The Best Wine Classes

Thousands of folks attend our critically acclaimed 101 wine class. It's a great class, and it will teach you a lot. However, if your goal is to learn about wine and try some really amazing wines, you should attend a few classes from our "Premier Cru" series. At that level, you are getting wines that have been aged in our infamous wine cellar and are often worth more than you pay for the class.

While teaching class recently, it dawned on me that the wine I was pouring for everyone was worth more than they paid for the class (a one ounce pour would have cost $60!). Things like that happen quite a bit: we are a school, so profit isn't a major concern.

Here are a few classes I know will be amazing:

Friday, March 12th
Main Line Classroom
Châteauneuf du Pape to Côte Rôtie

Friday, April 16th
Bacchus Classroom
Chateauneuf-du-Pape & Beyond

Friday, May 7th
Bacchus Classroom
Barossa & Beyond

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How to get a $600 wine certification for $125

We all love a good deal. Here is how you can save a huge amount of money and still earn one of the most respected wine certifications around:

1. Register for the Cru Club (see the write up on the bottom left). This gives you $300.

2. Register for the Foundation Program starting on Monday, March 22nd. The school is offering it at a discounted rate of $525, which is a $70 discount.

3. Get the rebate. If you pass the program (most do) you will get a $100 rebate upon request.

Not bad, eh? The School never offers discounts on its programs, so I would suggest taking advantage of this.

How to get $1200 worth of certifications for $200.

This is not a trick that most folks can do, but if you already have a WSET certification, you are good to go!

1. Email the school and tell them you are a former WSET student. You can get up to $300 in rebates.

2. Sign up for the Cru Club, and get your $300.

3. Sign up for the Monday Core Program, which contains both Foundation and Intermediate programs. The school is offering a special discount of $800 from the usual $1200.

The most popular wine tasting club in Philadelphia is now cost-free. Better yet, we give you $300 to spend the minute you join the club.

Yeah, it seems counter productive to pay folks to join our club, but we have found that our Cru members are our most loyal students. It's worth it to make our Cru Club as attractive to you as as possible (after all, most of the 10,000 people who get this letter have either taken a Wine School class or are planning on it).

For all the details: www.vinology.com/cru

To sign up: 215-965-1514 x33

The next Cru Club event is a free tasting of Burgundy wines with the owner of Latour, Louis-Fabrice Latour. Did I mention this is an intimate wine tasting with the owner of Latour?

This is a once-in-a-lifetime event, since Monsieur Latour is only making a few stops in the USA, and the Wine School is one of them. Date: March 2nd (next Tuesday) from 7:30 to 9:30pm.

All current members should sign up at www.vinology.com/cru

All new members should have their registrations in by this Friday morning to attend.

Gallo's Humor

This week, the major media outlets continue their reports on how  E & J Gallo was duped into selling fake Pinot Noir.  Last week, a French court convicted the leaders of several wine companies in the scheme. The wine in question was actually Merlot and Syrah, which was bound for Gallo's "Red Bicyclette" brand. Poor silly little Gallo!

Gallo is being portrayed as being a somewhat inept corporation that was duped by a few winemakers and negotiants in the Languedoc region of France. However, Gallo is well known in the industry for being one of the smartest, best run wine companies in the world: a billion dollar enterprise respected for its ability to create, distribute and sell brands. This is a company that turned a brand concept (Da Vinci) into one of the best-selling brands of Italian wines in the span of five years.

Would such a company purchase millions of dollars of wine without a scrupulous audit, or without a team of wine professionals inspecting every batch? Probably not. Pinot Noir from Languedoc is of very poor quality, which is why they produce very little of it. On the other hand, the region produces an ocean of decent syrah, and does so very cheaply.

I find it hard to believe that Gallo did not know about the switch. Gallo is the king of market research: it knows people want to buy Pinot Noir, it also knows that Pinot Noir that retails for less than $10 is crap, it also knows that people who are buying Pinot Noir for less than $10 have two priorities: Price and taste.

You can't tell a bargain-hunting consumer that there is no such thing as a decent Pinot for $8. Instead of selling them horrendous wine, why not sell them something decent, even if it's not Pinot Noir? Everyone wins.

Everyone except the 12 people who were convicted of fraud last week. It's interesting that no one, not even those charged with serious crimes, has even proposed the idea that Gallo actually knew about the switch. Is it because Gallo is beyond reproach or or because Gallo wields such a huge amount of power in a crumbing economy?

Keith's Cheat Sheet

Back in the day when Jonathan Newman ran the PLCB, his Chairman's Selections were often amazing. The program is still alive, although lacking in quality control. The program still offers some great wines at stupendously cheap prices. However, the buyer has to be very careful; there are a lot of stinkers out there, too.

As a service to our loyal students, here is our internal list of the best of the best wines in the PLCB system and its Chairman's Selection program. Wines don't make this list unless they are priced below wholesale and of exceptional quality. In other words, these are the best of the best.... and the cheapest too!

Find these wines here: The NEW Wine Finder

Luxury Chardonnay

Strange trend in the PLCB is a selection of highly rated luxury Chardonnay at discount pricing. These represent the best of what California Chardonnay can be, although they are mostly in the big-big-big oak and buttery buttered butter style.

1. Talbott 2005 "Cuvee Audrey" $39.99

2. Patz and Hall 2006 Hyde Vineyard $29.99

3. MacRostie 2006 "Wildcat Mountain" Chardonnay $24.99

4. Hyde de Villaine 2006 Carneros $38.99

5. Beringer 2006 Sbragia $26.99

Good Value Pinot Noir

Nether thought this would happen, but sure as hell it has. There is good Pinot in PA for around $20. If you are telling yourself "I know a bunch of good Pinots for under $20", then you are in desperate need of a 101 class. Some of these have been around for a while and may be harder to find, especially since I have been buying them all by the case.

1. Siduri 2007 "Sonatera" $24.99

2. Robert Stemmler 2005 Nugent Vineyard $24.99

3. Picket Fence 2006 Russian River Valley $19.99

4. Kenwood 2007 Russian River Valley $17.99

5. Gundlach Bundschu 2005 $17.99

Luxury Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa

A great deal of very good Cabernet has been dumped into the PLCB system, most likely because high-end wineries are in desperate need of cash.

1. Bacio Divino 2005 To Kalon Vineyard $49.99

2. Robert Craig 2005 Howell Mountain $39.99

3. Lail Vineyards 2005 "Blueprint" $29.99

4. Heitz 1998 Martha's Vineyard $59.99

5. Pine Ridge 2005 Oakville $39.99

6. Ramey 2006 Larkmead Vineyard $59.99

7. Rockledge Vineyards 2005 $34.99

Find these wines here: The NEW Wine Finder

Spanish

There are some excellent Spanish wines in PA right now, with a strong focus on Priorat. Not sure how or why there is a glut of wines from one of the greatest wine regions in the world, most of which is listed at the PLCB for ½ the going rate.

1. Manga del Brujo 2007 Red $13.99

2. Mas de l'Abundancia 2005 Fluminus $15.99

3. Cims de Porrera 2005 Solanes $19.99

4. Buil And Gine 2006 Priorat $16.99

5. Cellars Capafons-Osso 2004 "Mas de Masos" Priorat $39.99

Italians

Lately, the Italians have gotten very interesting, with a lot of 2003 Brunello and some single-vineyard Barolo.

1. Donnafugata 2004 Mille Una Notte $59.99

2. Caparzo 2003 Brunello di Montalcino $34.99

3. Terriccio 2005 Tassinaia $24.99

4. Michele Chiarlo 2003 Barolo Brunate $49.99

5. Luiano 2005 Lui di Luiano $24.99

Cal-ital

Glad to see a few old favorites at great prices.

1. Bacio Divino 2006 Pazzo $17.99

2. Luna Estate 2007 Sangiovese $14.99

Find these wines here: The NEW Wine Finder

Dinner Whites

Good quality that will do quite well whenever a white wine is called for.

1. Pieropan 2007 Soave Classico $12.99

2. Source 2006 Gamble Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc $12.99

3. Nepenthe 2007 Sauvignon Blanc $9.99

Fun, Dumb, and Delicious: the Whites

Great for folks who don't drink often. Top-notch wines for newbies.

1. Pillar Box 2007 White $6.99

2. Hedges 2007 CMS $7.99

3. Pirie Estelle 2007 Tasmania $9.99

Find these wines here: The NEW Wine Finder

Fun, Dumb, and Delicious: the Reds

These are the easiest drinking bunch of quality wines I have ever seen. Fruit bombs!

1. Rolf Binder 2006 "Hales" Shiraz $15.99

2. Bleasdale 2005 "Bremerview" Shiraz $11.99

3. X Winery 2006 Spring Mountain Merlot $14.99

Serious (but cheap) Reds

These are very well made and offer up some varietal and regional typicity. Serious wines but at a very good price.

1. Columbia Crest 2005 "Reserve" Syrah $12.99

2. Domaine de la Soleiade 2007 Vacqueyras $12.99

3. Wolf Blass 2005 "Gold Label" Cabernet Sauvignon $15.99

Cabernet/Syrah

Personally, I think this blend is intrinsically flawed. These wines don't make it into the school cellar often. However, these five are so good they almost change my opinion. Almost.

1. B Cellars 2005 Blend 25 from Napa $29.99

2. Bacio Divino 2006 Vagabond from Napa $29.99

3. Hall 2005 Darwin from Napa $19.99

4. Antiyal 2006 Kuyen from Chile $16.99

5. Parson's Flat 2005 Shiraz/Cabernet from Australia $19.99

Find these wines here: The NEW Wine Finder

Keith Wallace is the Grand Poo-bah of Wine. Woo!

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