Evenings for Two » Food & Wine

Twitter Can Help You Remember Your Wine!

smilingirl — Sat, 09 May 2009 12:54:16 +0000

If you’re like me, you can barely remember what you had for lunch much less the name of that fabulous merlot you ordered at the restaurant on date night. Or how about that pinot they were tasting at the art show over the weekend? You liked it a lot. But now you’re at the grocery store facing a wall of wine and you have NO IDEA what it was called.

There’s a cool new (FREE) tool called Wine by the Bar that you can use with Twitter to record wines when you’re on the go and then easily find them again when you need them.

Here’s how it works. You’re at a restaurant, wine tasting, or friend’s house and try a wine you love. You do a quick tweet and the name of the wine is saved instantly.

Let’s do an example with J. Lohr Chardonnay:

You tweet: @winebythebar 089121068823 J. Lohr Chardonnay oaky, buttery, leslie’s house

(that number you type in is the bar code — it’s 12 digits)

Within minutes you’ll get a DM back that says: http://bit.ly/WpVkr J. LOHR 2006 CHARD j. lohr chardonnay.

Now when you go to the grocery a few days later all you have to do is scroll your DMs and there’s the name of the wine. But what if somehow you erased all your DMs? Can you remember you tried it at Leslie’s house? If you can, then….

You tweet: d winebythebar search leslie’s house

You get back a DM that says: J. Lohr Chardonnay

Sip. Save. Search.

Sip your wine. Save your note. Search it later.

How easy is that? I’m going to be using it at a charity wine festival next weekend where there will be 70+ wines. I always lose that little sheet they give you or I put the golf pencil down and never find it again. So now I can use Wine by the Bar on Twitter to remember all the wines I like.

So let’s say I try a wine called Oak Grove Merlot

I tweet: @winebythebar 761666000413 Oak Grove Merlot may wine tasting great merlot $12 buy @totalwine

Wine by the Bar DM’s me #1 Oak Grove Merlot

And since I definitely want to share it with my tweeps when I try a yummy wine, Wine by the Bar will retweet my review automatically.

And next time I search for “Oak Grove” or even “may wine tasting” I’ll get a DM tweet with my review(s) back plus a shortened url link to all of my wine’s info on the web.

This is a really new app so there are still a few bugs. But it’s also a fun way to use Twitter. And as all you #tmwc moms know twitter+wine is a great pairing. If you try this out, let me know what you think. The developer is a friend of mine and he’d be really interested in your feedback. Cheers!

This post was originally featured on TwitterMoms, where I am a featured contributor.

Wine Tasting 101

smilingirl — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:59:19 +0000

Ever wonder what you’re supposed to be doing at a wine tasting when you’re comparing wines? Here’s are 5 steps that should be pretty easy to remember that may help:

See: Hold your glass against a pale background and consider the wine’s hue and tone. A bright-raspberry red wine typically is light and fresh; an older red wine tends to have a bricklike color.

Swirl: Swish the wine in your glass in small circles to let the air in. It will be easier to pick out the individual smells this way.

Smell: Put your nose in the glass and let the wine’s aromas — perhaps fruit, earth, herbs — suggest themselves to you. If you aren’t getting much, try swirling the glass again with your palm over the top. Release your hand just before sniffing.

Sip: Take a sip and hold it in your mouth. Think about how the wine smells compares with how it tastes. Make sure your sip covers your whole tongue. Also think about it with regard to what your mouth is doing. Is is sweet? Does it make your mouth pucker — that’s tannins. Is your mouth watering — that’s a sign of acid. –is it sweet? sour? smokey?

Savor: Take another sip, swallow and take a moment to think about it. How does your mouth feel? sometimes there’s a lingering flavor on your tongue or in your mouth– that’s the finish.

If you’re feeling industrious you might want to write down what you think. It might help you remember what you like and what you don’t like the next time you’re trying to choose.

Getting to Know California’s Pinot Grigio

smilingirl — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:53:10 +0000

Pinot Gris/Grigio is planted in all the major wine producing regions of the world. They very greatly from region to region. In California they tend towards light bodied with a crisp, refreshing taste. The reason the California wines made with this grape are often called Pinot Grigio is because of their similarity in style to the wine of Italy.

Things to consider when tasting a Pinot Grigio from California:

What color is the wine? Wines from this grape can vary from straw yellow in color to lemon yellow to copper pink.

What do you smell? Ripe fruit such as pears, apples or melon? Freshly cut grass? Flowers?

How does it taste? Tangy? Light? Do you taste almonds, vanilla, pine or smoke? Is it acidic — does it have a bite to it?

The taste of wine will often change with food. The great thing about Pinot Grigio is that it’s the perfect pairing for cheese & crackers. I like pairing local food with local wine so I’ve included a few California cheeses on the list tool

Gruyere- this semi-hard cheese is often used for melting (it is the main ingredient of that decadent gem known as fondue!). It is recognizable by the tiny holes in its brown rind. Gruyere is made in the mountains of Switzerland, and cave aged for a year. Its taste can range from fruity to a wonderful toasted almond flavor.

Humboldt Fog - Humboldt Fog contains a line of vegetable ash that runs through the center of the cheese. It is created by Cypress Grove Chevre, a U.S. farm specializing in fine hand-crafted goat cheese. If you can’t find it, just try the soft chevre you can get at the grocery store.

Mt Tam - This organic triple cream, made from Strauss Family Farms milk has an incredible mouth feel and fresh flavor. Hand made in small batches. Another triple cream that may be easier to find is St. Andre, one of my favorites.

Robiola due Latti - From the Italian Rivera. Made from a blend of cow and sheep’s milk. Creamy and rich but with savory qualities.

Stracchinos - A creamy fresh cheese made in the Lombardy region of Italy. Mild in flavor with great texture.

If you’re looking for something more substantial, you might try crab cakes or shrimp and scallop skewers with a little spice.

Cheers!

Sierra Nevada turns dregs into fuel

smilingirl — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 20:17:43 +0000

Check out this article from the Sacramento Business Journal about Chico, CA based beer maker selling it’s waste to Los Gatos, CA based ethenol fuel maker. Just another reason to have a cold one today.

TwitterMoms Wine Tasting Tweet Up #tmwc

smilingirl — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:15:02 +0000

Calling all moms. Here’s a fun wine event that doesn’t even require a babysitter. TwitterMoms — the influential Moms network–is a social network for moms. I guess you don’t have to be on twitter to join, but they welcome newbies and it makes it even more fun.

The event is tonight at 8pm EST but will include moms from all over the country. The wine we’re tasting is a Panarroz ‘06 Red, which is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre (GSM). If you can’t find that just grab a bottle of the same blend — or any bottle you like for that matter and hop on Twitter. Use #tmwc to join the conversation.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, there are some great Twitter tutorials over at TwitterMoms. If you’re psyched and plan to join us, check out the food pairings post I did specifically for this wine.

By the way, I’ll be posting about food and wine

Cheers!