Simply Wine!

I discovered Eric Solomon wines in my all too short tenure in wine sales back in Michigan! They import awesome handcrafted wines at amzing prices. I put some of their wines up against similar wines cost 2 to 10 times as much.

These wines were basically unheard of, until Robert Parker gave the 01 Las Rocas ( Spanish Garanche) a 92 point rating. I think it was the first time, ever, a $7.99 bottle of wine was rated this high! Of course, because of that rating, this wine sells out, fast. It also now ranges in price from $8.99 to $15.99 per bottle.

Solomon has a great bunch of wines, below $15 that just have to be experienced to be appreciated. You have to search these wines out though, you won't find them on the shelves at just any wine store. They ARE worth the search though.

Some of the Solomon wines we recommend:

Las Rocas Garanche. A great "spicy" red that goes great with BBQ, a cheese spread and is great all by itself! $8.99, sells out FAST!

Novellum chardonnay A great unoaked chard from France. $9.99 bottle. A refreshing change from the Napa oak bomb chard!

Castano Hecula This one might go over $20 put I would put this smooth, spicy Spanish red against wines costing 5 times as much!

Castell de Remi Gotim Bru and Blanco A red and white that are under $10 each. Gotim Bru is a tempernello/cab blend goes with BBQ or a steak. The blanco is a sauv/chard blend that is a great way to get the party started!

Domaine la Garrigue A great Rhone wine for around $12!

They also have a bunch of amazing wines well over $20 bottle. However, we're trying to stay under $20 here! Give these try if you can find them, you won't be disappointed!

"What about pairing with beef, chicken, pork....."

These are questions that followed after the "cheese pairing" entry. Well, for your surfing pleasure, here are a bunch of links to pairing everything imaginable, what glass to use and some recipe's too!

Just click the links to be whisked away :)

-Rich-

We have always been a fan of King Estate wines. They have a Pinot Gris that is just wonderful and priced around $14. They also have many estate, limited run and specialty wine (most over $20) for the cork dorks out there, that are available only at the winery.

The winery grounds are some of the best we've visited! The tasting are FREE (Did you hear that Napa? I'll save my rant on Napa for a different post), the view is spectacular, they are certified organic and they serve food! It just doesn't get any better then that!


Here is Laura enjoying the view while we look over the lunch menu. This, of course, after we had our FREE (did you hear that Napa!?) tasting in the main building. Thus explaining the BIG smile on her face!

Laura enjoyed a bay scallop and shrimp tart with field green salad. The greens are all grown on site, remember they are certified organic! She had a Pinot Gris wine flite, a tasting of 5 pinot gris from different vintages and vineyards.

I choose a spinach salad with grilled Flank Steak. I paired my lunch with the historical flite of Pinots. I had a tasting of each of the following vintages; 92, 93, 96, 97. Here are my Pinots' before I dug into them! (the 96 was the best of the flite, btw!)

The lunch was everything a great lunch should be; Small yet filling portions, outdoors with a great view, reasonable prices, organic, REALLY yummy and best of all included wine!

There were so many wonderful things on the menu, we are planning on going back next week! They also have free tours of the facilities. That should give me the chance to get some more pictures and update the journal entry.

If you're looking for a nice alternative to the typical tasting stop, head towards King Estate! Make sure you are there for a late lunch/early dinner!

-Rich-

Everyone love's wine & cheese, right? Well, you do if you're following this journal!

I found a great on-line pairing tool. Just click the screen shot above! First you select your type of cheese; Firm, soft, extra firm etc... Next you select from the drop down list the specific cheese you are serving. You get a brief description of your cheese and suggested pairings to go with it! On the downside, the site is run by the Gallos', so of course, they are going to picture and suggest Gallo wines, not necessarily a bad thing (they are under $20), but I'd rather just take the varietal recommendation and then choose my own brand :)

This one is definitely for the rookies out there. The cheese selection is limited; They don't even touch goat cheeses!?!? But, it gives you a great place to start your wine and cheese education!

-Rich-

Matthews wines are probably the greatest wines out of Washington that most of you have never heard of! I was introduced to them when I sold wine back in Michigan. We always sold out our allocation of Matt Loso wines within a few days!

You will typically not find a Matthews wine under $40. The exception being his Claret which I think we found for $34.

We ran Across his Sauv Blanc in a MArket of Choice Store in Eugene Oregon; Price $13.99!

I found this review of the wine on the internet. It is spot on, not only about the Sauv Blanc but of Matthews and Matt's work as a winemaker!

Enjoy it if you can find it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Published Wednesday, January 29th, 2003

Appellation: Red Mountain

Simply put, Matt Loso is one of Washington's great winemakers. His focus on Bordeaux-style wines results in reds and whites of grace, power and depth. World-class wine starts in the vineyard, and Loso uses grapes from famed Klipsun Vineyard for this suave Sauvignon Blanc. It's a delight to the palate with aromas of gooseberries and essences of peaches and pears and hints of lemons. The mouth feel is perfect from first sip through the lengthy finish. Rated "Outstanding" by Wine Press Northwest.

Price: $20. Track this down at wine shops.

Food matches: Perfect with shellfish, grilled halibut, pasta in a cream sauce or pork.

16116 140th Place N.E., Woodinville, WA 98072, 425-487-9810,

http://www.matthewscellars.com

-Rich-

If you check back a couple of posts, you will see Bogle Petite Syrah($8.99) made our list of favorites' under $20 (See "The post That Started It All").

Based on that, we decided to give Bogle Old Vine zinfandel($10.99) a try . It's available at Trader Joe's. Unfortunately, it's too much like the Syrah! If you're looking for Syrah, spend $2 less and get the Petite by Bogle, its very good for the price. If you're looking for a big, bold, peppery Zin, you'll want to look elsewhere!

The point of the post is that we are not just going to blog about our fav's under $20. You have to go through quite a few not so good bottles to get a few good one's. Was the wine horrible? No, we finished the bottle :) However, we had BBQ, and were in the mood for nice peppery zin.

Oh well, the search continues!

-Rich & Laura-