As Hall-of-famer PrimeTime Deion Sanders (from Free Shoes University) so eloquently exclaims in his new DirecTV commercials… It’s ON!  The clock has already ticked past midnight and into the wee morning hours of August 18th down under and soon the rest of the world will be gathering together in 3 part harmony, sipping the glory that is Pinot Noir.  But, don’t be fooled, because it isn’t all tea and crumpets up in here.  People get serious about their wine and this is especially true with Pinot.  Time to dispense with the niceties, caring about the feelings of others and the misguided approach to the demystification of wine.  You gotta take a stand sometimes and support your cause.  Don’t be surprised to see some double knee armbreakers and body slams on the interwebs this day as Pinot-producing regions of the world clash for the coveted belt.

While I have absolutely no understanding of how odds are made, here is my take on the favorites based on the tweets over the past couple of days.  It’s shaping up to be more of an even fight this year.  There’s still time to get on the dance card: http://pinotsmackdown.eventbrite.com/

#NZ    4-1

#OR    5-1

#CA    5-1

#AU   6-1

#EU   15-1

#WA  20-1

#FR   40-1

#CH   61-1

#CN   61-1

All others   100-1

Crazy smack talk aside, sit back and enjoy this fine wine grape and toast to life, love and fulfillment.  As my Atlien, sipping-wine-from-a-mason-jar, backyard animal chef, and co-hort from wence this idea was hatched, Joe Herrig (SuburbanWino) so eloquently stated in his recent post (which also provides awesome guidance on how to participate), “the Smackdown is more-closely akin to professional wrestling: fake competition in the spirit of entertainment for all.”

Thanks for participating.  Cheers!

While the wine country in 2011 has started with a cool spring / early summer as well as some late rains, leading to concerns of mildew and shattering, fear not, there is never a doubt that this will be the Best. Vintage. Ever. Is there ever any doubt?  Really.  Unfortunately, I may have just put harvest in jeopardy for me personally due to a freakish injury I sustained at last week’s softball game.  Plans to make a couple barrels of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay may never come to fruition for 2011 due to such heavy reliance on a right foot.

Yes, the foot that presses the gas and the brake of a vehicle that is to transport me from the boonies south of Napa to the far reaches of wine country.  The foot that accompanies the other one on the left to aid in walking, standing, bearing weight necessary to walk vineyards, check fruit, move equipment, climb sorting tables, punchdown caps and other general winery duties as necessary.

Fear not, the dream continues.  With all the great things that have happened in our lives over the past year due to hard work and a little luck, it’s always humbling to deal with some bad with all the good.  I just wish it wasn’t THIS bad.  Injuries to this area of the foot are rare evidently and generally seen most in car and motorcycle wrecks.  All I was doing was rounding first base for cripes sake.  As a result, surgery is imminent, recovery is long and the foot will never be the same for the rest of life.  Good news is that cycling is still possible in my future.

So, if harvest is delayed, that may just work in my favor, but there are so many things that have to be lined up well in advance to make it all work.  Let’s see how recovery goes and then we’ll see if I can get my first harvest (for our personal label) underway.

We love to hike, camp, travel, kayak, cycle, you name it… and living (or visiting) in wine country affords many opportunities to reach out beyond the local vineyards.  Recently, we stepped up our camping style by adding a camper trailer to our arsenal.  As you get older things like the simple conveniences of an on-board bathroom and a real mattress starts to matter more.  We are really looking forward to exploring the many parks, vacation spots and other natural venues in and around Northern California.  Two weeks ago we were up at Salt Point along the coastline that led to crisp nature hikes along the cliffs with ocean, sea lions and abalone divers below.  This weekend it’s a 88 mile drive over to Amador County in the Sierra Foothills to visit the wineries near Plymouth, CA in the California Shenandoah Valley AVA.

This region exploded back in 1849 during the gold rush and there are still several seriously “old vine” Zinfandel vineyards around from that time.  History is always a fascinating thing and I am finding more and more that grapes and fine wine are often a part of the story.  As communities were built up in the area around the gold digging camps, the family vineyards were planted along with them to provide the beverage immigrants were used to accompanying their meals back home and probably also to help lubricate the evening’s stories of another day gone by without hitting paydirt.

The California Shenandoah Valley AVA (est. 1982) is known mostly for Zinfandel and took me back to a dinner we had at Bern’s in Tampa where I enjoyed a 1977 Ridge Zinfandel from said AVA and it was still singing, with obvious structure, significant fruit that hung tough through the meal.  Here are the trip’s mentionables:

Sobon Estates – established in 1856, it’s the oldest continuously operated winery in the area and the Sobon’s are the 3rd owner taking over in 1989.  It’s easy to tell their forte’ is Zinfandel simply based on the number they produce and several of their “old vine” zinyards go back 70-88 years old now.  I zeroed in on the 2008 Zinfandel “Rocky Top” – a decomposed granite site leading to more fruit, lots of raspberry and plum on the nose.  Medium level of tannins and smooth finish with just a hint of spice.  Lighter in color than many highly extracted Zinfandel I have seen, this was nice.  If you want bigger, more tannin and spice go with the Cougar Hill or perhaps the Fiddletown.

C.G. Di Arie – hadn’t planned on visiting this winery, but when I saw the sign on the side of the road I recalled having tried one of their Syrahs at Parish back in 2009 in Atlanta.  I am so glad we stopped by, because this little tasting property was nicely landscaped, comfortable and chill.  The winery itself is about 8 miles away where the winemaker, Chaim, (also the guy who created Cap’n Crunch) is often hard at work coming up with new blends.  Though I think these guys make way too many wines, there wasn’t anything I didn’t like.  The Syrah/Grenache-based 2009 Rose’ Di Arie was great to have with lunch in the picnic area.  We walked away with a blend called Interlude (40% Zinfandel, Shenandoah Valley, 25% Syrah, Estate Grown, 22.5% Petite Sirah, Estate Grown, 12.5% Primitivo, Estate Grown) – black cherries, plums, licorice and earth on the nose and palate, well-balanced with good acid to make this yearn for food… think lamb.

Terre Rouge & Easton - this place came highly recommended by many trusted sources and it didn’t disappoint.  Guided by the entertaining and equally knowledgeable wine domestique’, Doug Bellamy.  I promised him I wouldn’t talk about our chat regarding memories and experiences that are conjoured up when sniffing and sipping grape juice (we both played a lot of basketball back in the day), but needless to say we both agreed on the ability of wine to bring the mind to memorable experiences and senses.  The Terre Rouge half focuses on Rhone varietals where Easton focuses on everything else.  Once again I prove real men drink pink as I was drawn to the Vin Gris d’Amador, perhaps due to the insane heat we were experiencing this weekend.  This is a bleed of GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) giving off expected strawberry and bright red fruit notes and crisp, biting acidity.  A little more mouthfeel to this one and a hint of holiday spice.  The big winner was the 2007 Syrah Monarch Mine Vineyard – boom! as in expression, not in size, spice, heat or other negative attributes.  This wine is aromatic full of black fruits, lavender, jerky and raspberries.  Great mouthfeel with weight all the way through and hint of pepper on the finish.  Finally, the honorable mention goes to the 2004 Easton Estate Zinfandel.

The 4th Annual Wine Bloggers Conference is nearly upon us, this time being held in Charlottesville, VA.  This is a beautiful wine country setting with some wonderful wineries making great wine.  We last visited this region back in 2007 and was in awe with how vibrant and busy many of the wineries were.  Wine lovers abound intertwined with some of our country’s earliest history.

Though I won’t be able to attend this year (not that I deserve to go… just check how weak my blog has been recently), I offer a short list of tips for those attending the conference based on my own experiences at the previous two conferences.

1. Remember, you are always “on stage” – in the corporate world we used to use this phrase to describe how we behave when at a client or prospect site.  YOU are being evaluated as much as your work or product.  Wineries and related businesses will be paying close attention in person at the conference as well as monitoring the weekend on-line.

2. Be Prepared – Not just a mantra for the Boy Scouts… Specifically, I mean be prepared to sell yourself and show how your skills will help a wine organization succeed.  At last year’s conference I was introduced to a hiring manager at a very large wine organization in California who was interested in me for their strategic social media marketing position that was being developed.   Luckily I was prepared with my elevator speech and had rehearsed how my career skills combined with my wine education and social media experience would be easily leveraged to benefit their company.

3. Build Relationships – Sure, WBC is about the wine and there will be plenty of it.  You will also attend breakout sessions and learn a few things about wine blogging, marketing and what not.  But, are you treating this trip as a boondoggle?  Certainly, don’t forget to promote the sponsors and the local wineries. However, be sure to develop some new relationships and expand existing ones. You never know when one of these relationships will help you down the road… see #2 above.  Besides, wine is social… so, be social.

4. Bring Wine to Share – I brought wine from Georgia last year.  No, it wasn’t moonshine, though that would’ve been pretty good too.  It’s about sharing and learning and you’ll be surprised how many attendees are interested in testing their palates on wine they may not have tried before. It’s a great conversation starter too… see #3 above.

5. Be Opened Minded – You are visiting one of the “Other 46” American wine states, and as I experienced with bringing some wine from the great state of Georgia (see #4), you may be surprised by what you experience. Many will initiate or will be a part of “unconference” sessions around the conference center grounds and will be pouring various wines. Take the opportunity to expand your palate and your mind.  Don’t be a snob.

I’ll be watching the online conversations unfold, but will be a bit sad I won’t be participating with my wine blogger friends… folks I have met in real life at this conference over the years.  Watch out for the Suburban Wino’s Tai Chi dance skills in the wee hours or Vinotology trying to set the kitchen on fire… surely to be an experience never forgotten.

Oh, and one more Tip:  TAKE PICTURES!

WBC Video Nostalgia: