Wine Sale at Grocery Outlet
Through tomorrow, 16 November 2008, it's 20% off all wine at Grocery Outlet. Since wine there is cheap to start with, this makes prices even better. Perhaps the financial crash has already hit the wine production market?

Wise man says: when you buy wine at GrocOut, you should plan to open the bottles as soon as possible for triage. Some will go down the drain; some will make excellent salad dressing; and some will be drinkable and you will drink them and not buy more.

No, wait, quartage; some of their wines are really good. It's just a question of finding out which ones those are, and going back the next day to buy a case before the other wine quartageurs get there ahead of you and buy it all up. I'm not kidding about this. A very perceptive winemaker friend of mine says he sometimes opens the bottles up in the parking lot so that he can go back in immediately if he finds something he really likes. But I digress.

Friday I bought six carefully chosen, but totally unknown, reds. Imagine our astonishment when K and I both liked all six! You could go buy them, at 20% off these prices, tomorrow; afterwards, at the prices shown. Still cheap.

Here's the summary, and behind the cut will be what I could find out about the producers.

1. Barrelstone 2004 Columbia Valley (Washington State) Syrah $2.99
Modest, not in your face, slightly off at finish. Pleasant. I could drink this with dinner. Gee, for $2.99 what do you want?

2. Fog Bank 2005 Paso Robles Syrah, Fog Bank Vineyards, Santa Rosa, CA $3.99
Sort of similar to Barrelstone, above; bottled by Adler-Fels in Santa Rosa, CA

3. Palandri Cabernet Sauvignon [64%] / Merlot [36%] blend from Margaret River Wine Production LTD, Bussell Highway, Western Australia $3.99
Lots of fruit, very chewy in the middle, with a tinge more acid than I like. Good with foods, I suspect.

4. J. Garcia 2005 Merlot, North Coast [how could I resist? It came with a Jerry Garcia painting “Wetlands I” on the label] $3.99
It was certainly drinkable, if not excessively memorable. Produced and bottled by Clos du Bois, Geyserville, CA

5. Calaccedo 2005 Petite Syrah, Paso Robles; made by Monte Verde Vineyards, Paso Robles CA $4.99
Drinkable, easy, lots of berries though not fruit forward.

6. Relativity Vineyards 2006 Sonoma County Reserve Zinfandel $8.99
Pretty good; more in the restrained Sonoma wine country style than, say, Amador Zins. Definitely not a fruit bomb, and coming in at 13.5% alcohol. No particular reason to buy more at this price, even at 20% off, but I enjoyed it with dinner tonight. Another Adler-Fels product.




1. Barrelstone 2004 Columbia Valley Syrah. From Precept Brands, a 2001 startup mini-conglomerate with many labels. The Barrelstone brand was introduced in 2003 http://www.washingtonhills.com/press/awards.php See also http://www.averylanewine.co/Commending/PDFs/2003/08/08_06-SeattlesPrecept.pdf

http://www.preceptbrands.com/wines/Barrelstone.asp

Precept’s sales presentation on this wine (you must be able to read a PowerPoint presentation): http://www.preceptbrands.com/marketing/Presentations/North%20America/Barrelstone/Barrelstone_March%2007.ppt

http://corkd.com/wine/view/36861-Barrelstone_2004_Columbia_Valley_Syrah
Avg. Rating: 73.0/100 (1 Review) by chrisarth 73.0/100 says ”This wine has a very musky scent to it. A bit of a turn-off to me. Mellow on the tongue, however. Not much of a finish. All in all, a forgettable wine.” I think he is too harsh on it.

Wino Magazine sort of likes it: http://www.openbottles.com/wine.php?wineID=30778
And an Oct 23 review http://www.winomagazine.com/blog2/?cat=132 says: Barrelstone 2004 Syrah Barrelstone Winery, Sunnyside, WA $15.00 “A Syrah is sort of like that character in an ensemble movie who repeatedly gets in the way, but inevitably, at the end of the film, his oddly deleterious skill set comes in handy in an unlikely scenario. Similarly, when drinking this wine, I kept hoping a venison steak would magically appear to let the wine shine, but alas, none did. Don’t get me wrong, as far as Syrahs go, this one seemed almost the Platonic form, which is good news if you like your wines full of tannin with a healthy dose of earth and acidity; but if you’re going to crack this bottle, do yourself a favor and cook up some sort of meat you wouldn’t find on a Denny’s menu. Or else use lots of pepper.

“Equivalent Late Night Talk Show Host: Craig Kilborn. You want to like this wine, but you’re not sure why. There are times when you say, out loud, “man, this wine is really good,” but you don’t exactly mean that. Still, every now and then, in the right circumstance this wine really shines, like with roasted duck breast or when concluding an interview with 'five questions.'"

http://www.wineloverspage.com/bucko/bucko0905.phtml says of the 2003: 2003 Barrelstone, Syrah, Columbia Valley, Washington, $10, 3,000 cases. Cherries and berries carry from the nose to the mouth, with a subtle white pepper nuance. Supple, simple and ready to drink with grilled fare; 82/83.

The 2003 was listed at $7.79 and was actually available at $5.59. The 2004 was listed at $11.99 or $13.99 and is available at Total Wine (Wash. DC area) and online at $7.99. Compare $2.99 at GrocOut.

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2. Fog Bank 2005 Paso Robles Syrah, Fog Bank Vineyards, Santa Rosa, CA $3.99
Sort of similar to Barrelstone, above; bottled by Adler-Fels in Santa Rosa, CA

A national private label of Adler Fels Winery: https://www.adlerfels.com/static/37/File/Fog_Bank.pdf [note: PDF] This company does private-label bottling for over 100 wine-brand projects in the last year. See https://www.adlerfels.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category_detail&category_id_int=15688 . If you buy a wine from some unknown winery in Santa Rosa, CA, you’re probably buying an Adler-Fels wine. https://www.adlerfels.com/static/37/File/AFW_Custom_Wine_Brands_Sell_Sheet.pdf [PDF!]

Here are some of what they consider Ultra-Premium wines:
https://www.adlerfels.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category_detail&category_id_int=15694 .
At least one of these, “Kaboom,” is also at GrocOut; I need to go try it out. The Fog Bank label is just a “Coastal” wine, i.e. lower-medium grade.

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3. Palandri Cabernet Sauvignon [64%] / Merlot [36%] blend from Margaret River Wine Production LTD, Bussell Highway, Western Australia $3.99

OK, I bought this, expecting an average cheap Oz wine, because of the colorful gecko on the label. Nominally AU$18.95 http://www.getprice.com.au/PALANDRI-CABERNET-MERLOT-2005-Gpnc_357--24926245.htm

http://www.palandri.com.au/ says “The Palandri Group is now one of Western Australia's best recognised premium wine making and marketing businesses, producing quality wines to suit a variety of lifestyle occasions. Based in the heart of the premium Margaret River region in Western Australia, Palandri Wines is supported by one of WA’s largest stand-alone vineyards in the Frankland River area. Palandri Wines distributes its award winning wines throughout Australasia, the UK, Europe, the US and Canada. From inception, Palandri Wines has been destined to be more than just a new winery - it encapsulates new age concepts in wine marketing, blended with tried and true wine making tradition.“

See http://www.palandri.com.au/Winemaking/Vineyards.aspx for info on their winemaking and vineyards. http://www.getprice.com.au/PALANDRI-CABERNET-MERLOT-2005-Sprv_102--24926245.htm says “2 silver, 2 bronze medals Rich, cuddly soft, with blackberry fruit & a whiff of cool menthol aromatics.”

Online Shopping Australia will sell you a case of the 2003 for AU$156. Read their comment: http://www.onlineshoppingaustralia.com.au/2008/07/six-super-wholesale-wine-deals-australian-cabernet-sauvignon-chardonnay-semillon-sauvignon-merlot-shiraz-and-cabernet-merlot.html

Normally AU$20 http://www.margaretriver.com/wines.asp?winecode=482 (described) and with background at the Palandri store 8141 Bussell Highway, Cowaramup: http://www.margaretriver.com/accom_result1/palandri-cellar-store-cafe/

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4. J. Garcia 2005 Merlot, North Coast [how could I resist? It came with a JG painting of “Wetlands I” on the label] It was certainly drinkable, if not excessively memorable. $3.99
Produced and bottled by Clos du Bois, Geyserville, CA

For picture etc: http://www.wine.com/V6/J.-Garcia-Merlot-2005/wine/94284/detail.aspx  -- $14.79 at Wine.com. “winemaker's notes: This North Coast Merlot has deep plum-red color and spicy black currant, strawberry, cherry, leather, cedar, tobacco and cinnamon aromas. On the palate, look for ripe bing cherry jam and plum flavors finishing with supple, approachable tannins. This wine is excellent with roast duck breast or spaghetti Bolognese.”

$12.95 at NapaCabs.com, higher at other places: http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/J+Garcia/2/-/USD/A/-/0 [includes other J. Garcia wines as well]

A cross-reference, showing label designs: http://www.pricewatch.com/brands/wine/j__garcia-1.htm

The Clos du Bois website http://closdubois.com/home.cfm?month=11&day=15&year=1955&_send_date_.x=36&_send_date_.y=5&_send_date_=Enter is silent on J. Garcia wines.

However, this tells all: http://deadnews.blogspot.com/2006/12/jerry-garcia-wine.html
It was, of course, Deborah Koons Garcia “who approached Beam Wine Estates, which produces J. Garcia and numerous other well-known labels.” Same winemaker, Erik Olsen, as Clos du Bois uses. Rolling Stone’s 2003 take: http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/jerrygarcia/articles/story/5935512/garcia_honored_with_wine

Another view of the various labels: http://www.wine.com/v6/J.-Garcia/learnabout.aspx?winery=7006&winid=7006

Just had to add this (2005): “Jerry Garcia estate sues burrito franchise” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6812406/. I don't see fish tacos mentioned, but I will take veggie burritos as a given.

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5. Calaccedo 2005 Petite Syrah, Paso Robles; made by Monte Verde Vineyards, Paso Robles CA $4.99

There is very little available online about this wine. I can’t even find out what “calaccedo” is supposed to refer to.

http://www.samswine.com/Monte%20Verde%20Petite%20Sirah%20+Calaccedo+%202005/10051241,default,pd.html with tiny review, price $17.99.

Scrugy quotes same: http://www.scrugy.com/tasting-notes/Monte-Verde-Calaccedo-Petite-Sirah-2005/353685

There’s a Monte Verde vineyards near San Jose, in Morgan Hill: http://www.monteverdevineyards.com/ Described in detail: http://winetraveler.info/?p=401 Except that this product is from different winery, of the same name, in Paso Robles. What now?

Fortunately, the government of North Dakota comes to our rescue, with an Excel spreadsheet http://www.nd.gov/tax/alcohol/forms/web-licenseandpermitlist.xls which tells us that Monte Verde Vineyards is a dba of Sapphire Wines, LLC, at 5625 E. Highway 46, Paso Robles, CA 93446-6301. Other Sapphire labels include Eos, Novella, Canyon Ridge, Stevenot, and…Trader Joe’s. Now we can find Sapphire Wines LLC, which, as a newly formed company, in 2007 purchased the EOS Estate winery of Paso Robles: http://www.winespiritsdaily.com/2007/08/sapphire-wines-purchases-eos-estate.html

The sapphirebrands.com website does not respond, but the plan was described in 2007 in more detail: “New Sun Rises on Eos” http://www.redwinebuzz.com/win0708.htm

Here’s Eos and their Petite Sirah; http://www.eosvintage.com/ -- perhaps this bottle is made from production overrun.

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6. Relativity Vineyards 2006 Sonoma County Reserve Zinfandel $8.99

http://www.relativityvineyards.com/aboutus.htm “Relativity Vineyards is a collaboration by two friends, Bob Enslein Jr., and Erik Ekstein.“ They’ve got Einstein sort of bracketed, eh?

There’s a contact page on their website, but all it has on it is the line “This is the contact page”*. They may be out of business. The labels have a mathematical design on the front, and on the back they say nothing about the wine except that “You don’t have to be a genius to drink good wine.”

The “Find Relativity” page on their website lists a number of New York City (and a few California) restaurants and stores that carry their Cabernet.

Articles on wine by Bob Enslein: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Bob_Enslein

Oh, wait, here they are, as a private label from … you guessed it ... Adler-Fels (Ultra-premium category) http://www.adlerfels.com/static/37/File/Relativity.pdf Looks like Adler-Fels must have sold off a batch of excess inventory of private label wine to the good old Grocery Outlet boys.

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*I knew that already. For more on this topic, see "Recursion".