Jeff’s Corner 7-19-19 “I only drink Champagne on two occasions, when I am in love and when I am not.” – Coco Chanel Last Friday night, Kathy and I enjoyed a lovely evening hosted by John Winstead and his fabulous staff at our brand new Heath Sparkling facility. John was gracious enough to open his doors after hours so the old-timers at GCV could check out their state-of-the-art, interactive tasting experience.
Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s Time to Say, Today is Cuvee Day. That’s right, last Saturday we released the new 2018 Cuvee Blanc and we had to bid adieu to our beloved 2017. The ’17 won “Best of Class” last January at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, but fear not mi hearties, the ’18, though a bit different wine, is equally delightful. Before we talk about the new 2018, however, I thought we could clear up some confusion about exactly what it means (at the SFCWC, anyway) to be awarded Best of Class.
Jeff’s Corner Here’s hoping everyone is enjoying a long and safe 4th of July weekend, celebrating the 243rd birthday of what has always been a great nation. Today, I’m going to skip the wine motif and stroll down memory lane and share a 4th of July tradition from our days in Port Aransas.
Jeff’s Corner Here’s a big Howdy and Hello To our brand new Heath Sparkling Tasting Room which opened its doors yesterday for the very first time! Most of you have already heard lots about it, and many of you have already received your second Heath Sparkling Wine Club allocation. These wines are awesome, and if you want more info check out the website at www.heathsparkling.com. In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to check out a little history of champagne and sparkling wine, what makes the two different, and what makes them sparkle.
Jeff’s Corner Hola Campers, All eyes these days are turned towards the soon-to-be open Heath Sparkling Wines (this will happen next week, and I can’t wait!), but let’s look away for a moment to check out our just-released 2018 Grand Rouge.
Jeff’s Corner Hey, Hey, Hey, Here We Go Again… So, what does it mean when someone says, “I’m a Pinot fan!” Are they talking about Pinot Noir or Pinot Grigio? Well, who knows. The Pinot clan is a large family of grapes that also includes Pinot Blanc, Pinot Meunier, and lesser known cousins like Pinot Auxerrois, Pinot Teinturier, and Pinot Gouges. Obviously, there’s lots of Pinot envy everywhere! Pinot Noir, however, is indeed the Daddy, with the rest of these being mutations and not crosses between two varieties. It appears Pinot Noir’s DNA is quite unstable.
Jeff’s Corner Welcome back everyone. As promised yesterday, today we’ll take a look at the guys working in the production facility with Jason to bring us these lovely GCV wines. Plus, if you are a Wine Club member, you will find a nifty stuffer in June’s package with photos of these folks and even more info.
Jeff’s Corner Howdy, Howdy, and one more Howdy, Today and tomorrow, we are going to take a behind-the-curtain look at the wizards that make the magic at Grape Greek, Winemaker Jason Englert and his gang of alchemists. I’ve wanted to do this story for some time, and hope to follow up with pieces on all the various departments at GCV that function somewhat flawlessly to make it all happen.
Jeff’s Corner Hola, Howdy, and Hello. Two weeks ago, our new 2017 Petite Sirah snuck onto the tasting bar in a very quiet and seductive fashion. At the moment it’s not being featured in any of our pre-set tasting flights, so the only way to try it is to be savvy enough to ask for it. So, consider this a not-so-subtle hint to ask for it, you’ll be glad you did.
Jeff’s Corner 5-27-19 Hello everyone, Today is Memorial Day, which to me is not necessarily a day of celebration but a day of remembrance, a day to pause and say a quiet thank you to the countless brave women and men who have given their lives for things we all too often take for granted. It has become an annual tradition for me to re-post a story I originally wrote on Memorial Day Weekend 2015. It brings tears to my eyes every time I do, and I’m proud to share it with you once again.
Jeff’s Corner Howdy, Howdy Our new 2018 Texas Riesling was released on the bar last Saturday, and has since been the show-stopper for our guests choosing our sweet flight of wines. As I like to say, “It’s a real beauty”. We’ll take a look at this delicate, racy wine in a moment, but first I’d like to share a few thoughts on sweet wine in general.
Jeff’s Corner Hey, Hey, Hey; it’s Viognier Day The new 2018 GCV Viognier is on the tasting bar and making quite a splash and turning lots of heads. Every year Jason’s Viognier becomes more and more sublime, and to me the’18 is one of his most intriguing yet. Before we take a closer look at our new Viognier, I’d like to take a side bar to a brief (very brief) tasting I did a week or so ago for a wine writer (educator) from the Pacific NW. This person takes wine pretty seriously, trust me.