Year: 2006

Label: Vines On The Marycrest

Region: Paso Robles

Price Paid: $50 – $75

Rating: 4/5

If you like blends, this is a really nice wine that is full bodied and rich with flavor. Comprised mostly of Zinfandel (45%) it has a nice entry and a very smooth finish. Enjoyed along side some great apps at The Cork Bar in Downtown LA.

There is no certain way to pair wine with foods, as the appropriateness of a pair is really a matter of individual perception and tastes. That said, in Wine Pairing you may find it common to have red wines paired with meats for instance or white wines paired with sea food and poultry; however it’s important to also take into consideration the wide spreading diversity of cultural tastes, foods, and societal norms. I for one do not pair white wines with any other food aside from cheese, but in some part of this world it is considered almost compulsory to serve wine during a pairing function with a side dish; Tokyo is one such place.

In the modern days that we leave in however, wine food pairing has become a craft that has been tweaked over several years in an attempt to find the most memorable and enjoyable food and wine pairing combinations. This is not to mean you can not experiment for your self, heavens no; in fact this practice is welcomed, as you will have the opportunity to share your discovery of great food and wine pairing with others who deeply share your sentiments towards a particular wine and fine cuisine.

Wine food pairing exhibitions and tours to vineyards are a great source of information about a wine region, a particular grape, how best to age your wine, as well as what dishes have been tried with a certain wine. Expect mixed emotions at first, when you try a dish for the first time with a certain bottle from a particular year; take that moment to seize the opportunity to ask as many questions as you can the wine pairing and whether there are any well known variations of the wine with a different type of food.

Undoubtedly, you will come across wine and cheese pairing exhibitions, conventions and parties.

Various types of cheese with strong or mild aromas can be paired with a multitude of wines; this is especially true for the many types sparkling wine that exist in the world today. Triple Crème, Camembert, Gruyere, and truffle cheese are just some of the favorite bites you could add to your palate to complement your wine.

Feel free to write about your favorite wine and food pairing at thewinebum.com.

Wine Ratings

Choosing the right wine can be a daunting task especially if you are unfamiliar with the region where the wine was produced, the year it was produced or even the grapes that were used to do so. Wine Ratings exist to help you the consumer, make informed decisions when purchasing a bottle of wine. Wine ratings are normally made by reputable publications, which buyers can then use as a guide; well known publications include the likes of Robert Parker’s ‘the wine advocate’, ‘Wine spectator’, ‘International wine cellar’ among others.

Wine rating by year

Wines that are rated by year are typically vintage wines; the rating relies on information on how the vineyard and grapes that produced the wine from a particular region faired during a certain year. That then becomes the principle factor for the critic of the bottle. Wines rated by year, are normally tasted at the source; that is the vineyard themselves, where the wine taster is guaranteed to have access to untainted samples of the vintage bottle.

Wine Spectator ratings

The publication ‘wine spectator’ provides respected reviews and in depth descriptions of some of the worlds revered wines.  The publication was founded in 1976 by Bob Morrisey, and has its own independent wine ratings.  Their ratings are published bi-weekly and include information on best buys, wines that have a high potential to mature over time, editor selection and highly recommended selections. Their rating system is also point based on a scale of 50 to 100 with 50 to 60 being sub-par bottles.

Parker wine ratings

The Parker wine ratings were developed by Robert Parker, Jr; who has been in the industry for over 20 years. The ratings rank the collective properties of a wines appearance, aroma, color, and bouquet on a scale of 50 to 100 points.

Wines graded using Parker wine ratings are fairly common in the USA; and retailers typically stock wines that have scrutinized against this Robert Parker’s system. The wine ratings he devised have grown into a bench mark or sorts that heavily influences consumer purchasing, primarily because the methodology he uses is seen as unbiased and independent.

Parker wine ratings are also appreciated as they are not random arbitrary number slapped onto a bottle of wine, but include written commentary of what to expect from a glass of the wine in terms of texture, aroma, value, and it’s potential to turn into a vintage.  Robert Parker does admit though that there is really little difference between a wine with a rating of 95 and above in terms of quality.

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The Wine Bum is dedicated to providing one of the best on-line forums solely dedicated to the enjoyment of wine. Red Wine, White Wine, Sparkling Wine, & Desert Wine. We encourage all of our visitors to contribute to our wine forum as much as they’d like.

We built this website to encourage people to discuss wine and to write about wine. We have created several areas on the site that allow our visitors to do just that. You can Write a Wine Review, Rate a Wine Tasting, Tell us about your Winery Tour, or write an article in our General Discussion category about something else wine-related.

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The Wine Bum is interested in anything and everything that has to do with Wine. Here is where you can contribute to the world of wine. We are eager to hear what you have to say.

Traveling around wine country, wherever that may take you, is truly a dream vacation for many. There are so many Vineyards strewn throughout the world it’s hard to get to them all. The Wine Bum wants to know about all of them. Which were your favorite Vineyard Tours? What did you like about them? Which are ‘must see’ and which aren’t worth the travels? Which is that tiny little Vineyard that is rarely visited, located on that small road just outside of somewhere, that for whatever reason you just can’t forget.

While you are telling us about all of these great Vineyards, don’t forget to add some photos as well.

Tell our readers about a recent wine tasting that you attended. Did they offer you a lot of nice choices? Was it worth the cost? Was the staff courteous and helpful? Were they eager to answer all of your questions and educate you on the wine you were tasting? Was it worth the visit, or was it a winery best passed by?

The Wine Bum loves a good wine tasting and never wants to feel like he’s wasted his time at a Winery. We can’t wait to hear about some of your experiences. Feel free to upload some photos as well.

The Wine Bum wants to provide all of it’s readers with free wine reviews written by you, the reader. We encourage all of your visitors to take a few moments and tell us about their favorite bottles of wine. Red wine, white wine, sparkling wine, and dessert wine. What makes the wine you like so good? What time of day do you most enjoy it? What food does it pair with best? What do you enjoy most on a hot Summer’s day and which wine is best indoors sitting in front of a nice crackling fire.

We also would like to hear about the wines that you didn’t find so great. Nothing is worse than popping a cork and taking a sip and wishing you hadn’t. So, let us know what not to drink as well.

Pinot Noir history

Pinot Noir History dates back to the advent of red wines inRoman occupied Gaul, which is part of present day France. In that period, Pinotnoir wine was made from fine black grapes cultivated from the clay soils foundin the area of Burgundy. Before the French revolution of the 18^thCentury, France was the primary producer of Black grapes used in themanufacture of Pinot noir wine. Legend has it that some Catholic monks based inFrance actually begun the practice of using Wine in their Holy sacraments, andshipped several crates of Pinot Noir back to the Vatican having learnt the skilledcraft of producing fine Pinot Noir wine.

Pinot Noir Wine

Firstly, if you have ever wondered how to pronounce pinotnoir I’ll settle it for you; the words are French, derived from what literallymeans black pine, in reference to the seemingly pine-cone shape of the bunch ofgrapes that the wine is made from before they are harvested; it is pronounced,“Pin O Nwah”. Today, pinot noir grapesare capable of being grown in every country on earth; they are found insignificant acreage particularly in Latin American countries such as Chile,Mexico, Argentina, Brazil as well as North America – USA (in the state ofOregon) and in Canada; that said Pinot Noir is one of the hardest (if not thehardest) type of grape to grow as it is very susceptible to all sorts of fungaldisease, and very sensitive to the climate, type of soil, pruning methods, andculture separation method used to create wine from it.

What type of wine is Pinot Noir?

Pinot Noir wine is a Red wine rich in ripe berry flavors,and a perfect wine for beginners; aged Pinot Noirs have a much more complexaroma, but still retains that light fruity flavor of their youth. The grapes areat times used to make rosé or red Sancerre wines which are typically consideredlight and fruity wines, perfect complement to your dinner.