Wines for July 4th

I hope everyone enjoys a happy and celebatory July 4th. It’s a bit last minute we know.  So here’s 5 picks from our local Safeway (if you live in Southern California, it’s Vons)….sorry no time to find a local Kroger/Ralph’s and Costco before a holiday scares me. I’ve left off most of the usual suspects so to speak.  I think we all know if Mondavi, Gallo, Franzia or Chateau St Michelle works for us, right?

I've talked a lot about how pricing of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon has gone into the stratosphere.  What seemed to be $45 when we opened Uncorked Ventures, now seems to be sitting around $65.  Sure, the local tech industry has exploded, which helps drives pricing and increases in California wine consumptions among the naveau rich in China helps explain it a bit as well, but Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon has gained a foothold as a luxury item to be sure.  That's why a retail $30 Napa Valley Cabernet, even made in these large quantities is nice to see.  Marked down under $20 for us locally, Napa Cellars offers one of the most affordable looks into the 2013 Napa Valley vintage, called one of the best by winemakers not because it was perfect, but because it was balanced in such a way that winemakers truly could make any decision that they wanted in regard to when to harvest their grapes. For the first time in perhaps two decades, you're getting exactly what winemakers chose in the 2013 vintage, weather was not at issue, not at all.

 Gnarley Head has definitely begun to show up at every grocery store and drug store in America. To my knowledge, it's the first wine brand to actually be shipping Old Vine Zinfandel at these prices (about $12 these days, about $8 originally).  Based out of Lodi, it's a nice opportunity to show what old vine Zin actually looks like-the vines are literally gnarled and grown onto themselves. Aged at 35 years or more, these are vines that I do think deserve to be called old vines, it's a good wine at a more than fair price.

The Prisioner is a red wine blend from Napa, consistently scored in the low 90 point range-the nice thing about bringing wines for July 4th in my opinion is that it's fun to bring stuff to start a conversation at times.  The guy in chains on the wine bottle? That's get a chuckle, or at least a comment from most everyone around. We see this priced at $40 online, but our local Safeway again had it on sale for about half that-an especially good deal at a price point that grocery stores, I don't believe sell very well.

Insurrection: the first time I've seen this bottle-it's something I would have picked up, based on the label alone. From Australia, which I would have noticed after seeing the Shiraz listed on the front, instead of the French or American Syrah. It's a Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon blend. Prototypically Aussie in flavor profile, bigger is better….hey they fooled someone at my local Safeway….for July 4th-who puts an Aussie wine on an endcap?

If you haven't noticed as of yet, I think Zinfandel is probably the best choice for a BBQ-so I had to include what amounts of the classic version from Sonoma.  Seghesio is a multi generational family owned winery (and are really, really nice people when you meet them at trade events, even if you're someone like me and my wine of the month club that doesn't fit for what they're doing, or what we're doing) and the Zinfandel offers a slighter touch than that of the Gnarley Head, or most others.  There's a sense of finesse here that isn't always evident with the varietal. At 92 points from Wine Spectator and $24 retail…..it can easily be the best wine you open with your non wine geeky friends on the 4th of July-and it'll make everyone happy.