May 22nd, 2008 by phil
Only in South Africa would you see this kind of innovative wine pricing strategy. Pieter Walser, owner/winemaker of BlankBottle has released a white blend called “Moment of Silence,” and sent out 20 cases of the wine to customers and asked them to evaluate the wine and pay what they thought it was worth. While the value got up to 90R or $11.75, the average price was around 50R or $6.50. Pieter is now selling “Moment of Silence” for 40R so that the wine delivers the goods. What do you think, is this purely a marketing gimmick or a genuine way to create fair pricing for a new wine?
Here’s a quote from one customer that speaks volumes, “With all that, we decided that if we buy the wine on the market in a retail shop, we will pay R65 a bottle. However (and I hope you don’t feel cheated here), since your motto is to over deliver on quality and want to keep prices affordable, buying from the winemaker direct, we settled on R55.”
I would love to see that happen with some of the California cult cab and pinot producers! Cheers to Pieter and BlankBottle.
Tags: , south africa, Wine, Wine Industry
May 8th, 2008 by phil
Last night, Nirvino kicked off May with another Monthly wine tasting event, The Heavy Pour. With 17 wines on tap, the juice flowed with reckless abandon.
In the far corner, folks flocked and you might have overheard more than once “I heart Hartwell!” as Christian and Jona poured their liquid gold. What a gift to have the 06 Sauvignon Blanc and the 04 Reserve Cab.
John Wilkinson, wine grower, wine maker and overall wine empresario was manning the vino pulpit with three magnificent red blends. Preach it brother John, we’re loving it. Next to John, it was hard to miss the charming miss Jamie and miss Michelle pouring Mondavi’s brand new food friendly Solaire Chardonnay and Cab, paired up with some great cheeses. For all the lazy youtube fans like me, check out this short video on Solaire.
Across the room, window to his back, Sewell enthusiastically poured deep with a heavy hand not one, not two, not three but four of his Hatcher wines. What a great Barbera! Holding down the middle of the room were Scotti “The Fisher Man” from Fisher Vineyards pouring an excellent Cab and Chard and Robert from Four Vines who had more than myself saying I’m feeling like a Heretic.
Finally, it was GastronomicDiva, with the big May win for most wine reviews! A 750 of 1999 Dom Perignon. See, writing witty and insightful wine reviews does pay off.
So thanks to Wine Bar and Store for hosting the Nirvino wine hooligans. A special “we can’t thank you enough” thanks to all the incredible wine makers and representatives for pouring heavy and staying late. Thanks to Sarah, Bill and Justin for helping everyone get signed in and excited to drink. And finally thanks to all the loyal Nirvino members for coming out and doing what you do so well, drinking and socializing. Below, you’ll find some pretty pics of yourself courtesy of Bennet Sell-Kline.
May your glass always be Half Full,
Phil, Meli and Christian
Event Photos:
May 5th, 2008 by phil
This past Wednesday, Nirvino kicked off an early celebration of Cinqo de Mayo with a Nirvino House Party celebrating the wines of Spain. Below there are some photos, as you can see everyone had a great time enjoying the wine and food. A big thanks to Brenda for sharing her home and friends with Nirvino.
Here’s a list of the wines we tasted:
NV Pere Ventura Brut Cava
2006 El Hada Viura Rueda Verdejo
2005 Bodegas Castano Hecula Yecla Monastrell
2005 Bodegas Ochoa Garnacha Blend
2005 Bodegas Numanthia-Termes Termes Tempranillo
Tags: , house party, Nirvino, Wine
Sarah: We will miss you and Dan at the Gran Crew dinner tomorrow night! We'll let you know if ...
chef Vincenzo Esposito: I will try it Great thanks!!!! also great wines I was born in Viterbo and that is Wine ...
Camie: This would be an awesome practice to see adopted for California wines. I really dont ...
Sarah: Cool pics! Last night was so much fun!
Sam: Local venue hit the spot! The people were nice and Frias was quite nice. Manolo (Frias ...