Alright folks – time for another giveaway, this week featuring a brand new release from leading World Music label Putumayo.  The new CD, titled Latin Party, is a funky, dance-infused, eclectic mix of tunes from Latin American artists, and features bands hailing from Cuba, the U.S., Peru, Columbia, Mexico, and Jamaica.

From the album press release:

“It includes a mix of boogaloo, funk, cumbia, son, salsa, ska and dancehall and spotlights cutting-edge bands and rising stars that pay homage to Latin music’s past while creatively moving it into the 21st century… features songs from New York-based hip-hop collective Brooklyn Funk essentials, Texas-raised Mexican-American musician and producer A.B. Quintanilla III (Selena’s brother), Peruvian salsera Cecilia Noël, multicultural French/Cuban collective Mas Bajo, Afro-Cuban group Luis Mangual y su Conjunto Mangual featuring José Mangual Jr. and from Colombia, three respected groups: salsa super group Fruko Y Orquesta, popular salsa band Orquesta Lo Nuestro and ska/reggae band Coffee Makers. The CD liner notes also feature a drink recipe by Food Network chef Daisy Martinez and an appetizer recipe by leading Mexican chef Patricia Quintana, owner of renowned Mexican restaurant Izote.”

And YOU can win a copy of Latin Party just by commenting on this here post!

Here’s the dilly-yo:

Leave a comment and tell us what wine would you pair with this album of funky Latin dance grooves?  At the end of next week, a winner will be randomly selected from the commenters using a super-secret, totally objective process that involves my dog (details are best left unexplained).  That winner could, of course, be YOU!

I’ll kick things off with my choice of wine pairing…

Read the rest of this stuff »

• 07Atwater Dry Riesling (Finger Lakes): Highway robbery at the price; the kind where U make out like a spice- and limes-loving bandit. $18 B+ #
• 07 Pina Buckeye Viny'd Howell Mtn Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): As spicey & herbal as it gets from the Mtn. Superb but not cheap! $85 A #
• 08 Sutter Home White Zinfandel (CA): For this price, it's a bargain. A 1-dimmensional (strawberry) bargain, but a bargain nonetheless. $4 C #
• 08 FishEye Chardonnay (CA): In the eye of this beholder, it's not a beauty. More like a shot in the eye of acid & vanilla extract. $6 C- #
• 08 Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough): Nose is screamin' limes & gooseberry, but the palate is screamin' a bit too much acid. $23 B- #
• 07 Ch. Tanunda Grand Barossa Shiraz (Barossa): Crowds will luv the approachable red berry / pepper action but you'd best like cola too $19 B #
• 05 Trimbach Gewurztraminer (Alsace): The lychee & orange zest are textbook, but it's so refined that it somehow sneaks up on you. $15 B+ #
• 07 Frei Bros. Merlot Reserve (Dry Creek Valley): Dark berry & ahint of herbaceousness, pretty much the whole early-drinking package. $20 B+ #
• 06 Frei Bros. Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (Alexander Valley): As CA as they come but the finish has too much sizzle for under 14% abv. $24 B- #
• 07 Frei Bros. Chardonnay Reserve (Russian River Valley): Peaches & cream, but those peaches are balanced, toasty & downright crispy. $20 B #
• 08 Frei Bros. Sauvignon Blanc Reserve (Russian River Valley): The lemongrass is way high, but fortunately the flabiness is way low. $20 B #
• 07 Stanton St. Helena Petite Sirah (Napa Valley): The Stones' "Paint It Black" comes to mind, except with a spicer, happier ending. $45 A- #
• NV Chartogne-Taillet Cuvee Ste Anne (Champagne): A little bread, a lot of green apple & pear, and smidgen of astringent boozy heat. $35 B #
• 08 Aveleda Vinho Verde Fonte (Portugal): Refreshing as expected, but the creamy mouthfeel & tropical fruits are a pleasant surprise. $8 B+ #
• 07 Monte Bernardi Chianti Classico Retromarcia: This is sleek modern Italia black-fruit style for the trendy Milano high-fashion set. $18 B- #
• 07 Robert Sinskey Pinot Noir (Carneros): Those who don't like tangy (cranberry, raspberry) had better stay far away from this puppy. $30 B #
• 04 Markham Petite Sirah (Napa Valley): Nothing small about it. Opulent, peppery, dried-fruit bomb. Velvety texture will make friends. $25 B+ #
• 06 Selbach-Oster Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Auslese (Mosel): Romancing the stone (as in stone fruits, wet rocks, sweet talk…). $44 A #

Powered by Twitter Tools

In its December 2009 issue, the fine wine industry mag Sommelier Journal decided to take an interesting and unique angle on the ‘year end wine recap.’

Instead of compiling a year-end best-of list, Editor David Vogels asked a hand-selected group (consisting primarily of wine directors, sommeliers and other wine pros) to contribute what they thought to be the most memorable wine they’d tasted in 2009.  The only restrictions: the wine had to be available in the U.S., and the contributor shouldn’t be commercially representing the wine in any way.

It’s a novel and very entertaining way to recap another year in vino.  The result is presented in the December issue as a 40 selection wine list (along with tasting notes), divvied into Sparkling, White, Rose, Red, and Dessert categories.

The prices of the chosen wines tells us some interesting things about how wine pros view the wine world.  The average price of a wine on that list?

$97.18.

Holy crap!..

Read the rest of this stuff »

Depending on who you ask, Wine Trials author Robin Goldstein is either the wine world’s Satan, or the wine consumer’s Savior.

Whether you feel that Goldstein’s powers are being used for good or evil, you can’t say that he harbors a fear of shaking things up.  Goldstein became a polarizing figure in the wine world in 2008, when he ruffled the feathers of Wine Spectator by creating a fictitious restaurant whose wine list included some of their lowest-scoring Italian wines in the past two decades, and subsequently won their restaurant Award of Excellence.  The aftermath caused one of the most heated debates of the year in the wine world.

Goldstein also coauthored The Wine Trials, the first edition of which is the bestselling wine guide (for inexpensive wines, anyway) in the world.  The premise of the Wine Trials was simple: compare everyday wines to more expensive equivalents in blind tastings, and see which ones the average person preferred.  As it turns out, most wine consumers – to a statistically significant degree – enjoy the less expensive options; more feathers ruffled!

Goldstein has a new website, BlindTaste.com, and the 2010 edition of the Wine Trials has recently been released.  I tore through my review copy of The Wine Trials, and I found the first 50 pages (which describe the approach and science behind the book, and hint at its future implications on the wine industry) to be some of the most profound reading on wine appreciation that I have ever come across.  The Wine Trials doesn’t just poke at wine’s sacred cows – it skewers them, grills them, and serves them up with an inexpensive Spanish red (Lan Rioja Crianza in this case, which took the Wine of the Year honors in the 2010 Wine Trials).  A similar take on beer, The Beer Trials, is set to be released this Spring.

Robin kindly agreed to answer a few questions for our readers.  I’ll warn you that you should be prepared for a quick and opinionated mind – and you might want to pad the walls of your wine world, because that world is about to get turned squarely onto its ear…

Read the rest of this stuff »