Winecast, a podcast by Tim Elliott Tim Elliott

My first true Winecast in 5 years to celebrate the 10th anniversary of this podcast and wine blog. And there is no better theme than the celebrated, often imitated, but never duplicated sparkling wine region where the modern wine industry was born: Champagne.

Five years and one day after I started this blog and podcast I get back behind the mic and restart regular podcasting. This episode features an interview with Rudy McClain, the filmmaker of the documentary Merlove. I also pick three Merlot wines from my tasting log for review.


Show Notes:


00:30 – Welcome and show theme

02:22 – Interview with Merlove filmmaker Rudy McClain

15:25 – My review of the documentary Merlove (Buy DVD at Amazon: http://bit.ly/8BCTau)

17:35 – Review of Bodegas Osborne, “Solaz”, Merlot-Tempranillo 2006

18:43 – Review of Blackstone, Merlot, Sonoma Reserve 2007

19:18 – Review of Raphael, Merlot 2001

21:37 – Feedback & call for new theme music

22:13 – Next show theme


Tasting Notes:


Bodegas Osborne, “Solaz”, Merlot (65%) Tempranillo (35%), 2006 ($9) – Garnet in color with aromas of black cherry, white pepper, licorice and vanilla. Bold plum and black cherry fruit with black pepper finishing with just a hint of bell pepper and moderate tannins. A very nice table wine for under $10.


13.5% ABV

Synthetic cork closure

Rating: ★★★☆☆


Buy this wine online: http://bit.ly/57N3Bo


Blackstone, Merlot, Sonoma Reserve 2007 ($20/sample) – Dark purple with aromas of black cherry, dark current and sage. Rich plum and dark cherry fruit with some mint finishing with supple tannins.


14.5% ABV

Natural cork closure

Rating: ★★★½☆


Buy this wine online: http://bit.ly/5kjSFZ


Raphael, Merlot, North Fork of Long Island 2001 ($25/750 ml/won in Menu for Hope raffle; tasted from 3L) – Deep garnet in color with aromas of black cherry, currant and mint. Rich black current and black cherry fruit with white pepper, bell pepper flavors finishing with moderate but well integrated tannins. Has structure for another 10 years in the cellar in this format. Outstanding Long Island Merlot that I would guess was from Bordeaux in a blind tasting.


12.5% ABV

Natural cork closure

Rating: ★★★★☆


Buy this wine online: http://bit.ly/6EXF5w


Feedback: winecast@gmail.com

Voicemail: +1-646-495-9244 x 60514

http://drop.io/winecast


Copyright 2009 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Jeff Lefevere and I are back with another edition of the Unfiltered podcast after nearly a year in hiatus. We are joined by Tina Caputo, the Editor-in-Chief of Vineyard & Winery Management magazine, Joel Vincent, Executive Director of the OpenWine Consortium and co-founder of VinTank, and Tom Wark from Wark Communications and FERMENTATION.


Show Notes:


00:26 - Welcome & Introductions

01:18 - Wine Bloggers Conference

07:31 - American Wine Blog Awards

15:55 - Social Media & Wine

23:27 - “Robert Parker’s Bitch” video

48:58 - Tina’s Blog, The Wine Broad’s Board

49:35 - Tom’s Blog, FERMENTATION

49:51 - Jeff’s Blog, Good Grape


Production note: My recording levels were not set correctly and attempts at adjusting this in post-production introduced a lot of noise. This has been corrected for the next episode. These things happen when you don’t podcast for several months ;-)


Feedback: winecast@gmail.com

Voicemail: +1-646-495-9203 ext. 19765

http://drop.io/winecast

Copyright 2009 Acan Media, Inc. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/

Another Quick Picks sharing a wine I enjoyed over the Holidays, an aged Bordeaux blend from Pomerol.


Château Clos René 2000 ($30-60) - Deep crimson-purple in color with aromas of black cherry, dark currant, pencil lead, fennel and mint. Rich black cherry fruit with black pepper and dark chocolate finishing with moderate, but plush, tannins. A delicious Bordeaux blend that has more years ahead of it.


13% ABV

Natural cork

Rating: ★★★★☆


Buy this wine online


Feedback: winecast@gmail.com

Voicemail: +1-646-495-9203 ext. 19765

http://drop.io/winecast

Copyright 2008 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under Creative Commons.

I’m back in action on the 4th anniversary of my first podcast with a high-end Carmenere-led blend from Chile.


Vina Santa Ema, “Rivalta” 2003 - ($68/sample) Dark purple in color with aromas of black currant, plum, blueberry, fennel, mint and vanilla. Rich and concentrated dark currant and blackberry fruit with black pepper and dark chocolate finishing with firm tannins. A delicious Carmenere-led blend that will age at least 4-6 more years.


Feedback: winecast@gmail.com

Voicemail: +1-646-495-9203 ext. 19765

http://drop.io/winecast

Copyright 2008 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/

I'm back with an interview with Etienne Hugel of Hugel & Fils. This family winery has been passed from father to son for 12 generations and makes some of the best wines from France’s Alsace region. We also talk about a virtual tasting over Twitter organized by Bin Ends Wines later this month.


Show Notes:


00:25 - Introduction and background on Hugel & Fils

01:49 - Interview with Etienne Hugel

31:31 - Details of Bin Ends Wines Twitter Tasting

38:57 - Contact Details

39:08 - Next Show Theme


Feedback: winecast@gmail.com

Voicemail: +1-646-495-9203 ext. 19765

http://drop.io/winecast

Copyright 2008 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/