Happy New Year!
During this time of reflection, I have a few wines worth remembering — and recommending along with a few blog posts you might want to revisit.
Here on Wine Predator in 2019 we researched, tasted, and wrote about hundreds of wines in 123 posts with 176,090 words averaging 1432 per post.
That’s like writing three novels.
So when it comes time to sort through all of these posts to choose some favorites to submit to year end contests like this one and for year end wrap-ups here on Wine Predator, I asked for some help from some of my loyal readers and friends.
I also asked Sue– but I wanted something different from her — not the best, but ten posts that were the most memorable. Not necessarily her favorite wines or meals but the ones that made the best, the strongest memories for her.
“When first asked to do this task,” says Sue, “I did not realize just how many posts we put out this year. How do you take 116 and pick out 10 of your favorite children. Some are so rich with our experiences. So many experiences, so many memories, such an abundance of fantastic wine and food. I was then told to focus on exceptional wines. Did that make it any easier? I find that my favorites evoked such great times rich with foods that paired beautifully with the wines we served them with.
The most memorable wines come with the most memorable experiences.
“The wine and the food shine together making it a memorable event,” she continues. “I was able to narrow it down to 30 right away. Bringing it down to the 10 most memorable took some time, but here it is:
1. La Maliosa Biodynamic Procanio and pasta Bar w/ Santa Barbara Uni and Muscles. – These were by for some of the most interesting wines I have ever tasted, and the menu took the experience over the top
2. Celebrating Summer with 4 wines from NE Mountains of Italy with 4 Vegetarian Courses – The menu was over the top, and out of my experience. Each wine paired so beautifully with the food making it a most memorable event
3. Understanding the Mind and Soil: A Walk and Talk in the Vineyards of Vincent Charlot – How can I not include one of the moments during our trip of a lifetime to France this year.
4. An Exploration into California Certifications and Sustainable Explainations – I loved the wines and had been wanting to do a post like this for some time. Fabulous wines doing it right for the Earth
5. Chile’s Odfjell Biodynamic Reds and Pastel de Choclo – Every time I research menus and pair the wine of the region with the cusine of the region it is always a hit. These wines were outstanding and with the menu it was over the top
6. Defining Biodynamic Rudy Marchesi and Three Montinore Pinot Noir – While not always in the mood for Pinot Noir, these were fabulous wines done right with a great menu and fantastic write up.
7. Lamb Stew Paired with Cabernet Franc Created by Couples – I love Cabernet Franc, and this post introduced us to Chateau Yvonne where we were later able to visit when we went to France.
8. 3 Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore w/ DOCG and Calamari w/ Lemon Caper Sauce – We both love sparkling wine and DOCG really does make a difference with Prosecco, again paired with a fantastic meal.
9. 5 Wines from Spain Paired w/ Paella Red, White, Cava, Rosado? – Fantastic wines and a memorable experience. Thanks Gretel for making the wonderful Paella
For the first contest that I am entering, in the category of Wine Reporting, I chose
For the category of Wine Travel I chose
For the category of Wine Pairing, there are SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM — like probably 100! I considered a few including Rasteau which is a solid post but ended up debating these two which Sue also really liked:
and
Which do you think I chose?
Wish me luck! The winner of this contest gets a trip to Bordeaux!
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 