NICO Kitchen + Bar is OPEN!

I stopped in for a glass of Chapoutier Bila Haut Rouge last week while waiting for my wife to come home from NYC. The place looked very upscale and elegant, and with wines like that on the glass list, I was very impressed! But don’t think it caters only to the wine snob, because there are some great tasting Proseccos and Rieslings too! I didn’t get a chance to delve into the menu, but I look forward to going back soon, it looks fantastic!

The cool thing about this is they have their own Parking lot located at the NJPAC in the heart of Newark. Go for dinner and a show, just go for dinner, or stop in after work for a great glass of wine!

Take a look at their official press release onYAHOO NEWS PRESS RELEASE… I’m sure there will be much more press to come!

FINE WINES FOR LE$$ – CASTLE ROCK WINERY- Mendocino Pinot Noir 2010

FINE WINES FOR LE$$

CASTLE ROCK WINERY
Mendocino Pinot Noir 2010

California $12.00

Greetings Notable Wine-ers,

Established in 1994, Castle Rock Winery
has been producing high quality, great value
wines for nearly two decades. I am always
impressed with their selections in every
vintage I have tasted, especially in the last
three years.

Castle Rock focuses on a few key growing
regions on the west coast: Napa Valley,
Sonoma, Mendocino and Monterey counties
as well as Willamette Valley in Oregon and
Columbia Valley in Washington.

They purchase grapes from 40 growers in
all of these areas. After harvest, the wines
are made and bottled under their supervision
at various wineries equipped with state of
the art facilities.

The 2010 Pinot Noir is made entirely from
grapes grown in Mendocino County. Here
the cooler climate and terroir enable the
Pinot Noir to ripen beautifully with just the
right acidity and fruit balance. For those
who prefer a drier style of Pinot Noir, this
is for you. It shows hints of violets in the
aroma and dark cherry, raspberry flavors
that linger on the palate.

Serve Castle Rock Mendocino Pinot Noir
with roasted chicken or cornish hen,
grilled or broiled salmon fillet, and medium
to full flavored cheese.

Truly a Fine Wine for Less at $12.00.

Distributed in New Jersey by Winebow.

Cheers!!

Tony Caristi

Wine questions? email me: a2zwineinfo@gmail.com

FINE WINES FOR LE$$ – LE SUGHERE DI FRASSINELLO 2009

FINE WINES FOR LE$$

LE SUGHERE DI FRASSINELLO 2009

Tuscany, Italy     $19.00

Happy New Year Notable Wine-ers !!

We are off to a great beginning with wine values
in 2012 with the new release of Le Sughere di
Frassinello from Tuscany, Italy.

Rocca di Frassinello,  the estate which produces
Le Sughere was purchased in 1999 in a partnership
between  Paolo Panerai, owner of Castellare in
Chianti Classico and Baron Eric de Rothschild of
Domaines Barons de Lafite in Bordeaux, France.

The goal of the two owners of this new estate was
to blend Castellare’s experience in the growing and
vinification of Tuscany’s premier grape, Sangiovese,
with Lafite’s experience in harvesting top quality
Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Le Sughere is a selection of 3 wines, 50% Sangiovese,
25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot produced
under the supervision of these great winemakers.

Aged in small oak barrels, (50% new, 50% used from
Domaines de Rothschild), Le Sughere is a big wine
with soft tannins, massive fruit and a long, full finish.
It will be at its best between 2014 and 2016.  You
can enjoy it now by decanting the bottle 2 hours
before serving.

Serve with your favorite red meats, hearty winter stews
and full flavored cheeses.

Imported by Vias Imports, LTD, New York, NY.

Cheers!!
Tony Caristi

Wine questions??  Email me a2zwineinfo@gmail.com

Happy New Year!!! Get Ready For 2012!

I would like to take a moment to THANK all of my faithful Notable Wine-ers for reading, sharing, Wine-ing, and giving YOUR feedback throughout the year! Without you Notable Wine would not be possible.

We hit a milestone of 100 posts this year, are close to 9,000 all time views, and currently have 50 faithful and AWESOME subscribers to the blog, and 201 Facebook Likes. YOU are my Notable Wine Community!

I hope to see those numbers grow in the new year, and with your help, I know we will create a large community of wine lovers that truly enjoy Notable Wine and FINE WINES FOR LE$$!

I look forward to providing all of our FINE WINES FOR LE$$ readers with easier ways to find your favorite new wines, as well as some awesome new value wines for 2012! I hope to provide all of our Video watchers with some cool new video tasting episodes, events, and entertainment in the coming year as well! Most importantly, I look forward to your feedback, meeting new Notable Wine-ers, and helping you with all of your Wine picks and questions! Cheers!

THANK YOU!!!!!!

Sincerely,

Sean Antoniello
Creator and Notable Wine-er

Judging Wine by the Label- Guest Post by Brittany Lyons

Judging Wine by the Label

How Winemakers Get You to Buy Their Brand

How many times have you picked up a bottle of wine simply because the label was interesting or the most attractive? In fact, with so many options to choose from, sometimes you may you feel like you need an advanced degree or even an online doctorate just to make the right selection. If this applies to you, there’s no reason to be embarrassed – many consumers make their wine purchase decision based entirely upon the look of the label. As a result, wine brands and winemakers have been carefully scrutinizing wine label designs and dedicating more resources to their creation, possibly more than any other food and beverage.

What makes a wine label appealing is largely based on the demographic of the consumer. For example, one of the most common label designs are those that look sophisticated or “traditional.” These labels are often found on wines that have been established and are well known in the mainstream wine market, like Clos du Bois, Bolla, Moet & Chandon, as well as less expensive wines like Gallo and Sutter Home. The labels are pretty basic, and usually are a solid color with a cursive or customized brand print and minimal artwork.

This style of label seems to be particularly attractive to older consumers, as they consider basic labels to the markers of solid, “old-standby” wines they can trust, while labels that are artistically abstract, hip, or boldly colored and shaped cause some older buyers to worry the wine inside is unique as the label. Although the labels rarely reflect on the contents inside the bottle, winemakers fully play into customer’s tendency to associate a bottle’s label with the wine inside.

While labels with eye-catching bright colors and and creative designs or patterns may be a turnoff for some, they often draw the attention of younger consumers and wine-drinkers – that is, those who don’t know, or don’t care too much about what’s inside the pretty label. As a result, more and more wine bottles are sporting labels with individualistic, kitschy designs. For example, the labels on wines from Bully Hill, Moral Compass, Fat Bastard and Boxhead have signature post-modern-like or pop art designs; some of them reminiscent of art in the ’80s.

How Much Influence Does Wine Label Have Over Wine Contents?

For the most part, whether a consumer purchases a bottle of wine based upon the aesthetics of the label, or the actual type, brand or year of the wine, is dependent upon how much the consumer knows about wine. Most wine consumers have at least basic knowledge of wine: they know whether they prefer merlot or cabernet, pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc, and prosecco or sparkling wine. Therefore, when a consumer has even some idea of what pinot noir is like, the label will have less influence over a generalized purchase. However, the label can still have significant impact – especially when choosing between several different brands of the same wine.

As a matter of fact, it is more common for a consumer to be influenced by a wine bottle’s label when the selection has been narrowed down to several brands of the same type of wine or wine grape. If a consumer knows they want a bottle of petite syrah, but is unsure about which brand to buy, they are more likely to go with the bottle with the coolest label.

What a Wine Label Really Tells You

The contents of a wine label required by law are simply the brand, the class or type – which can be as specific as “chardonnay 70 percent, torrontes 30 percent,” or as generic as simply “red table wine” and the location where it was bottled along with it’s alcohol content and net volume. Other than these elements, taste and wine note descriptions are usually a bunch of buzz words, created to make the wine sound appealing, but may not reflect what the consumer actually tastes.

The year of a particular wine also is an important factor to which customers should pay attention. For instance, the exact same brand of cabernet will have a marked difference between bottles from 2009 and 1999. However, many brands do not have older bottles of wine available, because they did not exist until a few years ago. These brands, you’ll find, are often the brands that must rely upon label aesthetics, because they don’t have the reputation or market age of brands like Robert Mondavi or Dom Perignon.

Ultimately it takes time to learn the different notes of not only of each type of wine, but also the various tastes of each grape and the year of each wine. Consumers can ask wine experts, research online, read product reviews and so forth, but the only real way to know whether the wine is as good as its label, is through experience.

–Brittany Lyons aspires to be a psychology professor, but decided to take some time off from earning her online doctorate to help people learn to navigate the academic lifestyle. She currently lives in Spokane, Washington, where she spends her time reading science fiction and walking her dog.–

FINE WINES FOR LE$$ – PAUL JABOULET AINE PARALLELE 45 COTES DU RHONE RED 2009

PAUL JABOULET AINE
PARALLELE 45 COTES DU RHONE RED 2009

FRANCE $12.00

Hi Notable Wine-ers,

Paul Jaboulet Aine, established in 1834 is one
of the most distinguished and respected wine
producers in the Rhone region of France.

The recently released 2009 vintage of Parallele
45, which takes its name from the 45th north
parallel that runs just a few miles from the
Jaboulet cellars, is a remarkably well balanced
and fruit forward Cotes du Rhone.

Made from a blend of 60% Grenache and 40%
Syrah, it is ready to drink right now and is best
enjoyed over the next two years.

Food pairings include roasted red meats,
venison stew, shepherd’s pie and medium
to full flavored cheeses.

Truly a fine wine for less at $12.

Cheers!!

Tony Caristi

Wine questions? email me: a2zwineinfo@gmail.com

South African Adventure…Round 2: The Wineries

…Our dinner at Terroir, one of the Top 10 Restaurants in South Africa was exquisite. We were greeted with 2 glasses of sparkling wine to start our night, thanks to our tour guide who kindly informed the restaurant we were on our honeymoon, and took our time to look over the menu and wine list. I decided on the delicious looking pork chop, and paired one their recommended Pinot Noir with it, and Lindsay went with the Kingclip and calamari. We took our time eating, drinking, and beginning to actually settle in to the fact that we were really in South Africa! I noticed a very interesting looking wine, the De Wetshof Edeloes, Noble Late Harvest Riesling, and had to try it for dessert… I found that not only can South Africa produce some excellent Chenin Blanc and Pinot Noir, at very reasonable prices, they also make a good Sauterne-like wine as well!
We woke up nice and early on a cool drizzly day and got dressed to walk around in vineyards and wineries all day! Needless to say, I was pretty excited. I had already tasted some amazing wines, I couldn’t wait to see what else was out there! Our first stop was at Ernie Els wine estate, and thought I would have preferred to find a “diamond in the rough” kind of winery, I was very pleased with the experience. They had an amazing Cabernet Sauvignon I took home, a beautiful estate, and I even got to try one of the 2004 reserve wines to compare vintages!

We headed off to their mass production “sister” wine room to see what else they had to offer, but we weren’t so impressed with that, so we headed straight to Waterford, a most excellent wine and chocolate experience! Have you ever had a dry red wine with chocolate? I never quite got it, until now… Waterford winery actually creates the chocolate to pair with certain wines. A dark spicy “masala chai” chocolate to go with the Shiraz/Mourvedre, a rock salt dark chocolate to pair with their Cabernet, and a Rose Geranium milk chocolate to pair with their desert wine the Heatherleigh.

I still prefer Cabernet with a steak, but I was very impressed with how well the Shiraz paired, and there could never be a more perfect pairing than the Heatherleigh and Rose Geranium!
If it couldn’t get any better, we were then escorted through the winery, their storage “cathedral” and before we left for the day, I had a chance to try The Jem, their most prized wine, and it truly was quite an exquisite bordeaux blend with true South African expression! This was basically the end of our wine tours. We went to have lunch at the most gorgeous property, Delair, where we dined on some pretty interesting dishes, and of course had some very tasty wines! After a relaxing lunch, drove around to enjoy some of the beautiful scenery and headed into Franschhoek for our next adventure…