Author Archives: Gwendolyn Alley aka Art Predator

Today (especially!) is Champagne Day!

Cheers!

In my book, every day is Champagne Day! But last Saturday was a super special occasion, my husband’s birthday, and Ima Zin’s, so we opened up this grand lady–a 1983 Cristal! (A report on that later!)5829_10151709885625924_913664121_n

Today, Friday,  October 25, 2013 marks the fourth annual Champagne Day, where wine lovers around the globe raise a flute to the quintessential wine of celebration, good cheer and toasts everywhere: Champagne. There will be terrific opportunities for Champagne lovers to celebrate in wine stores, restaurants, bars and in spontaneous gatherings with friends.

Share the love! Post about your experience celebrating with the #ChampagneDay hashtag.

In 2011 and 2012, I organized Champagne Day events where we paired sparkling wine with oysters at the Ventura State Beach. In 2011 we raised over $500 to contribute to reopen McGrath State Beach. At least 50 people came to the beach with picnics and bottles of sparkling wine to share and pair with oysters. 

In 2012, in addition to celebrating Champagne Day at the beach with oysters, we also held a twitter tasting for #PlanetBordeaux of a group of stellar Sauvignon Blancs and roses. This year we are taking our Champagne and heading to some hot springs!

Initially created by Vintuba wine blog to recognize and appreciate the sparkling wine that comes exclusively from Champagne, France, “Champagne Day offers the perfect opportunity to pop open a bottle, explore the beauty these wines have to offer and turn a moment into a 1378573_10151721292520924_320235983_ncelebration while remembering that Champagne only comes from Champagne, France,”  stated Sam Heitner, director of the Champagne Bureau, USA

Today, Champagne Day brings millions of wine lovers worldwide together to celebrate in a host of events, retail opportunities and a large-scale online celebration of all aspects of this unique bubbly. Consumers across the U.S. will have many special opportunities to enjoy Champagne today with a host of Champagne Day-only deals at retailers, tastings and menu pairings at restaurants and other spontaneous celebrations.  To find some of the events happening around the world and learn more about how to participate in the online celebrations, visit the official Champagne Day event page: http://bit.ly/19EIh4L.

For more information about #ChampagneDay or the worldwide effort to protect the Champagne name, please visit http://bit.ly/19EIh4L or www.champagne.us. Remember, if it doesn’t come from the Champagne region of France, it’s not Champagne!

PS If you love sparkling wines like I do, and you live in the Ventura/Santa Barbara/LA area, be sure to watch for the Tasting at the Ventura Wine Company and Cave! That afternoon, you can taste real Champagne from France as well as local sparkling wines and sparklers from other parts of the world too! (I hopet eh get in some wines from Franciacorta Italy! Those sparklers ROCK!)  If you can’t wait until Sunday, December 8, they’re doing a Holiday tasting on Novembe993413_10151725546708434_1673351765_nr 10. Get your tickets now–it will sell out!

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7 Reasons Why I Love Grenache for Grenache Day!

I love grenache. I love it alone, and I love it blends. I love old vines, and new. I love grenache as an ice (seriously!) and as a rose.

Picture of Grenache noir grapes from a vineyar...

Picture of Grenache noir grapes from a vineyard in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Why?

  • 1. Grenache has nice body, heft, weight.
  • 2. Grenache is supple and rich.
  • 3. Grenache has lots of strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry fruit.
  • 4. Grenache can have a nice spicy kick to it!
  • 5. Grenache has a pretty rosey garnet color.
  • 6. Grenache goes great with pink and white meats like lamb, pork loin, salmon, but you can also enjoy it with a beef stew.
  • 7. Grenache blends well with other wines.

One of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties on the planet, grenache vines get better with age.

Today is a great day to celebrate all things grenache because Continue reading →

Discover Loire Valley’s Touraine Sauvignon Blancs 9/17/13

BUZVm8uCUAA0AzLSauvignon Blanc is one of my favorite wines–it’s flexible, affordable, and a great wine with some of my favorite foods like oysters, chevre goat cheese and french bread, ceasar salad, and pesto with pasta. It’s my go to wine, my always in the fridge or on the shelf wine.

When in doubt, I get the sauvignon blanc out!

After participating in a number of industry tastings, I’m a huge fan of Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand-even the ones that feature a fair amount of gooseberry or cat pee.

Living in California, it’s easy to find locally grown Sauvignon Blanc; a favorite of mine is by Adam Tolmach for his winery, Ojai Vineyards. Continue reading →

Join us tonight! Rieslings from the Finger Lakes 2012 Vintage Part 1

BUT7mYHIYAE7SPGSometimes when it rains it pours–wine that is!

Following Friday’s phenomenal Franciacorta tasting of six sparkling Italian wines, today it’s time to switch gears and open up five newly released Riesling from the Finger Lakes in NY, followed by Tuesday’s Touraine tasting of five different examples of Sauvignon Blanc form the Loire Valley.

Tonight’s tasting will be streamed live on USTREAM (http://www.ustream.tv/channel/finger-lakes-wine-virtual-tasting-series) where wine makers and winery reps will share their expertise and answer our previously submitted questions as well as respond to questions and comments on twitter using the hashtag #FLXWineVT. Continue reading →

Franciacorta, Italy: Here We Come!

Some people might think that Friday the 13th brings bad luck.

JulieannecaseNot me!

Yesterday’s Friday the 13th brought me bubbles–and lots of them!

Yesterday, I was very grateful to be a wine blogger as I popped all of these corks of Italian Sparkling wine from Franciacorta to taste and tweet with Julieanne Case and toast the birthday of my good friend Helen O’Neil.

Here’s Julieanne hard at work on her tablet! Continue reading →

WBW#80: Four reasons to love “My Derby Wife” Rose by WineGirl Wines

wbw_logoAt the last three wine bloggers conferences, I lucked out both with amazing pre-conference excursions and great conference expeditions as well. In 2010, a small group of us  traveled on a press trip Seattle to Walla Walla and back, tasting along the way. In 2012, on our pre-conference excursion we dined at King Estates then learned about pinot noir with Robin Pffeifer, then went by TRAIN from Eugene to Portland where I was on the infamous #cuffedincarlton bus.

In 2013, I joined the Seattle to Lake Okanagan trip by way of the Lake Chelan AVA and went on the OK Falls hike where I discovered Painted Rock which I wrote about here also. When the announcement that Wine Blogging Wednesday #80 was Dry Rose, I didn’t have to think too hard about which wine I wanted to write about: “My Derby Wife” rose Continue reading →

A Selection of Rodney Strong Wines: Symmetry, Sauv Blanc, Chard, Knotty Vines, Alexander’s Crown

2013-08-12 18.59.54One of our Wine Predator summer 2012 highlights was a twitter tasting that featured Rodney Strong wines. I’m guessing that this summer Rodney Strong wines will be a highlight as well!

Last summer, we tasted several Rodney Strong wines: Sauvignon Blanc, Knotty Vines Zinfandel, and Symmetry. Getting in the mood for Wednesday’s blending party with Rodney Strong wines at the Pierpont Inn, I opened their Chardonnay one night and their Alexander’s Crown Cabernet Sauvignon on another night.

To Rodney Strong Vineyards, “place matters.”  One of the oldest wineries in Sonoma County, it was started by the charismatic and handsome Rodney Strong, a retired dancer. Family owned and carbon neutral, their certified sustainable practices start with the earth with soil and water conservation and reach toward the sky with solar power (one of the largest by any winery in the world!). They are also one of the rare businesses that are committed to the Triple Bottom Line of Planet, People and Profit, meaning they are not just concerned about making money but taking care of the planet and their employees through social equity.

Below are notes on each of these wines from Rodney Strong. And watch for an upcoming post with pictures and stories from our experiment in blending! Continue reading →