Uncorked Ventures - An Insiders Wine Blog

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January 7, 2013 | Mark Aselstine

Welcome to 2013

It’s been a fun and exciting time at Uncorked Ventures. Yes, we still largely go silent during the holiday rush on this end since it’s all hands on deck for both shipments as well as responding to customer inquiries.

We’re back and we’re busy sorting through customer phone calls and emails which came in over the past week to ten days. We’ll be in touch with everyone as quickly as possible, we appreciate your understanding. After a busy few months, it is still incredibly important for us to get a week or two away with family to recharge and get ready for another year.

Coming Soon at Uncorked Ventures:

-Better Newsletters which are available online

-Easier re-orders for ongoing members

-Free shipping on re-orders for ongoing members

-6 new gift baskets

-Gift Certificates

-The ability to print gift messages from your computer

As always, we’d love to hear your suggestions!

By: Mark Aselstine

Jan 7, 2013 at 2:19 PM

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November 7, 2012 | Mark Aselstine

Core Wine Company 2007 Hard Core

Included in this month's Wine Exploration Wine Club Shipment:
Core Winery
2007 Hard Core
900 Cases Produced
$29 Retail
Re-Order for $(hey some stuff is for members only)

Winery Tasting Notes:
A blend of primarily Mourvedre, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah with a small amount of Grenache. 100% of the fruit is from the Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard at 3000 feet in Santa Barbara County. From low yielding vines impeccably farmed year after year. The wine was aged for 30 months in a combination of 10% new French and American barrels and 90% neutral barrels. The wine was bottled without fining or filtration. A hugely popular wine with consumers and critics. Long fermentations and barrel ageing for maximum flavor development and complexity. It hits all of the points on the palate, dark and brooding to fit its name. Enjoy this wine now or age it for 5-10 years.

Critics Notes:
Rhone Report: February 2010 - 91+ A blend of of 37% Mourvèdre, 33% Cabernet, 26% Syrah and 4% Grenache, the 2007 Core Hard Core is a serious wine with deep, rich aromas of black cherry, earth, subtle smoked meats and hints of coffee grinds. The palate is medium bodied with rich, layered fruit, vibrant acidity and a moderately tannic, long finish. I’m a fan, and the wine’s purity and balanced character make it enjoyable to drink, even at this young stage. I think it will fill in on the mid-palate and be even better in a year or two.

Why We Chose the 2007 Hard Core:
Quite simply, we were intrigued by going back to showcase Santa Barbara County and it’s new found focus on Rhone varietals. Of course, there is some trickle down from Paso Robles happening and the massive success of Rhone varietals on the central coast in general-but Santa Barbara is decidedly more than Pinot Noir, no matter what you might see in the movies. Both Matt and I found this specific wine to be expressive on the nose, as well as offering an interesting mix of structure (provided by the Cabernet and Syrah) as well as finesse. Unlike so many higher alcohol blends tend to be unapproachable, I’d think that our customers will be shocked to see an alcohol content at 14.9%. Frankly, the wine doesn’t seem like the alcohol is coming in at that level and gives another example of alcohol content hardly telling the entire story about a wine. While I agree with the Rhone Report that a bit of patience would benefit this wine, it is, in my opinion at least, a deeper wine which stands up well with food as well as by itself. Lastly, Dave Core, the owner and winemaker deserves a mention here. He was not only willing to work with us to have his wine featured in our Wine Exploration Club, but has created the type of winery that we enjoy supporting. Core Wine Company produces a range of wines from great vineyards in and around Santa Barbara and given that a phone call to the winery is often answered by Dave or his wife, definitely is family owned and operated. We think you’ll agree, the quality is top notch as well.

Nov 7, 2012 at 2:28 PM

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October 1, 2012 | Mark Aselstine

September Shipments Delayed

First our apologies.

Our September 2012 shipments have been delayed a few days due to a few conspriing factors. First, some of our partner wineries are caught in a weather crunch. It is unseasonably warm here in the Bay Area today, up to 20 degrees above normal temperatures in many ways. For wineries concerned about alcohol levels, that means getting their fruit off the vines immediately was and should be a larger concern than shipping us wine for our ongoing customers.

Secondly, the warmer than usual temperatures has made us comfortable waiting a week before shipping to customers on the west coast who are experiencing these warmer than normal temps themselves. Additionally, we'll want to allow this high pressure system to move through much of the midwest before sending wine to the midwest and east coast.

We expect to ship Monday the 8th of October and follow that up with October shipments on the 22nd of the month.

Again, we apologize for the delay and wanted to post here in case you don't receive our email notifications for one reason or another.

Warm Regards,

The Uncorked Ventures Team

Oct 1, 2012 at 10:18 AM

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September 10, 2012 | Mark Aselstine