http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/wine Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:34:30 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Alright.  I'm pretty late writing about this, but in my defense, I'm a very busy man. Here goes. About two weeks ago, I was on vacation in California.  While I spent most of my trip in San Francisco, I did managed to get down to Santa Cruz for about a day ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/wine/the-wine-blog/2009/06/26/my-day-with-bonny-doon/ The dinosaur is a metaphor for many things. A few that come to my mind include your aunt Edna’s Nisson Bluebird, anything to do with Bryan Adams, steaks’s at “Outback”, mini-golf (check out the Orange Dinosaur) and Tim Wakefield. Basically anything that should evolve can be ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/wine/girl-on-grape/2009/06/19/schroeder-estate-saurus-extra-brut/ The island of Limnos is a place that folks rarely think of when they make their way to their neighborhood wine shop.  That's not to say that it doesn't have plenty of wine-making cred.  The island, and it's wines, are present in the Iliad: a welcome addition, it is said, ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/wine/wine-reviews/2009/06/13/muscat-de-limnos-2007/ [caption id="attachment_269" align="alignleft" width="320" caption="Diet Merlot anyone?"][/caption] A few weeks ago the Times (UK) published a story about the proliferation of aluminum cans in the wine world.  Wine can sales are on the rise, and moreover, the can-makers are predicting huge growth.  Let me be the first, (forgetting all of the ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/wine/the-wine-blog/2009/06/12/is-the-world-ready-for-wine-in-a-can/ Inexpensive sparkling wine imports, namely Prosecco and Cava, have received a lot of press in the last 18 months.  Hoping to relate to a hipper crowd, media outlets like the Wall Street Journal have been frantically trying to place themselves on the cutting-edge of wine consumption: five years too late.  ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/wine/the-wine-blog/2009/06/06/excuse-me-waiter-my-sauvignon-blanc-appears-to-be-bubbling/ Gundlach Bundschu (G-B)  is old.  Don't get me wrong: it isn't old like, say, Haut-Brion, but it's about as old as it gets on this side of the pond.  Purchased in the 1850's, the family's Rhinefarm property has been churning out pretty solid fruit ever since.  Known for it's Bordeaux ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/wine/wine-reviews/2009/06/05/gundlach-bundschu-pinot-noir-2005/ Boxed wines are the wine world's proverbial whipping boys.  While nobody likes to admit that they drink the vino equivalent of, say, Wal-Mart bulk-packaged briefs, it's clear that a whole lot of people are buying boxed wines.  According to Nielsen, sales of "premium wine casks," a term for boxed wine ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/wine/the-wine-blog/2009/06/04/boxed-wine-is-awesome/ Yalumba Bush Vine Grenache: $15.99 When I was 14 my mother lost her wedding ring at the beach. We did what all people do when they lose jewelry on the beach; we rented metal detectors. Within hours I was sweeping the beach with a tool that resembled a light ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/wine/girl-on-grape/2009/06/01/girl-on-grenache-by-sarah-osteen/ Triennes 2008 Rosé It would be nice if life was a musical. I would like for people to surprise me from upstairs window sills singing about the beauty of the morning or for folks waiting at the bus stop in Porter Square to move in synchronized jazz squares ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/wine/girl-on-grape/2009/05/26/girl-on-cinsault-rose-by-sarah-osteen/ American Syrah is not an easy wine-category to sell these days.  Many Americans are confused about what exactly Syrah is.  They've heard it's the same grape as is used in Aussie Shiraz, but it doesn't taste like the 90-some-odd point blueberry milkshakes they've had foisted upon them by some jamoke ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/wine/wine-reviews/2009/05/19/shannon-ridge-syrah-2006/