What did I drink in 2008?

This post is in the category of “why would anyone care?”  But I’m still writing it. Posts like this serve the purpose of letting you into my personal life's habits and decisions.  I also need to justify to myself that it was worth noting down each bottle of wine I consumed at home during 2008.  Yes I did.

At times I accumulated as much as a dozen empty bottles on the kitchen counter waiting to be added into the database. I was threaten multiple times by my wife that if I did not remove these empty bottles, that she…. blah blah blah :-)  I was able to sustain these threats and this past weekend, equipped with one of the best pieces of software ever created (MS Excel), I finally cleaned out the kitchen counter of all the empty bottles. 

I’ll save you from graphs and charts, here’s just some basic data on my wine consumption for 2008:

Bottles consumed: 94 (46 Whites, 42 Reds, 6 Rose)
Top countries: USA, Portugal and France
Top regions: Alentejo and Verde (Portugal), Burgundy (France), and Paso Robles (California)
Top varietals: Pinot Noir, Alvarinho, Chardonnay, Petite Sirah.  Many wines were blends.
Average bottle cost: $16
Most expensive: $36 (2006 Orin Swift’s Napa Valley The Prisoner)
Least expensive: $6 (Quinta do Cabriz Colheita Selecionada)
Closure type: 96% cork, 4% screwcap
Bottles corked: 2 bottles (2.1%)

My own wines are not included in this data, otherwise these numbers would be dramatically skewed. 

My goal for this year is to venture into new regions and varietals but do so while favoring wines which directly or indirectly compete with my own wines, i.e. wines from cool climate regions in the $13-$19 range.

*Picture:  My recycling bin taken with the incredible Motorola Razr phone.

Comments

[Nuno Capataz]

That's an average of 1.8 bottles per week. Not too shabby. Which ones were your favorites, and for that matter, least favorites?

[Marco Montez]

Hey Nuno,
It wouldn't be polite for me to point out and "talk down" wines from other more respectful winemakers. But I will tell you that one of my favorite wines last year was the Muros Antigos Alvarinho. Made by Anselmo Mendes, one of my most favorite Portuguese winemakers. $13 at Freita's in New Bedford's South End. Um vinho verde frutado perfeito para acompanhar mariscos e saladas. How about that? :-)

[Nuno]

That works... Freitas here I come!

[Ben]

Hi Marco - Any standouts from the Alentejo? I want to try some trincadeira-based wines from the region. It's a big grape in southern Portugal, but I can't remember the last time I've had this varietal.

[Marco Montez]

Hi Ben, standouts from Alentejo? Yes, Adega Cortes de Cima.
I tried two of their wines, the “Cortes de Cima” red and the “Chaminé”. This last one contains a very small amount of Trincadeira. I believe that they also make a 100% Trincadeira but I have not found it here in the local stores. In fact, not even sure if its imported into the US.
Thanks for reading and let me know if you find a 100% Trincadeira from any producer.

[1WineDude]

And I thought that *I* had a heavy recycle bin at the end of the week!

[Ben]

Marco, I've found a couple of 100% trincadeira wines at Chaves Market in Fall River. Chaves has a great Portuguese wine selection. If you go, be sure to try one of my favorites, the "Palestra" Douro. It's a unique Douro in that there's no Touriga National and it's an outstanding wine (and a great food wine) at only $5-6. The "Berco do Infante" is another well made value wine.

I had the Chaminé last summer - it's good!

[Carrie Jorgensen]

Hi Marco! How nice to see our (empty!) Chaminé wine bottle in your rubbish bin!
I can confirm that our 100% Trincadeira varietal is as like all our varietals, not produced every vintage. The last vintage produced was 2004
and this is already sold out at the winery, and NO, I am afraid, it never made it to the USA - the Portuguese drank it all! We plan to release a small lot of Trincadeira 2008, probably in 2010, it's still in barrel!

[Marco Montez]

Carrie,

Thank you so much for following up. We'll have to find a way to get a few bottles of your 2008 Trincadeira over the "river" for us to enjoy here in the US.

All the best,
Marco