Posts from the Wine Category at Luxist

Bo Merlot Celebrates A Coaching Legend

Posted Aug 16th 2008 12:02PM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Wine

Mike Ditka isn't the only coach with a wine label. Legendary University of Michigan coach the late Bo Schembechler is now the namesake of a 2005 California merlot. According to the Ann Arbor News, the Bo Merlot will be unveiled in the Ann Arbor area in the last week of August which marks University of Michigan's home football opener against Utah.

The wine is being distributed by Studer imports, a wine company founded by Marlena Studer, She defends her choice to use a California winery in Monterey to source the wine rather than a Michigan winery by saying that California symbolizes the Rose Bowl, where Schembechler tried to get this team to each year. The price of the wine is $19.69 which references 969, the year Schembechler arrived on campus. Two dollars from each sale goes to the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center, which treated Schembechler when he was ill. He died of heart failure on Nov. 17, 2006. The wine will be sold in local stores in the Ann Arbor area.

Burning Hawk Wine

Posted Aug 15th 2008 12:02PM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Wine, Charity of the Day

Burning Hawk sounds like a bit of a poetic name for a wine until you learn that the name comes from a hawk which hit a power line and caused a fire in a vineyard. Burning Hawk wine gives ten percent of sales to groups working to prevent bird electrocutions. The wine is produced by Windsor Vineyards and will offer two $30-a-bottle wines. The Burning Hawk 2005 Napa Valley Red Wine is a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, Malbec and Merlot from the Napa Valley and the 2006 Burning Hawk Chardonnay, Alexander Valley is a buttery Chardonnay with tropical fruit and vanilla oak notes. The organizations that will get the proceeds haven't been chosen yet but according to an article in the Press-Democrat the label's founder Nick Papadopoulos has been speaking with groups around the country to see if they can prevent birds from being killed through electrocution or collisions with power equipment. Windsor Vineyards produced 2,000 cases of each wine.

Gallery: Wine For A Cause

Christie's Wine Dept. Returns to Asia with Latour Sale

Posted Aug 14th 2008 11:02AM by Jared Paul Stern
Filed under: Wine, Auctions

In November, London-based auction house Christie's will hold their first wine auction in Asia since 2001, featuring a landmark collection of 140 years worth of Latour sourced directly from the Château cellars.

The first Château-sourced collection of the fabled Bordeaux ever to be sold in Asia will go on the block Nov. 29 in Hong Kong; the 150 Latour lots, including magnums and large format bottles from a wide range of vintages dating from 1865 - 2005, are expected to fetch over $1.5 million total.

One of the top prizes is a 1900 magnum estimated at $18,000 - $24,000. Christie's already has a strong showing in Hong Kong with art and antique auctions bringing in over $300 million in Spring 2008, the highest total ever achieved for an Asian season.

Gallery: Château Latour

Beaujolais Nouveau Goes Plastic For The Environment

Posted Aug 13th 2008 12:02PM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Wine

Beaujolais Nouveau in plastic bottles? Boisset Family Estates has announced in a press release that next season's Beaujolais Nouveau wines from the wineries of Mommessin and Bouchard Aîné & Fils shipped to the U.S. will be packaged in 750ml PET bottles. They will also be debuting Fog Mountain, the first California wine in 750ml PET bottles , Boisset Family Estates is the first winery ever to announce that all Beaujolais Nouveau wines imported to North America will be packaged exclusively in lightweight PET plastic bottles. The company estimates they will save millions of pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere. The Beaujolais Nouveau wines in PET bottles weigh 22 lbs per case vs. 38 pounds for the traditional bottle. Boisset expects their Mommessin Beaujolais Nouveau and Bouchard Aîné & Fils Beaujolais Nouveau to retail for $12.99 which is a dollar or two less than they would have charged. The shatterproof bottle will have a screwcap. Beaujolais Nouveau is meant to be drunk immediately so there are no concerns as to how the wine might age in platic. Boisset's other interesting packaging initiatives includes wine in Tetra Pak cartons and Mommessin Beaujolais Grande Reserve in 750 ml aluminum bottles.

[via Wine & Spirits Daily]

Robert Parker's $2,000 Wine Tasting

Posted Aug 11th 2008 4:02PM by Tracy Chait
Filed under: Wine

Oenophiles mark your calendars for October 23: wine mystic Robert Parker will host an exclusive tasting featuring

Bordeaux wines from 2005, what Parker says is "the greatest vintage produced during my thirty year career." For $2,000 per person ($1,000 of which is a charitable donation toward Culinary Institute scholarships), tasters will sample 18 wines, including all five of the Premiers Grand Crus from the Left Bank, which are currently priced at $75,000 a case.

Check out Robert Parker's website to learn more about the wines he favors and to search over 100,000 tasting notes from Parker's extensive database.

Signaterra Wine

Posted Aug 10th 2008 2:02PM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Wine

Benzinger's Signaterra wine is a new wine label that seeks to join the best of three forces, earth, nature, and man for excellent wine. They have produced two wines, the 2006 Bella Luna Pinot Noir Russian River Valley and the 2006 Sauvignon Blanc Shone Farm Vineyard Russian River Valley. The Signaterra wine notes are divided into Earth, Nature and Man categories which describe the location of the vineyard and how it is formed, the climate and how the grapes are tended (often using organic, biodynamic and sustainable farming methods) and the way the grapes were harvested and how the wine was produced. At $24, the Sauvignon Blanc is on the pricier end of that varietal. The San Francisco Chronicle recently named it tops in their tasting of Sonoma County Sauvignon Blancs finding it rich and well-balanced with notes of jasmine and mango cream aside the citrus and grassy flavors traditionally associated with Sauvignon Blanc.

French Maid Wine

Posted Aug 9th 2008 4:02PM by Laura Malesich
Filed under: Wine

In keeping with White Rocket Wine Company's niche of bringing new brands of high quality, affordable wines to the new generation of wine drinkers comes French Maid Wine. Each of the five varietals from the French 'Old World' Languedoc region is given a 'New World' spirit. Offering a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Sauvignon Blanc, each French Maid Wine brings French terroir to the newbies of the wine world on a smaller budget of only $12 per bottle. For the connoisseur who prefers more luxury priced wines this may not be the bottle of choice but as an introduction to wine it just may fit the bill.

Green My Vino Encourages Renewable Energy Via Facebook

Posted Aug 9th 2008 11:02AM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Wine, Green

A new Facebook application has been launched to help winelovers go green. Four Napa and Sonoma County vineyards: Girard Winery, Iron Horse Vineyards, Windsor Sonoma Vineyards, and Windsor Vineyards, are behind Green My Vino. The application lets Facebook users to give each other free online gifts worth an one, five or ten minutes of renewable energy. For each of these gifts Village Green Energy will purchase the equivalent amount of renewable energy on the user's behalf. Each winery has a set minutes goals and once the goals has been met at one, the focus moves to the next winery. First up, Iron Horse Vineyards which has has agreed to power their entire operation with renewable energy when Facebook friends have gifted each other with 10,000 minutes of solar and wind power. Girard Winery has a goal of 17,000 minutes, Windsor Vineyards has a gold of 30,000, and Windsor Sonoma's goal is 45,000 minutes.

Village Green estimates that if the app is successful the wineries will purchase over 1.2 million kWh of renewable power to power the four initial wineries entirely with green energy for a year based on their past electricity use. They will purchase the renewable energy certificates from Mountain View II Wind Facility in Palm Springs and several solar arrays in Los Angeles.

[via Wine Business]

Veuve Clicquot Icebox, Chemistry Makes It Cold

Posted Aug 6th 2008 12:02PM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Wine

Now you no longer need ice or a refrigerator to keep your Champagne cold. Veuve Clicquot has come out the with icebox, a bright yellow box that contains the Champagne, two flutes and a couple of chemicals that react together when you snap the seal, creating a reaction that cools the bottle. The reaction only happens once and the set costs £99 at Selfridges.

Veuve Clicquot has created a lot of unique designs in the past few years, check out the gallery below for a small sample.

Gallery: Veuve Clicquot and Design

B-Side Cabernet Sauvignon Wine

Posted Aug 5th 2008 12:02PM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Wine

Remember B sides, the flip side of a 45 record or cassette that featured a song that wasn't as popular but was, in many cases, better than the single on the other side? Don Sebastiani & Sons is applying that concept to wine with a new wine brand called "B Side." The first release of B Side Cabernet Sauvignon features grapes from vineyards on the "flip-side of Napa Valley" a few miles from the "glamour wineries along Highway 29." The grapes are sourced from areas such as Pope Valley, Chiles Valley, Wooden Valley, Stags Leap District and lower Calistoga. The vines in these areas yield smaller, more concentrated fruit which create Bordeaux-style Cabernet Sauvignons with classic berry and cassis flavors. The 2005 vintage is described as having classic Bordeaux aromas of currant and ripe plum and recommended pairings include braised short ribs with horseradish and parsnip mashed potatoes, Miso glazed black cod over steamed rice with spring onion dim sum, or arugula salad with fresh strawberries, goat cheese and black pepper.

There were 9,860 cases produced of the 2005. B Side Cabernet Sauvignons will be sold at price points from $20 to $30 a bottle and will be offered mainly at upscale restaurants and key independent retailers.

[via Wine & Spirits Daily]

DKNY Plans Branded Bubbly

Posted Aug 2nd 2008 2:02PM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Wine

Donna Karan's fashion line DKNY is celebrating its 20th anniversary in traditional fashion, with a bottle of bubbly. Or many bottles in this case, the brand is working with Napa winery Chandon to create a DKNY sparkling wine which will have a special bottle design and will be available at the Chandon winery in Napa and on Chandon.com, as well as being given to guests attending the spring/summer 2009 runway show in New York.

Grand Cru Estates, Make Your Own Pinot Noir In Oregon

Posted Jul 31st 2008 4:02PM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Wine

Yesterday I mentioned Crushpad but they aren't the only ones in the make your own wine business. Another make-your-own wine business has launched, this one in Oregon. Grand Cru Estates is a 13,000 square-foot winemaking facility breaking ground this month in the Yamhill Carlton AVA. Partners Domaine Danielle Laurent and Bailey Estate Vineyards have created Grand Cru Estates as an exclusive winemaking club that lets members create a barrel (25 cases) of their own premium Pinot Noir. Each membership offers interaction with the winemaking team both in the vineyard and in the winery and includes winemaking seminars, winemaking dinners, a biodynamic garden for member use and personal access to the winery for private events and personal concierge.

Club membership is available immediately beginning with the 2008 fall harvest with an initial membership fee of $5,000 for the first 30 founding members, along with a $20,000 fee for each member barrel.

Crushpad Raises $9 Million From Customers

Posted Jul 30th 2008 4:02PM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Wine

I've been a fan of Crushpad since 2005 and since then they've grown by leaps and bounds, bringing in $6.7 million in revenue last year. But unlike some other growing young companies, San Francisco-based Crushpad isn't funding their growth through venture capitalists but instead has raised $9 million from 120 loyal customers. Venture Beat checks in with Michael Brill who started Crushpad in 2004. Brill states that the company was originally going for $5 million but raised it to $9 million and found that the deal was still oversubscribed. Now that's customer loyalty.

Crushpad helps users create their own wine online or come to Crushpad's headquarters to participate hands-on in the process. Making your own wine is relatively expensive (the minimum order for Crushpad is a barrel, which ranges in price from $5,000 to $9,600) and so Crushpad's customers are generally wealthy. The months-long process of creating the wine has helped the customers become passionate not just about wine but about Crushpad too. Their investment will help grow the company and some of the investors will join the board of directors. Crushpad is planning to use the money to enhance the long-distance experience on the web site and possibly open more locations including one in France.

Oldest Bottle of Veuve Clicquot Found In Scottish Castle

Posted Jul 29th 2008 12:02PM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Wine

After reading "The Billionaire's Vinegar" it's hard not to be skeptical about wine finding stories but this one from the BBC is pretty amazing. An 1893 bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne was found in a sideboard at a Scottish castle. The BBC News reports the sideboard came from Torosay Castle on the Isle of Mull. The owner Chris James found the bottle after getting a locksmith to cut a key to open the piece of furniture. Once opened the sideboard revealed a bottle of brandy, a port decanter, a bottle of claret and the single bottle of 1893 Veuve Clicquot. The drinks are believed to have been locked up since at least 1897.

James contacted Veuve Clicquot, who said the bottle was the oldest in existence. The priceless bottle is now displayed at the company' s visitors center in Reims, France.

[Thanks, Lana]

Hart Davis Hart To Auction Off Major Wine Cellar

Posted Jul 27th 2008 3:02PM by Deidre Woollard
Filed under: Wine

Hart Davis Hart Wine Co., has a huge single-owner sale planned for September 19th and 20th. The Fox Cellar includes 166 lots of Château Lafite-Rothschild worth an estimated $1,067,400- $1,589,900 including 7 cases of the 1982 and 21 cases of the 1996 vintages (all in their original wooden cases); a 100 lot offering of Château Pétrus worth an estimated $1-$1.5 million; more than 1,000 bottles from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti; over a thousand bottles each of Châteaux Latour, Margaux, Mouton-Rothschild and Haut-Brion; a large selections of Italian wines from Angelo Gaja along with Super Tuscans, Guigal's Single-Vineyard Côte Rôties, and top California producers. Many of the lots were purchased by the current owner as futures or on release and are still in their original wooden cases.

The live auction will take place at Chicago restaurant Tru, at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, September 19th, 2008 and Saturday, September 20th, 2008. The auction of over 1,700 lots is estimated to fetch $7-$10 million.

Those in town for the auction can indulge in a Château Lafite-Rothschild Dinner at Charlie Trotter's on Thursday, September 18th. Hart Davis Hart Wine has chosen 20 celebrated vintages reflective of the Fox Cellar, spanning the past four decades of the estate and Chef Trotter will design a five-course dinner to complement the wines.

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2	Jared Paul Stern	44	0
3	Rigel Celeste	40	0
4	Tracy Chait	36	0
5	Laura Malesich	25	1
6	Lisa Palladino	13	0
7	Marsha Reid	3	0
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Bo Merlot Celebrates A Coaching Legend

Burning Hawk Wine

Christie's Wine Dept. Returns to Asia with Latour Sale

Beaujolais Nouveau Goes Plastic For The Environment

Robert Parker's $2,000 Wine Tasting

Signaterra Wine

French Maid Wine

Green My Vino Encourages Renewable Energy Via Facebook

Veuve Clicquot Icebox, Chemistry Makes It Cold

B-Side Cabernet Sauvignon Wine

DKNY Plans Branded Bubbly

Grand Cru Estates, Make Your Own Pinot Noir In Oregon

Crushpad Raises $9 Million From Customers

Oldest Bottle of Veuve Clicquot Found In Scottish Castle

Hart Davis Hart To Auction Off Major Wine Cellar

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