Gary Vaynerchuk’s Daily Grape Feature – Poliziano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2007
June 16, 2011
Wine:
2007 Poliziano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Grape:
100% Sangiovese
Score:
91 Points
Price:
$25 MSRP
Gary’s explanation why:
For all you longtime Italian fans out there, you very well know that about 10 years ago, Tuscan wines were as hot as Saved by the Bell. In the last few years, popularity has waned… not only are sales down, but prices have followed suit for many high end wines, especially in the Super Tuscan and Brunello categories. But what that means is that there’s opportunity… This Vino Nobile di Montepulciano brings just that! This brings opportunity for all of you Tuscan fans out there! Buy by the case, ’cause this stuff is a steal.
Gary’s tasting notes:
Dark chocolate and top soil flavors on the nose, with a hint of mint and chocolate. This has that rustic quality you can only find in Italy, which is intriguing. Comes across even better on the palate than it did on the nose, with great structure and extremely drying. Beautiful explosion of plum and red flowers. I can see this wine lasting another 15+ years, and I highly recommend people expanding their palate with this wine.
Posted in News | Tagged Daily Grape, Gary Vaynerchuk, Italy, Montepulciano, Poliziano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Sangiovese, Tuscany, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano | Leave a comment //Spy Valley New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Paired with Scallops with Grapefruit-Onion Salad
June 15, 2011
You won’t find me posting too many reviews of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc <cough> they all taste <cough> the same <cough>!
Wow! I’m sorry. I really need to get to a Doctor with that cough!
So anyway, as I was saying, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc’s; notorious for their crisp, refreshing, aromatic, grapefruit, and freshly squeezed lemon / lime flavors. The quintessential outdoorsy spring / summer wine. A little unfair to say that they all taste the same (in wine there are very few absolutes); but if I was to do a side-by-side comparison, and post the tasting notes on this website, I would very quickly start running out of descriptors that would differentiate between the different bottles!
Posted in Pairings | Tagged Marlborough, New Zealand, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc Food Pairing, Spy Valley, Spy Valley wine | Leave a comment //D’Arenberg The Hermit Crab, Viognier / Marsanne, Adelaide – Australia 2009
June 14, 2011
Grapes
72% Viognier 28% Marsanne
Facts
You’re excused if you haven’t seen this kind of blend before, Viognier and Marsanne are more commonly found blended together in the Southern Rhone region of France.
D’Arenberg is certainly one of the most recognized wineries in Southern Australia. The company was established back in 1912 by Joseph Osborn after he purchased land in what has now become the McLaren Vale. Interesting thing to note is that Joseph wasn’t “one of us”. He was a total abstainer from alcohol!
The Osborn family is now into its fourth generation, but the fifth generation of Alicia, Ruby and Mia Osborn are ready and raring to go! They still have a little time left to wait though; the trio are all still under 15 years old.
Posted in Reviews | Tagged Adelaide, Adelaide Hills, Adelaide wine, Australia, D'Arenberg, D'Arenberg Hermit Crab, D'Arenberg wine, Hermit Crab, Marsanne, Rhone, Viognier | 2 Comments //The Foursquare Wino Badge
June 11, 2011
I don’t know if there are any avid FourSquare users reading this website, but I thought this might be of interest to you!
Location-based social network service FourSquare recently announced their Wino badge, awarded to users after they “check-in” 3 times to what are categorized as wine bars. A nice way of showing your friends what a discerning oenophile you are!
Now here’s the interesting part: I think I might have had a large part to play in the creation of the Wino badge!
Last week (whilst my wife was out on town on a business trip, and therefore I had far too much time on my hands), I submitted a request to Foursquare using their online badge submission form. My request was for a “Wino” badge (or “Career Wino”, I can’t remember which), and should be awarded to users whom check-in multiple times to wine bar locations.
A week goes by, and I hear nothing back from Fourquare.
So randomly enough I’m on Facebook this morning, and happen to see that my wife had partaken in a few after-work drinks with her friends, and checked in to one of our favorite wine-bars here in Jacksonville; a cool little place named the Grotto. For this check-in, she earned….you guessed it….the Wino badge! The unlock text for which reads:
“Quite the discerning wine palette. Let the tannins settle and savor the flavor profile – vanilla, butterscotch, used-chimney. Enjoy your next pinot, you oenophile you.”
There’s no real way of proving my claim (since the submission form is online), and not that I’m looking for anything out of it, but a little acknowledgement would be nice!
So; next time you’re out on the town, checking in through FourSquare to a wine bar, and get awarded the Wino badge, I must insist that you raise a glass in my honor!
Posted in Funny, News | Tagged Foursquare, Foursquare Wino Badge, Kris Chislett, Social for Wineries, Social Media | Leave a comment //Di Majo Norante Sangiovese, Umbria – Italy
June 7, 2011
Grapes
100% Sangiovese [San-joe-vay-say]
The name Sangiovese is thought to come from Sanguis Jovis or “Blood of Jove” (Jove being the Roman name for Jupiter), indicating that wines were made from Sangiovese grapes even back in Roman times.
Facts
Di Majo Norante Sangiovese has been an easy-drinking Italian go-to of mine for quite some time now. Considering how many bottles I’ve popped open over the last few years, I thought a review was warranted. If you want to check out some of Di Majo’s higher end examples, their Don Luighi is a good direction to go.
The Di Majo Norante family has been growing their own grapes, and making wine since the 1800’s. They also produce 14 different wines using some of the more obscure grapes in Italy, such as Malvasia, Trebbiano, Greco, Aglianico and Bombino.
Posted in Reviews | Tagged Abruzzo, Best Italian Wine, Chianti, Di Majo Norante, Italian Wine, Italy, Molise, Organic, Sangiovese, Tuscany | Leave a comment //Thinking of Opening a Winery in Napa? You Should Probably Read this First…Part 4 of 4
June 6, 2011
Following on from yesterdays post, the following is part 4 of 4 of a post made by a friend of mine, Lucas Meeker – Assistant Winemaker at Meeker Vineyards in Sonoma. The post originally appeared on professional Q&A website Quora.com.
The question Lucas answered was: What are some Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of Owning a Napa Winery?
My annotations throughout the article appear in the form of: [Notes like this], and as always I’ve highlighted what I consider to be the key points.
Posted in News | Tagged AVA, How to Open a Winery, Napa, Social Media, Sonoma | Leave a comment //← Older posts Newer posts →
