What happens when a naval aviator for the Royal Australian Navy turns his sights to winemaking? You get wines that take off in the mouth with well-grounded prices. You get Cupcake Vineyard wines.
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Cupcake Vineyards Is Loaded With Value
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Oktoberfest is for Beer!
People are always amazed when I tell them that I really like beer. I know that my moniker, The Vine Guy, suggests otherwise, but my first love before wine was beer. I even brewed my own for several years – until my wife became pregnant with our first child and she had an “adverse” reaction to the smell of the wort. But my love affair with beer continues.
With the onset of Oktoberfest, my beer-roots bubble up to the surface like the head of a perfectly poured lager. And this time of year is a great way to drive home the point that, just like fine wine, many beers are brewed to be paired with specific types of food. Just like the following beers…
Click here to read about beers I recommend for Oktoberfest in the DC Examiner Newspaper
Click here to listen my recommendations on WTOP Radio Wine (um, Beer) Of The Week
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WTOP Radio Wine of the Week – Falling for Oregon Pinot Noir
Fall is the perfect time to enjoy the beautifully fruit-centric pinot noir wines from Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
Blessed with a diversity of soil composition, and a temperate climate with maritime influences, the Willamette Valley is about as ideal a place to grow the finicky pinot noir grape as anywhere. The warm days and cool nights contribute to even ripening, intense fruit characteristics, and bright acidity. In general, they are a touch bolder than their French cousins and a bit rounder than the pinot noir revolution going on Down Under. They display flavors of wild strawberry, dark cherry, graphite, tea and bramble. Stony minerality is another hallmark feature of these wines.
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Oregon Pinot Noir for the Fall
There is just something about the onset of the Autumnal Equinox that resets my palate, sliding the meter on my taste buds from white wines to reds.
But I don’t want to just jump into the deep end of the red wine pool all at once. I want to acclimate my tongue and ease into my red wine season with something that is charming-yet-sturdy, commanding-yet-elegant. I need Oregon pinot noir.
Check out this week’s Examiner Newspaper column on the lovely pinot noir wines of Oregon
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WTOP Radio Wine of the Week – Champagne Houses
What defines a Champagne may surprise you. This week on Wine of the Week, I talk about three disctict Champagnes from three very different type of Champagne Houses. One relies on blending to maintain a traditional “House” style. One House uses grapes from a paritcular vineyard to produce it’s wines. And a third want to express the unique characteristics of the grapes from each vintage.
Three very different appoaches to producing three very good Champagnes.
Click here to listen in and find out what makes a great House Champagne
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Raving About Elvis Costello and The Imposters
Elvis Costello very well could be the best know rocker in horned-rimmed glasses since Buddy Holly – and for good reason… he ROCKS!
Costello blew in to town last night (September 29, 2011) on his Wheel of Songs Tour with his faithful band, The Imposters. With long time keyboardist/friend/collaborator Steve Nieve, original Drummer Pete Thomas and Bassist Davey Faragher, the quartet pumped up the crowd for two and a half hours at the intimate Warner Theater.
I have had the pleasure of seeing Elvis play many concerts throughout the years – most notably two years ago on the summer-kissed slopes of Deer Valley, Utah, where he was accompanied by the Utah Symphony Orchestra – but this is the first time I have seen him genuinely comfortable in his own skin. Clad in a two piece suit, fedora and trademark black-rimmed glasses, he put on a show that included a lot of energy, a few cool surprises and a little touch of kitschy-ness to the performance.
As with his 1988 stop at the Lisner Auditorium, Costello invited fans up on stage to spin a giant Wheel-o-Songs. He faithfully played each song that was selected and even allowed a few lucky fans to name their own tunes. One almost-brilliant instant occurred when a pair of young girls was brought up on stage. When Costello asked their names, the first replied, “Alison” and the crowd, understandably, went wild. But Costello made her spin the wheel and regardless of her song-famous name, he did not relent and play his signature song. But that’s okay – since there was more than enough amazing material he could draw upon from his 35 year career (have I really been listening to him that long???).
Once the lucky fan(s) spun the wheel, they were invited to either sit at the makeshift “Society Lounge” bar and enjoy a cocktail on stage or jump into the Go-Go cage and dance while Costello performed. One inebriated young man jumped into the Go-Go Cage uninvited and had a good ol’ time. Stage security kept a close eye on him, but wisely did not interrupt his performance until the end of the song at which time the two lovely go-go dancers escorted him through the back of the stage and – presumably – out the door. No harm, No foul. Typical Elvis Costello. The show went on.
Highlights included; Watching the Detectives, New Lace Sleeves (one of my favorites of the evening), Pump It Up, Man Out of Time, I Want You, So Like Candy, Chelsea, Sleep of the Just, Next Time Round and Strict Time. He closed with an amazing version of Peace, Love and Understanding – more appropriate now, than ever.
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Champagne – Part Four: The Houses
In Champagne region, the Growers own over 90 percent of the 84,000 acres of vineyards in the appellation but it is the Champagne “Houses” that produce the majority of the wine. The Houses need to buy grapes from the growers, and the growers need to sell their grapes to the Houses. This has led to a sort of pas de deux between the two parties where each relies on the other.
But of course, it’s not as simple as that. Nothing ever is.
Check out the Part Four of my four-part series on Champagne in this week’s Examiner Newspaper.
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Champagne – Part Three: Growers and Co-ops
For being such a relatively small agricultural region, Champagne may just be the most regulated wine region on the planet. Overseeing all of the rules and regulations is the Committee for Viticulture of Champagne (CIVC), whose professional staff is directed by a board of governors, consisting of both growers and houses.
Growers may own ninety percent of the 84,000 acres of vineyards in the Champagne appellation, but it is the Champagne “Houses” that produce the majorityof the wine in the region. While some Houses have their own vineyards, most buy additional grapes from the growers. Most growers sell the majority of their grapes to houses, but some growers keep the fruit and produce wines for their own label. Other growers have formed cooperatives that use their grapes under a specific label. This arrangement has set up a working relationship filled with layers of complexity – like Champagne itself.
This week, I’ll review wines of growers and cooperatives and next week I’ll cover houses.
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Hail To The Red Skins Of Washington…. State, That Is!
Washington State is often described as combing New World fruit with Old World style where complex structure melds with lush, ripe fuit – sort of France Meets California…
So, when you sit down this weekend to watch the Washington Redskins game, enjoy it with a glass of Red Skin wines from Washington – State, that is.
Click here to listen to this week’s WTOP Radio Wine of the Week
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Champagne – More Than a Wine… A Method – Part Two
Have you ever wondered how all of those marvelous bubbles actually get into a glass of Champagne? Having just spent five days in the heart of the Champagne region of France, I can assure you it is by very precise design.
Part Two of a four part series discusses the method behind the magic of Champagne
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