In the News - Wine Blog from The International Wine of the Month Club

Summer’s Best Wines: Beyond Chardonnay

June 18, 2018 by Don Lahey

Summer’s best wines are typically the ones in my glass, and yours, too, I hope. That’s at least the way it should be, but how to find the best summertime wines is a matter of preference and each wine lover’s ultimate quest for summer’s ideal wine.

Chardonnay comes to many people’s minds by default as Chardonnay is the most cultivated white grape variety worldwide, but there are so many more great summertime wines from which to choose. Sauvignon Blanc with its crisp, herbal edge and refreshing acidity gets two thumbs up. And why not consider Sauvignon Gris, the darker skinned, rounder, more aromatic relative of Sauvignon Blanc? Chile fashions exciting Sauvignon Gris, with Casa Silva and Cousino Macul two of the finest producers of the varietal.

Bordeaux offers a dizzying array of pleasurable summertime drinking, too, with white wines from 100% Sauvignon Blanc to blends containing Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle. Chenin Blanc also deserves serious consideration as a summertime favorite. Vouvray Sec, the quintessential dry Chenin Blanc, from France’s Loire Valley, makes a wonderful warm weather companion. Racauderie Gautier and Vigneau-Chevreau are two reliable high quality Vouvray producers, though South Africa also fashions first rate Chenin Blanc. The newly released Rustenberg Stellenbosch Chenin Blanc strikes me as an especially fine, affordable version of South Africa’s premier white grape.

Torrontes, Argentina’s flagship white varietal, offers more exciting summer drinking, especially if one enjoys pronounced aromatics and a touch of exotica in a wine. Areyna from the mountains of Argentina crafts an aromatic, well-balanced Torrontes that can be enjoined with or without food.

Some other summertime favorites include beautiful crisp Italian white wines such as Gavi and Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Massone’s San Cristoforo Gavi and Le Calcinaie’s Vernaccia di San Gimignano constitute perennial favorites because of their fresh natural flavors, which quench the thirst, please the palate, and refresh the soul. And what would summer be like without an invigorating glass of Provençal rosé? Not a very good summer at all. I think I will pour myself a glass of Domaine Blaïs Côtes de Provence Rosé and think about my next favorite best summer wine, the one in my glass. Enjoy!

Mantelligence Awards Our Bold Reds Club

November 17, 2017 by International Wine of the Month Club

It’s always fun to get recognized! We’re excited to announce that our Bold Reds club has been chosen as the #2 wine club in America by the online men’s lifestyle magazine, Mantelligence.

Mantelligence pointed to our rigorous selection process and high quality wine selections as key differentiators between us and the competition. Check out Mantelligence’s review of our New Bold Reds wine of the month club.

Happy Anniversary to The International Wine of the Month Club’s Bold Reds Wine Club: Come Celebrate With Us!

October 18, 2017 by Don Lahey

The International Wine of the Month Club’s Bold Reds Wine Club celebrates its first birthday this month. We launched this club in October 2016 and thanks to the overwhelmingly positive response, The Bold Reds Wine Club has become a resounding success and continues to grow. To all of our members who have enjoyed the special selections in the Bold Reds club, we say a heartfelt thank you! To all who enjoy bold red wines and have not yet sampled these richly flavored world-class red wines, we invite you to celebrate with us with an International Wine of the Month Club Bold Reds membership. Here is what the Bold Reds club is all about.

The Bold Reds Wine Club features medium to full-bodied red wines of deep color and robust flavors from around the globe. Although delicacy and charm are admirable attributes in wines, many red wine drinkers crave the rich, complex flavors that only bold red wines can offer – wines of pronounced varietal character, as alcohol alone does not make a bold red wine: rich fruit flavors, pronounced ripe tannins, well-integrated oak tones from the right amount of barrel ageing, and the deft hand of a skilled winemaker in the finest of vintages yields bold reds worthy to be sent to members of The International Wine of the Month Club’s Bold Reds club. Full-bodied California Cabernets brimming with varietal character, single vineyard red Zinfandels, sublime Priorats and splendid Ribera del Dueros from Spain, Châteauneuf-du-Papes and flavor-packed Grenache offerings from Languedoc and the Rhône Valley, as well as highly acclaimed Carmenères, Cabernets and Malbec blends from South America are just some of the superb bold red wines you can expect to receive each month from our Bold Reds club. And on occasion, members may even receive an award winning, full-bodied Pinot Noir from Napa Valley’s Carneros district.

Some of this year’s bold reds include the award winning 2013 Obsidian Ridge Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon, Priorats from Galena and Pasanau, two of the formidable Priorat appellation’s most renowned producers, the newly released 2014 Chapel Hill McLaren Vale Shiraz, and the extremely limited production and a once in a lifetime offering of the 2012 Intuicion Solo Una Vez, a bold, beautiful blend of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Our upcoming November and December Bold Reds club will feature equally exciting wines: the 2012 Fore Family Vineyards Carneros Napa Valley Pinot Noir, a Pinot Noir of extraordinary richness, complexity and structure worthy enough to be a Bold Red, and the outstanding soon to be released 2015 Domaine du Grand Tinel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Come celebrate our first anniversary with us with a glass of bold red wine from The International Wine of the Month Club.

Salud!
Don

Stellenbosch: South Africa’s Rising Star

September 29, 2017 by Don Lahey

South Africa has had a thriving wine industry since the 17^th century, but there has never been a better time to discover South African wines than now. Quality and innovation push the envelope and values abound. And nowhere in South Africa is this truer than in the much heralded winelands of Stellenbosch.

Located on the Western Cape less than an hour north of Cape Town, the picture-postcard town of Stellenbosch and the surrounding mountains form a dramatic backdrop for what has justly been heralded as the most beautiful wine country in the world. Although some may try to refute that claim and promote the various picturesque merits of other world-renowned wine regions, what is not in question is the integral role Stellenbosch has played for more than three centuries in the formation of South African wine. Yes, the South African wine industry is that old; it dates back to the second half of the 17^th century. Not only is Stellenbosch South Africa’s oldest and most important wine producing region, it is the finest region for red and white wines on the African continent. It is South Africa’s Napa, Sonoma, and Santa Barbara counties, along with more than a few touches of France. It contains a myriad of microclimates, which allows for the cultivation of an enormous number of grape varieties. Consequently, Stellenbosch is responsible for high quality red and white wines from a host of varietals that include Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Viognier, and South Africa’s unique varietal, Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault. From wineries in Stellenbosch old and new flow an enormous variety of wines that are world class and wholly unique in character. So don’t wait to discover the unique, incredibly flavorful wines of Stellenbosch – South Africa’s rising wine star and the world’s most beautiful wine land.

Salud!
Don

Caps vs. Corks Revisited

July 21, 2017 by Don Lahey

Fifteen years ago I wrote a piece called “To Screw or Unscrew the Cap,” which chronicled my journey from ardent detractor of the screw cap to stalwart supporter. My change of heart, though it would be more accurate to say change of mind or palate, came about not from any sense of aesthetic appeal on the part of the cap but from the simple fact that caps consistently do their job well. In fact, the screw cap does its job better than cork. This fact has hit home more times than I care to remember, and I find the reminder especially poignant after opening a special bottle of wine that had lain comfortably in my cellar for a number of years, only to open it and discover that the wine is corked. Those special bottles I had saved for some monumental occasion or another were completely undrinkable. The wine didn’t start life corked, nor did the winemaker make a mistake or the temperature control in the cellar fail. The wine was sound when it entered the bottle, but the cork was not. The cork was infected with TCA (trichloroanisole), which is found naturally in the bark of some cork oak or is formed by a chemical reaction of phenols (organic compounds found in grapes, corks, and other plant matter) with mold spores. TCA can also be activated by chlorine. Although harmless, TCA can render a wine totally undrinkable (which was the case with my special bottles) or it can impart only a slight mustiness or muted flavor to wine. In either case, the pleasure is gone.

So what does one do with a seriously corked bottle? If it is a recent purchase, I suggest you return it to your merchant and request a replacement. Otherwise, you pour it down the drain as I have sadly done on more than one occasion, including a fine bottle of Chateaux Margaux. TCA afflicts the rich and poor alike, an equal opportunity nemesis to expensive and inexpensive wines unless the wine is closed with a screw cap. Corked bottles are happily becoming increasingly rare, but they do still occur. I don’t love the aesthetic appeal of the cap, and I miss the sound of good cork exiting a bottle, but I don’t miss corked bottles. Consequently, I say “bring on the screw caps!” They may not be gorgeous or romantic, but they allow wine to come to my table and yours just the way the winemaker had intended, so let’s not be snobbish about what encloses our wines because what is in the bottle and our glasses are all that matter. Besides, many of the world’s finest and most expensive wines now come with a cap.

Sauld!
Don

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