Disney has decided not to sell wine based on Ratatouille. The plan was to sell the wine at Costco. Unfortunately, people felt that the use of a cartoon character might appeal to children. Apparently, that's against the law, go figure! I guess we'll never see that Monsters Inc. Cabernet.

Labels: News

// posted by Steve @ 7:54 PM 0 comments

This was an excellent Cabernet from from San Luis Obispo County. We got it for $12 at the grocery store. It started out a little tight but after we let it sit in the glass for a while and open up, it was pretty darn good. I'm giving this one a rating of Share It, and unless your neighbors are wine snobs, they'll be impressed.

Labels: Caberent Sauvignon, Share It

// posted by Steve @ 8:13 PM 0 comments

A nice little Syrah from Mendocino that you can get at the grocery store for around $12. I'm calling this one a  weeknight wine but it's still pretty darn good. Sue and I were very surprised and in fact we picked up a second bottle on a subsequent trip to the grocery store.

Labels: Syrah, Weeknight

// posted by Steve @ 8:10 PM 0 comments

We need a rating system here at VinoStory. I'm not having any of this Robert Parker, Wine Spectator numeric stuff. I thought about using the Department of Homeland Security's Threat Level but that's just too confusing. I'm all about simplicity. Either it's good or it's not. So here we go:

• Dump It - don't even soil you precious palate with this swill.
• Cook With It - not good enough to drink but you could use it to make pot roast. All you Frugal Gourmets can look elsewhere, I'll still cook with the cheap stuff.
• Drink It on a Weeknight - Not bad, if you need a little Wednesday relaxation, this fits the bill.
• Drink It on a Weekend - Save this for a quiet Saturday with that special someone.
• Share It - Good enough to impress the neighbors.
• Hoard It - Too good for the neighbors, keep this for yourself.

Why not just call it a 0 to 5 scale? Because that's no fun plus math is hard (especially after a couple glasses of wine). What do you think? Leave a comment and we'll use the system for our future reviews.

// posted by Steve @ 6:06 PM 0 comments

Well maybe not, but he hates what it does to your teeth. The acid in wine (and soda and lots of other stuff) is bad for the enamel that protects your teeth. Modern chemistry to the rescue! Sensodyne ProNamel can help (or so they claim). The Canadians love it so it can't be all bad. While we're not Canadian, we've also been using it. Sue loves it and it's really helped with the sensitivity of my crowns. Plus any toothpaste with a wine glass on the box has to be good!

// posted by Steve @ 12:41 PM 0 comments

Wow, just wow. Sue bought me two bottles of this last Christmas and what a gift they turned out to be. We still have one left that we're laying down for a while. For those who may not know, Caduceus is a vineyard in Arizona and is owned by Maynard James Keenan, singer of Tool. Once in a while Sue and I open a bottle and after that first sip we look at each other with that knowing smile. It's that smile that says we both know without saying a word that we've found something special. An excellent bottle, very big. We loved it.

By the way, Maynard has a blog on Wine Spectator, check it out.

// posted by Steve @ 8:02 PM 2 comments

Time to get back to the business of writing about wine and what it brings to our lives. Maybe a little side trip for food once in a while. It's been a while, traveling for a living and working on an MBA tends to suck up your time. Plus there's that whole family thing. But hey, you came to read about wine, not here me bitch and moan. So let's get back to business. Drinking wine is my business and business is good!

// posted by Steve @ 7:49 PM 0 comments