Beer Review: Rodenbach Grand Cru

I've done a few beer reviews now for this wine blog and it's always fun. I love beer. In fact, lately I've been consuming more beer than wine, as I've been spitting wine to write my reviews and taste at the spring grand tastings. But beer to me is a delicious refreshment that I can occasionally geek out about if it's good enough. Wine, on the other hand, is an all encompassing obsession.

This beer caught my eye with its name, clearly referring to wine.

Rodenbach is located in Roeselare, Belgium and was founded in 1821 by four brothers. Eugene Rodenbach, the grandson of one of those brothers, took over in 1878 and traveled to England to learn how to age beer in oak barrels and blend young and old beers together to create a balanced and wonderful beer. Rodenbach was sold to Palm Brewery in 1998 but the tradition of the founding family continues.

Grand Cru is a Red Ale with 33% young beer and 67% old beer that was aged for two years in oak barrels. The name Grand Cru refers to the oak aging like some of the finest wines in France, and claiming its "finish is worthy of a great wine". It's highly rated and praised across the interwebs.

Read More

The "Red Chardonnay"

It was lovely. And it was probably Cabernet. #retailproblems

Read More

Wine Review: Marietta Old Vine Red Lot Number 61

I recently had a customer that was so adamant about a wine that it was inspiring. He wanted to order a case for himself and said we should carry it as well. He went on to talk about Robert Parker's longtime admiration for the wine, described the wine perfectly with glowing eyes, and recalled past lot numbers and how they fared in reviews. When I went to get him a case price I saw that it was from a distributor we normally don't deal with and it would be a three case drop just to have it delivered. I saw no problem with taking in two cases to stack based on his recommendation.

That wine was Marietta Old Vine Red Lot Number 61. When it came in I bought a bottle for myself and now I'm about to have it for the first time.

Read More

Is there concrete all around or is it in my head?

I've drunk a lot of wine
and I'm feelin' fine
Got to race some cat to bed
Is there concrete all around
Or is it in my head?
Mott The Hoople / All The Young Dudes

Read More

Wine Review: Treana 2012 White

Yes, that's Treana in that picture. Doesn't look anything like the old label, right? That's fitting because for years it hasn't been of the quality that it built its reputation on back in the day. I'm not saying it's been bad,  I wouldn't complain if it was being poured, I'm just saying it's been okay.

The blend is 50% Marsanne and 50% Viognier. Two wonderful grapes in their own right that do wonderful things together. Because of that, as a big supporter of the white Rhone varietals, I want every year to be a return to greatness for Treana.

Read More

Gandalf goes shopping.

Gandalf is having a hard time in the liquor store.

Read More

Wine, Lies and Glycol - The Austrian Antifreeze Scandal

If you've never had a wine from Austria then you're missing out, my friend. The next time you see one you should buy it. It doesn't matter which one really, because Austria is so focused on the quality of the wines they export that you will never find a bad bottle. They're all about good reputation... but there's a reason for that.

There was a time when the reputation of Austrian wine was burnt to the ground and all that was left was smoking ash. I'm not saying their reputation for wine was great before then because it wasn't. Most of it was sweet and cheap. But a shocking discovery had their bottles ripped from shelves all over the world. So what happened that hurt them so much?

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Austrian antifreeze scandal.

Read More

April Wine Pick: Zolo 2013 Torrontés

This WINE PICK of the month was written for the Luke's of Cape Cod website.

Torrontés is unique to Argentina and it's kind of a fascinating grape family with historic roots. The three Torrontés varieties are all crosses of the Mission grape, which the Conquistadors and monks brought over to the Americas, and Muscat of Alexandria, perhaps the oldest wine grape on Earth.

Unfortunately most Torrontés available lack personality. When done right, as Argentineans know, it's nothing but personality. Zolo makes theirs from the Torrontés Riojano variety, and it's the epitome of Torrontés done right.

Read More