Through the Wine Glass - The My Wines Direct Blog

Cooperativa San Carlos Sud

We recently got a shipment of delicious red wines from the Uco Valley (Valle de Uco) region of Mendoza, Argentina. I'm not sure if you've heard of the Uco Valley or even Mendoza for that matter. I hadn't, and while I found a lot of information about Mendoza on the internet, I found very little about the Uco Valley. The Uco Valley, it turns out, is emerging as one of the prime areas in Mendoza for premium quality wines. I write more about the region here.

The wines, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Malbec are both from a cooperative vineyard that was formed in the 1980's and is composed of 51 small and medium vineyard producers. I thought this was quite an interesting story for a wine as I've never heard of a cooperative vineyard before.

The cooperative, called San Carlos Sud, works with the producers from the beginning, consulting on the pruning techniques, vineyard management and harvesting dates.  The vineyards are oriented towards specific product lines, based on historical results.  However, the final determination is made in the winery, once the wines have finished fermenting, so that wines originally oriented towards a varietal line have a chance to be upgraded to the reserve line, and vice-versa.  The members of the cooperative share in the winery´s profits, but also receive a percentage of the sale price of their wines.  Since the sale price is closely related to the the quality level of the wines, the producers have a strong incentive to produce high-quality grapes.  While the winery is quite large, the average fermenting tank size is quite small, permitting the winery to ferment individual producers grapes, which thus makes it possible to implement the quality-based reward system so fundamental to keeping good quality.

San Carlos Sud has a website, but it's in Spanish. Fortunately, I was able to use a translation plugin that translated the Spanish into English. Isn't the internet great? On the homepage is a line of a poem, which I absolutely fell in love with (remember this is a loose translation):

The wine, like love,

you have to drink from in sips,

because the two palls

if you drink otherwise

Alfredo Bufano

Spotlight on Spanish Wines in Honor of Rafael Nadal

All eyes have been on Rafael Nadal ever since his 2008 upset victory at Wimbledon ended Roger Federer's record streak of five Wimbledon titles, and made Nadal the new title-holder. Many people, including me, considered this to be the greatest match in tennis history. Nadal continued his climb throughout 2008, ultimately ousting Federer from the 1st place ranking Roger had held for 4 consecutive years. Myself and many others thought that Federer might have already peaked, and that Nadal would most certainly replace him as tennis' new king.

But due to plaguing knee problems, 2009 has been a hard year for Nadal. He suffered his first ever loss at the French Open and even pulled out of Wimbledon this year -- giving way for Federer to win both titles. Looking forward to this year's US Open, Nadal now enters the competition as an underdog. He says he feels 100%, but still might not be playing his best tennis.

His home country, Spain, is also an underdog when it comes to wine. While Spain is the most widely planted wine producing nation, it is only the third largest producer of wine in the world. To be fair, it has some stiff competition: Italy and France. Yet in the past five years, Spanish wines have gained popularity- especially in the United States - largely due to the quality of wine you get for the price.

Read more about Spanish wine or try some of our favorites!

Do you have any favorite Spanish wines? Please let us know by leaving a comment below...

Week III, Take a Peak, Fridge Photos

This is the final installment of photos.  I've had fun with all of these and appreciate everyone who participated.  Many thanks!

Account Manager, wine shipping company ~ Napa, CA ~ 2-person household ~ quote: "It's usually MUCH more organized!"

Dictator of small, Pacific island, no seriously, IT Consultant, wine e-tailer ~ Sonoma, CA ~ 2-person household plus 1 cat

Online Marketing Manager, wine e-tailer ~ Hoboken, NJ ~ 2-person household ~ quote: "I didn't touch anything in here, but I wish I had.  It's a mess!" ~ note: really.  this is one of the neatest fridges in the series!

Utility Infielder, Financial ~ St. Helena, CA ~ 2.5-person household plus 3/4 dog

Operations Project Assistant Manager, major airline ~ bay area, CA ~ 2-person household plus 1 shared custody child ~ quote from her friend: "two of the busiest people I've ever met! She is stationed in different cities, each job location lasting a few months, so she lives in a hotel away from home for 3, 4 nights a week. Husband is a station manager for another airline, on call 24/7, working all the time..."

note: for folks who work ALL the time, they still have a well-stocked fridge, good for them!

Office & Client Relations Manager, design, print and distribution ~ Pleasanton, CA ~ 2 full time, 1 part time, 1 part time visitor and 1 shared custody teen in household ~ quote: "yes, this is a full house and this fridge serves a lot of people!"

Engineer, wine e-tailer ~ Dobbs Ferry, NY ~ 2-person household plus 3 cats ~ note: One cat wants to be a star, as evidenced by the inclusion of his/her cute little mug.  You can see another one in the background.

This concludes our Fridge series of photos.  If any of you can think of another subject you'd like to see us cover, let me know.  Like, where everyone stores wine.  (not everyone has an official wine refrigerator, some of us make do.)  Or, pictures of your favorite meal and beverage.  Or cooking disaster photos.

The possibilities are endless...

Week II, Take a Peak, Fridge Photos

Product Estimator, high end custom concrete ~ Sonoma, CA ~ 2-person household ~ quote: "...and we need to go grocery shopping today - this is on the low end of our supply :-)"

VP of Procurement, wine e-tailer ~ Napa, CA ~ 2-person household ~ Fridge I, quote: "Day before the party"

VP of Procurement, wine e-tailer ~ Fridge II, quote: "Day OF the party"

Director of Marketing, wine e-tailer ~ Hoboken, NJ ~ 3-person household ~ note: obviously, one of the persons is a small, small child, (bottles of milk, not wine!)

Wine Consultant, wine e-tailer ~ Napa, CA ~ 2-person household plus 1 dog and 1 cat

Marketing & Sales, print media ~ San Ramon, CA ~ 3-person household ~ quote:

"Window into the soul."  Well, it is a good thing my soul went shopping this week.  Sometimes my soul gets too entangled with work..Take-Out-Boxes taking over.  Notice the array of color with the fresh fruits and vegetables?  Check out the quality bread selection.  Notice the Rye?..Mmm..My favorite...No high-fructose corn syrup on the bread shelf.  Why on earth would anybody put that crap in bread?  And of course... who can forget cheese and cold-cuts?  Fresh chicken marinating in Stubb's marinade.  Beer and white wine...Though I am a red wine drinker..I always keep a bottle in the fridge for company. Also, Vodka, Rum, flavored rum and what else...Oh yeah..more rum."

note: I think they've got the fridge with just the yummiest things, wish it was MY fridge!

Wine Consultant, wine e-tailer ~ Sonoma, CA ~ 3-person household ~ note: lots of good condiments, well organized.

OK, that wraps it up for now, more to come next week!

Take a Peak

When writing about food and wine, I constantly scour news sources everywhere, looking for topics to bring to the proverbial table.  Every once in a while, I find a subject that really makes me think.

Climbing through www.good.is a few weeks ago, I stumbled on a photo essay based on refrigerators by Mark Menjivar.  If your eyes are windows to the soul, then your refrigerator is a window to your life.  At least that's what I concluded after looking at numerous refrigerators.  Looking into someone's fridge is like looking into their medicine cabinets.  Sometimes a fridge photo is more revealing.

I decided to put together my own group of photos by hitting up friends, coworkers, their friends and business associates, and had a great time with the research.  Sometimes the photos weren't great and sometimes I got more than I asked for, but overall, I enjoyed getting a glimpse into other peoples lives.  I actually learned a little something about the participants and found out more about those I consider friends.

Of course, those participants who work in the wine business, as I do, tend to have wine in their refrigerators, so that was mostly a running constant.  Other than that, I didn't see any other trends, but maybe you will, as a viewer over the next few weeks.  Please feel free to drop me a note and let me know what you think, or better yet, send me a photo of your fridge!

No really empty refrigerators turned up; we thought that some of our "workaholic" friends would have fridges devoid of food except for old take out boxes, that turned out to be not true with this group.  Most of the participants seem to fall into the "foodie" classification, with fairly stocked fridges.  One fridge had three or more dozen eggs, which confused me (what do you do with all those eggs and it's not even Easter???)

We saw some family pets included with the photos and before and after pics (party), which were interesting.  All in all, it was an entertaining exercise.  I'll include five or six each week, including some data on each participant, until we've run through them all.  Please click on each photo to get a closer look at each refrigerator's contents.

Marketing Consultant ~ St. James, NY ~ 5 person household ~ note: I thought this was one of the nicer quality refrigerators in the group, I was jealous!

Operations Coordinator, wine e-tailer ~ San Ramon, CA ~ 1.5 - person household "but definitely feeding two on a weekly basis." note: this probably won the neatest fridge prize!

Account Manager, wine shipping company ~ Napa, CA ~ 4-person household ~ inside of fridge Part I

Account Manager, wine shipping company ~ Part II, outside of fridge ~ Quote: "I think the outside tells much more about you than the inside. Also, the inside on Fridays looks very different than on a Sunday (after I did the precooking for the coming week.) One more thing, I just passed my US citizenship last Wedns, there is more wine & beer in the fridge than normal.  I promise..."

Chief Marketing Officer, wine e-tailer ~ NY, NY ~ 1-person household ~ quote: "From a bad late nite cell phone shot...recognize any wines? Sad but true, this is quite full for my fridge."

Order Processing Manager, wine shipping company ~ Vallejo, CA ~ 5-person household ~ note: almost nada in the vegetable bins, and what are they going to do with all those eggs?

OK, that's it for this week.  I'll be featuring five or six more next week and the week after.

Stay tuned.

Father's Day Wine Gifts - Great Deals and More!

Father's Day is fast approaching, and we have some excellent wine gifts that Dad is sure to enjoy. Here are a few of the highlights:

Wine Clubs for Dad

3 Bottles each month for 3 months for just $149 + $0 Shipping! Shop Now.

Father's Day Big & Bold Reds

6 Great Reds for just $79.95 - including a 10 year old Napa Cab! Shop Now.

Father's Day Gourmet Brunch

A great gift basket featuring wines, salmon, crackers, cheese and more! Just $89.95 -  Shop Now.

Stay in Touch with My Wines Direct on Facebook & Twitter

Be the first to know about new wines and great deals by becoming a fan of us on Facebook, and by following us on Twitter.

 

Holiday Excitement at My Wines Direct!

The holidays are here and so are some really exciting offerings from My Wines Direct...

Wine Clubs from My Wines Direct - A lot of people have been asking us for a wine club for a long time, and now we have 4 of them to choose from. We have 3 month and 6 month clubs, in both all reds and mixed (red and white) - and like with all wine packs from My Wines Direct - No Shipping Charges!

Buy Now Ship Later - Want to do your shopping now but have the gift arrive closer to the Holidays? Try one of our new "Buy Now / Ship Later" packs and we'll send your gift out about the 15th of December.

Aged Cabernet Selections - These two packs each feature 2 bottles of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that have been aged for over 10 years. A truly impressive gift, perfect as Corporate Wine Gifts and more!

Wine Gift Baskets $0 Shipping - What we normally offer on all of our wine selections, we are offering on baskets through the holidays - $0 Shipping on all baskets!

Wine Shipping & Delivery - My Wines Direct delivers wine and gift baskets to 32 states, including a number of states we've added since last holiday season- check out our list of state here!

Wine Gift Sets

Wine Gifts Online

Happy Holidays from My Wines Direct!

The first day of Autumn

Monday, September 22nd is the first day of Autumn, or so says the calendar on the wall above my desk.  Changing seasons are not so bold and obvious here in California, especially when you compare California to the East.  The Eastern states are veritably known for their Autumn, with its beautifully dramatic, changing colors and change in temperature.

And yet it does feel like we're transitioning info fall.  Harvest is continuing, leaves are starting to turn red, including the grapevines, and the squirrels are digging huge holes in my potted plants, frantically trying to hide their stolen nuts.   While Autumn is not my favorite season, (I'm a summertime girl, remember...) I absolutely love to make hearty, bone-warming, home-spun meals.

It's time for stew made like my mother taught me, with beef or lamb and tasty vegetables, in a brown gravy, not the tomato-based version some swear by.  My personal modification to her method is adding savory mushrooms and red wine.  I might use pearl onions if they're available, along with potatoes, celery, carrots and garlic.  After simmering for hours, the added Syrah or Zinfandel layers another element of flavor onto this rustic dish AND you can enjoy a glass while you're doing the prep work!

Chile, the way my husband makes it, from an Emeril Lagasse recipe, is another seasonal favorite.  The secret is the 3 bottles of dark beer in it, tons of spices, beans and meat and a touch of cinnamon.  Top it with a dollop of sour cream (go light if you must), grated cheddar and finely chopped chives.  I like to pair this with our Laughing Raven Barbera, the soft, rounded fruit in this wine, with a bit of a backbone, goes well with this crowd pleasing meal.

Soups are also a favorite choice this time of year.  Choices abound with soup, I love to dig out my old recipes, recipes I make and play with every fall but I also like finding new soup discoveries.  Soups as simple yet satisfying as chicken broth with fresh Italian parsley and home-made tortellini.  I even make an eggplant supper soup which has been influenced by the Middle East (nutmeg, ground meat, bold flavors) which goes great with Tempranillo.

Take time this Autumn to enjoy the change of seasons.  Be creative in your kitchen and remember to always enjoy wine with your meals, it's the one "spice" you shouldn't forget.

Exclusive Blog-Only Savings

Hello everyone, here is a great deal available only to readers of our blog, enjoy!

Save 10% off the Red Bliss Pack, use code bliss10

Only $75 for this nice mix of reds, including Malbec, Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet and Chianti. As always, there are no shipping charges on this pack. Shop now.