Alice Feiring's Blog
A Vine Story
Blue Wine
Cal Wineries
Cellar Rat
Chicago Pinot
Chowhound
Daedalus Howell
Drink of the Week
eBacchus
Erika Lenkerts' Glam Blog
Flights Wine Blog
Food and Wine Blog - Baltimore
Making
Homemade Wine and Beer
Manage Your Cellar
The Mixologist
Mountain Vines Publishing
MustLoveWine
Napa Man
Nirvino
Paso Robles Wineries
Pinch My Salt
Red Wine Haiku
Restaurant Girl
Sideways Wine Club
So Bon Vivant
Style Hive
Swirling Notions
TasteTV
TexaCali Wine
Vin Bio
Vino Diversity
Vinfolio
Vino Keeno
Vinography Wine Blog
WineCountry.com blog
Wine Journal
WineLibraryTV
Wine Recipes
WineRendez-vous
A Wine Story
Wine X Mag
ZAP: Zinfandel Advocates
& Producers
Zinquisition
Out Like a Lamb
Score, A Direct Hit (Courtney Writes for Maxim)
Date Night Only? No Thanks!
V-Logs, Vino & Hip Tastes
Hip Tastes Photogs Rock!
Lifestyles of the Briny & Bubbly (and More!)
Oh Sketchy Wine God, Where Art Thou? (Could You Be MacLovin?)
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
Powered by:
Movable
Type 3.2
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
« February 2008 • Main • April 2008 »
March 31, 2008
filed under: Ramblings
What an absolutely gorgeous day. Enjoy this lovely orchid I stashed in a used Jurancon bottle, in celebration of a mellow March departure. On, April!
Posted by Courtney at 05:26 PM •
filed under: Ramblings
Woo hoo! I'm thrilled to announce my contribution to this month's issue of Maxim, that venerable publication of scantily clad pretty young things and useful man tips on everything from screws to booze. Cue moi - I selected the wines and did much of the writing for the "Quaff On the Cheap!" piece in the Expert section of the March issue. I chose my fav five widely-available inexpensive reds, which they photographed for the very cool piece, and wrote up my thoughts on why they'll appeal to the mag's readers. Read on for the list of wines and a link to check it out! ;)
My picks for Maxim:
Marques de Caceres Crianza Rioja $12
Bogle Vineyards Old Vine Zinfandel $11
Penfolds Koonunga Hills Shiraz-Cab $9
Casa Lapostolle Rapel Valley Merlot $13
Alamos Mendoza Malbec $11
Read it here (.pdf)
Posted by Courtney at 04:33 PM •
filed under: Winning Wines
When I met Suzanne Phifer Pavitt at a recent conference in Napa, I knew I liked her immediately. Tall, blonde and friendly with a self assuredness amiably matched by a good dash of down-home Southern Charm (from Georgia, this one), Suzanne was thrilled to tell me about her new wine - Phifer Pavitt (Date Night) - that she lately launched with her husband, Shane Pavitt. And when I tasted (Date Night) - named for the weekly date nights during which the couple devised the plan for their own label - I was thrilled to find it equally charming.
Brimming with lovely aromas of toasty oak, caramel-and-chocolate-covered coffee beans, black cherries, star anise and cocoa, the full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon delivers big on the palate, too, with delicious flavors of ripe black fruits, cocoa nib, brown sugar and blackberry jam. In spite of its heft, the wine's super-rich, almost dessert-wine-like concentration is in balance, and the finish is loooong. I scored it 92 points. One to check out, although I don't recommend waiting around for a date night - this wine will win you over ANY NIGHT.
If you can afford it, that is ;) - 300 cases made, $75/bottle.
Posted by Courtney at 03:52 PM •
filed under: Ramblings
I was pretty psyched when BUZZLogic - a SF-based technology consulting firm specializing in social media - asked me to participate in this week's video log about my blogging exploits. Shot at District wine bar in SoMa last week, the eight-minute spot features social networking banter against the backdrop of a wine tasting (Cold Heaven Viognier, yum). My only gripe - why did I have to wear the "bag" dress? Seems to have added some virtual poundage, eek.
Check it out here!
Posted by Courtney at 10:19 PM •
filed under: Hip Tasters
Just want to give a shout out to the fabulous photogs from my San Fran book launch party last fall. Lensman-about-town John Curley - I swear this guy is everywhere! - did a fantastic job and is as entertaining as he is talented. Check out his Flickr page here - his Burning Man pics are especially cool. And Curley's pal Tracy Bugni - who goes by MS Trouble on Flickr - is terrific, too. Check out her shots here - the portraits in her Favorites section are incredible.
And you can see all the snaps from the launch party at the Picasa album. Thanks again for the support, John & Tracy!
Posted by Courtney at 11:03 AM •
filed under: Ramblings
"As with so many things in life, trends in food and wine come and go. One season, chefs scramble to pair Riesling with faddish new foam sauces, the next they're matching up Cabernet with the likes of PB&J. But a handful of tried-and-true pairings consistently rise above these of-the-moment fads, delivering the unsurpassed pleasure that can only result from an absolutely perfect marriage of food and wine. Read on for my favorites, and bon appetit.
Champagne & Caviar
With a tagline like "Champagne wishes & caviar dreams" it's no wonder the popular TV show Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous was such a hit. But this famous food and wine pair have more in common than just air time..."
Continue reading my latest Top 10 list at WineCountry.com, about the all-time best food and wine matches.
Posted by Courtney at 11:57 AM •
filed under: Ramblings
Do you ever get that feeling that you've done something wrong? That you've somehow ignited a really lethal chain reaction of bad karma that's impossible to get out from under? For me, this has for some reason taken place (the alleged bad deed followed by said bad karma response) and is causing an inexplicably large number of wines I'm opening to be "off." In the last few weeks I'd say close to 30% of all the wines I've cracked have been oxidized, corked or infected with brett, the icky spoilage yeast that some un-shy women at my last tasting declared smelled like a "stinky baby diaper." And it did.
But I wonder - Perhaps it wasn't something I did, but a recent spooky event that took place? Like the lunar eclipse? (These same well-plied women insisted it had to be due to the lunar eclipse.) Whatever it was, I'm crossing my fingers its ill effects go away soon.
Or, perhaps I should appeal to some arbiter of wine spoilage to let me off the hook? After all, I didn't get into this business to drink icky wine. But where to find this unidentified sketchy wine guru??? Oy vey.
Posted by Courtney at 10:42 PM •
