Obscure and Offbeat « Plonk Blog

The Rundown on Wine Clubs!

Wondering what the differences are between winery and retail store wine clubs? Check out this video on Whisked Foodie for the rundown on wine clubs!

Talking Turkey Day with Tom Leykis!

Click here to listen to Plonk’s Etty Lewensztain talk Thanksgiving wine pairings on the awesome wine radio show: The Tasting Room with Tom Leykis!

PLONK Gets Some Love From FORBES!

Jeff Lefevere, the brilliant mind behind the fabulous wine blog, Good Grape, features Plonk Wine Merchants in his round-up of the top eight wine e-commerce sites for unique and interesting wines! Click here to read the full article on Forbes.com.

Here, a sneak peek at what Jeff says about Plonk:

Listen to Plonk on The Tasting Room with Tom Leykis!

Click here to listen to Plonk Wine Merchants on the radio show: The Tasting Room with Tom Leykis!

PLONK in DETAILS!!!

Click here to see what the DETAILS Magazine Blog: The Daily Details has to say about Plonk Wine Merchants!

PLONK in Daily Candy!

Click here to check out PLONK’s springtime guide to great wines under $25 in Daily Candy!

Tasting Table Gets Plonked!

Click here to view Tasting Table’s recent feature on Plonk Wine Merchants!

Spotting Insane Values on Restaurant Wine Lists

One of the questions I get asked most frequently is how to choose a good, affordable wine from an endlessly long wine list. There are all sorts of ridiculous myths out there that propose solutions to this quandary. My favorite is: choose the second least expensive wine from the list.

Take my advice and do not follow this suggestion as it will leave you thirsty and terribly underwhelmed. Instead, check out an article I wrote recently for The Wine Cellar Insider on how to navigate restaurant wine lists to spot insane values.

Three little tips to keep in mind:

1. Choose wines from overlooked regions
2. Skip over familiar grape varieties
3. Ask the sommelier what he/she would order

Check out my article here!

The Allure of the Obscure

I recently contributed an article to a great Bordeaux-centric website called The Wine Cellar Insider. Ironically enough, the topic of my post was not the famed wines of Bordeaux, but Europe’s more offbeat and obscure offerings – things like Assyrtiko from Santorini in Greece, Blaufrankisch from Burgenland in Austria, and Frappato from Sicily in Italy.

I’m not at all suggesting that classics like Bordeaux, Barolo, and Rioja be overlooked or forgotten, but with so many intriguing indigenous grapes hailing from all sorts of cool little pockets throughout the old world, there is much to be had in the way of discovery.

Check out my article here!

Jelly Donuts and Grenache?

A general wine pairing rule of thumb that never seems to fail is matching fried food with champagne or any other sparkling wine for that matter. Bubbles (CO2) interact really wonderfully with fat, which is why champ might be the first thing that comes to mind when looking for an apt pairing for fried Hannukah fare: potato latkes and jelly donuts.

Well I was at a Hannukah party recently and to my dismay, there was no bubbly to be found. I did, however, happen to bring a bottle of Dashe Grenache from the Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma and by absolute default, discovered a revelatory pairing.

Dashe Grenache is one of California’s best kept little secrets, with only 200 cases produced. We’re talking serious limited production here. The wine’s vibrant raspberry fruit mirrored the raspberry jelly in the donuts perfectly, and its prickly acidity worked magic on the latkes.

If you have any Hannukah parties left on your agenda, score yourself a bottle of Dashe Grenache to see this pairing come to life!