Bottlenotes.com Wine Tasting ~ Guest Post by Larry

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From Patti:  Hi readers, this past week I was invited as a blogger to attend a wine tasting event. To be honest, while I love wine, I rely on Larry to make decisions about the stuff. I’m sort of the Jack in “Sideways” who proclaims at the sip of practically any wine, “tastes pretty good to me!” Larry, on the other hand, has a discerning palate. In addition to owning a wine ‘fridge for the whites, a few years ago, he also had a wine cabinet built for the reds. He took a small closet in the downstairs hallway and had a fairly large rack built which rolls UNDER the house into cool wine-loving darkness.  So, Larry joined me and here’s his post:

From Larry: We attended the “Around the World in 80 Sips” event on Thursday night at the h.wood in the Highland Hollywood complex.  We were VIP guests, thanks to blogging. The organizers of the event were the two founders of a new website (at least it was to me): bottlenotes.com. Their mission is to bring together “good people and good wine.” There were plenty of people and plenty of wines from probably a hundred vineyards. Or was it eighty?

We showed up and got to work. The word “earthy” was what Patti mentioned about the South African wine, M’hudi. From three African wineries, this table was also pouring Seven Sisters produced by one of the only two black families to own a vineyard in South Africa.  We had just come back from Africa in June (if you ever get to Johannesburg we would recommend the half day tour starting at the school/museum in Soweto). And, of course, look up these wineries —Koopmanskloof, M’hudi and the Seven Sisters. It was a pleasant surprise to think about our African trip again.  Patti loved this winery (well, Patti loves any winery) and said that first sip smelled and tasted like the earth of Africa. I was thinking Zimbabwe or Botswana. 

While we didn’t taste 80 wines, for many reasons, the place was an enthusiastic, crowded event on a hot night. It was definitely international, represented by South America, and you could choose from Chile and Argentina, Australia and NZ, plus Lebanon, Italy, France, Thailand and California. Plenty of red, whites and sparkling wines to sample.

Having toured New Zealand some years ago – from winery to winery – we took our time at that table.  Not an easy environment to pick up education, but they have a great website: www.nzwine.com with an excellent map titled “Pure Discovery, New Zealand” wine. I am sending ours to friends Cliff and Sue who are going winery-hopping in NZ next spring.

To be honest, the winery on the list that was going to be fun to talk to was Chateau Montelena, the winery featured in the movie Bottle Shock where California, specifically Napa beat France in wines. Fellow SC grad Brian Baker talked about “looking for a long finish. Well produced wines always have a long finish.” If you are into wine, rent or buy that DVD. Good movie, especially if you like California wines and the history of wine making, marketing and selling. For Library Wine Tasting, Bottle Shock Tours, and Winemaker Tastings go here.

The event also used their fine wine to rinse the glasses. Interesting use of wine. 

My favorite of the evening was Faust. A deal with the Devil, pact with the Devil, or Faustian bargain is a cultural motif.  Best exemplified as the person offers his or her soul in exchange for diabolical favors.  Those favors vary by the tale, but tend to include youth, knowledge, wealth, or power.  We didn’t offer our soul, just the glass. 

While the place was jammed with bodies, we saw a lot and had good fun at the “Eighty Sips” event. All of the wines poured can be found at http://www.bottlenotes.com/wines/80sipsla. One more idea:  If you haven’t been to Hollywood and Highland in a while or have seen it only on TV for the Academy Awards show, check it out. It’s stunning and a lot is going on.