Ronald has already posted the summary of all the entries in Wine Blogging Wednesday #8 over at loveSicily. What is striking is that a large proportion of the wines were from the Nero d’Avola grape and the Morgante I tasted was also entered by two other bloggers (you can compare notes here and here).

I also made a mistake last night when I posted the show that some iPodders, particularly on the Macintosh, had problems with. I have since fixed the issue and all should work as expected, but you might have the mp3 on your hard drive without an entry in your iTunes library. My apologies… to make up for this, I will be doing another show over the weekend

Another special, mid-week podcast for Wine Blogging Wednesday featuring the red wines of Sicily. I have selected three wines made from the native Nero d’Avola grape for another live, “virtual tasting”. I also share a bit of background on Sicilian wine.

Wines tasted:

- Firriato, “Chiaramonte”, Nero d’Avola 2002 ($12)
Dark ruby color, beautiful, intense black cherry nose, fresh black cherry fruit with moderate tannins and a bit of acidity; a nice food wine. Delicious. Score: 9/10

- Morgante, Nero d’Avola 2003 ($11)
Ruby color, earthy black cherry nose, a little musty, black cherry fruit and medium tannins. Very good. Score: 8/10

- Colosi, Dry Red Wine 2002 ($7)
Medium ruby color, musty plum and wild cherry nose, plum and wild cherry flavors and moderate tannins. Very good. Score: 8/10

Direct mp3 Download

Technorati Tags: wine wine blogging wednesday podcast

Good day from sunny Southern California (The OC, to be specific)!

I’m out here visiting my parents for the weekend, but took some time yesterday afternoon to sit down with Brian and Jay from Grape Radio and Michael Geoghegan from Reel Reviews. It was great to finally meet them in person and continue our discussions on podcasting, movies and, of course, wine. One of my questions was where they buy their wines here and they suggested I check out The Wine Club and Wine Exchange. Both stores have great selections of domestic (particularly California) and imported wines with very knowledgeable staff. They are a wine lover’s dream and are hightly recommended; I just wish I brought a larger bag I was shocked to see wines I pay $30 in Minneapolis for $19, but that’s another story…

So I used this opportunity to pickup the three wines for my next show on Sicilian Red Wines as part of Wine Blogging Wednesday #8.

They are:

- Firriato, “Chiaramonte”, Nero d’Avola 2002 ($12)
- Morgante, Nero d’Avola 2003 ($11)
- Colosi, “Dry Red Wine” 2002 ($7)

I will be recording the show Tuesday night and will once again feature a virtual tasting.

On today’s show, some background and a tasting of Italy’s Primitivo varietal, a review of the novel “Sideways” by Rex Pickett, I recommend a new wine and food podcast and mention the poll open for you to comment about the virtual wine tasting from last time.

Wines Tasted:

- Amano, Primitivo, Puglia, Italy 2002 ($12)
- Feudo Monaci, Primitivo, Puglia, Italy 2003 ($9)
- Canaletto Primitivo Puglia Italy 2001 ($9)

Direct mp3 Download

Noticed this post on Gizmodo today that features what every wine loving geek needs: a 3U rack mountable wine rack! While I don’t think this would be good for your best reds or even “2-Buck Chuck”, it might be OK for Madera

I have opened up a poll on the right menu to gauge listener interest in the frequency of the virtual tastings. Take a moment to cast your vote and I will use this feedback as a guide for future shows.

Thanks!

Casa Julia, Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo Valley, Chile 2002 ($10) - Garnet, big berry and spice nose, mouth-filling Cab fruit flavors with moderate tannins. Pretty good wine and reasonable value. Score: 7.5/10

Gundlach Bundschu, Mountain Cuvee, Rhinefarm Vineyard, 2001 ($20) - Deep ruby color, refined berry and eucalyptus nose, round berry flavors with dusty tannins, nicely balanced package; Very good. Score: 8.5/10

Ravenswood, Zinfandel, Sonoma County 2002 ($20) - Garnet, blackberry nose, rustic fruit flavors with firm tannins, opens up a bit after some time in the glass, but this needs another year or two in the cellar or at the very least, to be decanted. Score: 8/10

Leave it to the blogisphere to scoop the entire corporate and government controlled media on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to ban interstate wine shipments. For the details, visit Bill Wilson’s wine blog, “WLW-WineGeek.com“. While you are there, you can also check out his wine podcast which should help get your mind off of this shocking news.

I am really going to miss my shipments from Acacia and other California wineries and am now considering relocation to the UK which does not have such heavy handed control over my enjoyment of the fruit of the vine.

Clearly a sad day for U.S. winelovers