Product Review: ZOS "Halo" Wine Preserver

(This review is a quick one by request of ZOS on behalf of my Instagram followers)

The ZOS (Zero Oxygen Solutions) Halo preserves wine by absorbing oxygen. All you've got to do is install batteries and plop it in to your bottle neck. The top lights up to let you know it's working and turns back off after a few seconds, and it even senses movement so all you have to do is move or tap the bottle and it'll light back up so you can make sure that it's still working.

The day that I got this in the mail just so happened to be the day that I wrote my post for Wine Pick of the Month, so I took that bottle and used it for this review. That was February 19th and I'm writing this on March 12th, so it's been plugged up for exactly three weeks today.

And it worked! The wine is still drinking great! This was only three weeks and they claim it will go for months, and I believe them. The most difficult thing about this product is opening the box. Seriously, it wasn't easy. I almost gave up reviewing it at all. ;)

PURCHASE THE ZOS HALO HERE!

Read More

Wine Quickie: The Black Dog Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

The fruit for this Cabernet comes from Alexander Valley in California, but they're shipped across country to Boston where Boston Winery does the winemaking. It's a gorgeous cherry red and features a lot of cherry on the nose and palate, along with chocolate and caramel and pepper. It's a lighter bodied Cabernet with soft but sweet tannin and nicely balanced acidity. This is an easily approachable wine that will please everybody for the $13 price point, and it surprises me how much I enjoy its simplicity and easy-going character every time I have it.

Read More

Liquor stores should have "combo meals"

There's always popular combinations of items that you see while working in a liquor store, and I propose something that will change the industry FOREVER! Why not have combos like fast food chains? For example: a #1 at Wendy's is a Dave's Single cheeseburger with fries and a soda, and a #6 is a spicy chicken sandwich with fries and a soda. Why can't this be used for booze and it's partners in purchase?

Picture a board right above the counter just like McDonald's. #1 is four Fireball or Smirnoff 100 Proof Root Beer nips, a pack of Parliaments, and a $2 scratch ticket. #2 is two 40oz bottles of Malt Liquor from a selection of a few brands, a bag of chips or a chocolate bar, and of course a $2 scratch ticket.

You can even have names for specials. The "On a Boat" summer special is a case of Heineken or Amstel or Michelob Ultra, a sleeve of Fireball, and four bags of ice. The "Menthol March Madness" St. Patrick's Day special is six chilled Dr. McGillicuddy nips, a pack of Newport 100's, and Tic-Tac's. 

Wine would work too! "Good evening, I would like to purchase a 'Basic Case', please!"

What is this 'Basic Case'? That would be 3 bottles of Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay, 3 bottles of Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc, 3 bottles of Josh Cabernet, and 3 bottles of Mark West Pinot Noir. "Could I substitute the Oyster Bay with Kim Crawford?" Of course you can, lady. But just like when you want the meat sauce instead of the marinara, it's gonna cost you extra.

I'm tellin' ya. This is the future. And I'm giving it out for free like Nikola Tesla. You're welcome.

Read More

Wine Expert Gabriel Geller shares his top wine picks for Passover

Guest Post by Vicki Garfinkel, VICKIGJ PR.

Bayonne, NJ, MARCH 11, 2019 – Wine is essential to Passover, when Jewish people around the world gather with family and friends to recount the story of the Exodus from Egypt and share a festive meal. It is customary for all (adults) to drink four cups of wine at the Seder. That’s a lot of wine for one meal!

This year Passover begins on the night of April 19, which is somewhat later than usual.  But it’s great news for wine lovers, according to Royal Wine’s PR Director, Gabriel Geller. In the runup to Passover 2019, Geller recommends new bottlings to explore for the “Feast of Freedom” – the commemoration of the redemption of the Jewish people, some 3,500 years ago, from centuries of slavery in Egypt. His suggestions pair exceptionally well at the Seder table or any other special occasion, and run the gamut of varieties and price points.

Read More

Wine Quickie: Monte Velho Tinto 2015

It's been awhile since I've had this inexpensive gem from Alentejo, Portugal. It's 40% Aragonez (Tempranillo), 35% Trincadeira (Tinta Amarela), 20% Touriga Nacional, and 5% Syrah. The color of the wine is ruby red. On the palate it's medium bodied with soft tannin and a nicely balanced acidity. It features blueberries, black cherries, cranberries, earth, and caramel. It finishes with cranberries, black pepper, and far more silky smooth than it should for $8. It's still one hell of a deal.

Read More

Book Review: Root Cause by Steven Laine

Author Steven Laine is a native of Ontario, Canada, and he built his career in the luxury hotel business. But it wasn't until he was working in London that his love of wine was discovered. From there he's been to vineyards and wineries all over the world. This is his third novel, but his first rooted on his love of wine.

"Like music, wine is infinite in its variety and manifestations. It plays a central role in history, is global, ubiquitous, and appeals to a myriad of tastes."

The main character is Corvina Guerra, a flying winemaker who works for a large conglomerate. She's the daughter of a Spanish mother and an Italian father, who is a winemaker and vineyard owner in Piedmont, Italy. It should be pointed out that Corvina is an Italian grape variety (although mostly planted in Veneto, which is eastern Italy, instead of Piedmont, which is western Italy). Her cheating husband has left her. She's obsessed with scarves. At first I was like “what is up with this chick and her scarves?” but it honesty didn't take long for me to find it endearing and legitimately wanted to know what pattern and colors her scarf had that day. She's a lovable and sympathetic character that plays both the "straight-man" and emotional role very well when needed.

Bryan Lawless is a wine blogger that was kicked out of Master of Wine contention for sleeping with one of the judges, and he spends his days exposing the uglier side of the industry. When we first meet him, he's purposefully breaking a bottle at a wine auction to prove that it's counterfeit. And we really get to see the cunning and observance of his character when he sits in a restaurant and points out to the manager how his staff is taking advantage of him and the business. Corvina is going to need his problem solving skills and his redemption desperation.

Read More

Wine Quickie: Crux Winery Russian River SBV 2015

Crux is a small winery that focuses on small lots of Rhone varietals within Russian River Valley, but they also produce Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc. The 2015 SBV is 85% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Viognier. It's unfiltered but you would never guess by looking at it. There's aromas and flavors of pear juice, passion fruit, concrete, and a little funky earthiness. It's full bodied with a slightly oily mouthfeel and a beautiful acidity that lightens up the finish. This is an AWESOME white for $26. Thank you to Lin (@boozychef) for the hook up!

Read More

Wine Review: Rocca di Montemassi Le Focaie 2016

In 1999, continuing their company’s expansion in Tuscany, the Zonin family acquired this 430-hectare property in the Maremma, of which 180 hectares are planted with vines. The lordly mansion has been restored to its ancient splendour, the little lake - inhabited by splendid swans – is a mirror for Venus, the Museum of Rural Civilization, unique of its kind in the Maremma, has found its “home” in a wing of the property whose original architecture has been restored and made extraordinarily efficient. - RoccaDiMontemassi.it

Le Focaie is an introductory level wine by Rocca di Montemassi out of Meremma, Tuscany. It's 90% Sangiovese and 10% of other varieties on the estate that aren't specified. But it could Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and/or Merlot, as those are the other red varieties planted there. The wine spent twelve months aging in oak, and that's all I really know about it. Other than it has an ABV of 13%.

Read More

Wine Quickie: Domaine Harlaftis Nemea 2012

I'm in the mood for something completely different so I picked up this red from Nemea, Greece. It's 100% Agiorgitiko, an indigenous Greek varietal. On the palate it's medium bodied with an uplifting acidity, and tannin that feels like it was stronger when it was younger but now softening with age. There's a lot of earth, dried herbs, and chocolate with fruits of raisin and plum. It's pairing so good with this triple cream brie, and would be even better with wild mushroom brie. This is a solid bottle of wine for $13, and I'm happy with the purchase and my "something different" experience.

Read More

Car Salesman *slaps Robert Parker*

Hail to the king, baby!

Read More