The Finalists in the 2013 Wine Blog Awards Are Announced

The Finalists in the 2013 Wine Blog Awards Are Announced

Best Blog Post of the Year
Finalists:

1- W. Blake Gray’s Darth Vader is My Lover: Revelations about Brettanomyces
http://palatepress.com/2013/01/wine/revelations-about-brettanomyces-in-wine/

2- Lilyelaine Wakawaka’s Escaping Convention: Calibrating to Stark Conditions, a Conversation with Greg Brewer
http://wakawakawinereviews.com/2013/02/07/escaping-convention-calibrating-to-stark-conditions-a-conversation-with-greg-brewer/

3- Katie Kelly Bell’s Adventures in Taste
http://www.forbes.com/sites/katiebell/2012/07/09/is-there-really-a-taste-difference-between-cheap-and-expensive-wines/

4- Ron Washam’s Blind Book Review–”How to Love Wine”
http://hosemasterofwine.blogspot.com/2012/10/blind-book-reviewing-how-to-love-wine.html

5- Alfonso Cevola’s Rape of the Veneto
http://acevola.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-rape-of-veneto.html

6- Ron Washam’s The Death of WIne Critics
http://hosemasterofwine.blogspot.com/2013/03/lo-hai-qu-on-death-of-wine-critics.html

Best New Wine Blog:
Finalists:

1- Chasing the Vine
http://chasingthevine.com/

2- What’s in the Bottle
Know what you're drinking & what to pair it with – by Roger Killen
http://rogerbkillen.com/

3- Screwed
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/unscrewed/

Best Overall Wine Blog:
Finalists:

1- Hosemaster of Wine
http://hosemasterofwine.blogspot.com/

2- 1 Wine Dude
http://www.1winedude.com/

3- The Terroirist
http://www.terroirist.com/

4- The UK Wine Show
http://www.thirtyfifty.co.uk/uk-wine-show.asp

5- Steve Heimoff
http://www.steveheimoff.com/

Bob Egelhoff visits

Bob Egelhoff was in town over the weekend. So, I stopped by and he had three wines he was showcasing. Bob is a consulting winemaker (and more) in the Napa Valley the last 15 years. He studied at University of California at Davis' viticultural program. From there, he started at Beckstofer wines. He was the wine-maker for Pahlmeyer and Merryvale among other,  high end, cult wines.

He started his own label in 2001 and produces his "Blue Label". We had the 2008 today: powerful spicy and significant tannins, but well integrated. Can't wait to have this in 5-7 years. $75

His red label, Walton, cabernet sauvignon was named after his wife's family. A little more approachable, but will last a long time, too. A mess of spices and softer, rounder tannins, but still well-balanced.

The Riesling is a rarety. Little is grown in Napa - less than 1% of all grapes grown there. He served the 2008 today. It has an earthy, minerally aroma. On first sip, the acid jars the tounge and starts the juices flowing, but, then this curatin a fresh fruit floats over the tongue. Hints of petrol, lemon and limestone. Very complex and delicious!

What Wehr Reading...

Links gleaned from online blogs and tweets that piqued my curiosity, check them out!

- @ENOontheMagMile Fully behind adding ingredients to back of wine bottles. Draper & Graham-still pioneers http://bit.ly/ZLf8lf @RidgeVineyards @RandallGrahm - Retweeted by @RidgeVineyards

- @alawine: Parker appoints three new critics http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2013/04/parker-appoints-three-new-critics/

- @jbonne: Is there life after "the full Raisinet treatment"? Predicting a path for Zinfandel: http://is.gd/olKpg2

- Bigger Than Your Head (Fred Koeppel) - I’ll Take the Pepper, Please, and Make It Green; or, What’s Often Missing in Cabernet Sauvignon - a discussion of the chemistry behind the green in wines.
http://biggerthanyourhead.net/2013/04/17/ill-take-the-pepper-please-and-make-it-green-or-whats-often-missing-in-cabernet-sauvignon/

- Berry's Wine Blog: Port Tongs at the Ready - a discussion on the use.
http://bbrblog.com/2013/04/24/port-tongs-at-the-ready/

- CataVino: Trashumancia: Celebrating Humanity through Woolly Sheep
http://catavino.net/trashumancia-celebrating-humanity-through-woolly-sheep/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catavino+%28Catavino%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

- East Coast Wineries: THE PRICE IS RIGHT: IS THERE A GLASS CEILING FOR REGIONAL WINE? http://eastcoastwineries.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-price-is-right-is-there-glass.html

- On The Wine Trail in Italy - Italy from a different perspective: after a trip to the VinItaly, some thoughts on the Italian wine scene accompanied by some great aerial photographs of the Italian countryside.
http://acevola.blogspot.com/2013/04/italy-from-different-perspective.html

- Hawk Wakawaka Wine Reviews: Attending Ribolla Gialla University, Part 6: The Vare Vineyard Tasting, Arlequin Wine Merchant
http://wakawakawinereviews.com/2013/04/23/attending-ribolla-gialla-university-part-6-the-vare-vineyard-tasting-arlequin-wine-merchant/

- Steve Heimoff: Young people ask the best questions
http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2013/04/25/young-people-ask-the-best-questions/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+steveheimoff%2FYKZT+%28STEVE+HEIMOFF%7C+WINE+BLOG%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

- Financial Times: Food & Drink: Jancis Robinson - Sweet surrender: Good quality chocolate, the sort that costs a fortune, can certainly be paired with wine provided you choose carefully
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/70ab2856-9753-11e2-a77c-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=published_links%2Frss%2Flife-arts_jancis-robinson%2Ffeed%2F%2Fproduct#axzz2RYDn6EFk

What Wehr Reading ...

A compilation of a few interesting wine articles recently viewed on blogs and tweets tonite: (click the links to vie)

 

Jamie Goode's Wine Blog: A Trip to Africa http://www.wineanorak.com/wineblog/from-the-road/in-south-africa

 

Been Doon So Long: Doon with the Ship: A Restauration Adventure - Randall closes his restaurant, Le Cigare Volant and reminisces. http://www.beendoonsolong.com/2013/03/doon-with-the-ship-a-restauration-adventure/

 

HoseMaster of Wine™- The First Authentic, Natural and Real Blog Post
http://hosemasterofwine.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-first-authentic-natural-and-real.html

 

schiller-wine - An Afternoon with François Mitjavile at his Tertre Rôtebeouf - A Saint Emilion Cult Wine Producer

http://schiller-wine.blogspot.com/2013/03/an-afternoon-with-francois-mitjavile-at.html

 

Steve Heimoff: The End of Terroir - One of the most enduring memes in wine is that of terroir - or, does all Bordeaux taste alike?   http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2013/03/18/the-end-of-terroir/

 

Wine Folly: There’s Still No Cure For Grape Phylloxera - a review on the state of the war with Phylloxera

http://winefolly.com/review/no-cure-for-grape-phylloxera/

 

Wine Rising: Comparision of Wine Certifications - CSW, WSET, and Certified Sommelier

http://blog.winerising.com/2013/03/comparison-wine-certifications-csw-wset-certified-sommelier.html

 

DebraMeiburgMW: Fabien shares his thoughts on the use of oak for Premier Cru and Grand Crus, check out our vid this week: http://ow.ly/jcbKC

 

ryotarotakao: "Second Thoughts: How to Follow Your First Bottle | On Wine by Lettie Teague - http://WSJ.com " http://htn.to/KbmmPq

 

randyfuller1: "What Matters Now | Drinking Out Loud | News & Features | Wine Spectator-Matt Kramer" http://feedly.com/k/YFiDoF

 

What Wehr Reading ...

Highlights of some articles and tweets I've seen online that are of particular interest:

 

HoseMaster of Wine blog - Blind Book Review--"Inventing Wine" - I thought I’d break from my usual practice and actually read Paul Lukacs’ new book Inventing Wine before I reviewed it

http://hosemasterofwine.blogspot.com/2013/01/blind-book-review-inventing-wine.html

 

Hawk Wakawaka Wine Reviews Blog - Visiting Santa Barbara Wine Country: Getting Ready - a pictoral trip through the Sta Rita Hills AVA - the land of the "Sideways" movie.

http://wakawakawinereviews.com/2013/01/14/visiting-santa-barbara-wine-country-getting-ready/

 

eatlovesavormag: Moet & Chandon Champagne - Moët & Chandon: Wine Makers to the Queen: A History of Champagne... http://tinyurl.com/c8cooec

 

The Wine Monologues: Gone too soon. . . Circa Estate Winery - even though the Michigan wine scene is growing, the economy has claimed its first victim ..http://www.google.com/reader/view/?hl=en&tab=wy#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fthewinemonologues.com%2Frss2.aspx

 

Vinecdote: Diet of Worms - I think 2013 is off to a splendid start.

http://vinecdote.com/blog4/2013/01/eating-maguey-worms-yucatan/

 

Wine Folly: Tested: Wine with Spicy Food (Video) - Pairing Wine with Spicy Food -

http://winefolly.com/tutorial/what-wine-with-spicy-food/

 

élevage [el´ vazh] n. m. The education of wine. A blog. Part of Vincent Wine Company, Portland, OR

Barrel Tasting the 2012s: A review of the 2012 vintage in Oregon. http://elevage.blogspot.com/2013/01/barrel-tasting-2012s.html

 

JancisRobinson Blog - Côte de Beaune 2011 overview http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a201301171.html

 

On The Wine Trail in Italy - Giving up Brunello for Lent - the state of Brunello in America

http://acevola.blogspot.com/2013/01/giving-up-brunello-for-lent.html

 

Happy reading - and remember:

"In vino veritas" :)

Marshall

What Wehr Reading ...

A collection of articles and tweets that I've been reading lately:

 

- Now and Zin blog: Three Syrah Wines From Bonny Doon Vineyards

http://www.nowandzin.com/2012/11/three-syrah-wines-from-bonny-doon.html

 

- Uvinum blog: Spanish wines: new labeling rules coming from Europe

http://blog.uvinum.com/spanish-wines-new-labeling-rules-coming-from-europe-2175555?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Uvinum%2FEN+%28Uvinum%27s+blog%29&utm_content=Google+International

 

- JancisRobinson: A stunning pink wine gutsy enough for winter drinking

http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a201211081.html

 

Wine Folly blog: Learn the Trick to Clinking Wine Glasses!

http://www.google.com/reader/view/?hl=en&tab=wq#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwinefolly.com%2Ffeed%2F

 

RonEdwards.com: Flying Melon Cafe, Delightful Dining

http://www.ronedwardsms.com/?p=296

 

Wine Peeps Blog: Wines of Chile: An Overview

http://winepeeps.com/2012/11/07/wines-of-chile-an-overview/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WinePeeps+%28Wine+Peeps%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

 

Tweets:

 

@RickBakas: Film review: Somm via http://decanter.com http://bit.ly/RHPVEI

http://www.decanter.com/news/blogs/guest/530603/film-review-somm

 

@melissa_ful: (New Post) Müller-Thurgau finds its lustre (and staying power) in Alto Adige

http://melissaful.posterous.com/alto-adige-muller-thurgau#

 

@ChickLitandWine: New review! How to Eat a Cupcake' by @megdonohue goes perfectly with crisp, addictive Viognier by @ClineCellars: http://t.co/DzxWGqhj

 

Test Your Knowledge of French Wine Regions

   A warning: this brilliant online quiz can be quite addictive, more so if you’re into the geography of French wine regions. It’s in French but the language isn’t a barrier as you simply have to pin the tail on the donkey, as it were.
   The trick, other than having an encyclopedic knowledge of French wine, is to be lightening fast to gain extra points. If you get hooked, the upside is that you’ll probably learn about the location of previously unheard-of (and some might say pointless) appellations. Added to which, you’ll see in the menu – top left – that there are questions on French cheeses, towns and rivers: a whole summer’s worth of trivia.