The Wine Gift Guy

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Gigondas 2003

This past Friday was our 22nd wedding anniversary and for such a special occasion I selected a 2003 Gigondas from Brotte to enjoy with my wife during a nice, quiet dinner at home. Since the word Gigondas means joy and jubilation in Latin I thought it very appropriate for such a special evening. We […]

Cruz Alta President’s Reserve 2004

I was just recently introduced to some new wines that included the Cruz Alta President’s Reserve 2004. This blend, which includes 85% Malbec, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Syrah was produced by Bedegas Escorihuela Gascon out of Mendoza, Argentina. It is a special limited edition wine from the company president’s personal cellar. […]

Brancott Vineyards Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

With the warm summer months soon to be upon us, there are some wines I enjoy drinking while sitting on the patio and watching the Texas sunset. And one of my favorite pastimes while on the patio is cooking shrimp on the grill. A nice Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand is a fabulous choice […]

Caymus Cabernet 2002

Being in the retail business, especially the wine and liquor industry, makes finding time for Christmas shopping very difficult during the holiday season. It even forces one to sometimes buy the ones he loves a bottle of wine. Such was the case during the Christmas season of 2004. Running out of time […]

The Ideal Wine Cellar: Everything You Need to Get Started

I read a good article today by Jason Connors on the Articles Live website. He talks about how to start your wine cellar.

Things covered are

Wine Bottle Storage
Types of Wine Cellars
Considering your cellar as an investment
Building Your Own Wine Cellar
Temperature and Humidity and Wine
Wine Cellar Cooling Units

Most the article focuses on building your own […]

Rosemont Estate 2005 Traminer Riesling

Well, Valentine’s Day has come and gone and Ally and I celebrated with one of the best meals we can remember. My day off was Monday and I had to work late Tuesday (I gave my assistant the day off because she was talking around the store like she may get an engagement ring), so […]

Zinfandel Proposed As The State Wine Of California

As reported by Michelle Locke, Associated Press, in the Mercury News, California State Sen. Carole Migden proposed a bill this week that would make zinfandel the official wine of California.

Sen. Migden said in a news release, “the heady varietal is a “quintessential California wine,” dating back to Gold Rush days and versatile enough to stand […]

More New Items At The Store

We just got over 20 new items posted at The Wine Gift Guy Online Store. We’re focusing on one vendor right now, Picnic Time, so you’re mostly going to find picnic baskets and packs and wine carriers, but there’s some really nice stuff. Our next vendor will have glassware and personalized bar and wine […]

2004 The Magnificent Wine Company ‘House Wine’ - Cabernet Sauvignon

I couldn’t find a lot online about this wine but it seems popular at my store, well, at least I noticed it this week. We sell it in the $12 range, so it’s affordable but not cheap. I was able to find one review at The Wine Cask Blog for the 2003 vintage:

Fragrant nose
Strawberry and […]

La Vieille Ferme 2004 Cotes Du Ventoux Rouge

With dinner tonight we had a bottle of La Vieille Ferme 2004 Cotes Du Ventoux. I really liked this wine. It’s been a while since I bought it, and I feel sure I only paid $4.99 or so but when I looked it up at www.Wine.com it was $7.99, maybe I’m wrong, maybe it was […]

Martini & Rossi Asti Spumante

Since I mentioned Asti Spumante in the last post, I thought I’d recommend an Asti for you and that’s Martini & Rossi Asti Spumante. Personally, I don’t drink much Asti, it’s a bit too sweet for me but Valentine’s Day being a day for your “sweetest”, I thought it appropriate.

I searched around for reviews starting […]

Try Sexy Gifts for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is the best gift giving day of the year, when do you EVER get to give a sexy gift and it will be okay? Valentine’s Day, only Valentine’s Day.

I looked around and Red Envelope is the best. They have an assortment of some really great sexy gifts. Here are some samplings:

gourmet body […]

The Wine Gift Guy Online Store is OPEN!!

Yay! It works! The store is officially open! Granted, it’s not fully stocked and we’re working on that but there is already some great stuff, so go on in and browse around.

See the little square at the top left-hand column? And the link just below that? You can click on either and it will […]

Terra Valentine 2001 Wurtele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

With Valentine’s Day arriving week after next, I’m choosing wines that help enhance the spirit of the celebration. Over the next week or so you’ll find reviews on deep red wines, the color of love, and pink roses that bring out the light-hearted nature of the day. There’ll be champagnes in honor of celebrations and […]

I’m “THIS CLOSE” To Opening The Wine Gift Guy ONLINE STORE!!

I have a very close friend who is a genius at building websites. Actually, she’s the one who came up with the design for this site and I couldn’t be more happy. Well, she’s been reading my little wine blog and told me that I should open an online store. I was hesitant, what do […]

Concha Y Toro Casillero Del Diablo Carmenere 2004

I actually did drink this wine with dinner the other night. We had pasta that Ally threw together (it was good though!) and a salad. I’ve always loved Concha Y Toro wines, they are good and very well priced. This one in particular is $7-$8.

I didn’t really make any notes when we were drinking this […]

Changing How I Do Things Here

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a review for any wine. Honestly, it was getting hard to buy and drink so much wine. You know, us liquor store managers are only paid so much and buying a new wine every night to taste or drink with dinner was just too far “out there”. But […]

Wine Is The Most Popular Valentine’s Day Gift

I guess I’m not the only one who thinks wine is the perfect gift. The Fasion Monitor Toronto reports, according to a recent poll of Ontario consumers, wine beat out chocolate and flowers as the best Valentine’s Day gift.

So, how do you incorporate wine in your Valentine’s Day gift? Well, what about a wine gift […]

Casting Winemakers?

Wow, now I’ve seen it all. I was reading in Wine Business News Online and found an article that made me chuckle. PBS is doing a new television series that is a copy-cat of “The Apprentice” that’s called “The Wine Makers”. Apparently they will have six men and women who compete for the chance to […]

Wine Marketing To Women

I read an article this morning on NewsTimesLive.com in the Leisure Time section. It was titled “Does marketing insult female buyers?”. It didn’t have a byline so I don’t know who wrote it, that person won’t get credit here, sorry.

Anyway, the subject of the article bored me a little, something about a cartoon French lady […]

Rowland Cellars Wine

The other day I had the pleasure of having Gerald Rowland stop by so I could taste his wines. Gerald Rowland is the owner and winemaker for Rowland Cellars, Napa Valley. Rowland Cellars produces wines under the labels Rowland, Ramspeck and Cenay (sen-AY).

I have distributors come in the store quite often to do tastings but […]

Wine Openers- 6 Styles Reviewed

I found the following really good article and thought I’d post it here. I didn’t write it, the author’s bio is at the bottom of the page but the good info pushed me to add it here. Do remember, there are links to places in the left column where you can go to buy wine […]

2002 Red Wine St. Francis Winery

According to a test done at the University of California, Davis, the taste of cheese dulls the palate so that many of the flavors in wine cannot be tasted.

According to the results of tests conducted at the University of California, Davis, cheese dulls the taste of red wine, making it difficult to discern different flavours.

Dr […]

Crush Pad - Make Your Own Cult Wine

I was just reading through my website and noticed an ad in the left column that came up on the Google ads, it’s not there any longer, so I can’t quote verbatim, but it said something like, “Make your own cult wine”. It gave the URL, so I went there (not clicking on the ad, […]

Ice Wine

I’ve never tasted Ice Wine but I have read a bit about it and I’ve even seen a show on the Fine Living Channel about it. It’s kind of expensive for my liking, maybe that’s why I haven’t “invested” in a bottle, I don’t know.

Anyway, Verena Dobnik for the Associated Press writes about an upstate […]

Alamos Chardonnay 2004

The other night Ally and I enjoyed a nice bottle of chardonnay, Alamos Chardonnay 2004. This is a Nicolás Catena wine, which is located in Mendoza, Argentina. This area’s most distingushing characteristic is the high altitude of the Andean foothills. The best wine growing areas range between 3000 ft and 5000 ft above sea level. […]

Chinese Wine…A Rich Idea In 5 Years?

I just read an article in the New Zealand Herald by Koh Chin Ling - Beijing, that said that China, the sixth largest wine producer in the world is hiring experienced wine makers from France and buying wine presses from Italy all in a effort to make their wines more palatable.

All I can say […]

It’s Been A Few Days…

Hey everyone! I’ve been absent, I know. This week we took our youngest daughter, who just graduated from high school one semester early, to college. We loaded up our SUV and her little Hyuandai and headed out Wednesday morning for the two-and-a-half hour drive. Wednesday we helped her move in to her dorm, spent some […]

Low Price, Good Wine

I think if you read though the posts on this blog you’ll see the same thing I see, low price doesn’t mean bad wine. Take that Vina Antigua Sangiovese Bonarda from Argentina that I reviewed a few days ago, it was great and I only paid $3.99 for it.

Well, Blanca Torres wrote about the […]

Renwood Zinfandel 2002 Sierra Series

Oh my goodness, what a beautiful picture. This is the picture that Wine.com uses in their section of the website that describes the Renwood Winery. Apparently it’s in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Beautiful part of the country, wouldn’t you say?

Ally and I tried this wine Saturaday night with our “traditional” steak dinner. […]