Quote of the day!
"Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance." -- Benjamin Franklin
Sharing My Best Wine Deals With My Friends // I've been collecting for over 10 years... so I come across a lot of great wine deals. Here's where I'll share some of the best deals with my friends. My objective is to find world-class quality wine without paying ridiculous prices.
"Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance." -- Benjamin Franklin
This deal is from Hall Winery out of Napa.
I'm telling you, friends! Keep an eye on Hall Wines. I first heard about Hall Wines when they bought a Bed and Breakfast in Napa (La Residence, our favorite spot to stay in town). I didn't think too much about it until I started seeing the name again and again... all from critics giving rave reviews. Those reviews have continued, and in the last few years, they've produced scores usually reserved for cult wines.
Why do I think they're the next Mondavi? Kathryn Hall and her husband Craig have really embodied success... at everything they've attempted. Craig is the founder of the successful conglomerate, Hall Financial Group in Dallas (of which Hall Wines is a portfolio company), and Kathryn has backgrounds in her family's vineyards, worked as an attorney in California and Texas, and even served as the United States Ambassador to Austria for four years! This is a family of driven, successful, patriotic people! They've been aggressively investing, building, and growing in Napa for over 8 years, and the momentum is really kicking in. The head wine maker Steve Leveque worked at Mondavi for 16 years, and at Chalk Hill before he came to Hall. For the vintage I'm describing here in this deal, Steve used a successful consultant, David Ramey to participate in the winemaking process as well. Ramey, if you didn't know, has his own Ramey Wine Cellars and worked at Chateau Petrus before coming back to the US to help establish a number of wineries including Dominus and Chalk Hill. Serious talent indeed. (I enjoyed a Ramey Claret last night... deelish). Aggressive investment... top talent... consistently rising scores... a strong track record of business success... I see success coming at the level of the legendary Mondavis.10 years from now, we'll be laughing about, "remember when we could buy this wine for forty bucks!?"
Bravo Halls. Thanks Kathryn for your civil service to our country as well! Big fan. 2008 Hall Cabernet SauvignonUndoubtedly the finest wine to come out of Spain is from the producer Vega Sicilia in the Ribera del Duero. Pushing $400 a bottle, it's not for the cost-focused wine drinker... But I AM a cost focused wine drinker (with very expensive tastes)... that's what this blog is all about! It's deals like this...This is why I write this blog. If I can find a 95+ point wine that can compete with a wine that's 10x its price, I'm going to get it!
For 30 years, Mariano Garcia was Vega Sicilia's wine maker... he was pushed out of Vega Sicilia in 1998. He decided to create a winery to compete head-to-head with Vega Sicilia, and purchased 80 acres of prime land in the Ribera del Duero. His wine regularly scores 95 points and higher, a real competitor to Vega Sicilia at 1/10th the price. If you care about the label and impressing others at the table (a vanity I've been guilty of!), go ahead and spend $400 on the Vega Sicilia. If you care about what's really in the bottle, spend $45 on AAlto.
