My first true Winecast in 5 years to celebrate the 10th anniversary of this podcast and wine blog. And there is no better theme than the celebrated, often imitated, but never duplicated sparkling wine region where the modern wine industry was born: Champagne.

Five years and one day after I started this blog and podcast I get back behind the mic and restart regular podcasting. This episode features an interview with Rudy McClain, the filmmaker of the documentary Merlove. I also pick three Merlot wines from my tasting log for review.

Show Notes:

00:30 – Welcome and show theme
02:22 – Interview with Merlove filmmaker Rudy McClain
15:25 – My review of the documentary Merlove (Buy DVD at Amazon: http://bit.ly/8BCTau)
17:35 – Review of Bodegas Osborne, “Solaz”, Merlot-Tempranillo 2006
18:43 – Review of Blackstone, Merlot, Sonoma Reserve 2007
19:18 – Review of Raphael, Merlot 2001
21:37 – Feedback & call for new theme music
22:13 – Next show theme

Tasting Notes:

Bodegas Osborne, “Solaz”, Merlot (65%) Tempranillo (35%), 2006 ($9) – Garnet in color with aromas of black cherry, white pepper, licorice and vanilla. Bold plum and black cherry fruit with black pepper finishing with just a hint of bell pepper and moderate tannins. A very nice table wine for under $10.

13.5% ABV
Synthetic cork closure
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Buy this wine online: http://bit.ly/57N3Bo

Blackstone, Merlot, Sonoma Reserve 2007 ($20/sample) – Dark purple with aromas of black cherry, dark current and sage. Rich plum and dark cherry fruit with some mint finishing with supple tannins.

14.5% ABV
Natural cork closure
Rating: ★★★½☆

Buy this wine online: http://bit.ly/5kjSFZ

Raphael, Merlot, North Fork of Long Island 2001 ($25/750 ml/won in Menu for Hope raffle; tasted from 3L) – Deep garnet in color with aromas of black cherry, currant and mint. Rich black current and black cherry fruit with white pepper, bell pepper flavors finishing with moderate but well integrated tannins. Has structure for another 10 years in the cellar in this format. Outstanding Long Island Merlot that I would guess was from Bordeaux in a blind tasting.

12.5% ABV
Natural cork closure
Rating: ★★★★☆

Buy this wine online: http://bit.ly/6EXF5w

Feedback: [email protected]
Voicemail: +1-646-495-9244 x 60514
http://drop.io/winecast

Copyright 2009 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Jeff Lefevere and I are back with another edition of the Unfiltered podcast after nearly a year in hiatus. We are joined by Tina Caputo, the Editor-in-Chief of Vineyard & Winery Management magazine, Joel Vincent, Executive Director of the OpenWine Consortium and co-founder of VinTank, and Tom Wark from Wark Communications and FERMENTATION.

Show Notes:

00:26 - Welcome & Introductions
01:18 - Wine Bloggers Conference
07:31 - American Wine Blog Awards
15:55 - Social Media & Wine
23:27 - “Robert Parker’s Bitch” video
48:58 - Tina’s Blog, The Wine Broad’s Board
49:35 - Tom’s Blog, FERMENTATION
49:51 - Jeff’s Blog, Good Grape

Production note: My recording levels were not set correctly and attempts at adjusting this in post-production introduced a lot of noise. This has been corrected for the next episode. These things happen when you don’t podcast for several months ;-)

Feedback: [email protected]
Voicemail: +1-646-495-9203 ext. 19765
http://drop.io/winecast
Copyright 2009 Acan Media, Inc. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/

Another Quick Picks sharing a wine I enjoyed over the Holidays, an aged Bordeaux blend from Pomerol.

Château Clos René 2000 ($30-60) - Deep crimson-purple in color with aromas of black cherry, dark currant, pencil lead, fennel and mint. Rich black cherry fruit with black pepper and dark chocolate finishing with moderate, but plush, tannins. A delicious Bordeaux blend that has more years ahead of it.

13% ABV
Natural cork
Rating: ★★★★☆

Buy this wine online

Feedback: [email protected]
Voicemail: +1-646-495-9203 ext. 19765
http://drop.io/winecast
Copyright 2008 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under Creative Commons.

I’m back in action on the 4th anniversary of my first podcast with a high-end Carmenere-led blend from Chile.

Vina Santa Ema, “Rivalta” 2003 - ($68/sample) Dark purple in color with aromas of black currant, plum, blueberry, fennel, mint and vanilla. Rich and concentrated dark currant and blackberry fruit with black pepper and dark chocolate finishing with firm tannins. A delicious Carmenere-led blend that will age at least 4-6 more years.

Feedback: [email protected]
Voicemail: +1-646-495-9203 ext. 19765
http://drop.io/winecast
Copyright 2008 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/

I'm back with an interview with Etienne Hugel of Hugel & Fils. This family winery has been passed from father to son for 12 generations and makes some of the best wines from France’s Alsace region. We also talk about a virtual tasting over Twitter organized by Bin Ends Wines later this month.

Show Notes:

00:25 - Introduction and background on Hugel & Fils
01:49 - Interview with Etienne Hugel
31:31 - Details of Bin Ends Wines Twitter Tasting
38:57 - Contact Details
39:08 - Next Show Theme

Feedback: [email protected]
Voicemail: +1-646-495-9203 ext. 19765
http://drop.io/winecast
Copyright 2008 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/

The first of several shows recorded last year, this podcast focuses on the wines of Israel with an interview with blogger & retailer Richard Shaffer from Israeli Wine Direct and winemaker Zeev Smilansky from Meishar Winery.

Show Notes:

00:27 - Welcome & Background on Israeli Wine
02:10 - Israeli Wines Today
32:10 - Get Your Free Audible Book
35:44 - Feedback and Next Show Theme

Feedback: [email protected]
Voicemail: +1-646-495-9203 ext. 19765
http://drop.io/winecast
Copyright 2008 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/

Sponsor: Audible: Get a 14-Day FREE Trial of AudibleListener® Gold And 1 Free Download by clicking here:

http://www.audiblepodcast.com/winecast/

Jeff Lefevere and I start our second season of Unfiltered with a panel of wine bloggers, podcasters, winery owners and retailers.

We welcome Ryan from Catavino, Jeff Stai a.k.a. El Jefe from Twisted Oak, Craig Camp from Anne Amie Vineyards, Kaz & Randy from Wine Biz Radio and Jill from domaine547.com

Show Notes:
00:25 - Welcome & Introductions
01:28 - American Wine Blog Awards
15:50 - Twitter: Waste of time or valuable tool?
23:14 - Amazon enters wine biz?
33:10 - Are high alcohol wines not such a bad thing?
39:17 - Who writes Wine-ing 2.0?
42:39 - Blog URL’s and Feedback

Feedback: [email protected]
Voicemail: +1-646-495-9203 ext. 19765
http://drop.io/winecast
Copyright 2008 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/

I am back behind the mic for another podcast and this time I'm reading a post from last week and reflecting about the comments.

Feedback: [email protected]
Copyright 2008 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/

As I begin my 4th year of podcasting I present the final Unfiltered show of it's first season.

Jeff and I welcome a panel of some of the top wine bloggers today: Alder Yarrow, Dr. Debs and Gabriella & Ryan Opaz. We talk about the state of wine blogging, where it is going and share some wine picks.

Show Notes:

00:25 - Introduction
01:40 - Question for Alder
04:21 - Question for Dr. Debs
05:46 - Question for Gabriella & Ryan
08:10 - Question for Jeff
09:19 - Are Wine Bloggers Having An Impact?
15:04 - Where Is Wine Blogging Going?
36:53 - Will Wine Bloggers Adopt A Common Rating Scale?
55:13 - Gabriella & Ryan's Wine Pick
57:17 - Dr. Debs' Wine Pick
59:13 - Alder's Wine Pick
60:00 - Tim's Wine Pick
62:30 - Everyone Plugs Their Blogs
64:00 - Jeff's Wine Pick
67:00 - Feedback

Feedback: [email protected]
Copyright 2007 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/

I’m back with another pick that I thought I hadn’t yet blogged but I wrote about the 2003 vintage for WBW 35.

Bodegas Castano, "Hecula", Monastrell, Yecla 2004 ($14) - Very dark purple-black with aromas of blackberry, bacon, licorice and vanilla. Ripe black cherry and blackberry fruit flavors with medium firm tannins, good acidity and a nice minerality on the finish.

14.5% ABV
Synthetic cork closure
Score: 89