The Wine Commonsewer™

2009 Dona Paula Los Cardos Malbec

See the Italian wine section for prime deals.

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

TWC is a big fan of Malbecs, particularly those from Argentina, which represent the latest trend in global wine values. Sure, Argentine Malbecs have been a bargain for several years, but 2011 sales in the US soared, up a remarkable 46%.

Wine drinkers have discovered that Malbecs are comfortable with upscale or casual and can easily sub in for more expensive big red wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon.

I don't recall that earlier incarnations of Dona Paula Los Cardos Malbec came with a screw top. Y'all know how I am about screwtop wine. If God wanted screwcaps on wine bottles he wouldn't have planted all those cork oak trees in Portugal. It is just that simple.

Los Cardos means: The Thistle. The presence of the thistle, with its striking flowers and sharp thorns, is thought to signify an ideal soil for wine grapes. It is a high elevation vineyard (3200-3400 feet) producing a low yield of intensely flavorful fruit. Naturally (heh) these guys are on the eco-wagon and pride themselves on their earth-friendly vineyard management.

Once you get past the screwcap, you'll find that this under-ten-dollar (US) Malbec is intense. A big wine, deep ruby running to purple in color. The aromas are red and black fruit with a little bit of spice and tobacco. The wine is smokey with earthy herb notes on the palate.

The wine rates a 15 on TWC's Standardized Wine Price/Value Ratio® scale, meaning the price is pretty good relative to the enjoyment you can expect from it. 

Salud!

As Always,

TWC

I Need Glasses

 

Happy Mundane Morning

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Gah! I love this.

Happy Mundane.

As Ever,

TWC

Tip of the glass to Mike and Teresa

Wine Cork Garden Markers

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Ever wonder what to do with that growing pile of corks? My stash is growing at a steady rate of seven per week.

For years TWC donated his corks to local school teachers to use in the fine art of encouraging HS students to stay awake during lectures. A wine cork strategically bounced off a snoozing slacker's forehead doesn't leave any evidence but it does get their attention. Unfortunately, wine corks have been banned from public school because they contain traces of alcohol.

Whole story here.

UPDATE: Broken link fixed. Many thanks to those who emailed. :-)

As Ever,

TWC

Tip of the glass to Mrs TWC

California Drones On

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

California is desperate for cash and as the statute of limitations for tax year 2007 expires on April 15, a rash of demand letters is unleashed on the tax paying public demanding that self-employed taxpayers, who have filed a timely return, file a business tax return.

Many of these have no basis in fact and the tax agency could easily verify that John Q Taxpayer is a sole-proprietor, filed his return, and is not incorporated, not a partnership, and not an LLC.

Like flinging dung at the outhouse wall in hopes some may stick, the tax drones waste precious state resources, scaring the crap out of innocent people, wasting taxpayer's and accountant's time, without any regard for the fact that the three weeks from now until April 15 are the busiest time in the accounting world.

Yet another example of why California is circling the drain. Yes I used that same metaphor to describe Mayor Bloomberg's policy of starving the homeless in New York because donated food might have too much salt in it.

As Always,

TWC

2004 Schug Heritage Reserve Merlot

Buy wine, buy spirits online today!

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Wine Enthusiast dropped 90 points on this Carneros Merlot. Carneros is an appellation that includes portions of Sonoma and Napa Valleys.

Walter Schug still oversees the winemaking operations and as the creator of America's first Bordeaux style red wine, the legendary Joseph Phelps Insignia, his bona fides are impeccable.

That said, we would expect the Merlot to be a very good wine, and it is. A very good, ninety point wine, which is priced accordingly. The wine retails between $35.00 and $60.00, considerably more if you find it on the wine list at a fine eating establishment. 

The question then becomes: Is the Schug Merlot enough better than other comparable wines to warrant the rather steep price tag? Perhaps it is, but I am not certain of that, which is why I have to assign price/value score of -35 on TWC's Standardized Wine Price/Value Ratio® scale.

Put simply, the Schug sells for  approximately 35% more than several other well-crafted Merlots. I understand markets and demand curves. Sometimes it is better to sell fewer bottles and net the same bottom line. And if that works? Hey, this is America and we still have a relatively free market economy. At least in wines. But at the same time, I have to point out that there are quite a few excellent Merlots in the twenty dollar range. 

 

Winemaker's Notes:

Our “Heritage Reserve” Merlot features the Sangiacomo family’s “Donnell Ranch” in Carneros, just a stone’s throw north of our own Schug Estate vineyard. This vineyard teams up with the Ricci vineyard in Carneros to show what cool-climate Merlot is all about. The extremely long, cool Carneros growing season allows the fruit to ripen slowly developing maximum varietal character and depth of flavor while retaining bright acidity. It has a smoky, ripe cherry bouquet with hints of roasted coffee, a deep color and full-bodied flavors of cherry, cassis and chocolate. Try it now with lamb, duck and rich cheeses, or age it for 5 to 7 years.

Salud!

As Ever,

TWC

The Vernal Equinox

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Been a little chilly around the southland after that arctic storm roared through here over the weekend. We had frost warnings last night. Guess spring ain't really sprung. At least not here. 

INSTALLING SPRING...
███████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 44% DONE.
Install delayed....please wait.
Installation failed. Please try again. 404 error: Season not found. Season "Spring" cannot be located. The season you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. Please try again

We were driving back from Phonics, via Wickenberg on US 60, during much of that storm. It was pretty awesome. I got sleeted at, hailed on, brutalized by pouring rain, then the storm cleared for a while and we could see the snow capped San Francisco Peaks over by Flagstaff. Later we hit sand and dust storms going through Desert Center, and then more driving rain, which washed the remnants of the sand-blasted paint off the front fenders. :-) Not really, JK about the sandblasted paint, though I'm pretty sure it did happen to Andy Anderson after a long, circuitous sales trip to the midwest.

As Always,

TWC

Rob Higgs Corkscrew & Wine Pouring Device

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Like Bluto, this is large. Reportedly, it is the world's largest corkscrew.

Christmas is coming and TWC wants one of these Goldberg-esque contraptions.

 

As Always,

TWC

Tip of the glass to David F

First Spring Iris

 

photo credit: TWC 03-11-12 ©

 

Rage Against the Changing of the Light

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

The Los Angeles Times asked: Daylight saving time: What if it's all a big fat waste of time?

There isn't any question that DST *is* absolutely a big fat waste of time. Americans do not use electricity in the same way they did when I was a kid. Flat screen TV's have replaced low energy AM radios, and televisions never rest, blaring day and night, often competing for our attention from several different rooms in the house.

In 1950, windows were kept open, or closed, as a hedge against the oppressive summer heat and humidity. Today, air conditioning use is connected to temperature and controlled by thermostat, and it doesn't shut off because it's still daylight at 8:00 at night. Incandescent bulbs, radio tubes, and electric fans are orders of magnitude less energy intensive than a/c and plasma screens. Whatever time the sun sets on modern America is only nominally related to energy consumption.

 

 

SIDEBAR: This is TWC's favorite antique clock. In the days of my vagrant yoot there was one just like this hanging on the wall of the Yucca Cafe (incorporated December 2, 1954), just east of the railroad tracks, in Lungcancer, Ca. Though it served a lot of cheeseburgers (dill pickle on the side with a bag of chips), the last I looked it was a dirt bike shop specializing in Kawasakis.

Seven years ago, GWB and the GOP CONgress inflicted DST upon us for several additional weeks, which begins this morning and stretches until early November. Come Monday morning, it will be pitch black when I drag my kids off to school at 6:45 AM. If one needs a flashlight to find the truck, will the sun ever come up in Seattle?

Like everything else about DC, the illusion of doing *something* about any given problem is the entire point. Whether the problem is resolved, or not, is immaterial. And so it is that we are stuck with a dinosaur, the albatross of DST, which outlived its usefulness many decades ago, yet it affects a greater portion of our lives than it ever has. That is how politcos think, my friends. 

As Ever,

TWC

Tip of the glass to Steve V