My blog has moved!

yes it's true, I am technology challenged. In my efforts to move to WordPress, I somehow lost my Blogger address of lusciouslushes.blogger.com. I don't know how. The blogspt addy is now
thealusciouslushes.blogspot.com, but please go to the new WordPress blog, which is still at my domain address of www.lusciouslushes.com or lusciouslushes.com and the RSS feed is http://lusciouslushes.com/feed/
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Happy reading,

Thea The Wine Brat

Wine Bloggers Conferenece Day 3 Recap!

What happened? Where did it all go? Damn that flew by. Day 3, the final day of the Wine Bloggers Conference. Am I awake? Well...sort of.

I enjoyed a nicely greasy IHOP breakfast with the man himself, Joel Vincent, Megan Wannabe Wino, Dirty South Wine and Doug from Able Grape. Nothing like carbs and sugar to cure a hangover! Err I mean an energy slump.

Back at the Flamingo, as tempting as it was to veg by the pool again, I ducked in to the Unconference just in time. The few stragglers that made it to the morning session really deserve extra credit, since it was the end of a pretty intense weekend. Michelle Lentz, my new BFF, led round tables of the hot discussion topics from the WBC. there were mini sessions recapping the breakouts from Saturday, and there were also new topics, such as Twitter / Social Media, Organic Wines, and Most Surprising Thing.

I spent a few minutes at the Should Bloggers Post Negative Reviews sessions and heard some interesting feedback in both directions. Personally, I don't have the time to post about every negative wine that I taste. That said, I will absolutely post something negative if it was really terrible or really surprising, but I do try to have a balanced approach to my blog. However, my blog is about really terrific wines. I don't write about mediocre wines, or the mass produced wine I had at a friends party. What do you do? Do you post all reviews? Do you post only good reviews? Do you post negative reviews? Vinquiring minds want to know.

After that, I found myself being drafted in to the Twitter table. Apparently, I have been nominated Twitter Queen of the WBC. Do I get a crown? Please? I have found Twitter and other social media tools to be very valuable in terms of networking and getting to know more wine bloggers. As both a wine blogger and an employee of a wine related business, it is critical that we find new ways to market and get the word out. Some key points of the Twitter discussion were Twitter social etiquette, introducing new members, getting started, and how to separate your business from your personal Twitter life. One of the most important lessons for Twitterers to understand is that it is a tool. I fyou abuse it, you will be unfollowed. If you are not giving as much as you are getting, then you are not going to be a member of the club for very long.

Moral of this speech? Make sure if you meet new wine bloggers, and they are on Twitter already or they are going to get on Tiwtter that you do them the courtesy of announcing them to your followers. This allows them to gain a small following to start with, and they can earn additional followers based on the content they are tweeting.

After the Unconference, it was time for the final tasting and lunch. The final tasting was a Luxe Tasting, where 6 Sonoma vintners of ultra premium wines poured their wares on the hungover leftovers of the WBC. I tasted:

• 2004 Medlock Ames Alexander Valley Bell Mtn Cabernet -0 huge classic AV cab. Rich chocolate, cherry, tobacco, earth. Actually had 1/2 a glass of this at lunch.
• 2006 Flowers Chardonnay - creamy, rich & spicy, lots of oak but citrus burst.
• 2007 Flowers Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir - little aroma, bored me
• 2006 Jordon Russian River Chardonnay - rich spicy nose, refreshing lemon &Y pineapple
• 2004 Jordan Alexander Valley Cabernet - blend of Cab Sav, Cab Franc, Petite Verdot, Merlot. Smokey earth, quite tannic
• 2004 Montemaggiore Dry Creek Valley Syrah - Meaty, black cherry. Cab blend.
• 2007 Siduri Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir - herbaceous, lighter quality pinot. nice spice and red fruits.
• 2006 Siduri Terra de Promisso Pinot Noir - Dark cherry, rich, cola. This was my other 1.2 glass at lunch

After the final lunch, the conference concluded. What a great weekend! I was so happy to meet so many people that I only knew from the Twitterverse. I would like to personally thank everyone involved in making this such a memorable first Wine Bloggers Conference!

Pictures and thoughts on the rest of my Sunday wine excursion, after the WBC, will be up next!

Wine Bloggers Conferenece Day 2 Recap!

After spending the morning resting, eating and blogging, I was finally ready to get back in to the WBC action.

Or so I thought.

After perusing the options of breakout sessions, like Beyond Blogging, Increasing Visitors, and the dreaded Wine Blogger Credibility issue, I decided that I would rather be a fly on the wall and headed to the pool to hang with El Jefe and Sonadora instead. Corey from Inertia Beverage Group came by too!

We managed to create a pretty hoppin' Anti-Conference, where several of us were enjoying the Twitter conversation regarding the breakouts from afar while enjoying some wine in the gorgeous weather.

By 5, the party was in full swing as the entire conference joined our BYOBG (bring your own bottle and glass) party poolside. After our soiree, we headed in to the Grand Sonoma tasting where many of my favorite wineries were pouring, including Willowbrook and Inman Family, two pinot producers that have stolen my heart. And taste buds. And wallet.

Finally, we got on the bus for dinner at Sebastiani. That's right, we were on the cool bus, aka bus #2, with our brave driver Gina. Gina successfully guided the rowdy bunch to Sebastiani in Sonoma, where we had dinner and the keynote by Alice Feiring.

After dinner, the Brave, The Proud, The Truely Twisted were invited to an after party in the Oak Room, where Doug Cook from Able Grape let loose with a plethora of amazing and aged Italian wines from his personal collection. Lenn Thompson also brought out the rest of the Long Island and Finger Lakes wine from the previous nights after party, to be enjoyed by any one who could still keep their eyes open.

Unfortuntely, I only lasted through the first 5 bottles of wine before I had enough and passed out in my room. It was only midnight. Eeeesh.

The next day, up WAY WAY WAY too early for my taste, is another story! More to come of course, as the Wine Bloggers Conference has been a great success and great fun for all.

There will be more pictures rest assured, although I have been told I am not allowed to publish some of them ;-)

Lest I forget...

After being shushed more than once, I have to give a shout out to Table 11 at dinner because we were:

• The Loudest
• The Goofiest
• The Twitterist
• The Funnest
  
• And BESTEST
  

table at dinner!

Love to El Jefe of Twisted Oak Wines, Sonadora aka Wannabe Wino, Russ The Winehiker, Josh the Pinotblogger, and the new friends made at dinner!

Incidentally, Josh and Lenn Thompson of Lenndevours deserve a massive thank you for a great tasting of Long Island and Oregon wines last night. Palates smashed, I still found some Long Island and Oregon wines to love. Too bad I didn't push Randy in the pool thought ;-)

How much fun did we have? We'll let's just say that I was laughing so hard I forgot to take notes and there was nearly a wine spit up accident every 5 minutes.

Now that I am relatively well rested and full of a Bacon Omlette from Hank's Creekside Cafe,

BRING IT ON!

Wine Bloggers Conferenece Day 1 Recap!

Yesterday was the first day of the first ever American Wine Blogger's Conference, held in Santa Rosa at the historic Flamingo Hotel. You can catch up on the action by using Twitter Search and the hashtag #wbc.

It started out so well, with a welcome lunch at Kick Ranch, a lovely piece of property just east of Santa Rosa, overlooking the valley.
While there, we were given the opportunity to taste several wines grown on the property. Yummy!

After lunch, we headed back to the hotel for the Live Blogging Session. Let me just say, madness ensued! One we got past the technical glitches, 14 wineries played round robin running from table to table. They had 5 minutes to talk, and we had a minute or so to respond via Twitter, our Blogs or some other method. Here is my rundown of the tasting:

1. Bonterra Organic The McNab Menocino blend 60% Merlot, 26% cab, 14% petite. Dark fruit. Loganberry with chocolate on top! Dusy spice easy drinking.
2. 2007 Lionheart Roussanne has a very carmellly characteristic. Creamy custard, lemon, tropical fruit...guava and peach
   
3. Yellow + Blue = Green Malbec in a Tetrapak 1 liter container. Thin but a lot of spice. Leather dark blue frut.
4. 2007 James David Dry Muscat honey floral melon with tangerine quite refreshing actually
5. 2005 Clos LaChance Estate Cab quite a sweet note to the Clos La Chance Cab. This wine could use decanting. Cassis and spice. Only 1200 cases made! Classic cab. Rich velvety. A little dry, needs some time chocolate, coffee
6. Four Bears Cabernet smoke, tobacco, earth. A little merlot and Petite Verdot blended in. It has a lot of cedar, and menthol to it. but the price point is RIDICULOUS as in CHEAP for this level of quality.
   
7. Small Vines Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is concentrated deliciousness. Very rich biodynamically farmed, with very limited production. It is concentrated smoky earth, with a healthy Dr. Pepper zing followed by pomegranate...leather...baking spices. Stands on it's own. Lingering finish that i adore. So named Small Vines because most vineyards are planted 1000 vines per acre but Small Vines only has 250 vines per acre.
8. Kanzler Estate Pinot Noir as the classic richness of RRV pure cherry cola - fizzes like a wild cherry pepsi! Kanzler Estate Pinot rich style, Russian River / Sebastapol Hills micro AVA.
   
9. Cupcake Central Coast Chardonnay is so nice and not overly oaked. 50% new american oak gives it such a light crispness and well balanced acidity on the finish, very French in style.
10. Dark Horse Zinfandel treborce Vineyard spicy rich raisens
    
11. 2006 Twisted Oak The Spainard Smokey deliciousness! I cannot say enough great things about Twisted Oak. Not only am I twisted by nature, I am now addicted. Egads!
    
12. Boho Central Coast Chardonnay Bag in Box funk on the nose creamy lemon not very oaky. LEMON.
    
13. Bink Pinot Noir Weir Vineyard is not a shy wine. This is a BOLD wine not for the faint hearted. Spicy cinnamon, candied apple, strawberry. Yorkville highlands rich cheery and red fruit.

After the marathon live tasting, some of us went to the New Zealand tasting (not me) and some of us went ot a Dry Creek Zin tasting (me!). While I pretty much knew all of the zins being poured, it is always fun to get ot know the people of Dry Creek.

After the tasting sessions, dinner finally arrived. The Winegrowers of Dry Creek generously provided the wine being poured, and we slurped our way through a very nice Dry Creek Vineyards Sav Fume blanc, Quivera Grenance (mmmmmm), Truett-Hurst Red Rooster Zinfandel, and Michel-Schlumberger Cabernet. There was also a Pedroncelli port. Yowzer!

My only complaint of the entire day was that dinner was...less than satisfying. Dear Flamingo folks, when someone asks for a V-e-g-i-t-a-r-i-a-n option, that odes NOT mean bring them dry overcooked fish swimming in cream sauce! Grumble.

Special thanks to Gary Vay-ner-chuck for taking time out of his crazy schedule for coming to talk to us, FOR FREE. More to come from Day 2 ahead!

After such a full day, I neglected to get up in time for the Vineyard Walks so i am drinking gallons of coffee in preparation for this afternoons lively discussions and tonights tastings.

Cheers!

Live Tasting Session from the WBC!

Upon the advice (Ok, not advice, just post) of fellow wine blogger Joe of 1WineDude fame, I am going to give this crazy piece of thechnology a whirl.

Dunno if it will work, but stay tuned for the WBC to find out!

Holy Blogger Failure Batman! What I was trying to say before I was so rudely interrupted was...

On Friday October 24th at 3:30pm PT, the attendees of the WBC will be participting in a whacky tasting event where 14 winereis will pour in a round robin tasting.

Bloggers will have 1 minute to respond LIVE to the wines, and then interact with the vintners. Should be fun!

If I can get this toy to work, tune in for live updates!

W! B! C! TTL!

What is with all of these letters? WBC? TTL? How is a wineaux to decipher such things!


First things first, let's talk about TTL. Twitter Taste Live is a live event, where the Twittersphere tastes & types about the same wines, and the same time. it is about connection the bloggersphere around the world, and conducting a giant social experiment about what drives trends in wine, and encouraging us to gain knowledge about consumer tastes.

During the event, we will be guided through 4-6 different wines, and post our Tweets, with the tag #ttl. This will enable our hosts, Twitter Taste Live, to log these directed Tweets on the TTL home page, so we can all follow along. If you haven't yet registered for Twitter, I would encourage you to do so. There is a large community of wine lovers, bloggers, and professionals who are actively using Twitter as a mass communication tool and you can learn a great deal in new social media.

This month, we will be walking through the wines of Jed Steele. Jed Steele was the founding winemaker, general manager, and VP of Production at Kendall Jackson at its inception, and now makes his own wines out of his facility in Lake County.

For this adventure, we will be tasting:

• 2006 Shooting Star Aligote (WA)
• 2006 Steele Pinot Blanc
• 2006 Steele Chardonnay
• 2006 Shooting Star Blue Franc (WA)
• 2006 Steele Pinot Noir (Carneros)
• 2006 Steele Zinfandel (Pacini Ranch)

For your best source to find these wines, please contact Bin Ends Wine, who is offering this tasting pack for the ridiculously low price of $90. But you better hurry! Time is running out to get your tasting pack before next Thursday. The tasting is on Thursday, October 23rd, at 4pm PT. Yes, I realize this is early for us Left Coasters, but upcoming tastings will be on weekends to accommodate the global nature of this event.

The Twitter Taste Live event is held every month, so please go to Twitter Taste Live and click on the Upcoming Tab for information on the next theme. If you have ideas, please post them! We have the 89 Project tasting, a Blogger's Pick tasting, suggestion for Walla Walla tastings, and more! This is where the bloggers take over, so please, let's hear your voice.


The other exciting bit of news is that one week from today, the FIRST EVER Wine Blogger Conference kicks off at the Flamingo Resort & Conference Center in Santa Rosa.

I cannot tell you how excited i am to have the opportunity to meet 159+ other wine bloggers & professionals in this arena. While I have met several of you in person through my wine travels, there are so many that I know virtually and have not yet have the opportunity to meet in real life.

A huge shout out to Joel Vincent and the Open Wine Consortium Team for putting together this amazing event.

Furthermore, this conference will give us all the opportunity to not only taste some amazing wines, but also to have some discussions about where the wine industry is headed in the 21st century, with the advent of Wine 2.0, Web 2.0 and beyond technology, as well as the saavy wine drinker.

Some of the highlights of this event include:

• Tour of Kick Ranch, one of the most exciting growers in Sonoma County
• Live Blogging sessions
• Keynotes with Gary Vaynerchuck & Alice Feiring, two controversial figures in the wine world today
• Breakout sessions on topics such as:
  
• Increasing Visitors to Your Blog
• Beyond Blogging – New Technologies and Social Media
• Wine Blogger Credibility
• Making Money from Your Blog
• Blogging for Your Wine Business
• Wine Industry & Blogger Interaction



Although this year's conference is sold out, even over sold, this promises to be the first of many in North America.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Everyone say it with me!

Albariño (/ˌal.baˈɾiː.ɲo/ – Galician) or Alvarinho (/ˌal.vaˈɾiː.ɲo/ – Portuguese) is a variety of white wine grape grown in Galicia (northwest Spain) and northern Portugal, where it is used to make varietal white wines.

I've decided recently to refocus my efforts on my Century Club application, and really expand my international knowledge of wine as well as tasting more California varietals.

Last night at dinner, we opened the 2007 Bokicsh Albariño (Mokelumne River), which was a sample provided to me by my friends at Wine Q.

This Albariño is produced in Lodi, a hot growing region in Central Californian which has recently become a hot bed of Spanish varietal production. While Lodi has long been known for producing some of the States most prized Zinfandels, the Spainairds are invading this hot dry growing region, with some amazing results.

Bokicsh also produces another Albariño, as well as Garnacha and Tempranillo, two classic Spanish varietals, among others.

This Albariño was a lovely aromatic white wine that had a lot of citrus aroma. It was a rich golden straw color, that really shone in the glass. I smelled lemons, lime leaves, and a touch of earth. I tasted a burst of citrus flavors, like grown up lemonade, with a twist of lemon rind, followed by an interesting hazelnut character. Because it is 100% stainless steel fermented, you don't see any oaky or toasted notes like you would in many other California whites. The nutty flavors are a component of the wine itself.

We all really enjoyed the mouthfeel of the Albariño , which was not light but not heavy. It coated the palate with the rich flavors, and had a long finish.

While i really enjoyed this wine, i think it could have been even better if we served it with the spicy Middle Eastern fish dish we were having with dinner. The bright acidity and citrus flavors would have cut through the spiciness nicely, and really complimented the fish.

88...89...90! Ready or not! Here I come!

What's the point? What IS a point?

10 point scales, A-F Grades, 5 star systems. How do we rate wine? Is it right? Is it accurate? Could it be, *gasp* subjective?

Dhonig, our illustrious host of 2 Days Per Bottle, has kicked off the 89 Project, a community blog where wine bloggers everywhere can contribute their notes on 89 point wines.

Are they undervalued? Are they amazing Are they crap?

Head on over and read my first contribution!

I'm a wineaux, but am I a foodie?

Yes, we all know I love my wine. And vodka. And other fermented products. But, do I love my food?

Inspired by the Wannabe Wino's post on this topic, I thought I'd see how well my drinking habits match up to my eating habits.

Have you had these things? Does this make me a foodie?

According to the rules of the game, for this list:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at Very Good Taste linking to your results.

1. Venison BAMBI? NO way!
2. Nettle tea - Surprisingly good when in the Outback and cold.
3. Huevos rancheros - breakfast time!
4. Steak tartare - I just don't eat cow. Sorry.
5. Crocodile EWWW!!!
6. Black pudding - Tried it but did NOT enjoy it.
7. Cheese fondue - yum yum YUM! All day all night. First experience was in Switzerland!
8. Carp - Love fish, so yes.
9. Borscht - DA!
10. Baba ghanoush - I prefer other Mediterranean specialties, but...
11. Calamari - It has to be perfect, otherwise tastes like a rubber band to me.
12. Pho - Delicious! I have Pho at least once a month if not more.
13. PB&J sandwich - Who hasn't! But, what kind of jelly?
14. Aloo gobi - I had to Google this one. I am going to say I've had it since I eat Indian a lot.
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses - another one I had to google so nope. Never had it but not opposed to trying as it is CHEESE!
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream (Yummy in my tummy!)
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese - um ICK!
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet Pepper - I prefer to keep my taste buds in tact, thank you.
27. Dulce de leche - ohh creamy caramel goodness!
28. Oysters - these came to be late in life but OH my god. ORGASMIC if they are right!
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda - umm nope, don't know what that is.
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl - A San Francisco Tradition!
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float - love love love a good float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar - cognac yes, cigar? NO!
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo - but not with shrimp.
40. Oxtail - ick
41. Curried goat - ick
42. Whole insects - DOUBLE ICK
43. Phaal - too spicy for me
44. Goat’s milk - sadly. I was raised on the stuff.
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more - Show me the way, to the next Whiskey Bar!
46. Fugu - no thanks. I like to be alive the next day.
47. Chicken tikka masala - LUNCH!
48. Eel - too squirmy!
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut - mwhhhaffffahhhahff. Oh sorry. My mouth was full.
50. Sea urchin - err don't do sqirmy things.
51. Prickly pear - never have, but I'd be game!
52. Umeboshi - okkkkay
53. Abalone - See entry for snail!
54. Paneer - Cheese!
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal - well I don't eat beef, but if you thrown in a chicken sammy, I'm there.
56. Spaetzle - High on a hill there's a lonely goat herd, yodeelleeaaheeoddleaayyyeeehoooo
57. Dirty gin Vodka martini - I'm a dirty girl
58. Beer above 8% ABV - wheeeeeee
59. Poutine - SOUNDS good, but the pictures are well...less than appetizing.
60. Carob chips - what can I say. My parents thought they were hippies.
61. S’mores - 8 years of summer camp baby!
62. Sweetbreads - why!
63. Kaolin - not really sure why I would but seems innocuous?
64. Currywurst - again. WHY?
65. Durian - P.U.!
66. Frogs’ legs - KERMIE!!!
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake - all of the above are fried food heaven!
68. Haggis - tried really hard to try this, but the smell. Barf
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette - no thanks. Really.
71. Gazpacho - I don't really know why I haven't had this.
72. Caviar and blini - not really interested in the fish eggs thanks.
73. Louche absinthe - The Green Fairy doens't appeal to me, I'm crazy enough as it is.
74. Gjetost, or brunost - Like I said, my parents are strange.
75. Roadkill - you are kidding right?
76. Baijiu - looks like vodka to me!
77. Hostess Fruit Pie - BURP!
78. Snail - no thanks. I don't do slugs.
79. Lapsang souchon - I love tea almost as much as I love coffee, which is not as much as WINE!
80. Bellini - many many many Bellini!
81. Tom yum - yum is right!
82. Eggs Benedict - with really good bacon. Amazing with bottomless mimosas!
83. Pocky - nto yet anyway
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant - i WISH!
85. Kobe beef - no moo! no mooooo!
86. Hare - no fwuffy bunny wabbits! nOOOOO!
87. Goulash - DA!
88. Flowers - if you're goinnnng to eat in San Francisco...be sure to havvvve some flowers on your plate
89. Horse - no f'ing way. That's just nasty. NASTY!
90. Criollo chocolate - chocolate a plenty, so I'll add this one to the list
91. Spam - Ya brodah! Hang ten!
92. Soft shell crab - sigh. Allergic.
93. Rose harissa - sauce is sauce right?
94. Catfish - MEOW
95. Mole poblano - viva Mexico!
96. Bagel and lox - Breakfast of champions!
97. Lobster Thermidor - allergic to shellfish so oh well
98. Polenta - with tons of good Gorgonzola, it's like heaven in a bowl
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee - ohhhh so so very tasty
100. Snake - not on your LIFE unless I was lost in the woods

In South Australia I was born

Heave away, Haul away!
In South Australia 'round Cape Horn,
We're bound for South Australia!

As you might have guessed, this post is about Aussie wines. A week ago, I was able to attend a fantastic tasting presented by South and The Jug Shop in San Francisco.

South is a wine bar in SOMA that specializes in wine & food from Down Under, and I love it. I've picked out my favorites (ok, fine, the wines I purchased) to write about, since there were so many to drink that night and I lost track of my tasting notes at the end! The Traveling Winemakers of the Country Vintner is a road show of Aussie offerings (with one New Zealand host for good measure). This wine event gave us Yanks an opportunity to taste some smaller production and country vintner examples in a fun format, at a small venue.

We tasted a large variety of wines, from five wineries from all over Oz - Pemberton and Denmark, way out Western Australia-way, over east to South Australia's Adelaide Hills, a few clicks north to the Barossa Valley, then across the Tasman to NZ's famed Marlborough district.

• LOOSE END - Barossa Valley, South Australia

Loose End gets my Gold Star winner of the night award. Rob's GSM blend was stunning and RIDICULOUSLY affordable! The 2005 Loose End GSM Blend retails for $16, and is a smooth ripe blend of 43% Grenache, 30% Shiraz, and 27% Merlot. For a full bodied red with dark fruit and spice, you cannot beat this for the money.

The other wine that Loose End poured was a classic Aussie Shiraz. Typically, I am not a huge fan of the Barossa Shiraz that we get here in the states, mainly because I find them over oaked and over manipulated. This was the exception to the rule. The 2005 Loose End Barossa Shiraz Viognier blend is fermented on 4% of Viognier grapes which gives this wine a beautiful aromatic quality and softens the hard edges you can sometimes find in Shiraz, and shows blackberries, chocolate and and earthly backbone.

• Vinaceous Wines & West Cape Howe - Denmark, Western Australia

Vinanceous wins for Best Label Design. In addition, the content of those bottles were AMAZING!

The 2006 Vinaceous Red Right Hand blend of Syrah, Grenanche and of all things Tempranillo, was unusual. It showed as a juicy red, with some interesting spice and great body. I also enjoyed the Snake Charmer Shiraz. While more expensive than the Loose End, at only $24, this was an affordable wine as well.

The other label produced by this winemaker, West Cape Howe, had a lovely Unwooded Chardonnay that was really creamy and delicious without having that overpowering oak characteristic. I don't drink very much white, but I really enjoyed this wine with its crisp & juicy flavors, topped with some mineral and citrus. For less than $20, you can drink this at a Barbie, a picnic, or at the beach.

I could go on for days here, but these were my favorites. Thanks so much to South & The Jug Shop for their hospitality and great wines! Please stop by The Jug Shop to pick up your own Down Under in a Box and if you're in San Francisco, check our their tasting events HERE!

East we go!

My what a weekend! With my cold on the wane, I was looking forward to a weekend full of friends, wine, and sunshine. This did not disappoint!

Saturday brought an open house at 4 local urban wineries in Berkeley, which has spoiled me for choice with the East Bay Vintners Alliance. This collection of 13 urban micro-wineries provides people BART-able access to premium wineries, without worrying about driving around. For me, it's a 15 minute buzz across the bridge to some really amazing sips.

I was met by my fellow Wineaux Liza and Xandria of the Brix Chicks
Brittanay & Marshall of Wine Q
Russ from California Wine Hikes
for a day of lovely wines and laughs.

• A Donkey & Goat Winery
  
• dept. C Cellars
  
• Eno Wines
  
• Broc Cellars

Starting out at A Donkey & Goat, I particularly enjoyed the Three-Thirteen GSM blend. I am a huge fan of the Grenache-Syrah-Mouvedre blend, and always savor a change to taste more. This example showed tons of spice, particularly nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper. I also tasted rich dark fruit, and a tiny bit of cherry cola at the finish.

I also enjoyed the Fenaughty Vineyard Syrah, which is co-fermented with a touch of Vinogner, which gives it a floral aromatic that is simply divine. This syrah is a rich dark purple color, and is full of smoke & leather, like my grandfathers old club chair. The first sip showed blueberries, blackberries, and baking spices.

In the same space, Dept C is another microwinery within a winery. Here, Pinot Noir is the specialty and we tasted a Pinot Gris rose, a barrel sample from Santa Cruz Mountains and a Santa Lucia Highlands example.

After a relaxing hour or so, we headed a few blocks away to Eno Wnies, on Camelia. I ahve been a fan of Eno since my friend David, the Wine Pimp, introduced me to Sasha and his juice a few years ago at a festival in San Franciso. Let's just say I have never been disappointed! At Eno, the Never Say Never Pinot Noir is a rich but light pinot characteristic of it's home in Santa Lucia Highlands. A touch of Russian River Valley mingles the flavors and gives this wine an earthy aroma with spicy cherry and dark red fruit YUM is what I can conclude! I of course, left with 2 bottles.

Continuing at Eno, I also love the Yes Dear Greanche. This Grenache comes from one my new favorite vineyards, Eaglepoint Ranch, which has been providing it's Mendocino fruit to some of the most well known names in Sonoma. This is a juicy strawberry of a wine, and has hints of herbs. I love it because it's so easy to drink.

Housed in the same space, Broc Cellars who was pouring 2 Grenaches and 2 Syrahs. The first Grenache, Dry Stack, was a nice fruity Greanche but wasn't overpowering. I found a lot of strawberry flavors, with subltle oak. The 2nd Grenache was VentanaVineyards, and was also a classic example of Grenache. This was a deep red color, with lots of spice and darker fruit than the Dry Stack. I of course, took home one of each.

The Broc Cellars Cabernet was a steal at $20 and was a great way to start off after a refreshing Rose.

So many wines, so many good times! Stay tuned for a report on Lost Canyon!

In Celebration of no more Shrubbery!

Yes yes I'm a day late, and a dollar short. That said, this month, we have a special theme for Wine Blogging Wednesday #49.

In light on the current political climate and the impending election, David Honig of 2 Days Per Bottle has asked us to toast to the end of this madness we call the Bush era.

What will I drink to toast this momentous occasion? It certainly will not be something to honor the President, although I will be celebrating his demise.

If Obama wins the election, as I hope he does, I will be toasting with a lovely bottle of Champagne. The current candidate is Perrier-Jouët NV Brut, which my friend Liza the Brix Chick brought over to my house before an event on Sunday. In this tasty sparkler, I found creamy toast, hazelnuts, and a lemony backnote. Ahhh refreshign!

IF however, my worst nightmare comes true and McLame & Caribou Barbie win this freak show, I will be drowning my sorrows in some good single malt scotch as I drive up to the border to escape. My favorite single malt thse days is Glenmorangie Sherry Cask, but that, is another blog post me thinks!

Happy drinking!

Tweeps, Eats, and East Bay Drinks!

Wow what a busy week this has been! Where have the last two weeks gone? I can't find them. Have you seen them? Hmm might have to look under my chair, or in my stair, over here, over there. In recent happenings, fellow wine bloggers met to taste through several delicious wines. From left to right: Marshall & Brittney of WineQ, (@wineq, @wineqt), Ward of WineLog (@drxeno), Farley, late of Behind the Vines and currently of Rosenblum Cellars (@WinePoet), Megan of Wannabe Wino (@sonadora) and Russ of California Wine Hikes (@winehiker). Togeter, we had some great wines and great dinner and talked blogs, politics and wine!

The following day, Brittney, Megan and I headed up to Michel-Schlumberger in Dry Creek Valley, where we were treated to a tour of the vineyard and an amazing tasting afternoon. Judd led us through the organic garden out back, before taking us up the hill to admire the grapes as well as the view. After scrambling down a few hills (yes I'm a girl, and wasn't wearing hiking shoes), we headed in to the luxe Club Room to taste through their current offerings.

Highlights for me were the Pinot Noir and the Syrah, but the library reserve vertical of Cabernet Sauvingnons was amazing too! I confess, I was being lazy, somewhat induced by a cold, so i didnt' take great notes. Head on over to Wannabe Wino for a complete report shortly!

Amazingly, we spent over 2 hours enjoying our day, and were somewhat remiss in keeping our lunch date with Patrick of Iridesse Wines (@oenophilus) at Bovolo in Healdsburg. Once there however, we were all drooling over the multiple forms of bacon offered. Three of us ordered the decadent Carbonara, which was served with black pig bacon. And of course, we had a side of bacon to go with that!

After lunch, the girls and I headed across the street ot Stephen & Walker, before heading to the south end of town. After Stephen & Walker, we headed south to Longboard Vineyards, where we were fortunate enough to hit a clearance sale on their 2005 Syrah which was only $15. For a daily drinker, I really enjoyed this wine with a rich & earthly character, balanced by dark fruit and spicy cola. I also picked up a bottle of the Dakine Syrah, which is the reserve offering. I especially enjoyed the Dakine for winter sipping in front of the fireplace.

After Longboard, we continued to the south end of town to the Front Street Five, a collection of small wineries. Here we stopped at Huntington and Camelia Cellars.

I have always enjoyed Huntington's Petite Sirah, but this time I purhcased a reserve Merlot for fall sipping. At Camelia, they had a lovely soft Sav Blanc called First Kiss, so I brought some of that home too.

You can find all of these wines by using Vinquire my favorite search tool!

After two full days of tasting and laughing, I was ready for a good rest! After all, I needed to be perky for my next few wine activities!

Stay tuned for reports on those. Happy drinking!

My Vie en Rosé

Even though I'm really a red wine girl, the weather has been so sweltering recently, I have been enjoying quite a bit of cold white as well.

Today, I am cracking open the Ceja Bella Rosa Rosé, which is a beautiful clear deep hibiscus color.

This lovely bottle was a sample sent by my friends at WineQ, with no deadlines or strings attached ;-)

Upon opening, I smelled strawberries, as if I were running through a field of wild ones. The first taste reminded me of those strawberry sodas from when I was kid, but in a good way! It also had a ton of tart cranberry and juicy ripe fruit, with a crisp finish touched by raspberries.

Perfect for a still warm summer evening!

Find this wine now on Vinquire or Wine Q!

Where has the summer gone?

Gracious what happened to the summer months? I feel like a kid who's summer vacation has been cut short. Fortunately, we get a late summer out here in San Francisco, but it is amazing that it is already September 1st.

Yesterday being the Sunday before an extra day off, I took the opportunity to cruise up to Dry Creek with some wineaux friends. Little did we know that Trentadue was having a 50% off sale, and my friend stocked up! Their La Storia line has always been a favorite of mine.

This being a new month, I thought I'd take the opportunity to tell you about a few evetns coming up:

September 13/14
Spotlight on Zinfandel in Kenwood
Seven Heart of Sonoma Valley wineries are participating. Enjoy wine tastings, verticals, barrel sampling, select discounts, educational seminars, and more!

1. Eric Ross Winery
2. Family Wineries
3. Kenwood
4. Kaz Winery & Vineyards
5. Loxton Cellars
6. Muscardini Cellars & Ty Caton Vineyards
7. The Wine Room
8. VJB Vineyards & Cellars

September 14
Country Vintner tour at South, brought to you by The Jug Shop
Rob "Gibbo" Gibson with LOOSE END
Nick "Kilo Man" Stacy with WEST CAPE HOWE
Barbara "The Law" Lawson with LAWSON'S DRY HILLS
Peter "The Adelaide Longhorn" Saturno of LONGVIEW VINEYARD
George & Liz "The Country Duo" now on tour with PICARDY


Sept 20th
Release the Spaniard Dinner -at Twisted Oak Winery
Being a recent convert to the Twisted Few wine club, I decided this would be a fine opportunity to visit the Murphy's area to do a little wine reconnaissance. Since I haven't been there since I was prospecting for gold in high school, I am looking forward to a grown up tour of the area.
Some other wineries in the area that we will try to taste at are:

• Black Sheep Winery
• Bodega del Sur Winery
• Brice Station Winery
• Broll Mountain Vineyards
• Chatom Vineyards
• French Hill Winery
• Frog's Tooth Winery
• Hatcher Winery
• Indian Rock Vineyards
• Ironstone Vineyards
• Laraine Winery
• Lavender Ridge Vineyard
• Milliaire Winery
• Newsome-Harlow Wines
• Solomon Wine Company
• Stevenot Winery
• Tanner Vineyards
• Twisted Oak Winery
• Vina Moda Winery
• Zucca Mountain Vineyards

Pinot Envy indeed!

Last night I had the opportunity to attend a New Zealand Pinot Noir tasting of Calvert Vineyard wines at The Jug Shop. Being a pinot-phile, and planning a trip to NZ next year, this was a terrific opportunity for me to hone my Pinot tasting skills.

NZ is pumping out some amazing Sauvignon Blancs and Pinot Noirs these days, and the Central Otago region, located on the southern end of the South Island has been cranking out some amazing examples.

The tasting offered three wines produced from the same vineyard, in a variety of styles, all from Calvert Vineyard. For you wine geeks, you can see a block map here.
Calvert Vineyard Block Plan


2006 Felton Road
This was the first wine we tasted, and right off the bat I tasted red fruit, cola, and cherry. It had an earthy backnote, with a hint of violets.

This was a fruit forward wine, and did not show immense oak.

2006 Pyramid Valley
This wine was ever so slightly different than the Felton Road, with it's woody flavors and increased chewiness.

The difference was in the handling of the fruit, which was 100% destemmed and whole cluster fermented for 15 months in French Oak. This extra time in the oak added the texture and complexity.

2006 Craggy Range Calvert Vineyard
This is an example of an over extracted Pinot Noir done well; yes, it was a rich and bold wine, and not a delicate flower, but we all loved it and it clearly has a cult following if only 2 cases are imported in to the US.


These wines are difficult to find in the States, and I was happy to be able to take advantage of The Jug Shop's tricky negotiation skills to taste these gems. I even left holding in my hot little hands, a promise of delivery for a three-pack of these treats. How could I ressit? With only 2 cases imported of the Craggy Range, it is an excellent opporutnity to do a horizontal tasting of some of the world's hottest new growing regiosn.

Hey, if your wines were this good, woudln't you keep them for yourselves? I know I would!

A Rosé By Any Other Name is...

A Cabernet! This is not your mother's Rosé. You will not find any sweet pink punch here my Luscious Lushes.

Yes, it's true. My favorite Rosé at last night's Pretty in Pink tasting, hosted by my friends at Bottlenotes, was the 2004 Croze Vin d'Une Nuit, Rose of Cabernet Sauvignon.

This wine was a stunning deep rose red color, and really stood out from the lineup of 6 different Rosés. I found intense flavors of strawberry, blood oranges and pink grapefruit with a nice tang. I loved this rose because of its juicy red fruit flavor, but also because of its beautiful color. It was magic in the glass.

Croze gets its amazing color from Cabernet Sauvignon, which is an unusual variety to make rose with. This wine is made in a traditional French style, and the name Vin d'une Nuit means "wine of one night" because the the juice & skins are only soaked for a single day. This is what gives the Croze the amazing color and undertones of a big Cab. This wine is best enjoyed ice cold, since it releases more flavors and aromas as it warms in the glass.

I also particularly enjoyed the 2006 Pretty Sally Rosé, an Australian concoction that was also a deep pink color, although not as ruby as the Croze. The flavors exploded with raspberry & watermelon, with a tinge of strawberry.

Other wines that were being poured were:

• 2006 Sullivan Pink Ink from Napa
  
• 2006 Wild Rock Vin Gris Rosé, a really lovely rose of Pinot Noir from Central Otago
• 2006 Two Wives Rosé, from Napa

The moral of this pink story? Go out and try some pink!

And speaking of Roses...

As I sit here and have my morning dose of Twitter, the illustrious Agent Red of The Wine Spies pointed out that their deal today is a delectable little number by Chandon. Since I do love my Blanc de Noirs, and pretty much anything with bubbles, I will have to give this one a try.

Which reminds me. This Thursday, August 14th (that's tomorrow folks!) is Pretty in Pink at Jovino in San Francisco. Hosted by BottleNotes, this is your chance to taste some lovely Rosé wines paired with foods for the occasion! What are you waiting for? Sign up and join us!

For details, please click HERE!

Wine Blogging Wednesday #48, Back to our ROOTS!

It being the Olympics, when I think of Roots, I think of those silly berets they made us wear the last time around. That said, I was looking forward to this WBW because Lenn asked us to "get back to our roots".

When first reading the theme, one might think I was going to go to the grocery store and stock up on Sutter Home White Zinfandel (and no Lenn, that is NOT really wine it is Cool Aid for mommies) or Almaden Chablis, but no! I strongly protest! For me, my roots are in Sonoma County.

Growing up in the Bay Area, my family would often take weekend drives up the coast, or in to Petaluma to look at the chickens. Yes, we city girls know what chickens look like. When I got older, I decided to go to college in Sonoma, since it was just far enough away from home for me to not kill my parents, but close enough to the city to have some fun.

That being said, I was first exposed to wine when working for Windsor Vineyards one summer. Granted, it was only in the office and was not terribly exciting since I was the receptionist in their corporate sales office, buy hey - we had weekly wine tastings! Since I wasn't a huge drinker in college, this was eye opening for me. What better way to prompt the sales team to sell custom labels for corporate gifts than by getting them liquored up! Poor fools didn't know what they were in for. Once I started drinking wine, I never stopped; as my parting gift at the end of the summer, they gave me a case of wine to go. Not bad!

When I moved back to the city, I was broke and making $10 an hour. Needless to say my habit for Long Island Ice Teas was not supported on such a meager income. I ask you, what can you do that is free, but allows you to enjoy the fruits of nature? Wine tasting of course! Thus began my weekly forays in to Sonoma Valley and Dry Creek Valley to imbibe in the good juice. In the 90s, Sonoma was still up and coming and no one, I mean NO ONE charged for tasting. Since my friends and I were all broke, there was nothing finer than a free glass of wine-a!

One of the first wineries that stole my heart was Peterson, nestled between Dry Creek Valley and Alexander Valley. Before it moved in to it's current digs on Dry Creek Road, Peterson would occasionally open it's barn doors and share it's wine right out of the barn door. I instantly fell in love with it's "I'm going to make wine my way and I don't care" attitude, as well as the rich, jammy zinfandels Peterson produces. As a newly minted wine drinker, the full bodies and slightly sweet style of red wine is easy to love. Many of these wines lack some complexity, but are thoroughly enjoyable as sipping wines. Fortunately, as my palate matured, so did many of these wines. You can now find a vast array of complex, spicy, fruity wines all over the valley at every price point.

For this Wine Blogging Wednesday, I cracked open the 2004 Bernier Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. I had picked up this bottle a couple of weeks ago on a whim, since I hadn't tasted Peterson's zins in a while. Classic in it's Dry Creek characteristics, there were tons of blackberry brambles kissed by Oak, with lush jammy flavors wafting up from my glass. This wine was purchased at the winery for $26 but can be found elsewhere for as little as $20.

While my current infatuation has been with Pinot Noir, my budget has been impacted by gas prices and I have had to curtail my wine spending a tad. It's great to knwo that you can still pick up a decent bottle of zin for under $50!

Pretty in Pink

Summer is here (in some parts of the world) and the weather is heating up. This is particularly true in the East Bay, where I happen to spend my weekdays.

Some things I love about summer are:

• -Peaches
• -Tomatos warm from the sun off the vine
• -BBQs
• -and sitting outside on a warm afternoon, sipping a nice dry Rosé wine!

Since there are so many different types of Rosé, I have started to drink more to explore different territories. One of my strategies this year at Family Winemakers is to taste some new ones to add to my cellar list.

As it happens, my friends at Bottlenotes are hosting an event here in San Francisco next week all about Rosé. If you're not familiar with Bottlenotes, they are an online wine club that you can customize to suit your tastes. Each time you recieve a wine, you can rate it, and you get future selections based on these. It's kind of like your suggestions list on Amazon. Pretty cool!

Rosé wines and paired appetizers from the The Little Black Apron Cookbook (purchase from Amazon.com below)

will be served on Thursday, Thursday, August 14 at Jovino on Union.


Click here for details and to make reservations

See you there!

Bottle Shock REVIEW

Last night I was lucky enough (OK, so I paid) to attend the San Francisco premier of Bottle Shock as well as a modern day interpretation of the Judgment of Paris.

Prior to the screening, we convened at Crushpad to taste 5 chardonnays and 5 Cabernet blends, to see if the current results would match or best the original 1976 tasting. At the same time, i wanted to present myself with a personal challenge and see if I could (accurately) guess which wines being tasting were French, and which were from California.

First, my tasting results, as compared to the crowd's popular vote at our recreation, and the results in 1976.

First, my results:

Chardonnay
My Place	Wine #	Popular Vote	Origin?
1st	Wine 2	2nd	France
2nd	Wine 5		CA
3rd	Wine 4	1st	CA
4th	Wine 3		France
5th	Wine 1	2nd tie	CA
Cabernet
My Place	Wine #	Popular Vote	Origin?
1st	Wine 6 but it was a very close battle with my 2nd place winner	2nd	CA
2nd	Wine 10	1st	CA
3rd	Wine 7		France
4th	Wine 9		CA
5th	Wine 8	3rd	France

Now that you're wonder what the hell these wines were, here are the actual bottles we tasted (and if they were tasted in '76, where they placed:

Wine #	Wine	Crushpad Result	1976 Result	Origin
Wine 1	2005 Gustavo Thrace	2nd (tie)	-	CA
Wine 2	2005 Girardin Meursault Charmes Du Dessus Premier Cru		2nd	France
Wine 3	2005 Puligny-Montrachet Clavillon Domaine Leflaive Premier Cru		8th	France
Wine 4	2006 Chateau Montelena	1st	1st	CA
Wine 5	2006 Freemark Abbey Winery	2nd	6th	CA
Cabernet
Wine #	Wine	Crushpad Result	1976 Result	Origin
Wine 6	2004 Freemark Abbey Winery Bosche Vineyard	2nd	10th	CA
Wine 7	2004 Chateau Mouton Rothschild		2nd	France
Wine 8	2004 Chateau Montrose		6th	France
Wine 9	2004 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars SLV	3rd	3rd	CA
Wine 10	2004 Ridge Monte Bello	1st

So now that I've completely confused you - a question:
Are palates demographically and attuned? It it in our genes to like particular wines, or is it what wines we have been given as we are training our palates?

Now! On to the movie! First, let me tell you how important it is to be able to bring wine in to the movies, particularly if the movie is, well, about wine.

Fortunately, the Sundance Kabuki has a wine bar with balcony seating, that allows you to order wine and food for your enjoyment in the theater. You might think that this is sacrilege, but what better to go with a campy soap opera treatment of the wine wars than a nice glass of wine & a nibble? They have done a great job revamping this San Francisco institution, and include soft liek seating with cocktail tables every two seats int he balcony. For all this cozy atmosphere, you only pay $1.50 plus food, which brings the ticket price to $11.50. Doesn't seem like much more than the Metreon if you ask me, and I'd pay that anytime. The wines by the glass could use a little help, but the food was quite tasty.

Bottle Shock needs to be viewed with a grain of salt. The producers were on hand to give us the backstory, as was Bo Barrett and Gustavo Brambila two of the main characters in the film.
I take this movie to be a reality TV show type spin on the true story of Chateau Montelana as well as Beau, his father Jim.

Telling the story of the 1976 Paris tasting requires a certain amount of camp treatment, and the producers were given creative license to...well...enhance their characters. What this amounts to is the portrayal of Bo as an ambition-less hippie at odds with his father. Yes, most of this is actually true, but the over the top performance of Chris Pine as Bo and Alan Rickman as British wine merchant Steven Sperrier just add to the hilarity.

My favorite moment in the movie was when Rickman takes a sip of the Montelena Chardonnay and makes a face as if he is eating dirt since he can't believe that this California swill could possibly be a palatable solution to the French domination in the wine market.

Take it for what you will, part soap opera, part realty TV. I loved it, just as I loved Sideways and give it 5 Chardonnays.