As most of you know by now, I was at the Wine Bloggers Conference last weekend.  There were a ton of things going on (with most of them involving wine, as you might expect). On Friday, we had a “Live WIne Blogging” event for whites and rosés. Going into that event I had absolutely no friggin’ clue of what to expect, and it turned out to be less than the ideal tasting format for me.  Essentially, every five minutes a new wine maker (or someone representing the winery) would come to our table, give us a pour of their wine, and then proceed to bombard us with info about the wine and the winery.  It lasted under an hour, but we tasted ten wines and at the end I was exhausted. It usually takes me a lot longer to germinate and produce an opinion on a wine, but my brother always said I was a bit slow (but then again, his favorite ‘beverage’ is Bud Lite [sp?] so consider the source…). This session was only marginally better than the first in that I knew what to expect. What made it worse was that everyone at the table (eight of us) all wanted to photograph each of the bottles, wasting valuable time.  Way too stressful for me, but I tend to get a bit unhinged every time the wind changes direction.

2008 Gallo Signature Series Cabernet Sauvignon: Gina Gallo (yeah, of those Gallos) is the winemaker. 7% petit verdot—one of those ‘exotic’ grapes right now that everyone thinks is all the rage (I imagine the rest is Cab, but I could not really hear–did I mention I was not a big fan of the ‘Live Blogging’ format?). Retail $40. Nice fruity nose with deep color. Each block of fruit is hand selected by Gina. 15% from the Monte Rosso vineyard (Sonoma), with the rest coming from the William Hill Vineyard–some of the oldest vines in CA. Gallo is the largest winery in the world but still family owned, starting in 1933. Even though they started making jug wine back then, they have been making more serious wines now (bravo?). 2008 was characterized by a really slow ripening season followed by a heat spike at the end. 100% new French oak for 25 months. This is the first vintage of the wine. I am not a big cab fan by any means, but this is not bad, a little fruity and not real tannic, so not sure about holding onto it for that long. Very Good. 89 points.

2010 Seven of Hearts Chatte d’Avignon GSM: Retail $25. Presented by Byron Dooley, the owner and wine maker at Luminous Hills and Seven Hearts. The Seven Hearts label is used to explore other vineyards and varieties (other than pinot). This one is modeled after Southern Rhône. 50 % Grenache 15% Mourvedre 35% Syrah (GSM—the Rhône style of blending). 252 cases produced (so not much at all). The fruit is from the Columbia River Gorge, in Oregon, right along the border with Washington. Suggested pairing: grilled meat. Very light for a GSM, almost pinot like. On the palate, a bit more stuffing and well made. I rally liked this wine and at $25, I would consider it.  Excellent. 90 points.

2008 Maryhill Winery Classic Zinfandel Columbia Valley: This guy is talking way too fast, hard to digest anything he is saying. His message was pretty much “Location location location.” In other words, what matters is where you grow the fruit (not earth shattering news by any means—not a lot of wine making in Flint or in Dubuque). $17. Total production 85K cases (that is a LOT), 15th largest winery in the state (I am not sure if it means they are good they are so big, or if it is good that they are not that big). Not an over the top style of zin which is good for me. Not sure I am catching that much on the back end, though, so it seems a bit one dimensional. 14.5% alcohol. Very Good 87 points.

2010 J. Christopher Pinot Noir Wilammette Valley:  Somewhat light in color. A small winery started by J Summers (I am not sure if i am supposed to know who that is…). Formed a partnership with Ernie Loosen (a German winemaker with a pretty good reputation). $30 retail. This is their main production pinot but they also do some single vineyard stuff. NIce Oregon nose, Very good acidity and balance, but I then am a bit of a pinot whore. Excellent. 90 points.

2010 Archery Summit Premier Cuvee: $48 retail. I love this area in Oregon–the Dundee Hills. I spent a part of the IPNC at Archery Summit and it was fantastic. We did a wine blending seminar there that was a lot of fun and very informative. In my opinion, this wine simply rules, but it ain’t cheap. Expressive red fruit and really high acidity, with relatively high alcohol (14.5%). Needs to calm down a bit but it is all there. Some at the table thought the bottle was flawed, claiming a bit of effervescence on the finish. I call that acidity, folks.  Excellent. 91 points.

2009 Cornerstone Pinot Noir: $50 retail. This winery is also located in Napa where he also makes ‘cabernet sauvignon blanc’ (I guess that is a cool CA winemaker way of avoiding to have to say the same word twice). The winemaker is most keenly focused on how the wine tastes in barrel and claims that the wine becomes less oaky as he leaves it in the barrel a little longer. 14 total months in barrel. 60% new French oak. 13.9%. This was great to taste after the Archery Summit as it was a bit bigger (though less alcohol), with darker fruit and a richer feel. Others at the table felt that this was a bit ‘too constructed’.  If I knew what you meant, I would say something approaching intelligent hopefully. Excellent. 90 points.

2010 Herdade do Esporão Quatro Castas: Retail $17. I have always wanted to visit Portugal, but since I speak absolutely no Portuguese (it was not until I had this wine that I learned the word for ‘four’), it was not really an option while I was leading bike tours, since the company had this pesky little rule that you had to speak the local language. I asked the importer my favorite question: “Is it available in PA?” “Yes.” “Really?” “Yes, I swear to God.” OK then. A very dark color, and seemed that this would be a good burger wine. Importer then says it is the perfect burger wine (You mean, I might know a thing or two?). 1 million bottle producer (yikes, that’s a lot). Big style that I am not really fond of, but this was not bad. $17? A little much for a burger wine in my book.  Good to Very Good. 86 points.

About this time I just ran out of gas, so no more ratings, just some thoughts on the wines….

2010 Decibel Wine Pinot Noir Martinborough: $28. Has that vegetal nose that I associate with NZ. Only 100 cases made. Nice and clean, with some astringency at the end. Pair with mushroom risotto. I found out the wine maker is from the same neighborhood in Philadelphia where we currently live and his parents still live just a few blocks away. A guy from Philly making wine in NZ. Crazy talk. I’d buy it again, though, simply because the guy is from the ‘hood,

2010 Tapena Garnacha (Spain). I love saying GARNACHA! $10. Some said the wine was corked. It seems to me that a lot of ‘wine experts’ are quick to cry ‘corked’ when they encounter any odor that is outside their experience.  I did not think this wine was corked at all, but then I was getting a bit fried. Big and fruity. Not my style, but for $10? I could roll. Pizza, that’s about it, and it is a GARNACHA.

2009 Willamette Valley Vineyards Estate: Suggested retail $45 but soon the price will drop to $30 (I was not exactly sure why). Sustainably grown, 2 tons per acre. Salmon safe certified. I have only had limited exposure to WVV, but I could do this for $30. Not the greatest OR pinot I have ever had with a bit of an odd finish. The representative from the winery, Wende, was great, full of energy.  She was reason enough to visit the winery and buy the wine.

Well, there you have it.  In my mind, not the best way to taste at all.  Many others have called into question the way that the professional critics taste (it is rather similar to this process from what I understand) since the biggest, boldest wines are going to stand out and gain all the attention—not my style at all, but I see how that happens.

Wine of the tasting?  I would have to give it to Decibel, solely because the guy is from our ‘hood and he is living the dream down in New Zealand.  Cheery Ho! (I am pretty sure they do not say that in NZ–but I just felt like saying it for some odd reason.)