Get a Broom! Global Spirits Brands Sweep Up the Gold at the LA International Spirits Competition

July 13, 2017 by evebushman Leave a Comment

Los Angeles, CA – Global Spirits US, a privately held, international manufacturer and marketer of wines and spirits, received numerous Gold Medals at the Los Angeles International Spirits Competition [LAISC]. Winning products include Odessa V.S.O.P. Brandy, LEAF Organic Vodka Made With Alaskan Glacial Water, and Khortytsa Platinum and Ice Vodkas. Both Odessa V.S.O.P. Brandy and Khortytsa Platinum Vodka won “Best in Category.”

Since introducing a spirits category in 2007, the LAISC has set the standard for judging distilled beverages. An esteemed panel of 20 judges used a blind-tasting method to award medals to the best spirits from around the world. This year’s competition received 392 Spirits entries from 146 producers in 31 different countries.

“This represents a bi-coastal win for us, and follows Gold awards from the NY International Spirits Competition earlier this month,” notes Global Spirits CEO Max Dubossarsky. “Since we introduced the brands here in the US, we’ve consistently captured the gold in numerous competitions.”

Gold winning Khortytsa (commonly referred to as KHOR in the USA) Platinum and Ice Vodkas are produced at Ukraine’s famed Khortytsa Distillery, which is among the world’s best distilleries. The brand is named for Khortytsa Island, which is known as “the heart of Ukraine.” This ancient island’s history dates back thousands of years, to the very roots of civilization. It is considered a sacred place, and is one of the country’s seven wonders.

Built in 2003, the Khortytsa Distillery is among the world’s finest distilleries. It uses a local organic filter containing schungite (a unique natural mineral) which allows it to get as close as possible to the structure of natural water. The filtration process is further enhanced with special birch and alder-tree charcoal and quartz sand.

Gold winner Khortytsa Platinum is the most popular item in the line Khortytsa line and retails for $14.99 per 750-mL. Khortytsa Ice, with a bottle color that changes when chilled, retails for $14.99 per 750-mL.

LEAF Organic Vodkas are sourced from unique waters around the country. The Gold winning variety is made from Alaskan Glacial water, which lends a pure, smooth taste with a hint of sweetness. The water source gives LEAF Vodka its signature taste. (My review March 2017 of LEAF vodkas can be read here.)

With a recommended shelf price of $18.99 for 750-mL—and Certified USDA Organic — LEAF Vodka is well positioned within the dynamic and growing vodka category.

Odessa V.S.O.P. Brandy is produced at Ukraine’s famed Shustov Distillery from spirits distilled from white grape varietals including Rkatsiteli, Aligoté and Pinot varieties. The Rkatsiteli is an ancient pale-skinned grape variety from the Republic of Georgia – one of the oldest (if not the oldest) wine-producing regions on earth. Aligoté is a white grape used to make dry white wines in the Burgundy region of France, but it is also cultivated in many Eastern Europe countries.

Odessa is distilled using the traditional French “Charentais” – or double fractional distillation – in copper pot stills. The heart of the distillate is then carefully selected to be bottled and aged, enhancing the delicate and refined aroma that is the signature of its white grape varietals. The spirit then ages in oak barrels for at least five years.

The resulting brandy is world class. Notes of oriental spices and citrus fruit dominate the first nose, while the second follows with hints of raisins and tones of maturity. The taste carries honey and nutty overtones, while the creamy caramel finish is long and smooth. It’s a brandy to be savored.

Odessa V.S.O.P. Brandy available in 750-mL and 100-mL sizes, the product carries a suggested retail price of $10.99 or $1.99 respectively.

About Global Spirits USA

A Fortune 500 Company in Europe, Global Spirits was established in 2008 and has offices in New York, Moscow and Kiev, employing over 5,000 people. The company’s annual volume exceeds 10 million cases, with distribution in over 80 countries. Global Spirits USA markets and distributes strategic brands including: Khortytsa Vodka (3rd largest selling international vodka brand*), LEAF Organic Vodka, and Odessa V.S.O.P. Brandy.

BWW – The World’s Largest Wine Competition Has Begun – Created By tastingbook.com

June 21, 2017 by evebushman Leave a Comment

BWW – the Best Wine of the World Competition, true to its name, selects the Best Wines in the World. It is the largest wine competition in the world, whether measured by the number of wines, the number of consumers involved or the judges taking part.

The competition differs significantly from other wine competitions in that the wines are selected by consumers all around the world and many thousands wine during a three-month period of voting, which takes place on Tastingbook.com and via social media, such as Facebook and Instagram.

The public votes and points awarded by wine professionals are tallied, and the twenty wines with the most votes from each competition category enter the finals that will be held in the fall. In the finals, the wines undergo a blind evaluation by panels consisting of leading wine makers, wine writers, Masters of Wine and wine professionals.

The finals are held on three different continents – Europe, Australia and the United States – so that each region evaluates the wines from that region and its nearby areas.

Public voting commences on July 31, 2017 and concludes on October 30, 2017. Judging of the finalists will follow and BWW will announce the Best Wine in the World and the winners of the different categories at the inaugural BWW Awards Gala, to be held in the United States on January 25, 2018.

The competition is organized by the world’s largest wine information service Tastingbook.com (http://www.tastingbook.com) and the world’s leading fine wine magazines – FINE Magazines (http://www.fine-magazines.com).

For more information about the competition, please visit http://www.bestwineoftheworld.com.

BWW warmly welcomes all vineyards to enter their wine for the competition.

Registration is the easiest, fastest, and most affordable in the business.

Registration opened on May 21 at http://www.bestwineoftheworld.com and judging commences on July 31.

2017 Slow Wine Tour is Proud to Announce the Latest and Most Progressive Edition of Its Annual ‘Slow Wine Guide’

January 19, 2017 by evebushman Leave a Comment

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – This January, Slow Food International and Slow Wine Editore will release the latest English-language edition of Slow Wine, the renowned annual guide to over 400 of Italy’s best wineries, during the 2017 Slow Wine US Tour. The co-sponsors of this year’s tour are the town of Montecatini in Tuscany, internationally renowned for its world-class spas, and logistics solutions experts Bcubed.

This year, in support of open borders in Europe, Slow Wine is expanding theirs for the first time ever to Slovenia: Brda winery in Collio and Kras in Carso will be reviewed using the same “Slow” philosophy that is at the core of the guide. The 2017 edition will also include a list of 100 Drink Slow restaurants in Italy that share Slow Wine’s values. The Slow Wine guide publisher, Slow Wine Editore, and a delegation of its top wineries will hold tasting events for press and trade during their annual multi-city US tour, stopping in San Francisco, Austin and New York City, as well as Seattle for the first time ever.

“We know how important Seattle has become in the US market and are very excited to be there and meet the most important wine influencers in the area.” Olivia Reviglio, Slow Wine

Slow Wine recognizes that the wineries they review not only put their hearts and souls into the wines they produce, but also into the land on which it is made. The guide uses the following symbols to evaluate each winery:

The Snail, the Slow Food symbol, signals a cellar that has distinguished itself through its interpretation of sensorial, territorial, environmental and personal values in harmony with the Slow Food philosophy. Only wineries that are herbicide free can receive the Snail.
The Bottle, allocated to cellars that show a consistently high quality throughout their range of wines.
The Coin, an indicator of great value.

Slow Wine featured wines represent outstanding quality, expressing the history and identity of the land from which they come in each sip. The dates and locations of the 2017 Slow Wine US Tour are:

January 24th, San Francisco: Terra Gallery
January 26th, Seattle: Seattle Center – Fisher Pavilion
January 30th, Austin: Fair Market
February 1st, New York: Eataly NYC Downtown

**********
About Slow Wine: The Slow Wine Guide, published by Slow Food Editore (the publishing arm of Slow Food Italy**), adopts a new approach to wine criticism and looks at a variety of factors to evaluate wineries in their entirety. They take into consideration wine quality, history and adherence to terroir, value, environmental sensitivity and ecologically sustainable methods of practice. Slow Wine was conceived to give a realistic snapshot of the current Italian wine landscape. The guide features reviews of 400 different wineries, each one visited by Slow Food experts. It is available for purchase on Amazon.com as well as in select bookstores.

**Slow Food International is a global grassroots organization that envisions a world in which all people can access and enjoy food that is good for them, good for those who grow it and good for the planet. A non-profit member-supported association, Slow Food was founded in Italy in 1989 to counter the rise of fast food and fast life and the disappearance of local food traditions, and to encourage people to be aware about the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.

Foodable Launches Top 100 Social Chefs 2016 and Chef Alliance

January 12, 2017 by evebushman Leave a Comment

Foodable Network, the premier web TV network for the restaurant and hospitality industry, is proud to announce its newest platform: the Chef’s Alliance, a guide to the top 1,000 chefs and artisans from the United States, Canada and Europe.

Whether they are chefs, pastry chefs, mixologists, restaurateurs, sommeliers, baristas, or brewers, these innovative, culinary masterminds are performing at the highest level in their craft across the digital space. And no, this ranking isn’t handpicked by an editorial team — it’s all based on unstructured data.

The Chef’s Alliance is powered by the industry’s largest foodservice and chef-focused social data analysis platform, through Foodable Labs and the Restaurant Social Media Index, which tracks more than 200,000 chefs and 220 million global restaurant consumers over 500,000 foodservice locations.

Using this unbiased feedback, each chef’s score is measured by three different metrics, making up a 300-point scoring system. This point system is also weighted to account for major network celebrity chefs, giving all artisans an equal playing field across the board. The three metrics are: food sentiment, service sentiment and engagement, both in consumer-to-chef and chef-to-chef interactions.

Chefs and artisans from all cuisines and various regions are featured in the platform. With each artisan’s score, visitors will also find their most popular dishes, specialties, resources, biography and more.

Interested in digging deeper? See Foodable’s latest report and first-ever interactive guide, the Top 100 Social Chefs of 2016.

What is a “social chef”? As technology has advanced, chef success goes beyond the right ingredients and cooking techniques — social media has allowed chefs to become their own brand. This report features the Top 100 Social Chefs who do this best. The full report includes the ranking of the top 100 social chefs in the United States, leading culinary trends, leading beverage trends, the best digital practices for chefs and more.

Both the Chef’s Alliance and Top 100 Social Chefs guides are dynamic and evolving, updating frequently with new profiles and other rich content as new information floods the industry. Be sure to keep up and check in often!

Explore today here.

ABOUT FOODABLE LABS:
Foodable Labs™ is a combination of modern agency services and groundbreaking, proprietary data intelligence for the foodservice industry. Foodable Labs™’ research and consulting is powered by the most expansive social data available today, and with integration of its patented in restaurant technology, provides global industry insights and one-of-a-kind overviews on chef, operator, and consumer-behavior trends.

ABOUT FOODABLE NETWORK:
Launched in September 2013, Foodable Network is a media organization founded by restaurant industry publisher and producer, Paul Barron. With the largest social media audience and reach in restaurant trade, Foodable reaches chefs, operators and brands nationwide and internationally in Canada and the U.K. through broadcast-quality production, strong editorial content, the Foodable Top 25 rankings, reports and insights, the Foodable Annual Tech Guide and events such as Foodable.io. Visit us at http://www.FoodableTV.com.

To be a Tourist in Greece on the Edge of Uncertainty, by Barbara Barrielle

November 30, 2015 by evebushman Leave a Comment

When planning a trip to Europe months in advance the last thing you anticipate is that the country will be on the brink of financial disaster and in danger of being kicked out of a powerful union. I mean, I had been to Greece 18 months before and everyone talked about the dire financial situation and unemployment bu, being removed from the European Union and going back to the drachma? Never would have crossed my mind.

But, it was on that earlier trip sponsored by a Greek travel commission that I discovered the reason for my return….no, not the men or the monuments but the wine and the food it makes better. I was invited by some wineries I had helped promote in Los Angeles and was looking at putting together high end wine tours to Greece (launching this Fall).

There were murmurs as we were preparing to head to Greece to visit two famous wine areas in northern Greece as well as Athens. Flying Premium Economy on Lufthansa and landing in the capital welcomed by Best Travel’s Mercedes limo is a good way to start but entering the city and seeing long lines at ATM machines gave a clue to what the week would be like.

The hotel we found through Hotwire, Athens Ledra, for $89, turned out to have some of the best beds I have ever slept in and a commanding view of the Acropolis from the rooftop pool. But, as I found out, most places in Athens have views of the famous hill and its classic Parthenon. At least the Ledra had a shuttle to the heart of the historic area.

We headed to the Acropolis and Acropolis Museum early, getting there by 10 AM, which was still too late with the hordes of tourists ready to spend 12 Euros just to walk around the ruins…well, they are some pretty incredible ruins and are so worth the walk and the people. On the way, I hit an ATM with no line and easily withdrew 150 Euros which turned out to be a wise decision given the fact that soon credit cards would no longer be accepted by most restaurants and shops.

After the Acropolis, head either to its Museum, or at least to the Museum entrance where you can look down into some excavated ruins. On the other side of the Acropolis, walk toward the Agora area where you can see even more ruins and some beautifully preserved sculpture. And then a Greek salad and some tzatziki in a charming taverna in the Plaka area can make anyone forget a country in turmoil.

Athens is the heart of the political action so there was buzz everywhere and opinions ran rampant. Any bar, restaurant or hotel lobby had Athenians tuned to the latest news as if there were updates on a minute-to-minute basis. The whole country was on alert and preparing for the YES or NO vote occurring on Monday, July 6^th, everyone planning the pilgrimage to their home district for the historic vote. Vacations were canceled, spending was curtailed and worry lined the faces of older Greeks.

But, for tourists, food was plentiful and wine flowed. People were kind and did not trouble visitors with their concerns although happy to share their “no” opinion if asked. Heading to the wine country of Naoussa (via Thessaloniki), we found a wealth of unique family wineries that produce the rich, fruity Xinomavro wines that are as much fun to drink as the name is to pronounce. We ate well with lots of little courses call “mezzes” of chicken, beef and even goat, but restaurants were noticeably more empty than usual.

We then headed to another area where wine is plentiful called Domaine Porto Carras. Owned by a large Greek family that bought the vineyards and its five star resort out of foreclosure, they have brought the largest vineyard in Greece back to its vibrant life and have actually rescued and given re-birth to forgotten varietals like Limnio and Malagouzia. The all-female winemaking team manages a vast amount of varietals like Assyrtiko, and native and French blends across the board.

The stunning Porto Carras Resort was completely sold out when we arrived but most of its beachfront and marina-side rooms were occupied by foreigners unaffected by the crisis. Greeks visitors had been canceling a bit but business was brisk, restaurants were packed and cocktails flowed in between bottles of wine. Laying on the beach with a mojito or swimming in the crystal blue Aegean seems a far cry from closed banks, ATM lines and conference rooms in Brussels. Greece will remain historic and proud, their olives and wines unique and the warmth of the people unforgettable. The best we can do for them now is visit, eat, drink, spend money and enjoy sunsets, warm seas and history.

KITA Wines and the Camp 4 Vineyards of the Chumash Tribe, by Barbara Barrielle

August 20, 2015 by evebushman Leave a Comment

I must admit that, living in Healdsburg, I was mortified when an Indian casino was built into the pristine hills above neighboring Alexander Valley. And I still think River Rock Casino is an eyesore and does not belong perched on a hill overlooking vineyards.

Recently, I discovered a different side of the tribal gaming story and their involvement in wine when trying Kita Wines, “our valley oak” in the Chumash language of Samala. The cool twist on these well-made Central Coast wines is that the Chumash Tribe owns the vineyards and they funded the winery that is headed by Native American winemaker Tara Gomez with assistant winemaker Tymari Lore.

In 2010, the Santa Ynez branch of the Chumash Tribe bought 256 acres of vineyards originally planted by the legendary Fess Parker in 1999. Producing primarily Bordeaux and Rhône varietals at the Camp 4 vineyard, the Tribe sells most of their grapes to other producers but their ownership of the property at the gateway to Happy Canyon prompted the establishment of a Tribe-supported winery. Although she has the benefit of tribe support, Tara is clear that she worked hard to present a business plan to the tribal leaders and continues to have to prove her bottom line.

Tara Gomez studied Enology at Cal State Fresno and was one of only two women graduating in 1998 in the winemaking field. One of her earliest jobs was actually with Fess Parker Winery and this was followed by time in Paso Robles and in Europe honing her winemaking knowledge. She was an accomplished winemaker by 2010 when the Tribe helped her establish Kita Wines.

Kita has the advantage of their own vineyards for their Bordeaux and Rhônes varietals and blends but Tara sources what she considers the best in Santa Rita Hills for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Current Kita offerings include the hip Grenache Blanc and very crisp Sauvignon Blanc as well as T’AYA, “abalone shell” in native Samala language, blend of Marsanne, Roussane and Grenache Blanc which has stone fruit, floral notes and a bit of minerality on the nose which is followed by apricot and honey in the mouth and balanced acid throughout the finish. All whites are $22-24.

On the red side, the Samala word SP’EY means “flower” and this aptly describes Kita’s gorgeous blend of Grenache, Syrah and Carignane, the latter on of Tara Gomez’s favorite varietals. A lovely wine with elegant floral tones, blueberry and candied fruit that develops in long mouth filling flavors of berry, licorice and spice. Great balance and memorable for only $30.

Kita also makes outstanding Pinot Noirs from the popular Hilliard Bruce vineyard in Santa Rita Hills and Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and Syrah from their own Camp 4. Spectacular offerings from an even better story that will only continue to get better with time. Kita wines are offered in tribal casinos throughout the U.S. which certainly raises the stakes of getting a decent glass of wine at the blackjack table!

A DVD Review for Wine 101ers: A Year in Champagne

June 5, 2015 by evebushman Leave a Comment

A film by David Kennard 82 minutes, documentary, color, 2014. In English & French w/ English subtitles (optional English SDH).

From the start – a hot air balloon ride to celebrate a winemaker’s birthday – you see people smiling while working together to get a balloon upright and ready for a journey. This film, encapsulating the working lives of several winemakers, winery owners and families, is meant to entice you into a world filled with “magic and seduction” that is impossible to resist. Here are a few interesting things I’d like to share with wine 101ers and aficionados:

Champagne is the most northerly wine region in continental Europe, so think cold and wet for some of the growing season. The year we viewed was a very wet one and the winery owners were all concerned with how the vintage would turn out.

The soil is pure white chalk (sea shell remnants) with a thin topsoil. At first glance it looks like a dusting of snow to me.

Big names dominate the industry that you’re probably familiar with: Veuve Clicquot, Moet & Chandon, Mumm, Nicolas Feuillatte and Bollinger.

During the film we tour Bollinger. Royal warrants adorn their walls. They have their own barrel maker and have barrels between 5 and 100 years old.

Every harvest comes from hundreds of years of winemaking.

Champagne was a warzone during the War of 1914; they lost one and a half million men. If you visit there are monuments you may visit erected in their honor.

There are over 1 billion Champagne bottles cellared under each city. When you include the cellars of the winemakers it comes to 600 miles of cellars. I can’t even imagine this, but I can certainly appreciate it!

There are several rules set by the CIVC (Le Comité Interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne) dictating things like cellaring, the start and end dates of harvest, how much juice from first press and how high a vine can be from the ground and how long the shoots can be. If a winemaker chooses not to follow the rules he stands to lose his appellation.

Some fields may be sprayed to abate mildew and rot after heavy rains. Then every vine will be hand checked as caterpillars can make holes and rot can get in.

When it’s time for harvest, workers as well as family members take on the task. Champagne flavors are made consistent by blending and “continuous tasting.”

Bottles will be gently turned for one year and aged for another year before sold and eventually getting into the hands of Champagne-thirsty consumers.

Order your copy here: http://firstrunfeatures.com/yearinchampagne.html

Eve Bushman has been reading, writing, taking coursework and tasting wine for over 20 years. She has obtained a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, has been the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video, authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and recently served as a guest judge for the L.A. International Wine Competition. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits that may be answered in a future column. You can also seek her marketing advice via Eve@EveBushmanConsulting.com

Vintage Beacon Circa 9/10: Tanya Green’s Wine 661

May 26, 2015 by evebushman Leave a Comment

This week readers get a peak into the wine world of Tanya Green, owner of Wine 661. Tanya recently celebrated her 2nd year with a candlelight party, does beer and wine tastings, live music but I thought it high time we focus on a local lady living the life of a wine bar owner.

Tanya, please tell readers a little about yourself.

I was born and raised in sunny Southern California (Dana Point, more specifically) surfing, playing soccer and traveling. My interest in wine started when I took my first trip to Europe when I was 17. At the time, French and Italian wines were the first I had ever experienced and I became a huge fan! So much so, that a few years later, I found myself spending the entire summer in Italy and learned a lot more about Italian wines (though, to be honest, learning was a by-product of drinking)!

That was the beginning… After college, I began a career in TV and wine was just a hobby, like it is for most people who enjoy it. But a few years ago, I started to realize that wine was more than just a hobby and wouldn’t it be cool if it were my career?! I asked that question to a friend of mine, who then proceeded to send me information on a few wine bars that were for sale in LA. Wine 661 was the first listing she sent me, the first wine bar I checked out and a few months later, it was mine.

I’ve learned a lot since then, both about the business end of things as well as the wine. I’ve learned a lot about my new home, Valencia and the people that live here. I’m very happy about how things have turned out and am proud of where life has taken me. I’ve met a lot of great people here and I believe that to sip on an amazing glass of…whatever, while I chat with people, makes me just about the luckiest girl alive.

And a little about your bar.

Wine 661 is a hidden gem. I don’t advertise and it isn’t terribly visible from the street so I have sort of an underground, word of mouth following that grows and grows each month.

I think people appreciate the ambience, the live music, the ever-evolving wine list and one of the best beer lists this side of Ventura Boulevard. Nothing makes me happier than a stranger off the street walking into my bar telling me they had to come in because they heard that I carry Belgian beers. The truth is, I carry Belgians, Germans, Czech, French, English and a few American micro-brews. I wanted a beer list as interesting as my wine list and a place for husbands/boyfriends to feel comfortable if they were being dragged to a wine bar. In fact, I do as many “Beer Tasting” events as wine tasting events and people love them!

Another one of my other favorite things here are my cheese flights and chocolate flights. If I had to add to my list favorite things (beer & wine being two of them) cheese and chocolate would be on that list too. So I’m pretty excited about being able to offer three great red wines, paired with three amazing cheeses from all over the world OR three reds paired with three different gourmet chocolates with varying cocoa content.

Any upcoming events?

I’m always planning some kind of event…private parties, tastings, trunk shows… The next tasting on the horizon is: I’m having an Oktoberfest Beer Tasting. My beer expert will be here to introduce new and delicious Oktoberfest beers, discuss the history of the three-week party as well as the history of each brewery and different brewing processes that create such different flavor profiles. I also have Live Music every Friday and Saturday night with bands that change weekly to keep it fresh and fun.

Any great wine stories?

My favorite wine story comes from a small winery in Santa Ynez called Stolpman. I fell in love with their Estate Syrah at a wine bar in Pasadena a few years back and knew that when I eventually took over Wine 661, that I had to carry it but when I finally tracked down the wine rep, I was told that they had sold out for the season.

Devastated and unwilling to accept “no” for an answer, I called the Stolpman Tasting Room to see if I could sweet-talk them into finding three cases for me. When someone answered the phone I could tell that it was not the tasting room, rather, it sounded like I had accidentally reached someone’s cell phone. That someone turned out to be Tom Stolpman, owner of Stolpman Vineyards. WOW!

“I’m not sure how I got your cell number, Sir. I must have grabbed the wrong business card off of the counter the last time I was at your tasting room.” He blew me away by asking how he could help me and when I told him I was about to open a wine bar and I HAD to have three cases of his Estate Syrah or else I was going “freak out,” he laughed and told me that I made his day and that I should call his assistant and she’d make sure I got what I wanted.

I made HIS day? He made my day and has been making it ever since. The Stolpman Estate Syrah is DELICIOUS and I’ll carry it until I retire from the wine business.

Pet peeves?

If we’re honest, we all have pet peeves. Mine is not “novice” wine drinkers, as many might think. I actually enjoy being there for someone’s first glass of really great wine or sampling them on something they don’t think they like and surprise, they love it! My pet peeve is when people are too closed off to try something.

Often people have had a bad experience with a particular varietal and decide from that experience that they don’t like that varietal. The truth is, they didn’t like the way that particular winery represented that varietal. There are simply too many countries, with too many soil-types, too many different farming practices and too many wine-making practices to say that. There are more styles of Shiraz, for example, than we even have the time or opportunity to try in one lifetime, so to say, you don’t like Shiraz simply means, you haven’t tried a style of Shiraz that you like…yet.

Vintage Beacon Circa 7/10: Wine with Carmen

April 28, 2015 by evebushman Leave a Comment

Recently I was thrilled to meet one of my Facebook wine friends in real life: Carmen Russo. We both attended Kirk and Nicole Stinson’s 4th of July party and met, don’t you know, over wine. I had brought a couple of “picnic” wines, a French Rose and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, while Carmen brought wine from her favorite Italian region, Montepulciano. She had quite a bit to say about the benefits of Italian over American wines so I’ve turned our meeting into an interview for Beacon readers:

Carmen, please tell us first about your own background and wine interests:

Growing up in Germany. and spending all my childhood summers in Italy, I learned very early on the secrets of winemaking because my dad’s parents owned some vineyards – as is custom in the southern part of Italy. On my German side, my grandfather is very passionate about wine, and we used to visit local vineyards at harvest times that are close to my hometown in the south of Germany.

Why do you say that Italian wines are better than American wines for those that suffer from headaches?

The winemaking laws in Europe are very strict in regards to altering the process and adding chemicals to it, like preservatives and sugar. The laws have been in place since the 13^th century and are almost the same today. So what causes the headaches are mainly the added sulfates and/or sugar. Since the laws aren’t as strict in the U.S., there are a lot of ways to add chemicals to the wine than in the old country.

I know you like Italian wines better than American in general, why should readers learn more…what are they missing?

Well, there are good wines out here too, it depends strongly on the year. The big difference between Cali wines and European wines lies in the combination between soil, quality of the grapes, temperature and water. Also important are the additives. For example in Germany the wine grows best on volcanic soil, certain temperatures in the summer and a very cold winter. I noticed Cali wines are very acidy in comparison to Italian wines.

Where do you like to go for wine in Santa Clarita?

La Chene would be a good place, and anywhere they serve international wines.

Wine 101: Take Our Quiz and Learn

April 3, 2015 by evebushman Leave a Comment

In looking at new ways to help wine 101ers learn about wine I remembered that in the weeks I was studying for my WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust) test I asked the other students to my home for some group study meetings. During one of those sessions one woman had found a really cool website that had a multiple choice quiz. As you answered the questions correctly you would get harder and harder questions. It really did help my education.

This isn’t it, but it does have questions that get gradually harder: http://www.wine-pages.com/resources/quizzes.html

Berry Brothers, a store in London has one also. The first 10 questions start easy and can be exchanged for 10 harder ones, and looks closer to what we studied with: http://www.bbr.com/quiz

Then I decided, what the heck, I’ll do my own for you peeps to learn a little with:

Our Beginners Test

1. What is the average alcohol percentage for wine?

a. Under 5%.

b. Over 15%

c. While both domestic and European wines hover between 13% to 15% alcohol content, some wines are a percentage below or above.

2. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes are widely grown in which area of France:

a. Bordeaux

b. Champagne

c. Rhone Valley

3. True or False: Champagne from Champagne, France, is the same as what we call Sparkling wine made anywhere else.

4. The color of red wine comes primarily from what?

a. The entire grape, red or white.

b. The length of the skin contact in the winemaking process.

c. Food coloring.

5. Finish this sentence, “Burgundy and Chablis wines…”

a. “…were common names for red and white blended wines in the United States about five decades ago.

b. “…are still popular wine names in France.”

c. “…are primarily made from Pinot Noir (Burgundy) and Chardonnay (Chablis) grapes.

d. all of the above.

6. True or False: An Australian Shiraz and a United States grown Syrah are the same grape but grown in different countries.

7. What is the most famous wine grape growing region outside of United States’ Napa Valley?

a. Bordeaux

b. Burgundy

c. Australia

d. South Africa

e. Chile

f. New Zealand

g. None of the above

8. Of the wine regions listed above, which region is the most known for making Champagne?

a. Bordeaux

b. Burgundy

c. Australia

d. South Africa

e. Chile

f. New Zealand

g. None of the above

9. Finish this sentence, “If a wine doesn’t taste good it could be due to…”

a. You ordered a wine that you’ve never had before, and you don’t like it.

b. TCA cork taint, where the cork is faulty and the wine has a wet cardboard mildew smell.

c. You now regret the that price you paid.

d. All of the above.

10. When can you send wine back that you’ve already sampled?

a. You don’t like it.

b. Cork taint.

c. You didn’t see the price.

Bonus question

11. How often to you read Eve’s Wine 101?

a. Every damn day.

b. All of the above.

c. What she said ^^.

Answers: 1: c, 2: a, 3: False, 4: b, 5: d, 6: True, 7: a, 8: g, 9: d, 10: b, 11: a, b and c!