Nectar Monthly Honors for November 2010

November has come to a close and it looks like the winter of 2010 and 2011 is going to be brutal. It wasn’t even Thanksgiving yet and we had a night of 7 BELOW zero and I had to shell out $200 to get the pipes unfrozen at our rental property. But I digress, you’re not here to hear me complain about Spokane winters you’re here to see the top posts and wines for November (at least that’s why I hope you’re here).

November’s 22 posts generated another month of record traffic (7 months running). The 18 formal wine reviews included one wine that could potentially be up for wine of the year. This ‘monthly honors’ post marks a full year of monthly recaps which will lead me to an annual list of the top 10 value wines and top 10 overall wines to be posted later in December. Closing in on 300 reviews, this will prove to be quite a challenge. One sad note for November, I let my consecutive weekday post streak die on November 12. I did provide a significant update to a previous post that day, but technically, nothing new. Officially, the streak lasted 9 months 2 weeks.

November included quite a few highlights. The first issue of Spokane Wine Magazine arrived on 11/9. This little blog turned 1 on 11/11. I used Twitter to get the media’s attention about my struggles with the city’s permitting process. I was on TV twice (once for the tasting room and once for the magazine). The tasting room opening has been progressing but is delayed until late December. Finally, a project that I’ve been working on for 18 months in my day job finally went live.

While not as cool as the recent American Music Awards, here are the recipients of November’s Nectar Monthly Honors:

Wines of the Month

Best Value Under $15

Six of the 18 wines this month qualified for the value category. While wines from Parducci Winery were a good value, the best value was from a Washington Winery with a view, Maryhill Winery. While the review was done in a mass tasting setting and my notes aren’t quite as robust, the wine stands on it’s own as a trustworthy value.

Maryhill Winery Winemakers Red ($10)

Early on, Maryhill embraced the value proposition when other Washington wineries were exploring higher priced boutique business models. With wines over $30 selling at 20% of the levels seen in years past, the $10-$20 price point wine is the sweet spot. Maryhill’s flagship wine, the Winemaker’s Red, which makes up 30% of their production, sells for only $14 in the tasting room and can often be found for under $10 at retail establishments. How is the wine? My notes say…

“Dark red fruits with fragrance of lilacs and campfire with a medium mouth feel, well integrated oak and tannin. 3/5”

Read the full Maryhill Winery review

Best Overall Wine

This wine was hands down the best wine of the month. While some months are a challenge to pick, the Merlot from Bolen Estates winery still resonates on my palate. Local winery, Nodland Cellars makes a strong play as the runner up.

2007 Bolen Family Estates Merlot (Reviewed Here)

At $60, the 2007 Merlot is full of amazing berry flavor and aroma. You can smell the wine before you even put it to your nose. Subtle hints of cinnamon are intermingled with the bright fruit. In the mouth you get a sense for the careful attention given to this wine. The fruit was fermented in 3 different methods to achieve the desired balance and character. About 20% of the wine spent 26 months in French oak. The flavors are full and big without being obnoxious. A velvety texture covers the entire palate and layers of fruit, cloves, cinnamon, and vanilla erupt from front to back. The finish is lingering and brings good structure with the perfect amount of tannins. There is a slight heat coming off the 15.2%ABV.

For most, this is not your daily drinking affordable wine, but the Bolen Family Estates 2007 Merlot is worth the price for your special occasion or if you just want to impress the hell out of someone to prove how good merlot can be. If the 2007 vintage is any indication of the future, merlot has made a comeback and Bolen Family Estates is establishing the legacy they intended. 4+/5

Runner Up: 2007 Nodland Cellars Avant-Garde (Reviewed Here)

Other Highlights From November

Title that Makes You Want to Read The Post

paulgwine – PG BLOG attention champagne drinkers – marie antoinette’s boobs are back!

Best Picture

NWwines Walla Walla AVA yesterday very beautiful http://twitpic.com/37t9te

Biggest Battle Between Bloggers

Wawinereport –vs – WinePeeps Cayuse Vineyards – A flawed wine or a writers flawed argument? (via @wawinereport) http://bit.ly/9GVFYx < this should be fun!! #wawine

Best Writing

wkelterer This week on ALP: Cabernet Sauvignon – The Boy Who Would Be King, Part I. For fans of my Merlot interview. http://bit.ly/b6iLNi

Post That Made Me Spit Wine Out My Nose

vintank  Finally, our interview with Craig Wolf from the WSWA on Unfiltered. Help us fight HR5034 & Pls RT: http://bit.ly/bzC0Ep

1WineDude: GENIUS!!! http://bit.ly/cqWfPd < now I have to re-write my entire post, damnit

TishWine Hilarious @RobertMParkerJr French cartoon book featured in post at @vinography http://tinyurl.com/27q5k7x

Most Viewed Post on Nectar Wine Blog

Twitter Helps Fight City Hall – My use of social media gets the traditional media’s attention as I struggle with the rigid permitting process of City Hall. The result is a collaborative meeting of compromise and progress with city officials!

Nectar Monthly Honors For October 2010

It is always fun looking back at the previous month seeing where I’ve been, what I’ve drank and all the fun articles and posts that people across the bloggersphere have written. October, like all the months prior to it, proved to be an amazing whirlwind adventure of wine, friends, and more. The thing that separates October from the previous 10 months of this blog are major announcements of Nectar Tasting Room, rebranding from DrinkNectar.com to NectarWineBlog.com, and the completion of the first issue of Spokane Wine Magazine. Through all of this, you have made October the most visited month in the history of this site (six consecutive monthly increases). Thank you for your support!

Here is a look at the best of the best from October 2010. View previous Nectar Monthly Honors recipients, here.

Wines of the Month

Best Value Under $15

This month 10 of the 23 wine reviews qualified for this category. With reviews from Yellow Tail, Pepperwood Grove, and Silver Leaf Winery, there was one clear standout wine deserving of the best value under $15…

Pepperwood Grove Old Vine Zinfandel (Reviewed Here)

Tweets from the machine:

nectarwine: So, here we go – at $5 this is a killer value. Good flavor, good finish, good acid – this is a winner #biggreenbox #donandsons

pencilarms: #biggreenbox. Just tasted the zin. Lovely. Nice acidity and balance where is it sourced from? What makes it “old”

JohnOnWine: I was happy to taste this Zin; tired of high sugar, alc heat, fruit and pepper bombs. No more blown palate. #biggreenbox #donandsons

Light burgundy in color and very translucent, can see to the bottom of the glass. At only 13.5%ABV (refreshing for a California Zinfandel), this is on the very low side of alcohol for Zins. Good aromas of blueberry, subtle strawberry, tobacco spice and more. It’s all mellow, but it’s there. The palate is very nice as well with flavors of plums, strawberries and mild pepper. The acidity is well balanced and the finish is lovely. Definitely the bargain find of the four wines tasted. While not complex, there are good flavors in this wine. 3/5

Runner Up: 2008 Yellow Tail Reserve Shiraz (Reviewed Here)

Best Overall Wine

The winner and runner up for best wine of the month were both from the same tasting. I was very impressed with the quality and consistency in the Chile red blends tasting. If you’re looking for intriguing new wines to try, keep your eye open for Chilean wine.

2007 Emiliana Coyam (Reviewed Here)

The blend of 38% Syrah, 21% Cabernet, 21% Carmenere, 17% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Mourvedre exploded with massive aromas of fruit, flowers and spice. I loved the fragrant eucalyptus and violets juxtaposed with the spilled spice rack. The wine is also full of flavor in the mouth with a powerful, yet soft dark fruit and evergreen tree. The oak treatment is very well integrated and the 15% ABV does not come across as strikingly hot. The finish on the wine is thick without being chewy or tart. This Bordeaux style wine is top notch wine for just $29 suggested retail. 4+/5

Emiliana is 100% organic and biodynamic.

 Runner Up: 2007 Casas Del Bosque Family Reserve

Other Highlights from October

Good News / Bad News

Big news from two of my close friends hit the twitter machines this month. First the good news, then the bad…

• THE GOOD NEWS: @vinotology – I’m here in Washington, Now What? http://bit.ly/aKEoKR
• THE BAD NEWS: @sipwithme – Regional Wine Blogger Bids a Sad Farewell http://bit.ly/dqWSZT
• NEW ADVENTURES: @bakasmedia Rick Bakas ends his tenure at St. Supery to launch a new Social Media consulting business http://bakasmedia.com/?p=47

Favorite Video

@jordanwinery – Night harvesting merlot grapes in Alexander Valley http://bit.ly/b5iiqx

A Committed Resource

Sean Sullivan spent a considerable amount of time analyzing two Washington State initiatives (I-1100 and I-1105), that could have considerable impact on the way beer, wine and spirits are distributed in Washington State. Sean’s commitment to Washington wine makes him one of the single greatest resources for wine information in our state. http://www.wawinereport.com/2010/10/final-answer-vote-no-on-initiatives.html

Favorite New Series

@suburbanwino – Welcome to Booze in the News (love the fun logos) http://bit.ly/c3hguD

Social Media Knowledge

@suzielin Facebook Fans Vs. Twitter Followers: Which Are More Valuable? http://bit.ly/aNtPpr – Interesting read

Top Post on Nectar Wine Blog

It’s no surprise that the top post of the month, and now one of the top five posts of the year is the announcement of the Nectar Tasting Room. Support has been overwhelming and I appreciate your efforts to help spread the word.

Introducing Nectar Tasting Room http://drinknectar.com/2010/10/04/introducing-nectar-tasting-room/

Nectar Monthly Honors for September

September news has been dominated by the 2010 harvest.  Heavy rains in the Northeast, high heat in the Southeast, record lows then record heat in California and record cool temps in Washington have made this year’s grape growers and wine makers very nervous. Quality journalism and news continues to make its mark within the wine blogging community. The ability for bloggers to create quality content shows the future of wine news.

The month began with the massively successful world-wide Cabernet day. September ended with two sensational and unbelievable stories in Washington State with the great grape caper (thieves steal one tone of Mourvedre in the night) and K-Vintners contentious charge against anonymous bloggers.  This is a look at my favorite stories and wines for the month of September.

Check out previous Nectar Monthly Honors recipients:

WINES OF THE MONTH

Best Value Under $15

September didn’t see too many formal reviews of wine under $15, but the wine below certainly earned top nod. Too bad summer is over, or I could see myself enjoying quite a bit of Albariño.

2009 Martin Codax Albariño  (Reviewed Here)

• The Stuff: 100% Albariño from Rias Baixas, Spain; Whole berry crushed and fermented in stainless steel; 40% malolactic fermentation; 12.8%ABV
• The Swirl: A nice crisp and clean straw color in the glass.
• The Sniff: During a blind tasting I could potentially mistake this for a Riesling with the petrol, citrus and apple aromas. The fragrant aromas help drive the point home on the palate
• The Sip: Slightly tart, slightly crisp and slightly tropical describes the flavor profile on this wine. A very enjoyable flavor that has a slight steely minerality on the finish. A nice full mouth feel is present from the malolactic fermentation.
• The Score: At $12-15, this is a nice wine that leaves a feel good flavor in the mouth. Not a sipper for me, but definitely a fun wine to pair with light summer food and seafood. 3+/5 Recommend

No runner up selected:

Best Wine

With 17 formal wine reviews for this category, the selection was tough. There were several wines that earned 4/5 and 4+/5 ratings.

2009 Mollydooker Carnival of Love (Reviewed Here)

• The Stuff: 100% Shiraz from the Gateway vineyard in McLaren Vale; 97% new and 3% used American oak for 12 months. 3.8% RS; 16%ABV, screw cap enclosure – 90% Fruit Weight
• The Swirl: As with all the MD Shiraz this wine is pure purple passion. Very thick and pure like liquid glass. The Enchanted love is one of the darker wines I can recall seeing.
• The Sniff: Beautiful scents of violets, sweet sugar, bright blueberries, rich plums and spice. I think about 10 minutes went by before I quit smelling this wine. An enjoyable experience even before the sip.
• The Sip: A wonderful evolution of flavor happens on this wine. Tasting the wine gives you an understanding of what “fruit weight” is. The flavor seems to wrap every square inch of your mouth. Not a single taste bud is left out of this experience. Great presentations of fruit, spice, and even some dried tomato and coffee components.
• The Score: The Carnival of Love is a sensory experience not to be missed. This is truly a wine event, if ever I’ve had one. A huge step above in balance over the previous vintage and crafted with subtle intricacies that keep you wanting another sip. Keep in mind this is not a subtle experience of strolling through a park enjoying the serene waterfalls and flowers, this is a high octane double loop roller coaster at 70MPH! At $90, a challenge for most but if you want to really impress a wine lover (especially one who enjoys Aussie Shiraz), you’ll score big points here! 4+/5

Runner Up: 2008 Maison Bleue Roussanne “La Vie Douce” 12.7%ABV (reviewed here)

Other Highlights from September

Creative Writing:

@tarynmiller I woke up this morning feeling creative. <New Blog Post> “Twas the Day of #cabernet“: http://bit.ly/cqCVh2

Best Video:

The best video comes to us courtesy of Wine Spectator’s annual video contest. The winning entry, “Wine Is…” from Joel Peterson

GramercyCellars Huge Award – F&W Best New Winery 2010! So we had to do a video. http://tiny.cc/vkj5r

Post that Made Me Spit Wine Out My Nose:

@dirtysouthwine A whole lotta’ Cornhole just may save the day for Wine Country http://bit.ly/9E748l

 Best Social Media Post:

@RickBakas Santa Claus, Loch Ness Monster & Social Media Experts – http://bit.ly/cVtglM

Most Insane Story:

From @vinography the story of how thieves managed to steal a ton of Syncline Winery Mourvedre grapes…right off the vine! The Wine Super Villain Strikes

Washington Wins Two Free Agency Bloggers:

In the highly competitive world of wine blogging, Washington won the rights to two talented blogging free agents. The acquisitions should help in Washington’s efforts to dethrone California as the wine capital of the US. We’re excited to welcome Ben Simons of @vinotology and Suzie Curnutte of @wineragazza.

DrinkNectar Top Post of the Month:

I managed to extend my streak of a new post every non-holiday weekday to eight months and just barely established a new monthly high in traffic. The most read (and most commented post) was about the use of iPads in tasting rooms and as wine menus.

A Blend of Apples and Grapes – iPads in the Tasting Room

Nectar Monthly Honors for August

August has come and gone and with it is the summer that never happened. Weather has been unseasonably cool across the northwest and the brief glimpse of warm weather in late July and early August seems to be left as a teaser for summers gone by. The weather is affecting the vineyards too, leaving them 10-12 days behind. At this pace we could be harvesting the grapes with the Mayflower pilgrims. The cool weather certainly didn’t cool things down across the bloggersphere or here on DrinkNectar.

August ended with my streak of daily posts (weekday) stretching on to seven consecutive months now and with readership hitting an all time high, 25% higher than last month. I have to give major thanks to Ben Simons and Sean Sullivan for holding the fort down while I was on vacation in New York. I made the commitment to leave my laptop at home but thank goodness for smart phones and good friends!!

The list of wines reviewed here on the site has passed 200 but this month only saw 16 formal reviews. Choosing the best of the best was fairly difficult. Below are the best value wines under $15, best wines, and my Nectar Monthly Honors of my favorite articles served up on the twitter machine in August. It’s not quite as cool as winning an Emmy but the after party rocks! Cheers and Drink Happy!

To view previous monthly honors posts, click here!

WINES OF THE MONTH

Best Value Under $15

2008 Caterina Chardonnay $12 (REVIEWED HERE)

• The Stuff: 100% Chardonnay from Preston Vineyards. The wine was fermented in stainless steel and stored in 50% oak for 6 months. 13.5%ABV, 500 cases produced
• The Swirl: Lighter straw color reminiscent of wheat. In the glass the wine gives off a thicker viscosity
• The Sniff: Subtle nose (as typical of Chardonnay) with hints of toasted almond, honey, and cinnamon.
• The Sip: Very impressive with thick juicy flavors. A subtle effervescence greats the tip of your tongue and then gives way to an abundance of fruit. Lots of subtle layers in this full bodied white wine with honey, crisp pear, vanilla, and peaches. The finish on the wine has moderate acid and dissipates quickly.
• The Score: At only $12 this wine outperforms many at twice the price. This is a strong recommend and a definite re-buy for any food appropriate dinner or Chardonnay lover. 4/5

90pts Wine Enthusiast; Paul Gregutt

No runner up selected for August

Best Wine

2007 Gilbert Cellars Allobroges $20

Recently, I spent a weekend with Sean Sullivan of Washington Wine Report. Our agenda was world wine blogging domination but we did manage to get out and about in the town of Yakima for a few hours of wine tasting. One of our stops was the highly recommended Gilbert Cellars. The stop did not disappoint.

The Rhone inspired Allobroges is Gilbert’s flagship wine. At only $20 the Syrah focused blend of 55% Syrah, 31% Mourvedre, and 14% Grenache is a wonderful blend of smooth spice, dried fruit, and earth driven structure. As we tasted through the selection of wine, the Allobroges stood out as being balanced and intriguing. I expected it to be at the top of their price tier, not the lower end. With a 700 case production, winemaker Justin Neufeld fermented the grapes in small one ton bins before moving the juice to age for 22 months in 17% new French and American oak barrels. 14.7%ABV. 4/5

Runner Up – William Church Winery 2009 Viognier $21 (REVIEWED HERE)

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM AUGUST

The Best Social Media Advice

RickBakas The 8 C’s of #SocialBranding – http://bit.ly/baVUM4 – Simple but powerful foundation points in which to build a social brand

Most Interesting Movie and Wine Tie In

vintuba What do Robert Parker and Leonardo DiCaprio have in common? More then you may think http://bit.ly/ckFohV #wine

 Marketing Post Worthy of a Bookmark

TishWine Reading: How to leverage social media to increase wine sales… bit.ly/d1xr6W (From TheBuzzBin)

Favorite New Blogger Feature

365 Days With Champagne by Dale Cruse of DrinksAreOnMe.net – Follow Dale’s journey as he celebrates every day of life with a glass of sparkling wine (or two…or three). Dale is super talented, creative and a great conversationalist on Twitter! Follow him @dalecruse

Friends Pursuing a Dream

In August I watched two good friends demonstrate their bravery by leaving the comfort of their normal routines to pursue their dreams in the wine business. Ed Thralls from WineTonite.com trekked across the country to be a cellar rat at Holdredge Winery.  Ed, good luck my friend, here is to your future! Washington is calling!

Also throwing caution to the wind is fellow amigo Ben Simons from Vinotology. For the last week, Ben has been pimping, schlepping, demonstrating his mad skills across the great state of California in search of a gig in marketing at a winery. Ben is a talented project manager, writer, and understands the relationship marketing world we are now in. ANY winery would be smart to hire him…hellooooo…Washington!

A Revolution Begins

A lot of debate occurs about the place of the 100 point scale in the wine world. Vintank, and several influential bloggers, are looking to unseat the balance of power by introducing a “BADGE” method of rating. Check out all the great posts here. Lots of amazing conversation and debate.

• Vintank – Why We Think the Badge Concept Will Work
• VinTuba – It’s Time for a Wine Democracy
• Vinotology – Maybe We Do Need Stinking Badges
• DrinkNectar (that’s me) – Changing the Wine World One Badge At A Time

Most Creative Use of Video

suburbanwino very clever concept from @SipWithMe http://bit.ly/c2UuR5 – Wine is Truth and Everything Is Not As it Appears To Be. If you haven’t seen this video it is quite creative. In fact, I think Tamara holds the record for most mentions in these “monthly honors” posts now!

Posts That Made Me Spit Wine Out of My Mouth

1WineDude Constellactus, Devourer of Wine Brands, Attacks! (with apologies to NVV, Randall Graham & Constellation!): http://ping.fm/c5rf0 – Hilarious wine fiction with a sighting of the Silver Surfer

Cheers to @HopeFamilyWines for this Awesome #Wine Video http://bit.ly/bPTKOe #Troublemaker – A masterpiece video (The Office spoof) to promote the launch of their new wine

DrinkNectar Most Read Post

Relationships Sell Products – Spawned from the tweet “So far, there has been very little proof that social networking sells wine,” I talk about measuring ROI (Return on Investment) for a social media strategy. My favorite part about this post is the comments. Several intelligent, well thought out responses helped add to the overall value of the post! http://drinknectar.com/2010/08/17/relationships-sell-products/

Nectar Monthly Honors for July

July started by coming down off the high of the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference. With June being a stellar month in traffic, business adventures, and local media attention, I figured July would be a small let down. Boy was I wrong. July saw some major milestones and goals for DrinkNectar. We surpassed 3000 fans on Facebook and on Twitter and achieved 10,000 page views for the first time. One post hit the magical 1000 view milestone (see below). I also made some significant steps in laying the foundation for what will hopefully be a new business in the Fall. Photographers were hired for Spokane Wine Magazine and I started the effort of selling ad space for the November launch.

I continued my focus of writing at least one post per weekday (going on six months now) and ended the month with 26 posts and 22 formal wine reviews. I’m very honored to have the DrinkNectar wine reviews included in the HelloVino iPhone application. One of my favorite events of the month was the blind wine tasting party we hosted with a group of 12 friends. My top wine of the month came from that tasting.

Wines of the Month

Best Value Under $15

2008 Waterbrook Melange Blanc (Reviewed Here)

• The Stuff: 30% Riesling, 20% Gewürztraminer, 15% Viognier, 10% Sauv Blanc, 10% Chardonnay, 10$ Pinot Gris, 5% Muscat; 4000 cases made; 12.2%ABV; 1.4% residual sugar 
• The Swirl: Very light pale, nearly clear with a hint of beautiful honey highlights 
• The Sniff: Taken by surprise with the abundant perfume, sweet honey, peach and lychtee fruit. A fantastic aroma that keeps you coming back for one more sniff before you sip. 
• The Sip: Not knowing the blend, I would have pegged this for a Riesling. The distinctive Riesling / Gewurz flavors come through but are contrasted with a nice mouth coating of the Chardonnay and the floral components to the Viognier. The wine is amazingly complex for the price point and delivers great off dry sweetness balanced by medium acidity.  
• The Score: At only $15 retail, this is an amazing value. I love the nice subtle honey flavors that balance well with the wet stone minerality. I score this wine a solid 3+/5 

Runner Up: 2008 J.Lohr Estate Syrah $10 – (reviewed in same video as above wine) 

Best Wine

My favorite wine of the month completely changed my perspective of Pinot Noir. I gravitate toward Bordeaux varietal grapes of Cab, Merlot, Cab Franc, Malbec, Petite Verdot and Carmenere. The Pinot Noir Twitter event, rocked my Pinot world!

2008 Belle Glos Las Alturas Pinot Noir (Reviewed Here)

• The Stuff: 100% Pinot Noir from Las Alturas; Aged 9 months in 60% new French oak; 14.8%ABV
• The Swirl: Medium dark plum and crimson colors that borderline Merlot. About 70% opaque
• The Sniff: Close your eyes and picture yourself in the kitchen. Your grandma just baked her world famous cherry pie. The room is filled with aroma of bright ripe cherry, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and that slight burnt aroma from the pie filling that spilled on the rack. That is this wine!
• The Sip: The aroma comes across very well on the palate as well bringing supple fruit flavors that showcase the amazing winemaking and extraction achieved by Joe Wagner. This Pinot Noir is without a doubt the best Pinot Noir I’ve had to date and is an established baseline for me.
• The Score: $44; a wine to remember, long for and diligently seek out. 4+/5

Runner Up: 2006 Signorello Estate Padrone $110 (Reviewed Here)

Cool video of Joe Wagner, winemaker of the wine reviewed above!

Other Highlights from July

The Posts That Made Me Spit Wine Out My Nose

wkelterer Something new for ALP. I interview my first grape. Find out why Merlot is sad no one cares anymore. http://bit.ly/aLTjVT

vinotology Breaking News – Wine Bloggers Win Powerball Lottery http://bit.ly/cmpX2J

sipwithme A Tasting Room Nightmare – the most obnoxious tasting room guest http://sipwithme.blogspot.com/2010/07/tasting-room-nightmare.html

A Geeky Fun Non Wine Tweet

Minervity Lego Star Wars: Hilarious Stop Motion Recap Of Entire Trilogy – http://bit.ly/cwKhm7

The Coolest Use of Technology in a Tasting Room

tomcwark Tom’s New Fermentati The iPad in the Wine Tasting Room http://bit.ly/dcplTl

Favorite Piece of Social Media Information

Sung_H_Lee 10 Ways to Make Your #Facebook Page NOT Suck http://ow.ly/25uR5 RT @panah

Favorite New Blogger Feature

This tweet was part 16 of the series. Be sure to check out the rest of the creative cork ideas on Wine Harlots! WineHarlots Put a Cork in It! – Part Sixteen: Holy Cow! http://bit.ly/bGUYzZ

DrinkNectar Top Post of the Month

This post was the definition of viral. I tweeted the post a few times and then stepped away to do some “paying job work.” I checked in with Google Analytics at 10AM and the post had already been viewed 300 times. The month ended with the post having 1000 views and being re-tweeted almost 100 times! WOW!

http://drinknectar.com/2010/07/12/7-creative-uses-to-recycle-wine-bottles/

Nectar Monthly Honors for June

June ended pretty much the same way it began…a showcase of Washington Wine. On June 3^rd hundreds of people tweeted thousands of times about Washington Wine for #WAWine. June 25-27 hundreds of people tweeted thousands of times about Washington Wine for the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference. In the middle of the month we enjoyed more Washington Wine with Taste Washington in Spokane and Washington Rose with Paul Gregutt (Seattle Times columnist). Drowning in the flow of literally hundreds of wines (close guess would be 300), I managed to review and score 25 wines, get featured in a local magazine, announce the launch of my new project, Spokane Wine Magazine, and have my largest traffic month to date. In fact, looking back through the posts of the month was very fun. June is going to be a tough month to top.

These are the seventh monthly honors that have been handed out here at DrinkNectar.com. What started out as a way for me to track my favorite things of the month has become a fun post to create. The new media of blogging creates some of the most interesting information on wine out there. Much of what I read daily could easily fill a single issue of any major wine publication. The information is FREE and the QUALITY is amazing. Before we get to my favorites of the month, here are the four wines that stood out among the formal reviews.

Wines of the Month

Best Value Under $15

2005 Northwest Cellars Merlot – Reviewed Here

I’m stretching this one a little because the retail price is $17. I’m going to assume you’re on the wine club list and get a little break, or you buy it on sale at a local store This was a fantastic Merlot!

• The Stuff: 75% Merlot, 13% Syrah, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon from Olson Estate, Roza Ridge and 3 Rocks Vineyards; 13.8%ABV, 3000 cases produced
• The Swirl: An interesting brownish rust colored purple hue that is showing some good signs of aging. Reminds me of cola.
• The Sniff: I love the nose of this wine. Strong dark fruits with leather, stewed plums, and just a hint of sweet milk chocolate. Fragrant and engaging!
• The Sip: Not your traditional Columbia Valley Merlot. Really loving the black tea, coffee and gamey meat components to this wine. Very complex in the mouth. The fruit is slightly thin on the front but the dynamic presence of the other flavors quickly engages your palate.
• The Score: At only $17 this wine surprised and mesmerized me. I loved the different interpretation of Merlot and enjoyed the soft, yet captivating flavors. I score this wine 4 out of 5. Be warned that if you love bright fruity cherry Merlot, this might not be for you.

Runner Up – 2007 Heron Hill Riesling from Finger Lakes New York – Reviewed Here ($15)

Special mention to the Barnard Griffin Rose of Sangiovese for only $12 – great value summer sipper

Best Wine

2007 L’Ecole Perigee $49 – Reviewed Here

• The Stuff: 100% Estate fruit from Seven Hills Vineyard with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Cab Franc. Wine spent 22 months in a mix of new and used French oak. 14.5%abv; 1398 cases produced
• The Swirl: Dark crimson purple with a thick cloudy look. Presentation is about 90% opaque with beautiful jewel tones at the edges
• The Sniff: The Perigee is alive on the nose with rich cherry fruit and hints of clove, tobacco and vanilla.
• The Sip: This is a beautiful elegant wine with amazing balance of fruit, spice and structure. A slight sweetness grazes the front of your tongue as the dark cherry flavors wash across the middle of your tongue. Slight earthy leather, tobacco box, and cocoa prepare the finish for a smooth velvety wash.
• The Score: At $49, this wine may be out of reach for most people, but is certainly a wine I would recommend to anyone who has the opportunity to taste, buy or try. I can easily score this a 4 (out of 5). Get it down to $35 and buy a case!

Runner Up – So many wines could fit into this category including 2005 Dionysius from Arbor Crest to the 2007 Matchless Red Wine from Otis Kenyon (had at dinner in Walla Walla)

 Other Highlights From June

The Post That Made Me Spit Wine Out My Nose

clivity My #WARose post is funnier than all the rest, no offense to @catie & @nectarwine http://bit.ly/9cJzBR

My Favorite Video of the Month

supplewine In honor of summer, it’s time to bust out more sparkling wine. Need a video to help open bottles with flair? http://bit.ly/cW1Wux

Showing the Personal Side of Wine Blogging

AnotherWineBlog Knowing When to Let Go: No Deposit. No Return. http://bit.ly/9Ym61d

Best New Blogger Feature (Tie)

• swirlsmellslurp Rewriting the review http://ht.ly/1XpNi (With all due respect for rosé and Mr. @ericasimov )
• stevepaulo Coming up with pairings for 1980s Action TV Shows isn’t easy: http://is.gd/cLLtg #wine

A Heartwarming Recap from the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference

joelvincent The warm embrace…what inspired me about #WBC10 http://post.ly/lF62

Best Piece of Social Media Information

noseyparkerinw RT @perketing: How much is a Facebook Fan worth? http://ow.ly/1Zm7z

DrinkNectar Top Post of the Month

For a while it looked like a guest post from Tamara Belgard (@sipwithme) was going to win top honors. Her sexy post, “Why Wine and Food are Better Than Sex” was pretty popular and very well written. A post that went live in the final 3 days of the month quickly gained traction and took the lead. Behold the future of obscure sport TV, the next big reality programming…

The Sport of Speed Wine Blogging!

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