Bath in the fountain water of Villa d?Esta

With 500 fountains and other water jets in a magnificent landscape, Villa d?Esta is the most famous and royal residence in Europe which was built in the 16th century by Cardinal Ippolito d?Este. This opulent and majestic haven is lapped by the cool waves of Lake Como surrounded by 25 acres of Italian style gardens [...]

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Social Media Quick Tip: Introduce Your Twitter Team

As you know, social media engagement is all about personal touches.  Remember this when thinking through your social media presence, including Twitter.  As much as possible, introduce and humanize your Twitter team.  Here are a couple of great examples of  brands who have added special touches to their Twitter strategies, going beyond a standard Twitter [...]

Source: http://familylovewine.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/social-media-quick-tip-introduce-your-twitter-team/

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First Impressions of Virginia Wine ? Wine Bloggers Conference

It was also fun to hear several references to the Napa Valley. Once again as in Washington bloggers conference a year ago everyone is shooting to topple the king. I don?t see any Virginia wines available where I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Much of it is consumed in Virginia and much makes its way to Canada and the U.K. Ther is much more to learn about Virginia wines as the wine bloggers conference rolls along. Continue reading

Source: http://www.winecountrygetaways.com/napablog/first-impressions-of-virginia-wine-wine-bloggers-conference/

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Deal Alert: $35 for $70 from Wine.com

Quick one for you today:
Eversave is offering $70 worth of wine from Wine.com for $35 

Note that as with previous offers they've run, the voucher cannot be applied towards shipping nor tax. On the positive side of things, wine.com can ship to Massachusetts -and- we don't have tax on alcohol here.

To amortize the cost of shipping across more purchases I bought their Steward Ship program last year. It's kind of like Amazon Prime where you pay once for all your shipping for the year. They ran a special on it for $25 last year and the shipping can be extended to gifts as well.

Hit the comments below to share some tips on the best deals they have right now. I went for 2 bottles of the 2008 Belle Glos Las Alturas Pinot Noir for $34.99/btl. More on that wine in this California v. Oregon Pinot Noir showdown.

Offer ends Friday June 17th, 2011.


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Two Value-Play Winners From Pricey Catogories: Burgundy and Barbaresco

Buy a half-case or more at Wine Chateau and get 1/2 off shipping with code "wellesley54"
I came across an interesting story today about how a Wellesley author's father's blogging efforts "robbed" the author of his unique identity as the author of the family. The father recently retired and all he did was play golf, watch soccer, and read books. Sound pretty nice if you ask me. The point that struck a chord was that the father channeled his voracious book-a-day appetite into a unique online review format - published via a blog.

I thought to myself: I usually taste a new wine every day, why don't I write about each of them?

The reason I don't blog every day is because in spite my unrelenting efforts to triangulate professional ratings, low prices, and availability, many wines I try are just "good" or "very good" and don't seem worthy of telling people about.

I try to find interesting stories in wines and relate recommendations that are relevant and interesting. But sometimes I think I should just knock out a post and move on. This is just blogging after all.

With that in mind here are a couple of winners I came across tonight:

2007 Domaine Pierre Janny Bourgogne Blanc Echavon
About $12

The other day I was in Bin Ends picking up some 2003 Albino Rocca Brich Ronchi they had at a great price. Dan Kline asked me if I ever drink white wine. I would have enjoyed a long conversation on the subject but in the interest of time I said "not really" and left it at that.

The reality is I'm often disappointed with white wines and even if I end up liking them I don't look forward to opening them. A few months ago I stopped in and asked for a recommendation in the tricky white Burgundy category. This wine was that recommendation.

I cringed as I opened it thinking it was going to be limited aromatically. However, the wine was an absolute delight to drink. There's no way I would have pegged this as French if I tasted it blind. Such a nice tropical aromatic nose but as you taste it, it reigns in its gregarious nature. Green apples on the palate and a touch of acidity. Perhaps the best thing I liked about it was the linear enjoyable aftertaste - it avoided the quirky flavor markers so many domestic Chardonnays seem to display.

A stunning and pleasant surprise.

I've heard "If you think you found a cheap Burgundy - you probably found a cheap Burgundy." Maybe that applies mostly to reds?

Purchased at: Bin Ends Wine
91/100 WWP: Outstanding


2007 Col Dei Venti Tufo Blu Barbaresco
$31 Release Price

My interest in Barbaresco continues to evolve, and along the way I've been comparing notes for the highly regarded 2007 vintage from The Wine Advocate's Antonio Galloni and Wine Spectator's newly minted Piedmont editor Bruce Sanderson.

Galloni used to pen Piedmont Report and I've found his reviews on Italian wines to be useful. Sanderson's coverage of the region started just recently. In comparing their notes on the 2007 Pelissero Barbaresco Nubiola I found better alignment with Sanderson than Galloni however:

Where's the fruit? I realize this is super-young but I've got to favor WS's opinion over WA on this one. I think Bruce Sanderson nailed it: "Dense and austere in flavor, with a muscular structure dominating any fruit."

Compare this with Galloni's note: "caresses the palate with layers of round, sumptuous fruit. This is a more generous, enveloping style than the Tulin, and shows just an extra touch more depth. Dark red fruit, sweet spices".

Sweet spices? Sumptuous fruit? You've got to be kidding me. This wine is dark, brooding, and austere. It's more like a Barolo than a Barbaresco.

Props to Sanderson for good work in his rookie season covering Piedmont. I'll pay attention to his notes going forward.

The 2007 Col Dei Venti is a wine Spectator's Sanderson thought highly of. At 94 WS/$31 release price it's quite a QPR-bender. Even better if you can snag it for around $25.

The wine is a beauty and incredibly approachable for a young Barbaresco. It's lower in acidity with softer tannins than most Barbaresco I've tasted. It's plush and forgiving.

Flavor wise it's classic Nebbiolo. Each sip starts with light red raspberries and floral aromatics. I noted a striking aroma of Crayola crayons in an elementary school desk drawer. Quite amazing and persistent across a couple glasses. Wow - really interesting.

Purchased at: Wine Connextion 
92/100 WWP: Outstanding

So there you have it. Two outstanding wines in categories notorious for being hard to find value. 

PS That's our 4 year old in the photo above whining at the dinner table while I took the photo. It was a little bit of a rough night but in the interest of knocking a blog post out - there you have it. :)

Question of the Day: Have you had either of these wines? Let me know what you think of them in the comments if you've had them. If not - have you found any good values in Burgundy or Barbaresco lately?


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/H2e9C6aEzkg/two-value-play-winners-from-pricey.html

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How To Pronounce Willamette

One of the dangers of being a wine podcaster is you have to say wine terms and regions out loud. It’s hard enough to keep everything spelled correctly and often over the years I’ve made some embarrassing mistakes on the podcast. But the one that is probably most distressing for me was my butchering of [...]

How To Pronounce Willamette originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

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Wine Word of the Week: Umami

This week?s Wine Word of the Week is umami. Official definition from Jancis Robinson?s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Umami is a Japanese term derived from two words meaning ?delicious? and ?essence? and used to refer to what some consider to be the fifth primary taste. More a quality than a specific flavor, it is [...]

Wine Word of the Week: Umami was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

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