Wine LOLz from the Twitterverse

DrVino: Michel Rolland has an autobiography coming out? A magnum oakus, surely. CraigCamp: hear the Oxygen network picked up the rights and will turn it into a micro-series Wink Lorch: Bet it will appear late OlivierLandry: A very ripe comment on your part, good sir. #RollandPuns …I think we’ve extracted everything we could out of [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/GuSC/~3/VPjBAusVdgU/

Rihanna Robin Tunney Rosario Dawson Rose Byrne

Win Tickets to ZAP?s 2011 Grand Zinfandel Tasting at Fort Mason!

You heard correctly. Beyond Napa Valley is giving away 4 tickets to ZAP’s Grand Zinfandel Tasting at Fort Mason. All you have to do is write a Zinfandel-inspired Haiku. Click the link below for all of the details. We hope … Continue reading

Source: http://www.beyondnapavalley.com/blog/win-tickets-to-zaps-2011-grand-zinfandel-tasting-at-fort-mason/

Mischa Barton Missi Pyle Missy Peregrym Molly Sims

Wine-derful

Judges completed the first day of tasting the finest vintages the wine world has to offer at the 70th Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition. Stepping into the Millard Sheets Center for the Arts, where judging is taking place, the aroma is musky, flowery, fruity, nutty. Pretty powerful! Judges gather around round tables comparing [...]

Source: http://blogs.fairplex.com/blog/wine/?p=62

Monica Bellucci Monica Keena Monica Potter Monika Kramlik

Short term wine storage: How warm is too warm?

Weather-wise this past week in Boston has been gorgeous. The high temperatures topped 80F yesterday and I started to get concerned about the boxes of wine I have sitting around that don't fit into my wine fridge. The room where I tend to keep wine got up to 76F yesterday afternoon so I decided to take the wine down to the basement where it's in the low 60Fs.

With quite a bit of wine in-flight across the country as spring shipping season is in full swing I've also been wondering whether those shipments might be exposed to more heat than we'd like.

It got me thinking I might be overreacting a bit.

The wine sitting on a retailer's shelf has, in some cases, been through much worse. Who knows what weather that wine was subject to when it was shipped? And how long as it been sitting on the retailer's shelf in a room that's usually air conditioned but likely hits the mid-70Fs during the warmer months?

And what about my friends who live in warmer climates? Wines stored on the counter spend most of their life in the high 70Fs. How long until those wines are spent?

I know first hand how extreme heat can destroy wine. When we were moving from Arizona to Massachusetts a few years back I had a couple boxes of wine in the $30-$60/bottle range. It wasn't enough to warrant exploring separate climate controlled transport - or so I thought - so I just shipped it with the rest of our household goods. The wine was totally cooked. Some wine seeped out of the corks as I could see on the capsules. The wine tasted lifeless and like stewed vegetables. After popping 2 or 3 spoiled Sterling SVRs (that blew me away at the winery) I was thirsting for anything fresh and clean. Anything!

So, for short term storage, how critical is it to keep wine cool? Here's Wine Spectator's Dr. Vinny weighing in on a similar question:

Is it OK that a bottle of wine was exposed to a temperature of 70-75 degrees for 24 hours? Answer: http://bit.ly/GH5HXo
My take is that I'm comfortable keeping wine in the mid-70Fs for a month or two. But if it's going to be longer than that I'd seek out some way to keep the wine cooler. Especially for nicer bottles that merit mid-term aging. 

Question of the Day: What's your take on this?


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/EXrWrgEAlhg/short-term-wine-storage-how-warm-is-too.html

Melissa Rycroft Melissa Sagemiller Mena Suvari Mia Kirshner

Ladera Winery on Howell Mountain

One of the most fascinating aspects of Ladera is the renovation of the original stone winery built in 1886. Irene W. Haynes describes it in detail in her book "Ghost Wineries" on page 61. It was originally called the Howell Mountain Winery and closed it doors during prohibition. Continue reading

Source: http://www.winecountrygetaways.com/napablog/ladera-winery-on-howell-mountain/

Samantha Morton Samantha Mumba Sanaa Lathan Sara Foster

Follow My Wine Reviews on Pinterest

When I first got started on Twitter I had high hopes of posting frequent reviews there but it never really worked out. It was partially due to the 140 character limit but the transient nature of the medium ultimately kept me only reviewing wines there as part of an organized Twitter live tasting. But with [...]

Follow My Wine Reviews on Pinterest originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/8_sv68XT8FU/

Shannyn Sossamon Shiri Appleby Sienna Guillory Sienna Miller

Coming Up: Patz & Hall Wine Dinner at Legal Harborside


On Thursday, February 2nd Legal Seafoods is offering a 4-course wine dinner with Patz & Hall Winery owner Donald Patz. If you haven't been yet, this is an opportunity to visit their flagship Legal Harborside location which includes 3 levels of dining in an ambitious harborside dining mecca in Boston's Seaport District.

We visited Legal Harborside this past summer and were impressed. The first floor dining room offers casual dining similar to most Legal Seafoods and opens up nicely to the water in warmer months. The second floor offers a more refined dining experience and is where this wine dinner is going to be held. The third floor is a ritzy club scene that wouldn't be out of place in Vegas.

The location also includes a marketplace on the first floor as well as some unique features. Like Catch and Release trout fishing right in the restaurant.

Here I am with my 4 year old enjoying the program. I'm the guy on the left keeping my distance - you didn't think I'd touch the slimy fish did you?
I had a bottle of 2009 Patz & Hall Pinot Noir recently that really blew me away. 93 points for me - here are my notes:

Medium-full bodied magenta. Aromatically beautiful with rich strawberry, red raspberry, and fresh clean earth which translates brilliantly to the palate. Silky texture balanced nearly perfectly with acidity and just a touch of tannic grip.

A benchmark California Pinot Noir from and iconic pruducer. Highly recommended.

Here's the menu for the wine dinner:

Hors d? Oeuvres

Tuna Tartare with Yuzu Aioli on Rice Crisp
King Crab Skewers with Wasabi Mayo
Patz & Hall ?Dutton Ranch? Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, 2010

First Course

Bacon-Wrapped Scallop
parsnip purée, smoked maple vinaigrette
Patz & Hall ?Zio Tony Ranch? Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, 2009

Second Course

Grilled Loch Duart Salmon
black beluga lentils, braised artichoke, smoked tomato
Patz & Hall Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, 2010

Third Course

Braised Beef Shortribs
Creamed Cavolo Nero
Patz & Hall ?Pisoni Vineyard? Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands, 2008

Cheese Course

Comté Gruyère
spiced nuts
Patz & Hall ?Pisoni Vineyard? Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands, 2000

$135 Per Person
(excluding tax and gratuity)

For more information or to make a reservation:
http://www.legalseafoods.com/index.cfm/page/Patz-and-Hall-Wine-Dinner/cdid/45005/pid/43564


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/X07b9h-Xmd8/coming-up-patz-hall-wine-dinner-at.html

Kristen Bell Kristin Cavallari Kristin Kreuk Kristy Swanson