I just received an email from RadCru announcing a live chat (text, audio, video) with the winemaker and owner of Tobacco Road Road Cellars. The chat takes place today, March 26th, from 2:00 - 3:00pm EST.
If you’re interested in getting in on the chat, go to www.tobaccoroadshow.tv. It looks like you’ll need to create an account and once you do, you’ll be able to participate in the chat by asking questions.
View Tobacco Road Cellars wines on WineLog »
Now through 1/31/2008, use coupon code “JOY” to save $15 towards your next order. Shop now at www.mywinesdirect.com
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Ever since The Cash Money Millionaires rapped about their “Bling Bling,” fine people across the globe have used the term in reference to anything expensive and flashy. Thanks to HipKraft.com, you can now be a blinging wine lover.
Brian sent over some Fabolous shirts for Beth (Drxeno’s birthday plannin’ wife) and myself to try out, and we think they are G-R-R-R-R-E-A-T! The cute-sy sayings are written in white, red, and yellow rhinestones (think 6th grade bedazzler) and actually don’t look as showy in person as they do on the site. You could wear the shirt with pride to a jazz club or a southwestern hoedown. Witty designs in the “wine” realm include such phrases as “got wine?“, “Wino” (with a red or white wine glass), and my personal favorite “Therapy” (with the “y” letter replaced by a glass of red or white wine).
We all know that a bottle of wine can absorb the aromas in its environment (more about cellaring here). So what do you do when the place you’re hoping to store your wine has a funky smell? A WL user recently emailed the following question and we’d love your help in finding an answer…
We just bought a wine fridge and it has a strong odor from the stain on the wood. Trying to find out the best thing to absorb the odor, arm and hammer not working as well as we’d like.
Any suggestions? Post them below - thanks!
So you’re putting together a dinner party/family gathering/holiday meal/fill-in-the-blank-event and need to figure out how much wine/beer/liquor you will need. There are a bunch of factors to consider, so go through my simple list of prep questions. We’ve created a drink calculator gadget that you can use on our site or install on your iGoogle™ homepage. Check it out now »
Drink Planning Questions
How many people attending your event consume alcohol? Take your full guest list and put a check-mark next to each guest that you think will be drinking (it may be easier to mark people who will not be drinking). Some guides tell you to categorize guests by light, moderate, and heavy drinker, but I think it’s safe to assume the theory of drinkativity: “light drinker + heavy drinker = moderate drinker.” A simple Yes or No is sufficient.
Continuing our series on the VA Wine Festival, this post is about our tasting with First Colony Winery — where the pourer and/or Jason spilled red wine on me. Thanks to a little bleach the stain is now history, but my fond memories of their great wines have not been forgotten.
We visited the stand pretty late in the day, so the all-around good tasting wines were a pleasant finish to a great event. The most notable wine tasted was a classic ‘Kim’ wine — a hearty Meritage blend, very full-bodied with nice firm tannins. The First Colony Meritage 2006 ($18) is a memorable wine, the kind of wine that you hate to open because you know it cannot be replaced. The first sips are full of bright red fruits, and the back of mouth flavors are toasty, warm and nutty. The blend includes Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot.
Jason and I attended a family party this past weekend and, at the request of the host, brought along a magnum of Yellow Tail Riesling ($6; South Eastern Australia). For our own needs (and for comparison) we also picked up a bottle of Bridgeview Blue Moon Riesling 2006 ($9; Cave Junction, Oregon)
The difference between these two wines is REMARKABLE! Bridgeview’s offering is a sweeter and more elegant wine that reminds me of German and Alsatian rieslings. The Yellow Tail Riesling was crisp had much stronger citrus flavors, reminding me of an Australian or New Zealand-style Pinot Grigio.
Here are my tasting notes for each wine
If you’ve been following my articles lately, you may already know that Jason and I had an opera date in our future. Well, the date was last night, and we had quite a wonderful evening.
With our bottle of Pio Cesare Barolo 2001 in hand, Jason and I arrived for our pre-opera dinner at Mercato, an adorable Italian BYOB at the corner of Spruce and Carmac streets in Philadelphia (details below). The restaurant had a great “locals-only” feel and the decor was very minimal, allowing the building’s architecture to shine.
We opted to start our dinner with a plate of cured meats, olives, a selection of speciality olive oils and a fig vinegar. Jason chose pumpkin fettuccinni for a main course and I had diver Scallops and a wild mushroom and pea risotto. Needless to say, the food was delicious. Our meal wasn’t complete without a shared tiramisu and two cappuccinos!
That’s the combination Sweet WillYum’s owner and baker Sue Kershner suggests for a quiet evening. Personally, I think Uncle Eric’s Granola Biscotti would go just as well with a mellow wine. What would you pair with Will’s Chocolate Chip Cookies? Or Chocolate Peppermint Dr. Patti’s?
