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If I have ever represented myself as anything other than a neophyte in this overwhelming world of fermented fruit juice – my bad. Let me assure you that I know I have a lot to learn.

Carmen sings the blues

For example, before my last Gourmet Monthly Wine Club arrival, I had never had Carmenere. One of the bottles in the shipment was a 2008 Carmen Rapel Valley Carmenere from Chile. Excitement! A great opportunity to expand my horizons! Jess poured our glasses. We got comfortable and prepped ourselves for delving deeply into this new experience.

And.

Ummm.

Well.

Here’s the thing: If you like licking lead pipes, you’re going to totally love the metallic notes in this wine. It’s big and jammy, so that might appeal to some. Anyone out there that has ever considered joining a facebook fan page in praise of green peppers is going to be oh-so-happy. Ecstatic, even. I referred to this wine as “salad in a bottle,” after my first sip, so that should get a whole bunch of salad drinking party people really stoked.

Oh, sweet mercy.

…just not my thing.

But what do I know, right? This was my first experience with Carmenere. Could be that the 08 Carmen is the gold standard and I just didn’t have the good sense to know better.

It happens.

So when I visited my family in North Carolina a few weeks later, my sister-in-law took me to West End Wine Bar and I decided to do more research. And eat some olives. Because, man, I love me some olives.

But I digress.

PKNT. BYOB!

I ordered a glass of 2008 PKNT “Silver Collection” Carmenere. The PKNT (pronounced “picante“) is also from Rapel Valley, Chile. And this time I loved the varietal. Black pepper and dark berries on the nose and palette. So delicious – and I’m generally not a huge fan of very peppery wines. Really, really enjoyed this one, though.

Good Carma?

But when I returned to the Land of LaLa and attended a benefit to help Chile (and its devastated wine industry) at Pourtal Wine Bar, I again had a hard time enjoying this Bordeaux export that has since become a Chilean trademark. The 2008 Carma Carmenere from the Colchagua Valley was all tobacco and chocolate, purple berries and pepper. Not tastes I dislike in wine, but I definitely disliked them in this wine. I couldn’t even finish my glass.

The thing is, though, that a quick Google search of “2008 Carma Carmenere” returns, like, a billion reviews (okay, more like 1,720 entries) – mostly positive – about this stuff. Wine writers, bloggers and merchants the world over all seem to think it’s unquestionably, quaffably, yum.

Which brings me, full circle, back to where I began:

1. I have no pretenses, whatsoever, about knowing, really, anything at all

2. Over the course of this little journey, I tried three very different Carmenere wines, two of which did not taste like green peppers and one of which did. I have it on the highest, cross-referenced and researched authority (albeit lacking a large test sample) that Carmenere should not taste like salad

The great thing about this varietal is that you can find well-reviewed Carmenere for well under $20. So don’t take my word for it – give it a try. Carmenere is hugely popular right now, and Chile really needs the business. Then please share your comments! I’d love to get other opinions and see what the rest of the world drinks and thinks.

Chai, everyone!

For years, kosher wine has been synonymous with syrupy sweet – almost grape jam-like – wine. Some people love it and some people force the stuff down their gullet for the sake of tradition, religion or making grandma’s dry potato kugel palatable.

But wine lovers no longer have to hope Elijah downs their glasses before they get to the gefilte fish. Vintners the world over are producing stand-alone kosher wines that any wine aficionado will really want to drink – any time of year.

I’ve highlighted a few of them below, but this post is – by no means – exhaustive. Perhaps all of these great kosher wines give us reason to be thankful that Passover lasts eight nights. Kosher wine tasting, anyone?

- Departing from our regular focus, this piece does not concentrate specifically on value wines, although some are included in this list –

* Bartenura: Italy ($10-$25). Admittedly, I am the last person who would ever expect to see an Italian kosher wine. But I’m certainly not complaining! From the land of the Blackshirts, we have Bartenura – makers of mostly whites, astis and spumantis. So bring some bubbly to Bubbe! She’ll positively plotz.

* Abarbanel: France ($10-$30). Produced by one the world’s oldest Jewish families, the Abarbanel clan can trace its lineage all the way back to ancient Israel. I guess you could call them the OGs of Oenology. They offer a wide variety of wines (including Cremant) at an assortment of price points. Doesn’t that get you ready to take a tikn?

Backsberg wines

* Backsberg: S. Africa ($10-$30). No badkhan! Although it might be surprising to some folks, South Africa has been making wine for centuries and has developed a reputation as one of the impresarios of the New World regions. Backsberg, specifically, has been named one of Wine & Spirits’ Top 100 Wineries of the Year, they have won awards for their mentsh-tastic sustainable business practices and strive to produce highly “drinkable” wines.

* Five Stones: Australia ($15-$25). From the Beckett’s Flat folks in the Margaret River region of Australia, we have Five Stones wines. Offering a wide selection – certified by Kosher Australia, Kashrut Authority of Western Australia and the Orthodox Union USA, these wines are kosher, Mevushal – and guaranteed geshmak!

Baron Herzog: California ($10-$50). Good ol’ Baron Herzog. When Kadem was the only alternative to Manischewitz – and just as sugary – Herzog came on the scene and gave us grown-ups something different to wash down dry brisket. This is a solid, reliable and tasty choice,with  a nicely varied selection of varietals and prices. If given as a gift, your hostess will think you’re haimesh.

Dalton: Israel ($12-$50). From the site: “The Dalton Winery is set in the beautiful green, mountainous country of the Upper Galilee, five kilometres from the Lebanese border, overlooking the Hermon Mountain.” These wines have been heavily influenced by Australian winemakers, although they are beginning to dabble in Old World styles for their premium selections. This is a relatively new winery, but they are already renowned for an excellent product.

Yarden wines

Yarden: Israel ($10-$75+). For the sustainability-conscious seder we have Yarden Wines, from Golan Heights. Both kosher and organic, these wines offer something to please the most rabid rebbe to your shtetle’s strictest shicker. They’ll please your eco-fanatical friends, too!

Golan Heights: Israel ($15-$70). Bordeaux-inspired and gold-medal winning, these are weighty wines for real wine drinkers. No shlock here. Looking for a truly yummy way to celebrate your yontef? Get a few bottles for the whole mishpocha. You’ll come across like a macher, but everyone will be so busy drinking, they really won’t care.

Hagafen Cellars: Napa Valley, CA ($15-$150). Napa Valley and Jew-friendly, too? Oy! I could kvell. With bottles up to $150 or so, this is serious stuff; Manischewitz is to Hagafen what spoons are to the iPod. This ain’t your daddy’s syrupy shmaltz. Established in 1979, this is a gold-medal winning, family-run winery – and highly recommended.

Covenant wines

Covenant: Napa Valley, CA ($25-$100+). According to Robert Parker of The Wine Advocate, Covenant makes the “finest kosher wines money can buy.” They employ both Old and New World techniques to create wines that consistently win awards and acclaim. The vintners, Jeff Morgan and Leslie Rudd, are bacchanalian balmalochas, for sure. And while their wines may cost a lot of gelt – gloib mir – they will be a delicious part of your celebration.

Zei gesund, dear drinkers! Hope your holidays – all of them, no matter what you’re celebrating – are joyous and delicious. L’Chaim!

* good wines at great value

Our goal, here at GrapeSmart, has always been to guide value-minded consumers through the somewhat treacherous labyrinth of cheap stuff to find the best wines out there under $25.

As a guide, I feel I’ve been a little remiss lately. Not that I don’t think it’s good to find value in the world’s most storied wine regions, but I think maybe some readers would benefit from going back to basics, the most basic basics, to make value Bordeaux – or any other wine, for that matter – maybe make a little more sense.

So let’s bring it all back to Square One:

1. Unless you’re drinking a “specialty” fruit wine, it’s just grapes in there. When people talk about tasting strawberries, blueberries, cat pee or saddle leather, none of those things are actually in the wine. The various scents/tastes come from the grapes, the place the grapes were grown/the way the grapes were grown (terroir) and the way the grapes were fermented. Some bouquet and taste elements such as wood, vanilla, coconut, etc come from the wooden barrels where some wines are aged. That’s basically it.

It’s the ju-ju of the wine making process that turns grapes on a vine into what winds up in the glass – in all its flavored glory. That alchemy of sunlight, water, grapes, growing conditions, craftsmanship and fermentation. It’s a natural wonder. And even though your wine might taste like grapefruit, there really isn’t any grapefruit in there – really.

2. Give it a swirl. No matter what you might be afraid of, it won’t make you French. What it will do is “wake up” the wine and allow the juice to release molecules to help you better smell and taste the wine, providing a more layered, richer overall experience. Go on – try it. If you feel self-conscious, we won’t watch.

3. Find some body to love. When we talk about “body,” we mean the structure of the wine and how it feels in your mouth. The combination of acid and sugar/alcohol. The tannins (that “puckery,” dry-mouth feeling you get with some red wines). The way it all comes together on your palate when you take a sip.  Sometimes this is also referred to as the spine or the backbone but – like the aroma/bouquet/flavors I mentioned before – there are no actual bones in your juice. It’s just an expression.

4. Enjoying a good screw [top] doesn’t make you cheap. There are a whole host of reasons why producers across the planet are choosing not to put a cork in it. It’s no longer just the bottom-dollar liquor store libations that are easy to open these days – even a couple of the nicer Napa Cabernets have screw tops now. I’ll let you in on a little secret: Some of the world’s finest Champagnes are fermented with the type of crown caps found on bottles of beer. Cork no longer equals class. So feel free to screw off with impunity.

5. When it comes to wine, location is everything. Except when it isn’t. Generally speaking, certain types of grapes have been grown in certain places [Europe] for a really, really, really long time. Sometimes these grapes are mixed (blended) with other grapes from the same vineyard or region, sometimes there is only a single type of grape (varietal) in the bottle, but – especially in places like France and Italy – the resulting wine is named for the place from which the wine comes. This is why you’re likely to run into a bunch of French Burgundy (and white French Burgundy, as well), but very few bottles labeled French Pinot Noir. In the Americas, Australia and other “New World” regions, wines tend to be labeled by what’s in the bottle. For example, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is wine that can come from anywhere in New Zealand, fermented from Sauvignon Blanc grapes.

6. Spitting or swallowing is a personal choice. Although it’s sort of strange to find so much expectorating in an environment as typically rarefied as the wine world, there’s a very simple reason why people do it: To avoid getting drunk. If you choose to spit – baby, it’s all good. Or if you’d rather swallow, we won’t judge; just know that you won’t be able to taste for very long stretches – and you’ll probably want to make sure you have someone to drive you home.

Certainly I didn’t even scratch the surface of what there is to learn. And beware even the wine “expert” who claims to know it all. But everyone has to start somewhere, and these few intro bits should set you up to start you on your way – especially if you’d like to try attending a wine tasting.

Have a question? ASK! Always ask! Whether it’s at your local wine shop (Lord knows I’m forever bugging the guys near me), or by writing to Jess or me here at GrapeSmart. It’s easy to be intimidated, but – instead – just try to have fun. Salut!

“What is happening is American wine companies are buying bulk wine in France, Chile, Australia or wherever, shipping it back here and bottling it here under their own brand,” says Lewis Perdue, the author of wineindustryinsight.com.

“People have no idea the wine they are drinking is cheap bulk import,” Perdue says.

Read the full article here

I guess my question is… does it really matter? My philosophy has always been, “Cheap wine is fine, as long as it tastes good.” I’m not partial to where it comes from. If I’m looking for a bargain, and you can get me cheaper wine from France or Chile where macroeconomics have more to do with wine pricing than brand recognition, I’m all for it!

I do care if the wineries are labeling it as coming from somewhere other than where they bought it, but I highly doubt they are since it would probably put them out of business.

What do you think?

P.S. Thanks to Julie Brosterman of @womenwine for the heads-up on this piece!