Wine

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    Wine Library TV

  • The Other 46: PA Wine Tasting with Penns Woods Winery – Episode #813

    tv@winelibrary.com (Winelibrary TV)
    8 Feb 2010 | 2:14 pm
    Gary sits down and tastes 3 Pennsylvanian wines with Jason Malumed from Penns Woods Winery. They talk about the “Other 46″ and the future of PA wines. Having trouble viewing this video? Try the Quicktime version. Comments on this episode(251) Post a comment › “great episode. It's good to see that there is some potential in P…” by missatiejacket “Nice episode. Jason is a natural. QOTD: I know we're not s…” by Phredd3 View all 251 › Wines tasted in this episode: 2007 Penns Woods Chadonnay Reserve 2005 Penns Woods Melot Reserve…

  • Banyuls Tasting – Episode #812

    tv@winelibrary.com (Winelibrary TV)
    5 Feb 2010 | 12:43 pm
    Gary Vaynerchuk tastes 2 different Banyuls, red dessert wines from the South of France. The Grenache-based Banyuls are great value, under the radar dessert wines. Having trouble viewing this video? Try the Quicktime version. Comments on this episode(243) Post a comment › “I don't remember ever trying a Banyuls before……” by Nik_B “I hate to say it, but I beg to differ on the wine-chocolate combo thin…” by johanisgladivin View all 243 › Wines tasted in this episode: 2007 Casa Blanca BanyulsOther French Dessert Wine 2006 Rectorie Banyuls…

  • Head to Head 2007 St Veran Tasting – Episode #811

    tv@winelibrary.com (Winelibrary TV)
    4 Feb 2010 | 2:10 pm
    Gary Vaynerchuk tastes 2 St Verans from Burgundy side by side with some interesting results…plus a small trip through Wine Library! Having trouble viewing this video? Try the Quicktime version. Comments on this episode(295) Post a comment › “I've been transferring all my thunder to you Gary. Hopefully you w…” by Mike in C-town “Ok Gary. Your liking the comments, but here is my question: how to I “…” by Mike in C-town View all 295 › Wines tasted in this episode: 2007 Robert Denogent St Veran Les Pommards Vieilles VignesSt Veran…

  • 2000 and 2005 Cahors Tasting – Episode #810

    tv@winelibrary.com (Winelibrary TV)
    3 Feb 2010 | 2:02 pm
    Gary shows some love for the Cahors appellation in France, a region that gave the Malbec grape its start. Having trouble viewing this video? Try the Quicktime version. Comments on this episode(465) Post a comment › “QOTD: LISTENING TO:All things Josh Homme for some reason: Q…” by Bee_Dub “MOTT CAM! MOTT CAM! MOTT CAM! Seriously, Mott Cam. Mott Cam. QOTD – Li…” by jsums View all 465 › Wines tasted in this episode: 2005 Haut Monplaisir Cahors Cuvee PrestigeCahors 2000 Chat Lagrezette Pigeonnier Cahors Cahors Links mentioned in todays…

  • Pinot Noir Blind Tasting – Episode #809

    tv@winelibrary.com (Winelibrary TV)
    2 Feb 2010 | 2:32 pm
    Gary blind tastes 4 different Pinot Noirs from around the world, with an interesting twist. Having trouble viewing this video? Try the Quicktime version. Comments on this episode(536) Post a comment › “Love me some blind shows. QOTD – No. I suck. And I don't tweet. Ye…” by jsums “I love the blind shows. “trust your own palate” mantra – I haven't…” by Mike in C-town View all 536 › Wines tasted in this episode: 2006 Valli Gibbston Pinot NoirNew Zealand Pinot Noir 2006 Roco Pinot NoirWillamette Pinot Noir 2006 Tandem…
 
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    GrapeRadio – Wine Talk Show

  • Bitten by the Wine Bug

    GrapeRadio Bunch
    7 Feb 2010 | 9:23 pm
    Shane Finley had been bitten by the wine bug. So, in 2001 he decided to ditch the New York corporate insurance world and try his hand at something different – making wine. After contacting Wells Guthrie at Copain to ask about an opportunity to intern, Shane packed his worldly belongings and headed for California. The mentorship there would lead Shane to work a harvest in Australia, and travel to France to work with Pierre Gaillard in the Northern Rhône. After returning to California, Shane became cellarmaster at Copain, then assistant winemaker at Paul Hobbs, before finally taking his…

  • The Wines of Murcia – Part 2

    GrapeRadio Bunch
    31 Jan 2010 | 8:59 pm
    Welcome to our video podcast: The Wines of Murcia – Part 2 – Video Show #80. Right Click Here to Download File and iPhone users – Click here to View Video We are back with more coverage of Murcia, Spain with our – The Wines of Murcia – Part 2 (The GrapeRadio Cut) Sponsor: Millesima, Fine Wine Merchants: www.millesima-usa.com

  • The Wines of Murcia – Part 1

    GrapeRadio Bunch
    24 Jan 2010 | 4:42 pm
    Welcome to our video podcast: The Wines of Murcia – Part 1 – Video Show #79. Right Click Here to Download File and iPhone users – Click here to View Video We are back with more coverage of Murcia, Spain with our – The Wines of Murcia – Part 1 (The GrapeRadio Cut) Sponsor: Millesima, Fine Wine Merchants: www.millesima-usa.com

  • 25 Years of Wine with Kevin Zraly

    GrapeRadio Bunch
    10 Jan 2010 | 7:00 pm
    Justifiably recognized for his creation of the famous wine list at Windows on the World restaurant, Kevin Zraly is also a wine author and wine educator. He recently celebrated his 33th anniversary as the founder and teacher of the immensely popular Windows on the World Wine School that has graduated over 19,000 students since its inception. Kevin has studied wine-making techniques in California and all the great wine regions of Europe and has been teaching wine for over 30 years. Kevin’s benchmark book, Windows on the World Complete Wine Course, has been recently updated with a 2009 version…

  • Murcia: Soul of a Land

    GrapeRadio Bunch
    31 Dec 2009 | 12:29 pm
    Welcome to our video podcast: Murcia: Soul of a Land – Video Show #78. Right Click Here to Download File and iPhone users – Click here to View Video The Murcia region of Spain attracts millions of tourists every year, mostly for its pristine beaches bathed by the warm Mediterranean climate. But, Murcia is also rightly known for its cuisine – and soon, its wine. Located in Southeastern Spain, the history of the region alone could account for its gastronomy. The original Iberian tribes formed commercial relationships with the Phoenicians and Greeks, then the region became a…
 
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    The Savvy Sommelier

  • For the Love of Winemaking

    22 Jan 2010 | 2:38 pm
    As a Sommelier, part of my calling is to break wine into its component parts based on sight, smell, taste and my understanding of geography, grape varietals and regional winemaking styles. And while I can have dramatic impact on how a wine is presented, described, paired and, ultimately, enjoyed, the winemaker is really King (or Queen) in the mix.While all great wines do indeed start with great grapes, the winemaker's influence really does make or break the final outcome of a wine. Part scientist, part artist, the winemaker must deliberate and labor over many variables and decisions during…

  • Gobble, Gobble Tofurkey Time

    25 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pm
    It's time for the obligatory blog post about wine to pair with your Thanksgiving feast. Apologies for the lateness as it is Thanksgiving eve and the short week has slipped away.Check out "Can't-fail guide to Thanksgiving wines" for a more traditional set of Thanksgiving wine recommendations. Laurie Daniel of the SJ Mercury News has a good article as well.My hubby Brent weighed in last year with his "It's Cool Whip Time Baby!" post last year.Let's take a peak at the wines that I brought home from the Savvy Cellar for our Thanksgiving celebration. We are doing a potluck with friends (10 adults,…

  • Organic Winemaking with Jim Milone, Terra Savia

    28 Sep 2009 | 3:53 pm
    Apprentice winemaker Joel Kampfe interviews Jim Milone, winemaker with Terra Savia. Jim shares how is able to get tropical pina colada flavors in chardonnay while keeping alcohol low. He also shares how to soften tannins in Petit Verdot through maceration (soaking after fermentation) without wine turning to vinegar.For a more general interview with Jim Milone, click here.To see Jim review some of his Terra Savia wines, click here.

  • Terra Savia Wines

    23 Sep 2009 | 5:01 pm
    As part of our recent launch of Winemaker Wednesday at Savvy Cellar Wines, Winston Jones sat down to review three wines from Terra Savia. Joining Winston in reviewing the wines is none other than the winemaker himself, Jim Milone. Enjoy the reviews and enjoy the wines. (For a longer interview with Jim Milone, Winemaker from Terra Savia, click here).

  • Jim Milone, Terra Savia Winemaker

    23 Sep 2009 | 4:31 pm
    Savvy Cellar kicked off a winemaker series last week, hosting Terra Savia winemaker Jim Milone. Jim sat down with my partner in crime, Brent Harrison, to discuss Terra Savia, organic farming and other topics around sustainability in practice in the vineyard and winemaking. Enjoy Jim's perspective and go forth and try his wines!See Jim review his Terra Savia wines, click here.
 
 
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    Vinography: A Wine Blog

  • Video of the Social Media Panel from Vino2010

    7 Feb 2010 | 11:53 pm
    My real reason for attending the Vino2010 conference in New York this week was that I was asked (and paid) to be on a panel discussion about the impact and meaning of social media for the wine industry. A number of you have asked about it, and I'm happy to offer the (somewhat low quality) video that captures our session. Unfortunately you can't see (or hear at various points) some of the questions that were asked, but you can certainly get the idea of what we discussed. Please note that it takes a few minutes for the session to get started, so skip ahead until it looks like stuff is…

  • The Future of Luxury Wine

    6 Feb 2010 | 8:03 pm
    I spent the latter part of this week at the Vino2010 conference in New York. The largest Italian wine event held outside of Italy, the conference was a combination of major trade-show-style tastings, smaller focused tastings, and panel discussions. One of the panels I attended was entitled "The Future of Luxury Wine" and involved a good panel discussion on the outlook for wines priced over $30 in the next few years. Moderated by Karen MacNeil, wine educator and author of The Wine Bible, America's best-selling wine book, the panel included the following speakers: Barbara Insel, President and…

  • Vinography Images: Patterns

    5 Feb 2010 | 11:13 pm
    Patterns Vineyards aren't easy things to photograph. They sprawl and spread all over everywhere, and don't exactly stay confined in the frame of a photograph well, not to mention their tendency to seem monotonous in their rows. I like this image not only for the compression of space that turns the vines into patterns, but also because in the midst of the regular geometry, you can see each individual vine has its own personality -- Alder Yarrow INSTRUCTIONS: Download this image by right-clicking on the image and selecting "save link as" or "save target as" and then select the desired location…

  • Italian Wine Week: Vino 2010

    3 Feb 2010 | 3:51 pm
    I'm in New York for the first time in a long while, taking a look at the Vino2010 conference, also known as Italian Wine Week. Mostly I'm here because I'll be speaking on a panel (tomorrow) Thursday morning entitled: "Virtual Vino, Millennials and Social Media DECANTED!" The panel is moderated by Anthony Dias Blue, and will have me, Doug Cook of AbleGrape.Com, Susannah Gold of Avvinare.Com, Susanna Crociani of Az. Ag. Crociani in Tuscany, Steve Raye of the Brand Action Team marketing agency, and possibly (unconfirmed) tweeting sommelier and wine educator Kevin Zraly. The conference is making…

  • The Best Zinfandels in California: Tasting at ZAP 2010

    2 Feb 2010 | 8:15 pm
    With a line snaking halfway around the parking lot by 2:00 PM, it might be easy to say that Zinfandel might be one of the more recession proof wines in California. The fact that very good bottles can be had for about $20 certainly means that there's probably a lot more Zinfandel being consumed these days than, say, Meritage blends. Once inside the annual Zinfandel Advocates and Producers Festival it was clear, however, that far fewer wineries were pouring this year than in the past, though the crowd was no less lively (I didn't stay until 5 PM when people normally are at their sloppiest and…
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    Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog

  • Gewurztraminer and Discomforting Sounds

    Tom Wark
    8 Feb 2010 | 4:56 pm
    Sometime in the 1970s, people changed from ordering "white wine" to ordering "Chardonnay. Between 1990 and 2007, shipments of California Chardonnay rose from 9 million to 50 million cases. Today, Chardonnay production and consumption is far and away greater than the total production of all other white wine in California.So, what I'm wondering is this: What would have happened between the 1970s and today if Gewurztraminer was instead named "Gerdonnay" (pronounced with a soft "G"—it sounds nicer)If this were the case, I'm convinced that the biggest…

  • Meditations On A Flat Surface

    Tom Wark
    4 Feb 2010 | 10:16 am
    It seems (and I doubt I'm alone in this) that so many important things in my life occur while sitting at the dinner table. And it seems too, that these things of import that are done, planned or said at the dinner table are accompanied by a bottle of wine. And the symbolism of this strikes me as being somehow fundamental to our civilization.This is no revelation. You could spend a lifetime imagining the meaning of the dinner or supper table depicted in art. The most powerful piece of dinner table imagery in Western Civilization is found in Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper".

  • The Influence of Wine Blogs

    Tom Wark
    1 Feb 2010 | 12:37 pm
    "You are an important 'Influencer' in the wine industry".This was part of a message sent to me in an email late last week. Whether they were trying to butter me up or not isn't that important. But it's interesting that they wrote this because of late I've been thinking a lot about the idea of "influencers" and where blogs fit into any calculation of influencers inside the wine industry.I've thought about this idea for two decades actually. As a publicist, I need to know which publications and writers have the most influence. That's where I want…

  • My Lubricated Education

    Tom Wark
    27 Jan 2010 | 8:04 pm
    It is the seemingly small acts of personal pleasure and quirky pursuits that keep us from dismissing the day as a grind and nothing more. Yes, there are those of us lucky enough to love our work and our career. I don't need any attempts at persuasion to convince me that working in wine public relations and marketing is a treat. But even when you can look a readership in the monitor and guarantee them you are pleased as punch to hold a particular position, there's no getting around the fact that some days—many days—putting aside the pleasure of work and moving on to the personal…

  • Answering Questions From Wine Blog Readers

    Tom Wark
    26 Jan 2010 | 11:20 am
    We get mail here at FERMENTATION. Often that mail is from good folks who just have questions that need answers. I'm always happy to oblige. For example, I recently received this email from a happy reader who obviously follows this blog:Tom:I want to know who made you the king of wine sales? If you don't like the three tier system and distributors then why don't you find another country where you can Flack for your shitty wineries and leave the rest of us alone?You have no idea what distributors do. Wine drinkers wouldn't have anything to choose from if distributors were run…
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    Serious About Wine

  • BYO Wine

    Mike Carter
    8 Feb 2010 | 3:10 pm
      The aim was to create a unique gift to give our clients at Christmas and to act as a new business introduction. It needed to remind them of who we are and the long hours that we put into our work. It needed to feature all of our staff, reflect our creativity and sense of humor. The print run was 5000 labels. We obtained high quality cleanskin wines and created our own labels. Each label was based on one staff member. It included a number of facial features and the client is encouraged to BYO - Build Their Own. The wine and the label is the perfect substitute for when the real thing…

  • Gourmet Wines Designed For Cooking

    Mike Carter
    7 Feb 2010 | 3:15 pm
    Opportunity awaits those who can make consumers’ lives easier, as countless innovations prove every day. Take choosing a wine. We’ve already seen several efforts to simplify the process of finding a good one for drinking—including, among many other approaches, a classification system that uses colours and numbers—and now California-based Académie Culinary Wines aims to do the same for wines that will be used in cooking. Académie wines are sourced directly from California’s premier wine regions. With the help of gourmet chefs, the company has developed a line including…

  • Eurocave SoWine Bar

    Mike Carter
    6 Feb 2010 | 3:38 pm
    Exactly how long a bottle of wine keeps after it’s been opened is a question that has no easy answer, but Eurocave’s SoWine bar aims to extend the shelf-life of your half-empty bottles for up to 10 days. Designed as both a preservation and storage system it has two compartments, each with independent temperature control settings, and vacuum seal technology so you can keep a bottle of white wine and a bottle of red wine at the same time. By Rigel Celeste | Source :: www.luxist.com Share This

  • Handmade Italian Wine Carafe

    Mike Carter
    5 Feb 2010 | 3:30 pm
    Thankfully just because a person wants to be green and support recycling doesn’t mean they have to compromise on style and quality. This Italian Carafe and set of wine glasses is a great example of having the best of both worlds. Handmade of recycled glass in Portland, this set is processed in an electric furnace that’s powered 100% by eco-friendly wind power. No two pieces are the same but they all have the beautiful foggy white color variations and charming, slightly misshapen organic appeal. Get the carafe alone for $174, or with a set of 4 glasses for $370. By Rigel Celeste |…

  • Scarlet Ridge Wines

    Mike Carter
    4 Feb 2010 | 3:37 pm
    More work from Brett Layton….     Share This
 
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    The Wine Collector

  • Vinfolio's Marketplace and fixed price auctions are open for business

    Steve Bachmann
    5 Feb 2010 | 12:40 pm
    Many customers have written me since my last post, Progress on payments, seeking clarification as to whether the payments for sellers from new (post Jan. 15) Marketplace and fixed price auction sales are “definitely off limits to creditors.”  The short answer is “yes.”I understand the language we have used is a bit legalistic but let be call out a paragraph from that prior post again:“Payment for transactions completed after January 15, 2010 is being managed by the Assignee and, the funds are being segregated for payments owed to sellers (although processing…

  • Progress on payments

    Steve Bachmann
    28 Jan 2010 | 7:48 am
    As mentioned in our previous post on January 17th, the secured creditor had indicated that they “will waive any right to these funds and has asked that these funds be paid to the sellers in those sales as soon as practical.”  The secured creditor was specifically referring to funds separately identified by Vinfolio for fixed price auction and Marketplace transactions completed from January 1, 2010 to January 15, 2010 (the payment period just prior to the Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors).What’s a “completed” transaction?Marketplace – Completed…

  • Update from Vinfolio's Assignee

    Steve Bachmann
    21 Jan 2010 | 1:05 pm
    Vinfolio (the “Company” or “Vinfolio”) entered into an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (“Assignment”) on Friday evening, January 15, 2010 to Vinfolio (assignment for the benefit of creditors), LLC (“Assignee”), an affiliated entity to Sherwood Partners, LLC (Sherwood”).  We wanted to provide some background on Sherwood and allow them to provide this communication to the Vinfolio customers and creditors.  Sherwood is an experienced and reputable firm that is capable of moving the Assignment process forward with great…

  • Additional Vinfolio business update

    Steve Bachmann
    19 Jan 2010 | 3:44 pm
    There has been a great deal of discussion regarding Vinfolio’s news in the past 48 hours.  We’re still mid-process on many of the issues relating to the Assignment.  We are getting a lot of inquiries and are trying to get answers to the most pressing questions everyone has posed.  But just as importantly, we need to be accurate in the information we release.  We will be releasing information, as we have it, rather than waiting for one large communication that answers all questions.  This may mean that some questions won’t be answered immediately…

  • Vinfolio business update

    Steve Bachmann
    17 Jan 2010 | 8:19 am
    After three years of very rapid growth -- placing it among the top 15 fastest growing private companies in the SF Bay area from 2006 to 2008, Vinfolio experienced a much more difficult sales environment during 2009.  A few weeks ago, we found ourselves in need of additional capital on a very near-term basis.  The company investigated several options but new capital could not be obtained on a necessarily compressed timetable.Because of the situation, and to safeguard the interests of our customers and creditors (including for wine purchases, wine sales, and wine stored with…
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    Food & Wine: Articles

  • An Overachieving Underchewer

    2 Feb 2010 | 2:28 pm
    Although I have to instruct my kids on a lot of things, I never have to remind them to chew their food. They chew like champs. You see, my wife and I have lapsed into the bad habit of letting our three-year-old twin boys watch TV while they're having dinner. Problem is, they've figured out that as long as they're still eating, they can keep watching Yo Gabba Gabba! So the crafty little buggers will stretch out dinner for an eon or two by chewing their food to a fine pulp. …

  • A Foodie's Culture Calendar

    2 Feb 2010 | 11:39 am
    Art in Philadelphia See: The Philadelphia Museum of Art is the only U.S. stop for the epic Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris exhibit, on view through April 25. Photo courtsey of Philadelphia Museum of Art, A.E. Gallatin Collection, 1952. © 2010 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society. Village Whiskey. Photo © Steve Legato. Eat: Village Whiskey , the latest venture from chef Jose Garces, serves stellar burgers and delicious bourbon drinks . Stay: Kimpton's new …

  • Editor's Letter

    2 Feb 2010 | 11:37 am
    Maybe it's because I grew up skinny. Or maybe it's because I believe portion control solves all nutritional ills. Whatever the reason, I've long subscribed to a holistic approach to well-being for F&W that embraces everything, even triple-pork pastas. I will always believe in balance, as it allows the magazine to skip over fad diets and questionable science. But there has been an undeniable shift in how health-minded people are eating: They're moving meat off the center …

  • Pairing of the Day

    1 Feb 2010 | 9:20 am
    February 9, 2009 — White Beans with Onion Confit Pairing: A citrusy Albariño. Try a 2008 Santiago Ruiz. February 8, 2009 — Spinach Egg Drop Soup Pairing: A saison (a tangy Belgian farmhouse ale). Try a Saison Dupont. February 5, 2009 — Braised Short Ribs with Daikon and Glass Noodles Pairing: A caramelly Belgian dubbel beer. Try a Westmalle. February 4, 2009 — Grilled Lamb Salad with Cumin Vinaigrette Pairing: A big Trappist ale. Try a Chimay Blue. February 3, 2009 …

  • Recipe of the Day

    29 Jan 2010 | 1:52 pm
    Sign up for the Dish, F&W's free twice-weekly newsletter, for our 2009 weekly meal planner. E-mail: February Week: February 20-26, 2010 --> Friday— Chicken Curry with Potatoes and Squash 8BD5D25D-E8B7-40E8-9C2D8DD498F424D9 --> Thursday— Jumbo Shrimp with Mushrooms and Garlic 250B4627-3B94-4110-A4A99C07CCF2F389 --> Wednesday— Pork with Sage and Madeira 4D54EC9B-057D-11D6-82A00002B3309983 --> Tuesday— Pappardelle with Veal Ragù …
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    Intoxicating Prose

  • Destination Londres

    Douglas Blyde
    7 Feb 2010 | 6:24 am
    LAST year, in conjunction with specialist tours firm ‘Urban Gentry’, I marshalled a culinary itinerary of the capital for Belgian journalist, Eric Verdonck. Hectic but flavoursome, here follows a link to his article. >>Destination Londres: Nouveau paradis des gourmets<<

  • Bacchus Beside the Riverbanks

    Douglas Blyde
    5 Feb 2010 | 1:40 am
    ‘IT’S great to see the difference in your faces compared to a year ago,’ said Jeanette Brewer to an audience of fans, press and the odd bailed-out Yuppie banker. ‘Either you’ve just got used to having a difficult time, or you’ve finally climbed out of it...’ Escaping Friday night chaos outside, I had come to the London Bridge sequel of Farringdon’s South African restaurant, ‘Vivat Bacchus’. In

  • Artist’s Eye on Rough Sleepers

    Douglas Blyde
    2 Feb 2010 | 2:54 am
    LATELY, I fell into (and fast out of) the habit of accepting arbitrary invitations. Ghastly and good, two recent RSVPs concerned elevated venues - in opinion and altitude... On Burns’ night, I scraped the sky at Centrepoint’s Paramount Club. Excepting the astonishing view, my abiding memory is of thick queues of boozy-floozies pressing towards the copper bar. Their goal (and in desperation, I

  • Flavours from Frost and Fire

    Douglas Blyde
    30 Jan 2010 | 2:00 am
    PICTURED: winemaker, Andrew Hardy’s first vintage of Petaluma Clare Valley Riesling, 1983. In the wake of ‘huge bush fires’ in a year also ‘nailed by frost’, this survivor comes from the Hanlin Hill vineyard and in this instance, parcels further afield - to compensate for extreme conditions. Shimmering deep gold, it had the initial aroma of old gloss paint lid, then fresh cream and toasted

  • Sparkling Tales from the Boudoir

    Douglas Blyde
    29 Jan 2010 | 2:00 am
    IT’S NOT every day one dines in David Moore’s bedroom, albeit now converted into the private dining room at ‘Pied-à-Terre’, Charlotte Street. The décor, best described as subdued theatrical, is based around a glossy glass table – apparently delivered by a gauche builder who filled inevitable cracks with a handy tube of epoxy. This is echoed by an identical ceiling plate (minus the fractures) from
 
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    El Bloggo Torcido - Twisted Oak Winery

  • Cluck The Vote! Vote for Your Favorite Rubber Chicken!

    El Jefe
    8 Feb 2010 | 5:54 pm
    Vote now for your favorite!Take Your Rubber Chicken To Work Week Official Voting Page!Voting ends February 17th at 11:45pm PST! Posted via email from twisted oak winery

  • TYRCTWW Finalist #6: Colonoscopic Chicken

    El Jefe
    8 Feb 2010 | 4:11 pm
    "Is that Twisted red wine I see?"Photos by Bill and Cathy Nation. Submitted via DVD.See and download the full gallery on posterous Posted via email from twisted oak winery

  • TYRCTWW Finalist #5: Trauma Chicken

    El Jefe
    8 Feb 2010 | 3:58 pm
    "Okay, so the chicken shouldn't ever attempt to cross the road no matter what the reason. Two Mercy Flights RN's from Medford, Oregon work feverishly to revive him."Photo by Allyson Griffie. Submitted via email. See and download the full gallery on posterous Posted via email from twisted oak winery

  • TYRCTWW Finalist #4: Chicken Choking at 10,000 feet

    El Jefe
    8 Feb 2010 | 3:54 pm
    "Our Chuck the chicken loves to go to work at the Wyoming Air National Guard. He gets to fly like no other chicken before him, 10,000 feet up through the clear blue Wyoming skies, with the purr of 4 C130 engines pushing him along.  Sometimes he gets bossy with the crew, and they threaten to drop him out of the back of the plane along with the pallets they are carrying.  "On occasion, Chuck gets a little too excited and doesnt obey the rules of the airfield. Most recently, he ran across the runway (road, same thing) and ALMOST met dire consequences, and was sucked into an intake of passing…

  • TYRCTWW Finalist #3: Jewelry Store Commercial Chicken (additional photos)

    El Jefe
    8 Feb 2010 | 3:53 pm
    Photos by Lori Hoffman. Originally posted on Twisted Oak Winery's Facebook page. See and download the full gallery on posterous Posted via email from twisted oak winery
 
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    Wine Camp Blog: a points-free zone

  • Underrated/Overrated

    Craig Camp
    4 Feb 2010 | 10:53 pm
    Jimmy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra made the phrase famous in the beautiful song, I’m Glad There is You by Paul Maderia, “In this world of over-rated pleasures, of under-rated treasures.” This phrase from a moving love song well defines the world of wine today. Big pointy overrated wines give little pleasure while underrated and often underpriced wines may lack points, but are packed with pleasure. A couple of such underrated treasures are:The 2004 Lignères, Aric, Montagne d’Alaric, a blend of carignan, mourvèdre and syrah that is sure to be on the underrated…

  • Links for 2010-02-03 [del.icio.us]

    Craig Camp
    4 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am
    Trader Joe’s; Wine Marauder or Consumer Fraud? right on about the wines - too kind about the food

  • Links for 2010-02-02 [del.icio.us]

    Craig Camp
    3 Feb 2010 | 12:00 am
    What Pinot Used to Be - The Pour Blog - NYTimes.com Step on this Stone A review of our new Cabernet Franc What Should $20 Get You? - The Pour Blog - NYTimes.com Sad but true - OR pinot gris is a very bad deal.

  • Petrus Gets Bad Review from Wine Spectator

    Craig Camp
    2 Feb 2010 | 6:15 am
    2007 Petrus got 92 points from The Wine Spectator. I could not be more shocked to see The Wine Spectator trashing Petrus. However, that’s exactly what they did as any wine selling for $1300 is an abject failure at anything less than 100 points. You’d have to be a fool to bother to drink Petrus with such a rating - at least if you gave any credence to the 100 point scale. That’s the rub with the worthless pointy system - a $25 wine can get the same score as a $1300 wine thus implying anybody that drinks Petrus is an idiot. Well OK, anybody spending $1300 on a bottle of wine…

  • Oasi degli Angeli

    Craig Camp
    27 Jan 2010 | 7:00 am
    In 2003 I wrote, “Kurni is on a whole different level of being.” I achieved that level of being this weekend when I opened a bottle of 1999 Oasi degli Angeli Kurni. This micro-estate in Italy’s beautiful Le Marche is the vision and labor-of-love of Eleonora Rossi and Marco Casolanetti. Kurni is a perennial winner of Tre Bicchieri Awards in the Gambero Rosso and has become a true cult wine in Italy. The production of Kurni is measured in bottles instead of cases with a scant 4000 available to grace fine tables. Most of this treasure is grabbed up by Italian restaurants, but…
 
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    JancisRobinson.com

  • The new man at Lagrange (Videos/Podcasts)

    8 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm
    In last week's wine of the week, I promised to publish an account of a tasting lunch at Le Gavroche in London with the new man at Ch Lagrange in St-Julien. Bruno Eynard took over from Marcel Ducasse and is seen here with my fellow guests.  You may recognise them. See my tasting notes on.

  • Hungary for change (Tasting articles)

    8 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm
    Hungary has an admirable wine-producing tradition about which we have written far too little (even if a search for 'Hungary' produces 135 articles...). Of course there is the long article about Hungary in your online Oxford Companion, and an even more out of date overview here in our Resources.

  • COS Frappato 2008 IGT Sicilia (Wines of the week)

    8 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm
    From €10.05, £13.49, US$24.99 Find this wine . Sometimes you taste a wine and you want to do two things at once: (a) clear the room, sit down, and focus all your attention on the pleasure this wine gives and (b) invite all your friends round to share the pleasure with them. Cos Frappato 2008.

  • Wine and food matching – random musings (Don't quote me)

    7 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm
    The admirable Tim Hanni MW of the Napa Valley has been rattling our cages recently – not least by building on his researches into how different all our palates and preferences are. See, for example, his activities and findings at the Masters of Wine Napa Valley Symposium back in 2006 and then,.

  • NZ's new crop, incl sweet wines (Tasting articles)

    7 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm
    As heralded in NZ sweet wines at last , New Zealand Winegrowers held their annual generic tasting in London on 12 Jan. Having buried my nose in some rather lovely German stickies the day before, I was looking forward to what New Zealand had to offer for their sweet overture. My first overall.
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    Grapes and Grains

  • A Taste of: Franziskaner Dunkelweizen

    David Flaherty
    3 Feb 2010 | 6:22 pm
    You gotta love it when your friends prepare to move and unload their stuff on you.  Especially when its their booze. A good friend of mine, Tamara, has just moved to London to begin a new adventure overseas.  The fortunate thing for me is that she had amassed quite a wine and beer collection here in the old NYC and obviously couldn’t tote all those feckin bottles across the Atlantic.  Poor thing.  So, like the jolly good friend I am, I offered to take it off her hands and met her at the wineshop where she was working to pick up my booty. The stash was a score.  Some sparkling from…

  • A Nip of Knowledge: Contract Brewing

    David Flaherty
    28 Jan 2010 | 4:19 pm
    FX Matt Brewing Company Many beers we know and love are actually brewed by “contract brewers”, who can be hundreds of miles or even entire states away. “What?! What?!”, you say, “but that’s my hometown beer!” Now, I hear you and I was surprised to learn this too, but its actually quite common. A brewery that hires another is called a “contract brewing company”, while the one hired to do the brewing is called the “producer-brewery”.  There are a number of reasons to hire a contract brewer, but its mostly because of the large…

  • Beneath 9th Street: a Sake Adventure

    David Flaherty
    23 Jan 2010 | 8:16 am
    “So, I know this underground Sake bar nearby…wanna go?” “Hmm…I never really got into the stuff.  The process is interesting but the taste is pretty rough,” I said.  ”But an underground Sake bar, you say?” My fearless guide was my friend, Taylor, an actor turned doctor who somehow manages to know more cool restaurants and bars than I do.  Somewhere between suturing stab wounds and pulling 90 hour weeks, he manages to slip in a Bo Ssam at Momofuku or a specialty cocktail at Angel’s Share.  Maybe he’s just been lying to me about the…

  • A Taste of: Antonio Camillo Principio, 2008

    David Flaherty
    13 Jan 2010 | 6:58 pm
    Principio (100% Ciliegiolo), Antonio Camillo, 2008, Tuscany (13.5% Alc) “Hey, after you go in search of God, can you bring me back some vines?” And so it was that an obscure grape varietal named Ciliegiolo left its home in Spain and came to rest in Tuscany.  Or so its rumored…and only God knows the truth. Walking the pilgrimage from Italy to Spain is hot.  Brutally hot.  Your feet are covered in blisters.  All along the rocky path, you see people in various states of prayer, some half-conscious, others chanting quietly (sort of akin to a Grateful Dead show’s whirling…

  • Wine in NY Grocery Stores: Convenient or Catastrophic?

    David Flaherty
    9 Jan 2010 | 10:47 am
    “The Mondavi Chardonnay?  Yes, its on Aisle 312 next to the Weber Twin-Propane Tank, Stainless Steel, Mega Wild-Game Grill.” All across New York State, legislators and the wineries and wine shop owners they represent are in a heated debate.  Should New York grocery stores be allowed to sell wine or should it remain the sole domain of specialty wine shops? It’s frankly a bit of a morass where no one quite knows what effects will follow should the gates fly open and the Costcos and the Gristedes be free to set the juice loose next to the WonderBread and Cap’n Crunch. The…
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    My Wine Education

  • Featured Cincinnati Wine Events: Feb 5 – 12

    Michelle
    5 Feb 2010 | 12:41 pm
    Be still my beating heart!  The Weekly Wine Events are back! Really, all is takes is for me to be in town longer than a week at a time. And happily, I’m in town for quite a while this time! I’m terribly behind at this, and my calendar crashed and lost a lot of information this morning. So … please let me know what I’ve missed and I’ll add it to the calendar! You’re probably thinking Super Bowl for this weekend, but take a moment to peruse the rest of the February calendar. There are all sorts of great events coming up. Of course, if you look ahead on the…

  • Blood Into Wine: Maynard James Keenan

    Michelle
    4 Feb 2010 | 5:05 am
    Once upon a time I wrote for the (now defunct) Taste Magazine. I was working on an article about celebrity-branded alcohol, although that article got scrapped when I took over the Wine Academy column for the magazine. In the process of researching that article, I somehow managed to get in touch with the publicist for Maynard James Keenan, and eventually, I interviewed him. It’s just as well my article got scrapped, because my recording of the interview wasn’t very good. It was so bad, I have yet to be able to clean it up and use it. (Since then, I’ve improved my recording…

  • Better Off Bottled?

    Michelle
    3 Feb 2010 | 11:04 am
    CNN Money reported today that restaurant wine lists are huge rip-offs. I think we all knew this. But just in case you weren’t clear on the facts: Restaurants mark up cheaper bottles by an average of three times the retail price, while the prices of higher end wines are typically doubled, says Ronn Wiegand, a master sommelier who runs the industry newsletter RestaurantWine. Last week, I got to eat at the wonderful (and amazingly expensive) new restaurant Sage in Las Vegas’s new Aria / City Center complex. My friend and I picked a $44 bottle of Argentinian Malbec off of the wine…

  • Review: Tonic on 4th

    Michelle
    29 Jan 2010 | 5:44 am
    I really didn’t want to like Tonic on 4th. In fact, I loved Twist so much, and was so mad that it was gone, that I was determined to never go to Tonic. Period. Then I met Josh Durr, the cocktail consultant for Tonic. His skill with a cocktail shaker swayed me, and later the same week I popped into Tonic. I sort of feel like I haven’t left since. Josh trained all the bartenders (Benjamin, Maggie, Erin, and Mike), and every one of them has that vintage, craft cocktail thing down to the art that it is. Even better, they’ll explain anything to you, from how and why they make…

  • Cocktails: The Aviation and a True Whiskey Sour

    Michelle
    28 Jan 2010 | 9:00 am
    Here are some more drinks from our session with Josh Durr. The Aviation 2 oz dry London or Plymouth gin 1/2 oz Luxardo maraschino liqueur 1/4 oz crème de violette or Parfait Amour 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice Add ingredients to a shaker filled halfway with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. I had recently sat through a session on gin presented by Tanqueray, so I was surprised when Josh grabbed the Beefeater for this drink. He told me it’s bcause the big bold London gin flavor holds up to the rest of the ingredients. So there you go – it really does matter what…
 
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    Wilf's Wine Press

  • Chinese Wine Made in Australia...!

    Wilf G.K
    29 Jan 2010 | 12:41 pm
    Before I delve into today's topic, just a quick update on my last post. It seems that Brussel's concern about labeling is not impressing European consumers. In a report just released by the European Food Information Council and published in the Journal of Public Health, it states that only 16.8% of consumers looked at nutritional information on labels. Say no more. We all know that the Australian wine industry is going through a bit of a hard time and we also know that there is a potentially sizable market in China, but is selling out to the Chinese the answer? Doing business in and with…

  • Wine Labels Under attack by Brussels...!

    Wilf G.K
    18 Jan 2010 | 2:44 pm
    Are government wine regulators somewhat akin to restaurant food critics, who feel it is their job to be critical of every restaurant they review? Do regulators feel they must foist obnoxious rules on the wine community or they are not doing the job they are paid to do? North America may have their neo-prohibitionists but it seems Europe has a whole gang of neo....(fill in your own blanks ).They feel humanity must be saved form this harmful beverage that has been around for thousands of years. The latest outrageous proposal from Brussels will see dramatic changes to wine labels for wine…

  • Wine Predictions for the New Decade...!

    Wilf G.K
    7 Jan 2010 | 10:23 am
    As we begin 2010 and a new decade there are some fascinating predictions out there. Two I found particularly interesting were Steve Heimoff's "My Ten for the Next Ten" and Julie Brosterman's "Was 2009 the Tipping Point for Wine & Social Media." But let me begin 2010 with a needed correction to my last blog entry. If you look at the picture I posted, courtesy PhilippeDurst of the Dopff Au Moulin winery in Alsace, you would have to believe that there was a lot more pressure inside that bottle than the 2-3 atmospheres of pressure I attributed toCrémants.I am again indebted to Philippe for…

  • Celebrating and Toasting with a C....Sparkling Wine!

    Wilf G.K
    31 Dec 2009 | 8:24 am
    Will that be a Champagne, a Cava or a Crémant you will be drinking to celebrate the new Year? All of them made of course in the traditional method. Crémants are produced by adding a smaller dosage for the second fermentation, resulting in less carbon dioxide and thus a lower bottle pressure.This lighter effervescence creates a creamy texture to the wine and hence the term Crémant which means "creamy". Crémants have 2-3 atmospheres of pressure instead of 5-6 in wines from Champagne. My friend Philippe Durst, the Export Manager at Dopff Au Moulin in Alsace sent me this picture of a Crémant…

  • How Much Will you pay for your Wine.....?

    Wilf G.K
    7 Dec 2009 | 5:03 pm
    Yes ,the Asian market is hot. According to Sotheby's auction house fifty-seven percent of all wine sold by value went to Asian buyers this year. Asian bidding has boosted prices at both Sotheby's and Christie's International for first growths such as Lafite, Latour, Petrus and Mouton Rothschild. Both houses anticipate selling wines worth $5.7 million this week as buyers attend the last international sales of 2009 and thus propping up the prices once again for the greedy first and second growth Bordeaux producers. ( Don't be afraid to click on the feet in the picture.) But tell that to the…
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    Catavino

  • How to Pair Iberian Wine and Music: An Introduction

    Gabriella
    8 Feb 2010 | 4:11 am
    Editor’s Note: Burt Frink is not only a close friend of ours, but one of the most cultured individuals we’ve ever met. His ability to explain an opera, cook a 18th century French dish or dance the waltz with immense grace and dignity is astounding to our X Generation spirits. Thus, after the vast interest we received on our comparison piece on classical music and wine, Burt has taken a personal interest to chime in on a series dedicated to the subject. Now although Burt will be applying international grapes, regions or wines to a specific musical piece, we’ll make sure to…

  • Spanish Bullfighting: The Romance, the Drama and the Traditional Recipes

    justin
    5 Feb 2010 | 2:11 am
    Recently, the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia (or Catalunya) voted to ban bullfighting; which consequently, provoked me to write an article. Since moving to Spain in 2005, I have attempted to understand the “corrida de toros” – the bullfight. I have tried to learn as much as possible, both the pro and con; and yes, I confess I have attended quite a few corridas. Portugal has its own bullfighting traditions, as does France and Latin America. There is even a type of bullfight on the Zanzibari island of Pemba, off the east coast of Africa – a relic of Portuguese colonialism.

  • Iberian Spotlight: The economics of the 2009 harvest and its implications (part 2)

    Guest Blogger
    4 Feb 2010 | 1:56 am
    Editor’s note: Everyday, we come across fantastic articles on an Iberian food, wine or cultural experience by a blogger. Some are based here in Spain and Portugal, while others are chiming in halfway around the globe with a new Portuguese recipe or Spanish wine. So in the spirit of sharing quality content, we’re featuring a new section on Catavino called, “Iberian Spotlight”, which will highlight articles we feel are too great to pass by. Many of these bloggers aren’t getting the recognition they deserve, and by spotlighting them, we’re hoping to show added…

  • Iberian Spotlight: The economics of the 2009 harvest and its implications (part 1)

    Gabriella
    3 Feb 2010 | 2:36 am
    Editor’s note: Everyday, we come across fantastic articles on an Iberian food, wine or cultural experience by a blogger. Some are based here in Spain and Portugal, while others are chiming in halfway around the globe with a new Portuguese recipe or Spanish wine. So in the spirit of sharing quality content, we’re featuring a new section on Catavino called, “Iberian Spotlight”, which will highlight articles we feel are too great to pass by. Many of these bloggers aren’t getting the recognition they deserve, and by spotlighting them, we’re hoping to show added…

  • Portugal Overcomes Pride to Acknowledge an Unexpected Wine Leader

    Ryan
    1 Feb 2010 | 11:54 am
    Last year, I wrote an article on how Spanish and Portuguese wineries could succeed online. I mentioned words such as passion, culture, adaptability and history, which are all powerful reasons why Iberian wineries have a chance to succeed in Social media, but I’m afraid it’s not enough. I left out a key word that holds most of us back from succeeding, fear. Fear that if they try something and fail, everyone will laugh or pity them. Pride is extremely important in Iberia, often times dictating someone’s decisions and actions. From having your plumber blame the mold in your…
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    One Wine Per Week

  • Jacob's Creek Reserve Selections

    MonkuWino
    26 Jan 2010 | 2:00 am
    A short while ago I was contacted by a representative from Jacob's Creek who asked if I would be interested in samples of some of their wines. What the heck, it's free, right? Well, that isn't really the attitude I have towards samples; I honestly receive very few but am kind of glad about that because I don't want to get a whole bunch of wine I really don't want and then feel like I have to

  • Picton Bay 2008 Pinot Noir

    MonkuWino
    17 Dec 2009 | 9:14 pm
    Wow, TWO posts within the space of ONE week? Yes, 'tis the Christmas season and I am feeling generous with the words so I thought I would alert you to what I think is a bargain buy on a Pinot Noir that can be found at Trader Joe's. Well, perhaps can be found, since I bought this a few months ago.The Picton Bay 2008 Pinot Noir comes in a screw-top bottle, something I find very convenient since

  • Gift Idea

    MonkuWino
    13 Dec 2009 | 8:42 pm
    Here I am, emerging from the woodwork for a rare appearance to provide those of you who are stumped for a wine-related Christmas gift with a suggestion.Living With Wine: Passionate Collectors, Sophisticated Cellars, and Other Rooms for Entertaining, Enjoying and Imbibing is an elegant coffee table book authored by Samantha Nestor and Alice Feiring. Ms. Feiring's name may have rung a bell with

  • Keep Those Foods Fresh

    MonkuWino
    20 Oct 2009 | 9:01 pm
    Well folks, my post today isn't really about wine but it's about a wine accessory that you can use as an economical tool to keep your foods fresh, as well as your wine!Most of you are probably familiar with the Vacu Vin, the device that is designed to keep the remainder portion of wine in the bottle fresh by pumping out the air and then sealing the bottle with a rubber stopper. There's a lot of

  • Not a Pinot

    MonkuWino
    3 Oct 2009 | 9:42 pm
    Hey I am back but only briefly! I've been drinking wines consistently since my last post ages ago but have just been too lazy to write about them.I felt I needed to do this short review as a public service, though. I bought a bottle of 2006 Cherry Hill Pinot Noir Papillon from Trader Joe's a few weeks ago. It's an Oregon wine.Pouring it in the glass, it doesn't look like a Pinot Noir. It is too
 
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    News - Harpers.co.uk

  • Beware the looted Meister

    9 Feb 2010 | 7:48 am
    The trade is being warned about being offered stocks of stolen Jagermeister, following a theft from a lorry in Lincolnshire.

  • Indians 'want sweeter wines'

    9 Feb 2010 | 6:33 am
    Importers need to research the taste profiles of what Indian consumers would like to drink instead of pushing European-style wines, Robert Joseph has said.

  • Berrys predicts spectacular Bordeaux 2009

    9 Feb 2010 | 3:31 am
    Bordeaux 2009 could be a "spectacular" vintage, according to Berry Bros & Rudd sales director Simon Staples, who has had exclusive access to some of the wines.

  • German Wine Institute launches intern initiative

    9 Feb 2010 | 1:34 am
    The German Wine Institute (GWI) has launched an initiative aimed at giving young foreign wine industry professionals work experience at a top German wine estate.

  • JF Hillebrand wins new retail contracts

    8 Feb 2010 | 7:40 am
    JF Hillebrand, the specialist logistics provider to the beverage industry, has been awarded new contracts from two of the UK's largest retail chains.
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    Dr Vino's wine blog

  • Snowpocalypse! Wine tips from The Twitterverse

    Dr. Vino
    9 Feb 2010 | 6:39 am
    Yet another winter storm rips up the Atlantic coast. Areas that just got hit with two feet of snow may get another two feet starting today. What’s a wine lover to do? We turn to The Twitter: Robert Parker has food-wine pairings Mike Steinberger contemplates recruiting child laborers. Ray Isle comments about Shackleton’s whisky stash. Based in Tuscany, James Suckling has nothing to say about snow, but offers his (“false”?) opinion about Harlan in re: this epic thread.

  • Hoose juice, blogs, cheap Pinot, wine in food stores – sipped and spit

    Dr. Vino
    5 Feb 2010 | 8:14 am
    SPIT: “pinot noir” Pinot or dunno? The cachet and appeal of the fickle pinot noir has led to a proliferation of low-priced pinots, which, by US law, must only contain 75 percent to state the grape on the label. Decanter reports that French authorities have brought charges against 13 defendants in the the south of France for stretching pinot more than that, selling the equivalent of 16 million bottles worth of cheaper merlot and syrah to E & J Gallo for their $9 Red Bicylcette pinot noir. The court will likely hand down its decision in two weeks. GULPED: “wine” The…

  • Blaufränkisch: from zero to 60 in fifteen years

    Dr. Vino
    4 Feb 2010 | 1:41 pm
    In 1993 Englebert Prieler, an Austrian vintner, decided for the first time to bottle a single-vineyard wine from the grape variety Blaufränkisch. When it came time to sell the wine, he priced it the same as his better known Cabernet Sauvignon. However, the Blaufränkisch bottles languished unsold until a Swiss collector bought them all as a block. Adding insult to injury, the asking price at the winery was only 20 schillings (about 1.50 euro) a bottle.* Things have changed. The 2006 vintage of that same wine, a fuller style of Blaufränkisch, now sells for about $130 per bottle in the U.S.

  • Earth, wind and fire: tasting the terroir, Sonoma, 2008

    Dr. Vino
    2 Feb 2010 | 8:07 am
    I had heard about the fires in Sonoma 2008. But I had never tasted them. David Hirsch poured me a sample of his 2008 “The Bohans-Dillon” pinot noir at the recent trade tasting of his New York distributor. And guess what: it had a smoky notes swirling around the dark cherry fruit. If you like chipotle or a peaty whisky, and you like California pinot, I predict you will love this wine! (The smoky taste can come in non-blaze years from the “toast” level of barrels.) If you don’t but want to keep it in the Hirsch Vineyards portfolio, then perhaps try one of the 07s,…

  • Jason Haas can’t find lightweight bottles that don’t look cheap

    Dr. Vino
    1 Feb 2010 | 7:53 am
    Jason Haas went to Sacramento thinking thin. He came away disappointed. Although it’s known for belt-tightening of a different kind, Sacramento is not known as a weight-loss destination. In fact, Haas, the general manager at Tablas Creek Vineyards in Paso Robles was attending an enormous wine trade show. He recounts on his blog how set out to find a lighter bottle for his top wine, Esprit de Beaucastel, a red blend that retails for about $50. But, in the end, he wasn’t happy: It became clear that the bottle manufacturers have been taken by surprise with wineries’ desires for…
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    NAPA VALLEY WINE RADIO

  • Wine Trivia du Jour

    Nancy
    6 Feb 2010 | 3:08 pm
    Here’s a crazy one for you: True or false: The substance that makes microwave popcorn buttery is the same as the one that makes Chardonnay buttery. What do  you think? Too strange to be true? So strange that it has to be true? Find out in our Wine Trivia Challenge!  Cheers! Wine Trivia du Jour is a post from Goosecross Cellars. Copyright © 2010 Goosecross Cellars, All Rights Reserved.

  • Regina Extra Virgin Olive Oil

    David
    5 Feb 2010 | 9:39 am
    Fun Fact by Diane De Filipi, Let’s Go Cook Italian: Regina Extra Virgin Olive Oil Did you enjoy this? Here are more Fun Facts from Goosecross Cellars. Regina Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a post from Goosecross Cellars. Copyright © 2010 Goosecross Cellars, All Rights Reserved.

  • 2006 ÆROS Meritage signed by Geoff Gorsuch

    David
    3 Feb 2010 | 6:05 pm
    2006 ÆROS Meritage signed by Geoff GorsuchA bottle of our rare 2006 ÆROS Meritage signed by winemaker and co-owner Geoff Gorsuch. Retail price is $156.20 but starting bid is just $78.10. Going for $119.00Refresh Current BidEnding Date - 2010-02-05 18:04:23Shipping - $18.00Location - Yountville, CAAuction closedCurrent bidsLance Gorsuch bid $119.00 on 2010-02-05 17:41:23bill wright bid $117.00 on 2010-02-05 15:48:25Lance Gorsuch bid $115.00 on 2010-02-05 15:43:36bill wright bid $113.00 on 2010-02-05 15:37:56Lance Gorsuch bid $111.00 on 2010-02-05 15:26:08bill wright bid $109.00 on 2010-02-05…

  • 2006 ÆROS Meritage signed by Geoff Gorsuch

    Colleen
    2 Feb 2010 | 3:17 pm
    2006 ÆROS Meritage signed by Geoff GorsuchA bottle of our rare 2006 ÆROS Meritage signed by winemaker and co-owner Geoff Gorsuch. Retail price is $156.20 but starting bid is just $78.10. Going for $112.00Refresh Current BidEnding Date - 2010-02-05 15:16:01Shipping - $18.00Location - Yountville, CAAuction closedCurrent bidsDominic DesMarais bid $112.00 on 2010-02-03 10:31:30Adele Lerma bid $110.00 on 2010-02-03 10:30:59Adele Lerma bid $106.00 on 2010-02-03 10:30:04Adele Lerma bid $102.00 on 2010-02-03 08:52:27owentest bid $100.00 on 2010-02-03 08:48:14owentest bid $88.10 on 2010-02-03…

  • 2005 Napa Cab and 2006 Merlot Combo Pack

    David
    2 Feb 2010 | 3:08 pm
    2005 Napa Cab and 2006 Merlot Combo PackYou are bidding on one bottle of 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon etched with “Happy Valentine's Day” and one bottle of 2006 Napa Valley Merlot chocolate-dipped in dark chocolate. Retail price is $145.20 but starting bid is just $92.40. Going for $104.40Refresh Current BidEnding Date - 2010-02-05 15:07:12Shipping - $25.00Location - Yountville, CAAuction closedCurrent bidsDoug bid $104.40 on 2010-02-05 08:10:51Brian Marcoullier bid $102.40 on 2010-02-05 06:31:31Doug bid $100.40 on 2010-02-05 05:57:51Brian Marcoullier bid $98.40 on 2010-02-05…
 
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    NAPA VALLEY WINE RADIO BLOG

  • Wine Trivia du Jour

    Nancy
    6 Feb 2010 | 3:08 pm
    Here’s a crazy one for you: True or false: The substance that makes microwave popcorn buttery is the same as the one that makes Chardonnay buttery. What do  you think? Too strange to be true? So strange that it has to be true? Find out in our Wine Trivia Challenge!  Cheers! Wine Trivia du Jour is a post from Goosecross Cellars. Copyright © 2010 Goosecross Cellars, All Rights Reserved.

  • Regina Extra Virgin Olive Oil

    David
    5 Feb 2010 | 9:39 am
    Fun Fact by Diane De Filipi, Let’s Go Cook Italian: Regina Extra Virgin Olive Oil Did you enjoy this? Here are more Fun Facts from Goosecross Cellars. Regina Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a post from Goosecross Cellars. Copyright © 2010 Goosecross Cellars, All Rights Reserved.

  • 2006 ÆROS Meritage signed by Geoff Gorsuch

    David
    3 Feb 2010 | 6:05 pm
    2006 ÆROS Meritage signed by Geoff GorsuchA bottle of our rare 2006 ÆROS Meritage signed by winemaker and co-owner Geoff Gorsuch. Retail price is $156.20 but starting bid is just $78.10. Going for $119.00Refresh Current BidEnding Date - 2010-02-05 18:04:23Shipping - $18.00Location - Yountville, CAAuction closedCurrent bidsLance Gorsuch bid $119.00 on 2010-02-05 17:41:23bill wright bid $117.00 on 2010-02-05 15:48:25Lance Gorsuch bid $115.00 on 2010-02-05 15:43:36bill wright bid $113.00 on 2010-02-05 15:37:56Lance Gorsuch bid $111.00 on 2010-02-05 15:26:08bill wright bid $109.00 on 2010-02-05…

  • 2006 ÆROS Meritage signed by Geoff Gorsuch

    Colleen
    2 Feb 2010 | 3:17 pm
    2006 ÆROS Meritage signed by Geoff GorsuchA bottle of our rare 2006 ÆROS Meritage signed by winemaker and co-owner Geoff Gorsuch. Retail price is $156.20 but starting bid is just $78.10. Going for $112.00Refresh Current BidEnding Date - 2010-02-05 15:16:01Shipping - $18.00Location - Yountville, CAAuction closedCurrent bidsDominic DesMarais bid $112.00 on 2010-02-03 10:31:30Adele Lerma bid $110.00 on 2010-02-03 10:30:59Adele Lerma bid $106.00 on 2010-02-03 10:30:04Adele Lerma bid $102.00 on 2010-02-03 08:52:27owentest bid $100.00 on 2010-02-03 08:48:14owentest bid $88.10 on 2010-02-03…

  • 2005 Napa Cab and 2006 Merlot Combo Pack

    David
    2 Feb 2010 | 3:08 pm
    2005 Napa Cab and 2006 Merlot Combo PackYou are bidding on one bottle of 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon etched with “Happy Valentine's Day” and one bottle of 2006 Napa Valley Merlot chocolate-dipped in dark chocolate. Retail price is $145.20 but starting bid is just $92.40. Going for $104.40Refresh Current BidEnding Date - 2010-02-05 15:07:12Shipping - $25.00Location - Yountville, CAAuction closedCurrent bidsDoug bid $104.40 on 2010-02-05 08:10:51Brian Marcoullier bid $102.40 on 2010-02-05 06:31:31Doug bid $100.40 on 2010-02-05 05:57:51Brian Marcoullier bid $98.40 on 2010-02-05…
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    New York Cork Report

  • Arrowhead Spring's Estate Syrah Makes a Bold Statement

    Bryan Calandrelli
    9 Feb 2010 | 6:15 am
    By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Region EditorDuncan Ross is not one to get too visibly excited or emotional when he’s discussing his Niagara Escarpment winery in Lockport, NY. Arrowhead Spring Vineyards had just released their first 100% estate-grown red wine when I stopped in to speak to him about his 2008 Estate Syrah. Just as I expected, he was calm, cool and collected -- until the end of our interview when I asked him his overall impression of this wine. To which he responded, “It’s the best wine I’ve ever made.”If I weren’t sitting there with a glass of it in front of my nose,…

  • What We Drank (February 8, 2010)

    Lenn Thompson
    8 Feb 2010 | 9:38 am
    This week, our intrepid Niagara correspondent chimes in with her first contribution from South Africa, so she gets top billing. But, this is one of our better editions of WWD with some old wines, some poorly-rated-but-tasty wines and (of course) a couple beers. Julia Burke: Blaauwklippen 1993 Cabernet Sauvignon, 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon and 1999 Pinotage We don’t see a lot of aged South African wine in western New York – I think the oldest I’ve tried was a 2006 Cape blend. So when our assistant winemaker whipped out five aged Blaauwklippen wines on Thursday afternoon and asked us to try…

  • New York Wine News & Notes (February 8, 2010)

    Lenn Thompson
    8 Feb 2010 | 7:15 am
     By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-ChiefIt's been a while since we've compiled a "News & Notes" post, but as the busy season approaches in New York's wine regions, we'll probably be doing them more and more.  Jazz Returns to the Vines on Long IslandThe extremely popular Long Island Winterfest Jazz On The Vine is coming back this week and this year it's even bigger and runs longer than last year's successful program. This, the 3rd annual Long Island Winterfest, runs from February 13 to March 21 across the East End and features renowned jazz musicians…

  • New Chocolate and Wine Bar Opens In Rochester With Local Emphasis

    Evan Dawson
    7 Feb 2010 | 12:58 pm
    By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Admit it: On more than one occasion, you've said to yourself, I'm going to quit work and start my own bed and breakfast/wine bar/restaurant. Danielle Lewis and Michael Goldberg got sick of saying it, so they decided to finally do it.The result is Rochester's newest foodie attraction: Chocolate & Vines, located in a renovated house in the Neighborhood of the Arts. Lewis and Goldberg bought the house nearly two years ago and spent 18 months renovating it. They live upstairs, with the downstairs converted into a chic mini-restaurant with…

  • New York Cork Report Tasting Table: February 5, 2010

    Lenn Thompson
    5 Feb 2010 | 1:53 pm
    By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-ChiefThis week, the tasting table post is a little shorter than usual, but I've got a big tasting planned for Super Bowl Sunday. In the meantime:Fox Run Vineyards 2007 Merlot ($20): Ripe blackberry and plum with vanilla and smokey (American?) oak. Even smokier on the palate with vanilla covering up what is a nice core of ripe, concentrated fruit. Blueberry pie peeks through with time in the glass. Medium body, ripe, medium-low tannins. Great fruit, with a little too much oak.  (3 out of 5 | Recommended)Ravines Wine Cellars 2007 Chardonnay ($19): Toasty…
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    Chez Ray Winemaking

  • ***+ Chez Ray Gewurztraminer, Columbia Gorge, Underwood, WA, 2008

    jorray
    23 Jan 2010 | 4:35 pm
    Find Columbia Gewurztraminer at WineZap.  This Chez Ray Gewurztraminer 2008 white wine started life almost exactly one year ago as frozen grapes from Brehm Vineyards, specifically, this lot:328-06CGGW - 2006 Columbia Gorge Gewurztraminer, Underwood WA (G8)They were fermented with a 58w3 yeast, aged with a couple small slices of charred French oak, and bottled two weeks ago.  In the glass, this is a light yellow, with hints of green.Poured cold and swirled vigorously, the nose is bright with sweet lemon and grass.  On the palate, the first note is almost a brisk lime spritz that…

  • Jeremy's Berry Blend

    jorray
    5 Jan 2010 | 5:59 pm
    Here's Jeremy's Berry Blend.  Homebrewed, though I don't know the ingredients.  Let's see what comes through...In the glass: Jeremy's Berry Blend shows as very light red in the glass, with elements of pink and light brick. On the nose: Poured without a decant and swirled vigorously, the berry wine pours out an overwhelming fruit punch aroma, sweet and friendly and lifted high with the alcohol.   On the palate: The first element is a bright and dry berry bite at the back of your tongue.  Then a nice balance builds between the fruit, the acid and the light sweetness.  A…

  • Review and Rating: **** Chez Ray M5 Las Brisas Merlot, 2005, Carneros, Sonoma County CA

    jorray
    3 Jan 2010 | 12:45 pm
    Original Review, July, 2008: This is a newer vintage Chez Ray wine, vinted from Brehm frozen grapes from Sonoma county. This pure-breed merlot was first sampled here and its making was described here.Let's see what it brings to the table: In the glass, it is a deep magenta with dark purple tinged highlights. The aromas is beefy, sweet, fruity, oaky, chocolate and slightly dark - a nice combo! On the palate, the first note is an extracted, lightly acidic plum, pushed along by the deeper cocoa notes. Finish seems to fade, but comes back on a substantive rebound. I do believe this could use…

  • **** 2005 Windsor Russian River Cabernet Franc (F5), Sonoma County, CA - Review and Rating

    jorray
    5 Dec 2009 | 2:36 pm
    Original Review, August, 2008: This is second sampling of the 2005 Windsor Russian River Cabernet Franc, Sonoma County, CA. Grapes were frozen from Brehm Vineyards. First tasting was during our 2005 vintage blending party in the fall of 2006.Let's see how it's doing with a bit of age. In the glass, this is quite light and translucent, with colors of brick and red. Aroma is fruity, moderately bright, with a blast of medium-toasty oak. On the palate, the first note is a sweet blast of bright fruit in the middle of your mouth. That sweet friendliness slides along your tongue and to the sides of…

  • Rating: *** 2005 Chez Ray (Wine Kit) Woodbridge Ranch 11 Cabernet Sauvignon - Central Valley, CA

    jorray
    4 Dec 2009 | 2:55 pm
    Original Review May, 2007: This is wine made from a bag of grape juice! It is called the Selection Estate Woodbridge Ranch 11 Cabernet Sauvignon. I made it more or less following Winexpert instructions.I did not use the bentonite for clearing and I made it to about 5.5 gallons rather than 6 gallons. The major change I made was to add a bunch of skins from my own Lodi and Napa fermentation to potentially give this a bit more aromatic and tannin "punch". We'll see what came of all this...Color is an even deep red. While swirling, grape juice aromas jump out of the glass. On closer examination,…
 
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    Spirit of Wine

  • **+ $ Carmen Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo Valley, Chile - Wine Review and Rating

    jorray
    8 Feb 2010 | 8:33 pm
    Find Carmen Cabernet Sauvignon at WineZap.Original Review, April, 2009: More and more wines from Maipo Valley in Chile are making their way into the United States in recent months. Classic Bordeaux varietals such as cabernet sauvignon and merlot are frequent arrivals from these valleys, which are surrounded by the Andes mountains. Carmen Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006, is a value-priced offering from this area.Color of Carmen Cabernet Sauvignon is an even medium ruby red. Aromas are light and fruity, with hints of fresh laundry.On the palate, bright acids mix with red berry fruits and touch the…

  • *** $$ Avery Lane Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington State - Wine Tasting and Review

    jorray
    8 Feb 2010 | 7:18 pm
    Find Avery Lane Cabernet Sauvignon prices and retail availability.Original Tasting and Review:By way of background:Avery Lane Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington State is an offering from the Barclays Wine collection . The 2007 vintage is finished at 13.5% alcohol. In the glass: Avery Lane shows as light to medium red in the glass. On the nose: Poured with a brief decant and swirled vigorously, this cabernet sauvignon shows a strong, red, fruity, almost candy-like, merlot fruity aroma.   On the palate: The first element on the palate is an intriguing mid-palate mix of ripe red cherry plus…

  • ***+ $$ Shimmer Shiraz Merlot, Washington State, 2006 - Wine Tasting & Review

    jorray
    8 Feb 2010 | 6:21 pm
    Find Shimmer at WineZap.Original Tasting and Review:By way of background: Shimmer is a blend of shiraz and merlot (thus the name, shi-m-mer) from Washington State, and acquired as part of a Barclays Wine package . The 2006 vintage is a 50/50 blend and finished at 13.4% alcohol. In the glass: Shimmer shows as medium deep red in the glass. On the nose: Poured with a brief decant and swirled vigorously, this shiraz-merlot offers deep, knitted black and red currant aromas.   On the palate: The first element on the palate is the lush, perfumed shiraz fruit, bringing a slight milk chocolate…

  • *** $$$$$ Chateau Troplong Mondot, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France - Wine Tasting & Review

    jorray
    7 Feb 2010 | 2:18 pm
    Find Chateau Troplong Mondot prices and retail availability.Original Tasting and Review:By way of background: Chateau Troplong Mondot, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France, is a Bordeaux red blend of 90% merlot, 5% cabernet franc and 5% cabernet sauvignon. The 2007 vintage has been aged between one and two years in 75% new oak barrels. In the glass: Chateau Troplong Mondot shows as medium deep red in the glass. On the nose: Poured with a brief decant and swirled vigorously, this red Bordeaux shows old world aromas with hints of menthol and cocoa. On the palate: The palate is even, round…

  • **+ $$$ Chateau La Tour Figeac, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France - Wine Tasting & Review

    jorray
    7 Feb 2010 | 2:09 pm
    Find Chateau La Tour Figeac prices and retail availability.Original Tasting and Review:By way of background: Chateau La Tour Figeac, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France, is, for 2007, a blend of 65% merlot and 35% cabernet franc, aged for about a year and a half in about 2/3 new oak barrels. In the glass: Chateau La Tour Figeac shows as medium deep red in the glass. On the nose: Poured with a brief decant and swirled vigorously, this Saint-Emilion Bordeaux shows a sweet, new world-influenced currant aroma.On the palate: The first element on the palate is an odd one indeed - it is mostly…
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    The Cork Board

  • Yountville’s Bouchon Bakery adds sweet treats for Valentine’s Day

    TrevR
    5 Feb 2010 | 2:18 pm
    With Valentine’s Day just over a week away, the folks over at Bouchon Bakery in Yountville have checked in with details on their sweet treats for the occasion. If you happen to pay a visit to the bakery anytime between now and Valentine’s Day you should be able to find the following specialty items (among others): Shortbread “Conversation Hearts” (pictured above): Classic shortbread cookies covered with white chocolate yogurt glaze. Each Valentine’s Day message is done in chocolate. $3.50 each Heart-Shaped Passion Fruit Macarons: Bouchon’s classic large macaron with…

  • Cork Bits: ideas for your Napa Valley weekend

    Oliver J
    4 Feb 2010 | 11:39 am
    The first weekend in February is nearly here and you know what that means… No, not the Super Bowl (although that is this Sunday). Here in the Napa Valley February marks the kick-off of new release season at our local wineries. For all you Cabernet Sauvignon lovers out there, this weekend we have no fewer than five separate release parties that you’ll want to check out. Saturday, February 6th From 9am – 3:30pm the venerable Silver Oak Cellars in Oakville will hold its release day. For $50 per person (tasting fee plus logo glass), you’ll be able to enjoy tastings of the…

  • 2008 Oberon Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc

    TrevR
    2 Feb 2010 | 9:32 am
    Having previously enjoyed the 2006 Oberon Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, we decided to pick up a bottle of the 2008 Oberon Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc to go along with a recent dinner. About Oberon As a reminder, Oberon Wines are produced by Rob Mondavi, Jr. and include Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. The wines are purposefully designed to be consumed in the shorter term and Oberon sources fruit from several prime Napa Valley AVAs, including Oakville, Rutherford, Stags Leap and other “emerging sub-appellations”. Tasting notes The wine had classic…

  • Napa Valley photos: a foggy, soggy Sunday morning

    TrevR
    31 Jan 2010 | 9:55 am
    It’s a typical winter morning here in the Napa Valley. Cool and crisp, beautiful low-hanging fog and a bit of moisture on the ground and in the vineyards. We snapped a couple photos early this morning to share with you all, enjoy! TechTags Plugin [ Napa | Napa Valley | wine | winery | vineyard | napa vineyards ] Share and Enjoy:

  • Video: CNN examines the Napa Valley Wine Train and its potential link to stimulus funds

    TrevR
    29 Jan 2010 | 1:17 pm
    In case you missed it, the Napa Valley finds itself in the middle of the national debate about how federal stimulus funds are being spent. At issue is the fact that U.S. Senators John McCain and Tom Coburn put the Napa Valley Wine Train at #11 on their list of ‘wasteful’ stimulus projects back in December. Here’s the report. Shortly thereafter, the Wine Train’s Director of Marketing and PR published an open letter to Senator McCain rebutting the report. Fast forward to yesterday, after CNN payed a visit to the valley they ran the following: So, what do you think about…
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    Celebrate Wine

  • My Wine Story

    9 Feb 2010 | 9:01 am
    © Or Hiltch Wine is the drink of romance. As we approach Valentine's Day, I wanted to share some of my story about how I got "into" wine. How I came to love the vine and make it an integral part of my life. My parents let me try my first glass of wine at about thirteen. I never saw my parents abuse alcohol, they would have a glass or two at dinner. Whenever we had wine, my mother used nicer plates, so I ...

  • I Can't Smell Anything

    2 Feb 2010 | 11:44 am

  • Americans Are Drinking More Wine - Just Not from California

    30 Jan 2010 | 12:38 pm
    © naotakem A number of sources (Decanter, Bloomberg, The LA Times) are reporting on some recently release sales numbers showing that the California wine industry had a bad year in 2009. Wine consuption in the US was up in 2009, by 2.1%. But California wine shipments dropped for the first time in 16 years. In other words, Americans are drinking more wine and less California wine. Add to this picture the fact that British wine consumers cut consumption of California wines by more than ...

  • Fondue Wines

    24 Jan 2010 | 11:29 pm
    © AMagill For Christmas I got my first full fondue set. To break it in, some girl friends and I threw a fondue party this past weekend. It was a learning experience in many ways but one of the best parts was testing out wines to go with the fondue. We used three types of wine for our fondue night. The wine to make the cheese fondue and the wine we served with it. We also made chocolate fondue, so there was yet another ...

  • Sarah Palin to Speak at The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers Association

    24 Jan 2010 | 7:21 pm
    © geerlingguy Sarah Palin, the former US Vice-Presidential candidate, will speak at this year's Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) convention in Las Vegas. I had to find that in a couple of places (like here and here) before I was sure I believed it. I don't usually think of Sarah Palin and alcohol as things that go together. But evidently the WSWA does.'Governor Palin is a great supporter of America's free enterprise system and understands that industries like the beverage alcohol industry play ...
 
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    domaine547

  • 2008 “Bebame” Red, El Dorado County, California

    d547
    5 Feb 2010 | 11:40 am
    Cabernet Franc (65%) and Gamay (35%) from - gasp - California! And only 13% ABV, pretty modest by California standards. If I tasted this blind I would probably have said it’s from the Loire Valley. It has pretty much nothing in common with the full bodied iterations of Cab Franc coming out of Napa. Juicy, [...]

  • 2006 Telegramme Chateauneuf-du-Pape Rouge

    d547
    5 Feb 2010 | 11:34 am
    Really balanced and smooth, this is a bargain of a Chateauneuf. Yeah, the 07s are lauded but what would I prefer to drink? This! It’s the second label of Vieux Telegraphe, from the same property but from younger vines. And it’s a deal at $33 a bottle.2006 or bust!

  • Wine Retail and Social Media: Yeah, I Should Be Blogging…

    d547
    5 Feb 2010 | 11:28 am
    But I’m not. Funny, it was pointed out to me that domaine547.com appears as a successful example of social media in wine (juxtaposed against the Wine Spectator of all things) in this recent presentation (see slide #25). I guess they haven’t looked at the blog lately; it hasn’t been updated in weeks. Really, in my internet-only days, I [...]

  • Free Corkage Alert! Umami Burger and domaineLA

    d547
    6 Jan 2010 | 1:34 pm
    Umami Burger’s truck has been parked today on Citrus just north of Melrose, and in addition to a welcome expansion to my lunchtime options (and an unwelcome expansion of my belly), I’m pleased to report that Adam Fleischman, owner of the enterprise, made a most generous offer to me as I waited for my burger: [...]

  • Where To Find domaineLA in La-La-Land

    d547
    30 Dec 2009 | 11:04 am
    The “about us” section below (in blue) is wrong. I need to amend it, and that involves some code and stuff that I don’t know how to do without the expertise of others currently unavailable. So, in the meantime, if you’re looking for domaineLA in the real world, rather than online, here’s where you can find [...]
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    [Spittoon] Full Postings

  • The Best of the Loire: Le Concours des Ligers

    8 Feb 2010 | 9:30 pm
    The 24th Loire Valley Wine Trade Fair/Salon des Vins de Loire ran over three days (1st - 3rd February 2010) last week. In addition to the great and the good of this oft ignored region offering their ranges to taste the Fair also hosts the Le Concours des Ligers competition. [Tweets from the Fair can be read via the #loiresalon tag] "This competition is run by the Union des Oenologues de France and the Loire trade bodies. For the past 15 years, it has rewarded the finest Loire Valley Wines. More than 2,000 wines will be tasted by 300-plus professional tasters." The gold medal winners were…

  • Pizza Express Leggara Wines

    7 Feb 2010 | 5:15 am
    I'm not the target market for these wines that's for sure. While some may mention the need for a little midriff weight reduction, low calorie wines are not the way forward! I'm at the pizza Express launch of two Leggara low-alcohol wines; both Italian. The red, a Sangiovese, is from Sicily while the white, a Pinot Bianco, was sourced from up north somewhere (no, not Leeds) but Piedmonte I believe. Pizza Express gave their wine buyer, Adrian Garforth MW, the brief to create two wines to accompany their low-calorie Leggara pizzas. This range, incidentally, have proved to be hugely popular and…

  • Philip Laffer of Jacobs Creek Live Online

    4 Feb 2010 | 5:30 am
    Just back from France and the Loire Salon; time to catch up on the ol' emails... this press release caught the eye with its mention of a live webchat with a winemaker... Ever stood in the wine aisle and felt lost in a sea of wine bottles, then help is at hand in the form of Philip Laffer, legendary winemaker at Jacob's Creek. With so many wines to choose from, how do you make sure that you find the wine to suit your taste? Internationally renowned winemaker Philip Laffer has been at the forefront of Australian winemaking for over 40 years. He heads up a 20 strong winemaking team, and oversees…

  • Four Reds from the South of France

    26 Jan 2010 | 1:00 am
    What is it with Grenache/Carignan/Syrah blends? Those deep savoury edged, black fruit wonders that make my heart quiver. And why is those from the South of France are simply the best; my favourite style of wine by far? You can pour those expensive clarets down the sink, keep those Burgundian Pinot Noirs in the rack thank you very much; for me a decent bottle from the Languedoc will do me fine. And it has to be the Languedoc, for you just don't find the same concentration and textural qualities from anywhere else. You can add a dash of Mouvèdre in the mix if you like, even better if you have…

  • A Wine For Macaroni and Cheese

    24 Jan 2010 | 12:00 pm
    My Macaroni and Cheese recipe calls for cooked pasta, doused in cheese sauce, topped with a mix of fried pancetta cubes, breadcrumbs, Parmesan and parsley, then baked for twenty minutes. On removal top with a little sprinkling of parsley and grated lemon zest. Not a dish I'd make that often, the diet ain't that great, but lapping up a tasty rich dish once in a while can't hurt (can it?). It's all part of the challenge put out some time ago by The Cheese Lover to find the ultimate Macaroni and Cheese recipe. A local dimension earns extra points but sadly a really local cheese was next to…
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    Snooth Blog

  • Scheduled Maintenance

    mark
    8 Feb 2010 | 3:23 pm
    Snooth will undergo scheduled hardware maintenance on Wednesday, February 10 from 2AM-5AM ET. During this time, the site will be unavailable. We appreciate your patience as we upgrade our servers.

  • Daily Wine Wisdom

    mark
    3 Feb 2010 | 2:14 pm
    While building Snooth, we spend a good bit of time talking about wine. We’re data people, so one of the things that interests us are factoids or wine tips, anything that might expose the nuances, or the story of wine. Now that we’ve had a chance to accumulate these bits of information, we were able to put them in a format we thought would be most useful for everyone. Each day, the Daily Wine Wisdom widget will display an interesting tidbit or wine fact that any wine lover might find interesting. The best part is that you can embed it on your blog, so you can get the newest tip…

  • Hitting the mark in 2009

    philip
    31 Dec 2009 | 10:04 am
    364 days ago, on the 1st January 2009, I blogged my expectations for the coming year. They were not supposed to be wishes, or predictions, but ‘conservative’ estimates. I cringe when I go back and read the arrogant tone I used when proclaiming what we’d accomplish, and I’m glad that many times during this year I fretted that we’d miss these targets and I’d have only myself to blame. Now, on the ultimate day of the year, its time to revisit these targets and see how we fared: We’ll work hard, release new features, improve those already there, make some…

  • New look for Winery, Region and Grape pages

    philip
    7 Dec 2009 | 6:53 am
    About a year ago we launched pages for every winery, region, grape, store and other key wine tags in our database, over 100,000 pages in total. At first these were rather empty, but over time we were able, with our users and partners help, to flesh them out. As the content of the pages evolved, so did the way that you used them. And so, we felt it was necessary to give them an update so they could better serve the current needs of you, our users. Two weeks ago, we quietly launched the new versions. They had been under development and testing for over 2 months, which makes this one of our most…

  • Snooth announces 250,000th Registered User

    philip
    16 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am
    Snooth registered user base growing by 500% per year New York, NY (November 16, 2009) — Snooth, the world’s largest wine site, today announced that it had added its 250,000th registered user. This milestone comes a few months after Snooth announced its 100,000th registered user earlier this year. Over the last twelve months Snooth’s registered user base has grown over 500%, with a 300% growth in overall traffic over the same time period, to todays figure of over 1 million users per month. The number of registered users, those who sign up to have a profile on Snooth, is currently…
 
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    Beyond the Bottle

  • Connections: Oregon Vines and Family Roots

    Thad W.
    7 Feb 2010 | 1:15 pm
    For anyone who has been following my posts these last couple of years, it should be readily apparent that I am biased toward Oregon wine. That said, this bias may not exist for reasons solely associated with my subjective taste preferences. In the last year, I have come to realize my personal journey with wine, especially that comprised of Oregon fruit, may be just as much about my past as it is about my palate. While I am a Texan by birth and an Okie by childhood, both branches of my family tree have firm roots in the state...

  • Vin de Lac 2008 Vie! Viognier Lake Chelan

    Thad W.
    6 Feb 2010 | 4:16 pm
    A clear straw color in the glass, the Vin de Lac 2008 Viognier Lake Chelan (14.3%) offered citrus fruit and wet stone notes to the nose. Crisp acidity with a pleasing minerality in the beginning but then followed by a bit of heat to the back of the throat on the finish. While it showed promise, the higher alcohol relative to other Lake Chelan 2008 viogniers I have tried recently would prompt me to pass on another bottle of the Vin de Luc Vie! ($18). Related Links Wine Press Northwest Review Vin de Lac Site...

  • Pacific Rim 2008 Sweet Riesling Columbia Valley

    Thad W.
    6 Feb 2010 | 4:05 pm
    Full Disclosure: This wine was provided as a free sample from the producer. In the glass, the Pacific Rim 2008 Sweet Riesling Columbia Valley (8.5%) was a clear, yellow-green gold color with pronounced petrol on the nose followed by tropical fruit, especially pineapple. This Washington riesling was pleasantly sweet with enough acidity to provide a terrific balance. Flavors of pineapple, peach, and minerals were evident in this medium full wine. I really enjoyed the Pacific Rim sweet riesling and at $10 this is a wine to have often with spicy Asian fare or on its own. Related Links Pacific…

  • Brick House 2008 Gamay Noir Ribbon Ridge

    Thad W.
    6 Feb 2010 | 9:48 am
    Last year, I really enjoyed Doug Tunnell's 2007 Gamay Noir, and ended up buying half a case of this Biodynamic certified wine. Therefore, it was with much anticipation that I tried the Brick House 2008 Gamay Noir Ribbon Ridge (13.5%), a natural wine that while different in some ways from the '07, it is one I will definitely stock up on. The '08 Brick House Gamay Noir ($24) was a clear, garnet red in the glass, offering perfumed notes of strawberry and cherry fruit, dusty spice, and earth. In the mouth, this Oregon gamay delivered a nice silky texture, with...

  • Patricia Green 2008 Pinot Noir Balcombe Vineyard

    Thad W.
    6 Feb 2010 | 9:15 am
    In the glass, the Patricia Green 2008 Pinot Noir Balcombe Vineyard Dundee Hills (13%) was a deep garnet red, delivering strong notes of earth following by black fruit. In the mouth, this was a well balanced Oregon pinot, a bit funky on the first night and then a tad sweet and concentrated on the second. We paired the Patricia Green Balcombe ($32) with grilled trout that was served with a mango/avocado salsa and farro. The next dinner we matched it was grilled lamb loin chops, roasted broccolini, and white beans. This pinot offered a nice compliment to both meals, which...
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    Good Wine Under $20

  • Warm Cabernets for Cold Winter Nights

    8 Feb 2010 | 5:30 am
    It's snowing on the east coast, raining on the west coast, and wintery everywhere in between. Nothing suits this kind of weather better than Cabernet Sauvignon, and I've been tasting my way through a nice selection of Cabernets and Cabernet blends in pursuit of the perfect wines to complement soups, stews, and braises.If you're looking for a red wine to warm up your winter evenings, look for one of these in a store near you, and try out some of these great recipes while you're at it!2008 Bodegas Osborne Cabernet-Tempranillo Tempra Tantrum. ($11.99) Tempra Tantrum is a new line of…

  • Blog, Interrupted

    6 Feb 2010 | 3:21 pm
    Well, it was bound to happen. After blogging 4-7 days a week for nearly three years without a hiccup or a hitch, something called LIFE intervened in early December and it's been almost two months since my last post. ("Interrupted" by Sebastiano Pitruzzello aka gorillaradio)Since that time I've heard from some of you who asked if I was ok (I am--just inconceivably busy), and others who wanted to know what's up (a lot, actually, but nothing that I wish to disclose here and now!). While I was away, the comments sections for various posts were filled by interesting contributions from people…

  • Another Simple Solution--and It Involves Pinot Noir

    9 Dec 2009 | 5:30 am
    I've found another simple solution to the "what's for dinner?" crisis many of us face at the end of a busy day.I was intrigued by Mark Bittman's recent recipe in the New York Times for "risotto-style" chicken pasta. What I most liked about it was that it involved one pan, one cutting board, one knife, and a lot of things we always have in the house (chicken in the freezer, mushrooms in the fridge, pasta and chicken broth in the cupboard). Who has time to wash dishes this time of year? And it seemed as though it would be finished--from prep to plate--in around 30 minutes. What's not to like?As…

  • In Pursuit of Simplicity: Sauvignon Blanc

    7 Dec 2009 | 5:30 am
    The holidays can be a crazy, stressful time. Every now and again, it's good to take a deep breath and simplify where and when you can.In our house, this means selecting meals that aren't fussy, are built around kitchen staples so they require no last-minute shopping, and that taste comforting.What's true of the food goes for the wine, as well. And for my money Sauvignon Blanc wins in the simple, elegant, affordable, and tasty sweepstakes.If you're feeling overwhelmed, plan on making a delicious pot of tomato soup like this excellent version from Michael Chiarello, grilling some cheese…

  • World Turned Upside Down? Time to Catch Up

    30 Nov 2009 | 5:30 am
    Where did last month go? I don't know about you, but I'm totally upside down with work, work, family, and more work. (photo by Capture Queen)Hope you are all fully recovered from the festivities of the Thanksgiving season. Lots of you were anxious about wine right up to the day before the Big Dinner, and I hope that you enjoyed whatever you picked. If you want to spy on what others popped and poured, it's always fun to stop by CellarTracker and see what the members there drank on the day. Looks like Pinot Noir was once again the winner among red wines, and Chardonnay was on top among…
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    Family, Love, Wine Blog

  • Social Media Quick Tip: Tag Your Favorite Wine Brands on Facebook

    Melissa Dobson
    14 Jan 2010 | 1:59 pm
    This is old news for some, but if you haven’t explored the status tagging feature (similar to photo tagging) on Facebook, take a few minutes and check it out. Status tagging can help your winery’s Facebook fan page to become more engaging and vibrant.  Facebook users can type the “@” symbol before a Facebook fan page name that they’re a fan of along with the first few letters of the fan page right after the @ sign, and Facebook begins to populate your friends names and fan pages for you to click on, creating a direct link to the page (or personal profile) and…

  • Academy of Wine Communications:Twitter Basics Immersion for Wineries

    Melissa Dobson
    12 Jan 2010 | 9:31 am
    Winter Beauty on Keuka Lake Our next meeting of the Academy of Wine Communications here in the Finger Lakes will be followed by an interactive Twitter Basics Immersion for Wineries for AWC members.  The meeting and seminar will be held at Ravines Wine Cellars on Keuka Lake thanks to their offer to host us and let us utilize their wireless connectivity.  Date is still TBD but watch for info soon. Update: Meeting and Twitter Immersion date set for Wednesday, 1/27/10 Topics for Twitter Immersion to include: No question too simple, be sure to ask those questions that have been keeping you from…

  • Happy 2010 from Family, Love, Wine!!

    Melissa Dobson
    5 Jan 2010 | 2:46 pm
    Frying Cheese Pierogis for Christmas with my little sis Wishing you all of the love, success, happiness and new wine discoveries in the New Year.  I hope to continue to evolve both my business and the content here to bring you more consistent and helpful info.  I’d love to connect and help you with questions via Twitter @MelissaDobson, on Facebook at facebook.com/MelissaDobsonPRMarketing , or via email at melissa (dot) dobson (at) avantguild (dot) com.  See you soon! Very best to you always, Melissa Dobson

  • Academy of Wine Communications-FLX: Invitation to our next meeting

    Melissa Dobson
    3 Dec 2009 | 12:18 pm
    Attendees to Our Info Meeting at Heron Hill Winery Attention Finger Lakes wine PR & marketing professionals:  This is an open invitation to you to our next meeting on Thursday, 12/10/09.  Hope you can join us!  UPDATE 12/7/09: Meeting location is at Ravine’s Wine Cellars, 14630 State Route 54,  Hammondsport, NY 14830. Please RSVP to melissa (dot) dobson (at) avantguild.com before 12:00 noon tomorrow if you’ll be attending. Hi all, For those who haven’t discovered us, the Academy of Wine Communications is a group of wine communications pros based in Napa, CA (history…

  • Humbled Wine Consumers Want Luxury Products Made by Real People

    Melissa Dobson
    1 Dec 2009 | 3:25 pm
    Visitors at Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards (photo provided by Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards) Recently, this excerpt resonated with me and I thought of you.  It’s from “What Will 2010 Bring for Fine Wine Sales?” the preliminary findings of Silicon Valley Bank’s  Annual State of the Wine Industry Report for 2010-2011: “…the fine wine business at some point in the past decade began to believe the product was about an expensive purchase and ego-based conspicuous consumption. The industry now finds a humbled consumer still wanting luxury products, but products made by real…
 
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    Enobytes Wine Blog

  • Ancient Peaks Winery-Good and Green

    Mark Storer
    7 Feb 2010 | 11:01 pm
    Ancient Peaks Winery is riding high. Not only does it sit a bit higher in elevation, but the recent certification of its Margarita vineyard as Sustainable in Practice, or SIP, is another feather in an already festooned cap. This is a storied vineyard in a storied place. Franciscan missionaries founded rancho Santa Margaraita, at the foot of the Santa Lucia Mountains and the top of the Cuesta Grade between San Luis Obispo and Atascadero, CA in 1774. The vineyard itself was planted by Tim Mondavi in the 1990’s and was purchased by Doug Filipponi and his partner Karl Wittstrom in 2005.

  • #VinQ Wine Trivia Players! We’re Giving Away Prizes!

    enobytes
    5 Feb 2010 | 11:01 pm
    Attention #VinQ fans: This Tuesday, we’ll be giving away prizes! Everyone who participates on Tuesday, February 9th between 5–6 PM PT will be entered into a drawing to win a fabulous prize. THE PRIZE We’ll be giving away four tickets to the Pinot Noir Summit ($125 value), compliments of Barbara Drady – you might know her as @wineevangelist on twitter! If you’re passionate about Pinot, this is one of those events you won’t want to miss. The event will take place Saturday, February 27, in San Rafael, CA. HOW IT WORKS On Tuesday, February 9th, log on to your twitter…

  • Twitter Lingo for Wine Geeks (Part II: #Hashtags)

    Pamela Heiligenthal
    1 Feb 2010 | 11:01 pm
    If you managed to survive our last post on how to find and follow wine twitters,  your’re ready to dive into our next topic, #hashtags, so lets get down to business. Today we’ll dig into using #hashtags efficiently so that you get the most out of what they have to offer. THE BASICS In simple terms, think of a hashtag as a means to create “groupings” on Twitter to organize your comments so that others can find them later. In other words, let’s say you have a file cabinet at your office and you want to name a folder “Zinfandel” and file it under…

  • Twitter Lingo for Wine Geeks (Part I: Finding & Following)

    Pamela Heiligenthal
    25 Jan 2010 | 11:01 pm
    So I hear you’ve recently set up a new Twitter account but you’re lost at what to do with it now, eh? Well let me tell you dear reader friend, you are not alone. As I’ve written in a previous post, social media is transforming our media landscape and for some, it’s not so easy to grasp this newfound concept. If you’re like most of my readers, you’re probably asking questions like,  “How do I…” or “What does “RT” mean“, and “How do I find winos?“, or what the heck is a “#wine“? …and for my…

  • Food & Wine Fundraisers for Haiti

    enobytes
    16 Jan 2010 | 5:12 pm
    If you are looking for ways to help Haiti victims, so many great wineries, restaurants and bloggers are pulling together to help the Haiti victims devastated by the 2010 earthquake tragedy which sparked widespread panic as it caused destruction throughout Port-au-Prince. Here are just some of the great fundraisers happening around the world. Please consider participating or donating to one of these great charitable organizations. Brother, can you spare a bottle? is teaming up with Palate Press: The online wine magazine to encourage the wine-loving world to contribute to a cause outside our…
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    The Cork Board

  • Yountville’s Bouchon Bakery adds sweet treats for Valentine’s Day

    TrevR
    5 Feb 2010 | 2:18 pm
    With Valentine’s Day just over a week away, the folks over at Bouchon Bakery in Yountville have checked in with details on their sweet treats for the occasion. If you happen to pay a visit to the bakery anytime between now and Valentine’s Day you should be able to find the following specialty items (among others): Shortbread “Conversation Hearts” (pictured above): Classic shortbread cookies covered with white chocolate yogurt glaze. Each Valentine’s Day message is done in chocolate. $3.50 each Heart-Shaped Passion Fruit Macarons: Bouchon’s classic large macaron with…

  • Cork Bits: ideas for your Napa Valley weekend

    Oliver J
    4 Feb 2010 | 11:39 am
    The first weekend in February is nearly here and you know what that means… No, not the Super Bowl (although that is this Sunday). Here in the Napa Valley February marks the kick-off of new release season at our local wineries. For all you Cabernet Sauvignon lovers out there, this weekend we have no fewer than five separate release parties that you’ll want to check out. Saturday, February 6th From 9am – 3:30pm the venerable Silver Oak Cellars in Oakville will hold its release day. For $50 per person (tasting fee plus logo glass), you’ll be able to enjoy tastings of the…

  • 2008 Oberon Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc

    TrevR
    2 Feb 2010 | 9:32 am
    Having previously enjoyed the 2006 Oberon Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, we decided to pick up a bottle of the 2008 Oberon Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc to go along with a recent dinner. About Oberon As a reminder, Oberon Wines are produced by Rob Mondavi, Jr. and include Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. The wines are purposefully designed to be consumed in the shorter term and Oberon sources fruit from several prime Napa Valley AVAs, including Oakville, Rutherford, Stags Leap and other “emerging sub-appellations”. Tasting notes The wine had classic…

  • Napa Valley photos: a foggy, soggy Sunday morning

    TrevR
    31 Jan 2010 | 9:55 am
    It’s a typical winter morning here in the Napa Valley. Cool and crisp, beautiful low-hanging fog and a bit of moisture on the ground and in the vineyards. We snapped a couple photos early this morning to share with you all, enjoy! TechTags Plugin [ Napa | Napa Valley | wine | winery | vineyard | napa vineyards ] Share and Enjoy:

  • Video: CNN examines the Napa Valley Wine Train and its potential link to stimulus funds

    TrevR
    29 Jan 2010 | 1:17 pm
    In case you missed it, the Napa Valley finds itself in the middle of the national debate about how federal stimulus funds are being spent. At issue is the fact that U.S. Senators John McCain and Tom Coburn put the Napa Valley Wine Train at #11 on their list of ‘wasteful’ stimulus projects back in December. Here’s the report. Shortly thereafter, the Wine Train’s Director of Marketing and PR published an open letter to Senator McCain rebutting the report. Fast forward to yesterday, after CNN payed a visit to the valley they ran the following: So, what do you think about…
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    Confessions of a Wino

  • Virgin Bubbles

    Alastair Bathgate
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:19 am
    If you are a UK based champagne glugger who buys the brands you might want to check out Virgin Wines who seem to have some pretty sharp prices right now. I haven’t done extensive research but bog standard Moet is £23.99 which is about the same price as Tesco and if you subscribe to the Virgin Wine Bank* there is an effective 25% discount on that.  Other champagnes look similarly discounted. www.virginwines.com *Wine Bank asks you to make a regular monthly contribution (I pay £20 for example) and every quarter a monthly subscription gets added.  So I have just spent 6 months of…

  • Cycles Gladiator Pinot Noir 2006

    Alastair Bathgate
    8 Feb 2010 | 2:19 pm
    I was in New York City a couple of months ago and stumbled across a wine shop on the Upper West Side.  I posed the shop guy a challenge.  I wanted to take just one bottle back to the UK.  What would he recommend?  Something American, good value, underrated, and not available in the UK. He suggested that I see through the marketing gimmicks of Cycles Gladiator and try the Cabernet Sauvignon at about 11 bucks.  I’ve not tasted it yet. At a California Wines event in London last month, I stumbled across the same brand.  A number of thoughts raged.  It’s available in the…

  • Catena Alta Malbec 2005

    Alastair Bathgate
    4 Feb 2010 | 7:52 am
    My 1986 Hand of God driven campaign to avoid everything from the land of Peron ended for two reasons.  Firstly, I finally forgave Maradona.  Lurching from national crisis to personal crisis, he cuts a sorry figure on the world football stage these days.  Secondly, Argentina produces some of my favourite wines and, at my age, there is little point in cutting ones stem off to spite ones Riedel Vinum. This Malbec from Catena Alta is a prime example.  It is quite expensive, although nowhere near the 37M euros that Maradona owes the Italian tax authorities.  Is it worth it? I think…

  • Hawksmoor fails to wow…

    Alastair Bathgate
    2 Feb 2010 | 3:46 pm
    I realise I am risking treading on revered toes.  Almost every food blogger within Patriot Missile range of London thinks that Hawsksmoor is legend.  Esteemed mainstream critics from Jay Rayner to Giles Coren have extolled its fleshy virtues.  I was recommended, no, TOLD to go there by cheese lover, Ramsay denier and beefy beefcake Chris Pople. In short I expected great things.  But whenever you set high expectations, it is inevitable that not everything lives up to the dream.  And a few things fell short for me. Maybe I live in a world of my own, but going out to dine is not just…

  • Rules, Covent Garden

    Alastair Bathgate
    29 Jan 2010 | 11:57 am
    It was like stepping into a Victorian hunting odyssey.  I almost expected a golden maned Aslan to stalk majestically through the lobby.  Or the wardrobe door to open to reveal Mr Tumnus the fawn hanging butchered, ageing for 28 days, or whatever fawn meat hangs for. The entirely appropriately named Julian showed me to a totally spiffing, and intriguingly unique, table for one.  Facing the back of a church bench I wondered if I should sit or kneel.  But it was, like nearly every table, surprisingly discreet.  I never felt I was being overlooked despite constantly tapping into my iPhone,…
 
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    wineconversation.com

  • The next 48 hrs’ content is brought to you by …

    robert
    4 Feb 2010 | 3:05 am
    When I asked recently whether I should let you know about interesting opportunities and stories that emerged despite them being as a result of my work (in the wine business), the resounding response was yes, but please disclose it. So here’s the lowdown on the next couple of days. I first met Fred Siriex, General Manager at Galvin at Windows, through twitter when he was one of the first top London restaurateurs to explore twitter. By coincidence I also began a commercial relationship with his restaurant when he listed the wines from Dinastia Vivanco not long after. Fred is a mate and he…

  • Sizzling steaks and beefy blokes

    robert
    25 Jan 2010 | 6:21 am
    Simon Majumdar profile I don’t claim to be a food ‘expert’ in any shape or form – whether as a taster or cook. However, I do enjoy good food when I am offered it, and especially when I have friends with me who know more about it than I do, and help me learn something about it. I have met Simon Majumdar, one half of the Dos Hermanos crew, on a couple of occasions. Simon puts on what are probably the most stunning events I know of for bloggers such as myself, under the banner of “Dine with Dos Hermanos” (I strongly urge you to join their facebook group and…

  • On paper, this is not such great value

    robert
    21 Jan 2010 | 3:56 am
    I should first point out that I have never read any other Robert Parker book, magazine or web forum (beyond a few glimpses). I will readily admit that the part of the wine business that he normally focuses on, and they way he does it, have little allure for me. Much as I love wine, and much as I’d love to drink mature quality wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone, Napa, and so on, I am not a collector of wine ‘experiences’ or points, and I have a limited budget I would rather spend on my family than on such wines. My interest in wine is much more cultural and prosaic. So,…

  • Bibendum Annual Tasting 2010 – the Bibendum Times

    robert
    20 Jan 2010 | 12:40 am
    Today I will spend the entire day in the company of around 2000+ wine professionals, 1000 different wines, 200 producers and, for the first time at such an event, maybe even hundreds of twitterers?! I will do my best to bring you video, photos and tweets from the tasting, but Bibendum have created a very interesting site for Bibendum Times which will probably be the best place to see all the aggregate content being produced on the day. Wish me luck and keep an eye on @thirstforwine on twitter!

  • Lulu Does England

    robert
    19 Jan 2010 | 3:34 am
    As you would imagine, being a wine lover and living in the UK is great because we have access to great wines from all over the world. The UK is still one of the biggest, and most cosmopolitan, importers of wine in the world. This situation arose, in part, because we didn’t have the climate to make the range and volumes of wines we wanted to drink. We simply HAD to go abroad to find it. However, wine has actually been made in Britain for centuries, mainly thanks to the Romans I believe. What is more relevant, however, is that England today is becoming a great centre for the production of…
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    Vino Sense

  • Green Is Good, But Quality Rules

    Roberto Viernes
    3 Feb 2010 | 2:00 am
    You see it everywhere. “Green” this, “green” that. The wine scene and business are no different. The movement toward sustainability in viticulture as well as the estates and facilities where the wines are made is still on the upswing. And it is all for the good of the environment.

  • Understanding How To Enjoy Wines

    Roberto Viernes
    27 Jan 2010 | 2:00 am
    “Do you understand the wine?” is what I was asked after I made a strange face when tasting a wine. I used to hate when people asked me that. The question seemed so condescending. It’s as if someone is so unintelligent as not to be able to “understand” a wine.

  • For Winemakers, It’s All In The Yeast

    Roberto Viernes
    20 Jan 2010 | 2:00 am
    Listening to Harry Belefonte singing about counting bananas got me thinking of how some white wines can smell just like ripe bananas.

  • Lunching With The Super Tuscans

    Roberto Viernes
    13 Jan 2010 | 2:00 am
    Some of the most enjoyable wine tastings are unplanned. I had to visit a friend to take care of some business. I had just visited him the day before to drop off some wine he was planning to drink the following (this) evening.

  • Discovering New Palate Pleasers

    Roberto Viernes
    6 Jan 2010 | 2:00 am
    I trust you had your fill of holiday cheer and toasting. Have you made your New Year’s resolution yet? Here are some of mine - wine-wise, anyway.
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    Woot Wine! - One Week, One Wine

  • Lost Canyon Stage Gulch Syrah Three - Pack - $54.99

    7 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm
    The Grander CanyonMy horse had run off during the night. My map was swept away in a Flash flood. I thought I was lost. Little did I know I’d just found myself.I wandered the canyon for days, foraging for food, half-mad from not hearing another human voice for so long. I was just about to eat some kind of crawdad I’d dug out of a creek bed when the aroma caught me. Was it blackberries? Blueberries? Leather? White pepper? Or even… rose petals? It was all those things, a complex potpourri that set my mouth to watering. I followed that scent like a bloodhound, deeper into the canyon, deeper…

  • Metrokane Six Piece Houdini Wine Tool & Stand

    4 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm
    One Last Chance“Jamie! Jamie, open the door! Jamie, please, I know you’re home, just come out and talk to me! It’s raining out here and I just want to talk for a second!”“Stephen? Stephen, what are you doing out here?” “Jamie, I want you back. I’m just a mess without you and I… Wait a sec. Is someone else here? Are you with somebody in there?!” “Sigh. Yes, Stephen, if you must know, there is a nice gentlemen in my house waiting at my dinner table with a meal he cooked just for me who is probably wondering why I’m out here trying to get my ex-boyfriend off my porch.”…

  • Radog Pinot Noir Three - Pack

    2 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pm
    Play It Again, StanOf all the comic shops, in all the towns, in all the world, she had to walk into mine.She was schweet. Super schweet. It’s not everyday you meet a girl with a head for comics and a body built for continuity. From the moment we first discussed the art of Jack Kirby, we both knew that when our lives crossed over, nothing would be the same. Some things are unstoppable, I guess, like the Juggernaut or one of Wolverine’s berserker rampages. And for what seemed like a brief six-issue run, we were happy. Maybe it was the fights over who was the better Green Lantern. Maybe it…

  • Mumm Napa Sparkling Trio - Three Pack

    31 Jan 2010 | 10:00 pm
    Like A Vampire For Your MouthSparkles mean love! Love means gifts! Gifts mean Valentine’s Day! You see where this is going, right?She wants him to think she’s prettier. He wants her to think he’s manlier. Or maybe he wants him to think he’s prettier, or she wants her to think she’s manlier. Love is love as far as we’re concerned. They all want the other to laugh a little more at their jokes. Any other day of the year, a boxed malt liquor would be a perfectly acceptable way to enhance this mutual appreciation. But we’re talking about Valentine’s Day. On Valentine’s Day,…

  • G Debbas Chocolate Valentines Truffles

    28 Jan 2010 | 10:00 pm
    A little candle light, some rose petals…...but first: you know what you’ve gotta do.“Come ooooooon!” Do it. “Come ooooooooooon!” DO it! “Grrr.” - 1 minute later - Oh wow, that was great! I’m so glad I was able to order these things right away, so they had time to get here for Valentine’s Day! “Because you wanted to see me do the Truffle Shuffle on the most romantic holiday in America?” No, silly, because I wanted to enjoy Swiss style truffles in creamy milk- and rich dark chocolate with delicious ganache centers in flavors like Apple Pie, Espresso, Hot Cocoa,…
 
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    1 Wine Dude

  • Men Should Not Wear Cowboy Hats, and A Vision of Thomas Keller as A Psychopath (Tasting Rocca Vineyards Cab)

    1WineDude
    9 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am
    I’m sorry, but someone had to say it. Men should not wear cowboy hats.  Well, most men shouldn’t wear cowboy hats. They’re not cool.  Cowboy hats look cool on approximately 0.002% of the U.S. population, and most of those are women, so sorry guys – chances are you are not in that population subset. As evidence, I submit two photos from the Rocca Family Vineyards website.  As is evident in the following examples, Patrick Swayze-style hair appears infinitely cooler than covering that same hair underneath a cowboy hat: There is wine involved in this, of course – happily,…

  • The Wine Media, The Wine Brand, and The Wine Message (Read It Or Weep)

    1WineDude
    8 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am
    Last week, Vino 2010 (self-described as “the biggest Italian wine event ever held outside of Italy”) officially touched down in NYC. One of the most anticipated discussions of Vino 2010, at least in the eyes of PR, media, and wine writers, was the panel “Blogging on Wine and Social Networking: New Tools in reaching Consumers of Italian Wine” moderated by Anthony Dias Blue.  1WineDude.com readers will already know that I was a bit concerned when I’d heard that Dias Blue would be moderating, as I felt that he was too publicly anti-blogging based on quite negative statements…

  • Weekly Twitter Wine Mini-Reviews Round-up for 2010-02-06

    1WineDude
    6 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am
    07 Olson Ogden Stagecoach Vineyard Syrah (Napa): What's not to love: the price. What's to love: everything else, esp. those silky tannins B+ # 09 Grey's Peak Riesling (Waipara): Quince, stone & tropical fruit, & a balanced sense of place – all for under $20. Hats off to the Kiwis. B # 06 Buehler Papa's KnollCabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Special delivery from kickass dark cherry & spice. Pls. don't open for 5 yrs $45 B+ # 08 Buehler Chardonnay Reserve (RRV): So, the tropical fruit & minerals are served with a healthy dollop of cream. You can handle…

  • The Thrill of Acknowledgement, The Agony of Shout-Outs

    1WineDude
    5 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am
    Ok.  I wasn’t going to post about this, because quite frankly I’m starting to feel like I am treading a very fine line between self-serving, ego-stroking promotion of this blog and giving legitimate props to folks who are helping to make 1WineDude.com successful. This kind of tears me up because I’ve been blessed with some great shout-outs for the blog. Naturally, one wants to kind of celebrate that but also, and more importantly, give some attention, thanks and promotion to the people who have been kind to you. But I think it makes for some potentially terrible reading.  At best, it…

  • The $97.18 Wine List

    1WineDude
    4 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am
    In its December 2009 issue, the fine wine industry mag Sommelier Journal decided to take an interesting and unique angle on the ‘year end wine recap.’ Instead of compiling a year-end best-of list, Editor David Vogels asked a hand-selected group (consisting primarily of wine directors, sommeliers and other wine pros) to contribute what they thought to be the most memorable wine they’d tasted in 2009.  The only restrictions: the wine had to be available in the U.S., and the contributor shouldn’t be commercially representing the wine in any way. It’s a novel and very entertaining…
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    BerlinKitchen

  • 2007 Jos. Christoffel jr.

    12 Feb 2010 | 2:11 pm
    Später mehr..........Later more..........

  • Raumland Cuvée Katharina

    11 Feb 2010 | 2:10 pm
    Später mehr..........Later more..........

  • 2001 Bürklin-Wolf Kalkofen

    10 Feb 2010 | 2:09 pm
    Später mehr..........Later more..........

  • 2007 Keller von der Fels

    9 Feb 2010 | 2:08 pm
    Nachdem Wolf „Innauen“ den Wein vor ein paar Tagen so perfekt beschrieben hat, mußte ich natürlich auch mal wieder eine Flasche aufmachen.Über diesen Wein sind schon viele Verkostungsnotizen verfasst worden. Mein Eindruck, nachdem ich ihn 2009 mehrfach jung getrunken hatte: Kurz nach dem Öffnen sehr verschlossen, aber das dekantieren hilft dem Wein auf die Beine. Wie es sich für einen Riesling gehört zeigt er ein Aprikosenherz. Aber Säure, Mineralität und Körper sind so unglaublich fein und präzise, dass der Wein schon fast an Burgunder erinnern würde, wenn er nicht diese…

  • 2007 Acustic

    8 Feb 2010 | 2:04 pm
    Der Gerhard Retter beschreibt diesen Wein wahrlich fabelhaft in folgendem Video, aber ich hätte doch besser die Finger davon gelassen. Ich werde mit span. Weinen einfach nicht mehr glücklich.......www.captaincork.com/Acustic-2007This spanish wine from Montsant got a lot of praise from the best german Sommelier, Gerhard Retter. Honestly, I made a mistake. I don´t like spanish wines anymore, too much fruit, too much alcohol, too much oak and too boring.
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    Good Grape: A Wine Manifesto

  • Big and Rich

    jlefevere@gmail.com
    9 Feb 2010 | 4:40 am
    In the midst of the turmoil in the wine industry about the long-term ramifications of the “trading down” phenomenon, I’m reminded that everybody should have a dear friend who is a non-materially oriented (read:  Buddhist-light for the western palate) career California lifeguard, a world traveler and an educated wine enthusiast. It does a lot to keep you grounded, with eyes open, while also reinforcing that there are a lot of smart palates out there that never “traded up” to begin with.  This “new normal” we hear about is actually the…

  • Field Notes from a Wine Life – Errata Edition

    jlefevere@gmail.com
    6 Feb 2010 | 8:47 am
    Odds and ends from a life lived through the prism of the wine glass … Super Bowl Sip Normally, I’m the first person to mock the lifestyle articles that present mindless wine pairings around the holidays.  These articles are now popping up like mushrooms after the rain because of the Super Bowl, an unofficially official national holiday.  For some reason, perhaps because I live in Indianapolis, home of the Colts, I am benevolently ambivalent about these articles this year.  I say, go forth and work on that Champagne or Riesling pairing with potato chips…

  • The State of California Wine by the Voice of the People

    jlefevere@gmail.com
    2 Feb 2010 | 6:39 pm
    No offense to Jon Bonné, wine writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, but the reader comments elicited by his recent Chronicle blog post entitled, “Why California Wines Aren’t Selling” are far more interesting and insightful than his rehash of Jon Fredrikson’s address at the Unified Symposium. No offense to Jon Fredrikson either but his presentation, by most accounts, seems to be a recitation of what anybody who has read the news in the last year already knows – the upper-end of the domestic wine price spectrum is challenged. I caveat the “no…

  • Vin de Napkin - Slice of Vice

    jlefevere@gmail.com
    31 Jan 2010 | 5:28 pm
    There is a reason why having a hunk of bloody rare red meat, a Manhattan and a cigar holds a tantalizing allure for many a man—it’s because it’s legal, but practically verboten in a world gone safe like the blunted edge of a set of safety scissors. It’s living on the edge ... without having to go to the trouble of doing anything illegal.  Let’s face it—nothing fun is really, theoretically, good for you.  Except wine.  Wine seems to be good for you ... ... and, that’s the problem ...  I really don’t want to see any more…

  • Field Notes from a Wine Life – Then and Now Edition

    jlefevere@gmail.com
    29 Jan 2010 | 10:31 am
    Odds and ends from a life lived through the prism of the wine glass … Nipping it in the Bud The over/under betting line on how soon an online wine writer will wax philosophic and draw an analogy in between the new Apple iPad and wine is set at three days.  This earnest soul, our online wine writer, his proverbial skirt still blown upward from Steve Jobs’ hyperbolic presentation on Wednesday, will say that the iPad has an opportunity to “change the game” for the wine-interested.  This writer will urge us to ponder the possibilities:  How amazing it would…
 
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    Pinotblogger: the Capozzi Winery blog

  • Winegrowing and Baseball – Rotobase

    Josh Hermsmeyer
    4 Feb 2010 | 3:06 pm
    Wine and baseball are intertwined in the best of ways. Both the growing season and the playing season overlap almost perfectly. Pitchers and catchers report in February, foreshadowing the beginning of spring training. In the vineyard we prune and train our vines in February in anticipation of spring. Play begins in earnest in April, and hope is in the heart of every fan for the possibilities of a great season. Bud break and initial vine growth occur with the crack of the first bat. Early season injuries can devastate a team (~cough~ Jose Reyes ~cough~) just as easily as early season frost can…

  • Charlie Palmer Pigs & Pinot – Customer Service EPIC FAIL

    Josh Hermsmeyer
    22 Jan 2010 | 3:10 pm
    Charlie Palmer’s annual Pigs & Pinot event is a well regarded and, if this year is any indication, well attended event. Which is why it is both surprising and completely unacceptable to receive the following email: Dear Candace, We are very sad to bring this news to you today. Demand for Pigs & Pinot this year was incredibly high, so high in fact, that our technology server was not equipped to handle the volume of ticket purchases made on the website yesterday at 12PM. This resulted in six times the amount of tickets allocated for online purchases to actually process prior to…

  • Climate Change and Wine Growing: One Farmer’s Opinion

    Josh Hermsmeyer
    7 Dec 2009 | 12:37 pm
    A couple items in the news and the on the blogs prompted this post. First was the recent discussion by Jeff over at Good Grape about Tom Johnson’s (author of Louisville Juice) contention that wine bloggers don’t link to each other. One of the reasons for this, Jeff says, is because of the dearth of meta stories that are news-driven and thus have universal effect and interest. I think he’s right. Two other stories this morning also prodded me to post. One is this story on CNN talking about winemakers fighting climate change. Another is this recent post on Palate Press…

  • W. Blake Gray On Why Amazon Really Quit Wine

    Josh Hermsmeyer
    3 Dec 2009 | 12:43 pm
    Some very important reporting from W. Blake Gray. For the impatient, the reason is: taxes. Read the whole post.

  • Still Blogging The Birth of a Winery, Four Years Later

    Josh Hermsmeyer
    30 Nov 2009 | 10:38 am
    A little over 4 years ago (November 18th 2005 to be exact) I wrote the following: Welcome to pintoblogger.com, a blog I’ve created to outline the long and painful processes involved in starting and building a family winery in the Russian River Valley. I’ll be honest, just typing the words above was daunting. I have no illusions that the project will be either quick or painless, but, as they say, nothing worth doing ever is. How bad can things really get when you’ve got the opportunity to build something you are truly passionate about anyway? I guess we’ll find out! Maybe I’ll look…
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    Aristide - Blog di viaggio nel vino

  • Amarone 2006, annata da esploratori

    aristideblog@mac.com (Giampiero Nadali alias Aristide)
    1 Feb 2010 | 3:02 am
    Archiviata la manifestazione di presentazione dell'Amarone 2006, voglio condividere con voi alcune sensazioni raccolte in questi intensi giorni di degustazioni e lavoro di "intelligence" tra i protagonisti, ovvero quei 66 produttori presenti in Fiera a Verona, oltre a un lotto...

  • A Scuola di Champagne

    aristideblog@mac.com (Giampiero Nadali alias Aristide)
    20 Jan 2010 | 11:16 am
    Insistete proprio a usare l'innominabile espressione riferita indifferentemente a Champagne, spumanti, frizzanti, mossi e gazzose? Forse vi serve tornare a scuola? Sì, ma di Champagne. Anzi, meglio cominciare dall'Università, dal top, e poi scendere negli abissi... delle "bollicine". Per questo...

  • Aristide compie oggi 5 anni

    aristideblog@mac.com (Giampiero Nadali alias Aristide)
    15 Jan 2010 | 3:47 pm
    Aristide, questo wine blog, compie oggi 5 anni. Dal 16 gennaio 2005 ne sono successe di cose. Da quando racconto la mia esperienza di viaggio nel mondo del vino, la mia vita è cambiata profondamente. Ho aggiunto nuove amicizie alle...

  • Amarone 2006, riparte la stagione delle anteprime

    aristideblog@mac.com (Giampiero Nadali alias Aristide)
    12 Jan 2010 | 2:39 pm
    Con l'anno nuovo si annunciano le anteprime delle grandi denominazioni italiane. Caratterizzeranno la fine dell'inverno, tra la fine di gennaio e i primi di marzo. Sono eventi di interesse soprattutto per la filiera professionale: i produttori presenteranno le nuove annate...

  • Propositi per il 2010: piantiamola di chiamarle "bollicine"

    aristideblog@mac.com (Giampiero Nadali alias Aristide)
    6 Jan 2010 | 11:31 am
    Finite le feste natalizie, prevedete quel che volete per il 2010. Raramente qualcuno andrà a controllare a fine anno cosa si è avverato delle vostre previsioni. Ma volete una previsione sicura sicura? Il qui presente Aristide, seduta stante, non userà...
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    Tempranillo Tango

  • Return to the Vineyard

    23 Jan 2010 | 1:46 pm
    Now that harvest is over and the wines are being tucked away in barrels or bottles, it is time to return to vineyard duties. We have had some cold weather that has taken the vines into slumber and are ready to be pruned. It is amazing to me still the transformation that takes place in the vineyard from leafless and pruned to full of life laden with fruit. This is where the first determination of vine growth and fruitingon the vines begins. We look at growth from last year to help determine where the cutting should happen. The hardiest buds are kept and then look at where we want to encourage…

  • The Long Harvest is Over- time for Beer!

    9 Dec 2009 | 6:15 am
    This has been the longest harvest that I have ever been through.....and survived! I don't think I really saw summer, being buried in grapes, and now it is cold and frosty outside and cold and frosty inside - outside due to the weather, inside because cold stabilization for whites and sparklers is happening. The longevity of harvest this year was because we had a cool summer and the grapes were able to sit on the vines a little longer- truly mature. Those that waited, even with threats of rain, were rewarded with great flavors in their grapes.My home vineyard, Tres Palmeras, is a great example…

  • Taking a Breath! Harvest is not Over Yet,,,,,,,,

    5 Oct 2009 | 6:38 am
    Going non stop since August 8 and there are still more grapes to go! All of the 'sparkling' grapes are in as well as most of the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Some of that still trickling in. Now waiting for the rest of the reds, like Cabernet, to come in. It has been an odd harvest- there is always a little lull in between the rush of the early grapes transitioning to the later reds- this year has been a big break!Last week was the third harvesting of the Tres Palmeras vineyard- it is great to bring in the fruit that you have labored over the past year. The crop was very light due to the…

  • The Fast and the Furious Harvest

    8 Sep 2009 | 10:36 am
    I am totally immersed in harvest - the grapes keep a comin' and I keep a pressin'. The past month of harvest has been primarily grapes for Sparkling wine and we are just beginning to see some of the 'Still' wine grapes, like Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc start to trickle in. For those of us that make bubbly, harvest starts about one month ahead of those that do more of the still. Since the winery I work with does both, it makes for a very long harvest- about 2 1/2 to three months.Speaking of Sparkling wine, my dayjob with Rack and Riddle has partnered up with CrushPad to make bubbly-…

  • Let the Harvest Begin!

    17 Aug 2009 | 6:11 am
    Pinot Noir for Sparkling wine started coming in last week- yippeee! The smells of the grapes and the juice from the press is magical- I really don't know how to explain it. What I have seen so far are very small berries and a fair amount of shatter. This is when the blooms to do not create berries, creating a cluster that does not have all of its grapes. I will talk more about shatter later with pictures. It is early yet to see what all varieties will bring us as far as crop load.Yesterday the bird netting went up in the Tres Palmeras vineyard. The birds are starting to come in droves and…
 
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    Wine Weekly

  • Red Wine Review: Cono Sur Pinot Noir

    vinojoe
    26 Jan 2010 | 8:21 pm
    Cono Sur Pinot Noir 2008 | Chile · Central Valley Ever since the movie “Sideways”, Pinot Noir has been the wine of choice among casual wine drinkers. As a result, we’ve seen a glut of Pinot Noir brought in from every corner of the world, many at remarkably affordable price points. The truth is, most of the Pinot Noir sold under $20 doesn’t hold a candle to the luscious high-end examples from California that Miles Raymond gushed over on screen. Additionally, most are so manipulated with modern technology that they barely resemble the pure fruit and terroir…

  • Sparkling Wines for New Year’s

    vinojoe
    30 Dec 2009 | 10:58 am
    Wow … 2009 ended quickly. It’s time to ring in the new year with a sparkling wine or Champagne. Here are my favorites: Heidsieck & Co. Monopole “Blue Top” Champagne This is the real stuff, meaning, real Champagne (in other words, made in France, from grapes grown in the Champagne region). This is dry and delicious, comes in a festive bright yellow bottle, and can be found for around $35. Click here for tasting notes and a full review of Blue Top Champagne. Pommery POP Earth Another “real” Champagne, this one is eco-friendly, made with its carbon…

  • Last-Minute Wine Gifts Under $50

    vinojoe
    24 Dec 2009 | 10:42 am
    Still need to pick up a nice bottle of wine for a holiday dinner or as a gift? Here are some options, all under fifty bucks. Sandeman 10 Years Tawny Port What better drink to enjoy by the fire after a holiday meal than a classic Port? This one has been aged for you — for at least 10 years in oak barrels — and delivers an exquisite array of berry, spice, and nut flavors on a silky texture that keeps going and going in a lush, complex finish. Drink it alone or match it with creamy cheeses, cheesecake, creme brulee. Montes Montes Napa Angel Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 The Chilean…

  • Red Wine Review: Van Duzer Pinot Noir

    vinojoe
    11 Dec 2009 | 9:49 am
    Van Duzer Estate Pinot Noir 2007 · Willamette Valley, Oregon I meant to get this one into the Thanksgiving Wines series but somehow it slipped through. In any case, you don’t need to have turkey to enjoy this Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley of Oregon — it goes with just about any lean meat or vegetarian dish. Tasting Notes: Van Duzer Estate Pinot Noir 2007 Fragrant, expressive nose of fresh ripe strawberries, red raspberries. In the mouth you get similar flavors, though slightly more muted — starting with strawberry, raspberry, and cherry upfront, eventually…

  • Beckmen Sauvignon Blanc for Thanksgiving

    vinojoe
    25 Nov 2009 | 9:49 am
    Beckmen Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc · Santa Ynez Valley, California This one is a late addition to the list, I know, but it is well worth considering for your Thanksgiving feast. By its nature, Sauvignon Blanc tends to be a food-friendly wine, pairing well with myriad dishes. And what Thanksgiving table doesn’t include myriad dishes? This particular Sauvignon Blanc from Beckmen Vineyards is enjoyable on its own — so you can serve it before dinner — but also has a character that matches well with enough foods that it can continue to be poured throughout the feast.
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    jamie goode's wine blog

  • Films and books and stuff

    Jamie
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:05 am
    Just been on to amazon and ordered a book recommended to me by Ted Lemon, who was at Pinot Noir 2010. Ted's wines are fantastic, and so anything he wants to put on my reading list is fine by me. It's called 'Agroecology', by Miguel Altieri. Not cheap at £30, but I'm hoping it will be very good. On the flight on the way back from Auckland I caught a few films. Here are my amateur reviews.1. In The Loop (www.intheloopmovie.co.uk) is utterly brilliant. You must see it. I almost cried laughing at several places. Malcolm Tucker is an utter genius. This is one of those films you can watch several…

  • More New Zealand pictures

    Jamie
    7 Feb 2010 | 10:11 pm
    Just a few more pictures from my recent trip.The glorious views over lake Wanaka from Rippon, Central Otago (above).This is an aerial view showing Kawarau (left) and Pisa Range (right, with its distinctive black poplar trees), in Central Otago's Pisa district.This is one of the black poplars at Pisa Range, this time viewed from the ground.

  • Does having a nice experience of a country bias writers, even subtly?

    Jamie
    7 Feb 2010 | 9:43 pm
    Keith P posed an interesting question in response to one of my blog posts from New Zealand. To paraphrase: does having a nice experience when visiting a wine region of country introduce a degree of positive bias in subsequent reviews?Let's put this another way. Would it, in fact, be better for wine critics to have samples sent and taste the wines blind in a relatively neutral environment, such as their offices? There are a couple of well known critics who 'don't do vineyards', for example. Is their coverage more objective? Are wine reviews done in large, blind peer-group tastings of c.

  • Leaving New Zealand

    Jamie
    5 Feb 2010 | 11:34 pm
    So I'm on my way home. Two weeks on the road is probably enough: I'm missing home. Still, it has been a great trip. I'm pictured above flanked by Andrew and Katharine, with whom I have spent two very enjoyable days. I wish we lived nearer to them.I'm now sitting in the lounge at Auckland airport, sipping a very precise Man O'War Sauvignon Blanc 2008. Next time I come here, I'm going to have to visit Waiheke Island. Their Syrah was one of the high spots of the Syrah symposium last week. New Zealand Syrah and Pinot Noir have a bright future. The future of New Zealand's fine wine dimension is…

  • In Auckland

    Jamie
    5 Feb 2010 | 6:52 pm
    My last couple of days in New Zealand are being spent with some friends in Auckland, The Hemingways. We knew them well in the UK, but a decade ago they moved out with their five children to live here. It has been great fun. Their kids are now, with the exception of one, teenagers and young adults, and there's a real positive vibe in the house. Where they are living, some way out of the centre in west Auckland, is pretty and leafy. We're just taking it easy, swapping stories, and drinking some nice wine and playing some guitar. Their son, Oscar, is a musical genius. He plays guitars and keys…
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    Weincasting™

  • WC Lektüre vom 30. Januar 2010

    Charles B.
    30 Jan 2010 | 8:28 am
    Auch wenn alle von Apples iPad reden, ich werde es auf keinen Fall… auslassen. Auch wenn es nicht ganz zum Thema Wein passt. Oder… doch? Egal ob das Ding ein Erfolg wird oder nicht, eines ist inzwischen klar, Informationen werden mobil. Und nicht nur auf skatkartengroßen Mobiltelefonen mit Mondtarifen, wie sie zurzeit der deutsche Marktführer anbietet. Es wird in Zukunft möglich sein im Weinladen, auf dem Sofa, in der Bahn oder sogar im Weinberg an einen Haufen an Informationen zu kommen. Dafür werden, falls nicht nur zusammengeklaubte PR- und Pressebelanglositäten, Nutzer…

  • The WC Rothschild Race: 1992 Château Mouton Rothschild vs. 2008 Bordeaux Rouge

    Charles B.
    21 Jan 2010 | 8:04 am
    Auf der einen Seite, ein 1992er Château Mouton Rothschild, der Erstwein vom gleichnamigen Weingut. Ohne sich zu weit aus dem Fenster lehnen zu müssen, sicher einer der berühmtesten Weine der Welt. Bekannt auch in weinferneren Kreisen, nicht zuletzt durch seine legendären Künstleretiketten. Dazu kommt noch der Titel Premier Cru, eine der imaginären Spitzen der Weinwelt. Auf der anderen Seite ein 2008er, welcher zwar ebenfalls unter Baron Philippe de Rothschild gelabelt ist, aber diesmal schlicht und einfach auf den Namen Bordeaux hört und das Château höchstens als vorbeifahrende…

  • 2007 Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon

    Charles B.
    11 Jan 2010 | 5:51 am
    Ein Wein mit einem sehr ordentlichen Preis-Leistungsverhältnis gefällig? Kein Problem, da fällt doch bestimmt jedem was ein. Aber was, wenn es um die Verfügbarkeit geht. Und zwar an (fast) jedem Ort und vor allem: Rápido!? Gell, da wird es schon eng!? Und hier könnte der gute Aurelius Montes aus Chile helfen. Und zwar mit dem Montes Alpha. Nicht der billigste, nicht der teuerste Montes, aber für knapp 14 Euro ein sehr ordentliches Stöffchen. Und wie bei McDonalds oder Burger King bekommt man hier genau das was man erwartet: Einen Überseewein für Jungs. Mit 14, 5 Umdrehungen Alkohol,…

  • Online und Wein 2009. Ein kleiner Rückblick.

    Charles B.
    30 Dec 2009 | 4:04 am
    Im Prinzip war das Jahr 2009 wie die viele anderen zuvor. Die Weinszene bleibt für viele Außenstehenden ein undurchschaubares Mysterium. Sicher auch ein Grund, warum viele potentielle Weintrinker lieber vorher abbiegen und den Weg zu Aldi, Lidl und Co nehmen. Statt offener Transparenz, versteckt man sich gerne hinter dem trügerischen Bild eines Hortes des ewigen Friedens und des bedingungslosen Miteinanders. Doch dieses Bild bekommt langsam Risse. Und daran sind die Online-Werkzeuge nicht ganz unschuldig. Es deckelt sich nicht mehr ganz so einfach. Blogs, Twitter und Facebook haben sich in…

  • 30+1 neue außergewöhnliche Weinetiketten

    Charles B.
    23 Dec 2009 | 11:58 am
    Nachdem die 40 außergewöhnlichen Weinetiketten so gut angekommen sind, geht’s jetzt weiter im Text. 30+1 neue außergewöhnliche Weinetiketten aus aller Welt, die oft in ihrer gestalterischen Qualität glänzen, aber immer positiv aus der grauen Weinlabel-Masse herausstechen. Die Auswahl ist natürlich immer noch rein subjektiv… Don Sebastiani & Sons Archer&Vine Wines entworfen von Matt Davey cellar*lavineta entworfen von Lluís Serra À La Petite Ferme entworfen von DesignersJourney Elbows Bend entworfen von THE CREATIVE METHOD Reyneke Organic entworfen von Anthony Lane…
 
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    Brooklynguy's Wine and Food Blog

  • Comment Moderation

    8 Feb 2010 | 11:52 am
    Folks, I'm sorry to have to do it, and annoyed also, but I'm tired of deleting unwanted comments advertising flower shops in Pakistan, Japanese escort services, and various other detritus. So I'm going to experiment with comment moderation.I know it's annoying to have to wait to see your comment go up on the site, but at least this way I, not you, will be the person who has to see all the unwanted comments. If it doesn't work out, I'll go back to open comments. Let's see how it goes.

  • A Mini-slew of Northern Rhône Wines

    7 Feb 2010 | 7:00 pm
    I haven't had a whole lot of northern Rhône wine. I've had some nice things at tastings, but at home with meals my experiences are mostly limited to the wines of Saint Joseph and Crozes Hermitage. Then, about a week and a half ago there was a stretch of a few days in which I had three top-notch wines from the northern Rhône. It was an interesting trio - I feel like I really learned something from these particular wines.First, it was 1998 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle, at least $100 if you buy it now, imported by Frederick Wildman. Why this wine? I dropped by Deetrane's house…

  • Steamed Crabs on the Brooklyn Paper

    2 Feb 2010 | 5:55 pm
    My usual fish people are not at the farmer's market these days, they go to Florida from January through March. There was a new fish guy on a recent Saturday morning and along with the workaday flounder and cod fillets, he was selling blue crab.It was freezing outside that morning and the crabs were quite still in their basket. "Oh, they're alive alright," the fisherman said. "They're just cold." And he stuck his gloved hand into the bucket and picked up a crab. It immediately began snapping its claws at him.But I've never cooked a crab in my life, I thought, and I certainly have no idea how…

  • Conversation with Becky Wasserman - Part 3

    31 Jan 2010 | 7:30 pm
    This wraps up my recreation of our conversation, and I hope it's been half as interesting and edifying to read as it was to actually sit and talk with Becky and Peter.BG: What is the biggest change in Burgundy from 30 years ago until now?BW: It's a generational change. The kids went to viticulture school and their equipment and wine making is super clean. Clean is an inexact word, because when you walk into the cellars they're still covered in the beautiful furry mold, but everything is clean. And they're interning with wineries all around the world. They taste at each others places now -…

  • Conversation with Becky Wasserman - Part 2

    30 Jan 2010 | 5:50 pm
    More conversation with Becky and Peter Wasserman:BG: By the way, thanks for spending so much time talking with me.BW: It's my pleasure. All of this is pre-obituary and it's good for me to do.BG: (Nervous laughter, followed by throat clearing and vigorous subject-changing) So, I'd like to learn about pricing in Burgundy. How do you decide the prices for each bottle?PW: We don't, we're sent a price list each year and that's basically it. If we feel that we want to change the prices some, we can work with the producers on that. We might feel like we want to come down on the villages pricing, and…
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    ~ Through The Walla Walla Grape Vine™ ~

  • Olive Marketplace & Cafe by T Maccarone's

    Catie
    4 Feb 2010 | 9:15 pm
    They did it again! Tom Maccarone and Chef Jake Crenshaw, co-owners of the popular T. Maccarone’s restaurant in Walla Walla purchased one of downtown's beloved landmarks, the 34-year old Merchants Ltd Deli. Tonight was the premiere opening for the Olive Marketplace & Cafe. It proved to be a grand evening of good food, good wine and visiting with many familiar faces, besides being the first ones to see the new design.Yes Walla Walla Peeps, in many ways it is still the same Merchants LTD but even better with the same casual feel; adding a new paint job, furniture, art, kitchen and…

  • Julia Child Boeuf Bourguignon Cookoff in Walla Walla!

    Catie
    1 Feb 2010 | 11:30 am
    The Julia Child Boeuf Bourguignon Cookoff Contest is Friday, Feb. 5 from 5-7 pm at Someone's In the Kitchen, located at the corner of 4th and W. Rose, downtown Walla Walla. This event is co-sponsored by Walla Walla Lifestyles Magazine and the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation. It was inspired by the movie "Julie & Julia."If you are not familiar with the movie, "Julie & Julia", it depicts events in the life of chef Julia Child in the early years of her culinary career, while contrasting her life with Julie Powell. In 2002, Powell aspired to cook all 524 recipes from Child's cookbook,…

  • There's Some New Faces in Town: Walla Faces!

    Catie
    29 Jan 2010 | 4:15 pm
    Rick and Debbie, along with Janice and Jane, are the new faces of Walla Walla's Main Street.As they say, "It all starts in the vineyard." And for Debbie and Rick Johnson, it certainly did. The Walla Faces Vineyard was planted in 1999 by Three Rivers Winery (formerly known as the Ahler Vineyard). In 2006, the Johnson's purchased the Ahler Vineyard, as well as the home site above the vineyard and renamed it Walla Faces Vineyard. Along with a new name, they also brought organic farming practices to the vineyard and of course, with these changes brought a new degree of excellence in the…

  • Four Wine Questions For: Amy Mumma

    Catie
    26 Jan 2010 | 8:07 pm
    Welcome to my sixth interview in my 4WQ4 blog feature. This is the first 4WQ4 for 2010 and if you are not familiar, this is a quarterly article where I ask four Q&A’s to a “celebrity” in the wine industry. However, I have to admit I failed in 2009 and was short three interviews. But hey - this is a new year and I have another chance to meet my goal!To start 2010 off, I decided to interview a woman - a wine woman - a Washington Wine Woman! (You know how I love those "W's") I was first introduced to Amy Mumma from the movie documentary, Washington State: Get the Dirt on Wine. A few…

  • Wine Blogging Wednesday #65: "Snow Day" - Tranche Cellars Red

    Catie
    20 Jan 2010 | 8:17 pm
    Today is Wine Blogging Wednesday #65 and our hostess, Michelle Lentz also known as "Wine Girl" of My Wine Education has asked wine bloggers everywhere to look out our windows and imagine snow and then imagine what wine we would like to enjoy during a "snow day." In Walla Walla, Washington it is easier to imagine snow, then it is what wine we want to drink. You see, no matter where we are in the valley, we can often get a glimpse of the the snow covering the Blue Mountains and the foothills in the winter months, but in Walla Walla, Washington imagining what wine to drink can be difficult since…
 
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    Sour Grapes

  • Bargain bubbly: Phillipe Michel Crémant du Jura (Aldi €10)

    Lar
    6 Feb 2010 | 2:00 pm
    Bubbly, sparkling, champers. Conventional wisdom would suggest they warrant a special occasion. However, that view wasn’t always held as a universal truth. “Champagne! In victory one deserves it; in defeat one needs it.”, attributed to Napolean, often misquoted, here possibly too. Another popular champagne quote comes from Madame Lily Bollinger “I only drink champagne when I’m happy, and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am.

  • El Molinet 2007, Valencia

    Lar
    5 Feb 2010 | 3:06 am
    Lots of fruit and spice combine for a complex, balanced and above all, delicious wine. Taken from Grapes of Spain, this project started as a tribute to Tempranillo by winemaker Joaquin Galvez and Aurelio. With Tempranillo forming the backbone of Spain’s most famous wines, the La Viña Cooperative in Valencia planted Tempranillo widely with the goal of reproducing some of the qualities of those famous wines. This project would not be possible without the wealth of vineyards and range of altitudes the coop has planted. Contrary to popular opinion that Valencia is too warm for Tempranillo, the…

  • Spotted: crazy Americans wine tasting on Carrauntoohil

    Lar
    4 Feb 2010 | 2:48 pm
    The Wine Buff in Ennis has in its employ, a crazy American dude called Dave and his partner in crime, Eamon. Check out this video tasting of a Riesling on Ireland’s highest peak, Carrauntoohil.

  • Three of the best from Barossa on Australia Day

    Lar
    3 Feb 2010 | 12:28 pm
    To celebrate Australia Day last week on Tuesday, 26th, John McDonnell of Wine Australia hosted a tasting and dinner with Tony Barlow, winemaker with St. Hallett. The venue was Fallon & Byrne and the theme was “Welcome to the Barossa“, a deep dive into Australia’s most famous wine region, the Barossa Valley. Quick overview of the Barossa Winemaking in the Barossa Valley dates back to 1842 when German Luterans settled there bringing their century old traditions and techniques with them. The Barossa climate is ideally suited to producing full-bodied red wines for which the…

  • Wine of the week: Vina Alta Garnacha Samsó

    Lar
    31 Jan 2010 | 9:28 am
    More on Garnacha/Grenache Garnacha (in French, Grenache, in Catalan, Garnatxa) is probably the most widely planted variety of red wine grape in the world. It ripens late, so needs warm, dry conditions such as those found in Spain and in the south of France. It is generally spicy, red berry-flavoured and soft on the palate with a relatively high alcohol content. It tends to lack acid, tannin and colour, and is usually blended with other varieties such as Syrah, Carignan and Cinsault. Grenache is the dominant variety in most Southern Rhône wines, especially in Châteauneuf-du-Pape where it is…
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    LISSON

  • toujours plus haut

    Iris Rutz-Rudel
    4 Feb 2010 | 7:45 am
    Énergie propre et renouvelable, cela nous occupe depuis longtemps à Lisson. Ce n'est pas pour rien, que nous avons toujours refusé d'être connectés au réseaux tout (75%) nucléaire d'EDF. , Ce pour cela, que nous avons déjà parlé ici de nos efforts du Low Watt à Lisson et des autres efforts[...]

  • au bout d'une autre piste - un peu de chaleur nostalgique

    Iris Rutz-Rudel
    4 Feb 2010 | 4:19 am
    Pour vous réchauffer pendant que le froid glacial reigne partout en France et Europe, je vous amène quelques semaines en arrière, sur une autre piste, qui monte au dessus de Saint Etienne d'Albagnan via Cailho à la ferme de Dausse, déjà connu à certains, parce que but régulier de mes balades[...]

  • Hors Piste - auf neuen Pfaden - away from mainstream roads

    Iris Rutz-Rudel
    4 Feb 2010 | 4:18 am
    Hors piste toute l'année, comme l'ont déjà expérimenté les amateurs du vin, qui se sont confié à moi après l'accueil à Olargues, pour me suivre sur la route sinueuse, qui mène de ce village "le plus beau de France" vers le domaine, qui se cache à 3 km dans une vallée perpendiculaire à la[...]

  • heureux, qui comme Ulysse

    Iris Rutz-Rudel
    21 Nov 2009 | 9:36 am
    a fait le voyage à Lisson et peut en parler après:-) C'était pendant l'été déjà, quand la casquette était encore de mise pour survivre à la balade sur la colline sans attrapper de coup de chaud. Ulysse, déjà connu par les lecteurs de mon blog de sa petite fable languedocienne et de sa danse[...]

  • ma chute du Mur

    Iris Rutz-Rudel
    9 Nov 2009 | 10:54 am
    Ma Chute Du Mur n'était longtemps pas accompagnée d'images, de celles qu'on peut voir encore cette année sur tous les écrans, comme le relate le monde dans son article d'aujourd'hui. Je n'étais ni à Berlin, ni ailleurs en Allemagne, ni devant un écran de télévision, ce soir du 9 Novembre[...]
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    Lyke 2 Drink

  • Day 39 Drink: Singleton of Glendullan 12 Year Old

    Rick Lyke
    8 Feb 2010 | 6:19 pm
    Diageo's Classic Malts Selection has introduced many U.S. consumers to a range of Scotch flavors. The basic line up found in many bars is backed up by a collection of special releases of limited edition bottlings.With so many whiskies, Diageo has rolled out Malt Matcher, a free iPhone application designed to help single malt drinkers pick out the dram that matches what they like the most.The Singleton of Glendullan 12 Year Old is a Speyside single malt that uses ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry barrels during the aging. The 80 proof whisky has a medium body, round sweetness, hints of fruit and…

  • Day 38 Drink: Hahn Estates 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

    Rick Lyke
    7 Feb 2010 | 5:57 am
    Hahn Estates sits high on a hillside overlooking the agricultural abundance of the Salinas Valley. On a visit back in 2007, we found the winery to be a friendly, unassuming place that made some great wines.Hahn Estates 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon pours a wonderfully sharp red gemstone color. The nose is alive with fruit and the flavor brings this home. The body is not that of a heavy and thick California cabernet, instead it gives you a ton of fresh fruit in a package that invites matching with food. A very nice bottle to share over a meal.

  • Day 37 Drink: Rock Bottom Brewer's Select Extra Special Bitter

    Rick Lyke
    6 Feb 2010 | 1:37 pm
    Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery's Dave Gonzalez produces a good line up of standard brewpub beers and some interesting seasonals at the Charlotte location. The brewery's Uptown Charlotte location is convenient for people heading to sporting events and concerts, or for a pint after work. This Rock Bottom is actual part of the Gordon Biersch Restaurants chain.Rock Bottom Brewer's Select Extra Special Bitter pours with a thick, chunky head and a bright amber color. The beer's flavor is more malty than you might expect from an ESB. The hops are present, but do not dominate. Very drinkable with…

  • Day 36 Drink: Founders Centennial

    Rick Lyke
    5 Feb 2010 | 8:56 pm
    As college buddies Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers dreamed of opening a brewery. That dream was put on hold for a few years, but it was kept alive as the pair made homebrew. Founders Brewing was born in the vacant and rundown Wolverine Brass Works building in Grand Rapids, Mich. In 2007, the brewery moved about a mile away to larger facilities.Founders Centennial is an unfiltered IPA that 7.4 percent alcohol by volume and 65 IBUs. Slightly cloudy amber color with a moderately sized firm head. Overall inviting wild flower and spice flavor profile.

  • Day 35 Drink: Ithaca AlpHalpHa Double Honey Bitter

    Rick Lyke
    4 Feb 2010 | 7:37 pm
    Ithaca Beer Co. opened in late 1998. Dan Mitchell had been thinking about opening a brewery in the Finger Lakes for several years. While checking out one brewing system in Texas that did not meet his plans, he found the equipment at a second location and it was shipped the New York. Ithaca Brewing has become recognized as one of the up and coming craft brewers in the northeast. Ithaca AlpHalpHa Double Honey Bitter is brewed with organic barley, New York grown Cascade hops, local alfalfa honey and Cayuga Lake water. Pours a bright golden color with a thick rocky head. Plenty of floral hop…
 
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    Wannabe Wino Wine Blog

  • Adventures in Foreign Lands

    Sonadora
    9 Feb 2010 | 7:40 am
    As you may have read here on ye olde wine blog, I recently went to Portugal after winning a contest sponsored by Enoforum Wines. Enoforum Wines is an interesting company that I’ll have more to say about in a future post, but suffice it to say for the moment that they exist to produce and place Portuguese wines in foreign markets. A worthy goal for sure if what we tasted during our time in Portugal is any indication of the overall QPR of Portuguese wines. Enoforum’s purpose in bringing bloggers to Portugal is not only to expose them to the wines, but to immerse them in Portuguese…

  • French Wine for the Win!

    Sonadora
    8 Feb 2010 | 8:11 am
    *Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Roberts Fine Wines. I really ought to drink more wines from outside California. California wines are really my first love, so I truly drink more of them than anything else. I am trying to branch out a bit. I just ordered a half case of wines from DomaineLA, only one of which is from CA. Though they are mostly bubbles….! Anywho, the folks from Roberts Fine Wines, who specialize only in French wines, sent me a two pack of samples to showcase some of what they carry. I wrote about the first bottle a few weeks ago, and now I bring you the…

  • A Goal I’m Good At

    Sonadora
    7 Feb 2010 | 8:10 am
    Setting “Drink more bubbly” as one of my 2010 wine goals may have been my best idea yet. We’ve been popping at least one bubbly a week since the new year started and I am thrilled about it. I’m trying to get us to try a wide range of bubbly styles too, and I have to thank Jill at DomaineLA (aka Domaine547) for stocking SO much bubbly for me to choose from. I just ordered 4 more bottles of assorted bubbly from her too, so more to come! Tonight we tried the NV Terres Dorées FRV 100 de Jean-Paul Brun.  It clocked in at 7.5% alcohol by volume, cost me $18.99 at…

  • Back in the DCV

    Sonadora
    5 Feb 2010 | 7:45 am
    *Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the PR folks for Quivira Winery. The Dry Creek Valley that is. Whenever I open a wine from one of the wineries we visited on our honeymoon, it makes me very happy. Especially when that wine is consistently one I love. Quivira has been one of my favorite wineries since our first visit back in 2006. We’ve been club members since 2006 too, so we’re always enjoying Quivira wines. Tonight we opened the 2007 Quivira Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. It clocked in at 14.9% alcohol by volume, had a real cork closure, and retails for $20 from…

  • Locked up again

    Sonadora
    3 Feb 2010 | 3:37 am
    *Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Big House Wines. I already used the pun “In the Big House”……and I thought cutesy labels needed cutesy post titles. Not sure I got there this time, but hey, I tried. My first experience with the Big House Wines was the Red a couple weeks ago. I wasn’t such a big fan, so I didn’t really know what to expect from any of the other wines. I must say, I found the 2008 Big House White to be pleasantly surprising. Big House white is a blend of 56% Malvasia Bianca, 22% Muscat Canelli, 18% Viognier and 4% Rousanne.
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    Wino sapien

  • Chateau Doisy-Védrines 2004

    Edward
    9 Feb 2010 | 3:56 am
    Sauternes, Bordeaux, France. Semillon, Sauvignon blanc. 14%. Cork. Approx $A39I wonder if there will ever be a time when sticky wines come with a warning for diabetics? Presumably the sugar content of this is around the 120g/L mark.Quite delicious, though after 3-4 tasting glasses, the sugar is starting to get to me. . . A transient prickle on the nose, a cross between varnish and marzipan. Quince and honey and a freshly opened bag of sun-dried, sulphur drenched apricots. Lovely depth and concentration in the mouth, quite seamless, curved and lush. Treacle and syrup, I can imagine a childhood…

  • Trouble

    Edward
    8 Feb 2010 | 5:41 am
    If I had the money and no one to check my credit card statements, I would be in deep trouble if confronted by a wall of Bordeaux. As it was I was able to (mostly) resist temptation, though I did let my fingers trace the Chateau names and I did fondle and few bottles, until I realised I was being watched. . .http://feeds.feedburner.com/WinoSapien Click here for the original context

  • Two from 09

    Edward
    7 Feb 2010 | 4:50 am
    and one Canadian sticky from 06.Felton Road Riesling 2009. (Central Otago, 10%, approx $A40) A nice eye opener, I had this with an early Sunday lunch and its sweetness is caressing and just the tonic for a weary mind. A flinty nose, I thought I could detect pineapple. . . being hypercritical, this could do with a little more tension and edge. 90.Port Phillip Estate Salasso 2009. (Mornington, Victoria, 13.5%, approx $A25) The man at the bottleshop told me that Salasso is a grape. . . in actual fact, it is a technique. This curious salmon pink wine is made from Shiraz grapes, which have been…

  • Postcard: James St Northbridge

    Edward
    6 Feb 2010 | 4:38 pm
    I've been trying to lose the layer of fat that seems to have found a home under my skin. . . lots of staggering and feeling hungry. . . this morning I found my self in Northbridge, the streets were devoid of people, but there was human debris and detritus everywhere. As to the scent - stale beer and urine. Somewhat related post. http://feeds.feedburner.com/WinoSapien Click here for the original context

  • Heggies Botrytis Riesling 2007

    Edward
    5 Feb 2010 | 3:50 am
    Eden Valley, South Australia. Riesling. 11%. Screwcap. Approx $A30Late Friday afternoon, and I think the clouds in the background are Altocumulus Mackerel sky, if you believe in reading tea leaves and entrails, the coming weekend will be a cool one. . .Like freshly washed woolens (or my newly cleaned Persian rug), this has a comforting, cuddly softness to the nose and palate. Essence like and candied (167g/L of residual sugar) this is laden with preserved lemon, mustard fruit and a tingling spine of acidity. 90. Now - 2015.Another opinion. http://feeds.feedburner.com/WinoSapien Click here for…
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    On the Wine Trail in Italy

  • The World’s Authority on Italian Wine

    Alfonso Cevola
    7 Feb 2010 | 9:28 am
    When I first went to Vinitaly in 1984, I arrived with the single-minded energy (and arrogance) that I might just be one of the experts on Italian wine. Upon walking into a guided tasting by the Italian Sommelier Association, I quickly realized that I was nowhere near having any kind of voice of authority. All around me were people who had spent a lifetime in the ranks, learning, honing and refining their knowledge of a very complicated subject.And so it goes, every time I walk into one of the pavilions at Vinitaly or attend a Gambero Rosso tasting. There are hundreds of folks who know the…

  • My Dinner with Carmen

    Alfonso Cevola
    3 Feb 2010 | 8:43 pm
    “You aren’t going to put any of this on your blog, are you?” Those were the words I heard from my friend Carmen Castorina. “No Carmen, not the juicy stuff,” I said, as I made the zip-the-lip sign. Omerta.We were sitting in the corner table of Manducatis, sipping espresso after a memorable meal, made special, thanks to Anthony Cerbone, whose family owns the venerable restaurant. Years ago Lou Iacucci recommended the place to me. I made a note of it, put it in my file and proceeded to forget the advice. Years later another friend, Dr. P, would bring the subject up again. I reckon I…

  • The Waning of the (Testosterone-Driven) Wine List?

    Alfonso Cevola
    2 Feb 2010 | 10:25 pm
    I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t heard it with my own ears. A couple of salespeople were discussing an account and the wine buyer. One of the salespersons mentioned that the new wine buyer was always cock-blocking her from the owners, with whom she had a good rapport. And while a wine list can sometimes be testosterone-fest, it got me to thinking about how much of that kind of energy is expended to make wine lists.In the old days, the snobbish approach was de rigueur. But in today’s coarser cultural times, it seems that the one who shouts loudest is the dominant (and deciding)…

  • Big Week On the Wine Trail

    Alfonso Cevola
    31 Jan 2010 | 10:41 am
    This is going to be one crazy week. Going from the sunny seashore of Southern California, where we are celebrating the wedding of Jeremy Parzen and Tracie Branch, to the Vino 2010 events in NY, where the forecast is for cold and snow and more cold and more snow. I’ll think about my coastal run this morning when I am trudging through the canyons of Skyscraper National Park.But it should be fun.I will be moderating the panel on Gaglioppo, with a handful of winemakers from Calabria alongside the esteemed Attilio Scienza. I am a huge fan of the work Dottore Scienza has done in the Maremma with…

  • Montalcino: What a Difference a Generation Makes

    Alfonso Cevola
    27 Jan 2010 | 11:18 pm
    In 1984 Montalcino was a sleepy little hamletSometimes, it seems I don’t throw anything away. There are some who would say I never let things go. From the tossing and turning the other night (was it the buffalo steak or the stake in the heart?) I couldn’t argue. But, with the grace of patience and the hope of wisdom, some of the bumps on the wine trail might eventually smooth out.This has been a long, arduous month. I thought after Christmas we’d get a respite. But the history of January, in my life, hasn’t been one of rest and reflection. More like throw some more wood on the fire,…
 
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    Water into Wino

  • Domaine de Pallus Les Pensées de Pallus Chinon 2006

    Bryan Calandrelli
    28 Jan 2010 | 6:32 pm
    Les Pensées de Pallus Chinon 2006Loire, France ($20) Every now and then I come across a cabernet franc that reminds me of what I love about the grape. It’s these times when I drink a glass without fussing over aromas or finishes because these wines just wash away any motivation to intellectualize the experience.This usually happens with well made Montepulcianos and Dolcettos. For some reason I associate it with mainly Italian wines but it can happen with good Chinons, Bourgiels, or even Cahors. I do appreciate the rest they offer my frequently over stimulated brain and allow my to just…

  • Chateau Moine Blanc Saint Émilion Grand Cru 2005

    Bryan Calandrelli
    11 Dec 2009 | 1:01 pm
    Chateau Moine Blanc Saint Émilion 2005 Bordeaux, France ($30) After driving some 450 miles to visit friends in NYC, I was given the opportunity to pick out a wine from their stash to follow up the local pinot noir I brought from home. Pleased to find a good selection of decent Bordeaux wines, I picked out what I thought would be a good pairing with the potato and cheese gratin, brussel sprouts and baked ham dinner.Knowing that St. Émilion wines had a good percentage of merlot and cabernet franc and knowing obviously that grand cru is something better than not, I choose this Chateau Moine…

  • Chateau de Haute-Serre Cahors 2004

    Bryan Calandrelli
    9 Dec 2009 | 5:14 pm
    Chateau de Haute-Serre Cahors 2004Cahors, France ($20) The motivation for my trolling the Cahors section of a local wine store came from the downloading of the Flaming Lips new album “Embryonic”. In hindsight, it’s one of the more ridiculous reasons I’ve ever had to buy a bottle of wine and after five years now of constant drinking experimentation, I’ve had some silly reasons.Cahors is the home of Cot, aka Malbec, that ubiquitous star of Argentina. I assume 9 out of 10 consumers would prefer picking up the Argentine version and that’s great, but I do enjoy being that 1 out of 10…

  • Bernard Baudry Chinon "Les Granges" 2006

    Bryan Calandrelli
    22 Jun 2009 | 6:17 am
    Bernard Baudry Chinon "Les Granges"Chinon, Loire, France ($20)My wine buying habits can be quite irrational. In my latest example I passed up a few wonderfully extracted 2005 Bourgueils and Chinons just to take home a 2006 Bernard Baudry “Les Granges”. This wine is simply an entry level Chinon from a not so fabulous vintage. They say that anyone can make good wine in a great year. It’s those poor years that reveal the most skilled winemakers, and coming from an area that has clear vintage variations myself, I’m interested in what Chinon reds are like in average to poor…

  • Lamoreaux Landing T23 Cabernet Franc 2007

    Bryan Calandrelli
    18 Jun 2009 | 6:18 am
    Lamoreaux Landing T23 Cabernet Franc 2007Finger Lakes, New York ($14)My recent foray into winemaking has given me plenty of experience drinking unoaked Cabernet Franc as most of my batches are less than sixty gallons. I’m always looking for comparable wines as a reference so picking up this Lamoreaux Landing T23 Cabernet Franc 2007 was a no brainer. The aspiring vigneron in me wanted to know what this grape, grown in the Finger Lakes, in a hot vintage and left unoaked would taste like. The wine revealed a light ruby color, with aromas of cherries and violets. After a few hours it began to…
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    Write for Wine

  • Attention Wine Bloggers!

    writeforwine
    9 Feb 2010 | 7:53 am
    Listen up wine bloggers – WineCHATr.com is offering a campaign that you need to know about! Here’s how you enter to win an all-expenses-paid ticket to ride the Washington wine highway! In conjunction with the Wine Bloggers Conference (WBC) in Walla Walla this June, WineCHATr is holding a campaign with a special prize: an all-expenses-paid road trip for 12 bloggers, who will wine and dine their way across Washington state. Aptly called WBC-or-Bust: Road to Walla Wallathis promises to be an overall amazing Washington wine experience – and all you have to do to enter is put…

  • A great reunion with an old friend at a school house

    writeforwine
    7 Feb 2010 | 11:44 am
    It’s happened to all of us. You have a wonderful experience at a specific time in your life but then things change and you move on. You remember, but you are occupied with many new wonderful experiences. That happened to us with the wines of L’Ecole No 41, the third-oldest winery in Washington state. We first visited the winery in the old school house in Lowden, near Walla Walla, in April 2007. A few months later, this blog was born and one of my first posts, titled Who knew that “back to school” could be so much fun?, described a L’Ecole tasting at Vino Bello.

  • Wines, Wonderful WA Wines

    writeforwine
    31 Jan 2010 | 8:12 am
    We recently tasted some new Washington state wines – by new, I mean the wines were either new releases or new to us. For example, over the last couple of weeks, we tried the lush 2006 L’Ecole No 41 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, the fun red blend 2007 Riot from Trio Vintners and the 2006 Syrah from Desert Wind, with concentrated flavors of blackberry and chocolate. We also attended a party for Efeste’s new releases of their fabulous Syrahs, Jolie Bouche and Ceidleigh, and at Full Pull Wines, we experienced a preview taste of the new — and amazing — Block…

  • Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival

    writeforwine
    26 Jan 2010 | 5:38 pm
    The award-winning Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival is back for its sixth time on May 8th. How on earth did we miss the first five festivals? (I have a soft spot for Portland, because I first started writing about wine in 1997 when I wrote a column for KOIN-TV’s web site.) This event showcases 40 jury-selected Oregon craft wineries and benefits the Indie Wine Foundation, a non-profit organization to preserve and sustain the art of craft winemaking. In March, a jury of renowned wine experts, celebrity chefs and journalists will gather in Portland to evaluate the entries. To…

  • Mark Your Calendars for Seattle Food & Wine Experience

    writeforwine
    16 Jan 2010 | 3:37 pm
    We are really looking forward to Seattle Food & Wine Experience on Feb. 28 at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. This major food and wine event has so much to offer that I have a feeling we will be there for the entire time (from 1 – 5 p.m.). Where to start? With wines, of course – Seattle Food & Wine Experience offers more than 1,000 wines from 10 different countries, including pours from 25 Washington wineries, 15 Oregon wineries and 50 California and International wineries. You can see who is pouring on the event’s website. In addition, there will be gourmet…
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    Appellation Feiring

  • 1999 Ploussard Perdu. (Lessons Learned)

    I knew this would be a life changing trip. I'm not willing to spend another ten years in therapy so I have to take those lessons where I get them. Of those I am currently working on? 1) Take the Money and Run 2) Ask for what you need. 3) Be More Positive! 4) Lose the Guilt The Ploussard Perdu was a classic illustration of how and why I need to integrate these life pointers with speed. Not a moment to lose. The Overnoy was a mere 21 euro. That very night would have been my only chance to drink it. Bringing it to dinner at the Cousin's would be perfect. Digging into my euro stash I purchased, I…

  • From 2 Anes to Toulouse

    I should start at the beginning, but I need to tell you about something that happened in the middle. The punishing wind, the sweet asses, Millesime Bio and Domaine des 2 Anes behind us we Jenny, Francois (of the selections) and Kate, the lasagna maker and crack sales chick, took the road for the seven -hour drive up north. One hour into it, I saw the Toulouse signs. "Hey! Anthony said there was a great wine bar around here." I quickly scanned my old texts, and sure enough there it was, Le Temps des Vendange. Francois' iPhone GPS guided us through the most visually unusual French city I'd ever…

  • GIVE YOUR VALENTINE A BUBBLE BATH IN NOLA

    We now take a commercial break As first in a series of shout outs about an April event in New Orleans, for an amazing debut. Meet the next generation of wine weekends. Never before has any one put together such celebration of bubbles. And if you can't figure out a sweet Valentine Day gift, get yourself a bottle and two tickets and head down to New Orleans on April 15th for an incredibly bubble bath. Yes, I'll be there. THE INDEPENDANT CHAMPAGNE AND SPARKLING WINE INVITATIONAL...

  • Greetings from Montpellier

  • La Bataille du Vin et de l'amour

    View image You won't find it on Amazon, either in French bookshops or through Jean Paul Rocher's website. If you have any idea how to get this book into the hands at someone in the mainstream French press, I'd be so grateful....
 
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    The Wine Cask Blog

  • Alamos Malbec 2008 wine review by (PB)

    8 Feb 2010 | 2:33 pm
    This is a value Malbec form the mecca of Malbec; Argentina. This wine is quite young and will only improve with another year on it.This is a juicy fruit filled wine with a pretty presentation of purple, cranberry jelly hue, and aromas of rich dark fruit with a bready note and ripe black berry/black cherry notes and a touch of tar.Palate: This is a tight wine and needs to both breathe as well as sit for another year. It is tasty right now but will be greatly improved with a little age. It has good structure with a tannic backbone and sound acid balance. There are loads of fruit with a coffee…

  • JC Cellars California Cuvee Syrah 2006 Wine Review (NW)

    6 Feb 2010 | 5:43 pm
    Tasting notes:Wild berries, tar, and spice on the noseFull bodied on the palateBlackberry, roasted meat, and burnt chocolate on the finishHere's one of the many Syrah's from JC Cellars. They specialize in a variety of Rhone style wines and typically bottle a number of site-specific Syrah's. This one is the California Cuvee and is towards the bottom of their price scale at $25.It shows some dark fruit and tarred or burnt aromas that are interesting. While not a great value, this wine has a unique flavor profile that is worth checking out. Raise a glass!--A Review from The Wine Cask Blog.

  • Mas du Boislauzon Cotes-du-Rhone Villages 2007 Wine Review (NW)

    6 Feb 2010 | 5:32 pm
    Tasting notes:Plum, wild berries, and roasted meat on the noseFull bodied and intense on the palateLong finish of raspberry, cocoa, and spiceThe 2007 Rhone wines from France have been showing up on shelves. Prices are up a bit, which is partly attributable to a perpetually weak dollar, but don't let that dissuade you. These are beauties.The average Cotes-du-Rhone and Cotes-du-Rhone Villages wines I've sampled so far from 2007 have been excellent. These wines go for $10-25 and can be enjoyed right away. I paid $16 for this and it's well priced for the quality even with a poor exchange rate.

  • Dow's Crusted Porto 2002 Bottled Wine Review by Billy

    6 Feb 2010 | 4:54 pm
    Nose: spicy nose of currants and cedarPalate: rich, honeyed smoothness. Wonderfully silky feel with some pear flesh fruitiness. Warm and full bodied.Finish: very long and memorable. Overall: In the glass this unfiltered port is inky, thick and splendid. I paid about $25 for this bottle. It will last for some time, is perfect on a snowy evening and after dinner.Raise a Glass!--A Review from The Wine Cask Blog. Creative Commons: Attribution - ShareAlike 2.5 applies

  • Four Vines Old Vine Cuvee California 2007 wine review by (PB)

    6 Feb 2010 | 2:25 pm
    I love Zinfandel, have I mentioned that? No other grape and no other wine is All American. This bargain Zin was on special for under $10. It tends to run around $14. It is a black cherry/purple hue with a bouquet that is wonderfully Zin with spicy ripe blackberry with sweet "fruity olive" notes and a nice chocolate cherry cream highlight. Nice!Palate--Rich presence of fruit galore, espresso bready notes, and loads of dark fruit with some oak and plenty of ZIP!This is a hefty wine and will probably kill my gentle Gnocchi side with my pounded sirloin but, dinner is about wine and this is nice…
 
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    Santa Cruz Mountains & Santa Clara Valley Wines

  • 2006 Downhill Chardonnay, Peter Martin Ray Vineyard

    Dave
    6 Feb 2010 | 4:50 pm
    In 1972 Rusty Ray lost control of most of his mountain and its vineyards to his shareholders and creditors. The winery became Mount Eden Vineyards, and today produces some of the finest wines in the state. The family kept their house and a small vineyard lower down the mountain. With Ray's death in 1976 the land passed to his stepson, Peter Martin Ray. As you drive up the two mile dirt track that leads to Mount Eden Vineyards the first vines that you see, head pruned and sprawling, are the Peter Martin Ray vineyard. Planted in the 1960s there are around 5 acres in total of Chardonnay, Pinot…

  • 1984 Cabernet Retrospective

    Dave
    6 Feb 2010 | 10:35 am
    Photo by Richard JenningsLocal wine collector Ross Bott organises a wine tasting group that meets twice a week. Last Thursday's theme was a retrospective of Cabernet Sauvignons from 1984. Now my experience of older wines is limited, and that's putting it mildly, so I was very interested to try them; particularly when I saw the wines in the line-up.Each taster brings 8 glasses. The wines are opened then bagged, and are poured using a measuring cup and minimal agitation. You are asked to rank them in order of preference, 1-8. This turned out to be much more difficult than I imagined.The first…

  • ZAP festival round-up

    Dave
    3 Feb 2010 | 11:39 am
    ZAP are the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers - their annual Zinfandel festival is one of the biggest public wine events of the year. It was held last weekend in two of the old piers at Fort Mason in San Francisco. I've never attended the ZAP festival before and was a little surprised by the scale of it; it's almost twice as big as Pinot Days, which means that parking is nigh on impossible, even for the morning trade only session.Overall I was very impressed with the way the event was run. I particularly appreciated the bottled water and sourdough baguettes, though next year I need to bring a…

  • Coming Events

    Dave
    1 Feb 2010 | 9:34 pm
    A few events that you ought to be aware of in the coming months.Dark & Delicious is an evening of Petite Sirah and various food pairings. While I freely admit that Petite Sirah isn't my favourite grape, there's no denying that there are some interesting ones out there - try Storrs, Sones or Aver Family for example - and it blends really well with Zinfandel as Ridge's Lytton Springs or Geyserville offerings amply demonstrate.Here's a chance to try wines from over 40 Petite Sirah producers as well as food from 26 top restaurants and caterers.Where Rock Wall Wine Company, 2301 Monarch Street,…

  • Ridge's 2009 harvest report

    Dave
    29 Jan 2010 | 1:47 pm
    Ridge have published their report on the 2009 harvest on their 4488 wine blog. The good news is that Monte Bello was harvested before the storms hit and the quality is looking very good. We'll find out in March at the first assemblage tasting. I'll be there, will you?
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    Stefania Wine

  • Who Dat Think They Gonna Beat Dem Saints?

    Paul Romero
    5 Feb 2010 | 5:39 pm
    My Dad has always had Mondays off. In the summer time he'd take my sister and I to the movies, or fishing in the Uvas Valley. When August came the 49ers would start training camp at San Jose State.Back then training camp was a low key thing. Not like today with 20,000 people buying tickets to watch. Back then it was 75-100 guys and their kids. They would back their cars and trucks up to the chain link fence around the practice field, flip down the tail gate and open a cooler of beer. Two - a -days were my favorite. We'd go in the morning, and then at the lunch break Dad would take us to the…

  • Upcoming Release

    Paul Romero
    2 Feb 2010 | 5:58 pm
    Stefania and I are starting to put together the letters and order forms for our next release. We hope to have them in the mail by the 15th. Here's a preview of what's coming up:2007 Stefania Cabernet Sauvignon Chaine d' Or Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains As you may remember we took over operations at Chaine d'Or in August of 2007. We harvested early in the morning of October 27th and brought in a large harvest for the estate of just under 3 tons. 2007 was a near perfect growing year and Anne Anderson thought the fruit was the best she had seen since installing the vineyard in 1987. The grapes…

  • Selling Wine / Dedication Quality Community

    Stefania
    1 Feb 2010 | 10:10 am
    Over the weekend I was running some dialog through my head and wondering how to best approach selling my wine. The first mental roadblock was that I don't think of it as "my" wine, it's Paul's wine. The second problem is that I'm pretty shy and humble about it. I have a really hard time telling people, Hey, I make GREAT wine and this is why... well, I did come up with a few things that are key to making the label great and I'm not the only one to think so.Dedication: For one, Paul and I are hands-on winemakers and vineyard managers. You've seen the pictures, read the blogs, you know what I'm…

  • What do You Pair with Possum?

    Stefania
    29 Jan 2010 | 11:52 am
    Long story about the possum, we didn't actually serve that for dinner lastnight. We did however open the following wines: 2008 Stefania Chardonnay2006 Stefania Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet1999 Laurent Perrier Brut2003 Joh.Jos Prum raacher Himmelreich Auslese2005 Dmne de Baumard Coteaux dLayon1988 Cos d'Estournal2004 Dmne Santa Duc Prestige de Hautes Gigondas1979 Santa Cruz Mountains Vineyards Cabernet Bates Ranch1994 Woodside Vineyards Cabernet Kings Mountain2004 Woodside Vineyards Cabernet Kings Mountain2004 Dmne de Beaurenard Chateauneuf du Pape1977 Carneros Creek Cabernet Fay Vineyard2000…

  • Repost from the SCM/SCV Blog

    Paul Romero
    27 Jan 2010 | 5:41 pm
    Dave has a good write up that mentions us and the use of foil:http://scmwine.blogspot.com/2010/01/curses-foiled-again.html
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    Wise Acres Winery

  • Wine Impressions — Mountain Grapes, Part I: Howell Mountain

    gardner
    22 Jan 2010 | 11:40 am
    (Originally published in the online literary magazine, CappyG) Mountains define a valley. I had been to Napa valley many times; I even proposed marriage there; but I never ventured far from the valley floor. And eventually, for me, the valley had become an unpleasant, crowded, tourist Mecca: gridlock traffic, expensive tasting fees, and buses—more cheese than [...]

  • Help Haitian Earthquake Victims

    gardner
    14 Jan 2010 | 8:49 am

  • 2009 Syrah Fermentation Chart [DRY!]

    gardner
    12 Oct 2009 | 9:19 am

  • Crushing Syrah 10/4/09

    gardner
    28 Sep 2009 | 1:30 pm
    We will be crushing Syrah this Sunday, October 4. Hopefully around noon or 1:00. I will tweet/post from the road Sunday with a better time estimate. Come on by for wine and wet fun. Kids get to foot stomp!

  • Cleared out malware

    gardner
    18 Aug 2009 | 3:56 pm
    I think I found the malicious code and removed it from two postings. Hooray!
 
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    Organic Wine Journal

  • Organic Wine Review – New Site For Reviews

    Organic Wine Review
    9 Feb 2010 | 9:12 am
    Organic Wine Review is a brand new site featuring short, informative and entertaining reviews of organic and biodynamic wines. Their team consists of host Winston Jones, sommelier Jennifer Arye and “average wine guy” Brent Harrison. We will be posting some of their reviews here, and you can find all their videos at their website organicwinereview.com. Here is their latest video – a review of Frog’s Leap Zinfandel 2006.

  • Organic, Shaken and Stirred

    Adam Morganstern
    22 Jan 2010 | 11:07 am
    As organic foods and wines grow in popularity, it’s no surprise that organic cocktails are now popping up in restaurants and bars. Publishing a green version of a mixed drink book could have been as simple as taking your average bartender’s guide and adding organic before every ingredient. Fortunately, Paul Abercrombie has gone the extra mile in Organic, Shaken and Stirred – Hip Highballs, Modern Martinis and Other Totally Green Cocktails, and provided a fun well-thought-out collection of hedonistic concoctions that take advantage of why you want to drink organic in the…

  • Le Temps des Gitans – Vin de Pays de l’Herault

    Greg Wacks
    20 Jan 2010 | 7:32 am
    The bottle was weird. There, I said it. The glass was clear, the wine was a deep garnet and the cork was synthetic green. The label showed a caricature of two (presumably) French dudes stomping grapes and strumming a Picasso-like guitar. On the back label, the words “Gypsy Melody” were written at the top followed by the appellation of this wine: Vin de Pays de l’Herault. I had never heard of a table wine from l’Herault. This was not promising, and yet I was oddly drawn to this bottle from the day it was delivered from our friends at the Organic Wine Company. So, on a…

  • 101 Recipes For Making Wild Wine At Home – John Peragine

    Adam Morganstern
    19 Jan 2010 | 12:14 pm
    You would be hard-pressed to find Monkey Wine at your local store, but thanks to John Peragine’s 101 Recipes For Making Wild Wine At Home you can attempt to make it yourself, provided you have 3 lbs. of ripe bananas and some raisins on hand. In fact, Peragine shows you how to make wine out of anything; from citrus fruits to Brussels Sprouts. And for the sticklers among you, yes, you can learn how to make some from grapes as well. The U.S. government allows each individual to male 100 gallons of wine per year (200 total per household) and Peragine wants you to take advantage of that to…

  • Kuma Inn

    Jonathan Russo
    15 Jan 2010 | 8:40 am
    The first week of the New Year is the slowest one for restaurants. We eat out then to show support and take advantage of the lower crowd levels. We also wanted to ring in the year with a toast to one of our all-time favorite wine makers Tony Coturri. We made our way to Kuma Inn on Manhattan’s Lower East Side with two bottles of Coturri in hand, a 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon from Bollens Vineyards and a 2007 Barbera from Testa Vineyards, both from California’s Mendocino County. Kuma Inn is BYOB and enables one to pair away with abandon… what a joy. They serve Asian tapas, small…
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    Jancis Robinson

  • The new man at Lagrange (Videos/Podcasts)

    8 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm
    In last week's wine of the week, I promised to publish an account of a tasting lunch at Le Gavroche in London with the new man at Ch Lagrange in St-Julien. Bruno Eynard took over from Marcel Ducasse and is seen here with my fellow guests.  You may recognise them. See my tasting notes on.

  • Hungary for change (Tasting articles)

    8 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm
    Hungary has an admirable wine-producing tradition about which we have written far too little (even if a search for 'Hungary' produces 135 articles...). Of course there is the long article about Hungary in your online Oxford Companion, and an even more out of date overview here in our Resources.

  • COS Frappato 2008 IGT Sicilia (Wines of the week)

    8 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm
    From €10.05, £13.49, US$24.99 Find this wine . Sometimes you taste a wine and you want to do two things at once: (a) clear the room, sit down, and focus all your attention on the pleasure this wine gives and (b) invite all your friends round to share the pleasure with them. Cos Frappato 2008.

  • Wine and food matching – random musings (Don't quote me)

    7 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm
    The admirable Tim Hanni MW of the Napa Valley has been rattling our cages recently – not least by building on his researches into how different all our palates and preferences are. See, for example, his activities and findings at the Masters of Wine Napa Valley Symposium back in 2006 and then,.

  • NZ's new crop, incl sweet wines (Tasting articles)

    7 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm
    As heralded in NZ sweet wines at last , New Zealand Winegrowers held their annual generic tasting in London on 12 Jan. Having buried my nose in some rather lovely German stickies the day before, I was looking forward to what New Zealand had to offer for their sweet overture. My first overall.
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    Wine Brands

  • Marketing or Not Marketing: Is it the Question?

    3 Feb 2010 | 12:05 am
    I just finished reading The Wine Trials 2010 by Robin Goldstein and Alexis Herschkowitsch. I must confess I'm very perplexed by this book. The authors blame the "lifestyle marketing" for overpriced wines. They also condemn the fact that a group like LVMH invest more money on marketing than to produce the goods, without mentioning that this marketing strategy covers all products manufactured by LVMH and not only their wine and spirits business. Because they reject marketing (they call it the "enemy" of the wine drinker) and the "taste of money", they promote wines widely available in…

  • A winery needs a web site!

    1 Feb 2010 | 12:48 am
    But what web site, what for and what use? My last post on "Does a winery need a web site?" generated interesting and well thought out comments from wine educators, winery owners and other readers.First of all, it seems everybody thought a winery needed a web site. Some said a web site was the "brick and mortar" piece of their communication. I would call it a "click and mortar" but let's not digress on semantics! The web site is usually seen as the place to send wine consumers, wine critics, educators and web users from Facebook, Twitter or any other social media to get information. I agree…

  • Does a winery still need a web site?

    29 Jan 2010 | 7:15 am
    For many years, the success of a communication strategy on the Web was measured by the traffic on the site or the click on a banner. It might not be still true. Because of the growing importance of social media, blogs and micro chats, it is more important for a winery to be present on the Net through all those channels.I was talking to a winery manager a few weeks ago. He was complaining that all his actions on Facebook, Twitter and other social media didn't bring much traffic to his web site. We looked at the mentions his winery was getting on the Net and we agreed it was more important to…

  • 1999-2009, a Decade of Innovation

    4 Jan 2010 | 3:11 am
    In 1999, the Web was still considered an innovation in Europe. In France, 11,6% were connected; 100,000 adventurous people are managing their bank accounts on line; e-commerce brings 200,000 euros! It was also the time of the Internet boom: start-ups are getting millions from angels and investors. After two years of euphoria and craziness, it is the krach. But, in spite of that, one third of the French population was connected - mostly by cable. Amazon.com and ebay.com opened their French site. A healthy sign of confidence in the new economy! In 2004, 12 million French were on line, more than…

  • Boomer Woman: the New Consumer?

    22 Dec 2009 | 8:15 am
    Marketers are always on the look out for new consumers. They seem to have bypassed an interesting category, the Boomer Woman. What is so different between a Boomer Man and a Boomer Woman? A Boomer Woman just spent 20 or 25 years of her life building her career, child rearing and managing a home. Women feel like they now have a lot of time and a lot more money to devote to themselves. Their discretionary income improved a lot and they now have an important professional and personal network. They are connected, they have a Facebook account and sometimes are even on Twitter.According to a recent…
 
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    McDuff's Food & Wine Trail

  • Standing on the Ridge

    David McDuff
    8 Feb 2010 | 7:30 am
    98 Lytton Springs Vineyard, bottled 12/99El Niño delayed the 1998 growing season by an entire month; late August brought an unseasonably early rain and some water damage in the clusters. We opened the vines to light and air, and thinned repeatedly over the next forty days as soon as any damaged fruit appeared. Aided by fine weather, we had clean, very ripe grapes at harvest. Intense fruit, a rich structure, and firm tannins characterize this lovely vintage, which will be at its best over the next five to six years. Alas, the severe thinning has resulted in significantly smaller quantities…

  • Franco Ballerini, RIP

    David McDuff
    7 Feb 2010 | 11:35 am
    Fans and competitors of professional cycling alike mourn the loss of one of cycling's great stars of the last two decades, as Italian Franco Ballerini died today as a result of injuries sustained when the rally-car in which he was acting as race navigator crashed this morning.Ballerini will be best remembered by riders and fans of his own generation as a key member of the fiercely dominant Mapei-GB team, for which he rode from 1994-98. His impact on riders of the following generation was just important as, after his own retirement from the pro ranks in 2001, Ballerini managed the Italian…

  • Exploring Guímaro and Ribeira Sacra

    David McDuff
    3 Feb 2010 | 9:30 am
    The inhabitants of the tiny village of Sober — all nine of them if the latest census reports are correct — must count themselves as lucky souls. That is assuming that young wine grower Pedro Rodríguez Pérez shares some of his tiny production of Ribeira Sacra with his neighbors.Sober is located in the Amandi sub-zone of Ribeira Sacra, a D.O. area of modest proportion located in Galicia, not far from the norther border of Portugal in the northwest corner of Spain. Here, the 35-year-old Rodríguez has no choice but to farm his seven hectares of vineyards completely by hand, as those vines…

  • Winter at Talula's Table

    David McDuff
    1 Feb 2010 | 7:30 am
    This, the fourth and final installment of "What We Did During the Big Bachelor Party Weekend," takes us almost all the way back to the beginning, back to the lowest key, highest toned night of the three-day fest. The big splash. Dinner for four in the kitchen at Talula's Table.Four guys (including me behind the lens), representing three time zones and four regions of the country, formed the core group of the weekend's revelers. You may recognize the man of honor, Steve Litvin (at right), from my fall adventures in Northern California. Steve came all the way from Monterey, where he is a…

  • Two Kinds of Sour: Cuvée De Ranke

    David McDuff
    29 Jan 2010 | 5:30 am
    Much like my friend Joe at Old World Old School, who included drinking more beer and paying more attention to it among his resolutions for the New Year, I've been meaning to write about beer here at MFWT at least a little more often for some time now. It's the paying attention part that really clicked with me, as beer already slots in pretty regularly to my eating and drinking routines. There was a major focus on beer during the course of my posse's pub crawling activities last weekend. One of our stops, in particular, provided plenty to contemplate, though we of course never lost sight of…
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    gottannins.com

  • Easy Way to Donate to Haiti

    3 Feb 2010 | 1:37 am
    The consumer video review site EXPO (www.expotv.com) is offering an easy way to donate money to Haiti. Members that post product review videos accrue points. Normally these points go towards rewards such as gift cards, strollers, wine accessories and iPods.  To show its support EXPO is enabling donations through the American Red Cross as a way for its members to "cash-in" accrued points. The company is matching donations up to the first 500,000 points donated by consumers. It's $5,000! We at Gottannins encourage our readers to help support the efforts.  More information may be found…

  • Steve Thornton, President Thornton Winery

    23 Jan 2010 | 5:30 am
     We interviewed Steve Thornton, the president of the Thornton Winery, located in the heart of Temecula Valley. Thornton Winery started in 1988. Steve was born and raised in San Diego and is an avid outdoorsman, spending his time away from the winery driving racecars, surfing, motorcycling, mountain biking and skydiving.     What was the first memory you have of wine? That’s a simple answer. My first memory of wine is Sangria. I enjoyed the sweet and fruity taste. What was the first wine that you considered to be good wine? A Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon. I…

  • Wine apps on the iPhone

    11 Nov 2009 | 9:22 am
    When tasting wine, I like to remember what I’ve had and what I thought of it. Since I am the proud owner of an iPhone, I thought I would check out some of the apps that are available. When researching wine tasting applications for the iPhone, there were several features that were important to me; Fellow user reviews Cost Ability to add tasting notes Other miscellaneous features I found seven applications that seemed to fit (or attempt to fit) my criteria; Hello Vino Wine Steward Cellar Wine Pad 2 Tasting Notes Wine Words iSommelier After reviewing the cost, features and benefits, and…

  • Savanna Samson, Small Town Girl From Long Island Turned Winemaker

    7 Nov 2009 | 11:09 pm
    Share According to Bill O'Reilly (No Spin Zone), Savanna Samson is "blond and tan with full lips and long legs, an unmistakable smoldering sexuality emanates from her very being. That's where Savanna's resemblence to the "typical" adult film star ends..." In addition to being one of the most well known stars in the adult film industry, Savanna Samson is a winemaker, a classical dancer, a writer, and a singer. Having  a lifelong passion for wine she launched her wine business in 2005. The first wine, Sogno Uno, was called a "very fine wine - very good" by no less an authority than Robert…

  • Review - 2006 Buena Vista - Pinot Noir - Carneros

    3 Nov 2009 | 10:33 am
     We enjoyed a bottle of 2006 Buena Vista Pinot Noir - Carneros tonight. It was paired with some risotto and steamed salmon served with some onions and tomatoes. The Carneros region tends to be great for growing Pinot Noir because of the moderate temperature caused by the fog.     Buena Vista's 2006 version has a bit of black cherry on the nose, the finish is fairly pronounced, and the wine is not very tannic.  We purchased the bottle at Von's in San Diego and would recommend it with lighter fare. It will run  you approximately $25. In a rather odd note, the notes…
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    Vinix: latest wine tastings

  • Taurasi

    8 Feb 2010 | 3:00 pm
    Di Prisco, Fontanarosa, Italia A limpid garnet red wine with slight shades of orange. Intense flavour in the nose of mushrooms, both dry and wet. Mixed up with small portions of raw meat, liqourice, coffee and some cherry. Occasionally you will find almonds and flowers. Having a sip of this Taurasi you will have quite invasive and intense impressions, a relative full-bodied (consistent) wine with black pepper, liqourice, almonds, mint, and some salt at the end (especially if you have had pasta with mushrooms). It's persistent with the flavours, and relative complex and structured. This…

  • Rossese di Doceacqua Maixei

    4 Feb 2010 | 3:00 pm
    Maixei, Arma di Taggia, Italia Maixei è il termine usato nella Liguria dell'estremo Ponente per indicare i muri a secco eretti per contenere le caratteristiche "fasce". In queste piccole terrazze, a volte anche di pochi metri quadrati, viene allevato con cura il vitigno rossese, clone di Dolceacqua, certamente autoctono, pur se alcune ricerche lo danno come mutazione genetica del pinot noir, originario della non distante Borgogna. Di questo, probabile, vitigno primigenio, il nostro vino conserva i delicati sentori di ciliegie cotte e di rose lievemente appassite ma non mancano sentori di…

  • Prosecco Surlìe

    4 Feb 2010 | 3:00 pm
    Gatti Lorenzo Azienda Agricola, Ponte di Piave, Italia A suo tempo ho letto con molto interesse la degustazione di questo prosecco fatta da Claudia Donegaglia: http://www.vinix.it/myDocDetail.php?ID=3681 . Ho avuto il piacere di sorseggiare recentemente il prosecco sur lie di Carolina Gatti ed all'ottima scheda fatta da Claudia non ho da aggiungere note tecniche, ma note "profane", da mamma che cucina, come sempre. Mi ha solleticata intanto l'idea di provare un vino che può "cangiare" da bicchiere a bicchiere per via del fatto che i lieviti presenti in bottiglia possono riversarsi nel calice…

  • Arusnatico

    3 Feb 2010 | 3:00 pm
    Valentina Cubi, Fumane VR, Italia Questo bello ripasso ho trovato nelle colline poste nei comprensori dei comuni di Fumane e di San Pietro in Cariano, nei luoghi denominati: Rasso, Monte Tenda, Monte Crosetta, con terra ricche di scheletro. Arusnatico mi trovo rosso rubino deciso, abbastanza intenso con il profumo di frutta del bosco, poi forti sentori speziati frammisti, e qualche frammenti di vaniglia. In bocca si sente un bella freschezza, sapidità, complessità e contornato da tannini che evocano legno del motoscafo come Riva, più o meno... Si abbina bene con carni rosse come manzo,…

  • Secondopasso

    2 Feb 2010 | 3:00 pm
    Podere Belmantello, Cerignola, Italia Il vino è affinato in acciaio ed è caratterizzato, al gusto, da una sensazione di fruttato e di intensa freschezza e piacevolezza. Di colore rubio carico e riflessi violacei; il finale è lungo e persistente.
 
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    Got Tannins?

  • Easy Way to Donate to Haiti

    3 Feb 2010 | 1:37 am
    The consumer video review site EXPO (www.expotv.com) is offering an easy way to donate money to Haiti. Members that post product review videos accrue points. Normally these points go towards rewards such as gift cards, strollers, wine accessories and iPods.  To show its support EXPO is enabling donations through the American Red Cross as a way for its members to "cash-in" accrued points. The company is matching donations up to the first 500,000 points donated by consumers. It's $5,000! We at Gottannins encourage our readers to help support the efforts.  More information may be found…

  • Wine apps on the iPhone

    11 Nov 2009 | 9:22 am
    When tasting wine, I like to remember what I’ve had and what I thought of it. Since I am the proud owner of an iPhone, I thought I would check out some of the apps that are available. When researching wine tasting applications for the iPhone, there were several features that were important to me; Fellow user reviews Cost Ability to add tasting notes Other miscellaneous features I found seven applications that seemed to fit (or attempt to fit) my criteria; Hello Vino Wine Steward Cellar Wine Pad 2 Tasting Notes Wine Words iSommelier After reviewing the cost, features and benefits, and…

  • Review - 2006 Buena Vista - Pinot Noir - Carneros

    3 Nov 2009 | 10:33 am
     We enjoyed a bottle of 2006 Buena Vista Pinot Noir - Carneros tonight. It was paired with some risotto and steamed salmon served with some onions and tomatoes. The Carneros region tends to be great for growing Pinot Noir because of the moderate temperature caused by the fog.     Buena Vista's 2006 version has a bit of black cherry on the nose, the finish is fairly pronounced, and the wine is not very tannic.  We purchased the bottle at Von's in San Diego and would recommend it with lighter fare. It will run  you approximately $25. In a rather odd note, the notes…

  • Don Reha, Winemaker, Orfila Vineyards, San Diego, CA

    4 Aug 2009 | 7:35 am
      Don Reha joined the Orfila Vineyards in 2009 after Leon Santoro passed away in January of this year. He has grown up in the wine industry with experience on his childhood family vineyards in Ukiah, CA (Mendocino County). As a winemaker his career started at Fetzer Vineyards in Redwood Valley and studied at UC Davis focusing on Enology and Fermentation Sciences.  Gottannins is happy to provide you with some of his insight. Enjoy! What was the first memory you have of wine?   When my Great Uncle, Joseppi Lorenzi, would give us kids a small “Cheez-Whiz” glass of half wine…

  • Buying Basics - Story by Shoestring Magazine

    3 Jun 2009 | 12:04 pm
     Melissa Massello, founder of Shoestring Magazine, recently spoke with us on our thoughts for her story "Bargain Booze Buying Basics."    Along with Craig and John from one of our favorite stores, BinEnds Wine in Boston, Noah from Crushpad, and Adam Levin from Snooth, we provided thoughts on topics such as wine clubs and helping relax state-to-state shipping laws.   The article can be found here: http://www.shoestringmag.com/eat-drink/eat-drink-bargain-booze-buying-basics Please feel free to leave your comments there. Enjoy. 
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    CheapWineRatings.com

  • Forest Glen Gewürztraminer

    I’ll be honest with you, California isn’t the first region I think of when I’m looking for a Gewürztraminer.  And Forest Glen never comes to mind as a brand I would expect to turn to for Gewürz.  But then Forest Glen has surprised me before, like when their Pinot Noir topped some other Pinot’s more [...]

  • Lucien Albrecht Gewürztraminer Reserve

    Although its name can be intimidating to those who are new to wine, Gewurztraminer is a wonderful and exciting variety that I recommend you try.  But first, let’s deal with this name.  It looks long and complicated, but it’s not when you break it down.  Let’s start with the first half of the name, Gewürz, [...]

  • Ten Carménère Under $20

    Carménère , or Carmenere, was once one of the grapes of Bordeaux.  It was always a problematic grape, due to late ripening, but brings some unique qualities to the wine in which it’s used.  In particular, it’s known for giving a green pepper characteristic to wines, which is intensified when the grapes are harvested under-ripe.  [...]

  • Valdivieso Reserva Carménère

    Viña Valdivieso originated as Champagne Valdivieso way back in 1879.  It was the first producer in South America to make sparkling wine, and didn’t even begin producing still wine until 1980 when they expanded and formed Viña Valdivieso. The grapes for this Carménère are from Central Valley, which means that they aren’t from one region, but [...]

  • Casillero del Diablo Carménère

    Casillero del Diablo is one of the brands produced by Concha y Toro, the largest wine producer in Chile and one of the best in terms of consistent quality and good value for the price. The story goes that in starting in 1891, the founder of the Concho y Toro Winery, Don Melchor, kept a personal [...]
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    Rockss and Fruit

  • Kurious - I'm Kurious

    Lyle Fass
    7 Feb 2010 | 12:16 pm
    Not the K from KMD, Kurious' 1st solo album still remains a legend to me. This song is a classic, love the semi R & B hook and Kurious has total command of rhyming and this song exemplifies his talents even more than Walk Like a Duck, which is also a personal favorite.

  • Thought on Opus One

    Lyle Fass
    4 Feb 2010 | 4:40 pm
    A friend was e-mailing me about Opus One today. I can't reveal why as it would break a trust but it did get me thinking about that wine. Where my palate is today I don't think about that wine for many reasons. It's expensive, extremely newbie, very status for people who have money, huge production/high price, from California, etc. But one thing it is not is in the style of the California Cabernet that I have grown to despise and hate. The big, inky, extracted Harlan-Heston-Colgin style Opus One is not. If I was forced to drink some, especially with age, I would not mind or throw as big a fit…

  • Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004, directed by Michel Gondry

    Lyle Fass
    30 Jan 2010 | 11:27 am
    I have been wanting to write about this movie for a long time. Since it came out, actually. I see it every year, and just noticed it was streaming on Netflix the other day so I watched it in all of it's glorious HD. The movie looked better than ever but I've always thought that this is one of the greatest scripts ever written, which is a rare thing for me to say as I am all about the director usually. Charlie Kaufman wrote this along with Michel Gondry (the director of the film) and Pierre Bismuth, but this clearly comes from Charlie's beautifully twisted idealistic mind. I love Charlie but…

  • Sir-Mix-A-Lot - Posse on Broadway

    Lyle Fass
    26 Jan 2010 | 8:48 pm
    Baby got Back cannot touch this track. This is the best track Sir Mix-A-Lot has ever done. Simple 808 beat and great hook. Love the simplicity and Mix-A-Lot can rhyme with the best of them. A completely slept on classic.

  • Riesling Roundup + a Weissburgunder

    Lyle Fass
    21 Jan 2010 | 4:19 pm
    Been slacking on notes. No surprise there. I think I might have grown to hate tasting notes, but yet I still masochistically type them up. Had a nice bottle of the 2007 Laible Durbacher Plauelrain Weisser Burgunder Kabinett Trocken with some chicken breasts and broccoli rabe last week. I love Laible because of the fact that they are in Ortenau which the coolest area in all of Baden. Sometimes Baden whites can be a bit fat even in cooler vintages vut Laible always has the acidity I crave for. Good pear and apple fruit, with stark, empty minerality and ripping acidity. Did fatten up a bit after…
 
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    Wine Biz Radio

  • A Wine With Sausage

    randy
    5 Feb 2010 | 3:30 pm
    Randy and Christophe embark on a whirlwind review of last week’s Unified Wine & Grape Symposium, including interviews with some of the most interesting exhibitors! They also taste a Finger Lakes Riesling and a Spatburgunder that could clear the room with its aroma! Don’t miss it, it’s fast and furious, despite Kaz’s persistent absence! California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (link) Envino plastic wine bottles (link) Suterra insect pheromones (link) Wine Line ‘Somelaire’ (link) Wine Wipes (link) SanTásti palate cleansing beverage (link) Marrone Bio…

  • Setting The Record Straight, Already: Unified ‘10 “Social Media & YOU”

    Wine Biz Radio
    29 Jan 2010 | 4:43 pm
    Apparently, there was a question about what Paul Mabray (of Vintank) said during the panel discussion on “Social Media & YOU” at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium on Wednesday afternoon this week. Fortunately, our associate producer (and wunderkind) Christophe had the presence of mind (as he apparently reguluarly does) to have his handy digital recorder running during the presentation. Well, he did start it after El Jefe finished his presentation, so the audio starts at the Q&A for Jeff Stai. However, the recording has everything from Paul, so we could set the…

  • In The Rear View Mirror

    randy
    29 Jan 2010 | 3:30 pm
    There comes a time every year when it’s important to look back and see where you’ve been. So , hearken back to 2009 with us and listen to some of the highlights that made Wine Biz Radio the best wine talk show program you can possibly listen to! As a special treat, there’s a “montage” of Kaz’s craziness to listen for!

  • Couch Lock

    randy
    22 Jan 2010 | 3:30 pm
    Kaz continues his vacation, and Randy invites Tom Wark (Wark Communications and Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog) in the studio to talk about his latest postings and news from the world of wine PR and direct shipping, including a peculiar crossover story between wine and marijuana. Then they taste some very interesting wines, with grapes you’ve probably never heard of! <a href=”http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&#038;task=viewaltcast&#038;altcast_code=ddf99f9a5f”…

  • Parker Besieged?

    randy
    15 Jan 2010 | 3:30 pm
    Kaz is vacationing in Mexico, which can only mean that Randy is interviewing interesting people! John Burdick guest hosts as they talk to Tyler Colman (aka Dr. Vino) about The Wine Advocate’s annual budget for buying wine that they score. Then they have a lovely chat with Monty and Sara Preiser about their latest article criticizing the industry for drinking the proverbial Kool-Aid resulting in the “annointed few” like Parker having undue influence over the entire industry. Finally, they speak to Alana Gentry (aka Girl With A Glass) about her guide book, getting clear on how…
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    HaKerem: The Israeli Wine Blog

  • Israwinexpo Open Thread

    Avi
    9 Feb 2010 | 6:07 am
    Unfortunately I can’t attend Israwinexpo today, when it’s only open to the trade.  I will be there tomorrow night. However, I want to open this thread as an open forum for initial reactions, photos, links to coverage, etc.

  • It’s Israeli Wine … Not Kosher

    Avi
    1 Feb 2010 | 2:07 pm
    I’ve really been enjoying the Wine Enthusiast lately. They’ve got some of the best coverage from a mainstream wine magazine of Israeli wine representing where the Israeli wine market is today. Particularly, I should add, on their social media channels. So, I was pleased to see a blog post dispelling the famous kosher wine myth in the post “It’s Israeli Wine … Not Just Kosher“. But why then, I wonder, when you say the word “Israeli wine” to most people, do they automatically retort, “Oh, Kosher wine? Like Manischewitz?” Why have so many people not…

  • Social Media and the Wine Industry

    Avi
    28 Jan 2010 | 1:50 pm
    [I plan to write much more on this next week, but here is a post that I wrote on Daniel Rogov's forum] In response to the discussions [on Rogov's forum] about blogging and the wine industry, I just found out that Lift9 (a social media marketing agency – I have no affiliation with them nor this study) just did a study on social media and wine. It can be found at http://www.lift9.com/socialmedia_blog/2010/01/28/the-impact-of-social-media-on-wine/ and the slideshare presentation at http://www.slideshare.net/warrenss/lift9-wine-and-social-media. I’m just reading it now (Hope to have…

  • Petite Sirah? Yes, Sirrah!

    Avi
    20 Jan 2010 | 6:03 am
    (The following is a guest post from Irene Sharon Hodes, reprinted with permission) I had the opportunity to taste a wine that is new to me, Vitkin’s 2006 Petite Sirah. A friend brought the bottle to the vegan dinner party I hosted last Friday (an exceptional experience I really need to get on to blog about).  She knew that I adore Syrah, but made the common mistake of mixing the two varietals. Israel is one of the relatively few wine regions growing Petite Sirah, officially known as Durif, as a single-varietal wine.  Not to be confused with Syrah, the Petit Sirah, although related, is…

  • Israwinexpo 2010 Tel Aviv

    Avi
    19 Jan 2010 | 8:36 am
    Israwinexpo is coming back! This biennial professional Israeli wine event first occurred in 2006, then again in 2008, and is now coming back to Tel Aviv. Israwinexpo, along with Sommelier, are the two top wine events in Israel. Open to the public only on February 10-11, 2010 from 16:00-22:00 (4PM-10PM), the Israeli wine tasting will be held at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds & Exhibition Hall, the Ganei HaTaurucha. Those interested in more information or pre-ordering tickets can view the fair’s official website at http://israwinexpo.fairs.co.il/. If you pre-order tickets via the website…
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    The Tasting Note

  • #225 iWines - American wines as Apple launch the iPad

    27 Jan 2010 | 5:24 pm
    The eyes of the world are on America today as Steve Jobs launches another iProduct, so to celebrate this (and because I was sent a bunch of sample bottles) I’m looking at a bunch of American wines.Heading the line up was the 2008 The Four Graces Dundee Hills Pinot Blanc from Dundee in Oregon.  Costing £16, I was expecting something a bit, well, crap!  So often new world producers screw this grape up and don't get the subtlety of Pinot Blanc, but not this time.  It was very light on the nose, with chalk and clay aromas and lots of lemon pith.  Then moving onto the…

  • #224 Cairn O Mohr 'Haggis' Bramble and Oak Leaf

    26 Jan 2010 | 3:24 pm
    It was Burns Night yesterday, where people all over Scotland dress up in tartan, worship a stuffed stomach, all the while reading poems written by Scottish poet, Robert Burns.  Now generally whisky is consumed with Haggis, Neeps & Tatties (intestines mixed with oatmeal, turnips or swede and potatoes for you non Scottish folk out there), and Champagne goes pretty well with it too.  But Scottish fruit wine producer, Cairn O Mohr, decided to produce a fruit wine that is meant to be drunk with Scotland's national dish.So, after making the Haggis, Neeps & Tatties, we cracked open…

  • #223 6 Questions with... Robert McIntosh

    24 Jan 2010 | 1:15 pm
    Robert McIntosh’s name is likely to mean very little to you unless you are a blogger in the UK, where he is rapidly becoming the face of the UK wine blogging scene.  His blog, Wine Conversation, offers a different approach as it tends not to include wine, and writes more about what is going on in the world of wine and his reviews are on products.  He also represents a trio of wineries from Rioja in the UK.  We asked him six questions…. What got you into the wine business?The romantic versions starts with the memory of the smells from my garage when I lived in Italy when I…

  • #222 BREAKING NEWS: Buckfast linked to crime

    18 Jan 2010 | 5:45 am
    The favoured drink of undesirables in Glasgow has appeared in 5638 police reports in Strathclyde between 2006 and 2009, according to the BBC website.Buckfast Tonic Wine, the drink of choice of Glaswegian hoodlums and which is made by monks in Devon, has featured in over five thousand police reports, which averages at around three per day.  There were also a reported 114 occasions where the bottle has been used as a weapon.You can read the full article hereAll I have to say on the matter is "tell us something we didn't already know!"

  • #221 Anything but crap of the week: Suck UK pocket corkscrew

    18 Jan 2010 | 4:30 am
    Everyone has a keyring with a beer bottle opener on it, but the problem with corkscrews is that they are either bulky or the sharper bits of the corkscrew stab you through your trouser pocket in the one place on your body that you really don't want to get stabbed.So SuckUK have come up with this genius little device, a T-shaped corkscrew that folds up in itself, to a size little longer than a larger house key, the screw containted within the hinged red metal sides that fold up to become the handle of the corkscrew.I bought one of these, and can confirm that, as a T-shaped corkscrew, it works…
 
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    Israeli Wine Direct

  • Israeli Wine at Houston’s 13Celsius

    Richard
    8 Feb 2010 | 5:47 pm
    This past Friday night we held an Israeli wine tasting of 6 wines I import at another one of my fave wine bars in Houston called 13 Celsius. Listen to me….the place was packed! I love the vibe in this old building. And the crowd keeps it real and fun. I loved the people I met at the event, too. Except maybe for the one guy who poked me in the chest as a way to get me to pour him more wine…Ummmm this is not a recommended strategy ! And Mike and Ian, the wine director and owner, have done a superb job of going out of their way to bring you wines that stretch you to visit new parts…

  • Israeli Wines Win Another Smackdown in Houston

    Richard
    6 Feb 2010 | 8:30 pm
    This afternoon my friend Charles from fave wine bar + retailer + killer restaurant Block 7 Wine Company in Houston held a tasting of 7 wines I import from small wineries in Israel. I was again amazed by the overwhelmingly positive response top these wines from the great people of Houston. We have (as I had hoped) gone well beyond a Jewish audience with these grand wines, I focused on very basic talkpoints as usual (as Winnie the Pooh said, I have a small bear brain!). Like the fact that wine was born in Israel. And that Israel is smaller than New Jersey but long and narrow like Chile or…

  • Making Room for New Vintages: Flam Classico 2006

    Richard
    3 Feb 2010 | 9:07 pm
    While good wine doesn’t exactly go “bad” there comes a time when you gotta make room for the newest vintage. We’ve sold A LOT of Flam Classico 2006! In fact we have only 71 bottles left at last count this afternoon. And it’s time to make room for the 2007. Which is what I am drinking right this moment as I sit in bed and write this brief post. A lot of you have ordered Flam Classico 2006 from me. If you like fruit and Mediterranean herbs, you love this wine. Period. Winemaker Golan Flam trained in Italy then brought back to his estate winery in the hills outside…

  • What am I trying To Do??

    Richard
    2 Feb 2010 | 9:18 pm
    It’s good to regularly review why you are doing what you are doing. This allows you to make decisions about how to spend your time and money, and how to allocate attention. What is it that you INTEND? And how is what you are doing aligned (or more likely, not aligned) with your intentions? There’s a big difference between thinking about what you’re making or selling or whatever and fully considering what you are trying to bring about in the worldby making or selling what you make or sell. I guess it’s sort of like the difference between “features and…

  • Carignan, anyone?

    Richard
    27 Jan 2010 | 2:28 pm
    To you wine-lovers who set a New Year’s resolution of getting out of the Cab-Merlot-Chardonnay wine box and a litte off-the-trail in terms of wine varieties you taste…I’m here to help! Carignan, anyone? Usually a sort of behind-the-curtain, high yield, nothing-special blending grape, tiny little Somek winery in Israel has elevated Carignan to fine wine in their 2004 showing. Full Disclosure: YES, I import this wine! And I am totally biased in its favor or I would not have brought it at great expense across several oceans to bring it to you! Get over it Led by husband and…
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    Lisa Shea's WineIntro

  • Wine and Digestion

    7 Feb 2010 | 9:41 pm
    Wine is VERY good for your digestion. Do you drink wine while eating? Here is how it helps! Wine and Digestion

  • Ice Wine

    5 Feb 2010 | 10:27 pm
    I bought 2 Riedel icewine glasses! Hurrah, the ultimate ice wine drinking experience! I am of course testing them out this very second :)

  • Last Day for Mused Submissions!

    4 Feb 2010 | 2:35 am
    Reminder! Today is the very last day for Mused submissions! Get your photos of your winery trips in to the literary magazine, and reach a world wide audience with the beauty! Mused Literary Review
 
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    Friday Night Wine Tastings

  • Let's Get This Going Again!

    Jeff Parr
    23 Jan 2010 | 2:28 pm
    Sorry to everyone that used to follow the Friday Night Wine Tasting Blog here at Allyson's. We are going to be adding tasting sheets here starting in 2010.First I have some introductions: I am Jeff, one of the owners here at Allyson's. I do the wine buying and tastings for the Ashland Store. John is the guy who manages the wine shop for Bend so he will be posting Bend tastings.I hope that this blog can be a resource for our community and other wine appreciators.Also note that we have Facebook pages for both Ashland and Bend that include Wine Tastings, Cooking Classes and other events.Ashland…

  • Wines for Valentines

    allysonskitchen
    6 Feb 2009 | 5:44 pm
    February 6, 2009Ashland, ORMarquis de PerladePale gold color; this sparkler is delicate, delicious and delightful. The taste is extremely fresh, wrapped by an elegant bubble substance, clean, with a crisp, dry, and pleasant finish.Ideal as an aperitif or as a cocktail wine.Allyson’s Pairing: Delice D’BourgogneMas Donis Rosat 2006Very aromatic with strawberries and raspberries followed by some subtle mountain herbs and rocks. In the mouth there is excellent balance with a glycerol feel. Dry and long. The palate mimics the nose for the most part but adds some pepper and apple notes. Wine…

  • California Rhones

    allysonskitchen
    30 Jan 2009 | 5:31 pm
    January 30, 2009Ashland, ORThe Crusher Viognier 2007This pale straw colored wine bears a slight glint of steely blue. Intense aromas of jasmine and clove unfold with hints of apricot and peach. The palate has a luscious, nectar like texture, abundant with apricot grit and sweet white peach flavors, and a finish of star anise, vanilla and juicy Bartlett pear.Allyson’s Pairing: Saint Andre Triple Crème w/Pear Honey Fruit SpreadTablas Creek Cotes de Tablas Blanc 2007Four estate-grown white varietals of Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne, and Grenache Blanc blend in this style of French Cotes du…

  • Fire Place Wines

    allysonskitchen
    23 Jan 2009 | 6:28 pm
    January 23, 2009Ashland, ORDynamite ZinfandelThis is a clear violet colored wine with some structure of medium depth. Your nose can pick up some definite black currant or cherry top notes with some spice and pepper under tones. Swirl the wine and enjoy the ripe, dark fruit aromas. Then savor the myriad of flavors as the wine expands across your palate.Allyson’s Pairing: Fiscalini CheddarFriends. Red 2006 Red WineFrom our friends at Pedroncelli Winery, this bottle will help bring up old stories to tell around the fireplace. A nice blend of Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, and Zinfandel to…

  • Wine Spectator >89 Points

    allysonskitchen
    16 Jan 2009 | 3:42 pm
    January 16, 2009Ashland, ORPazo Serantellos ’07 Albarino Rias Baixas“This graceful Spanish white marries a plush texture with a steely backbone, offering ripe flavors of pear, melon and honeysuckle kept lively by a minerally acidity. 89 Points.” The Wine SpectatorAllyson’s Pairing: Greek Kasseri on Focaccia Flat BreadTerrapin Cellars ’07 Pinot Gris“Soft and round, with a lovely glow of peach and melon flavors at the core, wafting gracefully through the long finish. 89 Points.” The Wine SpectatorAllyson’s Pairing: Raw Milk Raclette Dona Paula ’07 Malbec“Dark and winey, with…
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    Imbibe New York

  • VINO2010 NYC-Part I

    Sistah-K
    6 Feb 2010 | 10:11 pm
    This past week, VINO2010–Italian Wine Week–descended upon NYC, bringing together wine writers and buyers, importers and makers, educators, distributors,  and noise-makers; together beneath one roof and a million rooms at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.  There were presentations and guided tastings, meet and greets, and a Grand Tasting with no end in sight.  Apulia, Calabria, Toscana, [...]

  • VINO2010

    Sistah-K
    4 Feb 2010 | 6:08 am
    Big week for Italian wine in the city! I’ll be at VINO2010 all day long tweeting and tasting and hanging with fabulous wine peeps.  Check out the stream of consciousness at VINO2010 where attendees’ tweets are live.  Blog posts on the event to follow…

  • Bin 71

    Sistah-K
    3 Feb 2010 | 9:16 pm
    Squat and squeezed on Columbus between 70th and 71st Streets, Bin 71 gets cozy at night, in a subway-rush-hour kind of way.  It’s dark with a marble top 12-seat bar, and a flat screen TV that glares like a mother’s raised brow from the corner.   Television aside  and there’s a fine 100 bottle selection, [...]

  • Ten Bells

    Sistah-K
    27 Jan 2010 | 3:20 pm
    Perhaps I’m the last New York wine lover to write about Ten Bells on Broome Street, but I might be the first who didn’t leave the bar pledging my virginity to it’s greatness; and I certainly wasn’t compelled to leave an offering of my first born.  In fact, though the space is lovely, romantic, and rustic [...]

  • A Buried Conversation Heart

    Sistah-K
    22 Jan 2010 | 10:40 am
    From a cloud of dust comes plum fruit plump taut and ripe He takes a bite and wipes The juice drips down his chin In his pocket folds green wood a knife and bitter almonds *** Barnyard Ground upturned and stinky A black cherry tree One flower falls across a plain It’s roots herbaceous and ripped *** Haute Ronze Hair the color of caramel blueberry eyes and mounds like fennel Her breath- soft mint and fresh floral Acidity rolls like a [...]
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    ShipCompliant: Wine Shipping Blog

  • Notes on Wine Distribution v.32

    Jeff Carroll - VP of Compliance, ShipCompliant
    4 Feb 2010 | 6:40 pm
    The latest version of “Notes on Wine Distribution”, by R. Corbin Houchins, is now available. Release 32 includes updates on legislation, litigation and general discussions on available distribution channels for wine. This release includes substantial changes, including new sections on age and identity, facial neutrality, and logistical support services, as well as updates to state summaries in Arizona, Delaware, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

  • Representing Change: One Piece of Washington’s Overhaul

    Sara Mann, Beverage Industry Attorney
    3 Feb 2010 | 12:36 pm
    Last year, Washington State relaxed some of its restrictive alcoholic beverage laws as a result of a couple of comprehensive bills that passed the legislature (SB 5834 and HB 2040). The mandatory minimum markups between suppliers and wholesalers and between wholesalers and retailers are now history. Retailers can now pay suppliers using electronic funds transfers if they want to. Price posting (which required beer and wine suppliers and distributors to file their product prices with the state and hold those prices for 30 days) was officially abolished. Another change in the law that has more…

  • Siesta’s Over

    R. Corbin Houchins, Beverage Industry Counsel
    27 Jan 2010 | 12:22 pm
    On January 26th, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ended the puzzling status of interstate retailing in Texas created by the lower court’s decision in Siesta Village Market. The district court had ruled that out-of-state retailers had a Commerce Clause right to sell wine to Texas consumers, but only wine that had been purchased from a Texas-licensed wholesaler. The decision is another example of uncertainties resulting from the principal unresolved Granholm question: How does one reconcile the location-neutrality principle with the infamous North Dakota dictum to the effect that states may…

  • High Fives in the First Circuit

    R. Corbin Houchins, Beverage Industry Counsel
    26 Jan 2010 | 12:09 pm
    Justified jubilation greeted the 14 January 2010 decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which affirmed the federal district court decision of 19 November 2008 in Family Winemakers of California v. Jenkins, invalidating the Massachusetts “volume cap.” (see previous post “Huge win for wineries, but can I ship to Massachusetts now?” ) Oddly enough, the appellate ruling may be more important outside Massachusetts than within. There are two reasons, one quite straightforward, the other less so. The simple reason is that the First Circuit decision merely…

  • Huge win for wineries, but can I ship to Massachusetts now?

    Jeff Carroll - VP of Compliance, ShipCompliant
    17 Jan 2010 | 11:35 am
    First Circuit affirms District Court decision On Thursday, January 14th, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the District Court in the case of Family Winemakers of California v. Jenkins. The appellatte decision represents a major victory for wineries and may be the end of the case that was originally filed by Family Winemakers of California in September of 2006. "We’re delighted with the decision on behalf of our members and all wineries across the U.S. We’re also glad that this court put its foot down about discriminatory laws,…
 
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    Wine Questers Blog

  • Page Cellars in little Yountville – rock n roll theme

    Jim Preston
    22 Jan 2010 | 2:06 pm
    We were recently surprised to find wineries in what was once one of our favorite fine art galleries in Yountville in the Napa Valley.  The gallery moved out for whatever reason and Cornerstone and Page moved in. Page has some very nice wine.  We just finished their Revolver brand 2006 Napa Valley Cab Franc.  It is [...]

  • Domenico Wines – SF Peninsula winery

    Jim Preston
    13 Jan 2010 | 1:00 pm
    The less than attractive exterior of Domenico’s industrial building in San Carlos about 20 minutes south of SFO masks a nice interior and hospitality.  You taste their wines in a large warehouse but it has been decorated for events and of course wine barrels supply a warm ambiance. Domenico has a rather large wine list that [...]

  • Periscope Cellars – wine in an old sub plant

    Jim Preston
    13 Jan 2010 | 11:44 am
    Urban wineries, this one near Oakland, lack the incredible ambiance of say Dry Creek Valley.  That doesn’t mean they aren’t interesting to visit.  Periscope is in an old submarine plant near the San Francisco Bay in Emeryville just west of Oakland and Berkeley.  They make less than 5,000 cases with a focus on blended red [...]

  • Bonny Doon Vineyard – tasting room excels

    Jim Preston
    13 Jan 2010 | 11:01 am
    Bonny Doon Vineyard had a tasting room in the mountains in the town of Bonny Doon.   A few years ago Randall Grahm moved his tasting room and winery to northern Santa Cruz.  The large tasting room doubles as a gourmet restaurant with private booths in large wine vats / barrels and a counter bar with [...]

  • Pinder Winery – a South SF Bay gem

    Jim Preston
    13 Jan 2010 | 9:45 am
    We recently visited little family-owned Pinder Winery in an industrial building in Campbell, CA next to San Jose.  Sure, an industrial building isn’t our first choice for ambiance but Pinder is an excellent choice for wine and hospitality. Pinder sources their grapes from a variety of vineyards from Temecula to Lodi and the nearby Santa Cruz [...]
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    Robert Francis Wine Blog

  • Video Blog #55 A Southern France Sauvignon Blanc from Superquinn

    admin
    5 Feb 2010 | 2:00 am
    Click here to view the embedded video. In the lateste of my videos I taste a white wine from the south of france that is available in Superquinn. Check it out and see you next time on robertfranciswine.ie

  • Quick Fire Questions for Matt from Curious Wines

    admin
    3 Feb 2010 | 2:30 am
    Matt @Curious Wines your time starts now … Continuing with the recent interview with Wine Retailers I put my questions to Matt from Curiouswines – here is what he had to say 1.       How did you get into wine ? When I was a student I loved going to the shop to select a bottle of wine for my girlfriend. We were both foodies well before wine drinkers, but that’s where it started to take off for me. I loved the variety in wine, as well as the packaging and the stories that come with it. My dad is also very fond of his wine, so we can now talk about wine, as well as football and…

  • Media Round Up – Sunday 31st January 2010

    admin
    2 Feb 2010 | 2:30 am
    Sunday Tribune – Lar Veale 1. St Hallett Faith Barossa Shiraz 2008 (€15) This is from the south of the Barossa where cooler climes give more floral, softer and less spicy flavours. It’s probably more bing than bang, vibrant red fruits and less of the spice than its bigger Barossa brethren. Smooth and silky. With food? Venison with chocolate sauce would be a real treat, but would work equally well with a more modest steak or lamb. Available from: Imported by Gilbeys and on the shelves of leading independents soon 2. Glaetzer Wallace Shiraz-Grenache (€17) The Glaetzer family is…

  • Video Blog #54 – A Fiano from Superquinn

    admin
    2 Feb 2010 | 2:30 am
    Click here to view the embedded video. In the latest of my video blogs I taste a fiano from Southern Italy. Check it out and see you next time on robertfranciswine.ie

  • Media Round Up – Saturday 30th Jan 2010

    admin
    2 Feb 2010 | 2:05 am
    Irish Times – John Wilson BOTTLES OF THE WEEK  Bürgerspital Würzburger Stein Riesling Kabinett Trocken 2008, 12%, €19.99 Fresh and lively with zingy green apple fruits and a light spritz. Perfect with crab salad, or fishcakes. Stockists: Holland’s, Bray; Karwig Wines, Carrigaline and karwigwines.ie; Eugene’s of Kenmare; Cases Wine Warehouse, Galway. Bürgerspital Würzburger Pfaffenberg Silvaner Trocken 2007, 11.5%, €17.99 Lovely light melon fruits with a delicious, subtle spiciness and a clean dry finish. Try it with lighter fish dishes. Stockists: Holland’s, Bray; Karwig…
 
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    Recent Posts from the Wine Advocates

  • Washington vs. California Cabs

    9 Feb 2010 | 7:40 am
    The biggest difference is price. Some terrific values exist in Washington Cabernets and blends. MrBigJ(author: Jay Stuart Miller)

  • Poll: Should wine be tasted "blind"?

    9 Feb 2010 | 7:29 am
    I vote both ways. Whenever I have a large tasting of collected samples from a given region, I will be tasting them single-blind. However, I also spend considerable time visiting wineries where it makes no sense to taste that way. You also gain invaluable information talking with winemakers, grape growers, on those visits. You learn a great deal when you siit down with importers, people like Leonardo Locasio, Jorge Ordonez, and John Larchet to name a few. They have a background of experience which can be very enlightening. In the end, the main thing is to let the wine talk and get it down with…
 
 
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    Wine For Newbies

  • Yet another politician opposing direct shipment of wine

    William Wilson
    8 Feb 2010 | 7:16 am
    The Baltimore Sun reports on a member of the Maryland senate who will not allow a vote in her committee on a bill that would end the ban against direct shipment of wine. Again we get the tired old “minors will get alcohol by ordering online” argument. Never mind that the facts don’t support this position. In the U.S., there is only one (maybe two) documented incidents of minors trying to order alcohol online–and it was as a part of a “sting” organized by the wholesalers (who want to protect their economic fiefdom). Apparently no one recalls the basic facts:…

  • Where can I buy that wine?

    William Wilson
    1 Feb 2010 | 1:09 pm
    If there’s one thing about being a wine enthusiast that will drive you buggy, it’s trying to buy wines you’ve heard about. If you live in a state like Indiana in the US, the wholesalers bring in only 5% of the wines available in the US. It can be tough to find wines that Wine Spectator, Robert Parker, or even just the local newspaper are writing up. Luckily, for some folks in the US, there is a partial solution. I don’t normally plug vendors here, but WineAccess.com is worth mentioning. I’m an affiliate, which means like with Amazon.com, I get a commission from…

  • Tweet and Taste Live–Michigan on March 8

    William Wilson
    1 Feb 2010 | 2:32 am
    Michigan wines are largely unheard of outside of the Great Lakes region. Nevertheless, there are parts of Michigan that have great climates for grape growing. Michigan has grown wine grapes for decades, and is now coming into the forefront of up-and-coming wine regions. On March 8, a group of wine bloggers and wine professionals will participate in Taste and Tweet Live. We will sample and discuss 3 Michigan wines from Black Star Winery. You can join us, if you wish. All the details can be found at the Taste and Tweet Live–Michigan site.

  • What to do when they bring you the bottle, by Judy Beardsall

    William Wilson
    19 Jan 2010 | 11:24 am
    Let’s say you asked for a bottle of Napa Valley Chateau Montelena and it comes to your table already opened. If they don’t show you the uncorked bottle, you’ve got a problem… Send the bottle back. Don’t let the waiter or sommelier pull the cork in some distant part of the bar or kitchen and arrive at your table ready to pour. Tradition holds that they must show you the bottle so you know you’re getting the wine you just ordered and not a substitute – or that it was not opened earlier in the day and refilled with something else. Look carefully at the…

  • What can I do for you?

    William Wilson
    18 Jan 2010 | 8:38 am
    Every once in a while I like to ask readers to give me a bit of feedback. Specifically, I like to ask: What do you like about Wine For Newbies (the web site)? What do you like about Wine For Newbies 2.0 (the podcast and vidcast)? What do you not like about the web site/podcast/vidcast? What makes you spend time at the web site? What could Wine For Newbies do that would make you declare WFN to be the world’s best web site? (Okay, maybe not the world’s best site, but what would make you tell all your friends, Facebook contacts, and so on?) If you’d be kind enough to leave a…
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    Sommelier India - India's only wine magazine

  • Getting the facts straight. SIWC & IWC Gold Winners

    8 Feb 2010 | 10:26 am
    Sometimes our wine industry is done a disservice by how it is represented in the media - whether that be the mainstream or the trade press. Recently in a trade consultant's newsletter, the Sommelier India Wine Competition results were misinterpreted and did an injustice to the winners. The record needs to be set straight as sloppy journalism drives uninformed opinions. Shiv Singh takes umbrage at the report.

  • Did you know the history behind toasting?

    8 Feb 2010 | 10:22 am
    In ancient Greece, a dinner host would take the first sip of wine to assure guests the wine was not poisoned, hence the phrase "drinking to one's health." And "toasting" specifically started in ancient Rome when the Romans continued the Greek tradition but localized it by dropping a piece of toasted bread into each wine glass to temper undesirable tastes or excessive acidity. Here's some toasting etiquette for the modern world.

  • Bangaloreans taste boutique wines from Germany

    8 Feb 2010 | 3:54 am
    A select guest list of wine lovers in Bangalore enjoyed a Riesling treat recently with a tasting of nine wines from MO-RHE-NA Wine Exports from Germany, led by well-known winemaker Ulrich Langguth and his son, Patrick, writes Ruma Singh. Guests savoured every sip of a remarkable selection of wines from boutique German wineries.

  • Indian wine - Miazma, more mesmerising than misty

    7 Feb 2010 | 8:34 am
    "In the old days royalty travelled long distances with great fanfare and style. We would like to carry on the tradition and invite you to a luxurious afternoon in Mandwa (Alibaug). Ocean Blue will whisk you across the harbor to Ccaza Ccomodore for a lavish Miazma BBQ brunch." Sommelier India's Suneeta Sodhi Kanga found this invitation irresistible

  • Pichon Lalande shines at Sommelier India Wine Dinner

    6 Feb 2010 | 9:33 pm
    Wine tastings in themselves can be, after a tipping point, a heady experience. Swirl, sniff, sip and smile, reports Rahoul B Singh. The much practiced routine is followed either by an inconsequential opinion or a much valued insight even in the Indian wine scene. Left to right: Gildas d'Ollone of Ch Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Reva K Singh of Sommelier India WINE magazine, Aman Dhall of Brindco and Al Portney of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates
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    Grape Wall of China

  • French Wine Paradox to handle Lanson Champagne in China

    By Jim Boyce Importer and distributor French Wine Paradox reports that it has signed an agreement to be the exclusive distributor of Lanson Champagne in China. The origins of Lanson date to 1760, though in recent decades ownership has passed through a handful of large corporations, and the house is now headed by Champagne Boizel (see [...]

  • Mouton Cadet wine bar to open in Guangzhou

    By Jim Boyce Torres China has announced that Baron Philippe de Rothschild will launch the world’s first Mouton Cadet wine bar in restaurant No. 9 Garden in Guangzhou. Torres is the exclusive distributor of Baron Philippe de Rothschild in China and is partly owned by the company. According to Torres China,  the Mouton Cadet wine bar will [...]

  • Wine Australia Awards in China: James Halliday to present honors to St. Pierre, Sing, Ford, and Lin today

    By Jim Boyce Writer James Halliday will announce the winners of the Wine Australia Awards today in Beijing. The winner in each of the four categories — retail; restaurants, bars, and hotels; writing and education; and overall contribution to “the growth of wine and of Australian wine in China” — will receive a ten-day wine study [...]

  • Hong Kong sales ahead: First Sotheby’s wine auction of 2010 raises RMB46.5 million

    By Jim Boyce Last year’s slate of high-profile auctions did a great deal to solidify Hong Kong as a fine wine hub but little to empty the pockets of bidders, it seems. On January 23, auction house Sotheby’s held its first sale of the year in Hong Kong and raked in RMB46.5 million (HKD52.9 million / [...]

  • Jancis Robinson to visit Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing in February

    By Jim Boyce ASC and wine writer Jancis Robinson will team up for a series of events in China next month, according to a press release from the wine importer and distributor. The ASC press release states (my highlights): For three nights only in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing, the first lady of wine will divulge the [...]
 
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    Anything Wine

  • Virginia Wine Council Update

    vcuspoon
    2 Feb 2010 | 4:19 am
    Virginia Wine Council Update – from Matt Conrad (Director, VA Wine Council) Promotion of Virginia Wine Receives Broad Support at Governor’s Press Conference Delegates and Senators from both sides of the aisle joined Governor McDonnell at a press conference earlier this week at which he unveiled his “Jobs & Opportunities Agenda.”  According to a press release from his office, this “legislative package consists of 20 pieces of legislation, as well as previously announced budget amendments, all focused on spurring job creation, promoting economic development…

  • A Beringer Knights Valley “4 for 1”!

    vcuspoon
    26 Jan 2010 | 5:02 am
    I titled this post “4 for 1” because I am doing four Beringer wines, all from Knights Valley. The first three are all Cabernet Sauvignons from the 90’s and the fourth is the ‘04 Aluvium, a Merlot dominated blend. Wine Information for the Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon’s is unavailable! Even in the vast world of the interwebs, I couldn’t find specifics on the three back vintages. My Tasting Notes - 1990: nice red fruit, hints of chocolate and cherry with an interesting note of adzuki or white bean. Still a decent amount of tannins and acidity – I just…

  • Tuesday Quick Sip – 2006 Merryvale Starmont Cabernet Sauvignon

    vcuspoon
    19 Jan 2010 | 4:11 am
    2006 Merryvale Starmont Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Information - Region: Napa Valley Vineyards: Merryvale Estate Vineyard (St. Helena Appellation), Bayview- Oakville & Oak Knoll Grapes: 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16 % Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot Oak: 15 months in French Oak (20% new) Price: $25 – $30 My Tasting Notes - nose: interesting “raw pumpkin”, fresh cut tobacco, cassis, blackberry taste: blackberry, black cherry, cedar, vanilla bean, clove mouthfeel: full body, leathery tannins finish: dusty dry finish The nose was a bit tight, as it took a minute to open up.

  • Tröegs Nugget Nectar – Imperial Amber Ale

    vcuspoon
    18 Jan 2010 | 6:04 am
    Now I know this isn’t a wine, but I do love beer as well, and this seasonal brew from Tröegs definitely deserves mention. I’m not nearly as good at describing beer as I am at wine so bear with me on the descriptors. Here’s some data on the beer, the Tröegs Nugget Nectar – Imperial Amber Ale … ABV: 7.5%; IBU’S: ~93; Malts: Pilsner, Munich, Vienna; Hops: Nugget, Warrior, Tomahawk, Simcoe, Palisade; Yeast: Ale Nice orange/amber color with a medium head. My impressions were that it was highly aromatic with floral and citrus aromas predominately. The palate…

  • Tuesday Quick Sip – 1981 Max Ferd Richter Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett

    vcuspoon
    12 Jan 2010 | 4:34 am
    1981 Max Ferd Richter Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett Wine Information – Region: Mosel, Germany Vineyard: Erdener Treppchen Grape: Riesling Quality: QmP – Kabinett Price: $20 My Tasting Notes - Nose: honey, floral, petrol/rubber Taste: apricot, petrol, slate, mineral Mouthfeel: medium to light body, felt a bit thin Finish: medium in length – honey flavors lingering The flavors and aromas were nice, classic for a well aged Riesling. The body was lacking in depth, although it still had nice acidity, the mouthfeel was just a bit light. Cheers!
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    A Good Time With Wine

  • Chillin with Chili and Pairing wine

    Matt.mmwine
    5 Feb 2010 | 11:19 am
    Best Spicy Chili and Wine Pairing I have been on a quest to find really good chili for quite some time. I remember, as a child, my mom made a decent chili, but nothing to brag about.  Friends would rant and rave about their secret recipes, but never seemed to produce anything of quality. I’m not a chili afficionado, mind you, I just wanted something other than Sloppy Joes and Hot Sauce. Thankfully, my friend Karen, came through with her award winning chili recipe, which I’ll cook for you in the below video. It’s meaty, spicy, flavorful, and goes well with a host of wines.

  • Bubbles, Bubbles Everywhere – Sparkling Wines for Valentines

    Matt.mmwine
    3 Feb 2010 | 12:32 am
    Louis Roederer Cristal If you aren’t a connoisseur of fine Champagne, there’s no doubt you heard of Dom Perignon, Cristal, or Veuve Cliquot from a James Bond movie and rap video.  Indeed, there’s no shortage of expensive Champagne poured each and every February 14th. This Valentines Day men and women everywhere will spend a decent amount of money on good Champagne, often not knowing inexpensive options exist. I’m here to let you know you can pour some fantastic bubbly, and still delight you sweetheart. When I was asked to visit the CBS12, WPEC studio this week to talk…

  • Three Great Wines For your Valentines

    Matt.mmwine
    30 Jan 2010 | 2:59 am
    Valentines Day Wine Selection Many guys will admit they’re not the best when it comes to figuring out what women want. Perhaps it’s because women are complex beings, requiring careful time and study, and men aren’t that patient. Or perhaps it’s because men are selfish, hedonistic animals who really only care about their own needs. To help my brethren out this Valentines Day, I’m going to offer three wine suggestions that will make it seem like they understand what their ladies want, all without investing too much time, or too much money. My theme for this…

  • Wine tasting with Matthew Horbund at Himmarshee Bar and Grille

    Matt.mmwine
    18 Jan 2010 | 12:45 am
    Guests at Himmarshee Bar and Grille Twineup January 2010 It’s hard to believe that I’ve been host to five amazing food and wine events at Fort Lauderdale’s Himmarshee Bar and Grille. The old addage “Time Flies When You’re Having Fun” certainly applies in this case.  We’ve managed to bring together some of the most fun people South Florida has to offer in one amazing place, and introduced them to gastronomic delights and wine pairings to tantalize their palates. What started out as another “Tweetup”, where Twitter users socialize face to…

  • Brilliant Bordeaux

    Matt.mmwine
    13 Jan 2010 | 10:59 am
    Bordeaux Matchmaking In addition to introducing you to new grapes to try in 2010, I’d like to help make wine more fun and approachable.  A great opportunity to do that was the wine event I went to in Miami, where the wineries of Bordeaux were showcasing delicious wines that were great for every day. I hope the below write up helps take some of your fear of France away. It was a dark and stormy night. No, really, it was probably the worst storm in 2009, but nothing would keep me from making the trip from West Palm Beach to Miami. The almost two hour drive during a torrential downpour…
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    Caveman Wines: Wine PR, Wine Public Relations, Wine Marketing

  • Drink Local in Virginia

    Michael Wangbickler
    5 Feb 2010 | 2:13 pm
    By now, you should know that I am a big supporter of the local wine (and food) movement. This year, the DrinkLocalWine.com conference will be held in Virginia, shining a spot light on the state’s burgeoning wine industry. I am planning on attending if I can swing it. I’ll report back with any special insights. Below is a copy of the announcement: DrinkLocalWine.com will hold its second annual conference April 24-26, 2010, in Loudoun County, Va. The event, presented by the Virginia Wine Board, will focus on the diversity and quality of the 157 wineries in The Old Dominion.

  • Wine for Haiti

    Michael Wangbickler
    15 Jan 2010 | 3:33 pm
    Source: EPA/Orlando BarrlaPALATE PRESS and Brother, Can You Spare a Bottle? have teamed up to help the relief effort in Haiti. Wine for Haiti is a program where wine collectors can donate wines from their cellars to be auctioned off in a benefit for disaster relief. It’s a great cause, and an easy way to show your generosity. For more information, check out the Wine for Haiti article on PALATE PRESS.

  • Beginning of a New Year and the End of an Era

    Michael Wangbickler
    4 Jan 2010 | 11:30 pm
    How’s it goin’, eh? I’m just back from the Great White North. Okay, maybe I wasn’t THAT far north, but I was close. As is our usual tradition, my family and I strapped on our snowshoes and traveled to our homeland of Michigan for the holidays. The year 2009 kind of ended on a crazy note, with a noticeable upsurge in activity and interest in communications services. This bodes very well for the new year, and I’m looking forward to a prosperous 2010. Dorothy Gaiter and John BrecherIt wasn’t a happy new year for everyone, however. Anyone who has read this blog…

  • Traveling with wine doesn’t have to suck

    Michael Wangbickler
    13 Dec 2009 | 8:42 pm
    If you are like me and work in the wine business, or just really like wine, around the second week in December you start to experience anxiety. No, I’m not talking about “What champagne should I drink for New Years?” I’m referring to the challenge of traveling with wine. Before some wackos decided to fly some planes into some very important buildings, air travelers used to be able to carry on wine. I miss those days. It was so much simpler. For a time, I used to check through a case or two of wine, until the airlines decided to charge crazy fees for checked baggage.

  • Misunderstood and Delicious

    Michael Wangbickler
    20 Nov 2009 | 11:03 pm
    Question: How do you take a wine that is mostly misunderstood, with a stodgy image, and incredibly difficult to market? Answer: Price it at $10, give is a modern package, put it in the hands of the Gallo marketing machine, and stand back. I love Riesling, but it’s damn hard as a wine marketer to get consumers to take it seriously. Especially if it’s from Germany. Try selling a Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatllese or a Nackenheimer Rothenberg Riesling Trockenbeerenaulese to the average American consumer. Yea, no wonder people don’t get it. Add to that, the plonk sold under…
 
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    Anything Wine

  • Virginia Wine Council Update

    vcuspoon
    2 Feb 2010 | 4:19 am
    Virginia Wine Council Update – from Matt Conrad (Director, VA Wine Council) Promotion of Virginia Wine Receives Broad Support at Governor’s Press Conference Delegates and Senators from both sides of the aisle joined Governor McDonnell at a press conference earlier this week at which he unveiled his “Jobs & Opportunities Agenda.”  According to a press release from his office, this “legislative package consists of 20 pieces of legislation, as well as previously announced budget amendments, all focused on spurring job creation, promoting economic development…

  • A Beringer Knights Valley “4 for 1”!

    vcuspoon
    26 Jan 2010 | 5:02 am
    I titled this post “4 for 1” because I am doing four Beringer wines, all from Knights Valley. The first three are all Cabernet Sauvignons from the 90’s and the fourth is the ‘04 Aluvium, a Merlot dominated blend. Wine Information for the Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon’s is unavailable! Even in the vast world of the interwebs, I couldn’t find specifics on the three back vintages. My Tasting Notes - 1990: nice red fruit, hints of chocolate and cherry with an interesting note of adzuki or white bean. Still a decent amount of tannins and acidity – I just…

  • Tuesday Quick Sip – 2006 Merryvale Starmont Cabernet Sauvignon

    vcuspoon
    19 Jan 2010 | 4:11 am
    2006 Merryvale Starmont Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Information - Region: Napa Valley Vineyards: Merryvale Estate Vineyard (St. Helena Appellation), Bayview- Oakville & Oak Knoll Grapes: 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16 % Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot Oak: 15 months in French Oak (20% new) Price: $25 – $30 My Tasting Notes - nose: interesting “raw pumpkin”, fresh cut tobacco, cassis, blackberry taste: blackberry, black cherry, cedar, vanilla bean, clove mouthfeel: full body, leathery tannins finish: dusty dry finish The nose was a bit tight, as it took a minute to open up.

  • Tröegs Nugget Nectar – Imperial Amber Ale

    vcuspoon
    18 Jan 2010 | 6:04 am
    Now I know this isn’t a wine, but I do love beer as well, and this seasonal brew from Tröegs definitely deserves mention. I’m not nearly as good at describing beer as I am at wine so bear with me on the descriptors. Here’s some data on the beer, the Tröegs Nugget Nectar – Imperial Amber Ale … ABV: 7.5%; IBU’S: ~93; Malts: Pilsner, Munich, Vienna; Hops: Nugget, Warrior, Tomahawk, Simcoe, Palisade; Yeast: Ale Nice orange/amber color with a medium head. My impressions were that it was highly aromatic with floral and citrus aromas predominately. The palate…

  • Tuesday Quick Sip – 1981 Max Ferd Richter Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett

    vcuspoon
    12 Jan 2010 | 4:34 am
    1981 Max Ferd Richter Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett Wine Information – Region: Mosel, Germany Vineyard: Erdener Treppchen Grape: Riesling Quality: QmP – Kabinett Price: $20 My Tasting Notes - Nose: honey, floral, petrol/rubber Taste: apricot, petrol, slate, mineral Mouthfeel: medium to light body, felt a bit thin Finish: medium in length – honey flavors lingering The flavors and aromas were nice, classic for a well aged Riesling. The body was lacking in depth, although it still had nice acidity, the mouthfeel was just a bit light. Cheers!
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    The Naked Wine Show

  • Naked Wine Show 1070 Dan Aykroyd Sauvignon Blanc

    Naked Wine Show
    21 Jan 2010 | 7:31 pm
    Pale straw core with a watery rim. Med. intensity nose of lemon rind, jellybeans, and white grapefruit. Dry, light to med. body, med. plus acidity. Lemon zest, white grapefruit, and wet stone. Med. length.

  • Naked Wine Show 1070 Dan Aykroyd Sauvignon Blanc 2007 VQA

    Naked Wine Show
    21 Jan 2010 | 2:55 pm
    Pale straw core with a watery rim.

  • NakedWineShow 1069 Tommasi Valpolicella 2008

    Naked Wine Show
    15 Jan 2010 | 1:09 pm
    Med. density ruby/garnet colour, solid to rim. Med. intensity nose of Swedish berries, brine, flint, and blackberries. Dry, med. body, med. acidity, med. tannin. Balanced. Red cherry, blackberry, flint, and herbs (oregano). Med. to med. plus length.

  • Naked Wine Show 1068 Kilikanoon Shiraz 2006

    Naked Wine Show
    7 Jan 2010 | 2:14 pm
    Med. density ruby/garnet colour. High viscosity. Med. intensity nose of black olives, cooked raspberries, black pepper, vanilla, and coffee beans. Dry, full body, med. tannin, med. acidity. Cooked raspberries, black currants, black pepper, vanilla, smoke, and coffee. Long length. Very good quality.

  • Naked Wine Show - Quarterback McLaren Vale Red

    Naked Wine Show
    3 Dec 2009 | 1:27 pm
    Med. density garnet core, solid to rim. Med. intensity nose of smoked meat, black cherry jam, pencil lead, and oregano. Dry, full body, high tannin. Black cherry jam, pencil lead, vanilla, dark chocolate, and raspberry pie. High alcohol. Long length.
 
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    Paarl Wine Country

  • Chicken Tikka Masala

    Jacoba Budden
    26 Jan 2010 | 11:19 pm
    A visit to Cape Town isn’t complete without a visit to the Bo-Kaap*. The bright, colourful homes that line the cobbled streets are about 260 years old and the suburb is a melting pot of cultures - mostly descending from slaves that were imported to the Cape from Malaysia, Sri Lanka and India. The majority of these slaves were educated and those that weren’t artisans and craftsmen, were Muslim religious scholars and teachers, cruelly torn from the countries of their birth and imported to help build a country from scratch. Whilst more than 90% of the inhabitants are Muslim South…

  • New Kid(s) on the Block …

    Juli
    21 Jan 2010 | 4:28 am
    At Winecountry we feel that we have an eye for excellence and in this instance, it comes in the form of Yolande Schoeman, a twenty something photographer from Pretoria. Yolande has helped her father, Fanus, the owner of Livemoments since the tender age of sixteen when she spent her weekends and school holidays taking pictures of famous, not so famous, amateur and professionals at events – be it sport or corporate. Livemoments is a turnkey photographic business that specialises in taking quality pictures at events and providing the participants or guests with a printed photo at the end of…

  • Boerewors

    Jacoba Budden
    20 Jan 2010 | 5:39 am
    This time of the year everybody seems to have a project - whether it’s building cupboards, re-doing the garden, going on diet or creating something - we all have a one!  I’m on a sausage making/green fig bottling kick and even though the figs on the farm aren’t cooperating because they simply don’t want to get ripe, I’ve just ordered the sheep.  The intense desire to make sausage is probably something inherited from my Afrikaner ancestors who, if truth be told, originated from all over Europe. They were enthusiastically ‘imported’ by the Dutch East…

  • The Braai - Full Weekend Menu

    Jacoba Budden
    14 Jan 2010 | 12:47 pm
    The Taino and Carib peoples of the Caribbean and South America were the first people to slow cook meat over a fire. It was the Spanish conquistadores who first found them roasting, drying and smoking meats on a wooden framework over a bed of coals called a barbricot and the Spaniards pronounced it barbacoa.  The Europeans had of course been cooking meat over fires for thousands of years but it wasn’t anything like the low heat and coal method used by the early Indians. Today most countries in the world have culinary traditions that can be referred to as a barbecue. In India, meats are…

  • Tomato and Honey Chicken

    Jacoba Budden
    12 Jan 2010 | 2:53 am
    The hectic Christmas season is over but the guests still keep coming and coming because the Cape, at this time of the year, is the most magically beautiful place on earth. As February approaches, the weather just keeps getting better and long, perfect days melt into long perfect evenings - which means that entertainment simply has to be taken outside.  We’re all back at work but because we’re in the Cape we’re still glowing in the aftermath of Christmas and none of us really feel like spending too much time in the kitchen, so let’s take a look at another African…
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    ComfortWinery.com

  • Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte NV

    stc
    9 Feb 2010 | 3:25 am
    This bubbly from Nicolas Feuillatte got the party rolling at Simona's birthday party.

  • 2001 Storrs 'BXR' Red Table Wine San Francisco Bay

    stc
    8 Feb 2010 | 3:22 am
    David Greenwald opened this bordeaux blend from Storrs with barbequed short ribs.   This meritage blend is sourced from fruit grown in the foothills of the Santa Clara Valley.  It showed excellent balance for the first few hours after it was opened, and then began to fall apart fairly quicly (within 4 hours).   Low oak profile, well-crafted -- this is a rare wine that will change the way people think about the South Bay's fruit.  $53; 88 points

  • 2002 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

    stc
    7 Feb 2010 | 3:21 am
    This well-known Caymus bottling smelled pretty musty right after it was opened by after a few hours that odor blew-off and a gorgeous, leathery, Rutherford Cab emerged!    $85; 91 points

  • 2005 Joseph Phelps 'Le Mistral' Monterey County Rhone blend

    stc
    6 Feb 2010 | 3:20 am
    David Greenwald opened this sexy Rhone blend from Joseph Phelps for our group after a fun day in Healdsburg.  The blend is 59% Syrah, 23% Grenache, 8% Petite Syrah, 5% Alicante Bouchet, and 5% Carignane.  The result is a rich explosion of forward fruit, with layers of flavor and a soft textured finish.  $40; 91 points 

  • 1999 Dom Perignon

    stc
    5 Feb 2010 | 3:19 am
    I have been surprised at the bottle-variation I've experienced with Dom Perignon over the years.    I have had disappointing bottles from the 1999 vintage in the past, but this one tasted great.   Yellow fruits, a low yeast profile, and a satisfying and crisp mouthfeel followed by a lush finish -- this is a Dom worthy of the hyperbole that typically surrounds the bottling!   $120; 92 points
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    Under The Grape Tree

  • NOTHING EVER GOES AS PLANNED (AND THAT’S ALRIGHT WITH ME)

    Kevin Keith
    9 Feb 2010 | 8:19 am
    Taking time out from the wine business is never easy.  And there isn’t a lot of time to take anyway.  Nothing ever goes as planned, or so the song goes, and I find that out pretty much on a daily basis.  It’s not that I am complaining, though I am overly prone to do so.  I just find it almost funny now.  In this divisive atmosphere of conservative-liberal, Republican-Democrat, pro-life-pro-choice, Team-Edward-Team-Jacob, Beatles-or-Stones dichotomy we live in, it seems to almost always be about taking sides, and never appreciating anything.  As difficult as it may be, I avoid…

  • AN EXERCISE IN MODERATE DUALITY

    Kevin Keith
    8 Feb 2010 | 5:40 pm
    This past weekend we had two pretty interesting tastings at our two stores.  One involved wines from Washington State (my new favorite place for wine) and the other discussed Chilean wines.  Both of these tastings highlighted the growing number of value wines represented by these regions, and both of them offered some interestingly unknowns, such as the emerging Bordeaux grape Carmenere and Washington’s affinity for the white Bordeaux grape Semillon. Obviously, the big trend in most wine shops around the country is finding the most for your money.  I’d like to think that our tastings…

  • FLYING HIGH AGAIN

    Kevin Keith
    8 Feb 2010 | 11:45 am
    Back in October, I came across more than my fair share of amazing wines on the Washington Wine Road Trip, an industry junket of sorts for wine buyers on the retail, wholesale and restaurant sides of the business.  A lot of great wines that blew me away, yet one in particular I thought, given our heritage in these parts, was a must-have. Airfield Estates was founded in 2007 by grape grower Mike Miller and his partners Kent and Chris Smith.  Mike has been growing grapes in the Yakima Valley since 1968, and the opening of Airfield Estates was the next logical step.  The name Airfield Estates…

  • TWO OUT OF THREE REALLY AIN’T SO BAD

    Kevin Keith
    6 Feb 2010 | 12:15 pm
    This past Thursday, our Tramonte sales rep and former D.E.P.’s alum Devon, came by for a quick taste of three new wines from California.  The Silverstone Chardonnay 2008, Merlot 2007 and Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 looked promising.  Often times, reps do a bit of a “drive-by” wine tasting with us due to the fact that we are usually in a hurry to get various projects done daily, and this day was no exception.    When the reps come by, it is usually a nice diversion from the controlled chaos that is our stores.  I feel bad sometimes that we can’t talk more with them – it’s the…

  • BREAKING THROUGH THOSE HIGH STRESS WINTER DOLDRUMS

    Kevin Keith
    4 Feb 2010 | 12:58 pm
    This week has been something of an emotional chemical spill, forcing me to evacuate many of my appointments from my schedule.  Something about the reality of the economy kicking in, coupling with other pressures that resemble an acid bath for me and my co-workers around here; it’s fairly common around here every year, but I guess I was too busy to prepare myself this go around.  Anyway, our RNDC/Cumberland rep, Jen, came by with a bag full of new wine: Charles de Fere Cuvee Jean-Louis Brut NV.  Grade=Outstanding.  Here’s a pretty nice sparkling wine derived from primarily Chenin Blanc…
 
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    BevLog

  • Bacardi with Aloe

    admin
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:55 am
    Here is Bacardi Torched Cherry Rum with Natural Flavors. It is apparently made with “torched plant aloe.” The use of aloe as a flavor is curious because it’s not clear how aloe tastes, and various sources say aloe does not taste especially good. This product is one of very few TTB products that seem to contain aloe. Even these find no room for aloe. As of this writing, the other flavors in the line are: Dragon Berry Limon Peach Raspberry Orange Coconut Apple Melon Apart from aloe, this label suggests TTB will allow the term “Rum” to appear larger than “with…

  • Beer made with Vodka

    admin
    4 Feb 2010 | 5:55 am
    This approval shows a tremendous amount of change in eight short years. First of all, it is hard to imagine that the Bureau would ever allow the term “vodka” on a beer label. Somehow I don’t think that would fly in this day and age. Further, the qualification seems to mandate the use of this term, in a particular way. The qualification suggests that the arrangement of the words may lead to controversy, rather than the reference to vodka and a famous vodka brand on a beer label. Pages 12-22 of this document show the controversy. Second, the product is gone. So is the named…

  • Keg Wine

    admin
    2 Feb 2010 | 5:55 am
    It’s a good thing TTB never got far with the proposal to ban non-traditional containers. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have beer in boxes, spirits in a skull, nor the wine in steel kegs above. From the looks of this approval, Jordan Kivelstadt plans to pack high-end wines in 20 liter refillable kegs. His website says: Free Flow Wines is the first wine company dedicated to producing draught wines. We produce premium wines and “bottle” them in sustainable, stainless steel kegs, for restaurants, bars, and catering companies. Apart from Free Flow and JK Cellars, Jordan is the…

  • Gin & Juice & Music

    admin
    28 Jan 2010 | 5:55 am
    Calvin knows a thing or two about the booze business. Not to mention all manner of other intoxicants. (I need to warm up to calling him by his assumed name.) Sixteen years ago Cordazar Calvin Broadus (aka Snoop Dogg) released a little song called “Gin & Juice.” It set off a big chain of events. It helped to launch his career, garnering a 1995 Grammy nomination. It also unleashed a slew of covers, such as this country version by The Gourds (it is slightly less obscene than the original, if only because it’s a little harder to make out the words). And most to the point, it…

  • Adult Beverages

    admin
    26 Jan 2010 | 5:55 am
    Here it is, in all its glory, at long last. TTB’s “areola” policy. From time to time, depending on the circumstances, TTB will say these particular body parts are “obscene” or “indecent” and must be covered. Here is a recent example of such a rejection. It says “Please cover the areolas on the woman.” And these, by way of another example, are certainly well covered. The label above is Amethystos dry white wine, from the Drama region of Greece. Related Posts: Nude Beer (0) F-Words, F-Bombs and Booze, Part 3 (3) F-Words, F-Bombs and Booze,…
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    The Wellesley Wine Press

  • Chance of a Tax Rollback on Massachusetts Alcohol Sales?

    8 Feb 2010 | 4:23 am
    Photo by philip This article on PatriotLedger.com caught my eye recently.  It talks about two potential ways in which the 6.25% sales tax on alcohol that went into effect last year might be eliminated.  The first way is that the state legislature might decide on their own to remove the tax, and the second is through a ballot initiative. An interesting twist is the idea that the tax at the point of sale might be removed but replaced with a similar increase into the excise rate (that was the sole source of taxation prior to the tax being increased from 0% to 6.25%): "Sen. Michael…

  • Value Alert: 2007 Brancaia Toscana Tre

    6 Feb 2010 | 5:46 am
    I usually try to pass along value alerts for affordable highly rated wines that I've tried.  Unfortunately, by the time these wines get to market and I have a chance to try them they're sold out, especially when they've received the accolades the $20 2007 Brancaia Toscana Tre has. Wine Spectator rated this wine 93 points (subscription required) and named it #10 in their Top 100 Wines of 2009 list: "There's wonderful intensity of fruit in this wine, with crushed raspberry and blackberry and hints of coffee and fresh flowers. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a long, soft-textured…

  • The Angel Share Wine for a Cause at Julio's Westborough, MA

    5 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am
    Here's a great opportunity to support a local children's hospital.  For each bottle of wine purchased from Julio's Liquors in Westborough, MA February 7th - 14th, 2010 (Super Bowl Sunday through Valentine's Day) they'll donate $1.00 to the Franciscan Hospital for Children. Additionally, the following wineries have signed on to match the $1 donation: Barefoot Wines ($1 on still, $2 on bubbly) Moet & Chandon Montes Cherub Rose Hahn Estates In total, this provides a unique way to support a worthy cause by simply buying wine. Click HERE or on the image below for more information:

  • What You're Doing Might Be Illegal

    4 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am
    This story in last Sunday's Boston Globe caught my eye.  It reminds us not only that buying alcohol in tax-free New Hampshire and bringing it back to Massachusetts is illegal, but it also raises awareness of a couple of everyday acts that are also, evidently, against the law in Massachusetts: Scenario One You pick up 2 cases of Charles Shaw at Trader Joe's and drive it home.  You've just broken the law because you're not allowed to transport more than 3 gallons of wine (roughly 15 bottles).  Read the law here. Scenario Two Your relatives are traveling from New York to…

  • Grand Tasting at Wine ConneXtion North Andover, MA

    3 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am
    From noon-5PM this coming Saturday, February 6th Wine ConneXtion is hosting their 2nd Grand Tasting since opening this past fall: "The Grand Tasting". For all that missed our Grand Opening Tasting we will be hosting another great event on 2/6/10. Over 60 wines will be poured and Chef Tom Grella from the Food Network's The Next Food Network star is back with his great food dishes. This is one not to miss. Additionally, I hear they'll have special one-day pricing on select wines. Visit their Events page for more information. Further Reading: My review of their Grand Opening Check 'em out: Wine…
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    B E S T D R I N K E V E R

  • Natural Trio

    jseeds
    8 Feb 2010 | 6:32 am
    2009 is going to be insane in Beaujolais. This wine was a revelation of purity and honesty. This Nouveau is as serious a Gamay as I’ve had, Cru, Loire, or otherwise. Just beautiful. Floral and slate. It reminded me of Pinon’s Vouvrays in approach and Sec-tendre style, but was distinctly Riesling. Quenching. Funked with a little blacktop and earth, but tremendous acidity and cool a blip of sweetness on the finish. Ironically perfect with pork bbq.

  • the Unbeaujolais and a Vacqueyras

    jseeds
    1 Feb 2010 | 8:22 am
    Brun’s little L’ancien is still rocking, fresh lively Red-fruits and graphite, and evolved well in the glass over the course of an evening. The 07 Vacqueyras is Huge, rugged and full of plums, pepper and garrigue. Soft and fuzzy around the edges, I missed some acidic lift that I’ve tasted in Texier’s 07s, but this is still altogether solid and accessible.

  • server change

    jseeds
    29 Jan 2010 | 7:37 am
    bestdrinkever goes back to it’s roots with the old URL: http://bestdrinkever.wordpress.com/ Update your links. Hard conversion 3/10/10.

  • Donati Camillo ‘08 Malvasia Secco

    jseeds
    26 Jan 2010 | 5:58 am
    Wild!? Bubbling orange wine. Mrs. Bestdrinkever thought it had more to do with beer than with wine (with the crown cap, frizzante, and murky color), and I totally agree. It was brimming effusively with loads of gardenias and orange blossoms, with a sly herbaceous twist and a minerally finish. Lightly bubbly and round on the palate. Balanced – Cantillon-like, but without the insane acidity and with the beautiful honeyed and floral Malvasia hallmarks. And tannins too – adding some grip to the finish. Awesome and strange and so fun to drink – if it were 5 bucks a bottle,…

  • A Bunch of Quick Tasting Notes of Late

    jseeds
    25 Jan 2010 | 1:41 pm
    Pinon Vouvray ‘Cuvee Tradition’ 2008: Exceptional. Tongue-tingling acid-sweet balance – Perfectly sec-tendre. Quince, ruby-grapefruit, chalk, and wax. A little sassier than the ’07s. G Schueller Gewurztraminer ‘Cuvee Particuliere’ 2005: Lychee and orange cream-sicle, with a waft and fresh flowers and funk and red apples. Some sugar, but nothing out of whack. G Schueller Gewurztraminer 2006: Ridiculously aromatic – Rose gardens for miles. Similar, but bigger, richer and sturdier than the ‘Cuvee Particuliere’.  More heat, but maintains a…
 
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    eRobertParker.com - Wine of the Day

  • 2006 Leeuwin Estate Sauvignon Blanc / Semillon Siblings

    8 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm
    2006 Leeuwin Estate Sauvignon Blanc / Semillon SiblingsThe 2006 Sauvignon Blanc (68%) – Semillon (32%) “Siblings” was tank fermented except for the use of some old oak with the Semillon. The wine offers pungent aromatics with some green notes, mineral, fresh herbs, and bright citrus fruit. Medium-bodied, ripe, and nicely balanced, there are excellent mature flavors and a long, pure, spicy finish. Dink it over the next 2-3 years. Leeuwin Estate is one of the benchmark wineries of Western Australia. Both reds and whites exhibit cool climate character and European elegance. Importer: Gavin…
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    Wine Week

  • Wine Week 158: Second, not second rate.

    wineweek
    4 Feb 2010 | 7:21 pm
    When a winery can charge, $60 to $100 for their best know wines you known they’re doing something right. But not all of us can afford three figures for a bottle of wine everyday. So many of the most respected wineries have wines commonly referred to as ’second’ wines. But don’t let the fact that these aren’t their most expensive offerings suggest that they aren’t up to scratch. The first wine we look at is the ’second’ Chardonnay from Leeuwin Estate, maker of arguably Australia’s best from the white grape. Next up is a Pinot Noir from…

  • Wine Week 157: And the winners are…

    wineweek
    28 Jan 2010 | 6:29 pm
    This week we announce the two lucky winners of our Best Dozen of 2009 competition. They each receive a complete set of our favourite dozen wines from the almost 150 wines we reviewed in 2009! As well as announcing the winners we look a couple of bargain options for everyone who didn’t win. We kick off with the Teusner Riebke Shiraz, a great offering from a winemaker who has been a favourite since before Teusner even existed. We also look at a Pinot Gris from Delatite, an Upper Goulburn producer and a red blend from Thorn Clarke that has some split opinions from the wine scribes. We also…

  • Wine Week 156: Last chance to win.

    wineweek
    21 Jan 2010 | 3:45 pm
    This week is the last chance for you to be in the running to win our Best Dozen of 2009! But before we draw the winners over at http://wineweek.com.au/ we check out three wines hoping to make it to the top in 2010. The first is a great Riesling from Pipers Brook in Tasmania. Next is a “jam explosion” in the form of the Miss Harry from Hewitson in the Barossa Valley. The last wine we check out this week is a lovely Shiraz from one of the very best Margaret River producers in Cape Mentelle. Want to win the Best Dozen of 2009? You’ll go into the draw if you’re a…

  • Wine Week 155: A little wine to share.

    wineweek
    14 Jan 2010 | 4:51 pm
    Sometimes a little bottle is all you need. It might be you’re out to dinner and one or two glasses each is enough. This week we kick things off by looking at a big, powerful wine from Henschke that’s also available in a little bottle. In the spirit of sharing, we also check out the Taylors Jaraman Rielsing. The Jaraman range grabs fruit from two great regions in order to share the best results. Rounding things out is an inexpensive Cab/Merlot from Gramps – a name that’s being shared around a bit. Don’t forget you can still win one of our Best Dozen of 2009.

  • Wine Week 154: For starters…

    wineweek
    7 Jan 2010 | 6:32 pm
    2009 is done, and we’ve started a new decade. And what better way to kick things off than with three bottles you might open at the start of a an afternoon or evening with good friends and good food. But, not everyone starts off with a wine… so this week we kick things off with that most Aussie of aperitifs, a beer. But not just any beer! This is brewed on the grounds at one of the great wineries of the Clare Valley, Knappstein. We also look at a lovely rosé from Yering Station that isn’t just ‘cotton candy in the mouth’. And we round out the starting field with…
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    Wine Peeps

  • Dry Creek Vineyard: Good Quality and Good Value

    Kori
    9 Feb 2010 | 7:00 am
    In today’s economy, many people are cutting back on their wine budgets and are looking for wines that consistently offer good quality and good value. For those of us who drink wine virtually every day, it is not economical (nor necessary) to spend a lot for everyday wines. The key is to determine varietals and styles that you enjoy, from brands that you can trust for consistency, at prices that you can afford on a daily basis, and that are widely available. Wineries located in California that meet these criteria can be extremely difficult to find. However, one winery that immediately comes…

  • Private Tasting: 2006 Washington Red Blends

    Kori
    8 Feb 2010 | 7:00 am
    Washington State produces many excellent wines from many different grape varieties. There is much debate as to which red wine Washington does best. Some say Syrah, others Merlot, and others red Bordeaux-style blends. Recently, we had what turned out to be a Washington red blends showdown in one of our private tasting dinners pitting the 2006 Saviah Cellars Une Vallee Red Wine against the 2006 Mackay Duck Press Red. We thought both wines were excellent but gave a slight edge to the Saviah Une Vallee. Both wines paired well with Mom’s dinner of mixed green salad, beef tenderloin steaks, baked…

  • Wine Word of the Week: Frizzante

    Kori
    6 Feb 2010 | 7:00 am
    This week’s Wine Word of the Week is frizzante. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Frizzante is an Italian wine term for semi-sparkling wine (as opposed to spumante, which is used for fully sparkling wines). Frizzante wines generally owe their bubbles to a partial second fermentation in tank, a sort of interrupted Charmat process sparkling wine. Layman’s terms from Kori: Frizzante is a semi-sparkling wine. The term originated in Italy but can be found on some semi-sparkling wines in the United States as well. Wine Word of the Week: Frizzante was…

  • Book Review: When the Rivers Ran Red

    John
    5 Feb 2010 | 7:00 am
    When I first saw this book, When the Rivers Ran Red: An Amazing Story of Courage and Triumph in America’s Wine Country, on the shelf of my local Barnes and Noble, I knew I had to buy it, not for the great title, but for the last name of the author, Vivienne Sosnowski. When you have a rather uncommon last name as I do, Sosnowy, Sosnowski seemed like she could be a close relative. Unfortunately, after a little research into the family tree, I don’t believe Ms. Sosnowski is a relative, but her book intrigued me nonetheless. I learned that Sosnowski has had a long and distinguished career as…

  • A Wine for Tonight: 2006 Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz

    Kori
    4 Feb 2010 | 7:00 am
    Would you like a quick suggestion for a good wine to drink tonight (or this weekend) that won’t break your budget and is widely available? Many of our readers have said this is something they would like, so here is this week’s selection, the 2006 Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz from South Australia. Our selection criteria include: A very good Quality rating of >=3.5 stars (out of 5) A price tag of <=$15 Must be widely available When we visited the Barossa Valley of Australia in 2005, one of our stops was at the beautiful, modern Jacob’s Creek Wine Tasting Centre, located fittingly…
 
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    Vino Wire

  • Italian Wine Week is largest fair ever devoted to Italian wine outside Italy

    VinoWire
    26 Jan 2010 | 1:27 pm
    Source FocusWine.it, translation by VinoWire. With the participation of more than 285 Italian companies, Italian Wine Week (New York, February 2-5, 2010) represents the most important event to feature Italian wine outside Italy’s orders. The conference includes a rich program and involves hundreds of American wine-industry professionals. Italian Wine Week activities have been organized by the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE) and the Regions of Calabria, Tuscany, and the Veneto. They will be integrated with an intense series of seminars geared toward the trade and specialized…

  • Giacosa speaks to Franco Ziliani on his controversial decision not to bottle 2006 (VINOWIRE EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW)

    VinoWire
    21 Jan 2010 | 7:37 am
    “The decision of one Langhe producer not to make a 2006 Barolo or Barbaresco shocked Piedmont — and the furore shows no sign of letting up. For this was not just any old producer, but one of the Langhe’s indisputable greats. Bruno Giacosa (above, photo by Decanter Magazine) announced last May that he would not bottle the 2006 vintage, but instead sell the wine in bulk to other bottlers. ‘There is nothing at all special about 2006: it falls short in every category — nose, typicity, structure,’ he said…” Click here to download an exclusive preview of…

  • Bruno Giacosa: no 2006 but what a 2005!

    VinoWire
    14 Jan 2010 | 1:39 pm
    Recently, it occurred to me that over the last year, I’ve written quite a bit about Bruno Giacosa, the great winemaker and eponymous winery that the whole world — even James Suckling! — considers one of the indisputable benchmarks of Langa wines (the French critique Michel Bettane alone does not share this view). Indeed, I’ve devoted a number of posts to his clamorous decision (made together with his colleagues) not to bottle his 2006 Barbaresco and Barolo, a vintage, he judged, not up to the the qualitative standards of his Langa Nebbiolo. There was no way around it since it…

  • Minutolo: the “other” white grape from Apulia makes new inroads

    VinoWire
    10 Jan 2010 | 8:42 am
    There’s good news for lovers of Apulian wine! In the land of trulli, taralli, the Castel del Monte, and orecchiette con le cime di rapa (orecchiette with broccoli raab), the field of Apulian white wines continues to grow Don’t get me wrong. Apulia will remain a fundamentally red (and rosé) region, where wines made using Negroamaro, Primitivo, and Uva di Troia will continue to “lead the pack” and by and large represent the “aristocracy” of local production. But even though many wineries continue to work unassumingly with local white grape varieties like…

  • Italian agriculture ministry extends government monitoring of Brunello

    VinoWire
    29 Dec 2009 | 8:50 am
    In a post published today on the ministry’s website, Italian agriculture minister Luca Zaia has announced that the Italian government’s monitoring of Brunello di Montalcino will be extended until June 30, 2010. The original decree calling for government intervention in the monitoring of the appellation, signed in July 2008 in the wake of an adulteration scandal, had already been extended but was set to expire on December 31, 2009. While the minister made no mention of his October meeting with U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco, Tax, and Trade Bureau officials in Washington and the subsequent…
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    Keep Wine Simple Blog

  • Wine Recommendations

    6 Feb 2010 | 2:41 pm
    Wine recommendations. Wines that offer great value for your money.

  • Wine Recommendations for February 2010

    6 Feb 2010 | 2:37 pm
    February is a month for romantic celebrations. Whether treating your sweetie to a homemade meal, or to a fancy restaurant, wine is a must. Here are the wine recommendations for February 2010. You

  • Summer Romance In the Wine Country

    27 Jan 2010 | 7:26 pm
    When I was thirteen years old my family and I vacationed in Napa Valley for just over two weeks. I was a rebellious teen and thought a trip to wine

  • Finger Lakes, Persistence Pays

    27 Jan 2010 | 4:10 pm
    We were in the heart of the Finger Lakes: wine, lakes, and beautiful rural landscape. My companion and I told each other that we wanted to tour at

  • Napa Valley Family Vacation? Yep

    27 Jan 2010 | 4:10 pm
    I had an amazing time with the family in the Napa Wine Valley last year. At first I was a little reluctant if I would enjoy it. My only experience
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    New Zealand Food and Wine TV

  • New Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc Sorbet

    Ron McFarland
    2 Feb 2010 | 10:33 am
    We have to salute  New Zealander’s Jayson Bryant at WineVault TV and Giapo Italian Sorbet for their innovative Sauvignon Blanc Sorbet. Together, they are crafting a series of Sauvignon Blanc Sorbet from ten New Zealand wine producers. Giapo is doing the magic. To learn more you can visit Giapo’s blog here or watch Jayson and Giapo discuss these fun foods at WineVault TV. Filed under: Food, Wine

  • Finding New Wines – Wild Rock New Zealand

    Ron McFarland
    13 Jan 2010 | 12:45 pm
    Some time ago I wrote about finding new wines by taking the time to get to know the people behind the wines. Wild Rock is an example of a New Zealand winery with a group of fun and interesting people. Like to buy wine from people who live life to the max – here they are. Want to buy a New Zealand wine that might be outside of what you normally do – maybe a Pinot Gris or a Merlot / Malbec blend or what about a Rose? When you go for it with your dollars, it is always good to know you are buying  from real people,  in a real place. Wild Rock is one of those choices. What’s…

  • Chardonnay – A New Wine Experience

    Ron McFarland
    29 Dec 2009 | 7:38 am
    Robert Haynes-Peterson recently wrote a nice piece encouraging wine enthusiasts to revisit Chardonnay and seek out the new modern styles that are emerging from New Zealand and other wine regions. You can access the full article here. Posted in Wine

  • New Benchmarks for New Zealand Wines

    Ron McFarland
    4 Dec 2009 | 11:14 am
    A new benchmark was reached by Craggy Range Winery in Hawkes Bay recently and shows New Zealand wines can run with the best in the world. At least Craggy Range wines, as they had both the courage and confidence to put their wines side by side with some of the best investment class wines from around the world. Eric Arnold from Forbes magazine was invited (Google will take you to the article) where Craggy Range wines were tasted blind by highly regarded  panels in New York and San Francisco. Pinot noir and a Bordeaux style Merlot both received top praise. A tasting in London had a…

  • Tastes of New Zealand Take Center Stage on Crystal Sailing

    Ron McFarland
    23 Nov 2009 | 5:31 pm
    LOS ANGELES, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire/ — For foodies, New Zealand is a veritable playground, renowned for its award-winning wines and farm-fresh cuisine. On March 30, from New Zealand to Australia, luxury specialist Crystal Cruises is showcasing the epicurean appeal of the region on a 12-day Wine & Food Experiences of Discovery cruise. Master Sommeliers Robert Bath and Cameron Douglas – the first and only Master Sommelier from New Zealand – will guide guests through the nuances and pairings of New Zealand’s finest vintages, while optional Crystal Adventures take guests…
 
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    The Second Glass

  • 2007 Capcanes Mas Donis

    Montsant, Spain - $15 Only a month removed from the frantic spending spree that is December, February wine-buying is all about sniffing out value-laden gems.  But be warned: value is more than just the price you paid.  Rolling up to a party with the cheapest bottle of wine you can find is a great way to [...]

  • 2006 Parducci Petite Sirah

    Mendocino County, CA – $13 The Boston Wine Expo hit the Seaport World Trade Center last weekend like one of New England’s infamous Nor’Easters, a swirling mix of 1,800 wines from 450 wineries and a whopping 17,000 boozehounds looking to get their drink on.  With all that vino, it’s pretty easy to float away in a [...]

  • Boston Wine Expo 2010 Photo Booth

    Saturday Photos Click here to see all the photos from Saturday, January 23, 2010 Sunday Photos Click here to see all the photos from Sunday, January 24, 2010 We had a blast at the 2010 Boston Wine Expo! Thanks for everyone that came out and had their photos taken. These are the pictures from the weekend of Saturday and [...]

  • Boston Wine Expo 2010 – Saturday Photo Booth Pictures

    We had a blast at the 2010 Boston Wine Expo! Thanks for everyone that came out and had their photos taken. These are the pictures from Saturday, January 23, 2010. You can also view these on our Facebook Page or from our Flickr Account. Thanks again! All Photos by Ritter Bin [...]

  • Boston Wine Expo 2010 – Sunday Photo Booth Pictures

    We had a blast at the 2010 Boston Wine Expo! Thanks for everyone that came out and had their photos taken. These are the pictures from Sunday, January 24, 2010. You can also view these on our Facebook Page or from our Flickr Account. Thanks again! All Photos by Ritter Bin [...]
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    The Amateur Gastronomer

  • California Carnivores: Your Source for Carnivorous Plants

    Amateur Gastronomer
    5 Feb 2010 | 11:51 am
    Sure orchids look beautiful in your home.  And so does that potted plant that you’ve had for forever.  But both of these seem to be missing something — an element of danger! Add an edge to your home garden by visiting California Carnivores, your one stop shop for all sorts of carnivorous plants. The online store goes [...]

  • Recipes for Your Super Bowl Party

    Amateur Gastronomer
    5 Feb 2010 | 10:43 am
    Still planning your menu for the Super Bowl?  Here are some great recipes from Food & Wine magazine that are sure to be a touchdown at your party. Chili Food & Wine offers 10 chili recipes including pork and black-eyed pea chili, a quick three bean chili and a winter vegetable chili. Chicken Wings Food & Wine offers 10 [...]

  • AG Pick Under $15: Finca Lopez Noceti 1919 Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

    Amateur Gastronomer
    3 Feb 2010 | 1:44 pm
    1919 was apparently a good year for Finca Lopez Noceti.  Or at least a good name for their range of wines that also include Malbec and Syrah.  And if you buy a bottle of 1919 you’re in for a good sip. Finca Lopez Noceti is located in Mendoza, Argentina.  Their 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon is textbook South [...]

  • Snapshots from the Key West Food & Wine Festival

    Amateur Gastronomer
    1 Feb 2010 | 2:10 pm
    Key West was the place to be this weekend for the city’s first food and wine festival.  Approximately 500 wine and food fans enjoyed great eats and drinks in the laid-back, tropical setting. The festival kicked off Thursday evening with the Barefoot Beach Party at the Southernmost Beach Café. Guests sipped wines from Barefoot Wine & Bubbly [...]

  • It’s Time for Wine: Wines Worth Searching For

    Amateur Gastronomer
    1 Feb 2010 | 10:13 am
    We are not always at wineries for large tastings, so we don’t always have a full line of wines from which to select our favorites for you. Sometimes we visit a winery to try a single wine we have heard about, or stop by a winery to find only one wine worth writing about. Often [...]
 
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    mydailywine

  • Free Flow Wines Champions Local Wines on Tap

    Amy Atwood
    6 Feb 2010 | 5:54 pm
    Both the 'locapour' and wine on tap concepts have been trending hot lately. That makes sense ,as they go hand in hand. I have written about both locapours and wines on tap in the past. So I was pleased to hear about Free Flow Wines, a company focused on high quality local wines on tap. I was told about Free Flow Wines by Kevin Kelley, the multi-tasking winemaker at Salinia Winery, Lioco, NPA and now Spot-On Winery as well. Before Free Flow, the wines on tap concept was a free for all, with each restaurant and winery fending for themselves in regards to organizing kegs and wine available in…

  • Wine & The Triple Bottom Line

    Amy Atwood
    2 Feb 2010 | 7:45 am
    I have heard some of the old school winemakers and suppliers snort dismissively about sustainability and organic agriculture. They used to be rather smug in the belief that their wines were of higher quality than the 'treehuggers'.Well, buckle up boys, because those days are over. Now there is tremendous quality and diversity to be found among the world's organic, biodynamic & natural wine offerings. And yes, to the unconverted or just plain cynical, it appears as just clever marketing to be seen as 'green'. Millennial wine lovers in particular expect companies to be responsible (76% of…

  • Transparency in Wine: Are Consumers Ready To Know What's In The Bottle?

    Amy Atwood
    25 Jan 2010 | 4:01 pm
    We keep hearing about how the new wine consumer, AKA the Millennial, demands transparency and authenticity in products they purchase. There have been numerous articles and blogposts detailing this shift in marketing approach.At the same time, there has a marked increase in online discussions and articles about how the grapes are grown and about the winemaking process in the cellar. The organic, biodynamic and natural wine niches have become so popular, they will soon no longer be niches but will become relatively absorbed into mainstream winemaking practices.All of the above, has led to a new…

  • The Wine Business & The Law of Attraction

    Amy Atwood
    18 Jan 2010 | 4:40 pm
    The wine business is a cruel and shallow money pit, a long-stemmed hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and weak men die like dogs.Somebody gave me this quote when I first went to work for a wine distributor in 2002. Before that time, I had worked as a beverage director for a restaurant group and even did a short stint in wine retail. Since 2002, I have held sales management positions within wine distribution and wine import companies.Late last year, I launched my own little California based wholesale/brokerage company, where I focus mostly on the natural, biodynamic and organic wines…

  • Drink Local Wine Debate: A Harbinger of Change?

    Amy Atwood
    8 Jan 2010 | 12:30 pm
    Lately, I have heard several California trade buyers, from SF restaurants mostly, indicate that they have been instructed by their bosses to increase their local CA wine offerings.The perception being that their lists were out of balance and favored imports over CA wines. And the inference being that this was 'politically' unacceptable.And a few months ago, Jon Bonne from the SF Chronicle, wrote an article about local wines in the San Francisco marketplace that created a storm in a teacup reaction.And here is a quote from the recent K&L Wines newsletter:"...Then there was the sort of…
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    Girl With A Glass

  • Cool Reason to Visit Wineries in February

    Alana
    9 Feb 2010 | 11:55 am
    I’ve been winery hopping again!  The first words out of my mouth right now, are you bottling yet? Harvest ends in the fall, grapes do their magic in the winter and voilá! some whites are in the bottles as early as February. So…if you visit wineries in the early Spring, you might get to taste newly bottled wine and you’ll get first dibs on purchasing small lot wine (meaning they don’t make much of it, so it will sell out quickly). And when you ask the question, are you bottling yet, you’ll learn about wine and a winemaker’s style. For instance, at Casa…

  • Finding Wine that Fits Your Palette

    Alana
    7 Feb 2010 | 4:20 am
    Here are 3 tips for finding new wine to love and enjoy. Once you discover a wine that you like, note the vintage (year it was made) as well as the producer and variety (type of grape, e.g. Syrah) and where you bought it.  It’s also helpful to write down the price & whether it was on sale. You can use a notebook that you keep in your kitchen & grab when you go shopping, or you can use a computer program.  Once a vintage is sold out, you won’t be able to find that wine again, so I recommend buying at least a case (12 bottles) if you have room to properly store it. Some…

  • Tableau Vivant – Living Art

    Alana
    6 Feb 2010 | 9:56 am
    I took this photo with my old Canon Powershot at the Napa Valley Mustard Festival Kick Off party.  I didn’t photoshop it because the graininess adds to the illusion that this is a painting.  Instead, as my title suggests, it’s a live model within a theatrical painted set. I was touched by this modern woman modelling (in a body suit).  With so many women being shy about their body (myself included), it’s lovely to see a strong curvy gal showcased in modern art.  Kudos to the model, the artist responsible and the producers of the Festival.

  • Enchanting Napa

    Alana
    4 Feb 2010 | 8:52 am
    Sciandri Family WInery Many visitors drive through Napa, see the large corporate/investor owned wineries and think this is Napa. If you’ve already been to these wineries or it’s just not your cup of tea, it’s time to discover alternatives. Here are three fabulous, unique and intimate experiences that I highly recommend. Sciandri Family Vineyards. (Pronounced She-an-dree) Located behind the city of Napa (northeast edge of the valley), you wind through Wild Horse Valley to an area called Coombsville (soon to be its own AVA) and park in front of the Sciandri’s house and…

  • Radio Shows Never Grow Old

    Alana
    2 Feb 2010 | 6:44 am
    This post was inspired by my Guidebook being a speed dial gift on KQED’s Winter Pledge Drive. I’m so proud to be part of the great tradition of public radio! Before television (and Twitter) people gathered around the radio for entertainment.  I’m too young to have those memories directly, but I loved the TV drama The Waltons, about a depression-era Virginia mountain family.  Also, firmly in my memory bank is the War of the Worlds Play read by Orson Welles in 1938. (Available as a podcast.) Today, I’m hooked on radio story-telling.  I love This American Life on my…
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    The Good Wine Guru

  • Tapena Garnacha 2007

    admin
    4 Feb 2010 | 9:00 am
    Varietal: Garnacha Region: Spain Cost: $10 Garnet colored with aromas and flavors of blackberry and cherry and pepper on the finish.  Pairs well with pork tenderloin, rib-eye, and roast chicken. Recommendations: My wife picked this up at the store as we’re both fans of Spanish wines.  Very dark in color, just barely what I would call garnet really, I picked up good aromas and flavors of cherry.  Paired with a meal of manwhich (or sloppy joe’s if you prefer), the pepper finish was very welcome. The one thing about this wine that surprised me was that it only had a 12.5% alcohol…

  • Di Majo Norante Sangiovese 2008

    admin
    28 Jan 2010 | 9:00 am
    Varietal: Sanviovese Region: Italy Cost: $10 Violets, berries, spices and leather on the nose of this garnet colored wine with flavors of ripe fruit that pair with pizza, pasta, and grilled meats. Recommendations: I grabbed this bottle of wine at a local store because, quite frankly, the price point was too good to pass on for a Sangiovese that had been highly rated by The Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator in previous years.  Also, as Chianti is my first love of red wine, I have a hard time walking away from any Sangiovese. Paired with a meal of pasta with red sauce and ground Italian…

  • Montes Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

    admin
    26 Jan 2010 | 9:00 am
    Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon Region: Chile Cost: $10 Garnet color with flavors of cherry and bold tannins.  Pair this wine with red meat or a boldly flavored meal. Recommendations: For a dinner alone, I swung by my local Fresh Market (which if you have one you should visit often) and picked up a steak and this bottle of wine, partially for the price, and partly because the card with the wine recommended it for steaks. I opened up the wine while my steak cooked on the grill and let it breathe a bit, finally pouring some as my steak came off the grill.  Paired with the steak, the wine was…

  • Vignali Roccamora ‘Carlo Alfano’ Nero d’Avola Merlot

    admin
    22 Jan 2010 | 9:00 am
    Varietal: Blended Red Wine (50% Nero d’Avola; 50% Merlot) Region: Italy – Sicily Cost: $14 Intense red colors with hints of purple featuring aromas of cherry, sweet spices and tobacco with balanced tannins on the palate.  Pairs well with pasta with meat sauce, braised beef, juicy steak. Recommendations: When this wine showed up for me I instantly started thinking of what to pair it with.  The bottle itself recommends pasta with meat sauce, and given my love of Italian-style food, I was quick to agree.  More purple than red in the glass, with a good tannic structure, the high…

  • Big House Red 2008

    admin
    21 Jan 2010 | 9:00 am
    Varietal: Blended Red (Sangiovese, Syrah, Carignan, Barbera, Zinfandel, Mourvedre, Montepulciano, Petit Verdot, Tannat, Aglianico, Petite Sirah, Nero d’Avola, Grenache) Region: California – USA Cost: $7 – $10 Cherry, raspberry, blueberry, cassis, and chocolate flavors all blend together.  Pair this wine with chicken, ground beef, pizza. Recommendations: I’ll be the first to admit, my wife and I first paid attention to this wine because of the bottle.  We thought, if nothing else, it would look good over our cabinets (see my previous post if you haven’t…
 
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    Olson Ogden Wines

  • wine & wishes: a culinary celebration for a great cause

    John Ogden
    7 Feb 2010 | 2:15 pm
    Wine-And-Wishes is an epicurean dream come to life. Held annually on Treasure Island, the gourmet food and wine event features samplings from the Bay Area's top culinary talent and wineries and benefits the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation which grants a wish of a child with a life threatening disease. Olson Ogden Wines was invited to participate in the event this year and John and I poured alongside a few dozen other wineries last night. We each took a break to explore the culinary lineup and it was food heaven. It was like going on a restaurant crawl and taking one bite from the best…

  • a wine bottle back story - season five

    John Ogden
    26 Jan 2010 | 8:24 pm
    The good and bad about owning your own business is that you do everything. But I really love that about it. I'm currently overseeing the bottle design for our new wine (Olson Ogden Wines, name X, we have not announced it yet) which we will release in March. 1500 cases or 18,000 bottles. But seriously, no pressure! The process began by giving the wine a name. We held a contest on Facebook and Alltop's  Guy Kawasaki picked the winner. Next we identified a label designer (Scott, very talented) and finalized a label design. Next: what bottle style to go with? Burgundy or Bordeaux? We are going…

  • half for haiti: 50% of sales go to earthquake relief efforts this weekend

    John Ogden
    15 Jan 2010 | 2:18 pm
    This weekend we will donate 50% of the sale for each bottle you buy of our 2007 Until Syrah to Oxfam to help the earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. Oxfam is responding with public health, water and sanitation services to prevent the spread of water borne disease in Haiti. Visit Olson Ogden Wines and use promo code HAITI at check out until Monday at Midnight PT.

  • ribeye steak recipe to pair with 2007 olson ogden sonoma napa syrah

    John Ogden
    29 Dec 2009 | 7:46 am
    Just before the Christmas holiday, our good friend and chef Richard Haake sent us another new recipe to pair with one of our 2007 vintage wines.  This one was a delicious sounding Grilled Shallot Herb Marinated Ribeye Steak with Compound Butter to pair with our 2007 Sonoma Napa Syrah.  I did not have time to try the recipe or post it on our website before the Christmas holiday but it sounds mouthwateringly good and plan on trying it very soon, maybe this week if I get motivated!  The above link takes you to the recipe on our website.  Let us know if you try this one and how it goes.  Do…

  • vinography.com tastes and reviews olson ogden wines 2007 vintage wines

    John Ogden
    28 Dec 2009 | 7:38 am
    Alder Yarrow who writes the vinography.com wine blog recently tasted our 2007 vintage wines and gave his thoughts on the wines.  You can read what he has to say by clicking here.  Alder writes one of the most read and respected wine blogs out there.  He covers a range of wine related topics and always provides thoughtful insight and perspective.  His blog also generates a lot of reader feedback to his posts which serves to make the blog more interesting and entertaining. -- by John
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    Luscious Lushes

  • Make-A-Wish

    winebratsf
    3 Feb 2010 | 3:41 pm
    This really is an event that I can get my heart behind. Make a wish grants wishes to critically ill children, and this charity wine tasting and dinner promises to be a fantastic evening. I am blessed for my (mostly) good health, and for those that are not – please consider donating to help this wonderful cause! Community Support To see a brief promo, click here. When: February 6, 2010 5:00pm – 7:30 Gourmet Food & Wine Tasting 8:00pm - 11:00p Winemaker Dinner Where: Treasure Island, San Francisco For directions, click here. What: Focusing on the best talents the culinary world has…

  • C a golden ray of sun!

    winebratsf
    1 Feb 2010 | 2:37 pm
    C is for Cellar Rat, Craggy Range and Cobb.  All pinots, and all very different.  I’ve reviewed the Cellar Rat before, but every time I open a bottle I like it more.  On this night, I was at my friend Amy’s house, who was serving pork butt, and what goes better with pork than pinot? It was the perfect way to start the evening as we sat around chatting about the ins and outs of pork and wine.  As the others started to arrive, we opened the 2006 Craggy Range from Central Otago.  Keeping in mind that the 2006 is actually 6 months older than our 2006 due to the southern…

  • D&D ain’t just for freaks and geeks anymore!

    winebratsf
    29 Jan 2010 | 1:01 pm
    D&D.  Those two letters evoke so many memories for those of us who grew up in the time of TRON, Atari, and The Dukes of Hazzard.  You remember D&D, right?  Yes, that that obnoxious role playing game with pewter dragons and triangular playing boards in the 70s and 80s?  Yes, I mean Dungeons & Dragons, the full time obsession of most of my male contemporaries for the better part of 10 years. FORTUNATELY, I am NOT actually referring to the Freaks & Geeks Game of Champions in this post.  THe D&D I speak of is the penultimate event for Petite Sirah lovers, hosted by P.S. I…

  • Can I ask you a personal question?

    winebratsf
    26 Jan 2010 | 7:01 am
    Why are you so in to pinot!  I mean it’s like a thing for you. Yes, that is a line from the movie Sideways, in which Pinot Noir played a central character, and yet, it is so true in my world.  For me, Pinot Noir has a certain j’ai n’est c’est quoi, that certain something that you cannot put a name on.  It has an allure, a mystery, that cannot quite be explained with worlds. Pinot is so diverse.  Yes, you can probably say that about many varietal(as my friend Randy pointed out recently) but Pinot in particular has such a wide variety of styles, even within a small…

  • B is for Bottle

    winebratsf
    25 Jan 2010 | 9:53 am
    In this case, a bottle of Broll Mountain Vineyards 2004 Syrah from Calaveras County.  I first discovered Broll Mountain through a chance meeting at a ZAP volunteer event, where @brixchick_liza and i met Roger & Ginger, who are retirees who work part time at Broll Mountain.  As chance would have it, the winery is in Murphys, which is one of my favorite wine getaways.  you might know about my addiction to all things twisted and rubber.  Rubber CHICKENS that is. This wine is deep and dark, with an earthy blackberry nose, with a touch of cherry syrup.  It drinks quite dry, and evokes…
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    Back Chat Blog

  • 10 questions for the man in charge of the Sydney Back Brandy

    Simon Back
    28 Jan 2010 | 3:00 am
    1.    So Guillaume, not only do you look after the wines at Backsberg, but you are in charge of the Sydney Back Brandy range as well. How does that feel? I’m very fortunate to be making both wine and brandy and to see the whole process through from the start to the end. When we are working with the brandy in the cellar, there is definitely an added excitement among the cellar crew. 2.    What kind of grapes do you use to make the Sydney Back Brandy? We only use high-quality Chenin Blanc grapes. A quality start in brandy is extremely important; if you cut corners you will be found…

  • Backsberg and the Opening of the Cape Town Stadium

    Simon Back
    26 Jan 2010 | 11:47 pm
    Approaching the stadium, this past Saturday, there was a definite buzz of excitement in the air. Soccer fans were dressed in colourful regalia, smiling and laughing, with vuvuzelas in tow. Finally, it felt as if the Soccer World Cup 2010, in South Africa, was actually a reality. We were there to witness the opening of the Cape Town Stadium, in preparation for the World Cup later this year. The organisers have scheduled a number of test events to put the Stadium through its paces. Saturday saw local sides Santos and Ajax compete in this historic stadium opening. Backsberg was the supplier of…

  • They do not just sing Kumbaya in Napa

    Simon Back
    16 Dec 2009 | 7:27 am
    The fact that it’s the middle of December 2009 is a scary fact - 2009 is almost done. Whilst trying to wrap up this year, I am planning for 2010. Part of my planning is definitely being informed by a really great trip to California earlier this year. In late September, I spent a couple of days in Napa Valley. The experience was nothing short of incredible. The trip to Napa was organised through the GWCN and in turn the very dynamic Napa Valley Vintners office. So, one might argue that I got a slightly biased view of Napa; that being said, I had a great time and learnt a tremendous…

  • How to open a bottle of wine without a corkscrew! | Video

    Simon Back
    16 Dec 2009 | 12:15 am
    Have you ever had that issue of not being able to find a corkscrew to open a bottle of wine? I stumbled on this rather amusing video which details a young French gentleman getting quite innovative with a certain item of clothing and what looks to be a fairly stable concrete wall, in order to pop the cork on a bottle of wine. I suspect this might not be his first bottle of wine for the evening, making it even more impressive. That being said, I am not sure I would advocate this method, but no doubt if you master it, you will be the talk of a party! SB

  • Valiant Swart kicks off the kykNET Backsberg Picnic Concerts

    Simon Back
    26 Nov 2009 | 12:19 am
    We are kicking off the kykNET Backsberg Picnic Concerts this Sunday with ‘Die Mystic Boer’, Afrikaans music kingpin, Valiant Swart. Never without his trademark harmonica and acoustic guitar, Valiant’s name is synonymous with the best of the SA music scene. With over 3000 local and international performances, 13 albums and an array of hats that include poet, songwriter, singer, composer, television personality and musician, Valiant is the inimitable entertainer in its broadest sense. Picnics and wine will be on sale at the farm, but feel free to bring your own picnic along.
 
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    Jason's Wine Blog

  • It’s (almost) back! The ’08 Gypsy looms…

    jason
    2 Feb 2010 | 8:01 am
    For those that know this blog the introduction above serves aplenty. For those that don’t, the Gypsy is as close as it gets to a Trader Joe’s cult wine. That’s right, a $5 cult wine. What’s that? A cult wine has to be expensive? I disagree, it only has to inspire wide spread passion! And trust me this one does. I’ve written three posts on this wine and those compose my top three commented post, generating almost 200 responses. Over the weekend, the buzz over this one kicked into full gear. RMS first tipped me off after noticing the ‘08 vintage mentioned on…

  • 2005 Cameron Hughes Lot 112 Napa Valley Merlot

    jason
    1 Feb 2010 | 8:05 am
    Price: $12.00 @ Friend/Gift What They Said: Cameron Confidential: Lot 112 Napa County Merlot represents exceptional value. Sourced from the un-appellated Coombsville and Jamieson Canyon regions (which is why it has the Napa County designation), this wines has the beautiful, supple structure and classic fruit profile of great Napa Merlot (which requires a few minutes of swirling in the glass to get going). Sourced from one of the most-respected wineries in the Napa Valley (where it is sold for $24/bottle), this wine is sure to please those of you who crave Merlot or those of you looking for a…

  • 2007 Rootstock Zinfandel

    jason
    28 Jan 2010 | 8:34 am
    Price: $6.99 @ Trader Joe’s What They Said: My initial Google search returned nothing. The back of the bottle noted that this one is made by DnA Vineyareds which I recognized from two previous offerings; Trader Joe’s Captain’s Catch and the TBD Zinfandel. The DnA Vineyards site hardly exists hasn’t been updated in ages. Failing on that front I decide to give the COLA registry a try and learned that the Mendocino Wine Group is ultimately behind this one. They are responsible for numerous labels with Paraducci being the most widely known offering (and for football fans the…

  • 2009 Zarafa Sauvignon Blanc

    jason
    27 Jan 2010 | 8:18 am
    Price: $3.99 @ Trader Joe’s imported by Bordeaux Etc. What They Said: I was able to track down Mountain River Wines, who is responsible for making this one, on the intrawebs but their site still highlights the ‘08 bottling. They have yet to post any notes on the latest vintage. From previous versions it appear the grapes for this one are sourced from the West Cape. Given we have nothing concrete here is what the bottle has to say: “Mountain River Wines proudly presents the 2009 vintage Sauvignon Blanc. This fresh, crisp white wine has a beautiful nose of figs and…

  • 2009: The Year in Wine

    jason
    20 Jan 2010 | 7:30 am
    I kicked off the 2009 year in review by giving thanks to all of you that are reading this today! For the second part of this series I wanted to, much as I did in 2008, take a look across all of the wines I tasted during the year. As much as I would like to use a tool like Cellar Tracker or VinCellar on Vinfolio (who, by the way, just declared pseudo-bankruptcy) I am still chugging away with my little home grown (Microsoft Access) tool that could. That said, it allows me to take a good look into the rear view mirror so let’s get to the tale of the tape… For the year I tasted 318…
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    Ampelography

  • We need teachers, not testers

    9 Feb 2010 | 8:35 am
    The wine education system in the country is broken, and it never worked in the first place. Now that I've been in the Wine industry for 13 years, I feel like I've learned a few things. Can I recite all of the Grand Crus of Burgundy off the top of my head? No. Have I ever needed this skill? No. But I do know the style differences of Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet. I didn't learn that from reading about it either, I learned it from tasting and discussing. Memorization is learning for 2nd graders. Blind tasting? It's a parlor trick. It's training for the day when some one's 10,000 bottle…

  • Cork'd Content

    6 Feb 2010 | 5:39 am
    I'm Proud to announce that in the coming week, I will begin contributing original content to the cork'd website. Cork'd content is a section of cork'd that showcases original writing by many of the top wine bloggers. You will find links here for my writing that appears on that site. If you aren't familiar with cork'd, it is a website that allows you to track your wine tasting notes, compare with others, and interact directly with wineries. Their catch phrase is " a playground for wine lovers" . Thanks for following!

  • Crying like a little girl

    5 Feb 2010 | 6:03 am
    Yesterday, while sampling an array of great wines, a woman was brought to tears. I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't seen it. She was perfectly happy, and conversational, but there it was, she tasted it and cried tears of joy. I was somewhat humbled by the outpouring of emotion. As the day progressed, and I relayed this woman's reaction to the wine, I received quite a bit of cynicism. And I guess this shouldn't be too surprising, I would have probably reacted the same way (with cynicism, not tears). The question is: Why not? The wine that did this was stunning, and if anything could…

  • Our world is filled by what we don't know about wine consumers

    27 Jan 2010 | 7:28 am
    Ever hear a salesperson say "It's not my style, but people love it!". My questions is, how do you know? Does the salesperson get their information from indifferent servers in restaurants? Did they follow the consumers home and ask for candid responses on their doorsteps after Desperate Housewives? Is this the type of wine your mom likes? How do you know?I'll tell you what you think you know:You think consumers want simple wines that aren't too complex-You are WRONG. Consumers don't make this assessment, ever.You think Consumers want wines that are conceptually easy to understand and…

  • Toledo Free Press Article-January 24th, 2010-Wines and Dining

    25 Jan 2010 | 9:03 am
    This is an article I wrote that appeared in The Toledo Free Press of over the weekend, enjoy! Wine can be such an integral part of our dining experience, but so often, we rely on a few rules to guide us through the complicated wine selections available. How does a novice or a veteran in a comfort zone of mid-priced cabernets widen their repertoire without sounding like a novice? Believe it or not, the answer is: “ask for help”. Navigating a wine list? Here are a few handy rules to consider: ·Are you a scotch or a Martini drinker? Too bad, they don’t do anything for food but numb your…
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    WineryProfitability.com

  • Key Financial Ratios for Wineries

    Steve Richards
    20 Jan 2010 | 10:28 am
    The use of relevant financial ratios helps winery owners accurately evaluate their business performance. Business analysis helps winery owners and managers evaluate their winery’s financial performance throughout the year. While there is no universal agreement among experts on which ratios to use in a financial analysis, this posting represents the key financial ratios that I think are most useful to winery operations.  I have divided these ratios into categories of retail sales, wholesale sales, cost control, inventory, capacity, financial leverage, and profitability. Retail Sales I have…

  • The Customer Perspective: Does your Winery Staff “Own the Problem?”

    Kelly Richards
    7 Jan 2010 | 9:06 am
    A winery staff that "owns the problem" increases customer loyalty and retention. What is the customer service culture at your winery?  How do you winery staff members feel about solving customer problems?  Do your employees own the problem and seek out solutions from beginning to end?  Or if the problem did not start with them, do they tend to pass the buck?  In this article I’ll relay a recent positive experience I had with an employee of a local business and share what I think from my customer perspective were the positive steps he took to ensure I felt good about his…

  • How Tier Pricing Helps Wine Sales

    Steve Richards
    9 Dec 2009 | 8:17 am
    Tiered wine pricing increases sales by helping winery customers decide what to purchase Back in my 2009 Wine Economic Outlook: 3rd Quarter Update, I argued that the buying-down phenomenon was due in part to the way we typically market wine—in tiers.  And, although this has caused some havoc with high-end wine sales in the last year, pricing wine in tiers is a good thing.  Pricing tiers establish a product class and enhance consumer expectations.  And, while the recession shuffled the price points for wine purchases (according to the most recent Nielsen Company statistics), it did not…

  • The Customer Perspective: Are your Wine Product Displays Reaching your Customers?

    Kelly Richards
    1 Dec 2009 | 5:58 am
    Free-standing display tables help bring products to customers Are your wine and wine gift displays reaching your customers?  I’ve written about merchandise displays in past posts, but this time I mean it in the literal sense.  Are your displays near where your customers stand?  Or do your customers have to walk to your displays?  In this article I’ll talk about how the placement of free-standing display tables positioned throughout a winery can help encourage customer spending. A couple of weeks ago I visited a winery that had a very large and spacious tasting room.  The tasting bar…

  • Take a Management Time Out

    Steve Richards
    12 Nov 2009 | 3:50 pm
    I have to say that winery owners and managers are some of the hardest workers I know.  Working hard is important, but it can be overwhelming–leaving winery owners and managers little time to ponder how effective they are working.  As hard as it is, managers need to take a daily time out to ask themselves how they can work more effectively and delegate more tasks.  In this post, I’ll show how successful winery owners and managers use their time outs to break some vicious cycles. Vicious cycle #1: Management Time Drain Winery owners and manager have a lot of tasks to manage on…
 
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    WineBizNews

  • Cork Producer ACI Conserves Water in Production, Cuts Water Usage 17%

    17 Jan 2010 | 9:32 pm
    ACI Cork USA Announces Eco Progress in Producing Natural Cork Wine Stoppers: Uses 17% Less Water in its Portuguese Cork Factories, Fabrication SystemsFairfield, CA, USA -- Water usage reduction of 17% in two years makes cork wine stoppers from ACI CORK USA a closure alternative that is more environmentally friendly than any other option available in the wine industry today. Statistics recently released by ACI CORK USA show that the production facilities of parent company Àlvaro Coelho & Irmãos, S.A., in Portugal have greatly reduced water used per kilo of corks produced. (See chart…

  • Champagne Bubblies and New Year Treats

    15 Dec 2009 | 11:20 am
    Ringing in the New Year in the traditional champagne-toast way does not mean that you have to wring out your wallet in order to buy a decent bubbly. There are many nice champagnes and sparkling wines that can grace the Auld Lyne Syne part of your holidays and leave you exhilarated but not broke. Then, on the other hand, if you want to do a once-a-year splurge (or maybe more often?), there are marvelous “true” champagnes (see note at the bottom of the column) that will give you a tasting pleasure that is exceptional.A basic vocabulary guide before you go shopping: Extra Dry means a little…

  • Holiday Gift Ideas: What Every Wine Lover Should Have

    4 Dec 2009 | 8:01 am
    There are a few essentials, and some frillies, that I’d put in gift wrap for anyone who enjoys wine.The first is a bottle of Wine Away, which removes red wine stains from furniture, clothing, rugs – any fabric, pretty much. Made by Evergreen Labs, it costs about $10 for a 12 ounce spray bottle. I saw it on the shelf at Corkscrews Wine Bar in Tahoe City, but it is widely available.Why is this important? Well, recently I was enjoying a tasting of Opolo’s wonderful wines with Kristi Snyder, Sommelier at Lone Eagle Grill at Hyatt Incline, and the sales manager for Opolo, Cary Thrasher, who…

  • Where to go for the Holidays? Italy – but locally

    24 Nov 2009 | 10:05 am
    Those little hidden ristorantes in Italy beckon, but they are not so very far away. Walk into Pianeta Ristorante in Truckee’s old Commercial Row area downtown, and you are there! Owners Robyn Sills and Ed Coleman have painstakingly created a fresco-laden, welcoming and wine-loving place right here in Tahoe.With more than 50 years of experience in fine dining between them, Robyn and Ed have worked to coordinate wine and food in Pianeta to create an evening that’s unrushed and fun. Their extensive wine list, which has been cited as one of the area’s best, features (of course) many Italian…

  • What oh What to Pair With Chocolate? TAHOE Festival Answers This Important Question!

    22 Nov 2009 | 11:37 am
    The Chocolate, Wine and Roses Festival, held in November 2009, answers the important question for wine aficionados and chocolate lovers: what wines to pair in order to extend the sumptuousness of chocolate.This event is another instance of the do-good, taste-wine, eat-well opportunities that Tahoe neighbors and visitors can experience each year at the lake. Benefitting Tahoe Women’s Services and Project MANA, the Festival held at the North Tahoe Event Center, Kings Beach, should go on your calendar next autumn. Ta-Dum! A new winery debuts at this Festival – the Big Woody Wine Company,…
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    Heron Hill Winery

  • My 38th year in a row pruning grapevines

    3 Feb 2010 | 12:05 pm
    By John Ingle, Owner/GrapegrowerI could blog about the assorted sources of stress in the “idyllic” life of a winery owner. Or I could rant about the hassles, hurdles and roadblocks encountered in dealing with government, laws and politics when trying to provide alcohol to the masses. Instead I’m returning to my roots and talking about grapevines. I love being in the vineyard, it’s always

  • Back from the Bahamas!

    26 Jan 2010 | 9:10 am
    By Tambi Schweizer, Tasting Hall Manager2010? Can it really be so? I just got back from 3 weeks in the Bahamas and headed back to work immediately!!! I always seem to be a glutton for punishment; I mean really…who is going to do my laundry?While down south I worked for about 3-4 hours a day fixing up Adirondack chairs that I found either at the local dump or alongside the road, painted our new

  • The beginning of a New Year!

    20 Jan 2010 | 5:56 am
    By JJ Pierce, Production ManagerWelcome to Heron Hill 2010! Not only the start to a new year but the start to a new decade, one that will prove to be even better than the previous 10 years for Heron Hill. For me the new year is the start of the wine production. Most will say "no the grape harvest is the beginning", for me it is the end. This is why: it all starts when I begin to tear down the

  • What's going on in the barrel cellar at Heron Hill Winery?

    15 Jan 2010 | 10:43 am
    By Brian Barry, Assistant WinemakerWith harvest well behind us, efforts turn towards the wines. With the exception of our Late Harvest Riesling, all the whites have finished fermenting. The next step is to add bentonite, a clay-based granular powder which removes the cloudiness (clarifying) and removes proteins from the wine. The wines will stay on bentonite for a minimum of two weeks.It’s a

  • Best Holidays yet & January wedding shows!

    6 Jan 2010 | 8:44 am
    By Danielle Shaw, Wedding and Events CoordinatorHolidays in my family revolve around good food, good drink and good friends. This New Years Eve was the best yet! There is nothing better than celebrating with close family and friends (and Great Western Brut Champagne)! We all crammed into my small apartment, and then headed to the local pub to watch their rendition of the ball drop. A night to
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    VinoVerve

  • Cedar Creek Winery

    GMN
    7 Feb 2010 | 11:01 pm
    Gretchen Neuman VinoVerve Editor Kevin and I continued our exploration of local wines with the winery that sits on our 100 mile mark and at the very edge we discovered the Cedar Creek Winery. In all fairness, we had a heads up on Cedar Creek.  Kevin had discovered the wine while at Mars Cheese Castle.  But the actual winery was new to us.  The funny thing is that we love a winery’s story and we had no idea of that from his trip to the ‘Castle’.  The trip to the winery… or at least the tasting room provided the rest. The winery in Cedarburg, Wisconsin is one of a…

  • “This Is Surely A Horse Heaven”

    GMN
    4 Feb 2010 | 11:06 pm
    Gretchen Neuman VinoVerve Editor Designated as an AVA in 2005, Horse Heaven Hills has been producing wine grapes since 1972 when Mercer Ranch owner, Don Mercer planted a seven acre block of Cabernet Sauvignon with the hope of growing grapes that would rival those of Chateau Lafite in Bordeaux. That vineyard, now owned by the Champoux Family in partnership with the Andrew Will, Powers Winery and Woodward Canyon produces high quality Cabernets. Twenty vineyards are located within the AVA, including Washington’s largest which belongs to Columbia Crest. The majority of the vineyards are…

  • Chillin’ at Lake Chelan

    GMN
    2 Feb 2010 | 11:01 pm
    Gretchen Neuman VinoVerve Editor Wine has been produced near Lake Chelan since 1891 by Italian immigrants and that 154 acres were planted as of 1949 only 260 acres are currently under cultivation. There are fifteen wineries in the AVA (with one on the way). Grape varietals grown in the region include Syrah, Merlot, Malbec, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürtztraminer, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The area is unique in the Columbia Valley due to the micro-climate created by the lake which increases the amount of time that fruit stays on the vine. This allows the additional development of complexity…

  • More Lists for Locapours

    admin
    31 Jan 2010 | 11:01 pm
    Gretchen Neuman VinoVerve Editor For my next installment of Lists for Locapours I am going to tell you about a Chicago restaurant that includes local wines on their list. Naturally, you would assume that this restaurant is of a lower quality. You would be wrong. Charlie Trotter’s even has a page on his website dedicated to American wines, stating: “….By 2001, there were licensed wineries in all 50 states. All these producers have great pride in what they’re cultivating. Thus far, the results are good, with incredible potential in the years to come…..we invite you…

  • I Hope There Are No Rattlesnakes In Those Hills

    GMN
    28 Jan 2010 | 11:01 pm
    Gretchen Neuman VinoVerve Editor Located completely within the Columbia Valley AVA and within Benton and Yakima Counties, Rattlesnake Hills is a 16 mile long stretch of territory of basalt mountains. The AVA was created in 2006 but has been under cultivation since 1968 when the Morrison Vineyard was planted with Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling for Chateau St. Michelle. Currently there are nearly 30 vineyards in the area some of which can be found here Grape varietals grown in the hills include Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gewürtztraminer, Malbec, Merlot,…
 
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    JancisRobinson.com

  • The new man at Lagrange (Videos/Podcasts)

    8 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm
    In last week's wine of the week, I promised to publish an account of a tasting lunch at Le Gavroche in London with the new man at Ch Lagrange in St-Julien. Bruno Eynard took over from Marcel Ducasse and is seen here with my fellow guests.  You may recognise them. See my tasting notes on.

  • Hungary for change (Tasting articles)

    8 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm
    Hungary has an admirable wine-producing tradition about which we have written far too little (even if a search for 'Hungary' produces 135 articles...). Of course there is the long article about Hungary in your online Oxford Companion, and an even more out of date overview here in our Resources.

  • COS Frappato 2008 IGT Sicilia (Wines of the week)

    8 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm
    From €10.05, £13.49, US$24.99 Find this wine . Sometimes you taste a wine and you want to do two things at once: (a) clear the room, sit down, and focus all your attention on the pleasure this wine gives and (b) invite all your friends round to share the pleasure with them. Cos Frappato 2008.

  • Wine and food matching – random musings (Don't quote me)

    7 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm
    The admirable Tim Hanni MW of the Napa Valley has been rattling our cages recently – not least by building on his researches into how different all our palates and preferences are. See, for example, his activities and findings at the Masters of Wine Napa Valley Symposium back in 2006 and then,.

  • NZ's new crop, incl sweet wines (Tasting articles)

    7 Feb 2010 | 4:00 pm
    As heralded in NZ sweet wines at last , New Zealand Winegrowers held their annual generic tasting in London on 12 Jan. Having buried my nose in some rather lovely German stickies the day before, I was looking forward to what New Zealand had to offer for their sweet overture. My first overall.
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    Goosecross Cellars

  • Wine Trivia du Jour

    Nancy
    6 Feb 2010 | 3:08 pm
    Here’s a crazy one for you: True or false: The substance that makes microwave popcorn buttery is the same as the one that makes Chardonnay buttery. What do  you think? Too strange to be true? So strange that it has to be true? Find out in our Wine Trivia Challenge!  Cheers! Wine Trivia du Jour is a post from Goosecross Cellars. Copyright © 2010 Goosecross Cellars, All Rights Reserved.

  • Regina Extra Virgin Olive Oil

    David
    5 Feb 2010 | 9:39 am
    Fun Fact by Diane De Filipi, Let’s Go Cook Italian: Regina Extra Virgin Olive Oil Did you enjoy this? Here are more Fun Facts from Goosecross Cellars. Regina Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a post from Goosecross Cellars. Copyright © 2010 Goosecross Cellars, All Rights Reserved.

  • 2006 ÆROS Meritage signed by Geoff Gorsuch

    David
    3 Feb 2010 | 6:05 pm
    2006 ÆROS Meritage signed by Geoff GorsuchA bottle of our rare 2006 ÆROS Meritage signed by winemaker and co-owner Geoff Gorsuch. Retail price is $156.20 but starting bid is just $78.10. Going for $119.00Refresh Current BidEnding Date - 2010-02-05 18:04:23Shipping - $18.00Location - Yountville, CAAuction closedCurrent bidsLance Gorsuch bid $119.00 on 2010-02-05 17:41:23bill wright bid $117.00 on 2010-02-05 15:48:25Lance Gorsuch bid $115.00 on 2010-02-05 15:43:36bill wright bid $113.00 on 2010-02-05 15:37:56Lance Gorsuch bid $111.00 on 2010-02-05 15:26:08bill wright bid $109.00 on 2010-02-05…

  • 2006 ÆROS Meritage signed by Geoff Gorsuch

    Colleen
    2 Feb 2010 | 3:17 pm
    2006 ÆROS Meritage signed by Geoff GorsuchA bottle of our rare 2006 ÆROS Meritage signed by winemaker and co-owner Geoff Gorsuch. Retail price is $156.20 but starting bid is just $78.10. Going for $112.00Refresh Current BidEnding Date - 2010-02-05 15:16:01Shipping - $18.00Location - Yountville, CAAuction closedCurrent bidsDominic DesMarais bid $112.00 on 2010-02-03 10:31:30Adele Lerma bid $110.00 on 2010-02-03 10:30:59Adele Lerma bid $106.00 on 2010-02-03 10:30:04Adele Lerma bid $102.00 on 2010-02-03 08:52:27owentest bid $100.00 on 2010-02-03 08:48:14owentest bid $88.10 on 2010-02-03…

  • 2005 Napa Cab and 2006 Merlot Combo Pack

    David
    2 Feb 2010 | 3:08 pm
    2005 Napa Cab and 2006 Merlot Combo PackYou are bidding on one bottle of 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon etched with “Happy Valentine's Day” and one bottle of 2006 Napa Valley Merlot chocolate-dipped in dark chocolate. Retail price is $145.20 but starting bid is just $92.40. Going for $104.40Refresh Current BidEnding Date - 2010-02-05 15:07:12Shipping - $25.00Location - Yountville, CAAuction closedCurrent bidsDoug bid $104.40 on 2010-02-05 08:10:51Brian Marcoullier bid $102.40 on 2010-02-05 06:31:31Doug bid $100.40 on 2010-02-05 05:57:51Brian Marcoullier bid $98.40 on 2010-02-05…
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    Tuesday, 9th February 2010

  • Scheid Vineyards Q3 Revenues Increase

    7 Feb 2010 | 10:30 am
    Scheid Vineyards has reported revenues of $15.13m for the third quarter ended November 30, 2009 compared to $11.21m for the same quarter previous year. Net income for the quarter was $2.08m or $2.37 per diluted share, compared to $491m or $0.5 per diluted share for the previous year quarter.

  • Janosky & Strenge Enters International Wine Export Market

    4 Feb 2010 | 10:30 am
    Janosky & Strenge has entered into international wine export market. According to Sheryl Janosky, partner and co-founder of Janosky & Strenge, the next step in the evolution of Washington’s wine industry is exporting to foreign markets.

  • Qualia Wines Enters Into Strategic Partnership With British Wine Importer

    3 Feb 2010 | 10:30 am
    Australian wine producer Qualia Wines (QWS) has entered into a strategic partnership with Clink Wines, a wine importer based in the UK. The company said that the new partnership with Clink Wines represents its three-pronged strategy to expand its branded portfolio in international markets, forge a joint venture partnership and develop strategic initiatives with a suitable partner.

  • Santa Barbara Launch New Line Of Artisan Wines

    31 Jan 2010 | 10:30 am
    Santa Barbara Wine Company has launched a new line of artisan wines. The release includes Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, which come from two vineyards situated on the Central Coast.

  • Legacy To Launch Private Label Andes Primera Wine Collection

    27 Jan 2010 | 10:30 am
    Legacy Wine and Spirits International reports that the company is in the process of producing the first of its own brand of select wines under private label from vintners around the world. The first selection will be from the region of Chile in South America, to be known as the Andes Primera Collection by Legacy.
 
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    Drinking Outside The Box

  • Miscellaneous whites from Australia, France, Greece and Italy

    Simon
    9 Feb 2010 | 1:23 am
    Xerolithia White, Peza 2008, Crete, Greece (£7.99 Oddbins) Nice mix of richness and crispness, rounded and fleshy, with some pineapple flavours, but also a slightly pithy, piney edge and an almost volcanic note on the finish. B(+) Alois Lageder ‘Vogelmaier’ Moscato Giallo 2006, Alto Adige, Italy (£7.60 in the Bibendum sale – normally £12.93) Grapey and spicy, but [...]

  • Cava time – three excellent wines from Raventós i Blanc

    Simon
    8 Feb 2010 | 2:56 am
    Segura Viudas Brut Reserva NV (£8.99 Oddbins) Earthy lemon aromas, quite pleasant toasty notes, but then the finish is just too sweet and a little flabby. OK, but lacks crispness. C+ Raventós i Blanc L’Hereu Brut Reserva 2007 (£14.99 Hamilton Yorke, Handford, Martinez, Davy’s Wine Shop, The Vineyard, SWIG) Dry, crisp, serious and seriously good style, toasty/biscuity with [...]

  • Surprisingly good Moroccan reds: Tandem Syrah & Aït Souala

    Simon
    4 Feb 2010 | 12:22 pm
    Went to a slightly odd event last year organised by Francis Gimblett, an enthusiastic curly haired man who calls himself the Wine Adventurer. A few years ago, Gérard Depardieu was on Graham Norton’s show, and Francis was invited on to give his opinion on the wine Depardieu produces in Morocco. He liked it far more [...]

  • Quinta de Covela – what is going on?

    Simon
    31 Jan 2010 | 1:38 pm
    Just received the following e-mail from Nuno Araujo, one of the most enterprising and inspired winemakers in the Vinho Verde region, and the most subversive of the six producers that make up Portugal’s IWA (Independent Wingrowers Association). I haven’t been a universal fan of Nuno’s wines – some were just too ‘international’ and oaky – [...]

  • When it’s just not sweet enough…

    Simon
    30 Jan 2010 | 7:35 am
    Paris-based foodie David Lebovitz has just tweeted the following: ‘Reader just left comment about relatives who added Sweet ‘N Low to their wine in Paris because they thought it was too dry. Hilarious!’ (@davidlebovitz for more) Reminds me of a comment I saw somewhere else on the Internet on a Pinot Noir whose identity I won’t [...]
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    Tuesday, 9th February 2010

  • Scheid Vineyards Q3 Revenues Increase

    7 Feb 2010 | 10:30 am
    Scheid Vineyards has reported revenues of $15.13m for the third quarter ended November 30, 2009 compared to $11.21m for the same quarter previous year. Net income for the quarter was $2.08m or $2.37 per diluted share, compared to $491m or $0.5 per diluted share for the previous year quarter.

  • Janosky & Strenge Enters International Wine Export Market

    4 Feb 2010 | 10:30 am
    Janosky & Strenge has entered into international wine export market. According to Sheryl Janosky, partner and co-founder of Janosky & Strenge, the next step in the evolution of Washington’s wine industry is exporting to foreign markets.

  • Qualia Wines Enters Into Strategic Partnership With British Wine Importer

    3 Feb 2010 | 10:30 am
    Australian wine producer Qualia Wines (QWS) has entered into a strategic partnership with Clink Wines, a wine importer based in the UK. The company said that the new partnership with Clink Wines represents its three-pronged strategy to expand its branded portfolio in international markets, forge a joint venture partnership and develop strategic initiatives with a suitable partner.

  • Santa Barbara Launch New Line Of Artisan Wines

    31 Jan 2010 | 10:30 am
    Santa Barbara Wine Company has launched a new line of artisan wines. The release includes Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, which come from two vineyards situated on the Central Coast.

  • Legacy To Launch Private Label Andes Primera Wine Collection

    27 Jan 2010 | 10:30 am
    Legacy Wine and Spirits International reports that the company is in the process of producing the first of its own brand of select wines under private label from vintners around the world. The first selection will be from the region of Chile in South America, to be known as the Andes Primera Collection by Legacy.
 
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    PALATE PRESS

  • Wine for Haiti Lot 78 – Williams Selyem Russian River Pinot 2002

    Palate Press
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:15 am
    Gary Finnan, of GFC Marketecture, contributed this marvelous bottle of Williams Selyem Russian River Pinot, 2002. Retail value is $65.00.

  • Our Favorite Wines of 2009

    Ryan Reichert
    9 Feb 2010 | 3:00 am
    The Palate Press staff looked back on 2009, offering our tasting notes on the best wines we drank. We hope you enjoy them, and will tell us about your favorites, too.

  • 2004 Dry Creek Vineyards Endeavour Cabernet Sauvignon

    Jeff Lefevere
    8 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am
    A fantastic wine that will beat the pants off of Cali Cabs with significant price multiples. A strident example of a wine achieving balance between fruit and earth and short-term drinkability versus long-term cellaring. The complex nose of blackberry, dusty earth with hints of soy and mint gives way to a total palate experience with dark fruits, chocolate, graphite and an earthy, incredible finish. Now is the time to buy this one—discounts galore on the Internet make finding one of the bottles from just 749 cases a screaming opportunity.

  • From Backwater to Next Big Thing?

    Shea Coulson
    8 Feb 2010 | 5:00 am
    Did you know that British Columbia is a growing wine region with hundreds of wineries? Chances are you’re aware, but not familiar. Many wine enthusiasts are aware that a wine industry is developing in this Canadian province north of Washington State, and yet almost no one outside of British Columbia (BC) can access these wines, significantly impairing familiarity.

  • 2007 Matthiasson’s Napa Valley White

    Joe Roberts
    7 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am
    It made my palate do a double-take head-fake. It’s a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Ribolla Gialla, and Semillon. Yes, Ribolla gialla (even though I’m a Wine Century Club member, I still needed to look that one up). It’s a funky wine, in that it’s tropical, racy, and spicy all at once – I told Steve that it reminded me of the interesting white blends that were coming out of Australia a few years back, before they started sending us in the States boatloads of their plonk." For more detail see The 1WineDude Top 10 Most Interesting Wines of 2009 and 'Burgh Wine, By Way of Napa (An Encounter…
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    Vin 65

  • Reducing Friction Points in Checkout

    17 Jan 2010 | 12:35 pm
    Your customers want to purchase your wine quickly and easily so they can move on to the next thing they are doing online. Every hoop a customer has to jump through, every form field they have to enter, every mouse click they have to make, and every place a customer has concerns about what is being asked is a friction point. As the friction builds up, a customer can become aggravated, fatigued, confused - and ultimately they will abandon the sales process. Here are three friction points that bother me when buying wine online. Form Fatigue Just looking at the overwhelming amount of information…

  • How to guide your customers to a purchase?

    15 Dec 2009 | 9:00 am
    Your customer is on your winery website, has found the wine he wants, has placed his purchases in the shopping cart and is now ready to checkout. Which of the following two shopping cart pages triggers the behavior you want your customer to take?   vs   All buttons are not equal. One of the 3 tenets of the Fogg Behavior Model is that you need to trigger the behavior you want customers to take. Once an item is placed in a cart, you want the the path to checkout to be very clear. Yes you still need buttons to change the quantity, check their shipping, etc but the largest most…

  • Where's My Order?

    4 Dec 2009 | 10:00 am
    Paul Mabray, Chief Strategy Officer at VinTank was lamenting on twitter about how he ordered wine from 6 different wineries via the web and no one followed up with him. Brent and I tried the experiment ourselves a year ago with 20 Canadian wineries - unfortunately almost every website underperformed. This past week I ordered wine (as a first time customer) from a couple different winery websites. I'm still waiting for my tracking information (even though some of the packages  have already arrived). At a bare minimum a website should: Send an email order confirmation immediately…

  • The Most Important Time in a Customer Relationship.

    2 Dec 2009 | 10:00 am
    The most important time in a customer relationship is the three months following their first purchase. That statement may or may not be true for you... but it's true for Kevin Hillstrom. Do you know what percentage of your first time customers will purchase again? And do you know within what time frame they will place their subsequent orders? We spend a lot of time tweaking the customer experience on winery websites so that visitors will make the first purchase.  We also know that repeat customers are the best customers to have. What happens between the first purchase and a customer…

  • What do customers want this holiday season?

    30 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am
    Shop.org released the results of their eHoliday Study pre-holiday consumer and retailer surveys early in November. Here is a brief summary of the key findings when consumers were asked, "When choosing to make holiday purchases from a given retailer, what is most important to you?": Seeing the shopping cart total before starting the checkout process (yes this beat out other factors like values, deals, merchant reputation, etc) Clear product descriptions Value for money / good deals Shop.org followed it up with a second post summarizing results of a survey of consumers about…
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    StarkSilverCreek - All Things West Coast

  • Google announces Google Buzz, a social add-on for Gmail

    Clinton Stark
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:34 am
    Q&A panel with presenters and Sergey Brin At Google HQ in Mountain View, CA Google today, at their Mountain View headquarters, announced Google Buzz. Dubbed a new way to share, communicate within Gmail, “it’s like an entirely new world in Gmail,” the new service will be available using a “Buzz” link directly within Gmail. A new Buzz app for Android and iPhone is also coming. “Organizing large scale information has become a real problem. It’s a problem Google loves to solve,” said Bradley Horowitz, Google VP Product. Buzz is obviously another…

  • Making the HBO logo, television intro before Adobe After Effects

    Tom Eden
    9 Feb 2010 | 10:02 am
    Wonder how special effects were made before cgi? This video, “A Closer Look: Inside HBO’s City” from the 1980s, documents how the company re-branded itself so people could experience “turning on an entertainment center.” It’s actually quite interesting. Although you may think occasionally you’re watching some Spinal Tap-esque parody of cable television. Guy Caballero from SCTV is liable to roll out in his wheelchair any second. The making of a miniature city and the HBO chrome logo are featured. My favorite part is the single frame, camera shutter…

  • Google Maps navigation on Motorola Droid (and Android) adds night mode

    Clinton Stark
    9 Feb 2010 | 6:00 am
    The already superb built-in navigation on the Motorola Droid (and Android 2.0/2.1) just got even better with the addition of night mode. Yes, please get me a megaphone so I can run to the nearest mountain top (Mt. Hamilton) and start hollering this spectacular news. But for me, of never ending Bay Area highway driving, it’s a nice bonus. A common feature on dedicated GPS units (such as those from Magellan and Garmin—worlds currently being turned upside down by Google), it now automatically “darkens” the display for night time use. This is much welcomed. There’s…

  • TheatreWorks delights audiences with ‘Daddy Long Legs’ – Extends through Feb 21

    Chris Wright
    9 Feb 2010 | 3:45 am
    Good news for fans of romantic musicals! With audiences absolutely delighted by John Caird and Paul Gordon’s sparkling new musical romance, DADDY LONG LEGS, TheatreWorks will now extend it through February 21 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. After the highest single week of ticket sales for any show in the company’s 2009 season, DADDY LONG LEGS is projected to break box office records, and finish among the top grossing shows in the company’s 40 year history. Added performances will include: Feb 13 at 2pm, Feb 14 at 7pm, Feb 19 at 8pm, Feb 20 at 8pm, and Feb 21 at…

  • Gone in 60 Seconds: Do You Love Me? Magic Theatre, The Who!

    Clinton Stark
    8 Feb 2010 | 2:01 pm
    Independent media is a colorful and sparkling place to be. Every week we encounter something new, inspiring, funny in our never ending adventure to bring you a fresh voice in the world of theater, wine, travel, arts and tech. For every person that holds firm onto the past, denying the emergence of new, influential, media 2.0, there are twenty more that embrace it; jump right in with us, and seek to reach new audiences, new readers, new viewers in a fun, creative way. For that, we’re eternally grateful. I’m also thankful that director of production and general manager of Opera San…
 
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    WineZag

  • Open Offer to Taste My (Malcolm's) 1982 Vieux Chateau Certan

    adamjapko
    4 Feb 2010 | 5:23 am
    I consider myself “wine fortunate”, acquiring wine and friends over the years that fuel hedonistic and intellectual wine passions.  One of those friends is Malcolm.  I don’t see Malcolm regularly, yet each year for the last 15 we manage to find opportunities to get really silly and drink ridiculously excellent wine together.  It was great to see [...]

  • A Blind Mencia Tasting

    adamjapko
    31 Jan 2010 | 2:43 pm
    Gathered around a few white cloth-covered tables under brighter than usual Saturday night lights, I hosted a group of 17 New England tasters to evaluate a dozen wines made from the Mencia grape.  Finally, the opportunity to examine Mencia in a critical environment presented itself and I looked forward to validating my developed preference that I have unleashed on restaurant wine lists across the country.   Having [...]

  • Fantasy Wine Fiction: Dinner for One

    adamjapko
    26 Jan 2010 | 5:07 am
    via drinksareonme.net Last week Dale Cruse, the irreverently astute and bright mind behind www.drinksareonme.net asked if I was interested in playing along with a new game he cooked up called “crowdsourcing wine fan fiction”.  I knew it had to be some neat way to legitimize or make sense of the sensually interesting and edgy wine inclusive photos Dale has shared on [...]

  • Putting Simple Wines to Tests of Age and Environment

    adamjapko
    23 Jan 2010 | 5:57 am
      Ever wonder what would happen subjecting simple wines, intended for immediate drinking pleasure, to extended aging terms in unsuitable environments?  It’s a risky wager and not a fully recommended strategy, even with careful wine selection and pristine cellaring conditions.  While vinous curiosity has driven some oddball aging decisions in the hopes of padding my stash with more bottles showing advanced flavor and aroma nuances, (you can read more about when wine is ready to drink in this post at Palate Press), [...]

  • Bayamon and Barrilito: Sultry Escape From Snow and Wine

    adamjapko
    20 Jan 2010 | 4:48 am
      Wine Blogging Wednesday Solera of the Caribbean Sea, Papirusa of Puerto Rico, and the Batard of Bayamon, Ron del Barrilito (rum from the little barrel) offers palates predisposed to character-rich wines a welcome midwinter alternative.  Three Fernandez generations have crafted a mysterious, deceptively complex, amber-hued, full flavored rum using the same secret family recipe since 1880.  For full appreciation and escape from frozen tundras, you can visit the Fernandez clan clinging to their patch of [...]
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    BlindWine blogs

  • Best practices to pour wine | Blindwine

    admin
    4 Feb 2010 | 4:17 am
    BlindWine Party Best Practices read more

  • Extra virgin olive oil done right by Bella Luna Foods

    jphaller
    29 Jan 2010 | 1:04 am
    I Recently went to the San Francisco Fancy Food Show to scout out exciting new high-end food products. There were many incredible types of food there. However, If you are a olive oil connoisseur you will find Bella Luna Foods has earned their place for having the highest quality extra virgin olive oil that came off the press first with low processing temperatures. You will also find that the packaging has a touch of class where you would be proud to have it on your dinner table or send it as a gift. You can get more information regarding Bella Luna Foods at www.bellalunafoods.com .

  • Get "lucky" with Lucky Duck Cabernet

    jphaller
    26 Jan 2010 | 4:02 am
    Last Friday I took a chance on a wine that is gaining popularity because of the fun label "Lucky Duck" and the $3.00 price tag. Obviously, to sustain the sales the wine has got to be one step above tolerable. I thought I would put the BlindWine scoring methods to the test. The following are the scores. Clarity (0-5) - 3 The clarity is a very deep red with very little cloudiness. It is a full bodied cabernet. I gave it an average score of 3 points for clarity. Aroma (0-10) - 6 The nose on this wine has a very rich, cherry aroma with hints of blackberries. Taste (0-15) - 10 read more

  • Other Wine Party Ideas

    Blindwine Press
    11 Nov 2009 | 8:44 am
    read more

  • Wine Tasting Class - Holiday Entertaining With Wine

    Blindwine Press
    11 Nov 2009 | 8:43 am
    Wine Tasting Class - Holiday Entertaining With Wine November 6, 2009 (Fri) 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM Location: Lafayette Community Center - Sequoia Room 500 St. Mary's Road Lafayette, CA 94549 ph. (925) 284-2232 COST: $30 Registration Fee plus $20 in-class supply fee Wine Tasting 101 - Holiday Entertaining With Wine read more
 
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    VINEgeek

  • Mourvèdre Monday #5: Edward Sellers Cognito 2006

    Jim/VINEgeek
    7 Feb 2010 | 11:09 pm
    It’s back to California for today’s Mourvèdre Monday post, specifically Paso Robles. Though I first fell in love with Mourvèdre via the old vines examples from Contra Costa County, Paso Robles is a hotbed of Rhône grape-growing in California. Edward Sellers is a Rhône-style specialist in Paso, with a focus on blends vs. varietal bottlings (though not exclusively). This bottle, which they call Cognito, is a CdP-style blend of Mourvèdre, Syrah and Grenache with some Zin added for a California flair. Let’s check it out. Producer: Edward Sellers Grapes: 45% Mourvèdre,…

  • Oddball Wine of the Week: Côte Est 2007 Catalan

    Jim/VINEgeek
    6 Feb 2010 | 3:25 pm
    This was just a random pickup at Whole Foods one day. The label design caught my eye, then I noticed the blend, then “Catalan” on the label. Wait, doesn’t Catalan refer to Spain… as in Catalonia? But this is French. That was interesting enough for me to plunk down my $11. I wasn’t sure when I bought it if I would use this for the Oddball series or not. “Catalan” was a new French appellation to me, but something made me think this might be more well-known than I thought. Then I looked it up in the Bible, I mean, the Oxford Companion to Wine (3rd…

  • artezin Zinfandel 2007 Mendocino County

    Jim/VINEgeek
    4 Feb 2010 | 1:00 am
    artezin (I think they prefer no caps) is a part of the Hess Family of wineries. The label is focused on Zin, Petite Sirah and Carignan. In this wine, they “strive for a classic varietal, fruit-forward, ‘Zinny’ Zin.” Let’s see if they hit the mark for me. Producer: Artezin Wines Grapes: 91% Zinfandel, 9% Petite Sirah Appellation: Mendocino County (AVA, California) Vineyards: “from the ridgelines and benchlands of the Ukiah Valley” Vintage: 2007 Winemaking: Aged in 2nd and 3rd year French oak barrels. Alcohol: 14.8% Price: $11.99 at Costco in Austin My…

  • What’s Wrong With This Shelf Talker?

    Jim/VINEgeek
    3 Feb 2010 | 8:35 am
    So I was browsing through the supermarket wine section the other day and I noticed something odd about this shelf talker. Take a look. Do you see it?

  • Mourvèdre Monday #4: Juan Gil 2007

    Jim/VINEgeek
    1 Feb 2010 | 8:41 pm
    This is the fourth installment of Mourvèdre Monday, VINEgeek’s yearlong deep-dive into the Mourvèdre/Monastrell/Mataro grape. Check out the other posts in the series here After I announced that 2010 would be The Year of Mourvedre here at VINEgeek Enterprises, I got lots of great recommendations from my fellow winos. This bottle was suggested by @Sonadora of Wannabe Wino blog. Producer: Juan Gil Grapes: 100% Monastrell (the Spanish name for Mourvèdre) Appellation: Jumilla (say who-ME-ya) Vintage: 2007 Vineyards: From estate vineyards of 40+ years of age. Soil: “shallow, chalky…
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    San Jose Wine Examiner

  • Livermore Valley winegrowers romantic Valentine's Day adventures

    6 Feb 2010 | 3:33 pm
     Valentine’s Day, a time for romance and a time to spend some time with your sweetheart enjoying life and celebrating your love. In Livermore Valley there are plenty of opportunities for you and your lover to sample fine wines, indulge in ...

  • Valentine's Day at your local Santa Clara Valley winery

    5 Feb 2010 | 9:54 pm
     Valentine’s Day falls on a weekend, allowing you plenty of time to set up a romantic adventure with your loved one. Wine tasting, chocolates and fine food are a perfect way for a romantic event. Your local wineries are anxious to treat yo...

  • Charles R Winery - a family winery in Livermore Valley

    30 Jan 2010 | 9:39 pm
     Charles R Winery is a small family owned and operated winery in Livermore Valley with three generations of the Bartlett family actively involved in the production of their fine wines. Founder Charles Richard, or Dick, Bartlett and his wife Bonn...

  • Romance on the Rails - Valentine's Day Wine Tasting Train in Niles Canyon

    18 Jan 2010 | 7:18 pm
    Niles Canyon Railway can make your Valentine’s Day unforgettable with the new Romance on the Rails Wine Tasting Trains. On Sunday, February 14, there will be two trains, one leaving the Sunol station at 2:00 p.m. and another leaving at 5:00 p.m...

  • Travieso Winery - along the Campbell Wine Trail

    15 Jan 2010 | 10:06 pm
    : Travieso Winery is an award-winning winery along the Campbell Wine Trail producing wines that regularly earn 90+ points by Robert Parker. Not only do they produce an excellent selection of wines but the names and labels also provide intellectu...
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    onefortywines

  • Baldacci Family Vineyards

    onefortywines
    27 Jan 2010 | 7:19 pm
    There are two things – for me – that set a winery apart from the rest (in this order): Their wines kick ass. The winery either doesn’t know or doesn’t care that they could be charging 50%+ more than they do. Baldacci Family Vineyards has both, and I’m sure glad that they do. I first learned of Baldacci Family [...]

  • 2005 Dutch Henry Winery Merlot

    onefortywines
    12 Dec 2009 | 3:21 pm
    Life’s a little different now. When we lived in CA, we didn’t have any kids…which meant we could come and go in the Valley as we pleased.  Now we have kids. Between my job and our love of wine, we frequent Napa & SF as a vacation destination. Therefore, every time I get on [...]

  • 2004 Duckhorn Napa Valley Merlot – Three Palms Vineyard

    onefortywines
    4 Dec 2009 | 7:57 pm
    The Winery I forget how I first learned about Duckhorn, but I knew about them early enough on in my wine ‘career’ to know to visit them when we first went to the Valley on our honeymoon.  When I was setting up places to visit – I called Duckhorn, inquired about a tour and tasting, and [...]

  • 2006 Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon

    onefortywines
    1 Dec 2009 | 7:36 pm
    Whitehall Lane Winery & Vineyards is located is right on Highway 29 (the winery ’strip’ in Napa Valley).  We’ve visited twice, a few years apart, and both trips were highly enjoyable due to the tasting room staff and especially the wines! I’m admittedly more of a fan of wineries which are “off the beaten path”, b/c [...]

  • 2005 Pine Ridge 'Oakville' Cabernet Sauvignon

    onefortywines
    13 Nov 2009 | 7:44 pm
    Ahhh, Pine Ridge.  The thing is, I know that I love them, so I usually end up expecting too much them on the outset and truly appreciating the wine midway thru the bottle.  The other part is that their wines usually need to sit and open for an hour or two, until they really start [...]
 
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    ELLOINOS

  • Greek wine industry

    elloinos
    8 Feb 2010 | 6:50 am
    The cultivation of vines in Greece reaches back to antiquity. Some of the earliest references to wine come from the poetry of Homer. Yet, few people are aware of just how young the current Greek wine industry really is. Most of Greece was part of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th century until its declaration of independence in 1821. Under the Ottoman rule alcohol consumption came to a halt and the art of viticulture died out. The next decades gave rise to the Corianthiaki, a grape variety that is used to produce raisins. Phylloxera reached the country in 1898, and Greece became heavily…

  • Iconic wines from Gaia

    elloinos
    4 Feb 2010 | 7:56 am
    Gaia Wines is a remarkable wine estate. They have succeeded in becoming one of the true icons in not just one, but two of the finest wine regions in Greece: Nemea in the Peloponnese is home to the Agiorgitiko grape, and the island of Santorini is famous for its Assyrtiko wines. Last week I had the chance to attend a wine tasting featuring their wines. The event was hosted by the Winebank Pavlidis and took place in the south of Athens, by the sea. Thanks go out to Kostas Katsoulieris, who alerted me to attend the tasting. Kostas is an active commentator on this blog, and I was looking forward…

  • Tsaoussi

    elloinos
    1 Feb 2010 | 7:22 am
    Tsaoussi is an indigenous Greek grape variety mainly found on the Ionian island of Kefalonia, although it has been suggested to be of Macedonian origin. Kefalonia shot to fame when the best seller “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin” was transformed into a movie that was shot on the island. It is located in the heart of an earthquake zone and dozens of tremors occur each year. Tsaoussi is a mixed-use variety, used to produce wine, but also consumed as a table grape. The tall bush vines yield large grapes that lack some acidity. In the past, winemakers have therefore opted to pick the grapes…

  • Xinomavro 07 impresses at Voroina

    elloinos
    27 Jan 2010 | 8:07 am
    Most wine lovers enjoy buying extraordinary wines and cellaring them for long periods of time. The pleasure to try the wines during different stages of maturity is not only very educational, but also extremely rewarding for pure pleasure. In Greece, this is not the common thing to do; most wines are consumed shortly after their release. The current 2007 vintage for Xinomavro is in my opinion outstanding – and begs to be cellared for many years, if not decades, to come.  I had the opportunity to taste many samples a couple of days ago, and I am deeply impressed with the terrific quality.

  • Live Internet wine show

    elloinos
    24 Jan 2010 | 8:00 am
    The social networking tools used by the wine industry become more important by the day. Dirk Wuertz, a German vintner from the small village of Gau-Odernheim, sells more than 80% of his production to the US – you can find more information in English here. Dirk is one of the key players when it comes to web 2.0. He debuted his latest project yesterday night – for the first time ever in Germany, a wine show was streamed live into the Internet. Let me elaborate: He invited members of the press, people from the wine trade, and wine lovers to his winery, the Koenigsmuehle. He then hosted a 90…
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    Wine Blog

  • Class of 2010 to be Inducted into the Vintners Hall of Fame

    Jo Diaz
    9 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am
    One of my favorite places to visit while in Napa is the The Culinary Institute of America. On  March 13, 2010, the CIA (at Greystone) will honor their 2010 Vintners Hall of Fame inductees, during a day-long Celebration of California Wine & Food. This will culminate with the Vintners Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The ceremony will be preceded by a 6:00 p.m. reception,  featuring the wines represented by the 2007, 2008, and 2009 inductees. The 2010 class to be inducted includes the following illustrious crew: Leon Adams, a founder of the Wine Institute Andy Beckstoffer, longtime Napa…

  • From Vine to Shelf ~ Forget From Vine to Wine

    Jo Diaz
    8 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am
    This past week, I went though a therapy session with my colleague/on-line friend Michael (Mike) E. Duffy of the Winery Web Site Report. A title story, “Most Winery Web Sites Suck” really caught my eye and sensibilities. “Wow,” I thought, “someone finally said for me what I’ve been thinking for so long.” So, I commented on his story with a simple, “Amen! Thanks for posting!” Then, I thought about it for a few minutes, and further replied, “And while I’m thinking about, so do importer sites leave a lot to be desired.”…

  • Portugal’s Wine Country: The Medieval Influences That Still Affect Modern Times

    Jo Diaz
    5 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am
    My wine import client Enoforum Wines flew Gwendolyn Alley (WinePredator) and me to Portugal last fall. Gwendolyn won the trip; I was going to Portugal so I could understand flora, fauna, their culture, and most importantly their wine. Once landed, I was feeling much like Dorothy and Toto having emerged in the Land of Oz. My first few days, Enoforum hosted me at the European Wine Bloggers Conference, being held in Lisbon. From the airport to the hotel, I was struck by how many small cars were on the road. It didn’t take me long to assess that Portugal is the Land of Little Cars. This…

  • Boxed Wine Experiment with Duca del Frassino’s Garganega/Pinot Grigio

    Jo Diaz
    4 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am
    I’m a huge proponent of boxed wine. I regularly have a box of white wine in my refrigerator for easy access. It’s a great space saver, and they allow me to buy a lot of wine at one time. I love having it and not having to store it elsewhere, or worrying about it becoming oxidized if we don’t enjoyed within a few days. Boxed wines are touted as having a six week shelf life, once tapped and put into action. I was sent an Email and asked if I’d write about this new DUCA DEL FRASSINO brand from Italy. It’s the first ever Italian boxed wine. I suggested that a box be…

  • Lenny Siegel Photographer in Sonoma County

    Jo
    3 Feb 2010 | 8:00 am
    There are so many aspects of the wine business to enjoy: Growing Producing Sales Marketing PR Writing Educating Social Media The list seems to go on, if just I sit here and conjure up more aspects. I personally prefer the creative end of writing and photographing. I keep out of the vineyards and the labs, because it’s not my forte. I can’t go into either place and tell anyone what she or he should be doing. I leave those jobs to the experts… That’s why they have those jobs, right? If you’ve read my blog with any regularity, you’ve surmised that I love to…
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    Wine and Walnuts

  • Ten Drinkable Wines Under $10 (and I know it’s true because the newspaper says so)

    Kimberly Houston
    7 Feb 2010 | 6:14 pm
    Star-News Top Ten Value Wines, Photo Credit: PAUL STEPHEN Liz Biro of the Wilmington Star-News here in our lovely little city recently asked, “What’s Your Favorite Cheap Wine?” and asked readers to e-mail their suggestions.  The requirements were:  the wine must sell for $10 or less, can’t be a supermarket favorite like Bolla, Bella Sera or the like, and must be available at a local market.  The only one I can personally vouch for is the #6 wine on the list, because that was my suggestion — the La Vieille Ferme Cotes du Ventoux 2007, which I originally wrote about here. …

  • Food and Wine Pairing: Penne with Butter Thyme Sauce and Renzo Masi Chianti Rufina 2008

    Kimberly Houston
    5 Feb 2010 | 5:43 pm
    Penne with Butter Thyme Sauce This is quite possibly the easiest thing to prepare in my (ok, limited) repertoire of recipes.  It’s awesome-ness has to do with how simple it is to make, combined with how damn good it tastes.  I make it frequently as a side dish, but on a rainy night like tonight, when I’ve had a bad day and want some easy comfort food, this is it, all by itself.  Well, itself and a bottle of Chianti, of course. The recipe is really an adaptation of a Giada (who, her again?) recipe, Gnocchi with Butter Thyme Sauce, but as I wasn’t even near to feeling up to undertaking…

  • Wilmington Wine Tastings, Part One

    Kimberly Houston
    3 Feb 2010 | 7:58 pm
    Please take me home, I am both tasty and value-priced OK, so there’s going to be a new feature here on Wine and Walnuts.  I want to do a round-up of sorts of all the wine tastings here in our lovely city, because there are so darn many given the size of this charming little burg, that it boggles the mind.  So maybe we need a roadmap. I’ve been to many local tastings, and still, there are always some each week I miss, because, fer cryin’ out loud, I can’t drink every night.  It fills my heart with joy that we are so lucky to have this much access to wine and wine knowledge in our…

  • Food and Wine Pairing: Salmon Baked in Foil and Sean Minor 2008 Pinot Noir, Napa Valley/Carneros

    Kimberly Houston
    1 Feb 2010 | 6:27 pm
    Salmon Baked in Foil I love this recipe because it is so darn easy to make, takes virtually no time to prep or cook, looks beautiful, and tastes delicious.  And, the clean up is a snap because you cook the salmon in foil.  So, damn near the perfect recipe, right?  I considered making parmesan mashed potatoes to serve along with, but I decided I just didn’t want to go to the trouble.  So what I ended up doing is having some easy penne with thyme butter sauce that I’d made the previous night with the salmon, and all was well. Wine Notes I paired the Sean Minor 2008 Pinot Noir…

  • Believe It: California Pinot Noir Under $20 That You Want to Drink

    Kimberly Houston
    29 Jan 2010 | 5:46 pm
    Sean Minor 2008 Pinot Noir, Napa Valley/Carneros Sean Minor Pinot Noir, Napa Valley/Carneros It’s good. It’s value-priced.  It’s not pretending to be high-end wine for the low, low price of $20 or less.  But it is pretty and balanced and approachable, and to my palate, delicious.  And if you drink Pinot Noir with any regularity, you know how hard it is to find a lovely, quality California Pinot Noir at this price point. But this is it.  (If you know of others, it would be beyond awesome if you left your suggestions in the Comments section below. You’re swell, thanks!) Locally, you…
 
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    4488: A Ridge Blog

  • Wine Quote Of The Week!

    christopherwatkins
    9 Feb 2010 | 7:50 am
    For this week’s quote, we turn to an ageless wisdom culled from a vast repository of anonymous Latin Proverbs carried down through the ages to our present times. And lest ye doubt the sageness of said wells of wit, do recall the following icons of insight as having had similar origin: “Art has no enemy except ignorance” “By learning you will teach, by teaching you will learn.” “All the hours wound you, the last one kills.” “Every madman thinks all other men mad.” And of course the very well-known “In Vino Veritas,” which is…

  • The Event Of The Century?

    christopherwatkins
    8 Feb 2010 | 10:24 am
    Ok, maybe not the event of the century, but certainly an EXTREMELY noteworthy one! What is it? It’s this: The Monte Bello Half-Bottle Showcase! And what exactly does that mean? It’s means this: Please join Ridge Vineyards as we taste an extraordinary vertical flight of library Monte Bello bottled in 375 ml format! Not only are half-bottles an economical way to take home a bottle of our flagship Monte Bello Cabernet blend, but courtesy of the accelerated development of wines bottled in smaller format, these very cellarable vintages are ready to drink now! So, as these…

  • Bottling Line Video!

    christopherwatkins
    8 Feb 2010 | 7:43 am
    Care to see the Ridge Vineyards bottlling line in action? Then jet on over to our Facebook page, and watch the 2008 East Bench going into bottle! Need a quicker way to get there? Just click here! Filed under: Events & Photographs Tagged: 2008 East Bench, Bottling Line

  • Ridge A to Z: The Follow-Up!

    christopherwatkins
    5 Feb 2010 | 11:28 am
    For those of you who may have missed it, we had a rather lovely event up here at Monte Bello not so very long back (you can read about it and see pics here), and the wine blog-o has very kindly offered up a pair of fine write-ups about said event, which I encourage you to take a look at, in the hopes of exciting you to the point of attendance next time around! The first comes to us from our friend Dave Tong at his blog Santa Cruz Mountains and Santa Clara Valley wines, and it truly constitutes a really, really excellent summation of all we were trying to do with our Ridge A to Z Membership…

  • The Post-Zap Wrap! -or- The Post-Zap Rap!

    christopherwatkins
    5 Feb 2010 | 11:06 am
    Well, another ZAP has come and gone (just in case the acronym is not instantly recognizable, you can read a previous explanatory post here), and I have to tell you, in conversation with Paul Draper on Monday, he was absolutely over the moon about this year’s event, saying he thought it was just about one of the best ever, and not only was I of course very happy to hear that, but I am also hopeful that if you attended, your experience was equally positive! Judging by the post-Zap write-ups out there, it looks as if Paul wasn’t the only one to have found this year’s…
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    StarkSilverCreek - All Things West Coast » All Things Wine

  • Super Bowl touchdown pairing idea: Wine and soup (with recipes)

    Loni Kao Stark
    5 Feb 2010 | 11:41 am
    With Super Bowl just a few days away, it’s time to start thinking about food and drink. Not just the Doritos and beer kind, but interesting combinations, and recipes that will keep the entire party entertained. One of my favorite meals during the rainy, winter months is soup. There’s nothing quite like a large bowl to warm me up! Surprisingly, soup pairs well with something else I thoroughly enjoy: wine. Believe it or not, it can be wonderful. Plus there are plenty of matches that work wonders, whether you like white or red wines. A few years back I attended Souper Bowl at…

  • How to build a Tuscan wine country inspired candle holder

    Loni Kao Stark
    30 Jan 2010 | 3:33 pm
    A Tuscan wine-country inspired candle holder to warm up any fireplace mantel. While I was in Tuscany meandering through wineries and tiny shops in rustic villages, I stumbled across a blacksmith shop that had wonderful iron work. I spotted a selection of iron nails made by the blacksmith who was also the shop owner. I wasn’t sure at the time what I was going to do with them so I purchased 10 of them figuring that whatever project I would conceive of in the future probably wouldn’t require more. They were wrapped up in bubble wrap and brown paper. Days, months and years after the…

  • Wine marketing: It’s not a cult winery, it’s “small artisanal” … just like Ferrari?

    Clinton Stark
    21 Jan 2010 | 11:58 am
    Berries are fermented in tanks and in barrels at Blankiet Estate. Welcome to wine marketing, the most mysterious black box of them all. Recently I wrote about Harlan Estate and their minimalist, high quality parchment paper approach to traditional mailings. This week I received another mailing, this time from another boutique winery, Blankiet Estate based in Yountville. For reasons I can’t explain, I enjoy analyzing marketing, and branding. Be it wine, cars, gadgets or travel, I’m drawn to logos, the messaging, the positioning. Being in tech and marketing for so long will do that…

  • 3 Weekend wine picks available at Costco (1 red, 1 white, 1 surprise)

    Clinton Stark
    15 Jan 2010 | 11:05 am
    With the weekend almost here, chances are you’ll be near a Costco at some point, if you’re like most of us. Maybe it’s the Cirque equivalent of the shopping “big top.” The only high wire act here though is figuring out how to load 50 pounds of carrots, diapers, Diet Coke, and gel into the minivan. So here are three wine picks, all available at Costco (although your local selection and availability will vary). Again, it’s a great place to buy daily drinkers. The price is almost always less than anywhere else. The turnover is high, so you’re not getting…

  • Wine cellar project…three years in the making

    Loni Kao Stark
    13 Jan 2010 | 12:00 pm
    Wine cellar project...three years in the making. The conversion of the walk-in closet in our home to a 600-bottle wine cellar has been a labor of love. As Clint has mentioned, it started about three years ago when in the midst of a flooring renovation, we decided to rip out the closet and set the foundations in place for a wine cellar. It had been a concept I was playing around with for a while, but it wasn’t until our entire home was in renovation hell did I decide the marginal effort at that point to put in the proper installation and green board was significantly lower than what it…
 
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