See below for what happened.........

Wine Under the Radar

This afternoon we will taste a selection of 6 excellent wines representing a wide range of price points from $7 - $40/btl. There will be 2 whites and 4 reds, 2 Italian, 2 Spanish, 1 So.African, & 1 Calif. Don’t do the math. In addition, we will explore the various techniques of finding great wines regardless of price.  As well as the wines presented we will also discuss wines that didn’t make the tasting both good and bad. 

Special cheeses and breads will accompany the wines.

Sweets will be served immediately following the tasting.

Please bring your own glasses & pens. No smoking or strong fragrances, please. 

Attendees recognize they will consume alcohol and assume responsibility of having done so.

Attendance will be limited to the first 36.

Members  $25.00            Guests   $27.50

What Happened.........

This tasting was organized by Bob Bilenchi and Rosemary Lauder.  It represented the best and most interesting of the wines recently discovered by Bob, who looks for wines in many places.  These wines were discovered in wine shops both local and distant, gained with information from magazines, news sources and the internet.

 La Ardilla Moscato de Valencia 2010, Spain, the Aperitif Wine   

 Excelsior Chardonnay South Africa 2010

 Toscolo Chianti, Italy 2008     

 Pasqua Amarone Italy 2007

 Volver La Mancha Tempranillo Spain 2008   

  Stonestreet Momument Ridge Cabernet 2007

 Cousino Macul Antiquas Reservas Cabernet Chile 2008

The aperitif sparkling Moscato was a nice example of an increasingly popular wine and priced at only $8. The Chardonnay was made by the Robertson group, a large maker in South Africa, at a bargain price of $7.   Both were good, full bodied wines at bargain prices.

From Italy came two wines, the first a good $11 Chianti, followed by a very good Amarone.  Bob explained the Amarone process which involves drying the grapes on racks before processing.  Amarones can get expensive, the best around $80.  This one was of quite high quality at $19.

The Volver Tempranillo had a rating by Parker of 91 and cost only around $13.  It was an excellent example of this varietal.

The last two wines were tasted blind.  Both had very high Parker ratings, 94 and 91, respectively.  The group rated them quite closely, 13.3 and 12.7 with the Stonestreet higher.  The two wines were quite different in character, but yet ranked similarly as some preferred the Stonestreet and others the Cousino Macul.  However, the Stonestreet cost $40, while the other was just $12.  It was an interesting test of value.

There were breads and cheeses with the wines, Compte, Manchego, and Gouda, and cookies at the end.  This was a very interesting tasting as it included some very good wines at low prices and informed us on how we might find them in the future.  

Here are some of the sources Bob uses to find wines and acquire information.

vinquire.com - This site will give you online sources for a wine with prices for each when you type in a wine name.

wine.com - This site sells wine and gives expert rating scores.

nickleanddimewine.com - A wine blog site with responders that taste and rate wine attempting to find the best wine values available, especially low priced ones.

lamaisongourmet.net – In California, the source for the Stonestreet.  They have large selection of wines and provide good service, and the best price for the Stonestreet, $37.95. 

wineanthology.com – In New Jersey, the source for the Volver.  They have a very large selection of wines and regularly send emails with good value wine selections.  They are very accommodating, and offered to hold the Volver to ship in cooler weather.