Rued=Rue-ed

Posted on March 31, 2009 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Rued Winery.

This is actually the second time I’ve had the chance to taste the wines from Rued (pronounced Rue-ed) Winery.  In 2008 they made an appearance at the DC International Wine and Food Festival and I stopped by the table then, as they are located in Dry Creek Valley and I had not previously heard of them!  I happily accepted the opportunity to taste the wines again and actually spend some time with them.  Tonight we opened the 2005 Rued Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.  The wine retails for $45, had a real cork closure, and clocked in at 15.4% alcohol by volume.

On the nose I found dark fruit, currants, chocolate, raisins, cherries, dates, and candied fruits.  This needed some time to breathe, the aromas didn’t pop out of the glass until I’d been swirling the wine for quite some time.  I’d suggest some time in the decanter.  In the mouth I got flavors of cherry…big black cherries, black fruit, brambly fruit, prunes, currants, and some red raspberries hiding on the back of the palate.  The wine had big chewy tannins….I’d decant this one for a few hours or stash it away in the cellar for a couple of years for it to show its best.

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Filed under: Cabernet Sauvignon, California, Red, Wine | Comments Off on Rued=Rue-ed

Hanging Out in Wine Creek Ranch

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Sonadora

I dug deep into my cellar for tonight’s wine. We haven’t been drinking much Zinfandel lately as I noted last week, but I’ve been craving it and I have a ton of bottles gathering dust in my basement. Plus, the weather is FINALLY showing signs of warming up, so my tastes will soon change from spicy reds to crisp refreshing whites…which I’ve already been dabbling in the last 2 weeks.  Tonight I chose the 2005 Quivira Wine Creek Ranch Zinfandel.  It had a real cork closure, clocked in at 14.5% alcohol by volume, and cost me $30 in a clun shipment.

On the nose I found juicy blackberries, fresh cracked black pepper, vanilla, spice, black currants, dark brambly fruit, and earth.  I found the nose to be very aromatic.  In the mouth I got flavors of tart blackberries, black cherry, spice, a hint of strawberry, and chocolate.  The fruit showed a ripe and the wine is definitely ready to drink…smooth and integrated, drink up soon!

Filed under: California, Red, Wine, Zinfandel | Comments Off on Hanging Out in Wine Creek Ranch

WBW #56 Announced- Kosher Wines

Posted on March 29, 2009 by Sonadora

wbw-new1Our host for the April edition of WBW will be the Cork Dork.  He’s chosen the theme of Kosher Wines in honor of Passover.  So basically, go pick any Kosher Wine and report back on April 15.  You can read all the details here.  This might be a tough one for me.  I’ve not noticed any Kosher Wines in my local shops (other than the famed Manischevitz in the grocery store….) and we leave for our Sonoma vacation on April 14, so I’ll need to have it purchased, consumed, and written about before then.  Not a lot of time to order the wine online and actually get it delivered in time….but I will try my best.

Filed under: WBW, Wine | 3 Comments »

Smells Like Crayola

Posted on March 29, 2009 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the PR folks for Wines of Chile.

I usually pretty up my tasting notes for you.  Mainly because they often contain lines such “OMG, yum.” or “The H [meaning Matt] likes.”  Today I’ve decided to leave in one such note, which is “Smells like Crayola.” I could pretty that up and tell you it had waxy notes or some such thing, but really, I truly mean it smells like when you open a box of crayons.  I chose the last of the Viogniers I have from Chile for the evening, the 2008 Cono Sur Visión Viognier.  It had a real cork closure, clocked in at 13.5% alcohol by volume, and looks to retail for around $8.  At $8, this is a fabulous buy, I’d get it in a heartbeat for that and would probably pay as much as $15 or so for a similar bottle.  Oh, and for real, my first tasting note from this bottle is “The H likes.” 😉

On the nose I found lemon, orange blossom, flowers, Crayola, stone, lime, and apricots.  It had a gorgeous sweet flowery honey characteristic that I absolutely love about Viogniers.  In the mouth I got flavors of pineapple, tropical notes, lime, mandarin oranges, lemon, minerals, wet stone, tangerines, and flowers.

All that in a bottle that can be found for as low as $7.99 on the internet.  Definitely worth your time and wine dollars given that $8 can often buy you a terrible bottle of plonk.  The gems for $8 are out there though, and I would certainly recommend this one.  It will be added to my list of “Great $10 or Under Wine Buys” for 2009.

Filed under: Chile, Viognier, White, Wine | 3 Comments »

Wine Blogs Spotlight

Posted on March 28, 2009 by Sonadora

A few weeks back, I started noticing that Michael Wangbickler of Caveman Wines had posted several profiles of various wine blogs.  I liked the idea a lot and had previously  been considering starting to spotlight some of the wine blogs that populate my Blog Roll in the right hand column.  Doing so popped into my head around the time of the American Wine Blog Awards because in my opinion, so many worthy candidates were overlooked and I really wanted to call attention to some of my favorite wine blogs and give them some love.

Borrowed from Caveman Wines

Borrowed from Caveman Wines

Since the inspiration to actually finally start this came from Michael, my first feature will focus on his wine blog, Caveman Wines.  Michael is a Wine PR guy for a firm in Napa, and writes his blog from an insider’s perspective on how to, and how to not manage your brand.  Besides, being the inspiration for this post, I chose to feature Caveman Wines because I’m always delighted when I see a new post from Michael pop up in my Google Reader.  He offers great insight on the pulse of social media, both for bloggers and for the wine industry in addition to relevant posts on major wine events and marketing campaigns that might work for wineries.

Michael’s writing is interesting, clear and concise, and draws you in quickly.  His posts are always well worth the read, whether it’s a feature on wine companies giving back to their communities or an examination into the future of wine PR.  If you haven’t been reading Caveman Wines already, you’re missing out.  Head on over, add Micheal to your feed reader, and enjoy his take on the world of wine.

Stay tuned for features of some of my other favorite wine blogs in upcoming posts.

Filed under: Blogs, Wine | 5 Comments »

Tasting the New Zealand Wines Again!

Posted on March 28, 2009 by Sonadora

At the DC International Wine and Food Festival, I made sure to stop by the New Zealand Wine Growers table.  I had the chance to free style taste some of their selections at the Wine Blogger Conference, but I only made it through a few there as my palate was just plain tuckered out by that point in the day.  So I was excited to see them again, and am pleased to be attending their regional tasting at the end of March.

2008 Giesen Sauvignon Blanc: Gooseberry, grapefruit, citrus, very nice.

2008 Stoneleigh Sauvignon Blanc: Green pepper, gooseberry, very sitrus, herbal notes.

2008 Giesen Three Brothers Sauvignon Blanc: Peach, citrus, gooseberries, very tart, nice tropical notes.

2008 Brancott Reserve Sauvignon Blanc: Lemon, citrus, grass, crisp, nicely done.

2007 Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc: Bright, floral, tropical, pear, lemon, crisp, tongue tingly.

2007 Staete Landt Pinot Gris: Pear, lemon, honey, apple, light.

2004 Vinoptima Gewurztraminer: Lychee, apricot, white peach, grassy, hay, honey.

2007 Stoneleigh Pinot Noir: Cherry cola, flowers, violets, cherry, raspberry, vanilla, very light, easy to drink.

2006 Brancott Reserve Pinot Noir: Earth, Coke, raspberry, cherry, bright fruit.

2005 Wither Hills Pinot Noir: Chocolate, berries, red fruit, sweet, cherry, raspberry, really nice in the mouth.

Filed under: DC International Wine and Food Festival, New Zealand, Wine | 1 Comment »

Wine News Round the ‘Net

Posted on March 27, 2009 by Sonadora

Check out Wine Case for the round up of WBW #55 which Remy recently posted.  About 33 wine bloggers participated and took some interesting perspectives on North vs. South.  Head on over and see all the details.  Stay tuned for next month’s theme…I hear it involves Kosher wines!

The European Wine Blogger Conference has been announced! It will be held in Lisbon October 30-November 1.  It sounds like it will be an amazing time. I wish I lived in Eurpoe/had the means to get there to particpate.  But if you can attend, check out the site for all the details and to register.

Which brings me to the North American Wine Blogger Conference. Do you have a wine blog? Or a winery blog? Or are you a winery looking to meet wine bloggers?  Then you should sign up.  The schedule keeps shaping up and it’s going to be an amazing time! Head on over and register now!

Filed under: WBC, Wine | 3 Comments »

Spring is Cold

Posted on March 27, 2009 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the PR folks for Wines of Chile.

Well, the first day of spring passed and it’s still really cold.  Spring my rear end…it’s still 40 out!  I’m hoping that when we get back from Sonoma it will be nice and warm and I will be justified in drinking all these crisp white wines I love!  I chose the 2008 Carmen Reserva Sauvignon Blanc from the Casablanca Valley in Chile to drink last night.  It had a real cork closure, clocked in at 13% alcohol by volume, and retails for around $10.

On the nose I found gooseberries, grapefruit, citrus, lemon, slight vanilla, and sharp grass.  From the nose, I would honestly have picked this one as a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc if I hadn’t known it came from Chile.  In the mouth I got flavors of lemon, lime, grapefruit, tropical notes, grass, and lots of citrus.  Overall, I found the wine to be very refreshing with great acidity.  Nicely done for $10.

Filed under: Chile, Sauvignon Blanc, White, Wine | 2 Comments »

Really Nothing to Do With Wine

Posted on March 26, 2009 by Sonadora

Except maybe if I can tenuously make some connection between organic farming and conservation and save the planet and all that jazz.  But I wanted to share anyway because I just think this is SO COOL.

A couple weeks ago, on our drive to work, which takes us along a lengthy stretch of the Potomac River on the Virginia side, we started to notice a crowd gathering with telephoto lens cameras on the side of the road, and that the Park Service had cordoned off an area where police cars used to lay in wait for commuters.  A few days later I was able to drive by slowly enough that I could look and see a giant nest up in a tree about 40 feet in from the side of the road.

Well, as it turns out, we saw the inhabitants the other day…..BALD EAGLES!!! Two of them, a mating pair I’d guess, nesting on the banks of the Potomac!!!!  How freaking cool is that?  I so hope I’ll be able to see the Eaglets in the near future.  But regardless…there are WILD Bald Eagles nesting in the DC area.  It gives me a thrill and I grin from ear to ear every day now when I see them perched up there, guarding their nest.
Just wanted to share!

Filed under: Misc | 3 Comments »

Riding Mustangs

Posted on March 26, 2009 by Sonadora

Have I mentioned before how much I love the wines from Coral Mustang?  I think I have, 😉 , but just in case, I’ll say it again…I love these wines!!!  The Rose is amazing and the Tempranillo is divine.  Tonight I chose the 2004 Coral Mustang Tempranillo to sip with my lamb and mashed taters.  It had a real cork closure, clocked in at 14.5% alcohol by volume, and I believe it cost me $22 from WineQ, but they are sold out, so I can’t be sure.

I first noted how dark the wine appeared in the glass.  On the nose I found berries, spice, wood, earth, black cherry, vanilla, and pie.  In my notes, I described the nose as “yummy.”  The wine tasted fabulous.  I almost didn’t want to take notes because I got so wrapped up in drinking the wine!  I got flavors of blackberries, black cherries, black plums, spice, earth, herbs, smoky notes, and almost a hint of raspberries.  The fruit tasted like it just got picked off a bush and crushed into my glass.  This is a wine you would remiss to not have a chance to taste….the 2005 is wonderful too!

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Filed under: California, Coral Mustang, Red, Wine, WineQ | 2 Comments »

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