The Desert Wine Guy - Choosing The Right Stemware For Your Wine.

   Do you have a favorite wine glass that you drink white or red wine out of? How important is the wine glass to your enjoyment of your wine? Today we are going to find out because today we are going to look at the wine glass itself and just how important it is. The first point to remember here is that like anything else that is sold there is marketing involved and wine glasses are no different. Here is an example of what I am talking about. One of the things we will discuss in this article is a part of the wine glass known as the stem. The most obvious purpose of the stem most people would say is to hold the glass. The stem however, is much more than just something to use in order to hold a glass as we will see down below. Why are there stemless glasses? This is a perfect example of marketing. Because something is new and different people will take to it....at least at first they will. Why are there colored glasses when I thought one of the factors in  rating a wine is how the wine pours or looks in the glass? That is just another example of marketing. We are going to move into the main body of the article now and break down each part of the wine glass and their function(s).

Base/Foot - The first part of the wine glass we will look at is called the base or the foot. The base has the sole purpose of keeping the glass upright. The base does not effect the taste of the wine as we probably already know.

Stem - Coming out from the base is the stem. The purpose of the stem is for you to hold the glass. The stem as we discussed in the opening of this article is there to also make sure that you do not warm the wine you are drinking. Why would you put a wine in the refrigerator to chill only to warm the wine when you have it in your hand? The stem also supports the bowl which is where the wine is kept. The stem also does not effect the taste of the wine. The stem also serves the purpose of keeping your fingerprints off the glass, again appreciation of the wine. We see now that a stemless wine glass is simply a fad and something that should not be taken seriously.

Bowl - The bowl is the section of the glass we pour the wine into. The bottom of the bowl is usually wider than the top of the bowl which serves a very important function. A well designed wine glass will gather the bouquet of the wine together towards your nose so that you can appreciate the bouquet of the wine. Remember here that the bouquet effects what and how we taste. I think that a lot of people forget or simply don't know that our sense of smell goes right along with our taste. Have you ever had a cold and had trouble breathing and noticed that your taste was also off? The reason why is our sense of smell goes hand in hand with taste. This is also one reason we swirl the wine which in turn releases the aromas in the wine so that they can be funneled toward the opening in the bowl which is where our nose is and therefore also why we stick our nose into the glass. Try this experiment. Hold your nose tightly and put some spicy food in your mouth. Do you taste it? The bowl shouldn't have anything that detracts from the swirl of the wine or the appearance of the wine. A red wine bowl will also be shorter that a white wine bowl. The bowl in a wine glass is very important to the taste of the wine. The bowl should also be big enough to be able to pour at least 6 oz of wine and still leave enough room for our swirl. There are also glasses specially made for Champagnes which are called Flutes. They are Tulip shaped and are the best for Champagne due to the carbonation in the Champagne. This shape also helps ensure that the bubbles in the carbonation  and the flavor remain in the glass longer since the bubbles are instrumental in the flavor.

Lip - The lip or edge of the bowl is where we drink the wine from. The lip of a red wine is wider that the lip of a white wine glass because the aroma is said to be less delicate and directs the wine to the back and sides of the mouth. The thinner the lip is also means that the glass detracts less from the wine.

Material - The one thing we have left to talk about for wine glasses is material. There is glass, Crystal and Titanium Crystal (fairly new) and I guess even plastic that can be used for wine. Wine glasses that are made from glass are great for large parties since they can go right into the dishwasher when done with and if one breaks just go back to the dollar store and buy another one. If I was having a large party I would use inexpensive (all purpose) glasses for my wine since I probably wouldn't be serving expensive wine anyway. When it comes to me enjoying a nice bottle of wine or performing a wine tasting I use my crystal wine glasses made by Libbey of all names. I actually use the Platinum Collection which is Titanium Crystal (see the picture). The crystal is very thin however and care must be taken so as to not break it. These glasses are actually available on EBay right now for $13 for a set of 4 so you do not have to spend a lot to get a beautiful set of crystal wine glasses. You can use hot water and just a tiny bit of soap to clean these in the sink, wiped down with a soft lint free towel or cloth and they are ready for the display case again. Is the material important scientifically? Well honestly no ones really knows for sure. Crystal is rougher that glass and that might add the ability to assist with the bouquet as the wine swirls across the glass. Other then that there is no evidence that materials matter. I myself however, could never sit down (if I had any say in the matter) and drink wine from a plastic cup. Call me a wine snob that is fine but I do believe that wine does demand some sort of class.

Conclusion -  I am not a believer in all the wine snobbery by any means, but wine is not beer. I actually wrote an article a few months ago on this blog about the wine hype (marketing) and how a lot of it is truly nonsense. Maximilian Riedel, the 11th generation of famed Riedel glass maker and CEO of Riedel Crystal America says this about his favorite wine glass “My favorite glass has an emotional connection; it’s the first varietal specific glass ever created (by my grandfather), a Pinot Noir glass (the Riedel Sommeliers Burgundy Grand Cru / Pinot Noir Wine Glass)which holds 37 ounces, more than a single bottle."  In an April 6, 2011 article of Wine Spectator Magazine entitled "It's Just a Wineglass", writer Tim Fish says "If you're ready to move up, a good, entry-level glass will cost between $6 and $10. The first thing to remember is to keep it simple. Start with two types of glasses: one for reds and one for whites, or more specifically, use "Bordeaux" and "Burgundy" glasses designed to bring out the best of the aromas and flavors of particular wine types." This I feel is great advice. If you have decided to move from plastic to real glass there are lower lines of crystal glass wear that you can purchase. This will indeed show you that there is a difference in the taste of the wine and the bouquet. After you make this jump into glassware or upgrade in glassware the sky is the limit on how much you can spend but in my opinion spending a lot of money is unnecessary. Some final words pertaining to glassware. Have a set of wine glasses for times when you have a large group of company and are not planning on doing a wine tasting. An inexpensive set of wine glasses set you back $10 for a set of four and that is well worth the piece of mind when it comes to a shattered glass that you can just clean up and throw away and not think twice about as opposed to a glass that shatters and you just broke up a beautiful set of wine glasses. Have another set for you and your "special" friends, those friends that appreciate a good wine and a good vessel to drink it from. I am sure some friends come to mind as you read this. These types of glass can set you back $40 or so however I challenge you to find the Libbey glasses I mentioned above, at your favorite wine store and tell me you are disappointed with them. With that being said you actually have no excuse for drinking good or even semi-decent wine out of a plastic cup. For around the same price you can have the Libbey Crystal glasses I mentioned. I am sure that every maker has the same line of glass for about the same price. I hope this article shed some light on the wine glass issue. I hope that those of you who have newly discovered wine or made your very first trip to Napa Valley will have enjoyed the wines so much that they will go right out and buy a decent set of wine glasses that suite their own needs. 
   If you have enjoyed this article please check out my Facebook which is dedicated solely to wine. This is more of a personally look into me (The Desert Wine Guy) and his two backyard vineyards. Here is the link and I hope to hear from you there.
https://www.facebook.com/DesertWineGuy?ref=hl

                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                           The Desert Wine Guy

The Desert Wine Guy - 2007 Huntington Cellars Chardonnay

   Today's review is on the 2007 Huntington Cellars Chadonnay. Nicolaus (Nicky) and Gaby Hahn founded their first vineyards in the late ‘70s in Monterey County. Started in 1988 Huntington Cellars is located (according to the wine bottle) in Grayton California however their website puts them in Napa Valley California. While the two areas are fairly close they are not the same. The winery on a map is actually located very close to Santa Rosa California instead. According to the Huntington Wines website the Hahn family of Nicolaus (Nicky) & Gaby Hahn (who own the Huntington label) live part-time in Northern Kenya , Africa and the other half of the time in the United States. They own "Mugie Ranch" in Kenya which has a school, farm and wildlife preserve. The Hahns say that the sales of the Huntington Cellars label benefit a Scholarship Fund for higher education for children in Kenya. Every bottle of Huntington Cellars wines also features an artists series of Gaby Hahns paintings.
   Now it's time for the review of this Chardonnay. Wherever the vineyard is truly located they have the right soil for grape growing. Let's start by breaking this down by subject here starting with visually since Huntington Cellars opted to stand out with a green bottle.
    I personally think that if you have a nice color to your white (especially) wine that you should be proud of it and show it off and not cover it up, after all wine is also judged on its color as one of it's pluses or negatives. You would (in my opinion) only cover something when you have something to hide. In this case there really is nothing to hide because there is no real color to show off so I guess we know why they chose a green bottle. A pour of the wine showed it to be a mostly clear in color wine with only a very slight hint of yellowish Gold. Color wise don't expect anything special because you will be disappointed in that category. Now on to the bouquet of this wine.
   Now lets get to the good part because this review does end up turning out O.k in the end depending on your needs. Let's move on to the Bouquet. This wine does have a nice bouquet that hits your nose with heavy oak initially after opening which is followed closely by Apricot & Nectarine. There was also a sense of a soft buttery type of bouquet to the wine. There was a hint in the bouquet of Apple as well as Peach also mixed however it remained deep in the wine yet not too deep where you could not detect in sufficient quantities. This is also one of those wines that when left to sit for a few must be swirled again to bring out the bouquet however once it comes back out it is nice but it does not stay long.
   Now we will move onto the taste of our Chardonnay. This is where the wine excels. While it is not a sweet wine by any means I would describe the overall taste of

this Chardonnay as "Bright Acidity". I think that when you read that description and you are familiar with Chardonnay you will understand what I mean. For those of you who have no experience with Chardonnays let me explain. The fruit of the wine has a moderately acidic taste and (of course) it is fruity at the same time. If done right this is a great combination and in this case it was done right. The buttery, Apricot/Nectarine taste is closely interconnected in this wine with one not standing out over the other. The remainder of the fruit, the apple and peach are in the finishing end of this wine. This wine is very pleasant to drink.
   In closing I would recommend one thing. I ended up coming to the conclusion that despite my unwillingness or dislike to chill a wine this Chardonnay does require it if you want the full taste. I also would let this wine sit open for a half an hour because it will tone down the oakey initial bouquet as well as taste in it. I thought the taste of the wine was decent and the bouquet nice for the short time it lasted. Bottom line here is this.This wine is kind of a mixed bag. To begin with there is nothing visually appealing about this wine. The bouquet while nice when swirled does not last long at all requiring the glass to constantly be swirled. The taste when left to sit open in the bottle is nice and I did enjoy it. If you are looking for just the taste which I guess is the biggest part of something you drink, then it will be good. If on the other hand you are looking for the complete package then you should look somewhere else.


                                                                                                        The Desert Wine Guy

The Desert Wine Guy - The Grapevine, Let's Talk about It.

   Today we will look at what makes up a grape vine as well as the names and purpose of each part of the vine. For your assistance I have provided a diagram if needed to help you follow along.

Roots - The roots are simply the part of the vine that allow it to get it's nutrients from the soil. There are actually two kinds of roots the vine has. The first type of root is called subterranean. These quick growing roots grow near the top and try to capture moisture, they do not live long. They also also help to stabilize or anchor the vine to keep it secure in the ground. The next type of root is called principal. These roots bring moisture and minerals directly to the vine and store nutrients to help feed the vine while in the dormant stage which takes place in the winter.

Trunk -  The next part of the vine we will look at is called the trunk. The trunk is the part of the vine we see that comes from the ground. The trunk is the base that everything grows from or off. Most vineyards we see have one trunk but there are some that are grown with two trunks.

Cordons / Arms - Next in line is what is called the arms or cordons. These are the only two (if pruned correctly)  branches that grow along the wire we set up for the vine to grow on. Everything we want from this vine will start from the cordons.

Shoots / Buds / Nodes - This is one of the items that will grow directly from the cordon. Sometimes these are also called Shoots, Buds or Nodes. These Shoots/Buds and Nodes become canes and that is the next item to discuss.

Canes - The Canes grow the part of the vine that we visually identify as the branches. A cane will also have Shoots / Buds / Nodes. This is where our grapes will come from.

Tendrils - These are what allow the vine to attach itself to walls or anything else including other parts of the vine.

Leaves - I am sure I don't have to explain to you what these are. Leaves are very important to the survival of the grapes in the hot summer months. Leaves act as shade to the grapes, keeping the direct heat off of them. Ever heard of Raisins?

   That is pretty much it everyone. It seems pretty simple and it is. I hope you learned a little something from today's post. If you did and would like to check out my Facebook dedicated solely to wine here is the link.
https://www.facebook.com/DesertWineGuy?ref=hl I hope to see you there.

                                                                                                                    The Desert Wine Guy

The Desert WIne Guy - Grapevine Soil Properties In Angel & Mirror Image Vineyards.

   Today I will be writing a short blog on soil. What type of soil do grape vines like best? If I grow grapes in the Desert how important can soil really be? Is the soil in Las Vegas good? Today we will look into this subject. Lets start off this article with the "perfect soil" for grapes. One of the first things to look for in determining if your soil is appropriate is to determine what you are wanting to grow. There are 4 basic soil types these are sand, silt, clay and loam. In this case we are discussing growing grapes. One of the items we look for in our determination process is something called pH.
   What is pH? Soil pH or soil reaction is an indication of the acidity or alkalinity of soil and is measured in pH units. The pH scale goes from 0 to 14 with pH 7 as the neutral point. From pH 7 to 0 the soil is increasingly more acidic and from pH 7 to 14 the soil is increasingly more alkaline or basic. A pH in the range of 5.5 to 7.0 is ideal for most varieties. Everything below 7 is considered to be acidic. Everything above is considered to be alkaline.  The reason a pH between 6 and 7.5 is optimal for garden plants is that between 6 and 7.5, phosphorus in the soil is soluble meaning that it dissolves in water and is taken up by the plants roots. Now that we know this lets find out what makes soil acidic. There are three things that make a soil acidic and they are the items that decay in your particular soil. The second way is excessive rainfall or irrigation. Too much water can cause important nutrients to be washed away. One other way for soil to become acidic is the use of high-nitrogen synthetic fertilizers. These fertilizers are usually ammonia based which also increases soil acidity. By the way Jack Sanders , owner of the Sanders Family Winery in Pahrump who has extensive experience with vineyards in Napa Valley informed me that for the soil in Las Vegas I would need a 15-15-15 fertilizer which is also know as "Triple Fifteen". These numbers are also known as N-P-K ratios. The numbers stand for the following. 15% ammoniacal nitrogen, Available Phosphate (P2O5) - 15%  & Soluble Potash (Potassium) (K20) - 15%  as well as Sulfur (S) 9%. While we are talking about these nutrients here is a short explanation of what each does. Lets take Nitrogen first. Nitrogen is essential for the growth of leaves and helps keep the green. Nitrogen gets lost from soil very easily. Phosphorous stimulates root growth, promotes development of flowers, fruit (grapes) and seeds. Phosphorous does not get flushed as easily. Potassium helps the vines tolerate changing weather conditions (warm to hot). It also assists the vines with fighting pests as well as help strengthen the plant itself. Potassium does leach from the soil but not as fast as Nitrogen. What causes a soil to have high or low pH? One thing that increases soil acidity is cover crops because they require high amounts of nutrients like Potassium, Magnesium and Calcium. Rain also increases high pH nutrients and makes soil more acidic. In order to lower soil pH there is something called Ground Algime which is a powder form of Lime.
   Now that we have looked into pH lets see some other interesting things about our vineyard soil. To start off with almost any soil can be improved with the incorporation of organic matter. Heavy clay and silty soils will benefit from vegetable and manure compost, chopped hardwood or pine bark, leaf mould and small amounts of pea gravel. Excessively sandy soils will benefit from composted organic materials, peat moss and humus. Do not amend clay soils with large amounts of sand, because this will inhibit drainage even further and may turn your grape garden into a brickyard. Avoid enriching the soil with high nitrogen supplements, which may lead to healthy green grapevines at the expense of fruit production. Drainage is also very important in our soil. While we want the roots of the vines to actually get the water we are giving them we on the other hand do not want them sitting or soaking in water since this can be the cause of some diseases such as Root Rot. We need a soil that will drain but yet not so quickly that the roots will not have a chance to get the very water we want them to have. Grape vines also do not like it when water pools on the surface of the ground around them When I was planting my vines I actually left small rocks in the hole in order to help with drainage. We can also add mulch.  A mulch is left on the soil surface. Its purpose is to reduce evaporation and runoff, inhibit weed growth, and create an attractive appearance. Mulches also moderate soil temperature, helping to warm soils in the spring and cool them in the summer. Mulches may be incorporated into the soil as amendments after they have decomposed to the point that they no longer serve their purpose. The interesting thing here is that soil fertility for vineyards does NOT have to be great since grape vines are naturally vigorous plants and very fertile soils produce overgrown canopy and abundant, but mediocre fruit. These grapes taste diluted because the resources of the vine are being stretched too thin. Ideally, vines will put the majority of their energy into a small amount of grapes. Too many grapes and the vines resources are stretched. Excessive foliage (too much Nitrogen) can also deny grapes the amount of sun-exposure necessary for optimal ripening. Here are a couple of more important things for our soil in our vineyard. The depth of the soil is important. Deeper soils tend to produce more consistently high-quality and subtlety flavored fruit than shallower soils. These vines are also less susceptible to extreme weather patterns. There is one more item to discuss when it comes to vineyard soil and that is the Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC). This is  the capacity of the soil and its capability to hold nutrients. Each type of soil will have a unique CEC many of which are difficult if not impossible to measure. Some soils have the inability to have their CEC altered and this is due to the nature of the soil the vines are planted in.
  Now lets talk about the soil in Angel Vineyard & Mirror Image Vineyard. I have posted a picture with this article so you can see just one of the types of soil I have to deal with (at least in appearance) her in the vineyard. While planting my vines I came across areas that appeared as if the house was built on top of a rock Quarry. I will post a picture of one of the rocks that I had to dig up which actually took an hour to get out. I couldn't use a shovel because the rock was jammed in by many smaller rocks that stopped it from coming out. It was actually easier to use a hand tool to dig it out. There were other parts of the vineyard that had soil like you see in my hand. There were other parts that had small rocks but not small enough that I wanted to leave them where the vine was going. Then there were others that had small rocks that I was able to leave for drainage. The actual soil composition such as pH I have never looked into to be honest. I am going off the way my original Cabernet Sauvignon vines grew last year, before I learned how to take care of them. I can only assume that if they grew that wonderful with no knowledge of grape vines how well they will grow now that I have at least knowledge on the caring of them. It is also my understanding that for around $30 I can buy a home testing kit to check pH but I (again) am going by past experience in the vineyard and I believe my vines will grow just fine.
   Well folks I hope you learned a little bit about soil and how it effects our vines. I hope you will use it to benefit you should you decide to grow a vineyard of your own. 

                                                                                                        The Desert WIne Guy

The Desert WIne Guy - 2005 Trinitas Cellars Old Vine Mataro

   Hello everyone and welcome back to The Desert Wine Guys latest blog. Today the word of the day is WOW. Why is that the word of the day? Let me tell you why. I say WOW because of the Trinitas Cellars Mourvedre Blend Contra Costa County Mataro Old Vine 2005 that I was lucky enough to do a tasting of. I do not remember just how I came to acquire this wine, I think it might have been through one of my wine clubs I subscribe to. However I acquired it,  this wine ended up in my downstairs "everyday wine rack" which judging by the name should tell you what type of wines end up there. I actually have two of these wine racks downstairs which are reserved for average day to day company that might come over. These wine racks usually consist of wines I really don't expect much from or don't appear to be from locations or vineyards that are known for above average wine. I guess, after tasting this wine I should change the name of these two racks to "Unproven Wine Racks". As luck may have it  I also have two refrigerated wine racks upstairs in my Tasting Room where I keep some wines that have some age on them and have actually been tasted by me some time ago. So here I am with the mindset that I am going to review just an average wine, a wine I really don't expect to much from. This should be easy right? That is what I thought. Today the wine picked happened to be the Trinitas Mourvedre Blend Contra Costa County Mataro Old Vine 2005. Since I have never tasted a Mataro I was kind of excited to be tasting this grape. Having explained all of this let me be the first to say that The Desert Wine Guy should look a little deeper into the wines that go in the "everyday wine rack" because I really goofed here. How badly did I goof? Let's get started on this review and we will see. By the way for those of you interested. This is not my first review of the Trinitas Cellars wines, I actually did a review of their 2007 Trinitas Sauvignon Blanc. For another great Trinitas wine please check out that review on this blog.

   Since this review is on a type of grape named "Mataro" I would like to talk a little about this grape since prior to this tasting I had never heard of this grape and I will assume that you readers probably have not either so lets break this grape down and see what we can learn about it. The Mataro grape is a thick skinned, red wine grape and is typically used to blend with other wines. This grape was at one time widely grown in California however it now is nowhere near as popular  as it once was. The grape requires a lot of sun and and water (sounds perfect for the Las Vegas desert). This is also a late budding and ripening grape and is usually the last vine picked because of this. Some of the other characteristics of the Mataro grape are that it is high in Tannins and have intense color. The grape also usually takes several years of growing before the vine produces fruit worthy of being used as wine. The grape is believed to have a Spanish origin although this is uncertain. At one time it was the second-most-planted red-wine variety in Spain (behind Garnacha). The grape is known by many different names but when it came to California it took the name Mataro (also in Australia) which was taken from a town near Barcelona where the varietal was grown in the mid to late 1800s. In France the grape is known as Mourvèdre and Monastrell in Spain The grape is believed to have arrived in California in the 1860's. Mataro was first recognized as a distinct varietal in the 16th century. For those you who want to learn a bit more about this grape here is a great article. http://www.winebiz.com.au/pdf/WIJ-MourvedreVarietalReport.pdf please check it out.
   Lets now have a quick little look into the Trinitas Cellars vineyard itself. Located in Napa Valley California, Trinitas Cellars was established in 2002 by the Husband & Wife team of Tim & Steph Busch. The Busch family currently run the vineyard and do so from a godly standpoint as they point out on their website http://www.trinitascellars.com/Our-Story/Meet-The family and are very respected in their Catholic faith. When referring to Tim Busch the Trinitas cellars website says the following "Additionally, he (Tim Busch) serves on Boards for The Catholic University of America, Patrons of the Vatican Arts, John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington DC and the Papal Foundation".  The vineyard is a small one however Trinitas cellars has three different wine club consisting of The Trinity Club, Cardinal Club and finally the White Wine Club. Trinitas has a very unique tasting room which is located 40 feet below the actual vineyard in a cave and consists partly of a tasting bar which is made of beautiful marble and is located directly behind the Meritage Resort and Spa. The underground tasting room also happens to be the first underground tasting room in Napa. The tasting room is open daily from 11:00 am - 7:00 pm. The winemaker for Trinatas is Kevin Mills who joined Trinitas in 2007 after he spent approximately five years mentoring under Peju Province Winery winemaker Sean Foster. 
   Lets now move on to the part we have all been waiting for and that is the tasting. As I stated above having realized that I had never heard of let alone tasted a Mataro or a Mourvèdre or Monastrel as it is also called I was excited to see what this grape was all about. This wine is actually 81% Mataro, 9% Black Malvoisie, 7% petite Sirah and 3% Alicante Bouschet. What an incredible combination it turned out being by the way. I also decided that this was as good a time as any to open the box containing my new wine glasses I had recently purchased which is the Robert Mondavi By Waterford, Wine Tasting Collection. These beautiful glasses are real Crystal and each have a capacity of 16 ounces. They are 9 inches high x 3 inches in diameter. I grabbed one of these beautifully made glasses as well as the  Mataro and headed upstairs to my wine tasting room for what, to my surprise would turn out to be a review of way more than just an everyday wine. In keeping with my belief that a wine is best tasted at room temperature that is what I did. I also made the decision to not decant this wine. This wine, by the way was aged for 14 months in approximately 27% New American and French Oak. The first pour of our wine revealed a light to medium purple, almost plum in color. I filled my glass approximately a quarter of the way full and I proceeded to get down to business. The first thing I noticed apart from the color was that my nose was struck with the big, bright, incredible bouquet of this wine. The wine glass just erupted with fruit and oak. There was also the very nice taste of oak and a bright, power packed cherry mixed with blackberry and Cassis. The wine did strike me as having a bit of an alcohol taste but it did seem to compliment the wine rather than detract from it. The Mataro grape when made into wine sometimes can display a slightly high level of alcohol. This is most definitely a "big fruit" wine without a doubt. The wine explodes with flavor in your mouth. The wine was slightly on the dry side but again nothing that detracted from the taste in fact the slight dryness mixed with the bouquet and powerful fruit seemed to again compliment each other and increased the overall taste and enjoyment of the wine. There were also quite a bit of Tannins that held up very well in this wine to help ensure that it still maintained that powerhouse status in my opinion and will also ensure that this wine will hold up for at least another five or so years. Remember this is a 2005 bottle of wine that sold for $20. Talk about a deal. The end result in this tasting is that I was highly impressed with this wine and the fact that it has held up so well. The Bouquet, the taste, everything was simply wonderful. This happens to be a sign of the great knowledge and caring that the winemaker, Kevin Mills has put into his wine. It is also a sign that time was taken to craft this wine from the soil to the bottle, or as Trinitas Cellars says "the connection among sun, soil, and humanity". In summarizing, this is one heck of a wine and one not to be missed.
   I wanted to add this little bit of information in closing. Having enjoyed this wine so much I searched around on the Internet and was unable to find his wine available for purchase Since there was only between 367 & 700 (depending on whom you talk to) cases made originally this is understandable. I contacted Trinitas Cellars themselves and was informed that the wine is not available. I am sorry to say that unless you, the reader currently has a bottle of this wine you will just have to go thru life knowing that you did lose out on tasting a great bottle of wine. If you do happen to have a bottle in your wine cellar treat it well because you have Gold there Sir.

                                                                                                       The Desert Wine Guy 

The Desert Wine Guy - Take Care Of Your Own Vineyard First

   I am sitting here at my computer watching some YouTube videos about grape vines and how to prune and care for them. As you already know, I am not an expert at grape growing and I don't mind admitting that I am learning as I go. Having now said that  let me go on as to why I suddenly stopped watching the videos and had to write this short article. Doing my research I came across many types of vineyard videos. There are some that teach how to prune. There some that teach how to fertilize or how to train the vine and this is all well and good. There are some really good videos out there that can and do teach the proper care and maintenance of the vineyard. There are however,  also some videos that should not be posted at all. While some of those videos appear to be produced very well they just go against everything that the real professionals with the vineyards in Napa Valley put out. These videos also have vines that look like they have never been cared for until the day the video was being made, the vines look simply out of control. These are the same videos that show the person in the video yanking and pulling on the vines or cutting the vine incorrectly or at the wrong places, basically the vines look like a mess. I would be embarrassed to show some of the vineyards that some of these people show. I think that our vineyards should be treated correctly and that includes how they look, especially if you are going to make videos on how to care for them. If you have canes growing all over the place or canes that were never trained correctly you will have a vineyard that is out of control or appears to be growing unattended.
    Folks the bottom line here is if you want to post a video on Facebook to try and teach or show someone a vineyard and how one should look or how to take care of one please have your own vineyard in order first otherwise you appear to be someone who just wants attention and just got a video camera. 

                                                                                                        The Desert Wine Guy

The Desert Wine Guy - The Benefits Of Red Wine - Fact Or Fiction

   Today we will discuss if wine can be healthy? Lets take a look and see if that is the case. The first thing we have to remember is that old practices die hard. When there is one train of thought and it is taught for so long anything that comes up to show that train of thought is not accurate is of course looked upon as a "fringe" idea. Is the case it's whether wine can be healthy for you? Let's look into

this still controversial subject and see what we discover.
   The following is taken directly from an article from Yale-New Haven Hospital  "For over 10 years, research has indicated that moderate intake of alcohol improves cardiovascular health. In fact, in 1992 Harvard researchers included moderate alcohol consumption as one of the "eight proven ways to reduce coronary heart disease risk." However, research has suggested that specifically red wine is the most beneficial to your heart health. The cardioprotective effect has been attributed to antioxidants present in the skin and seeds of red grapes". The antioxidants they are talking about are called flavonoids. Flavoroids have been shown to reduce your bad cholesterol. Oxidized low-density lipoproteins (LDL) damage the cells that line blood vessel walls by provoking numerous responses including inflammation, smooth muscle cell proliferation and clotting mechanisms, all of which lead to atherosclerosis, can you say heart disease? One the other hand antioxidants which are in red wine raise your good cholesterol. They also have been shown to reduce blood clotting. The research has actually shown that MODERATE red wine consumption may actually benefit more than just your heart. According to the Mayo Clinic, "moderate" is defined as up to one drink a day for women or two drinks a day for men. There is some evidence that the antioxidants might also inhibit the development of tumors such as Prostate cancer and help in the development of nerve cells which touches on helping cure Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. The antioxidant in red wine is called Polyphenols The particular antioxidant we are looking at here is Resveratrol which comes from red grape skins, red wine. Most of the research that has been done on Resveratrol has been done on animals but so far (although there has been some done on Humans) it is promising and the hope is that the good news plays out in humans as well. According to WebMd, Dr. Alice Lichtenstein & Dr. Eric Rimm, a Harvard researcher choose whichever alcoholic beverage you enjoy, drink it in moderation and try to have it with meals, advises Lichtenstein and Eric Rimm, DrS, a Harvard researcher. There was a study done and published in The New England Journal of Medicine of more that 20,000 women between the ages of 70-83 shows that moderate drinkers scored higher on a mental functions test than those that don't drink and had a 23% reduced risk of mental decline compared to the non-drinkers. Another Polyphenol in red wine is called Proanthocyanidin also a class of Flavonids which is another powerful antioxidant. Proanthocyanidins in one study kills free radicals (can you say aging). In an in vitro experiment testing the response of human mouth cells to the free radical damage caused by smokeless tobacco, grape seed OPCs were a stronger antioxidant than vitamins C and E, even when the two vitamins were combined. How do you determine your wine has all the above? Drink a full-bodied red wine aged in oak because it appears that they have the highest antioxidant properties.
   There are, of course some issues with Alcohol in general, HOWEVER after doing my research into the subject, the negatives of MODERATE drinking do not seem to apply to normal,active, healthy people. Wine does however contain Alcohol and has sugar which means calories. According to the website http://winefolly.com/tutorial/wine-nutrition-facts/ "Alcohol has almost 2 times the amount of carbs as sugar". That is NOT a good thing and whether healthy or not too much sugar is not healthy and should be avoided. Whether you drink red or white though wine does matter even when it comes to sugar because some white wines contain more sugar than do red wines. Pregnant women should avoid drinking wine or any other alcohol during their pregnancy, as even small amounts of alcohol consumed during pregnancy increases risks of birth defects and fetal death. If exposed to alcohol, unborn babies may suffer a number of negative side effects, which will influence their physical and mental health: odd facial features, smaller size in comparison to other children of their age, learning and behavior problems etc. Also according to Arthur Agatston, MD, cardiologist and creator of the popular South Beach diet "There is a misperception that red wine is abundant in antioxidants. "It does contain some, but they are not always well absorbed. If you want antioxidants, you are better off eating a spinach salad with vegetables than drinking a glass of red wine"
   In ending this article it is my (non-medical) belief that a normal, who drinks a couple (MODERATELY) of glasses of red wine red wine should enjoy the benefits to their health. The fact that red wine contains sugar I believe is overshadowed by the many benefits in the wine. Here is my disclaimer. I am not a doctor and am not giving medical advice in this article.

                                                                                                         The Desert Wine Guy

The Desert WIne Guy - Las Vegas Climate And The growing Of Cabernet Sauvignon Grapes.

   Growing almost anything here in the Las Vegas desert would seem to many be almost impossible, I know it did to me.  How about the idea of growing a vineyard?  Is such a thing possible in the heat and dryness of Las Vegas where The Desert Wine Guy lives? Well that just so happens to be the subject of this article. Today we are going to discuss soil and climate influences on Cabernet Sauvignon in particular and on the vineyard as a whole. Those us us who are interested in growing, or the growth of grapes (or any plant for that matter) know that soil and climate we grow our plants in is very important. According to the Southern Valley Water Authority (the water company) The Las Vegas soil is clay sand, rock & Caliche. I know that doesn't seem to great for growing grapes of all things. That is also what I thought until I saw it done. I know when I thought of grapes I always thought of Napa Valley where for the most part they have a darker soil full of nutrients. That was all proven wrong when I planted my vineyard. Las Vegas soil does have it's drawbacks initially. For those of you who live in a part of the country that does not have Caliche, Caliche is super hard rocks that can come in different sizes up to the size of boulders and large areas of super hard rock and require special machines to break up and can be very expensive especially when putting in a pool. The soil here in Vegas is supposed to be lacking of many nutrients and are missing the proper alkalinity or PH to really support plants properly. There are some articles that claim that the native soil here is also salty. If you notice, I used the word "supposed" above. I say this because I have a very beautiful garden in the summer. I have plants actually have plants that grow back in the winter, by themselves. Right now I actually have a Kale plant that came back by itself. I also have onions that have been growing, again by themselves. In a week or two as the weather starts to stay warmer at night I will have mint and Celery come back just as I did last year. Last year I actually planted my vegetables garden in early February and had no issues. For the past two years I have grown Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and they have grown beautifully. They developed full canopy's, produced tons of grapes and stayed healthy all year other then Skeltonizer (see my past article on this pest). I have never added any fertilizer although this year when I re-did my vineyard I did bring in soil that had fertilizer in it simply because I had the opportunity to do it easily. How I can get away with growing plants and a vineyard in the past with native soil I don't know but I am not complaining.  If there really is such a thing as a "green thumb" I might just have one. Lets start looking into climate and soil conditions and just how they effect our Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard.
    Since Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the last major grape varieties to bud as well as ripen. This plays a major role in why the grape does so well here in Vegas. The weather the vine grows in determines it's suitability as a varietal wine as well as when it's grapes ripen or even if the get a chance to ripen.  Gravel, clay and Limestone soils such as here in Vegas are perfect soils for Cabernet. The gravel benefits the vine by assisting in drainage and taking the heat away from the roots. The clay and limestone in the soil usually helps keep the soil cooler which allows less heat to reach the vines and in turn keeps the yields naturally low. There is even something called "Rutherford Dust" which is supposed to add to the taste of a Rutherford Cabernet. The Rutherford Dust comes from the fact that Rutherford California has soil which is considered dusty. There are also some climate and soil characteristics that actually effect the taste of the grape. In a climate (soil) that has more Prazine compounds. The main Prazine  we worry about is Methoxypyrazines since in large enough quantities it can ruin the flavor of the wine. Their threshold in red wine, especially Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot, has been reported to be as low as 10 to 15 parts per trillion. But within the range of their occurrence, their aroma can be overpowering and unpleasant. Thankfully Methoxypyrazines decreases as the grape ripens. Picking grapes to early can also mean a strong Methoxypyrazines flavor. The best way to describe thesecharacteristics  are, vegetal. A study was done that showed that in Cabernet Sauvignon after racking most of the pyrazine (methoxypyrazines) was extracted from the grapes withing 24 hours of crushing. The study also showed that aging a wine does not effect the level of pyrazine present. This is great news for Cabernet Sauvignon which loves aging. A last word about pyrazines is they can contribute to a wine having that "Green Pepper Flavor" but again this impact is only when a grape is picked early. The flavors imparted by pyrazine are also dependent on the wine making process. One other factor which is part of climate is weather. Depending on the area of the country you live in also matters. If you live in a place that has a very short growing season (think lack of sun) due to the weather then Cabernet Sauvignon is not for you. The grape is slow to flower (which helps avoid frost injury) and slow to grow so it needs a long growing season. Here in Vegas we have that covered very well and I have no problems with growth thanks to the Vegas sun and soil. The weather conditions here do however cause a slight hindrance and that is that Cabernet Sauvignon develops a dense canopy and the sun has a hard time getting thru this canopy to the grapes at times so canopy management is essential to the grapes growing well. If your climate is too cold or doesn't warm up enough you stand the risk of the grapes not fully ripening "Green Pepper Flavor". Poor canopy management can also lead to poor fruit pigmentation, high pH, and reduced varietal aroma. Rain is another problem. If the climate you live in brings to much rain that is also bad. Rain means clouds and clouds of course mean no sun. Rain also means that the grapes take on more water which dilutes the taste of the grape. With too much rain, the grape berries start to swell and can split, and then you have to worry about spoilage, mold and mildew. Rain is also a concern in the spring. Grapes are formed from flowers,  a heavy rain can knock the blooms off the plant and reduce the size of the crop. Damp conditions can also lead to mildew and other diseases. To make things easier for us to know what to grow or what varieties to grow areas of the country are broken down into zones or hardiness zones . For our purpose which is  growing Cabernet Sauvignon, the zones 5 – 8 are what is preferred. There are also Sunset Zones which is determined by the following factors. Summer temperature, rainfall, humidity, elevation and wind. In Las Vegas we are actually zone 8-9 and normally we only have to worry about the wind. There is also the problem of pests. Depending on the (climate) zone you live in there are certain pests that you have to worry about and certain ones you don't have to worry about.
   I hope this article has shed some light for you on the idea of growing Cabernet Sauvignon here in the desert or for that matter where you in particular live. I have tried to provide all relevant climate information to help you determine how to grow Cabernet Sauvignon. If you need any more help or information please get with me on The Desert Wine Guy Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DesertWineGuy?ref=hl and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

                                                                                                       The Desert Wine Guy

The Desert WIne Guy - 2006 Monastery Tvrdos, Cabernet Sauvignon

   Hey guys today we are truly in for a treat and an education. A treat because of the wine we are tasting and an education because of where our wine is made, which is a 13th century Monastery. Yes you read it right, a monastery. To start off with let me tell you about how I came across our wine. I was doing some shopping at the local Whole Foods grocery store here in Las Vegas the other day and as I usually do I went over to the wine section looking for a wine to review for this blog. I saw all the usual bottles and labels BUT then I came across our review wine, the 2006 Monastery Tvrdos (http://www.tvrdos.com/en/) Cabernet Sauvignon I instantly knew that this was the one. The label alone intrigued me and I picked  up the bottle and discovered that it was from an actual  monastery. O.k I'm hooked this is the one. I bought this wine on a Thursday and couldn't wait to taste it. I was so excited that I placed it over my other pending reviews. Before I get to the actual review let's talk a little bit about the Monastery.
   Monastery Tvrdos is an actual monastery located in Herzegovina which is actually in Bosnia. It is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina located in southeastern Europe. The Monastery dates back to the Middle Ages. The Monastery was founded by Czar, Saint Constantine and his mother Saint Helen. It was destroyed at one time and later became the endowment of the Serbian King Milulian at the end of the 13th century. There was a time when Serbian Monks used the Monastery to make the tradition of Serbian wine making. The Monastery is today a Serbian Orthodox Church. Today the Monastery actually has two cellar's. One of the cellars is made of stone and dates from the 15th century. The grape known as Vranac is aged there in barrels that are over one hundred years old. Vranac is a black skinned grape  that is related to Zinfandel by the way. Close to the old cellar is a modern up to date one. The Monastery today makes Vranac & Zilawka as well as the more familiar wines such as Chardonnay, Merlot, Syrah and of course the grape of our subject wine, the $20 2006 Monastery Tvrdos Cabernet Sauvignon.
   Alright everyone here we go. This wine was chilled for about 20 minutes prior to opening it. This was just enough time to put a slight edge on the wine but not make it, what I would in any way call cold. The one thing I did immediately notice is that there really was no bouquet to this wine. There was a slight Blackberry / Oak aroma but nothing really to speak of. This did disappoint and surprise me slightly especially after tasting the wine.  This  also happens to be a corked wine which we all know  I like. The first pour of our wine strikes your eye as a dark, red berry almost Burgundy color. After giving our glass a few swirls the taste has a rich powerful blackberry forward taste followed by a hint of Cherry and Current. There are also a good amount of Tannin's which add to and compliment this beautiful Cabernet, another surprise for a wine bottled in 2006 especially and at this price. I should add that this wine also has a hint of almost a jammy sort of flavor to it but in a very good way. One word that popped into my mind while first drinking this wine was "interesting". While the Blackberry was the first flavor I tasted it was a perfect start to the wine and was complimented by the perfect mix of all the wines other flavors
   To sum this wine up lets start by saying that it is on my all time favorites list. I will be buying two more bottles to put away since this wine will hold up for a good few more years. without any problems. Knowing where and by whom the wine is made I feel adds to the enjoyment of this wine. This wine retains it's full bodied flavor to the very end. It doesn't drop off at any point and it leaves a pleasant, though slightly dry taste in your mouth. I do recommend that the wine be decanted for approximately a half an hour since the wine opens up beautifully into a powerhouse Cabernet. If there is going to be some food eaten along side this wine I recommend eating something along the lines of mildly spicy food such a a nicely spiced Lamb or Sausage. In fact with the summer coming it is screaming for barbecue. Recommendation......get a bottle of this wine, now!!

                                                                                                        The Desert WIne Guy

The Desert Wine Guy - Sulfites In Our Wine, What's The Real Deal?

   At the request of one of The Desert Wine Guys fans today's article is on Sulfites. It is possible that you have never even noticed that there are things called Sulfites that are put into our wines we drink. It's also possible that you have never noticed that the notification of the Sulfites is actually on the warning label. Why would a wine maker put a warning label on its product telling you that something named Sulfites are in their wine? That is a great question. Is it possible that Sulfites are a danger? You will come also to learn that the debate on Sulfites is far from over. There are wine makers that feel that Sulfites cause no harm for most people and are actually needed in wine to preserve it. This belief is evident in the fact that most wines add them to their wine. There are others who claim that there is no need for Sulfites. When it comes to the use of Sulfites in wine there is even debate on when they were even first used. As we read on we learn about Sulfites and you can judge for yourself the real deal. We will end in the usual way with me giving you my opinion and why I feel the way that I do. Let's begin.

   What are Sulfites? The Sulfite we will deal with is Sulfur Dioxide because that is what is used in wine. There are many types of Sulfites that get lumped into that name however. According to the EPA "Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is one of a group of highly reactive gasses known as “oxides of sulfur.”. According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services Sulfur Dioxide ".... is produced from the burning of fossil fuels (coal and oil) and the smelting of mineral ores (aluminum, copper, zinc, lead and iron) that contain sulfur. It is a liquid under pressure and dissolves in water quickly. Once dissolved, it reacts with the water to form new compounds called Sulfites. According to the California Department of Pesticide Information " when Sulfur Dioxide is used to sanitize corks, barrels and equipment, the compound is legally classified as a pesticide". Not only is it a pesticide but it is also a federally restricted pesticide. Prior to going to print with this article there was an article that came out. According to the South Jersey Times newspaper in a article dated January 8, 2014 which you can find at(http://www.nj.com/gloucestercounty/index.ssf/2014/01/schools_sheltered_dep_testing_for_sulfur_dioxide_following_paulsboro_refinery_incident.html) "Schools sheltered, DEP testing for sulfur dioxide following Paulsboro refinery incident". According to the article there was a fire at the REFINERY and Sulfur Dioxide was released into the air. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica Sulfur Dioxide is an "inorganic compound, a heavy, colourless, poisonous gas. It is produced in huge quantities in intermediate steps of sulfuric acid manufacture". Did you read Sulfuric Acid? There are natural Sulfites and man made Sulfites. Sulfiting agents include Sulfur Dioxide which include the following.

1) Potassium Pyrosulfite: Potassium Pyrosulfite is a white crystalline powder with a pungent Sulfur odor. The main use for the chemical is as an antioxidant or chemical sterilant. It is a disulfite and is chemically very similar to Sodium Metabisulfite, with which it is sometimes used interchangeably. Potassium Metabisulfite is generally preferred out of the two as it does not contribute sodium to the diet.

2) Sodium Sulfite: Sodium Sulfite also known as Sodium sulfite Heptahydrate. According to the company Solvay, Sodium Sulfite is ".....a white, granular or powdered solid. It is used in the pulp and paper  industry, in the photographic industry to keep developer solutions from oxidizing and to wash fixer from film and photo-paper, in the textile industry asa bleach, desulfurizer ordechlorinator and in the tanning of leather". Some amount of Sodium Sulfites are naturally in wine.  It prevents bacterial growth and the browning of exposed foods. It also prevents the growth of undesirable microorganisms during fermentation (wine) and food processing. The Sulfites used in wine-making are also a residue of natural gas & petroleum crude.

3) Sodium Bisulfite: Sodium Bisulfite which is a combination of Sodium, Hydrogen, Sulfur and Oxygen. It is also called Sodium Hydrogen Sulfate, and is classed as a Sulfite, or Sulfur-based chemical. Its natural form is a white crystalline powder, but turns yellow in solution. It is acidic, considered corrosive, and is a powerful reducing agent used in water treatment, textile dye preparation and film development".

4) Sodium Metabisulfite: Sodium Metabisulfite in the pure form may cause an allergic, asthma-type reaction, skin causing redness, itching and pain. Ingesting pure sodium metabisulfite irritates your gastrointestinal system as it reacts with acid in your stomach by releasing sulfurous acid. Ingesting high amounts may cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pains, circulatory disturbance and central nervous system depression.Inhalation of sodium metabisulfite irritates your respiratory tract. Symptoms include coughing and shortness of breath. In some individuals.

   Do Sulfites cause headaches?  The answer is we don't know. According to Annie Arnold, owner of The Organic Wine Exchange  "People often blame Sulphur, when in reality there are a host of other issues that may contribute to headaches. Experts say more study is warranted, and that there is dissent,  however a lot of research suggests that the headache culprits might be histamine and Tyramine, other chemical substances that are naturally present in wine. Histamine dilates blood vessels and Tyramine first constricts then dilates blood vessels — ouch! By the way Riesling (I like) is one of the higher Tyramine containing wines. Dan L. Keiller, president of the newly formed Medical Wine Interest and Education Society in San Diego, says several studies from Europe show that “red wines, in general, contain more Histamine than Champagnes or Sparkling wines and those usually contain more Histamine than [still] white wines, indeed headaches from red wine are so common that the phenomenon has its own name, “RWH Syndrome”-that’s “red wine headache.” But, Dr. Keiller goes on  to add, “Histamine content does not correlate consistently with color, bouquet or taste characteristics of the wine.” There is even thought that the wood that the wine is fermented in may cause headaches. Lets also not forget that we are drinking a lot of sugar when we drink most alcohol. I think the most common reason for headaches is overdose. To keep this debate going though I'll leave you with this. Sulfites can cause allergy and asthma symptoms, but they don’t cause headaches,” says Frederick Freitag, associate director of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago and a board member of the National Headache Foundation. There is a belief that  people might actually be the cause of the headaches often blamed on Sulfites.

   Why the heck is Sulfur dioxide in my wine? It's primary purpose in wine is to act as a preservative and antioxidant. It is supposedly there also to preserve wine quality and freshness. Sulfur Dioxide is also added to kill the yeast and to stop fermentation at a specific point and to prevent discoloration

   Do we need Sulfur Dioxide in my wine? The answer is NO. and they might also be dangerous. There are organic wines that do not have any Sulfites other that the small amount that naturally occurs and yet they maintain very well. The fact is that aside from organic grapes being grown without synthetic pesticides they are also not preserved with Sulfur Dioxide. Did you know that Alcohol itself is a natural preservative?  I've even heard of chilling the wine in the vat to cause the suspended yeast to precipitate to the bottom, then drawing off the clarified wine from the top. Is it harder to find wine that has no Sulfites, yes but it is a growing market. Here is a link http://www.theorganicwinecompany.com/ that you might find interesting.  According to WebMD, the FDA estimates that one out of 100 people are sensitive to Sulphur compounds. If you've ever gotten a reaction after eating dried fruit, which often contains sulfur as a preservative, then you may be among those who are sensitive to Sulphur in varying degrees. This could be anything from intolerance to allergic reactions. There are even instances of people dying due to being allergic to Sulfites and having Asthma. According to Paul Frey of Frey Vineyards http://www.freywine.com/no-sulfites-added.html "for most of wine's eight-thousand year history it was made without any synthetic additives at all. Sulphur Dioxide is a relatively new industrial ingredient in the history of wine. He goes on to say "Sulfite is a nonessential preservative. It has never been allowed as an additive in any food or wine that carries the USDA organic seal. By using alternative organic methods, food processors and winemakers do not need to use sulfur dioxide". Wine makers claim that Sulfites help preserve the wine however Paul Frey claims if a wine is made and stored correctly it can last for a long time without any issues. By the way white wines and sweet wines have one of the highest uses of Sulfur Dioxide because they are more prone to Oxidation.

   O.k now for my take on this matter. To me it is obvious (once again) that all these chemicals are NOT good for you. If Mr. Frey believes that a good wine can be made without adding chemicals (Sulfites) then I'll go for that. By the way there are more than a few wine makers who do not add Sulfites to their wines. Check out this link http://www.theorganicwinecompany.com/ as well as this one http://wine.about.com/od/wineandhealth/a/Organicwines.htm to find out more. If I could I would stay away from adding chemicals or pesticides (see my previous article) however sometimes it is either not possible or convenient. I hope this article has shed some light on what the label on the back of the wine bottle means. I am curious to know just how many people will change their wine drinking habits because of this article. If I had to guess I would guess that although it is nice to know what Sulfites are we will continue to drink them.Who do I believe? I'll let you know as soon as I drink my newly acquired bottle of Monastery Tvrdos, Cabernet Sauvignon

                                                                                                        The Desert Wine Guy

The Desert WIne Guy - 2010 Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay - A Tainted Bottle Perhaps?

   Today's review will be on the 2010  Chateau Ste. Michelle from the Chateau Ste. Michelle vineyards (http://www.ste-michelle.com/) located in the Columbia Valley of Washington state. To begin with Chateau Ste. Michelle is the oldest winery in Washington State. The winery is located around 15 miles North of Seattle it is also very critically acclaimed. The winery was originally formed as the American Wine Company however in 1954 it merged with a company named The National Wine Company and The Pomerelle Wine Company. Chateau Ste. Michelle is approximately 90 acres consisting not only of vineyards of which there are 3,500 acres of them but also of large amounts of old trees since there use to be a lumber company there previously. The company now is producing over  2,000,000 cases a year. According to Wine & Spirits Magazine Chateau Ste. Michelle has been voted their "Winery of the Year" for the 19th time. Chateau Ste. Michelle is also the largest producer of Riesling in the world and happens to make one of my favorite Riesling. The Riesling they produce is not to sweet and not to dry and is packed with fruit flavor.
   O.k everyone here goes this review but first hold on to your seats.  You can call me crazy with what I am about to say but I am going to say it anyway. This wine took 2 hours to finally stabilize in it's taste. Yep, you heard it right, two hours. The wine, believe it or not kept fluctuating in taste. The Bouquet was of bright Peach with a hint of apricot and honeydew HOWEVER that would disappear while the glass was sitting for a few minutes. The taste of the wine itself also changed constantly. That sounds crazy doesn't it? I have never experienced that in a  wine. I actually almost gave up attempting to review this wine. I would taste the wine and and write some notes down pertaining to its characteristic but when I went to taste the wine again I tasted something completely different. I finally in the end came up with the idea of actually decanting a white wine which is NOT a very common thing to do. Well as it turns out the wine did finally settle down and I did get to review it which is why I decided to possibly decant next time. Please continue reading and find out just how this wine turned out.
   I actually had placed this wine in the fridge for about 20 minutes prior to drinking which those you who follow The desert Wine Guy know I don't normally do with my wines. The first pour of this 2010 Chateau Ste. Michelle  Chardonnay revealed a light to medium golden color wine. Upon the first sampling of the bouquet there was a very pleasant peach intermixed slightly with apricot & almost a honeydew. The bouquet was not overly sweet smelling but yet did stand out and promise you a very rich Chardonnay. The first taste of this Chardonnay had the taste of Peach come straight forward followed by Apricot and ending with honeydew also. I actually thought the wine was very pleasant...at first. That was until I tasted it again and I didn't recognize it. The wine actually changed it's taste while in the glass because when I tasted it again the peach was gone. The bouquet actually picked up a slight burnt smell to it also. The flavor as I already have said, changed. The Honeydew had left and was replaced by grapefruit while still retaining the apricot. The wine also picked up a strong alcohol taste. The peach in the bouquet also disappeared. When I would swirl the glass the peach and honeydew came back in the bouquet and taste but as soon as the wine sat for a short period of time the Peach and honeydew were gone again. I now had been trying for over 1 hour to actually see some stability in this wine but still at the 1 hour mark I had the same issues, I could not determine exactly what the real taste of the wine was. I actually wrote in my notes at the time the following "I give up. The wine is too inconsistent to review the flavor. DONE!!!!" I didn't feel like opening up another bottle of wine due to it being late in the day and close to dinner time so I figured I would drink the rest and never buy it again. After about 2 hours though I started to notice that the flavor finally stabilized and became consistent. The bouquet was Peach & a hint of Apricot and honeydew which was consistent all throughout the tasting however this time those flavors remained.  The wine itself became a Grapefruit forward wine ending in apricot AND that weird alcohol taste. The Peach taste was gone.
   Here is My final take on this 2010 Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay. I don't think the wine is worth the trouble. The wine is constantly in flux and changes in taste for around 2 hours going back and forth between all the above flavors and has a hard time settling down. True the wine costs $10 dollars but that in today's day and age is no excuse. I do not want to pay $10 for a Chardonnay, or any other white wine for that matter and have to wait 2 hours before I know what it tastes like. That is too much trouble. I will in the future review another Chardonnay and report on it. I know I have some readers that are interested in Chardonnay and I am sorry but I cannot recommend this wine to you.
   After writing this article I decided to do some research. I read some reviews on this wine on line and discovered that people seem to love it. I am starting to believe that it might be possible that I got a bad bottle and after seeing those other reviews I have decided to revisit this wine again in the not to distant future. I will assume that the bottle was spoiled or contaminated somehow and therefore for the sake of fairness I will not be giving a recommendation on this wine today. I will re-review this wine soon and give my final verdict on it. Please check back.
   As I close this review I wish to remind you guys of one thing. As I have previously stated in one of my first articles in this blog. People have different tastes so what I recommend you look for in my opinion is a reviewer who has similar tastes to you. If you read a review from a reviewer on a wine and he likes that particular wine and you also happen to like that wine then you can be reasonably assured that your tastes on that type of wine are similar and you can possibly choose to go by that reviewers judgement. Then again maybe he matches your tastes in red wines only. The reviewers opinion might be way different than you when it comes to white wines and you might want to think twice about following his opinion on white wines. Basically wine is all about personal opinion. A great wine to me might be a bad wine to you. If you don't like a deep oakey red than you will probably disagree with my reviews on a red wine. If you like a very dry Riesling the same goes there. I hope you are understanding what I mean. I say this because it is very possible that when I re-review the Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay I will come up with the same findings. Then again maybe I will discover that the wine I originally tasted was indeed tainted, we will see.

                                                                                                         The Desert Wine Guy