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Stu Hordern of Brokenwood says of the 2013 Hunter Valley harvest, ‘belting!’; emphatic. ‘Best vintage since 2006 for semillon, very warm and dry, and consequently we could get full flavour ripeness, you’ll see the alcohols are a little higher, up to 12s, great lime juice and fruit acid balance. Fruit was really good, we had [...]

Another wine day has come and gone and I did my bit part by celebrating #ChardonnayDay with two of the Finger Lakes finest. Also cemented my feelings about what is considered the world's most popular white grape varietal. Of course, those that know me, know that it means forget the oak with it's buttery, toasty, vanilla, butterscotch and creamy profile and give me Chardonnay aged in stainless steel or just a touch of acorns. I've now come to realize why Chardonnay was not near the top of my favorite white wines. It actually sat well situated on the very bottom of my list. It's also a bit surprising that I would not favor well oaked Chards when I do have a liking for oaky red wines. Someday, I may write a post about what I think the reason is, but it may be a two or three part series and I'm just not ready for that, yet and I'm no Evan Dawson. Oh, by the way, let me plug his book here. Title is "Summer In A Glass" - The Coming of Age of Wine in the Finger Lakes. This past September the book was named International Wine Book of the Year. Contains great stories about wineries and the winemakers that have made the Finger Lakes a producer of world class wines. Now a little bit about the two Chardonnays I opened for today's celebration.Early afternoon, after finishing my duties in lawn care, I opened a Ravines Wine Cellars Chardonnay 2011 ($18). I recently tasted this wine at our Keuka in Bloom wine tour. As I very often do, anything I like in the tasting room, comes home. Sometimes, especially with Chardonnay, that does not always come out the way I thought it will, but this time I think it was better. Ravines has won recognition as a quality-driven winery dedicated to producing crafted and elegant food-friendly wines. The winery has won numerous medals in international wine competitions, received great reviews in major wine publications and can be found in many wine shops and fine restaurants throughout New York state.This Chardonnay was aged for a short time in oak, but as I stated above, lightly oaked is passing the grade. Aromas were full of apple, citrus, some peach and melon with very small hints of toast. More peach in mouth, a little citrus and some slate like taste led to a smooth finish, leaving long taste of citrus and slate. Aromas and taste did not suggest any real oak influence and that is OK by me. I was forced to pair this with left over mild BBQ chicken, but found the match was excellent.For a second choice, I had to pair a Heron Hill Ingle Vineyards Chardonnay Unoaked 2011 ($16) with Shirley's 20 minute turkey meatloaf. This wine, I did not taste, on our last tour. I had made up my mind weeks in advance that I would bring this Chardonnay home. Don't ask why, the wine just intrigued me. After all, it does say UNOAKED and I have never been disappointed by wines from Heron Hill.Heron Hill gets most of its grapes from 12 acres of grapevines onsite and from the owner’s Ingle Vineyard, where there are nearly 20 acres of vinifera grapevines. Located on Seneca Point, on the west side of Canandaigua Lake, Ingle Vineyard is the only vinifera vineyard on that lake. Varieties grown include Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, and Pinot Noir. The vineyard is located on the home property of the Ingles, who maintain the vines themselves and with their staff. Sustainable methods are utilized and have been for nearly 40 years.Color was more like a Sauvignon Blanc or Vinho Verde, very light with just a greenish like tint, but the aromas were very powerful. Lots of pineapple with some grapefruit and a little melon and floral aromas on the nose. In the mouth was more of the same with some added peach and clementine. A hint of honey like sweetness and a silky mouthfeel leads to a medium to long crisp finish with a little added lemon and mineral.Today was an excellent day to discover Finger Lakes Chardonnay. Both wines excelled and are Very Highly Recommended.

Fair Trade only rewards coffee farmers who belong to a cooperative. You can support other farmers buy buying quality coffe beans.

Grenache and mataro, not merely blended but fermented (wild) as one. The mataro is from Sellicks Hill and the grenache from the Shirvington vineyard. No new oak (indeed, all five-year-old). 244 cases.

Brash Higgins has hit the ground running over the past few years. It has fast become a key producer in the quality reputation of modern McLaren Vale.

Today I gave a talk on social media and the wine industry at a conference in Logrono (Rioja) organized by DIAM, the closure company. Also speaking was José Penin, author of the respected wine guide, chosen to represent the existing media. I was chosen because I have made a reputation with more modern media. As well as the talks, there was a panel discussion that we both took part in, and a tasting. This was conducted by Antonio Palacios, an enologist and wine scientist, and consisted of five rather different wines from around the world that were all sealed with DIAM. La Scolca Gacvi 2012 Piedmont, Italy Great concentration of flavour, this is fresh, tight and crisp with fresh apples and lemons, and a hint of anise, as well as some stone and herb notes. A good example of Gavi 88/100 Le Domaine de La Cave du Village Raoul Cruchon Viognier 2011 La Côte, Vaud, Switzerland Fresh, crisp and rounded with smooth texture and nice weight, showing lovely pear and white peach fruit. Great precision, with a subtle herbal edge to the smooth bright fruit. Quite serious. 92/100 Bergolt Merlot Cabernet Dorio Trocken 2010 Pfalz, Germany 13 months in oak, one-third of which is new. Sweet, creamy and slightly oaky on the nose with some vanilla. But the dominant theme here is bright, vivid berry fruits with some spiciness. Lively and berryish with cherry freshness and a bit of peppery bite. Fabulous fruit quality. 92/100 Levet L’Amythyste Côte Rôtie 2010 Northern Rhône, France Two years in oak. Quite powerful and backward with subtle notes of roast fruit, mint and medicine alongside the spicy, peppery, vivid berry and black cherry fruit. Some warmth from the oak, but overall a tight, dense, quite youthful wine with a good future ahead of it, currently in the vice-like grip of firm tannins. 92/100 Clos de Los Siete 2009 Mendoza, Argentina Sweet, ripe, perfumed nose with some slightly jammy berry fruits but also some pleasantly fresh violet floral characters. Ripe, supple palate has well balanced fruit but also a bit of warmth and some distinctive, firm, rather drying tannins. 90/100

As you can tell I, Jason Coffee, have taken a break from new posts to Coffee Cup News. I took the break to focus on my Vine App (Twitter’s new mobile video App) project which has been very fruitful. We now have over 37,000 Followers (or 316 followers per day) on the Vine App and we are projecting to be at over 100k followers before the end of the year. So naturally we want to Celebrate with a Giveaway! Giveaway! I have spent over 500 hours making vines (example below)  and now I want to make one for you. Whether you are a coffee company, personal brand or just a fan of Coffee Cup News you are eligible to win a 2 personalized Vines from Jason Coffee. People that have won previous contest grew their following by between a few hundred and a few thousand followers many of whom are “Vine Famous” (5,000+ followers) now. (I am not taking credit, it’s just true.) If you win the contest you will get two things: What Will You Win? 1) A Personalized Vine Celebrating You or Your Company as the Winner 2) A Vine Made Exclusively For Your Personal or Company Channel/Profile Ways To Enter? You may do one or all of these and each will count as a separate entree. 1) Record a Vine and Tag it with #FollowJasonCoffee 2) Tweet this article with a @JasonCoffee at the end of the Tweet 3) Leave a Facebook Comment below on this article. (Check post to facebook) 50% Off Advertising This is something we’ve never done before. I want to sell out my advertising through the end of the year so I am giving a crazy awesome discount. I don’t know if it’s the caffeine or the Vine success that is going to my head but non-the-less I can’t take it back now. If you purchase 3 months or more of Advertising I will give you 50% off. If you enter the contest with one of the above entree types I will give you another 10% off for a total of 60% off. (And NO I did not hike up my rates right before this post, they are in fact lower now than last month.) This discount is only good until Monday May 27th 2013 and I only have 8 spots available, so it’s first come first serve. CLICK HERE to get one of those spots. Good Luck! I wish everyone the best of luck in the contest. I am so grateful for everyone single person that reads this blog and connects with me on Vine, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. You are all the BEST Fans and Friends a guy could have, I really mean that. Thank you! Related Posts10 Ways to Brew EngagementKopi Luwak Winner Announcement & New Giveaway!Velton’s KenyaBonlife Coffee Van – Live the Dream!Thank You! – What an Amazing Community!New Projects and Special Guest – Live #46Percolator Review and Coffee Giveaway Author informationJason CoffeeHead Writer, Owner & Founder. at Coffee Cup NewsJason started Coffee Cup News in November fo 2008 as an outlet for his passion for coffee. Since then it has turned into one of the most trafficked coffee website of it's kind. Jason is a father of 3 awesome kids and married to the most amazing woman on the planet. #justsayin You can also find him on his personal blog at JasonCoffee.comTwitterFacebookGoogle+LinkedInThe post Let’s Celebrate with a Giveaway and 50% off Advertising! appeared first on Coffee Cup News - Coffee Blog and Forum.

Made from a vineyard planted in 1997. Highest altitude vineyard at Dalwhinnie. Vineyard was planted from cuttings taken from Torbreck, I’m told.

Slight bricking at the rim;Bouquet of subdued earthy sweet cherry underneath baked cherry pie with cedary presence.Palate--Overwhelming initial blast of huge cedar and spruce--like biting into an evergreen branch; with air, it mellows yielding cedar, earthy cherry with robust foundation and pleasantly ripe tannins. Finishes pleasantly and lingering suggestion of tangy black cherry.I loved this wine! Classy and bold, full of mouth filing textures and flavor. I have an 03 waiting in the wings and I can't wait! I paid about $40 which is a nice price for such a wine. Raise a glass.--A Review from The Wine Cask Blog. Creative Commons: Attribution - ShareAlike 2.5 applies

One of the pleasures of watching BBC TVs 2010/2012 show “Sherlock” is the sly, tongue in cheek references it makes to the canon of Sherlock Holmes; another is the sheer length of each episode…ninety minutes per; and a third is the precise casting of the eponymous lead and the Doctor. About the only thing I [...]