We received two letters in the mail today. The first was to inform us that Josh and Mary Beth had decided to sell Lazy Creek Vineyards. The second was from the new owners Don and Rhonda. It's sad to see the old owners leaving. Josh was very friendly and accommodating on our one and only trip to the vineyard. Sue and I fell in love with the place. We've enjoyed the wines thoroughly over the last few years. I hope Josh and Mary Beth (and Hans and Theresia) find happiness in whatever endeavor they take on next. I also wish Don and Rhonda nothing but good luck (get to work on that 2006 Syrah!). We intend to stick with the club for the time being. Who knows, sometimes change can be a good thing.

// posted by Steve @ 6:30 PM 0 comments

As you board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship there is one important decision you must make almost immediately: do you want the Wine & Dine Package? Essentially, you pay a set amount up front and are allowed to choose bottles from a pre-set list of wines. We purchased the 7 bottle Diamond Package which meant we had a bottle every night with dinner. The $217.35 package works out to $31.05 a bottle which, for the most part, saved us five or six bucks on something we probably would have ordered anyway. The list is available here and is fairly limited but, we still managed to find a few favorites. For example, the 2006 Arboleda Carmenere was $36 when ordered off the menu so, our savings was just shy of five dollars. Of course, at retail, it's about $16 (yikes!) so, set your expectations accordingly.

// posted by Steve @ 1:25 PM 0 comments

For women anyway. According to a recently released study, women who drank wine regularly suffered from a lower frequency of dementia. I'm not sure if the same applies to men but, I think I'll have a glass (or two) just to be on the safe side.

// posted by Steve @ 7:45 PM 0 comments

According to this article, scientists have determined that people perceive more expensive wines to be better even when they are secretly being given the cheap stuff. I think this is human nature. That can of generic cream corn just doesn't taste quite as good as the name brand stuff.

// posted by Steve @ 9:42 AM 0 comments

Today is the day the Eighteenth Amendment (National Prohibition in the U.S.) was officially repealed way back in 1933.  74 years and we're still fighting about how wine should be shipped to consumers and I still can't buy a bottle of wine at the grocery store before noon on a Sunday. Even worse, when I travel to Maryland, I can't buy a bottle of wine at the grocery store ever! Oh well, raise a glass tonight and toast our friend the Twenty-First Amendment.

// posted by Steve @ 6:24 AM 0 comments

Wine Spectator's Top 100 list for 2007 is available on their web site. No big surprises but, it was nice to see Navarro from Mendocino and Argyle from the Willamette Valley on the last. Congratulations to all those who made the last. Happy hunting to wine drinkers trying to find the winners.

// posted by Steve @ 8:17 AM 0 comments

Alcohol-free wine gives you some of the taste with about a third of the calories. As an added bonus, you also get the health benefits of drinking wine. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that while this wine may in fact save you some calories, it probably won't save your sanity. But, if you're pregnant, the designated driver, or just don't want to imbibe, this is probably a great alternative. I'd be curious to hear from anyone who has tried this or has an opinion on it.

// posted by Steve @ 8:13 AM 1 comments

In my limited experience, mergers don't normally turn out very well for anyone but the executives whose bonuses depend on them. I've especially known this to be the case in the wine industry. Today, Constellation Brands (the world's biggest wine maker) announced that they are purchasing Clos du Bois, Gary Farrell, Geyser Peak, Wild Horse, and Buena Vista. We've visited more than one of those vineyards, and they're lovely places. So, why do I say this is a bad thing? I can't help but hang my head as I recall a beautiful place we discovered by accident in Napa called Folie a Deux. They made some outstanding Zinfandel and had this quaint little yellow farm house on the property that served as their tasting room. A great memory from our first trip to Napa. Then in 2004, Folie a Deux was purchased by Trinchero. Down came the farm house and the rest of the buildings on the property to make way for a fancy new tasting room for Trinchero. A real shame. We soon after quit the Folie club as the quality just wasn't there anymore. I'd hate to imagine that wine is headed the way of banks, media, and many other industries where enourmous conglomerates force choices on consumers.

// posted by Steve @ 2:57 PM 0 comments