It’s Our Patriotic Duty!

Ok team USA, your help is needed once again. We need to make yet another national consumer sacrifice in order to preserve the American way of life. The situation is dire! You can see the concern as it is expressed on the face of every TV commentator on every cable news broadcast. “The economy is in trouble!” Team USA must take immediate action…and what sacrifice must we make for our nation this time….SPEND! That’s right, our government is once again asking us to “spend it like we got it” and just in case we don’t “got it”…they are going to give it to us! Yes, that’s right! You have a rebate check coming from the government that will be worth hundreds and maybe thousands of dollars!

A discussion on why to spend your rebate:

“So”, you may ask. “Wine Oaf, am I supposed to pay bills with this rebate money?” To which I respond, “Only if you want to be an unpatriotic pinko sympathizer. That’s exactly what the terrorists want you to do! Cower in your decreasing-in-equity home and pay down the Discover card. If you bleed red, white and blue you will go forth and immediately spend this windfall!”

“But Wine Oaf, my mortgage payment has gone up 25% because of some sub-prime thing. The gas pump is killing me to the point that I hardly go out anymore and food prices are increasing because farmers are turning corn into bio-fuel! I am getting crushed here! I can’t afford to drive! I can’t afford my house! And now, I can’t afford to eat! With all of this in mind you want me to go to the mall!!!”

“Ah, my poor misinformed friend, you are talking about an old remedy. Let me straighten you out. Going to the mall was our challenge after 9-11. After 9-11 President Bush wanted all Americans to go to the mall, go shopping and let the government take care of everything else. And we did! Team USA rose to the challenge and bought more stuff than we had room for in our closets or on our credit cards. It was a true national movement that turned the tide on Al Quaida once and for all. This time, and I have this on good information, the government wants you to spend the money through cybershopping.”

“Cybershopping. Wine Oaf?” , you ask.

“Yes my little real-live-nephew-of-my-Uncle Sam, cybershopping! Why else would gas prices be so high for purely artificial reasons? The government is pointing us in the right direction. Stay home and buy wine over the Internet and you will be making the homeland bountiful once again. Buy wine online and Wall Street will respond. Corporations will pay their executives increasingly gross bonuses and all will be back to normal”

“OK Wine Oaf, I get it. I will do my duty and buy wine with my rebate. What the heck, it may make me forget how broke I really am!”

“That’s the spirit friend! Get involved! Spend that rebate! Buy wine! Take it to the streets! (as long as you don’t have to drive) But be careful as well my friend. Don’t spend that rebate on any foreign prison made wine or wine made by child labor in some foreign country. Even some Italian wines are under government scrutiny! Keep those dollars at home. Support you local wineries or, if in doubt, let’s give the state of California all of our money and go deep on some great cheap Cali reds! It’s not what your country can do for you, it’s what you can buy and drink for your country!”

Once convinced we see which wines to buy with our rebates:

Taking it from the top. The qualities you are looking for are:

• Good – because life is too short for bad wine
• Cheap – because you want it to last and if the dollar keeps falling, wine would be a valuable barter item for like a live chicken or something, so get a lot.
• Domestic – so we can defeat terrorism
• Available online – because gas per liter will soon be more expensive than wine per liter. (can I run my truck on two buck chuck?)

Found this selection of 90+ranked wine below $20.oo available online: Five great reds!
Beringer 2004 Knights Valley Alluvium Red – Bordeaux Blends Red Wine
Tin Roof 2005 Merlot – Red Wine

Chateau Souverain 2005 Alexander Valley Merlot – Red Wine

Foppiano 2004 Estate Petite Sirah – Red Wine
Artezin 2006 Zinfandel – Red Wine

And… I guess I should include a white.

Two Angels 2006 Sauvignon Blanc – White Wine

For more ideas check out the Great $10 Reds category of this blog.

Just a thought, “Rebate”, doesn’t that mean it was our money originally? Hmmm. Cheers

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Being educated in the Catholic school environment creates unique images about the Pope. At 6 or 7 years old you think of the Pope as somewhat mystical surrounded by clouds and floating inches above the floor from place to place. There is just such a reverence and aura that comes with the job. When the Pope celebrates a mass in the US, it’s on TV! That’s how big a deal this man is!  In some nations he’s better known than Oprah!

Growing up Catholic you attend a lot of daily mass celebrations. When you become old enough to be an altar boy, (yes the wine oaf was an altar boy, no I don’t have issues.) you start to associate the ceremony of the mass with things more temporal as well. Serving a mass was cool because of the candles, (can’t light those at home) the incense, (don’t have that at home) and …the wine (pour for the priests but don’t partake!) In honor of Pope Benedict’s visit I wanted to write about my wife’s, and admittedly my, favorite white wine.
The “Moscato D’Asti” wine Saracco is Italian, properly so since we are writing about the Vatican. It is estate bottled by Azienda Agricola Paola Sarocco, Castiglione Tinella, Italy. That could say “Paolo’s farm” for all I know but in Italian, it just sounds cooler.

What Others say:Winemaker’s notes:”Paolo Saracco is known as “The Maestro of Moscato” and for good reason. His Moscato is perfumed with fresh peach, pear and white flowers. A gentle sparkle brightens the fruit and a tingle of sweetness hints of candied fruits.
Moscato d’ Asti is a unique wine where the beautiful aromas of the grapes are enhanced by a crisp, nice acidity, a light fizziness and the sweetness of the natural residual sugar. The low alcohol content makes this wine a very easy, pleasant wine – perfect for finishing a meal with dessert or without food as a nice mid-day break.”

RATING: Serve Proudly to Guests!

My Thoughts: I never thought I would use this phrase, but this wine is absolutely delightful. Serve it cold on a hot evening or by a warm fire and you will get the question you crave as a host, “What is this wine!” Modestly effervescent, somewhat sweet but not too heavy and really pleasant on the tongue. You feel like you are celebrating every time you open a bottle yet at around $18.00 a bottle, it’s a pretty cheap party. I know, I know it’s not ten bucks but still definitely serve to guests!

Catholic Coffee?

Which brings me to another topic. Good coffee and in honor of the Pope’s visit what is better to write about than…Catholic Coffee. Yes, there is such a thing. I should start a GoodCheapCoffeeGuide as well. I enjoy coffee as much as wine with the obvious benefit…I can drink it in more settings, like morning staff meetings. You don’t show up to a budget review meeting with a corkscrew. (They might use it on you!) But a pleasant cup of coffee always is welcome. Besides, if everyone in the meeting is drinking coffee then you are certain to get a break really soon. So, what is Catholic Coffee? Catholic Coffee, again in honor of this post’s theme, is roasted and sold by real monks, mystic monks, yes Mystic Monk Coffee.
Mystic Monk Coffee Reading from their website,”
The Carmelite Monks are a Roman Catholic Monastery that has a great passion for Coffee as an incredible fruit of the earth as well as a way to help Catholic culture.”

So how is their coffee? I have no idea but I will let you know after my order arrives. I’ll brew it on a Sunday Morning (instead of attending church maybe?) and enjoy it on the deck reading the paper and listening to chants. Well maybe not listening to chants. That would really creep out the neighbors. Perfect for First Communion Parties though right? I’ll let you know.

Cheers from the Wine Oaf.

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Chateau St. Jean Sonoma Fumee Blanc 2004: Got it for $9.99 SALE (Yes…That is my official wine serving table. Why do you ask?)

RATING: Serve to Guests!

What I thought: You know, there was something “old school” about drinking this wine. (Old school the feeling, not the movie. That’s a beer movie, not a wine movie.) I felt like we should have been having crepes as opposed to chicken. The citrussy (is that a word?) tone on the nose and the smooth yet not pasty taste did real well. I probably served this too cold as I hurried it up in the freezer. (Bad wine guide guy, bad wine guide guy!) but it didn’t kill it. The winetasting comments I found on the winery website talks about “acidity”. Will someone tell me what “acidity” is supposed to taste like? Is it a good thing? Just the same, I’d pull this one out again and maybe even use some nicer glasses next time instead of tumblers.

From the Maker: Winetasting Comments

http://www.chateaustjean.com/stjean/catalog/view_product.jsp?product_id=1288&cat_id=1001

(for 2006…sorry best I could do on a Sunday afternoon)
Crisp and refreshing, this Fumé Blanc offers fragrant aromas of green tea, lemongrass and lemon meringue pie. Flavors of grapefruit, spice and wet stone combine with lively acidity, creating a beautifully balanced wine with a lingering lemon zest finish.

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Rock Rabbit Winery Sauv Blanc: Got it for $9.99 (the bottle not the BOX!!!)

RATING: Serve to Guests!

What I thought: OK, it’s a white wine but hey…man does not live by red alone…especially if they’re married to a white fan. So when it’s cheese, chicken, salad or fish we have to switch it up once in a while. How was this one? Actually not bad, not too sweet crisp without that have “side of the tongue pasty (or however you describe it) aftertaste some whites leave. You know that, “blech” aftertaste that you even breathe hours later. So I’d say serve to friends, cold, right out of the bottle and enjoy. Then have a red later in front of the fire.

From the maker:

http://www.rockrabbitwinery.com/PDFs/2005_Rock_Rabbit_SB.pdf

Stainless steel fermented and aged, the wine refreshes with bright citrus aromas and flavors. Indeed, it is exactly what Chardonnay is not. It is ideal for family and friends.

Crisp, clean and bold flavors of grapefruit, nectarine, melon and a touch of minerality. Refreshing and cool…

One more thought : “minerality”?

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