{"id":283929,"date":"2010-07-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-07-21T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/taste-of-wine-05-30-10\/"},"modified":"2010-07-21T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-07-21T07:00:00","slug":"taste-of-wine-05-30-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/taste-of-wine-05-30-10\/","title":{"rendered":"Taste of Wine 05-30-10"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Top Ten Tastes for the 1st Half of 2010 My approach to wine is always enjoy the best\u2026one sip at a time. This year to date has been fascinating in the sense that wineries up and down the price spectrum have made themselves accessible to the consumer. \u00a0Wines that have been resting on their past laurels, can no longer count on the past to keep themselves on top. \u00a0Leaner, quality operations want their share of the market so they outreach every opportunity they get. My coverage of wine events sharply increased the last 6 months, in step with a sharp increase in the excellent end of the tasting scale. \u00a0In a recent column, I concluded that wines that sell for more, do so because their wines truly taste like premium wines. You do get what you pay for, and sales in the higher end of the wine world are beginning to get their customer base back. I rate wines on a one to five &#8220;bad to excellent&#8221; scale. Best price to value and availability are favored. \u00a0The Top Ten Tastes are listed alphabetically. \u00a0I rated all ten an excellent. \u00a0Prices are suggested retail based on prices I have paid or web site cart prices. \u00a0 \u2022\tCatena Bodega Zapata \u00a0Cabernet Sauvignon, Argentina. 2006. $18.99. A high altitude European style \u00a0wine from the superior Mendoza District. 100 year old vineyards define \u00a0Argentinian wines. www.catenawines.com. \u2022\tErath Prince Hill \u00a0Pinot Noir, \u00a0Oregon. \u00a02006. \u00a0$45.00. Low \u00a0production, 2,000 case single vineyard wine in the Dundee region. \u00a0Ideal flavor and tannin development \u00a0for this vintage. \u00a014 months in \u00a0French Oak. www.erath.com <http:> . \u2022\tGrgich Hills Estate \u00a0Merlot, Napa Valley. 2006. $42.00. A complex, beautifully crafted \u00a0Merlot from 4 Grgich Napa Valley vineyards. \u00a0Biodynamic growing using the earth\u2019s \u00a0cycles gives this wine a balanced elegant character. \u00a0www.grgich.com. \u2022\tGoldeneye Pinot \u00a0Noir, Mendocino. \u00a02007. \u00a0$55.00. \u00a0Part of the Duckhorn group, \u00a0Goldeneye, in the Anderson Valley of Mendocino, makes quality, cool-climate \u00a0Pinot Noir. \u00a0Winemaker Zach \u00a0Rasmusson is very selective in choosing his crop for the small-lot production \u00a0in each Pinot bottle. \u00a0You have to \u00a0be gentle with this grape. \u00a0\u00a0www.duckhorn.com. \u2022\tHess Collection \u00a0Allomi Vineyard Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, \u00a0Napa Valley. 2007. $28.00. \u00a0\u00a0A \u00a0special Mt. Veeder Napa Valley high-altitude setting is the \u00a0foundation for this grand home of a renowned family of wines. \u00a0Hess presents a superior Allomi single \u00a0Vineyard Cabernet with a regal berry-cherry taste, and grown for its warmer \u00a0climate on 200 acres in a remote side of \u00a0Howell Mountain. www.hesscollection.com <http:> . \u2022\tLouis Latour Grand \u00a0Cru Burgundy Beaunne France. 2005. \u00a0\u00a0$40.00. Burgundian wines fathered the \u00a0popular Pinot Noirs of the west coast. \u00a0\u00a0Mellow cherry with a smoky licorice taste. \u00a0Balanced tannins at the open. 2005 was \u00a0a legendary harvest for France. www.louislatour.com <http:> . \u00a0 \u2022\tO\u2019Shaughnessy \u00a0Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mt Napa Valley. 2006. $75.00. \u00a0Mountainside vineyard patterned \u00a0for great Cabernet. \u00a0Wines in \u00a0harmony with the environment. Betty O\u2019Shaughnessy and winemaker Sean Capiaux produce only Cabernet Sauvignon high up in Howell Mountain, Napa Valley. \u00a0 Small amounts of Cab Franc, Petite Verdot, Merlot and Malbec set the table. www.oshaughnessywinery.com. \u2022\tPedroncelli Mother \u00a0Clone Zinfandel, Dry Creek Sonoma. 2008. \u00a0\u00a0$15.00 A champion value wine, familiar \u00a0to Taste of Wine readers. \u00a0The \u00a02008 has a a5% touch of Petite Sirah to add to the old vine Zin. \u00a0\u00a0Hand-picked with ultimate timing \u00a0for maximum balance and acidity. \u00a0\u00a0Barrel aged 12 months. \u00a0\u00a0Jammy California style flavor. \u00a0www.pedroncelli.com <http:> . \u2022\tTamber Bey Estate \u00a0Deaux Chevaux Vineyard Rabicano Blend, Napa Valley. 2007. $110. \u00a0\u00a0Elegant core of Cabernet \u00a0Sauvignon and Merlot, with Petit Verdot and Cab Franc accents. \u00a0Deep, rich, black fruit with an \u00a0endless finish. \u00a0Winery name \u00a0derived from Arabian stallions raised on-site. www.tamberbey.com. \u2022\tZaca Mesa Estate \u00a0Syrah, Santa Ynez Valley. 2006. \u00a0\u00a0$23.00. \u00a0\u00a016 \u00a0months aged in Oak adding to perfect expression of this \u00a0Santa \u00a0Barbara County terrior. \u00a0\u201906 should provide momentum to the \u00a0triple in sales over the previous year. www.zacamesa.com <http:> . Wine Bytes \u00a0 \u2022\tTemecula Valley has its 27th annual \u00a0Balloon and Wine Festival Fri. June 4 through Sun. June 6. \u00a0Over 50 hot air balloons ascend at \u00a0sunrise \u00a0each day. Top music stars \u00a0play Sat. night at Lake Skinner. \u00a0Wine and food pairings over the \u00a0weekend. \u00a0Full details at \u00a0temeculacvb.com or call 951-491-6085. \u2022\tSan \u00a0Diego\u2019s \u00a0Balboa Park Spanish Village is the setting for the \u00a03rd annual Cheese, Chocolate and Wine Festival Fri. June 4 from \u00a06:30 to 9:30pm. \u00a0Benefits Women\u2019s \u00a0History Museum. \u00a0Dancing to Sue Palmer\u2019s Band. \u00a0$25. \u00a0Call \u00a0619-955-8884. \u2022\tTesoro \u00a0Winery Barrel Room Tasting Event happens Sat. June 5 from 4 to 6pm. \u00a0Four cheeses compliment the blind \u00a0tasting conducted by a known sommelier. \u00a0\u00a0$35. pp. \u00a0This is at the \u00a0winery. \u00a0Call \u00a0951-308-0000. \u2022\t3rd Corner Encinitas \u00a0presents a Nicket &#038; Nickel\/Far Niente wine dinner Tues. June 18 at \u00a06pm. \u00a0Cost is $79. \u00a0Menu and wines, call \u00a0760-942-2147. \u2022\tPAON \u00a0Restaurant, downtown Carlsbad, &#8220;Best New Restaurant&#8221; from San \u00a0Diego Magazine, hosts a L\u2019Aventure wine dinner on Tues. June 8. \u00a0Stephan Asseo, L\u2019Avenure\u2019s owner, will \u00a0talk about this premiere Paso Robles Winery and its award winning blends. \u00a0For menu and pricing, call PAON at \u00a0760-729-7377. Frank Mangio is a renowned wine connoisseur certified by Wine Spectator. \u00a0He is one of the leading wine commentators on the web. \u00a0View his columns at www.tasteofwinetv.com <http:> . \u00a0Reach him at mangiompc@aol.com. VIVI BENE&#8230; ( Live Well )<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Top Ten Tastes for the 1st Half of 2010 My approach to wine is always enjoy the best\u2026one sip at a time. This year to date has been fascinating in the sense that wineries up and down the price spectrum have made themselves accessible to the consumer. \u00a0Wines that have been resting on their past [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":283930,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"Taste of Wine 05-30-10","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11600],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-283929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sdnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283929\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}