From Bordeaux to Meritage

Jan 15, 2008 |  WineBratSF (3) |  Events, Guest Bloggers, Wine Industry |  228 comments

As I eagerly anticipate Winter Wineland in northern Sonoma, I stumbled across an article about the history of meritage. Since I remember a quandary at a recent wine gathering, I thought I'd note that the Meritage Association is celebrates its 20th anniversary this week.

For those of you who might think that meritage is a fancy French term, like MareAhTage, think again. It's really a made up name for a down home blend, a combination of the works "merit" and "heritage". It was coined in 1985, when the feds only allowed the name table wine to be used on more low brow blends containing less than 75% of a single varietal; read: MUTT. That's right kids, Carlo Rossi could NOT be more than 75% concord grapes!

Since we are legally prevented from borrowing any existing wine terms (yeah well there is a reason we aren't real popular with the French you see) like Champagne or Bordeaux, the wine industry in the upstart New World - basically anywhere but Italy and France folks - decided we needed our own label for these new mixtures we like to plunk down on Thursdays with our pizza.

I'm going to be on the hunt this weekend, so check back soon for a report on the joys of Sonoma County meritage!

Events, Guest Bloggers, Wine Industry

228 comments

Wine 2.0 - Don't Miss It

Jun 04, 2007 |  John (12) |  Events |  1 comment

Andy and I attended the Wine 2.0 networking get-together on Friday night and it really blew us away. If you're in the wine industry and looking to talk to the movers and shakers, don't miss this event.

Wine 2.0 is the brainchild of Cornelius Geary, the founder of RadCru.com, and it's really something that up and coming bloggers and 2.0 sites need: a chance to meet face to face, find new partnerships, and work towards common goals. Chris informed us that another event will be occurring sometime this fall and we will definitely make that trip as well.

Gary Vaynerchuk, the incredibly gregarious host of tv.winelibrary.com, of course shined at the roundtable with his trademark irreverent humor. It was great actually getting to meet some of the people that are helping forge new styles of wine promotion and delivery.

Hats off to RadCru.com and all the other participants -
John/Andy

Events

1 comment

Sonoma Wine Taste-Off Results & Thank You!

May 30, 2007 |  Vinquire (14) |  Wine Tasting, Events |  2 comments

On Tuesday night the Vinquire team and the San Francisco Wine Enthusiasts Meetup group got together for a fabulous wine tasting with 12 bottles from Sonoma County. Thanks kindly to the wineries for their fantastic contributions as well as to Tom Merle for doing the legwork to obtain these bottles.

Despite running around and not being able to take the proper time to taste, Andy and I both enjoyed the majority of the wines. We tabulated the results from everyone's excellent reviews, and here are the highest ranking wines:

Hook & Ladder Russian River Valley Estate 2005 Merlot

Roshambo Winery "Justice" Sonoma County 2004 Syrah

Deerfield Ranch Ladi's Vineyard 2002 Syrah

Roy J. Maier Sonoma County Mountains 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon

Loxton Vineyards Sonoma Hillside Vineyards 2003 Syrah

Alexander Valley Vineyards 'New Gewurz' 2006 North Coast Gewurztraminer

Deerfield Ranch 2003 Merlot Cuvee

Thanks kindly to everyone who participated in the event — your palates helped us determine some solid winners. Feel free to post any comments on the event (both positive and negative) below.

Cheers~
John/Andy

Wine Tasting, Events

2 comments

Vinquire + San Francisco Wine Enthusiasts (SFWE) = Fabulous Tasting

May 25, 2007 |  John (12) |  Wine Tasting, Events |  0 comments

Vinquire.com has partnered up with The San Francisco Wine Enthusiasts (SFWE) to throw our next tasting event on 5/29.

This time we'll be hosting the event in SOMA at the Tempura House Restaurant. Our friend and co-sponsor, Tom Merle, has sourced a mélange of bottles from generous wineries in Sonoma, so there should be a varietal for every palate at this event. We'll pool our collective tastes together to determine overall favorites and find some bottles that please all types.... or, at least we'll try :)

The Tempura House will be providing food and facilities, so this time around there will be a $10 fee to cover the munchies and the ambiance. If you're interested, the link below has details and signup info:
http://wine.meetup.com/321/calendar/5785072/

Hope to see some you at the event! Feel free to contact us with any questions -

Cheers~
John/Andy

Wine Tasting, Events

0 comments

SF Wine Enthusiasts Meetup.com - Good Times!

Apr 24, 2007 |  Vinquire (14) |  Wine Tasting, Events |  0 comments

Andy and I made our debut at a fairly large meetup.com group last night, the San Francisco Wine Enthusiasts (http://wine.meetup.com/321/?gj=sj5). The theme was widely available wines for under $10 so we knew this event was right up our alley!

Had a great time if anybody from meetup.com is reading today we just wanted to say thanks! Next time I will be taking more notes on the wines, but I do remember a few, including:

Alexander and Fitch Cabernet, 2003

Overall winner from last night. Although this wasn't my favorite, the price was certainly right and I know they are blowing these out at Trader Joe's for $5.99.

Panilonco Carmenere, 2005

My personal fave. Smooth and chalky, with limited fruit but great mouthfeel and smoke coming through on the end.

Kaiken Malbec

(didn't get the vintage) Another South American winner, Andy gave it 87 points and said it was jammy and spicy with a nice finish.

Grove Street Trias

Was picked up at the winery by a meetup.com member for 10 dollars I believe. Great deal. http://www.vinquire.com/reviews/125555/all/ and http://www.grovestreetwinery.com/product/9.

Stonehedge Stagecoach Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, 2003

For $12.99 at Trader Joe's this is an absolute steal! We know it's available at all 3 Traders in SF.
http://www.vinquire.com/reviews/184622/all/

Cheers to everyone and especially Tom for putting on such a great event!

Wine Tasting, Events

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