Apr 28
Best Red Wine: Ruby Trust Smuggler (Cab franc blend)
Best white wine: Guy Drew Pinot Gris
People’s choice awards: Brightstone Meadery’s “Nectar of the House”
Media’s favorite wine: Guy Drew Vineyards Pinot Gris
Apr 28
Barrel Oak Winery (BOW) in Delaplane has been named by Wine Enthusiast magazine as one of the top six most family-friendly wineries, not only in the U.S. but in the world!
The WE said of Barrel Oak, “Little ones are greeted with juice boxes, and fun photographs of dogs adorn the tasting room walls,” and pointed out that being dog-friendly was a natural complement to being family-friendly.
Two of the six wineries mentioned by WE were in California, one was on Long Island (Pindar), one in Western Australia, and only one was in Europe (France).
Kudos to Brian Roeder and the BOW team on this fine achievement! You can read the full article online at http://www.winemag.com/Wine-Enthusiast-Magazine/Web-2012/6-Top-Family-Friendly-Wineries/index.php#.T5cZcq-VQT0.facebook
Speaking of Facebook, Barrel Oak Winery is asking for your help; they want to reach 2000 Friends on Facebook so visit them on Facebook as well as at the winery.
Apr 27
The annual conference of Drink Local Wine (including its trademark “Twitter Taste-Off”) takes place tomorrow April 28th at Metro State Campus in Denver, CO.
This writer will moderate a seminar on “Colorado terroir and the challenges of high altitude viticulture”. Other seminars will explore the disconnect between the locavore food movement and the local wine scene nationwide and what can be done about it; consumer perceptions of Colorado wine, a blind taste challenge with Colorado wines, and the Nomacorc Twitter Taste-Off starting at 2PM, during which attendees can “taste and tweet” about their favorite Colorado wines.
A retail tasting of Colorado wines in Denver last night, where attendees could meet Drink Local Wine co-founders Jeff Siegel and Dave McIntyre, drew about 100 attendees according to Siegel.
Information on the conference including maps, schedules and other details can be found online at www.drinklocalwine.com.
Apr 23
Virginia wine blogger John Hagarty and Drink Local Wine founder Jeff Siegel both blogged about my newly released book, Beyond Jefferson’s Vines this week.
Hagarty interviewed me about the book which is on his blog, Hagarty on Wine, at http://www.hagarty-on-wine.com/OnWineBlog/?p=6035. Siegel read and reviewed the book on his “wine curmudgeon” blog, at http://www.winecurmudgeon.com/my_weblog/2012/04/book-review-beyond-jeffersons-vines-the-evolution-of-quality-wine-in-virginia.html.
I’ve also just learned that you can order Beyond Jefferson’s Vines direct from Amazon.com at less than full retail price ($19.95); if your order is large enough (total, not just of one book), you can get free shipping! Also, the book should arrive in less than a week; a couple told me while I was selling the books at the Monticello Wine Trail Festival that they had ordered the book online and had already gotten it.
Apr 17
Richard Leahy, longtime Virginia wine writer (and author of this blog) will personally autogrpah and sell copies of his newly released book, Beyond Jefferson’s Vines, this weekend (4/20-21) in Charlottesville.
Friday evening 4/20 he will appear from 5-7 p.m. at Wine Made Simple, a progressive and selective new wine retail store in the Townside Center (next to Shenandoah Joe’s and Zazu’s) on Ivy Road. At that time, three boutique Virginia vintners, Well Hung, Ox Eye and Democracy Vineyards will be in the store pouring their wines.
Saturday 4/21 he will have a booth at the Monticello Wine Trail Festival at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion on the Downtown Mall, from 1-6 p.m. The festival, presented by Brown’s Mercedes Benz, will feature 90 wines from 24 Monticello Wine Trail members and a variety of other vendors. From 1-2 p.m. admission is for VIP level tickets, exclusive catered lunch provided by C&O Restaurant, opportunity to sample select wines not available to general public and a chance to mingle with wine-makers. From 2-6 p.m. is general admission. For more information, visit www.monticellowinetrailfestival.com.
In related news, Jeff Siegel a k a “The Wine Curmudgeon” and co-founder of Drink Local Wine [.com], has just published a review of the book at http://www.winecurmudgeon.com/my_weblog/2012/04/book-review-beyond-jeffersons-vines-the-evolution-of-quality-wine-in-virginia.html
