Sparkling Roses for Mother’s Day: Lucien Albrecht

A toast to Mother’s! Cheers!

Pictured right to left, is my mom Suzanne Lawrence, my son, and my self from 2004. This was a publicity photo for a Living History Performance we did.

On Saturday, the last tuna boat of the year came in to the Ventura Harbor. We bought a whole tuna and celebrated Mother’s Day eve with fresh seared sesame oil ahi tuna on a bed of field greens with flower petals, blueberries, white Stilton with dried apricots, walnuts, plus a raw oyster! I love this meal with a silky Washington Merlot, but it also pairs well with a Pinot noir.

However since it was a festive occasion, we popped the cork on this beautiful Lucien Albrecht Cremant  D’Alsace Brut Rose, made from Pinot noir grapes.

Lucien Albrecht Cremant  D’Alsace Brut Rose is a perfect wine for Mother’s Day!

Invite Paco & Lola to play on Albarino Day, Thurs. May 9, 2013

Like the minerality and acidity of Riesling, the body and white stone fruits of Viognier, and the floral notes of Pinot Gris?

Then you should check out Albarino–and there’s no better day than today, the Second Annual Albariño Day,  Thursday, May 9th, 2013!

The second annual Albarino Day caught me by surprise but fortunately, I have a few bottles of Albarino from Paco & Lola around. I saw it on sale and I went for it because  it is such a wonderful wine with lots of bright acidity with tangerine and lime and  that’s seafood friendly–especially with my beloved fresh raw oysters from Jolly Oyster at the Ventura State Beach!

Plus just a few days ago I picked up two bottles of Old Creek Ranch Winery’s Albarino de Moto (regularly $22) at my son’s school fundraising silent auction! (Old Creek Ranch Winery is a my local pick for Wine Tourism Day; read more about it here).

Unfamiliar with Albarino? Probably because most of this dark green, thick-skinned grape is grown in Spain, with very little of it found in the US. Albariño accounts for 90% of plantings in the Rías Baixas region of Spain. But as it grows in popularity, expect to find more of it here!

Want to join in celebrating Alabarino?

SoCal Ideas for Wine Tourism Day, Sat. May 11 2013

This Saturday, May 11 is Wine Tourism Day, a day to celebrate North America’s wine tourism industry and all those who enjoy the experience of visiting wine country.

According to organizers, “Local wine industry folks in their respective regions — including wineries, hotels, restaurants, and other wine-related businesses — have created special events for people who love anything to do with wine, food, events, travel and fun!”

Events can be anything from wine pairing dinners to music events to structured tastings. Search for an event near you or register for the Great Wine Tour Giveaway.

Or create your own event! You don’t have to visit Napa–head out on Saturday to a winery near you and celebrate! You may be surprised by what you’ll find in a few hours drive. Please post in the comments and tell us which wineries are YOUR favorites to visit?

Read on for Wine Predator’s picks of places to prowl!

Happy Star Wars Day! May the Fourth Be With You! Watch “Wine Wars”!

Today, May 4, is Star Wars Day!

Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

May the Fourth Be With You today as you enjoy your Saturday–and get a laugh out of this series of Star Wars Parodies, “Wine Wars ” from the AUS wine satire blog Red to Brown  They’re the ones who produced these Parker Hitler parodies.

Above is “Episode 1: A Vinous Hope” where in “a short time in the future, in a galaxy not that far away, two diametrically opposed wine making factions face off in a battle that will decide the future of wine consumption in the galaxy.” Of course, the rebels are from the Natural and Biodynamic WIne collective…

In Episode 2: , “C3-PO and R2-D2 have hooked up with promising young wine blogger, Luke Skywalker. Together they have trekked out to a remote vineyard to meet legendary, yet mystical Vigneron, Obi-Wan Kenobi .”

Wine Predator Wins Wine Blogger Scholarship!

I’m very excited to announce that I was chosen by the Wine Bloggers Scholarship Committee to attend the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference in Penticton, British Columbia!

This will be my sixth Wine Bloggers Conference: I’ve been to three states so far–California in 2008 and 2009, Walla Walla WA in 2010, and Portland in 2012 and soon to be three countries–US, Portugal (as a guest of Enoforum Wines in 2009), plus Canada in 2013! 

Thank you to all the wonderful donors who made my scholarship possible! Especially Tom Wark of Fermentation who matched $500 of the donations and Amy Anderson Gross the Vine Sleuth who matched his match plus $1!

Preserve Internet Freedom: #StopCISPA

As much as I’d like to do some wine blogging for you (starting with reporting on all the malbec madness last Weds!), I’m joining the internet boycott tomorrow, April 22, 2013.

And I hope you will too.

With all your free time, please call your elected representatives, too.

It’s that important.

Here’s a video about why.

Here’s a letter from Anonymous who is organizing the boycott.

Malbec Madness!

Reblogged from wine predator:

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Malbec Madness!

Join the Celebration Weds April 17

In anticipation of Malbec Day Weds. April 17, Annie AnyDay, Ima Zinner, ChamPan, and I gathered on my sunny deck to taste four 2011 Malbecs: 2011 Trivento Reserve, 2011 Ruta 22, 2011 Conquista, all from Argentina, and from Chile, Concha y Toro's 2011 Casillero del Diablo. (Reviews below).

As Malbec and Malbec blends now account for almost half of the entire Argentinean wine category in the U.S., you'd think my first Malbec crush would be one from South America.

Read more… 1,089 more words

We're celebrating Malbec Madness with 6 wines! Five come from Argentina and one is from California. The flowers are from my husband for our 10th wedding anniversary!

A Little Levity for Tax Day

Need some Tax Day relief?

While I can’t lower your tax bill, I can offer up some poetry, some art, some giggles, and some discounted bubbles!

Above is one of my 3:15 Experiment poems that I turned into a broadside that was published in ArtLife Limited Editions; the tape came from the college where I was teaching and I stapled some on to each broadside which makes the actual broadsides easier to read than this jpg! Read the whole poem.

Next up is a cartoon of the Beatles have an adventure with Robin Hood and singing “Tax Man.”

Plus today only Ventura Wine Company will pay your taxes!

Malbec Madness!

Malbec Madness!

Join the Celebration Weds April 17

In anticipation of Malbec Day Weds. April 17, Annie AnyDay, Ima Zinner, ChamPan, and I gathered on my sunny deck to taste four 2011 Malbecs: 2011 Trivento Reserve, 2011 Ruta 22, 2011 Conquista, all from Argentina, and from Chile, Concha y Toro’s 2011 Casillero del Diablo. (Reviews below).

As Malbec and Malbec blends now account for almost half of the entire Argentinean wine category in the U.S., you’d think my first Malbec crush would be one from South America.

But the first Malbec that made a memorable impression and wowed my palate was actually a barrel sample from Basel Cellars that I tasted while on a visit there during the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla Washington.  

I remember clearly the lush blueberry that flooded my palate, and even now, I desire to repeat that experience. The following year when I re-visited Walla Walla, I found myself driving by the impressive gates of the even more impressive Basel Cellars estate, but unfortunately the tasting room was closed…and we were on our way to Oregon so I have yet to taste this Malbec in the bottle (and, btw,  Steven Tanzer awarded 89 Points to the 2008 Chelle Den Millie Malbec which retails for $32).

Malbec grapes on the vine in the Cafayate wine region of Argentina. This pic also demonstrates the trellising vine training used with drip irrigation system running along the bottom. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

According to the folks at Creative Palate, in the 1860s, Malbec was brought from France to the foothills of the Andes Mountains in Mendoza, Argentina where the constant sun and heat helps the grape to achieve optimal ripeness; Malbec thrives in the hot, dry weather and high elevations of Mendoza creating a typically ripe and lush wine with smooth tannins.

Malbec has also found suitable terroir on the other side of the Andes in the consistently hot and dry Rapel Valley of Chile.

Please join me in raising a collective glass to toast this newly “discovered,” newly beloved versatile and delightful varietal–regardless of where it comes from North or South America! Follow along with the fun on twitter by searching and tweeting using #MalbecMadness!

Bicycle Built for Wine: What I want for Mom’s Day & Burning Man!

In case you don’t have this leather wine rack for your bike, here’s the way to picnic in style on this bicycle built for two–to have a picnic! Complete with safe storage and travel options for your adult beverages of choice!

Wouldn’t this bicycle be perfect for Burning Man? Or for wheeling around the scenic country roads of wine country?

WordFest Writing Workshop: Haiku & Sushi with a Ojai Vineyards Chaser!

Bowl of Sushi (Painting by Hiroshige) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It’s National Poetry Month! Celebrate with me this Friday, April 12, 2013, when I will be leading a haiku writing workshop at a sushi bar in Ojai–which means I’ll be stopping by Ojai Vineyards while I’m in town!

That’s right, you can get your haiku and eat it too!

Well, maybe not, but that sounds fun, doesn’t it?

Either way, it will be a fun time for 12 on 4/12 at 12 when we gather in Ojai during WordFest’s “Foodie Friday” for a sushi lunch with a side of haiku. Or maybe that’s haiku with a side of sushi?

So if you don’t mind the soy sauce on your writing notebook,

Wine Predator’s WBC12 Ignite!Wine & Conscious Wine’s Portland Pairings

So, after hearing about my being on Marcy Gordon’s 2013 list of important wine bloggers and Michael Wangbickler’s 2012 list and Jo Diaz’s list in 2011, 

you want to know how I achieved my success as a wine blogger?

Today’s your lucky day!

Jeff Weissler aka  http://consciouswine.com recorded my 5-minute IGNITE!wine session at the 2012 Wine Blogger’s Conference in Portland:

“The Ten Commandments of Wine Blogging”

What’s an Ignite? For this style of presentation, we each have five minutes to present a story using 20 slides; each slide changes automatically every 15 seconds. Like TEDX, people are organizing Ignite! presentations all over the world; this is the second year of Ignite at the WBC.