2016 Ste Chapelle Special Harvest Riesling

Full disclosure:  I have absolutely no experience with Idahoan wines.  Well, that's not true.  The first one I tried a few weeks ago was corked, but that happens to wines from any region so it's a loss and shouldn't be symbolic of the wines in general.   Now that we have that out of the way, let's discuss this 2016 Ste Chapelle Special Harvest Riesling from the Snake River Valley AVA of Idaho.  I actually leaped at the chance to taste these wines because I love discovering AVA's and producers that I'm not familiar with.   If this 100% Riesling is indicative of what this region can produce, they've got a real winning combination with grapes and terroir.  

If you love sweet white wines then this is your jam!  If sweet wines turn you off, find something else to drink.  I started out with this well-chilled and the honeysuckle, pear, peach and wildflower aromas were really prevalent.  As I've said dozens of times, I taste nearly all of my wines around room temperature to get a true picture of the flavor profile, but chilling this wine seemed appropriate, and it was indeed!  When you put this in the back of the throat, it is literally mouth-watering and overall, this wine is very welcoming with mellow flavors of apricot, and hints of powdered graphite and candied lemon rind.   This wine wants you needing another sip and I think it is a very agreeable with salty ham and cheese pinwheels, New York style cheesecake or even spicy Thai food.  If you're unfamiliar with wines from Idaho, I highly recommend you give this one a try.

ABV:  12.0%

Snake River Valley, Idaho

Suggested retail price:  $11.99

Drink The Bottles score:  89/100

2015 MERF Cabernet Sauvignon

Here's a brand new wine label that I frankly, hadn't heard of but of course, I'm always eager to learn something new.  This 2015 MERF Cabernet Sauvignon is staight out of Columbia Valley, Washington, where many of my favorite red blends were born and raised.  A combination of Cabernet Sauvignon (81%), Merlot (17%) and Merlot (2%), this easy-to-imbibe red is a little fruity on the nose and at first sip.  Blueberry, vanilla and sweet spices predominantly fill the glass and if you like a softer, more subtle Cabernet blend, this is your jam!  In the mouth is more of the same but black raspberry and sweet tobacco round out the flavor profile with a very short finish.   My recommendation is to drink this with a bloody, salty, bone-in slab of beef or some hot Virginia ham and Swiss cheese sandwiches with spicy mustard.  It would be a match made in heaven.

ABV:  14.5%

Columbia Valley, Washington

Suggested retail price:  $12.99

Drink The Bottles score:  82/100

2016 Jacuzzi Family Vineyards Sangiovese Sonoma Coast

I am really digging this 2016 Jacuzzi Family Vineyards Sangiovese and think it is drinking very well right now.  This is definitely a great Chicken Parmesan pairing now or you could hold it for 5 years to enjoy more depth and less brightness.  This wine is slightly peppery with berries and a bit of funky, wet earth on the nose.  In the mouth, this light-to-medium wine shows off some gorgeous dried cherry bits, hints of candied apples and vanilla.   There's a suggestion of cedar box towards the end and I think it would be great to taste this vintage again in 3 years to see where that goes.  This is a very flavorful wine and one that I think is best enjoyed with the aforementioned meal.  Great value!

ABV:  15.0%

Sonoma Coast, California

Suggested retail price:  $25.00

Drink The Bottles score:  89/100

2016 Frank Family Vineyards Carneros Chardonnay

This post is a couple of weeks overdue, but the timing is right considering the scorching heat that most of the US is experiencing right now.  Many people feel that heavier red wines are cumbersome when the heat index is hovering around triple digits and while I am not one of those people, I think some white wines (slightly chilled) are better suited for the sweltering heat.  With that, I give you the 2016 Frank Family Vineyards Carneros Chardonnay.   This is Chardonnay exactly - e x a c t l y - how I like it to taste.  Whether or not oak is your thing, this 100% varietal has just enough that isn't overpowering, but it definitely helps bring the flavors together.  This wine has a really welcoming light gold color with lemon candy and warm buttered bread dominant on the nose.  Extremely creamy on the palate (again, just how I love it), lemon cake, baked cinnamon apple and baking spices combine beautifully and create a finish that clean and extremely satisfying.  This is definitely the best Chardonnay I have tasted in recent memory and it takes me back to our first California trip 9 years ago.  Frank Family Vineyards has really knocked this wine out of the park and as a side note, they have some of the most beautiful wine labels, which really adds to the conversation.  With 25,000 cases produced there is enough for everyone, so add this to your tasting line up.

ABV:  14.4%

Carneros, Napa Valley, California

Suggested retail price:  $38.00

Drink The Bottles score:  95/100

The Great Wine Glass Lie: Are you being duped?

Today I want to explore the wine glass industry and whether or not different styles of wine glasses are really that important in how you smell, taste and enjoy your wine.  For many years, I purchased dozens of different styles of wine glasses, from port to Champagne, to Cabernet, to Riesling, to............well, you get the point.  Why did I do this?   While I'm still asking myself this question, at the time, as a fledgling wine writer, it made sense to me.  I mean, in literally every wine publication I read or web site I visited, including forums, were ads for beautiful, lead-free crystal wine glasses that were the "best" for enhancing my wine enjoyment experience.   Well heck, these people must know much more than I do, so I better get them all!  (Or so I thought).

So why do we buy so many styles of wine glasses?  Or maybe a better question is, why do the larger wine glass companies create and market so many styles of wine glasses to the masses?  Do you really care if you're drinking a Cabernet out of a Syrah glass or a Gewurztraminer out of a glass that is labeled ideal for Riesling?  Maybe the bigger question here would be can you even tell the difference?  My answer would be no.  No, you cannot tell a difference.  Even if you are the very top sommelier at the pinnacle of your career, I challenge that you are full of crap if you think that there is a real need to stock a dozen or more different styles of wine goblets in your cabinets because they each pair wonderfully with your 1982 Chateau Overpriced Plonk.  Let's get real.

So then, why do we purchase different wine glasses and why are some of them ideal for different types of wine?  Red wine.   Ahhhh, let that soak in for a minute.   It's lovely and my personal favorite - Cabernet, Shiraz, Tempranillo, Petit Syrah, Merlot - I'll take it all!   And I'll drink it all from one wine glass.  For these lovelies, I use only one style (which is ironically called the One Red Wine Glass, which I purchased off of Amazon for about $12.50 each in bulk) and this glass has a 19.5 ounce capacity, a medium-to-long stem and a very well rounded bowl, great for cupping the glass and swirling.   I constantly swirl when drinking, probably to a fault, but I can't help it and I love the way the aromas waft upwards out of this glass.  If your budget only allows for one type of wine glass, get a "red" wine glass.  It's versatile enough for nearly everything you will be serving and 95% of your guests have no clue or care about varying styles.  So check off the first glass you need - RED.  

If you don't care what you serve your wine in to your guests or what you're drinking your Boone's Farm Strawberry wine in (other than straight from the bottle), you can stop reading now - if you even made it this far.  Game over.  You're welcome.  But, if you want a little variety and want to enjoy your Champagne (sorry America, all of ours is actually "sparking wine" made Methode Champenoise but we generally call it "Champagne" similarly to a tissue is a "Kleenex" for most), then you need to get some flutes.   No, this isn't that one time at band camp.  These are Champagne flutes.  Why?  Because they look pretty and classy?  Sure, let's face it.  That's one aspect of why we quaff from these dainty glasses.  But there is actually truth that the smaller, narrow, elongated design helps keep the bubbles in check and dancing around in the glass, which is why we drink Champagne, right?  It's the tasting experience that counts.  It's the lovely tickle in our noses and the yeasty tastes that are accentuated by the thousands of little bubbles that make this wine fun, delicious and memorable.  Truth be known, if I didn't have a flute and only had a coffee mug, well, this blogger would be partaking anyway!  But if you want the best drinking experience and have a budget for it, then check off your second wine glass here - Champagne flute.

You need nothing else.  No port glasses, no $200 Sommelier glass.  That's it.  But I will suggest that if you have regular wine parties, have some extra bucks that you aren't spending on one of your many wine club memberships or hell, maybe you just don't like to re-use wine glasses, then consider a white wine glass.   But don't get cute and don't get fancy.  Don't stress over Chardonnay versus Sauvignon Blanc or any other fake, commercialized, make-believe styles that are the "best" for your wine.  Just get something that has a smaller bowl than your red glass, has a good stem for gripping and for God's sake, don't get a stemless set!  More on that later.  A simple white wine glass with a stem will keep your wine the proper temperature, allow you to enjoy the flavors of your juice and if on a table setting, will remind your lovers that you have class damnit and you serve both red and white wines at your house!  The days of rinsing out red glasses for white wines and vice versa are over.  Spend a few bucks.  Get some whites.  Enjoy.  And we're done!   The third and only wine glass I would recommend is a white wine glass, and it's totally optional!

I'll finish this ramble with a few pet peeves.   I guess I should start by saying that if you invite me over to your house, I'm not going to poo poo any of your drinkware and I'm confident that you and I and our band of hearty drinkers will have a hell of a good time.  But, if we can avoid a few things, I want to put those out here right now.  Stemless wine glasses.   I'm on the fence here.  I have actually used these recently with our neighbors and I admit that I really like the way they fit in my hand and there is much less of a chance that I'll knock one over and break it while sipping by the fire pit.  For that I am very thankful and they immediately generate a more relaxed atmosphere.  Ok, I have it!   Let's call these outside-only glasses, ok?  I now ban everyone from using these indoors, but have at them outdoors.  I have to add that the idea that the stemless wine glasses are "bad" because the temperature of your hands messes with the wine temperature and creates a lesser tasting experience is a bunch of shit.  There.  I said it.  Unless you are Marvel Comic's Human Torch, I don't think you'll have to worry about your "hotness" screwing with your wine.  And if you're sipping on one glass of wine all night while I'm opening my second bottle, then this will probably be the last time we drink together, so there's that.   Fingerprints on these glasses are the devil's work and the real problem with these glasses.  But if you concentrate on the friends and the wine, you can most likely get past your paw prints all over the glass.

Finishing off my pet peeves are glasses that I just don't like.  I don't care for them one bit.  They're wildly popular with the gift-giving crowd who occasionally sips the Moscato and thinks they are "big wine fans".  I'm not judging here (ok, maybe a little).   I guess I don't have a dog in this game because I'm not crafty and I won't drink from these.  I give you, the novelty wine glass...

I will say that anyone who can create a wine glass that is unbreakable, beautiful, affordable and not full of poisonous materials will be my new best friend.  If these are your glasses, send them to me and I'll promote them until the cows come home.  That's a midwestern phrase and for those of you who don't know, that's a really, really good thing.  I've had too many accidents over the years that ruined a delicate wine glass and beautiful wine, just like the overpriced Riedel pictured below.  RIP.

At the end of the day, you're going to drink wine out of whatever you want and I'm not mad at you.  But whatever you do, drink wine!   By the end of the night, we're all going to be having a grand old time and might even be following our buddy Miles and drink whatever we can get ahold of however we can get it down our throats!   Cheers!

Wine Marketing 101: Convince me to buy your wine

Literally every time I am in a wine shop I am completely flabbergasted and bewildered to see the hundreds or perhaps thousands of wines eagerly waiting to find a home, similar to dogs at the humane society.  But, like some of those dogs, the wines just don't make a good impression or draw you into their charming personality.  I'm not looking for a wine that humps your leg or begs and does tricks, but I am looking for a reason to try something new.  

Reality check.  Most of the time you're faced with a scene similar to the one pictured above without shelf talkers or anyone that has the time or the knowledge to help recommend a selection that they think you will enjoy.  After your eleven second interaction with the "wine clerk" and the customary "what kind of wine do you like" open-ended question, you're discouraged and disconnected.  You want to try something new.  You want a new tasting experience, so how do you decide what to try?   Wine marketing 101 should have a huge influence on your choice.  I'm going to share with you some success stories and some real wine marketing misses.

Just when I thought the garage sale style display of wines pictured above couldn't get any worse, I was proven wrong.   If you walked into this wine shop not knowing anything about the wines, which one would draw your interest?   "I'll try the one with the boring white label, please."

I would walk in, roll my eyes, turn around and never go back.  Is this the generic wine store?

Of course, white wine labels aren't the evil here.  Creativity, or lack thereof, is what is lacking.  Don't get me wrong.  If you're Scarecrow and command $600 or more per bottle, then you don't give a crap about what anyone thinks of your label.  Cult wines could probably scribe the poop emoji on the bottle and wine fans would buy it anyway.  But cult wines (insert eye roll here) are another blog post for another time and 99% of wines on the market can't pull off this label.  Or at least, they shouldn't.

For the crazy prices that Scarecrow brings, they can put anything on the bottle that they want.

While I love for a wine label to stand out and wave at you like a crazed commuter trying to hail a New York cab, it has to be done smartly.  Don't look desperate.  Don't get too cute.  And, don't turn off half of your demographic with a stupid name because you thought you were funny, empowering or maybe just scarred after a relationship gone wrong.   I give you..........Bitch wine.  In the early 2000's, twenty-something and early thirty-something women were buying this wine up by the case, proudly displaying it in their three bottle silver wine rack on the kitchen counter and telling everyone that it was their "favorite wine" and how they "can relate to it".  After people tasted it and found out it was not good wine, the popularity quickly waned and people were trying to give away the plonk as gifts or adding it to the stew or sauce of the day.   Lesson learned?  Shock factor is good for quick sales and may even become viral (in today's terms), but it isn't sustainable.

Very popular at first, but now just a novelty.  Isn't that a bitch?

What makes a good wine label?  Flashing lights?  A bottle shaped like Kim Kardashian's butt?   No.  Let me start by saying that I personally am not a very creative person.  I recently painted a 50 year old pot with my daughter and I thought I was the DIY king of the year.  I might be exaggerating a bit, but I can't stress to you enough that I really don't have an eye for design, whether it's fancy emails, interior decorating or wine labels.   Hell, I keep changing the look of my blog because I just don't know what's cool or what is appealing to people.  I digress.  What I'm trying tos tell you here is that sometimes you need a second set of eyes - or a third.  Or a fourth.  Winemakers are some of the most talented people in the world.  They create white and red masterpieces that we adore, but that doesn't mean that they can get you to buy their wine because people may never pull it off of the shelf.

If you aren't creative, hire or borrow someone that is.  Ummmm, what color is this wine?

Build a brand.  Even if it's quirky - especially if it's quirky.  Make it memorable but make it fit what you're doing.   The folks at Mad Housewife wines started off with products that scores of housewifes could relate to, but it went beyond that.   These wines were for anyone who hated doing laundry, who didn't feel the need to be perfect or have a neat-as-a-pin house or manicured nails every day.  They even took marketing to Marketing 102 by labeling everything with colorful Mad Housewife pictures and logos including tchotchkes that included, among other things, kitchen gadgets like rubber scrapers.  They were building a brand.  And then it wasn't good enough.  Maybe they tried to grow too quickly?  Maybe they lost their identity.  Whatever it was, it resulted in new labels that weren't as appealing, lost the story in the translation and now you can find the wine on Amazon of all places.  

Housewife wines was on a roll and then they fell off of their ironing board.

All is not in vain.   There are thousands of winners and hundreds of stunners in the wine label game of life.   These are labels that are innovative, eye catching, memory-jerking, clever and just darn good marketing.   Let's pay homage to those who understand how to get you to shell out your hard earned money for their juice.  Heck, with a solid bottle and clever label, you can probably get an extra 20% for that bottle over a boring, passe label and bottle.

Mollydooker wines:  The wine and the original wine labels are created by winemaker and owner Sarah Marquis.  The labels are entertaining, animated, welcoming, tell a story....and they're all personal to her.  Marketing costs money.  But not selling your wines costs even more.  

Check out the Mollydooker Wine labels.  Winner winner, chicken dinner!

Wines that jog a memory from a favorite time in your life or from your childhood are sure to get a second look from you while shopping for some new juice.  I really love the Cannonball Wine label (despite the fact that I can't swim and have a fear of water that goes over my head).  You get what I'm trying to say here, right?   Maybe if this wine label was of kids playing war I'd be really into it!

This label will remind you of summer camp and you'll be telling stories around this bottle.

I like wines that are steeped in tradition and are iconic by their name, reputation, quality and look.  This is the case with Dom Perignon.  While the quality of the Champagne has varied from year to year, most would agree that overall it is still one of most recognized wine brands in the world.  A few years back, DP came out with an Andy Warhol inspired series of bottles that took the wine world by storm.  I love the idea and the look.  And I love the fact that this is the only Warhol-inspired artwork that I'll ever be able to afford.  Smart marketing!  Create an exclusive or limited edition label and sell the crap out of it, despite how it tastes.  (And I'm not saying this vintage is bad).

Colorful.  Smart.  Limited.   Collectors are required to buy these, right?

Two of my favorite wine labels of all time are Chateau Mouton Rothschild.  Here is a beautiful (overpriced) wine that displays some of the most original and beautiful wine labels ever.  And they really understand marketing, even if it is very understated.  You have to understand that this producer could have a seventy-three cent wine marketing budget and they would still have money left at the end of the year.   This wine is a first growth Bordeaux that everyone and their brother wants, it's incredibly expensive, it has name recognition and they throw beautiful labels at you.  I'd challenge that a bottle of this never makes it to the trash.  I bet there are thousands of CMR candles throughout France and the rest of the world.

A very overpriced wine, but the complete package and a marketing home run.

Opus One is a label that cleverly depicts the winery's founders, Robert Mondavi and Baron Phillipe de Rothschild in a singular portrait.   Both of these wine pioneers were easily recognized and whether it was a brilliant marketing approach or vanity that brought this label into fruition, it works.  And the label doesn't waiver to this day, despite the fact that both men have since gone to the vineyard in the sky and the winery is owned by a massive beverage conglomerate.  

Maybe the label should change to the Constellation Brands logo ..... or a pile of cash?

Innovation.  I love it.  I embrace it.  And now, with technology, some very creative techies bring us the Living Wine Labels.  These are interactive wine labels with the free LWL app.  It's not only innovative but also entertaining.  If marketed correctly, we will be seeing more of these in the American market (the French will not embrace this) in the future.  Then, we can all be like our kids with our faces planted in our phones and we will forget how to talk to each other.  But then again, we can speak to each other through the wine.  Cheers!

The future of the wine label is interactive labels.  QR codes, say bye bye!

Your First Impression of Wine Could Be Your Last

As I sit here in a hotel room in Ohio for business for a few days, I decided to unwind a bit after a fifteen hour day of travel and work.  Luckily for me, the hotel is brand new, modern, comfortable and yes - it has a relatively-fully stocked bar.  The day didn't call for two fingers of straight Kentucky bourbon as travels often do.  So, against my better judgement, I decided to order the "house" Cabernet.  Those of you who have followed me both with this and the Midwest Wine Guy wine blogs know that I'm a Cab snob.  No, not a snob, but rather an aficionado of Cabernet and really any wine that is made well.  So, I order the Cabernet, walk outside to the lounge area and make a phone call.  

Wanting to unwind from the day before dinner, I thought I'd sip a bit and catch up on emails and text messages that had been given their pecking order throughout the day.  And when I put the wine to my lips, I immediately shook my head.  I wasn't mad at the hotel for serving the wine.  I was ticked at myself for ordering it.  While I'd like to believe that this mid-level hotel chain had a top sommelier picking their offerings for the national brand, I suspect instead that it was the general manager perusing the bargain aisle at the local Pick 'n Save who was eyeing the clearance section in order to save a few bucks and make the liquor budget for the month.

The wine was putrid.  It was a far cry from the wines around the world that I've enjoyed for many years and not even in the same stratosphere as those that I've shared with you.  It was purple.  It was wet.  And those were the good qualities!  But for someone who has tasted hundreds - actually thousands - of wines, I can ignore the obvious crap and force a few swallows while I am enthralled in my iPhone.   Maybe I'm a glutton.  Maybe I just expected this experience.  Maybe I didn't care.

A quick dinner at a local pub with a Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale (that was the star of the evening) and I was back to the hotel.  I'd been up for about seventeen hours at this point and really, REALLY needed a night cap.  I strolled over to the hotel bar again, nearly laughed at the thought that the "bartender" (who also served as the bellhop and night time security guard) probably didn't know how to concoct an old fashioned, so I...............opted for................another glass of wine.  But this time I ordered...............wait for it............................................................a California Merlot.

I ordered the Merlot because I knew the producer and was very familiar with their work.  Keep in mind, this was still the low.............VERY low.........think bottom of the barrel offering from this producer.   Grocery store end cap is where you normally find this wine, but dammit I was going to have this and enjoy it, even if it gave me heart burn.   It didn't, but it still wasn't good.  It was almost marginal at best and I was glad I was alone and hadn't suggested this for anyone else.

What the hell is your point, you ask?  About fifteen years ago I got into red wine and it was really by luck.  Up until that point I was almost completely a white wine or sparkling wine drinker.  One day I thought I'd broaden my horizon and expand my palate, so I ordered a case of red wine online, knowing almost nothing about the wine, the producer, the AVA - nothing.  But, lady luck was on my side that day.   The case of 2004 Chateau Whatever the Hell it Was arrived and within a day or two I popped open the bottle.  It.  Was.  Beautiful.    A Google search later led me to learn that this wine was a top wine under $20 from Wine Enthusiast that year and had received warm accolades my professional and amateur critics alike.  Lucky me!

But what if I hadn't been so lucky?   What if my first wine experience was at the hotel in Ohio, or at a Lakers game, or at a restaurant that is trying to move their Chateau Poop because it tastes like vinegar and they don't want to be stuck with it any longer?  What then?   Would I try wine again or would I stick with my familiar Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer and find an excuse to shy away from reds at dinner parties?  I lucked out, but not everyone does.

When someone makes wine, they don't need to tell you how it tastes.   They need to tell their story.  They need to tell you about their land, their weather, their vineyards and their talents.   By the time they taste a wine until it is actually released to the general population can be many months.  Wine changes in the bottle and tastes so different as time inevitably has its way with the juice inside.   I want to hear from the people who drink dozens of different bottles of wine every year or every month from different producers.  I want to hear from the people who have no stake in the game and who aren't trying to sell you wine.  I want to hear from the wine bloggers and the amateur wine tasters.  They can really pick some wines and they won't steer you wrong.

There are bad wines in the world.  Avoid the bad wines.  Do yourself a favor.  Find a wine blogger and connect with them.  Get to know their wine tasting preferences and writing style.  Do you think certain flavors and aromas are appealing and important?  Do they paint a picture of the wine and make you feel like you are tasting it with them?   Those are the people you want to pay attention to.  Drink good wine.  Read about good wine.   Get to know good wine.

I used to ride motorcycles for many years.  I would often debate with friends about American versus Japanese bikes and why this one or that one is better.   At the end of the day I usually concluded that it didn't matter.   I thought that any motorcycle was better than having no motorcycle at all.  But you can't think that way with wine.   Wine doesn't have to be expensive, rare, single vineyard or any of the BS that wine snobs think it needs to be.  But it has to be good.  It has to provide enjoyment and create a good memory.  Life is too damn short to drink bad wine. 

Don't give me a reason to buy you this shirt!

2015 Galante Vineyards Olive Hill Petite Sirah

No, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you.  This 2015 Petite Sirah from Galante Vineyards is presented in a shorter bottle outside of a traditional bottle (but it's still 750ml).  Clever marketing and it confirms that good things are indeed found in small packages.  Jack and Dawn Galante really have wonderful wines and this 2015 PS is no exception.  Medium to dark purple with flowery fragrances of rose petal and dusty spring flowers combine with blackberries that are so ripe I picture them being as dark as night.  The flavors are well defined and don't mess around.   Cherry, blackberry, vanilla and peppery braised brisket are distinct and welcoming.  Sweeter on the exit and very memorable with a lingering finish.  This is my type of Petite Sirah.  Just over 250 cases made, so get it quickly!

ABV:  14.1%

Carmel Valley, California

Suggested retail price:  $50.00

Drink The Bottles score:  91/100

vSpin® Active Decanting Sytem - Innovative product or wine gadget?

Add caption

"vSpin® creates a gentle, silent vortex which greatly increases the surface area of the wine exposed to air, accelerating the aeration process."  This is the information from the home page of the vSpin® decanting system web site.  That in and of itself isn't a bold claim to make, but the manufacturer goes on to say you will have enhanced aromas, a richer bouquet and mellowed tannin by using this product.  I stumbled across this decanting system while perusing the internet one day and I reached out to these folks for more information.   A couple of weeks later I had my own model to try, and here's what I discovered...

Your first thought might be, "I've seen this before" (or a product similar to this).  While there are other automatic decanting systems that were first to market, the vSpin® has more features, better construction and....oh yeah, it's wireless!   So what's in the box?

 In the box is the black base with LED read out display, a charging cord that allows you to charge from a standard 110v outlet or USB style (think iPhone) charger.  There's a little red bag to keep the charger in, which is great for those of us to have a drawer of cords that we don't know what to do with!  Next you'll find a round container with two white magnets.  You only need one, but they send you a spare too (great customer service).  You also have a funky metal pole that allows you to reach to the bottom of the decanter to remove the magnet.   What else is there......?  Oh yeah!  The decanter.   But this isn't just your ordinary wine decanter.  This is a German crystal decanter made by Spiegelau.  While simple looking, it's quite elegant and it allows the wine to be the star of the show.

After removing everything from the box, I quickly scanned the owner's manual to see how long I had to charge this system.  Well, it seems that I can charge it for repeated uses or me, being very impatient, plugged it in to use for the first time.  There are different settings on the control panel for the rotation speed and spinning time of up to 5 minutes.  The manufacturer, with help of their on-staff Sommelier, have even published their own "Spindex", which is a recommended time and speed chart for different wine varietals and ages.  But again, I just wanted to see this product in action and wanted to take pictures for the blog and Instagram, so I set it for top speed and 5 minutes after pouring in most of the first bottle that I had in the kitchen.   I kept a small sample of the wine in the bottle to taste it with and without the vSpin® decanting.

I was completely mesmerized by the action of the decanting system.  While I knew that alone wouldn't validate it's claims and use, it was really enjoyable to watch in person, similar to sitting around a campfire, gazing at the smoke and flames.  The first wine I chose was very young, only in the bottle for about a year.  To my dismay, the wine was corked, which was confirmed by the sample left in the bottle, so it was back to the drawing board with another wine.   Wine #2 was a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon blend, about 3 years old and relatively young by wine standards.  Five minutes in the decanting system and I compared it to the sample that I again left in the bottle.  What I found from the bottle sample versus vSpin® tasting was indeed mellowed tannin and richer flavors.  The bouquet was strong and comparable from both the decanting system and in the glass, but I have a tendency to vigorously swirl my wine throughout the drinking process and not just during the first sip.  (It's a habit I'm trying to break because I'm sure it's annoying for those who drink wine with me).

In short, what you have here is a beautiful, well-constructed and innovative product that can indeed open up your wine and improve the overall drinking experience.  I personally feel that this decanting system will be more advantageous for older wines over young ones, although they both can benefit to some degree.  The vSpin® is exceptionally beneficial to those hosting wine parties where multiple bottles are being served simultaneously.  This product makes great conversation and would pair well with wineries, restaurants and wine enthusiasts.  Would I recommend this or is it just another wine gadget?   I would wholeheartedly recommend the vSpin® Active Decanting System.  With this system in your home or business, you could thin out your current decanter inventory!

Author:  Jeff Lawson, Drink The Bottles wine blog

2015 Jon Nathaniel Bodacious

This wine makes me super happy.  I'll be honest, I had to look up the meaning of the word Bodacious to even see if it was a legitimate word.  I found very quickly that Bodacious should not be the name of the wine, but rather the wine review.   Bodacious.   That's all you need.  Holy cow, this wine from Jon Nathaniel Wines is a head turner!  I'll tell you what's in it soon, but what you really need to know is how it tastes and feels.  This wine pops in the mouth with cherry cola, black raspberry jam, chocolate bits, some hints of coffee and what I can only describe as dust from an old book depository at the tail end of the finish.  Weird?  Sure.  But accurate?  You bet.   Aromas of ripe red fruit, funky earthy dampness, cedar, vanilla and mocha are most prevalent.  This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (30%), Syrah (29%), Cabernet Franc (19%), Petit Verdot (11%), Merlot (10%) and Malbec (1%).   Can you cram anything else into the bottle?   Maybe, but why would you?  Deep red to medium purple in the glass and unmistakably memorable, you'll be sad when you tip this bottle for the last time.  Super easy drinking and one that I think you can enjoy right now!  If you love wines with tasty fruit, get it!

ABV:  14.2%

Napa Valley, California

Suggested retail price:  $60.00

Drink The Bottles score:  92/100

2015 Frog's Leap Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon

It had been a spell since I had enjoyed any wine from Frog's Leap Winery, so I was really pumped about the opportunity to taste their latest Cab.   The 2015 Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (78%), Merlot (13 %) and Cabernet Franc (9%).  Selfishly, I wish I had a case of this wine and if you want to invest in something that will pay you back ten fold in taste over the next 10-20 years, this wine is for you.  It's super young now, but you can discover some great  mocha, saddle leather, dark plum and medium spice on the nose.  Some might find full bodied flavors that you usually expect from a Cabernet at first, but thing wine is young and the Merlot addition adds structure and balanced flavors of black cherry, gravel, licorice and grilling spices.  I found this finish to be very long with a hint of peppery spice.  I'm loving this wine and I think it will continue to be fine polished if you give it some time.  Eat this one with a rare to medium rare ribeye and some hearty, starchy side dishes.   As a side note, I think this is an incredible value for a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.   If you're looking for a fine wine that won't break your budget, this is a very smart choice!

ABV:  13.8%

Napa Valley, California

Suggested retail price:  $55.00

Drink The Bottles score:  93/100

2016 Dawn's Dream Winery Bel Sogno Pinot Noir

So, here's the deal.  I've been lucky enough to taste several Pinot Noir from Dawn Galante's amazing team at Dawn's Dream Winery and each one is unique and pretty special.  Some are more fruit forward, some smoky, but this 2016 Bel Sogno Pinot Noir takes its own beaten path and stands out from the rest.  Wonderful dark purple in the glass with aromas of muted currant, black cherry, rose petal and vanilla cream.  This wine isn't a high acidic bomb and has a more mellow characteristic in the mouth, creating a finish that is welcoming and leaves you yearning for more.  The flavors are muted at first, but mid palate the sour cherry, black raspberry and red currant jelly blend for a tasting experience that really is satisfying.  When Pinot Noir is made this well, I prefer to sip it with good company, sans food.  I do think that a lighter, brothy soup would be a good pairing as would a braised duck breast or just good 'ol fried mushrooms!  Lovely bottle.

ABV:  14.1%

Santa Lucia Highlands, California

Suggested retail price:  $70.00

Drink The Bottles score:  92/100

2017 Abacela Albarino

I'm always looking for a new and interesting wine, especially one made with a grape that isn't mainstream or widely produced.  Don't get me wrong - I absolutely love a velvety Chardonnay, but the 2017 Abacela Abarino introduced me to a grape that I had nearly forgotten but don't want to lose sight of again.  This wine is very light and made of a Spanish grape that presents wonderful floral and orange blossom aromas with canning spices.  The wine is crisp but not overly sharp, which allows it to be a great hors d' oeuvres accompaniment or a refreshing cooler on a hot summer day.  I really think this mildly sweet, fruitful wine would pair well with empanadas on the back deck.  With it's low alcohol content and light mouthfeel, you can easily forget that this is a wine, and not in a bad way.  I suggest drinking this lovely wine slightly chilled.

ABV:  13.2%

Umpqua Valley, Oregon

Suggested retail price:  $21.00

Drink The Bottles score:  90/100

2015 J Bookwalter Winery Conflict

The J Bookwalter Winery team never ceases to surprise me with their wines, whether with their more "value priced" Readers Merlot or with this savory and heart-warming red blend.  The 2015 Conflict is a product of the Conner-Lee Vineyard consisting of a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (47%), Merlot (45%) and Malbec (8%), making it a powerhouse in color and flavor.  Black fruits with violet and whisps of peppered rare beef swim in the glass.  This wine is immediately mouth-watering and has a welcome brightness that is married by the vibrant red colors throughout.  The black fruits carry over in the flavors and I think a hint of cardamom is carried by the spicy, slightly woody finish that to me, is as beautiful as the legs in the wine glass.  This is such an easy drinking wine and one that I would avoid with food.  It would pair well with a number of beef dishes, but I enjoy this wine so much that I want to remember it just as it is.  I think you'll get enjoyment out of this for 15 years easily.

ABV:  14.9%

Columbia Valley, Washington

Suggested retail price:  $60.00

Drink The Bottles score:  97/100