Let's Talk!!!

Tonight's has NOTHING to with wine. I said in my first post that we will talk about wine mostly, but we will also talk about life, family, friends, on and on and on right? So off we go!

I feel like my best ideas come when I can't get a wink of sleep. Jenna, my wife, bless her can fall asleep within minutes of hittin the pillow. Not me, lemme tell ya, it's 1:27am on a Tuesday night, a work night much less and I am rockin out to Glen Phillips, Counting Crows and many other cool musicians that I imagine have done, or ARE doing the same as me right now.

You know how everyone is on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter... Shoot you name it, people are active on it, myself included! So the thing is when you write a blog about wine, how many people do you think actually read your blog? In my case because I am just starting, I'm gonna say about 5 people hahahahahaha!!! That's funny! But I think the social networks out there are so valuable. I mean look at Facebook for instance, did you ever think that you would be able to know what a high school friend of yours living in another state was up to? Ten years ago that just wasn't the case. And most people didn't care. But now everyone knows what everyone else is doing all the time. Now this isn't always a good thing right? But for the most part it is a great concept. Okay, I'm getting to a point here stay with me....
Social networks also give you commerce that a decade ago you wouldn't have had. Let me tell you what got me started on blogging. About two years ago I started watching this wine videoblog called WineLibrary tv. Gary Vaynerchuck is the host, and a damn good one at that. Gary also just recently wrote a book called "Crush It". But until about four or five years ago, or something like that nobody outside the New Jersey/New York area really knew a whole lot about Gary. Now, he is a social media icon. If he can do it, why can't everyone? All it takes is good content, which tonight seems to be a stuggle and a ramble at the same time for me.

But what I am getting at is when you read this, what does it make you think about? And, why doesn't everyone write what's on thier minds? If you aren't a writer, I understand. I happen to be into it a little bit.

When you have too much stuff on your mind what do you do to get it all out? Tell me your thoughts. Tell me your ideas... I wanna know!!! I'm really interested!!

As the title says.... Let's Talk!!!

Chateauneuf Du Pape 2007

So this is going to be bit of a short posting tonight. I always seem to write my posts late at night, I am thinking because I can pop my music on from Pandora, get the thoughts brewin' and get going from there.

Anyway, to the point at hand right? 2007 Chateauneuf Du Pape this is a wine as I mentioned last night that you HAVE to seek out. There are many producers out there. If you are into collecting, you have to go after Beaucastel. One of, if not THE best Chateauneuf Du Pape producer out there. But there are others that are somewhat under the radar where you can find some very good values. Traditionally, CDP (Chateauneuf Du Pape) is generally a bit of pricey wine. And I will be the first to agree. Fortunately, I don't have to pay to taste these wines very often. Perks of the job I guess.

Again, off topic, but lets get to the harvest and the growing season in the Rhone. According to harvest reports, the 2007 vintage saw a little less water, a little more wind, and a little more sun than normal. This is the short and simple version of the harvest report. I won't get into details with the ability to bore you all.

But CDP is the southern Rhone, and the entire Rhone valley, north and south had an exceptional vintage. This means that there are other wines out there that have the a great potential. Gigondas, Vacqueyras, and so on all present an exceptional opportunity to taste some top notch wines from a region that is year after year becoming leading region on the wine map.

CDP though is a wine that has complexity beyond what any other wine offers in the region. It has ageability, and nuances that some other wines just don't match. And that doesn't take away from those wines. CDP is just different. Just take my word for it, seek out a couple bottles. Put one away, and drink one. The wine that you drink now will be pretty tight in it's taste profile, but still enjoyable.

Alright, so hopefully there is enough info here pertaining to CDP and the Rhone in general. On to the other passion of mine... football, but not just football... Michigan football. I will admit, Michigan is TERRIBLE this year. And I will say openly that I don't think Rich Rod is the good fit for this team or conference for that matter. But I can't not be excited for Michigan v Ohio State week. So, anyone reading this one, gimme your scores... I wanna know what you think.

My score is:

Ohio State 33
Michigan 17

I hope that isn't the final score, but I have to be reasonable.

I hope you all enjoy this post...

Enjoy your friends, enjoy your family, enjoy life and the wines your drink from day to day. But enjoy the wines responsibly! Cheers!

Turkey Wine!!!

So, the question I always get is what wines go with turkey? The general and safe answer that I always HAVE to give is Gewurztraminer, or Riesling, something a tad sweet. But the truth is, there is SO much more out there that goes well with all the fixings. One that almost always goes overlooked is Zinfandel. Yes, that's right, Zinfandel. A good fruit forward Zinfandel is perfect with a big full turkey dinner. A personal recommendation that I would make is to go out and if you have some money to spend get the Segehsio "Rock Pile" Zinfandel. I know I said I wouldn't recommend wines on my blog, but there you go, I broke my own rule. But the reason I did is because year in and year out Segehsio produces a top notch Zin. This particular Zinfandel that I mention, the "Rock Pile" label is especially good for turkey dinner, and that is because it is a FRUIT BOMB, meaning majorly fruit forward with a terrific mouthfeel to accompany a mostly DRY turkey.

But if you want to go safe also go with the Auslese Rieslings, or Gewurztraminers. I am a Riesling person in many other facets than just Thanksgiving. I myself feel that riesling is one of my favorite varietals. This is because riesling is SO versitile.

But if you are going for a wine with a little spice to it, definately go with gewurztraminers. Either is a safe choice though.

Okay so if you are looking for a wine that is sorta off the charts GREAT for thanksgiving dinner providing an answer to each and every nuance of flavor from Thanksgiving dinner, you're gonna have to do some searching. But if you are up to it, you want to look for a SPARKLING DRY SHIRAZ. I know what you're saying... "What? shiraz??? To that I answer yes, shiraz. But it HAS to be sparkling. If it isn't than skip it.

Some other wines that are good are the obvious ones as well, Pinot Noir and stuff like that. My overall recommendation is to have a little of each, try each with a different course. After all, isn't Thanksgiving supposed to be a culinary masterpiece? hahahaha, I thought so!

Anyway, I know I wrote the Thanksgiving blog a little early but it gives you your time to go seek out some fabulous wines, and that sparkling shiraz. Go ask your local wine steward if he or she can point you in the right direction.

In my next post we are going to talk about the Rhone, and specifically Chateauneuf Du Pape 2007 vintage. Because if you have any interest in wine at all you can't ignore this. There are actually some 100 point scores in this vintage of CDP!!! Anyway, we'll talk about it.

Everyone have a great week!

Enjoy your friends, enjoy your family, enjoy life and the wines your drink from day to day. But enjoy the wines responsibly! Cheers!

Okay, so it has been like FOREVER!!! since my last post. But, I have been staying REALLY busy since then. So no excuses but anyway. Just a couple things tonight since it's been so long, I will kinda tell you all what I have been up to.

As you all may or may not know based on whether you are friends with me on Twitter or Facebook, and that is that I have made a move in my career. I left one wine company, a three tiered company. Meaning, Winery/Vineyard, Importer, and Distributor. To join a LARGE company that distributes wines and spirits. And since then, have been doing my homework on the wines, protocol and all that stuff that my new job demands. So, sorry!

But some good stuff has come from it. I was at a tasting last Saturday (11/7/2009) at the MGM Detroit, it consisted of over 116 wines, yes boys and girls that's right 116 wines. Don't worry I didn't actually drink em all. I am a professional here. At least I would like to think so. hahaha. I have been doing what I firmly believe everyone that drinks wine should do, and that is EXPANDING my pal. (Expanding my palate) Tasting wines from Bulgaria, Greece, Isreal, Lebenon and so on. WOW, some really good stuff and some REALLY BAD stuff. But it's all about expanding the pal right? Anyway, it was for a charity and it was fun to be at this tasting with some major players in the wine industry. It was fun to say the least. And, I learned some stuff too that I will pass onto you guys as I post.

Then, the following Monday, I did a tasting for Chef Craig Common at the Common Grill in Chelsea. That was great! 150 people showed up for it, and it was fun. Again lots of great wines, but more consumer friendly this time. Cabs, Merlot, Riesling, all that good stuff.

So, that's what I have been up to lately, anyone have any questions, please feel free to ask ANYTHING!!!

To that I say....
Enjoy your friends, enjoy your family, enjoy life and the wines your drink from day to day. But enjoy the wines responsibly! Cheers!