Show Mom You Care With The Our Inspired Wine Club Today!

I am not making this up.  On the Australian news wire today: “Mums are under-appreciated and forgotten, with most Australians even clueless about the date of Mother’s Day, a survey indicates.”

According to the Aussie survey of 1,000 people, only 7 percent could recall the date of Mother’s Day, which happens to be the same at the U.S. celebration (May 9), and apparently, we don’t put on our thoughtful caps when selecting presents for our underappreciated mothers. Most unwanted gift item? Cleaning appliances (aka vacuums), fitness equipment, foot spas, kitchen gadgets, and items purchased obviously at the last-minute.

Mother’s Day Help to the Rescue!

Do I even need to mention this to you again?  Be inspired.  Buy your mother membership to the Hinsdale Inspired Wine Club!  It’s the perfect Mother’s Day gift and it keeps on giving, month after month.  Your mother may like it so much you can do it again next year!

Sure, your mom would like to tour Napa Valley or sit on a sunny terrace in Provence, sipping some refreshing rosé.  Maybe she’d love to enjoy a rich Malbec in the dusty vineyards, watching the sunset in Mendoza.  Those things aren’t necessarily the easiest to give, especially when we have forgotten when Mother’s Day is and/or have waited until the last minute to buy our beloved parent a gift.  (We should know better, but so many things get in the way, right?)

So, here’s a way to capture those travels and wines in one convenient gift – membership in the largest wine club in the Chicago area, boasting more than 400 members. That means more buying power to find better wines and get better values. For $34.95/month (no long-term contract required), members receive:

* Two fine wines each month, valued on average at $50 and selected through a rigorous tasting process

* Informative literature on Wine Club wines, including tasting notes and reviews

* Special discounts on the month’s wine, if you decide to buy more.

* Special alerts on wine specials and store events, and

* 6- and 12-month memberships are available, as well, at $209.70 and $419.40, respectively.

Australians may not know everything, but of the two thirds of “mums” who actually received a Mother’s Day gift last year, 47 percent “weren’t happy with it, with 15 percent saying it was bought at the last minute, the survey indicated.”  Tsk, tsk.  With all that good wine down under, you’d think they’d have a wine club like Hinsdale’s to prevent such a disaster. Hinsdale Cellars, with its Inspired Wine Club, offers helpful, unique expertise and is most likely to introduce you and your favorite Mom to your next favorite wines.

For more information, come visit the store at 12 E. Hinsdale Ave., the Web site at http://www.hinsdalecellars.com or call 630.654.9862.

Yummy Wines for Yummy Mommies!

Mother’s Day, May 9th 2010

Wine, not Whines, for Mom

Perhaps talking about Mothers’ Day approximately a month ahead of time would seem a bit premature to some people.  However, as a mother, I have learned that my family doesn’t seem to hear me the first time I say anything unless it’s “hot chocolate chip cookies just came out of the oven…” Even then, I can quickly lose out to a heated Wii game or a captivating episode of The Simpsons.

That said, Mother’s Day is just around the corner on May 9th, and this is one mother who is willing to stand up and speak for the masses: You know what moms like?  We like wine.   Big surprise on a wine blog, right?  Well, but then you must know that the women in your life who also get to be mothers are likely nodding in agreement right about now.

In fact, they are not only nodding in agreement but buying wine as they do so.  According to the Washington Post, women make 57 percent of U.S. wine purchases.  Even more staggering and written in scholarly-speak, scientists from the International Journal of Wine Business Research estimate 80 percent of the wine sold in the United States is to women.  And they know a lot about us, too.  They conclude that women are more apt than men to seek information from wine store employees, a server, sommelier or winery personnel than men.  We actually read those labels and shelf tags that wine guys provide for us, and we tend to love to buy wines with medals and awards. I hate generalizations about any group of people because it can often lead to prejudice, but in this case, I must say I can corroborate those findings.

Mom-Worthy Wine

So, where do you find wine worth your favorite Mom’s time?  She’s obviously dear enough to you that you have suffered through this blog and are now pondering whether a month could possibly be enough time to get her the gift she deserves. The key here is to think about how wines take people on journeys.  A sip of a sensuous Malbec provides immediate transport to vibrant Argentina.  The right kind of Grenache-rich rosé can recall her backpacking experiences in Europe after college that led her to Aix-en-Provence. And a dry Riesling from Australia reminds her of the Outback trip she’d like to take for her next milestone birthday.  There’s a way to capture those travels and wines in one convenient gift, and that’s the Hinsdale Cellars Inspired Wine Club – the largest wine club in the Chicago area, boasting more than 400 members. That means more buying power to find better wines and get better values.

Celebrating Women and Wine

It’s Women’s History Month, so there is no better time to revel in the wondrous wines that women are producing these days. Go to the Wine Institute of California’s web page, and swallow these stats:

• Women make up 52 percent of the adult population.
• Women buy 57 percent of the wine consumed in the United States.
• In 1890, 10 percent of the winemakers were estimated to be women.
• In 1990, women still only accounted for 10 percent of winemakers.

While women likely play a more prominent role in winemaking than this seemingly low-ball estimate, there is no denying that many of the wines they make – most likely because of skills and experience rather than gender – are some of the best in the world. So, in celebration of Women’s History Month, here are five great winemakers who happen to be women that deserve your attention:

Kris Curran
Sea Smoke pinot noir – as featured in Sideways – is one of the most coveted wines with such limited productions that even the winemaker has to pay for her very limited share, and Kris Curran was there making some of its early 2000 vintages. A dog lover with four German shepherds, she chose to major in animal science, rather than enology because the college she preferred to UC-Davis, didn’t have that program. She says, she still got her fair share of chemistry and biology, and her natural proclivity to producing sensational wines is clear. In 2008, she moved on to Foley Wines for new challenges with Pinot Noir, but this is a winemaker who seems to have a golden touch with the vines anywhere she goes.

Laura Catena
Vice president of Argentina’s famous Bodega Catena Zapata, where she does the research that leads to some of the top blends for her father, Nicolás Catena, Laura Catena is also the owner of her own “Luca” label and has written a book about Argentinean wines. Many who frequent Hinsdale Cellars will remember Sean Chaudhry’s forays in Argentina, which included memorable dinners and tastings at Bodega Catena Zapata. A believer in Cabernet-Malbec blends, Catena is producing some of those most notable and luscious reds we have come to love and even expect from Argentina.

Heidi Barrett, California
Robert Parker Jr. refers to Heidi Barrett as the “First Lady of Wine,” and it’s no surprise as she has been the winemaker behind renowned Screaming Eagle, a Cabernet that consistently thrills wine lovers and collectors. Barrett is the only winemaker ever to have received five perfect scores from the top wine critics in the country, and in 2008, she moved onto Fantesca Estate and Winery, a boutique wine producer in Napa Valley, still leading the way when it comes to unique, special California wines.

Ann Colgin
“Superstar” is how many refer to Ann Colgin, who is known for building a world-renowned reputation for California’s small production, hand-crafted red wines. While her Lamb Vineyard wines have drawn special attention, Colgin Cellars wines are all sought-after, often hard-to-find wines. Reportedly, that is because annual production is limited to just 300 cases, with more than 4,000 people on a mailing list, clamoring to have some of her latest efforts.

Celia Masyczek
Former Staglin Family winemaker, Celia Masyczek is now one of the most sought-after consultants in Napa, having earned her fame with high-end Napa Valley reds. Masyczek cut her teeth in winemaking in Medford, Ore., where she grew up as the daughter of a wine collector and home winemaker. After a fermentation science degree from UC-Davis, she may have started her career with an eye toward chemistry, but ultimately she has let her own sense of taste lead her to many noteworthy wines. As freelance winemaker, Masyczek is based at Laird Family Estate and has nine clients. Some of her past and current clients are: Hartwell, D.R. Stephens, Husic, Rocca, Cornerstone and recently Scarecrow from the JJ Cohn vineyard (whose 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon earned a Robert Parker Jr. 98-point rating.).

With winemakers like these, it makes it irresistible to make a toast to them with some of their latest creations. See what Hinsdale Cellars has in store today!

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