He is a man with a refined palate — She thinks he’s making it all up. He sips wine and tastes fruit, foods, herbs, earth tones. She sips wine and it tastes like, well, wine – but she can tell you the personality behind the wine in just a few words. Check in often to see how their battle of wits and wines will leave you laughing and asking for more.
Vampire Wine? Yep! Happy Halloween!
SHE Says: When HE finds out I posted this, he might make me take it down, but it’s my favorite holiday HALLOWEEN and I wanted to be sure you know that there’s a wine to match!
VAMPIRE WINE - Believe it or not, Vampire wine used to come from Transylvania. Seriously? Seriously. Right in the center of Romania the finest wines in the world were produced a loooong time ago. Legend has it that the wine from Transylvania was so good that the Romans stole many of the vines and replanted them in Italy. Those Romans… Years later, (can someone do the math for me?) some very clever Americans imported the wine from Transylvania and branded it Vampire Wine. I LOVED it. Reds so dark you could pretend it really was blood. And what a great gift at Halloween time. Perfect.
Alas, no more. Now they are just another vineyard in Paso Robles. No problems, Paso Robles wines are outstanding – it’s just not Transylvania. The vampire from Paso Robles? Ok, I’m trying. They are still enjoying the Vampire theme and extending their brand like any good American would. I haven’t tasted it yet, so I can’t vouch for the taste, but I can definitely vouch for the fun. So give it a go! Take a few bottles to your favorite Halloween party! You’ll be the coolest ghoul in the room.

Wines from Transylvania
TRANSYLVANIA WINES: Romanian wines are ultra-dramatic, so if you’d like to check out real wines from Translyvania, click here:
They’re “bloody good”. Romania is on our list for next year, so we will report back first hand.
Clos de Chacras Winery, Chacras de Coria, Lujan de Cuyo, Argentina
Clos de Chacras – Vineyard and Winery
SHE SAYS: Want to feel really good? Like you are in love? Then click the link right here and go to the Clos de Chacras website. Listen to the music while you read what we’ve written about this Bodega.
HE SAYS: This is another boutique winery in the city of Chacras de Coria in the Luján de Cuyo area. Bautista Gargantini was one of the fathers of the Argentine wine industry in Mendoza. By 1911, their winery ranked as one of the world’s leading producers. In 1921 they opened a facility in Chacras de Coria, but it was later sold. Then in 1987, Bautista’s granddaughter Silvia Gargantini, and her husband, Alejandro Genoud, purchased it. Some remodeling and updating was required, but beyond that the approval process took an astounding 17 years and they just reopened in 2003. Well, it was well worth the wait.

Clos de Chacras - The gate to the barrel rooms.
SHE SAYS: It’s not very often that someone has the patience to wait for 17 years to create something they love, but here you will see and feel the value of those 17 years. The preservation of their history and the permanence of their long-term choices for the life of their winery are seen and felt in every corner.

Clos de Chacras tour. The cement fermentation tanks.
HE SAYS: We were lucky again and received a private tour of their old wine-making facility and saw some of the new improvements. Their old cement fermentation tanks are located underground, and the original gate that is reflected on their bottles is still there in the bottle storage area.

Clos de Chacras
They have long-term contracts to purchase grapes from the nearby Maipú area and the La Consulta and La Carrodilla areas in the Uco Valley. They make two lines – Cavas de Crianza, with Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet varietals, plus a blend of the three – and Gran Estirpe, their premium Malbec wine. We paid about about $10 US each for the tour and tasting, which included cheese and crackers.
SHE SAYS: The 2004 Gran Estirpe is why we are here. When we tasted the Gran Estirpe at Vines of Mendoza, we knew we had to visit Clos de Chacras. Seek the Gran Estirpe.
2006 Cavas de Crianza Malbec –
HE SAYS: Gorgeously purple colored Malbec from the Maipú region, with fruity and soft flavors. It shows great balance and is very smooth and has a wonderful mouth feel. This sold for about $30 Argentine pesos, or less than about $10 U.S. This is a great wine and a tremendous value. 15+
SHE SAYS: This is our forth winery of the day. I can tell you this one is beautiful, but I have no more words than that.
2005 Cavas de Crianza Cabernet –
HE SAYS: This also comes from Maipú and was deep and dark, with an earthy component to it. It is very good and very complex. It can age for about 5 or 6 years they think. Also a great value at around $10. 15
SHE SAYS: This one makes me cry. In a good way.
2005 Cavas de Crianza Blend –
HE SAYS: A blend of 40% Malbec and 30% each of Cab and Merlot. It was nice, had medium tannins, but was not as distinguished as the Cab or Malbec. As I recall, the blend costs just a bit more. 14
SHE SAYS: I am tired. I will trust you on this one.
2004 Gran Estirpe Malbec –
HE SAYS: We tasted this through the Vines of Mendoza. The grapes for this Malbec come from 100-year-old vines in Lunlunta (Maipú) in the Luján de Cuyo area. It has brilliant purple color and a full mouth feel, soft and warm like a warm brie. This Malbec has merlot and cabernet and was one of the best malbecs I tasted. They only produced 6,100 bottles and it has won a few awards, so it is well worth seeking out. Really delicious. 16+
SHE SAYS: Seek the Gran Estirpe. Since they make only 6,000 bottles, this will not be a part of your scheduled tasting. Just buy a bottle and take it home with you. You will have no regrets.

The Gran Estirpe aging in bottles.
Your Philanthropic Wine Tasting Opportunity – Sept. 12
Look at you…always looking for ways to do double duty with your wine time, good for you! The Peacock Foundation Annual Wine Tasting Fun-Raiser is coming up at CBS Studios in Studio City, CA Sat. Sept. 12, 2009 5-7pm
Single Tickets $40 / Pair of tickets $70 CLICK HERE for TIX
Donate, swirl, sip and repeat when you can. And watch a CBS show to show your thanks for their support.
Wines from the Philippines – Really? Yes. “Light fruit wines”
SHE says: Attending any number of studio openings and other entertainment events, I notice they are generous – even in the midst of a deep recession. It’s networking and it’s part of the job of an actress/producer. The job of the meeting planners is to make each one unique and out here they are good. Really good. Imagine my surprise when at one event I see “Light Fruit Wines from the Philippines”. What? Really? Yes. Fruit wines. Mango wine and Black Plum wine from brand Haliya. Haliya Light Fruit Wines is produced by VuQo Inc. VuQo gave us a bottle of Mango wine and Black Plum wine to bring home and we began to plan a tasting.
HE is begging off of this one. He is a grape devotee of a few decades and he is a faithful type of man. Although he tried the Mango wine and Plum wine and he gave a little smile / shrug, I think that means he’s not going to let these light fruit wines join him in his wine scoring club. Although I’m still learning “man language,” I’m pretty sure that’s what that smile / shrug means. That’s OK. I had a great time.
SHE continues: Visit Haliya Wines website. It’s beautiful. It’s a teeny bit of paradise with flowers, birds and fruits. Really lovely. You’ll meet the Goddess Haliya and her mythology on one page, and learn to make a wish just before you sip your Haliya wine. And now on to the tasting.
We paired the Haliya fruit wines with food from Malaysia. Philippine food tends to be too sweet for us, so we decided on Malaysian. Curry and chicken, and a cousin of pad thai. We wanted to give the wine the best possible chance of being itself.
Mango Wine: To smell the aroma is to feel heaven. It smells just like fresh mango

Serve the delightful Mango Wine with after dinner sweets!
with a bit of alcohol behind it. I tasted it with our light dinner and that’s just not fair to the mango wine. When I paired the mango wine with actual fresh mango for desert — I loved it. It’s a unique experience to taste fresh mango and mango wine at the same time. Can I confess? I wanted to pour the mango wine over the fresh mango, dive in and then eat and drink my way out. My guess is it will also go well with numerous fruits and light appetizers. This wine is your friend you can have the most fun with, so do be careful. The taste does not linger in your mouth and my concern is, like that most fun friend you had in high school, she may not know when to stop. The taste is exquisite, but again, the taste does not linger in your mouth, so that means you want to taste again. And again. Please drink responsibly. Personally, I would like to have the aroma in an air freshener every morning. It’s beautiful. Hope they invent that soon.
Black Plum Wine: Another great aroma, but more forte. Smells a bit like vermouth. Even though we paired it with lighter food, again the food seemed to compete with the wine – and who needs competition at dinner time, right? I took another stab at this wine with chocolate, plain ol’ American red plums and a bit of banana. Sounds like a strange concoction, but yum. Again, the taste does not stick around for long (unlike that guy who never takes no for an answer) so I am slightly worried that you’ll keep drinking and drinking even though you have church in the morning…so please try to control yourself. ![]()
And what was my wish before taking my sips? You know better than that - wishes stay secret. Visit Haliya Wines for yourself, make a wish, take a sip and give them a try with appetizers, fruit, chocolate and even light cheeses and let us know your tastes!
Murphy Goode “Really Goode Job” and Debbie Meyer Gore
HE and SHE both say, this is a perfect match. Our good friend Debbie Meyer Gore has applied for the “Really Goode Job” at Murphy Goode Wines… (6 months promoting their wines & winery via social networking and other stuff.)
Debbie’s cook book “Good Friends Great Tastes” has been published and re-published more times than I can count. She is a natural, friendly, super-marketer and loves food and wine. She’s been feasting, cooking and writing about food & wine for 9 years. If you have a second to vote for her at this link, please do… Thank you!
Vote for Debbie Meyer Gore Right Here For those of you doing the math – I’ve known her for 9 years, we met when we were both 20 years old so yes, we are just 29. Still.








SHE SAYS: They have a picture of a llama on their site, so I can’t wait to visit. Can we consider a llama instead of a dog?

