Some of the Best Names in Fine Wines Come to Florida!

 One of the most respected wine distributors in the metro-Orlando Florida area, presented a tasting of the Bond Estates portfolio including such respected wineries as Melbury, Quella, St. Eden, Vecina, and Pluribus.

 Our customer and friend Keith also has a wine blog where he has a great review of this event!  

As he says;

 “The material covered over the course of the two-hour tasting cannot be effectively covered in a single post. Over the next several posts we will examine why this was such a heralded event; provide details about the winery, the wine owner, and the wines; and provide our impression of the wines based on the tasting and other independent perspectives.”

 So, in the interest of sharing great information about wines,  please make sure you read what he has to say: 

Bond Estates Portfolio Tasting

Bond Estate Tasting: Why the Anticipation?

With more to come!

Thinking about wine cork crafts might be a bit difficult after you’ve just consume a bottle of wine or two, but it is only a matter of time before your post-wine self notices the steadily growing mass of bottles and corks in its possession.  Sadly, though not without reason, most people decide to either toss them or, less regrettably, recycle them (the bottles, at least).  However, amongst all that glass and all those corks rests massive potential for your creative side; and, indeed, wine cork crafts are just the beginning of the artistic journey—but an awesome beginning nonetheless. 

What follows is a short and sweet summary of ways to maximize your wine corks.

Wine Cork Board…A Message Board!

A message board made from wine corks?  You bet!  How cool would it be if you showed up one day to work with this sort of creation in your hands?  The physical makeup of a wine cork is perfect for storing tacks, pins, and anything else that is small and has a sharp point that you need in abundance (hey, let your imagination take you wherever you wish).  When you put enough corks together and frame them accordingly, you have yourself a message board waiting to be used at the home or the office.  Not only is making a wine cork board (aka corkboard) an artistic exercise; it is also a fine example of resourcefulness on your part.

Wine Cork Wreath…?

Wreaths are better when they’re wine cork wreaths (alright, I’m a little biased), and a few examples will serve to bolster this assertion:

They look absolutely amazing don’t they?  Do not overlook the possibility of using your wine corks for the holidays!  Whenever you stare at a wine cork, think about making a wine cork wreath…

More Info about Wine Cork Crafts and Art

All this talk about how great wine cork crafts are leaves one wondering something quite important:  Just how do you do all of this stuff?  Well, fortunately for all of us who wish to make the most out of our wine corks, there are plenty of resources available for just this purpose.  Two great places are http://www.craft-ideas-guide.com and http://www.crafterslovecrafts.com.  After looking over what these wisdom-packed places have to offer your corks, definitely start, or finish, building your supply of them with a few bottles from us.  Our corks will work fabulously with any wine cork crafts you have in mind in the near future.

Wine & Cheese Gifts Baskets: Fun Easy Gifts!

A wine gift basket is a great idea for a holiday gift for just about anyone on your holiday gift lists.  While no one we know would complain about a gift basket of just wine, adding a selection of gourmet cheeses and crackers to the wine is a great way of making your gift basket personable and family friendly!

Customizable, yet Simple Wine & Cheese Gift Baskets

The first thing to determine is who shall be receiving this most excellent gift! A Wine & Cheese gift basket is so popular that you might want to think about making one for more than one loved one on your gift list. They are good for friends, neighbors, co-workers and make great corporate gifts too. So before you buy the supplies, plan it through.

More than a Gift Basket

While the term Gift Basket implies a real basket, do not feel limited to that! A sturdy wooden box, or collectable antique crate will also do well.  You can get a nice new willow or twig basket in a craft  or hobby story  like Michael’s Crafts or pick up one from an import store like Pier One. On a budget? Try a handsome holiday decorative gift bag for just a few dollars. Bottom line, the basket is not the gift, only the receptacle to hold it all in place.

Choose the Wine for the Gift

This part is so easy! Because every wine sold at Wine on the Way is rated 90 points and above, you are guaranteed that the recipient of the gift will fully enjoy what every you select. Here’s the place, however, where you might want to think of a theme.  You can go classic with a Cabernet and Chardonnay or maybe stick with a region for your selection?  Think of French wines with French cheeses and a crusty banquette or Italian wines themed with the makings of lasagna with fine parmesan and fresh buffalo Mozzarella.  No one said that wine and cheese has to be chedder and crackers!

Maybe your gift is going to a very knowledgeable wine lover? Then try a tasting basket with three or more bottles of the same varietals. Add a gift from our wine lovers gift list and bask in the thank yous you shall receive!

Focus on Romance by adding chocolates, a pair of wine glasses, a bottle of fine champagne like the Roederer and this wine gift basket is not just holiday themed, but can be used for a wedding, anniversary or Valentine’s Day gift!

Putting your Wine & Cheese Gift Basket Together

So your wine selections for Wine on the Way have been delivered, you have gather up all the other accessories and food items and now it’s time to make it look special.  A quick trip to a basic store like target will give you great choices in tissue paper or packaging to put on the bottom of your container/basket. Not only will your gifts remain safe from harm, but the packaging materials give you a nice area to lay out all the components.  We like to use recycled paper confetti almost like how Easter grass is used in egg baskets!

You’ll want to arrange the bigger items, like the wine bottles, first, making sure that the label is showing and the bottles secure. Use a bit of clear backing tape if needed to keep everything snug. Then, from larger to smaller, add the other items that will be included in your gift basket.  The box of gourmet crackers, the wheel of cheese with a new cheese slicer on top can fist on one side while the pair of wine glasses and cork screw is on the other Don’t forget to pass along the tasting notes that came with your Wine on the Way delivery, so that people know how great the wine is and can see the ratings that you chose!

When you have everything looking attractive and not in danger of falling out, wrap it all up! While traditional paper might work and look festive, decorated cellophane works better and lets one peek inside to see the treats! You will also have less danger or the wrapping ripping. Add a big festive bow with colorful streamers and just sign the gift tag!

Party in a Basket! Wine and Cheese Gifts

So you made a great basket..in fact, it’s so nice you want to keep it for yourself? That’s OK. You can always order some more great wines from us, even after the holidays are over. Or, try our super sneaky advice.. bring a wine and cheese gift basket as a hostess gift to party; they usually get opened and shared right away.. so you can partake in the festivus with the rest of us!

Our Friends at BottleNotes have a great contest going on!

The Daily Sip™ is going to send the lucky winner and three friends to the Ultimate Wine Weekend in Napa Valley. The weekend includes private VIP tastings for the winner and three friends with Napa legends Arietta, Blackbird, and Spring Mountain.  Jack Cakebread will host a private tasting lunch at Cakebread Cellars.  Peter Mondavi Jr. will host a private blending session and a grill-your-own-steak lunch at Charles Krug, and Saturday night the winner will stay at the luxurious Meadowood resort.

Enter here: http://www.bottlenotes.com/contest and cross your fingers!

Wine Reviews and What They Mean

The 100 point wine rating system is fairly intuitive for most people; all they have to do is think of grade school and, immediately, the fundamental workings of the method are revealed:  higher scores are like an A+ and lower ones like an F (the range is 50 to 100—anything rated below 50 is probably not even wine).  This readily understood means of measuring a wine’s quality is convenient and straightforward for wine enthusiasts (whether amateur or expert) , but there are those who take issue with this way of conducting wine reviews and those who need to know exactly what it represents; and why it is still a very useful  guide to purchasing wine.

The Advantages of 100 Point Wine Rating System for Wine Reviews, and ‘Blind’ Tasting

A lot of present day wine reviews (i.e. those with the 50-100 scale) seem to rest on the shoulders of one man:  Robert Parker—an extremely well regarded wine-taster, which is what we hope he is if it is his system many use to judge a wine’s character.  Throughout his career as a wine-taster, he has repeatedly emphasized the need for a system that is both independent from the wine industry and is greatly flexible with its assignment of value judgments to its products.  Consider the difficulties with the following two scenarios.   (more…)

A South African Wine that Wine Merchants can be proud to sell

When South African Apartheid ended in approximately1994, the market opened up the US wine merchants began to import South African Wines. Soon after, I recall tasting my first South African wine. Wino friends who had been buying and tasting South African wines longer than I, assured me that South Africa was a great wine growing region. Although it might take a number of years for the South African wines to find their way back in the US marketplace, I assumed many wine drinkers would have to reacquainted to these wines. Others, myself included, would have to discover South African vintages for the first time.

I tried.  I mean, I really tried to like the South African wines, but ultimately came to the conclusion South Africa must be an acquired taste. The wines were too rough, one dimensional and just not pleasant to me. Was it the Pinotage? Wasn’t that supposed to be their best? Perhaps I’m just a California guy. So over the next fifteen years or so I never really went back to seriously drink of buy South African wines. Occasionally I stumbled across a wine merchant with a South African wine that was a good wine. I recall a South African Sauvignon Blanc, Sincerely, that I liked a lot for awhile, but overall, South African wines were not doing it for me.

Revisiting the “No”, South African Mulderbosch says “Yes”

Deborah Elmquist's Faithful Hound Stilllife painting

Then, someone encouraged me to buy the South African wine: Mulderbosch’s Faithful Hound 2005. This Bordeaux blend come highly rated with a Wine Spectator rating of 90 points and sells for $20ish. It says it’s 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 12% Petite Verdot, 7% Malbec and 6% Cabernet Franc. Sounds pretty much like a Bordeaux blend to me. 

Time to Review: Faithful Hound 2005 from Mulderbosch

I opened a bottle of Faithful Hound wine for dinner the other night. Missing was all that roughness that found unpleasant 15 years ago. What I found was a really interesting wine. It was not trying to be a Bordeaux, but rather let the forward fruit speak for itself. Great spice on the nose. Berries, boyensenberry, red currents, perhaps a little clove. A little hot when it was first was opened, but some of that blew off as it sat in the glass and got a couple of good swirls. Granted, I wanted a steak instead of my pork loin, but even with that, I found the finish on this really enjoyable and long.

Even the name “Faithful Hound” has a great connotation and it inspires art!

Faithful Hound has me hooked and I promise to return to buying South African wines sooner than another 15 years. For me, I am sold again on South African Wines and will be looking at the Wine Merchants for more. Mulderbosch Winery needs some more investigation!

Cuvee Juveniles sure doesn’t sound like a Barossa Valley wine at all.

The name makes it sound rather French, but the well known Barossa Valley winery, Torbreck, is known for its tongue in cheek plays on words, plus a strong tie to Rhone wine regions in France.  Plus, there it was on the label: Barossa Valley.

Flipping the bottle over and reading the back label, the story is that this South Australian blend was created by winemaker and Torbreck founder, Dave Powell, for his friend who just happened to own a wine bar in Paris: Juveniles Wine Bar.  It begins to all make sense.

I opened the bottle and began to drink the wine. Then it became even more clear.

As both Torbreck and the Barossa valley wines are known for in general, old wine producing vines make very interesting new wines.  A blend of Grenache (60%), Mataro (Mourvedre)(20%) and Shiraz (20%) make a wine that seemed on first impression to be youthful and natural, without a heavy wine-making presence. Sort of pure. It got me thinking about what each of the three grapes bring to the table?

• Grenache: The Grenache brings volume—I get that at 60%. It also brightens it up and I think a good amount of the spices might come from the Grenache.
• Mataro: While used to make to make both strong, dark red wines and rosés, Mataro if often used in a Grenache blend, as we see here, giving it both softness and structure.
• Shiraz:  Here is the backbone and fullness. Good, balanced tannins come with the Shiraz as well. 

This is a wine with a lot of complexity. The Torbreck website says its unoaked with natural malo-lactic fermentation and without filtration or fining.

Barossa Valley does it again!

The dark, dense color belies the ready accessibility of this wine. A pleasant, full and lively mouth feel. Nothing like a good Rhone from Barossa Valley! I was a little surprised with this wine. I was expecting something a little rougher and more one dimensional. I got a layered wine with lots of spices, cherries and blackberry that was ready to drink. Which, I was quite pleased to do.

With a Wine Advocate rating of 91, we know these old vines still got it!  Torbreck Cuvee Juveniles 07 is ready to drink now, but with a price like this, it’s worth it to put a few bottles away to mature as well.

Hello and welcome to the wine blog for wineontheway.com. We will bring you interesting reviews on highly rated wines on our website. In addition, if any of us have a great meal someplace, travel somewhere, or encounter anything interesting and exciting that pertains to wine, we will write about it here. This is an exciting new component to our website and we hope you will enjoy it. Feel free to add comments and personal recommendations!