This is a young sommelier's adventure through wine, liquor and the world. You will find no ratings here. You will find somethings that are sometimes geeky, sometimes irreverent, and always presented in my own unique (and dyslexic) way. Hopefully, the content inspires exploration, a sense of adventure, a good icebreaker for conversation, and even a good sense of humor about the magical juice we call wine, the insane elixirs of ting the world of liquor, and the culture surrounding all of it. .

Sunday, September 23, 2012

A little love from Burgundy complements of Albert Morot


I think that is it has been well established that I have an affinity for wines that are unique, interesting, fun to talk about, and are all around just kind of bad ass. Well, this wine certainly fit all of those characteristics and is also a really great introduction to Burgundy for those who are a little scared by it (and for those of you who are, fear not; you are not alone in that fear).

Before I get too much into the wine, how about we settle the fear slightly, or at least go over a little info so that the fear might subside. Consider this your nightlight. Let’s start with the basics. Burgundy is a region in France known mostly for their lush, delicate, and somewhat feminine pinot noirs and their many complicated styles of chardonnay (my favorite of which is Chablis, but that will be another article). Their wines are lauded as some of the best in the world, and most of the time that distinction can come with a hefty price tag. There are many different sub regions in Burgundy, but for today’s purposes we will be focusing on one: Savigny-le-Beaune.

I will now warn all that the following section is a WINE GEEK RED ALERT section. If you wish, skip to the next section and read about the wine itself (and don’t worry, I will not be offended in any way shape or form). Savigny-le-Beaune (mostly refered to  as Savigny, which I will do for the remainder of the article) is in the larger region of Cote du Beaune. It has 22 vineyard sites that grow grapes classified as premier cru and all of which are delicious. From here, if you are interested in knowing more about Burgundy, I encourage you to do a little research on your own. It is a great region and full of wine history, but is horribly complicated to get down and I feel like I am boring myself by getting into the details. If you have question, feel free to contact me and I will do everything I can to answer them. Now…to the good stuff.

Albert Morot is a bit of a nut job (and don’t we all love a crazy man making our wine?) His wines are super traditional in terms of growing style and wine making. However, that is where the tradition stops. His wines are bruisers and right out of the bottle are as tight as a kid’s grip on their blanket on the first day of school. Upon first opening the wine, the fruits are muted and overpowered by earth and Christmas spices. The fruits decide to show up fashionably late to the party, about an hour in.  When they do, they come in with a bang; bright, vibrant, and young, like the attractive person at a party that turns everyone’s head.

The cool thing about this wine is the fact that the next day, it was even better. I decided to leave it out on my dining room table with just the cork in it and see what happened, which is not an advised way to save wine. The next day, the fruits had darkened, the flowers had wilted and yet magic was still in the bottle. This is a wine that, while not a P Funk Allstar, is certainly one that will make your eyes widen a little further when you drink it. Luckily, the price tag won’t.

One bit of self promotion. If you are not already, follow me on twitter and facebook. The facebook page will have a lot more pictures, while on twitter you can get my up to the second where abouts, what I’m drinking, eating, or ranting about. The links for both of those are to your right, but I’ll leave them here for you as well. And tell your friends!!! Drink up!!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Another wine geek video, and this one is amazingly cool

Ok, I know that the last few posts have been more on the wine geeky side of things, but you will have to bare with me a little bit; I will get back to the my Anti Fancy Pants ways soon.

This video is something you may never see again, unless you ever meet Fritz Hatton. For those who don't know who he is, and in some ways I really wouldn't be shocked if you didn't, Fritz Hatton, is owner of Arietta winery in Napa Valley. He is an avid wine expert himself and also a complete classical music buff, so much so that his wine, Arietta, is named after the Beethoven's 32nd sonata and it's "arietta" movement.

Now, I tell you that to tell you this: the video you are about to see is a video of Fritz himself playing the very piece of music for which is wine is named. It was certainly a special thing to be able to hear the very man responsible for the name of the wine play that piece. Enjoy and again, I promise that less geeky stuff is to come! (and by the way, I do need to apologize for the video quality...not the best I've taken yet)



Monday, September 3, 2012

Wine Geek Video

Ok, I will not say that this post will be the most interesting thing ever, but it is still kind of fun to see. For those people who have read the blog for a while, you have possibly seen a video of me opening a bottle of sparkling wine under water. The video of the Movia opening wasn't the easiest to see, so hopefully this one will be.

On a recent trip to Sonoma, I visited Donkey and Goat winery. The owners, Jared and Tracey were extremely welcoming and they had one of the coolest tasting rooms I've seen in some time, with graffiti art from a local artist adorning the wall above the bocce ball court. As we tasted through their wines, they mentioned a bottle that they made to be opened under water and I couldn't help but ask to do it. Below is the video of me doing it. Hope you enjoy and please visit their website that will be linked at the bottom of this page.




Once again, please visit the website for the winery and learn more about this husband and wife team: Donkey and Goat