Much has been written regarding the “speed dating” of wine tasting with wine bloggers in Walla Walla.  I especially like Josh’s take here at DrinkNectar.com.  Below are my quick notes from that event of the Whites that were presented, though I admit there are a few wines missing because I didn’t get any notes down in time.  That’s the risk of such a style of tasting:

LeCole 41 – 2008 Semillon – 89% Semillon, 11% Sauvignon Blanc – Columbia Valley – apricots, honey, lots of minerality on the finish… good acid.  Minerality + high latitude + longer hang time = mineral uptake.  The complex minerals historically were broken up and brought down by ancient glaciers.   Winery started in 1983, Mary became winemaker in 1989… one of first whites was Semillon.

Parducci – 2007 Sustainable White – Mendocino – Chenin Blanc, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat Canelli – Very floral nose.

Pithy Little Wine Co. – 2009 Sangiovese Rose – 98% Sangiovese, 2% Syrah – Strawberries, raspberries, and cherry.  Lightly pressed, add color with Syrah <– why?

Ortman, Paso Robles – 2007 Edna Valley Chardonnay -Bright, golden hue – Jonjie’s favorite

Pepperwood Grove (Don & Sons) – The Big Green Box, 15% growth based on Nielson… makes for awkward “pouring” while walking around the table, $19.99 – same for the Big House Octovin – not going to impress the ladies here gents!  Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc (10%) Viognier (splash) – Oak staves for 6 months – green nose, like opening a can of veggies (worked with Joe on this one), oak nose, partial malolactic fermentation

That looks awkward and semi-uncomfortable!

Longshadow – 2009 Riesling – very clear, pale yellow color, 1.3% RS, very sharp acidity = 3.05 pH

Maryhill – 2008 Viognier – great aromas, but toastyness from oak barrels doesn’t align with how I enjoy Viognier

Hogue Cellars – 2008 Genesis Chardonnay – unoaked, no malolactic fermentation therefore pretty crisp… all apples and pears… texture/brioche due to yeast lees.. light minerality on finish  $16

Buty – 2008 Semillon, Sauvignon and Muscadelle – oak aged in old wood, completed malolactic fermentation… the color is bright yellow leaning toward chartreuse… nice acid, crisp, floral, honeysuckle

Dusted Valley – 2009 Columbia Valley  Rose – Sangiovese.  Deep salmon color… another good rose’…  raspberries and strawberries… distinct, aromatic, $18, great red fruit palate, finish stays strong.  Chad’s a good guy.

My favorites in this lineup were the Pithy Little Wine Co. 2009 Sangiovese Rose’ and the Hogue Cellars 2008 Genesis Chardonnay.

… It’s The Only Thing.

If you ain’t first, you’re last.

Shake. And. Bake.

That.  Just.  Happened.

Ladies and Gentlemen… The wine world will have its eyes on Pinot Noir and the omnipresent Twitter tasting community this coming Thursday, July 15th folks and you won’t want to miss it.  Between the hours of 5-7p PT/ 8-10p ET it’s a full-on cage match between all comers brandishing nothing but a stem and a bottle of their best Pinot Noir as they swirl, sniff, slurp and spit TO THE PAIN.  Whose juice will reign supreme in such a format? Will the veteran stalwarts from #BU outlast the pack and rub terroir in everyone’s mug?  Maybe the brash ‘tweeners from #CN will crush some skulls with their delightful cool-climate juice?  #WV is always up for a fight and will throw cloves and cola in your eyes while the All-Blacks from #NZ will eat everyone’s lunch, er, breakfast since it will be 11AM in the South Pacific.  You can register here to witness this magnificent mayhem: http://pinotnoir.eventbrite.com

Your guess is as good as mine, folks.  Step right up!  It’s up to you to decide!  Get a glass and get a’ twitterin’!  Thanks to you , some lucky Pinot-producing region is walking away with, well, a whole lot of pride and bragging rights for boasting the most favorite Pinot Noir of the night.  Votes only count if you use the appropriate regional hashtag in addition to the #PinotNoir tag!  See below to refresh your memory and for current odds on potential favorites.  Vegas will certainly want to get in on this action.  Shooootaahhhhh! (p.s. I have no idea how to produce odds… but it seemed cool)

These are based on tweets from July 1 – July 12.  Remember, only tweets between the hours of the event will count for the final tally.

(UPDATED) based on tweets from July 12 – July 15 10:52 am ET:

based on tweets from July 1 – July 12:

Join the Twitter Tasting with Halleck Vineyards!
Open any bottle of your Halleck Vineyard Pinot Noir on July 15 th at 5 – 7 pm PST.   Taste.  Tweet with others all over the US.

Ross and Jennifer Halleck are hosting a Halleck Vineyard Pinot Noir tasting at:  
        Aubergine Café and Bar
        755 Petaluma Ave.
        Sebastopol, CA 

View Larger Map

They will have the big screen wired to follow tweets around the country. And they will be adding theirs too. Please join them!!

For those new to the medium, including the Hallecks, Twitter is a mobile application for passing short news messages to anyone interested from your phone or computer.

We hope you gather your friends and break out your Halleck Vineyard Pinot for this ground breaking event. Then log on with your phone or computer to Twitter. Type in your comments and include “#pinotnoir” (no quote marks) at the end plus “#SN” for Sonoma Coast to “vote” for our region. This will allow your comments to appear on the Twitter Tasting and Smackdown thread.

If you write a tweet about Halleck Vineyard Pinot, they will give you a 15% discount on a bottle of Halleck Vineyard Pinot Noir!  Get tweeting!

For more information and to register go here: http://pinotnoir.eventbrite.com/

If you are a winery and want to know how to take advantage of a fun event like this, please check out this link.

Halleck Vineyards

With less than 10 days left until the hammer drops on what promises to be the most entertaining Twitter wine tasting extravaganza with regional bragging rights at stake, do you know where your Pinot Noir is?  If you are in the Atlanta metro I sure hope you were able to RSVP to our local venue, Paul’s Restaurantin Peachtree Hills and I look forward to meeting you.  It took all of 3 days for the event to sell out, but I guess I should not be so surprised.  Check out this line up of wines and the specials provided to participants — by the way, I know everyone is coming really to see Andrea Robinson, Master Sommelier, who will be with us at Paul’s.  She’s way cuter than me.

WINES:

• Simonnet Febvre Cremant de Bourgogne Brut
• Latour (Marsannay)
• Domaine de la Vougeraie Gevrey-Chambertin “La Justice”
• Robert Skinskey (Carneros)
• Halleck Vineyards (Sonoma Coast)
• DeLoach Vineyards (Sonoma Coast)
• DeLoach Vineyards (Green Valley)
• Hahn Estates (SLH)
• Belle Glos Las Alturas (SLH)
• Mudhouse (Central Otago)
• Hahn Estates (Monterey)
• Laetitia Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara (Arroyo Grande)
• King’s Ridge (Oregon)

SPECIAL OFFERS:

1. Enjoy Paul’s for dinner prior to the event and receive 10% off your meal
2. Receive a FREE red wine stem from Andrea Robinson’s The One™ collection, provided by Macy’s, that will be used during the tasting
3. Receive a free 2010 wine buying guide if you purchase a 4-pack box set of The One™ stemware at North point, Lenox or Perimeter Macy’s locations
______________________________________________
If you did happen to miss the chance to RSVP to Paul’s, you can still take advantage of this sweet stemware deal if you are participating in the event via Twitter:  Andrea Robinson, Master Sommelier and designer of the new The OneTM stemware collection, is also participating in this event and has a provided a wonderful offer to event participants: 50% off a 4-pack or single red stem of TheOne^TM

• 4-Pack ($24.96 + s/h) Offer Code: PinotTweetupBox
• Red Stem ($6.25 + s/h) Offer Code: PinotTweetupSingle

Order Here:  http://bit.ly/AndreaTheOne
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If you are a local wine shop, winery or someone who just a certifiable Pinotphile, then it’s not too late to put a gathering or event together to enjoy this wonderful grape and watch the Battle Royale ensue in cyberspace!  Here is more information to help you out!

Some wineries are offering special deals if you need some wine for your party… check out the #PinotNoir stream on Twitter for more on this!

Today we’re talking about Languedoc-Roussillon, which is a region in the south of France along the Mediterranean Sea that runs from the cities Perpignan, up through Montpellier and to Nimes.  You might be surprised to learn that it boasts the world’s largest vineyard area totalling about 750,000 acres.  As you can imagine, being along the Mediterranean, the area has what is called a “Mediterranean” climate which is fairly moderate and pretty good for grape growing.  How ingenious.  Average temperatures are around 57F while the summers can reach upwards of 85F.  Their primary red grapes are Carignan and Grenache Noir while the major whites consist of Chardonnay and Grenache Blanc. 

But, enough of the viticultural lesson.  Today, a brand consortium representing wine and agricultural producers from the Languedoc-Roussillon named Sud de France held a synchronized tasting around the globe of 5 wines that were previously shipped to 90+ bloggers and journalists in 24 countries.  Their goal was to provide a diverse experience of the types of wines that represent the region and to continue increasing awareness of their producers via “innovative promotional measures.”  This blogger was a recipient of said wines [disclaimer: these wines were provided free as samples] and was gladly capable of checking them out and give to you, our humble readership, a view into an area of France that is probably lesser known than Bordeaux and Burgundy, but can bring tremendous value and a variety of styles to the cost conscious.  Here we go… from my Twitter stream and beyond:

• NV Sieur d’Arques Cremant de Limoux Brut Grand Cuvee 1531: Average value on CellarTracker is about $10-11 and consists of the standard blend of Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Mauzac.  Crisp, tart granny smith apples. Great brunch bubbly.  Surprised wife with a flute at the door when she came home… #game #on
• Fruite Catalan Cotes du Roussillon: Called “The French Fruity Wine” had aromas of strawberry Bubblicious bubble-gum and raspberries.  The color was the darkest pink I have ever seen in a Rose blend.  Not a fan.
• 2008 Girard Bertrand Cigalus Blanc - Golden and bright with aromas of lemon, passion fruit and mineral.  This averages $30 according to wine searcher and trending up since 04.. I’d buy for a little less. Love the minerality.  My favorite of the day.
• 2006 Domain Dromadaire “30670″  - Dark purple, medium density hue… aromas of barnyard… needs more decanter time.  After a few hours, less horsey, still old world.  Blackberries and leather and a touch of spice on the finish.
• 2006 Mas de Madame Muscat de Frontignan - Awesome peach, apricot and floral aromas… Nice, bright yellow color, add honeysuckle to aroma list, much RS, my guess 3-5%, probably much more.  Made from Muscat a Petits Grains, this is considered a Vins Doux Naturels (sweet fortified wines), yet the alcohol was only 15.5%.  It was a tad sweet for me, simple syrupy, a hint of spice at the end — nice for those who enjoy a sweeter wine