So, like, what is this stuff, anyway?
I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes with you via twitter (limited to 140 characters). They are meant to be quirky, fun, and easily-digestible reviews of currently available wines. Below is a wrap-up of those twitter wine reviews from the past week (click here for the skinny on how to read them), along with links to help you find these wines, so that you can try them for yourself. Cheers!

• 12 Domaine Jean Foillard Morgon Cote du Py (Beaujolais): Has the pepper headphones on, and is digging on some very funky beats. $33 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 12 Domaine Billaud-Simon Chablis (Chablis): There are many ways to describe this, and almost all of them begin with the word Zippy. $22 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 10 The Woodhouse Wine Estates Darighe Propreitor's Blend Red (Columbia Valley): A smokey room, that room being in the barnyard. $65 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 12 The Woodhouse Wine Estates Kennedy Shah Reserve Riesling (Yakima Valley): Flowers to start, toast to finish, finesse throughout. $25 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 11 Rodney Strong Brothers Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon (Alexander Valley): Curvy, sultry, sexy and assertive, this is not for the meek. $75 A- >>find this wine<<
• 14 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough): The passion and star fruit version of How to Make Friends and Influence People. $18 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 11 Cornerstone Cellars Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Inviting you to scale its herbal, dark-fruited heights. $80 A- >>find this wine<<
• 11 Cornerstone Cellars Stepping Stone Cabernet Franc (Napa Valley): Sweet oak is dominating some sweeeeeeet Cab Franc moves. $45 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 10 Hoopes Vineyard Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Dark of fruit, generous of green herbs, and a fan of the bombastic. $65 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 12 Weingut Wittmann Westhofener Riesling Trocken (Rheinhessen): Stone fruits, pure of heart, and shooting bright citrus laser beams. $32 B+ >>find this wine<<

The first official episode of my Hungarian Furmint jaunt has finally been released!

In the inaugural vid, I get down in the dirt – literally – with István Balassa, the man behind Balassa Winery in Tokaji. We talk about his stones – also literally – and their effect of those various interesting soil types on the resulting Furmint grapes (and, of course, the wines, which I get to drink during the video and you don’t… sorry!).

Interspersed among the important and interesting facts about Tokaji, Balassa, and Furmint are my usual annoying antics, including a very, very, very sad attempt at juggling.

For more background on the video series and the FurmintUSA project, see my introductory post at http://www.1winedude.com/the-furmintation-of-the-nation-kicking-off-furmint-usa/.

Furmint Adventures – Episode 1.: Balassa Winery

The official press release is below (only because I lack an online version to which I can link) after the jump (sorry, the interview wasn’t my idea!)…

Read the rest of this stuff »

A few days ago, I received an email containing a unique (for me, anyway) request:

“On your page you have a special photograph of Sammy Argetsinger. Can you email me a high resolution copy of that picture? I would like to frame it and I know a local wine owner in Hector wants one to hang in his winery near Dave Bagley.”

The photograph to which this person was referring is below; it happens to be one of my personal favorites, because of the subject – I was lucky enough to capture Finger Lakes grape grower Sam Argetsinger at a moment that seemed to encapsulate his explosively buoyant and totally unique personality (it helped that the backdrop was his gorgeous vinous “backyard,” too).

From a follow up note from the same person requesting the photo, I was informed that Sam Argetsinger had recently passed away.

It’s sad news for Finger Lakes wine country, and, given how impressive FLX wines have been recently, a loss to be mourned for the greater U.S. and global wine communities, as well.

For more on Argetsinger, see my Finger Lakes write-up from back in may of 2010; he was one of the most authentically unique wine personalities that I’d ever encountered, and trust me when I tell you that when it comes to personalities in the wine world, that is really saying something.

So, like, what is this stuff, anyway?
I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes with you via twitter (limited to 140 characters). They are meant to be quirky, fun, and easily-digestible reviews of currently available wines. Below is a wrap-up of those twitter wine reviews from the past week (click here for the skinny on how to read them), along with links to help you find these wines, so that you can try them for yourself. Cheers!

• 12 Pina Cellars Low Vineyard Oak Knoll District Chardonnay (Napa Valley): Ostentatious, sure, but far from being obnoxious about it. $34 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 12 Ventisquero Grey Las Terrazas Vineyard Single Block Pinot Noir (Ledya Valley): Quite earthy, very herbal, thoroughly overachieving $20 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 12 Gundlach Bundschu Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast): It's tea time, but, alas, the atmosphere of this cafe is uninspiring. $33 B >>find this wine<<
• 11 Ca' Momi Reserve Pinot Noir (Carneros): Feels over-packed, tense, and a little overburdened for the journey that lies ahead. $50 B >>find this wine<<
• 10 Dry Creek Vineyard The Mariner (Dry reek Valley): Toasty, fun, & garrulous, but also conducting itself with elegance & aplomb. $45 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 12 Gary Farrell Russian River Selection Chardonnay (Russian River Valley): Apples, blowing through the jasmine of your mind – & glass $35 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 10 Wakefield The Visionary Cabernet Sauvignon (Clare Valley): Somehow savory & lush, minty but dark, approachable yet an infant now. $180 A >>find this wine<<
• 12 Montes Outer Limits Apalta Vineyard CGM (Colchagua Valley): Young, & misunderstood in its brambly, peppery, wood teenage years. $33 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 11 Ventisquero Grey Single Block Trinidad Vineyard Carmenere (Maipo Valley): Funky, but true enough to form that it cannot be denied. $20 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 12 La Scola Gavi dei Gavi Black Label (Gavi): Telling a long story, at turns complicated, amusing, refreshing, nutty, & engaging. $45 A- >>find this wine<<
• 06 PureCru PureCos Red Blend (Napa Valley): Finally, someone finds a way to yield the NV Sangiovese sword with precision & skill. $65 A- >>find this wine<<