Cline, “Ancient Vines” Zinfandel, California 2003 ($11) - Garnet color, boysenberry nose with some oak, “thick” plum, blackberry and oak flavors with moderate tannins and a long finish. An excellent value, tasting as good as wines at twice it’s price. Score: 8.5/10

Today’s show is focused on the red grape of the Rhone: Syrah. I taste three wines made from this grape from 3 different continents, give you background on the origins of Syrah, why Aussie’s call their wines “Shiraz”, review the book, “Wine for Every Day and Every Occasion”, by Dottie Gaiter & John Brecher and share some listener comments.

Wines tasted:

- Greg Norman Estates, Limestone Coast, Shiraz 2002 ($11)
- Cave de Tain l’Hermitage, Crozes Hermitage, “Nobles Rives” 2001 ($14)
- Vina Robles, Estate Syrah 2001 ($12)

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Just finished my tasting for the Syrah show and the Crozes Hermitage was corked. Since this is my 20th show and the wines of the Northern Rhone define the Syrah grape, I will be picking up another bottle tomorrow and recording the podcast. On a good note, I had 2 awesome Syrah’s from California and Australia that both rated 9 of 10 points!

Seghesio, Zinfandel, Sonoma County 2003 ($17) - Dark garnet, intense plum and current aromas with oak, jammy blackberry flavors — almost over the top ripeness at 14.9% alcohol — but somehow pulls off a nice, long finish of plum and oak. Medium tannins complete the package nicely. Delicious now but good for 4-5 more years in the cellar. A wine that tastes as good as some Ridge bottlings at 2-3 times it’s price. Score: 9/10.

Noticed a post over at Huge Johnson’s blog about the U.S. government’s guidelines about the consumption of alcohol. It makes for good reading with highlights like this:

“Alcohol may have beneficial effects when consumed in moderation. The lowest all-cause mortality occurs at an intake of one to two drinks per day. The lowest coronary heart disease mortality also occurs at an intake of one to two drinks per day.”

Good news for wine lovers, but I woundered what other governments were saying on the issue. A bit of Googling later turned up some interesting findings from around the world.

Anne has posted another great edition of her Eat Feed podcast that I appeared on matching wine with food. Her theme this week is the timely Passover Seder, so I gave an overview of Middle Eastern wine, how kosher wines are made and the wines of Israel.

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On today’s show, the white wines of France’s Sancerre region, listener comments and some show announcements.

Wines Tasted:

- Pascal Jolivet, Sancerre 2002 ($19)
- Pierre Prieur, “Domaine de Saint Pierre”, Sancerre 2003 ($20)
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Sam over at the Becks & Posh blog has chosen the theme for Wine Blogging Wednesday #9 and it’s rose (or pink) wines. Should be fun to track down some of the great French rose of Anjou and Sancerre and taste them against some of California’s best white Pinot’s (a.k.a Vin Gris). Don’t worry, no “white” Zinfandel this time

The date is May 11th.

Great, yet another thing I have to worry about

I am pleased to announce that Winecast has passed the 10,000th show downloaded milestone. Since I started this podcast — only 117 days ago — the audience has steadily grown to over 1,000 subscribers from all over the world. I am working now on some new features to make the show and blog even better and continue this growth trajectory.

Many thanks for all your comments, suggestions and support!