Source: http://thecaveman.blogspot.com/2009/03/two-greek-vin-de-pays-de-tegea-2005.html
Saturday, 25 February 2012
WBW 74 Wrap-up: 39 Sparkling Values
This is my fifth time hosting Wine Blogging Wednesday, our monthly virtual tasting event, but my enthusiasm has not diminished with the passage of time. In fact, since bringing back the event from hiatus it looks like the idea might be picking up some steam judging from the entires this month. While many of the [...]
WBW 74 Wrap-up: 39 Sparkling Values originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/RXfMmVa_nZY/
Friday, 24 February 2012
Wine Reviewing: Drawing Up A Plan
I think I'd be a pretty good wine reviewer. After 20 years of tasting wine regularly and with a certain cache of knowledge in the subject of wine, and given my propensity to be able to focus intensely on a...
Wine Blogging Wednesday Returns January 18, 2012
It doesn’t seem possible that it has been nearly 7 years since I started participating in Wine Blogging Wednesday our virtual wine tasting event which has been infrequent for the past 18 months or so. And that’s a shame since the wine blogging community seems a bit more fragmented than back in 2005 when I [...]
Wine Blogging Wednesday Returns January 18, 2012 originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/GLK4EKac1Z0/
On Self-Actualizing Wine Interest, Purple Pages, the Kindle Fire and Gutenberg
While it has been cited that we’re living in a “Golden Age” of wine writing, what is interesting to me these days is NOT the subject of wine writing.
My interest is in a broader understanding of the consumption of the wine writer’s output – self-identified wine interest by consumers who are seeking out wine information. This is a seismic shift more important than the vagaries of who writes what, where, when and for how much.
Something much bigger and amorphous is at work.
It used to be that people self-identified by their job or some other affiliation that produced recognition from others, a status-marker of sorts—“I work for IBM, I have two kids and we’re Protestant.”
However, nowadays, people, principally online (which is moving center stage in our life), are self-identifying by their personal interests which, often times, diverges greatly from their profession and their family situation.
Look at Twitter profiles or a body of status updates from somebody on Facebook. People are no longer duotone and defined by work and family. They’re multi-layered and complex and defined by their interests. The modern day self-description goes something like this: “Passionate about wine and travel. I build furniture, follow the San Francisco Giants, and work in a non-profit by day. I also volunteer to ensure clean water for sub-Saharan Africans. Dad to two wonderful kids”
In diamond-cutting terms, it’s more Peruzzi than table cut and it seems we’re all on a journey to be the most interesting man person in the world.
This kaleidoscopic advancement in sense-of-self is a very important development because, on an individual level, we tend to project externally how we see ourselves in the mirror. By stating publicly online that we’re a wine enthusiast, a foodie, a jazz lover, who does dog rescue and loves college football with a fascination for all things digital, it’s like writing down a goal. A goal written down means something to most people and people are likely to actuate their activities around it, even if aspirationally.
This is a very subtle point and I hope I’m conveying it faithfully: Societally, we’re changing how we view ourselves, we are stating how we view ourselves and consequently we’re more likely to pursue knowledge around those interests because we’ve put it out there.
In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, we’re all self-actualizing.
So, when it comes to wine writing, while I’m very happy for Alder Yarrow’s assignment in writing a monthly column for Jancis Robinson’s Purple Pages, I also tend to look at it within a much broader context because there will be more Alder Yarrow Horatio Alger-like stories in the years to come.
More to the point however, and within a bigger picture, what Alder writes now and in the future on his own site or at Jancis’ site is likely going to be viewed by an increasingly larger audience who, based on the aforementioned self-actualization, have become more inclined to seek a wide-range of information that supports a myriad of personal interests, including wine.
This online growth in information-seeking is, indeed, a very good thing particularly for the wine business who is caught up in a focus on Gen. Y, when the more important point is that there is a mass of people of all ages who have increasingly ready access to information online that allows them to easily pierce the veil of wine. And, the implications for that for shouldn’t be understated because the view of the wine world is likely to be altered to be much more inclusive of all types of viewpoints – think the streets of New York instead of Pottery Barn.
The Kindle Fire tablet by Amazon.com may represent the next step in this evolution, driving the potentiality of mass on-the-move content delivery. No, it’s not as important as the printing press or any other God Complex hyperbole that is assigned to Steve Jobs, but it’s an important step forward nonetheless.
Where laptop computers are functional machines designed to execute work, and tablets (like the iPad) are a lightweight, portable device that act as a multi-functional hybrid between a smartphone and a laptop, here comes the Kindle Fire which is a device designed almost exclusively for content consumption, all kinds of content – blogs, digital magazines, digital books, videos, music, etc.
The Kindle Fire, to me, is a device that enhances the trend we’re seeing in the increased complexity of how we define ourselves because here’s a device that lets users pursue content around their interests anytime, anywhere and it’s reasonably affordable at $199, at least half the cost of other tablets on the market.
For example purposes, let’s say I have an interest in German Riesling, but I don’t really want to buy another paper-based book because I already have a stack of 14 books at my bedside that I haven’t read (or, perhaps, I don’t buy that many books, period). Likewise, it isn’t convenient for me to read a book on my laptop because, well, that’s not really a form factor that works for me because I’m already hunched over my laptop for 12 hours a day. In addition, I don’t want to print out a 150 page pdf because that’s paper I have to carry around. Previously, with all of the aforementioned caveats, I would have let a deep dive into knowing more about German Riesling be a fleeting thought—an opportunity that would lay fallow.
Ah, but the Kindle Fire will let me consume this German Riesling content in a nice, portable, convenient, lightweight manner that is designed to do expressly that. I’m now looking forward to pouring through Terry Theise’s 2011 German Riesling catalog and reading part II of Mosel Fine Wines 2010 vintage report.
All of this distills down to an essential takeaway: When Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press with movable type, the tangible output was the ability to have ready access to print books. However, the bigger impact was the spread of knowledge which led to the Renaissance period which inalterably changed the culture of the world.
That’s where I think we’re at now, particularly with wine and the spread of information. The conversation can be about who is writing and where they come from, but the conversation with far greater impact is what the end game is for this mass adoption of personal nuance lived out loud.
In simpler terms, the wine writer, like Descartes in the Renaissance era, had a great, lasting influence, but the Renaissance period was much bigger than Descartes.
The key for the wine business in this seismic shift in wine affiliation and the pursuit of information thereof is to decide whether they want to support the status quo and perpetuate business as usual or open themselves to all kinds of thought.
Wine writers already are and so are the consumers seeking out this information.
Canonica A Cerreto Sandiavolo 2004
I just had this lovely Italian wine the other day. It's a so called SuperTuscan so its made of other grapes that the local Sangiovese. The Canonica A Cerreto Sandiavolo 2004 is made of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese. Canonica A Cerreto is located in the heart of the Chianti Classico area in the town of Castelnuovo near Sienna. They also make traditional Chianti Classico but this one is their top wine only produced in the best vintages.
Source: http://www.wine4freaks.com/46/canonica-a-cerreto-sandiavolo-2004/
Thursday, 23 February 2012
Taste of the Nation Boston 2012 Promo Codes
Boston’s chefs and restaurants will participate alongside the event’s three Honorary Chef Chairs: Gordon Hamersley of Hamersley’s Bistro, Andy Husbands of Tremont 647, Jody Adams of Rialto, and Joanne Chang-Meyers of Flour Bakery.
Here's a list of participating restaurants:
- Avila
- Blue Inc.
- Brasserie Jo
- Cambridge School of Culinary Arts
- Craigie on Main
- Davio's
- DelFrisco's
- Flour
- Hamersley's Bistro
- La Morra
- Myers & Chang
- Rialto
- Sandrine's
- Tremont 647
Use promotional code VDAY2012 for 20% off.
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
A gift for the best of 2011
It is the time of year for giving gifts. If you think of Christmas gifts, you might imagine a box, lovingly wrapped in paper, with a bow on the top. You might, if you are like me, imagine a well crafted (but last minute) email with a voucher attached, but gifts come in many forms. [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheWineConversation/~3/zZtFTBKRwqY/
TasteCamp East:Bloggers Arrive in the Finger Lakes
This is one of my favorite times of the year. I’m fortunate enough to be included on the list of wine bloggers and writers who get asked to attend TasteCamp East, organized by Lenn Thompson and Evan Dawson at The New York Cork Report. Last year, Long Island Wine Country hosted our group and although [...]
Source: http://familylovewine.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/tastecamp-eastbloggers-arrive-in-the-finger-lakes/
Last minute holiday gift ideas for wine lovers
From what I am reading, this week will make or break the year for retailers. So I don’t think it’s too late to post some gift ideas for wine lovers. We are a difficult bunch to buy for with the most obvious gift — wine — somewhat intimidating for our friends and family to gift. [...]
Last minute holiday gift ideas for wine lovers originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/i7Eie-0IpsY/
Review of Chelan Ridge 2009 Chardonnay
Wine: Chelan Ridge 2009 Chardonnay Appellation: Columbia Valley (but sold in the Lake Chelan AVA area) ALC: n/a Price: $16 Haydn gives this wine: 96pts You can buy this wine: Give Chelan Ridge a call at (509) 687-4455. The website … Continue reading
Source: http://www.beyondnapavalley.com/blog/review-of-chelan-ridge-winery/
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