Ah, Spring has Sprung, and this morning I notice that the sun is glowing a little more golden, the breeze caresses me a little more warmly, and the birds are singing a little more cheerfully in my garden.

After struggling to pull myself back inside, I reviewed the latest contents of my inbox and noticed a Google Alert to a story published this morning by Mary Babbitt of the NBC-TV magazine, In Wine Country. Babbitt, host of the half-hour nationally syndicated television show, is local to the Santa Clara Valley area, which is located at the southern tip of the San Francisco Bay. For her show, she visits wineries and wine-related venues and interviews local winemakers and others who live and breathe the wine culture of the greater San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.*

In this morning’s article, Mary mentions California Wine Hikes, the company that this blog supports. It’s true that I organize hiking tours of the Zinfandel Trail at Picchetti Winery, as Mary mentions. In fact, I’ve probably guided more tours along this Zinfandel Trail than any other. It’s a wonderful stretch of trail because it’s a unique example of the best that the Santa Cruz Mountains has to offer: open, brushy chaparral, dark, enchanting bay forest, a gurgling Stevens Creek, and fine views of Coyote Ridge and the Santa Clara Valley. The trail is fun and easy to walk, too, which makes it perfect for hikers and wine lovers of all levels. Hiking always goes well with food, of course, and quite naturally, food goes well with wine. All go well with friendly outdoorsy people, so my tours of the Zinfandel Trail always culminate in a grand feast of a picnic and a tasting of the special Italian-style wines poured in the rustic and enchanting Picchetti tasting room.

I’m proud to receive the mention in Mary’s article. But more than that, I am absolutely ecstatic about the prospect of meeting Mary Babbitt in front of the camera in mid-May at Picchetti Winery.

It sure puts Spring into my step! I’ll let you know when the show airs as soon as I find out. Plus, when it’s available, I’ll attempt to add the NBC podcast here on this blog.

~winehiker

*See my previous post about Mary Babbitt and her In Wine Country show.

• Wine Selector helps you find the perfect wine
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  (tags: wine selector select selection finder pairing cooking drink drinking food reference research resources)
• Good Cheap Wines - Buy Wine Online
  Like to order wine online but are on a budget? Try these weekly wines from goodcheapwines.com.
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• A Wine Mashup: Wines and Times
  If your love of wine and wine-related events matches your love of all things geeky, then you’ll realize that this mashup using Google Maps was inevitable. You might even find it useful.
  (tags: wine mashup technology food pairing research winehiker)

If your love of wine and wine-related events matches your love of all things geeky, then you’ll realize that this mashup using Google Maps was inevitable. You might even find it useful.

read more | digg story

An Irish priest is driving down to New York and gets stopped for speeding in Connecticut. The state trooper smells alcohol on the priest’s breath and then sees an empty wine bottle on the floor of the car. He says, “Sir, have you been drinking?”

“Just water,” says the priest.

The trooper says, “Then why do I smell wine?”

The priest looks at the bottle and says, “Good Lord! He’s done it again!”

~winehiccuper

• Wine drinkers: do you Q?
  Imagine an online wine store that is based loosely on the Netflix model, a website where you can very easily queue up the wines you choose for shipment on a schedule that you set yourself.
  (tags: wine shopping store online queue wineq winehiker http://www.californiawinehikes.com)
• A not-so-routine DUI stop, in which the driver breaks into a routine
  I just have to share this video with y’all; I consider it quite a classic. Filmed from a police cam, and one you must watch through to the end for complete entertainment value.
  (tags: police video dui dance driver cop)

I just have to share this video with y’all; I consider it quite a classic. Filmed from a police cam, and one you must watch through to the end for complete entertainment value. Enjoy!

~winehiker

Imagine an online wine store that is based loosely on the Netflix model, in essence a website where you can very easily queue up the wines you choose for shipment on a schedule that you set yourself. Imagine a site where you can rate and recommend the wines you receive. Imagine also that you can change the quantity or the frequency of your shipments, or even the wines themselves, all by a quick and simple menu or drag-and-drop method. Imagine a site that offers hard-to-find high-quality California wines, many of which are medal-winners, and a blog that announces their arrival.

And now imagine free shipping on orders over $35.

Introducing WineQ.com, a site that I’ve chosen to become a member of because of all these things, and more. I’ve already received my first shipment, and it was a dandy one that included a 2002 Steven Kent Cabernet Sauvignon from the Livermore Valley, a wine that made me feel like I was the very incarnation of a major deity commanding untold Q-less minions from my Mount Olympus throne.

In my next shipment, I expect to receive a bottle of the Escafeld 2004 Petit Verdot from San Antonio Valley, Monterey County, a wine that won a double-gold medal at the recent San Francisco Chronicle wine competition. I love Petite Sirah, too, and so I’m looking forward to trying the Twisted Oak 2004 Silvaspoons Vineyard Petite Sirah from none other than the prestigious El Jefe of elbloggotorcido.com. I’m also eagerly anticipating receipt of the Lava Cap 2003 American River Red.

On the WineQ site, you can read about these wines, and you can review them. In fact, nobody has reviewed the PV from Escafeld yet, so I’m looking forward to perhaps being the first. Did I mention I’ve got at least one bottle of that double-gold PV in my queue for each of my next 3 shipments?

You can do that with WineQ.

As you might imagine, the WineQ business model appeals to the winemakers who make these wines. Elsbeth Wetherill of Escafeld Vineyards has this to say about WineQ, and the ever-irreverent El Jefe of Twisted Oak suggests comparing two wines produced from the same Calaveras County vineyard by two different wine producers who happen to live across the road from each other. El Jefe even suggests a new wine-blogging tradition: Wine Queueing Wednesday. Well, wine not? In my next shipment, in addition to another Escafeld Petite Verdot, I’ll be comparing these two different approaches to this gold country Syrah. And then I’ll review them on WineQ, maybe even in this very blog!

I’d have to say that the only downside to the WineQ experience thus far is the limited inventory of wines. In fact, only 14 California wineries are currently represented. But I think most of us can forgive this of WineQ, since it certainly isn’t an oversight. Being a fairly new company on the scene, but with much talent, vision, and energy in executives Joshua Zader and Marshall Sontag, I believe we’ll see a vastly increased inventory of wines to select from and add to our queues before this Summer’s warmth fades.

What’s more, if you’re a California winemaker who produces 10,000 cases per year, you just might want to Q, too.

~winehiker

• Treat your friends to a memorable adventure, for free
  If you’re thinking about a relaxing, carefree, and memorable winehiking experience with your friends, now you can enjoy one for free. And they’ll love you for it.
  (tags: nature adventure tour friends free hiking wine tasting guide winehiker winehiking http://www.californiawinehikes.com)

Imagine yourself walking along a forested trail lined with pretty colorful wildflowers. The rich smells of the earth delight your senses, the fresh air is invigorating, and the chatter of birds in the brush bring music to your ears. Now add some harmony to that music - your friends!

It’s true: the things you love to do are always more fun when you can share your experiences with people you like to have around you. If you’re thinking about a relaxing, carefree, and memorable winehiking experience with your friends, now you can enjoy one for free. And they’ll love you for it.

~winehiker

• The eyes have it. And they hurt. Winehiker out of commission.
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• From “I, Writer” to iritis
  The blindness is setting in; things ain’t good for the winehiker. Second of a five-part series.
  (tags: eye inflammation iritis winehiker iris)
• Things are beginning to look up
  The steroid eyedrops are beginning to work, but the winehiker still has a long way to go. Third of a five-part series.
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• Seeing my way back to the trail
  The winehiker isn’t out of the woods yet, but he’s back on the trail. Fourth installment of a five-part series.
  (tags: eye inflammation iritis winehiker iris)
• I knew these tastings were “blind”, but this is ridiculous!
  Emerging from the cocoon of opacity: the winehiker is back at work and can almost see, too. Final installment of a five-part series.
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• Wine Blogging Wednesday #31:2004 French Rabbit Pinot Noir
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• Goliath Expedition
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• 8 Things to Reduce Your Stress
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• Earth and Moon Viewer
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• Wine Cellar Sorbets
  Buying dessert? Don’t get carded.
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• U.S. Wine Exports, 95 Percent from California, Jump 30 Percent to $876 Million in 2006
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