Daily Loaf

During my hunt to find the best $100 (or so) case of wine at Bay area retailers, I meandered into one of my favorite gourmet shops in Tampa Bay: Mazzaro’s Italian Market in St. Pete. There, among the drool-worthy selection of craft-made cheeses, single-grove olive oils and handmade pasta, there’s also a well-appointed wine room coddled by Jeff DiMaio. Ironically, few wine steals on his shelves hail from Italy, but from the relatively newer (or new-to-quality) wine regions Spain and Australia. I don’t really care, since there’s plenty other juice to drink. My selections for a $110 case of wine at Mazzaro’s: Read the rest of this entry »

On sale through March 3 at Whole Foods Market at I-275 and North Dale Mabry:
Borsao Monte Oton Old Vine Grenache, $7.99/bottle

Corkscrew Review, 11/9/2008: Incredible value wine. Medium-bodied, this perfect-for-everyday wine has cherry and raspberry, silky tannins and a pretty, forever finish. 4 stars.

I tried an interesting wine the other day, the 2006 Fortitude Rose from Napa Valley. Fortitude is a project developed from the winemaking team at Etude and since I’m a big fan of Etude, I just had to try it.  According to their website, the project is about “celebrating the hard work of independent family grape growers.  With small blocks that Etude founder, Tony Soter; winemaker, Jon Priest and viticulturist, Franci Ashton call “endangered” grape varietals – semillon, valdiguie (Napa gamay), charbono and carignane – Etude launched the Fortitude project.” The wine is a blend of 84% valdiguie, 8% carignane, 7% charbono and 1% zinfandel.  Read the rest of this entry »

Bern’s Fine Wines and Spirits in Tampa is running a special on Borsao 2005 Crianza at $15.95 per bottle, $172 per case. A grenache, tempranillo and cabernet blend, my notes from a recent Spanish wine tasting: “bright cherry fruit, raspberry and sultry, elegant tannins. Plenty of depth and structure in a really inexpensive wine.” This is a frickin’ steal.

What Kevin Pelley at Bern’s says: Read the rest of this entry »

NPR Morning Edition January 12
Ina Jaffe, 3 minutes, 57 seconds

During my hunt to find the best $100 case of wine at Bay area retailers, I noticed Publix doesn’t particularly cater to the poor and thirsty. At the Neptune and S. Dale Mabry location in Tampa, nary a $7.99 bottle is found — shocking since they have behemoth bargaining power with wholesalers. Perhaps the better deals are found on the greener side of grocery: Whole Foods. My $100 case of wine at Whole Foods: Read the rest of this entry »

This entry of $100 case of wine is found at Vintage Wine Cellars, located at 3629 Henderson Blvd, (813) 879-2931. Visit Michael, Jimmy and David to find these deals:

3 bottles Borsao 2007 Campo de Borja, $7.99
2 bottles Borsao 2007 Rose, $7.99
1 bottle Paso a Paso Verdejo La Mancha, $9.99
1 bottle Gnarly Head Zinfandel, $9.99
1 bottle Segura Viudas Brut Reserva, $8.99
1 bottle Callaway 2005 Cabernet Temecula, $9.99
2 bottles Luis Felipe Edwards 2007 Chardonnay, $8.99
1 bottle Luis Felipe Edwards 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, $8.99

4 whites
2 rosés
1 sparkling
5 reds
Total = $105.88 (pre-tax)

In a new, semi-regular feature, I’ll be shopping for a $100 case of wine at Tampa Bay area retailers. First up, I browsed with Steve, Tim and Paul at Wine Warehouse at 3310 W Bay To Bay Blvd. in South Tampa, 813-839-5601: 

1. Bodegas Ateca 2007 Garnacha del Fuego Catalayud, $6.99 – Taylor’s review
2. Fortitude 2006 Rosé Napa, $8.99
3. Douglas Hill 2007 Chardonnay, $4.99
4. Crios Rosé of Malbec, $9.99
5. McManis 2007 Viognier, $9.99
6. La Playa 2006 Carmenere, $7.99
7. Clayhouse 2006 Adobe Red, $12.99
8. La Playa 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, $7.99
9. Dominio de Eguren Protocolo 2006, $5.29
10. Pacific Rim Dry Riesling, $8.99
11. Carpineto Dogajolo Toscano, $9.99
12. Masi Masianco Pinot Grigio, $9.99  - Taylor’s Review

4 whites
2 rosés
6 reds
Total = $104.18 (pre-tax)