TasteCamp 2009: An Interview with Joe Roberts
On this beautiful Monday morning, we catch up with Joe Roberts, a fellow Pittsburgh Steelers fan who just happens to publish one of my favorite wine blogs, 1WineDude, which he sometimes describes as "Wine Edutainment for Intermediate Wine Lovers."
Joe isn't a one-trick pony, however. He's a wine consultant and musician in the greater Philadelphia area, and holds the Level 3 Certificate in Wine & Spirits from
the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET). He is also a member of the U.S.-based Society of Wine Educators, holding their Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) qualification, and is a member of the Wine Century Club.
wrap-up on TasteCamp at 1WineDude.com that I was most impressed in general with Channing Daughters, and with Chris Tracy's approach (focus on maximizing the quality of the white wines, experimenting to find the right combination of varietal and LI terroir).
I'm sure a big part of it is that Chris and I seem to share similar views on the future of LI wines, etc. But hey, so I'm biased — big deal.
Having said that, it's worth pointing out that every single winemaker that we met impressed me in some way, shape or form. It's amazing to find a group of such inspired and inspiring people in one place. They really have something special there, and I hope they don't take it for granted.
If you had to pick one, what would your wine of the weekend be?
You LOVE this question, man… we can never get through a Twitter Taste Live event without you asking this… Of course, I love it because it forces me to focus and give detail behind my picks so you keep me honest!
Anyway… (I'm just stalling now….)…
It's a tie:
Channing Daughters 2007 Vino Bianco (for all the reasons described above - experimentation, Italian-inspired white wine focus, etc.)
Shinn Estate Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Franc (I know it's not released yet, but it was f-king sublime, I couldn't stop tasting it).
A close second was the current release of botrytized late-harvest wine from Wolffer, based soley on the pure honey finish that lasted for about a year (give or take a few months).
You interviewed this guy? Clearly he’s out of his mind…
1winedude?? never heard of him!