Vino 100

My hubby knows that I can be a stickler to details, and that the issues I am horridly passionate about are, fortunately, far and between. One of those issues is wine.

I am intrigued by everything about it. I want to understand it to the fullest, I want to appreciate it to the best of my ability. But just above all, I want to know how to establish a common language about it. All too frequently I find myself in a situation where I know I am not getting my point across, and I see a blank expression on whomever I am talking to. Often this point of confusion arises from the understanding of what a “dry wine” means.

I run into this following issue all the time: I ask someone about what they like and they go on to tell me they don’t like something too dry. I offer them an off-dry wine, which they are ecstatic over. Throughout the evening, I work them down to dry reds, and to my surprise, they continue to exclaim enthusiastically: “Oh, I really like this! It is smooth, not too dry, and very, very nice”.

In all of my formal wine schooling I have been taught that dry is simply an antonym for sweet. Fruity is a antonym for lacking in fruit flavors. Sweet is something that contains residual sugar.

Today I came across a following website. It belongs to a wine shop chain based out of California, with just under 30 locations in the continental US. What caught my eye was their shelf talker theme:

Each of their wines has a similar display. I find it very interesting for several reasons:

1. I think these guys have a terrific business sense. They have figured out which terminology is appealing to a beginner drinker, and they are running with it.

2. They found a simple visual way for a wine consumer to navigate the shelves without having a prior attachment to a label, a varietal or a region.

3. They combine these to grasp the many people who seek great wine and a little wine knowledge.

My question, however, is the following: Does it seem to you guys that this company is perpetuating the existing miscommunication in the wine language?

Thank you for reading and I am excited to see what you guys think.

Olena

Creative Juices Wine Show: Episode 6-Tokaji 2006 Sárgamuskotály

Here it is – Hungarian Tokaji 2006 Sárgamuskotály – just like you guys asked. Delicious, wonderful juice. We hope you enjoy the episode and in particular, Olena showing off her phenomenal wine swirling skills :-).

Wine: Tokaji Sárgamuskotály

Varietal: Yellow Muscat

Vintage: 2006

Alcohol: 11%

Our Score: 88-89 points

Price: $15

What should we taste next on CJ Wine Show?

Quick, help us out! We should take a bottle out of the wine fridge this morning (so we can taste it room temperature around 4pm), what should it be?

Creative Juices Wine Encyclopedia

Creative Juices isn’t afraid of taking on more tasks. We want to answer each and every question you have about wine. And above all, do so in a video format (which should by no means should deter you from emailing us, calling us, or in any other way asking us wine questions). We’d like to give you another poll, so please let us know what you want us to cover in our March 4th episode of Creative Juices Wine Blog. Cheers!

Creative Juices Wine Show: Episode 5

In Episode 5, Zak & Olena taste and review a 2008 Miguel Torres Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé from Chile. Enjoy the show! Cheers!!!

The wine from today is from the Curicó region in Valle Central, Chile.

Creative Juices Wine Show: Episode 4 (w/Video)!

In Episode 4, Zak & Olena taste a 2001 Bierzo. Enjoy!

Bierzo is in the Northwest Corner of this Map. Cheers!

What wine do you want us to drink next?

Dear readers!

We have decided to start planning for our tastings a little further in advance, and leaving the bottle out of our wine fridge for day or so prior to the tasting. This way, you know what to look forward to, and we can analyze our wine’s flavors and aromas a bit better at room temperature.

Hence follows the first ever Creative Juices Poll:

Creative Juices Wine Show: Episode 4!

Hey everyone! We just wanted to let you know that we finished taping Episode 4 of Creative Juices Wine Show moments ago, and it will be up for viewing shortly. This was a fun episode. We’re really excited, so when it posts, please check it out, and let us know what you think! Cheers!

Zak & Olena

Creative Juices Wine Show: Episode 3 Petite Sirah

In this episode, Zak & Olena taste a 2006 Petite Sirah from Concannon. Cheers!!

Video Blog is up!

We are excited to announce the official launch of our Creative Juices Video Blog! We will be tasting wine, smelling wine, talking about wine, thinking about wine out loud, and videotaping everything wine in our lives. Considering we are still new in this whole video thing, please understand that minor issues with the quality as well footage will continue to be improved on.

Please please please comment on the videos, tell us how we are doing! We are very excited about this new feature of our blog, and we can’t wait to make it better.

Cheers!

Zak and Olena