All the News That Fits

I don't make up the news about Trader Joe's. I just report it. I always knew that New York was a tough town.


CHEAP WINE: $4 AND UNDER

A roundtable investigation into Trader Joe’s wine cellar

Merlot, on the other hand, received little love. “Poop!” went the chorus. Moving on, we uncorked Il Valore’s Primitivo ($3.99), an Italian Zinfandel. The consensus? “Sucks. Sucks bad. Like it was fermented with dirt.”

The Chilean Collection merlot and merlot carmenere (both $3.99) received equally pitiful marks. “I feel like I’m drinking a dusty spider web,” said one panelist, who gagged after a taste.
We had high hopes for the Argentinean La Boca malbec ($3.99)—its bottle was colorful. But the judgment was “dirty, dirty, with spiciness like the cheap red pepper at a pizza place.”

It was horrible but hardly as evil as the Bull’s Blood, aka Hungary’s Egri Bikaver ($3.99). Dark red, with a peppery, wet-skunk finish, the Bull’s Blood “smells like the crabapple tree in grandma’s backyard,” one panelist offered. Others were less charitable. “Real bull’s blood is probably nicer. This is like bull’s blood boiled with piss and vinegar.”

Thanks to Bruce for the tip!

Stormhoek is Coming

The Cincinnati Wine Warehouse is pleased to host a new winery on May 6th (that's Derby Day in this neck of the woods) from 2pm until the ponies stop running. Details will be on the CWW website shortly. Email me if you have questions and/or want to attend. If your name isn't on the list, the bouncers will make you wait outside!



Thanks to gapingvoid for making all this possible.

Buyer Beware

I found this story through Wine Fetch about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the lost wines of the restaurants in New Orleans.

Damaged Goods

``We buy the wines from the insurer,'' Jones said. ``If they paid the restaurant $100,000, we sell on consignment and pay them about $20,000.'' Then, he said, he finds ``a licensed wine purchaser.''

Jones couldn't say whether the purchasers then listed the wines as ``damaged goods.'' ``I know they must be in Illinois, but not in Louisiana, and what the rules are outside the U.S. I just don't know.''

There are thousands of bottles of post-Katrina wine being offered for sale in the international market, probably without any notice of their being damaged. If someone offers to sell you a ``Katrina wine,'' better keep it as a memento on your mantelpiece rather than store it in your cellar or bring it to your table.

I am amazed that the insurance companies and salvagers can get away with this. I guess cars aren't the only items to be on the lookout for coming out of the Katrina disaster.

Hey, buddy want to buy some '27 Petrus for $50? Yeh sure, all those old labels look a little crinkled around the edges. You'd be crinkled too if you were born in 1927!

Red Flyer

2003 Red Flyer ($9) -- California Rhone Blend that is taking aim at Red Truck and Bonny Doon. 15,000 cases produced by Hahn Estates. 11 months oak.

Syrah, Durif, Mourvedre, Grenache, Carignane and Clone X blend with forward fruit aromas and flavors. Integrated tanins. It is a real quaffer! This is a party red, a picnic red, a good everyday red with food or by itself.

"Red Flyer represents an emerging genre of wines that I am referring to as "entertainment wines". These wines offer exceptional value and serve as the centerpiece of any dining experience."

The website is a hoot! Don't get sucked into the game unless you have a few hours to burn!

The website mentions that it is a Trader Joes' exclusive but I am not sure about that in Ohio as a national rep justed dropped a bottle off. Details to follow.

Ooopps!!

Sorry about the lack of posts, but I have been buried on other projects like being a CFO and family parties and trying to figure out what happened to my wife's Mercedes station wagon that I dropped off in the back today for an oil change! Guys, she's going to kill me if I don't bring it home looking like it did this morning!