I have accepted the fact that my content will be aggregated all over the place sometimes at great sites, but more often at spam blogs. Not sure where this site ranks in the scheme of things, but their filtering engine needs some work as my stories there had nothing to do with Champagne.

In writing up my last review, I looked for the W.H. Smith website to link to but also to look up the fact sheet since I didn’t capture the alcohol percentage in my notes. What I found there was an out of date website. Nothing that serious but anoying to someone like me looking for information about a wine released 3 months ago.

I’m sure the reason for this is the agency or designer who put this site up is also the webmaster and it takes several emails or phone calls to get anything updated. Running a winery is busy enough without having to worry about keeping your website up to date. It doesn’t have to be this way as open source blog software like Wordpress is free which can create websites that anyone can edit with a web browser. So even if you don’t want to blog, you can use this software to build your website; check out this site to see what I mean.

This type of thing is becoming increasingly important as wine enthusiasts look to find out about specific wines. Perhaps there’s a business here for some enterprising marketer with technical chops

W.H. Smith is a brand that has not been on my radar until fairly recently. A label created in 1992 exclusively for Pinot Noir it is owned by Bill and Joan Smith of La Jota Vineyard fame. Planting over 350 acres of Pinot Noir in the up and coming Sonoma Coast AVA, the Smith’s now produce two vineyard designate wines and this blend.

W.H. Smith Wines, Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast 2005 ($30) - Bright ruby in color with smoky cherry, cinnamon and clove aromas. In the mouth there is rich raspberry, black cherry and spice flavors finishing long with great balance and nice acidity. The way California Pinot should be.

Natural cork closure
Score: 91

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My blogging buddy Jeff over at Good Grape posted the following comment about your humble narrator: “While Tim isn’t a geek, he does bring the right mix of skills to being an online ringleaderâ€�?notably he’s a marketer with technical chopsâ€�?two characteristics that are sometimes in conflict with each other.”

Wrong! I am a geek (from a purely technical sense, of course).

And I may be in conflict with myself but I am a marketer with technical expertise, as noted

I’m also for hire, but that’s another story… thanks, man.

As the year comes to a close, it’s time to take a quick look back on 2006. This was a mixed year for me, with some great times but also some pretty crappy times. The most popular posts here point almost exclusively to the good, as expected:

1. Proposal For A Virtual Wine 2.0 Event - Late in the year I became interested in the intersection of Web 2.0 and wine and held a couple online virtual meetups to discuss this subject further. The first one in Second Life was well attended but not as fruitful as the most recent event in Lingr. Still lots of work to do here.

2. Wine 2.0 Just Another Webstore? - My musings about if Wine 2.0 was only about eCommerce provoked a lot of good discussion on the subject. A lot more where that comes from in 2007.

3. Wine 2.0 Meetup Deux on Tuesday - My posting for the second virtual meetup on Wine 2.0; more was learned on the second attempt but it is still difficult to decode from the transcripts.

4. WBW 22 - Lite (alcohol) Reds - My first turn at bat hosting Wine Blogging Wednesday went very well with a great turnout and some very interesting wines blogged. Stay tuned for my next time hosting sometime in 2007, this time featuring my favorite white varietal.

5. Do Scores Here Really Matter? - This year I switched from the vague 20 point scale to the more precise 100 point scale but I took my time about making a decision. The discussion here helped me put the issue into the correct perspective to make my final choice.

6. Virtual Wine 2.0 Meetup This Week - Wine 2.0, blah, blah, blah, etc.

7. Wine 2.0 Minifesto - OK, this really sucked, big time, as Peter Gabriel might say. I’m gonna take another crack at this in January; maybe Hugh will link to me this time

8. A bump in the road… - What a way to start the year, getting canned in a crappy job. Probably was for the best as it offered me an entry into the wine industry. More on this subject in the new year…

9. Should Negative Wine Reviews Be Published? - Perhaps my most important post of the year that still is having an impact. A Google of Graeme Miller Wines today still brings up 50% negative posts on the first page of results (my post is at the top of page 2).

10. Is Wine Too Niche For Web 2.0? - My first post in the Wine 2.0 meme. The answer is “no” by the way

Thanks for your support this year and I am very much looking forward to 2007.

One of the hazards of reviewing wines is to write about wines made by people you know. Most times this is manageable since you are not that close but for some reason I was nervous tasting this wine since I picked it up after being compelled by the winery’s owner. I shouldn’t have been that concerned since I could always pass on posting the review, but I would have to give my opinion at some point even in private.

Twisted Oak is an interesting winery for many reasons. First, it would seem to be run by either irreverent anarchists or the complete insane (or, perhaps, a bit of both). Their varietal line-up is right up my alley with Rhone and Spanish varietals. I picked up their Tempranillo at my favorite wine store, Solo Vino, so I shouldn’t have been too concerned to begin with as they only stock the best juice. I do have to say that Twisted Oak’s blog is among my favorite from any winery and I only hope they take up podcasting at some point (it would be a hoot in either audio or video).

Twisted Oak, Tempranillo, Calaveras County 2004 ($18) - Dark purple in color with aromas of black raspberry, licorice, earth and vanilla. In the mouth, there are blackberry, pepper and mint flavors with sweet tannins and a rich mouthfeel. Very much like Zinfandel which, of course, I love so. In a word, tasty.

Natural cork closure
13.9% ABV
Score 88

I’m planning to reach out to some of the wine importers and distributors based here in the Twin Cities after the first of the year but wondered how many are now reading wine blogs or paying attention to online wine writing. My guess is less than 10%. If you fit this description, drop me a line or post to the comments.

Thanks!

…and does it as excellently as they do audio. Give it a view:

(aggregator readers need to click back for the video)

Christmas dinner in our family is centered around a standing rib roast. To match with this meat, I almost always grab a Cabernet; not sure why, but this seems to be the classic accompaniment. Perhaps it’s the English origin of our tradition, where “claret” is often served with this entrée.

This year’s selection is the last bottle of Chateau Camensac 1995 that I picked up on sale a few years back for around $20. The Chateau is in the Haut-Médoc and was named a Fifth Growth in the 1855 Classification. Like a lot of Bordeaux estates, Camensac fell onto hard times for much of the 20th century but has made a resurgence of late and now employs famed consulting winemaker Michel Rolland. The blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot aged in one and two year old barrels for about 20 months before fining and bottling. A little over 20,000 cases are produced each vintage.

Chateau Camensac, Haut-Médoc 1995 ($25) - Medium garnet in color with no browning at the rim. Blackberry, chocolate and pencil lead aromas. Nicely balanced black cherry and currant flavors finishing fairly long with plush tannins. Elegant, understated and at it’s peak now. I’d say it should hold for another 3 or 4 years before decline. A nice value in aged Bordeaux if you can find it under $30.

12.5% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 89

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I’m back from a bit of a blogging break and noticed that Joanne and Jack from Fork and Bottle have posted the theme for Wine Blogging Wednesday 29: Biodynamic Wine.

It’s interesting that the wine I tasted for WBW 28 was made from a biodynamic vineyard but that was only a coincidence. To tell you the truth, I lump Biodynamic and Organic together into a sort of fringe winemaking category and that’s a shame as I’m sure both are subjects I should know more about.

So join me on January 17th to see what wine makes the cut for this excursion into my wine education. If you have a blog, you can join the fun by posting your notes on a biodynamic wine and let Joanne and Jack know. If you don’t have a blog, but want to participate, just send your note to me and I will post it here for you.