Whether you’re buying a case of wine so you have some to offer guests, or as a present to get someone’s home wine inventory going, here is a general guide to putting together a case of wine for a variety of meals and occasions.  Buy:
➢    One bottle of Champagne, as per your budget, for celebrations.
➢    Buy a second sparkling wine, like Delmas Blanquette de Limoux, for less festive occasions.
➢    One pinot noir, from the Russian River Valley or Oregon, for lighter and earthier meals.
➢    A jammy Zinfandel from Dry Creek Valley, for Thanksgiving turkey, grilling and pork dishes.
➢    One syrah or Rhone wine for lamb and heavy, earthy meals, or flavorful meats.
➢    One Chianti Classico, like Querceto L’Aura, for a variety of Italian meals and red meats.
➢    Port for blue cheese, like Stilton, and for chocolate, or as its own dessert.
➢    Two bottles of any combination of merlot, cabernet sauvignon or a Bordeaux, for steaks.
➢    An off-dry white from Alsace or Loire, like a Vouvray, for spicy meals.
➢    One California chardonnay, one Marlborough sauvignon blanc and a pinot grigio to have a variety of compliments to light meals and cheeses.

Posted under Buying Wine

Have you ever heard of blue raspberries, bushberries or champagne grapes?  Well, they all exist, but they’re all fake in some way or another.  They are also all delicious.  In fact, just the other day, at Market Hall, I bought all of them.

I saw berries that I did not recognize.  Their taste was most similar to an odd berry that would grow long, to about the size of a child’s finger, that I found in India, but only in one specific spot outside of the town of Rishikesh; it was sold at a relatively exorbitant price.  These ones at Maket Hall Produce were labelled as bushberries, grown in California, though the receipt listed them as black raspberries.

I did some research and found that bushberry is basically an overarching term for any berries that grow on bushes like raspberries, blackberries, thimbleberries, etc.  So they were bushberries, but what kind?   Black raspberries taste nothing like raspberries or blackberries, which fit this case, but they don’t grow in California.  Finally, I pinpointed the taste, like something between grape gummy candies and artificial blue raspberry flavoring.  Further research indicates that they are blue raspberries, also known as blackcap or whitebark raspberries or, confusingly, sometimes also called black raspberries.  They are delicious and should be tried.  I never knew that blue raspberries were real, and am even more surprised that the artificial flavoring is a decent approximation of the real thing.

The other “fake” fruit I bought that day was a pint of “champagne grapes.”  They’re little tiny, seedless, purple grapes on small-stemmed, tight, but large clusters.  They are nothing like real Champagne grapes, which are primarily pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay.  Though they are a bit more difficult to eat than large grapes and not nearly as pleasing to bit into, but the taste is worth it.  This was the final of my fake fruit quandaries; they are called “champagne grapes” as nothing more than a disingenuous marketing tool.  They are actually an ancient Greek cultivar, known as Black Corinth.

Posted under Ingredients

We are excited to welcome the Lamorinda community to our website.

How much time do you spend wandering through the boxes of wines at Jackson’s Wine & Spirits or debating between a $10 and $16 bottle at BevMo wondering if it’s worth the extra $6? Too bad there’s no public agency to evaluate wine and spirit deals in Lamorinda.

Now there is. The Lamorinda Wine Society is delivering unbiased appraisals of the wine deals in Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda. We scour the local wine shops for the best deals on wine and spirits and find out about local events. Check out our deals below and then read a bit about us.

Take a peek at our Wine School and The Notebook, full of information on many aspects of the world of wine and spirits. The Kitchen is where we keep our food-related articles. Information on the wine shops mentioned can be found at the end of this document.

Top Red Wine

Querceto L’Aura Chianti Classico

Full of black cherry and black plum, this wine has a great backbone. A wonderful accompaniment to red meat, which really brings out its earthy notes. As the wine opens up it becomes considerably more generous and supple. Finding a great Chianti Classico for this price is nearly impossible. Here’s a great one, just make sure to give it time to open up by decanting it and then pouring small pours into large glasses at least a few minutes before serving.

Top White Wine

2006 Dancing Coyote Albarino

This is an amazing wine for the price. Though it is full-bodied, it is also very crisp, with fresh acidity and a fruity aroma. Like a bowl of lemons and passionflower. The interesting duality of being crisp enough to go with seafood, yet full-bodied makes it ideal for scallops, lightly sauteed in butter; buttered swordfish steaks. It is also versatile enough to pair with both oysters and heavy cheeses.

Top Spirit

Prunier Axel Gay

Prunier is not one of the best known of the Cognac houses, but their Axel Gay Cognac, from 100% Grande Champagne grapes, is phenomenal, as good as many Cognacs two or three times its price. Many Jackson’s regulars already know about this great find, because they push it, and deservedly so. Currently, Bevmo has it for a bit less than Jackson’s.

How it works:

Please note that we do not include deals that are simply lower prices or sales on commonly known wines and spirits. For instance, Silver Oak is a well-known winery and we will not include a $55 bottle of Silver Oak in our deals, just because it is the best price in Lamorinda. Similarly, we will not carry items like Wild Turkey, just because it is on sale for $14 somewhere. Instead, we try to bring you deals that are a bit harder to find than just comparing prices. Please let us know if you find something we have here for cheaper at another source in Lamorinda.

Posted under Local Picks