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Palin Syrah Wine Is Not Made With Baby Moose Tears, Still Freaks People Out Palin Syrah, a Chilean wine, has been getting all the wrong sorts of publicity as potential buyers would rather not drink something that reminds them of pigs, pitbulls, or Jesus-mandated pipeline driller Sarah Palin: Palin Syrah ? pronounced Pay-LEEN ? takes its name from a ball used in a Chilean-style hockey game, and it has been on the bar?s wine list for a while. But sales have plummeted ever since John McCain named Sarah Palin to be his running mate. That is... something of a coincidence, n
Maryland's wine and commercial grape industry members gathered on November 3, 2008 to celebrate the Maryland Wineries Association's 25th Anniversary, and to honor special guests.
Nearly 100 winery proprietors, commercial grape growers and guests enjoyed dinner, tasting each others' wines and talking about the progress the industry has made over the last 25 years.
Many of the founding members of the Wineries Association were on-hand to discuss the challenges they faced during the formative years of the industry. The industry's newcomers were treated to tastings from library wines from wineries present and past?including early bottlings of Catoctin Winery and Byrd Vineyards.
MWA Executive Director Kevin Atticks presented "Friend of the Industry" awards to four individuals and "The Gnarled Vine Award" to a couple who has had a major impact in the Maryland wine/grape industry.
MWA "Friend of the Industry" recipients Steve McHenry, Maryland Agricultural & Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO): For developing vineyard installation and winery/vineyard equipment loans; for funding important industry projects.
Jack Steinmetz, Kent County Economic Development: For encouraging the growth of the industry in Kent Co. For developing loan fund for county growers; for spearheading and organizing the development of a Vineyard Management Company study and workshops.
Hudson Cattell and Linda Jones McKee: For their service to the industry in the creation of Wine East Magazine and for their abundant enthusiasm for East Coast wine, and their faith in our ability to compete in the global wine market.
"The Gnarled Vine Award" Presented to Jack & Emily Johnston, Copernica Vineyard This Gnarled Vine award honors a couple? a couple who has been at a driving force in developing our industry over the last 25 years. Although they are self-proclaimed ?behind the scenes? people, these two very individual people have been vital to the growth of the Maryland Wine Industry.
Together they grow about six acres of the state?s most acclaimed Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. As eternal leaders in the Maryland Grape Growers Association, he manages and she edits the MGGA?s Grapevine quarterly newsletter.
They have been cornerstones of the wine appreciation movement, founding the Carroll County Chapter of the American Wine Society in 1980. They have managed the wine education program at the Maryland Wine Festival since its very beginning in 1984. The recipients of the Gnarled Vine award are Emily and Jack Johnston of Copernica Vineyard.
Woodhall Wine Cellars proprietor Al Copp raised a toast to MWA and to the wine and grape industry offering support for the industry's accomplishments and looking forward to many more years of prosperous growth.
SIPPED: double entendre! Unable to legally call a port style wine made outside of Portugal “Port,” Peltier Station Winery is calling their wine “USB”–you know, as in those ports on the side of your computer that you never seem to have enough of. Which European wine region will next made into a technology pun? [find this port; viaWired]
SIPPED: bling glassware! During the GOP convention, filings now show that the McCain Victory 2008 spent $7,000 on 250 wine glasses adorned with elephant designs for donors. Had they already handed out $28 elephant-adorned beer glasses in honor of Joe Sixpack and Cindy’s beer distributorship? [HuffPo]
SIPPED: Joe Six-Pack wine The rise of Midwestern wine is epitomized in Illinois, which has grown from 14 to 80 wineries in a decade. Marketing idea: Joe Six-Pack wine (sold in half-cases). [PJ Star]
SIPPED: herbicides A new herbicide resistant grape variety has been developed for the Midwest. Mmmm. [Wines & Vines]
SPIT: international grape varieties Rocked by a scandal earlier this year that involved blending grapes from outside the zone, Brunello votes overwhelmingly to stay traditional and not allow even a small amount of grapes other than sangiovese. [VinoWire]
Some food and wine connoisseurs have made food and wine pairing so rigid that they are missing the point completely.New food and wine pairings are all about bending the rules to suit your palate
A pretty, floral Riesling, with a creamy texture and hints of lychee to the yellow peach and light mineral notes. Lively and clean, with a light smoky finish. Drink now through 2013. 5,000 cases made.
The whole world failed Rwanda - Words attributed to UN staff members under Secretary-General Kofi Annan, reported by Philip Gourevitch in Annals of Diplomacy: The Genocide Fax, New Yorker, 11 May 1998.
Like all the wines of Alamos, this is a great value at $10 or so. It's well made and delivers a very fruity package. While I often see their Malbec bottlings, I don't often see the Bonarda which is just a bit more off-the-beaten-path. I encourage you to grab one if you see it- and grab a bottle of the basic $10 Malbec, too. Great value wines are coming from Argentina! In this case, thank you Alamos. And raise a glass!
There is definitely wine in India, but who exactly is drinking it? I have tasted pretty much all of the local, at least grape, wine I can find, which was pretty easy, as that is a population of about three producers. I ran across fruit wines being sold up in the foothills of the Himalayans, but I didn't have a chance to try it, and I don't usually count it as wine, at least for the scope of this blog.
The most amazing thing about wine, at least this far from Delhi (I am up north in the large city of Chandigarh) is people's perceptions of it. They, at least the locals I have met, do not know exactly what wine is. They assume it is a sort of whiskey, and a high priced one at that.
When I had a chance to share wine with them they were delighted with the taste, although to be fair I started them off with a slightly sweet white. This is a beginner wine for many people, and it was well received here, and went nicely with the local foods.
People here drink whiskey, and they drink it with nibbles before a meal. Drinking wine with the dinner was not something they had ever thought of doing. In fact drinking wine at all was something they had not thought of doing.
Almost every block there is a store that sells liquor and beer, and while the signs say they have wine, none actually do. Only a few stores carry wine at all, and their selection is very small.
That is not surprising given that most of the people in India I have met have no idea what wine is. The few restaurants that have wine listed have "both kinds" red and white, and nothing more descriptive than that.
The wines made in India are not bad, but they are very expensive. In a country where a hair cut cost $1.50 a $12 bottle of wine is an investment that few consider worth the risk.
It is changing. The ultra rich are drinking the big name labels, as they always do. The middle classes are ordering Dominos pizzas in their Levi jeans over their cell phones, and sooner or later they are going to start equating wine with their lifestyles.
Once India gets a taste for wine, watch out, there is a huge potential market here, if you are very, very patient, or very, very proactive.
It seems like every major city has dozens of food and wine festivals every year. San Francisco, compared to many urban centers, tends to be more selective in what it puts on, however. And that's a good thing, because I've certainly been to enough crappy food and wine events with lousy food and wine (and too little of either) to last my lifetime.
Honestly, the first time I attended FallFest in San Francisco, I expected it to be yet another mediocre attempt at a gourmet food and wine festival. But I was more than pleasantly surprised that first year, and have continued to be impressed every year since. It is a top notch event worthy of a city of foodies. The organizers (San Francisco Magazine, among others) have consistently produced an event with excellent food, fantastic wine, great logistics, and an excellent atmosphere.
The event includes the typical wine and food fair setup -- lots of booths handing out free wine and free food, along with cooking demonstrations. Some of the folks cooking at the event include The Ritz Carlton, Bocadillos, Fifth Floor, RNM, Spruce, and Sent Sovi. Those pouring will include JC Cellars, Fort Ross Vineyards, Medlock Ames, Saddleback Cellars, Yorkville Cellars, and more.
This year the event features the theme of Eat Local, which means that most of the food will be sourced within 3 hours of San Francisco, and that this will also be the theme of the demonstrations and lectures that take place throughout the event.
San Francisco FallFest 2008 Saturday, October 11, 2008 12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM Justin Herman Plaza, Embarcadero Center Market Street @ The Embarcadero San Francisco, CA
Tickets cost $95 in advance, $110 at the door; they can be ordered online at the event web site. The event will likely sell out, as it does every year.
*SPECIAL NOTE: Vinography readers can get $10 off the ticket price by using promotional code VNGRPHY at checkout.
Some advice for those attending: when it's sunny it gets quite hot in the plaza. Bring sunscreen and a hat and drink lots of water. Or, of course, it could be foggy and cold as hell. But that has actually never happened at this event, so if we all cross our collective fingers....
Embarcadero Center can be easily reached by all Bay Area public transportation options, including Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), Muni bus, underground Muni, ferry, cable car or the F-Line streetcar. For those who want to drive, underground garages are located in One, Two, Three, and Four Embarcadero Center.
Quite an unusual combination for the Balkans, since Syrah is fairly rare in the region. Skovin is probably trying to follow the world commercial trends with this Syrah Cabernet Sauvignon combination, and it’s not doing a bad job. Syrah brings in the spiciness and the earthy taste, which brings memories of those strong South African tastes of Syrah wines. Cabernet softeness it a bit, so overall it’s a nice wine, but distinctively dryer than the famous Australian Syraz-Cabernet’s.
Rating: 6/10 Price: 400 RSD (5 euro) Retailer: Super Vero
This was originally going to be one of those quick and dirty reviews. Two Argentinean wines, a snack provided by Chef Tim (that would be Tim Ellison, one of our favourite local sommeliers and co-founder of the BC Wine Appreciation Society), followed by a fast dash through the Cambie Liquor store to stock up on a few winter staples like Cognac and Champagne. Oh well, things change.
Uncharacteristically for a Saturday, there was plenty of parking ? must be something to do with the snow. Vancouver + Snow = Mass Panic.
Tim and I do our usual three-kiss-on-the-cheek greeting ? that?s right cheek to right cheek, left to left, and right to right in case you?ve ever wondered. The beef he?s carving with Melissa Popp from Hills Foods smells wonderful and the Chimichurri Sauce looks even better. Both wines on offer are from Bodega del Fin del Mundo from Patagonia, Argentinean ? Southern most White and Southern most Red. Hmmm. White and Red. That tells me a lot, but what the heck.
Turns out our white is a 60/40 Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay blend. Surprisingly crisp with a pleasing length to the finish ? not huge but pleasing. Today, however, this wine seemed just a bit too citrus without food ? or maybe I?m just cantankerous from the snow. Still, at the price point of $12.95, this is one worth stocking for when you need a sipper with light nibblies. I?m already thinking summer sailing and it?s only December.
The red is 70/15/15 Merlot, Malbec, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Once again priced at $12.95, this is one good value. A hint of tobacco and a nice, round mouth feel. I was surprised I liked it as much as I did. And it went fabulously well with the beef ? although I had to check that particular pairing twice just to be sure. Tim and Melissa Popp from Hills Foods were happy to provide a photo op for the results of their combined cooking talents.
Tasting Aftermath at the Computer
Arriving home, I thought it would be fun to find out more about a winery located ? literally ? at the end of the world. One thing lead to another ? like good surfing usually does. I spent, let?s just say ?a while,? including a browse about through the Hills Foods site (who generously provided today?s beef) ? some great recipes and cool organic meat products. But here?s the summary about the wines.
Bodega del Fin del Mundo was founded in 1999 when the owners planted vines on a deserted plot of land in Patagonia, Argentina. First problem ? no water. From the pictures on the website, there?s not only no water, there isn?t much of anything here ? think bleak, windswept, and desolated. Twenty kilometers of irrigation canal with computerized pumping system later, there was water, but now each plant needed its own windbreak to protect it from the gales that swept across the land on a seemingly daily basis. These folks clearly have plenty of the stubborn gene.
In 2002, their first vinification produced 30,000 bottles and netted a silver medal for Malbec. The owners began constructing a new, contemporary winery so they could move out of the small warehouse they?d been using to date. By 2004 were winning gold and silver medals at the Brussels Wine Expo and the Mondial du Pinot Noir in Switzerland, and their list of medals gets longer every year.
Also interesting, Bodega del Fin del Mundo continues to consider itself an experimental vineyard and is researching the viability of grape varieties seldom associated with Argentina ? Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Aspirant Boushet, and Viognier.
And here?s a bonus, Tim even shared his recipe for his Chimichurri Sauce. Check it out. Thanks Tim!
TIM'S ARGENTINEAN CHIMICHURRI SAUCE
A light oil and vinegar sauce with chopped parsley, cilantro, and garlic. Use as a garnish on your favourite cut of grilled beef. Makes 1 cup and would be wicked with fish and chicken too.
Ingredients: 1/2 cup vegetable or olive oil 1/4 cup red wine or sherry vinegar 1 med white onion, minced 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped 1 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped 2 tbsp oregano, fresh, finely chopped 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 1/4 tsp chili pepper flakes 1/4 tsp black pepper, coarse grind 1 tsp lemon juice salt to taste
Method: Whisk together oil and vinegar in non-reactive bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine thoroughly. Season with salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours to allow flavours to develop. Serve as a garnish with all types of grilled meats and fish. Will keep covered in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Bronchitis means sleeplessness. You start to doze off and suddenly you're coughing with so much force your ribs ache. After a while you get up and surf the Internet (a quaint term by now, "surf"). You get bored with that. You pour a little something strong to help knock you out. Which shouldn't be necessary with the dizzy-making antibiotic, the aspirin, the codeine-enhanced cough syrup in a good swig. You turn off the lights. You sit and look out at the city which gleams with light day and night. The...
It was time for the main event, and there must have been four or five hundred giddy people gathered in downtown Manhattan. One or two of dozens of Burgundy’s elite winemakers sat at each table in anticipation of this Bacchanalian orgy. The long, army-style lunch room seating had to have about forty people per table, [...]
Three grapes Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. All of which you can detect in the wine. Individually. Which is a criticism as the wine was not a 'sum of its parts'- disjointed, rambling, and unformed. Planning on it improving with age I doubt would help either.
But it has a saving. It was rather excellent with a salmon tart!
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: St Hallet Poacher's Blend, 2007, Barossa Valley, Australia. Stockist: Waitrose Price: £7.99 [More: Adegga / Snooth] Fresh, distinctive, disjointed. Joyous though when partnered with food - in this instance a warm Salmon Tart. The wines crispness cutting through the rich pastry, and matching the egg component face to face (eggs being a tricky when matched with wine). The Sauvignon component, of course, went well with the Salmon with the fuller Semillon revelling in the harmony with the herbs and the spinach. Alcohol 11.5%. Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 86/100 [3.25 out of 5]
The background to the blend is interesting - the wine is bottled just four months after vintage with the Semillon picked at three different ripeness levels. Part adds natural acidity (the Riesling and Sauvignon obviously not sufficient), the mid-pick supplies an 'herbaceous lift' in support of the Sauvignon and the fully ripe portion adds mouth-feel and richer grapefruit flavours. Their website fails to give details of the actual percentage components in the blend - anal I realise but something I find fascinating - which is a shame.
I noticed that Penley Estate’s “Phoenix” Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 has been getting some good press as a great value for money red with a little cellaring potential in its back pocket. Armed with this information I picked up a bottle to review at the thrifty price of $17.
Very drinkable for a young cabernet, showing aromas of blackberry and ripe dark cherries. The palate is ripe, fruit forward and well balanced with a fine, approachable tannin structure and well integrated oak. Very easy drinking now and should be more interesting after 5 years in the cellar.
Although the wine did improve slightly over a few hours, there is no need for a decant if drinking now. What more is there to say? Well done Penley Estate on a great value for money Cabernet.
Score: 90/100 Price: $17 Closure: Screwcap Alcohol: 15% Other Opinions:Penley Estate, TORBWine Would I buy this wine again? Yes, will definitely put a few away for a short sleep in the cellar.
Anybody have any good advice on a good pinot noir? Most I've had sucked big time.....especially for the price. In fact, I've only found 3 liked, but onlu ONE that I just love.
The last 2 months I experimented and bought 1 bottle a week. Most were either tart and weak, or light with not much taste. I even poured out a bottle of a cheaper B.V. brand. Anyway, I figured out my very favorite which was a 2001 reserve Eryie Vinyards....this was/is the best I've tasted....period......maybe better than any wine I've ever tasted. It's hard to describe, but when I had it the first time for Christmas, it has been on my mind eveyday until I could locate some. It's from a small Oregon winery. It's $50 on their website....if you can find more, or $26 at Costco.
The 2nd favorite was another I found at Costco. Its one of their own KirklandSignature wines that they export from New Zealand. It's very full, tasty, and surprisingly yummy.....plan on going thru the whole bottle when you open it, cause you won't stop drinking it. The price is between $16-$17 and well worth it. It's from one of the best growing areas of New Zealand many Americans don't know about.
The 3rd one is Chateua St. Jean in California. Their Pinot Noir is very, very, very bold, deep, smoky, and WOW!!! Was this a pinot noir, or did it have some merlot in it. It was beautiful, romantic, and imaginative. This one may actually be my second favorite, but it's close.
Fourth and not least is another winery from California. Its winery is Kendall Jackson. Their pinot noir is good and very respectable, and holds it's on with the others mentioned above. The 2005 won all kinds of double-gold medals and many other accolades. It's actually sold out at the winery, but you can still find it in stores. It sells for about $15-$16. I'd suspect that the 2006 is good too, because they're already racking up awards......oh yea...and try their zinfindel....it's the best you find in any price range in the $12-$30 range.
Still yet, I'd like to add 2-3 more good pinot noirs to my regiment......any hints or clues out there.
One of the events I enjoyed was the vineyard walk on Saturday morning led by Zephyr Adventures. We went to Saralee's Vineyard in the Russian River Valley, where we met up with Rich and Saralee Kunde (who made us a fabulous lunch!), Daniel Moore of Zmor Winery, and Rod and Lynn Swan Berglund of Joseph Swan Vineyards. We hiked through the vineyards, learned a lot about the area and its viticultural heritage, and drank some fantastic wines.
I hope this slide show whets your appetite to learn more about the Russian River Valley appellation, and makes you feel that you've been able to enjoy a little bit of this year's fall season here in the California Wine Country.
If you're interested in seeing more pictures of the 2008 Wine Bloggers Conference, head over to my Flickr photostream where I've set up a collection of pictures for you to flip through.
I've thought long and hard about this one, but it's time to shut up shop here at The Wine Chicks.
As you all know, I simply don't have the time any longer to post stuff - that's been more than obvious. I also have been focusing so much on certain wines that I rarely taste outside of my own portfolio. And the last thing I want to do is make this site an extension of my day job. I've wanted to keep this open but since I'm pressed for time, I too often just post about a tasting/wine dinner/IPO wine with which I was involved. The quality of my writing has certain suffered and I don't want to keep posting crappy blips just for the sake of posting crappy blips.
So, let's ring in a Chick-free New Year! Who knows? Maybe I'll resurface elsewhere in the not-too-distant future...
Ripe and forward, with dark licorice, fig, currant preserve and chocolate notes riding along round, rich tannins. Rock-solid finish. Drink now through 2010. 2,000 cases made.
Fall is just around the corner and few wines are more enjoyable when the weather turns cool than Italy's Sangiovese wines. In the video below, Iron Chef Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich discuss how best to pair Sangiovese with food. Take a look:
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October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM). Started by First Lady Betty Ford, a breast cancer survivor herself, and her daughter Susan in 1985, NBCAM has made great strides both by increasing early detection of this disease and erasing the stigma that was once attached to it.
A number of pink ribbon products are promoted during October with a portion of the proceeds going to help eradicate breast cancer. One that's particularly attractive for wine lovers is this wine opener and wine glass set from The Wine Enthusiast. The set includes two Riedel Vinum Pink Rose Wine Glasses and the all-in-one lever style Pink Rabbit Corkscrew Kit. Fifteen percent of Riedel's proceeds are being donated to the Living Beyond Breast Cancer Foundation. Five percent of Metrokane's proceeds are being donated to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
To learn more about NBCAM and to download a variety of free material, visit the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Web site.
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The font of the title is pleasantly wacky, and the title itself promises a dream-like escapade in which Feiring daydreams herself ?saving the world? and falling in love with a superhero winemaker. Not a bad concept. This is not a journalistic effort like other recently released wine books, To Cork or Not to Cork, The Billionaire?s Vinegar, First Big Crush, Wine and Philosophy. This is a personal essay on a personal point of view. The book is a small-format book?hardbound, 5 ½ ? by 8?, 158 pages exclusive of acknowledgments and index, and can easily be read in a few hours. In the introduction she says, ?I am hoping to intrigue those who want wines that truly have a story to tell. Once people experience these wines and winemakers, once they know that wine truly does have soul and character, it will be difficult for them to cozy up to wines made by the numbers and not from the heart.? I hope that this book fulfills her mission. Unfortunately . . .
Women Wine Writers on the Web has an interesting library of links to women's wine newsletters, blogs, books and more. Definitely a recommended stop. To find wines you're reading about at a shop near you, try WineSearcher. This free service will show you which stores have your target wine in stock, along with the price and ordering options. (A paid upgrade provides even more information.) Don't have the time to read wine blogs? But you'd like to stay on top of the hottest wine news? Wine Life Today features the hottest wine blog posts on the internet. Most of the referrals come from other wine bloggers, so when they toast an article, you know it's good stuff, and worth reading. Interestingly, it's always the oddball stuff that wine bloggers enjoy . . . so don't expect to find the usual wine reviews and commentary. Looking to upgrade your wine notes from lined school paper to something a little more . . . elegant and efficient? We recommend CellarTracker. This free online site lets you store your wine purchases, tasting notes, and more. Additional features let you see fellow members' tasting notes. And creator/owner Eric White is very open to feedback and suggestions.
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." -- Emerson Emerson. Big drinkerWhen I read about the wines that a lot of blogging buddies drink, I feel sick with envy. Expensive, old-vintage, storied wines -- they drink them every day, or so it seems. My daily wine experience is a tad different, I assure you.I'm always casting about for reasonably priced and reasonably good wines that won't break the bank. In this I'm a lot more like Dr. Debs ("Good Wine Under $20") than Jeremy Parzen ("Do Bianchi") or...
Posted by 1 November 2: We didn't touch the fermenters on Saturday because we don't take any 1 or 1 readings until the must has been allowed to soak for two days. We know that the juice will always extract more sugar and acid from the skins than what we would see right out of the crusher, so there's no need to fool ourselves by taking measurements early.
Tecnorati
SIPPED: double entendre!
Quite an unusual combination for the Balkans, since Syrah is fairly rare in the region. Skovin is probably trying to follow the world commercial trends with this Syrah Cabernet Sauvignon combination, and it’s not doing a bad job. Syrah brings in the spiciness and the earthy taste, which brings memories of those strong South African tastes of Syrah wines. Cabernet softeness it a bit, so overall it’s a nice wine, but distinctively dryer than the famous Australian Syraz-Cabernet’s.
I noticed that Penley Estate’s “Phoenix” Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 has been getting some good press as a great value for money red with a little cellaring potential in its back pocket. Armed with this information I picked up a bottle to review at the thrifty price of $17.