I know I’ve got a problem. For untold years, I’ve been searching for a way to solve my problem. Until now, I thought the only way to do that was to simply throw more money at my problem.

Fortunately, the enterprising folks at Health A to Z have furnished me, and the rest of us who need it, with a way to calculate the yearly cost of our alcohol consumption.

Of course, as many of my readers already know, I don’t drink wine — I merely taste wine. But even if you’re budget-conscious, I still maintain: don’t spit — swallow!

~winehiker

• From sexyhotbeauty: Ten Easy Steps To Getting Started In Hiking
  Today’s guest post, albeit a stylized one, which you’ll readily notice if you click through. My conclusion? When all else has you in conniptions, hire an experienced guide. Like me, for instance.
  (tags: active adventure author blister hiking blog hike blogging sexy hot beauty exercise experience feet health nature tours trails travel vacation walking wilderness winehiker winehiking witiculture)
• Blind Wine Tasting Notes: Barolo
  Was it funny, or merely peculiar, that we rated these Barolos this way?
  (tags: 2001 1999 Barolo Nebbiolo grape variety Piemonte Italy Italia wine blog tasting notes winehiker winehiking)
• This just in: Winehiker walks on air!!
  I’ve just this afternoon received something that made my day.
  (tags: active adventure californiawinehikes.com winehiker witiculture winehiking wine hiking blog review blogger)

Golly, I barely know what to say right now, but for the incontrovertible fact that I am floating on a cloud.

Why? Because I’ve just this afternoon received the best review I have seen to date about my efforts, a review so complimentary and diligent in the research behind it that I am overcome with emotion. Apparently the notion of going winehiking is an idea that resonates out there in “We-Love-Our-Wine Land”.

I’ve got Tom Wark to thank for such kind words. Tom runs his own marketing communications firm specializing in local hospitality in the wine trade; he operates out of Glen Ellen in the heart of California’s Sonoma County – prime wine country if there ever was.

I hope you’ll take a moment to read today’s blog post from Tom Wark and then add a comment to let me know if you feel as excited as I do!

~winehiker

Considered to be one of the most noble wines of Italy, Barolo lays claim to the title “Wine of kings, and king of wines.” The wine, named after the Barolo commune from which it originates, is made from the region’s heavily-grown Nebbiolo grape, a dark blue, highly tannic variety that can yield an incredibly powerful wine to the senses.

Barolo can be a hard wine to make, and that can account for its relatively steep price and slim availability. Perhaps it is the latter two factors that influenced our evening of tasting this noble grape when five of us got together on a recent Thursday.

There’s something noble about Barolos, alright, and you often notice it right away in this wine when it’s aged five years. All sorts of color gradations appear, from deep violet to inky blue-black to orange around the rim. Aromas of leather and pine tar permeate the senses, with a hint of roses. I had advised my guests, in preparing for our tasting, to uncork their wines 24 hours ahead and let them breathe overnight, then stopper them in the morning. Two of my guests, I believe, had let them breathe the entire 24 hours. Despite this, some bottles expressed a little funkiness that largely dissipated upon swirling our glasses for 15-20 minutes.

Yes, one must be extraordinarily patient with Barolos, whether winemaker or wine drinker. Because we had been patient with the wines’ oxygenation process, all bottles were very drinkable, with a high degree of collective satisfaction in their taste and body profiles; overall quality was scored moderately, and we feel that aging would only improve all five wines.

Our group also enjoyed pairing our Barolos with two cow’s milk cheeses, namely a mature Fontina, a hard cheese with a mild, somewhat nutty flavor while at the same time rich, herbaceous, and fruity, and a fresh Piave, which exhibits a dense texture and imparts an intense, full-bodied flavor.

About the wines
The wines listed below are ranked top-down, most favorite to least favorite; each is followed by the wine’s heat (alcohol content) and the price per 750ml bottle. In the left column is the actual group score for each wine using my handy-dandy Wine Scoring Sheet, which is based on the 20-point Davis scale. If no link is present, purchase information is not available online.

Below the group ranking, I’ve employed the scoring sheet to tabulate my opinions about each individual wine.

Group Ranking

Winehiker’s Ranking

Analysis
Note that of the five wines, there were two pairs of two that were of the same label; I alluded to this aspect earlier as being a major factor in the night’s tasting. Yet while the scoring of these five wines exists in a fairly tight range, there’s quite a fractious disparity in each of the above rankings when you take the similar labels into account.

While I can sometimes forgive the group for a disparity in scoring two of the same wine, I find it difficult to allow myself the same courtesy. The funny part (“funny peculiar” that is, not “funny ha-ha”) is that while the Rivettos scored similarly in the group rankings, I scored them moderately differently on aroma, balance, and finish, but just enough to gap them by 3 points. The group, on the other hand, scored the Damilanos quite broadly; these took both first and last in the group scores.

Why such puzzling differences?

We decided to perform a “taste-off” of the two Damilanos to more assiduously determine the differences. My own score sheet had suggested from the first pass that aroma, acid, and finish were the main issues, and that’s what they turned out to be. The Damilano that we had favored scored well on second pass, with aromas, acidity, and finish characteristic of a fine wine; the wine from the other Damilano bottle had not quite let go of its off-putting “dirty socks” smell, and seemed much more acidic on the finish.

Not surprisingly, then, we began to examine where we bought our wines. Both had been purchased at Beverages & More, one in Redwood City and the other in San Jose. We speculated that these wines had either arrived in two separate international shipments, or one bottle had been filled from near the top of the barrel while the other had come from near the bottom. Quite possibly storage and transportation issues allowing prolonged exposure to heat were the cause.

I invite my readers to comment on possible additional factors that may have influenced these two inconsistent Damilano bottles.

These circumstances, though they make for interesting discussion, can certainly offer quite an education to all who would learn more about wine. Certainly you could truly enjoy the products of one winemaker for years only to taste a bad bottle that you had already promised your friends would garner high praise.

Conclusions and Recommendations
So, if I were to offer conclusions here, it would be: don’t go to a large chain store to buy imported wine if you can avoid doing so; don’t discontinue your wine club membership because of one bad bottle.

And my recommendations? Keep right on enjoying glass after glass of Barolo. But shop around first for imported wine at a reputable wine merchant that offers a wider selection than the BevMo chain.

~winehiker

Today’s guest post, albeit a “stylized” one, which you’ll readily notice if you click through. My conclusion? When all else has you in conniptions, hire an experienced guide. Like me, for instance.

Ever dreamed of hiking but do not exactly know where to start? Dont worry. You are not alone. You are one of the many who have chosen to embark in the process of staying fit by means of hiking. But good hikers havent reached that level literally and figuratively overnight. They were also briefed on some basic things every hiker must know.

read more | digg story

~winehiker

• Wine Review: The Amazing and Affordable 2001 Lindemans Pyrus
  It’s the most awesome $8 red you’ll ever taste. Smooth like a Bordeaux blend, yet complex and with a nice warm finish. Low acidity, just pure grape perfection.
  (tags: review 2001 Lindeman’s Pyrus red table wine blend Coonawarra Australia blog winehiker winehiking)

17.5 winehiker points*

Last month, my friend Kim passed along a personal wine recommendation to myself and to my friend Vindu. Vindu was the first to respond, saying:

Kim and Russ,

Finally found the 2001 Pyrus in my local Trader Joe’s today. Bought a bottle, cracked it open. OH. MY. GOD. It’s the most awesome $8 red I have ever tasted. Smooth like a Bordeaux blend, yet complex and with a nice warm finish. Low acidity, just pure grape perfection.

I’m going back tomorrow for a case. At least.

Vindu

Having tasted a fair amount of wine in the company of both friends, I figured I didn’t need to be told a third time. In fact, Vindu’s palate often appears to be similar to mine in that he tends to like many of the same flavor and body profiles that I do, plus he and I tend to vote the same group picks at tastings.

I high-tailed it over to Trader Joe’s after a recent local hike. You never know how fast word can spread, and I wanted to make sure I got at least one bottle before this $8 gem was all gone. I arrived at the Los Altos store, scanned the wine aisle, and though I did find some Lindeman’s wines, I didn’t find any Pyrus. The help staff made a call on my behalf to the Sunnyvale store where, sure enough, they had about 18 bottles on hand. A few minutes later, I walked out of that Sunnyvale store with 4 bottles of promise in my hands.

The 2001 vintage of Lindeman’s Pyrus, from the Coonawarra region of Australia, is a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, and 7% Cabernet Franc, and wholly drinkable right out of the bottle. It’s violet color in the glass is pleasing, and so are its immediate berry, cherry, and slight tobacco aromas. There’s even a slight hint of gold in the wine’s color, suggesting that the wine has aged nicely.

On balance, this wine is solid, with a mildly spicy sweetness and an acid/tannin structure that rocks steady. While smooth in body, presumably from the presence of the Merlot, it’s texture on the tongue is not entirely stellar, though it’s mighty close. With the Pyrus’ moderate fruit complexity, rounded balance aspects, medium-full body, and crowd-pleasing finish, I’d say that this wine is an excellent one to tell your friends about.

Thanks, Kim!

But you might just want to keep the Pyrus to yourself as a very well-made and affordable bottle of Bordeaux-style wine for everyday drinking. You better hurry, though — the way my buddy Vindu is buying this stuff, it’s flying off the shelves at Trader Joe’s.

Yep, Vindu has four cases already. And incidentally, Vindu’s got a friend in Australia who laments the current price of the 2001 Pyrus in the Land Down Under to be over $40 a bottle. Good enough reason to stock up now.

$7.99 at Trader Joe’s
Disclosure: I purchased a case of this wine myself from Trader Joe’s. At this price, how could I not?

Also see guest author Vindu Goel’s follow-up post, Pyrus vs. Pyrus: Is the Lindemans Pyrus 2000 better than the 2001?

*Rated on the 20-point Davis scale.

~winehiker

• Earth Observatory: Natural Hazards
  Freely-accessible satellite imagery and scientific information about our home planet.
  (tags: nature photography reference satellite weather natural hazards fires volcanoes hurricanes space NASA)
• HandheldBirds.com
  Trail geeks take note: songs and calls from the new interactive “Handheld Birds” field guide for your PDA.
  (tags: birding birds technology field guide PDA interactive interactivity nature)
• National Park Service
  Find a park, and Experience Your America
  (tags: u.s. national parks nature wilderness hiking camping outdoors)
• Screw-Cap Wines: The List
  Anthony Dias Blue is no Scrooge when it comes to screwcaps.
  (tags: wine tasting puller corkscrew corks screwcaps synthetic plastic ceremony)
• Blind Wine Tasting Notes: Merlot
  Six Merlot wines: notes and scores from a group tasting.
  (tags: 2006 merlot blind wine tasting notes wines blog scoring sheet california)
• A Step Apart: A Few Random Musings
  Target shooter, flyfisherwoman, ecological director, gourmet and wine lover — that’s skyblu of A Step Apart. I would comment on her posts, but despite her talents, I can’t — she might be technically challenged.
  (tags: skyblu step apart blog outdoors yellowstone flyfishing winehiker)

Review of a great red wine from Spain for under ten bucks. [from WineWeekly.com]

read more | digg story

• ENN: Environmental News Network
  ENN provides a global perspective on environmental issues designed to promote thought, discussion, and awareness.
  (tags: environment globe earth world climate news nature species radio opinion)
• The Firefly Forest
  A combination nature journal and species identification guide.
  (tags: firefly nature journal species photography)
• Park Remark : Home
  Providing a perspective on our National Parks not offered through ordinary channels.
  (tags: national parks perspective opinion news viewpoint)