Winecast

Today’s podcast is a return after more than a month away from the mic with a look at Sonoma’s Russian River Valley AVA. Show Notes: 00:22 - Welcome 01:01 - Russian River Valley Background 02:20 - Tasting Notes 02:40 - Papapietro Perry Winery, Pinot Noir, Elsbree Vineyards 2004 ($45) 03:06 - Papapietro Perry Winery, Pinot Noir, Leras Family Vineyards 2003 ($45) * 03:41 - De La Montanya Winery, Pinot Noir, Tina’s Vineyard 2004 ($38) 04:23 - De La Montanya Winery, Pinot Noir, Christine’s Vineyard 2004 ($38) 04:51 - De La Montanya Winery, Syrah, Estate Vineyard 2004 ($30) 05:05 - De La Montanya Winery, Pin-up Series, “Cabaret - Series II”, Cabernet / Zinfandel / Syrah 2003 ($38) 05:59 - Felda Creek, “Pinot Squared” 2004 ($32) 06:36 - Moshin Vineyards, Pinot Noir, “Barrel Select” 2003 ($22) + 07:18 - Moshin Vineyards, Pinot Noir, “Lot 4”, 2003 ($35) 07:37 - Davis Bynum, Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley 2002 ($28) 08:28 - Davis Bynum, Pinot Noir, Lindleys Knoll Vineyard 2002 ($55) 08:46 - D

Today’s podcast is another vintner profile show with a discussion with Wolffer Estate Vineyards winemaker Roman Roth. Show Notes: 00:23 - Welcome and show theme 00:35 - Wolffer Estate Background 01:24 - Discussion with winemaker Roman Roth 25:03 - Tasting Notes 25:15 - Wolffer, La Ferme Martin, Chardonnay 2003 ($13.50) 25:39 - Wolffer, Chardonnay, “Reserve” 2002 ($19.50) + 26:06 - Wolffer, Chardonnay, “Estate Selection” 2001 ($29) 26:33 - Wolffer, La Ferme Martin, Merlot 2002 ($13.50) 26:54 - Wolffer, Merlot, “Reserve” 2002 ($22) 27:12 - Wolffer, Merlot, “Estate Selection” 2001 ($35) * 27:41 - Best of Tasting * 27:46 - Best Value + 28:20 - Contact Details 28:48 - Next Show Theme Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639) Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Today’s show is a bit different from my normal format of talking about a wine varietal or region, into what I hope will be a monthly feature I’m calling vintner profile. The idea is to give you the back-story directly from the people in the business, both winery owners and winemakers. In this first outing, I talk with one of the great gentlemen of the California wine business, Jim Concannon from Concannon Vineyard in Livermore, CA. With St. Patrick’s Day later this week, I though Concannon, America’s first Irish winery, would be a great place to start this series. Show Notes: 00:22 - Welcome and Show Theme 01:22 - Jim Concannon Interview 16:28 - Tasting Notes 16:53 - Concannon Vineyard, Chardonnay, Central Coast, “Selected Vineyards” 2004 ($10) 17:53 - Concannon Vineyard, “Stampmaker’s White”, Livermore Valley 2004 ($15) 17:56 - Concannon Vineyard, Heritage Petite Sirah 2001 ($50) 18:26 - Best of Tasting 18:47 - Best Value 19:11 - Second winner of QPR Wines drawing (congrats, Greg) 20:19 - Contac

This month’s theme for Wine Blogging Wednesday, our monthly, global wine tasting event, is provided by Jathan from the Winexpression blog. He encouraged us to find wines made from Rhône varietals no matter where in the world they came from for his “When in Rhône” theme. Listed in his announcement were some 22 varietals common to France’s Rhône Valley, known for their blends of mostly red, and occasionally, white wines. Outside of relative well known varietals such as Syrah, Grenache and increasingly Viognier, most of the other 20 are rare outside the region. Longtime readers and listeners of my podcast will recall I have covered those more common Rhône varietals in the past, so I eschewed the “easy way out” and visited Chuck at Solo Vino in St. Paul for some recommendations. After all, they were the store that I found the bottling of Counoise for WBW 18 last month. After a bit of discussion and consideration of some of their many Rhône blends, and some other obscure varietals, we selected two blen

On today’s podcast, I focus on the wines of France’s Alsace region and review, “The Emperor of Wine”, by Elin McCoy. Show Notes: 00:21 - Welcome 00:33 - Alsace Overview 03:19 - Tasting Notes 03:34 - Pierre Sparr, Pinot Blanc “Reserve”, Alsace 2003 ($12) # 03:53 - Trimbach, Riesling, Alsace 2003 ($17) 04:20 - Hugel, Gewurztraminer, Alsace 2003 ($18/gift) * 04:54 - Best Tasting * 04:59 - Best Value # 05:05 - Review of The Emperor of WIne 08:31 - QPR Wines Drawing 09:21 - Contact Details 09:57 - Next Show Theme Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639) Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

The theme this month was suggested by Tyler a.k.a. Dr. Vino who didn’t suggest a wine grape variety or region, but to buy wines suggested by the staff at wine stores “that feel the love”. This being February, it seems like a great pre-Valentine’s day theme for WBW. After this theme was posted, I immediately thought of Solo Vino, my current favorite Twin Cities wine store. The store is located in St. Paul conveniently near the university where I teach part-time, so when I am on campus, I generally stop by to pick up some wines. What I like about the store is the wine selection, which is hand selected by the owners. Many selections are only locally available at Solo Vino and they are always open to bring in new selections based upon customer demand. For example, I asked for Trinitas, Bigalow Vineyard, Zinfandel and it was in the rack a couple of weeks later. Solo Vino was founded and is run by three wine geeks: Dana, Robert and Chuck who are almost always in the store to speak with. I stopped by yesterd

Today’s podcast is a bit of a change in the regular format and my first co-host show. It is with Alan Baker, the CellarRat from the Ratcast podcast released in what we think is an unprecedented format: the Simulcast. We talk about and taste a Syrah from Pax Wine Cellars. Show notes: 00:23 - Welcome and show theme 02:39 - Pax Syrah Simulcast 20:27 - Tasting Notes: Pax Wine Cellars, Syrah, Walker Vine Hill Vineyard, Russian River Valley 2003 ($60) 21:27 - An announcement about the future of Winecast 22:26 - Contact details 22:50 - Next show theme UPDATE, Jan. 10, 2006: Thanks to all who have pointed out that we were not the first podcasters to do a simulcast… I still think we are the first wine podcasters to do this type of show, call it a “simulcast” and creatively use Morse code ;-) Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639) Copyright 2006 Tim Elliott. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Today’s podcast is my first of 2006 and my second take on my favorite red varietal: Zinfandel, and I interview Alan Baker, the Cellar Rat. Show Notes: 00:22 - Welcome and show theme 00:37 - Zinfandel background 02:42 - Tasting Notes 02:56 - Ridge Vineyards, Zinfandel, Geyserville 2002 ($27) 04:14 - Trinitas Cellars, Zinfandel, Bigalow Vineyard, Contra Costa County 2002 ($28) 05:45 - Peterson Winery, Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley 2002 ($18/sample) 06:54 - Best of Tasting: Ridge Vineyards, Zinfandel, Geyserville 2002 ($27) 07:35 - Best Value: Peterson Winery, Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley 2002 ($18) 07:50 - Interview with Alan Baker, the Cellar Rat 20:44 - Contact Details 21:07 - Next Show Theme Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639) Copyright 2006 Tim Elliott. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

The theme for this month’s event is provided by Derrick at An Obsession with Food who asks us to Judge a Bottle By Its Cover. Basically, he just asked us to pick up a bottle only selected by its label art and not any other factor such as producer, reputation, vintage or critic review. I thought it would also be interesting to pick up only wines from producers I am unfamiliar with. So I went to the wine store and found my first selection right away from Nova Wines the producer of the famous Marilyn Merlot, the 2005 Norma Jeane Merlot. The label is a stunning shot of the young Norma Jeane Baker in a bikini sitting on a large flower. It certainly commands attention alongside more modest labels. It’s a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Syrah from the Tallerico Vineyard in French Camp, California. Here are my tasting notes: Nova Wines, “Norma Jeane”, Merlot 2005 ($10.50) - Clear ruby in color with explosive wild cherry and papaya aromas; simple wild cherry flavors with a hint of the tropical fruit on the finish.

Tonight’s show is a celebration of the 2005 vintage with Beaujolais Nouveau, tasting four shippers wines from this great year. Show Notes: 0:21 - Welcome 0:35 - Beaujolais Nouveau Background 4:31 - Tasting Notes 4:41 - Francoise Chauvenet, Beaujolais Nouveau 2005 ($10) 4:59 - Antonin Rodet, Beaujolais Villages Nouveau 2005 ($10) 5:25 - Mommessin, Beaujolais Nouveau 2005 ($10) 5:51 - Louis Tete, Beaujolais Nouveau 2005 ($12) 6:15 - Best of Tasting and Best Value 6:45 - Contact Details 7:10 - Next Show Theme Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639) Copyright 2005 Tim Elliott. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

A return after almost a month off with a podcast focusing on the great varietal of Tuscany: Sangiovese. I also talk about the Podcasting Expo and recommend a wine podcast to check out. Show Notes: 00:22 - Welcome and show theme 00:46 - Background of Sangiovese grape 04:26 - Tasting Notes 05:01 - Castello di Fonterutoli, Poggio alla Badiola, Toscana, Italy 2002 ($13) 05:37 - Lungarotti, “Rubesco”, Rosso di Torgiano, Umbria, Italy 2001 ($15) 06:09 - Jim Neal, “Chariot”, Sangiovese 2003 ($12) 06:44 - Peterson Winery, Sangiovese, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County 2001 ($16/sample provided by winery) 07:22 - Best of tasting 08:04 - Best value 08:15 - Podcast Expo 09:01 - Ratcast feature 14:43 - Frappr! map 15:45 - Contact Details 16:10 - Next show theme Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639) Copyright 2005 Tim Elliott. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

A new weekly side podcast highlighting some of the wines I have recently tasted and think you would enjoy. In this first installment I review two California Pinot Noirs for under $10 a bottle: - Mark West, Pinot Noir, Central Coast 2004 ($8) - HRM Rex-Goliath, “Giant 47 Pound Rooster”, Pinot Noir, California NV ($8.50) Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639) Copyright 2005 Tim Elliott. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

The theme for this month’s edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday is provided by food blogger Fatemeh of Gastronomie who challenged us to pick up a wine that was made in a batch of less than 250 cases. As fate would have it, the day this theme was announced I received a sample from a small winery for an upcoming show on Sangiovese. The wine was made in a garage in a batch of just 84 cases, so I took this as a sign that this wine was meant to be featured this month. The fact that it came from a winery that donates their profits to charity sealed the deal. So, for the first time since I started participating in this event, I will feature just one wine: Humanitas, L’Huile du Garagiste; a non-vintage red blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon made from Napa Valley fruit. A sort of Super Tuscan, California-style. The bottle is quite distinctive with the first U.S. commercial application of the Australian Zork closure that appears to be almost like a wax seal on the top. After peeling back the plastic, it took a b

Today’s podcast is a return to the virtual tasting format first suggested by a listener back in February. I taste the “Big Three Whites”, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay “live” on the show and invite listeners to taste these wines as they listen. The podcast was also filmed to be the first wine related Vcast or what Apple has been calling “video podcast” released, optimized for Apple’s 5G iPods. Show Notes: 0:20 - Welcome 0:32 - Introduction of “virtual tasting” 01:10 - Review the three wines to be tasted 01:59 - Dr. Fischer, Ockfener Bockstein Riesling, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany 2003 ($14) 05:36 - Brancott, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand 2004 ($9) 07:29 - Los Cardos, Chardonnay, Mendoza, Argentina 2003 ($9) 11:40 - Best of tasting 11:51 - Best value 12:15 - Contact details 12:37 - Theme for next show Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639) Copyright 2005 Tim Elliott. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.o

Today’s show is my first podcast on France’s Burgundy region, I share an audio comment and play a song sent in by a podsafe artist relating to wine. Show Notes: 0:22 - Welcome 0:39 - Burgundy background 5:14 - Strategies to pick Burgundy* 6:18 - Tasting notes 6:30 - Louis Latour, Pouilly-Vinzelles, “En Paradis” 2003 ($13) 7:04 - Vincent Girardin, Santenay 1er Cru, “Les Gravières” 2002 ($30) 7:47 - Audio comment from Johnee Bee 9:22 - Further reflections on wines tasted in last 2 shows 11:36 - Hurricane relief PSA from Dave’s Lounge 13:12 - Virtual tasting wines 15:08 - Thanks to Steve for theme music remixes! 15:20 - Clare Fader’s “The Wine” from The Elephant’s Baby 19:44 - Contact details 20:08 - Next show theme * Strategy 1: Reds - Gevrey-Chambertin - Chambolle-Musigny - Savigny Whites - Meursault - Puligny-Montrachet - Chassagne-Montrachet * Strategy 2: - Saint-Aubin - Cote de Nuits-Villages - Santenay - Marsannay - Givry Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-

This month’s theme is provided by Jens from the Cincinnati Wine Garage blog who has challenged us to sample Pinot Noir from outside of Burgundy, California or Oregon. So I first thought of a Spanish Pinot Noir I recently had at a tasting that really was different from my paradigm of Pinot from it’s more famous appellations. It was from Bodegas J Belda, their barrel fermented Pinot Noir from 2001. This wine was ruby in color with black cherry and oak aromas not unlike other ripe Pinot Noir, but the spicy dark berry fruit and hard tannins had me thinking more about the Rhone than Burgundy. I scored this an 8.5/10 on my scale. I looked for a bottle of this wine for this event, but couldn’t find one, so I asked for the most obscure Pinot from the hand picked stock of St. Paul’s Solo Vino, my new favorite wine store here in the Twin Cities. And obscure it was, but not from outside of France, it is from the Alsace region. What, you say, from the land of Riesling, Pinot Blanc and Gewürztraminer? What on earth are th

Today’s podcast features the great white grape of the Northern Rhone: Viognier, and I take a look at John Cleeses’ “Wine for the Confused” DVD. Show Notes: 0:20 - Welcome 0:34 - Background of Viognier 3:03 - Tasting Notes 3:36 - Cline Cellars, Viognier, Sonoma County 2004 ($10) 3:58 - Yalumba, Viognier, South Australia 2004 ($10) 4:18 - Elemental Cellars, Viognier, Deux Vert Vineyard, Willamette Valley, OR 2002 ($15.50) 4:41 - Best of tasting 5:04 - Best Value 5:21 - Review of “Wine for The Confused” 7:17 - Wines for virtual tasting 7:55 - PSA from Michael Butler from The Rock & Roll Geek Show 9:12 - Contact Details 9:36 - Next Show Theme Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639) Copyright 2005 Tim Elliott. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Today’s theme varietal is the lead grape of the southern Rhone, Grenache, and I conclude the cellaring series with an interview with Eric LeVine of CellarTracker. Show Notes: 0:21 - Welcome and show theme 0:35 - Background of Grenache grape 02:34 - Tasting notes disclaimer 02:56 – Tres Ojos, Old Vines Garnacha, Calatayud, Spain 2003 ($6) 03:17 – Las Rocas, Garnacha, Calatayud, Spain 2003 ($7.50) 03:41 – Kaesler, “Stonehorse” GSM, Barossa Valley, Australia 2002 ($15) 04:34 – Rosemount Estate, GSM 2001 ($22) 05:04 – Domaine des Relagnes, Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2000 ($20) 05:33 – Best of Tasting 05:38 – Best Value 05:43 – Review of CellarTracker 07:54 – Interview with Eric LeVine 23:52 – Wines for next virtual tasting 25:02 – Hurricane Katrina PSA from C.C. Chapman 26:07 – Contact Details 26:32 – Next show theme Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639) Copyright 2005 Tim Elliott. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

This month the theme is provided by celebrated food blogger Clotilde from Chocolate and Zucchini, who challenged us with theme of, “Like Wine for Chocolate“. Instead of just selecting a varietal or wine region, she has given us a recipe to match a wine; in fact, the most challenging match I can imagine: wine with a chocolate cake. When announced, this sent me to the basic rule of thumb to match a sweet dessert with a wine of more sweetness, and chocolate with a very fruity wine of high alcohol. All roads led to the great vintage wines of Porto. Since I assumed most WBW participants to go down this road, I thought slightly differently. First, in selecting a fortified wine from Clotilde’s native France, the somewhat cult status Banyuls, and then with a big, ripe Zinfandel from my native state of California. Since I am not well educated in the fortified wines of France, I trusted the advice of Solo Vino’s experts, Robert and Chuck, to steer me to M. Chapoutier Banyuls from the 1998 vintage. Similarl

Today’s podcast features Spain’s Tempranillo grape and I continue the cellaring series looking at the many cellar management solutions available. Show Notes: 00:20 – Welcome and show theme 00:30 – Background of the Tempranillo grape 02:19 – Tasting Notes 02:31 – Bodegas Ercavio, Tempranillo “Roble” 2003 ($9) 02:54 – Bodegas San Valero, “Manyana”, Tempranillo 2004 ($8) 03:14 – Vina Albali, Tempranillo Reserva 1999 ($10) 03:33 – Tikalo, “Rubens”, Tempranillo 2003 ($10) 04:03 - Best of tasting 04:08 - Best value 04:14 – Cellar Management Solutions 06:25 – Hurricane Katrina PSA 06:57 – Appeal from Wichita Rutherford 08:00 – Contact details 08:23 – Next show theme Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639) Copyright 2005 Tim Elliott. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/