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WBC #1 Round up posted and WBC #2 Announced!
2008-03-08 17:15:00
Our host for the first edition of the WBC was David of McDuff 's Food and Wine Trail. He chose the book Vino Italiano as a massive tome for our first rendition of the book club, and the turn out was fantastic! 25 people participated and wrote reviews of the book. You can head on over to his blog to read the round up from all of the participants.Next, the announcement for WBC #2 is up! Our host for the second WBC is Tim of Winecast. Time has chosen a much less daunting task in the form of the book Noble Rot: A Bordeaux Wine Revolution by William Echikson. You can read all the details over here on Winecast, but the long and short of it is: read the book, write a review, and post it on your blog or send it to Tim at winecast@gmail.com by April 29 in time for our next book club meeting.Now, Noble Rot is less than a third of the size of Vino Italiano, so no excuses about the length this time! Let's keep the momentum from the first WBC going and get an even bigger turnout next mon...
More About: Books , Round Up , Round

Hiding in the Basement
2008-03-07 13:29:00
Sometimes wine just gets lost in my basement. I don't know how it happens, because I'm fairly vigilant about entering my shipments into CellarTracker as they arrive, but, as you know, the best laid plans....So that is how it came to be that this bottle of 2004 Alderbrook Chardonnay somehow escaped me. It's possible it's been hiding down there for almost 2 years now. I found it the other night when looking for a Zinfandel that I SWORE was down there, but alas, I could not find. Perhaps I have wine elves that move things around just to drive me nuts. Whatever the case may be, this wine had a real cork, clocked in at 13.5% alcohol by volume, and cost us $14.80 either in a club shipment or at the winery.On the nose I found apple, pineapple, slight cream, and oak spice. In the mouth, the wine was crisp with a bit of oak. I got flavors of lemon and apple. This was a simple Chardonnay, not too oaky at all, which is good, I don't much care for the oaky ones, and was an easy wine...
More About: The Basement

Jessie's Grove
2008-03-06 12:39:00
Note: This will be the first in a series of posts on the wineries I discovered at the D.C. International Wine and Food Festival.On my second day at the festival, I stopped by the booth for Jessie's Grove Winery, a family owned winery located in Lodi, CA. I had 3 hours of trade tasting ahead of me, and this was my second stop for the day. Since I was at the festival the moment the doors opened, I felt like I had more leeway on the second day to stop and chat and learn more about the vineyards.The owner was at the festival by himself pouring the wines and was kind enough to spend quite a while talking with me about his winery, though he told me that his mother is the family historian and has actually written a book about the family and the winery. The family has owned the property since 1858 and has some of the oldest vineyards in the US, with the oldest vines sill producing having been planted in 1889. Talk about a winery that might actually make a claim on "Old Vine" for their la...
More About: California

WBW #43-Comfort Wines
2008-03-05 12:29:00
First off, a hearty congratulations to our host for this month, Joel, of Wine Life Today. He and his wife welcomed a brand new baby girl to their family last Thursday, so I can only imagine how hectic things are in their house at the moment! But wine life lover that he is, Joel is pushing forward as our host for this month!WBW was created well over three years ago now, by Lenn of Lenndevours. The idea is that once a month, bloggers and often non bloggers will come together around a wine theme and all drink a bottle that matches the theme criteria and post about it. Every month is hosted by a different blog, whose owner picks the theme and will do a round up of the posts after the event is over.This month, Joel set us to an interesting and thought provoking theme for me. He asked us to pick a wine that is a comfort wine for us. Something that we love to drink, that lets us relax, and perhaps invokes something in us that makes the wine and experience special.The theme required a bi...
More About: California , Zinfandel , Wines , Comfort

The Rain In Spain Falls Gently On The Plains
2008-03-04 12:45:00
The wine for the evening was a 2006 Gazur Tempranillo Ribera del Duero from the Compania de vinos Telmo Rodriguez. I purchased this bottle from Domaine547 for $14.99, it had a real cork closure, comes from Spain , and clocked in at 13.5% alcohol by volume. I got the recommendation for this wine from Jill, the owner of Domaine547. She has yet to steer me wrong with a bottle, and I was again pleased with this wine.On the nose I found blackberry, raspberry, other red fruits that I couldn't place, spice, and leather. I almost swear I can smell the tannins on the nose of the wine! I also thought the nose had a very juicy aroma. In the mouth, the blackberries were the dominate fruit, big and juicy blackberries, as if I had picked them fresh from the farm. I almost thought I tasted a bit of blueberry after the wine had been in my glass for a while.The wine had lots of fruit flavors, but also showed enough tannin that I think you could keep it around if you didn't want to drink it righ...
More About: Rain , Plains , Falls

A VA Cab Franc I Like
2008-03-03 12:39:00
I do not care for Cab Franc much, at least the ones I've had produced here in the states. They are often thin, acidic, vegetal, and just not good. So it took me by great surprise that I liked this wine, and liked it enough to take a bottle home!The wine was a 2006 Rappahannock Cellars Cabernet Franc . It clocked in at 13.4% alcohol by volume, had a real cork closure, and cost us $22 at the winery minus a 10% discount. On the nose the wine was peppery, with vanilla, currants, and spice. It was just a little bit vegetal, but not in a bad way at all. In the mouth I found spice, earth, and currants. The wine was tannic, but as it opened up, I got flavors of tart blackberries in the wine.A VA Cab Franc I wouldn't hesitate to recommend!

DC Wine and Food Festival
2008-03-02 23:00:00
I am back from 2 days spent at the DC International Wine and Food Festival ! My lips are stained purple, my feet are killing me, and my hand is cramped from taking so many notes. I went on day one from 1 until about 5. One to two were the trade hours, and I would say I got the most done that day during that time. Once it opened up to the public it was much harder to get around, the aisles filled up and it was sometimes 4 to 5 people deep to get near the tables. I spent day one with John from Anything Wine which was great, it was fun to have someone to go around with and talk to as we were waiting or tasting! I was also psyched to meet John, I've been a long time reader of his blog and he is a frequent commentor here!Today I went by myself and pretty much only stayed for the trade hours from 11-2. Let me tell you, that was quite enough! I was going to stick around since it was open until 6, but I had visited a ton of booths, tasted many wines, and it got crowded the second they ...

Good Value Zin
2008-03-01 16:03:00
The wine was a 2005 Alderbrook Old Vine Zinfandel from Dry Creek Valley. It weighed in at 14.5% alcohol by volume, had a real cork closure, and cost $15.50!On the nose of the wine I found jammy dark fruit, blackberries, raspberries, vanilla, and smoke. In the mouth (either I was a little tipsy or I really thought the wine was fruity, because I wrote fruity 3 times in a row in my notes...) the wine was very fruity. Flavors of blackberries, raspberries, and currants dominated in the mouth.Overall, a fruity zinfandel with a bit of vanilla. Yum! Up there on the list of good Zins at this price point.
More About: California , Good

D.C International Wine and Food Festival
2008-02-29 14:05:00
Thanks to Craig Camp of The Wine Camp Blog for his assistance in getting me a press pass for this event!I will be attending both days of the festival, and look forward to visiting many of the over 200 wineries and vineyards that will be pouring their wines. I'm also hoping that John of Anything Wine will be able to attend as well, he was also granted press credentials, and it would be exciting to meet more Virginia Wine Bloggers! By the way, if you haven't been checking out John's blog, it's definitely one to add to your list.The D.C. International Wine and Food Festival is scheduled for this Saturday and Sunday at the Reagan Building in D.C. The festival features around 240 exhibitors, both of wine, spirits, food, and other related items. I found this short list of featured Wineries/Vineyards/Distributors but cannot find a full list. Anyone have any suggestions of places not to miss based off the short list?Also, anyone have any thoughts on strategies for tackling such a l...

Take Your Rubber Chicken to Work Finalist!
2008-02-28 12:27:00
Dear Readers,My photo for Twisted Oak's Take Your Rubber Chicken to Work Week has been chosen as a finalist!He's up against some pretty good competitors to win, so if you would, please cast your vote for Bob the chicken. Voting is at El Bloggo Torcido through March 4, and you can only vote once, so please consider Bob's photo, #3! Additionally, if you leave your email address with your vote, you will be entered to win a $20 coupon to Twisted Oak Winery.Thank you for your support, and go Bob!Sonadora
More About: Contests

Is it summer yet?
2008-02-27 12:47:00
Although I grew up in New England and didn't leave until about 5 years ago, I'm tired of winter this year. It hasn't even been a particularly bad winter here, and certainly not by the standards I was used to, but nonetheless, I want summer. So with that in mind I am pretending and drinking more Sauvignon Blanc .The bottle for the evening was a 2004 Mazzocco Sauvignon Blanc. It has a real cork, weighed in at 15% alcohol (holy smokes!), and cost us $14 at the winery.On the nose I found melon, grass, vanilla, oak, and lemon. I was surprised. I don't really remember tasting this wine at the winery, but I must have, and I usually don't care for oaked Sauvignon Blanc. In the mouth, the flavors were melon, lemon, grass, and lime. The wine was citrusy overall, but the oak gave it a really full body.
More About: California , Summer , White

Perhaps Better Late Than Never: WBC #1
2008-02-27 03:44:00
Our assignment for the first edition of the Wine Book Club (WBC) came from David of McDuff 's Food and Wine Trail. He tasked us with a book longer than any I have read in the last 5 years, unless you count Harry Potter and law school case books. Yes, this makes me less than intellectual, but honestly, I don't have much of an inclination to read any more. I got tired of it to be truthful, and I still read so much for work, that the thought of picking up a long book when I get home just doesn't appeal to me. I clearly read a bit, I've reviewed a few wine books here for you before, and will continue to do so as I get more from PR people and publishers (in fact, I've got one for you soon, I read half on the plane to Atlanta and intend to finish is Friday on the way home!). So I must say, I was actually quite glad when Dr. Debs proposed the idea of a wine book club. Like other wine geeks, wine books pile up on my shelves, and I really should get around to them!With that in mind...
More About: Books , Italy , Late

Technical Difficulties
2008-02-26 11:55:00
I am currently experiencing technical difficulties of an earlier than anticipated/scheduled meeting this morning (come on folks, it's before 6am my time, this is way before I am usually up and ready to go for the day) variety and of an internet connectivity variety.Please stay tuned, I do have a review of Vino Italiano for you for the first meeting of the Wine Book Club, and I hope to be able to get to a WiFi spot after my conference this evening and post it for you.
More About: Technical , Misc

Drink Up!
2008-02-25 14:13:00
The wine of the evening was a 2005 Michel Schlumberger Syrah from Dry Creek Valley. It had a real cork closure, clocked in at 14.9% alcohol by volume, and cost us $25 in a club shipment. It doesn't appear to be available on their website yet, so I have no idea what it would cost on its own.On the nose I found berries, cherries, jam, vanilla, spices, earth, and pepper!! The nose was very very fruity. In the mouth, the flavors were of berries, cherries, black currants, and pepper. The wine was smooth and incredibly fruity, much more so than I expect from a Syrah.Overall, the wine was slightly tannic on the back of the palate when we first started drinking but by the second glass, that was gone. The flavors really came out in the second glass, and the wine seems smooth and ready to drink. I wouldn't hang onto this one much longer if you have it in stock.
More About: California , Drink

Open That Bottle Night!
2008-02-24 16:55:00
I took quite a while in narrowing down the bottle I was going to open for Open That Bottle Night , after Farley alerted me to the event. I initially put out a few thoughts on which one I wanted to open in her post on OTBN, but hadn't quite decided exactly which one would fall victim to my palate this evening. We have several bottles that we are "saving," in that they are slightly more expensive than bottles we normally drink, and they came to us through different channels. I am always hesitant to open them, thinking I should wait.But I suppose that is the main goal of OTBN. Get down in your cellar and pull out a bottle you've been hoarding, and make an occasion of a random Saturday night in February. After some thought and deliberation, I settled on the 2000 Cyrus from Alexander Valley Vineyards.Matt and I picked this bottle up on our honeymoon, and it is quite a bit more pricey than our usual bottle, so we'd been letting it sit in the basement, thinking we'd find some special...
More About: California

Virginia Chardonnay
2008-02-23 17:45:00
The wine for the evening was a Linden Vineyards 2005 Avenius Chardonnay . It clocked in at 12.8% alcohol by volume and had a real cork closure. This was a gift from a guest at our PS tasting back in December.On the nose of the wine I found pear, oak, butter, and toast. Or perhaps buttered toast. In the mouth the flavors were entirely of pear and apple. The wine had a slightly oily mouthfeel, and the flavors were smooth.Overall I thought this was a well done VA white. It was not overpowered by the oak and butter that I found on the nose, but seemed to have just enough oak to give it a full body.I served the wine with spaghetti carbonara, a recipe I was trying for the first time. I'm not sure if it was the recipe, or if I did something wrong, but it was quite dry. I don't expect my carbonara to be creamy per se, but this was just dry. I got the recipe from my Silver Spoon cookbook. I don't think I'll try that one again, but I will keep looking for a good recipe, carbonara is...
More About: White , Virginia

WBW #43-Comfort Wines
2008-02-22 22:51:00
Our host for this month is Joel, formerly of Vivi's Wine Journal fame, but currently of Wine Life Today and OpenWine Consortium fame. Not to mention he's got a new baby on the way within a few weeks! Talk about a busy guy.Anyway, he's come up with a new twist for this month: Comfort Wines . Your task? Simply pick any wine you love to unwind to and tell us about why it's a comfort wine for you on March 5! This one will be a bit difficult for me...I don't really return to the same bottle over and over again. So I'll think on this one for the next few days to figure out what to drink!All the details are over here on the Wine Life Today blog.Also, don't forget that the new WBW logo contest is still ongoing. Details here.Open That Bottle Night is tomorrow! So dust off that bottle you've been hanging onto and drink it tomorrow night (or day or morning, whatever your inclination)! You can find more details here.And, one more reminder, the Wine Book Club's first "meeting" on...

Is that a Rubber Chicken?
2008-02-20 13:55:00
My rubber chicken came to work with us today, and hopefully had a good time. He got a little bored on our 40+ minute commute into the city and tried to drive, but Matt was having none of that.Now, I'm not sure how many of you have ever walked the streets of a major city carrying a rubber, chicken, but for some reason, people seem to stare at you while you do. And all my poor chicken Bob wanted to do was see the sights! It also makes people talk to you, something that doesn't happen a lot here.First he (my chicken is a boy, he's a little confused as to why he's a chicken) got a gander at the Washington Monument on his walk to work. He wasn't that impressed with the size, but I explained to him that it's much bigger than it appears.He didn't realize that the walk to work is 14 blocks, and he got tired, so he took a break on this lion while trying to see if any muckety mucks were at the Capital Grille this early.My chicken was utterly unimpressed with my cube, which may be th...
More About: Contests , Misc , Chicken , Rubber

Devil's Gotcha
2008-02-19 13:30:00
The wine for the evening was a 2006 Devil's Corner Pinot Noir which I served in our schmancy new Reidel stemless glasses. The wine hails from Tasmania, clocks in at 14.5% alcohol by volume, screw-cap closure and cost me $16.99 minus a 10% case discount at The Winery in Old Town Alexandria. I've never had a wine from Tasmania before!On the nose the wine was spicy and herbal, with leather, pepper, oak must, and perhaps a tiny bit of cherry, but that was barely there. In the mouth I found tart cherry, raspberry, leather, and earth. The wine was tannic, so perhaps it needs a little more time to mellow out.Overall, a decent Pinot Noir for the money.

A Different Kind of Wine
2008-02-18 20:21:00
*Disclaimer: I received this bottle of wine from Bottlenotes as part of a sample pack.Several months ago (okay, perhaps more like 6 months ago) a PR firm for the wine club and online wine store Bottlenotes contacted me and asked if I would like to participate in a blogger trial of their online wine club. They gave me a credit which I could use to join any of their many clubs for a few months. After perusing the options, I chose the Dinner Party Club for 3 months, 2 bottles at a time. Though I must admit, I was sorely tempted by the Little Black Dress Club, I was curious about a wine club geared toward women and touted by the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow!The concept behind the Dinner Party Club is just that, a dinner party worth of wines in a box. Though I would guess to get the full experience you would have to go for a larger shipment than the 2 bottle one, since that would give you the whole meal!I had to ship the club to my parents' house, since at the time (not sure if that's ...
More About: Wine , South Africa , White , Sauvignon Blanc

A Barbera Kind of Month
2008-02-17 16:54:00
I picked up this bottle of 2006 Ruvei Marchesi di Barolo Barbera D'Alba at The Winery in Old Town, Alexandria for $18.99 minus a 10% case discount. It clocked in at 13% alcohol by volume and had one of those terrible plastic cork closures. On the nose I found cherries and leather. The nose was sweet with spicy undertones. In the mouth I got flavors of dark cherry and spice. The wine was lighter in the mouth than other Barbera's that I've had. It didn't have as much going on as similarly priced bottles either. It was a nice quaffing wine, but look for other bottles in the same price range that offer a better value.
More About: Italy , Month

WBW #42- Round Up Posted!
2008-02-16 17:42:00
Andrew over at Spittoon has posted his round-up for WBW #42 Just Seven Words. Apparently he was trying to rival me in how fast one could get a round up posted! ;)So head on over and check it out, lots of participants and interesting takes on the assignment, plus, Andrew is not sharing what wines people drank, just their seven words, so you will have to click through to discover what wine the words represent! Thanks again to Andrew for hosting this month!Also, just a quick reminder that the contest to design a logo for WBW is still on going, with several great prizes now available for the winner. Stop by Wine Blogging Wednesday for all the details!As always, I'll let you know as soon I know what the next theme will be!
More About: Round Up , Round

I don't know where I got this wine
2008-02-16 17:31:00
Literally, I have no idea. I usually write these things down, but it had no price tag on it, which makes me think it didn't come from The Wine ry. I think perhaps my brother gave it to me for Christmas, I know he gave me two bottles of wine, but I have several Italian reds of unknown origin, and I don't remember which one was from him! See, I told you I'm losing my mind!Anyway, the wine as a 2003 Camp' du Rouss Coppo Barbera D'Asti. It looks like you can find it for about $18 online, it clocked in at 13.5% alcohol by volume, and had a real cork closure.The wine had a deep and bitter nose. It showed a little barnyard funk, but it blew off quickly. A little fruit, but it comes and goes, raspberry, blackberry, and dark cherry. The nose was leathery, very leathery. In the mouth, I found red raspberry, a little spice, and leather on the back of the palate. Overall the wine was smooth, a tiny bit tannic at the finish, but well integrated. The flavors were dominated by the leather. ...
More About: Italy

Losing Pictures (and my mind apparently)
2008-02-15 19:18:00
Disclosure: I received this bottle of wine from Wine Q as part of my Beta Club Membership.I swear I took a picture of this wine. I remember taking the pictures. But it's not on my memory card or loaded into my computer, so I'm stumped as to what happened to it. Apparently this is the week of lost wine pictures.In any case, the wine was a bottle of 2006 Jeriko Estates Rose . It can be purchased from WineQ for $12.99 (and free shipping if you spend $35), it clocked in at 14.1% alcohol by volume, and had a real cork closure. The wine is from Mendocino and is organically produced as are all wines from Jeriko Estates.On the nose I found strawberry, lime, and kiwi. I wish I had my picture, I especially recall noting the cool salmon color of this wine. You'll have to deal with the giant stock photo courtesy of WineQ though! In the mouth the wine showed strawberry, lime, and watermelon.Overall, the wine was quite fruity, but it had good acidity and structure so the fruits weren't ...
More About: Pictures , California , Mind

More Dessert Wine
2008-02-14 22:41:00
And just a very quick review as I seem to have misplaced the picture for this bottle!The wine was a 2005 Bella Vineyards Late Harvest Zinfandel from Big River Ranch Vineyards. It clocked in at 14.5% alcohol by volume, had a real cork closure, and cost us $20.40. I can't recall if this came in a club shipment or if we picked it up at the actual vineyard.We drank this for dessert on Christmas (did I mention that I got really backlogged on wines over December?) with various cookies and puff pastries. On the nose I got blackberry and spice. The nose was sweet and very pungent. In the mouth, it tasted like blackberry wine and was quite sweet.
More About: California , Wine , Dessert

WBW #42 Just Seven Words
2008-02-13 12:46:00
Wine: 2005 Carpineto Dogajolo Dry Red Table WineCost: About $12 at The WineryAlcohol Content:13%Closure: Real corkLocale: Tuscany, ItalyBlend: 80% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet SauvignonMany thanks to Andrew of Spittoon who is hosting this iteration of WBW, with the theme "Just Seven Words ." Andrew asked us to choose an Italian red, any Italian red, and put our tasting notes into just 7 words that are grammatically correct.My 7 words:Riding horses through eucalyptus and berry fields.

Invasion of Domaines
2008-02-12 17:24:00
Two quick reviews today, of two wines from different Domianes!First up, the 2005 Robert Martin Saint Veran Domaine de la Denante from France . I picked this bottle up at The Winery in Old Town Alexandria for $15.99 back when BrooklynGuy was hosting Silver Burgundy wines from Macon for WBW. It was going to be a potential contender for my post for that WBW, but I am glad I chose the other bottle instead. This bottle clocked in at 13% alcohol by volume and cost me $15.99 minus a 10% case discount. On the nose I found lemon, vanilla, oak, and asparagus. Yes, you read that right, asparagus, it was unmistakable. In the mouth the wine was oaky and I only found lemon. This was a very dry white wine, and not very complex.Next up, a 2005 Domaine Longval Tavel. This was a Rose , I picked it up at MV Wine and Spirit in Madison, CT for around $10, it clocked in at 14.5% alcohol and had a real cork closure. The alcohol absolutely dominated this wine and ruined it for me. 14.5% for a Rose i...
More About: Invasion

Big Dark Cabernet Sauvignon
2008-02-11 12:55:00
Even though this bottle of wine clocked in at 14.1% alcohol (which in my opinion, for a CA Cabernet Sauvignon is actually low) it was still a BIG wine. Kind of sad when I feel that 14.1% alcohol is low, but given that I have seen over 16% alcohol for some bottles, I would gather my perspective is a bit skewed, but that is a discussion for another day.The wine in question was a 2004 Souverain Cabernet Sauvignon from the Alexander Valley. It had a real cork closure and was purchased by my dad, so I don't know what he paid, but it looks to be available online for about $20. A word of caution, this wine needs more time in the bottle or a good decanting before you drink it.On the nose of the wine I found black cherry, blackberry, leather, and plums. In the mouth there were cherries and dark berries. The wine was tannic and the mouth didn't open up while I was drinking it, and I really only got the one glass since 6 of us were sharing the bottle!
More About: California , Dark

Polls Closed and 2 reminders!
2008-02-10 20:27:00
Reminder #1: WBW #42 Just 7 Words is coming up this Wednesday! So get your red Italian wine and your editing pencil ready, and be creative! I drank my bottle the other night, and I think I have crafted 7 words that capture pretty well what the wine is like.Reminder #2: WBC #1 (Wine Book Club) arrives in the blogosphere on Tuesday, February 26. The book is Vino Italiano and it is a long one, so if you haven't started reading, get cracking! I am not very far along, but am making progress every day, so hopefully I will make it through by that date!And finally, the 2nd poll of Wannabe Wino readers has closed. The question this time was "How many bottles of wine do you keep around?" The slight winner, with 8 votes and 23% of the vote goes to 40-100 bottles, with 0-15 coming in a close second with 7 votes and 20% of the vote. Apparently, quite a few winos read the blog, with 6 of you voting for "Please don't make me count, I don't have that many fingers and toes." 34 people tot...
More About: Poll , Polls , Closed

More Wine from the Coppola Estate
2008-02-09 18:15:00
My Dad was on a real kick of wines from the Francis Ford Coppola Vineyards while we were visiting CT. I think he had gone a tasting at a local place and that was what they were serving, so we had a least a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Rose while there. The Rose was better than the Cabernet, but I still stand by recommending the vineyard as a place for lunch and the views over the wine. In case you haven't tasted in the Russian River Valley, Alexander Valley, and Dry Creek Valley areas, there aren't exactly many food options for lunch unless you want to head into downtown Healdsburg and leave the tasting trails! We mostly ate lunch at the Dry Creek General Store, where Matt swears by the potato salad. However, when you are tasting for a week + in the area, it's nice to change it up and have something different!In any case, the wine. The bottle was a 2006 Sofia Rose Francis Ford Coppola Carneros Pinot Noir Rose. It had a real cork closure and clocked in at 12% alcohol by volume....
More About: Estate , California , Wine