 2009. But the stock has bounced back remarkably well.

Is it a good time to buy Whole Foods stock? I think it depends on their ability to continue growing - both in terms of same store sales and in terms of new locations. When viewed through this lens it becomes clear why they'd move to this new, larger location. How could they possibly eek any more dollars out of the old location? The place was bursting at the seams and had to be constantly restocked.

Competition

When Wellesley-based Roche Bros moved to its snazzy new location across Linden Street, it demonstrated that a modern supermarket could indeed be shoehorned into landlocked Wellesley. I doubt Roche Bros had much direct impact on Whole Foods, but the disparity in spaciousness between the two stores become glaringly obvious. One would have to think Whole Foods real estate management had this in mind when the opportunity to move into the site formerly inhabited by Star Market presented itself.

Star Market's departure was mostly unlamented (the situation with Tian Fu kicked up far more controversy) and by displacing another store there is one less grocery store in town. But I've always felt like Whole Foods main national competitor is Trader Joe's. With locations in Needham and Framingham Trader Joe's would make a lot of people happy by opening in the space Whole Foods will vacate. I've heard rumblings it may be just as likely to become a Panera Bread.

Perhaps the real competitor hasn't arrived yet. Rochester New York-based Wegman's regularly appears near the top of Fortune's Best Places to Work list and is planning to open in Northborough, MA in October with rumors of additional stores in Westwood and Burlington over the next couple years.

I've always felt Whole Foods was uniquely positioned. Yes they have a lot of organic and natural foods but they sell food that's flat out delicious while maintaining standards I haven't seen other grocery stores come near matching. They've always said "It's about Whole Foods, not Holy Foods" (link).

Some might say it's more like "Whole Paycheck" but in my experience if you like the product assortment at Whole Foods their prices are as good or better than other stores.

New Wellesley Store Photo Tour

The main store entrance places you squarely in front of the produce section. It was 5 days before store opening so perishable items hadn't been stocked yet:


Just behind the produce is the seafood section - soon to be stocked with fresh catches from Pigeon Cove.

Behind Seafood is the Butcher Shop. I learned that the unique signage you see in Whole Foods locations are custom made for each location.

The location mixes rough-sawn signage with polished concrete floors. Very cool.

Dry aged steaks make their first appearance at a Whole Foods in Wellesley.

The cheese section is large as a percentage of the square footage of the store. It offers a combination of pre-packaged and hand-cut gourmet cheeses in an alcove similar to one at their Dedham location.

Baked breads are available as well as fresh-made pizzas available by the slice or whole pie to take out.

Coffee - just one part of one tiny aisle in the old location - finally gets respectable treatment:

A special feature near the adjacent little league fields is a take-out counter offering refreshments, gelato and coffee. Taking advantage of the store's adjacent to the ballfield location. Nice.

Here's what the take-out counter will look like from the outside:

Next to the take-out counter is a community room where cooking demonstrations will take place:

Whole Foods are starting to become more like restaurants than grocery stores. The prepared foods section is massive as a percentage of the store. I'm particularly looking forward to the burritos made to order...and the free Wi-Fi.


The salad bar/hot foods section looks to be as large as those found in larger Whole Foods locations.

Will The Old Location be Missed?

I have a feeling we'll look back on the old location much like we do the Bread & Circus brand: With nostalgia. But overall we'll be pleased with the changes. It was sometimes nice to be able to buzz through the tiny store and pick up things in a hurry. But when the store was crowded it was nearly impossible to navigate. Parking was challenging. Feast your eyes on all this beautiful free parking:


Although the new location isn't huge (26,000 square feet compared to around 60,000 at their Dedham location) the aisles are relatively wide. Kiddie carts are set to be available - another Wellesley Whole Foods first:


A small kids play area is near the registers and, I presume, where some tables are soon going to be for shoppers to eat prepared foods.


Conclusion

The opening of the Wellesley Whole Foods Market has been highly anticipated. I think people are really going to like it. If you haven't shopped at Whole Foods in the past I'd encourage you to give it a try. As I toured the store I got the sense I'll enjoy shopping here with my family for years to come. It's a nice space they've created and I'm looking forward to seeing the store with its shelves fully stocked and staffed.

The store is offering a sneak preview this Friday, August 19th, 2011 from 8 am to 6 pm. Click here for more information.

They're also holding a "bread breaking" ceremony at 7:30 am right before their 8:00 am grand opening on Monday August 22nd, 2011. The first 500 shoppers get a reusable Whole Foods shopping bag. More info on their website.

Wellesley doesn't allow wine to be sold at retail. Even if the town did allow it, the state currently allows a maximum three liquor licenses per retailer. Check here for a list of grocery stores in MA that do sell wine. 

Check 'em Out:
Whole Foods Market Wellesley
442 Washington Street
Wellesley, MA
Hours: 7 am - 10 pm daily (except holidays)
@wfmwellesley
On Facebook

Further Reading from Casa Dwyer:
A Fresh Look at Wellesley's Whole Foods Market


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/AL1gfxfRK4o/inside-bread-whole-foods-to-open-new.html

Malin Akerman Mandy Moore Maria Bello Maria Menounos

2009 California Pinot Noir: Best Vintage Ever?

Wine Spectator called the 2007 California Pinot Noir vintage the "best ever". Now there's talk 2009 might be even better than 2007. The skeptic in me is starting to think this is like Bordeaux where a vintage of the century comes around three out of five years, but the reality is Pinot Noir consumption outpaces all other varieties combined around here so I'm paying attention to the accolades and buying 2009 California Pinot Noir. Although Oregon's Willamette Valley has a reputation for being the home of domestic Pinot Noir, all things considered I prefer the options available from California.

It's mostly because south of $30 I've had better luck with California Pinot Noir. Many of the lower-end bottlings from Oregon I've tried fall flat on the mid-palate and are accompanied by a green/stemmy aftertaste that sometimes dominates the flavor profile. It's not to say that there aren't fantastic Oregon Pinot Noirs. Far from it. But of the wines available in Massachusetts it seems like you have to spend north of $40 to find an outstanding bottle.

And that's not the case with California Pinot Noir. While it's not easy to find a great California Pinot Noir for around $25, higher production levels and wider distribution do make it possible.

If you search Wine Spectator's tasting notes for 90+ point Pinot Noir made in the US since 2006 costing less than $20 you'll find 5 wines. Two of them were made by Siduri (their 2007 Sonoma County and 2007 Willamette Valley).

As we look at early ratings for 2009s, three wines from Siduri again stand out: The 2009 Siduri Russian River Valley Pinot Noir (91WS/$29), the 2009 Siduri Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir (also 91WS/$29), and the 2009 Siduri Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir (92WS/$29).

I tried the 2009 Russian River Valley a while back and was unimpressed. I thought it was a little over-ripe and hot at points. I'd rate it 87 points. This left me a little "spooked" until I tried the 2009 Santa Lucia Highlands at the Wine Spectator event in Boston a while back. It showed quite well so I tracked down a bottle to try. I'm glad I did.

The 2009 Siduri Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir is a powerful and focused wine with classic California Pinot Noir markings. It's generously fruit-forward with primarily black cherry notes but refrains from straying into over-ripe territory - at least for my palate. It finishes clean with just the slightest bit of heat on the backend. Overall an outstanding wine. I'll go along with Spectator's rating on this one: 92 points WWP.

I think it's one to check out, especially if you can find it for less than $25. It's also trending a point or two higher than the 09 Siduri Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast bottlings on CellarTracker. A terrific example of outstanding California Pinot Noir and an insightful window into the 2009 California vintage.

Check it out:
Siduri website
2009 Siduri Santa Lucia Highlands on CellarTracker
2009 Siduri Santa Lucia Highlands on Wine-Searcher.com

I have more 2009 California Pinot Noir recommendations coming up, and a deeper analysis of the 2009 vintage. I'd love it if you subscribed to the site so we can keep in touch.

Question of the Day: What are your impressions of 2009 California Pinot Noir? Which producers are you buying from?


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/RdgHORQkJLM/2009-california-pinot-noir-best-vintage.html

Leelee Sobieski Leighton Meester Leila Arcieri Lena Headey

Wine and Providing a Glaring Glimpse of the Obvious

The UK's Daily Telegraph reports on a study that delivers the astounding conclusion that folks often drink to relieve stress. This revelation might be best filed in the "Tell Me Something I Don't Know" category. Conducted by "DrinkAware", a UK-based...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FermentationTheDailyWineBlog/~3/Px_hfa7UGQo/wine-and-providing-a-glaring-glimpse-of-the-obvious.html

Melissa Joan Hart Melissa Rycroft Melissa Sagemiller Mena Suvari

Mollydooker:  A Left-handed Punch in the Gut or Not?

Within the span of 24-hours this past weekend, I had a conversation with an Australian wine marketing representative who described her role as, “The toughest job in the wine business,” and word spread about a wee wine accident Down Under.

In a story that was picked up by Time, CNN, MSNBC, Huffington Post and most major news outlets, it seems 461 cases of a 462 case parcel of the 2010 Mollydooker “Velvet Glove” Shiraz destined for the U.S. was dropped by a forklift while loading a container, creating broken bottles and, at the least, damage to the bespoke bottles with a velvet label and a $185 per bottle price tag.

Initial news reports were quick to point out that the wine was insured. 

I was in the company of wine writer’s this past weekend and they pondered whether this massive wine spill was actually a bad thing—the Mollydooker wines having a certain reputation for their over-the-top blowsy style favored by Parker and Wine Spectator who reviewed the 2009 vintage with scores of 97 and 96, respectively.

On Monday, July 25th the winery issued its own press release answering some “whys and wherefores” in how the accident happened after news reports were largely based on the scant original reporting from the Associated Press.

Yet, interestingly, Decanter.com subsequently reported that the winery press release with the headline, “Years of Tears and Sweat and More Than $1 Million Worth of Fine Wine Go Down the Drain” was rescinded and replaced with another press release titled, “Years of Love and Care, and More Than $1 Million Worth of Fine Wine, Go Down the Drain.”

If you’re ever curious about what happens when a press release is pulled online go ahead and search for the first headline I mentioned and you’ll see pages and pages of empty pages from syndicated press releases that serve as content for news sites.

Aside from the curiosity of all of this – broken bottles and the vagaries of press release headlines—the reality remains that this is probably the best thing that could possibly happen for Mollydooker and their “Velvet Glove” brand.  With an insurance policy, millions and millions of dollars of free press and the not inconsequential fact that despite its incredible critical scores, the 2009 wine (called a “Cult” wine by some) is largely available in the U.S. with plummeting pricing, winery owners Sarah and Sparky Marquis should be just fine despite the quote from Sparky where he noted, “This wine is our pride and joy, so to see it accidentally destroyed, and not consumed, has left us all a bit numb.”

Wine-Searcher tells a more interesting story.  The below graph illustrates the drop in price at U.S. retail over the last 12 months, which is decidedly, non-“cult-ish.”

image

To respond to the rhetorical statement from my new Australian wine marketing friend who described her job as, “The toughest job in the wine business,” I would say:  The toughest job in the wine business is convincing a retailer to buy the 2010 Velvet Glove when the 2009 with insanely good ratings is still widely available below suggested retail price.

While the Marquis’ may be “numb” and crying over spilled wine, U.S. wine retailers are crying over dead inventory and there’s no insurance for that.

Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/mollydooker_a_left-handed_punch_in_the_gut_or_not/

Katharine McPhee Katharine Towne Katherine Heigl Katie Cassidy