The Wine Commonsewer™

1992 Beringer Meritage, Knights Valley

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

An old friend had given me a bottle of 1992 Knights Valley Meritage many years ago. Any Knights Valley wine is almost a penchant we share, definitely something that we both enjoy, and on those infrequent times that we are able to break bread and share wine, a Knights Valley is often what ends up on the table.

My original intent was to drink a bottle of Tuesday night wine tonight, after all, the night isn't particularly special. It's been scorching and I had just given The Boy another lesson in the manly art of changing oil. While rooting through the inexpensive wine on the rack, I happened upon this bottle.

I'm like: WTH? Why isn't this in the wine fridge?

Then I'm like: OMIGOD! I hope this isn't spoiled! I gotta drink this now. Suffice it to say that I've had some bad luck lately with keeping older wines too long.

Not so with this. It is outstanding and at 21 years of age, surprisingly, it still has life left in it. You buy it today and it will cost you a C-note and a Jackson to boot.

The wine is, of course, very dry with a subdued, aromatic nose of cherries, leather, tobacco, and dark fruit. It is smooth on the palate and retains some tannins, dark fruit, and an earthy finish.

A lovely and enexpected treat for a Sunday night in the heat (that rhymes). Mrs TWC better get back here with the House Blond pretty quick or she's gonna.....let's see, how did we used to phrase that? She's gonna be S.O.L. I mean, she's gonna miss out.

As Ever,

TWC

Heat Wave

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Hot and clear tonight. Los Angeles on the left. Berdoo on the far right. James & Raphael's house at the edge of South Pasadena, center left. Mt Baldy 90% right. Lake Mathews, foreground. Taken from the upstairs deck.

As Always,

TWC

Straw Bottle Red, Thin Crust, Pepperoncini

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

I don't eat much pizza, but I do like a little thin crust works now and again. And a little pepperoncini with every bite? Heaven.

The wine is a Bottaro red table wine and it comes in a nice retro-lookin' straw bottle with a long, twisty neck. The closure is cork, as it should be. Otherwise why would God have planted all those cork oak trees in Portugal?

The wine is deep purple in the glass and dry as a bone. It isn't going to knock your socks off, but it is much better than most house wines by the glass, and certainly better than the harsh, straw-bottle plonk that the Italians were shipping over here by the boatload in the days of my vagrant yoot. Best of all, it's about $7.00 American money, which makes it a fifty percenter. I like it, you might like it too.

Bonus: The bottle is cool, stick a candle in it, let the wax drip for weeks on end, and, voila! A hippie candle wine bottle. Yes, we thought these were cool. Laurie Hawkins had some awesome straw bottle candles.

You can buy an empty bottle on Ebay for more than a full bottle cost. Go figure.

As Ever,

TWC