Wine to appease oenophiles and newbies alike
When I first started working in the wine industry, and studying my WSET courses, naturally I became super keen, eager and passionate about anything and everything to do with wine. I wanted to share my newfound knowledge with the WORLD. Unfortunately, sharing prized and special bottles with my friends almost always led to disappointment. I can recount numerous times where I presented my friends with a really cool bottle I was super excited about...only to discover they did not care. Not one little bit. They wanted to drink something that was "smooth" and "fruity". Forget assessing anything else about the wine...if it drank easy, that's all that mattered to them. By and large, the general public shares this same sentiment.
Over time, I learned to share those special bottles only with my "wine friends", and eventually started a wine club where my nerdy friends and I could sit around and talk wine for hours, eat fabulous food and drink amazing wine. Pretty great, right?
However, that still didn't negate me from the nagging problem when hosting guests, having dinner parties or throwing big events - I needed wine that would appease a wide array of palates, without serving plonk.
Over the years through a lot of R&D ( I know, tough gig), I've found two bottles in particular that are outstanding (for their price point) and appease wine geeks and "regular folk" alike.
2016 Jose Maria da Fonseca Periquita
I tell almost everyone I know about this wine. This wine is an absolute gem. It's a sleeper hit. Only those in the know, know. This bottle runs for the outrageous retail price of $8.99/bottle (and that's BC pricing - elsewhere in Canada I'm sure it's even cheaper). It's a blend of indigenous Portugese varieties (Castaleo, Trincadeira and Arragonez), and is aged for 6 months in a blend of French and American oak, hailing from the Setubal Peninsula (Lisbon area). It's medium in body, tannin and acid - making it a super friendly and accessible style. Flavour wise it's all wine gum, dried fruit, fruit roll up, and very "purple". Ever tasted a wine that tastes "purple'? Try this wine and you'll know what I mean. It has a surprising depth of flavour despite its price point. Apparently, it ages well too - according to some friends who laid it down for awhile. I drink this wine all the time anyway, but also don't have a panic attack if we crush a few bottles with friends either - it cost me next to nothing and it's delicious. A total win win. It's usually on the bottom shelf wherever I find it - which is another great deterrent to most people because that leads them to believe it's shit. Snag 'em up, folks!
2014 Hacienda Lopez de Haro Rioja Crianza
I can't take full credit for this find - my wonderful boyfriend came upon it while searching for deals online (we sometimes order wine online as the selection in BC isn't great - www.wineonline.ca is great for cheap shipping and good value deals). Predominantly Tempranillo, aged 12 months in oak, hailing from the Rioja region in Spain. This wine is AWESOME, and at $14/bottle, I'm not losing sleep over the balance of my bank account after purchasing it. We bought a case of this and everyone we've poured it for has loved it. It has great balance, and complexity - it's got this amazing savoury quality, with tons of gravy, au jus, and beef tartar character, but also lots of dark berry fruit, and blueberry syrup, and is like silk on the palate. It's an amazing wine to have with charcuterie and cheese as well. This you could definitely lie down too - and a relatively low risk experiment to try based on the price. Here in BC I think it actually retails for $22.
So there you have it - a couple gems for you to have on hand for those "drop by guests".
Cheers!
Over time, I learned to share those special bottles only with my "wine friends", and eventually started a wine club where my nerdy friends and I could sit around and talk wine for hours, eat fabulous food and drink amazing wine. Pretty great, right?
However, that still didn't negate me from the nagging problem when hosting guests, having dinner parties or throwing big events - I needed wine that would appease a wide array of palates, without serving plonk.
Over the years through a lot of R&D ( I know, tough gig), I've found two bottles in particular that are outstanding (for their price point) and appease wine geeks and "regular folk" alike.
2016 Jose Maria da Fonseca Periquita
I tell almost everyone I know about this wine. This wine is an absolute gem. It's a sleeper hit. Only those in the know, know. This bottle runs for the outrageous retail price of $8.99/bottle (and that's BC pricing - elsewhere in Canada I'm sure it's even cheaper). It's a blend of indigenous Portugese varieties (Castaleo, Trincadeira and Arragonez), and is aged for 6 months in a blend of French and American oak, hailing from the Setubal Peninsula (Lisbon area). It's medium in body, tannin and acid - making it a super friendly and accessible style. Flavour wise it's all wine gum, dried fruit, fruit roll up, and very "purple". Ever tasted a wine that tastes "purple'? Try this wine and you'll know what I mean. It has a surprising depth of flavour despite its price point. Apparently, it ages well too - according to some friends who laid it down for awhile. I drink this wine all the time anyway, but also don't have a panic attack if we crush a few bottles with friends either - it cost me next to nothing and it's delicious. A total win win. It's usually on the bottom shelf wherever I find it - which is another great deterrent to most people because that leads them to believe it's shit. Snag 'em up, folks!
2014 Hacienda Lopez de Haro Rioja Crianza
I can't take full credit for this find - my wonderful boyfriend came upon it while searching for deals online (we sometimes order wine online as the selection in BC isn't great - www.wineonline.ca is great for cheap shipping and good value deals). Predominantly Tempranillo, aged 12 months in oak, hailing from the Rioja region in Spain. This wine is AWESOME, and at $14/bottle, I'm not losing sleep over the balance of my bank account after purchasing it. We bought a case of this and everyone we've poured it for has loved it. It has great balance, and complexity - it's got this amazing savoury quality, with tons of gravy, au jus, and beef tartar character, but also lots of dark berry fruit, and blueberry syrup, and is like silk on the palate. It's an amazing wine to have with charcuterie and cheese as well. This you could definitely lie down too - and a relatively low risk experiment to try based on the price. Here in BC I think it actually retails for $22.
So there you have it - a couple gems for you to have on hand for those "drop by guests".
Cheers!
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