Wine Spectator’s cover features Tom Terrific, the former baseball pitching great and current winemaker, along with the declaration that 2010 California Cabs are “a classic vintage for the cellar.” [level-members]
I don’t really think about California wines’ cellarability. Isn’t that the whole point of the style? “Drink ’em young – they’re delicious now.” You surely know where the prices fall on the top wines – between $60 and $800, with most falling above $100. The top values aren’t a whole lot better, relatively speaking. Only one breaks 90 points, and only one is less than $20.
WS puts the Coravin to the test. This $300 gadget keeps wine fresh by leaving the cork in place, accessing the wine via a needle inserted through the cork, and replaces the wine that comes out with inert Argon gas to keep oxidation at bay. The results were inconsistent, though the test was not rigorously scientific. Still, the results were encouraging enough that it might be something to keep on your radar for the shop. If you can offer tastes of more expensive wines, you may sell more of those wines without killing your margins in the process by having to open many bottles over the course of a two or three week period.
The Cheese column concludes that Cabernets pair well with cheese. (What doesn’t?) Seriously. you may want to cite the column as you lay out your weekend tastings with a few simple cheeses.
Reislings get a nice little star turn as food-friendly and adaptable to a wide range of cooking styles. [/level-members]