It's Gruner Time!

We've been saying it for years but Austrian wine has arrived. Check out Gary Vaynerchuk's Daily Grape episode June 11 on Gruner Veltliner.

One of the things I really like about Gary's democratization of wine tasting ("give it a sniffy sniff") is to give us permission to personalize our palate. He gives a great taste analogy of minerality that really demonstrates that you don't need to use traditional wine wonk words to describe what YOU taste. He compares it to a time when he was a kid and got smacked in the mouth with an aluminum bat....THAT's what minerality means to him.

Check out the vid, then head out to your nearest wine store for the Loimer Kamptal Gruner Veltliner or the Stadt Krems Kremstal GV, both imported by Winebow. And a big thank you to Erin Grace and Jodi Stern of Winebow's Austrian Portfolio for facilitating the samples.

Here's a link to the review on Snooth with some links to e-commerce sites where you can order the wine if it's not available locally (and the Loimer in particular should be...it's one of the best-distributed Austrian GV's out there.)

Hello from NYC! Some Wine Bar reviews

Whoops, how did this blog get so far away from me? Good thing we can always count on SJ to keep you updated!

Things in NYC have been a whirlwind of alcohol - especially with the holidays upon us! Just last night I had the chance to check out two new wines bar on the Upper West Side, courtesy of fellow wine-writing friend, Nick.

The bars: Started at Barcibo Enoteca and ended at The Tangled Vine.

Still feeling relatively intimidated by Italian wine, I angled for something I thought would be a guarantee pleaser: Rosato Lagrien Muri Gries 2009 (Alto Adige) and the Muller Thurgau-Gewurztraminer, Re Manfredi (Basilicata.) While I can't say either was bad, I can't say that either was particularly good. They were exactly what you'd expect from a glass of wine on a Wednesday night, I suppose - very one dimensional and without pizazz. We didn't try the food, but I was advised it might outshine the wines in our glass. Though the staff was eager to help, I'm not sure they were... helpful. However, the space was quite pleasant.

After our glasses we decided to head on over to another wine bar. A short cab ride away and we arrived at the door of The Tangled Wine which was promised to have a more interesting selection and a bite to eat. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many Austrian wines... and then I had to do my best not to get one... I'm trying this new thing where I go back to exploring everything...

Well, Nick and I did just that - we tasted just about everything. The RUEDA “Ermita de Nieve” Vinedos de Nieva 2009 (Spain/Rueda) had way too many roses, the SANCERRE Karine Lauverjat 2008 (France/Loire) too many green peppers - finally I went to another go-to of mine: Muscadet. MUSCADET "Le Fils des Gras Mouton" Claude Branger 2009 to be exact. I love everything about Muscadet - I honestly don't think I've ever met one I didn't like in fact... relatively inexpensive per bottle and delicious... doesn't get better than that. Of course I decided I need the oysters! So I did that... classic pairing of Muscadet and Beausoleiol Oysters from New Brunswick, Canada, to be exact (I decided I am going to become an oyster connoisseur as well.)

In short, I'd definitely go back to both places, though given the choice, I'd hit up The Tangled Vine before the first... I mean they have AUSTRIAN wine... what's a bigger pull than that?

Prost!

-CC

EWBC Taking Over Vienna, Austria - Oct. 22-24

Have you heard of the European Wine Blogger's Conference?

You've probably heard of our travels to the US Wine Blogger's Conference, Tales of the Cocktail, The Manhattan Cocktail Classic and (soon) a trip to the Beer Blogger's Conference in Denver this year... but did you know these great events travel overseas?

Thanks for Ryan and Gabriella Opaz of Catavino.net and Robert McIntosh of the www.wineconversation.com, the organizers of this spectacular event, bloggers from all over the world are invited, annually, to attend the EWBC and explore a different wine region of the world for a minimal price.

This year, the EWBC is taking over Austria for a few days - October 22-24th - with optional wine region excursions the 25-26th. Unfortunately, it's too late to get tickets, this spectacular event sold out months ago, but that doesn't mean you can't get your Gruener on and follow along. The conference is set to be streamed live - incorporating video, a live blog and live tasting notes from participants.

Something I particularly liked about visiting Austria for Vie Vinum was the change to drink wine in multiple palaces all day - and the EWBC is no exception. This event will be held in the Schoenbrunn Palace located on the Vienna's city limits.

Keynote speakers, Elin McCoy and Evan Schnittman will speak to bloggers about their journey of publishing, wine king, Willi Klinger, will lead attendees through a technical tasting of Austrian wine, wine-blogging knowledge will be shared by fellow bloggers, wine regions will be visited and, perhaps most importantly, wine will be drunk! Bring on the Gruener, St. Laurent and Zweigelt!

The wine regional trips will be through Burgenland, down the Danube and to the Weinvertal - these are not to be missed! As Stephanie wrote just last week, Austria is a fabulous place to visit!

Steve gets to attend this tasting so I'll following along from home. SO! mark your calendars, grab a bottle of Gruener and follow along with me- can't wait to hear what you tasted!

Prost! - CC