Wine Talk

This was a spontaneous last minute decision; I'd actually been thinking about trying the new Meridian Cabernet Sauvignon release, but saw this Liberty Creek Cabernet Sauvignon on the shelf, and was curious. It's an E. and J. Gallo wine, from their lowest tier with a label that unabashedly describes the wine as "California table wine." This is about as generic as you can get in terms of California Cabernet Sauvignon. Read more

The nose on opening is subdued in the extreme. The first glass was not particularly fruity though there was a vague impression of blackberries. There's no tannin. None of the other tones you'd expect from a California Cabernet Sauvignon are really noticeable. This is a very homogenous middle-of-the-road Cabernet Sauvignon. It's NV, but I suspect that one reason it was so very muted in tone was that it was also very very young. It's not at all bad, and quite drinkable, but it's very generic, a Cabernet Sauvignon without any real identity. This is a pleasant wine, and quite quaffable, but it's not really a wine to be enjoyed on its own. I would describe this as pizza wine, wine to complement a good fresh-baked pizza you have delivered or that you stop and pick up on the way home, that won't really draw attention from the pizza but may very well be improved by the pairing. Read more

I will confess I'd never heard of either Leaping Horse or their parent label, Iron Stone Vineyards, located in Lodi, California. This is a family winery, and a product of the Kautz family Vineyards. John Kautz begin as a grape supplier, growing wine grapes on twelve acres in Lodi. Today the Kautz family owns several thousand acres of vineyards in Lodi, and California Sierra Foothills. The Leaping Horse wines (Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Shiraz, Merlot, and Chardonnay) are from a single vineyard. Read more

Sangiovese is probably best known in the United States as a foundation for the "Super Tuscan" red wine blends, and traditional Italian Chianti, which traditionally is mostly Sangiovese. But it is an old wine, one that while we can only positively trace back to the sixteenth century, was likely enjoyed by the Romans as well as medieval Italians living in Tuscany. Professor José Vouillamoz of the Istituto Agrario di San Michele all'Adige in profiling Sangiovese thinks it is most likely the descendant, in the fairly distant past, of Ciliegiolo and Calabrese Montenuovo, both grapes that are almost forgotten outside of Italy. Sangiovese as a name is derived from Latin sanguis Jovis, "the blood of Jove." Read more

Crane Lake Down Under Chardonnay is another product of Frank Franzia's Bronco Wine Company, yes, the Franzia and Bronco of Charles Shaw fame, and the California Crane Lake wines. This wine was officially launched in June of 2008. It's 100% Australian Chardonnay, imported in bulk to the U.S. and "finished," and blended, in the U.S. at the Bronco bottling subsidiary. Down Under Chardonnay quickly got attention from the press and people interested in affordable table wines. Franzia explicitly stated that the label and wine were intended to directly compete with bulk Australian wine importer Yellow Tail. Read more

Crane Lake is very much a budget table wine label. It's one of Frank Franzia's labels, part of his Classic California group, and owned by Bronco, best known as the makers of Charles Shaw wines, the "Two Buck Chuck" wines sold exclusively through Trader Joe's. I've been seeing Crane Lake at the local RiteAid at two bottles for $7.00, and I have to confess, I turned my nose up, after a less than positive experience with Charles Shaw wines. All of the Crane Lake wines (but not Crane Lake Down Under) are California wines. Read more

This is the second part of a two part series on Crane Lake wines; this one is on the Red wines. The first part was on the white wines, and you can find it here. Crane Lake is a budget tier table wine, one of the Bronco wine labels owned by Frank Franzia, part of his Classic California group. Bronco is best known as the makers of Charles Shaw wines, the "Two Buck Chuck" wines sold by Trader Joe's. These are all California wines. Read more

Merlot is one of the core red wine grapes, and one with an ancient heritage. Geneticists at the University of California at Davis believe that Merlot is a descendant of Cabernet Franc, which makes it a sibling of Carménère and Cabernet Sauvignon. It's one of the core wines traditionally used in a Bordeaux blend. In fact, Merlot is one of the most popular wines for not only various table red blends, but specifically, as a blended wine bottled as Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot, since the typically softer, more fruit-forward Merlot works well as a balance to the more tannic Cabernet Sauvignon. Moreover, if the early ripening Merlot is damaged by frosts, then the vintner can turn to Cabernet Sauvignon. Read more

I've been seeing Crane Lake wines at the local RiteAid for three or four months now, at the bargain price of two bottles for $7.00. I confess that, after a less than stellar experience with Charles Shaw, I turned up my nose. But when this interestingly honest label turned up at the local Bargain Grocery Outlet, well, for $3.99, I figured why not? Read more

Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher have been writing "Tastings," the weekly wine column of The Wall Street Journal for the last twelve years. This week's column is their last. I've linked to several of their articles in the past; particularly their pieces on "Should I Decant?" More than once I've directed people to their friendly, helpful enthusiastic "I'm New to Wine: How Do I Start?" column. It has the single most useful advice I've seen ever, anywhere for someone just beginning to be interested in wine: Read more