Has Your Spring Sprung? Time for Rosé

My family on the east coast tells me its in the upper 80s. Here in LA, it's in the low 80s. Spring, apparently, sprung.

Seasonably speaking, it's time to find the grill and get some rosé in the house. At this point in the year, chances are you can still find a lot of last year's rosé on the shelf. As long as the wine store has been storing them properly, that's not a problem. So head over to your favorite wine retailer and pick up a pink wine to enjoy this weekend.

One that you might be able to put your hands on is the 2008 Château Viranel Saint-Chinian (suggested retail $13; available for $10) Made from Syrah, Grenache, and Cinsault, this wine epitomizes the sunny, Mediterranean feeling that I want from my rosés. It is true salmon in color, and has aromas of rose petals and raspberries. These elements are echoed in the palate, and there are nice stone notes in the aftertaste. Dry, refreshing, and perfect for charcuterie, salads, grilled sausages or just plain sipping on the patio, this wine has very good QPR--and excellent QPR if you can pick it up on sale for around $10.

Full Disclosure: I received this wine as a sample.

GWU$20 Named Best Wine Blog by Saveur

Yesterday, I received news that Good Wine Under $20 had been voted Best Wine Blog of 2010 by the readers of Sauveur Magazine and its online site.

This was the first year Saveur ran the contest, and it is an honor to be chosen in this category. I'm a regular reader of Saveur, which makes this all the more sweet.

Here's a list of all the winners. If you haven't checked them out, you should do so. My congratulations to all those who were nominated.

BEST BAKING AND DESSERTS BLOG
David Lebovitz

BEST WINE BLOG
Good Wine Under $20

BEST FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY
Smitten Kitchen

BEST REGIONAL CUISINE
Homesick Texan

BEST SPECIAL INTEREST BLOG
La Tartine Gourmande

BEST CULINARY TRAVEL
Cafe Fernando

BEST INDIVIDUAL POST
Smitten Kitchen

MOST INNOVATIVE VIDEO CONTENT
Food Wishes

BEST KITCHEN TOOLS AND HARDWARE COVERAGE
Apartment Therapy: The Kitchn

Finding Value in Napa Valley Cabernet

"Napa Valley," "value," and "Cabernet Sauvignon" are not often found in the same blog post title, nor are they often found in the same sentence. Now, the same people who are bringing you good, affordable Pinot Noir are bringing you classy, wallet-friendly Cabernet Sauvignon, too.

If you are looking for a great value in a Napa Valley Cab, look no further than the excellent QPR 2007 Hayman & Hill Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Selection (suggested retail $14.99; available for $9-$16) When you uncork it, expect to detect blackberry and fresh ground coffee aromas. Your first sips will yield a nice currant and blackberry fruit core, accompanied by elegant, well-integrated tannins. The aftertaste is smooth and lingers in the mouth, turning spicy. Though this wine is perfectly lovely know, it should continue to improve over the next few years, so you may want to put some aside not only for this summer's barbeques but next winter's stews and roasts, too.

Full Disclosure: I received this wine as a sample

Red Wines from the Southern Hemisphere

Last week was the vernal equinox, the point in the year when the days are as long as the nights. This year, celebrate spring by drinking wines from the southern hemisphere. Below the equator, they are celebrating fall and looking forward to the cooler temperatures of winter. Here, we've got other things to look forward to: warm sunshine, the first cookouts of summer, the last pots of stew to keep the chill away during the spring rains. Red wines from Argentina and South Africa go well with all these foods and more, with their warm, spicy, fruity profile.

Here are my recommendations for very good QPR wines including a Malbec, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Shiraz-Pinotage Blend that will help you bridge from winter to spring to summer without missing a step.

2007 Bodega Septima Cabernet Sauvignon (suggested retail, $12; available for $7-$12) From Argentina, this luscious Cabernet has aromas of warm baking spices and currants, touched with herbal notes. The flavors are rich, too, with coffee and currants predominant. There is good acidity, and a juicy aftertaste. Drink now, or set aside for 12-18 months.

2008 Sebeka Shiraz-Pinotage "Cape Blend" (suggested retail, $7.99; available for $6-$8) This blend from South Africa features currant and plum aromas and flavors, accented with espresso and baker's chocolate. Like most red blends, it will pair nicely with a variety of foods including burgers, chili, and grilled chicken. Drink over the next 9 months.

2008 Diseño Malbec (suggested retail $7.50; available for around $9) Always a reliable choice in affordable Malbecs, this bottling has floral, blackberry, and truffle aromas. The blackberry and mocha flavors are silky in the mouth. At present the tannins are slightly drying, so give it some air if you're drinking it now or set it aside to drink over the next two years.

Full Disclosure: I received these wines as samples.

A Great Gewurz for Spring

Now that it's spring, my mind has turned to cleaning, lightening up, and enjoying the outdoors. In the wine department, that means my mind has turned to Gewürztraminer, a grape that always reminds me of this time of year.

Finding a good, affordable of the grape can be challenging. Some are too sweet, and some have an almost plastic quality with the aroma of cheap perfume. So if you have had Gewürztraminer in the past and not enjoyed it, make it your mission this spring to find one that suits your palate and your pocketbook.

One that I like is the 2009 Dancing Coyote Gewürztraminer (suggested retail, $10.99). It's a very good QPR domestic example with springlike aromas of apple, litchi, and honeysuckle. All of these notes can be found in the flavors, along with a nice acidity that adds to the juiciness of the wine and balances out the natural sweet impression that the grape gives.

This wine will be terrific with grilled sausages, salads, and spicy Asian cuisine.

Full Disclosure: I received this wine as a sample.