The Slacker That I Am

I admit it. I deserve the ridicule, the guilt, and the shameless beatings. I have been a bad blogger. I can whole heartedly admit that my Patriots blog over at The Day (which if you haven't been reading, then shame on you as well) has taken up much of my writing times over the past few weeks. So it's about time the Wine side of my life gets some lovin'.

First off, big thanks to everyone who helped celebrate my 25th birthday at the Third Wine from A to Zin evening. We had an excellent time tasting some Santa Barbara wines as well as some samples from Australia and Long Island. Hopefully others also discovered that boxed wine isn't all that bad. I had a great time and really appreciate having so many people turn out to have such an enjoyable time. Look for another evening of wine (and wii) soon. Maybe we'll have just a Wii evening as well!

This past weekend we ventured off to Martha's Vineyard and just by luck got snagged in the tail end of a hurricane. It was quite exciting to have the Jeep slammed by a wave on our way to Vineyard Haven. Good times! Of course being on the Vineyard meant a trip to Our Market to pick up some delicious wine. If you ever find yourself on the Vineyard in need of wine, don't waste your time at either wine shop in Edgratown. Don't stop at the package store in downtown Oak Bluff's or even at Jim's. Head straight to Our Market in Oak Bluffs on the East Chop side of the harbor. Hands down, the best wine selection on the island. I walked out with two bottles from Oregon and two from California.

First we hit the Oregon wines. Leading off was A to Z Wineworks 2006 Oregon Pinot Gris. Light, crisp, clean, enjoyable. Highly recommended. Next was Erath's 2005 Oregon Pinot Noir. Not overly fruity but delectable, pairs well with lots of foods and is another easy drinker. Not to mention, both wines are screw tops!

Then we hit the Cali wines. For white, we stuck to an old favorite, Benziger's 2006 Carneros Chardonnay. Carneros is turning out stellar Pinot and Chard these days, and this is one of my easily available favorites (EAFs). Clearly aged in Oak, the flavors on this wine are profound and so good. Pear and apple is decisivly clean and fresh. Buy it, try it, you'll love it. For Red we hit Santa Barbara for Jed Steele 2005 Santa Barbara Pinot Noir. What I am starting to love about Santa Barbara Pinot is that it's a nice blend of what I love from Oregon and Sonoma. You get the strong fruit flavors of Sonoma and the earthiness of Oregon all in one. My good friend Mike turned me onto Steele a few years back and I am a big advocate. His wines are worth the price and make for a good foyer into the above $20 category for those looking to try higher price ranges.

That covers things for now. I'll try to be more diligent with posting. Be sure to jump over to The Day's website and check out my blog on the undefeated Patriots! Till next time..."There's a hurricane coming, four bottles might not be enough."