02/14/06 New releases

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. I receive several newsletters from my favorite wine shops and right about this time of the year there is a good deal written about new releases of wine. On today's program I thought we'd take a moment to talk about newly released wines. Like a book or a movie a new wine will have a debut of sorts. This is when the wine is poured for the first time to the consuming public. Very often my local wine shops will have a special tasting and allow its customers an opportunity to taste these new wines. The term new release means that it has now been determined by the winemaker, and the winery, that the wine is ready to be distributed. In most cases it is now ready for consumption. Now, I say in most cases, because you may experience advice from the winery principles or your wine merchant, that although the wine has been released and is drinkable now it may be better yet if you take it home and store it for a year or so longer. Although just because a wine is from a vintage that is a few years old doesn't mean that it can't be a new release. There are reputable wineries that will bottle age their wines prior to releasing them. So - the wines being released may be a year or even two or three older than the more common vintages being released into the market at the time. Obviously these wines may cost a bit more as the wineries have invested in aging them for you and it has cost money to hold them back. If you attend a tasting where new vintages are being tasted asks lots of questions and if you decide to purchase the wines try to write down what you were told about them at the time. It's always fun to look at your notes when you go back to the wine in the future or when you pour it for friends. So keep your eye out for this season's new releases of wine, and thanks for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.