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Wine Ebooks:
| | The Complete Grape Growers Guide. |  | | A Complete Guide For Growing Grapes. Converts Very Well At A Reasonable Price! Growing Grapes And Making Wine Is A Very Popular Topic Right Now.
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| | Fool-Proof Wine Values. | | | Learn How To Easily Find Wines Of $50 Quality For $10 Or Less. Impress Friends With Your Expanded Wine Knowledge. Eliminate Your Dependence On Wine Salespeople. And Take The Hassle Out Of Buying Wine.
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| | Making Wine From Home. | | | A Fun And Very Informative Book On Home Wine Making. The De Facto Standard For All Home Wine Enthusiasts With Recipes, Advice And Tricks.
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[10/03/2008, 17:05]
The Cube (1969) | | Created by Jim Henson, this made-for-tv movie broke new ground. It aired in 1969 on NBC?s Experiment in Television, a one-hour, commercial-free show that ran on Sunday afternoons and featured drama, comedy, and documentaries peppered with such personalities as Frank Langella, Nanette Fabray, Fritz Weaver, Bernadette Peters, Verna Bloom, Frank McHugh, Jack Gilford, Nancy Walker, David Steinberg, Mildred Dunnock, Donald Pleasance, Richard Briers, John Gielgud, George Plimpton, Christopher Plummer and Diana Rigg. Documentaries featured people like Marshall McLuhan, Frederico Fellini, Arthur Penn, Al Capp and the Beatles.
Set aside an hour and watch it....
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[02/15/2008, 11:26]
Small Plates, Perfect Wines | |  Small Plates, Perfect Wines, a new cookbook from Andrews McMeel Publishing, featuring mouthwatering recipes and wine pairing tips, is now on bookstore shelves and available to order online.
Meze, tapas, antipasti, antojitos–no matter what you call them, small plates offer big flavor, and this is a style of dining and entertaining that has taken the country by storm. Searching out those small dishes with big flavors, Wine Country cookbook author Lori Lyn Narlock presents more than 50 recipes by Kendall-Jackson Executive Chef Justin Wangler and the Culinary Team, with assistance from Lou Rex, Jackson Family Wines Director of Special Events. Wine tips are provided by Kendall-Jackson Winemaster Randy Ullom. The book is divided into chapters on salads, vegetables, meat, seafood, and desserts, with each delicious recipe paired with one or two wines. The wine information is presented in a conversational fashion, and includes the basics of pairing wine with food. Each recipe has been beautifully captured by photographer Dan Mills, with pages exquisitely produced by graphic designer Jennifer Barry. Small Plates, Perfect Wines is colorful, festive and informational, making it the perfect gift for wine and food lovers, and anyone who loves to entertain. Small Plates, Perfect Wines is available from Amazon.co.uk £5.99 and Amazon.com $12.71 | | | |
[11/20/2008, 05:00]
Le Vieux Donjon Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2006 $64 (Wine Spectator) | | | Slightly firm, with juniper, sage and sandalwood hints framing dark plum, currant, coffee and mineral notes. The grippy finish has a cedar note in the background, with hints of black tea and tar. A gutsy style, with fresh acidity in reserve. Best from 2009 through 2028. 4,330 cases made. | | | |
[11/05/2008, 23:10]
Manilow Pinot Grigio 2007 wine review by (PB) | | 
This is a second review of this wine sent to us by Stilletto Entertainment:
Big peary nose with an under layer of vanilla cream and something that I don't have a descriptor for.
Palate is lively with nice acidity and clean flavors of citrus and minerals and a fruity, pear finish. This is a nice, clean wine that will pair well with buttery, rich foods. Raise a glass and thanks Stilletto!
(Consistent notes with first review although I liked this wine even more the second time around. Why? Probably because this time of year sub-clinical colds are ubiquitous and can dull the palate or it could be as simple as the nice catch-all bail out phrase; bottle variation. Either way--raise a glass!) | | | |
[11/03/2008, 01:05]
I Wish I Could Tell You | |  I wish I could tell you I'm free of cancer. I wish I wasn't starting more chemo tomorrow. I wish I wasn't afraid of the side effects. I wish I didn't have to see the fear in my children's eyes. I wish I didn't have to hear my son say 'I feel so helpless'. I wish Bryan didn't have to cook dinner 'cos I know he doesn't enjoy cooking. I wish I had an appetite. I wish I didn't have to cancel lunch in Sydney with Fatemeh. I wish I'd been able to swim in the ocean with my sister last week when she visited. I wish I didn't know words like Folfox and Avastin. I wish I didn't know my CEA. I wish I didn't have blood tests every week. I wish I didn't have to press the button in the elevator marked Oncology. I wish I could beat the cancer. I wish I didn't think about my children's future which may not include me. I wish Bryan and I will grow very old together. I wish the will to live was enough to overcome my genetics. I wish I will have the energy to continue blogging. I wish you will understand when I am too sick to reply to your comments and emails. I wish you will understand when I visit your blog and don't leave a comment. I wish one day I could tell you I'm free of cancer. Thanks to Maryam for helping me find a way to tell you my wishes. | | | |
[11/20/2008, 05:00]
What Am I Tasting? (Wine Spectator) | | | This is a gentle red, with ripe plum, berries, flowers and mineral on the nose and palate. Medium-bodied, with a light, velvety mouthfeel and a clean, fresh finish, leaving a hint of chocolate. Delicate, but all in balance. | | | |
[10/07/2008, 14:10]
New Gmail feature helps prevent morning-after regrets | |  Google has implemented a feature for its Gmail intended to help prevent people who have been drinking from sending email messages they later wish they hadn?t.
While many people who have had occasion to wish for such a thing envisioned a Breathalyzer-type hardware solution, Mail Goggles uses math. Once the feature is enabled, the user must correctly answer five simple math questions within a specified time in order to send a message. By default the feature only is active late on weekend nights, but can be adjusted in user preferences.
More information about Mail Goggles is available on Google?s Gmail Blog . | | | |
[10/31/2006, 10:07]
Waitrose leads the pack | | 
After having a look through the supermarket shelves for the first time in ages I was actually pleasantly surprised that there were quite a few decent mid-range wines on offer. I don't think that makes up the majority of wine sold to their customers and if you regularly go to just one supermarket branch I think you'd get bored quickly. However the point is that there are some good even great wines being offered. I have been especially impressed with Tescos and Sainsburys premium own brands which have gone to specific regions and made authentically regional wines. Sounds easy but too often I have drunk a winemaking- rather than wine- style. Over the past three weeks Waitrose put on their annual press tasting showing their 270 wine range. For the first time all the fine wine was shown together with the everyday drinkers. This was an admirable show of confidence in all of the wines but did lead to a couple of unfairly marked contrasts - a 2005 Fitou after a 2003 Ch Mouton Rothschild 1er cru Pauillac (delicious, by the way). However despite this I think it was a brilliant way to show the wines and a thoroughly enjoyable tasting. It would be too long to list all the wines here so I will add a new section to the site for tasting notes from various merchants etc and publish them all together. As soon as time allows. Highlights though for me, apart from the Mouton Rothschild were Corton-Pougets Grand Cru 2003 from Louis Jadot, Ch Lagrange 2000 St Julien, Ch Rauzan-Ségla 1998 Margaux, Ch Cos d'Estournel 2003 St Estèphe. Yes ok, not exactly hard to have picked those out, there were also lots of more affordable lovely reds, Ch d'Aiguilhe 2002 Côtes de Castillon - a former neighbour of mine though I didn't hang out with the Count, Cuvée Constance 2004 VdP des Côtes Catalanes + lots more - 2004 Gigondas from Gabriel Meffre, CNdP 2004 from Perrin et Fils and I haven't even left France yet. Ormanni Chianti 2003, Viña del Olivo 2001 from Contino in Rioja, Columella 2004 from South Africa, Craggy Range Le Sol Syrah2004 from New Zealand, Cape Mentelle Cab/Merlot 2004 from Margaret River in Western Australia and the fabulous O'Leary Walker duo with their Claire O'Leary Reserve Shiraz 2002. The whites, tasted the week before, were of a similarly high standard. There was a consistent level of quality and of typicity across the range. Again some fabulous Burgundy leading ladies but also a Ch Jolys Jurançon Sec 2005, another VdP des Côtes Catalanes Matassa Cuvée Marguerite 2005, CVNE Monopole Rioja Blanco 2005 a super food wine, Cono Sur's dependable Limited Release Gewurztraminer 2006, Villa Maria Single Vineyard Graham Sauvignon Blanc 2005, Torbreck Woodcutter's Semillon 2003 - outstanding, I thought. O'Leary Walker Polish Hill River Riesling 2006, Paul Blanck Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg 2002 from Alsace. Some of the top wines are only available in a very few stores, even only one store in a couple of cases and clearly there are limited stocks. However Waitrose are taking themselves very seriously as wine merchants and are doing a better job than any of the other supermarkets on current evidence. Their new winelist is as good as anything a very good independent merchant would produce with introductions to countries and regions, tasting notes and lots of helpful information. It is no surprise that this year they scooped two top awards : the International Wine Challenge Supermarket Wine Retailer of the Year 2006 and Decanter World Wine Awards Best Supermarket 2006. Congratulations. | | | |
[11/01/2006, 19:00]
Mark it on the calendar | | Hmm. I wonder if anyone even bothers to stop by any more, even if it's just to note my conspicuous absence.
Lots going on, folks.
Thanks to all who wished the Chef and me well last month on the anniversary of our wedding.
On a similar note, best wishes to Scott and Jill on their nuptials last weekend. Such a beautiful party.
And, of course, there's the wine goings on. Much to do here in Northeast Ohio, especially this weekend. If you felt let down by the Tribe's oh-so-typical performance this year, you can return to Jacobs Field in Cleveland this weekend, Nov. 2-4, for a much happier occasion. It's the Heinen's/WVIZ World Series of Wine , a perennial joy for wine novices and aficionados alike. It really doesn't get much better than the grand tastings ($70-$75 a person; purchase tickets in advance). More than 400 wines, 100-plus producers, stellar munchies, unparalleled people watching. You'll find lots of opportunities to speak with winery and distributor representatives to get the real dirt on what you're tasting.
It's hard not to over imbibe with so many wines to try, so take a cab or a limo or book a hotel room. Some downtown Cleveland hotels are offering packages specifically for the occasion.
This is easily the biggest wine event of the year for Northeast Ohio. Oh, and it benefits public broadcasting, as if you needed another reason to go. | | | |
[03/21/2008, 03:59]
Small New Zealand Wineries Part 1 | | Te Whare Ra ( "Tee Faree Ra" is supposed to mean house in the Sun in Maori) is based in Marlborough New Zealand. This is on the south Island in the town of Renwick which is host to quite a few wineries including Cloudy Bay, Montana etc...
Established in 1979, this small boutique winery probably has some of the oldest vines in the area. In 2003, the husband and wife team of Jason & Anna Flowerday took the helm and have significantly upgraded various aspects of the winery. Although offering a Pinot Noir, IMHO they are a white wine producer with offerings mainly from Sauvignon Blanc, Reisling, Gerwurztraminer and Chardonnay. It's their aromatic wines which to me show their stuff here. Current size of the vineyards ~9 hectares with many coming from the older vines planted in 1979 ( almost 30 years ago) - I was told the Gerwurztraminer. Fruit is basically hand sorted and picked - now we are talking.
Cutting to the chase, my favorite wines from their lineup would be the "Toru" bottling and their Gerwurztraminer.
The "Toru" is a blend of several aromatic grape varietals consiting of Riesling, Gerwurztraminer and Pinot Gris. While tasting this wine, images of a picnic & grilled seafood keep popping up - probably my mind telling me that's where I should be with this. 89 points
The 2007 Gerwurztraminer to me is a standout here. The concentration and flavor in here just screams of old vines and low yields. The typical Lychee notes were present although not overpowering, minerals, hints of sweetness from the fruit with 22g/l of residual sugar - nice finish ( the wine was still going strong after being opened more than 24 hours). The best thing to compare this to would be an Alsatian Gewurtz VT. 92+ points
These guys deserve some room in your cellar. | | | |
[10/13/2007, 17:17]
October 13, 2007 - Pouilly Fuisse | | Pouilly Fuisse should not really be mixed up with Pouilly Fume although it happens. While both are white wines Pouilly Fuisse is rightfully Chardonnay and Burgundian. The other Pouilly is from the Loire Valley and is made from Sauvignon Blanc ( to be covered someday!).
While Pouilly-Fuisse is an appelation on to itself it would be a shame not to give the individual terroirs recognition also. There are 4 villages in the appelation: Vergisson, Solutre-Pouilly, Fuisse and Chaintre and arguably 5 terroirs as Solutre and Pouilly are distinctive.
From a distance the twin rocks of Vergisson and Solutre are a clear giveaway that you have arrived. The certain soil zones around these rocks are limestone and give the wines that mineral taste which is lacking or more subdued in the other communes outside of Vergisson, Solutre and Pouilly.
The 5 terroirs within Pouilly-Fuisse are :
Vergisson - mineral driven, punchy with acidic backbone.
Solutre - mineral driven but softer with pronounced acidity.
Pouilly - Good harmony of mineral and fruit - most balanced.
Fuisse - More fruity, does not have the minerality of previous 3.
Chaintre - Fruit dominant.
The next time you try a Pouilly-Fuisse take a closer look at the label and see where it comes from - there should be a difference. Personally my favorite is Pouilly proper. It seems to have the right balance of fruit, minerality and lively acidity. The other all have their unique characteristics but not in the harmonious balance I get in a benchmark Pouilly.
Not a comprehensive list by any measure but the wines I liked were made by:
Domaine Carrette
Domaine Nadine Ferrand
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[10/20/2006, 11:51]
Four cheeses and a White | | Sainsburys Taste the Difference Sancerre 2004 £8.54 has a round, fruity, open nose with a touch of minerality and a clean freshness. The good, underlying fruit with its tantalising honeycomb edges was somewhat hidden by the very high acidity on the palate. So I thought perhaps what it needed was some cheese to round it out... First up Organic Wensleydale. This crumbly white is more texture than flavour but did fill out the wine and brought forward the fruit -peachy aromatics. The lightness of the almost cottage cheese texture really complemented the delicacy of the wine. There was a hint of a salty tang too. Then Woolsery, http://www.woolserycheese.co.uk , this is a medium hard goat's cheese from Dorset and is so tasty. It was the best in combination with the wine too. The slightly salty creaminess perfectly cut the acidity of the wine down to size. The cheese had a decent level of acidity to it as well. It was grassy and had a goaty note but was not overly pungent. Great stuff. Next up Vintage Gouda, the label didn't give a year or age though - perhaps this is cheese parlance that someone can enlightenment me about? This had a wonderful flavour, nutty, earthy, hay aromas, very fruity in fact. It is a dense and creamy cheese which cancelled out the acidity in the wine altogether and made it seem almost flabby! Not quite right together. Finally Doux de Montagne, very like a Spanish Manchego with its subtle flavour and rubbery texture. It tasted slightly soured too but in a good way. The wine overwhelmed this cheese though and it had very little impact when tasted together. | | | |
[08/25/2008, 19:49]
Wine Spectator Award scandal?yeah, so? | | | OK, so there’s alot of hub-bub about that the Wine Spectator expose that happened by blogger Robin Goldstein. And first let me say a couple things. Bloggers are extraordinarily important to the world and this is just the latest example of some good citizen journalism. Bravo to Robin for the work on setting up this sting. Nice, ethical, and well executed. As a marketing professional for a decade and a half I’ll say this though - what did you think the award was? Wine Spectator is a “for profit” private entity that has what, 100 employees? I’ve dealt with many many awards for the rediculous number of products and companies I’ve launched and I’ll tell you this, whenever there is a for-profit entity involved then you’re going to pay-to-play. And if you pay-to-play then you’re probably getting an award! There are several technology related firms that have pay for entry, then I win the award, then they call me back and pitch me Ad space, and then tell me to be involved in the award ceremony I have the great opportunity to present my product/company at a high profile industry show…for yet another fee. update: On side note for the history books. In the late 1990s, what I call “Bubble Days” of tech, pay-to-play got ridiculous. There were analyst firms that would take EQUITY in a startup and then write a positive report. Subsequently, these firms would go public and thanks to the Tech Bubble some people got very rich for their “award” or “positive outlook”…nuts… This Wine Spectator debacle is nothing new or unexpected. They’re leveraging their brand, which has the power today to make a $20 wine into a $100 wine overnight, to make more money. What is unexpected is the fact that they were complete IDIOTS about it and obviously do zero vetting not a very thorough job vetting applicants. Dumb dumb dumb. But I’m not surprised the award is the way it is. Not at all actually. Maybe thats part of the marketer’s secret code or something but thats how these things go. If this didn’t happen (the dumb non-vetting move being exposed), who wouldn’t pay $250 for this “Excellence” award, hence “profit” opportunity. Look, even now, if you have a real restaurant whats to stop you from fudging the wine list? The sting was a totally fake place, but what stops you from doing this again? Pay-to-play, thats how it works. Its a revenue generator for the company, thats all. Now, I do want to point out something in stark contrast. The “American Wine Blogger Awards“. Whenever they come around everyone gets in Tom Wark’s grill about “who are you to judge me” and “what makes you think this award is valid at all”, and so on. I mean he gets HEAVY criticism. Well guess what - its decided on by people submitting nominations, then the finalists are chosen by a panel and voted on by the people again. Oh yeah, and it FREE. In fact, when I offered to sponsor the AWBAs Tom turned that down. So even though its not perfect I view it kind of like how I view the American Democracy - its not perfect and sometimes its not fair (just look at my tax bill every f’in year), but its about the best you’re gonna get! Cheers!  | | | |
[06/29/2008, 23:27]
A short notice to those in the UK | | If you need to stock up on wine, Tesco start their Wine festival from Monday, 25% off all wine when you buy any 6 bottles or more. Includes champagne, vermouth, port, sherry and boxed wine too.
I'd expect their competitors to start similar deals in the coming weeks too.
I know i'll be stocking up! | | | |
[10/30/2008, 01:10]
lignier-michelot 2004 chambolle les gammaires | | | 2004 Lignier-Michelot, Chambolle-Musigny Les Gammaires Medium, medium-plus cherry-red colour. The nose is understated but shows good depth and there’s no ‘2004 character’. In the mouth it’s serious, with good mid-palate dimension and a good persistence of ripe flavour. Very nice - I bought some more. Rebuy - Yes a lignier-michelot 2004 chambolle les gammaires | | | |
[08/10/2006, 05:01]
Wednesday, August 9, 2006 | | I'm not buying it!
The wine world is chock full of gadgets these days and this is one of the funniest I have seen in such a while. A physician by trade, Patrick Farrell claims that he has an invention that will improve the quality of a wine simply by pouring wine into a glass. Let me explain?
He has created a device that will fit around the neck of a bottle that uses magnets to enhance the wine.
Farrell started out tying magnets to the neck of a 
bottle at the urging of business acquaintances who were distributing magnets to try to improve water quality. At the time, he thought the chance magnets would work on wine was ?about the same as seeing pigs fly.?
But, he says, ?I took the thing home, put it on a bottle of shiraz from Australia and was shocked to see it made it taste smoother and fruitier. So then I went down to my cellar and I got a bottle of Bordeaux from the Medoc and it made it taste softer and fruitier.?
Eventually, he came up with a molded plastic device that looks like a regular non-drip pourer and has an air hole to speed up oxygenation. That intensifies the effect of the wizard and differentiates it from other magnetic devices on the market such as The Wine Clip, which clasps around the bottle neck, says Farrell.
Um?magnets?? I guessing the pourer at the top actually aerates the wine and that?s what softens the wine as opposed to the magnets. But let?s see what the critics have to say.
?Testimonials are irrelevant. Tastings are not proof,? says Ball, a professor at Cleveland State University, and ?amateur wine snob,? who says magnetic fields aren?t strong enough to change the shape of tannins.
?All that magnetic field is doing is separating you from your money,? says Ball, who won?t be trying the Bev Wizard any time soon.
Awesome! At $30 for the gadget you?re better off buying a $5 corkscrew and a $25 bottle of wine!!
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14229497/
Check it out!!
This really promises to be a cool event. I hope to see some of you there.
Seven North Carolina breweries - including all five from Buncombe County - are teaming up this month to host a Slow Food beer-tasting event at the downtown Asheville Brewing Company, 77 Coxe Ave.
Slow Food is an international group that works to preserve food traditions and sustainable agriculture. Proceeds from the beer tasting will be used to send local delegates to the Slow Food Terra Madre gathering, Oct. 26-30 in Turin, Italy.
The tasting, at 5 p.m. Aug. 27, will feature beers each from Asheville Brewing, Highland Brewing, Pisgah Brewing, French Broad Brewing, Green Man Brewing (all from the Asheville area) Catawba Brewing of Glen Alpine and Foothills Brewing of Winston-Salem.
Each brewery will have at least two beers at the event, and Asheville Brewing will likely serve all of their ales, said brewmaster Doug Riley. Beers will be served in four-ounce samples, and the evening includes pizza.
Tickets are $20, on sale now at Asheville Brewing and its sister operation, Asheville Pizza and Brewing, 675 Merrimon Ave.
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060809/NEWS01/60809012/1119
So, things have been really hectic at work and with dial up access only (and limited at that) blogging is very difficult. Anywho I am not giving up on it, just lagging behind. I expect the next post to be on Sunday unless the heavens open up and smile upon me. Tomorrow I am going to a Highland Beer dinner at Ganache so I'll post the deets then. Lay-tah!!
Cheers! | | | |
[11/16/2008, 18:05]
Howard Park Chardonnay 2005 | |  Great Southern, Western Australia. 13.5%. Chardonnay. Screwcap. Approx $A35.
I spent some of last week practicing and refreshing my very rusty resuscitation skills. Disconcertingly the manikins could bleed and I soon discovered I kept forgetting to count cardiac compressions. This of course makes following protocols very problematic. . .
No such problems with the Howard Park, which is bright and remarkably consistent. It's tight, lean and sappy (like a Macon) with a trace of smoke, flint and white nectarine.
Very good.
92.
Now - 2011.
technorati tags: wine | | WorldWine Tags: wine, | | | |
[09/12/2007, 20:57]
The Vineyard Owner | | 
For an in-depth look at starting up your very own vineyard, check out Vineyard Owner. It's still a work in progress, but it currently sports some nice articles on Disease and Pest Management, and Climate factors. | | | |
[11/20/2008, 19:29]
Threshers 2008 Money Off Voucher | |  Seeing as there are 8 people viewing the older Threshers Voucher pages on Spittoon as I type I thought a quick post of the new money off voucher was in order. I wasn't going to bother seeing as its been printed in various national newspapers and other websites and the focus of Spittoon has changed a little over the year... but here you go... Download the 2008 40% Threshers Voucher here: 40ThresherOfferVoucher.pdf  | | | |
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