Wining out of your comfort zone...

Aspiring acolytes and wine aficionados often ask the Goddess of Wine this question: "What is your favorite wine?" I reply, "Why limit yourself?" There are so many wonderful wines in the world, from myriad regions, thousands of winemakers - and just a limited amount of time to taste as much as you can! So today, we're going to talk about some wines that you might not know, and we'll see where it leads us.

Wining by Proxy...Vino California - An Italian Adventure...

It's killing me that there are so many great trade events during the day - when the Goddess of Wine must spend her time at the earth job...sigh. Luckily, First Acolyte and Staff Writer JD is up to the challenge! His report from the VINO CALIFORNIA GRAND TASTING at the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles on Tuesday, May 14th 2013 as follows:

This was part of a week-long celebration of Italian wine organized by the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce, Tasting Panel magazine and Blue Lifestyle. The celebration included several events taking place throughout the week, including wine dinners and classes at various restaurants and other venues.

The Skirball Center was the site of the Grand tasting and two seminars. I decided to focus on unfamiliar grapes so the seminar I attended certainly was in the right vein. FROM LAGREIN TO NEGROAMARO: Exploring the Rare Varietals of Italy. This consisted of one white, a Pallagrello Bianco by Antichi Vitigni of Campania and 7 reds: Lagrein from Alto Adige, Raboso and Refosco from Veneto, Cesanese from Lazio outside Rome, Negramaro from Salento in Puglia, Pallagrello Nero (also by Antichi Vitigni) and Gaglioppo (also known as Nebbiolo of the South) from Calabria. Presented by Paul Sherman (Sommelier at Valentino restaurant) and joined by Manuel Bronson (Italian Wine Buyer for Wally’s Wine & Spirits) and Meridith May (Publisher/Executive Editor for THE TASTING PANEL magazine). This was a very quick and informative encounter.

Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux...

Well, it seemed as if it were going to be a nice event - that turned out to be somewhat of an understatement.


Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, presented by Wally's Wine, with some coordination and staffing by LearnAboutWine, at the Annex at Wolfgang Puck at Hollywood and Highland.  OMG.  This was an extraordinary opportunity to taste the 2007 Bordeaux from almost every region.