While I have been disconnected from my blog reading over the past few days, the folks at The Wine Cask Blog have announced the theme for the next Wine Blogging Wednesday: Regular vs Reserve.
The basic idea is to find 2 wines from the same producer and vintage; one the regular release, the other the “reserve” and compare them. Many high-end producers release their best barrels as their reserve and they are quite nice but the term doesn’t really always mean you will get a better wine. I’m looking forward to some of the more interesting choices (Yellowtail regular vs. “reserve” anyone?). Since I’m in Napa Valley right now, I will save some notes from some of my winery visits to use in this event; most likely the great Cabernet’s from the region.
All will be revealed on April 11th, although the host is requesting posts by Sunday, April 8th; hmm, I guess I will be a non-conformist and post on Wednesday like I normally do 😉
My husband and I live in British Columbia, and for the past six years we have taken a summer trip to the Okanagan to tour some of the wineries and relax. Every year we visit Hawthorne Mountain Vineyards in Okanagan Falls. Last summer we found the Hawthorne selections vs. their higher end See Ya Later selections to be better. That’s not saying the latter wasn’t good – both labels had good qualities, but overall the “regular” Hawthorne selections were a bigger hit with us. The year before (2005) was a bit of a toss-up. We always come home with at least five or six bottles of a variety of Hawthorne and See Ya Later (plus Hawthorne serves a delicious lunch with a fabulous view). We are looking forward to our return trip this summer to see what lies in store! Good luck with your comparisons!
Stacey,
Thanks for the tips on the Hawthorne wines. Since I will not get the chance to hit the store in Winnipeg before next week, I’ll have to find something else down here for comparison. I have an idea involving one of my favorite Spanish producers which should give me a three bottle comparison of roughly the same varietals.