Frolicking in France!

Plans change and shit happens. The current deal is traveling around France during harvest time.

I'm starting in Paris then Beaune, Strasbourg, Colmar, Tours, Chinon, Brest with a few wine stops along the way. I hope to scoot over to Mainz to check on a couple of connections I made with a wine princess.

The weird thing is this time I won't be traveling alone but with a very old friend who no longer drinks. I pose a question. Can a former wino travel with a wine geek?

Yes it's Rose & no it's not the crap your Dad drank in the 70's!

So many Americans think of Rose as the sweet cloying wines of the seventies that once were so popular! If it were up to me I'd give it away for free just to make some converts. Maybe I could switch some people over from White Zin or that horrid Arbor Mist?

If your lucky enough to have a decent wine store in your neighborhood there are some great examples of what true Rose really is. Fresh, nose of strawberry, raspberry, fresh juicy cherry balanced by crisp acidity. Some have much more fruit than others, in this category Grenache based ones shine!

I have heard some can benefit from some bottle age though most are meant to drink fresh. In a recent side by side I compared Solo Rosa 05 to 06. Big difference! The 06 had much more going on fruit wise compared to 05 which had started to close up already. I'm on the lookout for a Vina Tondonia from Rioja which are released with quite a bit of bottle age. I suspect some of the heartier Italian varietals may do good with a little age so I've bought a few to experiment on!

Let's hope summer never ends in the Big City because after September these great wines just seem to disappear from lists everywhere!

My favorite this year so far? Verget Du Sud Rose De Syrah from Vin De Pay Vaucluse in the Southern Rhone comes in at around 11 dollars in NYC a steal for this summer time refresher filled with strawberry, a weird touch of mint, nice acidity with a clean medium finish.

I've hunted the globe for these Giant Steps!!!!!!!!!

Since my visit to the Aussie Days Tasting in London I have been hunting for a wine called Giant Steps. This wine produced by vintner Phil Sexton & named after jazz saxophonist John Coltrane's first solo album rocked!

Single vineyard wines produced under gravity flow principle and hand made small batches are not something most people think of when considering an Aussie wine. Sante recently published an article on higher end wines from Australia siting the harm that the huge cheap wine lake has done in consumers eyes.

From my tasting notes on the Pinot Noir this wine was beautifully balanced with raspberry, plum, cedar box, and velvety tannins. I can't wait to try it again! I also ordered the Pinot rose produced by their Sister vineyard Innocent Bystander who also work with grapes sourced from single vineyards.

I think I may just open one of these bottles with some Coltrane & see how they pair together!

Benmarl The oldest vineyard in America

This is the fabulous view of one of my new part time jobs!

Benmarl winery was started in 1966 by Mark Miller a noted Illustration artist. The incredible views alone make this vineyard worth visiting, but there are many more reasons the most important one being the great wine.

After you stop being awestruck by the surroundings step inside and become mesmerized by the wine label collection covering the walls in the foyer. These labels (some dating back to the thirties) range from Chateaux D'Yquem 1947 to simple fruity Boone's Farm, with everthing & anything you can imagine inbetween. Some have dates and names written on them, other special occasions that they where served at. Being a big wine geek you can only imagine my facination with this space! I could just stare at this for days & wonder about what each wine tasted like, how probably most of the people that made them have passed on, how different & beautifull each vineyard must be, & about the people that drank these wines.

The cellar is also very interesting with a barrel room as well as steel tanks. There is also a treasure room where the older wines are stored.

Currently I'm working in the tasting room & have got to help out with bottling which was a pretty cool experience. One of the tasting rooms has Mr. Miller's prints and some of his wine related artwork on display.

This place is rich in history, great Baco Noir as well as a nice Traminet, & the staff are great to work with. I was lucky to find such a great part time gig.

What the hell does this mean?

It is hard to see this but spelled in the sky above Roosevelt Island today was UNCROWDED something I feel is a little out of place in a city with thousands of people. Guess it was just a strange kind of magical day! I also saw 7 freaks in a 1 block tunnel ranging from a dude dressed in revolutionary war garb playing a electric guitar to a Moulin Rouge looking Indian guy babbling about Bush! I think I'd pair this with some anejo tequila mind blowing & mellow at the same time....

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Wine Couch or Lifestyles of The poor & fabulous!

This week has taken me from the lifestyles of the poor & fabulous to cellar rat & back.

I spent Monday night in NYC at a Women & Wine event. This no cost event was really great! Held at Gaby's in The Sofitel Hotel on 44th it was basically a networking event to introduce women to the wine flights and the great little spot that this space is! They offer cheeses from Artisanal, a nice selection of wines by the glass or flight, & other small dishes in a relaxed sophisticated atmosphere. I especially liked the Bordeaux flight featuring 2001's from Haute-Medoc, Medoc & even a Grand Cru from Saint-Emilion.

The featured speaker at this event was a spunky woman vintner named Kathleen Inman who makes Pinot Noir & Pinot Gris in the Russian River Valley. Her Pinot Noir was quite nice, smooth with silky tannins and a hint of pommegranate,tart cherry,& violet on the palate.

The next day took me to the cellar job I am currently doing for the season in the Hudson Valley. I spent the day plugged into my ipod labeling bottles all day. For me the funky smell at the cellar door is like home! The weird yeasty aromas are just comforting for some strange reason!After work I took a few bottles to my sister-in-laws house for our usual weekly wine thing & crashed on her couch! Check out view on this vineyard,AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday back to school in NYC at The IWC & after back to Roosevelt Island to crash on my nieces couch! I've heard this is where all the crazy people in the city used to be housed so it's fitting for me........

Had lunch today with my "Sister from another Mother" Anna at Boqueria on 19th street. This tapas & Spanish wine bar was really exceptional! We started with 2 cava's 1 brut, 1 rose both tasty, fresh & the rose had a beautiful ruby color with light mousse. A must try at this place are the dates wrapped in bacon stuffed with a Spanish blue cheese. We ended up getting 3 cheeses, 3 tapas, a few glasses of wine each, & ended with Pedro Ximenez Sherry over vanilla ice cream. All this for around 100 dollars courtesy of my Amex NYC points so basically free! What a way to spend the afternoon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!