Tonight, Tuesday April 21 from 6-7pm PST, is the third night of four focused on “The Next Great Grape: Garnacha” on Wine Studio hosted by Protocol Wine Studio. James Beard Award-winning wine and food writer, WSET Instructor, and public speaker Lyn Farmer aka @FizzFan visited the Cariñena region last June and brings his insights into the history, sights, sounds and tastes to the weekly discussion:
“I believe Cariñena is positioned to take a vibrant place on the world wine stage. It is not (yet) so well known as regions slightly to the north like Ribera del Duero and Rioja, nor is it (yet) so trendy as Priorat and Toro, but Cariñena’s day is coming.” @FizzFan
As the weather warms, wine predators everywhere are headed to outdoor wine festivals, tastings, and activities as well as picnics in the park on the beach.
As luck would have it, today is a Saturday and my 12th wedding anniversary –which means silk, linens, and pearls! Oysters anyone? Plus it’s Earth and Poetry month. So how should a wine predator poet celebrate?
Amy and I both felt enlightened by the Cairdean Malbec.
April 17 is World Malbec Day! Or is it Malbec World Day? Or just Malbec Day? Regardless, what are some good Malbecs to try? I was reminded of this event by Jon Staenberg of Hand of God Wine who urges us to celebrate Malbec World Day by saying the good people of Argentina have proclaimed April 17th as World Malbec Day. Over 100 years ago, Malbec was brought from France to the foothills of the Andes Mountains in Mendoza, Argentina where the constant sun and heat helps the grape to ripeness; Malbec thrives in the hot, dry weather and high elevations of Mendoza creating a typically ripe and lush wine with smooth tannins.Continue reading →
Looking for an Earth friendly and budget friendly red wine? Recently Que Syrah Sue and I tasted the 2012 Syrah, Carmenere, and Cabernet Sauvignon from Montes Winery which dry farmed (note the cobwebs on the water spigots?) and is certified under the Wines of Chile Sustainable Code. These wines retail for under $20 making them perfect candidates for Earth Month festivities. Look for the distinctive angel iconography on the Montes Winery label which began when owner Douglas Murray survived two near-fatal automobile accidents;
the angel symbolizes the winery’s philosophy to be a positive force and influence.
— Gwendolyn Alley, Art and Wine Predator (@ArtPredator) March 10, 2015
“Wine and life…They are as inseparable as the sun
and the warmth it brings.”
—Gabriele Tacconi, Ruffino Winemaker
Recently Que Syrah Sue and I participated in a Ruffino Chianti tasting of four wines hosted by Snooth and with a video chat. The occasion for the tasting was their release of their new top of the line “Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2010.”
— Gwendolyn Alley, Art and Wine Predator (@ArtPredator) March 11, 2015
This month, Wine Studio is all in for zin! Zinfandel that is… after all, it is lent!
For the final four Tuesdays in March, Wine Studio, which hosts a weekly virtual tasting on Tuesday nights from 6-7pm, will focus on
The Translational Role of Winemaker through a Single Grape
“Zinfandel has been the archenstone for the California wine scene since the mid 1800s,” writes Wine Studio, but what has “remained constant throughout its turbulent history is its adaptability. The grape is planted all over California and represents the full gamut of wine descriptions depending on where it’s planted.”
Each week features a small production winery with a unique take on zinfandel. Continue reading →
This summer from August 12-16, 2015 the 8th Wine Bloggers Conference will be held at the Radisson Hotel in the town of Corning in the The Finger Lakes region of New York. The Finger Lakes Wine Country hosts over 100 wineries which grow 90% of New York’s wine around the four main lakes: Cayuga, Seneca, Keuka and Canandaigua. Corning, New York, home to the Corning Glass Company,was named “Best Fun Small Town in America” in 2013 by Rand McNally.I’ve attended seven of the conferences so far, thanks to convenient locations and two scholarships (to 2010’s WBC in Walla Walla and in 2013 to Penticton); I missed the one in Virgina due to the expense of travel. Instead that year I visited wine regions in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and California on an extensive road trip. But I am planning on getting to the Finger Lakes, a region that I’ve heard a lot about over the years, and been favorably impressed with their wines, especially their Riesling, which I’ve had the opportunity to taste in several virtual events.
Recently Allan Wright, organizer of the annual Wine Bloggers Conference, wrote alums to say that they are considering “making substantial changes to the agenda and format of the 2015 Wine Bloggers Conference.”
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 