DISQUS

Did you not try the As Sortes 2007? I wonder what you would have thought of it. And, I'm also shocked that it's the most expensive bottle on the list. Strange!

PRETTY!

You guys ROCK! Thanks for the mention -- and for the pity-buy, Randy... :)

I can't imagine the hard work that went in to this, and I can't wait to read it. Thanks guys!

I. AM. NOT. A. ROBOT. (that was supposed to be said in a freaky digital computerized sounding voice...).

In any case, I have not been drinking that much Spanish wine of late, mostly because the reps have not been bringing it around for some reason. I did by a bottle of Can Blau last week, out of curiosity. And I have Eric Solomon and Jorge Ordonez tastings over the next few weeks, so much Spanish wine is in my future!

I have noticed an odd run on the Piqueras Almansa Garnacha Tintorera of late, with a few customers ordering, one in case quantity. I thought I'd be closing that item out, but ended up restocking it due to its sudden popularity!

I can't wait to read your Rioja newsletter so I can get some good tips on wines to seek out. Thanks, guys, for everything!

(Just noticed extreme overuse of exclamation points. my apologies, but apparently I was very enthusiastic when writing this comment.)

this makes Budo very happy!

Congrats Gab and Ryan, this was BEYOND deserved. While I'm sad you can't display my booby prize graphics, I'll be thrilled every time I see the real AWBA badge on your site. Cheers!

Jill

my link:

http://domaine547.com/2008/03/05/wine-blogging-...

Hi Richard, Hi Gabriella, Hi Ryan,

I will need to take some time to fully respond to the points that are being raised here, and will try to do so sometime in the next day or so.

In the meantime, I want to point out that my business is to ship wine. I can't do much about my business model, since I'm a mail order house, more or less (whether I'm delivering locally or farther afield). And wine, inherently, is a product with a carbon footprint to begin with.

We can all try to be local-vores as much as we'd like, but I don't suspect Richard would be that happy just drinking fruit wines from the cranberry bogs of Cape Cod, or Concord Grape concoctions native to New England. So even if Richard is buying wine from the local store, if it comes from California or Spain, there is an environmental impact to this form of consumption.

What I am aiming to do with the TerraPass program is not just to assuage people's guilt, but to acknowledge that wine consumption has an impact on the environment. I hope to get people to take note of this, and to hopefully do something about it (what they can do at this point is limited: either stop drinking anything but local products, take part in a carbon offset program, buy from wineries with sustainable practices, to name a few of the non-abundant options available).

I did lots of research on carbon offsets before deciding what company to go with, and very reputable sources gave the thumbs up to TerraPass. Yes, the system is not perfect. Yes, this is possibly just a band-aid rather than a long-term solution. But should I do nothing and just say that any damage done is miniscule (given the small scale nature of my business) and a cost of doing business, or should I take some responsibility, even if the results will be equally miniscule?

I'd prefer the latter.

I love the idea of doing an internet-based publication (at least as a testing ground for print...though print isn't very eco-friendly, is it?).

The one thing I fear: I'm a blogger, but I'm a retailer. Would I automatically be disqualified from participation due to my commercial background? Or is there someway to integrate industry folks (retailers, wineries, etc.) without blurring the editorial/advertising lines? I would hate to have to sit on the sidelines on this one, but I could see this as a logistical necessity once standards are articulated.

Just figured I should raise this early on.

Jill

I'll throw my hat in the ring but I have to admit I could only track down figures for 2005. My google-skills are apparently remedial:

128.76 Million bottles total produced for export, with approximately 12 million going to the US.

December

Yeah, it's a ridiculously inaccurate article. I don't know a whole helluva lot about Spain, but even in my limited experience I caught many of the untruths and factual errors that you point out. Plus, the fact that some of the most highly regarded wine importers have been focusing on Spain isn't even mentioned. Why would Eric Solomon waste his time in a vast wasteland?

As for whether it's link-baiting, I'm not sure. It's hard to tell. It does say that it's a weekly column...so I guess you could look through past entries to see what the level of reporting is and whether it's as hyperbolic and instigative (is that even a word? I think maybe I just made that up!).

I think it's a mismatch. Fans of Scorcese are fairly highbrow, despite his Oscar win for The Departed. I think while the concept is decent (BMW's short films were considered ultra-successful) this has not been fully thought out. The Wes Anderson/American Express ad was a better fit, too, in terms of audience/content appropriateness.

Moreover, there was a short film at Sundance about five years ago, called "David Mamet's Gilded Stones", that is basically the same concept as this: a lost reel of a David Mamet film is recreated by three different film directors: John Woo, Scorcese, and I'm forgetting the third. Directed by Jim Dodson, the short film was spot on in its direction and is more successful in replicating the auteurs' trademark styles than Scorcese is with Hitchcock (just having birds outside a window, or a character name reference, does not a mimic make). I wish I could find a link to it online, it really is a fantastic film (starring pre-Weeds Elizabeth Perkins, and Rosanna Arquette). And it advertises nothing.

I think this could have been money well spent but doesn't quite hit its target.

FYI I just clicked on the newsletter badge and it didn't allow me to sign up. I'll be emailing you imminently!

Your biggest fan,

Jill

Gary, if you really want to understand the writer's strike you should thoroughly read Nikki Finke's blog at http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/ as well as the writers blog which is at unitedhollywood.com...

Hey, you're hatin on Kevin McHale? How dare ye? Well, it just means you're old enough to remember him.

I'm just learning about Port, so I'm going to leave it to others and take some recommendations as I experiment! I could use help with my shoe choices as well.

Hey Ryan and Gabriella, I think it's time for the Port-Pack!

I forgot to mention the best part...it's unbreakable. The tranformative elements of the glass make it highly resilient.

Morpho-Vino v1.0

Riedel makes glasses of many different shapes, each claiming to be best suited to a particular style of wine. But they have so many different lines, how do you know that Burgundy you've opened is going to show best in their Vinum series Burgundy glass, as opposed to their Sommelier series Burgundy glass? If you're looking for one glass to fit every wine drinking occasion, I have the invention just for you: the Morpho-Vino.

The Morpho-Vino is proprietary technology that provides you with a pure, crystal wine glass that is able to adapt in shape to whatever you're drinking -- as a Shmoo or a Barbapapa might -- so that you get the optimal drinking experience with every bottle you open. How does it work, you ask? It's easy.

All you have to do is take the miniature Morpho-Vino Wine Thief provided in the kit, get a bottle sample, and place a drop of your selected wine into your Morpho-Vino glass. Instantaenously, you'll see particles begin to shift and your glass transform from its original shape into the optimal type for your wine. Morpho-Vino will change the wine stemware world, providing drinkers with the assurance that they are always drinking from the most appropriate receptacle. Plus, think of all that shelf space people will save, not having to have different types of glasses for different grape varieties, regions, and whatnot.

If Riedel thought they had a problem with Eisch's breathable stemware, they better look out since the Morpho-Vino is set to hit the marketplace in 2008. Patent pending.

Now, I tag Erika Strum at http://strumerika.com to announce her Wine Gadget Meme.

YUM! (how's that for an intelligent comment, right?)

Congrats! Now I need you to teach me! I will also be reading closely...

you've reminded me that I need to get out of LA every once in a while and enjoy all the various offerings, wine and otherwise, within an hour or two distance. Here, unfortunately, I can't boast about using public transportation...a car will have to do, but I'll at least make sure to fill it up with friends.

Hi guys. I noticed your post has been hijacked by a site: http://worldwine.freehostia.com/ -- do you know anything about this?

Happy that the WS is finally giving Spain its due. I think they were unjustly giving the wines a hard time when Parker started going crazy for it. Now they've come to their senses.

actually, I remember Ryan having twittered this week about enjoying garnacha tintorera, and didn't even pick up on the "tinted" clue. So I may not deserve the official title as of yet! I also have to say, while I enjoy the GT grape and we have one in our inventory, nobody else seems to have any desire to try it...even though it's a bargain basement wine. Oh well!