The UnCorker

Niebaum Coppola Claret Commemorative Label 2006

Oh, how we’re looking forward to getting our hands on Coppola’s fun-sounding new Encyclopedia label - geared at educating younger drinkers in world varietals - with the nifty edutainment website and test-tube bottle design only sweetening the deal for us. Did we mention the uber-convenience of handling distribution through retailers such as Seven-11 and Walgreens? After all, it’s a lot of trouble to go out and find and understand such off-the-beaten-path varietals as  Tempranillo and Torrontes by drinking the actual indigenous wines on which their reputations were built - so we’re glad Francis and his people are making things easy for us. After all, the Godfather I, II, and, ok-even III, let us experience Mafia life without actually putting ourselves at risk of catching a stray bullet. But, alas, these wines are not yet available in the state of New York, so in the meantime we’re forced to stray up-label and drink Coppola’s “Diamond Collection” series of wines - including the best-selling of these, the Niebaum Coppola Claret - which is as good of $19 bottle that powerhouse marketing efforts are likely to ever land in front of you. We won’t bother to review it when Benito has done such a nice job here.

Our real question is - where is the commemorative label version of this wine? It somehow made it’s way into Snooth.com - where it sits unadorned with tasting notes or availability information and unrated. And we know Snooth wouldn’t clutter up the Internet with less-than-useful wine ratings, so we’re intrigued. Is Snooth posting phantom wines, or is this some inside California cognescenti thing that only a few Hollywood A-listers know about? And is it really a two-headed monster like the photo implies - sort of like a Diamond Collection version of conjoined twins? We love Coppola - and we especially love it when the guy commemorates. So if anyone knows where we can find this wine - please let us know. Of course, maybe it’s still in oak barrels somewhere, ahead of it’s release, and the publicists are just getting a jump on things. Either way, we wait with baited breath.

Wine on The Web: Wine Podcast Round-up

The UnCorker reviews five top wine-related podcasts!

What better way to learn about wine than with free media that’s accessible while you commute, workout, or jog. Or heck, listen along from your couch with a glass of vino in your hand… it’s all the same to us. iTunes has a plethora of wine related content at varying quality levels. The UnCorker sorts it out for you.

Continue reading Wine on The Web: Wine Podcast Round-up…

Wine on the Web: Kami no Shizuku (The Drops of the Gods)

Shizuku is approachable, a bit scruffy and rebellious, but with a pedigree inherited from his deep family roots in the wine business.  He is modeled after Bordeaux.  Issei inherits his personality from Burgundy - tight and complex, arrogant, and, well, ok let’s just say it - anal.   These are the dueling protagonists in the Japanese wine themed comic - Kami no Shizuku.  This is a wine nerd’s fantasy - a place where a cultured young lad can score babes with a bit of daredevil decanting:

The comic series is so insanely popular in Japan and Korea that the wines it mentions sell out immediately.  Obtaining a copy of this manga has become an obsession - but unfortunately nobody at the UnCorker reads Japanese.  So what to do? Spend hours with a Kanji dictionary just to experience a 2001 Chateau Mont Perat compared to the ’sweet and husky’ voice of Queen lead singer, Freddy Mercury?   Apparently there are no plans for an English translation - even though the French now have one.  The manga market in the US & UK is focused primarily on minors, who legally aren’t allowed to experience a ‘99 Richebourg in “full bloom” even if they could manage Shizuku’s high-wire aerial decanting technique - so it’s no wonder there are no plans in the works for an official published version in English.   Kami no Shizuku targets young-ish men (mostly) and women, many of who are in their thirties - with the express goal of educating them on the basics of being an insufferable old-world wine snob.   Only one option remains if you want to read this in English translation… enter the nerdy counter-culture of online comic book traders and find a “scanlation” (or unauthorized translated copy.)

Continue reading Wine on the Web: Kami no Shizuku (The Drops of the Gods)…