Lot18: Schott Zwiesel Forte Burgundy Wine Glasses

Back in 2009, Wine Spectator Senior Editor James Laube wrote a blog post about what he considered the perfect one-size-fits-all everyday wine glass. A Wine Spectator online subscription is required to read the full post, but the glass he highlighted was "the Tritan Burgundy Glass by Schott Zwiesel 'Forte' (model 8465/140)".

Even with the model number, it's a little tricky pinning down the exact glasses he was talking about. Kind of like tracking down a recommendation for a German Riesling with all the precise descriptors on the label - it's challenging. Let's try break it down:

  • Schott Zwiesel is the manufacturer
  • Forte is the line
  • Tritan is the glass technology they use across a number of their lines
  • Burgundy is the shape of the glass
The glass shape (and more importantly the size of the glass with that shape) is where things become most ambiguous. If you look on Amazon.com's listing for these glasses they offer two glass shapes:
  • A "Claret Burgundy" glass which is 24.7-ounce capacity; 8.7-inch tall, 4.4-inch wide
  • A "Burgundy" glass which is 18.3-ounce capacity; 8-inch tall, 4-inch wide
I think you want the larger 24.7-ounce glass, so the Claret Burgundy is the one to get. The smaller glasses are fine, but for me these slightly larger glasses are just right.

Now, if you Google "schott zwiesel 8465/140" the first thing you'll hit is K&L Wine offering these - but the size they quote is 8 5/8" tall, 21.1 oz. capacity. What the heck? That's in between the two sizes offered on Amazon. It's unclear whether there was once one size for Schott Zwiesel's Burgundy glass and they subsequently created a larger and a smaller variant.

At any rate - my point in telling you all this is that Lot18 has these glasses this week.

They're offering six 24.7 ounce Schott Zwiesel Forte Burgundy glasses this week. They confirm (via Twitter) that these are the 140 models you want. $59.99 with $9.99 shipping. Add a second item (wine or whatever they sell) and shipping becomes free.

This may be a good deal if you happen to have some Lot18 referral credits clanging around - especially if you live in a state with tight wine shipping restrictions.

If you're not already signed up with Lot18, use this link for $10 off your first order:

http://www.lot18.com/offer/4350259674689c3fe5501cbde53f42c5/user/1572

Compare the price to what's available on Amazon.com to make sure you're getting a deal:


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/tpy27G6n65I/lot18-schott-zwiesel-forte-burgundy.html

Kirsten Dunst Krista Allen Kristanna Loken Kristen Bell

Berlin Tasting in Copenhagen

Berlin Tasting in Copenhagen" might sound a little confusing? However the Berlin Tasting is a reference to a famous tasting held in Berlin the January 23. 2004. It was held by the Chilean wine producer Eduardo Chadwick from Errazuriz and he had invited 66 wine journalists from all over Europe to taste the best Chadwick wines from Chile against the supernames from Bordeaux and Tuscany. 16 wines were tasted from the vintages 2000 and 2001, among them 2000 Chateau Latour, 2000 Chateau Lafite and 2000 Chateau Margaux.

Source: http://www.wine4freaks.com/37/berlin-tasting-in-copenhagen/

Melissa George Melissa Howard Melissa Joan Hart Melissa Rycroft

WBW 76: Barossa Boomerang

Not too long ago I drank quite a bit of Australian wine, particularly Shiraz. Given that this grape, also known as Syrah, expresses greatness in the Barossa Valley I could not pass an opportunity to revisit this region for this months’ Wine Blogging Wednesday. Our host, Adam from Wine Zag, proposed we look for any [...]

WBW 76: Barossa Boomerang originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/FS8LnHLmfVk/

Laetitia Casta Lake Bell Larissa Meek Laura Harring

Yao Ming Retires

It hasn’t been often that I’ve either written about sports in this space as of late, or frankly updated this blog. That has a lot to do, of course with being largely responsible for writing our official company blog over at Uncorked Ventures. While I certainly enjoy the work, it isn’t easy to write two [...]

Source: http://winewithmark.info/archives/649

Rebecca Romijn Reese Witherspoon Rhona Mitra Rihanna

There?s no future for wine

Try this exercise. Imagine the world in 50 or 100 years. Picture the innovations, the changes to everyday life, and the things that will remain the same. How will life for you or your kids be different? [Maybe have a glass of wine while you think about it, why not?] Here’s a shortcut. Think of [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheWineConversation/~3/6-feNK_xsaI/

Luján Fernández Magdalena Wróbel Maggie Grace Maggie Gyllenhaal

Tasting Report: 2010 Kutch Pinot Noir

With wine, the path of discovery can be as enjoyable as tasting the beverage itself. As enthusiasts we oscillate between depth and breadth: We temporarily stop and dive deep into a category until another region catches our attention.

For me, I've been stuck on California Pinot Noir for a couple years. And it's unclear how long it will be before I come up for air.

Within California Pinot, there seems to be a battle between lean and ripe. Between producing nuanced wines that let the vineyards speak for themselves vs. aiming to produce blockbuster wines. Within this dichotomy, even after reading several articles, it was unclear to me where Kutch Wines fits in.

38 year old Jamie Kutch worked on Wall Street before cashing in and pursuing his dream of producing wine. After being impressed with wines from producers like Kosta Browne and A.P. Vin he reached out to them for guidance - and was welcomed with open arms. A far cry from the competitive financial world he left behind.

He got his start producing wines at Kosta Browne so you'd think his style would run towards ripeness. But you'd be wrong. After producing the 2005 vintage at KB he set out on his own and developed a minimalist philosophy which favors earlier picking. But like Michael Browne he prefers to keep racking -- the transfer of wine from one container to another to remove sediment -- to a minimum. The result can be a tremendous creamy, velvety mouthfeel. But only if you can still produce a wine with good clarity and avoid rotten egg aromas from dead yeast along the way.

When I hear about California producers aiming for balance I sometimes fear they'll go too far. That the wines will be under-ripe and hard to enjoy. My favorite producers find that intersection between pure fruit flavors, the right amount of ripeness, and ultimately find a way to produce a delicious enjoyable glass of wine.

Kutch only produces Pinot Noir from Sonoma at this point. The appelation wines -- from the Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley -- retail for $39. The single vineyard wines sell for $50. But good luck finding them at retail. Considering the modest production levels and the quality here I think these wines a good value.

The best way to buy them is by spending a couple years on their mailing list. I've on the list about a year so far. No dice. Thankfully a friend shared a couple bottles of his recent allocation. Here are my notes on one of their 2010s:

2010 Kutch Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
13.9% Alcohol
240 Cases produced
$39

There's a purity of fruit and freshness here that's tremendously appealing. Light-medium bodied visually with perfectly ripe strawberries dominant and supporting tart cherry notes. It's subtle, but along with mild orange peel notes, supporting herabaceous aromatics and flavors add a perfect touch of earthy compleixty. Not an off note in the bottle. I like this. A lot. A tremendous introduction to the producer.

93/100 WWP: Outstanding

Further Reading:

Hop on the Kutch mailing list by visting http://kutchwines.com


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/F5pgmeW0XQA/tasting-report-2010-kutch-pinot-noir.html

Minki van der Westhuizen Miranda Kerr Mischa Barton Missi Pyle