Tweet Tweet!

I love Twitter! Well, now that I know how to use it...I love it. Because at first I was not a big fan. Just sending out random thoughts and comments in hopes that maybe someone will hear you and possibly, maybe, hopefully respond back. It was really like having a conversation with yourself, always a good time. But now that I've met other wine professionals and wine bloggers, twitter is great! I participated in 2 Twitter tastings this week, one for the wines of NY, and one for the red wines of Argentina. Already being really familiar with Argentine wines, I was definitely excited going into this one. But I was very impressed with the wines of NY.

Under the hashtag #tasteny, we went through a tasting of a 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, NV Red, and 2007 9 Barrels Reserve Merlot. The Sauvignon Blanc was very light and crisp with good acidity and citrus notes. I didn't get a lot of those grassy notes that are characteristic of SB, which is good since I don't like those flavors. This went well with the cheeses and crackers that were available during the tasting. The 9 Barrels Merlot had a nice cherry cola flavor with a bit of herbs and figs. Since I'm not as familiar with producers or the wines of Fingers Lake, NY, this tasting was especially helpful for me and of course it's always better to taste with and discuss wines among wine lovers. But the true highlight of the evening was opening of the Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape as a celebration for our host's new job. And celebrate we did! Made from all 13 of the accepted CdP grape varieties, this is a very earthy dark red wine. Red fruits and spice on the nose with leather, pepper and licorice on the palate.

Next day was the tasting of red wines from Argentina! It's so nice to know people that are in the biz because they know about these tastings...and have the wine. This tasting had 6 or 7 different wines, most of them malbec or malbec was a part of the blend. I was intrigued by the merlot from Luiga Bosca. But my favorite of the night was the Bodegas Norton Privada. It had a nice spicy, earthy thing going on with loads of dark cherries and plums. My host was nice enough to let me take this bottle home. She's alright with me! For other wines tasted and wine notes, see the hashtag #winesofargentina #ttl

Virtually tasting wine with other people all across the US is a different kind of idea but it's really catching on. Hearing in real-time what other people think of the wines, and also being exposed to a people that you wouldn't have met or have anything in common with otherwise... I mean seriously, the internet really brings people together!

I'm looking forward to the next tasting, maybe I'll even host one soon myself!

#Cabernet Day

So, I'm a complete wine nerd. How else do you explain coming home, opening a bottle of wine, taking pics of the bottle and the glass, and posting my pics and thoughts on twitter? And PRESSED to see what other people were drinking and thinking... Clearly you agree with me! But so what, I love it! For one, I'm completely addicted to twitter, and second, the wine community out there is fantastic!

Cabernet Day ws a social media event organized by Rick Bakas of St Supery Vineyards where people got together and had parties to drink and tweet about various varietal Cabernets (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc) or blends (Bordeaux, Meritage, etc) and posted their reviews and pics on Twitter or their blogs. People as far away as Australia tweeted about their wines and some even held wine tasting parties. It was interesting to hear some of the comments and also see some of the people on UStream that did live video of their events. Search #cabernet on twitter for a recap of some of the conversations.

I kept it local and had the Albemarle Rose from Kluge Estate Winery in Charlottesville, VA. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Malbec (Bordeaux Varietals) this wine tasted like a Jolly Rancher candy. Sweet cherry flavored mixed with juicy peaches...this wine was perfect for the 90 degree day we had, and my long day at work. To pair with this wine and keep it local, I ate a Maryland crabcake. I had a few other wines that fit the bill for Cabernet Day, but didn't want to open too many bottles to drink alone. I'll definitely have to fix that for the next time, the #HolidayWine event won't catch me drinking by myself again!

It's Getting Hot In Here! AKA The Twitter Taste-Off

After a full morning of seminars and exciting discussions at the 2010 Drink Local Wine Conference, it was time for the moment we'd all been waiting for.....The Twitter Taste-Off!!! People were standing around outside the room, a few had glasses in hand waiting to rush the tasting room like it was Wal-Mart on Black Friday! We got the hand signal that the tasting was open, and we were off. Over 20 wineries from Virginia and Maryland were on hand to pour a white and a red for us to tweet about to our hearts content. Our mission, if we chose to accept it, was taste, tweet and vote. The voting categories were Best Red, Best White, Media Favorite, and Overall Best Wine.

Some were old favorites that were tasted again and some were brand new wines or vintages we'd heard about but have never tasted. I was most excited to taste Chrysalis Vineyard's Albarino. I didn't even know they were growing that grape in VA until Jenny McCloud mentioned it in the 'Thomas Jefferson' seminar. It was everything that people said it was and more, very creamy in my glass with notes of citrus and peach. I was also very fond of the Lovingston Petit Manseng having not been too familiar with Petit Manseng. I now have added 3 to my list as I enjoyed the 2 from Horton Vineyards and Pearmund Cellars that were served at the dinner on Saturday night. A notable red was the Kluge Estate New World Red, it had that dark fruit and toasty oak flavor that I like. I also enjoyed the 2006 Barboursville Vineyards Octagon, 2007 Corocran Vineyards Meritage, and 2007 Williamsburg Winery Adagio. I wish I had more notes to add on them but at this point, I was burning up!! My poor sweaty fingers were not doing too well with the keyboard on my Droid at this point. Wondered if it was the red wine or the room...but upon hearing everyone else commenting and sweating, it was the room. Apparently the air conditioner had checked out of the resort. I stepped outside to taste the wines of my current home state of MD.

Definitely the surprise of the afternoon was the wines of Maryland. A surprise to everyone else though. Living in MD and having attended and volunteered at many MD wine festivals, I already knew the state was working with some decent vineyards. The 2007 Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyards Comus and the Serpent Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc generated a great deal of chatter on Twitter. But none could compare to the talk surrounding Black Ankle Vineyards Leaf Stone Syrah! It blew people's minds! It blew my mind too when I first had it. Had they brought the Rolling Hills or the multi-award winning Crumbling Rock, I think people might have passed out!!

A couple of the comments on twitter under the MD wine hashtag #dlw10md were:

Nice Elk Run Vineyards Chardonnay w/ a soft footprint of toastiness. Glad to get a chance to try so many #mdwine

Cygnus Wine Cellars Blanc de Blanc NV is from MD - color is pale yellow, light and crisp sparkling

Serpent Ridge Vintner's Cabernet 2007 - blend of Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Franc , beautiful deep red/purple color, dark fruit

2007 Comus Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard ruby plum, blackberries aroma and taste mild tannins fruity finish

@blackanklevine Bedlam White Blend floral, fruity, moderate acidity ~ my type of summer time sipping sensation

The winners of the day were the 2008 Chrysalis Albariño for the Best White Wine, the 2002 Breaux Vineyards Reserve Merlot for the Best Red Wine and Media Favorite, and the Michael Shaps Viognier for Crowd Favorite. A fantastic event in which Virginia wines were shown the respect that tthey rightly deserve.

Sip & Twit - A Photo Spread