Scrugy: Latest wine posts from Blogs

The Winedoctor : Tasting: Four from Jean-Luc Thunevin

The Winedoctor — 23 Jul 2008 22:57:30

Four wines recently tasted, including 1999 Valandraud.

Diario enotecario : Bum

Diario enotecario — 23 Jul 2008 22:45:00

La centrale nucleare di Tricastin, avrete letto, ha dato piu' d'un problema, ultimamente. Oltre a quelli serissimi, pure qualcuno inaspettato: "il consorzio di produzione del 'Coteaux du Tricastin', prestigioso vino a denominazione di origine controllata del 'Midi' francese, ne cambiera' probabilmente l'appellativo entro il 2009, in tempo per la vendemmia: preoccupa infatti i responsabili dell'ente vinicolo l'omonimia con il sito dove sorge la centrale nucleare da dove l'8 luglio scorso si verifico' una fuga di uranio allo stato liquido". [Agi].

Questa vicenda potrebbe essere d'aiuto, preventivamente, al nostro deprecato legislatore, che ha deciso di darsi all'obsoleta tecnologia nucleare nei prossimi (almeno) dieci anni, quando nel frattempo andremo tutti in bicicletta - oppure, sperabilmente, ci verra' concesso l'uso della tecnologia aliena reperita a Roswell.
Nel frattempo, dicevo, il nostro governo potrebbe evitare di impiantare centrali nucleari coincidenti coi toponimi enologici: immaginate un po' l'effetto che farebbe la "centrale nucleare di Neive"; oppure di Cormons, Montepulciano, Valdobbiadene.
A pensarci bene, praticamente ogni toponimo del belpaese coincide con qualche tipo di virtu' nazionale, sia essa turistica o produttiva; le centrale nucleari di Venezia o di Firenze sarebbero altrettanto sciagurate.
Si, a pensarci bene, sarebbe da cestinare l'idea stessa di centrale nucleare.

Vagablond : The Corson Building - Dumb Name, Weird Location, Interesting Concept, Mind-blowing Food

Vagablond — 23 Jul 2008 21:37:28

To call this a typical restaurant opening would be like saying American Idol is just a talent show. Both are phenomenon’s that defy description. American Idol garners more votes than a presidential election, and I can’t recall being this excited about a meal since my first dinner at Chez Panisse, 25 years ago.

I was visiting Seattle recently and heard a faint vague whisper about some new restaurant happening. After hours of research trying to track down the place, and ten-pain in the butt-emails, voice mails and phone calls later, I scored a reservation on opening night at The Corson Building, a food based community center space—saaaay what?

Short History: Chef/owner Matthew Dillon had been getting rave reviews from his teacup-sized restaurant Sitka & Spruce, (another bad name and bad location — this one’s located in some strip mall) for which he’d been honored as one of Food and Wine magazine’s 10 Best New Chefs of 2007.

On another note, a few years ago, Dillon had discovered a dilapidated century-old building, that used to belong to an Italian ornamental stoneworker, in Seattle’s funky Georgetown neighborhood, and fell in love with the place. Located right under a freeway ramp and next to the train tracks, and directly under flying airplanes, it was hardly the best site for a restaurant. Undaunted, Dillon and his partner spent the next four years renovating the building, planting an herb and veggie garden, making chicken coops, caring for his bees, etc. to create The Corson Building-a culinary community gathering place that will feature exciting events, benefits, culinary classes, and open-to-the-publicdinners.

But for now, all you need to know is that you need to do everything in your power to land a dinner reservation…and there are some rules to follow:

1. The space is only open a few nights of the week for dinner, so check their website immediately for available dates. YOU MUST MAKE A RESERVATION!
2. There is only one seating per evening, and the pace is a leisure one, so plan accordingly, but strolling around the grounds between courses is encouraged.
3. Dining is family style so you’ll probably make some new friends by the end of the evening.
4. Dinner is prix-fixe, $110 w/wine and $80 w/o.
For our opening night dinner we began with Champagne, oysters, and home grown radishes wrapped with paper-thin cured ham (Dillon had butchered and cured the meat himself.) To the best of my recollection it was followed by course after course of garden-fresh salads-one with salmon and the other with tongue, a meltingly-tender slow-cooked halibut on mashed potatoes, leg of lamb with Greek yogurt, smoky paprika chicken w/ pita and fava bean relish; carrot, bitter greens and garbanzo bean, a local cheese plate with rhubarb compote and anise flavored ice cream with roasted dates and strawberries.

My verdict: Every single morsel that crossed my lips was sheer unadulterated perfection!

The Corson Building
5609 Corson Ave, Seattle
(206) 762-3330
http://www.thecorsonbuilding.com/

The Wine Case : Wine Blogging Wednesday #48: Back to Your Roots

The Wine Case — 23 Jul 2008 21:11:34

Great theme from Lenn Thompson, founder of the Wine Blogging Wednesday, to celebrate four years of this collective tasting thing (which begat a French heir called les Vendredis du vin, among other good things). He calls upon us to get back to The Roots, which can be pretty funky, for sure.

Oh wait. Silly me. He means going back to YOUR Roots. Your wine-loving roots, that is. The wines that got you really started on the whole swirling, smelling, tasting and spitting thing. The first tastes that made you go “wo!”, that made you think that you should start budgeting this pastime of yours.

Reactions, already, are split between are-you-kidding-I-can’t-drink-that-stuff-anymore to oh-yes-I-remember-it-well. I’m more in the second category, and leaning in the direction of a California pinot from over twenty years ago…

It will be interesting to see where people direct their trip down olfactory memory lane. There’s time to ponder: reviews are due on August 13. It should make for some interesting reading. And interesting questions: how much revisionism will there be?

Vinos Chilenos de Chile : Vinos argentinos: Feria Nacional de Vinos y Bodegas de la Sociedad Argentina 2008

Vinos Chilenos de Chile — 23 Jul 2008 20:37:12

Durante los días 14, 15 y 16 de agosto se llevará a cabo en el Teatro Argentino de la ciudad de La Plata la IV Feria Nacional de Vinos y Bodegas de la Sociedad Argentina. La FE.NA.VI.BO.S.A. es la más importante exposición de vinos de la provincia de Buenos Aires que reúne, en el imponente marco [...]

Bigger Than Your Head : O.K. to Drink ‘06 Rosé?

Bigger Than Your Head — 23 Jul 2008 19:59:15

We’re close to the end of July, and you may have noticed that your neighborhood retail store is still stocking rosé wines from 2006, while bringing in more examples from the most recent vintage, 2007. The question is, Is it o.k. to drink rosés from the previous year? Or are they old, tired and faded?

Rosés are not like beaujolais nouveau, a fresh, grapey, frothy (in spirit) quaff that begins to turn thin and sullen at the age of six months or so, like a troubled pop singer after a jail term. The best rosés, however, though charming and delightful, possess the structure of “real” wine, that is to say, they are real wine, with the proper acidity and balance to last for more than a season. Not that we expect longevity; it’s just that rosé wines don’t have to be regarded as beyond the pale (haha, sorry) once they reach a year in age.

I’ve encountered several rosés from 2006 that I heartily recommend. We’ll start with a comparison of a terrific model of a rosé from both recent years.

Tavel in the southern Rhone Valley has a centuries-old reputation for rosé wines, a reputation too often merely traded upon than reasonably proved. Fine models exist, however, and some of the finest are produced by the Prieuré de Montèzargues, pictured here. The original priory was established in 1119; grapes have been grown there and wine made since sometime shortly after 1300. Winemaker in the present manifestation of the property — it long-since ceased its function as a religious house — is Guillaume Dugas. Grapes grown at Prieuré de Montèzargues are grenache, cinsault, syrah, mourvèdre and carignan for red and clairette, picpoul and bourboulenc for white, all the typical southern Rhône or Provençal varieties. The wines are imported by Henriot Inc., New York.

Prieuré de Montèzargues 2007 offers a lovely color of bright garnet flushed with salmon’s orangy-pink. Notes of strawberry, raspberry, peach and orange zest waft from the glass and segue seamlessly to the mouth in consistent flavors. The texture is soft and enticing but energized by crisp acid and a scintillating mineral element that expands to dominate the finish. Great balance and freshness. Very Good+. About $18 to $23.

How about the version from 2006? The color is similar, perhaps with a shade of magenta, but the wine is robust, ripe and fleshy, delivering scents and flavors of strawberry and peach with touches of melon and dried herbs. A few minutes in the glass bring up hints of cherry/berry and Bazooka Bubble Gum, with orange zest, limestone and earthy notes and a lingering hint of cloves on the finish. This is an unusually complicated rosé for drinking through the end of 2008. Great detail and dimension. Excellent. About $18 to $23. If you can find the ‘07 and the ‘06, buy some of each.

Here are notes on three other rosés from 2006, also French:

*The Rosé de Fayel 2006, made by Chateau des Sources, Vin de Pays du Gard, southeast of the city of Nimes, is an unusual blend of 70 percent syrah and 30 percent cabernet franc. While I don’t recommend buying a wine for its color alone, the intense magenta color here, tinged with blue, is stunning. The wine is extraordinarily earthy and stony, offering (a bit reluctantly) delectable notes of dried raspberry, strawberry and red currant. The limestone quality expands and the acid is lively and vibrant, making this truly a dry rose, but with thirst-quenching freshness and (after all) winsome red berry flavors. The ‘07 version of this wine is available (in a slightly different blend), but why neglect drinking this one over the next few months? Very good+. About $10, a Great Bargain . Robert Kacher Selections, Washington D.C.

*The Domaine des Corbillières 2006, a pinot noir rosé from Touraine, in the central Loire Valley, sports the classic pale copper-onion skin color. The bouquet weaves fresh and dried strawberries with fresh and dried raspberries and hints of peach and orange zest. Though the wine is dry and crisp as all get-out, the texture is lavish and silken, a pleasure to feel gliding over the tongue and palate. The finish brings in heaps of minerals (more damp slate than limestone) without being austere. Really attractive for drinking through the end of 2008. Very good+. About $11 to $14. Robert Kacher Selections, Washington, D.C. The ‘07 is on the market, but why waste this ‘06?

*Characterized by a spiced peach element infused with dried raspberry and orange rind — and the color a pale peach-salmon — the Domaine de Beaurenard 2006, Côtes-du-Rhône, unveils delicate strata of baking spice, dried herbs, melon and rhubarb, all supported by the necessary acid for tautness and structure and depths of minerality. For drinking through the end of this year, certainly, but with a great deal of satisfaction. The grapes are grenache, syrah and cinsault. Very good+. About $15. European Wine Group, Tucker, Georgia.

Wineass - One Line Wine ...: 2005 Cellar #8 Merlot

Wineass - One Line Wine Reviews — 23 Jul 2008 19:39:18

If you could smoke a grape-flavored pipe, this would be it.

Wineass - One Line Wine ...: Jest Red Table Wine

Wineass - One Line Wine Reviews — 23 Jul 2008 19:33:01

Yep, this is a joke–tastes like Smuckers that your kid fermented for science class.

Tomato : Enter the food blog/website survey and win three Shun Damascus steel knives

Tomato — 23 Jul 2008 18:42:28

There’s been a lot of agro, some uninformed, on the blogger versus “qualified” journalist debate this year. It’s now time to put some facts behind some of the arguments to see just who read and thinks of what and how often they do it through a survey of food and drink blog and website readers.

Enter my survey here of Australian and New Zealand readers between now and the end of August. Please pass it on to your friends as the more people that enter the more valid the results will be. Note: the survey and prize is only open to Australian and New Zealand-based readers.

Also ensure you leave your email to enter the Kitchenware Direct draw for a 3 piece Shun knife each with an amazing Damascus steel blade. And if you have a blog enter your blog address as I’m compiling a definitive list of local food and drink blogs. Individual details will remain confidential and will not be related to the survey answers whiuch are aggregated.

Back in June Leena (who at the time was studying Gastronomy in Adelaide) published the results of her survey of 1,800 people from the US on their food website reading habits:

“A majority of respondents felt food blogs had equally reliable information as print food journalism. They also tended to read food blogs more often than print food journalism. For example, 69% of respondents consulted print food journalism monthly while 37% consulted print food journalism websites weekly. But 79% of respondents consulted U.S. food blogs at least daily, if not multiple times a day, crediting their increased usage to a food blogger’s candid writing style, diverse voice and range of topics, as well as their approachable personalities.”

Leena urged me to launch my own survey, which is a tweaked version of hers to reflecting the local market (while trying to keep it short).

Thanks to my deal with the commercial devil (and I mean devil in a good way) Kitchenware Direct I’m able to offer the prize of a three piece classic set of Shun knives as spruiked by Neil Perry himself. In a normal shop this set - a 8.5cm paring knife, a 15cm utility knife and a 20cm chef’s knife - would set you back $449. Even at Kitchenware Direct they would cost $299.

As part of the deal Kitchenware Direct is also offering free shipping on anything bought during the next 30 days.

Simply enter the coupon code “tomatom” for free shipping.

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Wine Outlook : Rosenblum Cellars Open House: 30th Birthday Bash This Weekend

Wine Outlook — 23 Jul 2008 17:48:14

If you want to taste some fantastic wines, old favorites and brand new releases, while you eat good food, listen to live music, and relax among some of the coolest people in the East Bay… head to Alameda, by bridge, tube, or ferry. (We recommend ferry or BART & bus/ cab, just to be safe).

When: this weekend! Saturday July 26 & Sunday July 27
What time: 12-5 (although first hour is only for club members and their guests)
Where: 2900 Main St, Alameda
How much fun: more than most people can handle
How much wine: more than most people should drink
How much to get in: cheaper online ($40, $25 wine club members)
though you can still get them at the door if not sold out ($50, $35 club)

What else you need to know: Come ready for a good time, but please enjoy our wines responsibly. Wear dark clothes and comfy shoes. Eat a big breakfast. There’s lots of good food, but with so many folks around, not enough to make a meal.

Call if you have any questions or trouble ordering tickets online. 510-995-4100

Box Wines : Concannon Limited Release Petite Sirah 2005

Box Wines — 23 Jul 2008 16:55:33

Price: $14
Maker: Concannon Vineyard, Livermore & San Luis Obispo, California
Varietal: Petite Syrah
Packaging: 750 ml bottle, natural cork
Alcohol: 13.5%
Our Rating: 8.9 out of 10

Concannon Limited Release Petite Sirah 2005 (Limited Release) sets high expectations by calling itself “America’s Finest Petite Syrah.” We haven’t tasted enough Petite Syrahs to confirm their assertion, but this red wine doesn’t disappoint. It delivers a big, rounded black cherry flavor and a long, peppery finish with well-balanced tannins. This is a very pleasant wine by itself, and would pair well with a nice grilled strip steak.

Water Into Wino wasn’t a fan of the 2004 vintage, calling it “not at all my style” and suggesting that it smelled like a purple magic marker. Ouch. Tom and Melody liked it a lot more: “It was delicious: tannic with jammy, plummy fruit and a rich, full body. A great example of a wine with a lot of fruit taste that is also dry so that it’s definitely not a fruit bomb.” CheapFunWines thought it was, “Pleasant, soft and easy to drink.” Wine Centric called it “pure heaven.”

We like this wine a lot, and think it would make a nice hostess gift - the bottle is very attractive, the wine is great, and a Petite Sirah is a bit different from the more common Cab or Merlot.

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Avenue Vine : Château Cos-d'Estournel Buys Chateau Montelena

Avenue Vine — 23 Jul 2008 16:52:17

One of Bordeaux's top châteaus has bought one of Napa's most historic estates. The owner of Château Cos-d'Estournel, Michel Reybier, purchased Chateau Montelena in Calistoga this past weekend, pending U.S government regulatory approval. While Reybier would not disclose the purchase price, several sources in Napa familiar with Montelena's negotiations told Wine Spectator that the Barrett family, Montelena's owners, had fielded offers between $120 and $150 million for the winery and its 200 acres.

Bordeaux second-growth will take the reins of historic Napa winery

"We have been looking for a while to purchase something in Napa Valley," said Jean-Guillaume Prats, general manager of Cos-d'Estournel. "It's similar to Bordeaux and we can give and take mutual knowledge and experience."

domaine547 : 2005 Paul Autard Chateauneuf-du-Pape, La Cote Ronde

domaine547 — 23 Jul 2008 16:02:09

We were wondering why this CdP wasn’t selling. Ummm, that would be because we completely forgot to enter it into our inventory. Well, now, after 6 additional months of perfect storage for you, it’s that much more ready for the drinking. Lots of garrigue and goodness in this one. Parker says Truffles, and we wouldn’t [...]

Finger Lakes Weekend Wino : Finger Lakes Winery Report - Penguin Bay Winery, July 2008

Finger Lakes Weekend Wino — 23 Jul 2008 15:41:00

As part of the Peterson family’s trio of wineries, Penguin Bay is the young and upcoming star this year, winning a substantial number of Gold and Double Gold medals, including 2 best white wine of shows at International Wine Competitions with their 2007 Gewurztraminer. Don’t get me wrong, Penguin Bay's sister wineries Swedish Hill and Goose Watch are also winning their share of medals, but Penguin Bay has always seemed to be the ugly duckling of the three. But within the last several years, the name and label have been revamped with the “cute animal” Flying Penguin label and the quality of the wines has improved dramatically. In the past, they have focused primarily on “Champagne” and Sparkling Wines, but their wine list now boasts an array of red and white still wines. Here are my tasting notes:
> Pinot Noir Brut Rose Champagne, $18, very dry but also very fruit forward with abundant sparkling cherry and strawberry flavors. I often find dry champagnes very flavorless, but this one brings the flavor!
> 2006 Rose’ of Chambourcin, $11, Beautiful salmon pink color, This is dry, but again, great fruit extraction with delicate berry flavors mingling with the bubbles into a lingering finish. And a great value at $11.
> 2007 Gewurztraminer, $17, This wine has won 2 best White Wine of Shows in the last several months. Overall, the ’07 Finger Lakes Gewurz’s that I have tasted have been fantastic with BIG aromas and Bold but smooth spice, perhaps even the best year ever for Finger Lakes Gewurz! This Gewurz shows lovely floral and citrus blossom aromas, this is a dry wine, but with delicate honeysuckle flavors on the front end with smooth cinnamon and allspice hints on the finish, this one’s not as big as some I’ve tasted but it is nuanced and elegant.
> Blanc de Blanc Champagne, $13.99, semi-dry with light lemon citrus overtones and good structure, a solid Cayuga White sparkler.
> 2006 Valvin Muscat, $15, one of the newest grapes from Cornell in a sweet dessert wine, tangerine with honeyed nutmeg highlights, finishes with that inherent herbal spice quality that I’m still not quite sure if I’m fond of, But this is my favorite Valvin Muscat out of the ones that I’ve tasted.
> Golden Spumante Champagne, $12, made from my beloved Diamond grape, yes I will bore you one more time with the story of how I accidentally made a Sparkling Diamond wine that (in the bottles that we salvaged that did not explode), tasted very similar to this Golden Spumante, splashes of baked apple and light orange citrus pirouette among the bubbles and dance like frantic Irish clog dancers across your palate!

- On another note, I have an announcement. I am proud to announce that I will be writing a monthly Finger Lakes column for Mountain Home magazine starting with the August issue. Mountain Home is a well-respected regional monthly that features articles about the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania and the Southern Tier of New York. Mountain Home magazine is available free every month in many of the wineries in The Finger Lakes and many other locations in PA & NY.
- I forgot to mention in my last news and notes post that THE PORT IS BACK at Lakewood. And it’s every bit as good as the ’05. Lakewood bottled 750 cases, but it will go fast, so get yours soon.
- Also, Alta B Day at Wagner Vineyards is this Sunday, July 27. It is their annual celebration in memory of Alta Button Wagner featuring entertainment on the brewdeck from 1:30 to 4:30 pm by The One Man Band, Peter Haskell with Door prizes and Wine specials with the lowest pricing of the year on many wines. One day only, 10am - 5pm.

Smells Like Grape : Viognier Down Argentina Way

Smells Like Grape — 23 Jul 2008 15:41:00

Continuing our two-part series Viognier Light and Gay; tonight we discuss a very affordable Argentine example. Okay, there is no series, and I just ripped the title off from the lyrics of "Down Argentina Way." Actually, such a title would be a bit of a misnomer since good examples of Viognier are typically full-bodied. Our wine tonight, Pie de Palo 2007 (available for ~$10) has a golden color of lighter intensity than our previous Vin de Pays example, but is no less aromatic. Again, there are tropical notes of lychee and pineapple, as well as, orange blossom. This Viognier also seems to have slightly higher acidity and is quite dry yet viscous. The flavors are more akin to orange pith and mineral. In fact, it reminds me a bit of flat tonic water in terms of flavor.

That being said, it is actually not as difficult to pair with food as the Vin de Pays example. Where our Vin de Pays was rather too delicate to have with food, our Argentine example serves as a blank canvas to which bold flavors may be applied. For example, a cheese that I've found to be quite discordant with wine in the past is green Chester Sage Derby: The Pie de Palo went quite nicely with it and performed as palate-cleanser.

I just want to tell you that I have never heard of the film or the song "Down Argentina Way" until 15 minutes ago when I was trying to come up with a title for this post and decided to google the phrase on a lark. In honor of this serendipitous occasion, I'm embedding a clip from the 1940 film featuring a blithe performance by Betty Grable. Enjoy.

mondosapore : Live in France? Or Italy?

mondosapore — 23 Jul 2008 15:26:09

Which country would you want to live in? Americans and other Anglophones tend to idealize both countries. But it's easy to idealize from afar and almost impossible to do so when you're there, particularly when you're there a lot and get to see the country up close, warts and all. Let' do a brief word association test for the Positives and Negatives of each. POSITIVES Italy: sunny, sensuous, sexy, fun-loving, romantic, great food, nice wines, history, culture, fashion, style, beautiful cities, gorgeous palaces, the sea, happiness. France: sensuous, sexy, fun-loving,...

Full Bodied: Two hot fat ...: What's better than wine? Wine and chocolate!

Full Bodied: Two hot fat chicks on wine and other good things in life. — 23 Jul 2008 14:05:00

The krazy kooks at Zotter in Austria must have a hell of a good time thinking up new and whacky chocolate bar flavours. Yes, these are the guys who meld chocolate with bacon bits, curry banana, date-shiitake, coffee-plum with carmelized bacon, mare's milk with oat (horse milk???), etc. The whole list of crazy flavours are here, and their vino and liquor flavours are:

Scotch whiskey
Almonds with Grappa
Cherry Brandy with Marzipan
Celery, Truffle and Port Wine (celery? whaaat?)
Marc de Champagne
Plum Brandy
Red Wine
Sweet Wine with Rooibos
Nectar of the Gods

In Vancouver, these delectable delights can be had from the lovely people at Monde Chocolate, on Burrard at 8th.

So far, Nectar of the Gods is the only one I've tried. I'm going to work my way through them all, though. Slowly! Nectar of the Gods was delicious, of course. Not particularly wine-like, but delicious with a raisin-y tang. And a nice mix of dark chocolate and truffle. Grapes are a subtle flavour to stand up to chocolate.

The Wine for Newbies Podcast™ ...: The end of the road

The Wine for Newbies Podcast™ Blog — 23 Jul 2008 13:26:48

Over the last few months I’ve had the opportunity to do some reflecting on various parts of my life. I’ve been impressed by the Zen-like concepts of simplifying things, removing clutter, and so on. In doing this, I’ve had to take stock of this blog and the podcast.

I’ve felt guilty for a while about a) not producing other podcasts, and b) not blogging here very regularly. I’ve probably kidded myself into believing I would “pick it up again” at some later date. Clearly, the evidence shows otherwise.

As a result of this podcast and blog, I’ve had some amazing experiences, from fabulous meals to getting to know people online, to learning about RSS feeds and audio engineering. (I think it’s safe to say I’ve learned more in some areas than in others!) I’m still passionate about wine (I’m counting the days until my no-wine stint ends), but I find that my passion no longer extends to podcasting, writing, or teaching about it.

I know this will come as a disappointment to some, a “yeah, big deal” to others, and it might even irritate another group. I feel badly about that, but I firmly believe that if I’m not going to be able to invest the right time and energy into a project, I need to jettison it before I take on the appearance of being lazy.

So, in a nutshell, I’m going to close down the blog here. The podcast will remain online as long as I can keep it there–and I don’t see any signs or mere hints that it will disappear. Five bucks a month to host and serve up the episodes is darn cheap, and I’m happy to provide the service. Besides, as of this writing, the number of episodes downloaded is 999,128. I gotta go for a million!

I may still pop up on Twitter occasionally if I’m enjoying a good bottle or at a wine seminar somewhere–hopefully with iPhone in tow to make it easy.

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Anyway, as U2’s frontman, Bono, would say, good night, God bless you.

Grape Thinking : TasteVine Selections

Grape Thinking — 23 Jul 2008 13:17:14

Image via Wikipedia

So we’ve been going through a little bit of a whirlwind lately over here at GT trying to find our path, and it ultimately led up to a fabulous meeting Monday in Atlanta. Paul, Andrea, and Pascal from Inertia flew out to meet and hang with us. It was great because we had Gahnert and my pops and his importer operations guy Mike — there was some serious industry weight in that room. Yet, everybody was laid back and chill. We built some great confidence in TasteVine being the product and the brand. We’re going to put the recommendation engine more backend for now and start focusing on finding some awesome global wines and producers that want to be a part of the brand. Anybody will still be able to use the engine (which will give recommendations from Inertia’s domestic direct client base), and others can try our TasteVine Selections, which will be the best wines and labels from around the world. We’ve got some great people behind us and are going to work hard to find the best juice in the world. Given this crystallization, we feel its best for GrapeThinking or maybe GrapeThink to naturally become TasteVine’s blog and get everybody unified behind one focused effort. So glad I didn’t take that banking job.

Montalcino Report : Sangiovese: a little bit of history

Montalcino Report — 23 Jul 2008 13:04:29

The earliest known reference to Sangiovese grape variety is found in "La coltivazione delle viti", Soderini's treatment of grape growing published in 1590. He makes mention of a grape called Sangiogheto and praises it for its productivity. Trinci also praised it in 1738 in "Agricoltore sperimentato" and Gallesio devotes an entire chapter to Sangiovese in his "Pomona italiana" published in 1830. No one knows the origin of the grape name but many believe that it comes from the Toscana dialect, "Sarzana", meaning "Sangiovannina", a term used to denote early-ripening grapes. Sangiovese is grown throughout Italy and it is believed that 11% of hectares under vine in our country are planted to Sangiovese. Brunello di Montalcino has been made from 100% Sangiovese grosso (also known as Brunello) since the 1880s. The Sangiovese grosso clone of Sangiovese has berries that are larger than most clones of Sangiovese. Il Poggione is one of the original producers of Brunello.