2009 Chateau Gigault Cuvee Viva A sleeper of the vintage, this blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc (made by Stephane Derenoncourt) exhibits a deep purple color as well as a sweet nose of black raspberries, black currants, and cherry jam, crisp acidity, ripe tannins, and a long, broad, concentrated mouthfeel. The finished alcohol is 14.4%. It should drink nicely for 7-8 years. (Tasted once.) Rating: (89-90) Estimated Cost: $18-$19
Odd name, secret(ish) intentions - a new addition to the internet wine scene is about to be launched. There has been a little twitter buzz concerning the 'Haidu revolution', its launch has been announced as the 1st of August.
Rather than dismissing yet another "wine lifestyle network" - think Snooth, Adegga and another launching soon idea, DrinkPrice - lets see what they say there "absurdly ambitious project" will be offering:
"Some specifics: hundreds of winery websites worldwide, global Wine Dining Guide & Events Calendar, Magazine & Blogs, MyHaidu (a sort of a social network, though the Haidu folks don't like to define it like that) and websites of key players of the wine trade, from event organizers, through wine schools and universities, traders & merchants, wine tourism agencies - the list just doesn't end...
Haidu offers wine lovers around the world relevant, practical information to discover and plan their next wine experience, to expand their wine horizons.
Let's say you think about traveling to Mosel Valley for your vacance. You simply type Mosel Valley in Haidu.net search window (in its clean & elegant homepage) and before your eyes unveils a list of the valley's wineries, 'wine-friendly' restaurants, wine-related events, magazine articles & blog posts about Mosel. You can quickly tag the entities to your liking with vacance 2011 and they are automatically saved to a specified folder in your MyHaidu universe"
Easy to deduce then that Haidu will be offering a heck of a lot more than a wine tasting database. All the Haidu information is drawn from the "players themselves"
"The wineries manage their own websites, the event organizers publish their own events, even the restaurants create their own sites around Haidu's review of them. All this guarantees clean, reliable information, without any middleman distortion"
The social aspects haven't been ignored as you will be able to share, highlight, follow and receive updates from each section. There is of course going to be a Haidu iPhone App.
Just a few days then before we can all explore and engage further...
More jaw-dropping images from China via Nick Bartman, who is trying to galvanise the wine trade into action against fraud and fakery via his Wine Protection Group (see more detail in Fighting fraud in China ). As he says, 'This relentless and escalating trend of Chinese fakery is destroying the.
To judge from the number of views (nearly 18,000) and the number of posts (more than 200) on our Are you buying 209(sic) bordeaux? thread in Members' forum, many of you are pretty interested in bordeaux. The quality and quantity of the 2010 vintage in Bordeaux is likely to have an effect on demand.
Later that same day, Monty added the following: During today (Thursday) a number of people connected with Brunello have contacted me regarding the article below asking how much money I was paid to write it. My answer was that I was not paid any money to write it, nor did.
5 of 5 stars - First encountering Turning Point Vineyards during the Country Ham Days festival last month, I was thrilled to take home three varieties of their wonderful wine. Turning Point has become my wine of choice with a meal, as well as a wonderful way to relax after a day at the office.
5 of 5 stars - i had a chance to taste the 05 MadoroM Cab and Merlot and the new MadoroM 06 " Camouflage" red wine. I thought with the success of the 01 thru 04 they could not top it. But they sure did ! check out madorom.com and read up on Camouflage! HOME RUN !
Gary Vaynerchuk continues his supermarket wine tasting with 3 Aussie reds, including one of the most infamous- Yellow Tail. Having trouble viewing this video? Try the Quicktime version. Wines tasted in this episode: Jacobs Creek MerlotAustralian Merlot Lindemans Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 45Australian Cabernet Sauvignon Yellow Tail ShirazAustralian Shiraz/Syrah var SPRING_OPTIONS = { shadowColor:'#4A0015', borderColor:'#4A0015', headerBackgroundColor:'#4A0015', [...]
Gary Vaynerchuk continues his supermarket wine tasting with 3 Aussie reds, including one of the most infamous- Yellow Tail.
Sometimes, I can be very ornery. When there's lots of hype, I think, "Nothing is THAT good." Memorable occasions when I've been proven wrong were Chariots of Fire (still one of the best movies ever made) and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (goes without saying).
There's a rosé that's been getting a fair bit of hype lately, and when I saw a bottle of the latest vintage on the shelf at my local grocery store, I had to give it a try.
I'm glad I did, because it turns out the hype was merited. The 2009 Bedrock Wine Co. Ode to Lulu Rosé is a lusty, zaftig rosé that may make you hum Ode to Joy. ($19.99 in my local independent grocery store; available elsewhere for $17-$22) As I sipped this, it seemed to me that the high points the previous vintage received from major wine magazines might actually be a bit stingy. There were very dry aromas: just a waft of strawberry wrapped around lime zest and chalk. I got no watermelon candy taste at all--something I taste in a lot of rosés these days. Instead, there was strawberry fruit, with a lovely stoniness that kept it focused. This wine left a beautifully rich taste in the mouth, a nice nod at the Mourvedre grapes that went into the bottle. Excellent QPR.
Given its rich, dry flavor profile the Bedrock Wine Co.'s Ode to Lulu can stand up to a wide variety of summery fare, from BBQ ribs to grilled tuna salade niçoise, and from hot dogs to peel-and-eat shrimp with zesty cocktail sauce.
