BACCHUS BARREL NOTES

Virtual Wine Buying & Tasting Adventure

Hello Everyone,

This is the time of year we fly away to an undisclosed location and hunt down more wines to add to our growing and already large selection.
This trip will be different, we would like to encourage YOU to participate and offer feedback based on the information we post via Facebook & Twitter: @BacchusWine

Why? Simple really, we taste wine and purchase wine based on what our Customers want and demand, so if we have your help while we taste then the chances are good we will come back with some awesome wine!
At this time, the format is somewhat up in the air but please let us know what you think (should be flexible). We will do our best to inform you of what wines are being tasted as "real time" as we can.

Grab some friends and have them join the House of Bacchus Wine & Spirits fan page & follow us on Twitter @BacchusWine

Come to think of it, this will be a great way to give away some wine and Free Shipping coupons!

How about it?

Cheers,

dc

Wine Cellar = Good * Return Shelf = Bad

Most everyones knows the "best place" to keep wine is in a wine cellar. For the purpose of this article lets assume a "cellar" can be any of the following:

• 2 bottle wine rack in the kitchen
• An empty closet in the basement, sharing space with miscellaneous items
•  A wine fridge in the kitchen, garage or alike
• The pantry
• The Liquor cabinet

 

WINE TALES - Not Just Any Lake

The other night while grilling, I knew I wanted a nice Merlot to go with the steak I was preparing.

I scanned my "inventory" of wine and as soon as I saw Ten Lakes Merlot 2006 from Sonoma County..........BINGO I found the perfect wine to compliment my meal.

The Ten Lakes Merlot has nice tannins and a smooth velvety finish which sent my taste buds into Merlot Heaven!

 

J.A.B Jr.

Bacchus Wine Consultant

Twitter: @BacchusWine

 

WINE TIP OF THE WEEK - Wine is for Closers!

Some traditions are hard to change. I've had customers refused to buy a wine because it had a screw cap and not a cork despite the quality of the wine.

Does a screw cap mean cheap? Well, thirty years ago perhaps it did and of course premium wines would never think to use such a "cheap" solution.

Times and technology do change and now many very good wines are being sealed with metal closures and more wineries are using them daily.

One reason and perhaps the best reason for a winery to use screw caps is: Less spoilage and virtually no corked wines. Personally, I like the cork with all its aura and ambiance but I like the screw cap for different reasons......... shear convenience of opening the bottle without the need of a corkscrew and the ease of sealing the bottle.

Screw caps may seem less classy than the cork but Stelvlin, a company that manufactures caps, came up with a unique metal closure that doesn't look like a screw cap. Reservations concerning screw cap closures due to the "stigma of cheap" is destine to fade; the future holds that the onus screw caps have been subject to will vanish proportionately as wine lovers learn the juice under the cap is good and can be very good.

My tip..............Do not over look the wine bottles with screw caps, you could miss a fantastic opportunity to experience a new and exciting wine.

George W. Heath III

Bacchus Wine Consultant

Twitter: @BacchusWine

What Corkscrew Do You Prefer?

Hi Everyone.

This morning I decided to record a quick video (my first ever & I chopped my head off but that's not the point) highlighting different corkscrews, nothing fancy......something I thought of on my way out the door.

Why corkscrews? Yesterday my brother-in-law asked me to bring over a corkscrew BUT what kind I wondered. What would he prefer, the fancy $100 model OR the $0.99 model. How could anyone have wine without a corkscrew.............

So my question to you.........What corkscrew do you prefer?

Cheers,

dc

Twitter: @dclifford & @BacchusWine

A World of Spakling Wine & Champagne

Tiny bubbles play a big role in any celebration, and there's a world of sparkling wine just waiting to be explored. Not only is the classic French Champagne always a good choice, but other countries around the globe also produce some delicious offerings. Good for more than a toast at the stroke of the New Year, sparkling wine is a perfect aperitif and pairs well with a wide range of foods.

All Champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is Champagne. True Champagne comes only from the region of the same name in northern France, and most sparkling wine producers elsewhere respect French tradition by not using the term on their labels. Champagne is usually a blend of three grapes, two red (Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) and one white (Chardonnay).This classic blend produces a wine that has a good balance of sugar and acidity, and styles can range from light and fresh to toasty and yeasty, or from dry to sweet.

Quality Champagne is produced using a traditional method known as methode champenoise in which the secondary, bubble producing fermentation takes place in the bottle. This makes for desirable tiny, delicate bubbles and is generally a more expensive method than the charmat method, in which the second fermentation is done in tanks.

Spain's sparkler, Cava, is also made using the traditional French method, which they call metodo tradicional. Its distinctive fresh, crisp and earthy fruit flavors can be tasted in reasonably priced versions such as Casa Doro Brut and Segura Viudus Brut Reserva.

Italy's Prosecco is a sparkling wine made with the white grape of the same name. This dry wine has light citrus Celebrate with festive fizz from around the globe and apple flavors and is either lightly sparkling, frizzante or fully sparkling, known as spumante. Excellent examples are made by Martini & Rossi (slightly off dry) and Zardetto Brut (dry). If you prefer a sweeter option, the Italians produce many Asti sparkling wines using the charmat method. Mondoro Asti is a staff and customer favorite that has delicate, sweet, and aromatically fragrant character and flavor.

A number of French Champagne houses have taken up residence in California. The warmer climate produces a rich tasting and typically fruitier option, often available at a more affordable price. Mumm Cuvee Napa Brut Prestige and Chandon Caneros Blanc De Noirs are excellent selections. There are also U.S. producers not affiliated with the Champagne houses who create fine fizz in California and Washington state. For a full-bodied sparkling wine, try Iron Horse Classic Vintage Brut (CA), and if you are serving many, Domaine Ste. Michelle (WA) is an excellent value......always very good quality, clear and crisp on the palate.

New York's Finger Lakes region is gaining considerable attention for producing excellent sparkling wine. The famous Chateau Frank Champagne house has produced sparkling wines that have outscored many California and French Champagnes including Bollinger, Taittinger, and Veuve Cliquot, in fact Konstantin Frank's legendary winery's Champagne produced in the classic methode champenoise has been served at the White House. With that said, February 2010, is Finger Lakes Sparkling Wine Month!

A bit of bubbly is a delicious companion with foods ranging from cheddar to chocolate. Just keep the different styles in mind to best complement a particular food's flavors, and you can serve it with every course. Turkey and chicken make tasty fizz companions, and lamb and ham pair nicely with a rose sparkler. Sparkling wines even pair well with egg dishes to make for a festive brunch. Serve the sweeter styles with sweets to avoid creating a flat, metallic taste combination. Many sparkling wines will bear the names of traditional French style categories.

Wine labeled Brut, the most common type, is very dry. Extra Dry, ironically, is slightly sweeter. Sec is medium sweet, Demi-Sec is sweet, and Doux is very sweet. Derni-Sec and Doux are best as dessert wines or on their own.

Paul Kolbuc

Wine Consultant

Wine Tip of the Week - Super Bowl Parties

For a Super Bowl Party or any large celebration consider purchasing box wines.

Yes, box wines!

Box Wine Varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio are a great choice when entertaining a large crowd.

They are relatively inexpensive and stay fresh longer. Box wines come in convenient three and five liter sizes. Some people might think box wines are a bit unsophisticated.  While "bag in a box" wines aren't going to be the best wine on the block, quality and popularity are on the rise. In addition to the varietals mentioned above, sweet tasting wines are also available "in the box."

Suffer from box wine stigma?  Keep the white and pink (boxes) in the fridge and the reds out of sight.  Place full decanters of red on the tables and the white and pink decanters on ice.  Can you say  "Out of sight, out of mind?" Try it, you will be surprised at the compliments you receive.

George W. Heath III
Wine Consultant

A Bacchus Thank You - Happy Thanksgiving!

A message from Gerry & Dan Clifford

Thank You for taking the time to read this note............we wanted to take a break from the standard "Wine Deal" or "Free Shipping" email to offer something more powerful and thoughtful, a sincere THANK YOU for your support of both the BACCHUS retail store and website.

This day, Thanksgiving, topics will include Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Door Busters, jammed parking lots and trips back to the wine store or grocery store for things someone else forgot. Heck, the person that shows up with red Zinfandel instead of the White Zin will never hear the end of it (or the other way around).

After all this, look around at your friends, family, even strangers and how fortunate we are to have this day to celebrate together.......even better, to have tomorrow and the next day to reflect on it.

Thank You to our BACCHUS customers, new relationships and long term customers that have become friends - we are able to open the "doors" every day because of YOU.

Thank You to the BACCHUS family of employees, to the people who have been with us for over 25 years, 10 years, 5 years and those joining us for the Holiday Season. Without your passion and desire to work hard every day, even all the customers in the world would make the store seem empty without you.

Thank you to the all the Women and Men that protect /serve this country so we can freely celebrate days like Thanksgiving.

Cheers,

gc & dc

Bacchus Barrel Notes..........another blog?

Welcome to the start of something special. Another BLOG you say.....well not really. I like to refer to this website as a place for notes. Notes that relate to wine and the lifestyle of wine. It could be a cozy night by the fire with a bottle of wine OR a huge "ripping" party with strangers that have a passion for expensive wine, cheap wine or telling stories of a vineyard he/she never really visited.

It is about the experience at Bacchus Barrel Notes, where you will enjoy various accounts of tastings, vacations, lunches, dinner and stuff we haven't even thought of yet that feature some component of wine. These "notes" will come from several participating writers (you if you like!).

Everyday is a new adventure here at Bacchus Barrel Notes.

Enjoy the time here and please leave feedback, as we are very interested in your NOTES!

Cheers,

Dan Clifford

Italy 2005 - What a GREAT Trip! Oh yes, the WINE!

Many people dream of going to Italy their entire life, and recently, that dream came true for me. As a student at St. John Fisher College I was able to study in Florence for a month along with 12 other classmates. On a daily basis, we suffered through four long hours of Italian grammar and conversation classes. I say we suffered only because there was so much to do in Florence and being in a classroom for most of the day was not easy. Not only was I able to study in Florence, but I also traveled to amazing cities such as Rome, Venice, Siena, Pisa, and San Gimignano.

When I stayed in Florence I lived with a host family, so I was able to have some authentic Italian home cooked meals. The food was not what I expected. Coming from an Italian family, I expected food with many spices and herbs. The dishes I tried were very simple; they love to cook with extra virgin olive oil. Of course, I had tons and of pasta as you would expect, but the pastas were served with very light sauce if any. Their red sauce is just chopped tomatoes with a little bit of olive oil. One of the best foods in all ofItaly is the gelato. Gelato is the Italian form of ice cream; it is very light and sweet and not as creamy as American ice cream. Many of the gelato shops we visited had over 50 flavors, and every flavor was mouthwatering.

Since I was in the region of Tuscany, I was surrounded by an endless supply of remarkable Chianti derived from the Sangiovese grape. I was able to visit a Chianti winery and see the rows and rows of grape vines as well as their bottling process and the barrels upon barrels of their reserved stock. Not only did I get to view the winery up close, but I also had the opportunity to taste some great wine.

My group and I were given a chance to taste their Chianti, Chianti Classico, and a fantastic Reserva. There are many wonderful wines to choose from while dining out, and I would recommend that you avoid ordering the basic wines by the glass if you happen to make the trip to Italy. Another high point of my trip was an excursion to Rome. Rome is a place everyone should see in his or her lifetime.

There are so many amazing sights. Seeing the Coliseum was astonishing. Being able to stand in something nearly two thousand years old was indescribable. I was also able to see where the great Caesar's ashes were spread, and I was intrigued to learn that Romans still come and lay flowers at his gravesite.

There is so much more to describe about the amazing month long journey I experienced in that boot across the pond, but you'll have to buy my book to know more-once I write it.

Until then, Arrivederci!