As I pointed out in my recent bloggerview, I don’t obsess on the stats here but I have been doing some checking recently in preparation for some site design improvements. I was somewhat surprised to see the following wines as being the most popular this year based upon pageviews:

1 - Crane Lake, Petite Sirah 2003 - A varietal I love at a ridiculous price of $4.99 a bottle. I picked up the 2004 a while back and found it undrinkable (it also smelled especially bad so it was most likely an off bottle). I’ll pick up a fresh bottle to see if this pick is still good.

2 - Mark West, Pinot Noir 2004 - Everyone seems to be into Pinot Noir these days so it’s tough to find anything to recommend for less than $20. I really liked this wine and reviewed the next vintage upon release.

3 - Mark West, Pinot Noir 2005 - The effect of the market for bulk Pinot Noir really showed here but still a good wine. I’ll pick up the 2006 and review in the next few weeks.

4 - Napa River, Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 - The “upscale” brand from Charles Shaw producer Bronco Wine Company only available at Trader Joe’s. I found this to be very much worth the $4.99 asking price. Perhaps it’s time to see if they have released the 2004?

5 - Bodegas Borsao, “Tres Picos”, Garnacha 2004 - This is the first wine on the list that I think is a great value outperforming it’s asking price by quite a bit. I first picked this wine blind off a restaurant list and was impressed with the depth of flavor and balance. I’ve enjoyed several more bottles since and will have to see if the 2005 vintage is released for another review.

6 - Two Hands, “Gnarly Dudes” Shiraz 2005 - The first higher-end wine on the list, this one sells for $30 a bottle. Tasted at Vino Venue in San Francisco, I really enjoyed the concentration here. I haven’t seen this available here in Minnesota, so perhaps I’ll have to return to California to try it again. It will probably be quite a while until the 2006 vintage is out but there might be some 2004 still around to check out.

7 - Loring Wine Company, Pinot Noir, “Garys’ Vineyard” 2005 - The most expensive bottle on the list at $48 (if you can find it). Although Loring has taken some heat on recent vintages I really liked this wine. Hope to try some more of his other wines sometime soon.

8 - Bodegas Borsao, “Red Wine”, Campo de Borja 2005 - Another nice wine from Bodegas Borsao of “Tres Picos” fame. A solid everyday red for less than $10. I’ll be reviewing this one each vintage as it’s turned into a personal house wine for mid-week enjoyment.

9 - Jim Neal, Chariot, “Diana” 2002 - Here’s a producer I haven’t tried for too long. With Petite Sirah the theme of the next Wine Blogging Wednesday, I’ll look for a fresh vintage to try here.

10 - Napa River, Merlot 2003 - Another $4.99 special from Trader Joe’s. I didn’t like this one as much as the Cab but I guess it’s worth the price charged.

So I guess most people like the lower priced wines with 40% of the list under $10 and 80% under $20. I’ll be tracking this every few months to help tailor my reviews to the audience. Interesting stuff…

Clark Smith is stirring the pot once again with an expansive and thought provoking piece over at Appellation America. He takes on the wine industry’s aversion to openly discussing the role of technology in the winemaking process, amongst other issues.

In my time in the wine trade I’ve learned quite a bit of information that can’t be openly shared here for one reason or another. It’s good to see someone in the industry put the issues on the table and invite feedback. Check out the full article here.

For the record, I personally don’t think the use of technology robs a wine of it’s uniqueness, unless it’s overdone. I focus on what’s in the bottle and glass in front of me and not in the process of how it came to be made.

clipped from wine.appellationamerica.com

The wine search and review site Snooth has just raised $1M in financing as reported on Mashable. This is in addition to $300,000 of seed funding that was raised last year.

Of all the Wine 2.0 sites I’ve seen to date, I think Snooth shows the most promise to make a business out of this category. The design and feature set are very well done and the wine database is impressive. The only thing that remains to be seen is if they can attract enough users to make the social networking and ecommerce elements of Snooth viable. My guess is yes, but we shall see in coming months. My full review of Snooth will be posted here soon.

Congratulations, Philip and team on this milestone!

It’s been a while since I last blogged here about the open-source Roussanne we are making at Crushpad.

After harvest in late October, the must started a slow, low temperature fermentation in two neutral oak barrels inoculated with two different yeast strains (D47 and QA23 for those interested in such things). Primary fermentation is now complete and the wine will settle in for aging for several months before blending and bottling.

I’ve recently asked group members on next steps in our Crushnet forum. The early consensus is to not allow the wine to go through malolactic fermentation and for the wine to be quite, but not fully, dry. Details are in a raw podcast interview posted for group members. I will be taking the interviews recorded to date and producing a full podcast on the project before the end of December.

If you are interested in joining the group, just visit Crushnet and signup.

One of my blog subscriptions is to Hugh MacLeod’s personal blog, gapingvoid. If you don’t know Hugh, he’s the guy who is behind Stormhoek’s conversational marketing success. I interviewed him and Stormhoek principal Jason Korman last year.

Yesterday Hugh posted some thoughts on his blogging (or lack, thereof) that rang true with me:

clipped from gapingvoid.com So this last week I’ve been telling people I work with, I’m changing the game plan. I’m going back to basics. From now on building “the gapingvoid brand” will become my first priority.

Like Hugh, I’ve let the various demands of commerce get in the way of my blogging and podcasting here. So it’s back to basics with daily posts and more wine reviews. My bi-weekly podcast regime is also back in action, which will be maintained from here on. It’s easy to let this blog slide as it produces next to no income but it’s what the conversation triggers that produces the reward.

Winecast is back in business full-time… thanks once again, Hugh!

Another Quick Picks just in time for the Thanksgiving table featuring two Roussanne-based wines from Tablas Creek Vineyard.

Tablas Creek Vineyard, Roussanne 2005 ($27) - Light straw in color with aromas of pear, pineapple and orange blossom. Crisp pear and pineapple flavors with nice minerality on the finish. Wow.

Score: 91
Rating: 4/5 stars

Tablas Creek Vineyard, Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc, Roussanne/Grenache Blanc/Picpoul Blanc blend 2005 ($35) - Light yellow in color with aromas of pear, honey and spice. Pear, citrus and pineapple flavors finish long with refreshing acidity. A delicious Rhone blend that shows what can be done with these grapes in California. I will cellar a few bottles to see what happens with 5, 10 and 15 years of bottle age.

Score: 92
Rating: 4/5 stars

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Lots of action this week as Neil over at Brooklynguy’s Wine and Food Blog posted his summary of WBW 39 “Silver” Burgundy. Lots of nice and affordable wines from the Burgundy region are featured that I’ll certainly be checking out soon.

Meanwhile, Sonadora at Wannabe Wino got the ball rolling on WBW 40 by posting the theme of Petite Sirah. What a great varietal to feature for the final virtual tasting of 2007.

Check back on December 12th to see what I come up with but I think another podcast focused on the grape is in order

When the wine bug first bit me back in the early 1980’s, Zinfandel became my favorite varietal in large part due to the wines of Ridge Vineyards. Their field blend from the Geyserville vineyard in the Alexander Valley AVA of Sonoma County soon became the benchmark that other Zinfandels were judged.

Although I also greatly admire the Ridge Lytton Springs bottling, I always come back to Geyserville for the power and elegance that could only come from old vine Zinfandel, Carignan and Petite Sirah grown in this vineyard. Over the years the wines have been distinct and very malleable to the vintage but the layers of dark fruit flavor is always represented. So this wine was the natural choice for me to pickup to celebrate my birthday this past weekend.

Ridge Vineyards, Zinfandel, Geyserville 2005 ($34) - A field blend of 77% Zinfandel, 17% Carignane and 6% Petite Sirah. Very deep black-purple color with aromas of blackberry, kirsch, sage, fennel and cedar. The palate is classic Geyserville, with layers of dark fruit — blackberry, black cherry, black raspberry — supported by black pepper and spices. The tannins are firm but nicely integrated making the wine well balanced and very enjoyable right now. I would also expect this to age well over the next 8 to 10 years.

14.6% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 94
Rating: 4/5 stars

Buy this wine online.

The first of several podcasts from the archives, this one recorded in late May and mid-June but not edited and released until now. I spent about an hour with Cameron Hughes in his San Francisco offices and captured an interesting portrait of what makes this New World négociant tick. Unfortunately most of these tasting notes are for wines now sold out but Lot 25 is still available and now on sale, along with Lots 42 and 26. All of which are recommended.

Show Notes:

00: 23 - Introduction
01:53 - Interview with Cameron Hughes
26:53 - Tasting notes
27:04 - Lot 25, Carneros Sparking Wine NV ($19)
27:32 - Lot 26, Sauvignon Blanc 2006 ($12)
28:00 - Lot 29, Lake County Meritage 2005 ($11)
28:28 - Lot 30, Chardonnay 2005 ($12)
28:57 - Lot 31, Syrah 2005 ($12)
29:23 - Lot 38, Shiraz 2005 ($20)
30:10 - Lot 42, Shiraz 2005 ($18)
30:42 - Best of Tasting: Lot 38, Shiraz 2005 ($20)
31:03 - Best Value: Lot 26, Sauvignon Blanc 2006 ($12)
31:21 - Feedback
31:36 - Next Show Theme

Feedback: winecast@gmail.com
Copyright 2007 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/

 

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Another Wine Blogging Wednesday and this time I’m podcasting for the first time since WBW 23. Neil from Brooklynguy’s Wine and Food Blog came up with a great theme this month: ‘Silver’ Burgundy. Instead of investing in a Côte d’Or (’gold coast’) wine, we are drinking affordable Burgundy from the Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais.

Since I favor red wines this time of year, I selected a village wine from Mercurey made by the well known Faiveley family. Listen to the podcast for more details but here are my tasting notes:

J. Faiveley, Domaine de la Croix Jacquelet, Mercurey 2003 ($20) - Deep ruby color with aromas of dark cherry, fennel and sage. Rich black cherry and raspberry fruit with a touch of earth finishing with firm tannins and good acidity. The bold fruit balances the tannins so I expect this wine to improve with a year or two more in the cellar. Alternatively, you could give it a couple hours in the decanter to open up before enjoying. A very good value in Pinot Noir.

13% ABV
Natural cork closure
Score: 88
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

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Copyright 2007 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/

 

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