The Wine Shop at Capitol Market recently held their annual Claret tasting. Claret is a term the British have used for centuries to describe the red wines of Bordeaux. And while this Claret tasting usually features a Bordeaux wine or two, it is also expanded to include cabernet-based wines from around the world. The neat thing about this tasting is that the wines are tasted blind. Now, I know what some of you reprobates are thinking, but no -- this is not a wine-chugging contest where the object is to achieve a state of blindness.

This is a tasting where the bottles are put in paper bags so the labels are not visible and so tasters can evaluate them objectively and not be unduly influenced by “pedigree” or price. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the tasting, but the results are published below by the Wine Shop’s Ted Armbrecht (who, I might add, has an excellent palate.) The tasting was conducted by expert taster Andy MacQueen, who was featured on last week's WineBoy webcast. Ted’s descriptions of the wines and their attributes reflect the comments of tasters who rated each of the wines. I hope this provides you with another tool when shopping for that special gift this coming holiday season.

Also, many of these wines in the tasting are available at wine shops throughout the Kanawha Valley and the state. In Ted’s words: “We chose seven wines from around the world that are Cabernet Sauvignon-based and spread across the price range. We brown bag them and taste them blind, thus no bias based on price or label recognition. The results are usually surprising and inevitably reveal a winner that might otherwise go overlooked.

"This year, as in last year, we did have a clear favorite and it was the older vintage Napa Cabernet that did not disappoint. The Raymond Generations Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 from Napa Valley showed why this appellation is so highly regarded. The Raymond showed nice fruit layered over typical Cabernet aromas of green olive and cassis. The nose continually evolved and showed layer after layer of tar, mint, etc. Great nuance and a beautiful finish. This one really stood out, and it should because it was the oldest vintage we tasted and the most expensive at $56.99.

The biggest surprise of the day had to be the Infinitus Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 from Spain. This wine had aromas of deep, rich, black fruit and eucalyptus. Fruit forward in style with medium tannins, this wine is crafted to please. Opulent and nicely textured, this wine is a bargain at $8.99/btl. Behind the Raymond, this cab ran away with a number of votes!

Another real favorite was the Taltarni 3 Monks Cabernet/Merlot 2005 from Australia. This wine, like the Raymond, offered a beautiful nose of green olives and black fruit. Bigger and somewhat more angular than the Raymond, it was layered with lots of big fruit, tar and structured tannins. Andy rightfully pointed out that this wine suffered somewhat in the voting because it followed the older and more nuanced Raymond. In spite of that, this wine was very popular and at $18.99/btl., a little easier on the wallet!

The Terra Andina Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 from Chile also had a good showing. The nose offered aromas of ultra ripe, dark fruit with mint and cassis. The mouth feel was layered and opulent, with mellow, integrated tannins that linger. This was one of my favorites, and the price is $12.99/btl.

The Owen Roe Sharecropper's Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 from the Columbia Valley was indicative of the style of wine that Owen Roe prefers. Big ultra-ripe fruit on the nose with hints of cassis and eucalyptus. The mouth feel is fruit forward, sweet and unctuous. This is for the cab lover who likes a big, sexy mouth-filling cabernet. The cost is $24.99/btl.

The final two wines were both well-liked and stood out for unique reasons. The Chateau Grimard Bordeaux 2005 ($10.99/btl.) was unique in that it did not stick out like a sore thumb as have the Bordeaux blends included in this tasting in past years. It had an elegant nose although somewhat more closed (maybe this should have been the hint!). It was subtle, medium-bodied and had a polished finish.

The Picada 15 2005 ($11.99/btl.) is the only wine we carry that comes from the Patagonia region of Argentina. This is a blend of Cabernet, Merlot and Pinot Noir! The Pinot Noir would explain the lighter body and the softer, mellow oak tannins.”

Thanks, Ted and Andy.

RELATED: See "Beers to Us" blogger Rich Ireland's beer-centric gift ideas.  As the holiday season approaches, I would like to suggest a semantic change to the old adage “It’s better to give than receive." Let's deleting the word “than” and insert the word “and.” In other words, it’s better to both give and receive – in this instance, to receive a nice bottle of wine or special wine-related gift- to celebrate the upcoming holiday festivities. Depending upon your budget, the sky is virtually the limit when it comes to finding a wine to give (or receive from) that special person. Securing a quality selection of top wines for holiday gift giving is a labor of love and over the next few weeks, I’ll share my top picks for this holiday season.

Today, though, I’ll provide a listing of some of my favorite non-wine gifts along with a couple of vinous goodies that would make a wine lover very happy. (note to my friends: please feel free to pass this along to my wife) So, before I get to the wine recommendations, here are a few of my favorite wine-related gift ideas for you to consider.

I’ve noted it several times before, but the absolutely best wine reference book is the “World Atlas of Wine” by Hugh Johnson. It is a compendium of everything you need to know about wine, including information on specific wines and regions. Check for it at your local bookshop or online at Amazon or Borders. This is a coffee table book that finds its way to my office when I need to find out some arcane tidbit about anything to do with wine. This book retails in the $30 to $35 range. Here are a couple of stocking stuffers for under $25:

For the wine klutz that always struggles with a cork screw, the new and improved “Screw Pull” is just the item to take the difficulty out of un-corking your bottle. The new version of the old standard Screw Pull is the Trilogy Pocket Model Corkscrew and it sells online for $20. Check it out at wineenthusiast.com.

I also recommend the Vacu Vin vacuum wine saver for those of you who wish to preserve the freshness of your wine (for several days) once the bottle has been opened. For around $15, this little ditty is a way to insure the freshness of your unconsumed wine. You can find the Vacu Vin at department stores, grocery stores and wine shops.

To truly enjoy that delicious nectar we all love, there is nothing more pleasurable than sipping from crystal stemware. You can spend a lot of money on wine glasses from renowned companies such as Riedel ore Speiglau, or you can get similar quality by purchasing your wine glasses and crystal decanters right here in West Virginia . Masterpiece Crystal in Jane Lew produces magnificent handmade, lead-free crystal wine glasses and carafes. Go to masterpiececrystal.com and check out these works of art or call 1-800-624-3114 to order direct from the factory.

Now here are a couple of gift wines for those special people in your life.

2001 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino ($75): This is a delicious, rich, chewy wine which can be enjoyed now if it is decanted into a carafe and allowed to sit for about three hours. I tasted it a month ago and was blown away by the minty, chocolate aromas, the earthy dark fruit flavors and the silky tannins. The wine will also benefit from several years of cellaring. A great accompaniment to this Brunello would be a grilled veal chop seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, a sprig of rosemary, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2005 Cakebread Chardonnay ($40) This Napa Valley Chardonnay (at right) is the essence of power and finesse in a grape that can sometimes be abused in the winemaking process by producers who err on the side of too much oak, alcohol and richness. The 2005 Cakebread is a very balanced wine with a yeasty, creamy aroma and bold, ripe apple flavors with just a hint of vanilla from new oak. This is a wine that would shine with a dish like chicken cordon bleu or Chilean Sea Bass pan sautéed in a little butter.

More wine suggestions to come next week. RELATED: See "Beers to Us" blogger Rich Ireland's beer-centric gift ideas.

I ‘m often asked about the relative merits of using oak barrels to add a flavor dimension to wine. Does the oak do anything to actually improve the taste? Doesn't using oak just inject an artificial element into a naturally produced product? Can oak be used to age both red and white wine? These are just a few of the more commonly asked questions regarding the ancient relationship between wine and oak which I will explore for you today. (Also, see my own oak wine barrel at my house and on-camera musings on this subject on the latest 'WineBoy' webcast, online this Wednesday).

While historians can't pinpoint when the first wooden barrel was produced (some credit the Celts in ancient Burgundy in 1300 BC), those ancient vessels were simply a utilitarian method of storage and were not seen as adding any complexity or nuance to the wine. However, for the past century or so, vintners have been using different types of oak barrels to influence the flavor of the wine inside them. Today, oak trees grown here and abroad are used to make the barrels holding some of the world's greatest wines.

Limousin and Nevers are famous types of French oak which are used to make very expensive barrels in which cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay are aged. American white oak from Missouri, Kentucky and Arkansas is also used by wine makers around the world to age their wines. In fact, wine makers have discovered that certain types of oak impart pleasant taste and smell characteristics to wine, particularly when the inside of the vessel is charred over a fire burning the same wood used to make the barrel. These barrel makers (or coopers) are very skilled in charring the inside of the vessels with either a light, medium or heavy toasting – depending on the wishes of the wine maker.

Incidentally, the use of oak also comes with a price since most wines, particularly ones aged in French oak, are more expensive. The cost to produce a 60-gallon Limousin barrel can exceed $2,000. That hint of vanilla in a fine Bordeaux or cabernet or that toasty, buttery bouquet in a good chardonnay are examples of how the proper application of oak aging can positively influence winemaking.

So where do I stand on the issue of oak aging? Well, if you’ll bear with me a few more paragraphs, I think a short digression will answer the question. When I was a child (sometime after the Korean War but before John Kennedy became president), my grandfather would regularly direct me to fetch a jug of wine from the earthen cellar he had dug in the basement of his home. It was in this dark and dank room where he made strong, red wine that was aged in large oak barrels. Illuminated by a single hanging bulb, the room was cast in an eerie half-light and smelled of damp earth, pleasantly sour fruit and old wood. It was a mysterious place -- a solemn enclave where the fruits of my grandfather's labor lay in serene harmony within the old oak barrels.

Those oaken casks worked their magic by imparting to the wine inside them a round and supple texture. This allowed the wine to be consumed and enjoyed after about one year of aging. According to my grandfather, "It is the natural way of things." Those barrels, now long gone, held a special fascination for me, and etched forever in my mind the indelible view that oak aging is an essential step in the process of turning grapes into good wine.

It should not be surprising then that, when I began to make my own wine a few decades ago, my first purchase was a small, 15-gallon American oak barrel. Since a 60-gallon barrel is considered small by today's wine making standards, I was aging my first vintage California zinfandel in a mini-cask where the ratio of wood to wine was very great. This, of course, was the metaphorical equivalent of swatting a gnat with a telephone pole. After six months in the barrel, the resulting beverage tasted like liquid oak with hints of red wine! I have since learned to be more moderate in the application of oak to wine.

However, some people feel that oak-aging is nothing more than an unnatural intrusion in the wine making process, and adulterates the true taste of wine. And indeed, some heavy handed wine makers overuse oak (just as I did the first time I made wine) and the result can be disastrous.

To oak or not to oak? That is the question dear Bacchus… and that's what makes this whole wine appreciation thing so much fun! My choice, though, was made years ago in that subterranean room with the earthy smells and the ancient barrels that held my grandfather's labor of love.

The headline on a November, 2007 press release from the (California) Wine Institute states: “California vintners praise high quality 2007 wine grape harvest.” While I don’t doubt the veracity of the winemakers assessing the vintage, it is very difficult to make broad generalizations regarding the harvest of any geographically large and diverse region such as the state of California.

To their credit, the Wine Institute folks then interviewed vintners from most of the major growing regions for their individual assessment of the harvest in their particular areas or appellations. Reading these individual reviews provides a better gauge of how the wines will actually show when they are released in the next few years.

I bring this to your attention so you will be better equipped to sort through the marketing hype regarding the various vintage assessments around the world, and so you can make better decisions regarding wine selection in the future.

As the resident wine guy (boy?) for our fair state, I am often asked for my assessment of various vintages as in: 'How was the 2004 vintage for cabernet sauvignon?' I usually fire right back with a few questions of my own like: to which country -- and which wine region or sub- region of that country -- are you referring?

I’m not trying to be difficult, but there really is no simple answer to the vintage date question as there is so much variability from wine region to wine region. As a matter of fact, there are usually significant differences among wine-producing regions from within the same small geographic area. Take Sonoma County in California for example.
Sonoma has about 10 distinct appellations or wine growing regions within its boundaries. Each of these regions has different soils, elevations and climates, and specific grape varieties are planted to take advantage of these horticultural, topographical and meteorological vagaries.

The Carneros, Russian River and Sonoma Coast appellations of the county are very cool regions where morning fog gives grudgingly away to warm afternoons with a return to cool evenings. Therefore, the grapes that seem to do the best in these areas are the ones which like cooler weather such as chardonnay and pinot noir. In the Knights Valley, Dry Creek Valley and Alexander Valley appellations, the afternoon sun blazes and the warm weather varieties such as cabernet sauvignon, zinfandel and merlot abound.

Add to this the effect of soils, which range from volcanic to chalky, as well as the influence of elevation, which rises from sea level to more that 1,500 feet, and you can see how many different influences can affect a particular vintage. And this is just for Sonoma County, California.

Remember that infamous wine word terroir (pronounced tare-WAH)? Terroir, which is a combination of all of the above, may actually be the most important factor affecting a vintage. Terroir’s meaning in the wine lexicon is so loosey-goosey (now there’s a good non-word for you) that defining it as “all-encompassing” would be too restrictive.

Okay, so what does it mean? Well, as near as I can tell, terroir starts with the place where the grapes are grown. The vineyard location, its slope, topography and angle toward the sun, and its longitude and latitude are all part of terroir. So is the soil type, the climate, rainfall and other precipitation in the vineyard, as well as the type of vine or clone of the vine used.

And what about the ability of the winemaker? Trust me when I tell you (from personal experience) that even an excellent vintage can be ruined by an incompetent winemaker.

So where are we? Well, since I was asked about the quality of the 2004 vintage for cabernet sauvignon, I suppose I would have to research all of the vineyards of the world that grow the variety and then apply the above-mentioned rating criteria to come up with an answer. However, in the interest of time, I could simply advise you to consult one of the hundreds of vintage charts which are available in magazines, online and in books that have already done this for you.

Checking my vintage chart, I find that 2004 proved to be an excellent vintage in northern California and produced very high quality cabernet sauvignon, which could be drunk now. But it will probably benefit from several additional years of bottle aging.

So the next time you wish to know about the quality of a particular vintage, consult one of the many vintage charts available, but be aware that these guides can be general in nature and somewhat misleading. In the end, it’s really up to you and your trusty palate.

If you could afford to pay $100 or more for a “trophy” wine, wouldn’t you expect that bottle to be memorable? I had a friend who recently plunked down $125 for a bottle of cabernet that, indeed, was memorable, but for the wrong reasons. He described it as “rancid, overbearing and lacking character.”

Since that description could fit a plethora of animate organisms, including cheese, over-the hill rock stars and the entire French Parliament, my friend assured me that he was describing wine.

I suppose the lesson here is that expensive does not always mean quality when it comes to buying wine -which is why I always do a little research (usually online) before I spend more than $20 for a bottle.

Conversely, inexpensive wines are not always inferior. As a matter of fact, in my never-ending quest for excellent wine at bargain prices, I am often pleasantly surprised by the quality of wines I did not expect to be very good.

The point here is that often our expectations are colored by the price of wine.

If the price is under, say, $10 a bottle, we do not anticipate wine Nirvana, but we’re hopeful that we’ll find a good-tasting wine to accompany the comfort food we enjoy on a daily basis. In other words, we want a god quaff to accompany our meatloaf or macaroni and cheese.

On the other hand, if the bottle price exceeds $20 or $30, most of us expect the wine to be from good to exceptional so we can pair it with a “Saturday night” meal, such as fillet mignon or Chilean Sea Bass.

Even though we should know better (i.e., that predicting wine quality based on price can be a costly mistake), most of us fall into that trap. Even WineBoy! However, since I do not often spend $30 or more for a bottle, my wine price stereotyping errors are usually on the other end of the spectrum -- but they’re probably just as costly.

For example, I spend hundreds of dollars a year on lower-priced wines looking for that little gem I can tell you about. What I sometimes discover, however, is that bargain wine (i.e., “Carlo’s Red” at $2.99 a fifth) is a better accompaniment to four-day old road kill than to the beans and weenies meal I had hoped to match it with.

Yet, for every ordinary to awful inexpensive wine, there are two or three good to exceptional ones just waiting for you to discover. Today, I’ll give you a tip or three on how to increase your chances of finding that quality wine bargain without suffering through a sea of wine mediocrity.

Tip number 1: When looking for a good “jug” wine or inexpensive regular bottle, pick the wine by the varietal. Varietals are ones which list the grape variety (i.e. cabernet sauvignon or zinfandel) on the label. Given the choice of a wine labeled as “Red” or “White,” or one described as chardonnay or merlot (for example), choose the one with the grape name.

Tip number 2: Look for wines with a vintage date to insure freshness. More than any other means, picking jug wines with a recent vintage date is a reasonable way to insure that the wine has not gone “over the hill.” In less expensive wines, most wineries concentrate on trying to make products that exhibit good fruit and freshness. Unfortunately, these are the components that go first as most inexpensive wines age. This is particularly important in picking a white wine which is even more prone to losing fruit and freshness as it gets older. My general rule (and remember, there are always exceptions) is to pick lower-priced whites with vintage dates no older than two years. With most inexpensive reds, vintage dates should be no older than four years.

Tip number 3: Choose wines that are from more specific growing areas rather than those labeled as being produced from grapes grown in larger regions. For example, a 2006 chardonnay from Sonoma County is preferable to a 2006 chardonnay from California. This is a very important way of determining the quality of a lower-priced wine. When the specific appellation of origin of the wine is displayed on the label, you can usually count on the product being good.

Some wine shops make it easier than others to find inexpensive wines, and some actually taste them before putting them on the shelf. The Wine Shop at Capitol Market in Charleston is a good place to find inexpensive wines and knowledgeable wine sales people. These folks actually have a whole rack of wines that are priced at $12 a bottle or under, and they can usually describe the wine’s taste characteristics.

Look for a couple of bargain wines I'll recommend in this space over the next few days.