ZAP Festival

Yes, If you are a Zinfandel fan you probably know  about the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers Association.  ZAP was formed  about 20 years ago to help promote Zin.   As listeners will remember we  titled our last show about Zinfanel as Zinfandel - The Rodney  Dangerfield of wine.  Yes its the varietal that gets no respect.  It is ZAP's intent and mission to help Zinfandel get the recognition and   respect it deserves.   The ZAP Festival is 4 day celebration of all  things Zinfandel.   This year we will be attending part of the show and  plan to give you a taste, no pun intended, of what its like to  participate in this great festival.   Stay tuned for more….   Oh and if  there are any specific Zin's that you want us to check out just let us  know.

Zinfanel Advocates and Producers Association (zinfandel.org)

ZAP Festival

ALT.PACKAGE

This epidsode focuses on alternative  packaging for wine.  We discuss aluminum cans and bottles, tetra-paks,  Bag in Box wines and other alternatives to glass bottles.

Box Wine was invented by Thomas Angove, a winemaker in Australia.  As a result Box Wine is well received in Australia and has gained  acceptance in Europe as well.  In fact Bag in Box wines represent 45% of   all domestic wine sales in Australia.

The story in the U.S. is less cheery.  Box Wines have not been able   to escape the image of poor quality wines, made to offend the least  amount of people.  We took a little heat from the wine ladies when we  asked them to participate in evaluating the wines, as they showed the  prejudice that many wine drinkers in the U. S. can express towards wines   offered in a vessel other than the traditional glass bottle.  The  payoff for the ladies was that they got to pick the featured wine for  the next show and they chose Pinot Noir.  A fine choice, since we  feel that Pinot Noir is perfectly suited for the foods we enjoy during  the fall and winter months.  We uncovered several standout Pinots for  that show and we look forward to sharing our discoveries with you. 

The equivalent of four bottles in one easy to store and use  container and the fact that unused box wine stays fresher for longer  than wines bottled in glass make Bag in Box wines a viable choice for  consumers.  Lower manufacturing and shipping cost and a smaller carbon  footprint make Bag in Box programs attractive to many wine producers.

For this show we tasted nine wines.  As always we're looking for  wines that offer good character/ flavors, that are true to type and  represent a good value.  Hey, who knows, maybe we'll find a wine that  you could put in a decanter that will be good enough to fool one of your   know it all wine friends. 

A big Thank You to all our listeners.  We appreciate the support!

 

Rhone Reds

The Rhone Valley lies in southeast France.  From the town of Vienne in the north to Avignon in the south the Rhone River runs south for roughly 120 miles.  The Rhone Valley is actually two valleys with Syrah being the main varietal grown in the north.  In the southern Rhone region the king grape is Grenache, which is usually blended with Syrah, Mouvedre, Cinsault and Carignan. 

On this podcast we review five Cotes Du Rhones and two Cru wines from the villages of Gigondas & St. Joseph.  Once again we convened a panel of tasters to help us evaluate the wines.  Open up a bottle of Rhone wine and join us as we explore the rich red wines of the Rhone Valley.

Sauvignon Blanc - The Wild White

Sauvignon Blanc is a great bang for your buck wine. Most of the wines featured in this  show retail for $13 or less and none of the wines cost more than $18.   Good quality and value is what you can look forward to when you drink Sauvigon Blanc.  It's possible to spend more than twenty dollars on a bottle of Sauvigon Blanc,  but the increase in quality relative to what you pay is marginal.

Sauvignon Blanc is food friendly and pairs well with oysters, shellfish, Sushi, Thai  and Indian cuisine.  Sauvigon Blanc goes well with many cheeses as well and a  classic pairing partner for Sauvigon Blanc is goat cheese.

Taste along with us and learn about the different styles of Sauvignon Blanc as we discuss wines from five different countries.

Episode 14 - Enigmatic Riesling

German Riesling can be enigmatic.  Searingly bone dry to decadently sweet Riesling can display a wide variety of quality levels and styles.  The riddle of Riesling is tied to it's tightrope act of acidity and delicious fruity  sweetness.  Germany's cool northerly grape growing climate, with a  diverse topography punctuated by steep hillside vineyards composed of  slate and shale, and the tension of acidity vs sweetness in the finished   wine is what makes great Riesling so unique and impossible for other grape growing regions to duplicate. 

In this show you will learn what Riesling taste like, the different regions where it's cultivated, how to read the   labels, how to better judge if a bottle is likely to be dry semi dry or  sweet and hopefully a great deal more.

Join Vino101 as we navigate tongue twisting winery, village and  site names and attempt to decode old fashioned labels and the constantly   changing wine label terminology that is the world of German Riesling.

Episode 13 - Zinfandel - The Rodney Dangerfield of Wines

Zinfandel the Rodney Dangerfield of red wine  gets no respect but always delivers.  Packed with rich fruit flavors  Zins represent great bang for your buck value.  What does Zinfandel taste like?  What's the difference between a ten dollar  and a fifty dollar bottle of Zinfandel?  What type of foods pair best with Zinfandel? After   listening to this show you will be able to hold your own at a  restaurant, a wine shop, or that company party when it comes to  discussing Zinfandel.  Open up your favorite  bottle of wine, pour yourself a glass and join us as at vino101 as we  explore California's workhorse grape. 

All About the Bubbles

 Champagne is synonymous with cheerfulness and joviality.  Delicious chocolates and red roses are great, but nothing says I love you like Champagne.  But there's a lot to know about the world of sparklers.  What's the difference between Champagne & Sparkling wine?  What is Methode Champenoise or Charmat? 

Should you drop a couple of Benjamins for a bottle of Dom Perignon or will that high end twenty five dollar sparkler from a top California producer provide as pleasurable an experience?  

Join us for a  Vino 101 Valentines Day primer in the no snob zone - all about the bubbles

Episode 11 - Cabernet Sauvingon

There is more acreage planted to Cabernet Sauvignon than any other red  grape in California.  What makes Cabernet Sauvignon so popular and why  is it called the King of red wine?  Cabernet grapes can be successfully grown in a wide variety of terrains and high quality Cabernet grapes  command higher prices than any other grape grown in the world.  Join the   Vino101 gang as we explore Cabernet from California's North Coast  regions of Alexander Valley, Red Hills Lake County and Napa Valley.

The Wines:

2007 Ravenswood Vinters Blend

2006 Jordan Alexander Valley

2007 Obsidian Ridge

2007 Turnbull Napa Valley

The Wineries:

Ravenswood

Jordan

Obsidian Ridge

Turnbull

Episode 10 - SoCo Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir has been called the heartbreak grape.  Join the Vino101  gang as they explore the grape that the movie Sideways propelled into the  stratosphere of our hearts and minds.  The focus for this pod cast will be Pinot Noir that is grown in our own backyard, Sonoma County.  Our goal is to  help you find a Pinot Noir that can grace your family's Thanksgiving table,  offers great value and makes you look good.   We feature  five Pinot's at five different price points ( $12 thru $ 55 ).   Can we find that elusive and delicious $15 Pinot? 

The Wines

2006 Sky Saddle

2008 Taft Street Russian River Valley

2005 Demuth

2007 Paradise Ridge Russian River Valley

2007 Halleck Three Sons Cuvee

The Wineries:

Taft Street

Paradise Ridge

Halleck

Sky Saddle

Demuth

Episode 9 - The Malbec Files Vol 1

The Vino101 Crew begins its exploration of Malbec.