Don Lahey, Author at Wine Blog from The International Wine of the Month Club

Don’s September Premier Series Top Pick

September 22, 2014 by Don Lahey

This month offers four exciting wines from four different countries: Australia, Chile, Italy and New Zealand. To my palate, each of the wines this month makes a compelling case for Top Pick because “there ain’t a dog in the bunch,” as the old saying goes. For starters, Mount Fishtail’s 2013 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc comes across as more than a cut above your typical New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. It’s received well-deserved accolades from the Wine Enthusiast, too, and it earned a top spot on the magazine’s list of Top Ten Best Buy New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, so believe me, this Sauvignon Blanc is no pretender.

Bisci’s 2013 Verdicchio di Matelica is another winner. I have always loved this wine for its elegance and depth of flavor. Frankly, Verdicchio doesn’t get any better than Bisci, and the 2013 from Bisci can charm a crowd. And then there are the reds. Casas del Bosque’s 2012 Reserva Carmenère is simply delicious. A better wine for the money would be hard to find. Besides, I love Carmenère and everywhere I have shown this wine, it is the first wine to disappear off the tasting table. It’s hard to argue with personal preference or success. And we still have Tait’s 2012 Wild Ride to consider, a smooth satisfying Shiraz, Grenache, Mataro blend that over delivers in every way.

So, this month’s Top Pick? Despite some misgivings and a dose of guilt, I have to go with the 2012 Casas del Bosque’s Reserva Carmenère because you can’t argue with preference and success, and as cooler weather is around the corner, I tend to drink more reds. Moreover, this Carmenère truly merits the 90 point score it received from Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar and then some. Enjoy!

Salud!
Don

How to recycle wine corks?

September 12, 2014 by Don Lahey

As someone who has spent his entire career in wine, popping hundred of corks a week, I figured out a long ago that wine corks readily serve more than one purpose. Why throw away a good wine cork? Here are a few suggestions for recycling wine corks. With a little imagination I am sure you can come up with more.

Cork floats. Attach a wine cork to a key chain. Keys don’t float as many bathers and boaters have come to find out the hard way, unless they are attached to a cork.

Make a cork wreath and decorate the wreath with the appropriate holiday regalia: bows flowers, fruit, holly etc.

Make cork figures and ornaments using small finishing nails to keep the corks together. Angels, rocking horses, and just about any figure you want can easily be made from corks. Glue the desired regalia onto the figure and another holiday gift is ready present.

Wine corks make great buffers between walls and the metal parts of furniture, especially screws and sharp protrusions. Just screw or push the cork onto the protrusion and stop worrying about scuffs and gouges to your walls.

Create a dart board with your old corks but cutting the corks in half and using the smooth flat insides as the board’s surface.

And after you have exhausted all other recycling efforts, what’s wrong with putting some of the wine corks from your favorite wines on display in a clear glass bowl or vase? The corks will serve as a reminder of the most memorable wines and can be reused to stop an open bottle or container. And if nothing else, the wine cork vase will in time become a conversation piece to regale visiting wine geeks. Better still, you can have some fun with the snooping wine snob by planting a few choice corks.

Salud!
Don

The 10 Things You Need to Know About Wine

August 22, 2014 by Don Lahey

Hardly a day goes by when I’m not asked two questions: What is my favorite wine? And what are the most important things I need to know about wine? The answer to the first question is simple: I don’t have one single favorite wine. In addition, I don’t drink wine that I don’t enjoy, so the wine in my glass is usually my momentary favorite. Now to the second question, and you may be surprised by the response. The 10 things you need to know about wine are these:

• Wine is meant to be enjoyed.
• Wine doesn’t mean much until it’s shared and someone else enjoys it, too, so share.
• You can’t drink a label or a price tag, only the contents in the bottle. All else is snobbery.
• You can’t and shouldn’t try to drink anyone else’s palate. Trust your own but be open to change.
• Most people pay too little or too much for wine.
• Try new and different wines often. Variety is the spice of life and you’ll learn a lot about wine and what you like by experimenting.
• Food and Wine are Fast Friends.
• Pair various wines with the same dish to see which pairings work best.
• Wash wine glasses carefully by hand and drink wine from good thin glassware.
• Read about wine and the world’s wine regions, learn about the varietal connections that link Old and New World wines, and taste and enjoy!

Salute!
Don

Don’s August Collector Series Top Pick

August 19, 2014 by Don Lahey

I like to see producers step out of their comfort zones. I also love white wines from Italy’s Campania, so I am conflicted about this month’s Top Pick. Gabriella Ferrara is one of Campania’s finest wine makers. She makes exquisite Greco di Tufo, Fiano di Avellino and Taurasi working out of what is little more than a garage. She is a strong gracious woman who loves her work, and I love her wine. For this reason, this month’s Top Collector Series Pick goes to Benita Ferrara’s 2012 Greco di Tufo.

Though after we’ve finished the Greco di Tufo, I would love a glass of Pietra Santa’s first Signature Selection Pinot Noir, a beauty of a Pinot, followed by a glass or two of the Mr. Riggs 2011Montepulciano d’Adelaide Hills. Kudos to Ben Riggs for not only stepping out of his comfort zone, but doing so with gusto. This rare limited offering from Ben Riggs is a real beauty. Enjoy!

Salute!
Don

Don’s August Premier Series Top Pick

August 18, 2014 by Don Lahey

Determining this month’s Top Pick really depends upon where I am, how hot it is and what I’m eating, as each of this month’s Premier Series wines shines, but for very different reasons. If I’m indoors and meat is on the menu, my Top Pick has to go to Pietra Santa’s 2010 Cienega Valley Merlot. Why? Because it’s darn near impossible to find Merlot this good for under $30.00 per bottle, and this Pietra Santa Merlot is a winner, so it easily earns my Top Pick.

However, if I am looking for an aperitif or I’m outside at a party, I want something that’s light and gratifying and that would be Raza’s 2013 Vinho Verde. It’s a light deliciously thirst quenching Vinho Verde, one of Portugal’s gifts to the wine drinking world, especially on a hot day, so it gets a nod too. With that said, another of this month’s selections is Gini Soave, one of my personal favorites. The 2013 Gini Soave is another beautiful effort, so no slight intended. The same can be said for Dei’s wonderful 2012 Rosso di Montepulciano. This Rosso is the best in a long series of fine offerings from Dei, the fabulous producer of Vino Nobile. If pasta or almost anything Italian is on the menu, give me the Dei to enjoy!

Salute!
Don

Italy’s Undiscovered Wines

July 25, 2014 by Don Lahey

Italy and its wines never cease to amaze and delight. Even though the Italian peninsula holds more grape varieties (over 2, 700 at last count) than any other country, I am still struck by the quality and seemingly endless array of delicious wines that flow from hundreds of thousands of producers. And yet, many of Italy’s most rewarding and affordable wines remain undiscovered treasures, especially in the United States. This is especially true of wines from family producers in Umbria, Campania and throughout much of southern Italy.

Tiny productions crafted by dedicated family producers may be hard to find in the U.S, but they are here and definitely worth seeking out. Clelia Romana’s 2013 Colle di Lapio Fiano di Avellino and Gabriella Ferrara’s stunning 2013 Greco di Tufo are just two of my favorite Campanian wines. Paired with almost any type of seafood, these two white wines highlight the brilliance of small sustainable winemaking throughout Italy. Both women make tiny amounts of deep rich red wines, too, from the indigenous Aglianico variety. Antonio Caggiano’s delicious Greco, Fiano, Figre (an equal blend of Fiano and Greco) and profound age worthy Taurasi provide great drinking from Campania, too. Iovine’s sparkling red Gragnano from the Sorrento peninsula is another unsung treasure. And from further north in Umbria, Palazzone’s incredible Terre Vineate Orvieto, made from the area’s indigenous vines, continues to make my mouth water. Enjoy!

Salute!
Don!

photo credit: Mike of Surrey via photopin cc

Don’s July Collector Series Top Pick

July 24, 2014 by Don Lahey

July’s Collector Series Top Pick belongs to a Spanish wine. Although choosing July’s Collector Series Top Pick proved to be another tough choice, especially in light of the two outstanding offerings from the great Provencal estate of Chateau Margui, I have to go in favor of Spain’s Terrer d’Aubert. Terrer d’Aubert’s 2010 profound Cabernet Sauvignon from Taragona garners this month’s Top Pick. Why? It’s rare to see Cabernet Sauvignon in Tarragona and such a brilliant Cabernet Sauvignon at that. Deep, lusty and full of everything good about Cabernet, it earns this month’s Top Pick. However, you may not want to like Terrer d’Aubert too much. Only 400 cases made it to our shores, so enjoy this beauty while it lasts.

Salute!
Don

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