Podcasts about wine blogging wednesday

Jeff Lefevere and I return to review the top wine stories of the past month including tongue-twisting wine names, a disturbing wine manifesto, trends in wine marketing, the stellar 2009 Bordeaux vintage and much more. Hosts: Tim Elliott and Jeff Lefevere Topics - If the wine is hard to pronounce, is it worth more? - Has wine lost it’s romance? - The Slow Wine movement - 2009 Bordeaux: vintage of the century? - Will drinking too much wine give you cancer? - Million Dollar Day for WinesTilSoldOut.com - Wine’s 2011 Report Card - Moet Hennessy aims for super-premium red wine from China - Are Americans’ Tastes Changing? - Wine discounting trends - Randall Grahm and The State of the Modest Winery - Follow-up on QR codes from last month Events - 2012 New York Wine Expo: March 2-4, New York City - 2012 World of Pinot Noir Tasting: March 2-3, Shell Beach, CA - Paso Robles Wine Country’s 2012 Zinfandel Festival, March 17, 2012 - Wine Blogging Wednesday 75, Single Vineyard, March 21st - Rhone Rangers, San Francisco, March 24-25 - For events near you check out Local Wine Events: http://www.localwineevents.com This podcast is brought to you by audible.com – get a FREE audiobook download at www.audibletrial.com/winecast Feedback: thismonthinwine@gmail.com Copyright 2012 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed under Creative Commons.

This month Wine Blogging Wednesday returns to it's normal first Wednesday of the month and host Vivi's Wine Journal has picked a very appropriate theme for July: Barbecue Wines (or is it BBQ, or Bar-B-Que?). The history of BBQ appears to be an American invention, but there seems to be some debate on this if you look closer. Whatever the derivation, today the term means either the slow cooked meats prepared across the southern U.S. from pork, beef or chicken or grilled meats in general. I took the latter definition for the purposes of this post and podcast and chose three wines I think would pair well with summer grilling. Different than in the other months I have participated in this event, my three wines will be a white, a rose and a red. All quite dry and loaded with fruit flavors to stand up to the heartiest summer fare. Since yesterday was Independence Day here in the U.S., my grilling choice was classic Wisconsin brats and traditional side-dishes, potato and macaroni salad. Whatever wines I select, they would need enough acidity to cut through the mayonnaise in the salads and brown mustard on the brats. I selected two different kinds of brats, the common “beer brats” and a new-age chicken with bacon and swiss cheese. Both presented an interesting flavor profile to deal with in matching wines, where in past years I’ve just reached for an IPA or dark beer. Of course, the best wine for Bar-B-Que or grilled meats depends upon the type of meat roasted. If I made steaks, for instance, I would have probably selected three red wines to match here. But since I had foods that were not overpowering in their flavors, I had a pretty open spectrum of wines to choose from. My strategy was to find wines with enough flavor to stand up to the food, but also enough acidity to enhance the flavors and not overpower the food. The rule of thumb at this time of year is to choose a dry rose, so my first match was a Wolffer Rosé 2005 the winery sent me recently as a sample. You probably remember Wolffer from my interview with winemaker Roman Roth in Winecast 56. Their rosé is made from 48% Merlot, 39% Chardonnay, 8% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon with the red grapes given a short time on the skins to minimize the color. The wine was totally made in stainless steel to accentuate the freshness of the fruit and retails for a reasonable $14 a bottle. This rosé is salmon in color with aromas of peach and fresh flowers. Rich and crisp in the mouth, showing cherry and citrus with a bit of white pepper on the dry finish. A very nice rosé for a hot summer’s day and nice accompaniment to my grilling yesterday. In fact, this might be the most versatile wine for grilled meats in the round-up. 11.5% ABV. Finished with natural cork. Score: 8.5/10 I usually don’t think of white wine and grilling, but I do think about white wines on hot summer days so I thought I would pick one from my cellar to see how it might work here. I’ve always liked the aggressiveness of Sauvignon Blanc, particularly from New Zealand, but I didn’t have any bottles handy from that country. What I did have was the 2005 vintage of Veramonte’s Sauvignon Blanc from the Casablanca Valley of Chile. I first tried this brand in my round-up on Winecast 12 last year and it has made it into my cellar ever since as a great value for hot summer days selling for $8-9 a bottle. The wine is light straw with a slight green hue. Fresh hay, lime and pineapple aromas with some gooseberry reminiscent of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. On the palate, there is tart grapefruit flavors with nice acidity to match with food. The match was especially good with the chicken brats adding an nice counter-point to the bacon and swiss cheese flavors. I’d recommend this one for grilled pork too, as long as there is not spicy BBQ sauce involved in the preperation. 13.5% ABV. Stelvin closure. Score: 8/10 Finally, I wanted to try a fruit forward red wine. After considering Syrah/Shiraz, I fell back on my old favorite Zinfandel, selecting a 2003 Chiarello Family Vineyards, Zinfandel, "Giana," which sells for $28 a bottle. I first tasted Chiarello Zin at ZAP this past January and was very impressed with all their wines. You might recognize the family name from owner Michael Chiarello’s Napa Style TV show, book and website. If anyone knows how to make food-friendly wines, it’s Mr. Chiarello, but I have to say that you need a steak or, better yet, Mexican food to match with this Zin. The wine is garnet-purple in color with powerful aromas of blackberry, plum and licorice. In the mouth it is substantial with blackberry jam, black pepper, spices and silky tannins. A hedonists Zin that somehow balances the substantial alcohol with fruit. Delicious, but overpowering to my 4th of July brats. 16.1% ABV. Finished with natural cork. Score: 9/10 So what did I learn this month? That a range of wines go well with grilled meats. If I had some true Bar-B-Que to match here, I think only the Chiarello Zin and Wolffer Rosé would have made the cut. For best wine, it easily goes to Chiarello Family Vineyards, Zinfandel, "Giana" 2003 and best value to the versatile Wolffer Rosé 2005. Thank to Joel over at Vivi’s Wine Journal for hosting this month and a great theme. I’m looking forward to seeing what founder Lenn has in store for the two-year anniversary of WBW next month. Show Notes: 00:21 - Welcome and show theme 01:10 - Matching wine with Bar-B-Que or grilled meats 03:56 - Veramonte, Sauvignon Blanc, Casablanca Valley, Chile 2005 ($9) 04:58 - Wolffer Estate Vineyards, Rosé, Long Island, New York 2005 ($14/sample) + 06:20 - Chiarello Family Vineyards, Zinfandel, "Giana" 2003 ($28) * 07:50 - Best of tasting 07:58 - Best value 08:15 - Wrap-up and contact details 08:50 - Next show theme Feedback: winecast@gmail.com Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

This month, Wine Blogging Wednesday is on a Friday because founder Lenn Thompson of the Lenndevours wine blog has teamed up with Alberto from Il Forno a premier food blog and founder of Is My Blog Burning. So for IMBB 26 and WBW 21 the rules are fairly simple. For us wine bloggers, pick a bottle from your cellar and find a recipe to pair with it; for food bloggers it’s the other way round choosing one of their favorite recipes and then finding a wine. So when I read about this theme last month, I immediately thought of a food podcaster, Anne Bramley of Eat Feed, to give me some recipe ideas for the wine I chose. I spoke with Anne earlier today and she gave me several recipe ideas that might match with the White Rose Estate, Pinot Noir I selected from my cellar. After considering all of Anne’s suggestions, I picked the pork with apples and brandy cream we spoke about and cooked it for dinner this evening. Anne suggested a couple other recipes that can be found online here: - Pork Chops with Quinoa Pilaf and Dried Fruit - Pork Tenderloin with Gorgonzola and Figs Here are my tasting notes for the wine and match with the meal. Much more detail is available on the podcast: White Rose Estate, Pinot Noir, White Rose Estate Vineyard 2002 ($65/gift from Jay Selman from Grape Radio) - Ruby in color with powerful aromas of earth, black cherry and spice. Some people might be put off by the gamy, earthiness of the aromas of this wine, but I rather like this aspect. In the mouth its concentrated raspberry, black cherry and a little earth, finishing with supple tannins and good acidity to match with food. I really found this wine to be delicious, but I can see why others might not like this style at all. Score: 9/10 As for the match with the dish, I thought that the shallot cream sauce and the mild gaminess of the pork tenderloin matched almost perfectly with this wine, really enhancing the fruit. But when tasted with the sautéed apples, it really didn’t work too well. I think the next time I make this dish I’ll omit the apples or at least reduce the quantity down to a single apple. Thanks for Alberto and Lenn for a great idea to merge the two leading wine and food blogging events and to Anne Bramley for some great recipe ideas. I’ll see you next month for WBW 22, where I most likely will not have to cook ;-) Show Notes: 00:22 - Welcome and show theme 01:12 - Conversation with Anne Bramley of Eat Feed 15:03 - Selected recipe 16:58 - White Rose Estate, Pinot Noir, White Rose Estate Vineyard 2002 ($65) 18:14 - Wine and food match 20:12 - Contact Details 20:31 - Next Show Theme Feedback: winecast@gmail.com Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

This month’s theme for Wine Blogging Wednesday, our monthly, global wine tasting event, is provided by Jathan from the Winexpression blog. He encouraged us to find wines made from Rhône varietals no matter where in the world they came from for his “When in Rhône” theme. Listed in his announcement were some 22 varietals common to France’s Rhône Valley, known for their blends of mostly red, and occasionally, white wines. Outside of relative well known varietals such as Syrah, Grenache and increasingly Viognier, most of the other 20 are rare outside the region. Longtime readers and listeners of my podcast will recall I have covered those more common Rhône varietals in the past, so I eschewed the “easy way out” and visited Chuck at Solo Vino in St. Paul for some recommendations. After all, they were the store that I found the bottling of Counoise for WBW 18 last month. After a bit of discussion and consideration of some of their many Rhône blends, and some other obscure varietals, we selected two blends for tasting this time; one white and one red. The first wine selected is a white from Domaine de Piaugier, their Sablet Blanc 2004, a blend of 40% Grenache Blanc, 30% Clairette, 20% Viognier, and 10% Roussanne. The vineyard is located in the southern Rhône, where Sablet is one of the 16 villages that comprises the Côtes du Rhône appellation. Although 90% of the wines made here are red or rose, whites like Domaine de Piaugier can be found in many wine stores around the world. Grenache Blanc is the white version of the popular red variety while Clairette and Roussanne are common blending grapes of the northern Rhône where they are used in both red and white wines. Domaine de Piaugier, Sablet Blanc, Côtes du Rhône Villages 2004 ($22) - Clear light straw in color with a tinge of green; peach, apricot and spice aromas. Stone fruit and honey flavors combine with a rich mouthfeel and lively acidity, finishing with just a touch of lychee. A big, dry white that will stand up to more substantial food matches than most whites. Don’t drink this one too cold or you will miss the considerable nuances of aroma and flavor. Score: 9/10. The second blend, this time a red from the southern Rhône, is from Domaine du Trapadis, their Côtes du Rhône from the 2001 vintage. The grapes used in this blend are 60% Grenache, 13% Carignan, 10% Syrah, 10% Cinsault and 7% Mourvedre. While Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre are well known in the Rhône, Carignan and Cinsault are somewhat below the radar. In fact, Carignan is the most widely grown wine grape in France, mostly appearing in blends for its spice, deep color and full body or in vin ordinaire from carafes at bistros throughout the country. Cinsault is also grown in quantity in France where it is almost always used in blends for it’s high acidity and soft tannins. Cinsault was also crossed with Pinot Noir to create Pinotage, a varietal popular in South Africa. Domaine du Trapadis, Côtes du Rhône 2001 ($15) - Ruby color with pronounced aromas of black cherry and earth; raspberry fruit flavors with dusty tannins and nice acidity make this a good food wine. The nose may be too funky for some tasters, but I found this added to the overall experience. Score: 8.5/10. So the best wine of the two, is the Domaine de Piaugier, Sablet Blanc, Côtes du Rhône Villages 2004, which I also found to be a nice value. The Domaine du Trapadis, Côtes du Rhône 2001 is another fine value for those looking for a red. Thanks again to Jathan from Winexpression.com for a great theme and for Solo Vino for providing the wines for tasting this month. See you all in April for a post and podcast actually appearing on Wednesday, if not before. Show Notes: 00:24 - Welcome 00:35 - Wine Blogging Wednesday background 01:15 - “When in Rhone” Theme 02:44 - Domaine de Piaugier, Sablet Blanc, Côtes du Rhône Villages 2004 ($22) 04:30 - Domaine du Trapadis, Côtes du Rhône 2001 ($15) 06:21 - Best of tasting/best value 06:54 - Getting back to weekly podcasts 07:54 - First winner of QPR Wines subscription (congrats, Sandy!) 08:42 - Listener survey for chance to win iPod Nano 09:06 - Contact Details 09:30 - To sponsor Winecast contact Backbeat Media 09:35 - Next Show Theme Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639) Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

The theme for this month’s edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday is provided by food blogger Fatemeh of Gastronomie who challenged us to pick up a wine that was made in a batch of less than 250 cases. As fate would have it, the day this theme was announced I received a sample from a small winery for an upcoming show on Sangiovese. The wine was made in a garage in a batch of just 84 cases, so I took this as a sign that this wine was meant to be featured this month. The fact that it came from a winery that donates their profits to charity sealed the deal. So, for the first time since I started participating in this event, I will feature just one wine: Humanitas, L’Huile du Garagiste; a non-vintage red blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon made from Napa Valley fruit. A sort of Super Tuscan, California-style. The bottle is quite distinctive with the first U.S. commercial application of the Australian Zork closure that appears to be almost like a wax seal on the top. After peeling back the plastic, it took a bit of work to get the closure off the bottle, but it was much better than a recent experience I had with a synthetic cork in a Chilean Carmenere. So here are my tasting notes for this unique wine: Humanitas, L’Huile du Garagiste, Napa Valley NV ($30/received as a sample) - Deep ruby in color with complex aromas of raspberry, white pepper and earth; bright raspberry and black pepper flavors combine with noticeable, but supple, tannins and a long finish. A nice balance between the fruit and tannin makes this a delicious wine now and one I will age for another few years to see what develops. Score: 9/10 I found this to be a very individualistic wine and wanted to get a bit more background on the winery and the winemaker, so I interviewed Judd Wallenbrock the winemaker, proprietor and head bottle washer of Humanitas. If you listen to the podcast, you will hear our conversation about this wine and his cause. I have placed an order for more of this wine and encourage you to check it out yourself. It is not often that we can combine our passion for wine and charity at the same time. Thanks again to Fatemeh of the Gastronomie blog for a great theme and for Judd to spend a part of his day with me today. I’m looking forward to the last WBW of 2005 next month. Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639) Copyright 2005 Tim Elliott. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

This month the theme is provided by celebrated food blogger Clotilde from Chocolate and Zucchini, who challenged us with theme of, “Like Wine for Chocolate“. Instead of just selecting a varietal or wine region, she has given us a recipe to match a wine; in fact, the most challenging match I can imagine: wine with a chocolate cake. When announced, this sent me to the basic rule of thumb to match a sweet dessert with a wine of more sweetness, and chocolate with a very fruity wine of high alcohol. All roads led to the great vintage wines of Porto. Since I assumed most WBW participants to go down this road, I thought slightly differently. First, in selecting a fortified wine from Clotilde’s native France, the somewhat cult status Banyuls, and then with a big, ripe Zinfandel from my native state of California. Since I am not well educated in the fortified wines of France, I trusted the advice of Solo Vino’s experts, Robert and Chuck, to steer me to M. Chapoutier Banyuls from the 1998 vintage. Similarly, I trusted the advice of listener Stephanie in suggesting I try Matt Cline’s wines at Trinitas, made from ancient 120 year old vines in California’s Contra Costa County. My theory was that ripeness and high alcohol would lessen the perception of sweetness and the jammy ripeness of the old vine Zin would match with the richness of the cake better than wines that naturally have chocolate flavors, such as Merlot. Here are my findings: Before cake: Trinitas Cellars, Old Vine Zinfandel, Contra Costa County 2002 ($17.50) - Ruby color with a subtle blackberry, spice and cedar nose; bold blackberry fruit with some vanilla and dusty, but strong, tannins. Not as rich and extracted and I would have expected in a 15.5% wine. Score: 8.5/10 M. Chapoutier, Banyuls 1998 ($24 / 500 ml) - Light ruby color with tawny edges; earthy raison and spice aromas; very sweet entry with rich black cherry fruit and some orange peel. Very much like a vintage Porto. Delicious on its own, but looking forward to trying with the cake. Score: 9/10 I made the recipe with bittersweet chocolate and the rich, sweet flavors are sumptuous in this moist cake. I thought that I possibly over sugared this, as the recipe did not specify whether the chocolate was sweetened or not, but it seems to be quite nice as it is. Next time I might cut the sugar in half or more, given the sweetness of the chocolate. With cake: Trinitas, Old Vine Zinfandel - The wine picked up a bit more aroma in the glass since the first tasting, now showing more sweet blackberry aromas with the cedar scents noted earlier; the flavors seemed to be toned down a few notches, with the tannins barely noticeable over the sweetness of the cake. Quite interesting, but not a good match, I’m afraid. The wine seems to be overwhelmed by the sweetness of the cake. Score: 8/10 M. Chapoutier, Banyuls - This wine also picked up more aromas, now dominated by prune and orange peel; the sweetness of the wine seems less when matched with the cake, with very nice black cherry flavors and now just a suggestion of orange. This is perfectly matched, but still garners the same 9/10 score (I might have given this a 93 on a 100 point scale). Two days later, before cake: Trinitas, Old Vine Zinfandel – After 2 days of Vac-u-vin with very little headspace for air, the wine is much more open and aromatic, suggesting mandatory decanting or some more time in the cellar. Strong blackberry and spice aromas are present with a bit of oak; ripe blackberry and raspberry flavors dominate the palette, followed by pepper and a touch of, yes, sweetness. Not the traditional, jammy-style but an undercurrent of fruit that finishes the wine quite nicely. This elevates the wine to a delicious, 9 out of 10 on my scale. M. Chapoutier, Banyuls – Not much different in aroma than the last time, dried dark fruit and a bit of orange; very port-like flavors and a sweetness that is nicely balanced by acidity. Very young now, but seems quite a bit more drinkable than a similarly aged vintage Porto. Still a solid 9 out of 10. Two days later, with cake: The cake is still quite moist and rich, as I remembered it from 2 days before. A bitter-sweet extravaganza of flavor… Trinitas, Old Vine Zinfandel – I really like the nose more and more on this wine, but the tannins of the wine and sweetness of the cake almost cancel out each other. Still not a good match. M. Chapoutier, Banyuls – This remains a very nice match with the sweetness of the cake. I really enjoy how the wine complements the cake and adds more dimension to the flavors. It remains a solid 9 out of 10. So the clear winner here is the Banyuls, not from its country of origin, but its level of sweetness (helped, no doubt from the level of alcohol and our perception of sweetness previously mentioned). I’m sure I would have come to the same conclusion had I chosen Porto or port-style wines from California or Australia, but it was nice to see a French wine come out on top this time. Although this has been the most demanding Wine Blogging Wednesday to date, I’ve had a great time researching and choosing different wines to try to stand up to a delicious recipe. Thanks once again to Clotilde for hosting and conceiving such an excellent theme. A high bar for those of us who will host this event in the future. Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639) Copyright 2005 Tim Elliott. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

When Lenn announced the theme for the first year anniversary edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday, I immediately fired up Google maps to pinpoint the locations of all the wineries in Minnesota. Since I had already covered Minnesota wines recently on the show, I was concerned that the closest winery and vineyard, to abide by the theme of “Drink Local. Real Local.“, was the Alexis Bailly Vineyard that I featured in Winecast 28. As it happened, they are at 27.4 miles from my humble abode and recording studio. The next winery on the list was over in Cannon River, a pleasant town of 3,877 people, that clocked in at 31.4 miles; close enough for this purpose, I rationalized, as I dispatched an email to Lenn asking for dispensation (which he kindly granted). So for this month, I will cover the wines made at the aptly named Cannon River Winery. The Cannon River Winery opened it’s doors only last October, refurbishing a large downtown building that once featured a bowling alley. The large space is nicely laid out with the winery and barrel aging cellar on one end and the tasting bar and gift store on the other. The winery is owned by John and Maureen Maloney from the Twin Cities; they also have about 20 acres of vineyard land partially planted to French-American hybrid grapes in the neighboring town of Sogn. Their winemaker is a Columbian expatriate with previous experience making wine in Ohio; sounds like quite a story that I will have to investigate further. About noon a couple of weeks ago, I arrived at the winery to taste through their line of local wines. I was pleased to see an array of options on their website, that promised exotic varietals such as Edelweiss, St. Pepin, LaCrosse and Frontenac. All cold-hearty, French-American hybrid grapes developed especially for surviving the harsh winters up here. I also noted that they make wines from more familiar vinifera varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and my favorite, Zinfandel, but figured those grapes (best case), juice (most likely) and/or wines (hopefully not!) were trucked in from appellations further to our West. I was greeted by a helpful woman who informed me that two of the four wines I was most interested in (i.e. the locally grown ones) had, “sold out last weekend”. Great, I thought, why didn’t I make the trip earlier?! Undeterred, I tasted the other two wines with these impressions: Cannon River Winery, “Lorraine’s White” NV ($12) - Made from locally grown LaCrosse and Riesling of unknown origin (CA is most likely). Unfortunately, the woman helping me didn’t know the percentages of the blend. Clear in color with a tinge of yellow, pleasant peach nose, nice off-dry peach and green apple flavors that would have been fine for WBW 11. Enough acidity to complement light entrees or cheese. Score: 7.5/10 Cannon River Winery, “Minnesota Meritage” NV ($16) - Made from 50% Frontenac grown at their vineyard with the balance equally blended with CA Merlot and Zinfandel. Light ruby color with wild cherry aromas, mellow red berry flavors with a slightly tangy finish, an enjoyable blend that defies expectations given the grapes involved. Score: 7.5/10 Yes, I did taste their other wines made from out of state grapes, but will not review those here as this is not how I interpreted Lenn’s instructions. The wines should be both made and (mostly) grown near your house to qualify. So both of these wines are of good quality and a great accomplishment for the Maloney’s on their first release. I’ll give both best of tasting and best value to Lorraine’s White, as I thought this had a bit more interesting flavor profile than the Minnesota Meritage. If you have a chance to visit the winery, which is the only place I know you can buy these wines, pick up a bottle of each (as I did). This is a winery I will definitely visit again to taste their Edelweiss and St. Pepin-based wines and keep track of their progress. Thanks to Lenn for a great theme to cap off the first year of Wine Blogging Wednesday. I’m looking forward to another great year and to hosting a future edition. Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639) Copyright 2005 Tim Elliott. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

When I saw the post introducing Wine Blogging Wednesday #10 over at My Adventures in the Breadbox, I thought to myself it was about time we went back to the white side of the wine world after several forays into the red (or rose) zone. But “white pinot”? What’s that all about? It seems that our old red friend, the Pinot Noir, has mutated over the millennia and has produced another related white varietal most commonly known as Pinot Gris. Yes, yes, I know that “gris” translates to “grey” but the juice is quite white even with extended skin contact. The problem with this variety is that is goes by so many names depending upon where it is grown that it is hard to know what you are drinking without a scorecard. A Google search turned up the following synonyms: * Pinot Grigio (Italy) * Pinot Beurot (Loire Valley, France) * Ruländer (Austria and Germany, Romania, sweet) * Grauburgunder or Grauer burgunder (Austria and Germany, dry) * Grauklevner (Germany) * Malvoisie (Loire Valley, France and Switzerland) * Tokay d’Alsace (Alsace) (currently being renamed due to EU regulations) * Auxerrois Gris (Alsace) * Fromentau (Languedoc, France) * Fromentot (France) * Fauvet (France) * Gris Cordelier (France) * Grauer Mönch (Germany) * Monemrasia * Crvena Klevanjka (Croatia) * Szürkebarát (Hungary) Yikes, that’s quite a list! Another interesting point is that the style varies depending upon the region. This can range from the light and lean Pinot Grigio’s from Italy to the more substantial full fruit Oregon style to the classic floral and silky Alsatian wines. For this event, started with a wine I spied on the by-the-glass selection of the local eatery where I just finished dinner. It was a 2003 Pinot Grigio from Stella of the Umbria region in Italy. I found this wine to be almost clear in color with the slightest hit of straw and a lean fruity nose typical of the varietal. On the palette it had nice citrus and apple flavors, good acidity and a dry, slightly minerally finish. A very good start to this evening’s festivities earning an 8.5/10 on my scale. A quick Google later I found this to be a fine value at only $6 a bottle. Next, I decided to pull a Pinot Grigio from California out of the cellar that a friend gave me last summer. It is from La Famiglia di Robert Mondavi of the 2002 vintage that retails for $15. This is another label from the prolific Mondavi family that was started in 1994 to, “celebrate their Italian heritage from California vineyards”; as usual, brilliant marketing The winemaker’s notes reveal that this wine is a blend of 98% Pinot Grigio and 2% Tocai Friulano, the top native grape from Italy’s Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. He also points out the fruit came from Monterey County (87%), the Los Carneros (7%), and 3% each from El Dorado and Santa Maria Valley. Thankfully, the wine did not see any oak and was not subjected to the rigors of malolactic fermentation, so I expected it to be full in fruit flavors with a nice dose of acidity making this a good match for shellfish (oysters, anyone?!). This wine was also shy on the color with a bit of the old yellow/green, but had a much more powerful citrus nose than the previous Grigio. Nice lemon and pear flavors and bracing acidity finish bone dry. A solid 8.5/10. Pinot Blanc is a mutation of Pinot Gris that used to be widely planted in Burgundy. This was until the Appellation Controlee laws knocked out Pinot Blanc in favor of Chardonnay. The grape is most identified in France today with the Alsace region where it is the number 3 grape behind Riesling and Sylvaner. Pinot Blanc also has some identity issues, but they seem to be isolated to California where much of what is labeled Pinot Blanc is actually Melon de Bourgogne, also called Muscadet in France’s Loire region. Like Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc is quite malleable to the hand of the winemaker, taking oak well so wines can be light and fruity to big and oaky. As with Chardonnay, I prefer my Pinot Blanc unoaked, so I chose a bottling from the reliable Trimbach of Alsace. It is their 2001 Pinot Blanc that is blended with a bit of Pinot Auxerrois and sells for about $15 a bottle. This wine is straw in color with a hint of green, has a lean citrus nose and with apple and nut flavors. Another bone dry wine with high acidity, it would be a natural with food. I found this wine to be delicious and earn a 9/10. So what was learned in this tale of Two Pinots? That they are surprisingly similar in flavor and great food wines. I think I like the more elegant style of the Pinot Blanc, but as can be seen from my tasting notes, it was a close race. The best of tasting goes to the Trimbach Pinot Blanc 2001 with best value to the Stella Pinot Grigio 2003. Thanks to Alice from My Adventures in the Breadbox for a great theme; I can’t wait until the next installment!

Today’s show is focused on the red wines of Australia’s Barossa Valley. I also review the film Mondovino and share a listener comment. Show Notes: 0:00 - Intro and theme music 0:21 - Overview of Show 0:34 - Background on the Barossa Valley 1:12 - Tasting Notes: 1:45 - Peter Lehmann, Shiraz 2001 ($13.50) 2:06 - Kaesler, “Stonehorse”, Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvedre (GSM) 2001 ($16) 2:44 - Thorn-Clarke, “Shotfire Ridge”, Barossa Cuvee 2003 ($20) 3:11 - Best of Tasting 3:16 - Best Value 3:21 - Honorable Mention: Peter Lehmann, “Clancy’s” 2002 ($16) 3:45 - Review of Mondovino 10:37 - Listener Comment 13:00 - Greater Midwest Podcaster Gathering 14:43 - Show contact details 15:05 - Next show for Wine Blogging Wednesday 10

After trading emails with Sam over at Becks & Posh, I decided to reblog my entry for Wine Blogging Wednesday #9 themed on rosé or “pink” wines. It seems Sam’s day job is not leaving much time for podcast listening, so here are the CliffsNotes with a few timecode stamps to help her sort out the audio: (0:00 – 0:37) Introduction, theme music and show kickoff, thanking Sam for hosting WBW this month and the theme of rosé wines. Rosé is the “Rodney Dangerfield of wines”; they get no respect. This is probably due to indifferent blends of red and white wines we have had being passed off as rosé, as well as the sticky, sweet white zinfandels we have been subjected to over the years. In fact, I have not had a proper rosé or pink wine in a few years, so this theme was an excellent chance to check out three dry rosé wines. Before sharing my tasting notes, I spoke a bit about how rosé wines are made (1:16). The first method is to crush red grapes and macerate the must for only a few hours to impart only a small amount of the pigment to the wine. Then the winemaking process is followed the same as used to make white wine. For some unknown reason, I failed to mention that the French call this process, “vins gris”, even though my notes clearly state this fact. The second method is called, “saignée” or “bleeding”. This is where red wine is made, but a bit of the juice is drained off early in the winemaking process to concentrate the resulting red’s flavors. The bled juice is then made into rosé using the process followed to make whites. Next (2:17), I commented about the proper temperature to serve rosé (50 - 54F, or 10 - 12C) and launched into my tasting notes: Toad Hollow Vineyards, “Eye of the Toad”, Dry Pinot Noir Rose 2004 ($12) - Clear pink, beautiful strawberry/watermelon nose, strawberry/cherry fruit, bone dry, nice finish; serve a bit warmer than regular rose to fully reveal it’s aromas and flavors; I also like the whimsical, yellow plastic cork! Score: 8/10 Les Vignerons de Montblanc, Syrah Rose, Vin de Pays des Cotes de Thongue 2003 ($9) - Rose center with nice pink edges, watermelon candy nose, nice flavor intensity of light red berries, dry and refreshing; another plastic cork! Score: 8/10 Cuvee Catherine, Rose d’Anjou 2002 ($6) - Very light tawny red, light flowery nose, almost vegetal in flavor with bell pepper and cherry in a good way, off-dry, but not sweet, with a good dose of acidity; a bit bitter on the finish; drink ASAP as the wine is past it’s prime. The only cork in the bunch. Score: 7.5/10 (5:09) Best of tasting: Toad Hollow Vineyards, “Eye of the Toad”, Dry Pinot Noir Rose 2004 Best value: Les Vignerons de Montblanc, Syrah Rose, Vin de Pays des Cotes de Thongue 2003 (5:21 – 8:16) I then shared some final thoughts for regular Winecast listeners about sending in questions for an upcoming show, voting at Podcast Alley, Gmail and Yahoo! 360 invites and a poll I have open on my blog. Thanks once again to Sam from Becks & Posh for the theme and her upcoming summary write-up this weekend. I hope this extended post helps save you a bit of time Cheers!

Another special, mid-week podcast for Wine Blogging Wednesday featuring the red wines of Sicily. I have selected three wines made from the native Nero d’Avola grape for another live, “virtual tasting”. I also share a bit of background on Sicilian wine. Wines tasted: - Firriato, “Chiaramonte”, Nero d’Avola 2002 ($12) Dark ruby color, beautiful, intense black cherry nose, fresh black cherry fruit with moderate tannins and a bit of acidity; a nice food wine. Delicious. Score: 9/10 - Morgante, Nero d’Avola 2003 ($11) Ruby color, earthy black cherry nose, a little musty, black cherry fruit and medium tannins. Very good. Score: 8/10 - Colosi, Dry Red Wine 2002 ($7) Medium ruby color, musty plum and wild cherry nose, plum and wild cherry flavors and moderate tannins. Very good. Score: 8/10

Today's show is a special edition for Wine Blogging Wednesday #7 whose theme is, "Obscure Red Grape Varieties". Thanks to Andrew Barrow of Spittoon for inviting me to participate as the first podcaster to join the fun of WBW! I had to stoop down quite a bit at some wine stores here in Minneapolis as I looked for varietals I had never heard of, let alone tried. I ended up picking 4 wines for tasting, all for $8 USD or less. Unfortunately, one of the wines was disqualified as it was a blend of Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvugnon and Merlot; my full tasting notes of that wine are posted here. What was great about this theme was it forced me to look for things I normally pass by at the wine store and I would have otherwise never found any of these interesting wines: - Castellani, Negroamaro, Puglia, Italy 2003 ($6) - Deep garnet, dusty berry nose, simple, peppery berry flavors somewhat like Dolchetto, good rustic finish with moderate tannins, nice pizza or pasta wine, very good value, plastic cork! Score: 8/10 - Castellani, Nero d’Avola, Sicilia, Italy 2003 ($7) - Garnet, pleasant fresh berry nose, deep, simple black cherry flavors, no tannins to speak of, good “quaffable” drinking now, another plastic cork! Score: 7/10 - Cortello, Estremadura, Portugal 2001 ($8) - Made from native grape Castelao (a.k.a. Periquita) and Argonez grapes; deepest garnet, lean berry nose, round plum flavors and silky mouth-feel, finishes a little bitter and funky but overall quite good. Score: 7.5/10 Best of tasting and best value goes to Castellani Negroamaro 2003. I will be looking for this variety from other producers in the future to share on Winecast. Thanks once again to Andrew from Spittoon for the invitation; I am looking forward to WBW #8!