South Carolina Wine Joe

On February 19. 2019, Turner Publishing will be releasing a new Mystery/Thriller, "Root Cause" by Steven Laine.  The story unfolds in vineyards throughout the world and the publisher provided me with an advance copy for my review.  The following is the synopsis of the book furnished by the publisher: Synopsis Can you imagine a world without wine? Corvina Guerra is a flying winemaker who dreams of one day settling down in her native Italy on her family’s vineyard. On a visit to a vineyard in Italy, Corvina makes a startling discovery: Phylloxera, a menacing plant louse that devastated vineyards in Europe more than a hundred years ago, has infested the vines.    After reporting her findings to her company, Universal Wines, Corvina is charged with investigating the spread of the bug. Nicknamed Philomena by the media, the aphid is soon discovered in vineyards around the world. To aid in her investigation, Corvina recruits a wine expert in London, Bryan Lawless. In purs

It has been a long time since I last enjoyed a Malbec enough to recommend it on this blog.  That changed when I found Tapiz Alta Collection Malbec 2015 at Costco for $13.89.  The unique feature of this wine is that it is a single vineyard, estate grown wine.  The grapes were grown at Tapiz' San Pablo Vineyard in the Uco Valley of Mendozza Argentina.  This vineyard is located at 4430 feet above sea level, where the grapes are said to be sustainably farmed.  The wine is aged 9 months in French (85%) and American (15%) oak barrels, all first or second use. This rich violet colored wine begins with flavors of raspberry, blueberry and blackberry, but the flavor changes as the wine lingers on the tongue and finishes with plum and dark chocolate.  I really like this complex wine.  James Suckling rated the wine at 94 points.  Wine Spectator went 91 points and called it a smart buy and a top value. SC Wine Joe rating = 92 points

A few years ago, we had a great visit to the Martin Ray tasting room near Santa Rosa California.  The staff was knowledgeable and a lot of fun.  Anyone who is a regular Total Wine customer has seen Martin Ray Wines along with their lower priced Courney Benham and Angeline Wines.  These are some of the best "winery direct" wines in the store. However, the Martin Ray wines can be found at retailers other than Total Wine and I found this bottle at Costco.  This wine sells for $25 at Total Wine and Costco is selling it for $15.99 which is a 36% discount from the full price.  Even the best Total Wine coupon cannot match the Costco price. This Pinot is made primarily from grapes grown in the Russian River Valley along with a lesser amount of fruit from Carneros.  It is aged 11 months in French Oak and has 13.8% alcohol.  James Suckling rated this wine at 94 points.  He found the wine to be medium to full bodied with flavors of dried cherry and strawberry.  I generally approve

On August 1, 2017, I wrote about Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2015 that I found at Lidl for $4.99.  Since that blog was well received, I thought I should post this update.  Lidl raised the price of the wine to $5.99 but this week, ending Wednesday, January 16, 2019, the wine is on sale for $2.99.  Yes, it is $2.99. We still do not know the name of the winery responsible for this wine.  It is made from the Montepulciano grapes harvested in 2016 in Abruzzo and has 13% alcohol.  That is all we can learn about the wine. My previous description is still valid.  It is a medium bodied wine with flavors of tart cherry, pomegranate and blackberry.  A reader commented that it is an unpretentious wine.  I recommended drinking it with red pasta which is what I did last night.  I vigorously aerated the wine in my decanter before drinking and I again thought the wine improved with time.  I usually think that $3 wine is not worth buying.  However, this time I plan to return to Lidl and buy more

I keep finding great Pinot Noir from Oregon, especially if I am willing to part with a few dollars more than I otherwise spend on wine.  Pinot Noir grapes require more labor and Oregon has the strictest wine making regulations in the United States.  These regulations ensure that you are drinking quality wine that has not been manipulated with additives or mystery ingredients.  The result is that Oregon wines simply cost more than corresponding wines from California and Washington. Dobbes Family Estate assembles grapes from multi vineyards for this wine.  It is aged for 14 months in French Oak (20% new).  18% of the grapes are fermented as whole clusters. The wine is a dark ruby color.  Although I tasted raspberry in the initial sip, I later tasted more blackberry, oak and minor vanilla.  This is another quality Willamette Valley Pinot Noir which has darker fruit flavors than average. At the winery, this wine sells for $28.  My local Costco currently has this for $20.69 and the st

I was browsing in my local wine shop and noticed this Bocelli Tenor Red Rosso Tuscana 2015.  Since I have always been a fan of the Bocelli Sangiovese, I decided to give this Super Tuscan red blend a try.  In doing my research, I found that the 2015 was released two years ago, so I am always concerned that the wine may not have been stored under ideal conditions. Tenor Red is a blend of 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Sangiovese and 33% Merlot.  It is considered a "Super Tuscan" wine since it blends Sangiovese with non indigenous grapes.  I have found several Super Tuscans that have this same equal blending of these three grapes. This is a very aromatic wine with a nose of earthy dark fruit.  There  are flavors of black cherry, blackberry and some oak on the finish.  The flavors linger in the mouth for a long finish.  I enjoyed this wine and could not detect any storage related issues.  I paid $16.99 and my research indicates that it has been sold for less elsewhere ($12.99 at