Red wine may help women keep the pounds off – that’s the real headline!

I wouldn’t tease you.

Check out the Reuters story that I found on MSNBC.com here.

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It’s hard to find a smooth and rich California Cabernet for $14.

But that’s exactly what a 2007 Foxgove Paso Robles Cabernet was with steak one recent night. It offers that big dark fruit flavor with just 13.7 percent alcohol. That’s almost unheard of out of California.

I enjoyed the smoothness of this cab that had very mild tannins. The wine has a bit of Petit Verdot and Cab Franc.

The wine is made by Bob Varner ans shows restraint and a deft hand compared to many California Cabs you’ll find at this price point.

Wine icon Robert Parker gave this Cab 89 points, calling it “an absolutely spectacular bargain.” If you want a well made Cab under the $15 price point, this is one of first California cabs at that price I can heartily recommend.

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There may be as many styles Chardonnay as you’ll find in Cabernet around the world. But for many folks they’ve never even tried an unoaked Chardonnay.

For the record, I’m not a fan of the big, buttery, oaky, vanilla-tinged California Chardonnays. But I have grown to really like the versions done in stainless steel.

Last week I opened a New Zealand (Hawkes Bay) unoaked Chardonnay. This means the wine was aged in stainless steel instead of the traditional oak. The result is a much more crisp and light flavored wine.

The wine was crisp with hints of lemon and was great with some shrimp pasta I had prepared. You might get some melon on the nose but the nice acidity and clean Chardonnay flavor would be a real eye-opener for anyone who’s never had this an unoaked Chard.

Babich is known for its really nice Sauvignon Blanc. I was suprised how much I enjoyed the unoaked Chardonnay. At just $13, it’s something different worth a try!

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I’ve written about numerous Chilean wines over the last couple of years – extolling the virtuals of the Syrahs, Cabernet and native Carmenere.

The devastating earthquake had a big impact on the burgeoning wine industry. I saw several stories this morning on the topic and noticed Ed Deutch, who’s column I link in the left rail, has a roundup which includes some information I also saw on Decanter.com.

Check out his column for an update from Chile.

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I’ve lamented a few times here how tough it is to get response from Hoosier newspapers when I offer my column. For the record, I give it away. I knew as a former editor that selling a syndicated column is about as tough as it gets.

I also knew a column about value wine wasn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Though, I would be willing to argue that value wine is where the bucks are now and that younger readers are also wine drinkers.

But I’ve been heartened by my latest round of emails. As noted the other day, I’ve picked up the Hendricks County Flyer (43,000 circulation) serving Brownsburg and Avon. Then in the past 24 hours I gained two more papers.

The Shelbyville News joins the Grape Sense lineup with 9.500 homes. I’m also excited about adding The Chronicle, a northwest Indiana weekly paper. The Chronicle reaches 28,500 homes in Portage, Chesterton, Valparaiso, and Hobart.

The combined circulation of my 11 papers is now pushing 200,000 Hoosier homes! That’s exciting and I’m grateful to the editors who’ve picked up the column.

More and more people are drinking wine. It’s a lot of fun sharing a little knowledge and direction to those new oenophiles!

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Seldom will I ever write about a wine that is almost impossible for you to find, but tonight is such an occasion.

Palate Press – the national online wine magazine – is finishing up a Wine for Haiti Auction raising money for the earthquake victims of that nation.

It’s been a big success. I bid on a lot of wine from The Girl and The Fig restaurant in Sonoma, California. The restaurant has an exclusive Syrah made for its customers by JC Cellars’ Jeff Cohn.

The three bottles – 2005, 2006, and 2007 – were valued at $190. I won the auction with a bid of $125, so I got a bargain.

I opened the 2006 bottle Saturday night. This is big, incredibly well made Syrah. The wine had huge dark fruit and a spicy characteristic with big but well structured tannins. It was one great big glass of powerful wine. I like the big ones, but will admit it was more enjoyable the second night. This wine could certainly be aged for awhile.

You actually can buy the wine. Currently the 2007 vintage is available off the restaurant’s website for $50 a bottle.

It was fun winning the auction bid. I’m anxious to see how the other two vintages compare but think I’m going to give it some time before I open another.

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I’ve bought some wine this week and picked up a couple of old favorites in the process. I made the decision early on that if I didn’t like a wine I’d still write about it but note that it wasn’t to my taste but might be to others.

And a few times I’ve written about a wine gone bad.

I’m giving the shop where I bought this bad boy a break because I’m not totally sure it’s their fault. Tonight I had a Grenache-Syrah blend from Australia that I really enjoyed about a year ago.

As a matter of fact, I looked up my previous review and it was very positive. I opened the same bottle – same vintage tonight – and it had a funk. I tasted. I tasted. I tasted. And then, I poured it out. That is always a killer!

It had not gone to vinegar but it just wasn’t right. I know that’s not a very good wine geek explanation but sometimes that’s the best I can do.

I’m a big fan of screw caps. I’m not sure I’d blame the screw cap though. The wine was a 2005 so it might have been pushing the outer limits of somthing not made of cork. I’m not so sure.

All that being said, any reputable wine merchant will credit yout purchase cost for a bad bottle of wine. First, don’t pour it out. Re-Cork the wine or put whatever closure back into the bottle and return it as soon as possible.

If you bought it from a liquor store, good luck. But a wine dealer will take care of you. I of the absent mind, dumped the wine without thinking.

Live and learn!

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It takes time and effort to pick up newspapers and newspaper websites for Grape Sense – the newspaper column. I sent out an email pitch to quite a few state publications today and immediately heard back from the Hendricks County Flyer.

The Flyer is a three-times-a-week newspaper reaching 43,000 homes in Hendricks County – or largely Avon and Brownsburg!

Editor Kathy Linton is an old journalism friend and its exciting to add her newspaper!

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I was engaged in great conversation Wednesday night and enjoyed a French Vouvray with some cow, goat, and sheep’s milk cheese. That’s living!

Domaine Pichot 2006 Vouvray Domaine Le Peu De La Moriette – was the Vouvray. This was a sweet treatment of the Chenin Blanc grape. Now, before you go running the other way the French make the sweeter wine with out the gooey, fruity palate mess that makes you think White Zinfandel, Concord, Niagra or any other such thoughts.

It was very aromatic. I was getting pear and maybe lime. It was just beautifully balanced, though admittedly, far sweeter than about anything I would ever drink.

This reminded me of the aged Vouvray I had in Italy that was so awesome with French cheeses. This wine was a great cheese pairing wine as well. It would also be great on the porch in the summer.

This wine ranges from $10-$15. I bought this bottle at Kahn’s on Keystone in Indianapolis.

I have another Vouvray in the wine rack I’m now anxious to try. It continues to amaze me the very different styles of Chenin Blanc the French manage to produce!

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The wine blogging world has had an impact in so many different ways on wine drinkers and the business.

There are wine bloggers who have suggested ideas which have become part of the oenophile landscape. Wine Blogging Wednesday has been a big success getting bloggers to review a particular type of wine or wine from a particular region. I’d have provided a link, but yikes – I was getting a virus warning! This is reputable site and I’m sure they’ll have it cleaned up soon.

But the event I wanted to bring attention to is national “Open That Bottle Night” or OTBN. Palate Press has a great interview online with the couple who started OTBN 11 years ago.

The concept is rather simple. Most serious wine drinkers have a bottle, two, three or more they save for a special occasion. Often those bottles wait and wait for that milestone to approach.

So Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher started OTBN while writing for the Wall Street Journal 11 years ago. Celebrate the wine or celebrate the weekend but open something special. There is even a website celebrating OTBN.

I’m contemplating my choice. It’s going to be Pinot Noir. I have some real gems I brought back from Oregon in April so I’m in for OTBN.

I’ll have my OTBN review up Saturday night or Sunday morning. Would love to hear from anyone who joins in – leave a comment!

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