I have a now well-documented love-hate relationship with holiday wine pairing recommendations; I recognize the need, and the hey-just-help-a-bother-out-already usefulness, but I also recognize their familiarity-breeding-contempt ubiquity. For me, holiday wine recommendations are one of those things where I can’t decide if they’re terrible or actually totally brilliant – you know, like Summer Breeze by Seals & Croft.

BUT… I like to help people when it comes to wine, and I kept getting twitter DMs and Facebook messages asking me the equivalent of “any good wine recommendations for a picnic this weekend?” in a  run-up to the Memorial Day weekend.  And so now that it’s officially too late to do anything about Memorial Day because lots of wine shops might be closed anyway for the holiday, I’ll be a stinker and share what I’ve been Facebook-ing and DM-tweet-ing with a number of people already.

For those sick of hearing about these types of recommendations: sorry, you’ve been outvoted by Inbox (for those sick of Seals & Croft: sorry, I’ve no real advice to help out with that, except maybe drinking a glass of wine and smoking one of those… funny cigarettes….).  But before you send me angry emails (most especially in relation to my slightly-irreverent take on the dulcet, laidback tones of Seals & Croft), please note that Memorial Day wine recommendations aren’t any different from any other Summer holiday recommendations – we’re basically talking hot-weather, picnic-&-BBQ wines here, and so what I’m gonna tell you will hold true for any Summertime holiday party wine action that you’ll be facing as the mercury is rising…

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Today I’m very pleased to announce the launch of an idea that I’ve been contemplating in my noggin’ for a long time, which is to add podcasts to 1WineDude.com for interviews (trust me, no one wants to hear a podcast of me talking to myself).

Author and designer Tanya Scholes braved illness, jet lag, and guinea pig status to become the first victim kind-hearted soul to help me launch this podcast idea, which I’m dubbing “1WineDude Radio” because I lack the inventiveness to come up with a catchier name.

Tanya has just released her first book, The Art And Design Of Contemporary Wine Labels, and it’s a beauty (and one that his been garnering praise recently throughout the wine world), which details the previously hidden stories behind the designs of hundreds of stunning wine labels. Yes, I did receive a review copy (for those of you work in the FTC), but that won’t stop me from recommending this as a potential holiday gift for those of you looking to treat yourselves that special wine-lovin’ someone.

Anyway, in this inaugural podcast episode, Tanya talks about how the book came to be, recalls the reaction she gets to the book from winemakers, instructs me on the correct pronunciation (both English and French-Canadian) of her last name, and contemplates why wine label designers seem overly-preoccupied with cephalopods. You know, just another day at the office!

Also – a few of quick points on this whole podcast thang:

• I am NOT attempting to usurp radio programs like (the excellent) Wine Biz Radio, who are actually sponsored, on-air programs.
• I am NOT planning on abandoning the written word (or video).
• YES, I am throwing this format into the mix to spice things up a little bit, and mostly to provide a means for giving more exposure to (hopefully interesting and thought-provoking) back-and-forth interviewing repartee.

Cheers!

1WineDude Radio Episode 1: The Tanya Scholes Interview [ 23:28 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I mean, who doesn’t feel like this at least once during the rush of the holiday season, right?

Wishing you and yours a safe, jolly, and wine-filled holiday!

Cheers!

CNBC.com has updated their annual expert recommendations on wines for the holidays – and this year, there are a few interesting parties among the panel of wine smarties contributing their wine picks for your 2009 fourth quarter celebratory dining table.

Like me, for instance.

I know what you’re thinking.  How the hell did YOU get on the same list as Jancis Robinson?!??

I had the same reaction, my friends!

I’m in great, great company on this one, with quite a few fellow bloggers gracing the CNBC.com lineup, most of whom I’m happy and proud to call friends of the Dude:

• Paul Mabray of VinTank
• Bill Daley from the Chicago Tribune
• Jancis Robinson (www.JancisRobinson.com)
• Ryan Opaz of www.catavino.net
• Gary Vaynerchuk (www.GaryVaynerchuk.com)
• Craig Drollett (Bin Ends & Taste Live)

There are some great wine picks offered up in the list, so head on over to CNBC.com and check it out before you do your holiday dinner shopping this year.

Cheers!