Category Archives: Wine 101

Acker Merrall hits Chicago and likes it

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Acker Merrall & Condit made its first foray into Chicago and walked away happy wine merchants. It’s first-ever wine auction, held Oct. 22 at the Trump Hotel, grossed a healthy $3.55 million with 92% of the lots sold.
Among the lots sold:
* Three magnums 2002 Romanee Conti (lot 298, sold for $67,100);
* Six magnums 1990 La Tache (lot 304, sold for $67,100);
* An assortment of DRC 2000 (lot 236, sold for $26,840);
* A full case of 1962 La Romanee by Leroy (lot 430, sold for $26,840);
* A full case of 1982 Chateau Latour (lot 204, sold for $24,400).
Not surprisingly, John Kapon, Acker Merrall’s chief exectuive, said he loves Chicago. “The response we received today is strong validation of the fact that Chicago is one of the great wine centers in the world.”

Two wine treats from France’s Loire Valley

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If you love great value in wine, you’ll be sure to find something to suit your palate from the Loire Valley in France. The Loire is the longest-running river in France and the Loire Valley follows the river from its origins in Cevennes through the Loire province.
The wine region, which is actually several regions, runs from the Muscadet region near Nantes on the Atlantic coast to Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume regions — covering a lot of ground and a lot of climatic variations.
As a result, there isn’t a single predominant grape in the Loire region, but there are some that set the bar for the rest of the world: Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Muscadet among whites and Cabernet Franc among reds.
I recently had a treat with a Pierre Chainier brut made from Chenin Blanc and Cab Franc that at $12.99 was a fantastic buy. I’d also recommend a sparkling made from 100% Cab, a 2009 Gratien & Meyer Saumur Premium Millesime Rose Brut, that was fantastic at $20.

Miami Int’l Wine Fair is in full swing

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Miami Wine Fair
Thaddeus will be blogging from the Miami International Wine Fair this weekend. The decade-old fair is open to the trade only and boasts of being the “leading” wine trade sow in the U.S. Indeed, it is huge: more than 1,800 wines from 20 countries. This will be the seventh edition of the Florida International Wine Challenge, with winners announced Saturday night.

Jordan Winery SA

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Jordan is not only a great winery but also a great restaurant attached to the winery.  2009 Nineyards Chardonny was a very good wine with serious notes of buttersctch, vanilla and oak, but a well blance wine that finished lovely.  The 2006 Cobbler Hill, is a bordeaux blend I thought was outstanding it was a drak cherry fruit with hints of tobacco black currant with the oak well intergrated to make a beautiful complex wine.  The other reason to go to Jordan Winery is for the food ‘WOW ‘what a great restaurant at a world class winery hats off to chef George Jardine, and don’t forget to visit the cheese room for an incredibile expericence.

Mulderbosch Winery

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Mulderbosch Winery is located in scenic Stellenbosch, South Africa, where they share an ajoning property with Kanu Winery.  Andrea Erwee was kind enough to walk us through a tasting of some of the finest wines in South Africa.  Mulderbosch wines are readly available in the US.  We started with there 2009 Sauvignon Blanc which was bright clean on the nose, with fruit flavors of lemon/ lime, crisp acidity on the finish.  2008 Chenin Blanc made from 65 year old vines age in hungarian oak, is was well blance on the palate with a swet honey finish, this was a lovely wine.  2010 Rose of Cabernet is the finest rose of this grape varitial I have ever expericence, Mulderbosch clearly understands how to make this wine great. This is a wine that I could enjoy on  nice summer day on the patio enjoying a nice barbeque.  The wine refreshing with strawberrys and raspberry fruit jumping out of the glass.