And what does all THAT mean?
Well, of course today is our final Wine Bloggers Tasting of 2012, and of course there is a THEME, and today, our theme is:
Three Blind Mice!
A wine mystery …
So if you’re feeling both Oenphilistic and Agathian, you might just wish to tune in to #RidgeVineyards around about 1pm this afternoon, as our vino-sleuths go to work on:
The Case of the Three Blind Mice!
Are wine bloggers real like horses, or myth like unicorns?
Are they hard science, or do they live free in an egalitarian paradise rich with ever-living redwood trees from which parachute little green elves who sprinkle fairy dust made of gold into needy people’s empty pockets?
Are they a big deal, or Bigfoot?
Sasquatch! (aka Bigfoot)
And if they ARE real, what do they DO?
Well, now is your chance to find out!
In a move of unprecedented moxie, for the final Wine Bloggers Tasting of 2012, we are saving exactly ONE SEAT at the tasting table for a Non-Blogger, or NoBlo, for short.
If you’re a NoBlo, but are interested in what goes on in the land of Unicorns and Monte Bello, we are interested in speaking with you!
To “apply” for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, please comment on this post (your comment will be kept hidden), with a few lines about yourself, and why you’re interested in this Sasquatchian fortuity.
We look very forward to hearing from our beloved NoBlo bretheren!
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For more information about our Wine Bloggers Tasting series:
http://blog.ridgewine.com/2012/12/09/final-wine-bloggers-tasting-of-2012/
Not Operating
I can’t resist. These things are just too fun. So I’m sneaking one more in before the year is out.
Sunday, December 23rd, 1pm, here at our Monte Bello Estate. The final Wine Bloggers Tasting of 2012.
Wine …
Bloggers …
Tasting.
If you write a blog that is about wine, or wine & food, or wine & music, or wine & poetry, or any other kind of blog that covers wine as part of its beat, then we’re interested in talking to you.
So, consider this a formal invitation; if you’re interested in attending the final Wine Bloggers Tasting of 2012, please let us know!
There are three ways to request a seat at the tasting table:
1. Comment on this post, express your interest, and provide contact info and a link to your blog
2. Comment on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/RidgeVineyards, and provide the same details as above
3. Send a tweet to @RidgeVineyards, and use #WineBloggersTasting in your tweet.
After that, we’ll then contact you to make arrangements! Très simple!
If you’re not familiar with our Wine Bloggers Tasting Series, you can peruse the following for some rather more recently penned summarial narratives:
http://blog.ridgewine.com/2011/12/20/for-those-about-to-type-we-salute-you/
As to the theme (there is ALWAYS a theme!) for this, the final edition of the year? A secret!
I hope to hear from you, and more than that, to join you at the tasting table!
Until the 23rd …
WBT!
No, not a Women’s Badminton Tournament.
Nor the World’s Best Tetherballers.
Rather, it’s the Wine Bloggers Tasting, and this is the Pre-Game Show!
I’m your host, and I’d like to introduce the players who’ll be taking the field for this very special event.
But before we begin, a bit of context:
This tasting series debuted back in March of 2010, and while we’ve certainly played host to a veritable who’s who of Wine Bloggers, it hasn’t only been Wine Bloggers we’ve hosted. We’ve had food bloggers, culture bloggers, music bloggers, drinks bloggers, and more.
And, while there have certainly been a great many welcomed and returning faces, we’ve also had a great time debuting new participants as well.
The new edition of our WBT, set for tomorrow afternoon at 1pm, is no exception; in fact, we’ve got on tap one of the more diversely exciting assemblages we’ve yet set glassware for.
Behold! (In no particular order …)
First up, Jeska & Brad Kittenbrink, better known as “Geeks With Drinks!” Lovers of Gourmet Food Trucks, brewers of beer, and stealers of cocktail cherries, these San Francisco-based bloggers are debuting at our series tomorrow, and we’re really looking forward to meeting and tasting with them! To get the flavor of their flavor, please give a read to the following:
http://geekswithdrinks.com/?p=71
Next, the Rad Man himself, one of the hecka best wine bloggers going, and possibly the only other wine blogger out there besides yours truly who comes in fairly high in the Google queue if you search for “The Never-Ending Story!” Of course I’m speaking of Jeff Solomon, esteemed author of the Stay Rad wine blog. You can read a fantastic sample here:
http://stayradwineblog.com/2011/07/28/this-changes-everything/
Our next blogger is … well … Jen. And I’d tell you more about her, but I’m still trying to “Chase” her down! Meaning, of course, we’re speaking of Jen Massey, author of the blog “Chasing Jen!” Jen is debuting at our series as well, and we can’t wait to host her! You can read an example of her fine work here:
http://chasingjen.com/2012/01/23/wine-fried-chick-legs-and-rain-pure-comfort/
Next up, Fred Swan, he of the NorCal Wine Blog, an indisputable Gold Standard for Wine Blogging in ours, this Golden State. Selfishly, I’m going to recommend a post of his in which he wrote about our tasting series; though not because of that, per se, but rather, because he referred to me as the “Instigator-In-Chief,” and I think that’s quite groovy. You can read his work here:
http://norcalwine.com/blog/51-general-interest/684-on-wine-jazz-and-inkblots?q=ridge
And then, emerging from the ravenous oeno-belly that is the monster we call Terroirist, comes Steven Washuta, returning for his much-anticipated second turn at our #WBT wheel. Check out some of his work on the VERY highly-regarded Terroirist blog:
http://www.terroirist.com/2012/04/discovering-monterey-county-part-i/
And for our next participant, may I present Erin Grant, a wine blogger with a mission, currently tasting her way through an entire planet’s worth of wine varietals. To read a sample of her fine writing on the blog “Give Me Grapes” please click below:
http://www.givemegrapes.com/2012/05/gold-country-wine.html
And here’s another debut for you; in fact, it’s a double-debut! Mark & Tristan, who write, amongst them, three blogs! Dig these:
http://www.winelog.net/blogs/markur/
http://hahnwinery.com/blog/hahn-harvest-2012-begins-today
(Yes, that’s the Hahn Winery blog there in the #3 spot; Mark writes that one! Quite cool …)
And now, I must say, there are few things that I find more emotionally and morally satisfying than an East Coaster happily transplanting to the west; it’s clear affirmation of what I truly believe; that Northern California is indeed The Promised Land. Melanie Friedman is just such an ex-pat, and she brings vital real-life winemaking experience to her blog endeavors; case in point the following post on her blog “Wine Maven In Training”, entitled “Gravity Flow Winemaking at Vineyard 29″:
http://iheartnywines.blogspot.com/2012/02/gravity-flow-winemaking.html
And then there’s my man Ed Thralls. You’ve recently seen him name-checked here on this blog, because we co-hosted — with the subversive, soulful and wise Sasha Kadey — a panel at this year’s Wine Blogger’s Conference (which you can read about on the fantastic Luscious Lushes Wine Blog; sadly, Thea won’t be in attendance at our tasting tomorrow, but you can dig her spirit as she writes about our panel; just click here.). Ed gets it every which way, and there ain’t no one I respect more; check the sample:
http://www.winetonite.com/2010/08/07/in-search-of-soul-and-grapes/
Rachel Voorhees has been known to taste a wine or two in the company of the above-noted Thea, but mark my words, she is a publishing powerhouse in her own right, and an enviable fount of oeno-energy; check out a sample of her great work below:
http://rachelvoorhees.com/2012/09/drunken-fruit-salsa/
Yet another debut at our Wine Bloggers Tasting Series will be the writer behind VineBuzz, Rich Reader, who I am already quite fond of because he uses words like “genotype” when talking wine blogs, and who writes the following from the 2011 iteration of the Wine Bloggers Conference:
A rather newer member of the Wine Bloggers Tasting family is the writer behind FoodPorn.com, which is, for my money, one of the most brilliantly executed, fully-fleshed out, conceptually-driven blogs out there; this blog doesn’t miss a thematic trick, and it’s well worth a read. Here’s a great sample:
http://foodporn.com/1pescygourmet/2012/04/pebble-beach-food-and-wine-not-a-bad-sunday.html
Perhaps inevitably enough, FoodPorn.com will be in the company of WineA&*^#le.com, which, despite the sardonicisms inherent to the name, actually provides some cracklingly intelligent perspective on our industry. Dig a bit of the vibe here:
http://wineasshole.com/2010/03/03/cakebread-and-the-cuvee-de-fail-rubaiyat/
And that, is our team, and they’ll be taking the field at 1pm PST tomorrow!
If you wish to follow along with the tasting, just tune in with your favorite twitter-filter, and watch out for the #RidgeVineyards hashtag!
Greetings all! Behold the skinny on that of which I wish to ensuingly speak:
What: Ridge Vineyards Wine Bloggers Tasting
When: Sunday, September 23rd, 1pm
Where: Ridge Vineyards/Monte Bello
That’s right, the next edition of the Ridge Vineyards Wine Bloggers Tasting is scheduled for Sunday, September 23rd, at 1pm, at our Monte Bello Estate, and we’re finalizing the guest list as we speak!
Confirmations are due to be sent out tomorrow, so if you’re still interested, now is the time to let us know!
If you wish to attend, please query via one of the following channels:
–Comment on this post
(or any other post of your choosing!)
–Post on our Facebook page
(http://www.facebook.com/RidgeVineyards)
–Twitter at us!
(Use #RidgeVineyards & #WineBloggersTasting)
This series has been quite a remarkable phenomenon for us. We launched it back in March 2010, and have covered a great deal of thematic ground since. We’ve hosted a dizzying array of talented writers and tasters, and hosted in a wide variety of locations. We’ve gone toe-to-toe with Robert Parker, and waxed wine & jazz. We’ve tasted in barrel rooms and on crush pads, gone on video, and typed on vintage manual typewriters. We’ve tasted blind and double-blind, Rhones and Bordeauxs. We’ve snuck-peeked new releases, and drawn deep on the library. In short, we’ve had an amazing time.
If you happened to have attended #WBC12, you might have seen me in the company of the esteemed Ed Thralls and Sasha Kadey, co-hosting a panel entitled “The Winery View of Bloggers.” And if you were in the audience, I am hopeful that you took away, if nothing else, the realization that we at Ridge Vineyards (along with Ed and Sasha!) are devout believers when it comes to our wine blogger colleagues, and the wine blogging community.
I personally feel this tasting series to be one of our most signficant expressions of our solidarity and support, and ideally, I believe it to be a contributive mechanism as well; we’re not just supporters, we’re writers too!
As any of you who’ve attended in the past know, there is always a theme. Some examples from past editions:
– Monte Bello vertical, paralleling a Robert Parker tasting
–Winery-only Rhone-varietal wines
–Lytton Springs vertical, 1987-2009
–Acrostic Anagrams
–VerticalModelMembershipManifesto
–11-vintage Monte Bello library tasting; blind tasted
–Small-production, winery-only library wines from Lytton Estate
–Historic Vineyard Series & Vintage Manual Typewriters
–The Gospels of Paul: Wine & Jazz, Paul Draper & Paul Chambers
As to theme for this upcoming edition? A secret!
Unless the theme itself necessitates advance disclosure, the theme is not be revealed until the tasting commences.
One important thing to note; the guest list is not in fact strictly constrained to “wine bloggers” per se.
If you’re a music/food/art/philosophy/lifestyle/culture/media/literature blogger who also writes about wine, please consider yourself eligible as well!
And with that, I’ll conclude this post by extending the invitation one more time; if you’re interested in attending the September 2012 Edition of our Wine Bloggers Tasting Series, please query at your earliest convenience, as we’re hoping to send out confirmations tomorrow.
Cheers!
Ok Wine Bloggers, the next edition of our Wine Bloggers Tasting series is coming up!
Sunday, the 23rd of September, 1pm, at Monte Bello. Are you in?
Is Everybody In???
There are still a few seats open at the table, and I want YOU to fill ‘em!
That’s right, Uncle Christopher is back, and he wants YOU to attend the next Wine Bloggers Tasting.
How do you request a seat at the table? Myriad options are available!
–Comment on this post
–Post on our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/RidgeVineyards)
–Twitter at us! (Use #RidgeVineyards & #WineBloggersTasting)
—–
For more about this series, please feel free to follow any or all of the following links:
http://blog.ridgewine.com/2012/05/04/classics-the-gospels-of-pauls-part-ii-the-big-reveal/
http://blog.ridgewine.com/2011/12/29/for-those-about-to-type-part-ii/
http://blog.ridgewine.com/2011/12/20/for-those-about-to-type-we-salute-you/
http://blog.ridgewine.com/2011/09/30/scenes-from-a-wine-blogger-tasting/
–
As always, there will be a theme.
As always, I am not yet announcing the theme.
–
Uncle Christopher wants YOU!
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Funk Power. Over and Out.
For a thorough refresher on Part I, please click here.
As to a summary, it was the 3rd anniversary of our blog going live. And it was the birthday of the late, great jazz bassist Paul Chambers.
To celebrate, a tasting construct was born: 4 “classic” Ridge wines, 4 “classic” Paul Chambers performances. Paul Draper, Paul Chambers. The Gospels of Pauls.
The challenge? Pair them.
Our guests for the tasting were eleven wine bloggers.
A more eclectically driven, passionate bunch would be hard to come by.
But had they the moxie to go on camera in defense of their pairings?
Of course!
Because they’re wine bloggers. They do what they do because they love it. Nothing more, nothing less. They have no fear.
I wish to thank them all, for making a lunatic proposition not only enactable, but magic.
Each at their own pace embraced. Each in their own way believed.
And with them, through them, by them, we had a tasting in which new ways to understand both wine and music were revealed.
Revealed.
I encourage you to read them, follow them, know them. And you will know them by their blogs. They are:
Barton Orchard
There are few who know Ridge better than him. I learn something new every time we taste together.
Corkzilla
A writer after my own heart; someone who truly understands wine & music … and accordingly, who understands art.
Food Porn
One of the smartest, funniest, most cleverly and wisely written and constructed blogs out there …
Luscious Lushes
The beating heart of the wine bloggers world …
NorCal Wine
Smart, serious, passionate — Receptive, open-minded, sensitive — Disciplined, driven, devoted.
Rachel Voorhees
Round and round she goes, can she stop? No one knows! The rare writer who has discovered the 25th hour. Will to wine power.
Santa Cruz Mountains and Santa Clara Valley Wines
Our regional specialist. A writer of place.
SF Wine Blog
Impossibly comprehensive, impossibly humble, impossibly talented.
Stay Rad
The best new wine blog I’ve yet encountered, hands down. Read this. It’s tremendous.
Wine As$*&le
Nose in glass, tongue in cheek. The Oeno Bunker-Buster.
Yumivore
One eye to the heavens, one eye to the earth. One of the best visualists out there. Makes you want to eat and drink and eat. Yum indeed.
–
THE BIG REVEAL!
The Big Reveal begins with my “pairings.” Which were as follows:
2001 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello
Such a round, voluptuous tone, such a beguiling reconciliation of seriousness and play. A decadence of timbre that makes you want it so bad, but a complexity that makes you force yourself to stop and pay attention. You want to swing with this, move with this, love with this, you want its girth to sprawl out on your tongue and lay its fruits out for your own hip-twisting intake. This is no shaking bag of bones, this is meat, this is flesh, this something to hold onto. This is surely the wet tenor tone of Sonny Rollins.
2000 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello
The beckon and the dodge. The hint and the withdrawal. Provocation and denial, the slightly evil mitigation of desire. You want it, you feel it, it’s implied, then it’s promised, then it’s gone, then it returns. What is this strange seductive mantra, this hallucinogenic Om? It is humility at altar, as you meditate your way into the deep elusivity on offer. It bends, it twists, it takes off layers at a pace your singing palate cannot manage without trembling. But you look, and all is simple, all is pure, all is everything and nothing, all is nothing more than what you thought it should be, all the parts are in their place, there’s nothing clever, not a trick in sight at all, it’s just so simple, it’s the truth that can’t be had until the soul is past exhausted; only then, only then, does the mystical make sense. Surely this must be the taste of Miles Davis.
1999 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs
Conception. An Orion of fireflies beading a smear of trees in a breeze slow like river grasses. Cutting your left hand’s outline out of dark construction paper is the sky alight tonight, as if the trees were not between us and the moon, but cut away. Searching is the word to name the sound of John Coltrane. Not exuberant, furious, impassioned, thundering, but SEARCHING—how to climb the keening staircase of the notes, up through a cut-out in the sky— And when you don’t believe that fireflies reflect the constellations, then your lashes go down wishless. Millions produced, only one required for conception. Ascension. Surely this is the taste of Lytton Springs.
1997 Ridge Vineyards Geyserville
Surely Monk. The Haiku of Jazz. The Jazz of Wine. The Wine of Monk.
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THE BIG REVEAL!
The Big Reveal concludes with seeing how we all matched up. Who thought what went with which. Who thought which went where.
–Two were with me on Wine #1. Luscious Lushes and Stay Rad felt the Rollins.
–Three were with me on Wine #2. SF Wine Blog and Santa Cruz Mountains dug the Miles connection, and Luscious was with me again.
–I was all alone on Wine #3. Coltrane and Lytton? No one but me.
–Wine Asshole said it right from the start, the one OBVIOUS pairing with this wine was Monk. I agreed. So did Santa Cruz Mountains, SF Wine Blog, and Barton Orchard.
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You can see the full pairing schematic below:
–
The Jazz. The Wine. The Ridge.
The Wine. The Jazz. The Ridge.
Greetings all!
The time has come for the first Ridge Vineyards Wine Bloggers Tasting of 2012, and it is going to be a rather special edition!
#WineBloggersTasting
On April 20, 2009, the very first post went up on “4488: A Ridge Blog,” and on Sunday, April 22nd, we’re going to celebrate our 3-year anniversary!
And that’s not all!
This year’s annual Wine Blogger’s Conference is being held in Portland, Oregon, and as yours truly will be a panelist for the following breakout session …
The Winery View of Bloggers:
We’ll hear from three industry experts (two winery representatives and a blogger turned winery marketer) who will explain whether they work with bloggers,
how they cooperate, and whether bloggers have an impact on the winery’s visitation, sales, or image.
… I am going to have our Wine Blogger’s Tasting filmed, in order to provide support source material for the panel! Meaning, this is YOUR chance to become a part of Wine Blogger history!
So, if you’re a Wine Blogger, or a Wine & Food Blogger, or a Food & Wine Blogger, or a Food blogger who writes about wine, or a Lifestyle and/or Culture blogger who write about wine, then I invite you to join us!
And that’s not all!
April 22nd also happens to be the birthday of the late, great Paul Chambers, indisputably one of the greatest jazz bassists ever to walk the earth. So not only will we be listening to the music of Paul Chambers throughout the tasting, and not only will we be specifically discussing the parallel aesthetics of jazz and wine during the tasting, I am also opening up the invitations to a music blogger! So, if you’re a music blogger who writes about jazz (and hopefully, occasionally, wine!), then I invite you to join us!
As always, I will hope to have some returning “regulars” in attendance, but also as always, I will be keeping a few seats open for new guests; new blood is good!
The tasting will be held at our Monte Bello Estate, on Sunday, April 22nd, at 1pm.
If you wish to be considered for a spot at the table, please either
a) respond in the comment feed to this post
b) post on our Facebook page
c) send us a message on Twitter
And if you would, please include a link to your blog when you contact us!
Lastly, we’re going to invite one lucky wine blogger to participate virtually, so even if you can’t be in attendance at Monte Bello, there is still a chance for your to participate! If you want this to be you, let me know!
