Posted on December 28, 2006 by Sonadora
I’ve had several friends and family members comment to me that I post quite frequently on my blog. It doesn’t sound like they are criticizing me, but it made me stop and think. A good balance has to exist between posting so much on a blog that content gets lost in a constant flow of new posts and posting so little that you have lost the interest of your audience.
Personally, I have trouble remaining focused on anything if the content isn’t frequently new. I get bored fairly easily and so when I see blogs that haven’t updated in a month or only update every few weeks, I tend to not return to those, even though the content may be great when they do update. Perhaps, as has been suggested by several people I know, I just have adult ADD. Or, I’ll go with my more logical explanation, which is that my attention span got shot to hell this summer when studying for the bar. I simply have no patience for anything that moves slowly anymore.
I also get really disappointed when a blog pops up as having new content and then it turns out that it doesn’t. And I’m frustrated that since my blog was listed as down yesterday, it hasn’t been caught again as updated, despite the fact that I’ve made a few decent sized posts. I think I’m crabby today and should just go back to bed.
So the question remains, what is a good frequency with which to update a blog?
Filed under: Blogs, Misc | 4 Comments »
Posted on December 28, 2006 by Sonadora
Tonight we had our only bottle (sob) of Trentadue 2005 Sauvignon Blanc. Such is the problem when you can only bring back so much wine. And this was a good one. Screw-cap closure, only $14.95 and 14.1% alcohol by volume. Served it with cheese fondue and crusty bread.
On the nose, I want to say the wine smells light, but I know that’s not right and I can’t truly explain it, but it does. I suppose a better description would be that it is slightly floral and certainly full of lemon. I also get a hint of fresh grass. In the mouth, this is one crisp wine. Tart and tangy and nicely acidic. The lemon on the nose certainly follows through with a touch of melon too. The end shows off very good minerality and this has a long, lasting finish.
We picked this bottle up at Trentadue this summer while we were visiting. Trentadue was a surprise stop for us, we happened upon it on our way back to the bed and breakfast we stayed at. Highly recommend the place too, the Vintage Towers in Cloverdale, best breakfasts ever! Anyway, Trentadue is a gorgeous place! We were the only visitors that afternoon. We had plenty of time to chat with the servers and we decided to stay and do the special port tasting. Trentadue makes a Chocolate Amore Port that is absolutely to die for. There are two bottles lounging in our bar, just waiting for us to break them open….go visit! I’m still regretting our choice not to join the wine club here and may yet change my mind. Excellent value for the money and fun to drink!
Filed under: California, Sauvignon Blanc, Trentadue, Vineyards, White | Comments Off on Fondue + Wine= a Good Night
Posted on December 27, 2006 by Sonadora
Okay, first, my blog is not down, I have no idea why Wine Blog Watch is reporting it as such, but that’s not cool! Maybe I went on too much of a posting rampage last night, who knows.
Second, Menu for Hope ended on Dec. 22. What a great event, over $58,000 was raised! It will take a while until the prizes are announced, but check with Chez Pim on January 15 to see if you won. I will certainly be checking it out in hopes that I won one of the great prizes I bid on. Even without the prizes, it’s a great cause and I’m happy to have participated and been able to give what I could this year.
However, my pocketbook will be lighter if I don’t win that lot from Twisted Oak, as I’ve been wanting to try their wines and will have to head on over to their site to get myself some.
Filed under: Menu for Hope, Misc, Wine | Comments Off on Menu For Hope III
Posted on December 27, 2006 by Sonadora
Ack, it’s here already! I feel like I just finished WBW #28. This month will be hosted by Fork and Bottle and we are being asked to drink a biodynamically (can I make that a word please?) produced wine. Now, I don’t know much about biodynamic wines. I’m about 99% positive that I have never had one. From what I do understand, it has to do with harvest cycles and the moon and all aspects of the environment working in harmony or some such thing. So I guess this week will find me visiting old haunts again to hunt down a biodynamic bottle. And reading a bit more so that I have a better understanding of what exactly I’m drinking. I can only hope that it doesn’t take me as long to find one I’m happy with reviewing as it did for WBW #28. Pick a wine, drink it and send a review in by January 17 if you want to participate.
Filed under: Biodynamic, WBW, Wine | 2 Comments »
Posted on December 27, 2006 by Sonadora
Sadly, we were unable to taste any actual Oklahoma grown wine while out in OK. Our weekend was just too packed to be able to fit anything else in, what with Gramma’s 90th birthday celebration and Christmas in just 2 days. Plus, OK is in the bible belt….no liquor sales on Sundays, the one time we had a spare hour. Oh well, I’m sure we’ll be back as a good portion of Matt’s family lives out there.
However, we did have some wine that is blended and bottled in Oklahoma by Grape Ranch Vineyards, a relatively new winery at only 3 years old which has not yet produced a vintage of its own. Though they seem to have a great sense of humor with their Festivus wine selections.
The festivus is made from Sonoma grapes and is a Cabernet Sauvignon. It costs $15.99 a bottle, has a real cork closure and can be purchased through the Grape Ranch Vineyards website. There was also a bottle of Festivus Chardonnay floating around, but it was gone before I could get a taste.
The Cabernet Sauvignon was a little thin in the mouth, but I think that might have been due to the fact that it was served slightly warm. Otherwise, it had very good cabernet sauvignon characteristics, currants, peppers on the finish, a little kick at the end. I thought it showed great promise. Plus, it’s fun for the label kitsch factor!
Filed under: Cabernet Sauvignon, Red | Comments Off on Festivus for the Rest of Us!
Posted on December 27, 2006 by Sonadora
We visited my FIL’s family over the Christmas holiday out in Oklahoma City. Much fun and good food was had by all. We’ve made it home, full of Christmas cheer, but spent for this year. Too bad New Year’s is this weekend, I could use a weekend off!
Several bottles of wine were consumed over the course of the weekend, including a 2005 McManis Family Vineyards Viognier. The botle is from California, 13.5% alcohol by volume, has a real cork closure and can be found here for just $9.98. At the price, this is a great wine. It would be perfect for an everyday bottle and worked really well as something to drink as we were all waiting to go the Hornets-Spurs game on Saturday!
I got peach and a bit of melon on the nose. The wine was very floral with touches of honey in the mouth. Smooth, with just a little citrus on the finish. This was an easy and fun wine to drink.
Filed under: Everyday Wine, Viognier, White | Comments Off on Wine at Christmas
Posted on December 27, 2006 by Sonadora
My Mother-in-law received this bottle as a gift last Christmas and brought it out to Oklahoma for all of us to enjoy this year. Vital stats: 14.5% alcohol by volume, real cork, produced in South Australia, probably cost around $34. You can read about the winery here and can find it for about $40 here.
Vanilla on the nose of this one. Dark berries in the mouth, with a slight roasted meat flavor. Earthy with a touch of oak. Very full in the mouth, long finish, very smooth. Good falvors and well balanced. I’d say drink it soon if you have this bottle.
Filed under: Australian, Red, Shiraz | Comments Off on 2001 Brothers in Arms Shiraz
Posted on December 27, 2006 by Sonadora
Go check it out! I won one, and it should be here soon! Woohoo! Very excited. Click here for the link.
Should be a fun trivia game, at least a little bit different than our normal games of Battleship, etc.
Filed under: Misc, Wine | 2 Comments »
Posted on December 23, 2006 by Sonadora
In honor of their new venture, we broke open a bottle of 2005 ‘The Obvious” Sauvignon Blanc. Cork closure and was somewhere around $15.
Crisp and clean flavors. Very citrusy and tart. That’s not a bad thing to me though. I love tarty wines. Some melon flavors too. Yum! Good mineral flavors and a lingering finish. An all around fun glass to drink. I imagine seafood and a summer day.
So raise a glass, and join me in wishing Roshambo the best of luck with their Roshambus!
Filed under: Roshambo, Sauvignon Blanc, White | 2 Comments »
Posted on December 22, 2006 by Sonadora
While perusing the New York Times one morning back in the days when my job didn’t know what to do with me, and I was reading upwards of nine papers a day online, I clicked on a link for Eric Asimov’s The Pour. It was the beginning of the end, so to speak. From there, I noticed a column of links to other wine blogs and found, in particular, Alder’s Vinography. I was now officially hooked. A browser is always open to the Wine Blog Watch, which I refresh constantly in hopes of more updates being posted.
I’ve been really impressed over the past months with the community and dedication that exists not only amoung wine bloggers, as evidenced by the monthly Wine Blogging Wednesday started by Lenn over at Lenndevours, which has been going on for over 2 years, but also by the generosity and compassion of the whole food and wine blogging community. It only takes one glance at the current total (almost $50,000!) for Menu For Hope to see the impact this community has.
So, thanks to all, and really, I do mean all, I read every blog (well, those in English and Spanish anyway) that pops up on Wine Blog Watch, for providing hours of entertainment, advice and commentary.
Filed under: Blogs, Lenndevours, Menu for Hope, Misc, The Pour, Vinography, Wine | Comments Off on Reading Wine Blogs
Wannabe Wino Wine Blog 