The vast majority of Americans buy wine to drink that night or within a few days.  A tiny number buy to invest, but purchasing a $3000 bottle of Petrus only to sell 10 years later hardly seems like fun to me.  I fall into category two, which is to say I buy wine because I know, at some point, I will enjoy drinking it.  I’m here to argue that you should buy for this reason as well and why it will make your life 46% better.

Over the past 4 or 5 years, I’ve amassed a collection of somewhere around 250 bottles of wine, give or take 50.  Not a bad collection for a non-rich 28 year old, but by no means impressive in the greater wine world.  Nonetheless, this small collection has made my wine experience 100 times more enjoyable and here’s why: Every bottle in my cellar has a time and place to be discovered and enjoyed.  I don’t know when or where that time and place will be, but that’s half the fun.

For example, I had been sitting on a bottle of L’Aventure Optimus and its big brother the Estate Cuvee for a couple of years.  I knew I wanted to drink these wines together and the perfect opportunity came recently when my parents were in town visiting.  We brought the wine to a great restaurant, had an awesome meal, and enjoyed the special wine together.  Drinking wine like that is so much more fun than ordering off of a restaurant list or heading to the local wine shop to pick up a bottle before dinner.

Here is another scenario:  I’ve always loved all of Ridge’s wines, especially their Lytton Springs and Geyserville bottling.  They’re great every year and I usually pick up a bottle or two for short term drinking.  But the 2009 vintage of both of these wines were an absolute blockbusters receiving 95 and 94 point scores respectively.  So naturally, I picked up a few extra bottles of both to, as the Cialas commercial says, drink “when the moment’s right”.  And much like the hassle of having to plan ahead to take that magic little pill, I’d rather be ready!  Consider this my Lytton Springs for daily use.

Enough with that ill-conceived analogy.  The point is, having good wine around is more fun than not.  Some will improve with age, but that’s not the point.  As time goes on, wine fades away from being an X dollar purchase and turns into a future memory (and occasionally a lost memory).  If you build up a small collection of wine you like, I think you will find as I have, that every time you open one, you will get a little more out of that wine, and out of life.

I’d like to submit this idea: if you like a particular wine, you’re better off buying that label than buying a wine you’ve never had just because the latter scored a couple of extra points.  Poor vintages aside, your wine is likely to be made in a similar style year to year – a style that you recognize and like.  Wine ratings certainly serve a purpose but remember this – they are one person’s opinion.  That rater likely tasted many wines, perhaps 100 or more, making the difference between a 90 point wine that you know you like and a 92 point wine that you’ve never had totally meaningless.

There is a Napa Cabernet I love called Faust.  I’ve enjoyed it since the 2004 vintage and I’m never disappointed.  Sure the 2006 is a little slower to open up than the 2005 but they are both made in a familiar style that I happen to like.  That wine has never had a score that I’m aware of and costs around $40.  There are plenty of high scoring Cabernet around that price but if I’m picking from an unfamiliar wine list, I’ll pick the Faust every time because I know it’s going to be good, even if I’ve  never had the vintage.

I could tell a similar story for Caymus Cabernet, Columbia Crest Chardonnay, Beringer Private Reserve Chardonnay and Cabernet, Mas Doix Priorat, Veuve Clicquot and many others.  Those are labels I will buy year after year even if the scores move by +/- 3 points.  Ultimately I know what I’m getting and I know I’m going to like it.

So what are your go-to labels?  Tell us in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.

Walking through the production area makes me realize how big this place is compared to some of the lesser-known wineries like Hartwell Estate.  But, much like Hartwell, Silverado controls every part of the winemaking process starting with the growing of the grapes in their own vineyards, mostly located in the Stags Leap District.  Unlike the vast majority of the wineries in the valley, Silverado bottles their own wines, much to the chagrin of winemaker Jon Emmerich, who we ran into in the barrel room.  Most wineries rent mobile bottling trucks the couple of times a year when they are needed, but keeping things in house makes sense for an operation the size of Silverado.  Emmerich considers it wasted space, confirming the winemaker as artist (not businessperson) mentality.

An artist he is, as Silverado has one of the best track records in Napa Valley for producing world class, fairly priced wines.  Keeping with a popular theme in wine, the owners of Silverado didn’t make their money in wine but rather in cartoons.  Diane Disney Miller, daughter of Walt Disney, along with her husband Ron, purchased what would become Silverado Vineyards in 1975 from the See’s Candy family.  With vision and passion they replanted Silverado’s Stags Leap vineyards and acquired new properties in Carneros, Soda Canyon and Mount George to create the portfolio they have today.

We joined Emmerich and GM Russ Weis in a corner room to taste through Silverado’s current portfolio.  All wines were of noteworthy quality beginning with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc and the Estate Chardonnay, made mostly from their Carneros vineyard holdings.  I’ve always been a big fan of their Mt. George Merlot, which can be found for under $30 retail and is one to watch for in steakhouses, where quality Cabernet is often unaffordable.  I also appreciate that Silverado doesn’t try to make their Merlot taste like a Cab, a trend that has made Merlot fall out of style in California.  Over the last few years, I’ve purchased at least 3 cases of Silverado’s Cabernet, labeled Estate for the 2007 vintage.  In most vintages it ages well for 10+ years, as evidenced by the 2002 vintage we tasted.  It’s also a well known name, making it perfect for dinner parties, where guests might be surprised to learn that it can be found priced below $30 at discount retailers.  The highlight of the tasting was the 2007 SOLO made exclusively from their Stags Leap vineyards surrounding the winery.  It’s ratings pedegree is impressive, regularly receiving 90+ points from Robert Parker.  The ’07 vintage is an obvious standout having been awarded 95 points.  This wine was arguably the single best wine we tasted in our 3 day tour of Stags Leap.

Whether you stop in for their $15 stand up tasting in their lively tasting room or opt for the $25 informative tour and tasting, make it a point to visit Silverado Vineyards and take in the view.

Do what Nickel and Dime Wine did:

Silverado Vineyards
http://www.silveradovineyards.com
707-257-1770
Tasting $15, Tour and Tasting$25

At Steltzner, we tasted through a lineup of impressive wines starting with a nice rosé of Syrah that is very well priced at $10.50.  The Allison Rosé is named after the host herself who wanted to produce a Rose despite her dad telling her “I won’t drink any pink s!#@”.  Dick has changed his Rosé hating ways and now enjoys a glass of his daughter’s wine next to the pool in the summer.

At $10, the Steltzner tasting is one of the least expensive in Stags Leap, if not the whole valley.  You’ll taste through a sampling of their lineup including their noteworthy Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine Allison told us is very popular at steakhouses like Capital Grille where they sell thousands of bottles a year.  The highlight of our tasting was surprisingly the 2009 Estate Malbec, which we tasted out of the barrel.  It was rich and opulent, and a rare treat in Napa Valley.  Allison believes Malbec has a bright future in Napa and especially Stags Leap and I have to agree.

Steltzner has a few tables and chairs outside, making it a nice place for a picnic lunch as well.  We didn’t have time for a full tour, but did see the impressive cave system that stores the wine aging in barrel and library bottles back to the 70′s.  At $25, the tour is also a great value and would be a perfect way to get to know one of the pioneers of the Stags Leap District.

Do what Nickel and Dime Wine did:

Steltzner Vineyards
http://www.steltzner.com/
707-252-7272
Tasting $10, Tour and Tasting $25

A little known property on the west side of the Silverado Trial, Hartwell Estate should start to make it on the wine loving public’s radar if the quality of their product is any indication.  The winery is perched near the top of a dormant volcano, offering sweeping views of the surrounding valley.  The Tuscan inspired look was inspired by Bob Hartwell’s wife Blanca.  As is a common theme in the Napa Valley wine scene, Bob Hartwell didn’t make his money selling wine, but rather in another industry, in his case aerospace.  It turns out Velcro might actually be a key ingredient to good wine, along with a great site and a talented winemaker.

That talented winemaker is Benoit Touquette assisted by consultant (and his mentor) the famed Michel Rolland.  As expected, no expense was spared at Hartwell.  From the $35,000 cement fermenting tanks (imported from France), to the 100% new French oak all of their Cabernet calls home, everything is top notch, and it shows!  In fact, I would say the Hartwell wines were the some of the best we tasted during our three days in the Stags Leap District.

The tour started with a glass of their awesome, barrel aged Sauvignon Blanc and a walk through the vineyards.  Then, after a tour of the wine making facilities and a walk past the chateau style barrels to the back of the caves, we arrived in the library room (wine not books), for a wine and cheese tasting.  Wine and cheese being my two favorite non-living things, we were off to a very good start.

The first cheese, paired with the ’08 Sauvignon Blanc Reserve, was an insanely good Italian version of brie called Carboncino.  Everyone knows that wine and cheese are a match made in heaven, but our guide Paul, who incidentally is a certified Sommelier and chef, showed us what a true pairing is all about.  The cheese complimented the wine and each brought out unique characteristics in the other.  For me, the highlight of their current releases was the 2007 Miste Hill Estate Cabernet a relative Stag’s Leap value at $60.  We also tasted the 2006 and 2007 Reserve Cabernets, which were incredible, though pricey at $115.  At the end of the tasting, Paul poured the 2002 Reserve Cabernet, a nice touch and a great way to end our first day in Stags Leap.

Hartwell is making some very serious wines that I highly recommend seeking out.  A great place to start would be the unique tasting experience at their beautiful property in the heart of the Stags Leap District.

Do what Nickel and Dime Wine did:

Hartwell Estate

http://www.hartwellvineyards.com/

(707) 255-4269

Tour and tasting by appointment: $45 (request cheese pairing)

All of these publications spend their time judging wines.  Well today is their judgement day.  Read on as I rate the raters.

Cellar Tracker 100 points

Okay, so this doesn’t completely fit the mold of a wine rating publication, but consider this: When the people/publications discussed below rate a given wine, they are formulating a score based on one or two sips on a day when they might have tasted 100 or more wines.  Cellar Tracker on the other hand, is all about crowd sourced ratings from people like you and me, who are serious about wine.  One guy might not know what he is talking about when he gives an awesome wine 82 points, but can the average of 37 individual ratings really be wrong?  It’s also worth mentioning that most of these ratings come from people who enjoyed a whole bottle of wine rather than just tasting a sip.  They are drinking wine like a consumer not like a professional taster.  I almost always reference Cellar Tracker before buying a wine I’ve never had.  One word of warning on Cellar Tracker, the ratings are tough.  Anything over 90 points is really good and anything over 92 is likely amazing.

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate- 97 Points

This isn’t an easy test but the Wine Advocate aced it.  That said, Robert Parker and his crew from The Wine Advocate get my highest rating for an actual professional publication at 97 points.  Parker has his share of detractors who aren’t fans of his taste or his effect on the wine industry as a whole.  In fact, there is some indication that Parker’s taste has actually changed the way wine is made, with flavors trending towards more ripe, sweet and less acidic, especially for California Cabernet and Bordeaux.

So why does Parker get a 97?  Quite simply, Parker and his team produce the most consistently accurate ratings.

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar- 94 Points

Tanzer and his dream team (as in I dream of drinking wine for a living), get an A- 94 points because they are actually a little too harsh.  This wouldn’t be too much of a problem except that the public has this perception where any wine 90 points or above is good and anything 89 or below is somewhere between average and bad.  Tanzer is notorious for giving blockbuster wines 92 points and very good wines 87.  When you see ratings from IWC, you can usually add two points, sometimes more.

Wine Spectator- 89 Points

Remember when you came home from school with a B+ on your paper and your parents said “Great job, but if you had tried a little harder you’d have an A”? That’s how I feel about Wine Spectator.  The articles in their publication are generally great, but their ratings need a little more to push them into the A range.  To continue with this brilliant and complex analogy, most of Wine Spectator’s ratings are dead on, but occasionally they miss the easiest question on the test, giving a great wine a low rating or worse, a bad wine a high rating.  That said, I do appreciate Wine Spectator’s blind tasting methodology, something the other wine rating publications don’t do.  I use Wine Spectator to compare to the other raters.  If RP or IWC give a wine a high rating, and it’s confirmed by WS’s blind tasting, you can make a good bet that it’s going to be a good one.

Wine Enthusiast- 79 Points

I have two issues with Wine Enthusiast: 1. They only seem to rate wines that don’t have ratings from “The Big Three” and 2. I get emails from them trying to sell me wines on which they have bestowed high ratings.  Seems like a conflict of interest to me.  Can the ratings still be used as a general directional guide?  Sure.  But I wouldn’t drop big bucks on a 96 point Napa Cabernet just on the basis of a Wine Enthusiast rating, especially if they are the only ones who have rated it and they also sent you an email with a special discount on it.

Wine and Spirits, Connoisseurs’ Guide and Wine News- F

This town ain’t big enough for all these know-it-alls so Wine and Spirits, Connoisseurs’ Guide and Wine News get an F for relevance and consistency.  Their ratings are only cited when nothing else is available which begs the question, why use them at all?  I’m sure they are fine people who know a thing or two about wine, but honestly, their ratings are too often way out of line with everyone else, naturally bringing their accuracy into question.  I would avoid these and pay attention to the Big Three.

Much like Robert Parker and Stephen Tanzer’s wine ratings, this has been one person’s opinion of something that comes down to personal taste.  If you find that your tastes are in line with Wine Enthusiast’s, by all means buy based on their recommendations.  I’m sure they would be happy to sell you the wine themselves…

That crisp acid and rich oak made this wine a perfect accompaniment to one of my favorite easy dinners, Sicilian pasta.  I attempted to do a video of how to make this pasta.  So the video wasn’t too long, I chopped everything in advance and preheated the oil in the pan.   Unfortunately I got the oil too hot and nearly caught my kitchen on fire.  I’ll attempt the video again, but in the meantime,  here’s how to make this simple, 20 minute dinner:

Sicilian Pasta Recipe

Finely chop three cloves of garlic and a small handful of fresh herbs (I like to use thyme, oregano and basil from my garden).

Cook your pasta (I like to use penne or bow ties) and drain the water.

Open a small tin of anchovies, drain the olive oil into the pasta and stir.  Set aside.

Lightly cover the bottom of a hot pan with olive oil and add the anchovies.  Chop the anchovies up with a rubber spatula until they melt completely into the olive oil leaving only very small pieces.

Add the garlic and 5-6 pinches of chopped fresh herbs to the hot oil and remove from the heat.

Add the pasta into the pan and mix until it’s coated with the oil/anchovy/herb mix.

Dress with red chili flakes, Parmesan cheese and the rest of the herbs to taste.

This pasta is delicious, healthy and perfect with a crisp Chardonnay.  Don’t let the full can of anchovies deter you from trying this.  If you like the amount of anchovy flavor in Caesar dressing, you’ll like this pasta.  And if you like Chardonnay, you’ll like this wine!

Buy Here: 2008 Bernardus Chardonnay $16.95

Wine Spectator 92 points

“Bold, rich and layered, with a medley of smoky fig, toasty oak, hazelnut and roasted marshmallow flavors that are pure, focused, intense and concentrated, with a long, persistent finish. Drink now through 2015. 22,380 cases made.”

1. Buy raw frozen or fresh dough at the grocery store.  Never buy already cooked pizza crust.  You can also try the local pizza parlor but my wife tried this and they wanted $14 per dough ball.  Not a good deal given their pizza is $18.  Raw fresh dought is around $1.50 at Fresh and Easy (my personal favorite) and Trader Joe’s.

2. Cook all pizza as hot as your oven will go (mine is 550 degrees).  That gourmet Neapolitan pizza you pay $$$  for is cooked at around 800.

3. Don’t over sauce.  Any time I use sauce (which is not all the time), I put dabs on after the toppings.  This prevents the crust from getting soaked.

4. Stretch don’t roll the dough.  This makes it slightly thicker on the edges and creates delicious bubbles and imperfections in the crust.  And the crust is the best part right?

So on to the recipe:

Lay the dough out on a flour covered counter for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven as high as it will go.

Boil or microwave your potatoes until cooked.  I like to use Golden Russets, but any potato will work fine.  Set aside.

Spread a thin layer of olive oil on a cookie sheet.

Sprinkle flour on the top of the dough and then stretch to roughly the size of the cookie sheet.

Drizzle olive oil on the dough and spread with your fingers.

Chop garlic, and fresh herbs (I used oregano and thyme) and sprinkle generously on the pizza.  Add a generous portion of pepper and salt.

Rough chop the potatoes and spread on the pizza.

Crumble bleu cheese on the pizza.  I also added some smoked cheddar, which was awesome!

Cook the pizza.  There is no time on this because it’s going to cook very fast.  At 55o, mine usually cook in around 5 minutes but the key is to WATCH THE PIZZA.

Tear the pieces of prosciutto on the pizza AFTER it cooks.  If you cook the prosciutto with the pizza, it will get tough and chewy.  I always use Prosciutto di Parma, which can only come from Parma, Italy.  It melts like butter in your mouth and is by far the best I’ve found.  You can get it at gourmet grocery stores where they cut it to order.  Ask for it as thin as they can slice it.  It’s expensive (around $20/lb but you only need 4-6 slices for a pizza, which is around .25 lbs.  If you get the stuff in the package, you’re risking a chewy mess.

Although I didn’t drink wine last night, this would go perfect with a Super Tuscan like the 2007 Monte Antico Toscana Rosso, which is a fantastic value.

That’s it!  If you give this a try, we’d love to hear about it.  Tell us in the comments section of this post or on our Facebook page.

Robert Parker has taken a lot of heat recently because he tastes blind “whenever possible”, which is likely not very often since he conducts both barrel and bottle tastings at the winery.  In 2009, Parker conducted a 2005 Bordeaux blind tasting during which he misidentified most wines and proclaimed wines he had previously given lower scores to be his favorites of the night.  On the other hand, Wine Spectator tastes all of their wine blind but, in my opinion, part of the wine experience is knowing the producer, their reputation and their story.  Sure, it perpetuates the popularity of trophy wines that are only popular because of their names.  I won’t name any specific producers but one example rhymes with, wait, no words rhyme with Silver…  Oh well.  Still, there are more examples of big names that have maintained or improved quality despite (or maybe because of) their popularity.  When wines are tasted blind, the taster can’t take into account the producer’s history and reputation, both important factors in determining a wine’s quality.  If a given winery has been producing age worthy, top notch wines for the last 20 years, that should be a factor in the review.

Here’s the ultimate question:  Would you enjoy your favorite bottle of wine as much if you didn’t know who made it?  For me the answer is no, though I do enjoy a blind tasting from time to time because you never know how it’s going to turn out.  Kind of like a game of strip poker really.  I wonder Lynch’s perspective on blind strip poker…