| Jim Hammond |
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Jim Hammond has been exploring wines in North America, Europe and Australia for more than 20 years. A published author, he includes information about wine in every book.
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| Looking for Unique Party Ideas?
Spend an entertaining evening with Jim while you learn fun facts, such as the difference between a Bordeaux and a Burgundy, or what the ritual of tilting, swirling, and sniffing a wine before taking the first sip is all about.
By adding one of Jim's Wine Maestro series of presentations and events, you and your guests will delight in Jim's light humorous, and information-packed style.
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Give the giift of knowledge to your favorite beginning (or advanced) wine lover. Contact us for a gift certificate for a Wine Maestro Evening and make someone happy. |
| "Wines of Echantment" Available at the Following Locations |
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Wines of Enchantment
ISBN# 0-9709878-0-3
$7.95 Available through Amazon.com
and at
Bookworks
4022 Rio Grande Blvd NW
Albuquerque, NM
Madeleine's Place
3824 Corrales Road
Corrales, NM
Tularosa Winery
23 Coyote Canyon Road
Tularosa, NM
La Vi�a Winery
4201 S Highway 28
La Union, NM
La Vinca Winery
4201 Highway 28
Anthony, NM
Chocolate Turtle Bed & Breakfast
1098 W. Meadowlark Ln.
Corrales, NM
Frontier Mart
3677 Corrales Road
Corrales, NM
Anderson Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum
9201 Balloon Museum Dr.
Albuquerque, NM
Hacienda Manzanal Bed & Breakfast
300 W. Meadowlark Ln. Corrales, NM
End of the Vine Winery 2801 Sudderth Dr # D
Ruidoso, NM 88345
You can order the e-version by clicking on the book cover.
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| The Southwestern Wine Blog |
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Check out my blog for these and other topics
Duckhorn Wines Served at Inaugural Luncheon
Blending Technology and Art
Blind Wine Tasting
Finding the Right Wine for Your Bird
Must-Have Wines in
New Mexico
Paolo's Grapes
Wines with a Southern Exposure
A Judging in Albuquerque
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| Bottle Shocked; or Who Was
That Guy? |
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Bottle Shock is the latest in a series of wine-related movies, kick-started by Sideways, with a dubious oenological lineage. Since I'm a movie nut, and also write screenplays, it seemed like time for me to comment on this film. I enjoyed the movie, any movie that has Alan Rickman cast as a wine snob (Steven Spurrier) will get my attention, however; recalling George Taber's book, The Judgment of Paris, I was expecting to meet the other major players in the Napa success story. And then . . . and then things got strange.
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| News from the Southwestern Wine Guy |
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Winery of the Month
I have a unique personal history with the Savannah-Chanelle winery. In its previous incarnation of Congress Springs Vineyards, it was the first winery with which my wife and I formed a close bond. We became club members and were involved in some of their events such as the Mustard Festival, which occurs after the mustard plants lay a dazzling cover of bright yellow against the upland grasses of the Santa Cruz Mountains. I took cuttings of the 1910 Zinfandel vines and planted them at our home in Los Altos, California. Leaving the vines behind was the thing I regretted most when we moved to New Mexico.
The same property is now Savannah-Chanelle, but the quality hasn't wavered. In fact, their Pinot Noir wines are some of the best in the state. I was reminded of this when I had their 2005 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir with roast lamb last night and it rocked. The 2004 Coast View Vineyards Syrah from Monterrey, which I'm still covetously indulging in, was a best buy value when I snagged a case a couple of years ago. They still make wonderful Chardonnay from the same vines that produced the first triple gold winning Chardonnay in California when it was Congress Springs. Their website is under construction and will up and running before you know it - aren't you glad these don't cause traffic problems? In the meantime a list of their current wines can be found here or you can email tastingroom@savannahchanelle.com. They offer five Pinots, three from the Russian River area of Sonoma, and one from the Sonoma Coast to complement their Santa Cruz Mountain release. The Russian River and the Santa Cruz Mountains are my favorite AVAs in California for outstanding Pinots, so the awards they've racked up don't surprise me. Their Cabernet Franc is sourced from the oldest vineyards in California, and was the first Cab Franc I fell in love with. They also have the oldest Zinfandel vines. The same ones I took those cuttings from. Who knows, if I were still in California I might have been making my own Zins. After several decades visiting this location, the mustard flowers still bloom and the wines still dazzle.
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Corrales Quilt and Wine Fair
Wine Talk
I had so much fun last year that once again I will be gving talks about my favorite subject during Corrales' second annual Quilt and Wine Fair May 9 and 11. My schedule is as follows:
Saturday
1:00pm Wine Talk: Oak and Wine
Welcome and introduction
Tasting wine techniques
Getting the most out of the fair
Oak or No-oak, what's the difference?
Aroma wine wheel overview
Summary of first 5 wineries
Q & A
2:30pm Wine Talk: Food and Wine Pairing
Welcome and introduction
Tasting wine techniques
Getting the most out of the fair
Food and wine pairing
Aroma wine wheel overview
Summary of next 5 wineries
Q & A
4:00pm Wine Talk: Wine Care
Welcome and introduction
Tasting wine techniques
Getting the most out of the fair
Care and feeding of wine
Aroma wheel overview
Summary of next 5 wineries
Q & A
Sunday
1:00pm Wine Talk: Old World vs. New World
Welcome and intorducton
Tasting wine techniques
Getting the most out of the fair
New World/Old World styles
Aroma wine wheel overview
Summary of first 5 wineries
Q & A
2:30pm Wine Talk: Blind Tasting
Welcome and introduction
Tasting wine techniques
Getting the most out of the fair
Setting up a blind tasting
Aroma wine wheel overview
Summary of next 5 wineries
Q & A
4:00pm Wine Talk: Wine Touring
Welcome and introduction
Tasting wine techniques
Getting the most out of the fair
Wine touring
Aroma wine wheel overview
Summaruy of last wineries
Q & A
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Wine Tasting in Washington State
Sometimes it pays to be a wine guy. That certainly was the case when I stayed with my good friends Kazumi Mechling and Robert DalColletto in Sammamish, Washington, just east of Seattle. They are fans of Turley wines, cult wines without the big price tag of most cult wines, but hard to get, nonetheless. Unless you're the Southwestern Wine Guy, in which case you get treated to superb Zinfandel wines that would bring tears to your eye. Not to be outdone, their friends also brought over bottles and we had the kind food and wine dinner I'll remember for a long time. Lots of rain outside, but we had enough trapped sunlight in the wine to dispel any rainclouds.
The Turley Wine Cellars are located in Templeton, California in the Central Coast area, where many great Zinfandels originate. They're not easy to obtain, but worth the effort if you enjoy Zins packed with more fruit than you'd think they could fit in a bottle. |
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Who Criticizes the Critic?
I recently viewed a very interesting documentary, questioning whether Robert Parker influences wine styles, and if so, by how much. And is that a bad thing? Differing opinions abound, but the term "Parkerized wines" suggests a commonly-held opinion that he does exert a strong pull on a winemaker's style. So who criticizes the critic?
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Vine & Wine Society Meeting
The monthly meeting of the New Mexico Vine & Wine Society was held at Madeleine's Place Event Center Sunday, April 19. The Vine and Wine Society was founded in 1974 and is a non-profit volunteer organization, dedicated to the exchange of information among amateur and commercial wine growers, wine makers, wine enthusiasts, and connoisseurs.
Rex Franklin presided over the meeting, and yours truly gave a wine talk discussing Robert Parker's influence on wine styles, and a review of the movie, Bottle Shock. These are also the topics of the first two blogs for the month of April. The meeting included a pot luck and sampling of wines, many crafted by society members. Sampling good food and wine with other like-minded individuals is one of the reasons I'm a member.
Among the good efforts were two red wines by Casa Abril Vineyards, a Tempranillo and a Malbec and a Tempranillo Ros� that bode well for this upcoming winery. Both bottles of red were drained, suggesting I wasn't the only one finding these wines interesting.
Very much like other newer wine regions, the wine growers and wine makers in New Mexico share information, expertise, and encouragement, and the society is an integral part of that. If you are into New Mexico wine, you should check us out and join. Now that we have had the Judgment of San Francisco, with a DH Lescombes Cabernet Franc garnering top honors as the best red in the largest wine competition in the world, against French and California wines, you should drink our local wines, and reward our dedicated wine growers and makers.
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Be sure and drink one for those brave souls who helped turn the world's attention to American wines. While you're at it check out my website and my blog!
Sincerely,
Your Wine Guy
Jim Hammond |
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