I wanted to make a list of a few good films and documentaries about wine that I’ve been surprised more people haven’t seen. So here’s a quick list along with my comments. Enjoy, and please include other wine films in the comments that you feel are worth sharing. A Year in Champagne (2015) This inside look at …
Regardless of how you’re spending this Memorial Day weekend, whether you’re boating, camping, picnicking, hiking, grilling or just sitting around in the backyard, if you’re a reader of this site then a glass of wine is also likely somewhere in those plans. So I wanted to list a few good, summery, warm weather wines that …
[CostcoWineBlog contributor Michael recently returned from a trip down under where he toured and experienced many of Australia’s awesome wineries. Here’s a report on some of the standout wines he found on his journey] Alas, some of the best Australian wine values are exceedingly difficult for U.S. consumers to experience because they aren’t exported to …
I don’t have a formal wine education and while I’ve thought about pursuing a certification of some sorts, I have acquired my limited (I think wine is a lifelong journey) but growing knowledge of wine through reading books, sampling wines and sharing wine experiences with other people (and readers of this site), especially those who …
[I contributed the following story to TheDailyMeal.com. This is a good overview on things to keep in mind whenever you are buying wine, or many other things, at Costco.] 8 Secrets to Scoring Wine Deals at Costco When buying wine at Costco, you’ll want to get the most bang for your buck by Andrew Cullen There’s nothing quite like …
While this blog is 98% focused on Costco wine, occasionally I like to branch out and cover other areas of the wine industry that seem timely or interesting to me at the moment. I’m a big fan of always exploring the full world of wine, and that stretches way beyond the areas that are most …
CostcoWineBlog was founded on a whim. I shop at Costco regularly and love buying wine there so I started to write about it online. For six years I’ve been writing wine reviews regularly, and we’ve created this awesome community of people who love finding new wines to enjoy from Costco. In short, I’m not going anywhere. …
10 Italian Wines We Love Looking for some Italian wines to try this Valentine’s Day (and beyond)? Well, it just so happens that we drank a whole lot of vino while researching our recently published book, Decoding Italian Wine. Here are 10 of our favorites, ordered from least expensive to priciest. We hope you enjoy them …
I’ve wanted to outline some of my thoughts on wine reviews and wine ratings ever since I launched this site. I’m a huge fan of wine, but my “expertise” doesn’t extend much beyond that. I don’t have a degree related to vinology, I don’t follow the weather in Bordeaux daily like serious wine nuts do, and …
Today we finally published the Italian wine book we’ve been working on for the past year. It is called “Decoding Italian Wine: A Beginner’s Guide to Enjoying the Grapes, Regions, Practices and Culture of the ‘Land of Wine.’” This has been a fun project, and really helped me gain a deeper understanding of Italian wine …
OK, here’s a tip I wanted to share with everyone. Costco lets customers take their empty wooden wine boxes (the ones that the wines are shipped in, not the display ones) just like you can take empty boxes, like they ones they typically have piled high by the check outs. Sometimes you will find them …
I’ve been running this site for several years now and it amazes me how it’s grown over the years. The idea for this site originated from a simple blog post I made about buying wine at Costco for a now defunct website that I used to maintain with some friends. That article generated 50X the …
 |
So I know this one is a little different than what we usually cover, but when I was visiting my Costco to pick out the wine I wanted to review for the site, I overheard a couple people balking at the $9.99 price tag for this one pint, nine ounce bottle of Chimay. They clearly had never tasted Chimay.
Since Chimay Blue is one of my favorite beers of all time, and feeling the desire to spread its joyfulness to more people, I bought one at the great price of $9.99 and actually say down with the Redneck Wine Guy to enjoy and review for the site. It started out a great night of beer drinking. Here are our notes. We picked up a lot of scents on the nose including caramel, honey, amaretto, clove and orange peel. It’s amazing how much is on this beer. The color was a light amber, honey color that was thick enough that you can’t see through. On the palate, we picked up noted butterscotch, caramel square, vanilla, molasses and white pepper aromas with a hint of All Spice. Finishes full with the 9% alcohol kicking in on the back palate. The beer really comes together at the end, rounding out what is clearly one of the best beer drinking experiences I think you can get. Highly recommended, and this price at Costco is very good. Purchased at Costco in: Atlanta, GA |
 |
Costco Wine Blog was featured in Consumer Reports. Here’s a link to the article “5 tips to buying good wine at bargain prices: Develop a nose for great deals”
Also note that the 2011 Kirkland Sonoma Chardonnay ($7) was named a Consumer Reports Best Buy. |
I am helping a few friends on some of wine projects, and they will be launching some very exciting stuff soon. This is a short piece they asked me to write on tips for reading a French wine label, and I figured I’d share it with everyone here as well. Enjoy.
– Andrew, Editor
 |
Reading a French wine label is a little different than reading one from the US. The labels are a bit more complex, but with a little practice and geographic research, you’ll soon be listing your favorite appellations in no time.
There are four key aspects to a French wine label that you will want to note: the vintage, the appellation, the classification and the chateau (or winemaker). |
This is because of long standing rules in those countries about which grapes can grow where. To understand what you are buying requires a bit of geographic knowledge on behalf of the purchaser. For instance, a Bordeaux from St Emilion (right bank) is going to be a Merlot based red blend, compared to a Margaux (left bank) that is going to be Cabernet Sauvignon based. The more you experiment and research these different appellations within France, the more you will know about the wine inside.
The classification of the wine means a few different things throughout France. In some areas, such as Burgundy, you will have Grand Cru wines which typically mean the wine is from the “highest” quality single vineyard, while Premier Cru means a “high” quality single vineyard, and then “Village” wines which may come from multiple vineyards. In Bordeaux you have the Classifications of 1855 that separate vineyards out into “growths.” The “First Growth” wines are some of the most prized in the world.
The Chateau (or winemaker) is another important aspect. As you embark on your wine journey, you will begin to encounter and recognize winemakers who make excellent wines, or (perhaps more importantly) wines that you enjoy. Often times a second bottle (or second label, meaning the lesser wine) from a top winemaker is a better quality than a grand cru from a lesser known winemaker.
Note: If you enjoyed these quick tips, take a look at my French wine book, Decoding French Wine: A Beginner’s Guide to Enjoying the Fruits of the French Terroir. It’s available in Kindle and paperback formats. Just click on the cover below.
