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The Wine Guy
Recipe Exchange & Wine Review Society April 1, 2009 Gallo Purchases First Growth Chateau Latour!
The entire wine world was shocked yesterday when it was announced that E. & J. Gallo Wineries had completed the purchase of the renowned first growth Bordeaux estate, Chateau Latour. Since December of 2008, it has been an open secret that the investment bank Lazard was offering the Latour estate for sale on behalf of Francois Pinault's Groupe Artemis. The likely buyer was thought to be French wine, Mogul Bernard Magrez, but Gallo swooped in with an astonishing one billion dollar offer. The deal utilizes financing provided by former Merrill Lynch CEO, John Thain, who seems to have included a provision in the agreement that will allow him to move to France and live in seclusion on the estate. It was also rumored that Gallo has contracted with Blackwater Security to protect Mr. Thain and the Latour property from any potential public backlash that might accompany news of the deal. Eight black American SUV's, now parked at the property, seem to confirm that rumor.
  This purchase should present a real challenge to the Gallo marketing department. Usually forced to create a fresh history for acquired properties (witness their MacMurray Ranch and Marcelina brands), it will be interesting to see how they deal with a property that already has one. It is obvious though, that the famous Gallo marketing teams have been hard at work, since the announcement was accompanied by the unveiling of two new Latour labels. Latour Chardonnay and Merlot will be sourced from the same Gallo-owned properties in Southern France that produce Red Bicyclette and will carry the standard "Since 1670" label. The wines should be available on grocery store shelves here in the US by May of this year. Asked if he thought that these ten dollar wines might dilute the credibility of the original Latour wines that retailed for well over $1,000.00 a bottle in the 2005 vintage, a Gallo spokesman replied "We have never met a problem our marketing department couldn't solve by creating a great story. Besides, Latour produces 11,000 cases a year and the new division will produce 11 million. Does it matter?"
Recipe Exchange
Last week, Linda found her copy of the Bethlehem Baptist Church Cookbook, given to her by her grandmother in 1976. They were all recipes that bring back memories, but we decided that this Golden Beef Casserole best expressed the era. Golden Beef Casserole
Bethlehem Baptist Church Cookbook
Ingredients 1 lb. lean ground beef 1/4 cup onion -diced
1/4 cup green bell pepper - diced
3/4 tsp salt 1/8 tsp pepper
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can green lima beans 12 oz
1 can whole kernel corn 12 oz
1 cup cheddar cheese - shredded
Brown beef, onion and green pepper in a small amount of shortening. Add remaining ingredients. Spoon into a casserole dish. Bake for 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Wine Guy Reviews More and more high-end Napa wineries are beginning to offer lower priced alternatives to their cult classics.. first there was Screaming Eagle and now we have the infinitely more affordable Screaming Sparrow!
  Screaming Sparrow Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 Napa Valley, California $25
We Bought a Bunch $19.99 What the Wine Critics Thought: Wine Spectator 91 Points Why chase a cult wine that could cost up to a thousand dollars a bottle when you can enjoy its first cousin, Screaming Sparrow, for less than twenty bucks! Screaming Eagle owners have licensed negociant Don Sebastiani to locate surplus Napa fruit to produce this second label to the mighty Screaming Eagle. Call it quality by association, but I love this wine just knowing that it shares the same warehouse as Screaming Eagle. J.L. What We Thought: Tasting this wine blind, we found it lean, stemmy and almost undrinkable. However, once we discovered that it was the second label for Screaming Eagle,we re-tasted and found that the ensuing few minutes had rendered it rich, ripe, full-bodied and filled with classic Napa Cabernet character. Using a technique licensed from Indiana's own Chateau Thomas winery, Silver Oak is now offering this "sugar free" sweet version of its Alexander Valley Cabernet using the no calorie sweetener Zerose. Even adopting the same slogan as Chateau Thomas Slender brand, "No sugar, no carbs, no fats, no aftertaste, NO KIDDING!" it's obvious that they are after a whole new customer.  Silver Oak Light Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 Alexander Valley, California $65 What the Wine Critics Thought: Wine Advocate 91 Points Wow! Here is a Silver Oak Cabernet that even my Aunt Martha can enjoy. Aromas of blackberry jam greet your nose while the first sip offers up a rich, ripe, full-bodied palate with gobs of oozingly sweet blackberry fruit that completely mask the sticky but firm tannins. This has a long life ahead of it the cellar provided you can keep Aunt Martha away from it. What We Thought: What a concept...a truly fine Napa Cabernet that you won't have to develop a taste for. Now, people will be able to go Napa Cabernet straight from White Zinfandel. This is real fruit bomb, I wasn't sure whether to drink it or spread over cream cheese on a bagel. Maybe we'll do both! New Arrival
On our trip to Florida last month, Linda and I discovered Sanibel Tropical Wines. They have a tasting room on Sanibel Island to showcase their award winning citrus and berry wines. And, there is a Indiana connection...they have received no less than 85 medals and awards from the Indiana State Fair Wine Competitions. You have to try these wines to believe them...
 Florida Banana Wine, Central Florida $20 Gold Medal Indiana State Fair 2008 Made 100% from bananas, this is THE wine for banana lovers! Absolutely tremendous with scallops, Tilapia and pork loin.  Hot Sun Spicy Tomato Wine, Central Florida $19 Silver Medal 2003 Indiana State Fair A very smooth dry white wine with a slight tomato taste and a hint of peppers. Feel the warmth...a delightful surprise. Serve with crackers & cheese, nachos, enchiladas, oysters, salads and bread. Use in cooking for a gourmet touch.  Cocoa Beach Semi-Sweet Orange & Chocolate Wine, Central Florida $19 Bronze Medal Winner Indiana State Fair For the "chocoholic" in all of us. A blend of semi-sweet orange wine and rich chocolate. The result? An explosion of chocolate flavor in one of our most popular wines. Perfect after dinner cordial.
The Wine Guy Pick of the Week
A New Vintage Opus Two
Affordable Napa Cabernet
Wine Spectator 93 Points $14.99!
 April 1st marks the second release of the exciting new Opus Two! Mondavi has done it again... partnering with Charles Shaw to produce an affordable alternative to their flagship wine, Opus One, the joint venture with Rothschild. Charles Shaw Wineries, well known for their affordable wines, marketed exclusively by Trader Joe's, is supplying the juice for this exciting new wine to be made at the Opus facility in Napa Valley.
Outfitting retired Exxon super tankers with rubber bladders, the Charles Shaw growers have supplied fruit grown in the Zhejiang province of China. And, Opus One's skilled winemakers have used it to create what James Laube of Wine Spectator calls "the most exciting thing to happen in Napa Valley in years." Scoring the first vintage 93 points, he went on to say "It's about time someone did something about the high price of Cabernet in California." Priced at only $14.99 for a 3 liter box, it may be the wave of the future. Try some and see for yourself... Opus Two Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 Napa Valley / Zhejiang China $17 3 Liter Box
We Bought a Bunch $14.99 What the Wine Critics Thought: Wine Spectator 93 points It's simply amazing what Opus has done with the new Cabernet flavor additives developed by Arthur Daniels Midland. I always knew that if they could make fast food hamburgers taste like they were grilled and French fries taste like they were fried in lard, they could make Concord grapes taste like fine Cabernet. The wine is rich and intense, with a concentrated mix of currant and blackberry fruit that have only the lightest artificial or chemical overtones. The dusty herb and cedary flavors provided by the oak dust additives seem indistinguishable from new French oak. This is a good choice for short or very near term cellaring. Best from March 2009 through January 2009. J.L. To order, just use reply to sender" to return this form or just give me a call.
Case discounts are 10% on full cases of the same wine and 7% on mixed cases. Additional case discounts do not apply to items with .99 sale price endings. However sale wines do combine with other wines to make non sale wines eligible for case discounts. As always, the Wine Guy Guarantee applies. If you buy a case of wine and don't like it, just return the other bottles for an exchange or refund. This newsletter is transmitted in HTML (rich text). This language supports fonts and text effects not possible with simple text. If your Internet provider is having trouble with this language, please use the link provided at the top or bottom of the newsletter to access the online version. This list is never used for any other purpose than our newsletter and occasional attempts to sell stuff to you. We will never give or sell your email address to anyone. Our newsletters are only sent to those who have requested them. If you no longer wish to receive this publication, please use the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the newsletter of send an email asking to be removed. Visit us at The Wine Guy Web Site Searchable archives of all the wine reviews and recipes appearing in the newsletter Monthly wine features like Wine Guy "Best Buy" Sampler Cases The Wine Guy "Top 50" in-stock wines A complete catalogue of our Gift Basket collection Links to other great food and wine web sites An "Ask the Wine Guy" email function for your questions or orders www.grapevinecottage.com Wine Guy Recipe Exchange & Wine Review Society Newsletter Issue #485 Vol. 10 #13
The Wine Guy at
The Grapevine Cottage, 61 South Main Street Zionsville, Indiana 46077 (317) 733-1010 Monday through Friday 10 - 7, Saturday 9 - 6 thewineguy@grapevinecottage.com
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