Finally, I ended up re-stocking my stash last weekend. I chose to try a few new ones that I will chronicle here. The first up: 2005 Torre Spina Valpolicella

There are several things I wanted to write about this week.  So, I just waited until Friday and decided to put them into one post.
My wife and I met up with Dezel at the new Whole Foods to take advantage of the new wine tasting room.  We tried some wines and had a great time.  [...]

After a long day of yard work, and a soccer game, I sat down to a bottle of 2000 Bordeaux. I figured it would be my latest postand give me some much needed relaxation. However, I found a surprise when I cut the foil off the top. The top part of the cork had mold on it. Not “Oh my God” full on green so you can’t see the cork, but noticable green splotches.

What to do? Should I return it to the store? Is it probably fine, so go ahead and drink it? What say you? Anyone had green corks before?

They opened a new Whole Foods in the Fair Lakes area of Fairfax, VA. It is supposedly their new prototype store. I can see why. The fresh foods, fruits, meats, pastries, etc. are amazing. They have a wonderful wine selection as well as a tasting room. The room has about 50 bottles hooked up to a machine that gives you tastes for a fee.

I have finally wrapped up a lot of my travel for the first half of the year While in Dallas a few weeks ago, I ate at a wine bistro called Farpointe. I tried some nice wines while enjoying some great food. They have a retail shop next door with a good selection. My favorite [...]

Kim had a great post on wine cellaring. It reminded me of a tidbit I heard a while back that I would like to get your thoughts on. Please, comment freely.

If you don’t have proper cellaring available, or don’t have a nice wine fridge, you can try the 20 minute rule. Store reds at room temp, then throw them in the fridge for 20 minutes before serving. Whites, store in the fridge, then take out 20 minutes before serving. This should get them both to the proper temperature.

Your thoughts?

For those that don’t remember from my initial post, I am generally cheap when it comes to wine. It sometimes means I end up drinking bad wine, but many times it means I find hidden gems.

Tonight, I had to run to Target for a few items (the wife’s birthday is coming up). If you didn’t see another earlier post of mine, my local Target is now selling wine. They have an OK selection, and most are between $8-15. I picked up 2 bottles under $10. For future reference, I always tag those under10 so you can find them easily searching on the site.

I was recently out in Southern California for a work/pleasure trip. I spent one afternoon out in Temecula, which is an area southeast of LA, and north of San Diego. There are a bunch of small wineries all within 10 minutes of each other. They have their own association - http://www.temeculawines.org/. However, not every winery around there belongs. We hit 4 during our afternoon visit.

I was killing time today in between meetings and found a nice wine shop near one appointment. The Vineyard Wine Market is a nicely decorated wine shop with a decent selection. The old world meets new world decor was pleasant, especially the dog sleeping on his little bed near a leather couch in the middle of the store. Anthony, the owner, was very nice and answered all my questions.

Although the selection of cheap wines is nearly non-existent (I didn’t see any under $10 selections), there were several under $15. I decided to pick up a bottle of Coopers Creek Glamour Puss Pinot Noir 2005 to try as I almost finished my Shiraz from last night.

My job requires me to travel sometimes. This year the amount is increasing greatly. I don’t mind. Most of the cities are fun. I am currently in Atlanta. However, this trip has some downsides.