WINE NEWS

Click on the links below to be sent to that news story.

1) Winners of Finger Lakes International Wine Competition announced

2) Wine Drinking in Md. may become easier, costlier

Can't Robert Parker help?? He lives in Maryland.

3) U.S. becomes largest wine-consuming region

I think Charlie Sheen helped us beat the French. So patriotic.

4) How to recycle leftover wine

5) No more double tax on wine for VA

6) Man beats store clerk with wine bottle

Obviously NOT a wine-oh. Of course this happened in FL. All the weird ones live here in FL.

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Make sure to follow me on twitter.

@wineohoftheyear

Plain simple and sweet.

P.S. -- I have had some followers tell me they cannot comment on my page. I didn't realize the settings were set so that you HAD to register to google. I have changed that now and it should be easier to comment on the blog. Thanks to my friends who told me about this.

WineQuest

It is almost that time of year again and somehow I never posted the pictures from the last event.

I am talking about WineQuest in Orlando. We went last year with some of our Wine-Oh friends.

They recently said that I never posted the pics and I realized they were right.

This year will be WineQuest's 15th year. The event benefits Quest and Quest helps those with disabilities in our Central Florida community.

The event is held at the JW Marriott in Orlando. We stayed at the hotel last year and enjoyed both the event and hotel property. The lazy river at the hotel is a highlight.

The event itself is a large wine tasting event paired with food and a live/silent auction. Hundreds of people attend this event yearly.

I remember the man above had great swirling skills.

I couldn't resist a picture with my favorite NBA star....DWIGHT HOWARD. His shoulders are equally amazing in a cardboard cutout as they look in real life.

The event is in June this year.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT WINEQUEST

Blue Moon Dinner

Friday night we enjoyed another dinner prepared by Chef Cindy Pawlcyn. This was the Tobin James Blue Moon Dinner. :) They saved the best for last!!

The courses were paired with the line of Blue Moon Reserve wines. Below are some pictures of the menu, food and wine.

Below are the fancy and really delicious cheese puffs.

Below is a picture of the duck breast that was paired with the Blue Moon Cabernet. Totally awesome pairing.

I had lamb chops one more time on this trip!! YAY. This was incredible paired with the Blue Moon Zinfandel.

Below is a picture of my mom, Sandy, and Penny with Chef Pawlcyn. As you can see the wine was flowing.

Debbie and I are enjoying our blue moon reserves.

Oh and who doesn't like a Hazelnut Truffle Tart? My favorite dessert of the trip. This was paired with the Liquid Love. I was in a chococoma.

A highlight of the trip for me was passing by Nevis around midnight with a full moon lighting the mountains. The ship was so close to the island you could hear the waves crashing on the shore. It was very special. I tried to take a picture but it doesn't do the scenery any justice.

I loved the bar staff. They were always smiling and having a good time.

The picture above is one of my favorite pictures with the guys and their mullets. :) Louie (spelling?...Morgan tell me if I'm wrong) was rocking his most of the week.

Wine and Poetry

Drinking: 2009 Seghesio Old Vine Carignane

Reading: Give Me Women, Wine, and Snuff

GIVE me women, wine, and snuff
Untill I cry out "hold, enough!"
You may do so sans objection
Till the day of resurrection:
For, bless my beard, they aye shall be
My beloved Trinity.

-John Keats

Score Whores

I heard Toby and Lance talk about this type of wine-oh, but I KNOW wine-oh's like this.

Definition:

A person that buys wines just because they receive a high score from Robert Parker, Wine Enthusiast, or Wine Spectator.

If you can't figure out what wine you like ON YOUR OWN then YOU have a problem.

WORD

Tobin James Grand Tasting and Galley Tour

I have to thank my mom for taking these pictures for my blog. THANK YOU!!

We barely made it back in time for the Grand Tasting but I'm glad we did. Toby and Lance gave a nice presentation on the wine.

Some quality Tobin James quotes of the day were:

"What goes in Cabernet comes out Chardonnay."

"Score Whores"

"I'm just here to shake hands and kiss babies."

I'm sure Toby and Lance could fill a book of great sayings. They could sell it at the winery. I think I'm onto something here.

Below is a picture of Toby, Lance, Claire and the staff at the winery. Everyone who works at the winery is very friendly and fun loving.

Below is a picture of Ermi, Claire and Lance.

For dinner the group had a BBQ on the outside decks of the ship. It was a nice night and the food was once again awesome. There was lobster and more lamb chops!!

Below are some pictures from the Galley tour. I didn't make it on this, but my mom did. She took a couple good pictures of Chef Eric and Cindy Pawlcyn.

At Sea Day

Below are some pictures from our day on the ship. I spent most of the day lounging at the back of the ship by the pool/hot tubs and watching all the gorgeous scenery. I started the day by drinking Tobytinis. (Blend of the sparkling wine and liquid love)

The wines being poured on Friday (At Sea) included:

Zinfandel, Blue Moon Reserve (SO GOOD)

Syrah, James Gang Reserve

Syrah, Silver Reserve

Refosco, James Gang Reserve

Pinot Noir, Pinot Envy

Zinfandel, French Camp (another of my favs)

Sangiovese, Primo

Sauvignon Blanc, Sundance

Chardonnay, Radiance

Tobytini's

St. Barths

Finally I am posting again!!

It has been a BUSY couple of weeks. St. Pattys Day/NCAA tourney/Cocoa Beach Food and Wine festival. I have been watching NCAA basketball like it is my job. My bracket is ....meh. Who thought Morehead State was going to beat Louisville??

So back to posting pics from the cruise. :) Oh and this weekend is the BIG wine tasting at Tobin James Winery....we wish we were there.

Here are some pictures from the lovely millionaire's playground that is St. Barths. We spent the day at the Nikki Beach Club.

I recently found out that this is where Beyonce performed a controversial concert for Gaddafi's son, Hannibal. (nice name)

This club was VERY posh....like very posh. They had white beds on the beach and it cost us about $25 to rent a chair and umbrella for the day. We kinda spoiled ourselves. Right across the bay from us was the exclusive Eden Rock Hotel. Below are the pictures.

Wines on the ship on this day:

Syrah, Blue Moon Reserve

Syrah, James Gang Reserve

Tempranillo, James Gang Reserve

Refosco, James Gang Reserve

Pinot Noir, Pinot Envy

ZInfandel, Dusi Vineyard

Sauvignon Blanc, Sundance

Chardonnay, Radiance

Tobytini's

NIKKI BEACH CLUB WEBSITE

WINE NEWS

Below are links to wine news. Check out some of the latest wine news.

NOTE: Relating to the first news story --> I have known this since I was in 5th grade. This was my 5th grade science project. I played classical music to plants in one room for an entire month and rock music to plants in another room for a month. The plants in the room with classical music grew taller and survived. The plants in the rock room were wilting and died. I should have invented this....damn. lol

1)Is that Mozart in my glass? Austrian claims music 'infusions' make wine better

2) The art of the wine barrel

3) The Parker era in wine, and beyond

4) 8 Walla Walla wineries cited for serving minors

(Tisk Tisk)

5) High-end restaurant owners want corkage law - Baltimore Sun

6) Healdsburg is 'the place to go' in wine country

(I agree, but I don't want it turning into another Napa) (Grrrr)

7) Hong Kong Wine Auction Season Begins

8) Look-Alike Wines Featuring Look-Alike Marsupials Duke it Out

(Do the match the label artwork with the wine name game) I got them all on the first try. I didn't win anything except the ability to post my awesome marsupial label power on facebook. Lame.

9) Judging Napa Cabernet's Class of 2007

I am going to a 2007 Napa Cab tasting tonight. It'll be interesting. I like the Turn 4 2007 Cab....really nice. It is made by Bennett Lane winery. That is what we are taking to the event.

Virgin Gorda

Exactly two weeks ago I was sitting on the beach in Virgin Gorda drinking a beer and enjoying The Baths. Virgin Gorda is located in the British Virgin Islands. The island is becoming more popular but still maintains small island charm. The Baths are the biggest tourist attraction on the island. They are pretty gorgeous and totally different from the normal beach scene.

The only thing I can compare The Baths to would be Cooper's Rock State Forest in West Virginia. The hike down to the beach looked exactly like some of the hiking trails at Cooper's Rock. (lots of big rocks and caves and such)

Below is a picture of the local taxis.

Below is a picture from the top of The Baths looking down at the beach.

Here is a picture of the trail down to the beach.

Here are some pictures of the beach itself and The Baths. We mostly hung out at the beach and the Poor Man's Bar. I did get to watch a local give a bird ice cream. The bird loved it. It was a bit weird.

After we left the beach we went to the harbor and had some drinks before returning to the ship. Spanish Town is a great little harbor with a small bar.

That night we circled around Wind Surf's sister ship, the Wind Spirit. The setting for this couldn't have been more beautiful. The sun was setting and a full moon was out.

We had dinner at the specialty restaurant Degrees. The food there was so delicious. I had veal but the lamb chops looked great as well. This was paired with more amazing Tobin James wines. There is another picture of the desserts paired with the Blue Moon Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

Here is a list of the wines we were drinking on this day:

* Cabernet Sauvignon, Blue Moon Reserve (one of my favorites)

* Syrah, James Gang Reserve

* Meritage Blend, Estate Private Stash

* Sangivese, Primo

* Zinfandel, Fat Boy (another favorite of mine)

* Sauvignon Blanc, Sundance

* Syrah Rose, Paradise

* TOBYTINI'S (LOVE THESE)

It was another awesome day and night.