Archive for April, 2010

And One More Time From The Wine Blogger’s Tasting!

April 6, 2010

In a previous post from just shortly after the Wine Blogger’s Tasting, I noted some wonderful wrap-ups from three of our attendees, Amy at WineBookGirl, Dave at Santa Cruz and Santa Clara Valley Wines, and Liren at Kitchen Worthy, all of whom brought really interesting perspectives to bear on the event. From Amy one can read a wonderful interweaving of her descriptions of the event itself, her tasting notes, and lots of additional outside references and sources of relevant information. From Dave we get a real and genuine insider’s view as regards regionality; Dave is one of the most thorough single-region chroniclers I’ve had the pleasure of reading (my old friend Lenn Thompson at Lenndevours.com comes to mind as another), and his notes are always infused with a real sense of terroir as regards issues of consistency and authenticity. And from Liren one can read what is probably the most unique of the contributions as regards perspective, as she comes to us from the culinary side of the viticultural equation, and accordingly companions her wine observations with fantastic insights and pairings from the kitchen.

I also want to make sure to mention Wes Barton’s contributions as well, which can be found here; Wes is a fiercely brass-tacks writer, so what you’ll find are primarily tasting notes only, but his is an excellent and insightful palate, and this is another great resource for contemporary tasting notes on a wide field of Ridge offerings.

One last thing I want to note; a rather unexpected and I think quite humorous by-product of the Wine Blogger’s Tasting has been the appearance of all the bottle-shot pictures! I think pretty much every attendee seems to have been inspired to try and capture the scope of the tasting by landing the perfect bottle shot photograph, and accordingly, we’ve got quite a roster to enjoy:

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And More Again From The Wine Blogger’s Tasting: The Iron Palate Of Iron Chevsky!

April 6, 2010

The title of the post says it all: 

Ridge Tasting: Iron Chevsky vs. Robert Parker

I love it! Gary “Iron” Chevky took right to heart the paradigm of this particular tasting, a compare-and-contrast between our own respective palates (this being the gathering of Wine Bloggers that constituted the core attendees for the tasting), and that of Robert Parker, who recently reviewed a large crop of Ridge offerings.

(For some background information on the Wine Blogger’s Tasting, please click here, and for a run-down on the Parker reviews, please click here.)

I would like to offer a special thank you to Gary, because it was in tandem with him that discussions about this event really took shape, and I credit him immensely for generating the excitement that helped launch this unique tasting format. Cheers Iron Chevsky!

I encourage you to take a look at this post; the Iron man has done a really wonderful job of presenting both an objective picture of the event itself, and deploying a uniquely idiosyncratic perspective about the wines. Plus, his tasting notes are thorough, which makes this an excellent resource for contemporary notes on both yet-to-be-released wines, and back-vintage wines from the cellar.

Enjoy!

More From The Retrospective Tasting!

April 5, 2010

Part of the fun of the Retrospective Tasting aftermath (for more about the 50th Anniversary Retrospective Tasting on this blog, please click here) has been reading all the different perspectives from the attendees; each is in their own way a fascinating member of the wine intelligentsia, and each brings to the collective table a singular palate, and a singularly intriguing communicative style. Enter into this forum Laurie Daniel, probably the closest thing to a “local” writer we have; being where we are, all the way up in the clouds … anyhow, Laurie is based in San Jose, making her essentially a neighbor, so it was very nice to have the local community represented at the tasting. She has just posted her wrap-up of this historic event, and you can find it here:

Here is a snapshot of her highlights:
1968 ““ Lively, earthy red cherry with notes of smoke, sage and tobacco.
1970 ““ Bright and a little earthy, with notes of cedar, sage and forest floor. Smooth. Poured from magnum.
1978 ““ Earthy and a little meaty, with red cherry, wet stone, cedar and still-firm tannins.
1984 ““ Lively, vibrant and still plump, with notes of earth, truffle and forest floor.
1991 ““ Cedary aromas, with rich, plump texture, red fruit and some earthy notes.
1992 ““ Still very youthful. Rich and a little earthy, with red fruit, a hint of truffle and a long finish.
1995 ““ Still tight. As it opens up, displays bright cherry, a hint of bay leaf, firm tannins and a long finish.
2000 ““ Youthful aromas. On the palate, still tight, with bright cherry and notes of mint and tobacco.
2005 ““ Quite tight, with lively cherry and a salty minerality. Rich and plump.
2007 ““ Lively black cherry, nice savory note, fine tannins, good concentration. Not yet available to consumers.

Wine Blog Awards: Nominations Now Open!

April 1, 2010

Greetings all!

I would just like to call everyone’s attention to the fact that the nomination period for the Wine Blog Awards is now open, and if you’re someone who, like me, feels grateful for the astonishing amount of quality insight available on wine out there at the blog level, then this is a really great opportunity to show your appreciation, and help draw much-needed and much-deserved attention to some of the great work that’s being done out there.

Being a comparatively new arrival to the world of wine blogs (certainly as a producer of content), I have easily spent as much time reading other writer’s work as I have spent trying to produce my own, and I very much mean it when I say there is some great work being done out there! The more wine bloggers I read, and especially the more I meet and taste with, the more impressed I am with the dedication, sincerity, and skill being deployed.

So again, I encourage you to participate in the nomination process; the great wine bloggers, while traditionally not paid as professionals, work very, very hard, and a little appreciation goes a long way. Plus, this is an excellent way for you to broaden your own horizons; in scanning the rosters of the nominated, you may find a blog you didn’t know about, and it just may open your eyes and broaden your palate in ways previously unimagined.

Becoming a host of a blog has been, for me, an inordinately pleasurable eye-opener of an experience, and much of that is due to my ever-expanding virtual Rolodex of other’s writers contributions; there is so much good stuff out there to peruse, and I hope you are able to take the time to savor the creativity on offer, and reward the deserving with your accolades.

Cheers!

You can make your nominations here.


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