Hallelujah, Hallelujah, God all mighty, Hallelujah. I’ve seen the light and held the hand of the Devil as I walked through the shadows. Free at last, I’m free at last. I have no idea what that means but…

If you like wine – like even this much l..l – the BLOOD INTO WINE trailer

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The European Wine Blogger’s Conference  is announcing its 2010 location in Vienna, Austria, on October 22-24!

Last year’s conference, held in Lisbon, Portugal, brought together over 120 bloggers, social media innovators and wine industry leaders from 14 different countries. Compared to the first edition, held in 2008 in Logroño, Spain, participation tripled, with very positive results. After the event, the bloggers provided a wealth of feedback online by means of articles, photos, videos and tweets, all praising this exceptional experience and the warm hospitality, friendliness, beauty and gastronomy of the host country.

For more information, please visit the European Wine Bloggers Conference site —>

Jancis Robinson, Michael Broadbent and Hugh Johnson to feature as charity pantomime Vinderella hits the London stage

Theatregoers are being promised a ‘witty, outrageous and colourful show’ as members of the wine trade meet on stage next week in a specially written pantomime to raise money for charity.

The cast of Vinderella has been assembled from figures across the drinks industry, and is set to include Anna Noble of Phipps PR as Vinderella, Venla Freeman from the Wine Institute of California as Bouchon, and wine writer Charles Metcalfe as Botrytis Moisi…

Read the rest of the article on Decanter website…

For information on ticket availability and purchasing, please visit The Benevolent website.

I’ve been a fan of Randall Grahm’s ever since I saw him being interviewed by Jancis Robinson on her DVD series 2-3 years ago. I’d read about the “Rhone Ranger” long before that but never thought much about the title other than “hey, cool title”. I didn’t really know much about the MAN until I heard him speak and it was that which he spoke (THE TRUTH) that made me do some resarch way back when – aha, this cat’s the Rhone Ranger – even cooler.

If there’s a BACK TO THE FUTURE Part whatever, I’m personally going to suggest Mr. Grahm as the quirky Professor – because if there’s anyone who can tune a Citroën DS-21 to do the speed of light, I’ll put my money on this guy any day!

After buying and inhaling his book BEEN DOON SO LONG (worth every Grahm by the way) over the holidays – yes, I always inhale and I love blunts by the way, a tie we have due to the CIGAR – I thought it would be great to interview him. And since I have the site in which to publish such an interview, I got on the horn. Here are the results… enjoy!

*****     *****     *****

Wine On The Rocks – Been Doon So Long was „twenty (or so) years in the making“ – has everything been said or can we expect a second book any time soon?

Randall Grahm – Well, certainly a lot has been said. (It’s a pretty weighty tome, and does deliver a lot of words/pound.) But I am greatly looking forward to the next book, which will be written in a very different genre.  (I could tell you, but I would have to etc. etc.)  I am hoping that next book will be a little quicker to complete. Were it to take as long as the first book, I will be drooling and incontinent before its completion (or significantly more than I currently am.)

WOTR- How fine is the line between Randall Grahm the artist and winemaker?

RG – There is no line; there is just one person. Without being too pretentious about it (watch it there, Randall) winemaking, or more accurately, winegrowing is my spiritual practice.  If I have any shot at all at becoming a slightly more grounded and “present” person, it will have to come through farming.

WOTR – In your book you mention that you went „off track“ on more than once a occasion – do you feel you’re on track now?

RG – Definitely on track now, at least as far as focus and intention, if not currently burning things up with case sales.

WOTR – In Twitter style (140 characters or less) – please sum up your view on critics & their point scores.

RG – Wine critics, not wishing to appear foolish or inconsistent (they’re human beings, after all) reify point scores. What utter folly!

WOTR – Who do you consider an inspiration (three people) in today’s wine world?

RG – Gerard Chave, Josko Gravner, Helmut Dönnhoff – three very different personages, but all making great contributions.

WOTR – If Nebbiolo is Italy’s leading grape, where does Sagrantino stand?

RG – Sagrantino is a reasonably close second; I’m still not yet persuaded that it is capable of making a wine of extraordinary finesse on its own, but perhaps if blended with other grapes can make great wines, capable of very long ageing.

WOTR – Please finish this sentence: The underdog is always…

RG – The underdog (at least this one) is convinced of the righteousness of his cause, but would happily trade a little bit of correctness for just a tad more market share.

WOTR – Is there a market/are there markets where your wines don’t find acceptance (due to screw cap)?

RG – We haven’t been terribly lucky selling our screwcap wines (all of our wines have screwcaps) in Italy, but I’m not sure that the problem is screwcaps.  In general, screwcaps seem to be well accepted everywhere.

WOTR – How would you describe Biodynamic in simple terms for non-wine geeks?

RG – Biodynamics is an agricultural practice, based (somewhat extrapolated) on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner.  It superficially resembles organic farming in its eschewal of synthetic materials (fertilizers, pesticides), but its aim is rather different.  It speaks to the creation of a farm as a truly self-sustaining organism, with an aim to developing the uniqueness of the site.  (Happily for me, biodynamics seems to be a great methodology for the discovery of terroir.)  The principle methodologies of biodynamics are: 1) the use of the biodynamic calendar, believing that there is a certain periodicity to nature’s rhythms and on a given day, there may be one part of the plant that has greater activity than another. 2) the use of the biodynamic preparations, which are used as form of agricultural homeopathy, stimulating a particular plant process (photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, etc.)  3) the utilization of livestock on the site as a means of enhancing fertility and bringing about a greater ecological balance, 4) the use of biodynamic compost as the principle delivery system of replacing soil fertility.  In general, the aim of biodynamics is to enhance the overall health of a farm so that the plants might better meet the environmental challenges (pests, drought, etc.) they are facing.

WOTR – Ca’ del Solo was certified Biodynamic in 06 – after 3 years, are the results in the bottle very different in comparison to 5-6 years ago?

RG – The wines do seem to be exhibiting increasingly more minerality and better consistency in ripening. In candor, it is often really hard to separate out the effects of biodynamic practice from the vagaries of a particular vintage year.  In general, the quality of our wines has improved dramatically, but I’m not sure if I can attribute this all to biodynamics. Some of the vineyards where we are practicing biodynamics actually fared pretty miserably this year.  (But it was a tough year.)

WOTR – We Twittered last week about Emidio Pepe and his demijohns, how did you come across this producer from Abruzzo? Do you have an opinion on the region and wines in general?

RG – I ran into Pepe’s wines rather by accident, while chatting with a restaurateur in Philadephia of all places and he was gracious enough to open a number of old bottlings, which all seemed incredibly young. I don’t know the region very well, only been to visit twice, and have actually imported some lovely wine from the area, under our “Il Circo” label.  In general, I very much like the Abruzzo wines as solid, dependable go-to food wines and they generally offer among the best values in Italian wine.  I have attempted to grow Montepulciano in California on one occasion and will say that it is one of the strangest grape vines I have ever seen.  (It does look as if it comes from Mars.)  Pepe’s wines, for the record, are absolutely amazing, now, alas, breathtakingly expensive, but that is the way of the world.

WOTR – Please fill in after the “=”:

Great terroir in the wrong hands =

It of course depends on how wrong are these hands.  If wrong hands are simply ham-handed, the great terroir will shine through and no harm, no foul, as they say in the NBA.  If the hands are really wrong, i.e. oenvil, i.e. grossly manipulative, it will be a tragedy of great dimension.

So-so terroir in the right hands =

Yet another clever wine that will sell well, but in no way appreciably changes anything.

Great terroir in great hands =

The gods are smiling and the world is deeply enriched.

WOTR  – Which CD is in your player/car at this very moment? – or -
If I were to turn on your iPod at this very moment, which song or artist would be highlighted in the play list?

RG – I do have a recently installed CD player in the trunk of my Citroën DS-21 (It was a retrofit, obviously.)  I haven’t quite figured out how to turn it on, but when I do, there are some Mozart concerti ready to go.

WOTR – Merci!

RG – Je t’en prie.

For those of you living in or visiting London on JAN 20, the annual Bibendum Tasting at the Saatchi Gallery is an event not to be missed. The biggest problem at such events is not which wine to taste but which wine to taste first – luxury problems I like to call them. 1000 wines, 200 producers and a fantastic location to boot.

I’ve added this event to my schedule upon hearing how well it’s put together and the Bibendum team is allowing me inside with my camera and has given me carte-blanche when it comes to doing interviews as well. Thank you Bibendum :-) See you there!

For more info, please read on (info available on the Bibendum Times website) -

Event Information

There’s nothing else like a Bibendum Annual Tasting. It’s a full frontal onslaught on all the senses and if you’ve never experienced it before then we suggest that Bibendum Times at the Saatchi Gallery is the perfect place to start.

The annual tasting features over 1,000 brilliant bottles from more than 200 winemakers, all there to share their passion with you on the day. View some of the producers already confirmed to attend or download the full list of all attending producers as a PDF. More than just a tasting, it’s a chance to join all of us at Bibendum for a massive celebration of all things wine. It’s the biggest day of our year, mainly because it’s when we get to meet all of you.

Bibendum Times is all about where we are now, where we’re going and all the fun we’re all going to have along the way. On the day you’ll have the chance to get involved in all sorts of new ways; not just through sampling some of the best wines from around the world (don’t worry, there will be no shortage of that!) but also on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube, even the technophobes among you! So RSVP now and we’ll see you on the day!

When: 20^th January 2010 9.30am – 7.00pm

Where:  Saatchi Gallery, Kings Road, London, SW3 4SQ

What a whirlwind week it’s been. Miss Earlywood and I flew in to Lisbon a couple of days early in order to take in the Lisbon sights, scene, food and wine  – the calm before the storm.

Take 1 – You have to visit Lisbon

I love this city! Not too big and not too small. Big enough to fill 3-4 days without having the feeling you’ve missed anything. Lots to discover.

Take 2 – Culinary treats,  great value wines out the yin-yang and man, do they know their coffee

My favourite place to eat was RESTAURANTE BEIRA GARE (R. Primeiro de Dezembro), a stone’s throw from the Theatre.  As the first rule of thumb goes – if the locals eat there, you should too. This is not the kind of place to go on a first date since the set-up is all but romantic but if you happen to score on the night of your first date after it being spent in that “other place” (and yes, that goes for the gals too), it’s the place to “regenerate” the day after with a medley of tasty tid-bits, protein loaded bacalhau and vinho verde… then go home and start all over again. Yes, you know what I mean. Recommendation: the pork sandwiches if pork is your thing!!! Yummé!

Coffee – I had the fortune of enjoying every cup ordered. Even the drip coffee in the hotel (VIP Hotel Lisbon – viphotels.com) was very good. In a perfect world, great coffee would be served everywhere. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world.

Take 3 – The EWBC an overview

Thanks to Gabriella and Ryan Opaz (Catavino.net) in coop with the Adegga team (adegga.com) and Robert Macintosh of (wineconversation.com), the conference was a huge success. The logistic details for such an event are endless and everything worked like a fine oiled machine. When Robert asked “Who can’t connect to the internet?” in a room with 100 people and only four raised their hand, my thought was WOW! Only 4? And you know what? They DID get those four people online.

Not only were the conference sessions well organised, open discussions were encouraged and many took part. The eclectic mix of participants, languages, backgrounds and projects was quite overwhelming. Everyone mingled, there was absolutely no feeling of competition and everyone seemed to b interested in what other’s were doing.

The events organised around the conference had something for everyone and the sponsors didn’t skimp a bit. Very impressed I was and kudos to the progressive Portuguese wine scene. A definite highlight in anyone’s calendar, a guided tasting with the Douro Boys (douroboys.com) which took place on Friday the 31st! And not only that, followed up by a trip to Douro with the Boys opening up their cellars and dining rooms for the lucky 30 or so who were lucky enough to take part on the following Monday and Tuesday. My head is still spinning. Another tip when visiting the Douro Valley – Aquapura Hotel (aquapurahotels.com). There’s 5 star and there’s 5 star. Enough said!

Not to mention the fabulous and numerous wine tastings and dinners organised around the conference. I now have to go on a diet – but that’s nothing new.

Take 4 – The EWBC and why I hope it takes place in 2010

The Wine Blogging scene in Europe is quite large but in my opinion it’s puttering along with quick tools and is having trouble shifting gears because of it… keeping up at such a quick pace without a map isn’t easy. But the great thing is, everyone I met loves to drive and wants to get better it (myself included). None of the participants were resting on their laurels and progression was surely the general objective, regardless of how long or how often one’s been blogging or has been in the wine industry – and yes, there were some very seasoned professionals in attendance.

The energy and motivational level was very high and the feeling you were taking part in something new, something with potential, was quite electric. The only way is up and that’s a good thing.

In my opinion, it’s extremely important that the EWBC take place in 2010, regardless of where it is, in order to keep up the momentum currently won. The objective should be to progress exponentially by next year and take things to the next level. Without a goal such as the EWBC to look forward to, it will surely be more difficult.

I would love to see people working more collectively. Not just by adding buddy links but through creative exchange. If you feel you’re missing a resource (photography, writing, video, tech stuff, whatever…) find it one way or another and give back. We aren’t going to do this alone.

Take 5 – What I’d like to see at the EWBC in 2010

Blogger Case Studies – a yearly review of three or four blogs based on the practical use of things learned at the 2009 EWBC.

Video Blogging Workshop (hardware, software, conception shooting, editing and sound basics) Maybe picking out 2 or 3 particpants to conceive a EWBC trailer, shoot footage over 2 days time, edit it on the spot and have a showing at the closing dinner?

Hhhmmmm – more to come if I think of anything! Any suggestions??

In conclusion – an experience I won’t forget anytime soon. I met so many people I can’t wait to see again and you know what? I’m sure I will!

You can expect a vid soon and I’d love to hear your feedback :-)

FB

I’m honoured to have been asked to join the panel on videoblogging at the 2009 European Wine Bloggers Conference which will be taking place in Lisbon, Portugal between October 30 and November 1, 2009.

The panel discussion will cover subjects such as Videoblogging Today, What Works, What D’oesnt, How To Get Started and so forth. Other panelists include Denise Medrano (The Wine Sleuth), Zev Robinson (Art After Science) and Eduardo Benito (Vinus TV). So I’m looking forward to giving my input and reporting on the themes touched during the conference.

EWBC info:

Bringing together bloggers of all backgrounds including: winemakers, wine writers, marketers, retailers and distributors from around the world, this year’s conference will address, “The Future of the Social Wine Brand”.

The 100 wine bloggers expected at the EWBC 2009 will not only attend a wide range of educational sessions, but also visit several key wineries within easy reach of Lisbon in addition to a host of traditional Portuguese meals. The entire event will provide ample opportunity for bloggers to experience the food, wine and culture of Portugal, all while discussing issues pertinent to the future of the social wine brand.

For further information, please visit: http://winebloggersconference.org/europe/
or email: ewbc09@wineblogger.info

It’s approximately two weeks before I go online with the first show. I’ve talked myself into “just letting it happen”. I know what I want to talk about as well as the segments I will cover but in the end, shoot day will be the judge.

It’s one thing to produce fun trailers but with the deadline creeping up slowly but surely, the website has to be finalised – this being the result -, a show opener has to be produced (still no idea what it will be), a location will have to be found, newsletter worthy material to write, marketing material printed, set up my new wine seminar studio by October 1st, and then I have my “day job”.

But it’s all good… I hope. In the end, it will be you, the viewer who will decide how/if it continues. So please feel free – this is actually me demanding you – to leave many comments and feedback in order for us to keep this entertaining but at the same time, full of facts you actually wanted to hear and learn about.

As this entry is being written, I’m  planning a trip to Veneto (Monti Lessini and Valpolicella) to take part in the yearly harvest and visit some fine producers. Time permitting, I will also shoot down to Tuscany as I’d like to visiti Candace and Ferenc Maté in order to taste their wines – which I could virtually taste while reading their novel “A Vineyard in Tuscany”… definitely worth the read.

Keep on keepin’ ON!

Finkus

Blog left and blog right, it seems even 90 year young Ms. Miller has a blog and one for Fido to boot. Yes we love Ms. Miller and Fido is such a darling, who wouldn’t want to see him in various poses and wearing Ms. Miller’s dusty hats?

It wasn’t an easy decision to start this project. With the main question being “Does the world really need another blog?”. And if I chose to produce my own, all I knew was, I didn’t want to do what everyone else was doing. Eventhough I respect GaryVee and all he’s done when it comes to wine blogging, I couldn’t support his “Just buy a cheap flip-cam, sound – well sound, OK maybe sound is kind of important – and just talk about your passion.” attitude. I agree with the passion part but couldn’t support the quick-and-dirty look that is just so ever present in today’s blogosphere… fuck how I hate that word!!! And who’s to say that anyone talking into a lense is interesting regardless of the budget they have? Today’s TV shows, which have budgets may I add, are producing pure Scheisse.

So once I knew what I definitely didn’t want, it came down to “am I even able to?” Written blogs are one thing but video’s another. So after shooting a pilot I decided to take the plunge.

Now we get to the fun part: Everything was just so natural and easy without the pressure of producing for the long run. Would this continue? Is the concept right? What’s missing? What should we be taking away? Would the A.I.S., one of the world’s longest standing and traditional sommelier organisations be offended by my view of the wine world and revoke my diploma? Once all the Q’s started, I knew through experience that this would be our largest hurdle if we continued to bombard myself with “ifs and whens”. So before I even began, it was back to basics already. Upon which I decided:

1. I can’t do this with strict commercial intentions.
2. The shows can’t be rehearsed.
3. Themes will be chosen and just run with “on the fly”.
4. The word “FUCK” is allowed.
5. I can’t be afraid to offend traditionalists.
6. The project has to have artistic merit.
7. Music can’t just be a gimmick.
- and last but not least -
8. It has to be fun!

And that brings me to where I am today: ready to go online with the first show on September 15 and a “who cares” attitude with what will come. It’s so funny because it’s exactly this attitude which has brought on the postive feedback to date, and I haven’t even produced a show yet. So it’s definitely something worth pursuing without being cramped about the whole thing.

So with that in mind, I will continue producing till I can produce no more in hopes of coming out a better person by the end.

The question remains, “Does the world need another blog?”… I tend to think so and hope you do as well.

Keep on keepin’ ON!

Finkus