Gregg the Waiter's Wine Picks

Chateau neuf-du-Pape:
(translation) The new house of the Pope
A big, fat, French red Rhone -- this wine consists of a half a dozen varieties of grapes, including Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah, and Vioniger. It goes with everything and tastes different everytime you take a sip.

Tavel Rose
A wine from southern France. Made of mostly Grenache and Cinsaut grapes, this wine is dry and is at home in the hot Louisiana climate.

Sancerre
This French Sauvignon Blanc is crisp, grassy, and herbaceous and hails from a small village in the upper Loire Valley. All they have ever done is make wine and cheese.

Spanish Albarino Rias Baixas
Low yeilding, high quality white wine grape. Creamy and rich with complex flavors of apricots, peaches, and citrus. Great with paella and tapas.

Marques de Caceres
Styled after a French Bordeaux, this Spanish red Rioja is made with different grapes like Temperantillo, Grenache, and Carignan. The best ones are sold as Crianza and Reserva. It's amazing that this wine can be grown, produced, bottled, and shipped to America and only costs around twenty bucks.

Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio:
(translation) The tears of Christ.
Located near Naples, Italy, this vineyard are on the slopes of Vesuvius where the volcanic soil is enriched with the bodies of their ancestors.

Recioto della valpolicella amarone
This mostly red Corvina -- the recioto wines -- are made from semi-dried grapes and produce an intense and complex finish.

Rocca delle Macie
Chianti Classico, Wine of the Rooster. It is comprised of Sangiovese, Trebbiano, Malvasia and Canaiolo. This wine is pretty powerful so it needs a pretty hearty meal.

Penfolds RWT
Austrailian Barossa Valley Shiraz ; The red wine trials, it's called the baby Grange after their famous Grange Hermitage. This wine is so good you won't hardly believe it!

Edelzwicker
This Alsatian-style German/French wine whose name literally translates to noble wine, is off-dry and acidic makes a great choice for today's fusion style cusine.

Litton Springs
This zin blend is a favorite of mine. With Petite Syrah and Carigane grapes, it is velvety soft, luscious and sexy.

Three Valleys
This selection from the Santa Cruz mountains is a Rhone style blend of Grenache and Mourvedre grapes with Zinfindel.

York Creek
This petite syrah is deep, extracted and jammy.

Monte Bello Cabernet
Arguably one of the best in California and is priced accordingly.

Venge Vineyard's Scouts Honor Zinfindel
A combo of 73% Zinfandel, 13% Charbono and 14% Petite Syrah gives this full bodied Zinfandel blend a huge black fruit core. It is rich with layers of dry currant, black cherry and chocolate. Grab it if you can find it!

Gypsy Dancer Estates, Oregon Pino Noir
Drinks like a big french burgundy. Whole cluster crushings make this wine typical of the region. It's spicy black fruit character and minerality introduces flavors of blackberries, cherry, chocolate and earth tones.

Justin Winery, Isosceles
Their award winning proprietary wine made with three grapes; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot is perfectly balanced and powerful.

Justin's Syrah
Dark purple in color with a violet edge, this unfiltered Syrah screams complexity and depth. The nose is rich with bright, ripe fruit encompassed by toasted oak and some smoky, spicy characters. The palate is soft, with layers of dark fruit, cherry, and a hint of gamey character. The finish is soft, lengthy, and enriched with supple, elegant tannins.

Stags Leap, Petite Syrah
From the look of the wine, you'd expect it to be massive on the palate, but one of the pleasures of this Petite Syrah is its finesse and elegance. It is unusually complex and layered. The nose teems with blackberries and red currants. On the palate this sensuous wine is a mouthful of rich bitter chocolate, french vanilla, and raspberries wrapped in round, sappy tannins. It's at once fascinating and intriguing, leaving you with a reverberating finish.

Cain Five
A Meritage-style wine made from the five Bordeaux grape varietiels -- Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, and Petite Verdot. Its a little pricey but worth every dime.

Heart of Darkness
Bonnydoon Wineries' deep, dark, obscure Madiran, with label art by Ralph Steadman, is the perfect wine for making art. It's like a direct line to Dr. Gonzo himself!