Fizz

posted by Scott in Wine, Guest Bloggers

Here it is: my obligatory Champagne/New Year’s Eve piece. A true staple, this is one of many in the old wine writing arsenal like the article that urges you to try rose wine because its spring (or summer or fall) or the bit on what to pair with turkey for Thanksgiving. So here it is. Whether you want it or not, it’s that time of year.

The good news is that I’ll keep it short. I won’t tell you that Cava makes a fine substitute for those who want some mousse for less money. I will not recommend a grower Champagne. In fact, I will not recommend any sparkling wine for that matter. Frankly, I don’t care if you get your bubbles from a gin and tonic, which isn’t such a bad idea.

However, should it be Champagne you seek, I will offer some drink for thought. A unique website called Libation Unlimited allows you to browse bubbly by cork and capsule. I have yet to fully figure why such a site should exist, but it does so we best make use of it. So feel free to forget what you drank this New Year’s Eve; rest assured, if you keep the cork, you can figure it out later.

Scott Rosenbaum is director of operations for the International Wine Center and wine buyer for the retailer DrinkUpNY.

Aging Gracefully

posted by Annie in Wine

As we approach the end of the year, we all take stock of what has changed in the last 12 months. Socially, politicially, and personally, everything matures, dematures, and alters throughout the year. 2008 is right around the corner and no matter how hard anyone tries by eating organically, doing pilates 14 times a week before Wednesday, or drinking a glass of red a day for “health reasons”, at some point in the next year your age will increase by one number. Hopefully this change will be for the best, but how about that 1971 Richebourg you have been saving? You think the bottle should still be good, but is it really? Your bottle of wine hasn’t been exercising and eating healthy like you, so is the start of the New Year actually benefiting your bottle or has it gone the way of the Spears family?

My parents have a rather extensive wine collection that I cataloged on Snooth on Christmas Day. They have a fair share of wines from the 70s and 80s, some from wineries I hadn’t heard of and vintages I knew nothing about. I’d love to tell them that their collection is a very tasty one (considering they own a few bottles of Krug, Louis M. Martini, Inglenook, and Opus One), but how could I be sure I wasn’t getting their hopes up?

There are a few ways you can check.

1. Has your wine been stored in the proper way? If not, it could be bad. (See my wonderful blog post about Wine Storage)
2. Is there an abnormally large amount of sediment in the bottle? This might indicate the wine is bad.
3. Does it look like the bottle is less full than it should be? There could have been evaporation and/or leakage due to a not-so-tight seal.
4. Does the cork cover turn around? If its stuck and won’t budge, it’s possible, but not indicative, that there has been leakage.

Last but not least, there’s my favorite test and by far the most fool-proof one: pop it open and take a sip. Since my parents collection is over 100 bottles, I decided for my own personal health (and safety once my parents figured out what I was up to), it was best to not test them all out. Hopefully, using the tests above, they can decide down the road what’s going to be good to drink and which ones just might look better as decorations.

Have a Happy New Year Snoothers!

Rosé: The new color of the Season

posted by alesha in Wine

Maybe you’ve noticed, but for some reason rosé wines are really big this year. In an article by winebusiness .com, Gary Heck, president and owner of Korbel Champagne Cellars, claims that “The color is fashionable right now, and consumers like the taste of it. They think it’s sweeter-it’s the perception that it’s sweeter. Maybe it’s the feminine side that they like.”

In the past people always looked down upon rosé blush wine; consumers thought the wine to be a ‘cheap’ downgrade. Today, rosés (whether sparkling, or still) are just as fashionable as watching Carrie Bradshaw order a cosmopolitan in Sex in the City. So how did rosé wines come back into fashion?

According to Bibiana Guerra, the more people are educated about wine, the more they realize that rosé wines are not a cheap downgrade version of sparkling wines. Korbel earlier this year, decided to jump on the rosé bandwagon when they came out with single-serve 187ml bottles of rosé wines. The Korbel Brut Rosé Champagne 187ml is sold as a four-pack for $14.99, and according to Heck, he wanted them out on the market in time for Valentines Day. Although convenience and availability are important to consumers, what people do not realize is that buying these single -serve 187ml bottle, they are spending more money than if they were to buy a bigger bottle of Champagne. Convenience aside, champagne and sparkling wine making is very expensive, so producers who carry 187ml bottles only cover a small percentage of the wine market.

With rosés in fashion, both guys and gals need not to feel embarrassed or ashamed when they order a nice glass of pink bubbly. This New Year’s Eve, serve your guests some rosé champagne. Not only will you make a fashionable entry into 2008, but you will also surprise your guest with something new. Educate your friends and family and let them know that rosé wines are nothing to be ashamed of and not a cheap wine that everyone thought it to be.

Close Enough!

posted by mark in Website Updates, Snooth

With all the yuletide cheer going around it’s still important to put our heads down from time to time and get some real work done. Over the past few days you may have seen our new similar wines module decorating the side of the detail page like tinsel on a Christmas tree. Of course this sidebar is not purely decorative, and won’t be going away after the holiday (or even after Groundhog’s Day if it’s my family).

The wines you see in the sidebar are similar to the wine you are viewing by some combination of region, winery, price, varietal — everything we know about the wine. Just another way to get acquainted with something you may not have tried. And if the wine you’re looking at is not available for purchase, maybe you could try one of the similar ones. So take a look, uncork a pair of kindred wines and let us know what you think!

Murry Crispmoose

posted by Clint in Snooth, Wine

No - that’s not what Uncle Norm says after his fourth cup of egg nog. By the way, has anyone ever actually had egg nog (or met an “Uncle Norm” for that matter)? I see it on TV all the time, but have never even seen it at someone’s home, let alone out at a party. Anyway, I prefer to change the name of this holiday every year just because it brings a little levity to what has become an inappropriate soapbox for many people.

I’ll spare you all the song and dance, but a little soapboxery of my own is coming. In the yule tide spirit of awkward family run-ins I’ll keep it brief: we could all stand to drink a little more great wine, a glass of very tasty wine, or, I don’t know, maybe some… fantastic wine this season. In between all the ribbons and boxes and bows and stockings (and wine), try and remember that Jesus (if you’re even into that) would probably get stopped at the airport pretty regularly these days. Let’s not take it all so seriously - a little compassion, generosity, and kindness never hurt anyone. Ask Charlie Brown.

So eat, drink, and be merry this year, but most of all, remember that Snooth is the best place to find better wines. They make great last minute gifts! Even if the gift bags are fairly atrocious.

Happy Holid— you know what? Merry Christmas.

Wine Gums

posted by philip in Wine

Not the sort caused by too much red wine, but the British candy. I’m back in the UK for a few days and one of my first purchases was a pack of this gummy treat. 

Not well known, if at all in the US, wine gums are pretty popular over here. In fact they were a favorite bed-time treat of Roald Dahl, who kept a jar by his bed at all times for any shift late night snacking. 

Sadly, for us adults, they no longer contain any wine, but do offer “subtle, lingering fruit flavors.”

The UK is known for its candy, and is laughed at for its wine attempts. However, while here I’ll do some ‘research’ in an attempt to dispell the myth.

However you celebrate it, Happy Holidays, and I’ll see you a few pounds heavier afterwards.

Ideas for Wrapping Wine, Don’t

posted by Scott in Snooth, Wine

Santa, Baby. Hear me out, big guy. Times are a-changing. The world is going green. I’m sure you know this already with the North Pole all melty and what not. How to deal? Here’s my advice: This Christmas don’t wrap wine.

Seriously, give your elves a break and save a tree in the process. Technically speaking, the wine is already wrapped; it comes in a lovely bottle (or box). Why be redundant? Now I know you love those tacky wine bags with grape prints on them, or worse yet, made of burlap. You do know they are tacky, right? Well they are, not to mention hideous and impractical. No one ever uses them twice. You can also skip the tinsel-like silver or red bags tied with cheap ribbon they give you for free at the liquor store. It’s a sure sign of last minute gifting and no one wants to seem thoughtless. Plus, they just get tossed.

So how to class things up without creating extra waste? Here’s two ideas:

1. A nice, thick ribbon tied around a bottle is elegant. It’s reminiscent of those holiday commercials where someone rich gives someone else a car. This is the pared down version of it, but every bit as considerate. Just decide whether or not to tie it around the neck the bottle or the body (works well with Bordeaux-shaped bottles). Voila! A stylish packaged gift that results in clean up after its opened.

2. If you’d rather reuse than reduce, give one of these bottle carriers

They’ve been written about extensively and it’s because they’re fantastic for transporting wine. Everyone loves to mention that they’re constructed from neoprene, which is fun to touch and great if your bottles ever want to go scuba diving. Joking aside, it’s wrapping you can use. Plus they come in all sizes, colors, and patterns, so you can personalize.

There you have it, Santa. Other than that, just don’t leave the wine on the mantel and you’re set. Now about that Chateau Haut-Brion I asked for last year…

The Holy Trinity of Wine Storage

posted by Annie in Snooth, Wine

I am a resident of Manhattan. Therefore, I live in a shoebox studio apartment, where foot of my bed is also my dining chair and my living room side table doubles as a nightstand. The wonderful (and loud) steam heater turns on and off at the whim of the superintendant, and the windows are most definitely not doing any insulating whatsoever. Needless to say, proper wine storage is a quandary.

In order to store wine properly, one must regulate light, humidity, and temperature. UV light has the ability to breakdown certain organic compounds in wine and causes premature aging. Humidity can affect the seal that the cork has with the bottle. A constant moderate temperature will help keep the seal on the wine tight, and more importantly allow the wine to age properly and keep its structure.

I enjoy having a wine collection. However, how can it be possible in a small New York City apartment to keep these three essential variables all in check when at least two of them aren’t controllable? Sadly, I have lost many a wine bottle to NYC steam heat – one that caused me the most distress was a 1998 Chateauneuf-du-pape Valentine’s Day gift. It was totally undrinkable and it made me cry.

My solution: If you have space (which I have recently made room for, after disposing of completely unnecessary items like “tables” and “chairs”), buy a small wine fridge/cooler. I now am no longer worried about the health of my most recent Valentine’s gift – an 1999 Opus One. Keep whites in the refrigerator if at all possible, and never put a wine rack on top of the refrigerator – even loaves of bread go bad up there with all of that heat! Steam heat can be evil for wine, so I’d also try to avoid putting a wine rack near your radiator. Maybe an air humidifier could help the wine a bit, as well as your throat and skin.

How have you other spatially-challenged wine lovers overcome this issue?

How to Mull Wine

posted by alesha in Wine

It’s that time of year again: so many parties and so little time to prepare. Instead of buying many different bottles of wine for your guests, why not make a mulled wine or spiced apple cider for them to enjoy. Mulled wine is heated spiced wine that is traditionally made with red wine. It’s is a great way to stay warm this winter, and you can make big batches for everyone to enjoy.

I first tried mulled wine at Snooth’s holiday party at Ayza Café & Wine Bar. I’m not a fan of cider or other ’spiced’ drinks, so was not expecting to enjoy it, however, I was pleasantly surprised. Sufficiently so to write a post singing its praises a week later.

Mulled wine has the perfect blend of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. You can use your favorite red wine, and tailor the recipe to your liking. The best part about mulled wine is that parents can make a non-alcoholic version with apple cider for the kids. It’s an inexpensive way to serve wine at holiday parties. I’ll be serving it at some holiday parties this year. Lets see if the guests enjoy it as much as I did.

Mulled wine recipe: serves 8

Ingredients:
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
5 cardamom pods
3 black peppercorns
4 whole cloves
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 (750-ml) bottle dry red wine such as Côtes du Rhône
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
1 small orange, thinly sliced
1 small lemon, thinly sliced

Directions
Wrap cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, peppercorns, and cloves in cheesecloth and tie with string. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a 5-quart heavy pot, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then add spice bag, wine, vanilla bean, and fruit. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes.

I’ll Be Back

posted by mark in Website Updates, Snooth

A quick post from me today. Snooth now has the ability to save your log in info on your computer for future use. To use it, simply check the “Remember me” box when logging in.

Thanks to everyone who requested this helpful feature!