-a wine blog
Maycas Limari 2008 Chardonnay is grown 300 miles north of Santiago and 8 miles in from the coast.
It’s 100% chardonnay and sells for $20.
It’s nice that there isn’t too much oak on the front, but it has an interesting flavor that i’ve found in most Chilean wines.
I’m not so much of a chardonay person, and this is a miss for me.
Ok normally i would NEVER ever ever say Cali. But, Biggie Big is calling my name, and since we’re in Virginia sweating our asses off, I thought it was appropriate as we taste the 2010 Sivas Sonoma Sav Blanc.
This is a VERY grassy and green pepper wine. It is 68% Sonoma Valley and the rest of the fruit comes from Russian River; it is 100% stainless steel fermented and is aged on the lees. For $14 it could be a great summer quaffer, but it’s too grassy for me.
Jefferson Vineyards 2010 Pinot Gris sells for $19 is made about 70% stainless, and produces a lovely wine that smacks of pears. A litle Riesling is blending in there as well and just a touch of secondary gives it a touch of fizz. There is also a smattering of Viognier for fun.
I love pinot gris and this is really a classic pinot gris that I would buy. The pear component gives way to peaches and other stone fruit, and this tastes like dessert in a glass!
Rose rose rose! Thank god because it’s hot. Damn hot. So hot you could do some crotch pot cooking. *for those of you who never saw Good Morning Vietnam, I apologize but you really need to.
Slightly sweet, wish it were drier. Notes of rose petals and orange blossom. $14 Chambourcin rose, is new to me. Could be interesting but I really want it to be more crisp for my taste.
It’s less than 2 weeks before the annual Wine Bloggers Conference, and I’m finally getting a little jazzed with it. life has been busy these days, with my day job, the WBC Scholarship, and, well, STUFF but I’m looking forward to a few days off spent with my 300 closest friends in the sweaty summer weather in Virginia. As a 4 year veteran, some things that I’ve learned on the road to blogging:
So, as you know, we here at the WBC Scholarship are all about getting a diverse group of bloggers together in Walla Walla to have some great wine, learn a few things, and have a great time. As you may have read, before & after the official conference, there are excursions to the Yakima Valley and Red Mountain regions. In addition, several of us are going to Portland for some pre-WBC tasting and fun.
I’d also like to mention that the good folks over at WineCHATr are holding a contest for out of state (non-Washington) bloggers, for a 3 day road trip through wine country. The WBC-or-Bust campaign is hosting 12 bloggers from Seattle to Walla Walla, and they taste wine, explore the wine regions of Washington, and get to know each other for 2 days before the Wine Bloggers Conference.
The road trip begins on June 23rd in Seattle, where you will be picked up downtown and taken out to Woodinville for an afternoon of wine tasting! The itinerary is:
Day 2 you will be carousing through Red Mountain and Yakima, to visit some premier growing areas and wineries. More information will be available shortly on that day, and you will end up in Walla Walla at the Marcus Whitman for the kick-off to the WBC!
In order to qualify for the “WBC-or-BUST” campaign wine bloggers need only signup on WineCHATr.com, add a contest badge to their website, and then blog about Washington wine. At the conclusion of the campaign 12 bloggers will win a seat on the all expenses paid road trip headed to Walla Walla and the 2010 WBC.
The contest ends in April 2010 and a total of 12 bloggers will be chosen on the following basis. Two winners will be chosen for posting the most Washington wine related blog entries (minimum of 150 words required for each post). Six additional winners will be chosen for the best category based posting:
For all the details on how to enter, head on over to WBC or Bust for the complete rules and instructions.
Special thanks to WineChatr and WBC or Bust for their support of the WBC and the WBC Scholarship! Creative ideas like this are always welcome, and the unique experience for out of state bloggers is guaranteed to delight. plus, it’s easier and cheaper to fly to Seattle, so enter and good luck!
Happy New Year! Boy am I glad 2009 is over. While there were some fabulous times last year, the last few months were pretty wretched for me. Today is 1/02/2010 however, and as a palindrome, I’m thinking it’s good luck.
To kick this year off with a bang, I’m here to announce the 2010 Wine Bloggers Scholarship applications and donations are open! This year, we are headed to Walla Walla in June to talk about wine, blogging and social media. As with the 2009 Wine Bloggers Conference, this 3 day symposium brings together professionals, bloggers, winemakers and more to discuss the impact of industry and citizens bloggers, social media, and the adult beverage industry.
We will spend 3 days in Walla Walla drinking great wine, learning the basics of wine blogging, blogging live while tasting, touring the Walla Walla wine scene, and also doing a whole lot of networking. After the 2009 Conference in Sonoma, many connections were made, many bloggers blossomed, and several people got some killer careers going in wine. What could YOU accomplish?
In an effort to support bloggers that wish to attend to learn more, perfect their craft, or see what it’s all about, the WBC Scholarship sets out to raise funds to assist citizen bloggers (those unaffiliated with a winery or other professional organization) get to Walla Walla and participate in the event of the decade. Ok well the first year of the decade anyway.
To find out more about the WBC Scholarship, please visit our site at http://wbcscholarship.wordpress.com/. If you’re a citizen blogger and would like to apply for assistance, please see the Application page.
If you would like to donate, or you know someone who would be a good resource, you may do so directly at our Paypal page here:
If you prefer to send a check, or if you have any questions, please email us for details at wbcscholarship at gmail dot com.
Happy New Year! Boy am I glad 2009 is over. While there were some fabulous times last year, the last few months were pretty wretched for me. Today is 1/02/2010 however, and as a palindrome, I’m thinking it’s good luck.
To kick this year off with a bang, I’m here to announce the 2010 Wine Bloggers Scholarship applications and donations are open! This year, we are headed to Walla Walla in June to talk about wine, blogging and social media. As with the 2009 Wine Bloggers Conference, this 3 day symposium brings together professionals, bloggers, winemakers and more to discuss the impact of industry and citizens bloggers, social media, and the adult beverage industry.
We will spend 3 days in Walla Walla drinking great wine, learning the basics of wine blogging, blogging live while tasting, touring the Walla Walla wine scene, and also doing a whole lot of networking. After the 2009 Conference in Sonoma, many connections were made, many bloggers blossomed, and several people got some killer careers going in wine. What could YOU accomplish?
In an effort to support bloggers that wish to attend to learn more, perfect their craft, or see what it’s all about, the WBC Scholarship sets out to raise funds to assist citizen bloggers (those unaffiliated with a winery or other professional organization) get to Walla Walla and participate in the event of the decade. Ok well the first year of the decade anyway.
To find out more about the WBC Scholarship, please visit our site at http://wbcscholarship.wordpress.com/. If you’re a citizen blogger and would like to apply for assistance, please see the Application page.
If you would like to donate, or you know someone who would be a good resource, you may do so directly at our Paypal page here:
If you prefer to send a check, or if you have any questions, please email us for details at wbcscholarship at gmail dot com.
Where does the time go? The Second Annual Winebloggers Conference has already come and gone, and I am left wondering “what the heck was that bus that rolled over me “.As one of the voices behind the curtain of the WBC Scholarship, and as a huge cheerleader, proponent and fan of the WBC, I am pleased, shocked, elated, bummed, and catching my breath after the weekend.
On our first day, the rag tag Twisted Crew (@sonadora, @thebeerwench, @winehiker, @eljefetwisted, @ryanopaz, @gabriellaopaz, @houstonwino, @winewonkette) and I pulled up to the Flamingo after fighting what seemed to be an eternity in Central Valley and Infinion drag racing traffic followed by the usual Friday flow in to Santa Rosa. Arriving at 12:30 or so, I didn’t spend much time with the sponsors, something which I regret doing. Partially because many of them were familiar to me, partially because I was just plain exhausted due to unfortunate events the day before, I found my fellow people and sat down to eat some lunch.
I was excited to see so many of my friends, both those that I know in person and those that I knew only online, as new recruits tot he WBC posse. After catching up, albeit breifly, with some regulars, I was circulating the room trying to spy new faces while inspecting their name tags without looking like I was completely crazy. Fortunately, I caught up with a few new regulars.
After lunch, we attempted to do the speed tasting sessions, but well for reasons so many have discussed, it failed. Miserably. Like died on the operating table failed. In its stead, we heard about the Wine Blogger Awards. Unfortunately, I had purposely planned to skip this male dominated prom king style popularity contest, and moving it up unfortunately resulting in people not being there to accept thier awards. Eventually the wireless supposedly turned back on but as I tried to tweet my tasting notes, the wireless only stayed up for 10 seconds at a time, I gave up and just enjoyed the wines. Sorry folks, no tasting notes from me.
After the speed tasting, we beat a hasty retreat to our short but sweet annual Anti-Conference BYOB session in the small space at the front of the hotel. We did get to enjoy a large plethora of wines from attendees, and I really look forward to this time to meet new folks, try new wines, and just have a good time in an unstructured way.
Not wanting to miss a beat, we then made our way out to the pool for a very crowded very crazy Sonoma Grand Tasting. Not wanting to get crushed in the milee I pretty much avoided this, and found a spot at a table with Wine Biz Radio’s Randy Hall, his wife Jen and her amazing goat cheese, as well as some fellow bloggers. There, we shared some wine, I opened some wine,
Chritophe (@cork_dork) from Titus opened some wine, and we made our own tasting. PS for next year, PLEASE do no try to squeeze 250 people in to a space meant for 50, it just doesn’t’ work. I am sorry I missed many great wines, but I count myself lucky that I have tasted many before so didn’t really feel like I was losing out. It was just too much of a mosh pit to really enjoy your self and so instead, I opted to find an empty poolside table and sit with my buds catching up. Jen, Randy Hall’s wife, had brought some of her homemade goat cheese to share and with some wine to sip on, we snacked and chatted the afternoon away.
Oh – I forgot to mention. During all portions of the Speed Tasting and Sonoma Grand, I was readily accosted for my unusual jewelry of Wie BLogger Bling. It looks like my ribbons and charms were a hit, yet again! Yes, t
his was the idea, and I am pleased that so many of you enjoyed the camradierie of being a Naughty Wine Minx or saying tot he world Screw It! More WIne! That was the intention behind the blogger bling, as there were so many people I didn’t know and knew I wouldn’t get a chance to meet; I was pleased that it afforded me the opportunity to have random strangers become aquaintances via a common love of all thing wine and 
silly.
After the Grand Tasting, we made our way in to the dinner session, where I had a tizzy of a time finding not only a seat, but a seat at a table where I at least recognized one face. I know i know, I was going to mingle, but even this cowgirl gets the “I’m shy” blues and wanted a friendly face. I sat down with my favorite Cellar Rat Alan Baker, and we had a great time trying our wines and catching up, while I went table hopping to poach different wines. The table layout was that most tables were hosted by a winery, and we had a few of their wines plus others on our tables. Since I wanted a variety, I found Brad Cooper’s table (@bradinator) and poured a nice big taste of his Black Cloud Pinot Noir. WOW! Who knew such beauty came out of of British Columbia in a bottle! (Hey, @winebard stop throwing things at me).
Even though I was operating at 45% sanity, both physically and mentally, after dinner I wandered in tot he after hours tasting hosted by Russian River Winegrowers. I was please to see many wineries I knew here, and was able to taste some more treats, and chat with the locals on what was new. In there, I met up with Julie from Windsor Oaks, whom I’ve written about before here. Julie is a pioneer in the industry and is working hard to make sure that she is in tune with not only bloggers, but with what her customers want and need. I was so pleased to get a gift of their Unoaked Chard, which is just a lovely treat. Anyone in the area, MUST stop by and try their wines! They will welcome you as one of their own, and the wine is pretty good too 
.
I tried and tried to stay up for the after after after party but I just couldn’t do it. My body and my brain gave out. I’m sure I missed out on a lot and I’m bummed, but well, Saturday was another day!
(How long til WBC 10?)
As you may have noticed, I haven’t been blogging much recently, something I hope to remedy. Partially, this is due to be sick, partially because my computer at home broke, and partially because I have been involved in another project.
As I hope you will have heard by now, The Wine Bloggers Conference has been scheduled for July 24-26 in Santa Rosa. Judging by last years attendance, I expect this to be another blow out year.
That said, the economy BLOWS right now. People are losing their jobs. Bloggers aren’t paid (for the most part), so if you’re an unemployed blogger, attending this years conference may be a struggle for you. This is why a group of bloggers and other Wine 2.0 aficionados came together and started the Wine BloggersConference Scholarship Fund .
The fund is something near and dear to me, and as a committee member, I am shouting about it from the tops of rooftops. To help us make our goal, I have come up with some Blogger Bling, to help you enhance your WBC name badges. You are registered right? Yeah I thought so. So here’s the deal:
ID Ribbons are for sale for $2 each. After I recoup the costs, the profits go to the WBC Scholarship Fund. If you’re interested, Tweet me, Email me, send me a smoke signal, but get these while the getting is good!
Trouble Maker |
Wine Blogger |
First Time Attendee |
| Screw it! More wine!
- A Luscious Lushes Original |
Naughty Wine Minx -By Lisa Adams Walter and The BrixChicks!
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