I like checking in with you folks every once in a while. And I actually have a bit to share!
Chardonnay Week
I wouldn’t say Chardonnay Week was necessarily a success—after all, I didn’t even have a fifth review ready to go, so it was Four Chardonnay Days—but this is a variety I don’t tend to choose often, so I had a good time focusing on it for a while. Now I never want a chardonnay ever again (ok, not never).
The four Chardonnay Week reviews were:
- 2008 TRE Chardonnay (85)
- 2007 La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay (79)
- 2007 Murphy-Goode Sonoma County Chardonnay (88)
- 2009 Salmon Creek California Chardonnay (71)
All in all, a nice range. Though, unsurprisingly to me, nothing really blew me out of the water. That Murphy-Goode could start to turn me into a chard fan, though.
Hello Vino
Got an iPhone? If you do, there’s a free app in the App Store you should get: Hello Vino. In addition to being a great source of inspiration in your wine selections, it now features wine reviews from some pretty amazing people: Vinopanion’s Ward Kadel, 1 Wine Dude’s Joe Roberts, Luscious Lush Thea Dweile, The Chicago Tribune’s Bill Daley, and—yes, it’s true—me. I couldn’t be more honored and excited to have my words featured alongside these, and other accomplished writers.
Totally excited about this. I’m pretty sure it means someone likes what I’m doing!
2010 American Wine Blog Awards
Yeah, by now you’ve heard me scream about it on Twitter and/or Facebook, you’ve seen the note atop every page here, and the badge in the sidebar: Notes From The Cellar is a finalist for Best New Wine Blog in the 2010 Wine Blog Awards.
I think it’s pretty amazing, personally. I’m in great company, especially with one of my Three Amigos, Josh Wade of Drink Nectar. The award winners will be announced at the Wine Blogger’s Conference in Walla Walla, Washington late in June. I’ll be there, and hopefully, bringing back a little hardware with me. Even if it’s in the digital, noncorporeal form.
By the by… if you haven’t voted yet, you can do so right here, through the weekend. I’d be much obliged!
Cabernet Shootout
Details are still a little sketchy on this one, as it has just come across my desk, but I have been invited to be a judge at the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Shootout this summer! Put on by Affairs of the Vine, the same folks who did the Pinot Noir Shootout/Summit this past spring, the Cab Shootout is a real, honest-to-buddha, wine competition. And they want me to be a judge! Like, a real one! With input and stuff!
I don’t know, either.
Gary V
Right around the time I started this blog, I was way in to Gary Vaynerchuk’s CRUSH IT!, a book about grabbing your passion by the balls and throttling it (in a manner of speaking). About then, I met him at a book signing at V. Sattui in St. Helena and he was a super-cool guy. Of course, we didn’t have any time to really chat: he had a huge line, and my wine blog was so young I’d reviewed just two wines.
I’m meeting him again next Tuesday, and this time we’re going to have a little more time to talk, and a little more to talk about. The smooth operators at VinTank are putting on a something-or-other for some bloggers and Gary V, and “some bloggers” includes me (again… for some reason. I’m not convinced I haven’t been mistakenly invited).
I’ve also got some incredible stuff in the works with VinTank coming up in the near future, but it’s way too early to even talk about it.
Secret Project!
I’m building a social network.
OK, I guess that’s all. Things are really looking up these days, and I absolutely love what I’m doing here at Notes. Stay tuned, and hopefully you’ll get all geeked out on what’s to come just like I am.