I will probably never fully comprehend the logic behind scheduling #SangriaDay in December, while #RedWineDay is in August. But August 28th is Red Wine Day, and I was asked to provide a few red vino picks on that day for a live segment on Fox 29’s Good Day Philadelphia.

Yes, Lorelai (and owl puppet) got to join in the fun

For those of you who don’t spend much time behind a camera, these TV spots are usually frenetic, fun, fast-on-your-feet affairs. I have, of course, a huge advantage in these scenarios: I’m talking about a product that pretty much no one hates, and almost everyone is more than a little anxious and happy to learn more about and discuss.

As I like to say not infrequently about the wine world’s penchant for attracting happiness: we’re not exactly selling coffins here.

Personally, I think that  was most excited to bring my daughter Lorelai, who at first (presumably from never having known her father not to do things like play music on stage or appear in videos) seemed completely nonplussed over the entire thing. Our initial conversation went something like this:

Me: “Hey, toots, I’m going to be on TV; do you want to come to the TV studio with me?”

Lorelai, not looking up from playing a game on her iPad: “Not really.”

Me: “We get to ride in a limo.”

Lorelai: “What?!?? Yeah. I wanna go!!”

Anyway…

…Below is a video recap of the brief segment. Long story made short, the wines that were supposed to be featured had trouble arriving on time (because, well, Pennsylvania), so at about 4:45AM the day of I found myself pulling some PA-available wines from the basement sample pool:

• Under $10 – Bodegas Faustino VII Tempranillo, Rioja
• Under $20 – Cantele Negroamaro Salento IGT, Puglia
• Under $30 – Francis Ford Coppola Director’s Cut Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley

Good Day Philadelphia Aug. 28, 2016 – #RedWineDay

Oh… for the record, Lorelai reported that the limo ride exceeded her expectations.

Cheers!

The 14th (holy crap! have we really done fourteen of these already?!??) episode of my Furmint Adventures has recently been published, so I’m sharing it here to give you a five-or-so-minute distraction from working.

And a beautiful distraction it is.

Hungary’s Béres Winery has recently won awards for its construction, and their vineyard site is among one of the most gorgeous that I’ve ever encountered in the wine world (and the wine world is, if anything, not short on gorgeous locations). You’ll see what I mean in the first 50 seconds when you watch the video.

I’m really happy at how this video turned out, not just because I’m also again joined by Master Somm Peter Granoff, and not just because the wines were such excellent examples of dry Furmint (their sweet wines are killer, too), but also because the folks behind Béres seem to be genuinely lovely people (the kind that you want to see succeed).

Enjoy!

Furmint Adventures – Episode 14.: Béres Winery

Cheers!

Coolest labels in the biz?

We’ve got a brand new episode in my ongoing Furmint Adventures series, this time exploring the modern-take-on-tradition that is Holdvölgy Winery.

That modern take on well-proven styles isn’t just part of the winemaking; it’s literally built into the winery operation itself, as you’ll clearly see from the video that the FurmintUSA folks have expertly put together (what you won’t see are the outtakes, in which we explored the massive cellar system at Holdvölgy, and filmed several takes of me running up and down long, steep, narrow flights of stairs… I swear that I will enact my revenge on the film crew in some way for this…). You will also get a glimpse at what might be one of the coolest label designs in the business right now.

Furmint Adventures – Episode 13: Holdvölgy Winery

Cheers!