wisdom

it has been a long time wine geeks! seems that life has caught up with me and the work schedule has been too hectic. i am still enjoying the grape, but not as much as i would like! cheers. hope to be posting more soon.

Happy New Year

Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance.  

~ Benjamin Franklin

Two Years Blogging Celebration Wednesday, March 31!

look for a special wine this wednesday as i celebrate two years! thanks to all who are regular readers. thanks to all who leave me comments. thanks especially to the comely brunette for your support!

A quote and

"With wine in hand, one reaches the happy state - where men are wise, women beautiful; and even one's children begin to look promising."
Sorry for the lack of posts recently, the baldwinegeek has been traveling and is a bit under the weather.

Wine Wisdom

Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.
Ernest Hemingway
Death in the Afternoon

Vertical Tasting-Styring Vineyards Pinot Noir

over the course of the next week i will be blogging about a vertical tasting, something i have been wanting to do for a while now. for the uninitiated, a vertical tasting is two or more wines of the same varietal, in this case pinot noir, from consecutive years, from the same vineyard. i have been holding three different years from styring vineyards, a small producer of exceptional wines in the willamette valley in oregon. this is one of my favorite areas for pinot noir. the three years i will be comparing will be '03, '04, and '05. all three of these wines are not grown on the estate as the first plantings had not yet matured yet. they are all from the valley and this area produces some of the finest pinot noir in the country, if not the world, in my opinion. styring is now producing estate grown pinots as of the 2006 release. i hope to have a bottle of the '06 soon to also compare to these other three. for more info on styring, visit their website http://www.styringvineyards.com/

Happy Holidays from the baldwinegeek

postings will be a bit scarce during this time surrounded by family, friends and good wine. i am tasting some good wine during this holiday season and will be posting some time during the coming week. to all who have supported me by reading the blog, have a happy holiday and a safe and prosperous new year!
cheers!
the bald wine geek

Thanksgiving Wine

choosing the right wine for thanksgiving dinner is not really as difficult as some people think it is. you can never do wrong gravitating towards one of two wines. red wine lovers can pick out a good zinfandel. personal preferences depend on how much you want to spend. several nice ones would include McManis Zinfandel 2007, Gnarly Head Old Vines 2006 Zinfandel, and my personal favorite, Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel 2005. variety of price ranges here. if you are a white wine drinker, try a nice chardonnay, which has the boldness and body to stand up to rich thanksgiving meals. try something from these; A to Z 2006 Chardonnay (which is unoaked), recently blogged Fat Bastard Chardonnay 2007 , and my personal choice, Francis Coppola 2008 Chardonnay Sonoma County Director's Cut. if you are having a meal that tends to feature mushrooms and other earthy flavors without heavy spices, try a pinot noir in the red category or a viognier or sauvignon blanc in the white wine family. cheers!

I Love This Quote

"The discovery of a good wine is increasingly better for mankind than the discovery of a new star."
—Leonardo Da Vinci

the baldwinegeek is on hiatus for a few days

"I love waking up in the morning not knowing what I'm gonna do or who I'm gonna meet. Just yesterday I was sleeping under a bridge, and today I'm on the grandest liner in the world drinking champagne with you fine people. I'll have some more please."

Wine Wisdom

sorry for the lack of postings. the baldwinegeek has been away from the computer for a bit. a new posting will be here tomorrow about a nice italian red…the wisdom?

"it is not a wine that commands your attention, but rather, rewards it."

Cincinnati Wine Festival Commentary

as a wine lover, a big wine festival can be a great deal of fun. this past weekend i was able to meet many people in the wine industry and hang out with my fellow wine lovers, exchanging thoughts, getting recommendations, and pointing people in new directions. my enthusiasm for the grape was only pushed to a new high. to everyone i met this weekend, thank you for returning the enjoyment for the grape. to the wine makers and vendors, keeping doing what you are doing, creating and selling wonderful wines. i'll keep tasting and blogging, because 'wine is life.'
cheers

Wine Wisdom

The wines that one best remembers are not necessarily the finest that one has ever tasted, and the highest quality may fail to delight so much as some far more humble beverage drunk in more favorable surroundings.

-H. Warner Allen
(From the wine list of Commander's Palace in New Orleans, LA courtesy of John McDonald, Dallas, TX)



i am always looking for good quotes to inspire me and saw this one on the internet, and it struck a chord with me. so true. i have had some very memorable wines, usually based on the company i am with or the circumstances surrounding the time i tasted a particular wine. cheers and happy new year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

i know this post is a bit late for those who might want wine advice for thanksgiving, but here goes. zinfandel as a red wine option. what you have to do is think of the spicing that you are using for the meal. all the different flavors need something that will stand up to that and zin will work. also syrah or shiraz has the spiciness that works well. white wines? try sauvignon blanc or try a chardonnay. this year, we are trying a viognier with some of the different spiced items we will be serving. what ever you serve, enjoy! i wish everyone the best on this day of families gathering.

Winey Thoughts

i had the chance to spend an afternoon with the comely brunette and "blondie" at a local ohio winery, harmony hill vineyards recently. located in the city of bethel, ohio. most wine folks are so enamored with the wines of napa, france, or some other famed location that they forget about the little guy crafting boutique wines. and when some people think of ohio, the last thing they think about is wine. especially really high quality wine. i've written about some of the ohio wines already and there are definitely some very interesting wines being crafted in the state. bill and patti skvarla have quite a following at harmony hill and deservedly so. some very nice wines which i will be blogging about over the course of the next few weeks. they also bring in local music talent to entertain the folks who come to taste their wines and sit outside on a friday night or saturday afternoon. relaxing, warm, friendly people and excellent wine. a beautiful combination. want more info? here is their website. a big thumbs up from the baldwinegeek.
http://www.hhwines.com/index.html

Wine. What would I do without it?

"During one of my treks through Afghanistan, we lost our corkscrew. We were compelled to live on food and water for several days."
Cuthbert J. Twillie (W.C.Fields) in My Little Chickadee (1940)

Cheers!

it is well to remember that there are five reasons for drinking: the arrival of a friend; one's present or future thirst; the excellence of the wine; or any other reason.
latin saying

pinot noir anyone?

"ultimately, any discussion of the aromas and flavors in pinot noir comes down to a discussion of sex."
-scott rich, winemaker, talisman

Wine Wisdom

"Three kraters (shallow bowls used as wine cups) do I mix for the temperate: one to health, which they empty first, the second to love and pleasure, the third to sleep. When the bowl is drunk up wise quests go home, The fourth bowl is ours no longer, but belongs to hubris, the fifth to uproar, the sixth to prancing about, the seventh to black eyes, the eighth brings the police, the ninth belongs to vomiting, and the tenth to insanity and the hurling of furniture."
— Eubulus, fourth-century Greek poet and playwright
The words above , attributed to the god Dionysus in one of Eubulus' works, reflect the ancient Greek wisdom that wine should be consumed in moderation.