Celebration of Second World War with Chateau Mouton-Rothschild 1945

In 1995, one 5l bottle of this vintage wine was auctioned at a cost of $31,050 in America which was among the highest amounts paid for a rare wine in recent years. This exclusive wine from France was bottled by the end of Second World War and so the label on this vintage wine bottle [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vagablond/ysSN/~3/7A5hovVBk3M/

Lacey Chabert Laetitia Casta Lake Bell Larissa Meek

Real photography with the Hasselblad H4D-60 DSLR camera

Since the 90s, as days are passing by, digital photography is becoming more and more popular and so is the popularity of digital cameras. Digital cameras are even built in mobile phones these days but a person with true passion for photography will always opt for a high resolution digital camera. Hasselblad launched a DSLR camera [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vagablond/ysSN/~3/D09py63Yt3k/

Samaire Armstrong Samantha Mathis Samantha Morton Samantha Mumba

Field Notes from a Wine Life ? Story Edition

Odds and ends from a life lived through the prism of the wine glass…

Words aren’t enough

I give to thee…the worst wine ad of all-time and that’s without delving into the ponderous name of the wine or, why, inexplicably, the back of the laptop in the photo has a big sticker for Ass Kisser ales

…In the main visual, three people are huddled around the boss giving him “Ass Kisser” wine…Isn’t the point of being a brown-noser to do it subtly?  Who randomly gifts their boss right before their employee review? 

image

Even if you view this ad as schlocky hipster irony, it’s still bad and makes you wonder if the advertising sales guy at Wine Enthusiast couldn’t do a solid for his client and suggest creative that, well, actually makes sense.

Or, maybe being horrible was the plan – like a movie that becomes a cult hit a decade hence…so bad that it becomes a lofty ideal for bad, enjoying a following because of its campy nature. 

Bad Week for Eric Asimov?

On both Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, Eric Asimov, the New York Times chief wine critic was taken to task for different reasons by Matt Kramer at Winespectator.com and Steve Heimoff at his blog of the same name.

This is interesting because wine writers of a certain stature very carefully call their shots amongst their peers.

Normally the shots are fired up (Parker) or down (bloggers), but usually never sideways amongst writers in the same strata. 

To watch Asimov, as seemingly decent of a guy as you’ll find, called onto the rug by two notable wine writers, to me, speaks to something much bigger.

With Parker stepping aside and Antonio Galloni receiving glancing admiration for hitting a stand-up triple by dint of his current position at the Wine Advocate, at the same time that the wheat and chaff are separating with wine bloggers, somebody has to step into the fray as a public foil for other wine writers to target.

Unwittingly, it might be Asimov for reasons entirely opposite of Parker’s hegemony.  Asimov’s palate for wine seems food-friendly and balanced; he takes an egalitarian approach to wine for the people without pretense and he doesn’t score wines.

In other words, Asimov is bizarro Superman to Parker’s swashbuckling empiricism and, perhaps, even a greater danger to the Ivory Tower of legacy wine media than the mere jealousy that passed for poking at Parker.

Just a thought…

It’s all about the story

The wine business has always been excellent at storytelling.  Virtually every winery has their origin story and that of their dirt down pat, even if not very compelling.

So, it is with interest that I’ve been watching Facebook’s recent changes keeping in mind that founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has emphasized emotional resonance, narrative and storytelling – factors that extend well beyond consumers using Facebook to “Tell the story of their life,” as Zuckerberg noted.  This will be inclusive of the brands that use Facebook for engagement, as well.

I was further intrigued after reading parallel news reports that Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), is singing the same song.

He notes in an article in Advertising Age, “Technology innovations are irrelevant to the future of advertising and marketing unless a more fundamental activity is understood, honored and advanced: the craft of storytelling.”

A quick Google search for “Mark Zuckerberg F8 Keynote” and “Randall Rothenberg MIXX Keynote” will yield a number of stories all occurring in September.  There’s no question about Facebook’s influence and the IAB is the thought-leader for digital advertising.  Between the two of them, they present an imposing shadow of influence on digital marketing.

If I were a winery with an understanding that digital marketing is a tsunami of change that is important, I might start revisiting my winery story for some fine-tuning…

Two books that I recommend to bone-up on the elements of good business storytelling are:  The Story Factor and Made to Stick.

On Sweet Wines

In an article this week from the San Francisco Chronicle called “Beginner drinkers get a crush on sweet red wines,”  E.&J. Gallo VP of Marketing, Stephanie Gallo, noted:  “There is a major shift going on in the U.S. wine drinking culture.  First, we noticed that regional sweet red blends were doing particularly well in Indiana, Texas and North Carolina. Second, our consumers were asking if we produced a sweet red wine after tasting our Moscato at events.”

Good Grape readers had the scoop on this months ago when I wrote:

How Sweet it is – The Growing Sweet Wine Trend in early October, 2010

And

Move over Moscato and Make Way for Sweet Reds in February of this year

Just saying…

Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/field_notes_from_a_wine_life_story_edition/

Kelly Rowland Kerry Suseck Kim Kardashian Kim Smith

To Kalon Fruit on the Cheap: The 2008 Robert Mondavi Oakville Cabernet

We've got lots of branches down in the yard and we lost power for a couple hours as Hurricane Irene swept through New England yesterday. The Wellesley Municipal Light Plant quickly restored power. They're the best in the country - I'm 99+ points on them.

Although there was some significant damage in other areas it looks like the hurricane wasn't as devastating as some feared it might be. I'm grateful for that and hope you and your family are safe.

It's been a few months since Wine Spectator dropped a big 94 point rating on the 2008 Robert Mondavi Oakville Cabernet. With a $45 release price and relative high 7,700 case production this wine becomes one to seek out - especially since discounters typically offer it for less than $35.

The meat of the Robert Mondavi line-up consists of the Napa Valley Wines (~$24), District Wines (~$45), and the Reserve Wines ($135). I last checked in with the Oakville bottling in the 2005 vintage. I caught a case of it on what I thought was a really good price - around $25/bottle. I slowly made my way through that case, enjoying a bottle once a month. It was so enjoyable and consistent. Outstanding Napa Cab every time at a relatively affordable price point..

Spectator didn't rate the '05 Oakville and neither did The Wine Advocate. Advocate rated the '08 Oakville just 89+ points so this is a wine Spectator really liked and Advocate thought was so-so. Some have suggested this wine as a candidate for Wine Spectator's wine of the year. I think the rating is a little low to take the top spot (they seem to go for wines rated 95 or better) but I wouldn't be surprised to see it in the Top 10. We shall see.

Although the '08 Oakville has been out for while I haven't seen it in Massachusetts yet. The Costco in Waltham still has the '07 for $29.99. I get the feeling the distributor may be trying to clear out the '07s before releasing the '08s. I spotted the '08 for $39.99 in New Hampshire. Not the greatest price in the world but I thought it would be interesting to get a handle on whether it was worth seeking out more.

I opened the bottle the same night I bought it. Is it one to back the truck up for? Not exactly, but it is made from 93% To Kalon fruit (pronounced "tow-kuh-lawn" - a famous vineyard that is 550 acres of Mondavi and 89 acres Beckstoffer which produces some of the most sought after wines in America). I'd recommend checking out a bottle or two if you're a fan of big Napa Cabs. This one is huge.

2008 Robert Mondavi Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon
15.5% Alcohol
7,700 Cases Produced
$45 Release Price ($32-$40 street price)

A bold Napa Cab of great concentration and density that enters the room with a confident swagger. Complex aromas and flavors of rich blackberries, sweet spice, plums, and vanilla beans. A little overpowering at points (15.5% alcohol) but with adequate aeration this comes together nicely. Would like to check in again in a year but for now I'd be in for 1-3 bottles of this at a target price of $30-$33.

92/100 WWP: Outstanding

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I spotted a bottle of the more affordable '08 Napa Valley bottling so I bought it to see if there was an uptick in its quality as well. There's not. It's just as good as it always is - a solid 88-90 point Napa Cab you can find anywhere - usually at a very favorable price point:

2008 Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
15.0% Alcohol
93,000 Cases Produced
$28 Release Price ($18.39 at Costco)

Comes off a bit brash at first but with some time it settles down and becomes quite enjoyable. Black currant, plum, acidity, tannins - all the classic Napa markers are here. Hard to imagine someone feeling shorted with this one south of $20. 15.0% alcohol and it shows early on.

89/100 WWP: Very Good

Sometimes, it doesn't take a lot of research to find outstanding wines at reasonable price points. The Robert Mondavi wines present tremendous value year in and year out. For example the 2006 Reserve Cab was one of the best wines I've ever tasted and can be had for around $80 if you shop around.

Question of the Day: Have you checked in on Robert Mondavi Cab lately? What do you think?


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/vjr7wMdCKuk/to-kalon-fruit-on-cheap-2008-robert.html

Sienna Guillory Sienna Miller Simone Mütherthies Sofía Vergara

Groupon: 50% Off at Wine.com

Groupon is offering 50% off at online retailer Wine.com. They say the offer runs through Friday but quantities are limited and we've seen these sell out in the past.

After a wave of similar offers earlier in the year, Wine.com seems to be making the rounds again with these offers. Living Social ran a $40 for $80 a couple weeks ago.

This time it's $25 for $50 -or- $40 for $80 through Groupon. I'd recommend going for the $40 for $80 because the voucher can't be used towards shipping and as a percentage of the total order less value is eroded with the $40 for $80. If you've previously purchased their Steward Ship package (similar to Amazon Prime - free shipping on all orders for a year) it can be used in conjunction with vouchers like this one. They sometimes offer that for $25 and include a 6 month subscription to Wine Spectator so there is a certain amount of stacking that can be done here. But you have to be crafty.

One other catch - they say it doesn't work for alcohol orders shipped to MA. If you can get past that, you'll notice the prices at Wine.com aren't exactly the greatest. But their markup doesn't seem to be uniform. Take for example the 2009 Caymus Special Selection. They've got it for $99. With a $40 voucher it would be $60 plus shipping for that bottle which is a about $40 less than I see it for anywhere else in the country. 

Click here to check out the offer 

Question of the Day: Any angles you've found to get the maximum value out of these Wine.com social coupons?


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/h5o6UtMrJOw/groupon-50-off-at-winecom.html

Olivia Munn Olivia Wilde Padma Lakshmi Paige Butcher

A Spitacular Competition!

For three days, our judges swirled, sniffed and spit their way through more than 3,500 wines from around the globe. Today they wrapped up by choosing the best of the best in each category. Results will be available next month, so stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy this compilation of expert spitters:

Source: http://blogs.fairplex.com/blog/wine/?p=74

Melissa Joan Hart Melissa Rycroft Melissa Sagemiller Mena Suvari

Wine Word of the Week: Acidity

This week?s Wine Word of the Week is acidity. Official definition from Jancis Robinson?s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Acidity is a general term for the fresh, tart, or sour taste produced by the natural organic acids present in a liquid. Wines, together with most other refreshing or appetizing drinks, owe their attractive qualities to [...]

Wine Word of the Week: Acidity was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WinePeeps/~3/sWC2nHpMpRY/

Shania Twain Shanna Moakler Shannon Elizabeth Shannyn Sossamon