Kosher from Shimshon Welner: Tierra Salvaje and Terroso (K)

With his many brands of kosher wines from Argentina, Chile, France, Italy, Spain, South Africa and Australia, Shimon Welner is once again comfortably demonstrating that he is indeed a "mover and shaker" in the world of kosher wine.

Welner made his first mark on the wine world as the first CEO of the Golan Heights Winery. Today, with his own wines appearing in nearly every state of the U.S.A. as well as in the U.K. at prices that are often remarkably reasonable, he is now responsible for introducing a great many to kosher wines. A great number of those wines are proving appealing enough that they are making their way onto the dining tables of many who are not even interested in kashrut.

What is interesting is that Welner is not seeking to produce "status wines". His is a noble attempt to provide quality wines at prices that will appeal to a large audience. Among his brands are: Tierra Vieja, Terrenal, Terroso, Gudufredo, Sara Bee, Primo V, Chateau Haut Philippon, Chateau Haut Mont St. Pey, Welnerberg and Kolobarra Hills.

This morning, among other tastings, I sampled three of his 2010 releases. My tasting notes follow. Further information can be gained by perusing the company's internet site at http://www.welnerwines.com/

Best
Rogov

Tierra Salvaje, Carmenere, Reserva, Lontue Valley, Chile, 2010: Dark garnet, medium- to full-bodied, with somewhat chunky tannins parting in the glass to make way for aromas and flavors of black cherries and raspberries, those on a background that hints nicely of earthy minerals. Drink now or over the next year. Score 86. K (Re-tasted 27 Jan 2011)

Tierra Salvaje, Cabernet Sauvignon, Lontue Valley, Chile, 2010: Medium- to full-bodied, almost impenetrably dark garnet in color and with firm tannins yielding in the glass to reveal an appealing array of black cherry and black currant fruits, those on a background that hints at one moment of eucalyptus and at another of minted chocolate. Drink now. Score 87. K (Re-tasted 27Jan 2011)

Terroso, Pinot Noir, Lontue Valley, Chile, 2010: Cherry red towards garnet, medium-bodied, with soft tannins, opens with notes of black and red cherries, goes on to show notes of citrus peel and vanilla, all on a lightly spicy background. Not a complex wine but easy to drink and a good match to dishes based on chicken, grilled fish or veal. Drink now or in the next year or so. Score 85. K (Tasted 27 Jan 2011)

Have you tasted the Terrenal wines available at Trader Joe's? Those seem to be the hottest kosher wines out here in California. I tasted two of them recently and have my impression, but just wanted to know if you had one.

Indeed - we spoke about thsi before:

http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=35349&p=296814

Also, I blogged on these and other as well:

http://kosherwinemusings.com/2010/10/17/trade-joe-kosher-wines/

David

There is also the Banero sparkling wine, that was not in that previous thread:

http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=27303&p=233215

I am sure I missed it Daniel, but I do not see your notes for the 2010 Terrenal Chardonnay.

David

David, Hi...

Following is my note for the 2010 Terrenal Chardonnay.

Best
Rogov

Terrenal, Chardonnay, Curico Valley, Chile, 2010: Damp golden straw in color, medium-bodied, with abundant citrus, tropical fruits and apples and a hint of white pepper on the finish. A good entry-level quaffer. Drink now. Score 84.

Agreed on the Chardonnay, not as strong as the other wines. Felt flat, non characteristic of his wines, but you win some and you lose some. Nice, but I also felt it had some bitterness that you did not state, did I just imagine it?

David

David, Hi...

Sometimes its just different strokes for different palates*.


Best
Rogov

*With sincere apologies to Janis Joplin.

Hello Guys!

Please find my article on Shimshon Welner and Welner Wines - what a really nice and wonderful human to boot!!!

http://kosherwinemusings.com/2011/01/30/welner-wines-sells-to-the-under-10-dollar-wine-segment-with-panache-chutzpah-and-quality/

David

For what it's worth, just tried Tierra Salvaje Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and the Cab, and found them quite good, and, for the price, really very good. They are on sale for $4.99 on kosherwine.com!

Regards,

Greg

I also recently purchased some of the 2010 Tierra Salvaje wines from kw.com. I did this to give the winery a second chance after a horrible experience with the 2008 vintages of the carmenere, cab and merlot that I purchased from KW.com in May of 09. It was such a disconcerting experience that I promptly posted a very critical comment of the wines in a thread in which Daniel submited fairly decent scores and TNs for the wines. viewtopic.php?f=29&t=23735

I have since heard quite a bit from Mr. welner. I don't know him personally though I'm sure he is a swell guy. That's really beside the point here, however. The question is whether he can make decent mass-produced extremely lost-cost wine. My one experience convinced me that it was not at all ovious that he could. I was, however, impressed by his persistence in his product and his marketing saavy.

So when I was approached by him recently to taste his wines afresh, I took him up on his offer and said that I'd report back. I purchased 4 wines and found 3 of them to be genuinely decent wines that I would recommend as a quaffer to anyone on a budget. I even brought them to a couple of recent board meetings for my synagogue and shared them with my colleagues. Here's what we have to say:

2010 Tierra Salvaje Chardonnay - Perfectly respectable fruity quaffer or summer picnic wine. Rivals the Californian "W" white or even the entry-level Baron Herzog Chard. Nothing astringent or off-putting about it. Not very complex, but nevertheless very easy drinking and tasting, which I think is hitting it right on the mark with the objective of this wine.

2010 Tierra Salvaje Shiraz - Same category of quaffability. It was surprisingly dark and on the full side for an unoaked wine. Spicy, too. But the key, I think, is that there wasn't any off-putting after-taste and it was somewhat interesting for a $5 botle of unoaked wine. So while someone with high expectations may only be able to take a glass of this without disappointment, one whose expectations are set properly could actually really dig this.

2010 Tierra Salvaje Carmenere - Clearly the best of the lot that I purchased. Same impressive body all things considering. Spicy and rather surprisingly deep. If I were on a budget looking for a low cost quaffer this is the one I would stock up on - of course only for near-term drinking.

2010 Cabernet Sauvignon - This, I didn't like. Unlike the others, I found off-putting aromas and flavors, as well as an unpleasant after-taste and astringency. So my own very personal yet honest opinion is that this wine isn't even worth $4.99.

Borowing a line from Dr. Seuss:

Say! I kind of like some of Tierra Salvaje's wines!
I do like them, Mr. Welner-I-am!
And for $4.99, I would drink all but the Cab in a boat!
And I would drink all but the Cab with a goat...
And I would drink same in the rain.
And in the dark. And on a train.
And in a car. And in a tree.
They (except the Cab, IMHO) are so quaffable, you see!

I do so find the quaffability in 3 of the 4 Tierra Salvaje wines I purchased!
Thank you!
Thank you!
Mr. Welner-I-am - for your persistence!

Three hearty bravos Adam...

First for your following-through. An honest approach.
Second for sharing your experience and tasting notes
Third for the excellent humor you used. I'm sure it brought a smile as well to Shimshon Welner's eye.

Best
Rogov

Indeed - of the wines you have enjoyed I agree with them as well. I liked the Cab a bit more but that may be because I enjoyed the Spanish Cabernet, maybe you had the Argentinian Cab, still either/both are nice. Of all the wines, the 2010 Chard (Chilean) is the weakest of the bunch, but still quaffable.

Finally, I agree on the opinion of Mr. Welner and what Welner wines is doing for the kosher wine industry as a whole.

David