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

Mother's Day Wine & Wine Gift Baskets

Mother's Day is coming up on May 10th, and My Wines Direct has introduced some incredible deals to help you send mom a gift at a great price. Cheers!

Top Mother's Day Wine Gifts From My Wines Direct:

Mother's Day Gourmet Gift Basket  - $44.99 - Save $25!

 

Sending Joy & Love Wine Pack + Cookbook - $74.99 - Save $25!

 

Cheers to Mom 6 Bottle Wine Pack - $73.99

View all Mother's Day Gifts

Featured Wine: Broken Barrel Aged Cabernet

 We recently introduced an exciting new wine at an impressively low price - The 1999 Broken Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon from the Diamond Mountain District of Napa Valley. 

Full-bodied and muscular, it shows smooth notes of blackberry, raspberry, and cassis, plus spicy-sweet touches of pipe tobacco. It's firm and dry, with great length. An excellent value,usually double or more in price, for a comparable wine.

Wines like this usually sell for over $50, but we are offering the Broken Barrel for just $24.95.

Buy a bottle today and enjoy a truly impressive wine! (remember to let the Broken Barrel breathe for a bit before you drink it - it's been in the bottle a long time...)


Read more about why Aged Cabs are so special

The noble grape of Spain

Tempranillo, a well-pedigreed varietal responsible for some of the best wines in Spain, has had a harder time gaining ground in the US.  Christina Kelly, writing for The Chronicle, brings us up to date on this most maligned varietal.

According to Kelly, about 535 acres of Tempranillo were grown in the San Joaquin Valley in the 1960's, all produced for the jug wine market, to be blended with other varietals.  In the 1990's more acreage in California was planted, with growers hoping to produce fruit with superior qualities, due to the similarity of Spain and California's climates.  Currently, it's estimated that there are about 1,500 to 2,000 acres of Tempranillo planted in the US. Spain produces more, of course, with over 100,000 acres.

Tempranillos can be highly tannic and winemakers sometimes add Grenache, Syrah or Merlot, among others varietals, to flesh out the fruit and provide balance to the tannins.  Producers in the United States have even started an advocacy organization, called TAPAS - Tempranillo Advocates, Producers and Amigos Society, to promote this less known varietal.

No matter if you prefer the old-world style Tempranillo, or the more renegade style produced in California, we've got something for everyone.  Lagar Alto Tempranillo 2007 from La Mancha, Spain ($9.99), a recently added wine to our portfolio, is a medium-bodied red, with blackberry and cherry flavors.  Light on the tannins, it's finished with soft touches of earth and smoke.

Christine Andrew Tempranillo 2005, Lodi, CA ($19.99) is a more full-bodied version, with raspberry and boysenberry in the mid palate.  The nose contains hints of spice and earth.  This wine would be great with duck confit or truffled french fries, yum.

Old World, New World, you can't go wrong with either of these wonderful Tempranillos.

Mother's Day Gift Idea - Wine

Assuming Mom enjoys a glass of wine (and don’t they all…?), there really isn’t a better Mother’s Day Gift than wine. Flowers are pretty and all, but how original is that? And they’ll be gone in a week – forgotten forever. On the other hand, a six bottle wine pack can be enjoyed by Mom on many occasions, and in the company of friends and family. She’ll remember the gift each time she opens a new bottle.  If she enjoys a treat or two along with her wine, consider a wine basket filled with chocolates, cheeses and sweets. 6 Bottle wine packs start at $79, and wine baskets at just $49  (all baskets are currently $10 off).

Gotta have me some More of Moro!

"When I'm looking for the perfect red to serve to all my favorite PEOPLE, the Santomé Moro '41 can't be beat.  It's from the area around Venice, Italy, which produces some amazing, fruit-forward wines and this one is no exception."

"Medium-bodied, with notes of stone fruit and chocolate, at $14.99, this wine is sure to be a crowd pleaser.  I'll be able to serve this all summer long with my barbecued pork loin and grilled salmon."

"And the modern, elegant label just so happens to match my beautiful scarf perfectly.  I'm good to go!!!"

"And next time you drop by MY barbecue, don't think you're going to grab some of my Moro, you'll have to buy some for yourself!"

Santomé Moro '41, 2005, Italy, $14.99, get it at My Wines Direct.

Cheers,
Maja

(your intrepid Canine Consultant Extraordinaire)

A rose by any other name

And I'm not talking about the flower, I'm talking about rosé, a wine.  According to an article by Tina Caputo for Wines & Vines, the sales of rosé $8 and up, in the US rose 53.2% in the last year.  That means rosé $8 and up grew about 17 times faster than table wine by volume.  Wow.

A rosé today isn't the rosé a lot of wine drinkers are familiar with, at least here in the US.  Rosé is being produced in a dry, crisp, elegant style, it's a welcome relief during balmy spring and summer days.  Our contender in this class, newly added to My Wines Direct, is Subio Dry Rosé, from Mendocino, CA.  A blend of Carignane, Grenache, Syrah and Viognier, this is a perfect wine for al fresco dining.

I think I might purchase a bottle for this weekend.  I'll throw together a bay shrimp salad with sliced almonds, and serve it in freshly baked croissants, with clover sprouts and avocado and a hint of mayo, the rosé will pair nicely with this springtime fare.

I'll serve it on the deck.  If it starts to sprinkle, I'll open up one of the deck umbrellas.  I'm ready for spring!

Another Winner in the World of Wine

We've tabulated our results from the "President's Day - Tell Us Your Pick" contest and the findings were quite interesting.

Congratulations to member Dr. Wynndel Buenger of Alton, Illinois, who's favorite wine description was chosen in the random drawing portion.  He will receive 6 bottles of Fenestra Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 ($23.99) and was happy to hear of his victory!

The overall winning wine with the most votes is...drum roll please...Finca Retiro Malbec 2004 ($14.99), from Mendoza, Argentina.

If you haven't tried it yet, and you like medium-bodied reds that pair well with all different kinds of cuisines, you should check it out.

Some other contest statistics to consider:

...75% of all voters preferred red wines.

...40% of the red wines voted for were in the Big & Bold category.

...The largest percentage of votes per varietal was for Cabernets.

Keep your eyes open for our next contest, who knows, maybe you could be a lucky winner!

"And the Winner is..."

We hosted a wine label design contest a few months ago and are happy to announce the name of the contest winner.  Additionally, we're introducing the wine on www.mywinesdirect.com next week.

The wine is Red Bird Zinfandel and the lucky winner is Sabrina Kyhn.  Applause please.  I'm really pleased with her creativity and managed to catch up with her a few days ago.  I asked her a few questions I thought you, as inveterate wine lovers, would like to know the answers to.  If you think of anything else you'd like to know, I'm all ears.

Are you a graphic designer and do you work for an agency?

Sabrina: Yes, I am a designer and work full time for ValForms Inc, a print-design-promotional company based in Pleasanton CA (www.valforms.com).  I also enjoy working in a freelance capacity and on personal projects like this label design contest.  It was my first endeavor at creating a wine label and I hope it won't be my last...wine and design is a great combination!

In creating the Red Bird Zinfandel label, what was your inspiration?  What were the biggest surprises?

Sabrina: What really drew me to this contest was the opportunity to create an identity for a wine.  Designing the label was going to be motivation enough - I have always wanted to design labels - but to name the wine as well...THAT was a bonus.  The name Red Bird pretty much just popped into my head!  When you're motivated, inspiration can take you by surprise sometimes.  It's almost scary.  But in a totally wonderful way.

What do you think of the Red Bird Zinfandel as a wine, do you enjoy it?  What other varietals of wine do you like to drink?

Sabrina: My husband Steve and I enjoy Red Bird Zinfandel on its own and also with a couple of different dishes: a rich lasagna and a hearty beef stew.  Red Bird Zinfandel stood up well to both.  I may have to try it with something spicier, like my homemade Chicken Mole!

When it comes to reds, I usually prefer pinot noir or merlot; sauvignon blanc is my white wine of choice.  We're lucky enough to live 30 minutes from the Napa wine country and head there whenever we have a chance.  We've also made the trek down to Paso Robles, CA...there are some interesting wineries there and it makes for a really fun road trip.

Any other design accolades?

Sabrina: Another honor received (November 2006) was when KFOG Radio in San Francisco chose my cover art design from over 200 entries, for Live From The Archives Volume 13, a compilation CD whose proceeds benefit Bay Area Food Banks.

Well, thank you Sabrina for your time, this about wraps it up.

Join us in welcoming Sabrina to our wine family, we're really excited about her design AND Red Bird Zinfandel!

A jug of wine, a morsel of chocolate and Thou...

OK, so I'm taking liberties with famous quotes, but with Valentine's Day just around the corner, I couldn't resist.

Take care of that special someone this Valentine's Day with a wonderful wine gift basket from My Wines Direct.  This basket includes Stonehouse Vineyards 2001 Brut, made in the methode champenoise style, a perfect bubbly to enjoy with a loved one.

And let's not forget the real reason for living, the chocolate that's included in this basket: chocolate hearts, truffles, dark chocolate squares and a mint chocolate bar.  This gift will help create a Valentine's Day to remember.

Now with all this added assistance on our part, if you're trying to dazzle someone new, or make the love of your life feel extra special, this Valentine's Day should be a HUGE success!