wine sooth

I have some questions.

I had been absent from the wine blogosphere through much of August and the first part of September. We moved and that always takes much of one’s time. Packing, unpacking, setting up the new place, finishing remodeling and dealing with plumbing emergencies leaves little time and energy for creative thinking or writing.

Each day went by in a flurry of work. Sweat and dust and new cuts and bruises marked the passing of time. The completion of yet another task marked progress. Somewhere in there, I had to do my day job (the one that actually results in a paycheck). I found that having a home office is fraught with some difficulties and can be scary when the network goes down.

At the end of each day, tired as I was, I would grind my teeth thinking about all the things I did not get to do and how much I was falling behind with my blog, web site and OWC commitments. I didn’t drink very much wine, either. Not even for the pleasure of it. I was just too damned tired. (more…)

Wine Bong

Wine changes. A bottle of wine displays different characteristics with changes in its own temperature as well as with those of the environment. Decanting changes a wine as well. Much of how a wine smells and tastes is a result of the wine serving ritual and drinking environment.

Steve Heimoff wrote about “tasting room bias” some time ago. I commented that much of that can be attributed to the differences in humidity, temperature and barometric pressure differences between the tasting room and his apartment.

Additionally, in the tasting room, a bottle is tipped numerous times before it goes empty. This oxygenates the wine and achieves the same effect as extended decanting. In my own tasting and assessment of wines I have noticed that a wine will display very different characteristics if I taste it in an air-conditioned room versus outside, on my patio. (more…)

Incidence of TCA taint.

Over a month ago, I wrote about a small experiment aimed to determine the incidence of TCA taint in a real-world setting. I created a survey on FreeOnlineSurveys.com to gather data from volunteer contributors. The aim of the survey was to gather real-life data of the incidence of TCA taint in wines finished with natural closures. The survey was prompted by discussion of the true incidence of cork taint on the OpenWine Consortium (OWC), initiated by Remy Charest.

The participant cohort was comprised of 12 individuals (including myself): at least two winemakers and other wine professionals who describe themselves as writers, public relations professionals, wine education professionals and wine importers. (more…)

"The Pour" header image.

Some time ago, I wrote about the homogeneity in blog design. Just recently, I noticed that The Pour has undergone a few infrastructure changes.

The hallmark of the blog, “The Thinker”, has been replaced by a generic looking wine glass - part of the original design: photo of Rodin’s “The Thinker” pasted into a drawing of a table with a glass of wine on it.

Eric Asimov kindly responded to my query about the change, saying that the NY Times had done some software updates on their blogging platform and the header image had been changed. (more…)

Root of All Evil - Comedy Central

The “angriest Jew in show business” (and one of my favorite comedians) - Lewis Black - has a Comedy Central show called “The Root of All Evil” the format is a hybrid of a kangaroo court and a debate. Black presides over the proceedings where two of a line up of stand-up comics argue which of the evening’s two items is The Root of All Evil. Last night’s episode pitted Ultimate Fighting against Blogging and arguing against blogging was Patton Oswalt.

What follows, below, is a live, as-it-went down summary of the highlights from the argument why blogging is the Root of All Evil:

(more…)

Network

Ever since I started this blog, I have been graced with some very kind and flattering endorsements. I am grateful to all who have indicated wine sooth as a blog worthy of reading. Taking a moment out of the current whirlwind of activity in my life, I want to acknowledge and reciprocate this kindness.

I read a large number of blogs and wine news services daily. I love Tom Wark’s blog for being at times philosophical, soulful, provocative and always interesting and relevant. One certainly has seen the intellectual sparring between Alder and myself on Vinography. I also appreciate Tyler Coleman’s posts which help keep things light and serve as a barometer of the general public’s views on wine-related matters. I also visit Eric Asimov’s blog regularly as my philosophy and preferences in wine tend to be aligned with his. (more…)

The recent lapse in posting here on wine sooth is not due to a lack of drive, interest or creative inspiration.

I’m simply swamped. We have to get our new house ready by the end of August. That includes remodeling and rewiring the house to handle all the computers and the broadband connection I will be installing. I’m also “remodeling” redwinebuzz.com which presents its own challenges. Add to that a full time day job and a family…

I will post as much and as often as I can until all these things are done. Thanks for your patience.

In the meantime, if you have not yet, please participate in the redwinebuzz.com reader survey.