TagCloud:
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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Blogs & Sites:
 Tecnorati
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[10/01/2008, 19:39]
Oregon Pinot Gris Harvest Better Late Than Never | | Although the Oregon Pinot Gris Harvest is a little later this year than vineyard managers would like, good weather has ensured that this year's crop should be outstanding. The rule in Oregon has been that the even years (2004, 2006, etc...) are better than the odd years (2005, 2007), and it look as though the grapes will prove that theory right again.
A virtually rain-free summer with warm temperatures has slowly given the vines enough heat units to produce healthy fruit. There has been a lack of extended periods of moisture, or any other destructive types of weather. Last year's harvest was noticeably unfavorable, with several weeks of bad weather in September and October. | | | |
[11/06/2006, 22:01]
Custom Wine Racks | | I found a really great site for custom wine racks. I found wineracks.com and I absolutely cannot decide which design I like best. They have a selection of smaller capacity wine racks that can store three to forty eight bottles of wine. Wineracks.com has wine racks in both wood and metal. I?ve found several that suit my current needs and several that I wish my needs would suit! Some of the different styles are just simple stackable racks that assemble without tools. There are other wine racks that are elegant, solid oak racks with tabletop and stemware storage. The twelve bottle modular wine racks are made of pine and can be configured in many different ways. There are kits available to add and expand these wine racks. Wineracks.com has this item listed for $22.50. The Cha Cha Wine Racks sold by wineracks.com are made of colored plastic. They snap together with clips and come in four colors. The colors that the components for these wine racks come in are orange, light blue, green and white. Each color is sold separately for $22.50. I was particularly taken with the Lisbon wall wine racks. They are black wooden wine racks that hold both bottles and stemware. Wineracks.com has the Lisbon wall wine racks listed for $69.00. I am pretty sure that I do not want the Accordia wine racks that wineracks.com have for sale. My mother had one that looked like this when I was growing up and I always thought that it was ugly. I much prefer any other style. The Bali fifteen bottle wine racks were inspired by contemporary Indonesian style. I like the wavy look of these wine racks. The price for the Bali wine racks is $96.00. These come in a natural color. There are also twelve bottle Bali wine racks that are $72.00 in either crimson color or black. I do believe that my favorite wine racks have to be the cellar cubes. Wineracks.com has the cellar cubes in both unfinished Pine and Mahogany. The Mahogany cellar cubes sell for $59.95 and the Pine cellar cubes sell for $34.95. These wine racks require simple assembly and the holes are pre-drilled and the hardware is provided. | | | |
[10/25/2008, 10:29]
Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat | | After an initial wave of entangled, bowed-string dissonance, you'll soon find yourself struck by how closely this album orbits the Current 93 sonic globe, with Stef Irritant's vocals all-but imitating David Tibet's devilish delivery. There's less of an obvious folk influence at work here though, and 'Between Skylla And Charybdis' is a more of a diabolic avant-rock incantation than doom-folk prophecy. Next comes the medieval organ tones and ceremonial repetitions of 'Dyptich', whose title, in conjunction with those contrivedly silly vocals invites some sort of joke involving the word 'dipstick'. Finally, 'Miserere' arrives at the sinister, pagan folk recipe Nebulous Dreams has been hinting at all along, installing some bells, fingerpicked acoustic guitar and (more likely than not) a Maypole.
Info stolen from; Boomkat
Links;
Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat - The Nebulous Dreams
Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat @ MySpace
Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat
Public Guilt & Implied Sound
KRAAK
Conspiracy Records
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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. | | | |
[10/20/2008, 06:05]
Monday Rerun 8: A Serious Winemaker | | | My, was it only last July that I posted my first fake interview? That I unleashed my demons of satire? That seems so very long ago...before I became Strappo. Here's #1. My favorite part is about the antiquity of the casks and DNA. Enjoy! July 03, 2007 Visit with a serious winemaker The following is a distillation of many conversations with vignerons (or vignaioli) -- winemakers -- at various gatherings. With a bit of my bitingly sarcastic "humor" added as a special "treat." T: So tell me why you got... | | | |
[07/13/2008, 03:30]
Godello: More Please? | | ?You haven?t posted much recently?? Really, no way?I could only wish the reason behind this was holiday-making. Life is currently beyond hectic, recently going from consulting job back to teaching and onwards with a complicated move. Sometimes, I find that life (as in working, family events, consulting travel, etc.) can get in the way of reading an overpopulated Google Reader inbox and commenting on every blog and forum across e-creation. In fact and admittedly, I must say that I sort of prefer real life to this whole thing, though at any rate, I love to write, and I?m sort of pining for more precious time to write, whether on wine or a multitude of other subjects.
Pleasure aside, ?you know what time it is, it?s business time.? Who could possibly wait until early 2009 for more FOTC? At any rate, the intention of this post? I would like to see more artisan Godello imported and available in the North American market. This brilliant viño galego white, while being delicious and predominantly planted in the Valdeorras and Bierzo (yes, León) D.O.?s, is capable of conveying that the cool breezes, seascapes and gorgeous greenery of the region are all tangible in more ways than just through Albariño. I truly adore Rias Baixas Albariños, but I feel that little brother Godello needs some love too; and what better a time than now to try it out, since more regional producers than ever are beginning to invest serious attention in crafting these wines, with sights on the export markets in addition to the domestic one. I sort of find the idea of trying them side by side to be fun. Maybe find a nice Albariño (say a solid bottle of Códax or perhaps Pazo) to enjoy and compare alongside a crisp, complex Godello?goes without saying that some fresh seafood is in order here. Recommendations and notes upcoming? | | | |
[06/19/2008, 18:04]
Terroir Vino | | | Every year TigullioVino.it, Italy?s foremost wine portal, organizes a wine Meeting, a table-top event bringing together over one hundred winemakers hand picked from Italy and Europe. This year?s edition, with some influence from yours truly, is called Terroir Vino, and was held at the magnificent Palazzo Ducale in Genova. The Palazzo Ducale, photo by Luca Risso Terroir Vino is the brainchild of my friend, web entrepreneur Fil Ronco. Participants are invited after selection in a blind tasting by TigullioVino teams, and so you get a wide spectrum of styles and sizes of winery, from the ?all natural? vigneron with less than 4 hectares, to large quality producers like Lungarotti. Half the day is reserved for wine professionals (press, restaurant owners, importers), and starting mid-afternoon the event is open to the public for a nominal fee. The setting under the gold leaf carved ceilings of the doge?s palace, the perfect organization and the friendly atmosphere made this Terroir Vino day a big success. It was good to see lots of blogging and newsgroup friends, including Joan Gómez Pallarès, Terry Hughes, Luca Risso, Giampiero Nadali, Schigi, Filippo Cintolesi, Franco Solari, Fiorenzo Sartore, Mirco Mariotti, Gianpaolo Paglia, even Slow Food friends Enrico Sala and Maurizio Fava. All in all 1500 people attended. | | | |
[09/25/2007, 22:40]
Wine Website For Sale | | I wanted to let you all know that my Pinot Gris website (PinotGris.Biz) is up for sale. It is full of great, original wine content written by me. It also currently ranks highly with the major search engines:
#3 overall on Yahoo for Pinot Gris (search)
#4 overall on MSN for Pinot Gris (search)
Page Rank = 1 (Google)
I am asking $250 for the site, perhaps less to someone who just wanted the domain name. If I don't sell right away, I will continue to promote it.
If interested, please reply here | | | |
[08/09/2006, 01:03]
Leelanau Cellars Autumn Harvest | | | 
Another summer is quickly coming to an end, and I hope everyone got a chance to visit their favorite local vineyard for a tour or a wine tasting. The highlight of my summer is always being able to visit the northern Michigan wineries. This summer, I got a chance to go up to the Leelanau Peninsula several times, and each time was memorable. Leelanau Cellars is, by far, my favorite place to visit up north, especially because of the tasting experience. You don’t feel limited of how many wines you can taste, and the staff working the tasting room are VERY knowledgeable and friendly. I left with about 16 bottles of wine the last time I visited! If you are looking for some odd fruit wines, this is the place to go. The wine:
I shared a bottle with my new roommates in Grand Rapids. All three of us loved it. Matt: “Delicious with chips and dip”
Casey: “It would be a good winter wine. Surprisingly smooth!” I enjoyed this 5 dollar bottle of wine with a thin-crust pizza and it was great. The wine was rich, and had a lot of flavor. I could taste the typical hints of cherry that most Michigan wines boast. Summary: Great job, Leelanau Cellars! I look forward to coming back next year!
Rating: 9/10 - Excellent!
Price: 5 bucks
Winery Information: Leelanau Cellars
Leelanau Wine Cellars
12683 E. Tatch Rd
(County Rd. 626)
Omena, MI 49674
(231) 386-5201 | | | |
[04/01/2008, 08:09]
The Chianti Challenge: Three Decades of Frescobaldi | | Anyone who?s read Blanc de Noir for long knows we?re both huge fans of Italian wines. There?s just something about the diversity, quality, and sheer fun factor of Italian wines ? whether it?s a casual summer patio sipper or a robust vintage to accompany a  big, festive dinner or one of the meditative Amarones that are still way up there on our list of favourites.
So when BC Wine Appreciation Society decided to add a couple of Italian wines to an educational tasting scheduled just prior to the 2008 Playhouse International Wine Festival ? the theme country for this year?s festival was, after all, Italy ? Frank and our illustrious BCWAS leader, Tim Ellison, decided to add a twist to the event. How about putting up a couple of Italian wines with the usual BC vintages? Frank, however, took the concept one step farther.
Here?s the deal. From BC: three sparklers, four Pinot Grigios, two Pinot Noirs, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Merlot. From Italy: three Chiantis ? just three and all from Frescobaldi, one of Italy?s most respected winemakers (multi-generations shown above).
Here?s the catch. The Chiantis were bottled in 2004, 1982, and 1975. No, it?s not a typo. The last two came from the collection of Italian wines Frank recently acquired ?  one of those fantastic opportunities that come about from being in the right place and the right time and having way more patience than most when it comes to negotiating.
Alas, on the night of the event, Frank was sick with flu, but you can bet eyes went wide as people realized what he?d sent.
The 2004 was, pretty much as expected, dark purple with lots of fruit and tannins that were more ?in your face? than makes for a good sipping wine unless you?re eating. But truth is, few people spent much time with that particular wine since they were all eager to try the two older offerings.
Immediately apparent was the change in colour ? now tawny with a much larger rim than the 2004. Controversy was plentiful and several people found neither one was ?quite my thing? as one member put it in an attempt to be diplomatic. The level of oxidization, especially in the 1975, caused raised eyebrows among half the folks there. It was virtually unanimous that the ?82 needs to be drunk now and the ?75 is clearly a bit past its prime ? although not a soul suggested it should be tossed.
However wide ranging the evening?s opinions were, one thing we all did agree on. These are wines made with love and benefit from patience.
Frank?s Tasting Notes:
Castello di Nipozzano Riserva 1982
This wine has aged well, probably because it is a Riserva. After more than a quarter of a century there?s still lots of fruit left ? black cherry and dark fruits with a note of white truffles in the background. The tannins have smoothed right out so they are now a little silky, and the finish is fairly long. This wine shows just how well age can improve a Chianti. Alcohol 12.5%. All the bottles for both these wines are numbered ? I have 10 left, all around 84,960 series out of 293,600 bottles produced in 1982.
Castello di Nipozzano Chianti Rufina 1975
Sadly just a little past its prime but still drinkable as the acidity has helped this one hold up. Wide orange rim, brick red colour. Truffles leave sherry undertones. This vintage has shown a lot of bottle variation ? the fruit showed up a little more in this one than the first one we tried. Alcohol 12.7%. The last bottle I have left is number 74324 of 80,000 bottles produced. | | | |
[10/01/2008, 13:55]
Best Ocean Trout Salad | | 
This is the salad we had for lunch today. Remember this salad from 2006? It looks the same but there are slight differences. The 2006 salad contained smoked salmon and telegraph cucumber. Fast forward to 2008 and I've used lebanese cucumber with feta cheese, both thinly sliced by mandoline and topped with smoked ocean trout. There is no recipe. Just layer thinly sliced cucumber, then feta, top with smoked ocean trout, slivers of red onion, drizzle with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, a few leaves of flat leave parsley, sprinkle of salt and a grinding of pepper. Bryan insists I tell you he considers it the best salad he has eaten in his entire life. 
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[11/05/2008, 01:00]
Zenato Ripassa Volpolicella 2005 wine review by (PB) | | 
First--Ripasso is a specially made wine from Valpolicella created by fermenting young wine with the unpressed but drained skins and lees left over from making Amarone. Ripasso is made by a number of producers, often using their own variations of this basic method.This wine has a heavily pigmented hue like a Syrah with a deep black cherry presence. Bouquet is brimming with ripe rich berries and light spice.
Palate--rich tannins with steel and minerals, forthright, juicy, fruit and very tasty.
This wine is voluptuous, velevty and plush; a pure wine. A bit pricey around $22 but well worth it! Raise a glass!
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[10/24/2008, 09:49]
Bulk Wines | | With old movies, I often find myself paying attention to background details, like the style of men's ties, typefaces, and historical curiosities.
 Take this still from Charlie Chaplin's 1936 Modern Times. I've sharpened and adjusted the image somewhat, and it will be clearer to read if you click on the small photo to the right.
During an extended scene in a department store with the female lead in which our two impoverished protagonists pretend to be rich, the Little Tramp is chased into the liquor section. The sign at the top of the wall reads "Rare Old Wines in Bulk", with a smaller sign below that says "Take Home a Jug of our Guaranteed Wine". The barrels are labeled Pre-War Stock Muscatel, Choice Old Rum, Special Port Wine, Pre-War Stock Sauterne (sic), Sherry Wine, and the blocked barrel reads Angelica Wine, which is sort of a California Port made from the Mission grape. Presumably "Pre-War" is shorthand for "Pre-Prohibition".
I know in the European countryside it's common to run up to the local wine producer with a jug or a few spare bottles to stock up on table wine, but it's not something I've ever associated with American wine drinking. Moonshine yes, wine no.
I don't know a lot about how wine, fortified wine, and spirits were shipped and stored back in the 1930s, but one wonders about how the Sauternes and Muscatel would have tasted after spending roughly twenty years in oak barrels. The rum could have been amazing, though, and that's what gets sprayed in Charlie's face seconds after that screen capture above.
Image copyright Warner Home Video. | | | |
[11/07/2008, 16:15]
Time for tea in Zionsville and Carmel | |  Two new teahouses are now open for business just north of Indianapolis, Serendipity in Carmel and Serenity in Zionsville. Both are operated by Occasions Divine, which is owned by Karin Glass, a gourmet cook who is a regular vendor at the Binford Farmers Market.
Glass operated the Curator?s Café at The Sanctuary in Zionsville from March of this year until mid-August, when Sanctuary owner Nancy Noel decided to contract with Elements owner Dennis Dunn to operate the space. Glass? operation had been quite successful, and she quickly found a newly-vacated space on Main Street to move into. In the meantime, she also found a spot in Carmel, and opened Serendipity there on September 7. After two months of remodeling an old (circa 1868) Zionsville double into a restaurant space, Serenity opened yesterday, November 6. (Talk about a busy few months! She must have some incredibly soothing teas in stock.)
Serendipity and Serenity both are open for lunch, English tea and Sunday brunch. The menus are similar but different ? I plan to try Serenity?s lobster BLT next week (lobster and bacon ? how could that be bad?), and the L. S. Ayres Chicken Velvet Soup at Serendipity eventually. Both locations will offer twelve days of holiday teas featuring traditional Scottish recipes beginning December 6. | | | |
[10/31/2008, 16:41]
Today on Serious Grape: Why Read About Wine You'll Never Drink? | |  If you are often frustrated reading wine magazines, wine books, and wine reviews that focus on wines you can't find in your local store, you may wonder why I am addicted to Michael Broadbent's Vintage Wine: Fifty Years of Tasting Three Centuries of Wines. This book collects his tasting notes for the oldest, rarest, and most coveted wines in the world.
Today on Serious Grape, my weekly column on Serious Eats, I explain why I love reading about wine I'll never, ever be able to drink, like the 1811 Chateau Yquem from the "comet vintage." For me its a vicarious pleasure akin to reading People magazine or Vogue, and it combines two of my favorite other pleasures: history and mystery.
If you don't know Michael Broadbent's book, it's an awe-inspiring trip through some of the oldest and most expensive cellars on the planet. And because there's no conceivable way most of us will ever be able to buy any of the wines he tastes here, there's none of that frustration--just pure enjoyment. If this sounds like something you might find fun, or you are looking for a gift for a wine lover, check out today's post.
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[10/20/2008, 16:53]
Campbell & Lanegan | | It was  another surprising detour in a career composed almost exclusively of detours: Isobel Campbell, former Belle & Sebastian member and sometime solo act, teamed with Mark Lanegan, taciturn former Screaming Trees singer and serial collaborator. With the release of their Ballad of the Broken Seas, the "Beauty and the Beast" lines came fast and furious. So did the Nancy and Lee comparisons, which were probably welcome. The pairing of Lanegan and Campbell may have come as a shock to fans of the latter (and maybe even the former) but the music itself was less than revelatory. Indeed, the Lee Hazelwood/Nancy Sinatra template is iconic for a reason, and to borrow it means to risk imitating them. It also means treading closely to Leonard Cohen, Scott Walker, or any other somber, late-1960s orchestral pop act.
Still, the results were beautiful and brooding, with Campbell's songwriting significantly enhanced by this very specific setting. Sequels, however, are inherently built on familiarity and a sequel to the solid yet by-the-books Ballad of the Broken Seas could be as problematic as the Hollywood models are. Yet while Sunday at Devil Dirt may be more of the same (with glimpses of Tom Waits' junkyard blues tossed in to good effect), Campbell and Lanegan were never out to do anything different. Once again, melancholy, minor-key folk melodies, and bits of spy-theme and spaghetti-western cool color the album, typically enhanced by only the classiest of accompaniment-- upright bass, strings, brushed drums, twangy electric guitars, and other chamber-pop mainstays. And once again, Campbell works better as a supporting player on her own record than as a leader, cooing and chiming away in the background. Sure, she provides most of the songwriting, but it's Lanegan who provides the gravitas.
 Fortunately, Campbell seems to realize her place here as writer and arranger first and foremost, generally ceding the spotlight to Lanegan on the likes of the bleak (of course) "The Raven" and "Back Burner", the somewhat lighter country-blues of "Salvation" and "Sally Don't You Cry", and the spare folk of "Something to Believe". Compared to Lanegan, Campbell sounds thin singing lead on "Shot Gun Blues" or as duet partner on "Who Built the Road" and "The Flame That Burns". Her vocals are almost like post-production special effects.
In a lot of ways that's what makes the disc such a good, breezy listen. Campbell's turn on "Come On Over (Turn Me On)" aims for sultry yet can't get beyond sweet and innocent; in Lanegan, however, she's found a substitute singer that's a perfect match for the strength of her compositions, a rumbling, grumbling vessel through which to channel her songs, themselves channeling the vibe of a lost but not forgotten time of smoky bars, scratchy jukeboxes, convertibles, open roads, broken hearts, cheap motels, and cheaper thrills. It's a bit like a dust-specked and flickering faux Super-8 road trip reel, with Campbell manning the camera and sitting in the director's chair and Lanegan glowering away in the uncomfortable glare of the sun.
.Info stolen from; Pitchforkmedia
Links;
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Keep Me In Mind Sweetheart (ep)
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Sunday at Devil Dirt
Isobel Campbell
Mark Lanegan
V2 Records
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[11/07/2008, 01:46]
Bouchard Père et Fils Chambolle Musigny 2002 | |  Chambolle Musigny, Burgundy, France. Pinot noir. 13.5%. Cork (fully stained). Source: Cellar.
I pruned the roses a few days ago, hence the slightly clichéd photo. . . This is a very pretty wine, though there is little that is unique or remarkable. Stems, freshly turned earth and rosewood, silken to begin before building in texture, shape and power. Very clean and correct, this is perhaps a little too proper.
Very good - excellent.
93.
Now - 2018.
technorati tags: wine | | WorldWine Tags: wine, | | | |
[10/23/2008, 06:00]
What Am I Tasting? (Wine Spectator) | | | Appealing for its beautifully formed fruit character this white is lithe and focused offering pear, nectarine and a hint of gooseberry as the flavors roll through a long and expressive finish. Generous, refined and stylish. | | | |
[11/10/2008, 23:32]
Wrapping Up 2008 in Burgundy (Wine Spectator) | | | Posted by 1 Much to my horror, my recent trip to the United States and Canada revealed to me that some people have actually been reading this blog. While it was not a shock that people visit WineSpectator.com, the fact that anyone would labor through my heavy prose and factual notes was a total revelation. | | | |
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This book is in Good Used condition
Price: 6.99 USD
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Every year 
