May 2010 – Ward Kadel

Inaugural Napa Valley Tweetup #NVTweetup at Mondavi

May 31, 2010May 31, 2010Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNo4 Comments

I'm very fortunate in that I get the opportunity to go to a large number of high quality wine events. The vast majority of the time, I know what to expect for each event, not that it affects my ability to completely enjoy myself, mind you! But every once in a while, a wine event sneaks onto my calendar that provides a whole lot more than expected, upon arrival. The inaugural Napa Valley Tweetup (Twitter), organized by Gabriel Carrejo (Twitter) and Bonfire Interactive...was one of these events.

Hello Vino & @drXeNo!

May 25, 2010May 25, 2010Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNo7 Comments

Following a dizzying string of new partnerships between WineLog, myself and other fine and fun wine partners, we are now part of a very cool and useful iPhone app that has been newly relaunched. Hello Vino takes the hard part out of picking a wine while on the go to whole 'nother level. Choose a pairing based on the food on the menu in front of you, choose the food for the glass you just ordered at the wine bar or just search for a distinct wine style or producer...all taken care of very quickly. It's also all dialed in to your favorite social networks (their on Twitter themselves) so that you can brag to educate all of your friends about your synergistic food and wine choice. If you pairing is a match made in digestive heaven, you can even buy the wine straight from your iPhone.

WineLog and Ward on Wine Biz Radio!

May 21, 2010May 21, 2010Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNoLeave a comment

This afternoon, deep within the bowels of biotech in my secret hidden laboratory, I will Skype in and delight the fine listeners of Wine Biz Radio in the Sonoma Valley with tales about wine exploits with my fellow Vinopanions! From 4-5pm PST, you can catch "this episode..." on KVSY-FM 91.3. Herein, we chat about the harrowing exploits of the Napa River Terroir Project, Le Wine Buff's, Bordeaux and it's attack by surprisingly lazy wine writing, Brixr and their Tiny Bottles and of course, WineLog (Twitter, Twitter2)!

Wine Aerator Air-Off

May 5, 2010May 5, 2010Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNo25 Comments

As a certifiable (different from certified, mine requires a psychiatrist!) wine geek, I get a lot of questions about serving and preparing wine so that it can be happily sipped. One of the biggest questions concerns the aeration of wine...how do I like to aerate my wine, whether young or old and what do I like to use to do so? For the most part, I tend to decant my wines, but that isn't always the easiest thing to do every time I open a new bottle. Sometimes I might only want part of a bottle and then the wine is hard to store once decanted. Or, I might just have more than one bottle open at a time and I'm pouring like crazy because I have some thirsty friends, ready to partake. In that case, I find that a wine aerator tends to do the trick, i.e. a wine gadget that actually works on a per glass basis and usually by being inserted into the bottle. The larger question looms...which one is the best?? This article is here to try and tackle that vinoquery!

Le Wine Buff Returns

May 2, 2010May 2, 2010Vinopanion: Ward Kadel - @drXeNo8 Comments

Many of you delightful readers may remember a very cool pilot project that I worked on late last year called Le Wine Buff, part of Enjoy Bordeaux (Twitter, Facebook). Sponsored by the Bordeaux Wine Council (CIVB), it was an innovative re-introduction of affordable Bordeaux wine to the American public. As one of the six original "Le Wine Buff's", I helped spread the word about the great value and QPR that can be found in red, white and dessert Bordeaux wines at all price points below $25 via email, FAQ and live video chat. The program took a winter break to expand and get even better and we're now ready to relaunch our BDX mission! Look for an expanded schedule of live video chat from our team of six 'Buffs. I'll be starting off the new program 05/03/10 with my time slot every Monday night, 7-10pm PST. If you need a refresher, check out this great Preview of previous footage by Le Wine Buff Mollie. Simply sign up and become a member to participate in any of our video chat sessions. You can follow the Twitter feed of with the hash tag #LeWineBuff.