The State of My Ego and Six Years of Wine Blogging

On the sixth anniversary of starting this blog, I see that I've produced 2,170 posts in those six years of blogging about wine, the wine industry, wine politics, wine public relations and marketing, and my affinity for bourbon. However, all...

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Mark Anthony Martin Matthew Roy Kenseth Michael Duane Bliss

Rediscovering an old friend you thought was gone

One of the great quality-price-ratio wines to come to market the past few years was the 2007 Seghesio Sonoma County Zinfandel.  Even though it was produced in very high quantities (68,000 cases) it sold quickly.  The wine retailed for only $24 - a 93 point Wine Spectator rating provided the initial push.  When it landed in the Wine Spectator Top 10 "most exciting" wines of 2008 that seemed to seal the deal.  I haven't seen the wine available at retail in almost two years.  Until today.

Lower Falls Wine Co. in Newton, MA continues to climb in my personal list of favorite stores to visit.  They're not the cheapest place in town but nor are they the most expensive.  More importantly, each time I visit I find a bottle or two of interesting wine along with expert recommendations and stories that are priceless.  Last time I was in there they had some half bottles of Felsina Fontalloro on sale and this time they had the 2007 Seghesio Sonoma Coast also in half bottles.

Given the staggered release schedules of various California varietals (Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon) wines from the 2007 vintage have been entering the market for the past couple of years.  Perhaps it's kind of obvious if you sit down and taste them alongside 2006 and 2008, but 2007 is an incredible California vintage across the grape varieties I enjoy most.  You can taste the difference.  There's just something about the vintage that elevated the wines from a lot of producers.

Back to the wine.  I couldn't resist the opportunity to crack one open right away to see how it was showing.  Like a friend you haven't seen in years that's still every bit as fun and kind as you remember them, this wine is still showing extremely well.

The wine still has chalky tannins that are surprisingly apparent considering it's Zinfandel.  What I've always loved about this wine is that it's so full of flavor and sure to please guests, and at the same time it has layers of complexity that reveal themselves if you pay attention.  It successfully avoids veering towards over-ripe/stewy aromas and flavors.  Instead it offers earthy, yet tart, chocolate covered cherries.  It's vibrant and fresh.  Conceals 15.5% alcohol amazingly well.  Highly recommended.

Still a favorite and I'm glad I was able to track some more down.  It had disappeared from my stash long ago.  The only problem you might find with this wine is that there are only 375 ml of wine in the bottle.

Where to Buy:
$12.99 for a half bottle at Lower Falls Wine Co in Newton, MA.  I bought a case and left 9 bottles remaining.  Run don't walk.

Check 'em out:
Lower Falls Wine Co.
2366 Washington St
Newton, MA 02462-1440
(617) 332-3000
http://lowerfallswine.com

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Gary Hocking Ingo Hoffmann Bill Holland

VisionTek Killer HD 5770 combo NIC / GPU hikes frame rates, lowers ping times for $200

Mama always said that one was never enough, and just five months after revealing its first NIC / GPU combo card to us at Computex, Bigfoot Networks has taken the wraps off of its second. This go 'round, the outfit is partnering with VisionTek to produce the VisionTek Killer HD 5770, a single PCIe card that combines an AMD Radeon HD 5770 GPU (with 1GB of GDDR5 memory) and a Killer E2100 networking card. All told, buyers are presented with two DVI ports, a single HDMI output and a gigabit Ethernet jack. The card is compatible with Windows 7, Vista and XP, and put simply, it's designed to both improve your frame rates (that's AMD's role) and lower your latency / jitter (hello, Bigfoot!). The NIC portion actually has a 400MHz onboard processor that helps minimize the impact of slight changes in your connection, and Bigfoot's management software will be thrown in for good measure. The board is expected to hit North American retail shops within a fortnight or so, with the $199.99 asking price representing a ~$10 savings compared to buying an HD 5770 GPU and Killer 2100 separately. Oh, and you get a pretty sick dragon, too.

Gallery: VisionTek Killer HD 5770 combo NIC / GPU

Continue reading VisionTek Killer HD 5770 combo NIC / GPU hikes frame rates, lowers ping times for $200

VisionTek Killer HD 5770 combo NIC / GPU hikes frame rates, lowers ping times for $200 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kyle Eugene Petty Kyle Thomas Busch LAM RESEARCH

AR.Pursuit augmented reality shooter app for AR.Drone now available on iTunes

Do you really need another reason to lust after the AR.Drone? Ok, then how about AR.Pursuit, Parrot's new multiplayer augmented reality game and the first developed for the AR.Drone? It just hit the iTunes App Store for $2.99. Sure, it's a few days late, but you can use that pent-up angst to pursue and destroy the AR.Drones operated by your family and friends, just as the baby Jesus intended this holiday season.

Continue reading AR.Pursuit augmented reality shooter app for AR.Drone now available on iTunes

AR.Pursuit augmented reality shooter app for AR.Drone now available on iTunes originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 01:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Elmer George ELPIDA MEMORY EMC

Samsung cooks up its own NFC module, destined for the Nexus S?

Curious timing, no? Just last month, Google's own Eric Schmidt revealed that the Nexus S (manufactured by none other than Samsung) would have "NFC features," and he even went on to proclaim that this kind of technology would eventually supplant the tried-and-true credit card. Today, Sammy itself has revealed a new near field communications (NFC) chip with embedded flash memory, and we're told that this guy remains active for mobile payment even without battery power. Of course, we're still waiting for a confirmed price and release date for the aforesaid smartphone, but could Samsung's NFC mass production date of Q1 2011 be the clue we've been yearning for? Fingers and toes crossed, okay everyone?

Continue reading Samsung cooks up its own NFC module, destined for the Nexus S?

Samsung cooks up its own NFC module, destined for the Nexus S? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 13:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MOODYS MISCROSOFT OFFICE MICROSOFT

Appearing on Winechat tonight

I’ll be Jess Altieri’s guest this evening on her #winechat video show. From her site you can watch and interact with us live starting at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific. We’ll be talking about how I got started in podcasting and blogging, social marketing (my day job) and what comes next here. We have plenty to talk [...]

Appearing on Winechat tonight originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

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ELECTRONIC ARTS ECLIPSYS EASTMAN KODAK CO

Google Editions launching in US before the end of the year, going international in Q1 2011

Admit it, Google Editions wasn't exactly your highest priority item among the things promised for a 2010 launch, but, according to Mountain View's Scott Dougall, the e-bookstore from the world's favorite search company will indeed make its debut before December's through. It's premised as a web-centric, buy-anywhere, read-anywhere platform, one that eschews the proprietary hardware and software model currently championed by the likes of Amazon for a more ubiquitous and accessible one (a humble web browser is all you'll need, which should make Tim Berners-Lee beam with pride). Small websites of all creeds, whether they be independent bookstores or book reviewers, will be encouraged to participate by linking their users to Google Editions of whatever scriptures they're discussing -- with an unannounced revenue sharing model keeping them interested. Retail pricing won't differ, we're told, from what Amazon and Barnes & Noble currently charge, which raises the question, what's the downside to Editions?

Google Editions launching in US before the end of the year, going international in Q1 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 03:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/google-editions-launching-in-us-before-the-end-of-the-year-goin/

SI INTERNATIONAL SILICON LABORATORIES SKYWORKS SOLUTIONS