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Wine Blogging Wednesday No. 37 is almost here, and it’s a great one. Dr. Vino has asked us to explore “indigenous” varietals. No Cab Sauv, no Chard, etc. Garganega, Albariño, those would qualify.

Fortunately, I have a few bottles of exactly what I want to blog about. It’s an Italian white, and I can’t get enough of it. Unfortunately, it’s in pretty short supply here in the States. I could launch into the story right now, but I’m going to have to wait until the appointed date, namely September 12.

In the meantime, you can check out the relatively-new Wine Blogging Wednesday site.

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Sadly, I have only one wine to write about this month, which really bums me out because I really enjoy Washington State Cabernets. But, a trial last week and lots of busy-ness since then kept me from even having any wine until this evening.

Catie, this month’s host, will be disappointed because all I could dig up before life went berserk was a Chateau Ste. Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon Canoe Ridge 1999. Maybe I can get points for having a slightly older vintage, not one I just grabbed off the store shelf?

This was a really nice wine. It had plenty of layered aromas on the nose. The color was a really nice garnet with just a hint of ruby in it. The layered nature of the wine carried through on the palate with nice tannins and a good long finish. Not the best Washington State Cab I’ve had, but still an enjoyable experience. Call it about 89/100.

Of course, CSM is one of the most popular wineries around, and it’s absolutely freaking huge. My favorite Washington winery is L’Ecole No. 41. I really wish I’d had the time to break into some of my slightly older Cabs from L’Ecole (including a few from Walla Walla!). Or maybe even that Woodward Canyon magnum I’ve got in the cellar.

Thanks for hosting, Catie. Sorry I couldn’t come up with more goodies!

Technorati Tags: Wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chateau Ste. Michell, L’Ecole No. 41, Washington State

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I’m a bit late on the announcement, but next Wednesday is Wine Blogging Wednesday, hosted by Catie’s blog dedicated to Walla Walla wines. I have to say, I think this is the perfect time for this theme (for me, anyway). The last several WBWs I’ve participated in have been great in that they’ve challenged me to go off the beaten path a bit and learn some new things.

This theme, though, is sort of like a homecoming. I have a good chunk of Washington Cabs in my cellar, some going back a few years, and this will be a great opportunity to open them up and see how they are doing. In a nutshell, I love Washington Cabs. There’s something about them (reasonable prices being one) that sit well with my palate. In a way, they are my wine version of comfort food.

So, Catie, thanks for picking a great theme!

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The magic random number generator selected one number out of the 170 elligible entries, and I’ve sent an email off to the lucky person.

So, does this type of thing interest the readers and listeners? Should we do other contests in the future? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment–and thanks!

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Another month approaches, and that means another Wine Blogging Wednesday is coming! For May, the theme is mid-priced wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. The host for the event, Doktor Weingolb, defines mid-priced wines as being in the $15 to $30 range.

For wine newbies and others learning about wine, these sorts of WBW events are excellent opportunities to learn. Need some help identifying a wine from this region? The good Doktor has given us some resources. I believe I have a bottle or two from one of my favorite French producers, Ch St. Martin de la Garrigue (the Bronzinelle is often a good value) in the cellar, but this is a grand excuse to go wine shopping.

So, join the fun and blog about your findings on Wednesday, May 16, 2007!

Updated to add: You can check out this recent episode of Wine Library TV to learn more about Languedoc-Roussillon.

Updated again to add: I can’t believe I misspelled “Martin” by tacking an “e” onto the end. All better now.

Technorati Tags: wine, Languedoc-Roussillon, Wine+Blogging+Wednesday

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Tim Elliott at Winecast has invited me to join him on his very first live podcast on Wednesday, April 18, at 9:oo p.m. EDT/6:00 p.m. PDT. Get all the details (you’ll need to scroll down as the permalink isn’t working) at his blog, and join us with your questions!

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Alder over at Vinography writes one of the best wine blogs in the world. Now he’s come up with a great solution to the problem of finding the right adjective to describe your wine. Visit his site to download a wallet-sized tool with many, many useful adjectives to identify aromas and flavors.

Brilliant. Simply brilliant.

Technorati Tags: Wine, wine+tasting, wine+education, wine+aroma+wheel

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As an attorney, my eye usually picks up something in the form of “X v. Y.” Often, it’s a case citation that reflects a court’s attempt to resolve a dispute when the parties couldn’t do it themselves. But in this particular instance, I was happy to see “Regular v. Reserve” as the theme for Wine Blogging Wednesday 32.

The only tricky part is that we leave on Sunday for California, so I’ll be on a tight schedule to get this one in, especially since the host wants the entries emailed by Sunday the 8th–yikes! But, I’m sure that somewhere in Santa Barbara wine country I will find a tasting room offering a regular and reserve designation of its wines.

This is a great theme idea–are “reserve” wines really worthy of a designation that makes them sound really special? Does the wine in the bottle with that label deserve the designation? Let’s find out what people think. Look for the roundup on April 11.

Technorati Tags: Wine, Wine Blogging Wednesday

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Today is Wine Blogging Wednesday, hosted by BoxWines.org. And, the theme is not surprising considering the host–wines in boxes or other alternative packaging.

Plenty of bloggers will cover the advantages to wine boxes (primarily their convenience and, more importantly to me, preserving the freshness of the wine) in detail, so I won’t do that here. Instead, let’s get right to the reviews.

Everyone in the U.S. has heard of Franzia wine, which has a reputation for being cheap and, well, uninteresting to wine enthusiasts. Franzia sells a whole lot of its wines, so Franzia has helped box wines develop a certain expectation in consumers. But, just as screw cap enclosures are slowly becoming accepted by the wine world, wine boxes are also showing up with higher quality wines in them.

For this month’s WBW, I wanted to find a couple of box wines that were off my beaten path. I found two over at Sam’s in Chicago that I hadn’t heard of before, Killer Juice 2004 and Cuvee de Peña 2004.

Killer Juice comes in a three liter box, and is California Cabernet Sauvignon, mostly it seems from coastal regions. It has a nice color, moderate aromas, and a pleasant if not inspiring group of flavors, but the alcohol seems to dominate. A short finish rounds it out. I would give this wine a 75/100. The packaging is what originally caught my eye, with its black background and bright red flames reminiscent of hot rods.

Cuvee de Peña comes from France’s Rhône region, and is a blend of various Rhône varietals. It has a very nice color, moderate to powerful aromas that are pleasant but not complex, and a nice balance of flavors, alcohol, tannins, etc. It has a longer finish, but still somewhat short. I would rate this wine at 82/100. As I mentioned in the podcast on box wines, when both this and the Killer Juice are sitting on the counter together, I gravitate toward Cuvee de Peña.

Both of these boxes ran at about $20 (US), so they are well priced for the quantity (three liters each). The better bargain is definitely the Cuvee de Peña.

Thanks to the crew at BoxWines.org for a great theme this month!

Technorati Tags: Wine, Wine Review, Box Wines, Wine Blogging Wednesday

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