| A Good Time With Wine

About Matt.mmwine

Website: http://agoodtimewithwine.com
Matt.mmwine has written 163 articles so far, you can find them below.

Don’t be April Fooled – Secreto Sauvignon Blanc is serious

Secreto Sauvignon Blanc 2008

With me, there is no joking when it comes to wine, so don’t look for the punch line in this wine blog post. All too often people select things based on their looks. People select their football picks based on who has the better uniform, or which quarterback looks cuter. Some select houses based on the looks of the yard or the view from the porch. And I am sure some of you select your wines based on the bottles and labels. Well, here’s one wine you MIGHT pass over based on it’s label, and I’m here to make sure you don’t. When I received this bottle of wine, it came with the idea of playing a joke on my friends and readers. Present them with a “goofy looking” bottle of wine (my words, not the words of the person giving me the wine), and surprise them with a value driven, quality wine instead. While the label on the Secreto 2008 sauvignon blanc is artistic and almost whimsical, the wine inside is nothing but serious.

Sobon Estate ReZerve Zinfandel 2006

Sobon Estate ReZerve Zin 2006

Hopefully you read my blog often, or subscribe to it via RSS. If that is the case, you probably saw that I’ve had a hankering for Zinfandel wines lately. You’ll also know that while not bad wines, neither of the wines in that first review really knocked my socks off. Therefore, it’s time to talk about the next Zin, and see how my socks end up after it’s reviewed.

Don’t drink the water

A Margarita in Mexico

Robin and her friend Susan had been going to Isla Mujeres, a tiny island off the coast of Cancun, Mexico for 15 plus years before I was invited to join them in 2005. Along with the typical advice I was given by the two well traveled ladies of “Don’t drink the water”, I was told to not drink the wine. Apparently, their experience showed them that while the ceviche was second to none, and a fresh margarita could be found anywhere, drinkable wine was a rare treat on the Island.

Que Syrah – Taft Street 2006

Taft Street Syrah

Since I wasn’t crazy about either of the Syrah wines I had for Wine Blogging Wednesday #55, I decided to open a third. I was hopeful to end the night on a positive note, so I opened up a Dry Creek Valley wine, since I would soon be there. The Taft Street Syrah 2006, about $20 retail, got the call and I chose to save the Longboard for my return from California. The question is, did I pick the right wine to end the night?

Wine Blogging Wednesday 55 – Syrah Showdown

Bridgeman Syrah 2005

Let me start off today’s Wine Blogging Wednesday post by saying no winemaker sets out to make a bad wine. These men and women put their hearts and souls into each glass of their wine that gets poured. They create something they truly love and believe in, and put it out for the entire world to enjoy. Therefore, I have no right, ever, to say a wine is bad, or sucks, or undrinkable. I may utter those words, or worse, type them, but I have no right to. The “most” I am entitled to say is that I don’t enjoy the wine, whether it’s not my style or perhaps I prefer a similar wine for a better price. So, whenever ou catch me saying “Wow, this is horrible”, translate that into “I really don’t enjoy this wine, it wasn’t for me.”

Tampa Italian Food and Wine Tasting February 2008

@DolceDebbie & @mmWine

If you read my wine blog regularly, or follow me on twitter, then you know that I was ultra excited for the Italian Food & Wine Tasting that chef Debbie Frangipane and I were doing at the end of February. Not only did we plan on having decent wines, and great food, but a small crowd of 13 friends were going to join us. The idea was to showcase Debbie’s culinary skills, pair her delicious food with some wines that I picked up, and share them with some great people. Most of the folks in attendance were twitter users, so it was a grand scale Twitter Taste Live event, mixing food and wine and fun! Debbie, and her husband Barry, are an incredible couple and great friends. There are so many things that caused our universes to collide, and us to connect and become friends, but clearly Debbie’s passion for creating food, and my passion for eating it, were a big factor. I spent the night before the event at their house, getting to know them while preparing the technical aspects of the event. By technical aspects, I don’t mean setting up the cameras or lights. I mean opening some of the wine and making sure it was tasty!

Zin-Take 1-Pedroncelli and Ridge Lytton Springs 2005

Zinfandel Grapes

Every now and then, I get the wild idea that I want to drink nothing except one varietal of wine. That’s semi crazy given the vast world of wines out there. However, I gave in this time when the call of Zinfandel was so loud, it nearly gave me a headache. Perhaps it was the fact that Zinfandel Advocates & Producers Festival had just finished. Perhaps it was that I was in a wine store’s Zin section, looking at the Wine Road Barrel Tasting events I’ll be at March 14-15, and found 2 of the wineries Zin’s right in front of me. Either way, I was intent on trying a number of Zinfandels, all in the name of posting it on my wine blog for you!

WBW54 Passion for Piedmont

This month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday post has me very excited. Not only does David McDuff’s Passion for Piedmont installment fit in perfectly with my February 28th Italian food and wine event, it has allowed me to get away from New World wines, and hopefully introduce some of my wine blog / wine vlog friends to Italian wines. While I have done a blog post or two about Italian wines, I’ve really never discussed Piedmont and it’s wines.

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