Inflation, crazy Gov’t spending, The War… Blah Blah Blah. Thanks to the surging Euro and the weak ass pathetic U.S. Dollar, European wine prices are set to go through the roof this year.

This wine here is top notch. In the wine making process, sugar + yeast = alcohol. In the Amarone process, the grapes are set out on these bamboo sheets to air out, to let shrivel. Not raisin, just shrivel a bit and lose water content. They then press the grapes and barrel this thicker, heartier juice. The problem is that there is so much sugar in this heady juice, the yeast would die off before it matured the sugar and would render a raisiny, sweet red wine. In 1984 Masi created a strain of yeast that is more resistant to alcohol, therefore living longer and consuming more sugar, rendering a richer bodied, more mature tasting wine.

Masi Costasera Amarone is *STELLAR*

And it’s going to cost $10 more a bottle. And that is “at cost” (a term we use in the industry referring to what we purchase product at from our vendors.)

So let’s do the run down:

NOW:

bottle from vendor cost : $36.80, SO… retail is about $43-50 and in a restaurant you’ll pay $80-$90

as of next month, it will be $46 and change. On my wine list, I’m raising it to $85. I don’t know if other places are going to split the cost with the consumer, but as of this week I’m blowing up my restaurants wine list. I went with wines that aren’t heavily tied to the Euro; Anything to keep the doors open.

If you see this wine, pick it up. Try it that night and if you like it, buy a few bottles the next day. It’s not an entry level priced wine like I normally focus on, but this is just such a fabulous bottle, a rich heady red with four distinct flavors of tobacco, leather, cooked fruit and port. It was the first bottle that was opened the day I closed on my home!

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I live in the Detroit area and I'm working toward certification as a wine expert, called a Master Sommelier. So far I'm in the Guild. Aside from working six days a week, I spend way too much time playing video games and putzing around on the internet. I'm also a Michigan State Graduate (BS Human resources, BA Sociology) and a hardcore sports fan.
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