In non-human experiments, resveratrol has been shown to activate a gene
that protects the brain from aging. In wine terms, resveratrol acts like the cork
preventing any spoilage before it happens! The study is being conducted in 26 sites
nationally and there is one catch; if you want to keep up with the resveratrol given
at the study you need to drink 1000 bottles per day. Pinot Noir has the highest
amount of this magical substance, especially from cooler climate conditions such as
France and Oregon. Good luck and if you decide that you are going to keep up, make
sure Camelot Cellars has at least a few wines in your cellar to enjoy. Cheers!

Saying wine is the same as toilet paper infers that each price point is the
main indicator of quality; each dollar you put in gets you another ply-sheet. From
that perspective every ten dollar wine is uniformly the same and as such you know
exactly what you are buying. That is where I 100% disagree with her assertion. One
of the great joys of being a wine fan is not knowing exactly what you are getting.
This works both ways, though. Sometimes you find a ten dollar wine you love, while
others, you find a wine that you have to spit out and pour out. It is that hope that
someday you may try the best wine of your life and totally not expect it is what
makes wine what it is, magical.
That’s right, magical.
All the way, Harry-Potter-Magical.
With that said, come in to Camelot sometime where we can help you in your quest
for the magic we all look for.

There’s a part of the wine bottle that no one can really explain. The Punt. It’s the dimple in the glass at the bottle of the bottle. It typically comes in three styles – Flat bottom, or no punt, half-punt, or a small dimple in the glass, or a full-punt, a large dimple in the bottom of the bottle. While there is no clear explanation for the origin of the punt, it is accepted that higher quality wines are bottled in full-punt bottles.

There are a few more commonly accepted ideas as to the origin of the punt. It adds to the stability of the bottle – a flat bottom bottle is more likely to topple over if bumped. It is the historical leftover of when wine bottles were hand blown, and the punt was where the metal rod held the bottle during blowing. It allows for the collection of the sediment in the bottom of the bottle.  And, many more possible explanations.

While these are all plausible, there is really no way to prove any of them. However, one long held belief as to the reason for the punt still holds a practical application to this day. A bottle with a full-punt allows a nice place to grip the bottle when pouring the wine into glasses.  Come into Camelot Cellars and let us pour you a glass of wine and we can talk about the history of wine and the punt.

Now that you have the wines assembled, you need to arrange them in the right order. There are a couple of different ways to do this. First, with white wines you want to arrange the wines from dry to sweet. If you don’t know whether wines are sweet or dry, consult a wine steward or use the Internet or do some research!  Reds are much easier to arrange. Lighter wines, like Pinot Noir, are usually considered wines with very light tannin and should be towards the beginning. The heavier wines, like Cabernet Sauvignon, have more tannin content and are more appealing at the end of the flight. So with these things in mind, plan a wine tasting and be sure to include Camelot Wines with the wines that are sure to impress your friends.

We are coming up on Easter weekend, a time for families to get together and for many a time for spiritual celebration. No matter the reason you will celebrate this coming weekend, the one thing nearly all have in common is a special feast as part of the celebration. With any special meal, the question becomes, what wine goes with this?

The two most traditional main courses of the Easter meal are ham and lamb.  These both have very distinct flavors that can stump someone for a choice of wine.  The best wine that will be served with ham is one that will compliment both the saltiness of the brine it is prepped in and the savory sweetness it is typically baked in. You want something with a slight sweetness and fruitiness as well as a minerality, or even spiciness, to pair best. Camelot Cellars offers an award winning Alsatian Riesling and a Mosel Valley Gewurztraminer that both will go quite nicely with a ham feast.

Lamb is very rich and savory. You want something with enough flavor to stand up to the lamb. A red with some spice a good fruitiness will be an excellent match for this meal. Camelot Cellar’s Chilean Cabernet Franc, a subtly spicy wine, is a great choice. You also won’t go wrong with our Stag’s Leap Merlot with its rich plum flavors will match the savory flavors of the lamb.

No matter the meal you are planning for the coming holiday, Camelot Cellars has over 80 wines that we can pair with any meal. Stop in to Camelot this week to let us help you pick the perfect wine for your feast.

A Spanish Rioja is one of the few wines in the world that has such an ambiguous meaning that it can confuse the average consumer. Rioja is actually named after La Rioja, a town in Spain, though not all of the wine is directly from the village and has been made to encompass most red blends from Spain. The strictest definition of a Spanish Rioja comes from the Rioja D.O.C. in either Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa, or Rioja Baja.

In Rioja D.O.C., the grapes of Tempranillo, Viura, Garnacha, Graciano, and Mazuelo are grown to produce a tannic spicy wine for which the region is so famous. This region also tends to emphasize the use of oak, even more so than neighboring Bordeaux. This means that Spain is one of the few old world regions that will use both American Oak and French Oak to give wines a vanilla character as well as a smoky oak aroma. Rioja is also noted for hosting the Batalla de vino which is a food fight consisting of solely wine grapes. Although we are not a bodega, or Spanish winery, Camelot Cellars produces a terrific Spanish Rioja which you should come in and try sometime soon.

Just when you thought that mimosas were the only way to have wine with breakfast, there comes a great new way to use vino to start your day right.

This last weekend, while discussing Ice Wine with a customer at Camelot Cellars, I came up with what I thought was a pretty clever idea. Use Camelot’s Cabernet Franc Ice Wine as syrup for pancakes. I’ve got to say, it turned out wonderfully!

It’s simple, really.

Take a pint of vanilla ice cream (I used the kind that has the actual flecks of vanilla bean in it) and melt that in a sauce pan. Don’t boil it or you’ll scald the milk in the ice cream. Once the ice cream is melted down, add in the ice wine to taste. I used about two thirds of a 375ml bottle to get it to the flavor I liked. Let it heat up to temperature, but again, don’t boil it.

Pour it over you pancakes and enjoy!

A newly opened bottle of wine can sometimes be a little too harsh tasting for the casual drinker. With that in mind, a good red wine will benefit from decanting, or pouring the wine in an open container that allows air to hit the wine. More tannic, age worthy wines will benefit from decanting than lighter bodied wines. Wines that are newer tend to be the ideal candidates for decanting because of their excessive tannin and phenolics. An ideal wine to decant would be our Lodi Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon.

Now that we have the candidates for wine decanting, it is important to know why it is effective. First, the wine is separated from any sediment that might be in the bottle, lessening the effect of the tannin that may be in solid form. Secondly, decanting a wine allows it to aerate which brings the aromatic compounds to the surface of the wine. This allows for a more settled and concentrated aroma and mouthfeel. So with that in mind, grab a bottle of Camelot wine and set it in a decanter to settle out and prepare for a sublime experience.