Kris Chislett | Blog Your WineBlog Your Wine

Reviews January 12, 2012

The Wolftrap by Boekenhoutskloof, South Africa 2010.

Grape Syrah 65%, Mourvedre 32%, Viognier 3% – often referred to as a “Rhone-blend”. Facts Boekenhoutskloof, pronounced book-n-howeds-kloof, has always been one of my favorite wineries to say! Established in 1776, Boekenhoutskloof means "ravine of the Boekenhout". A Boekenhout is an indigenous South African tree generally prized for furniture making. Syrah brings the power, spice and dark fruit, Mourvedre brings red fruit and earthy notes, and Viognier (white grape) mellows the wine out and…

News January 10, 2012

The Most Overused Winery Social Media Posts

No doubt it’s extremely difficult for any business to maintain a constant stream of engaging content on Facebook, Twitter, and all the rest of it; but it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of posting the saaaaaaame old stuff. It’s often suggested that if you can’t post daily, or at least every-other-day, you have no place having a social media presence, at least when it comes to business. I would like to counter…

Facts January 9, 2012

Stages of Sparkling Wine Production.

(click image for larger view)

News January 8, 2012

This Week In Wine–1/8/12

Charlie Trotter’s Closing in Chicago Charlie Trotter plans to close his famous Chicago restaurant in August, 25 years after it opened in a Lincoln Park townhouse and quickly became a national destination. Trotter, 52, has said that he would close the 120-seat restaurant that bears his name to travel and go to school, after being accepted to graduate programs at schools in Chicago and California to study philosophy and political theory Charlie Trotter’s has a…

Reviews January 6, 2012

La Spinetta Nebbiolo, Langhe-Piedmont, Italy 2008.

Grape 100% Nebbiolo [neh-bee-oh-low] Facts La Spinetta was founded in 1977 by Giuseppe and Lidia Rivetti. They’re big on the idea that the best wines are made in the vineyard, rather than in the winery, and take as minimal of a interventionist approach as possible toward all their wines. Each bottle of La Spinetta bears a pencil drawing of a rhino, and there’s a very good reason for that! Historically, the rhinoceros has always…

Funny January 5, 2012

Pairing Wine with the Cast of Jersey Shore.

REEEEEPOST!!! This is another post that never made it over to the website from when I had it redesigned over a year ago. I promise I’ll keep posts of this nature (i.e. low in substance, high in humor) few and far between! It’s just a little fun… In case you’ve been under a rock, here’s a quick summary of what Jersey Shore is all about: Jersey Shore is a reality television series on MTV that…

News January 5, 2012

What They Don’t Teach You in Sommelier School.

Lately I’ve started realizing that my wine knowledge has been slipping. How could that possibly happen? Well, I did just turn 31, so maybe dementia could be setting in early; but personally I think the truth is that I just don’t seem to use what I had drilled into me from the Court of Master Sommeliers and the Society of Wine Educators. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly not knocking these fine institutions…well maybe…

Reviews January 3, 2012

Four Vines Old Vine Cuvee Zinfandel, California

Grape Zinfandel, but there’s probably very small amounts of a few other grapes thrown in there, also… Facts Four Vines was established by a guy named Christian Tietje, who originally started out as a chef in Boston. In the 90’s he moved to San Francisco, with big dreams of becoming a winemaker (as you do). From there, he cut his teeth as cellar-master at Carneros Creek in Napa, and furthered his wine education under “Wine…

Funny, News January 3, 2012

A Round Up of 2011

I thought it only appropriate to close out 2011 with a post that summed up the whole year. So this is it. Right here. I would like to give a big thanks to everyone who has continued to follow my progress. This website is a lot of fun, but I wouldn’t have the passion to do it if I didn’t think people were getting some pleasure, and maybe a little information out of reading it….

Funny, News, Pairings December 30, 2011

A Redneck Christmas.

Christmas is a CRAZY time for most people, and I’m no exception, therefore this post has taken a few days to get together. I hope you all (or should I say “y’all”, with an English accent) had a great Christmas! It just seemed to zip by, well, at least did for me! It feels like we only JUST put our tree up! Now we have to take the bloody-thing down again….Christmas was soooo much easier…

Reviews December 29, 2011

Black Slate Priorat, Spain, 2009.

Grape 46% Garnacha, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 2% Syrah. Facts Ahhhh Priorat! My favorite of all Spanish wines! I tasted my first Priorat back in 2005, and I remember it being my true-awakening to Spanish wine! I’ve since come around to enjoy the majority of styles coming out of Spain, but I will say; if you’re a “New World” wine drinker (i.e. everything from outside of Europe), Priorat is going to be…

Facts, Funny December 27, 2011

What Your New Year Wine Resolutions Should Be…

Drink more bubbles. Self explanatory… Give Riesling a chance. It ain’t all as sweet as you think! Buy at least one bottle of wine each month from a grape, or region that you’re not familiar with. Open your mind! Do a little research on a wine before or after you drink it. I’m here to help! Buy from small, local, independent wine retailers. Will their prices be a few $’s more expensive? Maybe. Will you…