WineStopperStore Blog

Don’t Cry for Argentina

2010-06-02T16:11:00.002-04:00

When wine is thought of today, many people don’t think of great wine coming from Argentina. As the number of vineyards in Argentina grows, so does the popularity of their wine in the United States. In the last year alone the sale of wine from Argentina in the United States has gone up by 29 percent. Steve Weinberg of World Wine and Spirits has said that the wine of Argentina has grown in popularity because of the great value and great quality.

Argentinean wine has gotten more praise lately because of the care and upgrading they have taken in how they make the wine and the quality of the vineyards. They have taken the time to invest in the quality of their vineyards (repeat of second part of first sentence, please change or delete). Another great advantage of wine making in Argentina is that they have a wonderfully (changed great) diverse climate. This has allowed them (changed from come) to make different tastes from different regions (added s) of the country. Now that the citizens have learned to master their climate and wine, Argentinean wines can only get better.

For more information: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-05-26/features/sc-food-0521-wine-argentine-column_1_argentine-wine-world-wine-wine-industry?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Burgers and Wine

2010-05-25T15:11:00.001-04:00

One of the most foremost expert websites on Wine is “Wine Spectator.” With summer right around the corner they have decided to pair one of the most American summer foods, burgers on the grill, with Red Wine. Jim Leiken the executive chef of DBGB Kitchen and Bar has some of the best burgers in the United States. These burgers are made from the best meat and cooked to perfection. These gourmet burgers are topped with some of the most nontraditional toppings to make some of the most liked burgers and unique flavors. Jim Leiken says, “…that his three basic burger rules are: ‘Quality meat, good seasoning, high heat.’” Make your burger grilling this summer some of the best you have ever had by following the chefs tips.

It may not seem like a typical pairing but wine can make grilling an even more enjoyable experience. The Wine Spectator offers up some of their best reviews Cabernets to match any taste you have with your burger. These bottles range from $9 to $21 so they are very affordable on any budget and with rankings all in the very high eighties they are some of the best tasting wines.

To read the full article and get a list of all the great wines: http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/42730

Georgia Wine Festival

2010-05-19T14:16:00.000-04:00

Imagine walking through a beautiful and romantic vineyard, the smells of decadent food wafting on the cool summer breeze, indie bluegrass music playing through the hills of the northwest Georgia mountains. All this beauty and fun, and only an hour north of Atlanta.

This year, the Three Sisters Vineyard and Winery is hosting the 9th annual Georgia Wine Country Festival on June 5th and 6th. The festival gives attendees the opportunity to visit a working farm winery and vineyard. For the art enthusiasts, John “Cornbread” Anderson will be showing off his folk art. Attendees can purchase local honey and blueberries from Allison’s Honey Farm. Wagon rides down the roads of the vineyard will be horse drawn, and given by wrangler and singing cowboy Les Strader. If that wasn’t enough, Treasures Within is presenting a cigar tent. Besides bluegrass, music enthusiasts will enjoy listening to every kind of music from folk to classic rock on the Crush Pad Deck. On Saturday be ready to experience Appalachian Saint Andrew's Pipe & Drum Corps, The Georgia Waybacks, and Route 66. Can’t make it Saturday? That’s okay! Sunday is just as good! Cindy Musselwhite Family Bluegrass Band and The Buzzard Mountain Boys will hit the stage.

Tickets are available at the gate, and will be twenty dollars each, which includes: wine tastings, a keepsake wineglass and all the fantastic entertainment. So remember, the first weekend of June; 10:30 AM to 6PM on Saturday, and 11 AM to 6 PM Sunday. Come for the food, the cheesecake, the wine, the view, and the smiles. See you there!

Don’t live in Georgia and can’t make it? We’ll miss you. But you can check your local state for wine tastings and music festivals.

For more information on the Three Sisters Vineyard, please go to http://www.threesistersvineyards.com .

24th Annual Sadestine Wine Festival

2010-04-20T16:43:00.002-04:00

With Spring already in full bloom and summer fast approaching, there is a definite growth in the amount of wine festivals that are coming up. When most people think of wine as coming from California, one of the nation’s biggest festivals is coming up, the 24th Annual Sandestine Wine Festival at Baytowne Warf in Florida. Over four days, April 23-25, there will be more than 600 domestic and international wines with wine tastings auctions, and glorious private dinners. Anyone can attend this event and get something out of it. There will be many opportunities to learn more about wine and to purchase the wines that are found to be to your liking at special festival pricing.

The greatest event is the Grand Wine Tasting on the 24th. One of the greatest events that allow the public to buy a ticket and try some of the 600 wines that are available from vineyards from all over the globe. The wine makers will be available to ask any questions about the wines and to take the opportunity to learn from them.

http://www.sandestinwinefestival.com/

“Learn more about wine: Buy a book”

2010-04-09T10:35:00.000-04:00

Yesterday The Chicago Tribune’s blog “The Stew” published an article called, “Learn more about wine: Buy a book.” It seems that many people today are intimated when they first go to a wine store. There are so many different kinds and so many different years. So how does one learn what kind of wine they like without spending a fortune? This article lists more than one book that they feel are good for the novice wine drinker.

After reading a book and thinking about the different flavors you would like, visit a wine tasting. Usually they are not too expensive and some liquor and wine stores offer them for anyone that comes into the store. The more wine you taste, the easier it will be to find out what you will like and what flavors are best suited for you. This will save you money and help you learn more about wine so that you too can find your favorite.

For more information: http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/thestew/2010/04/wine-books.html

“Wine is Like Smoking and Drinking at the Same Time”

2010-04-04T17:59:00.001-04:00

Today the Wall Street Journal released a new article about the 2008 Pinot Noirs coming out of California’s Anderson Valley. Apparently because of the severe forest fires of that year these wines are not up to par as far as taste. The weather in this area of California had a lot of lightning strikes that year and caused all this smoke in the air that tainted the grapes. “In wine vernacular, "smoky bacon" is a prized flavor for pinot noir. Not so is ‘wet ashtray,’ which is where the powdered sturgeon bladders come in.”

They have tried everything to get the smoke smell out, even going as far as filtering the wine. Because of this taste winemakers have been selling the wine from this year at a 50% or lower discount than what it should have been.

This just shows how much the weather can affect the taste of the wine and the price that winemakers get for it. To read the rest of the article visit the website below.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704211704575140141004748362.html

Wine for a Whole Week!

2010-03-26T20:52:00.001-04:00

Even though most people think that California is one of the only places to get good wine from in the United States, Virginia is out to prove them wrong. For the week of March 22-28, the Virginia Tourism Corp. declared the first ever Virginia Wine Week. This whole week is designed to forcast the amount of Virginia made wines. Many of the state stores that have special varieties of Virginia wine will add to their lists for the week.

Through the promotion of Virginia made wines this week, many people hope that there will be more of a focus on Virginia wineries and vineyards and not just the wines that are made in California. In 2007, the Virginia Commonwealth and Charlottesville were rated in one of the top five up and coming wine destinations worldwide in the Travel and Leisure Magazine. Hopefully more people will come to appreciate the variety of wine that comes from Virginia.

To read the full article visit: http://www.newsleader.com/article/20100326/NEWS/3260329

A Shiraz with hints of spice and Atomic Bomb?

2010-03-23T14:28:00.005-04:00

With the amount of money that is currently invested by collectors in vintage wine, there has come a great breakthrough in identifying the actual year that the wine was made. Currently in Australia scientists have developed a technique to test the amount of carbon-12 and carbon-14 in a possibly vintage wine, when the atomic bombs were being let off and tested after World War II. The difference in the amounts of carbon in the wine can be detected between different years because of the Atomic Bombs at the time.

Anyone that has taken the time to look at the prices of some of these vintage wines can understand how valuable the test is. One year off can make a bottle only worth a fraction of what the selling price is and when you can be talking about hundreds to thousands of dollars a bottle, knowing the exact year before you buy can save you a lot of money.

To read more about the testing and how it can affect the prices of your wine check out the article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100321182907.htm

Sea Stone Wine Stoppers

2009-12-08T19:09:00.000-05:00

We have started our push now to add more and more wine stoppers to continue to add value for our customers. It will be a slow and steady process, but in time we will have the largest offering of wine stoppers out there.

The first addition to our wine stopper family is the Sea Stone. The Sea Stone wine stopper is a very sturdy product that even comes with an elegant and rustic wooden base. These bases are the perfect companion for storing and showcasing the unique wine stoppers.

Did I mention that this product is created through sustainable practices, too? For every rock they use, they replace it with a new rock that is not smooth. Additionally, each wine stopper display base is made from a tree, but each time they kill a tree they plant ten new ones.

Be sure to get on our website and check them out, especially during the Holiday shopping season. We are running a deep special on them that will last through the new year. We may decide to the stop the deep discount soon, so get them at this great price while you can. Happy Holidays!

Cheers,

Walter Yehl
www.WineStopperStore.com

We have a new site!

2009-10-10T16:21:00.000-04:00

Well, it has been quite a while since I last posted on the blog. We have been in the middle of a large restructuring of the site to make it more user friendly. Some of the added functionality you see in the new site includes:

- Search function
- Ability to see multiple wine stoppers at a glance
- Cleaner appearance
- More Wine Stoppers and even some new wine racks

Furthermore, you will notice on the product view screen that there is a tab for additional images. If you want a picture of the wine stopper you purchase to be on display for the world to see, we will gladly throw it in the site for you to show it off. Check out the following example of one happy customer showing off what they got: Painted Wine and Cheese Wine Stopper. If you click that link and follow it to the additional images tab, you will see one of our satisfied customers putting their wine stopper to work!

Keep the satisfied photos coming and let me know if there is anything we can do to enhance the look and feel of the site. Our contributing writer, Ellie Mix, has been creating text and adding some good material to the site. For a good laugh, check out the description she recommended for the Painted Frog Wine Stopper.

Best regards,

Walter Yehl
www.WineStopperStore.com

Welcome!

2009-04-05T18:56:00.000-04:00

This is the first installment on the WineStopperStore blog. We will be bringing you information on upcoming sales, wine stoppers in the news (Knobstoppers!), note worthy happenings (business, political, etc), and other information pertinent to wine and or wine stoppers. Our plan is to bring you news and information that is engaging and worth your time. When we ask you what you think, please post your comments and get involved. We believe the blog will only be as good as its members participating.

To connect with our audience, we will be setting up polls to see what you like, establishing contests to create a new wine stopper, and even letting our readers bring us content of their own. So take a look around our website and blog. Read an interesting article or two, and give us your thoughts on wine stoppers.

Thank you for joining us,

Walter Yehl