Event Buzz: Twitter Taste Live w/ St. Supery

Tweet, tweet! Its the WinoBird hoping to solicit you for another delectable round of Twitter Taste Live, this time featuring one of my fav vineyards, St. Supery. Share in the magic of this pseudo-virtual tasting room featuring winemaker, Michael Scholz (@mrwinemaker) by logging on Saturday, July 11th. Four wines will be tasted by you and your fellow tweeps!

New to the fun? Just follow these simple steps:

1. Visit (or call) St. Supery before July 6th and ask for their tasting 4-pack for only $79 ($59 for club members).
2. On Saturday, July 11th from 9-11pm EST, log on to Twitter using your personal handle. Also log on to Twitter Taste Live in a separate browser. All of the content that people are submitting will be aggregated via this site.
3. Tweet your own comments about the wines, or comment on what other people are saying by using hashtag #TTL.

Got questions? Hit up Lesley Keffer at @lesleykeffer or via email at lesley@stsupery.com. Or you can tweet me (@winobee). You know how I love my wine (and my social media).

Cuvaison Uncorks New Tasting Rooms

Heading out to Cali within the next month? If so, be sure to check out one (or both) of Cuvaison Vineyards Grand Opening parties happening in Calistoga and Carneros in celebration of their newly designed tasting rooms.

The events will feature Cuvaison's great estate wines, fun food, fresh green architectural designs and wine games. You can even schmooze and booze with winemaker Steve Rogstad and a few others. Check out:

• July 11, 4pm - 8pm, 4550 Silverado Trail - Calistoga
• July 18, 4pm-8pm, 1200 Duhig Rd., Napa/Carneos

RSVP by July 6th to (707)942.2468. Visit http://www.cuvaison.com/Visit/Club-And-Other-Events for more information.

Tasting Note Tuesday: Finca Abril Single Vineyard 1922 Malbec

Wine is indeed the nectar of the gods. It has the ability to transform an ordinary meal into something special, and an ordinary occasion into something more grandiose. And, if you’re lucky, sometimes the stars align. You find yourself in one of the rarest of moments… the perfect place, with the perfect person and the perfect bottle. These moments are few and far between - a wine bar while waiting for a return flight from a business trip (sounds silly, I know), a celebratory bottle of champagne for a major life step, and uncorking a 25-year old bottle at the birth of your new baby, just to name a few.

If you’re lucky enough to have one of these moments, and you’re even luckier to realize you’re in one, then you know what I’m talking about. Life, at that moment, is perfect.

I was lucky enough to have one of those moments recently, where I just said "a-ha" and took it all in. It involved a bottle of '05 Finca Abril Single Vineyard 1922 Malbec...

2005 Finca Abril Single Vineyard 1922 Malbec – Mendoza Argentina

Upon opening, I could tell this Malbec was going to be a special one. It boasted scents of blackberry, boysenberry and oak. It was big… and dark, and the tannins were firm. This wine had gorgeous scents of dark fruits. I could smell plum, blueberry and blackberry. And there were slight hints of graphite and vanilla which helped add to its complexity.

When you sip this wine, all the black fruits truly jump from the glass. They coat your mouth slowly, allowing you to embrace each one momentarily- first the blueberry, then the blackberry, and eventually to the graphite. It’s sounds overwhelming, but everything was in complete balance. This could easily age for years… but I'd rather indulge in life's little moment right now.

My Take: Outstanding

Event Buzz: JUSTIN Wine Society Gala

2009 JUSTIN Wine Society Gala
Saturday, August 8, 2009, 11am-4pm

$15/person for Wine Society members, $25/person for Guests

The ISOSCELES Center and Wine Caves want you to join them for their Annual Wine Society Gala, where you can enjoy wine tasting, food from Restaurante Tacos Tenexpa, and live music from Roughhouse. This is a great opportunity to taste all current releases, plus new releases of 2007 Reserve wines – including SAVANT, Reserve Tempranillo and Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

There will also be a Complimentary Barrel Fermentation Seminar, and ISOSCELES Reserve Certificate holders will enjoy a pre-release tasting of 2006 ISOSCELES Reserve personally offered by Deborah & Justin in the cave library!!!

Purchase General Admission Tickets online click here or call 805-238-6932 x132 .

Nobilo, Sauvignon Blanc – New Zealand

If you want to put a little pucker to your lips, this New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc’s grapefruit and citrus flavor with lemon zest after bite will do the trick. Its slow legs imply its light on the sugar and its silvery color parlays to its simple, yet decadent characteristics.

Pairing? Since Sauvignon Blanc typically has a citrus undertone, it’s good to pair with foods of similar acidity. Try a Lemon Pepper Chicken with this bottle and you’ll see how well each item compliments each another.

Price: $13/bottle

’06 Elderton Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon

   If you’re looking for a fuller body, put a little south in your mouth. Elderton is one of Australia’s most notable, and for good reason. The E-Series '06 Shiraz Cab is a fuller bodied blend of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes which come from the Barossa region of Aussie Land. The wine is not only a rich color of purple, its rich in its properties. With hints of violet and cherry, this wine was also aged in American oak so don’t be surprised if you also get flavors of coconut and vanilla. At 14% alcohol, it’s pretty versatile, so pop it open during a BBQ! 

            Cost: $14/bottle

            Where to Buy: Sam’s Wine