4Vote!
Purple Liquid (Free subscription) | 11/19/2009
It's dark and cold outside and I have a bottle of wine that should warm me up: a 2006 St. Francis RED that was recently sent to me by Kobrand Corporation . The wine, made by St. Francis Winery , is a proprietary blend of 48% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Syrah, 3% Zinfandel and 6 % Mixed Blacks (Cabernet Franc, Grenache, Alicante, Malbec), from Sonoma County. “RED is for all red wine lovers...
3Vote!
Grape Sense - A Glass Half Full (Free subscription) | 11/17/2009
This summer I fell in love with Spain and Portugal's albarino wines. I think I have a new lover! Rob and Ashley at Cork and Cracker in Indy have recommend Cote EST a couple of times and I bought a bottle on the first or second recommendation. Note: They are persistent, having recommended it a couple of times since. This is a French white wine blend that is really a fabulous wine for a mere $11. It's...
3Vote!
The Winedoctor (Free subscription) | 11/16/2009
Super-concentrated fortified Grenache from Roussillon.
7Vote!
Crunchy Con (Free subscription) | 11/14/2009
Is it too early to start planning our menus? I don't think so. The newspaper food sections this week were about Thanksgiving, and Julie and I are making a trial run today, cooking for family we won't get to see on the actual holiday. Yesterday I was listening to a favorite new podcast, Lynne Rossetto Casper's "The Splendid Table" (which is a public radio program), and it really got me into...
3Vote!
Wine Notes from Arizona (Free subscription) | 11/13/2009
Full yellow. Deep nose of jellied white fruit, pear, peach, popcorn. Deep, in the extreme, in the mouth. The popcorn/sulfide density here recalls nothing less than a great Marcassin Chardonnay. In fact, this would be a great ringer in a tasting of CA's best Chardonnays. Lifted and incredibly deep, with an underlying minerality that cuts through enormous concentration. Holy shit on a stick. Doug Levy...
3Vote!
Cooked and Bottled in Brunswick (Free subscription) | 11/12/2009
The regular readers of this blog are well aware of my constant avoision of anything starting with Shiraz and ending with Barossa on the label. Yes, I am a lush when it comes to Pinot Noir, aren’t we all? And then there is Champagne; am I not human, do I not bleed when cut? It is true that I have been called a lot of things over the journey, but Shylock is not one of them. It was a conversation...
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Purple Liquid (Free subscription) | 11/12/2009
Last month, I was lucky to be in Paris just in time for the harvest festival in Montmartre . The Montmartre hill used to be a small village completely covered with vineyards. A temple dedicated to Bacchus, the god of wine, was built there by the Romans. But in the early 20th century, the vines were completely devastated by the phylloxera epidemic, as well as urban development. Fortunately, in the early...
3Vote!
Washington Wine Report (Free subscription) | 11/10/2009
Back in the Rain City... As I write this, rain is falling in Seattle, and it was snowing on the way over Snoqualmie Pass this afternoon. Winter has arrived in the Pacific Northwest. Stops in the Walla Walla Valley yesterday included Gramercy , Trust , Chateau Rollat , Castillo de Feliciana , Reynvaan , and El Corazon . Gramercy Cellars was pouring wines in the Big Apple Wine Tasting Circus, a tent...
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@wedwardes - wine for spice etc. (Free subscription) | 11/09/2009
Tim Atkin in The Observer wonders: Why have alcohol levels crept up, and which wine regions offer lighter styles? Tim points out: Since I started writing about wine in the mid-1980s, alcohol levels have increased by 1.5% to 2% across the board. Why? Partly because growers pick later and are more selective in the vineyard, throwing away green bunches, but also because of climate change and the love...
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THIRSTY BIRD WINE BLOG (Free subscription) | 11/09/2009
‘Fiercely independent’ Yalumba, Australia’s oldest family-owned wine company, was showing a fabulous line up of the classic Aussie blend, Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz as well as single varietals at Waterstones, Piccadilly. Whites were also in the room with Viognier and Riesling excellent, plus a quartet of that long-neglected treasure, fortified Muscat, here taking on a tawny port cameo...
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Artisan Wine on a Budget (Free subscription) | 11/08/2009
This is an innovative blend designed for easy and early drinking: 30% Shiraz, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Grenache and 20% Mataro (Mourvedre). The color is dark, but there is no indication from the color or smell that the wine has had very much, if any, new oak treatment. The aromas blend nicely--Shiraz black fruit and spice, Cabernet blackcurrants, Grenache strawberries and nice hints of purple flowers...
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Repository of Useless Information (Free subscription) | 11/07/2009
I have for some time been quite fascinated by Las Alpujarras - largely because I haven't really been able to find out much about the area! Arabic Spain has for almost half a century been one of the passions of my Arabic teacher, and apparently some of that interest has been contagious. But still, even the etymology of the name "Alpujarra" (or Las Alpujarras or Alpuxarra) is uncertain. I think...
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blind tasting club (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
White wines from Southern France aren't only light summer wines. Such as Rhône wines they can be aromatic and powerful, simply outstanding. So naturally I didn't hesitate to bring back 2 wines from Montpellier when I stopped there this summer, trusting the recommendations of a wineshop owner in the city. Finally I got the opportunity to open them. 2007 Les Mûriers, Mas Bruguière...
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WINE IN SWEDEN (Free subscription) | 11/03/2009
This wine is a blend of Shiraz, Grenache, and Mazuelo. Colour : Dark red, blue hues Aroma : Spicy, plums, cherries, rum Taste : Plums, raisins, sour cherry, acidic finish, rum Alcohol : 14% Price : 115 SEK Mark : C Website : Cellers Unio
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Australian Wine Review (Free subscription) | 11/03/2009
Woop Woop The Black Chook 'Free Range' Grenache Shiraz Viognier 2008 (South Australia) $18, Screwcap, 15.0% Made to sell. Made to make tons of everyday drinkers very happy with their purchase. Made to appeal to just about anyone who likes red wine to be rich soft & juicy. Arguably it's a critter wine, but its a very smart one, with standout packaging & a reasonably clever back label. Arguably...
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