Posts Written OnJuly 2007

A Poorly Researched Piece on AMNewYork.com

You guys have got to see this. I wont’ get into the less-than-stellar writing, because I’m sure there are plenty of people who think my writing could use a lot of work. But, I hate when anyone in the media doesn’t do their research. Looking at this little piece I see the following errors: The North Fork does not have "better" growing conditions than the South Fork, just different. Some would argue, in fact, that the South Fork is better suited for white wine grapes. There are far more than 20 vineyards on the North Fork. In fact, there are…

Juan Micieli-Martinez Heading to Martha Clara Vineyards?

Thanks to a reader tip (thanks John) and an email sent to David Page at Shinn Estate Vineyards, I’ve learned that Juan Micieli-Martinez, formerly of Pellegrini Vineyards, is now formerly of Shinn Estate Vineyards as well. Or he will be by mid-August. "He has done a great job for us at Shinn during his time with us. Barbara and I wish him the best," Page told me in an email. He’s been offered the winemaker position at Martha Clara Vineyards. I haven’t heard from Juan yet and I have no idea at this point what is going on with Gilles…

How Much is the Stuff in Your Refrigerator Worth? (AKA: The continued Sears saga)

So if you had to replace every single item in both your freezer and your refrigerator, how much would it cost you? Sears seems to think, despite what we’ve told them, that $100 is more than enough to replace our lost goods. Yes, the same company that took two weeks to tell us the dead refrigerator they sold us less than a year ago couldn’t be fixed (the new one is being delivered today) has informed us that they will only reimburse us $100. This was after them asking us to put together a written estimate to replace the food…

LENNDEVOURS Q&A: Lenn Thompson, You Know Who I Am

Today I’ve decided to change up the LENNDEVOURS Q&A series a bit…this time turning the microphone around and asking myself the same questions. Is interviewing ones self a sign of mental defect? Perhaps, but it’s fun. What (and where) was the first bottle of wine you remember drinking?I’m a little embarassed to admit that it was Mad Dog 20/20. You know, that fruity sludge that frat boys drank in college purely to get drunk. Yeah, that was my first bottle of wine. I think it was the grape flavored stuff at least. But, the first bottle of wine that I…

Michael Vick is a piece of &^%$&…garbage

Sorry to break into this wine blog with sports and general news. But in case you haven’t heard, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is a piece of garbage (we’ll keep it rated G for now). According to one report: "His pit bulls were often summarily executed after losing fights, according to a federal indictment that portrays a disturbing picture of animal cruelty. In April, just before authorities raided his property in rural Virginia, the Falcons‘ star quarterback was there "rolling" some of his pit bulls — that is, putting them through test fights to see if they were "game," federal…

Job Posting: Assistant Sales & Marketing Manager for Bedell Cellars

Bedell Cellars is looking to hire a new Assistant Sales & Marketing Manager. The position combines wine club management with development of our most upscale and sophisticated customers–both retail buyers plus wholesale customers like sommeliers and restaurants. Candidates will be expected to: Marketing Conduct external tastings and events in NYC and Hamptons to drive brand awareness (e.g. City-Meals-On-Wheels in Rockefeller Center) Develop and maintain wine club website and quarterly newsletter Work with other management staff in developing wine club promotions & incentives Train, oversee and report on tasting room staff wine club incentive program Operations Write five year plan, including…

Wine Blogging Wednesday #36: Let’s Get Naked

Now that I have your attention, let’s get down to business. Next month, on August 8 to be exact, we’ll be celebrating the three-year anniversary of Wine Blogging Wednesday. Actually, in the early days, it was called World Wide Wine Blogging Wednesday. But, participants quickly streamlined the name and the rest is Internet history. What started out as a few hardcore wine blogging geeks has really grown into more than I could have imagined. For that, I am grateful. Thank you to every person who has ever participated. But let’s stop looking back…let’s look forward. The theme for WBW #36…

WBW #35 Roundup Posted

The roundup for WBW #35: Passionate Spain has been posted over at My Wine Education. It looks like we had just over 40 participants, many of whom reviewed multiple wines. As Michelle mentions in the roundup, I’ll be hosting August’s edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday. It’s going to be a special edition for a number of reasons beyond the fact that it’s the 3-year anniversary of the first WBW. But more on that later. For now, check out the roundup and a hearty thanks goes out to Michelle and Kevin for hosting.

WTN: Lamoreaux Landing 2006 Dry Riesling (Finger Lakes)

So I still haven’t decided what, if any, rating system I’m going to start using when I review wines here on LENNDEVOURS. That’s part of the reason that there haven’t been as many tasting notes as there usually is. The other reason is that sometimes I just plain don’t feel like sitting down and "tasting" wine. Sometimes you just want to drink wine, right? But, I sat down last night with three recent releases from Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars up in the Finger Lakes. One (a chardonnay) was corked and you’ll be reading about the Gewürztraminer plenty here in the…