This Week’s Wine Pick: Norton Malbec Reserva 2006 $12

Here’s my latest pick and it’s a keeper!  It’s a wonderfully flavorful bottle of wine and a great introduction to Malbec for you too… Norton Malbec Reserva 2006.

Once you pop the cork and pour a sip be sure to notice the aromas that waft out of the glass.  There’s a lot going on!  Like dense dark fruity whiffs of blackberry and the spicy woody smell of a cigar box.

Then take a sip.  You’ll be impressed by the balance of flavor and feel, with the tastiness of ripe plum and the lush texture.

Our first reaction was, “Wow, we like this one!”  And then finding out that it only costs about twelve dollars, it gets another “wow!”

Malbec is the signature wine of Argentina and this one stands out.  It pairs up nicely with grilled meats, especially beef – drink it with everything from strip steak to a burger and be very happy.  I t’s a wine you’ll keep coming back to.

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Wine Recommendation: Il Poggione Rosso di Montalcino

Ah Tuscany!  One of the world’s favorite places and home of my wine of the week, Il Poggione 2007 Rosso di Montalcino.  This is one hundred percent Sangiovese that bursts with flavor and captures the heart of Montalcino in an approachable, drink-it-now style.

My Wine Pick bursts with the flavor of Tuscany!

What’s that heart?  It’s the famed Brunello.  And my Rosso di Montalcino choice  is true to that character, but from younger vines and with less time in the barrel and bottle before release.

It’s deep ruby red along with an aroma brings to mind violets and it has a supple taste with pronounced flavors of blackberry.

This wine is ideal for full flavored foods and a table full of good friends and perfect to try with your favorite meat sauce!

Il Poggione Rosso di Montalcino is about twenty six dollars.  There’s a lot of Tuscany is packed into that bottle.

Find more of my whine choices here.

My Wine Pick: Chateau Les Gravieres 2005 St Emilion

We have a special wine pick for you this week.  It’s from Bordeaux and you might have to hunt for it a bit.  The wine is Chateau Les Gravieres 2005 St. Emilion.

This is a profoundly impactful one hundred percent Merlot.  It’s still young but you can’t miss the depth and complexity of this wine when you take a sip.  It’s got lush boysenberry fruit and tobacco and mocha flavors too, along with a smoky quality.

It is a big intense wine and one that will develop for years.  But who can wait!

Chateau Les Gravieres Merlot

It’s made for food so let’s Pop the Cork.  This is a wine for meat like a grilled pork tenderloin. And it’s a bit aggressive so I think a rib eye would suite it well!

Chateau Les Gravieres shows that Merlot can be both powerful and complexly nuanced.

For about thirty three dollars you can take a less travelled wine road to Merlot.  This one is worth the trip!

This Week’s Wine: Torres Coronas Tempranillo

Are you ready for a good deal?  Because our pick this week is just that: Torres Coronas 2005 Tempranillo from Spain.

Our Pick This Week

This is a twelve dollar bottle of wine that delivers on quality and taste.   You’ll love the blackberry and plumy fruity character it has for sure, but there’s also a denser, meaty quality that makes this a tasty mouthful of wine.

Tempranillo wines are easy drinking, with rich and silky flavor and what gives the Torres Coronas a bigger body is the addition of just a little Cabernet Sauvignon to the Tempranillo.  That Cabernet ratchets up the taste experience.

This wine is perfect for burgers off the grill and just about any meat dish you like, or a great match for our Paella recipe at winexperience.com.

And it’s great as the pour when it’s simply time for a glass of red.

Find all my weekly wine choices here.

Wine Pick: Vietti Cascinetta 2008 Moscato d’Asti

Here’s a wine answer to the question, “What’s for dessert?”  It’s Vietti 2008 Moscato d’Asti.

Too often wine with dessert gets overlooked… so let’s change that right now!  This Moscato d’Asti is a delightful conclusion to a meal to sip all by itself, but it’s terrific with lots of dessert too.

Vietti Moscato d'Asti

Try some with a blueberry peach or other cobbler or similar fruit desserts.  We were at a party a couple of weeks ago and this was the ideal match to that scrumptious dessert.   Or, enjoy it by itself.  Moscato d’ Asti is sweet, but not overly so, and it’s balanced by the modest acidity and the slight fizziness.  The Italians call it frizzante.

What you’ll taste is a lovely wine with floral notes and honey that give it the dessert qualities, but even more interesting is that it not just for dessert.  You can be adventurous and try the Moscato with rich seafood or even spicy Asian dishes.

Vietti Moscato d’Asti is about fifteen dollars and a refreshingly unique wine experience for you to try as our wine of the week.

My Wine Pick: Chimney Rock Cabernet

Driving up the Silverado Trail in the Napa Valley takes you through the Stag’s Leap district, home to some stunning Cabernet Sauvignon.  That’s the location for our pick this week which, by the way, is a stunner.  It’s the Chimney Rock 2006 Cabernet.

This Week's Choice

It’s a Cab that has the complex depth, structure and elegance of fine Bordeaux but with California drinkability.  And it gets the hand-crafted winemaking attention like any of the “cult” Cabernets but at about half the price.

From about fifty two dollars it’s a wine to savor.  The layers of taste keep emerging when you take a sip.

At first it’s the fruitiness and intensity of wild blueberries then it gets darker, like juicy ripe blackberries.  Under the fruit is a rich layer of toffee and that’s followed by a bramble bush-like woodiness with a unique intensity added by the gravelly soils of the Stag’s Leap area.

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This Week’s Wine: Guigal Gigondas $20

We’re big fans of the wines from the Rhone Valley in France.  And our pick for this week’s Wine of the Week is from one of the top producers there.

It’s Guigal 2006 Gigondas.  Gigondas is a village area and known for a tasty blend of Grenache, Mouvedre and Syrah.

When you pour some of this wine and sniff there’s an aroma of dark berries along with some earthiness.  But what you’ll really like about it is its full bodied, peppery flavor.

My Wine Choice: Guigal Gigondas

We’re struck by the burst of blueberry that’s followed by that dash of spiciness from the Syrah.  It’s ideal for red meats and that makes Guigal Gigondas a super pick for grilling.

The village wines of the Rhone, like Gigondas, are a step up in quality from the more familiar Cotes du Rhone’s and a great way to discover the differences found in the wines of the region.

Enjoy all of my wine picks by visiting WineExperience.com

Wine Pick: Trimbach 2007 Gewurztraminer $20

Our wine pick for you this week that is a true study in contrasts.  The wine is Trimbach 2007 Gewurztraminer.

What are the contrasts?  Well for starters this is a French wine from Alsace Lorraine in the northeast of the country, but the wine styles and even the architecture seem more German than French.

Then there’s the aroma…a beautiful burst of summer flowers along with the classic lychee and spicy ginger of Gewurzt; it’s an exotic combination.

And then there’s the taste.  Floral might make you think “sweet” but this wine is bone dry with crackling acidity, along with a lush and rich tastiness like ripe peaches and a supple finish feel.

Wine Pick: Trimbach Gewurzt

It’s great to contrast food to.  And it’s an ideal match for Asian food and stronger cheeses.

Trimbach 2007 Gewürztraminer is about twenty dollars and the perfect departure from your typical glass of white.

Find more of our wine picks here anytime.

Wine Pick: Napa Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

Napa Cellars 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon   $20

When it comes to Cabernet Sauvignon the Napa Valley is as good as it gets and our wine of the week delivers all the luscious, intense dark fruit and complex flavors that is soooo Napa.

Our pick is Napa Cellars 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and we like it a lot.

This wine is a full bodied showcase of blackberry and cassis tastiness with an underlying layer that’s like a nip of dark chocolate.

Wine of the Week Choice

It’s youthful, vibrant and drinkable – the perfect choice to pop open anytime you want to be transported to Napa and the trip only costs about twenty dollars a bottle.  Gotta love it.

Cabernet Sauvignon is the signature wine of the Napa Valley and there aren’t many that can deliver on the promise and reputation of Napa for that price.

The Napa Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon is our choice for its youthful exuberance and a wine of the week that says “Napa” in more ways than the name on the label.

Find lots more wine picks here and more unsnooty wine info at WineExperience.com

Wine Pick: Stefano Farina Barbera $10

Are you ready for the perfect red wine of summer?  Well, our pick this week is just that, the perfect summer wine:  Stefano Farina 2007 Barbera D’Alba.

This Barbera is a lighter bodied red with bright flavors along and a dash of spiciness.

What’s it taste like?  Well for us it tastes like dried cherries or maybe even pomegranate if you’re thinking about fruitiness.   Then there’s that spiciness, like you grated a little nutmeg on top.

It may not be really complex wine, but it’s an easy and enjoyable glass of red, and only costs about ten dollars too.

Here’s a tip:  think about putting it in the refrigerator for twenty or thirty minutes.  You’ll find that cooling it enhances it’s crispy, fresh finish.  You get that from Barbera’s perky acidity.  And when you serve it cool its ideal with the lighter foods of summer.

Barbera is the everyday wine of Italy’s Piedmont and with the Stefano Farina it’s easy to see why.

My Wine Pick