As a non-driver, I am a collector of ways to have the things I want delivered to me in an expedient manner. This is why, to this day, I lament the demise of Kozmo.com and my beloved webvan. I've previously chronicled my favorite grocery delivery resource herein but see I've neglected to mention my favorite place from which to order wine: K&L Wines here in the Bay Area.
This is a store I love to browse when someone else is driving. But it's honestly just as great to order from them online as it is to peruse in person. You see, they have an occasional newsletter with a ton of descriptions, and the website has those same descriptions for every wine. Plus, they allow you to set up keyword based watch lists, to generate an email every time something specific you are looking for comes into inventory. This way, you can keep an eye out for new releases from your favorite vineyard, or just get a feel for when a new vintage of a favorite varietal (say, Santa Barbara County pinot noir) is available.
Now, to get to the good part -- here's what I ordered:
- 2005 Gundlach Bundschu "Rheinfarm Vineyard" Mountain Cuvee. A dependable red table wine.
- 2007 Ridge Vineyards "Three Valleys" Sonoma Zinfandel Blend. Ridge has long been one of my favorite zinfandel producers. And Sonoma zin = win.
- 2006 Rosenblum "Aparicio Vineyard" Amador County Zinfandel. I always have a handful of Rosenblum zins on hand, and Amador/El Dorado County zins are as tasty as more well-know appellations and typically at a lower price.
- 2007 Sobon Estate "Rocky Top" Amador Zinfandel. Sobon has a number of well-priced tasty zinfandels.
- 2006 Quivira Dry Creek Zinfandel. Quivira is one of those wineries I haven't tasted at very often, but whenever I order a bottle of their wine in a restaurant I always htink to myself I should make ore of an effort to keep up with them. Have I mentioned yet that I am moderately obsessed with zinfandels?
- 2006 T-Vine Cellars Napa Valley Zinfandel. This was a little bit of a splurge, but should be well worth it.
- 2006 T-Vine Cellars Napa Valley Merlot. Many folks are of the opinion that merlot is an easy sipping boring wine best reserved for when your parents come to dinner. I beg to differ -- you just need to be drinking merlots from wineries who make an effort. can't wait to crack this open with a special dinner.
- 2007 Olivet Lane Pinot Noir Russian River Valley. Another winery, like Quivira, that I always enjoy when I buy it in a restaurant. Will hold on to this for a night I make something especially hearty for dinner.
- 2006 Au Bon Climat "Sanford & Benedict Vineyard-Santa Barbara Historic Vineyards Collection" Santa Ynez Valley Pinot Noir. I may have actually made a little squealy noise when I saw this returned in my search results. The Sanford & Benedict vineyard has been a favorite for a decade, with a Foxen Sanford & Benedict bottling having been the first I enjoyed from there if I recall correctly.
- 2008 Au Bon Climat Santa Barbara Pinot Noir. This is my most frequently purchased pinot noir, and Au Bon Climat is one of my top 10 favorite wineries.. If you bring this to a special dinner, you're happy and your hosts know you really like them.
- 2006 D-Cubed Napa Valley Zinfandel. I first tried D Cubed at the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant and keep an eye out for them when I shop for wine. This was an especially yummy bottle that paired nicely with a variety of dinners last week.
- 2006 Kathryn Kennedy "Lateral" Bordeaux Blend. I tried this for the first time at a Family Winemakers tasting some time ago, and have kept it on my short list of red table wines since.
