GoodWines http://goodwines.org wine for the rest of us Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:25:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 en hourly 1 Uncorked! http://goodwines.org/2008/11/23/uncorked/ http://goodwines.org/2008/11/23/uncorked/#comments Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:23:33 +0000 admin http://goodwines.org/?p=59 Two weeks ago I had the good fortune of visiting a client in Austin Texas.

Austin is one of my favorite wine tasting spots -I know that sounds odd.  Anyway while on the visit, Jeff, Tom and I went out one evening for what Winnie-the-Pooh might call an “explore”.  What a wonderful surprise we came across!

Uncorked Tasting Room

The prices were reasonable, the wine flights were interesting, and the owner and staff were a pleasure to visit and talk with. Ron Wight and his staff were very eager to chat, friendly and open. Our evening of wine tasting was a ‘hit’.

If you happen to be in Austin and are looking for an evening of wine tasting and a friendly ambiance, Uncorked Tasting Room fills the bill!

Thank you, Ron!

…mark

]]> http://goodwines.org/2008/11/23/uncorked/feed/ We’re Green! http://goodwines.org/2008/08/20/were-green/ http://goodwines.org/2008/08/20/were-green/#comments Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:02:47 +0000 admin http://goodwines.org/?p=43 We are pleased to announce that as of today, our website is “Green”. We have just moved to a new host that certifies a net zero carbon footprint. We know this is not a huge contribution, but every little bit helps.

To learn more about this please visit the Ambient Webs LLC We Are Green page.


HostPapa

]]> http://goodwines.org/2008/08/20/were-green/feed/ Videos on Goodwines http://goodwines.org/2008/08/19/videos-on-goodwines/ http://goodwines.org/2008/08/19/videos-on-goodwines/#comments Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:56:45 +0000 admin http://goodwines.org/?p=42 We are very pleased to announce that effective immediately we are sourcing wine related videos for use on this site.  It is our intention to build a library of useful and informative wine related videos to our readership.

If there are videos that you would like to see on this site, please let us know and we’ll add them, assuming the fit our topic area!

]]> http://goodwines.org/2008/08/19/videos-on-goodwines/feed/ Wines to be Reviewed… http://goodwines.org/2008/06/10/wines-to-be-reviewed/ http://goodwines.org/2008/06/10/wines-to-be-reviewed/#comments Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:28:03 +0000 admin http://goodwines.org/?p=38 What follows is a list of wines we hope to taste. These are in no particular order, nor do we actually know whether we’ll be able to find them or not. Oh well… should you have others you’d like to have us try please drop a line via our contact page and we’ll add them!  Even better send some our way and we’ll taste them, review them and let you know what we think! ;)

  1. Alamos- Argentina Bonarda Mendoza 2006
  2. Alamos- Argentina Cab. Sauv. 2006
  3. Columbia Crest 2 Vines- Washington Vineyard 10 Red 2005
  4. Cono Sur- Chile Riesling 2007
  5. Crossroads- New Zealand Sauv. Blanc 2007
  6. Finla Sophenia- Argentina Cab. Sauv. 2006
  7. First Drop First Love Red- Australia 2006
  8. House Wine- Washington White 2006
  9. Mont Gras- Chile Cab. Sauv. 2006
  10. Nobilo- New Zealand Sauv. Blanc 2007
  11. Peter Lehmann- Australia Cab. Sauv. 2005
  12. Snoqualmie Whistle Stop- Washington Red 2006
  13. Terrazas- Argentina Cab. Sauv 2006
  14. Walnut Block- New Zealand Sauv. Blanc 2007
  15. Zeal- New Zealand Sauv. Blanc 2007
]]> http://goodwines.org/2008/06/10/wines-to-be-reviewed/feed/ New Hints Seen That Red Wine May Slow Aging http://goodwines.org/2008/06/04/new-hints-seen-that-red-wine-may-slow-aging/ http://goodwines.org/2008/06/04/new-hints-seen-that-red-wine-may-slow-aging/#comments Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:17:10 +0000 admin http://goodwines.org/?p=37 By NICHOLAS WADE
Published: June 4, 2008
Red wine may be much more potent than was thought in extending human life span, researchers say.
Click to read the entire article.
]]> http://goodwines.org/2008/06/04/new-hints-seen-that-red-wine-may-slow-aging/feed/ New theme! http://goodwines.org/2008/05/14/new-theme/ http://goodwines.org/2008/05/14/new-theme/#comments Wed, 14 May 2008 18:01:43 +0000 admin http://goodwines.org/?p=35 We are pleased to announce a new format and layout for our site.  This layout is based upon a theme design (called “personal”) by Wpdesigner.

We hope you find the format a bit more pleasant and easier to navigate. Please send us your comments.

…mark

]]> http://goodwines.org/2008/05/14/new-theme/feed/ A Small Change in the future http://goodwines.org/2008/04/22/a-small-change-in-the-future/ http://goodwines.org/2008/04/22/a-small-change-in-the-future/#comments Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:19:48 +0000 admin http://goodwines.org/?p=34 Because we (read: Mark) have had a run on very ‘mediocre’ wines, a small change will be made in our wine selection process. In the future, we’ll select wines based upon the recommendations of friends… and others.  We’ll also add ‘new’ scope to our reviews… here’s how it will work:

We’ll bias all reviews to “value”; meaning we will look for what we hope are excellent wines in the following categories:

  • every day (affordability and drinkability)
  • special events (wines worth cracking open for an event worth remembering)

It will take a while for these categories to get added to our DB, but trust me they will appear (eventually). If you have not looked at our database lately, we now have over 100 wine reviews in there for you to read (be cautious of our spellos etc.).

So remember, if you have a wine you’d like us to taste, please contact us directly!

…mark

]]> http://goodwines.org/2008/04/22/a-small-change-in-the-future/feed/ Hook & Ladder http://goodwines.org/2008/04/08/hook-ladder/ http://goodwines.org/2008/04/08/hook-ladder/#comments Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:54:56 +0000 admin http://goodwines.org/?p=32 Thank you very much to the folks at Hook & Ladder Winery!H&L image

About 6 months ago these nice folks sent 6 bottles of wine our way for sampling purposes. We have run two separate tastings on their wines and have some very nice news.

Both of these wines come from California and are really nice. Unfortunately, because we obtained these wines ‘gratis’ from the gracious folks at Hook & Ladder, we have no idea how much the wines cost (we have yet to find them for sale in our favorite stores). Nonetheless because of the very special way in which we obtained the wines, and their high quality, we felt it only appropriate to feature them in our BLOG postings (rather than only listing them in our wine database).

The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon is quite special. This wine opens with pleasant aromas of leather and berries. The wine itself sports a full, robust body with dominant flavors of black cherry & plum. The wine has a nice finish of lingering berry, oak and leather. Using our rating method we give the wine an A-.

The second wine featured is almost as good (but not quite). It is a 2006 Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley of California (a really pretty area). This wine opens with what we’d call a wonderful “Pinot”odorus aroma; if you like Pinots you know what we mean. The dominant flavors are of cherry, blueberries and currants. The one down-side is that the flavors don’t linger as long as we would have them. In our scale this fine wine rates a B+.

Again thank you to everyone at Hook & Ladder.

]]> http://goodwines.org/2008/04/08/hook-ladder/feed/ Where’s the cheese??? http://goodwines.org/2008/01/22/wheres-the-cheese/ http://goodwines.org/2008/01/22/wheres-the-cheese/#comments Wed, 23 Jan 2008 01:12:01 +0000 mark http://goodwines.org/?p=31 Okay so the title of this blog is a shameless variation on someone else’s quote….

Nonetheless, we have been thinking, Ann & I.  I know that’s pretty frightening.

Here’s our thoughts.  Should we add discussions about cheeses to this site?  We know they are not truly related to wines but in our experience they ARE an excellent food to augment your wine experience.  It turns out that they can even save a marginal wine and make exceptional wines even better still!  Oh and they can ruin your wine experience, too. I guess that means there is a down-side to everything!

So what do you think?  Should we add discussions about cheeses and with wines?  We coulsd also perhaps add discussions about cheeses that don’t enhance your experience… What think ye?

Any thoughts you might have on this matter can be sent directly to mark at: linux -at-eirenicon.org ( yes now you know I am a biased geek as well… the truth will out I suppose!).  Anyway we’d love to hear your thoughts on this matter.

…mark

]]> http://goodwines.org/2008/01/22/wheres-the-cheese/feed/ I suppose this is obvious… http://goodwines.org/2008/01/13/i-suppose-this-is-obvious/ http://goodwines.org/2008/01/13/i-suppose-this-is-obvious/#comments Sun, 13 Jan 2008 15:39:17 +0000 mark http://goodwines.org/?p=30 One of the latest things we have encountered regarding inexepensive wines is their variability.  It seems that any two bottles can be quite variable in quality, flavor, texture, etc.  This variation may be due to handling, storage or other factors; we don’t know. In any event, we have noticed that there can be a significant difference between two (or more) bottles of the same exact wine.

So what’s a person to do? Well there are a couple of options:

  • Buy only one bottle of each wine and ignore the problem.  This seems to be a truly splendid option if bottle number one is disappointing.
  • Buy lots of bottles of the wine and average your score…. kind like balancing and managing your stock losses.
  • Throw out the bad ones and drink the good -what we like to think of as the rich guys approach.

Whatever you choose, variation will appear.  That’s actually a big part of the wine adventure!.  Our prefered solution is to enjoy each bottle to the best of its, and our, capabilities.  Sometimes this means a bit of repair  (like decanting or gluggification) is required.  But, that can be fun too!

Enjoy!!!

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