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The Letter A!

You remember those closing credits on Seasame Street right? “Seasame Street is brought to you by the letter…”? Well my friend Amy @educatedpalates, told me about the Alphabet Challenge that she was participating in with some other bloggers. The Alphabet challenge pushes us to try wines frmo every letter of the alphabet. you could go crazy and do it all by varietal, A to Z, but I’m not sure I know of any Z grapes I’d want to try, and i’m certerain that I do NOT want to try white Zinfandel.

Most of the others who are participating are doing it out of order, but I thought it would be more of a challenge, as well as a push to get some more Century Club grapes under my belt, if I did it starting with A. I could start with Albarino, because I have some in the cellar, but given the chill in the air and the misty fog, I’m not much in the mood for a chilled white. So i will start with A is for Audelssa.

So I am going to try to Producers and Varietals, starting to with the letter A.

A is for Audelssa, that makes my mouth sing.

A is for awesome, cuz that’s just the thing.

A is for audacious for that is what i found

A is for Audelssa, who makes Glen Ellen Proud.

On my recent visit to Audelssa, I tasted through thier current releases with Amy aka @educatedpalates. I had never been there and I was excited to try out the juice. Audelssa focuses on artisinal wines in the Bordeaux tradition, and is also releasing Rhone blends this spring. I must say, I particularly enjoyed their Bordeaux blends Summit and Summit Reserve, and am looking forward to the Rhone.

The 2007 Summit is a Right Bank style belnd of 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 12.5% Cabernet Franc, 10% Malbec, and 4.5% Petite Verdot. I found it earthy, rich and chewy with a flavor of underripe blackberries and a floral aroma. At $52, while it was interesting, I’d like to wait to see how ti develops in the next couple of years. HOLD

My favorite of the tasting of 5 wines was the 2007 Summit Reserve, which is 75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc. Only 100 cases were produced, and it was a deliciously rich blend with plum & blackberry flavors followed by cloves and spice. The lush wine was complex, with really nice blue & black fruit but a nice backbone and finish. It’s a bit pricey at $125, but I’d say it’s worth the splurge for a special occasion. If you have deep pockets, BUY this wine.

Stay tuned for B-Z and thanks to all our group participants!

http://www.audelssa.com/index.cfm?method=storeproducts.showDrilldown&productid=c26088dc-9b2a-40f9-f9df-2c69544f86d5&ProductCategoryID=a2b9e5f5-1cc4-fbb6-2394-45532d37d707&WineryID=A2B9E578-1CC4-FBB6-231B-B057770814E4&WineTypeID=&ProductType=&wineVarietalID=&wineRegionID=&vintage=&lowprice=&highPrice=&WineBrandID=&WineAppellationID=&lowletter=&highletter=&OrderBy=PXPC.DisplayOrder%20Asc,%20P.ProductName%20ASC&ShippingState=CA

Today's wine is brought to you by…

Jan 19th, 2010

by winebratsf.

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The Letter A!

So I am going to try to Producers and Varietals, starting to with the letter A.

A is for Audelssa, that makes my mouth sing.

A is for awesome, cuz that’s just the thing.

A is for audacious for that is what i found

A is for Audelssa, who makes Glen Ellen Proud.

Stay tuned for B-Z and thanks to all our group participants!

It’s Bloggership Time!

Jan 2nd, 2010

by winebratsf.

2 comments

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.

It's Bloggership Time!

Jan 2nd, 2010

by winebratsf.

2 comments

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.

Bloggers, media, is there a line?

Oct 7th, 2009

by winebratsf.

9 comments

Bloggers, media, journalists, TV reporters, wine critics, mom. Can’t we all just get along? I know that there are a lot of shills out there, and there has been a lot of controversy in the Mommy Blogger arena about posting for peanuts, or in their case products, but the recent FTC ruling regarding bloggers really chaps my hide.

It’s not that I take issue with the fact that the FTC is requiring bloggers to disclose the fact that they receive samples. That is simply the ethical thing to do; it is that they are specifically and pointedly excluding traditional media from this ruling because they apparently have better “Independent editorial responsibility”. So really, you’re saying that BOb Parker actually discloses to us when he takes a press junket to Paris? London? Australia? Funny, I don’t seem to read that in his work.

Esentially, what the FTC is doing is widening the gap between tradition and new media in all arenas. Clearly, the straight up pay for post model is something that needs to be disclosed, but with over 2000 wine blogs alone, are you really going to police EVERY post by EVERY blogger to see if we are disclosing the fact that I got a $15 bottle of wine that probably cost the PR agency / winery / retailer $7? REALLY?

Now i’m all about letting your public know if you got something for free, and I try to include in my posts if I am reviewing a wine. Yes, occasionally i forget, yes occasionally i get so excited about a wine I don’t bother but clearly i will need to be more cognizant of that in the future.

But why not hold “traditional media” to the same scrutiny? Apparently, the FTC doesn’t think that bloggers are intelligent enough or ethical enough to hold our selves to the same level as the old boys club. Basically, if i get PAID to review items i get for free, then it’s ok but if i review items that i get for free, for FREE then I must disclose. HUH? The FTC apparently feels that those kids in the big buildings have a better grasp on what is right and wrong that me do, and that their reviews are not “endorsements”. THOSE reviews are not impacted by the fact that their reviewer did or didn’t pay for the item in question. MY reviews are impacted because I’m not a journalist. OR so I’ve been told more than once and loudly by the FTC.

To quote Tom Wark of Fermentation, who sums it up SO well:

Let me put this in plainer words. If a publisher sends me (a wine blogger) a copy of a new book about the wines of Bolivia and I review it positively I must disclose the book was given to me or face a fine of $11,000. If a reporter at the Wine Spectator (traditional media) receives a free copy of “The Wines of Bolivia” and reviews it positively, they need not disclose they received it free from the publisher. Put another way, if Alder Yarrow or Dr. Vino respond in the affirmative to my email to them offering a bottle of press sample of Mayo Family Winery’s 2006 Reserve Zinfandel with a request (though not a demand) that they review it, they must disclose they received the sample free of charge when they do review it—good or bad review. If I call Steve Heimoff of the Wine Enthusiast and make the same offer and he accepts, he (and the editors at The Wine Enthusiast) need not disclose they received the press sample free.

To also quote John Stossel, formerly of ABC News 20/20 and therefore not subject to freebie limitations, GIVE ME A BREAK!~

Does this potenitally give bloggers more credibility on paper? Yes.

Does this make me dislike the paper boys even more? You bet.

Will I make sure my ass writes “FREE SAMPLE” on every blog post? Well, yeah.

Will I say if I paid for a wine tasting at Joe’s Vineyards? No. Because that is up to the discretion of the winery staff weather to charge me or not, blogger, journalist or flirt.

This piece was not paid for by any means, liquid or otherwise and is purely an expression of my opinion. If the FTC comes after me, I’ll tell them to go see PinotBlogger for a free Suck It Parker! T-shirt.

Pre-Posterous!

Sep 11th, 2009

by winebratsf.

2 comments

So I’m jumping on the wagon here. Posterous seems like a good idea in theory, since I can effectively email or text my blog posts to Posterous, which will auto update the blog, and / or Twitter and /or Facebook. Since my TwitterFeeds don’t work all the time and since sometimes WordPress doesn’t cooperate, why not!

Posted via email from lusciouslushes’s posterous

A smattering of tastings – WBC Day 1

Aug 1st, 2009

by winebratsf.

2 comments

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?)

What happens in Napa, stays in Napa. And the blogesphere. And Twitterverse.

Dec 9th, 2008

by winebratsf.

8 comments

This past Sunday, I was fortunate enough to have my Luscious Lush self and my big mouth invited to a blogger panel discussion, hosted by Lisa de Bruin (@winedivergirl) of Hahn Estates. At this discussion were several fellow bloggers and industry folks, as well as a large contingent of the Hahn team, who were on hand to discuss their wines as well as how they can more effectively interact with us wine blogger types.

First, let me get this out of the way. I am going to talk about some wines. I am going to talk about some Hahn Estates wines. These wines were tasted at a hosted event, but these comments express ONLY my opinions. I am choosing to write about the wines that stood out in my memory as being exceptional or noteworthy, because i like to share things I like. Moving right along then!

In attendance, we had the following bloggers:

JJ Bagley and Alan Kropf of Mutineer Magazine
Laura Wagren of 1000 Corks
Xandria & Liza of The Brix Chicks (@lorzandra & @brixchick_liza)
Ward Kadel of WineLog (@drxeno)
Shana Ray of Shana; not out on VHS yet (@sharayray)
Chris Butts of the The Kilted Blog (@chrisbutts)
Sam Ackman of 1000 Corks
Chris Oggenfuss of Vintuba (@vintuba)
Russ Beebe of California Wine Hikes (@winehiker)

Additionally, we had two wineries represented, which added a unique perspective.

Jeff Stai, Owner Twisted Oak Winery and winery blogger on El Bloggo Torcido (@eljefetwisted)
Judd Wallenbrock of Humanitas Wines and Michel-Schlumberger, winery blogger of Drink Charitably (@humanitas)

From Hahn, we had:

Andy Mitchell, Director of Vineyard Operations
Adam Lazarre, Winemaker
Bill Leigon, President
Evelyn Pool, VP of Marketing
Lisa Adams Walter, PR (@lisaadamswalter)
and of course, our illustrious hostess herself – Lisa de Bruin, Director of New Media Marketing (@winedivergirl)

This event was envisioned by Lisa de Bruin, with a lot of input from various bloggers and industry folks, as an opportunity to open the dialogue between wineries and bloggers. This has been something of a challenge in recent weeks, and has incited some rioting (friendly fire only!). Before the lively discussion started, however, we were treated to a tasting of some of the Bin 36 and Lucienne offerings. Below are my notes from my favorites:

2006 Lucienne Pinot Noir, Lone Oak Vineyard

Rich ruby color. Rich without being sweet or overdone. Black cherry, earth. Strawberry fruit rollup, cherry and plum. Tastes slightly salty.

The Lone Oak Vineyard is in an area of the Santa Lucia Highlands that produces world

class pinot noir. Case in point, Lone Oak actually sits between Gary’s Vineyard and Rosellas Vineyard, which are both well known in pinot circles for producing some cult pinot noirs.

We also tasted the 2006 Lucienne Pinot Noir, Doctors Vineyard

This had a much chewier mouth feel, with black raspberry and Bing cherries, followed by plums and earthy spice flavors.

I enjoyed both of these pinots very much, and would say that for drinking along, Doctors is a great choice. If you are pairing with food, I would suggest the Lone Oak.

This event was just getting under way after the wine was poured. With our minds flowing freely, the discussion began as to how wineries, other industry professionals, and bloggers can work together.

First, let’s face it. Bloggers are a rowdy and diverse bunch. NO two wine blogs really have the same goal, and no two wine blogs are the same. Personally, I write my blog because I like to share. It started as a newsletter of events and wines that I was enjoying, and evolved from there. I choose to write about wines & things that I find inspiring. I choose not to write about every forgettable wine that I taste, because I don’t have that much time in my life. But that is me. Your wine blog might be different, and that’s OK! The point of the blogger community is that we all have our passions. Our readers come to our blogs for information, and for different reasons. I read over 100 wine blogs – not every day, but in general – and each one adds value for a different reason.

Sonadora, the Wannabe Wino, gives me insight in to her favorite wines and her travels through wine country
Lisa de Bruin, from California Wine Life and Hahn Estates, gives me a unique perspective on issues in the industry as well as her adventures diving and enjoying wine.
The Brix Chicks let me peek vicariously in to their world as they pursue their WSET certificates and taste things locally.
Michael Wangblicker of Caveman Wines writes about shaping the wine blogging industry, and gives me great tips and tricks to improve my own writing.

Each blog is different, each blog is great. The uniqueness of the blogging industry is what makes it magical.

In recent news, traditional media outlets such as the Chicago Tribune have filed for bankruptcy. As we move towards the next decade, old school traditional media methods are being surpassed by new methods, such as online media and blogging. As Lisa put it “the shift of influence in the wine world from old print media to new on-line media, especially in the form of blogs with character, variety and accessibility to the variety of wine lovers out there is essential to the success of a growing wine industry.” I could not agree more. The next generation of wine drinker is so attached to the web, they are avoiding brick and mortar establishments.

There has been a lot of discussion about where the line is drawn in terms of bloggers and wineries. I question this, as traditional media outlets get wined and dined and showered with gifts all the time. I’m not sure why we should be held to a higher standard, just because we are innovative and new. That being said, if we are clearly writing about a “sample”, as disclosed in our blogs, are we not covering our own asses enough? Food for thought.

Since I personally, only write about wines and events that are important to me, I am aware that I am giving positive publicity to those wineries / events. SO what? How is this different than me saying to my friends, “I had a great wine last night you should try it”? Word of mouth marketing has been, and will continue to be, the most powerful sales tool in the retail world. The only different that we, as wine bloggers have, is that we are communicating to a wider audience en masse.

I hope that these conversations will continue, and would love to see winery hosted blogger panels more frequently, across the US. One question that came up during our conversation with Hahn was about this being “Hahn Fest” of sorts. While there was a certain portion of that, I see that as being somewhat obvious, since it was a hosted event. However, if more wineries like Twisted Oak, participate and pour their wines in a convivial and social setting, the appearance of this can be changed. Again, I didn’t see this as an issue because it was clear before we went that we were attending a hosted event, with a panel of Hahn employees.

That’s what I think. What do YOU think?