Taking the world one wine at a time.
As you more or may not know, for the last few days I’ve been at the Wine Bloggers Conference in Charlottesville. An awesome experience overall; sampled lots of great wines (some crappy ones as well), met tons of great people (most of whom I’ve been talking to over the last couple of years on Twitter/Facebook), and enjoyed the company of a number of wine bloggers / marketers I happened upon for the first time. …
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Grape 100% Montepulciano [Mawn-teh-pool-CHA-noh] It’s a fun grape to say, especially if you do so with a really bad Italian accent. Say it with me: “Montepulciano!!!” Facts I hope you’re paying attention, because this is going to get tricky for a second! This wine is made from the Montepulciano grape; however there is ALSO a town called Montepulciano in Tuscany, which as it happens is nowhere near the Abruzzo region where this wine hails from….
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Probably about the same time that you are reading this, I will have started my short journey from Jacksonville up to Charlottesville, Virginia; the destination for this years Wine Bloggers Conference. This is the first time the conference has been held on the East Coast, and I’m psyched that I can finally manage to make it! I’ve attended countless wine tastings in my time “in the industry” but never anything on the scale of…
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Grapes 83% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Syrah, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot Facts Good God I love this stuff! Probably my favorite all time Merlot, and not just due to the cool bottle! It’s also probably my most recommended wine for someone looking to give a bottle as a gift. The Handprint Merlot can really be considered the signature wine out of the whole Meeker lineup. Each bottle is touched…
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Following on from my previous post, this is the second part of my Virginia Viognier tasting. Barboursville Vineyards Viognier General Tasting Notes: No oak, but they leave this one in contact with the lees (dead yeast cells) in order to give the wine added complexity. Medium in body, the standard Viognier notes of peach and apricot are certainly there, backed a little sourdough and a decent amount of acidity; to give the Barboursville…
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Gallo’s Growing Barefoot Brand Is No. 1 Sutter Home is No. 2, while total domestic retail wine sales increased 7% in June. E. & J. Gallo Winery’s fast-growing Barefoot brand remained No. 1 in retail sales for the 52 weeks ending June 13, with $255 million in sales. With Carlo Rossi ranking seventh in sales and Gallo Family Vineyards ninth, the Gallo company owns three of the top 10 brands. Two other Gallo…
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This last Thursday (7/14/11), I was given the the unique opportunity to participate in a wine tasting unlike anything else I’ve ever been involved with before. The tasting itself actually ties in quite nicely with my coming trip to this years Wine Bloggers Conference in Charlottesville (details to follow). All the wines were indeed from the great state of Virginia. Now I don’t know about you, but for me Virginia, when I think about it…
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This article is part of Gary Vaynerchuk’s Feature from his Daily Grape website. Grape :100% Romorantin Rating: 90- Points Price: $16 MSRP Gary’s explanation why: Anyone who has watched my wine shows over the last 5+ years know that I’m constantly pushing people to try new and different wines. This wine may transcend that mission better than any other. Romorantin is an ancient varietal dating back to the 15th century, and François…
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There’s been so much flying around the Internet with regard to Google’s new social service (Google +), that I thought it warranted a quick post. I don’t want to drag this article out too much, after all this is a wine website; but with me taking such an active interest in social media, I thought it was worth letting you know some of my insights: Google seems to be listening to its audience (customers), unlike…
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Grapes 30% Grenache 70% Pinot Noir – kind of a crazy blend, but you could have guessed that something about this wine isn’t right by the label… Facts In case you were wondering, the wine doesn’t come with its own stick-on moustache, but what a genius marketing idea! I should patent that! The Hold Up is a new project by the self-proclaimed Rhone Gang: Louis Barroul from Chateau St. Cosme, Paul Chaudiere from…
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1. Ohio – It is illegal to get a fish drunk. 2. Alaska – In Fairbanks, AK, it is illegal to serve an alcoholic beverages to moose. I’m pretty sure Sarah Palin had nothing to do with this law… 2. New York – According to the New York State Liquor Authority, you can buy wine, wine glasses, wine stoppers and corkscrews at a liquor store, but the state of New York prohibits them from selling…
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Oh, this was a good one! Last week I picked up a small bundle of cedar planks from the Riverside Arts Market here in Jacksonville; kind of an impulse purchase really since I’ve never actually cooked anything using cedar planks.The recipe I selected to test out my newly acquired planks was admittedly the first one I found after throwing “Cedar Plank Salmon” into Google. Luckily it panned out! The recipe itself is very simple; just…
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