We have WINNERS!

As promised in my recent review of Michele Scott “Wine Lover’s Mystery,” titled Corked by Cabernet, I’ve got two giveaway copies of the book to, well, give away/

I’ve used a super-secret random process involving my dog to select two random winners from the list of commentators for that post, and here they are…!

1) RichardA of passionatefoodie.blogspot.com

2) S Goodwin of… well, I dunno where S Goodwin is from, actually.

Lucky Winners – Please e-mail me at your mailing info. at joe (at) 1winedude (dot) com and I’ll get you your prize copies of  Corked by Cabernet with all-speed.

Cheers!

Giveaways have returned to 1WineDude!

I was recently sent giveaway and review copies of the latest Michele Scott “Wine Lover’s Mystery,” titled Corked by Cabernet.  Michele is the author of other wine-related mystery novels, including A vintage Murder and the unfortunately titled Silenced by Syrah.

Giveaway copies mean, of course, that I’m gonna give them away – and YOU could be a winner!

Here’s an excerpt from the Corked by Cabernet book description:

Nikki Sands, manager of the Malveaux Estates in Napa Valley—and girlfriend of the owner—is blissfully happy. Until a guru’s devotee is killed on the famous Napa Valley Wine train and ruins her peace of mind.

Despite the fact that this book includes such potentially awesome story elements as a gruesome demise, spiritually enlightened gurus, prostitutes, and Japanese real estate tycoons, it’s still not really my cup o’ vino – so I asked Mrs. Dudette if she’d give it a whirl.

Her review (I’m paraphrasing):

“It sort of kept my interest.  It feels like one of those Harlequin romance novels – if you like those and you like wine, then it’s probably decent Summer reading.”

So, there you have it.  Corked by Cabernet also has a few wine and recipe pairings sprinkled throughout, including a chili recipe that Mrs. Dudette and I tried which was very tasty indeed.  That chili was spicy – but not spicy enough to make me want to kill…

Anyway, I’ve got TWO copies of Corked by Cabernet to give away, so let’s get down to the brass tactics.  If you want to win one of these suckers, you need to leave a comment on this post by midnight ET on March 18 (yes, 2009), sharing your favorite wine book that is NOT a reference book. This means that way-cool tomes like the Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia and Andre Domine’s Wine are NOT eligible.

Using a top-secret process that involves my dog and used wine corks (you don’t want to know…), I will randomly select two winners from the comments, and reveal the identities of those lucky folks on Friday, March 20th.

To kick things off, I will tell you about my all-time favorite wine book that is NOT a reference book: Hugh Johnson’s The Story of Wine.

Simply put, The Story of Wine is a masterstroke.  2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the first edition, and few wine-related books have aged so well (unless they’ve had Johnson involved, that  is).  Johnson’s The Story of Wine gently unfurls the history of our favorite beverage, with attention to detail that brings the whole twisted tale to life in a way that, like a colorful balloon whose patterns aren’t fully seen until it’s airborne, can’t be truly appreciated unless you’ve taken it in as a whole.  It might be the best example of prose ever dedicated to the subject of wine.

So, yeah, I sort of dig it.

If I have a problem with The Story of Wine (and of course I do, because I’m incorrigible), it’s that a better title might be The Story of Wine as it Pertains to the United Kingdom and All of Her Glorious Subjects, as the book has a serious bent towards wine history’s impact on western Europe, and England in particular.  But that minor cavil doesn’t stop Hugh Johnson from seriously (and brilliantly) delivering the goods.

And I want to point out that I’ve penned this entire post without making any juvenile phallic references to the later author’s name.  Or does that count as as a reference?

Anyway – let’s hear your favorites!

Cheers!
(images: amazon.con)

The next superfunkadelic and ultra-exciting twitter LIVE Tasting Event is nigh upon us!

On Thursday at 7PM ET, I and my cadre of Philly-area wine geeks (henceforth to be called the 1WDP – or 1WineDude Posse) will be tasting what looks to be some stellar wines from Alsace stalwart Hugel & Fils, LIVE via twitter. Hit up BinEndsWine.com for the details on how YOU can join up for this event!

What’s more, the 1WDP will also be video broadcasting the event LIVE, so you will get to see things like a) just how smarmy my wine geek friends are, b) how short I really am, c) what my kitchen looks like, complete with the way cool Wire Chicken, d) how I look and fail at typing as I get progressively more and more inebriated!

To witness the madness, just come back to this post and view the embedded video herein. If you dare!

UPDATE: If you are joining us for the tasting event, head over to this link and register your bad self so everyone else participating follows you on twitter!

Speaking of the twitter tasting event, last week I hosted a giveaway for anyone leaving a comment to suggest what food to serve with all of that great Alsace wine during the twitter tasting event. Thanks to all those who participated – I also want to commend you for suggesting so many dishes that made me drool but have an almost negative chance of my wife cooking them (e.g., pork bellies). You can check out the stellar suggestions here.

With the help of my dog (don’t ask), I randomly selected two winners from those who submitted comments… and there are…

First Prize (1WD T-shirt): Bradley Cooper!

Second Prize (1WD eBoook): Bloviatrix!

Congrats! I will be contacting each of you to deliver the goods.

See you (or, rather, you may see me) on Thursday!

Cheers!
(images: newsday.com)

In preparation for the upcoming Twitter Tasting Live Event (hosted by Winecast & BinEndsWine.com) on August 21st, I’m giving away FREE 1WineDude.com gear!

This round of the live twitter wine tasting will focus on the fabulous Alsace wines of Hugel & Fils. Mrs. Dudette and I will (once again) be hosting a group of local wine geeks and industry folk to taste the wines – while yours truly captures the (increasingly inebriated) tasting comments from our panel via my twitter account.

Of course, we want all of you folks to join in on this fun as well and taste along with us, and the rest of the twitter live participants (twitipants?). Check out BinEndsWine.com for details on how to join up.

I may also be streaming the (increasingly inebriated) 1WineDude group commentary via my Yahoo! Live channel!

Anyway, help me out and YOU could soon be wearing a Men’s “Wine Rules!” T-shirt, or a Women’s “1WineDude.com” cap sleeve T-shirt! Or be reading through the cool tips & tricks of wine tasting in my eBook!

All you have to do is help me & Mrs. Dudette prepare for the twitter tasting. Easy peasy nice an’ squeezy!…

Here’s the skinny:

• Mrs. Dudette and I need to cook for our guests, and we need YOUR help! Leave a comment on this here post anytime between now and midnight ET Sunday, August 17. In your comment, tell us your favorite food to pair with wines from Alsace.
• I will randomly select two winners from the comments.
• Next week, I’ll post a round up of my favorite pairings from the comments, and will announce the winners:

  First Prize: A 1WineDude.com T (as described above)!

  Second Prize: A free copy of the 1WineDude.com Wine Tasting Guide!

Nothing to it.

So get cookin’ already!

Cheers!
(images: allposters.com, cafepress.com)