MAY 2021 322 WINES EVALUATED | 254 WINES REJECTED | 68 APPROVED MOST INTERESTING WINE TASTED: Perricone, 2019. Caruso & Minini Patricia Gastaud-Gallagher, Steven Spurrier, and Joanne DePuy... Patricia Gallagher (now Gastaud) had floated this idea to Steven Spurrier to host a tasting of American wines to all French judges...as sort of an American bicentennial tribute to introduce American wines to the French public. Of course, Mr. Spurrier will tell you that the British were of the finest Bordeaux (reds) and Burgundies (whites) that were featured at not too keen on celebrating the independence of America, Caves de la Madeleine. Patricia was tapped to head out to California and start the but thought the idea of introducing American wines search. And coincidentally, her trip started in April 1976 with a visit to her sister through the Académie du Vin was a fabulous idea. in Palos Verdes Estates (the city of the alma mater of my father, who started this very club). The two set out to strategize the selections and promote the tasting; pick the wines, curate the judges and host My father recalls Patricia visiting the wine shop and telling him of this tasting this extravaganza. Selecting the wines started with what caper...but alas, Patricia did not visit the store as he recalls, it was her sister who they were not going to show, meaning it was obvious actually frequented the store and told dad of her sister’s caper. After the two-day to them to leave out the “big” guys...wineries such as stop, up to Napa Patricia went to begin evaluating Napa wines (Patricia is slated to Robert Mondavi, Charles Krug and Beaulieu. They wanted be on Wine “Talks with Paul K” next month). upstarts, small, hand-crafted wines to put up against some MEMBERSHIP IN THE WINE OF THE MONTH CLUB IS OPEN TO ANYONE WITH contd >> AN INTEREST IN & APPRECIATION FOR SUPERB WINES... @WineoftheMonthClub @WineoftheMonth & EXCELLENT WINE VALUES. MEMBERSHIP IS FREE. Soon after, Mr. Spurrier followed suit and arrived to continue the search. Here is where it gets interesting. One Joanne DePuy, a single mom of three and a wine and tennis travel guide, was tapped to host Mr. Spurrier and take him around the valley to these “upstart” wineries and see what they can peel back. She is the very person responsible for taking Steven to Stags’ Leap, Château Montelena and Freemark Abbey. What is amazing about her story is that it speaks to life’s situation. More on that and her booklet “The Rest Of The Story,” next month. Salud... be safe... stay well. Paul Kalemkiarian The entire event captured in George Taber’s book, Judgment of Paris. Owner/Cellarmaster FLASHBACK Selection for June 1978 A LOOK BACK AT SOME STELLAR Corvo Salaparuta White 1975 SELECTIONS WITH ED MASCIANA This wine was virtually unknown when we featured it. But, soon afterwards it became one of the most popular whites in the U.S. Its easy-drinking approachability is what our members loved and apparently they weren’t alone in their love for this wine. Selection for February 1979 Wente Brothers Petite Sirah 1976 One of the oldest wineries as well as the longest family-owned winery in America, Wente Vineyards was founded in 1883 when Carl H. Wente purchased 47 acres of vineyard land in the Livermore Valley. We were always great fans of their wines and this Petite Sirah was one of the standouts. They’re still around and they’re still making great wines. WHY I CHOSE THIS WINE “ The value is amazing... ” – PK e SCO lu RE a * SILVER LINING v 2019 PINOT NOIR 98 California 13.5 % Alcohol by Volume “ pee • noh • nwahr ” It is not easy to find a really good Pinot Noir at a great price. The reason COLOR is that it is one of the most difficult grapes to grow and wines to make. Medium Magenta It’s quite fussy in the vineyard, demanding warm weather at certain times and cool weather at others with no exceptions. Mother Nature isn’t always so accommodating. NOSE Cherry, Vanilla It also doesn’t like to produce too many grapes on a vine. A typical acre of Pinot Noir vines will produce about one-third less grapes than an acre of PALATE Cabernet Sauvignon. As if that isn’t enough, once crushed the wine likes Lush Fruit to oxidize quickly so one has to make sure it is kept as airtight as possible. FINISH Wineries, like O’Neill, go through all this trouble because the finished wine Plush Tannins is worth it. Their vast sources of vineyards and incredibly sophisticated facility allow them to put out a wine like this Silver Lining at a price other wineries can only dream of. Well, this dream is a reality for them. PAIRING Red Meat, Game, Fowl Just have the word Sonoma, Santa Rita Hills or Santa Lucia on a Pinot Noir label and you just added $10-$15 to the price. O’Neill’s holdings CELLAR in cooler areas of Lodi, Paso Robles, and Clarksburg allow them to put out Now thru 2024 an amazing wine without the added price for its location. Here is a classic Pinot offering cherry and pomegranate flavors with hints of spiced apple and red licorice. The plush vanilla from ID: C0521R1DC French oak comes through and dances with a rack of lamb or Reorder Price: $9.99 duck sausages. * VALUE SCORE: THE POINTS AWARDED TO A WINE COMPARED TO WINES TASTED OF THE SAME PRICE, REGION AND VARIETAL. WWW.WINEOFTHEMONTHCLUB.COM | 1.800.949.9463 TASTING NOTES Wine: _______________________________________________________ Color: _______________________________ Date:___________________ Tasting Comments: ____________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Overall Rating: _______________(1-100) Look what people are saying about the Original Wine of the Month Club... Unbelievable selection of wines I’ve been a member for several years... Unbelievable selection of wines, often I’ve been a member for several years now selling for less than Costco!! – Alan and consistently happy with the wine selec- tions and replacement policy should some- thing be not quite right for me. I’m excited I have always had excellent customer... for each new shipment! It’s a lot of fun to try I have always had excellent customer new wines without the guessing. – Gina service and the choices of wine sent me have been wonderful. I certainly have no complaints about anything to do with your Excellent wines wonderful company. I also enjoy the email Excellent wines - just as expected and “interviews”. – Karen delivered in no time and in a great box. Great experience- Thank you. I’ll be ordering again! – Paul First shipment flawless & wines were... new member First shipment flawless & wines were great. The wine selection is excellent and the... Special Valentines offer of rose & ruby The wine selection is excellent and the chocolates was also great looking forward information on each wine. The online to rest of the year offerings. – Daniel ordering is very user friendly and conve- nient. And the customer service tab was very helpful and quick responses. Good value Thank you – Raymond Rodriguez Good value for price – Richard WWW.WINEOFTHEMONTHCLUB.COM | 1.800.949.9463 WHY I CHOSE THIS WINE “ Old favorite... ” – PK e SCO lu RE a * NOVINOPHOBIA v 2018 CHARDONNAY 96 California 13.5 % Alcohol by Volume “ shar • doh • nay ” Our selection comes to us from the powerhouse wine company, O’Neill COLOR Vintners. In less than 20 years they have become one of the top 30 wineries Medium Straw in the United States. That’s quite an accomplishment for founder Jeff O’Neill, but not surprising. He hails from a vine grower family and grew up in the business, learning it from the ground up. But, the finance degree is just NOSE Vanilla, Guava as important. Too many people get seduced by the romance of the wine business, but Jeff PALATE knows it is a business, and in many ways, very much like any business. It’s Lovely, Nuance not about how much wine you make, it’s about how much you sell. O’Neill sells his wines easily because the price-to-value ratio is better than most. In FINISH other words, his wines are great values. Citrus Notes They named the wine Novinophobia as a hyperbole for never wanting to run PAIRING out of wine. We’d like to add a word to that phrase, never wanting to run out Seafood, Fowl, of good wine. All that being said, we’re always delighted to feature O’Neill’s Vegetarian wines and they’re always hits with our members. CELLAR O’Neill not only owns three separate wineries, but a vast array of vineyards Now thru 2022 dotted all over California. This allows him to pick and choose from their sources to make the best wine possible every year. Our selection is a classic Chardonnay with all the green apple flavors to match any ID: C0521W1DC warm vanilla pudding or key lime pie you could ask for and Reorder Price: $8.99 then some. * VALUE SCORE: THE POINTS AWARDED TO A WINE COMPARED TO WINES TASTED OF THE SAME PRICE, REGION AND VARIETAL. WWW.WINEOFTHEMONTHCLUB.COM | 1.800.949.9463 TASTING NOTES Wine: _______________________________________________________ Color: _______________________________ Date:___________________ Tasting Comments: ____________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________