Sneak behind the scenes of our latest featured collection. Above: Turleygirl sizes up the work ahead of her.
Christina Turley is our latest guest curator for a collection of wines near and dear to her heart: Zinfandel. The eldest (yet shortest) daughter of Turley Wine Cellars founder Larry Turley, Christina learned to say Zinfandel before she could even walk. Yet with an endless hunger for adventure and perhaps a hint of rebellion, Christina’s life has not been all Zin all the time. She began her career by jumping into the wine pool on the opposite side from the family business - as a sommelier in New York’s europhilic restaurant world where she ultimately became the Beverage Director for the Momofuku Restaurant Group. Over those years she joined the Grüner brigade, Burgundy bandwagon and praised the Vouvray rapture. Her New York nurture soon gave way to her California nature. In 2010, she returned to her Zinfandel roots and joined her family’s Turley Wine Cellars. As Christina often says about her homecoming, “old vines, young love.” Over the past five years she has been both a devout student and a dedicated ambassador of Zinfandel, heritage vineyards and California’s rich winemaking tradition.
As a dear friend and regular drinking companion of Miss Turleygirl, I can tell you firsthand she is one of the most open-minded and inquisitive wine drinkers I’ve ever met. She prejudices no grapes or regions. Her eyes light up for quality, character and history. She simply wants delicious wines that are true to themselves. In the case of Zinfandel, this means juicy berry flavors, the hit of pepper on the nose, and a liberal dose of spiciness. Zinfandel should not be flavor shy: it is a dense and energetic grape that should taste similarly intense and alive in the glass.
We started with a high bar of excellence to curate this collection. Christina gave me her wish list of the Zinfandel producers she most admires. I tapped the Delectable community for their most loved bottles and then whittled the list down to twelve wines, each from different wineries. And to throw out any bias, I threw the wild card of blind tasting into the mix. Bottles expertly disguised in aluminum foil, I donned my best poker face and tasted Christina through the wines. We evaluated each for the following criteria:
Is this a well-made wine? Is it balanced? Are there any off flavors or aromas? Is it Zinfandel-correct? Does it embrace and do delicious things with Zinfandel’s characteristic fruitiness and spiciness? Does it have unique character? Big-flavor grapes like Zinfandel can easily get blown out to taste pretty generic. We’re looking here for an alluring and unique sense of place and personality. Who would love this wine? Delicious is subjective, and even in its varietally-correct and well-made form, Zinfandel styles range greatly. Some have a rusticity that is the bees knees to old world wine drinkers. Others pack the juicy punch that new world wine drinkers crave. They don’t all have to be for everybody, but to make the cut, they need to be great for somebody. What do you think this costs? We want to suss out the wines that over deliver on both deliciousness and price. If a wine receives a passing grade for quality and character, but is far more expensive than it tastes, it gets axed. Conversely, bonus points for wines that drink above their price class. Where do you think this is from? Turley works with fruit from vineyards all over the state, so Christina has the ins and outs of California Zinfandel dialed. We want to make sure the wine is reflective of its region and climate. Sonoma Mountain has a very different profile than Paso Robles - in the best made wines, those differences come through.
After tasting back and forth through the twelve contender wines, we arrived with very purple teeth at a collection of six shining star bottles. Plus a bonus bottle of Christina’s favorite new Turley for good measure.
Fear not the sword! Check out Wine Library’s great tutorial on sabering featuring none other than the King of SabertownUSA (and guest curator of our brand new Bubbles! feed) Patrick Cappiello.
We love launching new features with a bang. Or in this case, a pop. Today we released two brand new, hotly requested features: #hashtags and @mentions.
#hashtags: Truth be told you were already using them ;) Now tapping a hashtag will generate a custom feed of all the wines that have been tagged the same way. It’s a wide-open field, and we can’t wait to see how you hashtag.
@mentions: Want to send a personal note? Tag other Delectable members in your wine reviews and comments using the @ symbol.
To kick off the party properly we asked our favorite demon-slayer-sword wielding sommelier Patrick Cappiello to share his favorite bubbly bottles and teach us how to behead them safely.
Inspired to test your own swordsmanship? Please remember to always practice safe sabering with these rules:
RULE 1: Sparkling wine only! It’s the pressure of the bottles that helps catapult the cork out of the bottle
RULE 2: Remove the foil and cage . The cage secures the cork in the bottle, so from this point on, consider the bottle a loaded gun. Keep your hand on the cork until sabering time.
RULE 3: Aim away from people and breakables. The cork can go flying pretty far and with great force. Don’t shoot an eye out!
RULE 4: Use the dull edge of the blade . The sharp side can chip at the glass and the glass will dull your knife.
RULE 5: Sweep knife nearly flush with the bottle and follow through!
RULE 6: Find the cork. You wouldn’t leave a piece of broken glass on the ground now would you?
RULE 7: Do not drink directly from a sabered bottle. This is not how you want to win a Darwin award.
Bonus tips:
The bigger the sword the better. Yes, we’ve seen people “saber” with an iPhone. We don’t recommend it.
The colder the bottle, the less wine you’ll lose
It may take a couple tries. Fret not. And while you’re perfecting your swoop, remember Rule 3: Aim away from people.
Wishing you all happy holidays and an epic New Year!
Over the past couple of years of Delectable community members worldwide sharing their memorable wine times, we’ve discovered what’s most exciting in wine right now. To put it all into context, and hopefully to inspire your next bottle, we couldn’t be more delighted to debut our latest feature: curated wine categories.
Compiled by in-house experts and with guest contribution from our rockstar Wine Pro community, these feeds are designed to help you get to know new categories of wine. You can see the categories in the bar across the top of your app— swipe to the left and right to explore. We will refresh the categories often so you’ll always have something new to discover.
Our grand-opening collection highlights winter and holiday-inspired wines:
Thanksgiving: This year we’re giving thanks for quirky grapes. From juicy Frappato to rich Vermentino, there are so many lesser-known varieties that make memorable pairings with the classic Thanksgiving meal. Since the turkey is the same year after year, why not add a little adventure in your glass? Check out the collection for some recommendations of both white and red wines perfectly suited to accompany a Turkey Day meal.
Beaujolais, guest curated by Rajat Parr: There is no doubt Beaujolais is one of the most loved regions amongst Delectablers, and legendary sommelier Rajat Parr is both the most knowledgable and enthusiastic Beaujo-lover we know. We’ve tapped his brilliant wine brain to tell us a bit more about his go-to Gamays.
Nebbiolo: Tis the season of cool air, fall flavors and truffles, and thus a perfect time for one of wine’s great kings: Nebbiolo, specifically from its homeland of Piedmont, Italy. With selections ranging from a casual, perfect burger wine to Barolo’s most sought-after producers, we reveal the diversity of climates, soil, types, wine style and price points.
Table Wine: Drinking like a pro isn’t just about the fancy stuff, it’s about finding killer bottles at any price. We’ve tapped the expertise of our pro community to find both crowd favorite and hidden gem “Vins de Soif” aka “Wines for Thirst.” These are gulpable, delightful wines that consistently over-deliver for the price.
Agriculture + Math + Design + Exploration = Delectable
Since our first launch back in 2012, you’ve seen us in a few different forms. As we looked to our roots to develop the new features for version 4.1, we also dug deep to define who we are, what we believe in and how to express that visually.
Our logo in progress: drawing upon natural forms, radial symmetry, structural balance, cardinal directions
Our mission from the start has been to build technology that makes the world a more delicious place. Our new logo symbolizes the specific way we bring this mission to life.
It is modeled as a rose, which is not only the familiar flower, but also a form found in math, design, and exploration. Our Rose is a blend of these four rose forms, each symbolizing a core part of how we work to make the world more delicious:
Agriculture
First and foremost, Delectable is about delicious things. And delicious things are natural! Whether they grow completely wild, or are cultivated, blended, and transformed by human hands, edible things all start from the earth. The agricultural world is the heart of our mission and the heart of our symbol.
Math
Our Rose form is based on a stylized rhodonea curve, otherwise known as a mathematical rose. This symbolizes our data-driven approach to deliciousness. We aggregate, organize, and analyze information to help connect people with delicious experiences.
Design
Like a rose window in architecture, we aim to illuminate and give visibility and color to the world of new possibilities.
Exploration
Inspired by a compass rose, we help people to navigate through the many possibilities and empower them to chart their own journey through deliciousness. The world of wine is not flat, and we have aimed from the start to help you explore its vastness with confidence and excitement.
The Delectable Rose is a shape that reflects the things we deeply care about, and the way we work. As we continue on our mission we hope it comes to represent those delicious moments that make life fun. We are excited to continue our journey under this new banner and we hope you like it too. In the words of our fearless Founder & CEO Alex Fishman: “There is no limit on delicious!”
With one of the fastest and most furious harvests in California’s winemaking history already wrapped up for many wineries, the Napa earthquake on August 24th already feels like a lifetime ago. While mother nature makes swift moving on a requirement for anyone in the agricultural business, the loss of wine and damage to barrels, equipment, buildings and homes still remains. Clean up and repairs are still underway, happening for many in the slim windows of downtime during this record-condensed harvest.
Farmers and winemakers are a tenacious lot, and we were honored to be able to help fortify their strength through the #DrinkNapa campaign. Thanks to all of your support, we’re happy to announce the results of our fundraising efforts:
In just 14 days you helped us:
Support 66 different wineries thought the Napa and Carneros regions
Raise $1024 for Napa Community Health Clinic Olé
While our own #DrinkNapa campaign has come to a close, we certainly encourage you to keep on supporting the area. There are a number of wonderful charities supporting the recovery of Napa’s community and businesses, and we know they’d appreciate your support just as much as we have:
Photo: Bouchaine Vineyard cellar post-quake. Courtesy of Andrew Brooks
In support of #DrinkNapa, we will automatically apply 1¢ shipping and a $1 donation for every bottle of Napa wine sold via Delectable through 9/9.
At 3:20am Sunday morning, a 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit Napa Valley. With its epicenter in the Carneros region of southern Napa, many of us in the valley woke in terror as windows blew out and belongings crashed to the ground. Over the past few days, sentiment throughout the Napa Valley has been one of overwhelming gratitude. If a quake like this had struck during waking hours, the cellars would have been filled with workers and devastation would have been far worse.
Still there is much recovery ahead. A number of wineries suffered severe damages in the earthquake, and we don’t know the full scope of injuries and loss at this point. While we don’t know everything that we can do quite yet, we do believe there is a simple act that will help to support our friends and neighbors in the Napa community: drink Napa wine.
Delectable is joining the #DrinkNapa movement to help lend visibility to Napa wines and support the Napa earthquake recovery. We hope you’ll join us.
How will #DrinkNapa help? Wineries and vineyards are the life-force of Napa Valley. They come in all shapes and sizes, and each one navigates a tough and often precarious agricultural business. Buying and drinking Napa wines supports the recovery of wine businesses, employees and the Napa Valley community as a whole.
We will be drinking Napa ourselves this month. And we want to do our small part to make it easy for people across the country to drink Napa too. Here’s what that means:
For every Napa (and Carneros) wine purchased via Delectable though 9/9:
We pay the shipping. Well, legally we have to charge 1 cent. But we will cover the rest.
We donate $1 per bottle to Napa quake relief efforts through ClinicOle, a Napa community clinic providing crisis counseling and health services to all affected by the earthquake.
We take no profit. The price you pay for Napa wine will be passed along our supply chain*
We will do our best to highlight wines from wineries who suffered direct damage in the earthquake. This list is evolving as cleanup progresses, so our set of highlighted wines will change as we learn more. You can find these wines in two places:
#DrinkNapa wine list. Featuring wineries whose wine or facilities were significantly damaged in the quake. Find the list in the “Search” tab of the app by tapping the magnifying glass icon.
Delectable Wine account will feature a different wine from an affected winery every day. Find and follow our account by going to the “Search” tab of the app (magnifying glass icon) and searching for “Delectable Wine” in People.
In the coming weeks, please consider shopping, drinking, and sharing Napa wines, whether through Delectable or any of your favorite places to buy wine. And if you’d like to consider supporting Napa relief efforts more directly, we’ve provided information on a few organizations below.
More Ways to Help We will update here and on Twitter and Facebook as we learn of additional funds and outreach efforts. Financial donations are being accepted by:
ClinicOle ClinicOle is a community health clinic for Napa residents and migrant workers. In collaboration with Aldea Children & Family Services, they are providing crisis counseling and health services to all affected.
American Red Cross Disaster Relief The American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund supports the Napa Chapter of the Red Cross who has been providing emergency shelter, meals, water and care for earthquake victims.
Napa Earthquake Volunteer Fund Modus Operandi Cellars’ Winemaker Jason Moore is coordinating meals & childcare for those helping to tackle the extensive clean-up work at affected wineries throughout the valley.
Affected wineries: please reach out! If your winery has suffered earthquake damage, please contact Julia Weinberg ([email protected]) so we can help!
*A note about direct sourcing We don’t feel that it’s right to profit on wine we sell in support of #DrinkNapa. So we pledge to pass our margins along the supply chain. However, if you know the wine industry, you know that supply chains are really complicated. We always do our best to source directly from producers, but may place orders with retail partners for states where direct shipping is not allowed.
The first ever Hungarian Wine Games are underway today in New York city. A rising-star wine region of the past couple of years, Hungary is in fact one of the oldest wine-producing areas in the world.
Discover the gems through the Hungarian Wine: Back With A Vengeance account on Delectable and learn more about the rich history of the region from our favorite Hungarian wine guru Eric Danch:
Without Hungarians, we wouldn’t have vinyl records, coffee shop culture (Café New York in Budapest was the largest and most ornate coffeehouse in the world in 1894), or the transformer (think iPhone etc…). Apart from hipster culture ceasing to exist as we know it, it is emblematic of the Hungarian mindset of creating new ways to experience the good things in life. As the gateway between East and West, Hungary has been largely defined by invasion, occupation or alliances ranging from the Mongolians, Turks, Germans, Austrians, Italians, French, Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs, Croatians and Communist Russia. Hungarian culture is the remarkable transformation of foreign influences into something uniquely their own.
Wine is no different, and perhaps the reason why they also established the world’s first wine appellation system in Tokaj – over 100 years before France. Wine is so ingrained in their identity that they are the only country to actually sing about it in their National Anthem. Due to having found themselves on the wrong side of a few World Wars and being cut off from the West during 50 plus years of Communism, these wines, much like Rodney Dangerfield (also of Hungarian descent), often get no respect. This is all changing right now. With the fall of the Soviet Union’s collectivized wine machine, reopening to foreign investment, and the expansion of the EU, Hungary along with the rest of Central Europe, is simultaneously reaching deep into the identity of its past while using a very modern lens of innovation and growth.
Despite a winemaking history that spans thousands of years, it’s only recently that artisanal producers, indigenous varieties, and the push to embrace a truly unique range of terroirs have taken center stage. The potential of its 22 distinct appellations and breadth of indigenous varieties and traditions of winemaking are only now being truly (re)discovered. The [Back with a Vengeance] producers represent an introduction to this new era.
Last fall I spent a lot of time in New York – sadly my visits fell right on either side of SherryFest 2013. While I didn’t get to join the festivities, I certainly caught the contact high. Every sommelier, every restaurant, every wine-nerd was talking, drinking and generally swooning over Sherry.
Credit for that feat goes to SherryFest founders Rosemary Gray and Peter Liem. Launched in their hometown of New York in 2012, the impetus came from both their love of sherry and their desire to help out the region and its producers. Albeit the oldest, and perhaps most treasured Consejo in all of Spain, economic turmoil over the past decade has hit the region particularly hard. Coupled with a general lack of awareness and education about sherry, many of even the most respected bodegas were in danger of shuttering their cellar doors.
So over the past few years, SherryFest has been on one hell of a mission, and this week it’s San Francisco’s turn to join in. They’ve brought 21 sherry houses and their winemakers to town for producer dinners, seminars and an epic Grand Tasting. The Grand Tasting is already at capacity, but a few tickets are still up for grabs for the seminars and closing night dinner at St. Vincent.
Learning with delicious libations for a good cause? You should be all over this San Francisco!
And for a little home study, SherryFest cofounder and author of Sherry, Manzanilla & MontillaPeter Liem has a handy primer for all below:
Peter Liem’s Ten Things to Know about Sherry
1. Most of the finest sherries are dry. Despite its popular image as a sweet wine, high-quality sherry is primarily a bone-dry wine, apart from Pedro Ximénez, Moscatel and Cream.
2. Sherry is a Spanish white wine. While many countries have produced wines labeled as “sherry”, true sherry comes only from the region around the town of Jerez, located in the province of Andalucía, in southern Spain.
3. Palomino is the most important grape variety in the sherry country. All dry sherries are made from palomino, while sweet sherries can be made from moscatel or Pedro Ximénez.
4. In cask, sherry is aged either biologically (with flor) or oxidatively (without flor). The flor is a layer of yeasts that forms on the surface of the wine in barrel, protecting it from oxygen and contributing flavor and character. Sherry aged under flor is a fino (or manzanilla, in the town of Sanlúcar); sherry aged without flor is an oloroso.
5. Sherry is made in a wide and diverse variety of styles. Sherry can be divided into dry wines (fino, manzanilla, amontillado, palo cortado, oloroso) and sweet wines (cream, moscatel, Pedro Ximénez). Dry sherry can be further divided into biologically-aged wines (fino, manzanilla), oxidatively-aged wines (oloroso), and intermediate styles that combine both types of aging (amontillado, palo cortado).
Fino: Sherry aged under flor, which imparts an inimitably saline and complex character to the wine.
Manzanilla: A flor-aged sherry, similar to fino, but matured in the town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
Amontillado: A sherry that undergoes two distinct phases of aging: it begins life as a fino or manzanilla, aged under flor, and then continues its aging oxidatively, without flor.
Palo Cortado: Another intermediate style, like amontillado, that typically combines characteristics of both biological and oxidative aging. It’s said to combine the finesse of an amontillado with the body of an oloroso.
Oloroso: A sherry aged entirely oxidatively, without flor.
Cream: A moderately sweet sherry, usually a blend of oloroso and Pedro Ximénez.
Moscatel: A sweet sherry made from the moscatel grape, with a characteristically floral aroma.
Pedro Ximénez: The sweetest style of sherry, from grapes that are partially dried in the sun before pressing.
6. Sherry is made in a solera system. The solera is a complex process that blends wines from many different vintage together, over a long period of time. Thus, the age of any given sherry is an estimated average rather than a precise figure.
7. Sherry is an aged wine. Even the youngest finos and manzanillas average two or three years of age, and most are aged even longer. The average age of many of the finest amontillados, olorosos and palos cortados can be measured in decades.
8. Sherry is best enjoyed with food. No wine in the world is more versatile than sherry when it comes to food pairing. Sherry can thrive alongside foods and flavors that kill many other wines.
9. Serve sherry in a white wine glass. While sherry is traditionally associated with a small, narrow glass called the copita, it is much better in a standard white wine glass, which allows it to express its full range of aromas and flavors. Finos and manzanillas should be served chilled.
10. Once opened, drink sherry quickly. Fino and manzanilla should be drunk within a few days of opening. Amontillado, palo cortado and oloroso should be drunk within a couple of weeks, although some can last longer. Pedro Ximénez can keep for months if properly stoppered.
Over the next several days San Francisco will be in an unabashed love affair with Burgundy. The source of this fervor: La Paulée. Alternating annually between New York and San Francisco and now in its 14th year, La Paulée has grown into a multi-day fête and may well be the most anticipated and extravagant wine event in the world.
Whether attending or drinking vicariously, keep your eyes on La Paulée to discover the wines that cement its reputation as both an epic Burgundian education and one hell of a party.
Founded and led by Daniel Johnnes, the event is his homage to the famed harvest party La Paulée du Meursault. Daniel is a legend in the wine industry, a captivating man who is equally esteemed and ebullient. La Paulée is Daniel’s baby, and as the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, those same traits are often said of La Paulée.
The lure and lore of La Paulée is unlike anything else I’ve witnessed in the wine world. Burgundy’s top winemakers are in attendance, sommeliers from around the globe flock to participate, and wine fanatics pounce as soon as tickets are released. The wines poured throughout the events are amongst the most fabled and coveted in the world. Though the wines are certainly serious, La Paulée doesn’t treat them with puritanical reverence, instead they are celebrated with unbridled joy. Such is the Burgundian way and Daniel Johnnes’.
Truth be told, we’re inclined to bust out the bubbly anytime and any day. So it’s a no-brainer that we’re hopping on board for today’s Champagne campaign.
We asked three of our favorite people, from three of our favorite spots to share one of their favorite sparklers.
Bonus: they are pouring these babies by the glass tonight - so if you’re in San Francisco, LA or New York, swing on by to say hi & give ‘em a try. San Francisco If you’re in the city by the bay, stop by Quince or Cotogna where Wine Director Chris Baggetta rocks a Champagne where red grapes reins supreme:
“At Quince, we are serving Aubry Champagne, a premier cru from the village of Jouy-les-Reims. Today the estate is in the hands of 2 twin brothers, Pierre and Philippe Aubry, who are perhaps best known for their preservation of the old “forgotten” Champagne varieties, such as Arbanne, Petit Meslier and Fromenteau, which they blend into their Pinot Meunier-based Brut Champagne. The high percentage of red grapes is felt in the wine’s rich body, and it finishes with a vibrant energy; its minerality persisting as long as the fruit flavors do!” -C.B.
Los Angeles If you’re in the City of Angels and feeling irreverent, visit Owner/Wine Director Matthew Kaner at Bar Covell for a less traditional spot of sparkles:
“It looks like a dark rosé, it has bubbles and is from Portugal. Bet you weren’t expecting that. Have it with charcuterie, have it with cheese, have it with pizza. Drink it and let your day get a little better than it was before.” -M.K.
New York If you’re in the city that never sleeps and seeking something with purity and power, NoMad’s wine director Thomas Pastuszak has just the thing:
“This is such a cool and rare find: A beautifully aromatic, powerful Blanc de Blancs coming from a family-owned estate in Ambonnay. It’s really exciting to feature this 100% Chardonnay grower champagne coming from Pinot Noir-territory, and so much fun to chat with guests about it at NoMad.” -T.P.
Photo courtesy of SherryFest
Photo courtesy of La Paulée
