NZ Sauvignon Blanc Twitter Tasting 5/16

Next Wednesday, May 16, from 5-6pm, I’ll be participating in the Thirsty Girl Twitter Tasting (https://twitter.com/#!/beathirstygirl) with Villa Maria Wines (https://twitter.com/#!/villamaria_wine), Master of Wine, Alastair Maling (http://twitter.com/alastairmaling) and head Thirsty Girl, Leslie Sbrocco–and you can too! I think you can guess from this photo of Alastair from the Thirsty Girl website that we’re going to be in for some laughs.

Everyone is welcome to ask about New Zealand wines and in particular Sauvignon Blanc. Just use the hashtag #TGTaste so we can find your tweets! In particular, I am interested in learning more about the winery’s environmentally sound and sustainable practices, of which they are proud. Continue reading

#WBW76 Boomerang Roundup & #WBW77 Theme–Good Wines for Bad Days

According to the wrap-up on Wine Blogging Wednesday #76, it seems that a number of wine bloggers felt they’d “turned their backs” on the wines of Australia during the past few years and enjoyed rediscovering wines from “down under” that came in under $30. About a dozen bloggers participated in April’s event hosted by wine-zag.com. Thanks, Adam, for hosting!

May’s Wine Blogging Wednesday host is Alleigh from A Glass After Work who wants to know, what glass of wine do you want after a bad day at work.

In your post, include what wine you open, why you picked that wine to wash away your bad day, and the price (or suggested retail price) of the wine.  There are no restrictions on price, country, varietal, etc.  The sky is the limit.  You just need to give us all the details so we can find the wine for after our own bad day. Continue reading

Wine Blogging Wednesday #76: Going for Ringland’s Shiraz & Cab from Barossa

In this month’s edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday, #76, host  Adam Japko aka Wine Zag prompts us to revisit the Barossa legendary wine region of Australia, located just north of the port city of Adelaide in the underbelly of the continent. In his prompt, he says Australia is the “latest comeback kid” –and that an appreciation of Oz wines has boomeranged.

Lettie Teague from WSJ also wrote recently on the “Rise and Fall of AUS wine.” On March 8, 2012, in her post she argues that wine from Australia has yet to boomerang and says that sales are still down.

“Entire import companies like Dan Philips’ Grateful Palate have disappeared,” writes Lettie Teague. “Grateful Palate went into receivership about two years ago and Philips himself seems to have vanished.” Continue reading

Barossa or Queensland Australia? If it’s wine, I want to taste it!

Have you tried any wine from Queensland Australia? Did you even know there were almost 200 wineries there?

I’ve been on pins and needles waiting to see whether I am one of 10 bloggers selected to go to Queensland Australia for a 5 day blogging adventure with ProBlogger Darren Rowse. In my application I said:

I will enthusiastically use my social media “Klout” to share stories about rainforest and Great Barrier Reef biodiversity, artists and poets like Oodgeroo Noonuccal, efforts to be green, and cutting-edge cuisine. Discovering Queensland’s growing wine industry and opportunities for hiking, camping, and other family friendly adventures are also topics of great excitement to me. Continue reading

Are you a locavore? Do you like to locapour?

Gwendolyn Alley aka Art Predator's avatarart predator

What’s a locavore? Depending on who’s doing the defining, a locavore is someone who eats foods grown and produced within 100 miles. Others define it as 400 miles.

Why would you take on the challenge of eating locally?

One reason is that it is much better for the planet to eat food that comes from your neck of the woods. Your carbon footprint is lower because what you consume is not traveling as far, and local food and especially food purchased from a farmers market consumes less materials and requires less packaging.

I know a number of people who have taken on the 100 mile Locavore challenge and enjoyed it. They had “freebie” days and they could purchase a certain number of products which were from outside the boundary. We grow such a diversity of products all year around here that it is much easier to do it here than…

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4/18 Anniversary Celebration & Chateau Ste Michelle Twitter Tasting

Tonight I’m celebrating my wedding anniversary AND participating in the TGTaste on Wednesday, April 18 at 5 pm PST  with Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Winemaker, Wendy Stuckey and head Thirsty Girl, Leslie Sbrocco.
The wines we’ll be tasting are:

I’m also bringing a bottle of their 2005 Luxxe sparkling wine for our anniversary celebration! Continue reading

Wine Predator Poetry Readings 4/14 & 5/8

While I have a love for writing about wine, I also have a passion for poetry: I’ve been an award winning and published poet for nearly 20 years, and an exhibiting artist since 1994 with three solo shows in Ventura and one on the Queen Mary in Long Beach.

I first published my poetry and art in 1995 ArtLife Limited Editions with broadsides of my paintings, mixed media, and installations with my words. Since 2001, I’ve been participating in the 3:15 Experiment where poets wake at 3:15am every night during the month of August to write. In 2006, I co-edited a book of 3:15 Experiment poetry.

Last March I published this book of 3:15 Experiment poetry which traces my journey from being a daughter to becoming a mother to losing my mother the night before the 3:15 experiment in 2010.

Read more about my poetry collection including sample poems and reviews.  Continue reading